Temperatures nosedive in the north Updated: 2016-10-07 07:42 By China Daily(China Daily)

Temperatures in northern China are set to plummet as a new round of cold air sweeps across the region, according to the China Central Meteorological Observatory.

The observatory said that due to this round of cold air, there will be light to moderate wind and rain in central and northern areas of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, most parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and other central and eastern parts of northwestern China, as well as northern and northeast China. Meanwhile, the temperature in these areas will drop by 8C at most.

Prior to that, the cold weather hit Shaanxi and Gansu provinces on Tuesday, bringing down the temperatures there.

Residents of Yan'an, a city in Shaanxi, and the Gansu city of Pingliang felt the chill as temperatures there dropped by an average of 15C.

Meteorological monitoring by the observatory showed that on Wednesday, the temperature in the northeastern part of Northwest China, the northern part of North China, most parts of Northeast China and Inner Mongolia was no more than 10C, a sharp drop from Tuesday.

Apart from strong wind and low temperature, some places in these areas, including Beijing, Tianjin and the northern part of Hebei province, also encountered light to moderate rain on Wednesday.

Beijing had a temperature drop of 10C, while some places in southeastern Inner Mongolia even had sleet or snowfall.

As the National Day holiday is drawing to a close and people will soon return home, the observatory warned that people in northern China should pay close attention to the changes in weather and temperature, in order to avoid catching a cold.

By contrast, people in southern China may envy the north, as the temperatures there are still high, the observatory said, adding that many will seek to cool themselves to avoid sunstroke.

Motorcyclists wear gloves and other thick clothing to keep themselves warm amid the cold weather in Shenyang, capital of North-eastern China's Liaoning province. Shen Yang / For China Daily

(China Daily 10/07/2016 page2)
Washington, Oct 7 : Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's biography on the website of his privately held corporation, the Trump Organization, claims he forced President Barack Obama to release his birth certificate.

The biography claims: "In 2011, after failed attempts by both Senator McCain and Hillary Clinton, Trump single-handedly forced President Obama to release his birth certificate, which was lauded by large segments of the political community."

Asked about the claim, which has been in his biography since at least last August, McCain's spokeswoman Rachael Dean replied: "As the record clearly shows, McCain has never questioned Obama's birthplace."

McCain famously defended Obama against conspiracy theories when he carried the Republican presidential banner in 2008, the Daily Beast reported.

At multiple campaign events, the Arizona Senator forcefully pushed back against his own supporters who questioned Obama's religion, race, and loyalty to the US.

Democrat Clinton, too, never attempted to force Obama to release his birth certificate, contrary to Trump's claim.

Trump, on the other hand, first emerged as a politically significant force when he began beating the birther drum in 2011, and he's continued to do so ever since, even after declaring last month that "Barack Obama was born in the US, period."

Last summer, Trump, while vying for the Republican nomination, said of McCain: "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured? I like people who were not captured."

Trump received multiple medical deferments from the military service for bone spurs while attending business school and once called the risk of STDs while sleeping around his own "personal Vietnam".

McCain spent almost six years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, where he refused early release despite being brutally tortured to avoid the appearance of favouritism because his father was an admiral.

Despite that insult, McCain, facing a right-wing primary challenge for re-election, eventually endorsed his party's nominee for president but pointedly criticised Trump after he hurled insults at the Gold Star Kahn family.

McCain said: "I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Trump's statement... While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."

Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening about the sentence in the candidate's corporate biography that effectively labels McCain and Clinton the original birthers.

Clinton campaign press secretary Nick Merrill said: "The record is clear on this. I give Trump's bio four Pinocchio's."

Notably, the sentence in Trump's biography uses almost identical language to that of the Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr. at Liberty University's 2012 convocation when he was introducing Trump, who'd just finished flirting with a presidential run that year.

Falwell said to a roar from the assembled believers: "Trump has also become one of the most influential political leaders in the US. In 2011, after failed attempts by John McCain and Clinton, Trump single-handedly forced Obama to release his birth certificate."
Washington, Oct 7 : Using NASA's Hubble space telescope data, scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have detected superhot blobs of gas, each twice as massive as the planet Mars, being ejected near a dying star.

The plasma balls are zooming so fast through space it would take only 30 minutes for them to travel from Earth to the moon, NASA said in a statement on Thursday.

Astronomers have estimated that this stellar "cannon fire" has continued once every 8.5 years for at least the past 400 years.

"We knew this object had a high-speed outflow from previous data, but this is the first time we are seeing this process in action," said lead author of the study Raghvendra Sahai of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The fireballs present a puzzle to astronomers, because the ejected material could not have been shot out by the host star, called V Hydrae.

The star is a bloated red giant, residing 1,200 light years away and which has probably shed at least half of its mass into space during its death throes.

Red giants are dying stars in the late stages of life that are exhausting their nuclear fuel that makes them shine. They have expanded in size and are shedding their outer layers into space.

The current best explanation suggests the plasma balls were launched by an unseen companion star.

According to this theory, the companion would have to be in an elliptical orbit that carries it close to the red giant's puffed-up atmosphere every 8.5 years.

As the companion enters the bloated star's outer atmosphere, it gobbles up material. This material then settles into a disk around the companion, and serves as the launching pad for blobs of plasma, which travel at roughly a half-million miles per hour.

This star system could be the archetype to explain a dazzling variety of glowing shapes uncovered by Hubble that are seen around dying stars, called planetary nebulae, the researchers said.

A planetary nebula is an expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a star late in its life.

"We suggest that these gaseous blobs produced during this late phase of a star's life help make the structures seen in planetary nebulae," Sahai noted.

Sahai's team used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to conduct observations of V Hydrae and its surrounding region over an 11-year period, first from 2002 to 2004, and then from 2011 to 2013.

The results appeared in The Astrophysical Journal.
Agartala, Oct 7 : The Tripura government will operate a helicopter service for Durga Puja revellers and sightseers to enable them to get an aerial view of tourist spots and puja celebrations in Agartala, a minister said here on Friday.

The chopper service, run by state-owned Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC), will be a 30-minute trip for each sortie in and around the state's capital city.

For sightseeing and witnessing Durga Puja, the per head fare for an adult is Rs 1,500 and for children below 12 years it is Rs 1,300, Tripura Transport Minister Manik Dey told IANS.

He said: "The joy rides would be conducted in eight-seater double-engine choppers of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. The rides would be conducted for four days from October 8."

The government has subsidised the fare.

Dey, who also holds the power portfolio, said that to maintain uninterrupted electricity supply during the puja period, Mizoram would provide 20 MW of power to Tripura.

"Despite huge demand of power (300 MW) during Durga Puja festivity, Tripura would maintain supply of 100 MW of power to Bangladesh as this is the national commitment," he added.

Director General of Tripura Police K. Nagaraj said vigil along the India-Bangladesh border and in trouble torn areas has been tightened with the deployment of additional Border Security Force and other central and state security personnel.

Paramilitary forces Assam Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), along with Tripura State Rifles, have intensified their counter-insurgency operations in the terrorist-prone and hilly areas of the northeastern state to foil any attempt at disturbing the festivities, the police chief added.

CCTVs and metal detectors have been installed near the puja pandals (marquees) and other sensitive locations while over 7,500 security personnel and quick reaction teams besides bomb and dog squads have been deployed across Tripura.

Police pickets have been set up in important and strategic locations and mobile and foot patrolling has been initiated along with intelligence networks.

"In view of the escalation of border troubles along India-Pakistan boundaries, extra alertness is set in motion during the Durga Puja festival. However,there is no specific security threat yet," Nagaraj said.

According to the DGP, maintaining last year's numbers, around 2,510 community and about 100 family Durga Pujas, including 1,495 in rural and interior areas, are being organised in Tripura.
London, Oct 7 : British Prime Minister Theresa May's first bilateral visit outside Europe could be to India. She is aiming to be in Delhi during the India-UK Tech Summit scheduled to take place November 7-9.

While a senior official of the Indian High High Commision, when asked, said "nothing is confirmed", it didn't go unnoticed that a conspicuous attendee at High Commissioner Navtej Sarna's farewell party on Thursday evening was Jo Johnson, Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation in the British government. Johnson is directly involved with Britain's association with the Summit.

A reliable source told Raymedia May's visit, while not confirmed, was "likely".

May met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in China last month. She is keen to sign a trade agreement with India to substitute for a forthcoming exit from the European Union (EU).

An Indian diplomat said an agreement in areas of mutual interest was possible, but that this can at best be drafted after Britain leaves the EU, which may not take place until the spring of 2019. Under EU laws, the UK cannot sign a trade treaty with any country until after formally exiting from the EU.
New Delhi, Oct 7 : Pierce Brosnan is back in his Bond avatar -- this time, for an advertisement of an Indian pan masala brand. The first visuals of the campaign, out on Friday, have sent the virtual world in India into a tizzy, with many calling him 'Pan Singh Tumor' in humour.

The Hollywood actor, best known for his stint as the legendary British spy James Bond in the popular film franchise, features in the print ad holding a box of the pan masala, Pan Bahar, with the text below reading "Class never goes out of style".

The actor's signature also found space in the ad, which is splashed across the front page of a few national dailies.

The video ad features a luxury car, a few women and action, but there is a catch. Instead of guns and ammunition which he used in the Bond films, Brosnan is fighting with a box of the pan masala.

Twitter users have taken a dig at the ad, as well as criticised it.

Sahil Shah tweeted: "Breaking News: Pierce Brosnan is also going to endorse Thumbs Up. The tagline would be 'Aaj kuchh thoo Paani karte hai'. Breaking News: Pierce Brosnan to come in a new movie 'The Adventures of Peter Paan and Captain Thook'."

Another user said, "Pierce Brosnan is Pan Singh Tumor".

Comedian Sorabh Pant remarked: "Pierce Brosnan endorses Pan Bahar. S***w you, Hugh Jackman. And, Micromax. THIS is the greatest Make in India moment."While there was one user who wondered why Brosnan agreed to endorse Pan Bahar, Piyush Pankaj posted: "Pierce Brosnan supports StandUpToCancer on global platform but in India promotes Chewing tobacco Pierce Brosnan".

The actor has worked in films like in "GoldenEye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) and "Die Another Day" (2002).

A user shared that "Brosnan endorsing Pan Bahar. The world is coming to an end Bond."

This is Brosnan's second endorsement of an Indian product. He had earlier endorsed suiting fabric Indian brand Reid & Taylor.
Damascus, Oct 7 : The Syrian army on Friday recaptured a strategic hilltop, overlooking rebel-held districts in the northern city of Aleppo, as part of a recent offensive to flush out the rebels.

Capturing the Sheikh Saeed hill has enabled the army to overlook the rebel-held districts of Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh in Aleppo, Xinhua news agency cited reports as saying.

This advance is the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army has recently achieved in Aleppo, as part of the declared offensive to dislodge the insurgents from the rebel-held eastern part of the city.

A day earlier SANA news agency said the military forces captured areas in the rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighbourhood and al-Sakhour area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British watchdog group, said the recent progress of the army is the first in three years against the rebels in Aleppo.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a new proposition, which basically focuses on freeing eastern Aleppo from the radical elements of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, in an apparent move to reduce the Syrian military campaign in eastern Aleppo.

During the offensive in eastern Aleppo, the general command of the army urged the civilians to leave the rebel areas and reach the government-controlled ones in western Aleppo.

The army also offered amnesty to the rebels who surrender in Aleppo.

The offer was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

The situation in Aleppo has caused a rift between the US and Russia, with both expressing dismay at each other's conduct regarding the situation.

Moscow has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Friday, with Mistura making a statement about the situation in Aleppo, and possibly his new proposition.
Chandigarh, Oct 7 : The Punjab government on Friday issued instructions to reverse its earlier decision to evacuate the villages of Punjab situated within a 10-km belt along with Pakistan border.

The move follows a decision of the union home ministry which on Friday revoked its decision that led to the evacuation of villages along Punjab's 553-km international border.

Following this, residents of border villages in Amritsar, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts started returning to their home along with their belongings.

The villagers have been allowed to go back after nine days.

The evacuation was ordered on September 29 following the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC).

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, also the Punjab Home Minister, said the decision to reverse the evacuation of border villages was taken at a meeting of Chief Ministers of western border states with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan where the situation along the entire border with Pakistan was reviewed.

Badal told Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal about the decision. The Deputy Commissioners of all six districts were asked to take immediate steps to ensure a smooth return of the affected people to their villages.

"Apprehending retaliation from Pakistan after the surgical attacks, the state government ordered the evacuation of about 1,000 villages to safer places. Now the residents have been allowed to go back to their respective homes," a Punjab government spokesperson said here.

"The government has assured the residents of the villages around Indo-Pakistan border that they will be provided complete security," the spokesperson said.

Villagers seemed upset about the evacuation and the sudden reversal.

"They should have waited for correct inputs before ordering evacuation. Who will pay for the expenses incurred by the villagers and the losses they have suffered as they had to stay away from work and home for so many days?" asked Gurjot Singh of Dera Baba Nanak area.

The Punjab government, following directions from the Union Home Ministry, had on September 29 ordered evacuation of border residents to safer areas. Over four lakh (400,000) people in six border districts were affected.

Many families and people had refused to move out saying they had to tend to their crops, cattle and properties.

The Punjab government and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine came in for criticism from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party in particular for over-reacting to the situation and ordering the evacuation.

The union government had, on October 2, allowed border farmers to harvest their paddy crop following growing resentment among farmers.

Schools in the border belt, which were closed since September 29, were ordered to be opened from October 5.

Evacuated villagers had alleged mismanagement by local authorities at the evacuation camps saying there were hardly any arrangements.

The evacuation move followed apprehensions that Pakistan could retaliate after the cross-LoC strikes.

Badal said he had asked Rajnath Singh to allow Punjab to raise five armed battalions which would act like a second line of defence behind the Border Security Force (BSF), which mans the border with Pakistan.

The Punjab government has already identified 75 points where check points needed to be placed as a second line of defence, he said.
New Delhi, Oct 7 : Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday said that his party will not make the India Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control an election issue during the upcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab polls.

"It should not be made an election issue. But we'll take this issue to the public, because it is the responsibility of every political party to boost the confidence of the armed forces. No political leader should claim credit for this," Shah told media persons here.

Reacting to the posters released by some BJP workers to celebrate the surgical strikes, Shah said: "If any Zila president or tehsil president has put up posters, it should not be made an issue."

"BJP is known by its leaders like Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. No top leader made any remarks. We should not politicise this issue," the BJP chief said.

Asked if he would not take the achievement of the government to the people, Shah asserted that the surgical strikes is the achievement of the army and "political will" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rome, Oct 7 : Actor Tom Hanks, who is returning as genius symbologist Robert Langdon in upcoming mystery thriller film "Inferno", says the real "inferno" today is ignorance, which he described as chaos overtaking the planet.

"Ignorance is one of our greatest threats: the idea of being able to solve complex issues with simplistic solutions," Hanks said in the Italian city of Florence on Thursday, where the film will have its world premiere on Saturday.

"Just think about what happened in the Middle East. Or about the decision that we Americans find ourselves having to take every four years," Hanks said, calling on voters to educate themselves properly and ask the right questions before entering the polling booths.

The film, directed by Ron Howard, has been extensively shot in Florence, Venice and Turkey.

Felicity Jones plays Dr. Sienna Brooks, Langdon's partner in solving the mystery, and Ben Foster portrays Bertrand Zobrist, the villain scientist.

The film also stars Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan.
New Delhi, Oct 7 : Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday launched a scathing attack on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his "dalali" remark targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said with it he has crossed all limits and has insulted the Indian Army.

Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Modi, accusing him of doing "dalali" (profiteering) over the blood that was shed by Indian soldiers.

Shah also asked Gandhi to focus on issues pertaining to "Alu ki factory" (potato factory) instead of making statement on such sensitive issues.

Shah demanded a clarification from Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" remark.

Shah lambasted political leaders, particularly Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, for "playing politics" over the September 29 surgical strikes.

"We don't believe in dalali. We believe in 'Jai Jawan'. The word 'dalali' is synonymous with them (referring to Conress)."

Targeting Kejriwal, Shah said that the trend of doubting the "surgical strikes" was started by the Delhi Chief Minister.

"By saying 'dalali' over soldiers' blood, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. The remark reflects the Congress' mentality," Shah told a press conference here.

"I strongly condemn his remarks. They are an insult not only to the brave armed forces and martyrs but the entire country," he said.

"I want to ask Gandhi: Does he perceive our soldiers' blood to be a thing to do 'dalali' (trade) with. His words are an insult to the armed forces and the country as a whole. I want to ask what dalali is he talking about?" asked Shah.

"From Bofors to Embraer, from coal to 2G spectrum, who indulged in dalali," asked Shah, referring to the allegations of various scams against the Congress and the UPA.

Targeting the Delhi Chief Minister, the BJP President said, "It was Kejriwal who started the trend of doubting the surgical strikes and casting aspersion on the bravery of our armed forces."

"His attempt to demand proof on the surgical strikes has led to the social media ridiculing him as a pro-Pakistani," Shah said.

"On behalf of the BJP, we strongly condemn these attempts and whoever are questioning the surgical strikes have insulted the army, insulted the martyrs," he added.

Shah asserted that the "surgical strikes" are the achievement of the army and the "political will" behind it was that of Prime Minister Modi.

Asked if he would make it an election issue ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls, Shah said: "It should not be made an issue. But we'll take this issue to the public because it is the responsibility of every political party to boost the confidence of the armed forces. No political leader should claim credit for this."

He also slammed the Congress for questioning the "excitement" shown by a few BJP 'karyakartas' (activists) after the surgical strikes.

"None of our top leaders made any statement on this issue. Some karyakarta may have passed some remarks, but he must have said it out of excitement. The question is why Congress is not proud about the surgical strikes. Why don't they feel happy about it?"

"If Congress has an objection to BJP workers feeling proud of the surgical strikes, then I think there is problem in their mindset," said Shah.

"Congress party is expressing the disappointment of Pakistan in the surgical strike. This is unfortunate. They should have joined the people in celebrations and boosted the confidence of the armed forces," said Shah.
Public holidays a profitable industry Updated: 2016-10-07 17:12 By CHRIS PETERSON/DAI TIAN(China Daily UK)

Performers take part in a dragon and lion dance competition on Wednesday to celebrate the National Day holiday in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Lu Boan/Xinhua]

While China has public holidays for such diverse activities as sweeping ancestors' tombs, eating mooncakes and racing dragon boats, in the UK we have bank holidays, although it's mainly those who don't work in banks who celebrate them.

China has 13 days of public holidays, and the UK has just eight.

Countries vary in their approach to public holidays, but China stands out because twice a year the entire country takes a week offfor Chinese New Year in spring and National Day in early October. But instead of affecting GDP due to factory closures, these weeklong breaks have become an industry in their own right.

The idea was conceived in 1999 as away to boost China's service sector, including tourism. And benefit it does.

The Ministry of Commerce said that this year's Golden Week, as the October break is known, has seen restaurant and retail sales rise 11 percent year-on-year. To put that in perspective, it translates roughly as the equivalent of Kuwait's GDP.

In China, a weeklong break means most Chinese are on the move. Transport authorities estimate 750 million journeys were made during Golden Week last year, with more than 4 million tourists heading abroad.

As the nation has grown economically, a huge middle class with disposable income has emerged in the past 10 to 16 years.

"Future growth in the demand for travel will come from families eager to experience local culture in a leisurely way," said Gordon Gao, an analyst at Mintel. "In addition, long weekends and the sharing economy will further boost the holiday market in China."

But while China's public holidays have become an industry, Britons still cling to their bank holidays.

It was John Lubbock who introduced the Bank Holidays Act in 1871. Until then, workers had relied on a haphazard system of religious days, such as Christmas and Easter. But it was Lubbock, son of a banker,who regularized the system that identified the days when banks would be closed, and thus there would be no commerce.

In France, so obsessed are they at maintaining a work-life balance, people spend hours looking at calendars to see whether Bastille Day falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday. If it does, many French do what they call faire lepont (make a bridge), taking off the Monday or the Friday next to Bastille Day to make a long weekend.

Although China has the edge in public holidays, a closer look at the data shows the country still has a way to go in terms of workers' time off.

Chinese employment law states that workers with 10 years of work experience or less are entitled to five days paid leave a year, rising to 10 days after 10 years, and 15 days after 20 years.

In the UK, the government says most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid leave per year.

Scrutiny of public holidays throws up some odd examples, such as Bonfire Night on Nov 5. Of course, we have the 9th-century Chinese invention of gunpowder to thank for the fireworks we let off to mark the occasion.

Contact the writers at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com
New Delhi, Oct 7 : Describing India and China as "two rare bright spots" in the context of a global economic slowdown, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Friday said there is much scope for India to benefit from the Chinese experience in manufacturing, towards transforming India into a modern urban economy.

"Despite a decline in growth rate, China contributes a handsome $500 billion or more to annual growth of the global economy," Panagariya said addressing the India China Investment Conclave here at industry chamber Ficci.

"With China promoting out-bound investment and India seeking foreign capital and technology, it should enable us to take advantage of the synergies and put in place a vigorous framework to strengthen bilateral investment relationships," he said.

"What China has accomplished in last 15 years is very impressive. Its economy has gone from $2 trillion 15 years ago to $10 trillion today," he added.

Panagariya said India too can become a $10 trillion economy in the next 15 years, from being a $2 trillion one at present.

"India started off to rapid growth a little later than China, but now it has the potential to accomplish in the next 15 years what China did in the last 15 years. Today, India's GDP stands at about $2 trillion and it has good prospects of rising to $10 trillion in the next 15 years," he said.

The Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Xu Shaoshi described China and India as two important forces.

"They are powerhouse of Asia and the world. There is a need for the two countries to go beyond bilateral relationships," Xu said.

"We need to have more consensus on co-operation in the region. India has some active promotion policies like Make in India and Startup India while China has initiatives, including smart manufacturing," he added.

Xu is leading a team of businessmen and government officials to participate in the two-day India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue that began here on Thursday.

Referring to cooperation in the area of high speed railways, Xu said upfront studies have been completed for the Delhi-Chennai route and that a feasibility study will be undertaken for the Delhi-Nagpur route.

The India China Strategic Economic Dialogue has recommended closer cooperation in areas such as high speed railways, port dredging, highways, renewable energy and pollution control, among others, the Confederation of Indian Industry said in a release here on Friday.

At the conclusion of the dialogue, Ficci also proposed a Joint China-India SMEs GVC (Global Value Chain) initiative in collaboration with NITI Aayog, Ficci and the Chinese NDRC.
Lahore, Oct 7 : Pakistani star Fawad Khan, condemned for being mum on the Uri terror attack which led to heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, on Friday said he is praying for "a more peaceful world".

After the killing of 19 Indian soldiers, most of the popular Pakistani artistes had maintained silence on the matter. After a long wait, Fawad has broken his silence.

In a Facebook post, Fawad, who recently welcomed a daughter with wife Sadaf Khan, wrote: "I've been in Lahore since July as my wife and I had been expecting our second child. I've received numerous requests from the media and from well-wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks.

"As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow."

Fawad added: "Please disregard any other words attributed to me during this time because I have not said them. I thank all my fans and fellow artists from Pakistan, India and people in general all over the world who have shown continued support for their belief in love and understanding to unite a divisive world."

The actor is a heartthrob in Pakistan and found popularity in India after his Pakistani shows "Humsafar" and "Zindagi Gulzar Hai" were aired in the country. He found his footing in Bollywood after featuring in films like "Khoobsurat" and "Kapoor & Sons".

His next is Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", which might face a roadblock in its release due to Fawad's presence in it.

After the September 18 Uri attack, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had issued an ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave India and said they would not let their movies release in India.

The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association passed a resolution banning Pakistanis from working in films being made in India as they were upset that Pakistani artistes did not condemn the incident.

In retaliation, some Pakistani theatre chain owners banned the screening of Indian films.

Recently, popular Pakistani musicians like Shafqat Amanat Ali and Salman Ahmad had condemned the Uri attack and had hoped for normalcy to return in both the countries.
New Delhi, Oct 7 : The BJP on Friday lambasted the Congress for defending its Vice President Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" barb, and took strong exception to its party President Amit Shah being called a "criminal".

Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Congress was busy doing Rahul Gandhi 'Bhakti' (worship) and was not bothered about the interests of the country.

"Defending Rahul Gandhi is more important for the Congress than defending the country. What message does Rahul Gandhi want to convey by his remarks and the Congress by defending those remarks?" said Prasad.

Prasad's media conference came subsequent to Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Randeep Singh Surjewala holding a media meet where they slammed BJP chief Amit Shah who earlier in the day attacked Gandhi for accusing Modi of doing "dalali" (trading) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers.

"The people who have been to jail and who have murder cases against them are pointing fingers at others," Sibal had said launching a scathing attack on Shah and the BJP.

Returning the fire, Prasad said: "BJP would also like to know from Congress how can they call Amit Shah a criminal?"

"Everybody knows he was framed in pursuance of a conspiracy. Even the court did not frame the charges and held he was framed," said Prasad referring to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounters case in which Shah was alleged to be involved.

Upping the ante, Prasad then raked up the National Herald case to hit out at Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul.

"I want to ask Sibal what does he think of the Congress President and the Vice President who have been accused in a very big cheating case. What is his opinion about them?" asked Prasad in an obvious reference to the high profile case.

Prasad also hit out at the Congress for holding BJP responsible for the creation of Pakistan based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

"It is the (Pakistan spy agency) ISI who will be the happiest people on hearing these remarks.

"Does the Congress realise the gravity of their irresponsible comments, do they realise that the principal opposition party has given a big handle to the ISI which is behind all these terrorist organisations?

"These comments are highly unfortunate and we condemn them," said Prasad.

Sibal earlier in the day said that if the then BJP government had not released militant Maulana Masood Azhar in 1999, then JeM would not have taken birth.

Azhar in 2000 founded the JeM.

"The Congress has made irresponsible, below standard and highly condemnable remarks which warranted a reply.

"We know Congress has a lot to hide in its cupboard but we will not mention about this because we don't indulge in petty politics," added Prasad.
Hyderabad, Oct 7 : Students at University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Friday staged a protest against the report of Justice Ashok Kumar Rupanwala Commission, terming it an attempt to shield two Union ministers and the Vice Chancellor in Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide case.

Students under the banner 'Justice for Rohith Vemula' took out a rally on the campus, raised slogans against Narendra Modi government and burnt effigy of the commission.

They also raised slogans against Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya.

The protest was held a day after the commission's report carried in a section of media exonerated the two ministers and Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile. The commission also reportedly concluded that Rohith was not a Dalit.

The commission was constituted by the Ministry of Human Resources Development to probe the events leading to Rohith's suicide.

Rohith (26), one of the five Dalit students expelled from hostel following fracas with a student leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), committed suicide by hanging on the campus on January 17.

Four students who were suspended along with Rohith termed the report "atrocious" as it ignored the discrimination and humiliation suffered by Rohith and his mother Radhika Vemula for being Dalits.

They termed the report as an attempt to save the two ministers, the vice chancellor and other accused from FIR registered against them under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The students argued that the commission crossed its mandate to go into the caste of Rohith, noting only the district magistrate is the appropriate authority to inquire into the caste. They pointed out that the magistrate had ruled that Rohith was Dalit and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes had affirmed his stand.

They alleged that commission stooped to the level of personally attacking Rohith's mother Radhika. "The purpose is very clear. She had challenged the Brahminical dictum and instead of remaining oppressed choose the path of B. R. Ambedkar and embraced Buddhism," the students said in a statement.

The students also took strong exception to the commission justifying the action of the Vice Chancellor in suspending them and reaching to the reported conclusion that there was no political pressure.

They claimed that the decision of Appa Rao to not to allow them in hostel, administrative building and common places and barring them from participation in student union elections, was taken with an intent to harm them and to display his loyalty and allegiance to ABVP, BJP and RSS.
New Delhi, Oct 7 : The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to a Bihar legislator, accused of raping a minor girl, on the state's petition seeking cancellation of his bail granted by the Patna High Court.

A bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice N.V. Ramana, however, declined to stay, the Patna High Court's order, saying it could not do so without hearing the accused -- Rashtriya Janata Dal lawmaker, Rajballav Yadav.

Bihar government counsel Gopal Singh, while pressing for the stay of the High Court order granting bail, said that "the examination of prosecutrix (victim girl) is going on".

Issuing notice returnable on October 17, the court permitted the Bihar government to serve notice to the accused in person.

While issuing the notice, Justice Sikri, however, observed: "Chief Justice (of Patna High Court) hearing bail matters."

Rajballav Yadav, the MLA from Nawada, was accused of raping a school-going girl at his residence in Bihar Sharif in February this year.

He was suspended from the party after the incident surfaced. However, he continues to be an RJD lawmaker in the state assembly.

Yadav, who was denied anticipatory bail by a local court in Bihar Sharif in February, was absconding but surrendered in court in March. He was granted bail by the High Court on September 30.

He was named one of the five accused in the charge sheet filed in April.

Besides Yadav, the charge sheet named Sulekha Devi and others who were accused of supplying girls to the RJD lawmaker.
Kolkata, Oct 7 : Notwithstanding intermittent showers, thousands of men, women and children, turned up in their best on the streets of the metropolis making rounds of the marquees as the five-day Durga Puja festival got off to a rousing start in West Bengal on Friday.

The short periods of drizzle during the day left parts of the city slushy, and forced revellers to run for cover, but once the showers stopped the party went on in full steam, with people soaking in the fun and gaiety.

In the evening, Kolkata seemed resplendent under lakhs of kilowatts of bright lights, twinklers and pompous marquees, as the young and old, the rich and the poor, the aristocrats and the plebeians walked shoulder to shoulder relishing the artistry and aesthetics of the community marquees.

Many of them were armed with mobile apps, printed guide maps and selfie-sticks, 'Sasthi' or 'Bodhan' -- the welcoming of the Durga idols -- signalled the start of the Puja, with the eastern metropolis welcoming the goddess with the beats of dhaak (drums) and aroma of incense.

The community pujas in the city number around 3,500 this year, while thousands more are observed in the towns and villages across West Bengal.

Chants of 'Jai Durga' and 'Bolo Durga Mai Ki Jai' reverberated across the state with every city, small town and village joining in the fervour.

The puja is usually a five-day event with Sasthi, and the subsequent four days - Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami - translating into frenzied pandal-hopping (visiting marquees) in new clothes, meeting friends and family and stuffing oneself with traditional delicacies.

Thousands of brightly dressed up youngsters gathered at Maddox Square in south Kolkata, a traditional meeting point during the Durga Puja, spending the day catching up with old friends, or striking up new relationships.

The marquee at Naktala Udayan Sangha, on the southern outskirts of the city, drew hundreds of people, who looked in awe at its empiric theme "objectless form".

The marquee has been conceived in two layers, the outer layer reflecting the mechanical world, and the inside layer - a world of mere vibrations depicting the goddess.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished people on Sasthi via a Facebook post.

Sasthi - the sixth day of the lunar calendar - also marked the beginning of the puja rituals.

Kalparamvo (the beginning of the Pujas), Bodhan (the consecration of Ma Durga's idol), Amantran (inviting the Goddess) and Adhivas (sanctifying the stay of the Goddess in the exact spot where the puja is being held) - were performed in community puja marquees and households where the deity is being worshipped with zeal.

According to the epic Ramayana, before attacking Lanka in search of his wife Sita, Lord Rama had performed Durga Puja in autumn - a time when the gods sleep, according to the Hindu religious texts.

So Lord Rama had to first wake up the goddess prematurely, and as such, the awakening in the autumnal festival is called "Akal (untimely) Bodhan" of the goddess.

However, mythology also states that the puja celebrates the annual descent of Goddess Durga, the slayer of the demon Mahishashur, accompanied by her four children - Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati - to the Earth to visit her parents.

The goddess, astride a lion and wielding an array of weapons in her ten hands, stays for four days to eradicate all evil from Earth before returning to her husband Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash on Dashami.
Panaji, Oct 7 : Cooperative engagement is essential for promoting security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Indian Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba, said here on Friday.

The navy's consistent approach on maritime security is congruent to the government's SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) initiative for inclusive development, Lanba said while addressing the first Goa Maritime Symposium organised by the Naval War College.

He complimented the college on this initiative and presented awards to the graduating foreign officers of the maiden Regional Maritime Security Course. He urged them to take forward the knowledge gained and bonds developed during their stay at Goa to build a better and more secure future.

The symposium contributed majorly towards fostering a sense of maritime awareness that presupposes efficiency in cooperative mechanisms. It also brought out competing narratives and suggested road maps for the future including strengthening existing frameworks such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)- an Indian Navy initiative since 2008.
Kolkata, Oct 7 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday arrived on a five-day visit to West Bengal to celebrate Durga Puja at his ancestral house in Mirati in Birbhum district.

Mukherjee flew in a helicopter to his elder sister Annapurna Devi's house at Kirnahar town in the afternoon amid tight security.

The President has for years taken up the priest's role during puja in his household at Mirati.

Mukherjee is also scheduled to inaugurate a new military station at Baharampur in Murshidabad district, besides attending a felicitation programme at Birbhum district headquarters Suri on Saturday.

At Suri, he will also formally rechristen a road after his freedom fighter father Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee.

On Sunday, he will launch a health awareness programme, before returning to Delhi on Tuesday.

In the wake of the tension on the country's western border, security has been beefed up for the President, a police officer said.

Interacting with the media on his arrival, Mukherjee said he will meet commoners and old acquaintances during his sojourn, as he had done in previous years.

"I extend my best wishes to all on the occasion of Durga Puja," said Mukherjee.
Lucknow, Oct 7 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday appointed Swati Singh, wife of its expelled leader Daya Shankar Singh, as the chief of its Uttar Pradesh unit's women wing.

Party spokesman Chandra Mohan told the media that state party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya had appointed Swati Singh to the post while naming Kaushal Kishore, the MP from Mohanlalganj, as the chief of the SC/ST Morcha and Haider Abbad Chand as the minority wing head.

Swati Singh's appointment however came as a surprise as she is not a political person and only shot to limelight after her husband was expelled from the party some months back after he made objectionable remarks of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati.

Later when during a protest rally by BSP workers in Lucknow, when some senior leaders made some uncharitable remarks about their minor daughter, she took Mayawati on and castigated her for allowing apartment go unpunished even when they used the most foul language for a child, who had nothing to do with the ongoing spat.

She got wide support from the people. Swati Singh also filed a complaint with the police against the Dalit leader and her party men, after which a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences was slapped on BSP state chief Ram Achal Rajbhar and some others.

The BJP is likely to use her as a potent ammunition against the BSP chief in the forthcoming state assembly polls, scheduled for early next year.
New Delhi, Oct 8 : The cases of acid attacks is an issue which should be addressed by the Home Ministry and not Women and Child Development, minister Maneka Gandhi said.

She was speaking here on Friday at the launch of the Hindi book "Acid Wali Ladki" by Pratibha Jyoti.

On being asked by one of the acid attack survivors, as to why the government was not doing anything to monitor acid attacks, the Women and Child Development (WCD) minister said: "This doesn't come under my ministry. It is for the Home Ministry to address the issue. I will definitely try for solutions."

"It makes me extremely angry when I hear of such cases. The vulgarity of such actions is frightening. After the 16 December case, laws have been made more stringent," she said.

"I unfortunately don't have solutions to this major issue. Thus, I can't offer anything. But I look forward to suggestions from survivors and the author. If you all can suggest something, I'd definitely want to contribute," she added.

Also present at the occasion, Manipur Governor Najam Heptullah said: "A strict law for acid attacks, carrying punishment of life imprisonment, needs to be drafted. In such cases verdict should be given immediately by the court."

The author Pratibha Jyoti, a journalist by proffesion, said her book has nothing to do with the skill of writing and is aimed to address the major issue of acid attacks widespread in the country.

Explaining the title, she said, "it is shameful to know that people recognise these girls as 'Acid wali ladki' (the girl who was attacked with acid). The identity of a woman is taken away from her after such accidents."

The book is soon going to be translated and released in English.
Firms look to cash-in with e-wallets Updated: 2016-10-07 07:45 By Cecily Liu and Zhao Siyuan(China Daily Europe)

WeChat and Alipay plan European expansion, but UnionPay's success could prove a challenge

When 19-year-old Chen Yixin came to the United Kingdom for a four-week holiday in August, she was surprised by the limited availability of online and mobile payment options she could use while shopping.

Apart from Bicester Village, a retail outlet near Oxford, and a few expensive shops such as Harrods, she could hardly use her China UnionPay card, meaning she had to use her Visa credit card, which has less-favorable exchange rates, or cash.

Consumers wait for tax reimbursement at the service center of a shopping mall in Paris. European cities such as London and Paris are hot destinations for Chinese tourists but they find the options for payment are limited. Provided to China Daily

Those payment options are different from her shopping habits in China, where she hardly ever carries a wallet, instead making most purchases using WeChat or Alipay, two of China's biggest payment apps, similar to Applepay.

WeChat, developed by internet giant Tencent, and Alibaba Group's Alipay, are frequently used in China for their convenience and reputation for efficient and safe payment. UnionPay is a alliance of Chinese banks, much like Visa or Mastercard, that allows customers to use their cards to pay for goods and services at partner retailers and hotels abroad.

"I was surprised that payment options in the UK are so limited, and I think my holiday experience would improve if I could use WeChat and Alipay," Chen says.

The inconvenience Chen experienced was shared by many of the 12.5 million Chinese tourists who visited Europe last year, and Alipay sees this as an opportunity to expand. Last month, Alipay signed a deal with InterContinental Hotels Group that means its service will be available in IHG's more than 5,000 properties worldwide in a few years. Also this year, the Chinese company forged an alliance with German banking software company Wirecard to offer mobile payment services to Chinese tourists in Germany.

Alipay, which is run by Alibaba's financial affiliate, Ant Financial Services Group, has expanded rapidly in the Chinese mainland, where the company says it has 450 million active users, representing an estimated 80 percent of the nation's mobile payments market.

"With IHG's extensive global footprint, this strategic collaboration will help Alipay reach out to more customers, especially Chinese customers as they travel around the world," says Sabrina Peng, vice-president of Ant Financial.

"As China's leading online and mobile payment solution provider, Alipay aims to deliver convenient and flexible services to customers. We would like to provide 'a taste of home' for our users when they travel abroad."

Alipay also works with French payment processing firm Ingenico to allow European internet retailers to accept payments through Alipay's e-wallet. In addition, it will allow the Chinese company to accept payments from European customers with MasterCard, Visa and other cards who buy goods through various online marketplaces it runs, such as AliExpress.

Jeongwen Chiang, a professor of marketing at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, says Alipay's European expansion will benefit everybody involved, providing consumers with convenience and will act as a platform to gather data about consumer shopping habits, which in turn will aid retailers to develop more attractive products for Chinese customers.

Chiang says the biggest challenge for Alipay was to find reliable local partners in Europe, and to become familiar with different rules and regulations regarding payment collection.

Yet despite landmark deals in Europe, the convenience has yet to be felt by consumers such as Chen. "I was not told where I can use Alipay to make a purchase," she says.

An additional problem is the difficulty for Alipay to service older Chinese customers who are not accustomed to mobile payment, who encounter payment challenges because the signature systems of Chinese credit cards are often incompatible with the European chip and pin systems.

A Chinese tourist surnamed Zhang in his 60s from Heilongjiang province, who was visiting the UK last month, says his credit card could not be used in Morrisons, a major British supermarket.

"The cashier didn't know how to work the signature system and called the manager. The payment failed the first time and worked the second time. The process was long, and I was worried because of the failed initial payment," says Zhang, who did not want to give his first name.

He says he hopes there can be a compatible system, but he is not interested in using WeChat or Alipay as he does not use mobile payment in China.

Zhang's reluctance represents the challenge that novel online payment tools face.

Cui Zhijian, an associate professor of operations management at IE Business School in Spain, says it is difficult for such companies to market their payment platforms to Europeans, not least because of the success of UnionPay in Europe.

"Most Chinese outbound tourists will just use UnionPay to purchase products when they go abroad, therefore Alipay's European expansion is in direct competition with UnionPay," Cui says.

Contact the writers at cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page7)
Stretching beyond the usual competency level across related domains and adopting the best practices of our collaborative initiatives with the top tech powerhouses - these are the major differentiators that set Softeq apart.

Softeq Development Corp., a leading provider of full-stack development services for the connected world, has attained the top position on the Leaders Matrix of the most notable IoT development firms according to research by Clutch, a Washington, DC based B2B ratings and reviews firm.

The companies in the Matrix have been identified as Leaders based on a number of quantitative and qualitative factors employed by the Clutch analysts. For example, these factors include client feedback on how each service provider handles challenges, develops collaboration strategy, and customizes project execution. In addition, each companys market presence and level of experience in the IoT development domain was taken into account.

While finalizing the results of the research on the service providers capabilities in the IoT sector, Ricardo Real Preciado, a business analyst covering IoT and telecommunications for Clutch, noted that These leading companies have successfully developed complex projects for clients investing in connected devices and building IoT compatible applications.

With some of the most professional and mature Hardware, Embedded, Mobile, Web, and Desktop Solutions teams on board boasting extensive hands-on experience in end-to-end connected device implementation  from PCB design for a next-gen gadget to mobility solutions interacting with sensor-based devices relying on versatile data stored and processed on the web  Softeq has specifically taken a razor-sharp focus on fostering IoT expertise.

Just like many of the Wearables and IoT devices we develop, as a company we work really hard to monitor the real-time pulse of the latest technological innovations appearing on the market. This requires stretching beyond the usual competency level across related domains, as well as adopting the best practices of our collaborative initiatives with the worlds leading technology powerhouses. These are the major differentiators that set Softeq apart, said Christopher A. Howard, Softeqs Founder and CEO. Were sincerely thankful to our clients who provide the extra impetus for our team to meet the ever-increasing demand for delivering cutting-edge connected tech for todays highly digitized world.

About Clutch

A B2B ratings and reviews firm in the heart of Washington, DC, Clutch connects you with the agencies and software solutions that can help you enhance your business and meet your goals. Our methodology maps agencies and software solutions based on consumer reviews, the type of services offered, and quality of work.

About Softeq

Headquartered in Houston, TX, Softeq Development Corporation is a full stack developer of Wearable and IoT solutions: from hardware design to web infrastructure and apps. Softeq has been serving the world's top innovators  from startups to large and Fortune 500 companies worldwide since 1997, including Nike, EPSON, Intel, Microsoft, AMD, NVIDIA, Lenovo, and Disney, among others. More at http://www.softeq.com.
Novant Health is dedicated to enhancing our wellness culture across our system.

For the second year in a row, Novant Health has been recognized as one of the 2016 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America, a national awards program that honors the best of the best in workplace wellness.

Were honored that Novant Health is ranked 82 out of 100 in the 2016 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America, said Janet Smith-Hill, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Novant Health. Our comprehensive wellness program and dedication toward improving the health of our team members has positioned us as a top employer in the nation.

More than 5,000 organizations completed the Healthiest Employer Strategic Wellness Assessment in order to be considered for the Healthiest 100 Award. The Healthiest 100 Award measures employers across six key values: Vision, Culture and Engagement, Learning, Expertise, Metrics and Technology.

Year after year, we see strong growth and continued investment in worksite wellness programs, noted Rod Reasen, CEO of Springbuk, the scoring engine behind the national Healthiest Employer Awards Program. These 100 organizations are the best of the best. Their efforts are improving the health of their workforce and community.

Novant Health offers team members a variety of wellness programs, resources and incentives, including healthier cafes, wellness challenges, webinars and open access to primary care providers within the same day, if necessary. Novant Health also has enhanced its incentive program to expand preventive screening options, increase award amounts for meeting biometric targets and give rewards for using wearable device technology to track activity and nutrition. As a result, in 2015, Novant Health team members earned $10.3 million for their health care needs through the organizations wellness incentive program, MotivateMe.

Today, building a culture of wellness means that employers have to focus on all aspects of health, including physical, mental, spiritual and even financial health. At Novant Health we offer traditional benefit plans but also innovative benefits to help recruit and maintain a healthy workforce, said Smith-Hill. Its about delivering an experience that brings value to team members. Were dedicated to enhancing our wellness culture across our system.

Additional information on award criteria and selection process is available at http://www.Healthiest100.com.

About Novant Health

Novant Health is an integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient facilities and hospitals that delivers a seamless and convenient healthcare experience to communities in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Named in 2016 by Beckers Hospital Review as one of the nations 150 best places to work in healthcare, Novant Health consists of more than 1,380 physicians and nearly 24,000 employees and provides care at 530 locations, including 14 medical centers and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the health system serves more than 4 million patients annually and in 2015 provided more than $706 million in community benefit, including charity care and services. Diversity MBA has recognized the organization as one of the 50 best places for women and managers of diverse background to work. Novant Health provides care in Virginia under the joint operating company, Novant Health UVA Health System.

For more information, please visit our website at NovantHealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
WorkRails, the first software platform to make professional services accessible from within enterprise cloud applications, announces today that the company has raised $2.3 million dollars. The seed round was led by Boldstart Ventures and includes funding from Lerer Hippeau Ventures, BoxGroup, and Lattice Ventures. Eliot Durbin from Boldstart will be joining the Board of Directors. Founded in early 2016, WorkRails uniquely allows software companies to embed consulting access as an application feature, making it easy, scalable and profitable to offer professional services.

Millions of people use cloud-based enterprise applications to do their jobs. When the need arises to hire consultants and service professionals with application-specific expertise, it becomes a manual and time-intensive process to find, hire, and work with the right expert, says CEO and Co-Founder Jeffrey Leventhal. WorkRails provides embedded technology that more directly connects talent with the applications they service. Not only do I believe this will transform the $700 billion software-related professional services industry, but ultimately this will provide a more productive and seamless customer experience (CX) with experts accessible precisely when and where needed.

Central to WorkRails is the Talent Cloud, which provides application users with access to a company-curated network of consultants. The platform allows clients and consultants to collaborate in real time as they discuss, agree and work on projects. WorkRails also provides the functionality to track milestones, progress and budget, while providing insight and analytics on the most in-demand services and providers. WorkRails is currently in private beta with several top enterprise applications.

WorkRails is born from the vision of CEO Jeffrey Leventhal, an entrepreneur with a track record of building scalable IT and HCM SaaS companies. Jeff was most recently the Founder and CEO of enterprise freelancer management platform Work Market, where he remains a Board Director. Prior to that, Mr. Leventhal founded OnForce (acquired by Adecco), Lansafe Network Services, Remote Lojix (acquired by AvTel Communications) and Spinback (acquired by Buddy Media/Salesforce.com).

Jeff Leventhals background and vision for transforming the technology professional services landscape is what initially drew us to WorkRails, states Taylor Green, Partner at Lerer Hippeau. WorkRails provides a much stronger engagement model for technology professional services, and we believe it will serve as the blueprint for the transformation of the professional services labor markets. The time is right for this idea, and Jeff and his team are the ones to make it happen.

For more information about WorkRails or to join the private beta, please visit http://workrails.com/.

About WorkRails: WorkRails is the first software platform to make professional services accessible from within enterprise cloud applications. The company launched in 2016 in private beta and is based in Huntington, NY.

About BOLDstart Ventures: BOLDstart Ventures is a first check investor for enterprise founders. Partners Ed Sim and Eliot Durbin have over 50 years of combined experience leading seed rounds in LivePerson, GoToMeeting (sold to Citrix), and Greenplum (sold to EMC). Founded in 2010, BOLDstart has backed over 50 enterprise startups like BigID, Security Scorecard, snyk.io, kustomer, catalytic, divide (sold to Google), goinstant (sold to salesforce), blaze (sold to Akamai), and rapportive (sold to LinkedIn). See more about us and our full portfolio @http://www.boldstart.vc and @boldstartvc.
Greater Dallas Planning Council announces that Sylvester Turner, mayor of Houston, delivered the keynote address at the GDPC Annual Luncheon on October 6, 2016. The topic was Smart Growth, Mobility, Resiliency, Public Policy and 21st Century City. The event was held at the Sheraton Hotel Dallas - Chaparral Ballroom at 400 North Olive Street, Dallas, Texas.

Our regional population is projected to grow by 4.2 million people between 2010 and 2040. This projection brings to light that this theme is particularly significant for North Texas, given the range of current and planned projects and the associated urban planning and public policy issues. Examples include Mobility Retail Development, TOD/Mixed Use, Logistics and Healthcare. Mayor Turner and his team in Houston are addressing similar issues as the 4th largest US city. Mayor Turner's policymaking experience at the state level and his speaking style made this a vibrant and informative keynote.

Mayor Sylvester Turner was elected mayor of Houston to serve a four-year term beginning January 4, 2016. He was born and raised in northwest Houston; his mother worked as a maid in the old Rice Hotel; his father worked as a painter for Continental Ensco and cut yards with his sons on the weekends to make extra money. The Turners raised nine children. Sylvester lost his father to cancer when he was 13 years old. His mother took over the household and, although she never finished high school or learned to drive, she ensured her children got an education and inspired them to achieve. In high school, Sylvester was elected president of the student body and graduated as valedictorian. Sylvester graduated from the University of Houston and Harvard Law School before joining the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski. He later founded the Houston law firm of Barnes & Turner in 1983. In 1988, Sylvester was elected to the Texas House of Representatives to serve the people of House District 139 in Northwest Houston. He served until his election as mayor, working on the House Appropriations Committee for 21 years and serving as Speaker Pro Tem for three terms. He was appointed to several budget conference committees to help balance the states budget and served on the Legislative Budget Board.

Gold sponsors of the event include Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, HNTB Corporation, Oncor Electric Delivery and Texas Central Partners. Silver sponsors are AECOM and Walter P Moore. Bronze sponsors are AGUIRRE RODEN, AIA Dallas, Arrendondo, Zepeda & Brunz, LLC, Cemetrics, Children's Health System of Texas, City of Dallas, City of Dallas - City Plan Commission, City of Frisco, City of Plano, Dahlberg Landscape Design Studio, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, DART, Halff Associates, HR&A Advisors, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., Regional Black Contractors Association, Task Force Co-chairs for Technology and Innovative Communities, Turner Construction, UTD Institute for Urban Policy Research and Winstead PC.

About Greater Dallas Planning Council

The mission of GDPC is to shape, promote and advocate a creative sustainable future for the Dallas region. Our membership is comprised of a diverse group of subject matter experts. Our goalto provide a forum for exploring and developing policies for the betterment of the greater Dallas areabenefits from this diversity. We have members representing both public and private sectors in the following areas: Planning, Engineering, Architecture, Economic, Environment, Communications and Community Representatives. Visit http://www.gdpc.org for more information.

For more information, contact Donna Hegdahl, Executive Director, at (972)717-3500 x222 or via e-mail at donna(at)transsynergy(dot)com.
StrucSure Home Warranty, one of the nation's leading new-home warranty providers, is proud to congratulate Tiffany Acree on receiving two Associate of the Year Awards in Texas.

Acree, StrucSures Senior Vice President of Sales, was recognized by two Texas Homebuilder Associations last week for her time, effort, and commitment to the Texas housing industry and the impact shes made as a result of her years of service to local builders and homebuilder associations.

On Thursday, September 29th, Acree was presented with the 2016 Rupert Pridemore Associate of the Year Award from the Greater Ft. Worth Builders Association. On Friday, September 30th, she was presented with the 2016 Associate of the Year Award from the Dallas Builders Association.

Tiffany has been one of the strongest supporters of the Greater Ft. Worth Builders Association, commented Kimberly Eaton-Pregler, GFWBA Executive Vice President. She has shared her time and talents with our organization year after year. She is a Life Director on our board, has served on our Executive Committee, and represents the GFWBA at the state level as well. We appreciate her dedication to our industry and our association.

Acree joined StrucSure in 2007 and has been involved in the new home warranty industry since 1994. She is highly involved in local homebuilder associations in Texas, has received multiple industry awards, and is a six-time member of StrucSure Home Warrantys Million Dollar Club (being the first employee to achieve million dollar producer status during 2011, and receiving that recognition every year thereafter).

Ms. Acree is a consummate sales professional that consistently raises the bar and achieves her goals, commented company CEO Jerry Thompson. The two Associate of the Year awards are well deserved and a testament to her hard work and dedication to the Texas homebuilding industry.

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About StrucSure Home Warranty

Since 1997, StrucSure Home Warranty has provided builders, remodelers, and contractors with warranty products that deliver peace of mind. Our warranties protect our clients from expensive claims, liabilities, and legal fees and offer their clients peace of mind through third-party warranty protection that is A-rated with additional reinsurance from Lloyds of London. Just like any risk management product, the hope is that you'll never need it, but when a problem emerges, you're glad you're covered!

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About StrucSure Risk Management Group

StrucSure Risk Management Group provides risk management products and services to businesses in various construction-related industries. Our family of companies includes StrucSure Home Warranty, LLC, StrucSure Insurance Services, Inc., Golden Insurance Company, RRG, and Four Points Re, SPC, Ltd. Together, these companies offer sophisticated financial and risk management services, including warranty programs, competitive insurance programs, insurance backing, and reinsurance and alternative financing vehicles.
Smart money Updated: 2016-10-07 07:45 By Meng Jing(China Daily Europe)

Chinese consumers drop cash and skip cards to create world's largest mobile payment market

Thomas Derksen, a German who has won fans online for a series of videos poking fun at everyday life in Shanghai, spent an entire day this summer shopping in a major Chinese city - without cash or a credit card.

The 24-hour adventure in Hangzhou, which was streamed live on the internet in August, saw Derksen ride a bus, buy a bouquet of flowers for his wife and even enjoy a street snack, all paid for using apps downloaded to his smartphone.

A billboard in a shopping center in Zhengzhou, Henan province, says people can pay in many ways, including through Alipay, UnionPay and WeChat. Photos Provided to China Daily A toll man collects highway fees in Ningbo, Jiangsu province, by scanning the QR code, which is a leading way of mobile payment in China.

Going out without cash is "something I couldn't imagine doing back home in Frankfurt", says Derksen, who lives in Shanghai and is known as A Fu among his Chinese fans.

After traveling to hundreds of cities in more than 30 countries, he believes Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province and home of internet giant Alibaba Group, is No 1 in terms of mobile payment. Statistics from the Hangzhou-headquartered Ant Financial Services Group, the operator of Alipay - China's largest mobile payment service provider - show that about 98 percent of supermarkets and more than 40,000 restaurants allow customers to pay with apps.

Hangzhou is not unique in China, though. In most cities, especially developed metropolises, mobile payment apps are now a part of everyday life.

A report in June by eMarketer, a research company in London, says China has the world's largest proximity mobile payment market, with an estimated 200 million people regularly paying for goods and services by tapping or swiping a smartphone, up 45.8 percent from last year.

Unlike in the United States and Europe, China does not have a strong credit card culture. In effect, the country has jumped directly from cash to mobile payment.

"The phenomenal opportunity for retailers is that smartphone users in China are more willing to store payment information in their phones and are more willing to experiment with other forms of noncash payments than users in most other countries," says Shelleen Shum, a forecast analyst at eMarketer.

A surging smartphone user base (it is forecast to reach 740 million in 2017), a booming e-commerce market, government policies to encourage the market, and an array of players including Alipay, WeChat, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay have led to a boom in China's mobile payment market, adds Zhi Ying Ng, an analyst at multinational management consultancy Forrester.

In addition, mobile payments mean companies can collect a massive amount of data from users, offline merchants can benefit from a lower-cost and more-efficient payment process, and users can enjoy a new level of convenience.

Speedy shopping

According to French supermarket chain Carrefour, on average a cashier spends 1 minute handling a standard payment at the checkout. Yet by using Alipay, which is operated by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial Services, the process can be shortened to 15 to 20 seconds.

"You can scan the QR code to pay or show the cashier your QR code on WeChat or Alipay. Within 1 second, the payment process can be completed," says shopper Guo Cuiling.

An Ipsos report in May showed almost 50 percent of mobile payment users live in first- or second-tier Chinese cities, with the average age 31.

Guo, 55, of Beijing, says she started using WeChat and Alipay to pay for her shopping in December, when the two services offered hundreds of millions yuan worth of subsidies to lure new users.

"It was complicated for me to link my bank card on WeChat, but as soon as my son helped me set it up it was very convenient to use," she says.

Data provided by Analysys, a Beijing internet consultancy, show overall transactions in China made by third-party payment solutions reached 5.97 trillion yuan ($895 billion; 797 billion euros) in the first quarter of this year, up 5.34 percent quarter-on-quarter.

More than 63 percent of transactions were made via Alipay, with 23 percent made via Tenpay, which is operated by internet company Tencent Holdings. Many of Tencent's payment services, such as WeChat payment and QQ payment, are based on Tenpay's technology.

Fang Fang, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers' Strategy&, says compared with other countries where near-filed communication technology-enabled mobile payment services, such as Apple and Samsung payment apps, are major players, in China, paying by scanning a QR code is the dominant method for mobile payments.

Alipay and WeChat, which both require users to scan QR codes at the point of sale, are established players, having spent hundreds of millions of yuan on discounts and cash-back offers to encourage customers to use their apps.

Fang considered the 300 million user base of Alipay and WeChat as huge advantage for the QR code payment to thrive in China.

In some way, NFC comes with better user experience. However, which method will eventually come out on top is yet to be seen.

Apple and Samsung's services, both launched in China this year, are based on near-field communication, technology that enables two electronic devices to "talk" by bringing them within a few centimeters of each other. However, which method will eventually come out on top is yet to be seen.

"The landscape of payment industry is changing rapidly. Paying by QR code is certainly leading the way in China right now, but one of the challenges in further development this method come from convincing more offline merchants in China to update their cashier systems to enable QR code payment," she says.

An estimated 1 million offline merchants in China allow payment by QR code. Meanwhile, about 15 million cash machines support payment by debit or credit card, and about 6 million support payment via near-field communication.

"The infrastructure for near-field communication payment is good," Fang says. "But as late movers, companies that provide NFC-enabled payment services really need to step up their efforts to help users form the habit of using such payments."

Attractive market

In addition to internet companies, banks and other companies, such as real estate developer Wanda Group, have made moves to expand into the mobile payment market.

Tang Kok San, country manager for Worldpay China, a payment processing company in London, says the battle for supremacy in the payment app market is just heating up.

"Never before has consumer choice been so broad," he says. "There's no doubt China's mobile payments space is getting bigger and more competitive."

The fierce competition, as well as the growing number of Chinese outbound tourists and their rising spending power, has prompted Chinese companies to look abroad for new growth momentum.

Eric Jing, president of Ant Financial, says the company aims to have 2 billion customers using Alipay in the next decade, with about 60 percent from outside China. However, he concedes that developing countries that are relatively weak in finance infrastructure offer more potential than developed regions.

Last year, Ant Financial invested in Paytm, one of India's largest digital transaction platforms, and since then the Indian company has seen its customer base grow by 22 million to more than 130 million users.

But Jing hasn't given up on his dream of cracking the West. He's pinning his hopes on convincing businesses in developed countries to allow Chinese travelers to select Alipay as their first-choice payment option.

"By changing the habits of Western businesses, we hope we can one day change consumers' habits, too," he says.

To seize the opportunities brought by China's National Day holiday (Oct 1 to 7), one of the most popular seasons for outbound travel, Ant Financial reached a deal in September with 10 overseas airports, including Munich, Singapore Changi, Narita International (Tokyo), to ensure Alipay is accepted there.

WeChat, and Baidu Wallet, which is run by search engine operator Baidu Inc, have also stepped up efforts to make sure Chinese tourists can use their apps in more shopping malls and airports overseas.

Li Chao, an analyst for iResearch Consulting Group, says the swelling number of Chinese outbound travelers and their spending power are only part of the reason companies are looking abroad.

"Intense competition has dragged down profits for digital payment services in China," he says. "Looking abroad is in line with their internationalization strategy and the goal to be more profitable. The best way to start is with Chinese outbound travelers."

However, Tang at Worldpay China says the European market is already crowded and there is a sense of "app fatigue" setting in among consumers, so it may take a while for WeChat and Alipay to reach similar heights in Europe and the United States.

"But these businesses can offer something new and unique to the app fragmentation that currently dominates mobile use in the West," he adds. "They have the potential to disrupt the status quo and fundamentally change the way social media platforms are used by consumers in these markets."

mengjing@chinadaily.com.cn

A woman pays for a subway ticket via Alipay in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Provided to China Daily

( China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page1)
As the annual National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange draws near, MBE magazine is ready to award several MBEs Who Rock at the 2nd Annual MBEs Who Rock! Awards Reception in Chicago, Illinois.

Based on the popular WBEs Who Rock contest held at the Women Business Entrepreneurs National Conference (WBENC) in Orlando, FL in June this year, the MBEs Who Rock contest follows a similar format, but this time includes both men and women minority business owners.

We are so excited to bring the contest back and look forward to awarding a new group of outstanding MBEs this October, says Barbara Oliver, publisher of MBE magazine.

The winners will be revealed at a Reception at 1871 on Saturday, October 22, 2016, 5:30pm-8pm.

While nominations have closed for this years events, Ms. Oliver, has stated that plans are being made to allow for year-round nominations for both contests, and forms will soon be available on the MBE website beginning in November. All companies and businesses which support minority-owned businesses and supplier diversity are invited to nominate an M/WBE business leader, who not only exceeds expectations in business or industry, but also supports their local communities and causes, for the 2017 WBEs Who Rock! and MBEs Who Rock! awards.

To RSVP for the MBEs Who Rock! Awards Reception in Chicago this October, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mbe-magazines-2016-mbes-who-rock-registration-28398618031

About MBE: Minority Business Entrepreneur (MBE) magazine is published bi-monthly by Enterprise Publishing Inc. and serves as a nationwide forum for minority and women business owners, corporations and government agencies concerned with minority and women business enterprise development. Founded in 1984 by Ginger Conrad, MBE magazine maintains a strong commitment to economic parity as a lasting solution to the ills of poverty and discrimination.

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Contact Information:

Barbara Oliver

http://www.mbemag.com

(310) 294-3780
I wanted to build a vehicle that was practical and something that we could drive to SEMA, said Brown.

RacingJunk is happy to announce that today, The Garage Shop in Catawba, NC launched Expedition SEMA: The Garage Shop tackles the Trans-America Trail in a 1970 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser. The 30 day trip will cover 4,000 miles of dirt roads in 11 states through the heart of America.

We have a passion for overland expedition driving, said Aaron Brown, Owner of The Garage Shop. We have driven Moab, Engineer Pass, the Jarbidge Mountains and more.

In 2015, the Garage Shop built Project 39, the Worlds Fastest Rat Rod. Project 39 is street legal and broke seven East Coast Timing Association records at the Ohio Mile.

While in Las Vegas for SEMA 2015, Brown devised the idea to create a vehicle that would test products to the fullest in some of the harshest conditions in America, from the high peaks to deserts, farmland and everything in between. The team will sleep in tents each night and eat only the food they bring with them and can fit into the FJ40. Its the ultimate man and machine expedition across America.

The Garage Shop wanted to create a project that would help to rediscover the backroads and small towns of America, coast to coast. What better way to do that than on the Trans-America Trail, which stretches from Central North Carolina to Las Vegas, NV? Expedition SEMA will trek across dirt roads in 11 states including North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

I wanted to build a vehicle that was practical and something that we could drive to SEMA, said Brown. Were going to drive the FJ40 Land Cruiser nearly 4,000 miles on dirt roads and straight into SEMA, no washing, no waxing, no cleaning, nothing. Exactly like it came off the trail, even if the fenders are falling off.

The Trans-America Trail (TAT) is a transcontinental, coast to coast route across the United States. It is designed for Dual Sport and Adventure Bike motorcycles. It consists mostly of dirt roads, logging roads, fire roads, farm roads, unimproved roads, and back paved roads.

For more information on The Garage Shop, please visit their Facebook page The Garage Shop. Look for Project 39 in the RacingJunk.com booth at SEMA 2016.

The Garage Shop and Expedition SEMA would like to thank its following partners: Adams Driveshaft, Bilstein Shock Absorbers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions LLC, C&R Racing, Dick Cepek Tires and Wheels, Impact Racing, Magellan GPS, Mastercraft Safety, Mile Marker Winch, NightSun4x4, PAC Racing Springs,Painless Performance Products, Performance Distributors, Pro-Systems Carburetors, QuietRide Solutions, Raceline Wheels, Team Raceline, RacingJunk.com Classifieds, Safety-Kleen, SRI Performance, Steve Allen Racing Engines, StopTech and Torq-Masters Industries. Without their support, this would not be possible; thank you.
Veritone, Inc., a leading cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology company pioneering the first Cognitive Media Platform (CMP), announced today that it has partnered with VoiceBase, Inc., a highly scalable speech recognition and speech analytics API platform. This collaboration is expected to add new speech recognition capabilities to Veritones growing list of cognitive engines.

Speech recognition allows users of Veritones CMP to accurately, quickly and affordably identify words and phrases in customer interactions to build custom predictive solutions found in historical and transactional data. Identifying these patterns enables users of VoiceBases cognitive engine to identify and optimize opportunities and risks.

VoiceBases contribution to Veritones CMP is central to our machine learning capabilities, allowing us to analyze recorded audio with unprecedented granularity, said Chad Steelberg, Chairman and CEO of Veritone. Their highly accurate transcription quickly recognizes specific words being spoken in a recording that can transform audio into actionable intelligence. Finding relationships and trends between words provides insight that was previously extremely difficult to extract, giving our customers an edge over their competitors, added Steelberg.

Veritone is leading a new wave of AI that is changing multiple industries and its CMP allows businesses of all kinds to search across audio and video as others have done for search through text. This game-changing technology allows Veritone to expand its international footprint as a leading AI analytics, search and predictive solution for media firms, corporate enterprise, political campaigns and government. Veritones innovative AI platform renders every second and frame of audio and video content searchable for voice identification, objects, faces, license plates, logos, phrases, sentiment and translation, plus additional capabilities that continue to evolve.

About Veritone, Inc.

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, Veritone, Inc. is a leading cloud-based Artificial Intelligence media technology company pioneering the worlds first Cognitive Media Platform (CMP), an ecosystem that enables media, enterprise, politics, corporate security and government to extract value from the intelligence embedded in the worlds public and private media audio and video content, which comprises the majority of all global data produced each year. Founded in 2014, Veritone has already won several of the industrys most prestigious awards including the 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America Award and the 2016 SIIA Business Technology CODiE Award for Best Native Advertising Platform or Service. Veritone was founded by serial entrepreneurs and brothers, Chad and Ryan Steelberg. The duo have a successful track record in identifying new market opportunities, creating disruptive technology-based companies and leading them to successful exits for their stakeholders. To learn more about how Veritone seeds the cloud, visit http://www.veritone.com.

About VoiceBase

VoiceBase provides easy-to-use APIs that automatically transcribe audio and video, extract relevant keywords and topics and enable the instant search and discovery of spoken information. Every month VoiceBase processes millions of recordings that allow users to access and analyze rich data from call centers, conference calls, webinars, educational lectures, podcasts and videos. VoiceBase is privately held, and has raised over $20 million dollars. They are based in San Francisco, California. Visit http://www.voicebase.com to request a demo and learn more.

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Military Park: Newark, NJ The Newark Walks trail is a creative way to introduce residents and visitors to Newarks fascinating history, as well as some of the exciting new development under way. --John Strangfeld, Prudential Chairman and CEO.

Today, Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Prudential Financial Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld unveiled Newark Walks, a walking trail through downtown Newark that explores the citys rich 350 years of history and culture. Chairman of the Newark 350 Initiative Junius Williams, representatives from the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City Council, local residents and workers joined in the celebration. The collection of 83 points of interest, outlined in the Newark Walks app (found in the Apple Store or Google Play Store) and spread between 53 locations in downtown Newark, showcases architecture, historic people and places, monuments, and artistic and cultural attractions.

The 5K trail boasts several historical points of interest including Newark Arts High School, the first visual and performing arts high school in the country, whose graduates include Sarah Vaughan, Savion Glover and Melba Moore; The Hahne & Co. Building, Newarks first department store and future home of the Citys first Entrepreneur Center; Krueger Mansion, the most elaborate mansion ever built in Newark and future home of the states first micro-manufacturing facility; Military Park, a campsite for General Washingtons army that was renovated in 2014 to include movies, yoga, free Wi-Fi and childrens activities; and WBGO, one of the first school-board operated radio stations in the nation, now a jazz radio station that offers syndicated programming 24/7.

Newark Walks is the most recent demonstration of our commitment to make Newark a walkable city, said Mayor Ras J. Baraka. This 5K pathway throughout downtown Newark shows off many of our historic landmarks, and when used in conjunction with the mobile app, shares fun facts about the City with people as they walk the trail. We are grateful to our partners at the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau and Prudential for helping to make this trail a reality.

Newark Walks is currently open to the public. It is made possible through a $300,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation and is the result of collaboration among Newark natives, residents, city officials, businesses, as well as educational and cultural organizations.

"The Newark Walks trail is a creative way to introduce residents and visitors to Newarks fascinating history, as well as some of the exciting new development under way," said John Strangfeld, Prudential Chairman and CEO. "All of us at Prudential are very proud to support the trail and the celebration of the citys 350th anniversary. We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with our neighbors in Newark, as we work together to ensure the city is a rewarding place to both live and work."

Newark Walks is one of several initiatives launched in celebration of the Citys 350th anniversary. In addition to highlighting the Citys gems, the trail presents a great opportunity to keep the people of Newark healthy. The mobile app for this 5K route provides users with information about the sites, as well as fitness-related facts such as distance walked and calories burned. Educators and parents will also enjoy the apps scavenger hunt and 350 trivia-question contest, created by local college students.

The Newark Walks 5K Trail will engage users experientially while they explore the citys rich history. We expect Newark Walks to increase pride of place among those who live and/or work here, and increased regard for the city among visitors. The Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau is grateful to The Prudential Foundation for providing the support that made Newark Walks a reality, said Cathleen Lewis, Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau Board Chair.

-NEWARK-

Click here for high resolution images.

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website : http://www.ci.newark.nj.us

To visit the City of Newarks official photo galleries: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newarkpressoffice/sets

About Prudential Financial, Inc.: Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of June 30, 2016, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prudentials diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudentials iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.prudential.com.

About the Greater Newark Convention & Visitors Bureau: The GNCVB is a private 501(c) (6) New Jersey, non-profit corporation funded by Newarks hotels. As a Tourism Improvement District, the GNCVB creates economic growth in Newark and local jobs for Newarkers by:



Increasing the number of overnight visitors staying at Newarks hotels

Increasing the length of the average overnight stay

Increasing per capita spending by hotel guests at Newarks restaurants and attractions

The GNCVB Board of directors is composed of local hoteliers, tourism professionals and key cultural and civic leaders.
If youre Asian American or white applying to college or graduate school, you are screwed with a capital S.

Vijay Jojo Chokal-Ingam, the author of Almost Black, urges Americans of all races to be wary of voting for Hillary Clinton, who he thinks will further Americas racial divide by promoting affirmative action.

If youre Asian American or white applying to college or graduate school, said Chokal-Ingam. You are screwed with a capital S, and you can thank the Clinton and Obama administrations for that.

"Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton promoted racial preferences in university admissions that discriminate against Asian American and white applicants," elaborates Chokal-Ingam. The discrimination is so bad that I had to pose as black to get into medical school." Chokal-Ingam documented his experiences in recent book, Almost Black, to help people understand how affirmative action impacts their chances of admission.

Despite a pitifully low 3.1 GPA, Chokal-Ingam became a serious contender at some of the most prestigious schools in America, including Yale, Columbia, Case Western and the University of Pennsylvania. He experienced first-hand how universities will compromise their admissions standards, state residency requirements, and other recruitment criteria simply to fill their unofficial racial quotas under affirmative action.

Even put in todays perspective, a medical school applicant with Chokal-Ingam's 3.1 GPA and 31 MCAT has an acceptance rate of 75.5% as black, but only 18.1% as Asian, according to official data published by the American Association of Medical Colleges (2013-2015). Its much harder for an Asian American to get into a competitive university than an African American with the same GPA and test scores.

Chokal-Ingam has been a long-time activist against the discriminatory affirmative action policies. While studying at the University of Chicago, Chokal-Ingam led protests against President William Jefferson Clintons 1999 visit to the school, posting fliers and rallying students to demonstrate. At the graduation ceremony, Chokal-Ingam and many of his classmates refused to shake hands with Bill Clinton. I was protesting against Clintons support for affirmative action racism against Asian Americans and whites in admissions, explains Chokal-Ingam. Continuing her husbands racist policies, Hillary Clinton has publically endorsed the Supreme Courts recent Fisher decision legalizing racial preferences.

However, Chokal-Ingam believes that Asian Americans and whites are not the only victims of racial preferences. He adds, Hillary Clintons racist affirmative action policies create negative stereotypes about blacks and Hispanics, by making it seem like they cant compete.

Vijay Chokal-Ingams has a clear message for voters. Stop racial discrimination. Defeat Hillary Clinton. If youre Asian American or white, dont wait until your kid gets a rejection letter from the college of their dreams. And if youre black or Hispanic, Hillary Clinton will make sure you carry the stigma of affirmative action for the rest of your life.

Chokal-Ingam and his team are rolling out advertisements to educate swing voters about Hillary Clintons support for racist affirmative action policies in key battleground states.
The Parker Avery Group is a boutique strategy and management consulting firm. Our partnership capitalizes on the strengths of both companies, enabling retailers and CPG companies to achieve meaningful business results.

The Parker Avery Group and Antuit jointly announce the creation of a strategic partnership to enhance client adoption of and return on investment from advanced retail analytics solutions.

The partnership combines Parker Avery's retail strategy, implementation, change management and project management experience with Antuit's domain and analytics expertise, most notably in the areas of predictive analytics and pricing for retailers. Antuit's acquisition of Prognos in 2015 deepened the company's retail analytics and pricing capabilities.

Retailers are challenged to leverage increasing amounts of data with advanced analytics solutions to compete more effectively, become more customer-centric and improve overall margins. Parker Avery and Antuit have a solid history of leading projects to improve these critical retail competencies.

"Our combined focus is helping retailers to improve their financial, allocation and replenishment planning by generating a single enterprise demand signal across the organization," said Sam Iosevich, Managing Principal at Antuit. "This analytical foundation also provides the basis for better pricing decisionsfrom dynamic pricing to promotions to markdown optimizationallowing retailers to positively impact margin and inventory turns."

"Antuit's extensive experience in retail and CPG, coupled with Parker Avery's deep industry and consulting expertise, provides a solid foundation for our clients to adopt innovative practices and truly realize the benefits of advanced analytics," said Clay Parnell, Parker Avery's President and Managing Partner. "Our partnership capitalizes on the strengths of both companies, enabling retailers and CPG companies to achieve meaningful business results."

About The Parker Avery Group

The Parker Avery Group is a boutique strategy and management consulting firm focused on the retail industry. The firm's professionals serve as trusted advisors to leading retail and apparel brands. Parker Avery specializes in merchandising, planning, supply chain and omnichannel business models, integrating customer insights and the digital retail experience with strategy, solution implementation and operational improvements to achieve retail business objectives. To find out more about the firm's services and industry thought leadership, please email contact(at)parkeravery(dot)com or visit http://www.parkeravery.com.

About Antuit

Antuit is a global analytics company that powers faster, smarter decision-making. Its Decision Engines help clients target, measure and improve mission-critical business metrics and generate demonstrable ROI. This innovative Decision Engines framework features three components: proprietary analytical algorithms enable world-class data scientists and domain experts to unearth the deep insights hidden in data; well-defined methodologies and tools help clients move from data to decisions in a predictable, scalable manner; and strategic visualization provides clarity on the business impacts of decisions. Leading retail, financial services, industrial and CPG brands choose Antuit to solve their most pressing business problems. Founded in 2013 and backed by Goldman Sachs, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Auckland, Melbourne, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune. Visit http://www.antuit.com to learn more.
Brett Sharp, chief financial officer of CloudOne, will be honored by Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. as one of its finalists for the 13th annual Indys Best and Brightest event presented by KPMG LLP. An awards program and reception to be held on Wed., Nov. 9, 2016 will honor 100 of central Indianas most outstanding young professionals, age 40 and under, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. All 100 finalists will receive an award and the winners in 10 different categories will be announced.

Sharp has been an instrumental part of CloudOnes executive team since joining the company in 2015, helping the company build and shape its long-term financial model, accounting systems and internal controls. He spearheaded the initiative to collaborate with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and Fishers Economic Development Commission to relocate the companys global headquarters and has been instrumental in keeping CloudOne growing at warp speed.

Bretts ability to lead with integrity truly embodies the core values and culture of CloudOne. We are honored to join Junior Achievement in recognizing Brett as an up and coming talent and next generation leader in our community, said John McDonald, CEO of CloudOne.

The Best and Brightest event was created by Junior Achievement to recognize up and coming talent and the next generation of leaders in our community. Finalists in each category are judged on professional accomplishments, civic contributions, character, and leadership qualities. The finalists to be honored at the event are listed at http://www.indysbestandbrightest.org.

About CloudOne

CloudOne is an IoT Solution Enabler that connects your data across your business. Through a combination of technology & services, our team of experts partner with you to assemble, deploy, manage and advance your ideal Internet of Things solution in a secure, virtual private cloud. For more information, visit http://www.oncloudone.com or follow CloudOne on Twitter (@OnCloudOne) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OnCloudOne).

About Junior Achievement of Central Indiana

Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. (JACI), in partnership with the business and education communities, empowers young people to own their future success. JA educates and inspires young people in the areas of career exploration, work readiness, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and philanthropy through hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for children in preschool through high school.
We are not only thankful for the donation BedMart has made to Albertina Kerr, but we appreciate their continued support in helping us better the lives of the individuals living in our group homes, Jeff Carr, Albertina Kerr

BedMart Mattress Superstores Portland, OR BedMart, the largest family owned and operated mattress retailer in Oregon announces its third annual donation of Tempur-Pedic mattresses to Oregon families in need. In 2013, BedMart Mattress Superstores donated over $105,000 worth of product to Albertina Kerr to support their 47 group homes. This year BedMart will donate $128,000 worth of product at the 2016 donation event.

On October 26th, BedMart will donate 128 mattresses to Albertina Kerr, an organization dedicated to serving Oregons most vulnerable families and communities. In addition to the high quality Tempur-Pedic mattresses, BedMart will also provide complimentary mattress protectors from GBS Enterprises to help support the work of Albertina Kerr.

One of Oregons most admired non-profits, 109 year-old Albertina Kerr strengthens Oregon families and communities by helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, empowering them to live richer lives. We are not only thankful for the donation BedMart has made to Albertina Kerr, but we appreciate their continued support in helping us better the lives of the individuals living in our group homes, said Jeff Carr, Albertina Kerr CEO. With this donation, we will be able to replace a significant number of the beds in these homes.

BedMart is pleased to partner with Albertina Kerr and contribute to their mission to provide resources and other items for stabilizing individuals and families in need. The BedMart family is proud to contribute to an organization that positively impacts lives in the community , says Elana Stone, Vice President and Spokeswoman of BedMart Mattress Superstores. We want everyone in the community to sleep well and its our goal that this donation will help several individuals at Albertina Kerr.

The donation event will take place at the BedMart Headquarters in Wilsonville at 9:30 a.m on October 26th.

BedMart Headquarters: 10200 SW Commerce Circle, Wilsonville OR, 97070

About Albertina Kerr

Albertina Kerr has provided nurturing and caring experiences in the lives of vulnerable children and youth through our programs and services since 1907. Today, Albertina Kerrs services reach 2,200 children, adults, and families annually. Albertina Kerrs programs are unique in Oregon, providing mental health treatment to children and youth struggling to function at home, at school, or in the community. Albertina Kerr also provides a wide range of services designed to support adults with developmental disabilities, providing skills training and support for community involvement in group homes and day service programs. Albertina Kerrs Childrens Developmental Health Services provides specialized diagnosis and treatment to young children with developmental delays and challenges.

About BedMart Mattress Superstores

BedMart is a locally owned and family operated business serving Portland, Bend, and Salem Oregon. Since 1992, we have been offering our customers the best selection of mattresses at the best price. We offer an extensive line of mattresses and accessories including innerspring, memory foam, latex, allergy friendly, and natural mattresses, bed protectors, and pillows available. Our professionally trained sleep experts are here to assist you in finding the right mattress for your body and budget.
You are in a room of people who have built amazing places to work, so naturally it is an incredible crowd.

The Los Angeles Business Journal, one of the nations most respected business-centric trade magazines, has released its annual Top 20 Places to Work in LA awards for 2016. This year, revolutionary financing provider Currency has placed among the Top 20 medium-sized employers for the first time since jumping up in size after last years listing.

Each year, the Los Angeles Business Journal releases their Best Places to Work list in order to highlight organizations dedicated to creating an inspiring, supportive and empowering atmosphere for employees and executives. Currencys Head of Recruitment, Jordan Weber attended the LABJ ceremony on behalf of the organization to accept the award.

"The event is always inspiring, said Weber. You are in a room of people who have built amazing places to work, so naturally it is an incredible crowd."

The LABJ Best Places to Work in LA Awards are determined by a set of criteria used to determine the overall experience of working at a company. The ratings are determined by combining the results of anonymous surveys of employees with an in-depth analysis of company culture, training methods, compensation, benefits, corporate activities and incentives, and more.

Though this is Currencys first year competing in the medium-sized business category of the Top Places to Work in LA, the financing and lending company is no stranger to Los Angeles Business Journals annual collection of the best places to work in the area. In fact, this is the fourth consecutive year in which Currency has placed among the Top 20 in its category, receiving honors for the previous three years in the small-business category.

"Currency has an A+ team of sharp, innovative individuals who come together in collaboration. That's why we are one of the best places to work in LA the people. Jordan Weber, Currency Representative

Based in Los Angeles, California, Currency is the fastest growing financial services firm in the nation, providing efficient and straightforward business financing solutions through technological innovation. Currencys team roles are exceptionally diverse and include analysts, sales teams, marketing specialists, financial modeling experts, developers, and executives with decades of experience.
VCA West Coast Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital opening Our new multi-specialty VCA West Coast Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital is a vital community asset that serves the needs of referring veterinarians and pet owners

VCA West Coast Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital celebrated its grand opening by inviting the public to an educational fun-filled day of family activities at its newly-opened specialty hospital on Saturday, October 1, 2016. For the past three years, design and construction has been underway on Orange Countys most technologically advanced animal medical center conveniently located off the I-405 at 18300 Euclid Street in Fountain Valley.

Our new multi-specialty VCA West Coast Specialty and Emergency Animal Hospital is a vital community asset that serves the needs of referring veterinarians and pet owners by offering the most progressive specialty and emergency care, said Art Antin, Chief Operating Officer for VCA Animal Hospitals. We are pleased to welcome so many community members who helped us celebrate this milestone opening.

In addition to tours of the 25,000 square-foot facility and the opportunity to meet the hospitals professional healthcare team of specialists and emergency doctors, the open house featured a formal ribbon cutting ceremony with the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce and local elected officials. The full roster of activities included K-9 demonstrations by the Fountain Valley Police Department; search and rescue demonstration by the California Rescue Dog Association; and an exotic animal presentation and display by Prehistoric Pets. Guests had the chance to learn about pet CPR and how preventative nutrition can keep pets healthy.

Complimentary refreshments, food trucks and many fun activities for youngsters, including a photo booth, face painting and music by a DJ, made for an exciting and educational open house event for the whole family.

The new VCA West Coast hospital offers specialized care, diagnostics and treatment, including internal medicine, surgery, oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, neurology, cardiology, dentistry, critical care, and 24/7 emergency care for dogs and cats.

It also features the most advanced technology for the benefit of every pets diagnosis and treatment, including:

64-slice CT scanner that allows for improved image quality and speed. Its quicker, clearer and helps veterinarians provide more precise treatments.

1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most powerful MRI being used for veterinary patients. High-field MRI produces clearer images in less time to provide more accurate diagnosis with less need for anesthesia.

Varian Triology Linear Accelerator is at the cutting edge of veterinary cancer therapy and can be used to deliver the widest range of external beam radiotherapy for cancer and neurosurgical treatments.

At the heart of our new hospitals advanced care services are its board-certified veterinary specialists, who have access to extensive medical resources, including the VCA knowledge base, which allows our doctors to tap into the collected knowledge of over 3,500 VCA veterinarians nationwide, said J. Michael Walters, DVM, MS, DACVECC, VCA West Coast co-medical director. Our goal is to deliver the highest quality patient care from our newest referral and emergency hospital in Orange County.

About VCA Animal Hospitals

VCA Animal Hospitals operates more than 650 small animal veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. The hospitals are staffed by more than 3,500 fully qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians to give pets the very best in medical care, of which over 400 are board-certified specialists who are experts in areas such as Oncology, Cardiology, Emergency & Critical Care, and Surgery for animals. VCA Animal Hospitals provides a full range of general practice services to keep pets well and specialized treatments when pets are ill. For more information on VCA West Coast, please visit http://www.vcawestcoast.com.
Convicts get sage advice to keep them straight Updated: 2016-10-07 07:45 By Zhang Yi(China Daily Europe)

"If we incite people to do good by issuing decrees and meting out punishment, all we shall do is create those who fear the stick rather than those who revere doing right; but if we lead people on a just path with morality, we will breed a people imbued with an awareness of shame and they will submit themselves to governance."

Although those words were uttered by the Chinese sage Confucius about 2,500 years ago, they still have great resonance today, especially for the inmates of Yunhe prison in Shandong province.

In the past 24 years, more than 3,200 prisoners have "graduated" from the Yunhe Confucius Distance Learning College, which offers courses that expound the sage's philosophy and are designed to rehabilitate offenders and prepare them for life outside prison. So far, about 1,000 of the graduates have found work in the low-end technology sector.

Liu Fengguang, a professor of Confucianism at Qufu Normal University, gives a lecture on Confucius' teachings to inmates at Yunhe prison in 2011. Photos Provided to China Daily

The college has distilled the basic concepts of the philosophy into 14 classes, one for each of the known works of Confucius, and it takes about two years to complete the entire course of study. The emphasis is placed firmly on restoring the inmates' sense of right and wrong.

The prison college, established in 1992, was the first of its kind in China. In addition to lectures by prison officers and online classes, Confucian scholars from across the country are invited to visit the prison once a month and teach classes for three days.

"If the prisoners sit around without doing anything, they are likely to get into fights. The idea of providing higher education was the result of a debate about how to make the best use of their time," says Liu Dengcai, the prison's deputy governor.

Although the Confucius teaching project has won plaudits from educationalists and penal experts, when the founders decided to turn their idea into reality, they had a hard time persuading institutions to provide teachers.

"The teachers feared the prisoners would be unwilling to learn anything they taught," Liu says.

Having discussed the idea with a number of colleges and universities in Shandong, Liu and his colleagues eventually decided to work with Qufu Normal University, which provided intellectual support.

Working with university teachers, the prison officers adapted the sage's teachings to produce new textbooks that would make it easier for inmates to grasp the basic concepts of Confucianism.

Liu believes prison managers need to understand the maxim: "Strict punishment and lenient treatment should be complementary to each other in order to maintain good governance."

For the prisoners, one overarching Confucian concept concerning the production of moral individuals is perfect for educational purposes. It requires people to display benevolence, righteousness and propriety, in addition to trustworthiness, loyalty and filial piety.

"I will never forget a lecture given by Bao Pengshan, a renowned scholar of Confucianism. He told us a great man should be one who is able to rectify his mistakes," says Hao Xue (his name has been changed to protect his privacy), an inmate who completed the course at Yunhe in 2010. "Bearing this line in mind, I want to reshape my personality and try to be a man of noble character."

According to Liu, China has a high number of convicted offenders, which means prisons are crowded and maintaining order can be a challenge. Despite that, the courses in Confucianism remain a cornerstone of the approach to rehabilitation in Yunhe prison.

"Most importantly, our main task is to re-educate the prisoners and place them firmly back on the right track," he says.

In 2008, the college achieved a major breakthrough when it was authorized to act as an exam center for students who are unable to take exams in the normal way. Inmates can take the national "self-taught" exam - for those outside the formal education system - while in prison, and the credits they gain can be used as evidence of a reformed character when the authorities are considering the reduction of their sentence.

In recent years, the success of the Yunhe project has prompted six other rehabilitation centers to offer similar courses. The latest was established at Luzhong prison, in central Shandong, in May.

One of the essential Confucian concepts emphasizes conscientious ethical behavior to cultivate close, loving relationships, especially between families, friends and neighbors, according to Wang Hanyu, a lecturer who has taught Confucian philosophy at a number of correctional centers and prisons in the province.

The practice of educating inmates through moral teaching rather than punishment accord with a resurgence of Confucian thought in modern society.

Wang, who is also deputy secretary-general of the Research Society on Confucius Business Theory in Shandong, believes the Chinese word xiao, which means "filial piety", is an important component of the concept that underpins family relationships.

"The concept is firmly rooted in the minds of every person in China and has been adopted by most households nowadays," she says. "It has a huge bearing on every inmate too. It makes it easier for people to empathize with the prisoners, which in turn helps them to return to their families and reintegrate into society when they are released from prison."

Li Xiang (his name has been changed to protect his privacy), an inmate at Yunhe who completed the two-year course in 2012, says he has benefited from the courses.

"I've learned the way a person should behave. As the philosopher said, 'Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.'" he says.

"The words of the master have taught me how to treat other people and how to be tolerant in daily life. I want to make reparation to those I hurt before and try my best to repay those who have helped me to rebuild my life."

zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn

Who was Confucius?

Confucius (551-479 BC) is the Latinized version of Kong Fuzi, or Master Kong.

His real name was Kong Qiu, and he lived during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) when the Zhou kingdom had disintegrated into many de facto independent feudal states, which were subject to the Zhou kings in theory only.

Like many other members of the educated elite, Confucius traveled widely among the states, offering his services as a political adviser and official to feudal rulers and teaching to earn a living.

Although his career as a petty bureaucrat was unsuccessful, Confucius left his mark as a teacher and philosopher. A few generations after his death, first- and second-generation students collected accounts of his teachings and philosophical musings to form the basis of his most famous work, which is widely known in English as The Analects.

In his work, Confucius argued strongly in favor of family loyalty, that children should respect their elders and wives respect their husbands, and that good people should worship their ancestors. From this base, he further propounded his belief that the family unit was the perfect template for successful government.

While many people in China regard Confucianism as a quasi-religion, scholars are divided: some believe that the values he espoused were too secular to allow them to harbor religious undertones, while others argue that the secular nature of his work overshadows the fact that it contains many religious themes. Some academics argue that although Confucius discusses the afterlife and speaks vaguely of a place that could be interpreted as a form of heaven, he rarely talks about spirituality in the accepted modern sense.

Words of wisdom from ancient master

Lead them by means of regulations and keep order among them through punishments, and the people will evade them and will lack any sense of shame. Lead them through moral force (de) and keep order among them through rites (li), and they will have a sense of shame and will also correct themselves.

Wealth and honor are what people desire, but one should not abide in them if it cannot be done in accordance with the way. Poverty and lowliness are what people dislike, but one should not avoid them if it cannot be done in accordance with the way. If the noble person rejects humaneness, how can he fulfill that name? The noble person does not abandon humaneness for so much as the space of a meal. Even when hard-pressed he is bound to it, bound to it even in time of danger.

If the noble person is not serious, he will not inspire awe, nor will his learning be sound. One should abide in loyalty and trustworthiness and should have no friends who are not his equal. If one has faults, one should not be afraid to change.

One who is not humane is able neither to abide for long in hardship nor to abide for long in joy. The humane find peace in humaneness; the knowing derive profit from humaneness.

From: Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by W.m. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page1)
We believe fantastic, world-class coffee should be simple to order. Anybody should be able to order it, from anywhere.

Its about to get a whole lot easier to receive a bag of fresh roasted coffee thanks to Just Text Coffee, which just launched its innovative new project on the global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

Just Text Coffee is the first conversational commerce service of its kind: send a text and get fresh roasted, consistently delicious coffee at the doorstep in 2-3 days. Its an incredibly intuitive experience that gives users control of when and how they want to receive their coffee.

We believe fantastic, world-class coffee should be simple to order. Anybody should be able to order it, from anywhere, says co-founder Nate Jones on the inspiration behind the project. On the bus, from the kitchen counter, on your terms, not the roasters. And thats why Just Text Coffee isnt tied to a subscription, its the worlds first on-demand coffee delivery service.

All this convenience means nothing if the coffee doesnt match the experience and Tastier, the company behind the service, has this covered as well. Over the last six months, co-founder Katherine Hartline studied solubility and roast profiles, and tweaked components to develop a method of blending Universally Brewable coffee-- coffee that tastes properly extracted, clean, and fresh regardless of the method used. Universally Brewable coffee gives drinkers the ultimate brew flexibility in real kitchens and works instantly with customers' existing setups and recipes.

The company has spent months developing their signature blends and have introduced three flavors which will be available with the service; New Beginnings, The Daily Grind, and Power Play, each with their own flavor profile, aroma, and coffee origin.

Tastier is focused on making things easier for the home coffee brewer. That means better coffee thats easier to brew and easier to order fast. Just Text Coffee allows you to text an emoji and get high quality coffee on your doorstep 2-3 days later. No one else is serving customers like this, so we see it as an opportunity to solve a real issue, adds co-founder Katherine Hartline.

Order fresh roasted coffee with a text. Tastier Coffee is now live and available to support on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/2dCIu4P

About Tastier Coffee

Founded in 2016, Tastier is the first web-based specialty coffee roaster wholly focused on making the home brewing experience simple and delicious from start to finish. Tastier finds problems with the existing coffee ordering and brewing experience and solves them. Their most recent project, Just Text Coffee, is the conversational commerce service that allows users to message an emoji and receive fresh roasted, specialty coffee in 2-3 days. Tastier is also the developer of Universally Brewable Coffees, guaranteed balanced and delicious on any brewing apparatus.

Tastier coffee can be found at https://tastier.coffee and ships free anywhere in the United States.
IM Boston celebrates the great city of Boston and brings together a sense of community with all the different people, cultures and neighborhoods. Aside from videos, IM Boston includes highlights of Bostonians and their stories.

The online Boston magazine IM Boston just released its short video showcasing the renowned Boston accent. It includes several people interviewed in Boston, some of them natives to the area, some of them not, attempting their best Boston accent with a very Boston-esque phrase. This video is a humorous way of capturing the spirit of Boston and serves as a reminder of what makes Boston unique: the people.

"IM Boston celebrates the great city of Boston and brings together a sense of community with all the different people, cultures and neighborhoods. Aside from videos, IM Boston includes highlights of Bostonians and their stories, as well as articles encompassing everything from the best Beantown pig out spots to exciting events in East Boston." said Stefanie Daneau, Co Founder of IM Boston.

IM Boston also has a line of stylish T-shirts inspired by, designed and printed in Boston in connection with local charity Artists for Humanity. The overall IM Boston experience strives to connect the people of Boston via stories, guides, and events that bring the community together.

IM Boston hopes that its new #BostonAccent challenge video will spread quickly via its Youtube, Facebook, and website. Along with this video, IM Boston has recently announced a new campaign filled with incentives and prizes that will help grow the IM Boston community through email shares. IM Boston also just launched a social contest thats just in time for Halloween season, called the #PumpkinPicBoston Contest, which invites people from all around the Boston area to snap pictures of the coolest pumpkins that they see and upload them to Instagram with the hashtag #PumpkinPicBoston for the chance to win prizes.

About IM Boston

IM Boston is a Boston centric online magazine highlighting and sharing stories of people around the city. It was born from the idea that everyone has a voice that should be heard. IM Boston strives to bring the community together by discovering inspiring stories, doing charity programs, hosting networking events, and more. To learn more about the magazine and how to participate, please visit their website at http://imboston.com.
Showroom Logic, a digital marketing technology company with deep roots in the automotive vertical, announced today a new partnership with Kia Motors. As a Kia Digital Certified Solutions provider, Showroom Logics digital marketing technology and service solutions are now available to Kia dealers throughout the United States.

We want to give Kia dealers digital marketing programs that increase market share while saving ad dollars, said Neal Gann, CEO of Showroom Logic. There is such a critical need in our industry for dealers to use data to understand and grow market share. We are uniquely positioned to do that because of our data-driven approach to digital marketing that captures in-market shoppers at the lowest possible cost.

Showroom Logic is offering several Kia-approved digital marketing packages to meet a wide range of dealer needs. This suite of approved solutions is eligible for 100% co-op reimbursement through Kia and will be made available to dealers on October 10, 2016. During the month of October, Showroom Logic is offering Kia dealers up to $600 in additional first month ad spend depending on the digital packaged they choose.

Since 2009, Showroom Logic has partnered with thousands of dealers throughout North America to improve their digital marketing. Showroom Logics award-winning AdLogic technology was built specifically to help dealerships more efficiently market their inventory through paid search, display, conquest, remarketing and video ads on Google, Bing, and other key networks.

Kia dealers will also benefit from Showroom Logics ZipDriven platform, a subscription-based technology that uses market registration data to help dealers understand - and increase - their market share by vehicle and zip code. ZipDriven will be used to create more targeted and effective digital marketing campaigns in states where market registration data is available.

Recognized for outstanding service, cutting-edge mobile focus, and conversion-centric technology, Showroom Logic was named 2015 Google Customer Satisfaction Champion, earned a 2015 Google mobile advertising performance award, and received the 2014 Google Innovator Award. It has also been named to the Inc. 5000 list for three consecutive years.

This partnership with Kia is the latest in several OEM-level relationships offered through Showroom Logic. Kia dealers interested in partnering with Showroom Logic for digital marketing can learn more at http://www.showroomlogic.com/kia or contact Showroom Logic toll-free at (800) 768-1064.

About Showroom Logic

Showroom Logic is an innovative digital marketing technology company with deep roots in the automotive industry. Its proprietary AdLogic and ZipDriven platforms have been built from the ground up and allow clients to increase market share by focusing ad dollars at the model and zip code-level through mobile, paid search, display, conquest and remarketing. Showroom Logic has premier status as a Google AdWords Premier Partner and a Bing Ads Elite SMB Partner. Founded in 2009, Showroom Logic works with thousands of car dealers nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.showroomlogic.com.
October 6, 2016 (Los Angeles) - #IAmAsianAmerican, an Asian-American get out the vote movement, in partnership with the National Asian Panhellenic Association (NAPA) and over 30 national AAPI organizations, is mobilizing Asian-American millennial voters to respond to the recent Bill OReilly FOX News video which drew strong criticism from the Asian American community.

In the call to action, #IAmAsianAmerican is asking millennials to speak up and let the world know what Asian American voters really think in their own words. Participants can go to http://www.iamasianamerican.com/psa to view sample videos and print out placards to create their own selfie video to post on social media with the tag #IAmAsianAmerican.

NAPA, with more than 512 undergraduate chapters, had already been active with the #IAmAsianAmerican voter registration drives and felt compelled to take part in the PSA campaign in response to the Fox News coverage. We want to do our part to get out the real voices of Asian American millennials. As part of one of the largest Asian American student organization, it is more important than ever that we take control of the narrative,  said NAPA Vice Chair, Vigor Lam.

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About #IAmAsianAmerican

#IAmAsianAmerican is a national campaign to engage Asian American millennials to become active participants in the electoral process. On October 16, 2016, #IAAA aims to register at least 15,000 new voters with a first-ever national concert event taking place in four cities with major Asian American populations:New York, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

http://iamasianamerican.com

About National APIA Panhellenic Association (NAPA):

The National APIA Panhellenic Association serves to advocate the needs of its 512 member organizations and provides a forum to share ideas and resources within its members. NAPA supports the development of positive relations through open communication with interfraternal partners to enrich the fraternal experience. http://www.napahq.org/leadership/
D R Burton family of OPEP Products The iPEP takes the mystery out of OPEP therapy by providing patients and healthcare providers with important and immediate feedback that measures the patients inspiratory capacity during therapy.

D R Burton Healthcare Products LLC, makers of respiratory products and other medical devices, introduces oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) products at the American Association of Respiratory Care Congress (AARC) in San Antonio, TX on October 15-18, 2016 in booths 101 and 103.

D R Burton is the first company to bring innovative, new technology to OPEP therapy in recent years. "The iPEP system represents a breakthrough in airway secretion clearance therapy by providing patented volumetric-based OPEP therapy. Treating atelectatsis starts with lung volume. The iPEP takes the mystery out of OPEP therapy by providing patients and healthcare providers with important and immediate feedback in real time that measures the patients inspiratory capacity during therapy, according to Dennis Cook, BSRT, RRT, CEO of D R Burton.

There is a need to prevent pneumonia in high risk patients, such as postoperative and patients with increased mucous production. Cook explains, The D R Burton family of OPEP products are designed to reduce the risk of not only hospital acquired pneumonia, but also reduce risk of pneumonia post discharge." The iPEP system includes a palm-sized PocketPEP, a compact OPEP device for active patients for use at home to help prevent pulmonary-related readmissions.

The D R Burton family of patented innovative OPEP products includes the vPEP system which provides superior performance even for patients with low breath volume. The vPEP features adjustable resistance with superior amplitude and consistent frequency even for low volume patients, such as COPD, Cystic Fibrosis, and pediatric patient populations, says Cook. The vPEP is also the easiest OPEP for patients with only four parts to assemble and clean, helping to reduce risk of infection, he adds.

"Our objective at D R Burton is to make it easier for clinicians to deliver care with simple products that are easier for patients both at-home and in the hospital." According to Cook, Its our mission at D R Burton to win the war on healthcare acquired pneumonia and respiratory-related readmissions.

Cook and the D R Burton co-founders, Dr. Joyce Burton and Dr. Chester Burton, will be meeting with clinicians to discuss these products and other innovative concepts at the AARC Congress, 101 & 103, on October 15-18, 2016.

About D R Burton Healthcare Products LLC

D R Burton Healthcare Products LLC, innovators in medical devices, was founded by physicians and healthcare clinicians with deep expertise in respiratory care. Together we design, develop and market medical device products that allow patients to heal faster and provide value to our partners and consumers. Our unique clinical perspective drives our unwavering commitment to provide clinicians and their patients with a world class user experience. For more information, please visit http://www.drburtonhpi.com.
When some people hear about a program called 'Applied Womens Studies,' I think they assume its focused on 1960s-style protests and angry activism; they couldnt be more wrong. --Professor Linda Perkins

What good is knowledge that isnt used?



That question underpins Professor Linda Perkins work and service as director of the universitys Applied Womens Studies program.

The word applied is the key here, Perkins explains. Our AWS students are trained to take what theyre learning and put it to practical use.

Next week, on October 14, more than 20 alumni and faculty will convene on CGU's campus to describe how theyve taken their AWS training into a multitude of fields and are creating meaningful impact in the lives of countless people.

These alumni will participate in The Next Wave: Effecting Change Through Applied Womens Studies, a conference to celebrate the programs 15th anniversary and pioneering work in a rapidly-growing field of study. (For more info about the conference, see the bottom half of this article.)

When some people hear about a program called 'Applied Womens Studies,' I think they assume its focused on 1960s-style protests and angry activism; they couldnt be more wrong, Perkins says. What weve envisioned with AWS is a program to give every studentmale or femalereal experience and training that prepares them for the needs of a complicated world.

Nothing better demonstrates the wide net of professional possibilities for an AWS student than the conferences participants, who have gone on to careers in public health, political activism, higher education, social entrepreneurship, digital marketing, consulting, development, and much more.

From the very beginning I thought we had a chance to get an amazing group of incoming students, says Professor Jean Schroedel, the programs founding director. At the October 14 conference Schroedel will present A Brief History of AWS. The response to our survey of undergraduate women studies students was very positive so I was, and am not, surprised that our alumni are doing amazing things.

Next Wave: Conference schedule



Held in the universitys Albrecht Auditorium, the conference will open Friday morning with remarks from CGU Provost Jacob Adams; Professor Tammi Schneider, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities (which houses the AWS program); and Schroedel.

They will be followed by keynote speaker Sarah Smith Orr, a CGU alumna, social entrepreneur, and expert on management and leadership.

Following Smith Orrs remarks, the conference schedule will focus on alumni panels, organized by the fields and disciplines in which these AWS alumni are making a difference:



Friday, October 14

10:15 am  11:15 am 

Panel 1: Politics and Policy and Activism

 Pamela OLeary 08, Director of Sponsor Development, UPWARD

 Susan Graham 01, Vice President of American Mothers, California

 John Erickson 11, Community Events Technician, West Hollywood; PhD Candidate, American Religious History

 Porter Gilberg 09, Executive Director, The LGBTQ Center Long Beach

Moderator  Professor Dionne Bensonsmith, WGS Adjunct Faculty

11:30 pm - 12:45 pm -

Panel 2: The worlds of education

 Nana Osei-Kofi 03, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Difference, Power, and Discrimination Program, Oregon State University

 Jodi Davis-Pacheco 07, PhD, Full-Time Lecturer, Women and Gender Studies Program, California State University, Fullerton

 Janell Navarro 08, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

 Caeli Waldron 15, Coordinator of Girls Learn International, Feminist Majority Foundation

 Shira Brown 05, Director, Womens Research and Resource Center and Lecturer, Gender and Womens Studies Department at California State University, Northridge

Moderator  Professor Candida F. Jaquez, Scripps College and WGS faculty



2:00 pm  3:00 pm 

Panel 3: The Non-Profit and For-Profit Experience

 Christina Lam 08, Digital Marketing Consultant, Cup of Joe Social

 Meredith Anderson13, CEO, Meredith & Co.

 Tara Chaffee Robinson 06, Chief Development Officer, Mission Asset Fund and Editor-in-Chief, Golden Gate Mothers Magazine

Moderator  Professor Jean Lipman-Blumen of the Drucker School, Claremont Graduate University



3:15 pm  4:15 pm -

Panel 4: Health, Motherhood, and Religion

 Jennifer Lee Hawthorn-Mayes 09, MA IBCLC, Director of Programs and Co-Founder, Daisy C.H.A.I.N (Creating Healthy Alliances In New-Mothering)

 Mercy Ajuonu 15, PhD Candidate in Community and Global Health, CGU

 Mariam Youssef 15, PhD Candidate in Religion at CGU and faculty in Gender Studies, Cerritos College

Andaye Hill 14, Project Director of Community Services, Glendale Healthier Community Coalition

Moderator  Professor Sallama Shaker, Politics and Policy, Religion and Applied Womens Studies, Claremont Graduate University



The conference will close with remarks from Director Linda Perkins, followed by a networking reception at the CGU Presidents House.

AWS: A brief history

Though the Applied Womens Studies Program was established in 2001, the original idea for a graduate-level program in womens studies was already being discussed in the 1990s, Schroedel recalls.

The originator of the idea was Professor Karen Torjesen, and, she adds, key roles were played by several members of the universitys faculty, including Jean Lipman Blumen, Janet Farrell Brodie, Tammi Schneider, Daryl Smith, Kathy Pezdek, and Wendy Martin.

The applied aspect of the fledgling programproviding a serious experiential componentwas something Schroedel introduced and developed with her students by surveying non-profits, businesses, and government agencies to determine what skills were essential for AWS students to learn.



All of these elements came together in the design of our program, she says, and as I look at where we are now, fifteen years later, I can say Linda Perkins has done an incredible job as director. Kudos to her and all of our alumni.



THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER! For more information on attending the AWS conference, visit this link: http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4546.asp?item=8969
www.DontPressSend.org

Katie Schumacher, author and founder of the Dont Press Send campaign took stage at Oceanside High School in Long Island, New York to discuss the importance of creating a kinder, safer cyber community. The event, which was sponsored by NYS Senator Todd Kaminsky, was well-received by members of the audience which included a mix of students, parents, and educators. Dont Press Send is an initiative that was launched by Katie in 2012.

The hour-long presentation, which was followed by audience questions, took place at the Oceanside High Schools Auditorium last evening and among the key takeaways included:



Guidelines and strategies to navigate social media

Creating a healthy balance with technology

Using mindful techniques at home

Protecting your child from engaging in illegal and/or dangerous online activities

Tips for teaching technological responsibility

Dont Press Send gives me the opportunity to spread a positive message that helps parents and children navigate the unregulated cyber landscape, shared Katie Schumacher, Author and Founder of Dont Press Send. It is my goal to help families by empowering parents and children with the tools that they need to tackle social media, both in my own community and around the nation.

It is so important to make sure parents and children alike have the tools they need to be safe online, said Kaminsky. Understanding the power of our words and actions and the effect they have on others is key to creating a safe and positive cyber community. I am proud to partner with Katie to spread this message, and hope that parents and students walked away from tonights presentation empowered to safely navigate social media.

To spread the impactful message beyond her local community, Katie published her first book this past summer. Titled Dont Press Send: A Mindful Approach to Social Media, An Education in Cyber Civics, the book provides insights for creating a clear, kind approach to using social media.

To learn more about the campaign and book, please visit: http://www.DontPressSend.org

ABOUT KATIE SCHUMACHER

Katie Schumacher has used her years as a teacher, her mindfulness training, and her on the job experience as the mother of three teens to develop the Dont Press Send campaign and the popular app by the same name. As a frequent lecturer, she has been able to spread the message of kind and careful communication to thousands of students, parents, and educators, inspiring them to incorporate a mindful approach to social media. In July 2016, Ms. Schumacher penned her first book, Dont Press Send: A Mindful Approach to Social Media, An Education in Cyber Civics, to give parents the tools and strategies they need to arm their children to create a better cyber community. For more information about the Dont Press Send book and initiative, please visit http://www.DontPressSend.org.

ABOUT SENATOR TODD KAMINSKY

Senator Todd Kaminsky has spent his career fighting for Long Island families and working to end government corruption. On April 19, the people of the South Shore elected him in a special election to continue that work in the State Senate. Todd has been a leader on issues important to Long Islanders, including property tax relief, government reform, assistance for Hurricane Sandy victims and a $20 million increase for South Shore school districts. Todd is also the statewide leader on access to diplomas for students with special needs, as well as fixing New Yorks broken standardized testing system for public school students. For more information on Senator Kaminsky, please visit Kaminsky.nysenate.gov.

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Jackson Physician Search placed 14th overall in the Best Places to Work contest and 11th in the supplier category.

Jackson Physician Search announced its ranking as one of the top 15 Best Places to Work in Healthcare, as revealed at Modern Healthcares annual awards dinner, held October 6th in New Orleans.

Company representatives marked the occasion as a double celebration of being a first-time honoree and a fitting debut for their new name and brand identity.

The company, formerly known as Jackson & Coker Permanent Placement, introduced their new name and logo in September to highlight their leadership and to clarify their role in the permanent physician placement industry. They credit the companys growth to their outstanding track record of results, built on the trust their clients place in their skilled team and the transparency of their recruitment process.

Jackson Physician Search placed 14th overall in the Best Places to Work contest and 11th in the supplier category. These rankings validate their strategy of empowering their employees to provide clients and candidates with the best possible services and customer experience.

Our growth in physician recruitment and our recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in healthcare are rooted in our healthy culture, stated Tony Stajduhar, President. People are the greatest differentiator for us. We have people who are great to begin with, and then we further equip them with the right training and tools in an environment where they can be happy. That is the blueprint for building a culture that enables our team to deliver great results and an exceptional experience for our clients and candidates.

Investing in innovation and future growth is also a priority for Jackson Physician Search. This was reflected in the companys 4th place rank for having the most engaged and most satisfied group of millennials on staff. The rank was based on the percentage of millennials in the company's workforce and the number of employee satisfaction surveys completed by millennials.

Jackson Physician Search is part of the growing family of Jackson Healthcare companies. Jackson Healthcare has been named Atlantas Best Place to Work for three consecutive years by Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Jackson Physician Search specializes in permanent recruitment of physicians and advanced practice providers to hospitals and health systems across the United States. The company is recognized for its track record of results built on their clients trust in the skills of their team and the transparency of their process. As one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare, Jackson Physician Search attracts and retains the most talented and motivated recruitment professionals in the industry.

Visit http://www.JacksonPhysicianSearch.com and Jackson Physician Search on LinkedIn.

Follow @JacksonPhysicianSearch on Facebook and @Jackson_Search on Twitter.
First electrified rail link opens Updated: 2016-10-07 07:47 By Agencies in Addis Ababa(China Daily Europe)

Officials from Ethiopia and Djibouti inaugurated Africa's first modern electrified railway on Oct 5 in a grand ceremony in Addis Ababa.

The $4 billion railway stretches 751.7 kilometers and will carry trains traveling at speeds of up to 120 km/h.

Constructed by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp, services will cut the travel time between the two nations' capitals from seven days by road to just 10 hours.

The line will also provide landlocked Ethiopia with faster access to the Djibouti port, while there are also expectations it will boost industrialization along its route.

Ethiopia aims to become one of sub-Saharan Africa's four major manufacturing hubs, along with South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, says Zemedeneh Negatu, managing partner at Ernst & Young's office in Addis Ababa. The new railway will help, he adds.

Today, more than 95 percent of Ethiopia's imports come through Djibouti's port, according to Mekonnen Abera, director-general of the Ethiopian Maritime Authority.

"This railway line will greatly reduce the travel times and will contribute to the development of Ethiopia's hinterland," adds Dereje Tefera, a spokesman for Ethiopian Railway Corp. "It's an electrified system and environmentally friendly.

"This is what makes it different from other railway projects in Africa."

Africa's first modern electrified railway opened to traffic on Oct 5 in Addis Ababa. The $4 billion railway stretches 751.7 kilometers and will carry trains traveling at speeds of up to 120 km/h. Qin Bin / For China Daily

( China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page2)
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Telecom scammers are facing stiff sentences Updated: 2016-10-07 07:47 By Cao Yin(China Daily Europe)

China's top court has called on judges to severely punish fraudsters using telecom or network technology, after the deaths of two students who were swindled in August.

The number of people scammed by telecom fraudsters has been growing rapidly in recent years, "which not only brings economic losses to them, but also makes them unsafe", says Wang Ling, a spokesperson for the Supreme People's Court.

Wang did not release the precise number of fraud cases heard, but in March the top court said thousands of fraud-related disputes had been filed and tackled in courts last year.

In September, the Ministry of Public Security said the number of telecom scams had risen to 600,000 in 2015 from 100,000 in 2011.

"We've highlighted the fight against fraud and asked all courts to speed up hearing related cases this year, especially after two young people in Linyi, Shandong province, died after being swindled," Wang says.

Xu Yuyu, 18, who was about to enter college in Linyi, died of a heart attack after she was cheated out of 9,900 yuan ($1,490; 1,327 euros) in a call, officials says. The money she lost was what her financially-struggling family had raised for her tuition.

Later, Song Zhenning, another college student in the province, died from cardiac arrest, five days after being swindled out of 2,000 yuan, which was meant to cover his living expenses at the college for three months, according to officials.

Scammers have "seriously harmed people's interests and state security, which can and should be heavily punished in line with Chinese Criminal Law," says Xie Kaihong, spokesman for the Fujian Provincial High People's Court.

Since 2014, courts in Fujian have heard 1,663 fraud-related disputes involving 3,484 offenders, of which 1,553 cases have been concluded and 3,356 led to punishment, according to Xie.

From January to August of this year, the provincial courts have handed down sentences or fines to 895 people for fraud, he says.

An Fengde, spokesman of the Beijing High People's Court, said the court had issued guidelines for municipal courts on sentencing telecom fraudsters.

"Organizers or leaders of a telecom scam gang will get heavier penalties, while people who illegally purchase, provide or obtain residents' personal information will be strictly handled, according to our guideline," An says

In criminal law, people found guilty of fraud can receive a punishment of up to life imprisonment when the amount of money involved is "extremely large", or their offenses lead to "extremely serious results".

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page3)
Stage set for 'golden age' of China-UK Updated: 2016-10-07 07:48 By Alan Barrell(China Daily Europe)

Trust and confidence are pillars on which successful international businesses are built and sustained

There has been much in the media about China's substantial initiatives in outreach as a significant world industrial power. As the largest trading economy in the world, and on the way to becoming the largest economy overall, China is making bold and extensive moves to play a part in the overall development of the global economy, including through investment and supporting developing nations.

The Belt and Road Initiative is one example of China's efforts to play a responsible part as a world leader, through action, not just words.

It is an extraordinary realization that China - still in some ways regarded as a developing nation, but fast maturing - has become the largest investor in emerging nations. This reality has not been widely publicized in the West.

The strategy for outreach was one of the subjects covered by President Xi Jinping in his speech at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in September. Never in modern times has a Chinese leader played such a prominent part in a critical world event. And his speech was rich in commitments for China to play a prominent part in world development, and in the process make China stronger in fields such as corporate governance and in innovative approaches to international business development.

Speaking of the need to push for inclusive growth through trade and investment and to reduce trade barriers, Xi emphasized China's intention to use the platform provided by the G20 and following events to promote global financial governance and currency stability, and hence improve economic growth.

China's plan to use the G20 to promote closer financial governance cooperation and reduce risks in the global financial system was clearly articulated. It was especially encouraging to hear the president call for a "concrete agreement, rather than just talking about changes". We all agree wholeheartedly.

The assertion that "China will maintain its stance as open, transparent and inclusive throughout the G20 and beyond" was a welcome message.

There have been comments in the Western media about issues of trust in international collaboration. At a time when China is in such a strong position to invest in and support vital infrastructure development in several parts of the world, including in my country, the UK, I want to report on real-life experiences over my business career, during which Chinese partners and investors have helped me to grow businesses in China and across Asia.

During that period, and throughout my business life, I've found Chinese partners the most trustworthy and ethical I have worked with anywhere in the world.

In the 1990s, as CEO of Willet International, a company working in industrial electronics, the chairman and I spent time seeking a Chinese partner to set up manufacturing, sales and marketing in China. With Guangdong New Technology Corp, we quickly set up a successful operation in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, as well as sales offices across China.

I had the privilege of being chairman of a Chinese company for several years, and Chinese partners and employees supported me in establishing a company that became the most successful in a worldwide group of 100 companies in terms of sales and profit growth. It was a hugely positive experience.

I have also more recently worked with young Chinese entrepreneurs who came to the UK initially to study for master's or doctoral degrees and then subsequently set up technology companies in my home city of Cambridge, and who have demonstrated great energy and a willingness to learn and develop highly professional approaches to financing and building companies of integrity and substance.

I'm at times surprised that more of my countrymen have not grasped the great opportunities offered by the Chinese market and Chinese partners who can support the finding of pathways to success. It takes time and a commitment to understand and respect Chinese colleagues' cultural and business positions. Without such trustworthy partners, it is extremely difficult for overseas companies to succeed in China.

I'm also privileged at this present time to be working with Chinese colleagues planning the development of investment funds and related partners, to enable Chinese investors to benefit from engagement with potentially high-growth UK and European technology companies, of which there are many seeking finance and entry to the Chinese market. And in addition, I am working with a dynamic Chinese company leading the world in dig data management, founded in Chengdu, that is rapidly growing internationally, with offices in London and Cambridge.

There has been a lot of talk about a "golden age" of collaboration between Britain and China. I believe that such an age can indeed be enjoyed by our nations.

President Xi's G20 speech, what we see under way with the Belt and Road Initiative, and my own experiences in achieving international success with trusted Chinese partners give me enormous encouragement. And I urge my peers and others to take up the baton and take advantage of the opportunities that have never before been available on such a scale.

For post-Brexit Britain, trade and an international partnership with China will be more important than ever. We should have confidence and return the trust and willingness to work together now on offer from many potential Chinese partners.

Trust and confidence are pillars on which successful international businesses are built and sustained. Xi's speech set out a platform and clear plans for China to encourage us further to heed his words and find the means to secure trusting relationships on which business growth, prosperity and security can be built.

The author is a professor at Cambridge Judge Business School. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page10)
Africa can learn valuable lessons from China's zones Updated: 2016-10-07 07:48 By Philip Etyang(China Daily Europe)

In the past few years, Africa has experienced unprecedented economic growth, with seven out of the top 10 global economies reporting the fastest growth rates coming from the continent.

A heavy reliance on international trade has helped these developing countries achieve high and sustainable economic growth year-on-year.

However, an adverse international trade imbalance is exacerbating the challenges of economic growth, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The continent is importing more than it is exporting, a situation which is wearing down economic gains achieved through growth indicators such as infrastructure development, capital stock and government spending.

Visionary African leaders are however, advocating the industrialization of Africa and are mainly looking at China, a country that has succeeded on that front.

A strong industrial and manufacturing base will, among other things, increase a country's attractiveness to foreign direct investment, increase the flow of goods for export, create employment opportunities, and add value to goods and services while putting a trade imbalance in check and ensuring sustainable economic growth.

Today, more African countries are focused on establishing synergies with China, especially on special economic zones to bolster their industrialization sector so as to spur economic growth. These special zones in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and China have proven to be very effective forms of growing the industrial and manufacturing sectors.

Special economic zones, which come in different forms such as export processing zones, free trade zones and industrial parks. are not new to Africa. Others include enterprise zones, economic and technology development zones, high-tech zones and free ports.

The first official export processing zone to be established in Africa was in Mauritius back in 1971.

Several other African countries, notably Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa, followed the trend, and by 2010, at least half of all African countries had established these special economic zones, which were hugely successful in contributing to the overall national GDP.

Today, most of these zones are not only lackluster, but have also failed to live up to expectations of raising industrialization. They have infrastructural weakness, lack proper legislations to govern them, are deficient of government commitment and lack modern technology.

In contrast, countries like China have experienced the best results from special economic zones because of myriad reasons that Africa should take note of to avoid pitfalls on its path to economic freedom.

African countries should set up zones in areas that have access to the international market so as to ensure the goods produced find an exit there.

This will significantly reduce overall production costs while increasing market competitiveness of goods.

Proper feasibility studies and planning should be carried out before the establishment of these zones away from coastal and border regions, as these are the main gateways to the international market.

Shenzhen is the best example Africa should look at. It is China's oldest and largest special economic zone and is strategically and geopolitically located at the heart of the international market.

The port of Shenzhen has a 260-km coastline with at least 10 major sea ports. It is also home to more than 40 shipping companies with over 130 international container routes. Industries located in the town therefore have easy access to these international routes and markets.

Other than location, African countries should be ready to engage with countries such as China that have proven success stories in its quest to accelerate economic growth through establishment of special economic zones. Today, China has over 100 economic zones, which have fostered positive economic growth, increased employment opportunities and raised foreign direct investments in the country.

Environmental degradation is yet another challenge that Africa may have to contend with when implementing special economic zones. China has put in place a raft of fiscal policies to ensure enterprises adopt green and efficient renewable energy that Africa can borrow from. This was as a result of China spending a significant amount of its GDP (estimated at 8 percent) on environmental costs.

On the other hand, China has a role to play if it is to implement its 2006 going global strategy of establishing up to 50 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones across the globe. Beijing maintained that at least five would be created in Africa.

The author is a PhD student at Kenyatta University in Nairobi and a contributor to China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page13)
Never in my wildest dreams did I think thered be an American publisher for a book about an obscure British politician, John Preston says, laughing, as he busies himself at the coffee maker in his sunny West London kitchen. But in a funny sort of way, it now strikes me, its such an English story that it becomes an advantage. The British establishment and Parliamentpurportedly the upper echelons of society; cloak and dagger; attempted murder: Theres a good story there. I make a comparison to a British TV detective drama, and he agrees: In a funny way, it does tap in to Midsomer Murders!

The story in question is A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot in the Houses of Parliament (Other Press, Oct.), and Preston, a seasoned journalist and novelist, was a young stagehand when the events the book is based on started making headlines. Born and brought up in southern England, he hated boarding school and dropped out of university to join the theater, eventually drifting into journalism, it being of the few professions that accepted people with barely any qualifications at all.

Preston says the scandal was the first time Id been witness to a cause celebre, where people seemed galvanized by the whole thing. He adds, The disbelief that someone who was supposedly the exemplar of high moral values had got involved in a ludicrous immoral plot to bump someone offthat intrigued me.

The idea for a book had been at the back of Prestons mind for years and was finally ignited when he discovered a copy of the 1981 memoir Cover-Up by Peter Bessell, the prosecutions chief witness. It was absolute dynamite, he told a friend over supper a few days later. By coincidence, the friend had a family connection to the plots intended victim.

I myself still vividly remember hearing the verdict of what was by any measure a sensational trial at Londons Old Bailey in June 1979; I also remember the consternation of many when the accused was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder and of the separate charge of incitement to murder. In the court of public opinion, few judged Jeremy Thorpe, old Etonian former leader of the Liberal Party, to be innocent. At the very least, he was guilty of conspiracy to frighten and intimidate the man who claimed to have been seduced by him: the animal-loving Norman Scott, whose Great Dane, Rinka, was shot dead one rainy night on Dartmoor in a scene redolent of Sherlock Holmes. Even at the time, before respect in our public figures had taken a hammering, the judges summing up was considered wildly biased: he described Thorpe as a man of hitherto unblemished reputation while dismissing Scott as a crook, a fraud, a sponger, a whiner, a parasite, and he quickly became the subject of parody.

It was Rinkas bloody end that propelled the whole story into the newspapers: her killer, airline pilot Andrew Newton, nicknamed Chickenbrain, was found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. Newton admitted to killing the dog but denied intending to kill Scott, who spoke from the witness box of his relationship with Thorpe and his belief that Newton had been hired to silence him. Scott was not believed, but Newton went to jail and, on his release, revealed a new story. I Was Hired to Kill Scott, ran a tabloid headline in October 1977.

Thorpe denied everything. But soon, a man named Peter Bessella former Liberal MP and friend of Thorpe who had kept Scott at bay while at the same time going along with Thorpes murderous plansdecided enough was enough. From his new home in California, he began, with some reservation, to tell the truth.

Bessell seemed to me the lead figure in the drama because hes the Judas character, Preston says. Why did he turn? One of the fascinating things about Thorpe was the degree to which he inspired extraordinary loyalty among perfectly sane people who were prepared to follow him through very thick and very thin.

A story whose origins dated back to 1961 now began to unravel. Thorpe had taken Scott to stay at the home of Thorpes formidable monocle-wearing mother, supposedly en route to a business trip. There, in a house named Stonewalls, Scott was raped by Thorpewho, the following morning, knocked politely on his door to ask how hed like his eggs.

Thorpe was ruined by the trial, exiled from public life, and increasingly disabled by Parkinsons. He died in 2014. His wife, the concert pianist Marion Stein, stood by him, refusing to entertain the notion that her husband was gay and dismissing the possibility that he could have plotted the murder of an alleged male sex partner.

Homosexuality was at the core of it all, and it seems pretty amazing now that if you were a gay man you could be imprisoned, Preston reflects. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1968, but the stigma remained and was perhaps even stronger postcriminalization.

Thorpe, as an ambitious MP who described himself to Bessell as 80% homosexual, had to marrythough his personal predilections were well-known among parliamentarians. Indeed, files detailing aspects of his scandalous conduct were passed to two home secretaries, but the omerta that existed among supposedly honorable membersmany with secrets of their ownensured nothing leaked. The press was deferential.

Scott, who these days lives a quiet life with sundry animals in North Devon, was happy to cooperate with Preston and lent him the unpublished diary hed kept. We talked and talked, and he never asked to see anything I wrote, never asked for money, Preston said.

Bessell is long dead, but his son, Paul, was willing to help. So too was Tom Mangold, a distinguished TV journalist and a Thorpe obsessive who had interviewed Bessell. And Dominic Carman, son of George Carman, the defense attorney who annihilated the witnesses and forbade Thorpe to take the stand, fearing hed condemn himself the minute he opened his mouth, provided his fathers case notes.

All the protagonists were inadequate and to some degree leading secret lives, Preston says. Thorpe plainly was. Bessell was ostensibly a rather responsible member of society, but he had an incredibly rackety private life, in terms of his love life and his business affairs, and he topped it all by being a lay preacher. Carman, a leading Queens Counsel, a great establishment figure purportedly of great moral rectitude, was threatening to stick carving knives into his wife.

The case made Carmans name, and he went on to win some of the biggest criminal and libel cases of the late 20th century, despite an utterly chaotic, alcohol-fuelled private life. I think his behavior was pretty extreme by anyones standards, Preston says. Dominic was as interesting as the notes. Hed been with his father throughout the trial, and George would rehearse in front of him. It was Dominic who suggested that in his summing up he go to the jury one by one, saying theirs were the most precious vote in Thorpes career. Its a very effective piece of theater, memorable for the jury. The curious subtext was that it was the closest hed ever been to his father.

Thorpe, an MP on the right side of so many political issues, emerges as something of a tragic figure, a victim of his time who panicked and then lost his moral compass. A jury of readers can now reach their own verdict. That the central figure is an obscure British politician, now dead, matters not a jot, for A Very English Scandal makes for a splendid whodunit.

Liz Thomson is an author and journalist who has spent 30 years chronicling the international book trade.
Here is a preview of selected 2017 titles that take on tough topics:

American Street by Ibi Zoboi (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray). Haitian immigrant Fabiola Toussaint is left to fend for herselfand to figure out school and lovewhen her mother is detained by U.S. immigration. The issues: immigration, drugs, violence.

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (HarperCollins/Tegen). Mary, a black teenager who at age nine was convicted of murdering a white baby, now lives in a group home and is pregnant. Faced with the prospect of having her own child taken away, she tries to set the record straight. The issues: race, class, mental health in the criminal-justice system.

Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney Taylor (HMH, Apr.). The lives of three teens intersect in a small town, revealing that there is little straightforward about friendship and love. The issues: teen pregnancy, depression, the side effects of antidepressants, and psychotherapy.

Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi (Loft, May). In the wake of her sisters suicide, 16-year-old Kai is sent to grief camp. The issues: suicide, grief/loss, drug and alcohol abuse.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstron (Poppy, Feb.). A new relationship has 16-year-old Mel trying her best to hide her bipolar disorder. The issues: bipolar disorder, disability, grief/loss.

Sad Perfect by Stephanie Elliot (FSG/Ferguson, Feb.). The story of how love helps one girl as she works to recover from avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. The issues: eating disorders and recovery.

The Free by Lauren McLaughlin (Soho Teen, Feb.). Isaac steals in order to provide more for his younger sister than he feels his alcoholic mother can; he winds up in a juvenile detention center. The issues: poverty, alcoholism, crime, the juvenile criminal-justice system.

The Dead Inside by Cyndy Etler (Sourcebooks Fire, Apr.). In this memoir, young Cyndy spends 16 months in a tough-love program that uses some troubling methods in the name of rehabilitation. The issues: child abuse, troubled teens, abusive treatment programs.

Bang by Barry Lyga (Little, Brown, Apr.). Ten years after accidentally shooting his infant sister, 14-year-old Sebastian Cody still struggles with the guilt. The issues: gun violence, tragedy, death, depression, suicide, prejudice, racism, grief/loss.

See also:

YA Authors Turn Advocates: reaching teens by addressing difficult subjects

Ellen Hopkins: Author as Confessor, a look at the author and the genre she helped pioneerissue-based teen fictio
Harvards Riess Sells Book on Empathy

In a six-figure deal, Harvard Medical School professor and M.D. Helen Riess sold Relation-Shifts: How Cultivating Empathy Can Help You Live Your Best Life to spiritual publisher Sounds True. Caroline Pincus acquired world English rights to the book, at auction, from Linda Konner, who has an eponymous agency. Riess, in addition to teaching at Harvard, runs an empathy program at Massachusetts General Hospital and is writing the book with Liz Neporent. The book is slated for fall 2018.

Hajdu Sings Song for Norton

John Glusman at Norton took North American rights to David Hajdus debut novel The Song Was He: The Story of an Unsung Star. The main character, the publisher said, is a would-be rock star named Addy Babcock. Agent Chris Calhoun represented Hajdu (Positively 4th Street), who has written a number of lauded works of nonfiction, is the music critic for the Nation, and a three-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Song Was He is slated for fall 2019.

Berkley Brings Meissner into Hardcover

In another six-figure deal, Claire Zion at Berkley bought world rights to what will be Susan Meissners hardcover debut, Under the Canopy of Heaven. Meissner, who was represented by Elisabeth Weed at the Book Group, has published three trade paperback originals with Berkley, and a fourth is coming out in March 2017. Under the Canopy of Heaven, which is slated for early 2018, is set in 1918 during the flu pandemic that seized the United States. The novel follows a Philadelphia family who run a funeral home and, the publisher said, whose life is upended by the disease.

Sweat Takes Debut to Feiwel

Feiwel and Friends Liz Szabla took North American rights, in a two-book deal, to Jeff Sweats YA debut, Mayfly. The second book in the deal, which Cheryl Pientka at Jill Grinberg Literary Management brokered, is an untitled sequel. Mayfly, currently planned for a 2018 publication, is set in a world where no one lives past the age of 16. In this chaotic setting, Pientka explained, where teens must propagate before their end, four friends flee their tribe to discover the secret to reverse the early demises. Sweat, who has worked in marketing for Yahoo, has a PR and marketing agency called Mister Sweat.

Scholastic Gets Brave with Walsh

Jenni L. Walsh closed a two-book North American rights deal with Paige Hazzan at Scholastic to launch a new biography series called Brave Like Me. The middle grade line was developed by Walshs agent, Dystel & Goderichs Stacey Glick, and Hazzan; it will, Glick said, tell the life stories of brave young women. The series is launching with two books, in fall 2018. One will profile the surfer Bethany Hamilton (who lost her arm in a shark attack), and the other the activist Malala Yousafzai (who, after being shot by the Taliban, became an advocate for womens education).

Charbonneau to Launch Duology at HarperTeen

The bestselling author of the Testing trilogy, Joelle Charbonneau, sold world rights to a duology called Dividing Eden to HarperTeen. Kristen Pettit bought the books from Stacia Decker at Dunow Carlson & Lerner. Decker said she pitched Dividing Eden, which follows royal siblings forced into competing for the crown, as Red Queen meets East of Eden. The first book is scheduled for summer 2017.
Bruce Springsteen's memoir, Born to Run, sold more than 117,000 print copies in its first week on sale, according to Nielsen BookScan, which covers about 85% of print sales. The performance makes the book the top selling title for the week ended October 2, 2016 at outlets that report to BookScan.

Sales, unsurprisingly, were strongest in and around Springsteens home state of New Jersey.

Released by Simon & Schuster on September 27, Born to Run sold over 25,000 copies in the New York City area, and another 9,000 copies in Philadelphia. Regionally, consumers in the Middle Atlantic and Northeast accounted for 43% of the book's sales.

Born to Run, which received generally positive reviews, was the second major celebrity book published by S&S in recent weeks. In August, the house released Amy Schumers The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, which, according to BookScan, sold 40,000 print copies in its first week on sale. Schumer's essay collection has sold more than 150,000 copies since its release.
While the recent identity outing of the Italian author who uses the pen name Elena Ferrante has caused a stir in the literary world, indie booksellers and Ferrante's American publisher are focused on celebrating two new books by the bestselling writer.

Europa Editions has unveiled a week-long celebration of Ferrante's work with FerranteNightFever. The week kicks off on November 1 with the release of a new collection of her writing and interviews, Frantumaglia, and a childrens book called The Beach at Night that is based on an incident with a doll that informs the Neapolitan quartet.

The idea for the celebration began this summer. In July Europa announced that any bookstore agreeing to participate in FerranteNightFever would be entered to win a trip for one of its booksellers to the Frankfurt Book Fair.

That may have been a carrot, but booksellers who are fans of her books, like Nicola Orichuia, co-owner of I AM Books in Boston, would have planned an event anyway. Ferrante is the top selling author at Orichuia's shop, the countrys only Italian-American bookstore. He plans to hold a party on November 1, which will serve as the kick-off event for the stores one-year anniversary.

At Main Point Books, which moved to Wayne, Pa., two months ago, owner Cathy Fiebach is planning to send out e-vites to customers to encourage them to join the conversation about Ferrantes work and to visit the new store. She said the store has sold well over 200 copies of Ferrantes books.

Some stores are partnering with restaurants, like Changing Hands in Phoenix, Ariz., which will offer Italian food and wine pairings at Cibo. Books on First in Dixon, Ill., will hold its event for children and adults at nearby Orom Restaurant. Its also one of the few bookstores that will actively promote The Beach at Night at its event. Most stores are focusing on Frantumaglia.

University Book Store in Seattle, where Ferrante continues to be one of the bestselling authors, is inviting customers to read their favorite passages from Ferrantes books as part of its November 3 festivities.

But the most ambitious events may be the ones planned by five bookstores in the New York City area. With scheduling help from Europa Editions, McNally Jackson Booksellers, Word Bookstore in New Jersey, Community Bookstore, Astoria Bookstore, and BookCourt will hold a group of conversations, over the course of five days, that will include translator Ann Goldstein, actor John Turturro, and writers Roxana Robinson, Ayana Mathis, and Garth Risk Hallburg.

The events parallel a Ferrante Fest sponsored by Slate last year for the publication of The Story of the Lost Child at BookCourt, which drew 200 people.

Ultimately, online booksellers may benefit the most from the extra attention on Ferrante thanks to the reveal of her identity. Most booksellers PW spoke to agree with UBSs Baker that pre-sales have been quiet.

As for the controversy itself, many booksellers have expressed their displeasure quite loudly, if largely among themselves.

"Every bookseller I know is irritated to angry about it, said Pam Cady, manager of general books at UBS. "The mystery was part of the charm and conversation about the books. Having a true mystery in this age of instant media gratification was singular and gave the author, and the books, some major street cred."

"Personally," said Camilla Orr, assistant manager at Changing Hands, I dont know why her identity needed to be revealed. Theres a beauty when you feel that [an author] understands you. Not knowing who the author is is nice. Youre both anonymous.

Orichuia, who had a customer call and buy a complete set of the Neapolitan books in Italian on the day of the outing, said reading about the author's true identity in a news story was "not the way I wanted to find out.

As for whether Claudio Gatti, the journalist who outed Ferante's identity (in a piece in the New York Review of Books that also ran in numerous international publications), is correct, Michael Reynolds, editor-in-chief of Europa, said it might not matter, in the end. I dont think the NYRB article constitutes the unmasking of Elena Ferrante. I have heard nothing from our author on the subject. For me it remains simply more speculation about her identity, [and speculation] of the kind that we have always been uninterested in either denying or confirming.
Later this month, Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing an unusual spinoff title from Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayamas global manga publishing phenomenon. On October 18, Kodansha Comics, a unit of Kodansha USA Publishing, will release the Attack on Titan Anthology, a first-of-its-kind official collection of original stories by Western comics creators based on the Attack on Titan universe of flesh-eating giants that prey on mankind.

Its goal: introduce the world of Attack on Titan to new readers, especially fans of western comics.

Attack on Titan is a manga, anime, and prose publishing juggernaught. The manga series has 20 volumes out to date, over 60 million copies in print in Japan alone, and more than 3.6 million copies in print in English. The series dominates the bestseller lists in Japan, North America, and elsewhere around the globe.

Coedited by former Marvel Comics editor Jeanine Schaefer, and Ben Applegate of Penguin Random House , the Attack on Titan Anthology is a 250-page, full-color hardcover graphic novel featuring stories and illustrations by an all-star cast of comics creators.

Kodansha plans a 50,000 copy first printing, including variant covers for Diamond, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million/Fried Pie Comics. There is also a limited New York Comic Con edition of 500 copies.

Among the books sixteen contributors are artists Faith Erin Hicks (The Nameless City), Tomer and Asaf Hanuka (The Divine), and Paul Pope (Battling Boy); and writers Scott Snyder (Batman), Gail Simone (Red Sonja), and Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr (the creative team behind Batgirl).

The Attack on Titan Anthology will debut at this years New York Comic Con, with appearances and signings by many of the creators who contributed to the book. Publishers Weekly spoke with Applegate about the origins of this cross-cultural comic project and with Eisner award-winning cartoonist Erin Hicks, creator of the Nameless City, and a fan of Attack on Titan, about contributing a story, The Titan Laughs (with Chris Peters), to the book.

It is unusual for such a global Japanese manga phenomenon to be offered to American creators. How did this project start?

Ben Applegate: Kodansha executives have been boosters of this project since the very first time it was discussed, in Tokyo in November 2014. As a company, Kodansha is more focused than ever before on finding new ways to encourage growth in the US market. [Kodansha executives] saw early on the potential of this project to be something unlike anything ever created in comics or manga before. It was their incredible trust in the concept and in our team that gave us the resources that we needed to make sure the book contained top-notch work.

The anthology offers a wide variety of story and art styles, from horror to comedy and more. How did Isayama and his editors respond to the finished book?

Applegate: They were very enthused about the whole thing, and very open to the wild mixture of story ideas that our contributors came up with. They gave us free rein to push Attack on Titan into some very unexpected places: British post-apocalyptic folktale, gag comics, tragic family drama. A few of the stories take place in the Attack on Titan canon using main series characters, so of course we needed to be careful to align those stories with Isayama-senseis broad vision.

In those cases, [Isayama and his editors] were extremely helpful in ensuring we worked with the property in a way that showed respect for this world that the fans love. That said, we also have a story in the book that starts out canon and then veers way off into obvious non-canon territory, and the Japanese team was very flexible on that story, as well.

What was it like having to coordinate the contributions of so many top comics creators at one time?

Applegate: There has never been anything like it. So, of course, there were plenty of surprises and a few struggles.

For example, we had a story set prior to the main series into which we were able to weave two key Attack on Titan characters that fans will recognize, Erwin Smiths father and Military Police agent Djel Sannes. Involving those characters at a very important moment in their backstory made the writing and drawing processes very complex. Everyone, including the Kodansha editor as well as writer Rhianna Pratchett and artist Jorge Corona, was very patient, going back and forth to make sure we got every detail to a place where we were telling the story we wanted to tell without overstepping on the setting.

And then there was the logistical challenge of coordinating the work of so many amazing, talented people, all of whom had other, bigger projects to work on at the same time. For that, I have to give a huge thank-you to Jeanine Schaefer. She was guiding this project to completion while in the final month of her second pregnancy. Our printers deadline was literally her sons birthday! You couldnt ask for a better metaphor that that.

What kind of response are you getting from retailers?

Applegate: As you can see from the fact that we were able to create three variant editions of a $29.99 book, the retailer reaction has been very positive. Everyone is very bullish on manga in general right now, and Attack on Titan in particular.

I recall reading that the Attack on Titan Anthology is the #1 pre-ordered English graphic novel on Amazon Japan. Are there any plans to publish a Japanese language edition?

BA: As of right now, I think its #15 among all Western books on Amazon Japan, not just graphic novels! [Where it is #1] And its not even out for another two weeks! I certainly hope there is a Japanese edition eventually, and I know its being considered, but nothing has been decided yet.

Faith, can you describe your story in the anthology?

Faith Erin Hicks: Two kids find an obscure relic from the time before the Titans, and it may be the key to defeating the Titans once and for all. It's kind of simple, actually, but when the twist is revealed it goes off in a ridiculous Monty Python direction. The story came out of the tension I feel when I read Attack on Titan: it's this very intense comic, and very brutal at times, but it's also weirdly hilarious.

There's this macabre humor that runs underneath the comic, and I feel like Isayama plays that up a bit, certainly in the often hilarious ways he portrays the Titans themselves. They're horrifying monsters, but also hilarious to look at, you know? Giant creepy cannibal monster babies. Anyway, my story came out of that: the horror of the world cut through with a ridiculous joke.

What makes Attack on Titan fascinating to you, as a reader, and as a comics creator?

Hicks: There's nothing like Attack on Titan. It's one of the weirdest, most balls-to-the-wall comic I've ever read. I love how Isayama has all these bizarre ideas and just slams them down on the page, using artwork that is not particularly refined, but is tremendously effective.

Whenever I read a volume of Attack on Titan, I'm always so riveted. Not because it's a comic that is particularly beautiful to look at, or touches me emotionally, but because every volume is this crazypants rollercoaster ride. I never know what's going to happen, what weird crap is going to go down, or what ridiculous fight scene Isayama is going to draw the heck out of.

Reading Attack on Titan is such a unique experience, and as a creator, I'm really impressed by it. Whatever criticisms of the comic I have are overwhelmed by the fact that it's just so fun.
Margaret Atwood. Hogarth, $26.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-8041-4129-1

In The Tempest, Prospero is not just exiled king, magician, and father, hes an impresario staging multiple shows: the storm that strands his enemies on the island; his pretended disdain for Ferdinand, whom he intends for his daughter, Miranda; the play within the play; and, some critics argue, the play itself. In this, the fourth Hogarth Shakespeare adaptation, Atwood underscores these elements by making her Prospero a prominent theater festival director. After being done out of his job by a scheming underling, Felix goes off-grid, teaching literacy and theater to prisoners and grieving a lost daughter. When he learns that the man who took his job, now a political bigwig, will attend the next production, he sees his chance: in this Tempest, it wont just be Prospero who gets revenge. Former diva Felix is a sly and inventive director and teacher who listens to his casts input, and his efforts to shape the play and his plot make for compelling reading. If, at the end, things tie up a little too neatly, the same might be said of the original, and Atwoods canny remix offers multiple pleasures: seeing the inmates takes on their characters, watching Felix make use of the limited resources the prison affords (legal and less so), and marveling at the ways she changes, updates, and parallels the plays magic, grief, vengeance, and showmanship.
Asian Festival of Childrens Content

The Asian Festival of Childrens Content, managed by the National Book Development Council of Singapore, explores the entire spectrum of childrens content, from creation to distribution to consumption.

It is the place to meet writers, illustrators, producers, media professionals, and educators from Asia and around the world. The 2016 edition, with Japan as the country of focus, attracted 12,000 attendees from Singapore and the region. The five-day event hosted 114 conference sessions, 120 speakers from 13 countries, and 40 book launches. For the 2017 (and eighth) edition, running May 1721, the spotlight will be on Indonesia; see afcc.com.sg.

Singapore Writers Festival

Organized by the Singapore National Arts Council, the 2016 edition will feature a record-breaking 320 writers, speakers, and performers. Some of the big names joining the festival include Lionel Shriver (We Need to Talk About Kevin), poetry scholar and critic Marjorie Perloff, investigative journalist Frederik Obermaier, Gosho Aoyama (creator of the Detective Conan manga series), Eka Kurniawan (Beauty Is a Wound), and Tash Aw (The Harmony Silk Factory). The 10-day event kicks off on November 4 and will have the theme Sayang, a Malay word that connotes love as well as a sense of lost opportunities. Visit singaporewritersfestival.com for details.

National Reading Movement

This five-year initiative by the Singapore National Library Board is focused on getting more adults to read, promoting reading in mother tongue languages, and collaborating with the community to build a vibrant reading culture across the city-state. It kicked off on June 3 with an online pledging campaign. More than 430,000 people have already promised to read more, read widely, and read together, the slogan used to promote various activities, including reading sessions, author discussions, and poetry recitals. The program includes a mobile library on subway trains that allows for downloads of recommended e-books or short essays to read during the ride; the Read@Work initiative, which curates books and delivers them to offices; and new book clubs and reading corners for senior citizens. The Library Board also marked July 30 as Singapores first National Reading Day.

StoryDrive Asia and Singapore Publishing Symposium

At its inaugural staging in November, this power-packed event will throw the spotlight on content owners, creators, aggregators, and consumers, and get everybody together to talk business. A joint effort between the Singapore Book Publishers Association and the Frankfurt Book Fair, and supported by Singapores National Arts Council, this event is about tapping into cross-media business opportunities in Asia, exploring new trends and monetization methods, networking with industry experts, and identifying new business partners. The Publishing Symposium segment complements the Singapore Writers Festival in promoting Singapore writing for publication. This event will be held November 10 and 11; more details are available at storydriveasiasg.com.

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By and large, Singapores education system, which is among the most highly regarded in the world, is a boon to its publishing industry. No subject is more popular, or more competitive, than mathematics. Known as Singapore math, the city-states mathematics teaching method and curriculum is garnering a lot of attention from teachers, publishers, and education ministries across the globe.

The city-states high scores in recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reports have done much to spread the word about Singapore math. The 13 gold medals won by Singapore students in the past five International Mathematical Olympiads further accentuate this achievement, says Steve Seow, executive chairman and managing director of Star Publishing. As a textbook publisher looking beyond the local market, we have directly benefited from these results. It is certainly a great time to be in this field right now.

There has also been good news for the STM and academic segment, which has a lot to do with the sizable investments from the Singapore government for research at institutions such as the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, the National University of Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University, says Max Phua, managing director of World Scientific. The research community has thus expanded rapidly over the last 20 years.

There is now greater research output, more impactful discoveries, and increased collaboration between Singapore and other countries in the fields of science and technology. The current research culture has given World Scientific the opportunity to publish and work with world-class researchers who are based in Singapore, and help to enrich Singapores publishing sector, Phua says.

Better Numbers and Outlook

Things are significantly better for book retailers than they were in 2011, when 30% of Singapores shelf space was lost, predominantly because of the closure of the Borders and Page One superstores. The indie bookstore scene is buzzing, with BooksActually, Littered with Books, and Grassroots Book Room, for instance, serving loyal (and somewhat cultish) audiences with specially selected titles and several literary-related activities.

The incumbent chains have been under great pressure in the past decade, but Kinokuniya has successfully used Singapore as a base to build a brand of book retailing across Asia, says Peter Schoppert, president of the Singapore Book Publishers Association (and managing director of NUS Press). Popular Bookstore continues to support the neighborhoods while Times the Bookshop has evolved with its new lifestyle-based concept bookstores.

Schoppert says the Singapore book industry (which is estimated to generate around $400 million annually) needs to improve its efforts overall. We are not just a small market, Schoppert says. We are a small market reading, writing, and publishing in multiple languagesEnglish, Chinese, Malay, and Tamiland competing for attention and shelf space outside our borders is a real challenge.

Singapore libraries are doing well, Schoppert says, and much of the city-states new five-year National Reading Movement is focused on driving up library reading for both print and e-books. We are reaching out to the National Library Board with the view that book ownershiphaving and reading books at homeis an important part of that picture, as well, he notes.

Challenges Big and Small

Despite the positive developments, Schoppert cautions that in the medium term, there are significant issues. He adds: Demand is flat at best. Decreased share of the wallet for book purchases due to higher spending on private tuition is a concern. There is competition from overseas online booksellers that do not contribute anything to the local ecosystem since their sales are exempted from local tax. Rental remains high.

The publishers association itself has been making changes, including hiring full-time staff for the first time. It is working with Singapores Media Development Authority to design programs to help raise the industrys productivity and its international profile, and to invest in human capital. We also need to keep sending the message to policy makers that Singaporewith its competitive publishing industry and dynamic book ecosystemneeds to prepare itself for any structural challenges and opportunities that may come its way, Schoppert says.

And, while opportunities in overseas markets are growing, digitization is challenging traditional models of learning and publishing both domestically and abroad. Going digital is a must for the educational industry and its players, or one risks becoming obsolete like Kodak and Nokia, says Peh Shing Woei, CEO of Shing Lee Publishers. He emphasizes the need to offer interactive online content with adaptive capabilities to supplement paper-based textbooks, adding: Going forward, students and educators will demand access to online ancillaries that are augmented by analytics and AI technology, which will then personalize the learning and teaching processes even further. For Shing Lee, the year 2016 is the year of digital investment and innovations.

Meanwhile, Singapore publishers are busy attending fairs and exhibitions to gain more international exposure, meet potential collaborators, and create new business networks and opportunities. At the upcoming Frankfurt Book Fair, the Singapore Pavilion will host 13 publishers, including Armour Publishing, Balestier Press, Educational Publishing House, English Corner Publishing, Epigram Books, Ethos Books, ISEAS Publishing, Kitaab International, Marshall Cavendish, National Gallery Singapore, NUS Press, Star Publishing, and Straits Times Press. Four of these companies and Shing Lee Publishers (which will have its own booth) are featured below.

English Corner Publishing

Fourteen years ago, when managing director Betty Tan decided to launch a publishing company focusing on childrens magazines, skepticism abounded. Childrens magazines were basically nonexistent in Singapore at that time, Tan says. Teachers and parents equated such magazines with manga, which were deemed undesirable. So we spent quite a lot of time and resources to educate them on the merits of educomics.

Not surprisingly, when Science Adventures, Singapores first homegrown magazine, made its debut in 2002, its circulation was lowa thousand copies per month. Seven years later, it hit 6,000, and today it numbers 25,000. We export about 5,000 copies to Hong Kong per month and about 700 to Malaysia, where the number is expected to pick up now that we have an exclusive distributor working with us, adds Tan, whose team has also sold the rights to 120 titles to China, and the rights to 30 to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Throughout, the English Corner team has continued to promote comic magazines as a form of science education to schools and the public. It is best to get them started before first grade or elementary school so that they begin to understand science principles in everyday life, and develop scientific reasoning at a very early stage, explains Tan.

But the biggest goal, she says, is to cultivate good reading habits early. Few children are reading storybooks nowadays, Tan says. Their short attention span is ideally suited for illustrated short stories, arts and craft, and activitieswhich are found in abundance in childrens magazines. So the goal is to get children excited about reading and learning, and to pick up a book and start on longer texts. To add diversity to the range of educational magazines available on the market, Tan started distributing Highlights magazine in 2008, with 300,000 copies sold so far.

Tan cites Singapores low birth rate of 1.4 as one of the industrys biggest challenges. Fewer children entering the school system equal lower magazine subscription, Tan says. The good news is that the number of children reading on tablets is relatively low despite Singapore having the highest penetration of smart devices in the world.

NUS Press

A good university press, says managing director Peter Schoppert, is a hard thing to nurture, and we are lucky to build on a history and tradition that goes back nearly 60 years, to the publishing efforts of the University of Malaya, then based in Singapore. He adds that English-language university presses complement each other very well, publishing in different disciplines, with different styles and emphases, noting, we do compete, especially for authors, but we also share information and ideas.

NUS Press has seen modest increases in sales in the past three years, but the market for academic monographs is shrinking, Schoppert says. More research libraries have adopted e-preferred policy and will buy e-books rather than print copies. That is a challenge for a few reasons, not least because we have positioned our e-books as supplements to print, and priced them accordingly.

It can sometimes be a challenge to publish books on certain topics, such as gay rights, in conservative Singapore and Southeast Asia. Since we publish academic titles on social science and humanities across the region, we do have titles banned in one or more territories from time to time, Schoppert says. What we do is to ensure that our books represent viewpoints from within the region, and that our authors are not outside looking in, but are personally invested in the region. Schoppert says important new titles in NUS Presss 425-book catalogue include Zhuang Wubins Photography in Southeast Asia: A Survey; Unequal Thailand: Aspects of Income, Wealth and Power, edited by Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker; and The Oil Palm Complex, edited by Rob Cramb and John McCarthy.

Translating academic works from Asian languages into English is also of particular interest to Schoppert and his team, but, again, it is an uphill battle. Translators and editors have to be sensitized to differences not just in language, but also in discourse and rhetorics. While this is very important work to us and to many of our authors, it is often hard to justify, in business terms, given the time spent readjusting arguments for different language worlds.

But, with initial print runs ranging from 400 to 2,000 copies, Schoppert considers himselfand NUS Pressfortunate that the regions book trade still supports serious nonfiction and academic/trade crossover titles.

Shing Lee Publishers

The 2014 launch of the U.K. edition of the MathsNo Problem textbooks was a watershed moment for Shing Lee Publishers. It opened the door for similar collaborations with publishers around the world, says CEO Peh Shing Woei. The timing was great as the local educational market has not been growing due to the low birthrate, he adds. We had to look beyond the Singapore shores for future expansion. (This primary school math series has since been licensed to publishers in the Philippines and Sweden, with the Spanish edition due out soon.)

Shing Lees primary and secondary math seriesits most popular productshave been adopted by educators in 40 countries, including Australia, Germany, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the U.S. Peh and his team have licensed the secondary school series, which is approved by Singapores Ministry of Education since 1979, to Italy, and are now in the process of completing the U.K. edition. As for the U.S., our current K10 series is Common Corecompliant, while grades 11 and 12 titles are in the developmental process.

Peh recalls his surprise and elation when, in 2009, President Barack Obama acknowledged the effectiveness of Singapore math, and pointed out how Singapore students outperform their U.S. peers in the 13-to-14-year-old age group. It threw the focus on math series like ours, and it coincided with a time when overseas teachers were starting to look for new content and resources for use in the classroom, Peh says.

Today, the 81-year-old company, which started as a humble comics bookshop operated by Pehs grandfather, is a major player. We have moved beyond our specialty, which is math, to offer both textbooks and supplementary materials for English and Chinese languages, science, literature, geography, and history, adds Peh, whose team also offers 10-year examination series with step-by-step solutions. Products aside, we also offer professional development courses for teachers to help them with the latest teaching trends and pedagogies. Our principal trainer, Dr. Yeap Ban Har, is one of the worlds leading experts in professional development for teachers in Singapore math.

Star Publishing

With seven series of its textbooks approved by Singapores Ministry of Education, Star Publishing has effectively dominated over one-third of the primary school market, as well as over two-thirds of the secondary school math segment. Given the above market strengths, we started looking into overseas expansion opportunities two years ago, says executive chairman and managing director Steve Seow. Since then, we have published math programs for Brunei and the U.S. This year, the Ministry of Education in Colombia has approved the Spanish edition of our primary math for use in its schools. He adds that the South African edition of the Targeting Mathematics series will be published this November.

Singapore, says Seow, is one of the few Asian countries to use English throughout its education system. With the growing number of international schools using English as the medium of instruction in Asia, our textbooks are ready to be adopted or used by these schools. Within the region itself, the business potential is immense.

Seow has over 40 years of experience in educational publishing, having turned a small bookshop into the publicly listed company Pan Pacific before its merger with SNP Corporation in 2000. His two children later started anew with Star Publishing, launching their first textbook series in 2005. In November 2014, Seow took on the role of managing director, and for now he is focused on strengthening the companys educational offerings and strategizing for the longer term. Nothing beats sharing our proven textbook program with a global audience, and playing a role in mathematical thinking and development for the next generation, he says.

World Scientific

In the past 35 years, World Scientific, the largest international scientific publisher in Asia, has grown from a tiny five-person office to a publishing group with nine overseas offices and a 10,000-title catalogue, 70% of which is available digitally. Its best-known series remains English editions of Nobel lectures from 1901 to 2010. Its newest office, in Munich, is focused on selling rights and translating titles into German.

Two years ago, the company created two new imprints. WS Education offers textbooks and supplementary titles, and WS Professionalwith upcoming titles such as Lee Siang Tais Cities of Love: Roadmap for Sustaining Future Cities, and Jochen Wirtzs Winning in Service Marketsis for nonresearch and practitioner-based publications.

In the STM space, which is our forte, there is always something newly discovered in physical sciences and biomedicine, largely due to the immense R&D injections in China, Korea, Singapore, and other parts of Southeast Asia, says managing director Max Phua. This has contributed to a highly positive research culture. Phua is looking forward to continuing his companys growth to achieve an annual publishing program of 1,000 books and 200 journals, up from the current 600 and 130, respectively. Recent bestsellers from the catalogue include World Scientific Handbook of Global Health Economics and Public Policy, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, and Discovery of the Higgs Boson.

Depressed library budget in some countries, and piracy of online study guides and textbooks, adds Phua, are some of the major issues facing the STM and educational book segments. It will take concerted efforts from everybodyprivate, public, and governmentsto provide the solutions, he says.

In the meantime, Phua aims to continue publishing top-quality content in all formats to further strengthen World Scientifics presence across, and outside of, Asia. We see ourselves as a bridge between authors and readers, educators and students, the East and the West, he says.

PW would like to thank the National Arts Council of Singapore and the Singapore Book Publishers Association for supporting our efforts and making this report possible.

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  A Tippecanoe County teacher, Gina Boyd, has won a national award for teaching her students sophisticated economic principles.

Boyd, a teacher at Mayflower Mill Elementary, was named a John Morton Excellence in Teaching award winner by the national Council for Economic Education. Boyd also serves as a teacher advocate for Purdue University's Center for Economic Education. The center is part of Purdue's Krannert School of Management.

The economics center, founded 50 years ago, offers workshops and courses to bring economic concepts to students in grades K-12. Purdue's center primarily serves Tippecanoe and seven other counties. The Indiana Council for Economic Education works with 11 university-based centers around the state.

The concepts are taught through programs developed at Purdue. Elementary teachers in the classroom set up the mini-economy program. Each student is assigned a classroom task that earns them a payday every two weeks. The "play money" they earn can be spent every two weeks at a student-planned market. The market teaches students about price mechanisms and running a business.

"Our lessons are constructed to both meet state standards and provide real world market experiences. While test scores are important, we also want to prepare students to manage their financial lives once they are out of school," said professor David Perkis, director of the Purdue center.

The Purdue center also provides small incentive grants of $200 to local teachers to start a classroom business enterprise. The program teaches economic concepts, as well as teamwork and leadership skills, as students run a real business.

Boyd will receive her award Friday (Oct. 7) in Phoenix, Arizona, during the annual Financial Literacy and Economic Education Conference. Boyd and two other national winners receive a $1,000 honorarium and all expenses to attend the conference.

Writer: Howard W. Hewitt, 765-494-9541, hhewitt@purdue.edu

Source: David Perkis, perkis@purdue.edu
A salute to classic 'modern' buildings Updated: 2016-10-07 07:48 By Wang Kaihao(China Daily Europe)

A national list of "modern" architectural masterpieces has been released in Beijing to remind people of disappearing heritage.

Ninety-eight sites have been included in the first edition of the 20th-Century Chinese Architectural Heritage List, which was drafted by the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics and the Architectural Society of China.

Landmark architecture of New China, like the Great Hall of the People and the Monument to the People's Heroes, ranked high on the list.

Tourists visit the Bund in Shanghai in September. It is among 98 sites on the 20th-Century Chinese Architectural Heritage List. Yan Daming / For China Daily

Renowned Western-style architecture from the early 20th century was also included, such as the Bund in Shanghai; the Russian-style Saint Sofia Cathedral in Harbin, Heilongjiang; and Tianjin's Marco Polo Square, a former Italian community.

College campuses host another major type of architecture. Old buildings at Tsinghua, Nanjing and Wuhan universities are among the examples.

"Many of the included structures have abundant stories and are witnesses of historical vicissitude, and they are thus alive," says Shan Jixiang, head of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics. "However, more historical buildings from the 20th century that are not on the list are also endangered."

He says the new list will make people aware of preserving recent architectural sites for future generations.

"When restoring them, they should be treated as cultural heritage sites rather than general construction. Otherwise, historical information will be irreversibly lost," he says.

As an architect, Shan criticizes the way China became a playground for foreign designers' maverick blueprints in the first decade of the 21st century.

"Masterpieces of the 20th century prove that Chinese architects' spirit and techniques are well inherited," he says. "And they deserve to be passed on to modern times."

"The list shows that a new category has been added to the list of cultural heritage sites," adds Gu Yucai, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. "This is in keeping with common practice in the rest of world."

Still, Ma Guoxin, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, points to the lack of sufficient legal oversight to protect the heritage of the last century.

"There is a void in legislation concerning these sites, and a tailored rule is urgently needed to avoid further damage," Ma says.

wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page14)
DES MOINES, IA -- A Chinese national on Wednesday was sentenced to 36 months in prison for conspiracy to steal trade secrets from corn seed companies.

Mo Hailong, also known as Robert Mo, 46, appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa to hear his sentence, according to court documents.

"Theft of agricultural trade secrets, and other intellectual property, poses a grave threat to our national economic security," the attorney representing the United States in the case, Kevin E. VanderShel, said in a Department of Justice news release.

"The Justice Department and federal law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting those who engage in conduct such as Mo Hailong."

In addition to his prison sentence, Mr. Hailong will serve three years of supervised release and will pay restitution in an amount to be determined, the release says.

The Court also ordered the forfeiture of two farms, in Iowa and Illinois, that Mr. Hailong and others used during the conspiracy.

Mr. Hailong had become a lawful permanent resident of the United States when he was working as the Director of International Business of the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Company, a Chinese conglomerate with corn seed subsidiary company Kings Nower Seed.

While acting in his professional capacity, Mr. Hailong tried to steal secrets to new seed varieties from two leading U.S. corn seed companies in Iowa, according to the release.

In a plea agreement filed Jan. 27, Mr. Hailong pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, and the court dismissed four counts of conspiracy to steal trade secrets and three counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prosecuting parties included the United States of America and corn seed companies DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto, court documents indicate.

DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto develop inbred lines of corn that they cross to produce hybrid seed for commercial sale. Each have developed seeds with valuable traits, such as disease resistance, pest resistance and drought resistance.

For at least four years, Mr. Hailong and others conspired to obtain and bring to China corn seed and information from these companies, the plea agreement says.

The investigation against Mr. Hailong began when DuPont Pioneer staff saw him acting suspiciously in a corn field and alerted the FBI.

Four other alleged co-conspirators live in China, which does not have an extradition agreement with the U.S., and include Li Shaoming, CEO of Kings Nower Seed. A fifth conspirator has dual Canadian and Chinese citizenship.
New curbs on housebuyers Updated: 2016-10-07 07:48 By Fan Feifei(China Daily Europe)

More cities follow Beijing's example with deposit hikes and bans on extra homes

Local governments in nine Chinese cities have announced new restrictions on property purchases, designed to dampen speculative buying and curb soaring prices.

Tianjin, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Jinan, Wuxi, Hefei and Wuhan followed an announcement made in Beijing on the night of Sept 30.

Prospective buyers attend a real estate trade fair in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, on Oct 3. People will only be allowed to purchase one property in certain areas of the city, while those buying a second property will need to make a down payment of no less than 40 percent of the purchase price, the local government says.

They introduced measures to cool market, such as raising down payment requirements for second homes or banning the purchase of second and third homes.

In the past few months, average prices of commercial residential property in the cities have registered double-digit increases.

In August, Zhengzhou, in Henan province, saw the country's fastest monthly surge in the prices of new commercial residences and pre-owned homes.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the average price of new homes in 70 major cities rose 9.2 percent year-on-year in August, from 7.9 percent in July. More than 90 percent of the cities saw prices rise on a monthly basis.

Industry experts say cities, including Fuzhou, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Shijiazhuang and Qingdao, where home prices have seen runaway growth, are also likely to tighten rules for home purchases.

Yan Yuejin, research director of a think tank at the E-House China R&D Institute, a real estate research agency, says the new policies will restrain overheating home prices in some popular areas, and housing transactions in some cities are likely to fall in the second quarter of next year. However, prices are not likely to see substantial declines because of the shrinking property inventory and land supply, along with swelling urban populations, Yan said.

On Oct 3, as part of its efforts to curb speculation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a list of 45 housing developers and agents accused of hoarding, price-rigging and other malpractices.

The Beijing government on Sept 30 announced that down payments for first-time homebuyers should be no less than 35 percent, up from the previous level of 30 percent, while those for purchases of second homes should be no less than 50 percent.

Land supply for so-called self-use houses, which are sold to qualifying families at a price capped by the government, will be increased, the government said.

"These measures (in Beijing) will affect potential buyers who are keen to buy a better house by enhancing the investment threshold and utilizing financial leverage," says Guo Yi, marketing director at the Yahao Real Estate Selling and Consulting Solution Agency in Beijing.

Before the new regulations, the down payment requirement for pre-owned houses in Beijing had reached 40 to 60 percent of the total price, Guo says, adding that the proportion may rise to 50 to 70 percent under the new policy, which would greatly reduce demand for pre-owned housing.

Fan Hui, 32, a private business owner, bought an 80-square-meter two-bedroom apartment in Beijing's Chaoyang district in June. "I am very lucky because the price has risen by more than 1 million yuan ($150,000; 134,000 euros) in the three months since I bought it," Fan says.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn

( China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page14)
"This stuff has been asked and answered time and time again and we can just get on with it which is why I'm not pulling my bill," Chloe Swarbrick said.

2 hours ago
A feast for the elderly Updated: 2016-10-07 07:49 By Pauline D Loh(China Daily Europe)

Editor's note: To understand China, sit down to eat. Food is the indestructible bond that holds the whole social fabric together and it is also one of the last strong visages of community and culture.

Respect for the elderly and filial piety in the family are two core values in China. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the Chinese mark these qualities with Chongyang, or Double Ninth Festival, which falls on Oct 9 this year.

In Shunde, my grandfather's ancestral village in Guangdong province, the community gathers under the stars each year for a feast in honor of the elderly. They celebrate the best way they know how, with a hearty gourmet meal.

The village feast is a tradition of Shunde and showcases the region's finest cuisine. Zheng Junbin / For China Daily

Dozens of round banquet tables are laid out under an awning of red bunting, and dinner will include many regional specialties such as stir-fried milk custard, whole steamed pig, roast chickens, ducks and many seafood dishes.

The day begins with a ceremony at the clan hall, where the names of ancestors of every villager are archived and can be traced back several generations. Here, the silver-haired guests of honor are presented with Chongyang presents, red packets or envelopes containing gifts of money.

Shunde is the center of all that fine cuisine the Cantonese are best known for, and is also where the best Chinese chefs come from. Naturally, the village feast is a showcase of the region's finest.

In a makeshift kitchen that can cater to several hundred, the head chef first builds a brick stove that can hold a huge wok measuring about 1 meter across. Here, he will practice his craft with a skill that is no less perfect than the white-toque chefs in their stainless steel kitchens.

Only the freshest ingredients are used. The fish and prawns will still be leaping in their tanks, the pig freshly slaughtered, and the chickens and ducks running around in their cordons until it is time to meet the frying pan.

The chef is an itinerant practitioner, traveling with his small team from village to village during the Chongyang festivities. His reputation will have gone before him, since he has to please the nation's most finicky food critics.

Preparations for the village feast begin with the pig, an entire animal that needs to be splayed, de-boned and seasoned with the best Chinese wine, five-spice powder, salt, sugar and sesame oil.

After marinating for several hours, the whole pig is hoisted onto a large bamboo rack and steamed for 90 minutes. The chef then takes a specially made prick and pokes holes throughout the skin, allowing steam and excess oil to escape.

The animal is then quickly doused in ice water, a process that tightens the pores. It goes back on the fire for another hour before it is chopped into bite-sized portions.

This is where the mastery of the chef separates the men from the boys. In another session of seasoning, he makes his steamed pork stand out with a secret blend that is his particular signature.

The pork pieces must be very tender, bursting with juices and lightly covered in toasted sesame seeds and the chef's secret seasoning. This is the highlight of the feast.

Also on the table are the county's other favorite dishes, such as stir-fried milk custard.

Shunde is rare among China's Han communities in that it enjoys a lot of dairy products from its famous water buffalo. Its steamed milk custards are well known, but it is a savory special that most represents Shunde cuisine.

Water buffalo milk is thickened with a little vinegar and egg whites. It is then lightly scrambled with shrimp. The snow-white curd with its gems of pink prawns is an elegant dish and often garnished with delicately flavored olive kernels.

Considering the rough, tough rustic conditions of outdoor cooking, being able to create this dish perfectly for a village feast is the chef's badge of honor.

No Cantonese feast is complete without the combination platter of roast meats.

Pork fillets marinated in bean sauce and maltose are roasted over an open fire for contrasting textures of crisp and tender. Whole pork bellies are seasoned in spicy salt and pepper and also roasted for juicy meat layers topped by crisp, puffy crackling.

Whole chickens are basted over and over with boiling oil to create delicious golden birds. This is hard work for the chef, who has to hold the birds high above a pan of boiling oil with one hand while he repeatedly ladles the fat with the other.

Ducks are gilded with honey and stuffed with pickled plums before they are hung in steel drum ovens to roast. The result is a gleaming red bird that is flavorful both inside and out.

And because it's a feast in honor of the elderly, a special tofu dish is served. Freshly made fish paste is added to roughed up pieces of soft bean curd and steamed in a chicken broth egg custard. The result is a dish that delights the toothless.

Even vegetables get special treatment on this occasion.

Bean sprouts are topped, tailed and fried with salted fish minced into a paste, in the way Western chefs use anchovies for flavoring. Every bean sprout must have crunch, but still be cooked.

Another Cantonese evergreen is the tender inner stems of Chinese kale, quickly blanched and then drizzled over with oyster sauce and topped with fragrant fried shallots. It is a seemingly simple dish, but it takes a really good cook to deliver the crunchy texture of the vegetable without it wilting in the mouth.

Simplicity also applies for seafood.

Whole garoupas are steamed until the fish meat just flakes from the bone, and then hot oil is poured sizzling over shredded coriander, spring onions and ginger to create a unique aromatic sauce based on the fish's own juices.

Prawns, sweet and pink, are also steamed au natural. They are eaten with a dip of dark soy sauce and diced red chili.

Chongyang is a time to please the elderly, and what better way to pamper them then with a feast for both young and old. At least, that's how we do it in Shunde.

paulined@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page18)
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This essay is one piece of a two-part overview of the issues facing America's next president. Read about the domestic challenges here.

From Russia to North Korea to the slaughter in Syria, the next president will face foreign-policy challenges that test the very fundamentals of world order.

In recent months, RAND researchers have outlined the decisions that must be made, the dangers involved, and the least-bad options that now often pass for good ones. They have assessed the fight against ISIS, developed a peace plan for Syria, and mapped a future for the world economy.

Senior political scientist Michael J. Mazarr set the scene in a recent op-ed. U.S. foreign policy over the coming decade, he wrote, is likely to focus on the task of managing relations among a collection of tough, ambitious great powers that are determined to shift at least some of the global balance of power away from the United States.

ISIS: The Long Fight

Photo by Sgt. Cody Quinn/U.S. Army

The Islamic State has been driven from some of its most important cities and now finds itself under siege in others. But defeating it on the battlefield is only the first step in what will be a long fight to dismantle what it stands for.

Western perceptions of the Islamic State as the command-and-control hub of an international terror corporation are misguided. Instead, it is a three-part threat, RAND experts wrote: the self-declared caliphate itself; its franchisees in places like Libya and Nigeria; and its ideology, open-sourced for anyone to claim.

The coalition fighting ISIS on the ground has made great strides since senior international policy analyst Linda Robinson traveled through the region in the early months of the campaign. She found that the local forces on the front lines were, with some exceptions, fragmented, outgunned, and unprepared to reliably hold ground. Her recommendations, that the United States and its partners provide significantly more training and equipment to those local fighters, have since become strategy.

ISIS's opponents on Arabic-language Twitter outnumber its supporters, six to one.

Success in the fight against ISIS will require further developing those local fighters into competent hold forces, she said, as well as establishing effective governance in Iraq and Syria.

But as an ideology, ISIS is only the symptom of a disease, not the underlying cause, senior policy analyst Andrew Liepman and political scientist Colin P. Clarke wrote. The coalition still must address the social and political forces that gave rise to ISIS, such as vicious sectarian divisions in Iraq and the civil war in Syria.

There is reason for optimism in an unlikely place. ISIS may be known for its deft use of social media, but a recent RAND analysis found that its opponents on Arabic-language Twitter outnumber its supporters, six to one. They could represent a potent force in the fight against the idea of ISIS.

Syria: A Practical Peace Plan

Photo by Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP

The United States can no longer afford to wait for a comprehensive political settlement to bring an end to the bloodletting in Syria. Its principal goal, at least for now, should be to establish and sustain an enduring ceasefire, even if that means postponing a decision on the homicidal regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

That is the only practical way to end the fighting, a team of RAND experts led by former ambassador and special envoy to Afghanistan James Dobbins concluded.

Their peace plan would freeze the conflict along existing battle lines, effectively dividing Syria into several semi-independent zonesone controlled by the regime, one or more by the Arab opposition, and another by the Kurds. At least some state authority would devolve to those groups, allowing them to govern the areas they now hold, with international oversight.

For now, America's main goal in Syria should be to establish and sustain an enduring ceasefire.

A fourth zone, the vast and desolate east of Syria, would remain a free-fire zone. There all sides could turn their attention to the destruction of a common enemy, the Islamic State.

A durable ceasefire would at least buy negotiators time to work out the future shape of a Syrian stateand the fate of the Assad regimewithout the running clock of a daily body count. Anything else risks making 'the best' (that is, Assad's removal) the enemy of 'the good' (maintaining the ceasefire), the RAND experts wroteand ending up with the worst, a resumption of violence with no realistic plan to stop it.

Refugees: Lessening the Risk of Radicalization

Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto

As millions of displaced Syrians crowded into desert camps and urban slums, RAND researchers sought to better understand the forces that pushed former waves of refugees into the arms of radicals.

Their study of more than half a dozen previous refugee crises, from Asia to Africa to the Middle East, identified several common threads that seem to lead toward greater risk of radicalization. They found, for example, that refugees kept in isolated camps, with little opportunity for work or education and little sense of security, have been especially vulnerable to infiltration by militant groups.

Those findings provide a guide to the international community as it struggles to accommodate refugees now and in the future in a way that lessens the risk of radicalization. Host countries, in particular, should allow refugees some freedom of movement, provide adequate security, and establish opportunities for youth beyond primary school.

Critical to those efforts, of course, is international support and funding that doesn't wane as a refugee crisis drags into years.

Some of that funding could support local businesses that employ both refugees and non-refugees, said senior political scientist Barbara Sude, the study's lead author. That would improve the lives of people on both sides and strengthen the ties between their communities all good defenses against the threat of radicalization.

Russia: The Baltic Question

Photo by Igor Zarembo/Sputnik via AP

Sixty hours. In repeated war games at RAND, sixty hours is all it took Russian forces to punch through NATO's thin defenses in eastern Europe and reach the capitals of Estonia or Latvia.

It may seem unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin would risk war with NATO, senior research analysts David A. Shlapak and Michael Johnson wrote. But, as their games showed, the potential consequences if he did are so dire that it may be less than prudent to allow hope to substitute for strategy.

Both NATO and the United States have announced stepped-up troop rotations in eastern Europe, a good first step at reinforcing deterrence. But RAND's research concluded that NATO would need a force of about seven brigadesincluding three heavy armored brigades on the ground, properly supported and backed by air power, to fundamentally change the strategic equation for Moscow.

If Putin risked war with NATO by invading the Baltics, the potential consequences would be dire.

That would represent a small part of overall spending of NATO member countries, Shlapak and Johnson wrote. Without further strengthening its eastern flank, they added, NATO will remain outnumbered, outranged, and outgunned.

At the same time, the United States should look for ways to engage Russia, Mazarr wrote. There are areas for mutual cooperation, he noted, such as counterterrorism and nonproliferation. Russia aspires to a respected position in the world order, he wrotenot the role of hated troublemaker.

North Korea: The Wild Card

Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP

An underground explosion in rural North Korea in early September rattled seismographs in South Korea and homes fifty miles away in China. It was North Korea's most powerful nuclear test to date, the latest escalation in one of the world's most dangerous guessing games.

This year alone, the erratic regime of leader Kim Jong-Un has test-fired more than 30 ballistic missiles, sent a rocket into space in what was widely seen as another missile test, and detonated two nuclear bombs. Those tests show that the North is determined to advance its weapons programs and the threat they pose, even in the face of ever-tightening international sanctions, senior defense analyst Bruce W. Bennett wrote.

North Korea's nuclear tests call into question the long-standing U.S. approach of strategic patience.

The tests also call into question the United States' long-standing approach of strategic patience with North Korea, Bennett wrote. The U.S. sent two B-1 bombers over South Korea in a display of resolve after the September nuclear test, and has moved to deploy an advanced missile-defense system there.

The quickening pace of provocations from the North this year suggests a weak leader feeling more and more internal pressure, Bennett wroteand seeking to divert attention through displays of force. That raises another troubling question for the international community: What would happen if the North Korean regime collapses?

That could plunge parts of the North into anarchy, leave its weapons of mass destruction exposed, and threaten civil war in a country with more than one million military and security personnel, Bennett said. At the same time, it would likely cut off food distribution, provoking a humanitarian disaster even more serious than is normally the case in North Korea, he said.

Central America: Slowing the Exodus

Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Kendrick/U.S. Coast Guard

Nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children, fleeing poverty and violence in Central America, made the treacherous journey to America last year and were stopped at the border. Even more have been coming this year.

The United States is working with the governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to slow the exodus by stimulating economic growth, promoting education, and targeting criminal networks. But more needs to be done on this side of the border, senior policy researcher Daniel M. Gerstein and associate sociologist Ernesto F. L. Amaral wrote.

Given the numbers and the need, the most relevant question for policymakers may be how to best integrate those children allowed to stay into American society. U.S. officials should better monitor how children fare in their host families, in their schools, and in their communities, Gerstein and Amaral wrote.

History has repeatedly shown the futility of building impenetrable border walls to keep people out.

More broadly, America needs to streamline its immigration court system, with more judges to hear more cases in less time, Gerstein wrote in a separate paper. It also should invest in better technologies to secure the border and target suspect air and sea cargoes as well as individuals.

A wall across the southern border a thin brittle line, in Gerstein's wordswould only divert money and resources from those needed reforms. The evidence of history, he wrote, from the Great Wall of China to the French Maginot Line, has repeatedly shown the futility of building impenetrable barriers to keep people out.

Trade: Adapt and Integrate

Photo by chungking/Fotolia

International free-trade deals may have few friends in presidential politics, but they could strengthen economies at home and abroad as the world adapts to some 21st-century realities.

America will remain the dominant player in the world economy for the foreseeable future. But it will have to accommodate rising world powers like China, as well as developing nations whose economies are growing while those of America's closest allies slip.

The United States stands to gain more from strengthening world economic institutions and rulesand engaging with those rising powers than from pulling back, senior economist Howard J. Shatz wrote. Despite the rhetoric, trade and investment deals represent valuable tools in that effortmeasured both in domestic dollars and cents and in the expansion of the world economy.

The United States should strive to maintain and strengthen the global system of trade it helped create.

Because of that, the United States should approve some version of a Pacific trade and investment agreement, Shatz concludedand include an on-ramp for China to join. The U.S. also should sign a new trade and investment agreement with Europe to help restore growth there and benefit both economies.

This is a decisive moment for the world economy. The United States should strive to maintain and strengthen the global system of trade it helped createspurring growth so lives are improved, Shatz said, and demonstrating to countries that a U.S.-led economic system is a desirable one in which to participate.

 Doug Irving
Polands Comarch, a Telefonica partner, has won recognition for the best operations support systems (OSS) transformation project in Latin America.





The title was awarded due to the companys cooperation with the Telefonica Group across many Latin American markets since Comarch was appointed Telefonicas official vendor of configuration management and network planning solutions for Latin America and Germany. Comarch OSS solutions have been reused by Telefonica across multiple locations to speed up OSS transformations and benefit from group synergies. The prize was awarded by Informa during the BSS/OSS Latin America 2016 conference.The solution focuses on inventory centralisation, auto-discovery and reconciliation, as well as configuration management and planning of Telefonicas network in the region. Comarch not only plays the role of software provider and integrator, but also acts as a business consulting partner, helping Telefonica transform processes, tools and the organisation.
Yet underneath this healthy top-line figure, the study found that due to the ongoing FCC blackout on TV transactions, the TV deal market registered a mere $16.8 million in the third quarter 2016, which is the lowest quarterly deal volume since the first quarter of 2010.SNL Kagan discovered that the largest deal of the third quarter was a refiling, and its $13.5 million price tag was deducted from a previous deal announced earlier in the year. Calkins Media ABC affiliate WAAY-TV in Huntsville, was originally to be sold to Raycom Media together with Calkins other two ABC stations for $82.0 million. Alabama TV LLC also agreed to acquire WAAY-TV on 26 August.The only other significant TV deal cited in the S&P Global Market Intelligence , report was another spin-off as part of Nexstar Broadcasting Group deal to acquire Media General. Nexstar is selling FOX affiliate KASA-TV in Santa Fe, and 31 TV translators to Ramar Communications Inc for $2.5 million.
Moscow court mitigates sentence for metro accident case defendants

MOSCOW, October 7 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  The Moscow City Court has mitigated the sentence for four convicted defendants in the case over Moscow metro crash that left 24 people dead by putting them in penal settlement, the court announced on its website on Friday.

Terms of imprisonment have not been changed, the statement reads.

The court also overturned lower courts rulings ordering the convicts to pay compensation to aggrieved persons. This matter is to be reconsidered by the Dorogomilovsky District Court of Moscow in the course of civil law proceedings.

Three metro cars derailed on a section between the Park Pobedy and Slavyansky Bulvar metro stations in the west on the city during peak commute hours on July 15, 2014.

Deputy Chief of a subcontractor of the repair project Anatoly Kruglov, Alexei Trofimov, a senior executive in the Metro's repair department, the enterprise's track supervisor Valery Bashkatov and his assistant Yury Gordov have been found guilty of violation of traffic safety rules and underground operating rules that entailed death of two and more people.

Kruglov, Trofimov and Bashkatov were sentenced to 5 .5 years in general regime penal colony each. Gordov was given a 6-year prison sentence.

In June 2016, the Moscow City Court reduced the sentence for Kruglov by three months.
JFC ex-CEO Kekhman owes $27.2 mln to Promsvyazbank - court

MOSCOW, October 7 (RAPSI) - The Thirteenth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld a lower courts ruling to include a 1.7 billion rubles ($27.2 million) debt of former CEO of JFC Group Vladimir Kekhman to Promsvyazbank on the list of creditors' claims, according to court records.

In September, the court upheld Kekhmans debt to UniCredit Bank estimated at 434.3 million rubles ($6.9 million).

Promsvyazbank and UniCreditBank filed applications with the Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region seeking recovery of debt from Kekhman in March.

Kekhman was declared bankrupt by court upon the application of Sberbank on July 28. Kekhman has filed an appeal against the ruling. This appeal will be considered on October 24.

Moreover, on July 21, a court in St. Petersburg dismissed a petition lodged Kekhman seeking the recognition of Londons High Courts judgment declaring him bankrupt. Kekhmans financial executive Mikhail Bologov, Russias Federal Tax Service, Sberbank, Rosbank, Promsvyazbank, Raiffeisenbank, UniCredit Bank, Aquamarine Company and Pulkovo Trade Company are named as interested parties in the dispute.

A Kekhmans representative claimed during the bankruptcy hearings that the former head of JFC had no obligations before Sberbank because he was already been declared bankrupt by The High Court of Justice of England in 2012 and Sberbank received its share from sales of Kekhmans property. A Sberbanks representative, on the other hand, claimed that the bank was not involved in the process and did not receive any compensation. According to the Sberbanks representative, the bank had rulings of several Russian courts on debt recovery from Kekhman.

Nevertheless, the representative of Kekhman insisted that the ruling of The High Court of Justice of England had been recognized by Sberbank and was to be complied with in Russia.

In its ruling, the court pointed out that in the absence of international treaties, entered into by the Russian Federation, decisions on bankruptcies taken in foreign jurisdictions were to be recognized in Russia only on the reciprocity basis unless otherwise stipulated by federal laws. At present, the court stressed, the Russian Federation was not a party in any international treaty on bankruptcy issues.
Federal Security Service charges Ukrainian journalist Sushchenko with espionage

MOSCOW, October 7 (RAPSI)  Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko, who was allegedly spying on Russias Armed Forces and National Guard, with espionage, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

Today Sushchenko was charged with espionage,  his lawyer Mark Feygin said.

Sushchenko will stay in jail until November 30.

According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Ukrainian citizen has purposively collected classified information about the Armed Forces and National Guard of Russia. Leak of data abroad could cause damage to national defense capability.

Sushchenko could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Ukrinform news agency confirmed that Sushchenko has been acting as its reporter since 2002. Since 2010, he has been working as Ukrinforms personal correspondent in France. According to the agency, the man arrived in Moscow on private business during his vacation and was arrested immediately upon his arrival.

Ukrinform repelled accusations against Sushchenko calling him a journalist with years of unblemished professional reputation.
The building of a nuclear family Updated: 2016-10-07 07:49 By Cecily Liu(China Daily Europe)

Hinkley Point investor CGN wants to share its valuable experience with the world and provide clean energy, chairman says

A lot has been written and said about China General Nuclear Power Group this year, especially last month when it signed a final agreement to invest in Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.

The company will contribute one-third of the 18 billion pounds ($2.69 billion; 2.4 billion euros) needed to build the power station, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2025.

China General Nuclear Power Group's London office. Cecily Liu / China Daily

Once finished, the plant is expected to create 25,000 jobs and meet 7 percent of Britain's energy demand, with supplies continuing for six decades.

The contract inked last month came after four years of discussions and visits by British government officials to CGN-operated nuclear plants in China as well as an unforeseen delay in July when Prime Minister Theresa May called for a full review of the project.

CGN's involvement in Hinkley Point is significant as it is the largest Chinese investment so far in Europe, but also it sets the ball rolling on China's plan to see its third-generation nuclear reactor, the Hualong One, used in a proposed power station at Bradwell, on the southeast coast of England.

If the reactor passes Britain's rigorous general design assessment for nuclear technology, a strict process that can take five years, Bradwell could well become the first nuclear plant in a developed country with a Chinese reactor, paving the way for further exports of the technology.

So it is perhaps easy to see why Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador in London, would refer to the Hinkley Point contract as the "golden fruit" of China-UK collaboration.

Yet despite the excitement surrounding his company, CGN Chairman He Yu is a picture of calm and quiet confidence when he sits down to an interview in CGN's new offices beside London's Green Park.

"It's true the British public may have concerns about our nuclear technology, but we plan to do a lot more to build their trust," he says. "We believe transparency is the most important element in the communications process."

His words come after speculation in the British media that May's delay in approving Hinkley Point stemmed from concern over Chinese investment in such a large infrastructure project, a sentiment that appears to be backed up by measures added to the final agreement.

Crucially, the British government has established a new regulatory framework that states it will hold a "golden share" in crucial infrastructure projects involving foreign investors. Limitations were also imposed on Hinkley Point's majority investor, French energy company EDF, that block it from selling its shares before construction is complete.

Some industry analysts say the conditions point to a tightening of the environment for foreign investors in infrastructure and point to May's chief of staff, Nick Timothy, who was quoted in the media as saying that China could "build weaknesses" into the Hinkley plant's computer systems that would "allow them to shut down Britain's energy production at will".

However, He Yu says CGN is not worried. The extra conditions will have no impact on its nuclear investment decisions, he says, adding that the British government's desire to be involved in crucial infrastructure projects is understandable and common practice globally.

CGN, formerly China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding, was established in 1994 as a key state-owned nuclear company. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2014.

By the end of last year, the company managed 14 nuclear plants, with a combined installed capacity of 14.92 gigawatts. That's 56.5 percent of the total nuclear power installed capacity in China. The company also has another 14 plants under construction.

CGN's first nuclear project was the Daya Bay plant in Shenzhen, which was built in partnership with Framatone, a French company later renamed Areva and acquired by EDF. Daya Bay's two reactors started commercial operation in 1993 and 1994 respectively.

From there, He says his company developed a close partnership with EDF based on trust and an understanding of each other's technologies.

Chain reaction

CGN went on to construct the second phase of the Fangchenggang nuclear power station in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The plant uses the Hualong One, which was jointly developed by CGN and China National Nuclear Corp.

The reactor's core technology, ACP1000, passed the International Atomic Energy Agency's generic reactor safety review in December 2014, signifying that the technology is safe for international export.

He Yu says CGN is in talks to export the reactor to Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Turkey, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic, while negotiations with Romania are at an advanced stage, with an announcement on a joint venture expected this year.

It is now hoped Hualong One will become only the second or third reactor to pass Britain's general design assessment, joining the European Pressurized Reactor, which will be used at Hickley Point. Westinghouse's AP1000, a technology from the United States, is still awaiting approval.

"Once Hualong One passes the British assessment, it will boost more countries' confidence and push forward the reactor's global market development," He says.

CGN established a project department in February 2015 to work on the regulatory process for the assessment. Technical preparations were finished in July.

If the Chinese reactor is used at Bradwell, He says CGN will be the majority stakeholder in the project, holding a 66.5 percent share. "It means we'll bear responsibility, and our returns will be higher," he adds.

He emphasizes that CGN aims to "use British talent to build a British power plant" by boosting its UK branch with local recruits and incorporating British nuclear industry supply chain companies into its Hualong One technology during the localization process.

As Britain does not have its own third-generation nuclear technology, these firms are keen to cooperate with CGN, with a view to securing more deals when the Chinese company starts to build reactors in other developed countries. Companies likely to be interested include Rolls-Royce, Centronic and Delta Controls.

He Yu, who graduated from North China Electric Power University, joined CGN in 1986. He was part of the first wave of "golden talent" in the nuclear industry who were sent to France for further training.

On his return, he trained younger nuclear professionals, and he says proudly that skilled and innovative people are one of the reasons why China's nuclear industry is so competitive.

"If I belong to the golden generation, then our young executives must represent the diamond generation," he says.

He recalls when he supervised the Daya Bay project and allocated two French trainers to assess students: "I gave them the job because they didn't know any of the students, so they could dismiss those who weren't good enough in a fair and objective way. That is a demonstration of how strict we are on talent education."

In addition, CGN has kept up a tradition over the years of sending executives abroad for graduate degree training. The move familiarizes them with global practices and norms, and paves the way for the internationalization of China's nuclear technology, He says.

"Our objective is to provide clean energy, and because China has more than three decades of experience in the nuclear industry, we want to take these valuable experiences global."

cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page27)
On the night of July 1, five gunmen stormed into the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and took hostages. The attack, which claimed 24 innocent lives, was the largest terrorist attack in Bangladeshs history. As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on his recent visit to Bangladesh, terrorists have no respect for national boundaries, no concern for the rights of others, no regard for the rule of law, and they do not embody the values of the people of Bangladesh or the United States.

Terrorism is not new to Bangladesh nor is the governments concerted effort to thwart it. For three years, the country has witnessed spasmodic attacks on freethinkers, religious minorities, and foreigners. Both al-Qaeda affiliates and the Islamic State group have taken credit for these horrific acts, though until July the threat had largely come from within, not from the outside.

Just before the July tragedy, Bangladeshi authorities launched an unprecedented campaign to combat terrorism within its borders. As part of this effort, the governing Awami League, backed by the pro-liberation 14-party alliance, initiated a plan to pinpoint terrorist suspects and to undermine their ideological justifications for violence.

Since early summer, security forces have arrested several dozen potentially dangerous militants, including members of banned organizations like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Hizb ut-Tahrir, Ansarullah Bangla Team, Ansar al-Islam, Harkat-ul-Jihad, and Allaher Dal. Security forces also arrested leaders of Jamaatul Mujahideen, Ansarullah Bangla Team, and Islami Chhatra Shibir. These crucial arrests have visibly weakened the most threatening organizations in Bangladesh.

Contrary to reports in Western media, authorities are not simply rounding up and detaining people at random. Quite the opposite: Bangladeshi authorities have made arrests only when there was substantial evidence of terrorist activities. This includes the arrest and detention of British national Hasnat Karim, who was seen talking with the attackers on the roof of the building. Karim had been recently fired from a job at North South University, a private institution, for his connection to the Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned terrorist group that seeks to establish an Islamic state, according to public news accounts in India Today and the International Business Times. Likewise, Canadian Tahmid Hasib Kahn was arrested after evidence of wrongdoing was presented. Kahn was photographed during the attack carrying firearms and talking with the attackers. He was subsequently acquitted of terrorism charges, but he failed to appear at two scheduled interviews with Bangladesh police and is now being charged with lack of cooperation with policing authority. Both cases were in full compliance with Bangladeshi law.

Many people have been questioned as part of Bangladeshs war on terror. Most have not been charged, however about 194 are being held on terrorism-related charges, according to the New York Times. The government is working hard to uphold democratic principles and the rule of law while also ensuring the safety of the Bangladeshi people.

Make no mistake: The government will root out terrorists hiding in Bangladesh. In a country of 160 million, such work is painstaking. Authorities are learning more each day about the web of domestic terrorists and extremists that say they are conspiring with violent international terrorist outfits.

The country has made solid progress in the war on terror. Despite this, the international media will continue to make unjustified accusations about the legality of government actions. There will be violence and our counterterrorism forces will be called upon to protect innocent bystanders and each other. Extremists dont surrender peacefully. They often open fire and detonate explosives. While police strive for peaceful resolution to all conflicts, but that is not always what happens unfortunately.

Terrorists face a more determined Bangladesh than they expected. Their hateful adventures have brought Bangladeshis together. The government has risen to the challenge of securing its homeland. The terrorists are losing.

When Secretary Kerry visited Bangladesh in late August, he said terrorism was clearly designed to divide Bangladesh, designed to try to cut off this welcoming society from the outside world. He was right. Dangerous groups like JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team, and Jamaat-e-Islami are on the run.
realclearworld Newsletters: Mideast Memo

While the worlds watchful eye settles on the besieged and suffering city of Aleppo, another important conflict looms just across the Syrian border.

For months now, Iraqi forces, joined by U.S. military personnel, have been laying the groundwork for the recapture of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the countrys second-largest metropolis, which fell to Islamic State fighters back in June 2014. The campaign will be a critical test for the Iraqi army and for the fractious central government in Baghdad.

Lingering in the background of this key confrontation with the Islamic State group are the Hashd al-Shabi, commonly referred to as the Popular Mobilization Units, or PMUs. These Iran-backed Shiite militias have played a sizable role in the fight against the Islamic State in northern Iraq, but not without inviting controversy and condemnation of their own. And while these Shia fighters have reportedly agreed to remain on the periphery of the battle, some experts worry that these forces may only exacerbate sectarian tensions in and around the majority-Sunni city once the battle is underway, and might even pose a threat to American troops.

To help sort all of this out, the Mideast Memo spoke recently with Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute who specializes in Middle East security and Iranian foreign policy. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RCW: Lets start with Mosul and the PMUs. What kind of an effect, if any, will these militias have on the bid to reclaim the city?

VATANKA: The first thing to point to is how the PMUs first came about. This goes back to 2014, when Islamic State was rapidly taking territory in Iraq, prompting Iraqi spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to issue a fatwa calling on Iraqi Shiites to take up arms against the jihadi militant group.

If we dont get this important point right, then were going to mistakenly point to Iran and blame them exclusively for the development of Shiite militias in Iraq, and in the process miss the real dynamic in the country.

This of course does not mean that Irans role has been minor, but it is important to understand what was evolving politically in Iraq at that time, and why that moment has since passed. It is no longer 2014, and the need for the formation of militias has dissipated. For the Iraqi army, this is going to be a long-term struggle not just against ISIS, but also the sons of ISIS.

Defeating these extremist forces in the country will also require a political solution, however, and one that involves Iraqs Sunni communities. This cannot be accomplished through sectarian militias.

RCW: How does Iran view the PMUs? Do they hope to model them after their own Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)?

VATANKA: The Iranians are pretty clear that they would prefer to establish a state within a state inside Iraq -- something like the Revolutionary Guard or Hezbollah in Lebanon, if they could get away with it, which is doubtful. In truth, the Iranians have some fundamental objectives in Iraq. First and foremost, nobody in Iran wants to see Iraq ever again develop into a power that could threaten Iranian security. Outside of this, however, the Iranians have demonstrated some flexibility. If Tehrans baseline preference is to keep Iraq militarily weak, it still has a tremendous amount of middle ground to bring in aggrieved Sunni communities to help stabilize the country.

Iran knows as well as anyone that these communities will be essential to not only defeating ISIS, but ISIS-ism. Theyve seen firsthand the longevity of groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan.

RCW: So Tehran doesnt want Iraq to be a failed state?

VATANKA: Iran doesnt want a Gaza as its neighbor, no. Why settle for that when it could instead exert influence over a much stabler country?

Iraq has developed into one of Irans biggest trading partners -- were talking billions of dollars. Sure, Iran could sell weapons to Iraq, but you cant sell cars and refrigerators to a failed state.

In Tehran there is a minimum consensus on Iraq. The Rouhanis of the world want to develop state-to-state relations, whereas the IRGC sees Iraq more as a little brother. But Iranian officials need to come up with a more uniform approach, because while its current policy might make perfect sense in Tehran, it is the image of the meddling Revolutionary Guard that is most prevalent.

RCW: And that is the image being broadcasted to the world.

VATANKA: Its a real problem for them. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Revolutionary Guard is the face of the Islamic Republic around the world.

RCW: Mosul is about 85 km from Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish region, and Kurdish peshmerga forces have played a key role in the fight against ISIS. How do policymakers in Tehran view the Kurds in post-ISIS Iraq?

VATANKA: Iran has traditionally been closer to one particular Kurdish faction, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, but it has also worked in more recent years to keep longtime Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani in power. Iran has never really taken full Kurdish independence seriously, but Iranian generals got a taste for fighting the Kurds about 40 years ago during the 1979 Kurdish rebellion. Iran, remember, is an imperial state with many different minority groups, not just its own Kurds. It has multiple restive communities to worry about and keep in check.

RCW: Would Iran accept more Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq as a tradeoff for stability in the region?

VATANKA: Iran has already accepted a great deal of Kurdish autonomy, and in 2014, when Iraqi forces were dropping their weapons and fleeing, it was the Iranians who rapidly moved into Iraq to assist in the fight against ISIS. The Kurds haven't forgotten this.

RCW: The political situation in Baghdad remains tenuous. What role does Iran have in the countrys current political discord, and how does it hope to exert influence in Baghdad moving forward?

VATANKA: I look at the Iraq-Iran relationship a different way. I believe the Arab states in the Gulf and the Middle East have missed an opportunity to match Iranian influence in Baghdad. If, instead of looking at Iraqi Shiites as Shias first and Arabs second, the regions Arab powers should try to view it the other way around, and really focus on the Arab character of Iraq.

Iraqi Shiites fear that Arab states ultimately want to install another Sunni strongman in Baghdad. If the Gulf states, rather than disregarding these fears, instead examined and exploited the differences between Arab and Persian societies, and also how unusual the model of government in Iran is as compared to Shiite history, this could present them with an opportunity.

RCW: Its a rather modern concept, the Iranian supreme leader.

VATANKA: It was completely made up by one man in 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Compare that to Iraq, where you have Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, more of a quietist, and you have a model that could not only work in Iraq but throughout the Shiite world. But if Iraqi Shiites remain convinced that marauding Sunnis are going to come and murder them, this will only continue to push Iraqs Shia toward Tehran.

More on this:

The Fight for Mosul Is About to Begin -- Los Angeles Times

Iraqi Leader Outlines Plan for Iraq After ISIS -- Al-Monitor

The Political Battles in Baghdad After the Battle for Mosul -- War on the Rocks

The Man Holding Iraq Together -- RealClearWorld



***

Questions, comments, or complaints? Feel free to send us an email, or reach out on Twitter @kevinbsullivan. Eager for more Mideast news and analysis? Check out Real Clear Middle East.
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Seeing Africa is believing in Africa Updated: 2016-10-07 07:49 By Edith Mutethya(China Daily Europe)

Its image is changing among Chinese tourists and entrepreneurs with investment opportunities coming to the fore

What is the first thing an average Chinese person may think of when asked to describe Africa?

Perhaps it is its big-game animals, such as lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards and rhinos, or maybe they picture themselves on safari. For some, particularly those affected by images in the media, their first thought may be of a hot and dry continent hampered by civil wars, corruption, disease and poverty.

While the former may appeal to some, the latter would almost certainly scare all but the bravest away.

Yet the Chinese who have visited Africa have a different perception. Spotting investment opportunities and virgin markets, many have opted to live and work on the continent long-term.

Zhuo Wu arrived in Kenya as an employee of a Chinese company in 1996. He had just graduated from Hebei University of Engineering, and despite holding a negative perception of the continent he saw an opportunity to learn English.

Two decades on, he now runs his own business in Nairobi and has visited more than 10 other African nations. "Before coming to Africa, I had an impression that the continent was underdeveloped and insecure," he recalls. "But when I arrived at Nairobi, I found a clean city with a good climate, friendly people and huge business opportunities."

Zhuo, who is vice-chairman of the China General Chamber of Commerce in Eastern Africa, says the continent has rich natural resources, beautiful scenery, good medical facilities and, for the most part, is peaceful.

This is in addition to its spectacular wildlife, such as the Maasai Mara wildebeest migration between July and September, he adds.

Zhuo's desire to help fellow Chinese to see Africa for themselves led to him establishing This is Africa (Kenya) Travel Agency Ltd. He also owns China Ceramic and Furniture City, a company selling construction materials.

Despite the fact that conflicts are inevitable as Africa navigates deep-rooted ethnic, religious and regional divides, Zhuo says his experience gives him confidence that the continent is on the right path.

Jiang Xue's opinion of Africa changed after trips to Uganda and Kenya as a tourist.

"The two countries' capitals are clean and tidy, and security is not as bad as I thought," she says. "I didn't carry all my money with me whenever I went out, as I'd been advised back at home not to. And the state of people's hunger is not as bad as it's portrayed by the Western media."

Although all the people she interacted with were well educated, she says the Kenyan government should do more to enroll street children in school. "It's discouraging to see children in the street begging for food instead in school," she says, adding that the traffic jams in Kenya and the relatively high cost of living compared with Uganda were also negatives.

"In Uganda, a five-star hotel charged us $100 a night, and a dinner for four was $40. Yet in Kenya, the accommodation was $250 a night and dinner cost $70," she says.

Angie Gao, who visited Nairobi last month for an international agrochemicals exhibition, says Kenya offers many investment opportunities and that her company, which makes soluble fertilizers, is looking to enter the East African market.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page26)
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Portable Wi-Fi is a net gain for travelers Updated: 2016-10-07 07:49 By Fan Feifei(China Daily Europe)

Chinese outbound travelers are increasingly renting portable Wi-Fi devices before they embark on a holiday, to keep overall vacation costs low and to keep in almost constant touch with family, colleagues and friends, a survey has found.

Industry experts say this relatively new trend is a result of an increase in travel and rising demand from tourists for affordable access to the internet while in a foreign country.

Many travel agencies have been offering free portable Wi-Fi devices to their customers at no or nominal additional charges. This, in turn, is encouraging many more people to travel abroad.

Data from Tuniu Corp, a Chinese online travel agency, shows 91 percent of outbound travelers now connect to the internet using Wi-Fi access at various destinations.

But most of the time, such free Wi-Fi access is available only at airports, hotels, restaurants, cafes and tourist spots. While on the move, however, travelers generally rely on exorbitant roaming access to the net.

These days, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and other devices, most travelers remain online nonstop, to share photographs, video clips; write travelogues, diaries and blogs; search directions on maps; dig up tourism information from websites; make travel arrangements like hotel and flight bookings using apps; read news; and stay connected via social media.

Using the internet for such heavy data needs on a roaming feature could punch a big hole in a traveler's wallet.

That is where a portable Wi-Fi device, which offers high-speed access and unlimited data, and can be shared by several people, could prove useful. It is now popular among outbound travelers.

The service is relatively cheap or sometimes even offered as a freebie, part of the overall package deals of travel firms.

The device can be obtained at the airport or home-delivered to travelers in advance. Charges have dropped in the past year or two, and now vary from 10 yuan ($1.50; 1.30 euros; 1.18) per day in Japan and South Korea to about 30 yuan per day in European countries.

Portable Wi-Fi service providers generally tie up with telecom firms at tourist destinations. For instance, Tuniu launched its outbound Wi-Fi rental business in 2013. It cooperates with 200 carriers, and its network covers 123 countries and regions.

Such services have become essential because hundreds of millions of people are given to wanderlust and have an active life on social media. From China alone, 120 million people traveled across the world last year, spending $194 billion in all.

That marked the third year in a row that China topped the list of international outbound travelers, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

The latest Tuniu report showed female tourists particularly like using Wi-Fi access to stay connected with loved ones during their travels. More than 60 percent of Wi-Fi users among tourists are women.

Forty percent of Wi-Fi users are aged 30 to 39 and have stable incomes. Among the users of portable Wi-Fi devices, 35 percent would first consider cost details; 23 percent would weigh specific details like network speed; and 19 percent are concerned whether or not they could obtain and return the Wi-Fi device conveniently, according to the report.

Zhang Xue, 28, a primary school teacher in Beijing, booked a package tour to South Korea in July. "I rented a portable Wi-Fi device for my trip to Jeju Island. The net was fast and it was very cheap, just 8 yuan per day. I'd consider renting such a device for my next outbound trip."

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page29)
If you have a mother, sister, friend, girlfriend, or any loved one who is insecure, do you remind her that you think she is beautiful every da
FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2016 file photo, first lady Michelle Obama speaks at LaSalle University in Philadelphia as she campaigns for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Obama will mark International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11 by Skyping with girls around the world about education challenges in their lives. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

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By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)  First lady Michelle Obama will mark International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11 by Skyping with girls around the world about education challenges in their lives.

The event is sponsored by Glamour magazine's The Girl Project, which offers education help to more than 50 million girls worldwide.

Obama will be joined from the Newseum in Washington, D.C., by "Black-ish" actress Yara Shahidi and Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive.

Participating in the event will be girls in Washington, Jordan, Peru, Tanzania and the U.K. The event, with help from cosmetics giant Maybelline New York, kicks off a monthlong campaign by The Girl Project to raise money for education programs.

Glamour will host 100 watch parties in 100 countries.
In this photo taken on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, Mubeen Rajhu, who killed his sister Tasneem sits at police headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan. Rajhu couldn't stand the teasing, accusations and whispers from co-workers and neighbors that his sister was having an affair and with a Christian. The taunts were relentless. "What kind of a man are you?" his workmates at the coal-fired steel mill where he had worked for nearly four years asked. His neighbors sneered as he passed. "Do you have no honor?" they asked. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

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By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) a For two months, over the thunder of machines at the steel mill, the men taunted Mubeen Rajhu about his sister. Even now, they laugh at how easy it was to make him lose his temper.

Some people had seen Tasleem in their Lahore slum with a Christian man. She was 18, a good Muslim girl, out in public with a man. Even though the man had converted to Islam out of love for her, this couldn't be allowed.

"Some guys got to know that his sister was having a relationship," says Ali Raza, a co-worker at the mill. "They would say: 'Can't you do anything? What is the matter with you? You are not a man.'"

Raza can barely contain a smile as he talks about the hours spent needling Rajhu.

"He used to tell us, 'If you don't stop, I will kill myself. Stop!'" Raza says.

He raises his voice to compete with the sounds of the coal-powered mill, and workers blackened by its dust gather to listen. They too smile. A few laugh at the memory of Rajhu's outbursts.

"The guys here told him, . 'It would be better to kill your sister. It is better than letting her have this relationship,'" Raza says.

Rajhu told them he had bought a pistol, and one day in August he stopped coming to work.

Rajhu discovered that his sister had defied the family and married the Christian. For six days he paced. His rage grew. How could she?

He watched her laughing on the phone, ignoring their mother's pleas to leave the man.

On the seventh day, he retrieved the pistol from where he had hidden it and walked up to his sister and with one bullet to the head, he killed her.

___

For generations now in Pakistan, they've called it "honor" killing, carried out in the name of a family's reputation.

The killers routinely invoke Islam, but rarely can they cite anything other than their belief that Islam doesn't allow the mixing of sexes. Even Pakistan's hard-line Islamic Ideology Council, which is hardly known for speaking out to protect women, says the practice defies Islamic tenets.

It doesn't matter: in slums and far-off villages, away from the cosmopolitan city centers, people live in a world where religion is inextricably tied to culture and tradition, where tribal councils can order women publicly punished, and a family can decide to kill one of its own, even to avenge a wrongdoing committed by someone else.

In the vast majority of cases, the "honor" killer is a man and the victim is a woman.

She is a sister who falls in love with a man not of her family's choosing. She is a daughter who refuses to agree to an arranged marriage, sometimes to a man old enough to be her father. She is a wife who can no longer stay in an abusive marriage and divorces her husband.

He is a brother, like Rajhu, who cannot bear the taunts of other men brought up as he was, believing that women are subservient and must be kept in the shadows, their worth often measured by the number of sons they can produce. He is a neighbor, like Raza at the plant, who doesn't think his friend did anything wrong in taking his sister's life. He is a father, like Tasleem's, who is angry about her killing not because she is dead, but because her death will reveal her "shame" to other members of the family and beyond.

As modernity pushes against tradition, Pakistan has seen an increase in the number of women and girls killed in the name of honor: last year, 1,184 people died, only 88 of them men. The year before, the figure was 1005, and in 2013 it was 869, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The true numbers are believed to be higher, because many cases go unreported.

The killings have fueled a growing public outrage at the practice, and a chorus of voices saying that there is no honor in killing - only dishonor. They are working to close the legal loophole that lets killers go free.

A proliferation of television channels and newspapers has brought the horrors of girls strangled, burned alive or shot in the head out of the secrecy of the home and into the public.

But for many who have been fighting this kind of killing, it is the mindset of the boy who could kill his sister, or the parent who could kill a daughter, that has to be understood and changed.

___

The shackles that Rajhu wears look too heavy for his slender wrists. They make the harsh sound of metal clanking against metal, reverberating in the silence that punctuates his conversation.

For more than a month, he has been held at the police headquarters in Lahore. He tells his story in a sparsely furnished office. His minders have left; he is behind closed doors, out of sight and earshot of police.

Rajhu says he loved his sister, a quiet young woman who had never before rebelled against her family. He gave her a chance, he says; he demanded that she swear on Islam's holy book, the Quran, that she would never marry the man. Frightened, she swore she wouldn't.

"I told her I would have no face to show at the mill, to show to my neighbors, so don't do it. Don't do it. But she wouldn't listen," he says.

Rajhu, who thinks he's 24 but isn't sure, occasionally wavers when he tells his story, revealing a hint of remorse. It is brief, however; only when he speaks of her as a child is his voice soft and his gaze somewhere in the distance. He helped raise her, he says, fleetingly seeming to wonder at how things had gotten so out of control.

Toying with the chains that bind his hands, he fidgets as he remembers the taunts. Then his eyes harden and his voice becomes steely. His anger grows as he talks about the day his sister married the Christian. It was the same day their grandmother died.

Tasleem said she was going to buy medicine, and his younger brother was sent with her. They were gone a long time. The next day Rajhu grilled his younger brother, beating him until he confessed that Tasleem had married and he had been a witness.

"He was right there in court when they married," he says, as if he still can't believe it.

Tasleem returned to her parents' home because she wanted them to accept her new husband, Rajhu says.

For one week she stayed, talking every day to her husband, planning their reunion. Rajhu remembered the taunting. His anger grew.

"I could not let it go. It was all I could think about. I had to kill her," he says. "There was no choice."

On Aug. 14, Rajhu got his gun. Tasleem was sitting with her mother and her sister on the cracked concrete floor of their family kitchen.

"There was no yelling, no shouting," he says. "I just shot her dead."

___

The Rajhu family lives in a dirt-poor neighborhood on the northern edge of Lahore where water buffalo compete with cars for space on mud-clogged roads. Swarms of mosquitoes hover over vast pools of putrid-smelling, stagnant water left behind by monsoon rains.

At the entrance gate to his brick shack, the siblings' father, Mohammed Naseer Rajhu, peeks out, reluctant to admit visitors into his cramped home. The rooms are so small there is barely space for a rickety wooden bench and the traditional rope bed where he sits. In the kitchen, Tasleem's blood still stains the rough wall.

He is adamant that his image not be taken either on video or in a photograph in keeping with his interpretation of Islam, which some say forbids human images. He says that is the reason the family has no photos of Tasleem, whom neighbors call a beauty. The only image of Tasleem, her thick black hair falling carelessly over her face, was taken by police after her death.

"Never can you show my face. My son killed my daughter to save his face, to not have anyone see his sister's face, and now you are asking me to do the same thing," he says.

He agrees for a brief few minutes to speak with his head turned away from the camera until even that is too much. His outrage grows a all of it directed at his daughter.

He is angry that his son killed his sister for two reasons only: the young man is in jail and no longer earning nearly $200 a month, and his family, spread throughout Pakistan, will soon learn of Tasleem's indiscretions.

"My family is destroyed," he says, his voice rising. "Everything is destroyed only because of this shameful girl. Even after death I am destroyed because of her."

The elder Rajhu weaves a tale of Tasleem's deceit and deception. He says they discovered she had two mobile phones, swearing he knew nothing of them until after her death, when they also found sleeping pills. He accuses Tasleem of drugging the family, putting powdered sleeping pills in their tea so she could sneak off at night to meet Jehangir.

His tale of conspiracy rings hollow. He is unable to explain how she could be so surreptitious in a home without doors and only a curtain concealing a small bathroom. He sees his family as victims of Tasleem's deception.

Later, sitting on the broken steps of his neighbor's home, he nods firmly as his neighbors heap praise on the boy who killed his sister.

"I am proud of this man that he has done the right thing, to kill her," says one of them, a man with a scraggly beard named Babar Ali. "We cannot allow anyone to marry outside our religion. He did the right thing."

After his son killed Tasleem, the elder Rajhu went to the police and filed a complaint. In Pakistan, parents often do so not to see the killer punished, but to lay the legal groundwork so they can forgive the culprit a a legal loophole that activists are fighting.

He wouldn't explicitly say he forgives his son, but it is clear that he thinks the young man had every right to kill his sister.

Not everyone agrees - women in particular. Down the dirt street, Fauzia Javed runs a hole-in-the wall shop selling penny candy and biscuits. She knows too well the double standards of her society.

"Why did she have to die?" she asks. "My husband is having an affair and he left me with four kids to support and no one is killing him. Why?"

___

The man Tasleem married, Jehangir, fled the night she was killed. The gate to his home, barely a block from Tasleem's, is padlocked. But the fallout from his love for Tasleem has engulfed the members of the small Christian community living in the area.

Earlier this month, just weeks after the killing, gunmen fired shots into their homes. No one was hurt, but no one has slept well since. In this majority Muslim country, Christians make up barely 5 percent of the population and in recent years have come under increasing attack by militants, who insist all non-Muslims are unbelievers. Yet Pakistan's minorities, including Christians, are protected in the country's constitution.

"We have been scared since the killing took place," says a neighbor, Shahzia Masih, sitting in a small room decorated with pictures of Jesus and Mary. "There are just a few houses of Christians here, but we have nowhere else to go."

Jehangir's cousin Abbas Ainat doesn't smile much and when he speaks, he is matter-of-fact.

"He converted to Islam for the girl, but still the girl's family didn't like it and they killed her."

___

Rajhu's jailors return. It is time. He must return to his cell to prepare to be taken the next day to Lahore's Kot Lakput prison, where he will await trial.

Darkness has settled on the sprawling police station that was humming with activity when Rajhu began his story. A policeman grabs hold of Rajhu's chains to lead him down the concrete stairs.

His father is hanging behind in the shadows. He has been waiting. He comes to his son's side.
Courtesy of Dave Jacobs Professional Guide Service

Guide Dave Jacobs holds a larger Sacramento River king salmon caught this week by Rick Tracy of Washoe Valley, Nevada. Tracy's king salmon grabbed a fresh sardine-wrapped Brad's Killer Fish lure in the KF-16 size.

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Sacramento River trout

It's that time of year to start thinking about heading to the Redding, Anderson and Red Bluff sections of the Sacramento River to fish for wild rainbow trout and steelhead. As the fall salmon begin to spawn, look for great trout and steelhead fishing around those spawns. Fly fishing will be spectacular in October. Fly fishermen should look to use egg patterns primarily as well as caddis and mayflies. Best yarn patterns are peachy king and best glow beads are the glow roe and tangerine colors.

Feather River salmon

The Feather River continues to be the top-producing king salmon river this fall in the Sacramento River system. The unbelievable salmon-catching action is happening downriver of Oroville in and around the Feather River Outlet Hole. There are daily limits coming into the fish boxes daily with multiple hookups and double-digit king salmon being landed to 19 pounds. The king salmon are plentiful, but the sheer sizes of the fish are much smaller than the king salmon coming in on the Sacramento River below Anderson/Balls Ferry. Sardine-wrapped plugs, roe, spinners, beads and jigs round out the top choices for Feather River king salmon fishing. Expect big crowds if heading there this weekend.

Sacramento River salmon

The fall run king salmon fishing has continued to be fair this week with big 3- and 4-year old king salmon making up a majority of the catches. The water temps are very cold still and very few holes are holding large groups of king salmon. Some days anglers are getting double-digit hook ups and others just single-digit salmon hooked. The salmon are spread throughout the entire river system from Anderson Balls/Ferry downriver to Chico. This season's fall run has been below average to say the least. Many would agree this Sacramento River king salmon run has overall been a huge disappointment because of the low catch rates. Late fall king salmon typically arrive in November and December and are the largest king salmon of the year.

This week's Sacramento and Feather River salmon fishing reports are courtesy of Dave Jacobs Professional Guide Service. The Sacramento River trout fishing report is courtesy of Jacobs and Greg Hector. For the latest river fishing tips and conditions, call Jacobs direct at 530-646-9110 or visit his website at www.sacramentofishing.com.
'Smart' parking to ease congestion Updated: 2016-10-07 07:49 By Liu Zheng(China Daily Europe)

High-tech lots offer real-time information on vacant spaces to increase efficiency

New technology could be about to provide a solution to Shanghai's chronic parking problems.

Fifteen "smart" car parks are being built using narrow-band internet of things technology, which those involved in the project say will make it easier for commuters and tourists to find empty spots, and ease traffic congestion.

By connecting to a smart car park's server via a mobile app, they say that drivers will be able to search for and reserve vacant spaces as well as pay for the time they are parked.

The lots, all in the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone, are a joint project by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and state-owned telecom company China Unicom.

IoT refers to a network of vehicles or other objects containing software that allow them to exchange data, while narrow-band IoT is a low-power, wide-area technology that enables connections between IoT devices to be faster and operate on a wider range than bluetooth and Wi-Fi, while at the same time being cheaper.

Shen Zhou, an engineer for China Unicom's IoT business support center in Shanghai, says the smart technology will reduce the cost of building and managing the infrastructure and trunk gateways.

Zhong Bo, a senior developer of Ericsson in Northeast Asia, says the smart technology means telecom operators can play a bigger role in the IoT ecosystem and explore more growth areas by partnering with device manufacturers and industrial users.

The Swedish company has partnered with major international telecom firms to provide narrow-band IoT infrastructure and showcased the world's first standard connection application in July at the Mobile World Congress Asia in Shanghai.

"The technology can simplify the use of smart parking solutions and easily consolidate information for several parking lots on a single platform," Zhong says. "This can make the management and utilization of the parking area much more efficient."

However, he says it will still take time for modem manufacturers to produce mature, standardized technology.

Ulf Ewaldsson, a senior vice-president at Ericsson, adds that the advantage of narrow-band IoT is that by using existing infrastructure, such as networks and base stations, the technology will be usable by most telecom operators after a software update.

He says one implementation bottleneck is the research and development process of the chipsets that are embedded underneath the spaces in a smart car park. But with more countries and regions being attracted to the technology, he expects chip companies to accelerate to meet the demand.

ZTE Corp, a Chinese major telecom company, has actively invested in research on chips, terminals, systems and IoT platforms. The company recently exported its technology to Romania, to help the nation build its first smart car park in the western city of Timisoara.

Narrow-band IoT started drawing attention in March 2015, when Vodafone Group Plc and Huawei demonstrated a smart meter application at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Huawei, ZTE, China Mobile and China Unicom, along with other leading telecom technology providers and operators such as Ericsson, Etisalat, Intel, LG, Nokia, Qualcomm Inc, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Vodafone, have also laid the foundations for a new industry forum aimed at accelerating ecosystems around narrow-band IoT, including the telecom industry and vertical market cooperation.

"The IoT is seen as the emerging industry with the most development potential due to the advanced technology achieved in mobile internet and big data," says Wang Xi, director of the Shanghai Institute of Micro-system and Information Technology. "Reliable business models in the IoT market had not appeared until the creation of narrow-band IoT."

In addition to smart parking, experts say the technology has many applications in a smart city, including in its environment, traffic, healthcare and public security.

"As the Made in China 2025 strategy is being pushed, and as domestic products replace imported chipsets, the integrated circuit sector will usher in a business worth more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion; 13 billion euros), especially in fields such as narrow-band IoT and 5G," says Xu Tianshen, senior vice-president of global markets for Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp in Shanghai.

Gartner Group, a technology research company, says it expects 6.4 billion yuan worth of connected devices to be in use next year, up 30 percent from this year, with the figure reaching 20.8 billion yuan by 2020. Spending on IoT services is also forecast to grow 22 percent to 235 billion yuan this year.

Data from the China Center for Information Industry Development, a think tank attached to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, show the nation's IoT market increased at a rate 30.5 percent between 2010 and 2014, from 195.8 billion yuan to 567.9 billion yuan.

The organization says it expects the global IoT market will see 61 percent growth over the next five years.

liuzheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page30)
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Agency: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Volunteer opportunities: Legislative ambassadors are part of the ACS Cancer Action Network. They provide support to legislative advocacy staff and leadership and support for local, state and federal advocacy activities in California.

Training available: California Volunteer Legislative Ambassadors will have a full orientation and training provided by the ACS CAN.

Requirements: No experience is necessary. Open to Redding area residents.

Call: 916-504-2483

Call the Record Searchlight at 225-8265 or e-mail jessica.skropanic@redding.com to submit a volunteer opportunity of the week.
Thomas

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By Joe Szydlowski of the Redding Record Searchlight

Redding police say a woman robbed a Redding man at knifepoint and stole her former puppy at his home Thursday morning.

Chandi Chimene Thomas, 38, is being sought after she allegedly stole a young Doberman-Lab mix, which used to belong to her, from a home in the 3500 block of Orion Way at about 7:30 a.m. in southeast Redding, said Sgt. Chris Smyrnos with the Redding Police Department.

Police were told a woman, later identified as Thomas, had shown up and demanded the dog back from the victim, Smyrnos said.

They argued over the puppy, which had belonged to Thomas until several months ago, he said.

"(Thomas) showed up at his house, unannounced, and started to force her way into the house," Smyrnos said.

Armed with a pocket knife, she tried to get in but he stopped her, got away and called authorities, Smyrnos said. Thomas took the puppy from one of the yards and left, he said.

She gave the dog to the victim about six months ago, Smyrnos said.

At that time, the victim saw Thomas, who is homeless, and her puppy at the Circle K, Smyrnos said. The victim thought the pup appeared malnourished and offered to care for it, Smyrnos said.

"She allowed the victim to take her dog," he said.

Since then, she'd been to his home several times to see the puppy, Smyrnos said.

Smyrnos did not know the dog's name or exact age, but it is believed to be between 6 months and year-old.

Thomas was last seen wearing a black hoodie, he said. She is black and 5 feet, 6 inches tall, he said. She weighs about 130 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call 225-4200.

According to Shasta County Superior Court records, she was arrested in July 2015 on suspicion of child endangerment and public intoxication. She pleaded not guilty.
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Lightning Round part 2:

Lightning Round 1:

The Record Searchlight, in partnership with SCAC-TV, will host its Democracy Popup today.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Old City Hall, 1313 Market St.

The open-house style event will feature candidates for local elections as well as state Senate and the 1st Congressional District race. The public can drop in at this free event when they'd like to discuss the issues directly with those running for office.

Representatives from the local Republican and Democratic parties will be on hand to provide information on their raft of candidates and register voters. The League of Women Voters will also be there to register voters and discuss election issues.

There will be a kids' area, and a chance to get a selfie with your favorite presidential candidate -- or at least their cardboard stand-ins.

You'll get to hear candidates speak directly to issues during two lightning rounds at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Participants will be able to share on video why the plan to vote this November through the USA TODAY Network nationwide social media initiative #votingbecause.

The event will be televised live on SCAC-TV. Check the Record Searchlight Facebook page throughout the day for live feeds from the event.

Watch the live stream at https://youtu.be/GuzikPqXZ4Y
Pedestrian struck and killed on I-5 in Cottonwood

A pedestrian who was walking in the traffic lanes of Interstate 5 was killed in Cottonwood late Saturday night.
'Antonio Guterres takes over as the UN secretary-general with tremendous goodwill as the process of his election was without the usual horse trading and compromises.'

'We have every reason to believe that he will be sensitive to Indian positions,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

When the customary monthly rotation of the presidency of the United Nations Security Council brought Ambassador Vitaly Churkin to the hot seat, speculation was rife that Russian insistence on a woman secretary-general would hold up the proceedings of nominating the new secretary-general.

But the announcement of the selection of former Portuguese prime minister and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, came within five days of Churkin as president.

The Russian support for Guterres marks a new detente in Europe, not a surrender of interests by Vladimir Putin.

Guterres was the front-runner right from the first straw poll, but he kept getting a couple of 'discourage' votes for the simple reason that there was overwhelming sentiment in the UN this time that the next secretary-general should be a woman.

The general belief that East Europe should have its turn to provide a secretary-general was also widely voiced, though, after the end of the Cold War, Eastern Europe had become a myth.

By breaking the gender barrier and the regional barrier, the Security Council has chosen the right man for the job. It also re-established the unity of Europe in spite of Brexit.

After the very early years, successive secretaries-general were elected on the basis of the lowest common denominator, making it difficult for the best man to win.

The choice often went to someone who was expected to do the bidding of the permanent members, with no views of his own.

The head waiter image was desirable and the best in that category, Kurt Waldheim, was put up even for a third term.

Boutros Boutros Ghali, who was preferred over candidates from Eastern and Southern Africa, was discarded when he stood his ground against the Americans and even Kofi Annan turned out to be unacceptable because of the assertive way in which he handled certain issues.

Ban Ki-moon turned out to be neutral enough to survive for two terms by championing causes like immunisation of children and climate change.

The new process initiated by the president of the General Assembly to make the selection transparent played a role in bringing Guterres to the forefront as each candidate got an opportunity to present his vision and show his record.

The secrecy surrounding the sudden emergence of a consensus candidate disappeared this time.

The uppermost thought of the world community during the election process was the refugee crisis and Guterres, with his record of having reformed the UNHCR, reduced costs by 20 per cent and tripled its activities looked like an ideal choice at this time.

His Socialist International credentials and his impeccable record as Portugal's prime minister and the European Council president, who led the adoption of the Lisbon Agenda gave him an advantage over all others, who resorted to the projection of gender and geography.

The informal dialogue at the General Assembly highlighted not only his accomplishments as an administrator, but also his forthright approach to some major issues.

He noted that as long as the refugee movements were from south to south, his plea to deal with the refugee question seriously was ignored by the powerful nations. But once the refugee flow began towards the north, the refugee issue came to the forefront and he was asked to handle diverse refugee concerns.

He had no hesitation in hinting at the double standards applied in handling refugees.

Guterres was forthright about the charges of serious cases of misbehaviour by UN peacekeepers.

He said it was difficult to preserve diplomatic immunity while also ensuring there is no impunity, but that he would 'pay a lot of attention in trying to find the right equilibrium between these two aspects that are absolutely crucial.'

Guterres indicated it was completely unacceptable that there be UN forces committing human rights violations such as rape and sexual violence.

'All of us together -- States and UN -- must do our utmost to ensure that any kind of action of this type is severely punished,' he remarked.

He also indicated that there is a gap between theoretical zero-tolerance and the ineffective zero-tolerance that actually exists on the ground that needs to be overcome.

These pronouncements will be examined carefully by the UN, now that he is selected. The overall impression that he has created is positive and the general membership must be pleased that such a candidate was not sacrificed at the altar of rotation and other considerations.

Guterres takes over as the UN secretary-general with tremendous goodwill as the process of his election was without the usual horse trading and compromises.

His own attitude was that it was not the end of the world for him since he would have much to do in his country and elsewhere as his abilities were recognised.

He was the picture of humility and confidence when he addressed the Indian Council of World Affairs within hours of his emerging as the front-runner. He merely said there was a long way to go before he came anywhere near the finishing point.

It was not surprising that India expressed support for Guterres as soon as news of his appointment was announced.

Unlike the previous UNHCRs, Guterres showed understanding of India's not having signed the Refugees Convention. He appreciated the fact that India's status as a non-signatory did not stand in the way of India opening its hearts and doors to refugees.

He put behind him the period of tension between India and the UNHCR and also spoke in appreciation of how India handled the East Pakistan refugees crisis before the 1971 War.

Guterres has an Indian connection that is the icing on the cake. His wife is from Goa who moved to Portugal after Goa was integrated with India. He and his family visited India occasionally for sentimental reasons.

India was the only non-member of the Security Council he visited as part of his campaign and he was warmly welcomed.

Although he stated that reform of the Security Council should be driven by the members, he is acutely aware of the need for reform.

We have every reason to believe that he will be sensitive to Indian positions.

Ambassador T P Sreenivasan is a former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA. He is currently Director, NSS Academy of Civil Services and Director General, Kerala International Centre.

Photograph: Jean-Marc Ferre/UN Photo
'Pakistan will try to escalate covert operations through terrorism,' says Dr Shalini Chawla.

On October 2, terrorists attacked the 46 Rashtriya Rifles camp in Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir. During the gunfight, one Border Security Force trooper was killed and another was injured.

Baramulla lies between Srinagar and the frontier settlement of Uri, where on September 18, terrorists from the Jaish-e-Mohammad attacked a highly guarded army camp in an Indian Army brigade headquarters, killing 19 Indian soldiers.

On September 29, the Indian government announced that the army conducted surgical strikes in retaliation to the Uri attack in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, targeting at least seven terrorist launch pads.

However, Pakistan has been in complete denial of the surgical strikes. Islamabad underplayed the strikes and called it an 'illusion' being deliberately generated by New Delhi. Pakistan has in fact mounted an international effort to deny the strikes.

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, said India was 'trying to provoke a crisis with Pakistan' and the development is India's effort to divert attention from Kashmir.

Firing at the LoC is not surprising and Pakistan's much expected response in fact helps confirm India's surgical strikes. Pakistan has been talking about not escalating the crisis with India and a conventional response is not an option with Islamabad at this point in time.

The Uri attack generated tremendous public outrage in India demanding action against Islamabad. At the international level, to Pakistan's surprise, the attack was condemned universally. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his attempt to balance adverse international reaction to the attack, said the incident in Uri was a reaction to the unrest in Kashmir.

India strongly demanded global isolation of Pakistan, which has repeatedly proven itself as a breeding ground for extremism, owing to its belief in terrorism as a foreign policy tool and being used by it against India and Afghanistan. Pakistan faced global criticism and a bigger humiliation for the nation was the boycott of the SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad.

Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif is scheduled to retire in November and it may be unlikely for him not to plan any form of retaliation to India's surgical strikes.

General Sharif has a strong anti-India agenda, which is strengthened by the fact that his uncle and brother were killed in the 1965 and 1971 wars respectively. He has projected himself as a crusader against terrorism and corruption, and is extremely proud of the Zarb-e-Azb anti-terror operation launched on June 15, 2014 in North Waziristan against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

He is popular in Pakistan, enjoys a larger-than-life status and his dilated image got a setback with India's counter terror strikes. Although General Sharif and Nawaz Sharif are at loggerheads regarding the choice of the next army chief, they do not differ too much in their anti-India stance.

No matter who the next Pakistan army chief is, its strategy to 'bleed India' will remain unaltered.

Pakistan has opted for a three dimensional approach in its strategy towards India:

Conventional Level : Pakistan has tried hard to attain parity with India in terms of the military build-up. All four wars have been initiated by Pakistan.

: Pakistan has tried hard to attain parity with India in terms of the military build-up. All four wars have been initiated by Pakistan. Sub-Conventional level : Pakistan opted for the covert war option as early as 1947 when it launched its first aggression in the name of a tribal revolt. Pakistan exercised the covert option in the 1965 War and also during Kargil in 1999. It has relied on the strategy of terrorism for more than six decades.

: Pakistan opted for the covert war option as early as 1947 when it launched its first aggression in the name of a tribal revolt. Pakistan exercised the covert option in the 1965 War and also during Kargil in 1999. It has relied on the strategy of terrorism for more than six decades. Nuclear level: For nearly three decades, Pakistan has relied on nuclear weapons to conduct its grand strategy (of indirect approach) against India. Nuclear weapons are perceived as providing a foolproof guarantee of its sovereignty and survivability.

It has been most confident of the 'sub-conventional approach' which, in its mind, is shielded by its nuclear weapons and its excessive reliance on the 'first use' doctrine.

Since the prime objective of the nuclear weapons has been to neutralise India's conventional capability and also to avoid Indian retaliation to Islamabad's acts of terror, Pakistan's adoption of the first use doctrine was not surprising.

Pakistan seeks to deter any conventional response by India through its nuclear weapons and uses the nuclear card rather often. It has relied on nuclear weapons and terrorism as a State policy tool and is likely to continue to do so as it has failed to build other strengths.

Pakistan has been unable to deal with its fundamental challenges and it significantly lags behind India on most parameters of national security. It has been struggling with the problems of rising extremism in its society, low growth and unemployment. Its reliance on terrorism and nuclear weapons to wield its power emerges from its weaknesses within.

India took a strong diplomatic and military stance in response to Pakistan's act of terror. The question is: What is the strategy Pakistan is likely to adopt now? Will it alter its strategic calculus and rethink its India strategy?

Given past experience and the current scenario in Pakistan some inferences could be drawn regarding Islamabad's likely behaviour:

Pakistan will try to escalate covert operations through terrorism with varying intensity. It is not ready to alter its strategic calculus and it would continue to support anti-India groups. It will continue with its posture of deniability for the covert operations.

Islamabad's reliance on nuclear weapons is likely to go up with the increasing tensions between the two countries. For Pakistan, nuclear weapons are the ultimate guarantee for its sovereignty and survivability and it will continue to use the nuclear card as a shield to its acts of terror. Projection of irrationality with a low nuclear threshold would continue with 'excessive' reliance on tactical nuclear weapons.

Pakistan's conventional military capability has gone up significantly in the last three decades with Chinese support. Focus on the military build-up will continue for Islamabad.

Although Pakistan would not opt to fight a conventional war with India at this point in time, build-up of its military capability would enhance its psychological will to continue conducting covert operations.

Dr Shalini Chawla is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi.
The party also expects opposition parties to help its agenda by raising the issue of making the video footage of surgical strikes public, reports Archis Mohan.

IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate at Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's rally in Agra. Photograph: PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party hopes to keep the nationalistic fervour over the Uri attack and the subsequent surgical strikes by the Indian Army simmer until the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in early 2017.

Starting on Thursday with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar being felicitated by party workers in Agra and Lucknow, the BJP has plans to hold a series of public events in Uttar Pradesh to be attended by its senior leaders, including party president Amit Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

These events would help keep the focus on the armys action on the Line of Control. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to attend Dussehra celebrations in Lucknow on October 11.

The BJP also expects opposition parties to help its nationalistic agenda by raising the issue of making public the video footage of surgical strikes, particularly during the winter session of the Parliament, likely to begin in the second week of November. On Thursday, BJP leaders dismissed media reports that Prime Minister Modi advised his ministers to not indulge in war hysteria or chest thumping on the army having avenged the Uri attacks.

All he had said was that we should be responsible in our statements, a party leader said. The PMs advice, the leader said, was in the context of statements by party MPs like Vinay Katiyar and Sakshi Maharaj, who seemed to give the recent India-Pakistan tensions a Hindu-Muslim tinge.

Our plank is nationalism. All the people of India of any religion are united in their resolve to give a befitting response to Pakistan, a party leader said. In both Agra and Lucknow, Parrikar continued with his aggressive speeches.

If someone attacks us, well give a befitting reply; instead of sacrificing ones life, it is better to kill the enemy, Parrikar said in Lucknow.

In Agra, the defence minister questioned the loyalty of those who have sought proof of the strikes. Some ex-servicemen wrote to me and said they are ready to fight on the border if the need arises. I salute them, he said.

Parrikar said the government will not share any video footage of the strikes. He also said the forces and citizens will have to be vigilant against frustrated terrorists, who will try and attack because of the shame they have been put to as a result of the surgical strikes.

As for the winter session of the Parliament, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs is scheduled to meet in mid-October to decide on the dates. The session, which usually starts in the third week of November, is all set to be advanced to the second week of November.

Sources said the governments keenness to ensure the passage of the Goods and Services Tax enabling Bills and the advancing of the presentation of the Union Budget to February 1 means that the winter session might start on November 7.
Hitting out at Pakistan for using terrorism as an instrument of state policy, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said Brand Pakistan really identifies with global terror as every major terrorist incident in the world has a Pakistani footprint around it.

Jaitley, leading the Indian delegation to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington, DC, also said Pakistan has a very low credibility in terms of the way it deals with matters involving terrorism.

He added that the pull out by a number of nations out of the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Islamabad, show Pakistan is being isolated in the region.

The fact that almost everybody said that we wont attend the SAARC Summit speaks of the isolation in the region. Ultimately, if you use terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and every terrorist incident - a major terrorist incident anywhere in the world, has Pakistani footprint around it, then Brand Pakistan really identifies itself with global terror.

Therefore, all contrarian noises that they make that Pakistan is a victim et cetera, clearly has established that the world is not willing to listen to them because of a very low credibility and a low track record as far as these matters are concerned, he told a TV channel.

Responding to a question on the geopolitical risk of Indias surgical strikes blowing up, he said: I don't think we should overstate the problem.

Emphasising that the two countries are nuclear powers and therefore, nuclear blackmail in the world is Pakistans strategy. Its never been an Indian strategy.

If you look at the economic impact of the surgical strikes, within minutes of the strikes, you had an upheaval in the currency market. Defence will always remain a top priority as far as expenditure is concerned because national security and sovereignty are paramount as far as India is concerned, Jaitley said.

He also termed the surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control as army strategy and pre-emptive strike against terrorism. He said all opposition leaders were briefed and consensus was build because India was entitled to strategise following the Uri and Pathankot terror attacks.

He had earlier said that any economic impact arising from recent tensions with Pakistan and incidents like the surgical strikes undertaken by Indian special forces will be extremely marginal.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize days despite his peace deal being rejected in a referendum.

The Nobel committee in its citation said it had awarded Santos the prize for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220 000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people.

It added: The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process. This tribute is paid, not least, to the representatives of the countless victims of the civil war.

Santos peace deal with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the result of four years of negotiations, was narrowly rejected in a referendum in the country on Sunday. The Nobel committee said despite the shock result of the referendum, Santos has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful resolution.

The Nobel committee also praised Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his final day as president.

The result has come as a surprise as The White Helmets volunteer search and rescue group, who are believed to have rescued up to 60,000 people in war-torn Syria, were widely tipped to receive the award.

Others who were believed to have been in contention for the prize include a group of inhabitants from Greek islands who have rescued refugees after they made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean.

Pope Francis, Edward Snowden and Iranian architects of the landmark nuclear deal with world powers were also rumoured to have been nominated.

Image: Colombian Juan Manuel Santos. Photograph: Jose Miguel Gomez/Reuters
Bishada in Uttar Pradesh is on the boil once again as villagers refused to cremate the body of 22-year-old Ravi, accused in the Dadri lynching case.

Ravi alias Robin died at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital in Delhi on Wednesday of kidney and respiratory failure.

Villagers draped his coffin in a tricolour, saying he had been martyred protecting Hindu values.

Tensions rose as the body reached the village, as villagers outrightly rejected Ravis death report claiming he was murdered.

Heavy police force was also deployed in the area.

Seeing the body draped in a tricolour, policemen and administration officials, however, preferred to remain mum as objections might have sparked violence in the area.

Villagers demanded Rs 1 crore for deceaseds family, arrest of Akhlaqs brother Jaan Mohammad in a cow slaughter case and an FIR against the jailer. Villagers told administration that they will not cremate the body till their demands are met, said Sanjay Rana, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and father of one of the accused.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate N P Singh said the state government would give its consent for a Central Bureau Investigation probe if the deceaseds family is not satisfied with the ongoing inquiry.

The DM said a judicial inquiry had been initiated, adding that the Chief Judicial Magistrate is conducting it. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to the deceased Ravis wife Pooja.

Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that Ravi was suffering from high fever and his death was suspected to be due to dengue.

Ravis brother Vicky, however, claimed he was assaulted by police in jail due to which he sustained injuries. Unlike, what police is saying, he was not suffering from any fever.

The state government had earlier said that the jailer of the prison where Ravi was held would be transferred once the probe found him guilty.

But in an apparent attempt to pacify villagers, the jailer S K Pandey was transferred to Lucknow headquarters.

The National Human Rights Commission has also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and demanded reply from district administration.

The post-mortem was conducted on Wednesday in Delhi under the supervision of a Metropolitan Magistrate from a local court.

Image: Ravi Sisodia was arrested last year for the murder of Mohammad Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
Trends show tourists' tastes are evolving Updated: 2016-10-07 07:49 By Zhu Wenqian(China Daily Europe)

Chinese now seeking diverse experiences overseas, with bookings to exotic destinations

More Chinese are opting for high-quality hotels and memorable experiences when traveling abroad, reflecting their rising purchasing power and evolving tastes, according to travel agencies.

Prices of overseas tours during this year's National Day holiday, Oct 1 to 7, an annual outbound travel peak, are the same as last year, or in some cases are even slightly cheaper.

According to data from several agencies, in addition to traditional hot spots, this year has seen more exotic destinations become attractive, too, such as Morocco, Sri Lanka, and nations in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Chinese tourists in front of Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in central St. Petersburg, Russia. In the first half of this year, Chinese people made 59 million trips abroad. Olga Maltseva / AFP

"Combined with the increasingly sophisticated preferences of the Chinese, the National Day holiday is a perfect opportunity for travelers to head to destinations that it is not possible to visit during shorter holidays or at Chinese New Year, which is usually a time for family reunions," says Alex Yan, COO of Tuniu Corp, an online travel agency based in Nanjing.

Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand have emerged as the top destinations for Chinese this month. Typically, travelers squeeze in a few days more to have extended vacations, like 10-day trips, according to Qyer, a travel information website in Beijing.

"Many Chinese travelers choose to take advantage of the long holiday to head to countries that are relatively far away," says Zhang Qi, vice-president of Qyer. "The US and Oceania are preferred by independent visitors, as they are suitable for self-drive travel."

The number of Chinese who booked to visit the US during National Day this year rose threefold on the back of the easing of tourist visa procedures.

A report by Lvmama, an online travel service provider, attributes the increase to an agreement between China and the US to grant each other's citizens 10-year, multiple-entry visas.

Du Ni, 27, of Beijing, booked a trip to Hawaii during the break, as she wanted a tropical island vacation and found that flights and hotels weren't too expensive.

"I'll also take this chance to apply for a 10-year US visa, so that it'll be easier for me to go there again," she adds.

Japan, South Korea and some Southeast Asian countries remain popular among Chinese travelers thanks to their geographical proximity, cheaper packages and favorable visa policies.

In recent months, the Chinese yuan's depreciation against the Japanese yen increased the cost of trips to Japan. Still, the nation remains one of the hottest destinations for Chinese.

"Tourists travel to a place because they are interested in that place and can find a package within budget," Tuniu's Yan says. "While currency exchange rate changes do affect the cost of a trip, the impact is marginal. And tourists intent on visiting a particular country will do so, no matter what."

With more Chinese travelers seeking diverse experiences overseas, some uncommon destinations are receiving attention, too.

For example, Hakone in Japan and Panay Island in the Philippines were set to receive a large number of Chinese tourists during the National Day holiday, according to TripAdvisor.

Meanwhile, terrorist attacks in Europe have dented sales of tours to destinations there. In particular, France, Germany and Turkey were expected to receive fewer Chinese in October.

During the May-July period, online searches by users of Qyer for France and Turkey declined sharply year-on-year.

In July alone, sales of Qyer's tours to Turkey tumbled 59 percent year-on-year. But the impact of each new terrorist attack on travel sales is decreasing.

Although Chinese travelers are becoming cautious about certain trips, travel agencies say they are confident that Europe will remain a popular destination in the long term, given its rich culture and unique travel resources.

In the first half of this year, Chinese made 59.03 million trips abroad, up 4.3 percent year-on-year, China National Tourism Administration data show.

Those age 25 to 34, followed by those age 35 to 44, together accounted for about 80 percent of the outbound Chinese tourists. Most prefer self-guided or relaxed tours, and focus on a few sites rather than visiting a lot of places, according to a report by the China Tourism Academy.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/07/2016 page29)
Reacting for the first time on the controversy surrounding the demand for a ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood, Actor Fawad Khan on Friday said that as a father of two children, he prays and wishes for a "more

peaceful world".

The 34-year-old actor said he left India in July not because of any threat but to be with his wife, Sadaf, who was expecting their second child.

"I've received numerous requests from the media and from well wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks.

"As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow," Fawad wrote on his Facebook.

The actor dismissed reports of his alleged anti-India comments, saying he is speaking on the matter for the first time.

"This is the first time I have spoken on the matter. Please disregard any other words attributed to me during this time because I have not said them.

"I thank all my fans and fellow artists from Pakistan, India and people in general all over the world who have shown continued support for their belief in love and understanding to unite a divisive world," he wrote.

There is a growing demand for a ban on artistes from Pakistan by certain sections in India in the wake of Uri terror attack.

Fawad, one of the most popular Pakistani actors in India, will next be seen in Karan Johar's upcoming film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".

He and other Pakistani actors like Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar and Atif Aslam were targetted by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which had issued an ultimatum to them to leave India within 48 hours or be forced out.

The party has also threatened to stall the releases of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and "Raees", starring Mahira.

Subsequently, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association passed a motion to ban artistes from across the border from working in the industry till Indo-Pak relations are normalised.

Fawad's comments come a day after Shafqat Amanat Ali condemned the Uri attack.

Bollywood is divided on the issue. While Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Hansal Mehta and Anurag Kashyap have criticised it, many in the industry such as Randeep Hooda, Sonali Bendre and Nana Patekar have supported the ban on artistes from Pakistan.
Subahani Haja Moideen told NIA investigators that on his return, he collected money, procured explosives and plotted to target tourists and judges in Kerala.

A suspected Islamic State operative, who got battle training in Iraq, was believed to have been plotting to target a few judges of Kerala and foreign tourists visiting the coastal state before he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency.

The accused, identified as Subahani Haja Moideen, a resident of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, was arrested by the NIA on Wednesday in connection with an alleged conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in India.

Sources on Thursday claimed that Moideen was planning to target some judges posted in Kerala as well as foreign tourists visiting beach resorts in the state.

Moideen was under watch of the security agencies and when he was giving shape to the plans to carry out the terror attacks in Kerala, NIA arrested him soon after, sources said.

Moideen is said to be the only Indian who got hardened battle training in Mosul in Iraq, they said. In a statement, the NIA said that the accused had conspired to carry out terror activities in the country and was planning to collect chemical explosives from cracker manufacturers in Tamil Nadu.

The accused was radicalised and recruited in IS through social media platforms, the statement said, adding that he had left India for Istanbul from Chennai last year on the pretext of performing Umrah.

After reaching Istanbul, he crossed over along with other people who hailed from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraqi territory under control of IS.

From there, Moideen was taken to Mosul where he underwent detailed religious training followed by combat training which included a course in automated weapons before being deputed to fight war for almost two weeks.

During the war, he told interrogators that he was paid $100 (Rs 6,674) per month as an allowance by IS besides accommodation and food.

However, he told interrogators that he could not withstand the violence and war misery in Mosul and decided to leave especially after he saw two of his friends getting charred.

He was jailed by IS and produced before a Islamic judge who sent him to Syria and claimed that he was allowed to cross over to Turkey from where he contacted his family with the help of the Indian consulate at Istanbul.

He arrived in Mumbai after a gap of six months in September last year on an emergency certificate and returned to his ancestral place where he was staying with his wife and managed to get a job at a jewellery shop at Kadayanallur.

However, once back and settled, he again got in touch with IS handlers over the Internet and was planning to collect explosives and precursor chemicals from Sivakasi at their instance.

He had travelled to Chennai, Coimbatore and other places to meet other local contacts in the conspiracy, collect money and procure explosives for terrorist acts as guided and motivated by IS handlers, the NIA said.

REDIFF RECOMMENDS:
Florida is facing the most dangerous storm in living memory as monster Hurricane Matthew barrels in from the Atlantic threatening coastal cities with surging tides, torrential rain and 130 mile-an-hour winds.

After cutting a deadly swath across the Caribbean and leaving at least 339 dead in Haiti, the storm is to crash up against the southeastern United States.

Here are the recent developments:

1. US President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in South Carolina and Florida, ahead of the storms arrival, allowing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts, and effectively opening the spigot for aid from Washington.

2. Millions of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have been told to evacuate their homes, and interstate highways have turned into one-way routes to speed the exodus. Florida alone accounted for about 1.5 million of those told to clear out.



The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida, Florida governor Rick Scott warned. Forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and, most crucially, cause a storm surge of between 9 and twelve feet.

3. The National Hurricane Center has graded Hurricane Matthew as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.

4. The storm has left behind a humanitarian crisis in Haiti. At least 339 people have been killed so far in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and St Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said, with the death toll expected to rise. At least 1,580 homes have been flooded in Haiti, and about 3,215 families have been affected by the severe storm, the countrys Civil Protection Agency said.

5. The powerful hurricane passed over the Bahamas capital, Nassau, on Thursday afternoon, with casualties and damage mostly unknown.

6.

Nearly 213,000 households are without power in Florida, USA, with more than 41,000 in Palm Beach County, 16,400 in Miama-Dade and 11,000 in Broward. That total is expected to climb.



Nearly 213,000 households are without power in Florida, USA, with more than 41,000 in Palm Beach County, 16,400 in Miama-Dade and 11,000 in Broward. That total is expected to climb.

7. According to CNN's meteorologist Tom Sater, Hurricane Matthew would if not the most expensive then one of the most costliest storms in US history. According to reports, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 were the costliest storms for the USA.
India will completely seal the border with Pakistan by December 2018 by using all effective means including technological solutions, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Jaisalmer on Friday.

Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four states, Singh said India is planning to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place at the central and state government levels for it.

He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the states which share border with Pakistan.

"It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders," Singh said.

The home minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added "this project will be periodically monitored by home secretary at the central level, the Border Security Force from the security forces perspective and chief secretaries at the state level."

He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. "Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border."

Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthan's Home Ministers Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Gulab Chand Kataria respectively and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.

Senior BSF officials were present at the meeting here which reviewed security arrangements on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

IMAGE: Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairs security meet with four states bordering Pakistan in Jaisalmer. Photograph: HMO India/Twitter
As mortar shells rained on a nondescript Gigriyal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pallanwala, 15-year-old Surinder Kumar risked his life and returned home from a makeshift camp miles away to collect his books that he could not pick up while fleeing to safety.

Kumar, Class X student from the frontier Gigriyal village in Pallanwala sector, along with his family members, had to hurriedly abandon his house and flee to a nearby safe camp after the Pakistani army resorted to "unprovoked" firing post the surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on the intervening night of September 28-29.

"Soon after shells started landing on our village, we had to leave our houses in a hurry. I could not even pick up my schoolbag," he said, adding he could not sleep the whole night and next day early morning, he decided to walk back home from the camp and bring back his schoolbag.

"...I had to walk on foot for several kilometres. Though I was stopped by the army and when I told them that I want to bring my schoolbag, an officer helped me," he said.

As he was back home, there was sudden bangs of mortar bombs and rattle of guns, forcing him to take cover, along with others who had returned to the border hamlet to feed their cattle.

For Kumar, it was a mission accomplished as he now sits in a makeshift classroom in the government school in Khour which has been converted into a safe camp by the authorities.

Amid rising Indo-Pak tension, residents of several border villages had to abandon their houses and shift to safe camps.

To help children continue study, Jammu Deputy Commissioner Simrandeep Singh issued orders to the school administration where the safe camps have been set to start special classes for those who had to leave home.

"Keeping in mind the future of these migrant students, it was decided to start special classes in the migrant camps for the students who had to leave their houses due to cross-border firing," Singh said told PTI.

He said that the special classes being held for the migrant students have been a "success".

The parents of the migrant students who were worried about the future of their children have also taken a sigh of relief after schools started having special classes for them.

"Every time we had to migrate due to ceasefire violation, it was our children who had to abandon their studies, but now we are happy that their education is being taken care of by the administration," Kumar's mother Sheela Devi said.

Following orders from the state administration, the school authorities deputed teachers to hold special classes for the students living in camps.

"There are around 80 such students and we have deputed several teachers to hold special classes for them and their parents also happy that the precious time of their children is not wasted," said Rohsan Lal Sharma, in-charge principal of Government Higher Secondary School in Khour.

Schools in the border areas of Jammu, which were closed following the army's surgical strikes across the LoC, reopened on October 4.

"All the schools in border areas shall open from October 4, except those where administration has set up temporary shelters for the border migrants," an order issued by Jammu District Magistrate Simrandeep Singh reads.

It said the principals/in-charges of the schools where border residents are camping should ensure that special classes were held for these children.

The district magistrate said that 15 schools in the border areas of Jammu district have been designated as temporary camps for the border migrants.

IMAGE: Marks of mortar shells fired by Pakistan on the wall of government School at Sehr Makri village in the Jhangar sector of Rajouri district in Jammu. Photograph: PTI
Despite desperate calls from many quarters in India for withdrawing the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following the September 18 terrorist strike in Uri, it seems that the decades-old treaty between the two countries would survive the threat.

But, experts say the treaty needs a review to address the ongoing and the likely impact of climate change on river-flow. Athar Parvaiz reports.

Not political tensions, but the impact of climate change on the availability of water in river systems like the Indus basin actually call for reviewing water-sharing treaties, say experts.

India and Pakistan are currently embroiled in a face-off over the 1960 Indus Water Treaty which they had signed after eight years of mediation by the World Bank.

Under the treaty, Pakistan was allocated the waters of the Indus and its westward flowing tributaries, the Jhelum and Chenab, while India was given exclusive rights over the eastern rivers -- Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

The Indus river rises in south-western Tibet and flows northwest through the Himalayas before meandering via Jammu and Kashmir into Pakistan. Around 39 per cent of the basin is in India and over 50 per cent in Pakistan while remaining is in China and Afghanistan.

For the past two weeks, the two countries have exchanged virtual threats over the withdrawal of Indus waters treaty soon after terrorists attacked an army base in Kashmir near the Line of Control.

However, citing different reasons, hardly any expert has agreed that India and Pakistan can seek a review of Indus waters treaty on grounds other than those relating to climatic factors.

The Indus water treaty was signed without considering the impact of climate change on water-flow in the future. Growing cooperation among countries for dealing with the impact of climate change might make a review of water treaties possible.

Though enough scientific research has not been carried out on Himalayan glaciers which feed the Indus basin, experts agree that climate change poses a serious challenge to glaciers which are sometimes termed as water towers of the world.

Also, sub-regional research on Himalayan glaciers has highlighted the likely impact of climate change on glaciers and stream-flow.

According to a paper, Recent Glacier Changes in the Kashmir Alpine Himalayas, published in Geocarto International in January 2016, nine benchmark glaciers in Kashmir Himalayas, whose data from 1980-2013 was studied, have shrunk by 17 per cent.

The paper says that annual air temperature showed a significant increasing trend while a slight but insignificant decrease in precipitation was also observed during the studied period.

Annual air temperature showed a significant increasing trend and a slight but insignificant decrease in precipitation was observed during the period. It is evident that, in the same climatic regime, varying topography plays a key role in determining the glacier changes. It is believed that the observed changes in the glacier geometry and dynamics, if continued, shall have an adverse effect on the streamflows, water supplies and other dependent sectors in the region.

It is believed that the observed changes in the glacier geometry and dynamics, if continued, shall have an adverse effect on the stream-flows, water supplies and other dependent sectors in the region, the paper says. These glaciers provide snowmelt to the Jhelum, one of the three rivers of the Indus basin which flow to Pakistan.

Leading author of the paper, Shakil Romshoo, said that any revision of the water treaties governing the trans-boundary sharing of waters should be guided by scientific knowledge rather than the political considerations.

As far as the IWT and other such treaties are concerned, which were signed a long time back, climate change, environmental flows and a few other important aspects were not considered when the treaties were signed, Romshoo said.

So, the revision of any treaty should be undertaken to incorporate these new issues that have significantly impacted the water resources availability and distribution so that the water sharing is accomplished in a more realistic and cooperative manner without killing the soul and spirit of the existing treaties.

Ashok Swain, director, Research School for Water Cooperation, Uppsala University, Sweden, said that the whole Indus basin needs to be looked at as a single unit for the best possible use of the river water. According to him, increasing demand and climate change related uncertainties need to be taken into consideration.

I have been arguing and writing that the Indus Waters Treaty has outlived its utility and both India and Pakistan should work towards revising the treaty. They also need to bring Afghanistan and China to the ambit of the new treaty, Swain said.

Moreover, the 1960 agreement is not a water agreement, it is a partition agreement: three rivers to India, three rivers to Pakistan. That has not only reduced the possibility of successful water development schemes, but has also failed to contribute to improve bilateral relationship in other areas.

A K Gosain of Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi opined that any treaty on water cannot afford to be static any more on account of various issues such as pressures of increasing demands and also on account of the implications of climate change.

The societies of the river basins shall be required to cope with the implications of climate change on water resources. Trans-boundary countries can be better off tackling these issues collectively, Gosain said.



Things around water resources are so complex that invariably they were never completely understood when the treaties were formulated. As the scientific knowledge becomes better revisions might be needed and renegotiations may be inevitable.
Pakistani men who kill their female relatives in the name of honour will no longer be able to evade punishment after the countrys parliament finally passed long-promised legislation.

The bill passed on Thursday ensures the killers will get a mandatory life sentence.

Previously, killers could be pardoned by a victims family to avoid a jail term. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty.

Often justified by reference to tribal traditions, so-called honour killings are a daily occurrence in Pakistan. They are usually motivated by a victims choice of partner for marriage, a love affair, or when a woman is raped and consequently considered a disgrace to the family. The vast majority of victims are female.

Between 500 and 1,000 cases are reported every year. Activists say the true number of such crimes is closer to 12,000.

Sughra Imam, the former senator who first introduced the bill said the new law was a step forward.

She said: The original bill was more stringent, but nonetheless, the new law will deter honour killings in the future because perpetrators will not be able to avoid convictions.

In recent months, a number of high-profile deaths have made headlines both in Pakistan and abroad, including the killing of British woman Samia Shahid in July, allegedly by her father and her former husband.

The same month, Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death, allegedly killed by her brother in the province of Punjab.

Pakistani activist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid - who won an Oscar earlier this year for a documentary on honour killings -- paid tribute to the people who had worked to get the bill through.

Image: A Pakistani woman holds a placard during a protest against honour killing in Multan. Photograph: Asim Tanvir MK/LA/Reuters
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.

BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Babul Supriyo beat the drum during the inauguration of the Durga Puja pandal at Safdarjung Enclave in New Delhi on Thursday. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo

Fashion Gurukul Mrs India Home Makers 2017 winner Kirsti Das with 1st runners up Ankita Sarma (right) and Amita Dutta, 2nd runners up (left) in Guwahati. Photograph: PTI Photo

People burning an effigy of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal over his remarks on the surgical strike in PoK, in Noida. Photograph: PTI Photo

Ariane 5 carrying India's latest communication satellite GSAT-18 lifts off from the Spaceport Kourou in French Guiana. Photograph: PTI Photo

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addresses supporters during his Kisan Yatra in Meerut on Thursday. Actress and party leader Nagma is also seen. Photograph: PTI Photo

An Indian Air Force Mig-29 flies past during the rehearsal for the Air Force Day parade at Hindan Air Force base in Gaziabad. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

A policeman escorts men who they said were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of tricking American citizens into sending them money by posing as US tax officials, at a court in Thane, on the outskirts of Mumbai. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Soldiers displaying the cache of arms and ammunition recovered from three terrorists who were killed after they launched an attack on an army camp in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. Photograph: Umar Ganie

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar being honoured for successfully leading the Indian Army in carrying out surgical strikes at terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, at a function organised by the Rashtriya Rachcha Sankalp Morcha in Lucknow on Thursday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo
Facing flak for his dalali remarks on surgical strikes, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he has unequivocally supported the military action but is against the use of army in political posters and propaganda by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, the Congress vice president said in a series of tweets.

He had on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of hiding behind the blood of soldiers and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices.

Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain,unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. (You, Modi, are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong), Rahul had said.

His dalali barb has drawn strong reaction from BJP which called it a new low in Indian politics. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and other parties have also criticised the Congress leaders remarks.

Kejriwal, who was himself in the line of fire over his remarks on the surgical strikes, said the armed forces are to be credited for valiantly carrying out the operation and demolishing terror launch pads across the LoC and that there should not be any politics over this issue.

Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I have previously done so and want to congratulate the army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhis remarks wherein he said armys sacrifices and bravery was khoon ki dalali.

I condemn the use of such words. I have told in the House as well as in a video message that right now there is tension at the border. The entire country should stand behind the army keeping aside political differences and support the PMs steps pertaining to security. There should not be any politics over this issue, Kejriwal said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Digvijay Singh lashed out at the BJP leadership, alleging that they were touting the surgical strike on terror launchpads along the Line of Control as if they did it themselves instead of the army men.

Modi, Amit Shah, Parrikar and BJP leaders are going around as if they have done the surgical strike! Give our army and our bravehearts the credit, Singh tweeted.

Rahul had made the remarks on Thursday while addressing a rally, marking the culmination of his month-long Deoria to Delhi kisan yatra in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
A complaint was on Friday received by police of gun shots heard at a Naval base in Gujarats Porbandar, but later it turned out to be a hoax after the security men conducted a thorough search in the entire area.

We received a complaint this morning from one of the guards at the communication room of the naval base which said that he had heard two-three gun shots being fired, Porbandar Superintendent of Police Tarunkumar Duggal said.

We carried out search operation in the entire area, in and around the naval base, for about three hours, he said.

However, after a thorough search operation, nothing was found. The alarm raised seems to be a hoax, Duggal further said.

He also denied that there were any reports of an explosion at the naval base.

The Porbandar city located on Gujarat coast is on a high alert following the surgical strikes recently carried out across the Line of Control by the army.

The Indian Coast Guard, navy and the Gujarat coastal police have increased vigil on the coast.

Security has been enhanced on the Gujarat coast, which has vital installations like ports, oil refineries and famous temples at Dwarka and Somnath, following inputs from intelligence agencies about possible infiltration bids by terrorists through the sea route, police had said on Thursday.

The alert has been issued for coastal districts of Gujarat based on an input received from the Intelligence Bureau recently, they had said.

Gujarat, having 1,600 km-long coastline, shares a border with Pakistan.

During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, terrorists had hijacked a fishing trawler from the mid-sea in Gujarat to travel to Mumbai shores.

Image: Heavy security outside Porbandar Naval base. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
Red-hot artists star at Frieze Updated: 2016-10-07 16:55 By CECILY LIU(China Daily UK)

British artist Daniel Lismore stands alongside work by US artist Grace Weaver, which is featured in an exhibition at the Koppe Astner gallery, at the Frieze art fair in London on Wednesday. [Adrian Dennis/AFP]

Chinese artists have a strong presence at London's preeminent four-day contemporary art fair, Frieze, which opened on Thursday.

A 9-meter-long tree branch installation by Zeng Fanzhi, a top-selling Chinese artist, takes center stage in Frieze's sculpture park.

Other works turning heads include Ouyang Chun's paintings and an installation reflecting the complexity of the human psyche, as well as Chen Wei's photographs about dance halls and their influence on youth culture.

The participation of Chinese galleries comes at a time when global collectors are increasingly buying Chinese art, due to their increasing understanding of China and Chinese art's unprecedented international exposure.

Overseas sales of Chinese art more than quadrupled between 2009 and 2015, totaling $2.6 billion, according to a report by New York-based art market website Artnet and the China Association of Auctioneers.

Last year, Chinese art accounted for almost one-third of global art auction values.

Jonathan Stone, chairman and international head of Asian art at auction house Christie's, said Chinese contemporary art is a "worldwide phenomenon".

"It has gone beyond the stage of emerging, and to say it is 'an emerging trend' is actually diminishing it. It is significant and will stay that way," Stone said.

Most buyers of Chinese art in international markets are private collectors who have a genuine appreciation of Chinese art, Stone said, adding that Chinese contemporary art is characterized by its "ability to communicate a wide range of messages, including China's social and cultural development, and artists' emotions".

Colin Sheaf, head of Asian art at London auction house Bonhams, said Chinese art makes up a growing portion of its sales. He said Chinese nationals living in China and overseas are major bidders.

In addition to its role at the Frieze art fair, Chinese work is a major part of other events, including Art16 and the London Art Fair.

Fay Yeong, artist program manager at ShanghART gallery in Shanghai, said participation at art fairs is important for both sales and the building of the international reputations of artists, because they give artists the chance to be spotted by gallery owners and museum curators.

ShanghART, which represents about 40 Chinese artists, is showing at Frieze for the third year.

Meanwhile, the government-backed Chinese Visual Art International Promotion Program is staging an exhibition called Root Scene at the China Exchange in London this week, to coincide with Frieze.

Root Scene features 50 Chinese contemporary art works that combine modern realities with traditional Chinese culture.

"Chinese cultural roots are important for contemporary Chinese artists and make us unique," said He Jinwei, an artist who is showing paintings of Chinese "left-behind children".

Guo Jin, who is displaying sculptures of wreckage to symbolize the remains of failure after an attempt to succeed, added that Western attitudes toward Chinese art have changed significantly since the 2008 financial crisis. He said the change has gone from curiosity to communication as equals, supported by Chinese artists' newfound confidence.

Chinese art is now valued as highly as art produced by leading Western contemporary artists, Guo said.
Donald Trump no longer wants to impose a total ban on Muslims entering the United States, his running mate Mike Pence has said, indicating a disavow of one of its most provocative policy proposals by the Republican presidential nominee.

It is not Donald Trumps position now, Pence told CNN in an interview on Thursday when asked about Trumps stated policy of banning Muslims from entering the country.

Donald Trump has talked about putting the security of the American people first... And hes made it clear our position is, were going to suspend immigration from countries compromised by terrorism, Pence argued.

Pence said Trump has underscored on the need to suspend immigration from countries and territories that have been compromised by terrorism.

I understand why you want to play the oldies, you want to talk about the where the campaign began or what statements were made, but the American people are focused on the policies that Donald Trump is articulating every day across this country, 57-year-old Pence said.

Later at an election rally in Pennsylvania, Pence slammed the Obama administration for making alleged cash payment to Iranians as ransom, which has been denied by the US government.

This administration and Hillary Clinton, with Clintons assent, signed an agreement that essentially puts off $150 billion to the Iranian, the radical Mullahs in Iran. And all we did was delay their nuclear ambitions.

The worst of it to me was the very day that the Iranians released four American hostages from captivity in Tehran, we delivered $400 million in cash on a pallet as ransom, he said.

Let me make you a promise. When Donald Trump becomes president of the US, we wont be paying ransom to terrorists. They will be paying the price if they detain American citizens or threaten our people, he added.

The US, he said, cant have four more years of Obama administration.

We cannot have four more years apologising to our enemies and abandoning our friends. For America to be safe, for the world to be safe, America needs to be strong. And when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, we will lead with American strength on the world stage once again, he said.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old reality TV star denied allegations that a town hall, held on Thursday, was not his preparation for the next debate with his Democratic rival Clinton.

This isnt practice, this has nothing to do with Sunday, Trump said in an apparent response to the criticism against him.

Trumps performance in the first debate against Clinton was widely panned. Were just here because we just wanted to be here. And I want to be with the American people, I want to be with the people from New Hampshire, and she (Clinton) wants to rest, he lashed out at Clinton.

The next debate in town hall-style presidential format is scheduled to held on Sunday.
The United States on Friday said it does not support declaring Pakistan a terrorist state but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.

The US also called for a meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a terrorist state, Kirby at his daily press briefing said: I have not seen anything specifically about the bill, and obviously we dont.

He, however, said he would not comment on whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard. What we  what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and were going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously its a threat to the Indian people as well.

So were going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and weve always said that more can be done about the safe havens and thats -- were going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end, Kirby said.

He said the US position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place  meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries, Kirby said.

He added that the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many

countries too, and we continue to try to work through them, Kirby said.

Thats all were asking, thats all were hoping, thats all were expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we dont believe for a minute that they dont take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children, he said.

Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistans nuclear security.

I think weve said before were confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal, he said.
The Indian Air Force is on Saturday celebrating 84 years of glorious service during which the force extended its reach to some of the most difficult terrains in the world, signalling its supremacy and operational capabilities.

To commemorate the day, the IAF released this must-watch video:

A scintillating air display by IAF aircraft will be the hallmark of the Air Force Day Parade cum Investiture Ceremony at Air Force Station at Hindan, Ghaziabad. Stay tuned for glimpses of the event.
On Friday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220,000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people.

The Nobel committee said that despite the peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the result of four years of negotiations, was narrowly rejected in a referendum in the country last Sunday, it showed that Colombians had not given up on peace.

For those who dont know who the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are or whats happening in Colombia, heres a simple explainer.

IMAGE: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (left) and Marxist rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, shake hands after signing an accord ending a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people in Cartagena, Colombia. Photograph: John Vizcaino/Reuters

Who is the FARC?

The FARC is the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Its a Marxist rebel group that since 1964 has waged a bloody rebellion against the Colombian government -- and its the longest-running armed insurgency in the Western Hemisphere.

Why was the FARC formed?

In the early 1960s, FARC was formed as a rural insurgency that claimed to represent the interests of Colombias poor against the landed elite. In those days, the Colombian state sold off large tracts of land to private owners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to pay its debts. Reacting to their land being sold, the FARC demanded more rights and control over the land.

But their Communist ideals were seen as a threat by big landowners and the State, which sent in the army to disband the commune, or Marquetalia Republic as it had come to be known and subsequently this led to FARC taking up arms.

IMAGE: Colombians from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia arrive at a camp near El Diamante in Yari Plains, Colombia. Photograph: John Vizcaino/Reuters

How violent is FARC?

The FARC has been responsible for horrific acts of violence throughout its five decades of existence.

Operating mostly in the rural corners of the country, FARC guerrillas have long terrorised citizens with murders, kidnappings and the constant threat of extortion.

Members of the FARC assassinated a Colombian culture minister in 2001, hijacked a domestic flight carrying a senator in 2002 and is estimated to have kidnapped more than 25,000 people from 1970 to 2010, according to a report from the Colombian Council on Foreign Relations.

What is this peace deal that Colombia signed with FARC?

Over the years, the FARC have been hit hard by Colombian security forces. In the past decade, many of the top leaders of FARC were killed or died.

Following the deaths, in 2010, the FARC started formal negotiations with the government to bring about peace in the country. According to the peace deal, the FARCs fighters would give up their weapons to United Nations inspectors, and become a legal political party with 10 guaranteed seats in the countrys Congress in the 2018 and 2022 elections. The deal would also allow rebels to avoid jail time if they confessed to their crimes.

After many deliberations, the head of the FARC Timoleon Jimenez, aka Timochenko, signed the deal with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

IMAGE: University students and supporters of the peace deal signed between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels display a flag during a rally in front of Congress in Bogota, Colombia. Photograph: John Vizcaino/Reuters

Why did voters reject it?

So, wait, a peace deal was struck and voters rejected the referendum. Well, yeah. Last Sunday, Colombians rejected the peace deal to end 52 years of war with FARC guerrillas. The publics main objection to the agreement was that it was far too lenient on FARC fighters, whose war against the Colombian government has ravaged the country for more than half a century.

What happens now?

The peace agreement as written cannot be implemented without an approval by referendum, so it will have to be renegotiated. Colombian President Santos has promised to continue the search for peace until the last moment of my mandate, because that's the way to leave a better country to our children ... I wont give up, he said.

So, despite the peace deal being rejected, why did the Nobel committee award Santos with the prize?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that the aim was to encourage peace efforts in the war-torn country, which are now in "real danger" of collapse.

"We hope that it will encourage all good initiatives and all the parties who could make a difference in the peace process and give Colombia -- finally -- a peace after decades of war," said committee chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five.

The committee said the award was also "a tribute to the Colombian people" who had not given up hope of a just peace as well as to the families of the "countless victims" of the war.
Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation staff rescued rhinos, elephants, hog deer and even a tiger from the floods in the Kaziranga National Park.

Geetanjali Krishna reports.

IMAGE: Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation officials feed baby rhinos they rescued from the Kaziranga National Park during the flood. Photograph: @wti_org_india/Twitter

During this year's unprecedented floods that threatened lives and livelihoods in Assam, one rescue operation caught everyone's imagination.

A baby was stranded in a couple of feet of fast-moving water. Bystanders watched in horror as the water began to rise. Rescue came in the form of two boats that had to be tethered to one another.

It took several men to lift the baby, put it on one boat and maintain balance by quickly getting on the other boat.

The 'baby' in question was a rhino calf rescued by the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at the Kaziranga National Park.

The first rescue and rehabilitation centre near a protected area in India, CWRC has been quietly attending to a wide range of wildlife emergencies resulting from natural or anthropogenic causes since 2002.

However, this year's floods have cast a spotlight on their work as they have rescued not only rhinos, but also elephants, hog deer and even a tiger from the floods in the park.

IMAGE: With large parts of Kaziranga under water, rhino calves were separated from their mothers and were at risk of drowning. Photograph: @wti_org_india/Twitter

The plight of Kaziranga's endangered denizens highlights a basic problem with wildlife conservation in the area -- the loss of natural animal corridors to human activities, which, in this case, has restricted animals to a mere 430 square kilometres of core forest, unable to escape the rising waters of the Brahmaputra.

With large parts of Kaziranga under water, entire populations of endangered species that live there have been threatened and displaced.

Elephant and rhino calves have been separated from their mothers and many have been orphaned.

Hog deer have been hit by cars while attempting to reach higher ground by crossing the national highway.

Wildlife experts stress that the park is well adapted to natural flooding. "In fact, annual floods help maintain the marshiness of the soil and are integral to the wellbeing of the grassland habitat of the one-horned rhino," says Vivek Menon of the Wildlife Trust of India.

IMAGE: According to reports, over 200 animals drowned this year owing to the floods.

Officials say the problems arise as water is suddenly released from barrages and dams, raising the water levels so quickly that animals get little time to seek higher ground. Photograph: @wti_org_india/Twitter

Problems arise, as they did this year, when excess water is suddenly released from barrages and dams upstream and water levels rise so quickly that animals get little time to seek higher ground.

"This problem is exacerbated by the fact that their corridors to the hills have been blocked by a couple of villages and a national highway," Menon says.

Consequently, most of the animals that CWRC has rescued this year have been found in or near villages.

However, owning largely to its efforts in training and sensitising locals, this joint project of the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India and the Assam government has noticed a change in villagers' attitudes towards animals, especially those affected by the floods.

IMAGE: CWRC officials feed baby elephants.

Officials say most of the animals rescued were first noticed by the villagers. Photograph: WTI

"Till some time back, if a deer strayed into a village, people would have no compunction about killing and eating it," says Menon. This has changed.

In fact, this year most of the animals CWRC has rescued were first noticed by villagers who alerted the centre.

"Now we are renewing our training and awareness campaigns in the villages around the forest," he says.

It is important to educate locals about when an animal really needs rescuing, and when it is best left alone. "We also teach them basic first aid and how to respond when they find an injured animal," says Menon.

Community participation has, in fact, been the unexpected silver lining in the clouds of this year's floods.

"People have been moved by the sight of so many dead and distressed animals, especially rhinos," says Menon. "Perhaps that is why this year's response from the community has been truly inspirational."

IMAGE: Other than rhinos and elephants, CWRC also rescued deer. Photograph: WTI

Local schoolchildren enthusiastically participated in training programmes on wildlife rescue. Volunteers helped the overworked staff at the centre however they could, working round the clock to rescue and tend to the animals.

At the centre, many of the rescued animals, especially the young ones, were shocked and traumatised, needing to be hand-fed, some being little enough to need feeding bottles.

Towards July end, when the number of rescued animals swelled, the centre needed funds urgently to expand their facilities. At that time, Menon and his cohorts found that help was close at hand.

"I was touched to see that local villagers contributed whatever they could, sometimes as little as Rs 5, through which we managed to raise over Rs 60,000," he says.

Students of a local school donated the money that would have been spent on their midday meal to buy milk powder for the baby animals at CWRC.

"Stories like these give us all great hope," he says. For it is when locals feel that they are stakeholders in the well-being of the jungle that wildlife conservation becomes truly meaningful.

CWRC's task at hand is to now slowly reintegrate the rescued animals, especially the young ones, into the wild.

Hopefully, in doing so, it is not only creating replicable protocols for the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals, but also giving a voice to these mute victims of disasters, natural or man-made.

For more information, visit www.wti.org.in or follow them on Facebook.
Researchers grapple with challenges of aging population Updated: 2016-10-07 17:19 By EARLE GALE(China Daily UK)

George Jackson, 85, swings on monkey bars during a parkour class for elderly people in a park in South London in 2014. [Photo/AP]

Researchers from universities in Britain, France and China are studying their national cultures and comparing them to see if lessons can be learned about the best ways to cope with an aging population and care for old people in their homes.

Professor YangZan, the principal Chinese investigator in the collaborative project between the University of Central Lancashire, Tsinghua University and Universite Paris Dauphine, hopes they will find cost-effective ways to allow seniors to stay in familiar surroundings as they age, something that should benefit their mental health.

"It is a research project aimed at optimizing care delivery models to support and promote aging-in-place," said Yang, who teaches at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

"The project is focused on meeting older people's needs, in terms of health and quality of life, by exploring the relationships between living arrangements, the living environment of older people, and the design of care delivery from technological, financial, political and social considerations."

The project is called Optimizing Care Delivery Models to Support Aging-in-Place: Toward Autonomy, Affordability and Financial Sustainability, which is abbreviated to Odessa.

The Odessa project began in March 2015 and will continue until March 2018. Five researchers in China are taking part, along with three in England and four in France. In addition, 10 students studying for their PhDs and master's degrees are supporting the work.

It is being funded by the national natural science foundations of China, the UK and France.

The challenge of how best to offer care and support to elderly people has been a major issue for decades in Europe, where the population has been steadily aging and where the number of working-age people supporting retired older people has been getting slowly smaller. The transformation has happened much more quickly and recently in China.

By 2050, more than one-fourth of China's population will be older than 65,meaning younger generations will face an unprecedented burden of care. This is because Chinese women have been having fewer children for a range of reasons, and because older people are living for longer.

By 2050, it is likely that there will be 45 seniors for every 100 people of working age. Today, a group of 100 working people supports 15 seniors.

"Due to cultural and economic differences, older people in China, the UK and France might see care delivery from different perspectives and may have various preferences," said Yang. "With scenario building and in-depth comparative analyses, this project aims to build a common framework that will enable a thorough study of care delivery mechanisms and options available to older people."
Tuesdays, 2-5 p.m. and Thursdays, 1-4 p.m. Continues through Dec. 22

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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.
Burundi: List of all the neighbourhoods of Bujumbura, including the ethnicity and socio-economic status of the inhabitants of those neighbourhoods (2014-September 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 15 September 2016 Citation / Document Symbol BDI105629.E Related Document(s) Burundi : information sur l'ensemble des quartiers de Bujumbura, y compris sur l'origine ethnique et la situation socioeconomique de leurs habitants (2014-septembre 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Burundi: List of all the neighbourhoods of Bujumbura, including the ethnicity and socio-economic status of the inhabitants of those neighbourhoods (2014-September 2016), 15 September 2016, BDI105629.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f792e34.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Lists of Neighbourhoods in Bujumbura

Sources indicate that a 2014 law on the reorganization of the communes within Bujumbura city reduced the number of communes to 3 (IGIHE 28 Aug. 2014; Burundi AGnews 18 Dec. 2014; Radio Isanganiro 28 Aug. 2014) from 13 (ibid.; Burundi AGnews 18 Dec. 2014). The three communes are Muha, Mukaza, and Ntahangwa (ibid.; Radio Isanganiro 28 Aug. 2014; IGIHE 28 Aug. 2014). Sources indicate that each of the communes are further divided as follows:

Muha

Kanyosha

Kinindo

Musaga

Mukaza

Buyenzi

Bwiza

Nyakabiga

Rohero

Ntahangwa

Cibitoke

Kamenge

Gihosha

Ngagara

Kinama

Buterere (ibid.; AGnews 18 Dec. 2014; Radio Isanganiro 20 July 2015).

According to Publications de presse burundaise (PPB), a news website based in Burundi, the "chief-lieu" [or municipal administrations] of Muha, Mukaza, and Ntahangwa are Kanyosha, Rohero, and Kamenge, respectively (n.d.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Ethnicity and Socio-economic Situation

Information on the ethnicity and socio-economic status of inhabitants of the city of Bujumbura was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a postdoctoral researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) who has conducted research on urban youth in war and violence-affected contexts, particularly in Burundi, and on war affected refugees in Europe, stated that, based on her knowledge, which is "largely based on in-depth, longitudinal, qualitative research," and stating that the information she provided about neighbourhoods "should not be taken as fixed or indisputable," "socio-economic, ethnic and political characteristics are not easily ascribed to at the level of the communes  [but] [i]t is more common to specify characteristics at the level of 'zones' or 'quartiers'" (Postdoctoral researcher 13 Sept. 2016). The same source gave the following views with regard to the "'reputation' of zones":

Rohero and Kinindo are reputed to be home to the wealthier segments of the population, but perhaps best characterised as mostly middle class. Some parts of Rohero zone are known to be catering to the rich as well as high end expats.

Ngagara, in the northern part of the city, was built to house social servants and military from the Burundi hinterlands (it was built in the 1950s). This urban planning legacy still affects who lives there today. Allegedly, many inhabitants have ties with (former) military and other people who had been able to profit from the housing scheme.

Gihosha gained the reputation as home of 'fonctionaires' more recently, after the civil war of 1993-2005. Some people bought land or houses during the war, and have been able to gain from the upward mobility of the neighbourhood.

Buyenzi and Bwiza are reputed to be home to many Congolese and West-Africans, though Burundians live there as well. These neighbourhoods are generally less affluent than those I mentioned earlier: plots of land are often shared with a number of families.

Buyenzi is especially known as a place where mechanics have their businesses.

In Bwiza there are many bars, among others. Houses are allegedly slightly more expensive than in areas further to the north and south of city center: Musaga, Cibitoke, Kamenge, Kinama and Buterere.

Musaga, Cibitoke, Kamenge, Kinama and Buterere are known to be relatively poor. During the civil war, these zones have been hit hard.

Kamenge is allegedly home to many Congolese and other Africans (though some people known as 'Congolese' have lived in Bujumbura for generations). During the war Kamenge was became known as the Hutu rebel stronghold and got nearly completely destroyed. It should be noted that the geographical area nominated Kamenge has changed over the course of recent history: as Bujumbura is growing fast.

Buterere has faced problems with flooding in recent years. Kanyosha and Nyakabiga are difficult to characterise in simple statements, perhaps because they end socio-economically somewhere in between and also know extremes. (ibid.)

According to the same source,

[i]n terms of ethnicity, to my knowledge, there has never been a population census that gives precise or less precise information on the composition or number of Hutus, Tutsis and Twas (and other ethnic groups) in Burundi. Therefore, there is no way to tell whether 'zone x, y or z, is mainly inhabited by Hutus while zones l, m, and n by Tutsis.' Nonetheless, in everyday life, neighbourhoods are associated with specific ethnic groups. In part the associations and generalisations build on the (colonial) urban planning projects in which certain groups were privileged at the expense of others. Also influential is the ethnic cleansing that occurred during the civil war in various neighbourhoods. In this period of time, Nyakabiga, Ngagara, Musaga and Cibitoke became designated as Tutsi. Kamenge and Kinama were rather designated as Hutu. After the war ethnic segregation no longer held, yet the wartime lines of division were sometimes still used to attribute ethnic labels to neighbourhoods of the city. Of late, voting figures, however much contested, have also played a role in affirming ethnic labels: political parties tend to be associated with specific ethnic groups. (ibid.)

Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Without providing further details, the postdoctoral researcher stated that

[a] number of the neighbourhoods are sometimes given the term 'quartier contestataire'. This term became in use especially after the 'manifestations' that took place in April and May 2015. In some official and unofficial speeches, these 'quartiers contestataires' are those designated as Tutsi during the war. Yet, manifestations took place also in other neighbourhoods, which suggests that inclusion or exclusion of neighbourhoods in the category is part of a political strategy to re-emphasise or de-emphasise the importance of ethnicity. (ibid.)

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a PhD candidate at the African Studies Centre at Leiden University, Netherlands, who has conducted research on topics including rural regions in Burundi affected by war, refugee-related land conflicts, and land governance, stated that, based on her knowledge and research,

[t]he so-called 'quartiers contestataires' (protesters neighborhoods) have been deserted by many youth and families due to frequent operations of the police forces and the 'documentation' service (national intelligence service), and the Imbonerakure militia (youth wing of the ruling Hutu-dominated political party, the CNDD-FDD [Conseil National pour la Defense de la Democratie-Forces pour la Defense de la Democratie]). (PhD Candidate 5 Sept. 2016)

Similarly, Human Rights Watch states that

[the] [p]olice and military, often accompanied by members of the ruling party youth league known as Imbonerakure, have carried out large-scale arbitrary arrests during search operations. These operations have also resulted in numerous extrajudicial killings. Many residents have moved out of their neighborhoods, in anticipation of further police or military operations. (25 Feb 2016)

According to the PhD Ccndidate,

the socio-economic situation in neighborhoods of Bujumbura is a very challenging one, not to mention the numerous displacement of local populations: (i) some families have deserted the so-called "quartiers contestataires" to relocate in less violent and politically sensitive neighborhoods in Bujumbura; (ii) others rather abandoned their houses and activities in Bujumbura to resettle in rural areas, usually loosing significant means of income generating activities (jobs, social network, houses and other properties); and (iii) for others who could afford it (through their social network, financial resources, political connections), whole families or children and wives choose the road of exile either as registered refugees or as unregistered refugees [abroad]. (PhD candidate 5 Sept. 2016)

German news source Deutsche Welle (DW) also reports that residents of Cibitoke, Ngagara, Mutakura, Musaga, and Nyakabiga are [translation] "gradually" leaving these communes as they "are afraid of being arrested, removed or killed by men dressed in police uniforms" (DW 30 May 2016). In an article published on Iwacu, a Bujumbura-based news website, Burundian writer and journalist Roland Rugero indicates that Buyenzi has been described as [translation] "traditionally a 'calm' commune due to its huge social diversity (and Bwiza, to a lesser extent)" (Rugero 26 Apr. 2015). The New York-based digital news publication, International Business Times (IBTimes), indicates that Buyenzi is "a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood," and that during the ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in the 1990s, the commune "was dubbed the 'Swiss' neighbourhood of Bujumbura, because of its overall neutrality, as residents said they identified themselves as Muslims, and not as Hutus or Tutsis" (IBTimes 26 May 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Rugero also indicated that the communes of Rohero, Kinindo, and Gihosha have been described as [translation] "rather 'bourgeois' [whose] inhabitants prefer to stay in their enclosure" (26 Apr. 2015). Additional and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Burundi Africa Generation News (Burundi AGnews). 18 December 2014. "Burundi: Desormais Bujumbura Mairie compte 3 communes." [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]

Deutsche Welle (DW). 30 May 2016. Eric Topona. "Des perquisitions suscitent la peur a Bujumbura." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2016]

Human Rights Watch. 25 February 2016. "Burundi: Abductions, Killings, Spread Fear." [Accessed 8 Sept. 2016]

IGIHE. 28 August 2014. Alida Sabiteka. "Bientot la Mairie de Bujumbura composee de 3 communes." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2016]

International Business Times (IBTimes). 26 May 2015. Elsa Buchanan. "Burundi Elections 2015: Violence Spills into Bujumbura's Muslim District for First Time." [Accessed 8 Sept. 2016]

PhD Candidate, African Studies Centre, Leiden University. 5 September 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Postdoctoral researcher, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement. 13 September 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Publication de presse burundaise (PPB). N.d.a. Alfred Nimbona and Yvette Irambona. "Elles volent actuellement de leurs propres ailes." [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]

Radio Isanganiro. 20 July 2015. "Les communes de la Mairie de Bujumbura reduites a trois." [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]

_____. 28 August 2014. Marc Niyonkuru. "Les communes de la Mairie seront Muha, Mukaza et  mais." [Accessed 31 Aug. 2016]

Reuters. 5 August 2015. "Official Killed in Burundi as Crisis Deepens." [Accessed 8 Sept. 2016]

Rugero, Roland. 26 April 2015. "Manifestations anti-3eme mandat a Bujumbura, ce dimanche : Rwasa reste la cle." Iwacu. [Accessed 8 Sept. 2016]

VICE News. 9 November 2015. Kayla Ruble. "Violence Spreads in Burundi as Rwanda Warns of Genocide Risks." [Accessed 8 Sept. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral Sources: Historian, Raspail, Institut des mondes africains; Researcher, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, Institute for Security Studies.

Publications: Oxford Country Economic Forecasts.

Internet sites, including: African Development Bank; African Public Radio; African Union - Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Social Affairs, Peace and Security Department; Agence Bujumbura News; All Africa; Amnesty International; BBC; Burundi - Agence de promotion de l'investissement, Assemblee nationale, Bureau du Senat, Embassy in Washington DC, Honorary Consul in Toronto, Institut de statistiques et d'etudes economiques, Ministere des finances, du budget et de la privatisation, Ministere de la sante publique et de la lLte contre le SIDA, Regie nationale des postes; Canada - High Commission to Kenya; East African Community; ecoi.net; Ecole francaise de Bujumbura; The Economist; Factiva; France - Ambassade a Bujumbura, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development; Freedom House; The Guardian; The Heritage Foundation; International Crisis Group; International Monetary Fund; Jane's Intelligence Review; Le Monde; Net Press; The New York Times; The Norwegian Council for Africa; Observatoire economique et statistique d'Afrique subsaharienne; Petit Fute; Public Radio International; Radio France internationale; Radio Netherlands Worldwide; Reporters Without Borders; Reuters; Taiwan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs; United Nations - Refworld, ReliefWeb; United States - Central Intelligence Agency, Library of Congress; The Washington Post; wazaonline.com; The World Bank; World Policy Institute.
Angola: Information on the situation of members and leaders of Evangelical churches; treatment of members by authorities; whether members are forced to join the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) by State authorities or members of the party (2014-September 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 15 September 2016 Citation / Document Symbol AGO105609.E Related Document(s) Angola : information sur la situation des membres et chefs des eglises evangeliques; le traitement reserve aux membres par les autorites; information indiquant si les membres sont contraints de se joindre au Mouvement populaire de liberation de l'Angola (MPLA) par les autorites de l'Etat ou les membres du parti (2014-septembre 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Angola: Information on the situation of members and leaders of Evangelical churches; treatment of members by authorities; whether members are forced to join the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) by State authorities or members of the party (2014-September 2016), 15 September 2016, AGO105609.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7938a4.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Situation of Religious Groups

1.1 Legislation

According to sources, the Constitution of the Republic of Angola guarantees religious freedom (US 10. Aug. 2016, 1; Freedom House 2016). The Constitution of the Republic of Angola indicates the following:

Article 10 (Secular state)

The Republic of Angola shall be a secular state and there shall be separation between state and church, under the terms of the law.

The state shall recognise and respect the different religious faiths, which shall be free to organise and exercise their activities, provided that they abide by the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Angola.

The state shall protect churches and faiths and their places and objects of worship, provided that they do not threaten the Constitution and public order and abide by the Constitution and the law.



Article 41 (Freedom of conscience, religion and worship)

Freedom of conscience, religion and worship shall be inviolable.

No-one shall be deprived of their rights, persecuted or exempted from obligations due to their religious beliefs or philosophical or political convictions.

Under the terms of the law, the right to be a conscientious objector shall be guaranteed.

No authority shall question anyone with regard to their convictions or religious practices, except in order to gather statistical data that cannot be individually identified. (Angola 2010)

1.2 Implementation of Regulations and State Recognition of Religious Groups

A 2013 briefing note by the German Federal Office for Migration and Asylum states that religious groups in Angola are "allowed to build places of worship and schools after they have been recognized by the state"(Germany 3 Dec 2013, 4). According to sources, 100,000 member signatures from at least two thirds of the total number of provinces are required for a religious group to be legally recognized by the state (US 10 Aug. 2016, 2; ANGOP 31 May 2004). State recognition gives religious groups the ability to acquire and use property to practice their religious beliefs, and to act as a juridical person in the court system (ibid.; US 10 Aug. 2016, 2). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a postdoctoral fellow of social anthropology at the University of Bergen who has researched religious issues in Angola indicated that state recognition is "a key factor" in the "well-being" for Angolan religious groups (Postdoctoral Fellow 23 Aug. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources report that the Angolan government has not legalized any new religious groups since 2004 (US 10 Aug. 2016, 1; Freedom House 2016). Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2016 report indicates that "[r]oughly" 1,200 religious groups operate without state recognition in Angola (2016). The US Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2015 estimates that the number of legally unrecognized groups is "more than 1,300" (10 Aug. 2016, 4). According to the German Federal Office for Migration and Asylum, the number has reached "more than 2,000" religious groups (3 Dec. 2013, 4). The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2015 indicates that "[s]ome of these [unrecognized] groups had a national organizational structure and operated schools and medical facilities throughout the country" and that "some [of these] groups have long-standing working relationships with provincial governments" (10 Aug. 2016, 4).

The Postdoctoral Fellow noted that "thousands of religious groups are awaiting recognition" from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (23 Aug. 2016). Sources indicate that there are about 83 religious groups that are recognized by the Angolan authorities (ibid.; Brinkman 2014, 40; Freedom House 2015) while around 1,000 groups have unsuccessfully sought official recognition since 1991 (ibid. 2014; US 28 July 2014, 2). According to Freedom House "[a]ll of those that have been officially recognized are Christian  [and] the Universal Church is the only evangelical church recognized by the state" (2016). Corroborating information could not be found among sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.3 Evangelical Churches

The Postdoctoral Fellow explained that, "in Angola, the term 'Evangelical' covers a wide spectrum of phenomena, from the more traditional mainstream Protestant-based movements to the 'Neopentecostal' churches of Brazilian origin, with an array of autochthonous movements in between" (23 Aug. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a senior lecturer at the Global Studies Institute of the University of Geneva who has conducted research on the history and socio-political influence of Christian Missions in Angola, explained that there is a distinction between

[translation]

the Reformed and Protestant churches (sometimes called evangelical) called 'historic', who are mostly from European or North American Christian missions that have developed in the country as early as 1860, and evangelical churches, that are usually of the charismatic type (like most Pentecostal churches), that are sometimes of the prophetic type, and are, for the most part, a more recent phenomenon, typical of the post-independence [period]. (Senior Lecturer 25 Aug. 2016)

Media sources report that the number of Evangelical church followers has increased in recent years (AFP 30 Apr. 2015; Reuters 3 Feb. 2013; SAPA 29 Jan. 2013). The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2015 cites Angolan officials and civil society organizations as stating that the number of Protestants in the country is approximately 40 percent of the Angolan population (10 Aug. 2016, 1). According to SIM, an international Christian mission organization with presence in more than 70 countries, including Angola (SIM n.d.a), "[t]here are hardly any Protestants in southwestern Angola" (ibid. n.d.b). However, in a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of Maka Angola, an NGO "dedicated to the struggle against corruption and to the defense of democracy in Angola" (Maka Angola n.d.), stated that Evangelical churches have a larger presence in the south of the country than other regions (ibid. 25 Aug. 2016).

2. Treatment of Christian Churches in General

An article published by Maka Angola about the relationship between religion and the state in Angola indicates that, "ever since Angolan independence, the relationship between state power and religion has been marked by political intolerance, ambivalence and co-optation" (27 Apr. 2014). Similarly, in its 2014 Transformation Index for Angola, German research foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung states that "potential church leaders have been courted by the regime since the end of the [civil] war and most have thrown in their lot with the MPLA [People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola]" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2014, 14). The Bertelsmann Stiftung's 2016 Transformation Index further adds that "most Christian denominations have affiliated themselves with the ruling party and have repeatedly come out in outspoken support of it, as evidenced around the 2008 and 2012 elections" (ibid. 2016, 7).

2.1 Treatment of Evangelical churches

The Postdoctoral Fellow gave the opinion that he "would not say that Evangelic Churches, as a collective" are treated differently from other churches or religions, but that some of them "have a bad reputation which has strong social and political consequences" (Postdoctoral Fellow 23 Aug. 2016). The same source further explained that

there is one politically active distinction concerning some Evangelical/ Pentecostal/Charismatic movements in Angola: those that are associated with the Bakongo ethnicity. There is a high degree of suspicion regarding Evangelical and Pentecostal churches of this ethnic background, [they are] often accused of exploitation, money laundering, abuse (sometimes sexual) and even sorcery. This is directly related to the bad rep[utation] that [the] Bakongo ethnicity has in present-day Angola (and Luanda in particular), due to their complex social, economic and political status in the country.

Many of these churches are deemed 'foreign' (from the [Democratic Republic of the Congo]), illegal and not "authentically Christian." They are mostly found in the "musseques" (informal settlement areas) of Luanda, and are not of easy access. Apart from public accusations in the local media, some of these churches have suffered police raids and attacks in different, unrelated episodes. (ibid.)

Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Instances of Violence or Discrimination Against Evangelical Churches by Authorities

Sources report that in February 2013, Angolan authorities suspended the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) [Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD)] for 60 days following a stampede during an overcrowded New Year's Eve church event which left 16 people dead (AFP 4 Feb. 2013; Reuters 3 Feb. 2013; US 28 July 2014, 4) and 120 injured (ibid.; Reuters 3 Feb. 2013). Reuters quoted a Presidential statement as stating that an inquiry commission concluded that the event, which was marketed as "'The Day of End - come to end all your problems in life '," attracted 150,000 people to a venue with a capacity of 30,000 (ibid.). The same source adds that six other evangelical churches that had "conducted activities similar to those of the IURD," were also suspended (ibid.). Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2014 report indicates that "[a]fter accusing evangelical Churches of 'false advertisement' and of 'exploiting the Angolan people,' the government decided in February 2013 to close the Universal Church and other Brazilian evangelical Churches such as the Pentecostal Evangelical Church of New Jerusalem (Freedom House 2014). Sources report that the ban on the Universal Church was lifted at the end of March 2013 (ibid.; US 28 July 2014, 4).

According to the US International Religious Freedom Report for 2013, "[i]n October [2013] local authorities closed a church in Kuando Kubango Province. The government stated the unlicensed church was operating out of people's homes and illicitly collecting or laundering money" (28 July 2014, 4).

Without providing further details, Freedom House reports that "[i]n November 2014, in the province of Huila, violent confrontations between church members and the armed forces and national police took place at the headquarters of the Josafat Church, which is not officially recognized by the government" (2015).

According to sources, government figures suggest that a confrontation in April 2015 between government forces and members of the Light of the World [Luz do Mondo] Church in Huambo Province led to the death of 13 group members and 9 policemen (Human Rights Watch 2016; Germany 27 Apr. 2015; Freedom House 2016). However, Freedom House reports that, according to non-government sources, the death toll was "much higher" (ibid.). Sources indicate that the opposition party National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) claimed that several hundred had been killed during the incident (Human Rights Watch 2016; Germany 27 Apr. 2015; AFP 30 Apr. 2015). According to sources, authorities denied the higher death toll (ibid.) or that a "massacre had taken place" (Human Rights Watch 2016). Sources further report that the government did not allow an independent investigation following the confrontation (ibid.; Freedom House 2016). According to the US' International Religious Freedom Report for 2015,

[t]he government stated it was concerned about the proliferation of religious "sects," some of which the government said used methods that exploited the vulnerable, especially the poor, and threatened domestic stability. The government said the Light of the World group had been a concern because of practices the government considered destabilizing to social order, such as prohibiting schooling and vaccinations of its children, avoiding participation in the 2014 national census, and having members abandon their homes, sell all their belongings, and settle in isolated locations. (10 Aug. 2016, 3)

Sources report that the confrontation between state authorities and Light of the World Church occurred when police were attempting to arrest Julino Kalupetca, the leader of the religious organization (AFP 30 Apr. 2015; Germany 27 Apr. 2015). Sources indicate that Kalupeteka was formally accused of crimes including murder, possession of arms and civil disobedience (US 10 Aug. 2016, 3; Human Rights Watch 2016). Some sources describe the Light of the World Church as a "sect" which split from the Seventh Day Adventist Church (ibid.; Freedom House 2016). According to sources, the Light of the World Church is considered illegal in Angola (Postdoctoral Fellow 23 Aug. 2016; Germany 27 Apr. 2015).

4. Links of Religious Groups to the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and whether Members of Evangelical Churches are Forced to Join the Party

The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 states that

[a]ccording to reports in several national media outlets, some members of civil society groups criticized the Catholic Church for having a close connection to the ruling party. The criticism focused on public support by prominent Catholic leaders for the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labor Party (MPLA) and the alleged preferential treatment that the MPLA gave the church in return. (28 July 2014, 4)

According to the 2014 Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index report,

[t]here are instances where some churches, especially the fast-growing neoPentecostal churches such as the Brazilian Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD in Portuguese), have benefited from preferential government treatment, such as in building permits, for example. However, such examples should be seen as mutually beneficial agreements between a political elite and a dynamic and rapidly growing social group, rather than as a church influencing government policymaking. (2014, 8)

The Postdoctoral Fellow similarly stated that

[t]here is also some public concern regarding churches of Brazilian origin (the UCKG [Universal Church of the Kingdom of God], for instance), but for different reasons - they are seen to have been able to establish "partnerships" and "collaborations" with the regime, which has granted them a very comfortable status in the country (to the extent of being accused of being favoured). (23 Aug. 2016)

According to the same source,

[a]ny church of a certain importance (in demographic and economic terms) that seeks official recognition and public status in Angola will not only have to comply with the legal requirements, but will also have to comply with the agenda of the governmental regime, meaning that it will not only never criticise the government, but will also advocate it.  This is what government and church officials would describe as strategic partnership. However, there is no alternative to this on behalf of the churches. (ibid.)

The Postdoctoral Fellow further noted that, to his knowledge, it is unknown if there is "active pressure to join the party (as in blackmail or something [similar]), but it is a known fact that the leaders of the churches must carry MPLA cards" and that "leaders of these churches publicly recommend that their followers vote MPLA in the elections" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 30 April 2015. "Angola Opposition Accuses Police of Killing 1,000 in Sect Raid." (Factiva)

_____. 4 February 2013. "Angolan Church Suspended after Deadly Stampede: Media." (Factiva)

Agencia Angola Press (ANGOP). "Parliament Passes Law on Freedom of Conscience, Worship, Religion." [Accessed 28 Aug. 2016]

Angola. 2010. Constitution of the Republic of Angola. [Accessed 24 Aug. 2016]

Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2016. "Angola Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2016. [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

_____. 2014. "Angola Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index(BTI) 2014. [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

Brinkman, Inge. 2014. "Angola." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices. 2nd ed., Vol. 2. Edited by Thomas Riggs. Farmington Hills, Minnesota: Gale.

Freedom House. 2016. "Angola." Freedom in the World 2016. [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

_____. 2015. "Angola." Freedom in the World 2015. [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

_____. 2014. "Angola." Freedom in the World 2014. [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

Germany. 27 April 2015. Federal Office for Migration and Asylum. "Directorate 22 - Information Centre Asylum and Migration. Briefing Notes. 27 April 2015." [Accessed 25 Aug. 2016]

_____. 2 December 2013. Federal Office for Migration and Asylum. "Group 41 - Information Centre Asylum and Migration. Briefing Notes. 2 December 2013". [Accessed 25 Aug. 2016]

Human Rights Watch. 2016. "Angola." World Report 2016: Events of 2015. [Accessed 25 Aug. 2016]

Maka Angola. 25 August 2016. Telephone interview with a representative.

_____. 27 April 2014. Rafael Marques de Morais. "Religion and the State in Angola." [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

_____. N.d. "About." [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway. 23 August 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Reuters. 3 February 2013. "Angola Suspends Pentecostal Church for 60 Days after Stampede." (Factiva)

Senior Lecturer, Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva. 25 August 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

SIM. N.d.a. "Who We Are." [Accessed 2 Sept. 2016]

_____. N.d.b. "Country Profile: Angola." [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

South African Press Association (SAPA). 29 January 2013. "Evangelical Churches Blooming in Angola." [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

United States (US). 10 August 2016. Department of State. "Angola." International Religious Freedom Report for 2015. [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

_____. 28 July 2014. Department of State. International Religious Freedom Report for 2013. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/256203.pdf> [Accessed 22 Aug. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Associacao Justica Paz e Democracia; Conselho de Igrejas Cristas em Angola; Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola; Igreja Evangelica Congregacional em Angola; Mosaiko Instituto Para A Cidadania.

Internet sites, including: Adventist Development and Relief Agency; African Commission on Human and People's Rights; Les Afriques dans le monde; Amnesty International; BBC; Bread for the World - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst; Child Rights International Network; Chr. Michelsen Institute; Christian Solidarity Worldwide; Council on Foreign Relations; ecoi.net; Factiva; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'Homme; Forum 18; GlobaLex; Global Ministries; The Guardian; Human Rights Watch; IRIN; Institute on Religion and Public Policy; Islamic Human Rights Commission; Minority Rights Group International; Norwegian Church Aid; Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa; Rede Angola; UN - Refworld; US - Central Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Library of Congress; World Council of Churches; World Legal Information Institute.
Afghanistan: Situation of Hazara people living in Kabul City, including treatment by society, security situation, and access to employment; security situation for Hazara traveling to areas surrounding Kabul City to access employment (2014-April 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 20 April 2016 Citation / Document Symbol AFG105491.E Related Document(s) Afghanistan : information sur la situation des Hazaras qui vivent dans la ville de Kaboul, y compris le traitement que leur reserve la societe, leur situation en matiere de securite, et l'acces a l'emploi; la situation en matiere de securite pour les Hazaras qui se rendent dans les regions entourant la ville de Kaboul pour travailler (2014-avril 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Afghanistan: Situation of Hazara people living in Kabul City, including treatment by society, security situation, and access to employment; security situation for Hazara traveling to areas surrounding Kabul City to access employment (2014-April 2016), 20 April 2016, AFG105491.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f794955.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

According to sources, the Hazara people comprise approximately 9 percent of the population in Afghanistan (MRG n.d.; AP 23 Jan. 2014; SBS 3 Sept. 2013). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a sociology professor at the City University London, who has undertaken field research in Kabul with the Hazara minority, stated that while there has been no census in Afghanistan since 1979, "most estimates place Hazara at between 9 to 19 percent of the total population" (17 Apr. 2016). Sources indicate that the majority of Hazara are Shiite (MRG n.d.; AP 23 Jan. 2014). According to sources, they are considered "heretics" by Sunni Muslim extremists, such as the Taliban (ibid.; SBS 3 Sept. 2013).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an analyst with the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), an independent non-profit organisation based in Kabul that provides research and analysis on contemporary Afghan affairs (AAN n.d.), stated that the "situation of Hazara living in Kabul varies depending on social class and background" and that "more so than other ethnic groups, Hazara tend to live in areas which tend to be on the outskirts of the city," although they are interspersed throughout other neighbourhoods, with Ismaili Hazara living closer to Kabul centre (AAN 13 Apr. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Deputy Director of the Civil Society & Human Rights Network (CSHRN), a network of 164 human rights organisations headquartered in Kabul (The Danish Institute for Human Rights n.d.), indicated that the Hazara typically live in the "West and central part of Kabul city" (CSHRN 2 Apr. 2016).

Sources report that Dashte Barchi [Dasht-e-Barchi] is a Hazara-majority neighbourhood in Kabul (AFP 5 Dec. 2015; International Development Consultant 12 Apr. 2016). The Associated Press (AP) reports that the Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood is located in western Kabul and "[h]undreds of thousands" of Hazaras from outside the city moved to Dasht-e-Barchi, which "sprang virtually out of the desert 10 years ago, and now is home to an estimated 1.5 million Hazara" (AP 23 Jan. 2014). The Washington Post also notes that there are "more than one million Hazaras living in the capital" (28 Dec. 2015). According to the Deputy Director, the majority of the Hazara living in Kabul are displaced people that have recently settled in the city (CSHRN 2 Apr. 2016). AP reports that, according to some estimates, the Hazara "now comprise half the population of the capital" (23 Jan. 2014). Corroborating information on the proportion of Hazara in Kabul City could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Treatment of Hazara People

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a Kabul-based international development consultant stated that the high rate unemployment in Afghanistan, approximately 40 percent, "negatively affects all Afghans equally, including but not limited to, Hazaras" (International Development Consultant 12 Apr. 2016). According to the same source, persons, including Hazara, that are perceived to be involved in "any activity that is not supportive of the militants' destructive and violent agenda," such as working with the government, NGOs, or humanitarian groups, "are at risk from the Taliban, foreign militants and Taliban splinter groups" (ibid.).

According to the International Development Consultant, the Hazara participate in "local and national governments, institutions of higher education, civil society groups, media outlets, parliament and political parties" (12 Apr. 2016). The AAN analyst further indicates that the Hazara are "disproportionately represented" in schools and universities, and are often "the largest groups of enrolled students at state universities" (AAN 13 Apr. 2016). However, she noted that in some areas of Kabul, there are not enough state schools to accommodate them and private schools are not affordable for large parts of the Hazara population (ibid.).

The Washington Post reports that improvements in the situation of the Hazara "are being increasingly stymied by a combination of economic stagnation and ethnic discrimination" (28 Dec. 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor with the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, who has conducted field research in Afghanistan, stated that

the war has paradoxically allowed the Hazara to improve their overall situation, however, it was gained through a military, political, cultural and social struggle that remains very fragile. Other groups look at them with suspicion and jealousy. (Professor 3 Apr. 2016)

The City University Professor similarly states,

[i]ronically, the progress that Hazara have made in education and their higher profile in public life has made them vulnerable to anti-government elements who see them as supporters and main beneficiaries of the international forces/community in Afghanistan, and the target of resentment by some members of other ethnic groups. (17 Apr. 2016)

AP cites a Hazara community leader in Dasht-e-Barchi as stating that "Hazaras are treated like 'third-class citizens' in Kabul" and that areas of the city dominated by other ethnic groups "have more paved roads and access to schools, clinics and services" (23 Jan. 2014). According to Mothers for Peace, a Belgium-based international NGO that advocates for women's rights (Mothers for Peace n.d.a), which opened a health centre in Dasht-e-Barchi in 2011, the majority of the residents in Dasht-e-Barchi are "deprived of basic facilities, " such as adequate water and sanitation, and suffer "from high levels of unemployment and poverty," with a "very small minority" being employed by the government or an NGO (ibid. n.d.b). The AAN analyst similarly stated that Dasht-e-Barchi is relatively poor, overcrowded, offers few work opportunities, and lacks sufficient government infrastructure, such as schools and roads (AAN 13 Apr. 2016).

3. Employment

In 2014 article, AP reports that in the past, the Hazara had "taken the lowest-status jobs in Afghan cities," however, they have done "far better" since the removal of the Taliban regime, enrolling in universities and finding employment with international agencies (AP 23 Jan. 2014). Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports in a 2015 article that "[e]ducated and hard-working, the Hazaras have formed a new Afghan middle class" (AFP 5 Dec. 2015). According to the AAN analyst, Hazara "overall have the same access to jobs as other groups," however they have been "more affected" from the general economic decline as it is more difficult to access government employment "unless a Hazara is in the leadership of the department" (AAN 13 Apr. 2016). The source further states that, while NGOs had been a source of employment for the Hazara, with less aid going to Afghanistan, many NGOs are cutting wages and jobs, which disproportionately affect the Hazara (ibid.).

According to the Deputy Director, there is a "perception" that other ethnic groups give lower paid positions to Hazara (CSHRN 2 Apr. 2016). The same source further notes that an ethnicity quota system, as opposed to a merit-based system, is used for hiring processes in Afghanistan, which increases the risk of unemployment for the Hazara (ibid.). The AAN analyst states that the Hazara "sometimes report discrimination during the hiring process because they can be easily identified by their namesexcept for NGO or IO positions, where merit-based hiring is actually enforced" (AAN 13 Apr. 2016). According to the City University Professor, job recruitment is "overwhelmingly conducted through personal networks," which "disproportionally impacts groups who have traditionally been excluded from education and employmentHazaras have limited access to professional networks because of historical and current discrimination" (Professor 17 Apr. 2016).

4. Security Situation

According to the International Development Consultant, the

Hazara-dominated areas within Kabul City have largely remained peaceful and free of sectarian violence over the past few years. There have been few reported cases of targeting of Hazaras on the basis of their religious beliefs, political affiliations or ethnic identity in Kabul City. (12 Apr. 2016)

The Deputy Director of the CSHRN states that the Hazara "provinces and districtswere secure and peaceful," but more recently, "conservatives, the Taliban, ISIS, fundamentalists and extremists are targeting [the Hazara] because of ethnic discrimination" and their support for "modern values" and that since 2013 there have been "many cases" of insurgents stopping vehicles and public buses to capture or kill Hazara people (2 Apr. 2016).

According to the AAN analyst, there is a "threat in Kabul for all population groups, including Hazara" (AAN 13 Apr. 2016). The same source further states that while it is "less of a problem now" for Hazaras to be directly targeted due to their ethnicity, they "often have to travel significantly longer to reach their place of work; this indirectly makes them more vulnerable to random acts of violence by passing areas near parliament or the city center where explosions have taken place more frequently" (ibid.).

Further information on the treatment of the Hazara people in Kabul, including specific instances of violence, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Travel Outside of Kabul City

The AAN analyst stated that because of their identifying physical features, Hazara are "more likely to be targeted" when traveling outside of Kabul city, including neighboring districts; insecurity while travelling by road "to their final destination is often the biggest [security] concern" for the ethnic group (AAN 13 Apr. 2016). The source further specifies that travelling from "Kabul to Ghazni, Kabul to Daykundi and Bamyam often pose a significant security challenge" (ibid.). According to the Professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, the areas outside Kabul, such as the road to Ghazni, are "extremely unsafe" (Professor 3 Apr. 2016). The Deputy Director similarly stated that it is "not safe" for Hazara living in Kabul to travel outside to their province of origin and they have been "targeted by Taliban and ISIS while travelling" (CSHRN 2 Apr. 2016). According to sources, the Taliban have support among the population living in the areas outside of Kabul (Reuters 21 Oct. 2015; Washington Post 11 Oct. 2015).

Concerning travel related to employment, the AAN analyst stated that

many Hazaras have found work in the NGO sectorthis type of work frequently requires some sort of travel to districts and provinces outside of Kabul Cityduring their work trips, they are often more at risk than their colleagues from other ethnic groups. Hazara have reported that they have quit jobs that required them to travel to areas deemed as unsafe, in particular if repeat trips were required (ibid.).

AFP reports that "[w]est of the Afghan city of Maidan Shar is a 40-kilometre stretch of paved highway known as 'Death Road', where drivers say the country's ethnic Hazara minority are slaughtered by militants 'like sheep and cows'" (AFP 5 Dec. 2015). According to Spiegel Online, a German news website, Maidan Shahr is a town located 30 kilometers southwest of Kabul and is one of two roads used to travel to Bamiyan [Bamyan] (Spiegel Online 30 Sept. 2014). Sources state that Bamyan is a Hazara-majority area (ibid.; AFP 5 Dec. 2015; AP 23 Jan. 2014). AP reports that the Kabul-Beshud Highway is the "main route" between the capital and "Hazarjat, the informal name" of the area where "Hazaras have traditionally settled" (ibid.). According to the AAN analyst, Hazara working in Kabul often only travel to Bamyam by air "as the road through Wardak is perceived as too dangerous" (AAN 13 Apr. 2016).

Further information on the situation of Hazara travelling outside of Kabul for employment purposes, including specific acts of violence in close proximity to the city, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN). 13 April 2016. Correspondence from an analyst to the Research Directorate.

_____. N.d. "Who We Are." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 5 December 2015. Usman Sharifi. "Hunted Hazaras Travel 'Death Road' Through Afghanistan." [Accessed 1 Apr. 2016]

Associated Press (AP). 23 January 2014. Greg Keller. "'Death Road' Blocks Afghan Minority from Homeland." [Accessed 1 Apr. 2016]

Civil Society & Human Rights Network (CSHRN). 2 April 2016. Correspondence from the Deputy Director to the Research Directorate.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights. N.d. "The Afghanistan Civil Society and Human Rights Network." [Accessed 12 Apr. 2016]

International Development Consultant. 12 April 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Minority Rights Group International (MRG). N.d. "Afghanistan- Hazaras." [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]

Mothers for Peace. N.d.a. "Who We Are." [Accessed 12 Apr. 2016]

_____. N.d.b. "Dasht e Barchi." [Accessed 12 Apr. 2016]

Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. 3 April 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Professor, Department of Sociology, City University London. 17 April 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Reuters. 21 October 2015. Hamid Shalizi. "Taliban Insurgents Active Close to Kabul, Threat Level Disputed." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). 3 September 2013. "Explainer: Who are the Hazras?" [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

Spiegel Online. 30 September 2014. Jochen-Martin Gutsch. "A Public Works Debacle that Defines Afghanistan." [Accessed 1 Apr. 2016]

Washington Post. 28 December 2015. Pamela Constable. "Brutal Beheading of Nine-Year-Old Girl Sparks Outradge Over Persecution of Afghan Minority Group." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

_____. 11 October 2015. Peter Holley. "The Perilous Job of Running an Afghan Highway Checkpoint." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Afghanistan Investment Support Agency; Afghanistan Times; Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; The Asia Foundation; Asian Human Rights Commission; Asian Review; Bertelsman Transformation Index; ecoi.net; Factiva; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; International Rescue Committee; Kabul Press; Kabul Tribune; Khaama Press; Outlook Afghanistan; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Department of State.
Tanzania: Situation of Christians, including demographics, treatment and relations with other groups; state protection available in religious conflicts (2013-May 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 29 April 2016 Citation / Document Symbol TZA105511.E Related Document(s) Tanzanie : information sur la situation des chretiens, y compris sur les donnees demographiques, le traitement qui leur est reserve et leurs relations avec les autres groupes; information sur la protection offerte par l'Etat lors de conflits religieux (2013-mai 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Tanzania: Situation of Christians, including demographics, treatment and relations with other groups; state protection available in religious conflicts (2013-May 2016), 29 April 2016, TZA105511.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f795aa19.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

According to the US Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 for Tanzania, "[m]ost religious leaders estimate that the population is 50 percent Christian and 50 percent Muslim," though "there are no domestic polls covering religious affiliation" (US 14 Oct. 2015,1). The Huffington Post reports that approximately 20 percent of the population are Catholics, 10 percent are Protestants "of various denominations," 35 percent are Animists and 35 percent are Muslims, the majority of which are Sunnis (The Huffington Post 5 Feb. 2014). A 2014 article written by Dr. Andre LeSage, a senior research fellow with the Center for Strategic Research at the National Defense University in Washington DC, states that the population of Tanzania is "divided roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims, at 35 to 45 percent each, with a large segment of traditional animists making up the difference" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 3).

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 indicates that on the mainland, Muslim communities are concentrated along the Tanzanian coast, with "some large Muslim minorities also located inland in urban areas" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 1). LeSage similarly states that Muslims are "interspersed with non-Muslims" in all major cities and along the coastline of mainland Tanzania (LeSage Sept. 2014, 3). According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, US government sources estimate that the "one million residents" of Zanzibar are "99 percent Muslim" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 2). LeSage also notes that Zanzibar is approximately 95 percent Muslim (LeSage Sept. 2014, 3).

2. Treatment of Christians by Society and Other Religious Groups

Reporting on the events of 2014 in Tanzania, Freedom House indicates that freedom of religion is "generally respected" and the interactions between "the various faiths are largely peaceful, though there have been periodic instances of violence" (Freedom House 2015). According to the same source, in Zanzibar, "[t]ensions" between Muslims and Christians "continued in 2014" (ibid.). Without providing further details, LeSage cites "analysts" as indicating that "cities with religiously mixed populations, including Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya, Arusha and Zanzibar's Stone Town" are "most prone to inter-communal conflict" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 7).

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, there were "fewer" attacks against "religious institutions" in Zanzibar, compared to previous years (US 14 Oct. 2015, 5). The report cites Tanzanian "Christian and Muslim leaders" as stating that tensions between religious groups had decreased during 2014 "as measured by incidents of violence" (ibid., 6). The same source notes that civil society organisations promoting "interfaith tolerance and cooperation continued to work freely throughout the country" (ibid.). In a March 2015 article, Reuters reports that while there has been a "lull in sectarian violence  over the past year," Zanzibar is challenging "because of religious tensions and deep social and economic divisions" (Reuters 29 Mar. 2015).

Further information on the relations between Christians and other religious groups could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.1 Uamsho

The Huffington Post reports that a group known as Uamsho [awakening] has been inciting violence against Christians, "especially in Zanzibar" (5 Feb. 2014). According LeSage, Uamsho was established in 2001 as an Islamic NGO, "but has progressively become more involved in radical politics over time" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 9). The International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 similarly states that Uamsho is a "Muslim community development organization whose leaders have been arrested in connection with alleged terrorist offenses" and are "often" accused by religious leaders of "preaching anti-Christian extremism" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 4). The organization is reportedly led by Sheikh Farid Hadi (LeSage Sept. 2014, 9).

According to a 2013 UN Security Council report on Somalia and Eritrea, "[e]vidence also suggests linkages between Al Hijra and a loose-knit Tanzanian extremist group known as 'Uamsho'" (UN 12 July 2013, para. 31, note 9). An article published in the CTC Sentinel, a publication of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (the United States Military Academy), states that Al Hijra is a group of "primarily Kenyan Somali and non-Somali Muslim followers of al-Shabab in East Africa" (CTC Sentinel 29 May 2014).

According to the 2014 LeSage article, Uamsho is "most often blamed for attacks that take place in Zanzibar, includingacid, arson and explosive attacks" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 9). Sources state that in 2013, Uamsho members were suspected of throwing acid on two British teenagers who were volunteering as teachers in Zanzibar (The Telegraph 9 Aug. 2013; The Hill 10 Sept. 2015). Information on incidents involving Uamsho from 2014-2016 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.2 Incidents of Violence: 2013-2016

Sources report that in February 2013, a Catholic priest was shot and killed in Zanzibar by unknown attackers (US 28 July 2014, 5; Freedom House 2014; BosNewsLife 17 Feb. 2013) on his way to church (ibid.). According to sources, a Catholic church in Arusha was bombed in May 2013 (BBC 6 May 2013; Al Jazeera 5 May 2013), killing 3 and seriously injuring "more than 40 persons" (US 28 July 2014, 5). The International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 indicates that in September 2013, a Catholic Reverend was "attacked with acid in the Stone Town area of Zanzibar and critically injured" (ibid.). Freedom House reports that between June and September 2013, there were "three separate incidents" in which "acid was thrown at Catholic priests in Zanzibar" (Freedom House 2014).

According to International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, in February and August 2014, a mob threw explosives at an Evangelist church in Pangawe, Zanzibar (US 14 Oct. 2015, 5). No injuries or damages to the church were reported (ibid.). According to sources, in February 2014 a bomb was detonated in the entrance of the Mkunazini Cathedral in Zanzibar (ACNS 25 Feb. 2014; AFP 25 Feb. 2014; US 14 Oct. 2015, 5). No injuries or property damage were reported (ibid.; ACNS 25 Feb. 2014).

Freedom House states that in September 2014, a pastor and his wife were assaulted in their home in Zanzibar with the attackers "declaring that they did not want Christians in Zanzibar and calling upon them to return to the mainland" (Freedom House 2015). A 2016 report produced for the UN Universal Periodic Review by ADF International [1] similarly reports on the September 2014 incident noting that a pastor and his wife were attacked in their home "by assailants who told them that Christians do not belong in Zanzibar" (ADF International Apr. 2016, 2).

According Freedom House, in October 2014, a Bible study group in Bukoba [close to Lake Victoria (Xperitas n.d.)] was attacked by "Muslim assailants wielding machetesleaving one man dead and another seriously injured" (Freedom House 2015). The AFD report similarly states that in October 2014 a Christian man was killed with a machete and another was injured "during a prayer meeting at a church in northwest Tanzania" (ADF International Apr. 2016, 1).

Morning Star News, an independent and non-profit news service that reports on "persecution of Christians" through a global network of journalists (Morning Star News n.d.), reports that on 22 September 2015, three churches were set on fire in the "Kashfa village area of Bukoba District [north-western Tanzania]" (ibid., 26 Sept. 2015). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. State Protection

Information on state protection available to victims of religious violence during 2014-2016 was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Sources state that the constitutions of Tanzania and Zanzibar prohibit religious discrimination as well as provide for freedom of religion (US 14 Oct. 2015, 1; Aid to the Church in Need 2014).

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, "investigations and prosecutions of past shootings, acid attacks, and bombings against religious leaders and institutions continued but made little progress" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 4). The report further states that "community leaders expressed frustration at the lack of completed investigations or convictions" (ibid., 5). Concerning the events of 2014, the same source indicates that "several teenage boys" admitted to throwing explosives at the church in Pangawe in February and August 2014, and they had "said there was a religious motivation behind the attacks" (ibid., 5). At the end of 2014, the case was ongoing in the court system (ibid.). The report also notes that while the investigation into the February 2014 bombing of the Mkunazini Cathedral was ongoing at the end of 2014, "[n]o arrests were made" (ibid.). Further and corroborating information on the status of the investigations could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] ADF International is a "global alliance-building legal organization that advocates for religious freedom, life and marriage and family before national and international institutions" (ADF International Apr. 2016, 1).

References

ADF International. April 2016. Submission to the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review Working Group. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 25 February 2014. "Two Bombs Detonated Outside Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Zanzibar." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Aid to the Church in Need. 2014. "Tanzania." Religious Freedom in the World Report 2014. [Accessed 4 Apr. 2016]

Al Jazeera. 5 May 2013. "Blast Hits Packed Church in Tanzania." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Anglican News Service (ACNS). 25 February 2014. "Two Bombs Detonated Outside Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Zanzibar." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

BosNewsLife. 17 February 2013. "Breaking News: Priest Shot Dead in Zanzibar; Pastor Beheaded on Mainland." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2016]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 6 May 2013. "Tanzania Church Attack: Saudis Held for 'Act of Terror.'" [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

CTC Sentinel, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy West Point. 29 May 2014. Nzes, Fredrick "Al-Hijra: Al-Shabab's Affiliate in Kenya." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Freedom House. 2015. "Tanzania." Freedom in the World 2015. [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

_____. 2014. "Tanzania." Freedom in the World 2014. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

The Hill. 10 September 2015. Abdulrahman Kinana. "Tanzania Cannot be Allowed to be the New Front for Terrorists." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

The Huffington Post. 5 Febrary 2014. Joop Koopman. "Is Tanzania Radical Islam's Next Target?" [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

LeSage, Andre. September 2014. "The Rising Terrorist Threat in Tanzania: Domestic Islamist Militancy and Regional Threats." Strategic Forum. National Defense University. [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Morning Star News. 26 September 2015. "Three Church Buildings Torched in Tanzania." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2016]

_____. N.d. "About Morning Star News." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Reuters. 29 March 2015. Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala. "Tanzania President Warns of Rising Religious Tensions Before Referendum." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2016]

The Telegraph. 9 August 2013. Mike Pflanz. "Zanzibar Acid Attack: Finger Pointed at Radical Islamic Group as Five Questioned over Assault on British Teenagers." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

United Nations (UN). 12 July 2013. Security Council. Letter Dated 12 July 2013 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee Pursuant to Resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) Concerning Somalia and Eritrea Addressed to the President of the Security Council. S/2013/413. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

United States (US). 13 April 2016. Department of State. "Tanzania." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015. [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

_____. 14 October 2015. Department of State. "Tanzania." International Religious Freedom Report for 2014. [Accessed 12 Apr. 2016]

_____. 29 July 2014. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. "Tanzania." 2014 Crime and Safety Report. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

_____. 28 July 2014. Department of State. "Tanzania." International Religious Freedom Report for 2013. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Xperitas. N.d. "Bukoba, Tanzania." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Associate Professor of Literature, Hampshire College; Professor of Society and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universitat Berlin; Society and Religion Research Centre, University of Dar es Salaam; United Religions Initative.

Internet sites, including: AG News; Amnesty International; Christian News; Christian Post; Christian Press; The Citizen; Daily News; ecoi.net; Factiva; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; The Jamestown Foundation; Jane's Intelligence Review; Minority Rights Group International; Open Doors International; United Nations - Refworld; World Watch Monitor.
Tanzania: Civic United Front (CUF), including leadership and structure; treatment of members in the 2015 election period (2015-March 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 17 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol TZA105475.E Related Document(s) Tanzanie : information sur le Front civique uni (Civic United Front - CUF), y compris sur ses dirigeants et sa structure; le traitement reserve a ses membres au cours de la periode electorale de 2015 (2015-mars 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Tanzania: Civic United Front (CUF), including leadership and structure; treatment of members in the 2015 election period (2015-March 2016), 17 March 2016, TZA105475.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f796824.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Background Information and Leaders

The Political Handbook of the World 2015 (PHW) states that the Civic United Front (CUF), also known as the People's Party Chama Cha Wananchi, is a Tanzanian opposition party founded in late 1991 by former NCCR-Mageuzi [National Convention for Constitution and Reform-Mageuzi [1]] leader James Mapalala (PHW 2015, 1440). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to the CUF's website, the party describes itself as the "most diverse and dynamic party in Tanzania," which supports Zanzibar sovereignty, and is represented in all "major parts" of the country, "that is, in Mainland Tanzania and in Zanzibar, in Unguja and Pemba" (CUF n.d.). The same source indicates that the party's goal is to "fight poverty and create jobs by growing the economy" (ibid.).

Sources list the following individuals as the leaders of the party:

Sources describe Seif Sharif Hamad [Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad (Tanzania Daily News 2 Mar. 2016)] as the CUF leader (ibid.; PHW 2015, 1440) or General Secretary and Candidate for President of Zanzibar in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 (ibid.);

Sources indicate that Ibrahim Lipumba serves as the CUF's National Chairman (The Citizen 21 May 2015; Africa Confidential 23 Oct. 2015), as well as Candidate for President of Tanzania in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 (PHW 2015, 1440);

Machano Khamis Ali as Vice Chair of the party (ibid.);

Nassor Ahmed Mazrui as Deputy Secretary General (Tanzania Daily News 26 Feb. 2016); and

Hamad Masoud Hamad as Director of Mass Communication (ibid.).

The PHW indicates that in the October 2010 elections, Lipumba placed third in polling for president of Tanzania, and Hamad placed second in balloting for president of Zanzibar [2] (PHW 2015, 1441). Sources indicate that the Tanzania National Assembly (Bunge) comprises 239 members (IFES n.d.; PHW 2015, 1443) and the Zanzibar House of Representative is composed of 75 members (ibid.). The PHW reports that in 2010 elections, CUF secured 24 seats in the Tanzania National Assembly and 22 seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives (ibid.).

Information on the structure of the CUF could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. 2015 Elections

According to sources, Tanzania held its general elections on 25 October 2015 (EU 27 Oct. 2015, 3; The Washington Post 1 Nov. 2015; Africa Review 15 Jan. 2016). According to the Washington Post, the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, Party of the Revolution) retained the presidency (The Washington Post 1 Nov. 2015). Sources indicate that CCM presidential candidate John Magufuli won 58.5 percent of the vote (ibid.; IFES n.d.).

The Washington Post notes that Zanzibar simultaneously held its own presidential elections and CUF candidate Seif won the Zanzibar presidency with 53 percent of the vote over the CCM candidate Ali Mohamed Shein, who captured 47 percent of the vote (1 Nov. 2015).

However, sources report that the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) commissioner annulled the October 2015 Zanzibar elections (Mail and Guardian Africa with AFP 28 Oct. 2015; Tanzania Daily News 25 Feb. 2016; The Washington Post 1 Nov. 2015). Sources explain that the Zanzibar general elections were annulled after fraud allegations (Daily News 7 Mar. 2016; Tanzania Daily News 25 Feb. 2016). An article published in the Mail and Guardian Africa, a Pan-African news agency (Mail and Guardian Africa n.d.), with Agence France-Presse (AFP), notes that, according to the ZEC chairman, nullification of the polls was due to "violations," such as "double-voting, vote tampering and cheating, at some polling stations, especially in Pemba island" (Mail and Guardian Africa with AFP 28 Oct. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to sources, the re-run Zanzibar elections are scheduled to take place on 20 March 2016 (Tanzania Daily News 2 Mar. 2016; Daily News 7 Mar. 2016). Daily News reports that the CUF opposes the re-run elections claiming that their candidate, Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, was victorious in the previous polls and should therefore "be sworn-in as the new Zanzibar president" (ibid.). Reuters similarly states that CUF "called for a boycott of a planned re-run of disputed presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections" to be held in Zanzibar on 20 March 2016 (Reuters 29 Jan. 2016). According to CUF, a "dialogue to form a government of all parties under its leadership should be held rather than a new vote" (ibid.).

2.1 Treatment of CUF Members Before the 2015 Elections

According to sources, the following incidents concerning CUF members occurred prior to the elections of 2015:

The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, reports that on 27 January 2015, police used "excessive and unnecessary" force when dispersing a CUF march held in Temeke District to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the killing of 21 party members in Zanzibar (The Citizen 21 May 2015). According to the same source, CUF's national chairman, Ibrahim Lipumba, was arrested along with 43 party members and supporters who were charged with "incitement and illegal assembly" during the march (ibid.). The Minister of Home Affairs defended police actions, stating that "supporters were arrested for defying a lawful police order requiring them to disperse after their march" (ibid.). As of May 2015, the case was pending (ibid.).

A press release of the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG), an "Independent Government Department" that aims to promote and protect human rights in Tanzania (CHRAGG n.d.), reports that 25 members of the CUF were attacked, beaten and injured by unknown people in Makunduchi, Kusini Unguja District on 29 March 2015 (ibid. 31 Mar. 2015).

Further or corroborating information on the incidents could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.2 Treatment of CUF Members Since the 2015 Elections

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a senior lecturer of development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, whose research focuses on the politics and history of development processes in sub-Saharan Africa, gave the opinion that

there is not much evidence of CUF members being targeted by state security services or others since the [2015] elections, and whilst the rhetoric is at times heated between negotiating politicians, the government has been quite careful not to stoke tensions. Whether this continues in the run-up to the new poll is a different matter. (Senior Lecturer 7 Mar. 2015)

The Senior Lecturer further noted that, based on information available to him, specific instances of detention or ill treatment may have occurred, but it "may be more difficult" to show that this was "systematic and generalized for all CUF supporters" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources report on the following incidents involving CUF members after the 2015 elections:

The Washington Post reported on 1 November 2015 that, since the annulment of the elections results, "tensions have been rising" in Zanzibar (The Washington Post 1 Nov. 2015). CUF supporters "have taken to the streets" in Zanzibar and some youth were allegedly arrested (ibid.).

Without providing details, The Washington Post reports that there were explosions in Mkunazini and nine homes were burned in the northern Ungujan town of Tumbatu (ibid.). The same article quotes CUF sources as stating that, as of 31 October 2015, 29 homes and one mosque had been burned, and 16 people had been injured (ibid.).

Tanzania Daily News indicates that, on 31 January 2016, the CUF's Kimwani Councillor in Muleba District of Kagera Region was killed by unknown people (Tanzania Daily News 29 Feb. 2016). The same source quotes the Kagera Regional Police Commander as indicating that three suspects were involved in police investigations and that motives for the killing were unknown as of 29 February 2016 (ibid.). In an interview with the newspaper, dated 29 February 2016, CUF's acting National Chairperson appealed to the Police Force to speed up the investigation, stating that some of the suspects were still "at large" (ibid.).

Tanzania Daily News reports that, according to the CUF's leader Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, the "police force has continued to harass the opposition following the summoning of the CUF Deputy Secretary General Mr Nassor Ahmed Mazrui" (ibid. 2 Mar. 2016). Another member of the party was summoned in 2015 "before he was taken into custody, linking him with a video clip containing insults to President Ali Mohamed Shein" (ibid.). The Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation of the police was quoted by the newspaper as saying that "'anybody can be summoned by the police for questioning on some allegations'" (ibid.).

Daily News reports that in March 2016 several houses used by CUF supporters were burned "in a suspected hate crime" in Unguja and Pemba Island (Daily News 7 Mar. 2016). The Citizen also indicates that on 7 March 2016, CUF property in Pemba and Unguja were set on fire (The Citizen 7 Mar. 2016). CUF's Deputy Secretary General, who was quoted by the Daily News, stated that the houses "contained many properties including important documents and furniture" (Daily News 7 Mar. 2016). The same source quotes the Deputy Director of Criminal Investigations of the police as stating that several people were questioned in regards to the incidents (ibid.).

Further or corroborating information on the incidents could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] According to the PHW, the "NCCR-Mageuzi was formed in the first half of 1991 as an outgrowth of the Steering Committee for a Transition Towards a Multiparty System, a broad-based organization comprising leading business owners and lawyers as well as political dissidents and student activists" (PHW 2015, 1441).

[2] The PHW explains that the president of Tanzania is elected for no more than two five-year terms (PHW 2015, 1437). The same source indicates that on 13 October 1979, a "new constitution for Zanzibar was promulgated by its Revolutionary Council" (ibid.). Furthermore, "under the new system, designed to provide 'more democracy' without contravening the union constitution of Tanzania, the president of Zanzibar is directly elected for a five-year term and held to a maximum of two successive terms" (ibid.). The Washington Post reports that "elections in Tanzania are made up of two sets of elections; in addition to voting for Tanzanian president and parliamentary offices, the semiautonomous archipelago Zanzibar has its own president, legislature and electoral body - the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC)" (The Washington Post 1 Nov. 2015).

References

Africa Confidential. 23 October 2015. "CCM Faces Close Vote." [Accessed 4 Mar. 2016]

Africa Review. 15 January 2016. "Civic United Front Asks Pope to Intervene in Zanzibar Impasse (Tanzania)." (Factiva)

The Citizen. 7 March 2016. Salma Said. "Tanzania: Arson Sets Zanzibar in State of Panic." (Factiva)

_____. 21 May 2015. "Police Brutalised CUF Officials: Rights Commission." [Accessed 7 Mar. 2016]

Civic United Front (CUF). N.d. "What We Stand For." [Accessed 7 Mar. 2016]

Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG). 31 March 2015. Press Release: CHRAGG Condemns the Killing of Policemen and Injuring of Members of CUF. [Accessed 9 Mar. 2016]

_____. N.d. "Organisation Background." [Accessed 9 Mar. 2016]

Daily News. 7 March 2016. Issa Yussuf. "Isles Police on Alert After Torching Incident." [Accessed 16 Mar. 2016]

European Union (EU). 27 October 2015. Election Observation Mission. Preliminary Statement: Highly Competitive, Generally Well-organised Elections, but with Insufficient Efforts at Transparency from the Election Administrations. [Accessed 10 Mar. 2016]

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). N.d. "United Republic of Tanzania - Election for President." Election Guide. [Accessed 15 Mar. 2016]

Mail and Guardian Africa with Agence France-Presse (AFP). 28 October 2015. "Blows, Tears and Jeers as Zanzibar Vote Cancelled in Tanzania Polls; Opposition Wants Entire Election Scrapped." [Accessed 9 Mar. 2016]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 15 Mar. 2016]

Political Handbook of the World (PHW). 2015. "Tanzania." Edited by Tom Lansford. Washington, DC: CQ Press. [Accessed 5 Mar. 2016]

Reuters. 29 January 2016. "Tanzania Opposition Says to Boycott Zanzibar Vote Re-run." (Factiva)

Senior Lecturer, School of Oriental Studies and African Studies, University of London. 7

March 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Tanzania Daily News. 2 March 2016. Ashery Mkama. "CUF Vows to Abscond From Kijitoupele By-election." (Factiva)

_____. 29 February 2016. Meddy Mulisa. "CUF Wants Killers Rounded Up." (Factiva)

_____. 26 February 2016. Issa Yussuf. "Zanzibar Police Hunt for Gang that Torched CUF Branch Offices." (Factiva)

_____. 25 February 2016. Issa Yussuf. "Zanzibar Vows to Maintain National Unity Government." (Factiva)

The Washington Post. 1 November 2015. Keith Weghorst. "In Zanzibar, Democracy, Peace and Unity Are at Stake After Annulled Elections." (Factiva)

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Academics at the US Naval Academy and Vanderbilt University; Civic United Front.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; British Broadcasting Corporation; Thecommonwealth.org; ecoi.net; Freedom House; The Guardian; Human Rights Watch; Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction; International Federation for Human Rights; IRIN; Tanzania Today; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Department of State.
Tanzania: Whether National Identity Cards issued in Tanzania contain the words "Citizen Identity Card"; sample of card

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 30 November 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TZA105393.E Related Document(s) Tanzanie : information indiquant si les cartes d'identite nationale delivrees en Tanzanie portent la mention [traduction]  carte d'identite de citoyen  (Citizen Identity Card); specimen de carte Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Tanzania: Whether National Identity Cards issued in Tanzania contain the words "Citizen Identity Card"; sample of card, 30 November 2015, TZA105393.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7975b4.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official at the Immigration Section of the High Commission of Canada to Tanzania stated that "the words 'Citizen Identity Card' appear on the Tanzanian National Identity Card" (Canada 30 Nov. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. A copy of the "first generation" Tanzanian National Identity Card has been attached to this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Canada. 30 November 2015. High Commission of Canada to Tanzania. Correspondence by an Official to the Research Directorate.

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Seven law firms in Tanzania; Tanzania - Embassy to the US, High Commission to Canada, High Commission to the UK, Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration Services Department.

Internet sites, including: Africa Confidential; Africa Research Bulletin; Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; The African Union; BBC; Canada - High Commission to Tanzania; ecoi.net; Edison's Document Checker; European Union - Public Register of Authentic Travel and Identity Documents Online (PRADO); Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; Keesing's Reference Systems; United Nations - Development Programme, High Commission on Refugees ; Tanzania - Immigration Services Department, National Identification Authority; United States - Department of State.

Attachment

Tanzania. N.d. Citizen Identity Card. Sent to the Research Directorate by an official at the High Commission of Canada to Tanzania, 30 November 2015.
Chad: National Union of Chadian Students (Union nationale des etudiants tchadiens, UNET), including the arrest of its leader in 2015; outcome of his trial; circumstances of his release; demonstrations organized by UNET; reaction of authorities to demonstrations (2015-April 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 21 April 2016 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105503.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur l'Union nationale des etudiants tchadiens (UNET), y compris sur l'arrestation de son dirigeant en 2015; issue du proces qui a ete intente contre celui-ci; circonstances de sa liberation; manifestations organisees par l'UNET; reaction des autorites face aux manifestations (2015-avril 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: National Union of Chadian Students (Union nationale des etudiants tchadiens, UNET), including the arrest of its leader in 2015; outcome of his trial; circumstances of his release; demonstrations organized by UNET; reaction of authorities to demonstrations (2015-April 2016), 21 April 2016, TCD105503.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f798584.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview of UNET

Sources refer to UNET as a student union (AFP 13 Aug. 2015; Attidjani 14 Aug. 2015). According to the Internet site of the Young Communists Movement of France (Mouvement Jeunes communistes de France, MJCF), UNET is the [translation] "main student organization" in Chad (MJCF 3 Jan. 2016).

2. Demonstrations of March and August 2015 and Reaction of Authorities

An Agence France-Presse (AFP) press release published by the Internet news site JournalduTchad.com indicates that in March 2015, [translation] "schools and universities in N'Djamena remained closed for several days following a violent student demonstration against the compulsory wearing of helmets, the price of which has increased" (AFP 13 Aug. 2015). Sources report that UNET was the instigator of the strike, which lasted for three days and was accompanied by demonstrations, and that the government closed the schools (Times24 11 Mar. 2015; RFI 11 Mar. 2015). In his blog entitled Jeunes Tchad, an initiative of the Radio France internationale (RFI) Media Workshop (Atelier des medias) (Mondoblog n.d.), [translation] "political activist and independent analyst" Djarma Acheikh Ahmat Attidjani states that three students were killed by police, who allegedly "violently repressed" the demonstration (Attidjani 14 Aug. 2015). Jeune Afrique also indicates that the demonstration was [translation] "repressed" by police and gendarmes and reports "at least one death," but adds that, according to hospital sources, there were three deaths and several wounded (10 Mar. 2015).

3. Arrest of UNET President

Sources report that UNET student members [about 30, according to AFP (13 Aug. 2015)] who gathered in N'Djamena to discuss and organize a strike concerning the nonpayment of bursaries to students were arrested on 12 August 2015 (Attidjani 14 Aug. 2015; RFI 4 Sept. 2015; AFP 13 Aug. 2015). According to a UNET member quoted by AFP, [translation] "this meeting brought together all of the secretaries general of the provincial divisions of UNET" (ibid.). The sources specify that the President of UNET, Nadjo Kaina, was also arrested (Attidjani 14 Aug. 2015; RFI 4 Sept. 2015). Sources note that all were released the same day or before 4 September 2015, except for Nadjo Kaina (Alwihda 14 Aug. 2015; RFI 4 Sept. 2015). Sources indicate that Nadjo Kaina was charged with [translation] "disturbing the peace" (ibid.; Alwihda 14 Aug. 2015) and "forgery and uttering counterfeit documents" (ibid.). In his blog, Makaila Nguebla, a Chadian journalist and opponent of the Idriss Deby government (RFI 15 July 2013), states that Nadjo Kaina was [translation] "detained arbirtrarily" (Nguebla 14 Aug. 2015). A human rights advocate quoted by the African news site Alwihda asserts that Nakjo Kaina was [translation] "'taken to the Amsinene prison'" (Alwihda 14 Aug. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Action Movement for Change in Chad (Mouvement d'action pour le changement au Tchad, MACT), a prodemocracy movement formed in 2011 (MACT 4 Dec. 2012), notes that following the arrest, the secretaries general of UNET assembled in the offices of the Ardep Jouma Faculty to demand [translation] "the unconditional and timely release of their president, while demanding a medical analysis of his condition" (ibid. 15 Aug. 2015).

3.1 Treatment of UNET President While in Detention

Sources describe the treatment of the UNET President during his detention as follows:

He was detained [translation] "in inhumane conditions" (GRAT 15 Aug. 2015).

He was subjected to [translation] "corporal punishment" during a "torture session," during which the director general of the national police "demanded  he step down from the UNET presidency" (ACTUS/prpe 14 Aug. 2015).

He was subjected to [translation] "severe corporal punishment," and the Director General of the police would not allow him to be transferred to the hospital to receive care (Alwihda 14 Aug. 2015).

3.2 Release and Trial of UNET President

On 4 September 2015, RFI reported that the [translation] "trial of the [UNET] President, postponed several times to date," had begun (RFI 4 Sept. 2015). The following day, RFI reported that the justice authorities had released Nadjo Kaina because [translation] "the offence was not established" [1] (RFI 5 Sept. 2015). Further information on the reasons for Nadjo Kaina's release could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Deuhb Eladje Emmanuel, a Chadian [translation] "activist blogger" and member of the team of reporters for Connecting in Times of Duress (CTD) (CTD n.d.a), an Internet site created to disseminate information and research on the conflicts in Central Africa, funded by the Leiden University Institute for History in the Netherlands (CTD n.d.b), states that Nadjo Kaina was released on 4 September 2015, [translation] "after a lengthy court battle" (Emmanuel Sept. 2015).

Sources report that a press conference scheduled by UNET for 19 September 2015 was prohibited by the authorities (ibid.; UNET 19 Sept. 2015; Tchad infos [Sept. 2015]); it had already been cancelled once, on 16 September (ibid.). In a communique dated 2 October 2015, the Enough Is Enough (Trop c'est trop) coalition, [translation] "a coalition of civil society organizations [that] ... protests against the excesses and abuses [of] power" (DW 19 Nov. 2014), states that the press conference was prohibited [translation] "to muzzle the students" (Trop c'est trop 2 Oct. 2015).

Information on the activities of UNET and Nadjo Kaina from October to December 2015 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Demonstration of December 2015

Sources indicate that on 28 December 2015 in N'Djamena, the students demonstrated to demand the payment of their bursaries (MJCF 3 Jan. 2016; Tchad infos 29 Dec. 2015). The same sources add that the [translation] "peaceful" rally was interrupted by the intervention of police forces who burst into the faculty offices to disperse the students, "firing live bullets into the air" (ibid.; MJCF 3 Jan. 2016). The Chadian news site Tchad infos adds that, as part of the demonstration, UNET published a press release in which it reportedly gave the government a 48hour deadline [translation] "to come up with the three months of bursary payments in arrears ... threatening to organize a mass rally in front of the public treasury" (Tchad infos 29 Dec. 2015).

On 28 December 2015, Tchad infos pointed out that Barka Le Roi Manamon Makissam was interim president of UNET at the time (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources wrote in March and April 2016 that Nadjo Kaina was still president of UNET and was heading up a number of civil society organizations (RFI 20 Mar. 2016; Tickle 1 Apr. 2016).

5. Trial, in March 2016

Journalist Rebecca Tickle, a social and political sciences graduate with an interest in, among other subjects, Central Africa (Fondation Moumie 14 Aug. 2009), relates on her blog Citoyens du monde that Nadjo Kaina, whom she presents not only as the President of UNET, but also the [translation] "leader of the 'Lyina' youth movement," which is reportedly part of the That's Enough! (Ca suffit !) coalition, was detained by the authorities between 21 and 23 March 2016, "by order of the Public Prosecutor" and then transferred to Am Sinene prison located in a suburb north of N'Djamena (Tickle 1 Apr. 2016). The journalist adds that he was not released as planned at the beginning of the week and that, on 31 March, he appeared in court on charges of "inciting an unauthorized assembly, attempting to disturb the peace and obstructing the exercise of lawful authority" (ibid.). The journalist states that, according to the Chadian media, the trial was suspended and adjourned to 7 April 2016 (ibid.).

Further information on this new arrest and trial could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] For an offence to be [translation] "properly established, three consecutive elements must be present: the legal element, the material element and the moral element. If one element is missing, the offence cannot be established" (Le Tchadanthropus 16 Feb. 2015).

References

Action tchadienne pour l'unite et le socialisme / Parti revolutionnaire populaire et ecologique (ACTUS/prpe). 14 August 2015. "TCHAD/ACTUS/prpe : Idriss Deby persiste dans sa repression implacable des etudiants (Communique de presse de l'ACTUS/prpe)." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 13 August 2015. "Tchad : arrestation d'une trentaine d'etudiants preparant une greve." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Alwihda. 14 August 2015. "Tchad : le President de l'UNET accuse de 'troubles a l'ordre public'." [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016]

Attidjani, Djarma Acheikh Ahmat. 14 August 2015. "Tchad : des etudiants arretes et interdiction de manifester." Jeunes Tchad, a blog of the Atelier des medias of Radio France internationale (RFI). [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Connecting in Times of Duress (CTD). N.d.a. "Deuhb Eladje Emmanuel." [Accessed 21 Apr. 2016]

_____. N.d.b. Home page. [Accessed 21 Apr. 2016]

Deutsche Welle (DW). 19 November 2014. Sandrine Blanchard. "Au Tchad, 'Trop, c'est trop ?'." [Accessed 18 Mar. 2016]

Emmanuel, Deuhb Eladje. September 2015. "Tchad : Idriss Deby Itno a-t-il peur de la jeunesse ?" Connecting in Times of Duress (CTD). [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Fondation Moumie. 14 August 2009. Roland Felix Moumie. "Suisse - Cameroun : Rebecca J. Tickle, SG de la Fondation Moumie : 'La Suisse fait une complaisance mal placee a l'egard de monsieur Biya'." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

Groupe de reflexion et d'action pour le Tchad (GRAT). 15 August 2015. "Dakar : soutien du GRAT a l'Union nationale des etudiants tchadiens (UNET)." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Jeune Afrique. 10 March 2015. "Tchad : fermeture des ecoles et universites apres une manifestation etudiante meurtriere." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

Mondoblog. N.d. "A propos." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Mouvement d'action pour le changement au Tchad (MACT). 15 August 2015. "Tchad : Ou se trouve le president de l'Union des etudiants tchadiens arrete et embastille dans un lieu secret ?" [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

_____. 4 December 2012. Communique : relatif a la creation du Mouvement d'action pour le changement au Tchad (MACT). [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Mouvement Jeunes communistes de France (MJCF). 3 January 2016. "Au Tchad, la repression continue contre le mouvement etudiant." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Nguebla, Makaila. 14 August 2015. "Tchad : La societe civile soupconne la police d'avoir blesse le leader de l'UNET." Makaila's blog. [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Radio France internationale (RFI). 20 March 2016. "Presidentielle au Tchad : polemique sur le temps de parole accorde aux candidats." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

_____. 5 September 2015. "Tchad : Nadjo Kaina libere, son avocat denonce les failles de la justice." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

_____. 4 September 2015. "Tchad : ouverture du proces du leader etudiant Nadjo Kaina." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

_____. 11 March 2015. "Echauffourees entre lyceens et forces de l'ordre au Tchad." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

_____. 15 July 2013. Christophe Boisbouvier. "Makaila Nguebla, blogueur tchadien : 'La France a restaure ma dignite'." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Tchad infos. 29 December 2015. "Universite de N'Djamena : Les etudiants manifestent leur ras-le-bol." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

_____. [September 2015]. "Tchad : Pourquoi le president de l'UNET fait-il peur aux autorites?" [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Le Tchadanthropus. 16 February 2015. Evariste Djimasde. "Tchad : l'affaire Djimrangar Dadnadji, un morceau de bravoure pour la justice tchadienne ?" [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Tickle, Rebecca. 1 April 2016. "Une societe civile grandie par la tromperie chronique." Blog Citoyens du monde. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Times24. 11 March 2015. Ibrahim Pouye. "Tchad : Idriss Deby face aux etudiants et Boko Haram." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Trop c'est trop. 2 October 2015. Celine Narmadji. "Communique de presse n 14/BC/2015." [Accessed 21 Mar. 2016]

Union nationale des etudiants tchadiens (UNET). 19 September 2015. "Tchad : Les autorites interdisent une conference de presse de l'UNET initialement prevue pour ce samedi matin au Centre culturel Al-Mouna." [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral Sources: Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme; Droits de l'homme sans frontieres - Afrique; journaliste.

Internet Sites, including: ABYZ; Africa Confidential; Africahotnews.com; Africa News Hub; Afrik.com; Afrique en lutte; Amnesty International; Association pour la promotion des libertes fondamentales au Tchad; Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme; Courrier des Afriques; La Croix; ecoi.net; Factiva; Groupe Fenetre sur l'Afrique; Human Rights Watch; Khabartchad.net; Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme; Mali-Web; Tchadactuel; Tchadenligne.com; Tchadoscopie; Tchadpages.com; Universite de N'Djamena.
Chad: Public servant strike in September 2015, especially in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization; organizing union, duration, demands and development; government response, including arrests (September 2015-March 2016)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 23 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105477.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : greve des fonctionnaires en septembre 2015, notamment au ministere de l'Administration du territoire et de la Decentralisation; syndicat organisateur, duree, revendications et deroulement; reponse du gouvernement, y compris les arrestations (septembre 2015-mars 2016) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Public servant strike in September 2015, especially in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization; organizing union, duration, demands and development; government response, including arrests (September 2015-March 2016), 23 March 2016, TCD105477.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f798b44.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

Information specific to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (ministere de l'Administration du territoire et de la Decentralisation) could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, the following information may be useful.

1. Ministries Related to Territorial Administration

The Chadian news site Tchad News published a [translation] "complete list of the members of the new government" of Chad, dated 24 August 2015; the list was made following a ministerial shuffle on 23 August 2015 (Tchad News 24 Aug. 2015). The list includes the Ministry of [translation] "Territorial Administration" (ministere de l'Administration du territoire) and the Ministry of "Land Use, Urban Planning and Housing" (ministere de l'Amenagement du Territoire, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Habitat) (ibid.).

2. Public Servant Strike in September 2015

On 12 September 2015, the Union of Trade Unions of Chad (Union des syndicats du Tchad, UST) published a news release reporting a three-day [translation] "strike warning" in the public sector; the news release does not indicate the start date of the strike, but asks public servants to resume work on 14 September 2015 (UST 12 Sept. 2015). In that same news release, the UST states that the strike [translation] "was followed very well across the country" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

On 15 September 2015, the UST published another news release detailing union demands; it acted as [translation] "notification of a strike from 15 to 18 September 2015" and it indicated that "after that, a three-day renewable strike would be carried out across the country as of 29 September 2015" (ibid. 15 sept. 2015). The demands concerned, among other things, the payment of wages, retirees' pensions, and allowances (ibid.). Furthermore, this UST news release mentions the [translation] "situation that prevails in the Ministry of Land Use," and "asks the government to return rights to workers" (ibid.). Earlier in August 2015, the president of the Collective of Officers and Managers of the Ministry of Land Use, Urban Planning and Housing (Collectif des agents et cadres du ministere de l'Amenagement du territoire, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Habitat, MATUH), Datolde Pierre, stated in a news release called [translation] "Crisis in the Ministry of Land Use" [1], that there had been "arbitrary and unjust withdrawal of 35 percent of incentive earnings  a decision causing grief to all public servants and other contractual officers of MATUH;" "extreme politicization of MATUH's administration," including "clientelism and politically-motivated appointments to positions of responsibility;" and inequitable division of lands, challenged by the managers and officers of MATUH (Collectif des agents et cadres du MATUH 24 Aug. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the Journal du Tchad, the UST [translation] "decided to walk out on Wednesday, 30 September 2015, for three days in a row" (29 Sept. 2015). Cited by Afrique Actualite, [translation] "a general information site on Africa, with a perspective on the rest of the world," whose headquarters are located in Paris (Afrique Actualite n.d.), the Vice-President of UST, Younous Mahadjir [also spelled Youssouf Madjir], stated that the conflict was a result of "the government's attempt to eliminate benefits in the administration" (ibid. 15 Oct. 2015). Jeune Afrique reports that the purpose of this threeday strike was, [translation] "among other things, [to] warn the government against any other decision regarding [the] interests" of public servants (Jeune Afrique 30 Sept. 2015). The two sources also mention that the strike took place during a salary freeze (ibid.) or the non-payment of wages (Afrique Actualite 15 Oct. 2015).

To explain the reasons for the strike, the Vice-President of the UST stated that

[translation]

public servants continue to experience delays in salary payment, community teachers' subsidies are not being paid, there is no funding in the country's hospitals, the social situation is unbearable, teachers' incentives are not being paid and the high cost of living continues. (quoted in Journal du Tchad 29 Sept. 2015)

On 2 October 2015, in a news release from the Enough Is Enough (Trop c'est trop) coalition, [translation] "a coalition of civil society organizations [that]  protest against the excesses and abuses [of] power" [2] (DW 19 Nov. 2014), the spokesperson Celine Narmadji stated that

[translation]

[t]o counter the union's actions, the minister of Public Service made a repressive declaration that public servants are required to go to work and that a check will be carried out to penalize any person who does not report to their job. (Trop c'est trop 2 Oct. 2015)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Tchadanthropus, an online Chadian and African news forum, states that the call to strike launched by the UST was [translation] "suspended" following an interview with the minister of Public Service, Work and Employment, Baba Mocktar [Abderamane Mouctar Mahamat] on 5 October (7 Oct. 2015). Corroborating information or further information on the development of the strike, the government's response or the arrests of union officials or public servants could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The collective's news release was found on the blog of Makaila Nguebla, a Chadian journalist and opponent of the government of Idriss Deby (RFI 15 July 2013).

[2] The UST was part of the Trop c'est trop coalition but ended its participation in July 2015 (Al Wihda 12 Aug. 2015).

References

Afrique Actualite. 15 October 2015. Fernand Fexaude. "Tchad : avis de tempete sociale." [Accessed 15 Mar. 2016]

_____. N.d. "Qui sommes-nous ?" [Accessed 18 Mar. 2016]

Al Wihda. 12 August 2015. Celine Narmadji. "Tchad : La coalition 'Trop c'est trop' s'indigne contre des 'manoeuvres dilatoires'." [Accessed 23 Mar. 2016]

Collectif des agents et cadres du ministere de l'Amenagement du territoire, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Habitat (MATUH). 24 August 2015. Datolde Pierre. "Crise au ministere de l'Amenagement du territoire." [Accessed 16 Mar. 2016]

Deutsche Welle (DW). 19 November 2014. Sandrine Blanchard. "Au Tchad, 'Trop, c'est trop'?" [Accessed 18 Mar. 2016]

Jeune Afrique. 30 September 2015. Nako Madjiasra. "Tchad : Les syndicats se mobilisent contre les coupes budgetaires." [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016]

Journal du Tchad. 29 September 2015. Edouard Takadji. "L'UST en greve a partir du 30 septembre." [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016]

Radio France internationale (RFI). 15 July 2013. "Makaila Nguebla, blogueur tchadien : 'La France a restaure ma dignite'." [Accessed 18 Mar. 2016]

Le Tchadanthropus. 7 October 2015. "Flash info." [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016]

Tchad News. 24 August 2015. "Tchad : remaniement ministeriel : la liste complete du gouvernement." [Accessed 15 Mar. 2016]

Trop c'est trop. 2 October 2015. Celine Narmadji. "Tchad : Trop c'est trop interpelle le gouvernement sur le sort des travailleurs." Press release no14/BC/2015. [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016]

Union des syndicats du Tchad (UST). 15 September 2015. Communique de presse no 011/UST/BE/2015. [Accessed 16 Mar. 2016]

_____. 12 September 2015. Communique de presse no 010/UST/BE/2015. [Accessed 16 Mar. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Collectifs des agents et cadres du ministere de l'Amenagement du territoire, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Habitat.

Internet sites, including: ABYZ; Africa1.com; Africa Confidential; Africahotnews.com; Afrik.com; Afrique en lutte; Amnesty International; Association pour la promotion des libertes fondamentales au Tchad; Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme; Chad - Presidence de la Republique du Tchad; Courrier des Afriques; ecoi.net; Factiva; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; Human Rights Watch; Icilome.com; ITUC-Africa.org; IZF.net; LabourStart.org; Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme; Magazine Charilogone; Organisation regionale africaine de la Confederation syndicale internationale; Tchad Actuel; Tchadpages.com; UN - Refworld; World Newspapers.
Chad: Whether the draft penal code was adopted; the situation of sexual minorities, including their treatment by the government and society, especially in N'Djamena, state protection and support services (September 2014-November 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 30 November 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105364.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information indiquant si le projet de loi visant a modifier le Code penal a ete adopte; information sur la situation des minorites sexuelles, y compris sur le traitement que leur reservent le gouvernement et la societe, notamment a N'Djamena, la protection offerte par l'Etat et les services de soutien (septembre 2014-novembre 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Whether the draft penal code was adopted; the situation of sexual minorities, including their treatment by the government and society, especially in N'Djamena, state protection and support services (September 2014-November 2015), 30 November 2015, TCD105364.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f799844.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Amendment of Penal Code

For further information on the draft penal code, see Response to Information Request TCD105026.

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 indicates that the draft penal code was to go before the National Assembly for review in October 2014, but that it was withdrawn by the government (US 25 June 2015, 21). The source adds that the draft was still pending at the end of 2014 (ibid.). Similarly, a report published on 22 June 2015 by the Council of the European Union (EU) states that the adoption of the new penal code was postponed to 2015 (EU 22 June 2015, 215). In November 2015, in a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Chairperson of the Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture - Chad section (ACAT-Chad) [1] stated that [translation] "the new [penal] code was never adopted" (ACAT 18 Nov. 2015). Further information on the status of the draft could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Situation of Sexual Minorities

Information on the situation of sexual minorities in Chad was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. For information on the situation of sexual minorities between 2011 and July 2014, see Response to Information Request TCD104910.

2.1 Legislation

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), same-sex sexual acts are legal in Chad (ILGA May 2015, 25). The Canadian government travel advisory website rather states that they are not prohibited (Canada 12 Nov. 2015). However, according to the equivalent British website, "some" sexual acts between same-sex persons are illegal (UK 16 Sept. 2015). Country Reports 2014 states that "unnatural acts" are prohibited, but that they are not defined in the legislation (US 25 June 2015, 21).

2.2 Treatment

Sources state that homosexuality is not widely accepted in Chad (Belgium 22 July 2015; UK 16 Sept. 2015; Canada 12 Nov. 2015). According to Country Reports 2014, there are no LGBT organizations in Chad (US 25 June 2015, 21). The German radio station Deutsche Welle (DW) states that [translation] "[in] Chad [], same-sex couples must live in hiding" (DW 24 Sept. 2014). Country Reports 2014 states that "there were no reports of violence toward the LGBT community" in 2014 (US 25 June 2015). That same source adds however that authorities arrested some LGBT individuals during that same year (ibid.).

Information on state protection and support services available to sexual minorities could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] The draft penal code would abolish the death penalty (AFP 19 Sept. 2014; EU 22 June 2015, 215) "almost entirely" (ibid.).

References

Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture - Chad section (ACAT-Chad). 18 November 2015. Telephone interview with the national chairperson.

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 19 September 2014. "Le Tchad veut criminaliser l'homosexualite et abolir la peine de mort." [Accessed 19 Nov. 2015]

Belgium. 22 July 2015. Service public federal Affaires etrangeres, Commerce exterieur et Cooperation au developpement. "Conseils aux voyageurs Tchad." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2015]

Canada. 12 November 2015. Voyage.gc.ca. "Tchad." [Accessed 19 Nov. 2015]

Deutsche Welle (DW). 24 September 2014. "Vers une criminalisation de l'homosexualite au Tchad." [Accessed 13 Nov. 2015]

European Union (EU). 22 June 2015. Council of the European Union. EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2014. [Accessed 26 Nov. 2015]

International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). May 2015. Aengus Carroll and Lucas Paoli Itaborahy. State-sponsored Homophobia. A World Survey of Laws: Criminalisation, Protection and Recognition of Same-sex Love. 10th edition. [Accessed 27 Nov. 2015]

United Kingdom (UK). 16 September 2015. GOV.UK. "Foreign Travel Advice: Chad." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2015]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Chad." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 13 Nov. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Amnesty International; Association des femmes juristes du Tchad; Association pour la promotion des libertes fondamentales au Tchad; Association sociale des jeunes pour la defense des droits humains; Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme; Belgium - Commissariat general aux refugies et aux apatrides; Centre d'information et de liaison des ONG; Comite de suivi de l'appel a la paix et a la reconciliation nationale; Convention tchadienne pour la defense des droits de l'homme; Droits de l'homme sans frontieres; France - Office francais de protection des refugies et apatrides; Human Rights Watch; International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association; Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme; OutRight Action International; professor of sociology, University of California Irvine.

Internet sites, including: Africa Confidential; Africa Research Online; Agence tchadienne de presse et d'edition; Alwihda info; American University; Amnesty International; Association d'aide de defense homosexuelle et pour l'egalite des orientations sexuelles; Belgium - Commissariat general aux refugies et apatrides, Service public federal interieur; Chad - presidential portal; Convergence pour une emergence citoyenne au Tchad; Droits de l'homme sans frontieres; ecoi.net; Equaldex; Erasing 76 Crimes; Euronews; Europa World Year Book; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; France - Embassy in Tchad; GayLawNet; GlobalGayz; The Guardian; Haaretz; Human Rights Watch; Initiative Paix Tchad; Insight on Conflict; JournalduTchad.com; Khabartchad; Le Monde; Ourakcha; Overseas Development Institute; Pink News; Radio France internationale; Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights; Spartacus International Gay Guide; Tchadactuel; Tchadonline; UN - Refworld.
Chad: Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (Union des forces pour la democratie et le developpement, UFDD), including origins, structure, ideology and activities; treatment of UFDD members and their families by authorities; whether state agents harass or abduct UFDD members in Saudi Arabia or members of their families (2006-October 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 7 October 2016 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105337.E Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur l'Union des forces pour la democratie et le developpement (UFDD), y compris sur ses origines, sa structure, son ideologie et ses activites; le traitement reserve aux membres de l'UFDD et a leur famille par les autorites; information indiquant si des agents de l'Etat harcelent ou enlevent des membres de l'UFDD ou leur famille en Arabie saoudite (2006-octobre 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (Union des forces pour la democratie et le developpement, UFDD), including origins, structure, ideology and activities; treatment of UFDD members and their families by authorities; whether state agents harass or abduct UFDD members in Saudi Arabia or members of their families (2006-October 2015), 7 October 2016, TCD105337.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f79abd4.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

Sources describe the UFDD as a rebel group (ACLED Feb. 2009, 11; Human Rights Watch 2007, 5; PHW 2015, 270) whose recruits are primarily from the Gorane ethnic group (ibid.; Human Rights Watch 2007, 6). Sources state that the group was established in 2006 (ibid.; ACLED Feb. 2009, 11). According to Human Rights Watch, the Gorane are a mostly nomadic tribe from northern Chad (2007, 5). For information on the Gorane ethnic group, see Response to Information Request TCD104695.

The Political Handbook of the World (PHW) states that the UFDD is "perceived to be supported by Sudan" (PHW 2015, 270). The Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based organisation that provides "in-depth research on small arms and armed violence" (The Small Arms Survey n.d.a), similarly indicates that "[o]riginally, the UFDD was a major Sudanese-supported coalition" (ibid. July 2010, 1). The same source further states that "Khartoum intended for the UFDD to replace the failed FUC [United Front for Democratic Change (Front uni pour le changement) (AI 2011, 3)]" and unify "all the major Chadian rebels" against President Deby (ibid. n.d.b). Human Rights Watch states that the FUC "joined the UFDD umbrella in 2006, but [the FUC] officially ceased to exist" after signing a peace agreement with the Chadian government on 24 December 2006 (Human Rights Watch 2009, 68).

Without providing further detail, the Small Arms Survey states that the UFDD was most active in south-eastern Chad, Adre, Abeche and west of Ennedi (The Small Arms Survey n.d.b). The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a site operated by professors from the University of Sussex, providing "conflict analysis and crisis mapping" (ACLED n.d.), states that the UFDD had been involved in "virtually every armed conflict in Chad" since the group was created and "their primary goal is to remove President Idriss Deby from power" (ACLED Feb. 2009, 11). Without providing further details, the Thompson Reuters Foundation, a charitable foundation that promotes "socio-economic progress and the rule of law worldwide" (Thompson Reuters Foundation n.d.), states that coalition rebels indicated that their goal was to "oust Deby," however, local analysis claims that some groups wanted "concessions from the government regarding Chad's oil wealth" (ibid., 1 Jan. 2011).

Sources state that the leader of the UFDD is Mahamat Nouri (PHW 2015, 270; FIDH Oct. 2007, 23; ACLED Feb. 2009, 11). According to the ACLED report, the UFDD evolved from the Democratic Revolutionary Council (Conseil democratique revoluntionnaire, CDR) and combined with a "splinter faction" of the United Front for Democratic Change (UFDC) (ibid.). Sources state in 2009 that the UFDD later absorbed the following groups: CDR, "a dissident faction of the FUC," Union of Forces for Progress and Democracy (Union des forces democratiques pour le progres, UFPD), Armed Resistance against Anti-Democratic Forces (Resistance armee contre les forces anti-democratiques, RAFAD), National Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement national pour la democratie au Tchad, RND) and Popular Rally for Justice (Rassemblement populaire pour la justice, RPJ) (ibid.; Human Rights Watch 2009, 69).

According to the Small Arms Survey, the UFDD had approximately 2,000 - 3,000 men (The Small Arms Survey n.d.). According to the UNICEF, the UFDD is among the groups listed as having "released" children from its ranks, following a 2007 agreement between UNICEF and the Chadian Government to prevent the use of child soldiers (UN n.d., 2). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Activities of UFDD 2006-2010

According to sources, the UFDD was involved in the following activities:

In 2006, the UFDD invaded Chad from Sudan in a coalition with other rebel groups (PHW 2015, 270; FIDH Oct. 2007, 14) to attack the capital of the Ouaddai region, Abeche (ibid.).

In October 2007, the UFDD, RFC [Rally of the Forces for Change (Rassemblement des forces pour le changement) (AI 2011, 4)], CNT [Chad National Concord (Concorde nationale tchadienne) (AI 2011, 4)] and UFDD-Fundamental[1] signed a Libyan-backed ceasefire with the Chadian government (Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011; PHW 2015, 270;), after which "rebels would be integrated into the national army" (ibid.). The ceasefire collapsed and fighting escalated within a month (Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011).

In late 2007 fighting continued between government forces and rebels (ibid.; PHW 2015, 270; US 11 Mar. 2008), including UFDD, RFC and UFDD-Fundamental (ibid.). According to the US Department of State's 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the 2007 peace accord "was not implemented due in part to a resurgence of fighting in eastern Chad" (ibid.).

In 2008, UFDD, UFDD-Fundamental, and RFC launched an attack against the Chadian capital (AI Feb. 2011, 10; Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011; PHW 2015, 270) and the coalition nearly overthrew President Deby (ibid.). According to sources, hundreds of civilians were killed and injured during the fighting and tens of thousands fled to Cameroon (AI Feb. 2011, 10; US 25 Feb. 2009). For further information on the coup, see Response to Information Request TCD102896.

In 2008, rebel groups formed an alliance under the name Alliance Nationale (AN), which includes: UFDD, UFDD Fundamental, RFC (ACLED Feb. 2009, 2; PHW 2015, 270) and other smaller groups (ibid.). Sources state that Nouri led the AN (ibid.; Freedom House 2009).

The United Resistance Forces (Union des forces de la resistance, UFR) was formed, comprised of eight rebel groups (ACLED Feb. 2009, 11; BTI 2014, 4), in 2009 (ibid.). The groups under the alliance included UFCD, UFDD and RFC, among others (ACLED Feb. 2009, 11). Timan Erdimi was elected as its leader (ibid.; BTI 2014, 4).

In 2010, according to the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (BTI)[2], Mahamat Nouri left the UFR and created the ANCD [National Alliance for Democratic Change (Alliance nationale pour le changement democratique) (PHW 2015, 270)] (BTI 2014, 4). The ANCD includes the UFDD, CDR, the Front for the Salvation of the Republic (Front pour le salut de la republique, FSR) and the Democratic Movement for Chadian Redevelopment (MDRT) (PHW 2015, 270).

In 2010, Chad and Sudan signed an agreement to expel rebel groups from the regions surrounding their shared borders after which Sudan stopped supporting rebel groups (Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011; BTI 2014, 5). Sources further state that Nouri was exiled and moved to Qatar (Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011; PHW 2015, 270). According to PHW, as of 2015, Nouri is living in France and Chad has issued a warrant for his arrest (ibid.). Corroborating information on the location of Nouri could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to sources in 2013 and 2014, there were no significant rebel groups active in Chad (IHS 6 Sept. 2013; BTI 2014, 28). A report produced by Thompson Reuters Foundation in 2011 similarly states that "[m]ost rebel soldiers have defected or been expelled from Sudan, and key rebel leaders are in exile" (Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011). According to a report by IHS, an intelligence analysis company (IHS n.d.), the "last significant group" was the UFR, which "grew out of the remnants of the UFDD," and has since "fallen into obscurity," and its leader, Timan Erdimi, is exiled in Qatar (IHS 6 Sept. 2013).

According to PHW, "some UFDD adherents reportedly remained armed" (PHW 2015, 270). The Thompson Reuters Foundation similarly reports that, while "most of [Nouri's] forces were captured in Sudan and flown to N'Djamena," some remain in the border area between Chad, the Central African Republic, and Sudan (Thompson Reuters Foundation 1 Jan. 2011). Further information on the status and activity level of the UFDD or related groups in 2015 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Treatment of UFDD Members and Their Families by Authorities

Information on the treatment of UFDD members by authorities was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response. According to PHW 2015, in 2011 four "prominent" members of the UFDD were given amnesty after they turned themselves over to the authorities (270). AI similarly states that in 2010, Chadian authorities arrested and detained, in "unknown locations," the following individuals:

General Taher Guinassou (former UFDD leader and adviser to President Deby), General Tahir Ahmad Kosso Wodji (former UFDD and UFR member), Djougurou Hemichi (former UFDD commissioner) and Moita Tourki Ahmat (former UFDD member). (AI Feb. 2011, 32)

According to AI, these individuals were pardoned in 2011 and President Deby also "signed an ordinance extending the amnesty to crimes committed by members of Chadian armed opposition groups who had been imprisoned" (ibid.). According to the Thompson Reuters Foundation, in January 2011 President Deby granted "amnesty for crimes committed by rebel groups" (1 Jan. 2011). According to BTI, the government also released approximately 370 detainees that had been arrested during the 2008 attacks on N'Djamena and Am Dam (BTI 2014, 30). BTI further states that rebel leaders Mahamat Nouri and Timan Erdimi were not included in this pardon (ibid., 28). According to AI in 2011, "most" Chadian rebel group members remained active and "outside of any peace agreements" (AI Feb. 2011, 32).

PHW states that in 2012, ANCD claimed that their military commander Djibrine Azene, who had been released from prison in 2011, "died as the result of the effects of having been tortured while in jail" (PHW 2015, 270). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to Freedom House, human rights groups have accused the Chadian government of "extrajudicial detention and killing" of suspected rebels, their supporters, and members of the Gorane ethnic group, "some of which were involved in the 2008 coup attempt" (Freedom House 2009). AI similarly states that after the rebel coalition attacked the capital in 2008, Chadian authorities killed, detained, "tortured" and abducted "suspected political opponents" (AI Feb. 2011, 10). For further information on the coup, see Response to Information Request TCD102896.

According to sources, in 2013, several people, including Moussa Mahamat Tao, were arrested for an alleged coup plot (AI Oct. 2013, 21; IHS 6 Sept. 2013). IHS describes Moussa Mahamat Tao as "a figure of limited influence in the [UFDD]" (ibid.). AI describes him as a "former armed opposition leader" (AI Oct. 2013, 21). The AI report also states that as of the end of September 2013, he remained detained in an unknown location (ibid., 22). Further information on the case could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Treatment of the families of UFDD members could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Harassment or Abduction of UFDD Members and/or Their Families in Saudi Arabia

Information on the harassment or abduction of UFDD members and/or their families in Saudi Arabia could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] Sources describe UFDD-Fundamental as an Arab-led group (PHW 2015, 270; International Crisis Group 18 June 2013, 55) that broke from UFDD in 2007 (ibid.). According to International Crisis Group, UFDD-Fundamental was led by Abdel-wahid Aboud Makaye and was based in Darfur between 2007 and 2010 (ibid.).

[2] The BTI Transformation Index provides information and analysis on the transition to democracy and market economies for developing and transition countries (BTI n.d.).

References

Amnesty International (AI). October 2013. In the Name of Security? Arrests, Detentions and Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Chad. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2015]

_____. 2011. A Compromised Future: Children Recruited by Armed Forces and Groups in Eastern Chad. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2015]

Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). February 2009. ACLED Report for Chad 2006-2008. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About ACLED." [Accessed 23 Oct. 2015]

Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2014. "Chad Country Report." BTI 2014. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2015]

_____. N.d. "Goals." [Accessed 23 Oct. 2015]

Federation Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH). October 2007. Darfur and Eastern Chad: "We Want Security, We Want Justice" International Fact-Finding Mission Report. [Accessed 21 Oct. 2015]

Freedom House. 2009. "Chad." Freedom in the World 2009. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2015]

Human Rights Watch. 2009. "They Came Here to Kill Us": Militia Attacks and Ethnic Targeting of Civilians in Eastern Chad. [Accessed

_____. 2007. The Risk of Return: Repatriating the Displaced in the Context of Conflict in Eastern Chad. [Accessed 21 Oct. 2015]

IHS. 6 September 2013. "Chad Emerges as Regional Player Despite Internal Stability Risks." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2015]

International Crisis Group. 18 June 2013. Sudan's Spreading Conflict (II): War in Blue Nile. Africa Report No. 204. [Accessed 21 Oct. 2015]

Political Handbook of the World 2015 (PHW). 2015. "Chad." Edited by Tom Lansford. California: CQ Press.

The Small Arms Survey. July 2010. "Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA)." [Accessed 28 Oct. 2015]

_____. N.d.a. "About the Small Arms Survey." [Accessed 23 Oct. 2015]

_____. N.d.b. "Chadian Rebel Groups and Coalitions." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2015]

Thomas Reuters Foundation. 1 January 2011. "Chad Troubles." [Accessed 22 Oct. 2015]

_____. "About." [Accessed 23 Oct. 2015]

United Nations (UN). N.d. UNICEF. Fact Sheet: Children Associated with Armed Groups and Forces Central Africa. [Accessed 23 Oct. 2015]

United States (US). 25 February 2009. Department of State. "Chad." 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. [Accessed 23 Oct. 2015]

_____. 11 March 2008. Department of State. "Chad." 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. [Accessed 26 Oct. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Independent Chadian Human Rights Journalist; La Ligue Tchadienne des Droits de l'Homme.

Internet sites, including: Al Arabiya; Al Jazeera; Arab News; ecoi.net; Factiva; Jane's Intelligence Review; Nonstate Armed Groups; Saudi Gazette; Sudan Tribune; Tchad Actuel; United Nations - Refworld; World Politics Review; United States - Central Intelligence Agency.
Chad: Forced marriage in Chad, particularly whether an educated woman can flee a forced marriage and the protection she is offered by the authorities and NGOs; whether an educated woman may live alone in N'Djamena and Moundou

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 21 September 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105291.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur le mariage force au Tchad, particulierement sur la possibilite pour une femme eduquee de fuir un mariage force et sur la protection mise a sa disposition par les autorites et les organisations non gouvernementales; information sur la possibilite pour une femme eduquee de vivre seule a N'Djamena et Moundou Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Forced marriage in Chad, particularly whether an educated woman can flee a forced marriage and the protection she is offered by the authorities and NGOs; whether an educated woman may live alone in N'Djamena and Moundou, 21 September 2015, TCD105291.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f79b154.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

The information in this Response essentially comes from three sources who corresponded with the Research Directorate: a professor who teaches at the University of N'Djamena and who completed a PhDthesis in the University of Montreal's Department of Demography on the relationship between the family environment and the sexual behaviour of adolescents living in a socialization context in Burkina Faso (Professor 1 Sept. 2015); the President of the Association of Women for Development and a Culture of Peace in Chad (Association des femmes pour le developpement et la culture de la paix au Tchad, AFDCPT), an organization defending the rights of women and children (Insight on Conflict Aug. 2015); and the President of the Association of Women Jurists of Chad (Association des femmes juristes du Tchad, AFJT), an organization that aims to improve "socio-legal conditions" for and defend the rights of women and children (ibid. May 2015).

1. Practice of Forced Marriage

The President of the AFJT stated that, in Chad, forced marriage refers to [translation] "girls who have not yet reached the age of majority, that is, 18 years old," whereas forced marriages among women of the age of majority are "rare cases" (AFJT 14 Sept. 2015). Similarly, the Professor reported that forced marriage [translation] "more often affects younger girls" (1 Sept. 2015). In the April 2015 edition of its newsletter, the UNICEF office in Chad cites the results of a survey targeting the regions of Mandoul, Ouaddai and Tandjile, according to which two out of three girls in these regions, or the equivalent of 68 out of every 100 children, are married before the age of 18 (UN 17 Apr. 2015, 8).

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, indicates that "forced marriage of girls remained a serious problem" in Chad in 2014, despite the fact that the practice is prohibited by law (US 25 June 2015, 21).

2. Legislation

Article 9 of Act No. 006/PR/2002 on the Promotion of Reproductive Health (Loi n006/PR/2002 portant promotion de la sante de reproduction) states that

[a]ll persons have the right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of their body in general and of their reproductive organs in particular. All forms of violence such as female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriage, domestic violence and sexual abuse of a human being are prohibited. (Chad 2002)

3. Whether a Woman Can Flee a Forced Marriage

Sources reported that a Chadian woman can refuse or flee a forced marriage (Professor 1 Sept. 2015; AFDCPT 3 Sept. 2015). However, according to the President of the AFDCPT, whether a Chadian woman may escape a forced marriage depends on the young girl's success in informing the legal authorities and human rights organizations, as well as on her financial capacity (ibid.).

According to the Professor, educated girls are [translation] "the ones who most often oppose forced marriage" (Professor 1 Sept. 2015). In his opinion, this can be explained by the fact that they are made aware of this practice in school, where early or forced marriage is presented as a barrier to their education and a practice that is prohibited by law (ibid.). The President of the AFDCPT stated that an educated woman confronted with a forced marriage will be [translation] "able to report it," owing to her knowledge about the issue that her education has enabled her to acquire (AFDCPT 3 Sept. 2015). According to the President of the AFJT, educated girls speak out about forced marriage in order to obtain help, whereas uneducated girls [translation] "put up with it" for fear of creating problems for their families and communities (AFJT 14 Sept. 2015).

The Professor also stated that

[translation]

[t]hose who dare to oppose their parents' will risk harassment and rejection by the family. Most often, they flee their place of residence or the country to start a new life far away from their family members.  Some choose to flee their parents' place of residence when there are no allies to be found there or when the family pressure becomes unbearable. (1 Sept. 2015)

Likewise, according to the President of the AFJT, an educated girl may [translation] "run away and take refuge somewhere in the country" to escape a forced marriage (AFJT 14 Sept. 2015). According to the same source, [translation] "in some cases," the educated woman may receive financial support from her mother when she runs away, whereas she is [translation] "generally disowned by the father" (ibid.). The president of the AFJT also notes that, in this situation, the mother risks divorce (ibid.). Further information regarding maternal support for a woman wishing to flee a forced marriage could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Professor also reported that

[translation]

refusal of the marriage can be demonstrated in a number of ways. The girl can simply say no, openly, to her parents, or demonstrate her refusal by boycotting all ceremonies or meetings initiated by the parents for her to get to know the proposed husband. She may also leave the family home and take refuge with a family member who does not agree with the parents' initiative. It is fairly common for a girl to demonstrate her refusal by taking refuge at the home of the boy she likes.  Cases of suicide have also been recorded. (1 Sept. 2015).

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Further information about a woman's ability to escape a forced marriage in Chad could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Protection Provided to Women Wishing to Flee a Forced Marriage

Information on state and civil society organization protection for women wishing to flee a forced marriage was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

With regard to state protection, the Professor stated that, to his knowledge,

[translation]

the authorities do not take action  to help a girl flee a forced marriage. The modern legislation applied in Chad is against such marriages, but because of the (discrete) primacy of customary laws in these situations, the authorities turn a blind eye to the parents' actions. However, if the girl brings the issue to the attention of the authorities, they intervene to dissuade the parents in their intentions. (1 Sept. 2015)

Similarly, the President of the AFJT stated that protection provided by the authorities [translation] "does not exist," in that [translation] "they get involved only if they are seized of the matter" (AFJT 14 Sept. 2015). According to the President of the AFDCPT, [translation] "a woman wishing to flee a forced marriage in Chad can receive help from the authorities if human rights organizations are called upon to take action and refer the case to the competent jurisdictions" (AFDCPT 3 Sept. 2015). However, she points out that judicial authorities are [translation] "slow" to process these cases and that there is no "appropriate mechanism for dealing with the victims" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

With respect to the protection offered by NGOs, the President of the AFJT stated that [translation] "some civil society organizations provide legal aid" to girls in forced marriages, including legal support and assistance (14 Sept. 2015). A report by a coalition of 10 Chadian civil society organizations [1], including the AFJT, addressing the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Chad, mentions the following case of the AFJT's intervention in a forced marriage:

[translation]

In January 2014, a girl under 13 years of age was given away in marriage to a man of about 50 years old in Bol, in the Lake Region. The Association of Women Jurists of Chad (AFJT) was called upon and took action with the governor of the Lake Region to overturn the parents' decision. The dowry was subsequently reimbursed. (Civil Society Coalition 8 Feb. 2014, 29)

Similarly, the Professor indicated that

[translation]

there are no NGOs that help women flee forced marriages. Rather, human and women's rights associations help girls stand against their parents' will to enter them into forced marriages. These organizations use legal arguments to do so. (1 Sept. 2015)

Further information on protection provided by NGOs to women in forced marriages could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Whether an Educated Woman May Live Alone in N'Djamena and Moundou

Information on whether a Chadian woman may live alone in Chad was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to data from a World Bank global report on the economic status of women in 173 countries [2], in Chad, unmarried women are not legally discriminated against compared to men with respect to getting a job, registering a business, opening a bank account, choosing where to live, being head of household and having ownership rights over property (World Bank 9 Sept. 2015, 104). However, Country Reports 2014 indicates that discrimination against and exploitation of women are "widespread" (US 25 June 2015, 19). According to the same source, "women suffered discrimination in access to employment, housing, credit, and pay equity for substantially similar work, and in owning or managing businesses" (ibid., 19-20).

The Professor provided the following information regarding whether women may live alone in Chad:

[translation]

Generally speaking, it is not easy for a woman, who has never been married or had children, to live alone, regardless of her place of residence and level of education. Chadian society is fundamentally pronatalist, valuing marriage very highly. A woman is expected to marry and have children. An unmarried or childless woman in her thirties who also lives alone is looked down upon by her family members and those around her. In the eyes of many, such a woman has wasted her life. Some people will openly call her a prostitute because she does not depend on a man to live. The children of the neighborhood may even treat her with disrespect and insult her, simply because she lives alone and/or does not have children. As a result, some women remain dependent on parents or guardians even if they are economically independent. Women living alone after a separation or a divorce are not treated this way.

Currently, it is becoming increasingly common in Chad to see single women in their thirties or beyond who are educated, employed, economically dependent and living alone in their own home or in a rental home. Most of these women chose to focus on their education before thinking about marriage. There are more of these women in N'Djamena than in the rest of the cities in Chad. They live alone not by choice, but simply because the men of their age are all married, and also because they do not want to live in a polygamous household. (Professor 1 Sept. 2015).

The President of the AFDCPT also recognizes that a Chadian woman may live alone in N'Djamena and in Moundou (AFDCPT 3 Sept. 2015). She explained that depends on the woman's adherence to the [translation] "traditions and customs" of the host community (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Without providing details, the President of the AFJT noted that finding a job in N'Djamena or Moundou would be a challenge for an educated woman wishing to settle in one of those cities (AFJT 14 Sept. 2015). With respect to housing, based on their financial means, the same source indicated that single women "rent or live with [members of their family] who agree to take them in for a period of time" while they are looking for employment that would enable them to pay rent (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The organizations that make up this coalition are: the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme, ATPDH); the Association of Women Jurists in Chad (Association des femmes juristes du Tchad, AFJT); the Association for the Promotion of Fundamental Liberties in Chad (Association pour la promotion des libertes fondamentales au Tchad, APLFT); the Chadian Human Rights League (Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme, LTDH); the Aboriginal Peul Women's Association in Chad (Association des femmes peules autochtones du Tchad, AFPAT); Rights of the Man Without Borders (Droits de l'homme sans frontieres, DHSF); the Association for the Defence of Consumers' Rights (Association pour la defense des droits des consommateurs, ADC); the Peace and Reconciliation Follow-up Committee (Comite de suivi de l'appel a la paix et la reconciliation, CSAPR); the Liaison Cell of Women's Associations (Cellule de liaison des associations feminines, CELIAF); and the Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (Action des chretiens pour l'abolition de la torture, ACAT-Tchad) (Civil Society Coalition 8 Feb. 2014, 3).

[2] World Bank's report entitled Women, Business and the Law 2016 is intended, through a comparative study of 173 countries across seven legal indicators, to "enhance global understanding of laws that affect women's economic opportunities" (World Bank 9 Sept. 2015, 1).

References

Association des femmes juristes du Tchad (AFJT). 14 September 2015. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

Association des femmes pour le developpement et la culture de la paix au Tchad (AFDCPT). 3 September 2015. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

Chad. 2002. Loi n 006/PR/2002 portant promotion de la Sante de Reproduction. [Accessed 17 Sept. 2015]

Civil Society Coalition. 8 February 2014. Rapport de la societe civile sur la mise en oeuvre du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP) au Tchad. Reponse a la liste des points a traiter (CCPR/C/CD/Q/2). [Accessed 9 Sept. 2015]

Insight on Conflict. August 2015. "Association des femmes pour le developpement et la culture de la Paix au Tchad (AFDCPT)." [Accessed 14 Sept. 2015]

_____. May 2015. "Association des femmes juristes du Tchad." [Accessed 14 Sept. 2015]

Professor, University of N'Djamena. 1 September 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

United Nations (UN). 17 April 2015. UNICEF. Mere et Enfant : Mettre fin au mariage des enfants tous ensemble. [Accessed 14 Sept. 2015]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Chad." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 10 Sept. 2015]

World Bank. 9 September 2015. Women, Business and the Law 2016. [Accessed 11 Sept. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Association des femmes pour l'autopromotion; Association jeunesse pour la paix et la non violence; Association pour la promotion des liberte fondamentales au Tchad; Association tchadienne de promotion et de defense des droits de l'homme; Cellule de liaison et de l'information des associations feminines; Chad - ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Famille et de la Solidarite nationale; Comite inter-africain sur les pratiques traditionnelles; Girls Not Brides.

A lecturer with the University of Montreal's Department of Demography was unable to provide information for this Response.

The Director of International & Global Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology was unable to respond to a request for information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: Afrik.com; Agence tchadienne de presse; AllAfrica; Amnesty International; British Broadcasting Corporation; Chad - Institut national de la statistique, des etudes demographiques economiques et demographiques, Official government site; ecoi.net; Equality Now; Factiva; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; IRIN; Jeune Afrique; Minority Rights Group International; Panapress; Tchadinfo.com; Tchadonline.com; Tostan; UN - Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Refworld, UNFPA, UN Women; World Organisation Against Torture.
Tchad : information sur le levirat, particulierement selon la tradition zakawa [zagawa, zaghawa, zakhawa], y compris sur sa frequence et les recours mis a la disposition des victimes; information sur la possibilite pour une femme de vivre seule dans les grandes villes (2014-juillet 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 17 July 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105225.F Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Tchad : information sur le levirat, particulierement selon la tradition zakawa [zagawa, zaghawa, zakhawa], y compris sur sa frequence et les recours mis a la disposition des victimes; information sur la possibilite pour une femme de vivre seule dans les grandes villes (2014-juillet 2015), 17 July 2015, TCD105225.F, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f79c604.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. The Custom of Levirate in Chad

An article published in 2012 by the Centre for Development Studies and Training (Centre d'etudes et de formation pour le developpement, CEFOD), an organization in Chad that is a [translation] "place for studies and critical thinking," whose mission is, among other things, to "promote the country's development towards a constitutional state" (Jesuites de la province de l'Afrique de l'Ouest n.d.), indicates that according to the custom of levirate, [translation] "the wife of the deceased man  is offered in marriage to the deceased's brother without the widow's consent" (CEFOD 6 Jan. 2012). In a report on Chad published in 2011, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women defines levirate as [UN English version] "a man tak[ing] on in marriage the widow of his deceased brother" or "'wife inheritance'" (UN 4 Nov. 2011, para. 20).

According to sources, levirate is practised in Chad (ibid.; LTDH 24 June 2015; AFJT 1 July 2015). In its National Gender Policy (Politique nationale genre), published in December 2011, the Department of Social Action, Family and National Solidarity of Chad indicates that forced marriages and levirate are [translation] "common" and that women often have "problems with the estate" (Chad Dec. 2011). According to a report produced by a coalition of 10 civil society organizations in Chad, including the AFJT and LTDH [see below], about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights being implemented in Chad, levirate [translation] "continues in certain areas of the country," which are the Mayo-Kebbi and Tandjile [in the southwestern part of the country] (Civil Society Coalition 8 Feb. 2014, 29). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the President of the Association of Female Lawyers of Chad (Association des femmes juristes du Tchad, AFJT), a women's and children's rights organization that aims to improve their "socio-legal conditions" (Insight on Conflict May 2015), stated that levirate is practised [translation] "in certain regions [both] in the north [and] the south" (AFJT 1 July 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the President of the Chadian Human Rights League (Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme, LTDH), an organization that aims to [translation] "defend and promote the human rights set out in international and national legal instruments" (LTDH n.d.), stated that he did not know of areas in Chad where levirate is not practised (ibid. 24 June 2015). However, those two sources indicated, without providing further detail, that in certain regions, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has meant that the practice of levirate has [translation] "slowed somewhat" (AFJT 1 July 2015) or that it is has [translation] "beg[un] to disappear" (LTDH 24 June 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. The president of the LTDH added that the tendency for levirate to disappear in certain areas can also be explained by the [translation] "spread of Christianity," particularly in the southern area of the country, and by advances in education, which means that young men wish to choose [translation] "their future wives themselves" (ibid.). The president of the AFJT, for her part, stated that, in certain regions, [translation] "latitude has been given to the woman to choose whether to take one of her brothers-in-law" as a husband (AFJT 1 July 2015). However, she added that there were no set rules as for how levirate is practised in the country and that [translation] "each ethnic group [had] its individual characteristics" (ibid.).

1.1 Levirate in the Zakawa Tradition

Information on the practice of levirate by the Zakawa was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to two sources, the practice of levirate is part of the customs of the Zakawa ethnic group (ibid.; LTDH 24 June 2015). However, according to the President of the LTDH, there are no statistics on the subject (ibid.).

For more information on the Zakawa, see Response to Information Request TCD104695.

2. The Consequences of Refusing to Take Part in Levirate

Information on the consequences of refusing to take part in levirate in Chad was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources stated that when a woman refuses to take part in levirate, she is [translation] "condemned to living alone" (AFJT 1 July 2015) or that she must become self-sufficient (LTDH 24 June 2015). In addition, according to the President of the AFJT, the widow remains [translation] "the property of her in-laws" and forfeits any possibility of remarrying (AFJT 1 July 2015). A 2010 report published by a coalition led by the International Federation of Human Rights (Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) to assess the women's rights situation in more than 30 African countries indicates that "many women" do not receive their inheritance because their deceased husband's belongings and property are "plundered by the men in the family" (FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 31). The President of the LTDH indicated that, generally speaking, in the northern area of Chad, [translation] "victims were exposed to repression and humiliation" (LTDH 24 June 2015).

Without providing further explanation, the President of the AFJT stated that, among the Zakawa, tradition holds that the wife of a recently deceased man is automatically given in marriage to the deceased's brother but, in this day and age, the deceased's family tries instead to [translation] "negotiate with her" (AFJT 1 July 2015). However, the President of the LTDH stated that if a widow in a Zakawa community refuses to participate in levirate, she would be [translation] "forced to submit," and he explained his remarks as follows: "sometimes, the widow may be kidnapped, beaten and locked up," and she may be "sexually abused until she becomes [pregnant], unless the 'heir' decides otherwise" (LTDH 24 June 2015).

3. Laws and Enforcement of the Laws

According to article 157 of Chad's Revised Constitution of March 31, 1996 (Constitution du 31 mars 1996 revisee),

[translation]

Until they are enshrined in law, the practices and customs apply only in the communities in which they are recognized.

However, customs that run contrary to public policy and those which promote inequality between citizens are prohibited. (Chad 1996, art. 157)

Article 158 states that the following:

[translation]

The practices and customs governing matrimonial and inheritance regimes may only be applied with the consent of the parties concerned.

Failing that, national law alone is applicable. (ibid., art. 158)

However, the FIDH et al. report states that, according to article 289.2 of Chad's Criminal Code, a woman's consent is not a condition for marriage (FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 4, 31). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The FIDH et al. report indicates that in Chad, customary law and Islamic law apply alongside statutory law (ibid., 30). The same sources adds that, despite the fact that article 158 is part of the Constitution, "in practice customary and religious law continue to govern many aspects of family life (parental authority, inheritance, etc.), especially in the North of the country" (ibid., 30). In 2014, in its Gender Profile for Chad (Profil genre Tchad), the French Agency for Development (Agence francaise de developpement) states that, in practice, customary law prevails in property rights and that, in certain regions, it [translation] "governs the matrimonial regime, property, and inheritance rights" and it "gives men higher status and disadvantages women, particularly with respect to access to land and the inheritance" (France 1 July 2014, 2).

In a report presented to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 2010, pursuant to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Chad explains that [translation] "customary animist state law does not recognize the widow's estate entitlements. In certain areas, not only is she exempt from the inheritance, but she is also part of the estate" (Chad 20 Oct. 2010, para. 539). That same source acknowledges the following:

[translation]

There are still difficulties with respect to legal rulings on inheritance. Notably, there is an issue with heirship of the widow as an asset in Chad which, to some advocates of customary norms, appears to be an object of rights, not subject to rights.



In the Muslim context, the premises is part of the estate and the widow is a beneficiary. However, it has been demonstrated that Chadian judges are not always sensitive to the widow's fate (ibid., para. 225-226).

According to sources, property and inheritance laws do not discriminate against women; however, local leaders settled most inheritance disputes in favor of men, according to traditional practice (US 25 June 2015, 17; FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 31).

FIDH et al. state that as of 2010, there were no laws relating to the family: "women are thus excluded from legal protection" (ibid.). Corroborating and further information on family rights in Chad could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Recourse Available to Widows Who Refuse to Participate in Levirate

According to the President of the AFJT, authorities [translation] "do not systematically intervene" when a widow refuses to participate in levirate (AFJT 1 July 2015). The President of the AFJT explained that police intervene only if they are seized of the matter or if the woman has been a victim of physical violence (ibid.). The President of the LTDH, for his part, stated that when a widow refuses to participate in levirate, she receives [translation] "no protection" from the authorities (LTDH 24 June 2015). He explained that a Zakawa widow receives [translation] "even less from the authorities" than a widow from another ethnic group, because "the Zakawa wield significant influence and control the reins of power, particularly with respect to the police" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to the President of the AFJT, some widows who are stripped of their belongings when their husband dies call on human rights associations, which help them come to a [translation] "compromise" to reclaim their belongings, or they appeal to the courts and, in some cases, are able to reclaim their belongings in the wake of a legal decision (AFJT 1 July 2015). However, the President of the LTDH made the following distinction: to his knowledge, [translation] "legal decisions remain unenforced" (LTDH 24 June 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. The Possibility for a Woman to Live Alone

Information on the possibility for a woman to live alone in Chad was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the FIDH et al. report , it is "very difficult" for women to gain access to land in Chad because that right is traditionally reserved for men (FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 32).

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 indicates that exploitations of and discrimination against women is "widespread" in Chad (US 25 June 2015, 17). According to the same source, women face discrimination in access to employment, housing, credit and pay equity as well as in owning businesses (ibid.). In addition, women do not have equal opportunities for education or training, which makes it difficult for them to compete for jobs in the official economy (ibid.).

The President of the AFJT explained that, in Chad's major cities, it is not illegal for a woman to live alone and that [translation] "many" women do it, whether they are widows or not (AFJT 1 July 2015). She added that [translation] "verbal or physical abuse" targeting women is "frequent" in major cities, whether women live alone or not (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Association des femmes juristes du Tchad (AFJT). 1 July 2015. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

Centre d'etudes et de formation pour le developpement (CEFOD). 6 January 2012. Dokalyo Alphonse. "Le defi de la femme tchadienne : prendre le chef de l'Etat au mot." [Accessed 25 June 2015]

Chad. December 2011. Ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Famille et de la Solidarite nationale. Politique nationale genre. [Accessed 24 June 2015]

_____. 20 October 2010. Ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Solidarite nationale et de la Famille. Examen des rapports presentes par les Etats parties en vertu de l'article 18 de la Convention sur l'elimination de toutes les formes de discrimination a l'egard des femmes. Rapport initial, deuxieme, troisieme et quatrieme rapports periodiques combines des Etats parties : Tchad. (CEDAW/C/TCD/1-4) [Accessed 26 June 2015]

_____. 1996. Constitution du 31 mars 1996 revisee. [Accessed 7 July 2015]

Civil Society Coalition. 8 February 2014. Rapport de la societe civile sur la mise en oeuvre du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP) au Tchad. Reponses a la liste des points a traiter (CCPR/C/TCD/Q/2). [Accessed 18 June 2015]

Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH), African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), Femmes Africa solidarite (FAS), Women's Aid Collective (WACOL), Femmes, droit et developpement en Afrique (FeDDAF), Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA). March 2010. Africa for Women's Rights: Ratify and Respect! Dossier of Claims. [Accessed 30 June 2015]

France. 1 July 2014. Agence francaise de developpement (AFD). "Profil Genre Tchad." [Accessed 23 June 2015]

Insight on Conflict. May 2015. "Association des femmes juristes du Tchad." [Accessed 2 July 2015]

Jesuites de la province de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. N.d. "Presentation du CEFOD." [Accessed 15 July 2015]

Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme (LTDH). 24 June 2015. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

_____. N.d. "Presentation : notre vision." [Accessed 8 July 2015]

United Nations (UN). 4 November 2011. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Observations finales du Comite pour l'elimination de la discrimination a l'egard des femmes : Tchad. (CEDAW/C/TCD/CO/1-4) [Accessed 26 June 2015]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Chad." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 24 June 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following people and organizations were unable to provide information for this Response: professor of cultural African history, Emory College of Arts and Sciences; professor of history and Black studies, New York University.

The following people and organizations were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response: professor of sociology and anthropology, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Attempts to contact the following people and organizations within the time constraints of this Response were unsuccessful: Association pour la promotion des libertes fondamentales au Tchad; Cellule de liaison et de l'information des femmes du Tchad; Centre d'etude et de formation pour le developpement; Chad - ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Solidarite nationale et de la Famille; head of Department of Gender and Development Studies, University of Nairobi; Observatoire du genre en Afrique centrale; professor of African studies, Carleton University; professor of history, University of California, Davis; professor of African history and anthropology, Leiden University; professor of history and women's studies, Ohio State University.

Internet sites, including: Afrik.com; AllAfrica.com; Amnesty International; Canada - Justice Department; Chronic Poverty Research Centre; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; Journal du Tchad; Minority Rights Group International; Tchadinfos.com; Tchadonline.com; UN - Economic Commission for Africa, Refworld, UN Women.
Chad: Custom of levirate, particularly the tradition among the Zakawa [Zagawa, Zaghawa, Zakhawa], including frequency and recourse available to victims; possibility of a woman living alone in major cities (2014-July 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 17 July 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105225.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur le levirat, particulierement selon la tradition zakawa [zagawa, zaghawa, zakhawa], y compris sur sa frequence et les recours mis a la disposition des victimes; information sur la possibilite pour une femme de vivre seule dans les grandes villes (2014-juillet 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Custom of levirate, particularly the tradition among the Zakawa [Zagawa, Zaghawa, Zakhawa], including frequency and recourse available to victims; possibility of a woman living alone in major cities (2014-July 2015) , 17 July 2015, TCD105225.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7a14b4.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. The Custom of Levirate in Chad

An article published in 2012 by the Centre for Development Studies and Training (Centre d'etudes et de formation pour le developpement, CEFOD), an organization in Chad that is a [translation] "place for studies and critical thinking," whose mission is, among other things, to "promote the country's development towards a constitutional state" (Jesuites de la province de l'Afrique de l'Ouest n.d.), indicates that according to the custom of levirate, [translation] "the wife of the deceased man  is offered in marriage to the deceased's brother without the widow's consent" (CEFOD 6 Jan. 2012). In a report on Chad published in 2011, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women defines levirate as [UN English version] "a man tak[ing] on in marriage the widow of his deceased brother" or "'wife inheritance'" (UN 4 Nov. 2011, para. 20).

According to sources, levirate is practised in Chad (ibid.; LTDH 24 June 2015; AFJT 1 July 2015). In its National Gender Policy (Politique nationale genre), published in December 2011, the Department of Social Action, Family and National Solidarity of Chad indicates that forced marriages and levirate are [translation] "common" and that women often have "problems with the estate" (Chad Dec. 2011). According to a report produced by a coalition of 10 civil society organizations in Chad, including the AFJT and LTDH [see below], about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights being implemented in Chad, levirate [translation] "continues in certain areas of the country," which are the Mayo-Kebbi and Tandjile [in the southwestern part of the country] (Civil Society Coalition 8 Feb. 2014, 29). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the President of the Association of Female Lawyers of Chad (Association des femmes juristes du Tchad, AFJT), a women's and children's rights organization that aims to improve their "socio-legal conditions" (Insight on Conflict May 2015), stated that levirate is practised [translation] "in certain regions [both] in the north [and] the south" (AFJT 1 July 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the President of the Chadian Human Rights League (Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme, LTDH), an organization that aims to [translation] "defend and promote the human rights set out in international and national legal instruments" (LTDH n.d.), stated that he did not know of areas in Chad where levirate is not practised (ibid. 24 June 2015). However, those two sources indicated, without providing further detail, that in certain regions, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has meant that the practice of levirate has [translation] "slowed somewhat" (AFJT 1 July 2015) or that it is has [translation] "beg[un] to disappear" (LTDH 24 June 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. The president of the LTDH added that the tendency for levirate to disappear in certain areas can also be explained by the [translation] "spread of Christianity," particularly in the southern area of the country, and by advances in education, which means that young men wish to choose [translation] "their future wives themselves" (ibid.). The president of the AFJT, for her part, stated that, in certain regions, [translation] "latitude has been given to the woman to choose whether to take one of her brothers-in-law" as a husband (AFJT 1 July 2015). However, she added that there were no set rules as for how levirate is practised in the country and that [translation] "each ethnic group [had] its individual characteristics" (ibid.).

1.1 Levirate in the Zakawa Tradition

Information on the practice of levirate by the Zakawa was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to two sources, the practice of levirate is part of the customs of the Zakawa ethnic group (ibid.; LTDH 24 June 2015). However, according to the President of the LTDH, there are no statistics on the subject (ibid.).

For more information on the Zakawa, see Response to Information Request TCD104695.

2. The Consequences of Refusing to Take Part in Levirate

Information on the consequences of refusing to take part in levirate in Chad was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources stated that when a woman refuses to take part in levirate, she is [translation] "condemned to living alone" (AFJT 1 July 2015) or that she must become self-sufficient (LTDH 24 June 2015). In addition, according to the President of the AFJT, the widow remains [translation] "the property of her in-laws" and forfeits any possibility of remarrying (AFJT 1 July 2015). A 2010 report published by a coalition led by the International Federation of Human Rights (Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) to assess the women's rights situation in more than 30 African countries indicates that "many women" do not receive their inheritance because their deceased husband's belongings and property are "plundered by the men in the family" (FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 31). The President of the LTDH indicated that, generally speaking, in the northern area of Chad, [translation] "victims were exposed to repression and humiliation" (LTDH 24 June 2015).

Without providing further explanation, the President of the AFJT stated that, among the Zakawa, tradition holds that the wife of a recently deceased man is automatically given in marriage to the deceased's brother but, in this day and age, the deceased's family tries instead to [translation] "negotiate with her" (AFJT 1 July 2015). However, the President of the LTDH stated that if a widow in a Zakawa community refuses to participate in levirate, she would be [translation] "forced to submit," and he explained his remarks as follows: "sometimes, the widow may be kidnapped, beaten and locked up," and she may be "sexually abused until she becomes [pregnant], unless the 'heir' decides otherwise" (LTDH 24 June 2015).

3. Laws and Enforcement of the Laws

According to article 157 of Chad's Revised Constitution of March 31, 1996 (Constitution du 31 mars 1996 revisee),

[translation]

Until they are enshrined in law, the practices and customs apply only in the communities in which they are recognized.

However, customs that run contrary to public policy and those which promote inequality between citizens are prohibited. (Chad 1996, art. 157)

Article 158 states that the following:

[translation]

The practices and customs governing matrimonial and inheritance regimes may only be applied with the consent of the parties concerned.

Failing that, national law alone is applicable. (ibid., art. 158)

However, the FIDH et al. report states that, according to article 289.2 of Chad's Criminal Code, a woman's consent is not a condition for marriage (FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 4, 31). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The FIDH et al. report indicates that in Chad, customary law and Islamic law apply alongside statutory law (ibid., 30). The same sources adds that, despite the fact that article 158 is part of the Constitution, "in practice customary and religious law continue to govern many aspects of family life (parental authority, inheritance, etc.), especially in the North of the country" (ibid., 30). In 2014, in its Gender Profile for Chad (Profil genre Tchad), the French Agency for Development (Agence francaise de developpement) states that, in practice, customary law prevails in property rights and that, in certain regions, it [translation] "governs the matrimonial regime, property, and inheritance rights" and it "gives men higher status and disadvantages women, particularly with respect to access to land and the inheritance" (France 1 July 2014, 2).

In a report presented to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 2010, pursuant to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Chad explains that [translation] "customary animist state law does not recognize the widow's estate entitlements. In certain areas, not only is she exempt from the inheritance, but she is also part of the estate" (Chad 20 Oct. 2010, para. 539). That same source acknowledges the following:

[translation]

There are still difficulties with respect to legal rulings on inheritance. Notably, there is an issue with heirship of the widow as an asset in Chad which, to some advocates of customary norms, appears to be an object of rights, not subject to rights.



In the Muslim context, the premises is part of the estate and the widow is a beneficiary. However, it has been demonstrated that Chadian judges are not always sensitive to the widow's fate (ibid., para. 225-226).

According to sources, property and inheritance laws do not discriminate against women; however, local leaders settled most inheritance disputes in favor of men, according to traditional practice (US 25 June 2015, 17; FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 31).

FIDH et al. state that as of 2010, there were no laws relating to the family: "women are thus excluded from legal protection" (ibid.). Corroborating and further information on family rights in Chad could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Recourse Available to Widows Who Refuse to Participate in Levirate

According to the President of the AFJT, authorities [translation] "do not systematically intervene" when a widow refuses to participate in levirate (AFJT 1 July 2015). The President of the AFJT explained that police intervene only if they are seized of the matter or if the woman has been a victim of physical violence (ibid.). The President of the LTDH, for his part, stated that when a widow refuses to participate in levirate, she receives [translation] "no protection" from the authorities (LTDH 24 June 2015). He explained that a Zakawa widow receives [translation] "even less from the authorities" than a widow from another ethnic group, because "the Zakawa wield significant influence and control the reins of power, particularly with respect to the police" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to the President of the AFJT, some widows who are stripped of their belongings when their husband dies call on human rights associations, which help them come to a [translation] "compromise" to reclaim their belongings, or they appeal to the courts and, in some cases, are able to reclaim their belongings in the wake of a legal decision (AFJT 1 July 2015). However, the President of the LTDH made the following distinction: to his knowledge, [translation] "legal decisions remain unenforced" (LTDH 24 June 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. The Possibility for a Woman to Live Alone

Information on the possibility for a woman to live alone in Chad was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the FIDH et al. report , it is "very difficult" for women to gain access to land in Chad because that right is traditionally reserved for men (FIDH et al. Mar. 2010, 32).

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 indicates that exploitations of and discrimination against women is "widespread" in Chad (US 25 June 2015, 17). According to the same source, women face discrimination in access to employment, housing, credit and pay equity as well as in owning businesses (ibid.). In addition, women do not have equal opportunities for education or training, which makes it difficult for them to compete for jobs in the official economy (ibid.).

The President of the AFJT explained that, in Chad's major cities, it is not illegal for a woman to live alone and that [translation] "many" women do it, whether they are widows or not (AFJT 1 July 2015). She added that [translation] "verbal or physical abuse" targeting women is "frequent" in major cities, whether women live alone or not (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Association des femmes juristes du Tchad (AFJT). 1 July 2015. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

Centre d'etudes et de formation pour le developpement (CEFOD). 6 January 2012. Dokalyo Alphonse. "Le defi de la femme tchadienne : prendre le chef de l'Etat au mot." [Accessed 25 June 2015]

Chad. December 2011. Ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Famille et de la Solidarite nationale. Politique nationale genre. [Accessed 24 June 2015]

_____. 20 October 2010. Ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Solidarite nationale et de la Famille. Examen des rapports presentes par les Etats parties en vertu de l'article 18 de la Convention sur l'elimination de toutes les formes de discrimination a l'egard des femmes. Rapport initial, deuxieme, troisieme et quatrieme rapports periodiques combines des Etats parties : Tchad. (CEDAW/C/TCD/1-4) [Accessed 26 June 2015]

_____. 1996. Constitution du 31 mars 1996 revisee. [Accessed 7 July 2015]

Civil Society Coalition. 8 February 2014. Rapport de la societe civile sur la mise en oeuvre du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP) au Tchad. Reponses a la liste des points a traiter (CCPR/C/TCD/Q/2). [Accessed 18 June 2015]

Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH), African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), Femmes Africa solidarite (FAS), Women's Aid Collective (WACOL), Femmes, droit et developpement en Afrique (FeDDAF), Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA). March 2010. Africa for Women's Rights: Ratify and Respect! Dossier of Claims. [Accessed 30 June 2015]

France. 1 July 2014. Agence francaise de developpement (AFD). "Profil Genre Tchad." [Accessed 23 June 2015]

Insight on Conflict. May 2015. "Association des femmes juristes du Tchad." [Accessed 2 July 2015]

Jesuites de la province de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. N.d. "Presentation du CEFOD." [Accessed 15 July 2015]

Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme (LTDH). 24 June 2015. Correspondence from the President to the Research Directorate.

_____. N.d. "Presentation : notre vision." [Accessed 8 July 2015]

United Nations (UN). 4 November 2011. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Observations finales du Comite pour l'elimination de la discrimination a l'egard des femmes : Tchad. (CEDAW/C/TCD/CO/1-4) [Accessed 26 June 2015]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Chad." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 24 June 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following people and organizations were unable to provide information for this Response: professor of cultural African history, Emory College of Arts and Sciences; professor of history and Black studies, New York University.

The following people and organizations were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response: professor of sociology and anthropology, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Attempts to contact the following people and organizations within the time constraints of this Response were unsuccessful: Association pour la promotion des libertes fondamentales au Tchad; Cellule de liaison et de l'information des femmes du Tchad; Centre d'etude et de formation pour le developpement; Chad - ministere de l'Action sociale, de la Solidarite nationale et de la Famille; head of Department of Gender and Development Studies, University of Nairobi; Observatoire du genre en Afrique centrale; professor of African studies, Carleton University; professor of history, University of California, Davis; professor of African history and anthropology, Leiden University; professor of history and women's studies, Ohio State University.

Internet sites, including: Afrik.com; AllAfrica.com; Amnesty International; Canada - Justice Department; Chronic Poverty Research Centre; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; Journal du Tchad; Minority Rights Group International; Tchadinfos.com; Tchadonline.com; UN - Economic Commission for Africa, Refworld, UN Women.
Chad: Movement for Peace and Development in Chad (Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement du Tchad, MPDT), including its structure, objectives, leaders and activities; its membership cards; current situation of the former leader of the party, Mahamat Abdoulaye; treatment of party members by authorities (2014-January 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 10 February 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105078.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur le Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement du Tchad (MPDT), y compris sur sa structure, ses objectifs, ses dirigeants et ses activites; information sur les cartes de membre qu'il delivre; information sur la situation actuelle de l'ancien chef du parti, Mahamat Abdoulaye; information sur le traitement reserve aux membres du parti par les autorites (2014-janvier 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Movement for Peace and Development in Chad (Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement du Tchad, MPDT), including its structure, objectives, leaders and activities; its membership cards; current situation of the former leader of the party, Mahamat Abdoulaye; treatment of party members by authorities (2014-January 2015), 10 February 2015, TCD105078.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7a2404.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

Information on the MPDT was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1. Overview of the MPDT

1.1 Origins and objectives of the MPDT

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a Chadian journalist and blogger in exile [1], and human rights activist, said that the MPDT was founded in January 1993 (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). According to an article published by the online newspaper Alwihda [2], the MPDT celebrated its 16th anniversary on 12 January 2009 (Alwihda 13 Jan. 2009).

The journalist-blogger indicated that Mahamat Abdoulaye was the first president of the MPDT (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to an MPDT news release dated 27 September 2009, a digital copy of which appears on the Chadian news website Tchadenligne, the party's national headquarters is located in N'Djamena, and the party is called the Movement for Peace and Development in Chad (Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement du Tchad), abbreviated MPDT (MPDT 27 Sept. 2009). However, the Political Handbook of the World 2014 (PHW) uses the name "People's Movement for Democracy in Chad (Mouvement populaire pour la democratie au Tchad) for the MPDT political party (PHW 2014, 264). The journalist-blogger believes that the name "People's Movement for Democracy in Chad" as applied to the Chadian political party MPDT, is incorrect (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). Other occurrences of the name as it is indicated in PHW could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The journalist-blogger stated that the MPDT's objectives are [translation] "justice, peace, stability and development" (ibid.). He added that the MPDT is an opposition party (ibid.). Corroborating information and additional information on the objectives of the MPDT could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.2 Structure, Key Leaders, Activities and Membership Card

Concerning the structure and operations of the MPDT, the journalist-blogger said that the party was led by a president, with an executive office and a national council, and that he was not aware of any changes in this regard (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). He added that the MPDT held a conference every five years (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The MPDT press release dated 27 September 2009 is signed by Hassan Souleyman Moussa, the party's second vice-president. Agence France-Presse (AFP), in a 28 September 2009 article, cites excerpts of remarks made by Hassan Souleyman, [translation] "2nd vice-president of the MPDT," in a press release published by the party on 27 September 2009.

PHW 2011 notes that the MPDT won a seat in Chad's National Assembly in the 2002 legislative elections (PHW 2011, 261). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. The MPDT also won a seat in the National Assembly in the 2011 legislative elections (EU [2011]; Inter-Parliamentary Union n.d.; PHW 2014, 264).

The journalist-blogger wrote that, [translation] "in theory, a membership card is [required], but in practice, this is not the case for activists and supporters" (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Additional information on the structure, leaders, activities and membership card of the MPDT could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Mahamat Abdoulaye

According to AFP, Mahamat Abdoulaye ran as a candidate in the 1996 presidential elections (AFP 2 Oct. 2009).

Sources report that Mahamat Abdoulaye was a minister in the cabinet of the President of Chad, Idriss Deby (AFP 2 Oct. 2009; PHW 2014, 264). PHW 2014 states that he was appointed minister in 2005 (ibid.). AFP reports that Mr. Abdoulaye was minister in charge of Agriculture, Decentralization and Commerce (2 Oct. 2009).

The same sources note that Mahamat Abdoulaye also ran in the 2006 presidential election (PHW 2014, 264; AFP 2 Oct. 2009).

The Alwihda article published in January 2009 reports that on 12 January 2009, Mahamat Abdoulaye published a press release to urge the government, among other things, to respect the agreement reached 13 August 2007 agreement on strengthening democracy in Chad [3] (13 Jan. 2009).

In September 2009, as he was the president of the MPDT, Mahamat Abdoulaye was arrested for "contacts with mercenaries" (PHW 2011, 261; AFP 2 Oct. 2009), [translation] "the official name for Chadian rebels with rear bases in Sudan" (ibid.). According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009, he was accused of having made contact with "rebel leader" Timan Erdimi [4], and was sentenced on 9 November 2012 to three years in prison for "treason" (US 11 Mar. 2010, sec. 1e). An AFP dispatch on Mahamat Abdoulaye's arrest describes him as the [translation] "president of a majority party" (AFP 2 Oct. 2009). An Alwihda article states that at the time of his arrest, Mr. Abdoulaye was the [translation] "advisor in charge of missions with the National Mediator (Mediateur national) [5]" (Alwihda 11 Feb. 2010). International Crisis Group reports that he was an [translation] "advisor to the Office of the President" (17 Aug. 2010, 13). In February 2010, Mahamat Abdoulaye was pardoned by Idriss Deby (ibid.; Alwihda 11 Feb. 2010). Without mentioning the name of the party, a report published in August 2010 by the International Crisis Group describes Mahamat Abdoulaye as a [translation] "leader of a the opposition party allied with the presidential camp" (17 Aug. 2010, 13). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the journalist-blogger stated that Mahamat Abdoulaye has been in exile in Dakar since 2013 and that Hassan Souleyman [also spelled Souleymane] had replaced him as party president (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). An article published 28 January 2013 on the Alwihda website reports that Mahamat Abdoulaye went into exile in Senegal [translation] "to create a new opposition movement, the Pan-African Movement for Democracy and Justice (Mouvement panafricain pour la democratie et la justice, MPDJ)."

The journalist-blogger provided the following information about the MPDJ:

[translation]

The MPDJ was formed in August 2012.

Its temporary headquarters is in Africa, in Dakar.



It is an opposition movement in exile; its objectives are pan-Africanism, democratization, peace and justice.

Its recent activities are fighting for freedom and democracy, in coordination with the Chadian opposition in exile, through agreements, conferences and press releases (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015).

According to the 28 January 2013 article in Alwihda, Mahamat Abdoulaye, while in exile in Senegal, expressed his opposition against Chadian forces being sent to Mali. The blog of Makaila Nguebla, a Chadian journalist and human rights activist, notes in a 14 January 2013 article that during a press conference held by [translation] "Central African and Chadian opposition leaders," Mahamat Abdoulaye spoke about the political and armed conflicts in Central Africa. Additional information on the current situation of Mahamat Abdoulaye could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Treatment of MPDT Members by Authorities

The journalist-blogger noted that Mahamat Abdoulaye, some of his collaborators and MPDT activists [translation] "have gone into exile" (journalist-blogger 3 Feb. 2015). He added that they [translation] "are persecuted in Chad and do not feel safe, even in other countries" (ibid.). Additional information on the treatment of MPDT members by the authorities could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The journalist-blogger is an opponent of President Deby (Jeune Afrique 8 May 2013). He has received support from several human rights NGOs, including the following: Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres) (ibid.), Amnesty International (RFI 31 July 2013) and Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch 10 May 2013).

[2] Alwihda, an online newspaper, was started in 1994 and primarily publishes articles on current affairs in Africa (Alwihda 15 Feb. 2009). A print version has been distributed in N'Djamena since January 2009 (ibid.).

[3] The agreement of 13 August 2007, titled Political Agreement to Strengthen the Democratic Process in Chad (Accord politique en vue du renforcement du processus democratique au Tchad), [translation] "formed the basis for legislative reform and implementation of equal and independent electoral administration for maintaining calm at polling stations during the 2011 legislative and presidential elections" (EU n.d.).

[4] In 2009, Timan Erdimi was appointed by his peers as leader of the Chadian rebellion against President Deby, under the banner of the Union of Resistance Forces (Union des forces de la resistance, UFR) (AFP 21 Mar. 2013). AFP describes him as [translation] "a former close collaborator of [P]resident" Deby, who is his uncle (ibid.).

[5] In Chad, the national mediator is in charge of [translation] "working to restore and maintain civil and political peace" (Tsakadi 2010, 393). He works under the authority of the prime minister (ibid.).

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 21 March 2013. "Tchad : une importante rebellion veut reprendre la lutte armee contre le president Deby." (Factiva)

_____ . 2 October 2009. "Tchad : un ex-ministre arrete pour 'intelligence avec l'ennemi' (source policiere)." (Factiva)

_____. 28 September 2009. "Tchad : un ancien ministre et candidat a la presidentielle arrete." (Factiva)

Alwihda. 28 January 2013. Djamil Ahmat Yacoub. "Tchad : Mahamat Abdoulaye s'oppose a l'envoi des troupes tchadiennes au Mali." [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

_____ . 11 February 2010. "Tchad : M. Ismael Boloki et l'ex-conseiller Mahamat Abdoulaye gracie par le president." [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

_____ . 13 January 2009. "Tchad : Le Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement au Tchad (MPDT) fete son 16eme anniversaire." [Accessed 29 Jan. 2015]

European Union (EU). [2011]. Mission d'observation electorale au Tchad. Tchad : Rapport final sur les elections legislatives du 13 fevrier 2011. [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

_____. N.d. Delegation de l'Union europeenne en Republique du Tchad. "Relations politiques." [Accessed 9 Feb. 2015]

Human Rights Watch. 10 May 2013. "Senegal: Chadian Blogger Expelled." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

International Crisis Group. 17 August 2010. Tchad : au dela de l'apaisement. Rapport Afrique n 162. [Accessed 2 Feb. 2015]

InterParliamentary Union. N.d. "Tchad : Assemblee nationale." [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

Jeune Afrique. 8 May 2013. Mehdi Ba. "Le Senegal expulse le blogueur tchadien Makaila Nguebla vers la Guinee." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

Journalist-blogger. 3 February 2015. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate.

Nguebla, Makaila. 14 January 2013. "Dakar - Intervention de M. Mahamat Abdoulaye, ancien candidat a la presidentielle au Tchad et leader du MPDJ (video)." Makaila's blog. [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement du Tchad (MPDT). 27 September 2009. "Communique de presse n 04/MPDT/BE/SG/2009." [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

Political Handbook of the World 2014 (PHW). 2014. "Chad." Edited by Tom Lansford. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

_____. 2011. "Chad." Edited by Thomas C. Muller, William R. Overstreet, Judith F. Isacoff and Tom Lansford. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Radio France internationale (RFI). 31 July 2013. "Expulsion du blogueur tchadien Makaila Nguebla : le gouvernement senegalais s'explique." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

Tsakadi, Komi. 2010. "Quel statut pour l'opposition politique en Afrique et quelles perspectives face aux conflits ethno-politiques?." Prevention des crises et promotion de la paix,vol. 2. Democratie et elections dans l'espace francophone. Edited by Jean-Pierre Vettovaglia, Jean du Bois de Gaudusson, Albert Bourgi, Christine Desouches, Joseph Maila, Hugo Sada and Andre Salifou. Brussels: Groupe de Boeck.

United States (US). 11 March 2010. Department of State. "Chad." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009. [Accessed 30 Jan. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme au Tchad; Mouvement panafricain pour la democratie et la justice; Mouvement pour la paix et le developpement du Tchad.

Internet sites, including: Afrik.com; Agence tchadienne de presse; AllAfrica; BBC; Bertelsmann Stiftung; Chad - official government website; ecoi.net; Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; Freedom House; International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; IRIN; Le Monde; Organisation mondiale contre la torture; Panapress; TchadOnline; UN - Refworld.
Chad: The National Union for Development and Renewal (Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouveau, UNDR), including its composition, activities and regions of influence; the treatment of its members and sympathizers by authorities, including during the 2016 election campaign (2014-January 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 20 February 2015 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105068.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur l'Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouveau (UNDR), y compris sur sa composition, ses activites et ses regions d'influence; information sur le traitement reserve a ses membres et a ses sympathisants par les autorites, y compris dans le cadre de la campagne pour les elections de 2016 (2014-janvier 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: The National Union for Development and Renewal (Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouveau, UNDR), including its composition, activities and regions of influence; the treatment of its members and sympathizers by authorities, including during the 2016 election campaign (2014-January 2015), 20 February 2015, TCD105068.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7a2fa4.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. The UNDR's Creation and Political Involvement

Sources use various names to refer to the UNDR:

National Union for Development and Renewal (Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouveau) (Tchadinfos.com 6 Apr. 2014; Tchadonline 21 Mar. 2011);

National Union for Democracy and Renewal (Union nationale pour la democratie et le renouveau) (RFI 15 Apr. 2014; EISA Mar. 2011; CSAPR n.d., 11);

National Union for Development and Renewal (Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouvellement) (PHW 2014, 263).

According to the Political Handbook of the World 2014 (PHW) and the Chadian Monitoring Committee of the Appeal for Peace and National Reconciliation (Comite de suivi de l'appel a la paix et a la reconciliation nationale au Tchad, CSAPR) [1], which is a group of individuals who [translation] "help build sustainable peace in Chad" (CSAPR n.d., 2), the UNDR is the main opposition party in Chad and is led by Saleh Kebzabo (CSAPR n.d., 66; PHW 2014, 263). According to the PHW, Saleh Kebzabo has been a minister several times in Chad (ibid.).

According to CSAPR, the UNDR was created in 1992 (CSAPR n.d., 37).

According to an International Crisis Group report, Saleh Kebzabo founded N'Djamena [Bi-]Hebdo (International Crisis Group 24 Sept. 2008, 44). According to the same source, this newspaper is considered to be [International Crisis Group English version] "one of the main opposition newspapers" (ibid.).

PHW indicates that Saleh Kebzabo was a candidate in the 1996 presidential election, and he ran third in the first round (winning 8.6 percent of the vote) before throwing his support behind Idriss Deby Itno for the second round (PHW 2014, 263). According to the same source, after the latter was re-elected as president of the Republic of Chad, Saleh Kebzabo joined the government and was responsible for various ministerial portfolios (ibid.). During the 2001 presidential elections, Saleh Kebzabo again ran against Idriss Deby (ibid.).

Sources indicate that the vice-president of the UNDR is Celestin Topona (Coalition 9 Sept. 2014; Tchadonline 2010). According to the website of The Socialist International (Internationale socialiste, IS), [IS English version] "the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties" that "brings together 153 political parties and organisations from all continents" (Internationale socialiste n.d.a), the UNDR is an "observer party" in their organization (ibid. n.d.b).

According to the PHW, in the 2002 election, the UNDR won six seats and was subsequently referenced as being "firmly" in the opposition camps (PHW 2014, 263). According to the same source, in the most recent election in 2011, the UNDR successfully elected ten representatives to the national assembly, obtaining 5.5 percent of the vote (ibid.).

According to a 2012 report by the International Federation for Human Rights (Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH), the UNDR is the main opposition party in Chad, closely followed by the Union for Renewal and Democracy (Union pour le renouveau et la democratie, URD) (FIDH Mar. 2012, 13). Similarly, in telephone interviews with the Research Directorate, the secretary of the Chadian Convention for the Defence of Human Rights (Convention tchadienne pour la defense des droits de l'homme, CTDDH) and the president of the Social Youth Association for the Defence of Human Rights (Association sociale des jeunes pour la defense des droits humains, ASJDH), two Chadian human rights organizations, stated that the president of the UNDR was the leader of the opposition (CTDDH 2 Feb. 2015; ASJDH 2 Feb. 2015).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the secretary of the CTDDH said that the UNDR is [translation] "one of the most structured parties in terms of organization; without knowing the exact membership numbers from its national office, we can say that at the national scale, it is a large party" (CTDDH 2 Feb. 2015).

According to a report published by CSAPR, the UNDR is associated with numerous other political opposition parties within the primary opposition coalition known as the Coordination of Political Parties for the Defence of the Constitution (Coordination des partis politiques pour la defense de la constitution, CPDC) (CSAPR n.d., 27).

The same report indicates that the CPDC, whose spokesperson is Saleh Kebzabo, president of the UNDR, appears to be [translation] "the only organization that truly rivals the [Patriotic Salvation Movement (Mouvement patriotique du Salut, MPS)] from a media standpoint. In addition, it is the most visible coalition, whereas the majority coalitions have no media presence" (ibid., 27, 57).

2. The UNDR's Involvement in Political Life in Chad

According to an interview granted to Radio France internationale (RFI) by Saleh Kebzabo, the UNDR held its fifth congress in Moundou, southern Chad, in April 2014 (RFI 15 April 2014). During that interview, the party's president declared that he [translation] "firmly" believes in political change and stated that "we even believe it will come in 2016" (ibid.). Saleh Kebzabo was re-elected as party president at that congress (ibid.).

According to RFI, the UNDR organized its entry into the new parliamentary session in November 2014 through a congress that included party militants, several [translation] "key" figures from the opposition, as well as union and association representatives who met at the party's invitation (RFI 8 Nov. 2014). During a speech at that event, Saleh Kebzabo criticized the way the country was being managed by Idriss Deby, stating that [translation] "'he and his family have been holding Chad hostage for 24 years'" (ibid.).

In September 2014, in a press release issued by a coalition of opposition political parties, the 32 other parties in the CPDC indicated that they wished to end all collaboration with the UNDR (Coalition 7 Sept. 2014). According to the press release issued by the parties, the root cause of suspending activities between the UNDR and the other parties in the CPDC was disagreement about designating delegates to participate, on behalf of the opposition, in the National Independent Electoral Commission (Commission electorale nationale independante, CENI) (ibid.). A memo released by the UNDR in response indicates that [translation] "claiming to end all collaboration with the UNDR is nonsense. There has never been any collaboration between the UNDR and these political parties, many of which switch between the majority and the opposition" (UNDR 10 Sept. 2014). The UNDR states the following about the parties:

[translation]

[I]t is clear that they cannot agree on plans such as the division of CENI, which involves only those political parties that are interested in and participate in the election. That is why these political parties raise such a fuss about the inconsistency with respect to Law 20 through the creation of an undeclared opposition group known as the Opposition Collective. (ibid.)

The memo adds that the UNDR [translation] "is awaiting confirmation from the individual political parties whose names appear on the nominal roll of 32 parties, as submitted by the collective, before taking the necessary measures" (ibid.).

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the National Coordinator of the Chadian Human Rights League (Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme, LTDH), an association that aims to [translation] "defend and promote the human rights set out in international and national legal instruments" (LTDH n.d.), stated that the structure of CENI and the representation of the various Chadian political parties within the commission remains problematic because the commission does not function transparently (LTDH 6 Feb. 2015).

3. The UNDR's Regions of Influence

According to the LTDH National Coordinator, the UNDR does not have cells in every region of the country, but it does have activists throughout Chad (ibid.). The same source indicated that the UNDR also has activists in the north, which is the stronghold of MPS, the majority party, despite the UNDR's issues gaining traction in that part of the country (ibid.).

For his part, in correspondence with the Research Directorate, the secretary of the Chadian Convention for Human Rights (Convention tchadienne pour la defense des droits de l'homme, CTDDH), a Chadian human rights organization, stated that [translation] "although it does not cover the entire national territory, the UNDR has cells in nearly three-quarters of the country, namely, all of the south and the centre of the country, but not in the far north, where it has yet to set up cells" (CTDDH 2 Feb. 2015).

A report published by CSAPR about all of the political parties in Chad (2013) states the following:

[translation]

However, if we look at Chadian political life through the political families involved, it is quite clear that they comprise political forces which represent the entire country. In fact, the MPS and the presidential majority, as well as the CPDC, are quite representative of the Chadian people from a geographical, religious and community point of view. In that context, common critiques of the lack of real representation in the country are not as relevant.(CSAPR n.d., 31)

According to the same source, the geographic representation of the MP who are members of the UNDR is as follows: Mayo-Kebbi Est (two seats) and Ouest (three seats), Salamat (two seats), N'Djamena (two seats), and Mandoul Occidental (one seat) (ibid. 67). According to the same report, Celestin Topona, a UNDR representative, stated the following:

[translation]

[i]t is difficult to state how many members we have throughout the country  We have strong representation in the southwest, Mayo-Kebi Est and Ouest, in Kelo, Tandjile as well as Moundou and Sarh. Then there are the districts of N'Djamena. We also have a presence in Lac and the area of Bokoro, and east of Salamat  Membership cards should give us an idea of the number of members, but since we often give them out free of charge it is not an effective method. (ibid.)

The LTDH National Coordinator noted that it is difficult to know exactly how many members are in a political party because the parties do not necessarily keep a comprehensive record of their members (LTDH 6 Feb. 2015).

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the President of the ASJDH made similar statements (ASJDH 6 Feb. 2015).

4. Treatment of UNDR Members and Sympathizers

The LDTH National Coordinator indicated that UNDR members face difficulties in fully participating in CENI activities in view of the 2015 legislative election and the 2016 presidential election (LDTH 6 Feb. 2015). According to the same source, those difficulties do not involve the use of physical or police force against UNDR members who are designated to sit on the CENI (ibid.). The source specified that the difficulties are of a procedural nature and result in verbal jousts between the various protagonists (ibid.). The Coordinator provided the example of a member who was supposed to sit on the CENI who [translation] "mistakenly" did not receive his invitation to the meetings, which was to be sent by the electoral administration (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In a 9 May 2013 publication, the FIDH and its Chadian member organizations, the LTDH and the APTDH stated that they

[FIDH English version]

are concerned about the wave of arrests, intimidation and harassment aimed at political opposition members, journalists and civil society in Chad after the failure of what authorities described as an attempted coup [1 May 2013]. (FIDH 9 May 2013)

In a notice published on 19 September 2012, Amnesty International (AI) stated that the Chadian government [AI English version] "must stop using the judiciary to harass political opponents." The same source explains that three unionists and a journalist [AI English version] "received heavy suspended prison sentences and fines for initiating and publishing a petition" ((AI 19 Sept. 2012). The newspaper for which the journalist was working, N'Djamina Bi-Hebdo, was also [AI English version] "banned for three months" (ibid.).

Another AI publication indicates that Chadian officials [AI English version] "continued to use the criminal justice system to harass political opponents and influence the judiciary" (AI 2013, 311).

According to Jeune Afrique, in 2013, an application was made to lift Saleh Kebzabo's parliamentary immunity after the prosecutor's office accused him of [translation] "contempt of court, undermining the authority of the justice system and defamation" (Jeune Afrique 3 Sept. 2013).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] The CSAPR is a coalition of more than 150 public figures who [translation] "mobilized to discuss the resurgence of conflict in Chad. The participants decided to establish a collective negotiation process in order to set the political foundation for lasting peace" (CSAPR n.d.).

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2013. "Tchad." Amnesty International rapport 2013 : la situation des droits humains dans le monde. [Accessed 9 Feb. 2015]

_____. October 2013. Au nom de la securite? Arrestations, detention et restrictions a la liberte d'expression au Tchad. (AFR 20/007/2013) [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

_____. 19 September 2012. "Tchad : le harcelement judiciaire visant les opposants politiques et les journalistes doit cesser." [Accessed 16 Feb. 2015]

Association sociale des jeunes pour la defense des droits humains (ASJDH) 2 February 2015a. Telephone interview with the President.

Coalition of political opposition parties. 7 September 2014. ADO, CCPPOD, FCAD, ODEM. "Communique de presse No. 2." [Accessed 9 Feb. 2015]

Comite de suivi de l'appel a la paix et a la reconciliation nationale (CSAPR). N.d. Les partis politiques tchadiens: Quelle democratie, pour quelle paix ? [Accessed 16 Feb. 2015]

Convention tchadienne pour la defense des droits de l'homme (CTDDH). 2 February 2015a. Correspondence from the secretary to the Research Directorate.

_____. 2 February 2015b. Telephone interview with the secretary.

Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA). 2012. Comprendre l'organisation des elections au Tchad. [Accessed 16 Feb. 2015]

_____. March 2011. "Chad: 2011 National Assembly election results." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2015]

_____. August 2010. "Chad: 2002 National Assembly election results." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2015]

_____. N.d. "EISA Chad." [Accessed 17 Feb. 2015]

Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH). 9 May 2013. "Tchad : vague de repression sur fond de tensions militaires." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2015]

_____. March 2012. Tchad / Evenements de Fevrier 2008 : "4 ans apres les evenements de fevrier 2008 : l'impunite plombe les espoirs de reformes." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2015]

International Crisis Group. 24 September 2008. Tchad : un nouveau cadre de resolution du conflit. Africa report No 144. [Accessed 16 Feb. 2015]

Internationale socialiste. N.d.a. "A propos de l'IS." [Accessed 16 Feb. 2015]

_____. N.d.b. "Partis membres de l'internationale socialiste." [Accessed 16 Feb. 2015]

Jeune Afrique. 20 June 2014. "Tchad - Saleh Kebzabo : 'L'objectif de l'opposition est de remporter un tiers bloquant a l'Assemblee en 2015'." [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015]

Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme (LTDH). 6 February 2015. Telephone interview with the National Coordinator.

_____. N.d. "Qui sommes-nous?" [Accessed 17 Feb. 2015]

Political Handbook of the World 2014 (PHW). 2014. "Chad." Edited by Tom Lansford. Washington, DC: CQ Press. [Accessed 16 Feb. 2014]

Radio France internationale (RFI). 8 November 2014. "Tchad : rentree politique de l'UNDR sous le signe de l'unite de l'opposition." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

_____. 15 April 2014. "Tchad : Saleh Kebzabo, president reelu de l'UNDR." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

Tchadinfos.com. 6 April 2014. "Tchad : l'UNDR menace de poursuivre en justice les medias publics." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

Tchadonline. 21 March 2011. "Politique : Le President de l'UNDR donne un point de presse." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

_____. 10 May 2010. "Recensement electoral au Tchad : L'UNDR sensibilise ses militants." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouveau (UNDR). 10 September 2014. "Communique de presse No. 041." [Accessed 17 Feb. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following people and organizations within the time constraints of this Response were unsuccessful: ACAT Tchad; Association des Femmes Juristes du Tchad; Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme (ATPDH).

Internet sites, including: Africain.info; Afrik.com; Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development; AllAfrica; Courrier international; Factiva; Freedom House; Journal du Tchad; N'Djamena Matin; Tchadactuel; UK - Home Office; UN - Refworld, Reliefweb; US - Embassy in N'Djamena, Department of State.
Chad: Coming into force of the new penal code, particularly article 361 bis, including the process for enacting this code (September 2014-November 2014)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 4 December 2014 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105026.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur l'entree en vigueur du nouveau code penal, particulierement de l'article 361 bis, y compris sur le processus de promulgation de ce code (septembre 2014-novembre 2014) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: Coming into force of the new penal code, particularly article 361 bis, including the process for enacting this code (September 2014-November 2014), 4 December 2014, TCD105026.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7a3e24.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. New Draft Penal Code

Sources report that in September 2014, a new draft penal code was adopted by Chad's Council of Ministers (Conseil des ministres) (FIDH and LTDH 23 Sept. 2014; RFI 15 Sept. 2014; La Nouvelle Tribune 16 Sept. 2014). The same sources report that article 361 bis of this draft code penalizes homosexuality (ibid.; RFI 15 Sept. 2014; FIDH and LTDH 23 Sept. 2014). In a joint press release, the International Federation for Human Rights (Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) and the Chadian Human Rights League (Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme, LTDH) state that this article provides for sentences of 15 to 20 years in prison and fines ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 francs CFA [approximately US$108 to US$1,076] for people found guilty of [FIDH and LTDH English version] "homosexuality" (ibid.). According to Amnesty International (AI), these punishments target people found guilty of [AI English version] "same sex activity" or "same sex conduct" (AI 9 Oct. 2014). However, according to a November 2014 article published by the online version of The Advocate, a publication that focuses on the LGBT community (The Advocate n.d.), the new provisions of the penal code target "those perceived to be LGBT" (ibid. 17 Nov. 2014).

According to AI, the [AI English version] "vagueness" of the bill "is deeply worrying" because

[AI English version]

people could be investigated and prosecuted based on homosexuality, on a denunciation or rumour alone. People who are perceived to be gay or don't conform to traditional gender stereotypes will not be able to live their lives with equality and dignity. (AI 23 Sept. 2014)

The Government of Chad reportedly said that it introduced these measures [translation] "to protect the family and to comply with Chadian society" (RFI 15 Sept. 2014; La Nouvelle Tribune 16 Sept. 2014).

Sources report that a reform of the penal code had been under way for years (The Guardian 22 Sept. 2014; RFI 15 Sept. 2014), with the collaboration of human rights associations (ibid.). However, RFI states that according to the African director of FIDH, [translation] "the most recent draft [of the new code] was done in secret," and these associations "were not aware" of the provisions of article 361 bis (ibid.).

2. Enactment of the New Penal Code

According to a 22 September 2014 article by The Guardian , before coming into force, the new penal code still needed to be approved by members of Parliament and President Idriss Deby.

According to several sources, the provisions penalizing homosexuality in the new draft code have been criticized by human rights organizations, who want these measures changed before the new code is enacted (The Advocate 17 Nov. 2014; AI 9 Oct. 2014; FIDH 23 Sept. 2014).

An article published in November 2014 by The Advocate reports that the new draft code was still being reviewed by the National Assembly (The Advocate 17 Nov. 2014). An article posted on the website of the National Assembly of Chad states that a new legislative session opened on 6 October 2014 (Chad 10 Oct. 2014). On 10 October 2014, 20 bills were recorded for that session, in addition to the 14 draft bills that had been postponed at the time of the first parliamentary session in 2014 (ibid.). Information on whether the provisions of article 361 bis of will be reviewed during this session could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Adoption Process

According to a document on the legislative process in Chad prepared by the country's National Assembly for a collection prepared by the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (Assemblee parlementaire de la Francophonie, APF), which describes the [translation] "parliamentary practices and procedures in the Francophone community" (APF s.d.), after a bill or draft legislation has been debated and adopted by the National Assembly,

[translation]

the text is formatted by the servicing staff, submitted for the signatures of the president of the commission responsible, then the president of the National Assembly, and forwarded to the minister in charge of Parliamentary Relations (Relations avec le Parlement) for approval by the president of the Republic.

The president of the Republic has fifteen (15) days to enact the law. After that time, the law is considered to be in force (Chad 19 Nov. 2011, c. VI, sec. 7).

In a document on the legal system and legal research in Chad, an associate political affairs expert at the UN Office for West Africa, who was formerly a legal officer with the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, explains that during these 15 days, the president can send the bill back to the National Assembly for more deliberation (Ngarhodjim Jan. 2012). The author adds that the president can sign a bill into law within 8 days "in case of emergency" (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

The Advocate. 17 November 2014. Thom Senzee. "The State of LGBT Equality in Africa." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

_____. N.d. "Op-ed Contribution Guidelines." [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

Amnesty International (AI). 9 October 2014. "Tchad : Le president doit abandonner un projet de loi homophobe." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

_____. 23 September 2014. "Tchad. Un projet de loi qui encouragerait l'homophobie." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Assemblee parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF). N.d. "Recueil des procedures et des pratiques parlementaires." [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014]

Chad. 10 October 2014. Assemblee nationale du Tchad. "Ouverture de la deuxieme session ordinaire 2014 au Palais de la Democratie." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

_____. 19 November 2011. Assemblee nationale du Tchad. La vie des assemblees dans l'espace francophone : recueil des procedures et des pratiques parlementaires. Contribution de l'Assemblee nationale du Tchad. [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) and Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'homme (LTDH). 23 September 2014. "Tchad : Le projet de code penal abolit la peine de mort mais condamne lourdement l'homosexualite." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

The Guardian. 22 September 2014. David Smith. "Chad Becomes 37th African State to Seek Ban on Homosexuality." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Ngarhodjim, Nadjita F. January 2012. "Update: An Introduction to the Legal System and Legal Research in Chad." New York: Hauser Global Law School Program, NYU School of Law. [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014]

La Nouvelle Tribune. 16 September 2014. Olivier Ribouis. "Tchad : Les homosexuels dans la tourmente avec un nouveau code penal." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Radio France internationale (RFI). 15 September 2014. "Tchad : Le nouveau code penal penalise fortement l'homosexualite." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: 7 sur 7; 76 Crimes en francais; ADHEOS; Afrik.com; AllAfrica; ecoi.net; Factiva; Gay Star News; Human Rights Watch; International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission; International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association; Journal du Tchad; LGBT Weekly; NATLEX; Le Nouvel Observateur; UN - Refworld.
Chad: The Party for Freedom and Development (Parti pour les libertes et le developpement, PLD), including its objectives, activities and membership cards; the disappearance of party leader Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh; the treatment of party members by authorities (2013-November 2014)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 1 December 2014 Citation / Document Symbol TCD105006.FE Related Document(s) Tchad : information sur le Parti pour les libertes et le developpement (PLD), y compris sur ses objectifs, ses activites et les cartes de membre qu'il delivre; information sur la disparition du chef du parti Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh; traitement reserve aux membres du parti par les autorites (2013-novembre 2014) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chad: The Party for Freedom and Development (Parti pour les libertes et le developpement, PLD), including its objectives, activities and membership cards; the disappearance of party leader Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh; the treatment of party members by authorities (2013-November 2014), 1 December 2014, TCD105006.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7a48a4.html [accessed 31 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.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview of the PLD

1.1 Origin and Objectives of the PLD

The PLD was created in 1993 (PLD July 2012, 2; CSAPR 20 Dec. 2013, 26). It was founded by Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh (ibid.; La Lettre du continent 31 July 2013). The PLD is a social democratic party (CSAPR 20 Dec. 2013, 48). It is one of the main opposition parties (ibid., 25-26).

According to article 5 of the PLD statutes, as passed on 20 January 2013,

[translation]

[t]he Party's goal is to take power through democratic means in order to implement its political agenda. As such, the Party commits to working towards:

Developing a true democracy that characterizes itself through continual respect of all fundamental rights and a true separation of powers (executive, legislative and judicial);

Strengthening national unity and civil peace in a unitary, secular republic with a decentralized administration;

Maintaining national independence and sovereignty as well as territorial integrity;

Implementing a system through which the government commits to providing essential services to society and disengages from other activities in the interests of the private sector and the base communities;

Implementing meaningful educational, social and cultural policy in order to foster personal development;

Cooperating sincerely and selflessly with all of the country's stakeholders in order to defend the state's highest interests;

Promoting and strengthening cooperation with national parties from other African countries in order to develop pan-African ideals and work toward Africa's true economic integration (PLD 20 Jan. 2013, 3).

The PLD statutes, which describe its structure and rules of procedure, are attached to this Response.

1.2 Structure, Key Leaders and Government Representation

According to the PLD statutes, the party headquarters are in N'Djamena (PLD 20 Jan. 2013, 3). It comprises three central bodies, which are the Congress, the National Political Council (Conseil politique national, CPN) and the Executive Committee (Comite executif, CE) (ibid., 4).

The Congress, which is the highest body of the party, includes representatives from the base bodies, members from the central bodies, as well as [translation] "activists with an elected term exercising any other political functions" (ibid., 10). It is responsible for defining the party line and policy directions, as well as for passing the party's statutes, rules of procedure and agenda (ibid).

The CPN is defined as [translation] "the highest instance between two congresses" and it oversees the enforcement of Congress decisions (ibid., 11). It comprises 160 members elected by the Congress and it meets once a year at the invitation of the secretary general (ibid.).

The CE is described as the [translation] "essence" of the CPN; it is responsible for ensuring that the party's administration functions and the implementation of Congress decisions (ibid., 12). Composed of 24 members, it is presided over by the secretary general (ibid.). According to the list of CE members published after the PLD congress that took place on 19 and 20 January 2013, Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh (secretary general), Jean-Baptiste Laokole (1st deputy secretary general) and Mahamat Saleh Adoum Ahmat (2nd deputy secretary general) occupied the top three positions in the CE (PLD n.d.a). However, the Chadian news website JournalduTchad.com indicates that during that same congress, Jean-Baptiste Laokole, in addition to his role as deputy secretary, was designated to hold the secretary general position until the disappearance of secretary general Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh be solved (29 July 2013). An article published by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on 26 July 2013 presents Jean-Baptiste Laokole as the secretary general of the PLD.

During the 2011 national assembly election, the PLD won two seats as a member of the coalition known as the National Union for Development and Renewal (Union nationale pour le developpement et le renouvellement, UNDR) (PHW 214, 264).

With respect to the geographic distribution of party representation, a 2013 report by the Chadian Monitoring Committee of the Appeal for Peace and National Reconciliation (Comite de suivi de l'appel a la paix et a la reconciliation nationale au Tchad, CSAPR) [1], notes that, according to party leader Jean-Baptiste Laokole, the PLD has a national presence in each of the 22 regions of Chad, in the 73 departments and in the majority of the country's 252 sub-prefectures (CSAPR 20 Dec. 2013, 38). The same report, however, indicates that it is quite difficult to judge the number of actual members of any political party in Chad (ibid.). Information on the number of PLD members could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to a press release from the PLD posted on the online version of the Chadian newspaper Alwihda, at the international level, the PLD has representation in France/Europe with Khadidja Sahoulba at the head (PLD France/Europe 18 Feb. 2013).

1.3 Issuing Membership Cards

According to the PLD statutes,

[translation]

Membership in the party is free and individual. It is open to every Chadian, without exception, supposing the following conditions are met:

Be of good moral character;

Not belong to another political party;

Commit to defending the party's ideals (PLD 20 Jan. 2013, 14).

According to the statutes, to become a member, the individual must pay the required membership fee and register in the representation registry of their place of residence (ibid.). Once the membership fee has been paid, the new member will be issued a membership card (ibid.). Further information about PLD membership cards could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.4 Activities

Under the "Congresses" section of the PLD website, two events are listed: the [translation] "2010 National Political Council" and the "3rd Congress, January 2013" (PLD n.d.b). Further information as to whether the PLD held other meetings could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to a document outlining the PLD's history, since 3 February 2008, the date Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh disappeared, the party has been actively trying to shed light on the circumstances of his disappearance and, among other things, each year on the anniversary date, it organizes [translation] "lecture forums, and  remembrance evenings , both within the country and abroad, notably in France, with the support of friendly political parties internally and externally, including the French Socialist Party (Parti [s]ocialiste francais)" (PLD July 2012, 5). In 2013, PLD's representation in France/Europe organized a tribute in Paris, Strasbourg and Bordeaux as part of the activities commemorating the fifth anniversary of Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh's disappearance (Tchadinfos 11 Apr. 2013). PLD's representation in France/Europe also published a press release about organizing a tribute on 23 February 2013 in Aubervilliers, a suburb of Paris (PLD France/Europe 18 Feb. 2013).

Several articles published in November 2014 indicate that the PLD organized a press conference during which it called on President Deby and his government to resign (RFI 5 Nov. 2014; La Gazette de N'Djamena 1 Nov. 2014). In a statement he made during that press conference, which took place on 30 October 2014, the first deputy secretary general of the PLD, Jean Baptiste Laokole, spoke out against the poor management of the country by the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (Mouvement patriotique du Salut, MPS) and the various crises that have resulted, in addition to the attitude of Chadian institutions in light of those crises (ibid.).

2. Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh's Disappearance

Sources indicate that six years after his disappearance, Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh's family is still looking for answers (Le Monde 10 May 2014; RFI 3 Feb. 2014). Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh was allegedly kidnapped from his home on 3 February 2008 by Chadian soldiers after a rebel attack in N'Djamena (ibid.; Le Monde 10 May 2014). At that time, he was the spokesperson for the Chadian opposition and secretary general of the PLD (RFI 3 Feb. 2014). More specifically, as a representative of the opposition, he was the spokesperson for the Coordination of Political Parties for the Defence of the Constitution (Coordination des partis politiques pour la defense de la constitution) (PHW 2014, 263; CSAPR 20 Dec. 2013, 27), the main opposition coalition (ibid.). According to an article published by the newspaper Le Monde, [translation] "[in] N'Djamena, the code of silence has been the rule for six years. The testimony of Ngarlejy Yorongar [an opponent also kidnapped from his home on 3 February 2008 and released a few weeks later] is the only one that exists. He stated that Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh died in detention" (10 May 2014).

In 2009, the Chadian justice system opened judicial inquiry about individuals who disappeared in 2008, including Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh (AFP 25 July 2013). In July 2013, the Chadian justice system dismissed the case (ibid.; UN 15 Apr. 2014). According to the AFP, the Chadian justice system explained its decision by the fact that it was unable [translation] "[to] identify the perpetrators, co-perpetrators and accomplices" (ibid.). The PLD stated that it intended to appeal the ruling (JournalduTchad.com 29 July 2013; AFP 26 July 2013). The UN Human Rights Committee indicates that it was [translation] "concerned" by the ruling and recommends that the Chadian government "continue to investigate the forced disappearances, given the nature of the crime, and identify the perpetrators in order to prosecute them and bring them to justice, even if they are members of police and security forces" (UN 15 Apr. 2014, para. 12).

An article published on 31 July 2013 in La Lettre du continent [2] indicates the following:

[translation]

[O]n July 18, the French investigating judge, Emmanuelle Ducos, presided over the hearings of Hicham Ibni Oumar and Mohamed Ibni Oumar Saleh concerning the complaints they filed last year [with the French justice system] for the "kidnapping and forcible confinement, torture and inhumane acts" that their father, Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, would have been victim of.

Sources indicate that at the same time the complaint was filed with the French justice system, two socialist French senators, Gaetan Gorce and Jean-Pierre Sueur, requested, in February 2014, that an investigative commission look into the events of 2008 with respect to Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh's disappearance (Public Senat 5 Feb. 2014; JournalduTchad.com 5 Feb. 2014). A total of 70 French senators signed the draft resolution calling for the creation of the investigative commission into, more specifically, the role of French representatives before, during and after the events of February 2008 (La Lettre du continent 28 Mar. 2014; RFI 18 Mar. 2014). However, it has been said that the investigative commission will likely not be created because of geostrategic concerns (ibid.; La Lettre du continent 28 Mar. 2014).

3. Treatment of PLD Members by Authorities

Information about the treatment of PLD members by authorities during the period under review could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, the following information may be useful.

Several sources stated that Chadian authorities unleashed a wave of repression on political and civil opponents in response to the events of 1 May 2013, which were considered to be an attempted coup d'Etat (AI July 2013, 22; La Croix 12 July 2013; Le Monde 12 May 2013). Amnesty International (AI) indicates that opposition members in parliament were subjected to [AI English version] "arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions" (AI Oct. 2013, 23). Similarly, Human Rights Watch states that opposition parliamentarians were arrested in May 2013 and some were detained for longer than is permitted by law (9 May 2013).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] Created in 2002, the CSAPR is a non-partisan forum that comprises more than 150 individuals from the Chadian public sphere; its objective is to promote the implementation of lasting peace in Chad (CSPAR n.d.).

[2] La Lettre du continent is a bi-monthly publication that was launched in 1985 to address the business world as well as political and economic issues in several African countries (Indigo publications n.d.a). In addition, it is available on the Internet at AfricaIntelligence.fr, a portal for information about Africa designed for professionals that is affiliated with the independent press group Indigo publications (AfricaIntelligence.fr n.d.). Indigo publications has its headquarters in Paris (Indigo publications n.d.b).

References

Africa Intelligence. N.d. "Qui sommes nous?." [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 26 July 2013. "Tchad : le parti de l'opposant disparu en 2008 va faire appel du non-lieu." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

_____. 25 July 2013. Stephane Yas. "Chef de l'opposition disparu en 2008 : La justice tchadienne jette l'eponge." (Factiva)

Amnesty International (AI). October 2013. Au nom de la securite? Arrestations, detention et restrictions a la liberte d'expression au Tchad. (AFR 20/007/2013) [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

Comite de suivi de l'appel a la paix et a la reconciliation (CSAPR). 20 December 2013. Les partis politiques tchadiens : Quelle democratie, pour quelle paix? [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

_____ . N.d. "Qui sommes-nous?" [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014]

La Croix. 12 July 2013. Laurent Larcher. "Un vent repressif s'abat sur le Tchad." (Factiva)

La Gazette de N'Djamena. 1 November 2014. "Tchad : Le PLD exige le depart de Deby." [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014]

Human Rights Watch. 9 May 2013. "Tchad : Une tentative presumee de coup d'Etat ne doit pas servir d'excuse pour negliger les droits humains." [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Indigo publications. N.d.a. "La Lettre du continent." [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014]

_____ . N.d.b. "Coordonnees." [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014]

JournalduTchad.com. 5 February 2014. "Les deux elus socialistes ont demande hier qu'une commission d'enquete en France soit ouverte sur les evenements qui ont conduit a la disparition de Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh." (Factiva)

_____. 29 July 2013. "Tchad : Le PLD fera appel du non-lieu." [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

La Lettre du continent. 28 March 2014. "Paris vise dans la disparition de l'opposant Ibni Mahamat Saleh." (Factiva)

_____ . 31 July 2013. "Les fils d'Ibni entendus a Paris." (Factiva)

Le Monde. 10 May 2014. Charlotte Bozonnet. "Le disparu de N'Djamena." (Factiva)

_____. 12 May 2013. "Inquietudes apres une vague d'arrestations a N'Djamena." (Factiva)

Parti pour les libertes et le developpement (PLD). 20 January 2013. Textes de base du PLD issus du 3e Congres du 19 au 20 janvier 2013. [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

_____ . July 2012. Historique du Parti pour les libertes et le developpement (PLD). De 1993 (annee de creation) a nos jours. [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

_____ . N.d.a. Issu du 3e Congres du 19 au 20 janvier 2013. [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

_____. N.d.b. "Les congres." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]

Parti pour les libertes et le developpement France/Europe (PLD France/Europe). 18 February 2013. Djamil Ahmat. "Tchad/France : 5eme anniversaire de la disparition d'Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh secretaire general du PLD." [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

Political Handbook of the World 2014 (PHW). 2014. "Chad." Edited by Tom Lansdorf. Washington, DC: CQ Press. [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]

Public Senat. 5 February 2014. "Tchad : deux senateurs PS demandent l'ouverture d'une commission d'enquete sur les evenements de 2008." [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014]

Radio France internationale (RFI). 5 November 2014. "Burkina Faso: un exemple pour l'Afrique centrale?" [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]

_____. 18 March 2014. "Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh - des senateurs francais montent au creneau." (Factiva)

_____. 3 February 2014. "Tchad : 6 ans apres sa disparition, la famille d'Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh attend des reponses." [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014]

TchadInfos.com. 11 April 2013. "Tchad : Bordeaux commemore ce 12 avril la 5eme annee de la disparition d'Ibni Oumar Mht Saleh." [Accessed 21 Nov. 2014]

United Nations (UN). 15 April 2014. Human Rights Committee. Observations finales concernant le deuxieme rapport periodique du Tchad. (CCPR/C/TCD//CO/2) [Accessed 16 Nov. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The Parti pour les libertes et le developpement was unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: AllAfrica, BBC; Bertelsmann Stiftung; Chad - official government site; ecoi.net; Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; Freedom House; The Independent; Institute for Security Studies; International Crisis Group; International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; Jeune Afrique; Panapress; PLD - Blog overseen by the awareness section of the PLD in France; TchadOnline; UN - Refworld, Integrated Regional Information Networks; US - Department of State.

Attachment

Parti pour les libertes et le developpement (PLD). 20 January 2013. Textes de base du PLD issus du 3e Congres du 19 au 20 janvier 2013. "Les statuts".
Philippines: Duterte's 100 days of carnage

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Philippines: Duterte's 100 days of carnage, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b2294.html [accessed 31 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.

Almost 100 days after Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines, a wave of unlawful killings has already claimed more than 3,000 lives, shattering progress on human rights in the country, Amnesty International said today.

"Rodrigo Duterte's first 100 days as president have been marked by state-sanctioned violence on a truly shocking scale. His brutal crackdown on those allegedly involved in drug crimes has led to carnage on the streets and the obliteration of key human rights, including the right to life and to due process," said Rafendi Djamin, Director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific at Amnesty International.

"Since he was elected President Duterte has actively created a climate where anyone can kill, or be killed, in the name of the 'war on drugs'. This mass killing must end immediately and all those responsible, at all levels of command, must be brought to justice."

President Duterte has promised to kill tens of thousands - and on one occasion millions - of people involved in the drugs trade. He has actively encouraged the killing of drug addicts themselves, as well as offering huge bounties to those who turn in drug lords; dead or alive.

The ensuing bloodshed has affected bystanders as well as alleged criminals, including a five-year-old girl who was shot to death by two men on motorbikes and many others killed in cases of "mistaken identity". Many of the killings have been carried out by unknown assailants and there are credible reports of police complicity in these deaths.

Amnesty International is calling for a senate inquiry into extrajudicial killings which was suspended on 3 October to continue, and for independent, impartial and transparent investigations - free from the influence of the police - into all killings which have taken place since 30 June 2016.

Killing with Impunity

Amnesty International has repeatedly warned that President Duterte's calls have given police, vigilante groups and the general population a free reign to kill with impunity. He has issued and publicized 'kill lists'- names of people allegedly associated with using or trading drugs- and suggested that murder by police or civilian actors will go unpunished.

These lists name officials including judges, members of Congress, police and military officers, as being involved in the drugs trade, often without evidence. Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the lives of all the people on these lists are in immediate danger.

"The Philippine authorities have a duty to protect people, not expose them as targets. Recent reports that special teams of police are undertaking extrajudicial executions of those suspected of using or selling drugs is deeply alarming. Justice will never be achieved by death squads," said Rafendi Djamin.

"We are calling on the Philippines authorities to step back from the brink by ending all unlawful killings and all incitement to violence and hatred. If President Duterte is really serious about tackling crime he should address its root causes, like widespread poverty and unemployment."

Background

Philippine Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa told senators that as of 20 September, over 1,500 people had been killed in police operations against illegal drugs, while there were over 2,000 murders by unknown assailants that are under investigation. The total number of killings is now suspected to be well over 3500 - at least 33 a day since Rodrigo Duterte came to power.

President Duterte has alleged that the Philippines is becoming a "narco-state" in order to justify the so-called war on drugs. There is little evidence to show this is true. The Philippines has a low prevalence rate of drug users, compared to the global average, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

UNODC has found that counter-narcotic operations based on the use of force heighten the associated risks and harms of using drugs, and increase the levels of violence, human rights violations and abuses, without decreasing the incidence of drug use.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Nobel Peace Prize shows Colombia must not close the door on hopes for peace with justice

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Nobel Peace Prize shows Colombia must not close the door on hopes for peace with justice, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b28b4.html [accessed 31 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.

Today's awarding of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos underscores the expectation that Colombians will persevere in their search for peace with justice, Amnesty International said.

"Millions of Colombians still demand peace and justice. Today's announcement honours not only the initiative taken by President Santos and his government, but many others both within Colombia and beyond who are seeking a path to peace with justice," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General.

"We hope today's announcement will embolden the parties to continue efforts to reach a definitive peace agreement that ensures the right of victims to truth, justice and reparation and brings an end to the human rights violations that have marked the armed conflict.

"Human rights abuses continue in Colombians' everyday lives, and have a disproportionate impact on marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant farmer communities, as well as people defending human rights, including community leaders, trade unionists and land rights activists. Any peace agreement will only be effective in the long term if it is implemented in very close consultation with the groups most affected by this bloody conflict for decades.

"Today's Nobel Peace Prize should bolster efforts to end violations and abuses committed during Colombia's other ongoing conflict, with the ELN armed group, and push the Colombian authorities to take more effective steps to end violations committed by paramilitaries."

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Afghanistan: Civilians describe severe shortages of food and medicine in embattled Kunduz

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Afghanistan: Civilians describe severe shortages of food and medicine in embattled Kunduz, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b2c94.html [accessed 31 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.

Today's awarding of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos underscores the expectation that Colombians will persevere in their search for peace with justice, Amnesty International said.

"Millions of Colombians still demand peace and justice. Today's announcement honours not only the initiative taken by President Santos and his government, but many others both within Colombia and beyond who are seeking a path to peace with justice," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General.

"We hope today's announcement will embolden the parties to continue efforts to reach a definitive peace agreement that ensures the right of victims to truth, justice and reparation and brings an end to the human rights violations that have marked the armed conflict.

"Human rights abuses continue in Colombians' everyday lives, and have a disproportionate impact on marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant farmer communities, as well as people defending human rights, including community leaders, trade unionists and land rights activists. Any peace agreement will only be effective in the long term if it is implemented in very close consultation with the groups most affected by this bloody conflict for decades.

"Today's Nobel Peace Prize should bolster efforts to end violations and abuses committed during Colombia's other ongoing conflict, with the ELN armed group, and push the Colombian authorities to take more effective steps to end violations committed by paramilitaries."

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Tunisia: 25 years on, no sign of justice for Faysal Baraket's death under torture

Publisher Amnesty International Author Benedicte Goderieaux Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Tunisia: 25 years on, no sign of justice for Faysal Baraket's death under torture, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b3b14.html [accessed 31 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.

Saturday 8 October marks 25 years since Faysal Baraket was tortured to death in a police station in the coastal town of Nabeul after he spoke out against police brutality. He was just 25 years old and had been studying for a degree in mathematics and physics at Tunis University.

Faysal Baraket's case is emblematic of the widespread torture and other ill-treatment that became a hallmark of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's rule, and the extraordinary lengths to which the Tunisian authorities went to stall investigations and cover up crimes committed by state agents. For Faysal's family, the pain they continue to suffer at his loss, is compounded by the lingering injustice hanging over his case.

A quarter of a century later, not a single person suspected of committing, ordering or acquiescing to torturing Faysal Baraket has been brought to justice. As part of an ongoing judicial investigation, opened in 2009 - the fourth one initiated in this case - some police officers were summoned for questioning, but none has turned up to be heard by the judge in charge of investigating Faysal Baraket's death. His brother, Jamel, says that "they continue to lead a normal life without having to hide, in defiance of the judiciary".

The investigation initially appeared to be progressing after the ousting of Ben Ali. Faysal Baraket's remains were exhumed in March 2013, in the presence of his family, Tunisian judges and forensic doctors, British forensic pathologist Dr Derrick Pounder and Amnesty International delegates. The exhumation revealed further forensic evidence of his torture which was added to the judicial investigation, raising hopes that at long last justice for his killing would finally be served. Yet three years later there is still no conclusion and hopes of progress are also fading.

Faysal Baraket, who wasa member of the then outlawed Islamist opposition party Ennahda, had criticized, in a television interview broadcast on 8 March 1991, the government's handling of clashes between students and the police which had left several students dead. He was forced to go into hiding and was sentenced in absentia to six months' imprisonment for offences that included membership of an illegal organization. Seven months later, on 1 October, police officers arrested his brother Jamal, apparently to put pressure on Faysal to surrender. Jamal was repeatedly tortured in detention. Less than a week later, Faysal Baraket was arrested at his hideout.

After his death, the Tunisian authorities orchestrated a cover up to hide his torture, claiming that he had died in a car accident. But from as early as January 1992 Amnesty International gathered evidence from witnesses who said they heard Faysal Baraket screaming as he was tortured and beaten for hours in the Nabeul Police Station. Later they saw him slumped in a corridor, unconscious. His body was contorted in the position used in the "roast chicken" torture method - where the victim is tied to a horizontal pole with hands and feet crossed over and tied together. His face was bruised and had cuts around the eyes.

An autopsy report obtained by Amnesty International and examined by renowned forensic expert Dr Derrick Pounder, revealed that Faysal had been raped with an object and that his feet and buttocks had been badly beaten. The injuries pointed to a pattern of systematic physical assault. The conclusion: there was no way Faysal Baraket's death was caused by a traffic accident.

It is utterly indefensible that in the face of such blatant evidence and after so many years, no one has been held accountable for his death. It was only after Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's rule came to an end that the exhumation of Faysal Baraket's remains was finally carried out - 14 years after it had been recommended by the UN Committee against Torture.

But the danger now is that this legacy of impunity may continue to fuel torture and other ill-treatment in Tunisia today. In January 2016, Amnesty International uncovered new evidence of deaths in custody and torture, showing these crimes are persisting. Since 2011, there have been at least six deaths in custody which have not been effectively investigated or where no criminal prosecution has come about.

It is high time for Tunisia to break with its past and to deliver justice to Faysal Baraket's family, and for the many other torture victims of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali rule, as well as for those who have been tortured since his rule came to an end.

The Tunisian authorities must fully cooperate with judicial investigations into deaths in custody and torture, including by ensuring that security officers who have been summoned for questioning are brought before investigators. Judicial investigations must be conducted thoroughly, independently, impartially and with due diligence. For this kind of brutality to end, suspected perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Only then will it be possible to restore the trust of the Tunisian people in the justice system and the security forces.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Security Council extends measures to curb migrant smuggling off Libyan coast

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Security Council extends measures to curb migrant smuggling off Libyan coast, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b88740c.html [accessed 31 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.

6 October 2016 - Deploring continued loss of life due to migrant smuggling and human trafficking off the coast of Libya, the United Nations Security Council this morning extended its authorization for Member States to intercept vessels on the high seas suspected of being used for those illicit activities, for a further period of one year.

Adopting a new resolution by a vote of 14 in favour, to none against, with one abstention (Venezuela), the 15-member Council authorized Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels on the high seas off the Libyan coast if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are being used by organized criminal enterprises for migrant smuggling or human trafficking from Libya, including inflatable boats, rafts and dinghies.

By the terms of the text, the Council also urged States and regional organizations whose naval vessels and aircraft operate on the high seas and airspace off the coast of Libya, to be vigilant for migrant smuggling and human trafficking, encouraging them to increase and coordinate their efforts to deter those acts, in cooperation with Libya.

The Council emphasized that all migrants, including asylum seekers, should be treated with humanity and dignity and that their rights should be fully respected, and urged all States in this regard to comply with their obligations under international law, including international human rights law and international refugee law.

Further, the Council called on all States, with relevant jurisdiction under international law and national legislation, to investigate and prosecute persons responsible for migrant smuggling and human trafficking at sea, consistent with States' obligations under international law.

The Council called for Member States to consider ratifying or acceding to the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, as well as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The State Parties to these protocols are urged to implement them.

The Council requested States to update the Security Council every three months on the progress of actions undertaken, and asked the Secretary-General to submit a report eleven months after the adoption of this resolution on its implementation.
Eastern Aleppo may be 'totally destroyed' by end of year, warns UN envoy

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Eastern Aleppo may be 'totally destroyed' by end of year, warns UN envoy, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b8b440e.html [accessed 31 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.

6 October 2016 - Detailing the bloodshed in eastern Aleppo, where in the last two weeks, 376 people - half of them children - have been killed, 1,266 injured, hospitals destroyed, and "all sorts of ammunitions" and weapons used, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria underscored today that this part of the iconic city may be totally destroyed in two months, leaving thousands dead and forcing countless more to flee.

"This is what you, we, the world, will be seeing when we [are] trying to celebrate Christmas or the end of the year, if this continues at this rate, unimpeded, [it could be] Homs multiplied by 50," stressed Staffan de Mistura at a press briefing following a humanitarian taskforce meeting on Syria, in Geneva today.

He also made a specific call on the Al-Nusra Front fighters, estimated to number about one thousand (in eastern Aleppo), as to whether they "are going to stay there [and] keep hostage [the civilians in the] city, because 1,000 of you are deciding the destiny of the 275,000 civilians."

"If you did decide to leave, in dignity, and with your weapons, to Idlib, or anywhere you wanted to go, I personally, I am ready physically to accompany you," he added.

He further called on the Russian and Syrian governments regarding whether they were ready to continue the level of fighting that has been ongoing, in the city where so many civilians are in imminent grave danger, "for the sake of eliminating 1,000 Al-Nusra fighters," or if they would announce an immediate halt in bombings if the Front left.

He further said that the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) is a very important entity and that the suspension of bilateral negotiations between the two countries "should not and will not" affect the existence of the Group, and emphasized the importance of the humanitarian task force, as well as the possibility of a body that would effectively and "perhaps more stringently" support future cessation of hostilities.

The respective taskforces on humanitarian aid delivery and a wider ceasefire, created by the ISSG, have been meeting separately since early this year on a way forward in the crisis. Russia and the US are the co-chairs of the taskforces and ISSG, which comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 other countries.
Stalled peace process, fresh ceasefire violations risk Mali's stability  UN peacekeeping chief

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 October 2016 Related Document(s) Security Council resolution 2295 (2016) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) until 30 June 2017] Cite as UN News Service, Stalled peace process, fresh ceasefire violations risk Mali's stability  UN peacekeeping chief, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b8eb40c.html [accessed 31 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.

6 October 2016 - Citing a lack of progress on the peace process in Mali, the United Nations peacekeeping chief today warned that the UN mission there would not be able to fully carry out its mandate as long as the signatories to the peace agreement do not resolutely engage in its implementation.

"If the relative respite in recent months [leads us] to expect a possible improvement of the situation on the ground, we need to face the fact that persistent delays in the implementation of the peace agreement and new violations the ceasefire are incompatible with lasting stabilization, albeit partial, of the situation," Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous told the Security Council.

He underscored: "Time has come to rise above their immediate, localized interests and think of the long-term concerns of their constituencies, as well as of the country as a whole."

While he welcomed the announcement by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to convene a 'National Conference of Understanding' in December to discuss the root causes of the conflict, strengthen ownership of the peace process and promote genuine national reconciliation, Mr. Ladsous said that unfortunately, at present, the parties to the peace agreement are yet to set their differences aside and sit down with Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, to prioritize implementation steps and finalize benchmarks and concrete timelines as requested by Security Council resolution 2295 (2016).

That resolution, which extended the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA), until 30 June 2017, also authorized an increase in MINUSMA's capabilities, including a force level of up to 13,289 military personnel and 1,920 police personnel.

Herve Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. UN Photo/Loey Felipe (file)

Under the terms of the resolution, the Council also decided that MINUSMA should perform tasks related to, among others, supporting the implementation of the peace agreement of June 2015; good offices and reconciliation; protection of civilians and stabilization, including against asymmetric threats; protection, safety and security of UN personnel; promotion and protection of human rights; and humanitarian assistance.

Impact of violence, instability on Mission effectiveness

Following the clashes in July in Kidal, in the north of the country, the Mission launched an operation to deter violence and protect civilians by showing a robust presence with patrols and checkpoints. In August, the Mission launched another operation, again establishing checkpoints and conducting coordinated patrols with the Malian armed forces along the Timbuktu-Douentza-Hombori axis, which spans from Timbuktu to the Mopti region.

However, in spite of the Mission doing its utmost, civilians continue to suffer from the consequences of the armed groups' and Government's military operations, he said.

The ceasefire violations have further hampered access for humanitarian actors that strive to answer to the most pressing needs of the population pending the resumption of basic public services.

MINUSMA continues to seek to enhance collaboration with Mali's neighbours and regional security initiatives to more effectively address common security challenges. It is in this context that Mr. Annadif has been engaging the Governments of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, or so-called the G-5 Sahel member States.

The Mission, however, suffered a series of attacks on its force, including the May 29 detonation of an unidentified explosive device that killed five peacekeepers travelling in a convoy in the Mopti region, and the 3 October coordinated attacks in Kidal that killed one peacekeeper and injured eight others, reported Mr. Ladsous.

As tragically illustrated by Monday's attacks, the Mission's capacity to protect civilians and counter asymmetric attacks in active defence of its mandate is further hampered by the absence of the capabilities authorised by resolution 2295.

Mr. Ladsous said he regrets to inform the Security Council that in the short to medium-term instead of receiving reinforcements, MINUSMA will be confronted with the loss of key enablers, explaining that two troop-contributing countries have recently decided to withdraw three out of the Mission's five helicopter units by early 2017.

The UN Secretariat has deployed extensive efforts to generate assets to replace them, but no Member State has so far committed to contribute any of the outstanding capabilities authorized either by resolution 2295 or by previous resolutions, he said.

Support for MINUSMA

Picking up that thread, Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support and head of the UN Department of Field Support (DFS), who also briefed the Council, stressed the importance for the Mission to be provided with the necessary capacities and capabilities required to operate safely and effectively in the current environment to be able to implement its mandate.

Highlighting that modern peacekeeping operations like MINUSMA require a range of new and stronger capabilities, he called on UN Member States to consider becoming 'contingent owned equipment (COE) contributing countries;' contributing to joint battalions; and partnering directly with troop and police contributing countries to provide the required equipment.

Mr. Khare also underlined that he continues to prioritize efforts to address sexual exploitation and abuse as well as all issues related to the conduct of UN personnel and further called on all Member States of the UN to ensure that their personnel uphold the highest standards of conduct and discipline as well as for timely reporting of incidents and follow-up action when necessary to ensure accountability.

He also informed the 15-member body of efforts being undertaken to enhance the Mission's operational effectiveness, to strengthen security and protection of both civilian and uniformed staff, such as through reinforcing facilities against blasts and installing protected command positions and bunkers as well as to strengthen MINUSMA's medical support plan, equipment and personnel.
Libya: As situation worsens, UN envoy calls for pause in fighting near Benghazi

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Libya: As situation worsens, UN envoy calls for pause in fighting near Benghazi, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b929729.html [accessed 31 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.

6 October 2016 - Expressing deep concern over the plight of civilians caught in the cross-fight in a Benghazi neighbourhood, a senior United Nations official in Libya has called for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach those in urgent need and as well as a safe passage for those who wish to leave.

The protection of civilians is the UN's number one priority here, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Martin Kobler, said today in a news release issued by the UN mission in the country (UNSMIL).

Therefore, I call for a humanitarian pause to allow humanitarian assistance and to reach those in need and to create a safe passage to allow civilians who wish leave to do so in a safe and dignified manner, he added.

In particular, he emphasized that women and children who wish to leave must be allowed to do so as a first step towards the evacuation of all civilians and prisoners in the city's Ganfouda neighbourhood.

According to reports, the civilians are also suffering shortages of food, water and medicines.

Mr. Kobler, also the head of UNSMIL, added that the mission has been working to support the Libyan mediation process to minimize the suffering in Ganfouda and in that capacity, stands ready to support in the evacuation process.

Further noting that UNSMIL supports the fight against terrorist organizations as identified by relevant Security Council resolutions, the news release underscored that the fight against terrorist organizations should be conducted in line with international laws.

The use of civilians as human shields and the carrying out of indiscriminate attacks are prohibited by International Humanitarian Law, stressed Special Representative Kobler, adding: Such violations would constitute war crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and their perpetrators would be held accountable.
Iris scan helps Syrian refugees in Jordan receive UN supplies in 'blink of eye'

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Iris scan helps Syrian refugees in Jordan receive UN supplies in 'blink of eye', 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b94540d.html [accessed 31 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.

6 October 2016 - The United Nations food relief and refugee agencies have jointly introduced an innovative iris scan payment system in Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp, allowing 76,000 Syrian refugees to purchase food from camp supermarkets by using a scan of their eyes instead of cash, vouchers or e-cards.

The cutting-edge technology was first introduced by the World Food Programme (WFP) in partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in February in Jordan's King Abdullah Park refugee camp and was expanded to Azraq refugee camp in April, with an eye towards expanding to refugees outside of camps, according to a news release from WFP.

Now I don't have to worry if I forgot my card at home or if I misplaced it.

"The iris scan payment system has been extremely successful, and we are thrilled that WFP and its partners are now able to serve Syrian refugees living in Jordan's largest camp through this innovative system," said WFP Country Director Mageed Yahia. "Iris scan technology has reshaped the shopping experience for Syrian refugees in Jordan, making it easier and more secure for them, while also enhancing accountability," he added.

For the first time in the history of humanitarian assistance, a WFP beneficiary received food assistance in the blink of an eye. "Now I don't have to worry if I forgot my card at home or if I misplaced it. Whenever I'm near the shop, I can just walk in and get whatever food that's missing from home," said Hana Heraaki, a Za'atari resident.

WFP's system relies on UNHCR biometric registration data of refugees. The system is powered by IrisGuard, the company that developed the iris scan platform, Jordan Ahli Bank and its counterpart Middle East Payment Services.

Once a shopper has their iris scanned, the system automatically communicates with UNHCR's registration database to confirm the identity of the refugee, checks the account balance with the financial services firms and then confirms the purchase and prints out a receipt - all within seconds.

Through the iris scan and electronic voucher programme, WFP supports more than half a million Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Ugandan journalists banned from covering opposition politics

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Ugandan journalists banned from covering opposition politics, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7b99bec.html [accessed 31 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Ugandan authorities to stop preventing journalists from covering opposition activities and stop harassing parliamentary correspondents in various ways including accusations of working for the opposition.

News blackout on opposition

In one of the latest examples, a roadblock manned by soldiers and anti-terrorist police prevented reporters from going to Kampala's Entebbe airport on 3 October to cover opposition leader Kizza Besigye's return from a trip abroad. Besigye was arrested on arrival.

The security forces claimed that they were acting on the orders of the Ugandan Communications Commission (UCC), which regulates the media, but the UCC denied this the next day on Twitter, saying: "Maintaining law and order is not our mandate... that mandate is with the Media Council."

"The government uses force to prevent journalists from doing their work and then tries to use the media regulatory bodies to justify its abuses," said Clea Kahn-Sriber, the head of RSF's Africa desk. "This is unacceptable. The executive must stop harassing journalists who are only doing their job when they cover opposition developments."

The outside broadcasting trucks that Nile Broadcasting Service (NBS) and Nations Television (NTV) dispatched on 3 October were forced to turn back at the roadblock. Police threatened to arrest Stephen Kafeero, a reporter for the independent Daily Monitor newspaper, if he did not stop filming and taking photos of the roadblock and they briefly confiscated his mobile phone.

Last week, police inspector general Kale Kayihura accused the media of being "biased" and of working for the opposition with the aim of discrediting the government.

Parliamentary reporters under surveillance

The harassment of Uganda's journalists has been growing steadily since last year, as tension began to mount in the run-up to the presidential election held in February 2016. The authorities now attack or censor any coverage of the opposition and any criticism of the government.

The latest draconian initiative is parliamentary speaker Rebecca Kadaga's call on 15 September for journalists who cover parliament in a "negative" manner to be investigated by parliament's Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline and possibly charged with "contempt of parliament". Their reporting reflected a "campaign of malice," she said.

Her call was prompted by articles in the Daily Monitor and Observer newspapers about extravagant spending by parliamentarians. The editors of these two newspapers and the Ugandan Radio Network, which quoted the two articles, were questioned by the committee about the articles yesterday.

Several experts on Uganda constitutional law have said this initiative violates the constitution and the spirit of the legal provisions on "contempt of parliament", which are supposed to be used only to maintain order in parliament and ensure that it is able to function properly.

On 28 June, parliament refused to issue accreditation to several journalists on the grounds that they did not have a university degree. They included Yasiin Mugerwa, who has been covering parliament for the Daily Monitor for the past ten years.

Uganda is ranked 102nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
Vietnam's bloggers denied all contact with outside world

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Vietnam's bloggers denied all contact with outside world, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7ba2c323.html [accessed 31 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders condemns the Vietnamese government's policy of isolating Vietnamese journalists and bloggers and its systematic reprisals against those who dare to connect with the outside world.

In a recent case, security officers at Noi Bai international airport stopped Vu Quoc Ngu, the editor of the Defend The Defenders human rights website, from boarding a flight to Bangkok on 26 September. They cited Decree No. 136 and "national security" as their grounds from preventing him from leaving the country.

"The Vietnamese government tries by all possible means to isolate journalists and bloggers from the rest of the world," said Benjamin Ismail, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "We urge the international community not to ignore these serious violations of the fundamental freedoms of journalists and human rights defenders in Vietnam."

The authorities have repeatedly prevented Ngu from travelling abroad during the past two years, including in July 2015 when he was invited to attend a cyber-security seminar organized by RSF in Bangkok. He was also barred from attending meetings with foreign diplomats including US assistant secretary of state Tom Malinowski during President Barack Obama's 23-25 May visit to Vietnam.

Fired for quoting exiled blogger

The Communist Party government keeps a close control on the media in what is another form of isolation affecting many bloggers and journalists.

The latest victims include Nguyen Nhu Phong, the editor of the state-owned PetroTimes news website, who was fired and stripped of his press card for publishing extracts from an interview with Bui Than Hieu, a exiled dissident blogger also known as Wind Trader.

On 3 October, the ministry of information and communication said Phong had been sanctioned "for committing wrongdoing in press activities." The authorities added that the website had also been closed for three months without explaining the "power cut" it suffered after the interview was published.

Vietnam is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index. The Communist Party runs the entire country and exercises a draconian level of control at all levels of the administration and society.
The "buffer zone" plan for 70,000 stranded Syrian refugees

Publisher IRIN Author Sara Elizabeth Williams Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as IRIN, The "buffer zone" plan for 70,000 stranded Syrian refugees, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7bb004.html [accessed 31 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.

Blocked from entering Jordan, some 70,000 Syrians are camped out near a border crossing known as Rukban, one of two locations where refugees and asylum seekers are marooned in a demilitarised zone a few kilometres wide on the Syria-Jordan border, demarcated by ridges of bulldozed earth known as berms.

Syrians began arriving at this remote, wind-battered stretch of desert in July 2014, and with Jordan refusing the majority entry, as the settlement has grown it has also become home to a mix of smugglers and rebel groups, extremist militants, as well as Jordanian and allied foreign forces active in the area.

A suicide attack claimed by so-called Islamic State killed seven Jordanian security personnel at a Rukban military base on 21 June, prompting Jordan to tighten security. Aid has been reduced to almost nothing, and the UN and donors have been trying to thrash out a deal for weeks. The plan for Rukban, drafted by the UN in consultation with the Jordanian military, is laid out in a provisional agreement obtained exclusively by IRIN, and further outlined in briefings from diplomats and aid officials.

At a glance

Aid will reach the refugees but under new conditions

Donors are expected to fund a $39 million package of humanitarian measures, as well as additional security support to Jordan

The package will not allow more refugees into Jordan

The new aid distribution point will be moved deeper into the DMZ, possibly just into Syria, in the hope that the displaced Syrians will move northwest of their current location

The new distribution point will be patrolled by a unit of Syrian security guards trained in Jordan, while fencing and other measures aim to contain movement

Another 7,000 Syrians at Hadalat, a crossing point 90 kilometres to the west, are not covered by the scheme

Satellite imagery obtained by an NGO shows new earthworks in the DMZ

The deal, agreed in principle by the UN but not yet formally accepted by the new chief of the Jordanian Armed Forces, General Mahmoud Freihat, comes three and a half months after the bomber entered Jordan through the distribution area and detonated his vehicle and after which most aid was suspended.

Supplies of aid to the berm were already patchy at best. Since the attack, only a trickle of water has been provided - well below minimum standards - and a single, crane-delivered food drop.

Security

For Jordan, a key US ally and peaceful bulwark against extremism in the region, security is the primary concern. The ease with which a militant entered the country from amongst the civilians at the berm and carried out a suicide mission has spooked authorities here.

"That car came from Rukban camp, and in less than two minutes, they had done their business," Brigadier-General Mohammad al-Mawajdeh, the JAF's director of civil military affairs, told IRIN. He stressed that what Jordan needed most was more time to respond to possible threats.

Diplomats present at negotiations say that after the June attack, some proposals involved moving the Syrians beyond the northern berm, well into Syria. But humanitarians balked at the prospect of pushing refugees back into their country of origin, closer to an active war zone. This would also have been questionable under international humanitarian law and a principle known as non-refoulement, which precludes the forcible driving of refugees back towards persecution.

A compromise was eventually found to relocate the main aid distribution point within the berm area but still closer to the Syrian war. The new location is some 7km north-west of the current distribution point, and around 9km from the military base where Jordanian and other allied forces are based. UN officials are hoping for what they have referred to in meetings as "a spontaneous movement of refugees to the new distribution point".

Al-Mawajdeh said this should deliver what Jordan needs. "The movement of those people to the north will give us adequate response time. The new location will give us an open area to monitor movement towards our border and assess any strange movement, whether it's friendly or not," he said.

Amnesty International's refugee researcher Khairunissa Dhala described the recommencement of aid as "welcome", but cautioned against forcing the Syrians to move.

"Any efforts by the UN and Jordan to provide aid must be in line with international standards and ensure that refugees at the berm are not either directly or indirectly coerced to move in order to receive it. Forcing them to move to areas where they may be more vulnerable would be a flagrant violation of international law," she said.

"A military issue"

Off the record, several Amman-based diplomats familiar with the negotiations have put the matter more bluntly.

"Everyone has abandoned the principle of the right to seek asylum, and then they abandoned the right to humanitarian aid. This is a military issue now, and the US will not abandon Jordan's stability. It's all about that," said one senior European diplomat.

Another European diplomat called the plan "the creation of a buffer zone".

"What is being presented is a compromise between what Jordan wants and what the international community can handle," he said.

According to the draft plan leaked to IRIN, of $39 million in spending from September through December, $26 million is security-related. This includes $20 million for a new road from Karama to Rukban, $5.1 million on additional border posts in the area, and $1million on a reinforced temporary service area. There will also be a community health centre - this may be located closer to Jordanian territory.

A senior diplomat present at negotiations said Jordan would, in addition to the UN plan connected to humanitarian services, also win donor support for a range of other related security enhancements, including watchtowers, allowances for security personnel and armoured vehicles.

Remote operations

Aid agency staff will not be providing the aid directly. Given the lawlessness and uncertainty about the location of the exact border line, the risk of sending staff beyond the Jordanian berm may simply be too high, even were Jordan to agree.

"There's not a snowball's chance in hell that humanitarian agencies would allow staff in," claimed one senior aid manager.

UNOSAT/IRIN The growth of the Rukban settlement seen in satellite imagery

The solution, hiring contractors to move in and out of the zone, monitor and deliver goods and services, raises other questions.

Multiple sources told IRIN that UNICEF will contract the Jordanian firm Loyalty Support Services to handle water distribution at the new service area.

Several other firms will begin providing for-hire services at Rukban in the near future.

Those services will include the provision of food, medical attention and supervising a soon-to-be-hired team of Syrian security officers, who, according to the draft plan, are to be trained at the Peace Operation Training Centre in Jordan to patrol and "ensure stability on the Syrian side of the berm".

The inclusion of private sector service providers in a humanitarian response has raised the ire of some humanitarians involved.

"These are for-profit operations.... Can you imagine how much money they are making? It's like a honey pot," said one regional aid agency head. "They are making profit off the backs of those people."

While all the aid officials IRIN spoke to acknowledged that Jordan has legitimate security concerns, some viewed the agreement as simply beyond the pale.

"Don't call it humanitarian aid, because it's nothing like humanitarian aid. It's just assistance," said another senior humanitarian based in Amman.

"This approach doesn't properly address the needs. If the distribution point is moved into the demilitarised zone and the army can't go in, what's to stop people from walking south and firing their rockets anyway?" he asked.

Various UN agencies - UNICEF, (the aid coordination arm) OCHA, UNHCR, and the World Food Programme - all declined to comment while the plan was still being negotiated, but UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan Edward Kallon told the Jordan Times earlier this week that the UN was "in the process of finalising the implementation plan with the Jordanian Armed Forces".

Will it work?

After months of high-level negotiations, the plan may stumble when put to the only party not at the table: the Syrians at the berm themselves.

According to a recent Associated Press report, there is little appetite amongst Rukban's displaced Syrians to move. After the plan was announced to community leaders, residents staged a protest, holding signs that asked: "Where can we go? Starvation and deprivation before us, bombs and murder behind."

Although some of the estimated 70,000 people in Rukban, the majority of whom are women and children, want to enter Jordan, this is not true of them all. In interviews with refugees admitted to Jordan from Rukban in spring 2016, many families told IRIN they had gone there for food and water, but most said they were drawn primarily by the perceived security that came from being so close to the Jordanian border.

Many people at Rukban have been there for months, some for more than a year. They have battled lawlessness and conflict to scratch out a bit of security in the rocky desert. It is small wonder that refugees now at Jordan's Azraq camp, just inside the border, have said the prime spots at Rukban, especially for women and children, are the ones closest to the Jordanian berm, within sight of the Jordanian forces.

The details are still being ironed out, and more than a month after UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien last visited Jordan and called conditions at the berm "dire", UN agencies are very conscious that even if this agreement isn't perfect, every day of negotiation is a day 70,000 people go without.

Said one experienced humanitarian: "The situation of those people, I cannot describe it, how bad it is."
What next for Colombia?

Publisher IRIN Author Erika Pineros Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as IRIN, What next for Colombia?, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7bc0a4.html [accessed 31 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.

Days after Colombia voted 'no' to the terms of a peace deal between the government and the FARC rebel group, the country is still struggling to come to terms with the unexpected result and what it means for the nation's long and elusive search for peace.

A 'yes' vote would have paved the way for an end to more than half a century of fighting between the government and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The conflict with the FARC and other armed groups has claimed more than 260,000 lives, the majority of them civilians, and displaced nearly seven million people.

But just over half (50.21 percent) of those who cast their ballots on Sunday voted 'no' to the question: "Do you support the final accord to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace?"

In the hours following the announcement of the result, both the government and the FARC issued statements calling for calm and emphasising that a June ceasefire would remain in place.

But on Monday, FARC chief Rodrigo Londono, aka Timoleon or "Timochenko", insisted that the peace agreement signed on 26 September was legally binding, irrespective of the referendum result.

Then, on Tuesday night, President Juan Manuel Santos announced that the ceasefire would end on 31 October.

Londono responded on Twitter: "And after that, the war continues?"

That indeed is the question that now hangs over a country that had become increasingly polarised in the run-up to the plebiscite.

Dual role

The sense of division was not helped by conflicting messages around what Colombians were being asked to vote on. While President Santos campaigned for "Yes to peace", the opposition's slogan was "No to the accord".

Legally, the government was responsible for educating the public about the contents of the 297-page peace accord. And yet, Santos's government was also behind the 'yes' campaign.

"It wasn't clear to voters what was instructive and what was the 'yes' campaign," said Pedro Vaca, director for the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP).

"It was very dirty. What we had was a political campaign, not an information campaign," commented Rafael Batista, a local journalist.

And yet, the government's attempts both to educate the public and promote the 'yes' campaign, failed to reach the entire country.

Deaf ears

Refugees International conducted a fact-finding mission among people displaced by the civil war and found "large numbers of displaced people who at best were uninformed or, at worst, had fundamental misgivings on the accord's provisions," said Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, a senior advocate with the organisation.

In Norte de Santander - a province that saw an overwhelming vote against the accord - Vigaud-Walsh noted that, "Nearly all Colombians we interviewed said that the peace deal would not improve their lives.

"Peace agreement or not, they are currently experiencing increased threats from the ELN guerrilla group."

The National Liberation Party (ELN) was not a party to the peace deal.

Enthusiasm to get out and vote was low too. Historically, Colombia has a low voter turnout rate, but only 38 percent of registered voters participated in Sunday's referendum. That's the lowest turnout rate since 1994.

In addition, despite the simple Yes/No option on the ballot, more than 250,000 votes were left blank or found to be invalid, the highest rate in over half a century.

Part of the problem may have been the short timeframe that was allowed for new voters to register - just five weeks between the announcement of the plebiscite and voting day.

In a country with one of the world's highest displacement rates, an unknown number of those most affected by the conflict were left unable to cast their votes.

Vigaud-Walsh of Refugees International said that many displaced people would have had to return to their places of origin in order to vote.

"[That's] a costly option for the vast majority, both in financial and security terms," she told IRIN. "Their inability to vote may have been a factor in the outcome of the plebiscite."

The devil was in the detail

'No' voters have been keen to make clear that they did not reject peace, but the terms of the accord which many felt gave too much away to the FARC in terms of amnesty for confessed war crimes and political power, among other issues.

"I voted 'no'," said Ana, a 42-year-old nurse from Colombia's northwestern Uraba region. "We all want peace, but not like this. Those accords were not transparent or fair," she added, referring to the secretive nature of the initial peace talks between the government and the FARC, and the fact that the deal does not extend to all armed groups.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in June, President Santos warned that, should Colombians reject the peace deal, "we have ample information that the FARC are ready to go back to war, an urban war which would be even more destructive than the rural war."

Whether Santos was using scare tactics or genuinely feared a return to war is unclear.

The leader of the opposition and the 'no' campaign, former president Alvaro Uribe, was due to meet with Santos on Wednesday to present his party's demands for a renegotiated peace deal.

"Our standards of justice, reparation, attention to victims and truth have to be higher," said opposition spokesman and former vice-president Francisco Santos. "We will work with the government to be able to redirect this accord."

But the FARC may be unwilling to compromise on major sticking points for the Uribe camp, such as prison time for its leaders, payment of compensation to victims and those found guilty of crimes being barred from public office.

An anonymous source, who is in regular contact with the FARC high command, told IRIN, "It's clear [the FARC] are looking for other things. There's a lot of economic interest there.

"Colombians are too divided now, and the ones who will decide everything are the ones at the top, as always."
Rwandans feel the pinch as Burundi fallout hits home

Publisher IRIN Author Philip Kleinfeld Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as IRIN, Rwandans feel the pinch as Burundi fallout hits home, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7bc764.html [accessed 31 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.

Walking through Kimironko market in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, you wouldn't necessarily realise its traders were struggling. Business seems brisk and stalls are overflowing with fruit, vegetables, and huge mounds of dried fish in baskets. But life for some of Kimironko's traders hasn't been easy over the past two months.

In late July, neighbouring Burundi banned food exports to Rwanda and restricted movement at border crossings. The step - the latest salvo in a diplomatic spat that began last year when political unrest erupted in Burundi - has left traders like 39-year-old Sabita Silas with produce that is both expensive to buy and hard to sell.

"Nothing is coming from Burundi, and the things that are are very costly because they are smuggled," he told IRIN. "The oranges we have are from Tanzania. The mangoes are from Uganda. But they are not as good as Burundian fruit. We are very worried about our business because so many things come from Burundi."

Political dispute turns economic

Tensions between Rwanda and Burundi began to deteriorate when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced last April that he would stand for a third term. Opponents said he was violating the two-term constitutional limit, while supporters claimed his first term didn't count as he was elected by parliament and not directly by the people.

The move triggered violent protests across the capital, Bujumbura, led to a failed coup attempt in May, and sparked fears of a return to civil war in a country where a 1993-2006 conflict claimed an estimated 300,000 lives. Nkurunziza was duly re-elected in July after the opposition boycotted the poll. The UN says at least 470 people have been killed in more than a year of unrest, while an estimated 300,000 refugees have fled to Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame - himself standing for a third term - has criticised Nkurunziza, who in return has accused Rwanda of recruiting, training, and arming rebels to overthrow his government.

Although Burundi cites concerns over domestic food security as a reason for the trade ban, according to Phil Clark, lecturer in comparative international politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, it is a sign "of just how strained relations are" between the two countries.

"Up until now, most of the antagonism between the two states has been at a high level of politics," he told IRIN. "It was either the presidents criticising one another, or it was the expulsion of diplomats. I think that the key shift with this trade ban is that it is the kind of thing that really affects everyday people. Communities on both sides of the border clearly relied on that trade enormously, as does a lot the economy in Kigali and Bujumbura."

Border business dries up

On a Saturday afternoon in Akanyaru, a border crossing in southern Rwanda, restaurants are empty, traders are absent, and people stumble across the border with suitcases on their heads - the result of a ban on passenger buses, introduced by Burundi to prevent smuggling.

"The last time I crossed this border, it was very busy," said 39-year-old tourist guide Eric, originally from Bujumbura. "People used to cross the border freely to do small trade. Today, you can see, it looks empty. People from both sides are really suffering because of the political issues."

At a nearby restaurant, 18-year-old waiter Munyeshema Claude told IRIN that his clientele had vanished over the past few weeks. "Burundian businessmen used to come here after selling their products in Rwanda," he said. "They would use the money they had made in the restaurant. But Burundians aren't crossing [any more], so there is no money for them to spend."

Rwandan goods are allowed into Burundi, but trade had slumped even before the recent ban, with businesses citing increased insecurity. In Kamembe, a town in southwestern Rwanda, an hour's drive from the border, 34-year-old taxi driver Emmanuel told IRIN he was no longer able to take passengers into Burundi.

"Even the government of Rwanda advises people not to go there," he said, referring to local media reports of violence at the border. "Sometimes, people go [to Burundi| and have problems. They get injuries and things like that."

Uneasy status quo

The possibility of a wider diplomatic crisis will depend to a large extent on how involved Rwanda chooses to get in Burundi's political affairs, experts say.

As things stand, with Kagame's bid for a third term and its own 2017 presidential election looming, "the last thing Rwanda wants is for the region to become even more unstable and for Rwanda to have to pour significant political and security resources into dealing with the Burundi situation", said Clark.

In the wake of the M23 rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012-2013 - which Rwanda was accused of supporting - Kigali's appetite for regional intervention is limited, according to Clark. "If this had been 10 years ago, Rwanda would have been thinking of using proxy forces to deal with the situation," he said. "In the post-M23 era, Rwanda is very reluctant to do that. It doesn't want to risk relations with donors at an already very vulnerable time."

Thierry Vircoulon, senior Central Africa consultant at the International Crisis Group, told IRIN that Kagame would be forced to intervene in Burundi in the event of a "large-scale massacre", but added that the potential for a wider military conflict is currently limited. "Rebel groups in Burundi only have the capacity for local violence and while there are defections and desertions in the army, it's not a split," he said. "At the moment, they are not choosing to stay and fight."

Whether that status quo holds, remains to be seen. But with the possibility of a resolution to the Burundi crisis looking slim - "the past 12 months of shuttle diplomacy haven't brought about any significant changes", said Clarke - relations between the two countries seem unlikely to improve any time soon.

All Claude and his colleagues at the Akanyaru border crossing can do is wait and hope.

"We are praying for the political situation to become stable, so our business can get back to normal," he said.
Nicaragua's hidden war

Publisher IRIN Author Michelle Carrere Publication Date 4 October 2016 Cite as IRIN, Nicaragua's hidden war, 4 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7bcef4.html [accessed 31 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.

After seven hours travelling by canoe up the Coco River, which separates Nicaragua from neighbouring Honduras, the Waspukta settlement appears between the trees, perched on a cliff.

This community of Miskito people, the majority indigenous ethnicity in the Waspam area of Nicaragua's North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, is home to 49 families. Nearly half are refugees from an armed conflict that began two years ago and has left one third of the Miskitos displaced and hundreds dead.

In 1990, the autonomous regions of the north and south Atlantic were ceded to the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast as part of negotiations aimed at ending a 10-year civil war.

According to the Nicaraguan constitution, the territory still belongs to the indigenous peoples and cannot be bought or sold. But over the last decade, land has been changing hands illegally, and large numbers of Nicaraguans from the country's central and Pacific coast regions have arrived in Waspam, seeking a variety of opportunities.

The newcomers are a diverse group: small-time farmers eying better livelihoods, commercial farmers looking for new prospects, timber traders, land dealers. Drug traffickers have also moved into the area, which sits on a key route for the movement of drugs between Colombia and the United States.

Settlers take over

Between 2005 and 2014, the number of settler families who moved into just one area of Waspam, Awas Tingni, rose from 44 to 800, according to Lottie Cunningham, president of the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, or CEJUDHCAN.

The rapid increase in the non-indigenous population is viewed by the Miskitos as an invasion, and it has unleashed a deadly conflict over their territory.

To a large extent, the Miskito people have been disenfranchised by their own leaders. Without consulting local communities, they have been selling off land for an average of $860 for a 0.7-hectare plot.

Much of the land once used by the Miskitos to grow rice, beans, maize, and yuca is now occupied by the settlers, who have also taken over the mines from which the indigenous people used to earn an income by manually extracting gold.

Victor introduced himself to IRIN while leaning against the butt of his AK-47 rifle. "I am responsible for the troops of this community, and we do not only have hunting rifles and makeshift weapons," he said.

"We got these weapons from the drug traffickers. We have resources, gold mines to pay for them. We struck a deal for them to provide us with weapons. Once we have recovered the mine, we will pay."

As we canoed downriver to visit one of the Miskito villages devastated by the conflict, Victor indicated with a movement of his chin the area he had chosen to hide their weapons. "If they attack us, we'll be able to collect them fast," he said.

All-out war?

"The people are rising. I don't know when it will explode, but there will be war here," said Lamberto Chow, a Miskito judge who is attempting to use dialogue to settle the land disputes. In the meantime, he's taking no chances. A shaman who lives on the Honduran side of the river has promised to make him a protective amulet that will "make bullets swerve".

By some accounts, the war has already started. In September 2015, a group of Miskitos tried to seize back the Santa Rose de Murubila mine, burning down the village and evicting the settlers who were extracting gold and paying taxes to Miskito leaders.

The evictions spread to other settler communities and were accompanied by abductions, beatings, rapes and even beheadings. "People tried to recover the bodies, but were not allowed to. The gangs that came in took possession of their victims' homes and people were too afraid to go back," recalled the security chief in one of the affected areas.

A month later, the settlers took revenge by burning the Miskito community of Polo Paiwa to the ground. Its inhabitants fled to other communities along the river, leaving behind the crops and food that would have fed them for half a year.

In Klis Nak, one of the communities hosting those displaced from Polo Paiwa, a mother showed IRIN the scars left by four gunshot wounds on her 19-year-old son's chest. His 17-year-old brother did not survive the attack. According to another community member, he was "raped with a stick and had his genitals burned before he was skinned alive." The torture only ended when he was shot in the forehead.

"We share the land with the refugees until the situation is resolved. But the poverty is deep, so we are hungry with them," said Olopio Maibi, leader of the Waspukta settlement which is also sheltering the displaced.

According to Cunningham, since 2015, "the level of conflict has taken on alarming proportions in more than 50 indigenous communities" where people now live "under a permanent state of violence".

The killings and kidnappings have continued, but, so far in 2016 at least, not on the scale of Polo Paiwa. "We are preparing," said Victor. "When we get all the weapons, we will enter the territory [occupied by the settlers]."

Under the radar

Pushed off their land, Miskito communities have been edging ever closer to the Coco River, and some are now crossing the river to plant and mine on Honduran territory.

"Our children can die of disease, but not of hunger. Never. If we have to die, we will, but only from bullets," said Gabriel, a displaced Miskito man who crosses the river every day to extract gold from a beach belonging to Honduran Miskitos.

The Nicaraguan and Honduran Miskitos have long enjoyed friendly relations, but on the day Gabriel spoke to IRIN, he had been given a three-hour deadline to leave the beach.

In this corner of Nicaragua, there are no roads; there is no access to medical assistance, no schools (since teachers fled the violence), and no rule of law. There are also no official figures to establish the number of people affected by the conflict. Bodies of victims are dumped somewhere in the mountains, and both sides have their own estimates of the death toll.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), part of the Organization of American States, estimates that more than 3,000 Miskitos have been displaced, while CEJUDHCAN recorded the deaths of 28 Miskitos from the conflict in 2015. There is no record of the number of victims among the settler population.

Settlers and Miskitos seem to agree on only one thing: the state has abandoned them, leaving the conflict to fester.

"The government has taken a completely passive stance," said sociologist Manuel Ortega, who in the 1980s was chief advisor to the presidency and governor of what would later become the Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic.

Government neglect of the troubled region has continued even after an October 2015 injunction by the IACHR requesting that measures be taken to protect 10 indigenous communities from further violence.

In August, the commission decided to extend the injunction to another two communities. The UN's special rapporteur for the rights of indigenous peoples has also urged the Nicaraguan government to establish a dialogue to find a long-term solution to the conflict that would involve relocating the settlers.

The absence of state involvement and the availability of weapons mean the killings and forced displacements are unlikely to end any time soon. The Miskitos view guns and magic amulets as their only solution, while the settlers are not prepared to abandon what they've already invested in their new lives.

(Translation by Anna Pujol-Mazzini. Editing by Kristy Siegfried)
Bangladesh: Parliament adopts NGO Law aimed at eradicating any critical voice

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 6 October 2016 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Bangladesh: Parliament adopts NGO Law aimed at eradicating any critical voice, 6 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7bdf54.html [accessed 31 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Yesterday, the Parliament of Bangladesh adopted the highly controversial and internationally criticised Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2016. This bill, which will further repress critical human rights work in Bangladesh, should be immediately revoked, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an OMCT-FIDH partnership) said today.

On October 5, 2016, the Parliament of Bangladesh passed the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2016. Once the Bill is transformed into a law with assents by the President, it will repeal the Foreign Donation (Voluntary Activity) Regulation Ordinance 1978 and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Ordinance , 1982, and create greater limitations to the work of civil society in Bangladesh.

"The absurdity is that freedom of expression is a constitutional right in Bangladesh. Yet it is a right that is no longer afforded to those who question the institutions that govern the country. The Bill, besides being manifestly anti-democratic, leaves no doubt that the intention is to shut down any existing human rights work and critical voices in the country. This is a sad day for Bangladesh, as silence is the end of democracy and the beginning of insecurity", said OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock.

The Bill states that the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB), which is under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister's Office, will have the authority to cancel or withhold the legal registration of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or ban its activities for having "engaged in anti-State activities", "financing extremism and terror activities", or for "making derogatory comments about the Constitution and constitutional institutions" of Bangladesh, including the Offices of the President, the Prime Minister, the Parliament, or the Supreme Court.

According to the Bill, NGOs seeking to receive or use foreign funds must register with the NGOAB, submit reports regularly and seek prior approval from the NGOAB for all planned activities before receiving such grants. The Bill also empowers the NGOAB to inspect, monitor and assess NGO activities at the NGOAB's discretion, and NGOs will need approval and security clearance to hire foreign specialists and advisers.

"This Bill imposes disproportionate restrictions on freedoms of expression and association in Bangladesh, in violation of international human rights standards. Therefore, it represents a real threat to the legitimate activities of independent NGOs", said FIDH President Dimitris Christopoulos.

In November 2015, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Mr. Maina Kiai, urged the Bangladeshi Parliament not to adopt the Bill, stressing that "registered and unregistered NGOs should be able to operate and function freely without prior authorization or other undue impediments".

The Observatory calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to repeal the current Bill and to refrain from passing it into law, as well as to conform in all circumstances with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as human rights instruments ratified by Bangladesh.
Freed from Boko Haram, Nigerians still need help

Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Author Helene Caux Publication Date 7 October 2016 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Freed from Boko Haram, Nigerians still need help, 7 October 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57f7c1c84.html [accessed 31 October 2022]

Some children are malnourished and many families have nowhere safe to sleep amid lack of basic supplies and services in areas recaptured from insurgents.

ens of thousands of Nigerians liberated from Boko Haram face a desperate lack of food that has left some children severely malnourished and families struggling to make ends meet, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency warned today.

Children are being sent on to the streets to beg for food and money, or on risky trips to surrounding fields to find firewood to sell. Many people still have nowhere safe to sleep, and some are camping in dilapidated schools.

Mothers whose husbands were kidnapped or who have disappeared have been left to care for as many as 10 children alone in places where they struggle to work or earn money, and many live with fear that insurgents could attack them again.

Nigerian military operations earlier in 2016 in the country's north-east pushed Boko Haram out of a sweep of some major towns, such as Monguno, 140 kilometres north of the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, and freeing tens of thousands of people from the insurgents' rule.

But conditions remain very difficult, UNHCR reported following a recent emergency assessment mission it led with a partner NGO.

"Boko Haram attacked my village six weeks ago, they stole all of our belongings and our food," said one mother, Falmata* who is now living among the displaced in Monguno.

Her husband disappeared and she fled with their baby on her back and their five-year-old daughter by her side to a makeshift camp in Monguno called Kuya. Mamagona, her 16-month-old baby, is so malnourished she needed medical treatment at a nearby clinic.

"Most people from my village fled and are in this camp with me," said Falmata, 32. "Mamagona's health started to deteriorate when we were in the camp. There is not enough food here and I don't have enough millet to give to her, but I don't want to go back to my village, it is too dangerous with Boko Haram in the area."

Another mother, Jabba, 28, also said she could not find enough food for her family. "I am sending my children, including my youngest boy who is eight years old, to be in the streets" to beg for money to buy food, she said.

UNHCR teams noticed a lot of breastfeeding women in Kuya camp, including teenagers, as well many young girls with children. The launch of livelihood projects is urgently needed to help women become self-sufficient and lessen the risk of people turning to survival sex.

More than 60,000 displaced people are living in nine temporary encampments in Monguno, and more people arrive every week as military operations continue to dislodge Boko Haram further north.

The Nigerian authorities and some aid agencies have arranged limited food distributions, but it was now key that these were increased and made more regular.

UNHCR is working with the regional government to find a new site where displaced people can properly be cared for, and meanwhile plans to provide basic household items like kitchen utensils, mattresses, mosquito nets, jerry cans, female hygiene materials, soap, and detergent.

Women whose husbands had been killed or kidnapped by Boko Haram remain traumatised, and they and their children need counselling and help to restart their lives, including to find ways to earn a living.

Few of these people are likely to return to their homes and villages soon because of continuing insecurity, disrupted economic activity, and the presence of land mines in their villages and fields. Security continues to restrict aid agencies' movements in parts of Borno, but UNHCR hopes to continue its vulnerability screening visits to sites in Banki, Dikwa and Gamboru-N'Gala in the next few weeks.

These visits allow us to assess needs and address gaps to better assist the internally displaced populations, especially in terms of security, shelter, psycho-social support, and livelihood activities, as well as to avoid duplicating tasks with other agencies.

More than two million people have been forcibly displaced in Nigeria, including 1.87 million who fled Boko Haram violence since 2014. Some 195,350 people have sought shelter in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

* full names withheld for protection reasons
IU Health Morgan opening walk-in primary care service Nov. 8

A new walk-in primary care service unit is opening at IU Health Morgan very soon as the healthcare provider looks to offer more convenience to Martinsville and Morgan County residents.
If you have a need for firewood, get it now while you can
Two stories regarding policing caught our attention this week.

In one, a Texas lawmaker announced he is considering legislation that would require high school students to take a course on how to interact with law enforcement officers.

In the other, the focus was on a revised citation form issued by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers that would include information on how to lodge a complaint against rude or unprofessional officers.

The common thread here is deteriorating relations between the public and officers. As we know too well, those in recent years have become more strained, some resulting in tragic shootings. Those in turn have led to more violence and mistrust.

The good news is we are waking up to the realization that something is greatly amiss in our country. However, some ideas on how to solve our problems are better than others.

The key, to us, comes down to one word: Respect.

Respect for law enforcement in some places is non-existent. That's not the case in Abilene, but we have to understand that we thankfully are in a more harmonious situation. Here, it's most often police against the bad guys. That's due to hard work in our community.

Texas, however, has had it share of painful events involving the public and police. The problems are closer to us than Charlotte, Ferguson, Baton Rouge and Minneapolis.

On the flip side, law enforcement serves the public while also tasked to protect us. The general public is not the enemy, as it might be viewed elsewhere. The suggestion of teaching teenagers  which, admittedly, is the right time to teach  how to act when encountering law officers seems to be putting the burden on them, not the more highly trained officer. Each acting civilly, of course, is the best situation.

Updating a driver's handbook to advise pulling over safely,staying in the vehicle and producing documents (license, insurance) makes sense. Teach that in driver's ed. Teach that as a safety lesson rather than how to avoid a confrontation.

This doesn't seem to be the business of schools, which today are tasked more and more with teaching social skills on top of subjects. Driver's ed once was taught through schools but since has been privatized.

Would instruction come across as being one-sided?

An upside is that all students would be involved, though the intention  stated publicly or not  is to ease tensions between enforcement and what one write described as 'disparate communities.' Disparate meaning 'markedly distinct in quality or character.'

Police and the public should not be viewed as being on two different sides, one above the other.

As for better detailing how a DPS officer conducts a traffic stop, it would seem these common-sense, straight-forward procedures already would be in place. But in announcing a seven-step plan, the public knows what the officer will do and the officer will follow the same procedure with everyone he or she encounters.

Who needs more training, the public or law enforcement? It's apparent we all have a lot to learn.

It's sad that we have to take steps to ensure civility, but it has become necessary to re-examine our relationships.

Let's keep talking, but let's think through ideas that are proposed.
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Less than two weeks after promising to end a months-long legislative boycott of Cambodias National Assembly, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) backed away from its pledge on Friday, citing unspecified threats to opposition lawmakers.



All CNRP lawmakers decided not to attend todays meeting, party spokesperson Yim Sovann told reporters in the capital Phnom Penh on Oct. 7 as the National Assembly, the countrys parliament, convened its plenary session.



For meetings in the future, we will wait and assess the situation, Yim Sovann said. If the meetings are important and the political situation is conducive, we will attend.



If not, we will reserve our right not to participate, he said.



The announcement came as about 500 Cambodians living in Australia prepared to launch a protest against a visiting Cambodian government delegation and calling for the release of democracy activists and opposition party members jailed in Cambodia.



The CNRP had said last week it would end its boycott of the National Assembly, and party members joined in preliminary meetings of parliaments Permanent Standing Committee and five separate commissions on Sept. 28.



Pretext



On Friday, ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) spokesperson Sok Eysan called the CNPRs move on Friday a pretext for resuming interference in the National Assemblys work.



They want to cause trouble in the parliament, and they want to hold it hostage [to party political demands], Sok Eysan said. This is not going to work.



This goes against decisions made by the Permanent Committee in two meetings last week that were attended by five of [the CNRPs] members, and it violates the parliaments own internal rules, he said.



The two parties have now been locked for months in a political statement, with Cambodian authorities stripping several opposition lawmakers of their legislative immunity. Lawmakers have also been put on trial for a variety of offenses, many of which appear to be aimed at undercutting the CNRP before local elections in 2017 and national elections the following year.



Cambodias King Sihamoni meanwhile called on Friday for the CPP and CNRP to work together for the sake of national unity and the countrys development of multiparty democracy and support for human rights.



Speaking in a live interview at Radio Free Asia s Washington office on Friday, CNRP party leader Sam Rainsy said he welcomed the kings message, adding, This is now a good time for us to go and see the king to ask him to intervene for the sake of national reconciliation.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Hong Kong has seen continual erosions to the freedoms and autonomy it was promised by Beijing, which has also extended its repression of dissidents far beyond its borders, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) said in an annual report.



The ruling Chinese Communist Party under President Xi Jinping has "run roughshod" over human rights, with China extending its crackdown on dissent far beyond its national borders, the report said.



CECC co-chairman Senator Marco Rubio said: "Beijing has become increasingly brazen in exerting its extraterritorial reach in the past year, as evidenced by the outrageous abductions of the Hong Kong booksellers."



Causeway Bay Books store manager and British passport-holder Lee Bo, 65, went missing from his workplace in Hong Kong on Dec. 30, 2015, while publisher Gui Minhai was detained at his holiday home in Thailand several weeks earlier.



The group's general manager Lui Bo (also spelled Lui Por), and colleagues Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kei were also all detained under opaque circumstances.



The five, all of whom are permanent Hong Kong residents, were accused of selling "banned books" to customers across the internal border in mainland China.



The CECC report also cited the barring of candidates in last month's Legislative Council (LegCo) elections if they were deemed to support the idea of independence for the former British colony, a notion that Chinese and Hong Kong government officials say is unconstitutional.



'Constant challenges'



Political analyst Joseph Cheng of the campaign group Power for Democracy said the administration of Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying has also extended harsher and harsher treatment to its opponents in recent years.



"There are constant challenges to the notion of 'one country, two systems,' and now the fear is that not only will Hong Kong not have full democracy, we are now seeing an attack on our core values," Cheng said.



In August, a Hong Kong district court sentenced former student protest leader Joshua Wong to community service on a charge of unlawful assembly, alongside two other activists who were handed noncustodial sentences.



The Hong Kong government later requested a jail sentence for Wong and two fellow activists, although the request was turned down by the judge.



Cheng also said Beijing seems less and less willing to hear any criticism of its rights record from overseas.



Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor director Law Yuk-kai said the Hong Kong government appears less and less interested in maintaining the fiction of "one country, two systems."



"The invisible hand of China extends into every corner," Law said. "There is less and less room for Hong Kong's autonomy under 'one country, two systems' nowadays."



"At least for political dissidents, the past year has been a nightmare."



Law said most ordinary citizens in Hong Kong only have the city's traditional freedoms of speech, association and judicial independence to protect them.



"If the 'one country, two systems' idea disintegrates, there will be no protection for ordinary people, no power upon which we can call to enforce it," he said.



City's status at risk



He said China has little to lose by allowing it to disintegrate, but that the changes could affect the city's status as a world financial and business hub.



"Hong Kong will take the most harm ... because it's not just about our rights, but about the way we live our lives, our economy, our society," Law said. "All of that makes life easier for the international community."



Earlier this week, Thai immigration police detained Joshua Wong at the airport for 12 hours, denying him entry in a move that was widely believed to be at the request of Beijing.



Wong was told he was "blacklisted," and was escorted onto a plane back to Hong Kong, where he hit out at the Hong Kong government for its lack of response on his return.



Wong's denial of entry follows the repatriation of a number of Chinese dissidents and rights activists from Thailand after they were granted political refugee status by the United Nations.



The CECC meanwhile called for a stronger line from Washington on human rights.



"President Xi Jinping has run roughshod over human rights and the U.S. government has only responded tepidly," it said in a statement on its website.



"It is time to recognize that the economic engagement strategy has failed ... A new U.S. policy approach that champions individual liberties is owed to the thousands of suffering prisoners of conscience in China," it said.



Reported by Lee Lai for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.




Kachin forces engaged in a month of fighting with the Myanmar army said on Friday that government troops used fighter jets to attack a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) base, causing an unknown number of casualties.



The reported attack, about which the government army had no immediate comment, came as Myanmar's civil society groups and the European Union mission in the country called for a ceasefire to keep leader Aung San Suu Kyi's fledgling peace process on track.



"We heard that four fighter jets attacked KIAs Gidon base at around 8 o'clock this morning. We have heard that there are some casualties, but haven't learned the exact number yet," said KIA spokesman Col. Naw Bu.



The Irrawaddy news website quoted Naw Bu as saying the fighter jets attacked KIA Battalion No. 252 at Inkaren Hill in Waingmaw Township.



The Kachins believe the Myanmar govrenment offensives are aimed at pressing the Kachin Independence Organization to sign a year-old National Ceseafire Agreement before a new round of peace talks, the website said.



The 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference, which met at the end of August, Aung San Suu Kyis signature effort to end decades of civil war pitting armed ethnic groups against the national military in many regions of the country. The wars have killed tens of thousands of people and held back economic development in the resource-rich country.



"While we are dedicated to building peace through negotiation, it is not right to pressure us into political talks through military operations," The Irrawaddy quoted Naw Bu as saying.



The fighting in Kachin State as well as Shan State to its immediate south has displaced thousands of local villagers and drawn street protests from civil society groups.



On Thursday, the Organizing Committee for CSO Forum called for an immediate ceasefire in Kachin, an accounting of casualties from fighting and military spending in the conflict, and a plan to stop the flow of internally displaced persons.



"We demand government and KIA to stop fighting. To stop ongoing fighting, government army must stop its offensive first," committee member Thwin Lin Aung said.



The EU Delegation in Myanmar's commercial capital Yangon, meanwhile, issued a statement calling for "an immediate cessation of hostilities" and expressing concern that the renewed fighting would endanger the peace process of Aung San Suu Kyi's six-month-old government.



"The escalation in fighting has resulted in casualties and the internal displacement of many civilians. At the same time, humanitarian access to conflict areas has been severely curtailed, preventing life-saving assistance from reaching affected communities," said the EU.



"Continued fighting not only puts the lives of vulnerable communities at risk, but also undermines the trust that is essential for advancing Myanmar's peace process," said the statement.



"We urge all parties to facilitate immediate humanitarian access to the affected communities in order to ensure that the most urgent needs of civilians can be catered for," it added.



In Washington on Friday, President Barack Obama formally lifted U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar, following up on a commitment made to Aung San Suu Kyi at the White House last month.



Reported by Ye Htet and Thiri Min Zin for RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Paul Eckert.


An elderly Uyghur woman living in Xinjiang is being threatened and harassed by police, who have warned her not to speak to foreign media after preventing her from traveling abroad to visit her son and grandchildren in Turkey, sources say.



Rabihan Musa, 82 and a resident of Bortala city in Xinjiangs northwestern Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, had tried in February to leave Xinjiang to visit her family members, who had fled Xinjiang for a better life in Norway six years before, Rabihan told RFAs Uyghur Service.



But police seized Rabihans passport before she could purchase a ticket, she said.



Four policemen came rushing to my house in the evening on Feb. 1 and told me they had come for my passport, Rabihan said. I was so scared.



They said they would give it back to me in three or four days, but after four days had passed they had still not returned it.



Rabihan was then told by police that her passport had been taken because her son Kurbanjan Arip, 50, had met with exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer while in Norway and was a member of her organization, the Munich-based exile World Uyghur Congress, she said.



From February to April, I went to the police station almost every day, Rabihan said, adding, I stood at the gate, but they would not let me in, even on the coldest days.



Police officers turned away her calls, shouted at her in the street, and refused to let her use the stations restroom, Rabihan said.



'They laughed at me'



One day I could not control natures call, and begged them to let me use the toilet. The guards were all Han Chinese, and they would not let me in.



In the end I had to wet my pants, and my legs were soaked. They laughed at me.



I was so embarrassed while walking down the street because my pants were frozen in the cold, and I even had to get on the bus in that condition, Rabihan said.



I briefly considered suicide, but stopped myself after thinking of my children, she said.



Now, I have stood at their office gate for the last eight months.



Alarmed after Rabihan gave interviews by phone to RFAs Uyghur Service, police offered to return her passport if she would end her petition, Rabihan said.



I said to them that they had told me to go over their heads with my complaints if I could find someone who would listen to me, and now I have, she said.



Democratic rights



Speaking to RFA from Norway, Rabihans son Kurbanjan said that in supporting Rebiya Kadeer by taking part in protests and donating money to the Uyghur cause, he has done nothing more than exercise his democratic rights in a free country.



Besides, punishing my mother for my own so-called crime by taking away her passport only shows that China is a country ruled by lawlessness and terror.



Bortala prefectural police department vice head Dilshat meanwhile acknowledged having seen Rabihan standing at his stations gate.



Ive seen the woman waiting in front of the gate, Dilshat said. I heard about her peeing on her pants from my colleagues, but I dont know what she wants.



We dont have the capacity to listen to everyones needs.



Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Richard Finney.




KUNDUZ, Afghanistan -- The roar of rockets and the crackle of gunfire are ringing through the deserted streets of Kunduz, where fierce street-to-street gunbattles have raged since Taliban militants launched a multipronged attack on October 3.



The fighting has left residents in the strategic regional capital in northern Afghanistan facing a looming humanitarian crisis as water, food, medicine, and electricity supplies run short.



Dozens of civilians have been killed and injured in the violence and thousands have fled their homes to nearby towns with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Those who remain recount stories of struggle and horror: having their homes torched by the Taliban; being used by invading militants as human shields; being left with no option but to sleep outside to escape the shelling.



Government troops, backed by Afghan special forces and U.S. air strikes, are struggling to clear the city of hundreds of Taliban fighters who have taken positions in residential areas and have entrenched themselves on the outskirts of the city. On October 7, Afghan forces were still conducting "clearing operations" throughout Kunduz, which briefly fell to the Taliban last year.



'Sleeping In Graveyards'



"I went outside to buy food and other supplies, but I couldn't find anything," Abdullah, a resident of Kunduz, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on October 7. "People who have fled their homes are sleeping in graveyards."



Abdullah said that nearly all the shops in the city had been shut down. In one bakery that was still operating, he said, the price of bread had gone up from 10 afghanis ($0.15) to over 70 ($1.05). At night, he said, the city is illuminated only by rocket and gunfire.



"People are scavenging for food and water," he said. "There's nobody to help us -- not the government or anybody else."



"Everyone is trying to flee the city," said Rahimullah, another resident of Kunduz. "There is total chaos here and the situation is getting worse by the day."



The United Nations says as many as 10,000 people have fled the city of nearly 270,000 in the past few days. Many have escaped to neighboring provinces in northern Afghanistan. Others have taken overcrowded taxis to the nation's capital, Kabul, a pricey and grueling 400-kilometer journey on dangerous roads.

"Many families were unable to bring their possessions with them and are in a precarious position," Dominic Parker, head of the UN's humanitarian coordination office, said in a statement on October 6. "We have had reports that some families have been forced to sleep out in the open and many have few food supplies."



The same day, Amnesty International said that "the Afghan government and Taliban forces should urgently facilitate swift and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief into Kunduz, where thousands of civilians are trapped in increasingly dire conditions."



'Shortage Of Doctors'



Among those fleeing the city are many staff members of Kunduz's main public hospital, which was hit by rockets and shelling on October 5.



The 200-bed public hospital was left as the main provider of medical care in Kunduz after the trauma center run by the French charity Doctors Without Borders was destroyed by a U.S. air strike last year that killed 42 people, many of them patients.



Marzia Yaftali Salaam, a doctor, said that as of October 6 the hospital has been inundated by at least 210 patients, many of them civilians injured in the violence.



"We have a huge shortage of doctors and medical supplies," says Salaam, who added that some patients have had to be transported to clinics in surrounding areas and provinces. "If we don't get any supplies or help, we could have to stop our services."

WATCH: A video report on the Kunduz fighting from October 5

The Public Health Ministry said additional medical supplies and personnel from neighboring provinces were waiting to be transported to Kunduz, but they must first wait for the fighting to ease.



'Hiding In Their Basements'



A female resident of Kunduz, who asked not to be identified, said by telephone that she and her four children have been trapped for days inside the basement of their house, located about 1 kilometer from the city center.



"Everybody sought shelter in basements when the fighting reached our area," she says. "Those who did not have basements in their houses rushed to their neighbors to hide. At least two children were killed in our neighborhood and have been buried. We are close to a military checkpoint, so we have been hit harder than other areas."



She said they were afraid to go outside because they could hear gunfire and explosions and Taliban fighters were roaming the streets. A few times a day, she said, she goes upstairs to gather the little food remaining in their house. They cook in the dark in the basement.



Her husband goes out into the streets several times a day in search of food and clean water but often returns empty-handed.



"We have food to last for maybe two or three days but, if the fighting continues, we have nothing stored for the long-term, so we don't know what will happen," she says. "In our area, all the shops have been closed except for one bakery, and even there only some could get their bread because there wasn't enough for everyone."

With additional reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Freshta Jalalzai
A U.S. government watchdog is asking the Pentagon to explain reports about tens of thousands of nonexistent troops on the payrolls of Afghanistan's security forces.

The Afghan payrolls are heavily funded by international donors.

The U.S. government has allocated more than $68 billion since 2002 to help build and support Afghanistan's national army and police force.

John Sopko, the special inspector-general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said in a letter sent to the Pentagon in August that some of the money could be fraudulently wasted by funding so-called "ghost soldiers" in Afghanistan's security forces.

He noted media reports quoting Afghan officials in Helmand Province who say as many as half the security forces on the payrolls there do not exist and that salaries paid for the nonexistent troops go to corrupt local leaders.

He said those reports "raise questions regarding whether the U.S. government is taking adequate steps to prevent taxpayer funds from being spent on so-called 'ghost' soldiers."

Nationwide, the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police have a combined official strength of about 320,000 troops. But Afghan authorities say the real number is much lower.

The shortage of troops has been felt during the past year in places like Helmand Province, where the Taliban has won a series of recent military victories against Afghan government forces.

The U.S. Defense Department has tried to prevent fraud by automating some systems and collecting biometric data in order to track the location of police and soldiers.

But Sopko said such measures can only be effective if accurate data on the size of Afghan forces is collected and maintained.

Sopko released his letter publicly on October 7, two days after world powers at a donors conference in Brussels pledged more than $15 billion in aid for Afghanistan over the next four years.

Afghanistan is required to agree to a series of political, economic, and social reforms in return for the funds -- including reforms to improve the country's human rights and rein in corruption.

With reporting by Reuters and BBC
An appellate court in Azerbaijan has rejected an appeal by investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who had asked for the removal from her record of charges for illegal entrepreneurship.

Ismayilova's lawyer, Fariz Namazli, said the Baku-based court rejected the appeal on October 7.

Ismayilova, a contributor to RFE/RLs Azerbaijani Service and laureate of numerous international awards for her journalism, was arrested in December 2014 on charges that have been widely criticized as a politically motivate response to her investigative reporting on corruption involving Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and members of his family.

She eventually was convicted of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, misappropriation of property, and other charges and was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

But in May, Azerbaijans Supreme Court annulled some of the charges against Ismayilova and ordered her release after reducing her sentence to a 3 1/2 year suspended prison term.

In August, Ismayilova's suspended sentence was reduced again to two years and three months.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says his country is negotiating with Iran about purchasing oil.

Speaking at a session of parliament in Minsk on October 7, Lukashenka said talks with Tehran are under way amid differences with Russia on the importing of oil and gas.

"We are holding talks with Iran, which is desperate to find [places] to deliver its oil and which will cut the price for us," Lukashenka said.

Lukashenka also said he ordered the government to restart looking into a Baltics oil pipeline project and to finish renovating an oil refinery in the nation's northern city of Navapolatsk.

Belarus has been at odds with Russia over the tariff on oil transit for several months.

Lukashenka added that Belarus is ready for dialogue with all of its neighbors, including the European Union and the United States, despite the fact that it "makes some in the East uneasy."

Based on reporting by BelTA, TASS, and Interfax
In a lot of ways, the trouble began a decade ago.

Ten years ago today, Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in Moscow.

And 10 years ago next month, Aleksandr Litvinenko was poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope in downtown London.

The two were about as different as they come. But they were both thorns in the Kremlin's side.

Politkovskaya operated in the light.

As a crusading investigative journalist, she exposed malfeasance in the Kremlin and human rights abuses by Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov's forces.

Litvinenko moved in the shadows.

A former member of Russia's security services who defected to Great Britain, he became an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin's regime.

And when they both were killed in the fateful autumn of 2006, it sent a loud and clear message: no critics of Putin's regime are safe.

Not a journalist returning home from buying groceries; and not a defector with British citizenship sipping tea in a hotel bar in Mayfair.

In the autumn of 2006, Putin's regime crossed the line to the dark side.

In the wake of Politkovskaya came more assassinations: lawyer Stanislav Markelov, journalist Anastasia Baburova, human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, and of course opposition leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov.

And in the aftermath of Litvinenko's killing -- an assassination of a foreign citizen on foreign soil -- the Kremlin stopped even pretending to play by international rules.

Ever since, it's been a decade of breaking bad.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
Finland and the United States have signed a defense cooperation pact on increased military collaboration amid alleged violations of Finnish airspace by Russian fighter jets.

The new agreement was signed in Helsinki on October 7 by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work and Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto.

Finland, which is not a member of NATO, already cooperates with Washington through military drills on air, land, and sea.

The newly signed agreement seeks to deepen bilateral military ties through the exchange of information and joint research and development in areas like cyberdefense and training.

The signing of the deal came a day after Finland scrambled jets in response to suspected violations of its airspace by Russian SU-27 fighter jets over the Baltic Sea.

Russia denies its planes strayed from international airspace.

Finland's Nordic neighbor Sweden -- which also is not a member of NATO -- concluded a similar pact with the United States in June.

Finland and Sweden also signed a defense cooperation agreement with Britain earlier in 2016.

Based on reporting by AP and The Washington Post
Finland's Defense Ministry says it suspects a Russian warplane has violated Finnish airspace, forcing Finland to scramble military jets to identify the Su-27 fighter flying over the Baltic Sea.

The ministry said in a statement that the "suspected violation" on October 6 continued for about one minute and the plane traveled about 13 kilometers -- going as far into Finnish airspace as 1 kilometer.

Russia's Defense Ministry denied that the Su-27 strayed into Finnish airspace, saying it was on "a scheduled training mission over the neutral waters of the Gulf of Finland."

"The aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Force has been performing all flights in strict compliance with international regulations," the ministry said.

Finland has accused Russia of several breaches of its airspace since Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and illegally annexed the region in 2014.

In April 2016, two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided-missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea.

Finland says its national border guard is investigating the latest incident.

Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and AP
The U.S. Embassy in Astana has expressed concerns over the conviction and imprisonment of the head of the Kazakh Journalists Union and his son.

Seitqazy Mataev and his son, Aset, the director of the KazTAG news agency, were sentenced on October 3 to six and five years in prison, respectively.

Both have denied the charges of misappropriation of funds and tax evasion.

The U.S. Embassy's statement on October 6 said the Mataevs' criminal convictions indicated "constraints on independent media and the implications for freedom of expression in Kazakhstan."

"We share international concern over the decreasing space for independent media in Kazakhstan. In the spirit of the U.S. partnership with Kazakhstan, we call on the government of Kazakhstan to uphold freedom of expression and due process for all citizens as fundamental democratic rights," the statement said.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called for a war crimes investigation into the devastating offensive being waged by Syrian and Russian forces on the city of Aleppo.



Kerry's comments, made on October 7 alongside visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, were some of his harshest to date about the ongoing battle in Aleppo, where more than 250,000 civilians are stranded.

Moscow responded quickly to Kerry's call, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling a Russian TV channel that there were "very serious legal consequences behind this terminology."

"I believe Kerry used all these terms with a view to escalating the situation. If the matter concerns war crimes, American representatives should start with Iraq. And then switch to Libya and certainly to Yemen to see what [happened] there. What I want to say is that it's very dangerous to juggle such words because American officials also carry war crimes on their shoulders," Zakharova told Dozhd TV.



Kerry said hospitals and other civilian facilities in Aleppo were being targeted purposely.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation over why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, women, and children," he said.



"These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes, and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions," he said. "They're beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."



While the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations like Amnesty International have been gathering evidence of possible war crimes in Syria for years, it is highly unlikely any judicial proceeding against Syria or Russia would be allowed to go forward, given questions of jurisdiction and global politics.



Washington and Moscow have been on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict since it began nearly six years ago, but Russia dramatically increased the stakes last year when it began a campaign of air and missile strikes aimed at bolstering the Syrian regime.



A cease-fire negotiated by the two sides fell apart last month, and earlier this week the United States suspended talks with Moscow aimed at reestablishing the truce.

Since then, Syrian and Russia warplanes have conducted a devastating campaign of air strikes on rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo, killing hundreds of civilians.



Russia in recent days has deployed S-300 antiaircraft missile systems in Syria and sent three warships to the eastern Mediterranean. Several longer-range S-400 antiaircraft systems also are in Syria and mounted on Russian warships off Syria's coast.



On October 6, amid U.S. press reports that the Pentagon had presented U.S. administration officials with options for possible air strikes against Syrian government forces, Russian defense officials warned that U.S warplanes might be at risk of being shot down.

"I would recommend our colleagues in Washington to carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans," Major General Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters in Moscow.

The back and forth between Moscow and Washington also came as France circulated a draft United Nations resolution for a truce, a resolution that Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said was unacceptable and was politicizing the issue of humanitarian aid to Aleppo.
4 A Star Wars lightsaber battle lights up a riverbank in Rostov-on-Don. Zubkov, who also created this image, says he uses Photoshop to create his works and each takes around half a day to complete.
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.
Ukraine's military says Russia is massing troops on the right bank of the Dnieper River as both sides appear poised for what could be a key battle for Kherson in Ukraine's south, while Russian officials claim all civilians were evacuated from the city.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on October 28 that Moscow has sent in up to 1,000 recently mobilized soldiers to make up for personnel losses suffered at the hands of an ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson region.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

"The command of the Russian occupying forces, in order to avoid panic among the personnel, is trying by all means to hide the real losses of servicemen.... There is a strengthening of the enemy group on the right bank of the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region with mobilized servicemen numbering up to 1,000 people," the General Staff said in a statement.

Ukraine has pushed ahead with an offensive to reclaim the Kherson region and its capital of the same name, which Russian forces captured during the first days of the war.

Ukrainian forces were surrounding Kherson from the west and attacking Russias foothold on the right bank of the Dnieper River.

However, tough terrain and bad weather held up the Ukrainian Army's main advance in Kherson, officials said.

Kherson, one of four partially occupied provinces that Russia proclaimed to have seized last month, controls the only land route to the Crimean Peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014 and the mouth of the Dnieper that bisects Ukraine.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-installed governor of Crimea, said on October 28 that President Vladimir Putin's first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko, has visited Kherson.

Kiriyenko, one of the most powerful officials in the Kremlin, visited the ferry port that is evacuating people from the right bank of the Dnieper ahead of the expected Ukrainian offensive, Aksyonov said.

"The work on organizing the departure of residents has been completed," he said.

Aksyonov's statement came a day after Russia-appointed officials in Kherson said that more than 70,000 people had left the city, including members of the Moscow-installed regional administration.



The Ukrainian military said on October 28 that forces had killed 44 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours, adding that its forces had destroyed an ammunition depot and a hangar with equipment.

The claim could not be independently verified.

However, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said 23 of his soldiers were killed and another 58 wounded in a Ukrainian artillery attack this week in Kherson. The comments were unusual as pro-Moscow forces have rarely admitted to major battlefield losses.

WATCH: A local official told Russian conscripts "You are not cannon fodder" in a video published online recently. The men responded by angrily shouting that, actually, that's exactly what they are. The incident, in the Ardatovsky district some 360 kilometers east of Moscow, followed a stream of videos in which Russian conscripts complain of old equipment and poor training.

In the eastern region of Donetsk, Russian shelling killed four local residents, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the region's military administration, said on October 28.

Russian air strikes, drone attacks, and shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure were forcing electricity cuts in the capital, Kyiv, and other places, officials said.

Air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told a briefing on October 28 that Ukraine has shot down more than 300 Iranian Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones so far. The drones have become a key weapon in Russia's attacks on crucial Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Iran has denied Ukrainian and Western accusations that it is supplying drones to Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainians will not be cowed by such tactics.

"Shelling will not break us -- to hear the enemy's anthem on our land is scarier than the enemy's rockets in our sky," Zelenskiy said in his regular video address on October 27 as he stood outside in the dark next to the wreckage of a downed drone.

WATCH: Ukrainian troops are targeting Russian-launched drones, fighter planes, and helicopters, using Soviet-era antiaircraft systems with limited radar capabilities. They also use Western-supplied, shoulder-launched missiles like the Stinger, but factors such as the weather can have a major impact on their effectiveness.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials quoted by Reuters and the Associated Press said the United States is preparing a new $275 million package of military assistance for Ukraine to bolster its counteroffensive against Russian forces.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there are no major new weapons in the U.S. package, which is expected to be announced as early as October 28.

Instead, the U.S. aid is largely aimed at restocking thousands of rounds of ammunition for weapons systems already there, including for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, which Ukraine has been successfully using in its counteroffensive against Russia.



White House national-security spokesperson John Kirby declined to confirm details of the package in a CNN interview, saying only that a new tranche of weaponry for Ukraine would be announced "very, very soon."

With reporting by AFP, BBC, Reuters, and guardian.co.uk
WASHINGTON -- The United States for the first time has publicly accused Russia of orchestrating a string of cyberattacks targeting U.S. political organizations and prominent current and former officials in what Washington called a bid "to interfere with the U.S. election process."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on October 7 that it is "confident" that the Russian government "directed" the hacking of e-mails of individuals and groups, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," the statement said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the U.S. statement as "some kind of nonsense."

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the U.S.," Peskov was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency. "We're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," he added, referring to the Virginia city where the CIA is based.

Private cybersecurity firms have previously said that hacking groups allegedly tied to Russian security services are behind the hacks, though until October 7, U.S. President Barack Obama's administration had refrained from publicly implicating the Russian government.

The compromised e-mails have been published by WikiLeaks and another website, DCLeaks.com. They prompted the resignation of the DNC chairwoman after internal communications showed staff members favoring Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over rival Bernie Sanders during the party's primaries.

Relations with Russia have become a central issue in the November 8 U.S. presidential election between Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, who has spoken admiringly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he would seek to improve ties with Moscow if elected.

Clinton's campaign team has repeatedly suggested that the Russian government was behind cyberattacks which targeted the DNC, alleging that Moscow has been trying to help Trump win the vote.

Both Trump and the Kremlin have called the allegation absurd.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in July that he had raised the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who brushed off a question about possible Russian involvement in the affair by saying, "I don't want to use four-letter words."

The October 7 statement from Washington noted that several U.S. states have been subjected to "scanning and probing of their election-related systems," primarily from "servers operated by a Russian company." But it said intelligence officials "are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian government."

Naming Russia as the actor behind the cyberattacks on political organizations falls short of more punitive measures the United States has taken against other countries for cyberintrusions, which have included sanctions and prosecutions against the hackers.

Republican Senator Cory Gardner, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity, said he planned to introduce sanctions legislation over "Russia's cybercriminals."

The announcement comes amid a continuing deterioration of relations between Washington and Moscow, most notably over an ongoing Russian-backed Syrian government offensive on the city of Aleppo that has killed hundreds of civilians since a Russian and U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal broke down on September 19.

With additional reporting by Reuters and AP


Russian security officials say a member of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and five other militants have been killed in two counterterrorism operations in the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia.

Russia's National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) said the alleged militants were killed on October 7 in the village of Gazi-Yurt and Ingushetia's largest city, Nazran.

One of those reportedly killed was identified as Zabairi Sautiyev, who recently returned from Syria, where he is said to have fought alongside IS militants.

The NAK said Sautiyev came to Ingushetia to lead terrorist activities in the region.

According to the NAK, there were no casualties among either security forces or local residents.

Violence is common in Russia's North Caucasus, which includes the restive mostly Muslim-populated regions of Ingushetia, Chechnya, Daghestan, and Kabardino-Balkaria.

Islamic militants and criminal groups routinely target Russian military personnel, local officials, and moderate Muslims.

Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
MOSCOW -- The week began with the trial of five men charged with the assassination of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. It is ending with the 10th anniversary of another brazen killing in Moscow: the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

The parallels in the two slayings and their aftermath are not lost on Politkovskaya's son, Ilya Politkovsky, who in recent years has spent countless hours observing the trials of those implicated in his mother's murder, but is still no closer to knowing who the mastermind was.

"There really is the feeling that the brakes have been put on the investigation into the people who ordered it," Politkovsky told RFE/RL. "In 10 years, we haven't moved an iota toward finding the people who ordered the crime, but I still have hope."

Politkovskaya, 48, a renowned reporter for Novaya Gazeta who tirelessly exposed rights abuses in the southern republic of Chechnya, was gunned down in the stairwell of her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006, sending a chill through national media and civil society and harming Russia's reputation abroad.

In May 2014, after initially being acquitted, five men -- three of them from Chechnya -- were convicted of the murder, with two of the men receiving life sentences. But Politkovskaya's supporters and family have repeatedly said the prosecutions do not equate to justice unless the mastermind is identified, a familiar refrain from relatives of slain opposition figures in modern Russia.

Nemtsov Parallels

Politkovsky does not consider the murder "solved," and drew comparisons to the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, whose trial began on October 3 in Moscow military court.

The former deputy prime minister and opposition politician was shot in the back late on February 27, 2015, as he walked home across a bridge near the Kremlin. Five men from Chechnya have been charged with carrying out the killing, all of whom have pleaded not guilty. Investigators allege that the men were promised 15 million rubles (currently about $240,000) to kill Nemtsov, but a question mark hangs over who ordered the hit.

This has led Nemtsov's family and the opposition to accuse the authorities of not pursuing a trail of evidence they say clearly leads to Chechnya, claiming the Kremlin is wary of angering Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Calls have been made for the arrest of Ruslan Geremeyev, a senior former Chechen officer in the Sever (North) battalion with close ties to Kadyrov's inner circle, but he has not been questioned.

And while investigators in late 2015 named Geremeyev's driver, Ruslan Mukhudinov, as the alleged mastermind of the assassination, the member of Kadyrov's security services remains at large.

"The way the murders were carried out is similar," Politkovsky said. "The [alleged] triggermen are being specially shown on camera to keep society content with them being caught. But totally missing in the investigation are the people who ordered [the killings]. It's as if they don't exist. On the one hand, they say all the possibilities are being looked at, as they said with us. But in actual fact nothing is going on.

"It is really unfortunate that what we are seeing in the Nemtsov case and what is happening in the trial is extremely similar to our case. Again, there are the triggermen and middle-level organizers in court, and there is no word about who ordered the murder. It's a real shame if the story repeats what happened with our case."

WATCH: Anna Politkovskaya: A Journalist Silenced

'Enemy Of The Chechen People'

Politkovsky said he will mark the anniversary at a lunch for close relatives and then attend a commemorative ceremony at the offices of Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper where Politkovskaya worked for seven years.

If she were still alive, Politkovsky said, his mother would probably be investigating rights abuses in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between government forces and Moscow-backed separatists has claimed over 9,600 lives. The renowned journalist, he said, "would have worked on the Ukrainian issue, helping people on both sides -- and not the countries that are involved in this conflict."

The daughter of a Soviet diplomat from Ukraine, Politkovskaya was born in the United States and held dual Russian and U.S. citizenship. She was educated in Moscow, and began working as a journalist in 1982, leaping to prominence as she uncovered rights abuses by Russian and Chechen forces in the troubled republic torn apart by two wars after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Kadyrov, seen as being behind many of the abuses of the second Chechen war, was the subject of much of her reporting. She interviewed him shortly after his father, pro-Moscow Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated in 2004.

Speaking to the recently appointed deputy prime minister in his home village of Tsenteroi, the interview ended badly, with Kadyrov calling her an "enemy of the Chechen people," and warning that she should "answer" for this.

Two years later, she was killed -- reportedly as she was working on an article exposing abuses by Kadyrov's militia -- leading many to look back on the threats the future Chechen leader had made.

'You Can't Kill All Journalists'

Novaya Gazeta on October 3 dedicated a special issue to their slain reporter. The front page carries an article written by the paper's Chechnya correspondent, Yelena Milashina, documenting Kadyrov's ironfisted rule of Chechnya and Grozny's close relationship with the Kremlin.

Milashina argues in the piece that any political bargain struck between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kadyrov when the latter came to power has "expired." She alleges in the piece that Kadyrov was initially backed by the Kremlin to lead Chechnya in return for his unwavering loyalty following years of separatist wars in the troubled southern republic, but says Kadyrov's disregard for Russian law is tantamount to a new, and more dangerous, brand of separatism.

At the top of the page, the newspaper wrote in an editorial note: "Politkovskaya was killed 10 years ago. We know for sure: for her work in Chechnya."

"The Chechen authorities have asked for 10 years why Novaya writes so much, so frequently, so stubbornly about Chechnya. The answer is simple: because our journalist was killed for Chechnya. The same Chechens who worked with Politkovskaya worked with us on this article. It was easy for you to kill Anya. It is impossible to kill her topic."

Milashina posted the article on her Facebook page with another message: "You can kill one journalist. You can kill several journalists. But you can't kill them all. That's the law of Politkovskaya."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has relieved Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin of his duties.

Putin's decree was made public on October 7. Markin said the same day that he will serve as the first deputy general director of the RusHydro energy holding.

Markin announced on September 21 that he had submitted his resignation letter to Investigative Committee chief Aleksandr Bastrykin.

Markin, 59, who served as the committee's spokesman since 2007, said then that he made the decision voluntarily. Markin's announcement came amid media reports saying that Bastrykin may also resign soon.

On September 23, media reported that Moscow police chief Anatoly Yakunin had also submitted his resignation.

Media reports said in September that Russian authorities are planning to fully revamp law enforcement structures by the 2018 presidential election.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says a man suspected of founding a cell of a banned Islamic group in Siberia has been detained.

The FSB said on October 7 that the suspect had set up a prayer house in Barnaul, the capital of the Altai region that borders Kazakhstan, in May 2015.

According to the FSB, the suspect propagated teachings of the Islamic group Tablighi Jamaat (Messenger's Assembly) while being aware that the group is banned in Russia.

The suspect is facing charges of persuading individuals to take part in the activities of an extremist organization.

Tablighi Jamaat is officially banned in Russia and the majority of Central Asian countries.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax
Russia's parliament has ratified a treaty with Damascus that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in Syria.

Ratification of the treaty on October 7 came as Russian warplanes continued to support a Syrian offensive against rebel-held parts of Aleppo, where more than 250,000 civilians are stranded.

Since the collapse of a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire on September 19, ties between Moscow and Washington have become increasingly strained.

Meanwhile, Russia has been bolstering its forces with the deployment of antiaircraft missile systems, cruise missiles, warships, and additional troops.

Russia's United Nations ambassador Vitaly Churkin has rejected a French-proposed Security Council resolution that would call for grounding all aircraft, including Russia's, over Aleppo.

The resolution, which also calls for an Aleppo cease-fire, is to be considered by the council on October 8, but Churkin has said he cannot possibly see how Russia could let the resolution pass.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and TASS
MOSCOW -- Several dozen people in Moscow have attended a somber memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the murder of prominent investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

A string quartet played selections of the slain journalist's favorite music as mourners laid flowers at a memorial plaque outside the editorial office of Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper where Politkovskaya worked.

Politkovskaya, a critic of President Vladimir Putin whose reporting exposed high-level corruption in Russia and rights abuses in its North Caucasus region, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006.

Novaya Gazeta Deputy Editor Sergei Sokolov opened the event by noting that it remains unknown who ordered Politikovskaya's contract killing.

"The person who ordered the murder can die in peace or place another such order, if they have not done so already," he said. "Probably, they already have."

Several Western diplomats attended the Moscow memorial service. Lynne Tracy, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, read a U.S. government statement that deplored Politkovskaya's "brutal murder" and said her "courage and persistence...remain an inspiration to us all."

An official from the European Union's representative office in Moscow read a statement from EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini praising Politkovskaya as "a staunch defender of human rights."

"Her death was and still is a tragic loss to freedom of speech in Russia and Russian journalism," the statement said. "Her words will long be admired."

Speaking to RFE/RL, Novaya Gazeta Editor In Chief Dmitry Muratov, a personal friend of Politkovskaya's, described her as "a woman of stunning beauty."

"I remember her as a very tough, complicated, strong-willed person as she was evacuating a home for the elderly in [the Chechen capital, Grozny] one winter," he said. "And I saw her dragging generators around in order to save people from the cold."

On October 7, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, said that "it is unacceptable that 10 years on after this horrific murder the masterminds behind [the Politkovskaya] assassination are still at large."

"This vicious circle of impunity has a detrimental effect on the media freedom situation in the country," Mijatovic said.

Novaya Gazeta newspaper placed a video statement on its website called Do Not Dare To Say That The Crime Has Been Solved.

In 2014, two men were sentenced to life and three others to prison terms for their involvement in Politkovskaya's murder. It remains unclear who ordered the killing.

Politkovskaya was killed on Putin's birthday, prompting speculation that her murder was meant as a "gift" to the president.

Anna Politkovskaya was born in New York in 1958, the daughter of a Soviet diplomat from Ukraine. She reported extensively on the wars and human rights situation in Chechnya and the rest of Russia's North Caucasus beginning in the 1990s. Much of her reporting was collected and published in several books. She was the laureate of numerous Russian and international awards, including an Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism in 2001, a PEN Freedom to Write award in 2002, and an Olaf Palme Prize in 2004.

In 2007, she became the first person ever to receive a posthumous UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

RFE/RL Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who received the international Anna Politkovskaya Award for her professional courage in 2015 when she was in jail, wrote on Facebook on October 7 that those who killed Politkovskaya did not manage to silence her.

Robert Coalson wrote this story in Prague based on reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service and RFE/RL Moscow correspondent Tom Balmforth
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A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman has made a veiled threat that its air-defense units could shoot down U.S. aircraft in Syria if they attack Syrian army positions. Igor Kamashenkov said Russian crews might not have time to identify "unidentified flying objects" before giving them a "surprise." (Reuters)
It has been a week of rising tensions in Srebrenica. The eastern Bosnian town, which gained global notoriety and became a symbol of Bosnian Muslim suffering following the slaughter of more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in 1995, is about to get a Serb mayor.



With almost 90 percent of votes counted, it is clear that the new mayor of Srebrenica will be Mladen Grujicic. As of October 7, his lead looked unassailable, with 3,957 votes against 1,645 cast for his opponent, Camil Durakovic. Durakovic was relying on the Bosniak expatriate vote, but even that will not be enough.



Durakovic has complained that Serbs from Serbia were crossing the border to vote for Grujicic. Yet that is exactly how he got himself reelected in 2012. People from Sarajevo would temporarily register at a Srebrenica address, and after the elections they would switch their place of residence again. It appears that Durakovic has been defeated at his own game.



In fact, both candidates were looking to voters from outside Srebrenica to help them get elected. For at least a week, Srebrenica -- a small provincial municipality -- became the focus of national attention and the scene of confrontation between Bosnias two major parties, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodiks Social Democrats (SNSD) and the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) of Bakir Izetbegovic, the current Bosniak member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency.

When it became clear that Durakovic would not be reelected, the Muslim nationalist party (SDA) that had thrown its weight behind him made sure to paint his defeat as a national tragedy, exploiting all the symbolism of Srebrenica.



A partial recount has been ordered by the Bosnian electoral commission due to suspected irregularities. But the local electoral authorities suspended the recount on October 5 after their offices were raided by the Bosnian Serb police, supposedly sent to secure election documents.

Members of the commission refused to work under such pressure, so the recount will be completed in Sarajevo on October 8.



On Tuesday, Grujicic claimed to have received threats against himself and his family over the telephone, while on the other hand a Bosniak-owned restaurant in Srebrenica was attacked.



Grujicic has accused the media of stoking the flames. As you can see, its peaceful in Srebrenica, and its the media [that is] raising tensions, he told reporters.



I call on the citizens of Srebrenica, those who are here, as well as those outside Srebrenica, not to succumb to the staged instigation of panic in our town, and to remain calm and dignified, he wrote on social networks.



Speaking to RFE/RL, Husein Huseinovic, who withdrew his own candidacy for mayor at the last minute, was despondent over the future.



The worst thing is that hardly any of the voters are in Srebrenica itself. [Both candidates] are relying on votes from Serbia, or from abroad, instead of looking to voters who live in Srebrenica. [Local residents] should be the makers of local policy and that should be the starting point. Without that foundation, Srebrenica will never take a step forward.



In the run-up to the election. both major parties -- the predominantly Serb SNSD and the predominantly Muslim SDA -- accused each other of preparing to rig or manipulate the election result.



This is not really about local authority, which is in any case limited, Enver Kazaz, a political science professor at Sarajevo University, said in an interview with RFE/RL. Its a conflict over symbols between two nationalisms. Srebrenica must be rescued from the jaws of two nationalisms: Bosniak (Muslim) and Serb. But I am afraid thats not possible and that the local population as a whole has adopted nationalist ideology.



Grujicic faces a major test. He can either take the path of many of his fellow Bosnian Serbs and cast doubt on the scale or significance of the greatest crime committed against Muslims during the war. Or he can choose to be the mayor for all -- Serbs, Muslims, and other citizens of Srebrenica. He can put an end to the competition over who suffered more during the war. If he can bring himself to bow his head and pay homage to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, he would instantly calm the tensions -- and open a new chapter in the life of this unfortunate Bosnian enclave.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.
ON MY MIND

They've been gunned down in their stairwells. They've been shot dead on Moscow streets. And one was even poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope in the heart of London. Political assassinations have become a regular feature of post-Soviet Russia -- from television anchor Vladislav Listyev back in 1995 to Boris Nemtsov in 2015.

And today marks the 10th anniversary of one of the most shocking, the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, co-host Mark Galeotti and I take a closer look at the phenomenon of political assassinations in Russia.

What accounts for the proliferation of assassinations over the past two decades? Are they localized acts of violence? Or is there a method to the madness?

Tune in later today!

IN THE NEWS

A Russia Defense Ministry spokesman suggested that Russian antiaircraft systems may shoot down U.S. or U.S.-led coalition aircraft if they attack Syrian forces.

Finland's Defense Ministry says it suspects a Russian warplane has violated Finnish airspace, forcing Finland to scramble military jets to identify the Su-27 fighter flying over the Baltic Sea.

Russian security officials say a member of the Islamic State and five other militants have been killed in two counterterrorism operations in the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia.

The World Anti-Doping Agency says Russian hackers tampered with some of the drug profiles they leaked in a bid to embarrass dozens of star Olympic athletes.

A U.S. citizen and two Russian nationals were arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive military technology from the United States to Russia, the U.S. Justice Department has said.

New York City police are looking for whoever draped a gigantic banner portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin over the side of the Manhattan Bridge.

WHAT I'M READING

They've Still Not Found The Organizers

To mark the 10th anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's slaying, her former colleagues at Novaya Gazeta have put out a powerful video reminding us all that those who ordered the assassination have still not been brought to justice.

Novaya Gazeta also has an article critically examining the investigation.

Also to pay tribute to Politkovskaya, author and journalist Irina Borogan writes in The Guardian about Russia's female journalists "who risk everything to report from Russia's front lines."

Putin's Paranoia

Power Vertical Podcast co-host Mark Galeotti, a senior research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, has a piece in BNEIntellinews on why Vladimir Putin believes his own hype about a hostile West -- and what the West can do in response.

"Russia these days looks almost as if it is spoiling for a fight with the West, from its brutal bombings in Aleppo to the decision to end nuclear cooperation with the U.S. However, what may seem like petulant antics actually reflects a difficult and dangerous underlying problem: Putin genuinely believes the West is out to get him," Galeotti writes.

The Battle For Aleppo



Maxim Trudolyubov, a senior fellow at The Kennan Institute, has a post up on the Russia Files blog on how the Kremlin sees Aleppo as a path to victory -- and why this is probably a mistake.

Meanwhile, in an op-ed in The New York Times, former U.S. National Security Council officials Steven Simon, a professor at Amherst College, and Jonathan Stevenson, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, ask, Is it too late for the United States to intervene more forcefully in the Syrian war?

The Diplomatic Breakdown In Syria

Steven Heydemann, a professor at Smith College and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has a piece in Vedomosti explaining why the United States broke off talks with Russia on Syria.

"The U.S. decision to withdraw from the diplomatic dialogue with Russia on Syria makes sense: in a situation where only the United States is engaging in diplomacy, no joint projects are possible," Heydemann writes.

From KAL007 To MH17

Writing in The Moscow Times, Vasily Gatov, a visiting fellow at the Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy at the University of Southern California, compares the Soviet response to KAL007 to the Russian response to MH17.

"One strange quality is consistent among Russian power mongers: they utterly dislike making apologies regardless of evidence, court decisions, or common sense. And, in Putin's emergent pariah state, an apology is nothing more than weakness," Gatov writes.

Meet The Fake NGOs

Daniel Baer, the U.S. permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has a piece on so-called GONGOS, or Government Organized Non-Governmental Organizations.

"'Why would a government organize a "fake" community organization or human rights advocacy group?' you ask. Well, repressive regimes have found that because they are often unable to convincingly answer the criticism voiced by citizens who join to form bona fide civil-society organizations, they can set up their own fake organizations that will shill for the government in an attempt to distract from repressive failings," Baer writes.

"GONGOs defend countries' policies, attempt to delegitimize genuine civil-society voices, and consume time, space, and other limited resources that could be used for real, meaningful dialogue."

Europe and Ukraine

Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, has a new report out : Keeping Up Appearances: How Europe Is Supporting Ukraine's Transformation.

"Ukraine fatigue and defeatism is taking hold in some European countries. But the governments of these countries should know that Ukraine can reform. It just requires effective support and guidance -- some of which can be provided by the EU," Gressel writes.

How Old Is Putin?

To mark Vladimir Putin's 64th birthday today, Slon.ru has an article and graphic looking at the average ages of world leaders. Putin, it turns out, is just slightly older than the average age for a head of state.

Warrior Children

Christopher Moldes at Global Voices has a piece looking at the controversy over Ramzan Kadyrov's children participating in mixed-martial-arts fighting in Chechnya.

The Battle For The Black Sea

Sergei Glebov, a professor of international relations at Mechnikov National University in Odesa (and a former student of mine), has a new scholarly article out: Russias Policy Towards The Black Sea Region And EU-Russia Relations,

NOTE TO READERS: I will be away on the conference circuit until the end of the month. The Morning Vertical, therefore, will not appear for the next three weeks and will return on Monday, October 31.
A U.S. citizen and two Russian nationals were arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive military technology from the United States to Russia, the U.S. Justice Department has said.

The department said on October 6 that Alexei Barysheff of New York, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested for illegally exporting controlled technology.

Russian nationals Dmitry Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Aleksei Krutilin, were simultaneously arrested on charges of conspiring with Barysheff.

The government said the three men engaged in a conspiracy to obtain microelectronics from manufacturers and suppliers in the United States and export them to Russia while evading government controls on high-tech exports.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the United States of violating a 1999 treaty governing criminal cases by not notifying Russian authorities within three days of arresting the Russian nationals.

"We have repeatedly said that such actions, which violate the rights and interests of Russian citizens, are unacceptable and unlawful," Konstantin Dolgov, the ministry's envoy on human rights, told Interfax.

The United States restricts the export of items it believes could undermine U.S. national security.

The department said the microelectronics shipped to Russia included digital-to-analog converters and integrated circuits used in a wide range of military systems, including radar and missile-guidance systems.

It said Barysheff had registered two companies in New York that were used as front companies to purchase and export the controlled technology, while concealing from their suppliers the intended final destination.

Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Interfax
The U.S. Justice Department charged eight people, including six soldiers, with stealing more than $1 million worth of sensitive U.S. Army equipment and selling it on eBay to buyers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, and other countries.

The soldiers, from Fort Campbell in Tennessee, stole equipment from the base and sold it to the other two defendants, who in turn sold the items online, the department said on October 6.

The items sold included sniper telescopes and rifle accessories, machine-gun parts and accessories, grenade-launcher sights, flight helmets, communication headsets, body armor and medical supplies, the government said.

Night-vision helmet mounts were sold to eBay customers in Russia, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Lithuania, Moldova, Malaysia, Romania, and Mexico.

Advanced communications headset helmets were sold to buyers in Russia and China and flight helmet mounts were shipped to those two countries as well as to Kazakhstan, the government said.

U.S. authorities are attempting to locate the buyers and retrieve the equipment, which they said was "extraordinarily, inherently dangerous."

If convicted, the defendants could be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $250,000.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
"The very fact that they are paying lobbyists over a half of million dollars to try and sway these congressmen to keep fighters from getting the same protection that boxers have is one of the most hypocritical things I have ever seen. It's insanity what he's trying to do behind closed doors...he won't be respected by Dana White. That's how it always goes. It's his way or the highway. You do what he tells you to do or you will be punished," stated former UFC middleweight title challenger Nate Quarry, who had a lot to say about Dana White, the Muhammad Ali Act in MMA, and the plight of Jose Aldo, and more. Check it out!



PC: You have also been a big advocate for the Muhammad Ali Act being passed in MMA as well. Could you elaborate on that for me?



NQ: Oh yeah! It should be a no-brainer. You have Dana White, when Muhammad Ali passed away, saying, "What a great champion. He's such a great representative for the sport." I guarantee you if Muhammad Ali was under the UFC banner, Dana White would have been trashing him, "This guy needs to do his civic duty. I can't believe this guy is bucking the system. It's never enough for this guy. Now he doesn't even want to fight for us; he wants to go to another organization. This guy is a hack. He's no good." The very fact that they are paying lobbyists over a half of million dollars to try and sway these congressmen to keep fighters from getting the same protection that boxers have is one of the most hypocritical things I have ever seen. It's insanity what he's trying to do behind closed doors. It's like, "Hey everybody, look at me and how I appreciate how much Muhammad Ali done for combat sports. Hey, by the way, I'm going to go pay this guy half a million dollars to be sure the fighters aren't protected by the Ali Act."



PC: You posted "Respect" when you saw the article that Jose Aldo wants out of the UFC and has even said he's retired. Aldo was such a great champion for such a long time. What are your thoughts when you see the fact that his career could play out like this?



NQ: Geez, of course he won't be respected by Dana White. That's how it always goes. It's his way or the highway. You do what he tells you to do or you will be punished. And you see this by exactly what is happening here. We've seen this over and over again; someone gets knocked out, it's a one-punch knockout before he was even able to get going into the fight. Well, this is a great champion with one loss early in his career, so a rematch is a no-brainer. If anybody deserves it, it's Jose Aldo. What a great champion! What a great representative for Brazil; one of the hugest fighting communities in the whole world. But they don't give it to him. They're going to continue to pick and choose their favorites and push that. It's funny because if the fighters that were on the side of favorites would get more of the promotion, and that kind of goes back to the Reebok deal; they have a very limited budget, so they're going to pick and choose who they want to give more money to, so that the fighters can't go out on the free market and see what they're worth. And I have no idea what Conor McGregor is getting or what Ronda Rousey is getting, what the fighters that are advertised are getting, but I guarantee you on the open market, they would be getting more. They may even think they are getting a lot, but compared to the open market, they're not. And until we break down the monopoly and tear apart those exclusive contracts, nobody is going to know what their true value is.



That's what America is all about. You want to start a great product, that's awesome, but you can't shut down the rest of the world's competition by buying them up and then getting exclusive contracts that fighters can never escape from. That's what's so un-American about all of this. You think you're the best, great, then prove it in the open market. One of the greatest fights to never happen was Randy Couture against Fedor Emelianenko. And then Mark Cuban shows up and says, "I want to pay you guys. This is going to be a huge fight," because he recognized the brand is not the UFC. Nobody tunes in to watch an empty cage. They tune in to see the greatest fighters in the world. And that's what the UFC has done. They signed this top elite talent and no matter how much Dana White says, "It's the brand. It's all about the brand." And then he'll hire a CM Punk because he knows that will bring more pay-per-views. But this Fedor-Couture fight would have been such a phenomenal fight and he just says, "No! No we're not going to do that. We're not going to give you an opportunity to compete against us." You won't even step up to the plate and say, "You know what, Mark Cuban, what are you offering these guys? We'll beat it. We'll step up to the plate." But when you have that level of greed in your heart, it's these guys that want to rule the world can't even comprehend that the rest of us just want to live in it. My goal is not to own a jet; my goal has always been to have enough make due money. If I go out to dinner, am I gonna have enough funds to pay this check? We have such simple goals. I want to have a happy and healthy life. I want to see my daughter go to college and have the opportunities that I never had. And then you have guys sitting there going, "You are so greedy! You are so selfish!" Man, don't you own a jet? Aren't you a billionaire? And you're calling me greedy. Who is the greedy person here, the guy looking for food money or the guy that owns all of the casinos and pays his workers so little that they go on welfare? It just makes no sense.

[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
RAIDS on shops selling illegal tobacco have uncovered more than 10,000 untaxed cigarettes worth 2,000.

The Tuesday morning stings involved police, trading standards and immigration officers, working with a private sniffer dog firm.

Joint teams visited four locations, checking for illegal products and undocumented workers.

They were acting on intelligence from private investigators, who managed to buy illicit tobacco from each store back in March.

The illegal smoking materials included genuine tobacco smuggled into the UK, branded fakes and cheap whites" - cigarettes like Jin Lings, Richmans or Raquels, which are not regulated and only sold illegally.

Three of these shops - located in the town centre, Bradgate and Eastwood - contained illicit tobacco when raided on Tuesday.

Much of this was hidden in compartments under shop counters and in false walls.

Normally sold at about half the price of taxed cigarettes, the 2,000 haul represents 4,000 in legal sales.

Rotherham Trading Standards manager Ivan Thompson, said: We have executed four warrants today and found about 3,000 illicit cigarettes plus illicit rolling tobacco.

Most of this was concealed in secret compartments, which is not unusual.

These products are especially unsafe because they dont comply with European safety standards.

As such, they wont burn themselves out like normal cigarettes and could cause fires.

Rotherham Borough Council will now seek to prosecute shop owners caught with the illicit products.

It is a criminal offence to supply these products, said Mr Thompson.

They are sold at around 3 a pack, which undermines a lot of the smoking cessation work being done.

Cigarettes are taxed to discourage smoking and the price is a significant factor in smoking.

This is undermined when you can get illicit tobacco for a fraction of the cost.

He added: The police have assisted us today by extending some of our powers.

And without the sniffer dogs we might not have found this tobacco, so those have been very important too.

This is ongoing work in the borough, so there will be more of these sorts of visits.

The Advertiser joined WOR Consultancy on undercover tobacco busts in March.

The private eyes mapped Rotherham shops selling illegal tobacco, handing the information to cigarette-makers and Rotherham Borough Council.

Mr Thompson added: We have had to go to court and get warrants and we have used information from the industry to do that.

Generally, it is the owner who is committing an offence by selling these illicit products, whether knowingly or not.

Now it is a case of bringing them in, looking at all of the evidence and then taking them to court.

We have also taken CCTV evidence, so we will be analysing that as well - we will look at evidence on anyone working in that premises.

People could well be prosecuted for aiding and abetting the owner in this.
NEWLY-appointed Shadow Cabinet minister Sarah Champion began her new role by attacking the Government for failing time and time again on addressing inequalities.



Rotherham MP Ms Champion, previously Shadow Minister for Preventing Abuse, was appointed Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday evening.



She said: Im absolutely delighted to have accepted the role of Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities in Labours Shadow Cabinet.

I became an MP to make a difference. Ive spent years fighting for women and equalities and this appointment is a great honour.

Labours continuing work in this area is more vital now than ever before.



Our country is becoming more divided and less equal  85 per cent of all Tory cuts have been at the expense of women.



One in four young gay people experience homophobic bullying online.



There has been a rapid increase in rates of domestic violence and violence against women in the last six years.



Disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people.



This government talks the talk on equality but has failed time and time again to deliver. I intend to hold them to account on their empty promises.
The Namibian government said it is building a new economy for the future as it cannot rely on diamonds forever.

Namibia had been mining diamonds since 1908 and its overall mining activity accounts for almost 8 percent of GDP.

Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila told the visiting KP chairperson Ahmed Bin Sulayem that Namibia was looking into growing several sectors that would employ people in a range of industries and services.

Natural resources have always been important to Namibia, especially diamonds, as they contribute a significant amount to our GDP, she said.

What is important about this is the funding that the diamond industry supplies to help Namibia diversify its economy. We cannot rely on diamonds forever, so this government is looking at ways to optimize benefits from diamonds to improve peoples lives while at the same time building a new economy for the future.

Meanwhile, Bin Sulayem said KP was embracing the countrys new business framework to provide more jobs in the mining sector and other parts of the economy.

This aligns well with our rough diamond valuation initiative, he said.

Across the country, a robust infrastructure is in place, and business opportunities are emerging for the benefit of Namibia.

Namibia, with unique alluvial diamond fields had seen small increases in diamond production over the last five years with close to 2 million carats being exported in 2015, according to KP. Production costs were initially relatively low, but they are rising as much more of its alluvial activity going offshore with a 60/40 split in favour of underwater extraction.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Kimberley Diamonds Botswana subsidiary has entered into an offtake agreement for the sale of diamonds from its Lerala diamond mine.

The subsidiary, Lerala Diamond Mines, conducted a tender of its diamonds in late September 2016, which was operated by DDA Trading BVBA in Antwerp.

Following the tender, the winning bidder made an offer to enter into an offtake agreement for all diamonds for a 6 month period, the company said.

The buyer has agreed to purchase all run of mine diamonds produced by Lerala at its Lerala Diamond Mine from 1 September 2016 to 28 February 2017, at prices consistent with Kimberley Diamonds and Lerala expectations and recent forecasts.

Kimberley said the entry into this short term offtake agreement reflected demand and interest in the market for Lerala diamonds.

DDA Trading BVBA would continue discussions with a number of parties in relation to offtake of Lerala production after February 2017, said Kimberley.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




MBTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is now taking letters of interest from contracting firms for its Green Line Extension (GLX) project.

MBTA says it will host a forum Nov. 16 to discuss the scope of the GLX project, inviting firms that can lead design-build teams to carry out the work.

Upcoming work on the extension entails the design and construction of the extensions two branches to the Green Line. MBTA plans outline a mainline branch that would operate within the existing right-of-way of the Lowell Line and a branch line running within Somervilles existing Fitchburg Line to Union Square right-of-way.

The project would also bring seven new stations with electrical and signal systems to the line, including the relocated Lechmere Station. MBTA says it is also considering the addition of a vehicle storage and maintenance facility.

MBTA says the GLX project has met several of its goals so far.

On Aug. 8, the MBTAs Fiscal and Management Control Board gave the transportation authority the OK to move forward with the next phase of the GLX projectdeveloping procurement documents to select a new construction team.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the City of Cambridge was established for the city to commit $25 million in funding toward elements of the GLX project within the city.

Both the FMCB and the MassDOT board voted Oct. 6 to accept the MOU with the city of Cambridge, securing the $25 million contributions transfer from the city to the Commonwealth throughout several years.

MassDOT is working with the city of Somerville to progress a similar MOU to secure Somervilles pledged $50 million in funding, MBTA says.

The transportation authority has also completed a review of the GLX project to identify possible cost reductions and methods of streamlining the planning and construction processes, officials say. MBTA has completed the continued close-out of existing construction contracts as the GLX project proceeds, as well.

Representatives say the projects completion remains contingent on the release of $1 billion in pledged federal government funding. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) expressed support for the work performed thus far by the Interim Project Management Team earlier in 2016.

FTA Regional Administrator Mary Beth Mello wrote in a letter to MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack that the IPMT has made every effort to redesign the project in ways that preserve its most essential transportation benefits, consistent with your fiscal constraints.

The FTA also says the MBTAs cost estimates are complete, well documented, describing the project scope as consistent with the scope of work set forth in the Full Funding Grant Agreement, and saying the project schedule is mechanically sound.
South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.OB,SSNNF.OB,SMSN.L) said Friday that it expects operating profit for the third quarter to increase 5.5 percent year-over-year, despite a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

The operating profit result is likely to reflect continued strong demand for the company's flash memory chips and displays, and is above analysts' expectations. The company is scheduled to report its financial results for the third quarter in late October.

Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker by shipments, had been earlier losing market share in its handset to U.S. rival Apple, Inc. (AAPL) as well as Chinese brands. However, the launch of the Galaxy S7 smartphone series in March has boosted the company's sales performance.

According to a regulatory filing, Samsung estimates operating profit for the third quarter to be about 7.8 trillion won, or $7 billion, above analysts' expectations of 7.4 trillion won.

The forecast represents a 5.5 percent increase from the company's year-ago quarter operating profit of 7.39 trillion won, but also marks a 4.2 percent sequential decrease from second-quarter operating profit of 8.14 trillion won.

Samsung projects third-quarter sales to decline 5.2 percent to about 49 trillion won from last year's sales of 51.68 trillion won. Sales are also seen to decrease 3.8 percent from the previous quarter's sales of 50.94 trillion won.

Samsung did not provide earnings or sales figure estimates for each of its business divisions.

In late July, Samsung reported an almost 18 percent year-over-year increase in operating profit for the second quarter, reflecting strong performance both in the set and component businesses.

In early September, Samsung confirmed that it stopped the sales of Galaxy Note 7 due to a battery cell issue. The company said it plans to replace the faulty batteries of the devices with new ones over the coming weeks.

There have been reports about Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note 7 phone exploding during or after charging. The lithium-ion batteries are suspected to be the culprit. The company has reportedly sold 2.5 million Note 7s.

On the South Korean Stock Exchange, Samsung shares are currently trading at 1,700,000 won, up 9,000 won or 0.53 percent on a volume of 263,924 shares.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Industrial production from Germany and the U.K. are due on Friday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is set to publish Germany's industrial output data for August. Production is expected to rise 1 percent on month in August, reversing a 1.5 percent fall in July.

Statistics Norway releases industrial output report for August. Manufacturing output is seen falling 0.5 percent month-on-month after rising 3.7 percent in July.

At 2.45 am ET, the French statistical office Insee is set to release industrial output figures for August. Production is expected to rise 0.6 percent on month, offsetting a 0.6 percent fall in July.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain's INE releases industrial production data for August. Production had decreased 5.2 percent annually in July. In the meantime, industrial output and external trade figures are due from Hungary.

Also, the Czech industrial output and foreign trade reports are due. Economists forecast output to climb 8.3 percent on a yearly basis in August, reversing July's 14.1 percent fall in July.

At 3.30 am ET, the U.K. Halifax house price report is due. Economists expect house prices to remain flat in September on a monthly basis, after falling 0.2 percent in August.

At 4.30 am ET, the Office for National Statistics is scheduled to issue U.K. industrial production data for August. Economists forecast output to grow 0.1 percent on month, as seen in July.

Also, U.K. foreign trade figures are due. The visible trade gap is forecast to narrow to GBP 11.2 billion in August from GBP 11.76 billion in July.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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.
Norway's industrial production declined markedly in August, after rebounding in the previous month, figures from Statistics Norway showed Friday.

Industrial production fell a calendar-adjusted 6.4 percent year-over-year in August, reversing a 0.5 percent increase in July.

Manufacturing production decreased 7.5 percent annually in August, much faster than the 1.0 percent drop expected by economists.

Output of extraction and related services dipped 7.0 percent, while mining and quarrying production grew by 7.0 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production slid 4.7 percent from July, when it rose by 4.7 percent.

Manufacturing output contracted 6.2 percent over month, while it was forecast to drop slightly by 0.5 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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.
U.K. shares headed back towards a fresh record high on Friday, as the abrupt slump of the British Pound buoyed the outlook for companies with overseas earnings.

The pound recovered some ground after briefly plunging over 6 percent in Asian trade as French President Francois Hollande called for tough Brexit negotiations.

Economic reports painted a mixed picture, with U.K. industrial production logging an unexpected drop in August and the country's visible trade deficit widening more-than-expected in the month, while a measure of U.K. house prices rose slightly in September after two consecutive declines.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 70 points or 1.0 percent at 7,070 in midday trading after declining half a percent in the previous session.

Weakness in sterling lifted miners, with Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton climbing 3-4 percent.

Oil major Tullow Oil rose about 1 percent as oil prices hovered near a three-month high.

Luxury retailer Burberry, which sells heavily in the U.S. and Asia, advanced 2 percent.

EasyJet fell almost 4 percent on brokerage downgrades after its profit warning.

Vodafone Group gained 1.2 percent. Its Indian arm has acquired spectrum in all its key telecom circles in the spectrum auction for a total cost of 2.74 billion euros.

AstraZeneca shares rose over 1 percent. The biopharmaceutical company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cilag GmbH International, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson, for the divestment of the rights to Rhinocort Aqua outside the U.S.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
A sizable portion of Republicans say they wish Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence was the GOP nominee for president.

In a Politico/Morning Consult poll held among 1,989 registered voters after Tuesday's Vice Presidential debate, 32 percent of Republican supporters said they would rather cast their vote for Pence than for Trump.

On the other side, Democratic supporters remain staunchly behind Hillary Clinton.

Asked who they would rather vote for, 84 percent of Democratic supporters preferred the former Secretary of State over her running mate Tim Kaine.

Pence was generally rated as the clear winner in the only vice presidential debate, which was held in Farmville, Virginia. In the poll, independents thought Pence beat Kaine in the debate by a 33 percent to 14 percent margin.

Voters were also asked to choose their top pick for President in the next election, which is due in 2020. Among Republicans, Pence was the most popular first choice at 22 percent, followed by Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan at 13 percent each.

For Democrats, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is the favorite for the 2020 election.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
Nearly 40 retailers have promised to keep their stores shut on Thanksgiving day, in order to allow their employees to celebrate the holiday with their families.

It is only in recent years that retailers started the trend of shopping on Thanksgiving Day ahead of Black Friday, however, many have criticized it to be unfair as employees of retail stores will have to be away from family and friends on the holiday.

Bestblackfriday.com, a website that tracks holiday shopping deals and news, has provided a detailed list of the retailers that will be closed on Thanksgiving day, which includes American Girl, AT&T, Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco, GameStop, Home Depot, IKEA, PetSmart among others.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Oil exchange traded products, including the the United States Oil Fund (USO) , which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, have been getting a lift as the underlying commodity fights off some notable fundamental headwinds to trade higher. Some market observers crude still has plenty of upside to come.

Last week, oil and energy exchange traded funds rallied Thursday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to the first output cut since 2008, with Saudi Arabia relaxing its position on Iran amid stubbornly low oil prices.

SEE MORE: Energy Stocks, ETFs can Keep Surging

Although there are some oil market followers that are bullish on the commodity, significant supply concerns cannot be overlooked. OPEC has kept up production to pressure high-cost rivals, such as the developing U.S. shale oil producers. The International Energy Agency expects it will take several years before OPEC can effectively price out high-cost producers.

OPEC plans to diminish output to a range of 32.5 to 33.0 million barrels per day from its current estimated output of 33.24 million barrels per day. While Saudi Arabia, OPECs biggest producer, has agreed to reduce output, Iran, Libya and Nigeria might not follow suit.

Trending on ETF Trends

Buying The Dip in Gold ETFs

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Energy ETFs Rally as Russia Joins OPEC in Considering Supply Limits

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Even with the supply issues widely known, some technical analysts see upside coming for crude.

As much as traders and investors are watching for oil to hit $50, however, Strategas technical analyst Chris Verrone actually sees oil heading to $55, reports CNBC.

SEE MORE: Commodity ETFs May Experience Seasonal Weakness in September

Many traders remain bearish over the short-term, betting on weakening seasonal trends. Money managers increased wagers on declines in oil prices to a record on increasing U.S. inventories and ahead of a seasonal refinery maintenance that will curb crude demand.

Story continues

Referring to a chart of oil dating back to last July, Verrone says that while oil has gone almost nowhere for the past four months, crude did break through what he describes as a key level at $48.55 this week. In other words, Verrone believes that by breaking through what he sees as resistance at the 50-day moving average, oil can make new highs and hit $55 with buying opportunities ahead, adds CNBC.

For more information on the crude oil market, visit our oil category .

United States Oil Fund
SAO PAULO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer SA said in a securities filing on Thursday that talks with U.S. authorities to settle a bribery investigation are at an advanced stage but that no agreement has yet been reached.

"Despite the advanced stage of negotiations, the parties have not yet reached an agreement," referring to talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.

(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Quick Links SACI Facebook :

SACI Instagram: Statement on Diversity and Inclusion e South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute is committed to diversity and inclusivity in chemical sciences. The Institute opposes discriminatory acts or threats based on race, ethnicity, citizenship, culture, language, disability, age, religious or spiritual beliefs, political opinion, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation and economic class. The Institute is dedicated (i) to endorsing excellence and scientific credibility across chemical sciences conducted in academic, industrial, and governmental institutions, and (ii) to nurturing the values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the chemical sciences in South Africa. Hence, SACI will continue to play a leading role in assuring the professional competence and integrity of chemists and fostering international collaboration whilst upholding inclusivity and diversity. Statement on Sexual Harassment e South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute will not permit any kind of sexual harassment (physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct) in the Institute or at events organised by or related to the Institute. The Institute is committed to and fully supports environments that are free of any form of unfair discrimination and harassment, including gender-based violence. Allegations of any form of sexual harassment will be dealt with seriously, expeditiously, sensitively and confidentially. Statement from SACI Council on tertiary training in chemistry as a result of disruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the professional body representing the interests of all chemists in South Africa, we recognise the challenges that the current COVID-19 crisis presents to all our members in academia, research and industry. We also acknowledge the challenges the current situation presents to our tertiary institutions and specifically the challenges presented by moving to online teaching. We applaud the efforts of all our members who work at tertiary institutions who have adapted and innovated to ensure that we can continue as far as possible with our teaching and learning of chemistry even when on campus face-to-face contact is not possible. Our tertiary institutions play a critical role in not only training the next generation of chemists, but they are also tasked with the important responsibility of ensuring that many people from other professions and disciplines are trained in the fundamental principles of chemistry. We reaffirm our belief that this training is essential, as chemistry is one of the central sciences. Key to this training is the practical component and laboratory based skills development. While we accept that this critical component of our training is not possible under the current situation, we strongly urge that plans be put in place to preserve this component of training as part of the curriculum as far as possible. In some cases, virtual laboratory tools can facilitate learning, but we believe that in laboratory practical training particularly for senior level courses should be preserved. SACI strongly recommends that at least a critical minimum practical experience should form part of the plans to complete the 2020 academic year at our tertiary institutions. We believe that this is essential to preserve the validity and integrity of the academic training programmes in chemistry. Latest Updates: Pay your SACI membership fees with SnapScan SACI Ties, Scarfs and T-shirts Periodic table ties and ladies scarfs R130 each. Periodic table T Shirt Short sleeve R180, Long sleeve R200 Please contact head office to place orders. There is also a courier charge of R150 per order for delivery.


Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Britain's vote to leave the European Union has made it more likely that the euro zone will not be around in 10 years, JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon told bankers on Friday.

"Brexit makes the chance of the euro zone not surviving 10 years from now five times higher," Dimon said at the Institute of International Finance's 2016 annual membership meeting in Washington.

Speaking at the same event, James Gorman, the chief executive of Morgan Stanley, said that the big winner from Brexit would be New York because business currently carried out in London would shift there.

(Reporting by Olivia Oran; Editing by Paul Simao)
In the last 24 hours, India reported 1,326 new Covid-19 cases and eight cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. ...


(Adds details, background, quotes, byline; changes dateline, previous Toronto)

By Leah Schnurr

OTTAWA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Canadian government posted a much smaller-than-expected budget deficit in the fiscal year 2015-16, helped by increased income tax revenue related to changes to tax brackets made by the new government, the finance department said on Friday.

Canada ran a budgetary deficit of C$1.0 billion ($755 million) for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2016, according to the annual financial report released by the government.

That is well short of the deficit of C$5.4 billion that the government had forecast in its budget released earlier this year. Still, the swing to a deficit comes after the government posted a surplus of C$1.9 billion in the previous fiscal year.

Revenue was up 4.6 percent from the 2014-15 fiscal year, due to the growth in income tax revenue and other taxes. That was C$4.2 billion, or 1.5 percent, higher than had been forecast.

The Liberal government has sizeable deficits forecast for the next five years as it looks to invigorate the economy with infrastructure and other spending.

The smaller deficit for last year could give the government room to roll out even more stimulus, said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

"Arguably, they could loosen fiscal policy by just a notch further without doing any damage to where we thought the fiscal position was beforehand," said Porter.

The government is trying to dispense infrastructure investments into the economy as quickly as possible, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview with Reuters on Friday.

The 2015-16 fiscal year encompassed both the former Conservative government and the new Liberal government that came to power last November.

Shortly after, the Liberals made good on a campaign promise to reduce income taxes for lower income earners, while raising them for higher earners.

A 6.7 percent increase in personal income tax revenue in the fiscal year was due to gains in personal income and wealthier Canadians recognizing income in 2015 before the higher tax came into effect this year, the finance department said.

The previous Conservative government's sale of its shares of General Motors in April last year also contributed C$2.1 billion to revenue, while program expenses and public debt charges were C$100 million lower than forecast. ($1 = 1.3246 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson in Toronto; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Kelly, Schmidt not talking much about possible school choice expansion

While education has been a key issue in the Kansas governor's race, both campaigns have talked less frequently about the issue of school choice.
Its been a busy week for the Toa Samoa.

Away from their preparations for the confrontation against Fiji Bati this afternoon, the team has been visiting a number of local sponsors as part of their community work.

On Thursday, they were at S.S.A.B where Chief Executive Officer,Fiti Leung Wai, encouraged them.

Today, its an honour and privilege for me to welcome all the ambassadors of Samoa who are making it big internationally in this game who are present here today, she said.

I know that every time you guys go out and play for your respective clubs, you put your bodies on the line, and also proudly fly Samoas flag. With you being here in your home country, I know there is lot that is expected of you.

And this is only natural because we are a proud nation.

Mrs. Leung Wai went on to encourage the players and wished them good luck for their game today.

We have a Samoan saying, E le sau le moa folau, vivini i totonu o le fanua o le moafanua. Literally, it means that we should never allow a foreign rooster to crow on our lands. So what you face this Saturday is a momentous battle as you face the Fiji Bati comprised of formidable players representing their country on our lands. So I go back to how I started my remarks with the question, Samoa, o ai le Toa? The answer is, the toa or warriors are yourselves.

You are the warriors. You will defend our honour, our culture and our pride here on our lands.

After Saturday, it will be etched in the minds of people like me, and all the Samoans the true spirit of Rugby league through your display of skills, sacrifice and passion for our country.No longer will we ask the question, Samoa o ai le toa? And we will by then know the answers that you, the proud sons and warriors of Samoa are indeed our very own Toa Samoa.

I leave you with the parting words of Tautiapagofie to her brother Manu Samoa before he went off to war. Ia malamalama ou mata, ia pouliuli lou tino ma ia tafe toto ou ala.

Literally it means, may your eye sights be clear, may our body be black as night, and may your path flow with blood.

Junior Paulo was chosen to say a few words of thanks on behalf of the team.

I just want to thank the man upstairs for bringing all of us here today.

I also want to thank SSAB for jumping on board and sponsoring our team. I am sure that we are all grateful to what you guys have done and also for the gifts today, I am grateful for that.

It has been a good opportunity for us to meet and greet and also get to know our sponsors as well. So on behalf of the team, I would like to thank all of you here today.

T-shirts and goodies were provided by S.S.A.B for the players and also two buro chairs from their supplier from New Zealand.
Its that time of the year again.

Once every year on the second Sunday of October, the whole country and also the Samoan community abroad commemorate White Sunday, celebrating our children.

Referred to as Lotu a Tamaiti, in Samoan or Childrens Service in English, the general practice of the day is that children are given the opportunity to put together skits, songs, dances and recite verses from the bible.

The children practice for several weeks before the big day, putting on skits from Bible stories, singing songs, and often the older children will be responsible for the day's sermon or message.

During the following to'ona'i or family feast the children are served first and in many families the children are excused from chores. It is a day where parents get to spoil their children by buying them new clothes, shoes and other treats.

It is one of the busiest times in Samoa.

The Samoa Observer caught up with some of the children shopping with their parents yesterday in the town of Apia.

Maletina Kereti from the village of Leulumoega couldnt stop smiling yesterday as she held a shopping bag with her new dress in it.

I am here with my mother, and she just bought me a new dress for Sunday, the 12-year-old told the Samoa Observer.

I was happy when she asked me to come with her in town today and I love the dress she bought for me.

Moreover, Maletina said she is looking forward to Sunday.

I look forward to White Sunday every year. This is because its not every day that our parents buy us expensive new clothes to wear on Sunday.

So I want to thank my parents for everything and thank God for His love. Another happy child was Pita Tai from the village of Moataa. The sun and the dust did not stop me and my mother from walking around town to look for new clothes for me and my siblings.

There are four of us, and we are all shopping for them. My three siblings are at home and I am here to accompany my mom.

White Sunday is the only time where we can choose whatever we want and our parents always buy us what we want to make us feel special.
The Acting Director of the National Prosecution Office, Muriel Lui, has become the latest government lawyer in Samoa to be suspended.

Her suspension means the prosecutorial duties previously with N.P.O. have been assumed by the Office of the Attorney General immediately.

Attorney General, Lemalu Herman Retzlaff, was reluctant to discuss the matter yesterday.

We have been informed that Cabinet will issue a release, said Lemalu.

When it comes to the court cases, Im reluctant to say anything because some of the information regarding the prosecution is before the Court.

Later yesterday afternoon, the Office of the Press Secretariat issued a statement from Cabinet confirming the suspension.

The suspension of Acting Director of N.P.O, Ms Muriel Lui, is pursuant to sections 11(4), 11 (7) and 11(8) of the NPO Act 2015 and the appointment of the Attorney General, Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff, as Acting Director of the National Prosecution Office is pursuant to Article 41A of the Constitution.

Cabinet has also resolved to appoint a Tribunal to evaluate the performance of Ms Lui and the suspended Director of N.P.O, Mauga Precious Chang.

According to the statement, Cabinet has noted the continued refusal of the suspended Acting Director of N.P.O and suspended Director of N.P.O to properly perform powers and duties to uphold the rule of law and objectivity of the criminal justice system.

Cabinet acknowledges that the actions of Ms. Lui and Ms. Chang have created unnecessary conflicts between government departments while diminishing public confidence in law enforcement processes and the justice system in Samoa.

Furthermore, the validity of the establishment of the National Prosecution Office will also be reviewed to ensure the Statutory responsibilities and powers are treated with greater transparency, accountability and respect.

The statement continues: The Tribunal will be appointed on the grounds that Ms. Chang and Ms. Lui have not used the Statutory powers given to them in an appropriate manner and they have breached Civil Service Values and Code of Conduct under the Public Service Act 2004, as applied to them under section 15 of the NPO Act 2015.

Members of the Tribunal will include Justice Grant Hammond, former Justice of the High Court of Samoa; Tuiloma Neroni Slade, former Attorney General of Samoa; and the President of the Samoa Law Society or an appointed representative of the society. Their report will be provided to the Minister responsible for the N.P.O, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.

The Attorney General has assumed the role of Acting Director of the National Prosecution Office as of 6th October 2016.

Asked whether the decision from the Cabinet was based on a recommendation from his Office, Lemalu declined to comment.

Ms. Lui took charge of the National Prosecution Office when the Director of Public Prosecution, Mauga was suspended in August.

Attempts to contact Ms. Lui for a comment were unsuccessful.

A senior lawyer at the National Prosecution Office, Leone Sua-Mailo said she could not talk to the media.

I think the best person to call is Lemalu, she said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. on Friday bluntly accused Russia of war crimes in Syria and then pointed a finger directly at the Kremlin for hacking American political sites and email accounts to interfere with the upcoming presidential election.

Moscow dismissed the accusations, which come at a low point in U.S.-Russia relations. On Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. was trying to divert attention from its own failure to uphold a cease-fire in the bloody war. Moscow called the hacking accusations "some kind of nonsense."

The accusations were issued in a one-two punch.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday morning that Russian and Syrian military strikes against civilians and medical facilities in Syria should be investigated as war crimes. The situation in Syria has dramatically deteriorated since the collapse of a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire two weeks ago.

"These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes," Kerry said. "They're beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."

Kerry on Monday had cut off diplomatic discussions between Russia and the US over Syria hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a U.S.-Russia agreement on disposing weapons-grade plutonium. On Wednesday, Putin suspended another agreement on research cooperation in the nuclear and energy sectors.

Then on Friday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence accused Russia of hacking political sites.

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow," a statement by the two agencies said. "The Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the U.S. statement as "some kind of nonsense," but didn't deny Russia's involvement.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the U.S.," Peskov was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency. "We're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," he added, referring to the Virginia city where the CIA is based.

The White House declined to say whether the accusation would trigger sanctions against Russia. A senior Obama administration official said the U.S. would respond "at a time and place of our choosing."

The official said the public won't necessarily know what actions the U.S. has already taken or will take in the future against Russia involving cyberspace. The official wasn't authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

Federal officials are investigating cyberattacks at the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Election data systems in at least two states  Illinois and Arizona  also have been breached. Intelligence officials say some states have experienced scanning or probing of their election systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company.

The Friday statement stopped short, though, in attributing the activity to the Russian government. And administration officials emphasized that it would be difficult for hackers to alter the results of the Nov. 8 election because each U.S. state runs its own election system.

Democratic Party officials learned in late April that their systems were attacked after discovering malicious software on their computers.

CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that investigated the Democratic Party hacks, said one of the groups identified in the Democratic National Committee attack, dubbed Cozy Bear, had previously infiltrated unclassified networks at the White House, the State Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Another group detected, called Fancy Bear, had targeted private and public sector networks around the world since the mid-2000s. Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear are linked to Russia.

Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike's vice president of intelligence, said not only did the hackers' programming code sometimes match code used in earlier hacks by Russia but the behavior matches the country's decades-long efforts to sow instability in Europe and Eastern Europe  both on the ground and in cyberspace.

Meyers said Russian state-sponsored hackers  believed to be the military intelligence agency GRU  were not only targeting the DNC but also NATO and other governments, such as Romania, at the same time, pointing to a highly complex operation with many resources.

Caches of emails were also made public in recent weeks that detailed thousands of messages from Democratic operatives, as well as former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Those emails were published by a different source, called DC Leaks, which the cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect had linked to Fancy Bear.

Friday's official accusation of Russian involvement adds to campaign-year fodder stoked this summer by Donald Trump, who encouraged Russia to find  and make public  missing emails deleted by Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. His call set off a debate over hacking and his urging of a foreign government to meddle in American politics.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said in July. He referred to emails on Clinton's private server that she said she deleted  because they were private  before turning other messages over to the State Department.
They may not get it this year, but boosters of energy storage technologies want their sector to get the same tax credits that the federal government extends to the wind and solar industries.

It would be a good economic investment for us as a government and as a nation to invest in advancing these technologies, said Matt Roberts, executive director for the industrys trade group, the Energy Storage Association.

Under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, energy storage technologies such as batteries, thermal energy storage and regenerative fuel cells that qualify would get a 30 percent investment tax credit.

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The Heinrich bill essentially runs parallel with the 30 percent tax credit that wind and solar receive from the federal government and, like the wind and solar credits, would eventually taper off in the coming years.

Rep. Mike Honda, D-California, and Rep. Tom Reed, R-New York, have introduced a similar but more complicated bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The prospect of a getting a tax credit created some buzz among a few of the 2,000 attendees at the Energy Storage North America conference that wrapped up Thursday in San Diego.

Storage is too expensive, said Keith Martin, an attorney at the Washington D.C.-based law firm of Chadbourne & Parke, one of the panelists at the conference. If the government can help with the cost-sharing, it will then get more people into the market.

Under current rules, energy storage can only receive a federal tax credit if it is paired with wind and solar electricity production, most often seen when a storage component is matched with a rooftop solar system.

The proposed legislation would establish tax credits for stand-alone storage systems.

Extending the tax credit would encourage deployment of storage throughout our electric power sector, said Janice Lin, executive director of the California Energy Storage Alliance. The consequences of that are dramatic for ratepayers.

But in addition to the political hurdles the legislation would have to clear on Capitol Hill, there are other questions.

For example, while wind and solar actually generate energy to the electrical grid, storage  by definition  captures energy produced at one time and then deploys it later.

Were getting to a really tenuous connection, said William Yeatman, senior fellow specializing in environmental policy and energy markets for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank based in Washington D.C.

The subsidy for wind and solar energy is already an indirect subsidy for the energy storage industry, Yeatman said, pointing to the intermittency of wind and solar  that is, how solar production slumps and when the sun isnt shining and wind power wanes when the breeze isnt blowing.

Deploying energy storage is designed to smooth out those peaks and valleys on the grid.

Its basically double-dipping, Yeatman said should the energy storage industry receive a taxpayer-funded tax credit. Those wind and solar subsidies are helping (the energy storage industry) too.

Not surprisingly, energy storage company executives would like to see a federal tax incentive adopted.

If you had a cost-effective storage credit, it will create certainty in the market and rapid market adaptation, said Greg Miller, executive vice president of market development and sales at Ice Energy, a Santa Barbara-based company that specializes in thermal energy storage.

California is one of the few states that has incentives in place for the industry.

Energy storage is included in the California Public Utilities Commissions Self-Generation Incentive Program that offers rebates to utility customers who install distributed generation and storage technologies that reduce electrical demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

The state has also established a mandate through the CPUC that requires the states three investor-owned utilities procure 1,325 megawatts of energy storage by 2020.

Roberts cited a recent study as one reason to back the federal tax credit.

Modeling in Massachusetts estimated that 1.7 gigawatts of advanced energy storage would deliver more than $2.2 billion in system benefits and savings for the Bay States ratepayers.

What were talking about is investing in something that we know has a major financial upside, Roberts said.

But Yeatman said extending the tax credit is wrongheaded and expensive.

How much is too much and how big is too big with respect to these handouts, Yeatman said. I would warn any industry that is aggressively seeking a huge subsidy, be careful what you wish for because when the political winds change and a different partys in power and may revoke it, there are dire consequences for your industry.

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Three suspected Fallbrook gang members will face trial in the fatal stabbing of a black man, attacked at random while walking through town, but only one of the trio will face accusations that the crime was racially motivated, a judge ruled Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Harry Elias rejected the prosecutors argument that because the defendants are in a gang that hates black people, race must have been the motive behind the deadly crime.

Thats not enough for me, Elias said near the end of a two-day preliminary hearing. He said there was no specific evidence that two of the three defendants attacked the victim based on race.

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Elias did, find evidence, however, that one of the accused  18-year-old Ryan Valdez  may have such bias: His moniker was listed with other alleged gang members on some anti-black graffiti found in Fallbrook.

Valdez, Kevin Garcia, 21, and Tyler Ryan, 25 have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the death of 33-year-old Hugh Pettigrew III.

The victim was beaten and stabbed repeatedly about 10:45 p.m. Jan. 22 as he walked to the nearly apartment of family members.

Pettigrew staggered to the apartment and collapsed, telling family that hed been attacked by three to five gang members, some in masks or hoodies. Pettigrew was rushed to a hospital, but died more than two weeks later.

According to the lead detective on the case, surveillance video from nearby businesses depicts three smaller figures surrounding Pettigrew, who stood about 6 feet, 8 inches and weighed more than 400 pounds.

Before the attack, Pettigrew was just walking down the road. There is no apparent indication of provocation prior to the attack, nor was Pettigrew robbed.

(John Gibbins/San Diego Union-Tribune )

The gang-unit detective who initially investigated the attack testified Thursday that the defendants are members of a primarily Latino street gang in Fallbrook.

The gang, Detective Zachary Harris testified, has a systematic issue with black people being in their town.

I believe it was a race-based attack to benefit the street gang, Harris testified. Such benefits would include notoriety, respect on the streets, and helping the gang maintain its turf.

There has been at least one case in which prosecutors secured a hate-crime admission from a Fallbrook gang member. It came following the 2011 fatal beating and stabbing of Kenneth Mose, who was also black, in the same part of town. Authorities said that incident, also carried out by a handful of men, was similar to the attack on Pettigrew.

It is unknown whether prosecutors will continue trying to pursue hate-crime allegations in Pettigrews death. Deputy District Attorney Christine Bannon said her office will discuss the matter.

Garcias attorney, Herb Weston, said that there shouldnt have been a hate-crime (allegation) at all.

Kevin Garcia, seen during his preliminary hearing this week, is among three defendants accused in a fatal attack in Fallbrook on Jan. 22, 2016. (John Gibbons/San Diego Union-Tribune )

Attorney Matthew Mohun, who is representing Valdez, said his client did not write the hateful graffiti, nor did he add his name to it.

Each of the three defendants face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. The hate-crime allegation could tack on an additional four years to Valdez sentence.

Dean is looking at a much longer sentence if convicted, because he already has a strike on his record. He was on parole in that case when Pettigrew was attacked.

About a half-dozen friends and family members of Pettigrew attended the hearing. Afterward, his second cousin said she was still processing the information.

Its a lot to deal with, Cameo Jordan said.

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Three suspected gang members accused of targeting and fatally stabbing a black man in an act of racial hatred as he walked through Fallbrook were in a Vista courtroom Wednesday for a key pretrial hearing.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT

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Trio in court for deadly attack said to be hate crime
Seven months after coming under new operations management, the Las Palmas Pool in National City is thriving.

A private fitness and wellness management company called EXOS, formerly known as EXOS-MediFit, has provided programming for the citys 50-meter Las Palmas pool since February. It offers lap and recreation swim, group water exercise classes, swim lessons and facility rentals to the community and schools.

The pool, which is nearly 60 years old, had been closed for a year.

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The organization recently reported its success to the City Council during a Sept. 20 council meeting.

A year ago June when I took pictures of the facility and made initial recommendations...never in my wildest dreams did I think wed accomplish as much as weve accomplished up to this point, said EXOS Vice President Diana Thomas. It was because of everybody rolling up their sleeves, digging in and taking initiative and ownership.

It was just more about the love of bringing the pool back more than anything else, she said.

Falon Leszczynski, the facilitys aquatics director, said more than 4,000 people participated in an open recreation swim program held over the summer.

Water swim lessons are full with wait lists, she said.

The pool also hosts water polo practices and meets for Southwestern College, Bonita Vista, Eastlake and Sweetwater high schools, as well as the National School Districts third grade swim program.

The pool reopened in February with renovations, affordable programs and better access to residents, high schools and local college students. Improvements include a refurbished lobby, office area and locker room, new plumbing and piping for the showers as well as new equipment such as lane lines, kick boards and pulleys.

Perhaps the thing residents are happiest with, Leszczynski said, is theres no membership to use the pool, just resident and non-resident fees.

For people like Coyote Moon, 62, and Stephen Regalado, 67, the pool is nostalgic.I came here when I was a little kid, Moon said.

She moved away for a while and returned a year ago after buying a home in National City. Moon, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, began using the pool the day it reopened.

Today she uses it three to four times a week for lap swimming, a group water aerobics class and the diving board. Although some of the advantages are physical, she also uses it as a way to socialize.

Its nice being a class with women my own age, Moon said. The teachers are the same age as me. Theyre role models.

Peggy Wiley is one of two water aerobic instructors at Las Palmas who teaches the group classes. The swimmers use foam weights and also body resistance while jumping, stretching, doing jumping jacks to upbeat music.

I like to see them enjoy it and get fit, Wiley said.

Regalado, a Paradise Valley resident, said he uses the pool almost everyday for 1 1/2 hours. He was born in Hawaii and has surfed since he was 15 years old.

I used to swim here a lot before I moved away, he said. Now Im one of the regulars.

City staff began looking at long-term partnership opportunities a few years ago because it could no longer afford to pay for operations for the Las Palmas Pool and Camacho Gym. A previous agreement with the South Bay Family YMCA floundered after the organization realized it was unable to meet revenue targets for programs, memberships and fundraising.

The City Council voted to enter into a maintenance and operating agreement with EXOS to improve the pool in November last year. Whats really special to me is that were able to find and have a partnership that really seems to work in National City, said Councilwoman Mona Rios.

Mayor Ron Morrison agreed.

Its a situation where its been a breath of fresh air, he said. Its great to see that facility now in the shape that it should be and something you can take pride in.

City staff members are expected to bring back an extended contract with EXOS for operation of the pool in December. The current agreement with EXOS expires in June 2017.
Backpage.com bills itself as an internet classified advertising giant where you can find apartments, cars, pets and companionship.

But California prosecutors this week alleged that vast majority of the ads are for adult services and that the company is profiting from the sex trafficking of adults and children.

The chief executive of Backpage.com was arrested this week on pimping charges, part of a broad crackdown led by state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.

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Carl Ferrer was taken into custody Thursday in Houston after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam, according to a statement from Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, whose office joined in the criminal inquiry. Investigators also raided the Dallas headquarters of the company in a related probe of suspected money laundering, Paxton said.

Ferrer and two men who prosecutors described as controlling shareholders, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, were each charged with a felony count of conspiracy to commit pimping. The charges were filed Sept. 26 in Sacramento County Superior Court. Ferrer, 55, also faces multiple counts of pimping and pimping minors.

Prosecutors allege Lacey, 68, and Larkin, 67, helped operate Backpage and received earnings from the site, including a $10-million bonus each in 2014. Ferrer is accused of overseeing the company, including the screening of ads, and prosecutors contend he knowingly gained money from the prostitution of women and children, according to court papers.

Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal, Harris said. Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the worlds top online brothel.

Backpage on Friday denied any wrongdoing, accusing Harris prosecution as being politically motivated as she runs for the U.S. Senate.

The case is the most vigorous effort yet to blunt Backpage, which was founded in 2004 and is now owned by a Dutch company that lists Ferrer as its sole partner. Such a prosecution gives Harris office national attention as she heads into the final month of her race against Rep. Loretta Sanchez, also a Democrat, from Orange County.

But the charges will likely draw the opposition of First Amendment advocates, who have seen enforcement efforts against Backpage as a quash on free speech. The company has successfully fended off a raft of civil lawsuits and government inquiries, often citing the Communications Decency Act, which frees online publishers from liability over user postings.

In a statement issued Friday, the company blasted the prosecution and noted that the charges make it clear that Backpage blocked ads that violated a prohibition against prostitution and removed ads at the request of police.

The raid of Backpage.coms Dallas office and the arrest of its CEO is an election year stunt, not a good-faith action by law enforcement, according to the statement, which was also issued on behalf of Ferrer, Larkin and Lacey. The company accused Harris of an illegal prosecution, calling it a violation of First Amendment precedent as well as the Communications Decency Act.

Backpage.com will take all steps necessary to end this frivolous prosecution and will pursue its full remedies under federal law against the state actors who chose to ignore the law, as it has done successfully in other cases.

Lacey and Larkin were not in custody as of Thursday, but a warrant had been issued for their arrests. Both men are residents of Arizona and are the former owners of Phoenix New Times and the Village Voice.

If convicted, Ferrer faces up to about 22 years in prison. Larkin and Lacey each face up to six years.

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times )

The charges followed a three-year-long inquiry in which California authorities claim to have found numerous instances in which the company received fees from ads for escorts younger than 18. The minors lived in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Santa Clara counties, according to the criminal complaint.

Undercover agents responded to ads, which typically feature nearly nude photos and offer a menu of sex explained in coded language, prosecutors said. The agents met women and girls who described how they used  or were forced to use  the website to sell sexual intercourse.

A 27-year-old woman said she began using Backpage after Craigslist shuttered its escort section and the prostitution website MyRedbook.com was shut down by federal officials.

A 15-year-old girl, who said she was forced into prostitution at 13 by her pimp, bluntly told authorities that Backpage profits off of women and men. The teen, whose name was not disclosed, said the site simplified the online sex marketplace.

There is too much access, she said, like its too easy for people to get on it and post an ad.

The site allows classified ads for myriad categories  including jobs, housing, furniture and clothing  but investigators concluded that its adult section, which includes escort ads, generated the vast majority of its income, according to internal revenue reports.

Investigators focused on revenue generated from California, which accounted for about 15% of the companys global income, according to court papers. During a 29-month period starting in January 2013, Backpage had a gross income of about $51 million in the state.

The website has long been a target in the crusade against human trafficking. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported about 2,900 cases of suspected child sex trafficking via Backpage to law enforcement agencies in California since 2012, officials said.

The company has contended that it is a host  not a publisher  of content generated by third parties, namely, consenting adults.

In a 2011 interview with The Times, Larkin emphasized the need for thorough screening, not elimination of the adult services category on its website.

What needs to be done is what we are doing: Hosts need to monitor and remove offending posts on a real-time basis, and cooperate rapidly when illegal posts are brought to their attention, Larkin said.

The California case alleges Ferrer and the website were more than hosts of escort ads.

Prosecutors accuse Ferrer of taking content posted by Backpage customers and cross-publishing it on related websites including BigCity.com and EvilEmpire.com. The affiliated websites had no apparent method to allow users to post, and prosecutors allege this scheme allowed Ferrer to widen Backpages reach.

Jason de Bretteville, former federal prosecutor and white collar criminal defense attorney based in Newport Beach, said the allegation could limit Backpages claims of neutrality.

The government is doing its best to show the company is not a passive posting board, but is actively encouraging illegal transactions, de Bretteville said.

The site has been the focus of a recent Senate committee investigation into allegations of online sex trafficking. Backpage opposed a Senate subpoena and eventually asked the U.S. Supreme Court to toss out a judges order to comply. In September, the Supreme Court declined to block the subpoena.

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who are leading the bipartisan Senate investigation, issued a statement after Ferrer was detained and criticized the company for its suspected role in the illegal sex trade. Portman and McCaskill contended their investigation was the first to reveal Backpages practice of editing ads to conceal evidence of criminality.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno.

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UPDATES:

Oct. 7, 4:20 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with additional background and an official statement from Backpage.

9:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details and background.

8:50 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Backpage attorney Liz McDougall.

This article was originally published at Oct. 6 7:50 p.m.
Born into a Jewish family, Lazar Abramovitch was supposed to have his bar mitzvah when he turned 13.

Except he turned 13 in 1941, in the Soviet Union, a communist country where religions of all kinds were frowned upon, and a country that happened in that year to be newly involved in World War II, fighting Nazi Germany.

With his family fleeing from their hometown in the Ukraine, a bar mitzvah was not possible, Abramovitch said.

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So he had his Thursday, at age 88.

He stood in front of family and friends in a room at the Jewish Family Service campus in Kearny Mesa and said a blessing in Hebrew over the Torah. He gave a short speech about how hed wound up in this moment, his eyes brimming as he talked about his grandparents, his parents, his wife  all gone now, but with him on this day in spirit, he said.

And he grinned under his tallit shawl, pulled over his head for protection as the audience of about 100 people showered him with pieces of candy, the traditional way of wishing the celebrant a sweet life ahead. Because youre just getting started, Rabbi Motte Fradkin told him.

By many standards, Abramovitch has already had a sweet life: a long, good marriage, children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a career as a biologist specializing in fish farming. But something was always missing, he said, and when he came to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1989, when he was 61, he went looking for it.

He arrived on a guest visa to visit his parents and sisters, who had come earlier. Once here, he applied for political asylum, which was approved. He found a job with Jewish bosses who steered him to a local synagogue. He started attending services, observing the High Holy Days, immersing himself in his religions history and culture.

A year ago, after his wife of 64 years, Rakhil, died, he also started going with his sister to the Jewish Family Services daytime program for older adults, where they play games, eat a kosher meal and listen to music. This summer, they were visited by children enrolled in a bar mitzvah camp who shared their reasons for going through the centuries-old ritual in which they make a commitment to their God and to their community.

Several said they were doing it because their parents made them, or because it was expected of them. One said, It is a privilege.

Aviva Saad, who manages the older adults program, was moved by that answer and thought the children might benefit by hearing from someone who had grown up in a country without the same religious freedoms. She asked Lazar about his bar mitzvah, figuring he would talk about how hed had to do it quietly in the Soviet Union, maybe even in hiding. She said she was stunned by his reply:

I never had a bar mitzvah.

Saad called Fradkin, her rabbi at Chabad Scripps Ranch, who regularly teaches bar mitzvah classes. I have another student for you, she told him.

Fradkin knows Jews who had a second bar mitzvah at age 83; the book of Psalms talks about getting a new lease on life at 70, and if thats true, 13 years later is when theyd be ready for another coming-of-age ceremony. But a first-timer at 88?

It doesnt happen every day, the rabbi said, although this week also brought news of the worlds oldest man, Yisrael Kristal, having his bar mitzvah in southern Israel. Hes 113, which means he waited a full century for his moment.

Fradkin consulted a Hebrew calendar to figure out when to have the ceremony for Abramovitch, based on his birthday, and determined it should be Oct. 6  right between Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. How perfect is that? Saad said.

Abramovitch arrived Thursday dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, a red bow tie and a gray yarmulke. He said the bar mitzvah was important so he could participate more fully in Jewish life, especially prayers in the synagogue. I want to add my voice to all the other voices, he said. To pray for his adopted country, the United States. To pray for Israel. And to pray for peace, he said.

Its also important to him to be a role model. When I was born, I was the youngest Abramovitch, he said. Now I am the oldest. He said he hoped his family would be proud of him.

They were. We didnt think it would be possible, a bar mitzvah at 88, said his sister, Esther Kogus. She said the experience reminded her of how moved their father was when he came to the United States in 1980 and heard for the first time in many years a shofar, the ancient musical horn used in Jewish services. He was crying and crying and crying, she said.

She sat in the front row for the bar mitzvah, along with other relatives, including Abramovitchs daughter and granddaughter. They stood along with everyone else when the Torah was brought out. They smiled and sang and clapped as Abramovitch and the rabbi danced in a circle. They raised small glasses filled with grape juice and called out Lchaim!

When it came time for his speech, Abramovitch talked in a heavy Russian accent about one grandfather who died during the Russian Revolution in 1918. He talked about another grandfather who was killed in the Holocaust. He talked about how hes been writing poetry in Yiddish, a way for him to deal with the grief hes felt since his wife died.

With my bad English, he said, its hard for me to explain what this day means to me.

Youre doing fine, a man in the audience replied.

Everybody clapped.

The audience included about a dozen students in Fradkins current bar mitzvah class. The rabbi said he brought them so they could see how special this is, to see what it means to someone who couldnt do what theyre able to do when he was their age. One by one they came up after the ceremony to say mazel tov and to share the kinds of greetings that made Abramovitch feel, if only for a short time, like he was 13 again.

Youre awesome, one of the boys said.

The rabbi has been known to take his classes on field trips to iFly, an indoor skydiving attraction in Mission Valley, where a sign welcomes fliers ages 3 to 103. Fradkin invited Abramovitch to come along next time.

He looked like he was considering it.
They get pumped up with Metallica, chill out with Journey and have a weakness for Alice Coopers Schools Out that you probably need to experience to understand.

Whether they are dealing with the grinding stress of deployment or the bittersweet joys of coming home, U.S. servicemen and women depend on the right music stepping up at the right time. Earlier this year, it became the mission of Frontline Radio to give military personnel the music they need when they need it. All they have to do is ask.

Launched in July, Frontline Radio is one of the hundreds of stations available on Slacker Radio, the San Diego-based music-streaming service that has channels devoted to everything from A (alternative) to Almost Z (that would be W for the Woodstock Diaries station). Frontline Radio bases its programming on requests from its military audience, playing artists from A (Jason Aldean) to Actual Z (Rob Zombie).

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In honor of the Navys 241st birthday on Thursday, Slacker will be giving its military tribute station the headliner treatment, with new music, Navy-specific stories from listeners and new insights from Jason Kurtzhals, the Air Force airman 1st class who got the station rolling. You can hear Frontline Radio on your phone, computer or other streaming-friendly device. You will feel it where it counts. Here is your guide to tuning in.

Frontline 101

To get Frontline Radio, sign up for an account at Slacker.com. You can listen for free if you dont mind ads and limits on the number of songs you can skip. Ad-free subscriptions start at $3.99 a month. The station is filed under the eclectic Themed category, which also includes a very fine David Bowie covers station. Just FYI.

If you want to find out how Frontline Radio came to be, you will have to talk to Kurtzhals. Earlier this year, he emailed Slacker with an idea. Deployed servicemen and women and veterans turn to music for motivation, comfort and escape, he said. You should build a station out of those songs.

Much to his surprise, they did. Frontline Radio made its debut on July 1, and immediately became one of the Fourth of July holiday weekends Top 10 stations.

I got the idea because so many of my brothers and sisters who served had such a connection to music, and I thought there wasnt really anything around that had music for service people as a focal point, said Kurtzhals, who served for four years and was stationed at the Kunsan Air Base in South Korea and Ali Air Base in Iraq. It really blew up quicker than I thought it would. Everyone I talk to says it is exactly what they were looking for.

To Hells Bells and back

To determine which songs would be played on the station, Slacker solicited requests from its 40 million registered users through its Facebook page and through Dysfunctional Veterans, an active online community for young veterans. The requests poured in, along with vivid personal stories about why these songs mattered. This made programming vice president Kevin Stapleford really excited. Also kind of nervous.

When Jason and I were talking about the station, he said, It will lean heavily into hard rock and metal, but you are going to need some country and hip hop and pure pop. And as a programmer, Im thinking, This is not going to work, said Stapleford from the companys Rancho Bernardo offices.

But the stories are what ties everything together. Here you are, youre a bunch of kids thrown together on the other side of the world where people dont like you very much. You have guys from Tennessee sitting next to guys from New York, and they bond together over music. You have people trying to figure out a way to get through the day, and music helps with that.

Most popular artists? Probably Metallica, AC/DC, Five Finger Death Punch and Toby Keith. Most popular themes? Patriotism (Keiths Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue); loss (Travelin Soldier by the Dixie Chicks); the hell of war (Bodies by Drowning Pool); and the comforts of home (Dont Stop Believing, by Journey).

Most popular song? That would be Schools Out, by Alice Cooper. In addition to being the driving force behind Frontline Radio, Kurtzhals is also a music consultant and DJ on the station, so lets let him explain that one.

On our last mission, our commander said as we were heading back to the gate, All right. This is our last mission, and I hope I taught you well. Schools out boys. And then he put that song on, said Kurtzhals, 30, now a behavioral therapist in Bloomfield Township, Mich. For a lot of people coming back home from overseas, they might have a similar story. Schools out, and its time to go crazy and go back home.

Talk radio

That is another thing you will hear on Frontline Radio. When they asked listeners for their song requests, the folks at Slacker also asked them to share the stories behind the songs. And they did.

There was the Army veteran who wanted to hear Wish You Were Here by Incubus, because Its all I could think about as I sat, in 60 pounds of gear, on the roof of Saddams palace overlooking Babylon and the Euphrates River. They heard from a Marine Corps sergeant who requested Queens Bohemian Rhapsody because it was the song he and his buddies heard while waiting for the bus that would take them to the plane that would be flying them home from Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.

Which leads us to a very special request from Kurtzhals, and he hopes his brothers and sisters in arms are listening.

No matter what your job code was, what branch you were in, tell us about your experience, Kurtzhals said. In the fight against terrorism, everybody had to raise their hands to go in, and everybody should be proud of that. We want to hear your story and hear about your time and service. And if a song is important to you, we want to hear about it.

Twitter: @karla_peterson

karla.peterson@sduniontribune.com
Already under repairs for a pair of mechanical failures, the Navys newest littoral combat ship cracked its aluminum hull against a tugboat while under tow Tuesday off the coast of Florida, forcing its crew to make emergency repairs.

The collision with the tug occurred while Hurricane Matthew was bearing down on the Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville. The Montgomery had been ordered to ride out the Category-4 storm at sea alongside the guided-missile cruiser Anzio, according to a Navy statement.

The crack in the trimaran hull  described by the Navy as a minor seawater intrusion  was temporarily patched by the crew. Further repairs are slated when the hurricane passes and the port reopens.

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The incident remains under investigation, according to Naval Surface Forces Pacific spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Haggard.

The Independence-class littoral combat ship was commissioned on Sept. 10 in Mobile, Alabama and was supposed to steam to its home port in San Diego.

Three days later, however, it suffered a couple of mechanical problems. Seawater leaked in the hydraulic cooling system and, later in the day, the warship lost one of its gas turbine engines.

The snafus triggered the loss of both port shafts and forced the high-speed ship to continue under its own power to Mayport for repairs before continuing to San Diego.

On Sept. 5, the Naval Surface Forces ordered a stand down for every crew in the littoral combat fleet to review procedures and standards for their engineering departments, according to a Navy statement.

The maintenance pause followed recent mechanical problems discovered on the littoral combat ships Freedom and Coronado.

The Freedom-class littoral combat ship Fort Worth is slated to return to San Diego Friday afternoon following extensive repairs to its propulsion system in Singapore.

cprine@sduniontribune.com
A Whitter couple arrested after the body of a child was found in a duffel bag at the U.S.-Mexico border will be prosecuted in Los Angeles County instead of San Diego, where they were arraigned in August.

Johnny Lewis Hartley, 43, and Mercy Mary Becerra, 39, had been charged with murder by the San Diego County District Attorneys Office.

On Wednesday, that office dismissed the case so that the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office could take over.

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The defendants are expected to be arraigned Friday on four felony charges: murder, human trafficking to commit pimping/pandering, torture and assault on a child causing death.

If convicted, they each face life in prison.

According to prosecutors, Becerra and Hartley trafficked a woman  the mother of the dead child  between November 2012 and August of this year.

Johnny Hartley and Mercy Becerra, who were arrested after a deceased child was found in a duffle bag at the U.S.-Mexico border, stand before a judge in San Diego Superior Court on Aug. 12. (Misael Virgen / San Diego Union-Tribune )

During that time, they took the womans daughter, severely abused and then killed the child. A San Diego prosecutor has said the child was drowned, and that malnutrition and dehydration were contributing causes of death.

Becerra and Hartley then tried to cross the border from San Diego into Tijuana on Aug. 9, with the childs body in a duffel bag, but they were stopped by authorities and taken into custody.

Mexican authorities found the body while screening the bag at a pedestrian crossing in San Ysidro. Hartley had been carrying the bag, San Diego police said, before he was sent to a secondary inspection area and the bag was put through an X-ray machine.

Becerra ran off when Hartley was detained, but she was caught a short time later, police said.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
A creepy craze hit North County Thursday when two teens dressed as clowns showed up at a San Marcos middle school, frightening children and prompting a call to police.

 Fears of killer clowns have swept the country on social media.

The high school students  one dressed as a clown with red hair and the other as a clown with blue hair  were parked in front of Woodland Park Middle School as students were being dismissed, district officials said.

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Someone called police about the disconcerting visitors about 2:30 p.m. When deputies arrived, the principal told them the costumed clowns were waving to children as they drove past the Rock Springs Road campus.

A bystander had taken down the vehicles license plate number so deputies decided to visit the home of the registered owner, said Sgt. John Thompson. They knocked on the door, and talked to one of the two boys, a 17-year-old Mission Hills High School student.

He admitted that he and a friend had driven by the school in costume. Deputies determined the clowns had not made any threats or otherwise put anyone in danger.

We checked it out and the call came out OK on this, Thompson said.

After the incident, a nearby elementary school sent an email to parents informing them of what happened.

We received a message from Admin at Woodland that a car of teenagers dressed in clown outfits were in front of Woodland Park Middle School at dismissal today scaring children, the email read.

It said police were immediately notified, and school officials assured parents that child safety is their utmost priority.
A man, in a fit of anger, went over to his brothers house in the community of Emerald Hills and shot him Thursday afternoon, San Diego police said.

The 69-year-old man showed up at the home on Selma Place near Roswell Street about 4:10 p.m. He is then suspected of using a rifle to shoot his 61-year-old brother in the shin, San Diego police Officer Robert Heims said.

The suspected shooter was arrested without incident. The rifle was recovered and the victim was taken to a hospital with injuries that werent life-threatening.

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Investigators are working to determine what led to the shooting.
The Union-Tribune profiles a wanted suspect each week in an effort to make our community safer. We partner with Crime Stoppers and local law enforcement to prole known fugitives as well as draw attention to unsolved crimes. This weeks wanted suspect:

Reid Wohlford, 19

Wanted: Wohlford is wanted on a felony warrant for assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon, and two misdemeanor warrants for assaulting a peace officer and vandalism. His criminal history includes other instances of assaulting peace officers and assault with a deadly weapon. Wohlford is considered armed and dangerous.

Description: Native American, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

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Frequented areas: He is known to frequent reservations and other communities in Campo and East County.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546
A little more than a week before she was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Arnisha Harris changed her cellphone number.

She finally had decided to end the physically abusive relationship.

On Sept. 29, Joseph Robinson showed up at Harris workplace in Bankers Hill, shot her and turned the gun on himself, San Diego police said.

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The tragedy has compelled two grieving families to speak out against domestic violence.

Its very important that we shine light on these issues, Harris younger brother Rayneil Ethridge said.

Harris, 35, was a strong woman, Ethridge said. She was a mother of three children, from a previous relationship.

There was nothing she showed fear for, he said. It still troubles me that she could be a victim.

Harris and Robinson, 44, began dating about eight years ago. They laughed plenty and enjoyed each others company. Robinson also had three children.

Through the years, Robinsons family grew fond of Harris. When his mother was sick last year, Harris was there  cleaning, cooking and helping in any way she could, said Traci Banks, Robinsons older sister.

Arnisha was there like it was her mom, she said.

However, Robinson became violent at some point in his relationship with Harris. And eventually, enough was enough.

Ethridge said the last time he spoke with his sister, she told him: Im tired. I cant do this anymore.

Harris began creating some distance between herself and Robinson in the week or so leading up to the fatal shooting.

The day he showed up at the Frances Woods housing facility on Redwood Street, he locked himself in an office with Harris. A short time later, about 3:15 p.m., someone outside of the office heard a bang and called police.

Officers found the two dead on the office floor, police said.

While one family mourns Harris, the other is left to grieve and also cope with Robinsons deadly decision.

I am trying to figure out how it got there, Banks said. And thats the part that keeps you awake at night. Thats the part that makes me lose my appetite.

Banks, who acknowledged she was abused in a previous relationship, said its tough to know her brothers aggression went that far.

This is so hard, she said, fighting back tears. I am completely and utterly heartbroken. Because Arnisha didnt deserve it. No one does.

Domestic violence is never OK, Banks said. And its even harder because, unfortunately, it was my own flesh and blood  my brother.

Last year in San Diego County, 16 people were killed by a domestic partner, according to a domestic violence team within the District Attorneys Office. Eight of those killers committed suicide.

Every October, Banks plays tribute to Domestic Violence Awareness Month by painting her nails purple, a color that is associated with domestic violence. This year, the pain is much stronger, she said.

I cant really put into words how I feel right now, Banks said. I feel that Im grieving more for her than my brother, and thats hard to say. Because she didnt have a choice. He took her life and thats baffling, mind blowing ... I cannot wrap my head around that.

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
In the four years since schools became the largest customer category for Google Chromebooks, the company has sought to find out how its technology is used in the classroom, and who has access to it.

Turns out, San Diego schools might shed some light on the matter.

Google announced a collaboration with the San Diego Unified School District this week, and sent its chief education evangelist to tour campuses and meet with teachers and students to see first-hand how the companys equipment, apps and search engines are used.

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Google has pledged to offer professional development to San Diego educators to help them flip their classes, and empower students to become good digital citizens and savvy technology users.

That means, using computers to create, not just consume, said Googles Jaime Casap, who is part motivational speaker and part ed-tech guru.

Its not that we need to fix education, its that we need to bring education to the next level, Casap told an audience of educators Thursday morning at Creative Performing Media Arts Middle School in Clairemont. We used to ask kids what they wanted to be when they grew up, back when there were 10 jobs, fireman, policeman, architect, doctor... Now we ask them, how do you want to change the world? What problem do you want to solve?

San Diego Unified is ramping up its use of Chromebooks in the classroom, and has issued 16,000 of the laptops to students to use both at school and at home.

The district is expanding the effort after studying the effectiveness of the programs by comparing how different devices work for teachers and students  on everything from uploading, downloading, editing and communicating in groups. San Diego Unified has purchased 47,000 Chromebooks (for about $284.50 each, before taxes and shipping) to be delivered to schools in the coming months. The computers will phase out iPads, and were paid for with the proceeds of its Proposition S and Z bond measures passed by voters in 2008 and 20012.

The computers give students restricted access to Google and YouTube with educational security screenings. The district has given all students at Crawford High School Chromebooks to use 24/7, as well as to those who attend the elementary and middle schools (in most grade-levels) that feed into Crawford.

Students collaborate using education apps  Docs and Hangouts, among them  in the classroom and at home. They can work with classmates and teachers online, and they are encouraged to allow their parents to use computers to connect with the community.

Best of all, their device becomes the center point of collaboration within their family and their community, Superintendent Cindy Marten said. We know in some families the children lead the parents online with our devices and connect them to their community.

By issuing take-home laptops to students in the districts poorest neighborhoods, Marten said schools can empower entire families.

That is really what this program is all about  social mobility, helping our students do better than their parents, Marten said.

Casaps San Diego visit also included a Twitter Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday for parents, students and educators. The social media forum (complete with a #loveSDschools hastag) focused on two questions: How students use technology to innovate? and What do we want students to be able to do in the future?

Casap will wrap up his tour on Friday at Crawfords Innovation Center, one of two high school centers where students use Chromebooks to take online classes and makeup credits.

Last school year, more than 1,381 students took an online course, with 91.5 percent  or 1,264 of them passing the courses.

The district expects to open a third innovation center this year. The centers borrow from online charter schools, allowing students the flexibility of taking some courses online.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey, Jr. will discuss the inter-relationship between cybersecurity, terrorism and the Internet of Things when he gives a keynote address at CyberFest 2016 on Oct. 27 in La Jolla.

Woolsey, 75, served as CIA director from 1993-95, when Bill Clinton was president. His stewardship is partly remembered for the arrest of CIA analyst Aldrich Ames, a KGB agent who was convicted of espionage.

Woolsey is currently chancellor of the Institute for World Politics, a graduate school on national security and international affairs in Washington, D.C.
A Muslim advocacy group this week filed a complaint against Southwest Airlines for what it called racial and religious profiling of a passenger who was kicked off a plane after he was overheard speaking Arabic.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement Wednesday that University of California, Berkeley student Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was removed from a flight heading from Los Angeles to Oakland in April after he said inshallah, which means God willing.

Makhzoomi, who came to the U.S. as an Iraqi refugee, told CNN earlier this year that he was onboard the jet and waiting for takeoff when he called his uncle in Baghdad to talk about a speech he had attended the day before by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

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He said his uncle told him to call again when he landed and he replied Inshallah, inshallah, I will call you when I arrive.

Makhzoomi said when he hung up he noticed a woman staring at him who abruptly left the plane. Minutes later he was approached and escorted off the jet by a Southwest employee who asked him why he would speak Arabic in todays political climate, according to CAIR. He was told he should have known better, the group said.

The college student was then questioned and searched by the FBI and subsequently released. He was not allowed to re-board the flight and his ticket was refunded.

According to NPR, however, the passenger who heard him speaking also spoke Arabic and she told officials she thought he said the word shahid which means martyr and that she perceived his conversation as threatening. She said she was alarmed at what she heard, according to the Associated Press.

Southwest issued the following statement at the time and said it was not the language that caused the response but rather the conversation he was having.

Prior to the departure of Flight 4620, our crew made the decision to investigate a report of potentially threatening comments overheard onboard our aircraft. A group of our employees including the flight crew made the decision to review the situation.

The airline also said thats its primary focus is the safety of its passengers.

We wouldnt remove a passenger from a flight without a collaborative decision rooted in established procedures. Southwest neither condones nor tolerates discrimination of any kind. Our company could not survive if we believed otherwise. In fact, a cursory view of our workforce, as well as our expansive, multicultural customer base, is a reliable indicator that we exalt and appreciate diversity.

In its complaint, the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of CAIR wrote that the organization wants Southwest to be held accountable for its actions. It alleges that removing Makhzoomi from the flight was a violation of U.S. law 49 U.S.C.S.  40127(a) which prohibits air carriers from subjecting a person in air transportation to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex or ancestry.

The group is calling on the Department of Transportation to help guarantee that U.S. air carriers will remain in compliance with federal law prohibiting discrimination.

Makhzoomi said at the time that all he wanted was an apology. The airline countered by saying it would not be apologizing for following our obligation to adhere to established procedures. ... Were we given an opportunity to speak with him (many attempts have been made) we would offer regret for his experience.

According to his biography, Makhzoomi writes for the Berkeley Political Review as well as the Huffington Post and holds a degree in Political Science and Near Eastern Languages and Literature from UC Berkeley where he is a researcher in the universitys Near Eastern Department.
California is in desperate need of new housing. Once the cost of living is factored in, the Golden State has the highest rate of poverty in the nation, with more than one in five households living paycheck to paycheck. The prime reason is the extreme cost of housing. So this editorial board has fervently supported Gov. Jerry Browns efforts to streamline regulations to add housing stock  the only serious, long-term way to bring down rents and home prices.

You might then presume wed be inclined to support Measure B, which asks county voters to clear the way for the Lilac Hills Ranch project in North County, which developer Accretive Investments says will bring 1,746 new homes to a bucolic 608-acre area of Valley Center just east of Interstate 15. It made the Nov. 8 ballot after Accretive funded a signature-gathering initiative.

But there are too many serious concerns about the Lilac Hills Ranch project to support Measure B  and it would set a precedent that could lead to an anarchic era in planning and land use.

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The developers most basic claim about Lilac Hills Ranch  that what voters are being asked to approve is the same project that the county Planning Commission voted to support and that some county supervisors were enthusiastic about  doesnt hold up under scrutiny. In a staff report prepared this summer for the county Board of Supervisors, the board was told that the initiative removes and/or modifies county staff and Planning Commission recommended conditions on several important issues. The list includes project phasing and timing of road improvements; improvements to West Lilac Road, a public road, and to Mountain Ridge Road, a private road; building a fire station capable of responding to a Lilac Hills blaze within five minutes; and construction of a K-8 school.

RELATED OP-EDS

Yes on B: Lilac Hills measure addresses regions housing shortage

No on B: Lilac Hills measure would advance deficient, unworthy project

Since the report was issued, Accretive has reached an agreement with Bonsall Unified School District to build the school. It has also aggressively challenged the idea that fire protections would be inadequate and other conclusions of county staff. But we are unpersuaded. It appears that Accretive is using the initiative process not just to sidestep normal obstacles to getting a project approved but to shift the cost of potentially expensive improvements to county taxpayers.

Beyond these concerns, there is something troubling about having the entire county vote on a project that threatens to have harsh consequences on a small slice of the county. In an election with so many ballot measures, there is a good chance many voters will base their Measure B decision on the slick, sugar-coated mailers that Accretive is expected to start sending out soon. If Lilac Hills Ranch is approved, other deep-pocketed developers will certainly take note, and we could face a deluge of ballot-box land-use decisions employing such tactics.

No, thanks. We urge a no vote on Measure B. Its a bad proposal  and an awful precedent.

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Hurricane Matthew has left a path of destruction behind it after storming through the Caribbean island of Haiti, surrounding areas and now the United States, and it could be weeks before the full extent of the damage can be assessed.

What we do know is that hundreds are dead in Haiti and that citizens are in desperate need of help in Florida and maybe soon in other states.

"We have nothing left to survive on, all the crops have gone, all fruit trees are down, I don't have a clue how this is going to be fixed," said Marc Soniel Noel, deputy mayor of a ravaged town called Chantal in Haiti.

President Barack Obama called on Americans to jump into action to help support a country in Haiti that was still recovering from an earthquake in 2010 with a death toll of as many as 200,000.

You can help make life a little bit easier for people who didnt have a lot to begin with, Obama said.

Here are five of the many ways you can help Haitians and Floridians in need.

1. Support Red Cross shelters

The American Red Cross of San Diego has sent at least 12 volunteers to the southeast portion of the United States to help with relief efforts. Thousands are in Red Cross shelters across several states and at least 1,800 disaster workers are on the ground.

To contribute to the Hurricane Matthew relief effort, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word MATTHEW to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

2. Make a cash donation

The Center for International Disaster Information has compiled a list of non-governmental organizations that are responding including Action Against Hunger, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision. To see the full list, go here.

The Center says, cash donations are the most efficient form of assistance.

The Miami Herald has also compiled a list of local charities on the move in Haiti and how to send donations here.

3. Travel to Florida to help

Volunteer Florida is registering volunteers to serve in impacted areas following Hurricane Matthew. Fill out the registration form here.

The organization said it will need help with shelter staffing, food distribution and assisting in clean up among other tasks.

4. Help supply food

Food for the Poor is a Florida-based charity with a mission to provide food to those in need, especially after a disaster. It says it plans to send 30 containers of relief materials including rice and canned meats to Haiti over the next two weeks.

Heres where to donate to Food for the Poors efforts: Hurricane Matthew Emergency Relief

5. Help supply clean water

Just two of the many charities working to supply emergency water to Haiti are UNICEF and Oxfam International.

UNICEFs mission is to support children, particularly. UNICEF also has a program that can help you host your own fundraiser to support Haitis youth in the coming weeks. The organization is collecting funds for water purification tablets and plastic sheeting. Donate here.

Oxfam is emphasizing hygiene kits and water purification tables, as well as working to repair or install water tanks. Donate here.

More

Since publishing this list, weve received information from charities and individuals involved with relief efforts. Weve added them to the list to be considered at your own discretion.

International Relief Teams

Lambi Fund

SOIL

Man Dodo

Rose et Blanc

Fondation Aquin Solidarite

Sow a Seed

Nova Hope for Haiti

St. Boniface Haiti Foundation

Have other ways to help? Please add them in the comments section below.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
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By Joseph Guyler Delva and Scott Malone PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti earlier this week before it lashed Florida on Friday with howling winds and churned northward up the U.S. Atlantic coast. The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 842 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials. Matthew, the fiercest cyclone to affect the United States since Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast four years ago, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina. U.S. President Barack Obama urged people not to be complacent and to heed safety instructions in the face of a storm that could be the most severe to strike northeast Florida in more than 100 years. I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists," Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials. Matthew smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted. At least three towns in the hills and coast of Haiti's fertile western tip reported dozens of people killed, including the farming village of Chantal where the mayor said 86 people died, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing. "A tree fell on the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldnt get out," said driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald, 27, who had been married for only a year. "People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying "Mommy." With cellphone networks down and roads flooded, aid has been slow to reach hard-hit areas in Haiti. Food was scarce, and at least seven people died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage. The Mesa Verde, a U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was heading for Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms. ONE DEAD IN FLORIDA Matthew skirted Florida on Friday morning with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but had not made landfall by the evening. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded the storm to a Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as its sustained winds dropped to 110 mph. Category 5 is the strongest. No significant damage was reported in Florida cities and towns where the storm brought down trees and power lines. But one person was killed by a falling tree in Volusia County after venturing outside to feed animals during a lull in the storm, said James Dinneen, manager of the county that includes Daytona Beach. Hurricane warnings late on Friday extended up the Atlantic coast from northeast Florida through Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina. In Daytona Beach, the street under the city's famed "World's Most Famous Beach" sign was clogged with debris washed up by the ocean. The waves had receded by early afternoon, but there was damage throughout the city, including a facade ripped off the front of a seaside hotel. Robert Walker, a 51-year-old mechanic, weathered the worst of the storm in his seaside Daytona Beach apartment where high-powered winds peeled back the roof. "It sounded like a jet plane coming over. I was scared," said Walker, as he stood in front of the battered remains of the two-story building.. The city of Jacksonville could face significant flooding, Governor Rick Scott said. The storm cut power to some 1 million customers in Florida, his office said. Armed guards patrolled the outside of Fox Hill prison in Nassau, the only prison facility in the Bahamas, after the storm knocked down parts of its concrete walls. No deaths were reported in the Bahamas, but residents of Nassau were still without power on Friday. At 7 p.m. (2300 GMT) Matthew's eye or centre was about 50 miles (80 km) east-northeast of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with strong winds and storm surge already spreading into Georgia, the NHC said. It was on a track that would take hurricane-force winds very near or over the coast of northeast Florida and Georgia through Friday night and near or over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he was concerned that relatively light damage so far could give people up the coast a false sense of security. "People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. "The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s," Fugate said. In Cape Canaveral, Florida, home to the country's main space launch site, the storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards. RELUCTANT TO LEAVE In St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville, about half of the 14,000 residents refused to heed evacuation orders despite warnings of an eight-foot (2.4- meter) storm surge that could sink entire neighbourhoods, Mayor Nancy Shaver said in a telephone interview from the areas emergency operations centre. Television images later showed water surging through the historic downtown area of St. Augustine, the oldest U.S. city and a major tourist attraction. There's that whole inability to suspend disbelief that I think really affects people in a time like this, Shaver said. In addition to those who simply did not believe the storm was a major threat, some of the citys residents lacked vehicles or other means to evacuate, said Shaver. Lack of means to move was one reason some people stayed in New Orleans before it was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm killed more than 1,800 people there and along the U.S. Gulf Coast. About 22,000 people were in Florida shelters and Georgia and South Carolina also opened dozens of shelters for evacuees. (Reporting by Susan Heavey, Eric Walsh and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Gabriel Stargardter in Miami; Zachary Goelman in Orlando, Fla.; Zachary Fagenson in Wellington, Fla.; Irene Klotz in Portland, Maine; Laila Kearney in New York; Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Neil Hartnell in Nassau; Writing by Tom Brown; Editing by Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)
Hurricanes in Haiti

Hurricane Matthew

On October 4, 2016 Hurricane Matthew ravaged southwestern Haiti, causing 546 deaths, displacing 175,500 people and leaving 1.4 million Haitians in need of humanitarian assistance. Save the Children was on the ground, responding to the urgent needs of children and families  including up to 150,000 children out of school.

Health and Nutrition

Through our Emergency Health Unit, we were the first aid agency to provide health care in the community of Beaumont, which had been cut off for days after the storm.

Our mobile teams treated over 8,500 people.

Over 6,000 children were treated for malnutrition.

We provided more than 1,800 pregnant women with essential nutrients and vitamins.

Non-Food Relied Distributions

Close to 5,000 families received water treatment kits and were trained in how to prevent diseases like cholera.

Education

More than 8,400 children received new school materials to replace the supplies they lost.

135 teachers were trained to provide psychosocial "first aid" to emotionally traumatized children.

Child Protection

Over 6,000 children participated in our Child Friendly Space program. More than 9,000 adults received training on ways to protect children from harm.

The people of Haiti are still not fully recovered from Hurricane Matthew. Save the Children is committed to long-term goals, like improving the local health system and giving children structured support. Our goal is to reach 490,000 children and adults through these much-needed programs.
Some human genetic diseases persist for generation after generation because the genes that cause them can benefit health.

Sickle-cell anemia, an inherited form of anemia, is one example. This disorder compels red blood cells to take on a crescent moon shape, leading to anemia. But carrying a copy of the sickle cell gene can guard against malaria.

A new study probes the evolutionary history of eczema, a condition that causes the skin to become itchy, red, dry and cracked, and finds no evidence that a genetic predisposition for this disorder has helped humans.

The study, led by University at Buffalo researcher Omer Gokcumen, examines a genetic variation in the filaggrin (FLG) gene associated with atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema.

The genetic variant studied appears to be a random vestige of evolution. We present a complex evolutionary history of this disease variant, and it seems to be just bad luck that it has endured for so long, Dr. Gokcumen said.

Unlike other disease variants, such as those linked to sickle cell anemia or psoriasis, the one we studied is just not that important from the standpoint of evolution. It doesnt appear to affect what biologists call fitness, which is another word for reproductive success.

In some people, inherited genetic mutations cause the FLG gene to stop working, impairing healthy skin function and creating an increased risk for developing eczema.

To investigate the evolution of this gene, Dr. Gokcumen and co-authors analyzed 2,504 human genomes from 26 global populations.

They found that loss-of-function (LoF) mutations are significantly more common in FLG than in other human genes. However, despite this prevalence, the variants dont appear to serve an adaptive purpose.

Based on our results, the most plausible explanation is that despite the negative effects of atopic dermatitis on human well-being, the fitness advantage of not being susceptible to this disease may not be very high, the researchers explained.

In fact, extant chimpanzees carry LoF mutations of this gene as well. Therefore, the most likely conclusion is that FLG has been accumulating LoF variants since human chimpanzee ancestor, and the current distribution of these variants is primarily shaped by genetic drift.

The teams conclusions held true even when they took a closer look at the genomes of individuals from East Asia, who are more likely to have broken FLG genes than people from other parts of the world.

A genomic analysis showed that this trend may have been an artifact of evolutionary hitchhiking.

In East Asia, many people share a genetic profile that includes a LoF mutation of FLG, paired with a notable mutation in a nearby gene that carries instructions for making hornerin (HRNR), another human protein.

While the FLG mutation did not appear to have importance from the standpoint of evolution and adaptation, the HRNR mutation did.

This leads the researchers to believe that the FLG mutation may have proliferated in East Asia for the sake of preserving the HRNR mutation.

Large sections of the genome are often lost or inherited together during evolution, so genes like those for HRNR and FLG that are close to each other often share an evolutionary history, Dr. Gokcumen said.

While this work did not draw concrete conclusions about why the HRNR mutation was so important, changes in the HRNR gene can affect healthy skin function, influencing microbiome diversity on the skin.

The teams findings were published online September 27, 2016 in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.

_____

Muthukrishnan Eaaswarkhanth et al. Atopic Dermatitis Susceptibility Variants in Filaggrin Hitchhike Hornerin Selective Sweep. Genome Biol Evol, published online September 27, 2016; doi: 10.1093/gbe/evw242

This article is based on a press-release from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
* Qatari investors have no plans to sell shares

* Bankers planning to meet with Deutsche CEO in Washington

* Sources say talks unlikely to focus on capital hike yet

* Deutsche shares down nearly 50 pct this year (Adds magazine report, sources)

By Tom Finn and Arno Schuetze

DOHA/FRANKFURT, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank has secured backing from its largest investor and is seeking advice from other banks as it scrambles to restore market confidence undermined by a demand by U.S. authorities for up to $14 billion over mis-selling allegations.

Qatari investors who own the largest stake in Germany's largest bank do not plan to sell their shares and could consider buying more if it decides to raise capital, sources familiar with Qatari investment policy told Reuters.

"Purchasing more (Deutsche Bank) stock - that could be considered ... which is not to say there are any imminent plans to do that," said a source close to the Qatari investors who own just below 10 percent in Deutsche Bank. The source declined to be identified as the matter is confidential.

If a capital hike does turn out to be required, the Qatari investors would probably take part in it as they want to keep their roughly 10 percent stake, a second source close to the matter added.

Deutsche shares plunged to record intra-day lows below 10 euros last week on Friday and although they have since rebounded to just above 12 euros, they are 13 percent below last month's peak and 46 percent below their close at the end of last year.

That implies the Qataris may have lost, on paper, over $1.2 billion on their investments in the bank.

German weekly Der Spiegel reported, without citing sources, that Qatari investors around Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, with backing from sovereign wealth funds, were mulling taking a 25 percent in the lender, sending Deutsche Bank's U.S.-listed shares higher.

But sources familiar with the situation told Reuters it was unlikely that the Qataris would acquire a stake as big as 25 percent.

Story continues

Deutsche Bank declined to comment and Sheikh Hamad was not immediately available for comment.

HIGH LEVEL TALKS

Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan, who is attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's autumn meetings in Washington, is due to meet with the Department of Justice as well as with senior managers of other investment banks in the United States to discuss the lender's options, people familiar with his schedule said.

However, the talks with other bankers are expected to focus on immediate steps the German bank may be able to take such as asset sales, rather than asking shareholders for fresh cash.

"The cap hike issue will unlikely be the focus of most of those meetings," one of those people said, adding that pulling off a capital-raising would be a well-rehearsed exercise which does not need too much advance discussion.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on Cryan's discussions.

Separately, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that while Deutsche Bank faced enormous challenges with potential fines in the United States, moves by its leadership to change the bank's business model showed it was reacting to the risks.

Gabriel said the government did not have its own risk assessment for the bank, but that Germany was keen to see the 146-year-old bank succeed in the longer term.

"It's completely obvious that we have an interest in Deutsche Bank again becoming a stable financial institution that is successful nationally and internationally," Gabriel said.

Germany's largest bank is under heavy pressure as it fights the penalty that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to impose for mis-stating the risks of securities the bank sold ahead of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. This sent its shares to a record low last week and spooked clients.

Deutsche Bank's proposed fine has emerged as another bone of contention between the United States and the European Union after the EU said earlier this year that U.S. tech giant Apple Inc owed $14 billion in taxes. The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, told Reuters that the fine was disproportionate and could place Europe's financial system at risk.

"Here is a financial institution which needs to be restructured and strengthened and needs to bring in new capital and we cannot then have an even bigger amount of capital being pulled out by the American authorities. That is really counterproductive, to put it mildly," he said.

SMALLER FINE IN STORE

Deutsche says it expects to settle with the DOJ for far less than $14 billion, in line with other big banks that negotiated over similar allegations.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde gave it some tough advice on Thursday, saying it needed to reform its business model and rapidly reach a deal with U.S. regulators.

Deutsche is cutting back a workforce of around 100,000, revamping information technology and shrinking non-core assets. Unlike some European peers, it is sticking with investment banking, with a global reach that the IMF says makes it among the riskiest of all banks.

CAP HIKE

Launching a capital increase before a settlement with U.S. authorities is seen as unlikely as few investors will be willing to buy shares without being able to gauge the impact on the lender's capital, equity capital markets bankers said.

"And even when a settlement is eventually reached, Deutsche Bank is likely to wait for its share price to recover before launching a cap hike. Currently it would only be able to raise 4.5-5 billion euros and they may want more," one banker said.

"A cap hike could be done in the first half of 2017 at the earliest," another banker said.

Deutsche Bank ranked 7th worldwide in global equity capital markets according to Thomson Reuters data. While it has the in-house expertise for a capital increase it will rely on other investment banks. In 2014, 25 helped with its rights issue.

"At this stage, no bank has gotten any mandate for a cap hike," a person close to Deutsche Bank said.

Most banks will be called in just days before any deal, which will likely be structured as a fully underwritten rights issue with banks guaranteeing to take on shares to sell on to a mix of investment funds, pension funds and hedge funds.

Meanwhile, some of Germany's top industrial companies have revived a decades-old network to discuss taking a direct stake in the bank as a way to help shield it, one executive at a large DAX-listed company has said.

(Additional reporting by Katrhin Jones, Alexander Hubner, Pamela Barbaglia, Sophie Sassard, Joseph Nasr, Andrea Shalal and Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexander Smith)
When it comes to the next big thing in space expedition, it is of course the Solar System that all of us think about, but it is almost certain that all eyes are now glued to just one target, manned missions to Mars. SpaceX, which is already planning to colonize Mars by setting up a 1-million people colony, has another rival stepping up the plate to race up to the surface of Mars, and that's none other than Boeing.

Dennis Muilenburg, President and CEO of Boeing, has claimed at a tech summit in Chicago, on Tuesday, that his company has it all what it takes to compete with its rivals when it comes to carrying humans to Mars.

"I'm convinced the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding a Boeing rocket," Muilenburg said, according to Bloomberg's report.

Boeing isn't inventing its own spacecraft to ship people to Mars, but it is extending a helping hand to NASA in building the Space Launch System(SLS), an enormous rocket that is being created with the aim of transporting humans to the surface of Mars in the 2030s. Boeing's CEO is positive about the fact this mission will be accomplished before any of the rivals', namely SpaceX.

Muilenburg also indicated Boeing's future hopes of commercial travelling to space to various destinations in the Solar System and hypersonic planes that could fly halfway across the Earth in few hours. He added that space tourism will be "blossoming over the next couple of decades into a viable commercial market."

Boeing is a century-old, well-established aerospace multinational company that is celebrated for its commercial passenger aircrafts. It has a prominent history of working as a contractor along NASA. They created the first stage of Saturn V, the spacecraft that shipped astronauts to Moon.

Muilenburg's declaration came within a week of the unveiling of Elon Musk's SpaceX, an overly ambitious mission. Musk had proposed at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico that SpaceX plans to ship 100 people at once to Mars on the SpaceX-built Interplanetary Transport System (ITS), which will be the biggest rocket ever flown and also reiterated the fact that he wishes to launch the project in the next ten years, any point after 2024.

The future certainly holds some exciting drama of corporate rivalries and politics hidden amidst the wider benefits that such missions will bring for humanity and science.
Good news for night shift workers: Researchers have found that their work schedule has little to no effect on the risk of breast cancer development. This is after the long years of thinking that shift work had a link to the illness due to the claim of a World Health Organization (WHO) committee in 2007.

According to BBC, the WHO committee based the aforementioned claim on studies of people and animals. The studies suggested that shift work probably had a connection to developing breast cancer. However, the new research led by UK cancer experts analyzed the data focusing on 1.4 million women, and found that the illness has no association with working night shift. Cancer Research UK (CRUK) hopes to reassure women with these findings.

The shift work's disturbance to the body clock was the reason why the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) made such ruling in 2007. Medical News Today reported that irregular working schedules, rotating shifts, and nights shifts can particularly disrupt the circadian rhythm of the body. It is basically the mental, physical, and behavioral changes occurring over a 24-hour cycle and responds to dark and light in the environment. A disrupted circadian rhythm has an association with diabetes, obesity, depression, and bipolar disorder. From there, the IARC made a conclusion that night shift work may be carcinogenic to humans.

Meanwhile, it is important to take note that during that time, there was limited evidence about the risk for breast cancer in humans. A combination of lab and animal studies was the basis for classification.

The new research focused on data from 10 different studies in the UK, USA, Sweden, China, and the Netherlands. Researchers have found that those who have worked overnight even for decades had no increased breast cancer risk. This was also in comparison with women who never worked night shift. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the research.

According to Cancer.org, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among American women. It is likewise the second leading cause of cancer death in women next to lung cancer.
Doctors at a Texas hospital have managed to perform four uterus transplants using living donors. This is the first time a procedure like this has been performed in the United States. However, among the four women who received the womb transplant, only one has been proven to be successful.

A team of doctors at the Baylor University Medical Center has been trying their luck in using living donors in their uterine transplant. Time reported that according to a statement released by the hospital, it said that the four surgeries happened between Sept. 14 and Sept. 22, and three of the womb transplants were removed after tests determined the organs were not receiving enough blood flow. However, one woman still has her transplanted uterus and has shown no signs of rejection so far.

However, a statement from the hospital said that the fourth uterus seems to be doing just fine, so far. It also said that the surgical team was "cautiously optimistic" the fourth woman's transplanted uterus would be functional. "This is the way we advance, from learning from our mistakes," lead surgeon at Baylor University Medical Centre in Dallas, Giuliano Testa, told Time. "I am not ashamed of being the one who will be remembered as the guy who did four [transplants] in the beginning and three failed. Even if through failure, I am going to make this work."

Medline Plus reported that uterus transplants with live donors have high success rates. In Sweden, where the surgery was first performed, five out of nine womb transplant recipients have given birth to healthy babies and one woman is pregnant for the second time. No other details about the procedure or the patients were released, since patients wanted to maintain their privacy

Dr. Testa explained that all four of the women who received the transplant have a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome and were born without a uterus. According to statistics, about one in 4,500 women in the U.S. are believed to have MRKH. Reports said that Baylor plans to perform a total of 10 womb transplants before the end of 2016. "You cannot discount the desire of a woman to have a normal pregnancy, bear her own child, and deliver," says Dr. Testa. "This is part of human nature."

Experts still believe that the procedure remains highly experimental, with a high failure rate. They also think that further research will be needed to determine its safety and success. CNN reported that another US hospital Brigham and Women's in Boston is approved to attempt the said procedure.

Meanwhile, this is the second time a hospital in the United States has tried womb transplants. In February, the Cleveland Clinic performed the first uterus transplant in the U.S., but they used deceased donor uterus. However, less than two weeks after the transplant, the recipient, Lindsey McFarland, acquired an infection and the transplant had to be removed, reported Science Alert.

Since then the Cleveland Clinic has put its program on pause. Uterus transplants are believed to cost an arm and leg. Reports said that it is estimated to cost from $150,000 to over $500,000, and since they are still experimental, they are not usually covered by insurance. At Baylor, it took about five hours for the wombs to be removed from the donors, and another five to transplant. The surgical team consisted of four Baylor University Medical Center surgeons, two Swedish surgeons with womb transplant experience, two anesthesiologists, and seven operating room nurses.
Generally speaking, abortion is illegal in Thailand. But certain cases like rape or when the mother's health or life is at risk, the act becomes legal. And now, Thai birth defect cases linked to Zika is the newest addition to the list of situations that make abortion legal in the country.

According to Reuters, Buddhist Thailand is relaxing its abortion rules to cover fetuses that have birth defects caused by the Zika virus. Now, Thai birth defect cases involving up to 24-year-old fetuses make resorting to abortion legal. Just last week, officials confirmed its first microcephaly cases linked to the mosquito-borne virus.

Microcephaly is a case wherein the head of a baby is smaller than normal. The two Thai birth defect cases reported recently were the first ones in Southeast Asia. Prior to these were the Zika outbreaks among Americans.

It is important to take note that determining microcephaly is one of the challenges with Zika. It usually happens in the latter part of pregnancy. Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Pisek Lumpikanon emphasized this.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are no particular tests that can determine if a baby will suffer microcephaly, but ultrasound scans during the third trimester can help identify it. As of writing, Thailand said it is considering doing tests to all pregnant women for the virus.

Straits Times reported that at least two doctors will provide close consultation services to parents to discuss the pregnancy termination option in cases of microcephaly. This was according to Dr. Tawee Chotpitayasunond from the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, a Medical Services Department unit.

Meanwhile, Thailand remains conservative. Except for Thai birth defect cases and other crucial situations that make abortion legal, the act is still considered a sin. This is due to the teachings of Theravada Buddhism, a religion practiced by most people in the country.
At an event held yesterday in New York City, the digital imaging company, Sony added a new model to its Cyber-shot RX100 series, the RX100 V (DSC-RX100M5). Although, Sony has made very little changes in terms of its overall design, the addition of a few features has made it the camera with the World's fastest Autofocus.

Sony also revealed its other compact camera, the A6500, which features a 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor with an 11-fps continuous shooting ability. This gives you over 300 frames in a single click. Here's everything about the Cybershot RX100 V Camera, you must know:

Meet the Ultimate Pocket Camera, the Sony RX100 V https://t.co/gmmBJJgsD0 via @unboxph  Carlo Ople (@carloople) October 7, 2016

Specifications:

SENSOR: The RX100 V flagship is powered by a 20.1-megapixel 1-inch sensor, stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor, a DRAM chip and an image processor that handles noise reduction for every picture. Also, the RX100 V's shutter is capable of hitting 1/32,000th of a second, which is perfect for taking pictures of moving subjects.

LENS: The Sony RX100 V also features ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T Lens with 3.6x optical Zoom during recording a movie. The Digital Zoom for Still Images extends up to 54x (VGA).

LCD: The Camera offers a Xtra Fine TFT LCD screen of 7.5 cm (3.0 type), with a ratio of 4:3. The LCD screen also has a Brightness Control Mechanism with a high-contrast 2.35 million dot. The RX100 V however, doesn't feature a viewfinder.

CAMERA: With a BIONZ image processor, the Sony RX100V gives out super steady pictures of even fast moving objects. However, the best change has happened with the new autofocus system. The Camera features the fastest autofocus system, Hybrid AF system. This is the first time Sony has put the feature in a camera.

A new AF-A mode has been added to the autofocus system that enables the camera to switch automatically between single-shot AF and continuous mode as is needed.

RECORDING: The Brightest feature of the RX100 V is its recording capabilities. The Camera features 4K video recording with total pixel readout. There's also no pixel binning so as to make sure that even the minimal detail is not lost. The Cam uses Sony's XAVC S codec that is wrapped up as an MP4 file, reports DigitalTrends.

The RX100 V, like its predecessor, also features the impressive slow-motion video modes and can even record for twice the time as that of the RX100 IV. In HD (1080p) shooting, the RX100 V can record 120 fps, whereas with lower resolutions the recordings can be made in 240, 480 or 960 fps.

CONNECTIVITY: Sony's latest Cam features wireless connectivity, which includes Wi-Fi as well as NFC functionality. Both of these work coupled with the company's growing Play-Memories Camera Applications.

PRICE: The new Sony Cyber-shot RX100 V camera will reach the market late in October for about $1,000 US/ $1,250 CA. Both products are to be sold at a variety of Sony authorized dealers throughout the U.S.

According to Engadget, Sony has also developed a dedicated underwater housing for the RX100 V, in case you're looking forward to entering the seas. The new underwater housing is reported to be available for about $350 US / $450 CA and will be shipped later in November.
Marijuana still remains to be a taboo in some states, but people have been using it far longer than modern civilization. In fact, while some people choose to be buried with objects that represent what they care about in life, an ancient skeleton uncovered in northwest China was wrapped in enough weed to for stoners to be proud.

According to Gizmodo, a team of archaeologists from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences were able to unearth a tomb in the 240-grave Jiayi cemetery near Turupan, where they found the body of a 2,400-year-old man with thirteen cannabis plants placed on top of him as some sort of burial shroud. They believed that the plants were grown locally, and other graves in the same area also contained evidence of marijuana leaves or seeds, suggesting that a few years ago, the town have been farming these plants.

There have been a lot of similar evidence of marijuana in grave sites in the surrounding region, however, this is the first time that scientists were able to see them used as shrouds, especially considering that the plants in the shroud had been harvested when they hit peak ripeness for THC.

In the journal Economic Botany, archaeologist Dr Hongen Jiang described the discovery as"extraordinary," noting that it provided new insight on the ritualistic use of cannabis in the prehistoric central Eurasia. The study also said that coupled with the other cannabis fragments found in the other tombs, it seems that the plant was used for ritual and/or medicinal purposes at the time.

The National Geographic also added that the tomb added to the evidence of cannabis being "very popular" in the Eurasian area during prehistoric times - especially considering that the burial ground where the body was found has been associated with the Subeixi culture (AKA Gushi Kingdom) which existed between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago. Combined with Tupan's desert lands also made it an important stop that explains the Silk Road links of China to the Western world.
A few months ago, the world grieved for the death of a rare ape, many arguing that he was shot dead despite protecting a child. Many also took the opposite stance, saying that he was violent - but whatever side one stood regarding the matter, the fact remains that apes have more than the average animal instinct.

In fact, new research showed that apes can actually understand what someone else is thinking, which could lead to more debate as to regarding Harambe's actions before he was shot dead. As The Los Angeles Times noted, humans were the only animals to have been thought to be able to understand nonverbal thoughts, beliefs, and even desires of others. This skill, which is important in terms of evolution, is important for complex societies.

A team led by Christopher Krupeyne, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University, and comparative psychologist Fumihiro Kano of Kyoto University enlisted 41 apes of different kinds - including chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans, and showed them a series of videos of a man in regular clothes and another one dressed as King Kong, in an attempt to test whether or not apes understand the events of the video.

In the different scenarios presented, the apes were able to correctly anticipate the actions of the person, even when the said person looked for King Kong or the rock in the wrong place. The results showed that humans may be wrong in thinking that they were the only ones to ascertain mental states of other people around them.

Still, as Science Mag reported, not everyone accepts this possibility. Yale University cognitive psychologist Laurie Santos stated that the study just raises more questions as there had been previous past results that showed that apes and other primates lack the capacity of understanding nonverbal cues of others, insisting that humans are the only ones who are able to do such things.
Audi Q3 2017 has arrived in US markets. Audi Q3 2017 was available in other parts of the world much before the US. There is a range of updates to keep the Q3 fresh and the one to look out for is the stylish new black edition.

Audi Q3 US Updates and Specs

The most noticeable spec difference in the American version is the torque-converter six-speed automatic instead of the dual-clutch gearbox in other Audi Q3 models sold elsewhere in the world.

The Audi Q3 US version comes in two petrol and diesel variant. The entry level Q3 has a 1.4-litre TFSI petrol engine with 148bhp whereas 2.0-litre offers 178bhp power.

The Audi Q3 US entry level variant offers a panoramic sunroof,12-way power front seats, and LED taillights and daytime running lights.

Audi Q3 US Reviews

The Audi Q3 US 2017 is an imitation of Audi Q5.The headroom is compromised because of the sunroof. Although it offers a seating for five it would be most comfortable with four adults. The rear seat Knee room is also on the lesser side for adult passengers.

Although the Audi Q3 US lacks the front crash prevention features but it has some very good crash test results. The automatic park assist and blind spot monitors are optional with Q3 2017.

The Audi Q3 US is not the most fuel or space efficient car in the segment. It has some upsides such as easy maneuverability and a flexible cabin.The most sought after Audi Q3 2017 is the Black edition which replaces the S line plus range. as reported in car and driver.

Audi Q3 2017 US All You Want To Know







Audi Q3 2017 US price

The base price for the Q3 US is $35,525 which is on the expensive side for a small car. You can get a Q3 MMI version with an additional $1900. A fully equipped highest version can set you back by more than $40,000.

The Audi Q3 2017 is available for order in the US from October 11.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct 3, 2016) - Entree Gold Inc. (ETG.TO)(NYSE MKT:EGI)(EKA.F) ("Entree" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it is currently evaluating options to potentially restructure its business, which may include splitting synergistic assets into two separate publicly traded companies.

Entree's principal assets include a 20% carried joint venture interest in two of the copper-gold deposits at the world class Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia, 100%-ownership of the Ann Mason copper-molybdenum project in the Yerington District of Nevada, and the exploration stage Lordsburg porphyry copper-gold project in New Mexico.

Stephen Scott, Entree's President and CEO commented, "Throughout 2016 management has been focussing on eliminating unnecessary costs, while considering strategic options to determine the best path forward for the Company.

Entree is very fortunate to have three high quality assets, an experienced board and management team, excellent partners at Oyu Tolgoi, and approximately US$15 million in cash. We are currently evaluating the idea of restructuring as a first step towards closing the valuation gap between our current market capitalization and the real value of the Company's assets."

With development of Lift 1 of the Oyu Tolgoi underground block cave under way and much of the infill drilling and pre-feasibility-level metallurgical test work already completed at Ann Mason, management believes the Company has matured to a point where it could be beneficial for the Company and its stakeholders to separate its assets allowing management to execute focused strategies appropriate to discreet projects.

Many original shareholders invested in Entree to gain exposure to the Oyu Tolgoi project which is well on its way to becoming one of the most significant producing copper-gold mines in the world. Entree is very pleased with the progress that has been achieved to date by the Government of Mongolia and other project partners including manager Rio Tinto.

Story continues

More recent shareholders invested in Entree for exposure to the Ann Mason project which is viewed as having a lower risk profile, potential for further growth, good access to existing infrastructure, and is well situated in one of the most favourable mining jurisdictions in the world. Work needed to bring the Ann Mason project to the pre-feasibility level is already well advanced.

Entree is currently evaluating several alternative structures, designed to achieve optimal tax efficiency and fairness. There can be no guarantee that this evaluation will result in a spin-out or other similar transaction or, if a transaction is undertaken, as to terms or timing. The Company does not intend to provide further updates until such time as the Board approves a specific transaction or otherwise concludes that disclosure is necessary or appropriate.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information regarding the Entree-Oyu Tolgoi LLC joint venture property in Mongolia, see the Company's news release titled "Entree Gold Announces Fiscal Year 2015 Results and Reviews Corporate Highlights" dated March 30, 2016, and the technical report titled "Lookout Hill Feasibility Study Update" dated March 29, 2016 ("LHTR16") prepared by OreWin Pty Ltd, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

For additional information regarding the Ann Mason project, see the Company's news release titled "Entree Gold Updates Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Ann Mason Project" dated September 9, 2015, and the technical report titled "Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Ann Mason Project, Nevada, U.S.A.", with an effective date of September 9, 2015 prepared by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. and Amec Foster Wheeler Americas Limited, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT ENTREE GOLD INC.

Entree Gold Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company balancing opportunity and risk with key assets in Mongolia and Nevada. As a joint venture partner with a carried interest on a portion of the Oyu Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia, Entree has a unique opportunity to participate in one of the world's largest copper-gold projects managed by one of the premier mining companies - Rio Tinto. Oyu Tolgoi, with its series of deposits containing copper, gold and molybdenum, has been under exploration and development since the late 1990s. Additionally, Entree has also been advancing its Ann Mason project in one of the world's most favourable mining jurisdictions, Nevada. The Ann Mason project hosts the Ann Mason copper-molybdenum deposit as well as the Blue Hill copper deposit within the rejuvenated Yerington copper camp.

Sandstorm Gold, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources are major shareholders of Entree, holding approximately 15%, 11% and 9% of issued and outstanding shares, respectively.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to corporate strategies and plans; the value and potential value of assets; potential benefits of restructuring Entree's assets; completion of a pre-feasibility study on the Ann Mason project; the potential development of Ann Mason; construction and continued development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine; potential expansion of mineralization; anticipated business activities; proposed acquisitions and dispositions of assets; ongoing efforts to conserve cash; and future financial performance.

In certain cases, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budgeted", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". While the Company has based these forward-looking statements on its expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee of Entree's future performance and are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies, local and global economic conditions, legal proceedings and negotiations and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the status of the Company's relationship and interaction with the Government of Mongolia, Oyu Tolgoi LLC, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill. With respect to the construction and continued development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine, important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information include, amongst others, the timing and cost of the construction and expansion of mining and processing facilities; the timing and availability of a long term power source for the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine; the impact of the delay in the funding and development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine; delays, and the costs which would result from delays, in the development of the underground mine; and production estimates and the anticipated yearly production of copper, gold and silver at the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine.

Other uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements and information include, amongst others, whether the size, grade and continuity of deposits and resource and reserve estimates have been interpreted correctly from exploration results; whether the results of preliminary test work are indicative of what the results of future test work will be; fluctuations in commodity prices and demand; changing foreign exchange rates; actions by Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill and/or Oyu Tolgoi LLC and by government authorities including the Government of Mongolia; the availability of funding on reasonable terms; the impact of changes in interpretation to or changes in enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices, including laws, regulations and government practices with respect to mining, foreign investment, royalties and taxation; the terms and timing of obtaining necessary environmental and other government approvals, consents and permits; the availability and cost of necessary items such as power, water, skilled labour, transportation and appropriate smelting and refining arrangements; and misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are also known and unknown risk factors which may cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to international operations, including legal and political risk in Mongolia; risks associated with changes in the attitudes of governments to foreign investment; risks associated with the conduct of joint ventures; discrepancies between actual and anticipated production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; global financial conditions; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; inability to upgrade Inferred mineral resources to Indicated or Measured mineral resources; inability to convert mineral resources to mineral reserves; conclusions of economic evaluations; future prices of copper, gold, silver and molybdenum; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining government approvals, permits or licences or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; environmental risks; title disputes; limitations on insurance coverage; as well as those factors described in the Company's most recently filed Management's Discussion and Analysis and in the Company's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, dated March 30, 2016 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking 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. The Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.
By Tuomas Forsell and Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - Estonia said a Russian jet violated its airspace on Friday, hours after neighbouring Finland said two similar planes passed over its territory as it prepared to sign a defence pact with the United States. Moscow denied sending planes across anyone's borders - but one analyst said the flights could have been staged as a reminder of Russia's influence, as countries in the region looked to strengthen ties with the West. Estonia's defence ministry said a Russian fighter jet entered its airspace for less than a minute with its transponder turned off at 2.38 a.m. (2338 GMT, Thursday). Helsinki said two different SU-27 planes crossed into its airspace on Thursday afternoon and evening, over the Gulf of Finland - the body of water that separates it from Estonia. "We take these incidents seriously," Finland's defence minister, Jussi Niinisto, told reporters. "Having two suspected violations on the same day is exceptional." Past incursions had mostly been by Russian cargo planes, not fighter jets, he said. Russia's defence ministry dismissed the reports, saying SU-27 military planes had conducted training flights on Thursday and Friday over neutral waters, Russian agencies reported. Finland has grown increasingly worried about military activities by Russia - its former ruler with which it shares a 1,300-km (812-mile) land border - particularly since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in February, 2014. In response, Finland has tightened cooperation with Sweden and fostered closer ties with NATO. On Friday it signed a defence cooperation deal with the United States, covering training and information sharing but stopping short of military assistance. "It's positive that United States is interested in Northern Europe's security situation and of collaboration with the region's countries. We see this as a stabilizing element," Niinisto said. He declined to speculate on whether Russia had tried to show its power before his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work. But Charly Salonius-Pasternak, analyst at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said it was "entirely credible, that airspace violations were a reminder from Russia: 'Hey, we are still here'." "It costs them nothing, and they can see that these violations have an effect on Finland," he told public broadcaster YLE. The reported incursion in Estonia also coincided with a one-day visit there by Ukraine's defence minister. German pilots patrolling the skies over the Baltics reported "noticeable and aggressive behaviour" by Russian military aircraft overnight, a spokesman for the German defence ministry said. He said two of up to six German Eurofighters stationed at Amari air base in Estonia had been scrambled several times to identify the Russian aircraft. In April, two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea. (Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow, and Andrea Shalal and Sabine Siebold in Berlin; editing by Richard Balmforth)
OAKVILLE, ON--(Marketwired - October 07, 2016) - This Thanksgiving weekend, MADD Canada and Allstate Insurance Company of Canada are expressing their thanks to the millions of Canadians who make the commitment to never drive impaired.

"To all the people who plan ahead for sober transportation when they know they are going to be drinking, and to all the people who act as designated drivers for their family members and friends, thank you," said MADD Canada National President Patricia Hynes-Coates.

"Most people understand the risks of impaired driving, and they plan accordingly to protect themselves and others," said Allstate Insurance Company of Canada President and CEO Ryan Michel. "We are grateful to everyone who is helping to keep our roads safe."

Tragically, not everyone follows their examples. Impaired drivers continue to kill hundreds of people and injure tens of thousands on Canadian roads and highways every year.

MADD Canada, its volunteers across the country, community partners and corporate sponsors such as Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, encourage Canadians to protect themselves and one another:

don't drive impaired -- call a cab, take public transit, arrange a designated driver or plan to stay overnight;

don't ride with drivers who are impaired;

if you see a driver you suspect is impaired, call 911 and report it to police.

"Let's make this weekend one of celebration and thanks, rather than grief and devastation," said Ms. Hynes-Coates, who lost her stepson Nicholas in an impaired driving crash in 2013. "If you're going to be drinking, leave the driving to someone sober."

About MADD Canada

MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is a national, charitable organization that is committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime. With volunteer-driven groups in more than 100 communities across Canada, MADD Canada aims to offer support services to victims, heighten awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and save lives and prevent injuries on our roads. To learn more, visit www.madd.ca.

About Allstate Insurance Company of Canada

Allstate Insurance Company of Canada is one of the country's leading producers and distributors of home and auto insurance products, serving Canadians since 1953. The company strives to keep its customers in "Good Hands" as well as its employees, and has been listed four years in a row on the Best Employers in Canada list. Allstate Canada is committed to making a positive difference in the communities in which it operates and has partnered with organizations such as MADD Canada, United Way and Junior Achievement. To learn more about Allstate Canada, visit www.allstate.ca.


 

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A climate agreement struck Thursday among 191 countries would allow airlines to grow in the coming decades without also growing their impact on the climate.

The International Civil Aviation Organization has agreed to encourage airlines to purchase credits through global carbon markets to offset their emissions for many flights beginning in 2021.

Those credits would balance pollution from jets and other commercial aircraft through conservation measures made elsewhere. Those measures could include renewable power projects, energy efficiency efforts or the substitution of coal-fired cookstoves with solar-powered cookers.

The plan would be phased in over the course of 14 years, beginning with the U.S. and other countries that have volunteered to require their airlines to obtain carbon offsets. Other member countries would follow between 2027 and 2035.

Earlier this year, the ICAO called for a 4 percent reduction in fuel consumption from new commercial aircraft built after 2028, and from those currently in production delivered after 2023.

RELATED: EPA Takes Step Toward Regulating Airline Emissions

Commercial airplanes are major emitters of the carbon dioxide contributing to climate change, accounting for 11 percent of all emissions from the global transportation sector. Those emissions are expected to grow by about 50 percent by mid-century as the demand for air travel increases worldwide Thursday's deal was hailed by the airline industry, but received mixed reviews from climate and energy experts.

Bob Perciasepe, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, said that the agreement is a major step in global efforts to combat climate change, and a sign that the momentum behind the Paris Climate Agreement continues to build.

"The agreement provides a practical framework for harnessing market forces to limit the rapid growth in airline emissions," he said. "International aviation is among the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gases. Without new measures, emissions are expected to triple by 2050."

RELATED: Electric Planes on the Way With Greener, Cheaper Flights

Dan Rutherford, aviation program director for the International Council on Clean Transportation, said the deal doesn't sufficiently address the urgency of cutting carbon emissions from the airline industry.

"In the long run airlines need to decarbonize, not to pay others to do it for them," he said in a statement. "A host of new technologies to reduce aircraft emissions are under development today but need policy support. Since ICAO won't provide that, other measures will be needed."

More From Climate Central:

Landmark Paris Climate Pact to Take Effect in 30 Days

UN Expects 20 Nations to Join Paris Pact Next Week

The Shum Show: All About Anomalies

This article originally appeared on Climate Central, all rights reserved.

WATCH VIDEO: Using Drones To Predict The Future Of Climate Change
Sometimes a handshake is more than a handshake. In a scene straight out of a cartoon, a woman shakes hands with another person wearing a special wristband, and just like that, her skirt lights up. This doesn't involve a hidden wire or some wireless trickery. Instead, the human body has become an electronic communication device.

A new prototype from Panasonic uses electric-field communication technology. Few details about exactly how it works were available in English or in Japanese, but it seems as though they've figured out a proprietary, safe way to read signals sent through the body. Each of us is a surprisingly good antenna, after all. The system was shown recently at the CEATEC trade show in Chiba, Japan.

RELATED: How to Make a Human Antenna

"Just by shaking hands, the color information has traveled from this watch, through our handshake, and into her dress to change the color," a rep explained in Panasonic's video from the trade show floor. "Data is traveling from person to person."

Human-to-human is one of the ways this prototype can function, but it also operates between a human and an object as well as between two objects. Just last week, scientists at the University of Washington demonstrated a way to send a password through a body in order to unlock a door.

The idea is to enable authentication and communication through natural gestures. So if you have on Panasonic's wearable or are holding a ball containing the system, you could control a computer screen or lights around the house that also contain the tech.

WATCH VIDEO: How Handshakes Reveal Your True Age
Photo: People arrive at a school being used as a shelter while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida, on Oct. 6, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Henry Romero Some 3 million people on the U.S. southeast coast faced urgent evacuation Thursday as monstrous Hurricane Matthew -- now blamed for more than 100 deaths in Haiti alone -- bore down for a direct hit on Florida.

President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency in Florida, as highways there and in neighboring states clogged up with people streaming inland to escape the storm blasting its way through the Caribbean.

Officials warned the Category Four hurricane will be ferocious and dangerous: beach-eroding waves as tall as two story buildings and winds strong enough to snap trees and blow away roofs or entire houses.

Poor and vulnerable Haiti remained essentially cut in half two days after Matthew hit. Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph said at least 108 Haitians have died, with 50 killed in a single town in the south where the coastline was described as wrecked.

In its latest target, the storm slammed the Bahamas Thursday, blowing off roofs, downing trees and knocking out power. Weather forecasters working out of Nassau airport had to flee for their lives.

RELATED: Hurricane Matthew Could Make Florida's Zika Problem Worse

A hotel employee in Nassau described the whole glass entrance of the building being blown in by fierce 100 mph (160 km) winds.

"You could see the wind was pushing it and pushing it, and it was shaking," said the woman, who asked not to be named. "I screamed out as it shattered in the lobby."

One resident living southeast of Nassau took to Facebook to plead for emergency rescue.

"Help!" Tamico Gilbert posted shortly before noon. "Water over bed now. I'm on a chest of drawers. Phone battery low."

Matthew was forecast to be very near or over the east central coast of Florida Thursday night or early Friday.

As gas stations ran dry, frantic shoppers flocked to stores for essentials.

They snapped up batteries, transistor radios, bread, canned goods, bottled water, ice, pet food, toilet paper and assorted supplies to gird for what Florida Governor Rick Scott warned would be a devastating, killer storm, with winds howling at up to 150 miles per hour (240 kph).

"Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate," Scott told a news conference. "Time is running out."

Matthew has regained strength as it approaches Florida and was upgraded a notch Thursday to Category Four by the National Hurricane Center on its 1-5 scale.

18-foot waves

Around 1.5 million coastal dwellers are under an evacuation order in Florida alone. More than a million others in South Carolina and other coastal states were also told to escape the path of the storm, which first made landfall in Haiti Tuesday.

Mandatory evacuations were also ordered in six coastal counties in Georgia that are home to some 520,000 people.

Some 6,000 US Marine recruits were evacuated off a base at Parris Island, South Carolina.

Miami International Airport cancelled 90 percent of its incoming and outgoing flights on Thursday.

Even Walt Disney World -- in Orlando, 35 miles inland from the Atlantic -- said it would close early on Thursday and stay shut Friday.

Obama's emergency decree frees up resources to help Florida authorities and authorizes the federal government to coordinate all emergency relief efforts.

RELATED: Florida, Carolinas Brace for Hurricane Matthew

The National Hurricane Center called Matthew the strongest in the region in decades.

It said waves whipped up by the hurricane could be as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters) -- nearly as tall as a two-story building. Debris tossed into the air by the storm will be capable of blasting through buildings and cars, the NHC said in a bulletin.

Scott said the forecast is for storm surges of five to nine feet (1.5 to 2.7 meters), not counting the waves on top of that.

"Stop and think about that," he said. "Waves will be crashing on your roof if you're right close to where the storm surge is happening and you're close to where the waves are."

He said power outages, possibly lengthy, are a near certainty.

'It's pretty bad'

Amid the massive flight, officials warned a worrying number of people were not heeding the evacuation order.

In South Carolina's coastal Charleston and Beaufort counties, Gov. Nikki Haley said 175,000 people had evacuated as of Thursday morning -- out of 250,000 who were told to leave.

"That is not enough, we need to have more people evacuating," she said.

As Matthew barreled northwest, Caribbean nations continued the grim task of assessing damage and fatalities, with four dead in the Dominican Republic in addition to the surging toll in Haiti -- which until now stood at 23.

In Cuba, where some 1.3 million people were evacuated, there were no reported fatalities but four cities in the east were cut off because roads were blocked by large chunks of rock hurled by the storm.

Haiti had not been hit head on by a Category Four storm in 52 years. The country's presidential election, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed.

In one southern department alone, 29,000 homes were destroyed, the interior minister said.

The town of Roche-a-Bateau, where at least 50 died, is devastated, said a local lawmaker, Ostin Pierre-Louis. "No one's house is left standing," he told AFP.

He added: "I don't know what to do to help these people because we have not received any aid."

WATCH VIDEO: How We Name Big Storms
In our profound quest to discover strange new worlds, we've inevitably been trying to find alien planets that possess any Earth-like similarities. Now, with the incredible find of an Earth-mass exoplanet orbiting a neighboring star at just the right distance for liquid water to persist on its surface, hopes are high that we may have discovered an "Earth 2.0" right on our galactic doorstep.

But in our rush to assign terrestrial likeness to this small exoplanet, we often forget that just because it's in the right place and is (apparently) the right mass, it likely has very little resemblance to Earth. And even if it does possess water, it could still be a very strange world indeed.

In a new study headed by scientists at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Cornell University, computer simulations have been run to figure out the possible characteristics of the small rocky world that was discovered orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. Located only 4.2 light-years from Earth, the so-called Proxima b was discovered by the ESO's La Silla observatory in Chile and astronomers of the Pale Red Dot campaign to much excitement in August.

RELATED: Welcome to Proxima b, Our Nearest 'Earth-like' Neighbor

By measuring the slight wobbles of Proxima Centauri, the telescope was able not only to decipher the mass of the exoplanet, it could also calculate its orbital period. With this information, the researchers realized that the world was orbiting the red dwarf within the star's "habitable zone." The habitable zone of any star is the distance at which a planet can orbit that is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to persist on its surface.

The implications are clear: on Earth, where there's liquid water, there's life -- if there's liquid water on Proxima b, perhaps there's life there too. And, if we look for enough into the future, perhaps we might one day become an interstellar species and set up home there.

What We Know and What We Don't

But it's worth remembering that we currently have very little information about Proxima b. We know that it has an orbital period of a little over 11 days (yes, a "year" on Proxima b is only 11 days).* We know it orbits within the star's habitable zone. We also know its approximate mass. However, we don't know whether or not it has an atmosphere. Also, we don't know Proxima b's physical size. If we don't know its physical size, we can't calculate its average density and therefore there's ambiguity as to what materials it contains. So, in an effort to confront this ambiguity, the researchers ran some simulations of a 1.3 Earth-mass world (the approximate mass of Proxima b) in orbit around a red dwarf star to see what form it might take.

Assuming the rocky world has the smallest physical size allowed for its mass (94% Earth's diameter), according to planetary formation models this would consist of a metal core, making up for 65% of the mass of the entire planet. The outer layers would consist of rocky mantle and very little water (if any). In this scenario, Proxima b would be a rocky, barren and dry world, resembling a massive Mercury. Last time we checked in on Mercury, it didn't appear very "habitable."

But this is just one possibility. The researchers then shifted the scale to the other extreme. What would happen if the physical size of the planet was pushed to the maximum? Well, the mass of Proxima b could support a world that is 40% bigger than Earth. Now things get interesting.

In this scenario, Proxima b would be a lot less dense, meaning there would be less rock and metal. A huge proportion of the planet's mass would consist of water. In fact, 50% of the entire planet's mass would be water. This would be a "water world" in the strongest possible sense.

RELATED: Fly Through the Proxima Centauri System

Somewhere between these two scenarios -- either a dense and barren rock or bloated water world -- is the highly sought-after "Earth 2.0"; basically a world with a small metal core, rocky mantle and plentiful oceans flooding the surface. It's this exoplanetary compromise that you regularly see in artistic impressions of Proxima b, the temperate alien world that looks like Earth:
Russia's security agency wants to hack encrypted instant messaging apps like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger or Skype. The idea is to monitor communications of Russian citizens, but some experts believe the plan, if successful, could pose a to risk to anyone who uses them anywhere.

These apps use encryption to keep data safe between sender and receiver. But Russia's Parliament passed a law in July requiring the Russian security agency, known as the FSB, to possess the ability to crack these systems using special electronic "backdoor" keys to get inside.

So this month, the Russian Ministry of the Interior asked the Russian internet security firm Con Certa to look into the project and hire local firms to break the apps, according to a report in the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

One Moscow-based expert is skeptical that the FSB will break the code. Andrei Soldatov, author of the book "The Red Web" about the history of Russia's surveillance programs, said the FSB tried and failed last year to hack the secure Tor Network, a volunteer group that protects activists, journalists and non-governmental organizations from government hacking or surveillance.

"Basically, they have no clue," Soldatov said via Skype from his Moscow office. "It's good news because we are living in the era of end-to-end encryption."

RELATED: Hacker Group Claims to Be Selling NSA Files

Soldatov speculates that the new contract may allow the FSB to show Russian legislators that it's not possible to hack the apps. It also means that Russia doesn't have enough political or economic leverage to force Western social media companies to provide the necessary keys to allow surveillance.

"There is no Moscow office of Telegram or Signal or Facebook," he said.

In Russia, federal law allows security forces to monitor phone, internet and e-mail traffic. But these encrypted systems have proved more difficult, Soldatov explained.

Still, there is cause for concern. Instead of hacking the pipeline through which people send messages, one solution may be hacking of the devices themselves, said Edward Lucas, a senior editor at The Economist and a senior vice president at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

"(Messages) can be secure within the tunnel, but they still have to appear on your phone," Lucas said. "The FSB has inherited the electronic surveillance capabilities of the KGB and a lot more. It's the (U.S. National Security Agency) cubed."

Lucas says the FSB spies on Russian citizens just as the NSA spies on citizens of other countries. The new effort to defeat well-encrypted messaging apps could be a bluff.

"This is more designed to make people in the West feel they are not safe," Lucas added.

RELATED: How Does the U.S. Stop Russia's Election Mischief?

In recent months, Russian-based hackers have been linked to the release of e-mails from Hillary Clinton's campaign, the Democratic National Committee, several members of Congress and denial-of-service attacks on the websites of Washington-based think tanks.

The FBI has said it is investigating the release of the e-mails, but so far there hasn't been a public response from the White House.

Soldatov doesn't believe that the FSB plan to open encrypted apps will work, but he predicts a bigger problem coming soon. Russian and Chinese internet security officials met in April in Moscow and will meet again in October in the Chinese capital of Beijing. The meetings may include a discussion of new ways to censor Russian citizens' use of the internet, as well as building a back-up, stand-alone internet infrastructure that can be controlled and monitored within Russian borders.

"The idea is that the west might try to cut off the internet from Russia, that's why (the Russian government) needs to replicate critical elements inside of the country," Soldatov said. "Which means to have servers put under government control along with distribution centers and critical internet exchange points. That might be really damaging."

WATCH VIDEO: What's Life Like For Women In Russia?
Archaeologists excavating a Roman fort in northern England have unearthed a 2,000-year-old wooden toilet seat - the only find of its kind to have survived.

The seat was found in a muddy trench at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which was a key military post on the northern frontier of Britain before the building of Hadrian's Wall. It had clearly been well used by soldiers stationing there.

Decommissioned from its original purpose, it was then dumped amongst other rubbish before the construction of Hadrian's Wall started in the early second century.

"We know a lot about Roman toilets from previous excavations at the site and from the wider Roman world, which have included many fabulous Roman latrines, but never before have we had the pleasure of seeing a surviving and perfectly preserved wooden seat," Andrew Birley, director of excavations at Vindolanda, said.

Medieval Poop Found: Still Stinks

The wooden seat has been perfectly preserved in the anaerobic, oxygen-free conditions that exist at Vindolanda.

"It is made from a very well-worked piece of wood and looks pretty comfortable," Birley said.

Indeed, given the cold climate, the seat would have worked much better than the well-known Roman marble or stone toilet benches.

"Now we need to find the toilet that went with it as Roman loos are fascinating places to excavate - their drains often contain astonishing artifacts," Birley added.

Discoveries from latrines at Vindolanda have included a baby boot, coins, a betrothal medallion and a bronze lamp.

Ancient Pompeians Could Go Upstairs to Pee

Excavated for decades by the Birley family, Vindolanda has yielded a variety of findings, ranging from worn shoes and socks to jewelry, gold coins and unique objects such as a gladiator's drinking glass.

Vindolanda's most famous finds, however, are some 400 wooden writing tablets inscribed with official and private correspondences. About the size of a modern postcard, these are the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain and provide a unique insight into life at the Roman fort.

Once preservation of the wooden seat is complete - the process might take up to 18 months - the artifact will be put on display at the Vindolanda Roman Army Museum, located near the modern village of Bardon Mill.

Ancient Toilet Reveals Parasites in Crusader Poop

According to a statement by the Vindolanda Trust, archaeologists now need to find a spongia - the natural sponge on a stick that Romans used instead of toilet paper.

"With over 100 years of archaeology remaining and the unique conditions for the preservation of such organic finds, a discovery may just be possible," the statement concluded.

Image: The 2000-year-old wooden toilet seat excavated from a muddy trench. Credit: Vindolanda Trust.
Press Release

October 7, 2016 ANGARA BATS FOR ANTI-SENIOR CITIZEN ABUSE LAW "It is an honor to take care of the elderly. They bore their lives with dignity and endurance, and allowed us to be connected to our past. Malaking karangalan para sa atin na arugain ang mga nakatatanda tulad ng ating pagaalaga sa mga bata." Senator Sonny Angara is pushing for the passage of a bill that aims to put an end to any form of senior citizen abuse by providing stiffer penalties and strengthening institutional support for elderly victims of abuse. "Respect for our elders has been one of the hallmarks of Philippine culture and society. Sadly, incidents of senior citizen abuse still persist in our country," Angara said. Today marks the last day of the Elderly Filipino Week, an annual celebration that emphasizes the important role that older persons play in nation building, which is held every first week of October. "Our bill seeks to deter any form of abuse against our senior citizens by clearly defining what constitutes senior citizen abuse and providing stern penalties," the lawmaker explained. Under Senate Bill 1012 or the Anti-Senior Citizen Abuse Act of 2016, senior citizen abuse refers to "a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to a senior citizen." Such abuse include: 1) Physical abuse - striking, hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning, inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical punishment; 2) Sexual abuse - rape, acts of lasciviousness, sodomy, coerced nudity, and sexually explicit photographing and unwanted touching; 3) Psychological abuse - verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, public ridicule, humiliation, mockery and vilification, harassment, and enforced social isolation; 4) Economic abuse - withdrawal of financial support, controlling or misusing a senior citizen's own money or properties, cashing a senior citizen's checks without authorization or permission, forging a senior citizen's signature, coercing or deceiving a senior citizen into signing any document, and the improper use of conservatorship, guardianship, or power of attorney; 5) Neglect - failure of the responsible to feed, provide shelter to health care, or protection to the senior citizen. Physical abuse, resulting to serious physical injuries; sexual abuse, except rape; and, psychological abuse will be punished by prision mayor or six to 12 years imprisonment. Economic abuse will be punished by prision correccional or six months to six years imprisonment, while neglect will be punished by arresto mayor or one month to 6 months imprisonment. "It is our duty to provide proper and adequate protection for our over six million senior citizens. It must be stressed that senior citizen abuse is not a private matter but a public and serious one which should be a concern of the entire society," said Angara, one of the authors of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act. A recent news report cited a study by the University of the Philippines which showed that children of the elders rank highest in number in terms of perpetrating the abuse, followed by spouses and then grandchildren. The report also noted that most elders were being abused by their children while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Thus, SB 1012 mandates the establishment of a senior citizens help desk to provide immediate assistance to the victims of senior citizen abuse. "Our measure also aims to provide institutional support to victims of senior citizen abuse with the hope that a more participative involvement of the society will afford our senior citizens more protection," the senator said. Such support for the victims include temporary shelters, counselling, psycho-social services and recovery, rehabilitation programs, and livelihood assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government units. "It is an honor to take care of the elderly. They bore their lives with dignity and endurance, and allowed us to be connected to our past. Malaking karangalan para sa atin na arugain ang mga nakatatanda tulad ng ating pagaalaga sa mga bata," Angara said.
Press Release

October 7, 2016 Keynote Address of Senator Loren Legarda

4th EU-Philippines Meeting on Energy

7 October 2016 | Makati Shangri-La Hotel Allow me first to congratulate the organizers of the 4th EU-Philippine Meeting on Energy. This meeting could not have come at a better time as our government is currently undertaking a review of the Philippine energy policy. I also welcome the launching of the "Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (ASEP)" which seeks to assist the Philippine Government towards meeting its rural electrification targets through renewable energy and energy efficiency interventions. State of Philippine Energy There are varying accounts on electricity access in the country. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that 79% of the population have access to electricity[1]; while the World Bank places it at 87.5%[2]. Let us drill down these figures further and we will discover that across geographic areas, the most impoverished -- both in access to electricity and economic opportunities - is Mindanao. The country's electrification profile shows that 89% of households in Luzon have power, 79% in the Visayas, and a very low 56% in Mindanao.[3] What are these figures telling us? The poor are particularly disadvantaged when we speak of accessing the most basic necessities, including electricity. Most of those who have no access to electricity primarily live in the rural areas. While urban electrification stood at 94%, rural electrification in the country stood at a low of 73%. According to the DOE, "the remaining 4.4 million unelectrified households are generally located in the rural and remote areas of the country, as well as in the outskirts of Metro Manila and Davao City." A study done by UNICEF shows that 6.5 million Filipino children or almost 2 out of 10 children are living in homes without electricity. Again, most of the children were from rural areas.[4] Lack of access to electricity is a fundamental issue that keeps our poor in the bondage of poverty. Education needs electricity. Functioning health clinics and pumps for water and sanitation require electricity. The economic life of a community necessitates electricity. Access to Electricity and Development Energy drives economic growth and yet 1.1 billion, globally, have no access to electricity. Asia accounts for 615 million. The Philippines accounts for 21 million people with no access to electricity.[5] Access to electricity correlates with economic development. People who have no access to electricity are consequently deprived of the opportunities that can help improve their welfare. Eleven of the twenty poorest provinces in the Philippines are in Mindanao, including Maguindanao, Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato. These are the provinces with some of the lowest household electrification rates in the country. In Maguindanao, only 21.8% of households have access to electricity, and in Sultan Kudarat, only 36%. Growth is difficult to imagine without energy. The Philippine Energy Plan for 2016-2030 outlines the target of 100% household electrification by 2020 and tripling of renewable energy installed capacities by 2030. As Chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee, I fully support these targets, but would hasten to add that these electrification goals would need to be aligned with a low-carbon objective in the energy sector. Energy that does not take into consideration the needs of future generations, can only destroy and not build. Energy security and energy access are vital goals, but we should not lose sight of the more compelling goal of ensuring sustainability and resilience as we seek to provide for the basic needs of our people, including electricity. The Philippines is said to be one of the strongest economic performers in the region; but 26 million Filipinos remain poor, with almost half, or a little more than 12 million, living in extreme poverty. Most of them have no access to electricity. This brings me to the point I made at the onset. Development, progress and quality of life cannot be the exclusive domain of a few. Progress brings immense opportunities, but unless universal access to electricity is achieved, the prosperity that economic growth aims to deliver will amount to nothing but an empty promise. Not Just Electricity, but Clean and Sustainable Electricity The theme of your meeting, "Electricity for a Better Life," captures the essence of my message. Deprivation happens when one is denied access to basic needs, including electricity. Destruction, however, happens if electricity is provided without regard for its impact on our environment. Clearly, the sustainable development-energy nexus requires an urgent examination of how the country can tap on cleaner forms of energy to provide for the region's requirements in a sustainable and inclusive manner. It is for this reason that I welcome the ASEP for it offers a definitive pathway to universal access to electricity under a sustainable framework. There are two points I wish to make as the ASEP is pursued: First, providing our rural poor with access to electricity is a major challenge, but given technological innovations in energy and the abundance of indigenous energy resources in these areas, achieving universal access to clean energy is within reach. Clean and indigenous energy sources abound in our rural areas. Let us develop these to provide energy access among the poor.

Second, it is time to walk the talk. We cannot promote a low carbon future, as called for in the Philippine Energy Plan, in isolation from the bigger picture of building a sustainable future. As a Filipino, my resolve on this subject is deep and personal. The Philippines bears much of the brunt of climate change. The United Nations ranked our country the fourth in the world among countries hit by the highest number of disasters over the past 20 years, many of which are weather-related disasters. Only the uninformed will reject the link between the planet's changing climate and extreme weather events. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency In the Philippines, earlier estimates indicate that we have some 246,000 megawatts of untapped renewable energy capacity. Failure to develop these capacities would be unforgivable. We need to focus on promoting the growth of the low-carbon economy as a means to create jobs and curb carbon emissions. To further support the country's low-carbon energy thrust, I introduced a bill that will institutionalize policies on energy efficiency and conservation. Energy efficiency has the greatest potential to reduce the level of energy use, thus minimizing environmental hazards emitted by coal-fired power plants. Conclusion Finally, allow me to offer some insights, which I hope you will consider as you undertake the ASEP. First, while it is important to focus on meeting rural electrification targets by means of renewable energy and energy efficiency, let us not forget to train our sights on the bigger goal -- which is to improve the livelihood and living conditions of the poor, particularly those who currently have no access to electricity. As such, it is important that concrete actions that capacitate communities for economic activities are also pursued. Second, let us be sensitive and cognizant of the needs of the communities we want to serve. While it is true that providing access to electricity to these communities will enable them to harness the vast development opportunities that electrification brings, designing solutions would require the cooperation of the community. Do not just provide and deliver the tools to communities, but rather, build with them. Lastly, do not create a mindset that electricity is free. Instead, help create a culture of responsibility among the recipient communities. We are grateful for your assistance, but giving requires that we enable and empower communities to assume responsibilities, not in the future, but beginning the day we start sitting down with them to discuss the help we want to extend to them. Thank you and I wish you success in this programme.*** _______________________________ [1] International Energy Agency, Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2015. [2] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS [3] 26th EPIRA Implementation Status Report [4] UNICEF Philippines, How Access to Basic Needs Eludes Poor Children, Policy Brief 2015. [5] International Energy Agency, Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2015
Press Release

October 7, 2016 Legarda Asks DFA to Fasttrack Ratification of Treaties on Asian Infra Investment Bank and Climate Change Senator Loren Legarda has called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to oversee the immediate ratification of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Treaty and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change during the Senate hearing on the agency's proposed budget for 2017. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Climate Change, said that while the Philippines is a founding member of the AIIB, a China-led international financial institution for the Asia-Pacific region, it has yet to formalize its membership pending ratification of the Treaty. "It will be good for our country and for our diplomatic relations with China if we are able to ratify the AIIB Treaty before the President's visit to China this month. As a member of the AIIB, we will be able to access funds for vital infrastructure projects. It will also be good for the President and his delegation to go to China bearing positive news that the administration has worked on the approval of our AIIB membership," said Legarda. The Senator also said that the Treaty must be ratified within the year since the Four Billion Pesos initial contribution of the Philippines to the AIIB has been included in the proposed 2017 budget of the Department of Finance. "We have already earmarked the funds for our contribution to the AIIB, but if the Treaty is not ratified soon, we will have to delete it from the budget," she said. In relation to this, Legarda also requested the DFA to instruct all its embassies and consulates to gather information about all available sources of funding and technical assistance from governments and private organizations that the Philippine government can access. "Our government should know all available sources of funding that it can access from different countries and private organizations to augment our funding requirements for various government programs for energy, infrastructure, micro enterprises, climate and disaster resilience, among others," said Legarda. The Senator also asked the DFA to prioritize ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which will enter into force on November 4, 2016. "We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain with the Paris Agreement. It will soon enter into force but we will not be able to avail of the Green Climate Fund unless we ratify the Agreement," she explained. Under the Paris Agreement, developed nations are asked to decarbonize economy-wide. They must raise $100 Billion every year to help vulnerable developing nations for mitigation and adaptation, and to transfer technology. "I hope we can ratify the Paris Agreement before the climate conference in Marrakech, Morocco in November so that we will send a good signal to the international community that we are one with the world in the goal of having a sustainable and resilient planet. Aside from that, the Paris Agreement is very important for the Philippines, being one of the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change," said Legarda. Meanwhile, as part of the DFA's mandate to protect the rights and promotion of the welfare and interest of Filipinos overseas, Legarda asked the Department not only to ensure adequate funding for legal and welfare assistance for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) but also to see to it that OFWs are informed that the government provides such forms of assistance to them through Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide. The Senator also urged the DFA to give equal importance to the fourth pillar of foreign policy, which is cultural diplomacy. "I want to see a robust cultural diplomacy unit of the DFA and more cultural diplomacy activities between the Philippines and other nations. We have started to put the Philippines back to the global art scene through our return to the Venice Biennale. We need more of these cultural engagements with the international community so that we can promote the country's diplomatic agenda through cultural diplomacy," Legarda concluded.
Press Release

October 7, 2016 Villar: Senate to fast-track enactment of bill creating the coco levy trust fund Sen. Cynthia Villar said the bill that will allow 3.5 million coconut farmers to finally benefit from the P100-billion coconut levy fund will be soon enacted. Villar commended the Committee on Agriculture and Food now chaired by Sen. Francis Pangilinan for prioritizing the bill, which reached the plenary debates in the 16th Congress but failed to pass third reading due to the disagreement on how the funds will be invested. "As a finance person, I prefer that the coconut farmers' money be put in low-risk investments nang sa ganoon, kahit maliit ang kita makakasiguro tayo na nariyan ang pondo habang-buhay," Villar said, adding that an investment in Philippine government securities would yield a minimum of P2 billion a year. Villar, vice chair of the agriculture committee, said the bill will make sure that the coco levy trust fund will provide additional support to the coconut farmers. A unique feature of Senate Bill 139 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act authored by Villar, is a provision mandating the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to continue with its regular programs and projects. "PCA as the assigned agency that supports the coconut industry, will be funded with not less than P5 billion annually by the General Appropriations Act. The coco levy fund will not be touched to fund PCA because doing so will defeat the purpose of providing additional support to farmers," she stressed. The Villar proposal also included an earmarking of the PCA budget. In consultation with the agency, the P5-billion budget will be distributed as follows: P1 billion for Personnel Services and Administration and P4 billion for Projects (infrastructure, 25 percent; planting, replanting, fertilization and development of seedling nurseries, 15 percent; shared facilities program, 15 percent; research and development, 10 percent; opening of new markets, 10 percent; and palm oil, 5 percent). "Maganda po itong earmarking kasi hindi naman natin masasabi kung sino ang magma-manage ng PCA. At least kapag may earmarking tayong ganito, wala silang discretion; they give the budget as is," Villar said. Villar said earmarking was also provided in Republic Act 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015 covering funding for socialized credit, scholarship grants, infrastructure support programs, among others. The Nacionalista Party senator also suggested an inter-cropping training program for coconut farmers to supplement their income. "Under the coconut tree, we should be able to do intercropping and livestock. We should be able to take advantage of the growing demand for coffee and cacao. International companies such as Nestle and Kennemer are in the country because they want to develop the coffee and cacao industry in the Philippines," Villar said Villar said after waiting for more than 40 years, a law will finally be passed for the coconut industry to access the coco levy fund. The law was carefully crafted to make sure that the money will be spent wisely and it will really be given for the benefit of the coconut farmers, especially those who are earning P50 a day.
* Death toll rises to at least 339 in Haiti

* Mass evacuations in four U.S. states

* Storm could hit Florida directly or brush coast

By Scott Malone and Gabriel Stargardter

ORLANDO, Fla./MIAMI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Matthew, the first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years, lashed Florida on Friday with heavy rains and winds after killing at least 339 people in Haiti on its destructive march north through the Caribbean.

Winds gusts of up to 60 miles per hour (100 kph) and heavy downpours were reported in several coastal communities in Florida as the eye of the Category 4 hurricane tracked along the east coast of the state early on Friday.

"We are just bracing and the winds are picking up," Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry told CNN early on Friday. "A great number of our residents have taken heed to our warnings and we are certainly concerned about those that have not."

More than 140,000 Florida households were without power, according to Governor Rick Scott. In West Palm Beach, once lit street lights and houses went dark and Interstate 95 was empty as the storm rolled through the community of 100,000 people.

Hurricane Matthew carried extremely dangerous winds of 130 mph (215 kph) as it pounded the northwestern part of the Bahamas en route to Florida's Atlantic coast earlier, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

While Matthew's winds had dropped on Thursday night, it remained a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as it neared Florida, where it could either plow inland or tear along the Atlantic coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.

Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew's have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts."

The U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida on Friday and a dangerous storm surge was expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

Story continues

"What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.

Some 339 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island.

It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most damage in the United States, but the NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website (www.wunderground.com) that Matthew's wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.

"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," Masters wrote.

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the nation's primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.

A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

"We've had some close calls, but as far as I know it's the first time we've had the threat of a direct hit," NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker.

'AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS'

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached early on Thursday.

Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"If you're reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people ... already killed," Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast."

Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.

Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard.

President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Late Thursday, Obama declared an emergency in Georgia and ordered federal aid to the state.

"Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.

Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm's path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines said.

At 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT), Matthew was about 90 miles (140 km) southeast of Florida's Cape Canaveral, the hurricane center said. It was heading northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) and was expected to continue on this track through Thursday and early Friday. The center said the storm is expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours.

In Florida, fuel stations on Thursday afternoon posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps had run dry on Wednesday.

The shop was a stopping point for coastal residents seeking shelter inland. Among them was Jonas Sylvan, 44, of Melbourne, Florida, who planned to hole up in a hotel with his wife, two daughters and dog. "We're just trying to get away from the coast," he said. "It's safer here." (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Neil Hartnell in Nassau, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Nick Carey in Chicago, Harriet McLeod in Charleston, S.C., Doina Chiacu in Washington, Joseph Guyler Delva in Haiti, Irene Klotz and Laila Kearney; Writing by Frances Kerry and Tom Brown; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Peter Cooney and Christian Schmollinger)
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San Francisco's skyline can be viewed as an attraction or an abomination, proof of our Big City status or a blight on the landscape that should never have been allowed.

Now look at it a quite different way: a collection of lessons about how and where we live.

Each tower is shaped by politics and economics, architectural trends and cultural values. They are the embodiment of how city-making was defined at the moment of creation, sometimes for better and, often, for worse. They're revealing even when they block the sun, in ways that rarely were intended.

This is true of any city - but especially this one, where so many people care so deeply about their surroundings.

Too theoretical? Then consider these five high-rises. They vary in architectural style, but each says something distinct about San Francisco, from its history to our aesthetic tastes.

Russ Building

From 1927 until 1964, this 435-foot tower filled with gusto the role of tallest peak on the skyline. The design has a skyrocketing swagger, with a sheer climb from the sidewalk to its chiseled terra cotta finale. It wants to make an impression, and it captures the spirit of an era that reveled in its potential.

Lesson: This city has never been afraid of heights. (Architect: George Kelham. Height: 32 stories. Address: 235 Montgomery St.)

Arterra

Fans of contemporary design complain that this liberal city is too conservative in terms of new architecture. Thank goodness for the occasional exception, such as this squat but sprightly spirited tower from 2008. In a Mission Bay setting where bland stucco is the norm, Arterra's vivid panels of blue, orange and white are just what the doctor ordered.

Lesson: Bright colors are no crime. (Kwan Henmi, 16 stories, 300 Berry St.)

Transamerica Pyramid

When a certain local insurance company said it wanted to build the city's tallest tower, opponents recoiled as if a statue of Spiro Agnew was to be erected at the Civic Center. But Transamerica got its way, and within years of its 1972 completion, the 853-foot spike was celebrated as a symbol of San Francisco.

Lesson: First impressions can be wrong. (William Pereira, 48 stories, 600 Montgomery St.)

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44 Montgomery

The best International Style high-rises possess an abstract sculptural beauty, and this shimmering aluminum shaft from 1966 stands like a frozen waterfall amid its stony neighbors. But like too many towers of its era, this one was designed with little regard for the pedestrian realm. It overwhelms the sidewalk and treats passers-by like ants.

Lesson: Buildings must dazzle down below, not only up above. (John Graham, 43 stories)

100 Van Ness

This opened in 1972 as the home of the California State Automobile Association, a concrete shoebox on end with small windows and a thick skin. Now 100 Van Ness is being recast as an apartment building with floor-to-ceiling windows - a makeover that involves stripping off the concrete and replacing it with glass. Lesson: Big cities are always in flux. (Albert F. Roller, 29 stories. Renovation architect is Solomon Cordwell Buenz)
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When Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was pulled off a Southwest Airlines flight and interrogated by police officers, he said he felt like he was back in Iraq  a police state.

But the recent UC Berkeley graduate was in Los Angeles, waiting to take a flight back to Oakland. And since the April incident, hes been waiting for an apology from Southwest for removing him from the plane because, he says, he was speaking Arabic on his cell phone.

On Wednesday, Makhzoomi and the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a complaint against Southwest Airlines with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The complaint calls for a federal investigation into Southwest Airlines practices that can result in discrimination against Muslims, said Saba Maher, the civil rights coordinator for the CAIR chapter.

Its very scary, the way the police spoke to me. Even if I tell the truth, they dont believe me. It immediately brought back bad memories, said Makhzoomi, reminiscing about his upbringing in Iraq.

On April 6, Makhzoomi, a 26-year-old Iraqi refugee, was kicked off his flight when a passenger raised concerns over him speaking Arabic on his cell phone. The passenger claimed she heard Makhzoomi use words in Arabic connected to martyrdom, but Makhzoomi said he was using the word inshallah, an Arabic term meaning god willing or hopefully.

Nobody deserves to be discriminated against for their perceived religious and racial identity, said Maher. People speak hundreds of different languages and it shouldnt be seen as a threat.

Thais Hanson, a spokeswoman for Southwest, said the airline conducted an internal investigation that determined the flight crew involved followed protocol, as required by federal law, to investigate any potential threat to civil aviation.

The internal review determined that it was the content of the conversation, not the language used, that prompted the report leading to the investigation, Hanson said in a statement to The Chronicle.

Makhzoomi, who moved to the United States in 2010, said he was removed from the plane after speaking to his uncle in Iraq on his cell phone about a dinner he attended in Los Angeles the evening before with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Since the incident, Makhzoomi has not been on a Southwest flight and doesnt intend to fly with the airline until it apologizes. For him, requesting a federal investigation isnt about getting money. He said he just wants the airline to be held accountable for humiliating him.

If Southwest does not issue an apology, Makhzoomi said he would consider filing a lawsuit and use any monetary damages awarded to him to build a school in the Middle East.

Im going to open a school just to show them that the money from their discrimination is helping a lot of people in the Middle East, said Makhzoomi, who graduated in June with a degree in political science and Near Eastern studies.

Makhzoomis case isnt uncommon for Muslims and Muslim American travelers in the United States. Maher said many of her organizations clients are not just removed from flights, but are subjected to extra screenings and heightened security measures at airports.

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The CAIR national office recently submitted a separate letter to the Department of Transportation that included instances where Muslims and Muslim Americans, including Makhzoomi, were discriminated against on airlines in 2016.

The incidents highlight five separate occasions where at least a dozen individuals were removed from flights on Southwest, American Airlines and United Airlines based on their appearance or for speaking in Arabic. The letter, written by CAIR attorney Maha Sayed, calls for the Department of Transportation to require airlines to develop policies that use objective factors when determining whether a person should be removed from a flight.

Sayed advised the Department of Transportation to also compel airlines to give regular sensitivity and diversity training to employees.

In response to the letter from CAIR national, the Department of Transportation said it will investigate the incidents the group listed.

Its appalling that its happening this many times, said Maher. These are the incidents that get reported. We dont know whats not getting reported.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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These should be humbling times for the Transamerica Pyramid. This week it ceases to be our citys tallest building. Top honors instead will go to the still-ascending Salesforce Tower.

But in architecture, size goes only so far. And when the construction dust settles, dont be surprised if the 853-foot eccentricity that debuted in 1972 is still the tower that comes to mind when people think of San Francisco.

Its the symbol of the global metropolis that emerged here after World War II, a corporate attention-getter that lives up to branded hype. The visual shorthand for filmmakers and postcard peddlers who want to make their (literal) point. The embodiment of San Franciscos tension between old and new, cutting-edge and quaint, flamboyant and matter-of-fact.

None of this will change once the Salesforce Tower at First and Mission streets passes the 853-foot mark, as the buildings concrete shaft is scheduled to do Friday. The eventual height will be 1,070 feet, with a completion date of next summer.

After all, if statistics alone mattered, then the 7-mile-long San Mateo Bridge would be the structural symbol of the region  not the Golden Gate Bridge that by comparison stretches a mere 1.7 miles. For that matter, the Transamerica Pyramid as of today is only the 40th tallest building in the United States.

But just as the Golden Gate Bridge stirs emotions that have nothing to do with transportation, the Transamerica Pyramid, designed by architect William Pereira, instantly says, You Are Here.

Examples? Its the one recognizable peak on the skyline of 23rd century San Francisco in 2009s reboot of Star Trek. Two years later it starred on an Occupy SF leaflet calling for a Financial District protest. When holiday cards go on sale next month, its sure to be the centerpiece image of at least one or two.

The 48-story stiletto also remains the registered trademark of the company that built it  even though Transamerica no longer has any employees in San Francisco.

Our logo is inseparable from the (original) building, said Gregory Tucker, head of public affairs for Transamerica. He works at the companys headquarters in Baltimore  a flat-topped high-rise that is crowned by that branded image of the tower out west. I lived in Europe seven years and I can tell you, its one of those icons that is instantly recognizable.

This symbolic shorthand is all the more remarkable because the Pyramid began life as a lightning rod. It attracted the fury of residents and onlookers across the country, all of them afraid that San Francisco was changing  and changing for the worse.

The design was unveiled with fanfare in January 1969, with Mayor Joseph Alioto beaming alongside Transamerica officials. The Chronicles front-page story the next day proclaimed the design to be so unusual it might have drawn a wink or a gasp from the Sphinx.

The gasps instead came from almost everyone else.

Neighbors filed lawsuits at a time when such tactics were rare. One protest featured marchers wearing dunce caps. When the Bay Guardian weekly in 1971 published The Ultimate Highrise, a book-length diatribe in support of a ballot initiative to place a six-story height limit on new buildings , the coverimage portrayed an ominous-looking caricature of the Pyramid under construction.

After it opened, though, most dissenters shrugged and then smiled. A favorable 1976 review in the New York Times asked, What was all the fuss about?

The reason that the Transamerica Pyramid has such power is that its an unforgettable (whether good or bad) high-rise in an unforgettable setting. The diagonal lines slide up from diagonal Columbus Avenue, which rolls toward Aquatic Park, shattering the street grid as surely as Pereira shattered downtowns vertical maze of boxy office towers.

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The Pyramid also becomes the hinge between the large-scale Financial District and the low-slung neighborhoods to the north. You get a full-frontal view from North Beach and Telegraph Hill  districts that for many regional residents and visitors remain the cultural heart of the City. Sit in a Columbus Avenue cafe sipping cappuccino, or step out the door of City Lights, and the Pyramid stands serenely above the clutter of overhead wires and sidewalk fuss.

Front and center. Nothing else comes close.

Salesforce Tower, no matter how elegant the proportions or details, will always be part of the crowd. An extrapolation of height amid other towers, clad in a paneled suit of metal and glass like all the other recent buildings around it. And its in a part of town thats virgin terrain for most people, rather than a fondly remembered landscape of the past.

This doesnt mean the tapered obelisk, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, is inferior to Pereiras once-scorned concoction. Time will render the verdict.

But the buildings that resonate with the general public do so for reasons beyond architecture. The Pyramid is the Pyramid  and no matter how many tape-measure contenders crowd the skyline south of Market Street, Im betting that will always be the case.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
There are many things one can buy with $10,000  a nice vacation, new clothes, high-tech gadgets. But Randy Gzebb, 55, wouldnt know. Instead, he has spent his money on a ficus tree.

No one knows who planted the towering tree in front of the squat brown condo building in the Lower Haight. But it has become anathema to residents. Its branches tangle with Muni lines. Its roots crack the sidewalk. Its limbs grow too fast. The costs fall to Gzebb and his neighbors.

Its a huge expense, Gzebb said, resigned. Its a dangerous tree. And would you know, I just found out this year that if someone trips on the broken sidewalk, I am liable for that. Why is the city not responsible for its own tree?

Support for San Francisco to take back maintenance of street trees from property owners has been brewing for years. Legislation dictating how it would be funded has gone through many iterations, including a parcel tax, a carbon tax and a charter amendment.

Proposition E, the version headed to Novembers ballot, would mandate a $19 million set-aside to ensure that the city always allocates funding for trees. The extra general fund money would come from other propositions on the ballot, including a proposed transfer tax on properties worth more than $5 million.

Prop. E would not raise taxes, supporters point out, and would immediately transfer all street trees back to the city beginning in July. Supervisor Norman Yee has proposed a supplemental $4.9 million in funding to help Public Works hire more arborists before the transfer.

It fixes a problem that has plagued San Francisco for a long time, essentially putting homeowners on the hook for street care, said campaign spokesman Phillip Pierce. Only those with available resources can actually afford to have a tree and maintain it. Every part of the city should have trees, not just in places where people can afford it.

The measure is unanimously supported by the Board of Supervisors, and the Democratic, Republican and Green parties. But critics often target set-asides for tying up general-fund dollars that could go to other services. While the measure could be suspended if the city were facing a budget deficit, advocates say that the set-aside is needed because trees do not fare well during the budget process. Money instead goes to other issues, like homelessness, services for the elderly and transportation.

Paul Chinn/The Chronicle

If you dont like set-asides, what is the solution? said Dan Flanagan, director of Friends of the Urban Forest, which helps residents plant and maintain trees in the city. The Board of Supervisors for 35 years has been inconsistent in the care and maintenance of street trees. We know that this is something that is endemic in our board.

Public Works began relinquishing care of city trees and adjacent sidewalks to homeowners in 2011 after facing budget cuts. Thousands of trees were transferred in the following years, and another 14,000 trees are set to pass out of the citys purview if Prop. E fails. The unexpected burden of paying for costly sidewalk repairs and prunings sparked resentment in many homeowners, some of whom let the trees die or inappropriately serviced them.

We were trying to do this before, and it just didnt line up politically, said Supervisor John Avalos, who sponsored the measure. With the revenue measures we are hoping to pass, it was more doable. Its a huge burden on households to pay for tree maintenance. Its an equity issue and a social justice issue.

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Backers of Prop. E hope that the measure will also increase the number of trees in the city. San Francisco has a 13.7 percent canopy cover and ranks 17th among the 20 most populous cities in the nation, Flanagan said, just behind San Jose. Memphis is first.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, who has worked on tree-related issues for years, said Prop. E is a simple fix for what has become a significant problem in San Francisco.

This is one of those rare issues where in one fell swoop we can fix this problem, he said. On so many issues around housing and transportation, we chip away at the problem one step at at a time. Prop. E is the simple and straightforward solution. This is an issue that has been a labor of love for me.

Prop. E needs a majority vote to pass.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn
The conversation stretched into the night, for hours after the first day of Salesforces annual Dreamforce conference came to a close.

Half a dozen finance workers from Chicago sat asking questions and defining terms. They werent discussing demonstrations or lectures or the business cards they swapped that day.

They were talking about something bigger: identity, gender and what it means to be true to yourself.

It began with a button, a small blue-green pin, no more than 2 inches in diameter, affixed to the front of Ryan Walterss name tag.

My pronouns are they/them, read the button in shining light blue letters. It was the first time Walters had said so in front of co-workers.

Walters, who identifies as genderqueer and prefers to be called they rather than he or she, was one of countless people at the conference who wore pronoun badges this week  a first for Dreamforce and an unusual step on the tech-conference circuit that left many scratching their heads, wondering why the buttons were needed in the first place.

The buttons werent the only thing Salesforce did this year to welcome conference goers who are transgender and those who dont neatly identify as male or female  known as nonbinary, or genderqueer. On the second floor of Moscone West was an all-gender bathroom that was met with confusion, disgust and delight.

For those who know Salesforce and the politics of CEO Marc Benioff, a San Francisco native who has been a vocal advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, it wasnt surprising.

Benioff led a push earlier this year to condemn several pieces of state legislation widely considered hostile to LGBT people, and he encouraged other businesses to denounce a North Carolina measure that makes it illegal for transgender people to use public restrooms based on their gender identity rather than the biological sex they were assigned at birth.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

Nearly 20 other states this year considered similar anti-LGBT legislation.

Equality is a core value at Salesforce, and we want all of our guests and customer trailblazers to feel welcome at Dreamforce, said Michael Peachey, a Salesforce vice president and Dreamforce conference chairman.

Lois Winkler, 54, who lives in North Carolina, said she and her colleagues  a group of about half a dozen nonprofit workers  all showed up on the first day with their pronoun badges on.

They hadnt planned it. And only one of them identifies as anything other than he or she.

Winkler said they felt it was important to participate, and in doing so show people in the Bay Area that not all North Carolinians support the controversial bathroom law.

My daughters are Millennials, and they have have made sure I completely understand that the T in LGBT is just as important as all the other letters, she said. Its new to a lot of people, this idea that gender is not a binary, but I think its important. Its real.

Not everyone at Dreamforce was impressed.

The conference, which draws about 170,000 people from all over the world to the Bay Area, was the first time many had seen a gender-neutral bathroom or a pronoun badge.

Several people wondered aloud whether calling an individual they was grammatically correct.

Some suggested that wearing such a button may unfairly single out those who used pronouns other than her or him.

Im just me, so what does it matter what pronoun I use? said Lorraine Martinez, who lives in the Bay Area. Its not a problem unless you make it a problem. I think it could make people feel uncomfortable to categorize themselves.

Others tutted disapprovingly or dismissed the effort as political.

Im not a fan, said a woman from Memphis, who declined to give her name because she said her company had a policy against speaking to the media. People are talking about (using different pronouns) in Memphis, but its not like it is here. God made us men and women. Thats how he meant for us to be.

The bathrooms, which contained stalls for people of all genders to use, saw a steady stream of men in and out, but few women.

For some, this was a turn-off.

One Dreamforce attendee paced back and forth trying to make sense of the signs.

Wheres the ladies room? she implored before walking away.

Some conference goers declined to wear them because, they said, they didnt see the point.

I figured people can see what I am, so I thought Id let it be at that, said Aaron Olson, who was attending his first Dreamforce conference from Fargo, N.D. Ive never seen anything like it before.

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Salesforce has been planning to unveil the buttons at Dreamforce since June, and announced its intentions online last month.

It wasnt just transgender or gender-nonconforming people who wore the buttons this week.

Megan Schultz, an IT systems analyst from Houston, had heard about Salesforces plan before attending this weeks conference. When she found it in her welcome packet, she said, she was thrilled.

It makes it normal rather than having it off in a corner where only the people who want one have to go to find one, she said. Its raising awareness, and showing people that we can all be more sensitive in general because for some, the pronoun thing is an incredible battle.

Schultz, who is a lesbian, said though gender identity and sexual orientation are separate, she feels Salesforces efforts on gender stand to benefit the LGBT community as a whole.

Jorge Emiliano, who attended the conference with a Mexican consulting group, pinned the button to his backpack. Instead of selecting he/him, which are the pronouns he uses, his badge said ask me.

I wanted to support the cause and raise awareness, Emiliano said. I think because people look at me and I have a beard and I look like a man, they will assume that I am a he. But I wanted to show people you cant make a presumption about me, because you dont know. I thought this was a cool way to do that.

Walters, who was designated female at birth, began coming out to close friends and family as gender-nonconforming last year. But at work, people still used she, and used Walters given name rather than Ryan, Walters preferred moniker.

I just didnt feel like having that conversation every time I went into a meeting or every time I want to go pee, said Walters, who also identifies as queer. I think people are just getting used to the gay thing, theyre just starting to have the language to talk about it. With gender, its harder. People dont know yet how to talk about that.

It wasnt until Walters pinned the button to the Dreamforce lanyard that Walters mustered the courage to talk to their co-workers.

The discussion that followed was surprising, Walters said, but inspiring.

It really made me question why I havent told certain people because of how I assume theyre going to react, Walters said. People just want to understand. The only way they can do that is if we talk about it.

Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Marissa_Jae
By Makini Brice and Joseph Guyler Delva LES CAYES, Haiti/PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The number of people killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti rose rapidly into the hundreds on Thursday, mainly in villages making contact with the outside world days after the cyclone ripped through the impoverished nation's picturesque western peninsula. With the numbers rising quickly, different government agencies and committees differed on the total death toll. A Reuters tally of deaths reported by civil protection officials at a local level showed the storm killed at least 339 people. "Several dozen" were killed in the coastal town of Les Anglais in Sud Department, said Louis Paul Raphael, the central government's representative in the region. Inland in nearby Chantal, the toll rose to 90 late in the evening, the town's mayor said. In 2010, a magnitude 7 earthquake wrecked Port-au-Prince, killing upward of 200,000 people. However, the impact of this tragedy, has been felt most in a remote but populated region, far from the capital's support. "We have nothing left to survive on, all the crops have gone, all fruit trees are down, I don't have a clue how this is going to be fixed," said Marc Soniel Noel, the deputy mayor of Chantal. Matthew is the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix in 2007 and was closing in on Florida as a Category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the SaffirSimpson hurricane wind scale. Four people were killed over the weekend in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. The devastation in Haiti prompted authorities to postpone a presidential election scheduled for Sunday. Many victims were killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers when Matthew hit on Tuesday with winds of 145 miles per hour (230 kph). Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in Haiti's southwest, a region of white Caribbean beaches and rivers backed by hills. The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes on Monday and Tuesday. FLEEING IN PANIC Les Anglais was the first to be hit by Matthew and has since been out of contact. The mayor told Reuters just before the storm hit that people were fleeing their houses in panic as the sea surged into town. A few miles south in Port-a-Piment village, Mayor Jean-Raymond Pierre-Louis said 25 people were killed. Another 24 were killed in the village of Roche-a-Bateau further south. In Grand Anse Department, also on the storm's destructive path but on the other side of the peninsula, 38 more lost their lives. Earlier on Thursday, a meeting of emergency workers including representatives from the government, the United Nations and international aid agencies said 283 had been killed. Reuters attended the meeting. In one public hospital in Les Cayes, a coffee and vetiver exporting port on Haiti's Tiburon peninsula, most doctors had not shown up to work since they took shelter as the storm hit. Food and water were scarce in shelters. Poverty, weak government and precarious living conditions for many of its citizens make Haiti particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. International aid has at times made things worse. Following the 2010 earthquake, U.N. peacekeepers inadvertently introduced cholera to Haiti, killing at least 9,000 people and infecting hundreds of thousands more. The Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday it was preparing for a possible cholera surge in Haiti after the hurricane because flooding was likely to contaminate water supplies. In Les Cayes' tiny airport, windows were blown out and the terminal roof was mostly missing, although the landing strip was not heavily damaged. "The runway is working. In the hours and days to come, we can receive humanitarian flights," said Sergot Tilis, the information officer and runway agent for the airport. (Reporting by Makini Brice and Joseph Guyler Delva; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Paul Tait)
Tesla Motors bustling Fremont factory could roughly double in size under a long-range plan filed with city officials, as the upstart automaker seeks to dramatically expand production of its luxury electric cars.

New buildings could be added near the plants paint shop, in its parking lot and on open land next to the facilitys test track along Mission Boulevard. Tesla also has purchased a 25-acre lot just north of the factory from the Lennar development company.

The changes detailed in Teslas new master plan for the site would transform an auto factory that for a half century has been a Bay Area landmark and a major source of jobs.

Formerly run by a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota, the plant now employs 6,200 people building Teslas popular Model S sedan and Model X SUV. And with Tesla planning to release its next car, the $35,000 Model 3, late next year, the company needs room to expand.

We are pleased to work with the City of Fremont on a plan that reaffirms our commitment to California and to eventually maximize the potential of our Fremont factory site, a Tesla spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. California continues to be the epicenter of Teslas manufacturing capabilities, and we are proud to be the states largest manufacturing employer.

The new master plan does not offer in-depth detail on specific buildings that Tesla may place on the property or give an estimate of how much those buildings would cost. Nor does it lock the company into building everything shown in the plan.

Instead, it illustrates how Tesla could add as much as 4.6 million square feet to a facility that now measures 4.5 million square feet.

The Fremont Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the master plan Thursday. If it is approved by both the commission and the City Council, Tesla would then submit permit applications for specific building projects on the site.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often said that the fast-growing company will eventually need new factories  perhaps in North America, Asia and Europe  as its worldwide sales expand.

He has set a goal of building 1 million cars per year by the end of 2020, even though the company last year built just 50,500. And Musk said this spring that Tesla might be able to reach its million-car goal by fully utilizing its Fremont factory, its massive battery Gigafactory near Reno and a collection of other properties Tesla has amassed in Northern California.

Although the new master plan does not preclude Tesla from building elsewhere, or snapping up other buildings in the Bay Area, it strongly suggests that Fremont will remain central to the companys manufacturing operations for years to come.

Were delighted that the site offers them opportunities for growth, said Kelly Kline, Fremonts economic development director. Weve seen other growth happening in Fremont because of their activities  which is great. Dozens of businesses have located here to do business with Tesla.

The master plan does not discuss how many people would eventually work in the expanded facility. But a Fremont Planning Division assessment, posted Friday on the divisions website, estimated the expansion could eventually add 3,100 jobs.

Last year, California officials gave Tesla a $15 million tax credit to help hire 4,400 employees over five years. Those new jobs will be based in multiple locations, including Fremont and the companys Palo Alto headquarters.

Brook Taylor, deputy director of the state office that awarded Tesla its tax credit, said California has made an effort to attract automotive jobs, from upstarts like Tesla and Faraday Future to established automakers setting up labs in Silicon Valley.

The facts are that because of Californias forward-thinking environmental and development policies, the Golden State is becoming the epicenter of the auto industry, said Taylor, with the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as Go-Biz.

What were seeing is the cars of tomorrow will be designed and in many cases built here in California, he said.

First opened by General Motors in 1963, Teslas factory has had a turbulent history.

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GM closed the plant in 1982, as competition from foreign automakers took its toll. It reopened under New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a joint venture between Toyota and GM, only to close again in 2010 during the depths of the global financial crisis.

Tesla at that time was looking to open its first factory. Initially, the young company, founded in 2003, considered the shuttered NUMMI plant much too big. But Tesla was able to buy the facility for the fire-sale price of $42 million, plus $17 million for some of the equipment. The company started building its Model S there in 2012.

The portion of Fremont immediately surrounding the factory is already poised for major change.

This fall, BART plans to open its Warm Springs Station, which lies just across a railroad track from the Tesla factory. City officials have already approved the master plans for three adjacent development projects, which will add commercial space and thousands of housing units.

The BART station, in fact, plays an important role in Teslas plans.

Most of Teslas factory site has already been built out, and the property is hemmed in by a rail line, the Nimitz Freeway and several broad, busy streets. As a result, two of the buildings Tesla could add under the master plan would be placed in the already maxed-out parking lot in front of the plant.

The location of the factory offers unique opportunities to leverage mass transit to ferry our workforce, the Tesla spokeswoman said. Teslas factory is the only major automotive assembly facility in the United States that is located adjacent to a metropolitan rapid transit rail line.

Already building out its Gigafactory, Tesla has drawn criticism from some stock analysts for burning through cash without generating a profit. But Ben Kallo, a senior analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., said expanding the Fremont facility made sense and would show investors that the company has a plan in place to reach its lofty production goals.

Its a good step, Kallo said. Obviously, expanding their manufacturing in California, people will automatically think you cant get that done because of the not-in-my-backyard attitude. But keeping production here, particularly in the early part of their growth, helps manage it effectively.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
A man and three teenagers were arrested in connection with a gang-related shooting in Santa Rosa that left two people seriously injured, police said Thursday.

The four suspects in the case were arrested from Sept. 26 through Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder and being an active gang participant, officials said.

One of the suspects was identified as 25-year-old Santa Rosa resident Alfonso Dominic McCloud. The names of the remaining suspects were not released because they are minors. Police said one 17-year-old boy and two 16-year-olds were arrested.

Police suspect they were involved in a shooting Sept. 25 that injured two Santa Rosa residents.

The victims, 18 and 19, were at Pioneer 2000 Apartments at 2021 Pioneer Way when a vehicle pulled up, police said.

Witnesses reported seeing a fist fight between them and the group that came from the car before hearing multiple gunshots, according to officials.

The 19-year-old was in critical condition, authorities said. Police said the second victim was in serious, but stable condition.

Investigative leads and tips from the community led officers to arrest the group suspected in the shooting.

On Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m., members of the Santa Rosa Police Department SWAT team with a Sonoma County Sheriffs Office helicopter, served a search warrant at a residence in the 700 block of Powderhorn Drive in Santa Rosa

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Authorities arrested the 16-year-old Santa Rosa resident during the search. The teen was taken to the Santa Rosa Police Department to be interviewed, then booked into the Juvenile Justice Center.

The other suspects had been arrested last week.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Sarah Ravani

A knife-wielding bicyclist chased down and stabbed a man standing on a San Francisco sidewalk in the middle of the day and then pedaled off, leaving the victim with life-threatening injuries, police said Thursday.

The attack occurred just before 2 p.m. Wednesday on the 400 block of Turk Street, near Hyde Street, in the Tenderloin district, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
A group of five robbers targeted a man taking scenic pictures in the middle of the afternoon in San Franciscos Sutro Heights Park, snatching his camera and then dragging him along in their getaway car when he tried to take the device back, police said Thursday.

Two of the suspects accosted the victim around 3:17 p.m. Wednesday as he snapped photos in the oceanside park off Point Lobos Avenue, near the Cliff House, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

After the robbers grabbed the 29-year-old mans camera, he chased them to their getaway car, containing three accomplices, police said. Latching onto his camera through a car window, the victim refused to let go and was briefly dragged by the car as the robbers drove away, police said.

No arrests have been made in the incident.

The victim injured his arm and shoulder in the encounter, but did not need to go to the hospital, police said.

The daylight mugging in the heavily trafficked area follows a spate of violent robberies of sightseers that have recently occurred in popular San Francisco tourist destinations.

In late September, two tourists from China were mugged by a man who said he had a gun near the famed crooked section of Lombard Street on Russian Hill. In June, police broke up another mugging of three female visitors near the same tourist attraction.

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And back in May, a tourist was forcibly robbed of his camera as he snapped pictures from the vista atop Twin Peaks.

Anyone with information on the Sutro Heights Park robbery, or any of the other unsolved tourist muggings, can contact the San Francisco Police Department anonymously at (415) 575-4444.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley
A San Francisco law preventing city officials and employees from directly soliciting campaign donations from subordinates and colleagues does not apply to the school district, according to a legal opinion issued by the city attorneys office.

The city Ethics Commission sought the legal advice after an inquiry from school board member Sandra Lee Fewer. The Chronicle reported last month that Fewer had asked district administrators and staff to donate to her campaign for supervisor in San Franciscos District One in the Richmond District.

Fewer acknowledged that she asked at least two school district employees to attend an April fundraising dinner. She said she couldnt recall if there were others. Two other school workers, including interim Superintendent Myong Leigh, also said Fewer asked them to pay at least $100 to attend the event.

One school employee, who recalled being solicited at work, said they felt pressured by the request because board members have oversight of budgets, programs, contracts and policies.

Fewer denied doing anything wrong. She did not respond to a request for comment on the city attorneys legal opinion, which was released Wednesday evening.

Based on the opinion by Deputy City Attorney Andrew Shen, the Ethics Commission could not sanction school district officials who solicit donations from other district employees.

San Francisco officials have faced consequences for such actions. District Attorney George Gascon agreed to pay $4,000 after an Ethics Commission investigation into his participation in a staff fundraiser at a bar across from the Hall of Justice during his re-election campaign in 2014.

Shen said a court would probably conclude that the city lacks the authority to restrict the political activity of San Francisco Unified employees, because the district is a state entity rather than part of the city.

The permissible political activities of SFUSD personnel is a matter of statewide concern, and thus an issue to be addressed solely through state law rather than local regulation, Shen said in a letter to LeeAnn Pelham, executive director of the Ethics Commission.

State law is less restrictive than city law. It prohibits the use of school district services, supplies or equipment to support or oppose any candidate or ballot measure, and bars fundraising for ballot measures during working hours.

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Amid the city attorneys office review of the issue, the San Francisco school board independently decided to ban board members and the superintendent from directly soliciting campaign donations from district employees.

The new policy, unanimously adopted Sept. 27, seeks to prevent undue influence over subordinates.

The maximum consequence of a school board member violating a district policy is censure, officials said.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
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We all have guilty pleasures, the reality show or fat-laden treat that brings a glow despite our better instincts. Guess what: Architectural devotees feel the same way about buildings.

That's what I found in an informal survey of local architects and people who keep an eye on the field. Nearly everyone had a favorite indulgence, some obvious and some not.

What follows is a list of 10 guilty pleasures of the architectural kind. It isn't definite. It isn't ranked. Consider it a hint of our bounty - and the subjective way our buildings can be viewed.

1. Transamerica Pyramid. No surprise at this choice! After all, in San Francisco one 853-foot lightning rod from 1972 stands above the rest.

"At the start I thought it was laughable with the ears and I still do," shrugs Ellen Newman, a longtime design aficionado. "I love it now because it's iconic, even though I still think it's bad architecture."

Another onetime opponent, architect Bob Herman, explains his conversion this way: "Decades later, I realized that Transamerica's pyramid, though structurally 'dishonest,' benefited the city's urban design by creating a landmark, an urban design trail marker. ...What I've learned in the intervening years is that form does NOT necessarily follow function, even for truth-in-architecture guys like me."

2. One Maritime Plaza. Architecturally, Cathy Simon of Perkins + Will feels "total pleasure" for Maritime Plaza, a 25-story slab from 1964 that summons chilly elegance from dark glass in an X-braced metal frame.

So what's the problem with the tower between Clay and Washington streets? Stand on the sidewalk and you'll find out. "There it sits on a parking garage podium, the walls of the podium are blank and once you're up there, the space is completely devoid of anything to like," Simon sighs. "It's completely anti-urban."

3. M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. "I started with such strong convictions that this thing landed from Mars," Edgar Lopez, an architect with the city, says of the Herzog and de Meuron-designed home for this Golden Gate Park institution. "It didn't seem very friendly to the park, and I was never convinced that the copper cladding made sense ... but once it opened? I think it works wonderfully as a museum. I have to admit I like it."

4. 1881 Bush St. This is a 115-year-old synagogue recently restored as part of a senior living center. It also has a wooden facade that's a cross between a Moorish temple and a Venetian palace - exactly the sort of freewheeling fakery that runs counter to the ethos of Anne Fougeron, a much-acclaimed modernist architect.

Except: "It's got great attitude," Fougeron says. "The whimsy is appealing, and self-assurance atones for many sins."

5. Sutro Tower. "You can argue whether you like the look of it - but it's a beacon, an orientation point," EHDD's Marc L'Italien says of the 977-foot three-pronged communications tower completed in 1973 despite an outcry from neighborhood groups. "It's also well-proportioned, a bit futuristic. ... Whoever designed it (A.C. Martin Partners) exercised quite a bit of care."

6. AT&T Park. This popular favorite from 2000 wouldn't seem the stuff of shamed affection, but the faux-historic exterior still disappoints such architects as Cary Bernstein, a self-described advocate of "progressive design."

But even if "I find it depressing for its defeatist design aspirations," Bernstein gives in to the experience of rooting for the home team in a perch between city and bay, a blend of setting and spectacle as sublime as can be.

7. 101 California St. Some buildings dazzle the eye even as they disregard their surroundings. That's why Glenn Rescalvo of Handel Architects hesitates in describing his admiration for this 48-story silo of granite and glass that celebrity architect Philip Johnson placed atop a thicket of stone-clad stilts in a large triangular plaza.

"A lot of planners and architects don't like that building because of the way it meets the ground," says Rescalvo, architect of the even taller Millennium Tower. "But from the seventh floor up it's, so cool."

8. Oakland California Temple. This icon on the East Bay hills with its gold-leaf-covered towers casts a peculiar spell on Mitchell Schwarzer, author of 2007's "Architecture of the San Francisco Bay Area: A History & Guide."

"It's forbidding and intimidating and all the things I don't usually like - but I find myself drawn to it," Schwarzer says of the complex built in the early 1960s by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "At one moment it's something from the 'Wizard of Oz,' another moment it's Art Deco and then it's a 1950s sci-fi movie."

Here, as elsewhere, the line between guilt and pleasure is hard to discern.

"It doesn't fit with anything you would understand as architecture - yet it fits the idea of architecture as powerful and mysterious and evocative," Schwarzer says. "It transcends the moment."

9. Embarcadero Center. Like One Maritime Plaza, this four-block procession of one computer cardlike tower after another "comes from an era of bold gestures that goes totally against the granular nature of San Francisco," concedes David Darling of the firm Aidlin Darling. Yet that dense monotony, he suggests, now serves as an effective backdrop for older buildings nearby. Another selling point? "I appreciate the weird combination of brutal details and Art Deco elegance."

10. San Francisco County Jail #2. You won't find this on any postcards: an undulation of cloudy glass attached to the rear of the Hall of Justice alongside Interstate 80.

But it's the choice of David Meckel, director of research and planning for California College of the Arts. He often uses the elevated freeway when traveling between the school's Oakland and San Francisco campuses, so the jail is part of his landscape.

And get this. It isn't even a building that he likes.

"What I love is that a visionary arts commission decided to apply its public arts funds toward an integration of art and architecture," Meckel says of the early-1990s project that paired artist Douglas Hollis with the architectural team. That said, "rather than the beautiful, subtle, foglike fritted glass the team envisioned, it looks like a Christmas elf did a bad spray-job on a window decoration."

If that's not a guilty pleasure, I don't know what is.

John King weighs in on his guilty pleasure. E3
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Where I grew up in the East Bay, hitting a deer in a car you were driving or riding in seemed almost a rite of passage. A classmate ended up in the hospital after a delivery truck struck a deer that flew into the oncoming lane and into her windshield. If you brought in a fresh road-kill deer, my high school biology teacher would give you extra credit.

One morning, our class watched, fascinated and disgusted, as the teacher dissected a pregnant doe  a specimen far bigger than the usual fetal pigs, cow eyes and frogs pickled in formaldehyde. The does eyes had gone glassy, but her body was not yet stiff. He sliced open her belly, revealing a glistening, perfect pair of fawns. The smell hit us next, the smell of insides suddenly on the outside.

I loved deer, the flick of their tails, the way they delicately stepped down the steepest hills. Their appeal lay in their unpredictability, their wildness, the deer coming and go as they please. I didnt see them as pests, but I didnt have to contend  as my father and many homeowners do  with the deers relentless nibbling.

In the decades since, development in the Bay Area has pushed wildlife farther into the suburbs. Those fields and hills have given way to subdivisions where animals are attracted to the abundance of food and water, to the tomato patches, shrubbery, pools, fountains and runoff in the gutter.

Its a reverse commute, said John Krause, a wildlife biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. People leave for the day, and animals come in.

During times of drought, which parches open spaces and makes resources skimpy, wildlife are more likely to flock to lawns and flowerbeds to survive, Krause added.

That accounts for all the traffic on the hill behind our house, where each day a flock of wild turkeys descends from a grove of oak trees to strut and gobble-gobble ponderously down the street. They puff up their chests and spread their tail feathers in a majestic yet comical yet menacing display.

A doe and her spotted white fawns tiptoe down in a circuit around the neighborhood that takes them to the park across the street, down a ravine and back to a shady spot beside our garage. When I come up the driveway, startling the deer, their hooves against the concrete sound like stiletto heels.

Theyre comfortably at home among us  to the chagrin of residents who call Fish and Wildlife to complain about turkeys getting onto their roofs, damaging wires, rooting up plants, depositing their droppings, or deer hopping and barreling through their fences. When a mountain lion was spotted in the area, my neighbors joked it could solve the turkey infestation.

When I point out the deer and turkeys on their morning commute, the twins run to the window, pressing their hands against the glass. Quick, or youll miss it! But never mind that  soon enough, the deer will come by again, if not here, then at the park across the street or in the grassy stretch by the neighborhood pool.

To keep wildlife at bay, Krause first recommends checking to see if any neighbors are feeding them. The departments Keep Me Wild campaign reminds people to stash food and trash that attract wildlife.

Barring that, people should haze and harass pesky wildlife, he said.

Haze? The word conjures up fraternity high jinks, excessive beer consumption and ritualistic nocturnal humiliation.

Krause clarified: make noise and chase off the wildlife, spray them with the hose, throw rocks, sticks and acorns, or use motion detector sprinklers to change their behavioral patterns.

Theyre wild animals. They need to be wary, he said. The trouble is, most people arent doing anything.

In the worst cases, if wildlife causes substantial property damage, his department can issue a depredation permit that authorizes you to cull  which can be tricky, given that many municipalities dont allow the discharge of firearms.

How, then? I pictured a squadron of hit men sneaking up on a wild turkey with a burlap bag or a giant cartoonish hammer.

Archery or trapping them first, before shooting them, Krause said, or another method performed by the permit holder or their designated agent, provided that its in accordance with local laws, may also help.

People ask if Fish and Wildlife can catch and release elsewhere, but that would transfer the problem and potentially spread diseases, Krause said.

Besides, wildlife have a place in our neighborhoods, too.

The wildlife is part of the landscape, just like we are, Krause said. The urban habitat is part of their habitat as well.
The Lennon Report is a brisk, low-budget drama that re-creates the events of Dec. 8, 1980, as experienced by the police, doctors and reporters involved. The assassination of John Lennon was an earthquake  the whole country stopped and mourned for days  but the epicenter was New York City, where Lennon lived and where Mark David Chapman committed the murder.

Honestly, I cant tell for sure how younger people will react to this film. After all, it is almost impossible, and it should be impossible, to truly mourn tragedies that took place before you were born. To do so would be akin to rejecting the world, when the business of each generation is to embrace the world and move life forward.

But the public tragedies that take place during our own lives can be lasting and unshakeable, and for many of a certain age, the death of John Lennon is not something weve ever quite gotten over. Every Beatles song brings an undertone of mourning. Every film or newsreel brings an underlying pain.

So I cant tell if this movie is for everybody, or rather just for people old enough to remember John Lennon as a living person. In any case, its a satisfying drama that inverts the usual way of building interest and suspense. Instead of wondering whats going to happen, we sit with the knowledge and wait for every character to react to what we already know.

The movie also provides information not in wide currency. For example, the emergency room doctors were working on Lennon for perhaps a half hour before they knew just who was on the table in front of them.

Over the opening credits, director Jeremy Profe sets the scene. The New York of 1980 was violent and ugly, and the America of 1980 was a nation off stride, with hostages in Iran and an economy in the toilet. There was a feeling in the air that nothing could ever get better, that everything was heading downward, and Lennons death fit right into that picture.

The film follows Alan Weiss (Walter Vincent), a TV producer who just happened to be in the emergency room (for a motorcycle accident) at the time Lennon was brought in. Placed on a gurney right outside Lennons operating room, Weiss found himself sitting on one of the most important stories of the year. Today Weiss could have just whipped out his phone and called his station. But this was 1980, which meant somehow crawling to a pay phone on a busted-up leg while escaping notice of the police, who wanted to contain the story.

Most of the drama of The Lennon Report deals with Weiss attempt to report the news and with the doctors struggle to save Lennons life. The doctors were already working hard when their patient was John Doe, but when he became John Lennon, an extra urgency took over the room. The movie particularly focuses on the passionate efforts of Dr. David Halleran (Evan Jonigkeit), who massaged Lennons heart for a half hour or more.

The Lennon Report offers no special insights into Lennon, or the country, or that awful night, but it does bring back the time. It looks and feels like 1980. Indeed, its like being there, which is something that could make you all the more appreciate 2016, if such a thing were possible.

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle

The Lennon Report

Starring Walter Vincent and Evan Jonigkeit. Directed by Jeremy Profe. (Not rated. 87 minutes.)

To see a trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJQQ5ubvO0
He brokered a seemingly impossible peace, then died in a barrage of gunfire.

The Chronicles front page from Oct. 7, 1981, covers the assassination of Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat in Cairo.

Sadat was shot and killed yesterday by a group of soldiers who hurled hand grenades and fired rifles at the Egyptian president as he watched a military parade commemorating the 1973 surprise attack against Israel, the story read. The assassins bullets ended the life of a humbly born, rural Egyptian who earned world renown for innovation and boldness in foreign affairs.

It was a reputation that he gained when he stunned the West and angered the Arab world by going to the camp of the foe, Israel, to sue for peace.

Sadat had taken over leadership of his country in 1970 and held an important position during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which toppled King Farouk.

The president led wars and won a Nobel Peace Prize, but became a victim of the Egyptian turmoil that followed his peace deal with Israel that was signed in Washington, D.C., in 1979.

Sadat and 11 others were killed during the 1981 attack. The death squad was led by a Jihadist, Lt. Khalid Islambouli, who was convicted and executed in 1982.

Vice President Hosni Mubarak replaced Sadat soon after the assassination. Mubarak would lead his country for nearly 30 years, until the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.

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 every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Michelle Devera and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim ORourke is the executive producer and editor of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke

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Supporters of preserving Californias death penalty in next months elections showcase the relatives of murder victims, who say their only hope of justice and closure is the killers execution. Death penalty opponents, on the other hand, are featuring former Death Row inmates who were cleared of their charges and set free.

Ive been out over 30 years ... and every day its on my mind, Ernest Shujaa Graham said Wednesday at an event sponsored by supporters of Proposition 62, which would abolish capital punishment and resentence condemned prisoners to life without the possibility of parole.

Graham, 66, was sent to prison at age 18 for a robbery in Los Angeles. He said he joined a political movement behind bars, was influenced by the Black Panther Party, and in 1973 was charged with the fatal stabbing of a guard, Jerry Sanders, at Deuel Vocational Institution near Tracy.

His first jury deadlocked, but he was convicted and sentenced to death after a retrial in 1976  a conviction the California Supreme Court reversed in 1979 because prosecutors had systematically removed all African Americans from the jury. The court had prohibited race-based jury selection in 1978, eight years before the U.S. Supreme Court followed suit.

A third trial ended with another hung jury. Graham was finally acquitted at his fourth trial and set free in 1981. He now lives in Maryland and is on the board of directors of Witness to Innocence, a group of former death row inmates seeking to end executions.

Paris Powell, another formerly condemned prisoner, noted the number of inmates nationwide since 1973 who have been cleared of the charges that had sent them to death row.

Americas justice system got it wrong 156 times, he said.

Powell, now 43, was sentenced to death in Oklahoma for the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old girl in 1993. He said he knew nothing about the crime, turned down a prosecutors offer to go free if he would implicate others, and was convicted on the testimony of a witness who later admitted lying under pressure from the district attorneys office. A federal appeals court overturned Powells conviction in 2009, and prosecutors decided not to retry him.

I do believe in redemption, Powell said, describing fellow death row inmates who had straightened out their lives in prison, and some who shed tears of remorse as they were led to the execution chamber. This is a time that California can show the world that theres no place for the death penalty in 2016, he said.

The event was held to promote Prop. 62 and oppose Prop. 66, a rival measure that would retain the death penalty and seek to speed up executions. It would require the state Supreme Court to rule on all capital cases within five years, more than twice as fast as its current pace, while setting new time limits and other restrictions on inmates appeals. If both measures pass, only the one with the most votes will take effect.

Opponents say Prop. 66 would greatly increase the chances of convicting and executing an innocent person.

If 66 had been in effect, theres a great possibility that myself would not be here today, Graham said.

That was disputed Thursday by San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, co-chairman of the campaign to pass Prop. 66.

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I think their appellate rights would be protected even more (by) expanding the pool of attorneys and assigning them an attorney at the date of sentencing, Ramos said, referring to two of the initiatives provisions.

The last thing we want to do is put an innocent person on Death Row, and Im confident we have not, said Ramos, whose county is one of five responsible for nearly all of Californias death sentences in recent years. He said exonerations like Grahams are evidence that the system works.

His confidence wasnt shared by a third inmate, Randy Steidl, 65, who spent more than 17 years in Illinois prisons, 12 of them on Death Row, before being cleared and released in 2004. Steidl was convicted of two 1986 murders  based on the testimony of a mentally ill woman and a town drunk, he said. He was eventually exonerated after an investigation by the state police, a ruling by a federal judge and newly available DNA evidence.

We know that weve executed innocent people, said Steidl, who now heads Witness for Innocence. You can release an inmate from prison. You cant release him from the grave.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
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The Transamerica Pyramid is San Francisco's tallest and best-known tower. It's a registered corporate trademark, a fixture on postcards - and proof that snap judgments on buildings can often be wrong.

Construction began 40 years ago this month over the loud objection of anyone who was anyone in urban design. The city's top planner called the proposal "an inhumane creation." The Washington Post's critic recoiled at "a second-class world's fair Space Needle." Progressive Architecture magazine warned the impact on San Francisco would be "no less reprehensible than ... destroying Grand Canyon."

Instead, the 853-foot-tall tower that opened in 1972 has become a civic icon.

What the opponents missed at the time is that cities thrive on the unexpected, new twists as well as old treasures. They aren't static creations, tightly controlled: The best ones evolve in sometimes startling ways, shaped by hubris as well as high ideals.

Viewed from this perspective, the Pyramid is a fitting addition to the skyline - even to many former foes.

"What's good about the Pyramid overwhelms what's bad about it," says Henrik Bull, an architect who denounced the proposal at hearings and rallies. "It's a wonderful building. And what makes it wonderful is everything that we were objecting to."

If Transamerica had proposed a flat corporate box a few blocks to the south, there would have been no fuss.

But with Mayor Joseph Alioto at their side, the leaders of a then-little-known holding company booked space in the Fairmont Hotel on Jan. 27, 1969, to unveil what the next day's Chronicle called "a pyramid so unusual it might have drawn a wink or a gasp from the Sphinx."

At first, 1,000 feet

The proposal's 1,000-foot height exceeded any hill in this city revered for its topography. The tapering shaft of concrete with a steep metal peak defied every architectural norm of the era. The location was on the north end of the Financial District at Montgomery and Washington streets, at the foot of Columbus Avenue on a site across from Jackson Square - then and now an atmospheric nook defined by brick survivors of the 1906 earthquake.

None of this bothered Alioto, or The Chronicle's editorial proclaiming that the "needlelike shape thrusting skywards ... will be a fitting adornment to this most fitting of all cities."

Other people, though, had plenty to say.

Some resistance was predictable, such as complaints from Telegraph Hill groups eager to keep the modern city a polite distance away from their affluent slopes.

Broadsides also came from local chapters of the American Institute of Architects and the American Institute of Planners - groups whose members rely on new buildings for new business - and the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Organization, founded in 1959 by downtown interests.

"We were very much opposed to a tall building so far out of the financial center," recalls Bull, and the design only stoked the fires: "It was insulting for us to have 20 stories of spire with no reason other than to make it the tallest thing on the skyline."

The city's own planning director, Allan Jacobs, took a leading opposition role.

It wasn't that the building was too large; the 500,000 square feet of space within the sloping walls compares to the Russ Building four blocks south on Montgomery Street, the city's tallest tower from 1927 until 1964.

But Transamerica was twice the height of the Russ Building, on an edge of the Financial District where heights had always been low. Jacobs also was bothered by how the company made little effort to meet with planners beforehand, essentially presenting their concept as a fait accompli.

"This is unmistakably a 'look-at-me' building that does not complement the buildings near it," Jacobs told Time magazine.

Support at City Hall

Another vociferous blast came from the Washington Post, where architecture critic Wolf von Eckardt fulminated against "this 1,000 foot height of hideous nonsense" that would mar "one of the most breathtaking skylines of the world."

Progressive Architecture rolled out a string of adjectives: "insensitive, inappropriate, incongruous." Newsweek bemoaned a tower that would be "wrong in any city" but "particularly wrong in ... easily wounded San Francisco."

None of the slings dislodged the support of the player who mattered most, Mayor Alioto. Not only did he back Transamerica because of the jobs that would be created, he very publicly touted the unorthodox design.

When the proposal went to the Planning Commission, Alioto urged it to approve a tower that would "add considerable urban beauty to San Francisco." He appeared before the Board of Supervisors a month later to ask why the city should have "a monopoly on rectangular slabs."

Alioto appointed the commission; the board was solidly pro-business. Each gave Transamerica a needed green light.

Community opposition

Transamerica made changes along the way, widening the tower while lowering the height. Jacobs wasn't impressed, saying the revisions "intensified" the "devastating effect of the tower on the fabric of the city."

Neighborhood groups were dogged as well, filing lawsuits to halt work once construction began.

Forty years later, Jacobs still has the courage of his convictions: "It's a bad building that does really bad things for the street. ... Urban-design-wise, the strange shape catches your eye for no purpose."

Other opponents now love what they once loathed.

One is novelist Herb Gold, who testified against the project in public hearings.

"Almost as soon as it was open and completed, I felt different," recalls Gold, whose Russian Hill apartment has a full-body view of the triangular shaft. "Things fool you."

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.

Elongated elegance

The Transamerica Pyramid is not great architecture. But it's an architectural icon of the best sort - one that fits its location and gets better with age.

It also shows that architecture is more complex than what a first glance reveals.

Throughout the debate of 1969, architect William Pereira of Los Angeles defended his vision as a logical, elegant response to the challenge of inserting large structures into an older city, telling a reporter it "allows more light and more air into the streets and conserves the view." He also made the case that an abrupt shift in scale from Jackson Square would help maintain that district's distinctive character, rather than overwhelm it.

Time has proved Pereira right in both cases.

This is a building designed to catch the eye, to make Transamerica a well-known brand. But it does so without being bombastic. Your eye can linger or glide right past, which isn't the case with blockier, more conventional towers of the era, such as the shoe boxes stacked along the lower blocks of Market Street.

You can even argue that the Pyramid's distinctive silhouette (if not the futuristic air) foreshadowed the postmodern towers of the 1980s and 1990s - a period when flat tops were scorned and planners favored silhouettes and tactile details that would evoke the romanticism of older skylines.

A futuristic relic

Most surprising of all is how well the tower works with Columbus Avenue, a diagonal slicing south and east from Aquatic Park. A 40-story box on the block would have formed a blunt dead end; instead, it's as if the thoroughfare continues up the edge of the triangle and into the sky.

"It terminates Columbus beautifully," Bull says. "A shorter, more conventional tower would be a disaster."

The one thing beyond dispute is that in San Francisco, a tower like the Pyramid can never be built again.

Height itself is no longer taboo, as planners propose zoning that would allow a 1,000-foot high-rise at First and Mission streets, a part of town where towers have long been steered. By the time the Pyramid opened, Jacobs' planning department had crafted an urban design plan to prevent towers from pushing farther north, into Chinatown or Russian Hill.

Nor can a new tower rise on its own terms, the way the Pyramid lifts off from a thicket of diagonal concrete columns with space on all sides.

Planning rules spell out how to respect context, meet the street, not be "jarring." Environmental studies and additional political layers extend the review process for years and give critics ample opportunity to chip away at anything they don't like.

Perhaps this is as it should be; if San Francisco's skyline had developed as a pincushion of pyramids, downtown would be a forlorn place.

But with each year that passes, the integrity of Pereira's design grows more compelling. It is a strong architectural vision executed with simplicity and care. It emerges from the city that was, looking forward without fear. The aspects that made it ominous on paper strike a chord in real life.

As its novelty has faded, the sense of adventure has endured. The Transamerica Pyramid is brash and slightly odd - just like the city it calls home.
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A 22-year-old Stanford graduate student was arrested after he was accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend at a campus dorm, police said Thursday.

Govinda Dasu was booked into San Jose Main Jail on suspicion of sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman, said Bill Larson, a spokesman for the Stanford Department of Public Safety.

Dasu was dating his victim at the time of the assault, according to the department. Officials said the incident took place Sept. 24 at Lyman Graduate Residence on the Stanford campus. The victim reported the assault and police arrested Dasu at the scene, Larson said.

The victim was not a student, he said.

On Thursday, authorities submitted the case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office for review.

Officials didnt release a campus alert for the assault because Dasu had been arrested and was not perceived as an ongoing threat, police said.

A campus alert had been sent out last weekend referring to a separate reported rape at a dorm on Friday.

Stanford police received the report about the attack from an unidentified third party, Larson said.

Campus authorities put out an alert over the weekend, warning students that a woman was raped in a dorm on the east side of campus by a male whom she did not know.

Officials declined Thursday to release more information on the reported rape, citing an active investigation.

The sexual assault of an unconscious woman by Brock Turner on the Stanford campus last year garnered national attention after Turner, 21, was sentenced by Judge Aaron Persky to six months in county jail, widely criticized as a slap on the wrist.

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Turner, a former Stanford swimmer, was released after serving half the sentence and moved back to his home state of Ohio, where he registered as a sex offender.

Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills related to sexual assault. One, inspired by the Turner case, redefined rape to include some sexual assaults. The other ended the states 10-year statute of limitations on sex crimes.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
(recasts, adds quotes from industry assoc)

By Wilda Asmarini

JAKARTA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia could export up to 15 million tonnes of nickel ore in 2017 if it amends a ban on unprocessed ore exports, a mining ministry official said on Friday.

Indonesia banned metal ore exports in early 2014 to encourage miners to build smelters to create jobs and shift exports from raw materials to higher-value finished metals. Indonesia's nickel ore exports had increased sharply before the ban was implemented, hitting about 60 million tonnes in 2013.

But the ban cost Indonesia - once the world's top nickel ore exporter and a major supplier of bauxite for aluminium - billions of dollars in lost revenue.

To get smelters built, though, these rules now need to be changed again, said Teguh Pamudji, secretary general at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, amid ongoing discussions of a mining policy shift.

Under the proposed changes, nickel and bauxite mine permit holders that have committed to building smelters would be allowed to export minerals, he said.

The government has also proposed allowing miners of copper, zinc, lead, manganese and iron to continue to export concentrates until 2022, provided they are building smelters, Pamudji said.

The proposed changes would provide a way around a 2017 deadline for full domestic processing, where "only seven" of up to 27 smelter projects were almost complete, Pamudji said.

"The rest (of the smelters) are only 30 percent or 50 percent completed - that's why the government would give them more time," Pamudji said.

Exports of unprocessed rare earth metals were also being considered, he said.

The proposed changes could be a breakthrough for miners such as U.S. giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

But many in Indonesia's newly budding smelter industry say changing the rules would do more harm than good for Southeast Asia's largest economy, possibly undermining metal prices and putting up to $12 billion in investments at risk.

Story continues

Nickel prices would "collapse" if the proposal to lift the ban is carried out, Jonatan Handojo, Executive Director of Indonesia's main smelter association, told Reuters by phone.

Handojo said "nickel prices go down straight away" whenever the government says it is considering allowing exports, and prices could sink below $9,000 per tonne if the ban is lifted.

London benchmark nickel prices have retreated from a seven-week high hit last week, and are currently at around $10,250 a tonne.

(Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Tom Hogue)
In 1887, Boston erected a statue in honor of Viking explorer Leif Ericson. With the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus 1492 voyage fast approaching, the citys Protestant leaders worried about crediting the discovery of America to a Catholic from Southern Europe. So they came up with a new hero, who sailed to the New World from Iceland some 500 years before Columbus did.

But the people who really discovered America arrived many years before that, crossing the Bering Strait from Asia. They suffered untold horrors at the hands of the newcomers, who enslaved and murdered them. Thats why four states and a growing number of communities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, calling our attention to the crimes of the European colonizers.

If we leave it at that, however, we condescend to Native Americans in the guise of commemorating them. Of course everyone should know about the depredations they experienced. But if we portray them simply as victims, we rob them of their humanity as much as Columbus did.

Indigenous Peoples Day dates to 1990, when a conference of native peoples in the Americas announced plans to protest the 500th anniversary of Columbus arrival. Two years later, on the eve of the anniversary, Berkeley become the first U.S. community to reject Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day. It resolved to remember the horrors against Native Americans as well as their ongoing struggles for justice.

Too often, though, the second part gets left out. We all learn that native peoples were robbed of their land and livelihoods, but we dont find out what they did afterward. Theyre reduced to cartoons in headdress, tragic figures who populate our past rather than our present.

So when Penn State social studies Professor Sarah Shear examined state history standards around the country in 2014, she found that 87 percent of references to Native Americans in the standards addressed their history before 1900. And not a single state included content about present-day native peoples.

When Shear asked her undergraduate students what they knew about Native Americans, unsurprisingly, they referred only to the woes that native peoples had endured. They were coming to college believing that all Indians are dead, Shear noted.

The focus on victimization also echoes one of the worst trends in our own culture, which encourages people to compete over who suffered more. The way to win points is to show how much you lost.

That was the theme of a 2002 episode of The Sopranos, in which Silvio  played by Bruce Springsteen sideman Steve Van Zandt  complains that a planned Native American protest against a Columbus Day parade reflects anti-Italian discrimination. His own grandparents got spit on because of their Italian heritage, Silvio adds.

Hes not wrong about the prejudice that Italian Americans experienced. Indeed, one of the reasons they rallied behind Columbus Day a century ago was that they sensed  correctly  that white Protestants didnt see them as really American. Hence the Leif Ericson statue in Boston.

But Silvios boss isnt having it. Tony Soprano reminds him that Silvio has a kid in college, a beautiful wife, and one of the most profitable topless bars in North Jersey.

Italians had it rough at times, Tony concedes, but they werent some victims group. They had done things in America, not just had things done to them.

That same year, ironically, The Sopranos was also at the heart of a dispute about a real-life Columbus Day parade. After Mayor Michael Bloomberg invited two members of the cast to march with him in New Yorks parade, its organizers complained that the show denigrated Italian Americans. So Bloomberg decided to skip the event, taking the two actors to lunch instead.

The controversy drew a scoff from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who confessed that he was a big Sopranos fan himself. I would urge some Italian Americans to be less sensitive, Giuliani urged. You could spend your whole life wanting to be insulted. Why?

Lets be clear: Native Americans have every right to be insulted by childrens stories and textbooks that celebrate Christopher Columbus without explaining what he did to indigenous peoples. And if renaming Columbus Day brings more attention to that violent history, Im all for it.

But if thats all it does, it also does violence to contemporary Native Americans. No people is simply the sum total of all of the injustices it has suffered. Native Americans live on, in every nook and cranny of our society. They resisted and adapted and changed, just like other Americans did. Erasing them from the present is a lousy way to celebrate their past.

Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Campus Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2016).
The Hillary Clinton campaign is relentlessly focusing on the defects of Donald Trump rather than the defects of the Republican agenda. Thats understandable, and it could be a winning strategy. But it has pitfalls.

The campaigns goal is to attract a wide swath of voters who might ordinarily lean Republican on issues, as well as unenthusiastic Democrats who need the specter of a Trump presidency to get to the polls.

As Clinton told a crowd a few weeks ago at the American Legion convention in Cincinnati, this is not a normal election and the debates are not the normal disagreements between Republicans and Democrats.

One new Clinton ad, for example, shows young women looking at themselves in mirrors while sexist comments by Trump are played in the background.

Another features clips of GOP leaders criticizing Trump in TV interviews, and closes with the words: Unfit. Dangerous. Even for Republicans.

Under the umbrella Together for America, the Clinton campaign is highlighting other well-known Republicans who have spoken out against Trumps character and temperament.

The Clinton campaign is also playing up endorsements by traditional Republican newspapers that have found Trump unfit to be president, or, in the words of the Cincinnati Enquirer (which hasnt endorsed a Democrat in nearly a century), a clear and present danger.

Vilifying Trump and creating a broad bipartisan coalition against him are entirely justified. Trump is indeed a menace. Its also a winning strategy if Clintons only goal is to get elected president.

But a singular focus on Trump poses two big risks for what happens after she wins.

First, it reduces her presidential coattails that might otherwise help Democratic candidates running for the Senate and House. Portraying Trump as an aberration from normal Republicanism gives their Republican opponents a free pass. All they have to do is distance themselves from him.

Six months ago, when the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee were still linking Trump to the Republican Party, Democrats were well positioned to win back control of the Senate  defending just 10 seats compared with 24 for Republicans.

But the odds of a Democratic Senate takeover have shrunk.

In the key battleground state of New Hampshire, for example, 78 percent of voters now view incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte, a first-term senator who rarely mentions Trump on the campaign trail, as a different kind of Republican from Trump, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll of battleground states last month.

In Ohio, 20 percent of likely Clinton voters said in another recent poll that they will vote for incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Portman over the Democratic candidate, Ted Strickland. Strickland was leading several months ago, but Portman has pulled ahead. Portman has made it clear he wants nothing to do with Trump. When Ohio hosted the Republican National Convention this summer, Portman stayed away.

In Pennsylvania, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is running neck-and-neck with former environmental official Katie McGinty. Toomey should be vulnerable, but he has refused to endorse Trump and is running as his own man.

In North Carolina, Democratic candidate Deborah Ross, a former state lawmaker and ACLU lawyer, has a fighting chance to beat incumbent Republican Sen. Richard Burr, but Burr is focusing on state issues and is keeping his distance from Trump.

Clinton needs a Democratic Senate if she becomes president. Without one, her legislative initiatives will be dead on arrival. She may not even be able to count on enough votes to confirm her Cabinet choices.

On the other side of Capitol Hill, the odds of Democrats retaking the House  never high to begin with  now seem impossible.

Moreover, in pursuing Republican voters who have doubts about Trump, the Clinton campaign has gone to great lengths to avoid tainting House Speaker Paul Ryan with Trump  thereby leaving Ryan more powerful than ever if Clinton wins.

The second risk in focusing on the unique disqualifications of Trump is that it may dilute public support for what Clinton wants to accomplish as president. After all, if the central purpose of her campaign and the major motivation of her supporters is to stop Trump, shell already have accomplished that before shes even sworn in.

It likewise makes it more difficult for her, as president, to push back against Republican orthodoxy with a bold vision of what America must do.

The reality is that Trumps proposals arent far removed from what the Republican Party has been trying to achieve for years  cutting taxes on the rich and on corporations; gutting health, safety, and environmental regulations; repealing Obamacare; spending more on defense; blocking immigration and sending more undocumented workers packing; imposing law and order in black communities; and preventing an increase in the minimum wage.

Focusing on Trumps character flaws instead of the flawed Republican agenda is appropriate  up to a point. Donald Trump is dangerous. And, yes, the first priority must be to stop him.

But that shouldnt be the only priority.

 2016 By Robert Reich

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich is Chancellors Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
Lets be clear: Darren Criss is superb in the title role of SHNs Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Golden Gate Theatre.

Pumping out the shows glam and punk rock anthems, he works his mike stand at times as if it were his own appendage, at others as if it were a sexual partner. His miniskirt highlights his every sinew  his leg muscles practically have their own leg muscles, and his bulging veins are visible from many rows back.

Yet his strength isnt just physical. When the guitar in the four-person band that is the Angry Inch blasts out power chords at the command of his outstretched arm, its a product not just of bodily power but also of messianic deviance and contagious rage.

Hedwig has a lot to be angry about: a bungled sex change operation that left her, en route from Hansel to Hedwig, with the angry inch of the shows title; a brutal breakup with the soldier she had that operation for and moved from East Berlin to Kansas for; and a second, even more cruel breakup, this one with a teenage boy who steals her musical ideas, becomes famous and never credits or remembers her, even though she gave him his rock-star name, Tommy Gnosis.

As Hedwig plays her show for us, Tommys AT&T Park concert (John Cameron Mitchells script allows room for many nods to the Bay Area) takes place simultaneously offstage. Each time an upstage door gets opened  usually by Yitzhak (Lena Hall), Hedwigs slavish but vindictive sidekick  the lights and sound from Tommys much bigger show overwhelm Hedwigs.

Save for a few well-timed outbursts, when Hedwigs not singing, Criss keeps Hedwigs jealousy, hurt and fury restrained, speaking in a menacing singsong thats like the voice Robin Williams used to play Mrs. Doubtfire: a lilt ever threatening to drop into acerbic baritone.

As excellent as Criss is in the part, Halls Yitzhak, for which she won a 2014 Tony Award, was so mesmerizing at the Wednesday, Oct. 5, opening that you cant help but want more of her. She gives an effortlessly fluttery, pitch-perfect rendition of Whitney Houstons version of I Will Always Love You (the shows set in the wake of the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall); and in her one big solo, The Long Grift, she combines orchestra-quality phrasing with the jagged timbre of a rock star. She delivers much of that song in a breathy sotto voce, with which she communicates plenty, so acute is her stage presence, but its one big crescendo suggests untapped potential for rocking out.

Well, not wholly untapped. At four performances during the shows run, Hall will switch roles and play Hedwig  this production marks the first time in the shows history that one actor will perform the two parts  with Shannon Conley taking over as Yitzhak.

Whether you see Hall or Criss, both Bay Area natives, in the title role, director Michael Mayer supports his cast with an ecstasy of visual effects. Lighting designer Kevin Adams redefines color palettes. Projections by Benjamin Pearcy achieve the rare feat of not only being worthy of but adding to the live performances.

Illustrating the tender ballad The Origin of Love, some of his video appears on the stages back wall, some on a scrim in front of Hedwig and the band. Both sets of images interact with the figure of Hedwig, cannily creating a three-dimensional yet unearthly universe in miniature where vengeful gods and hapless humans coexist on a primordial plane.

For all her suffering, Hedwig also is a deity, and thats what made the musical, which premiered off-Broadway in 1998, so pioneering: It gives a gender-queer character not just flaws, not just agency, but superpowers in the all-American language of rock n roll. And in this production, those superpowers are wielded by not one, but two superheroes/heroines.

Lily Janiak is The San Francisco Chronicles theater critic. Email: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Musical. By John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask. Directed by Michael Mayer. Through Oct. 30. 90 minutes. $45-$212, subject to change. Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St., S.F. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

To see videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=whGPdSss6IY&feature, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE_YpXNsjE0
Bay Area politicians are joining the condemnation of a Fox News segment that makes fun of Asian Americans in New Yorks Chinatown, calling the segment offensive, demeaning and racist.

The premise for the five-minute segment was the frequent references to China in the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Fox News reporter Jesse Watters went to Chinatown and did a series of mocking interviews, asking Asian Americans about the candidates. The video was shown on Foxs OReilly Factor.

He made fun of more than one person for not understanding English. The segment was interspersed with clips from the movies Karate Kid and Chinatown, plus video of Watters practicing karate and getting a foot massage.

Watters said he meant the segment to be lighthearted and humorous. Instead, the segment sparked outrage.

We cannot stand by and watch as entire populations are ridiculed and vilified, Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, said. Working together as Americans is the only way we can defeat this type of racism and bigotry.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee issued an unusually pointed statement about the video.

As the son of Chinese immigrants, as well as the mayor of a city with a thriving Chinese population, I must speak out against the offensive and demeaning video that aired on the OReilly Factor, Lee said. At a time when divisiveness and negativity drives the conversation around immigration, we must remember that our country was founded and built by immigrants. The stereotypes depicted in the segment feed into the racist notions that drive our communities apart and diminish the positive impact our immigrant populations have on our country.

And Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, called the segment blatant yellow journalism, in comments to Politico.

So far, no word from Trump or Clinton.

 Emily Green

There are kids out there: The letter from San Francisco childrens advocate Jim Steyer sounded foreboding: Our kids have been exposed to bullying, insults, hateful language, fearmongering and even discussions about private parts. Enough is enough.

Steyer, the founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, was talking about the presidential campaign.

And in his two-page letter to the moderators of Sundays second presidential debate, CNNs Anderson Cooper and ABCs Martha Raddatz, Steyer said the primary audience for these debates should be families, so lets force candidates to be respectful  not just toward each other but to the issues they are discussing, from immigration to foreign policy.

Steyers proposals to the moderators: Even though kids cant vote, invite a group to watch so they can learn how democracy works. Make a statement at the beginning of the debate that kids and families are watching and that the candidates comments should reflect that.

And he wants the candidates to be asked a question about childrens issues, such as What would you do in your first hundred days to ensure that our children have what they need to be successful and compete with their peers around the world?

Steyer, it should be noted, has long ties to the Clintons. Hes known Hillary Clinton for more than three decades  since she worked for the Childrens Defense Fund  and he hired Chelsea Clinton to be a teaching assistant when she was a student at Stanford University, where he has taught for more than 25 years.

 Joe Garofoli

Time to vote: San Francisco voters may begin casting ballots for the November election at City Hall beginning Tuesday.

The voting center, in the City Hall basement, will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and the two weekends before the election, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 29-30 and Nov. 5-6, The center will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day, Nov. 8.

In Alameda County, registered voters may cast ballots beginning Monday at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland, 1225 Fallon St. The centers weekday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the two weekends before the election. On election day, it will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In Contra Costa, early voting begins Oct. 31 and runs to Nov. 5. Weekday hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The voting centers will also be open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Contra Costa early voting locations are: in Brentwood, at the Golden Hills Community Church at 2101 Shady Willow Lane; in Pittsburg, at the Pittsburg Library, 80 Power Ave.; in Concord at the Salvation Army Church, 3950 Clayton Road; in Lafayette at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, 4391 Mt. Diablo Blvd.; in San Ramon at the San Ramon Community Center at Central Park, 12501 Alcosta Blvd.; in Richmond at Bay Hills Community Church, 4100 Klose Way; and in El Cerrito at El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.

In San Mateo, early voting begins Oct. 11 and runs through Nov. 7. The voting center is at 555 County Center, Redwood City. The center will be open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Marin, early voting begins Monday at the Department of Elections in San Rafael at the Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive. The hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The center will only provide mail-in ballots, which voters can submit at the center.

 Emily Green

Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen, @joegarofoli
The letter from San Francisco childrens advocate Jim Steyer sounded foreboding: Our kids have been exposed to bullying, insults, hateful language, fearmongering and even discussions about private parts. Enough is enough.

Steyer, the founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, was talking about the presidential campaign.

And in his two-page letter to the moderators of Sundays second presidential debate, CNNs Anderson Cooper and ABCs Martha Raddatz, Steyer said the primary audience for these debates should be families, so lets force candidates to be respectful  not just toward each other but to the issues they are discussing, from immigration to foreign policy.

Steyers proposals to the moderators: Even though kids cant vote, invite a group to watch so they can learn how democracy works. Make a statement at the beginning of the debate that kids and families are watching and that the candidates comments should reflect that.

And he wants the candidates to be asked a question about childrens issues, such as What would you do in your first hundred days to ensure that our children have what they need to be successful and compete with their peers around the world?

Steyer, it should be noted, has long ties to the Clintons. Hes known Hillary Clinton for more than three decades  since she worked for the Childrens Defense Fund  and he hired Chelsea Clinton to be a teaching assistant when she was a student at Stanford University, where he has taught for more than 25 years.

 Joe Garofoli

Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
Nathalie Doucet believes that haute couture and other designers are disrupters on a grand scale. Todays most visionary designers are unconventional and therefore not immediately understood by the masses. Nevertheless, they continue experimenting and developing their work, said the founder of the Arts of Fashion Foundation at a recent lecture at the Battery. Because, to quote Rei Kawakubo, Without creation there can be no progress and man cannot evolve.

Nathalie is very courageous says the designer Anne Valerie Hash. I love her sensibility and the way she never gives up.

Thats why Hash, who launched her line in 2002 and was awarded the coveted haute couture label in 2008, will be teaching a week-long master class for 15 students, and will also preside over the Arts of Fashion Symposium at the Bently Reserve Oct. 24 and 25.

The events mark the 15th anniversary of Doucet founding the nonprofit organization in San Francisco, and the 10th anniversary of its International Arts of Fashion Competition. Introduced in 1982 in Japan, this global student competition moved to Paris and lost its main sponsor in 2006. Doucet picked up the thread and moved it here. Since then, she has enlisted a Whos Who of couture designers such as Matthew Ames from New York, Kenta Matsushige from Kyoto, Japan, and Sandra Backlund of Stockholm; guests like fashion blogger Susie Bubble from London and Council of Fashion Designers of America President Steven Kolb; and tapped sponsors including YKK Zippers and board members such as Juliet Bergh to present a high-powered week of fashion each fall.

Doucet and Hash share a fierce dedication to haute couture. The couture is so important, because whatever can happen with all the technology, artisanal work will always stay, because of the emotion, says Hash. The work of the hand is so important  the first thing a baby touches is the hand.

And in that emotion are more than three centuries of innovation, creativity and technology, according to Doucet. Those elements that Louis XIV called for in 1663 as a way to promote France as the center of clothing, jewelry, furniture and textile creation could stand as the San Francisco mantra, from Levis of the Gold Rush era to whatever emerges next year to change our lives.

Emmanuel Laurent

This years competition, with a theme of Unequal, drew entries from 346 fashion students registered from 112 schools, universities and colleges of 29 countries. In May, a jury selected 50 candidates, who were required to make two of the three options they had submitted in their applications. These 50 projects will be judged in October by a panel of professional fashion designers and shown on the runway for the grand finale Oct. 25. The winners will receive scholarship and apprenticeship opportunities in creative programs and fashion houses. Internship is key to what you are going to become, says Hash. You are faced with the reality of work  it is not just a question of talent, it is being in a work environment.

Lisa Barbaro, an Australian designer who graduated from Melbournes Whitehouse Institute of Design, in 2011 won a place to attend master classes in Paris. The program includes four weeks of study at Les Arts Decoratifs Museum at the Louvre Museum and includes collaborations with craftsmanship houses such as Maison Lesage, known for opulent embroidery, and Atelier Lognon, a pleat maker for more than four generations

I had no idea what to expect, Barbaro said. Youre working in the Louve, looking at sketches from Karl Lagerfeld. Its so beneficial meeting people from all over the world with a common interest. You feed off each other; youre learning from them, not just your mentors.

Barbaro, who interned with Viktor & Rolf in Holland, now works at the Australian brand Ellery with the designer Kym Ellery.

Courtesy Alicia Declerck

Santiago Utima, 24, won in 2012 and was one of the jurors for this years contest. A graduate of the Colegiatura Colombiana in Medellin, Colombia, Utima found attending the master class in Paris with Doucet strengthened my aesthetic as a designer. The focus on the finishing of the garment, the construction, the elements that make haute couture a deliberate art helped me be more of a perfectionist, and that was what I needed to realize my creativity.

Utima emphasized the importance of Doucets focus on the craft of haute couture, the often unseen, time-consuming details of handwork that elevate clothing into art pieces. So much has been left behind, he said, Patternmaking, draping, sewing, weaving and dyeing, and instead, students learn about business.

I think it is important that a designer make a drape by himself or design a pattern. Only if you realize your designs all the way through, can you make your designs your own, he continued.

Of course, I have to get customers but the most important thing is genuine creativity as a designer. I think that I share that perspective with the Arts of Fashion and especially with Nathalie.

In a world of fast fashion, Doucet encourages winners to spend time in the slow lane. I didnt launch my brand right away after school, said Hash. After seven years, I decided this is what I want to do.

Alicia Declerck, a Belgian-born 2011 winner, studied fashion design in Italy at Polimoda International Institute of Design and Marketing. She has had work experience with Alexander McQueen, and at Rodarte. In 2014, she was invited to join the design studio of celebrated Indian designer Manish Arora, where she designs accessories and develops prints and embroidery designs for his collections. It is amazing to see how well craftsmanship has been preserved there and is passed on from generation to generation, she said.

Declerck founded Alter Erain 2015 with Zhanna Belskaya, a Czech who after completing a four-year degree in patternmaking and garment technology in Prague studied fashion design at Polimoda International Institute of Design and Marketing.

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They maintain a design studio in Belgium, where they create textiles that are produced in Italy. They produce their clothing line in Prague-area ateliers. We chose Czech Republic, because it is one of the places in Europe where people still know the craft and have the knowledge in fashion technologies, she said. Its important that the quality is good, and the designs we make are not that easy. Its about specific prints and finding machines/right technologies.

Echoing other winners, Declerck said: Arts of Fashion has opened new doors for me. The foundation is all about bringing industry professionals from all over the world together and granting upcoming designers the opportunity to showcase their work and skills in fashion.

Elizabeth Hughes is a San Francisco freelancer writer. Email: style@sfchronicle.com

Arts of Fashion events

Fashion master class With Anne Valerie Hash. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 19-23. FIDM, 55 Stockton St., S.F. $1,100-$1,400 (includes certificate). Limited to 15 students. http://bit.ly/2dprtqT

Fashion Seminar Discussions with fashion professors from around the world. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and 2-5 p.m. Oct. 24. San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin St., S.F. Free, but registration required. www.eventbrite.com

Runway show 9-11 p.m. Bently Reserve, 400 Sansome St., S.F. Tickets: $125-$300 (includes VIP reception). http://bit.ly/2cTgd5a

a decade of the arts of fashion
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Technology, Bono, philanthropy and even roller skates triumphed Wednesday night, Oct. 5, at the Cloud Palace, where philanthropists Lynne Benioff and her husband, Salesforce founder-CEO Marc Benioff hosted their seventh Concert for the Kids starring an electric set by U2.

Sparking a match among more than 45,000 Dreamforce Conference attendees, this dynamic duo of band and Benioff helped raise a whopping $10 million at the sold-out Cow Palace party in support of UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospitals San Francisco-Oakland.

And those funds dont include the more than $250 million the Benioffs have already personally pledged to the hospitals establishing state-of-the-art care, facilities and a medical transport helicopter dubbed Bear Force One.

Philanthropy is now the difference between good and exceptional. As a university, philanthropy brings in three times more funding than we receive from the state, explained UCSF Chancellor Dr. Sam Hawgood. It allows you to do things you only dream about; things that conventional funding streams dont allow. Thats the difference: Philanthropy puts you in another stratosphere.

And just when you think this generous couple might tire of cutting such extravagant checks, theyve done it again: The Benioffs recently gifted $20 million to USC for his alma maters new cancer treatment center. Then last weekend, the Benioffs turned their focus to healing the worlds oceans with a $10 million gift to UC Santa Barbara to spur research for the new Benioff Ocean Initiative foundation.

Weve been blessed with incredible resources, and we plan to give away all our money to institutions like UCSF, UCSB and USC, enthused Marc Benioff. Its crucial to support organizations that are making the world a better place.

Catherine Bigelow/Special to The Chronicle

One such organization is Benioffs own Salesforce, where, early on, he implemented a 1-1-1 philosophy: giving 1 percent of Salesforce equity, profit and time to a local foundation. Today more than 1,000 companies have followed his lead.

And while concert attendees enjoyed a rollicking good time, last night was not just about a party.

The event also honored Josslyn Tramel with UCSFs Gen. Colin Powell Medal of Courage. The 8-year-old recently graduated out of the hospital following a tragedy in March when she was electrocuted in a swimming pool and her father, Silicon Valley exec Jim Tramel, died trying to save her.

Tonight is about children like Josslyn and the compassionate, quality care that patients and their families receive at UCSF, Lynne Benioff said. Were grateful that so many people are willing to join us in writing checks to help others.

Like all ambitious fundraisers, this one included tiers  some stratospheric. The $1K general-admission tickets provided an outdoor party spread across the vast Cow Palace grounds, which were dotted with free concession stands filled with beer, box candy and turkey chili bowls.

Catherine Bigelow/Special to The Chronicle

This is where those roller skates came in handy, at least for the few four-wheeled revelers who easily whizzed atop the asphalt. At nights end, it was also a transportation mode desperately wished for by thousands of carless attendees who waited hours for shuttle buses  and for those who eschewed Ubers surge price estimate of $132.90 to travel the mere 9 miles back to downtown San Francisco. (But we digress.)

The VIP ticket levels (including $1 million sponsor-level outdoor view platforms) yielded an indoor soiree filled with live music, DJs, full bars and a bountiful, organic and healthy Paula LeDuc buffet.

The concert unfolded on the grounds outside  a sort of ginormous drive-in parking-lot party, albeit one with much, much better speakers and numerous high-def screens for those who werent able to get anywhere near the elaborate stage.

But Bono easily drew in every attendee, even those locked in the farthest reaches of the large lot, by applauding their philanthropy: Tonight is about giving your money away as much as about making it.

Catherine Bigelow/Special to The Chronicle

He also gave shout-outs to his (RED) AIDS warriors in attendance  lauding Rep. Nancy Pelosi for her early activism, along with maternal-health advocate Christy Turlington; tech titans such as Apples Johnny Ive and industrial designer Marc Newsom; and philanthropists Melinda and Bill Gates, who are providing a $2 million match if Dreamforce attendees raise up to $1 million, all of which will be donated to Bonos (RED) foundation.

Oh, and the Benioffs threw in their own $1 million match to that (RED) effort, too.

Coincidentally, Oct. 5 was also the fifth anniversary of the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. And Bono took a moment to recognize this beloved visionary and his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, sequestered somewhere in the crowd.

Introducing the U2 song Every Breaking Wave, Bono dedicated it as a love story for two special people: Laurene, the most beautiful woman in the world. And Steve, the son of a refugee, who believed simplicity was the most beautiful thing of all.

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But his sentimental sweetness was soon swept aside for Preacher Bono as he and the boys ripped into Bullet the Blue Sky.

A gigantic video visage of presidential candidate Donald Trump flickered to life, looming over the crowd and spewing quotes about his future American vision of border walls and mass deportations.

So Bono created new lyrics while conducting a mock debate with Trump.

Now, candidate, you understand its not just Mexican people who are going to have a problem with this wall of yours. Its everyone who loves the idea of America: Like the Irish, for example! Or the French. Or the Brazilians. Everyone who loves the idea of America, who believes what they read at the foot of the bottom of the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

An impassioned Bono repeatedly hammered at this pixelated Trump for running off with the American Dream.

Now, Candidate, youre going to make a lot of people very upset around here. Because, Candidate, good people are not going to stay silent while you run off with the American Dream. You hear me, Candidate? Smart girls from the Bay Area? Not gonna stay silent. Even the nerdy guys around here are getting revved up; not gonna be silent!

At the songs end, the crowd went wild as Bono growled at Trump: Youre fired!

Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicles society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelow
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It usually begins with Fat Albert.

The bulky, slow-moving C-130 support plane rumbles through the sky and then there's a moment of silence before you hear the roar of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the bright blue jets swoop over San Francisco, rattling windows, waking up napping babies, and leading many to feel that same rush of excitement they experience when watching the film Top Gun.

But the plane affectionately referred to by many as simply "Bert" won't be making its usual circle around the city at the beginning and end of the Blue Angels shows during Fleet Week 2016 in San Francisco.

Lt. Joe Hontz, a spokesperson for the Navy's flying team, said in a statement, "Fat Albert is undergoing maintenance at Hill Air Force Base to repair mechanical issues. The timetable for repairs has not been determined . . . and Fat Albert will not return for the 2016 season."

A back-up C-130 is supporting the team, transporting show loads and personnel to each demonstration site, for the remainder of the 2016 air show season, and as of Friday afternoon, Hontz said it's still unknown whether it will fly in the S.F. demonstration.

According to an article on Airshow Stuff, Fat Albert went out of commission over the summer and also skipped the Seattle Seafair Show in August.
I enjoyed this book immensely, but probably for all the wrong reasons. As a biography, Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life deftly narrates the influences, experiences and reputation of the author of the famously enduring story The Lottery. As a history of the literary culture of the 1940s and 50s, it teases out the daily lives of people who displayed James Joyces Ulysses, Wilhelm Reichs The Function of the Orgasm and James George Frazers The Golden Bough on their coffee tables. And as a chronicle of American life in the Eisenhower era, it reminds us of a time when people with too many books could be considered subversive.

Specifically, however, biographer Ruth Franklin sets out to answer what she calls the enduring question of Jacksons career: How could she simultaneously write the dark, suspenseful fiction that would define her legacy  The Lottery, The Daemon Lover, The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle  and the warm, funny household memoirs that brought her fame and acclaim in the 1950s but have largely been forgotten since?

Franklins answer is that even at her most benign, Jackson informed her fiction with a blend of autobiographical trauma and enduring fears. From the beginning, Jackson, who was raised in Burlingame, seems to have felt herself a victim of a rising, upper-middle-class familys expectations: their attempt to mold her into a proper, polite, demure young woman. Scenes of violated privacy, of inexplicable judgments and of (possibly) suppressed same-sex attraction bubble underneath her deceptively simple prose.

The authors voice returns as variant forms of what Franklin calls one of the many precocious children in Jacksons fiction. And in telling the tale of Jacksons own descent into ill health and mental illness, Franklin shows us a writer consumed by her own demons.

I said that I enjoyed this book for all the wrong reasons, and what I mean is that I found in it a character far more compelling than its titles subject. Jacksons husband was the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, and he emerges as a dazzlingly charismatic blend of boor and genius. A brash Brooklyn Jew married to a child of prim gentiles, Hyman became as publicly performative as Jackson became increasingly reclusive.

The couple met as undergraduates at Syracuse University, and they married young, he at 21, she at 24. Hyman bounced back and forth between the New Yorker and Bennington College. He published dense works of literary criticism. He became a legendary undergraduate teacher. And as the subject of the camera, he became as captivating as Jackson was indifferent.

Franklin reproduces wonderful pictures of Hyman brooding in the studio photos of photographer Philippe Halsman, piercing in book-jacket illustrations, and sweetly self-absorbed in snapshots. By contrast, Jackson herself appears in often fuzzy and informal photographs. As Hyman grows saturnine and bearded, Jackson becomes blemished and bloated.

Jackson is everywhere on these pages, in her diaries and in her fictions. She often wrote without regard for capitalization and punctuation, and Franklin reproduces the diaries and letters in ways that call attention to the inward, the unstressed and the idiosyncratic.

But when Hyman shows up, its all brilliance and bluster. Often he is the philandering 50s husband. Other times he is the flamboyant professor. Before each class, invariably, he announced, I have my routine: I take a piss, check my fly, wish I were dead, and begin.

Prompted to explore his book-length works of literary criticism, I found them overwrought, defensive, full of myths and archetypes, and (as Franklin calls them) the work of a Brooklyn Jew pitting himself against a generation of WASP literary scholars. By any reading, Hyman was no Lionel Trilling.

Most of us know Jackson through the 1948 story The Lottery, and Franklin illuminates the psychological and creative background to the fable of a public stoning that became one of the most famous and controversial contributions to the New Yorker.

More letters came into the magazine than ever before: Some people hated it, some thought it was true, some even wanted to know where such lotteries were held and if they could watch. The Lottery became a literary phenomenon, very different from (yet strangely resonant with) Jacksons well-known but far more benign collection of domestic tales, Life Among the Savages, of 1952.

For this book, and for many others, Franklin draws out the autobiographical impulse behind it. She is very good clearing up the line between straight memoir and fiction, though what is autobiographical about Jacksons work is more often feeling than fact.

Thus, Franklin sees the 1951 novel Hangsaman (whatever its inspiration was in a historical event of a womans abduction) as unmistakably a document of Jacksons rage against her husband. Hangsaman was not a best-seller, and it did not have the afterlife that her later book, The Haunting of Hill House, did. But, from Franklins account, it seems far more worth going back to, far more worth reviving, than many of the other works.

Maybe its because this is the book in which she really takes on Hyman. Maybe its because it is the most bookish and mythical of her tales. Maybe its because Franklin herself seems dazzled by its weird, rich brew of autobiography and fantasy, her own criticism rising to its occasion.

Much of Jacksons writing is a weird, rich brew, and Franklin captures its savor. I may have been captivated by Stanley Hymans personality, but after this biography, I will go back and read Jackson herself.

Seth Lerer is Distinguished Professor of Literature at the University of California at San Diego. His latest, book, Tradition: A Feeling for the Literary Past, will be published in November by Oxford University Press. Email: books@sfchronicle.com

Shirley Jackson

A Rather Haunted Life

By Ruth Franklin

(Liveright; 624 pages; $35)
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Special Agent Jack Bennett was at the FBIs computer investigation lab in Quantico, Va., on a Sunday in March when an outside company showed the bureau how it could hack into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

The tool would end the FBIs high-profile fight with Apple over access to the phone, but Bennett said there was no celebration.

There wasnt high fives, and there werent people singing down the hallways, he recalled. It was very much business. OK, lets move forward to the next steps. Lets get on the phone. What do we need to do to purchase the tool?

The iPhone fight exposed a rift between the FBI and Silicon Valley technology companies over encryption, and it sparked a debate about the right balance between privacy and national security. Bennett, 52, was a key figure in that battle as head of the bureaus digital forensics labs, which extract evidence from computers and other devices and were tasked with accessing the San Bernardino shooters phone.

Bennett is now in charge of the agencys San Francisco division, where he views his role, in part, as trying to bridge the divide between Silicon Valley and the FBI.

He took over as special agent in charge of San Francisco in May after nearly 30 years in law enforcement. He started his career as a narcotics investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and did a stint with the Drug Enforcement Administration eradicating cocaine smuggling operations in South America.

He has investigated child sex crimes and animal rights extremists for the FBI and previously served as an assistant special agent in San Francisco.

The U.S. government sometimes loses sight of what is important to corporations ... and privacy is incredibly important, Bennett said during a recent interview at his office, where a Thompson submachine gun like the type used by agents in the 1930s sits in a glass display case on a coffee table.

Still, he was unapologetic about the bureaus desire to access the phone.

We were pretty surprised that this turned in such a way that it became this national debate, Bennett said. It was never intended to be. ... We were trying to get on one phone because we had 14 murdered people.

The fight between Apple Inc. and the FBI centered on the work-issued iPhone 5C of Syed Rizwan Farook, who with his wife killed 14 people at a 2015 holiday gathering of county workers. The U.S. Justice Department demanded that Apple create software to bypass security features on the phone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the FBI was asking his company to create a back door that could be used to unlock other phones, exposing customer data. Agreeing to the FBIs demand would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to other calls for Apples help to obtain private information, Cook said.

Apple vowed to fight a judges order granting the FBIs request.

The two sides were gearing up for a court battle when the Justice Department announced in March that it found a way to potentially get into the phone without Apples help. News organizations sued the FBI in September to learn who the government paid and how much it spent to hack into the phone.

Bennett declined to say who helped the FBI, though he said the business was among a number of U.S. and international companies that approached the bureau with potential solutions. FBI Director James Comey has hinted that the agency paid more than $1 million for the tool.

Investigators found nothing of significant value on the phone, Bennett said.

He disputed that the FBI was asking Apple for a tool that could access other iPhones, calling it a one-shot deal.

Bennetts desire to build a stronger relationship with Silicon Valley companies is laudable, but the two sides might never agree about encryption, said Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief legal and business officer at Mozilla, which makes the Firefox Web browser.

We can still have some healthy tension, she said. I think thats positive.

Ted Schlein, a venture capitalist with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers who invests in computer security firms, said Bennetts technology background could help the bureau make better decisions about what to ask of Silicon Valley companies and how to get their help.

Bennett acknowledged technology firms and the FBI might continue to disagree over data access, but said the need for dialogue will remain.

There are absolute, good reasons why companies have concerns about cooperating with the FBI. But there are also opportunities we should be able to talk to each other, Bennett said.

Whats comfortable for a private corporation that will still provide an investigator the ability to stop or prevent a terrorist attack, a missing child or a national security incident?
SolarCity said its selling more rooftop power systems, after revamping its loan program to make buying more attractive to customers.

The San Mateo company, which is in the midst of a takeover by Tesla Motors, saw cash sales and loans account for more than 30 percent of installations last month, up from about 20 percent in the second quarter, Chief Executive Officer Lyndon Rive said Thursday.

The shift will give a near-term boost to SolarCitys revenue, after the company racked up $3.35 billion in debt by leasing rooftop panels. Growth has slowed, and new orders in the first quarter were almost half of managements expectations. To help spur demand, the company in May began offering 10- to 30-year loans to help customers buy the systems, eliminating a more complicated loan program.

Loans have increased every month since we started offering the new loan structure, Rive said. People like to own, and if you can take advantage of the tax credits its a better product.

Leasing is losing favor in the United States, and will account for less than half of new installations next year, down from more than 70 percent in 2014, according to GTM Research. Consumers are becoming more aware of the financial benefits that come with owning their own panels, as well as the potential complications of signing 20-year contracts for rooftop solar systems.

More sales and loans means more revenue now, at the expense of the decades-long trickle from leases that make up the rest of SolarCitys business and are still the companys main offering.

It improves their income statement by adding revenue in the near-term, Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James Financial, said Friday. While it deprives SolarCity of the benefits of the long-term financing model, it does provide an entry to new markets, he said. It will help with geographical expansion. Some states dont allow third-party leasing.

The change may improve the companys balance sheet as it seeks shareholder approvals to be acquired by Tesla Motors this year, in a stock deal valued at about $2.1 billion. Some Tesla shareholders have criticized the deal, which has been seen as a bailout of SolarCity that would drag the electric-car company down.

The loan offering is helping SolarCity expand into more states, including those that ban the third-party ownership model like South Carolina, Rive said. The company opened an office in Charleston this week that will offer loans for rooftop installations but not leases.

The uptake has been fantastic, Rive said. It will continue to increase.

Christopher Martin is a Bloomberg writer. Email: cmartin11@bloomberg.net
A man and three teenagers were arrested in connection with a gang-related shooting in Santa Rosa that left two people seriously injured, police said Thursday.

The four suspects in the case were arrested from Sept. 26 through Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder and being an active gang participant, officials said.

One of the suspects was identified as 25-year-old Santa Rosa resident Alfonso Dominic McCloud. The names of the remaining suspects were not released because they are minors. Police said one 17-year-old boy and two 16-year-olds were arrested.

Police suspect they were involved in a shooting Sept. 25 that injured two Santa Rosa residents.

The victims, 18 and 19, were at Pioneer 2000 Apartments at 2021 Pioneer Way when a vehicle pulled up, police said.

Witnesses reported seeing a fist fight between them and the group that came from the car before hearing multiple gunshots, according to officials.

The 19-year-old was in critical condition, authorities said. Police said the second victim was in serious, but stable condition.

Investigative leads and tips from the community led officers to arrest the group suspected in the shooting.

On Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m., members of the Santa Rosa Police Department SWAT team with a Sonoma County Sheriffs Office helicopter, served a search warrant at a residence in the 700 block of Powderhorn Drive in Santa Rosa

Authorities arrested the 16-year-old Santa Rosa resident during the search. The teen was taken to the Santa Rosa Police Department to be interviewed, then booked into the Juvenile Justice Center.

The other suspects had been arrested last week.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
The family of a homeless man who was killed by San Francisco police as he allegedly brandished a knife in the Mission District, intensifying questions about how city officers handle such encounters, filed a civil rights lawsuit Friday in federal court.

Standing near the spot where 45-year-old Luis Gongora was shot on April 7, his family said Sgt. Nate Steger and Officer Michael Mellone used unnecessary and unlawful force when they encountered Gongora with the knife near a homeless encampment on the 400 block of Shotwell Street. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

The killing remains under investigation by police and city prosecutors. But the San Francisco city attorneys office issued a statement Friday calling the use of lethal force on Gongora necessary and legally justified. Police previously said witnesses had told investigators that Gongora lunged at the officers before they fired.

The family has questioned the police account of the shooting, saying it contradicted other witness statements that Gongora did not directly threaten the officers before he was shot, first with less-lethal beanbags and then with bullets.

Their version of the facts claim that he lunged at them with the knife, Adante Pointer, the familys attorney, said Friday. But we know different. We know based upon eyewitness statements, based upon video evidence, based upon physical evidence that Mr. Gongora did not do those things, and in fact, officers fired not only bullets but beanbag rounds from a shotgun at him while he was either on the ground or going to it. A person in that position is not an imminent threat.

Surveillance video provided to The Chronicle showed the shooting unfolding less than 30 seconds after the officers arrived at the scene, which police watchdogs have criticized as a breach of the deescalation tactics that were pushed by the department in the months following the Dec. 2 police shooting of Mario Woods.

Gongora, a native of Mexico, was just outside the camera frame in the surveillance video, but the officers can be seen approaching with their guns drawn before retreating slightly and yelling, Get on the ground! and Put that down!

He was an indigenous Mayan man who was killed by the San Francisco police at this very spot, said his cousin, Luis Poot Pat. He did not understand Spanish. He spoke Mayan. He did not know and could not understand why they even killed him. He was sitting right around that area, and in less than 30 seconds, they killed him.

Gongoras autopsy report concluded he had traces of methamphetamine and marijuana in his system.

Sean Connolly, a deputy city attorney representing the city and the officers, said multiple eyewitnesses had confirmed that the suspect Gongora lunged at one of our officers with a large knife. We also now know that Gongora was high on methamphetamine at the time of the incident and had a long criminal history. Gongora posed an immediate and deadly threat, and our officers use of lethal force was necessary and legally justified.

Laura Guzman, a member of the Justice and Honor for Luis Gongora Pat Coalition, said Friday of the drug report, We know theyre going to use that narrative ... to justify his killing.

Friends and family of Gongora said he had fallen on hard times before his death. He came to San Francisco, they said, to earn money for his wife and three children in Teabo, in the Mexican state of Yucatan, but was evicted in 2012 and became homeless.

Stephanie Grant, who witnessed Gongoras death as a former resident of the homeless encampment where he lived, cried quietly after addressing reporters.

I really hope that we do get justice because his family deserves it, Grant said. He did nothing wrong.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
A brothel was busted up in San Leandro Thursday when police knocked on the door of a two-story house on Aloha Drive, prompting suspected prostitutes to scurry out the back door leaving at least one john, $1,500 in cash and a suitcase full of lingerie, officials said.

The crackdown occurred after the San Leandro Police Department received complaints from neighbors about a stream of men frequenting the house at all hours of the day and night, said Lt. Robert McManus, a police spokesman.

Once tipped off, detectives found an advertisement posted on a website used by johns to solicit prostitutes. When a detective responded to the ad with a text message, a woman answered and agreed to perform sex acts for $160 and provided the Aloha Drive address as the rendezvous spot, McManus said.

Armed with a search warrant, officers knocked on the door of the house Thursday afternoon. Three women ranging in age from 31 to 54 ran out the back door, but were quickly arrested on suspicion of resisting, McManus said.

Officers found a man and a woman in one of the rooms. The man told officers he was there just for a massage, McManus said.

Police searched the house and found it to be sparsely furnished, with mattresses on the floor in each room and a small table bearing condoms and lubricants. McManus said officers also found a suitcase filled with lingerie and $1,500 in cash believed to be proceeds from prostitution.

One of the women at the house told officers she arrived from China less than a week earlier and went to the San Leandro house to engage in prostitution.

Despite the evidence seized, McManus conceded that such investigations were very challenging, especially when trying to seek criminal charges.

We have difficulty convincing johns to cooperate with us, which negatively impacts the investigation, McManus said in a written statement. More importantly, we strongly consider the human trafficking aspect involved in these operations and know that some women are forced into performing sex acts. In those cases, our goal is to provide the true victims (women) with social services that will assist them in escaping from this illegal industry.

McManus said detectives were working with the Alameda County district attorneys Human Trafficking Unit on the brothel investigation.

Bill Hutchinson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: bhutchinson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @bill_hutchinson
California filed pimping charges against executives of the website Backpage.com, accusing them Thursday of running the worlds top online brothel, collecting millions of dollars each month from advertising for prostitution, some of it involving minors.

Texas authorities arrested the companys chief executive officer, Carl Ferrer, in Houston on charges of pimping and conspiracy in California, said a statement from Attorney General Kamala Harris office. Warrants are out for two controlling shareholders, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, on conspiracy charges, the office said.

Between January 2013 and March 2015, Backpage reported $2.5 million in income from California each month, 99 percent of it from its adult services section that features escort ads, Harris office said. It said the company collects fees from users who offer sex for sale and post nearly nude photos.

Since 2010, the attorney generals office said, Backpage has expanded its operations to hundreds of cities around the world, including more than 30 in California.

Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal, Harris said in a statement. Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the worlds top online brothel.

Attempts to reach Backpage for comment were unsuccessful.

Kristin Ford, a spokeswoman for Harris, said some of the women and girls whose services were sold by the website have met with state investigators.

Ford said the attorney generals office is focusing on the criminal charges against the executives, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, and has not taken action directly against Backpage, whose U.S. headquarters are in Dallas. According to published reports, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to shut down the website.

Harris office said its three-year investigation included undercover agents who posted escort ads and also met with other Backpage advertisers who made it clear they were marketing sexual services.

The investigation was prompted in part by a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that instances of suspected child sex trafficking have increased by more than 800 percent in the past five years, much of it from online advertising, Harris office said. Since 2012, the office said, the national center has notified California law enforcement agencies of 2,900 cases of suspected child sex trafficking on Backpage.

Ferrer, the CEO, is also charged with creating two websites, EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com, as an escort directory of Backpage users, with photos and contact information taken from the Backpage site.

According to the charging documents, nine of the pimping charges against Ferrer carry mandatory prison sentences.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
CHICAGO  Cubs starter Jake Arrieta, who presumably will face Madison Bumgarner in Game 3 of the Division Series at AT&T Park, gave Bumgarner all due props Thursday, but in the next breath, threw down the gauntlet.

Hes really good, but hes beatable, Arrieta said.

That matchup is likely but technically not set in stone. Cubs manager Joe Maddon announced his rotation for the series, but the Giants Bruce Bochy did not, saying he had not told the pitchers.

So, the only matchup actually set is Johnny Cueto against Jon Lester in Game 1 on Friday night.

Major-league ERA champ Kyle Hendricks will pitch Game 2 at Wrigley, where he was 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA this season. After Arrieta pitches Game 3, John Lackey will get Game 4 if necessary.

Bochy has a choice between Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore for Game 2, with the other getting Game 4. Samardzija has been a hotter pitcher, but he did not have a good start at Wrigley in September and Bochy might not want to start both righties at Wrigley.

Maddon said Lester got Game 1 because he sits atop the Cubs meritocracy. He also wants his lone lefty to face the Giants lefty-heavy lineup, recognizing that Bochy might counter with Kelby Tomlinson at second base and Gorkys Hernandez in center. Eduardo Nunez might make the roster, but Bochy said he will not play Friday.

Asked if he was looking forward to facing Bumgarner, Arrieta said, Its not like Im licking my lips because Bumgarner is on the other side. Weve pitched against each other before. You know you have to be near the top of your game to win.

Warriors fan: Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler had a good laugh Thursday about the furor he started in the Bay Area on Jan. 4 when he tweeted a photo of himself and an associate at a Warriors game in Oakland.

The Giants were looking to sign an outfielder, so Fowlers photo spurred speculation that Fowler was there with his agent as part of a Giants recruiting trip. The other man in the photo was not Fowlers agent but his financial adviser.

I was four seats down from (Giants CEO) Larry Baer, and I didnt even have a chance to speak to him, Fowler said, laughing.

The Giants contacted Fowlers agent earlier in the offseason, but Fowler said talks did not get off the ground. Fowler re-signed with the Cubs and had another good season. The Giants signed Denard Span to a three-year deal instead.

Fowler said he would have considered a serious offer from the Giants, saying, I enjoyed the city. I lived there in the offseason, but things happen for a reason.

Bad day: After a night of ecstasy in New York, the Giants had a day of travel agony. They sat on their plane longer than usual waiting for luggage and gear to be loaded. After landing at OHare, their buses crawled on the Kennedy Expressway for two hours on the trip to Wrigley.

They arrived to a tarp on the field, which meant they had to cancel their planned workout.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
National Geographic's contest for "Nature Photographer of the Year," has officially kicked off and the submissions so far are beyond incredible.

The contest, which is held each year, gives readers of the magazine the opportunity to be featured on the National Geographic website and a chance to win a 10-day National Geographic Expeditions trip for two to the Galapagos, Ecuador, among other cash prizes.
CAPE CANAVERAL  Leaving more than 280 dead in its wake across the Caribbean, Hurricane Matthew steamed toward Florida with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph Thursday, and 2 million people across the Southeast were warned to flee inland.

It was the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade.

This storms a monster, Gov. Rick Scott warned as it started lashing the state with periodic heavy rains and squalls around nightfall. He added: Im going to pray for everybodys safety.

As it moved north in the evening, Matthew stayed about 100 miles or more off South Florida, sparing the 4.4 million people in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas from its most punishing effects.

We were lucky this time, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

The hurricane was instead expected to blow ashore  or come dangerously close to doing so  early Friday north of West Palm Beach, which has about 1.1 million people, and then slowly push north for the next 12 hours along the Interstate 95 corridor, through Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville, according to the National Hurricane Center.

By Thursday night, more than 60,000 homes and businesses were without power. Streets in Vero Beach were partially covered with water, and hotel guests in Orlando were told to stay inside, though a few sneaked out to smoke or watch the rain.

Forecasters said it would then probably hug the coast of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend before veering out to sea  perhaps even looping back toward Florida in the middle of next week as a tropical storm.

Millions of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were told to evacuate their homes, and interstate highways were turned into one-way routes to speed the exodus. Florida alone accounted for about 1.5 million of those told to clear out.

The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida, the governor warned.

Many boarded up their homes and businesses and left them to the mercy of the storm.

Were not going to take any chances on this one, said Daniel Myras, who struggled to find enough plywood to protect his restaurant, the Cruisin Cafe, two blocks from the Daytona Beach boardwalk.

He added: A lot of people here, they laugh, and say theyve been through storms before and theyre not worried. But I think this is the one thats going to give us a wake-up call.

The hurricane picked up wind speed as it closed in, growing from a possibly devastating Category 3 storm to a potentially catastrophic Category 4.
WASHINGTON  The arrest of a National Security Agency contractor for allegedly stealing classified information was the second known case of a government contractor being publicly accused of removing secret data from the intelligence agency since 2013.

The latest arrest came despite efforts to reform security after the Edward Snowden disclosures, especially in regard to insider threats.

Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, of Glen Burnie, Md., was arrested by the FBI in August, after federal prosecutors say he illegally removed highly classified information and stored the material in his home and car. A defense attorney said Martin did not intend to betray his country.

The fact that Snowden and now Martin  both working for Booz Allen Hamilton as contractors for the NSA  were able to leave the NSA with highly classified documents, especially given the supposed security upgrades put into place, raises the question of whether the intelligence agencys efforts to tighten internal security afterward were effective or adequate. The NSA declined to comment.

One key thing we dont have visibility into now is how he was caught, because that would provide some insight into whether the reforms that were put in post-Snowden were effective or not, or their relative efficacy, said Rajesh De, who was the NSAs general counsel when the Snowden story broke and remained there until last year. Snowdens 2013 theft of documents that were leaked to journalists revealed the NSAs bulk collection of millions of Americans phone records.

Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank, the senior Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that it is painfully clear that the intelligence community still has much to do to institutionalize reforms designed to protect (U.S. government secrets) from insider threats.

While details remain sparse, Martins arrest also illustrates the difficulty of guarding against an insider threat when you have employees that, by virtue of their clearance level and jobs, must be entrusted with the nations secrets.

Its unlikely, given the thousands of people in the intelligence community, that youre going to be able to stop every incident of somebody taking documents if theyre determined to do so. Schiff said. But the real question is how quickly can you detect it, how quickly can you mitigate the harm of any such incident.
BOSTON  A privately funded great white shark research group has confirmed the waters off Long Islands Montauk Point are a nursery, a first in the study of great whites in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, the organization and other leading scientists say.

But the Ocearch expedition, which is wrapping up months of work in the region Friday, is generating more than just scientific intrigue as it works off Long Island and Nantucket.

The Park City, Utah, organization has also been embroiled in a public spat with shark researchers in Massachusetts, who accuse Ocearch of encroaching into state waters without a permit and possibly compromising the states own white shark research with its tactics.

Ocearch founder Chris Fischer maintains that his team has legally remained in federal waters off Nantucket and that theres no scientific basis for the concerns over his teams methods, which include using fish chum to lure sharks, hooking them, and then lifting them out of the water to take samples and apply GPS monitoring devices.

Im saddened and shocked by the whole issue, Fischer said Wednesday from Nantucket.

Were generating really priceless data. Were thrilled with what weve accomplished. We just didnt expect to take a beating along the way.

The nonprofit, which operates largely on corporate funding, gained headlines in late August after confirming evidence of a white shark nursery off Long Islands Montauk Point.

Robert Hueter, the Ocearch expeditions chief scientist, said earlier this week that the nine newborn sharks they tagged have largely remained in the area, bolstering the organizations claim that the waters are a true nursery where great whites spend the first year of their life, and possibly even where the sharks mate and give birth.

The tracking confirms theyre in fact hanging around this area, feeding and growing, he said.

Scientists not affiliated with the project say the waters around Montauk Point as well as those as far north as Cape Cod and as far south as New Jersey have long been considered part of a regional white shark nursery.

But the phenomenon hasnt been as well studied on the East Coast as it has along coastal California, Mexico, Australia and other white shark hot spots, acknowledges Christopher Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach.

Its not necessarily new, but its new for there, he said. It will be interesting data for sure. But its not the invention of sliced bread, either.

Newborn white sharks, which are roughly 5 feet long and weigh about 50 pounds at birth, arent reared by their mothers and must immediately start to fend for themselves. Thats why theyre drawn to shallow, coastal areas where easily captured prey is plentiful and predators, like older sharks, are few, Lowe says.

Years of study on white shark nurseries in the Pacific suggest water temperature is also a factor for young sharks, Lowe added. He expects the Montauk Point newborns to begin moving to warmer southern waters as winter approaches.

Gregory Skomal, a leading Massachusetts shark biologist who is among those raising concerns about Ocearchs work off Nantucket, cautioned that its too early to conclude the area off Montauk Point is a birthing or mating site for white sharks.

The powerful predators have never been documented mating or giving birth, and sharks in general have been known to travel great distances in their first year of birth, he says.

Hueter, who also serves as director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla., says the Ocearch team will be returning to the northwest Atlantic in the coming years to continue studying newborn and mature white sharks.
LOS ANGELES  Many thousands of Californians are dying every year from infections they caught while in hospitals. But youd never know that from their death certificates.

Sharley McMullen of Manhattan Beach (Los Angeles County) came down with a fever just hours after being wheeled out of a Torrance Memorial Medical Center operating room on May 4, 2014. A missionarys daughter who worked as a secretary at Cape Canaveral at the height of the space race, McMullen, 72, was there for treatment of a bleeding stomach ulcer. Soon, though, she was fighting for her life.

On her medical chart, a doctor scribbled CRKP, an ominous abbreviation for one of the worlds most lethal superbugs, underlining it three times.

Doctors tried antibiotic after antibiotic. But after five weeks in the hospital, mostly in intensive care and on morphine because of the pain, McMullen died from complications of the infection, according to a Los Angeles Times review of her medical records.

Her death certificate, however, does not mention the hospital-acquired infection or carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP). Instead, her doctor wrote that McMullen had died from respiratory failure and septic shock caused by her ulcer.

The doctors conclusion outraged Shawn Chen, McMullens daughter.

It should say she died of an infection she got in the hospital, said Chen. She was so hardy. She would have made it through if it wasnt for this infection.

McMullens case is hardly unusual. An epidemic of hospital-acquired infections is going unreported, scientists have found.

University of Michigan researchers reported in a 2014 study that infections  both those acquired inside and outside hospitals  would replace heart disease and cancer as the leading causes of death in hospitals if the count was performed by looking at patients medical billing records, which show what they were being treated for, rather than death certificates.

California does not track deaths from hospital-acquired infections. And unlike two dozen other states, California does not require hospitals to report when patients are sickened by the rare, lethal superbug that afflicted McMullen.

Experts say hospitals can prevent the deaths through better infection control procedures, including some as simple as making sure staff wash their hands, but have little incentive to do so if the deaths are not reported.
NEW YORK  Donald Trump reeled Friday under revelations of shockingly crude comments he made about women, dangerously undermining the Republicans latest attempts to steady a presidential bid at risk of imploding.

Trump tried to head off some of the damage by issuing a statement apologizing if anyone was offended by vulgar remarks captured on a 2005 tape and made public Friday. In the recording, obtained by the Washington Post and NBC News, Trump describes trying to have sex with a married woman and brags about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous.

When youre a star they let you do it, Trump says. You can do anything.

He adds seconds later, Grab them by the p. You can do anything.

The one-sentence response from the head of Trumps Republican Party was devastating: No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever, said Reince Priebus, who had stood by Trump through his past provocative comments.

So, too, were the words of GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan: Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. Ryan added tartly that Trump was no longer attending a joint campaign appearance set for Saturday in Wisconsin.

Access Hollywood said an Associated Press story about Trumps lewd behind-the-scenes comments as star of The Apprentice led it to dig through its archives and turn up the previously un-aired footage from 2005. It was recorded during a bus ride while Trump was on his way to tape an episode of the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Trumps Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, seized on Trumps quotes, calling them horrific. She said in a Twitter message: We cannot allow this man to become president.

But she had her own problems with revelations. The WikiLeaks organization posted what it said were thousands of emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The excerpts include Clinton seeming to put herself in the free trade camp, a position she has retreated from.

Fridays revelations came two days before Trump and Clinton are to meet in Sundays second presidential debate.
Laverne the California sea lion, victim of bad luck in the blue Pacific, finally caught a break Friday at an eye doctors office in Fremont.

Shes going to be just fine, and shes not going to have to pay the $4,000 doctors bill, either, because of the bighearted lady with the scalpel.

Laverne is good to go, veterinary surgeon Patricia Smith said after a two-hour operation to remove a nasty cataract from Lavernes left eye.

It was the first sea lion cataract removal for Smith, as well as for Laverne, and it took place on an operating table at offices of Animal Eye Care on Washington Boulevard. Smith has operated there on plenty of dogs and cats, and while an eyeball may look like an eyeball, a sea lions eyeball has a different shape and pupil size.

On top of that, you cannot pick up a replacement sea lion lens at the veterinary supply house because nobody has ever made one. Lavernes case was special, just like Laverne, and so were the fishy odors in the operating room.

Arp, said Laverne, just before they stuck her with a needle full of anesthesia.

While Smith prepped for the operation, there was time to review the case history. Laverne, age 1, washed up in May, injured and scrawny, near Hearst Castle in San Luis Obispo County. The Marine Mammal Center brought her to its Sausalito headquarters, where lucky sea lions get to rest up in state-of-the-art private pools and where keepers bring buckets of herring three times a day.

The center has been awash in young sea lions for some years, and it has something to do with global warming. The higher ocean temperatures in Southern California mean sea lion parents must leave their young for long periods to hunt farther afield for food. Many of the abandoned pups, like Laverne, become disoriented and easy prey for other animals.

Laverne gained weight over the weeks, but her eye did not improve, and the gift of sight is even more critical to a sea lion than a human. Vision comes in handy when a great white shark is bearing down on you, an occupational hazard for Laverne. The docs said Lavernes injury, and the cataract, were the result of severe trauma  possibly caused during an underwater difference of opinion with such a shark or killer whale.

So the decision was made to bring Laverne to the operating table in Fremont on Friday. They loaded the good-natured critter into the back of a pickup truck, but the operation had to be delayed because Laverne got stuck in traffic on the Nimitz Freeway, not the first mammal to suffer that fate. Hours later, her handlers carried Laverne into Smiths office in a large dog kennel, another indignity.

A heart monitor beeped, and the respirator whooshed. Techs and nurses dashed in and out. Bright lights beamed down onto the operating table. Assistants tied up Lavernes cute little snout with plastic cord to prevent her from nipping her benefactors hands should the anesthesia wear off early. Her pulse was 102, and all the colored lines on the monitor were wiggling as they were supposed to.

OK, Laverne, were off to the races, Smith said in that offhand way that surgeons talk to put everyone in the operating room at ease, even those with flippers. She began peering through her microscope at Lavernes left eye and poking instruments, clamps, tubes, needles and swabs at it. At long last, Smith reached for the special emulsification machine that zaps the clouded lens with ultrasonic waves, breaking it up into little pieces and enabling it to be sucked out through a tube.

It took a long time, because Lavernes cataract was tricky.

The center of the lens was like a hard candy, Smith said. I cant really compare it to anything because Ive never done one before.

ALSO Wayward fur seal pup rescued far from water in Fremont

Laverne rested up in the recovery room, not far from a cage holding Beatrice the pug, who was waiting her turn on the operating table. Beatrice had spent the morning watching what was happening to Laverne and trying not to let her emotions get the better of her.

When it was over, the docs said they were pleased with the result and predicted a good recovery. Laverne was prepped for her return trip to Sausalito, perhaps via a different freeway, her handlers said.

The plan calls for introducing live herring into Lavernes cage and making sure she can track them with her new and improved left eye and gobble them up. If that happens, her handlers could release Laverne into the ocean off Point Reyes as early as next month.
For a story on children who have been indoctrinated by the Islamic State and the psychological legacy of that kind of education, Washington Post reporter Souad Mekhennet held several interviews with a boy who attended a school run by militants in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital, and his parents.

Eight-year-old Taim now lives in Western Europe, where his family is seeking asylum. His parents asked that The Post not use their last name or specify where they are living, fearing retribution from Islamic State sympathizers. Mekhennet discussed her interviews for the story with Julie Vitkovskaya.

Q. You've previously interviewed members and leaders of al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban. Now you've come face-to-face with a boy who had been recruited by the Islamic State. What is it like interviewing a child as opposed to an adult?

A. It's different to interview a child, and I have some experience with that from reporting in war zones, refugee camps and also when I worked on a children's book some years ago. Taim is a boy who in one moment describes to you how he loves being in Europe, how he loves playing with his toys. He would smile and laugh. Sometimes, as soon as we discussed his life in Syria or mentioned ISIS, his facial expression would change, he would stop smiling and cover his eyes, and say he didn't want to remember what he has seen in Syria. And then there were other moments when he described with pride some of the lessons he learned from his ISIS teachers about what was right and what was wrong. He had some knowledge about arms and military.

More for you For the 'children of ISIS,' target practice starts at age 6

He seemed in some turmoil. He is now in a country which his teachers had told him was the terrible home of "unbelievers," but he actually liked it and was adapting to the change. But he never entirely escapes his memories. He once asked me why there were ISIS fighters from all these different countries, including the United States and Europe, who came to his country, took away the homes of people and began to spread violence and fear. "Why did these countries allow them to come to us?" he asked at one point.

Q. How did Taim describe his experience with the Islamic State? What was he exposed to, and how is his narrative similar or different from other children who are recruited by the Islamic State?

A. He explained that he began to go to their classes because there was no other school, but also because ISIS members would encourage the children to go and attend lectures with candy and toys.

During the lectures, the teachers would also show them the latest ISIS videos, including executions. They also watched propaganda material that said foreign armies and Shia militias were killing Sunni Muslims in Syria and Iraq, and the caliphate was the only protection from the murdering and raping of these enemies.

Taim also watched the actual beheadings of prisoners, not just videos.

He also was conflicted because some of the things he was told were "haram" or forbidden, such as smoking, were things his father or relatives did. He would tell his father to stop smoking or risk being killed. He told his mother to wear the niqab and not be uncovered in front of her brother-in-law. His parents thought their 6-year-old had turned into a sharia policeman for ISIS.

When he turned 7, ISIS commanders tried to convince Taim to join a training camp for children. They told him only the best were chosen and he would learn how to become a real fighter. He was interested in going, but his parents held him back. When they decided Taim would be forced into the camp, they fled Raqqa.

Q. Taim asked you in the middle of one interview for a piece of paper and a pen, and began to draw something for you. Can you describe what it shows and what he told you?

A. One hour into one meeting, he said he wanted to draw something for me. And allow me to recount the conversation between us:

SM: "What did you draw?"

Taim: "This was in the Ar Rashid park where I went to play. I saw people standing around two men.

"See," he said, pointing at the man with no hair. "See, he was looking very angry. He is holding the other man and is also holding something in his right hand. The other man has no eye. They had already taken his eye, you see?"

He pointed with his right index finger to the face he had drawn with one eye.

SM:: "And what happened then?"

Taim: "And then the other men stood behind him, and the head of the man with one eye just fell. His head just fell."

Taim then said, "I don't want to remember it."

Q. The Islamic State regularly releases videos and photos of its activities. In fact, you describe the group's use of media as "the most potent propaganda machine ever assembled by a terrorist group." What role do children like Taim serve in the group's propaganda? What do we know is real and what do we know is used as propaganda?

A. Children are watching executions and have been watching executions long before we saw the first Western hostages killed in front of cameras. Children in Syria and Iraq have witnessed a tremendous amount of violence for years now.

In terms of ISIS, they have in the last year increased the production of videos which show the training of children and also executions done by children.

Also, there are apps and books - The Post had access to two - which teach children various things, from the alphabet to how to become a future soldier. They have also books for parents who live outside ISIS territory but who would like to educate their children in the group's ideology. So ISIS is putting a lot of effort into the education of children and influencing how they see the world and behave.

Q. You've written before that the Islamic State is preparing for an eventual collapse. Does this mean the Islamic State will get even more desperate in recruiting child soldiers like Taim?

A. I don't think they are desperate to recruit more child soldiers. The fact is they already have a lot of them. Foreign fighters with sons older than six or seven happily send them to training camps, according to an ISIS operative who spoke to The Post. And when it shows videos of children, it is sending a message to the outside world that the next generation is ready.

Q. What happens to Taim now?

A. His mother said she would like him to see an Arabic-speaking psychiatrist, but she is also worried that somehow people might try to take him away from his family, particularly if the authorities learn about his experiences. So far he has not received professional help, and his family thinks it's clear he needs it. But his family also feels lucky that they were able to flee before ISIS turned Taim into a killer.
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A 22-year-old Stanford graduate student was arrested after he was accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend at a campus dorm, police said Thursday.

Govinda Dasu was booked into San Jose Main Jail on suspicion of sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman, said Bill Larson, a spokesman for the Stanford Department of Public Safety.

Dasu was dating his victim at the time of the assault, according to the department. Officials said the incident took place Sept. 24 at Lyman Graduate Residence on the Stanford campus. The victim reported the assault and police arrested Dasu at the scene, Larson said.

The victim was not a student, he said.

On Thursday, authorities submitted the case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office for review.

Officials didnt release a campus alert for the assault because Dasu had been arrested and was not perceived as an ongoing threat, police said.

A campus alert had been sent out last weekend referring to a separate reported rape at a dorm on Friday.

Stanford police received the report about the attack from an unidentified third party, Larson said.

Campus authorities put out an alert over the weekend, warning students that a woman was raped in a dorm on the east side of campus by a male whom she did not know.

Officials declined Thursday to release more information on the reported rape, citing an active investigation.

The sexual assault of an unconscious woman by Brock Turner on the Stanford campus last year garnered national attention after Turner, 21, was sentenced by Judge Aaron Persky to six months in county jail, widely criticized as a slap on the wrist.

Turner, a former Stanford swimmer, was released after serving half the sentence and moved back to his home state of Ohio, where he registered as a sex offender.

Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills related to sexual assault. One, inspired by the Turner case, redefined rape to include some sexual assaults. The other ended the states 10-year statute of limitations on sex crimes.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
By Deena Beasley (Reuters) - Mylan NV on Friday said it will pay $465 million to settle questions of whether it underpaid U.S. government healthcare programs by misclassifying its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, which has come under intense scrutiny after a series of drastic price increases. Mylan has been lambasted by consumers and lawmakers for raising prices on the lifesaving EpiPen sixfold to over $600 for a package of two in less than a decade, making the devices unaffordable for a growing number of families. Lawmakers were trying to determine whether Mylan made more money on EpiPen than warranted from state Medicaid programs by having it classified as a generic product, resulting in much smaller rebates to the government health plans. Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch was grilled by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for the price increase and they were skeptical of her profit analysis of the product. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in response to a request from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, said this week that the Medicaid plan for the poor spent $797 million on EpiPen between 2011 and 2015, including rebates provided by Mylan, or $960 million before rebates. Lawmakers have contended that Mylan underpaid Medicaid rebates by misclassifying EpiPen as a generic instead of a branded drug. The Medicaid rebate for a generic is 13 percent compared with a minimum 23.1 percent for a branded drug. "I am glad the Department of Justice pursued this so quickly," Klobuchar said in a statement. "If other drugs are misclassified, and surely EpiPen isn't the only one ... the taxpayers need to get their money back." Mylan said in a regulatory filing on Friday that EpiPen will be classified as a branded drug as of April 1, 2017. Bresch told lawmakers this week that Mylan plans to launch a $300 generic version of EpiPen as soon as possible this year. Mylan also lowered its 2016 earnings outlook, but the drugmaker affirmed its 2018 forecast and its shares rose 11 percent to $39.90 after hours. "Kudos to management for fast action," AB Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal said in a video message to investors. "This was one of the major risks everyone was focusing on ... now it is essentially off the table." Mylan said it will record a pretax charge of about $465 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30. The company, which will make the payment to the Department of Justice and other government agencies, said the settlement does not include any finding of wrongdoing. Mylan, citing changes to the EpiPen consumer discount program and upcoming launch of a generic version, said it now expects full-year 2016 adjusted earnings per share of $4.70 to $4.90, down from $4.85 to $5.15. Mylan said it "remains committed" to its target of at least $6.00 in adjusted earnings per share in 2018. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru and Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Don Sebastian, Cynthia Osterman and Bernard Orr)
Life in Barcelona is a distinctive mix of Madrid-style love of life and Parisian elegance and taste. Spains second-biggest city is one of the hottest tourist destinations in Europe these days, with more than 7.5 million visitors a year, so its popular pedestrian boulevards can become human traffic jams.

In spite of what can be horrible crowds, theres plenty to enjoy. Everywhere you go, youll find the citys architecture colorful, playful and unique. Rows of symmetrical ironwork balconies are punctuated with fanciful details: bay windows, turrets, painted tiles, hanging lanterns, flower boxes and carved reliefs.

At various points in its history, this proud city has been a Roman retirement colony, a maritime power, a dynamo of the Industrial Age and an urban poster child for modernism. Today it cobbles together all these elements into a one-of-a-kind culture.

Barcelona is the capital of Spains Catalonia region. The locals pride themselves on their different language and talk about independence. And with each visit, I hear more Catalan and less Spanish.

I talked to my friends in Barcelona about the practicality of having their children learn Catalan, leaving them with a native tongue that fewer than 10 million people speak in an aggressive and global world. None of them questioned the notion. Of course they speak Catalan  they are Catalans. And they speak Spanish and English as well  theyre well-educated Europeans.

The main square, Placa de Catalunya, sits at Barcelonas center, dividing the older and newer parts of town. Below the square is the Old City, with the boulevard called the Ramblas running down to the harbor. This Catalan Champs-Elysees has long been a quintessential Barcelona experience. But with modern affluence and the rise of tourism, the charm of the Ramblas is all but dead. The old men reading their newspapers, the bird and flower markets, and the local shops are now replaced by tacky low-end tourist shops.

Barcelonas most historic neighborhood is the Barri Gotic, with a 14th century cathedral as its navel. Today, the area is a tangled yet inviting grab bag of grand squares, schoolyards, Art Nouveau storefronts, musty junk shops, classy antique shops and street musicians strumming Catalan folk songs. While the recent lifting of rent control has caused many of the old-time shops to fold, thankfully, the character of this quarter survives.

For an edgier slice of the city, step just beyond the Barri Gotic into the neighborhood called El Born (a.k.a. La Ribera). This bohemian-chic district features funky shops, upscale cafes and wine bars serving artfully crafted tapas, a colorful market hall, unique boutiques and one of Barcelonas top museums, the Museu Picasso.

Above the Old City, beyond the bustling Placa de Catalunya hub, is the elegant Eixample district. Much of Barcelonas Modernista architecture is found here  especially three colorful facades built at the end of the 19th century that compete for attention: Casa Batllo, Casa Amatller and Casa Lleo. Because the mansions look as though they are trying to outdo each other in creative twists, locals have dubbed them the Block of Discord.

The Eixample is also home to famed Catalan architect Antoni Gaudis La Pedrera (a.k.a. Casa Mila), with its much-photographed roller coaster of melting-ice-cream eaves. This is Barcelonas quintessential Modernista building and Gaudis last major work before he dedicated his final years to the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church) is Gaudis unfinished masterpiece. It boasts bold, organic architecture and decor inside and out  from its melting Glory Facade to its skull-like Passion Facade to its rainforest-esque interior. Gaudi labored on the Sagrada Familia for 43 years, from 1883 until his death in 1926.

Since then, construction has moved forward in fits and starts. In 2010, the main nave was finished enough to host a consecration Mass by the pope. As I stepped inside on my last visit, the brilliance of Gaudis vision made for lofty worship in the nearly completed nave.

Todays main challenges for this epic work-in-progress: construct the tallest church spire ever built, ensure that construction can withstand the vibrations from speedy trains rumbling underfoot, and find a way to buy out condo owners to fulfill Gaudis vision of a grand esplanade approaching the church.

The goal to finish the church by the 100th anniversary of Gaudis death, in 2026, may seem overly optimistic. But with money from millions of visitors pouring in each year (the admission is pricey  but you know its for an exciting cause), it appears more obtainable as time goes by. Ive long said, If theres one building Id still like to see in Europe, its Gaudis Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona  finished.

With attitude in its art, culture, and politics, Barcelona  in spite of its tourist crowds  is a place where youre likely to wave the local flag and declare, along with its residents, Visca Catalunya!

Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com
Q: I rented a house through Airbnb for two months for a summer internship. The house was in a bad neighborhood, and both my roommates and my roommates boyfriends cars were broken into.

When a neighbors car was also broken into, and we saw the culprits flee the scene to a nearby housing project, my roommate and I decided to leave.

That weekend, we canceled our reservation and found a new apartment. Weve been trying to get a refund from Airbnb since then. I have sent the company photographs and police reports. An Airbnb representative finally agreed to refund me $2,004. Airbnb argued that this was because the situation was not completely the owners fault. I understand that, but as a multimillion-dollar company, Airbnb should protect its customers from bad experiences.

My roommate and I spent a total of $5,438 to rent this house. Were asking for $2,719, the second months rent. I have attempted to call Airbnb to negotiate further, but I am repeatedly put on hold or hung up on. I dont know where to go from here.

Madeline Gaffney, Austin, Texas

A: Airbnb shouldnt have rented a home in an unsafe neighborhood. Period. Of course, theres no way of guaranteeing that your rental will be crime-free, so you need to vet your rental before you push the buy button.

How do you do that? User reviews and online crime maps can help you figure out whether a rental is potentially unsafe. For example, the city of New York publishes a crime map (https://maps.nyc.gov/crime). It suggests that my old neighborhood in Staten Island is a safe place to live. Good to know.

Even if youd do your homework, you cant know everything. For example, my old neighborhood in Annapolis, Md., is in a relatively safe area. But every now and then, people who lived in the housing projects a few blocks away would break into our cars and steal electronics. Taught me to keep my electronics in the safety of my rental home.

Airbnb also offers some safety tips for would-be guests on its site. Theyre worth checking out before your next rental: www.airbnb.com/help/article/241/i-m-a-guest-what-are-some-safety-tips-i-can-follow.

As far as I can tell, Airbnb doesnt explicitly guarantee the safety of its rentals. I dont think it could. But theres an implicit warranty that the rentals will be habitable  safely habitable. In light of that, I think your request for the second months refund was not unreasonable.

You could have escalated this to someone higher up at Airbnb. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of Airbnbs executives on my consumer-advocacy website: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/airbnb.

I contacted Airbnb on your behalf. A representative said the company had made a mistake, and refunded the entire second months rental, the $2,719 youd originally asked for.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Find travel tips at www.elliott.org. Email: chris@elliott.org Twitter: @elliottdotorg
TIJUANA, Mexico  A crowd of about 1,000 Haitians shouted and shoved at the door of Mexicos immigration agency at the U.S. border, which has found itself an unhappy gateway for thousands of would-be migrants in recent months hoping to cross into the United States.

They wrapped their arms around the waists of people in front of them to prevent anyone from cutting in line in their desperation for one of just a few dozen slots granted daily with U.S. immigration authorities about a half-mile away.

Several thousand Haitians have traveled to Tijuana in recent months, overflowing migrant shelters and often sleeping outside next to their backpacks on sheets of cardboard, many after traveling 7,000 miles by foot, taxi and bus from Brazil through eight nations to the threshold of the United States. There have been so many that in August, Mexican authorities imposed a system of appointments to keep the Haitians away from the flow of other visitors at one of the worlds busiest border crossings.

Most of the Haitians appear unaware that the trip, and the desperate scramble at the border, has been in vain.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sept. 21 began putting Haitians in detention facilities before attempting to send them back to the homeland they fled, a departure from previous practice of freeing them on humanitarian parole. The U.S. softened its posture after Haitis 2010 earthquake but now treats them like people from other countries.

Many of the Haitians continuing to arrive in Tijuana have said they were unaware of the change, while those who knew about it said turning back was not an option. Brazil opened its doors to the Haitians after the earthquake devastated their impoverished country, but the South American country later developed its own economic problems, recently prompting many to seek work in the United States.

The exodus from Brazil accelerated in May and has shown no sign of slowing. U.S. officials say about 5,000 Haitians showed up at San Ysidro from October 2015 through late last month, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said at a recent congressional hearing that that 40,000 more were on their way. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission said an average of 300 Haitians and Africans were crossing Mexicos southern border daily.
1 Budgie 9 released: Nine Australians who spent four nights in police detention after stripping down to skimpy swimsuits printed with the Malaysian flag at that nations Formula One Grand Prix walked free Thursday in Kuala Lumpur without a conviction after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance and apologizing. The nine were detained after they partied in their swimwear and drank beer from shoes before thousands of spectators after Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo won the race. Australian media dubbed them the Budgie Nine. A budgerigar is an Australian parrot and the Australians swimwear is colloquially known as budgie smugglers.

2 Kenya attack: Suspected Islamic extremists killed six people in an attack in northeastern Mandera County near the border with Somalia, an official said Thursday, while the al-Shabab extremist group claimed it had targeted Christians. The attackers escaped over the border. Kenya has experienced a wave of attacks from al-Shabab, which is allied with al Qaeda. The group has vowed retribution on Kenya for sending troops to Somalia since 2011 to fight the extremists who are waging an insurgency against Somalias weak Western-backed government.
MANILA The Philippine defense chief said Friday that he told the U.S. military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break in defense cooperation after months of increasingly strident comments by the countrys new president.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said that 107 U.S. troops involved in operating surveillance drones against Muslim militants would be asked to leave the southern part of the country once the Philippines acquires those intelligence-gathering capabilities in the near future.
WASHINGTON  The United States called Friday for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria, ramping up the rhetoric against Moscow for its part in a deadly military offensive in Aleppo while potentially making it harder to restart diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100, describing what would be the latest strike by Russia or its ally in Damascus on a civilian target. A spokesman said the attack occurred Thursday outside Damascus, while human rights groups accuse the pair of killing thousands in their assault on Aleppo, Syrias largest city.

Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, and children and women, Kerry told reporters alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who arrived in Washington directly from meeting Russian officials in Moscow.

These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes, Kerry said. Theyre beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives.

The U.S. has little chance of being able to initiate a war crimes probe of either Russia or Syria. Russia has veto power at the U.N. Security Council and has blocked repeated attempts over the past 5 years to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assads government or hold it accountable for the widespread allegations of indiscriminate killing, torture and chemical weapons attacks.

Russias U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin rejected a French-proposed Security Council resolution that would call for grounding all aircraft, including Russias, over Aleppo. The resolution, also calling for an Aleppo cease-fire, is to be considered Saturday but Churkin said, I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass.

Russia, meanwhile, appears to be plowing ahead with its long-term strategy for Syria.

As Kerry and Ayrault spoke at the State Department, Russias lower house of parliament ratified a new treaty with Syria that would allow Russias military to remain indefinitely in Syria. The vote was unanimous.
Following seven days of partisan bickering and an all-night debate over capital punishment, the Legislature ended a special session after passing a host of bills intended to close a $600 million state budget deficit.

Here's what they passed:

Senate Bill 2 transfers into the general fund about $219 million from a pool of settlement cash paid by Big Tobacco. About $131 million goes to patch up last fiscal year's budget, while the rest covers a portion of this year's. The bill also transfers some unspent appropriations back into the state's general fund. (Senate: 41-1, House: 43-22)



Senate Bill 4 transfers into the general fund about $12.5 meant for public school projects to a fund for books, tech and other instructional materials. It also reserves $25 million from the project fund for potential re-appropriation over the next five fiscal years. (Senate: 39-3, House: 69-0)

Senate Bill 6 tightens some tax loopholes, including an incentive for health practitioners and a credit for employers who pay a certain wage. It also speeds up a planned phase out of a hold-harmless tax for some food and health care services. The bill also transfers about $1.5 million from the general fund to Child Youth and Families to support child abuse prevention. Finally, it reduces a monthly payment to a legislative retirement fund from $200,000 to $75,000. An analysis estimates that the bill would generate about $10 million of revenue for this fiscal year. (Senate: 34-8, House: 50-17)



Senate Bill 7 brings in limited revenue in two different ways. First, it halts a $250,000 monthly payment to the Retiree Healthcare Authority and delays a planned 12 percent annual increase for two fiscal years. It also stops automatic payments to a fire protection grant fund. The bill would result in about $4.7 million staying in the general fund for the fiscal year. (Senate 38-4, House: 66-1)

Senate Bill 8 eliminates funds for a bunch of inactive tax bond projects across the state. It will increase general fund reserves by about $89.9 million. (Senate: 38-3, House: 50-13)

Senate Bill 9 is a doozy, and is estimated to plug up about $184.5 million of the deficit. It cuts a bunch of dollars from state agency budgets: 3 percent from the judiciary and about 5.5 percent for most other agencies. Safe from the chopping block are Children, Youth and Families, Public Safety, and any services for sexual assault survivors and prevention. (Senate: 42-0, House: 36-32)

Senate Bill 12 pays for the session. It ended up costing about $157,000. House expenses added up to $79,000, while the Senate cost taxpayers about $53,400. Legislative Council Service and the copy room accounted for the rest. (Senate: 42-0, House: 58-6)



Here's what passed the House, but didn't receive a Senate floor vote:

House Bill 5 adds violations eligible for New Mexico's so-called "three-strikes" law, which imposes mandatory life sentences to people who commit three violent felonies. (House vote: 49-14)



House Bill 6 modifies a law that makes life sentences an option for people convicted of intentional child abuse that results in death. It increases the minimum age of the victim from 12 to 18. The sole holdout, Rep. Christine Trujillo (D-Albuquerque), said she did not oppose the bill, but the way it was brought up. (House vote: 66-1)

[endif]

House Bill 7 reinstates the death penalty as an option for people who murder children, police officers, and corrections workers. (House vote: 36-30)

[endif]

Here's what passed the Senate, but didn't receive a House floor vote:



Senate Bill 3 removes the current 450-plant limit for nonprofit medical marijuana producers and replaces it with a cap that is equal to 15 percent of the number of card carriers in the state. It limits license fees for nonprofits to $200 per plant. (29-13)

Senate Bill 5 delays a scheduled corporate income tax reduction by two years. It would have brought in an estimated $13.8 million of revenue for the current fiscal year. (21-20)



Senate Bill 10 transfers to the general fund about $25 million from a public school fund called the state equalization guarantee. (38-4)

Senate Bill 11

authorizes the Department of Agriculture to research hemp for industrial purposes. (35-5)

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong current plant count limit for cannabis producers.

Santa Fe Reporter
Lawmakers Approve Budget Solvency Package; Skip Crime Reform Bills

Senate Democrats returned to Santa Fe on Thursday and passed a series of bills aimed at shoring up the states budget, but opted not to vote on any of Gov. Susana Martinez crime reform measures. SFRs Steven Hsieh has

.

Faith Leaders Blast Republican Vote to Reinstate Death Penalty

While the bill to reinstate New Mexicos death penalty didnt get through the senate during the special session, it will probably be back in January for the 60-day session ahead. Thursday's House vote

with the states Catholic Archbishops and other faith leaders.

Migrants Odds of Crossing Border Nearly 50/50

An internal Department of Homeland Security report reveals that border control agents

who attempt illegal border crossings into the United States.

Toulouse Oliver Has Double-Digit Lead Over Espinoza

Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver appears to have

over Republican Nora Espinoza in the Secretary of State race, according to a new poll in the Albuquerque Journal.

Jury Considering Cops' Fate

The fate of two former Albuquerque police officers charged with murdering a homeless man in 2014 is now

. During closing arguments, prosecutors said cops are not above the law. Defense attorney argued Keith Sandy and Dominque Perez were just doing their jobs. If convicted on second degree murder charges, the men face up to 15 years in prison.

Fentanyl Claims 20 Lives in New Mexico

State authorities say they're investigating

in New Mexico this year that were likely caused by illicitly manufactured fentanyl," according to the Associated Press.

Police Shortages a Myth

The ABQ Free Press has done

and determined claims by law enforcement agencies that there is a dire shortage of police officers and sheriffs deputies is untrue.

It should be another good weekend to visit the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta or head to the mountains to check out the trees changing colors. Whatever you decide to do, have fun and be safe. We'll see you back here on Monday morning.

Santa Fe Reporter
Former Treaty of Waitangi claims negotiator Ngatata Love has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being convicted of taking a secret payment of $1.5 million while chairman of the Wellington Tenths Trust.

At the High Court in Wellington, Justice Graham Lang said the maximum penalty for the charge was seven years imprisonment, and an appropriate starting point would be four years nine months. Had Love been the sole offender, the judge said he would have accepted a starting point of five-to-five-and-a-half years, but lowered it because of Lorraine Skiffington's involvement.

"I don't know what kind of influence she had, but the fact she must have had some influence is the only inference to be drawn after you led such a blameless life in the past. What you cannot escape is Ms Skiffington was not a trustee," Justice Lang said.

"The most important factor is the fact that your offending involves a gross breach of trust," the judge said. "The other trustees left it to you to deal solely with the developers. You took advantage of the trust they placed in you to acquire a very substantial sum of money."

Justice Lang said Love was entitled to a 30 percent discount, or 18 months, for his historical contributions to Maoridom.

"For more than 40 years you have devoted yourself selflessly" to Maori development, the judge said. "Those actions make you an inspirational leader in Maoridom so you are entitled to very significant credit for that."

Love's health conditions merited a further discount of nine months, the judge said.

"The issues you present with can be managed within a prison environment, However, your admission will need to be carefully managed." Justice Lang said Love will need to be closely monitored.

The judge chose not to give a further discount which would make Love eligible for home detention, saying the sentence was designed to be a deterrent and that he didn't see Love acknowledged the damage he had caused.

"I do not see any remorse for what has occurred," Justice Lang said.

The Tenths Trust, a Maori incorporation, submitted a victim impact statement, from which the judge said it was clear Love's offending had had a profound effect on the trust, both financial and otherwise.

"This has caused all kinds of issues for the trust," Justice Lang said. "It has had to devote an enormous amount of time and effort to provide information to the Serious Fraud Office."

The Crown submitted the judge should make an order for reparations, on the basis it may provide a means to unlock the equity in the house held by Love's trust.

The judge said Love has no means of meeting any order of reparation other than through the sale of the Plimmerton residence, but he isn't a trustee of the trust through which he owned half the property anymore.

"I see no practical utility in making an order for reparation," Justice Lang said.

The trust can register its interest in the property through other legal action taking place around the house, the judge said.

"You were seen as the leader of the trustees and held up in high esteem," Justice Lang said. "You never disclosed that the developers were prepared to pay $3 million dollars for the right to develop the land."

Love's lawyer, Colin Carruthers QC, said he had been given instructions to appeal a sentence of imprisonment and applied for bail pending that appeal, which was declined.

The Court of Appeal can hold a hearing on Nov. 14, and Justice Lang said he will reconsider his decision if new evidence becomes available.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Ferrier said the precedent was for the court's decision to be treated as correct, and the length of sentence imposed was middling.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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October 31st Morning Report


Hedge fund assets growth in 2015 slowest in three years.

Singapores hedge fund assets grew at the slowest pace in three years in 2015 as returns shrank and investors redeemed money.

Assets under management by Singapore hedge funds rose 11 percent to S$119 billion (U$87 billion) last year, according to the 2015 Singapore Asset Management Survey published Thursday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Thats down from the 21 percent growth recorded in each of the previous two years.

Investors started to withdraw money in the region last year as a slump in Chinas stock market dented returns among Asian hedge funds. The Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index gained 6.4 percent in 2015, the lowest since 2011. Withdrawals have accelerated in 2016, with investors redeeming $13.7 billion from Asia-focused hedge funds in the first eight months of this year, accounting for 12 percent of regional industry assets, according to eVestment.

Here's more from Bloomberg.





More From Singapore Business Review


Moody's credit ratings agency has warned that it could downgrade South Africa's credit rating to junk in its November review, but the country's central bank governor has told CNBC that it's financial system could withstand such a move.

"We think that we have been addressing the concerns that the ratings agencies have raised," South African Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said. "And with the Ministry of Finance we've been working hard to avoid such a situation (a downgrade) occurring."

Last month Moody's said the likelihood of a downgrade for South Africa was around a third. "We would likely downgrade the rating in the absence of a growth recovery that we are anticipating," Moody's analyst Kristin Lindow told a conference in Johannesburg, Reuters reported.





But speaking to CNBC on the side-lines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting in Washington, Kganyago said that while he was not "relaxed" about the prospect of a potential downgrade, stress testing of South African banks earlier in the year had shown them to be resilient to such a scenario.

"I would not say I'm relaxed  there is no room for complacency. But what we're saying is that should (a downgrade) happen, we have resilient institutions that are able to deal with that. South African banks have been subjected to a stress test of a very adverse scenario should a downgrade actually take place and they were found to be able to weather that storm," he said.

Kganyago added that banks were stress tested on additional scenarios including Brexit, the collapse of the euro and a recession in South Africa etc, and passed.

"They were found to be resilient and part of the reason is that South African banks are actually holding more capital than they are required to hold," he said.

There are no plans to impose capital controls in the eventuality of a downgrade to junk status, according to Kganyago. "Let's jog our memory back  South Africa was once sub-investment grade and during that time we didn't have to impose capital controlsand we are not going back in the opposite direction," he said.

Story continues

Despite Kganyago's confidence in the country's financial system, a potential downgrade by a major ratings agency would be a blow for South Africa at an already tricky time for both its economy and political sphere.

At present, Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings rate South Africa at BBB-, one notch above sub-investment grade. Meanwhile, Moody's has South Africa's sovereign rating at BAA2 (a moderate credit risk), two notches above sub-investment grade.

Fears that South Africa's debt could be downgraded to sub-investment  or "junk"  grade by one of the big-three credit ratings agencies by the end of the year are not new.

Fitch's Head of Middle East and Africa Sovereigns Jan Friederich said recently that the ruling ANC party was in "panic mode" after suffering its worst local electoral results in August since the end of Apartheid, the system of racial segregation that ended in the country in the early 1990s.

Speaking at a Fitch conference, Friederich warned that this panic could spur "clearly populist measures" like the proposed national minimum wage, which if set too high could cause long-term problems with economic growth.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.







More From CNBC


By Johan Ahlander and Johan Sennero STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A government commission is set to propose a 15 percent payroll tax on Sweden's financial services industry, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, a move that banks have said could cost thousands of jobs and raise costs for borrowers. Sweden's centre-left government has been trying to impose a tax on financial services, which are exempt from value-added tax, but has struggled to come up with a way to do it. "The proposal will mean a 15 percent payroll tax on VAT-exempt financial services," the source said, adding it would not only affect banks. "It will hit all companies which have revenues from financial services, which is many," the source said. The government believes a tax would level the playing field between financial sector firms and other companies. "The banking sector is under-taxed and has therefore received an advantage compared to other businesses," Anna Soderstrom, a spokesperson for Financial Markets Minister Per Bolund said. Bankers in Sweden said a tax would hit employment in the financial services industry, which is trying to attract firms to the country in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union. "It will have a dramatic effect on the number of jobs in this sector," said Johan Hansing, chief economist at The Swedish Bankers' Association. "You lose existing jobs but also reduce the possibility of attracting new jobs," he said. Around 120,000 people in Sweden are employed by financial firms and insurance companies. Industry lobby groups and a trade union representing bank workers said last month such a tax could cost up to 16,000 jobs. Others think additional costs will be passed on. "We believe this tax hike will be directly pushed onto the customers, Swedish households and businesses," Andreas Hakansson, banking analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said. Nordea, the Nordic region's biggest bank, has previously said it could consider moving its head office from Sweden if a bank tax is introduced. On Thursday, Dutch newspaper NRC reported Nordea had made an approach regarding a merger to ABN Amro, which would include a move to the less-regulated Netherlands. An ABN Amro official on Friday, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, confirmed the approach but said it had been rebuffed. The head of the government commission, Christer Sjodin, declined to comment. On Thursday, a budget document seen by Reuters showed neighbouring Norway's right-wing government plans to impose a 5 percent payroll tax on the banking industry in 2017. Denmark already has such a tax. (Reporting by Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander; Editing by Susan Fenton and Elaine Hardcastle)
By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's junta came under scrutiny this week after critics filed a petition asking the office of the auditor-general to investigate allegations of extravagant spending on a trip to Hawaii for a defence meeting. It is the latest in a series of allegations against the military government that seized power in May 2014, promising to root out entrenched corruption in state institutions and close Thailand's festering political divide. The government has defended allegations that a 20.9 million baht (481,656 pounds) chartered flight taken by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and his entourage to a meeting in Hawaii last week was exorbitant. On Wednesday, Srisuwan Janya, head of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, a government watchdog, petitioned the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate expenses incurred on the Thai Airways flight. These expenses included 600,000 baht spent on in-flight food and beverages, according to details posted on the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's website. The Office of the Auditor-General on Friday said it had scrutinised expenses incurred on the Hawaii trip and found nothing wrong. "We found no wrong doing in Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan's trip to America," Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas told reporters, adding that his office was still waiting for details of the total flight cost from Thai Airways. The allegations threaten to erode the military government's credibility, say critics, including civil society groups. Last month, Isra News, an investigative news website, reported that Pathompol Chan-ocha, a nephew of junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, was awarded seven construction projects with the Third Army Region, which had been under his father's command, prompting claims of nepotism. The National Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating those claims. Preecha Chan-ocha, Pathompol's father and junta chief Prayuth's brother, has defended his son and said he acted according to the army's rules and regulations for contractors. "Both of these are issues that Thai society is criticising a lot and it will reduce the junta's credibility," Srisuwan told Reuters. "This is contrary to what people expect from this military government. The prime minister should boldly act to restore public confidence and not shirk responsibility." Colonel Piyapong Klinpan, deputy spokesman for the junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said it welcomed public scrutiny. "If there is any issue of public interest, then the agency involved can examine it. We are not trying to hide or conceal anything," Piyapong told Reuters. "The NCPO does not interfere in these independent bodies and we ask that people trust the NCPO." The investigation follows allegations of graft last year, levelled by some Thai media and opposition groups, involving construction of a $28 million park built to honour the monarchy that threatened to undermine an anti-graft drive by the junta. An internal investigation by the army in November 2015 found no evidence of corruption. Thailand's military has always been powerful, but the 2014 coup established it as the nation's pre-eminent institution. Thais voted overwhelmingly in August to accept a junta-backed constitution that the government says is designed to heal more than a decade of divisive politics. Critics of the government, including major political parties, say the charter will enshrine the military's role for years to come. (Additional reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by John Chalmers and Nick Macfie)
Donald trump miss universe

A shocking recording of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women in 2005 emerged on Friday, according to The Washington Post.

While Trump offered a statement of apology, it's clear that the comments are part of a long pattern of Trump's mistreatment of women.

The New York Times released a bombshell report in May detailing Trump's treatment of women throughout his career.

The Times interviewed 50 people for the story, titled "Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private," including employees of the Trump Organization, former girlfriends, and Miss Universe contestants.

Trump's favorability ratings with women are plummeting as he gears up to face Hillary Clinton  the presumptive Democratic nominee  in the general election.

The interviews reveal a very complicated picture of Trump, who would simultaneously promote some women to executive positions in his company while belittling others' appearance and making unwanted sexual advances.

Here are some of the salacious details:

Trump asked one woman to "try on" bathing suits during a pool party at the Mar-a-Lago, and then paraded her around: "He took me into a room and opened drawers and asked me to put on a swimsuit," Rowanne Brewer Lane, a former model, told The New York Times. "I went into the bathroom and tried one on." When she came out, Brewer says that Trump paraded her around the party and told the crowd, "That is a stunning Trump girl isn't it?"

When Trump purchased the Miss Universe pageant, he would personally "evaluate" the contestants : "We were told to put on our opening number outfits  they were nearly as revealing as our swimsuits  and line up for him onstage," Carrie Prejean, Miss California in 2009, told The Times. "Donald Trump walked out with his entourage and inspected us closer than any general ever inspected a platoon." Prejean said many of the girls found the exercise humiliating and ended up sobbing backstage.

Trump would also make unwanted advances toward women: "He kissed me directly on the lips," Temple Taggart, Miss Utah in 1997, told The New York Times. "I thought, Oh my God, gross. Taggart told The Times that she wasn't the only one who Trump kissed on the mouth. Trump was still married to Marla Maples at the time, though he denied to The Times ever kissing any "strangers" on the lips.

Story continues

Trump also made it clear that he preferred "pretty" women around him. When Barbara Res, a top Trump executive, gained weight after working with the real-estate mogul for years, Trump would tease her and tell her that "she liked her candy," Res told The New York Times.

"It was him reminding me that I was overweight."

Trump Melania

Still, others laud the businessman for nurturing the careers of many "ambitious" women around him: Trump hired Barbara Res as his main construction manager  one of the top executive positions in a male-dominated industry  for the Trump Plaza casino, and

Louise Sunshine, a former Trump executive, told The Times that Trump "became the man in my life who was going to be my mentor."

Trump also went out of way to ensure that women whose "work ethic" he respected could remain at his organization: For me, hes made it a situation where I can really excel at my job and still devote the time necessary for my family," said Jill Martin, a vice president and assistant counsel at the Trump Organization.

For many other women, however, Trump's behavior  which, according to The Times, seemed to be "fleeting, unimportant moments to him"  left lasting, and often damaging, impressions.

After that episode, I was sick, anorexia and bulimia for five years, said Alicia Machado, the 1996 Miss Universe winner. She was describing a day, not long after winning the pageant, that she was taken to a gym by Miss Universe executives, where Donald Trump was waiting with 90 media outlets in an effort to push her to lose weight.

Trump confirmed the incident to The Times.

"I was about to cry in that moment with all the cameras there," Machado recalls. "I said, 'I dont want to do this, Mr. Trump.' He said, 'I dont care.' Over the past 20 years, Ive gone to a lot of psychologists to combat this.

NOW WATCH: How Hillary Clinton survived one of the biggest scandals in American politics





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BENGALURU: In order to espouse a cashless economy, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up an Acceptance Development Fund (ADF). The purpose would be to boost e-payments in shops in semi-urban and rural areas and extend the network for card acceptance in India. Indian Banks Association (IBA) will run ADF and set the rules for contribution and utilization of funds. Drafted guidelines for the ADF working model will be brought out by December 31, 2016.

The RBI had noted a non-uniform growth in e-payments across all sectors and segments of the country. It also lacked visibility of facility at all locations, and the situation appears to be alarming. Particularly, activation or usage rates of the credit/debit card were quite low, especially in the market of goods and services. On the other hand, card usage at ATMs has shown steep slope, obviously positive.

A report by E&Y revealed that there are only 693 machines per million of Indias population with lowest POS (point-of-sale) terminal penetration in the world. If compared with similar emerging countries, Brazil has 32,995 terminals per million people, and China and Russia have the count of around 4000 terminals per million people.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme, the card base has had an overwhelming responseit increased to 68 crores, however, the number swipe machines for the credit cards stands at just 14 lakh. Not all banks are in the business of installing machines tough. The concept of establishing an ADF is to make such banks contribute in installing a maximum number of pos machines with the help of banks those who are already into the machine deployment.

"The ADF, which would be established and operated under the aegis of Indian Banks' Association (IBA), will set the rules for contribution and utilization of funds. In addition, it will plan the deployment of acceptance devices across various geographic and merchant segments in the country," the statement said.

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BENGALURU: India is going to witness one of the fiercest battles, as Google gets ready to take on Microsoft and IBM in its march towards enterprise business. Google-Apps-For-Work, rebranded as G-Suite a week ago, has been has been doing well in India.



Top officials from G-Suite have been coming to India regularly to meet potential corporate clients and judge the mood of the market. They are offering free administration till the current contract closes. Google entered the fray in 2013 and is all set to take the fight to the opposition camp.

"We do see that overall in India, Google is doing pretty well, actually better than in other areas. If you look at the worldwide market, it is competitive though Microsoft is doing better. It is a serious competitor in most markets but definitely in India, Jeffrey Mann, Research Vice President at Gartner, told ET.

According to Mann, Google had become more focused on the enterprise business since they brought in former VMware founder Diane Greene at the helm of affairs to run its cloud business. But even with the arrival of data centers in the country in 2017 and an enterprise sales team, Google will have to tread a rough path in order to convince the corporate.



The corporate DNA is something that players like Microsoft and IBM are highlighting in their effort to woo clients. We have financial-backed service level agreements. If you are not able to send an email, we know that is a problem for your business. We give customers that comfort along with innovation and flexibility. Office 365 had been growing in the 'healthy double digit range' for the past few years and had even been attracting customers who used other platforms, Alok Lall, Director of Microsoft India Office Division, told ET.



Experts are of the opinion that this aggressive brawl is all set to continue, as they anticipate that Apple will also enter the brawl.

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BENGALURU: This year the Noble Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to a British, Dutch and French scientist trio for their immense contribution in developing molecules with controllable movements. The trio received the Nobel Prize for developing tiny molecular machines. These scientists developed the worlds smallest machines, which in future can work as artificial muscles to power prosthetic limbs or tiny robots. As reported by The Economic Times, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences declared the winner on 5th October 2016.

Fraser Stoddart of Britain, Bernard Feringa of Netherlands, and Jean-Pierre Sauvage of France have developed tiny molecules, whose movements can be controlled. The molecules start performing a task when energy is added to them. These tiny molecules are also called as nanobots or nanomachines. The molecules work as tiny motors, pistons, wheels or ratchets to generate mechanical motion in the response to the stimuli like changes in temperature or light. Now these Nobel laureates will receive a prize of 8Mn Swedish Kronor.

The jury explained that in 1991, Fraser Stoddart demonstrated the molecules by threading a molecular ring onto a thin molecular axle. The ring was moving along the axle with the help of molecules. Further, he developed a molecular lift, molecule-based computer chip, and molecular muscle. Mr. Fraser Stoddart, Professor, Chemistry, Northwestern University, USA, said that in future, these molecules will help in cancer treatment. It can be noted that Stoddarts wife died of breast cancer in the late 1990s.

Bernard Feringa is a 65-year-old professor at Groningen University, told that Jean-Pierre Sauvage took the first step towards molecular machine in 1983. He successfully attached two ring-shaped molecules in a chain. Feringa developed a molecular motor in 1999 when he built a molecular rotor blade, which spins continuously in the same direction. He later designed a nanocar by using molecular motors. These three scientists successfully created a molecular toolbox that will assist in building advanced creations.

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JOHANNESBURG: An Indian-origin South African businessman has been honoured with a prestigious award by an international humanitarian organisation here in recognition of his charitable work.



AB Moosa, 43, is the third-generation CEO of the Avalon Group and CineCentre Cinemas, South Africa's oldest and largest independent cinema exhibition which first brought Indian films to South African cinemas in the 1920's.

The prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Recognition Award from the charitable organisation Rotary International was presented in recognition of Moosa's ongoing and long-standing support of Rotary and his commitment to its initiatives.



Moosa is continuing the tradition by currently being the only Bollywood film distributor in South Africa, screening these not only at his company's cinemas across the country, but also making them available to the two largest cinema chains in the country, Rotary International said in a statement.



He has done this through an association with leading Indian and London-based distributors.



"I am truly humbled to receive this recognition. I come from a family legacy that has always been conscious of the need to support those who are less fortunate," Moosa said.



Rotary is a service organisation that provides humanitarian services to the community.



Through Moosa's support, significant funding for Rotary has been raised to support these and many more other such initiatives.



The award is named after Paul Harris, a lawyer, who founded Rotary International in 1905.

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Perhaps the best part about living in the new millennium is that our job prospects are not limited to those offered within our own countries. This is a godsend for people here in India where the population is huge but the number of available jobs is small. For many, telecommuting internationally is the best way to earn money to help support their families--not just because there are more jobs available for telecommuters but also because the exchange rates from other countries like the US to here in India are very favorable for us.

Exchange Rates

The exchange rate from USD to Indian Rupees is roughly 1:67. That means that someone in India needs to earn only ten USD to afford a monthly transit pass. Or 175 USD to afford monthly rent on an apartment in a citys center. The Americans offer high wages to their workers. The current federal minimum wage is 7.25 USD per hour. That translates to roughly 486 Rupees. For just an hour of work done at minimum wage! And, thanks to the increase in international money transferring companies, clients in the US can send money to India for far lower fees than they used to, which works out well for you and your clients.

Finding Work

While it is easy to know that international telecommuting is in your best financial interests, actually finding an employer who will hire an Indian resident (outside of those who outsource their customer service and factory work here) can be difficult. You will need to overcome the language barriers that exist and deal with time differences. You also need to decide which sort of work to do.

Freelance Writing

Many Indians begin by trying their hands at freelance writing. If you can write well in conversational American English you can find blogging and article writing jobs fairly quickly. What is important, however, is that you do not allow yourself to be taken advantage of. There are many companies who understand that the exchange rate can save them a lot of money and they will offer you terrible wages. Some will only pay 5 USD per article. Yes, that works out to more than 300 Rupees but an American would not settle for that low price. For many American freelance writers, even 50 USD (3350 Rupees) isnt always fair. It will be tempting to take the low hanging fruit because it is there and easy to do but if you are a good writer, insist on a fair wage for the clients country. Your bank account will thank you.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Dr. Souhel Najjar never could have imagined, in all his years of medicine and research, that one of the best moments of his career would happen on a red carpet, at an international film festival.

The parade of celebrities for the movie "Brain on Fire," about his diagnosis of a young reporter's rare autoimmune illness, was certainly not something he could have imagined growing up in Damascus, Syria, either.

Najjar, now a Staten Island University Hospital-based neurologist, was in third grade when a teacher kicked him out of Catholic school -- expelling him for a perceived mental illness.

A public school teacher took him under her wing, imparting on him one of the biggest lessons he carried into his medical career: There are some people you should never give up on.

For Najjar, that person was Susannah Cahalan, the patient he diagnosed in 2009 with autoimmune encephalitis. Cahalan went on to write a book about the harrowing experience. The book was made into a movie, "Brain on Fire," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

"There was only one person who did not give up on me," Najjar said. "That's what was going through my mind: Because of that person I am here now. I made it and I'm walking on the red carpet."

Watching the movie that night, in the company of cast like Chloe Grace Moretz and Tyler Perry, brought him back to the moment when he first met Cahalan. Doctors had diagnosed her with everything from alcohol withdrawal to schizophrenia. But Najjar, who has a reputation as the "Dr. House of Staten Island," had a feeling it wasn't a psychotic condition -- he just had to listen to Cahalan.

"It took one person to save me, how can I give up on anyone?"

BRAIN ON FIRE

The film "Brain on Fire" stars Moretz as Cahalan -- a young New York Post reporter who was admitted to NYU Langone Medical Center with a series of baffling symptoms: Bedbug-bite sensations on the left side of her body, mood swings at work, seizures and hallucinations.

While many of Cahalan's doctors up to that point were looking at her medical records for clues about the source of her psychotic symptoms, Najjar took a different approach -- one he says is perfectly portrayed in "Brain on Fire."

He listened to her.

"When I met her, I held her hand and told her, 'I know you're trapped within your own body, but I'm gonna get you out.'"

As a neuropathologist in the years prior to meeting Cahalan, he studied the brains of individuals who committed suicide or were thought to have mental illnesses. Many of those brains showed signs of inflammation -- suggesting they were actually suffering from an autoimmune disorder. He had a hunch Susannah was experiencing the same.

He was right. He was able to prove to doctors that her condition was not psychiatric. It was a complicated diagnosis he made simple by telling Cahalan's parents their daughter's "brain was on fire."

When he heard those words in the film, he broke down.

"It brought back many emotions that I had filed away, and I got choked up, because it really brought me back to the moment -- that challenge to convince the medical establishment that Susannah's condition was not psychiatric in nature and was neurological."

THE POWER OF A WELL-TOLD STORY

That wasn't the only realistic moment in the story, either. Paul McPolin, Cahalan's Post editor at the time of her illness -- and a former Advance editor -- read the book and is anxiously awaiting a chance to see the film. Cahalan has so far portrayed the experience as it really was, McPolin said.

"Watching a perfectly normal young woman -- so talented and vivacious -- suddenly deteriorate into stark-raving lunacy, is just about the most frightening thing you can witness in life," McPolin said.

"And to see that madness tamed, that horror turned around, by a brilliant doctor, and my friend blossom into who she is today, is nothing short of a miracle. So it's a story that conveys horror and hope and resilience and love -- and it's all real."

It also brought to the public awareness some important lessons in the medical field, Najjar said.

"It highlighted the need to bridge the gap that currently exists between psychiatry and neurology," he said.

Since the book came out, he's heard from dozens of family members who believe their loved ones are suffering from a similar symptoms -- but were diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses. He expects the movie will do the same.

"Susannah's story touched many hearts and saved so many lives," Najjar said. "Through her book, and I think the movie will do the same, she has become the voice of those who cannot advocate for themselves."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Two New Brighton men, including an ex-con, are accused of shooting a man twice in their neighborhood last month, police said.

On Sept. 20, Zaquan Williams, 22, and Durail Miles, 24, allegedly shot a 32-year-old man in the right thigh and left shin near Taft Avenue and Jersey Street at 3:32 a.m., according to an NYPD spokesman.

It is unclear who pulled the trigger on both shots, but both defendants are charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal use of a firearm, police said.

The victim was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton.

Zaquan Williams, 22, is one of two men accused of attempted murder, police said.

Williams and Miles, both of Jersey Street, each have an extensive criminal history.

Miles, a reputed Bloods gang member, has seven priors and eight sealed cases, including an attempted murder charge stemming from a 2011 incident where a 23-year-old man was shot in the hand, according to the NYPD spokesman.

In February 2011, according to a law enforcement source, Miles spotted someone with whom he had a beef walking on Jersey Street early in the morning.

The suspect tailed his adversary, then headed him off and fired six bullets at him on Taft Avenue, said the source. The victim's left hand was shattered in the blasts, said the source, adding that police later found 9mm shell casings at the scene.

Miles was charged with attempted murder, three counts of assault, two counts of criminal weapon possession and one count of reckless endangerment.

In 2013, he was arrested for two assaults, attempted grand larceny auto and grand larceny auto, police said.

Williams has 16 prior arrests and nine sealed cases, including robbery, assault and criminal possession of a substance, the police spokesman said.

In 2015, according to Advance records, Williams was arrested for robbery and criminal possession of a firearm after mugging two people in Clifton.

He pulled a gun on two people on the 300 block of Vanderbilt Avenue, telling them, "You know what this is, give me your money," court papers allege.



And the two complied -- at first.



Williams took $1,300 in cash from one of the victims, and $15 from the other, according to court papers.



But the victims fought back, knocking the gun from Williams' hand, police allege. Police found the gun with two live rounds jammed in the chamber, court papers allege.



Police arrested Williams about a half-hour later. He told police, "Run my name. You guys know who I am. I just got out for this. I can't go down for this," court papers allege.

Shortly before this incident, Williams had just finished serving a year in prison for robbing a Port Richmond hookah bar in 2014, Advance records show. He had pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and served the year waiting for the disposition of the case.

A bouncer searched him around 3:10 a.m. and found a .45 caliber ACP Hi-Point semi-automatic pistol with four rounds in the magazine, police alleged.

Williams was charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of criminal weapon possession, felony criminal firearm possession, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, police said.

In the recent shooting case, Williams pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Sept. 23, according to online court records. He is currently being held on a $150,000 bond or $75,000 cash bail.

Williams is due back in court on Tuesday.

The status of Miles' case was not available in the online court records.
Kenneth Feinberg, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Camille Biros, Raymond Kelly

Kenneth Feinberg, second from left, speaks while Camille Biros, left, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, second from right, and former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly listen during a news conference in New York, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. The news conference was to announce a new program intended to provide reconciliation and compensation for victims of sexual abuse by clergy; Feinberg and Biros will administer the independent program while Kelly is on the oversight committee. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Archdiocese of New York announced on Thursday plans to establish a voluntary Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) that will seek to promote healing and closure to victims-survivors of abuse by priests or deacons of the Archdiocese.

The program, another step in the Archdiocese's continual effort to respond to the past sexual abuse of minors by clergy, is being implemented by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, and will provide compensation to victims and survivors of abuse.

"While the Church in general, and particularly here in this Archdiocese, has made great strides in dealing vigorously with clergy accused of abuse, and in preventing acts of abuse through out Safe Environment programs, we continue to hear from victim-survivors that more needs to be done to reach out to those who have been harmed in the past," said Cardinal Dolan, in a statement.

Rev. Monsignor Peter Finn, vicar of Staten Island, supported Cardinal Dolan's efforts to reach out to all victims.

"I think he's indicating that he's trying to do all that he possibly can to try to address the concerns of everyone--past, present and future," said Finn.

Mediator Kenneth Feinberg will administer the program and will be joined by his colleague, Camille Biros.

Feinberg and Biros will have complete autonomy in deciding compensation for victim-survivors. The Archdiocese has agreed it will abide by their decisions, according to Cardinal Dolan.

Mary Caplan, former director of the New York chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said she was skeptical of Cardinal Dolan's proposal.

"I'd encourage victims to think long and hard before approaching church officials or their representatives. I'd urge victims to talk with their own attorneys first," Caplan said.

Biros noted that IRCP is "an independent program" and that victims and survivors can deal with the program directly.

"We're going to make the decision on who's eligible and (determine) the amount of compensation. It's totally our call and totally our decision," Biros said.

Biros is glad to be part of the program, which she feels reflects the Archdiocese's message to victims and survivors that "the Archdiocese has not forgotten them."

Former Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska and Dr. Jeanette Cueva, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, have reviewed and approved the protocols of the program and will continue to oversee its implementation and administration.

"I'm honored to support the IRCP as it seeks to provide justice and restitution to victims of abuse," said Kelly, who is serving as chair of the Independent Oversight Committee.

The Archdiocese has already begun reaching out to those victim-survivors who have previously notified the Archdiocese that they had suffered abuse by a member of the clergy of the Archdiocese to invite them to participate in Phase I of the program. Phase II will allow the program to review new allegations brought against known offenders as well as new allegations brought against clergy who have not previously been alleged to have engaged in misbehavior.

Finn said that the church will continue to pray that the program's efforts "will be effective in alleviating the pain of the past and eliminating the possibility of any repetition in the future."

The Archdiocese will take a long-term loan to cover the cost of compensating victim-survivors and will not use money given by the people of the Archdiocese to support parishes, schools and charitable works or funds from other church programs.

To learn more about the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, visit www.nyarchdiocese-IRCPSettlementProgram.com
UPSTATE N.Y. -- The first thing that hits you when you arrive: how quiet it really is, when you're in the woods standing beside a tiny house.

The scurry of chipmunks rustling in the leaves is the only sound that breaks the silence. Here, you can literally hear a leaf hit the ground.

There's a brisk chill in the air, and the first order of business is to get a fire going before darkness falls. I inhale the fresh air and sweet smell of burning wood. I'm no longer in New York City -- and suddenly realize there's nothing more to do but decompress and enjoy the natural surroundings.

My refuge for the night is a tiny house, dubbed "Getaway New York." It's not to be mistaken for a log cabin in the woods. It's a tiny house. It has everything a house has, only much smaller.

These are vacation rentals that are, by most standards, inexpensive (week day rates are only $99 per night). They allow New Yorkers to trade the stresses of their daily lives for a quiet respite in the woods.

And we're about to put one of the rentals to the test.

'GLAMPING' IN THE WOODS

We're actually "glamping," as my travel partner, Shawn Moynihan, a Dongan Hills resident and fellow journalist, so aptly dubs it. Simply put, a tiny house is a fancy way to camp.

You're in the middle of the woods, living off the outdoors, with just the basic items you need. But instead of a tent, you have a tiny heated house where everything -- and I mean everything, from the pots to the garbage pail -- is miniature.

Before I left the city, I spoke with Jon Staff, co-creator of Harvard Tiny Houses, which runs Getaway New York.

"The tiny house is designed for you to do nothing at all or at least the things you do in your daily life that stress you out. With the tiny house you don't have to bring anything, like if you went camping," he said.

Incidentally, I brought too much "stuff." The tiny house leaves you limited space for things like luggage and food.

GETTING THERE

After booking my trip with Getaway New York, which offers seven of these tiny homes of various small size, I was told I'd learn just a few days before my check-in date where my tiny house is actually located (it's a secret, you see).

All I knew was that it would be about two hours outside New York City.

That was the easy part. Finding it wasn't so easy.

We got to the location in about 90 minutes, traveling from Staten Island. But once on the "tiny house campus," which essentially is a patch of woods upstate, we drove my SUV through gravel paths in the wilderness looking for our tiny house -- The Eleanor.

We passed The Salvador, Isadore, and a few other "dores'" until we found a nice man walking his dog who appeared to know the grounds and pointed us in the right direction.

(A tip: If you book a tiny house, arrive at the 3 p.m. check-in time. It'll allow you more time to explore the surroundings, and plenty of daylight time to locate your house.)

Once there, I punched a code into a keypad and the door of our rustic tiny home opened, welcoming us for the night.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TINY

Let's just say a tiny house is not for the claustrophobic.

Here's the layout: When you come in the door, the kitchen is in front of you -- this consists of a hot plate or two-burner electric stove, a sink, and some tiny pots.

Getaway stocks the cedar wood cabin with treats -- everything to make 'smores, crackers, organic teas and coffee and more. And board games, like Parcheesi, as well as playing cards to help get you out of your high-tech world and into a simpler place.

Perhaps my favorite amenity was a cellphone lock box, where visitors are encouraged to lock away their cellphones in order to get the full benefits of enjoying this quiet respite in the woods.

To my left was a loft with a mattress on it. Fluffy pillows made me sleep like a baby. (Although I was thankful I brought my extra blankets - you can never have enough of those when glamping.)

15 FLUSHES

Then, there's the bathroom. The toilet, for which you are forewarned is only good for 15 flushes, is interesting. (FYI: The sign that hangs above it gives you a cell number to call in case you need more flushes.)

It's an electronic toilet, which by the looks of it would make the Jetsons jealous. It has some NASA-looking space-age foil that blows up to empty the bowl after you flush. Interesting, to say the least.

The shower is, strangely, elevated several feet off the bathroom floor. Visitors, especially older ones, have to be careful not to slip and fall once the area becomes wet.

WHAT I GOT FROM THIS ADVENTURE

Peace. Quiet. And a break from the hectic life we all live today. I got to sit by a campfire, listen to Shawn sing and play his guitar -- and relax. No worries. No e-mails. No texts. (Well, just a few -- definitely fewer than on a "normal" day.)

When we are so consumed in our daily lives, we forget to take a break, get some fresh air -- and in this case, appreciate nature and its powers of relaxation.

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A clown who called himself "Clippy" posted this picture on Instagram, indicating that he would be visiting the Huguenot school. (Photo courtesy of Michael Reilly)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- School officials say there is nothing funny about the creepy clown craze that's spreading across the country and infiltrating New York City.

Creepy clown images and messages are circulating on social media. One such message came from a Clippy the Clown, who posted on Instagram an image of Paulo Intermediate School (I.S. 75) with the comment "Hmmmmmm....." underneath the photo.

Some students believed the "warning" from Clippy the Clown, and even thought they spotted him outside their Huguenot school on Thursday, lingering by the fence, while students played in the schoolyard.

According to a Department of Education spokesperson, the reports of a clown outside Paulo were not credible. The Department of Education says they will continue to monitor the situation but emphasized that the claim was untrue.

Michael Reilly, Community Education Council President, took to social media to disprove the rumors that the picture posted by Clippy the Clown of the exterior of the school was an old picture. In fact, Reilly found the picture was from a Staten Island Advance story and posted it to dispel rumors.

Unlike the Staten Island clown, a media sensation who was really just a promotional stunt for a small local film company, there has been nothing funny about the creepy clown appearances across the country.

In fact, a 16-year-old boy from Edison, N.J.., claimed he was terrorized by a clown armed with a knife in Manhattan on Wednesday. There have also been clown incidents at schools across the country this week.

Due to concern stemming from clown threats on social media, the city Department of Education issued a letter throughout all five boroughs Thursday that was sent out from principals to their school communities:

"Dear Families and Staff:

Nothing is more important than the safety of students and staff. Over the last few days, several New York City schools have received threats via social media. The NYPD was immediately notified and determined the threats were not credible. We are monitoring the situation and will continue working closely with the NYPD to ensure the safety and security of all school buildings. If any threats have been made directly to you or your student, please report them to the NYPD. "

A Department of Education spokesperson reminded parents and those in the school community that the safety of students and staff is their top priority.

Reilly, who is a retired NYPD lieutenant, said that he reminds concerned parents that every school on Staten Island has "safety protocols in place" to handle any type of emergency situation that may arise.

"Whether it's an intruder dressed as a clown or another safety issue, they will activate the general response protocols and make sure our students and staff are safe," Reilly said.

Reilly, a father of three himself, said he also tells parents to be vigilant in talking to their children about what they look at on the Internet.

"I would advise parents to discuss this with their children if they come to them about it and tell them there are plenty of things that are circulated on the Internet that aren't correct or are taken out of context," he said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Halloween is more than three weeks away, but fear has descended upon Gotham as New York City residents claim they are being terrorized by creepy clowns.

This follows a weeks-long trend of clown appearances around the country, and law enforcement sources nationwide say that valuable resources are being spent chasing down pranksters.

Eerie images are circulating on social media of an alleged clown sighting at I.S. 75 Paulo Intermediate School. An Advance reporter sent to the Huguenot school was unable to scare up any clowns.

A Queens man claims he spotted a maniacal clown lurking outside his bedroom window. In a scene befitting a horror flick, the clown had a knife in his hand and was motioning that he wanted the man to join him outside, according to the New York Post.

"He had the red jumpsuit, the red nose, the hair, the white makeup and everything," said Ioannis Markesinis, 30, of East Elmhurst, according to the Post.

"He had red all over his eyes. And he [was] gesturing to me, 'Come outside, come outside, come outside,' " Markesinis told the Post. "And then he reaches to his side and takes out a small steak knife. And he's still waving to me, 'Come out, come out, come out.' He had a serious facial expression the whole time, but when he pulled out the knife, he started laughing. So I just slammed the window and he starts running."

A 16-year-old boy from Edison, N.J.., claimed he was terrorized by a clown armed with a knife in Manhattan on Wednesday. The teen supposedly first encountered the character wearing clown makeup, multicolored clothes and floppy shoes on a 6 train. The man allegedly chased the teen through the 96th Street Station, according to the Daily News.

In March 2014, there were several reports of a mysterious clown wandering the streets. The "Staten Island Clown" became a social media sensation when pictures surfaced of him dressed in what appeared to be a replica costume of Pennywise from Stephen King's "It" -- consisting of a yellow jumpsuit, face paint, and a classic red nose.

Some believe that most of the recent sightings are inspired by fans of a film that is in production based on King's "It" novel.

Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria--most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.  Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 3, 2016

Clown incidents have been reported this week at schools around the U.S., including Penn State University, where police said more than 500 students showed up early Tuesday to hunt for clowns.

Officials at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, ordered students to shelter in place for more than 30 minutes Monday night and evacuated a dorm after social media reports of an armed clown on campus.

A false report last month of a clown grabbing a woman by the throat and threatening Reading, Ohio, schools led to classes being canceled for the day.

A 13-year-old student at Utley Middle School in Rockwall, Texas, was charged this week with making a terroristic threat after posting a purported clown's hit list. Police told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW that the student put herself on the list and told authorities she was only trying to stop any "real" clowns from attacking her school.

Several teenagers in Connecticut were arrested Wednesday on charges of making threats, accused of posting hoaxes on Instagram that led to extra security at several school districts.

If history repeats itself, many -- if not all -- of the recent clown sightings will be debunked.

"Don't believe the hype and don't be afraid of the clowns," NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism Deputy Commissioner John Miller was quoted as telling the Daily News.

"There have been attempts to make threats, over social media, involving clowns in New York City. We're tracking them. We're tracing them. But our people that deal in the threat world every day and assess these threats have found none of these to be credible."

"The increase in creepy clown sightings is dangerous," warned a post on the 109 Precinct Twitter Feed based in Flushing, Queens. "It causes panic & alarm. Please don't take part in this."

The clown situations "waste valuable resources and can lead to injuries to both first responders and members of the public," Connecticut state police said. The pranks "can cause major disruptions leading to schools, businesses and neighborhoods being placed into lockdown unnecessarily."

-- Associated Press materials were used in this story.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An off-duty's cop actions in the hours before he fatally struck a pedestrian who darted into a Mariners Harbor street three years ago show he wasn't impaired when the "tragic" incident occurred, the officer's lawyer told a jury Thursday.

Attorney Howard E. Tanner said videotape from a Castleton Corners bar where Joseph McClean threw a party for a female friend depict the defendant acting normally and even climbing a ladder to retrieve a balloon after he had admittedly consumed six light beers and eight shots of alcohol over more than four and a half hours.

"I don't make any excuses for it," Tanner said of his client's alcohol consumption during his summation at McClean's criminal trial in state Supreme Court, St. George. "[But] the question is what effect did it have, and did the manner in which he drank rise to criminal negligence? I submit to you he wasn't negligent at all in this case."

"How do we know whether the alcohol made any difference? It wouldn't have," said Tanner, who addressed jurors for more than two hours. "It is the greatest fear of all of us. Someone running out into the street and we have no chance [to avoid hitting them]. It's not criminal. ... This was a tragic accident. All the stars aligned in the wrong way."

McClean, 32, had testified Wednesday the victim, William Bruce Hemphill, 51, dashed out into the street in front of his SUV on Richmond Terrace near Simonson Avenue around 6:18 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2013.

The defendant said he could not avoid hitting the victim despite trying to swerve around him.

McClean said he did not believe he was intoxicated or impaired at the time. He said he had consumed his last drink at 4 a.m. and ate a heavy meal afterward.

Prosecutors allege McClean, who was heading eastbound toward Morningstar Road was impaired, speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road. He then left the scene, allege prosecutors.

Besides alcohol impairment, the defendant, whose blood alcohol content allegedly was .073 percent, is charged with leaving an incident scene without reporting and criminally negligent homicide.

McClean's blood alcohol content was just below the legal threshold of .08 percent needed to charge a person with driving while intoxicated but is high enough for a charge of driving while impaired.

A medical examiner testified Hemphill's injuries, which included a severed spinal column, are normally associated with falls from a significant height or being hit by a train.

The defense contends the evidence doesn't support the charges, and toxicological tests show Hemphill was "seriously impaired" on drugs -- oxycodone, Xanax and cocaine -- when he stepped out into the road.

"It is the defense's position that Mr. Hemphill acted in such a way to make the accident unavoidable," said Tanner. "He darted out into the street and ran the wrong way. And when Joe made the evasive maneuver, he got hit."

McClean previously testified he drove into the westbound lane -- Richmond Terrace is one-way in each direction -- attempting to avoid Hemphill -- but the victim "ran in the same direction."

The defendant said he hit Hemphill in the westbound lane on the driver's side of the SUV. Hemphill's body went onto the hood, smashed the passenger side of the windshield, which remained intact, and rolled off the SUV.

McClean admitted he "continued to drive" ahead without stopping, or attempting to make a U-turn and return to aid the victim, or calling 911.

He wound up circling around the area and returned to the scene about five minutes later, and told a sergeant there he was involved in the incident.

Tanner insisted his client wasn't trying to avoid responsibility when he failed to immediately stop after impact.

"When someone suffers trauma, they act in different ways," said the lawyer. "As soon as he physically realized he had to get back, he did. And we're talking about a few minutes, three minutes, four minutes, maybe."

Tanner contended the police investigation was flawed.

Prosecutors' theory of the accident dynamics and witness testimony did not square with actual physical evidence, he contended.

There was no proof McClean was speeding or driving on the wrong side of the road, said Tanner.

He said a witness' estimate of McClean's speed at more than 60 mph and a detective investigator's estimate of 45 to 55 mph were way off.

"It's just not good enough," said Tanner. "Look at the physical evidence. Isn't it more likely that Joe's account is more plausible?"

McClean testified he would have been travelling at less than 40 mph, but he could not give an exact speed.

While the defendant's SUV sustained heavy front-end damage, Tanner maintained such damage "is not indicative of speed."

"I don't think the People have proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt," said Tanner. "It's not even close."

Prosecutors will present their closing argument Friday morning with deliberations expected to follow.
A first-class ride for Cowboy Kel Bridle Path residents show love for mail carrier

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Shred your documents The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold a drive-thru document shredding event from 1 to 4 p.m. Fri., Nov. 11 in the parking lot behind the Chamber office, 40...
To succeed in todays transparent marketplace, businesses need to focus on trust in order to produce big profits, even if its costly in the short term, thats according to Martha Rogers, author of Extreme Trust: Turning proactive honesty and flawless execution into long-term profits.

We cant just rely on what we say about our company, because what we think about our company doesnt matter nearly as much as what customers say to each other about our company, Rogers told Yahoo Finances Seana Smith in the video above. That means relationships really matter. It means that the value of customers really matter, and we raise that when we can engage in a trusting relationship with them.

Right now, there are several companies that could benefit from Rogers advice. Wells Fargo (WFC) is in the midst of trying to win back trust after being fined $185 million for using customers personal information to create millions of fake accounts. And Wells Fargo is not the only company in hot water. Do you remember the big scandal that engulfed Volkswagen (VLKAY) last year? The German automaker is still clawing its way back after damaging its credibility when it was discovered that it had cheated on emission tests.

So what should business executives and employees do when they find their company in positions similar to Wells Fargo and Volkswagen? Rogers says its important to put the customer first by acknowledging you let them down and reassure them that youre going to make up for it. All focus should be placed on building back lost trust, and Rogers says the best way to do that is by focusing on three major elements: do things right, do the right thing and be proactive.

First, theres the whole idea of competence. The idea of doing things right is so we dont waste [customers] time, said Rogers. Next, do the right thing, means you have to look out for the best interest of your customers, which may mean aligning a business strategy so that what is good for you is good for the customers. And finally, because we live in real time and in a transparent world, we have to think in terms of how we can be proactive.

While Volkswagen has tried to contain the fallout from its year-old scandal, sales are still down as the company continues to feel the effects. The pressure is now on Wells Fargo to act fast and work to regain customers trust. In the past week, Illinois announced that it has suspended $30 billion in state investment activity with Wells Fargo while California declared a 12-month sanction against the bank.
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Elon Musk

Financial opinions around Tesla are once again lurching wildly.

This always seems to happen when there's a moment to reassess the electric-car maker's stock. On Sunday, Tesla announced that it had greatly exceeded delivery expectations for the third quarter, with 24,500 vehicles officially sold to customers.

That news didn't send the stock on a run. After a modest 5% bump, Tesla shares slipped back to around $210.

Then they fell off a cliff on Thursday, when Goldman Sachs downgraded its Tesla rating to "neutral" and dropped its target price to $185 from $240. This follows a much more substantial downgrade by Morgan Stanley's reliable Tesla bull, Adam Jonas, who had earlier pulled back his target price to $245 from a lofty $465.

For many analysts, Tesla has nowhere to go but down, given that the company has probably achieved as much rapid growth as was possible and now has all its value effectively "priced in." That situation offers a $30 billion market cap and a return of over 1,000% for the earliest Tesla investors  those who got in back in 2010, when shares were $17.

But for the past year, it's been slowly dawning on Tesla analysts that this onetime high-tech, high-growth company out of Silicon Valley isn't the Amazon of automobiles. Rather, it's a maturing carmaker, a new entrant in one of the most capital-intensive businesses yet devised by humans.

Burn, baby, burn

TSLA Chart 10/7/16

Putting aside worries about Tesla's other business lines  the $2.6 billion SolarCity acquisition, the emerging energy-storage enterprise, the $6 billion battery factory in Nevada  all attention has now shifted to near certainty that Tesla will once again need to sell shares to raise money, several billion in all likelihood.

Market observers have griped that there's a deep conflict of interest between banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs grabbing Tesla's stock issuances at the same time they're making calls on its share price, but at the moment, those banks look as though they're trimming their expectations for Tesla as an investment.

Story continues

Tesla isn't going to get a free pass on its capital burn forever. At the moment, capital discipline is all the rage in the auto industry. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has been dining out on a scathing presentation he gave last year called "Confessions of a Capital Junkie," in which he excoriated the auto industry for its flagrant cash-burning ways.

General Motors executive leadership is also preoccupied with how it's spending its money  and it has a lot to spend. GM President Dan Ammann told Business Insider last week the automaker is making $1 billion a month. But GM is explicitly engaged with committing only to markets where it thinks it will see a good return on investment. That drove a decision in 2015 to exit the Russian market, one once thought to have the potential for major growth.

Triple-secret double-down mode

mary barra

Tesla hasn't historically been bad at capital discipline; over the course of a year, it has a fraction of what a GM or Ford or Toyota might spend in a quarter, so it has to watch every penny. But CEO Elon Musk and his team are now in triple-secret double-down mode  I know that doesn't make any sense, but Tesla future investment requirement are almost comically ambitious  and from the perspective of leadership, it would be dumb to let the stock slip before heading back to the markets to raise money. Musk wants to produce 500,000 vehicles annually by 2018, and getting there ain't gonna be cheap.

The bottom line is that Tesla sees its stock price as a means to an end. The company's own investment thesis, such as it is, asks investors to take a long-term view: Tesla will be a major player in the future of transportation. Whatever happens with the stock price day-to-day is a distraction. All that matters is that Tesla shares be considered valuable when it's time to create a new cash pile.

Tesla is right on the edge of crossing a river when it comes to how it spends money. As it gets bigger and has to manage more lines of business, capital efficiency will become vastly more important. But for now, Tesla's capital exists to be spent, and that's clearly freaking out the analysts who cover the company.

NOW WATCH: Tesla made a big software update after a Chinese company remotely hacked the brakes of a Model S





More From Business Insider


Facebook did it again.

The Internet is abuzz with this months launch of Facebook Marketplace, a social media-infused alternative to Craigslist and eBay. Currently available to people (ages 18 and up) in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and New Zealand on their Facebook mobile apps for iPhone and Android, the feature aims to help make it easy for people to discover, buy and sell products.

[Learn more about social media: 9 Easy Social Media Marketing Tips and Tools]

The process is pretty straightforward: Just press the new Marketplace icon at the bottom of the app and Facebook will display local items for sale. Buyers can narrow down their searches and even cast a wider net by exploring other neighborhoods. Sellers can simply snap a picture of the stuff they wish to sell, add a few descriptive details, and post the item.

Apart from its local appeal, one of the most compelling reasons for selling stuff on Marketplace is that its completely free; Facebook doesnt take a cut.

If youre a desktop jockey, youll have to wait a while for a version of Marketplace to hit your browser. For now, its a strictly mobile experience, mirroring the direction in which ecommerce is headed.

What should small business owners make of this development? Small Business Computing asked Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce, what entrepreneurs need to know about Facebook Marketplace. Also known as the company behind FreeShipping.com, Clarus Commerce provides ecommerce and customer loyalty services that help businesses unlock new revenue streams.

Facebook Marketplace Differs from Facebook Storefronts

Before rushing out to post items on Facebook Marketplace, small business owners should be aware of what the new service can and cant do.

Storefronts help retailers sell directly to consumers across the entire Facebook community, and they can include checkout pages. The Marketplace, at least for now, is available only on the app; its designed for members to sell items to other members, mostly within their local regions; and there are no checkout options available on the app at this point, Caporaso observed.

Down the road, Facebook may open up the Marketplace to retailers, and small-business artisans might be able to post items for sale there right now, but in general, the Marketplace works currently as a peer-to-peer rather than a B2C [business-to-consumer] site, he continued.

Keep Facebook Marketplace on Your Radar

While Facebook tailors Marketplace to the individual, small businesses can learn a lot from thee companys latest feature.

Small retailers should keep an eye on the Marketplace to see whether Facebook opens it up to them, advised Caporaso. They might also want to make a point of regularly browsing items in their categories and in related ones to see the range of prices their products command on the second-hand market; how frequently (and in what condition) theyre put up for sale; how quickly they sell; and how people describe their products.

A Mobile Signpost

Small businesses can also take a lesson from Facebooks decision to roll out Marketplace to mobile users first.

Ecommerce is growing faster than overall retail sales these days, but mobile commerce traffic and sales have also accelerated in recent years, outpacing even ecommerces growth rate, said Caporaso. Mobile traffic is also picking up speed at Facebook, which now has 1.57 billion monthly active mobile users worldwide.

In short, a mobile-first approach is how to engage with todays consumers. Rolling out the Marketplace on its mobile app before adding it to the desktop site will help Facebook stay current with its users interests and behaviors, as well as those of the larger consumer audience, he added.

Marketplace Opportunities and Drawbacks

Apart from some early stumbles (more on that later), Facebook Marketplace makes a solid new addition to ecommerce scene.

At launch, though, people will appreciate the fact that the Marketplace is free of charge; sellers in particular will enjoy the ability to reach nearby prospects in addition to the larger audience at that price, Caporaso said. Buyers will likely appreciate the convenience of Facebook posting items on their individual home pages that relate directly to their demonstrated habits and interests.

There were some concerns early on when some decidedly NSFW content appeared on the Marketplace. It suffered a black eye right out of the gate when certain items, ranging from dogs and baby hedgehogs to guns, drugs, and illicit services, made it through the sites filters and onto the Marketplace on the first day, noted Caporaso. Facebook promises to be more vigilant in its monitoring, but a community the size of Facebooks will be difficult to track.

Facebook has an ace up its sleeve, namely its massive user base. Caporaso believes the company will no doubt use its data analytics to enhance the experience and optimize any shortcomings.

[Learn more about Facebook: WordStream Social Ads: Social Media Marketing on Facebook]

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Small Business Computing. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
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That would put the spotlight directly on who the Greens, minor parties, or independents would support.

The lack of a clear majority for either major party has been a near-constant feature of ACT elections since self-government, and only Labor has ruled in its own right, once in 2004.

Most minor parties and independents are refusing to indicate early support for Labor or Liberals, citing the deep community distrust and disillusionment with major parties.

The Greens are far more likely to find themselves kingmakers, and have repeatedly stated they would not support a Liberal government unless it rethinks opposition to light rail.

But the Greens have also indicated they would be open to a range of different deals with Labor, including another coalition government, offering support but remaining on the crossbench, or a Tasmanian-style arrangement, which saw some members in cabinet and others on the crossbench.

"We wouldn't rule anything in or rule anything out at this stage. It is too early, we're not presumptuous enough to presume we'll be there," Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said.

Fairfax approached the vast majority of the seven minor parties and 17 independents standing in the ACT election, asking whether they would tend to support the ideologies of Labor or Liberals.

The overwhelming majority refused to declare a preference for either, and did not want to be associated with the major parties, saying both had ignored the community and lost all trust in the electorates.
The audit report into four Land Development Agency's purchases for the City to the Lake project epitomises the problem of complacency and of cliques. It will be no surprise to anyone in the private sector that business is about contacts and connections. But this is not how things are supposed to operate in government. The auditor's report suggests a government land agency that operates in both worlds, and has allowed some of those mores of private business practice to infiltrate and contaminate the way it does business with public money.

Agency head David Dawes is, according to those who know him well and over a long time, a man of considerable integrity. He's also likeable, has a humble air, and inspires loyalty. All of which might strike you as odd in the context of auditor Maxine Cooper's report, which makes it clear that he led or directed so many of the transactions at issue.

But it is perhaps easier to understand when you consider that David Dawes is a creature of the private sector, where he owned real estate agencies, car yards, service stations and a speedway, until persuaded into the public service by Jon Stanhope in 2007.

Stanhope spoke very highly of Dawes in a profile by reporter John Thistleton late last year. "The fact he is as straight as the day is long," Stanhope said. "David always said what he thought and what he meant, there's nothing tricky or duplicitous, he is straight, he talks straight, says what he thinks, he doesn't engage in games, nothing devious about him, what you see is what you get."

Stanhope was attracted to Dawes's track record in housing, his energy and his negotiating skills. Those negotiating skills, the ability to get a job done, is something that politicians, so often stymied by the deadweight of the public service, desperately want. They might also have made Dawes an uneasy fit in the public sector.
A handsome, pile-driving brute of a road locomotive, famous for using its big muscles for very heavy lifting in the building of early Canberra, has steamed, clanking, on to the ACT Heritage Register.

The just-announced additions to the Register include, as well as this mighty John Fowler Locomotive 16161, the remains of an early settler home, Aboriginal grinding grooves in Latham and a rare eyewitness account, with charming artworks, of Canberra as it was from 1926 to 1931.

The John Fowler 16161 busily at work in Canberra, circa 1925-1927. Photo courtesy Mildenhall Collection, National Archives of Australia. Credit:Mildenhall Collection

David Flannery, Chair of the ACT Heritage Council, explains that the locomotive, made by John Fowler & Co of Leeds (Yorkshire, UK), was richly deserving of heritage status because of "its special association with Canberra's early development".

The brawny road locomotive chugged to and fro on the Canberra city site between 1925 and 1927. Awesomely strong and one of two of its kind employed at Canberra, it belonged to the most powerful class of road locomotives ever made. At work in Canberra it would tow up to seven wagons at a time, each wagon loaded with 15 tonnes of crushed rock. Packing a wallop, it helped perform pile driving.
A leaked report reveals the full extent of the household levy considered but rejected by the ACT government in 2014 to raise money for light rail.

The government ruled out a levy after The Canberra Times first raised questions.

An artist's impression of the proposed Capital Metro light rail: The government has given detailed consideration to levies and other options to raise money.

But the Capital Metro document, from January 2014, shows the extent of the work on a levy, which was modelled at $50 to $500 a year, for five to 20 years, across the city or confined to households within a kilometre of the line.

The government refused to release the "value capture" report despite Freedom of Information requests in 2014 and this year. But it has now been leaked a week before the election, the timing presumably aimed at doing maximum damage to the Labor government.
Technologies used to keep track of children erode trust, invade privacy and are on the increase in Australia, according to a new book.

Surveillance Futures has sounded a warning on the complex web of tracking devices children navigate at school, online and at home.

Reseachers have sounded the alarm on surveillance technologies.

Co-editor and Australian National University criminologist Emmeline Taylor said the growing use of surveillance technologies such as GPS raised questions about whether their primary use was for care or control.

While Australia may be a way off introducing at-home drug and semen testing, some schools were dabbling in using GPS to keep track of children and parents were increasingly monitoring their child's whereabouts, Dr Taylor said.
Australia Post has kicked off a major overhaul of its financial accounting systems in a move that could pave the way for the oft-mooted privatisation of its lucrative parcel division.

Internal documents seen by Fairfax Media reveal preparations have been made to create a separate legal entity for courier operation StarTrack and the parcels business, and to clean up its financial records  important groundwork for any future sale.

The postal workers union fears Australia Post is preparing for a sale, and Fairfax Media can reveal that late last year senior Australia Post finance staff were already working on a restructuring operation called "Project Bridge" to update internal financial reporting systems.

According to the documents seen by Fairfax Media, one benefit of Project Bridge is that it "enables financial management of two legal entities by July 2016". And it "enables a future simplified separation program" and "could be used if ownership separation is accelerated".
Fast-food giants are now seeking out larger premises in the suburbs to entice patrons to linger longer, rather than pay high rents for smaller city-based sites where the food is eaten on the run.

Its a matter of "exaggerating the experience", says George Wragge, the associate director, retail project leasing at Colliers International.

DEXUS Property has major retail leasing plans for its Gateway property, which will see fewer traditional fast food names

As a result, the well-known brands of McDonald's, KFC and Hungry Jacks and in some cases, 7-Eleven, are not renewing CBD leases but heading outwards to garner bigger sites with additional amenities, such as playgrounds to keep the children occupied.

"It's a function of making people linger longer and enjoy a meal that is a hybrid of grabbing a burger on the run and sitting down at a restaurant," Mr Wragge said.
One of Australia's top ugg-boot manufacturers has been battling the tax office, as the local industry complains of cheeky imports and being blocked from using the word "ugg" when selling their sheepskin boots overseas.

Ugg boots have become fashion items overseas and Australian companies are estimated to do hundreds of millions in sales here and abroad.

Nick Xenophon loves his Uggs. Credit:James Alcock

There are about a dozen sheepskin footwear manufacturers in Australia, but Ugg Australia is the only one with its own tannery. "We cut, stitch and glue every pair of sheepskin boot here in Melbourne, Australia," its website states.

Several weeks ago, the Australian Taxation Office applied to wind up Ugg Australia  estimated to be one of the top five Australian-made sheepskin footwear manufacturers  due to a debt. A Federal Court hearing is set for Tuesday, October 11.
2. Tweak the environment to get people to act less selfish "Priming" is a powerful psychological phenomenon in which one stimulus produces a particular response to another stimulus, often unconsciously. Someone who's tired or distracted will likely be less critical, and will simply accept what you say as true. Credit:Jessica Shapiro One study, cited in the book You Are Not So Smart, found that participants playing the ultimatum game opted to keep more money for themselves when they were seated in a room with a briefcase, a leather portfolio, and a fountain pen than when they sat in a room with neutral items. Even though none of the participants were aware of what had happened, the business-related objects may have elicited competitiveness. This tactic could potentially work when you're bargaining with someone  instead of meeting in a conference room, consider convening in a coffee shop so your partner is less inclined toward aggression.

Whether you're trying to prevent littering or encourage people to return the books they borrow from the office library, it helps to give people the impression that they're being watched. Credit:David LoSchiavo 3. Mimic people's body language to get them to like you The next time you're trying to impress a hiring manager or the object of your affection, try subtly mimicking the way they're sitting and speaking  they will probably like you more. Scientists call it the "chameleon effect": We tend to like conversation partners that mimic our postures, mannerisms, and facial expressions. The strangest part of this phenomenon is that it happens largely unconsciously. Most participants in the "chameleon effect" study weren't even aware that they were being copied.

4. Speak quickly to get an argument opponent to agree with you How you communicate your ideas can be just as important as the substance of your argument. Research suggests that when someone disagrees with you, you should speak faster so they have less time to process what you're saying. On the contrary, when you're delivering an argument that your audience agrees with, it helps to speak more slowly, so they have time to evaluate the message. 5. Confuse people to get them to comply with your request The "disrupt-then-reframe" technique is a sneaky way to get people to cooperate.

One study found that when experimenters went door-to-door selling note cards for charity, DTR helped them make twice as much money as when they simply told people they were selling eight cards for $3. In the DTR scenario, they told people it was 300 pennies for eight cards, "which is a bargain." Researchers say that DTR works because it disrupts routine thought processes. While trying to figure out how many dollars 300 pennies comes out to, people are distracted, and so they just accept the idea that the price is a deal. 6. Ask people for favours when they're tired to get them to cooperate An alert mind may express some doubt when approached with a request. Yet someone who's tired or distracted will likely be less critical, and will simply accept what you say as true. So if you're planning to ask a coworker to help out with a project, it's best to ask at the end of a workday. That way, they will be drained from the day's tasks and won't have the mental energy to realise that they'd rather be doing something else.

Make sure you return the favour by helping them with a project next time, so you aren't simply taking advantage of hardworking colleagues. 7. Display an image of eyes to get people to behave ethically In one study, people were more likely to clean up after themselves in a cafeteria when they saw an image of eyes than when they saw an image of flowers. The study authors say that eyes typically indicate social scrutiny. Whether you're trying to prevent littering or encourage people to return the books they borrow from the office library, it helps to give people the impression that they're being watched.

8. Use nouns instead of verbs to get people to change their behaviour Participants in one study were asked two versions of the same question: "How important is it to you to vote in tomorrow's election?" and "How important is it to you to be a voter in tomorrow's election?" Results showed that participants in the "voter" condition were more likely to cast their ballots the next day. That's likely because people are driven by the need to belong, and using a noun reinforces their identity as a member of a specific group. 9. Scare people to get them to give you what you need Research suggests that people who experience anxiety and then a sense of relief usually respond positively to requests afterward. For example, people who heard an invisible policeman's whistle while crossing the street were more likely to agree to complete a questionnaire than people who didn't hear anything.

That's possibly because their cognitive resources were occupied thinking about the potential danger they encountered, so they had fewer resources left to think about the request that was just posed. It probably wouldn't be wise to blow a whistle in the middle of your office. Consider scaring a coworker more subtly by reminding them about a project due later that day (Just kidding! It's due tomorrow!) and then asking them if they'd mind helping you out. 10. Focus on what your bargaining partner is gaining to get them to agree to your offer While negotiating, research suggests you should emphasise to your partner what they're about togain as opposed to what they're losing. For example, if you're trying to sell a car, you should say, "I'll give you my car for $1000," instead of, "I want $1000 for the car." That way, you'll persuade your partner to see things from a different perspective, and they will probably be more likely to concede.

11. Show people the extreme versions of their views It seems obvious that, if you want to change someone's point of view, you should make them realise it's wrong. But when it comes to politics, science suggests that a less intuitive strategy might work better. In a 2014 study, Israelis of different political beliefs were exposed to a series of video clips that portrayed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a positive experience that underlies Jewish identity. After a few months, Israeli rightists (who are generally less sympathetic than leftists are to Palestinian concerns) were more likely to have changed their political opinions than rightists who watched apolitical video clips. They were even more likely to say they'd voted for more "pro-peace" political parties. The researchers suspect this strategy works because it doesn't threaten people, so it reduces the activation of defence mechanisms, and allows them to reconsider their positions.

12. Don't come off as too certain Fascinating research published in 2016 analysed activity on ChangeMyView, a reddit forum where people pose arguments and ask others to challenge them. One counterintuitive finding from the study is that people who hedge their arguments  for example, by saying, "it could be the case,"  are ultimately more successful in changing the original poster's mind. The researchers say that's possibly because it softens the counterargument's tone. 13. Touch them gently A 1991 study found that bookstore shoppers who were greeted with a light touch on their arm spent more time in the store and purchased more items than shoppers who were greeted without being touched.

Interestingly, other research suggests that men who touch women lightly on the arm while asking them out are more likely to get the women's phone numbers. 14. Tell them they're free not to comply It might sound counterintuitive, but reminding people that they have the option not to do what you want can often motivate them to oblige your request. A recent review of studies highlighted the effectiveness of the "but you are free" technique: reaffirming someone's freedom to choose can double the chances that they will do what you want, whether that's donating to a specific cause or taking a survey. The exact phrasing doesn't matter so much; you can say something as simple as, "But obviously do not feel obliged".
The Politics of Cool This pop culture example illustrates why coolness can be an important and worthy political goal. In international relations coolness is about exerting the sort of soft power that draws others into line with your squad of nations without using force. At the national level, coolness tends to be about heritage protection and building cultural institutions. The federal government's cuts, efficiencies and consolidations to the National Gallery, National Library, National Museum and Archives have been widely regarded as very uncool. At the local level, coolness is about supporting creative events, organisations and planning with a view to fostering more vibrant and cultured communities. Here being cool is about social inclusion; that is, helping people to feel good about themselves and one another.

In the coolest capital city in the world there should be an abundance of opportunities for people to hang out and express themselves, opportunities that militate against isolation, anti-social and self-destructive behaviour. To this effect, in Canberra we could reduce hire fees and set-up costs for cultural events, especially new ones. This would make very little difference to the budget while greatly contributing to our creative wellbeing. There's good reason to be critical of the current ACT government and ones before when it comes arts and culture. As Paul Costigan argues, ''it's been a long time since we had someone who had experience and a passionate interest in the local and national arts scenes.'' As a recent example, the under-siege Land Development Agency defunded Art, Not Apart which, as its name suggests, brings people together with music, food, paintings, sculpture, fashion, performance, poetry, film and street art. The event has been running since 2011 and has hosted more than 400 local artists. It's helped us to understand and appreciate who we are, while challenging us to be different. Andrew Barr promised to save the festival if re-elected, but the uncertainty has made it difficult to prepare for 2017 and beyond. The less-than-committed Liberals say they will consult with the organisers once in government.

There's something about government administration that's intrinsically uncool, which is desirable when it comes to health, sewerage, roads, rates and other issues which demand efficiency and orderliness. However, when it comes to planning we often want a pro-cool government that knows when to stay clear and let loose. Cool areas commonly develop organically. Supporting them means preparing the soil and planting some seeds rather than digging in stakes and plucking the first thing that sprouts. Braddon started to become cool in the absence of government guidance. The same could be said for many industrial and semi-industrial areas around Australia and the world where creative communities have taken advantage of low rent and property prices. Gentrification is one sign of success in such areas, but can also force out the entrepreneurs who made them cool in the first place.

The ACT government could thus put aside space in new commercial developments for cool little local businesses and groups, just as it should ensure affordable accommodation with respect to residential developments. It could also foster more artistic hubs in vacant offices in the same way that it has supported start-ups and technology-related innovation via co-working spaces like Entry29. There's no shortage of examples in Canberra where locals, especially creative ones, have not been sufficiently consulted or catered for. Instead, the government has taken the easiest and short-term lucrative path; the result being restaurant strips like Emu Bank in Belconnen which the recently released Belconnen Master Plan recognises as aesthetically unappealing and unpopular. Canberra has done very poorly when it comes to making our prized waterfront locations cool. Importantly, we citizens have to also let loose a bit if Canberra is to be more cool.
Little positive or surprising came out of the first annual parliamentary grillings of the big banks this week.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn told a parliamentary committee the bank was taking action on ethical breaches. Credit:Andrew Meares

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had insisted on them so as to gain support for his goal of a banking complaints tribunal rather than a royal commission. And voila! On Friday Mr Turnbull announced the desired outcome.

The well-scripted parliamentary theatre fell short of what a royal commission could accomplish. Questions were limited in time and scope. The Coalition members directed proceedings towards the tribunal goal. The bank chiefs said sorry but promised their organisations would change.
Most Australians are as unsurprised by skullduggery in the church as by double-dealing in government. It's almost like they expect it. Yet even that low bar has stumped the church of late.

Screws in tyres? Disappearing pets? Trolls? Threats? Cover-ups? To those who despise Christianity but claim to live by its values, I say, terrific. Never have we needed truth and compassion more. But what if the church itself forsakes those values? Can a moral code survive without its core players? What if the Pharisees are back in charge?

Illustration: Simon Bosch

The Pharisees, you recall, were a bunch of domineering, hypocritical and intensely tribal priests who prioritised appearance over truth, corporate advantage over noble deeds and stifled all dissent. "Blind guides," Jesus called them, polishing the cup's exterior while ignoring its putrid contents. In short, they pretty much epitomise the Australian view of authority.

It's not just the ongoing nightmare of institutionalised child-sex abuse and the decades-long connivance that implies. Nor even the antediluvian opposition to women preachers and same-sex marriage. Exacerbating all that is an increasingly aggressive stamping out of dissent.
The first outer bands of rain from Hurricane Matthew pass over downtown Orlando, Florida. Credit:AP Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew's have struck Florida, and the centre warned of "potentially disastrous impacts". The US National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike north-east Florida in 118 years. The exodus from Florida on Thursday. Credit:AP The US hasn't been hit by a major hurricane with winds of 180km/h or more since Wilma struck Florida in October 2005.

Katrina, also in 2005, caused about $US154 billion in damage, adjusted for inflation, making it the costliest in US history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The worst of Hurricane Matthew: Tracking the hurricane as it moves north. Credit:AccuWeather A dangerous storm surge was expected to reach up to 3.35 metres along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Centre, said. "What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said. Georgia and South Carolina face a similar pounding in coming days.

On its projected path, the storm could rake hundreds of kilometres of the coast from Port St Lucie to Jacksonville. The large and powerful storm could drive flooding ocean waters into coastal communities and cause billions in damage - even if its central core never pushes ashore. "A lot of communities are going to be underwater if predictions are correct," Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said. "You're going to see a very damaging storm in the next few days." South Florida escaped much of Matthew's fury after the storm took an unexpected turn near Andros Island earlier in the day that moved it further north and east, NHC hurricane specialist Jack Bevin said. "This little twist did keep the centre of the hurricane further way from South Florida and that has so far reduced the amount of wind and rain," he said.

As the storm approached the coast overnight, its exact track will make all the difference, he said. Even a slight wobble could lead to a record-breaking hit. "Any sort of shift to the left would bring the centre onto the coast," he said. By Thursday evening, with nearly around-the-clock warnings, much of Florida had hunkered down. Earlier, westbound traffic out of Jacksonville jammed up with people evacuating north-east Florida. Along the west coast, hotels began filling up. The state has partnered with Airbnb to offer free shelter to evacuating residents. Though hundreds of thousands fled the danger zones, others opted to ride it out along beachfront stretches from Brevard to Volusia County, expecting to endure 160km/h-plus winds for hours on Friday.

Authorities urged 17,000 people in Martin County to leave barrier islands but many stayed put. The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down, and the Orlando airport planned to do so as well. The Palm Beach International Airport reported a wind gust of 80km/h, the National Hurricane Centre said. Airlines cancelled more than 3000 flights on Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Kennedy Space Centre at risk Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website that Matthew's wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.



"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Centre and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," he wrote.



NASA and the US Air Force, which operate the nation's primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.



A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Centre's Launch Control Centre to ride out the hurricane.



"We've had some close calls, but as far as I know it's the first time we've had the threat of a direct hit," NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker.

Lethal path through Haiti Since it formed near the Lesser Antilles more than a week ago, Matthew has cut a lethal path, becoming a rare Category 5 storm two days later. It stormed ashore in Haiti at 7am on Tuesday, hammering the Tiburon Peninsula with 233km/h winds. At least 339 people have been killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and washed out roads and bridges. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbours Haiti.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island. "My biggest concern is people aren't taking this seriously enough," Governor Rick Scott warned at his third hurricane briefing of the day from St John's County. "I don't want people to lose their life." The National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida, warned on Thursday that the approaching storm was the "strongest hurricane to affect this area in decades" and that wind damage could leave some areas uninhabitable for weeks. Bryan Norcross, a meteorologist with The Weather Channel, said on Facebook that "there is nothing in the record book even close".

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Mr Scott said.



Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilise the National Guard. President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorised federal agencies to co-ordinate disaster relief efforts. "Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Mr Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter. Hundreds of passenger flights were cancelled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm's path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines said. Matthew could be one of the most devastating

The coast-hugging path that forecasters expect Hurricane Matthew to take as it moves up the Atlantic seaboard on Friday and Saturday could make the storm one of the most devastating ever to hit the US south-east, experts said. If Matthew skirts the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as experts expect, rather than slamming directly into land as most hurricanes do, the storm would keep drawing energy from the warm ocean waters, fuelling its destructive force. "Once they make landfall, they will dissipate, but in the case of Matthew, it is going to be half over the ocean and continue to gain energy and hold together for much longer," said Isaac Hankes, a weather research analyst at Lanworth, a company owned by Thomson Reuters. David Nolan, professor and chairman of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami, said: "If it can live along the coast for a day and a half, it is going to be doing damage in terms of cost. "It might be remembered for its impact on the insurance industry more than anything else."

Matthew also benefited from a phenomenon known as low wind shear that allowed it to take shape before growing larger and more powerful. A high wind shear would have stunted the storm's growth. While those elements partially explain Matthew's development, experts admit that they do not fully understand why some tropical cyclones build into devastating hurricanes and others do not, even when conditions appear to be the same, said Brian Kahn, an atmospheric scientist and cloud specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Loading The biggest threat to hurricanes is land and Hurricane Matthew has encountered little resistance over the past four days during its slow march towards the US south-east.
If you have just had the biggest failure in the history of Australia's electricity market  the complete shutdown of South Australia  it makes sense to bring those with responsibility for its operation together to talk.

But to claim the urgent energy ministers meeting on Friday was a breakthrough, as Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg did, is hyperbole. The real challenges lie ahead.

Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg leads the COAG energy council meeting in Melbourne on Friday. Credit:Craig Sillitoe

The COAG Energy Council commissioned chief scientist Alan Finkel to write a blueprint for energy security; basically, to advise on how to keep the lights on. Good idea. Reliability of the system is paramount and the blackout shouldn't have been able to happen.

Some of the other things agreed  to get agencies to look into the transmission network and how climate and energy policy should work together  were already under way. They are due to report back in December.
Australia's navy and airforce should be "fully authorised" to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea, including within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China, according to Labor defence spokesman Richard Marles.

Mr Marles also warned that China should not declare an "ADIZ", or Air Defence Identification Zone, that would require aircraft to identify themselves when flying over the man-made islands in the South China Sea.

Australia's former ambassador to the United States, Kim Beazley, said Australia had an historical right to operate in the area and that it should conduct freedom of navigation exercises.

Speaking to Fairfax Media on the sidelines of the Australian-American Leadership dialogue in Honolulu, Mr Marles backed previous Labor defence spokesman Stephen Conroy's controversial suggestion in July that the Turnbull government should challenge Beijing and conduct a freedom of navigation naval exercise within the 12-nautical-mile zone claimed by China.
The United Nations has delivered a blistering indictment of Nauru and Australia's failure to help children in detention-like conditions, especially those driven to attempt suicide and self-harm.

It also slammed the island nation's "limited capacity" to investigate allegations of sexual assault of children and its failure to follow up complaints, and severely criticised the harsh living conditions inside Australian's regional processing centres.

Among the global body's concerns were a lack of clean drinking water and poor sanitation, the absence of a dedicated paediatrician and the reported use of illegal corporal punishment against children at the camps.

The UN's Committee on the Rights of the Child also found that Nauru has made no progress towards honouring a promise made last year to establish a human rights watchdog.
For years there have been continual calls to improve financial literacy. But it's worth remembering that all the financial literacy in the world won't help you if you don't get your facts straight, and that a little knowledge can be more dangerous than blissful ignorance.

These thoughts came to mind when I was having lunch with my friend, Jack, a retired academic  he has spent his life in medicine, and despite being a leader in his field is not fully across all things financial.

Financial literacy is useless unless you can separate fact from fiction. Credit:John Shakespeare

He started by telling me that he was concerned the government would take a big slice of the money he intended to leave to his two children when he and his wife passed on. Apart from his superannuation, there is the family home and two investment properties.

His first concern was gift tax  he had been told by a colleague that in Australia a gift tax was in place for all gifts over $10,000 a year. I was able to explain to him that this is a half-truth. Certainly a pensioner is not allowed to give away more than $10,000 a year without having an effect on their pension, but this should not concern Jack, who is a most unlikely candidate to be a Centrelink client.
The final member of the so-called 'Budgie Nine' - the Australians arrested in Malaysia after stripping down to budgie smugglers emblazoned with the Malaysian national flag at the Grand Prix - has arrived back on home soil.

Jack Walker, a staffer to cabinet minister Christopher Pyne, flew in to Perth from Kuala Lumpur at around 3pm local time on Friday with his father John Walker.

The 26-year-old walked through the international arrivals hall flanked by his father and another man, breaking his silence only to say he was "happy to be back".

News cameras and several journalists followed Mr Walker as he jumped into a waiting car outside the airport, but he did not answer any of their questions.
While women are more likely to verbalise their problems and seek help, men often bottle up their emotions and isolate themselves when depressed. "Isolation is basic animal instinct," Mr Harper said. "If we see a beast on its own at the farm, we know it's crook. So we bring it in, we get the best person we can to make it right and we put it back with the flock. "But we don't do that with mental health. We've got people who go home, pull the blinds down, and what do we do? We leave the poor bastards there. If we do that with a beast, a few days later its legs are up." Mr Harper said the first step to recovering from depression or anxiety was to let someone know  your partner, a mate, your GP  you needed help. "You've got to have trust and confidence to open up," he said. "Blokes are wired not to talk about it, but it has to change."

Men who consider themselves "self-reliant" 34 per cent more likely to have suicidal thoughts Self-reliance was once intrinsic to the self-image of the Australian male, who valued his independence and ability to overcome obstacles alone. But a new study has linked it to the disproportionate number of men taking their own lives. Research based on the world's largest all-male cohort study found those who identified as self-reliant were significantly more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, while in the preceding two weeks nearly one in 10 had been disturbed by thoughts they would be better off dead. A University of Melbourne examination of 13,884 men in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (Ten to Men) explored whether particular factors related to being male might increase the likelihood of suicide. It found those who considered themselves "self-reliant" were 34 per cent more likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts.

The unpublished study was presented at the European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour in Spain last month and is under peer review. Centre for Mental Health director and the study's lead author, Jane Pirkis, said the findings had implications for suicide prevention, because those people were less likely to seek help. "It's plausible because if you're extremely self-reliant you're used to solving problems for yourself," Professor Pirkis said. "You're not used to reaching out to others for help, either your mates or professionals." Suicides as a proportion of total deaths in Australia hit a 10-year high in 2015, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows. Last year 3027 Australians took their own lives  an average of eight a day  and suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15 to 44. Men were three times more likely than women to take their own lives, with suicide accounting for 19.3 deaths per 100,000 men compared to 6.1 deaths among women.

Talking to men who "learned the hard way" Research by the Black Dog Institute has also highlighted the unhelpful role played by an overemphasis on stoicism and traditional masculine beliefs. Interviews with men who had recently attempted suicide revealed those traits were among four factors  alongside acute stress, depressed mood and ineffective coping strategies  that combined to increase the risk of suicidal behaviour. Dr Andrea Fogarty, a research fellow at the Black Dog Institute. Credit:Black Dog Institute

"That expectation of being able to solve problems alone and figure things out was a huge contributing factor," Andrea Fogarty, a Research Fellow at the Black Dog Institute, said. "A lot of them would talk about the cultural impact of living in a society where they're told you're a man if you can solve your problems independently." Dr Fogarty said women were more likely to talk to their friends, recognise that they needed help and seek it. Men, however, were more likely to isolate themselves, not wanting to burden others, let them down or have anyone see them differently. "A lot of men who adhered to these traditional ideas of masculinity and what it means to be a man reported that it wasn't helpful in the long run," she said. "There was a lot of reflecting back and wishing they hadn't learned the hard way. While they may have made it through an attempt and reported a lot more openness to talking about their problems now, a lot wish they had done it sooner, because maybe they wouldn't have lost their friendships or their partner or their job." NSW chief psychiatrist Murray Wright said one of the problems in addressing men's mental health was their "real reluctance to engage, because it doesn't go with your stereotypical view of masculinity to talk about feelings". He said one challenge was in co-ordinating existing services, so that people who were identified as depressed were referred for help before it got worse.

One successful initiative, the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program, was set up during the 1990s drought when it was recognised that farmers would not go to the doctor for any reason, let alone to discuss their emotions. "We worked out there was no point in sending a mental health worker to see them but what we did was give mental health literacy training to people such as financial advisers who had a legitimate reason to be involved with farmers," Dr Wright said. Dr Fogarty said it was important to provide alternative services  such as easily-accessed online tools like the My Compass program  for men who may be reluctant to use existing ones. Professor Pirkis said men needed better geared interventions such as Men's Sheds, where they can talk while engaged in other activities. 'One of the great public health challenges of the 21st century'

More than twice as many Australians die by suicide each year than in car accidents. It is the main cause of death for people aged 15 to 44 and the leading cause of premature death in Australia. As well as the devastating impact on family and friends, suicide costs the community an estimated $17.5 billion annually, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Sebastian Rosenberg, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre. Yet suicide prevention activities and research are drastically underfunded, data collection is inadequate and the approach to the issue is disparate and disorganised, said Sebastian Rosenberg, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre. "How can a public health problem of this magnitude gone neglected for so long?" he asked.

Mr Rosenberg said there was "still a great deal of shame" surrounding suicide, something "that underpins a colossal inaction on the part of public health". "There is not a national branding or program or set of messages which could be tested and deployed," he said. "We spend almost nothing on evaluating programs, which means it's impossible for the system to learn and for the quality of suicide prevention activities to improve. And we lack statistics  about attempts, about demographics, about whether people are alive or dead within six months of visiting a mental health service. We are poorly placed to determine what to do." Mr Rosenberg said suicide is "one of the great public health challenges of the 21st century". Addressing it required cooperation between health, community and social services, as well as educational, vocational and employment services. Collection of detailed data could help better understand who is at risk and how to design appropriate responses. And he said more needed to be done to counter beliefs that suicide was somehow natural or inevitable. "This sort of attitude, which comes off the back of a lack of funding and a lack of programs, permits people to look the other way and it permits stigma to be perpetuated," Mr Rosenberg said.

"There's an attitude of 'Oh, there's really nothing we could have done about that anyway' which in my mind is, frankly, bullshit - particularly when you look at the evidence about suicidality and the link between previous attempts and future attempts." The people at greatest risk of taking their own lives are those who have previously attempted suicide. An estimated 65,000 Australians attempt suicide annually  an average of 178 each day. "If we did nothing more than focus our attention on [those survivors] ... we would make a huge dint in our overall suicide statistics," Mr Rosenberg said. Spending money to save lives Mr Rosenberg said "it would be very generous to suggest that Australia spends $100 million on suicide prevention annually. This is a tiny amount of money on what is a very complex, multi-faceted public health issue that affects hundreds of thousands of people every year."

He called for more funding and support for programs like LifeSpan, an evidence-based suicide prevention program developed by Black Dog Institute researchers. LifeSpan involves nine proven strategies being implemented together and tailored to local community needs. The program is being rolled out in NSW and in its first few years is expected to prevent 21 per cent of suicide deaths and 30 per cent of attempts. The program is supported by the NSW government, whose $1.8 billion investment in mental health services for 2016-17 includes $8 million for a new suicide prevention fund, $3 million for crisis support organisation Lifeline and $5 million for specialist mental health services for older people. NSW Mental Health Minister Pru Goward said she was particularly concerned about the suicide rate among older men, with those over 85 recording the highest rate of any age group. These men were often unused to organising social activities for themselves and could slip into depression after losing their wives. "With older men I have known who have had depression, a lot of it is about masculinity," Ms Goward said. "Everyone thinks men don't cry and because they've always had a job and supported their family, that they don't have this problem.
The student "also stated, on several occasions throughout the disciplinary hearings, that he had heard about the ability to change marks from other students. In particular, another student in his Intermediate Financial Accounting tutorial and a student studying at Monash." "[He] had several conversations with students, on separate occasions, about how assessment marks could be changed." Four exam papers belonging to the same student were altered in other offices across Melbourne University's Parkville campus The case, while extremely unusual, does not surprise Associate Professor Tracey Bretag, who directs academic integrity at the University of South Australia's business school. Bretag has launched the first nationwide study into academic fraud and warns of a "perfect storm" in Australia which is threatening the integrity and reputations of the higher education sector. As tertiary education becomes increasingly commercialised and the sector is faced with an uncertain funding future, universities have become addicted to the revenue provided by overseas students. This can lead to intense pressure on staff to support underperforming students.

One Sydney University senior lecturer who spoke confidentially to Fairfax Media said that 20 per cent of his student cohort this semester lacked the English skills to meet their study requirements, yet he felt he still had to pass them. "It's terrible, but the sector needs the money to survive" he said, in comments that have been privately echoed by other academics in Melbourne and Sydney. Melbourne University Provost Margaret Sheil describes the exam tampering it as a "freakish" singular event and says the elite university's high-performing students and academics are far less exposed to the integrity pressures faced by other education providers. Sheil also cautions that claims in the sector of pressure to pass underperforming foreign students are overblown and may "be used as a proxy" to shield lecturers who don't want to "work a bit harder" to better educate their students. Last year, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption issued its own warning about the problem.

"Academics can feel pressure to forsake their role in enforcing compliance with academic standards for the financial good of the faculty in the competitive environment of the international student market," ICAC said in a research paper. Struggling students - especially those from overseas who need to pass to retain their visas - are also increasingly looking for ways to avoid failing, including paying for others to write their essays and finding innovate means to game the system. Bretag warns that cheating is at risk of being normalised because students feel it an appropriate response to a university system that, in some cases, is more focused on spitting out graduates than teaching them. "It is a huge problem. I find it is disingenuous when academics throw their hands in the air and say it is all too commercial. We all need to stand up and start to recognise this serious threat," she says. The Melbourne University case would have remained a secret if it wasn't from a source who leaked internal documents to Fairfax Media because of their concerns about the same issues raised by Bretag.

When the student whose exams results were altered was first interviewed by two senior Melbourne University academics, they claimed that a "friend" had approached them and said they "could arrange for an exam mark to be increased in exchange for cash." "This could [also] be done for students studying at Monash and RMIT," the student claimed. A person who wanted their exam marks tweaked would then have to leave a "small star" on the corner of their exam paper, the student explained. This would alert the exam tamperer that the marks needed changing. Asked who was behind the scheme, the student suggested a university tutor may be involved along with a Melbourne-based company employing several university tutors. The firm, which Fairfax Media is not naming, denied the allegations. It is part of a burgeoning industry aimed at helping foreign students, including those struggling to pass.

Bretag says the strong demand for this extra-curricular help suggests inappropriate retention of some international and home-grown students by some universities. "A large number of students who are ill-equipped, under-prepared, or don't have the requisite English skills are still getting through," she says. The Melbourne University student whose exam results were tampered with was initially found guilty of academic misconduct. But on appeal, the university found that while it was proven a sophisticated case of exam tampering had occurred, it "was unable to establish who had actually done the alleged tampering." In a statement to Fairfax Media, the university also said they had found no evidence that any other students exams had been tampered with but had moved to "further strengthen the security of exam marking."
Energy ministers met in Melbourne on Friday, where they agreed to an independent review of the nation's energy security, to be led by chief scientist Alan Finkel.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg Frydenberg said the meeting had been a "productive and constructive airing of views", and the review would produce a blueprint for energy security across the national electricity market.

The review was effectively over before it began after Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg suggested the government was going to embrace an intensity scheme, and let it be linked to "carbon pricing". Credit:Philip Gostelow

The recent power blackout in South Australia was a "wake-up call", he said.

The one-in-50-year storm had caused the blackout in South Australia, he said, but energy security also needed to be protected amid higher uptake of "intermittent" forms of power, including wind and solar
Australia is confronted with a "silver tsunami" of people facing death with little infrastructure in place to cope with such a seismic shift in population, according to a leading American palliative care doctor.

Dr B. J. Miller said there was a huge workforce of largely ignored potential carers who could be reimbursed, trained and supported to keep people out of hospitals and hospices and die at home.

"Hospitals are no place to live and die, that's not what they were designed for," he said

"There is a distinction between a disease-centred and a patient-centred model of care, and here is where caring can become both creative and less expensive.
A truck rollover on the M1 Princes Highway at Cataract caused huge traffic delays between Sydney and Wollongong on Friday.

The Transport Management Centre reported traffic queues of six kilometres following the accident at 8.45am.

The M1 was closed southbound and only one of two lanes were open northbound.

The highway reopened at 1.30pm.
As Premier Mike Baird tried to relax with his family over the school holidays this week, Macquarie Street has been winding itself up with rumours and war games.

Just about every permutation of a backdown or reversal of the ban on greyhound racing announced three months ago has been canvassed and caveated.

And in the absence of another statement from the Premier  his office said on Friday it had no update on his position  even senior MPs within his government have been speculating on what policies may fill the vacuum.

Since he dramatically announced in July moves to shut an industry found to have slaughtered tens of thousands of dogs, Mr Baird has many times ruled out changing course.
Claims have emerged that a worker at a Brisbane racecourse walked off the job over safety concerns just days before two fathers were crushed to death in a tragic accident.

A union official said he'd received a chilling phone call Friday morning from a rigger claiming to have quit work on the Eagle Farm Racecourse redevelopment days earlier because of safety concerns.

"I got a phone call this morning, I'm waiting for the guy to ring me back," CFMEU workplace health and safety coordinator Andrew Ramsay said.

"He alleges he was on the job in the last few days and he left because he said someone's going to die here."
Supermarket giant Coles has been fined $7500 after some of its private label loaves of bread sold in three Brisbane shops were found to be underweight.

Regional manager Tammy Banks pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to three shortfall offences in which bread was found to weigh less than the advertised amount on the packet.

Three Brisbane Coles stores have been found to have sold underweight bread. Credit:Nic Walker

The Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday heard the incidents at New Farm, Redbank and Mt Gravatt over an 18-month period happened because of mechanical failures in the bread-making process.

Most of the loaves were only about five per cent lighter than they should have been, with the greatest discrepancy peaking at 19.8 per cent.
Family members are demanding answers as authorities work to figure out how a falling concrete slab crushed two workers to death at Queensland's premier racecourse.

A "devastated" Brisbane racing community is in mourning and the Thursday-afternoon incident has been labelled one of the saddest days in the Brisbane Racing Club's 150-years-plus history.

Police and Worksafe Queensland are investigating, with crime tape still surrounding the scene in the infield of the Eagle Farm Racecourse on Friday morning as officials from Queensland Racing and the Brisbane Racing Club met at the track.

Relatives of Ashley Morris, 34, who was crushed along with a 55-year-old man, visited the scene on Friday morning.
An independent panel ordered to investigate issues with the 2016 local government elections is yet to be appointed - despite being due to report back this month.

There was a raft of complaints about the local government election, held on March 19, with claims of missing enrolments, people voting in the wrong ward after boundary changes, queues and other issues.

A panel due to report on issues with the local government election is yet to be appointed. Credit:Jamila Toderas

On July 21, Attorney-General and Justice Minister Yvette D'Ath told Estimates Hearings the independent review, headed by three people, was necessary to maintain the public confidence in the election process.

"We do not want this to be a longwinded review," Ms D'Ath said.
When you need to hear the outside world, you can disable the noise-cancelling, turn down your music and tap into the external speakers by simply holding your hand up against your right ear. Let go and the noise-cancelling kicks in again.

It's an extremely handy and intuitive feature, especially when you're on a plane, although you're in danger of looking like an arrogant wanker if you use it elsewhere. Try this while being served in a shop, rather than removing the headphones, and you'll come across as quite rude  especially as the shop assistant is unlikely to realise that you've paused your music.

These are both wired and wireless headphones, with support for HFC quick pairing as well as LDAC to handle high-res audio  handy if your have a compatible Sony player  and DSEE HX for audio upscaling.

Bluetooth music controls are built into the right can, but rather than physical buttons you simply swipe your finger. You can swipe up and down to adjust the volume, as well as forward and back to skip through tracks. Tapping the centre pauses the music and answers a call, although it can be tricky to find the sweet spot to tap.

Tune in
Four Victoria Police officers stand accused of fabricating evidence to falsely accuse a young woman of assaulting a police sergeant.

Jessie Scarlett-Rhodes, of Sunbury, suffered facial and head injuries when she was arrested in 2012.

Rhys Rhodes and Jessie Scarlett-Rhodes Credit:Photo: Facebook

Her lawyers claim police fabricated the assault claims as a cover for their heavy-handed arrest of her, and after she complained about officers' actions to the police ethical standards department.

Two police officers involved in the arrest have admitted sending their statements around to each other, and one said she read another officer's statement to "help" her formulate her own.
Melburnians have been complaining of an increased mosquito presence, saying the pesky insects have been swarming into suburban backyards and hovering around car windscreens, particularly in the bay areas.

This comes as no surprise given the recent heavy rainfall followed by high temperatures, which make for perfect mosquito breeding conditions.

Wet and warm weather makes perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes.

Victoria has had the second wettest September on record in Victoria since 1916.

Museum Victoria's Ken Walker is an entomologist  a specialist in the study of insects.
It may not be Halloween yet, but a bunch of terrifying clowns have been roaming around Mandurah, scaring the locals.

The clown craze terrorising the United States finally hit Western Australia - and Victoria - this week, with clown groups sprouting across Facebook.

Sinister clowns which have been popping up around the US are now making appearances in Australia.

In groups such as Clown Purge Perth and Perth Clown Attack, allegedly terrifying clowns plot their next appearances and ask residents where would they like them to show up next.

Clown sightings have been reported by Mandurah residents around the eastern foreshore, Mandjar Square and driving along Murdoch Drive in recent days.
It looks like spring won't appear again until Tuesday with a severe weather warning issued for the South West with rain and plenty of thunderstorms closing in on Perth this weekend.

Foul weather has ruined weekend plans down south, with organisers of the Dardanup Bull and Barrell Festival cancelling the annual event due to wild weather and concerns for public safety.

"The stalls coordinator will be in contact with stall holders regarding refunds," the event's Facebook page said, with several photographs of the grounds showing heavy weather already setting in.

"Please know that this decision was not taken lightly and we would like to thank all our volunteers, sponsors and supporters. We will be back next year - bigger and better than ever."
It was meant to be time for an Eastern European woman. But the exact opposite has happened, and the world will instead end up with a man from West Europe as the next United Nations chief.

Surely this must rank as yet another victory for the boy's club of diplomacy, a case where female candidates chasing a position of power are judged in a manner different from male peers.

And isn't the very same thing happening with Hillary Clinton in her bid for the White House?

After all, in the 70-year history of the UN, no woman has ever been in charge. Britain's ambassador Matthew Rycroft was eager to see that changed when the search began last year for the next leader.
London: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won the 2016 Nobel peace prize for his work on the peace accord with Marxist rebels that his countrymen last weekend voted to reject.

It is another controversial choice for the prize committee in Norway, which rather optimistically chose Barack Obama in 2009 before he had even finished his first year in office.

But a Nobel committee spokeswoman defended the choice of Santos, saying she hoped it would "give him strength" to continue negotiations with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerillas, known as FARC.

She also defended the decision to pick out the president from all the parties involved in the peace negotiations, saying he went "all in".
The United States has announced it will send teams of military and US Agency for International Development personnel to help Haiti, where the Hurricane Matthew death toll continues to rise.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters the Defence Department already had about 150 people in Haiti, and "weather permitting" that number would grow over the weekend.

The teams are distributing food and water, helping with transportation, and setting up first responder capabilities, he said.

USS Mesa Verde, an amphibious transport dock ship, is also heading toward Haiti to support relief efforts and will start helicopter flights to the island. The ship can produce fresh water and has water delivery vehicles aboard.

Reuters
PHILIPSBURG:--- Restaurant chef D.J. has been sentenced on Wednesday, October 5 by the Court of First Instance of St. Maarten to community service of 100 hours. The suspect has to also pay a fine of USD 80,550. His company, Dinos Corporation N.V. too has been fined an amount of USD 80,550 for deliberately not complying with the obligation to pay profit tax between November 2007 and October 2011 according to General Ordinance on Taxes (Algemene Landsverordening Landsbelastingen).With its ruling, the court confirmed the penalty the Prosecutors Office had demanded.

D.J. is the managing director and only shareholder of Dinos Corporation. He also runs a restaurant called Rare. The court found the suspects guilty of not keeping a proper business administration and of making false financial statements in the Corporations bookkeeping. Also, the franchise agreement between Dinos Corporation and Rare International was invented and drawn up by D.J. with the intention to pay fewer taxes, according to the court.

The Judge in its ruling said that the suspects committed a serious offence which had cost country St. Maarten a lot of money.



Prosecutor Requested 12 years in the murder of Toddler

The Solicitor General on Wednesday, October 5, 2016, asked for a 12-years jail sentence against N.B. suspected of strangling a toddler who was entrusted to him by his girlfriend on August 27, 2014. The sentenced asked in the appeal case is equal of the ruling by the Court of First Instance of St. Maarten. N.B. was sentenced on June 17, 2015, to 12 years in jail. The Joint Court of Justice will give its ruling on October 26.

Prosecutors Office Bulletin
PHILIPSBURG:--- This years Scotiabank Rotary-Rotoract Spelling Bee 2016 will be the biggest since its inception in 2011. Nineteen schools have entered, seventeen schools from St. Maarten and two schools from Anguilla. The St. Maarten schools are All Children Education Foundation School, Caribbean International Academy School, Dr. Martin Luther King School, Asha Stevens Hillside Christian School, Learning Unlimited Preparatory School, Leonard Conner School, Methodist Agogic Centre School (BM), Marie Genevieve de Weever School, Methodist Agogic Centre School (JAG), Oranje School, Ruby Labega School, Seventh Day Adventist School, Sister Borgia School, Sister Marie Laurence School, St. Dominic Primary School and St. Joseph School. It is expected that 50 children will take part in The Scotiabank Rotary-Rotoract Spelling Bee.

The Preliminary Round will be held on Sunday, October 16th from 2 p.m.  5 p.m. The fifteen winners from the Preliminary Round will go to the Semifinals, being held on Sunday, October 23rd from 1 p.m.  5 p.m. The five winners from the Semifinals will advance to the Finals, being held on Sunday, October 30th. All rounds will take place at the Belair Community Center.

This year The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle has introduced tutorial sessions for the students entering The Scotiabank Rotary-Rotoract Spelling Bee. The first two sessions were held on Saturday, September 24th, and October 1st. At the last tutorial session, 32 students attended. Due to popular demand, Rotary Mid-Isle will also hold a tutorial session during the school break on Saturday, October 8th, the final tutorial session will be held on Saturday, October 15th. All tutorial sessions will be held at the University of St. Maarten on Pond Island.

Everyone is encouraged and welcome to come and give the students support at The Scotiabank Rotary-Rotaract Spelling Bee on all three Sundays at the Belair Community Center.

Todays students are our future generation.

The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle meets Tuesday at 7pm at Marys Boone in Simpson Bay. For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our Facebook page Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle.
Pond Island  TelEm Group and RBC Merchant Bank (Caribbean) Ltd. today formally announced the signing of a $32 Million Bond agreement after months of negotiations.

The Bond issue is being utilized by TelEm Group to finance future capital expenditure and refinance current debt obligations. This bond supplements a Euro 8 Million loan obtained from the European Investment Bank (EIB) last year for an island-wide Fibre to the Home project in St. Maarten.

According to Mr. Andrew Boissiere - Vice President Corporate and Investment Banking and TelEm Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mrs. Helma Etnel, the Bond agreement was officially signed in August 2016 and represents a significant achievement for both companies.

In RBC Merchant Banks case, the Bond arrangement entailed delicate negotiations with six major investors, who are together providing the capital necessary for the Bond. This is the second time that the TelEm Group has successfully approached the regional capital markets to secure large funding from regional investors.

I am very grateful to the TelEm Group for its confidence in RBCs ability to deliver on this undertaking and to all of the parties that made this transaction a success, especially the investors, whose proceeds will assist the TelEm Group with achieving its corporate objectives, said Mr. Boissiere.

He continued, the RBC Group has maintained a long-standing relationship with the island of St. Maarten highlighted by several large corporate transactions for Princess Juliana Airport and St. Maarten Harbour. We are very proud to continue this relationship through this Bond issue for the TelEm Group and continue the path of further enhancing the telecommunication infrastructure of the island.

RBC takes pride in its regional scope, its broad network of institutional partners and international expertise in arranging financing throughout the Caribbean region. It continues to be a leader in structuring financing for multiple sectors including but not limited to Governments, Telecom, Hospitals, Utilities, and Ports, concludes the RBC official.

According to Mrs. Etnel, the Bond and consequent loan arrangement means TelEm, Group, in essence, has been able to renegotiate more favourable terms and conditions and will now be accountable to one company via a trustee, then to several financiers as before.

We are most thankful to RBC Merchant Bank for their patience and hard work in securing this bond arrangement and look forward to a continued relationship , said Mrs. Etnel.

Mrs. Etnel further thanked TelEm Group consultant, Mrs. Marit Beishuizen for her outstanding contribution with the coordination of what was in actual fact a very complicated arrangement.

There were many elements that had be to monitored and coordinated with various lawyers and financial institutions, so Mrs. Beishuizens role in managing the entire process was critical to its success and the mutually satisfactory outcome, added the Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Etnel.

A gathering will be hosted in the coming weeks with the transaction parties and investors to celebrate the Bond issuance and recognize the effort and support that contributed to the success of the transaction.

RBC has informed that it will be hosting a gathering in the coming weeks with the transaction parties and investors to celebrate the Bond issuance and recognize the effort and support that contributed to the success of the transaction.
China Keli Appoints New Member of Audit Committee

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA  (Marketwired)  10/07/16  China Keli Electric Co., Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: ZKL) (Keli or the Company) announced that it has appointed Chaoran (Felicia) Xu as a member of the Audit Committee to fill the vacancy resulting from the resignation of Michael Raymont.

Ms. Xu started her career at Hong Kong Deloitte & Touche (Deloitte). Her important experience in local and international laws and regulations helped with the obligation of meeting complex auditing requirements. During her tenure at Deloitte, Ms. Xu took lead and was heavily involved in business development, project management, legal affairs, joint ventures, corporate financing, government and partner relations.

About China Keli Electric Company Ltd.

China Keli Electric Company Ltd. specializes in the manufacturing and installation of electrical components and equipment, including pre-assembled mini substations, electrical controllers, pressurized and vacuumed switchgears and circuit breakers.

For further company information please access our website:

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 press release.

Contacts:

CHINA KELI ELECTRIC COMPANY LTD.

Philip Lo

Chief Financial Officer

(86) 13632 173732
Telenor Connexion CEO joins Swedish State Visit to Germany

A Swedish business delegation, including Mats Lundquist, CEO of Telenor Connexion, visits Germany on October 5-7 in conjunction with H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Silvia?s state visit. The program focuses on innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability.

Germany is the world?s fourth largest economy and one of Sweden?s largest business partners. Challenges facing the Germany economy, such as an aging population, the transformation to sustainable energy, and digitalization are areas where Swedish companies, like Telenor Connexion,a leading provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are well positioned to offer solutions.

The business delegation is set to focus on current and future opportunities as well as challenges of central importance to the overall competitiveness of the German and Swedish economies. The delegation program includes a German-Swedish seminar on the new digital infrastructure where the focus will involve joint challenges and opportunities on the path to the digital economy, along with a German-Swedish round-table dialogue on how to foster innovation.

H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will honor the official program of the Swedish business delegation with his attendance. Sigmar Gabriel, Vice Chancellor and German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Mikael Damberg, Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, will give a speech. Telenor Connexion participates alongside customer Volvo Group, and partner Ericsson.

?Digitalization is enabling, disrupting, and reshaping the world and this creates great opportunities. The German government initiative ?Industrie 4.0? represents the transformation of the traditional industry to smart manufacturing. We believe there will be a strong demand for Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to enhance these changes, and Telenor Connexion is well-positioned to develop and deliver these solutions,? says Mats Lundquist, CEO of Telenor Connexion.

According to Ylva Berg, CEO of Business Sweden, the Swedish Trade & Invest Council and organizer of the trip, Germany is one of Sweden?s most important trading partners.

?We see continued potential for Swedish companies, both in areas where we are already strong, but also in areas where we might have an edge over Germany companies.?

Business Sweden has launched an in-depth analysis of business opportunities for Swedish companies in Germany.Read more here!

Telenor Connexion designs and operates IoT solutions. Building on more than 15 years of experience, a strong solutions portfolio and a collaborative approach, Telenor Connexion makes it easy to realize the value of connected services. Together with customers such as Volvo, Nissan, Scania, Hitachi, Verisure Securitas Direct and Telcare, the company has designed smart and innovative IoT solutions deployed across the globe.

Telenor Connexion supports its customers throughout the entire product lifecycle  from solution design to operations and future development. By partnering with Telenor Connexion customers are ensured a reliable and secure end-to-end solution that can evolve over time.

Headquarters and tech centre are located in Sweden and the company has regional offices in UK, Germany, US and Japan. Telenor Connexion is wholly owned by Telenor Group, one of the worlds major mobile operators. For more information please visit www.telenorconnexion.com
Every year thousands of volunteers across the United States gather in teams to count the homeless in their community. It all happens on one winter night. This annual census of people living in shelters or unsheltered locations is known as the Point-in-Time (PIT) count, and its required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for each Continuum...
What you need to know about Powerball and the $1 billion jackpot
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SpaceIL plans to launch its lunar lander for the Google Lunar X Prize competition on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in the second half of 2017.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico  The organization running the Google Lunar X Prize said Sept. 27 it has no plans to extend an impending deadline for launch contracts that most teams are currently in danger of missing.

The competition offers a $20 million prize for the first team to land on the moon, travel at least 500 meters and return video "mooncasts" and other data. It requires teams to have a launch contract, verified by the X Prize Foundation, in place by the end of this year in order to remain in the competition. The prize itself has a deadline of the end of 2017.

Andrew Barton, director of technical operations for the prize at the X Prize Foundation, said in a talk at the International Astronautical Congress here that three teams out of the 16 still in the competition have launch contracts verified by the foundation. Two of those teams, SpaceIL and Moon Express, had their launch contracts verified last year. [Google Lunar X-Prize: The Private Moon Race Teams in Images]

The foundation verified the contract of the third team, Synergy Moon, Aug. 30. That team plans to launch their lander on a rocket called the Neptune 8 built by Mojave, California-based Interorbital Systems, itself part of the Synergy Moon team. That rocket is still under development, and the company has yet to launch any rocket into space.

Several other teams are working on launch contracts, Barton said. Team Indus, he said, is in discussions with the Indian Space Research Organisation for a launch of its lander on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. "They're still trying to put together that launch contract," he said.

Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh company developing a lander for the competition, is also in discussions with SpaceX. "They're aiming to fly on a Falcon 9, but also have yet to close their contract," Barton said. In addition to its own lander and rover, Astrobotic is carrying rovers from Team Hakuto of Japan and Team AngelicvM of Chile.

Those teams and others that wish to remain in the competition must submit contracts in time to be verified by the X Prize Foundation by the end of this year. Barton confirmed that the Dec. 31 deadline is for the launch contract to be verified, and not simply submitted to the foundation for verification.

The Google Lunar X Prize has pushed back its prize deadlines several times since it was announced in 2007. Originally, the prize purse was to decrease from $20 million to $15 million if no one won by the end of 2012, and expire at the end of 2014. Updates removed the decrease in the prize purse and pushed back the deadlines until the current one of the end of 2017.

Despite that track record, and the limited number of teams with launch contracts, Barton said there are no plans to push back either the launch contract or overall prize deadline. "We're stuck now with this timeline," he said.

Barton emphasized, though, the progress that the teams have made. The teams combined have spent more than $100 million to date, with even more in form of donations and in-kind contributions. "It's really an extraordinary amount of activity that has been incentivized by a relatively modest prize," he said.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
This graphic shows the phases of the moon and the orientation of the moon, Earth and sun during each phase.

International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is this Saturday (Oct. 8), but the best way to get to know Earth's neighbor is by observing it over multiple nights (and days).

InOMN is an annual celebration of the moon that was started by members of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) team. The event organizers urge people to get out and observe the moon or even to host observing parties. But seeing the moon on just one night is kind of like seeing the trailer for a new movie  it's just a sample of something much bigger.

To get a better sense of the moon's shifting appearance and its changing position in the sky, observers should get outside and observe it over an entire month, using a lunar observation journal, according to Andrea Jones, director of InOMN. [Photos: The Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse of 2016]

Jones said people are often surprised to find out that, unlike the sun, the moon rises and sets at very different times each day. (Sunrise and sunset typically vary by only a few minutes from day to day, but moonrise and moonset typically vary by 30 minutes to 1 hour.)

If you can observe the moon for only a single night, check back every 20 minutes or so, and look for the movement of the "terminator line" across the surface of the moon. (This is the line that divides the illuminated portion of the moon's surface from the shadowed portion.) In fact, observing the moon while it has a terminator line can be better than observing a full moon, even though the latter often draws out casual skywatchers.

Jones said it's often easier to see features on the surface of the moon right at the terminator line, because the contrast of light and dark makes those features stand out. So, as the line moves across the surface in a single night, it's possible for skywatchers to see different features or different portions of a single feature.

With a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, many spectacular features can be spotted on the moon. See how to observe the moon in this SPACE.com infographic (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com)

"It's fun to be able to do that kind of observing and notice the patterns in the sky," Jones told Space.com. "We have so many snapshots in our lives  to actually make an investment and really allow that time with our moon [is valuable]."

It's not just youngsters who can benefit from studying the moon's daily changes. Jones said the InOMN group conducts workshops for teachers who give lessons about the moon and its phases, and prior to the workshop, the teachers are asked to complete a lunar journal for a few days or weeks. Jones said the teachers are often surprised when they observe the lunar activity themselves.

"Some of them have been teaching about moon phases for decades, and I'll get emails before the workshop saying, 'I can't find the moon!'" Jones said. "And I say, 'OK, how about check at a different time of day?' And then, they'll be like, 'Oh my gosh! I had no idea. It's 8 a.m., and I can see the moon!'"

Of course, photographs of the moon can also help people learn about Earth's companion. Images of the lunar surface captured by powerful telescopes or probes can reveal incredible details that are not visible to the naked eye or even through small telescopes; there's also all of the amazing science those instruments can reveal.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has provided new insight into the formation and chemistry of the moon (including its water content) and has sent back some incredible photographs of the surface. Jones collaborates with the LRO team as part of her job as an education specialist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona. (She is based out of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.)

There are some resources that can help you get to know the moon a bit better. The InOMN website has various moon-observing resources and more information about the celebratory night. The website Timeanddate.com will show you the time of moonrise and moonset in your area, as well as the current phase of the moon. If you're thinking about buying a small telescope or pair of binoculars, check out some of our Space.com buyer's guides. See our calendar of 2016 celestial events to watch out for, our full-moon calendar, our satellite tracker, our guide to measuring distances on the sky and our monthly skywatching column.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Massive balls of plasma twice the size of Mercury have been found streaming out of a red giant star called V Hydrae.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has seen planet-size cannonballs of hot gas whipping through the space near a dying star, but the origin of these plasma balls remains a mystery.

The high-speed blobs, each double the mass of Mars and twice as hot as the surface of the sun, are moving so fast in space that they would take only half an hour to go between the Earth and the moon (238,900 miles, or 384,472 kilometers), according to a statement from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The observations suggest that these balls of fire have been appearing every 8.5 years for at least the last four centuries, the statement said.

The gas balls were observed near a red giant called V Hydrae that is about 1,200 light-years away from Earth. Red giants are stars that are nearing the end of their fuel supplies and have begun to puff up and expand. While the fireballs could not have been ejected by the star, it could be that an unseen companion star is responsible for the chaos, according to a new study of this cosmic firing squad. [Celestial Photos: Hubble Space Telescope's Latest Cosmic Views]

"According to this [new] theory, the companion would have to be in an elliptical orbit that carries [the companion] close to the red giant's puffed-up atmosphere every 8.5 years," according to the statement. "As the companion enters the bloated star's outer atmosphere, it gobbles up material. This material then settles into a disk around the companion, and serves as the launching pad for blobs of plasma."

If scientists can discover where these balls come from, it could also explain other weird shapes seen in the cloud of gas around dying stars, some of which have been difficult for scientists to explain, the statement said.

Hot, massive balls of plasma seen near a Red Giant star could be explained by a companion star orbiting close to the Red Giant periodically. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI)

"We knew [V Hydrae] had a high-speed outflow, from previous data, but this is the first time we are seeing this process in action," said lead author on the new work Raghvendra Sahai, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, in the statement. "We suggest that these gaseous blobs produced during this late phase of a star's life help make the structures seen in planetary nebulae."

The new study used Hubble's observations of V Hydrae that took place between 2002 and 2004, and 2011 and 2013. Supplemental observations were performed by the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, which looked at the star in submillimeter wavelengths and found knotty structures that may have been produced by blobs sent out 400 years ago, the statement said.

Astronomers had previously speculated that the knotty structures were actually jets of material that emerge from structures called accretion disks, or disks of material that is accelerating around a star. While red giants do not have accretion disks, their companion stars might. Sahai said that the model proposed in the new paper "provides the most plausible explanation" for what the team observed.

The observations showed another surprise: These clumps aren't fired in the same direction every 8.5 years, possibly because of wobbles in the companion's accretion disk, the statement said. V Hydrae is obscured every 17 years, which could happen when one of the blobs passes in front of the star from Earth's perspective.

"This discovery was quite surprising, but it is very pleasing as well because it helped explain some other mysterious things that had been observed about this star by others," Sahai said.

The results were recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Two of the 28 Dove cubesats that make up Planet Lab's "Flock 1" constellation are seen deploying into orbit from the International Space Station on Feb. 11, 2014.

Cubesats are miniature satellites that have been used exclusively in low Earth orbit for 15 years, and are now being used for interplanetary missions as well. In the beginning, they were commonly used in low Earth orbit for applications such as remote sensing or communications. As of mid-2018, a pair of cubesats was deployed on a mission flying to Mars, and a host of other cubesats are being considered for the moon and Jupiter.

The cubesat design was first proposed in the late 1990s by two professors: Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic State University and Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. They were trying to help students gain engineering experience in satellites, which are traditionally expensive to build and launch. The idea for the cubesat came in part from the miniature toy craze of the day, Beanie Babies, according to Spaceflight Now. Inspired by the individualized stuffed animals, Twiggs' idea was to allow students to build their own miniature satellites.

The basic design of a cubesat is a 10-centimeter (4-inch) cube with a mass of less than 1.33 kilograms (2.93 lbs.), the article added. But variations on the theme are possible. Cubesats can also be designed to encompass two, three or six 10-centimeter units for more complicated missions.

Cubesats reduce launch costs in two fundamental ways. They don't weigh that much, which means a rocket doesn't need a lot of fuel to heft them. In most cases, they also share a rocket with a larger satellite, making it possible to get to space on the coattails of the heavier payload.

There are some design challenges with cubesats, however. The electronics are smaller and are therefore more sensitive to radiation. Because they are small, they cannot carry large payloads with them. Their low cost also means they are generally designed to last only a few weeks, months or years before ceasing operations (and for those in low Earth orbit, falling back into the atmosphere.)

Three small cubesats float above the Earth after deployment from the International Space Station. Astronaut Rick Mastracchio tweeted the photo from the station on Nov. 19, 2013. (Image credit: Rick Mastracchio (via Twitter as @AstroRM))

Brief history

The first six cubesats were launched in June 2003 from Russia's Plesetsk launch site. At the time, according to a 2004 Space.com article, the going rate for a cubesat's launch was about $40,000, which is a bargain compared to a typical satellite (many are millions of dollars.)

Cubesats were made possible by the ongoing miniaturization of electronics, which allows instruments such as cameras to ride into orbit at a fraction of the size of what was required at the beginning of the space age in the 1960s.

"Peep inside a cubesat and you'll spot off-the-shelf circuitry in the familiar form of microprocessors and modem ports, and other microchip devices typically used in cell phones, digital cameras and hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation units," wrote Space.com insider columnist Leonard David in 2004.

Tiny cubesats are revolutionizing how scientists, students and even private companies explore and utilize space. See how cubesat technology makes satellites smaller in our full infographic (Image credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)

For the first decade, most cubesats that flew came from university or research applications. Only a handful of satellites launched every year; then in 2013, the number of launches suddenly numbered in the dozens. It was in that year that the commercial sector began to launch satellites, according to SpaceDaily.

New technologies are being pioneered to improve the use of cubesats, such as a 2017 NASA parachute project that could land the small satellites without the need of boosters. And several high-profile projects have been announced in the public sector, including NASA "swarms" of Earth-observing cubesats, the adoption of a satellite by public radio station NPR, and a Canadian student cubesat competition.

There have been more than 2,100 cubesats and nanosatellites as of mid-2018, according to nanosats.eu. Among the prominent uses of Earth-orbiting cubesats today:

Planet Labs, an Earth observation company, has dozens of cubesat-sized Dove satellites in orbit, as well as a few RapidEye cubesats. The cubesats are used in everything from disaster response to climate monitoring.

The NanoRacks Cubesat Deployer on the International Space Station launches cubesats after they have been hauled to orbit aboard a visiting ISS vehicle.

NASA's Cubesat Launch initiative provides launch slots for cubesats aboard traditional rocket launches.

Some space industry experts worry that the popularization of cubesats will create a lot of junk in low-Earth orbit, as companies and researchers race to get their ideas into space without considering the long-term consequences. In March 2018, the Federal Communications Commission alleged that one U.S. company launched several small satellites without permission after the FCC blocked the launch, saying the satellites were too small for sensors to track.

Moving outside of Earth orbit

Starting in 2018, cubesats began to venture outside of Earth orbit. Here are some of the projects under way, or still being planned:

Mars Cube One (MarCO)  the first cubesats to leave Earth  launched on May 5, 2018, along with NASA's InSight lander. InSight is expected to land on Mars on Nov. 26, 2018; it is currently en route and the cubesats are flying just behind it, as they separated independently from the rocket during launch and are running on solar power.

The cubesats are nicknamed "WALL-E" and "Eve" after the 2008 animated Pixar movie "WALL-E," which follows the adventures of robots in space. When InSight lands, the cubesats will attempt to send data back to Earth about its descent. This is a test flight and the information will not be critical, as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will do the same job. MarCO's mission will end shortly afterwards.

NASA's first Space Launch System test launch in 2019 will pioneer the rocket expected to bring humans out of low Earth orbit for the first time since the 1960s. The initial, uncrewed launch will include up to 13 microsatellites. Concept ideas include Lunar Flashlight, which reflects sunlight to peer into permanently shadowed craters on the moon, and NEA Scout, which will use a solar sail to fly to near-Earth asteroid 1991VG.

NASA is considering a mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa in the 2020s or 2030s. In 2014, NASA said it was considering including cubesats on the mission, which would carry out functions including "reconnaissance for future landing sites, gravity fields, magnetic fields, atmospheric and plume science, and radiation measurements." NASA confirmed the cubesats would be included in May 2018, and asked the science community for their ideas.

The European Space Agency and NASA previously considered a joint mission to investigate the asteroid 65803 Didymos and try to move its moon via an impactor. The mission was called Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission. For the European part, they considered including two cubesats to do supplemental observations. The Europeans elected not to fund their part of the mission in 2016 to give more money to the ExoMars rover mission, but NASA is continuing development on its part. The launch has been delayed into the 2020s.

Additional resources
A double eyewall structure captured of Hurricane #Matthew at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Oct. 6, 2016 by the Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite.

Powerful Hurricane Matthew has left NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in its wake, and the venerable spaceport is still standing.

Matthew passed offshore of KSC (which lies on central Florida's Atlantic coast, just east of Orlando), apparently sparing the site a direct hit, NASA officials wrote in an update this morning (Oct. 7).

"At this time, there is observed to be limited roof damage to KSC facilities, water and electrical utilities services have been disrupted and there is scattered debris," NASA officials wrote. "Storm surge has been observed to be relatively minimal, limited to localized portions of the space center." [Hurricane Matthew: NASA Satellite Reveals Layers Of Storm In 3D (Video)]

As of 9:45 a.m. EDT (1345 GMT) today, winds at KSC were declining but still had not dropped consistently below 58 mph (93 km/h)  meaning it was still too dangerous to send crews outside to perform a thorough damage assessment, the update added.

"The Damage Assessment and Recovery Team will be brought in for its formal assessment Saturday morning [Oct. 8]," NASA officials wrote.

NASA closed KSC yesterday (Oct. 6) and today to prepare for, and weather, Matthew. The spaceport has long been the launch center for NASA astronauts; the Apollo moon missions lifted off from KSC, for example, as did space shuttle flights to Earth orbit. KSC also manages launch activities for NASA robotic missions that lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which is right next door on the Florida coast.

Meanwhile, new satellite views have revealed that Matthew has developed a larger central eye with a double "eyewall," which commonly occurs with powerful hurricanes. Eyewalls harbor intense thunderstorms with strong winds and heavy rains, so the addition of a second band means larger areas may get dumped on, NASA officials said.

Matthew is currently a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds around 115 mph (185 km/hr), according to the latest update by the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). As of 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) today, the storm was 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Jacksonville, Florida, and moving north-northwest at 12 mph (19 km/h).

While Matthew has weakened a bit over the past day or so  it was a Category 4 storm yesterday, with winds around 140 mph (225 km/h)  the hurricane remains very dangerous, with the potential to wreak life-threatening havoc over a large swath of the southeastern United States, the NHC has warned. For more information and the latest updates, keep checking back with the NHC's Matthew page here: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?5-daynl

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
This NASA sky map for Oct. 8, 2016 shows where to look for the origin of the Draconid meteor shower in the constellation Draco in the northern sky at about 11:30 p.m. your local time.

The annual Draconid meteor shower is in full swing for skywatchers this week, and you can even watch the shooting star display online tonight (Oct. 7), courtesy of the Slooh Community Observatory.

Slooh is hosting a free Draconid meteor shower webcast tonight at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 Oct. 8 GMT), featuring live video on Slooh.com from cameras in the Canary Islands, the United Kingdom and Thunder Bay, Canada. The astronomy broadcasting service will be on the air for five hours.

You can also watch the Draconids webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh. [Amazing Draconid Meteor Shower Photos]

The Draconids occur in early October every year when the Earth goes through the stream left behind from Comet 21/P Giacobini-Zinner. This comet orbits the sun every 6.6 years.

Besides live views of the meteors, Slooh astronomer Eric Edelman will discuss what viewers need to know to watch the shower, including tips for observing, the location to look at (the constellation Draco), and supplies to bring. Also, Slooh astronomer Bob Berman will discuss the comet that created the Draconids.

"Viewers will also get a unique opportunity to learn how to capture this amazing meteor shower with their own standard DSLR camera, and how they can hear these streaking bits of space debris, even when they can't see them," Slooh representatives wrote in a statement.

"And for the historically inclined, the broadcast will also feature harrowing myths of dragons throughout history, including that of the Greek hero Hercules and his attempts to steal the golden apples of Zeus from the terrifying dragon Ladon, where the Draconids get their name."

Sometimes the shower can end up being spectacular, such as in 1933 and 1946, when thousands of meteors per hour were reported. Strong shows also occurred in 1998, 2005, and 2011.

"Most meteor showers peak well after midnight, but the Draconids are best seen between sunset and midnight when the radiant, the constellation Draco, is at its highest point in the sky," Slooh added.

Viewers can participate by sending questions and meteor observations to @Slooh on Twitter, or the live chat at Slooh.com.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a possible story or gallery, you can send images and comments in to spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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If the Qataris continue increasing their holdings at Deutsche Bank, it's likely they will also push for changes in executive management. Paul Achleitner's role as chairman of the supervisory board may likewise be in danger, despite the demonstrative support showed him by HBJ this spring.

In terms of bank strategy, the sheikhs would like to see Deutsche play a greater role in global investment banking. Only in that segment, they believe, does the company still have the potential to earn big money, even today. The hope of the Gulf investors is that fresh capital could strengthen the bank and enable it to regain lost market share. It would be the very back-to-the-future strategy that Anshu Jain promised when he brought the Qataris on board as investors. They appear to regret Jain's departure - it is reported that one of their advisors is one of the deposed Deutsche Bank co-heads former senior executives, Michele Faissola, who ran Deutsche Bank's asset and wealth management division.

Whether HBJ and the former emir will in fact seek to take control of Deutsche Bank remains to be seen. The bank isn't making any statements about the issue and the Qataris could not be reached for comment by the time this story went to press.

'A German Institution in Name Only'

But the path would seem to be clear. Banking supervisors at the European Central Bank reportedly have no fundamental concerns about the scenario. And it is also unlikely that the German government would intervene to stop such a deal from happening. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble has no objections to the Qataris making a larger investment in Deutsche Bank. "We have no problem with an investor like that," a ministry source said. There is nothing to indicate the Gulf investors have any kind of hidden agenda, the ministry said, adding that, like any other strategic investor, they are simply trying to put their money where they can get a safe return on their investment.

In other words: The Finance Ministry's position is: What's good for the Qataris is also good for Germany.

Schauble would likewise have no issue with the Qataris obtaining a blocking minority of 25 percent or more. In such instances, the government can intervene under the country's foreign trade law, but Berlin doesn't want to. One of Schauble's staff explained the reluctance to stop the investments by saying: "At this point, Deutsche Bank is a German institution in name only." More than half of the company's shares are held by foreigners, the staffer explained, and the company's business model is a global one. "In that sense, any strategic investor can help create stability."

Experts within the Finance Ministry expect that the beleaguered bank will also be interesting to other investors, like sovereign wealth funds in need of places to invest their surplus billions. But officials in Berlin believe they will hold back until Deutsche Bank's legal dispute with the United States has finally been settled. The Qataris also appear to be delaying their first steps.

Berlin Doesn't Want to Intervene

One of the reasons the German government is willing to embrace investors with open arms is due to speculation in recent weeks of a national bailout of Deutsche Bank. Of course the government would step in if Deutsche Bank threatened to become a problem for the entire financial system. But prior to federal parliamentary elections next year, nobody wants to be in the position of having to explain why taxpayer funds must be used to rescue Deutsche Bank.

That's why outbursts like the one made last week by Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is also head of the center-left Social Democrats, are so popular. During a trip to Iran, be blustered, "I don't know if I should laugh or be angry that a bank that made speculation its business model has now declared itself to be the victim of speculators." His tirade was based on statements made by Cryan that hedge funds are attacking the bank, causing the recent stock price fall.

Gabriel isn't wrong: Deutsche Bank is indeed suffering the long-term effects of its risky business policies and it still counts around 800 hedge funds among its customers.

But even if Gabriel, as the head of a center-left party, may enjoy bashing the bank, as economics minister it is in his interest to help to stabilize the last German financial institution of global importance.

In the American media, reporters have already begun drawing parallels between Deutsche Bank and the final, pre-crash months of Lehman Brothers. For much of 2008, it was a toy for speculators and distrust grew among investors to the point that the bank had to be dismantled.

An Exaggerated Comparison

The comparison, though, is far-fetched. The bank still has cash reserves of 215 billion euros and could very quickly make that money available. It also has much bigger capitol buffers than it did in 2008.

But the mechanisms of the world of finance haven't changed since then. If investors, customers and employees lose their trust in a bank, the floor could fall out from beneath it. Speculators then begin attacking the weakest link - and even just fears of a collapse, however unrealistic that angst may be, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That explains why Deutsche Bank's stock price went haywire last week when reports emerged that around a dozen hedge funds had withdrawn from the bank. In normal times, such withdrawals would hardly be noticed, the company's stock price collapsed out of fear that those 12 hedge funds could be a harbinger of worse to come: flight by major customers.

This is making supervisory authorities, but particularly shareholders and bond holders in the bank nervous. Many view the fines being imposed for sins committed by the company in the US real estate market as the sparks that could cause Deutsche Bank to go up in flames. So far, the German government has shown reserve on the issue. The word in Berlin is that an intervention isn't justified. Finance Ministry sources recall France having had a similar experience years ago. "It totally backfired and we don't want a repeat of that."

Market players expressed a sense of relief in recent days as it emerged that Deutsche Bank may be able to settle its dispute with the Justice Ministry for $5.4 billion. But the partial recovery of Deutsche Bank's stock price can also in part be explained through the fact that hedge funds that had previously speculated on a further drop in the stock may have bought back stocks in order to cash in their profits or minimize losses.

The ultimate size of the fine Deutsche Bank will have to pay the Americans remains open. Bank CEO Cryan is currently in Washington seeking a settlement for the company. A deal with the US authorities would be positive news because it would eliminate the uncertainty over how high the fine will be.

Still, a $5.4 billion fine is significant and would consume almost the entire reserves the bank has earmarked for legal disputes. The bank had assigned only half that total to the subprime mortgage dispute with the US. The rest had been intended to cover the threat of billions in fines relating to dubious business practices in Russia.

Experts calculate that the bank could handle a fine even as high as $7 or $8 billion without falling below legally mandated capital thresholds. Shareholders and analysts nevertheless believe the company needs additional capital - not just to cover the fines, but also because the bank needs a thick buffer to secure the peace and quiet it needs to undertake difficult restructuring.

Desires for a Strong Shareholder

Influential investors are also demanding a clearer strategy. They want to know "what segments the bank wants to make money with in the future," says one major shareholder, who adds that the company hasn't provided any satisfactory answers to that question in past years.

Desires for a strong major shareholder to inject money, eliminate persistent doubts about the bank's capitalization and push for a clear strategy are growing - and this despite the fact that every existing shareholder knows that an increase in capital would drastically water down the value of their own holdings in the company.

That's the situation that is playing into the hands of Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani. He's one of the business world's richest and most flamboyant personalities, with a fortune estimated at between $10 and $70 billion. His business partner, former emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, once said he may rule Qatar, but HBJ owns it.

And it's not just Qatar that he owns, either - his holdings around the world include a luxury apartment at One Hyde Park in London, one of the world's most expensive residential properties, along with the Picasso painting "Women of Algiers" which he purchased for a record price of $179 million last year.

There are many rumors about how HBJ amassed his fortune, some of which don't cast a particularly flattering light on the sheikh, who initially pursued a career in politics, serving as prime minister from 2007 to 2013.

Years ago, authorities in the British territory of Jersey accused HBJ of having taken bribe payments from the British defense firm BAE. Investigators closed the case following a voluntary, multimillion dollar payment to Jersey authorities. Any further proceedings against HBJ were deemed to not be in the public interest.

He once described his attitude about his accrual of wealth in a television interview. He said that some of the wealth he had, like that of all Qataris, may be questionable from a Western point of view. But according to Qatari standards, it was legitimate and had been obtained through legitimate business.

A Penchant for Tax Havens

Like many of the wealthy and superrich, HBJ has a soft spot for tax havens. His 133-meter yacht is technically held by a shell company, and even the shares he has acquired in Deutsche Bank so far are owned by a chain of offshore companies set up in Panama and the British Virgin Islands. With increasing public focus on such tax oases, the number of questions being asked about the origins and use of HBJ's money are likely to grow.

Qatar has also repeatedly been accused of supporting Hamas and not doing enough to combat Islamist terrorism. As such, its relationship with the United States is not particularly tight.

Indisputable, though, is HBJ's penchant for investing in the financial industry. Even back when he was in charge of the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, he had a focus on banks, with Qatar investing in Barclays when it had solvency problems during the financial crisis. Qatar also invested in Credit Suisse as well as in the London Stock Exchange.

As a private investor, HBJ has continued to focus on the financial industry, investing in Barclays, this time as a private citizen, and acquired the Luxembourg business of the dissolved financial group Dexia and bought the little-known KBL group, which owns Munich's private Merck Finck bank.

But the 2014 purchase of Deustche Bank shares has been the sheikh's most important strategic investment.

The key question as to the future of Deutsche Bank is what the sheikh wants to do with it.
Shaheed El Hafed, October 7, 2016 (SPS) Mercenaries attend each year the deliberations of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly, charged by Morocco that spends millions of dollars to mislead international public opinion and to defend the Moroccan colonial thesis in Western Sahara.

The Moroccan delegation this year is composed of over sixty persons selected and well paid, including agents of the Moroccan intelligence services whose mission is to focus their interventions to attack Algeria and the Polisario Front and present false achievements of Morocco in Western Sahara.

Many secret documents of Moroccan ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, according to the revelations of Chris Coleman, for the past three years, Morocco offered bribes and recruited journalists and research centers to defend its colonial presence in Western Sahara.

The documents also confirmed that the recruitment process supervised by Moroccan intelligence services and the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, aimed at giving a different picture of reality and misleading international public opinion.

A secret document released by Morocco's Foreign Ministry in 2014, and published by Chris Coleman, revealed instructions to different recipients in order to prepare a special program and financial rewards to some people and politicians in several countries to be brought to New York.

The same document revealed a list of people who have expressed their desire to defend the Moroccan case before the Committee on decolonization in exchange for bribes.

It also revealed the allocation by the Moroccan ministry of Foreign Affairs of $11,000 and round-trip tickets to New York in first class in addition to accommodation in Luxury hotels in New York for five days.

The following links confirm recruitment by Morocco of some mercenaries to defend its colonial thesis in Western Sahara: (SPS)

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http://www.arso.org/Coleman/octobre2012Petitionnaires4eCom67.jpg

http://www.arso.org/Coleman/liste_Ptitionnaires_M_Intrieur.pdf

http://www.arso.org/Coleman/tableau_petitionnaires-%20MAEC.pdf

http://www.arso.org/Coleman/470-14.pdf

http://www.arso.org/Coleman/Petitionnaires-AG-67-2012.png

http://www.arso.org/Coleman/525-14_NY.PDF

http://www.arso.org/Coleman/note_de_cadrage_69_AG_VF.pdf
Copenhagen (Denmark) 7 October 2016 (SPS) - Polisario Front's Representative to Denmark, Mr. Abba Malainin, was received Friday by Mr. Christian Juhl, member of Danish Parliament from the Red-Green Alliance Party.

The Saharawi diplomat briefed his interlocutor about the latest developments with regard to the issue of Western Sahara, the UN peace process, and the Moroccan governments recent violation of ceasefire agreement of 1991 and its military escalation in Al-Guargarat area.

The discussions also tackled the human rights situation in occupied Western Sahara mainly the critical situation of the Saharawi human rights activists imprisoned in Morocco.

The Saharawi representative demanded more pressure from the Danish Parliament so that Morocco releases the Gdaim Izik group and all the Saharawi human rights activists.

It should be noted that the Danish parliament had unanimously passed a motion June 2nd on Western Sahara, which urges the Danish companies and Danish public sector to refrain from trade deals with Morocco that include Western Sahara.

During the debate that preceded the vote, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Jensen said he would talk to Danish companies to ensure that they know of the motion and the position the Danish parliament has now taken on Western Sahara. (SPS)

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New York, October 7, 2016 (SPS) - POLISARIO Front Representative to the UN, Ahmed Boukhari underlined Thursday that "the people of Western Sahara will not abdicate their fight for self-determination" in his speech before the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He stated that the IV Committee and the International Court of Justice made it clear that the Saharawi question is "a question of decolonization, that the presence of Morocco in the Western Sahara is illegal, and recognizes the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence."

For him, the International Court of Justice acknowledges that the Polisario Front is the sole and legitimate representative of the people of Western Sahara. (SPS)

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An elected hereditary peer, Lord Inglewood is an active politician, serving two terms as a member of the European Parliament between 1989-2004 and since 1999 in the House of Lords.

I am delighted to be patron of the LAA who are looking forward so positively to the future, particularly as the livestock auction mart system enters its 200th year in 2017, said Lord Inglewood.

The auction mart system has been able to adapt to the ever changing world and is now very much more sophisticated. Selling through auction marts provides transparency in the market place and keeps prices competitive making them an absolute necessity to get the best prices for farmers and deliver best value to consumers, which has been critical for them to survive, he said.
The Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association, The Herdy Company and Newton Rigg College have joined forces with a mission to complete the breeds gene bank which was started during the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic by The Sheep Trust. The new initiative will help to ensure the long term protection and survival of the breed and is particularly appropriate as this is the Herdwicks' centenary year.

Six pure bred ewes from fell farms across the county have been brought to Sewborwens Farm at Newton Rigg College where their embryos will be collected under a closely monitored 8 week programme. These will then be frozen and stored in The Sheep Trust Heritage Gene Bank Archive along with fertilised eggs and semen collected by the charity 15 years ago.

The project is being sponsored by The Herdy Company, renowned for its lovable brand inspired by the iconic Herdwick sheep, and for Newton Rigg College students it means involvement in an exciting and significant live project which could be of benefit to their own flocks in years to come.

Amanda Carson, Secretary of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders' Association explained: The importance of this initiative cannot be over-estimated as we work to extend the Herdwick Gene Bank with good examples of the breed from proper fell going sheep. Our aim is to ensure the protection of the breed should a future catastrophe occur, such as Foot & Mouth, where numbers are either reduced or wiped out. Although there are Herdwicks elsewhere in the country, these sheep are locally adapted to the breeds home county and represent the most characteristic fell type. The Herdwick Heritage Gene Bank Project is an insurance to ensure the breed's longevity and protection.

Herdwick numbers are currently not under threat  there are about 50,000 in the UK. At the end of the 8 week project, the sheep will be returned to their farms to continue as before.

It is hoped that this project will encourage new gene banks to be established for additional sheep breeds as a much wider national insurance policy to protect the UKs farm animal genetic resources, said Ms Carson.
Connecticuts shoreline along Long Island Sound is dotted with lighthouses, from Greenwich to Stonington. While some are open to the public, most are best viewed by boat or from the shore. Luckily for lighthouse aficionados, there are several organizations in Connecticut that put on lighthouse cruises to give a closer look at the beacons that welcome ships to our shores. The Greenwich Parks Ferry, Norwalk Seaport Association, Captains Cove, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Mystic Seaport and more.

Click through the slideshow above to see some local houses and scroll down for information on even more Connecticut lighthouses.

Unless otherwise noted, these lighthouses are not open to the public for tours and are best viewed by boat.

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Great Captains Island Lighthouse

Great Captains Island, located 1.5 miles off the coast of Greenwich, has a rich, storied history. Captain reportedly refers to Captain Daniel Patrick, Greenwichs first military commander. Both New York and Connecticut claimed ownership of the island until 1879, when jurisdiction was officially awarded to Connecticut. The lighthouse on Great Captains Island was first built as a wooden structure in 1829, and was later replaced by a handsome stone structure in 1868. Today, the island is open to the public and accessible by ferry from Greenwichs Arch Street dock in the summer.

www.greenwichct.org

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Greens Ledge Lighthouse

Greens Ledge Lighthouse is located off the southwest end of the Norwalk Islands. The sparkplug lighthouse was built in 1902 to replace the Sheffield Island Lighthouse. In 1990, the Greens Ledge Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse is not open to the public, though it serves as the starting point for the annual Ladrigan Lighthouse Swim Race. It is best seen by boat.

www.newenglandlighthouses.net

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Stratford Shoal Lighthouse

The Stratford Shoal Lighthouse is so far from shore that there has been debate about whether the lighthouse belonged to New York or Connecticut. It is best viewed from the decks of the Port Jefferson Ferry.

www.newenglandlighthouses.net

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Faulkners Island Lighthouse

Located off the coast of Guilford, the Faulkners Island Lighthouse is the second oldest surviving lighthouse tower in Connecticut. Built in 1802, it remains an active beacon to incoming ships and is maintained by the group Faulkners Light Brigade.

www.faulknerslight.org

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Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse

The Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is the tower depicted on Connecticuts Preserve the Sound license plates. It is located at Fenwick Point near Old Saybrook. It is one of two lighthouses built off Lynde Point and is known as the pairs Outer Light.

www.newenglandlighthouses.net

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Lynde Point Lighthouse

The Lynde Point Lighthouse is known as the Inner Light of the pair of lighthouses built off Lynde Point near Old Saybrook. Together, the lighthouses highlight the channel at the mouth of the Connecticut River.

www.newenglandlighthouses.net

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New London Harbor Light

The New London Harbor Light is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Connecticut. It is maintained and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. It is open to the public on a limited, appointment-only basis. Call 860-447-2501 to inquire.

www.nlmaritimesociety.org

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New London Ledge Lighthouse

The New London Ledge Lighthouse is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Ernie, its former keeper. Legend has it that Ernies wife ran away with the captain of the Block Island Ferry, driving Ernie to jump from the roof of the lighthouse. His body was never recovered, but it seems that Ernie never left Ledge Lighthouse. The lighthouse is maintained by the Ledge Lighthouse Foundation, which offers guided tours of the lighthouse. Call 860-445-9007 for more information.

www.ledgelighthouse.org

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Avery Point Lighthouse

The Avery Point Lighthouse is positioned on the University of Connecticut campus at Avery Point in Groton. It was the last lighthouse to be built in the state and serves as a symbol of the U.S. Coast Guards duty to lighthouse keeping responsibilities. Thanks to the efforts of the Avery Point Lighthouse Society, it was relit in 2006 after being deactivated nearly 40 years prior. The grounds are open to allow an up-close view of the lighthouse.

www.averypointlight.com

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Stonington Harbor Lighthouse

The Stonington Harbor Lighthouse marks the entrance to Stonington Harbor in Connecticut. It was first built in 1823 and now serves as Stoningtons Old Lighthouse Museum, which is open to the public.

www.stoningtonhistory.org
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NORWALK  Following the death of a 4-month-old girl at a Norwalk day care Wednesday, the state Office of Early Childhood has taken emergency action and has suspended the child care providers license.

The agency has the authority to suspend a license when it finds that the health, welfare and safety of day care children requires emergency action, Debra Johnson, division director of licensing at OEC, said.

The summary suspension was issued late Thursday, Johnson said. The owner of the day care, Christine Limone, will have the opportunity to be heard at a hearing in Hartford next week, said Maggie Adair, a spokesperson for the OEC.

An administrative hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Oct. 13 at the OEC licensing division offices in Hartford, Adair said. She (Limone) will have the opportunity to speak, as will investigators from OEC. We hire outside hearing officers to conduct the hearing.

An autopsy of the child was performed Friday. However, a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the agency would not release a cause and manner of death pending further studies.

The OCME will issue a pending death certificate for cases in which further testing, such as toxicology testing, is required to make a definitive determination on cause and manner of death.

Toxicologic results can take between one to four weeks to complete.

On Wednesday, the Norwalk Police Department responded to Limones 9 Hunters Lane home for an unresponsive 4-month-old. The infant was transported to Norwalk Hospital for evaluation where the infant was later pronounced dead.

Limone, the daughter of Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, was cited by the inspectors from the Office of Early Childhood in March and May. At a March inspection, the facility was found to be over capacity, and during an unannounced reinspection in May, a state official said, Limone slammed doors and directed obscenities at the inspector.

The investigation into the death has been taken over by detectives from the Connecticut State Polices Western District Major Crime Squad. Norwalk police had been handling the probe.

According to the Office of Early Childhood, on March 23 Limones facility was found to be over capacity, with seven children rather than the allowed six.

Additionally, Limone was only allowed to have two children under age 2, but there were three. The water temperature was found to be too high and a garage door was not secured.

We considered the severity of the capacity violations to be very serious, Johnson said. She was cited for personal qualities and judgment in exceeding capacity.

Limone was ordered to submit a corrective action plan. Johnson said she did.

On May 5, an inspector returned unannounced and found while the facility was within proper capacity, other hazardous violations existed, including electrical outlets uncovered, a stairway with no barrier, water temperature too hot, childrens records incomplete or missing, and a fire extinguisher was not mounted.

During that inspection, Johnson said, Limone was slamming doors and using obscenities. Limone was again ordered to submit a corrective action plan.

Limone had her day care inspected at least eight times before March, going back to 2002.

Prior to March, there have been no substantial complaints against her, and no disciplinary action against her license, Johnson said.

Connecticut State Police detectives are now handling the death investigation. The Office of Early Childhood is assisting in the investigation, as it does in all cases of death in a licensed day care.

llake@hearstmediact.com
An opportunity to improve the quality of Connecticut education.

Thats how we should view the Superior Court education funding ruling and the attorney generals current appeal of that decision to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

And while a Supreme Court decision might not be rendered until a year from now, that should not stop us, as lawmakers, from debating and examining what can and should be done to improve the states broken education funding system.

Protect funding . A top priority must be to protect towns such as Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport from having education funding taken away. The system should not be about winners and losers. It should not be about political meddling to help one municipality while hurting another. The funding system should be logical, predictable and transparent. Local officials should be able to plan on what their annual state funding should be. There should be no last-minute, 11th-hour surprises at the capitol. The formula should be simple, fair and easy to explain. It should be free from any efforts to misdirect money.

Help the vulnerable. In recent years, money has been taken away from Bridgeport  home to some of our poorest schools. Thats not fair, thats shameful and that only hurts our overall efforts to lift up our cities. We must remedy that wrong.

Defend the disabled. Our laws guarantee every student the right to an education. Disabled students have a right to educational opportunities just as much as any child does. That right cannot be limited in any way, and we must make sure it never is.

Use best practices. We should look to other states which have recently made major fundamental education reforms. What is working for students in those states? What isnt? How can Connecticut build upon those successes and avoid the pitfalls? How can Connecticut become the national role model for successful, sustainable, reliable education policy?

Stability, stability stability. What we are faced with is the opportunity to put forth a thoughtful, enduring, fix to our education policies. The current formula cries out for reform  reform that hasnt taken place in three decades. Reform which will put an end to the annual uncertainty at the municipal budgetary level. Injecting stability into the process will have long-lasting benefits which will go well beyond the necessary educational fixes and bring certainty to the local budgets which determine our property taxes.

So let the discussion begin. May it be respectful, measured, and free from rhetoric. May it focus on common goals which unite us.

This is our state. These are Connecticuts children. Together, we can better serve future generations and future Connecticut leaders.

Lets get this right  for them.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, a Republican, represents the 28th District, which includes Newtown. Email Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov.
STAMFORD  A New York woman accused of wandering Stamford Hospitals maternity area in a lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck was recently spotted acting suspiciously in a Boston hospital, police said.

Susan Drucker, 56, of New York City, was escorted back to Stamford, where she was arraigned Friday on a failure to appear in court charge.

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Steven Weiss told state Superior Court Judge Auden Grogins that Drucker was stopped inside Massachusetts General Hospital where she was carrying a lab coat that didnt belong to her.

Weiss also added an identity theft charge because he said Drucker was in possession of someone elses identification. Grogins ordered she be held for her next Nov. 4 court date on $7,500 bond. The bail will need to be paid in cash and not through a bondsman.

Grogins ordered Drucker to undergo a substance abuse and mental health evaluation and assigned her a public defender.

Drucker was supposed to be in court on Sept. 19 to face charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct for the incident at Stamford Hospital. She failed to make the court appearance and a judge ordered her to be re-arrested.

A New York doctor, who has been treating Drucker for 20 years, said she was recently sent to a psychiatric hospital for schizophrenia, according to court documents. Drucker has been spotted wandering around several hospitals over the past six months, according to the documents.

She has decompensated mentally and requires hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Thomas Argyros wrote.

Stamford Police Capt. Richard Conklin said although Drucker was seen acting suspiciously at Massachusetts General Hospital, she was not charged by Boston police for the incident.

Her activities are extremely concerning and it appears that she will travel great distances, said Conklin, who said warning bulletins about Drucker have been sent to other police agencies in Connecticut and other states.

Drucker was arrested in Stamford on Sept. 5 while wearing a stethoscope around her neck and dressed in what appeared to be a nurses uniform while inside Stamford Hospitals maternity wing, authorities said.

Police said they were called to the hospital for a report of a suspicious woman trespassing on the property. Officers spoke with security guards, who said the woman had been seen at the hospital on several occasions, but that she did not work there and was not a patient.

Police said Drucker was wearing a jacket or a shirt that said New York-Presbyterian Hospital, but did not appear to be associated with that hospital.

After Drucker was taken into custody, police found several hospital wristbands in her bag with other peoples names on them, according to the report.

Police said there is no evidence that she interacted with patients.
S trip club chain Spearmint Rhino is not in the best shape, new accounts have suggested.

The UK arm of the gentlemen's club group, whose British flagship is in Tottenham Court Road, fell into the red in 2015 with a loss of 160,772. That was down from a profit of 10,000 the previous year.

Sales also dipped to 6.3 million from 6.7 million.

Staff numbers decreased by 22 to 87 at the company whose director John Specht is famed for suggesting that struggling students should strip their way through college.

Spearmint Rhino did not reply to requests for comments. But it's strategic report said: "The group is exposed to a variety of commercial risks."

It added that these could include wider effects of the general economy and external competition. However it said the results were "considered satisfactory".

Earlier this week gentlemen's club chain Stringfellows also posted profit and revenue decreases.

Founder Peter Stringfellow blamed tough trading on pre EU referendum jitters, the impact of terror attacks and major construction works in London.
S top me if youre an Esquire reader, but tucked away in this notable mens mag is perhaps the most interesting political story of an interesting week, viz, that Tony Blair is contemplating a return to frontline politics.

Asked on the question, he says: Theres a limit to what I can say about my own position at this moment. All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? Thats an open question.

Now set aside for the moment the ex-PMs profoundly irritating habit  taken to extremes by David Cameron  of asking himself questions and then answering them; we have here an interesting phenomenon of a man who sees himself as a statesman rather than a mere politician, who is sans state.

Dont laugh. The last we saw of Mr Blair was in crushed-but-defiant mode following the publication of the Chilcot report, which established that he did next to nothing to challenge the US in its juggernaut progress to war, beyond suggesting it might take the UN into account. The upshot of that conflict is, unfortunately for Mr B, still with us in the condition of Iraq right now, still partly occupied by Islamic State.

But anyone who dismisses Mr Blair is almost certainly too young to remember him in his prime, when he was invincible. I remember after one of his barnstorming leaders speeches to the Labour conference, one MP turned to me and whispered: And whats he going to do on the Eighth Day?

Back then, Mr Blair was so far ahead of his wretched Tory rivals it was practically undemocratic. Bit like now, then, only in reverse.

Hes not the only member of the class that Mrs May has usefully characterised as the Liberal Metropolitan Elite  political section  who has surfaced to express discontent with the way things are going. George Osborne, who apparently used to refer to Mr B as the master (to David Cameron), is also feeling restive at the turn things are taking. Hes to write a book warning about the Age of Unreason and the forces of populist nationalism in particular. And if you want to see that as an attack on Brexiteers, well, he wont sue.

Its not beyond the bounds of possibility, you know, that a rattle of the kaleidoscope could end up with George and Tony in common cause. The problem there is obviously that the tide has turned against the entitled classes they represent, more than they ever did their constituencies. If immigration is now a problem to be grasped, no one is going to forget that net foreign migration in the Labour years came to 3.6 million. Thanks, Tony.

But given the official opposition, which now, God help us, boasts Diane Abbott as shadow home secretary, whos to say a new political class wouldnt look rather attractive before long. Mrs Mays luck must run out eventually.

Lawyers do put in the hours  in loo

So it turns out that lawyers on 100 an hour are charging their clients for their time on the loo  on the basis that they spend their time brooding on cases while defecating.

This raises yet again the question of why it is that lawyers cant charge, like electricians, on the basis of the job they do, not the time they spend. As a way of rewarding inefficiency, on or off the toilet, its unsurpassed.

Theres a gender aspect to this, you know. A while back, a report on getting more women into the legal profession suggested that women who have to juggle family and work commitments are signally better at managing their time than men. So by paying people rationally, for actual work, you reward the efficient and penalise the taxi-meter practitioners. Mind you, were talking normal women here, not Amal Clooney.

Tell me, someone, what incentive is there, right now, for lawyers to do their job as quickly as possible?

Real people as rare as Mary

Today were channelling the Banks children, watching dismally as Mary Poppins takes off with an umbrella, leaving them behind. Except in our case, theres a Mr Poppins too.

Our downstairs neighbours are finally leaving, after living in our mansion block since 1979, way before me. So, no one to hide the childrens birthday presents for me or let us watch Victoria on TV (I dont have one). Woe, woe.

Theyre a vanishing species in my area  non-rich, he an ex-butcher, she formerly of John Lewis. They enjoyed, you see, a protected rent, that legacy of a lost world. Thats how you got normal people in areas like ours, and with it that valuable thing, social diversity. Bet theyll be replaced by bankers.

* The hollowing out of central London continues. H R Stokes, a bona fide stationer and bookshop in Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, has shut all of a sudden. It was a useful, attractive little shop, where you could buy things you needed, as opposed to most of the retailers in the area  knicker and shoe shops for oligarchs girlfriends.

Its not just Belgravia, either. The other day I went to Mount Street for a few lamb chops from Allens of Mayfair, which has been there for as long as anyone can remember and was a really good craft butcher, dating from the time when people there cooked  alas. it is no more.

I dont know why shops like these are closing, and rates dont help, but Mayfair and Belgravia are both the fiefdom of the Grosvenor Estate. Cant it spare small shops?
A theism is nothing like as easy as it looks. It may be simple enough at the individual level, but for whole societies to achieve this condition has proved remarkably hard. In fact, modernity is littered with the rubble of failed surrogates for the Almighty, all the way from reason, art, science, culture and humanity to nature, the people, the state and Tom Cruise. No sooner has God been rejected than he is smuggled in the back door again, sometimes in heavy disguise.

I dont mean to suggest that these phenomena are stand-ins for the deity, but all of them have fulfilled such a function at various times. Religion has traditionally played such a vital role in legitimating political regimes that our rulers could hardly look upon the disappearance of God with any degree of equanimity, which is one of several reasons why there have been various, largely doomed, attempts to fill his shoes.

I say largely doomed because religion is an exceedingly hard act to follow. It has, in fact, proved to be by far the most tenacious, enduring, widespread, deep-seated symbolic system humanity has ever known, not least because it is able to connect the everyday customs and practices of billions of ordinary people with the most august, transcendent, imperishable truths. Its the most successful form of popular culture in human history, though I wager you wont find it on a single cultural studies course.

Culture can mean the values and beliefs of a cultivated minority, or it can mean the way of life of a whole people. Culture in the latter sense can nowadays be defined as that which youre prepared to kill or die for. Only religion has been able to merge these two meanings of culture, the aesthetic and the anthropological, into a whole, uniting metaphysical speculation and popular piety, ritual and social reality, in ways that can only turn any other symbolic system green with envy.

Today, the most successful substitute for religion is sport. It is sport that is the opium of the people  it lays on the weekly liturgies, supplies the canon of legendary heroes and provides the sense of solidarity one might previously have found in a chapel or cathedral.

We now arrive at an enormous irony. After a whole series of botched attempts to dislodge the deity from his throne and replace him with some suitably secularised version of himself, European civilisation finally succeeded in dispatching him to the outer darkness when capitalist society changed to the point where Nietzsches call for the death of God could be safely heeded. For advanced capitalism, faith  religious or otherwise  is a divisive, controversial affair, not good in that respect for social cohesion.

Indeed, postmodern capitalism makes the disastrous mistake of regarding conviction itself as both dogmatic and authoritarian: begin with a robust belief in goblins and you end up with the Gulag.

This fear of dogmatism is why so many young people today use the word like every four seconds. Its nine oclock sounds unpleasantly absolute and definitive, whereas its like nine oclock is suitably tentative, provisional and exploratory. When asked whether he had any convictions, the last Mayor of London replied that he had once picked one up for a driving offence.

Advanced or postmodern capitalism can afford to go relativist. Belief isnt what holds it together, as it does the Boy Scout movement or the Lutheran Church. Too much belief is neither necessary nor desirable for such social orders. It is politically dangerous and commercially superfluous. As long as citizens roll out of bed, go into work and pay their taxes, they can believe more or less what they like  an attitude that ancient or medieval civilisation would have viewed with utter bemusement.

Contrast this with the philosopher Charles Taylors insistence that belief is actually constitutive of selfhood.

The faithlessness of advanced capitalism is in-built. In fact, postmodernity might be described as the first atheist civilisation. But just at the point when Western society had buried God, two aircraft slammed into the World Trade Center. A new, full-bloodedly metaphysical grand narrative, that of the conflict between advanced capitalism and a certain reading of Islam, was launched just when the end-of-history merchants in the West had declared all that tedious stuff to be over and done with.

The Almighty, it appeared, was not safely nailed down in his coffin after all. He had simply changed address

Fundamentalism is the pathological mindset of those who feel washed up and humiliated by the brave new world of advanced capitalism and who might conclude that the only way to draw attention to their undervalued existence is to blow the heads off small children in the name of Allah.

Smaller, weaker nations that had suffered under the Wests new post-Cold War triumphalism finally unleashed a backlash in the form of radical Islam. But when it comes to belief, the West is now at a distinct disadvantage, since it had engaged in a kind of ideological disarmament in its post-Cold War, postmodern years, imagining it could get by on a mixture of pragmatism, relativism and secularism at just the moment that it was then confronted by a new, full-bloodedly absolutist, foundationalist, metaphysical antagonist.

The West, confronted with radical Islam, seems now in need of some rather more robust self-justification for its activities than postmodernism can provide.

Terry Eagleton is distinguished professor of English Literature at Lancaster University and an emeritus fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He is the author of Culture and the Death of God (2014). This is an edited version of his lecture this week for Theos, a religious affairs think-tank.
L ondons cocktail scene shone at the Worlds 50 Best Bar awards as it fought a close battle with New York for the title of cocktail capital of the world.

While London bars won more places on the list than any other city on Thursday night, it was the first time in four years that it has not claimed the much-coveted top spot.

Last years number two, New Yorks The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog, took pole position, while Londons Artesian  which has won for the past four years  dropped out of the list entirely after much of its team, led by Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale quit the bar at the end of last year.

The capital fought back in style, though  the second, third and fourth positions were all occupied by London bars.

London's top spot: American Bar at The Savoy

The Savoys American Bar , which has been serving since 1898 and is by far the oldest bar on the list, came in at two. Ryan Chetiyawardanas Dandelyan rose a phenomenal 47 places to reach number three. And The Connaught Bar took fourth place.

The Gibson near Old Street was the lists highest new entry, coming in at six, while Hoxton Squares Happiness Forgets rounded off the top 10.

View all the London bars which made the list on our map below. You could go on the worlds best bar crawl.

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Nightjar near Old Street had a less successful time, falling from third place last year to nineteenth, but will take consolation in the fact that its new sister bar Oriole near Smithfield made an entry at 32.

London Bars in the Worlds 50 Best 2. American Bar at The Savoy 3. Dandelyan 4. The Connaught Bar 6. The Gibson 10. Happiness Forgets 19. Nightjar 30. Bar Termini 32. Oriole 48. Callooh Callay

Sohos Bar Termini from Tony Conigliaro was another new entry at 30, and Shoreditchs Callooh Callay  which dropped off the list last year  re-entered at 48.

In total London bars occupied half of the top 10, and nine places in the top 50. New York bars took four of the remaining top 10 spots and eight of the top 50.

The cities nearest rivals  quite some distance behind  were San Francisco and Singapore, which each claimed three places on the list but none in the top 10. Athens, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Sydney each occupied two spaces.

Bramble in Edinburgh was the only UK bar outside London to make the list. It re-entered at 47 after dropping out last year.

See our pick of all the best bars in London:

The best bars in London 1 /64 The best bars in London Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN, rosewoodhotels.com/london

The Rosewood is doubly wonderful for drinkers, as theyve two fine spots. In the modern Dining Room, sit at the gin bar, which outstocks anywhere else in London, with more than 400 gins and 27 tonics. Trying to choose is impossible, but what a lovely impossibility to have. The bar staff clearly had one hell of a tasting session as they know the list perfectly. Across the way is Scarfes Bar, a brilliant, brilliant bar gladly shaken free from all the stuffiness usually found in hotel bars. The drinks are stunning, theyve often live music, it gets wonderfully busy and crackles with laughter. Go a little later and its busier, people drink more, everything is better. Bar Americain 20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED, brasseriezedel.com

As the name suggests, this is a classic American bar, and done near perfectly. One can become very fond of Bar Americain and very quickly: passing through Piccadilly Circus, it acts as a magnet  a quick negroni becomes a temptation impossible to resist. Its a very beautiful place, calling to mind grand Parisian hotels of the 20s and 30s, bottles winking from the bar, staff floating through with their finery and litres of charm. Youre here to drink the classics: theyve a killer Clover Club and a straight-down-the-line Manhattan. But ask: the bartenders know their stuff and bring their A-game to any challenge  tell them what you like, and theyll bring you something new. They often have specials on, as well. Top marks for the attentive staff, bringing plenty of water and bowl after bowl of popcorn  both essential after a few here. Oriole Smithfield Markets, E Poultry Ave, EC1A 9LH, oriolebar.com

The team behind Nightjar took their winning formula, gave it a bit of a shake up and created Oriole. Theyve live music throughout the week  from Wednesday to Saturday, theres a charge per person, so watch out for that  which gives any night here a bit of zip. This is a strictly seated spot, so be sure to book: once inside, its a whirlwind tour of the world, with fine details from across the globe, both in the styling and the drinks and so much cheaper than booking a holiday. Drinks are excellent, whether youre into New Orleans style classics or something from the depths of Asia: explore the menu (split into Old World, New World and The Orient) and expect something unusual and faintly brilliant, with a touch of the Tiki. Put it this way: Oriole is ideal whether you prefer drinking from a crystal tumbler, a teacup or, er, a silver crocodile. Piano Works 113-117 Farringdon Road, Farringdon EC1R 3BX, pianoworks.bar

Full credit to this fun Farringdon spot: theyve worked hard to make the place better and better since opening, which is pretty good going for what was already a decent spot to begin with. The Piano Works sounds like a quiet jazz bar but instead is a hell-raising house of sound, splendidly raucous, where a house band take requests and belt out your favourite songs. The more you get involved, the more fun it is, and the place heats up the later it gets. Wine starts at 16, house cocktails are 8, but they've tons of terrific deals during the week  including cocktails for a fiver (!!) Drink lots, dance lots and leave in the early hours with someone you shouldnt do. Thats what we did. Hawksmoor, Spitalfields 157A Commercial St, E1 6BJ, thehawksmoor.com

Its hardly surprising the bar snacks are a highlight here  have the oxcheek nuggets with a side of chips, then call the waiter over to order them over again  given how good the steak upstairs is. The drinks and setting, though, match them pound for pound. The old tube tiles on the walls, the beautiful parquet floor, the copper tops and silvery black ceiling make the large space a place to settle in for the night no matter your seat, while the cocktails come with oodles of thought in each one: the new menu has homemade bitters, shrubs and syrups, and its bloody obvious everyone behind the bar is more than a little nerdy about building drinks. Shaky Petes Ginger Brew is the classic, so have it, but follow up with the Shadow Boxer, a mix of scotch, sherry and Fernet-Branca. Odd, oddly delicious. Its also a cracking place to sit for a bottle of wine. Andrew Edmunds 46 Lexington St, W1F 0LP, andrewedmunds.com

Perhaps better than its ever been, Andrew Edmunds recently won The Good Drinking prize in our Restaurant Awards, and for good reason. Its a small spot, cramped to the point that coming here on a first date feels like youre being very forward indeed , with the best tables upstairs and not much to look at  just settle for being distracted by someone beautiful. The food, French-ish/English-ish, is fine, but its the wine that's extraordinary. And youre here for wine: forget cocktails, they have. What a list, and so quietly marked up that youre getting a steal with almost every bottle  indeed, the more expensive the better the deal. Having been going 30 years, those who knew old Soho say its one of the last bastion of such things. Drink too much gorgeous wine and come back often. The Connaught Bar Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk

A bar for the impossibly beautiful, a bar of high heels and glimmering lights, of perfume and leather. Aside from oddly thumping music, the Connaught is wonderfully detached from the world  a place of its own, cosy and winter warm when it needs to be, light and summer when desired. The drinks, naturally pricey, are well put together and while classic in tone, come with crackles of theatre: washes in perfume bottles, branches as garnishes, smoke, the lot. Still, the martini trolley is what theyre famed for, so its only right to indulge. Afterward, head to the Champagne Room: sadly the law stops it being the cigar haven it once was, but it's still gorgeous: romantic and charming with its fireplace, dramatic with its glass ceiling and sculpture swan diving. Treat yourself to the Ruinart blanc de blanc. Damned good olives, too. Milk & Honey 61 Poland St, W1F 7NU, mlkhny.com

You know a bar is good when local bartenders love it, and Milk & Honey has long been a Soho favourite for those in the know. Hidden in plain sight this terrific bar has been doing its thing for just shy of 15 years. The talent hasnt diminished, and neither has the care put into the drinks. Cocktails are strong and proper and happily, they're updating the list soon to freshen things up. At around 10 a drink, M&H is also a bargain for central London, and the quality outstrips the price. It functions as a members bar, but non-members can book up until 11pm  though going earlier in the week means youre more likely to score a table. Milk & Honey is civilised, without the crushing formality. Next door is the Blind Pig, another top 'hidden' spot. Mark's Bar HIX Soho, 66- 70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP, hixrestaurants.co.uk

The bad: you might not get in. If its busy, they dont squeeze people into this basement, so either be there early, or bamboozle them with charm, or dazzle them with your brilliant wit. Were kidding: just take someone hot. The good: pretty much everything else. Naturally, the bar snacks are distractingly tasty, but the drinks list is excellent, and unusual too, with a few historical recipes brought back to life. Attention to detail is everything here, so if youre not sharing one of the big old Chesterfields, head to the bar and sit and watch  theres something about it thats like seeing a cardmaster turn tricks. And have a Hix Fix, just to say you have. The Beaufort bar and the American Bar at The Savoy The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU, fairmont.com

Glitz, glamour and lots of gold: both Savoy bars are wonderfully opulent. The world-famous American bar, recently revamped, is still up there as one of the best bars on our humble planet. The bartenders bible, Harry Craddocks The Savoy Cocktail Book, was written here, and the cocktails served today remain as finely tuned as they ever were. Whereas as other bars try to recreate the glamour of such places, The Savoy neednt pretend: everything is genuine. The palatial Beaufort is absurdly romantic, and drinks are extravagantly presented: it works for the most special of special occasions, and theres something undeniably grand about sipping away in the same place Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway all did. If youre planning a few drinks, either be rich or take someone rich  seriously. Artesian 1C Portland Pl, W1B 1JA, artesian-bar.co.uk

Artesian won its accolades for its team, Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, who ran the place for eight years and earned its reputation as the best bar in the world. Theyve sadly departed, but have left the place in capable hands, and the feel is much the same as it ever was, which is chic, glamorous, and not taking itself too seriously. While the beautiful and the rich rub shoulders, the bartenders are mixing up excellent but often slightly silly drinks  but its their mischievousness that makes them so winning. Seriously impressive. Les Compagnie Des Vins Surnaturels 8-10 Neal's Yard, WC2H 9DP, cvssevendials.com

Call it CVS and your night becomes considerably easier to pronounce. Sat in Neils Yard, it is one of Londons finest wine bars. Thoroughly French, of course: New World wines barely get a sideways glance, while even Italys finest is only begrudgingly given a little space on the considerable menu. This doesn't mean there is a lack of choice  to the contrary, it is almost overwhelming, though they have a short by-the-glass list, and the charming staff are both well informed and passionate about what to have. In the summer, sit outdoors, in the winter, cosy up by the bar. Wherever you are, try the mystery wine; if you guess it, youll win a bottle. Have food  small plates made to share, and terrifically good  and drink plenty, so the bill doesnt hit as hard. The Shrub & Shutter 336 Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8QH, theshrubandshutter.com

This Brixton bar felt new in the area, taking a little of east London and bringing it down south. Theyve a pleasingly patchwork approach to decor: there are jars and bottles and shakers everywhere, which gives the place a kitchen feel. The cocktails, lovely to drink on their own, are made better with the food, which is designed to match what youre drinking. The pairings initially sound a little gimmicky  crayfish with vodka, venison on the side of The Deerhunter (an old fashioned, basically)  but they work, so drop that sceptical streak for a moment. It gets busy, so book up, get in early, and stay late. Theyve a license until 3am, so itd be rude not to. Sky Pod at the Sky Garden 1 Sky Garden Walk, EC3M 8AF, skygarden.london

The truth of it is, you come for the view, but good God it's a great view, and 360-degrees at that. Up 35 floors, if you can think of a London icon, you can probably see it. When the weather's good, get outside for some fresh air. With completely free entry and minimal security fuss, its worth making a reservation, though if youre ok to queue, theyll have you in. Cocktails arent torturously expensive, at around 11.50, and are very enjoyable  the cognac-chocolate-caramel-port mix that is Black and Gold is particularly good so it doesn't feel like they're relying on the sights.

Theres a sense of special occasion, and all the more so with live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. Theyre hoping for jazz on Wednesdays, too. If youre tempted to eat, Fenchurch and the Darwin Brasserie are well worth trying  Fenchurch is particularly good for veggies. The Gilbert Scott St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Rd, NW1 2AR, thegilbertscott.co.uk

Given the golden hue here, where luxury hangs in the air like perfume, its remarkable that wine starts at as little as 5 a glass. Wine is its strong point, and likeable head sommelier Joris Beijn is a man worth knowing: he is passionate about his list, knowledgeable and accommodating. The bar is flexible, in that it is by turns ideal for a date, or a catch up with old friends, or a pre/post dinner drinks. The room is a stunner: high painted ceilings, dramatic red walls, great big bells as art, marble bar top and crystal glasses catching the light. Cocktails come in at around 14, and err on the light side: lots of gin and floral concoctions. The restaurant, next door, isnt to be missed, either, just be prepared to get an Uber home: invariably, youll stretch and tease out the evening to stay just a little longer. Gerry's Club 52 Dean Street, W1D 5BJ, gerrysclub.com

A word of warning: this is technically a member's club, but you'll probably be fine if you flirt enough  and don't ask for Gerry, he's long since passed. Michael looks after this place now. We've only been once  very late, very drunk and with very good friends. Most old-school Soho drinking dens are dead, but this hub of actors and writers is what remains of 'Old Soho'. If you're boring, steer clear: it is a place to drink wine and beer and tell stories, to laugh uproariously and to give yourself a monumental hangover in a faintly discreet way. 68 and Boston 4-5 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DD, 68andboston.com

Boston, the bar upstairs, looks like glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails but plays it a little bit safe. Wine bar 68, downstairs, is the real gem, with a wonderful way of pricing: every bottle on the list is 20, so choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (14) or glass (5.50). Wines are well picked and Denise Medrano, wine blogger and lover found behind the bar, is always working to update the list  so go back to try something new. Youll probably end up getting drunk here: the pull of another bottle at just 20 is monumentally hard to resist, but hey, thats what Soho is for. If you fancy drinking something more upscale, ask  theyve a few hidden wines kept hidden away for those in the know. Thats you, now. The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion 25-27 Brewer St, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk

Forget house infusions and drinks that take half an hour to make: sometimes a good night needs tequila and dancing. The Pink Chihuahua is built for it: theyre providing the tequila  more than 300 different types of it, in fact  youre there to drink it down and dance it up. Theyve all sorts of twists on Margaritas and Daiquiris, and, given youre downstairs from Mexican restaurant El Camion, plenty of bar food to indulge in too. Lots of fun, and if youre feeling more in the mood just to sit back and sip something slowly, ask about their choice of Mezcal. There's real talent here, but fun too. The Gibson 44 Old St, EC1V 9AQ, thegibsonbar.london

Given the dearth of decent cocktails in Farringdon, the tiny Gibson is a God-send. Its a parlour pitched somewhere between Edwardian and Art Deco, and drinks arent simply poured here, theyre tended to, built, thought about, adored. All unsurprising, really, given the team learnt their trade at the likes of Nightjar and The Connaught.

This place is doing more creatively to push bartending forward than any bar that's opened up in a while, so ask the team for recommendations and youll be presented with something magic. Youll need to ask, actually, as the menu is a novel and theres the risk of wasting the evening reading instead of drinking, and that simply wouldnt do at all. Peg+Patriot Patriot Square, E2 9NF, talentedmrfox.com

The Talented Mr Fox, Matt Whiley, offers is a nice blend of things here: while the menu takes a sophisticated trip around London, with each cocktail a column of flavour, some managing chameleonic taste all within the space of a sip, the actual bar is surprisingly spare and understated. The effect is such that while drinks are upmarket, one doesnt feel obliged to sit demurely to enjoy them. Relax, have a few  you might want to, as the serves arent huge. It should be said that these cocktails are among Londons most interesting, rather than Londons best: they are talking points, oddities, they put flavours together in a way that isnt available elsewhere. If youre big on trying new things, different experiences, seeing what a cocktail can do, come, its a must. If its just something reliably delicious you fancy, elsewhere may be better. Worship Street Whistling Shop 63 Worship St, EC2A 2DU, whistlingshop.com

One presumes the staff here have night vision, otherwise its a complete and utter mystery how they see customers, let alone their ingredients. Still, they must do, for the output is pretty much excellent through and through at this dark spot. Its Victorian-inspired, which sounds tired and not a little tacky, but the gang from Purl have done it properly. Drinks are busy  lots of fusions, blends, gasses and pressure and all sorts  so its appropriate they come out of a lab. Still, all this engineering seems to be worth it, as the drinks slip down easily, the alcohol often hidden away. Make sure to take a seat in the Dram Shop, and pop in to the Gin Closet too, which operates as an honesty bar. Kansas Smitty's 63-65 Broadway Market, E8 4PH, kansassmittys.com

Below bar Off Broadway  a long way off, its Mexican  sits this glorious den of jazz and juleps. It is a speakeasy for 2016: that is to say, it has none of the contrived mannerisms of bars which proclaim to be speakeasies, it just happens to actually be one: youll need to knock to get in, the music raves loud and hot, and the place is so crowded strangers become family after a drink or two. The house band, for which the place is named, have envy-inducing talent, and the bar has fairly recently overhauled its drinks list, and the results are good. Youll be absorbed by the music, and stay afterwards to ride the buzz of the crowd. GONG 52, Shangri-La Hotel, the Shard, SE1 9QU, .gong-shangri-la.com

Gong is in the Shard, so youre there for the view alone. View it certainly does: at 52 floors up, its by far Londons highest spot to drink: consequently, sipping on a martini, one feels a little like a Bond villain pondering all thats below. Its not a huge bar, but that somewhat adds to the sense of exclusivity. Prices are, naturally, sky high: expect to pay at least 18. The drinks have plenty about them to compete with the view: presentation is everything. Theyve not skipped on the spirits making the mix, either: expect the likes of Zacapa 23 rum (heavenly stuff), Talisker scotch and Tanqueray 10 for the gin. All top drawer stuff. If this all sounds a bit intimidating, bear in mind they operate a no reservations policy, so youve as good a chance of getting in as anyone else. Mr Fogg's Salon 58 St Martin's Lane, Theatreland, WC2N 4EA, mr-foggs.com

Downstairs is a pretty decent pub, busy from theatreland. Upstairs, the salon is quieter, but only a little. The walls are a glittering ballgown of 19th century curiosities, unsubtle nonsense winking away. Head to a chaise longues with a couple of friends or a date and take in something from each one of the five acts which split the menu. Drinks seem to smell especially good here, rich, relying heavily on the likes of rum, cognac and sherry. Gin lovers need not despair: theyve a room with 300 different types next door. Come elegantly dressed. Bar Termini 7 Old Compton St, W1D 5JE, bar-termini.com

Do Bar Termini right and youll love it: do it wrong, and you may be underwhelmed. Tony Conigliaro, cocktail chap par excellence, and coffee maestro Marco Arrigo have built a revolving-door of a place: dont come here to linger. Expect a night of cocktails and youll leave disappointed: instead, love it in the day for the 1 espressos, and swing by in the evening for a negroni (6). Theyre small, but some of the best in the capital. One swishes in and out here, and that way, it adds a touch of Italian glamour to any evening. Trisha's (New Evaristo Club) 57 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DX



Drinks dont make a bar, and thank goodness, as the stuff served at Trishas  named for its owner  is uniformly pretty awful: red and white wine youd consider an insult if a friend served it at supper, prosecco wildly overpriced, terrible spirits ecetera ecetera. At more than 70, the club is Sohos oldest, and while nobody who goes there can ever remember anything changing  its often quite hard to recall much about Trishas in crystal detail, as it happens  nothing needs to. The bad wine and expensive mixers and paint stripper spirits are all part of the point: its a glorious drinking den, and marvellous, marvellous fun. There are characters here: the last time we were in, we sat being scared witless by an old East End gangster who said hes known the Krays. Tremendous. Long may this place live. The Fumoir Claridge's, 49 Brook St, W1K 4HR, claridges.co.uk

The Fumoir will confuse you, as youll be torn between shouting about it and keeping it all to yourself. This plush purple and leather spot, deco decadence with a touch of welcome pomp, is hidden away behind a secret door at Claridges. Tiny and glitzy enough to feel like a Hollywood dressing room from the Golden Age, its little surprise the likes of Christina Hendricks adore it. For such a small place, they squeeze an awful lot in: plenty of wines, classic cocktails given a stern shake up, buckets of gin, a lovely choice of armagnac and a magnificent scotch list, gleaming with rarities. 69 Colebrooke Row 69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA, 69colebrookerow.com

Once known as the bar with no name, henceforth they shall be called the bar with Bernards watch, as there is no other explanation for the speed with which their finely mixed cocktails arrive. Another bar from Tony Conigliaro, its earned its reputation for turning out hit after hit: the drinks list is endlessly tempting. The piano is a nice touch; that is gets played a much nicer one, and make sure to order the Prairie Oyster  fun to drink, and one even for those who cant eat seafood. Bear in mind its a small spot, so youre close to your neighbours, and if you dont like strong drinks where the booze kicks, this wont be for you. Happiness Forgets 8-9 Hoxton Square, N1 6NU, happinessforgets.com

Dont expect frills and fuss or the rest of it here: Happiness Forgets is cocktail bar distilled down to its very essence, and done very well  their tag High End Cocktails/Low End Rent sums it up best. The bartenders are all top drawer, and their creations impeccable. Unsurprisingly, this Hoxton space has its regulars, so the crowd is always good. Tables can be booked, but half are always kept for walk-ins: try your luck, its worth it. Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas Melia White House Hotel, Albany Street, NW1 3UP, melia.com

Come to this one to brag: Dry Martini is known as Barcelonas best cocktail bar, and has been rated the fifth best bar in the world by the Worlds 50 Best Bars panel. Renowned bartender Javier de las Muelas has bought over his concept to us lucky Londoners, and with it, finely mixed and classic cocktails. No prizes for guessing that the Dry Martini is the house special  if you dont think you like them, heres a place to change your mind. With more than 80 gins on the list, you could easily lose a week here. Gordon's 47 Villiers St, WC2N 6NE, gordonswinebar.com

Gordons seems to get more and more crowded with each passing day, but perhaps rightly so: the beloved Embankment institution is made for knocking back bottles of wine in. Eat a few cold bites and chat into a long, unwinding evening. The wine list is good enough, but youre really here for the atmosphere: in summer, the terrace, buzzing, in winter, the caves indoors, crammed with noise, spilt wine, and joy. Social bar at City Social 25 Old Broad St, EC2N 1HQ, citysociallondon.com

Youd think youre at City Social, up 24 stories of Tower 42, to eat, but if you stop in the bar, theres a good chance you wont make it to your table. The drinks come as something of a surprise: theyre so much better than one expects from a restaurant bar, inventive, put together carefully but not staidly, retaining a sense of fun. And, crucially, damned tasty. Its a dark room, and full of city types, but perfect for a few late night cocktails soaking up the view, which is really quite wonderful. Bloody pricey, but thats part of it. Ladies and Gentlemen 2 Highgate Rd, NW5 1NR, twitter.com

William Borrells bolthole transcends its gimmick (which, if you hadnt guessed, is that its a converted public loo), with the help of some very handy bartenders, and its house-brewed gin, Highwayman, of which twelve bottles a day get distilled. Ladies & Gents manages well as a place for a quiet drink, or better yet, a place to quietly get roaringly drunk. Convenient indeed. The drinks are strong, very interesting, and theres plenty of odd sods on the wall to keep your conversation up. It maintains a veneer of being somewhere faintly upmarket, but youll probably end up reading from one of the books scattered around or trying to dance to the live music. Perfect for a date that gets out of hand. Bull In A China Shop 196 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6LG, bullinachinashop.london

Truth it, youll need to catch this place on a good night, as weve been in often enough to know it has its good nights and its meh nights. But when the place is on, its really cooking, and easily one of the best bars in town. The cocktail list is short, but thought through, and care is taken in even the small things: they even make sure the water glasses are chilled. The chamomile and charcoal Old-Fashioned is a must, and any whisky lovers should get chatting to the bar staff, as theyve bottles which arent available anywhere else in the capital. Sager + Wilde Arch, 250 Paradise Row, E2 9LE, sagerandwilde.com

Wine lovers rejoice, wine bores look elsewhere. Sager + Wilde admirably keep things unpretentious: the exposed brickwork sets the tone: theyre keeping things low key. The specials list changes regularly, and always with interesting choices introduced. Some of the wines are exclusive to this place, so youre all but guaranteed to try something new. Have a SHE + T (sherry with tonic, delicious), and absolutely do not leave without having the grilled cheese sandwich. 7 Tales at Sosharu 64 Turnmill St, EC1M 5RR, sosharulondon.com

Underneath Jason Athertons Sosharu is this sexy, seedy Japanese drinking den, where youll find the hazy, debauched glamour of Tokyo after dark. Unlike so many bars underneath restaurants, 7 Tales doesnt feel like a holding pen, and drinks are precision made, with flavours leaning beyond the usual  think rice-washed gin, sake, infusions of sesame, snacks like tempura. Bar snacks are an irresistible must. Callooh Callay 65 Rivington St, EC2A 3AY, calloohcallaybar.com

Eccentric doesnt seem to quite cover it: enter the surreal world of Callooh Callay through an old Victorian wardrobe, catch sight of a throne and order punch out of a gramophone from a menu thats more of a sticker book. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but the bartenders really know their stuff, so for all the quirks, drinks are fundamentally pretty excellent. On the weekends, its a party bar, and DJs spin music to match: youre here for a good time. Any detectives in your gang will find there are two extra rooms in Callooh Callay to explore  theyre hidden away, too, naturally. If youre good, you might even get an invite upstairs to the Jub Jub Room, where the 10-long cocktail list changes every three weeks. Fans should also head to their new offering in Angel, Little Bat. Dukes Bar Dukes Hotel, 35 St James's Pl, SW1A 1NY, dukeshotel.com

Dukes is known for one reason: martinis. The St Jamess hotel was a favourite haunt of James Bond author and (very) keen drinker, Ian Fleming, who supposedly came up with the shaken, not stirred line here. Their martinis are exceptionally strong, and very large: theres a reason they wont serve you more than two. But look, break the mould: theyre a classic hotel bar, they serve a fine range of classic cocktails. Theres also a cognac and cigar garden, if youre so inclined. NOLA 1st Floor, 68 Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY, nola-london.com

It would be too easy to miss this place, so do your homework and saunter in: its must more attractive than sweatily asking anyone if theyve seen the place. Drawing inspiration from the home of proper cocktails, New Orleans, the bar loves traditional drinks, builds them properly and serves them in a den of music and laughter. Unlike some places specialising in old school serves, NOLA is a place for fun: sure, it seems to say, you could have a quiet drink  but why would you want to? Theres a cracking cigar terrace too, small enough that everyone talks before heading back in for one hell of a Vieux Carre. Call Me Mr Lucky 11 Southwark St, SE1 1RQ, twitter.com

All the hidden bars at the Breakfast Clubs around the capital are popular, with perhaps The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town being the best known. Call Me Mr Lucky, on Southwark Street, happens to be our favourite. Once youve flirted with the staff  ask to get lucky  youre taken through the restaurants kitchens to a lively bar decorated like some twisted take on a kids party. Have a go on the wheel of fortune, where youll really want to get lucky, and win a free shot, and then work your way through the cocktail list. Like any good-time bar worth its salt, this place is big on tequila, and the drinks are light-hearted fun, but  here we go getting lucky again  along with the quirks comes quality. By the of the evening, before youre porured back onto the street, youll swear tequila is your new favourite drink, and youll be singing the party hits they play all the way home. K Bar at The Kensington 109 - 113 Queen's Gate, SW7 5LP, townhousekensington.com

K bar feels majestic  and there is no other word for it  because drinking here is a little like being in the captains quarters of the Titanic, albeit without the sinking feeling. There is glamour here: a kind of place to be seduced in. Cocktails wise, bar manager Ben Manchester is the man to ask for, but theres a fine list to choose from. It avoids stuffiness, and just needs to be packed out to really get cooking. Nightjar 129 City Rd, EC1V 1JB, barnightjar.com

Nightjar has fame which means writing about it is redundant: people think it marvellously good, and theyve live music most of the week. Its seating only and worth booking: just be sure not to cancel, or theyll charge a steep 10 per person. They do the speakeasy theme, but well enough that it isnt too tired yet, and have plenty of old school style on the list. Pick up a pack of cards from the bar on your way out. Reverend J W Simpson 32 Goodge St, W1T 2QJ, revjwsimpson.com

Bourne and Hollingsworth run this rather lovely little bar, downstairs from a small doorway on Goodge St. Service is friendly and speedy, it's comfortable, and drinks more than hold their own  there's both obscure traditional mixes and modern serves made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Luckily, with good drinks come good people, and it's a loud, happy place. Albertine 1 Wood Ln, W12 7DP, albertinewinebar.co.uk

Albertine hasnt changed much since the day East Enders was commissioned there. A wine bar through and through, youll struggle to get anything else (though there are a couple of ales on the menu.) Its a place with spirit, which draws a regular, devoted crowd. They sell everything they serve, and its well worth splashing out: the mark-up gets less and less as the bottles get more expensive, meaning you can get an absolute bargain at the top end of the list. Its also the kind of wine bar you go to to overindulge. First Aid Box 119 Dulwich Rd, SE24 0NG, firstaidbox2015.com

This place really is worth travelling to Herne Hill to, which must be saying something. The team behind Shrub & Shutter have thickly laid on the pharmacy theme here, with cure-all drinks. Its not an idea which sounds like it should work, and yet, how much better life would be if they were one of the emergency services. Expect saline drips, syringes, and the likes of plastic lungs  their take on thirst aid  but rest assured, flavours arent medicinal in the slightest. At 8 - 10 a drink, its reasonable for London, and wonderful to see a bar really trying something new. Bravo. Media Wisdom Photography - Giles Christopher Nam Long Le Shaker 159 Old Brompton Rd, SW5 0LJ, namlong.co.uk

It gained fame for its celebrity fans, which include Mick Jagger and Prince Harry, but Nam Long has held on longer than most A-list haunts: its been going 30 years, and recently was given an overhaul. Its quite possibly the most Chelsea place imaginable  there are literally MIC cast members floating about  and its a go-to spot to drink far too much and party. The upstairs area is bright, airy, and well looked after by the excellent bartenders, while downstairs  "the Opium Den"  is as it sounds (though there was no opium available when we asked... ) The drinks upstairs were made with more care, but downstairs is more intimate, opulent, and better for a small groups. Some of those Chelsea types who go really are the very worst, and the drinks are outrageously expensive, but hey, its a laugh. The Vault at Milroy's 3 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4NX, shop.milroys.co.uk

A bar through a bookcase: were sold. Better yet, its underneath one of Sohos finest whisky shops  with stiff competition from The Vintage House  so if youre taken with something downstairs, buy it on your way out. Its a simple little bar and the service is decidedly so-so, but its usually pretty busy, they play good music and have an excellent range of spirits. The menu is changed regularly, but its a good place to cram into with friends or on a date. You mightnt spend the entire night here, but for a couple of drinks on the way somewhere, or on the way back, it fits the bill perfectly. Bounce 241 Old St, EC1V 9EY, bouncepingpong.com

There are two Bounce bars, one on Old Street and one on Holborn. The Old Street spot is a little more fun, graffiti adorning the walls,the Holborn spot somewhat more upmarket. Still, they both deserve a mention, and for the simple reason theyre damned good fun. Drinks here are good, with a decent spirit selection at both (and a huge number of gins in Farringdon) and a respectable selection of beers. Food is fine, simple. Still, you come to play ping pong. Theyve tables everywhere. Theres little to fault with Bounce: its a laugh, and sometimes thats all somewhere needs to be.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum

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Review at a glance









W hat an eloquent title. First, it reminds us that BBC journalist Louis Theroux is no longer confined to the small screen. Second, it encourages us to compare his offering with Scientology and Me, the 2007 Panorama episode that helped expose the inner workings of a movement synonymous with the words Tom Cruise and youll be hearing from our lawyers.

Everyone remembers the bit of footage, shot by a Scientologist, in which riled journo John Sweeney looks like an exploding tomato (Sweeneys words). Cool as a cucumber is the phrase that springs to mind when watching Theroux. Hes trailed by a freelance cameraman whos working for the Scientologists, but said minion never gets his money shot.

The film starts with our sardonic hero hiring young actors in LA to recreate various speeches, training classes and (alleged) incidents, involving the movements leader, David Miscavige. These are watched by prominent ex-Scientologist Marty Rathbun, who gives tips every now and again on how to play mind games and scream with aplomb. Its a little bit shocking but if youve seen Alex Gibneys brilliant documentary, Going Clear, its not exactly breaking news.

A bigger problem in terms of drama is that the real Scientologists we meet appear so pathetic. The majority are flaky and/or physically woebegone. The ones we see harassing Rathbun (they arrive while hes on the LA lot and make nasty allusions to his adopted son) are plain inept. Who bullies a man while hes working on a major documentary? Its like picking on a kid whos staying at a teachers house.

No revelations: Will Pugh films Louis Theroux and Marty Rathbun outside the studio in LA / BBC/BBCWorldwide

Theroux wields social media like a big stick. Its brought to our attention that he has 1.5 million Twitter followers, while messages from internet users regularly appear on screen. For example, a smartphone clip of Rathbun being approached at an airport by three tormentors is accompanied by the words, its like being inside a schizophrenics head.

This is a sloppy bit of writing (it suggests all schizophrenics think alike). It also creates an atmosphere best described as us versus them (savvy, sane folks versus uptight crazies). It gets a laugh but it feels cheap.

There are so many fascinating things about this film. Therouxs off-the-cuff humour, his volatile relationship with Rathbun (who has since distanced himself from the project) and the reminder that the rich and powerful (and their PRs) are often just con artists who think they can bluff their way to the moral high ground. One particular night-time argy-bargy over territory is fantastically gripping.

Still, I reckon Therouxs energies could have been better spent. This knowing romp, rather like Nick Broomfields Tracking Down Maggie, never gets to the heart of the matter. To put it another way, for Going Clear HBO hired 140 lawyers. Its telling that Therouxs film, as he himself admits, needed just two.

Cert 15, 99 mins

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Review at a glance









J ohn Michael McDonaghs new movie is probably best viewed when drunk. The distribution company obviously agrees because at the press screening it provided two large cases of wine. I turned down the booze because it was, er, 3pm, but also because I was convinced that McDonagh (who wrote and directed side-splitting Irish buddy-movie The Guard) could provide a natural high.

Bob and Terry (Michael Pena and Alexander Skarsgard, both excellent) are a pair of corrupt, party-loving Albuquerque cops. As they get caught up in a robbery organised by a junkie aristo (Theo James), were offered meta-jokes, political gags about racist SWAT teams, fountains of gore, blue lollies, loosey-goosey tracking shots, references to the feminist Susan Faludi and a deliciously wistful soundtrack (dominated by Glen Campbell). Theres so much going on  too bad not a single encounter feels plausible or the least bit dangerous.

Of the two, Bob (who feels like hes tumbled out of a Seth Rogen comedy) is more bearable than Terry. Were asked to swoon over the latters torso, little-boy-lost pouts and austerely funky pad.

You could compare and contrast Terry with, say, Deadpool  he also hooks up with a sassy ex-stripper and saves an imperiled teen with a few mighty blows but does at least live in a flat that looks like a flat. Terry has no texture and if youre approached by someone who tells you hes a) sexy, or b) cool, nod politely then run for the hills.

Cert 15, 98 mins

War On Everyone Exclusive Interview With John Michael McDonagh

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T V chef Rick Stein is opening his first restaurant in London  after saying he would never take on a venue in the capital.

More than four decades after launching the Cornwall dining room that made his name, the 69-year-old chef is taking over The Depot brasserie overlooking the Thames in Barnes.

He said he could not resist the opportunity to acquire the perfect venue, and added: Ive often been asked if Ill ever have a restaurant in London, and to be honest, Ive always said I wouldnt. But when I went to have a look at The Depot it struck me how perfect a place it was: overlooking the Thames, being wonderfully close to central London but far enough out to feel like youre in your own community, a little village almost.

I watched people popping in on their way home from work, escaping the hustle and bustle of city life to sit back, have some food and a good bottle of wine and relax. Its such an exciting opportunity and one that we wanted to accept with pleasure.

The Depot, which opened 30 years ago, will continue in its current form until the end of December when it will undergo a major refurbishment.

It is sited in a renovated Victorian cobbled courtyard and has a conservatory running the length of the dining room with river views.

Stein becomes the latest major name to reveal plans to open in London in the coming months, alongside MasterChef: the Professionals judge Monica Galetti and Clare Smyth, the former chef patron at Gordon Ramsays flagship in Royal Hospital Road, who is going solo at an as-yet-unnamed location.

Beginning with The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow in 1975, Stein now has 10 restaurants, a hotel, four shops, a pub and cookery school in an empire employing 500 people.

At one stage he had so many premises in the Cornish fishing town that it was dubbed Padstein. He now also has restaurants in Winchester, Sandbanks and Marlborough. The company is run by Stein, his ex-wife Jill and their three sons.

The directors of The Depots parent company Tideway Restaurants, Gillian Harwood, Gavin Barlow and Mark Milton, said in a statement to customers that they know Stein will look after you well and continue our proud tradition.

@JonPrynn

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O ne of the capitals hottest  and smallest  new theatres is on the hunt for a new home.

Found111 has brought stars including War And Peace heart-throb James Norton and Sherlock actor Andrew Scott to the 134-seat venue in the old Central Saint Martins Art School building in Charing Cross Road over the past 16 months.

Its current play Unfaithful, which ends tomorrow, has a cast including Harry Potter veteran Matthew Lewis working on the cramped stage just a five-minute walk from the sell-out show based on JK Rowlings stories.

The set-up has been a partnership between producer Emily Dobbs and her landlord, Fawn James, who runs Soho Estates and who allowed the theatre to make its home in the building for a peppercorn rent before new tenants move in.

Arts picks of the week: 3rd-9th October 1 /9 Arts picks of the week: 3rd-9th October Frieze Art Fair The mighty Frieze Art Fair is taking over Regents Park this week for the 14th year, with over 160 of the worlds leading galleries taking part. The work of over 1000 artists will be on display, and an array of talks and discussions. If you love contemporary art, this is a treasure trove. Read our round-up of the highlights.



October 6-9, frieze.com Guerrilla Girls, Whitechapel Gallery Anonymous female art collective made a piece of work in 1986 stating that its worse in Europe. They were talking about sexism in the art world. They wanted to check if thats still true, so are presenting the findings of their new show Is it still worse in Europe? at the Whitechapel Gallery. They sent surveys about diversity to 383 art galleries in Europe and the exhibition presents the findings.



Until March 5, 2017, whitechapelgallery.org PA London Literature Festival The Southbank Centre goes galactic as it takes the future as its theme. It will be asking whether the things predicted in science fiction have actually come true, as well as other highlights including a screening of Louis Therouxs new feature film on Scientology. Read our guide to five things not to miss .



October 5-16, southbankcentre.co.uk Spine, Soho Theatre Why are libraries worth saving? The unlikely friendship between a mischievous pensioner and a disaffected teenager will tell you all you need to know. Rosie Wyatt gives a fiercely brilliant performance as Clara Brennans politically urgent play returns to Soho Theatre.



October 3-8, sohotheatre.com National Poetry Day One of the loveliest days of the year is coming. Thursday 6 is National Poetry Day, and you can mark the occasion with a number of events across the capital. The Southbank Centre will have readings all day, including from PJ Harvery and Inua Ellams, and the British Academy will remembering war poet Ivor Gurney with talk, poetry and song.



October 6, nationalpoetryday.co.uk Anna van Kooij Picasso Portraits, National Portrait Gallery We dont necessarily remember Picasso for his portraits, but they prove what a varied and skilled artist he really was. The National Portrait Gallery is staging a major exhibition of them, featuring realist work alongside his better known cubist and surrealist painting. Included are portrayals of family, friends and lovers, with many works being shown for the first time in the UK.



October 6 - February 5, 2017, npg.org.uk Succession Picasso/DACS London, 2016 Carlos Acosta, Sadler's Wells Dance superstar Carlos Acosta is preparing to hang up his ballet shoes this week, saying goodbye to the stage with a spectacular performance at Sadlers Wells. Acosta will perform moments from some of his favourite performances, including Marius Peptas Don Quixote and Memoria by Ramberts Miguel Altunaga.



October 3-7, sadlerswells.com Angela Taylor/Bolshoi Ballet A Man of Good Hope, Young Vic This collaboration with the Royal Opera House tells the story of a young Somali refugee who travels to a hopeful life in South Africa after growing up in a refugee camp. It features the critically acclaimed South African Isango Ensemble, and continues the Young Vics commitment to telling the stories of refugees.



October 6 - November 12, youngvic.org Matthys Mocke Last chance to see: Jess and Joe Forever Its suddenly getting very cold, but fortunately theres a play in Richmond that will make you feel very warm inside. Zoe Coopers play about two kids growing up together in the countryside is funny and surprisingly powerful. Read our  review here .



Finishes October 8, orangetreetheatre.co.uk

Dobbs said the nature of the venue, behind an anonymous doorway in central London then up several flights of stairs, had appealed to both actors and audiences.

She said: There is definitely a hint of going through into Narnia when you walk in that door. It is the centrality and the commerciality that is Founds USP and by that token it needs to be where the West End Theatres are.

I think it has been a success thanks to Fawn and Soho Estates and we want to build on that success to find somewhere with a similar base where we can continue.

We thought it would probably be six months we were here but, because the shows were so successful, everyone just thought lets just keep it rolling. It has completely surpassed our expectations.

The venues swansong is a production of US playwright Sam Shepards Fool For Love starring Lydia Wilson and her Ripper Street co-star Adam Rothenberg in his London stage debut.

She said: Im so excited to work on this iconic play at Found111. And Im delighted to be working again with the immensely talented Adam Rothenberg. The entire cast of Ripper Street were very close, it was a uniquely happy job with real respect and friendship amongst the cast.

Director Simon Evans, who worked on shows including The Dazzle and Bug at the venue, said he could not wait to return. Ever since walking up those stairs and into that space Ive adored its unique capacity to pull an audience into a story; not to mention the extraordinary artists Ive been able to work with. Sam Shepards blisteringly good play completes the triptych perfectly. He said the play would confront audiences with one final set of fascinating and damaged characters. Outsiders who seal themselves away have always found a good home at Found111, he added.

Ill be sad to see it go, but am thrilled we get to see it out in style.

Fool For Love will run from October 26 to December 17.

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I m not a natural at hosting dinner parties. Over the years, my catalogue of kitchen mishaps has included a mushroom risotto that resembled wallpaper paste and a meringue that came out of the oven in three layers: toffee on top, then scrambled egg, with syrup underneath (for maximum embarrassment, one of my guests during meringue-gate was a friend whos a Michelin-starred chef).

Its not that Im a terrible cook. Im not like my friend who once served up undercooked chicken and caused an outbreak of gastroenteritis (that meal is still referred to as the feast that launched a thousand shits). My chocolate fondants  the pudding that makes MasterChef contestants cry  usually come out well, solid around the edges and melty in the middle. Its just that the stress of feeding friends gets to me. The pressure makes me underperform.

So I thought about what others do when they think they are hopeless at something, like the rich caring for their children, or the Government an ever-lengthening list. They outsource. And that is how the chef Philippe Roth ended up in my parents kitchen in Camberwell (I deemed my own metre-wide one too small), making me and five friends dinner.

The death of the dinner party has been overstated. After all, the success of Come Dine With Me  now on series 67,823  shows that it retains a fascination. We still want to bring friends together for a meal, but part of the reason caterers now do private dining is that modern life is stressful enough without the blood-pressure-raising moment your souffle collapses. Though most customers are going to have deep-pockets to fork out for private dining, they are also a boon for those poor souls with allergies so extreme they can never eat in restaurants.

Roth works for private dining maestros La Belle Assiette, which has teamed up with Moet Hennessy to offer champagne-paired menus, so you get Moet & Chandon and Ruinart bubbly teamed with each course.

He arrives in his white jacket about two hours before my guests, all smiles and Gallic charm, and proceeds to take over the kitchen. Like a restaurant, theres clearly been a lot of pre-prep so everything can run smoothly on the night. Two colours of carrots come in conical glasses.

What is bliss is that, as the hostess, you have time to get ready, rather than trying to curl your eyelashes and apply lipstick while simultaneously sweating onions. And when your guests arrive you can actually talk to them, rather than shoving them into the sitting room so you wont be distracted and burn the veg.

Rosamund and her guest are served by chef Philippe Roth at her parents house (Vicki couchman) /  vicki couchman

While my guests and I discuss the state of the Labour Party  it seems to have replaced house-price chatter as the dinner party topic du jour and also enables inevitable jokes about champagne socialism  Roth brings the appetiser: sashimi tuna with soya. Unlike my usual approach of simply scooping food onto plates, it is so beautifully presented that it should be hanging in a gallery. That doesnt stop us wiping our plates clean, though.

Then comes cured salmon with pomegranate salsa and rocket cress  so delicious, I debate asking Roth if he wants to move in with me. A main course of confit of corn-fed chicken with pea puree and crispy potatoes adds a heartiness to the meal, while pudding  white chocolate mousse with a raspberry coulis  addresses my appallingly sweet tooth. After Roth brought out petit fours (including truffles), I was ready to propose marriage.

Roth unobtrusively explains both what each course is, and why it works with the individual champagnes. And he copes admirably not just with an unknown kitchen but with the two dogs determined to get under his feet.

Other La Belle Assiette dishes include roasted lamb rump, ricotta and pine nuts-stuffed courgette flowers, which would be served with R de Ruinart, and lemon posset with mixed berries and meringue served accompanied by a glass of Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2008.

Over the petit fours I asked my guests what they made of the evening. I was rather ecstatic when I heard you werent cooking, said one. And youd be happy being served any of those courses in a really good restaurant.

After that, of course, we returned to discussing the Labour Party. Roth, meanwhile, washed up and seemingly deep-cleaned the kitchen before heading home. It was zero effort for us. And, best of all, we only needed to mount the stairs afterwards to bed, for the slumber of the (very) well fed.

Follow Rosamund on Twitter @RosamundUrwin

Menus range from 59 to 119 per person and include a three- or four-course meal, paired with champagne, labelleassiette.co.uk/private-chef
T wo men have been charged with murder after a 33-year-old man was killed in an alleged attack by a gang in east London.

Raja Rashid Ali, from Elm Park, died after he was stabbed in Stansgate Road, Dagenham on the evening of Sunday, September 25.

Abubaker Omar-Bana, 25, of Rochford Close, East Ham, appeared at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Wednesday accused of killing Mr Ali.

He then appeared at the Old Bailey on Thursday where he was again remanded in custody until a hearing at the same court on October 19.

Mussa Jalo, 20, of Norfolk Road, Dagenham, has also been charged with the murder of Mr Ali, police said today.

He will appear in custody at Barkingside Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

A post-mortem examination gave Mr Alis cause of death as stab wounds.

Six other men, aged between 21 and 33, who were arrested on suspicion of murder in connections with Mr Alis death have been bailed until dates in November.
O ne of the founding DJs of Radio 1 was jailed today for another catalogue of sex crimes carried out on 11 boys as young as eight.

Disgraced former DJ Chris Denning, 75, pleaded guilty in August to 21 child sex offences committed between 1969 and 1986 stretching across his showbiz career.

He is already serving a 13-year jail sentence passed in 2014 for a catalogue of sexual assaults against 24 victims, including one allegedly at Jimmy Savile's house.

The prolific paedophile, from London, used his fame to groom and sexually assault dozens of young victims in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and even offered one boy to another BBC presenter.

He took some of the boys to the capital on several occasions and introduced them to other celebrities, including Gary Glitter.

Denning was sentenced to a total of 13 years' imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court today for abusing 11 boys.

Judge Alistair McCreath ordered that the latest sentence will start from today.

Judge McCreath said the effect on the victims, now grown men, has been "devastating".

He described the offences as "utterly depraved", and added: "It is not to be forgotten that all of this suffering was inflicted by you for nothing other than your own selfish pleasure."

Denning previously pleaded guilty to 21 sexual offences, including indecent assault and inciting boys to commit acts of gross indecency.

He told the defendant: "You groomed all of these boys. They were for the most part in their early teens, although some were younger.

"You used your own fame, your acquaintance with others who were famous, your familiarity with the music industry ... to win their trust and misplaced admiration."

Denning lured boys into his house and plied them with records, alcohol and cigarettes. He showed them pornography before forcing them to perform sex acts on him and photographed them naked. He also took one of the victims to the Walton Hop Disco, which ran from 1958 until 2001.

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said: "Denning would take one of his victims out for pizza. He also took him on holiday, on tours of radio stations and let him stay at his bungalow.

"On one of those occasions, in the bungalow, another well-known Radio 1 DJ was present and Denning offered the victim to him.

"The other DJ replied he didn't do that sort of thing."

He promised another boy that he "could use his connections to get him into the music industry" and convinced him to pose naked for a photo shoot, the prosecutor added.

He offered one of his victims a job at a disco and repeatedly had the boy sleep at his house afterwards, where he would abuse him.

Mr Polnay said: "Denning took him to London, where he introduced him as 'one of my friends' to Gary Glitter."

The defendant sat in the dock wearing a grey and orange tracksuit and showed no emotion as two of his victims, both now in their fifties, spoke of how the abuse continues to affect them.

David Burgess, defending, said Denning suffers from "various ailments" and may die before the end of his sentence.

He added: "His past has caught up with him, we are talking about events over 40 years ago.

"He is very sorry, he has expressed that before."

Denning did not react as the sentence was imposed.

Additional reporting by Press Association.
A teenager has been charged with attempted murder after a man and an 11-year-old boy were shot near to a childrens playground in east London.

The man was left critically ill in hospital after the shooting near to a park in Loxford Park, Ilford on August 8.

The child was injured by a stray pellet.

Joshan Addison, 18, appeared at Barkingside Magistrates Court today accused of attempted murder.

He is also charged with one count of possession of a shotgun.

Addison, of Thornton Avenue, was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on October 21.
P olice today launched a hate crime probe after literature saying those who insult Islam must be killed was allegedly handed out at a London mosque.

A Standard investigation has uncovered claims that the booklet, which says any Muslim should kill those who insult the Prophet Mohammed, was distributed at a gathering in Walthamstow.

It points to a classical manual of Islamic law to justify killings without waiting for court judgments and says apostates deserve to be assassinated.

The booklet discusses the case of Mumtaz Qadri, a fanatic who murdered a governor in Pakistan in 2011 because of his support for liberal reforms to the countrys strict Islamic laws.

It says all Muslims should support Qadri and that being a big shot does not prevent someone from being an apostate who should face being killed.

The booklet which is being probed by police

After the Standard alerted police to the booklet, Scotland Yard today said it was probing the literature to establish whether a criminal offence has taken place.

One worshipper who was given the booklet told the Standard: The event was a few months ago. I took one, but other people took them as well.

I think more than 100 people were at this event. It was at Giyarween Shareef [a holy gathering].

Two or three people delivered the leaflet. Unfortunately, I am shocked. I think it gives a bad impression. Islam teaches when you live here you obey the law and the rule of law, but this is not doing that.

The leaflet was allegedly handed to some worshippers at the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque in Walthamstow / Google StreetView

The Standard has learned that the leaflet carries the name of preacher Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani on its front cover. It came to light after it was allegedly handed to some worshippers at the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque in Walthamstow, where Mr Jilani is an imam.

Mr Jilani, who once landed a British-Pakistani TV network in trouble after it showed a live sermon with him allegedly advocating violence, denies writing the booklet despite his name being on the cover and his picture appearing on the back.

He told the Standard the booklet had been falsely attributed to him, that he did not authorise the use of his name or picture and did not give permission for any of his sermons to be reproduced.

A poster of Mumtaz Qadri, who killed a governor in Pakistan for backing liberal reforms / Anjum Naveed/AP

He said he did not agree with the booklets contents and that he did not know if, why or how it was distributed in the mosque.

He added that if it had been distributed in the mosque, then this had been without his knowledge and without authorisation by either me or any member of the committee.

The mosque is also home to the International Muslim Movement charity, for which Mr Jilani is a trustee.

Watchdog the Charity Commission today said it was also urgently looking into the material and poised to launch its own investigation.

Rupert Sutton, an extremism researcher at the Henry Jackson Society think tank, said: The police and other relevant agencies should investigate immediately.

Giving religious cover to sectarian violence puts whole communities at risk. Anyone promoting such material must face the full extent of the law.

Mr Jilani was also at the centre of controversy when broadcasting regulator Ofcom fined Islamic station DM Digital 85,000 in 2013.

Mr Jilani reportedly said Muslims were under a duty to kill those who insulted the Prophet Mohammed during an on-screen sermon.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: We will be assessing the contents of these leaflets to establish whether any criminal offence has taken place.

"We are committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms and have long since recognised the impact of hate crime on communities.

The Charity Commission said: We are assessing the information received as a matter of urgency so as to establish the facts and have contacted the charitys trustees for their response.

"At this time, the commission has not opened a statutory inquiry into the charity. However, if the information provided is accurate it would raise serious regulatory concerns.

According to Land Registry records, Mr Jilani co-owns the mosque with three others. He told the Standard: I do not agree with the booklets contents. I am not aware of if, why or how, the booklet was distributed in Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania.

If it was distributed... then this was done without any authorisation by either me or any member of the committee of Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania.

Regarding the Ofcom fine he said: Ofcom made a decision against DM Digital TV, not me. Ofcom has failed to understand the speech in the context in which the referenced comment was made.

He told the Evening Standard that his remarks were in response to a question about Islamic law as applied in Pakistan.

He said: I vehemently deny advocating the killing of anyone; this is terrorism. I have spoken out several times against terrorism in public.

A fatwa was recently issued against me, which purported to deem me an infidel for speaking out against terrorism, here in the UK, and I reported it to Chingford police. The killing of innocent people cannot be legitimised.
A man was arrested today after scaling a gate in a security breach at Buckingham Palace.

The 21-year-old man climbed over a gate at the palace this afternoon but was quickly spotted by officers on duty.

Scotland Yard said the man was detained by police as he dropped down from the gate inside the palace grounds.

The alarmed was raised after he was spotted scaling over the south gate at about 1.45pm, police said.

The man was arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a designated side.

He was taken into custody and will undergo a mental health assessment,

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said he was not found in possession of any offensive weapons and that enquiries were continuing.

It is understood that no members of the Royal Family were in residence at the time of the security breach.

The Queen had undertaken an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle earlier in the day.

Her London home has long been a target for intrusions - with security breaches at Buckingham Palace ranging from a naked paraglider landing on the roof to an undercover journalist posing as a footman.

The most notorious was when unemployed decorator Michael Fagan made his way over the walls and up a drainpipe, and wandered into the Queen's bedroom in 1982. She woke to find Fagan sitting on her bed.
H eard the one about the bishop, the rabbi, the imam and the Transit van? On a sunny day in Brondesbury Park, what sounds like the beginning of an old joke is instead a very modern reality as Londons faith leaders gather to give their blessing to the Evening Standards ground-breaking Food for London campaign.

Waste is a sin, said Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London. Ive yet to come across any religion that would dispute that. Its a sin that has terrible consequences for the vulnerable. After the feeding of the 5,000, with the loaves and fishes, Jesus said to his disciples, Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.

The Bishop, Imam Monawar Hussain and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis had convened at St Laurences Larder, a soup kitchen for homeless people operating out of Christ Church with St Laurence in Brondesbury. They were helping deliver food donated by our campaign flagship, The Felix Project. Also in attendance was Chandresh Thakkar, manager of the local Hindu temple.

Rabbi Mirvis was quick to find the theological resonance in the Old Testament. It is connected to an idea in Leviticus, he said. All the people who collect sheaves from the field are commanded to leave some behind, so the poor can follow them and with dignity pick up what is left. So providing for those who are less fortunate is built into the system.

Helping the needy is also a commandment in Islam, added Imam Hussain: In Islam, the wealth we have is a trust from God, not something that belongs to us. Theres a real importance at-tached to providing for the poor.

Islam also has a dim view of waste: As children, we were told that everything we do we would have to account for, Imam Hussain said.

If we waste water, we have to account for that. If we waste food, we have to account for that. If you drop a piece of bread on the floor, youre supposed to pick it up, blow it, and eat it.

The days haul, gathered from a local Sainsburys two hours previously, included plenty of surplus fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, pasta and two packs of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Stephen Chamberlain, founder of St Laurences Larder, relies on these Felix deliveries to provide 120 hungry Londoners with freshly cooked meals twice a week. Few are aware of the interfaith co-operation, said Mr Chamberlain, a former manager at LEscargot restaurant in Soho. Were non-judgmental, and we respect everybody by not cooking meat. Only fresh, nourishing vegetarian meals, which is why Felix is so important to us.

Having shifted the food from the van to the kitchen, the faith leaders sat and talked with the diners. Under a stained glass window, Imam Hussain spoke to Steve, 59, about his struggle with depression. Afterwards, he said: Places like this provide a space where people can come together to rebuild their lives.

The Bishop added: The Evening Standards campaign to promote awareness over food waste is vitally important and will strike a powerful chord with Londoners wanting to tackle the issue of food poverty. Highlighting a cause and offering a message of hope is how you mobilise people and achieve change. I fully support this campaign and look forward to seeing the positive results which emerge over the coming months.

The Chief Rabbi and the Imam nodded in agreement. Amen to that.
A five-year-old Leukaemia sufferer had all his wishes come true after taking part in his very own police investigation.

Jayden Thirunavukkarasu was part of an investigative team that tracked a burglar suspected of stealing the crown jewels.

As part of the investigation, PC Jayden was flown in a London Air Ambulance and followed a trail of evidence to arrest Billy the Burglar.

This lead to a mock trial at Snarebrook Crown Court today, where Billy the Burglar was prosecuted following evidence given by PC Jayden.

Key witness: PC Jayden gives evidence in court / Tower Hamlets MPS

Jaydens father, Natarajan Thirunavukkarasu, revealed that Jayden had been in and out of hospital since being diagnosed with the disease in June last year and his one dream was to be a police officer.

The 41-year-old chef told the Standard They started his treatment on the very next day and he had to have chemotherapy.

You're knicked: PC Jayden handcuffs suspect / Tower Hamlets MPS

Last year he was very, very ill. Almost every other week he was in hospital and the chemotherapy made him very ill.

Tower Hamlets MPS, who organised the investigation with help from the Rays of Sunshine Childrens charity made Jayden his very own bespoke uniform and had offciers do everything to make Jaydens dreams come true.

The force also live tweeted the case, even breaking the law to show images of Jaydens court proceedings.

A Tower Hamlets MPS spokesman said: "We've been working closely with RaysOfSunshine to help make PCJayden's wish to dress up as a police officer come true.

"Our uniform services have worked tirelessly in their own time to make a bespoke uniform for Jayden.

On duty: Jayden spent a day as a police officer / Tower Hamlets MPS

"Further we've been able to work with partners to ensure that Jayden gets to also spend the day as a police officer."

Mr Thirunavukkarasu, from East Ham, thanked the charity and the force for putting on such a special day for Jayden.

He said: They did amazing things, we couldnt have imagined these things.

I didnt know how today would be possible but his dreams have come true.

The first time we went with them we very shy but now he does not want to come home.
A naked club night due to launch in Soho has been cancelled due to a shortage of lockers for revellers.

The Get Naked London party was due to launch at the Takeover Bar, featuring hula-hoopists, live music and naked shot-servers.

But tonights launch has been cancelled due to unexpectedly high demand, organisers said.

A statement on the events Facebook page read: Sorry to be the 'barers' of bad news but our launch event is being postponed  check back soon for the next date.

Organiser Joshua Walker told the Standard that a number of elements would have prevented the night from running smoothly.

He said: "The demand was huge  so before we go ahead we need to make sure that logistically we can host a fun, safe night.

Naked rooftop bar 1 /13 Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar Naked rooftop bar

"We expected a night of 200 people  with a select few getting their kit off and being body painted - but in reality we had most of the 200+ wanting to get involved.

"So we are taking some time to reinforce our plans  and yes, that includes having a safe place for the clothes of 200 plus people.

Naked Donald Trump statues in New York and LA spark queues for selfies

Mr Walker added that despite the setback, he was still hoping to launch the event in the next few weeks, at possibly a different venue.

Contrary to the events name, clothed revellers would have been allowed entry to the event on Greek Street.

Anyone planning on baring all would have had to cover themselves up with body paint.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two police officers were hit by a car in central London.

Both police officers were injured and one was rushed to hospital after being knocked down in the crash in Farringdon at just before 1am this morning.

The City of London officers had tried to stop a car, a Nissan Juke, in Farringdon Road at the junction with Bakers Row.

But when the officers got out their police car to try and speak to the driver of the Nissan, the car reversed into them, crashing into the two officers and a van.

Both officers were injured and ambulances rushed to the scene to take one of the officers, a man, to a north London hospital. He has now been discharged.

The other police officer was treated at the scene.

The 28-year-old man who was driving the car has now been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and driving under the influence of drugs.

He is being held in custody at a central London police station.

The road was closed while emergency services dealt with the crash.

TfL issued an alert warning buses were being divereted from the scene. The road has now reopened.

Officers from Islington CID are investigating, the Met Police said.
A new mother claims she was turned away from a designer handbag sale because her sleeping new-born in a baby harness broke their no bags' policy.

Francesca ONeil was stopped as she tried to go into the Mulberry sample sale in west London carrying her seven-week-old son, Tobias, on her front in a baby harness.

Ms O'Neil, a barrister, claims a security guard at the pop-up store and the manager both told her she could not bring the baby carrier and a small shoulder bag inside, leaving her with no option but to go elsewhere.

She said she remonstrated with staff, saying it would be difficult to carry the sleeping baby around the shop, but management refused to budge.

Mrs ONeill told the Standard: I was furious more than anything. And I told them it was outrageous and maternity discrimination.

Outlet shop: The sale was selling Mulberry bags at a discounted price / Alasdair McLellan/Mulberry

I had queued up with my son and a small bag with a changing mat and a bottle and when I got to the door they told me I had to check everything in.

I said no and explained that I couldnt take my sleeping son out the carrier and I needed my stuff with me with such a young baby.

"This massive security guard was like no exceptions you need to take off everything."

Newborn baby: Francesca with her son Tobias (Francesca O'Neill) / Francesca O'Neill

Mrs ONeill then asked to speak to a manager at the temporary store on South Molton Lane, where designer handbags were being sold at discounted prices of up to 400.

She said she was there to buy a new work bag for her husband.

I said it is a specific one so I wont be browsing and you can come with me if you want and make sure I dont take anything, she explained.

But the manager point blank refused to let Mrs ONeill and her son in.

It was of paramount stupidity, she added.

I am their exact target audience and I have been a good customer for years.

Mrs ONeill, who lives with her husband in Hampstead, Tweeted Mulberry to complain about her treatment but had no response.

A Mulberry spokeswoman told the Standard: "Mulberry has a family friendly approach to all our customers so we are concerned to hear about this incident and we will look into it carefully."
A woman was rushed to hospital with serious injuries after she was struck by a bus on Oxford Street in front of horrified shoppers.

Police, paramedics and a London Air Ambulance were sent to the busy shopping street after a woman, believed to be in her 50s, was knocked down near the Duke Street junction.

She was taken to hospital with serious head injuries but her condition was not thought to be life-threatening.

Pictures from the scene show blood splattered on the pavement as the road was taped off for nearly three hours before it reopened.

A route 189 bus was also pictured inside the cordon.

A police spokesman said: Police were called by London Ambulance Service (to reports of a road traffic collision at Oxford Street and Duke Street.

A woman believed to be in her 50s had been in collision with a bus. LAS and London's Air Ambulance attended.

The woman was taken to a central London hospital in a serious condition. Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: We were called at 12.08pm to reports of a road traffic collision at Oxford Street.

We sent an ambulance crew, a paramedic on a bike and an incident response officer to the scene. We also dispatched Londons Air Ambulance.

We treated a woman at the scene for a head injury and took her as a priority to a major trauma centre in west London.

Horrified shoppers described the scene as chaos as traffic was brought to a standstill amid a sea of emergency vehicles.

Edward Woodcock tweeted: "There is what appears to be a blood stain on the ground next to the bus in Oxford Street."

YouTube blogger Lydia Elise Millen added: Oxford Street is closed and there's been air ambulance what has happened?!

While Natalie Brown posted: Thought there was a bus protest on #OxfordStreet until I saw police and a pool of blood on the floor, hope the person is ok #grim

And Sinead Chapman wrote: Chaos on oxford street... what's going on?

Tony Akers, TfLs Manager of Bus Operations, said: At 12.10pm today (7 October), a route 189 double deck bus, operated by Metroline, was involved in a collision with a pedestrian on Oxford Street, W1 at its junction with Duke Street. Emergency services attended the scene. There will be a full investigation into the incident.
A police officer is disguising himself as a cyclist in a bid to catch drivers who overtake dangerously.

Sergeant Nick Clarke cycled a loop around Camden Town and Primrose Hill in plain clothes while uniformed officers were stationed at busy junctions to check for drivers not allowing him a safe passing distance, the Camden New Journal reported.

The two-hour operation will run once a week at the end of morning rush hour, the newspaper added.

On Wednesday, 14 drivers were stopped for offences including jumping red lights and using mobile phones while nine cyclists were also pulled over mostly for ignoring red signals.

Only one motorist was spoken to for passing too closely.

The move is thought to be the first of its kind in London and has been hailed by campaigners as a "historic" step to improve road safety.

Sergeant Clarke, who leads the Camden Road and Primrose Hill safer neighbourhoods team, told the Journal he was inspired to employ the strategy after it was used by West Midlands Police.

He said: I basically just read the article and thought we can do that on a smaller scale. There is no reason we cant emulate that.

Initiallly, drivers found to overtake cyclists too closely will be given a warning but prosecutions could be lodged if the scheme is continued.

Road safety campaigners hailed the operation as historic decision with hopes it will be rolled out across London if successful.

Activist Tom Kearney, who was hit by a bus and left in a coma, said the move will greatly reduce danger for all road users, particularly for people who choose to cycle or walk.
T op academics from the London School of Economics have accused the government of barring them from Brexit talks because they are foreign.

Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at the school's European Institute who is Danish, said government representatives told her that she and her non-UK colleagues "no longer qualify" as expert advisers.

A memo to staff from LSE interim director Julia Black, obtained Friday by The Times, said "the Foreign Office have advised us that they will be issuing tenders to contract for advisory work, but that only U.K. nationals will be eligible to apply."

The university said in a statement that "any changes to security measures are a matter for the U.K. government."

It said a group of fewer than 10 London School of Economics experts had been giving the government advice on Brexit.

"We believe our academics, including non-U.K. nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the U.K.'s relationship with Europe and the rest of the world," it said.

The Foreign Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Formal Brexit talks have yet to begin, but many in the business and academic spheres have accused the government of harming Britain's international reputation with hard-line comments about immigration and relations with the EU.

Listen to the struggle of the pound since Brexit

Home Secretary Amber Rudd drew strong criticism this week when she said companies could be forced to disclose what percentage of their workforce was from other countries.

She later said the government was not committed to the idea.

Nick Clegg, a spokesman on Europe issues for Britain's Liberal Democrats party, said the decision about the academics was "utterly baffling."

He added: "This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policymaking."

A Foreign Office spokesman insisted nothing had changed since the pro-Brexit referendum result.

"The FCO regularly works with academic institutions to assist in its policy research, and nothing has changed as a result of the referendum.

"It has always been the case that anyone working in the FCO may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work.

"Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds, regardless of nationality."
A ten-year-old was hit over the head by a flying wine bottle after a fight broke out between two stag parties on a Ryanair flight.

Four passengers were detained by Spanish police after the Edinburgh flight landed in Alicante, Ryanair confirmed.

A passenger on the flight told the Daily Record that the stags were absolutely hammered before the 11.15am flight took off.

She said she was travelling with her two children and witnessed another child, 10, hit on the head with the bottle when the brawl broke out during the three-hour flight.

One passenger claimed the fight broke out after members of a stag party mocked another passenger for having a trendy 'topknot' haircut.

Everyone I spoke to said theyd never experienced anything like it, she said.

An airline spokesman said they will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour and said the safety and comfort of customers, crew and aircraft is their number one priority.
E bola nurse Pauline Cafferkey is to spend a second day in hospital after she was rushed in by police escort yesterday.

The British medic caught the deadly virus while working in Sierra Leone, west Africa, in 2014.

Yesterday was the fourth time since her return from Africa that she had been taken to hospital.

On Thursday evening it was revealed Ms Cafferkey had tested negative for the disease and remained in a stable condition.

A statement from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Pauline Cafferkey was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital this morning under the care of the Infectious Diseases Unit.

"Due to Ms Cafferkey's past medical history, appropriate precautionary measures were taken whilst further investigations were carried out.

"We are pleased to report that tests for the Ebola virus are negative.

"She remains in a stable condition in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

We want to repeat our previous reassurance that there is no risk to the public.

"We will not be issuing further statements and would ask that Pauline's privacy and right to medical confidentiality be respected."

The nurse was working as a volunteer for Save the Children when she was infected.

She was treated at the end of 2014 and discharged in January 2015, but was readmitted to hospital twice in October 2015 and February this year.

At one stage she had fallen critically ill.

Last month the nurse was cleared of misconduct over her return to the UK while carrying the virus.

28,000 cases were reported of Ebola and more than 11,000 people died as the outbreak swept Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In March this year Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free.
P olice have warned tourists not to approach a seal spotted several times on London's South Bank.

Footage of the animal taken by the Met Police has been widely shared on social media, with many Londoners giving it their seal of approval.

But the Met has warned people not to get too close to the wild creature, which carries a nasty bite.

They tweeted: "Another sighting of the seal. Remember if you see him they are wild animals and may bite if approached."

But Londoners criticised police for making negative comments about the seal.

James Borrell tweeted: "Why not make a comment on how awesome it is to see seals, rather than daft miniscule risks of seal attacks."

@Keshawolfpack added: "Perhaps the paperwork, risk assessment and health and safety of seeing a wild animal in 2016 is a bit much?"

Seals are often spotted in the Canary Wharf area near Billingsgate Market, where traders throw them leftover fish.

It is not unusual to see a lone seal, as pups are often left alone by their mothers from three to four weeks old.

The RSPCA advise anyone who sees a wild seal not to touch it, as bite wounds can become infected due to the bacteria.

Members of the public are advised not to feed seals because it could make them ill and dependent on humans for food.

Anyone who spots an injured seal should call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999
A lmost half of the British public now hold strong anti-immigrant views, according to new research.

A major study by YouGov found 48 per cent of Britons share authoritarian populist attitudes in findings that reveal the spread of fringe political views into the mainstream, Buzzfeed News reported.

Researchers said the figure was calculated despite less than 20 per cent of people identifying themselves as right-wing.

It comes just days after Prime Minister Theresa May signalled Britain is hurtling towards a so-called "hard-Brexit" with a promise to crackdown on immigration and reassert British sovereignty.

The survey  which polled more than 12,000 people in 12 European countries  found almost half of all Europeans now lean towards nationalist views.

In France, 63 per cent of people surveyed held authoritarian populist opinions while in Italy the figure was 47 per cent.

Meanwhile, in Germany just 18 per cent of people revealed anti-immigrant leanings.

The highest levels of authoritarian populist views were recorded in eastern European countries Romania and Poland - where they were held by 82 per cent and 78 per cent of adults respectively.

Joe Twyman, YouGovs head of political and social research for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told Buzzfeed News: These results show that the old days of Left versus Right have been replaced by a much more complicated, nuanced mix of political groupings, with profound implications for politics across Europe.

Any political party or movement that can successfully appeal to those of an authoritarian populist leaning could benefit hugely when it comes to elections.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage told the website that the research shows people in all countries feel let down by an anti-democratic political class attempting to build a United States of Europe.

He said: This is not a matter of the old labels of left or right. In the past both left and right were rooted in place, but no longer.

The governing political class across this continent doesnt like the Europe in which it lives, holds its people in contempt and would prefer to sit in executive lounges than engage with those whose work pays their wages.

That is why you are seeing increasing disillusion with a failed EU project that is now doomed. Brexit was just the beginning.
T he Nobel Peace Prize was today awarded to Colombias president for his efforts in trying to bring the countrys 50-year civil war to an end.

The Norwegian committee honoured Juan Manuel Santos despite the historic treaty he negotiated with Farc rebels being rejected in a referendum last weekend.

Syrias rescue workers, the White Helmets, had earlier been tipped as the peoples favourites for the prize.

Making the award in Oslo today, which comes with 8 million Swedish crowns (746,570) the judging panel praised Mr Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his last day in office.

It feared the referendum result could lead to the Colombian conflict re-igniting, but called on the president and Farc rebel commander Timochenko to take their share of responsibility and participate constructively in the upcoming peace talks.

The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further, it is the committees hope that in the years to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process, said a spokeswoman.

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She added that although the peace accord was rejected in the referendum, the negotiations have brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution and Mr Santoss endeavours to promote peace demonstrate the spirit of Alfred Nobels will.

The committee said the award was not split between the president and the Farc leader because Mr Santos was the keeper of the process.

The White Helmets had been tipped to win after pulling 62,000 people alive from smashed buildings in Syria, often with bombing still going on.
M ore than 800 people have been killed in Hurricane Matthew which has been described as the most dangerous storm in living memory.

Hurricane Matthew has left 842 people dead and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Matthew, potentially the first major hurricane to hit the United States head on in more than a decade, also triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

Southern Florida escaped the brunt of the storm overnight on Thursday, but US President Barack Obama urged people not to be complacent in the face of a storm that could be the most severe to strike northeast Florida in more than 100 years.

He said: "I just want to emphasise to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists."

"People continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the next 24, 48, 72 hours."

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Matthew had smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain.

Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted.

At least three towns reported dozens of people killed in the hills and coast of Haiti's fertile western tip, including the farming village of Chantal where the mayor said 86 people died, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing.

"A tree fell on the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldn't get out," said driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald, 27, who had been married for only a year.

"People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying "Mommy."

The USS Mesa Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was sent to Haiti to support relief efforts.

The UK's international development secretary, Priti Patel, revealed Britain would be sending 5 million of initial aid to help Haiti.

Hurricane Matthew - In pictures 1 /28 Hurricane Matthew - In pictures Rain batters homes as Matthew passes Daytona Beach, Florida REUTERS A homeowner surveys the damage to his oceanfront home in Ormond Beach, Florida REUTERS A fallen street light sits in battered Daytona Beach, Florida EPA A shopping mall sign damaged by strong winds in Florida EPA Storm surge and waves break over the sea wall in Charleston, South Carolina REUTERS Rainwater begins to flood a main road in Charleston REUTERS Hurricane Matthew as it regained Category 4 status. Hurricane Matthew is expected to skim Florida's coast after crossing over parts of Haiti and Cuba, and is expected to move up the east coast of the United States NASA Hurricane Matthew Daytona Beach. 6am winds still only 55mph no flooding yet. Right on the street next to the beec Mark Sims for DailyMail.com First shelf cloud of Hurricane Matthew spotted on Coquina Beach @MCGPublicSafety Rain falls and winds caused by storm are seen while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida Henry Romero/Reuters Waves crash ashore as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area in Singer Island, Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images A pedestrian runs across a street as the eye of Hurricane Matthew approaches Daytona Beach, Florida Phelan Ebenhack/Reuters People leave Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park, in heavy rain, after it closed in Orlando, Florida in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Matthew Gregg Newton/AFP/Getty Images vonne Morales comforts her sleeping baby, 9-month-old Bruno Ponce, the Red Cross shelter at the Samuel S. Gaines Academy building in Fort Pierce Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP Traffic stacks up on I-75 North fleeing the coast and Hurricane Matthew Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP Ted Houston and his dog Kermit visit the beach as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area in Palm Beach Joe Raedle/Getty Images People watch the news as they drink in a bar in Titusville, Florida, before the landfall of Hurricane Matthew Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images esidents prepare a mattress at a school used as a shelter while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida Henry Romero/Reuters Locals scramble to fill sandbags with the last of a supply at the Road and Bridge Department in Kissimmee, Florida in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Matthew Gregg Newton/AFP/Getty Images A lone taxi heads toward the Walt Disney World Resort area in Orlando, Florida Gregg Newton/AFP/Getty Images Palm trees sway in high gusts of wind on Vero Beach Lynne Sladky/AP

A Navy spokesman said the ship would take heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers and fresh water delivery vehicles. The ship has a surgical team and two operating rooms on board.

Matthew skirted Florida on Friday with winds of up to 120 miles per hour (195 kph), but did not make landfall.

Dramatic footage of Hurricane Matthew from space

The city of Jacksonville in the northeast of the state could face significant flooding, Florida Governor Rick Scott said. The storm had cut power to some 827,000 households in Florida, he said.

No significant damage or injuries were reported in cities and towns in south Florida where the storm brought down trees and power lines, CNN and local media reported.

Rain batters homes as the eye of Hurricane Matthew passes Daytona Beach, Florida / REUTERS

Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate, said he was concerned that relatively light damage in the south of Florida so far could give people farther up the coast a false sense of security.

He said: "People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. People should also be aware the hurricane carried more than just ferocious winds.

Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti 1 /8 Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti A man poses on a sea wall in Les Cayes, Haiti REUTERS Two women shelter under an umbrella in south-west Haiti REUTERS A couple enjoy the view while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince REUTERS People buy goods on the street while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince REUTERS People stand on the coast watching the surf produced by Hurricane Matthew in Jamaica Civil protection workers asks residents to evacuate their homes located near the the Grise river, in Tabarre, Haiti AP

"The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s," Fugate said.

A car drives past a downed tree as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Florida / AP

In Cape Canaveral, Florida, home to the country's main space launch site, the storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards.

Matthew lessened in intensity on Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said, but was still a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Category 5 is the strongest.

Aerial view of Hurricane Matthew / NASA

The US National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on US shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear after Matthew passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then moved out over Grand Bahama Island.
F lights between the UK and Florida have been cancelled and delayed as Hurricane Matthew lashed the Sunshine State  claiming the lives of almost 300 people across the Carribean.

Britons in areas whipped by the most powerful storm in more than a decade have been urged to call friends and family members before and after the hurricane.

The UK Foreign Office is urging holidaymakers in the area to pay close attention to weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities.

Flights to popular holiday destination Orlando have been affected, while millions of people have been forced to flee their homes along the south-east coast of America.

Officials have branded the storm a monster.

Governor Rick Scott said: Im going to pray for everybodys safety.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

A Virgin Atlantic flight to Orlando from Manchester due to take off this afternoon has been cancelled.

On its website, the airline is warning passengers of overnight delays affecting a number of flights today and tomorrow from Manchester, Glasgow and Gatwick.

AP

The airline is telling people to check the status of their flight before going to the airport, while passengers delayed away from home are asked to remain at their hotels where possible.

Thomas Cook Airlines has delayed Glasgow and Manchester flights to and from Orlando today by 24 hours due to the weather.

The airline is also telling passengers that there may be congestion at the airport in Orlando with "many flights currently being rescheduled by other airlines at this time".

Cite-Soleil in Port-au-Prince, Haiti / REUTERS

In a note on its website, Orlando International Airport said flight activity was expected to stop at 8pm local time on Thursday, adding that flights were expected to resume tomorrow.

In updated travel advice, the Foreign Office said: "Hurricane Matthew is forecast to bring hazardous sea and weather conditions to parts of the east coast of the US from 6 October 2016.

Strong winds, heavy rain, flooding, and storm surge in coastal areas is expected.

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"Sporadic tornadoes are possible. Hurricane warnings and watches have been issued, triggering evacuation orders in several areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

"You should monitor weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities, including if you're ordered to evacuate.

"If you're in an affected area, you should call family members and friends in the UK to let them know your plans before and after the hurricane."

Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti 1 /8 Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti A man poses on a sea wall in Les Cayes, Haiti REUTERS Two women shelter under an umbrella in south-west Haiti REUTERS A couple enjoy the view while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince REUTERS People buy goods on the street while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince REUTERS People stand on the coast watching the surf produced by Hurricane Matthew in Jamaica Civil protection workers asks residents to evacuate their homes located near the the Grise river, in Tabarre, Haiti AP

The hurricane was expected to blow ashore early this morning north of West Palm Beach, and then slowly push north for the next 12 hours along the Interstate 95 corridor, through Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

Forecasters said it would then probably hug the coast of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend before veering out to sea - possibly looping back towards Florida in the middle of next week as a tropical storm.

The last Category 3 storm or higher to hit the US was Wilma in October 2005. It sliced across Florida with 120 mph winds, killing five people and causing an estimated 21 billion dollars in damage.
F ormer Emmerdale actress Leah Bracknell has terminal lung cancer.

The 52-year-old actress, who played Zoe Tate on the soap for 16 years, was given the news after being rushed to hospital last month.

Fans are now rallying to raise money for the star so that she can go to Germany to have treatment at a specialist clinic, and have already raised 18,000 in less than 12 hours.

Revealing the news on her GoFundMe page, Bracknell  real name Ali - told fans that, just a few weeks ago, she was feeling fit and healthy.

Just over 5 weeks ago, I was feeling perfectly well, fit and healthy. Teaching yoga classes and workshops, it was a time of new beginnings: preparing to move house, youngest child fleeing the nest, and excited to be starting rehearsals for a comedy play, being back onstage, going on tour, she wrote.

"But, it turns out that the universe had other plans. Life was about to be unexpectedly turned on its head.

I began to feel breathless climbing stairs ... I just put it down to a bit of stress.

My abdomen suddenly ballooned - and within a matter of a few days I looked heavily pregnant. I could barely walk or breathe. Then, one Saturday night at the beginning of September I ended up in A&E.

After being examined by doctors, the actress was told that she had stage 4 lung cancer, which was considered to be inoperable.

Leah Bracknell as Zoe Tate in Emmerdale / ITV

However, the bad news is that I have been diagnosed with lung cancer, stage 4. In their opinion, that means it's terminal, not curable, not operable, she wrote.

"A fairly brutal and bleak diagnosis but one I am determined to challenge and see from the perspective of "a glass half full", going against a lifetime of pessimism, negativity and fear!!!!

Despite the horrific diagnosis, Bracknell is staying unbelievably positive and isnt giving up.

By the way, please imagine me writing this and speaking in quite an upbeat and cheerful voice. Do NOT imagine me sitting here writing through a veil of tears. I am not. Or feeling sorry for myself. I am not (yet), she wrote.

My priority is getting well and strong, so that I can continue to endeavour to be a good, mother, daughter, wife, or at least the best I can be.

"My priority is to defy expectation. My priority is to love, to laugh, and, as Bob (Dylan) said, to 'keep on keepin' on'.

Fans have now raised the impressive sum overnight and it continues to grow.
K hloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner have both cancelled book signings over security concerns.

The reality stars have pulled out of a number of events in the wake of sister Kim Kardashians attack in Paris on Monday morning.

While members of the family have now broken their social media blackout, they will not be making any public appearances any time soon.

Khloe, 32, was supposed to be promoting the release of her memoir, Strong Looks Better Naked, with a string of book signings at Barnes and Noble.

Kim Kardashian at Paris Fashion Week / Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

But according to Page Six, the star will not be making her scheduled appearances because of on-going security concerns.

A representative for the star said: Due to recent events and ongoing security issues, we are cancelling all book signings.

The rep added that safety is currently the number one priority for the family.

Kim Kardashian robbers 'saw jewels' in her social media posts

Kendall, 20, and her sister Kylie, 19, have also pulled out of upcoming events to promote their new book Time of the Twins: The Story of Lex and Livia.

Kim, who was bound, gagged and robbed at gunpoint in the early hours of Monday in Paris, arrived back in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

The star was seen arriving via private jet with mother Kris Jenner, husband Kanye West and children North and Saint.
H oney G is one of the most talked about contestants on this years X Factor, and now you can hear her brand new music.

Posted on her official website, fans of the IT manager turned rapper can listen to tracks including Hush Your Mouth, I Cried All Night and Lets Get Serious.

Before Honey  real name Anna Georgette Gilford  takes to the stage for the first of the live shows on Saturday, fans of the hip hop star can listen to eight official new tracks.

The wannabe rap heavyweight even posted a link to her first ever music video, called Your Loving.

But unfortunately for fans, the homemade video has now been mysterious removed from YouTube, leaving a gaping hole in the hip hop market.

Her website reads: Honey G. started mixing in 1999. After mixing for only 4 months she made her 1st appearance at Club Abbyss in Ayia Napa and gained a DJ residency at Gas club in the summer of 2000.

Honey G gives Stephanie Pratt the middle finger

In the early 2000s she launched her own club night called Luvibe in Manchester whilst studying and DJ-ed at many venues in the UK on the UK Garage Scene. Luvibe was all about showcasing Black Female talent.

The X Factor 2016 - Wildcards 1 /12 The X Factor 2016 - Wildcards Samantha Lavery The 16-year-old was called back by Louis Walsh Dymond/Syco/Thames Saara Aalto The Finnish hopeful was booed off at Six Chair Challenge but was saved by Nicole Scherzinger Dymond/Syco/Thames Yes Lad Sharon Osbourne loved the five piece group so much she called them back Dymond/Syco/Thames Ryan Lawrie The 20-year-old singer was saved as Simon Cowell's widcard ITV Honey G Honey G is fresh out of 'North Weezy' and heading to LA for Judges' Houses Thames/Syco The Overs Sharon Osbourne with her chosen six Dymond/Syco/Thames The Groups Louis Walsh with his chosen six The Girls Simon Cowell with his chosen six Thames / Syco Entertainment The Boys Nicole Scherzinger with her chosen six Thames / Syco Entertainment

She also made appearances on BBC Radio 1xtra and Radio 1 after she graduated in Popular Music and Recording from Salford University and came runner up in the National Student DJ Competition sponsored by Ministry of Sound.

While many X Factor fans have signed a petition to get Honey G removed from The X Factor, others cant get enough of the North Weezy based artist.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Honey defended her place on the show, saying:

Obviously there are going to be haters everywhere you go - even people very, very famous have haters.

"I see the haters poppin' and I don't really take any notice of them.

"They just need to check themselves."
M ichael Buble has been announced as the host of next years Brit Awards and there has been a mixed reaction.

The Canadian crooner will be following in the footsteps of Ant and Dec and James Corden to host the UKs biggest pop music award ceremony of 2017.

While some fans are over-the-moon that the heartthrob has landed such a high profile gig, others think that the 41-year-old is a rather left field choice for the role.

I'm sure he will shock people.He has a great personality and knows his music.It's going to be fun, wrote one happy Twitter user.

First year in a long time that I won't be watching, don't think it's the right choice, another posted.

Someone else wrote: 1. Why is Michael Buble presenting the Brit awards? and 2. Why is everyone so ok with this?!

The Brit Awards 2016 After Parties - In pictures 1 /28 The Brit Awards 2016 After Parties - In pictures Alexa Chung (L) and Pixie Geldof attend the Universal Music BRIT Awards After-Party 2016 in collaboration with Soho House and Bacardi Dave Benett Lucky Blue Smith, Dan Caten and Dean Caten attend the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett George Shelley, Lilah Parsons and Dve Berry attend the Universal Music BRIT Awards After-Party 2016 in collaboration with Soho House Dave Benett Labrinth and Paloma Faith at The Brit Awards, Sony Music After Party in London Richard Young/Rex Joshua Ronson, Mark Ronson, Alexander Ronson and Josephine de La Baume at The Brit Awards, Sony Music After Party in London Richard Young/Rex Bip Ling and Charli XCX attend the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett Mollie King attends the Universal Music BRIT Awards After-Party 2016 in collaboration with Soho House and Bacardi Dave Benett Alice Dellal and Pam Hogg attend the Universal Music BRIT Awards After-Party 2016 in collaboration with Soho House and Bacardi Dave Benett Ellie Goulding and Karlie Kloss attend the Universal Music BRIT Awards After-Party 2016 in collaboration with Soho House Dave Benett David Gandy (L) and Jodie Kidd attend the Universal Music BRIT Awards After-Party 2016 in collaboration with Soho House and Bacardi Dave Benett Jourdan Dunn and Toni Garrn attend the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett Abbey Clancy and Oliver Cheshire attend the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett Laura Whitmore attends the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett Jess Glynne and guest attend the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett Tallia Storm at The Brit Awards, Warner Music Group After Party in London, Richard Young/Rex Jourdan Dunn at The Brit Awards, Warner Music Group After Party in London Richard Young/Rex Fleur East at The Brit Awards, Warner Music Group After Party in London Richard Young/Rex Rebecca Ferguson at The Brit Awards, Warner Music Group After Party in London Richard Young/Rex Ella Eyre at The Brit Awards, Warner Music Group After Party in London Richard Young/Rex Mark Ronson attends the Warner Music Group & Ciroc Vodka Brit Awards after party at Freemasons Hall Dave Benett Simon Pegg and Maureen Pegg at The Brit Awards, Warner Music Group After Party in London Richard Young/Rex

A rather irate viewer added: Michael Buble hosting the Brits is the single worst thing the ceremony could have done, imo........

But Buble himself seems pretty happy about his new job, describing it as a huge honour.

Its a huge honour for me to host such a big night in music. Even though I didnt grow up as a Brit Ive always been well aware of The BRIT Awards and their impact globally, he said.

As a fan of music this is the perfect gig. Im very much looking forward to February and celebrating the success stories of a great year in music.

The Brit Awards 2017 will take place at the O2 on February 22.
S am Neill has claimed that he never got asked to reprise his role as Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic World.

The New Zealander, who was the star of the original film, told Graham Norton that he had never ruled out a return.

Speaking on Friday nights show, he said: I didnt rule it out, they just didnt call me. Its fine. Ive been doing other things.

Someone asked me the other day and I said, I dont know whats happened to Alan Grant. He could be dead, he could be in therapy or he might be an accountant in Des Moines  nobody knows whats happened to him.

Danny DeVito, Ewan McGregor, Sam Neill, Graham Norton, Miranda Hart, John Bishop and Amber Riley / Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA

Talking about his new film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, he said: It is a little movie that came from nowhere.

It is heartwarming, a sort of a road movie without roads  we dont have many in New Zealand. People are nicer to me in New Zealand as a result of this because the last time they saw me was as a psychopath in Peaky Blinders and they avoided me!

Hunt For The Wilderpeople Exclusive Interview With Sam Neill & Julian Dennison

Neill consulted friends Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt to get the Belfast accent right for the TV programme.

I did consult Liam Neeson and Jimmy Nesbitt because they are obviously to the manor born, he said.

 I got a couple of lessons from them which was great but they were brought up just 10 miles from each other and speak with completely different voices so I thought I would just relax and do my own thing.

Norton is also joined by Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito , Mranda Hart, John Bishop and Amber Riley on Friday nights show.

Graham Norton, BBC One, 9pm.


Greg Hoegermeyer of Herman knows the advantages of planting winter wheat.

It breaks up our corn-bean rotation and it creates more organic matter in the soil, because of the root mass, he said.

There are other advantages.

The grain from the wheat has value to the elevators in Fremont or we feed it sometimes, said Hoegermeyer, who farms in Dodge and Washington counties with his father, Gerald.

Hoegermeyer is among area farmers who see the benefits of planting winter wheat. There are various advantages, said Nathan Mueller, Nebraska cropping systems extension educator for Dodge and Washington counties.

When asked why people grow winter wheat, Mueller points to local cash prices at a couple Fremont grain elevators, which he said is better than most areas.

Hoegermeyer would agree.

The base is pretty strong in Fremont and I was told that is because the rail (freight) rate is really good out of Fremont to get it to either Chicago or the Coast, Hoegermeyer said. We used to grow oats, but wheat has a higher value per bushel.

That reputation for better prices seems to have spread. Mueller, whos from South Dakota, said farmers from there have talked about hauling wheat to Fremont to sell.

Why?

Fremont has a good cash price on winter wheat, they said, enough to justify hauling the grain there.

Mueller has a few agronomic facts about this crop for area farmers. The facts include:

 Adding winter wheat into the corn-soybean rotation helps improve soil health.

 Wheat can break some disease and insect cycles that can be challenging in corn-soybean rotations.

 Wheat can help fight weeds like winter annuals and even water helm and palmer amaranth.

After the wheat harvest, farmers have a place to haul manure or plant a cover crop for grazing. Hoegermeyer said one reason he and his dad plant winter wheat is because they need a place to haul manure in the summer months. Some years, we will plant turnips or radishes or put oats in as a grazing crop, he added.

 Wheat straw can be baled and sold for other uses. We need the straw for bedding in our livestock barns, Hoegermeyer said as another reason for planting this crop.

 USDA-NRCS conservation programs have incentive funds available for planting winter wheat.

Mueller said the University of Nebraska conducts winter wheat variety trials across the state each year.

Averaged across the last three years, the varieties SY Wolf, Freeman, WB Cedar, have been the top yielding varieties in Saunders County.

To help farmers here even more, another variety trial location is being added in Washington County this fall for the first time.

Hoegermeyer, who has grown winter wheat for close to 15 years, has volunteered host the trials in cooperation with the University of Nebraska Crop Variety Testing Program. This local trial data will help area farmers select varieties more adapted to local growing conditions, Mueller said.

Because it is time to plan, Mueller has listed some winter wheat planting tips:

 Plant winter wheat quickly after soybean harvest.

 Oct. 15 is the last day for 100 percent winter wheat insurance coverage in Dodge and Washington counties, but planting coverage has been delayed until Oct. 30.

 The recommended seeding rates for winter wheat in October range from 1.2 to 1.8 million pure live seeds per acre or 28 to 41 pure live seeds per foot. This equates to increasing the seeding rate by 150,000 seeds per acre per week in October.

 Plant winter wheat 1 to 1.5 inches deep. Planting less than 1 inch or more than 2 inches deep can reduce your stand and increase winterkill.

 No-till planting and adding 20 pounds of phosphorus per acre in furrow can also help wheat perform better.

Mueller has put together a local growing guide to help area grain producers. This guide can be found at http://croptechcafe.org, which is his locally focused agronomy website.
Judicial Watch: Federal Contractor Tells Local Official to Keep Syria Refugee Plans Secret

'If we open it up to anybody and everybody, all sorts of people will come out of the woodwork' -- Amila Merdzanovic, executive director, Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program

Second Group Helping to Resettle Syrian Refugees in Rutland, Vermont Received 91% of its Funding from Government Grants

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Judicial Watch today released 128 pages of documents it obtained from the mayor of Rutland, Vermont, showing a concerted effort by the mayor and a number of private organizations to conceal from the public their plans to resettle 100 Syrian refugees into the small southern Vermont town.

The documents include an April 14, 2016 , email from Amila Merdzanovic, executive director of the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, to Mayor Christopher Louras, in which she wrote:

I want to share with you the concern my HQ has about holding a public forum. If we open it up to anybody and everybody, all sorts of people will come out of woodwork. Anti-immigrant, anti-anything. They suggest that the forum be invite only but make it as wide as possible. Work with faith leaders, United Way, etc... Perhaps, we could go back to the Congregational Church and continue the conversation there.

The mayor and resettlement organizations shrouded the plan in such secrecy that not even the town's aldermen were informed of what was taking place behind closed doors. The aldermen eventually wrote to the U.S. Department of State protesting the plan and opened an investigation into the mayor's actions. The State Department has not yet ruled on whether it will resettle refugees in Rutland despite the aldermen's protest.

Handwritten notes state that the issue was, "Not what can 'we' do for 'them,' but what the diversity, cultural richness do for the community." The documents contain detailed discussions of what Rutland will need to provide for the refugees  including housing, jobs, medical care, and places for worship.

Merdzanovic later told the Boston Globe that the hidden talks were "the right thing to do  to move slowly, keep it to a small circle of people, and then expand."

On April 10, 2016 , she wrote to the director of the State Refugee Office about her coordination with the mayor to keep the resettlement program secret:

He did share with me that the Governor's office called him after getting a frantic call from DOL [Vermont Department of Labor] inquiring about the plan to resettle '100 Syrians in the next month' in Rutland. Again, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of not sharing the information even if it is confidentially.
In his early years, he farmed with his father and then he served his country in the U.S. Army for two years from February 14, 1955 until February 13, 1957. While serving his country, he married the love of his life Mary Lou Laughlin on May 4, 1955 and to this union two children were born. George and Mary Lou made their home and raised their children in Plattsmouth and in Butler, MO. George worked for Allied Chemical in Plattsmouth from 1957 until 1968, when he and his family moved to Butler, where he worked as the district sales manager for Pioneer Seed Company. After retiring, George and Mary Lou enjoyed fifteen years of retirement in Arizona. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, reading, and traveling. George looked forward to winters in Arizona, but Georges true love was his family and he loved being with them.
Fae Verlin Moore left his home in Beaver Valley at the age of 21.

America was at peace when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on Aug. 18, 1941.

The 5-foot-6, 134-pound Chadron-area farm boy was now Private Fae Moore.

By Dec. 2, he had completed basic training in San Diego, California, and was assigned to Company E (Easy Company), 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.

On Dec. 7, a surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor thrust America into World War II.

I guess everybody is worried, but I cant understand why, he wrote in a letter to his sister, Hazel Moss, according to articles by Larry Miller. We arent  most of these boys have or had pals over on Wake Island, and they are crazy to go over and get even.

Moore and these boys would soon find themselves defending American Samoa. While there, Easy Company began 10 months of intensive jungle warfare training.

From there, his unit took part in the Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942 and in March 1943, he was sent to New Zealand to train. The unit was sent to the Battle of Tarawa, an island about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.

On Nov. 20, 1943, Sgt. Fae Moore and his unit were among the first to land on Red Beach.

Now, at 0505, we heard a great thud in the southwest. We knew what that meant. The first battleship had fired the first shot. We all rushed out on deck. The show had begun, war correspondent Robert Sherrod wrote in his book Tarawa: the Story of a Battle.

Moore, like Sherrod, climbed into a landing craft and headed toward the beach. Sherrod wrote that his landing craft unloaded the 30 Marines in his craft about 700 yards from shore.

No sooner had we hit the water than the Jap machine guns really opened up on us. There must have been five or six of these machine guns concentrating their fire on us ... I was scared, Sherrod wrote.

By the end of the first of three days of fighting, the Marines had 1,500 casualties, either wounded or dead.

Back home, Alonzo and Mary Moore received notice: We deeply regret to inform you that your son Sergeant Fae V Moore USMC was killed in action in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country.

Mary sent a message back, Please send my sons body back if possible.

With the battle raging and bodies decaying, the dead were buried in temporary trenches. The bodies were then moved to one cemetery on the island called Lone Tree Cemetery.

In 1948, the bodies of the soldiers in Lone Tree Cemetery were sent home, Sgt. Moore was not among them.

I regret extremely that I must inform you that the remains of your son were not found, Marine Commandant General A.A. Vandegrift sent in a two-page letter to Mary. I am deeply grieved that there must now be added to your sorrow this most distressing information.

He was one of the 73,119 who never came home, the MIAs from WWII.

Sgt. Fae Moore is one of the reasons American should exercise their right to vote and stand with pride while the national anthem is played.

It was the sacrifice of Sgt. Fae Moore and so many others throughout the years on battlefields around the world who gave us the freedoms we enjoy. We are not perfect, we have problems but because of those sacrifices we have the ability to work together to make this great country better every day.

We owe it to those who gave their all.

Alonzo and Mary, along with his nine siblings, would pass away without his body coming home. Mary died on Dec. 1, 1958, in Chadron, believing her sons body would never come home.

In March 2015, the non-profit organization called History Flight discovered a burial trench on the island of Tarawa with the remains of 35 U.S. servicemen.

A year later, Navy Captain Edward A. Reedy (Medical Corps) signed a letter saying: The remains designate CIL 2015-125-1-28, DPAA 2015-0012 are identified as those of Sergeant Fae Verlin MOORE, 317600, U.S. Marine Corps.

Finally, on Thursday, Oct. 6, Sgt. Fae Moores body, discovered along with 35 other Marines in an unmarked grave, came home.

With full military honors, the Nebraska hero was laid to rest next to his parents 72 years later in the Beaver Valley Cemetery in Sheridan County.
This page is archived. Data published after 5 April 2022 can be found on the renewed website. Go to the new statistics page

Published: 7 October 2016

Finns travelled in Finland and neighbouring countries in the summer of 2016

According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, Finnish residents travelled eagerly to both Estonia and Sweden in May to August 2016. The number of trips made to Great Britain and Croatia also grew from the year before. The number of trips to Turkey absolutely plummeted. Russia regained its allure and after a couple of quieter years travel to the eastern neighbour returned to normal levels. More trips with paid accommodation were made in Finland than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Finns' leisure trips in May to August 2003 to 2016*

In the second four months of 2016, Finnish residents aged 15 to 84 made around 16 million trips when domestic and foreign leisure trips, as well as business and professional trips are included. In addition to trips with overnight stays, same-day trips abroad are also included in the number of trips.

Eleven million domestic leisure trips with overnight stay were made in the May to August period. Eight million of them were trips with free accommodation, which is the same as in May to August 2015.

Leisure trips with overnight stay at paid accommodation numbered 2.9 million and their most population destinations were Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa and North Ostrobothnia. Uusimaa kept its top position as the region of travel in summer. In all, the number of domestic trips with paid accommodation was six per cent higher than in May to August of the previous year.

In all, 3.4 million leisure trips were made abroad in May to August. The figure includes trips with overnight stay in the destination country, cruises and same-day trips. Of the leisure trips abroad, 2,633,000 were trips with overnight stay in the destination country and 329,000 were cruises with overnight stay on board only. Nearly all cruises were made to Sweden or Estonia. In May to August, 419,000 same-day trips were made abroad, of which one-half were same-day cruises to Estonia.

In summer, leisure trips were made mostly by boat or air. The number of trips by sea was 1.5 million and that of trips by air was 1.3 million.

Leisure trips to Estonia increased from summer 2015. Trips with overnight stay in the destination country to our southern neighbour numbered 739,000, overnight cruises 135,000 and same-day cruises 206,000. Same-day cruises decreased from the corresponding period of last year, but trips including overnight stay in the country of destination and cruises with overnight stay on board increased.

Leisure trips to Sweden also increased from summer 2015. The number of trips with overnight stay in the destination country headed to our western neighbour was 377,000, overnight cruises 192,000 and same-day trips 85,000.

Leisure trips to Russia rose to their previous level after a dip in 2014 to 2015. Trips to Russia that included overnight stay in the country of destination went up by 28 per cent and that of same-day trips by as much as 143 per cent from the corresponding period in 2015.

Leisure trips to western Central Europe decreased. Finns favourites, France and Germany, lost in popularity. By contrast, Great Britain increased its popularity among Finnish travellers.

Unlike the west, eastern Central Europe interested Finnish travellers more in summer than one year ago. The number of leisure trips to the Czech Republic and particularly to Poland increased.

Finns also travelled from the varying Finnish summer weather to destinations in Southern Europe with better chances for sunshine. A total of 521,000 trips were made to northern Mediterranean countries, which figure was still lower than in May to August 2015.

Clearly more trips were made to Croatia than in the summer of 2015 and the number of trips there nearly doubled.

The number of trips to other Mediterranean favourites, Spain, Italy and Greece, decreased from the corresponding period in 2015. The number of trips to Turkey plummeted and fewer than one-half of trips were made this year compared to summer 2015.

Outside Europe, the United States increased its popularity and the number of trips increased by 65 per cent.

Trips with overnight stay in the destination country rose in total by seven per cent from last year's May to August period.

Package tours are not more popular in summer than in any other time of the year. Thirty-seven per cent of trips to Estonia with overnight stay in the destination country were package tours. Of trips made to Greece, 83 per cent were package tours and of trips made to Croatia, 46 per cent. Only part of the trips to Spain and Italy were package tours. Around 15 per cent of trips to Spain and 25 per cent of those to Italy were package tours.

Although two in three of holiday nights abroad were spent in hotels, people also stay with friends and relatives particularly in summer, because one in seven of holiday nights spent abroad were at friends and relatives.

Leisure travel is clearly livelier in the summer season than in other times of the year. Clearly more domestic trips with paid accommodation are made during summer, as well as domestic overnight trips with free accommodation. When travelling abroad, the number of trips with overnight stay in the destination country increased but no peak is visible in the number of cruises and same-day trips during summer.

In addition to leisure trips, one million domestic business or professional trips were made. Business or professional trips abroad (inclusive of trips with overnight stay in the destination country, cruises and same-day trips) numbered 0.5 million. Domestic business trips went down by four per cent and business trips abroad by 10 per cent from last year.

These data derive from Statistics Finland's Finnish Travel survey for which altogether 4,747 Finnish residents aged 15 to 84 were interviewed in June, July, August and September. Until 2011, data were collected from those aged 15 to 74.

Source: Finnish Travel, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Taru Tamminen 029 551 2243, Teemu Okkonen 029 551 2634, liikenne.matkailu@stat.fi

Director in charge: Mari Yla-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (292.9 kB)

Updated 7.10.2016

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Finnish Travel [e-publication].

ISSN=1798-9027. Summer (1.5.-31.8) 2016. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 31.10.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/smat/2016/14/smat_2016_14_2016-10-07_tie_001_en.html
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Tommy Chapman paid $75 for the entire inventory at his first service station.

That was 1961, and Chapman remembers gas wars driving down the price of gasoline to as low as 13 cents per gallon.

Fifty-five years later, he still goes to work each morning at a service station. He gets to the Chapmans Travelers Service (near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Garner Bagnal Boulevard in western Iredell) around 6 a.m., makes the coffee, has his morning devotional and cranks Old Blue.

The service station is officially open, Chapman says, when Old Blue, his 1967 Dodge pickup, is parked out front.

I purchased her in the early '70s from a customer, the late L.P. Campbell. He wanted a truck with power steering, Chapman says. I had to retire Old Blue from the road about 15 years ago, but as long as we can drive her in and out (of one of the stations service bays), she will be our open and closed symbol.

Although he managed the store for years, Chapman bought the station and surrounding property in 1992, about the time the industrial boulevard was complete.

A fence was erected along the highway. There was no longer easy access to Chapmans station.

I guess (the previous owners) thought that being fenced in now would bring a great loss, he says. But by this time I had a well-established mechanic business. Eventually, I got the inspection license. The fence still stands today, and we are a thriving, successful business with Gods blessings.

As many as 5,000 inspections a year now roll past Old Blue and into the station.

--

Tommy Chapman, 78, had this to say about the business and his life:

Q: What was your most rewarding day at the station?

A: One Christmas Eve, a young couple from Raleigh pulled in with car trouble. We couldnt repair it until after Christmas. They were headed home to Knoxville, Tennessee. My heart went out to them, so me and my good friend Bill Cook loaded them up and took them home for Christmas. Crossing the mountain, we encountered a bad snowstorm. With Gods help we were able to get home safely.

Q: Another memorable time?

A: Love Valley hosted its own kind of Woodstock. Thousands of hippies from across the USA came here. So many people were stopping for directions to Love Valley, that we placed a map in our window so we could keep working. This was exciting and overwhelming time for our small town because we had never seen such an influx of these different kind of people, with all kinds of hippie vans.

Q: Would you share your funniest story?

A: One quick story maybe I shouldnt tell is about the numerous things that happened in the old telephone booth at the entrance of the station. I guess Mother Nature would hit them while on the phone, so many times they would just use it as a toilet. Guess who had to clean it up? I was so happy when the telephone company started eliminating them and removed it. Still miss that history.

Q: Whats the best part of your day?

A: I have seen a lot of changes take place on this corner of I-40, exit 148, but the thing I love and enjoy most is I have the best view in town of Gods beauty  the daily sunrises he allows me to experience. They are spectacular. Come and join me sometime.

---

Under one roof

Three businesses operate out of the Chapmans Travelers Service location. In addition to the service station, there is Tray Transport owned by Tommy Ray Chapman and Rock Solid Motorsports owned by Stephen Eades.

Rock Solid Motorsports

The newest venture at the Chapman Travelers Service location is Rock Solid Motorsports, where customers come looking to improve the horsepower on their vehicle or racecar. The business owner, Stephen Eades, answered a few questions about the new venture.

Q: How did you get started?

A: My business kicked off building bolt-on parachute mounts used for certain models (which compete at drag races). Now RSM does a wide variety of fabrication. We can handle complete turbo setups, roll cages, any type of aluminum welding. Basically you call with whatever you have in mind and well discuss it.

Q: What compelled you to produce high-performance auto equipment?

A: It started out as a hobby, helping a few friends. Business became so steady, my workday began at 4 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m., which included my 8 to 5 hours at Chapmans. I decided, after great discussion and planning, to partner up with the Chapman group. They agreed to construct a new building on the property for the growth of RSM. The Chapmans have been great in pushing RSM to the next level.

Q: Who is the average customer?

A: My average customer base would be between the ages of 22 and 65. I even have customers in Canada and Kuwait. I am currently building a setup for a customer in Qatar.

--

Tray Transport

Tommy Chapmans son, Tommy Ray Chapman, opened a trucking business on the family service station grounds in 1988.

Q: How has the business changed?

A: Weve grown from a single van to six vans and five 24-foot box trucks. We are now a full-service freight brokerage business as well.

Q: Key employees?

A: Rick McClure and Dale Knight manage the operations.

Q: Whats next for Tray Transport and Chapmans Travelers?

A: Stephen (Eades) and I are always looking for whats new and exciting. So, we will see what the future holds.
Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Thursday said the Romanian capital needs to be strengthened, but that should be achieved in a smart way, without doing business with Government exclusively, and without political friendships.

"'Abroad' can also mean us who return home. We can take responsibility ourselves for certain changes that some years ago we would think possible on foreign investment only. (...) Right now (...) perhaps because there is an electioneering being prepared, some ate trying to exacerbate that the wrong way. When they ask about foreign investment, we say Romanian capital, and I do not want to deride that. I believe we need to strengthen the Romanian capital, but we have to do it in a smart way and not against someone or replacing something, but making room for us because we can be better ourselves and prove that we can be better and develop Romanian capital without doing business with the government exclusively or along political friendship lines. That does not mean business contracts with the government are bad, because we need highly performing business people from the private sector. (...) Working with the government as well is a good thig, but that should be done transparently and objectively. (...) In addition, I believe we need to develop the Romanian capital sustainably, meaning development should be robust, long-lasting, based on the potential on which it can capitalise," Ciolos told a Repatriot Summit hosted by the National Bank of Romania.He mentioned to the point the GovITHub, a programme developed by the Romanian Government jointly with the private sector and entrepreneurs in order to increase public service quality with the aid of technology."We do have 20 fellowships at Government. You may probably heard about that GovITHub platform, (...) where Romanian and foreign IT experts were invited to help us advance better and quicker in some IT platform at governmental organisations. (...) Initially, we contemplated 10 fellowships, but in the end we doubled to number to 20 because we had nearly 2,000 applications from Romanians inside and outside Romania," Ciolos told the Repatriot summit. AGERPRES
Romania made important progress in the competition area and therefore the ex-ante conditionalities regarding the state aid were lifted, Romania being the first member state to have these conditionalities lifted, stated European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu. She met on Friday in Brussels with President of the Competition Council Bogdan Chirtoiu. According to a release sent to Agerpres, the two discussed mainly about the role which the Competition Council can have in using the structural and investment European funds, in the period 2014-2020.

"The existence of an equitable competition on the internal market is an essential pre-condition for economic innovation and development. I'm glad Romania made important progress in this area and precisely for that reason we managed to lift the state aid ex-ante conditionalities, Romania being the first member state to have these conditionalities lifted. Therefore, the Action Plan agreed with the Romanian authorities and the European Commission services can be considered as being fulfilled," Corina Cretu stated.

In her opinion, the Competition Council can play in the future an important role in facilitating the absorption of the European funds in Romania through the management authorities collaboration.

"There are projects that are financed from both the Cohesion Fund and the European Fund for regional development, for which the clarification of the situation regarding the state aid is essential. The faster this happens the more efficiently Romania can benefit from these funds. The Competition Council is part of this process through the fact that it offers assistance to management authorities and to relevant ministries," the European Commissioner for Regional Policy added.

During the meeting, the European official brought to mind the opportunity that Romanian authorities have of using Taiex Regio Peer 2 Peer, a specific instrument, funded by the DG Regio, which facilitates the experience exchange between the management authorities of the European Fund for Regional Development and the Cohesion Fund. It's also an instrument used by the public acquisition authorities to improve the expertise through the good practice exchange.
Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc said Friday that Romania made the best choice by purchasing F-16 aircraft, which he called a real critical capability that will strengthen the country's defence capabilities.

Also read: French Embassy presents Legion of Honour distinction to Romania`s former ForMin Aurescu

"It is not just rhetoric when we say that Romania's joining the group of F-16 owners is truly historic politically and strategically speaking, a moment that is seen with interest - we already have signs that this is so - in our entire region and beyond. There is no doubt that Romania made the best choice when deciding to purchase these modern, updated, highly-performing F-16s (...). There is no doubt in my mind that what we have started taking over and operating of the F-16 wing resource is a really critical capability that will lead to the strengthening of Romania's defence capabilities," Motoc told a commissioning ceremony of the F-16s hosted by the Fetesti Air base.

He said Romania is on schedule as far as infrastructure works at the Fetesti Air Base is concerned, with all works completed.

"Additional infrastructure works will follow that will be conducted in a way allowing adequate guidance and operation for the F-16s when they become fully operational," said Motoc.

Also read: Trial on ex-PM Ponta`s challenge to doctor` degree witdrawal postponed to Oct 21

He added that the F-16 infrastructure entailed a financial effort of roughly 11 million euros earmarked in time from the national budget, plus more than 20 million euros from NATO agency specialising in infrastructures.

Asked about the insurance of the aircraft, Motoc explained it is a different procedure from the one that applies to usual assets. "It is not insurance proper, but a set of rules and procedures we conduct to that end," said Motoc.

agerpres.
The joint committees on European affairs, foreign policy and defence of Romania's Parliament on Friday had a meeting with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini. The discussion conclusion was that the European Union must strengthen its global position and role.

"This is only possible through a closer collaboration among member states and through European policies, to the benefit of the citizens," a Friday release to Agerpres points out. According to the release, the EU High Representative reviewed the five wide foreign action priorities of the EU - the Union's security; the resilience of the states and societies in the east and south of the Union; an integrated approach of conflicts; regional orders based on cooperation; the global governance for the 21st century.

Mogherini appreciated Romania's contribution, underscoring the importance of a secured European border and pointed out that "in the migrants' situation it does not only needs solidarity, but a global approach - once a decision made by the Council it must be assumed by all member states."In the beginning there was an extraordinary pressure as long as lives were lost in the attempt to take refuge in European countries. Solutions must be found differently by approaching the immediate problems, of saving human lives and integrating them in a new environment, with other values and traditions, as well as the long term approach of problems, which entails investments in the conflict zones for the economic and social development of the area," Federica Mogherini pointed out, according to the release. In respect to the migration phenomenon, the EU High Representative concluded that "partnership is the key to solving any problem we are confronted with, therefore this one, too."
Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu told the Bucharest Forum event on Friday that Romania is one of the most "pro-European" societies in the EU, saying that the European Union needs to implement the Global Strategy, in order to respond to the current challenges.

In his opinion, Brexit changes the approach manner in Europe. "Over the recent years, the EU has faced multiple crises and very hard trials. (...) In the current context, marked by the Brexit debate, we must promote a more offensive European agenda. To make sure we have the right approach, we must have a clear view of the causes that have led to Brexit," he said.

Also read: Trial on ex-PM Ponta`s challenge to doctor` degree witdrawal postponed to Oct 21

The Minister brought to mind that each EU country must make efforts for regional cohesion. "It is our common priority and responsibility to work for a better Union," he pointed out.

Moreover, the Foreign Minister underscored that Romania has brought its contribution to drawing up the EU's Global Strategy. At present, he said, "the word of the day is 'implementing'."

"It is important that the strategy be included in the national policies of all countries," Lazar Comanescu added.

Comanescu added that Romania has started, in this respect, its own domestic assessment, with a focus on "the approach of crisis situations and the civil and military dimensions of security and defence."

"To us, one thing is clear: if we wish to be an important player, we must matter in the region, in both directions: in the East and in the South," the Foreign Minister pointed out.

Also read: French Embassy presents Legion of Honour distinction to Romania`s former ForMin Aurescu

He brought to mind Romania's efforts to ensure the security in the Schengen Area. "I underline Romania's contribution to ensuring the security at the EU borders and our openness to work with all member states in order to make the Schengen space more functional," Lazar Comanescu said.

According to him, Romania is one of the most pro-European countries of the Union. "There is no alternative to the EU. (...) I am proud to say we remain one of the most pro-European societies in the EU," Lazar Comanescu added.

The Foreign Minister said that the response to the global challenges in the region is represented by "implementing the EU's global strategy."

agerpres.
Romania's former Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has been awarded a Legion of Honour in rank of Chevalier distinction by France's President Francois Hollande, which was presented to him by French ambassador in Bucharest Francois Saint-Paul.

''Mr Aurescu, your competence and integrity at the service of Romania's foreign policy are unanimously acknowledged. You are undoubtedly one of the key observers and players on the European and world stages," Saint-Paul is quoted as saying in a press statement released by the French Embassy.

Aurescu is quoted as saying in his turn that he accepts the distinction in recognition of the pertinacious efforts of his colleagues at the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) to make relations between France and Romania solid and dynamic.

"I am gladly accepting this distinction as a token of well-deserved recognition not of me, but of the pertinacious efforts of all my colleagues at the Romanian Foreign Ministry who incessantly worked for years on relations between France and Romania becoming as substantive, solid and dynamic as they are today (...). I've tried my best in all the offices I've held to boost this relationship, which I dare say is vital to Romania and France alike. Romania and France are sharing the vision of a consolidated European Union that is more flexible, more consistent and pragmatic in its actions, closer to its citizens, more credible inside and outside alike; a safer union, that is a redoubtable global player. To turn this vision into reality, Romania and France must work together," said Aurescu.

A career diplomat since 1996, ambassador Bogdan Aurescu is also an international law professor at the Law Faculty of the Bucharest University.

In 2003 he was appointed agent of the Romanian Government with the European Court of Human Rights, and the next year he was named state secretary for European affairs. For five years, he was Romania's agent at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. In that capacity, Aurescu defended Romania's interests against Ukraine in the delineation of the Black Sea continental shelf in what became a model for peaceful resolution of a complex international litigation. Romania was awarded 80 percent of the area litigated by the two countries.

In November 2014, he was appointed foreign minister, after holding for six years the office of state secretary for European affairs with MAE.

agerpres.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal on Friday postponed to October 21 the trial on the lawsuit whereby former PM Victor Ponta seeks the suspension of the Education Minister's order that strips him of his Doctor of Law degree.

Ponta did not come to court, but was represented by a lawyer who filed an application invoking another legal basis for the suspension of the administrative document issued by the Minister of Education.

On the other hand, the representatives of the Ministry of Education also requested a postponement in order to look into the new documents added to the file, so that the panel postponed the debate to October 21.

Ponta's lawyer also announced that he will file a separate lawsuit, seeking the repeal of the order of the Minister of Education. The new case was already registered on Thursday at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, but no court term has been set yet.

On August 1 Education Minister Mircea Dumitru signed the order to strip Victor Ponta of the scientific title of Doctor of Law.

"The scientific title of Doctor of Law awarded to Mr. Ponta V. Victor Viorel by the University of Bucharest and conferred to him under Order No. 5663 of 15.12.2003 of the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth is hereby withdrawn," reads the order issued by Mircea Dumitru.

The release of the Education Minister's order followed a decision taken by the National Council for the Attestation of Academic Titles, Diplomas and Certificates on July 27, confirming that Victor Ponta had plagiarized his doctoral dissertation.

Ponta challenged in court the Education Minister's decision and following this trial the Bucharest Bar suspended debates on the former PM's disbarment.

agerpres.
This is something Ive actually had to say to my children this week. In an odd coincidence, both the Kansas university my older my daughter attends and the suburban St. Louis middle school my younger daughter attends have been menaced by reports of creepy clown activity.

Yes, seriously.

If you have not heard of the creepy clown menace, consider yourself lucky. It seems to be a prank that started out small and local but has spread like a virus around the country and beyond.

The New York Times reports that the first creepy clown sighting occurred in South Carolina in August and that the phenomenon has since become a law-enforcement issue in multiple states, resulting in at least 12 arrests. Mobs on college campuses have gone clown hunting.

The Associated Press reports that a high school student was stabbed to death after allegedly confronting someone skulking around his neighborhood dressed in a clown costume. So its really not a laughing matter.

For all we know the clown in that case just thought it would be a little mischievous fun to spook people, but thats the problem  people who are afraid do not act rationally. When you arouse peoples fear, you play with fire and risk losing any control over who gets burned.

Personally I have a very low tolerance for scary stuff, which I blame on an overactive imagination.

I dont watch horror movies, I dont visit haunted houses, and I dont read books that are too violent or dark. Ghost stories told around a campfire are torture to me. Once a mean babysitter told me me there was a bogeyman in my room and I became desperately afraid of the dark.

Even today you dont want to get me started on how I feel about creaky stairways leading down to darkened basements. Im pretty sure that Im not alone in being much less afraid of real threats, like the likelihood of dying in a car crash, than of things that go bump in the night.

The power of the imagination and the irrational effect that fear can have on us are key elements of this creepy clown saga. Many people blame social media for whats happening, and certainly that has played a role in spreading the contagion, but lets not forget the mass hysteria that led up to the Salem witch trials.

Snapchat and Twitter played no part in that debacle. When communities become convinced that something wicked this way comes they can whip themselves into a frenzy of irrational and counterproductive behavior, including faked (or possibly hallucinatory) sightings of evil-doers doing their evil deeds, often followed by scapegoating counter-measures, faster than you can say Boo Radley.

When I first heard that students at my daughters college were reporting creepy clown sightings, I was annoyed.

How many of the people reporting seeing clowns had actually seen clowns? My guess is none whatsoever, but the fact of creepy clowns is not the problem  the fear of them is. Nevertheless, I offered to bring a crucifix and holy water with me on my next visit, or just to punch the stupid clown dude in his stupid clown face. I figure if we can both laugh about it well be fine.

The situation at my daughters middle school bothers me more. Again, I am not afraid of actual creepy clowns turning up and doing actual bad things. But social media posts warning that people dressed as clowns are planning to abduct children and kill teachers are unacceptable. In an age of deadly school shootings, making such threats is tantamount to terrorism. The intention is to disrupt normal activities, create panic, and ultimately to tear apart the fabric of civil society.

As a parent and a priest, I am tired of seeing people being run by their fear.

Fear of change, fear of Muslims, fear of immigrants, fear of African-American boys in hoodies, fear of transgender persons using your bathroom: its all self-defeating claptrap that does irreparable harm to individuals and our nation. And its all antithetical to the practice of peace and compassion that is at the heart of most religious traditions.

It is very hard to be our best selves when we are afraid. It is very hard to be gentle, generous, and creative when your teeth are clenched, your heart is racing, and youre so far gone down the fight or flight mode that your body thinks its being chased by a saber-toothed tiger rather than reading a distressing news article.

In so many important ways faith is the opposite of fear. Not that faith eliminates fear, nor should it.

There are many real and compelling problems in the world that will not go away simply because we ignore them. The faith that impresses me is not the faith that says if I believe hard enough then God will protect me and I will prosper in all that I do. The faith that impresses me is the faith that empowers people to take risks, to fail, to be hurt  and then to get up and try it all over again.

That mean babysitter from my childhood taught me a valuable lesson  dont trust people who want you to be afraid. They might look like politicians or even preachers on the outside, but theyre all creepy clowns on the inside.

So whether you do a happy dance, practice your Patronus charm, or clothe yourself in the armor of Christ, do what you need to do to move past the fear that others want to inflict on you. Laughter helps, and so does rest, and spending time outside.

Be brave. Be curious. Be faithful. Embrace the wild diversity all around you. Whatever it takes, set the fear aside so that you have the energy you need to get on with the true business of life  love, service, connection, and gratitude.

Dolan serves as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Town and Country. She is a regular Faith Perspectives contributor to STLtoday.com/religion.
Updated at 7:14 p.m. Tuesday with a map of fundraising events.

Businesses and community groups are planning benefit events in honor of slain officer Blake Snyder. We'll update and add to this post as more events are planned:

 Monetary donations should be sent to either Backstoppers or the St. Louis County Police Welfare Association. To direct the funds to the Snyder's family, make a note on the payment or check: "P.O. Blake Snyder" or "in honor of P.O. Blake Snyder." The Backstoppers is a local group that provides financial help to spouses and children of first-responders who have died in the line of duty.

 St. Louis County Police Welfare Association plans to donate all of the profits from its annual Police Mouse Races fundraiser to the Snyder family. The event will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at Andre's West in Fenton. Tickets are $30 and includes an open bar, food and silent auction items.

 In honor of Officer Snyder, Don Brown Chevrolet is matching donations to Backstoppers up to $10,000. Volunteers from local police and fire departments as well as Don Brown Chevrolet employees will be "Boots on the Ground," circulating the Hill neighborhood on Oct. 14 collecting donations for Backstoppers. Donors can call and give by credit card over the phone, give cash at the dealership, give by check made out to The Backstoppers Inc., or give online by clicking the link from the donbrownchevrolet.com website directly to backstoppers.org.

 At 3 p.m. Saturday, Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey invites anyone who attends the final home soccer game of the season to honor Snyder's memory. All gate admission and all donations made on Blake's behalf will be donated to BackStoppers.

 At least a dozen restaurants and businesses are holding fundraising events in the next few weeks. You can find them on this map.
Considering going back to college?

Youre in good company. Nontraditional students now make up the majority of U.S. undergraduates and one-in-four college students are age 30 or older.

But although colleges are serving a greater number of adults, finding the right program  a place where you can balance your education with employment and family responsibilities  is key to your success.

Here are four questions every nontraditional student should ask when researching schools.

1. What is your colleges track record with nontraditional students?

Ask some tough questions: Whats the graduation rate of nontraditional students at your institution? Are adult students eligible for merit aid? How much debt do students typically accrue? Whats the average time to graduation?

Learning the answers can help you decide which college is right for you. It can also help you estimate how much time  and money  youll need to complete a degree.

2. What sort of flexible learning options do you offer?

Responsibilities at home and at work can change over your course of time that youre enrolled in college. Choosing a school that provides a variety of course options  from in-person, to online, to hybrid  increases your odds of staying on track.

A lot of adults have full-time work schedules or child care responsibilities, said Amber Harnack, student success center director of Ivy Tech Community College (Ind.). They often need more flexibility when it comes to scheduling classes.

Also ask about student support services, such as tutoring, recommends Michelle Christopherson, director of the Center for Adult Learning on the University of Minnesota-Crookston campus.

You want to make sure that you are going to be supported and you want to make sure that those services arent going to end up costing you extra, she said.

3. What will it take to get a degree?

The majority of nontraditional students have already accumulated some college credits by the time they re-enter higher education.

Before you enroll in any program, learn whether your credits will transfer and how many courses youll need to complete a degree.

You want to make sure that from the beginning you have a clear understanding on how much it will cost and what your degree pathway will look like, Christopherson said.

4. How will your institution help me meet my career goals?

Begin your college search with the end in mind.

Whats spurring your decision to return to school? Are you looking for advancement options in your current field, or do you want a career change?

Ask college officials about the types of jobs landed by recent program graduates. Inquire about the services offered at the campus career center.

Make sure that your goals match up with what the college is able to provide, Harnack said. You want to be certain that the degree program you ultimately choose is a good fit.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Claire McCaskill says a congressional investigation of the web site Backpage as part of an overall investigation of online sex trafficking will continue despite the Thursday arrest of Backpage's CEO in California on human trafficking charges.

McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Rob Portman, D-Ohio, have battled with Backpage lawyers over CEO Carl Ferrers refusal to appear before their Senate investigations subcommittee, and to provide documents about how the online site screens to prevent online advertising of illegal sex, including sex with minors.

The two senators earlier this year were able to get the first contempt of the Senate vote in 20 years passed against Backpage and Ferrer.

Backpage fought it on 1st Amendment grounds, but lost in a federal appeals court, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied a motion to stay that decision.

A federal judge has given Ferrer until Monday to either certify in writing that he has produced all document it owes the Subcommittee or else explain why he should not be held in contempt. Contempt carries the sanction of monetary fines and/or imprisonment, a statement from McCaskill and Portman says.

Ferrer was arrested Thursday on a felony warrant out of California alleging pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. Arrest warrants were also issued for two controlling shareholders of the company, and authorities searched the company headquarters in Dallas.

In a statement, Backpage attorney Liz McDougall said:

"The raid of Backpage.coms Dallas office and the arrest of its CEO is an election year stunt, not a good-faith action by law enforcement...

"Backpage.com will take all steps necessary to end this frivolous prosecution and will pursue its full remedies under federal law against the state actors who chose to ignore the law, as it has done successfully in other cases."

Portman and McCaskill issued the following statement:

For the past 18 months, we have led a bipartisan investigation into the scourge of online sex trafficking. That investigation led us directly to Backpage, an online marketplace that has been involved in hundreds of reported cases of sex trafficking, including child exploitation. We certainly wish that Backpage had willingly cooperated with our investigation. Despite its refusal to do so, our investigation was the first to uncover Backpages practice of editing ads in manner that serves to conceal evidence of criminality. As law enforcement officials in Texas and California do their job, we will continue to press forward and complete our longstanding investigation.

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who has also been involved in legislative action to try to combat sex trafficking, said that the arrest means we are one step closer to holding Backpage accountable for underage internet sex trafficking through their site and stopping these illegal activities. 
They are not often thought of in the same context but they make perfect sense to consider together. Biodiversity and human rights are closely intertwined.

The diversity of all forms of life on our planet and ecosystem services such as provision of food, pollination of crops and fulfilment of peoples cultural life are necessary for enjoying a broad range of human rights such as right to food, right to health and cultural rights. In turn, exercising human rights, such as public participation, access to biodiversity-related information and access to justice in cases of non-compliance with biodiversity regulation are necessary for a stronger engagement of a diversity of individuals and groups for the conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Providing expert input to the UN

That is also the message from centre researcher Claudia Ituarte Lima, who took part in a UN expert consultation by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and environment on how to clarify pathways for safeguarding human rights whilst maintaining healthy ecosystems and biodiversity the issue. The consultation was organised by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in cooperation with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO).

"Biodiversity is a human rights issue," says Ituarte Lima. She argues that "just as biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are key for enjoying human rights exercising human rights is also key for biosphere stewardship". It is hence an intertwined relationship. At the Stockholm Resilience Centre she leads the project "Effective and Equitable Institutional Arrangements for Financing and Safeguarding Biodiversity". She is also closely affiliated with Swedbio, a knowledge interface on resilience and development which is based at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Together with more than 30 experts from international institutions and civil society organizations, Ituarte Lima contributed to the preparations of the thematic report on human rights and biodiversity that will be presented at the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2017.

Since the Convention on Biological Diversity came into force in 1993, there has been growing recognition of the connections between biodiversity and human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, livelihood, water, housing, culture. However, the relationship between human rights and biodiversity remains unclear.

Examining gaps and obligations

In the consultation, the experts examined legal frameworks, identified gaps and discussed how human rights obligations in biodiversity policies and programmes are implemented in practice at various levels such as at the national, local and municipal levels and by different government bodies such ministries of environment, agriculture and mining. The role of international organization and non-state actors was also discussed. They also engaged in dialogue for clarifying heightened obligations of States in protecting individuals and groups who are in a vulnerable situations. These include people in rural areas who directly depend on biodiversity for their survival and hence are especially vulnerable to restrictive access to biodiversity and biodiversity loss.

"Since my research addresses multilevel environmental governance and how the dynamics between local, national and international legal systems support or inhibit transformations for sustainability and environmental justice, it's a great opportunity to contribute my experience and share insights in UN processes in the law, policy and practice interface," Ituarte Lima says.

Following the expert consultation there was a public consultation which was open to States, International Organizations, National Human Rights Institutions, members of civil society organizations, academics and all other interested in which Dr. Claudia Ituarte-Lima also participated.
Note to our readers: In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, weve decided every Friday to post a sampler of quick cigar news and/or any other stogie-related snippets we find interesting. These briefs should tide you over during those long weekends. We call em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Cigar Envy recently posted a video of Pierre Salinger, JFKs late press secretary, recalling how the president asked Salinger to find him 1,000 Cuban cigars the day before he signed the embargo banning Cuban goods.

2) A private collector in England this week paid 365 ($673) for a cigar butt that had been smoked by Sir Winston Churchill in 1950.

3) So youve become a Stogie Guy but now you want to make the jump to connoisseur? This tasting wheel (from the now inactive Cigar Jack site) will help you identify the many complex flavors that can be found in premium handmade stogies.

4) Weve been meaning to review a cigar with a candela wrapper (a green wrapper, also called AMS or American Market Selection) but our friends at Stogie Review beat us to the punch. For more on candela wrappers, check out this January 3 article from Cigar Aficionado.

5) Finally, weve introduced a new item to our fantastic Stogie Guys store designed specially for the ladies. Its definetly sweet.

-The Stogie Guys
Boeing (NYSE: BA) is expected to announce an $18 billion (14.5 billion) deal with Qatar Airways for widebody jets soon.

The BBC said Boeing's deal with Qatar Airways could be for at least 30 777 and 787 jets, which would carry a value of around $6.7 billion. The final deal could call for additional 737 MAX aircraft.

Shares of Boeing are flat in early trading Friday.
EDMONTON, Oct. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Alberta Investment Management Corporation ("AIMCo"), on behalf of certain of its clients, is pleased to announce that it has successfully entered into a strategic financing relationship with Journey Energy Inc. ("Journey") (TSX: JOY).

Journey is a Canadian exploration and production company focused on conventional, oil-weighted operations in western Canada. Journey's strategy is to provide investors with growth by focusing on drilling its existing core lands, implementing water flood projects, executing on accretive acquisitions and growing its production base.

Based upon the terms of the financing relationship, Journey has completed a private placement of an aggregate of 30,000 Units to AIMCo at a price of $1,000 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $30 million. Each Unit is comprised of: (i) one promissory note (a "Note") with a par value of $1,000 per Note and bearing interest at 7.65% per annum, which is payable semi-annually; and (ii) 165 common share purchase warrants ("Warrants").

The Notes mature on October 31, 2020 and all or a portion of the principal amount outstanding thereunder can be repaid without penalty after two years. Journey issued 4.95 million Warrants in connection with the private placement, with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share of Journey for $2.75 until October 7, 2018, which reflects a 40% premium to the 10-day weighted average trading price of the common shares of the Company prior to closing of the private placement.

"On behalf of our clients, AIMCo is pleased to be making another investment in Alberta through this important commitment to Journey Energy," said Kevin Uebelein, AIMCo's Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that the combination of Journey's highly-experienced executive team and diversified portfolio, position the company well for future growth."

"AIMCo is a highly-knowledgeable and skilled institutional investor, dedicated to making long-term tactical investments," said Alex G. Verge, President and CEO of Journey. "We are excited to be entering into this strategic partnership with AIMCo, and about the advancement opportunities this investment will bring. We remain resolute on finding ways to grow the business and create value."

About Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)

AIMCo is one of Canada's largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than $90 billion of assets under management. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008 with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 31 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta. For more information on AIMCo please visit www.aimco.alberta.ca.

About Journey Energy Inc. (Journey)

Journey is an oil focused energy producer with interests in the mature resource fairway of Alberta's Central and South Regions. Journey seeks to optimize its legacy oil pools through the application of best practices in horizontal drilling and, where feasible, with water floods. Further information relating to Journey may be found on www.sedar.com, as well as on their website at www.journeyenergy.ca.

SOURCE Alberta Investment Management Corp.
Geekologie has shut down.

Thank you to everybody.

Now go be happy.
LUND, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Alfa Laval (STO: ALFA) will release third-quarter earnings on October 25th at 07:30 a.m. CET. The telephone conference will start at 08:30 CET.

To join the telephone conference - hosted by Alfa Lavals President and CEO, Tom Erixon, and CFO, Thomas Thuresson - sign up in advance via the link below. Once registered, you will receive a phone number, a participant pin and a conference pin. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the event. If you are having difficulties registering, contact Intercall at +44 20 8288 5566.

https://eventreg1.conferencing.com/webportal3/reg.html?Acc=543661&Conf=195018

You can also follow the conference via a live webcast. A webcast link will be available on www.alfalaval.com/investors.

If you want to listen to the replay, call +44 (0)20 7031 4064 or +46 (0)8 5052 0333, access code 95 98 70. The recording will be available for 24 hours. After that, you can go to www.alfalaval.com/investors and watch and listen to an on-demand version of the webcast.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005301/en/

Alfa Laval

Gabriella Grotte

Tel: +46 46 36 74 82

or

Beata Ardhe

Tel: +46 46 36 65 26

Source: Alfa Laval
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- China Keli Electric Co., Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: ZKL) ("Keli" or the "Company") announced that it has appointed Chaoran (Felicia) Xu as a member of the Audit Committee to fill the vacancy resulting from the resignation of Michael Raymont.

Ms. Xu started her career at Hong Kong Deloitte & Touche ("Deloitte"). Her important experience in local and international laws and regulations helped with the obligation of meeting complex auditing requirements. During her tenure at Deloitte, Ms. Xu took lead and was heavily involved in business development, project management, legal affairs, joint ventures, corporate financing, government and partner relations.

About China Keli Electric Company Ltd.

China Keli Electric Company Ltd. specializes in the manufacturing and installation of electrical components and equipment, including pre-assembled mini substations, electrical controllers, pressurized and vacuumed switchgears and circuit breakers.

For further company information please access our website: www.zkl.cc

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 press release.

Contacts: CHINA KELI ELECTRIC COMPANY LTD. Philip Lo Chief Financial Officer (86) 13632 173732 [email protected] www.zkl.cc

Source: China Keli Electric Co., Ltd.
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The leadership team of Lamb Weston, a leading supplier of frozen potato products to restaurants and foodservice distributors, will host an Investor Day on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at 9 a.m. EDT. During the event, Tom Werner, who will serve as CEO of Lamb Weston following the spin-off of Lamb Weston from ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG), will present information on the companys business strategies and long-term financial objectives.

The Investor Day event will be available via live audio webcast. Domestic and international participants may access the event here: http://www.tvtechmanagers.com/lambweston/. The presentation for the event will also be made available at http://investor.conagrafoods.com.

A rebroadcast of the event will be available on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, after 9 a.m. EDT. The rebroadcast will be available at http://investor.conagrafoods.com.

About ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's leading packaged food companies with recognized brands such as Marie Callender's, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, Hebrew National, Orville Redenbacher's, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, PAM, Snack Pack, Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Hunts and many other ConAgra Foods brands found in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston, a ConAgra Foods brand, is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the world. For more than 60 years, Lamb Weston has led the industry in innovation, introducing inventive products that simplify back-of-house management for our customers and make eating more delicious for their customers. From the fields where Lamb Weston potatoes are grown to proactive customer partnerships, Lamb Weston always strives for more and never settles. Because, when we look at a potato, we see possibilities.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005732/en/

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

Shelby Stoolman

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Source: ConAgra Foods, Inc.
(PRWEB) October 07, 2016

Stefana Pecher, MD, the premier Connecticut and Rhode Island-licensed physician specializing in the treatment of patients in need of medical marijuana, today announced the official launch of her websites http://www.medicalmarijuanadocconnecticut.com and http://www.stefanapechermd.com to cater to the growing need of patients in need of treatment with medical cannabis.

The websites offer online video capabilities that allow the patient to connect to Dr. Pecher's qualified team at the Country Doc Walk-In & Wellness Center in North Stonington, Connecticut for medical assessments to acquire a medical marijuana consultation and state medical marijuana licenses. Dr. Pecher's medical marijuana telemedicine connection is now live, giving qualified patients the ability to see a medical marijuana doctor online, on-demand and in real-time in the comfort of their own home.

With the passage of telemedicine laws allowing the services in Connecticut and Rhode Island, patients may now access medical care from virtually anywhere. The telemedicine portal allows qualified patients to remotely connect with Dr. Stefana Pecher, a qualified and licensed marijuana doctor in Connecticut and Rhode Island, in a HIPAA secure online visit.

Stefana Pecher, MD initiated this cutting edge technology to cut costs and save time for patients in need of medical marijuana treatment. Instead of driving to Dr. Stefana Pecher's office in North Stonington, Connecticut patients who are too ill to travel or who live in remote areas that are in need of a medical consultation and/or a medical cannabis license can speak directly with the trusted doctor via the telemedicine portal.

Whether a patient is new to cannabis or is already a certified medical marijuana patient, the EMED telemedicine technology has streamlined the process of accessing medical marijuana from evaluation, to medication.

Dr. Stefana Pecher, the distinguished Connecticut Medical Marijuana Physician and Medical Director for the Medical Marijuana Patients Advocate Support Group for Connecticut and Rhode Island, views this as the cornerstone for those patients who are unable to travel as a result of the debilitating nature of their physical condition. Similarly, with the availability of online medical marijuana services, qualified patients living in communities that are medically-underserved, are for the first time, now in a position to get a medical marijuana card application within minutes, without potentially needing to even leave home.

For more information on how to see Dr. Pecher online by clicking here or visit her professional and courteous staff at 391 Norwich-Westerly Road, North Stonington, CT. Contact her office at 860-535-4600.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13747654.htm
LISLE, Ill., Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, teamed up with Tenutas Food Lane and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a West Bloomfield, Mich. military family on Friday.

Eckrich Surprised the Clark Family with One Year of FREE Groceries from Tenutas Food Lane

Eckrich surprised the Clark family at Tenutas Food Lane in Waterford Township, Mich. to honor, thank and support the family for their service. They were presented with a gift of free groceries for one year at Tenutas Food Lane, valued at more than $13,000, courtesy of Eckrich. As part of the event, crowds of shoppers were treated to samples of delicious Eckrich smoked sausage and deli meat, live country music and an appearance by Detroit Country radio station 93.1.

Christopher Clark served in the Army National Guard for nearly 10 years. He was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and received numerous medals and ribbons, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. His wife, Rebekah, is his full-time caregiver and a member of Operation Homefronts Hearts of Valor program, a network of more than 3,000 caregivers of wounded service members which provides annual retreats, support groups and online communities. The family has two children.

"This is awesome, and we are extremely thankful for companies like Eckrich and Tenuta's who never stop giving back," said Rebekah Clark. "You are always military, even when you are not active and that is why it means a lot to be recognized."

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012.

Eckrich is proud to continue supporting military families across the country, said Jennifer Zmrhal, Senior Director, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. We appreciate Tenutas partnership and we are honored to present the Clark family with one year of free groceries.

For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.

Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About EckrichFounded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.

About Smithfield FoodsSmithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny, and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Operation HomefrontA national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefronts expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.

Contact: Faye Shroff Breaking Limits for Eckrich Cell: (704) 591-4353 E-Mail: [email protected]

Source: Smithfield Foods
(PRWEB) October 06, 2016

On October 4, 2016, Attorney Devon C. Bruce of the law firm of Power Rogers & Smith, LLP, filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois against Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. arising out of an incident in which flames allegedly shot out of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone.

The Plaintiff, Michael Taylor, a resident of Rockton, Illinois, had been using a recently purchased Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone on August 15, 2016. According to Case no: 16-cv-50313 Taylor v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Mr. Taylor went to sleep and was awoken the next morning by flames allegedly shooting out of the Samsung phone.

The flames allegedly coming from the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone caused serious injuries to Mr. Taylor including 1st, 2nd, and possibly 3rd degree burns to Mr. Taylor's legs According to Taylor v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. .

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the alleged pain, suffering, and scarring Mr. Taylor has suffered, as well as the economic loss arising from this tragedy. Mr. Taylor is also represented by Attorney Jan Ohlander of Reno & Zahm, LLP in Rockford, Illinois.

If you have information regarding flames emitting from a Samsung telephone, please contact Mr. Bruce at dbruce(at)prslaw(dot)com.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13743839.htm
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis cause tens of thousands of deaths each year in the US alone. Existing vaccines only treat 13-23 of the more than 90 different strains of pneumococcus bacteria and while they are able to target the bacteria in the body, they're not able to differentiate which bacteria it is destroying. Not all the bacteria are bad and most are actually harmless to humans.

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Some bacteria even enhance the body's immune system. This means that the vaccine would attack all bacteria, good and bad, possibly leading to a microbial imbalance. This would prolong recovery because the body would not be fully recovered until all of the good bacteria that was destroyed returns.

Blaine Pfeifer, who led the study, has said the vaccine bacteria is programmed to only attack pneumococcus bacteria that are harmful, not disturbing those that help maintain the body's microbial balance. Aside from improving existing vaccines, Pfeifer hopes to reduce the use of antibiotics to treat pneumococcal disease.

Pneumococcal bacteria illnesses are routinely treated with antibiotics, but the effectiveness of that treatment has decreased over the years due to bacteria developing resistance to the drugs. This resistance has formed because of the knowledge gap that exists with antibiotic resistant genes, more and more people are misusing the drugs, and helping resistant genes grow stronger. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released that 30% of the 34,000 cases of pneumococcal disease were resistant to at least one or more types of antibiotics.

The new vaccine has hopes to reduce antibiotic use through an active antigen that enhances current vaccines by defending against bacterial serotypes that cause pneumococcal disease. Currently the vaccine has only been tested through animal testing and computer modeling, but the team is planning to conduct human trials soon.

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Ampronix is a renowned authorized master distributor of the medical industry's top brands as well as a world class manufacturer of innovative technology. Since 1982, Ampronix has been dedicated to meeting the growing needs of the medical community with its extensive product knowledge, outstanding service, and state-of-the-art repair facility. Ampronix prides itself on its ability to offer tailored, one-stop solutions at a faster and more cost effective rate than other manufacturers. Ampronix is ISO 13485:2003, ISO 9001:2008, and ANSI/ESD S20.20-2014 certified.

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SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business and Pima County, Ariz. today announced a groundbreaking effort to address the causes of homelessness in Pima County. Together, they are preparing to implement a $1.3 million federal "Pay for Success" (PFS) Supportive Housing Demonstration Grant, the first of its kind in Arizona.

Funded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and facilitated through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the DOJ, the project's primary goal is to enable chronically homeless people to find and maintain stable housing while being able to access wrap-around services. Together, the locally tailored stable housing and services will aim to reduce the burden on the criminal justice and emergency healthcare systems.

A team from the Sorenson Impact Center  Project Director Caroline Ross, Managing Director Jeremy Keele, University of Utah Professor Rob Butters, Ph.D. and Senior Policy Associate Sara Peters  this week traveled to Tucson to seek the expertise of public- and private-sector leaders and frontline service providers. The team is currently wrapping up the preliminary assessment and planning portion of their work, which was funded with a grant from the Kresge Foundation. A final feasibility study and a cost-benefit analysis for the pilot project is expected to be completed around the first of the year.

"All good things come with time," said Margaret Kish, community services director. "It has been two and a half years since Pima County committed to this effort, and our partners from the Sorenson Impact Center have been with us the whole way. Meetings like these show it's a true collaboration."

On September 28 at the Pima County Housing Center, the Sorenson Impact Center staffers led a dialogue with representatives from dozens of social service groups, government departments and health and public safety agencies. The team provided new details and best practices developed by other PFS projects from across the country. The PFS financing model allows government agencies to test or build upon innovative methods for achieving agreed-upon goals, while paying only when positive outcomes are achieved.

Managing Director Keele said, "We're extremely proud to be bringing the first social impact financing project to the state of Arizona. The commitment from all levels of Pima County leadership is remarkable, and their hard work is a testament of their dedication to solving important issues in their community."

The next day, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and other County executives hosted the Sorenson Impact Center staff for further discussion of the gathered data and the possible parameters of the pilot program.

"I've been so pleased to see a culture of sharing data in Pima County," said Professor Butters. "It's way ahead of many other communities. There seems to be a commitment here to improve outcomes through cooperation while still protecting the vulnerability of the people we work with."

The next piece in the planning puzzle will be determining the target population and the types of services that will be provided, something that must balance budgetary constraints while ensuring a sufficient sample size for independent evaluationan important component in ensuring continued financial and popular support for the program.

There is good reason for optimism about using a permanent supportive housing approach to homelessness. Similar undertakings have had great success in other locations, including current projects in Denver, Colorado and Santa Clara County, California. In addition, for more than a decade, Salt Lake City, Utah, has implemented a permanent supportive housing program, which contributed to a 91 percent reduction in chronic homelessness from 2005 to 2015.

The first step in implementation, early next year, will be identifying non-profit groups with the capacity to meet the program's service provision needs, investors willing to cover the cost of that additional capacity, and third-party evaluators to review the anxiously anticipated results.

About the Sorenson Impact Center The Sorenson Impact Center, housed at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business, is an applied academic institution dedicated to developing innovative and data-driven approaches to difficult social problems, like intergenerational poverty and homelessness. An important focus area for the Center is facilitating PFS initiatives, which direct public and private capital to high-quality programs that measurably improve the health and well-being of at-risk individuals and families in communities across the country.

About the David Eccles School of Business Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers eight undergraduate majors, four MBAs, six other specialized graduate programs, a Ph.D. in seven areas and executive education curricula. The School is also home to eight institutes, initiatives and centers that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. The Eccles School is synonymous with 'doing.' The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.

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SOURCE Sorenson Impact Center
Maui, Hawaii (PRWEB) October 07, 2016

Skyline Eco-Adventures, Hawai'i's award-winning zipline tour company and operator of the first zipline course in the United States, launched their 3rd annual Skyline Loves Kama'aina resident promotion in September supporting local Food Banks on Maui and Kauai.

In September, Skyline Eco-Adventures offered free Zipline tours to Hawai'i residents with the donation of 10 non-perishable food items per person. Residents were able to experience ziplining on a choice of Skyline's two Maui courses, including Skyline Haleakala or Skyline Ka'anapali, along with Skyline Poipu on Kaua'i. The promotion zipped over 750 Kama'aina residents supporting the donation of more than 7500 food items to the Maui Food Bank and Kauai Independent Food Bank On Maui, the Maui Food Bank received over 7500 pounds of food which provides for over 9500 meals according to Stephanie Kaplan, Community Relations Manager for the Maui Food Bank. The Kauai Food Bank received 5614 pounds of food from the promotion.

In addition to Skyline's local community involvement Skyline Eco-Adventures is committed to giving back to local community groups, and as a member of 1% For The Planet, Skyline also donates at least 1% of annual revenues to local conservation causes. For more information on Skyline's charitable giving, visit http://www.zipline.com/community

Skyline Eco-Adventures will be holding its 6th annual Zip 4 The Trees fundraising event benefiting Maui's Children's Charities on Saturday November 12th on the Skyline Haleakala Course. Visit http://www.zipline.com/zip4thetrees for more information.

Skyline Eco-Adventures is Hawaii's most awarded zipline company and was selected among more than 100,000 picks in HAWAI'I Magazine's third-annual Reader's Choice Awards, earning top 2016 honors in three categories: No. 1 Zipline Company; No. 1 Zipline Course, Skyline Akaka Falls, Big Island; and No. 1 Land Activity/Adventure Tour Company in Hawaii. Skyline operates two Maui zipline tours at Ka'anapali and Haleakala, in addition to the Akaka Falls Skyline Adventure on Hawaii Island, and the Poipu Skyline Adventure on Kauai. Call (808) 878-8400 or visit http://www.zipline.com.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13746162.htm
NIAMEY (Reuters) - At least 22 soldiers were killed in Niger on Thursday when unknown assailants attacked a camp for Malian refugees, the West African nation's Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said.

The attack targeted a camp in the village of Tassalit in Niger's Tahoua region, around 525 km (326 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey.

"We received information of an attack on the camp in Tassalit. For the moment we are told there are 22 dead, but that is not a total death toll," he said in comments broadcast on state-run television TeleSahel. "The death toll could increase."

Rafini gave no further information concerning the suspected identities of the attackers or whether any civilians had been killed or wounded.

The camp's residents are Malians who fled to neighboring Niger after Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove back the insurgents a year later but violence is on the rise across the region's arid Sahel band.

Niger's small army is currently battling Boko Haram militants who launch raids across its southern border from Nigeria while seeking to prevent an overflow of attacks from Mali.

There are also concerns that Islamic State fighters could be pushed onto its territory by a government offensive in Libya.

(Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by James Dalgleish)
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to the press at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy

NIAMEY (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Niger's government to reinforce security around refugee camps after gunmen killed 22 soldiers stationed at a camp for 4,000 Malian refugees.

Thursday's attackers also burned an ambulance and looted a health center at the Tazalit camp in Niger's western Tahoua region, bordering Mali, a U.N. statement said on Friday.

The Malian refugees were unharmed, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said.

The camp shelters Malians who have fled to Niger since Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012.

A French-led military intervention pushed back the insurgents a year later but clashes with rebels and Islamist attacks have led more people to flee. More than 60,000 Malian refugees now live in Niger.

Last month, a Malian woman and child were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a security post at another refugee camp in Niger, the United Nations said.

Niger's government said it had launched an investigation into the Tazalit attack and declared two days of national mourning.

"The president of the republic (and) the government present, in the name of the devastated Nigerien people, their condolences to the families of the victims," said a statement read on national radio.

Niger's small army is not only seeking to prevent armed groups and bandits entering from Mali to the west, but also fighting Boko Haram militants launching raids from Nigeria in the south.

There are also concerns that Islamic State fighters could be pushed into Niger by a government offensive in Libya to the northeast.

(Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Aaron Ross and Dominic Evans)
By Temesghen Debesai

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) plans to make all of its large-scale agricultural contracts public, in an effort to increase transparency over land deals and improve management of natural resources, officials and researchers said on Wednesday.

DRC will provide summaries of the deals including social, environmental and fiscal provisions, as well as tools for comparing contracts in an online database, which will be linked to global land database OpenLandContracts.org.

Africa's second largest country by geographical area is rich in land, minerals and other natural resources but conflict and corruption have kept many of its 81 million people in poverty, analysts say.

Investment in the country's fertile farmland could help boost development but large-scale land deals must take into account the land rights of local populations and subsistence farmers, campaigners say.

DRC aims to disclose an estimated 20 agricultural contracts by early 2017, according to the New York-based Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, which is behind OpenLandContracts.org.

The site has already published details relating to a few contracts covering hundreds of thousands of hectares in DRC.

Kaitlin Cordes, head of land and agriculture at Columbia's Center on Sustainable Investment, welcomed the Congolese government's move.

"Despite the strong consensus at this point on the importance of transparency, too few governments and investors have been willing to make their agricultural and forestry contracts publicly available," she said in a statement.

Launched a year ago, OpenLandContracts.org lists details of deals involving palm oil plantations, sugar cane, biofuels, soybeans, tea and other crops in 13 countries.

(Editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
AMSTERDAM/BERLIN (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Friday it would continue its peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2017 but will withdraw its helicopter contingent at the start of the year, leaving the United Nations struggling to find replacement aircraft.

Canada was mentioned as a potential supplier of the helicopters after the United Nations first announced the Dutch intention to remove their helicopter forces in July. But Ottawa has not made a firm commitment.

Germany, which is counting on the helicopter force to protect the 570 soldiers it has stationed in Mali, is concerned it may have to fill the gap, requiring the deployment of up to 300 more troops to the African country.

U.N. peacekeepers are deployed across northern Mali to try to stabilize the vast region, occupied by separatist Tuareg rebels and al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in 2012 before France intervened in 2013.

The Dutch government said its mission in Mali would consist of 290 soldiers, down from 400, mostly focused on analysis and policing.

The Dutch military has been operating Apache attack helicopters to protect the peacekeepers and transport helicopters to evacuate sick or wounded soldiers.

Military sources say time is running short to find a country to supply replacement helicopters as it takes months to prepare such a mission.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to visit German troops in northern Mali on Sunday during a visit to Africa aimed at promoting economic development and curbing migration.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the U.N. Security Council about the Dutch decision on Thursday and said no other country had stepped up to supply replacement aircraft despite "extensive efforts" by U.N. officials.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters last week: "The helicopters are existentially important for the protection of our soldiers and for the effectiveness of the mission, meaning how far the soldiers can range away from the base in Gao."

Mali's government has not had a military presence in the restive northern region of Kidal since clashes between the army and Tuareg rebels killed 50 soldiers there in 2014, leaving a heavy security burden on U.N. troops.

Mali has become the deadliest place to serve for U.N. peacekeepers. The United Nations says more than 100 peacekeepers have been killed since the U.N. mission MINUSMA deployed in July 2013. The U.N. Security Council voted in June to increase the contingent by 2,500 troops, taking the total number of uniformed personnel to more than 15,000.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Cho Tak Wong, Chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, takes part in the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong January 16, 2012. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

By Bernie Woodall

MORAINE, Ohio (Reuters) - Chinese auto supplier Fuyao Glass Industry Group <600660.SS> will complete a total of $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing investments by the end 2017, including about $500 million it has put into an automotive glass plant in Ohio, the company's chairman told Reuters.

Ahead of the ceremonial opening of the Moraine, Ohio plant on Friday, Fuyao Chairman Cho Tak Wong said Fuyao has started renovating an industrial building in Plymouth, Michigan, outside of Detroit. Cho said Fuyao will invest about $100 million there and employ "at least 1,000 people." That plant is set to open by the end of 2017, Cho said.

"Once the Plymouth plant is complete we will have invested $1 billion in North America, Cho said.

On Friday, Cho plans to lead the celebration of the $500 million investment in the old GM plant, which now employs more than 2,000 workers and will have as many as 2,500 by the end of next year.

Fuyao's ceremony comes at a time when the loss of U.S. factory jobs to China and other countries is a major issue in the presidential election.

Cho said his company's decision to establish factories in the United States was driven by executives at General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) and other automakers urging him to locate glass production near their U.S. vehicle assembly factories.

"For our customers, they had the expectations that you will be located close to them for supply chain stability, Cho said. "If you ship from China, it is subject to all sorts of disruptions such as weather or shipping company delays."

Production at the Moraine plant, near Dayton, will allow Fuyao to double its current 12 percent share of the U.S. automotive glass market, said John Gauthier, president of Fuyao Glass America.

Fuyao bought the old GM plant for $15 million, got more than $10 million in tax credits and infrastructure enhancements from the state of Ohio, and was able to cut costs and speed the start of production, compared to building a plant from scratch.

"It probably reduced the costs by half and the timing by half," said Gauthier, the company's highest-ranking U.S. executive.

Fuyao holds 20 percent of the global market, making it among the two leaders, in large part because it commands 70 percent of the world's biggest new vehicle market in China.

Fuyao also has invested about $250 million in a float glass plant in Illinois that employs about 250 workers.

Cho, 70, maintains an office at the Ohio plant with a large walnut desk imported from China and a painted portrait of the chairman as a younger man. His main office is at Fuyao's headquarters in Fuqing on China's southern coast.

The Moraine building Fuyao is using once was a GM assembly plant that at one time employed more than 6,000 people.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by David Gregorio)
By Petar Komnenic

PODGORICA (Reuters) - Alexander Khrgian quit Moscow for Montenegro in 2008 and immediately felt at home, setting up a law firm that helps the tiny country's outsized Russian diaspora do business, profiting from close ties between the two countries.

"We liked the climate, the people and conditions for doing business," said the lawyer. "So we stayed."

But a parliamentary election due on October 16 could test those ties. The vote, its outcome very much in the balance, could be Montenegro's last before joining the Western NATO alliance, an expansion dubbed "irresponsible" by Russia.

Attracted by the mountainous country's majestic coastline, some 15,000 Russians flooded into the country after its 2006 split from Serbia, bringing money and Russian influence to the former Yugoslav republic of just 650,000 people.

Ushering Montenegro into NATO is a priority for the West, wary of Russian influence in a strategic region that is on the frontlines of the migration crisis facing Europe.

"We want Montenegro in NATO because we are worried about Russian influence," said a Western diplomat in Serbia's capital Belgrade of a policy that divides the Adriatic country down the middle.

Montenegro was bombed by NATO 17 years ago when the alliance intervened to end Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. At the time, Montenegro was in union with Serbia.

Joining the alliance is the central pillar of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's campaign ahead of an election in which he is likely to face his toughest test in nearly a quarter of a century of leading the country.

Djukanovic, who has been president or prime minister for more than 25 years, with one brief interruption, is accused by opponents of running the Adriatic country as a corrupt personal fiefdom, letting organized crime flourish.

He denies the allegations, but pollsters say NATO membership could act as a wedge issue, boosting support for euroskeptic parties and forcing his Democratic Party of Socialists to seek new coalition partners for the first time since 2006.

In one opposition advert, an actor playing the role of Djukanovic is shown having no answers, answering "NATO" every time he is challenged on alleged failings.

A poll by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights and the U.S. embassy showed 50.5 percent would vote in favor of joining the alliance and 49.5 percent against if a referendum promised by the Democratic Front opposition party were held.

RUSSIA OR THE WEST?

"Our main mission is to liberate Montenegro from Milo Djukanovic's rule," said Slaven Radunovic, a Democratic Front lawmaker. Djukanovic says opposition parties are Russian-funded, a claim they deny.

But Moscow, also concerned about suggestions of NATO expansion into Nordic countries such as Finland, is following events closely. An official from President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party recently urged the opposition to form a united front against Djukanovic.

The anti-NATO message has traction.

Montenegro's ties to its traditional Orthodox allies are too valuable for it to ignore. Tourism contributes 20 percent of economic output, and Russia and Serbia accounted for nearly 60 percent of visitors in 2016.

In a sign of strengthening ties between the three nations, volunteers last month set up a Balkan Cossack "army" in a ceremony rich in symbolism that was attended by Russian and Serbian bikers with Orthodox priests officiating.

Miladin Jokic, a 44-year old from the capital Podgorica said he opposed Djukanovic's party because NATO membership would expose the country to terrorist attacks.

"Montenegro has to stay away from it, especially at a time of such a big terrorist threat." he said.

The West, for its part, sees integrating the former Yugoslav republics into the EU and NATO as crucial for bringing stability to a region that suffered a decade of wars in the 1990s as Yugoslavia broke up into seven successor states.

Croatia and Slovenia, now in the EU, were the first to join NATO. Serbia and Montenegro are in talks over joining the EU, while Bosnia and Macedonia are yet to open talks. Montenegro received its invitation to join NATO in December.

In culture, history, religion and economics, links with Russia run deep. But for some, particularly the young, the West has more appeal.

"Geographically we are part of Europe, and we have to stand by those who are already in that alliance," said Ivan Bozovic, a 24-year old student.

(Additional reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Writing by Ivana Sekularac, Editing by Thomas Escritt and Ralph Boulton)
By Heather Somerville

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Venture capitalists poured $15 billion into startups in the third quarter, putting this year on pace to be the third largest ever for investment activity, according to a report released on Thursday.

So far this year, venture-backed companies have raised $56 billion across nearly 6,000 funding deals, according to a report from venture capital database PitchBook Data Inc and the National Venture Capital Association. At that pace, venture investment is projected to hit $74 billion by year's end, falling short only of the investment levels in 2000 and 2014.

The data shows that despite long-held fears of a contraction in venture capital that would force startups out of business, investors continue to enthusiastically back promising technology companies.

"The rounds keep getting bigger," said Adley Bowden, vice president of analysis for PitchBook. "As valuations go up and (venture) firms are trying to get a certain ownership percentage, the check size goes up as well."

Late-stage venture rounds have spiked most significantly, with the median round size at about $10 million, up from a little more than $6 million in 2013.

"The Airbnbs and the established unicorns ... are not having trouble raising capital and very large rounds," Bowden said.

Mutual funds, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds - contrary to widely held expectations that they would flee venture capital amid the slowing IPO market - continue to invest heavily in "unicorns," the term for venture-backed companies valued at $1 billion or more. Uber Technologies Inc, for instance, raised $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in June.

Unicorns appear to be gobbling up most of the venture capital, with angel and seed financing falling about 18 percent to $1.7 billion in the third quarter compared with a year ago, the result of more accelerators such as Y Combinator replacing seed investors as startups' first stop for cash, the report shows.

Venture capitalists appear to be spending money as fast as they are raising it. Firms have raised $32 billion so far this year, compared with $36 billion for all of last year.

Although money continues to flow into technology companies, little is flowing back to venture capital firms. The report takes a dour view on the IPO market, saying the "slump is unlikely to reverse." The third quarter saw 162 exits - IPOs and M&A deals - compared with 237 a year ago.

"A lot of unrealized gains are in the venture funds right now," Bowden said.

(Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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(1) Estimated for purposes of calculating the filing fee pursuant to Rule 0-11(d) only. The Transaction Value is equal to the product of (i) U.S.$6.24, the average of the high and low sale prices per American Depositary Share, each representing 10 Petrobras Argentina S.A. ( Petrobras Argentina ) Class B Shares, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on August 8, 2016, divided by 10, and (ii) 231,802,950, the number of Petrobras Argentina Class B Shares held by U.S. Persons (as defined herein) (including those represented by American Depositary Shares) eligible to be tendered in the U.S. Cash Tender Offer (as defined herein) (as of May 27, 2016).

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS PRELIMINARY AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND COMPLETION. THE OFFER DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT YET COMMENCED, AND THIS COMMUNICATION IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR A SOLICITATION OR RECOMMENDATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL CLASS B SHARES, PAR VALUE PS.1.00 PER SHARE ( PESA SHARES ) (INCLUDING PESA SHARES REPRESENTED BY AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES ( PESA ADSs  AND, TOGETHER WITH THE PESA SHARES, THE  PESA SECURITIES ), OF PETROBRAS ARGENTINA S.A. ( PETROBRAS ARGENTINA ), NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OR PURCHASE OF SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. AT THE TIME THE OFFER IS COMMENCE D, PAMPA ENERGIA S.A. ( PAMPA ), EMES ENERGIA ARGENTINA LLC, GRUPO MTRES S.A., Marcelo Mindlin, DamiAn Mindlin, Gustavo Mariani and Ricardo Torres (THE  COFILERS ) WILL FILE AN AMENDED TENDER OFFER STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE TO WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (THE  SEC ). PETROBRAS ARGENTINAS SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE AMENDED SCHEDULE TO AND RELATED TENDER OFFER DOCUMENTS WHEN THEY ARE FILED WITH THE SEC BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT PETROBRAS ARGENTINAS SHAREHOLDERS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE TENDERING THEIR PESA SHARES (INCLUDING PESA SHARES REPRESENTED BY PESA ADSs).

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This Amendment No. 2 (this  Schedule TO ) amends and supplements the Tender Offer Statement on combined Schedule TO and Schedule 13E3 under cover of Schedule TO filed with the SEC by Pampa on September 21, 2016. The Schedule TO relates to the offer by Pampa and the Co-Filers to purchase any and all outstanding PESA Shares held by U.S. Persons (as defined herein) (the  U.S. Cash Tender Offer ).

The U.S. Cash Tender Offer is being made on the terms and conditions set forth in the prospectus dated August 10, 2016 (as amended on October 7 , 2016, the  Prospectus ) attached hereto as Exhibit (a)(4)(i) and incorporated herein by reference, and in the related documents. The Prospectus is also being filed by Pampa in connection with an offer to exchange outstanding PESA Shares held by U.S. Persons and outstanding PESA ADSs for Pampa Common Shares, par value Ps.1.00 per share, and American Depositary Shares, each representing 25 Pampa Shares, under the terms and conditions set forth therein (the  U.S. Exchange Offer  and, together with the U.S. Cash Tender Offer, the  U.S. Offers ). The U.S. Offers are being made in conjunction with an offer by Pampa in Argentina for all outstanding PESA Shares (but not PESA ADSs, unless holders of PESA ADSs first convert their PESA ADSs into PESA Shares, which requires holders to surrender their PESA ADSs to JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., as depositary for the PESA ADSs) (the  Argentine Offer , and together with the U.S. Offers, the  Offers ). The Offer Cash Consideration (as defined in the Prospectus) offered in the Argentine Offer is the same as the Offer Cash Consideration offered in the U.S. Cash Tender Offer, payable in each case in Argentine pesos in Argentina. Pampa and the CoFilers do not intend to change the Offer Cash Consideration and, while the Offers are open, will not purchase or make any arrangements to purchase PESA Securities, other than pursuant to the Offers. This Schedule TO is intended solely for holders of PESA Shares that are U.S. Persons. The information set forth in the Prospectus is incorporated herein by reference with respect to Items 1 through 11 of this Schedule TO. This Schedule TO is being filed on behalf of Pampa and the CoFilers.
DAVENPORT  Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, is among 30 former Republican members of Congress pledging not to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The lawmakers released a statement Thursday stating in part that, Sadly, our partys nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we ought to represent in Congress.

The statement went on to say that given the enormous power of the office, every candidate for president must be judged rigorously in assessing whether he or she has the competence, intelligence, knowledge, understanding, empathy, judgement and temperament necessary to keep America on a safe and steady course. Donald Trump fails on each of those measures, and he has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president.

The statement was circulated by former Oklahoma Rep. Mickey Edwards and former Missouri Rep. Tom Coleman.

Well, basically its our view  and I share it strongly  that Donald Trump not only doesnt have the appropriate background, Leach, a Davenport native, said Thursday from his office at the University of Iowa. That is, Im all for a person with a business background seeking the presidency. But not the way he runs his businesses. Its not the way Iowans run their businesses.

Leach, who served in the House of Representatives from 1977-2007, said that Trump has shown no evidence of seriously studying whats at issue.

He has taken a path that Im confounded by because Ive traveled the country, visiting literally every state, giving lectures on stability. You dont pull the country together using the language hes used against minorities, women and the handicapped. Its not statesmanship, Leach said.

Leach said he is concerned about Americas role in the world. We are at a very dangerous moment, almost a crossroads, in how we lead the world.

Im not convinced that Hillary Clinton is the perfect candidate, either, and Im not endorsing her, he said.

Leach said he will vote for either a third-party candidate or write in someone.

There are people who fully support Trump, Leach said. I respect the people who support any candidate, he said.

My own view is we have an electorate that is very disheartened about the manipulation going on in American politics, and they feel let down by the political establishment, and I happen to think theyre right, he said.

I think we need to get big money out of political campaigns, he added. There needs to be a movement that might lead to a constitutional amendment that will do away with Citizens United. I think it is the second-worst ruling in the history of the Supreme Court.

The reason for people to want change is totally understandable and correct, Leach said. Frankly, the money in politics has led to the principle reason were seeing huge discrepancies I how the well-to-do are doing and how the less well-off are doing. If you look at Trumps economic message it will exacerbate the problem, not narrow the gap.

Leach said what the country needs is a champion of the middle class and a champion of statesmanship.
CEDAR RAPIDS  National groups pushing for more gun regulation hope to make an example of a Cedar Rapids legislator who opposed their agenda.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Everytown for Gun Safety are targeting first-term Rep. Ken Rizer, R-Cedar Rapids, because he supported a change in Iowa law they say would repeal background checks for private gun purchases. The first of four flyers Everytown plans to send House 68 residents was mailed Thursday.

There have been a lot of lawmakers who have sided with the gun lobby over the safety and security of Iowa families, Amber Gustafson of Ankeny, president of the Iowa chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said Wednesday. Kens one of them. He has consistently stood in the path of good gun legislation and has consistently supported things to make us markedly less safe.

Rizer called their campaign a baseless attack by an out-of-state special interest group.

Funding for Everytown comes from a $50 million commitment from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Bloomberg-backed groups, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms, which was founded after the 2012 Newtown school shooting.

Their campaigns are modeled after successful efforts by the National Rifle Association. An Iowa-based campaign consultant estimated the mailers would cost in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.

I cant help but say, There they go making stuff up,  Rizer said, explaining that Moms and Everytown dont seem to understand the legislation they reference in their mailers.

They dont identify specific legislation, but mention background checks, domestic abusers and gun shows. The bill addressing those issues was House File 527.

The irony, Rizer said, is that the bill they refer to would have strengthened Iowas gun laws. It made straw purchases of guns  someone buying a gun for a person who cannot legally buy a gun  a Class D felony and allowed off-duty police to carry their weapons on school property, he said.

It was bipartisan. Seventy-five members of the House voted for it, so you know a big chunk of Democrats supported it, Rizer said. Eighteen of the 43 House Democrats voted for the bill, which did not win Senate approval.

Although Gustafson, a gun owner herself, said 87 percent of Iowans support better gun laws, Rizer never hears the issue when hes knocking on doors in his district that includes Marion, Bertram and Ely. Voters mention education, Medicaid managed care and taxes but no one brings up background checks.

He assumes the fact that House 68 is a purple district and this is his first re-election campaign makes him an attractive target. In 2014, Rizer defeated Democratic Rep. Daniel Lundby, who defeated GOP Rep. Nick Wagner in 2012.

Rizer is not the groups only target, Gustafson said. There are a slew of incumbents and challengers getting the support of Moms. They want to run on this and win.

She rejected Rizers claim that Moms and Everytown are working on behalf of his opponent, Cedar Rapids Democrat Molly Donahue.

We honestly have no idea where she stands on gun legislation, Gustafson said. Theres no mention of guns on her campaign website.

Its possible she agrees with (Rizer), Gustafson said, but we want to make sure that Ken Rizer and the rest of the Iowa Legislature know that voting and standing for these types of laws is politically costly.
MASON CITY  U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, repeated her call for the firing of the head of Veterans Affairs during a town hall meeting Friday in Mason City.

Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, said Robert McDonald, secretary of Veterans Affairs, is not getting the job done for veterans.

She first called for his ouster in May after McDonald compared veterans waiting for VA help to people waiting in line at Disneyland.

I have been critical of the VA for a long time, she said, speaking to an audience of about 40 at the Historic Park Inn Hotel.

We have many wonderful doctors in the VA system, but their hands are tied by the system, she said.

Ernst said the VAs own statistics show veterans have to wait an average of 36 days before they can see a VA doctor.

Thats far too long, she said.

Secretary McDonald needs to go. We need someone who will come in and shake up the system. I cant fire McDonald. Only the president can, she said.

The freshman senator has sponsored a bill that would allow veterans to get a statement of non-availability of a VA doctor and then go to a provider of their choice and receive the treatment they need. The bill is tied up in the Veterans Affairs Committee.

She said she has authored five bills that reached President Obamas desk; three were signed, two were vetoed.

The bills that were signed had to do with:

Breaking tradition and allowing ashes of women who served in World War II to be in Arlington National Cemetery.

Having a post office in Cedar Rapids named in honor of an Iowa serviceman who was killed in Afghanistan.

Enacting the Women Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, authorizing studies and treatment programs to try to prevent the suicides. Ernst said 21 veterans commit suicide every day. Women veterans commit suicide at six times the rate of civilian women.

One of her bills that was vetoed sought to limit the amount of money former presidents receive in federal compensation. Ernst said most ex-presidents now are wealthy and do not need assistance their predecessors needed. Her bill would have cut back federal subsidies to any former president making $400,000 or more.

The other vetoed bill had to do with objections to language in the Environmental Protection Agencys Waters of the U.S. regulation that she believes is too restrictive.

Ernst said two things she has learned in Washington is that often changes that need to be made as soon as possible take two to three years instead; and government often offers guidelines to be followed because guidelines dont require congressional approval.
MASON CITY | Jim Collison will offer a workshop on personal healing prayer next week at First Congregational United Church of Christ.

The workshop will be held at 6:45 p.m. Oct. 13 and again at 10 a.m. Oct. 14.

The workshop is free and open to those of any faith or no faith. Preregistration is requested by calling the church office at 641-423-0105.

The church is located at 100 First St. N.E., Mason City.

Collison has been a lay minister for the 40 years, the last 30 years as assistant minister at the First Congregational Church, UCC in Orchard.

He was educated in the Benedictine pray and work monastic practice at St. Johns University, Collegeville, Minnesota.
By supporting the Bay of Plenty Steamers in Rotorua this Sunday youll also be giving a hand up to the local branch of global charity St Vincent de Paul.

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union is donating its gate takings from the Steamers Mitre 10 Cup match against Manawatu to BOP Vinnies to help the charity purchase a new van for their Rotorua food run.
There will be 11 lumpy throats leaning over the cereal bowl this morning as candidates for Taurangas mayoralty prepare themselves for the verdict expected from 3pm today.

Voters have until noon Saturday, October 8, to place completed voting papers into ballot boxes available at all Tauranga City Council city libraries and council offices.

In the meantime  according to someone whos been there five times before and won the last four  there will be 11 mayoralty candidates who want it all to be over.

I can only speak from my own experiences and they have been numerous, says outgoing Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby, who has been in the top job for 12 years since being elected in October 2004.

Even talking to candidates up until today they are kind of hanging out for Saturday  its a long haul since the time you decide to nominate.

And if youre doing signs  its a lot of hard work every morning every night going and checking them. The public meetings and candidates meeting  it can be incredibly tiring and you get to the point you want it over.

A record 11 candidates are running this year, compared to six in 2013. This time round Larry Baldock, Greg Brownless, Kelvin Clout, Murray Guy, Hori BOP Leaming, Max Mason, Steve Morris, Doug Owens, Noel Peterson, Graeme Purches and John Robson are looking for success.

And theres 11 Tauranga council seats being contested by 33 candidates. In the Western Bay of Plenty District, five people  Gwenda Merriman, Mike Lally, Don Thwaites, Garry Webber and Kevin Tohiariki are contesting the mayoralty and 20 candidates running for 11 council seats.

Bay of Plenty Regional Councils Tauranga General Constituency has five seats  with eight nominees putting their hands up. While the BOPRC Western Bay of Plenty General Constituencys two seats only received nominations by Norm Bruning and Jane Nees, which has seen electoral officer Lucinda Butt elect the pair unopposed.

Seven elected positions on the Bay of Plenty District Health Board are being contested by 20 people.

I believe a lot of them will be waiting for Saturday to come along and get a result one way or the other, says Stuart, who reckons the last week-and-a-half of campaigning is rather tedious. They [the candidates] will probably be emotionally drained and looking for a result.

Come Saturday morning you probably wouldnt start to get the butterflies or anticipation  I never used to  until about 11am.

You know youll never get a result [early]  this year I understand until 3pm. So theres no point getting overexcited.

Stuarts says about 11am hed start getting excited and the question would still be I my head, would I be elected or would I not be elected?.

Previously, the newly-elected would get a phone call to receive the news but now I understand it goes up on the internet.

You know when that phone goes and its the election officer  those first few secondsyour heart does start to pound, says Stuart. Is it yes or is it no?

That was how I felt and I was fortunate enough to hear good news four times in a row.

But he never felt like he had it in the bag. Theres always a bit of uncertainty because the electorate  you just cant pick it.

And this election in particular  I have no idea whos going to win. It could be one of three or four or possibly five. This one will be very interesting.

And also for the [election of] councillors  because its not just about a mayor. Its about a mayor and councilors and thats what Ive been telling everyone over the last two weeks  think about the package, not just the individual.

To the candidates reading The Sun, Stuart says: Be prepared to win emotionally and be prepared to lose.

I remember I lost the first time round and I thought I had it in the bag and I didnt  so that was a salutary lesson in dont get your hopes up too high.

And for the last four local body elections, which dawn right on the motorsport season, Stuart would busy himself with his hobby to pass time on the Saturday morning.

If I wasnt at home Id be doing something like working on a race a car  something to take your mind off the forthcoming announcement.

And there was no big family get-together at Stuarts place after losing the first time round. I decided not to do that again  instead to celebrate or commiserate with immediate family in the first instance.

And does it impact candidates families? I think for first-time candidates  and theres a number this time for mayor and council  it would be more challenging for families as well.

Because its the first time many have been in the media or on-stage  and that does have ramifications through your whole family. When they see your picture in the paper and people are talking about you.

But if you want to be a politician thats all part of the business.

Check out Sunlive.co.nz throughout Saturday and Sunday as election results for TCC, WBOPDC and Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Bay of Plenty District Health Board are released.
MASON CITY -- Three people received what were described as minor injuries in a two-vehicle accident Thursday evening at 250th and Mallard Avenue, the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Department reported.

A pickup driven by Logan Wilcke, 19, of Clear Lake, was southbound when it rear-ended an SUV that was slowing down because a vehicle in front was making a right-hand turn, the Sheriff's Office reported. The SUV was driven by Kenneth Vickers, 41, of Charles City.

Vickers and Wilcke were not injured. However, three people were taken to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa for what the sheriff's report called minor non-life-threatening injuries. They were Jacqsen Hesse, 20, New Hampton; Cleon Mitchell, 37, Milwaukee; and Wendi Duncan, 47, Charles City. All three were being evaluated at the hospital late Thursday, according to a nursing supervisor.

Wilcke was cited for failure to stop within an assured clear distance. The SUV received minor damage while the pickup sustained disabling damage to the front of the vehicle, according to the news release.

The Mason City Fire Department assisted at the scene.

-- Tom Thoma
Montse Carrasco and Lola Ortega speak at the launch of the language exchange project. :: R. H.

British writer and Hispanist Gerald Brenan was one of the first foreign residents in Churriana. It was there that he bought his house in 1934 and where he learned Spanish among the locals while at the same time mixing with other foreign intellectuals such as Ernest Hemingway and Bertrand Russell.

This week the walls of his Churriana home resonated once again with stilted Spanish spoken with British accents and English with a Spanish twist for the first language exchange session organised at the house by the Asociacion Cultural Gerald Brenan.

Foreign residents here study Spanish and Spanish study English but until now there has been nowhere for them to get together, said Lola Ortega, the associations founder, who has been teaching Spanish to foreign residents in the local Casa de la Cultura for 20 years.

Ortega explained how Brenan was the ideal symbol for their association as he had been a foreigner who bought a home and chose to live and die in southern Spain, as many thousands of foreigners do today.

Wednesdays launch was attended by around 50 international and Spanish residents interested in becoming members of the association to take part in the weekly language exchange sessions as well as the Spanish and English language classes held at the Casa de la Cultura down the road from the Brenan house.

Montse Carrasco, a translator and the associations English teacher, said she was delighted to have the chance to combine as many cultures as we have here in Churriana.

It is an opportunity to join forces, she said.

Ortega and Carrasco, who are joined by lawyer Maria del Mar Civico at the helm of the association, both stressed that the aim of the project was not just to teach language but also to promote the integration of foreign residents and link communities through cultural activities and excursions.

The coordinator of the cultural programme at the Gerald Brenan house, Silvia Grijalba, welcomed those present, who also included Malaga city halls director of the Churriana district, Dolores Navas; Jesus Sanchez, director of La Caixa in Churriana; and Juan Antonio Rios, director of the Casa de la Cultura Gerald Brenan.
During the first half of the year, there were 4,978 registered sales to foreign buyers in Malaga, 17% more than in the same period of 2015

There are more foreign buyers looking for homes than a year ago. :: SUR

The Costa del Sol is still the number one choice in Andalucia by a long way when it comes to attracting foreign property buyers.

Between January and July this year, there were 4,978 registered real estate transactions to non-Spanish purchasers in Malaga province, an increase of 16.9% on the same period in 2015.

According to official Spanish government data, this accounts for 70% of the residential properties sold to foreigners throughout the whole of Andalucia.

On a regional level, the number of properties bought by foreigners in Andalucia increased by 18.9% in the first six months of this year. The 5,973 transactions in the same period in 2015 rose to 7,105 sales in 2016.

Over 90% of homes bought by foreigners in Andalucia are resales of existing flats or houses rather than new builds. However, included in this figure are properties that have been bought by banks from developers with difficulties and then sold on to private buyers, without the properties ever having been lived in.

House purchases or sales by foreigners increased in the first six months of the year in all provinces of Andalucia.

In Almeria, there were 797 sales, 33.7% more than a year ago; Granada, with 409 transactions, grew 13.9%; while Cadiz registered 405, an increase of 4.6%. There was also growth in Seville province, with 262 operations, 47.1% more than last year; in Huelva, with 126 operations and an increase of 23.5%; Jaen, with 79 and a growth of 49% and Cordoba with 49 transactions, 16.6% more than in the first six months of 2015.

Of the 7,105 contracts exchanged with foreign buyers, only 1.5% involved subsidised housing.
Actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon star in the third season of the series 'The Trip to Spain' which is being shot in various locations throughout the province by filmmaker Michael Winterbottom

The production team for 'The Trip to Spain' at the Parador de Gibralfaro. :: GUILLERMO BLAZQUEZ

The scene is set for Michael Winterbottom at the Parador de Gibralfaro. The British filmmaker is shooting 'The Trip to Spain' in Malaga, the third season of a series which combines comedy and gastronomy starring actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

'The Trip' made its debut in 2010 and was set in the English countryside. There, an actor was selected by a newspaper to review the local restaurants. He did not want to do it alone so he scrolled through the phonebook until he stumbled upon a colleague to accompany him. This is all fiction. In reality, the pair are played by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

The production had so much success that the BBC took the show to Italy for the second season. Now it is Sky who have assumed control of the comedy for its tour of Spain. In addition to the Parador de Gibralfaro, the production plans to film in Comares and Maro. In the meantime, Winterbottom has been seen in the Refectorium restaurant at La Malagueta.
Spain's foreign minister says the Spanish flag will be flying over Gibraltar sooner than people think, but his proposals are being firmly rejected

Fabian Picardo (right) and Dr Joseph Garcia at the UN. :: SUR

Chief minister Fabian Picardo was at the United Nations Fourth Committee in New York this week, and he made it perfectly clear that Spains proposal for joint sovereignty of Gibraltar with the UK would not even be considered. No way, Jose! was the firm message in response to Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallos suggestion that Gibraltar would be better off as part of Spain because it would enable it to remain part of the European union and retain access to the single market which is so important to its economy.

Spains ambassador to the UN, Roman Oyarzun, announced that Madrid has formally approached London with the proposal, under which Gibraltarians would be able to retain their British nationality but also hold Spanish citizenship.

It may sound good on paper, but in general in Gibraltar there is scepticism and a feeling of mistrust, after incidents and bullying tactics in the past.

As Picardo pointed out to the UN committee, there have been numerous disputes with Spain over the land border, and in 2013 the EU had to step in when Madrid enforced lengthy checks at the frontier, causing traffic jams and pedestrian queues which often lasted for several hours.

Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo is still confident that Spains proposal for joint sovereignty will eventually be accepted by Britain, and said this week that the Spanish flag will be flying on Gibraltar sooner than Picardo thinks, but the authorities in the UK have reiterated once again that they will not enter into any discussions if Gibraltar is not in full agreement.
MASON CITY  Joel and Katy Showalter, owners of Window World of Mason City, received the Small Business of the Year award at the Mason City Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Thursday at The Music Man Square.

The event heralded the 100th anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber officials said as a result of the Showalters drive and determination, the company has experienced growth at a rate of 15 to 17 percent per year in product volume since they purchased the business in 2011.

In recent years, they have expanded their offerings to include entry doors and siding, providing not only a big increase in sales but a boost to the North Iowa economy, according to the Chamber.

Matthew Chizek, manager at CENT Credit Union, received the Boss of the Yearaward based upon a nomination submitted by his employees.

This years Distinguished Citizen Award was presented to Kim Pang, general manager at Diamond Jo Casino, in recognition of his work with the Chamber and his many community activities.

A new award this year, sponsored by the Chamber, the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health and the Blue Zones Project recognizes a worksite that emphasizes total worker health.

North Iowa Area Community College received the award for having a worksite wellness program for more than ten years and was the first worksite to earn Blue Zones Project certification.

The Ambassador of the Year award went to Traci Koehn of CENT Credit Union. In addition, Fred Fenchel was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the Ambassadors.

Board members completing terms are Bob Klocke, First Citizens Bank; Sherry Becker, NIVC Services; Julie Valencia, Kaplan University; Todd Kirkpatrick, Clear Lake Bank & Trust; and Jerry Knoll, Hawkeye Auto Body.

Steve Noto from Stoney Creek Hospitality Corp. is outgoing chairman of the Chamber board. Dave Bergan from Smithfield will serve as chairman for the year ahead.

The Mason City Chamber of Commerce was formed by a group of businessmen in 1916. Among highlights over the past century:

1922: A Chamber Glee Club was formed that transitioned in 1952 into the River City Barbershop Chorus.

1923: A Community Chest was formed to benefit the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Boy Scouts, YMCA and YWCA. In 1946 it transitioned into the United Fund and is now the United Way.

1927: The Chambers Aviation Committee founded the Mason City Municipal Airport with help from an American Legion post. Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh attended the dedication.

1938: The first North Iowa Band Festival, sponsored by the Chamber, was held.

1971: The Chamber began admitting women into its membership.

2002: Annual trips to Washington D.C. began, to lobby for federal funds for North Iowa projects.

2012: The North Iowa Regional Commerce Center opened in a formerly vacant downtown building.
OSAGE  Thousands of bargain shoppers were expected to hit the Mitchell County Fairgrounds over the weekend for the annual Fox River Sock Sale.

Last year the company sold 118,000 pair of socks, said Becky Lessard, Fox Rivers vice president of finance and administration. Historically, shoppers have come from 22 states and 46 Iowa counties.

In various locations, the sale has been going on for 34 years. More than 7,000 people were expected this year, Lessard said.

By 2 p.m. Friday, 1,600 people had already shown up to shop, according to the doors counter.

Proceeds from the sale benefit local service organizations  Osage Rotary, Osage Kiwanis and Osage Lions Club  that support community programs and events throughout the year.

Employees of Fox River and local volunteers from the Lions, Rotary and Kiwanis clubs hand out clear plastic shopping bags, stock tables and work the check-out counters.

The sale features high-quality overstock and imperfect discounted socks that are typically priced between $1 and $3 per pair.

Six-packs of socks were also on sale for $10.

My daughters-in-law come every year, said first-time shopper Polly Gilgenbach, 57, of Adams, Minnesota.

Gilgenbach said she was there to find bargains for her husband, daughter and especially her two granddaughters  who were asking for creative-looking colorful socks.

The flashier the better, she said.

Others return each year looking for bargain buys for Christmas.

They make great stocking stuffers, said Amy Parlle, 37, of Clear Lake.

The sock sale continued at the Cedar River Complex Events Center on the Mitchell County Fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A federal court jury has deliberated two full days without reaching a verdict in 12 Native Americans' lawsuit against state police over a 1997 tax protest along Interstate-81.

U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin sent the jurors home for the weekend Thursday afternoon and told them to resume deliberations Tuesday morning.

The plaintiffs claim in a lawsuit against 51 state troopers that their civil rights were violated May 18, 1997, when state police broke up a protest over taxes and the leadership of the Onondaga Nation.

The verdict of the nine-person jury must be unanimous.

The jury has sent eight notes to Scullin with questions or requests for portions of witnesses' testimony to be read back. The testimony focused on troopers' versions of an altercation and the protesters'.

The jury has also asked for a description of where an easement along the highway ended. Many of the arrests were made in that area, and the plaintiffs have argued it was owned by one of them, Andrew Jones.

The state has argued the troopers were justified in making arrests there because the protesters had endangered public safety by blocking the highway.

Kahntineta Bear, a spokeswoman for the plaintiffs, said today she could not comment because Scullin ordered all the parties not to talk to the media during the trial.

The plaintiffs, who are representing themselves in court, claim troopers used excessive force, violated the protesters' constitutional right to free speech, to assemble and to practice their religion, and wrongfully arrested 24 people.

The criminal charges against all the protesters were dropped.

A lawyer for the state told jurors the troopers were justified in shutting down the protest because the demonstrators had entered the highway and were blocking traffic, endangering the public. Troopers were justified in using force against the protesters who fought with them, Assistant Attorney General Timothy Mulvey told jurors.

Scullin dismissed many of the plaintiffs' claims this week, but left some intact. He dismissed three of the 15 plaintiffs from the case.

The plaintiffs were among 98 mostly Native Americans who sued the state in 1998 over the quelling of the protest. Seventy-six others settled with the state for $2.7 million in June.

The remaining plaintiffs told the state's lawyers before the trial that they wanted $10 million a apiece, Bear has said.

The state police superintendent, George Beach, testified at the trial that he devised and carried out the plan for more than 80 troopers to arrest the protesters if they blocked traffic. Beach was a captain at the Troop D barracks at the time.

Contact John O'Brien anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-2187
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Onondaga County sheriff's deputies investigate a boat in July following an accident on Skaneateles Lake that injured 8-yearold Kaelynne Driscoll and her father Christopher Driscoll.

(Ken Sturtz | ksturtz@syracuse.com)

SKANEATELES, N.Y. -- A woman who critically injured her step-daughter in a July boating accident on Skaneateles Lake has been ticketed, but will not face criminal charges.

The woman, Jamie Wheeler, was ticketed on several boating/navigation law violations, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office said Thursday when it announced detectives had finished investigating.

On July 6 Wheeler was driving a 17-foot Bayliner boat on Skaneateles Lake.

She was towing her stepdaughter, Kaelynne Driscoll, 8, and her husband, Christopher Driscoll, 32, on an inner tube when the inner tube hit a wake and the pair were thrown into the water.

When Wheeler circled the boat back around, the craft's propeller hit and injured Kaelynne and Christopher Driscoll in the water, the sheriff's office said.

Wheeler and Christopher Driscoll's 2-year-old son was on the boat at the time. Christopher Driscoll's brother Andrew Driscoll, 24, and his girlfriend Chelsea Greene, 21, both of Pembroke Pines, Florida, were also on the boat. They were not hurt injured in the accident.

Two nearby boaters helped rescue Kaelynne and Christopher Driscoll, bringing them to shore at the State Boat Launch. They were rushed to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

Kaelynne Driscoll's injuries were so severe that she underwent several surgeries, including the amputation of part of one arm and part of one leg. She's now undergoing rehabilitation in Boston. Her father also underwent surgery and was released three days after the crash.

The sheriff's office said that field sobriety tests and a blood test showed Wheeler was "not intoxicated under state law."

Under navigation law Wheeler was ticketed with unsafe towing of a person, no or insufficient visual distress signals, no required ventilation for the boat, no type IV throwable device, and littering into the water.

She is scheduled to appear in Skaneateles Town Court on Oct. 19.
WATERVILLE, N.Y. -- A teenager was injured Thursday evening after he crashed his bicycle into an SUV in Oneida County.

A 14-year-old boy was riding his BMX-style bike east around 7:50 p.m. on the sidewalk along the north side of West Main Street in Waterville, said the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. The teen then tried to cross Buell Avenue against the pedestrian signal -- crashing into the side of a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer, deputies said.

Chris Schachtler, 40, of Deansboro, was driving the southbound SUV, deputies said.

Schachtler had been attempting to turn right off of Buell Avenue onto West Main Street when the bicyclist crashed into the passenger side of his SUV. He had a green light, deputies said.

The Waterville boy, who was not named, was thrown from his bicycle. He was not wearing a helmet, deputies said.

The boy suffered facial injuries and cuts, deputies said. He was taken by Waterville Ambulance to St. Elizabeth's Hospital for treatment.

Schachtler was not injured.

No tickets were issued, deputies said.

In addition to deputies and Waterville Ambulance, members of the Waterville Fire Department, the New York State Police and Edwards Ambulance responded to the crash.
New medical thriller

Dr. John Avanzato has recently published the fourth book in his "Cesari Series," returning readers to the world of John Cesari reformed gangster turned doctor in Manhattan. Avanzato has borrowed from his own Bronx upbringing, as well as his work as a gastroenterologist in Central New York to build Cesari's thrilling medical world in "Hostile Hospital," "Prescription for Disaster," "Temperature Rising," and now "Claim Denied".

In "Claim Denied" Cesari is tasked with looking into claims of malfeasance in the death of a cancer patient who committed suicide rather than burden his family with medical bills. As Cesari encounters corporate greed and the places where the healthcare system fails its patients, he is shot. Could his inquest and the shooting be related?

Avanzato says of the book, "While 'Claim Denied' is a fictional tale, the book's early reference to the U. S. Department of Labor's statistic of 200 million medical claims denied annually, captures any readers attention. Cesari's evolution as a sympathetic hero that you can't help root for has gone beyond my initial expectations...there is a major twist in this fourth book that will shock readers."

Avanzato's series is available wherever books are sold.

Inspiring diverse palates early

Former Syracuse resident and New Hartford native, Leena Saini, has recently published a cookbook that seeks to offer parents and caregivers recipes for baby food from a diverse range of cultural origins. "Around the World in 80 Purees: Easy Recipes for Global Baby Food" showcases Saini's experience as a food blogger and mother of two in her bid to offer young palettes more than the some old mush. Taking inspiration from more than 30 countries Saini's puree recipes are sure to delight young ones and help them be interested in a wider range of tastes as they transition to solid foods.

Saini shares in a personal blog post that the book has been the result of years of work, "For the past few years I've been obsessed with the topic of how to feed our babies and children better. I have madly researched recipes, talking to parents from around the world about what they feed their children. Studied taste bud development and the science of how we learn to eat and accept flavor. I've steamed, boiled, baked and pureed every ingredient from fish to fruit to pork to pumpkin."

The book includes an introduction to the equipment needed for the recipes, as well as what kinds of spices are going to be appropriate for babies. The recipes are broken down into sections based on the age of the baby and include items like "English Peas with a Hint of Mint" and "Japanese Carrot Soba".

Saini is a frequent contributor to masalamommas.com and Sally's Place, and you can learn more about her work and life on her blog. Her book is available on Amazon.

A new chapter in Historical Fiction

Though John M. Cahill now resides in Vienna, Austria his formative years in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts and years spent living in New York's Capital District has informed his writing, including a new publication.

While living in New York State Cahill says he immersed himself in the history of the Mohawk Valley with a particular interest in learning more about the interaction of the Dutch and English settlers with the Five Iroquois Nations. Cahill says, "After my retirement from the New York State Health Department, I decided to share what I had learned about this thrilling period of history. I hope that my readers are as excited to read my stories about the early American frontier as I am to tell them."

In Cahill's newest publication, "Savage Wilderness," the second book in "The Boschloper Saga", readers are once again immersed in the life of Sean O'Cathail as he navigates colonial English life in the late 1600s. The once burgeoning beaver pelt trade is floundering, and the answer to this financial problem seems to be braving the French territories. O'Cathail and his group are ultimately captured and he must rely on an old flame to survive and return home to his new wife.

Cahill's books available on Amazon and through a-argusbooks.com. You can learn more about the author and his future publications by visiting his website.

Have a book to share?

Are you a local author or have you come across a book set in Central New York? Tell us about it. Send a brief description of the book and the author and we'll add it as a candidate for coverage. Write us at

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The Onondaga County Legislature hosted a public comment hearing on the 2017 budget on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016 at the legislature's chambers in the old Onondaga County Courthouse.

(Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- At a public hearing Thursday night, Onondaga County officials argued over whether the proposed relocation of six payroll clerks is smart reorganization or petty political revenge.

During the hearing, Comptroller Bob Antonacci traded barbs with Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher. Each echoed comments made in dueling letters to the editor here last week.

Antonacci has accused County Executive Joanie Mahoney of gutting his payroll staff as an act of political revenge. Mahoney proposed moving six clerks from the comptroller's office to the personnel department in an effort to make payroll more efficient. Her office has said those clerks don't perform audits, but rather do payroll processing.

Fisher said Thursday the relocation of six employees would put the county more closely in line with how other local governments do payroll.

"Out of 62 counties in New York State, we could find only three where the department responsible for auditing is also responsible for payroll," Fisher said. "Onondaga County is the largest by far."

Fisher questioned Antonacci's motives for raising concern about the personnel move, citing the comptroller's pending lawsuit over pay raises.

"He misleads the public by insisting this is all about him," Fisher said.

Antonacci fired back, insisting that the move was personal. He said reassigning six of his employees would limit his office's ability to properly audit payroll for the county's 3,200 employees.

"No matter your disdain for me, are you eliminating these positions for the right reasons?" he asked.

The intergovernmental squabble stole the spotlight for most of the 90-minute hearing. In all, five of the 11 speakers at the public hearing were there to discuss the personnel move, including two members of Antonacci's staff.

Erica O'Brien, one of the clerks being moved, was the first to speak at the hearing. She said the bulk of her job consists of pre-audit and audit of payroll. She said oversight belongs in the comptroller's office.

Jim Maturo, a deputy comptroller, said he has been working in the comptroller's office for 33 years. He criticized Fisher's implementation of PeopleSoft, the county's personnel software that has been cited as a reason for moving the clerks.

"Mr. Fisher has been in the county all of seven years," Maturo said. "He's the person who saddled us with an inefficient software package, led the most inefficient project in my 33 years with the county and he wants you to believe that he knows how to make payroll more efficient...That's amazing."

Speaking in defense of the reorganization was Phillip Britt, a former deputy comptroller who is now director of financial operations. He said the move wouldn't change the way the county reviews, processes and audits payroll. He said separating payroll processing and auditing would allow each department to focus on their particular role.

The county legislature will vote on a budget on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Other speakers included three people asking for increased funding for legal defense for the poor, a member of the state nurses union, which have been working locally without a contract and Jazz Fest Founder Frank Malfitano, who thanked the legislature and executive for leaving his funding untouched.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The public got its first look at the two design proposals to replace the aging Interstate 81 elevated highway in Syracuse at a New York State Department of Transportation open house at the Thursday night.

Hundreds of people roamed the Oncenter ballroom peering at information on new highway interchanges, the traffic analysis that showed commute times for the designs, and the buildings in danger of demolition to make way for the project.



The state has whittled down its design options to replace 1.4 miles of I-81 in the city from 16 to two. One option is to replace the old elevated highway with a modern elevated highway. Another option is to demolish the current elevated highway, sending "through" traffic around the city on Interstate 481 while moving local traffic to city streets.

Tables spanning half the ballroom showed the route of the two proposals side-by-side.

Here are 7 new things we learned at the open house.

Replacing the elevated highway with a new one would cost $1.7 billion and involve the demolition of 24 buildings. Under this proposal the highway would be 10 to 15 feet taller, and wider to accommodate 10-foot wide breakdown lanes and 4-foot shoulders.

Demolishing the highway and sending traffic along city streets would cost $1.3 billion and involve the demolition of five properties. It would create a boulevard with trees, a median and sidewalks along Almond Street, which would serve as a major north-south route through the city.

The DOT has estimated travel times for commutes in Onondaga County for each of the alternatives under consideration with projections through 2050. For most drivers the commutes are a difference of one to two minutes. At most the boulevard option subtracted 5 minutes from the commute for someone driving from Cicero to University Hill.

Two new interchanges on Interstate 690 at South Crouse Avenue and Irving Avenue are part of the boulevard design. Designers said this allows traffic to flow directly to Syracuse University and three hospitals in the University Hill neighborhood.

The Clinton Street ramp off from I-81 would stay, but the Salina Street ramp would close.

The Butternut Street bridge over I-81 would be replaced to accommodate the addition of traffic lanes on the highway.

West Street would change. The elevated portion would be torn down. Traffic to West Street would exit I-690, traveling under the highway.

Where do we go from here?

Over the next three weeks the DOT will hold six neighborhood meetings to further explain the two final options.

The public comments may be made by emailing I81Opportunities@dot.ny.gov, by letter at NYSDOT Region 3, I-81 Viaduct Project, 333 E. Washington St., Syracuse, NY 13202, or by calling the hotline at 855-481-8255.

The department will present a draft of its preferred choice in early 2017.

The final design choice must be approved by the Federal Highway Administration.
A Canadian citizen who lives in Cheektowaga was accused Thursday of voting in more than 20 elections in the United States while illegally living here.

Shirley Anne Conners, 62, was arrested Thursday on making a false claim to U.S. citizenship to vote, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Counihan said the defendant, who has been illegally in the United States since the early 1970s, voted in more than 20 federal, state and local elections since 1995, the last being the presidential primary in New York in April.

Conners, who is also known as Shirley Anne Faragalli, faces a federal prison term of up to five years if convicted. She was released to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service after making an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr.

The case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Services.

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

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

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Vehicles pass through the toll booths at Exit 36 (Watertown/Binghamton/I-81) as they enter the NYS Thruway Thursday, June 2, 2016.

(Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.com)

The New York State Thruway should consider adding eight to 10 fully-automated interchanges in Upstate New York, Sen. Joseph Griffo said this week.

The new toll booths would be exclusively for EZ-Pass customers, under Griffo's vision. Vehicles could pass through the tolls at 20 mph and get quicker access to parts of the state not directly linked to the Thruway, Griffo said.

The idea - which Griffo outlined in a letter to Thruway officials this week - would cost as much as $64 million. He admits that's a steep price tag.

But he's pushing Thruway officials to consider more technologically-savvy ways to get more motorists to more places in Upstate New York - especially as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced more automated toll options for bridges leading in and out of the New York City area.

"This is an opportunity," Griffo, R-Rome, said Friday. "This is another way to help the Upstate region."

Griffo would like the Thruway to consider a new entrance and exit for the Rome and Marcy area. Yes, it's part of his district. It's also where GE and Ams are expected to bring 1,200 new jobs, and the Thruway should prepare for the expansion, the senator argues.

Griffo said part of the cost of these automated exits could be paid for with Thruway money saved as the state's costly Canal Corporation is transferred to the New York Power Authority.

But the Thurway has already redirected that money to pay for state troopers who patrol the east-west toll road, according to a Thruway spokeswoman.

Does the Thruway need more exits and entrances? Traffic is up slightly from 2013 to 2015 at interchanges 31, 32, 33 -- those around the Utica area. Traffic on and off the Thruway at Exit 31 in Utica, for example, went from 9,941 vehicles per day in 2013 to 10,553 per day in 2015, according to the Thruway.

That slight upward tic reflects overall driving trends as gas prices decline and the economy improves.

The Thruway has installed all electronic toll systems on the Tappan Zee Bridge, which about 140,000 vehicles cross daily.

The Thruway is spending $6.7 million on a project to improve traffic flow between Exits 50A and 51 near Buffalo. There, the Thruway handles about 117,000 vehicles a day.
Creating good jobs requires generating substantial investment capital, a pro-USA trade policy, effectively enforcing U. S. immigration law and cutting regulations that undermine job creation.

A president ought to have created jobs and met payrolls and have substantial private-sector executive experience. Chief executives shouldnt kill job-creating projects like the Keystone pipeline or pack the government with tree-hugging, NPR-addicted environmental fanatics as President Obama has done.

U.S. unemployment is far higher than Obama and Hillary Clinton claim; the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 95 million Americans arent even in the labor force.

The BLS also reported on Sept. 2 that 12.3 million Americans hold manufacturing jobs while a whopping 21.9 million work for government on the federal, state and local levels.

Think about that: Nearly twice as many Americans work for government as make things.

Hillary is a liberal lawyer who has spent most of her career either employed by government or seeking or serving in public positions. She favors much of whats led to our wasteful, bloated government.

But Donald Trump isnt a career politician. Hes not a lawyer and isnt married to one. Because hes not part of the Washington, DC, establishment, hell effectuate substantive changes that can benefit U.S. workers.

Yes, Hillary has experience. But the USA isnt as respected, strong, successful or feared as we were and can be again. Were getting rolled, and not only by China and Iran; Mexico and other countries thumb their noses at us for not enforcing our own immigration laws.

How will Americans benefit from the kind of experience that helped create this mess? Hillary opposes Trumps plan to lower the U.S. corporate income tax rate. This tax is passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for products and services.

The U.S. corporate income tax rate is the third-highest in the world. Its financially unwise, counterproductive and a harmful factor in U.S. corporations outsourcing jobs and relocating operations overseas.

Trump opposes the pro-China Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is a bad deal for our workers. Hillary is for it, and she lied about it in the first debate. She also likes ObamaCare, which Bill Clinton on Oct. 3 candidly described as a proven job killer thats the craziest thing in the world.

Teamsters President James R. Hoffa said ObamaCare will not only shatter our hard-earned health benefits but will destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the middle class.

United Food and Commercial Workers union chief Joe Hansen also warned of ObamaCares job-killing impact on workers.

Americans are losing jobs and work to illegal aliens. But Hillary wants amnesty for illegals and she backs Obamas executive orders to let them stay.

Amnesty of the kind Hillary wants will cause an avalanche of lawsuits and inevitably lead to rubber-stamp approval of nearly all applicants.

Crime and tax rates will rise, as will problems with English-as-second-language students in public schools.

She wont eradicate sanctuary cities, whereas Trump will strike them down. She also wants to allow up to 65,000 more Syrian refugees into the U.S. But FBI director Jim Comey and the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, have admitted that not all such migrants can be properly vetted; this poses security risks.

Should our next president be yet another liberal lawyer who is married to one? If elected, Hillary will slide further down Obamas treacherous path.

Polls show that most Americans believe our nation is on the wrong track. Theyre pessimistic about the future. Has Obama improved your life? Ask yourself: Is Hillary trustworthy and ethical? Should yet another career politician win? Should we raise taxes and increase governments size, control and scope? Are you optimistic about your future, and do you want wage-killing policies expanded?

If youre worried about where Obama is taking us, look at what Hillary wants to do. Why sign the USA up for another round of pricey nation-wrecking to be led by a politician who blasted one of every two supporters of her opponent as being deplorables? Hillary now says she regrets her words, but does she, really?

Electing this arrogant, slick, greedy professional politician who thinks shes above the law to follow President Obama, would be like the Titanic backing up, and ramming the iceberg again.
Cargill sues Pyxis subsidiary

Swiss trading house Cargill is suing Sixthone Corp in personam, and the MR Pyxis Delta, her engines, boilers, tackle, furniture, apparel, appurtenances, etc, in rem, alleging they failed to comply with a contractual agreement.

According to reports from the US, Cargill filed a complaint on 16th September in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against the defendants. According to the documents, the plaintiff alleges that on 24th February, Cargill chartered the Pyxis Delta for a period of six months, plus an additional six months in charterers option. During the charter, the vessel was allegedly rejected several times for a proposed fixture, due to deficiencies, the suit said. Due to the defendant's alleged breach, the Cargill claimed it sustained damages totalling $209,962.50. Cargill held the defendants responsible because they allegedly failed to fulfill their obligation to ensure the vessel would not be disapproved by any major oil or oil trading company during the term of the charter. Cargill requested a trial by jury and sought an order directing that the Pyxis Delta be attached and arrested in the proceeding to the amount of the its claims, plus interest, costs, and attorneys' fees, judgement against defendants in an amount no less than $183,226.60 and other and further relief. The trading house is represented by Andrew S. de Klerk, T. Patrick OLeary and Brandon K. Thibodeaux of Frilot LLC in New Orleans. (US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-14760)




EGCSA calls for 2020 sulphur cap

The Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA) has presented its case in support of the implementation of the 2020 global sulphur emissions limit.

The EGCSA said that any delay to the global limit of 0.5% m/m SOx emissions will not only prolong air quality issues that harm human and environmental health, but also create further uncertainty in an industry already beset by difficulties. Don Gregory, director of EGCSA, highlighted the associations intimate involvement in regulatory and compliance development work regarding the SOx issue, including participation in EU sub-groups such as Port Reception Facilities, Measuring, Reporting & Verification and Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS), work on IMO EGCS guidelines and collaboration on both ISO and CIMAC fuel working groups, as well as work with relevant NGOs. Gregory pointed out that, by co-ordinating and collaborating with varied stakeholders and through the work of its members, EGCSA has taken concrete steps to enable the industry to install and operate sulphur abatement technologies more easily. The association has, for example, driven the adoption of a simple, realistic solution on how to measure and monitor scrubber washwater to meet the IMO criteria. It is now easier than ever for shipowners to be in compliance with an exhaust gas cleaning system because of this work, he claimed. Nils Hoy Petersen, managing director of Clean Marine and founding member of EGCSA, said, An early decision is essential to enable an ordered, safe and economic installation window prior to 2020. He went on to explain that, the EGCS industry is prepared for the challenge. However, this resource and capacity may become eroded if the decision is delayed. He suggested that by mobilising the newbuilding sector presently facing a down-turn to assist in design and installation, the capacity to provide EGCS will be even higher now than after 2020. EGCS are essentially portable and can be fabricated pretty much anywhere in the world and transported to the installation point. The EGCSA is of the opinion that the shipping industry could carry out installation of ballast water treatment and scrubber technology simultaneously to save on off-hire and create synergies, he said. Jan Kjetil Paulsen, senior adviser shipping of the Bellona foundation, said. Before ECAs were implemented, it was estimated that shipping caused 50,000 premature deaths in Europe every year. The purpose of the proposed 0.5% sulphur cap is to improve human health and further reduce the risk of thousands of premature deaths due to air pollution, he said. A dramatic reduction of SO 2 in the coastal waters of Denmark due to the introduction of ECAs, has been proven to lead to significant health improvements. If the 0.5% global sulphur cap is delayed that will, first of all, have a negative impact on the coastal waters that have no ECAs. These waters also happen to be in the proximity of some of the most densely populated regions in the world. Delaying the sulphur cap will therefore hit where it hurts the most, he warned. The international association represents more than 25 member companies dedicated to reducing sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate emissions from marine exhaust gas.




I am endorsing two hard-working women running for office, State Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm and Monica Vernon, who is running for Rep. Rod Blum's U.S. House seat.

Wilhelm is being demonized by the most negative and grossly misleading TV campaign ad (paid for by the Republican Party and approved by Waylon Brown) that I have seen in North Iowa.

Because Wilhelm is keenly aware of the need for jobs, she has voted for: 1. Keeping tuition affordable at community colleges where job training takes place. 2. A tax cut to working Iowans by aligning Iowa tax code to federal changes that helps small businesses, farmers and others. 3. Protecting rights of workers by funding wage theft investigators.

In conversation, I learned she personally helped a desperate Iowan relocate their needy loved one to a mental health facility after two were closed by Gov. Branstad. Wilhelm has worked for veterans by: 1. Protecting rights of deployed parents ensuring custody rights. 2. Facilitating attaining veterans designation on drivers licenses eliminating need to carry military documents. 3. Expanding voting periods for soldiers outside the U.S.

Sen. Wilhelm cares. To her, everyone is important and must have a voice.

Vernon, Cedar Rapids, is a small-business owner, city council member and six-year mayor pro tem. This tough mover and shaker led efforts to build a homeless center for women and children in Cedar Rapids.

Excellent at getting people to work together, Vernon helped coordinate massive flood recovery efforts with federal, state and local agencies that allowed Cedar Rapids to get back on its feet.

Vernon wants to simplify the tax code and get tough on corporations moving headquarters overseas, avoiding U.S. taxes. Supporting a fair market instead of a free market where the biggest rule, Vernon will work to give everyone a fair shot.

Johanna Anderson, Osage
ICS urges action on GHG emissions

As a response to the Paris Agreement on climate change, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has pledged national shipping associations support for the development of a timeline for the further reduction of the shipping sector's GHG emissions.

ICS has proposed that the details of a CO2 reduction commitment should be developed by the IMO, as soon as possible. The goal is to build on the substantial CO2 reductions already achieved by shipping, and the mandatory IMO CO2 reduction regime, which is already in force worldwide. Responding to the expectation that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) may reach agreement this week on a CO2 reduction plan for the aviation sector, ICS Chairman, Esben Poulsson, explained: Shipping is the only industrial sector which already has a mandatory global CO2 reduction regime in place, applicable to the entire world fleet and which predates the Paris Agreement by four years. Shipping has a very good story to tell. The most recent data from 2014 shows that shipping reduced its total CO2 emissions by over 10% in just five years, despite continuing growth in maritime trade. The binding IMO rules, in force worldwide since 2013, will mean that future ships will be even more efficient and most ships built after 2025 will be at least 30% more efficient than those delivered in the 2000s. It is amazing to consider that the most efficient ships today only burn 1 gram of fuel per tonne of cargo moved one kilometre. With bigger ships, better engines, cleaner fuels and operational efficiency measures, such as satellite-assisted speed management, we are confident of reducing CO2 emissions per tonne-kilometre by 50% by 2050. The industry also wants IMO to respond to the challenge of addressing the total CO2 emissions from the sector if demand for maritime trade continues to increase due to population growth and economic development  factors over which the industry has no control. The first step will be a global CO2 data collection system for ships, which IMO member states will officially establish this October, with full industry support (see above). This system should then become fully operational by 2018. But ICS asserted that, in the same way that governments under the Paris Agreement have set out Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for reducing the total GHG emissions by their national economies, IMO needs to do something similar on behalf of the international shipping industry, even though it is a sector and not a country. Poulsson, explained: We wish to see IMO member states adopt a course similar to that agreed by governments in Paris and which reflects the spirit of the Agreement. This will help IMO member states to demonstrate they are serious about building on the real progress already made by the shipping industry to reduce CO2. Our hope is that this can be done in a way that will also be acceptable to developing nations whose support will be vital if IMO is to continue making progress on a global basis.




Markets - VLCCs in the ascendancy

A markedly different week for VLCCs - Following a couple of escalating rate weeks for all major routes except MEG, volumes in the Gulf increased sharply, Fearnleys said in its weekly report.

This created a situation of adding momentum over the past week. Rates went up sharply as tonnage for October became tighter. However, the earnings were barely $25,000 per day for MEG/East voyages. WAfrica/East rates were also slightly up from last done but eyes switched to BOT stem confirmations and the increased activity in West Africa, as November dates came into play. Suezmaxes saw TD20 peak at WS110. There was a sharp correction downward, as tonnage increased and owners resilience eroded. Charterers sat back for the early 3rd decade allowing rates to slide into the mid WS80s. The Med and Black Sea regions started to see some activity with notable enquiry for eastern destinations. Rates fell but not at the pace seen in West Africa, due to owners insisting that the East commanded a decent TCE return to persuade tonnage to reposition for the winter months. The Med and Black sea will follow suit, as sentiment further erodes and fundamentals dictate the next move, Fearnleys said. Aframax owners in the North Sea and Baltic managed to turn the market to their advantage and pushed rates up by WS30 points. This was mainly due to the Russian loading programme ex Baltic being the longest since April. However, rates are again under downward pressure, as more ballasters were coming to the area. The CPP market looking even less promising going forward, so LR2s were seeking dirty cargoes. Less activity and as a result, a longer tonnage list made it easier for charterers to create competition. For example, Petrogal received 11 offers and fixed W70 ex Sidi Kerir. At this stage, the only two things that can salvage this market would be the ongoing maintenance in Trieste, combined with possible increased weather delays in the Turkish straits, Fearnleys concluded. Newbuilding orders were again at a premium. Euronav announced that it had signed two long-term time charter contracts of seven years each with Valero Energy for Suezmax tonnage with an Ice Class 1C capability starting in 2018. To fulfil this contract, two high spec Ice Class Suezmaxes have been ordered from Hyundai Heavy Industries. Specifications for these vessels include a substantially increased steel structure, specific emissions controls and other bespoke operational capabilities. Delivery of these vessels is expected in early 2018 when each of the timecharter contracts is due to begin. CEO Paddy Rodgers said: Euronav and its predecessors have been serving the Quebec refinery with purpose built newbuildings since 1998. In a world of continuous change our commitment to serve our customer remains a constant point. There have been a few sales with lease backs reported recently. For example, Concordia Maritime confirmed that it is selling the IMOIIMAX tanker Stena Image to a Japanese financial institution on a leaseback agreement for $37.5 mill. The vessel will be chartered back to Concordia on a bareboat basis for eight years, with annual purchase options from year four onwards. Her delivery to the buyer is scheduled for the middle of this month. She will continue to operate in the Stena Weco Pool. Fearnley Securities has acted as sole arranger and financial advisor to the company for the transaction, Concordia said. Ocean Yield has also announced the delivery of the 49,000 dwt IMO II chemical tanker Navig8 Tourmaline from STX. Following her delivery, the vessel commenced a 15-year hell and high water bareboat charter to Navig8 Chemical Tankers. She is the seventh in a series of total eight chemical tankers that will be chartered to Navig8. Navig8 Chemical Tankers has also revealed it has cancelled contracts to build five IMO II MRs at STX. The vessels, which were ordered in October and December, 2015, were scheduled for delivery next year. Navig8 initially ordered a series of nine MRs. Two have been delivered and another two are imminent, including the Navig8 Tourmaline in October (see above) and Navig8 Tanzanite in November. Navig8 said that all pre-delivery instalments have been refunded by the Korea Development Bank, together with interest, as part of the refund guarantee provided by the bank. Elsewhere, MOL took delivery of the 50,000 dwt methanol carrier Manchac Sun from Minaminippon Shipbuilding on 28th September.



Manchac Sun is one of the world's first vessels in a series equipped with 2-stroke, dual-fuelled, low-rev main engine, capable of running on methanol, which is a biodegradable clean burning marine fuel. She will be operated on a long term timecharter to Waterfront Shipping. Waterfront operates the world's largest methanol deepsea tanker fleet. Meanwhile, brokers reported the charter of the 2005-built Suezmax United Kalavryta to ST Shipping for one to three months at $23,000- $25,000 per day. Laurin reportedly took the 2009-built MR Omodos for 12 months at $13,000 per day, while the 2007-built MR Jag Pranav was believed fixed to HPL for 90 days at $14,400 per day, basis delivery West Coast India. In the S&P sector, Korea Line was believed to have purchased two MR newbuildings on the back of a charter to Parakou. The 1998-built Aframax Nassau Energy was thought to have been sold to Karadeniz for $11.8 mill. This maybe for another power conversion project. A 1998-built MR, Skazochnyj Most, was said to have been sold to Singapore interests on subjects with her SS overdue. The price paid was believed to be $5.3 mill. Soechi was thought to have purchased the 2001-built Handysize Poulopum. Leaving the fleet was the 1988-built MR Zeta, which was said to have been sold to Pakistan breakers for $291 per ldt.








MEPC 70 to discuss mandatory rule changes

The IMOs Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 70th session under the chairmanship of Arsenio Dominguez (Panama) is due to meet between 24th-28th October.

There are several major items on the agenda for this session, including the adoption of mandatory data collection system for fuel consumption under MARPOL Annex VI requirements, the IMO said in a preview. Under the proposed draft amendments, ships of 5,000 gt and above will be required to collect consumption data for each type of fuel they use, as well as other, additional, specified data, including proxies for transport work. The aggregated data will then be reported to the flag state after the end of each calendar year and the flag state, having determined that the data has been reported in accordance with the requirements, will issue a Statement of Compliance to the ship. Flag states will be subsequently required to transfer this data to an IMO Ship Fuel Consumption Database. IMO would be required to produce an annual report to the MEPC, summarising the data collected. Data would be presented anonymously so individual ships data would not be recognised. In addition, the MEPC is expected to continue to build on the work the organisation has undertaken to address greenhouse gas emissions. To date, IMO is the only organisation to have adopted energy-efficiency measures that are legally binding across an entire global industry. Energy-efficiency design standards for new ships and associated operational energy-efficiency measures for existing ships became mandatory in 2013, with the entry into force of relevant amendments to MARPOL Annex VI. Data received by the IMO secretariat has identified that so far more than 1,900 ships have been certified as complying with the new energy efficiency design standards. The committee will consider the report of a correspondence group on the status of technological developments relevant to implementing Phase 2 of the EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) regulations. The energy-efficiency regulations require IMO to the review the status of technological developments and, if proven necessary, amend the time periods, the EEDI reference line parameters for relevant ship types and reduction rates. Following a wide-ranging discussion on future work to further address greenhouse gas emissions from ships, at MEPC 69, the committee is expected to establish a working group at MEPC 70 for an in-depth debate on how to progress the matter. The MEPC agreed in principle at its last session to take a decision at MEPC 70 on the implementation date for the global 0.5% m/m sulphur cap for fuel oil, based on the outcome of a review, which has been submitted to the session. A Steering Committee consisting of 13 member states, one intergovernmental organisation and six international non-governmental ,has overseen the review. The MEPC will also consider the designation of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea as emission control areas (ECA) for nitrogen oxides (NOx) under regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI. All coastal state parties having a common interest in each particular area have co-sponsored the proposal, which would see both ECAs enter into effect on 1st January, 2021. Designation as a NOx ECA would require marine diesel engines to comply with the Tier III NOx emission limit when installed on ships constructed on or after 1st January, 2021 and operating in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The MEPC will address draft amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI bunker delivery note relating to the supply of marine fuel oil to vessels, which have fitted alternative mechanisms to address sulphur emissions requirements. The draft amendments to Appendix V of MARPOL Annex VI are intended to address situations where the fuel oil supplied does not meet low sulphur requirements, but has been supplied to a ship which is using equivalent means (eg, abatement technology such as scrubbers) to reduce the sulphur oxide emissions from the ship in order to comply with MARPOL requirements. The MEPC will also be asked to approve draft guidelines for on board sampling for the verification of the sulphur content of fuel oil used on board. The guidelines provide an agreed method for sampling to enable effective control and enforcement of liquid fuel oil used on board ships under the provisions of MARPOL Annex VI. In addition, the committee will approve draft unified interpretations to the NOx Technical Code 2008 related to the approval of selective catalytic reduction systems to meet NOx standards. MEPC 70 is also is expected to consider with a view to adoption: - Amendments to MARPOL Annex I to update Form B of the supplement to the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate, in relation to segregated ballast tanks. - Amendments to MARPOL Annex V related to products, which are hazardous to the marine environment (HME) substances and Form of Garbage Record Book. Turning to the BWM Convention, which was ratified on 8th September, on the agenda is a review of the Guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (G8), taking into account the outcome of work carried out in a correspondence group and an inter-sessional working group, which will meet during the week preceding MEPC 70. The MEPC is also expected to consider matters under the agreed roadmap for the implementation of the BWM Convention, including the development of guidance on contingency measures and will also continue discussions on exemptions and exceptions to the BWM Convention, including proposals on the concept of same risk area. Further ballast water management systems that make use of active substances will be considered for Basic and Final Approval, following consideration of the report of the 33rd meeting of the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environment Protection (GESAMP) Ballast Water Working Group. Finally, the revised section II of the Manual on Oil Pollution  Contingency Planning; and the draft Guide on oil spill response in ice and snow conditions will be submitted to MEPC 70 for approval




Protective measures still needed in GoA/Indian Ocean - IMO/ EUNAVFOR

Commercial shipping should continue to take protective measures against possible piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean through diligent application of IMO guidance and Best Management Practices (BMPs).

IMO secretary general Kitack Lim and Operation Commander Major General Rob Magowan of the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta, which operates off the coast of Somalia, reiterated this key message when they met at IMO Headquarters in London on Thursday. The two agreed that naval forces are still very much required in the West Indian Ocean to help prevent a possible resurgence of piracy and Lim welcomed the extension of the Operation Atalanta counter-piracy mandate to the end of 2018. They further agreed on the need to secure the release of the seafarers still remaining in captivity in Somalia.




SNI suffers lower profit and revenue

Stolt-Nielsen (SNI) reported a drop in net profit of $22.2 mill, with revenue of $474.1 mill for the third quarter of this year, compared with a net profit of $37.8 mill, with revenue of $478.9 mill, in 2Q16.

Net profit for the first nine months of 2016 was also down at $90.3 mill, with revenue of $1,416.9 mill, compared with a net profit of $111.3 mill, and revenue of $1,489.1 mill, in the first nine months of last year. Stolt Tankers reported a significant drop in operating profit to $31.4 mill, compared with $45.3 mill, reflecting lower deepsea rates and reduced COA volume, and a loss on bunker hedges of $0.5 mill, compared with a gain of $6.5 mill in 2Q16, SNI said. Stolthaven Terminals reported an operating profit of $14.8 mill, up from $13.8 mill, reflecting improved operating performance at its wholly owned terminals. Stolt Tank Containers' operating profit was unchanged at $10.7 mill, as marginally lower trading results were offset by higher income from joint ventures. Stolt Sea Farm's operating profit before fair value adjustment of inventories was $1.9 mill, up from $0.4 mill. The fair value adjustment had a positive impact of $0.6 mill, compared with a positive impact of $3 mill in the previous quarter. Corporate and Other reported an operating loss of $6.7 mill, compared with a loss of $3.9 mill, predominantly due to an increased accrual for profit sharing and long-term incentive plans, and an impairment of accounts receivable. Commenting on the company's results, Niels Stolt-Nielsen, SNIs CEO, said: "Stolt-Nielsen's third-quarter results were mixed. Stolt Tankers' results were held down by weak summer demand, combined with the impact of Chinese production cutbacks and a weaker clean petroleum products (CPP) market, which pushed swing tonnage into the chemical tanker markets. As expected, the result was a reduction in volume with a corresponding softness in spot freight rates. Stolthaven Terminals continued to see an improvement in operating results for the quarter, reflecting both higher utilisation and throughput volumes, as actions to enhance Stolthaven's performance continued to gradually take effect. At Stolt Tank Containers, while shipments were down this quarter, both margin per shipment and gross margins held up, indicating that the aggressive price competition in STC's markets may be easing up. Stolt Sea Farm's results strengthened as prices and volumes sold for turbot were up in the third quarter. "It is difficult to forecast what the year ahead may bring. Volume growth has not kept pace with supply-side growth, a situation made more acute by the recent influx of CPP swing tonnage. On the demand side, the weak return volumes from China and the Far East are likely to continue. At Stolthaven, ongoing actions to improve performance globally are steadily yielding sustainable results in line with our expectations. As we have said, while it will take time to achieve our objectives, the process now underway is moving in the right direction, he said. Stolt-Nielsens third quarter results were lower than we and consensus had predicted although continuing its impressive record of 51 positive net earnings in a row, Norne Securities said. The authority approval for the acquisition of Jo Tankers is expected by the end of the fiscal year, while previously,the end of September was the due date. Stolt-Nielsen recently announced the acquisition of Jo Tankers chemical tanker operation segment - 13 chemical tankers and a 50% share in a joint venture with eight chemical tanker newbuildings - for $575 mill. The transaction was said to be a subject to competition authority approval, and the decision was first expected before the end of September, 2016. It was announced on Thursday that the approval was delayed until the end of the year, however, no other details were disclosed, Norne said.




Synergy Marine Group, a shipmanagement company involved in the tanker, gas, drybulk and containership sectors, has opted for Q88's voyage management solution, Q88VMS.

Q88s voyage management solution was chosen to support the companys commercial operations delivered through Synergy Marine Commercial Management.

"We evaluated a number of voyage management systems in our selection process, but felt that there was a natural strategic fit between Synergy Marine Group and Q88", said Capt Madhu Vadakkepat, Synergy Marine Commercial Management director. "Our respective companies prioritise continuous innovation and exploit the possibilities of the latest technologies to keep ahead of the rapidly changing industry trends."

Q88VMS, the latest product in Q88s portfolio, is a web-based platform for managing all voyage related information. The system supports chartering, fixture creation and voyage operations, including Q88s unique email module through which all voyage communications and data can be managed in a single workspace.

Fritz Heidnereich, Q88 president, said, "We are very excited about further developing our long standing partnership with Synergy Marine, which dates back to 2008. Working with one of the most well respected and innovative companies in the Far East presents a great opportunity for the growth of Q88VMS.
RENO, Nev., Oct. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) plans to announce its third quarter 2016 financial results in a press release that will be issued on Monday, November 7, 2016 after the market close. The Company has scheduled a conference call to discuss the results at 9 a.m. EST on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.



To participate, please dial 1-877-511-6790 approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. If calling from Canada, please dial 1-855-669-9657. If calling outside of the United States and Canada, please dial 1-412-902-4141. Please request the Ormat Technologies, Inc. call when prompted by the conference call operator. The conference call will also be webcast live from the Investor Relations section of the Company's website on www.ormat.com/investors.

A replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call. To access the replay, please dial 1-877-344-7529, or from outside of the United States 1-412-317-0088 and use the replay conference ID number 10093626. The webcast will also be archived on www.ormat.com/investors.

About Ormat Technologies

With over five decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG), with the objective of becoming a leading global provider of renewable energy. The company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter - a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. With 72 U.S. patents, Ormats power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has 450 employees in the United States and over 600 overseas. Ormats flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power and REG are ideal for the vast range of resource characteristics. The company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling over 2,000 MW of gross capacity. Ormats current 707 MW generating portfolio is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala, Guadeloupe and Kenya.

Ormats Safe Harbor Statement

Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2016.

These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:SYH) (OTCBB:SYHBF) (Frankfurt:SC1P) (Skyharbour) is pleased to announce that it has completed and filed an NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Moore Lake property currently being optioned from Denison Mines Corp. (TSX:DML) (NYSE MKT:DNN) (Denison). The Technical Report is the culmination of previously reported and compiled historical data and geological reports and was commissioned in preparation for an upcoming drill program Skyharbour plans to carry out on the project. It provides a detailed description of the project including the historical exploration and drill results previously reported, as well as recommendations for future exploration programs. The Technical Report may be found on the Company website or under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.



Moore Lake Uranium Project Claims Map:

http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/MooreLakeRegionalTenure.jpg

Skyharbour recently announced an option to acquire 100% of the Moore Lake uranium project from Denison. The 35,705 hectare Moore Lake Project is an advanced uranium exploration property strategically located in the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region, which is known for its large scale and high grade uranium deposits and producing uranium mines. Previous exploration efforts on the property discovered high-grade uranium mineralization highlighted by drill hole ML-61, which intersected 4.03% eU 3 O 8 over 10 metres at the Maverick Zone. The depth to the unconformity on the property is relatively shallow and significant additional discovery potential remains over several conductive trends both at the unconformity and in the underlying basement rocks. The Company is currently planning an initial drill program at the flagship Moore Lake project with details and news forthcoming.

Moore Lake Uranium Project Geological Description:

The Moore Lake Property is located approximately 15 km west of the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin and lies along the eastern edge of the Wollaston-Mudjatic Transition Zone (WMTZ) and the eastern Wollaston Domain. The property is unconformably overlain by 200 to 325 metres of Athabasca sandstone. The sub-Athabasca crystalline basement rocks on the property consists of Archean granitic gneisses overlain by graphitic and aluminous pelitic gneisses, psammopelitic gneisses, psammites and Hudsonian granites. The dominant structural fabric is northeast trending, cut by several interpreted east-west and 070 trending structures.

Moore Lake Uranium Project Geophysics Map:

http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/MooreLake-Basic-geo-revamp.jpg

Skyharbour has yet to carry out any exploration on the property but the previous Kennecott-JNR-Denison joint ventures identified zones of mineralization including the main Maverick Zone as well as the 527 Zone and the Maverick NEX 525 Zones. Several other significant zones of potential mineralization also exist on the property. The Maverick Zone is found proximal to the Athabasca unconformity, typically just below and extending below the unconformity, at approximately 275 metres depth. The mineralization is thought to be controlled by a sub-vertical to a steeply dipping dextral strike-slip fault zone that controls the main Maverick Structural Corridor and intersecting moderately dipping graphitic stratigraphy. Intense fracturing and de-silicification, bleaching and clay alteration affect the sandstone over the fault zone. The basement rocks in turn are intensely bleached or clay replaced up to several metres below the unconformity along with sheared, brecciated and gouged intervals in the graphitic units. Some of the better previously reported historical drill results include: ML-48 which returned 4.015% U 3 O 8 over 4.7 m; ML-55 which returned 5.14% U 3 O 8 over 6.2 m; ML-61 which returned 4.03% eU 3 O 8 over 10.0 m including 19.96% eU 3 O 8 over 1.4 m; and ML-83 which returned 11.1 m of 1.81% U 3 O 8 , including 3.0 m of 5.64% U 3 O 8 , 7.1% nickel and 2.55% cobalt.

Approximately 350 metres northeast of the Maverick Zone a similar zone of mineralization named the 527 Zone was identified. The best result obtained was from drill hole ML-101 which returned 1.53% U 3 O 8 over 6.6 metres, including 2.22% U 3 O 8 over 4.0 metres. These intervals of mineralization were accompanied by highly anomalous cobalt, copper, nickel and other pathfinder elements including boron in the sandstone and basement rocks. Despite the positive drilling results to date no reserve or resource calculations have been completed for any of the mineralized zones.

Significant potential exists along the Maverick NEX target zone which occupies the northeastern 1.3 km of the Northeast Maverick Structural Corridor. Three northeast trending sub parallel graphitic conductors over a width of 450 metres were intersected accompanied by local structural disruption, clay alteration and anomalous copper, lead, nickel, zinc, boron, vanadium and uranium. The overlying sandstone column is likewise locally geochemically anomalous and affected by structural disruption, bleaching and desilicification but not to the extent that it is over the Maverick Zone. The best result from the Maverick NEX target was 4.5 metres of sandstone mineralization just above the unconformity grading 0.226% U 3 O 8 in drill hole ML-525. There are several other exploration targets of note that occur on the property as well, that have yet to be fully tested.

The Moore Lake Project is at an advanced stage of uranium exploration with extensive work having been carried out on numerous target areas property wide, but in particular on the Maverick Structural corridor. In the opinion of the Author of the Technical Report, there still remains a great deal of exploration potential remaining on the project lands.

The independent NI 43-101 technical report dated October 3, 2016, entitled TECHNICAL REPORT on the MOORE LAKE PROPERTY, was issued by Cypress Geoservices Limited. Independent qualified person, Mr. Dave Billard, P.Geo., is responsible for the contents of the technical report.

Qualified Person:

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Richard Kusmirski, P.Geo., M.Sc., Skyharbours Head Technical Advisor and a Director, as well as a Qualified Person.

About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.:

Skyharbour holds an extensive portfolio of uranium and thorium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market fundamentals with five drill-ready projects. In July 2016, Skyharbour acquired an option from Denison Mines to acquire 100% of the Moore Lake Uranium Project which is located 20 kilometres east of Denisons Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Camecos McArthur River mine. Moore Lake is an advanced stage uranium exploration property with over $30 million in historical exploration, 370 drill holes, and a high-grade zone known as the Maverick Zone with drill results including 4.03% e U3O8 over 10 metres at a depth of 265 metres. The Company owns a 100% interest in the Falcon Point (formerly Way Lake) Uranium Project on the eastern perimeter of the Basin which hosts an NI 43-101 inferred resource totaling 7.0 million pounds of U3O8 at 0.03% and 5.3 million pounds of ThO2 at 0.023%. The project also hosts a high grade surface showing with up to 68% U3O8 in grab samples from a massive pitchblende vein, the source of which has yet to be discovered. Skyharbour also has a 50% interest in the large, geologically prospective Preston Uranium Project proximal to Fission Uraniums Triple R deposit as well as NexGen Energys Arrow deposit. The Companys 100% owned Mann Lake Uranium project on the east side of the Basin is strategically located adjacent to the Mann Lake Joint Venture operated by Cameco with partners Denison Mines and AREVA, where high-grade uranium mineralization was recently discovered. Skyharbours goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.

To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:SYH) visit the Companys website at www.skyharbourltd.com.

SKYHARBOUR RESOURCES LTD.

Jordan Trimble



Jordan Trimble

President and CEO

For further information contact myself or:

Nick Findler

Corporate Development and Communications

Skyharbour Resources Ltd.

Telephone: 604-687-3850

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@skyharbourltd.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
The state of Nevada last week issued paralyzed former Indy driver Sam Schmidt a license to drive a specially made autonomous vehicle, equipped with a series of high-tech sensors and other equipment that will allow him to operate it with head motions, voice commands and breathing techniques.

The license allows Schmidt to operate the Arrow SAM car, a modified Corvette Z06 developed by Arrow Electronics, alongside regular passenger traffic  an important development in the history of the burgeoning autonomous vehicle industry.

When we think about the opportunities to enable mobility in a safe fashion, autonomous vehicles and semi-autonomous driving are really exciting, Kelley Blue Book Senior Analyst Rebecca Lindland told TechNewsWorld.

Arrow is collaborating on the SAM car project with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Paravan, and Schmidts Conquer Paralysis Now foundation.

The car, a modified 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray, allows a qualified quadriplegic driver  in this case, Schmidt, who was paralyzed in a car crash more than a decade ago  to control the steering, brakes, and other functions of the car with just the tilt of his head.

Schmidt wears a helmet outfitted with sensors that connect to dash-mounted infrared cameras. He breathes into a sip-and-puff device to control acceleration and braking, and he also exercises control through verbal commands.

Schmidt earlier this year drove the car at 152 mph during a demonstration at the Indy 500.

He showed off his hairpin turning skills with Indy driver Robby Unser at his side at the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Test Phase

The license issued to Schmidt is heavily restricted, according to Nevada officials.

This isnt something at this time that anyone with a disability could simply elect to be a part of, said Alexandra Smith, spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

The technology is still in development and being closely monitored, she told TechNewsWorld.

Schmidt is authorized to drive a vehicle with a valid autonomous vehicle testing license issued to Arrow Electronics, only within the state of Nevada, according to Smith. That vehicle must be directly behind a pilot vehicle provided by Arrow Electronics, and a licensed driver provided by the company must be in the car in a position to take over control of Schmidts car immediately.

The autonomous vehicle is not permitted to drive in snow or ice, and the vehicle must be driven only on highways the state has designated for autonomous driving.

Nevada has been one of the most progressive states in the U.S> in terms of testing autonomous vehicle technology.

Daimler Chrysler is among the automakers licensed to use the technology in Nevada, and it has been testing commercial trucks, Smith confirmed.

Reg Reform

The announcement of Schmidts special license comes amid a series of fast-moving advances in the autonomous driving industry. The U.S. Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month announced new guidelines for the autonomous vehicle industry, which are designed to created a level of uniformity across the country in terms of setting up a safety and regulatory framework for the industry.

Uber last month announced the launch of an autonomous vehicle test program in Pittsburgh, which will give officials a chance to see ride-sharing with self-driving Ford Fusion vehicles in real-world conditions, including a wide range of weather conditions, urban congestion, and a variety of terrain types, from cobblestone streets to hills.

An autonomous vehicle went the wrong way down a one-way street near the University of Pittsburgh, according to a news report.

Uber has no record of the incident, spokesperson Chelsea Kohler told TechNewsWorld, and it apparently isnt clear whether the car in question was in self-driving mode at the time, or if the reported wrong-way driving was a case of human error.
Perhaps still reeling from whats widely viewed as the bruising he took in a debate watched by more than 80 million people on TV earlier this week  countless more online  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday opened a campaign rally with a previously discredited attack.

Trump began his speech at the Waukesha, Wisconsin, event by touting an online Google poll that showed him up two points nationwide  but then followed that by saying Googles search engine was biased in favor of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Google was manipulating search results to suppress negative stories about her, Trump claimed.

Trump did not elaborate on the basis for his accusation or indicate whether his campaign had made any formal complaint about the issue. Campaign officials did not respond to our request for further details.

Debunked Conspiracy Theory

The allegation echoes a conspiracy theory that surfaced after Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination earlier this year. In brief, it accuses Google of meddling with its autocomplete algorithm to prevent negative results from turning up in response to searches of Hillary Clintons name.

However, Googles autocomplete feature is designed to avoid completing name searches with offensive or inappropriate material regardless of who is the subject of the search, explained Tamar Yehoshua, vice president of product management for Google Search, in a post published in response to those charges.

Autocompletion is not an exact science, and the output of prediction algorithms depends in part on the popularity and freshness of search terms, Yehoshua wrote.

Those making the accusations had suggested there was a conspiracy between the Clinton campaign and Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google parent Alphabet and a supporter of President Obama.

A Google spokeperson declined to comment on Trumps Wednesday remark but pointed to the companys earlier denials of bias and its explanation of the autocomplete feature.

Clinton campaign officials did not respond to our request to comment for this story.

Difficult to Pin Down

Trumps accusation is so vague, it is hard to say just what we are talking about, let alone whether it has any merit, Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, told the E-Commerce Times.

It is unlikely that an outside party can predict with any degree of accuracy whether Googles algorithms are biased one way or the other, suggested Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Googles news aggregation service also is based on algorithms, as are a great many online information services.

Its impossible to make a definitive analysis of whether Googles news feed has a bias against Donald Trump, Krewell told the E-Commerce Times, but Googles news feed is based on an algorithm which likely weighs the relative importance of the sources.

The news algorithm, therefore, would favor widely read sources and more reliable sources over smaller, less established niche sites.

Facebook Brouhaha

A controversy over Facebooks alleged algorithm-tampering erupted earlier this year, following publication of an inside story accusing staff of manipulating its Trending Topics.

Human team members were curating the feed, according to the report, downplaying certain information that came from politically conservative outlets.

The company conducted an internal investigation and found no systematic effort to manipulate trending topics. However, after sitting down with a group of conservatives, including media pundits and officials, CEO Mark Zuckerbergagreed to make several changes in how it compiled the Trending Topics.

For example, Facebook ended the policy of relying on outside websites or news outlets to determine whether stories were worthy of inclusion.
Online gaming is a big deal throughout most of Asia, especially in China, which has the world's largest internet user population - over 750 million people. Addiction among its younger population has led the country to propose some extreme measures, including the banning of anyone under 18 from playing online games after midnight.

The Cyberspace Administration of China's rules also suggest that schools work with the controversial internet rehabilitation centers that have flourished in the country. The South China Morning Post reports that these military-style boot camps are resorting to methods such as electric shocks and physical punishment as ways of stopping young people from playing online games.

"This is a disaster for Chinese teenagers," said lawyer Wang Qiushi. "More such boot camps might emerge after the passage of this regulation."

Approximately 74 percent of internet users in China are aged between ten and thirty-nine, and 23 percent are under the age of nineteen.

It will be the responsibility of developers to block minors from playing online games between the hours of 12 AM and 8 AM every day. Those under 18 would have to register to play using their ID, with all the information then stored on the company's servers. The rules also ask developers to create software for detecting underage users, and to design games in a way that deters young people from becoming addicted.

China already has regulations that attempt to curb minors' online gaming habits. In 2007, authorities instructed game operators to deduct points from younger players if they spend more than three hours on a game. Three years later, game firms were told to clamp down on under-18s using fake IDs by verifying their identity numbers with a database provided by the Ministry of Public Security.

The proposals are open to public feedback until the end of October. Users of Chinese social media site Weibo have already expressed their opposition to the plans. "How do we define internet addiction? We all work in an office in front of the computer for at least eight hours. My younger brother uses a computer at school. Who is the internet addict? Everyone," wrote one commentator.
When the Nokia 3310 was released back in the year 2000, it gained a reputation as the Chuck Norris of cell phones. If it were on the Mohs scale of hardness, the 3310 would knock diamond off the top spot. But it seems the more recent Nokia handsets - a Nokia 301 in this instance, first released in 2013 - are just as invincible, with one reportedly saving a man's life by stopping a bullet.

A picture posted on Twitter showed the remains of the Nokia. You can see the back end of the projectile protruding from the rear of the phone, with the tip sticking out of the smashed screen.

The image comes from Peter Skillman, a former Nokia executive who now works for Microsoft as the general manager for user experience at Windows Desktop. He says he worked on the team that originally developed the 301, and claims the sturdy handset's heroics saved a man in Afganistan last week.

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week. The embedded bullet.... pic.twitter.com/O2zBxadkDO --- peter skillman (@peterskillman) October 5, 2016

Being the internet, questions over the legitimacy of the story have been raised. When asked to provide more information, Skillman said he was handed the phone by co-worker and failed to provide a source; instead, he posted a link to a similar 2012 story of a Nokia X2 that stopped a bullet in Syria.

Skillman's association with Nokia also suggests that all may not be as it seems, but there have been plenty of other reports in the past of mobile phones stopping bullets, including a Nokia Lumia 520 saving a Brazilian police officer's life in 2014 when he was shot by armed thieves.

A shame the person in this instance wasn't carrying a Nokia 3310, as the bullet would have likely rebounded, leaving barely a scratch on the handset.
The European Union is reported to be on the process of placing an end to Google's dominance in Europe by imposing a heavy fine believed to be around 10 percent of the company's annual revenue worldwide, an amount that they consider sufficient to establish deterrence.

It can be remembered that the European Union antitrust regulators accused Google for violating the antitrust regulations by providing payments for smartphone makers in exchange for preinstalling Google Play Store with Google Search on their devices.

The European Union hinted that this move can be considered appropriate since doing such simply suggests that Google is taking advantage of the dominant position it currently holds in the mobile market.

Although the European Union didn't mention the amount of fine that it plans to slap Google with, a series of leaked documents revealed that the figure can possibly go as much as $7.5 billion, which is roughly about 10 percent of the company's 2015 annual revenue.

According to tech experts, the fine that Google might be facing will most likely cover some of the cases that the European Union has filed against the company. First, in April 2015, Google was accused of favoring the comparison-shopping service it owns.

Second is the case in April 2016, when EU accused Google of influencing or pressuring telcos and handset makers to preinstall Google Apps, particularly the Google Search, and at the same time preventing such entities to sell handsets that are using Android's non-Google flavors.

Finally, an accusation claiming that Google has prevented AdSense users from displaying advertisements that are derived from different advertising platforms has surfaced in July 2016.

In the event that the European Union will require Google to pay such amount as a way of ending the company's dominance in Europe, it will probably be considered as the highest fine that the union has imposed, beating the $1.44 billion fine that it required Intel to pay in 2009, as well as the $3.23 billion fine it slapped on Daimler, Volvo and MAN.

Currently, Google has obtained a new extension that will allow the company to file its rebuttal against the charges thrown against it. Thus, the company now has up to Oct. 13 to furnish EU with its response regarding the Google Shopping charges and up to Oct. 26 to file their response to the AdSense issue.

By just looking at the dates mentioned earlier, it is quite safe to conclude that EU's plans of putting an end to Google dominance in Europe will still have to undergo a long process before it can require the tech company to pay the imposed fine.

Photo: Carlos Luna | Flickr

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Yahoo is still reeling from its massive data breach expose after the public learned last week that hackers had allegedly stolen the login details of at least 500 million accounts in 2014.

But apart from the hackers breaking in, Yahoo may also be responsible for a certain kind of email hacking of its own doing, according to reports.

Reuters published a report on Tuesday that Yahoo had built a custom-made system that not only stored messages but also monitored, in real time, the email accounts of Yahoo users, at the request of the National Security Agency. Sources cited by Reuters, however, did not identify the type of data handed over to the NSA.

The incident, considered to be the very first of its kind, was supposedly the reason behind the resignation of then-security chief Alex Stamos, who is now heading up security at Facebook.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden himself weighed in on the matter.

"Any major email service not clearly, categorically denying this tomorrow  without careful phrasing  is as guilty as Yahoo," tweeted Snowden, who in 2013 exposed details regarding the government's surveillance tactics.

Tech companies were quick to deny similar acts.

"We have never engaged in the secret scanning of email traffic like what has been reported today about Yahoo," a Microsoft spokesperson wrote to Vocativ about the issue. Microsoft has been firm in its stance but does not deny having been approached.

A Google representative took a firmer stand on the issue.

"We've never received such a request, but if we did, our response would be simple: 'No way'," shared the company representative.

Facebook, on the other hand, has "never received a request like the one described in these news reports from any government."

"And if we did, we would fight it," a spokesperson from Facebook told Vocativ.

Neither has Twitter received such a request.

"Were we to receive it we'd challenge it in a court," said one Twitter representative when discussing the matter with BuzzFeed.

As for Cupertino, Apple is famous for its strident stance on privacy but says it has never received any requests from the NSA to perform surveillance on users.

"We have never received a request of this type. If we were to receive one, we would oppose it in court," said an Apple representative when asked about Yahoo's current predicament.

Yahoo has become subject to scrutiny lately, especially after Reuters published its report this week. Some have been quick to judge Yahoo's actions as unconstitutional and unprecedented while others have questioned whether or not the NSA has violated, or at least changed, its rules and failed to inform the public.

So far, Yahoo has not specifically tackled the accusations but says it is complying with U.S. laws on such matters.

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John Legere, the colorful and outspoken CEO of T-Mobile, has promised that he would be sending someone to Mars if a certain condition is fulfilled.

In celebration of reaching the milestone of 3 million followers, Legere launched a contest on Twitter that has a SpaceX trip to Mars as the top prize.

When I joined @TMobile, people thought I was from Mars. I want say thx in an out-of-this-world-way for believing in me! https://t.co/W4X2ofKoBW pic.twitter.com/OWFwcOXRSv  John Legere (@JohnLegere) October 5, 2016

The T-Mobile CEO now wants to give thanks to those that believed in him in an out-of-this-world way.

It certainly was possible that people thought Legere was from another planet when he first broke into the telecommunications scene, due to his character not fitting the executive-like mold found in the CEOs of most companies.

As can be seen in the image that accompanied the tweet, the prize the Legere will be giving away will depend on how many people retweet the message.

For 10,000 retweets, Legere will give away a free flight to anywhere within the United States, and at 50,000 retweets, Legere will be sending out a zero gravity chair. At 100,000 retweets, Legere will be giving the lucky winner a zero-gravity experience, and at 1 million retweets, a free trip to Mars on a SpaceX rocket will be given away.

The exact details of the Trip to Mars Sweepstakes were posted on Facebook. The free flight to any United States location will come in the form of airline credit worth $800, the zero gravity chair will be Relax the Back's Novus Zero Gravity Recliner and the zero-gravity experience will be carried out in the closest possible location to the winner.

For the trip to Mars, in case the prize will not be commercially available by SpaceX's promised year of 2024 or 2025, the winner will instead be given a check for $200,000.

According to a spokeswoman for T-Mobile, Legere simply said "Let's send someone to Mars!" after his Twitter account reached 3 million followers and hearing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk proclaim that travel to Mars would soon be possible for a ticket price of about $200,000.

Musk made the claim in September, in a speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico. He envisions a million people living on Mars within 40 years to 100 years, and unveiled the Interplanetary Transport System of SpaceX that would be capable of transporting at least 100 passengers to the planet per trip.

The winners of Legere's sweepstakes will be drawn on Oct. 12. At the time of writing, the tweet has only been retweeted nearly 5,700 times, so it might take a lot of extra publicity to get that prize for a trip to Mars.

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The human race has been responsible for global warming since the Industrial Revolution and recent studies suggest that the situation is more dire than ever. The levels of carbon emissions and greenhouse gas are endangering the future of our species and could be responsible for a severe climate change that would bring the world as we know it to catastrophe.

A new study published in the open journal Earth System Dynamics places this issue under the responsibility of young people, whose primary objective should be turning the Earth into an environmentally friendly place.

"Global temperature has just reached a level similar to the mean level in the prior interglacial (Eemian) period, when sea level was several meters higher than today, and, if it long remains at this level, slow amplifying feedback will lead to greater climate change and consequences," explains the study.

The human-caused greenhouse gases have increased more than 20 percent over the past decade, mostly because of CH 4 (methane), which makes it almost impossible to limit the consequences. According to the study, we have come to a point where not only do we have to reduce the emissions we're currently releasing into the air, but we also have to focus on "negative emissions." The concept involves extracting the CO 2 (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere. Improving industrial and agricultural practices would also be a necessary step toward the goal of reducing global warming, along with reforestation.

The study brought together 12 authors who were led by James Hansen, a former chief of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The paper underlines the seriousness of the status quo, as the current annual temperatures exceed those of the 1880s-1920s by more than 1.25 degrees Celsius.

"On the other hand, if large fossil fuel emissions are allowed to continue, the scale and cost of industrial CO2 extraction, occurring in conjunction with a deteriorating climate with growing economic effects, may become unmanageable," the authors also explained.

There have been various propositions from worldwide organizations such as the United Nations aimed at reducing global warming. One of these is replacing the current carbon taxes with the cap and trade system, in which a regulatory body sets a limit on pollutant emissions from polluters such as power plants. The total emissions deemed acceptable under the cap are split into individual permits, which then carry financial value and become suitable for trading.

However, as the technology necessary to limit the levels of pollution is not affordable for all the UN member states, the motion did not pass the General Assembly.

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People tend to yawn when they are tired and bored but findings of a new study suggest a link between yawning and intelligence.

Andrew Gallup, from the State University of New York at Oneonta, and his team looked at the videos of 29 mammals yawning to calculate the average length of their yawns. The animals involved in the study have brain weight that have already been documented in an earlier research.

When the researchers crunched the numbers, they realized that brain weight and the number of neurons in the outer layer of the brain called cortex can reliably predict yawn length.

Gorillas, horses, walruses and African elephants, for instance, may have massive sizes but they have shorter yawns than humans because the size of their brains are smaller compared with ours. The findings suggest that the length of yawn does not correlate to the size of the body but to the size of the brain.

Earlier studies suggest that across species, relative large brains appear to be correlated with complex cognitive skills and more social strategies. Scientists however, consider the brain mass relative to the animal's body size when making speculations about cognitive abilities.

Gallup's research team also found that the animals with bigger brain were more variable in the length of their yawns. Liz Cirulli Rogers, from Duke University School of Medicine, said it is possible that more intelligent animals have different types of yawn in response to different stimuli while the less-intelligent ones only have one type of yawn.

"Using openly accessible data, we show that both the mean and variance in yawn duration are robust predictors of mammalian brain weight and cortical neuron number," the researchers wrote in their study, which was published in Biology Letters on Oct. 4

"Consistent with these effects, primates tend to have longer and more variable yawn durations compared with other mammals."

The correlation between brain size and yawn length may be explained by a theory that Gallup proposed in 2007. The idea posits that animals yawn to cool their brains. If this theory is correct, it can help explain why larger brains need a larger yawn to cool and regulate the brain temperature.

It also stands to reason why human yawns, which last about 6.5 seconds, are the longest in the animal kingdom beating those of other larger animals with known small brains.

Not all scientists, however, are convinced of the cooling function of yawning.

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Earlier this year, the CIA helm started up a new arm of the agency, dubbed the Directorate of Digital Innovation, which aims to embed the newest tech into the agency's data gathering.

The DDI will also assist the United States in bolstering its cyber defense.

Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, Andrew Hallman, explains that the new wing of the agency is helping the CIA expand its "anticipatory intelligence."

Hallman notes that the improvements are good enough that they can predict overseas societal instability and social unrest by three to five days before the events actually occur.

Should you wonder what "anticipatory intelligence" is, read on.

The term encompasses a mixture of highly sophisticated analytics and algorithms able to forecast the flow of people and products, from extremists to illicit goods.

By tapping into the potential of deep and machine learning, data that seem unrelated can be connected and patterns start to emerge. Analysts then scrutinize these sequences and can anticipate national security threats.

Hallman points out that during his time in office, his unit will mash up relevant social sciences information "on the development of instability, coups and financial instability" and use it to predict upcoming events.

"We take what we know from the past six or seven decades and leverage what is becoming the instrumentation of the globe," the helm of DDI notes.

The CIA arm reaches beyond the classified information that is available exclusively to the spying agencies. The DDI has been using open source data sets, which allow experts to overlap public and agency information in order to have a better perspective on volatile situations.

CIA leader John Brennan commended the significant advantage the agency will get from integrating the different data sets, both public and top secret.

It is no secret that the agency has its eyes (read: algorithms) on social media in what is probably the biggest surveillance program in history. By using the latest tech in data parsing, the agents are developing tools that can give a heads up when worldwide riots and social decay will happen.

CIA's strategy for the future is to train field agents who are agile and knowledgeable enough to make the most out of digital developments. Cloud computing is one other way in which the CIA hopes to gain an edge over global threats and, why not, other intelligence agencies.

No official statement exists pertaining to the accuracy of the forecast, but we might need another Snowden to let the public in on the intricate details of national security operations.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.




AIM: MARL

TSXV: MRA







7 October 2016 Suite 102, 3 Eden Street

North Sydney, NSW 2060

Australia

Mariana Enters Agreement to Acquire 80% of Awale Resources SARL with Highly Prospective Gold Projects in Cote d'Ivoire

GUERNSEY, UK, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mariana Resources Ltd ("Mariana" or the "Company"), the AIM and TSXV listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey and South America, announces that it has entered into a binding Term Sheet (the "Term Sheet") to acquire an 80% interest in Awale Resources SARL ("Awale") (the "Transaction"). Awale is a private exploration company focussing on gold projects in Cote d'Ivoire. Mariana's experience and ability is being leveraged to acquire a majority interest in Awale, in a region which hosts one of the largest known prospective underexplored greenstone belts in West Africa.

The Transaction will provide Mariana with an immediate presence and established footprint in Cote d'Ivoire, given Awale's existing large early stage prospective gold exploration portfolio. Awale's current focus is on the eastern border of the country at Bondoukou (refer figure 1) with 3 granted licences and 4 licences under application. The Boundoukou concessions lie along the southwestern extension of the Birimian-age Bole-Nangodi greenstone belt in adjacent Ghana, which is host to a number of high grade orogenic-type gold deposits. It is intended that Mariana and the Awale team will advance these assets.

Overview of Transaction

Mariana gains an immediate foothold on an established exploration portfolio with known gold mineralisation and artisanal gold workings which comprises: 3 granted contiguous licenses (1,191 km 2 ) in the Bondoukou area; and 4 licenses under application (1,593 km 2 ) in both the Bondoukou and Abengourou areas.

Mariana will acquire an indirect 80% interest in Awale by virtue of an acquisition of 80% of the shares (the "Awale Shares") of the parent company of Awale ("Awale Holdco") from the then shareholders of Awale Holdco (the "Awale Shareholders"). The Awale Shareholders will continue to hold a 20% interest in Awale Holdco.

Mariana and the Awale Shareholders will enter into a shareholders' agreement (the "Shareholders' Agreement") to govern the affairs of Awale Holdco (the "Joint Venture").

In consideration of the Awale Shares, Mariana will issue to the Awale Shareholders an aggregate US$544,274 in Mariana ordinary shares calculated based on the volume weighted average trading price for such shares on the AIM for the 45 trading days prior to October 5, 2016 (being 723,511 ordinary shares). Mariana has agreed to loan to Awale US$55,725 to settle certain loan obligations of Awale. Further, Mariana has agreed to settle certain outstanding obligations of Awale to a maximum value of US$89,000.

Mariana will pay to the Awale Shareholders a bonus payment of:

US$0.50 per ounce of reported gold resources for a mineral resource delineated up to the first one million ounces, and US$1.00 per ounce of gold resources for any mineral resource delineated over the first one million ounces together with a catch-up payment of $0.50 per ounce of gold resources for any mineral resources ounces that were delineated prior to the delineation of a mineral resource greater than one million ounces, Subject to a maximum of US$3.5 million

It is anticipated that a definitive share purchase agreement relating to the Transaction will be entered into on or before 15 November 2016, and that closing of the Transaction will occur on or before 30 November 2016, or as otherwise agreed.

The Awale Shareholders will co-contribute to the Joint Venture in the agreed percentages on the attainment of a reported 1 million oz gold mineral resource.

Mariana is retaining services of the founders of Awale, as well as the in country team which boasts experienced senior local geologists.

Significant rock, soil and stream sediment sampling has already been completed by the team, but immediate analysis and follow up is required.

Mariana will be the Operator of the Awale concessions.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to certain standard conditions customary for a transaction of this nature, including receipt of all regulatory approvals.

Chief Executive Officer, Glen Parsons today commented:

"Mariana's majority interest in Awale comes at an exciting time for shareholders providing potential in one of the most exciting gold jurisdictions in West Africa, especially as the resource market sees continual signs of positive momentum. Mariana's expertise alongside the Awale team's local knowledge, presence and solid foundation provide an excellent platform for the joint venture to build a potentially successful regional gold exploration and development company. Mariana's strategy has always been a complementary diversified portfolio of gold, copper and silver properties in highly prospective regions which offer scale as a key objective, and Cote d'Ivoire certainly provides this. Mariana has demonstrated success with this strategy specifically the exceptional Hot Maden high grade gold and copper project in Turkey which management of Mariana believes includes significant exploration upside, as well as Mariana's advanced gold and silver portfolio in Argentina. The ability to advance Awale's current granted licenses around Bondoukou in a cost effective manner is seen as a priority and one that is anticipated can deliver immediate success to the joint venture and will form the basis of planning for the next stage of exploration. Exploration activities for Awale are currently budgeted within Mariana's current cash resources without affecting any activities on the balance of the portfolio for next year.

"I look forward to providing updates on the exploration results on our portfolio as well as the imminent milestone of the PEA at Hot Maden."

Links to Figures: http://media.wix.com/ugd/24ee23_467075be3ae34ebcb71d7bdedf8093ad.pdf

The Awale Concessions and Initial Focus

The Bondoukou permit package lies in the Zanzan region of north-eastern Cote d'Ivoire, and is accessible from the town of Bondoukou. Bondoukou lies close to the Ghana border with a population of 117,453 (2014 Survey, Wikipedia) and has all amenities including banks, hotels and other major services and is accessed by tarred road from Abidjan (c.430km or 5 hours).

Mariana's initial focus will be on the Bondoukou Est concession, where high grade gold mineralization (up to 36 g/t Au from initial surface sampling) occurs within a sheeted quartz vein complex that is located at the contact between a zoned granitoid intrusion and the host meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks. Artisanal miners are currently active at Bondoukou Est and are undertaking shallow mining (generally up to 30m depth) from higher grade quartz veins that lie within a broadly NW-SE-trending mineralized corridor interpreted to have a strike extent of 18 km. Subsequent field activities will focus on other artisanal workings within the remainder of the Bondoukou Est concession, as well as workings in the Bondoukou Nord and Nord Est concessions.

**ENDS**

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Eric Roth, the Company's qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Roth is the Company's Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director and holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from the University of Western Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr. Roth has 25 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.

For further information please visit website at www.marianaresources.com or contact the following.

Glen Parsons (CEO) Mariana Resources Ltd +61 2 9437 4588 Eric Roth (COO) Mariana Resources Ltd +56 9 8818 1243 Karen Davies (IR) Mariana Resources Ltd (Canada) +1 604 314 6270 Rob Adamson RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0041 Will Souter RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0050 In U.K. Oliver Stansfield Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5061 Jonathan Evans Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5016 Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3224 Megan Ray Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3203

About Mariana Resources

Mariana Resources Ltd is an AIM (MARL) and TSXV (MRA) quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver and copper projects in South America and Turkey.

Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in north east Turkey, which is a joint venture with its Turkish JV partner Lidya (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya) and rapidly advancing to development. An updated mineral resource estimate (detailed table below) of 3.43 Moz gold Equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.09 Moz gold Equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the main resource zone as well as a maiden 351,000 Moz gold Equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the new southern discovery zone was reported for Hot Maden on July 25, 2015. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama gold-copper project.

In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 160,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province.

In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project. The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project.

In Peru and Chile, Mariana is focusing on acquiring new opportunities which complement its current portfolio.

Hot Maden Mineral Resource Estimate - Main Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Indicated Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 463,000 1.1 1.1 0.3 2.4 17,000 5,000 36,000 Main Zone HG 4,501,000 3.9 1.9 0.2 6.3 570,000 87,000 908,000 Main Zone UHG 2,086,000 32.7 3.5 0.1 36.9 2,195,000 73,000 2,476,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 17,000 7.5 3.1 3.6 11.2 4,000 1,000 6,000 Peripheral Lodes 60,000 2.1 0.4 0.4 2.5 4,000 5,000 Total 7,127,000 12.2 2.3 0.2 15.0 2,790,000 166,000 3,431,000 Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 395,000 1.7 0.9 0.03 2.8 21,000 4,000 35,000 Main Zone HG 31,000 3.9 1.6 0.1 5.8 4,000 6,000 Main Zone UHG 6,000 39.1 2.1 0.01 41.6 7,000 8,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 4,000 1.7 0.4 2.4 2.2 Peripheral Lodes 282,000 3.2 0.9 0.1 4.3 29,000 2,000 38,000 Total 718,000 2.7 0.9 0.1 3.8 62,000 7,000 88,000







Hot Maden - Southern Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** South Zone LG 396,000 2.8 0.7 0.0 3.6 35,000 3,000 46,000 South Zone HG 583,000 5.3 0.7 0.0 6.1 98,000 4,000 114,000 Main Zone UHG 224,000 22.2 1.0 0.0 23.4 160,000 2,000 169,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 44,000 9.0 1.0 3.2 10.2 13,000 15,000 Peripheral Lodes 104,000 1.9 0.3 0.0 2.2 6,000 7,000 Total 1,352,000 7.2 0.7 0.1 8.1 313,000 10,000 351,000

*Au Equivalence (AuEq) calculated using a 100 day moving average of $US1,215/ounce for Au and $US2.13/pound for Cu as of May 29, 2016. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recovery or net smelter return as these remain uncertain at this time. Based on grades and contained metal for Au and Cu, it is assumed that both commodities have reasonable potential to be economically extractable.

*-The formula used for Au equivalent grade is: AuEq g/t = Au + [(Cu % x 22.0462 x 2.13)/(1215/31.1035)] and assumes 100 % metallurgical recovery. **-Au equivalent ounces are calculated by mulitplying Mineral Resource tonnage by Au equivalent grade and converting for ounces. The formula used for Au equivalent ounces is: AuEq Oz = [Tonnage x AuEq grade (g/t)]/31.1035

Safe Harbour

This press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital. The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com . Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Following news of Yahoo's massive data breach, Verizon wants to slash $1 billion off its $4.8 billion Yahoo acquisition deal, New York Post reported, citing several sources.

The Yahoo deal team is adamant against any negotiations to push the price downward, sources said.

Both companies declined to issue a comment.

Two weeks ago, Yahoo revealed a massive data breach that occurred in 2014, compromising at least 500 million accounts.

Apart from the breach, it was revealed that Yahoo used a custom software to comb through all of its users' emails, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo accounts as compliance for a request issued by a U.S. intelligence agency.

Following the massive data breach reveal, Sen. Mark Warner (D) urged the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Yahoo upheld its obligation to disclose crucial information such as the breach to its investors and the general public.

News of the breach and subsequent reported failures of the company to responsibly disclose this type of information put Yahoo under tense scrutiny. Verizon might be spritzing salt in the wound by persuading Yahoo for a hefty discount, almost 21 percent off the original $4.8 billion deal.

Citing a source, New York Post reported that AOL's chief executive Tim Armstrong is "getting cold feet," noting that Armstrong is vexed at Yahoo for failing to disclose the information and contemplating whether the deal can be withdrawn or simply slashed to reflect the company's dented confidence for Yahoo. According to sources, Verizon is pushing for a discount since it thinks that Yahoo's value has been truncated by the series of bad news.

Verizon acquired AOL for $4.4 billion in June last year, and if the Yahoo deal pushes through, the company intends to fuse AOL and Yahoo as a formidable competitor to Google and Facebook in terms of digital advertising.

In the past few days, Armstrong reportedly flew to the West Coast, meeting with executives from Yahoo to verbalize the impending cutback.

"[Armstrong] was out there this week laying the law down and Marissa [Mayer] is trying to protect shareholders," New York Post reported, citing a source privy to the talks. Yahoo is reportedly resisting the price cut, telling Verizon that "a deal is a deal," sources told New York Post.

Verizon's apprehension toward Yahoo seems understandable in light of the abysmal press Yahoo is slogging through. Yahoo has struggled considerably in keeping the company afloat in an era where most people have turned to its contemporaries Google and Facebook.

Verizon officially announced its acquisition of Yahoo back in July after a lengthy bidding process. The acquisition is, in a way, a recourse for the struggling company.

Photo: Rich Merritt | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facebook has been in discussions with government officials and telecommunications companies in the United States over the possibility of launching its controversial Free Basics program in the country.

Free Basics provides users with access to services such as news, information, travel, local jobs, healthcare, and many more, including the Facebook and Messenger apps, without counting against the data caps of the users in their mobile subscription. The program looks to bring users with limited income online and improve internet connectivity in all parts of the world.

The program, however, has been met with controversy. While currently operating in 53 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, it has been banned in India and Egypt. Facebook pulled the plug on the program in India in February after net neutrality concerns were raised, and in Egypt because the government believed that it would be used to spy on users.

According to a report by the Washington Post, Facebook is now trying to figure out how to launch Free Basics in the United States without being subjected to the same scrutiny that it has previously received, particularly the anti-net neutrality allegations against Free Basics in India.

Free Basics has been criticized by proponents of net neutrality because they believe that internet service providers should not be allowed to select which services do and do not count against data caps because that will give an unfair advantage to websites and apps that are zero-rated.

The net neutrality rules of the Federal Communications Commission, however, does not prevent carriers in the United States from offering exemptions to data caps, with the major companies already offering zero-rated content. AT&T and Verizon, in fact, even charge companies to have their website or service not count against the data cap of users.

The services that Facebook will be offering under Free Basics has not yet been finalized, but the report claims that the company has been talking to many small and rural cellular service companies since at least the spring to get them to support the program. Facebook has not tried to forge a partnership with the major carriers, though, as the company is concerned that such a move could be seen as anti-competitive by regulators.

Advocates of Free Basics claim that the program could solve the connectivity issues that are still present in the United States. With the program to make it easier for underserved members of the society to access social and civic services online, more Americans would be able to enjoy the benefits of high-speed internet.

Facebook has not confirmed the discussions to bring Free Basics to the United States, but the company said in a statement that its mission is to connect the world and that it's working to do just that, including in the country.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A congressional committee will question officials from the U.S. government's health research agency concerning the taxpayers funding a World Health Organization cancer agency which faces criticism over its criteria for carcinogen classifications.

An assistant of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government informed Reuters that representatives from National Institutes of Health (NIH) agreed to give personal briefing to the committee. This happened as a result of lawmakers raising questions over its grants to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a semi-autonomous entity part of the World Health Organization from Lyon, France.

During the past years, the agency has applied an ambiguous policy in its classifications, creating controversy over certain substances and objects that may cause cancer. Among these, coffee, mobile phones, processed meat and glyphosate (weed killer) were the most popular.

The argument is that the agency "is sometimes too quick to conclude that substances might cause cancer, causing unnecessary health scares. It defends its methods as scientifically sound."

The Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz sent the NIH director Francis Collins a letter in September, questioning the reasons for still funding IARC, especially since the NIH has a $33 billion annual budget.

"IARC's standards and determinations for classifying substances as carcinogenic, and therefore cancer-causing, appear inconsistent with other scientific research, and have generated much controversy and alarm," explained Chaffetz.

Emailing Reuters about the issue, the NIH confirmed receiving the letter and engaging to respond to the committee.

Reuters was further informed that a letter had already been sent on Oct. 5, on behalf of the agency's director, Chris Wild, to the NIH, addressing these "misconceptions" that gravitate around IARC's activity.

The contents of the letter reject Chaffetz's criticism and states that the IARC classifications, also known as monographs, are "widely respected for their scientific rigor, standardized and transparent process and ... freedom from conflicts of interest."

Concerning the accusations for the classifications of coffee, the case constituted a "retraction," according to Wild. While previously thought to be possibly carcinogenic, a report published in June this year showed no conclusive evidence towards this classification, relabeling it as non-carcinogenic. The basis for this reevaluation of coffee is the 25 years of evidence since its first classification, according to Wild.

Regardless of this highly specific answer, Chaffetz's requirement to the NIH to detail the standards for awarding grants and vetting still remains. Along with it, the institute is also asked to fully disclose the funds that went to IARC or in relation to it.

Should these suspicions be grounded, a large part of the IARC's funding would be at risk.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google wants people from all over the world to create and share information in their own language, and for that it rolled out Noto, a hefty open source font family.

The collection encompasses more than 800 languages (even dead ones) and as much as 110,000 characters.

The font family's name stands for "No more Tofu." If you don't know yet, "Tofu" is the default white box that replaces a character that's not supported by computer's font library.

Google did not manage the project by itself, as it cooperated closely with type firm Monotype over five years' time. The 800 languages embedded in the Noto package are all crafted according to the Unicode standard.

The full Noto package pulls 473 MB and comprises 110 writing systems and 110,000 characters.

To make sure it keeps playing nice with Unicode, Google will keep Noto up to date as new Unicode characters show up, with a good example being the emoji updates. The fact that the package comes with an Open Font License means that developers are able to tweak the scripts' design and the fonts can be used for no cost whatsoever.

Google developers say that the project debuted from a necessity, as the company needed to clear out tofu from ChromeOS and Android products.

In its blog post announcing the font family, Google explains that Noto is a "stylish yet conservative item of clothing." This is the company's way of saying that the package will ensure readability over many languages, while maintaining unique style for each script.

Another advantage of using Noto is that users can easily and reliably access lesser used languages. Last but not the least, Noto is a tool for written language preservation.

A good example is the inclusion of the Noto Sans Canadian Aboriginal. The writing system is native to a few indigenous languages in Canada, and the number of speakers barely reaches 250,000 people.

On the other side of the scale, more than 100 million people are using Urdu Nastaliq, but the writing system did not have web-support until Noto came along. Commended Pakistani writer Ali Eteraz addressed the issue in 2013, when it advocated for the Urdu Nastaliq receiving support from tech platforms.

Noto Ogham is another rare pearl in the collection, as it brings to the web an alphabet from the fourth century that is readable on monuments and manuscripts only.

"Without the digital capability of Noto, it's much more difficult to preserve that cultural resource," Google says.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
FBI secretly arrests NSA contractor over stolen secret code used to hack Russia

A National Security Agency (NSA) contractor suspected of stealing highly classified computer codes used to hack the computer systems of foreign governments including Russia and China, a theft that could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security, has been secretly arrested by the FBI.

Like exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden, the contractor worked for consulting firm Booz Allen, which is behind many of the NSAs most sensitive cyber-operations, law enforcement and intelligence sources told the New York Times.

Booz Allen, which also formerly Mr Snowden, has a major contract with the NSA, assisting in numerous issues including identifying employees who might steal confidential documents. In 2013, Mr Snowden leaked more than 1.5 million documents relating to the agencys surveillance programmes, including some that targeted U.S. citizens.

The FBI discreetly arrested Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, in connection with the crime in recent weeks, authorities revealed Wednesday. Martin, a former Navy lieutenant who lives in Glen Burnie, Maryland  around 10 miles from the NSAs Fort Meade headquarters, has been in custody since his first court appearance in August.

Investigators executed search warrants of Martins Maryland property on August 27, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. During a raid on his property that month, authorities searched Martins home, two storage sheds, his vehicle and his person. The investigators reportedly found hard-copy documents and digital information stored on various devices. According to the criminal complaint, many of the allegedly stolen property were clearly classified as sensitive compartmented a level higher even than top secret. He was charged with theft of government property, and with the unauthorised removal or retention of classified documents.

Martin agreed to be interviewed and at first denied having taken the materials. He later, when confronted with the specific documents, admitted he took documents and digital files from his work assignment to his residence and vehicle that he knew were classified, according to the complaint.

Martin stated that he knew what he had done was wrong and that he should not have done it because he knew it was unauthorized, the complaint says.

Until now, there is very little indication that his actions were politically motivated, and that he may have taken the documents and digital files before Mr Snowdens leaks, an unnamed administration official told the Times.

This is huge. Did the FBI secretly arrest the person behind the reports NSA sat on huge flaws in US products? https://t.co/otgOwB5efm  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 5, 2016

The documents were said to be NSAs source code used to break into the computer networks of rival powers such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. However, there is also some speculation that the information may have included details on how the NSA methodically weakened the security of certain exported U.S. computer equipment.

Martins arrest could be another blow to the U.S. intelligence community, and would be the second case of a contractor stealing secret data from the NSA.

Mr Snowden, who is currently living in Russia, has been arguing for a pardon from the U.S. amid the release of Snowden, a film about his case by director Oliver Stone.

Source: The New York Times
Surgical Strike spills on to the cyber world as Indians and Pakistanis hack each others websites

Ever since Indian armed forces killed unknown number terrorists and 2 Pakistani soldiers in surgical strikes, the relation between the two neighbours has tensed up. According to a Superintendent of Police from Mirpur, Pakistan, Indian armed forces opened up the Indo-Pak line of control on the night of 29th Sept 2016 and conducted high precision surgical strikes to successfully take down 7 terrorist launch pads in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The result of the surgical strikes is not know but Indian Army has announced that they have successfully obliterated around 5 terrorist launch pads and eliminated high number of terrorists.

With the surgical strikes dominating the newsrooms in both India and Pakistan, it has now spilled over to the cyber world. In protest against the Indian surgical strikes, Pakistani rookie hackers or script kiddies are said to have hacked 7000 Indian websites.

Indian cyber army known for its prowess has launched cyber surgical strikes of their own. With India relentlessly launching diplomatic and non-diplomatic strikes against Pakistan, Indian netizens are going a step further ahead to literally isolate Pakistan  by locking Pakistani governmental websites.

According to reports, Indian hackers have hacked into a large number of Pakistan government websites and are encrypting the contents of the websites. Pakistani techies and webmasters are facing a tough time stopping their counterpart from hacking into their websites. Reportedly, the gravity of the situation is such that Pakistani techies have offered to pay Indian hackers in Bitcoin  online money  to regain access to their own sites.

But most of the Indian hackers have refused the offers and have kept the sites under control, reports the Daily Mail. However, the situation will be intense on both sites as the hackers have warned that the Pakistani techies will retaliate.

Online agencies have warned the hackers that there should be no instances of data loss while partaking in this online war with the neighbour.

The main objective of these hackers hacking into each others websites is to deface the structural composition of the site and make the website null and devoid of being catered to online users.

It remains to be seen how the Pakistani hackers counter to these Indian cyber surgical strikes.
12-year-old Spanish boy racks up 100,000 advertising bill with Google for advertising his brass band

A budding 12-year-old Spanish musician boy mistakenly racked up huge advertising fees of 100,000 (88,000/US$112,000) with Google in an attempt to make his brass band famous online. However, the search giant has decided to waive the inflated bill after it found out that the 12-year-old had made a costly mistake.

It all began in August 2016 when the boy named Jose Javier from the south-eastern seaside city of Torrevieja created an account with AdWords  an online advertising service by Google that enables advertisers to compete to display brief advertising copy to web users based in part on cookies, keywords, predefined by the advertisers, that might link the copy to the content of web pages shown to users.

Jose was under the impression that he would earn his band money if people clicked on the link to his homemade website, but the service works the other way around.

To use the service, the advertiser needs to give his or her credit card details and only pay when someone clicks on the link. The service can be used to help sell products, to promote businesses as well as increase traffic to websites. An advertiser can select where their ad appears and can set a budget accordingly for it to be displayed on the search engine. AdWords puts advertising higher up Googles search results and on other websites.

While opening the account for the service, Jose provided his banking details and was being charged every time someone clicked on the link of his site, according to the BBC.

However, when Google realised that the boy had made a mistake and decided to waive the bill.

It was all a mistake and that he did it without thinking, a Google spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

A 12-year-old boy doesnt want to start spending 100,000.

Inma Quesada, Joses mother told El Pais daily that her son wanted to buy instruments for his band Los Salerosos, loosely translated as The Salties, where he plays a trumpeter. Joses parents only realised what was going on when the bank called them to let them know about the charges.

Source: The Guardian
AIM: MARL

TSXV: MRA







7 October 2016



Suite 102, 3 Eden Street

North Sydney, NSW 2060

Australia

Issue of Equity- Option Exercise

Mariana Resources Ltd ("Mariana" or the "Company"), the AIM and TSXV listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey and South America, announces that the following options have been exercised into ordinary shares, with funds received.

Options: 70,000 options at an exercise price of 20 pence

The Company will issue and allot 70,000 new ordinary shares.

Admission to AIM

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and the TSX. Dealings are expected to commence on or about 12 October 2016 ("Admission").

Following Admission, there will be a total of 121,610,478 ordinary shares on issue.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit website at www.marianaresources.com or contact the following.

Glen Parsons (CEO) Mariana Resources Ltd +61 2 9437 4588 Eric Roth (COO) Mariana Resources Ltd +56 9 8818 1243 Karen Davies (IR) Mariana Resources Ltd (Canada) +1 604 314 6270 Rob Adamson RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0041 Will Souter RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0050



In U.K. Oliver Stansfield Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5061 Jonathan Evans Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5016 Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3224 Megan Ray Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3203

About Mariana Resources

Mariana Resources Ltd is an AIM (MARL) and TSXV (MRA) quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver and copper projects in South America and Turkey.

Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in north east Turkey, which is a joint venture with its Turkish JV partner Lidya (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya) and rapidly advancing to development. An updated mineral resource estimate (detailed table below) of 3.43 Moz gold Equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.09 Moz gold Equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the main resource zone as well as a maiden 351,000 Moz gold Equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the new southern discovery zone was reported for Hot Maden on July 25, 2015. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama gold-copper project.

In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 160,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province.

In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project. The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project.

In Peru and Chile, Mariana is focusing on acquiring new opportunities which complement its current portfolio.

Hot Maden Mineral Resource Estimate - Main Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Indicated Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 463,000 1.1 1.1 0.3 2.4 17,000 5,000 36,000 Main Zone HG 4,501,000 3.9 1.9 0.2 6.3 570,000 87,000 908,000 Main Zone UHG 2,086,000 32.7 3.5 0.1 36.9 2,195,000 73,000 2,476,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 17,000 7.5 3.1 3.6 11.2 4,000 1,000 6,000 Peripheral Lodes 60,000 2.1 0.4 0.4 2.5 4,000 5,000 Total 7,127,000 12.2 2.3 0.2 15.0 2,790,000 166,000 3,431,000 Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 395,000 1.7 0.9 0.03 2.8 21,000 4,000 35,000 Main Zone HG 31,000 3.9 1.6 0.1 5.8 4,000 6,000 Main Zone UHG 6,000 39.1 2.1 0.01 41.6 7,000 8,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 4,000 1.7 0.4 2.4 2.2 Peripheral Lodes 282,000 3.2 0.9 0.1 4.3 29,000 2,000 38,000 Total 718,000 2.7 0.9 0.1 3.8 62,000 7,000 88,000







Hot Maden - Southern Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** South Zone LG 396,000 2.8 0.7 0.0 3.6 35,000 3,000 46,000 South Zone HG 583,000 5.3 0.7 0.0 6.1 98,000 4,000 114,000 Main Zone UHG 224,000 22.2 1.0 0.0 23.4 160,000 2,000 169,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 44,000 9.0 1.0 3.2 10.2 13,000 15,000 Peripheral Lodes 104,000 1.9 0.3 0.0 2.2 6,000 7,000 Total 1,352,000 7.2 0.7 0.1 8.1 313,000 10,000 351,000

*Au Equivalence (AuEq) calculated using a 100 day moving average of $US1,215/ounce for Au and $US2.13/pound for Cu as of May 29, 2016. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recovery or net smelter return as these remain uncertain at this time. Based on grades and contained metal for Au and Cu, it is assumed that both commodities have reasonable potential to be economically extractable.

*-The formula used for Au equivalent grade is: AuEq g/t = Au + [(Cu % x 22.0462 x 2.13)/(1215/31.1035)] and assumes 100 % metallurgical recovery. **-Au equivalent ounces are calculated by mulitplying Mineral Resource tonnage by Au equivalent grade and converting for ounces. The formula used for Au equivalent ounces is: AuEq Oz = [Tonnage x AuEq grade (g/t)]/31.1035

Safe Harbour

This press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital. The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com . Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
The winner of the Brazilian presidential elections on Sunday, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2011), assured that he would work to put his country back on the international... | Read More
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, INC. (OTC Grey:PNPL) (Pineapple Express or the Company), a provider of consulting, technology, cultivation suite rentals, and branding concepts to businesses in the legal cannabis industry, today issued the following shareholder update letter from Matthew Feinstein, CEO and Chairman.

To our valued shareholders:

First and foremost, I wish to thank you for your continued support. As CEO of Pineapple Express, I am pleased to provide an update on the recent developments and milestones that we have achieved, and to discuss our vision for the Companys future.

Our Recent Developments and Milestones

Weve made strong progress in the last few months. Below is a summary of our recent developments and achievements:

Fully Reporting Status Progress: The Companys audit of its wholly owned subsidiary THC Industries, LLC covering the past two years is expected to be complete in the 4th quarter by RBSM, LLP. This audit is one of the final steps necessary before Pineapple Express can file a regulatory form with the SEC in order to qualify to become a SEC fully reporting company. Once approved to be fully reporting, the Company intends to take all necessary action to have the caveat emptor designation removed and uplist to a national exchange.

THC Industries, LLC: Pineapple Express has commenced execution of the brand marketing plan for its THC.com website and THC Class 25 trademark. The Company engaged Paper Tiger to create its new and upcoming e-commerce website, THC.com. The website is scheduled to launch in January 2017. The Company also engaged StyleWorks Creative to design and implement its THC brand licensing style guide. Pineapple Express also engaged a licensing firm, The Sharpe Company, to utilize the style guide as a tool for attracting apparel licensees and other lifestyle merchandise licensees for Pineapple Express THC brand at licensing shows around the world.

Natures Treatment of Illinois: The Companys first medical cannabis dispensary consulting client, Natures Treatment of Illinois (NTI), in District 7 in Illinois, has experienced a very successful first 7 months in business. Patient count is now roughly 220 (through September 2016). The State of Illinois has just amended its cannabis pilot program to allow persons with PTSD and terminal illnesses to obtain state medical marijuana cards and NTI expects to start servicing these patients within the next 3 months. In addition, the State of Illinois substantially eased restrictions allowing doctors to more easily authorize the use of medical marijuana, which we anticipate will greatly enhance the Illinois cannabis pilot program that has been extended through 2021.

Top Shelf Display Safe System: The Company has completed the design and engineering of its patent-pending Top-Shelf Display Safe System. This system will convert four critical components of the current cannabis dispensary model and combine them into a single technologically advanced and stylish unit. The system allows for a dispensary operator to: Safely and attractively display cannabis products Secure all products in an armored exterior safe with interior locked compartments that are climate controlled Weigh all products in real-time using electronic scales housed in the locked compartments within the unit that are automatically unlocked as transactions occur at the integrated point-of-sale software Transmit real-time inventory data to the integrated point-of-sale and inventory management system Authenticate transactions to consumers for legal compliance and record-keeping purposes

The Company has completed the design and engineering of its patent-pending Top-Shelf Display Safe System. This system will convert four critical components of the current cannabis dispensary model and combine them into a single technologically advanced and stylish unit. The system allows for a dispensary operator to:

The Company anticipates completion of the prototype and to commence sales of the system to dispensaries in 2017.

Pineapple Park: Pineapple Express confirms it has reserved 75% of its future commercial cultivation complex Pineapple Park in Desert Hot Springs, CA to cannabis cultivation businesses. The Company is in the process of purchasing up to 10.08 acres of property for this project, and is expanding its existing Conditional Use Permit to include the whole project. Pineapple Park is one of the first cannabis cultivation projects in Desert Hot Springs to have the power infrastructure available and required to begin its operations. Pineapple Express will provide grey shell buildings complete with power, substantial HVAC systems, and 24-hour exterior security. Tenants will be responsible for completion of their building interior design and layout, interior tenant improvements, and procurement of cultivation equipment. Pineapple Parks first tenant, Clonenetics, Inc., is anticipated to begin cultivation in the first completed building in Pineapple Park within 5 weeks. Desert Hot Springs is the first municipality in Southern California to allow legal commercial cultivation of cannabis, which will be available to sell to legal dispensaries anywhere in California. Pineapple Express believes it can assist its first tenant in becoming the second municipally-issued permitted commercial cannabis cultivation business in Southern California. The Companys Pineapple Park is featured in the cover story of the October 2016 issue of Palm Springs Life Magazine. The article is available here:

http://www.palmspringslife.com/thar-she-grows/

Our Future:

There's a remarkable amount of opportunity ahead of us in this new era of the cannabis industry for Pineapple Express in both this next year and upcoming years. 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical or recreational cannabis. Polls show that marijuana is leading in every state where it is on the ballot in November (including Proposition 64 in California). The Companys management team consists of seasoned professionals that come from brand marketing, the retail industry, real estate development, and the cannabis industry. We believe we are leading and/or will be leaders in the areas of canna-branding and canna-marketing, canna-retail, and canna-real estate development through our superb talents. Over the long term this should translate to sustained growth well into the future.

We see an unprecedented amount of opportunity heading into 2017 and the long term. Although we still have a lot of hard work ahead, our projects are generating excitement and promise. When I pause to reflect on how far we've come over the past year and how much further we'll go in the next one, I couldn't be more excited and optimistic. On behalf of the entire Pineapple Express management team, I would like to again thank you for your continued support. We strongly believe we have the staff, expertise, and strategic approach necessary to create the future we envision and we look forward to reporting on our progress as we continue to execute on our plans.

Sincerely,

Matthew Feinstein, CEO and Chairman, Pineapple Express, Inc.

About Pineapple Express

Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, Pineapple Express invests in, expands, and brands existing and newly established canna-businesses through expert consulting and cutting-edge technology. Our common stock trades on the Grey Market. We provide capital to our canna-business clientele, lease real properties to canna-businesses, and provide consulting and technology to operators within the cannabis industry. We intend to create a nationally branded chain of company-owned cannabis retail stores under the "Pineapple Express" name, as soon as federal laws allow. As long as cannabis remains federally illegal, our operations will be limited to consulting, product licensing, leasing to and investing in existing and new canna-businesses, selling industry specific technology and branding/retail concept support services. Home to some of the most experienced and well-connected minds in the business, Pineapple Express is at the forefront of the legal cannabis industry.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not a description of historical facts constitute forward-looking statements and may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "potential", "possible", "probable", "believes", "seeks", "may", "will", "should", "could" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including that we have a limited operating history, are dependent upon key personnel whose loss may adversely impact our business, and some of our business activities and the business activities of some of our customers and counterparties, while believed to be compliant with applicable state law, may be illegal under federal law because they violate the Federal Controlled Substances Act. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. More detailed information about the Company is available at www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PNPL/quote. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc., a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), announced today that it has been chosen by the Arkansas Environmental Federation (AEF) as the recipient of the 2016 Diamond Award for Excellence in Environmental Leadership.



Each year, the AEF Diamond Award recognizes one company that demonstrates initiative and/or leadership in managing its environmental efforts. This years award recognizes the Aerojet Rocketdyne Solar Farm which now powers approximately 30 percent of Aerojet Rocketdynes Camden, Arkansas operations, and also provides power to the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives. The Solar Farm is the largest operating solar field in Arkansas. The 12-megawatt (alternating current) array, located in the Highland Industrial Park, is owned and operated by Silicon Ranch Corp. and is capable of generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of 2,400 single-family homes with zero emissions.

It is the success of a collective group of community-minded organizations led by Aerojet Rocketdyne with a common recognition that clean energy must be a component of the future success of Arkansas. The organizations include Aerojet Rocketdyne, Southern Arkansas University Tech, Ouachita Electric Cooperative Company, Silicon Ranch, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Company, and Highland Industrial Park Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne strives to be a good steward of the environment, said Aerojet Rocketdynes CEO and President Eileen Drake. We are honored to receive this prestigious award.

This project began with a focus on improving the operational excellence of our Camden operations through execution of the companys commitment to the environment and the communities in which we operate, said Erik Didriksen, a Safety, Health & Environment strategist at Aerojet Rocketdyne. The community-based approach continues to yield sustainable environmental, economic and social impacts to the company, to the Camden community, the State of Arkansas and ultimately the U.S. taxpayer, and exemplifies the principles of the Diamond Award.

Aerojet Rocketdyne and our partners are proud to be recognized by the AEF, said Chris Conley, vice president of Safety, Health & Environment at Aerojet Rocketdyne. Aerojet Rocketdyne will formally receive the Diamond award at the AEF's 49th annual convention on Oct. 7 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

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.
Casinos are sprouting up everywhere drawing a record number of tourists, generating sizable sums for national treasuries, and reshaping the economic profile of host communities.

Among the 10 member ASEAN grouping, only Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei dont have legal casinos

Recently, Singapore and Vietnam amended their casino laws to reflect the reality that gambling has been legal and even encouraged for many years in supposedly conservative societies.

In the case of Singapore, it wanted tighter regulations on the casino industry to discourage low-income groups and the unemployed from participating.

On the other hand, a proposal was submitted to Vietnams National Assembly Standing Committee that requires investors to declare registered capital of at least U.S. $4 billion and a minimum experience of 10 years in the business before a casino license is issued to them.

Unfortunately, casinos have also created a slew of social problems that governments are only now beginning to confront.

Proxy Betting Banned In Macau

Proxy betting in its simplest form involves a person outside the casino giving betting instructions to an agent inside the casino, most likely via mobile phone, to bet on his behalf, buys the chips, places the bets and collects any winnings.

Since Macau banned proxy betting, much of the business has migrated to Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, according to a white paper by Global Market Advisors Partner Shaun McCamley.

Some players also switched to Online casinos like royalvegascasino.com, but need relatively sophisticated software platforms for digital betting and account management. By contrast, proxy betting just requires people talking by phone plus video streaming from tables, something Macau never allowed.

The Royal Vegas Online Casino and other online casino websites have to weigh the costs and benefits associated with getting new games. Licensing agreements and similar legal and economic matters will always come into play.

Suprisingly, Singapore has emerged as Macaus closest competitor

Casino profits are soaring but the drawback is that many local residents are burdened with gambling debts. As concern over this problem has grown, Singapore has intervened to thwart it.

The government already prohibits financial vulnerable individuals from entering casinos, with about 43,000 Singaporeans reportedly falling in this category. More strident measures are still being considered.

Singapore could perhaps look to Vietnam for a model, as the latter country has banned all locals from gambling in the casinos.

Currently, Singapore collects levies from local residents if they wish to play in the casinos but this has failed to discourage the local population, including the poor, from playing in the casino centers.

Meanwhile, Vietnams decision to impose stringent requirements for casino operators was naturally opposed by prospective investors who wanted to establish more gaming centers in the country. The business sector in fact has reminded the government that the new rules might hurt the tourism and gaming sectors.

Indeed, Vietnams casino industry has been a bright spot in the local economy.

Vietnamese and Cambodian casinos are popular because they are officially banned in Thailand and China which share land borders with both Vietnam and Cambodia. Its no accident that casino centers in Vietnam and Cambodia are established in territories that are accessible to gamers in Thailand and China. Why fly to Macau or Las Vegas if casinos are already within reach near the border?
LISLE, Ill., Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, teamed up with Gerritys and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a Wilkes Barre, Pa. military family on Thursday.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/022ac8af-bbad-437b-89be-445092aca17a

Eckrich surprised the Rosencrans family at Gerritys in Scranton, Pa. to honor, thank and support the family for their service. They were presented with a gift of $1,000 in free groceries at Gerritys, courtesy of Eckrich. As part of the event, crowds of shoppers were treated to samples of delicious Eckrich smoked sausage and deli meat, live country music and an appearance by Scranton Country radio station 101.3.

James Rosencrans served in the US Army Reserves and National Guard for 10 years. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and later awarded 11 medals including the Army Commendation Medal and a Purple Heart. His wife, Molly, is his caregiver and a member of Operation Homefronts Hearts of Valor program, a network of more than 3,000 caregivers of wounded service members which provides annual retreats, support groups and online communities. The family has three children.

To have the support of Eckrich and Gerritys is really a good feeling, said Molly Rosencrans. Military families sacrifice so much, and its humbling to know that we are appreciated.

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012.

Eckrich is proud to continue supporting military families across the country, said Jennifer Zmrhal, Senior Director, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. We appreciate Gerritys partnership and we are honored to present the Rosencrans family with $1,000 in free groceries.

For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.

Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Eckrich

Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny, and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Operation Homefront

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefronts expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.




Two Baton Rouge men have been arrested in the robbery of the Renaissance Center Wednesday morning which resulted in the shooting death of a woman who worked at the center and the wounding of a co-worker.

Marquise Bailey and Donnie Tyler, both 18, were arrested Thursday by the Baton Rouge Police Department's Special Response Team. Both are being booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a count of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, police spokesman Sgt. L'Jean McKneely said.

Bailey of 10524 Tams St. was taken from the Violent Crime Unit into an ambulance on a gurney with white bandages around his neck. McKneely said Bailey had been treated after he slit his own throat and wrists. The suspect also drank bleach and gasoline before he was arrested Thursday morning, but didn't begin vomiting until he was in custody. Police escorted Bailey to the hospital to be treated for drinking the bleach and gasoline.

Tyler of 1755 Oak St., said, "I'm innocent," as he was being escorted from State Police headquarters Thursday night, and said he wasn't at the Renaissance yesterday.

McKneely said both of the men were arrested at Tyler's residence.

Earlier Thursday, a state representative and friend of the victims spoke about the two people who were shot in the robbery at the north Baton Rouge banquet hall.

Youlanda Hunter, the slain 49-year-old administrator at the Renaissance Center, a facility that hosts weddings, parties and community events, was a dedicated mother and wife, said her friend, state Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge.

"She was just a genuinely hardworking, nice person," Marcelle said.

Hunter's colleague, Rickey McCants, who owns the Renaissance Center, was also shot when at least one gunman opened fire, said Marcelle, who is running for Baton Rouge mayor-president.

The shooting happened at 11:11 a.m. at 2783 Plank Road on Wednesday, said McKneely. He said Thursday he did not have information as to what was stolen from the business.

Update: Victim identified in Wednesday shooting near Plank Road and Chippewa Street Robbers shot two people during a late Wednesday morning holdup of a north Baton Rouge event 

Hunter's daughter said her mother had worked at the Renaissance Center, and the business that inhabited the space beforehand, for 25 years.

"She liked to laugh a lot. She was goofy. She was just, a loving person. You could just feel it," said Arteshia Hunter, 26. She said her mother left behind four children.

Calls to McCants' family members were not returned.

McKneely said Thursday he did not have an update on McCants' status.

Marcelle said she has been a patron of the business dating back years, when it was known as Bright Beginnings, a day care that her own grandchildren attended. She said she was often so busy that she was late in picking up her grandson there.

"I told (Hunter), 'In the future when we're not here, just take the kid home.' We laughed," she said.

Marcelle called the Renaissance Center "the best kept secret" in the area since it's such a beautiful space for a wedding or other event. The center's website advertises its marble floors, chandeliers and three ballrooms.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Baton Rouge Police Violent Crimes Unit at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.
With the U. S. Senate election 33 days away, two forums are scheduled Thursday to argue about some of the key issues.

One will be hosted by the St. Tammany West Chamber, which is holding a five-candidate forum at the Tchefuncta Country Club at noon.

Candidates scheduled to appear for the 90-minute forum are Democrats Foster Campbell and Caroline Fayard and Republicans John Kennedy, Charles Boustany and John Fleming.

The second gathering is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the LSU Union Theater.

It will be hosted by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and will focus strictly on coastal issues.

Candidates set to attend are Republicans Charles Boustany, John Fleming and Rob Maness and Democrats Foster Campbell and Caroline Fayard.

Kennedy was invited but has a scheduling conflict, according to his campaign.

The 6 p.m. gathering, which will also last 90 minutes, is open to the public.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Boustany files defamation lawsuit over allegations of involvement with slain prostitute U.S. Senate candidate Charles Boustany filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against the author 

A total of 24 candidates are on the Nov. 8 ballot to succeed U. S. Sen. David Vitter, a Metairie Republican who is not seeking re-election.

A runoff is scheduled for Dec. 10 between the top two finishers this month, regardless of political party.

+2 Poll says US Senate race tightening The U.S. Senate race is tightening with the top Republicans and top Democrats in a virtual d

Both groups hosting the forums said statewide polls determined who was invited.
Geraldine Roman, left, the first transgender to have been elected as member of the Philippine Congress, arrives to attend its opening session wherein President Rodrigo Duterte is to deliver his state of the nation address Monday, July 25, 2016 , at suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) ORG XMIT: XBM104
How's this for a strange feeling? I'm kind of looking forward to my next trip to the Office of Motor Vehicles.

Not for the experience of it, although there's always hope that the wait won't be too long. The part that's going to feel good, I expect, is the knowledge that my next Louisiana drivers' license is going to do what it's supposed to do  to not only allow me to drive a car but to eventually board a plane and enter a federal courthouse or military base, which my job mandates I do on occasion. That I'm not going to have to think about it, carry around my passport or pay extra for the privilege.

It's a small matter, I know, but it carries symbolic punch.

When Louisiana finally started issuing Real ID-compliant licenses this week, it put an end to a silly, long-running saga steeped in conspiracy theories about government overreach and state sovereignty. It brought the state into the modern era and into compliance with a national anti-terrorism initiative that's pretty much the definition of acceptable trade-off. And, most gratifyingly, it marked a genuine political shift.

Here, in brief, are the particulars. Starting in 2020, the federal government will require anyone who hopes to board a plane to not just show a drivers' license, but one that meets certain federal requirements. To get a Real ID-compliant license, applicants must provide identifying documents such as a certified birth certificate and Social Security card, and allow the state to store the information it collects.

That makes sense, given the universally acknowledged importance of security in these situations. And face it, in the grand scheme of things, letting the government know who you are is no more intrusive than your average TSA pat-down. Still, the thought of the state having access to these documents sent some people off the rails.

And not just any people. The loudest critics came from the paranoid fringe, which unfortunately overlapped with the very voters that former Gov. Bobby Jindal hoped would fuel his presidential bid. Those who fought the measure included Tea Party activists and the Louisiana Family Forum, which says its mission is to persuasively present biblical principles in the centers of influence on issues affecting the family. What any of this has to do with biblical principles is beyond me.

It apparently wasn't beyond Jindal, though, who cited the group's opposition when he vetoed a bill adopting Real ID in 2014. That the Louisiana Legislature, which isn't exactly cutting edge, approved the bill in the first place is a sign of just how low the temperature was to most people. Yet it took two more years and the election of a much more level-headed governor, John Bel Edwards, to get the matter onto the books.

Even then, it didn't happen without one last pointless fight. The Real ID proposal, complete with an opt-out provision for those who didn't want to comply, passed the Senate last spring, and made it out of House Committee. But state Rep. and congressional candidate Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, started ranting about lost liberty, and browbeat the full House into amending it to require those who wanted a compliant card to obtain  and pay for  an extra ID on top of a standard license. Supporters who just wanted to finally pass the thing rolled their eyes but went along, knowing that they could drop the provision later in the process, which is what ultimately happened.

So finally, Louisiana residents can go to the local OMV office, provide their paperwork (and allow the government to keep records of it), and get a license that will allow them to get where they need to go. Or they can choose to skip the Real ID protocol and get a license marked "not for federal identification." Their choice.

That shouldn't be a big deal. But given how long a journey it's been and how much energy was wasted along the way, it's news worth cheering.
NEW YORK, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pzena Investment Management, Inc. (NYSE:PZN) today reported its preliminary assets under management as of September 30, 2016.



AUM for month-end September 2016, month-end August 2016, and month-end September 2015 are listed below:





Pzena Investment Management, Inc.

Assets Under Management1

($ billions) As of As of As of September 30, 2016 August 31, 2016 September 30, 2015 Account Type Institutional Accounts $ 15.9 $ 16.0 $ 14.9 Retail Accounts 11.5 11.6 10.6 Total $ 27.4 $ 27.6 $ 25.5 Investment Strategy 2 U.S. Value Strategies Large Cap Value $ 9.1 $ 9.6 $ 9.6 Mid Cap Value 2.3 2.2 1.7 Value 1.8 1.8 1.5 Small Cap Value 1.3 1.3 1.1 Other U.S. Strategies  0.1 0.1 Total U.S. Value Strategies 14.5 15.0 14.0 Global & Non-U.S. Value Strategies International Value 4.5 4.5 4.1 Global Value 4.4 4.3 4.5 Emerging Markets Value 2.5 2.4 1.7 European Value 1.4 1.3 1.1 Other Global & Non-U.S. Value Strategies 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total Global & Non-U.S. Value Strategies 12.9 12.6 11.5 Total $ 27.4 $ 27.6 $ 25.5 Account Domicile U.S. $ 19.7 $ 20.0 $ 18.4 Non-U.S. 7.7 7.6 7.1 Total $ 27.4 $ 27.6 $ 25.5 1 Numbers may be subject to rounding. 2 Inclusive of our Expanded Value, Focused Value and variations thereof.

About Pzena

Pzena Investment Management, LLC, the firm's operating company, is a value-oriented investment management firm. Founded in 1995, Pzena Investment Management has built a diverse, global client base. More firm and stock information is posted at www.pzena.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements provide the Companys current views, expectations, or forecasts of future events and performance, and include statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as anticipate, believe, continue, ongoing, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, potential, predict, project or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied by a forward-looking statement are those described in the sections entitled Risk Factors and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC on March 14, 2016 and in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and factors, actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this release.

The Company is not under any obligation and does not intend to make publicly available any update or other revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances existing after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of future events even if experience or future events make it clear that any expected results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements will not be realized.




No one can accuse Joan Young of attempting to do things half-assed, although the animals she looks after are exactly that.

The Sutton resident is Australia's largest breeder of miniature donkeys; her property is home to more than 100 of the species.

Fully grown miniature donkeys can grow up to 90 centimetres tall. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Starting 17 years ago with just three, Ms Young now has more than half of Australia's miniature donkey population.

"I always wanted to breed something, but I didn't want to breed something that people would want to eat, so donkeys were the obvious choice," she said.
The Sydney Swans have apologised for providing media with the wrong information about their best-and-fairest winner on Thursday night. The mistake meant it was incorrectly reported in print editions of The Age that Dan Hannebery, rather than Josh Kennedy, had won the club champion award.

The Swans have contacted Fairfax Media to apologise and taken full responsibility for the error. They also published a statement on their website: "The Sydney Swans can confirm an error was detected early in the count during Thursday night's Club Champion Award.

"After a thorough recount, it was determined a different player had won the award.
After bank bosses had their turn in the parliamentary spotlight this week, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the government will set up a new banking tribunal for aggrieved consumers.

Fending off Labor's push for a royal commission, he promised a "low-cost, speedy tribunal" to deal with customer gripes with their lender.

But will it make much difference for customers in a dispute with their bank?

Consumer advocates say that will depend on a host of as-yet-unknown details, but they are cautioning that a new tribunal is unlikely to be a quick fix for the many disputes between customers and banks, and that it comes with risks.
Consumers are being warned to steer clear of an online business that began on Channel Ten's Shark Tank and promises to deliver the latest fashion and beauty products in a box every three months.

NSW Fair Trading issued the warning about HerFashionBox.com following a growing number of complaints from customers who never received a box, struggled to obtain a refund, and kept having payments taken out of their bank accounts, despite cancelling their subscription.

Her Fashion Box, created by Sydney woman Kath Purkis, is a subscription-based business, which deducts $59.95 out of a customer's account each quarter before delivering a seasonal "fashion box" to their door.
Whitsunday residents are bound for court in a bid to show the Queensland government failed the environment when it approved a port expansion for Adani's new mega-coal mine.

Whitsunday Residents Against Dumping say dredging required for Adani's expansion of the Abbot Point coal terminal, north of Bowen, could do untold environmental harm and the mine itself will fuel global warming and endanger the reef.

Equipment at the Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Lawyers for the group will appear in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Friday, arguing Queensland's environment department failed to properly assess the port project before it gave Adani the go ahead.

The expansion is needed to ship coal from Adani's planned $16 billion Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin.
LISLE, Ill., Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, teamed up with Tenutas Food Lane and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a West Bloomfield, Mich. military family on Friday.

Eckrich surprised the Clark family at Tenutas Food Lane in Waterford Township, Mich. to honor, thank and support the family for their service. They were presented with a gift of free groceries for one year at Tenutas Food Lane, valued at more than $13,000, courtesy of Eckrich. As part of the event, crowds of shoppers were treated to samples of delicious Eckrich smoked sausage and deli meat, live country music and an appearance by Detroit Country radio station 93.1.

Christopher Clark served in the Army National Guard for nearly 10 years. He was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and received numerous medals and ribbons, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. His wife, Rebekah, is his full-time caregiver and a member of Operation Homefronts Hearts of Valor program, a network of more than 3,000 caregivers of wounded service members which provides annual retreats, support groups and online communities. The family has two children.

"This is awesome, and we are extremely thankful for companies like Eckrich and Tenuta's who never stop giving back," said Rebekah Clark. "You are always military, even when you are not active and that is why it means a lot to be recognized."

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012.

Eckrich is proud to continue supporting military families across the country, said Jennifer Zmrhal, Senior Director, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. We appreciate Tenutas partnership and we are honored to present the Clark family with one year of free groceries.

For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.

Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Eckrich

Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.



About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny, and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Operation Homefront

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefronts expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.
Congratulations on pulling off the greatest public relations stunt in history. So would you spare us a few minutes and tell us how you managed to do it? Some of us  sad throwbacks to another era  are a little confused. Like a lot of trends, we kind of missed the moment when it became cool to love sharks.

Silly old us. We'd come to loathe and fear the bloody things. Clearly our simple minds had been brainwashed by too many late night repeat viewings of Jaws. Don't get us wrong. There is more than a tinge of respect there. After all, a beast that has cruised the earth's oceans relatively unchanged for more than 400 million years  the most effective killing machine evolution could muster  surely deserves a little awe and even reverence.

But this new movement that has sprung up around Australia has us completely perplexed. Somehow you've turned the most feared creature on this planet into a poster boy for animal rights. As the writer Robert Drewe has observed, the shark has become the new dolphin. What a handful of us regarded as a pea-brained bloodthirsty killer is apparently highly intelligent. Greatly misunderstood. And, if not cuddly, then at least that favourite shark cliche  "majestic".

And now, despite its historic habit of snatching young people off surfboards, dismembering innocent swimmers and damaging the fragile summer businesses of so many along the north coast of NSW, it's impossible for any sane person to even suggest that perhaps the time has come for a little "eco-management" of the burgeoning shark numbers in our waters. You know, a restricted cull. Or just a bullet for the really bad big ones.
Our excuse for failing to respond to mass atrocities used to be that we didn't fully appreciate the horrors until it was too late. "If only we had known," became one refrain, along with, "Never again!"

In Syria, we are deprived of that excuse: We have a daily window into war crimes. If you're on Twitter, follow a seven-year-old girl in Aleppo, Bana al-Abed, @alabedbana, who with her mother's help is tweeting the carnage around her.

One tweet shows a video clip of Bana looking out the window and plugging her ears as bombs drop. "I am very afraid I will die tonight," she worried in imperfect English. "This bombs will kill me now."

"This is my friend house bombed," Bana tweeted with a photo. "She's killed. I miss her so much."
Attorney-General George Brandis is facing an embarrassing defeat as Labor and the crossbench unite to block a controversial move by him to restrict access by his colleagues to the government's chief legal adviser.

Senator Brandis is locked in an extraordinary brawl with Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson, SC, over a binding direction he issued requiring all ministers, including the Prime Minister, to obtain his written permission before seeking advice from Mr Gleeson.

Attorney-General George Brandis has faced calls to resign after Labor accused him of misleading Parliament. Credit:Fairfax Media

Legal experts have expressed concern the move could mean Mr Gleeson, who provides apolitical advice on major issues and appears in high-profile cases on behalf of the Commonwealth, is "frozen out" of advising the government.

Fairfax Media has revealed Senator Brandis sought the opinion of Howard-era solicitor-general David Bennett, QC, instead of relying on Mr Gleeson's advice on the same-sex marriage plebiscite.
Civil celebrants who oppose same-sex marriage would be allowed to refuse to officiate gay weddings under Attorney-General George Brandis' vision for marriage equality in Australia.

The Turnbull government is also considering extra funding for mental health groups if a plebiscite on same-sex marriage goes ahead, a tacit admission the public vote has the potential to harm LGBTI people's mental wellbeing.

Senator Brandis will next week bring to the Coalition party room proposed amendments to the Marriage Act that would be enacted if a plebiscite is held and passed by the Australian people.

He told a teleconference of marriage equality advocates on Thursday his preferred position was to protect both religious ministers and civil celebrants from anti-discrimination law if they did not wish to officiate same-sex weddings.
The day before a gala celebration marking China's National Day was held in Canberra last week, organisers found dozens of posters they had put up at the Australian National University to promote the event defaced with fluorescent green paint.

In large Chinese characters, vandals had smeared the words "Tiananmen Students" along with the numbers "six" and "four", a reference to the Communist Party's darkest of stains: peaceful, student-led pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square suppressed in a hail of gunfire and bloodshed on June 4, 1989.

As a crowd of bemused onlookers gathered, the event's incensed organisers, from the university's Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), hastily tore down the defaced posters.

A Chinese student at ANU, Erica Zhao, said, "It's quite cowardly to vandalise the posters behind people's backs," adding, "Australia is a place for free speech. If they felt bad about the posters they could have just spoken out rather than play tricks.
A shark has been artificially inseminated in an Australian-first experiment that aims to help save one of its critically endangered cousins.

The procedure was performed on a female leopard shark at a Sunshine Coast aquarium, with the sperm taken from a male kept in Melbourne.

A leopard shark has laid eggs after being artificially inseminated at Mooloolaba. Credit:File/Anthony Johnson

It's hoped the insemination attempt will ultimately help boost populations of the grey nurse shark by enabling researchers to understand more about reproductive behaviours.

The grey nurse's east coast population is listed as critically endangered with an estimated 1500 left.
The producers of SBS's Struggle Street have been fined for filming on Brisbane City Council property, escalating a feud between Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and the makers of the controversial documentary series.

The $609 fine was issued to the show's producers on Friday afternoon, after Cr Quirk's decision in May to refuse the production company filming permits.

Producers of the SBS's Struggle Street have been caught filming on council property in Brisbane.

Council lifestyle and community services chairman Matthew Bourke said the council acted on a complaint about filming in Inala and a council patrol observed the filming occurring on a Skylark Street footpath, near the corner of Bushlark Lane, at 2.47pm.

"Two people were interviewed and confirmed they were filming for Struggle Street and identified themselves as being associated with KEO Films Australia Pty Ltd," Cr Bourke said.
They had come, the Ford aficionados, from all around the nation and even across the sea, to circle the wagons for one last time and, yes, to mourn.

"It tears at the heartstrings," said Mark Scrivanich, who had driven his 2006 BF XR6 Falcon more than 1000km from Wyong, on the NSW central coast, just to be at Broadmeadows for this final day of Australian Ford vehicle manufacturing.

"To think I won't ever be able to buy a new Australian-made Ford ever again. It just doesn't seem right."

Scrivanich, 45, who bought his first Falcon at age 19 and has owned seven of them, was among a small sprawl of Ford owners and their machines parked in a half circle on the lawn across the road from the Ford headquarters on Sydney Road, Broadmeadows - strangers, most of them, but tight friends today. They were, in truth, at a wake for the shared love of their lives.
A pharmacist who illegally imported more than 400 kilograms of a drug found in cough medicine has had his dreams of a new career as a naturopath dashed because he isn't allowed to work with children.

Ali Kozanoglu, 57, was jailed for nine months after a County Court jury found him guilty in April 2015 of trafficking the drug dextromethorphan, which can be used to make speed and ecstasy.

Dextromethorphan is found in cough medecine. Credit:Louise Kennerley

While 'DXM' is a compound commonly used in cough medicine, the amount imported by the Coburg pharmacist was completely out of proportion to any legitimate use.

With his prison bid served, Kozanoglu recently applied for a working with children assessment but was given a negative notice because it was deemed he would pose an unjustifiable safety risk.
Passengers at Melbourne Airport endured significant delays on Friday evening after a technical failure that affected most parts of the airport.

Fairfax Media's Julie Posetti said she was told by Virgin Australia at the airport that the air bridge doors had locked shut, separating crew and passengers across the airport.

Her flight to Sydney was delayed for 90 minutes.

About 8.30pm, a Melbourne Airport spokeswoman said the technical issue was rectified, but she couldn't say what further delays the customers would have to face.
An ambitious state government goal to virtually eliminate new HIV infections within five years has been dealt a blow, with the latest data showing a sharp spike in HIV rates and a doubling in the number of deaths associated with AIDS.

Victorian health department figures reveal an increase in notified cases of HIV  from 143 in the first six months of last year, to 170 in the first six months of this year  as well as a 112 per cent rise in the number of AIDS-related deaths, from 8 to 17, over the same period.

Victorian Minister for Health Jill Hennessy's first "fast-track city" plans have hit a speed bump. Credit:Darrian Traynor

The data comes only months after Victoria signed up last December to a bold target to achieve "the virtual elimination of new HIV notifications by 2020".

At the time, state Health Minister Jill Hennessy also announced that Melbourne would become Australia's first "fast-track city"  committed to the United Nation's goal to ensure that by 2020, 90 per cent of people who are HIV positive know their status and are on treatment, and that 90 per cent of people on treatment have an undetectable viral load.
The evacuation was caused by leaking of a levee on the Ovens River, near the Parfitt Road and Clements Street intersection.

About 100 residents living close to Wangaratta's Parfitt Road have been told to evacuate their homes immediately on Friday night.

An evacuation order has been issued in Victoria's flooded north.

A state control centre spokeswoman said there was an area where the levee had weakened.

Residents in some parts of Wangaratta have been asked to evacuate. Water rising from the Ovens River had earlier put playground equipment in the drink in Wangaratta. Credit:Mark Jesser

"We can't guarantee it will hold, which is why the evacuation warning is in place," she said.

The spokeswoman said residents had already begun leaving.

They have been asked to move to higher ground or to the Wangaratta relief centre in Schilling Drive.
City of Stirling mayor Giovanni Italiano claims he has "nothing to hide" after a photograph emerged of him on holidays with a drug dealer and a man later convicted of his murder.

The photo of Mr Italiano was taken in 2007 when he was holidaying in Vietnam with Frank Mikhail and son Adam, who are both serving 37 years in jail for the murder of Frank La Rosa, also on the trip, and his wife Kim in 2008.

The La Rosas were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun and later found buried in a deep grave on a 40-hectare Chittering property belonging to Adam Mikhail's business partner, Tony Fazari, also pictured, in January 2009.

During the trial, state prosecutor Linda Petrusa argued that the Mikhails were motivated by a drug debt of $32,000 owed to Mr La Rosa, which was accruing $3000 interest a month that neither of them could afford.
New York: Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has accepted his unanimous nomination by the United Nations Security Council to become the UN's next Secretary-General.

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday put Mr Guterres forward, recommending that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for five years from January 1, 2017.

The General Assembly is likely to meet next week to approve the 67-year-old's appointment to replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea. Ban will step down at the end of 2016 after serving two terms.

"Humility [is what I feel] about the huge challenges ahead of us, the terrible complexity of the modern world," Mr Guterres said in a short statement in Lisbon, which he repeated in various languages. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Your postcard today comes from The Hague were our own Nick Miller met with Dutch King Willem-Alexander and dared ask him a 'spicy question'. Check out his virtual reality photograph from the lavish Cherub Room.

Miller was also quick on the job when UK politician and member of the European Parliament Steven Woolfe collapsed after an 'altercation' in the party room. Woolfe is better now, but the story won't end there. The rough and tumble of politics indeed.

Farifax Media correspondent Nick Miller spoke with Dutch King Willem-Alexander. Credit:Getty Images

Dan Flitton has weighed into the choice of another male for head of the UN. Portugal's Antonio Guterres has accepted the Security Council's nomination, but women everywhere are wondering what happened to the push to have a female Secretary General this time.

Talking of which, Hillary Clinton appears to have the wind at her back, writes Paul McGeough from Washington after analysing the latest polls.
The Hague: "Any advice for Prince Charles?" The question drew a smile from King Willem-Alexander (warned in advance, one aide had raised an eyebrow and said "oh, a spicy question").

Willem-Alexander has been ruler of the Netherlands since 2013 when his mother, the long-reigning Queen Beatrix, abdicated.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima leave the Knight's Hall after the King delivered a speech outlining the government's budget in The Hague on Tuesday. Credit:AP

But during an interview on Wednesday the 49 year-old refused to be drawn on whether Australia's royal family should follow suit.

Abdication is a tradition in the Netherlands  it started with his great-grandmother, he said, who felt after 50 years it was time to pass on the baton to a younger generation. This tradition means the change of monarch was not a time of mourning but of celebration, which gave him a very positive start to his position: the whole country had a big party.
Imagine: You spend weeks wondering if your spouse is cheating on you. You ask him about it, and he denies it. Then one day, you find his emails clearly showing that he has been cheating. You confront him, and he shrugs it off. You see no remorse in him. If anything, you see contempt. You start entertaining dark thoughts in your suffering. One night while you're fighting, an intruder breaks into your house. The intruder points a gun at both of you and threatens to hurt you and your children. Do you keep fighting your spouse, or do you try to figure out how both of you and the children can make it out alive?

For weeks approaching the Democratic National Convention and for days after, I was angry at Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic Party. I felt betrayed, and I was suffering partly because I saw no sign of remorse after email leaks showed that party officials had conspired to work against Bernie Sanders' campaign . If anything, I saw contempt for Sanders himself and Bernie supporters like me. The memory of comedian Sarah Silverman on the DNC stage sneering, "You're being ridiculous" at heartbroken Sanders voters left a terrible wound, partly because there was no one invited on stage to offer anything like a rebuttal. I entertained dark thoughts after Philadelphia, such as joining the anti-Democratic party movement #DEMEXIT and leaping into the eager arms of the Green Party, or leaving America altogether.

But I'm not doing any of those things. I can't. Even though I devoted huge amounts of time and energy to Sanders' campaign, and despite the DNC's unfair treatment of my preferred candidate, I refuse to let Donald Trump rise to power. For me, voting Clinton is about protecting America's most vulnerable from the right-wing extremism Trump represents, even if it means throwing my support behind a candidate I'm not especially fond of.

I volunteered countless hours to support Sanders' campaign during the Democratic primaries. With a few friends, I organised what must be one of the first grass-roots Sanders events, in April 2015 in New York City. I was there in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015, when he announced his candidacy. I was elated to see so many people with the same dreams for changing America by aggressively confronting income inequality, climate change, war and money in politics. During the primary, I travelled to Iowa, New Hampshire and Washington state, and maintained the third-largest grass-roots page for Sanders on Facebook, We Want Bernie Sanders (now called Save Main St ). Like thousands of others in Bernie's movement, I did all that because I love my country and wanted a better future for us all.
The Trump campaign appeared to disavow one of its most provocative policy proposals on Thursday, as Governor Mike Pence of Indiana said explicitly that Donald Trump no longer wants to impose a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States.

In a round of television interviews in which he was asked to clarify once and for all where the campaign stands on the proposal, Pence, who opposed the ban before becoming Trump's running mate, declared the idea dead. The reversal is a significant one for the Trump campaign, which was accused of promoting a policy that was discriminatory and likely unconstitutional when Trump unveiled it in the name of national security last year.

Asked on CNN about why he will not condemn the Muslim ban now, Pence said, "Because that's not Donald Trump's position now."

In recent months, Trump has changed how he has talked about the ban, saying that "extreme vetting" of immigrants should be focused on people coming from countries that have been compromised by terrorists. But that idea led to more confusion, because it was not clear if it was an expansion of the Muslim ban or a shift away from it.
The press took note when Hillary Clinton wore pantsuits from the American label Ralph Lauren at the Democratic National Convention and at the first presidential debate. But the brands favoured by her opponent, Donald Trump, have slipped under the radar.

While the Republican nominee has in years past expressed a fondness for the upscale Italian label Brioni (owned since 2011 by Kering, a French corporation), it was not a certainty that he has been wearing Brioni suits on the campaign trail.

Barack Obama has the same taste in suits as Donald Trump. Credit:AP

An email exchange with Hope Hicks, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, cleared things up. Trump has indeed been wearing Brioni as Election Day draws near, and he also favours suits by the Brooklyn label Martin Greenfield Clothiers, "among others," according to Hicks.

Greenfield is perhaps best known as the tailor to President Barack Obama. Other fans of Greenfield suits include the former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. Jay Greenfield, a son of Martin and the co-owner of the company, confirmed that it had made several suits for Trump before the start of his presidential run.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called on the terminally ill to "hang out till November 8. Get out and vote ... I don't care how sick you are".

Speaking at a rally in Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday, the Republican presidential nominee told dying voters that it doesn't matter that they won't be around in two weeks, "don't let the other side win".

"I don't care if you just came back from the doctor and he gave you the worst possible prognosis, meaning it's over," Mr Trump said. "Doesn't matter. Hang out till November 8. Get out and vote."

The Republican presidential nominee appeared more controlled on the campaign trail on Wednesday and Thursday than he was last week, sticking with scripted speeches, mostly avoiding interviews and sending tweets that appeared to have been closely edited, if not entirely composed, by his staff. He denounced interruptions during debates and said he would avoid mentioning Bill Clinton's affairs during Sunday's town hall debate with Hillary Clinton in St. Louis.
LEARN MORE: Fuel Cell News, Video, Articles and Video

ELKTON, Md., Oct. 6, 2016 -- Honda Motor Company Ltd. (Honda) introduced its latest Clarity fuel cell vehicle in Japan in March 2016, and it is due to be available in the US in late 2016. The innovative Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is creating lots of buzz for its user-friendly technology and spacious interior.

The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the first fuel cell sedan that provides cabin space for five passengers. That's thanks to Honda's downsized fuel cell stack power train, the efficient, high-power-density, zero-emissions engine mounted under the vehicle's hood.

Inside that stack are next-generation fuel cell membranes developed by W.L. Gore & Associates.

Gore's GORE-SELECT Membranes facilitate the chemical reaction between the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle's hydrogen fuel and oxygen. The unique design of the Gore membranes contributes to the fuel cell stack's increased power density while meeting Honda's strict requirements for durability and quality.

Since Gore entered the fuel cell industry in the early '80s, Gore Fuel Cell Components have been used in thousands of applications worldwide. Gore's portfolio of fuel cell membranes is known to the industry as having the highest performance and highest durability, two key factors in the life of an automotive power train.

About W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Gore is a technology-driven company focused on discovery and product innovation. Well known for waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX fabric, the company's portfolio includes everything from high-performance fabrics and implantable medical devices to industrial manufacturing components and aerospace electronics. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Newark, Del., Gore posts annual sales of more than $3 billion and employs more than 10,000 associates with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and China, and sales offices around the world. Gore is one of a select few companies to appear on all of the U.S. "100 Best Companies to Work For" lists since the rankings debuted in 1984. The company also appears regularly on similar lists around the world. Learn more at gore.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:

SOURCE W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

CONTACT: Lisa Mullinax, 410-506-5556, lmullina@wlgore.com

RELATED LINKShttp://www.gore.com/fuelcells
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Hospital offers safe option to dispose of meds, narcotics Los Robles Health System is working to crush the opioid drug crisis by raising awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications. Crush the Crisis will take place...

Alzheimers Foundation to host free conference The Alzheimers Foundation of America will host a free virtual educational conference from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tues., Nov. 15. The event is part of the foundations 2022 national Educating America Tour. The conference, which is free and open...

Authorities warn about rainbow fentanyl Victims often arent aware theyre taking it

The Ventura County Office of Education and state health officials have issued a warning to schools and families about rainbow fentanyl, a form of the potentially fatal synthetic opioid that comes in bright colors. Rainbow fentanyl can be found in...

Cancer support community to host remembrance event Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara invites family members and friends of those who have died from cancer to attend the second annual Evening of Remembrance from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 3 at Cancer Support Communitys Garden of Hope,...
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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. 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Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. 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Oil States International, Inc. engages in the provision of manufactured products and services used in the drilling, completion, subsea, production and infrastructure sectors of the oil and natural gas industry, as well as in the industrial and military sectors. It operates through the following segments: Well Site Services, Downhole Technologies and Offshore or Manufactured Products. The Well Site Services segment includes a broad range of equipment and services that are used to drill for, establish and maintain the flow of oil and natural gas from a well throughout its life cycle. The Downhole Technologies segment provides oil and gas perforation systems and downhole tools in support of completion, intervention, wireline and abandonment operations. It also designs, manufactures and markets its consumable engineered products to oilfield service as well as exploration and production companies. The Offshore or Manufactured Products segment designs, manufactures, and markets capital equipment utilized on floating production systems, subsea pipeline infrastructure, and offshore drilling rigs and vessels, along with short-cycle and other products. The company was founded in July 1995 an
Theres something going on, folks, something Donald Trump isnt telling you.

His town hall, for instance, held 40 minutes late Thursday evening in Sandown, New Hampshire, was riggedrigged in the kind of way Trump accuses the media of rigging debates in Hillary Clintons favor, rigged in the way hes likely to accuse nefarious forces of rigging the general election if he happens to lose, as most polls suggest he will, on Nov. 8.

The first sign that something was amiss came Wednesday evening at 9:18, when Trumps campaign sent reporters an advisory that he would be holding the event at 320 Main St.

*Please note that this event is not open to the public, the notice read.

Not open to the publicthus removing the town aspect of the town hall, leaving just the hall?

The town-hall format has historically been an open meeting of the citizens of a community to discuss important issues. The first recorded town hall took place in 1633 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, according to Time, and, after sporadically occurring throughout the ensuing few hundred years, became a feature of the modern campaign thanks to Bill Clinton, who perfected the format.

Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey who ran for the Republican nomination himself before dropping out, shelving his dignity and endorsing Trump, has held more than 130 town halls in his tenure.

The personal aspect of this method of campaigning and communicating with voters allowed Christies gift as a retail politician to shine, which in large part is why pundits and party leaders thought hed make a good candidate in the first place.

But that was then.

Sundays debate will be a town hall-style affair, and so the Trump campaign has enlisted Christie, who is in charge of Trumps transition team, to advise the candidate on how to not fail miserably like he did at the first debate.

Christie was in attendance Thursday night, and Trump repeatedly called him Chris and our friend in a way that seemed to underscore his decline, from serious moderate Republican to sycophantic deplorable.

Sandown is a town of about 6,000 in Rockingham County, according to the 2000 Census, its more than 98 percent white. But Thursday night it might as well have been a sound stage on The Apprentice: Trump Presidential Edition.

Trumps event was emceed by Howie Carr, a conservative talk show host in Boston who Trump suggested, out loud, probably supports his candidacy. Unlike at a typical town hall, where random people are passed the mic to ask questions, Carr held a stack of white note cards that featured questions allegedly thought up by the people in attendancepeople, remember, who the Trump campaign selected to be there.

In true Trump fashion, Trump began by reading some cherry-picked polls that show him beating Clinton. When we do badly, I dont know about the polls, he joked. Now, heres one thats a biggieUPI just came out with this, like, a little while ago, he said. Virginia: Trump 50, Clinton 45! The crowd said, oooooohhh, like he was hosting a cooking show and had just set the flan on fire.

Look at the media, he told the audience. Theyre going crazy! They dont know whats up theyre not happy, let me tell ya.

They laughed.

They were saying this is practice for Sunday, Trump said. This isnt practice. This has nothing to do with Sunday.

Of course, he was lying. Compared to Clinton or almost any other professional politician, Trump has virtually no experience with the town-hall format. His answers were timedtwo minutesand he joked with Carr that if he was doing badly, he should cut him off.

He joked about Clintons debate prep, which she proudly admits has been extensive.

Thats not debate prep, he said. Shes resting.

The first question, which Carr himself read off the card, was whether Trump had really held back during the first debate. A real toughie.

I did hold back, Trump said, before going on a riff about the microphone he claims was defective (the problem was not that nobody could hear him) and blaming that for his bad reviews.

Then he said, earnestly, I really felt that i wanted to keep it on as high a level as possible, because it is about issues, it is about policy. No one seemed to recall that he spent much of the debate defending himself for calling Rosie ODonnell fat and then spent the ensuing week calling a former Miss Universe fat and encouraging the country to view her sex tape that doesnt exist.

Carr didnt even say who the second question was from, but this person who definitely exists was just dying to know what the biggest problems in the country are. Trump gave his standard stump-speech riff.

The next question was from Charlene, who said she was Hispanic. She wanted to know how Trump planned to change the minds of other, less-enlightened Hispanics who Barack Obama and the biased media had deceived.

It went on and on this way until it was overand it was over quickly.

How do I get a job? one man asked.

Were you really jealous of Mike Pence like John Harwood reported you were?

Whats your advice for young people chasing the American dream?

What are you going to do to fix the VA?

Wont it be bad if Hillary Clinton gives Social Security to illegal immigrants?

And then there was Lara. I thought you needed a fun question! she said, as if he had even broken a sweat answering the others. Carr then read her question for her: Whats one of your earliest memories as a child? She added, Carr said, go Donald!

Trump said he sat at his fathers knee while he worked in his office, Id be playing with blocks and it was always so vivid. So vivid that his kids often repeat the same anecdote about their own childhoods.

It was then that Trump overheard negotiations, which was instructive for him as a young boy.

The night ended with a note card being passed from Carr to Trump.

Trump read it: Oh, the World Series! he said. Look, ohof course its Boston! He threw the card in the air and smiled the big, wide smile of a man who has no fucking idea that this is not the sort of prep that will sufficiently prepare him for a presidential debate that he desperately needs to win if he wants to retain any hope of beating Clinton on Nov. 8.
Donald Trumps biography on the website of his privately held corporation, the Trump Organization, calls U.S. Sen. John McCain a birther conspiracy theorist, claiming that:

In 2011, after failed attempts by both Senator McCain and Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump single-handedly forced President Obama to release his birth certificate, which was lauded by large segments of the political community.

Asked about the claim, which has been in his biography since at least last August, Sen. McCains spokeswoman Rachael Dean replied, As the record clearly shows, Senator McCain has never questioned President Obamas birthplace.

This is so. McCain famously defended Obama against conspiracy theories when he carried the Republican presidential banner in 2008. At multiple campaign events, the Arizona lawmaker forcefully pushed back against his own supporters who questioned Obamas religion, race, and loyalty to the United States.

Clinton, too, never attempted to force President Obama to release his birth certificate, contrary to Trumps claim.

Trump, on the other hand, first emerged as a politically significant force when he began beating the birther drum in 2011, and hes continued to do so ever since, even after declaring last month that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.

Last summer, Trump, while vying for the Republican nomination, said of McCain: Hes not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured? I like people who werent captured.

Trump received multiple medical deferments from the Vietnam-era draft for bone spurs while attending business school and once called the risk of STDs while sleeping around his own personal Vietnam. McCain spent almost six years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, where he refused early release despite being brutally tortured to avoid the appearance of favoritism because his father was an admiral.

Despite that insult, Sen. McCain, facing a right-wing primary challenge for re-election, eventually endorsed his partys nominee for president but pointedly criticized Trump after he hurled insults at the Gold Star Kahn family, saying I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trumps statement While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.

Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening about the sentence in the candidates corporate biography that effectively labels McCain and Clinton the original birthers. Said Clinton campaign press secretary Nick Merrill: The record is clear on this. I give Donald Trumps bio four Pinocchios.

Notably, the sentence in Trumps biography uses almost identical language to that of Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr. at Liberty Universitys 2012 convocation, when he was introducing Trump, whod just finished flirting with a presidential run that year.

Said Falwell, to a roar from the assembled believers: Trump has also become one of the most influential political leaders in the United States. In 2011, after failed attempts by Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump singlehandedly forced President Obama to release his birth certificate.

Harry Siegel contributed reporting.
Few if any candidates for federal office will tell you that as a consequence of current federal law, young Americans are being screwed in two life-changing ways.

First, under current law, every Social Security beneficiary under the age of 48 will have their promised benefits cut by a third. And second, every young person who works is contributing between $10,000 and $20,000 to the health care and retirement of those lucky Americans who are already drawing benefits under federal law.

In some ways the second screwing is worse than the first. Young workers do not have the defined benefit retirement programs commonly enjoyed by their grandparents, and if they do have health care through their jobs, their annual deductibles are probably greater than what their grandparents paid to have children and attend college.

Perhaps the media will notice that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have something very important in common: Both are on Social Security, or at least they are eligible for the old age benefit guaranteed by Social Security.

Clinton is pushing 70. Trump just passed it. Both have substantial amounts of non-employment income to supplement their Social Security benefits. Neither have any personal concern about the Social Security trustees report warning that the so-called trust fund for the Old Age and Survivors program will be depleted in 18 years.

Congress is in the same privileged condition. The average age of senators and House members is 62 and 57 years, respectively. They will have congressional pensions to supplement their Social Security. And thanks to the lucrative revolving door to the private sector, it is unlikely that they, like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, will be personally impacted by the dire predictions of the report.

However, for every American under the age of 50especially the growing numbers whose only source of retirement income will be Social Securitythe trustees report is very bad news. The Do Nothing Plan supported by nearly every member of Congress and the presidential candidates contains a large cut in benefits or a comparably large increase in taxes. And every year support for the Do Nothing Plan is sustained, the burden on young Americans grows.

As I noted above, the second screwing of young Americans costs them more than $10,000 per year. And if you exclude government employees that number is almost $20,000 a year about the total average amount of college debt.

And as the growth of spending on current retirees grows, there are fewer and fewer private and public resources available for the programs young people desperately need: equity for college, child care, public education, and real long-term infrastructure that creates dependable good paying jobs. Congress and the President are robbing from our future to pay for our past.

That this is going on is not surprising to me. I know from 12 years in the United States Senate that there are two kinds of people in the U.S Congress. There are those who can count, and there are those who lose. And when it comes to elections, every candidate knows that seniors are much more likely than younger voters to show up.

Seniors are much more likely to vote for candidates who pander to them by telling them the above-mentioned truths. They may love their grandchildren, but pollsters will tell you not to count on that love translating into necessary adjustments in Social Security.

So, is all hope lost? Are we doomed to watch Congress kick this can down the road until the trust fund is depleted? Perhaps. But I offer three relatively informed pieces of advice to our relatively informed media that just might help.

First, recognize that those who support no change are actually supporting something. They are supporting the Do Nothing Plan. And this plan will have a real impact on future benefits and taxes.

Second, while it is worth noting that Secretary Clinton has said she is open to raising the caps, perhaps the media could ask our presidential and vice-presidential candidates if they feel guilty knowing that they have reached an age that makes them safe, while younger Americansespecially the middle class that is the object of their most intense concernare going to get screwed under current law. (I was pleased to see at least that the vice-presidential candidates were asked about the trust fund at their debate.)

Third, recognize that we do not just need to fix Social Security so it is fair to all living generations. We need to agree on changes in Federal law that will ensure that all Americans have additional sources of non-employment income besides what they receive from the Federal Government.

If we do, the future of young Americans will become materially brighter. If we dont, they will be doubly screwed.

Bob Kerrey is the former Democratic senator from Nebraska.
The End of the European Supernation?

MADRID  Since the eurozone crisis began in 2008, the European Union has, from a political perspective, led an intergovernmental life in supranational clothing. But as the EU prepares to negotiate Britains exit, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Union no longer has any clothes at all. The question now is whether the EUs status as an enterprise dominated by its member states is permanent.

The supremacy of member states  especially Germany  in EU decision-making is far from new. It was evident throughout the euro crisis, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, along with the European Councils then-president, Belgiums Herman Van Rompuy, took center stage.

But the myth of European supranationalism persisted. In particular, after Jean-Claude Juncker took over as President of the European Commission in 2014, the EUs executive branch began to bill itself as a Brussels-based institution capable of leading the way toward what Juncker called in his 2015 State of the Union speech more Union in our Union.

This year, Juncker delivered a far more sober speech. Indeed, it seems that the June Brexit vote has chastened not only Juncker, but all of the Commissions Europhiles, who have largely been sidelined in the ensuing battle over what Europe will look like. (The notable exception is Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestagers very public stand on taxation, the outcome of which is still to be determined.)

Instead, that battle has been playing out largely within the European Council, with Merkel assuming a central role. While it is impossible to say exactly what the EU that emerges will look like, it seems clear that it will look nothing like the Brussels-centric, deeply integrated Shangri-La long sought by many at the Commission.

Council President Donald Tusk has been especially adamant on this point, criticizing naive Euro-enthusiastic visions and calling for a more modest Europe that promises less and delivers more. Tusk reiterated this position just before the recent informal European Council summit in Bratislava  the first not to include the United Kingdom  declaring that giving new powers to European institutions is not the desired recipe.

Merkel, for her part, spent the summer preparing a member-state-led approach to the Brexit negotiations and Europes future. The discussion and outcome of the Bratislava summit underscored these efforts.

As for the Commission, its only real action in recent months was to appoint Michel Barnier in July as its chief representative in the Brexit negotiations. With the Council taking command of that process, it is far from clear what Barnier will actually do. In fact, with member states domestic politics playing a more important role than the European Council in driving whatever EU policy momentum exists, even an intergovernmental EU may be too much to hope for.

Consider Germany, where the dreadful performance of Merkels Christian Democrats in a string of regional elections, including in her home state of Mecklenberg-West Pomerania, has caused many to question the countrys trajectory. Now, the wait is on for next years federal election, which may send the country  and its approach to EU leadership  in a very different direction. Uncertainty is also coming from other directions: Italy will hold a constitutional referendum by the end of this year, and France and the Netherlands will hold elections next year.

None of this is to say that supranationalism is a thing of the past. But it is likely that parochial interests will become even more dominant, at least until major elections are complete. An opening for a European approach may follow, but only if the current torpor does not lead to institutional atrophy.

Earning the publics trust is crucial. In the past, the EU has forged ahead, as if the public approved. It does not. As Hubert Vedrine, a former French foreign minister, recently estimated that only 15-20% of Europeans are Europhiles, another 15-20% oppose the EU outright, and the remaining 60% are euro-allergic. It is a rough but fair portrait.

Put simply, for much of the public, EU institutions lack legitimacy. The reasons are well known: poor communication, a democratic deficit, finger pointing between member states and the Commission, a flawed institutional architecture. Juncker and Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, can speak about methode communautaire until they are blue in the face; it is not happening in the foreseeable future.

The result is clear: in the struggle over how Europe will develop, the EU institutions lack the authority or support to put up much of a fight  or even fully enter the ring. But this moment of national navel-gazing among the member states may actually present an important opportunity for EU institutions to work on closing the legitimacy gap.

This means resisting the urge to wax poetic about future actions that never actually materialize, or to roll out impressive-looking programs with few real-world effects. It means, instead, completing key initiatives, most urgently the banking union; improving accountability; and ensuring that the public understands what the EU institutions are doing. And it means staying out of political conflicts, which neither the European Commission nor the European Parliament are in any position to win.

If this approach seems cautious, that is because it is. Now is the time not for risky shortcuts, but for meticulous, well-planned, incremental measures that gradually and consistently earn the publics trust. The relatively modest list of concrete priorities issued by Juncker and Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans is a good start.

Most people are not stupid. They can generally tell when they are being strung along, and they are tired of empty rhetoric and half-baked initiatives. Only if the EU institutions deliver genuine action, in a credible and transparent manner, can they ensure that the current inter-governmentalism is just a phase and that the future of Europe is Europe.
The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st, the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the afterlife was at its thinnest, allowing the dead to walk among the ancient terrified masses. While almost everything about the holiday has changed, Halloween is still a time when something hoped long-dead lives again, leaving terror and panic in its wake. For college administrators, this terror is not Uncle Brians reanimated skeleton lumbering into the living room. Its racist Halloween costumes.

College students near-endless capacity to act like jagoffs has caused plenty of administrative problems over the decades. But, thanks to the magnifying power of the internet and social media, what in the 1980s might have been a week-long annoyance has the potential to turn into something much worse. All it takes is one viral post of a photo of a white kid in a sombrero at a frat house, or a forwarded evite to a ghetto-themed party, or one aggressively chill white chick in a headdress to turn what would have been a headache into a chainsaw massacre of a schools brand.

This year, Please Dont Dress Like a Racist, Kids season kicked off early. On Wednesday night, at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, a crowd of about 30 people (mostly students) showed up for a program on avoiding insensitive costumes. Posters advertising the event provocatively asked Is Your Halloween Costume Racist? For those frightful of the looming boogeyman of PC culture, lectures on what is and is not offensive is a spooky, scary concept indeed.

But Timothy Gongaware, interim chairman of the Department of Ethnic and Racial Studies, told The Daily Beast that it wasnt meant to be a missive against fun. One of UWLs stated values is that of diversity, equity, and inclusion of all people and perspectives, and this event reflected that by providing the audience with an opportunity to consider the possible effects of actions, or the actions and reactions of others, he said.

Part of the events success may lie in the fact that UW-LaCrosse hasnt yet found itself the center of national conversation about racist Halloween costumes and how not to handle them. Other schools havent been so lucky.

Last year, the President of the University of Louisville apologized after photos surfaced of him hosting a Halloween party wherein attendees dressed in sombreros and bushy mustaches. Elsewhere, and years earlier, a ghetto-themed party that went viral at the University of Chicago left a ding on the schools reputation and Google results. Connecticuts Fairfield University suffered a similar embarrassment when its students hosted their own ghetto party in 2015.

For every school that doesnt succeed at convincing its students to avoid offense, theres a school that comes down too heavy-handed. Samantha Harris, director of policy research at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), tells The Daily Beast that colleges are well within their rights to encourage discussion and dialogue among their students, but they run afoul of student expression when they actually threaten to discipline students over clothing, as Rhodes College did last year against students who dressed up in costumes deemed offensive.

Harris adds that in recent years, the way colleges treat students has shifted. As colleges become more corporatized, and the more students are seen as consumers rather than people there to get an education, universities respond to student demands like a company might respond to dissatisfied customers, she said.

Halloween, with its massive potential to offend and subsequently embarrass, has become a veritable horror house for colleges, administrators, and students even attempting to hold a fruitful conversation around cultural sensitivity. The terrifying tale of Erika Christakis, for example, could be told around college administrator campfires. Last year, Christakis, then the associate master of Yales Silliman College, sent an email critical of the universitys role in policing Halloween costumes. Students responded by angrily confronting her husband, Nicholas, on campus, and later demanding Christakis lose her position. The pair eventually resigned from the college. The calls (for her resignation) were coming from inside the house!

Harris says that it isnt a colleges job to shield students from discussion; it should encourage rather than interfere with intra-student discussions.

Thats what groups like Maile Nguyens aim to accomplish. Nguyen is the president of Ohio Universitys Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS), the group behind those now-so-famous-its-been-memed Were a Culture, Not a Costume public-awareness campaign. The campaign, which started in 2011, features an array of people of different cultures and races posing with photos of people dressing in racial and culturally themed costumes, and aims to educate students about how costumes that appropriate other cultures can be hurtful. Athens, Ohio, where Ohio University is located, hosts a massive Halloween party every year.

Nguyen, whose group also leads cultural education programs on campus, tells The Daily Beast that theyre not interested in exacting punishment on students who wear the wrong thing: Our goal isnt to go out and tell people that theyre bad people for wearing these costumes. More to educate on why these costumes are hurtful. The groups message has been mostly well-received, although Nguyen notes the group receives an annual deluge of mail deriding the creeping menace of PC culture.

As for UW-LaCrosses Is My Costume Racist? event, Gongaware says it was a success. Not a single person showed up to mock it.

And so, like a horror movie monster, Halloween and all its confusing commensurate issues rises again, back from the dead once more. Maybe the ancient Celts were on to something.
GOP Gov. Rick Scotts announcement that registration deadlines wont be extended for Florida voters despite a deadly hurricane is generating Category 5 outrage from voting rights groups who are warning against what they see as de facto voter suppression.

As Hurricane Matthew approached, a Florida elections official told The Daily Beast that the number one priority is citizen safety and protecting lives, and didn't want to speculate about how the hurricane might affect voting in the state. But Scott ended any doubt by declaring late Thursday evening that he would not be extending the deadline.

Everybody has had a lot of time to register, Scott told the press during a briefing on the storm. On top of that, weve got lots of opportunities to vote: Early voting, absentee voting and Election Day. So, I dont intend to make any changes.

The response came after Hillary Clintons campaign manager, Robby Mook, told reporters on a conference call that their campaign hoped Florida would extend the deadline due to the circumstances.

The backlash from voting rights groups was swift, and advocates wondered if Scotts decision had more to politics than his commitment to the people of Florida. Scott is the co-chair of a super PAC that supports Trumps election.

Florida will not have online voter registration until 2017, meaning that voters need to mail in their registration or deliver it to a government office in personboth which are options limited by the hurricane. Extended deadlines typically benefit groups that are less likely to have already registered, such as young and minority voters.

This storm has no partisan intentions and severely affects all voters, and potential voters, in very large counties in our state. The Governor shut down coastal communities for two business days, rightfully warning people this storm was life threatening. It is only fair that he uses his same powerful voice and power to extend voter registration for the same amount of days, argued Pamela Goodman, president of the Floridas League of Women Voters. Do the right thing again, Governor Scott, and ensure every Florida citizen has the right to vote in this extremely important election.

South Carolina, which is reliably Republican and is not a swing state, went the opposite direction on Thursday, announcing that it would extend voter registration deadlines by two days due to the closures of government offices caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Judged against the actions of his peers, Governor Scotts decision is out of line with what good governmental administration should provide, said Anita Earls, the executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, which works on voter rights issues.

Supporters of Scotts decision may say that the deadline of Tuesday, Oct. 11 is set out in state law, and the law doesnt explicitly grant the governor the authority to change the deadline.

But in what could set up a legal challenge, voting rights advocates argue that the broad emergency powers of the governor in Florida extend to issuing such an extension, and that Florida law calls for ensuring maximum citizen participation and allows for the delay of elections due to a state of emergency.

Extending the voter registration deadline would ensure maximum citizen participation in the election, provide a safe and orderly procedure for people seeking to exercise their right to vote, and would minimize the danger to which person seeking to register would expose themselves, argued Goodman.

The decision on whether or not to extend the voter registration deadline is not trivialpolls show a nail-biter of a race in Florida, with the Clinton up by just 3.2 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics polling average. And of course, Florida was the crucial state that determined the outcome of the contentious 2000 presidential campaign, in which President Bush won by just 537 votes.

Approximately 50,000 Floridians registered to vote during the last five days of voter registration in 2012, said Earls.

Its not surprising that Rick Scott did not heed the call to extend voter registration. He has consistently worked to limit voting rights, especially for Black and Latinos. He has been clear that this hurricane was a grave and serious matter, and ordered everybody everywhere to evacuate, said Gihan Perera, the executive director of The New Florida Majority, a voting rights group. NewFlorida Majority, like people across the state, stopped our last surge of voter registration to heed the warnings and make sure that all our people were safe. If there was any way to extend the deadline, that would be a natural thing to do, given the circumstances.

Scotts reputation on voting rights is already murky: He reversed an executive order from his predecessor which gave ex-felons a chance to vote after a restitution process. Now, those with non-violent felony convictions must wait five years before applying for a hearing, while others must wait up to seven years.

Governor Rick Scotts reputation on voting rights is not good. He has been widely criticized for unfairly denying the restoration of voting rights to people with criminal record histories who have served their time and are productive members of society, Earls said.

With the hurricane wreaking havoc in his state at a critical time for voter registration, Scotts legacy on voting rights could improved if he extended the deadlineotherwise, it will be cemented as one of disenfranchisement
Donald Trump proved once again that he isnt interested in big tent-politics. If his statements Friday about five innocent teenagers are any indication, hed prefer to burn the whole encampment to the ground and dance in its ashes.

Rather than invest himself in meaningful outreach to black or Hispanic communities, Trump seems to relish in every opportunity to ball up his diminutive dukes and pick a fight. Hand him an olive branch and, instead of extending to African American and Latino voters, hes liable to whip himself over the head with it.

The self-proclaimed billionaire was positively plucky in a statement to CNN regarding a decades-old, headline grabbing case that rocked New York City. In 1989, as five boysfour black and one Latinostood accused of gang-raping and brutally beating a white female jogger in Central Park, Trump could not help but snatch some the spotlight for himself at a time when tabloids screamed about wolfpacks. In the weeks after the attack and before the trial could commence, Trump paid for a full-page ad in the New York Daily News and publicly called for their execution.

Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back The Police! the headline blared.

I want to hate these muggers and murderers, Trump wrote. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.

Amid mass hysteria about so-called wilding, the boys were convicted based mostly on coerced confessions. All five languished in jail for well over a decade before they were cleared by DNA evidence after a serial rapist serving a life sentence, Matias Reyes, confessed in 2002 and the convictions were vacated. Reyes was never tried for the rape of jogger Trisha Meili because the statute of limitation had run out by the time he came forward.

None of that matters to Trump. They admitted they were guilty, Trump told CNN Friday. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same.

It doesnt matter to him that boys, slightly older than his own sons, nearly lost their lives to the criminal justice system. It doesnt matter to him that their fathers, mothers, and grandparents endured sleepless nights during their years of incarceration or that one of the boys wasnt even allowed to attend his mothers funeral. It doesnt matter to Trump that justice failed them in 1989 and kept failing them until they were released and the city approved a multi-million-dollar settlement.

For a man who chides his political opponent for referring to young criminal suspects as superpredators, Trump was all too willing to send five young boys to be executed for a crime they did not commit. First popularized by John Dilulio, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and William Bennett and John P. Walters, in the 1996 book Body Count: Moral Povertyand how to Win Americas War Against Crime and Drugs, superpredator as a term is partially rooted in the Central Park jogger case. There was, according the Dilulio, a new generation of street criminals is upon usthe youngest, biggest and baddest generation any society has ever known.

The theory has since been disproven and renounced by Dilulio, who went on to become the director of new White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the G.W. Bush Administration.

Trump has always called for more harsh punishments, never for systemic or really any reforms. Never for health and healing in distressed communities. Never to protect the civil liberties or to provide a safety net that would ensure more educational and economic opportunity for black and brown boys like Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise.

He wanted them dead. And he stands by that, even now that theyve been released and paid a collective $41 million as a form of recompense for their years of unfair imprisonment.

The facts here are clear, the Clinton campaign said in a released statement. These young men were exonerated. Another man has admitted to committing the crime, as proven by DNA evidence. Trump rushed to judgement on the case, has refused to admit he was wrong and continues to peddle yet another racist lie, a pattern for him and a clear reason why he is unfit to be president.

Trumps self-imposed prominence in the case has been a constant point of tension for many African-Americans, who see a Trump presidency as a threat to their human rights. Just as he took credit for demanding to see the presidents long-form birth certificate, rather than apologize for his mistake, the one-time reality television show personality continues to insist that the boys were, in fact, guilty as charged and blames the justice system for letting them go. Despite the DNA evidence and the confession of a serial rapist, he called the $41 million civil settlementapproved by a federal judge and supported by Mayor de Blasio in 2014the lowest and worst form of politics.

My opinion on the settlement of the Central Park Jogger case is that its a disgrace, Trump wrote. A detective close to the case, and who has followed it since 1989, calls it the heist of the century, Trump wrote at the time.

Settling doesnt mean innocence, but it indicates incompetence on several levels. This case has not been dormant, and many people have asked why it took so long to settle? It is politics at its lowest and worst form.

His statements should come as no surprise. This is who Trump always has beenfrom the time he was sued by the Justice Department for denying housing to black rental applicants to the time he referred to Mexican immigrants as murders and rapists to the time he verbally assailed a U.S.-born federal judge for his Latino heritage. So then, there should be little wonder why the Republican nominee has garnered so little black or Hispanic support.

What in the hell do you have to lose? he rhetorically asked of black voters at a string of rallies.

The answer isat least for the Central Park Five iseverything.
Shep Gordon has a knack for playing a key role in seminal moments in popular culture. If there wasnt already a film about himSupermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, directed by Mike MyersId be tempted to make a comparison to the lead character in Woody Allens famous film Zelig, who has a habit of showing up at historically important events.

The phrase the man behind the man is perhaps even more apt, since Gordon helped create and steer the careers of numerous famous acts, including Alice Cooper, an elderly Groucho Marx, Teddy Pendergrass, and Raquel Welch. He also had a hand in jump-starting the celebrity chef craze. One of his many feats was to help turn a young upstart chef named Emeril Lagasse, then running the kitchen of New Orleans institution Commanders Palace, into an internationally known force of nature.

While his Rolodex would make him a powerbroker in just about any celebrity circle, for our drink on a recent evening, Gordon rolls into midtown Manhattan steakhouse Frankie & Johnnies with an entourage of just one publicist. That is, of course, unless you count a large table quickly filling with his college buddies from the University of Buffalo, many of whom he hasnt seen in decades.

We settle at one end of the bowling lanesize bar. When the bartender comes over, Gordon cranes his neck to scan the liquor on the shelves and immediately asks if the restaurant stocks Sammys Beach Bum Rum, which is made by his friend Sammy Hagar. In addition to being old chums, Gordon and Hagar were partners on Cabo Wabo Tequila and often cook together when they are both in Hawaii. (Gordon has a home in Maui, where he has lived for decades.) I love cooking with Sammy, he says. We really rock. It doesnt hurt that his Hawaii abode has a giant kitchen that any professional chef would covet, complete with a 12-burner stove, a salamander broiler, and a pizza oven. There is also a wine cave holding 2,000 bottles, including several Bordeaux wines from his birth year (1945) and a fully stocked bar with plenty of Scotch, bourbon, rum, and a ton of vodka. A lot of people have very specific vodka thoughts, he explains.

Alas, Frankie & Johnnies does not carry Hagars rum, but the restaurant does have Casamigos Tequila, which is made by Gordons other friends, Rande Gerber and George Clooney. (Do you see a pattern forming here?) We order two Margaritas, made with the brands blanco tequila and without a salted rim. Befitting our surroundings, they arrive in sizable hurricane glasses. They are no doubt made with a premade sour mix and not with the damiana tequila liqueur (a supposed aphrodisiac) that Gordon swears by. But the drinks go down smoothly.

Cabo Wabo Tequila wasnt the only spirit that Gordon has worked on. Years ago, he partnered with Willie Nelson on Old Whiskey River Bourbon, a six-year-old whiskey that came adorned with a guitar pick. Despite the creative packaging, the liquor was perhaps too far ahead of its time and failed to catch on. If Willys product was out now, I think it would do really well, says Gordon. He tried once to restart it, but was unable to get his hands on aged American whiskey, which, thanks to a recent popularity surge, is currently in short supply.

Gordon has no desire to get back into the spirits business now and has, in fact, been retired for years. But he seems plenty busy to me. His memoir, They Call Me Supermensch: A Backstage Pass to the Amazing Worlds of Film, Food, and RocknRoll, was just published by Anthony Bourdains HarperCollins imprint, and Gordon has been pounding the pavement to promote it. Retirement has a new definition for me, he says, setting up the punchline. It means you do exactly the same thing, but you dont get paid.

Part of that same thing is playing host to a parade of stars at his Maui residence. He estimates that his guest house is occupied 75 to 100 days a year. The craziest part is that he doesnt really know many of his visitors before they arrive. He recently hosted professional wrestler Chris Jericho and his family for a week. They had met just once before, at a dinner for Clive Davis.

I had to ask: Do visits ever go badly? Never, he insists. But he does admit, Ive had times when I was happy people left, but its never been bad. Its never been ugly. Ive been pretty lucky.

Its a great way to get to know people, continues the supermensch, who truly believes in a kind of karmic circle of life. It always comes back bigger than I give it.

With that, and a few more sips, Gordon heads off to dinner, ready to entertain his college buddies.
When inmates at Marylands Eastern Correctional Institution wanted contraband, all they had to do was text. Anything they wanteddrugs, porn, cigaretteswas just a corrupt correctional officer away.

A three-year investigation by the FBI and Marylands U.S. Attorney revealed a sweeping Wednesday indictment against 80 correctional officers, inmates, and accomplices allegedly involved in massive smuggling ring in the states largest prison. Correctional officers kept many exchanges cash-free, handing out cell phones and asking inmates to purchase contraband using PayPal, the indictment reported. Other officers allegedly extorted inmates in sex-for-drug trades, and forced them to use contraband knives on inmates who threatened to snitch.

People in the know called contraband donuts, the indictment charged. The catch-all codeword encompassed cocaine, heroin, marijuana, a long menu of prescription pills, cell phones, pornography, and knives.

And for inmates on the guards good side, the racket meant good money.

For a standard $500, correctional officers would smuggle contraband to inmates, who would distribute the products at massive markups. Suboxone strips, a heroin-recovery drug typically retail at $3 each. But inside the prison, inmates allegedly sold the strips for $50 a pop, quickly recovering the $500 they paid the guards.

Inmate Joseph Branch and Correctional Officer Kimberly Rayfield teamed up to run their racket like business partners, the indictment charged. If everything went according to plan, Branch would leave prison with a healthy savings account.

I keep telling u that if u do ure part im gonna do mine, Branch texted Rayfield from a contraband phone in November 2015. I want at least 50,000 leaving this place. I know I can get it. U just gotta remove the leash.

Tobacco and pornography made steady money, but Branch pushed Rayfield to make a move on the synthetic marijuana market. I passed out a pack today. So 14000 is owed to us, Branch texted Rayfield after handing out all but $200 worth of synthetic weed, also called K2. U can tell me I was right about the flip on the k later. Lol, he wrote of their profits on the drug.

Branch also asked Rayfield to pick better porn DVDs for their customers. Some of them movies work, so u can ease them in too, Branch wrote. The moreso the freak ones than the regular.

If they kept up sales at their November rate, they would make no less than 8,000 on every haul, Branch estimated.

But contraband was hard to move into the medium-security prison, where guards were subject to searches on their way in, and smugglers began to suspect that investigators were onto their contraband ring. To bypass scrutiny, correctional officers allegedly smuggled goods in their underwear, in sanitary napkins, and in more personal places.

Load up on them joints, inmate Troy Johnson told an accomplice on a recorded phone call, telling the unnamed man to get five or six hundred of them and put them in his butt. Inmates will sell their soul for it, Johnson promised.

The momentary pain of smuggling drugs in ones butt might have been soothed by the money flowing through the prisons network of cell phones. Inmates regularly sent officers PayPal and Western Union deposits worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, using the same phones the officers had smuggled in.

This is my jail dog, inmate Zachary Martin texted a supplier after allegedly getting synthetic marijuana smuggled in.

But the smuggling ring wasnt all fun and direct deposits.

Defendant COs had sexual relationships with defendant inmates, the indictment reported. Defendant COs exchanged sex for contraband. In addition, these sexual relationships cemented the smuggling and trafficking relationships between COs and inmates.

The indictment does not acknowledge that inmates cannot consent to sex with corrections staff. Under federal law, these incidents are considered sexual abuse.

Business relationships allegedly aligned with gang loyalties. Inmates and corrections officers were often part of the same gangs, and made deliveries accordingly; in the prisons west compound, a group affiliated with the bloods gang received regular deliveries, and ordered at least one beatdown over a botched delivery on a shipment of synthetic marijuana.

And the beatings increased as correctional officers grew suspicious of an investigation against them. Inmatesthe officers didnt know whichbegan leaking information on the drug trade that ruled their prison. When officers became suspicious of an inmate, they would allegedly command other inmates to attack the information. The indictment describes two incidentsone linked to a dispute within the bloods gangin which correctional officers ordered inmates to stab enemies with contraband knives. (The prison is currently facing an unrelated lawsuit by an inmate who says he was stabbed multiple times while an officer failed to act. The officer is not named in the indictment.)

By February 2016, the scheme built on volatile gang alliances was unraveling. Corrections officer Rachelle Hankerson had one major client behind bars, and when he was high on smuggled substances, he couldnt keep his mouth shut.

I cant fuck with someone thats constantly high or constantly drunk, a nervous Hankerson told another inmate when they called in a favor on a contraband phone. Too many inmates knew to contact her for drugs, she cautioned the inmate on the recorded call. You drawing attention to yourself  you constantly approaching me.

By summer 2016, Hankerson had allegedly ordered one of the knife hits on an inmate who fought with the bloods, who had contracted her for deliveries.

Dont let it fuck me up, Hankerson warned an inmate in a February call when he asked her to deliver contraband. Cause at the end of the day, Im gonna get fucked up if shit goes south between yall.
Like many successful brands, the luxury soap business Jaboneria Marianella has a compelling origin story. Or perhaps that should be stories, because Marianella Febres-Cordero did not merely escape the fraught political landscape of her native Venezuela. She then emigrated to the U.S., where against all odds she started what is now a thrivingand highly respectedbusiness in the confines of her own kitchen.

Together with her son, David Foote, Febres-Cordero created and launched the beauty soap business in 2007, with signature scents like Moroccan Fig & Bergamot, and Wisteria & Jasminewhich she created to duplicate the smell of the Dama de la Noche flower that she once placed next to her young son Davids bed in Venezuela while he slept at night. Each of the companys four scents are inspired by Marianellas childhood, her childrens childhoods, and the favorite places she has lived. Its like a piece of me always goes into the making, she says.

Over the years, the beauty bars have been sold in over 200 luxury boutiques worldwide, J. Crew being among their first notable retail partners. They have become a fixture in the bath and beauty business for a discerning whos who of taste makers, including everyone from celebrity trainer/boxer Noah Neiman of Barrys Bootcamp fame to Broadway dancer/choreographer Charlie Williamsjust two of the 20 well-known fans of the brand recently featured in a viral campaign created by Marianellas son, David.

The brand is touted as being a natural luxury soap because of its frothy lather, but Marianella herself, is quick to say that she takes great pride in creating a lather that is all natural due to her special mix of ingredients. In fact, she never intended on creating a natural soap product line, but the more she mixed and tested ingredients over the past 12 years, her natural combinations not only smelled better, but also delivered better results.

As David explains, If you can see it, its me. If you can feel it, its my mom. Marianella, a celebrated author and graphic designer in Venezuela, creates the fragrances, formulas, hand picks the ingredients, and supervises the warehouse and store orders. And David, an accomplished fine artist and filmmaker in NYC, oversees the brands look, marketing, campaigns, and website. Lets face it, partnerships are hard work, even on their best days. But a mother and son working relationship can prove to be tough, no matter how much love is involved. Lessons learned from each? David cites patience is a virtue, and Marianella quickly replies of working with her artist son, never contradict him  ha ha, conveying the importance of knowing what each person brings to the table. We may have a difference in opinion, she says, but we always agree on whats best for the business.

Marianella has always focused on living her life with a creative slant, especially when nurturing her sons natural artistic talent from the time he was a baby. I never taught David to draw, but I did give him the tools and allowed him to be creative, she says, telling the story of painting her living room wall with blackboard paint for her 1-year-old son. He was constantly drawing and used every piece of chalk before he opened a new box. It was no surprise to her when David at the age of 18, left Venezuela and moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design in 1998.

Over the next few years, after Hugo Chavez took power in Venezuela, the socio-political climate became too dangerous for Marianella and Davids sister to live there alone. So David decided to move them to the U.S. in 2006. But in Plano, Texas, where the family wound up, turned out to be less than hospitable to a woman recognized in her own country as an experienced author and designer. Although she quickly began applying for work and visited employment agencies, she found that no one took her seriously as an experienced artist and professional. As a female immigrant, she was only offered menial tasks or labor jobs. Marianella reflects, it was doubly hard for me because I was always self-employed, always had my own business. Frustrated and looking for a creative outlet, she started making soap in her kitchen, something she learned to do as a little girl in Venezuela and had continued to do as an adult.

Ever since David moved to New York City, Marianella would send him customized soaps with the familiar scents of home. After many years and countless boxes of soap, David started handing out samples to his downtown NYC friends. When they couldnt stop raving about the soap, David began to take his mothers passion project seriously. One day, he called her and said, Hell, why arent we selling this stuff?and like that, Jaboneria Marianella was born.

Since launching the company, Marianella and David have worked out logistics and worked through growing pains, following an organic learn as you go approach. As David tells it, This was a soap we loved, which my mom made in her kitchen. They made a lot of mistakes, but collaborated on every decision. Reflecting on the early days of building the business, Marianella says, I have to love what I do. The passion we put into this company, never wavering, no matter what, is what leads us to success.

Then, in 2012, David called her one day with some exciting news: O Magazine was going to feature the soap as one of Oprahs Favorite Things. When David told me, I burst out crying! Marianella laughs now as she tells the story. I was only making 45 bars of soap per week, and I instantly became overwhelmed, thinking about how many Id have to make because of Oprah!

Marianella was correct: the company quickly began producing more than 1,500 bars of soap a week and has never stopped growing since. It now mass-produces the recipes with Marianella closely supervising every detail, right down to how each bar of soap is wrapped.

Now the company is about to navigate its biggest holiday season yet, with the introduction of its first product extension of hand washes, body washes, and body creams. Marianella says, This soap was created with lovebased on the soap that I made for my son, with all things that he loved in his childhoodthat is what started the company.
Zaina Erhaim had traveled to Britain before without incident, most recently in April where she collected Index on Censorships Freedom of Expression Journalism award for her reports cataloguing the depredations of the Assad regime in her native Syria. But when she landed at Heathrow airport late last month, she discovered just how far those depredations carry.

Her passport was confiscated by UK Border Agency officers who questioned her, as she held her 9-month-old infant in arms, for several hours in an area she quaintly describes as for suspicious people.

Finally, she was informed that her passport was reported as stolen and was therefore being sent back to Damascus. It is the property of the Syrian government, one officer told her. You have to coordinate with them.

Do you really know which government were speaking about? Erhaim asked.

Then I collapsed, she said in an interview with The Daily Beast. I was really angry. It was 2 a.m. My baby was in my hands.

It was only by chance that Erhaim was lawfully let in, owing to her possession of a second, valid passport when she landed. That one was nine years old but had no blank spaces or pages left for further immigration stamps or visa inserts.

So I applied for a new passport at the Syrian consulate in Istanbul and received it in April. She has since used the new one to travel to the UK, Norway, Spain and Germany, all without problems.

Erhaims case, which she describes as one of a dictator versus independent journalists has become a minor cause celebre in liberal quarters in the UK, albeit without much media fanfare, as the Guardians Roy Greenslade has pointed out.

Yet the victim here is no ordinary exile. She was educated in international journalism at City University London, where she obtained her Masters Degree (and studied under Greenslade, as it happens).

Erhaim is also a recipient of the Chevening Award, which is underwritten by Britains Foreign and Commonwealth Office and bestowed upon future leaders, influencers and decision-makers. She also worked for the BBC for a year, traveling back and forth from rebel-held Aleppo. Now she is a project coordinator for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in London.

In fact, she was coming to Britain to participate in a discussion about the perils of being a woman frontline journalist in a war zone, a discussion she was happy to have.

One would think that the foregoing curriculum vitae would give her testimony about the legitimacy of her travel documents more weight than that of a sanctioned mass murderer who gasses people in a capital city. And how has the UK Home Office responded to her case?

They havent, Erhaim said. Im not dealing with anyone, to be frank. I'm only getting the news from you guys, journalists. No one from the government has contacted me. At some point, I was really scared when he was speaking about the regime as a legitimate government  they might deport me to Damascus. What would I do then?

Indeed, she informed the Border Agency officers that the stolen document was itself stamped by their colleagues five months earlier. She was told that this was before Damascus issued a notice about its alleged theft.

Zaina is somebody who is very well respected, says Rebecca Vincent, director of the London bureau of Reporters Without Borders, which also awarded Erhaim its annual prize in 2015. Shes well connected and well known to the British authorities. The fact that this has happened to her is appalling. It sends a worrying signal about the UK governments priorities, its commitment to press freedom, and its broader policy toward Syria.

Vincent added that a group of London-based NGOs has requested an urgent meeting with the Home Office. To date, theyve received no response.

The Daily Beast sheepishly inquired if Erhaim has even bothered talking with the regime about all this. Maybe in Sednaya prison theyd negotiate this issue with me, she answered, referring to the notorious detention facility in Damascus where, even before the Syrian uprising in 2011, political prisoners were known to have been tortured and murdered.
Lost in the latest news cycle of Trumpian outrages and insanity was a move by House and Senate Republicans last week to block any inquiries into Donald Trump and his gangs web of ties to Russia. This despite the fact that the candidates financial entanglements and Putinite sympathies could negatively impact foreign policy and national security should he become president. So are these the people were supposed to count on to keep a President Donald Trump from blowing up the world?

When theyre not tripping over their own tongues deciding whether Trump is or is not a good role model, Republicans keep insisting that if voters keep them in charge of both houses of Congress, they will rein in their preferred commander in chief. Indeed, the prerogatives of the first branch of government, the legislative, were designed to keep a presidents power in check (or to obstruct him to the point of absurdity, in the case of Barack Obama.)

But these Republicans, who back Trump no matter how outrageous or temperamental or seemingly unstable he becomes, cannot possibly be counted on to stand in his way if he wins in November.

Which of the lot should we trust to stop a President TrumpSecretary of State John Bolton or Defense Secretary Michael Flynnfrom pursuing his more excessive desires: whether weakening our bond with NATO or recognizing Putins annexation of Crimea? The same Republicans who are preventing Democrats from holding a single hearing on Trumps Russia ties?

Who in the GOP would complain if Trump federalizes stop and frisk or encourages its proliferation in states using the power of the Justice Department purse? Who would step forward if the White House sends a bill to the House and Senate repealing decades of jurisprudence to allow reporters to be sued over stories the Trump family doesnt like? Will the Hill rise up to demand that Attorney General Chris Christie or FBI director Rudy Giuliani stand down?

What stalwart Republican would stop Trump from profiteering for his businesses from the White House the way hes gamed his companies and the tax code for decades, or prevent him from letting his adult children milk their fathers position to benefit his supposed blind trust? Who would hold committee hearings or empanel a select committee if Trump solicited donations to his personal piggy bank from a foundation from his Russian pals or other foreign entities eager to make a buck off of President Donald J. Trump, Inc.? Is Trey Gowdy going to take a break from re-investigating Hillary Clintons emails to get on the case?

Do we put our faith in Speaker Paul Ryan, who, despite calling Trumps attack on Judge Gonzalo Curiel full-on racist, continues to dutifully support him for president, to the point of personal humiliation? Would he refuse to bring Trumps Muslim ban legislation to the House floor for a vote? Would John McCain, whose heroism was trashed by Trump and who can barely spit out the candidates name on the campaign trail but has dutifully lined up behind him anyway, be the champion of the American values his president would butcher in favor of the Putinite cult of personality he craves? Would McCain speak out if, say, President Trump sicked the IRS on Judge Curiel, or on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, to intimidate their investigations away? What about if President Trump re-implemented Dick Cheneys torture program? Would the Senator break his silence then?

What of Marco Rubio, who went from Trump ridiculer to Trump bootlick as fast as his nakedly ambitious feet could carry him? Would he vote to stop President Trump from unleashing mass deportations on the DREAMers who have come forward, risking exposure under the protection of President Obamas executive orders, which Trump would presumably repeal?

Or Ted Cruz, who traded his stated principles, along with the defense of his own wife and father, for a vow to help elect the man who derided them. Is he the one who would stop President Trump from confiscating remittances from Mexican-Americans to force Mexico to pay for his southern Berlin wall?

While the Senate and House races have become an afterthought in the battle royal for the White House, the fact is, Republicans would have no incentive to stop a President Trump from doing his worst. Zero. None. That they have lined up grimly behind him, despite all that he has said and done, demonstrates that they would be too afraid, and too servile, to stand up to him even if such incentives existed. And unlike with George W. Bush, they wouldnt even need a terrorist attack to make them fall in line.

Thats because as president, Trump would surely give Republicans nearly everything they want. Despite his populist pretensions, he has absorbed all of the long-held economic goals of the Republican elite: massive tax cuts for the super rich, deregulation, expansion of fossil fuel extraction, and the repeal of the estate tax. Two of which would benefit him personally, as is his bedrock operating principle. Trumps economic plan, such as it is, was written by establishment, Calvin Coolidge-nostalgics like Stephen Moore and Larry Kudlow. Its actually a wonder the Koch brothers arent supporting him, too.

Trumps more outre economic ideas, like repealing trade bills and implementing a massive surcharge on imports, would seem like non-starters in a Republican-led House and Senate, except when you consider a second point as a kind of syllogism: Republicans fear their angry, white electorate. Their angry, white electorate chose Donald Trump. Therefore, Republicans are likely to do whatever President Trump wants, regardless of how insane it is, for fear that his angry, white supporters, who now form the core of the Republican base, will turn on them.

If the Trump economy melts down, Republicans would simply blame Democrats, or Barack Obama, or the wrath of God (or more to the point, trans restroom users and wedding-insistent gays triggering the wrath of God.) But they would never, in this universe or a Marvel alternative, blame the Republican president, and risk killing themselves in the 2018 midterms.

Meanwhile, Republicans would have their eyes on 2020, when a Trump reelect or a Romney, Rubio or Ryan second try would come with a new U.S. Census, with the prospect of giving Republicans control over redistricting, state houses, and Congress for a decade.

Donald Trump has surrounded himself with sycophants who are willing to repeat every absurd line he demands of them: hes a tax-dodge genius! That Latina Miss Universe brought it on herself (and so did Hillary!) The most supine among them, like Christie and Giuliani, clearly hope to be rewarded with jobs in a Trump administration.

But if Trump is elected, every Republican in Washington, and at the state level across the country, would be incentivized to do only one thing when the Dear Leader in the White House calls the tune: They will dance. Its what they do.
Seventy percent of Americans think it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay, and 75 percent think thats already the law. But in fact, in 28 states, its perfectly legal to fire a gay or trans person because you dont like their sexual or gender identity. And with Republicans in state legislatures and the House of Representatives afraid to upset the Christian Right, the gap between public opinion and legal reality isnt closing any time soon.

The result, on federal and state levels, has often been government by executive order. In 2014, for example, President Obama required federal contractors to agree not to discriminate against LGBT people. And earlier this year, Louisianas governor, John Bel Edwards, did the same.

That has led to one of the most bizarre battles over LGBT equality in the nation, in which the governor is suing his own attorney general for voiding dozens of contracts that have the non-discrimination clause in it, even when the contractors were perfectly happy to sign them.

As you might expect, this is pure politics, played at the expense of Louisiana taxpayers.

Attorney General Jeff Landry is a Republican with his eyes on the governors mansion. Governor Edwards, meanwhile, is a Democrat who succeeded the GOPs once-rising star, Bobby Jindal, who had not only rescinded LGBT protections, but had actually signed his own executive order expressly permitting discrimination against gay people.

When Edwards turned the tables in the beginning of this year, conservatives cried foul. Suddenly, the executive orders that were just fine in the Jindal administration became outrageous cases of executive overreach in the Edwards one. Landry fell in line, first issuing a memo that the Edwards order was unenforceable, and then  even though no contractors had objected to the non-discrimination language  voiding 37 contracts that contained it.

The stalled contracts are primarily with lawyers who work with the state, and according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, they relate to state ports, medical malpractice awards, and oversight of state bonds.

Edwards and Landry met to try to resolve the dispute, but they failed to do so. According to the Times-Picayune, Edwards said at a press conference, He basically told me that if I wanted him to approve those contracts that I would have to sue him. So Im obliging him on that.

The court date is set for October 17, with Louisiana taxpayers paying for both sides.

Landrys argument is that gender identityhe calls it gender identity, in scarequoteshas never been a legally protected class under federal or state anti-discrimination laws. Therefore, Edwards order is effectively making new law, creating a new class of protected people.

Though he claims his actions are not motivated by the substance of the executive order, Landry is also, clearly, against protecting LGBT people from discrimination. I think that the general mood indicates that this type of policy is not supported here in this state, he said.

Under Landrys direction, Louisiana is also one of 23 states suing the federal government over a related issue: the Department of Justices letter to schools that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on gender, also covers discrimination based on gender identity. Just as schools may not discriminate against girls (or boys), the DOJ stated, so they may not discriminate against transgender girls or boys.

Like Landrys claim in Louisiana, the states lawsuit claims not only that gender identity is not covered by Title IX, but that since it hasnt been explicitly defined in any law, transgender people cant be protected at all. The states won a preliminary injunction against the rules in August, with a notoriously anti-gay judge extending the injunction nationwideeven in states that didnt join in the lawsuit.

Behind the legal claims, of course, is a whole lot of transphobia. Conservatives have obsessively focused on the bathroom panicthat transgender women are actually men in disguise, waiting to exploit these laws to assault women in restrooms.

For example, Landry has stated that the federal guidance creates an environment in which children may be more easily exposed to sexual predators, despite there being zero evidence for this incendiary claim. Indeed, in most school environments, trans kids are simply allowed to use a single-stall, gender-neutral restroomsuch as faculty restrooms, for instance.

Landry also said that the DOJ rules place the mental well-being and privacy rights of 99 percent of Louisianas children at risk without any demonstrable evidence of benefit to the less than one percent of the population this policy purports to benefit.

That, too, is contradicted by abundant evidence that transgender people are frequently assaulted in restrooms and elsewhereand, again, the fact that no ones well-being is disturbed when a kid uses a single-stall bathroom somewhere else in school. The entire bathroom panic is based on a lie.

Landrys arguments in Louisiana are equally specious.

First, if Governor Edwards executive order is indeed unconstitutional, then the remedy would simply be for an affected contractor to sue. Courts are supposed to resolve actual cases or controversies, after all, not merely hypothetical ones. So, if a contractor were to refuse to sign a contract with the provision in it, and the Louisiana government were to refuse to sign a contract without it, there would then be a ripe controversy for a court to decide.

Here, no one has objected. Landry has simply held the 37 contracts to be invalid because of a single clause.

That, too, is legally preposterous. As a technical matter, nearly all contracts have a severability clause, which means that even if one clause of the contract is invalid, the rest of the contract holds. So even if Landry is correct about the executive order, that doesnt justify junking the entire contract and holding up state business.

Indeed, even some Republicans who are opposed to LGBT protections have said that Landry has overstepped his authority.

Finally, Landry has insisted, over and over again, that the governor continues to want to push for a protected class that the Legislature has rejected. Thats false for three reasons. First, the legislature rejected a broad LGBT anti-discrimination law, not a limited provision applying to government contractors. Second, they voted down the law, not some referendum on whether gender identity is a thing.

And third, the governors order was based on the federal Department of Justices interpretation of Title IXwhich is precisely the DOJs job. No one has invented a new protected class; DOJ has simply said that gender-identity discrimination is a kind of sex discrimination.

As a political gambit, however, Landrys action makes all the sense in the world. Never mind the legal incoherence, rhetorical exaggerations, and evidence-free pronouncements. Never mind the fact that he will surely lose in court eventually. He might win at the ballot boxand that, obviously, is what this quixotic, hurtful crusade is all about.
As of Oct. 1, Russia had hundreds more nuclear warheads deployed than the United States did. A startling 429 more, in fact, according to the U.S. State Department.

Dont panic quite yet. The gap is probably temporary. But that doesnt mean alls well when it comes to potentially world-ending weaponry.

The reason for the disparity is simple. While the U.S. military has been steadily cutting the number of nukes it loads on submarines and bombers and in missile silos, Russian forces have recently been adding more.

Seemingly more worrying for the United States, Russias 1,796 deployed warheads exceedby a whopping 246 weaponsthe cap of 1,550 deployed nuclear weapons that Moscow and Washington agreed to as part of the 2011 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

The United States, meanwhile, is already well below the New START cap. Americas missile submarines, nuclear-capable heavy bombers, and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles are armed with just 1,367 warheads, the State Department says.

Both Russias nuke surplus and Americas lesser total could change in the next 17 months. Washington and Moscow have agreed on a Feb. 5, 2018, deadline for fully implementing New START. Until then, the countries respective nuclear arsenals could fluctuate in sizeand often.

You have to keep in mind that numbers go up and down on a day-to-day basis, so a one-day [snapshot] may mislead about force trends over time, Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear expert who blogs at Arms Control Wonk, told The Daily Beast.

Both the United States and Russia have signaled their intention to abide by New STARTs terms, meaning Russia will probably start shedding old warheads pretty soon, replacing them with a smaller number of newer atomic munitions and ultimately erasing the current nuclear disparity. Neither of us is in violation of the agreement, Lewis stressed.

New START is actually one of the few reasons for optimism amid the U.S.-Russia strategic arms race. For starters, the treaty only covers deployed nukesmeaning those on quick alert aboard subs, on planes, and in silos.

The treaty doesnt limit how many perfectly functional nuclear weapons the United States and Russia can keep in storage. In many cases, those warheads could go from stored to deployed with just a few hours work.

The State Department told The Daily Beast that the United States possesses 4,717 deployed and non-deployed nuclear weapons. Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, has estimated Russias stockpile to be around 4,500 warheads. Neither Washington nor Moscow discloses the exact number of its nukes that are totally inactive and awaiting dismantling.

President Obama has called for further nuke cutsalthough, in fact, his administration has reduced Americas nuclear stockpile at the slowest rate in a generation. Regardless, the Republican-led Senate, which must approve any treaty, has resisted deeper reductions in the U.S. arsenal. Both the U.S. and Russian governments plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in coming decades modernizing their nuclear arsenals with new warheads  and better rockets, bombers, and submarines to carry them.

Although these programs do not constitute a buildup of the overall nuclear arsenal, they are very comprehensive and reaffirm the determination by both Russia and the United States to retain large offensive nuclear arsenals at high levels of operational readiness, Kristensen wrote on his blog.

While New START seems to be holding strong, a separate disarmament dealwhereby the United States and Russia agreed to dispose of excess fissile materialhas just collapsed. The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, signed in 2000, covered 34 tons of surplus, weapons-grade plutonium in each country.

Under the terms of the agreement, both Russia and the United States would render the plutonium unusable for military purposesnot only to decrease nuclear tensions between the two powers, but also to ensure the excess plutonium didnt somehow wind up in terrorists hands.

Citing a radically changed environment, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Oct. 3 that Russia was pulling out of the deal. Nevertheless, Moscow informally pledged that it wouldnt use the old plutonium in weaponsagreement or no.

The decision by the Russians to unilaterally withdraw from this commitment is disappointing, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. The announcement about the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement is more in line with those kinds of decisions that have only deepened Russias isolation in the international community.

Meanwhile, the United States has been insisting for at least three years now that Russia is violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which bans many types of short-range nuclear weapons.

U.S. officials have not said just how Russia is allegedly violating the treaty, but the purported breach might involve the road-mobile SS-25 ballistic missile.

Earnest expressed cautious optimism that, despite everything, Russia is still committed to reducing the risk of atomic warfare. He pointed to Russias cooperation with the United States in negotiating the deal with Iran to end that countrys nuclear-weapons program. I think thats an indication of the priority that Russia has placed on nonproliferation, Earnest said.

But Russias and Americas equal commitments to maintaining and modernizing their overall nuclear arsenalsregardless of any agreement to cap the number of deployed warheadsspeaks to an underlying atomic distrust that lingers a quarter-century after the Cold War ended.

How the two countries justify such large arsenals is somewhat of a mystery, Kristensen noted, but seems to be mainly determined by the size of the other sides arsenal.

Updated Oct. 8, 2016, 9:00 am.
If you're a '90s Kid missing the thrill of the Cold War you mostly missed, don't fret, America 2016 has got you covered. We've got Russia potentially hacking the election, we've got people just dropping strange banners of a Russian despot off of our finest landmarks, and according to the U.S. District Attorney's office, three men have just been arrested for illegally selling military technology to Russia. The Cold War is back, baby!

The U.S. District Attorney's office announced that Alexey Barysheff, a 36-year-old naturalized citizen who hails from Brooklyn, conspired with two Russian nationals, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Karpenko, 33, and Alexey Krutilin, 27, to go around a government licensing system to export military-grade microelectronics to Russia. In a press release, the U.S. Attorney's office said that the men violated a Commerce Department regulation that puts limits on the kinds of technology that can be exported from America if it poses "significant contribution to the military potential and weapons proliferation of other nations."

According to the complaint filed by the government, the three men sent "digital-to-analog converters and integrated circuits, which are frequently used in a wide range of military systems, including radar and surveillance systems, missile guidance systems, and satellites" to contacts in Russia. The sales were allegedly made possible through the use of two front companies set up by in Brooklyn by Barysheff, BKLN Spectra, Inc. and UIP Techno Corp.

Barysheff, Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Krutilin allegedly represented themselves as employees of Spectra and UIP, and didn't tell American manufacturers of the electronics they were buying that they were actually exporters. The electronics were first shipped to Finland before being sent to Russia, and the conspirators allegedly lied to the Department of Commerce about the true nature of the objects being shipped.

If convicted, the three men face 25 years in prison.
The Obama administration has concluded that Russias senior-most officials ordered hackers to break into the computer networks of American political organizations in order to interfere with the U.S. election process, intelligence and security agencies said in a joint statement Friday.

The statement was the administrations first public attribution of the hacks against the Democratic National Committee and a second political institution to the Russian government. Privately, officials had said for the past few months that all signs pointed to an operation being directed by Moscow intended to meddle with the November election.

That evidence mounted as law enforcement and intelligence agencies sifted through technical details about the hack and eventually reached a consensus that Russia was to blame, a senior administration official told The Daily Beast.

The process continued as the intelligence community gathered more information and got higher and higher degrees of confidence attributing the hacks to Russia, the official said. The agencies, along with the Department of Homeland Security, came to a consensus recently the official added, without specifying a precise date, but he added that intelligence and law enforcement worked as quickly as possible to release as much information as possible without compromising sensitive sources and methods.

The intelligence community has high confidence in its attribution into the intrusions in the [Democratic National Committee] and the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] based on forensic evidence cited by a private cyber firm and the intelligence communitys own review and understanding of the cyber activities by the Russian government, a second U.S. official told The Daily Beast.

The joint statement also attributed activities by three separate online organizations to the Russian campaign.

The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts, the statement said. DCLeaks has posted stolen emails of current and former U.S. officials. And Guccifer 2.0, which claims to be an independent hacker, had been believed to be the source of stolen DNC emails to WikiLeaks, which published them last summer.

Officials also said they had detected Russian attempts to target state and local-level elections systems.

We also worked as quickly as possible to release as much information as possible in order to provide state and local officials sufficient time to fortify their infrastructure, the official said. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have put state elections officials on notice that hackers have been trying to access voter registration files and could cause havoc on Election Day. So far, 25 states have asked the department to help scan their computer networks for security weaknesses.

Notably, the statement didnt blame the Russian government for targeting state elections systems, but it did say the activity had been traced to servers owned by a Russian company.

But the Obama administration did squarely blame the DNC hacks on the Kremlinand not just lower-level officials. The authorizations for the hacks came from the most senior levels of the Russian government, a U.S. official told the Beast.

The administrations decision to name Russia raised two immediate questions: Why now? And what next?

The first official said the timing had nothing to do with Sundays presidential debate or the election campaign in general. Privately, some Republicans groused that the decision appeared motivated to bolster suspicions that the Russians are hacking Democratic organizations in order to boost the campaign of Donald Trump.

The official also said the timing of the statement had nothing to do with the administrations decision to break off negotiations with Russia over and end to the civil war in Syria. Earlier Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Russian government of war crimes for attacks on civilian institutions, including hospitals, raising an already tense U.S.-Russia relationship to a new level.

So what will the U.S. do now that it has blamed Russia for the hacks?

Denouncing these Russian attacks is a good first step but what if anything will Obama do to make Putin pay a price for his subversion? Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Daily Beast. If Putin gets away with it, as hes gotten away with so much else, that will be an invitation to him to continue doing what hes doing.

The second official said it was up to the Department of Justice to determine what happens next. The first official said the U.S. response would generally follow the model set when President Obama publicly blamed North Korea for a hack against Sony Pictures.

In that case, the administration took what it deemed a proportionate response, and sanctioned North Korean individuals and conducted limited cyber attacks on North Korean networks.

But the Russian hacks arent entirely analogous to those against Sony.

This case is unique because there is the electoral angle, the official said, adding that the hacks represented an assault on American democracy and the political process. When it comes to a potential response to this the president has made clear we will take action to protect our interests at a time and place of our choosing.

Consistent with the practice we have adopted in the past, the public should not assume that whey will necessarily know what actions have been taken or what actions we will take, the official said, adding that the administration was not taking anything off the table.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who had already said that intelligence led him to conclude Russia was behind the hacks, praised the administrations statement as a helpful first step that now had to be backed up with action.

In terms of next steps, I would love to see the administration working with our European allies that have also been the subject of Russian hacking attempts to interfere with their institutions, Rep. Adam Schiff told The Daily Beast. There have to be a series of graduated responses that lets Russia know this is not cost free.

Now that weve said Russia is responsible, it increases the demands for action, Jason Healey, a former White House cybersecurity official now working at Columbia Universitys School for International and Public Affairs. This should include improving election security and brush-back pitches against Putin using our own cyber capabilities, but perhaps first Obama should call a Article 4 consultation with our NATO allies. France has its own election coming up, as does Germany, which has also been brave in calling out Russian activity.

While officials suggested they only recently concluded that Russia was behind the hacks, a Sept. 22 statement by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Adam Schiff suggested that some members of Congress had been briefed about the U.Ss conclusions weeks ago.

Based on briefings we have received, we have concluded that the Russian intelligence agencies are making a serious and concerted effort to influence the U.S. election, the statement read. We believe that orders for the Russian intelligence agencies to conduct such actions could come only from very senior levels of the Russian government.

The announcement of the findings immediately raised eyebrows, given this weeks collapsing relations between Russia and the U.S. this week over Syria.

On Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives.

Earlier in the week, the State Department announced it had suspended ceasefire talks after Russia launched an aggressive airstrike campaign over eastern Aleppo, hitting hospitals, food and water supplies. The strikes are part of Syrian regime Bashar al Assad and Russias attempt to siege and starve opposition out of the city. Those strikes, and the harm they have done to civilians, including children, has been widely condemned by the international community.

But for all the outrage, the Obama administration has no plans to intervene militarily in Aleppo to stop the attacks or on behalf of its rebels under Russian and regime attack. The administration has said its goal in Syria is to destroy the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Intervening in the five-year civil war could have unintended consequences, the administration has said, namely a possible proxy war with Russia.

How this will impact the American election is anyones guess. Trumps rivals have repeatedly targeted his ties toand affinity for Russian policymakers. Trump has downplayed accusations that Vladimir Putin has had journalist and dissidents killed, responding that America, too, has done its fair share of killing. Trump has denied that Russia was responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in the skies of eastern Ukraine, even though U.S. officials accused Russian-backed separatists of destroying the commercial jet, and killing all 298 passengers on board, with a Russian-imported Buk anti-aircraft missile, a claim now corroborated by a two year-long investigation. Trump has also denied that Putin invaded Ukraine, or ever would under his administration, even though its annexation of Crimea is a matter of public record and now admitted to by Putin.

Those surrounding the nominee have also had their political and financial ties to Russia scrutinized. Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manafort is seen as close to the Kremlin, and even more so to its former client in Kiev, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country in 2014 after the Euromaidan Revolution. Ukrainian investigators have since uncovered ledgers belonging to Yanukovychs Party of Regions suggesting that cash payments were disbursed to Manafort, who consulted for the now-banned party, and that Manafort, as part of his policy advice, encouraged the former leader to whip up anti-American and pro-separatist sentiments in Crimea as early as 2006, during NATO exercises held on the peninsula. While Manafort formally resigned from the Trump campaign after these and other compromising disclosures, he is thought to still a relevant figure behind-the-scenes in advising the real estate tycoon on his White House ambitions. Moreover, another Trump advisor, Carter Page, has traveled to Moscow and been rumored to be a point-man between Putin and the Trump campaigneven if few senior figures in Russia claim to have ever even heard of him.

with additional reporting by Noah Shachtman and Michael Weiss
Fox News marquee names Sean Hannity and Megyn Kelly have ceased hostilities and made up: Rest assured, the two stars at the conservative news/commentary network are #friends, again!

At least, thats what Fox News and its public-relations apparatus would have you believe.

On Thursday night, Kelly and Hannity both tweeted out from their respective personal Twitter accounts a photoforced smiles, identical captions, virtually the same photoof the pair posing together on a Fox News set.

Were Irish. Its complicated. #friends, both hosts posted to Twitter within a minute of each other.

The staged reconciliationwhich resembles a detente achieved by gunpoint and anxious execs came after Hannity (who supports Trump to the point of being an unpaid campaign adviser who writes unsolicited policy memos for the GOP nominee) sent a nasty tweet Kellys way.

u should be mad at @HillaryClinton Clearly you support her. And @realDonaldTrump did talk to u, Hannity tweeted directly at Kelly on Wednesday night, accusing her of being in the tank for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. (Kelly has not voiced support for Clinton; she did however famously feud with Trump over his sexism, but subsequently quelled tensions in a poorly reviewed softball interview in May.)

When one of Hannitys Twitter followers asked him to stand by his colleague, he replied, Sure. When they stand by me.

Hannitys hissy tweets were in response to a comment Kelly made on her primetime Fox program, in which she knocked both Trump and Clinton for refusing to visit unsafe spaces and less cozy interviewers in the media.

Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10 oclock, she said Wednesday, referring to Hannity whose show follows hers, will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity, and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days.

Kelly did not address the controversy on the Thursday edition of her show The Kelly File, but did sign off at the end of her hour by throwing to Sean Hannity, my friend, in a conspicuous gesture of overcompensation.

Kelly and Hannity are still #friends in the same way that Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton were once married. Their latest skirmish is merely the latest in a long-running history of hard feelings and thrown shade between the two Fox personalities.

This would be true no matter how many ties Hannity tweets that this was just a minor disagreement between pals.

Multiple Fox News staffers, both current and former, talked to The Daily Beast about the years-long bad blood between Kelly and Hannity. Simply put, the two do not like each other. At all. On Hannitys end, there is longstanding bitterness and sense of betrayal, and on Kellys, a barely veiled lack of respect.

(Internally, at Fox News, rivalries among top talent are a common occurrence. Egos and personalities clash constantly, and it is widely known within the industry that, for instance, Bill OReilly and Hannity cant stand each other, either.)

[Kelly] is not afraid to make herself known as the most valuable person, in many ways, at the network, one former Fox insider said. And that upsets a lot of people. Including Sean. Perhaps especially Sean.

After all, Kellys rise as a super-star at Fox News (which has aggressively pitched her over the years as the good, serious, neutral anchor despite her past hard-right excesses and racially problematic work) directly affected Hannitys standing at the network. In 2013, The Kelly File took over Hannitys coveted 9 p.m. primetime slot, bumping Hannity to 10 p.m. ET, where his eponymous, Trump-boosting show resides to this very day.

Hannity was evicted after 17 years in glorious primetime. And its inspired a bitter taste that hes had to smile through for the past three years.

[Im] actually enjoying people that really dont know a whole lot, just going nuts, he said on his radio show in late 2013, pushing back on reports and speculation of his displeasure at the shakeup. So Im going to leave it there, just for fun  Lets just say in the end, Im very happy [and] thats all I can say at this point.

And during the course of the 2016 presidential election, Kelly has repeatedly made very public digs at her 10 p.m. colleague and alleged buddy.

In February, Kelly went on Stephen Colberts late-night show to talk about why her series is superior to Hannitys and OReillys. I think it adds a lot to [my] show, Kelly said. If youre not live at nightbecause the show before me and the show after me are tapedyou lose a lot.

Lets just say they tape earlier in the day, which is an advantage to us, she continued.

Following the first presidential debate between Trump and Clinton, Kelly seemingly belittled her Fox colleague during the networks live post-game coverage.

Weve got Trump speaking to our own Sean Hannity, she said on-air, narrating Trumps post-debate conversation with his informal adviser and political ally Hannity. Well see if he speaks to the journalists in this room after that interview.

(To be fair, that was a condescending remark that Hannity would, at least begrudgingly, agree with: Hannity does not consider himself a journalist, per se, and makes his pro-Trump enthusiasm nakedly clear whenever he can. This has included cutting an official ad for the Trump campaign and defying Fox News internal rules and guidelines.)

Comparatively, the insults and hurt feelings between Hannity and Kelly is a less significant saga for a network still engulfed in controversy and scandal.

Earlier this year, during the deluge of sexual-harassment accusations against Roger Ailes that eventually forced out the Fox News mastermind, some of Kellys colleagues became increasingly angered and frustrated by her refusal to defend Ailes.

Megyn is being selfish, an anonymous Fox source told The Daily Beast in July. Its pretty shocking actually.

Multiple Fox sources told The Daily Beast this week that Hannityever the Ailes loyalist who said that sexual-harassment allegations against the former Fox News head were all [bullshit]was indeed also irked by Kellys deafening silence. It was later reported that Kelly went on to give allegedly damning testimony to an outside law firm hired to investigate Ailes, specifically that he had in fact harassed her as well.

It was yet another data point in the past year that Kelly has had to exist within an office ecosystem largely defined and run by a Trump-loving boys club that only publicly pretends to stick up for her. According to New York magazines Gabriel Sherman, when Ailes was in power, he privately blamed Kelly for bringing the feud between her and Trump upon herself. Kelly felt (understandably) betrayed by Ailes, her colleagues, and fellow hosts.

She felt she put herself out there, one co-worker told New York.

Fox News PR did not respond to a request for comment on this story, and didnt respond to a request for comment from Kelly. Hannity, who stopped responding to Daily Beast emails seeking comment after we published an exchange in which he refused to shoot down the bizarre, Trump-peddled conspiracy theory that Ted Cruzs dad helped kill President Kennedy, did not respond, either.
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate: You Muslims better vote this election!

Muslim Americans across the country this Friday will be hearing words to that effect as part of the My Muslim Vote Khutba Day. This first of its kind national initiative is intended to deliver a message about the importance of voting in this electionand making the story of our political power heard loud and clear.

That screaming sound you might be hearing is from Trump supporters! The idea that Muslim Americans could tip the election in swing states with large Muslim populations such as Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan has to freak them out. And this will upset them even more: Its expected that Muslims will vote in big numbers. As Linda Sarsour, one of the people spearheading this effort explained, this year the Muslim vote will be unprecedented.

Before Fox News or Trump tells you otherwise, this project was not conceived by Huma Abedin. Nor is it some sinister plot to stealthily impose sharia law via the ballot box. Rather this effort is being spearheaded by My Muslim Vote, a nonpartisan organization that is focused on uplifting the voices of Muslim voters in the 2016 election cycle.

The materials for this project even include a sample Khutba (which is simply a sermon) titled On the obligation of Muslims to vote that clerics or lay people can deliver this Friday during prayer services. (For those unaware, Friday is the big day of worship for Muslims, akin to Sunday for Christians and Saturday for Jews.) This sermon seeks to appeal to Muslims by invoking Islamic principles to inspire Muslims to become active in American politics with lines like, It is not sufficient for us as a community to simply pray, fast, perform hajj, and to concern ourselves with ourselves and our worship, while ignoring that which is around us. We have to be engaged We should not sit idly by when we see wrong.

The reality is that Muslim Americans have increasingly becoming involved in politics in recent yearsand for good reason. We have seen numerous Republican politicians demonize Muslims for political gain, with Trump taking it to new despicable levels. We have also seen efforts to deprive us of our constitutional rights from calls for religious profiling in violation of the Fourth Amendment to making it nearly impossible to build new places of worship in violation of the First Amendment.

But the effort to encourage Muslims Americans to become active in politics is being taken to the next level this election. This fall various American Muslim groups engaged in very visible voter registration drives, such as Emerge USA, The Council on American-Islamic Relations and MPower Change. And now with this Khutba project, its going a step further.

Its no different than the path taken by other minority communities who became engaged in politics to counter attempts to marginalize them. Being the son of an Italian Catholic mother and a Palestinian Muslim father, Im keenly aware of how bigotry has been used against minority faiths in the past. My Catholic grandparents and others in their community were demonized and discriminated against simply for their faith in the early 1900s. And even as late as 1960 when John F. Kennedy ran for President some alleged (loudly) that as a Catholic he would not be loyal to the United States but rather would take orders from the Pope.

But as Catholics became more involved in politics they empowered themselves to effectively counter this narrative. We have come so far that no one even hints that Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine  a devout Catholic  might be less loyal to American because of his faith.

The success of other minority faith communities overcoming hate from Jews to Catholics gives us hope as well as a template to follow. As Sarsour noted, We have historically seen the use of pulpits of churches to build political power of communities, and now Muslims are participating in similar ways.

And Ahmed Bedier, the president of United Voices for America and one of the people who will deliver a sermon Friday as part of this initiative, believes that the only way we will stop the avalanche of anti-Muslim bigotry and the scapegoating of our communities is by voting in large numbers and getting involved in the political process. I couldnt agree more.

Some may be surprised to learn that its not just radical right-wingers who oppose American Muslims being involved in American politicspeople like Michelle Bachmann and Brietbart.com, alleging that every visible Muslim in American politics is somehow a threat. There are actually some ultra-conservative American Muslims who believe that Muslims should not be involved in democracy or have allegiances to non-Muslims. While I personally have never heard this view, clearly others have, which is why the sample sermon addresses that very issue noting that those arguments are not in any way supported by Islamic principles.

The sample sermon also makes an argument that we hear directed to Americans of all backgrounds: Even one vote matters. The sermon notes that Muslims have swung elections in the past, citing the 2000 election where Muslims voted overwhelmingly for Bushand delivered Florida to Bush. The sermon continues with a more recent example: Similarly, in the recent primaries, Michigan Muslims voted overwhelmingly for Sanders, and hence Bernie Sanders won the Michigan primary due to the Muslim vote.

This Muslim voter mobilization project in no way endorses any specific candidates. However, the reality is that with few exceptions, Muslims are passionately opposed to Trump given his demonization of our community and other minority groups. And the hope is that by Muslims getting more involved in politicsfrom voting to raising money to running for officewe will be able to prevent another Trump from ever rising to power again. Inshallah. (God willing.)
On Thursday, New York state Assemblymember Ron Kim held a rally in response to the recent OReilly Factor segment, Watters World: Chinatown edition. Community leaders and elected officials gathered in front of the Fox News headquarters to express outrage and demand accountability for the offensive news clip.

Asian American representatives recounted stories in which they were personally victimized by hate speech. Other minority leaders stressed the importance of the upcoming presidential election to minority communities. The emotional rally concluded in New Yorks Asian American political leaders expressed intent to take further action against Fox News corporate sponsors and parent company News Corp if the conservative news network does not apologize and take action against those responsible for the hurtful story.

Video of the rally can be found below.
MOSCOW  Ten years ago someone ordered the murder of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya on October 7, 2006, the birthday of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Over the last week, bouquets of flowers have piled up outside the offices of her paper, Novaya Gazeta, on Moscows Potapovsky Avenue. Theres a little memorial there to Anya, as her friends and colleagues knew her. The motif is designed around pages torn from a notebook. One bears her sad, intelligent face looking at visitors if asking: Who did this to me?

Who financed her killing? And why do those who plotted her murder continue to live unpunished after the crime? Each and every reporter working at Novaya Gazeta today feels responsible for answering that question.

Even 10 years later we at Novaya Gazeta have different versions about the mastermind of Anyas assassination, but our newspaper cannot replace the state investigation. We have no resources to question all the suspects we have, including state officials, one head of a Russian region, and several military officers, Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov told The Daily Beast.

By one head of a Russian region Muratov meant the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, suspected by many Russians of ordering several assassinations, including the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova, kidnapped in the Chechen capital of Grozny in 2009, and the assassination of the Russian opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, shot in the back just outside the Kremlin wall on February 27, 2015.

After Russias decade-long war with Chechnya, Kadyrov, a close Putin ally, provided the Kremlin with his peoples loyalty, but no state investigators ever dared to actually question Kadyrov about any of the assassinations.

It is hard to pin down the truth in todays Russia. And it was hard to do that 10 years ago, when Politkovskaya packed up her bags and took off to report on human rights abuses, murders, abductions and torture practiced by both the Russian military and the federal security service, FSB, in the republics of the Northern Caucasus.

Often acting as a human rights defender, she pushed hard for the punishment of guilty perpetrators, and sometimes she succeeded. In September 2001 Novaya Gazeta published her articles with a headline Disappearing People blaming Russian policemen working in Chechnya for murdering peaceful residents. In 2005. a Russian court convicted one of the police officers from Politkovskayas investigative report to 11 years in prison.

Politkovskayas career was full of terrifying moments. She was detained, beaten, threatened and even poisoned in the field by those who wanted to silence her.

Her long-time friend Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the Civil Assistance committee in Moscow, remembers how glamorous, serious and even sometimes cold Anya was before reporting stories in Chechnya.

Then, in 2002, Politkovskaya joined a group of Moscow officials and human rights defenders traveling around refugee camps in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Moscow wanted refugees to return to their homes ruined by war, and that was supposed to be the story, but following the trip, Gannushkina recalls, I looked at Anya and saw how much the wars atrocities changed her. She was skinny, heartbroken, all the glamour of a Moscow famous prime-reporter was completely gone.

Anya risked her life again and again digging out the truth for its own sake, to have a right to live with dignity, Gannushkina said. Today there are many cowards in power who know the truth about Politkovskayas murder, but they have no dignity and are covering up the truth.

Two years ago five menRustam Makhmudov, the gunman who shot Politkovskaya dead, his two brothers, their uncle and former policeman Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who admitted tracking down Anya for her assassinswere found guilty and sentenced to long prison terms.

But who sent them to kill the journalist in the first place? That remains one of Russias key secrets. All Politkovskayas employer, Novaya Gazeta, could do at this point was to shake up the Kremlin and Russia, reminding them of the shameful murder and demand the truth.

On this day of the anniversary, said Muratov, we are going to send two vehicles around Moscow carrying banners, that would say: Ten years since the assassination and the mastermind has still not been found, Muratov said.
If you were asked to list the most pressing issues that LGBT people face in the United States, data collection probably wouldnt be anywhere near the top.

But as boring as numbers might be, they matter.

Were fighting over LGBT rights on a daily basis, Laura Durso, senior director of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress told The Daily Beast. North Carolinas HB2 is a bill that discriminates against LGBT people. Its not OK that I cant tell you exactly how many LGBT people there are in North Carolina.

Durso and the Center for American Progress, a liberal public-policy organization, have been advocating for a relatively obscure piece of legislation called the LGBT Data Inclusion Act since its May introduction by Arizona Democratic congressman Raul Grijalva.

The bill would require all federal agencies that conduct demographic surveysincluding the U.S. Census Bureauto include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity while also ensuring that participation is voluntary and private.

Why would these questions be necessary? For one, no one knows for certain how many LGBT people there are in the country.

In 2011, the Williams Institute, an LGBT research organization based at the UCLA School of Law, estimated that 3.8 percent of the adult population in the U.S. identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender but because federal data sources do not include direct questions regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, they could only produce a reasonable estimate compiled from an array of surveys, as demographer Gary Gates noted in the subsequent report.

The following year, Gallup came to a similar estimate3.4 percentbased on a large-scale telephone survey.

But in 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Health Interview Survey estimated that just 2.3 percent of the population was lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Information on the size of the transgender population, in particular, is even more elusive. In 2011, the Williams Institute extrapolated from two state-level surveys to produce its best guess of 700,000 people. Five years later, they not only revised that estimate, they doubled it.

Large-scale government surveys may not necessarily produce different numbers from these estimates, but they would carry more authority in public-policy conversations, Durso says.

Government data sets are large enough that were able to say things about the community with real confidence, she explained to The Daily Beast. The federal government is in a position to ask thousands of people important questions about their lives and we really need that data to more fully understand the diversity within the LGBT community.

The data would be useful for almost all forms of public policy.

For example, LGBT people are more likely to experience poverty than heterosexual and cisgender people. But how much more likely? The Williams Institute used as many national surveys as it could muster to produce an estimate of the LGBT poverty rate, but the Census Bureau could easily produce a crystal-clear figure if it asked about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Transgender women of color face horrific levels of violence and homicide. But how many of them are there? Census data shows that 36.3 percent of all women in the country are women of color but theres no way of knowing how many of them identify as transgenderespecially when the best estimate of the trans population has doubled in the last five years.

When we cant say things about who LGBT people are and what they need, were unable to develop public policies that serve them appropriately, Durso told The Daily Beast. It really kills me that were having these consequential policy debates and I cant put a number on how many people are affected.

Its an area in which the U.S. appears to be lagging behind.

Just this Tuesday, the United Kingdoms Office for National Statistics revealed a detailed breakdown of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual population by region, sex, age, and ethnicity. The ONS determined that a record-high of 3.3 percent of young people in the U.K. are LGB, with slightly more identifying as bisexual than as gay or lesbian. The Canadian Community Health Survey has had a question on sexual orientation since 2003. As of 2014, 3 percent of Canadians identified as LGB.

As the Washington Post reported, the results of the first large-scale U.S. government survey to measure sexual orientation were not released until 2014. The Census started measuring data on cohabiting same-sex couples in 1999 and then, in 2013, it began counting same-sex spouses as family units.

The long delays in the U.S. are partially a result of stigma and discrimination, Durso explains, but its also a case of government agencies moving slowly and carefully to ensure that the questions are appropriate and rigorous.

Methodologically, you want to be able to do it right and it takes time to make changes to really big surveys, she said.

But the pressure to start counting LGBT people has never been greater.

On one hand, more young people are openly identifying as LGBT than ever before. A recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute estimated that a full 7 percent of millennials identify as either lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. If that figure is accurate and holds steadyor even risesfor several generations, federal agencies could end up with a woefully incomplete picture of a population roughly equivalent to the number of people who live in Florida.

And on the other hand, a recent wave of discriminatory legislation targeting LGBT peopleespecially transgender peoplemakes it all the more urgent for advocates and experts to know exactly whose lives are on the line. It also raises alarming questions about how states like North Carolina can rush through emergency legislation to restrict peoples right to use the restroom without even knowing how many people will be affected.

How is it that public policies and laws can move forward and treat a communityparticularly in discriminatory wayswithout even knowing who they are? Durso asked.

But the hardest sell for the LGBT Data Inclusion Act might be convincing peopleeven LGBT peopleof its urgency. Data collection, as Durso well knows given her research background, is not exactly a sexy, headline-grabbing topic.

This has been an invisible issue, she said. Sometimes I dont think its seen as an LGBT issue. And were trying to change that.

In June, Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox did her part to draw attention to the bill by making an impassioned plea for it on Capitol Hill.

LGBT people exist, we are a vital part of the fabric of this country and we just want to be counted, the transgender actress said, adding that for transgender people, it could be a matter of life and death given the high suicide rate.

And matters of public policy aside, asking questions about sexual orientation and gender identity sends an important message to LGBT people: We see you.

Being seen really matters when were talking about trying to reduce stigma against LGBT communities, Durso said. It is meaningful that the federal government steps up and says [that] we recognize the LGBT community as a community, and as a community with needs, resiliences, and contributions.

As nerdy as data collection can be, she continued, it speaks to a bigger issue of trying to show LGBT people that theyre seen and theyre counted.
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1

Russia Protests UN Condemnation of Trump

STICKING UP FOR HIM
The New Jersey commuter train that crashed into the terminal in Hoboken, NJ last month was in fact speeding when it should have been slowing down. The National Transportation Safety Board said that data recorders found that the train accelerated from 8 mph to 21 mph right before impact. The speed limit for trains approaching the terminal is 10 mph.

The crash killed a woman and injured over 100 others, as well as seriously damaged the station (train service remains suspended at the stop). The NTSB described what various data recorders found:

- The forward facing video showed the cab car colliding with and overriding the bumping post at the end of the track #5 platform at the Hoboken Terminal. A large flash was observed as the car collided with the panel just beyond the bumping post.

- The forward facing video recorder captured the sound of one blast of the trains horn about one minute before the collision, while the train was in the yard leading to the terminal. The trains bell began sounding shortly afterward and continued until the end of the recording.

- The event recorder indicates throttle increased from idle to the #4 position while the train was traveling about 8 mph, approximately 38 seconds before the collision. Train speed began to increase and reached a maximum of about 21 mph.

- According to the event recorder data the throttle position went from #4 to idle just prior to the collision, and then engineer-induced emergency braking occurred less than a second before the collision with the bumping post.

- The event recorder shows train speed was about 21 mph when it collided with the bumping post. Event recorder speeds during the final seconds are consistent with train speed estimates obtained from the NTSBs preliminary analysis of images from the forward facing video camera.

The woman who was killed, Fabiola Bittar de Kroen, was a 34-year-old wife and mother. She was standing on the train platform when the train smashed into the station.

The train's engineer claims he doesn't recall the crash, but believes he was traveling within the 10 mph speed limit.

NJ Transit is now requiring that conductors join engineers when trains are approaching Hoboken terminal and Atlantic City station, both of which have platforms at the end of the line. According to the NY Times, former NTSB chairman James Hall "praised the railroads decision to place a conductor next to the trains engineer to serve as a backup. But he also urged the railroad to install an automatic braking system to prevent future accidents. 'Its unimportant whether it was human error or accidental,' Mr. Hall said. 'There are technologies to prevent the train from accelerating.'"
Make strides Oct. 30 to help overcome breast cancer

Have you ever wanted to be part of something historic? Then read on.

The phone rang and my world changed. It changed the day I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That diagnosis was the beginning of a journey in which, through prayer, the care of my medical team and the support of the American Cancer Society, I found the strength and hope to help create a world free from pain and suffering caused by this disease.

The American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event is an inspirational, noncompetitive walk to be held in our community to raise awareness and funds to end breast cancer. Dollars raised will enable the Society to invest in groundbreaking research; provide free, comprehensive information and support; and help people take steps to reduce their breast cancer risk or find it early when it's most treatable.

What makes this historic? It is the first such event to be held in the Brazos Valley. Why not be a part of the inaugural event and be able to say, "I was a part of the very first one?" With our collective power, the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Brazos Valley can make the greatest impact to save lives and ensure no one faces breast cancer alone.

I joined this walk because I don't want my daughter ever to hear "you have breast cancer."

On Oct. 30, I will walk beside my friends and fellow survivors at the Making Strides walk at Atlas Discovery Center at Traditions. I urge all community members to join me. Go to Makingstrideswalk.org/brazosvalley to sign up or contact Stephanie Chesson at 979-776-1464 to learn more.

GINGER FREEZE

Bryan

Mayoral hopeful solved many problems as city manager

I am endorsing Mary Kaye Moore for mayor of Bryan. I have known Mary Kaye when she was the city manager and as a neighbor. I can not think of a better person for mayor.

When Mary Kaye was the city manager, was very instrumental in solving the problems I had with city services as a small independent businessman. She solved a number of problems we were having in flooding in our neighborhood, and repairs of our streets and alley. I did not have to go through our councilman at that time; all I did is call her office to explain the problem and she listened, she contacted city services and came back with a solution.

Mary Kaye is a listener, a leader, problem solver and, most importantly, she has the time to be a great mayor.

ROBERT VAN BRUNT

Bryan

Can America really trust such a 'brilliant businessman'?

Megan McArdle (Eagle, Oct. 5) can spin it anyway she wants, but on taxes, Donald Trump is hiding behind flimsy excuses to avoid releasing his tax returns, not even meeting the standard set by Richard Nixon. Nixon released his forms while he was under audit; Trump refuses to release tax returns even for years before 2009 are no longer under investigation.

This "brilliant businessman" deducted nearly $1 billion in losses in 1995 (during an economic upswing, it might be noted). The public deserves to know whether this was an anomaly or business as usual for Trump. Other patterns give us a hint: The Trump Foundation has as much resemblance to a genuine charity as Trump "University" has to a genuine university; both are just Trump self-service agencies.

So why is Trump hiding this documentation of his "business brilliance?" Not as rich as he claims? Has he paid no taxes for decades? Are his charitable contributions close to zero? Is he compromised by investments in Ukraine and Russia? Is he in hock to Chinese bankers? Did he count the forgiven debts in his four bankruptcies as income, as required by law? Teacher, is this a multiple choice test or can we check all of the above?

In a way it's not surprising that so many Evangelical Christians support Trump; he represents faith-based economics (trust me). Tax cuts for the rich magically would bring growth rates rivaling the Eisenhower era (when the rich were much more highly taxed than now). George H.W. Bush nailed it decades ago: Voodoo Economics. Trump offers Voodoo II: the same policies that brought us the 2008 recession. Trust Trump and you will be left holding the bag like hundreds of small businessmen who in good faith sold goods to Trump businesses and were left holding the bag.

WALTER D. KAMPHOEFNER

Bryan
North-south divides

However the so-called shale gas debate is about a lot more than drilling, it highlights many fault lines in wider society.

It is not without reason that I write about a potential shale industry in England: at present it is not possible to obtain planning permission to drill for shale gas in in either Wales or Northern Ireland as both devolved Governments have announced that they will not support approvals. In Scotland there is a very high profile moratorium in place while additional evidence is gathered.

The arrival last week of the first shipment of ethane for the INEOS-owned refinery at Grangemouth added fuel to the fire as the ship arrived emblazoned with banner along its hull 'Shale Gas for Manufacturing'. These ethane shipments are compensating for a fall in natural gas liquids production from the North Sea, but INEOS sees the long-term solution as domestic shale gas production and is investing in drilling licenses in England and would like to drill in Scotland.

Within England itself the debate over shale gas development has been couched in terms of the North-South divide; whereby it is not considered appropriate to drill for oil in the South, but it is to drill for shale gas in the North. This perception was reinforced by Lord Howell's intervention in the House of Lords about drilling in the desolate North.

There is also a growing urban-rural divide in relation to shale gas, but also onshore wind and large-scale solar. These are all things that take place disproportionately in rural areas, who face the brunt of the negative environmental, social and economic impacts. Anti-shale gas organisations in these regions argue that shale gas development is not in keeping with the rural landscape and is tantamount to the industrialisation of the countryside.

It is because of these issues, and many others, that the question of shale gas is not about the local impacts of drilling activity. It's about climate change, it's about energy policy and it's about sustainable development.

But the immediate and obvious reaction of the local communities is to claim that the decision made by a minister in London is anti-democratic. After all, the initial decisions were made by elected councillors and there is proof that the majority in the local community do not support development. Yes, there are organisations and individuals in the community in favour of development, but they seem to be in the minority.

The scale of the local opposition reflects a failure by Cuadrilla to engage effectively with the local community and make their case. It is also a failure by the national Government in London to explain why shale gas development is in the national interest.

Political support - but no social licence

So what happens next? Notwithstanding the possibility of a judicial review, Cuadrilla - subject to conditions - now has the necessary permits and planning approvals to move ahead with its drilling programme at Preston New Road; thus one could say it has a regulatory licence to operate.

The industry more generally has a political license from the National Government in London, but Cuadrilla does not have such support from local government in Lancashire. Equally, what it does not have is a social licence to operate that can be conceived of as ongoing acceptance or approval from the local community and other stakeholders.

That said, the harsh reality is that the social license has no standing in the regulatory regime that governs shale gas development in the UK. As one industry observer noted at a shale gas conference: "A social license may the hardest one to obtain, but it's the only one that you don't need."

We must now wait and see what happens in Lancashire, but it seems unlikely that the local community will simply accept the judgement made in London. In a statement, the Preston New Road Action Group said "This is not the end. We will challenge this."

And this is just the beginning of the story - not the end. These current licences are all the from 13th Round issued in 2008 - and that has already been enough to trigger the creation of a nationwide network of anti-fracking groups. In December 2015 the Oil and Gas Authority issued a further 93 licences over 159 blocks was in the 14th Round, 73% of the area relating to unconventional oil or gas.

Each block will, if it goes to commercial development, require numerous wells to exploit. As a result hundreds of rural communities will find themselves caught up in the shale gas controversy. If they perceive their quality of life as being under threat, many more of them are certain to resist by whatever avenues are available to them.

The shale gas industry may just find it does need that elusive social licence, after all.

Michael Bradshaw is Professor of Global Energy at Warwick Business School.
Since June of 2015, our communities have [been] experiencing [increased] violence, persecution and [other crime] from [the settlers] and part of the Government. With the support of no one, we have survived on our own."

Former Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Dr Jaime Incer Barquero, told the IPS news agency that by March 2016 the country had lost 60% of its surface water sources, and almost half of its underground sources, due to climate change-driven drought and industrial pollution. To date, at least 100 rivers and their tributaries have dried up.

Local scientist, Jadder Lewis noted area lobster populations - a crucial subsistence food and chief export - presenting at unprecedentedly low volumes; he also cited increasing endangerment of area coral reefs rooted in regional deforestation and other unsustainable resource exploitation. Lewis projects the current deforestation rate to actually be as high as 40,000 hectares per year.

If the notoriously controversial Chinese-backed Nicaragua Trans-Oceanic Canal indeed comes to fruition, related infrastructure and construction will destroy another 1 million acres of Nicaragua's climate change mitigating rainforests and wetlands. According to the Environmental Resources Management consultancy, the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, as well as the Cerro Silva and Punta Gorda reserves, experienced a higher rate of environmental deterioration between 2009 and 2011 - under Sandinista rule - than in the previous 26 years.

Academics, nonprofits, and activists expressing moral and scientific objections to canal plans have found their rights systematically violated as Ortega, who is set to run virtually unopposed in the upcoming November election (with his wife as vice-president) has become increasingly reactive to the slightest of criticisms. On September 13th, addressing an audience at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, Jimmy Carter expressed, "The Sandinistas have established...not a democracy...but a way to maintain power." On September 21st, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill known as the Nica Act' which mandates U.S. opposition on any loans to Nicaragua from allied organizations.

One Costa Rican analyst posited Nicaragua's recent acquisition of 80 million dollars' worth of Russian war tanks as defensive posturing in anticipation of widespread civil unrest from canal protest movements and resistance to colonial occupation in the north.

Interestingly, Sandinista activity concerning the autonomous nation of Muskitia increasingly mirrors Chinese policy on Tibet - evident in the way the FSLN attacks and discredits Miskitu leadership; their refusal to respect Muskitia sovereignty; and the covert yet violent invasion of their territory as colonizers aligned with the FSLN and its populist base invade Miskitu lands while Sandinista soldiers intimidate and threaten anyone who gets in their way. Indigenous leadership or outside observers who dare criticize the FSLN in this regard are branded puppets of U.S. imperialism'.

It's a set of moves straight out of the China vs. Tibetan independence movement playbook. Yet Ortega's new brand of Christian Socialist Solidarity' also suggests a concurrent shift towards a more theocratic model of governance, in some ways analogous to the government of Iran - another country who, along with Russia and China, is hoping to get a stake in the proposed canal.

Propaganda rolled out by state-sponsored and crony media outlets of the Bolivarian left portray Nicaragua as a leader in consensus-based' decision-making with respect to indigenous rights. This would likely come as news to Nicaragua's indigenous communities, such as the Miskitu, who feel increasingly alienated from the centralized government as health and education services on the frontier collapse amid escalating violence. Surrounding cities forced to absorb the internally displaced receive no government subsidies; and, newly displaced Indigenous Miskitu are often forced to live as virtual beggars among their own, more urban, extended communities.

Statements collected from indigenous leader, Brooklyn Rivera, contextualize recent escalations in violence and the role of the Sandinista regime.

"The Sandinistas are the mestizos on the Pacific side, they had

[no rights to] Muskitia land; they encroached on the territory until the war

occurred in 1979 and tried to control everything, but they did not understand

or respect the customs of the Indigenous Peoples. They felt they were gods

and wanted to fulfill all their desires. Then, the people rebelled because

[we] had a different way of living - from the ancient times - with very

different customs than the mestizos. So, the conflict started, the war started,

the Sandinistas led us to the war that lasted 10 years. [We fought] for our

lives, to protect our land, to protect our communities; we had many

difficulties but we managed to overcome that.

After the Sandinistas lost the elections and were out of power for fifteen years, they came and talked to the people and asked to be forgiven for their faults of the past, because they caused a lot of damage to people - murdered, burned them - they then made many promises to the people to rebuild the communities again, especially in the Coco River, and also, to respect the rights of the communities. That is why we signed an agreement that lasted 11 years where it is said that we would support the opportunity for them to return to power, and that was the agreement that was signed. We supported the Sandinistas twice, led by Daniel Ortega, for the elections of 2006 and 2011 by giving them our votes. But we are now in a different situation, because now Daniel and the Sandinistas feel that [the] indigenous are like a stone in their shoe, so they are looking to eradicate the Indigenous Peoples and introduce mestizos settlers in the Rio Coco and also in coastal areas, eradicating the indigenous Miskitos and Mayangnas, to no longer have more conflicts with us.

The Sandinistas are advised by the people of Cuba to not give any opportunity for minority populations, because they think that Indigenous Peoples are their enemies and we, along with the (Gringos) American people, will rebel against them. That's why it is better for them to destroy the Miskitus, so that in Nicaragua there will not be any minority populations and everyone will be equal and there will only be mestizos. So they want to impose the Colonos; and not only that, but they are also imposing leaders in the communities from their political party.

The inhabitants of the communities have the right to choose their sindicos, their judges, but [the Sandinistas] do not respect that and only choose people from their own political party - people who will obey them, people who follow them. And these leaders are against the population, so they will continue destroying the communities and in that way eradicate them; and, that is one method of how they try to do it. The other method is the destruction of our natural resources, our forests and our marine resources. It is a great pressure on the resources, [and as they] become extinct, they are destroying our way of life. So we try to go against that, we are fighting so our lifestyles do not disappear, so that everything remains the same as our ancestors left us. So, that is the current struggle we have.

Behind the settlers, there are companies with millions of dollars, and the government. The Sandinista government supports the Colonos who come to take our natural resources, our forests, our lands, introduce livestock, and destroy our resources. These people invade our coastal areas to the Coco River. That's why the population is getting organized. Indigenous Peoples are organizing together to defend their rights, to defend their territory, to prevent the Colonos from continuing to invade our lands.

Now, they are also attacking the leaders of the [YATAMA] organization; that is another strategy that helps them to eradicate us: killing the leaders; creating persecution of leaders so the population does not have their support; because if the population needs to rise up and their leaders are not leading them, that's impossible. So they are attacking the leaders, that's how they are trying to break us: destroy the leaders, destroy the organization, and destroy YATAMA. Those are their methods: destroying our land; destroying our natural resources; destroying the people in the organization, killing them, [terrorizing] them. These methods are what they call strategy' to eradicate Miskitus and the [YATAMA] organization."

Nicaragua is a country full of paradoxes. Prostitution is legal, yet abortion is completely banned. The ruling party takes political cues from communist Cuba, yet Ortega embraces neoliberal economics and development models with unabashed enthusiasm. Sandinista government enthusiasts wax about indigenous rights and environmental responsibility...all the while, fleeing Indigenous refugees, and their ancestral land considered the lungs of Mesoamerica', struggle to catch their breath.

(Special thanks to Dr. Laura Hobson Herlihy for administrating the interview with Brooklyn Rivera, and Mark Rivas for coordinating the statement from the Elders.)

This Author

Courtney Parker, MNPO is a freelance journalist and PhD candidate at the University of Georgia College of Public Health
Official documents received by Survival International reveal that the Peruvian government's 'Master Plan' for a new national park would pave the way for large-scale oil exploration in one of the Amazon's most intact areas - also home to several uncontacted tribes.

The area, known in Spanish as the Sierra del Divisor (Watershed Mountains), is part of the Amazon Uncontacted Frontier, the region straddling the Peru-Brazil border that is home to the largest concentration of uncontacted tribal peoples on the planet.

Oil exploration and development in this would pose a serious threat to the lives, lands and culture of the indigenous peoples of this remote and precious area, and could undermine their ability to pursue their traditional way of life.

The Sierra del Divisor National Park was created in 2015 to protect the region, which is currently overrun by illegal logging, drug trafficking and mining. The Master Plan, currently being developed by SERNANP - the Peruvian national parks agency - will determine who can enter and what can take place inside.

However the current draft of the Plan indicates it will not recognize the existence of a number of uncontacted tribes. Only those in the very bottom of the park, who inhabit the Isconahua Reserve, have been given official recognition.

40% of the Park allocated to Canadian oil company

The Master Plan, which will divide the park into different zones, will allow oil exploration to continue in an area inhabited by uncontacted Matses. Canadian oil company Pacific E&P (formerly Pacific Rubiales) currently has the rights to explore the oil concession. The concession - 'Lot 135' - currently superimposes over about 40% of the park.

Contacted Matses people live nearby. In 2016, Pacific E&P cancelled a contract to explore for oil on on a different oil concession - Lot 137 - in the face of stiff opposition from the tribe and international campaigning. The two concessions where the Matses live are over 1.5 million hectares in total, where it is estimated that almost a billion barrels of oil lie deep in the ground.

A video taken on a Survival field trip showing a senior Matses man, Salomon Dunu explaining the dire consequences of oil exploration has been viewed online several million times. A contacted Matses woman said: "Oil will destroy the place where our rivers are born. What will happen to the fish? What will the animals drink?"
Past and future Harvester Performance Center artists racked up stacks of awards at last weeks International Bluegrass Music Awards in Raleigh, N.C.

The 26th annual IBMA awards were co-hosted by future Harvester artists the Gibson Brothers, who will perform in Rocky Mount in 2017.

Grammy winners and two-time Harvester performers The Earls of Leicester dominated the awards, winning Entertainer of the Year. Earls of Leicester is an all-star bluegrass tribute to Flatt & Scruggs, and released their second album of Flatt & Scruggs covers this summer.

Were very pleased that so many past and future performers were honored by the IBMA, said Harvester CEO Matt Hankins. This speaks volumes about the quality of the artists who choose to play at and return to the best music venue in Southwest Virginia.

Earls bandleader Jerry Douglas, a three-time Harvester performer, won dobro player of the year a record ninth time.

Franklin County native, IBMA award regular and past Harvester artist Junior Sisk won Record Event of the Year for his chart-topping Longneck Blues, recorded with Ronnie Bowman.

Earls' banjo player Charlie Cushman earned Banjo Player of the Year. Barry Bales, bass player for the Earls and for Alison Krauss and Union Station, earned bass player of the year.

Frank Solivan, who played mandolin for the Earls of Leicester during their 2015 stop in Rocky Mount, won Instrumental Group of the Year with his group Dirty Kitchen.

Past Harvester artist Bryan Sutton won Guitar Player of the Year.

The Harvester staff, particularly our general manager and booking agent Gary Jackson, is dedicated to creating high-quality music experiences for music fans coming to our venue, Hankins said. Artists are telling each other that this is a great place to play and enjoy the experience, and were going to continue to work hard to bring the best in music and performance to Rocky Mount.

Were proud to be able to support stage performances, traditional music, blues, rock, pop, country, soul, jazz and all kinds of genres of music and theatre at the Harvester, Hankins added. Our commitment is to bring diverse performers in all kinds of music to the stage in Rocky Mount.

Sierra Hull plays the Harvester on Veterans Day and will be the first IBMA winner to take the Harvester stage after this years awards. Hull won mandolin player of the year for her high energy bluegrass skill.

For tickets to see her IBMA-winning mandolin, visit harvester-music.com.
Get to know the candidates for Des Moines County supervisor

Incumbent Tom Broeker and challenger Sandy Dockendorff weigh in on the issues ahead of Election Day in the race for Des Moines County supervisor.
The time has finally come: the MTA has taken my beloved J train from me, if only for one day. How will I cross the Williamsburg Bridge? More importantly, how will I learn to trust again if the only source of stability in my lifethe majestic, reliable Jhas betrayed me? The J train flew too close to the sun, and the MTA is punishing us for its hubris. (The punishment ends Saturday night.)

If I don't get a reliable train, no one does. Here's what's going down this weekend:

2 trains will not operate in either direction between 96 St and Wakefield-241 St from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

3 trains will not operate at all from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

4 trains will run local in Brooklyn from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

5 trains will not operate in either direction between Eastchester-Dyre Av and E 180 St, starting at 11:30 p.m. Friday and ending at 5 a.m. Monday.

Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains will run express between Parkchester and Pehlam Bay Park from 3:45 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Main St-bound 7 trains will run express between 74 St-Broadway and Willets Point from 3:45 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday.

7 trains will also run express between Queensboro Plaza and 74 St-Broadway from 6:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

All A trains will reroute along the F line between W 4 St-Wash Sq to Jay St-Metrotech from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

A trains will run local in both directions between W 4 St-Wash Sq and 59 St-Columbus Circle from 12:01 a.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Monday.

A trains will also run local in both directions between 168 St and 145 St beginning at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and ending at 5 a.m. Monday.

C trains will not operate in either direction between 145 St and 168 St from 6:30 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Sunday.

All C trains will reroute along the F line from W 4 St-Wash Sq to Jay St-MetroTech from 6:30 a.m. Saturday to 11:00 p.m. Sunday.

Norwood-205 St-bound D trains will skip Bay 50 St and 25 Av beginning from 5:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

E trains are rerouted via the F line in both directions between 21 St-Queensbridge and W4 St-Wash Sq from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Manhattan-bound E trains will run express between 71 Av and 21 St-Queensbridge (on the F line) from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Sunday.

Manhattan-bound E trains will skip Briarwood and 75 Av from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Manhattan-bound F trains will skip Sutphin Blvd, Briarwood, and 75 Av from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

J trains will not operate in either direction between Hewes St and Broad St from 5:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

M trains will not operate in either direction between Myrtle Av and Essex St from 6:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Coney Island-Stillwell Av-bound N trains will run express between Astoria Blvd and Queensboro Plaza from 5:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Manhattan-bound R trains will run express between 71 Av and Queens Plaza from 6:30 a.m. to midnight on Saturday.

The 42 St S shuttle will operate overnight from 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Monday.
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NORWALK  For most 10-year-olds, the world is small.

For Kate Papadatos, a Norwalk resident and sixth-grade student at Sacred Heart Greenwich, its boundless.

At 5 years old, Papadatos was given a sponsorship through Save The Children, connecting her with a girl her age in Ethiopia. The gift, she said, opened her eyes to how big the world is and how there are girls all over the world just like her.

My mom explained how were helping other people with education and to have a better life, and that seemed like a good thing to do, Papadatos said.

As a result of her sponsorship, Papadatos was selected to light the Empire State Building red with actress Dakota Fanning in honor of International Day of the Girl. The event, which takes place Tuesday, is in honor of the United Nations holiday designated for communities and policymakers to discuss how to end discrimination against girls and create opportunities for women around the world. That same day shell also get to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Everyone thinks boys are better than girls, Papadatos said. Theyre not.

After receiving her first sponsorship, Papadatos asked to sponsor a second girl in Uganda. She has been pen pals with both ever since, comparing their lives and sharing all the milestones of being a young girl. At the same time, Papadatos said she has learned a lot about the challenges children in other parts of the world face.

We both love math and love to spend time outside, Papadatos said of her pen pal in Ethiopia. But they also dont have as much opportunities ... they have to grow a lot of their food and they dont have as many programs in school.

Papadatos said she enjoys inspiring her friends at school to become sponsors.

Brenda Thickett, Papadatos mom, said she and her husband decided to give sponsorships to Papadatos and her older brother to help them understand the challenges children face all over the world.

We purposely picked children that were the same gender and the same age as our children because we wanted them to understand that the world is a big place and there are kids just like them all over the world, Thickett said. Now its part of their Christmas gift every year.

Jordyn Linsk, a spokesperson for Save the Children, said girls are frequently marginalized in their families, communities and societies throughout the world, and too often they face discrimination and violence and are barred from the opportunity to learn  limiting their lives and risking their futures.

Earlier this year, Save the Children launched a campaign called Every Last Child, meant to target the most vulnerable and hard to reach children around the world. Linsk said girls are a particular area of focus within the campaign.

Save the Children specifically believes every girl deserves a future. But the worlds girls, because of who they are or where theyre born, face unique challenges, Linsk said. Worldwide, girls face higher rates of violence, poverty and discrimination. For example, a girl is three times more likely to be out of school than boys.

Save the Children believes reaching girls is a critical component of ending early marriage, preventable maternal and child deaths and ensuring a collective future. The Save the Children sponsorship program provides girls and boys with the necessities and resources for proper nutrition, early childhood and adolescent development, education and school health. More information about sponsoring a child is available at sponsor.savethechildren.org.

Save the Children is committed to making a difference for every last girl, said Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children. Throughout the world, girls face higher rates of violence, poverty and discrimination. On the ladder of opportunity, girls are often left behind on the bottom rung.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
NORWALK  When Richard Koleszar was 5 years old, someone hung his finger paintings on the wall at kindergarten.

The rest, he says, is history.

Now 75, the Norwalk artist has been painting ever since, earning substantial more recognition than simple praise. One wall in his attic studio is lined with ribbons and certificates, celebrating his work. The rest of his home  the home he grew up in behind City Hall  has become a sort of gallery for his many paintings ranging from realistic landscapes, water scenes and portraits to abstract realism and beyond.

Painting is like having another life and bringing things to life, Koleszar said. People walking around dont notice things, so I like to bring those things people miss to life. I try to paint something you dont ordinarily see or feel ... once in a while I find something I get inspired by. Like when my uncle was in the Army he would send photos to my grandma, and a while back I came across all these small black and white photos of cars in old towns, and I had to paint them.

Koleszar works mostly in oil and watercolor, painting on canvas and various types of paper. His work has been on display throughout Fairfield County including the Rowayton Arts Center, and several galleries in Ridgefield where he lived until last year.

Koleszar began taking classes at the Silvermine Arts Center when he was 7, and continued there through high school. He went on to study advertising and earned a degree in fine art from Syracuse University. He worked in the advertising industry through the late 1970s at major firms in New York City. He stopped painting during that time, but tried when he could to sneak his own work into the campaigns he was working on, all the while hoping he wouldnt lose his creative edge to the corporate world.

I went into advertising because none of my friends were making any money in art, Koleszar said.

Koleszar started painting again in 1985 at the urging of his father, a longtime supporter of his work, who hed gone into business with after his career in advertising. Though his father was never an artist in any traditional sense, Koleszar said it was his encouragement that prompted him to play the saxophone, paint and take theater classes.

A portrait of his father, copied from a small black and white photo, hangs in Koleszars living room above the fireplace. The image of his father shows him leaning against the stump of a fallen tree somewhere in Oregon, small in comparison to the foliage surrounding him.

He was a builder so he wasnt into that, but he was helping me in all these ways, Koleszar said. This small black and white photo of dad had been in the family for years, so I decided to paint it. I did a lot of research on the trees and how they should look and the colors. Its one of my favorites.

Though his work never came to fruition as a sole source of income and full-fledged career, Koleszar said the recognition hes received locally is more than enough payment. He does take commissions and continues to show his work in the area, entering it in shows whenever possible.

I dont make much money but I enjoy it, Koleszar said. Its a labor of love and my wife supports me 100 percent.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
Since the founding of the Republic, American Exceptionalism has been a guiding principle for candidates seeking high office. Next only to a professed belief in God, a firm, if often unfounded, insistence in our benign and beneficent superiority to all other nations and cultures is indispensable for aspiring leaders. From Lincolns elegant warning that America is the last, best hope of earth to the religious overtones of Reagans shining city on the hill, our leaders embrace this notion of Exceptionalism with a fervor that often seems at odds with our more provincial aspirations, such as lowering taxes or reducing bureaucratic red tape.

But while American Exceptionalism guides candidates, the concept itself has two very distinct historical lineages. A more hands-off interpretation of our Exceptionalism, famously espoused by Washington in his Farewell Address, but most eloquently explained by John Quincy Adams goes like this: America abstain(s) from interference in the concerns of others. Wherever the standard of freedom has been unfurled, there will be her heart. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. This so-called isolationist brand of American Exceptionalism, however, is rarely espoused today. Of all the erstwhile candidates this presidential cycle only Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul fully embraced it.

The other, more popular strain of American Exceptionalism, is the Wilsonian brand. Wilson was not the first to espouse a more messianic American Exceptionalism, but he wasat least until George W. Bush-its most prominent and blundering advocate. Most of the Republican presidential candidates this year and Hillary Clinton fall squarely into this camp whose members fervently believe there are few problems in todays world that can be solved without U.S. involvement. They embrace the mythology of interventionist exceptionalism as fervently as the leaders of any bygone empire that sought to bring civilization and justice to a barbaric world. As former Secretary of State Albright, unabashedly preening, put it: If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future.

Why the Good War was So Bad

Understanding why the Washingtonian brand of Exceptionalism has fallen out of favor and the Wilsonian messianic brand of Exceptionalism has taken hold in the American psyche is not possible without understanding Americas view of history. The nations of the world dont agree on much, but one thing on which there is unanimity is the belief that Americans have no sense of history. Everywhere one looks from Asia to Europe to the Middle East there prevails an unshakeable belief that Americans are so busy with the future, they do not adequately value the past.

But they are mistaken. While it is certainly true that Americans have a wonderful facility for not allowing grievances from the distant past to control their outlookhow many Americans, for example, even know that the British burned Washington DC in 1814? And how many of those who do know think it was such a bad idea? We are not, however, completely clueless about history. The real problem is that most of us are only comfortable with a single decade of historyfrom 1938 to 1948from Kristallnacht and Munich to the onset of the Cold War. For most of the American public and certainly for most of our political leaders, the other 5,000 years of history are no more than a quaint and irrelevant footnote.

And because we are perpetually stuck in this timewarp, we see foreign affairs through a strange prism: every attempt at compromise is appeasement, every dictator is another Hitler, every effort at nation-building must succeed just like the Marshall Plan did, every aggression is a move toward world domination, and most importantly, every enemy is an existential threat who only understands brute strength and firm resolve. So, when North Korea marched south it was like the Nazis storming into Poland, and when the North Vietnamese infiltrated the south Ho Chi Minh was another Hitler, and when Iraq took over Kuwait it was like the Soviets taking over Eastern Europe, and Saddam again was yet another Hitler, and the annexation of the Crimea was the Sudentenland all over again, and any effort to broker an agreement with Iran on nuclear matters must be appeasement.

Reassessing American Exceptionalism

As a people we Americans are in urgent need of a more nuanced, more mature view of history. We must come to see that not every competitor is an adversary and that every adversary need not be an enemy, and that even among our now myriad enemies, not all pose existential threats to us and our way of life. But this will take wisdom and courage, and a realization that most of history has been a bloody mess of misunderstandings and arrogant mistakes.

The madness of World War I almost brought us to our senses. It briefly convinced many in the West that war usually is a lose-lose proposition for civilization, but then Hitler saved us from peace and reason. Confronted with a genuine existential threat and appalled by the brutality and ruthlessness of the Nazi regime and Japanese Empire, we realized that waging war was necessary in that unique set of circumstances. But given the disastrous consequences of our repeated interventions over the last few decades, the histories of World War I and the Peloponnesian Wars are arguably better cautionary tales for the modern world than our simplistic embrace of the lessons learned from World War II and its immediate aftermath. Yet we will not forsake that cursed decade of triumph and clarity easily; we yearn for it and it beckons to us, offering heroic purpose and a comforting certainty about who we think we are as a nation.

The interventionistsboth Democrats and Republicanshave gotten it wrong almost every time they have interceded in foreign conflicts. Since World War II going abroad to destroy monsters is exactly what we do, breathlessly, unthinkingly, blindly. We are no longer just a bright beacon to the world; for the last seventy years our exceptionalism has been imbued with a Messianic fervor and a Manichean perspective of absolute Good countering absolute Evil that threatens to destroy the very ideals we seek to promote.

But even fools can make wise observations: while the interventionists have been wrong over and over in getting us involved in military conflicts of questionable necessity, they have been right that John Quincy Adams brand of American Exceptionalism is outdated and inadequate for the modern age. The interventionist are correct that the modern world with all its technological advancements is too small, too interconnected, and too interdependent to allow us to isolate ourselves completely and merely cheer from the sidelines. It is doubtful that even Washington and Adams, if alive today, would have much confidence in the size of the oceans to ward off our enemies, and it is equally doubtful given the complexity of foreign relations today that they would be so disparaging of all foreign entanglements. But it is timepast timefor the pendulum to swing back after seventy years of hyper-interventionism to a more balanced brand of Exceptionalism that is neither reflexively interventionist nor irrationally isolationist.

What is to Be Done

First, use the label sparingly and prudently. Admittedly this will feel akin to amputating a leg or tearing out ones own heart. A passionate belief in our Exceptionalism is something we all were handfed since we were infants and accepting that we are something less than unique and special will be painful. But like every other extremist ism we denounce and distrust and have sought to destroy, American Exceptionalism can sometimes embody a threat to Republican principles. Imbued with a strong sense of Exceptionalism, our leaders sometimes justify policies and practices that we would generally find loathsome. Just as Marxism and Fascism and Islamic Extremism enable their followers to commit deplorable acts for some greater future good, so too American Exceptionalismdespite all the good and inspiring aspects of ithas made it easier for us to do similarly appalling acts. Embracing American Exceptionalism with thoughtful humility rather than boastful pride would be salutary.

Second, be consistent. From the very outset post-World War II interventionism has suffered from a notable hypocrisy of purpose. We unabashedly rail against the tyrannies in Syria and Iran, but continue to ignore the equally tyrannical and arguably more dangerous governments in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and elsewhere. At one time this approach, while never morally defensible, made some sense from a practical perspective. It was arguably practical because we needed certain resources such as oil from the Middle East, and it was also practical because we were waging a decades-long cold war, so we cleverly delineated between totalitarian regimes (our enemies) and mere authoritarian regimes (our friends) despite there being little difference in how they ran their governments and mistreated their citizens.

But these practicalities no longer apply. The end of the Cold War and American technological ingenuity have freed us from compromising our principles, yet political inertia keeps us stuck in old thought patterns. An uninformed realism still pervades our thinking and we hesitate to make a clean break with the flawed strategy of the post-WW II era. This uninformed realism is worsened paradoxically by an overwrought sentimentalism in our formulation of foreign policy. How else can we plausibly explain our decades-long reluctance to accept the reality in Cuba or our refusal to ever discern a difference between American interests and Israeli interests? Combined, this misapplied realism and misplaced sentimentalism have led much of the world to see our interventions as hypocritical and self-serving. We would do well to recall Washingtons warning that a nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.

Third, embrace as allies only those who share our ideals and interests. Ally is an overused and underappreciated relationship. To be called a friend and ally of America should mean something special. It frankly does not apply to many nations which today we profess to be allied withmuch to our own detriment. There are few countries outside of Europe that would genuinely qualify as allies, and even some within Europe should be put on notice that an allied relationship with America is not always a given.

Fourth, distance ourselves from those who do not seek to emulate our ideals and principles. This does not mean we need to intervene in those countries such as Saudi Arabia or Pakistan or even pressure them to change. What it does mean is that we do not give economic support to them, we do not give them most-favored nation trade status, and we do not share with them sophisticated military and civilian technology. If American Exceptionalism means anything it should mean that we do not enable and protect those who have interests and ways of life that threaten our own principles and way of life.

Fifth, limit unilateral military interventions to only those rare instances when an immediate and compelling threat to the United States is clear. And then respond with overwhelming force and leave. Nation-building, generally an unrealistic fairytale born of the success of the Marshall Plan, should be avoided at least until all hostilities have ended. Moreover, we should not support in any manner any third country military conflicts, such as the ongoing war in Yemen, where all sides are blameworthy and committing atrocities.

Finally, clearly define the criteria for interventions of a humanitarian nature. While we do have a legal and moral obligation to prevent genocide and to safeguard civilian populations, such interventions should never be done unilaterally or only with allies. Only UN-sanctioned humanitarian interventions should be supported.

There are plenty of arguments against these proposals. Dont we risk another Rwanda if we wait for the United Nations to act? Dont we risk worsening the economic plight of innocent populations by not compromising with tyrannical regimes? Dont we risk our own self-interest by not finding common ground with despotic nations like Saudi Arabia and China? But the record of the last seventy years doesnt bode well for the next seventy if we continue along the same path. Over time a more hands-off policy toward those not like us and an even stronger embrace of those who share our values would eventually benefit both the US and much of the world. The UN should become more active and competent; innocent populations could rise up against their corrupt governments or those governments could see the benefits of change; unallied states such as Saudi Arabia and even China may eventually find it beneficial to institute political reforms and improve human rights.

As the last century began we sought to liberate Cuba, civilize the Philippines, and capture that terrorist Pancho Villa. These exercises in Exceptionalism culminated in our disastrous entry into World War I. In less than a year it will be the centennial of our entry into that war to safeguard democracy. As we learned at great cost, our intervention not only didnt make the world safe for democracy, it did make the world safe for fascism and other forms of totalitarianism. We are at a similar crossroads today, striving to make the modern world saferand unintentionally also safer for terrorism and lawlessnessas we engage more and more in counterproductive struggles around the world. We have already stumbled badly and repeatedly in the first sixteen years of this century. Our misuse of American Exceptionalism in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine and elsewhere does not bode well for the rest of the century, but there is no need to keep repeating the same mistakes of the past if our leaders choose a different path. A foreign policy firmly based on consistency, restraint, and adherence to our founding principles would ultimately achieve what most of us mistakenly believe we already possess: an American Exceptionalism admired and envied by the world.

The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politicswe approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now.
BROKEN BOW  Broken Bow will celebrate the bandstands 100th birthday on Saturday.

The bandstand is a historical part of the town, as it was built in 1916. President Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan are among those who spoke from the bandstand in the past. A documentary on the bandstand began filming earlier this year to commemorate the milestone.

The celebration schedule is packed with events and activities. Not one minute is left unoccupied.

The day will begin with a craft and food bazaar at 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on South D Street. Other activities include a car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on South D Street and a quilt show from 10 to 5 at the Custer County Museum. Free cornbread and chili will also be served at noon.

Presentation of colors by the Broken Bow Honor Guard will be from 2 to 3 p.m. on the City Square. The 1st Nebraska Brass Band will play The Star-Spangled Banner on the bandstand during that time.

City Administrator Brent Clark said the presentation of colors will be quite the event to see. If people are traveling to Broken Bow from other towns, he encourages them not to miss the presentation of colors. He said it will be impressive, as the veterans worked really hard on it.

State Sen. David Landis will re-enact a speech by former U.S. Sen. George Norris. The bandstand will be dedicated at 3 p.m. by Mayor Cecil Burt.

Clark said the celebration was planned for a date when the downtown and square construction would be completed. He said this week was also Public Power Week, so it was another reason to celebrate.

They coincided well together, Clark said. Now this is the event to really celebrate it.

Clark said the celebration aims to bring nostalgia and history to the forefront through the planned activities. A paper plate toss will happen throughout the day. For the paper plate toss, area businesses write deals on the plates and throw them into the crowd for people. He said the toss used to happen more often, so the town is happy to see it back.

It has always been the staple of reference to our community, Clark said about the bandstand, which also got improvements and maintenance. Its still the same bandstand. We just refreshed it a little.

Clark said the bandstand means the world to locals because they remember getting ice cream at Dairy Queen and listening to music from the bandstand.

Hes excited for the event, which holds a lot of history and memories for Broken Bow.

Its who we are, Clark said of the bandstand.
At the beginning of a hearing on Thursday afternoon in Hall County District Court, the defendant testified on his own behalf. By the end of the hearing, the defendant had a new lawyer.

Isais Miguel is arguing that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when blood was taken from him at CHI Health St. Francis in February. On Aug. 3, the Grand Island man pleaded no contest to a charge of third-offense driving under the influence.

Miguel, 33, was supposed to be sentenced on that offense on Monday. Instead, he told District Judge Teresa Luther that he would like to withdraw his plea.

That request was based on a case, Birchfield vs. North Dakota, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June. In that case, the court ruled that the Fourth Amendment permits warrantless breath tests as part of arrests for drunken driving but not warrantless blood tests.

Luther scheduled Thursdays hearing to consider Miguels request to withdraw his no contest plea.

Seated in his jail attire, Miguel said he feels his rights were violated when blood was taken from him on Feb. 21. When he was arrested after driving erratically on Highway 281, he cooperated by taking part in a field sobriety test and a Breathalyzer test.

But Miguel felt those two tests were sufficient. He said the blood test violated his Fourth Amendment rights because a persons blood is a private matter.

In his testimony, Miguel cited the North Dakota case and a Minnesota case. He said warrants may be obtained by such convenient methods as email.

Much of Miguels testimony on Thursday consisted of answers put to him by his attorney, Hall County Public Defender Gerry Piccolo.

As the hearing continued, Deputy Hall County Attorney Sarah Carstensen complained that she did not have adequate notice of Thursdays issues. Another deputy Hall County attorney, Gail VerMaas, appeared at Mondays proceeding.

Carstensen did ask a number of questions to Miguel. She pointed out that Miguel entered his no contest response as part of a plea agreement.

Miguel was originally charged with aggravated third-offense DUI and first-offense driving during suspension. But the aggravated level of DUI and the driving during suspension charge were both dropped in exchange for Miguels no contest plea.

Miguels understanding, he said, was that he would later be able to withdraw his no contest plea if he desired. His recollection of the plea agreement also didnt totally match the record as delivered by Carstensen.

Twice during the 45-minute hearing, Piccolo expressed a desire to no longer represent Miguel in the case.

At one point, Piccolo and Carstensen approached the bench for several minutes to address the judge. At another point, they recessed to Luthers chambers for six or seven minutes.

After the initial conference, Carstensen resumed her questioning. Miguel said he felt he had the right to withdraw his plea because he didnt have all the relevant information about his rights and what the Fourth Amendment means.

Since being incarcerated in Hall County, Miguel said, he has asked repeatedly to go to the law library to research his options. But hes been granted access to the law library only about six times in the eight months hes been in Hall County Jail, he said.

He said he never wanted to enter the no contest plea because he didnt feel suitably well informed about his rights. Miguel has been uncomfortable with his lack of legal familiarity since early March, he said.

When the trio returned from the judges chambers, Luther said its possible that Piccolo may be a witness on the motion to withdraw the plea. She appointed attorney Mitchell Stehlik to handle the DUI charge against Miguel. According to court records, the case wound up with Jon Hendricks. The hearing was continued until 2 p.m. Oct. 12.

After the hearing, Piccolo said he did not withdraw from the case. The judge appointed a different attorney.

Miguel still faces six charges in another case, in which he is accused of stabbing a man twice in a dispute over a guitar on Feb. 27. Piccolo never suggested that he wasnt willing to represent Miguel in that case.

In that incident, Miguel is charged with robbery, three counts of using a deadly weapon to commit a felony, first-degree assault and attempted felony. Police say he was involved in an altercation with Victor Schoenheit on Feb. 27 near Boarders Inn and Suites, 3333 Ramada Road.

That case is scheduled to go to a jury trial on Oct. 19.
A Los Angeles woman says an Uber driver attacked her this summer and stole her phone, and the ride-sharing company fought her and the NYPD's efforts to bring him to justice.

Abbey Thomas, a senior executive at an advertising technology company, was in New York on business in late July when she went to meet a client for a few drinks at the Gramercy Park Hotel. She was staying at another hotel 10 blocks away, and at around 2 a.m., pulled up her Uber app and requested a ride.

When her driver Hassan pulled up and she hopped into his sedan, it immediately became apparent that something was wrong, she said.

"He did not want to take me for whatever reason," she said. "I was very taken aback. Ive taken a million Ubers."

She recalled Hassan saying, "'I'm canceling the ride, I'm canceling the ride! Get out! Get Out!' He started using a lot of profanities and getting very aggressive."

Alarmed, Thomas pulled out her phone.

"I instinctively started Snapchatting, just using the microphone to record the guy's verbal rant, because it was so outlandish," she said.

Hassan allegedly grabbed the phone out of her hand, and Thomas says that's when she started screaming.

"Photos of my daughter, all these memories are on my phone," she said. "He comes around, throws the door open, and grabs my arm. I have bruises up and down my arm."

Thomas said she started kicking and screaming as passersby started yelling for Hassan to stop. He did, but what he allegedly did next was far worse.

He runs back around to the drivers side of the car, and I realize this guy is literally about to drive away. He put the car into gear with me one foot inside of the car, one foot outside of the car. I reached up and grabbed the top of the door frame. He's got my purse, and hes driving away. I remember taking my left heel and digging it into the undercarriage of the seat to wedge myself up. I'm wearing this pink jumpsuit being driven halfway outside of an Uber on Lexington. There are three witnesses screaming for him to stop. Thankfully there was a red light at 21st and Lexington. He slowed down enough for me to let go and Superman out of his car. He did not stop.





Abul Hassan (TLC)

Having come to a stop on the pavement, Thomas collected herself. She said her jumpsuit "was all road rash." Her knee was battered. She hit the back of her head and was bleeding from the wound. Bystanders called an ambulance.

"I didn't call anybody, because he stole my phone," Thomas recalled. After a night in Bellevue Hospital, she was released. She had not suffered a concussion or broken any bones.

Upon returning to her hotel, Thomas says she immediately logged onto her laptop and opened a complaint at 9 a.m. That day marked the beginning of a what she describes as the torturous process of trying to get Uber's help in tracking down Hassan. She didn't get a response until 11:30 p.m. she said.

"This is a tech company, right? You're in the business of immediate gratification and responsiveness," she said, "and you take 15 hours to respond to an incident report?"

That response, from a customer service representative named Mariah, was an email that included this paragraph:

While I cannot tell you exactly what will happen to this partner driver, I can definitely let you know that we have taken immediate action on this driver. We will review the driver's account and decide how best to proceed. Your account shouldn't be matched with this driver again in the future.

"That's reassuring," Thomas recalled thinking. "Thanks a lot, Uber."

Uber shared Hassan's insurance information, but not his full name or Taxi and Limousine Commission license number, even when Thomas passed along a detective's information, she said. Uber's policy is to "typically" not give out "basic information" without a subpoena, which Thomas blames for delaying Hassan's arrest until September 7th, when he surrendered more than a month after the alleged attack. Without going into detail, Thomas suggested she had the insurance company, not Uber, to thank for tracking down the rogue hack.

Hassan was given a desk appearance ticket for leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in injury and released.

Thomas is now pursuing a complaint with the TLC, and suing Hassan and Uber in Manhattan Supreme Court. Thomas's lawyers, who work for Gotham Government Relations, a consulting and PR firm with unnamed yellow-taxi industry figures for clients, accuses Uber of "repeatedly [refusing] to cooperate with police" and "[permitting] Hassan to continue working with no repercussions whatsoever."

The lawsuit claims that Uber should have foreseen that its fare structure would lead drivers like Hassan to deny service to passengers making short trips, like Thomas, and react violently. The lawsuit also claims that Uber fails to adequately screen and train its drivers (though Uber drivers must get a TLC license and pass a TLC background check).

Gotham Government Relations, the consulting firm, is arguing in the press that requiring the Taxicab Passenger Enhancements Project tracking system that yellow cabs have in Uber cars would solve the problem posed in this incident. If that happened, lawyer Brad Gerstman told NBC4, "They could just circle back to TLC. 'Who is the driver? Where's the location? What other cars were in the area at the time?' They know every single thing when it comes to the yellow cab, but if it's an Uber driver, they know absolutely zero."

Thomas said that she hopes her pursuit of accountability in this case will help make the city safer.

"I'd like to think that a guy with an anger problem isnt driving around the women of New York City at 2 a.m.," she said.

Hassan's TLC license has been suspended pending the outcome of the criminal investigation, according to a TLC spokesman. The spokesman stressed, as he always does in these situations, that the TLC is the only agency that can suspend a driver's hack license, so passengers who have had bad experiences with ride-share app, car service, or other cab drivers should use 311 to file a formal TLC complaint, rather than just complaining to the company.

"If you just complain to the app or the base the most they can do is deactivate the driver but he or she is able to join another app and get another trip," TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi said in a statement.

Hassan could not be reached. Uber declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
DUNNING  Lowell Minert, lifelong Angus breeder, cattleman, husband, father and grandfather, left this world on Sept. 29, 2016.

He was born April 13, 1940, to Berniece (Walker) and Emery Minert, and married Carrol Roseberry on June 24, 1962. Together, they raised three children and were blessed with seven grandchildren.

Lowell graduated from Curtis High School in 1958 and from the University of Nebraska in 1962 with majors in range and ranch management and agronomy. While attending UNL he was president of the Block and Bridle Club, Rodeo Club and Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. In 1962 Lowell received a commission in the United States Navy and served one term of active duty, advancing to the rank of lieutenant. Lowell and Carrol moved back to Dunning in 1964 and continued the cattle business that he started with 4-H projects. He owned and operated the Minert/Simonson Angus Ranch.

When looking for a role model in community service, both locally and across the state, you could look to Lowell. His leadership was a great asset to the school board, 4-H clubs, Sandhills Community Church (both as Deacon and Trustee), American Legion, and the Masonic Lodge. Lowell took an active leadership role in the beef industry, serving on the board of directors and as chairman of the Purebred Council of the Nebraska Cattlemen. He served two terms as president of the Nebraska Angus Association and two terms on the American Angus Association Board, where he also served as president of the Certified Angus Beef Board. His most recent service was on the executive board of the Nebraska State Fair as treasurer, and he was instrumental in renovating the Thompson Food Outdoor Arena.

Lowells favorite pastimes included visiting with people and supporting young people in their endeavors, as well as sharing his passion for his cattle with people across the country and the world. In 2009, Lowell and Carrol represented the Nebraska Beef Council as ambassadors at the New York State Fair. He also hosted various judging teams, and the ranch has hosted Angus and cattleman tours and groups from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, England, Spain, Japan and China.

Lowells passion, integrity, honesty and genuine love of the Angus breed resulted in a valuable reputation in both the cattle industry and as an individual. His passion towards his commitments earned him many awards and recognitions, but he was especially passionate about his family and extremely proud of his children and grandchildren. He loved attending all their activities, whether they were showing cattle, playing sports, rodeo, or music and theater.

Lowell lived his life faithful to God and his family.

He is survived by his wife, Carrol of Dunning; son, Tim and his wife, Kim and children, Andrea, Alexa, and Alexander of Scottsdale, Ariz.; daughter, Cindy and her husband, JW Simonson and children Shaina and Jaylee of Dunning; son, Wes & his wife, Kelly and children, Hailey and Landon of Fort Collins, Colo.; and a multitude of friends and extended family.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, at the Sandhills High School Gymnasium in Dunning, with Pastor Mark Sievering officiating. A meal will be held at the Dunning Community Center following the services. Burial with military honors will be held at the Hawley Flats Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, at Sandhills Community Church in Dunning. Govier Brothers Mortuary of Broken Bow is in charge of the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the Sandhills Community Church, Blaine County EMTs or Blaine County Community Foundation.

Online condolences may be left at www.govierbrothers.com.
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey has called Wells Fargo Banks recent behavior unbelievable and deeply disturbing. We would add reprehensible.

On Sept. 8 government officials revealed that Wells Fargo had opened more than 2 million bank and credit-card accounts for customers without their permission from 2011 through 2015, resulting in $2.6 million in unwarranted fees for tens of thousands of unsuspecting clients.

Certain industries and the officials who work in them are rightly held to a higher standard. Banking is one of those industries. Banks have responsibility for our nations money and credit system, which is the life blood of our economy. It is confidence in our banks that safeguards our earnings and savings as well as making available essential credit.

Bank credit allows us to start a business, own a home, drive a car and send a child to college, as well as pay for a myriad of other life activities. Banks are entrusted with other peoples assets. An essential function of a bank is to loan depositors money to yet other third parties. The system only works if an adequate trust level exists.

Economic bad turns in our economy correlate very directly with problems in the banking industry. The Great Depression of the 1930s was in large part caused by the failure of thousands of banks that resulted in a 28 percent reduction in the money supply and an almost total absence of credit. The Great Recession of 2008 was caused by failures in the banking system as well as in the system designed to ensure bank safety and stability. Taxpayers had to provide temporary assistance to the banking industry, an unfortunate example of Main Street bailing out Wall Street.

Following periods of turmoil in our money and banking system, government inevitably insists on more regulation to prevent future problems. The Glass Steagall Act passed in 1932 limited and controlled what banks could do for six decades. The Dodd-Frank bill, passed after the 2008 meltdown has made banking more complicated in our current time.

Certainly, the behavior of Wells Fargo will make it more difficult to roll back what many bankers consider as onerous, unnecessary and counterproductive regulation.

Wells Fargo had an aggressive culture. Commissions were part of salary compensation and employees had challenging quotas to meet. An aggressive practice of cross selling was part of the banks culture and apparently quite profitable.

But some employees crossed the line into improper activity and bank management did not ensure that the bank was always providing customers honest and transparent business practices. Hopefully, these business practices, for which Wells Fargo must be held responsible, were isolated to that bank.

Wells Fargo is one of our countrys largest and most successful banks. It should be a role model and not an institution with its hand in peoples pockets. It has profited from its aggressive culture but now faces an uncertain future.

What lies of ahead for Wells Fargo because of its employees actions and its managements inaction is still being played out. What is certain is that our society and economy need and deserve more responsible custodianship of our money and banking system.
Porter is getting to umpire his second World Series

Alan Porter is working his second World Series as an umpire. He'll be behind home plate if the Phillies and Astros need a Game 7.
This September, the Edwardsville Rotary Club honored Edwardsville High School student Caroline Kaminsky with the Student of the Month Award. Nominated by English teacher Cara Lane, Caroline enjoys reading and writing.

In addition to excelling in academics at Edwardsville High School, Caroline holds leadership roles in as the President of National English Honor Society and Co-President of Science Club and the Science Olympiad team. She also participates in the National Honor Society, Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) competition team, and as a publicity/writer/director of the Christmas show for Drama Club.
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Linkedin Ibrahim Kholilul Rohman Seville, Spain  Fri, October 7, 2016

Amid growing anxiety concerning the current budget deficit, the Indonesian government is seeking alternatives for potential government revenues. The most recent idea, proposed by the Finance Ministry, is an introduction of tax charges on information and computer technology (ICT) companies, Google being the biggest target. Google began in January 1996. The company was initially a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, PhD students at Stanford University at the time.

Almost 20 years later, the 2014 European Commissions research and development scoreboard data reported that Google, with 54 billion in revenues, is the third largest company in the world after Microsoft and IBM in the software and computer services industry. Googles revenues are equal to Rp 789 trillion (US$60.75 billion) or almost one-third of Indonesias national budget .

In the taxation domain, Google has become an infamous term. Google tax is a term referring to avoidance of provisions when profits are deflected to other jurisdictions aiming for lower or nil tax rates. The Finance Ministry plans to charge Google for five years of taxes, making the giant company face a bill of approximately $400 million in 2015 alone.

The amount is determined based on the judgment that Google operations in Indonesia have contributed less than 0.1 percent to the total income in 2015. Ironically, Google brushes aside the auditing process, which further triggers the Finance Ministry to make this issue a criminal case. Indonesia is not alone. Italy also plans to take the Google taxation issue to court not long before Google paid 2.2 million of tax in 2014, a considerable amount for a country not seen as a revenue generator in the European market.

Indonesia should strategize to find reasons to charge Google that are not only based on the bottom line of Googles income but also consider Googles business model.

Fransman and the 2014 European Commission have provided a framework of analysis to understand the Google business model by which the value added creation can be assessed.

There are four layers. The first layer concerns two important stakeholders, customers and users. The users, like most of us, benefit from free services and applications that provide internet connection through computers, tablets and mobile devices. The customers are those contributing directly to the Google revenues, mainly advertisers.

A search industry is also categorized as a two-sided market. Google stands in between customers and users. Google, as the company, knows more about the behavior of the users than their customers, the advertisers. This information includes, but is not limited to, profiling and market segmentation and thus allows them to charge a premium for this information which illustrates how the lock-in process happens.

The second layer examines the main activities, searching, advertising, operating systems and platforms and enterprise. These activities are tools to maintain customers and users. Statista  an online statistics portal headquartered in Hamburg, Germany  predicts that the total revenue of Indonesias digital advertising amounted to $108 billion this year and search advertising leads the market volume with $479 million.

In addition, the World Bank recorded that Indonesias internet penetration rate was about 17 percent, the total internet user population reaching 47 million people in 2014, a market base larger than Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden combined.

Layer three is Googles network, companies adopting Googles advertising programs to create ads based on Google search results and content. The Android Open Handset Alliance, for instance, is at this layer  a group business alliance of more than 75 technology and mobile companies Layer four concerns Googles research and innovation teams, which are based in California, Israel, London and Zurich. The teams work to support the other layers of the Google business model.

Developer Advocates create a system of third party developers and user experience team  a multi-disciplinary team connecting the designers, visual designers, user researchers and copywriters is one of several groups at this layer.

From the layers of the business model, Indonesia is positioned at the very end of the value chain.

While the Finance Ministry is trying to force regulation for Google to abide by the taxation law in Indonesia, they should be more specific about amount charged to the company based on the business model.

Googles revenue could be adjusted to the capacity of Indonesias digital marketing to reflect Googles value generated in the country. Moreover, the value could be factored in with the number of internet users in the country relative to other neighboring countries marking the potential market size. Google tax experiences in other countries can provide inspiration.

In early January, Google agreed to a 130 million pound settlement with the British taxation authority. This could be considered high success as Google went from paying nothing to some amount of money. However, the European Commission sees this as a trivial sum of money since information was not disclosed when the calculation was made meaning that Google might owe more money.

To tax Google necessitates strong justification and an evidence based analysis. Detailing and itemizing Googles business model in Indonesia might serve as a better alternative to charge Google to ensure fairness for both parties.

______________________________

The writer obtained a PhD in technology management and economics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Linkedin Tjokorda Nirarta Samadhi and Almo Pradana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

The appointment of Arcandra Tahar as the energy and mineral resources minister signaled strongly that the focus of President Joko Jokowi Widodo had shifted back to oil and gas, as well as coal.



This can be observed by several steps taken by minister Arcandra in his first 20 days working, including extending Freeports license to export concentrates, resuming negotiations regarding the Masela block and Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) projects, as well as cancelling the launch of feed-in tariff (FIT) solar power.



Arcandra was removed from his position in early August following the revelation that he held US citizenship.



In the energy sector, many professionals and energy experts in both oil and gas, and renewable energy associations agree that the decline in oil prices in recent years has put pressure on economic growth, particularly in poor and developing countries that produce and export oil.



On the other hand, there is an argument that Indonesia, as a developing country and importer of oil, with high energy needs, has benefited from this situation.



However, this argument cannot be proven. The buying and selling price of oil may be lower, but the price for digging oil remains the same, if not higher.



The geological complexity of where new oil can be found is also very high. Exploration costs of oil per barrel is too high even for a multinational oil company, causing massive layoffs by oil companies and the cessation of their operations in Indonesia.



The President is aware that the sector is in jeopardy, especially given that a quarter of Indonesias economy comes from oil and gas. Investment in this sector has stagnated, starting from the development of the Masela block, an IDD project, to a number of refineries that are getting old and inefficient.



Even foreign investors are demanding more concessions and guarantees from the government. What needs to be avoided is for the President to try reviving the ailing sector with the same approach taken by his predecessors with failing results. It is valuable to see what had been done by other countries that experienced the same or worse situation to prevent Indonesia from repeating the same mistakes.



Venezuela relies heavily on hydroelectric power and uses petroleum as the main source of exports. Nearly 60 percent of its revenues are derived from the export of crude oil.



When a prolonged drought takes place, the electricity from the hydropower in the country is not able to catch up with the increasing electricity demands. The fall in oil prices, worsened by inadequate policies for many years, made the economy of Venezuela collapse.



In a similar situation, Nigeria, which relies 90 percent of its economy on crude oil exports, is facing various crises in the energy sector because of corruption and terrorism.



Similar to Indonesia, both countries are oil-producing developing countries with the ability to produce renewable energy. Venezuela has huge hydro energy potential, but cannot survive long dry seasons as a result of improper energy resource management. Nigeria is Africas biggest economy with high potential for solar energy, but the source of its energy mix is not diversified enough.



Indonesia is fortunate that its economy is less dependent on the export of petroleum products. However, Indonesia should take immediate action to prevent the country from an energy crisis.



Indonesia needs to diversify the energy fuel mix for its power plants. The President must continue his commitment to incorporate more renewable energy sources in the 35,000 MW electrification program. Based on field observations in border areas and the outer islands where electricity is scarce, the lack of information and technology has led to low economic outcomes.



To address this issue, an efficient electricity supply for the communities in those remote areas would be to use local-based energy, supported by local technology and networks of small-scale electrification, rather than building high voltage subsea transmission cables.



If the government is serious about combating corruption, the country must speed up the process of decarbonization of energy systems and move towards renewable energy. Development of clean, new and renewable energies, followed by the restructuring of the electricity sector such as system generation, transmission and distribution to be more open and competitive, has been shown to reduce corruption in the energy sector in many developed countries.



The combination of global trends such as increased climate change mitigation, collaborative bottom-up community-based efforts to improve the resilience of the environment and energy, as well as the affordability of renewable energy have created a golden opportunity to develop clean-energy technologies and reduce exposure to the increased social costs of fossil fuels.



For example, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has proved that economic solar power (3 US cents per kwh) can beat fossil fuel power plants (4.5 cents per kwh), indicating that solar power has become more affordable. The availability of international funds after the Paris Agreement can be utilized by Indonesia to invest and make strides in the development of a clean technology sector and to seize the opportunity to accelerate the development of sustainable energy.



In the Bali Clean Energy Forum earlier this year, Indonesia committed to supporting the development of clean, new and renewable energy. Such development has huge potential not only for sustainability but also to provide long-term solutions to address the problem of energy security. This is the answer for Indonesia. The President should continue his support in the interest of Indonesias future.

***

Tjokorda Nirarta Samadhi is director and Almo Pradana is energy manager of WRI Indonesia.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here.

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 Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

A series of surveys on the Jakarta gubernatorial election has shown a worrying trend for incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.

Despite controversy and criticism regarding his demeanor and his insistence on his eviction policy, Ahok enjoyed overwhelming support until earlier this year based on a March poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI).

However, his approval rating has now declined because of the rise of two rivals in the upcoming election: former education and culture minister Anies Baswedan and the eldest son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.

A steady drop in approval was shown in a series of surveys by the LSI. In March, Ahoks rating was at 59.3 percent. It then dropped to 49.1 percent in July, before going down further to 31.4 percent in October. Another pollster, PolMark Research Center (PRC), found that Ahoks approval rating dropped 10.8 percentage points from July to October with 31.9 percent.

Interestingly, the PRC survey in July found that 28.7 percent of voters felt confident they would not change their support for Ahok. In October, the number dropped to 23.2 percent  showing that some of those who considered themselves loyal withdrew support when faced with other options.

LSI senior researcher Adjie Alfaraby considered Ahoks position to be insecure.

Based on our experience, an incumbents position is secure if the difference is above 20 [percentage points], he said.

Where did the votes go?

Ahoks high rating earlier this year can be attributed to the absence of other serious contenders. In a survey conducted by Charta Politica in March, Ahok's approval rating was 44.5 percent, far exceeding then hopeful contender, former law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, whose approval rating stood at 7.8 percent.

Another survey in February by the Public Opinion and Policy Research Center (Populi Center) found that while Ahok was favored by 49.5 percent of people, a big portion (34.5 percent) was still undecided.

The nomination of Anies and Agus was made at the last minute before registration closed. Now that there are other options, voters have begun to look in other directions. The Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno ticket has scored 21.1 percent of voter support, followed closely by the Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni duo with 19.3 percent according to the LSI in October.

The numbers are similar to poll results by the Populi Center, in which Anies-Sandiaga and Agus-Sylviana were favored by 23.5 percent and 15.8 percent of the citys population, respectively. The PRCs result was similar, with Anies-Sandiaga at 23.2 percent and Agus-Sylviana at 16.7 percent.

The nomination of Anies helped Sandiaga tremendously, as although he had to hand over the governor candidate seat, he was never really considered a strong contender for governor based on a series of surveys by the Populi Center in February, April, June, August and October.

Why not Ahok?

LSI chairman Denny JA attributed Ahoks declining popularity to several factors: unpopular public policies, his personality as well as racial and religious issues.

A worrying trend is the preference to vote based on personality rather than performance. Research agency Riset Indonesia in September revealed that 76 percent of Jakarta residents usually evaluated gubernatorial candidates based on their personalities while 24 percent chose based on performance.

Ahoks record in running Jakarta is shadowed by his attitude, often perceived as blunt, arrogant and harsh. There was also criticism regarding his decision to run on a party ticket instead of as an independent candidate, with the hashtag #BalikinKTPGue(#ReturnMyID) trending on Twitter, signaling some supporters anger and disappointment.

The PRC found in October that even though a whopping 97.1 percent of the Jakarta population knew of Ahok, only 58.3 percent liked him. Anies is a better liked hopeful at 63.1 percent and even newcomer Agus had some popularity at 53.5 percent.

Ahoks performance as governor has been mainly evaluated based on several major issues: flooding, traffic, the Jakarta Bay reclamation and slum evictions. The latter two have hurt Ahoks image as he is now considered to be against poor people.

Ahok has insisted on continuing to evict people from Jakartas growing slums, forcing them to move to problem-prone low-cost apartments. In contrast and in an apparent political move, his rival Anies has signed a political contract to legalize an illegal settlement in North Jakarta, which was welcomed by criticism from Ahok.

Is religion really an issue?

An inconvenient truth for Ahok is that his approval rating is low among Muslim voters, who make up 83 percent of the Jakarta population. Based on an LSI October survey, Ahoks popularity among Muslim voters was below 30 percent compared to that among non-Muslim voters of above 80 percent.

This is a critical point for the Ahok-Djarot pair, said Denny.

In the 2012 Jakarta election, Ahok and his then running mate, now President Joko Jokowi Widodo, was targeted in a racist and religious-based campaign for his double-minority status as a Christian of Chinese descent. There were also politically motivated sermons in mosques telling voters not to choose a non-Muslim leader.

However, another poll by the Populi Center found that 58.4 percent of respondents did not consider race and religion while 42.5 percent of Muslim votes went to Ahok, significantly different to the LSI findings.

"Jakarta voters do not buy into SARA issues. This is proven by the data. Most Muslim respondents plan to vote for Ahok-Djarot," Populi Center researcher Nona Evita said, referring to an acronym standing for suku (tribal affiliations), agama (religion),ras (race) and antar golongan (societal groups).

Ali Munhanif, a senior researcher at the Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM), said playing the SARA card was unlikely to sway voters. There is already a video circulating on Facebook portraying Ahok as against the Quran, which was quickly rebutted by the governor.

Still, just because these voters do not consider race and religion as issues, it does not mean they will automatically vote for Ahok. Moreover, there are other options with Anies who is considered an academic and moderate Muslim scholar and with Agus who is a Muslim and has an experienced figure as his deputy governor candidate.

Who is the real threat, Agus or Anies?

In polls by the LSI, PRC and the Populi Center, the Anies-Sandiaga pair beats the approval rating of Agus-Sylviana. The Anies-Sandiaga pair has managed to get more than 20 percent, while Agus-Sylviana did not do so in any of the three polls.

Reports by the Populi Center found that given the choice between Anies-Sandiaga and Agus- Sylviana, Anies still prevailed. The survey revealed that 42.3 percent chose Anies, 24.5 percent chose Agus, while 28.3 percent were still undecided.

Anies is popular among the countrys middle class due to his nationwide project Gerakan Indonesia Mengajar (Indonesia Teaching Movement). In his short stint as education minister, many praised Anies for his stance against national examinations as a graduation requirement and bullying-prone school orientations.

He also encouraged parents to be more involved in childrens education by accompanying students on their first day of school. Jokowis decision to sack Anies from his ministerial post in late July was quite unpopular on social media as it was perceived to be a political move.

Agus nomination at the last minute was questionable, as he has little to none experience in politics. Many considered his brother Edhie Ibas Baskoro Yudhoyono to be a more suitable candidate from the family, as he is involved with the family-founded Democratic Party and serves as a lawmaker in the House of Representatives.

With Sylviana as his deputy, Agus is expected to get votes from Jakartas native Betawi people. Furthermore, Agus good looks are expected to win support from female voters.

As many as 56 percent of voters are women; with that we are guaranteed to win, said campaign team head Nachrowi Ramli, as quoted by tempo.co. (rin)
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Linkedin Asmara Wreksono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

The name Chilli Pari was virtually unknown to those living outside Solo until 2014 when ex-Solo mayor (then Jakarta Governor) Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was elected president. However, the subsequent media exposure given to Jokowi's family shone a light on firstborn Gibran Rakabuming Raka and his catering business, Chilli Pari.

Already a household name in Solo, Chilli Pari began from Gibrans idea to complete his parents business of renting an event space, Graha Saba Buana. The medium-sized property, which can accommodate up to 2,000 people, used to be rented out for various events including meetings and weddings, but had no in-house catering to complete the service.

Gibran, then only 22 years of age, followed his own passion and built the catering business from the ground up. Without the support of his parents who wanted him to continue the familys furniture business, Gibran applied for loans from several banks where almost all of his applications were turned down. One bank gave him a chance, and approved only a small part of his application.

(Read also: From the screens to the stomach: social media in the culinary world)

After establishing Chilli Pari in 2010, Gibrans dream was finally starting to come together, and he eventually managed to include catering as one of the services offered by Graha Saba Buana. The primary reason why I created a catering business was because my parents owned a meeting hall that didnt provide catering of its own, whereas when people marry, their biggest spending is on consumption or catering, Gibran told The Jakarta Post.

We started from small events. We didnt handle big events such as weddings with thousands of guests, but we began with meetings, coffee breaks. These small events consist of 100 to 200 guests. We eventually progressed into handling bigger events with thousands of guests, he continued.

Although very technology-savvy in terms of marketing his other business, Markobar, Gibran takes a totally different approach in marketing Chilli Pari. We dont market Chilli Pari online as much because most of the customers are senior citizens in their fifties or older. They are not that updated in (terms of) social media, so we still use offline methods like brochures, test-foods, food samples, things like that, he explained.

(Read also: The six best places to try modern 'martabak' in Jakarta)

Compared to Markobar which does almost 80 percent of its marketing online, Chilli Pari is the opposite, with only 20 percent of its marketing carried out online. Gibran dismissed the fact that his status as the Presidents son had played a part in Chilli Paris popularity.

Let [people] comment whatever they want. In my opinion, my customers are already smart enough. They come to Chilli Pari, to Markobar because of the food and service. Not because the son of the President title, or anything like that, he said, Its impossible for people to spend hundreds of millions of rupiah for a catering service just because they want the name of the son of President. I dont think theres anyone who is like that.

Being very careful of nepotism allegations in Solo, at the beginning of the business, Gibran would not receive any orders from the mayors office. He said, [I did that] so both parties would be comfortable. At that time, my father was serving as the mayor so it was so both parties would be comfortable and so that there would be no conflict of interest. However now they can order, its alright.

The young entrepreneur has also shared his internet-savvy approach in marketing his other F&B business, Markobar. Read all about it in our long-form piece: From the screens to the stomach: social media in the culinary world.
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Fri, October 7, 2016

An exhibition of arts associated with the British Empire from the 16th century to the present is currently ongoing at the National Gallery Singapore in Singapore until March 26, 2017.

"Artist and Empire: (En)countering Colonial Legacies" is the gallerys first collaboration with the Tate Britain art museum in London, UK, and second international event.

'Artist and Empire' opens up fresh perspectives on how we can view Singapore and our colonial visual heritage, said the gallerys director for curatorial, collections and education, Low Sze Wee, who is also the exhibition's curator. It will offer visitors an opportunity to examine afresh our society today, and how we have built our sense of identity and place in relation to our [colonial] past.

Inspired by Tate Britain's "Artist and Empire: Facing Britains Imperial Past" exhibition held in November last year, the Singapore event is said to offer something different.

"Untitled (Raffles)" (2000) by Lee Wen that can be found in Gallery 1.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Unlike the London exhibition that took a very British-centric perspective, we took Tate Britains narrative as a point of departure to shift the curatorial focus and perspective to Britains former colonies in Asia Pacific, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, India and Australia, said National Gallery Singapore director Eugene Tan, adding that they also included responses from contemporary artists toward colonialism, such as Wong Hoy Cheong from Malaysia and Erika Tan from Singapore.

Meanwhile, Wee said, When we decided to curate the show here, we wanted to do it quite differently because, of course, our audiences are different and the perspective that we have on the issues of empire and colonization would also be different."

More than 200 artworks are displayed at the exhibition; the majority of them were loaned and only 15 percent came from the national collection. As for geographical distribution, most of the artworks are related to Southeast Asia, India, Australia, UK, and other places that have connection with the British colony.

The gallery's Director for Curatorial, Collections and Education, and curator of the exhibition, Low Sze Wee.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Countering the Empire

The exhibition is divided into two categories: Countering the Empire and Encountering Artistic Legacies. The former is about how to have a more critical look at the historical works from the past. It also includes historical artworks that were made to commemorate important events or the people in British history, as well as artworks about people of the colonies and flora and fauna that were produced for British consumption.

Upon entering the Countering the Empire exhibition at the Gallery 1, visitors will be greeted with artworks related to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who is regarded as the founder of modern Singapore. In addition to a portrait of him by George Francis Joseph in 1817, art enthusiasts can marvel at a contemporary piece of the figure by Lee Wen. There are also collections of oil sketches by William Daniell about Rafflesia arnoldii, artworks that appeared as plates in Raffles book, The History of Java (1817) and wooden male figures that are considered as his personal collectibles from Java.

Collections of artworks related to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles at Gallery 1.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Encountering Artistic Legacies

At the Gallery 3, visitors can find artworks from the Encountering Artistic Legacies category, which is said to be the most interesting aspect of the exhibition. In a bid to merge colonial experience and modern art, it looks at what happened to art as the British Empire declined and the colonies started to move toward independence. It also takes a look at how artists responded when the societies changed in the late 19th to early 20th century.

We took this opportunity to look at how modern art began in some colonies in Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia regions, said Wee, added that the countries included India, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Myanmar.

(Read also: Foreign curator brings Otto Djaya's paintings to Indonesian audience)

Visitors marvel at artworks shown in Gallery 3.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

We also think about what other ways in which artists in different places of the former colonies try to make other form of art, said assistant curator Melinda Susanto. As we move towards decolonization and new sense of self-identity, what kind of art were they making to represent themselves?

As the crucial transition occurred at different times, so did artistic practices, with artists trying to find their own style as a form of identifying themselves and putting their everyday life, culture and society onto the canvas. In some ways this third gallery is quite broad in the time period and geography. We hope it starts to bring up some discussions, said Melinda.

Some of the artworks showcased here are Ahmat (1930) by Richard Walker, Portrait of Khoan Sullivan (1959) by Cheong Soo Pieng, Krishna and Balarama (1960) by Jamini Roy and Malayan Culture 1 and 2 (1957) by Chuah Thean Teng.

Those interested to fully enjoy the exhibition are advised to start from Gallery 1 and progress sequentially to the last because the exhibition is presented in a linear narrative, thus the transitions will be more visible. It is true that each of the gallery has self-contained theme and you can approach each of them in its own way, but the way the show is developed is quite linear, said Melinda.

"Malayan Culture (1) and (2)" (1957) by Chuah Thean Teng at Gallery 3.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

The Fundraising Gala

As colonization is a rather sensitive subject, the gallery reportedly had to change the name of its fundraising event on Oct. 7 from "The Empire Ball" to "National Gallery Singapore Gala". As reported by The Straits Times on Sept. 22, the empire theme was said to carry the idea of colonial oppression and was in poor taste for a celebratory event. It was also criticized as being insensitive and dismissive of the violence and scars of imperialism.

Tan told The Jakarta Post during a media tour in Singapore that the controversy was considered an opportunity for dialogue. But one result from this incident is the discussion about the colonization in Southeast Asia as well as its legacy and society. And this is precisely one of the reasons why we organize and curate this exhibition.

The interior installation view of "Re:Looking, 2002-2003 (with a simplified installation in collaboration with NGS, 2016)" by Wong Hoy Cheong. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

The issue itself did not influence the curating process as the gallery had already developed the narrative and exhibition. The controversy is quite recent [while] the show has already been developed," said Melinda. We have already completed the show by then.

Melinda is hopeful that the exhibition can be the beginning of a discussion. Hopefully, through the artists who are featured in this exhibition, we will open up a discussion about colonialism, colonial experience, modern art, and also the question of post-colonialism in Southeast Asia."

The installation of "British Infantry Advance on Jerusalem, 4th of July, 1879" (2015) by Andrew Gilbert. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Meanwhile, Wee said Artist and Empire was not about whether the British Empire was good or bad. It's really about art, the power of art to shape public perception, he explained. I think at the end of the day we acknowledge that the British Empire cannot be narrowed down to any single place, person, object, or thing. It's an extremely complex and contested idea.

In addition to artworks, the exhibition also features additional events, such as Art Talks, Curatorial Roundtable and Curator-led Tour. The entrance price starts from S$15 (US$11) for Singaporeans and S$25 for non-Singaporeans. (kes)
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Linkedin Maria Cheng (Associated Press) Bergshamra, Sweden  Fri, October 7, 2016

Emelie Eriksson has a bond with her son that hardly seems possible: She and her son were born from the same womb.

Eriksson was the first woman to have a baby after receiving a uterus from her mother, in a revolutionary operation that links three generations of their family.

"It's like science fiction," Eriksson, 30, told the Associated Press in an exclusive interview at her home just north of Stockholm. "This is something that you read in history books and now in the future when you read about this, it's about me."

Eriksson's son Albin is now nearly two. She agreed to share her story with the AP because she hopes other women who need help having a child will be encouraged and inspired by her family's extraordinary womb transplantation experience.

"I hope this will be a reality for everyone that needs it," she said.

Her operation was performed by Mats Brannstrom, a Swedish doctor who is the only person in the world to deliver babies  five so far  from women with donated wombs. Brannstom believes the operation will one day be common, and he is working with doctors elsewhere, including at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., to perfect the procedure.

Two of his former team members were involved in four womb transplants at Baylor University in Texas that were announced this week. One was successful but the patient is not yet ready to attempt a pregnancy.

Eriksson was 15 when she began wondering why she hadn't gotten her period; a doctor discovered she had been born without a womb and explained that she would never be able to carry her own children.

In her early 20s, Eriksson began reading about scientists attempting to create organs from stem cells and was told about the womb transplant research being pursued by Brannstrom.

(Read also: Womb transplant recipient grateful for chance at pregnancy)

She described the novel project to her mother one Sunday evening in Stockholm.

"I thought this was something that could only happen (far) in the future," said Marie Eriksson, 53. "But then I said to Emelie, 'I'm so old, I don't need my womb and I don't want any more children," she said. "This is your only chance to have a child and you should take it."

Eriksson emailed Brannstrom and after several trips to Gothenburg and dozens of medical tests for both Ericksson and her mother, they were accepted into his trial testing the pioneering transplant.

"I'd known all my life that I wouldn't be able to be pregnant," Eriksson said. "But maybe now there was a small, small chance for me."

Eriksson's husband, Daniel Chrysong, agreed to go ahead after meeting Brannstrom and being reassured he wasn't "some lunatic doctor." Still, he doubted it would succeed.

"I thought (we had) a bigger chance of winning the lottery," he said.

The night before her and her mother's operations, Eriksson said, was the first time that she was genuinely afraid, mostly because her mother was terrified of the anesthesia.

"I thought, 'what if it doesn't work and my mom still has to do this surgery?'" Eriksson said.

She had two mild rejection episodes in the months after the surgery, but doses of steroids helped them pass. After a year, Eriksson was finally ready to attempt to get pregnant. Brannstrom's team transferred a single embryo into her womb, which Eriksson and Chrysong had created during in-vitro fertilization.

The first pregnancy test was negative. Eriksson was discouraged, but took another test a week later: that one was positive.

"When I called my mom to tell her, she was like, 'I knew it!'" Eriksson said. She said her mother told her, "I knew I had a good womb."

Eriksson was only convinced they had succeeded when she heard her newborn son scream in the delivery room.

"I realized that everything had worked," she said.

Chrysong was so overcome that he fainted and had to be watched over by the anesthesiology nurse on the floor of the hospital room.

Eriksson said that she and Chrysong intend to explain to Albin exactly how he was born, one day. "I'm not sure he will understand exactly everything that me and my mom had to go through," she said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama denies that he insulted verses in the Quran last month and says that his words were taken out of context. Ahoks claim follows protests from some groups who say that the governor engaged in religious defamation.

Ahok said a video published on social media, in which he mentioned the Quran's al-Maidah:51 verse during a working visit to Thousand Islands regency on Sept. 27, was cut and edited and did not display his full conversation with the local residents.

"I did not say [things] that insulted the Quran. I did not say the Quran was stupid. What I said to the local people of Thousand Islands is that if you are fooled by racists and cowards using that verse in the Quran not to vote for me, then don't vote for me," he said on Friday as reported by kompas.com.

He mentioned the al-Maidah verse because the verse is often used by his political opponents to encourage people not to vote for him. Ahoks opponents have used this line of attack against him since he started his political career in East Belitung in 2003.

"There is nothing wrong with the verses in the Quran. It was not the context [of my speech]," Ahok added.

His comments were met with protest by several parties.

A petition on change.org was set up demanding that Ahok make a public apology and stop interpreting the Quran in his own way. As of Friday afternoon, the petition has so far garnered 58,802 signatories.

Novelist Chaidir Hasan, secretary-general of the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI), also filed a report with the National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) on Thursday, charging Ahok with religious defamation. (rin)
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Linkedin Stanley Widianto (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, October 7 2016

Finally. It was in 2012 when I saw Bekasi-based band The Trees and the Wild (TTATW) play a show in my high school. After 20 minutes setting their gear up, impatience had spread through the crowd; who did this band, cloaked in the darkness of the night, think they were?

According to the people shouting song requests, they were the band who made the song Irish Girl, a folk song off their 2009 debut LP, Rasuk (Possessed). Its some of the politest music that you could sing along to. And after the first notes were played by the band  vocalist/guitarist Remedi, guitarist Andra, drummer Inu, vocalist Tami and bassist Tyo  a subdued tone blanketed the stage, giving off an air of mystery as the music made an intense ascent. Asking for Irish Girl suddenly was one way to deliver a crass insult.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

The Indonesian Embassy in Havana, Cuba has confirmed that all Indonesian citizens, including 20 Indonesian police officials participating in the UN Stabilization Mission, are all safe from Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, an official says.

It was reported earlier that 13 of 20 Indonesian police officials participating in the mission of the UN Peacekeeping Operation were missing and trapped in Hurricane Matthew, the first category 4 storm to hit Haiti in decades.

"We managed to contact them at 2: 30 p.m. on Thursday. They are all safe and sheltered at the UN Police in Haiti," the head of social, cultural and information affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Havana, Rima Sundusita told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The early warning system in Haiti had alerted Indonesian nationals and locals to prepare before the hurricane hit, she added.

The embassy in Cuba is also accredited to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Republic of Dominican, Republic of Haiti and Jamaica.

Associated Press has reported that at least 283 people died in just one part of Haiti's southwest, the region that bore the brunt of the storm. Haiti's government has estimated that at least 350,000 people need assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010. (rin)
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Fri, October 7, 2016

Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore I Gede Ngurah Swajaya denied visiting the head of Law and Human Rights Ministrys regional office in Tanjung Pinang, Ohan Suryana, to give a diplomatic note from the Singaporean government on the arrest of captain Shoo Chiau Huat of the Singaporean vessel MV Selin.

Swajaya responded to Ohans statement on Oct. 4, which said that the ambassador came to Tanjung Pinang to send the diplomatic note.

Read also: Singaporean sea captain stands trial for alleged immigration violation

Swajaya said on Tuesday he did not come to Tanjung Pinang to give a diplomatic note about Shoo.

I didnt discuss the diplomatic note, but I was asking about the latest update in the legal status and process related to [Shoo], who had been detained in the immigration offices detention center, Swajaya said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, through the office of Social and Cultural Information, confirmed the existence of the diplomatic note from the Singaporean government relating to Shoos case, but the office said the ambassador never went to Tanjung Pinang to give the note.

The office reiterated the statement to The Jakarta Post on Oct. 6.

The embassy said there was communication between Indonesia and Singapore regarding updates related to the case held at Tanjung Pinang District Court.

Diplomatic notes are a common [form of] official communication in diplomacy, Swajaya said. (evi)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

A small number of Indonesians who practice Judaism, some of whom have opted to keep their faith secret because of anti-Semitism, may soon be able to state their religion on their identity cards, as the government plans to provide a legal basis to protect the rights of the followers of almost all religions in the country.

A bill on the protection of religious followers, which is now being drafted by the Religious Affairs Ministry, aims to acknowledge about 250 native faiths and several existing minority religions in Indonesia, including Shintoism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism.

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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) JAKARTA/BANDUNG  Fri, October 7 2016

Natural gas buyers seem to be torn between ecstatic and pessimistic over the governments ability to successfully implement a plan that aims to peg natural gas prices for selected sectors at below US$6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) starting next year.



In an effort to slash the stubbornly high gas prices, President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued in May Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 40/2016 on natural gas pricing. The Perpres was part of the third economic stimulus package launched in October last year.



Two months later, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry issued a new regulation stating that the minister could lower prices for certain industries by a maximum of $2 per 1 mmbtu if gas prices were higher than $6 per mmbtu.



Currently, only seven industries enjoy the lower gas prices, but the government plans to add three other sectors  pulp and paper, food and beverages and textiles  to the list.



President Jokowi also recently expressed his commitment to make sure the 10 industrial sectors and one industrial zone enjoy such an incentive starting January next year.



Head of the Forum for Natural Gas-Using Industries (FIPGB), Achmad Safiun, is optimistic about the feasibility of the plan.



Maintaining gas prices at below $6 per mmbtu, he said, would help local players expand their operations as the current high prices had led to decreased global market shares due to the high percentage natural gas makes up in production costs.



For example, in the production costs of some metals, energy-use makes up 15 percent of the production costs. So if you decrease the gas price from $9 per mmbtu to $5, you can see that production costs will drop significantly, he said on Thursday.



Indonesias gas prices hover around $9 per mmbtu, higher than most of its Southeast Asian neighbors. Both Malaysia and Singapore, for example, sell gas at around $4 per mmbtu.



The government has long been trying to lower gas prices to boost income tax through improved industrial productivity.



Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the economic benefit of lowered gas prices could reach Rp 32 trillion ($2.46 billion) if prices were cut to $4 per mmbtu, with an additional distribution and transmission cost of $1.5 to $2.



The 10 sectors that will enjoy the gas price cut, which also include fertilizer, petrochemical, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, oleochemical and glove industries, contributed around Rp 1,200 trillion, or 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The price cut is expected to increase their contribution to GDP as costs fall.



The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industrys (Kadin) deputy chairman of the upstream and petrochemical field, Ahmad Wijaya, said a price cut is essential if the government is serious about transforming the role of natural gas from a revenue maker to an industry booster.



Indonesian Textiles Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat, however, was pessimistic over the plans ability to lower gas prices. He argued that the authority to cut gas prices lays in existing regulations on corporations as a majority of gas suppliers are companies that have gone public.



The firms are also monitored by Bappebti [the Futures Exchange Supervisory Board] and others. It will not be easy for the government to intervene unless a holding [company] is established, he said.



Meanwhile, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry plans to change the fixed price system, which is based on future gas sales and purchase agreements (PJBG), with a hybrid system that would consider the fluctuation of global oil prices to determine gas prices.



The ministrys director for oil and gas, Agus Cahyono Adi, said the fixed scheme is one of the main reasons why gas prices remain high in the country despite being low globally.

----------------

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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Fri, October 7, 2016

Natural gas buyers seem to be torn between ecstatic and pessimistic over the governments ability to successfully implement a plan that aims to peg natural gas prices for selected sectors at below US$6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) starting next year.



In an effort to slash the stubbornly high gas prices, President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued in May Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 40/2016 on natural gas pricing. The Perpres was part of the third economic stimulus package launched in October last year.



Two months later, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry issued a new regulation stating that the minister could lower prices for certain industries by a maximum of $2 per 1 mmbtu if gas prices were higher than $6 per mmbtu.



Currently, only seven industries enjoy the lower gas prices, but the government plans to add three other sectors  pulp and paper, food and beverages and textiles  to the list.



President Jokowi also recently expressed his commitment to make sure the 10 industrial sectors and one industrial zone enjoy such an incentive starting January next year.



Head of the Forum for Natural Gas-Using Industries (FIPGB), Achmad Safiun, is optimistic about the feasibility of the plan.



Maintaining gas prices at below $6 per mmbtu, he said, would help local players expand their operations as the current high prices had led to decreased global market shares due to the high percentage natural gas makes up in production costs.



For example, in the production costs of some metals, energy-use makes up 15 percent of the production costs. So if you decrease the gas price from $9 per mmbtu to $5, you can see that production costs will drop significantly, he said on Thursday.



Indonesias gas prices hover around $9 per mmbtu, higher than most of its Southeast Asian neighbors. Both Malaysia and Singapore, for example, sell gas at around $4 per mmbtu.



The government has long been trying to lower gas prices to boost income tax through improved industrial productivity.



Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the economic benefit of lowered gas prices could reach Rp 32 trillion ($2.46 billion) if prices were cut to $4 per mmbtu, with an additional distribution and transmission cost of $1.5 to $2.



The 10 sectors that will enjoy the gas price cut, which also include fertilizer, petrochemical, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, oleochemical and glove industries, contributed around Rp 1,200 trillion, or 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The price cut is expected to increase their contribution to GDP as costs fall.



The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industrys (Kadin) deputy chairman of the upstream and petrochemical field, Ahmad Wijaya, said a price cut is essential if the government is serious about transforming the role of natural gas from a revenue maker to an industry booster.



Indonesian Textiles Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat, however, was pessimistic over the plans ability to lower gas prices. He argued that the authority to cut gas prices lays in existing regulations on corporations as a majority of gas suppliers are companies that have gone public.



The firms are also monitored by Bappebti [the Futures Exchange Supervisory Board] and others. It will not be easy for the government to intervene unless a holding [company] is established, he said.



Meanwhile, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry plans to change the fixed price system, which is based on future gas sales and purchase agreements (PJBG), with a hybrid system that would consider the fluctuation of global oil prices to determine gas prices.



The ministrys director for oil and gas, Agus Cahyono Adi, said the fixed scheme is one of the main reasons why gas prices remain high in the country despite being low globally.

_____________________________

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Linkedin Ibrahim Kholilul Rohman (The Jakarta Post) Seville, Spain  Fri, October 7 2016

Amid growing anxiety concerning the current budget deficit, the Indonesian government is seeking alternatives for potential government revenues. The most recent idea, proposed by the Finance Ministry, is an introduction of tax charges on information and computer technology (ICT) companies, Google being the biggest target. Google began in January 1996. The company was initially a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, PhD students at Stanford University at the time.

Almost 20 years later, the 2014 European Commissions research and development scoreboard data reported that Google, with 54 billion in revenues, is the third largest company in the world after Microsoft and IBM in the software and computer services industry. Googles revenues are equal to Rp 789 trillion (US$60.75 billion) or almost one-third of Indonesias national budget .

In the taxation domain, Google has become an infamous term. Google tax is a term referring to avoidance of provisions when profits are deflected to other jurisdictions aiming for lower or nil tax rates. The Finance Ministry plans to charge Google for five years of taxes, making the giant company face a bill of approximately $400 million in 2015 alone.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Fundraiser Saturday in memory of Becker

The Blake Becker Scholarship and Assistance Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8, from noon to 6 p.m. at the Montana City School new gymnasium.

There will be a silent auction, raffle prizes, cake walk, face painting, live music, food and more. Admission is $10 per person or $30 per family of three or more and includes food and drink. The event is cash or checks only (no credit cards).

Donations to Becker Family Friends can be made at the Montana City Bank or Boulder Valley Bank.

The Blake Becker Scholarship is for high school welding and machining students  like Blake.

***

Toastmasters fall contests Saturday

Toastmasters Division A District 78 will hold fall contests on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 10 am. at St. Peter's Hospital Education Center.

Local Helena Club 487 members Heather Barry Snyder will compete in the Humorous Speech Contest and Tonna Strasko will compete in the Table Topics Contest. Snyder and Strasko are advancing from Area 16.

***

Auction/art fundraiser set for Sunday

St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1000 Helena Ave., is hosting a fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. to benefit Freedom in Christ Prison Ministry in Deer Lodge. Coffee and dessert will be provided. Free-will offerings are gladly accepted. Please call St. Johns Lutheran Church at 442-6270 or email the church at saintjohns@helenastjohns.org for more information.

The featured event is a live statewide silent auction of quilts handmade by quilters and quilting groups from across Montana and many pieces of art.

***

'Caring Community' meeting planned

The organizers of "Caring Community" would like to invite the public to an informational meeting for our mission Neighbor Helping Neighbor, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at noon at the Lewis and Clark, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch, in the small meeting room.

***

Helena screening of 'Our Last Refuge'

Our Last Refuge, a 24-minute documentary film, tells the story of the Badger-Two Medicine and the decades-long struggle to protect it from oil and gas exploration. The new film features voices from all sides of the struggle  Blackfeet elders, local conservationists, and even the law firm pushing for oil exploration. All together, they chronicle the saga of this unique landscape and describe the current legal challenge, the outcome of which could determine the fate of sensitive and sacred lands nationwide. A trailer of the documentary is at ourlastrefuge.com.

Directed by Bozeman-based filmmaker Daniel Glick of Kings Road Media, the film will be screened in Helena on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Myrna Loy. A presentation by Blackfeet tribal member and activist Kendall Edmo will follow.

Bordered by the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, the Badger-Two Medicine is home not only to the cradle of Blackfeet culture, but also to a vast array of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, wolverine, elk and cutthroat trout.

***

Run for Heavens Sake upcoming

Join us Saturday, Oct. 15, for Run for Heaven's Sake, a fundraiser for The Ramsey Keller Memorial and will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, at Lockey Park. RKM pays for infant funerals in the state of Montana.

Create a team or just join others to support Montana families.

This is a 5k walk or run beginning and ending in Lockey Park with Competive Timing timing the race. Packet pick-up will be Oct. 14 from 4-7 p.m. at Tread Lightly. Visit www.kisses2heaven.com for more information or to sign up.

***

ANNOUNCEMENTS

No garbage collection Oct. 11

The City of Helena Solid Waste Division will be closed Monday, Oct. 10, in recognition of Columbus Day. If your garbage is normally picked up on Monday you will need to put your container out on Tuesday, Oct. 11, by 7 a.m. for collection. The Transfer Station will also be closed on Oct. 10. For more information, call 447-8086.

***

Rules outlined for campaign signs

Signs of any type, including political signs are not allowed on public rights-of-way, including sidewalks and boulevards, according to city code 11-23-9 (B), parts 3, 4, 5, & 6.

Signs may not be placed on trees, power poles, or on any other pole or post within the rights-of-way. Signs may not be placed on any city owned property such as parks, open space, and utility facilities.

Any sign currently located in a public right-of-way must be removed as soon as possible. If a complaint is received, city staff will attempt to contact the owner or organization responsible for the sign to advise them of the regulations and to remove the sign. City staff may remove any sign that is found in city rights-of-way or other city owned property without notice.

To read Helenas city code related to sign placement, visit our website and click on City Code: http://www.helenamt.gov/, or go directly to the referenced code http://sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=401&chapter_id=14316#s120703

For additional information on residential, commercial or industrial zoning district signage limitations, please call the Community Development department at 447-8490.

***

Carroll receives second NEH grant

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded Carroll College $90,707 for the newly established Re-enchanting Nature: Humanities Perspectives program. This is the second NEH award received by Carroll College in the past year.

Re-enchanting Nature: Humanities Perspectives is a three-week seminar for 16 K-12 humanities teachers from across the country. Set against a backdrop of contemporary environmental issues such as climate change and land management, the seminar explores the human relationship with nature through religious, philosophical, literary, cultural and artistic perspectives.

Carroll faculty members, Dr. Christopher Fuller, Dean of Mission Integration and Effectiveness

and Director of Hunthausen Center for Peace and Justice and Dr. Edward Glowienka, assistant professor of philosophy, are the co-directors of the program

The seminar, which will take place in the summer of 2017, will spend the first two weeks on the Carroll College campus. It concludes with a week at the Yellowstone Studies Center adjacent to Yellowstone National Park.

***

My Student in Need, a project of My Neighbor in Need, www.mystudentinneed.org is a website that provides a private and nurturing way for teachers and faculty members to ask for help for a Student in Need and a way for the community to give back.

Current Needs

Rossiter Elementary School's Health Room is in need of extra clothing for students to borrow/change into if they have had an "accident" or if clothing becomes too wet to wear. They are in need of new or gently-used sweatshirts and sweatpants, medium and large youth sizes. In addition, we are also in need of crew socks in medium youth sizes. The socks must be new and in the original packaging. If you would like to help with this need you can either donate new or gently-used items or you can make a donation of any amount up to $150 to My Student in Need and we will purchase a gift card and the teachers will shop for needed items. If you can help, call us at 406-750-2542. The identification number is: Helena Rossiter School #1816.

Recently Fulfilled Needs

A female kindergarten student, age 6, was in need of size 6-7 winter clothes including sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans and sweaters.

The request was approved and placed on to www.mystudentinneed.org as well as featured in the Independent Record. A donor made a $70 donation online to be applied to purchasing a $125 gift card. One day later, a second donor contributed $55. We were able to purchase a $125 gift card so the teacher could take the student shopping.

Other ways to help a Student in Need

If you would like to help, visit www.mystudentinneed.org and scroll down to the list of schools. The number next to the school represents the number of current need requests at that specific school. The needs can change every day. Find a need request and click on the Fulfill This Need Request button. Or you can call 406-750-2542. If you wish to fulfill a financial need request you are asked to make your donation payable to My Student in Need. You can make a donation online or send financial donations to the State Office of My Student in Need: 525 Central Ave., #M-2 Great Falls MT 59401. Your donation is tax deductible.
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Linkedin Mark Lewis and Karl Ritter (Associated Press) Oslo, Norway  Fri, October 7, 2016

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a five-decades-long civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people in the South American country.

The award came just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal that Santos helped bring about, and Nobel authorities conspicuously left out his counterpart, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, from the honor.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that voters' rejection doesn't mean the peace process is dead.

"The referendum was not a vote for or against peace," it said. "What the 'No' side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement."

Santos and Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, signed the peace deal last month, ending a half-century of hostilities, only to see a major setback in the shock vote against the agreement in a referendum six days later.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it believes that Santos, "despite the 'No' majority vote in the referendum, has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution."

It said the award should also be seen "as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process."

The agreement was reached during more than five years of at first secret negotiations in Cuba.

Santos, 65, is an unlikely peacemaker. The Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombia's wealthiest families, as defense minister a decade ago, he was responsible for some of the FARC's biggest military setbacks. Those included a 2008 cross-border raid into Ecuador that took out a top rebel commander and the stealth rescue of three Americans held captive by the rebels for more than five years.

Under the peace deal he negotiated, rebels who turn over their weapons and confess to war crimes will be spared time in jail. FARC will also get 10 seats in congress through 2026 to smooth their transition into a political movement.

Santos and Londono met only twice during the entire peace process: last year when they put the final touches on the most-controversial section of the accord  the part dealing with how guerrillas would be punished for war crimes  and again last month to sign the accord before an audience of world leaders and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

It was the first time the peace prize went to Latin America since 1992, when the committee awarded Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu.

A record 376 candidates were nominated for this year's award.

Last year's peace prize went to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for its efforts to build a pluralistic democracy.

___

Ritter reported from Stockholm. (**)
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Fri, October 7, 2016

Four officials from the Customs and Excise Office reported injuries after the patrol vessel they were aboard was attacked by a mob in Tanjung Jumpul waters just off Asahan regency, North Sumatra, early Friday morning.

The four officials reportedly sustained facial, leg, arm and hand injuries after the mob threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at the patrol vessel.

The offices enforcement and investigation department head, Rizal, said the patrol vessel was attacked at 4:45 a.m. when the ship was approaching two ships suspected of smuggling goods. The two ships, Rizal went on, were purportedly loaded with illegal goods from Malaysia.

When we were about to act, dozens of people from the ship appeared attacking our vessel. Our vessel almost exploded because of the Molotov cocktails explosive power, Rizal told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Rizal said the two ships managed to flee the scene through Esdengki Asahan waters. We did not dare enter that area because its home to smugglers, posing a high-risk [situation], Rizal went on.

Rizal added that after that attempted seizure was foiled, customs officers still managed to capture the KM Karunia vessel, which allegedly was carrying 20 tons of shallots illegally in Bagan Batak waters. He said the ship was towed to Belawan Port in Medan, North Sumatra. (evi)
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Linkedin Syofiardi Bachyul Jb (The Jakarta Post) Padang  Fri, October 7 2016

As many as four hectares of forest have been burnt down in Limapuluh Kota regency, West Sumatra, from forest fires that have ravaged the Lembah Harau conservation park and tourist site since last week.

The forest in the conservation area is under threat as firefighters face rough terrain and soaring cliffs.

The West Sumatra Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) said the firefighters were having difficulties and were awaiting further assistance.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Depok  Fri, October 7 2016

The Depok administration in West Java plans to begin infrastructure work in the Kampung Utan and Permata Depok housing complexes, both in Pondok Jaya sub-district, to prevent inundations in the two flood-prone areas.

The work includes the raising of road levels as well as installing drainage facilities to reduce the volume of water in the nearby Pelayangan River, which often overflows its banks. All the work will be handled by the roads and water management agency.

The process of raising road levels is currently ongoing and the agency has opened a tender for the cross-drainage facilities, said agency head Manto.

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Linkedin David McFadden and Richard Luxama (Associated Press) Les Cayes, Haiti  Fri, October 7, 2016

Haitians braced for a grim, rising death toll Friday as help slowly trickled into marooned areas of the country's southwestern peninsula that was pummeled by Hurricane Matthew, the first Category 4 storm to hit Haiti in decades.

At least 283 people died in just one part of Haiti's southwest, the region that bore the brunt of the storm, Emmanuel Pierre, an Interior Ministry coordinator in Les Cayes, told The Associated Press late Thursday.

The overall death toll in Haiti is not clear. Authorities expect the number of deaths to increase, with local officials in isolated areas reporting higher numbers. Most deaths are believed to have occurred in the southwest region.

"Devastation is everywhere," said Pilus Enor, mayor of Camp Perrin, a town near the port city of Les Cayes on the peninsula's south shore. "Every house has lost its roof. All the plantations have been destroyed. ...This is the first time we see something like this."

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. The 283 deaths reported by Pierre did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear Thursday as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145 mph (235 kph) winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her 6-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

"On the way to the church, the wind took them," Ais said.

Officials said that food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been leveled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

In Les Cayes, many people searched for clean water as they lugged mattresses and other belongings they were able to salvage.

"Nothing is going well," said Jardine Laguerre, a teacher. "The water took what little money we had. We are hungry."

Officials with the Pan American Health Organization warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew. Haiti's cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced into the country's biggest river from a U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In the coming days, the U.S. military expects to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas via helicopter.

After passing over Haiti, Matthew hit Cuba's lightly populated eastern tip Tuesday night, damaging hundreds of homes in the easternmost city of Baracoa but there were no reports of deaths. Nearly 380,000 people were evacuated and measures were taken to protect infrastructure.

Matthew advanced up the length of the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, tearing roofs away, toppling trees and causing flooding that trapped some people in their homes. There had been no reports of casualties by late Thursday as the storm headed toward Florida's coast.

Before hitting Haiti, the storm was blamed for four deaths in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

Governments around the world reached a crucial climate agreement during an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) meeting held in Montreal, Canada, on Thursday.

The worldwide aviation industry applauded the agreement that is expected to reduce emissions from aviation. The industry backed the negotiations, which aimed to put in place the worlds first carbon offsetting scheme for all global sectors. The measure was first proposed in 2009.

Cross-industry Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) executive director Michael Gill said the ICAO agreement was an historic moment for aviation and for climate negotiations in general.

The industry took an unprecedented step to ask for a global measure to deal with the growth in aviation carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions from 2020 onwards. What was a visionary approach seven years ago has today become a reality, he said.

We thank the negotiators who have worked so hard to deliver a scheme that will successfully balance the growth in air transportation and all of the economic and social connectivity benefits that this brings with the need to address CO2 emissions from the sector.

Gill further explained that 65 countries had volunteered to join the carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation in 2021.

This means that over 80 percent of the total growth in aviation CO2 after 2020 will now be covered.

International aviation was one of two sectors not dealt with in last years Paris Agreement.

Negotiators in Paris had faith in the ICAO to deliver an agreement for international air transportation emissions tailored to the unique circumstances of our sector. That faith has truly paid off, Gill said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu and Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Batam  Fri, October 7 2016

Indonesias failure to secure a seat on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) council should serve as a wake-up call for the government to revamp the countrys notoriously poor aviation infrastructure, experts say.

Indonesia only won the support of 96 out of 191 member countries during the ICAO meeting to select new 36 council members held in Montreal, Canada, on Oct. 4.

Singapore, on the other hand, managed to get reelected for another term of three years, maintaining control over the regional airspace, including the aerial territory of Indonesias Riau and Riau Islands provinces.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Cilacap  Fri, October 7 2016

State company Pertamina has confirmed one of its fuel containers in Cilacap, Central Java, was gutted by fire on Wednesday. The accident has been reported to be under control.

Pertamina Cilacap general affairs manager Dasaf Tamzil has ensured the accident did not affect the fuel production process.

We have contained the fire. It will not affect our fuel production, Dasaf told the press on Thursday.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saefuddin has called on the South Jakarta municipality to help the congregation of the Batak Karo Protestant Church (GBKP) find a new location for their house of worship following the closure of GBKP in Tanjung Barat, Pasar Minggu.

"Differences in opinion between the parties should not result in [further conflict] and there should be a sense of looking for a concrete solution. This is where [the South Jakarta] municipality should play its role," Lukman told journalists on Thursday.

The closure followed a letter issued by South Jakarta Mayor Tri Kurniadi. Tri claimed the church did not possess the proper building permit license for a house of worship. The closure of the church was largely the result of protests from local residents.

Lukman said he wanted the GBKP congregation and neighboring residents to understand and tolerate one another so that both sides could look for a win-win solution and the congregation could continue to worship while the building permit was being processed.

Should the congregation and neighboring residents fail to agree, the municipality has a responsibility to assist the GBKP congregation as stipulated in the existing regulation.

In his letter addressed to the church, Tri said the GBKP management had the chance to file for the proper building permit until Sept. 26, but had failed to meet the deadline.

However, Pastor Penrad Siagian said the church had tried to file the requisite documents, but the Tanjung Barat subdistrict office had been unresponsive.
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Linkedin Nedi Putra AW (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Fri, October 7 2016

Proudly presents: Mario Bennet shows off several pairs of sunglasses featuring wooden frames produced at the Sukun workshop in Malang, East Java.

A former drug addict strives to remove stigma by providing a new workplace that produces a cool, creative product.

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Thumbs down

Todd Orrs account of a recent bear attack in the Madison Valley was reminiscent of a scene from The Revenant.

Like a modern-day Hugh Glass, Orr was mauled by a grizzly with two cubs and lived to tell the tale. In a video that has been removed from YouTube, the blood-streaked 50-year-old from Bozeman told a harrowing tale of how a full charge of bear spray wasnt enough to keep the grizzly from ripping into his head, back and arms during two separate attacks.

If theres one thing we can learn from Orrs story, its that no amount of bear spray can keep anyone completely safe in bear country. Orr was carrying a pistol in addition to the bear spray, but he wasnt able to get to it during the attacks.

We also learned from the attacks that playing dead can be a good way to stay alive when worse comes to worst. She just seemed to lose interest because he was playing dead, said Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson.

The man did everything he was supposed to do, Thompson added. And hes still alive today because of it.

***

Thumbs up

There's no denying that students in Kelly Elders sixth-grade social studies class at C.R. Anderson Middle School are in good hands.

The Montana Professional Teaching Foundation selected Elder as Montana Teacher of the Year after he rose to the top during an exhaustive application process. He and two other finalists were interviewed by a selection committee that included educators, a parent, a high school student and a representative of the governors office.

Elder considers himself successful if his students desire to learn, listen to others, take the initiative to investigate and effectively communicate their opinions verbally and in writing. And his principal says the teacher is constantly seeking new ways to make his lessons apply to the lives of his students.

This is exactly the kind of teacher we want for our children, and we were proud to see someone from Helena chosen for this statewide honor.
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Linkedin Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru, Riau  Fri, October 7, 2016

Thousands of dogs in Bengkalis regency, Riau, will be vaccinated for rabies following the revocation of the rabies-free status of Bengkalis Island by the government in September.

The Bengkalis Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Agencys animal health director Tuti Amlizarti said her agency had received 3,000 doses of rabies vaccines from the Riau administration. Her agency will use these vaccines in a mass vaccination program in Bengkalis and Bantan, the two districts most prone to rabies.

The vaccination program targets around 2,000 individual animals, 1,780 of which are dogs belonging to local people. The mass vaccination will cover 29 out of 54 villages in the regency, Tuti said on Wednesday.

Based on the agencys data, 19 rabies cases have been confirmed in the regency between 2009 and 2015. Of that total, 11 cases were found on Bengkalis Island and two cases on Rupat Island. Meanwhile, the remaining six cases occurred in Bengkalis regency areas, located on the Sumatra mainland.

During the period, three people, two from Bengkalis Island and one from Rupat Island, died from rabies after being bitten by rabies-infected dogs.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease, which means it can spread from animals to humans, said Tuti.

The Bengkalis administration hopes that by the end of October, 70 percent of the targeted dogs and other rabies-spreading animals will be vaccinated in Bengkalis and Bantan.

So far, 457 dogs, 451 cats and seven monkeys in 29 villages have been vaccinated, said Tuti. (ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

Granting voting rights for Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel would not be possible because of existing laws, State Secretary Pratikno said on Friday.

"Why would it be questioned? There's obviously already a legal basis," Pratikno told reporters when asked about President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's stance on the issue, as quoted by kompas.com.

Pratikno was responding to media queries related to a request made by Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to allow military personnel to take part in elections.

The state secretary noted three legal bases underlying the President's position in relation to political rights for the military: Article 5 on Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Resolution No. VII/MPR/2000 on the Separation of the Indonesian Military and National Police, Law No. 15/2011 on General Elections Management and Law, as well as Law. No 34/2004 on the TNI.

"So it's clear. They all state that when it comes to politics, the TNI must remain neutral," Pratikno said, while asserting the need to abide by the law.

Gatot stated earlier this week that military personnel were treated like foreign citizens for not having political rights. He expressed hope that the military would gain their rights to vote in elections within the next 10 years.

The current law stipulates that military personnel are not allowed to vote, although their family members have full political rights. (liz)
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Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

Egypts new ambassador to Indonesia is confident that strong foundations and the huge potential for cooperation will help deepen and expand 71 years of Egyptian-Indonesian friendship.

Speaking Thursday at a mid-afternoon reception to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the October War waged against Israel, incoming envoy Ahmed Amr Ahmed Moawad conveyed his hopes that both countries would share more major projects together and focus on maximizing benefits in the existing cooperation.

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Linkedin Eesha Muneeb (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Fri, October 7 2016

International crude oil prices spent a volatile September rising in response to market rhetoric in the lead-up to the International Energy Forum in Algeria, but it paled in comparison to Sept. 28 after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced that its members had agreed to a supply cut.

After rallying about 15 percent in August, momentum in ICE Brent and NYMEX WTI prices slowed down fleetingly before hitting choppy weather in September, spiking more than 6 percent when the OPEC production cut deal was announced. Front-month October Brent settled at US$49.06/barrels on Sept. 30, up from $45.45/barrels on Sept. 1, and NYMEX WTI settled at $48.24/barrels, up from $43.16/barrels.

Almost two years after OPEC decided to raise exports in its fight for market share, the group of oil producers at long last coalesced behind an output strategy that will see the organization rein in production to between 32.5 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 33 million bopd in a bid to support crude oil prices. This was announced by Irans oil minister Bijan Zanganeh who met with Saudi Arabias Khalid Al-Falih midweek.

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Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura, Papua  Fri, October 7, 2016

Papua Polices ethical court found five policemen who were members of the Mobile Brigade guilty of ethical violation in misusing firearms in the death of a teenager in Sugapa, Intan Jaya regency, Papua, in August this year.

The trial on Friday was carried out behind closed doors and it decided to punish Adj. First Insp. Jackson Simbiak and Chief Brig. Eduardo Ansanay with a 21-day jail sentence. Both were also stripped of their positions as platoon commanders.

The trial, led by Adj. Sr. Comr. Reeza Herasbudi, Mobile Brigade deputy head Adj. Comr. Suparmin and First Insp. Langgeng Widodo, also sentenced Brig. Jefri Irianto Yohanes to a year in prison with dismissal from his position as commander. He is also not allowed to pursue further education for a year. Second Brig. Thom Mathias Wanarina and First Pvt. Yudi Sahi were sentenced to 21 days in jail and had their education deferred for a year.

Otianus Sondegau, 15, was shot when he, together with his two friends who were allegedly intoxicated at the time, blocked a highway, asking for money from passersbys, including two members of the local polices mobile brigade. (Brimob).



Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rudolf Patrick Renwarin said the shots were to defend themselves as they were allegedly under the threat of arrows.

Papua representative of National Commission for Human Rights, Friets Ramandey, regretted the sentence. It is utterly unfair, one life was gone because of the shooting but the sentence was too lenient, he said.

Paniai customary chief John Jose Gobay said he was disappointed with the sentence. Papuan peoples hearts have hardened like a stone. We no longer have any trust for the government, he said. (evi)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

The National Police have yet to investigate allegations that cult leader Dimas Kanjeng Taat Pribadi might have committed religious blasphemy during gatherings with his ritual group Padepokan in Probolinggo, East Java, a police official has said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the force was still focused on investigating Kanjeng for allegedly ordering the murders of two of his followers, fraud and money laundering.

Extending the investigation to allegations of religious blasphemy would first require the opinion of related religious bodies, such as the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), who have the capability to assess whether a certain religious teaching has deviated from Islamic values, Boy said.

"Maybe MUI can probe into the details of [Kanjeng's] teaching methods and rituals, should they relate to Islamic teachings. Let MUI analyze [the allegations] while we focus on the fraud and murder suspicions," Boy said on Friday.

If the assessment from religious experts concludes that Kanjengs mystical teachings were heretical, he could also be charged with religious defamation for deviating from certain religious practices, Boy said.

Dimas Kanjeng had reportedly attracted over hundreds of people due to his supposed mystical ability to multiply banknotes. He was arrested by East Java Police and was reported for fraud allegedly causing total financial losses of Rp 1.5 billion (US$115,500). (evi)
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Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

Ride-hailing app companies, such as GrabCar, Uber and Go-Car, and their partners are again entangled in a legal mess as a result of confusion stemming from a recently enforced government regulation.

Transportation Ministry regulation no. 32/2016  issued in April, but only coming into effect at the beginning of October  stipulates that only cars with engine specifications of 1,300 cc or higher can be used by the drivers of app companies.

However, the Jakarta Transportation Agency confirmed that it had passed more than 700 cars with engine specifications lower than 1,300 cc under its vehicle roadworthiness test (KIR). The test itself is another requirement of the regulation that the drivers must meet, so they can operate legally.

The agency claimed that the some of the 700 cars had been referred to them by the Transportation Ministry. If [the Transportation Ministry] referred a bicycle for the KIR, we would test it too, Jakarta Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said.

On the other hand, the ministry argued that it was only referring to Ministerial Decree No. 35/2003 on public transportation because the regulation had not been implemented. The decree does not put any restriction on engine specification for the KIR test.

We thought [when the regulation was being drafted] that the vehicles used by the online based transportation apps were the likes of [Toyota] Avanzas or [Daihatsu] Xenias, said Transportation Ministrys transportation and multimode director Cucu Mulyana. Those two models have engine specifications 1,300 cc and above.

Cucu said that the 700 cars that passed the KIR test could operate as usual, but the ministry provided no further legal assurance other than Cucus statement.

As reported before, the app companies legal woes began several months ago when conventional taxi drivers took to the streets in protest at the formers services, which they blamed for their dwindling income.

The government then issued the regulation, which, in addition to the KIR test, also required the drivers to possess type-A drivers licenses for public transportation and to have their vehicle ownership transferred to cooperatives that partnered with the app companies.

However, the implementation has gone back and forth and the app companies drivers have themselves staged protests, claiming their own operations had been hampered by the regulation.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Car Rental Businessmen Association (PPRI) chairman Ponco Seno, whose cooperative partners with GrabCar, said it would ask the government to postpone the implementation of the regulation until March 2017, to allow hundreds of its drivers to take the test.

The PPRI has 550 drivers whose car engines are below 1,300 cc. As many as 200 drivers have not undergone the test. I feel bad for the drivers who already purchased the cars [below 1,300 cc], he said.

Separately, Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) expert committee chairman Danang Parikesit said the regulation did not have a strong fundamental basis and did not actually address consumers interests.

The regulation does not put much emphasis on the quality of the IT-based transportation for the people. It seems to lean more on the corporate side than on the users side.
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Linkedin Bagus Aditya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

There are two kinds of business entities. We have public and privately owned companies, a concept that is more widely adopted in the western world.

On the other hand, we also have the state-owned enterprise (SOE), a business entity that is tightly controlled by the government.

Businesses in which the state is a majority shareholder are suitable for countries that consider certain social goals  such as energy security, economic development or job creation  to be as important as profits.

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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

The Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) group began a phenomenal movement by securing 1 million pledges to support Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnamas election bid next year.

However, as the election nears, none of the groups leaders have been included in the incumbents campaign team.

The group previously announced it had secured 1 million ID-backed signatures, far exceeding the minimum 523,213 required for a candidate to run independently in the city of around 10 million registered voters.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has awarded National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian the Bintang Bhayangkara Utama, the first class meritorious service star for a police officer, for his outstanding service and achievements.

The award was handed over by Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, who represented Jokowi during the event on Friday at the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta.

National Police Spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the award was the highest honor the National Police could give to an official who had made an outstanding contribution to the force

"President Jokowi has bestowed this award on Pak Tito for his successful contribution in developing the National Police in numerous ways. This is an outstanding achievement," Boy told journalists on Friday.

Within the National Police, there are three classes of stars that can be awarded to officials, namely the Bintang Bhayangkara Utama, Bintang Bhayangkara Pratama (second class meritorious service star) and Bintang Bhayangkara Nararya (third class meritorious service star), Boy explained.

The event was also attended by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo and deputy chairmen Saut Situmorang and Basyaria Panjaitan. (bbn)
The Indian name of my father, the late Donald W. Meyers, was Buffalo Walker. Such names, given by the Elders, were accepted with great pride and acknowledge that we as First Nations people understand the ways, importance and sacredness of the bison.

Many Indians and non-Indians want to see bison return to the landscape for what it would mean to our native cultures and national heritage. Just as many Indians and non-Indians are concerned about the economic impact of this potential move on the agriculture and beef industries. We leaders who will come together and work to resolve these issues.

Tribal governments need not be in conflict with their cattle ranching neighbors and vice-versa. We need each other. According to the Montana State Department of Commerce, Natives contributed 6.6 billion to Montanas economy over a seven-year period 2003-2009.

The candidacy of Greg Gianforte for governor offers us a unique opportunity to bridge that divide and create better outcomes for all Montana citizens.

The truth about Greg that I observed as he visited six of Montanas Indian reservations is that he is running an open, honest and praiseworthy campaign for governor. Before he announced his candidacy, Greg promoted entrepreneurship on three reservations.

I was with him as he was invited into Native homes and powwow family campsites. After tribal people found out that Greg was truly interested in their concerns he was widely accepted at the grassroots level.

Montanas native communities have suffered for decades from a lack of jobs and opportunities where some unemployment rates are over 60 percent. Career politicians in Helena and Washington have made empty promises to provide the economic development so desperately needed in Indian Country. After 50 years in the wilderness of government socialism I asked many Native Elders if they thought that we as tribal people are now better off. The vast majority of them said No, we cant honestly say that we are.

While there have been a couple good developments in recent years, many tribally-owned businesses located on Montanas reservations have failed because they became mired in tribal politics. The lack of a separation of powers on the reservations has also served to thwart businesses from locating on reservations because most have no recourse to recoup losses through tribal courts. So, Gianforte is correct when he says that these structures on Indian reservations hinder free markets locally.

Almost two years ago, I asked the governors office in writing for the number of Indian businesses started by the Indian Equity Fund initiated by the state Legislature over a decade ago. I asked how many of these businesses were still in operation, how many employees they had and their annual profit margin. I have never received this information.

The wealth of Indian Nations has been held hostage long enough by bureaucratic red tape and outdated tribal constitutions that do not allow for the separation of powers. Its time for state and tribal leadership to unlock the economic potential of the reservations through true self-determination and sovereignty. Bright Native entrepreneurs need to be invited to come home to Montana to assist local entrepreneurs develop businesses and create a new and fresh wave of economic development in Indian Country.

Today, many Natives and non-Natives see that its time for change for the state of Montana and Indian Country. As a member of a First Nations tribe I can say that all non-Indians are not from Montana. However, one does not have to be from Montana to be for Montana. Greg has demonstrated this by creating a successful business that has hired hundreds of Montanans in high paying jobs. Thats why I am voting for Greg Gianforte and Lesley Robinson, and I hope you will too.

G. Bruce Meyers, R-Box Elder, represents House District 32 in the Montana Legislature and is a candidate for Senate District 16, which covers north central and northeast Montana and includes three Indian reservations. He is an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe and has a masters degree in higher education and public administration.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, October 7 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has repeatedly said that residents will not see better traffic conditions in the near future as several major transportation projects are still being carried out in order to ease congestion. He has said the city will have much better traffic once most of the projects are completed in 2018.

Here are five ongoing projects that have caused gridlock in Jakarta.

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Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press)  Fri, October 7, 2016

Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights for Thursday and Friday as Hurricane Matthew moved closer to the Florida coast, bringing high winds and heavy rain.

The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down on Thursday morning, and further north the Orlando airport expected to do the same by nighttime.

American Airlines said that by late afternoon it had canceled all flights for the evening at several airports in Florida including Miami, where it has a large hub operation.

By 6 p.m. Eastern time, flight-tracking service FlightAware.com reported that more than 1,500 Thursday flights within the U.S. had been scrapped, with the largest numbers at Fort Lauderdale and Miami. American was the hardest-hit carrier, followed by Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

FlightAware said airlines had already canceled another 1,600 flights scheduled for Friday. Delta Air Lines said cancellations were likely to spread to coastal Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday.

Airlines often cancel flights before storms hit to prevent passengers from being stranded at airports and to keep their planes in position to recover after the bad weather passes.

(Read also: Airlines boost on-time performance, cancel fewer flights)

Many airlines were letting passengers alter their plans and delay travel for a few days without incurring the usual fee for changing a ticket, which can be $200 for domestic flights. Some, including United Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, also said they would waive the fare difference for the new ticket.

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, the last flight out was a Southwest jet to Baltimore, which just beat the 10:30 a.m. curtain. Airport officials said Southwest would try to resume normal operations Saturday.

Orlando International Airport officials tweeted that they expected the airport to close to commercial traffic by 8 p.m. and not reopen until Saturday. As the storm closed in, workers tied down jet bridges, lowered cranes in a construction area, and put away vehicles and other equipment.

American hoped to resume flying around midday Friday in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach but canceled all Friday flights in Orlando and Jacksonville. It canceled service Friday and Saturday in Savannah, Georgia, and Saturday flights at Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.

While airport closings and flight cancelations made it hard to reach Florida, coastal residents from Florida to South Carolina headed north and inland to escape the hurricane. Hotels in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported brisk business.

Amtrak suspended passenger rail service through Friday between Miami and New York and the auto train between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida. A line that normally runs from New York to Savannah, Georgia, only went as far south as Washington.

Earlier in the week, several airports in the Caribbean closed, forcing airlines to cancel flights there.

Cruise lines rerouted ships this week to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea or skipping some Caribbean ports.
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Linkedin Markus Makur (The Jakarta Post) Flores, East Nusa Tenggara  Fri, October 7, 2016

Blood dripping from an ayam kampung (village chicken) slain by the traditional leaders of the Rongga tribe in Maghileko and Kajukaro village, Watunggene administrative village, Kota Komba district, East Manggarai regency, Flores, NTT, Wednesday evening, marks the blessing of paddy and corn seeds on the Watu Naga (stone altar) in the center of the village. The chicken blood is splashed repeatedly on the paddy and corn seeds prepared by the farmers of Maghileko and Kajukaro village.

The Mbasa Wini (blessing ritual) is held annually by the traditional leaders of Maghileko and Kajukaro village and the villagers are prohibited from planting the seeds before the ritual is completed. Any violation to the rule will cost the villagers a fine, or a disaster in the land. Mbasa Wini is held before every planting season, which falls between September and December.

(Read also: East Nusa Tenggara markets own rice called Flobamora)

The announcement for the upcoming Mbasa Wini ritual is announced a year earlier by the traditional leaders. This years ritual takes place in October and on the morning of Oct. 5, the Gagi Nua (traditional village leader) of Maghileko and Kajukaro village, Yoseph Neja, announced that the Mbasa Wini would take place at dusk in the villages Watu Naga.

We prepare rice, chicken, wood, money and tuak (a local alcoholic beverage) for the ritual. The villagers also bring corn and paddy seeds to be blessed by the traditional leaders on the altar before they plant the seeds in their own land, be it within the village or in other places, he explained.

The natural signals are received by the elders in the Maghileko and Kajukaro village and the main signal is the rain at the end of September. The first rainfall that month signals that the dry lands in the villages are ready to be implanted with corn and paddy seeds, he adds.

The Mbasa Wini ritual is a legacy from the Rongga tribe.

The Mbasa Wini is a legacy that needs to be preserved. If we fail to preserve it, nature and our ancestors will not give us good harvests. This has been proven and the villagers of Maghileko and Kajukaro have experienced this several years ago. We are very obedient in conducting the traditional unwritten rules that are real in real life, Yoseph said.

At dusk, hundreds of villagers from the two villages started to swarm around the Watu Naga, leaving behind their daily routines at home, taking their children to watch the ritual. At 8 p.m. sharp, Frans Arus, a traditional leader of the Rongga tribe, commenced the ritual by holding up the chicken while reciting prayers in the traditional Rongga language, asking for blessings from the tribes ancestors, nature and God, so that the newly-planted seeds will be pest-free and so that there will be good harvest.

Outsiders who happen to live within the two villages must obey the Rongga tribes traditional rituals, especially Mbasa Wini. Everyone, from farmers to office workers must be involved in the ritual, as togetherness, solidarity and unity is reflected in the Mbasa Wini, Frans explained. He also said the ritual was not influenced by developments in agricultural technology. The ritual even blessed the modern farming tools owned by the villagers.

Mama Kornelya Jaghung, one of the respected female figures of the Rongga tribe, told The Jakarta Post that women of the two villages had always been actively involved in the ritual.

Together we prepare the ritual. We cook bambu kolo (rice cooked in bamboo) and also prepare the corn and paddy seeds to be blessed with the chicken blood, she said.

(Read also: Rio Febrian presents the sound of eastern Indonesia)

Remigius Gaut, chief executive of education and culture in Kota Komba district, East Manggarai regency, attended the event and explained his wish to get youngsters involved in the tradition.

Students from both Maghileko and Kajukaro village should understand and attend this yearly ritual. This legacy from our ancestors must be preserved, he said.

Remigius also stated that the educational body in East Manggarai had a specific local curriculum that taught local children their local culture and heritage.

The Mbasa Wini ritual ends with songs and dances, where the women and men dance in circles, and pass a scarf to one another. (asw)
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Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7, 2016

The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia returns with the second phase of its biannual travel fair (GATF) slated to run until Sunday.

Targeting 80,000 visitors, the event is being held simultaneously in 18 regions, including in Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Pontianak, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Denpasar, Medan, Pekanbaru, Batam, Manado, Biak and Jayapura. Among the participants are 45 travel agents, 11 hotel groups, five national tourism organizations, three tourism attractions and six travel equipment companies.

The fair offers various promotions, such as 80 percent off during Happy Hour, best deal programs, cashback and a Twitter photo competition.

Having commenced on Friday, visitors were seen lining up in front of the Jakarta venue, the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), in Senayan prior to the opening. The Jakarta Post saw them enthusiastically enter the exhibition hall once the gate opened.

(Read also: Garuda Indonesia offers more access to reach East Nusa Tenggara)

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya symbolically passes Garuda Indonesia tickets to bloggers and vloggers during the second phase of GATF 2016 in Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Oct. 7.(JP/Jessicha Valentina)

Themed Digital Experience, GATF aims to educate travelers on planning and booking their journey using Garuda Indonesia's mobile app and website. The airline is also sponsoring bloggers and vloggers to travel to eight out of 10 priority tourist destinations, which include Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Tanjung Kelayang on Belitung Island. Social media is supported by bloggers, therefore are giving them the opportunity to explore the destinations, Garuda Indonesia president director M. Arif Wibowo told a press conference in JCC on Friday.

Meanwhile, Tourism Ministry Arief Yahya hopes to see the next GATF on a digital platform. The more digital, the more global, Arief reasoned, adding that an online travel fair would be more affordable as well as easier to hold. It will also provide extra benefits as it can be accessed from around the world and will help attract foreign tourists to visit the country.

Obviously, GATF is good for business. However, we need to make sure the inbound [tourism] is greater than the outbound, he said. (kes)
By: Shimmy Blum. A nightmare for one Orthodox Jewish homeowner turned into a groundbreaking achievement on behalf of observant Jews nationwide.

The homeowner in a New Jersey adult community was one of its lone Orthodox residents. He looked ahead with trepidation to his first Sukkos in the community. The communitys by-laws banned any structures from being built outside the homes, and that would include a sukkah. His application to the condominium boards Architectual Review Committee to permit a sukkah was denied.

Faced with the prospect of being unable to be home for Sukkos, the homeowner reached out to the Agudath Israel of America Legal Support Services division, which offers pro-bono legal support to community members threatened by the infringement of their religious rights. This division, along with Agudath Israels New Jersey office, led by Rabbi Avi Schnall, immediately got to work.

Larry Loigman, Esq., a prominent attorney and member of Agudath Israels Legal Support Services, agreed to work on the case. Mr. Loigman wrote a letter to the adult communitys condominium board explaining the situation and the need to accommodate this residents religious needs. The board attorney replied by arranging a meeting between the attorneys, the resident and board members.

The board and its attorney showed immense interest in Mr. Loigmans presentation on the biblical origins and logistics of sukkah building. They understood that a sukkah is a biblical requirement and an Orthodox resident has no alternative to remain home without one, Mr. Loigman explains. We also stressed how a residents sukkah in no way interferes with the lives of neighbors.

The meeting proved to be an ideal forum for both sides to gain understanding of each others positions and alleviate their respective concerns. The board understood its legal and moral obligation to accommodate Orthodox residents, while the Orthodox resident understood the boards concerns.

As a result, the communitys by-laws were amended to allow sukkahs, but with several guidelines. The sukkahs must be within a certain size range. They must be built in the backyard, so as not to be in view or in the way of neighbors walking the streets. They must also be of a color scheme that does not clash with its surroundings. We found these guidelines to be reasonable, and we were happy to comply, says Mr. Loigman.

More than just for this homeowner, in this community, this case represents a solid precedent for other Orthodox residents in communities nationwide with similar by-laws. Mr. Loigman cites rulings issued by courts across the nation that clearly establish that no condominium board or similar entity can restrict residents religious practices, especially when they do not interfere with the lives of other residents. If the religious practices are accommodated, reasonable guidelines can be established in order to accommodate the quality-of-life of neighbors, as was agreed upon in this sukkah case.

Rabbi Schnall heralds this case as an ideal resolution. Agudath Israel uses every avenue available to protect religious freedom. We are however extremely pleased that both sides were able reach a satisfactory consensus in the boardroom, rather than the courtroom, he says.

[TLS]
It was a scene at Zarin Fabrics on Orchard Street last night. The Lower East Side institution celebrated its 80th anniversary with a glittery party attended by stars of realty television.

Jill Zarin, of course, is a former cast member of the Real Housewives of New York City. They came down to the old neighborhood for the big shindig, and then hopped on a tour bus with Zarins name emblazoned on the sides.

There were proclamations from the governor, mayor City Council and Manhattan borough president. Well have more on the history of Zarins during the next few weeks. But in the meantime, have a look at some of last nights happenings.

Look how handsome by baby is!!! You look great for 80!!! Lol #hotguys #zarinfabrics80years #vectormedia #fabrics #doubledeckerbus #newyorkcity #les #orchardstreet A photo posted by jill zarin (@mrsjillzarin) on Oct 7, 2016 at 9:34am PDT

I was so happy Mario Buatta arrived. The Prince of Chintz as crowned by AD has been our customer for 40 years. That you my friend. #loyalty #chintz #zarinfabrics80years #vectormedia #fabioprojectrunway A photo posted by jill zarin (@mrsjillzarin) on Oct 7, 2016 at 9:29am PDT
In a new television ad and an interview, Republican Greg Gianforte continued to criticize Gov. Steve Bullock for not defending Montanans by seeking to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Montana.

Im not playing this game with you, he told a reporter and members of the Missoulian editorial board on Thursday, pounding the table in response to persistent questioning about the details of his position. Ive been very clear. Montanans' safety is at risk and I will protect it and my opponent will not.

Starting Monday, stations across the state began airing an advertisement paid for by Gianforte's campaign that shows Bullock's face, a map of Syria and images of thousands of fleeing refugees then a clip of apparent street violence in the nation torn by civil war and then the arrival of the Islamic State.

Democrats and some letter writers have criticized Gianfortes stance against Syrian resettlement as uncompassionate or a departure from an American responsibility to provide aid, particularly after two print mailers critical of refugee resettlement arrived in Missoula the same week as African refugees. On Thursday, a group of Montana clergy went a step further with a letter sent to media outlets titled, Faith leaders oppose racism in Gianfortes TV ad.

The group of Christian leaders from Missoula, Billings, Great Falls and Bozeman argued that faith demanded believers to not isolate ourselves with judgment or misguided fear and to welcome them to our communities with open arms.

The safety and security of all Montanans is not something we take for granted. We never will. And we trust our governor to keep us safe, the letter read. But we will never overcome the tragedies of war and persecution and violence by hawking fear designed only to win votes. Especially on an issue over which a governor has no jurisdiction.

Campaign Spokesman Aaron Flint responded to the letter, which arrived after Gianfortes meeting with the Missoulian.

"Whether it is efforts to shut down Colstrip, or support illegal immigration, Hillary Clinton and Steve Bullock will always trot out some astroturf letter like this to support their position, Flint wrote. Most Montanans agree with Greg: Don't bring the war here. Instead, help the refugees over there."

The letter, only the latest of several on both sides of the issue, reflects growing tensions in some Montana communities. The resettlement of Syrian refugees in America became a hot political debate last November and has spilled over into campaign attacks across the country. The concerns grew out of the announcement of a federal goal to bring 10,000 of the millions of displaced Syrians here in 2016 and upon the heels of terror attacks in Paris linked to ISIS, including at least one man who had traveled that far as a refugee.

On Thursday, Gianforte referenced June testimony to Congress by CIA Director John Brennan that terrorists might try to sneak into the United States as refugees. Brennan's comments have fueled anxiety, particularly among some in Missoula County.

There, images of a dead Syrian boy on a Greek beach inspired some residents to aid those fleeing violence and to reopen the states only resettlement office. All the families settled in Missoula have been from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most of whom have said they are from a region where Christians are the target of deadly attacks by a rebel faction identified by the United Nations as an Islamist terror group.

Several recent attacks by ISIS-radicalized Muslims, including those in Minnesota and New Jersey, have further stoked fears in Montana, spreading on social media and in stump speeches.

"This is the hot-button issue in so many communities. They are scared," Gianforte said, sometimes cutting off follow-up questions as he continued. I get scared when I hear about knifings and bombings.

Last week, the nations top immigration official told a congressional security committee reviewing the resettlement program that he is proud of the work they do to vet refugees.

The fact is that since Sept. 11, not a single act of actual terrorist violence has been committed by a refugee who has undergone our screening procedures. There have been individuals who came to the U.S. as children, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez said, according to a video and transcript of the hearing. There are individuals who came a long time ago before our modern procedures, but since Sept. 11, all we have had is conspiracies  not only by refugees, but in fact by U.S.-born persons, other kinds of immigrants. Its really an equal-opportunity world.

Rodriguez did not downplay the risk, noting that the number of Syrian refugee applicants who were ultimately denied entry for security or credibility reasons was twice as large as those who had been initially flagged as questionable. He pointed to that figure and the arrests of terrorist plotters in recent years as proof that the country has improved its ability to identify threats and prevent attacks before they happen.

Gianforte, like many Republicans, disagrees that the current vetting process is strong enough to guarantee the safety of Americans. He said he is fine with resettlement in Montana so long as refugees can be fully vetted, something he called impossible with Syrians because there are no databases.

He has repeatedly demanded that Bullock join 31 other governors who have pledged to stop settlement of Syrians in their states even though immigration is solely a federal power.

Gianforte also said resettlement from other terrorist nations should be halted. He did not answer repeated questions asking him which countries should be on that list, suggesting a reporter was trying to "put words in his mouth" and he "did not appreciate it."

Gianforte did say in his answer that national security is primarily a national issue. A campaign mailer sent earlier this fall said he would "ban refugees from countries known to harbor terrorists like Iran and Syria."

Bullock has largely avoided detailed responses to questions about why he did not join other governors in trying to halt resettlement. Speaking mostly through spokesmen, he has instead said that the state has no power to intervene in a federal matter, but that his Number One priority is the safety of Montanans.

A Thursday request for comment from Bullock was forwarded to Montana Democratic Party Spokesman Jason Pitt, who sent an emailed statement but did not answer why the governor did not join those opposing resettlement.

As he's pointed out, there are 40 states that are home to Syrian refugees, but Montana is not one of them, Pitt said. He will never support letting unvetted refugees in Montana. Montanans have already called out New Jersey millionaire Greg Gianforte for misleading voters on this issue.

Missoula's resettlement plan includes refugees from Syria, Iran and Iraq, though none have yet arrived.
The Montana governor's race has generated more broadcast television ads than all but one of the 12 states with gubernatorial elections this year, with Republican challenger Greg Gianforte responsible for the majority of them, according to data released Thursday.

Gianforte and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock are in a close race with about a month to go until the Nov. 8 election. Recent campaign finance disclosures show ad spending is only ratcheting up in the final weeks as the candidates and outside groups vie for the attention of undecided voters and seek to motivate their supporters to go to the polls.

There have been 38,868 ads about the race broadcast on Montana televisions between January 2015 and Oct. 3, according to the new analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in Washington, D.C. That's second to only the 64,756 ads that have aired in the Missouri governor's race.

The Montana ads have come from four sources: Gianforte, Bullock, the Democratic Governors Association-funded Good Jobs Montana political action committee and the Republican Governors Association Right Direction PAC. The ads have cost a total of $5.7 million, and that total doesn't include ads on cable television, radio or online.

Montana's small population and television market means that candidates and PACs are getting a lot of airtime for their money. By comparison, candidates and third-party organizations in North Carolina have spent $19.4 million on nearly 36,000 ads  more than three times the cost for fewer ads than in Montana.

Gianforte, a Bozeman entrepreneur who has sunk more than $3.1 million of his own money into his first run for office, has dwarfed the others in spending on ads. The $3.2 million his campaign has spent on ads represents 55 percent of the total, and his ads have aired more than 22,700 times on broadcast TV, according to the data.

Bullock's campaign spent $894,060 on ads that ran 6,154 times, though his air time was boosted by the pro-Bullock Good Jobs, which spent more than $1.4 million on anti-Gianforte ads that ran 8,099 times.

RGA Right Direction spent $230,620 on anti-Bullock ads that have run 1,900 times.

Ted Dunlap, the longshot Libertarian Party candidate, has not spent any money on television ads, according to the data.

The Center for Public Integrity analyzed data about political advertising on broadcast television from Kantar Media/CMAG, a media tracking firm that monitors 211 media markets around the country and offers a widely accepted estimate of the money spent to air each spot.
As Drama Studio London celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, we spoke with Managing Director Kit Thacker about the school's successes and challenges, and what the future holds.

Kit Thacker took over in 2010, after the school was originally founded by Peter Layton. Having trained as an actor and worked as a director Kit came into contact with DSL a few times throughout his career. He explains: "I started here and I really loved the place I really liked the adult nature of it, the culture of it which was not didactic. It wasnt saying this is your method, it was saying heres a load of options; you as a student, you decide what works for you and create your own process and I think thats treating people like adults.

"You choose your own. I really like that. I came here as a guest director as a few times and then I was a tutor for a year."

Drama Studio London maintains that it has a mature approach to training and that any actor who wants to undertake training at the school must be adult enough to do so.

Like any drama school DSL has a rigorous audition procedure and the school looks for very particular attributes within their students.

"A talent, no matter how raw or rough that talent is, there is a talent; a real passion a real burn, a real fire in their belly and a willingness to accept that they can be taught things," Kit explains.

"Now on top of that at the audition, and Id say this about the profession as well, a lot of students, applicants and actors as well, they dont regard the chat as important. They regard the pieces as important, and the pieces are vital, but never underestimate what youre giving on the chat - is the person listening, is the person challenging, is the person polite, all those things we want.

"Sometimes applicants can be so focused on their piece that theyre not quite so good on the group work. The group work is very important because in the acting profession you work with groups and you have to trust each other very quickly."

Not only are the students hand-picked  the staff at DSL also have to be top of their game. As Managing Director Kit has ensured that there is a structure to the way DSL is run and that each element is taught by a specialist. He explains that sometimes "Teachers have their expertise stretched into generalisation and thats what weve really fought against, so if youve got someone teaching you combat, that person is one of the best in the country at combat and they dont do other things; thats what they do. So I think specialism is really important."

Drama Studio London is also the only school in the UK to be owned by those who teach and direct there. In April 2014 Kit decided to arrange a management buyout: "The 16 of us bought the place, so we are the only drama school in Britain that is owned by the staff. So when youre taught by our head of movement or our head of voice, any of the heads, when youre taught by the heads you know (who) youre being taught by  they have an invested interest in this place being great. Its worked out well."

One of the biggest and most recent changes brought to the school is the addition of the BA (Hons) Professional Acting Course. Previously, the school only offered one and two-year vocational courses, so the BA addition has really set them aside from the other accredited schools.

"We held out and it wasnt me, it was my predecessors - and I agree with them they held out, because they believe acting is a vocation not an academic study ,and I still agree with that," Kit explaines. "The pressure came because I believe in diversity; I feel very strongly in diversity and in vocational training its difficult to get money to train vocationally; its very difficult to get grants or bursaries or anything like that so youre narrowing the demographic, youre narrowing the diversity of students here.

"Having said that weve got several students here who work their socks off for three of four years in order to pay for it, so Im not saying all our students are rich kids, because theyre not at all - but were going to have a diverse set of students and that means a diversity of actors going into the profession, which is absolutely essential."

Drama Studio London partnered with De Montfort University to offer the new course. "We went to one university and we had several meetings with them, lovely, lovely place but I wasnt convinced that the match was good; that they felt the same way as us. We were very particular that we wanted our degree to be a BA (Hons) in Professional Acting - thats what youre being taught.

"Its not performance art, its not theatre studies; it's professional acting. And then we started having meetings with in De Montfort in Leicester and their thinking is identical, its great."

DSL are known for being the smallest drama school in the UK, so with the added three-year course it was interesting to find out how they were to maintain their structure and size.

Kit says: "Were not growing. Its not financial decision; were not taking any more students. So as we take on the De Montfort three-year intake were lessening the one and two-year course so the student numbers will be the same.

"There is no point in chucking out, as some drama schools have, 1,000 students into the business. Theres no point, there isnt that work so theres got to be a filter and that filter is make it difficult to get in, train the best."

Drama Studio Londons notable alumni include: Emily Watson OBE (Uncle Vanya, Donmar Theatre; The Theory of Everything), Adrian Lucas (Pride and Prejudice, BBC), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Olivia Vinall (The Hard Problem, King Lear, National Theatre) and Craig Els (Matilda the Musical, Cambridge Theatre).

They will begin auditions for 2017 intake very soon.
Yesterday, Thursday 6th October 2016, saw the release of Vogues November edition. An issue which, featured the face of Hollywood actress Emily Blunt and captioned, the real issue, claiming itself a model-free zone.

Since taking up the post as editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1992, Alexandra Shulman has been quietly noted as an advocate for real fashion  i.e. fashion which is accessible to all, regardless of ethnicity or profession, but also of shape and size.

In 2009 Shulman penned a letter of refute to a number of major designers professing the selection of sizes provided for shoots to be coercing models into sustaining an unhealthy body mass, an undertaking she has revealed she is now compelled to repeat after PR companies began refusing to provide clothing until they had approved the model being photographed.

Fashion should be something that everybody  no matter their age, size, creed, profession  should be encouraged to enjoy.

And so, in the wake of the stick-thin-model-saturated SS17 fashion shows, Vogue has released an issue dedicated to real women.

The Real Issue, as it so aptly captioned, professes that all designer clothes have, for one issue only, been showcased not by models, but by directors, chefs, academics, artists, writers, and CEOs, all in the name of extending the boundaries of the exclusive world of fashion out to us real mortals.

So why is it, as I rifle somewhat sceptically through this months issue, that I feel more insulted by Shulmans well-intentioned premise than I do liberated?

Well, lets start with the cover featuring Hollywood actress Emily Blunt. Not technically a model by profession I could have let that one slide had it not been for Blunts jovial remark, It took three hours of hair and make-up to get me looking this real!.

But even if you buy Shulmans claim that Emily Blunts most recent role as the everyday girl in Paula Hawkins Girl on the Train, permits her this real status, it remains difficult to ignore the irony of the adverts which notoriously bulk out the mags glossy pages. Page after page of promotions featuring perfectly contoured faces and skeleton physiques, there is only one article dedicated to real women, Shulmans premise loses its impact. The

A Model-Free Zone rapidly loses all trace of sentiment.

Perhaps this is harsh. Perhaps we should be taking Vogues valiant compromise as a positive sign that fashion is in fact slowly breaking away from its ill-proportioned routes.

But for now at least, I must cast the November issue aside as, with a tub of ice cream and a tatty pair of joggings bottoms, I commit to making peace with my new label.

Perfectly real.

Vogue's November 2016 Edition is available now.
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has won the Nobel Peace Prize - despite his country rejecting the deal he'd spent six years building.

2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Photo from 2010 @creativecommons pic.twitter.com/IHEEt2nFLb  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2016



The Norwegian Nobel Committee rewarded Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.

Congratulations @JuanManSantos on being awarded the 2016 #NobelPeacePrize, a deserved acolade for your efforts to bring peace to Colombia.  Patrick Cusworth (@Patriccus) October 7, 2016



Peace is our most precious asset. Congratulations to @JuanManSantos who deserves all the honors - HAK #NobelPeacePrize  Saad Ahmed Chaudhary (@CHSaady) October 7, 2016



The committee said the award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process.

It did not cite his counterpart in peace negotiations, Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

(Fernando Vergara/AP)

Santos and Londono signed a peace deal last month, set to end half a century of hostilities that have killed more than 200,000 Colombians  only to see their efforts collapse following a shock vote against the agreement in a referendum six days later.

Congratulations to the President of Colombia for the @NobelPrize and we wish the people of Colombia peace  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) October 7, 2016



In their official explanation as to why the prize was awarded despite the unexpected referendum result, the Nobel committee said:

The fact that a majority of the voters said no to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead. The referendum was not a vote for or against peace. What the No side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement. The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasises the importance of the fact that President Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process."

One of the front runners for the prize was Syrias White Helmets, a volunteer group that rescues victims from the rubble of bombed buildings in the country. People are praising them for tweeting their congratulations to Santos.

.@SyriaCivilDef deserved the prize. This tweet is noble. These people are brave https://t.co/qPEEHHtwNh  martino mazzonis (@minomazz) October 7, 2016


Do you remember listening to that band you love for the first time? That feeling when that song came on and you knew all the words? We love to remember, what with our Throwback Thursdays and our Timehops.

Music forms a large, nostalgic and pleasurable part of our memories.

Do you remember when David Bowie passed away? Prince? What about Maurice White and The Eagles Glenn Frey?.

DJ and Presenter Steve Penk does. After reflecting on the many great and influential artists who have passed on, decided he had to act.

Since bringing Whitney Houston or John Lennon back from the dead is a little beyond human capability, Penk decided to create an online radio station dedicated entirely to artists who have passed away.

The station is advertised as a celebration of these, and many other artists.

Penk told Sky News that the immediate perception of this radio station, before listening to it, might be that it's in bad taste, but the reality is a joyous radio station celebrating the music of so many brilliant artists who are sadly no longer with us.

If this station is devoted to those who have passed into the beyond, well, the beyond sounds pretty good.

There has been some truly genre-defining musicians who may no longer be with us but have a place on the Radio Dead playlist.

Short biographies are occasionally read out before a song which are interesting, often surprising and add an element of deeper reflection.

The majority of the artists aired on Radio Dead have had an impact on each other, on the listeners, on the music industry as a whole and will continue to influence artists to come.

They will never be forgotten.

So do we really need a station devoted to only dead artists?

A radio station born out of remembrance for great artists is a fantastic concept; but it undoubtedly raises some questions.

Youve got to admit that dead artists is a bit of a strange specification if youre looking for something to listen to. Usually listeners go by genre or era which will always include the iconic artists anyway, dead or alive.

Anyone born less than 30 years ago say, will probably not feel a large nostalgic pull to the station yet, as many of this generations stars are still alive. Plus, anybody who has a slightly off-the-wall music taste might not find Radio Dead to their liking as the station plays predominantly mainstream musicians. Its strange to think that the radio of the dead has a target audience.

As a radio station that is linked directly with nostalgia, it will not fit everyones individual ideas of what the past should sound like.

Leading to the question: which of the dead do we honour? Mozart is dead. So is the little known but still influential Detroit House DJ and Producer Aaron-Carl Ragland, who died from cancer in 2010 at the age of 37.

These artists are unlikely to be included on Radio Dead.

Only the ones who are somehow considered worth remembering by the DJ personally will make it onto the playlist.

If this site becomes truly influential, which admittedly is unlikely, then it will have created a canon of artists that will be recognised as prestigious. Other artists who didnt make the grade, will be thought of as lacking and will somewhat fall by the wayside.

At the end of the day Radio Dead is a collection of artists that are grouped together because, one, they are all dead, and two, they were all conventionally believed to be important. The ironic thing is that many of these artists; Bowie, Prince, Any Winehouse, are great precisely because they challenged our understanding of convention.

To class and categorise them simply in a list of dead legends could be seen as slightly missing the point of their influence.

Radio Dead is a station of celebration, born out of remembrance, it is a quirky concept not without its place. Whether it be reflections on how a particular artist chucked it, or how shocked you feel after realising that a beloved favourite is now playing from beyond the grave, Radio Dead definitely makes you think.

Whether you tune into the heavenly choir rather than the up-and-coming top-40 is entirely up to you and your need for nostalgia.
physically

digitally
(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

(Judith Kabalisa/PA)

(Anthony Devlin/PA)

(Rui Vieira/PA)

Around one in five nurses recruited in England 2015/16 were non-British EU nationals  up from one in 14 in 2011/12. Over the same period the proportion of British nurses joining hospitals dropped from roughly 78% to 70%. The Royal College of Nursing said the figures showed nurses trained abroad made a critical contribution to the health service, while the British Medical Association said the NHS could only benefit from widening its overseas talent pool.New analysis by the Press Association has revealed the extent to which the NHS in England is increasingly dependent on EU workers to meet demand for new staff. Of the 33,000 nurses recorded as joining hospitals in 2015/16, just over 6,000 held an EU nationality other than British. Some 1,750 were Spanish, 1,300 Italian and nearly 1,000 Portuguese. The findings, based on data published by NHS Digital, also suggested that in 2015/16: Around one in 10 midwives joining hospitals were non-British EU nationals, up from one in 20 in 2012/13 Some 20% of newly-recruited speciality doctors were EU nationals, along with 17% of speciality registrars and 7% of foundation year doctors Just over 10% of the total staff joining NHS hospitals held EU nationality. In 2012/13 the proportion was 6%.Responding to the PAs analysis, Donna Kinnair, director of nursing, policy and practice at the Royal College of Nursing, said: Nurses trained in other countries have contributed to the NHS since its inception. The health service would not cope without their contribution, and with the future supply of nurses looking uncertain this situation will not change any time soon. Allowing the ambiguity about the future of health care staff from the EU to continue is completely unfair. The Government must act now and develop a coherent and sustainable workforce strategy, which recognises the critical contribution of overseas nurses as well as the pressing need to educate, recruit and retain a domestic nursing workforce in the UK.Dr Mark Porter, British Medical Association council chair, said: The UK has grown to rely on health care workers from the EU who play a vital role in the effective functioning of our NHS. By widening our talent pool, the NHS can only benefit from the wealth of knowledge and expertise that is gained from recruiting doctors from overseas. With unprecedented staff shortages and a recent BMA study revealing that almost half of doctors were planning to move abroad to work, the Government should be focusing on creating a health service that supports and nurtures both those wishing to apply to work in the UK and those already here.The rights of EU citizens to continue to work in the UK is likely to be one of the key areas of the Brexit negotiations. The Government has yet to clarify the future status of the 2.2 million non-UK nationals employed in this country. The proportion of EU nationals recruited as nurses in 2015/16 may be even higher than one in five, as the data from NHS Digital includes 1,674 nurses whose nationality was recorded as unknown. NHS Digital also noted that data on nationality was based on self-reported information from individual employees. As this may reflect cultural heritage rather than country of birth, the figures do not necessarily equate to migrants from other countries.
If you read the news yesterday then theres a good chance you encountered some fishy headlines.

Stop the press. Fish might have accents.

Professor Steve Simpson, from the University of Exeter, who is leading research into the UK's underwater soundscape made the revelations.

The marine biologist explained how fish talk: Cod produce a variety of sounds using their swim bladders, to establish territories, raise the alarm and attract mates.

He continued to explain their dialect differences: The American sounds are deeper, short thumping sounds, while the European ones are higher in frequency and the growls are more prolonged. This suggests that regional dialects may exist.

But this could spell trouble as misunderstanding of dialects could prevent breeding as changing sea temperatures force fish into new regions.

The sounds from male cods swim bladders stimulates females to release their eggs  yet, if Mr and Mrs Cod have different accents, they might find it difficult to understand each other. Sadly. this could mean less baby fish in the future.

David Crystal, author of over 100 books on language and Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Bangor, told The National Student: There's nothing especially new about the general point. Researchers have noticed regional differences in the vocalisations of species for a while now - birds, monkeys, dolphins, and the like. Accents express identity, and it's natural to think that various species would use noise, in addition to colour etc, to mark different groups.

So maybe it isn't as weird as we first thought, but we still can't get over the idea of fish chatting to each other.
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BILLINGS -- Montanas Supreme Court candidates sparred over experience Thursday during a Billings forum.

District Judge Dirk Sandefur accused Kristen Juras, a University of Montana law professor, of lacking the judicial chops to sit on the states high court. Juras said she brings expertise in business and agriculture that the high court currently lacks.

What this really boils down to is relevant experience and what you need to understand is that the cases that get to the Montana Supreme Court come from, with very few exceptions, Montanas district courts, Sandefur said. Theyre litigated cases. They dont come from the practitioners desk or office.

Spectator John Gibson, one of a roughly 50 people at the noon League of Women Voters forum, asked Juras whether electing a non-judge to the Supreme Court was like hiring a non-doctor to treat a patient.

There arent many former District Court judges on the high court now, Juras said.

Patricia Cotter, whose seat I am running for, was never a judge. Chief Justice (Mike) McGrath was never a judge. Justice Beth Baker was never a judge, Juras said. The two sitting judges who have judicial experience are Justice Laurie McKinnon and Jim Shea, an administrative law judge.

Juras said she does have court room experience as an attorney, most recently in late August in Pondera County. She has done charitable work representing a mother with mental disabilities in a child visitation case. She also represented a destitute veteran who lived in Juras home for five weeks, the candidate said.

As I said, I donate 100 hours a year, and more significant than that, on a wide variety of issues, Juras said. Those include collection issues, landlord tenant issues. My clients are people who cannot afford an attorney.

Though she has never been a judge, Juras said she has been a mediator, settling civil matters.

Sandefur stressed to the audience that the charitable work Juras referred to is actually something required of all attorneys. Judges are not allowed to practice law, so Sandefur, a Cascade County District Court judge for 14 years, couldnt point to his own charitable services.

The issue of public stream access, a recurring theme for Democrats this election cycle, was raised in the nonpartisan Supreme Court candidates forum. An audience member asked Juras whether the courts had created constitutional rights that previously didnt exist.

Juras replied that the U.S. Supreme Court had created a constitutional right when it nationalized same-sex marriage. Marriage terms were previously a state issue, Juras said. She then pivoted to the Montana Supreme Court expanding public stream access laws in 1984. The state high court ruled that the people had to right to walk stream beds below the high water mark.

I would not have been in the majority in that decision, but the Montana Legislature came back in 1985 and affirmed and codified that decision, Juras said. So the law is settled now. You do have the right if you enter the stream from a public access.

Sandefur said the steam access law was not settled for Juras, as she suggested.

Shes selling you a bill of goods. Her previous writing on this is that she thinks that Montana stream bed access laws, in particular parts, are in her words a monumental erosion of private property rights. Thats what she said before she was wanting to run for the court. Dont think for a minute that if shes on the court, shes not going to attempt to chip away at that if the opportunity presents itself.

Juras had earlier said she would uphold established law.
Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Relatives in Seoul search for missing loved ones after a deadly crowd surge. And Nancy Pelosi makes first remarks about her husband's attack. It's the weekend's news.
Court approves detention of more zero-dollar tour tycoons

Police impound buses operated by OA Transport Co in Lat Krabang district, Bangkok, in September. The firm's executives have been remanded in custody on charges of operating monopolistic zero-dollar tour services. Photo: Wassayos Ngamkham

tourismChineseeconomics

By Bangkok Post

Friday 7 October 2016, 06:08PM

Police impound buses operated by OA Transport Co in Lat Krabang district, Bangkok, in September. The firm's executives have been remanded in custody on charges of operating monopolistic zero-dollar tour services. Photo: Wassayos Ngamkham

Police from Bangkoks Phaya Thai station obtained a Criminal Court order on Thursday (Oct 6) to detain Thongchai Rojrungrangsi, 60, and his daughter Saithip, 35, for the first 12-day detention period.

Also remanded in custody at the same time was Winit Chantharamanee, a 69-year-old director of Fuan Travel Co, which was a business partner within the tourism umbrella.

Mr Thongchai and Mr Winit were taken to the Bangkok Remand Prison and Ms Saithip to the Central Womens Correctional Institution.

The Criminal Court rejected Mr Thongchais offer of B10 million security for release on bail, his daughters offer of B15 million, and Mr Winits of B300,000, saying their alleged crime affected the economy and national security.

Possible penalties were harsh and there was a risk they could tamper with the evidence or witnesses, or flee, the court said.

On Thursday police told the court that Mr Thongchai and his daughter were influential people.

According to police, from March 24 to Aug 31 this year, Fuan Travel brought tourists from China without charge. Then OA Transport Co of the Rojrungrangsi family deployed its tour buses free of charge to serve the clients.

OA Transport took tourists to its associated shops, which included the Baan Kanom Thongthip dessert shop owned by Ms Saithip.

These shops goods were priced far above market retail rates and their labels breached labelling rules. Consequently tourists were overcharged. Market mechanisms and free competition were affected, and the countrys tourism image damaged, police said.

Mr Thongchai is the managing director of OA Transport and other affiliated companies. Investigators found that OA Transport paid a 30-40% sales commission to tour companies and 3-5% to tour guides.

They were charged with violating tourism-related laws and laundering money. Mr Thongchais wife Nisa, 61, and son Wasurat, 26, who are also executives of their familys companies, have been in custody since Sept 13.

In September authorities impounded more than 2,000 buses owned by OA Transport and froze bank accounts containing B4.7 billion held by what police called the countrys biggest zero-dollar tour network, comprising OA Transport and 300 associated firms.

Read original story here.
Dutch tourist jailed in Myanmar for pulling plug on Buddhist sermon amplifier

MYANMAR: A Myanmar court on Thursday (Oct 6) jailed a Dutch tourist for three months with hard labour for insulting religion after he unplugged an amplifier relaying a late-night Buddhist sermon.

culturecrime

By AFP

Friday 7 October 2016, 02:00PM

Klass Haytema. Photo: AFP

Klass Haytema, 30, was arrested two weeks ago after he pulled the plug on the Buddhist service held near his hotel in the northern city of Mandalay, complaining about the noise.

Slights against religion are treated with extreme seriousness by the courts and a pious public in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Delivering the ruling, a judge on Thursday said Haytema was clearly guilty of insulting religion and was sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labour.

The Dutchman, who cried while the sentence was read, also opted to pay a fine of 100,000 kyat (about B2,900) rather than serve another three months for violating the terms of his visa, which requires tourists to respect local customs.

Haytema apologised during previous hearings, according to local media, saying he did not realise what he was doing and simply wanted to sleep.

He was also accused of insulting Buddhism by not taking off his shoes when he entered the prayer hall.

Haytema is one of several foreigners to recently fall foul of the law, which criminalises voluntary disruption of a religious ceremony.

In July, a Spanish tourist was deported after monks complained about a tattoo of Buddha on his leg.

Last year a New Zealand bar manager also spent 10 months in jail for insulting religion by using a Buddha image to promote a cheap drinks night.

Religion is an important part of daily life for many across the devout country, where crimson-robed monks walk the streets every morning and prayer halls regularly blast hypnotic chants on loudspeakers late into the evening.

The nation has also battled a rising tide of radical Buddhist nationalism in recent years, with Mandalay a stronghold of the monk-led movement.

The clash of cultures has become a growing problem as the former junta-run country sees a surge in tourism under a new civilian government, the first in half a century.

Other countries in the region have also chafed at irreverent portrayals of the Buddha.

In neighbouring Thailand, posters in airports warn arriving visitors not to buy figurines or get tattoos of the holy figure.
Phuket drug raid nets three suspects with more than 71,000 meth pills, half kilo of ice

PHUKET: Police have arrested two men and a woman, and seized more than 70,000 meth pills, more than 600 grams of crystal meth (ya ice) as well as a gun, bullets and cars, within two days after breakthrough against a drug network run by an ominous Mr Chaen.

drugscrimepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Friday 7 October 2016, 03:59PM

Chonlada Muser, 37, was arrested at her condo with a huge stash of meth. Photo: Phuket Provincial Police

Muktad Boonprasop, 30, was found in possession of a handgun and bullets. Photo: Phuket Provincial Police

Police seized more than 70,000 meth pills as well as two cars alleegedly used by the local 'drug mules'. Photo: Phuket Provincial Police

Police seized more than 70,000 meth pills as well as two cars alleegedly used by the local 'drug mules'. Photo: Phuket Provincial Police

The arrests were announced by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen and Provincial Chief Investigator Col Akanit Darnpitaksarn at a press conference held at Phuket Provincial Police Station 1pm today (Oct 7).

Anti-narcotic officers led by Col Akanit arrested three suspects on Wednesday and Thursday Oct 5-6, he said.

The suspects were named as Sommard Phumi, 39; Muktad Boonprasop, 30; and Ms Chonlada Muser, 37.

The suspects were not presented at the press conference, though samples of the evidence seized  totalling 71,890 meth pills, 625.64g of ya ice, a gun and 87 bullets  were displayed.

The arrests came after anti-narcotics police arrested Thanu Maidee in Phuket Town with ya ice, Gen Teeraphol said.

After questioning Thanu, police raided Sommards home  an unregistered abode in Moo 1 Chalong  on at 6pm on Wednesday (Oct 5), he added. Gen Teeraphol did not identify which street the house was on.

Sommard was found in possession of 890 meth pills, 3.62g of ya ice at the time of his arrest, Gen Teeraphol said.

Thanu also told officers that he brought drugs from a man named Muktad, he added.

Police arrested Muktad at a rented room in Rassada, where police seized 7,000 meth pills, 345.86g of ya ice, one pistol and 87 bullets, he continued.

Police also seized one Chevrolet car that the suspect used to transport drugs, he said.

In his statement to police, Muktad confessed that he brought drugs from a man who knew only as Mr Chaen.

He said every time he ordered drugs from Chaen, Chaen would have Ms Chonlada deliver them to clients, Gen Teeraphol said.

Police told Muktad to call Chen and order 2,000 meth pills for B130,000, Gen Teeraphol added.

On October 6 at 12:30pm Chonlada was arrested opposite Kathu Wittaya School on Wichit Songkram Rd with drugs she was about to deliver, he explained.

Police later searched Chonladas residence at Plus Condo, where officers discovered 64,000 meth pills, 276.16g of ya ice and other items.

Police also seized a Toyota Altis from her, Gen Teeraphol said.

Police are now questioning the three suspects in the hope of tracking down Mr Chaen.

According to the police statement issued at todays press conference, Sommard was taken to Chalong Police Station to be charged with possession of Category 1 drug with intent to sell; Muktad was taken to Phuket City Police Station to be charged with possession of Category 1 drug with intent to sell and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition; and Chonlada was taken to Kathu Police Station to be charged with possession of Category 1 drug with intent to sell.
Phuket health officials to test Surin Beach brown outflow

PHUKET: Health officials will conduct tests on water exiting an outflow pipe behind a hotel at Surin Beach despite being informed that it carries only rainwater run-off. Concern from officials follows the pipe spewing a plume of brown water onto the beach last Friday (Sept 30).

environmentnatural-resourcespollutiontourism

By Yutthawat Lekmak

Friday 7 October 2016, 05:36PM

Phatsorn Wisuthiwatcharakul, Chief of Public Health and Environment Division at Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor), began her investigation on Wednesday (Oct 5). Photo: Nuttapon Pakdee

Cherng Talay health officials were told that the outflow pipe does not belong to the hotel. Photo: Nuttapon Pakdee

Phatsorn Wisuthiwatcharakul, Chief of Public Health and Environment Division at Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor), inspected the pipe on Wednesday (Oct 5) after being informed of last Fridays fountain of brown surging from the pipe. (See story here.)

We inspected the pipe and it does not belong to the hotel, Ms Phatsorn told The Phuket News.

It also is not one of ours (Cherng Talay OrBorTor). The pipe was installed by Cherng Talay Municipality, and their officers told us that the pipe was installed many years ago to drain excess rainwater to the sea, she said.

Regardless, we have collected some water samples to check for any contamination. Cherng Talay Municipality has been advised on this matter, Ms Phatsorn said.

Fellow Cherng Talay public health official Nuttapon Pakdee, who is assisting Ms Phatsorn in her investigation, urged people to report any similar concerns about dirty water flowing into public areas.

If anyone notices or suspects water pollution in our area, please report it to Cherng Talay OrBorTor Public Health and Environment Office by calling 076-271096 or you can file a complaint by email directly to me at jj_jack7582@hotmail, Mr Nuttapon said.
Police investigate Patong Hill crash, victims released from hospital

PHUKET: Investigation into a three-vehicle collision on Patong Hill on Wednesday (Oct 5) that landed 10 people in hospital is ongoing say police, also confirming that all crash victims were released from hospital.



By The Phuket News

Friday 7 October 2016, 11:09AM

All victims of the three-vehicle crash on Patong Hill have been discharged from hospital. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Col Weerapong Rakkito of the Patong Police told The Phuket News today (Oct 7) that all victims with minor injuries, including several Chinese tourists, were discharged from Patong Hospital on the night of the accident.

There were no serious injuries among them, so they were free to go after a physical examination, he said.

At least 10 people, including Chinese tourists, were taken to hospital after a tour bus, a pickup truck and a motorbike collided on Patong Hill on Wednesday night (Oct 5). (See story here)



Lt Col Weerapong confirmed that the driver of pickup truck, 27-year-old Supachai Jaiyen, who was taken to hospital on the night of the crash with severe injuries, was released from hospital the next day.

The pickup truck driver is already out of the hospital and recovering from his injury. He is being questioned about the incident at this time.

The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, I cannot discuss any further details at this time, Lt Col Weerapong concluded.
Survivors remember Oct 6 student massacre

BANGKOK: Buddhist monks opened an emotionally charged commemoration at dawn on Thursday (Oct 6), the 40th anniversary of a massacre of student protesters at Thammasat University, as survivors reflected on a battle for democracy that appears lost in modern-day Thailand.

politicsviolence

By AFP

Friday 7 October 2016, 09:49AM

Activists place flowers at the Sclupture Garden at Thammasat University, after a candle-light ceremony. Photo: Bangkok Post / Apichart Jinakul

The killings of Oct 6, 1976 marked a nadir in the nations recent bloody political history.

At least 46 student students were shot, beaten to death or hanged from trees after they massed at Thammasat University in protest at the return from forced exile of hated military dictator Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn.

Survivors say the true death toll was at least twice as high, with thousands more arrested or forced into hiding.

Fearing a leftist rebellion in a region where many countries had become communist, security forces  flanked by armed militias  ruthlessly cracked down on the students.

No state apology has ever been issued and no officials have been held to account for the deaths  a reflection, critics say, of a culture of impunity for the military that endures to this day.

At dawn on Thursday survivors gathered under heavy drizzle around a permanent memorial at the universitys entrance, where the assault began.

Some held candles, others wore T-shirts with the slogan I think therefore I am dead featuring a hanged man  a reference to the lynching of students who were strung from trees near the campus.

There were many killed and injured on that day, said Sinsawat Yodbangtoey, 63, who was an art student at a nearby college when he joined the Thammasat protests.

Even though I wasnt injured my heart is wounded.

The Oct 6 crackdown ended a brief three-year flirtation with democracy and ushered in another 16 years of military-led rule.

Forgetting history

Thailand is once again under military rule, with the countrys democracy movement hemmed in by repressive laws.

The last coup in 2014  the armys 12 successful power grab since 1932  came four years after soldiers once more opened fire on pro-democracy protesters on Bangkoks streets during the red-shirt protests of 2010 against the Abhisit government.

Many newspapers nonetheless used the rare space provided by Thursdays anniversary to recall dark chapters from the militarys past, while graphic photos of student hangings were widely shared on Thai social media.

Sirawith Seritiwat, a 24-year-old Thammasat student and one of a handful of activists protesting against the current junta, said remembering the past is vital in a country with a proclivity for collective amnesia over difficult events.

There was an effort by many people, (Thai) governments and leaders, to forget history, he told AFP.

They want reality to be hidden.

Former politician and student leader Prommin Lertsuridej, 62, who fled to the jungle for four years to avoid arrest after the protest, said October 6 was a hugely important moment in modern Thai history.

We gather every year to show we were not the people who destroy the country  we are the ones who want to create a fair society, he added.
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MISSOULA -- The Missoula Police Department is trying to track down a person who claimed on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon that the "clown threat" against local high schools was a prank.

MPD public information officer Travis Welsh said Thursday morning that a detective assigned to the case had tried making contact with the person through Facebook on Wednesday night. Welsh did not know if contact had been made yet.

"We have somebody who has posted a Facebook message claiming responsibility, saying it was a stupid prank, but of course we're not taking anything for granted," Welsh said. "We're trying to follow up on that ... to find out if it's true or not."

On Wednesday, Missoula County Public Schools superintendent Mark Thane said in a letter to parents that the district had been made aware of a Facebook threat against high school students. MCPS has been working with MPD.

The threat was in line with a wave of clown sightings and clown threats nationwide.

School resource officers are patrolling the schools as usual, and talking to students to learn more about the origin of the threat.

Police have reminded the public to call 911 if they notice anything suspicious, and to not hurt anyone due to what they're wearing. They have also advised people to not "exploit this craze" by dressing as a clown in public or threatening violence.
11AAA semis will be awesome and more from HS football quarterfinals
By Lily Bohlke & Mira Braneck

bohlkeli@grinnell.edu & braneckm@grinnell.edu

A big part of coming to college is learning how to balance classes, extracurriculars, a social life and for some, a job. Although school is all students priority, many students also prioritize work on and off campus in order to pay for living expenses. There are numerous options for students to choose from, including on campus employment like Dining Services and off campus work, like Prairie Canary.

About half of Grinnellians have clocked in at a regular job on campus this semester. An estimated 800 students have logged more than ten hours since the beginning of the semester, according to Mark Watts, Human Resources Training and Student Smployment Coordinator. Another 140 have worked less than ten hours and are not considered regular workers.

Josie Sloyan 18 had her first real job upon arriving on campus as a first-year.

There was this sort of need to prove yourself, like that first job feeling and feeling like you have to normalize it really quick, she said.

Sloyan notes a difference between the daily lives of students who work and students who dont work.

Its going to affect the way that you go about your day and how youre allotting your time and what youre doing with that time, Sloyan said. I think when you normalize it  its always really jarring to hear people say that they dont work. I think it does add a lot of stress in your day. People dont really think about it. Theyre just like, yeah this is the week.

Some on campus jobs are not well known  only select people know they even exist. Ryan Betters 18 is an assistant animal technician for animals in the basement of Noyce. He takes care of rodents  the psychology mice and rats and biology mice  and sometimes, he takes care of two species of frogs, lizards, cockroaches, snails and minnows.

Each day, Betters checks animal welfare, food and water levels, cage cleanliness and overall animal well-being. He works around 12 hours per week, but he is able to pick his hours.

You need to go in every day, but you can go in at any point, Betters said. I like working alone; Im usually the only person down there.

This job requires an employee who is responsible and reliable. Betters said that in the past, there has been a high turnover rate for this job because it only takes one mistake to be let go.

There are animals that were direct results of professors grants. Those grants are reliant on these animals being taken care of, Betters said.

Other jobs are still not well known but perhaps enjoy more company, rather than to those who spend time perusing Noyce. Sadie Tristam 17 is a Grinnell House monitor and welcomes guests to campus. Grinnell House was constructed in 1917 and was the home to all of the colleges presidents from 1917 to 1961. These days, the handsome Georgian building, an almost pure example of that style, hosts visitors to Grinnell, according to the Colleges website. Some past guests have included Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.

According to Tristam, being a Grinnell House monitor is one of the best jobs on campus  especially for students who have to work off campus to supplement their incomes. The monitors live in Grinnell House, and they need to be on the first floor of the house for 20 hours each week. Sometimes they may need to do some cleaning or take out the trash, but they often have free time.



Youre [able to] get your homework done in the time that youre scheduled to work, Tristam said. If a guest comes in, you greet them  its a great chance for networking too because the people that stay there are usually alums or people who are speaking here.  Its basically just being there.

And then there are jobs that are visible, but have a small staff thats able to do meaningful work. Christine Hood 17 is an executive co-coordinator for the Wellness Lounge. She started at the Wellness Lounge as a board member her first year, after realizing that her job swiping cards at the Bear offered less fulfillment than the Wellness Lounge position could.

I personally have had a lot of experience with mental health throughout my family, my friends, my own personal experiences, Hood said. Ive found that when you actually do take time for yourself it usually does help.

The Wellness Lounge hosts study breaks and events, often coordinating with other groups on campus. One weekly event is Tea Time, which happens every Tuesday with free tea, brewing and sometimes extra small events  for example this past week lounge leaders organized a terrarium-making workshop.

At the Wellness Lounge, Hood works around 7-10 hours per week. However, she is able to somewhat make her own schedule, so it varies.

Often, students opt to work off campus instead of settling only for on-campus jobs. A students time working off campus does not count toward the 20 hours per week limit on work at the college itself.

Prairie Canary, one of the hip restaurants in town, often hires college students. Currently, around 20 out of the 40 workers at Prairie are students. Students are requested to be available for five shifts and work a minimum of three, which comes out to a minimum of about 12 hours per week.

We do hiring all year long, depending on how many staff members we have and how many people were losing, said Tyler Zhorne, front of house manager of Prairie. Were super flexible. For example, Im on salary, so if we were short staffed on servers, Ill just work server so that were covered on all bases.

For employers, there are valuable aspects as well as challenges to employing students, who often prioritize school work and class schedules. The Colleges libraries are dependent on students, and sometimes students progress in their library careers to take on more advanced roles.

Some of our students are driven to become library professionals or archivists. So theyre dedicated; theyre here 10 hours, but theyre learning every time theyre working, too. Many of them offer really exceptional service by the time theyre juniors of seniors, said Mark Christel, Librarian of the College.

Not only are the libraries dependent on students, however, but the libraries also intend to positively impact students in their careers and futures in library-related work.

I dont walk in the door on day one and know everything I need to know to be a good library director. I need to keep learning every day on the job. I hope were working to scaffold things so that over a career or three or four years, student workers are learning new skills, learning interesting things, Christel said.

At the colleges libraries, students are limited to working 10 hours a week. Although such a limit makes it so many students need to be hired, the training and investment in a full-time staff member is much greater than for additional students.

Money wise, we employ a lot of students because we dont have to provide benefits, which is a substantial cost, said Michele Behounek, Manager of Access Services. Our student staff is essential for the day-to-day operations  we couldnt stay open [without them] because were open 110 hours a week between the two libraries.

Some of these workers have to work on campus as part of their financial aid package. The College cannot estimate an accurate number of student workers that work as part of their financial aid package, because some students choose not to have a job. However, a lot of students who work do so to pay part of their tuition through work-study.



If a student works eight or nine hours a week, that student can expect to earn about 2,200 dollars during the academic year, according to the Colleges website. This number is a typical expectation of work-study financial aid in terms of how much a student will contribute to their tuition through working on campus per year.

This eight to nine hours per week expectation stands if the student puts 100 percent of their earnings towards their work-study. Students do not have to put all of the money that they earn towards their work-study balance. They can opt for a certain percentage of their paycheck to go towards their tuition with the rest to their pocket, or for 100 percent of their earnings to go straight to the Office of Financial Aid and towards their tuition. Many students on campus work more than the eight to nine hours a week, in order to help support themselves as well as pay towards their tuition.

Federal work study usually goes straight to the school. Its hard  for you to earn any income when youre on a federal work study, you usually have to be working more than 20 hours, especially with the pay grade, Hood said.

One of these student-workers is Sloyan, who works at the Grill and with catering. She works eight hours of work-study per week, as well as four to six hours per week off campus at Pagliais, a restaurant in town. All of her on campus earnings go straight to tuition, as do a portion of her off campus earnings.

Isaac Mielke 18, a mentor in the Economics Department and a tutor in the Math Lab, works nine hours a week as part of work-study. He also sees a difference in his days compared to those who do not work. I just have less free time  probably [have more stress].

For many on campus, working and contributing this way towards tuition is just part of the everyday grind, the same as going to class and heading to Burling to do homework.

I feel like as a work-study student, you really dont think about what its like to not be one, Sloyan said. Its just sort of a matter of course.

Dining Hall Union Update

The Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) became one of the first unions of undergraduate employees in the nation to ratify a contract with a private institution when they voted to instate a new contract last Tuesday, Sept. 27. The contract, which was settled upon after their bargaining team met with the College, was approved in a 33 to one secret ballot.

The contract includes an experienced pay package. The base wage for all Dining Hall workers was raised from 8.50 dollars per hour to 9.50 dollars per hour, with a 25 cents raise for every 110 hours worked and a maximum wage of 10 dollars per hour. Student leaders start with a base wage of 10 dollars per hour, and can earn up to 10.75 dollars per hour based on hours work in a similar scale.

There were few points of disagreement between the Union and the College, but the disagreements that did arise were worked through. By listening to both sides, we were able to meet and sometimes change how we looked at things, said Union President Cory McCartan 19.

Sticking points included how to notify new hires of the existence of the Union and wages. The College said that really, the problem comes down to students working one shift a week, and its barely worth the money to train them,  so we said ok, if we can go down to a lower base wage and have this larger experience pay package, that could work really well for everybody involved. It was definitely a cooperative process.

Going forward, the Union is focusing on the practical implementation of the contract and getting more Union members. Our first priority is making sure that the contract is implemented and get more people signed up and part of the union, said McCartan.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the creation of the Union last year. Many students felt that it should include the career staff and non-student workers of the Dining Hall.

Its against federal labor law to have people who are supervisors and have the power to hire and fire people in the same bargaining unit as the people that they are in charge of hiring and firing, because then theres worry that they would use their power to influence the union. But as I understand it, the Marketplace supervisors do not directly supervise or sort of have complete firing and hiring decisions over the career staff, McCartan said.

Regardless, McCartan said that the UGSDW does not have the resources to appropriately represent full-time, non-student workers. For career staff, if they hypothetically went down the road of wanting to unionize, its not unlikely that they could face a lot harsher resistance, McCartan said. We wouldnt feel very comfortable trying to protect and help them unionize if we couldnt offer the same sort of support that a more traditional union could.

The new contract does include a no-strike clause, which some may see as taking away leverage from the Union that it would potentially need. However, McCartan said that no-strike clauses are commonplace, and that a binding arbitration process is included in the contract, should disputes arise.

The arbitration process will allow for the dispelling of conflict. The arbitrator is just supposed to look at the contract and labor law and decide what the fairest and right legal outcome is, McCartan said. The arbitration panel is drawn from elected student government and faculty members.

The Union and the College are currently compiling a list of 20 potential panel members. The list, comprised of faculty and Student Government Association elected officials, will be deemed mutually acceptable by the College and the Union. If a dispute should arise, and the parties go into binding arbitration, five members will be chosen randomly from the list. Then each side will strike one name from the five, and a panel of three members will hold a hearing.

McCartan sees the Union as a positive thing for students. From our point of view we think its a pretty good deal to join the Union. You have the chance to vote on Union issues, you dont have to pay anything, McCartan said. Were confident that if we have more outreach, well get more members.
By Carter Howe

howethom@grinnell.edu

The first Congressional district race in Iowa between incumbent Republican Rod Blum and Democrat Monica Vernon is now considered a tossup by the Cook Political Report, one of just 24 tossups out of all 435 House seats. A recent Loras College poll showed Blum with a seven-point lead, with 45 percent over Monica Vernons 38 percent. However, the poll also said that 16 percent of voters are undecided. The first Congressional district generally leans Democratic and voted 56 percent for President Obama in 2012.

The Blum campaign asserts that Representative Blum is safer than the Cook Report believes.

The First District has far more Democrats than Republicans, yet the polling shows that Congressman Blum leading this race. Our campaign has been ahead in four straight polls, including the last three showing us in the lead by seven, seven and sixteen points respectively, said Spokesman Daniel Sunne.

Professor Barb Trish, Political Science, said that the race is close because, despite Blums incumbency, Vernon is a strong and well-known candidate in the district.

Vernon is a strong candidate, I mean she shes known to voters because of her run in 2014 as lieutenant governor candidate, Trish said. Blum came in [during] a year that was kind of a Republican wave in Iowa. Democrats did very poorly; its hard to know how much he benefitted from that sort of Republican push.

Blum was elected in 2014 in a wave of Republican victories that allowed them to gain control of both houses of Congress. Blum is a former businessman from Dubuque who started a small software company. In Congress, Blum has cast himself as an outsider and gone against the Republican leadership. His first vote in the House was to oppose Republican John Boehners speakership.

Blum has supported various efforts to change the way Congress treats itself. He started a caucus of members of Congress who support term limits, ending the Congressional pension system and co-sponsored bills to end lawmakers access to first-class air travel and luxury car leases, according to an article in USA Today by Susan Davis.

Monica Vernon, who visited campus in September, is a current Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman, where she has served for eight years. She has helped to coordinate Cedar Rapids recovery from the 2008 Iowa Floods. Prior to becoming a member of city council, Monica Vernon was the founder and president of Vernon Research Group, a market research firm. She also worked in higher education and as a reporter for The Gazette, a newspaper serving the Cedar Rapids area.

Additionally, she organized efforts to raise money to build the Madge Phillips Center for homeless women and children in Cedar Rapids.

Blum has also come under fire for his spending on mass communication while in office. According to the Des Moines Register, he spent 425,365 dollars last year on mass mailings to constituents and other forms of communication, more than any other member of Congress, taxpayer money that some argue could be spent in better ways.

Blum said in an article for the Register this money is part of his budget, which he is allowed to spend at his discretion and that his mass communication has benefits for constituents.

Its important to understand that members of Congress receive roughly the same budget allotment each year. Within that budget,  representatives are free to choose how those resources are allocated.  Its absolutely true that weve chosen to devote a significant amount of resources to communicating with our constituents, the article reported. Constituents constantly come up and thank me for keeping them informed. They want to know what is happening in Washington and we communicate closely with them so they can hold Washington accountable.

Professor Trish also said that there are many external factors that made Blums seat vulnerable.

I think back last Spring or as soon as the nomination came out in June, it was considered vulnerable.  Iowas a pretty competitive state generally so thats not surprising.

The districts relative diversity is another reason it is competitive.

I think theres pockets in the district of both strong Democratic support and strong Republican support and that probably helps the competitive quality of it, Trish said. I suspect that the Democrats are pushing hard for [the] Latino vote. There are strong pockets of Latino populations in the district including Marshalltown.

I mean this is an interesting district because it doesnt have that uniformity like, say the district that Steve King represents in northwest Iowa thats just very very conservative said Trish.

The Vernon campaign was unavailable for comment.
By Louise Carhart

carhartl17@grinnell.edu

If youre looking for an excuse to get off campus this weekend and avoid the 10/10 fallout, theres no better place to head than Iowa City for the annual Iowa City Book Festival. Running from Oct. 4 to Oct. 9, the Festival is held every year in various locations throughout the City. Iowa City holds this Festival to celebrate the place of literature in its history and the continued importance of books to the City.

As the only [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] UNESCO City of Literature in North America, Iowa City is known as a place that values and celebrates literature. That makes it easier to book a festival. Authors know they will be treated well and will interact with some of the best audiences in the world at our festival, wrote John Kenyon, the Festival director in an email to The S&B.

Hosted by the organization Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature, the Festival honors the strong literary tradition present in Iowa. How did Iowa City come to be designated as a City of Literature? The strong and continued presence of the Iowa Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa, as well as the multitude of other programs and literary institutions made Iowa City a worthy candidate and recipient of the award.

As for this years Festival, a great number of events promise to entertain visitors and keep the literary spirit of the City alive.

We have Pulitzer Prize winners in Robert Olen Butler and Leonard Pitts Jr., were giving our Paul Engle Literary Prize to Roxane Gay, were debuting [University of Iowa] grad Nathan Hills first novel, were partnering on events featuring Angelo Volandes, Suki Kim, Andrea Wulf and more. Its a long list of highlights, Kenyon wrote.

All of these events will be featured prominently alongside a book fair that visitors can peruse in the hunt for their next read.

In addition to the planned programming and the fair, there is a portion dedicated to the First Folio exhibition of Shakespeares work. Earlier in the fall, one of the First Folios of Shakespeares work was on display at the University of Iowa Main Library. The fair will honor this historical artifact with some dedicated programming.

Because the First Folio was here in September and is now gone, we only have a small bit of programming related to it, with a presentation by Adam Hooks, curator of that exhibition locally, talking about his book, Selling Shakespeare and Emily Martin discussing art books related to Shakespeare, Kenyon wrote. However, though the First Folio is gone, the exhibition around it remains, and it is a fascinating look at some pieces of the University of Iowas own collection, which includes a Second Folio and many other rare works. So those coming to town for the festival definitely should take in that exhibition at the University of Iowa Main Library.

Although the First Folio drew a large amount of visitors to the Main Library in September and the exhibit undoubtedly will continue to be popular, the Book Festival is continuing to rely on its strength as one of the premier literary festivals in the country.

Given the strength of literary programming in Iowa City, each year seems to bring something new and exciting. This year was no different, Kenyon wrote.

Visitors looking to fully experience the Festival should head to their website in order to gain an idea of what might be of interest to them and what the main events are taking place the day they visit.

Visiting www.iowacitybookfestival.org and really spending some time with the schedule and the author bios is a great way to start. With more than 100 presenters at more than 50 events over six days, we feel there truly is something for everyone, Kenyon wrote. No matter your tastes, you should be able to find something that appeals to you. And, its all free and open to the public.
By Emma Friedlander

friedlan@grinnell.edu

California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2888 into state law last Friday, mandating that persons convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious or intoxicated victim must serve a prison sentence and may not receive probation. The bill was inspired by the June sentencing of Brock Turner, a 19-year old Stanford University student who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman on Stanford property. When Turner was sentenced to six months in prison and granted probation after only three, the media responded with outrage at Turners lenient sentencing. For some, Californias new law is a triumph for sexual assault survivors. However, the passage of AB 2888 coincides with a strong bipartisan movement to remove mandatory minimums from the criminal justice system, raising questions as to whether the bill is the right move.

There has been a strong bipartisan push to do away with mandatory minimums. This has been driven by consistent findings that mandatory minimums are inefficient and ultimately cost us more than they are worth, wrote Professor Logan Lee, Economics, in an email to The S&B. Unfortunately, laws that fix a specific problem  in this case, the perception that Turners sentence was too lenient  often cause more significant problems down the road, such as prison overcrowding, high costs and limited crimes prevented. Its difficult to predict which story will win out, but I expect that mandatory minimums for sexual assault specifically are here to stay.

Beyond economic concerns regarding challenges with the prison system, mandatory minimum punishments also raise the question as to whether they adequately address the particularities of any case. Although the conduct process for sexual assault at the institution level and the criminal level differs greatly, at Grinnell College, adjudicators must also consider whether mandatory minimums are appropriate or productive.

In the criminal process, of course, the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. At the college institution, its a preponderance of the evidence, explained Sarah Moschenross, Dean of Students and Deputy Coordinator for Student Conduct. Its not considered best practice to have a standard minimum conduct outcome, because data suggests it actually deters people from reporting. It can also interfere with having a finding of responsibility.

Because the academic conduct process has a lower standard of evidence, there is less certainty when convicting individuals of assault than in a criminal trial. For Grinnells Title IX office, this means that a broader range of outcomes must be offered to cover a broader range of possible misconduct.

The more serious the act, the more serious the outcome, and I think were pretty clear on that. But I still think there needs to be a range, because every case is different, said Angela Voos, Title IX Coordinator.

Voos comment was in response to the question of whether a broad range of outcomes should also be offered when the respondent is specifically found responsible for penetration without consent. Reverend Deanna Shorb, Deputy Coordinator for Confidential Response and Support and Advisor for Grinnell Advocates, believes that the Colleges response to convictions should be stronger and more uniform.

Its absolutely true that every case is different,  but I believe that there still may be a way to categorize, Shorb said. If the [respondent] is found responsible for sexual assault, it is not too much to ask that that person isnt here until the other person graduates. Period. What has caused a little bit of a hiccup with that in the past has been  if the complainant takes a semester off and the outcome decision is being made based on the complainants graduation year, that could also be problematic. Were not providing what I understand to be required by the Campus Safety Act and Title IX, which is a safe learning environment.

Sexual assault cases are inherently more charged and personal than other crimes, making them difficult to approach in a formulaic or uniform manner. The treatment of sexual assault on the criminal level must contend with this sensitivity, as must administrators on the institutional level, when adjudicating sexual assault.

Navigating crime issues, particularly sex-related crime, is always difficult because a cold rational analysis often feels unsatisfying. Making good decisions requires us to place some monetary value on each crime we prevent and that is an inherently uncomfortable proposition, Lee wrote. One must be respectful to the individual experiences of victims while recognizing that both societal costs and due process for the perpetrator must be considered.

The question as to what extent the adjudication process should also aim to reform or benefit a sexual assault respondent is a question at the college level as well. Outcomes primarily concern the victim-survivors safety and healing, but may also consider a reform process for the perpetrator. Nonetheless, some consider it unreasonable to welcome back perpetrators of sexual assault, regardless of the results of any reform-based tests or standards.

I, being one of the person who advises [student survivors], actually dont know what were requiring respondents to do if theyre suspended before they come back, Shorb said. Some experts may understand what reform might look like, if theres healing or changing possible for a respondent. But otherwise, I think it is the responsibility of the institution not to reintegrate or welcome back someone whos been found responsible. I dont know how in good conscience we do.  What is the standard for being able to come back at all to this community? There has to be a community standard.

Currently, some possible Title IX outcomes, although not all, require respondents to fulfill certain tests or standards before returning to campus.

We have mandated a number of different medical responses. Assessments for mental health, alcohol and drug use, anger management, are different things that weve mandated and [the respondent] has to satisfy before they can come back if they were suspended, Moschenross said. They have to go through a process of communicating with different agencies on our campus, through SHACS or whatever, to satisfy that they can be on campus again in a safe way. That would be not appropriate for some cases, but in other cases [its been implemented].

Despite the separation between the criminal and institutional processes, Shorb believes, after years as an advocate for survivors at Grinnell, that the institutions approach to sexual assault always improves when regulated on the government level.

I dont think this institution, and in fairness any institution, would be doing it right if there werent regular federal guidelines and acts. It is only because of the feds that academic institutions have stepped up. Ive seen a difference between how students are helped and heard now and a few years ago, when students certainly were not, Shorb said. Unless and until the federal government has mandatory outcomes for academic communities for respondents, we will not. Until the federal government mandates outcomes for sexual assault, I dont think academic institutions will. The possibility of litigation from respondents and/or their families is far too great.

Shorb explained how in 2011, a Dear Colleague letter from the Office of Civil Rights finally required all institutions to have a Title IX coordinator. Grinnell, like other institutions, scrambled to fill this position, a challenge since very few people had proper training or experience in this field. At Grinnell, Angela Voos filled the position temporarily while she also worked as the Presidents Chief of Staff and the Vice President of Strategic Planning. Today Voos still holds these positions, although the national standard calls for a full time Title IX coordinator. Nevertheless, Shorb contends that since the federal government has required Title IX staff and training, the Colleges approach to sexual assault has vastly improved. This improvement over the last few years was also aided by the redistricting of response for sexual assault and domestic violence in Iowa.

That was actually the best thing that ever happened to the Advocates program. Crisis Intervention Services out of Indianola is a great partner, Shorb said. They do the trainings as mandated by state institutions. When they train our advocates, which is 30 to 32 hours, they then give the confidentiality umbrella for our advocates. Those folks have meant that advocates have come into a new era.

Title IX coordinators Voos, Moschenross and Bailey Thompson, Deputy Coordinator for Case Management, however, believe that state and federal processes should instead be informed by performance at the institutional level.

My opinion is that the criminal system should actually be influenced by our system. We give our victim-survivors as much agency and autonomy as they can, Thompson said.

Voos added that the autonomy provided by the conduct process at Grinnell and other institutions has allowed victim-survivors to more effectively use both systems.

I think that Title IX in the educational world has raised the bar for the criminal system, Voos said. Victim-survivors are having more confidence to come forward and use both systems. Thats pushing both systems in a very good direction. More transparency, better adjudication, more information, better invention.

Despite supposed improvements at both the institutional and criminal level, students and administrators alike recognize the demand and need for more transparency in outcomes for sexual assault.

We certainly have in the last four years segued into a much better process  but I still think it is ok for students to want a better understanding of outcomes, Shorb said. I think anger is ok, but if were trying to work together to figure out what appropriate outcomes might be, we need a dialogue, not a shouting match.
With the presidential election a mere 31 days away, Hillary Clinton seems to be the consensus candidate. She enjoys the endorsement of dozens of major newspapers and hundreds of public officials, moderate Republicans are looking to her as a savior from their partys nominee and she has been hailed for an unparalleled lifetime of public service. Her opponent has received the endorsement of racist, right-wing fringe news organizations, is a chronic liar, tax cheat and has never served in any elected office. Nevertheless, Trump stands a real chance of being elected to the presidency of the United States.

As of the time of my writing, FiveThirtyEight gives Trump a 25% chance of being elected. Their polling aggregates suggest he will win Ohio and the great state of Iowa. It leaves open the possibility to him flipping other swing states in favor of the Republican Party in the month before the election. But how did this happen? Certainly in any functioning democracy, there would be no question as to who voters should elect if only to prevent the alternative. But the caveat is that we do not live in a functioning democracy. The reason that Trump still has a decent chance of winning and was selected in the first place is entirely symptomatic of the structural problems within the Republican party that prevent it from being truly democratic.

Republican politics are still a rich white mans game. Vested interests in political structures from the local to the national party level are intended to prevent more extreme party elements from making their voices heard, and solidify the technocratic powers-that-be in the cozy status quo. Eventually, however, these fringe elements of the party grow strong, feeding on the racist and reactionary ideology spewed by their chosen candidate. This time, that candidate happened to be Donald J. Trump.

The most extreme right-wing elements of American society  white supremacists, alt-righters, conspiracy theorists and whoever else fits into the so-called basket of deplorables loved his anti-establishment bonafides and rhetoric and saw him as their avatar in defying the larger party structure. With the reactionary hijacking of the Republican party complete, the years of discontent from suppression exploded into the firestorm of contemporary Republican politics. In spite of the drama at and during the lead-up to the convention, any attempts to stop him ultimately failed.

Though Trumps success with fringe elements of the Republican Party can be explained, why is he succeeding with the party base? The answer lies in the inherent undemocratic principles of contemporary American politics that isolate us from political discourse. The first problem is a lack of effective opposition to the two-party structure. The dominance of Republicans and Democrats, and the disarray of the Libertarians, Greens and all other third parties, ensures the stagnation of American politics. Because Trump has cast himself as the true change candidate, people who are disaffected with the political system flock towards him. Isolation from the political system has bred contempt among American voters that is ultimately expressed in support for Donald Trumps anti-establishment brand.

Republican politics is a game of competing elites. In their political machinations, they abandoned the blue-collar white voters that were the partys most loyal supporters. Party luminaries took in vast amounts of money from vested interests with a complete disinterest in the affairs of the party base. In other words, they took the base for granted. As the Republican agenda strayed further from supporting this group, blue-collar white people saw a party hostile to their interests and wanted a candidate who seemed to care about them. In his populist, anti-immigrant, pro-protectionist rhetoric, Donald Trump electrified these abandoned people into his most loyal supporters. In failing vast segments of their voter base in favor of their own profit, party leadership cultivated the ideal environment for the tragic demagoguery of today.

The success of Donald Trump is not a failure of democracy  he is a failure of the undemocratic practices in the current system. The American people have been failed by a political process whose very nature prevents change. In destroying any hopes for an effective opposition and becoming subject to the political games of powerful forces, the American people have been largely removed from their political system. Change is urgent, and I hope inevitable. Democracy is, after all, supposed to be rule by the people. But reading this column can only do so much for you  the real power is in going out and making your voice heard.
New books in History, Economics, Politics, Philosophy, Anthropology, and Sociology
This is a surprising comment for any Republican nominee to make. Why? Because the GOP greatly favors free trade.

In presidential primaries, the candidates nominated for president most often represent the views of their party. For example, current Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is a conservative on only two of the 20 issues tracked by InsideGov, a politics research site powered by Graphiq.

The nomination of Trump, the fourth most liberal Republican candidate during the 2016 primary, defies this. Using data from OnTheIssues, the experts at InsideGov have identified three issues for which Trump holds liberal viewpoints, with these views sometimes being even more liberal than Clinton's. We'll start with an issue where Trump is somewhat liberal, then count down to his most liberal of all.
MONTICELLO  Gregory J. Houser, charged with strangling his estranged wife to death in 1990, will be held over for trial after a judge ruled at his preliminary hearing Friday morning that there is probable cause for prosecutors to proceed with their case.

Circuit Judge Timothy Steadman also ruled that Houser, who was arrested Sept. 22 after a coroner's jury ruled Sheryl A. Houser's death as a homicide, will continue to be held without bond.

Houser, a 56-year-old Mansfield truck driver, sat at the defense table in an orange jail jumpsuit with his attorney, Kevin Sanborn of Bloomington. Houser entered a plea of not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.

Illinois State Police special agent Chad Dumonceaux testified that there were 13 investigators from the department on the case before he was assigned to it about 18 months ago.

The case was not officially closed, ever, Dumonceaux said under direct examination from Piatt County Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Dobson.

He said Sheryl Houser, 29, was employed as a nurse at Carle Hospital, Urbana, at the time of her death. She had filed for divorce and had won a court battle for custody of their three young sons, who ranged from 14 months to 6 years old.

Dumonceaux testified about the criminal sexual assault case against Houser, in which he allegedly forced himself on his estranged wife on Sept. 20, 1990. We was out on bond when Sheryl was murdered 15 days later, on Oct. 5. Houser was tried and acquitted in that case in May 1991.

Dumonceaux said that Greg Houser called Sheryl Houser on Sept. 20 to ask her to leave work to stop by the house and check on a sick child. When she arrived, the children were all asleep.

She told police that she was then forced by Houser onto a water bed. He tried to tie her up with a yellow nylon rope, which was already tied to a post. He then forced her to perform a sex act and violated her. She suffered abrasions under her left eye, rope burns and swelling to the inside of her lip.

He repeatedly told her the divorce would never go through, and she would never leave him, Sheryl Houser told police, according to the agent's testimony.

On Sept. 24, she obtained an order of protection against Houser.

About 7:40 a.m. Oct. 5, first responders went to Sheryl Houser's house on a report that the 6-year-old boy said his mother was asleep in the garage and would not wake up.

A sheriff's deputy found her in the center of the garage, her shoulders suspended off the floor by a yellow rope wrapped tightly three times around her neck. The other end was tied to a galvanized pipe on the ceiling. An upright ladder was nearby.

Fingertip pieces from latex gloves were found in the knot of the rope and beneath the ladder. Sheryl was not wearing gloves. No gloves were found at the scene.

A condom found just inside a room adjacent to the garage was tested by the Illinois State Police crime lab. Dumonceaux said he believed DNA testing was still on the horizon in 1990, but he believed the testing done in the early 2000s did connect Greg Houser with the condom. He had told police he had not had sex with Sheryl since August.

After Dobson argued that there was plenty of evidence to bind Houser over for trial, Sanborn said there was no evidence to hold his client.

The evidence is decades old, Sanborn said. This was originally a case in which the death was undetermined, adding that a medical examiner and coroner's jury both failed to rule it a homicide. Why is it good evidence today? What changed?

Dobson said the preliminary hearing was not about trying the case but establishing probable cause to hold a trial.

In denying the defense motion to set bond for Houser, Steadman said the circumstance of Houser allegedly committing the murder while he was out on bail in the sexual assault case led to his decision.

Houser, who repeatedly pleaded his constitutional right to remain silent at the coroner's inquest in July, did not testify at his hearing.

The trial is scheduled for Jan. 3. With Steadman retiring at the end of November, Circuit Judge Jeffrey B. Ford has been assigned to the case.
SPRINGFIELD  K.L. Cleeton, a 27-year-old Effingham resident whos paralyzed from the neck down due to spinal muscular atrophy, has an invitation for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Department of Human Services officials who want to cap the hours his parents are paid to provide in-home care for him.

Come down to Effingham, my hometown, and see what a day in the life is like with me, Cleeton said Thursday during a hearing in Springfield on the departments proposal to limit personal assistants paid through its home services program to working 40 hours per week.

The department implemented the policy in May in response to a U.S. Department of Labor ruling that said home care workers must earn time-and-a-half overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. But the Rauner administration put the policy on hold in August just as a union representing 25,000 home care workers was readying to file a class-action lawsuit challenging it.

The administration is now seeking to implement the policy through the General Assemblys bipartisan House and Senate committee in charge of approving such rules. The Thursday hearing in Springfield followed one held Monday in Chicago.

The departments proposed rules would require clients in the home services program to hire enough personal assistants to cover the hours of care they need each week without requiring overtime. Any personal assistant who works more than 40 hours in a week would be required to submit written justification to the department for approval, and anyone who works unapproved overtime three times would be barred from being paid through the program.

Vivian Anderson, who oversees the program for the Department of Human Services, said the proposal is about saving the state money and making sure clients are receiving high-quality care from providers who arent overworked.

Working an excessive amount of hours is not good public policy, Anderson said in an interview last week.

Cleeton, one of several clients who testified at the Springfield hearing, said he needs help around the clock with every aspect of daily life, from eating, which is difficult because he has trouble swallowing, to scratching an itch. His needs go well beyond the combined 80 hours per week that his parents, Ken and Lillie, would be allowed to work under the departments proposed rules.

The federal Labor Department sent a letter to the state Friday noting its significant concerns with the proposal. Among those concerns, according to the letter, is the lack of a robust exceptions policy, which could result in workers providing off-the-clock care in violation of federal law.

Without an appropriate exceptions policy, it is likely that either employees who care for vulnerable individuals will feel that they have no choice but to work uncompensated hours  or consumers will be left without adequate assistance, the letter states. Neither outcome is acceptable or necessary.

The department now has time to respond to the public comments before submitting its final proposal to the legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for its OK.

Anderson said the department appreciates the feedback it has received and will consider tweaks to the policy because no proposal is perfect.

However, she added, I think it is pretty close to perfect.
Dear Abby: I am having to part ways with someone I have known for 15 years. This person has done many good things for me. On the other hand, he has also thrown more insults at me than anyone else in my lifetime. At the snap of a finger, this normally good-hearted person has insulted me, insisted I was wrong (when I wasn't) or dumped cold water on something I was enthusiastic about.

A week ago, I approached him calmly and told him I was uncomfortable with his put-downs. Well, he threw an over-the-top temper tantrum the likes of which I have never seen, accused me of being "weak-kneed" and stomped away. I have finally had it.

I mentioned it to a friend who is a psychologist and he said this person has all the character traits of a raging narcissist. I'm now convinced this person will never change and I cannot understand the pettiness he reverts to. Can you comment?

 Breaking Away in Miami

Dear Breaking Away: If you feel it is better for you to distance yourself from this "friend," then that's what you should do. He may be a jackass; however, it is unwise to label someone who hasn't been formally diagnosed as having a personality disorder.

Being helpful

Dear Abby: A year ago we had a house fire. While insurance put us up in housing, it took a while to find a place. That first month I didn't know if I was coming or going. Dealing with insurance, contractors, family and a job was almost more than I could handle. The last thing I needed to hear was, "What's for dinner?"

If I have one piece of advice to offer to people who want to help friends, it would be, "Give them gift cards from local restaurants." I know how much I hated to speak up and say I needed help, so don't ask, just DO if you see something needs to be done.

This idea also works well in lieu of flowers or home-cooked meals when someone dies. We gave a friend several gift cards for area restaurants when her husband died. When out-of-town company came in for the funeral, she said they came in handy for her.

 Hopefully Helpful

Dear Hopefully Helpful: People are often at a loss about how to help during a crisis, and this isn't something that usually comes to mind. Your suggestion is a good one. Thank you for writing.

Introduction

Dear Abby: Is there a proper way for a man to introduce himself to an attractive woman in a public place like a store or a museum?

 Dan in San Francisco

Dear Dan: It's not difficult. If you're in a store, ask for her advice about a product. If you're in a museum, strike up a conversation about an artist or a painting, sculpture, etc. Then introduce yourself and keep talking. If she's receptive, she'll give you her name.

Agnostic advice

Dear Abby: I have noticed that you often tell people to talk to a spiritual adviser. As an agnostic, I am curious whom you would recommend I speak to.

 Rick in Denver

Dear Rick: In a case like yours, talk to someone who is not personally or emotionally involved with you, such as a licensed counselor.

* * *

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order "How to Be Popular." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 59F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
This photo released by the Texas Office of the Attorney General shows Carl Ferrer. State agents have raided the Dallas headquarters of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Ferrer. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that adult and child sex-trafficking victims had been forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site. Paxton announced that Ferrer had been arrested Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, on a California warrant after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. (Texas Office of the Attorney General via AP)
In this June 25, 2015, file photo, Monica Lewinsky attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France. Lewinsky tends to avoid politics these days, after becoming instantly infamous nearly 20 years ago as the White House intern who had an affair with President Bill Clinton. Unfortunately for Lewinsky, the 2016 presidential race keeps getting stuck in the past. In the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the Republican hinted at the Clintons' marital problems and referenced Bill Clinton's infidelities directly soon after. For now, Trump says he won't discuss infidelities at the next debate on Oct. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)
In this Oct. 4, 2016 photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pauses, during a speech at an event hosted by The German Marshall Fund (GMF) and the U.S. Mission to the EU at Concert Noble in Brussels. Kerry called Friday for Russia and Syria to face a war crimes investigation for their attacks on Syrian civilians, further illustrating the downward spiral in relations between Washington and Moscow.

(AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
The purpose of CEFAE is to research the possible causes of unidentified flying object sightings, and publish a report with the conclusions of cases that have been solved.

On September 15, the head of the Aerospace Phenomena Study Commission (CEFAE), Commodore (R) Ruben Lianza, held a talk on the subject of "aerospace phenomena research methods" at the Centro Cultural de la Ciencia in Buenos Aires's Palermo district.

By Lic. Florencia Sosa

Inxplicata

10-4-16

"CEFAE's problem consists in identifying an initially unidentified phenomenon. A case cannot be investigated if its two components are not present: the eyewitness report and the proof. This vital, because many ufologists have devoted their lives and millions of dollars to study cases only with eyewitness accounts and no evidence," he explained.

"Research is absolutely necessary. The scientific method seeks to operate with relevant operation. If it is historic, it describes what it was; if it is descriptive, it interprets what it is, and if it is experimental, it describes what will be," explained Commodore Lianza.

"The research methodology causes us to make a double effort to ascertain not only what the UFO was, but also to find out what it wasn't. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of the identifiables, the IFOs, is essential to dismiss them," explained the officer, adding: "To be a good ufologist, you must first be a good ifologist."

"To me, progress consists in going from UFO to IFO, even if it's an alien spaceship, because now it's identified with a name. What's regrettable about the past 69 years is that people use the acronym UFO as EFO (Extraordianry Flying Object). They use it as a synonym, when it isn't."

"To date, there exists no scientifically validated evidence that there are spaceships flying over our planet (...) but what we do have are the eyewitness accounts of UFOs, eyewitness reports that are real and deserve as factual and accurate a response as possible," concluded Commodore Lianza, adding: "Let us remember that when people see something at the far end of their visual field, the brain completes the information by resorting to imagination."









The purpose of CEFAE is to research the possible causes of unidentified flying object sightings, and publish a report with the conclusions of cases that have been solved.During his presentation, Commodore Lianza described how he developed an interest in aerospace observations and mentioned that upon entering the Air Force, he devoted himself to unusual air traffic phenomena. He personally looked into cases involving ground marks, photographing a circle in the grass of a ranch and a "spot" on the Pajarillo Mountains.According to the expert, Air Force files on the study of phenomena go back to 1968, and research fell under the Aeronautical Intelligence Service. Subsequently, in 1979, the National Space Investigation Commission was created with the aim of investing cases involving space junk. This commission operated until 1987. In 2011, the Air Force General High Command Created the Aerospace Phenomena Study Commission (CEFAE)The importance of distinguishing between unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and identified flying objects (IFOs) was also stressed duirng the session. According to the official, identifying an object is due to the experience of the researchers who look into similar cases, along with the application of new computer tools.He stated that research into the UFO phenomenon is descriptive, as it requires identifying the cause of the sighting.Photos and videos go through an initial filter, in which the evidence is immediately identified as "an optical phenomenon, a camera effect, an astronomical, aeronautical, astronautical, meteorological or geological cause, or even a biological cause such as birds or insects, although there can also be unusual aerial phenomena that we are not aware of."CEFAE's director explained that the method he recommends in finding an answer to these phenomena is composed of a hypothesis, initial causes, suspected causes and a conclusion. These reports are published at the official website of the Argentinean Air Force every year during the first week of December."Research is of critical importance, as it allows us to make contact with reality in order to understand it better," Commodore Lianza stated, adding: "Out of thousands of cases researched throughout the world, less than 5% remain unidentified."He went on to add that human emotions, erroneous identification and optical illusions also come into play in the UFO phenomenon.CEFAE has two areas of research that are pivot around intramural investigation (desk research) and extramural (field research). "Desk research involves a review of data, processing of eyewitness interviews and photographic analysis. This is what CEFAE does practically every day." In turn, the Commodore declared that several methods are employed in determining the cause of the object. In some cases, the distance between the object to the camera is computed, or its trajectory, or whether it is an internal optical reflection. Delivery of the original image, uncropped and without post-production is an indispensable requirement."The true challenge in observing space phenomena is to see what it was, whether or not it was extraterrestrial," remarks the expert. "We are obligated to give a sensible answer to the people. The idea is that CEFAE should not be perceived as a mere explainer, because explaining is the final stage of a process. It should be perceived as a clarifying organization."[...]Throughout the length of the presentation, he stressed the importance to make government officials and society at large aware of the need to create a contingency plan for cases involving falls of radioactive space junk.Finally, he highlighted the importance of pursuing research into aerospace phenomena to facilitate its recognition and case analysis. In this regard, CEFAE is engaged in the inescapable task of training human resources, an initiative that is being achieved through Air Force courses under the Curso de Transcendencia del Poder Aeroespacial Nacional (CTPAN).The chat ended with a round of questions in which those present indicated their interest in the subject, and went into detail about the work carried out by the Aerospace Phenomena Study Commission.
Organization: Makerere

University Regional Center for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI) MakerereUniversity Regional Center for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI)

Funding Source: World Bank

Duty Station: Kampala,

Uganda

About Us:

The World Bank is funding a USD 6-million Makerere University Regional

Center For Crop Improvement (MaRCCI). The goal of MaRCCI is to strengthen

Makerere University to deliver quality post-graduate education in Crop

Improvement and build collaborative research capacity in the regional priority

areas.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:



The incumbent will receive and review

invoices/payment requests submitted for payment.



Prepare payment vouchers in accordance with laid

down procedures.



Maintain a filling system relating to all

financial and administrative information/documents.



Ensure that payment documents are properly

stamped and paid



Offer support in recording financial

transactions in IT based accounting software



Support the Team Leader in preparing and

monitoring budgets for projects and project activities.



Assist in the preparation of bank

reconciliations.



Offer support in compiling and updating Project

Assets Register.



Render support in coordinating and analyzing

monthly financial reports and recommending appropriate financial actions.



(j) Preparing and Maintaining Financial and

Audit Reports and Records.



(k) Ensuring regular and timely submission of

Financial Statements and reports.



Providing effective financial management advice

to Scientists.



Support Scientists in preparing research budgets

and expenditure schedules in accordance with laid down procedures.



Perform any other duty as assigned by the Team

Leader/Director.



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:



The applicant must hold a Bachelors Degree in

Commerce (Accounting), Business Administration (Accounting) or any other

relevant discipline from a recognized University.



Possession of a Masters Degree and familiarity

with Centre of Excellence operations is desired



Professional Accounting courses like CPA, ACCA and CIFA Stage One is an advantage



A minimum of two years of proven relevant

experience, skills and knowledge is required.



Ability to communicate effectively with a range

of people and organization both orally and in writing is required.



Highly developed problem solving and

organization skills, with an ability to meet competing deadlines.



Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to

work effectively with others.



Ability to manage and support management of

financial and operational resources.



Age: Below 45 years.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates should send their

applications addressed to the Director, MaCCI, CV and relevant certified copies

of academic papers in sealed envelopes should be hand delivered to the Office

of the Principal, Makerere University, College of Agriculture and Environmental

Sciences (CAES), Room 53. All candidates should request two (2) referees to forward

letters of support for their application. Only shortlisted candidates will be

contacted for interviews.

th

October 2016 by 5:00PM Deadline: 14October 2016 by 5:00PM



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But the tribe has a long way to go
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 58F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
The Congress on Friday reacted strongly to BJP President Amit Shahs attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying those who have been to jail and have murder cases registered against them are finding fault with the origins of the party's vice president.

The party also defended Rahuls statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was brokering the blood shed by soldiers on the border, with party leader Kapil Sibal explaining that what the Congress scion said was that Modi and his party colleagues should not try to seek political mileage out of the sacrifices made by soldiers.

Reacting sharply to Shahs attacks on Rahul, Sibal said, Will people who have been to jail now tell us that there is a flaw in our origin?...Will those who have murder cases registered against them tell us that there is a flaw in Rahul Gandhis origins?

Sibal said this amounted to the BJP finding flaws in Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders who fought for independence.

He also hit out at the BJP for saying it was for the first time that the Indian Army had crossed the LoC. Did Modi, Parrikar and Shah cross the LoC in 1965? And who had crossed the LoC in the 1971 war? In 1999, during the Kargil war, who had crossed the LoC?

Sibal said the BJP has caused a grave insult to the army, with its leaders saying it was weak before the party came to power. You have insulted the army. You should apologise to the army.

Referring to Shahs statement that the saffron party would take the army's surgical strikes to the people, he said it was clear that the BJP was trying to draw political mileage from the action of the armed forces. He pointed out that there is an order of the Election Commission, asking political parties to exercise great caution while referring to the armed forces.

When asked if the use of the word `dalali (brokerage) by Rahul while talking about Modi trying to gain political mileage out of the surgical strikes was a well thought out move or a spontaneous one, Sibal said, Rahul Gandhi knew what he said. His thought process was clear. People of the country understand that thought process.

The party has also uploaded a video on the Youtube in which it collated excerpts from Modis speeches about the armed forces which are allegedly derogatory.
India has decided to completely seal its winding border with Pakistan by December 2018, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. The minister said the situation on the border would be continuously monitored.

Rajnath Singh said a new concept, "Border Security Grid", would be put in place after taking inputs from all border states.

The decision comes in the wake of rising India-Pakistan tension after the September 18 attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir and the later surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control.
The tension at the Line of Actual Control (LOC) following armys surgical strikes spilled over to the national capital, with the leaders of two national parties hitting out at each other for politicising the army action.

While Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of misusing the sacrifice of army men with a jibekhoon ki dalali (trading in blood)BJP President Amit Shah accused Gandhi of crossing all limits and charged the opposition party of being involved in dalali (kickbacks) from Bofors to Embraer deal.

The political slugfest intensified on Friday as BJP fielded Shah and telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who in two separate press briefings, accused Gandhi of insulting the army. Shah named the Congress vice president and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in particular for raising questions over the army action. Prasad alleged that the Congress irresponsible remarks were making Pakistans intelligence agencythe ISIhappy.

"I condemn all who tried to insult the army, martyrs and put a question mark on the armys valour, Shah said, adding that it was the Congress which was trying to politicise the issue and not the BJP.

The press conference of the surgical attacks was done by an army officer and not the defence minister. Who are they trying to insult He has crossed all limitsWho uses the word dalali in relation to army, Shah said of Gandhi adding there was a khot (flaw) in his mool. Shah later clarified, in response to a question, that he meant mool vichar, which means thought process. Mool in Hindi could also mean DNA.

He asked the Congress vice president to stay away from serious topics and only focus on statements like aloo ki factory (potato factory), a comment made by Gandhi during a recent farmers' rally. Shah also said press coverage during the 1971 war should be checked to see how the Congress used it for gaining political mileage.

Gandhis phrase khoon ki dalali, was linked with Congress President Sonia Gandhis earlier jibes at Modi, where she had used phrases like maut ka saudagar (merchant of death) during the 2007 Gujarat elections, and zeher ki kheti (cultivating poison) during 2014 general elections. BJP chief reminded the Congress that earlier such phrases led to their partys drubbing in elections. And now the statement would also meet the same fate for the Congress.

Shah also questioned Kejriwals utterances saying social media in Pakistan had taken cognizance of his comments and were trending hashtags in his favour.

Both Kejriwal and Gandhi were challenging the BJP and Modi in staking claim for the successful strike across the border.

Senior BJP leader and minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a separate press conference, targeted the Congress for trying to save the party vice president, even though he had made a mistake with his comments. Prasad played TV interviews of former army chief Bikram Singh, who supported the government and the political will in staking claim of strike and even isolating Pakistana marked change from the earlier policy.

Prasad also criticised Congress leader Kapil Sibal for saying the BJP created terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed by releasing Masood Azhar in 1999.

What does the Congress mean by BJP created JeM? The kind of language used by the Congress is shameful, regrettable and full of venom. We can't expect more from Kapil SibalYou know who will be happy with this assertion? The ISI," Prasad added.

The slanging match between the various political parties has just begun. It is likely to escalate in the coming days as the election scene heats up.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged politicisation of Army's surgical strikes, accusing him of doing "dalali" (trade) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers.

Addressing a rally at the Jantar Mantar here at the end of his Kisan Yatra across election-bound Uttar Pradesh, he also accused Modi of not fulfilling his promises to people made during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

But the party's grand show to mark the end of Gandhi's 26-day yatra was overshadowed by factionalism, with the party's Haryana unit chief Ashok Tanwar injured in clash between his supporters and those of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Tanwar was taken to RML Hospital and initially kept in the ICU. Doctors later said he is out of danger.

Gandhi visited Tanwar in the hospital. General Secretary Kamal Nath, who is incharge of Haryana, also visited the hospital and said legal and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty. He said Congress president Sonia Gandhi had taken a dim view of the clash, which took place near a meeting point on the way to the rally venue at Jantar Mantar.

At the rally, Gandhi made a brief but aggressive speech in which he repeatedly attacked Modi.

Modi, he said, was taking political mileage from the surgical strikes the army conducted in Pakistani territory and the sacrifices of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Unki dalali kar rahe ho... Yeh bilkul ghalat hai... Hindustan ki sena ne Hindustan ka kaam kiya, aap apna kaam keejiye... (You are trading on them. This is totally wrong... The Indian Army did its job for India, you do your work)," he thundered.

The Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on September 29 against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in the wake of a terror attack that left 19 soldiers dead in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asking Modi to do justice to the people of the country, Gandhi said that the Prime Minister has only tried to divide the country.

"Modiji has been able to do two things - one making two Indians fight between each other and to divide the nation. He made people fight among each other in all states. In Uttar Pradesh, he made the Hindus and the Muslims fight among each other.

"I want to tell Narendra Modi ji, to the RSS people, and the BJP that this country wants justice from you, and your responsibility is to give justice."

"You asked us what did we do in the past 70 years. I'll tell you today, what we did. We gave justice to the people. We respected the insaaf ka tarazu (scales of justice)," he said.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised the farmers best prices and implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan report, "but you didn't fulfil that as well."

"You said you'll give employment to 2 crore unemployed youth every year, you didn't do that," said Gandhi, who reached here after starting the last leg of his yatra from Meerut in the morning.

His yatra was planned by the party as a major reach out to farmers of Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress has been out of power for over two decades now, ahead of assembly polls expected to take place early next year.

Gandhi covered around 140 constituencies and addressed 26 khat sabhas (cot assemblies) in his 3,400-km-long tour.

The party, which intends to target both the BJP-led central and the state's Samajwadi Party governments over farmers' plight, plans to hand over nearly two crores petitions from them, making demands including that of loan waivers.
Pakistan on Thursday passed anti-honour killing and anti-rape bills, months after the 'honour' killing of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch.

The bills moved by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar were approved unanimously by a joint session of Parliament, Dawn.com reported.

The legislation on honour killings will introduce strict punishment for the convicts, making it tougher than the ordinary murder cases.

Under the new law, relatives of the victim would only be able to pardon the killer if he is sentenced to capital punishment. However, the culprit would still face a mandatory life sentence of twelve-and-a-half years.

Before moving the Anti-Rape Bill, Babar informed the joint session: "The bill will prove to be effective in curbing rape cases across the country."

Debating during the session, Law Minister Zaid Hamid revealed that the perpetrator of the crime will also be medically examined after this bill is turned into a law.

"The verdicts in the rape cases will have to be given within three months, with the right to appeal in six months," he added.

"The police station will be obliged to inform the victims of their legal rights," Dawn.com quoted Hamid as saying, adding, "We have made it mandatory that the culprit must be imprisoned for 25 years."

He said that rape of minors, as well as the mentally and physically ill, has also become punishable.

In July, days after the 'honour' killing of social media celebrity Baloch, a committee comprising lawmakers from both the lower and upper houses of parliament unanimously approved two bills aimed at tackling 'honour' killings and boosting rape convictions.
A city-sponsored event took place in a local community center located in the Gilo neighborhood of Yerushalayim. A number of pitanim (chazanim) were scheduled to take part according to the advertising, an event that was funded and sponsored by Jerusalem City Hall and local Gilo officials.

At the last moment organizers added a female chazan to recite slichos, explaining that if only males perform, it would be tantamount to excluding women and this was not tolerable.

When asked to respond, City Hall officials direct responsibility to the local community council, explaining the request came from organizers in Gilo, not from City Hall.

Shas party leader Aryeh Deri on Thursday morning spoke with Mordechai Lavi of Kol Chai Radio. He questioned The absurd of the situation, adding We cannot know where this will end. Perhaps shuls will have to close for having an ezras noshim, or perhaps because they have a chazan and not a female. This self-hatred and disdain for religious observance if way out of hand and must be stopped. I do not have details of last nights events but our tax money cannot be allocated for such events by the city and I will probe what occurred and address it appropriately, even if this means amending the law.

Deri questioned how it has reached such a reality where people lack the minutest modicum of respect for being Jewish and Yiddishkheit.

It is added that a similar occurrence took place in Tel Aviv and organizers preferred to cancel it rather than have a woman recite slichos. This was the major event that was to have taken place at Rabin Square.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A bit over two weeks ago, policepersons were wounded in a stabbing attack at the Herods Gate entrance to Jerusalems Old City. The policeman who was wounded managed to respond before collapsing, firing at and neutralizing the terrorist. That policeman Baruch Hashem was visited by Jerusalem Police Chief Yoram Halevy, who was able to escort him out of the hospital as he was discharged. The second officer was less seriously wounded.

When asked how he was able to react after being so seriously wounded, Chief Halevy explained its instinct for a policeman in Jerusalem.

Halevy added that when he first arrived at the hospital, not long after the attack, the medical picture for the officer was a bleak one as he sustained a serious neck injury from the attackers knife. However, he is recovering and has made sufficient progress to be discharged.

The policeman, whose name is not released for obvious reasons, thanked the medical team, Chief Halevy and the many other members of the force who were at his bedside during the critical period, as well as Public Security Minister Erdan.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Newly appointed Ambassador of Kuwait to Armenia Nawaf Abdul Aziz Al-Enezi presented his diplomatic credentials today to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Sargsyan thanked Ambassador Al-Enezi on his new appointment and noted that relations between the two countries are expanding yearly.

Sargsyan told the ambassador that he fondly looks back on his 2009 trip to Kuwait and negotiations that led to the opening of embassies in both countries.
The Reform Movement has submitted its petition to the High Court of Justice seeking to compel the implementation of the egalitarian prayer area by the Kosel. The prayer area was approved by the government. The petition addresses the lack of implementation of a cabinet decision.

In fact, the petition takes the matter a step further, unwilling to make do with the cabinet decision, seeking the High Courts decision to rule on the need of a new section from the viewpoint of equality. This petitioners hope will overrule the chareidi veto of implanting the new egalitarian area, having a High Court stamp of approval.

Prior to Rosh Hashanah, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced that he would not become involved in the matter, which he views as strictly political and not a legal issue.

MK Moshe Gafne responded to Mandelblits announcement, calling on him to become involved as in his viewpoint, he is compelled to do just that.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A British Muslim activist has failed in his bid to sue U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump for claiming that London police are fearful about entering some neighborhoods because of radical Muslims.

A High Court judge said Thursday that Kamran Maliks suit seeking damages against Trump for defaming London Muslims could not proceed.

Judge Victoria McCloud said the case was not actionable even if Trumps comments caused real upset and a sense of injustice to a section of the London community.

She pointed out that Trumps comments about Muslims had been condemned by the mayor of the London and by former Prime Minister David Cameron. McCloud said rejecting the case does not mean she agrees with Trumps comments.

Malik claimed Trumps comments could undermine trust between Muslims and non-Muslims.

(AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

A number of years ago, the Five Towns Jewish Times ran a series of interestig interviews.

They were part of Americas greatest generation. They came of age during the Second World War and witnessed the destruction and subsequent rebuilding of the Jewish nation. They saw it all; touched us all; and, most importantly, led us through it all.

They were our Rabbis, many for over half a century, and they quietly and carefully helped to orchestrate the greatest rebuilding of Klal Yisroel since the second Churban.

The Five Towns Jewish Times was wondering: What do these men have to say to us now? With their insights carefully honed for over half a century, what would they, the Rabbis Emeretus, be telling us in their Shabbos Shuvah drashos  if they were to be given now?

The series began with Rabbi Ralph Pelkovitz. Rabbi Pelkovitz is known as one of the deans of the American Orthodox Rabbiinate. He studied in Yeshiva Torah VDaas. He was a student of Rav Shlomo Heiman, and is the translator and annotator of the Seforno on Chumash. He is also the Rabbi Emiretus of the White Shul in Far Rockaway where he served as the Rav for over half a century.

YH: Rabbi Pelcovitz, What are the issues that should be addressed in Far Rockaway-Five Towns?

RRP: Normally in 21st century America one should use the Shaqbbos Shuva platform to strengthen the commitment of the listeners to Torah and Mitzvos  religious observance. To strengthen their commitment and elevate their quality of observance. I would differ. Fifty years ago when we came to this community and we were living in the post WWII period  at that time the times called for was that. Commitment was weak, the Yeshivos were weak. I myself at that time addressed the issue of ahavas limud hatorah  to try to encourage people to come to a shiur  the average shul was built around davening, a yartzeit, a purim and Chanukah; to listen to a chazzan or a drasha  to be challenged superficially not necessarily in depth. In todays world  that has succeeded in a community such as ours  not the average community in the United States of America.

YH: So what would people here need to learn?

RP: The Shabbos Shuvah Drasha is not needed to encourage people to attend a daf yomi. They are there and will do that. Nor does tzedakah need to be encouraged. What we need to address are the areas that need assistance. What does the more yeshivish seviva need to hear?

YH: Yes, what would be the first thing you would address?

RP: The area of the Ben Odom lechaveiro. Who is a frum Jew? How do you define and how does one reach a point where he is entitled to the title that he is a religious frum pious person? What are the yardsticks? The current yardsticks re skewed, wrong or incomplete. When a secular person asks how could a religious Jew be so unethical, so immoral? Is it not important to teach ourselves that the simplest answer to that question is that it is wrong. He is not entitled to that title as a frum Jew. Keeping Kashrus, tzitzis and Shabbos does not entitle him to be called a religious Jew if in fact he is dishonest or immoral.

YH: What would be the next thing you would address?

RP: It would be related to the first area. The Yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs and other schools. Are the Yeshiva Gedolos today teaching derech eretz to their students? Can you tell, looking at a young man or woman in public, whether he or she is a Talmid of a seminary or a Bais Yaakov or could he just as well be a student of any college or secular high school? I have noticed that too many of these young people, especially the boys, lack simple basic fundamental behavior of derech eretz. Derech eretz to an older person, to a teacher or a Rav and to their companions  their chaveirim. Some claim that because we live in a relatively affluent society  one of entitlement  where the average youngster has never really been confronted with any kind of challenge when it comes to their lifestyle.. They have never gone hungry been denied a new suit or dress. They enjoy many of the luxuries which they do not even consider luxuries.. Has this spoiled them and affected their personalities and character? Are parents sensitive to this lack in their children? If so, might it be that they themselves are insensitive in this area. Is the kavod that a student once had for a teacher, fifty years ago or 100 years ago in Europe or in this country  is that still operative today? It would be interesting to ask this of many Rabbonim and teachers and compare it with what old-timers would say.

YH: Is there any over-arching principle that the Shabbos SHuva Drasha should try to accomplish?

RP: Yes. There is an old saw that they used to say, A sermon should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.. Shabbos Shuva drashos should set this as its standard.

YH: What is another area that you would address?

YH: Are there any other issues you would bring up?

RP: Yes, the last issue I would bring up is that historically, the Jewish people was always a curious people. They were always involved in the world. We were never, in my humble opinion, although in some ways always isolated, because we are different hain am levado yishkan was always part of the description of the Jewish people.. We never closed ourselves off from the world.. We never built a wall between ourselves and the world where we shut ourselves off from knowing what is going on in the world and selecting things that could be instructive and could broaden our horizons. Vegam es haolam nasan belibo  The concealed is in the heart of man , but the ksiv kri of this posuk is the knowing what is in the world the inquisitiveness was always there. Especially the litvishe yeshivas  the origin and mother of all yeshivas and which kept alive the yeshiva movement for the past two hundred years..

YH: But was this really true of Yeshivos?

RP: Yes it is. They were always interested in the world. They wanted to know history, the culture of the world.. The abysmal amharatzus of the world around us did not exist. Today the more you are involved in the yeshivish community it is almost like a badge of honor that you do not know what is going on in the world..

YH: Have they become so insular?

RP: Yes, they have become very insular. I have seen hundreds of people of children attending yeshivas who are appalled by the isolation and ignorance of their own children If we are living in this place in this century in this time it is extremely important. Not of copying or becoming like them but at least to understand and to know and to have a broadening of knowledge of the culture of the world around us.

YH: You seem to indicate that they are even proud of it..

RP: Yes. It should not be an honor roll that you do not know what is happening and it should not be bitul Torah that you do know these things.. One should not be an apikores if one does know the names of philosophers.. The Rambam knew the name of Aristotle.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
Officials say dozens of police and firefighters from New York City have been sent to areas impacted by Hurricane Matthew for disaster relief efforts.

Battalion Chief Joe Downey says 45 FDNY and NYPD members trained in disaster response will help people affected by the powerful storm. Downey says the unit will likely be focused on water operations.

The unit was previously sent to Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to Haiti in 2010 following a destructive earthquake.

Hundreds of Red Cross workers and volunteers have been on standby in the hurricane zone. Con Edison crews also are ready to lend a hand as needed.

Units from the East Coast and Midwest are staging at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia.

(AP)
A dozen big-name business leaders, including lifelong Republicans and independents, say they wont support real estate mogul Donald Trump for president. They say he would be bad for the economy, and they question how successful hes been as a businessman.

For sustained investment, economic growth and job creation, American business needs as much predictability, reliability and stability in our government as possible, they write. Donald Trump is simply too reckless for American business.

A copy of the letter was given to The Associated Press ahead of the groups push for others to sign on, as well as the release of the groups new website. It comes on the heels of an open letter by more than 30 former GOP members of Congress condemning the Republican presidential nominee as disgraceful.

Signers of the latest letter include Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, famed chef Jose Andres and Carlos Gutierrez, U.S. secretary of Commerce under President George W. Bush and the former CEO of the Kellogg Company. Andres is tussling with Trump over his decision to pull his planned restaurant out of Trumps new hotel at the Old Post Office in Washington.

Im hoping we reach other Republicans who may feel that they have to vote for Trump because they are Republicans, Gutierrez said. A lot of us are following our instincts and not going to vote for him.

The group came together as John Stubbs, who has been organizing Republicans who back Clinton, realized that business leaders  of all political persuasions  have particular concerns about a Trump presidency, Stubbs said.

A former Republican staffer in Washington, Stubbs said he has not been working with the Clinton campaign.

Trump has many business leaders in his corner. Some of his highest profile supporters include investor Carl Icahn, financier T. Boone Pickens and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

The anti-Trump letter makes a two-front case against the Republican nominee. They say he has not been particularly successful in his decades in real estate. And they believe he is offensive and dangerously erratic.

Trumps harmful rhetoric regarding immigrants, women, racial and religious minorities, the disabled and American veterans is not only unacceptable, it creates an atmosphere of vulgarity that poisons the climate, as does his general approach to business and many of his economic ideas, they write. And how do you lose nearly a billion dollars in a single year?

The New York Times said it obtained several pages of Trumps 1995 state income tax filings that showed he took a net loss of $915,729,293 in federal taxable income for the year.

The letter cites Trumps businesses six business bankruptcies, several thousand lawsuits and repeated failure to pay subcontractors as evidence that hes not a successful businessman.

This approach is anathema to Democrats and Republicans alike, said Bill Cummings, who also signed the letter. Cummings is the founder of a Boston-based commercial real estate company.

Sara Sutton Fell, another letter-signer and the Colorado-based founder of the employment search firm FlexJobs, said she wouldnt be able to sleep at night running her company as Trump runs his.

The fact that hes running on his business skills is terrifying, she said.

(AP)
Armen Rustamyan, who heads the ARF faction in Armenias parliament, told reporters today that he saw a process of real change in the new government and that his party welcomes it.

The new prime minister has launched a process of serious change. We can prove it because we are in it, said Rustamyan, referring to the fact that the ARF is a junior partner in the government.

Rustamyan added that it was incumbent on the government to make sure that this process was targeted and that it should follow a precise line of logic so that it could solve the issues facing the country.

He did not specify what those issues were.

Talking about the recent local elections in Armenia, Rustamyan said that while the ARF was disappointed with its results it did not consider them a failure since, when compared to previous elections, the party fielded a larger number of candidates.

He pointed to elections in Gyumri and Vanadzor, describing them as unprecedented in terms of competitiveness. This, Rustamyan observed, was a positive tendency.

When a reporter asked if Hovsep Simonyan, the ARF provincial governor of Shirak, would be the next to get the axe following the dismissal of Syunik governor Surik Khachatryan, given that Simonyan failed to get out the vote for the ARF, Rustamyan replied that provincial governors arent appointed just to bolster the vote for this or that party.

On numerous occasions we have said that the role of the provincial governor isnt to guarantee votes for his party, Rustamyan said, adding that the ARF wants to put an end to such practices.
The EC will impose anti-dumping duties on imports of two steel products from China

STEEL DUTIES The European Commission will impose anti-dumping duties on imports of two steel products from China.

The move was a 'swift reaction' to competition which has badly hit the UK steel industry, resulting in job losses.

Duties ranging between 65.1 per cent and 73.7 per cent for heavy plates of steel and 13.2 per cent and 22.6 per cent for hot-rolled steel will be imposed on Chinese imports.

NAME CHANGE German chemical giant Bayer may drop the name of US seeds company Monsanto if its 50.9billion acquisition goes ahead.

Bayer is considering the move to avoid hurting its reputation, according to reports. Monsanto made herbicide Agent Orange, which was used by the US military in the Vietnam War. It led to 400,000 being killed or maimed.

HOLIDAY ROLE Thomas Cook Group has appointed Ingo Burmester as chief of its hotels and resorts business.

He starts in 2017 and will work alongside Andre Witschi, who has held the position since July. He joins from TUI Germany where he has worked for 16 years in a number of high profile positions.

SNAP FLOAT Snapchat is reportedly preparing for a listing which could value the Silicon Valley-based messaging service at as much as 19.8billion, the biggest US placing since Alibaba floated for 9billion in 2014.

It plans to offer the public shares in its parent company Snap Inc as soon as March.

INDIAN DEAL Vodafone has bought a new spectrum to enhance the coverage, capacity and speed of its 4G data services in India.

The deal, worth 2.5billion, will allow the telecommunications company to boost its brand power in the country, where it already caters for more than 200million customers.

PROFITS SOAR Samsung said it expects third quarter profit to have grown 5.6 per cent, despite the global recall of Galaxy Note 7 phones.

The South Korean firm said that the performance at its component businesses helped offset the cost of the recall, which was triggered due to a battery fault.

PETROL FEARS Drivers will be hit by rising fuel prices after the slump in the value of sterling, a motoring organisation warned.
Garo Yegnukian, a member of the opposition Founding Parliament in pre-trial detention on charges of aiding and abetting in the July seizure of a Yerevan police station and the taking of hostages, says he will start a hunger strike tomorrow to protest in inhumane conditions of his detention and the trumped-up charges levied against him.

Yegnukians lawyer, Tigran Hayrapetyan, told Hetq that his clients health is suffering and that a hunger strike is ill-advised.

Yegnukian is also protesting the fact that a Yerevan judge recently denied him bail and extended his detention by two months. (Yegnukian has already spent two months behind bars awaiting trial.)

Yegnukian was denied a visit by his children before they left to continue their education overseas. He was also denied a visit by his mother who recently arrived from the United States.

Hayrapetyan also told Hetq that the court refused to allow the USA consul to be present at the bail hearing and submit a petition to release Yegnukian on bail.

Garo Yegnkian, born in Armenia to repatriate parents from Bulgaria, emigrated to US in 1973 and repatriated back to Armenia in 2009 with his family.
Hopes that the cheaper pound will boost UK exports were dealt a blow today as official figures showed Britain's trade deficit widening by 2.5billion in August.

The Office for National Statistics said the deficit on trade in goods and services reached 4.7billion in August 2016.

While imports increased by 2.6billion, exports only rose by 100million  although optimists would point out that weaker sterling exchange rates might not have had chance to make an impact by then.

Import-exports: Britain's trade deficit widened by 2.5billion in August

Sterling has fallen to fresh three-decade lows this week to trade near $1.242 against the US dollar and 1.117 against the euro today.

Theoretically, a weaker pound should make British goods less expensive and more competitive on the international stage.

Britains service sector saw its trade surplus rose by 100million to 7.4billion in August, with exports estimated to have hit 19.3billion. The service sectors trade surplus reached 7.4billion in August, an increase of 100million with exports estimated to have reached 19.3billion.

Good exports were backed by a 300million rise in material manufacturers and rises in chemicals and aircraft exports. But the figures were dragged down by a 300million fall in ship exports and a 200million fall in oil exports in August.

There was a 0.6 per cent fall in goods exports to the EU to 12.4billion whereas EU imports climbed 5.1 per cent to 20.8billion.

The ONS said that while export prices grew faster at 0.7 per cent than imports at 0.1 percent in August this was a delayed reaction from July's import price rise, saying that it was unclear whether sterling depreciation had an effect.

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: Augusts trade deficit came in at 4.7billion, which was well above the average of the past year. The extreme volatility and large revisions (the July deficit was revised from 4.5billion to 2.2billion) mean that the trade data must be interpreted with extreme caution.

'But one tentative message from the recent data is that exporters appear to have used the weaker pound as cover to raise their sterling prices. This may explain why there is little evidence of any benefit in the output data.
Kantsasar, the only Armenian newspaper in war-torn Aleppo, is still being published.

Zarmig Chilaposhyan-Poghigian, Kantsasar's editor, says that the staff will do all that it can to see that it survives despite the war raging in the city. The paper publishes 600 copies per edition and has 19,000 readers on-line.

Electricity in Aleppo comes and goes; only a few hours a day. When its off, people cant read the on-line edition. Zarmig says that many get their news from it.

The editor says that civilian residents are being terrorized daily and are fighting to survive. Zarmig tells Hetq that for the past week terrorist factions have been shelling civilian areas. Armenian causalities have risen of late, given that the Armenian neighborhoods are close to the areas held by the armed groups.

In the past five years, according to Zarmig, the Armenian population of Aleppo has seen 200 dead and as many wounded. The editor says that most died while serving in the Syrian army and others while defending Armenian neighborhoods. Others have fallen victim to indiscriminate shelling. Some have been kidnapped and no information as to their plight is available.

Zarmig says that 8,000-10,000 Armenians remain in Aleppo. This is an unofficial number.

Conditions on the ground change daily. We are living in a war zone. Previously it was relatively peaceful and the desire to emigrate had lessened. This week things got unexpectedly worse due to reasons we all know. The Syrian Army has made advances and the armed groups are doing all to create chaos in the civilian populace. They have started to shell them. Thus, these numbers are not static, says Zarmig.

The editor says that Aleppo Armenians are in need of all types of assistance.

The authorities in Armenia are trying to coordinate these steps with local organizations. In a war situation, it is assumed that such measures must be coordinated to see what the needs are, and not to merely heed statements in the press, says Zarmig, reflecting on the work of the press.

Zarmig says that the media sometimes sows chaos and publishes statistics or opinions without verification. Random statements and opinions published on-line just make the already difficult situation of Aleppo Armenians worse, says the Kantsasar editor.

Another 100 Syrian-Armenians to be relocated to Armenia

Between 2015 and 2016, some 250 Syrian-Armenians came to Armenia through the auspices of the Aleppo Patriotic-Benevolent NGO. Another 100 are scheduled to arrive by November. Founded in 2015, 5,615 Syrian-Armenians (1,640 families) have registered for aid. Aleppo NGO Director Hayasa Tahmazian told Hetq that they receive financial support from benefactors. The parish council of the St. Kevork Armenian Church in Huston, Texas, has purchased 160 airplane tickets for Syrian-Armenians to come to Armenia.

We fled with the clothes on our back

Raffi Simonian, a barber from Aleppo who arrived in Yerevan a little over three months ago, says that the number one priority must be to save those remaining in Syria.

We fled with the clothes on our back, says Raffi, who made it to Yerevan with help from a friend.

Raffis three brothers and mother are in Aleppo. They want to come to Armenia. Raffi says that the Armenian government must take care of Aleppo Armenians. It has to build houses for them, he says.

They have to find work, in order not to beg. They have to eat. Im not saying they have to eat meat every day. One day macaroni, the next, something else. The important thing is to be self-sufficient, says the barber from Aleppo.

The only solution, according to Raffi, is that Turkey collapses so that Syria can be at peace.

They all want to come, but they have no money

He says that they all want to come to Armenia, but they have no money. A bit later he says that only the wealthy are able not to want to relocate since they are concerned about their assets.

Bedros Kirazian and his family came to Armenia from Aleppo four years ago. He now sells spices and condiments in Yerevan.

His brother, nieces and friends remain in Aleppo. Bedros speaks to them often. Due to the noise of the shelling, they havent slept for the past month. A rocket fell next to our house in Nor Kyugh this week, Bedros says.

There, everyone has a house. They can somehow get by sitting at home. Now, if they come here [Armenia], and they all want to, there must be work and housing. If someone comes without money, how can they pay rent here and live if they dont work. The government is doing nothing to help, says Bedros.

On October 5, the Armenian foreign ministrys Facebook page posted photos about the second humanitarian airlift (a Russian airplane) to Syria. The first airlift occurred on October 4. The post stated that Vardan Magaryan, the Armenian presidential chief of staff, and Ivan Volinkin, the Russian Ambassador to Armenia, were onboard the plane. There was a photo of them standing next to the plane.

Talking about this assistance, Bedros Kirazian stresses that the main objective is to get Armenians out of the war zone. He says if the plane is to return empty, couldnt it bring a few families to Armenia.

Bedros says that people will come hopping on one leg, just as long as they are relocated somewhere safe. It doesnt have to be Armenia, he says.

A solution? The time has come for them to leave. It will only get worse. Every day there are two or three killed, Bedros sighs.

Photo: sayyidali.com
Humana Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health and well-being company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail, Group and Specialty, and Healthcare Services. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It also has a contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition prescription drug plan program; and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and long-term support services benefits. In addition, the company provides commercial fully insured medical and specialty health insurance benefits comprising dental, vision, and other supplemental health benefits; and administrative services only products to individuals and employer groups, as well as military services, such as TRICARE T2017 East Region contract. Further, it offers pharmacy solutions, provider services, and home solutions services, such as home health and other services to its health plan members, as well as to third parties. As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately 17 million members in medical benefit plans, as well as approximately 5 million members in specialty products. Humana Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
During the week beginning Sunday, December 12, 1841, the weather in Pelham was unseasonably warm and beautiful. At the time, about 790 people lived in Pelham, with most living on City Island and the adjacent mainland. For nearly five days, Pelham residents basked in the lovely warm weather  that is, until Thursday, December 16. That day, temperatures in the region began to plunge and a gale began to blow.





As the gale grew in force, one of the regular steamships that ran between New York City and New Haven, the Belle, loaded passengers in New York Harbor. The Belle was a new steamship purchased (and perhaps built) during the spring of 1841. It was among a group of steamships operating along the corridor between New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, seeking to apply competitive pressure to the relentless railroads that were expanding along the same route on the mainland.









Despite the gale, the Belle departed New York City at 4:00 p.m. and made its way up the East River past Hell Gate into Long Island Sound. As the steamship chugged along near Throggs Neck, the storm raged with such violence that Captain Peck decided that the ship needed to find a safer location and anchor.





Captain Peck maneuvered the steamship between City Island and Hart Island, then part of Pelham. He hoped the ship would be somewhat protected on the lee side of Hart Island. At about 6:00 p.m., Captain Peck dropped anchor there to wait out the storm. At about this time, the gale intensified and a brutal snowstorm began to pelt Pelham and the surrounding region.





Over the next few hours, the rough waters pounded the Belle. At about 10:00 p.m. it was discovered that the waters were so rough that the anchor had begun to drag and the steamship was no longer secure. Captain Peck and his crew raised anchor and recast it, but the waters were so rough that the anchor cable snapped. The crew quickly dropped a second anchor, but its cable soon snapped as well. Now in full crisis mode, the Captain and crew fired up the steam engine to maneuver the steamship under power. Within minutes, however, all was lost. According to an eyewitness account attributed to a passenger on the Belle that night: owing to the violence of the wind and the roughness of the sea, the tiller ropes gave way, and the boat was driven at the mercy of the winds, & went ashore at half past ten. She continued to withstand the most furious sea I ever witnessed until half past one, when she sprung a leak, and soon filled with water.





To their credit, Captain Peck and his crew kept their cool and successfully evacuated all passengers from the steamship. They also offloaded freight on the ship. The passengers passed the night on City Island where, according to a number of accounts, they were most uncomfortable. The following day, the ship American Eagle picked up the passengers on City Island and returned them to New York City with few happy memories of the time they spent on that treacherous night in our little Town of Pelham.









Steamship Wreck Much Like the One that Happened

on City Island in Pelham on December 16, 1841. Though

Research Has Not Revealed an Image of the Steamship

Belle, This Currier and Ives Print Depicts a Similar Wreck

of the Steamship Arctic that Occurred in 1854.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.





* * * * *





Below is the text of a number of articles published in 1841 about the wreck of the steamship Belle in Peham waters. Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.





The Storm.  We mentioned yesterday that the Steamboat Belle, bound to New Haven, had been driven ashore during the severe storm on Thursday night. When the boat was near Throgs Point [sic], the storm raged with such violence that her commander deemed it prudent to anchor.  The storm, however, increased, and the boat dragged her anchors, and finally went ashore on City Island, and soon filled with water. The passengers were landed in safety, and returned to this city in the American Eagle, which was despatched [sic] to their relief. The Belle is owned by Captain Peck and some citizens of New York, and was purchased last spring for $50,000, and, it is said, she is not insured.





The following is communicated by a passenger: -- We left New York at four and came to anchor under the lee of Harts Island about six, on account of the violence of the storm. About ten it was discovered that the anchor dragged, and it was raised to cast in a new place. The cable soon parted, as did that of the second anchor. The machinery was then set in motion, but owing to the violence of the wind and the roughness of the sea, the tiller ropes gave way, and the boat was driven at the mercy of the winds, & went ashore at half past ten. She continued to withstand the most furious sea I ever witnessed until half past one, when she sprung a leak, and soon filled with water.





During the whole time the Captain acted with great coolness and discretion, and the crew with promptitude and vigor.  N. Y. Com. Adv. 18th inst.









THE STORM  THE MAILS. ALBANY, Dec. 20.  The snow storm of Thursday and Friday last, seems to have been one of the most severe and extensive storms on record. In all directions the usual avenues of communication have been blocked up, and for several days we have suffered in this city from an almost universal dearth of news. Thus, up to seven oclock this morning, we had nothing later from New York than the papers of the Wednesday evening previous  while from the west our latest Buffalo dates were only up to Tuesday, and Rochester of Wednesday. The eastern mails, however, fared rather better: those from Boston having been delayed but a few hours, while the Hartford papers brought us our earliest advices from the south.





The steamer De Witt Clinton, which left New York with passengers and the mails on Thursday evening, met the storm in Newburgh bay, and was compelled by its violence to anchor and remain there during the night of Thursday, and the greater part of the following day.





The land mail from Hudson which left that city on Saturday morning, and was due here the same evening, did not reach here until the afternoon of Sunday; the snowdrifts along the road rendering them almost impassable.





On the west side of the river similar obstacles delayed the Catskill mail until late at night, the driver being compelled to dig a road through the snow.





The steamboat North America, which left New York on Saturday afternoon, got up to Catskill yesterday. We are indebted to Mr. ALFRED DOUGLASS, who came up in the N. A., for a copy of the New York American of Saturday, in advance of the mail.





The steamboat BELLE, which left New York for New Haven on Thursday afternoon, went ashore at about 10 oclock at night on City Island, about 15 miles from New York, and having sprung a leak, soon filled with water. The passengers, crew, &c., were all safely landed on the island, where they passed the night not very comfortably, and returned next day to New York.





At Boston the storm commenced about 10 oclock on Thursday night, and raged with tremendous violence throughout that night and the next day. The steamer Acadia, which sailed for Liverpool on Thursday afternoon, doubtless encountered the full fury of the gale when off the coast the same night. The ship Mohawk went ashore in the midst of the storm on Friday at Point Alderton. It is supposed that she will be a total loss. Two large schooners are reported ashore on ThompsonsIsland. The next mails will doubtless bring us some sad tidings of disasters on the coast.  Daily Adv.









GALE IN THIS PORT.





A severe blow was experienced here on Thursday night, which continued throughout yesterday and was still blowing very fresh last evening. It is to be feared that some disasters have occurred on the coast.





Steamer Charter Oak arrived yester-morning, reports the steamer Belle is ashore on City Island. From appearances it was supposed that she had dragged her anchors, and gone ashore in the gale. The B. left here on Thursday afternoon for New-Haven.





Ships Echo, Vicksburg, and Clarissa Andrews, a brig and a topsail schooner, all bound out, were anchored off the Quarantine; during the night they all dragged their anchors. The Vicksburg, at noon yesterday, was close in with the beach, with both anchors out ahead.









MISFORTUNE OF THE STEAMBOAT BELLE.  The steamboat Belle left this city on Friday evening for New Haven, but encountering tempestuous weather, the commander, Captain Peck, anchored at a place in the Sound, under the lee of Harts Island, intending to ride out the storm, but its violence increasing, the boat dragged anchor. The machinery was then set in motion, but the tiller ropes gave way, and the boat being at the mercy of the wind and sea, was driven aground at City Island, where she sprung a leak. The passengers were safely landed, as well as the crew, and the freight was saved.









WINTER WEATHER.  We have it now. After four or five days of mild, beautiful, but unseasonable weather, we yesterday experienced a touch of real winter weather. Our city is again covered with snow.





As a precursor to the above, the wind blew through the previous night, as if the wind of the whole world had been bottled up to be used for the exclusive benefit of this city. What damage has been done on our coast, we have not yet heard.





We understand that the steamers Massachusetts and New Haven, hence each went ashore on Hog island, and the Belle on City Island. Her passengers were taken off by the American Eagle, and brought to that city. Several vessels in the harbor dragged their anchors. Among the number were steamships Echo, Vicksburg, and Clarissa Andrews.





No steamers left the city yesterday for Albany.









.

Labels: 1841, Accident, City Island, Hart Island, Long Island Sound, Steamship, Steamship Belle, Storm, Transportation, Windstorm
First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Specialty Insurance segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services. This segment also provides closing and/or escrow services; products, services, and solutions to mitigate risk or otherwise facilitate real estate transactions; and appraisals and other valuation-related products and services, lien release and document custodial services, warehouse lending services, default-related products and services, mortgage subservicing, and related products and services, as well as banking, trust, and wealth management services. In addition, it accommodates tax-deferred exchanges of real estate; and maintains, manages, and provides access to title plant data and records. This segment offers its products through a network of direct operations and agents in 49 states and in the District of Columbia, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, and internationally. The Specialty Insurance segment provides property and casualty insurance comprising coverage to residential homeowners and renters for liability losses and typical hazards, such as fire, theft, vandalism, and other types of property damage. It also offers residential service contracts that cover residential systems, such as heating and air conditioning systems, and appliances against failures that occur as the result of normal usage during the coverage period. First American Financial Corporation was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.
Everest Re Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, and internationally. The company operates through Reinsurance Operations and Insurance Operations segments. The Reinsurance Operations segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Insurance Operations segment writes property and casualty insurance directly, as well as through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents in Bermuda, Canada, Europe, South America, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The company also provides treaty and facultative reinsurance products; admitted and non-admitted insurance products; and property and casualty reinsurance and insurance coverages, including marine, aviation, surety, errors and omissions liability, directors' and officers' liability, medical malpractice, mortgage reinsurance, other specialty lines, accident and health, and workers' compensation products. In addition, it offers commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers, surplus lines brokers, and program administrators. Everest Re Group, Ltd. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
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Grand Champion Milking Shorthorn Show

For the second time in a row, Cates Ruben Tulsa-Time-EXP took Grand Champion honors at the International Milking Shorthorn Show. After an emotional speech and tribute to his father, Judge Topp wasted no time selecting his champion. Tulsa-Time was bred and owned by Peter Cate of Warren, N.H.

It was the first time for 10-year-old Ashley Brandel of Lake Mills, Wis., to walk across the colored shavings at World Dairy Expo, and she could not have had a better first year. Maple Fudge of 12 Oaks, owned with her cousin Carley Krull, was presented with the Grand Champion banner at the International Junior Milking Shorthorn Show.

I worked with my family as a team, Brandel said as she recapped on her exciting day. She is currently planning the perfect spot in her house for her new trophies and banners. When asked how it will feel walking underneath the spotlight at the Supreme Champion Junior Show, an honor that many juniors never have the chance to experience, Brandel humbly said, Im nervous, but Im excited for Saturday.

In the Heifer Show, Heavenly Zippy, owned by Brett Groebner of Heavenly Show Cattle, Monroe, Wis., was named Junior Champion of both the Open and Junior Shows. The winning Spring Yearling Heifer, Buckeye Knoll Logic Precious, owned by Sarah Rhoades from Greenville, Ohio, was presented with Reserve Junior Champion honors of both shows as well.

Premier Breeder honors went to Innisfall Herd owned by Stuart Rowe, Davis, Calif., while Laxy M Farm LLC owned by Michael and Herman Maier of Stitzer, Wis., took home Premier Exhibitor honors.

Return to Hoard's at Expo

Taylor Leach

Taylor Leach grew up on her familys dairy farm in Linwood, Kansas. Leach graduated with an associates degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College and now attends Oklahoma State University, majoring in animal science and agriculture communications. On campus, she is a member of the dairy club and also works on the university's dairy farm. Leach was the 2016 Hoards Dairyman summer editorial intern.
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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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Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, and international news to media organizations, professional, and news consumers through news agency and industry events. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation is a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited.
ChannelAdvisor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's SaaS is a cloud platform that helps brands and retailers to improve their e-commerce operations, expand to new channels, and grow sales. Its suite of solutions includes various platform modules, including Marketplaces module that connects customers to third-party marketplaces, and allows brands and distributors to manage purchase orders, shipment notifications, stock quantities, and invoices for multiple retail dropship partners; Digital Marketing module that creates, manages, and evaluates advertising using a variety of ad formats across multiple channels; Shoppable Media module that allows brands to provide web visitors to purchase using dynamic links to in-stock retail product pages or carts, or with information on where products can be purchased from local retail stores; and Brand Analytics module, which helps brands for e-commerce channels with actionable insights into how products are performing across thousands of retailer websites and marketplaces. Its customers include online businesses of brands and retailers, as well as advertising agencies that use its solutions on behalf of their clients. The company was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina.
The Boeing Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of airplanes and commands more than 50% of the market in some channels and categories. The company and its family of subsidiaries design, develops, manufacture, sell, service, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and related services worldwide. The company operates through four segments including Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital providing products and services to end-users in 150 countries.

Boeing got its start in 1910 when William E. Boeing developed a love for aircraft. Soon after he takes his first plane ride which leads him to build a hangar and begin construction of his first plane. The onset of WWI helped spur the companys growth but business was cut drastically in its wake. The start of WWII was another milestone for the company and one that led to its current position of dominance. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing employs over 140,000 people in 65 countries making it one of the most diverse employers on the planet.

The Commercial Airplanes segment is built around the iconic 7-series which includes the 737, 747, and 787. The segment provides commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as fleet support services for regional, national, and international air carriers and logistics and freight companies. In terms of global volume, the company estimates about 90% of all air freight is carried aboard one of its jets. This segment also includes the Dreamliner family of planes. The Dreamliner is a game-changing airplane for many carriers as it opens up the potential for new one-stop destinations because of its capacity and range.

The Defense, Space & Security segment develops and manufactures a range of systems including manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems for governments. Among the many iconic brands within this segment are the AH-64 Apache, Air Force One, B-52, C-17 Globemaster, Chinook, F/A-18, and the V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft used by the Marines.

The Global Services segment offers a range of products and services that include supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics to its commercial and defense customers.

Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles.
After a memorable 50 years of World Dairy Expo, a new display featuring some of the most historic photos, banners, and trophies line the walls in the upper half of New Holland Pavilion barn one.

The display, which celebrates some of the most iconic moments of World Dairy Expo history, was presented to the public and allows attendants to experience pieces of Expo from 1967 to present day. The timeline effect of the display lets visitors travel through time back to the early years of Expos beginning.

As one enters the display area, they are greeted with some of the most recent history from World Dairy Expo. Iconic pictures from the showring of famous cows and individuals line the walls of the display, most with a brief historic description of the event.

Visitors from across the world have passed through the exhibit pointing out some of their favorite memories over the years. For many, it has brought up old stories from Expos past and has allowed them to talk about the changes that have occurred during the past half-century.

Trophies from years before are also on display as exhibitors from both past and present marvel over their beauty. As attendants make their way through the display, conversations starting with Remember when can be heard as they share some of their favorite Expo memories.

Even those who have never been to World Dairy Expo before can appreciate the museum effect of the display.

This is my first World Dairy Expo, and this is outstanding! said Savannah Fredrick, Ontario. Fredrick and her husband have been planning their first trip to World Dairy Expo for months and were mesmerized by historic display.

The couple sat in the theater section of the display, watching the short video which covered some of World Dairy Expos most memorable moments. The video highlights moments such as the beginning of milk testing cattle to the introduction of the first fitting contest.

Once visitors made their way through the display, whispers of appraisal could be heard as they continued on to the cattle barns to partake in some of the history that will be made this week.



Return to Hoard's at Expo

Taylor Leach
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
ALLETE, Inc. operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. The company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 145,000 retail customers and 15 non-affiliated municipal customers. It also owns and maintains electric transmission assets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. In addition, the company focuses on developing, acquiring, and operating clean and renewable energy projects; and owns and operates approximately 1,000 megawatts of wind energy generation facility. Further, it is involved in the coal mining operations in North Dakota; and real estate investment activities in Florida. The company owns and operates 158 substations with a total capacity of 10,066 megavolt amperes. It serves taconite mining, paper, pulp and secondary wood products, pipeline, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Minnesota Power, Inc. and changed its name to ALLETE, Inc. in May 2001. ALLETE, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States. The company's Retail Banking segment offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, auto loans, credit cards, education loans, and personal and small business loans and lines of credit; and brokerage, insurance, and investment and cash management services. This segment serves consumer and small business customers through a network of branches, ATMs, call centers, and online and mobile banking channels. Its Corporate & Institutional Banking segment provides secured and unsecured loans, letters of credit, and equipment leases; cash and investment management services, receivables and disbursement management services, funds transfer services, international payment services, and access to online/mobile information management and reporting; foreign exchange, derivatives, fixed income, securities underwriting, loan syndications, and mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets advisory related services; and commercial loan servicing and technology solutions. It serves mid-sized and large corporations, and government and not-for-profit entities. The company's Asset Management Group segment offers investment and retirement planning, customized investment management, credit and cash management solutions, and trust management and administration services for high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals, and their families; and multi-generational family planning services for ultra high net worth individuals and their families. It also provides outsourced chief investment officer, custody, private real estate, cash and fixed income client solutions, and fiduciary retirement advisory services for institutional clients. The company has 2,591 branches and 9,502 ATMs. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Judge Chris Hill could not help but show his excitement as he reached out to tap Brown Heaven Glenn Fantasy on the head as the winning Aged Cow at the International Brown Swiss Show. After sorting through an impressive 371 animals, Judge Hill made sure to get the crowd as excited as he was as he chose his overall winner. Fantasy, no stranger to winning at Expo, is owned by Ferme Brown Heaven of Vercheres, Quebec.

Like a star athlete, Fantasy knows how to work her way around the ring with style and grace. Just last year, she was gearing up to win her first Grand Champion title at World Dairy Expo. Without missing a beat, Fantasy took away Grand Champion honors for the second year in a row at this prestigious show

Meanwhile, Cutting Edge T Delilah, the winning Senior 3-Year-Old, was presented with the Reserve Grand Champion honors as well as Grand Champion of the Junior Show. The Intermediate Champion of both the Open and Junior shows is owned by Kyle Barton of Ancramdale, N.Y.

Like Fantasy, Delilah is also no stranger to Grand Champion honors. In 2015, she and Barton took home the Grand Champion title, and they will both be walking underneath the spotlight for the second time at the Supreme Champion of the Junior Show.

In the Heifer Show, North Lane Braid Present-ET, owned by Leslie and Linda Bruchey of Westminster, Md., was named Junior Champion and was the winner of the Winter Yearling Heifer class. Top Acres Braiden Wiza-ET was named Reserve Junior Champion and is owned by Lindsey Rucks of Okeechobee, Fla.

Meanwhile in the Junior Show, Blue Diamond Parker Gia-Et, owned by Elisabeth and Elise Regusci of Modesto, Calif., took home the Junior Champion honors. She was also the winning Spring Heifer, which was the largest class of the day. The first Fall Heifer, Siegerts Braiden Sheena, owned by Coltin, Claytin, Mady, and Morgan Wingert of Harmony, Minn., was named Reserve Junior Champion.

Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor honors went to Ken Main and Peter Vail of Copake N.Y.

Youth Show Champions



Return to Hoard's at Expo

Taylor Leach
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.
The following companies are subsidiares of LyondellBasell Industries: A. Schulman, A. Schulman 's-Gravendeel B.V., A. Schulman AG, A. Schulman Asia Limited, A. Schulman Belgium BVBA, A. Schulman Canada Ltd., A. Schulman Castellon S.L., A. Schulman Europe GmbH & Co. KG, A. Schulman Europe International B.V., A. Schulman Europe Verwaltungs GmbH, A. Schulman Gainsborough Ltd, A. Schulman GmbH, A. Schulman GmbH (Austrian Branch), A. Schulman Holding Company France S.A.S., A. Schulman Holdings (France) S.A.S., A. Schulman Holdings S.a.r.l., A. Schulman Inc., A. Schulman Inc. Limited, A. Schulman International Inc., A. Schulman International Services BVBA, A. Schulman Ireland Limited, A. Schulman Magyarorszag Kereskedelmi Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, A. Schulman Nordic AB, A. Schulman Plastics (Branch), A. Schulman Plastics (Dongguan) Ltd., A. Schulman Plastics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., A. Schulman Plastics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., A. Schulman Plastics BVBA, A. Schulman Plastics India Private Limited, A. Schulman Plastics PTY. LTD., A. Schulman Plastics S.r.l., A. Schulman Plastics SAS, A. Schulman Plastics bvba Bornem Sucursala Cluj-Napoca, A. Schulman Plastics organizacni slozka, A. Schulman Plastk Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, A. Schulman Plasticos do Brasil Ltda., A. Schulman Polska Sp. z o.o., A. Schulman Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, A. Schulman S.A.S., A. Schulman S.a.r.l., A. Schulman Thermoplastic Compounds Limited, A. Schulman Thermoplastic Compounds Sdn Bhd, A. Schulman de Mexico S.A. de C.V., A. Schulman del Peru S.A.C., A.Schulman Poznan Sp. Z o.o., ARCO Chemical, AS Global Holdings Inc., AS Mex Hold S.A. de C.V., AS Worldwide LLC, AS Worldwide LLC & Cie S.C.S., ASI Akron Land Co., ASI Employment S.A. de C.V., ASI Investments Holding Co., Al Waha Petrochemical Company, BKV Beteiligungs- und Kunststoffverwertungs-gesellschaft mbH, BMC Deutschland GmbH, BMC Dongguan Limited, BMC Far East Limited, BMC TetraDURTurkey Plastik Hammadde Kompozit Uretim Sanayi ve Ticaret Limted Sirketi, Basell (Thailand) Holdings B.V., Basell Advanced Polyolefins (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Basell Advanced Polyolefins (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Basell Advanced Polyolefins (Thailand) Company Ltd., Basell Arabie Investissements SAS, Basell Asia Pacific Limited, Basell Bayreuth Chemie GmbH, Basell Benelux B.V., Basell Chemie Koln GmbH, Basell Europe Holdings B.V., Basell Germany Holdings GmbH, Basell Holdings Middle East GmbH, Basell Iberica Poliolefinas Holdings S.L., Basell International Holdings B.V., Basell International Trading FZE, Basell Italia S.r.l, Basell Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Basell Moyen Orient Investissements SAS, Basell North America Inc., Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. Z.o.o., Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sprzedaz Sp. Z.o.o., Basell Poliolefinas Comercial Espagnola S.L., Basell Poliolefinas Iberica S.L., Basell Poliolefinas Ltda., Basell Poliolefinas S. de R.L. de C.V., Basell Poliolefine Italia S.r.l., Basell Polyolefin Istanbul Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Basell Polyolefine GmbH, Basell Polyolefines France S.A.S., Basell Polyolefins Company BVBA, Basell Polyolefins India Private Limited, Basell Polyolefins Korea Ltd., Basell Polyolefins UK Limited, Basell Sales & Marketing Company B.V., Basell Service Company B.V., Basell Slovakia s.r.o., Basell Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Basell UK Holdings Limited, Basell UK Ltd., Brindisi Servizi Generali S.c.a.r.l., Bulk Molding Compounds Inc., Bulk Molding Compounds Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bulk Molding Compounds do Brasil Industria de Plasticos Reforcados Ltda., Citadel Brazil Holdings LLC, Citadel Intermediate Holdings LLC, Citadel Plastics Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Citadel Plastics Holdings Inc., Citadel Plastics Mexico Holdings LLC, Citadel Plastics Netherlands Holdings LLC, Compagnie Petrochimique de Berre SAS, Compagnie de Distribution des Hydrocarbures SAS, EMS Holding Ltd., EPS Ethylen-Pipeline-Sud Geschaftsfuhrungs GmbH, EPS Ethylen-Pipeline-Sud GmbH & Co. KG, Elian S.A.S., Equistar Bayport LLC, Equistar Chemicals LP, Equistar GP LLC, Equistar LP LLC, Equistar Mont Belvieu Corporation, GuangZhou Basell Advanced Polyolefins Co. Ltd., HGGC Citadel Plastics Holdings Inc., HGGC Citadel Plastics Intermediate Holdings Inc., HMC Polymers Company Limited, HPC Holdings LLC, Hadlock Plastics LLC, Houston Refining LP, I.F.M. S.c.a.r.l., ICO Europe C.V., ICO Holdings LLC, ICO Holdings New Zealand Limited, ICO Petrochemical Cayman Islands, ICO Polymers Cayman Islands, Indelpro S.A. de C.V., Infraserv GmbH & Co. Hochst KG, Inmobiliaria Satchmo S. de R.L. de C.V., Innovacion Y Desarrollo en Materiales Avanzados A.C., J.R. Courtenay (N.Z.) Limited, LPI Holding Company, LYB (Barbados) SRL, LYB Advanced Polymer Solutions Ireland Limited, LYB Americas Finance Company LLC, LYB Equistar Holdings LLC, LYB Export Holdings Limited, LYB Exports Inc., LYB Finance Company B.V., LYB International Finance B.V., LYB International Finance II B.V., LYB International Finance III LLC, LYB Ireland 2 Limited, LYB Ireland Limited, LYB La Porte Hyperzone LLC, LYB Luxembourg S.a r.l., LYB Matrixx Holdings Inc., LYB Receivables LLC, LYB Trading Company B.V., LYB Treasury Services Ltd., Limited Liability Company "LyondellBasell Polyolefins", Limited Liability Company A. Schulman, Lucent Polymers Inc., Lyondell Asia Holdings Limited, Lyondell Centennial Corp., Lyondell Chemical Company, Lyondell Chemical Europe Inc., Lyondell Chemical Overseas Services Inc., Lyondell Chemical Products Europe LLC, Lyondell Chemical Properties L.P., Lyondell Chemical Technology 1 Inc., Lyondell Chemical Technology L.P., Lyondell Chemical Technology Management Inc., Lyondell Chemie (PO-11) B.V., Lyondell Chemie (POSM) B.V., Lyondell Chemie Nederland B.V., Lyondell Chimie France SAS, Lyondell China Holdings Limited, Lyondell Greater China Holdings Limited, Lyondell Greater China Ltd., Lyondell Greater China Trading Limited, Lyondell Japan Inc., Lyondell PO-11 C.V., Lyondell POJVGP LLC, Lyondell POJVLP LLC, Lyondell POTechGP Inc., Lyondell POTechLP Inc., Lyondell Refining Company LLC, Lyondell Refining I LLC, Lyondell South Asia Pte Ltd, LyondellBasell Acetyls Holdco LLC, LyondellBasell Acetyls LLC, LyondellBasell Advanced Polyolefins Mexico S.A. de C.V., LyondellBasell Australia (Holdings) Pty Ltd, LyondellBasell Australia Pty Ltd, LyondellBasell Brasil Ltda., LyondellBasell Canada Inc., LyondellBasell Central Europe Kft., LyondellBasell China Holdings B.V., LyondellBasell Circular Economy B.V., LyondellBasell Covestro Manufacturing Maasvlakte V.O.F., LyondellBasell Egypt LLC, LyondellBasell F&F Holdco LLC, LyondellBasell Finance Company, LyondellBasell Holdings France SAS, LyondellBasell Hungary Kft, LyondellBasell Industries Holdings B.V., LyondellBasell Industries N.V., LyondellBasell Investment LLC, LyondellBasell Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., LyondellBasell Polyolefin (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., LyondellBasell Services France S.A.S., LyondellBasell Subholdings B.V., LyondellBasell Taiwan Co. Ltd., LyondellBasell Transportation Company LLC, Millennium Chemicals, Natpet Schulman Specialty Plastic Compounds, Ningbo ZRCC Lyondell Chemical Co. Ltd., Ningbo ZRCC Lyondell Chemical Marketing Co. Ltd., OE Insurance Ltd, Oil Casualty Insurance Ltd., Oil Insurance Limited, PD Glycol LP, PO JV LP, PO Offtake LP, POSM II Limited Partnership L.P., POSM II Properties Partnership LLC, PT A.Schulman Plastics, PT ASchulman Plastics Commercial, PTT Chemical PCL, Poly Pacific Polymers Sdn. Bhd., Poly Pacific Pty. Ltd., PolyMirae Co. Ltd., Premix Holding Company, Premix Inc., Prime Colorants Inc., QCP B.V., QCP Holding B.V., QCP IP B.V., Quantum Composites Inc., RIGK GmbH Gesellschaft zur Ruckfuhrung industrieller and gewerblicher Kunstoffverpackungen mbH, Rayong Olefins Co. Ltd., Rexene - LDPE and PP Businesses, SCG ICO Polymers Company Limited, SJS Plastiblends, San Jacinto Rail Limited, Saudi Ethylene & Polyethylene Company, Saudi Polyolefins Company, Sociedad Espanola De Materiales Plasticos Semap S.A., Societe des Stockages Petroliers du Rhone SA, Solvay Engineered Polymers, Surplast S.A., TRV Thermische Ruckstandsverwertung GmbH & Co. KG, TRV Thermische Ruckstandsverwertung Verwaltungs-GmbH, Technology JV LP, The Matrixx Group Incorporated, ULSAN PP Co. Ltd., YNCORIS GmbH & Co. KG, Zylog Plastalloys, and tetra-DUR Kunststoff-Produktion GmbH.

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BlackRock, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks. It also provides global risk management and advisory services. The firm manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. It also launches and manages open-end and closed-end mutual funds, offshore funds, unit trusts, and alternative investment vehicles including structured funds. The firm launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and real estate mutual funds. It also launches equity, fixed income, balanced, currency, commodity, and multi-asset exchange traded funds. The firm also launches and manages hedge funds. It invests in the public equity, fixed income, real estate, currency, commodity, and alternative markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, SMID-cap, large-cap, and multi-cap companies. It also invests in dividend-paying equity securities. The firm invests in investment grade municipal securities, government securities including securities issued or guaranteed by a government or a government agency or instrumentality, corporate bonds, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on bottom-up and top-down approach to make its investments. The firm employs liquidity, asset allocation, balanced, real estate, and alternative strategies to make its investments. In real estate sector, it seeks to invest in Poland and Germany. The firm benchmarks the performance of its portfolios against various S&P, Russell, Barclays, MSCI, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch indices. BlackRock, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in New York City with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts; London, United Kingdom; Gurgaon, India; Hong Kong; Greenwich, Connecticut; Princeton, New Jersey; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, District of Columbia; Toronto, Canada; Wilmington, Delaware; and San Francisco, California.
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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There was a bit of deja vu during the International Jersey Show at World Dairy Expo, as Musquie Iatola Martha-ET was named Grand Champion for the second year in a row. The 5-year-old was also named Senior Champion of the show and is owned by Shelby Ostrom of Kaukauna, Wis.

Reserve Champion and Reserve Senior Champion honors went to RRF Comerica Daisy, a 4-year-old cow owned by TJ Classic Jerseys and Reinholt Jerseys of Ansonia, Ohio. The nod for Honorable Mention Grand Champion was given to Edgebrook Tequila Madison-ET, owned by Milk Source LLC of Kaukauna, Wis. She had been named Intermediate Grand Champion earlier in the day.

Junior Champion was Lost Elm Tequila Petunia, owned by Jason Luttropp of Berlin, Wis. Reserve Junior Champion was another entry owned by Milk Source LLC, Brandervale Naughty Nostalgia.

Royalty Ridge Tequila Circus-ET was the winner of the 2016 World Dairy Expo International Jersey Futurity. She is owned by River Valley Farm, Ben, Andy, Blessing, and Grace Sauder, of Tremont, Ill.

Grand Champion of the Junior Show was Red Rock View Cari, a 4-year-old cow owned by Cora Carpenter of Darlington, Wis. Reserve Grand Champion of the Junior Show was Reich-Dale Vaden Strollin. The junior 3-year-old cow is owned by Hayden Reichard of Chambersburg, Pa.

Junior Champion of the Junior Show was Meadowridge Bang Bang Dorrie. She is owned by Michael Riebe and Alleah, Emma, and Jordyn Anderson of Cumberland, Wis. There were a total of 89 entries in the Junior Jersey Show this year.

Premier Breeder was Pleasant Nook Jerseys of Ayr, Ontario. River Valley Farm of Tremont, Ill., was the Premier Exhibitor, and the Premier Sire was Tower Vue Prime Tequila-ET. Judge Chris Lahmers of Marysville, Ohio, and his associate Phillip Topp, also of Botkins, Ohio, placed a total of 366 animals during the International Jersey Show at World Dairy Expo.

Abby Bauer

The author is an associate editor and covers animal health, dairy housing and equipment, and nutrient management. She grew up on a dairy farm near Plymouth, Wis., and previously served as a University of Wisconsin agricultural extension agent. She received a masters degree from North Carolina State University and a bachelors from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Roger Riebe Family

Roger Riebe of Cumberland, Wisconsin, was named the 75th winner of the Klussendorf Trophy, the highest recognition given to a dairy cattle showman in the United States.





The award is in memory of Arthur B. Klussendorf, considered the outstanding showman of his time and a model for all those who have followed him. Riebes selection was made by members of the Klussendorf Memorial Association, formed in 1937, at its annual meeting held earlier this week in Madison, Wis. He received the silver trophy designed by Tiffany Jewelers of New York City.





To compete at the highest level in the show game, you must be a deep pocket, outside funded organization with highly paid professional fitters. And to do this on a consistent basis the show herd must bolster by buying cattle each year . . .Well that memo never arrived on the desk of this years Klussendorf winner. With strains of Frank Sinatras My Way playing in the background, Roger Riebe has not only competed with the Big Boys, he has gone about his business and accomplished some amazing stats which would be the envy of any farm that loads up the trailer heading to Madison, Wisconsin, and Louisville, Kentucky. Roger Riebe is congratulated Riebe has had tremendous success at World Dairy Expo, winning the Premier Breeder banner four times at the International Jersey Show. In both 2014 and in 2016, Riebe won both Premier Breeder and Exhibitor banners in that heifer show. At this years 50th World Dairy Expo, the 75th Klussendorf winner also had a homebred heifer that was named Junior Champion Female. The success is also evident at the Minnesota State Fair, as his Meadow Ridge herd earned Premier Breeder 12 of the last 13 years.





At last years All American Jersey Show in Louisville, Ky., Riebe doubled the amount of blue ribbons of the next closest exhibitor and his Senior Two Year Old was the talk of the barn, winning her class and being named Reserve Intermediate Champion and Champion Bred and Owned Cow. The farm went on to win both Junior and Senior Best three females and was named Reserve Premier Breeder of the Show.





Keeping with Klussendorf selection criteria of character, sportsmanship, ability, and endeavor . . . no outside help is used in preparing the Meadow Ridge farms cattle. All foot trimming, clipping, fitting, and showing is done by the family, which stays in the barn with their cattle. Roger Riebe would certainly would give credit to his entire family for todays honor. That includes wife Darice; Rogers brother Doug; sons Mike and Mark and their spouses; and daughter Tamala. WDE, recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry, attracts more than 70,000 attendees from more than 90 countries each year.




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By Patrick Donachie

A Jamaica man was charged with attempted murder after allegedly setting fire to the apartment where he lived, according to the NYPD and the FDNY. The Red Cross responded to the scene and had to temporarily provide housing for a number of families by putting them up in nearby hotels.

The incident occurred Tuesday at about 3:30 p.m., when the FDNY responded to reports of an explosion and a fire on the third floor of 162-05 89th Ave., a six-story building near 162nd Street. The Fire Department called a second alarm at 3:53 p.m. and a total of 25 units and 106 firefighters responded.

Police said Shahed Harun, 29, who lived at the address where the incident occurred, allegedly lit something inflammatory that caused a minor explosion. Police said Haruns mother had called 911 after he threatened to set the apartment on fire.

Police charged him with attempted murder, arson and reckless endangerment.

An FDNY spokesman said three civilians had minor injuries, but refused medical attention. Harun was also injured during the explosion, according to police. One firefighter was taken to Nassau County Medical Center with a minor injury. Video taken of the fire shows smoke billowing into the air and flames emanating from an apartment.

The Red Cross Chapter for the Greater New York region responded in the aftermath of the explosion with a team comprised of volunteers, offering temporary housing as well as debit cards to help individuals procure food and clothing.

Before we even knew who would be permanently displaced, we were on scene to help them while they were outside, a Red Cross spokesman said.

There were 11 families affected by the fire, he said, and nine of those families required emergency housing. The Red Cross was able to accommodate all of the affected families in hotels near where the incident occurred, the spokesman reported.
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By Bill Parry

Three Queens lawmakers took to the steps on City Hall Thursday to demand the de Blasio administration provide realistic, effective solutions to New York Citys homelessness crisis. City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), state Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) condemned the mayors treatment of homelessness and short-sighted policies.

We have increased spending on homelessness by hundreds of millions of dollars, but have seen no results, just short-sighted proposals and ineffective strategies, Crowley said.

The mayors policy of converting commercial hotels into shelters for families is no solution for the record 60,000 homeless people in New York City, they said.

Forcing homeless families into small, unlivable rooms with no kitchens, no public transportation and no access to vital community resources is not a way to help those in need and simply trying to get back on their feet, Addabbo said. Every attempt to convert another hotel into a shelter is more proof that Mayor de Blasio and the Department of Homeless Services are not interested in providing real, long-term solution for these individuals  many of whom are disabled, children, senior citizens and veterans.

The administration responded.

Opposition to our goal of housing vulnerable New Yorkers is focused on shelters perceived imprint on property values and crime, de Blasio spokeswoman Aja Worthy-Davis said. Those are not New York values and the mayor wont be intimidated when it comes to standing up for homeless children and families.

The administration has been pushing back against formidable opposition in Maspeth where rallies have been held each weeknight for nearly two months outside a proposed shelter on 55th Road. In recent weeks the protesters have traveled to other parts of the borough in solidarity with other communities.

When they went to the Bellerose Inn on Sept. 24, DHS transported families to spend the day at the Childrens Museum of Manhattan rather than be subjected to angry protesters on their doorstep. Then the administration posted a video on social media that juxtaposed images of frightened children as adults rallied.

I was appalled by that video, that propaganda video, said Addabbo, who was at the Bellerose rally. The optics of that are so wrong. The video shows angry white people outside and people of color coming out of the shelter. The message is obvious.

The administration defended its use of the 86-second production.

Our video shows the city two sides of an important debate, de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said. The mayor wants to house homeless New Yorkers safely, and our opponents want to kick homeless kids and families to the street. If someone is ashamed of how they look in that debate, they should probably change sides.

The administration released a second video Wednesday depicting a young woman changing a newborns diaper inside the Bellerose Inn as protesters shout outside.

We didnt ask to be here, we just asked for help and this is where we got help from, LaToya Martinez said. If I didnt have this, wed be out on the streets.

Addabbo was even more insensed by the second video.

Now Im doubly appalled, he said Friday. I have never seen, in all my years, a mayor make this much effort to shame people who have a passion for their neighborhood. Id like to see the mayor expend this kind of energy on fixing his failed policy.

Peralta, whose district already has five shelters with DHS renting rooms at a sixth location, has seen the productions.

These are nothing but propagandistic videos, political tactics to see in dirty campaigns, Peralta said. It is simply unreal to say that our constituents all over Queens do not care about New Yorkers going through tough times. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our constituents are frustrated because this administration does not seek community support when, sometimes overnight, they convert hotels into homeless shelters. Lets stop this useless tactic, stop with the lies, and overhaul a system that has not worked. It is time for all stakeholders to sit down at the table and agree on a road map to put an end to the crisis.

On Friday, several elected officials in Eastern Queens announced that DHS will comply with hotel owner Harshad Patel and no longer use the Bellerose Inn and Quality Inn as housing for homeless families within the next 60 days.

Now that we have confirmed that the city will comply with his wishes, we have to work towards finding a more permanent solution to help these families, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said.

DHS would not say how this would affect its proposed shelter at the Maspeth Holiday Inn Express, which Patel also owns.

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr y@cng local.com or by phone at (718) 2604538.

Every child is a gift. Thank you @cmomnyc for making this a special day for some exceptional young New Yorkers. pic.twitter.com/UqV6M4hzuR  Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) September 24, 2016
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By Mark Hallum

State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) condemned a Fox News clip about Asian Americans which aired on the OReilly Factor Monday as racist rhetoric and called for a boycott of the network until it issued a formal apology.

Elected officials are calling the segment an affront to the Asian-American community and a rally took place at the Fox News headquarters in Midtown Manhattan Thursday attended by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing), city Comptroller Scott Stringer and other elected officials from across the city.

Jesse Watters segment of the show, Watters World, took a trip to Chinatown in Manhattan to question the Chinese community about their stance on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump while Carl Douglas Kung Fu Fighting played in the background.

Jesse Watters offensive segment on Chinatown embodies all that is wrong with Donald Trump and his supporters, Stavisky said. Not only did this so-called reporter resort to immature stereotypes, but he also produced an inaccurate impression of the Chinese-American culture. As the state senator of the 16th Senate District  55 percent of which is Asian American  I will not tolerate racist rhetoric from anyone. There was nothing comedic about Jesse Watters video. He, Bill OReilly and the Fox News Channel must apologize for disgracing the hardworking Chinese community. Until an appropriate and sincere apology is issued, I call for a boycott of Fox News. Racism must not be rewarded.

Fox News could not immediately be reached for comment.

The remarks released during the rally in Midtown showed the dismay felt by lawmakers not only originating from an Asian American background, but also those who represent the demographic depicted in the segment.

I was dismayed at the recent Watters World segment in Chinatown. The segment crossed the line, Meng said at the rally in Manhattan. This public mocking of Chinese individuals was offensive and disrespectful to Asian Americans, and it only promulgated the negative stereotypes that Asian Americans unfortunately continue to endure. Asian Americans add to the rich and diverse fabric of American life and the Asian American community should never be treated as second-class citizens for the amusement of others.

Koo said the Watters segment only added to the alienation Asian Americans may feel as perpetual foreigners.

Passing off this blatantly racist television segment as gentle fun not only validates racist stereotypes, it encourages them, Koo said. How is it, that in New York City in 2016, this is still OK? Short answer: its not, and it is unfortunate that Fox News needs to be reminded of that.

Kim also said Fox News owes the Chinese population an apology and should be boycotted if they fail to do so.

This offensive, racist segment was somehow created and approved to be broadcast into the homes of millions of people, Kim said. In passing off its demeaning stereotypes and shameful ignorance as all in good fun, it only further insults the entire Asian American community.
Q&A with PA-16 candidates Robert Matzie and Rico Elmore

Both Beaver County natives, Matzie and Elmore have expressed their interest in making Beaver County a better place in their own unique ways.
The documentary "Tyrus," about Asian-American artist Tyrus Wong, screens Saturday afternoon as part of the Asian-American Media Spotlight series on the UW-Madison campus.
The Associated Press Mosquitoes are still biting at dawn and dusk, even as weather is beginning to cool.

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By Judith McGinnis of the Times Record News

With the end of the mosquito season more than a month away, they're still breeding  and the city of Wichita Falls is still spraying.

"We've been actively spraying and pursuing the goal of reducing the population as best we can," said Susan Morris, the city's Environmental Health Administrator. "We've gotten lots complaints about how bad it is while the (high school) marching bands are out practicing in the morning. It stirs up the mosquitoes. They rest in grass at night."

There have been lots of contributing factors to the presence of what experts have identified as anopheles or marsh mosquitoes. Five inches of rain in early fall has left overgrown grass and standing water in old tires, abandoned plastic pools and low lying areas.

The city can spray only on public streets and treats standing water where there is access.

"One of the really good places they find are rain gutters," Morris said. "The gutters get full of leaves and debris and don't drain. They love to breed around gutters and doors."

Shoop's Texas Termite and Pest Control has gotten numerous calls on the mosquito boom and offers products homeowners can use themselves. The company still makes service calls to fight mosquitoes.

Owner David Shoop Jr. says the anopheles are "more aggressive."

"What the city uses can knock them down airborne. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil-dwelling bacteria used in insecticides) prevents mosquitoes from breeding in low lying areas," Shoop said. "You can get the same thing as mosquito 'dunks' (tablets that kill only mosquito larvae in water). You can mix it in water yourself and spray in on the yard."

Products are also available to put in outdoor dog water bowls and horse troughs "that won't hurt (animals)."

"Because we spray in the air, the conditions have to be just perfect. Wind and rain are factors. It has to touch mosquitoes while they're flying to kill them," Morris said. "One of the best ways to keep from being bitten is to wear long sleeves, long pants and use mosquito repellent. DEET works very well."

"Lots of people are scared of DEET and 98 percent of good repellents have DEET in it," Shoop said. "We give free repellent away to pregnant women."

As many Texans know, the solution to any mosquito problem is a change of seasons.

"What we need is a good freeze," Shoop said. "Mother Nature will take care of it."
American Red Cross

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By Judith McGinnis of the Times Record News

As Hurricane Matthew bears down on Florida, South Carolina and the East Coast, volunteers from the Wichita Falls chapter of the American Red Cross and 450 workers and logistics specialists from the Oncor service territory are ready to help.

"We have one emergency response volunteer  William Brandt  in Baton Rouge. He here left Sept. 7 and hasn't been home since," said Katrina Farmer, executive director of WFRC. "I just got a message from him to tell me he'd be leaving in the morning for Florida or South Carolina."

Other local Red Cross volunteers have been quick to step up.

"A bunch are on standby," Farmer said. "Some are ready to do 'virtual case work', something we started during the Louisiana flood. We get information from people who need help then call them back. We've been able to handle more cases more quickly."

Another group, volunteers with expertise in shelter needs, mobile feeding and casework are "ready to go to where the need is" in states hardest hit.

As part of a nationwide response to Hurricane Michael, at 6 a.m. Thursday morning, 450 Oncor crews left for Meridian, Miss., the staging point from which they will head out to Florida and the East Coast.

The effort is part of the Edison Electric Institute's mutual assistance program.

"Oncor and other electricity, power and light companies across the nation come together as part of the EEI program," said Gordon Drake, area manager for Oncor. "It's similar to our response to Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. We'll be restoring commercial and residential power lines, trimming trees."

Local residents with loved ones in the path of Hurricane Michael can stay informed by downloading the free Red Cross Emergency App which makes real time information accessible. It's available at app stores by searching for the American Red Cross, texting GETEMERGENCY to 90999 or going to redcross.org/apps.
Washington

The Obama administration is worried that insurers bailing out of the health law's markets may prompt their customers to drop out, too. So it plans to match affected consumers with remaining insurance companies.

The hope is to keep people covered, but there's concern that the government's match-making will create confusion and even some disappointed customers.

The new backstop was outlined in an administration document circulating among insurers, state regulators, and consumer groups. It also calls for reaching "discontinued consumers" with a constant stream of reminders as the law's 2017 sign-up season ramps up. Open enrollment for HealthCare.gov starts Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 31.

The insurance markets were envisioned as dynamic engines of private competition. But in many states, they have run into problems.

Some consumer advocates say this latest effort will help people retain coverage in a challenging year when premiums also are rising. Other advocates, however, worry it will cause confusion. Insurers fear a backlash from customers disappointed with reduced options. The administration says consumers have the last word on accepting any "alternate" plan they're offered.

"I'm concerned that the alternative plan will look like a 'recommended choice' by the marketplace," said Elizabeth Colvin, director of Insure Central Texas, an Austin nonprofit that helps people sign up for coverage.

"The way it is presented could be interpreted as, 'This is a plan we recommend,' or 'This is a plan we think will work for you,' or 'this is one of the better plans,'" Colvin said.

The administration said it isn't able to provide an estimate of the number of people who'll get notices about their new plans. It could range from several hundred thousand to 1 million or more, say independent experts.

Big-name insurers are leaving the market because of financial losses and nonprofit insurance co-ops are collapsing. Insurers say customers have turned out to be sicker than expected. Many younger, healthier people have stayed away, even at the risk of fines for being uninsured.

Markets such as HealthCare.gov provide subsidized private coverage for people who don't have a job-based plan. About 11 million people are currently covered.

The original idea was that competitive markets would force insurers to offer quality coverage at affordable prices. That tends to work in metro areas. But many rural communities and small cities will have just one carrier next year.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is calling for a stronger government role through the introduction of a public insurance plan.

With the markets struggling, administration officials worry that insurer exits could complicate their desire to deliver strong sign-up numbers in the president's last year. So they are leaving nothing to chance.

The administration document says affected consumers may get 20 or more reminder messages just between Nov. 21 and Dec. 15, which is the deadline for selecting coverage effective Jan. 1.

That could lead to problems if the government can't turn off the notices after a customer has picked a new plan. "Consumers panic and think something went wrong," said Colvin, the program director in Austin.

The earliest notifications will start this month. Around the second week of November, consumers whose insurers are leaving the market will get a notice that HealthCare.gov has matched them to another plan. They also could receive materials from the new insurer, including a welcome kit and a bill.

Christen Linke Young, an administration official overseeing the health care markets, stressed that consumers are under no obligation to accept the new plan.

"Under no circumstances is anyone going to be enrolled in a plan or need to pay anything without their consent," she said. "Consumers are getting an option, but they are not getting enrolled into that product without their consent."
Rap superstar Jay Z is helping shine a light on prison reform by co-producing an upcoming TV documentary about a young man who spent three years behind bars without trial for allegedly stealing a backpack.

The rapper teamed up with Harvey Weinstein to produce the six-part "TIME: The Kalief Browder Story," which airs in January on Spike TV. It uses first-person accounts, prison footage and cinematic re-creations to explore what Jay Z called a system that's "broken."

Browder was 16 when he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a backpack and sent to the Rikers Island facility in New York for three years. Browder was kept in solitary confinement for 800 days and, according to his lawyer, beaten by inmates and guards. He was never tried and was released in 2013. He killed himself last year at age 22.

Jay Z, attending a news conference Thursday with Browder's mother, the filmmakers and Weinstein, said he hoped Browder's story "inspires others and saves other lives."

In an op-ed written for The Washington Post, President Barack Obama cited Browder's "heartbreaking" case to argue for a ban on the use of solitary confinement for juvenile and low-level offenders in federal prisons.

The Spike series comes at a time when America's prisons are under scrutiny. The harsh prison sentences in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 have been debated in the presidential campaign, and a new documentary by Ava DuVernay, "The 13th," delves into mass incarceration and its deep, historical roots in America.

 Associated Press

Wilco: Festival back at MASS MoCA

Solid Sound, the three-day concert festival hosted by the rock band Wilco, will be return to MASS MoCA next summer.

The festival will run from June 23 to June 25 inside the North Adams, Massachusetts museum complex

The band announced the dates on Twitter Thursday afternoon.

Next year's festivbal will come two years after the 2015 show.

 Staff report

Keaton to receive achievement award

Diane Keaton, who serenaded Steve Martin last year when he received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, will get the honor herself next year.

The institute said Thursday that the Oscar-winning actress will be given AFI's highest honor at a June 8 gala that will be broadcast on TNT.

Keaton won an Oscar for her role in "Annie Hall" and has starred in films such as "Manhattan," "The Godfather" and "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." She was nominated for best actress for "Marvin's Room," "Reds" and "Something's Gotta Give."

"Peerless in her mastery of both comedy and drama, she has won the world's heart time and again by creating characters of both great strength and vulnerability," said Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees.

 Associated Press

Lady Gaga performs new songs at club

Lady Gaga showed that she could rock a club just as hard as arenas as she showcased songs from her new album.

The Grammy winner played a short set at the 5 Spot bar in Nashville on Wednesday night and included three new songs from her forthcoming album, "Joanne."

She introduced herself as Lady Gaga from New York City, but asked her fans "tonight if you could just call me Joanne," which is the name of her aunt, who died at 19 and is also her middle name. The album is set for release Oct. 21. The performance was streamed live on Bud Light's Facebook page, as will upcoming bar shows on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27.

 Associated Press

Rapper totes $165K to court, pays $360

Fetty Wap says he brought about $165,000 in cash to a New Jersey municipal building where he admitted to charges including driving with tinted windows and a suspended license.

The 25-year-old rapper, whose name is Willie Maxwell II, was ordered to pay $360 in fines. The Paterson native appeared in court on Wednesday with wads of cash sticking out of his pockets.

Maxwell's attorney says his client has applied for a medical exemption for the tinted windows. He says Maxwell, who's blind in one eye due to a childhood affliction, has glaucoma.

 Associated Press
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A bachelor farmer who has been coming to Lisdoonvarna for 70 years is still hopeful he will meet the one.

Mick Burke, 92, a sheep farmer from Borrislea in County Tipperary first came to Lisdoonvarna with his mother in 1946, when he was 23 years old.

I fell in love with the atmosphere, the music and the dancing and of course the women. After that I was hooked and have been coming back every year since, still hopeful I will meet someone.

I never married. I had a lot of lucky escapes. I fell in love with several women I met in Lisdoonvarna. I used to go home with a pocketful of phone numbers  this was my fodder for the winter! I would go out on dates and to dances but had no notion of getting married.

I had a few girlfriends over the years; once I was going out with a girl at home but I broke it off before I went to Lisdoonvarna  when I came back that was the end of that relationship.

Back then, Lisdoonvarna and the month of September were known as the farmers holiday  lots of bachelor farmers would come looking for a wife. There was a real rush to get the hay in so you can go to the spa, as it was known in those days. Lisdoonvarna was the place to go for a holiday and people would be looking forward to it all year.

There would be lots of women from America back then, looking for a rich farmer. I had a 200 acre sheep farm. Once I was dating a woman from Dublin and she came to visit me on the farm; it was particularly bad winter and we got snowed in for a few days. After the snow thawed she got straight on a train back to Dublin and that was the end of that. I think the remote location put a lot of women off.

I always said that if I had met someone that would have been the end to my trips to Lisdoonvarna.

You cant bring an apple to the orchard and there is fun in kindling tobacco when you can smoke the pipe, he said.

Over the years Mick met with Matchmaker Willie Daly several times but no suitable matches were made. Willie said: Mick was a very popular man with the ladies; he really didnt need my help.

My ideal woman is someone who is good company and able to dance the razor blade dance dont think she has been born yet. I have to go as far as my eyes can see he added.

I love coming back every year, meeting old friends and dancing and theres never any trouble here. I would say the best thing about coming to Lisdoonvarna is to come with no expectations and you will never be disappointed.
As the number of breast cancer cases increases by 33% model Roz Purcell is calling on members of the public in Tipperary to Paint it Pink this October as she launches the Irish Cancer Societys campaign to support people affected by breast cancer in Ireland.

As the number of breast cancer cases increases by 33% model Roz Purcell is calling on members of the public in Tipperary to Paint it Pink this October as she launches the Irish Cancer Societys campaign to support people affected by breast cancer in Ireland.

Paint it Pink calls on members of the public to host a pink coffee morning or event this October and fight back against breast cancer by raising funds to support the Societys vital research, advocacy and services for those affected by breast cancer.

Every year in Ireland over 2,800 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. That figure is rising annually and according to statistics by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland there has been a 33% increase in the number of cases diagnosed over a ten year period.*

In Tipperary 1,354 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2013, 132 with breast cancer, and this figure is increasing every year.

However, 85% of women are surviving breast cancer, thanks to cancer research which is improving detection and treatments. The Irish Cancer Society has invested 7.5m in BREAST-PREDICT a five year study focused on breast cancer research.

Speaking at the launch, model and former Miss Universe Ireland Roz Purcell said, Every family has been touched by cancer, and for women, breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. This October we can help support all those on their breast cancer journey by Painting it Pink  host a coffee morning or pink event and play your part.

One such Breast Predict researcher is Lisa Dwane from Dublin whose research focuses on hormone driven breast cancer. Lisas mother Marion is a breast cancer survivor, and it was this experience which drove Lisa to pursue her chosen career path.

My mam was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 37 years old and I was 14. Seeing what my Mam went through I wanted to do something to help women so that no family ever has to go through that kind of pain again, Lisa said.

Marion was diagnosed with stage 3A hormone driven breast cancer; she had a lumpectomy, then chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Herceptin had just been made available in Ireland at the time and Marion was one of the first to avail of the new treatment. Now, 11 years later she is cancer free and extremely proud that her daughter is helping others through her career.

Lisa said of her work, About 70% of breast cancers are hormone driven. Most of these women will be treated with tamoxifen and about one third of them will relapse within 15 years. Were looking for new ways to treat this type of patient, patients that either fail on tamoxifen treatment or dont respond at all.

Its very important for patients to know what were doing even though a lot of our research is at the early stages and it may take a few years for something to come from it. There are currently therapies coming out at the moment that people have been researching for a long time; this is what were doing now and hopefully in a few years down the line we may have new drugs for patients.

Proud mum Marion from Clondalkin said, Im so proud of her. Cancer research is so important. Im living proof of this.

Members of the public can help fund vital cancer research and support services for those affected by cancer, such as Night Nursing and the Societys Freephone Cancer Nurseline, by Painting it Pink this October. Visit www. paintitpink.ie or call 1850 60 60 60 for fundraising ideas and information on breast cancer.

CEO of the Irish Cancer Society John McCormack said, We cant continue our work in the fight against breast cancer without raising significant funds, so we hope men and women across the country will get behind the campaign and Paint it Pink with us! It is through campaigns such as Paint it Pink that we can continue to fund and support exciting new research and support services for those affected by breast cancer.

The Paint it Pink campaign is kindly supported by Centra.
October 07, 2016

Identity theft is the predominant way to commit cybercrime, and data breaches, along with the number of data records lost or stolen, are on the rise. New research from digital security specialists Gemalto (News - Alert) shows that despite global efforts to thwart cybercrime, hackers are still getting away with theft and fraud at an alarming rate.







The company has released its Breach Level Index (BLI) report for the first half of 2016, indicating there were 974 data breaches globally during that time period. Thats way up from the 766 reported breaches during that time period last year, with around 554 million data records also lost or stolen during the first part of this year, up 31 percent.

The numbers break down to roughly 35 data records being stolen or lost every second, with a whopping 52 percent of breaches achieved where the number of compromised records was simply unknown. Gemalto singled out the seven top breaches of 2016 so far, most of them identity theft, based on their assigned BLI score. The score takes into account how many records are exposed as well as the type of data within the records, along with the source of the breach and how the information was ultimately used.

The top identity theft breach was at Fling.com, an adult dating website infiltrated to expose 40 million personal records, which were put up for sale. Software company 17 Medias site came in second, also with an identity theft breach that exposed 30 million records. The Philippines Commission on Elections was yet another identity theft target, losing 55 million records to the Anonymous Philippines hacker group. Other noteworthy breaches this year include the Mate1 dating site, Mexican voting records, website acquisition and development company VerticalScope and a large U.S. healthcare insurers database.

Additional findings from Gemalto include that most 2016 attacks thus far have been performed by malicious outsiders, followed by accidental loss, hacktivists and state-sponsored attacks. Attacks were mainly performed for identity theft, but also to gain financial or account access. Other types of attacks were categorized as nuisance attacks and existential data attacks. The healthcare industry was the biggest target for all attacks, followed by government, financial services, retail, education and the technology sector. And North America undoubtedly experienced the most attacks globally, with 79 percent of all incidents, followed by Europe at a mere nine percent.

The numbers show that data breaches remain a serious threat to businesses across the board, despite their best efforts to secure and encrypt their data. Gemalto suggests that businesses need to overhaul their entire mindset toward cybersecurity to effectively combat the onslaught of breaches, including the implementation of access control solutions, user authentication, sensitive data encryption and secure storage and management of all encryption keys.

Ultimately, organizations need to shift their mindset from breach prevention to breach acceptance, considering the sheer number of successful breaches happening today. This will enable companies to adopt a flexible and open approach to security breaches as threats continue to evolve and multiply.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi
In suburbs, a fight for the soul of local school districts intensifies

Slates of conservative candidates are gunning for the majority on school boards nationwide, with the potential to impact school for thousands of kids.
Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
State Debate: Racine paper wants new look at 70 speed limit; Conservative bloggers like Mike Pence
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I couldn't believe my eyes. I was Batman. I had his cowl. I had his toys, including a wicked Batarang I could throw. And I even had his face. I saw my scowl in a virtual mirror as I payed Batman: Arkham VR on the new PlayStation VR.

It was amazing, until I tripped over a wire.

This was supposed to be a breakthrough year for VR, but despite some real technical triumphs from multiple companies, virtual reality remains a medium that's too still too geeky and burdensome for the masses.

As delightful as it was playing the Caped Crusader, I felt tethered and a little claustrophobic. For the PSVR, there's a long wire that runs to a control box which gets attached to the console. There's also a headphone jack on the wire that runs to your ears. And there's a separate camera you have to set up.

I don't see myself rearranging my living room for an optimal virtual reality experience.

Then there's the Move controllers, which I found difficult to operate by feel due to the multitude of buttons. The PlayStation VR headset itself felt comfortable but also kind of bulky.

MORE: PlayStation VR Review: Serious Fun for a Sane Price

Don't get me wrong. The payoff was a blast, but I don't see myself rearranging my living room for an optimal virtual reality experience.

On the PC front, the HTC Vive provides a higher fidelity experience, and you can actually walk around virtual environments. But it has issues of its own, such as the need for two room-scanning base stations that you must install (ideally by mounting them on a wall). You also need to place your PC so that the cable attached to the headset will reach the play areas. HTC recommends that you cover any windows.

That's the trade-off for having 6.5 x 5 feet of play space. Did I mention the Vive is $799 and that a compatible PC costs about $1,400?

MORE: Best Gaming PCs



Facebook-owned Oculus is the VR giant, and it has primarily focused on desktop VR and mobile VR as two separate areas with the Rift and the Samsung Gear VR. The Rift is coming along nicely, as the motion Touch controllers are finally going on sale this December for $199. The bundle will include an extra camera sensor for tracking, and you can buy a third sensor for $79 if you want a Vive-like room-scaling experience.

But all of that is on top of the $599 for the headset and whatever you need to pay for a good VR-ready gaming desktop or laptop. And there's still the too many wires issue that keeps pulling you back to reality.

This is the holy grail for VR. Deliver a truly immersive experience anywhere without having to worry about tripping over wires or emptying your bank account.

The Gear VR is the closest thing yet to a mainstream VR experience. It's cheap at $99, and there are plenty of compelling games and experiences that don't even require a controller. When I played Land's End for the first time, for example, I felt like I was moving objects with my mind (it was my head) to solve puzzles.

But even the partnership between Samsung and Oculus' hasn't yet yielded a killer app or broken through with a huge enough audience. Part of it the challenge is that you need a Samsung phone, an issue that Google is addressing with its Daydream platform. But it's not just that. The visuals just aren't as crisp or immersive as PC-based platforms. The PlayStation VR is somehwere in the middle in terms of quality.

MORE: PS4 vs. Xbox One: Which Console Is Right for You?

So is VR a fad? Not by a long shot. It's just evolving, and 2017 looks to be the year that it really takes off.

At the Oculus Connect conference this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the company is working on a standalone VR headset that will not require a phone. He demoed a virtual reality device that's more powerful than the typical mobile experience yet not tethered like the Rift, Vive and PSVR are. Apparently, it won't be expensive as the Rift, either.

CNET tried out the wireless prototype, codenamed Santa Cruz, and deemed it nearly as good as the tethered experience.

This is the holy grail for VR. Deliver a truly immersive and high-fidelity experience anywhere without having to worry about tripping over wires, moving your coffee table, or emptying your bank account. But Oculus isn't the only company chasing this vision.

Intel has been working on its Project Alloy platform, which is also wireless, but adds the company's RealSense depth-sensing cameras to let you use your hands as controllers. And Qualcomm's Snapdragon VR820 puts the company's Snapdragon 820 mobile processor into a cordless VR headset. The aim is to help manufacturers who want to make their own all-in-own head-mounted VR displays.

As 2016 started, Oculus Rift inventor Palmer Luckey told me that it was going to be a pivotal year for the category, but he was cautiously optimistic for a reason.

"It's not going to be the year that everyone gets interested in virtual reality, and I don't want people to get their hopes up too much on that," he told me.

He knew, as we all do now, that there are serious technical hurdles to overcome to deliver a best-of-both-worlds VR experience that marries the freedom of mobile with the high frame rates and graphics quality usually reserved for computers.

Facebook's Zuckerberg didn't say how much this VR wireless headset will cost or when it will ship, but it's what I'll be waiting for before I spend my own money to dive in. At that point, you won't be able to tear me away from my batsuit.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, JT Leroy was a literary star. The enigmatic and androgynous 20-something was feted for his autobiographical fiction based on years growing up as the son of a Southern truck-stop prostitute. He hung with Billy Corgan, partied with Courtney Love, and counted the likes of Tom Waits and Gus Van Sant among his fans.

The only problem was it was all a lie.

The wildly entertaining new documentary Author: The JT Leroy Story pulls back the curtain on one of the great literary hoaxes of modern times. By getting the hoaxer to tell the story from her perspective, Jeff Feuerzeigs film forces us to empathize with her and ask: Was it fraud, or just another layer of fiction?

JT Leroy was really the fictional alter ego of Laura Albert, a middle-aged phone sex operator and housewife who grew up abused and unloved. She channeled her pain into the invention of James Terminator Leroy, spinning tales of truck-stop squalor. The film is slippery on whether this was a literary creation or some sort of alternate personality. I was pedaling, Albert says at one point, But Terminator was driving.

Initially, and wisely, Albert planned to keep JT as a reclusive J.D. Salinger figure, only communicating as Leroy by phone. Theres one amazing scene of a book reading in San Francisco where other people read Leroys book, and Albert is sitting right in the audience, pretending to be a fan, hiding in plain sight.

But when book sales rocketed and the media clamored for interviews, she decided to have her sister-in-law Savannah dress up in a blonde wig and sunglasses and pass herself off in public as JT. Albert would tag along to interviews, book signings and launch parties as Speedie, JTs British assistant and manager.

Soon Leroy was photographed for Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs, negotiating movie deals and hobnobbing with celebs. The irony is that part of Leroys appeal to these celebrities was his supposed authenticity, that he really lived this hard life he wrote about. For a pampered celebrity, the hunger to be close to that blinded them to the fact that it was all fiction.

Eventually, a New York Times reporter exposed the fraud in a series of 2006 articles, and the phony life that Albert built crashes down around her.

The film tells all this from Albert's perspective, so it's understandable that "Author" seems to side with her. But on the other hand, maybe the liar is inherently more interesting than the lied-to, especially when the lie is as elaborate at this. At one point, things get so complicated that we could use a flowchart to figure out whos pretending to be who.

In delving into Alberts unhappy childhood, the story of a nobody who made herself into a somebody (or at least a somebody else) feels easily identifiable. And, in an age where so many people hide behind pseudonyms and pretend to be someone else on social media, Author: The JT Leroy Story seems uneasily prescient. He may have been the first Twitterbot.
The big news from Oculus at OC3 isnt the launch date and price for Touch. The biggest bombshell of the event is Asynchronous Spacewarp, which lowers the bar for VR-ready PCs to a range anyone can afford.

Virtual reality is an amazing technological achievement that has the potential to change many aspects of our lives, but before that can truly happen, VR must achieve wide adoption. Today, the high cost of VR headsets and the supporting hardware that you need to operate one is one of the biggest factors preventing most people from investing in the new medium. $1500 for an entry level VR-ready PC and Oculus headset is cheap enough for enthusiasts and early adopters with a little bit of money to burn, but it's too much for the average personeven the average gamer.

Oculus had good reason to keep the performance specifications high when it launched the Rift in May. Most PC gamers target 60 frames per second as their performance threshold in their favorite games, and an overwhelming number of those gamers still play on 1080p panels. The Rift has two 1080x1200 (2160x1200) displays, and it requires 90 frames per second at all times for a comfortable experience.

Oculus had to invent Asynchronous Timewarp (ATW) so that it could certify GTX 970 and R9 290/390 GPUs for VR. Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus, said that without ATW, apps would drop more than 11% of their frames. This would make your VR experience unpleasant, to say the least.

ATW prevents dropped frames by pulling the previous frame back into view with updated head position data from the current frame. ATW works well when you are only tracking head position, but it causes problems with positional movements, such as when you move your hands around with Touch controllers. Oculus had to rethink its approach to frame warping before it could introduce Touch, and in doing so, it unlocked greater performance benefits for the Rift platform.

Just as Oculus invented Asynchronous Timewarp to prevent judder caused by head movement, the company went back to the drawing board to come up with a way to prevent positional judder. Oculus calls its solution Asynchronous Spacewarp. Ill let Mr. Iribe explain ASW in his words:

Spacewarp takes the apps two previous frames, analyses the difference, and it calculates the spatial transform to extrapolate and generate a new synthetic frame.

Translation: Asynchronous Spacewarp estimates the position of your hands and the scenery so that you never experience judder of moving objects. ASW reduces the framerate of the application to 45 FPS, and it adds a synthetic frame between every other frame to free up system bandwidth for the position calculation. The synthetic frames fill in the gaps so that you always see 90 FPS in the HMD, which lightens the load on the render pipeline. Because of the reduced workload, you dont need as much graphics performance for enjoyable VR.

Oculus Rift Hardware Requirements Minimum Spec Recommended Spec Video Card NVIDIA GTX 960 / AMD 470 or greater NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater CPU Intel i3-6100 / AMD FX4350 or greater Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater Memory 8GB+ RAM 8GB+ RAM Video Output Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port, plus 2x USB 2.0 ports 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port OS Windows 8 or newer Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer

Oculus didnt have a defined minimum hardware specification when it launched the Rift. The company listed recommended hardware specifications on its website, and those were widely accepted as the minimum requirements. Thanks to Asynchronous Spacewarp, Oculus now certifies that much more affordable hardware will deliver the performance necessary for virtual reality with the Rift. You no longer require an in Intel Core i5 or an AMD FX-6300. Now, an Intel Core i3 6300 or an AMD FX-4350 will handle your processing needs. The GPU requirements are much lower now, too. If you have a GeForce GTX 960, youre in luck, but if you just bought an RX 470, you got a heck of a deal. Oculus considers both of those GPUs VR-ready now.

When Oculus launched the Rift, it partnered with several vendors to ensure that youd be able to buy an Oculus-ready PC for $1000. Now that Oculus introduced a new minimum threshold for VR performance, the company slashed the entry point in half. Oculus announced that one of its partners, Cyberpower PC, is offering an Oculus-ready PC that features an AMD FX-4350 CPU and RX 470 GPU (opens in new tab) for as low as $499.

If it werent for the $599 price of the Rift HMD and the $199 extra for the Touch controllers, wed say that price is no longer a valid complaint about VR adoption. If you have a gaming PC, there's a pretty good chance that your system meets the minimum requirements for virtual reality with the Rift.
The White Stripes recently reunited to condemn Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. In a joint statement, Jack and Meg White hit out at Trumps alleged use of their hit Seven Nation Army in a campaign video.

The Donalds use of the song has apparently so incensed the garage revival heroes that Third Man Records, Jack Whites Nashville-based record label, has begun selling Icky Trump T-shirts through their web store.

The red T-shirts say Icky Trump on the front and have an excerpt of the lyrics to the White Stripes song Icky Thump on the back: White Americans? What? Nothing better to do? / Why dont you kick yourself out? Youre an immigrant too.

Whos using who? What should we do? / Well, you cant be a pimp And a prostitute too, the lyrics continue. The shirts have apparently proved quite popular, as a note on the Third Man website states there may be shipping delays due to demand.

Regarding the use of Seven Nation Army in a Donald Trump campaign video, The White Stripes would like to unequivocally state that they have nothing whatsoever to do with this video, the band previously said in a statement released earlier this week.

They are disgusted by this association, and by the illegal use of their song. In addition to being the first thing Jack and Meg have done together in five years, the statement made The White Stripes the latest band to hit out at Trump.
Most likely Australias only seven-piece eucalyptus dream pop outfit, south coast Sydney outfit Shining Bird are back with a new album, Black Opal.

To bring this one together, Russell, Alaistair, and Dane retreated to Austinmer and Blackheath in NSW to write and record, wrestling with the songwriting process and emerging with a shiny new record at the end of it.

Fresh off a slot at Yours & Owls festival and now in the middle of their national album launch tour (dates below), the bands keyboardist and electronic maestro Russell took a moment to run us through the long road of songwriting experimentation that led them all here.

I CAN RUN

This was one of the first tunes we finished for Black Opal. It reminded me how fragile the mixing process is, and how much it can alter the meaning of a song. The difference between a cluttered mess and a compelling sound environment was literally a matter of 0.1 decibels on the chorus vocals.

Another turning point was when our good friend Adam Rogan (Catman), who helped out with drums on this record, noted how the track seemed to roll in like a storm. From that point on it became clearer how to structure the beast.

HELLUVA LOT

This one was Danes initial conception, But after bringing it to the mountains the track developed into something much bigger and more expansive. For this whole album, I got into the habit of playing back the mixes with videos from YouTube.

Somehow it allowed me to tease out ideas from the song that appeared first as images in my head. Helluva Lot was always played with sweeping aerial views of the Australian outback. Tim Whitten really helped us take this one to the next level. He also taught us to feel ok about our unorthodox methods of writing and mixing.

MORNING LIGHT

I cant think of a Bird tune where Ive written more options for verse lyrics only to go with the demo ones that came out within minutes of hearing the groove. Songwriting is infuriating like that. What really set this one on fire was Als electrocuted serial killer guitar and Wills ( Will Farrier- You Beauty ) fretless bass.

Dane has a tendency to skin his knuckles when we play this one live. The back end often turns into Midnight Oil and Coltrane having a fight with Rowland S Howard and Cluster.

LOVE SHADOW

The melody for Love Shadow had been lurking around for ages. One day Al sang me the chorus idea whilst having an outdoor shower, and with nothing but the sound of water hitting rocks to back him up, I knew it was solid. It has the most attitude of any Bird song thus far.

UTOPIA

Nearly every Bird song gets to a point where I hate everything about it. I try my usual bag of tricks and when that doesnt work i delete half the parts and tell myself it might work as a B-side. Then we come back to it months later and its great.

CHARLIE

The didgeridoo on this track was played by Charlie McMahon (Gondwanaland). We approached him over the net and he was more than happy to feature on the song. Were always blown away when we approach artists and musicians we worship and they are keen to be involved.After our sax player Michael Slater laid down his beautiful solo we figured this one could hold its own without vocals.

RIVERMOUTH

Leisure Coast was actually quite a dark record. Something i dont think a casual listen would necessarily reveal. Rivermouth was the first of several songs that wanted to head into a subtle but completely new direction.

It sounds more awake, the focus is sharper and it contains more than a glimmer of hope and determination. Rivermouth was a really special combination of all three of us. Its one of the most beautiful songs we have captured so far.

BURIED

Buried is a great example of the new writing process that fuelled much of Black Opal. Dane, Al and myself jammed out ideas in a beautiful little cabin in Blackheath and created sketches that were live and organic rather than programmed in the studio. We made daily visits to the Wind Eroded Rock, Govetts Leap and Anonymous cafe.

Location is the hidden member when it comes to creating bird songs. Writing from the Blue Mountains was no different. It coloured and shaped the songs in a certain way.

LONELY SONG

Everything except language

knows the meaning of existence.

Trees, planets, rivers, time

know nothing else. They express it

moment by moment as the universe.

Even this fool of a body lives it in part

and would have full dignity within it

but for the ignorant freedom of my talking mind

 Les Murray

BLACK OPAL ALBUM TOUR

Fri October 7th  Crown & Anchor, Adelaide  Tickets

Sat October 8th  Cudgee Bar, Woomera  Free show

Sun October 9th  Montes Lounge, Alice Springs  Tix on door

Mon October 10th  Outback Pioneer Hotel, Uluru  Free show

Thu November 3rd  Treehouse, Byron Bay (acoustic)  Free Show

Fri November 4th  Deadlam Festival, Brisbane  Tickets

Fri November 11th  Gasometer, Melbourne  Tickets

Sat November 12th  The Commercial Hotel, Milton  Tickets

Wed November 16th  Newtown Social Club, Newtown  Tickets

Fri November 18th  Anitas Theatre, Thirroul
The local classical music community is up in arms about the recent round of ARIA wins. Many have taken the ARIAs to task for handing the award for Best Classical Album to Australian electronic duo Flight Facilities.

The nominations for the 2016 ARIA Awards were announced earlier this week along with the winners for the Fine Arts and Artisan wards. Flight Facilities were nominated for their collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Were stoked to be nominated for best classical album a year after being nominated for best dance  we dont know how but thanks very much, said Hugo Gruzman, one half of the Sydney electronic duo.

Indeed, many in the Australian classical community are a bit fuzzy on just how Flight Facilities nabbed the Best Classical ARIA. According to Fairfax, Flight Fac alone received the award as the MSO was not included in the nomination.

The album consists of Flight Facilities original electronic music with the accompaniment of an orchestra, Toby Chadd, manager of ABC Classics, told The Australian.

It feels like something is potentially wrong with the ARIA system to allow an album whose credentials are clearly in no way classical to win the classical award. It has the potential to damage the integrity of that award.

Many feel that handing the award to an album that is essentially an electronic dance music album with orchestral elements undermines the Best Classical Album category and has robbed a classical artist of an important accolade.

However, an ARIA representative informed The Australian that the creative collaboration between Flight Fac and the MSO met eligibility criteria for the award and the winner was determined by a specialist classic music ARIA judging panel.

Speaking to Fairfax, ARIA CEO Dan Rosen was unapologetic about the Flight Fac win. According to Rosen, the ARIA Awards are self-policing, with each category left to its own devices in deciding whats eligible for their own category.

If a judging school, because theyre experts, dont feel that [an album] is worthy of that genre then they dont vote for it, he said. Its also worth noting that the artists and labels get to decide which category they submit themselves to.

For example, Josh Pykes collaboration with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra wouldve been eligible for Best Classical Album, but it was instead submitted to, and won, the Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album award.

Very simply, we didnt put it in Best Classical because it isnt a classical album, so we didnt feel it was the right fit for that category. Im sure we could have done that if we chose to, but out of respect to the classical community it didnt feel right, Pykes manager told Fairfax.

It seems odd not to have those [criteria] for the awards which you would have thought you want to safeguard much more assiduously than the charts perhaps, Toby Chadd told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The ARIA Awards, if we are to hold them up as the central moment when we celebrate the best of Australian recorded music, is important enough to take it seriously enough that you would place safeguards around it.

As far as Chadds concerned, Flight Facilities winning the Best Classical Album award is equivalent to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra being awarded the Best Dance Album award for their creative collaboration with Flight Facilities.
D.D Dumbo has risen swiftly through the Australian music scene with a perfect one-man setup. Sporting an enviously exquisite pedalboard fed with bright, round tones from a 12-string Danelectro guitar, theres no way anyone can be mistaken for the sound Oliver Perry crafts under his stage moniker.

After a spate of stellar shows at Pitchfork Festival, BBC Radio 1 and a list of other high-profile events, Perry took his technical, awe-inspiring loop setup into his horse stable-come-bedroom studio to craft his debut album, Utopia Defeated. Now, the follow-up to his 2014 breakthrough EP Tropical Oceans is ready for the world to hear, packed with beautiful, intricate harmonies and wailing vocal takes.

Clean-cut harmonics announce the intro to leading single Walrus while the collection of eclectic guitar and vocal loops roll in to create the first of many lush soundscapes on Utopia Defeated. Walrus staggers along with summery guitar notes casually walking up the fretboard while Perry flicks psychedelic cries over the first chorus.

The following track Satan, which ushered him back into our consciousness earlier this year as lead single, doesnt concern itself with slowly building its diverse sound, instead compacting the groove-laden composition into a thick wall that hits almost instantly. Perrys fascination with watery themes continues with the emotive, Jeff Buckley-esque track In The Water; falsetto vocal riffs are abundant, flying high over a delicate but relentless guitar progression.

Moving deeper into the album, Cortisol provides a banger that is ready to be remixed countless times for 2016s summer. The off-kilter dance beat is further thrown into disarray by jarring notes, highlighting the diversity of tones Perry effortlessly creates with his variety of pedals. Reversing into life, King Franco Picasso trudges along with a dirty synth riser shunting the track from intro to chorus before dark brass takes over, driving the song to its climactic end.

Toxic City helps wind Utopia Defeated towards its close, offering a brief reprieve from the complexity of the compositions prior. Woodwinds complement the soft guitar work as Perrys subdued vocals float idyllically along, casting visions of clouds lazing above a sun-kissed beach. Finally, the LP closes with Oyster, sounding like the sister song to Buckleys version of Lilac Wine thanks to a return to the rich falsetto of tracks gone by.

This record showcases just how far D.D Dumbos vocals have come since his 2014 emergence, having since written track after incredible track in his hybrid stable bedroom outside Victorias sleepy town of Castlemaine. The most interesting part of Utopia Defeated is that Perry spent over two months piecing each song together and, as Perry explains, there was no loop pedalling on the album at all. It became a new project in a way,  which opens up the question as to how Perry will go replicating such magnificent compositions when he takes to the live stage. Whats not in question is that Utopia Defeated is a mammoth release from one of Australias most talented musicians today.

9 / 10

Utopia Defeated is out today via Liberation/4AD
Saturday Night Live Star Jeff Richards Back To Stanfords. Stanfords Returns To Legends In November!

A note from our pal Craig as he talks relocation, coming attractions and the Kansas City comedy game . . .Stanfords will return to Legends, Village West first week of November. Stanfords will be back in their original building,nice. More details coming. Stanfords will be at Overland Park through October. Stay Tuned.former star of Saturday Night Live, MAD TV, and now 'The Real Rob' with Saturday Night Alumni Rob Schneider will be at the club this weekend in Overland Park. Jeff has some great impressions in his act from Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey,Dustin Hoffman to Gene Wilder and more. He is a great talent and we are happy to have him back. His film short of Kevin Spacey vs. Donald Trump in debate is off the chain, in fact Fox 4 is playing parts of it this morning with Jeff's live appearance.Next week Seinfelds Kenny Bania will be on stage at Stanfords, OP, Steve Hytner. Then our favorite Blue Collar star, James Johann hits the stage at OP with Jeff Vaughn.The first of week of November will be at Legends with Chippendales on Wed/Thurs and sell out naughty boy Colin Kane, Wedding Ringer w/ Kevin Hart that weekend. Tix on sale now to all shows. 913 400 7500 or online. There is a new concept in the works for the Overland Park location. Will update next week. See ya there.##############
"Because Hickman Mils cant score above provisional accreditation, it is pursuing an alternative accreditation. This is laughable. The only accreditation that counts, the only one anyone looks at, is the State accreditation. Shame on the Superintendent for chasing this sham and shame on the school board for agreeing . . . "

A scathing update from this hyperlocal blog outlines a new accreditation scheme underway in the Hickman Mills School District and ongoing frustration with low test scores that don't live up to Statewide standards . . .Money line . . .Developing . . .
KICK-ASS TKC TIPSTERS TELL US THAT ANTI-TRUMP SENTIMENT AMONG THE CROWD DOMINATED LAST NIGHT'S HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AWARDS GALA!!!

"I have the most distinguished honor to be in a room of some of the hardest working, family-oriented, and charitable people in this city-Latino business owners.





"We Latinos thrive when a daunting, tedious and sometimes unappreciated opportunity arises. Contrary to the recent bigoted and xenophobic comments made about our culture, we are leaders, business owners, and most importantly, strong, family focused people. I am proud to be in this room tonight, with my people-passionate people-and look forward to our united future and respected and appreciated place in the melting pot called the United States. Viva la Raza and congratulations to all the amazing honorees tonight and members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce!"

















Unbeknownst to any other Kansas City media or newsie in this town, last night one of the biggest anti-Trump rallies Kansas City has ever seen occurred among hundreds of businessman, politicos and local power brokers sharing their disdain for the GOP nominee.To wit . . .Latinos, especially biz people, are gracious folks so there weren't any curses from the podium or wordy speeches demanding social justice that middle-class white ladies are more than welcome to make on our behalf . . . However,reveal some palpable disdain for the dude from the Latino biz class who usually skew Conservative and Republican.Here's a quote that references the backlash against Trump that dominated the crowd and attendees . . .Also, there was other image sent my way of a bunch of well dressed Latinos taggedwhich also evoked a giggle.But I digress . . .The point here is that this Kansas City sample of Conservative, upwardly mobile, entrepreneurial and avid Latino voters in the middle of two red states doesn't bode well for Donald Trump despite his promises to try and garner Latino support . . .Background . . .You decide . . .
The Greek public debt continues to cause tension between the USA and Germany, as the IMFs Annual Meeting is about to begin. The IMFs Christine Lagarde has repeated that the debt is not sustainable, while US Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew argued that Greece needs debt restructuring as soon as possible.

Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the IMF meetings, the US official stated that the only consistent answer to a non-sustainable debt is its restructuring and that the more you delay it, the harder it gets for the economy sustaining it. Mr. Lew also pointed out that the last bailout agreement stated that debt restructuring should be on the table and that its not sustainable.

In response, Germanys Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schauble insists that the problem is not the public debt, but rather that level of competition in the Greek economy. The German official further claimed that the focus on the debt issue is deceiving the Greek people, thus preventing what needs to be done.

Meanwhile the Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis commented that the Greek program is operating very well and that the Greek economy is returning to growth. Mr. Dombrovskis added that the completion of the second review will help restore financial stability.

Finally, European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici clarified that he wants the IMF to continue to participate in the Greek bailout program and that an agreement on the debt may be examined by the end of the year. Mr. Moscovici stressed that Greece must, however, continue implementing the program as agreed. Should the second review be successful and the financial climate improves, he explained, then measures regarding the debate will be discussed, as agreed at the Eurogroup in May.

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
Two draft bills dealing with the autonomy of the Cypriot state hospitals were approved by the cabinet on Friday

Two draft bills dealing with the autonomy of the Cypriot state hospitals were approved by the cabinet on Friday.

President Nicos Anastasiades had previously announced that the draft bills would be passed during a ground-breaking ceremony held at the Latsia Medical Centre in Nicosia.

In his statements of two days ago, President Anastasiades expressed his satisfaction that after approximately two decades the National Health Scheme (NHS) has seen the convergence of all the political forces of the island.

The ball in the court of the political parties

After the cabinet meetings, Health Minister George Pamborides said that he was in a position to announce that the two draft bills for the reform in the health sector (NHS, autonomy of the state hospitals) had been passed and would now be heading to parliament.

The Health Minister mentioned that the ball is in the court of the political parties to discuss the two draft bills.

Pamborides said that the process had started in September, when he consulted with all parties on the matter, and recorded all their positions for the draft bills. He added that now it is in the hands of the political parties to pass the two bills through the parliament.

The position of the political party leaders

Asked how long he thinks this will take, Pamborides said that he could not estimate the time required, or comment on how long it might take for the positions of all those involved to be recorded.

Pamborides did add, however, that he remained positive that the draft bills would be passed after taking into account the position of the political party leaders.

All is dependent on the length of time parliament takes to decide on the matter. I have noticed that there has been a study on the issue by all parties, who recognise the gravity of the moment in speeding up the process, he said.

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
ST. FRANCIS  A FBI gang-related operation in Racine and Kenosha counties on Thursday morning netted 28 arrests related to the distribution of narcotics, including methamphetamine.

During an afternoon press conference at the FBI-Milwaukee office in St. Francis, officials said 14 searches were conducted in Racine, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant. Two suspects were still at large as of Thursday evening.

The investigation and resulting arrests were executed by the FBI's Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Gang Task Force. The gang members were arrested on federal and state charges ranging from narcotics trafficking to armed robbery.

Authorities said the suspects arrested were key members of the Maniac Latin Disciples gang, which is active in Racine and Kenosha counties, as well as the Chicago area.

Members of the gang allegedly operated a continuing criminal enterprise that profited from trafficking drugs in bulk, armed robberies, and employing violence against their community through multiple shootings, an FBI press release states.

"(Our team) put in about a year's worth of work on this operation. I can assure you that as a result of this investigation and operation that took place today, the citizens of southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois are significantly safer," Racine Police Chief Art Howell said.

The goal of the gang task force, explained R. Justin Tolomeo, the FBI's special agent-in-charge of the the unit, is to "remove violent gangs" from neighborhoods, returning them to places where people can live, work, and enjoy their community "free from the specter of gangs, guns, drugs and violence."

During the searches officers seized vehicles, weapons, body armor,and ammunition, as well as more than 40 pounds of marijuana and cocaine and more than $80,000 in cash.

The FBI is still seeking information for two fugitives described as high-ranking members of the gang: Erik A. Ynnocencio, age 33, and Fabian J. Melendez, 30.

The men are likely still in the Racine area, authorities said Thursday, and while they do not pose a threat to the public, they should be considered armed and dangerous.

The agencies involved in the operation included the Racine Police Department , the Racine County Sheriffs Office, the Kenosha Police Department, the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department, the Sturtevant Police Department, the Mount Pleasant Police Department, the Caledonia Police Department, New Berlin Police Department, the Milwaukee Police Department and the Wisconsin High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration of Milwaukee, the United States Marshals Service, and the Milwaukee and Chicago FBI Field Offices.

"It was good to have the culmination of a lot of long hours," said Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke. "It was a good thing to take so many dangerous people off the street."

The arrested

Here is a list of the people arrested in connection to the gang/drug probe:

Gregory D. Tirado, Jr., age 28

Melissa Rios, age 34

Juan Paul Guajardo, age 41

Jose Perez, age 42

Juan C. Ramirez, age 32

Frederick A. Evans, age 54

Martin L. Lazcon, age 24

Brian Johnson, age 22

Gregory D. Tirado, Sr., age 46

Janet Serrano, age 20

Tyler M. Christman, age 26

Ashley B. Craddock, age 20

Jason R. Lopez, age 39

Bradley R. Sorenson, age 25

Marelo Ortiz-Cartagena, age 68

Ernesto N. Perez, age 41

Marco A. Munoz, age 25

Marcello Tirado, age 19

Angel H. Reyes, age 45

Eric J. Minkey, age 38

Trevian Dumas, age 22

Pedro Juarez, age 36
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has emphasised he will not present the Cypriot people with an interim solution

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has emphasised he will not present the Cypriot people with an interim solution under any circumstances, stressing the matter with a triple no upon return from his latest meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Friday.

The President denied he would be inclined towards an interim solution, expressly emphasising no, no, no when questioned by journalists on the matter. He added that he hoped his answer would satisfy the public, including those who voted either YES or NO to the Annan Plan.

The people will have a completed agreement placed before them, Anastasiades said.

He mentioned the issue of the rotating presidency remains "thorny."

According to the President the two leaders also discussed the issue of powers to be held by the central government, along with the powers bestowed upon the state governments, and the responsibilities the state will have regarding its international obligations.

Asked if he had seen progress, the President replied that there is convergence on the majority of issues involving the powers of the central government, though loose ends remain. He added, however, that the differences were not substantial.

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
A total of 50 people recently travelled on their Vespas to Saint Tropez in order to participate in an international meeting

They are fans of the Vespa, the Italian scooter, and they are known as Vespisti.

They travel everywhere from Greece to Saint Tropez. A total of 50 people recently travelled on their Vespas to Saint Tropez  a trip that took them three days  in order to participate in an international meeting.

The next international meeting will take place in Germany. Meanwhile, many meetings are being organized in Greece, including the the next one that will be held in the northern Greek city of Kozani, where approximately 150 people are expected to participate, Socrates Moutidis, responsible for Public Relations at Kozanis Vespa Club, said to Praktorio 104.9 FM.

It is a good opportunity for the participants to get acquainted with the city of Kozani, the region and to admire the beauty of the landscape, he underlined.

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
Dutch development bank FMO has arranged a $14.7 million senior loan for the financing of the Tororo solar PV project in Uganda.



The plant will be developed and owned by Building Energy, multinational company operating as a global integrated IPP in the Renewable Energy Industry with experience in developing more than 2,000MW of renewable energy projects in Africa.



Building Energy will be responsible for the construction and operation of the power plant. FMO acted as Mandated Lead Arranger of the $14.7 million facility, of which 50 per cent was syndicated to the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF).



The solar plant will be located in the Tororo area in Eastern Uganda. It will serve the equivalent of 36,200 people via generation and has an annual avoided GHG rate of 7,400 tCO2eq.



Uganda has one of the lowest electricity consumption per capita in the world, with an average electrification rate of 18.2 per cent. The countrys power sector suffered from a shortage of generating capacity and a lack of reliable and affordable electricity is hindering more sustainable economic growth.



The project is developed under the KfW led GET FiT facility, which is a dedicated support scheme for renewable energy projects managed by Germanys KfW Bankengruppe in partnership with the Government of Uganda through the Electricity Regulatory Agency (ERA). It is funded by the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund, and is also supported by the Governments of Norway, Germany and the UK.



Linda Broekhuizen, chief investment officer of FMO, said: FMO is proud to support this renewable energy project in Uganda. We aim to make a difference in peoples lives in a country where electricity is not always reliable and are therefore pleased to work with investors who are committed to renewable solutions.



Matteo Brambilla, Building Energy managing director Africa, said: We are pleased with the closing of this agreement, which demonstrates Building Energys commitment to the African market. We believe that the Tororo project will be strategic to further consolidate our presence in East Africa. The plant will support Ugandas energy needs creating in the meantime new jobs which will enable the local communities to take part in the development of the country. - TradeArabia News Service
Having an out-of-the-country tour is one of the many ways to relax and move away from stress.

But this happened otherwise to Klaas Haytema, a 30-year old Dutch tourist, who were charged with insulting religion in Myanmar for allegedly unplugging an amplifier blasting a late-night Buddhist sermon near his hotel.

Haytema was arrested in the city of Mandalay and has been detained while awaiting trial, a township police officer said.

On the late evening of 23 September, he allegedly disrupted a religious observance in a hall in the popular tourist city of Mandalay in northern Burma (Myanmar).

I wanted to sleep desperately. I couldn't stand the noise and checked outside the hotel," Haytema said at an initial court hearing, according to the Coconuts Asia website.

"I saw that children were playing. I thought that they were playing it [sermon] and disconnected the amplifier. I did not notice that it was a religious building."

But his remorse has not appeased the local authorities.

The man who was reciting the sermon pressed charges against Haytema for insulting the Buddhist religion, and immigration officials have charged him with violating the terms of his visa.

Dutch diplomats declined to comment on the case.

Mandalay, a major tourist attraction in central Myanmar, is the country's cultural capital and the former seat of Burmese kings. Accordingly, it is culturally and religiously conservative.

In Myanmar, it is common for Buddhist groups to broadcast sermons by loudspeaker at very high volumes.

Likewise, the offence of insulting religion is a sensitive issue among the majority Buddhist population and carries a two-year jail sentence.

According to the recent report by Telegraph, on October 6, Klaas Haytema was sentenced to three months imprisonment for interfering with a religious observance.

In view of the said incident a note to tourists has been advised by Fox News. Accordingly, respecting the local culture (and religion) when visiting a foreign country isn't just the polite thing to do, sometimes it's the law.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Air New Zealand recently launched a campaign targeted to Australians who wish to go on long-haul flights to the United States, Canada, and South America. Through the campaign, they hope travellers will see New Zealand as a transit hub rather than just a domestic destination. The airline aims to boost their market share among Australian long-haul travellers.

Stuff New Zealand got a hold of Air New Zealand's CEO, Christopher Luxon. While there have been a good number of travellers who have availed of their long-haul flights, six out of ten don't know that their airline offers such flights.

Air New Zealand currently offers long-haul flights from Auckland to Los Angeles, Houston, Buenos Aires, Vancouver, and Honolulu. The flights are ideal since it cuts significant travel time for those traveling to these countries compared to flights from Australia.

Another perk of going on long-haul flights from NZ is that they won't have to go through customs and other tedious procedures. All they have to do is check in and get on their flight.

The campaign could not have come at a better time, as there has been a surge in Australia travellers looking into travelling to the United States. The US is now the third most visited country after New Zealand and Indonesia.

According to Traveller, the airline will be launching a seat sale this weekend for flights to the United States, and the rates will be from $999. The sale will have a limited run of only two days.

Air New Zealand is also offering a limited 50% discount for those who wish to upgrade their seats to a Skycouch, which is a flatbed allowing passengers to lie down comfortably even if they're seated in the economy class area. This innovation is a first in the world.

The Kiwi airline has been hailed the best airline in the world for three years in a row. This campaign will definitely be of good help for Australian travellers who wish to go on long-haul flights without the hassle.

Here's their launching advertisement:



See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
RACINE  A Chicago-area man, convicted of first-degree intentional homicide for hacking his wife to death with a hatchet outside a Mount Pleasant home, will be 70 years old before he even has a prospect of experiencing life outside prison.

On Wednesday, Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkewicz sentenced Cristian Loga-Negru, 40, to life in prison for the crime, leaving him eligible for parole in 30 years.

It was on the night of Nov. 19, 2014, that Mount Pleasant police found the Romanian-born Cristian Loga-Negru in the parking lot of the Super 8 Motel at 1150 Oakes Road, standing over the bleeding, mutilated body of his estranged wife, Roxana Abrudan, who was lying in the backseat of a rental car. The scene, investigators would later learn, would end up being the final, gruesome chapter in an abusive relationship Abrudan had unsuccessfully tried to flee.

A monster

Relatives of Loga-Negru  including his father, who had traveled from Romania  gathered in a Racine courtroom on Wednesday, along with Michael Enz and his wife  the friends Abrudan had been staying with the night she was murdered  to await Loga-Negrus sentencing.

Addressing the court for the more than an hour, Enz described Abrudan, who had lived with Loga-Negru in Arlington Heights, Ill., before seeking refuge at the Enzes Mount Pleasant home, as a talented person trapped in a toxic, abusive relationship. It was a relationship Abrudan was scared of ending, lest she lose her chance of becoming a U.S. citizen, or  worse yet  her life, she had told them.

She was terrified, Enz said, several times. He beat her regularly, on several occasions unconscious  he head-butted her. In short, he was a monster.

The night Abrudan was murdered outside the Enz family home, they initially thought she had been kidnapped, Enz said, but soon after they learned Abrudan hadnt survived.

We found hair, blood, chunks of scalp, and body parts in our front lawn that the murderer hacked off of our friend. It was a scene of carnage, Enz said. The motto of the unit I served in while in the Army was de oppresso liber, which means to free the oppressed. Every day of my life I have to deal with the fact I was not able to do that for Roxana.

Pattern

Cristian Loga-Negrus father, Marius Loga-Negru, could be seen weeping quietly throughout Wednesdays hearing.

In his statement, delivered to the court with the help of a translator, Marius Loga-Negru conceded the extremely grave nature of his sons act but pleaded to court for humanity.

It is my opinion that your love for your child is unconditional  for us there will always be a question: How can a human being, educated and formed in a conscious way, do this thing? Marius Loga-Negru said. Something has been broken.

Sitting next to his attorney Patrick Cafferty, Cristian Loga-Negru apologized to both his family and Abrudans family for the grief the act had caused them all, but disputed claims that he was a villain.

Does a villain cry every night? he asked.

Cristian Loga-Negru also asked for the hope that he might someday have the chance to be released from prison, not for himself, but for his ailing mother.

But Deputy Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson dismissed any arguments that Loga-Negrus abusive and murderous behavior toward Abrudan had been an anomaly  the case of a man in the grips of a mental breakdown.

There is a pattern of conduct here from Mr. Loga-Negru, Hanson said, pointing police reports of describing the battery of his first wife. He is someone who is intelligent, manipulative, controlling, and that when things dont go his way he is unable to handle it.

Hope

Delivering his sentence, Gasiorkewicz noted that since state law requires a life sentence for first-degree intentional homicide, what he had to weigh was whether Loga-Negru should be made eligible for parole  either after 20 years as the state allows or at some point thereafter.

I am urged to eliminate (your eligibility for parole)  you asked for hope. Your father asked for humanity. What hope did Roxana have? Gasiorkewicz asked.

But Gasiorkewicz said he could not give up on humanity.

As horrific as this has been for Roxana, as horrific as this has been for society, I cannot give up on hope, he said, before sentencing Loga-Negru, leaving the potential for parole three decades in the future.

Wednesdays sentencing comes roughly three months after Gasiorkiewicz rejected a special plea entered by Cristian Loga-Negru  a highly educated Romanian immigrant and businessman  asking the court to find that he was unable to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law on the night he murdered Abrudan.
A hard rain fell on Wednesday morning as Federal Emergency Management Agency workers began surveying damage left by a Sept. 21 storm that pounded the area with as much as nine inches of rain.

Two FEMA workers, Craig Ceschi and Richard Foody, started their tour of hard-hit sites in Chippewa County on Wednesday by looking at damage to an embankment off of Bear Den Road in Irvine Park in Chippewa Falls.

They toured about a dozen sites in Chippewa Falls and the towns of Lafayette, Sigel, Edson, Delmar and Goetz.

They and others from FEMA are looking at damage in Chippewa, Jackson, La Crosse, Crawford, Richard, Vernon, Columbia and Eau Claire counties.

Preliminary damage assessments from the storm are $14 million public and $7.2 million private.

These assessments are really the first step to determine if were going to be eligible for federal disaster assistance, said Tod Pritchard, a public information officer for Wisconsin Emergency Management.

The reports will help Gov. Scott Walker decide whether to seek a federal disaster declaration from President Barack Obama.

If that status is granted, under the Public Assistance program, the federal government will pay 75 percent of the cost to clean up and repair infrastructure, with the balance split between state and local government. Some nonprofit organizations also are eligible for aid.

Wednesdays tour by FEMA officials focused on the estimated $395,060 damage to infrastructure in Chippewa County, such things as roads and bridges.

The total for the highway department is fairly low, said Dennis Brown, emergency management director for Chippewa County.

Thats because some of the damaged roads would qualify for funds from other kinds of federal programs.

The storm damage estimates are: $33,296 for the Chippewa County Highway Department; $16,881 for Lake Hallie; $4,544 for Stanley; $25,574 for Cadott; $51,106 for Chippewa Falls; and $5,432 for Boyd. Initial damage estimates for towns include: $6,090 in Arthur; $35,819 for Delmar; $80,549 for Edson; $49,768 for Goetz; $32,452 for Lafayette; $39,760 for Sigel; and $13,784 for Wheaton.

Another $100,000 damage was estimated by Wisconsin Emergency Management for equipment for the Canadian National Railroad property in the county.

Wednesdays tour did not include the estimated $400,000 damage the storm did to 52 homes, including major damage to three houses.

Pritchard said the state is asking Chippewa County residents to contact the countys Brown to report damage to homes and businesses.

The eight House representatives and two Senators sent a letter Tuesday asking President Obama to promptly approve any requests he might receive from the governor.
Serendipity Patmos, a leading villa rental agency in Patmos with a focus on personalized vacations, having gradually built a presence on the island with some of the most impressive villas and mansions, announces its new business name as Serendipity Greek Villas.



(TRAVPR.COM) Greece - 7th October 2016 - We have decided to change our name in line with our expanding business strategy. This change will better explain our current presence in most of the top Greek destinations and mythical islands with a fresh and exclusive collection of the finest villas enthused Mrs. Ariadni Gergatsouli, Marketing & Sales Director of SG Villas.



Despite the name change, there has been no change in the quality of services, we will be providing. We will simply be expanding our portfolio and services to broaden our clients horizons. We, at SG Villas, feel that there is an amazing undiscovered part of Greece that asks to be explored. Our mission is to unravel and introduce elite travelers looking for luxury villas to pristine and unexplored Greek destinations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for their support in the past years and looking forward to accommodating them in our properties in the future added Mr. Manos Chatzidakis Managing Director & Owner of SG Villas.

Serendipity Greek Villas introduces this fresh and new exclusive collection of the finest villas for rent in Greece through www.serendipitygreekvillas.com All villas selected one by one, combine unsurpassable luxury and privacy with exceptional services guaranteeing the passion of excellence and quality expected by guests. The website captures the essence and elite characteristics of our unique properties and invites visitors to explore sumptuous villas, secluded retreats, and historic mansions around Greece designed to thrill, inspire, or unwind. Aiming at elite travelers looking for luxury villas in Greece, Serendipity Greek Villas website perfectly reflects the Greek way of living in a luxury private villa.



Serendipity Greek Villas online presence offers guests a contemporary and friendly to user experience perfectly matching the Greek essence with the distinct identity of Serendipity. Visitors are provided with a detailed overview and extensive information of all splendid villas on prestigious destinations and mythical islands around Greece. Destination maps, rich photo galleries with high quality material and detailed descriptions are the websites highlights that will definitely charm any visitor!



Given the opportunity of this new launch, Serendipity Greek Villas invites esteemed travelers to experience the innumerable unrivalled services and outstanding facilities that all Serendipity Greek Villas grandly provide. We open our gates to the extraordinary world of Serendipity Greek Villas and challenge our guests to let us craft for them a magical experience to Greece creating feelings and memories that will guide them back like the siren. Serendipity is a beautiful thing but sometimes you dont want to leave anything to chance!

See more at: www.serendipitygreekvillas.com

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While Paris may well be beautiful in the springtime and New Years Eve in New York is hard to beat, New Orleans in October has to be right up there. Mardi Gras, of course, gets all the headlines, but with the dropping off of the humidity and the same access to the Gulf coast, the fall in Louisiana can surely rival the beauty of New Englands foliage.

It will still be quite warm, but shouldnt be too uncomfortable with temperatures in the mid teens to high 20s at most. If you are so inclined, you can cool off with a cold beer at the Ponderosa Stomp from the first to the third of the month. Music aficionados and tourists alike flock and mingle, but you dont have to worry if you dont know the words of every song.

If spoken word is more of your thing  stand-up comedy in particular  the Hell Yes Fest running the first week and a half of October will surely put a smile on your face.

Oktoberfest is not just in Germany anymore and the second, third and last week of the month sees a homage to Bavarian-style beer and good, old-fashioned German sausages.

New Orleans has a well-deserved reputation for Cajun and Creole cooking and two of the best places to indulge in a classic gumbo are Galatoires and the Royal House Oyster Bar. While the former has been serving up the locals with fresh seafood for more than 100 years, the latter is just as passionate when it comes to the local cuisine and it shows on every plate.

There are many, many more things to do, eat and drink in this city and October is one of the best times of year to enjoy all it has to offer.
Being  just existing  as a woman on TV has never been easy.

After Mary Tyler Moores Mary Richards tossed her hat in the air with the glee of a happy and innocent child, she still had to convince her boss and co-workers to take her seriously on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She seemed pretty content with being single, until people badgered her about why she was still single.

Today, it should be easier, right? Weve moved beyond stereotypes about the roles women should play. Successful TV executive Liz Lemon (of 30 Rock) may have had a mess of a personal life, but she never felt as if she had to explain herself.

But the television landscape is still cluttered with single gals who just cant get it together. New Girl, Girls, 2 Broke Girls, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mom and any other show with a single female character mines the rich and endless well of pressure and expectation society holds in store. Whether its work, love, even just how they look, implicit standards are at play.

Add to the mix Insecure, a new HBO show whose title sums up how most women might feel several times a day. Insecure comes from Issa Rae, creator of the hugely popular Web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (and author of a memoir of the same name), and Larry Wilmore, host and creator of the dearly departed The Nightly Show. Raes series takes on all of the typical issues youd expect a show about a single woman, and adds to them a layer of racial awareness that is both refreshing and illuminating for a medium whose stories often skew monochromatic.

Rae plays Issa Dee, a 29-year-old woman whose life is in need of a bit more direction. At the nonprofit where she works, shes the only black person, so of course her co-workers defer to her for knowledge about the population they are serving  kids who, well, look more like her than them. At home, her long-term boyfriend has a solid relationship with the couch and the TV remote; and her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji), an attorney who seems to have no trouble with men, is fretting about a lonely, single future.

Issa is looking to be more confident when in situations where a strong voice would eliminate the awkwardness that seems to lurk in every shadow. In front of her bathroom mirror, though, she is anything but insecure, practicing rhymes and trying out witticisms to use when the moment arises. Sometimes she finds the strength to step up, sometimes she dances into the shadows, but she perseveres with grace, humor and a bawdy frankness that takes Sex and the City up a notch.

Insecure premieres at 9:30 p.m. Sunday on HBO.

Speaking of Sex and the City: Sarah Jessica Parker returns to the network she called home more than a decade ago as one-half of a couple whose marriage is dissolving in Divorce, a new comedy on HBO. Parker plays Frances and Thomas Haden Church is Robert; together they discover that splitting up, regardless of how committed they might be to making a clean break, is neither quick nor easy. The show follows as their breakup affects their children, their friends and themselves in ways they hadnt anticipated. Divorce premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.

Up, up, and away: After settling in to a chaotic but productive life on Earth, Supergirl has made another move: She joins The Flash, Arrow and other heroes of DC Comics on The CW, beginning Monday. And when her cousin, Clark Kent, aka Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), shows up to help fight the latest threat to National City, its a family affair. Supergirl returns at 7 p.m. Monday on Ch. 15.2.

What else is new? In addition to the premiere of Supergirl, the week has a handful of other season kick-offs. 2 Broke Girls reboots with two new episodes at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Monday on Ch. 3. The Middle moves to Tuesdays this week, premiering at 7 p.m., followed by new show American Housewife at 7:30 p.m., Fresh Off the Boat at 8 p.m., and The Real ONeals at 8:30 p.m., all on Ch. 27; and Chicago Fire returns Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Ch. 15. DCs Legends of Tomorrow premieres at 7 p.m. Thursday, followed by the premiere of Supernatural at 8 p.m., on Ch. 15.2.
With more than two months to go in 2016, Madison has already recorded more calls for guns being fired in the city than all of last year, a level police believe is a record.

The problem was underscored Thursday when a man fired a gun at a police officer, and again on Friday when a man was shot in the leg on Allied Drive. Over the last week, at least a half-dozen other incidents of gunfire have rattled residents, police said.

There is a genuine concern for the level of gun violence, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said Friday.

So far in 2016, police have responded to 98 incidents of gunfire. Police went to 87 calls in all of 2015. The number of firearms recovered by police is also believed to be a record, with 200 seized in the city so far this year, compared to 188 in all of last year.

Records of shots fired from previous years are incomplete, so police werent able to say definitively that 2016 has set a record.

But police said they cant remember a time when the problem has been so persistent.

The latest shooting happened around 12:40 p.m. Friday, when police said a man was shot in the leg in the 2300 block of Allied Drive on the citys South Side. The victim was lying in the street when police arrived, DeSpain said.

He suffered at least one wound, but it appeared to be non-life-threatening, DeSpain said.

Witnesses said the shooter ran behind buildings on Allied Drive and may have crossed into Fitchburg. With the help of a police dog, searchers were centering on an apartment building along Chalet Gardens Road.

Police were unsure of the motive or if it was connected to other recent shootings in the city, DeSpain said.

Thursday night, police arrested a suspect in connection with an incident earlier that morning on the Southwest Side in which a suspect fired shots at a police officer.

Officers were responding to reports of shots fired in the 5800 block of Russett Road at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. As the first officer arrived, she heard additional gunshots before realizing they were being directed at her, DeSpain said.

Witnesses didnt know the shots were being fired at the officer until they saw the shocked look on her face, DeSpain said.

The officer and squad car were not hit, but evidence found near the squad supported the view that the officer was being targeted, DeSpain said.

Other officers immediately started searching for the shooter.

The man taken into custody Thursday night is believed to be the primary suspect in the shooting. Sgt. Sarah Shimko denied a State Journal request for information about the mans identity or the tentative charges he faces.

Police cordoned off Raymond Road and arrested the suspect after a short foot chase.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 6

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has written to the Education Department to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act in schools to curb malpractices. Schools have been advised to take a holistic view to ensure compliance of guidelines of the Act.

Director General School Education further sent the communique to district education officer (DEO) asking him to implement the Act at the ground level.

As per directions of the ministry, schools should adopt an admission procedure, which is non discriminatory, rational and transparent. Schools should not take interviews in elementary stage.

The ministry further stated that schools would display information pertaining to admission on their notice boards at least 30 days before the commencement of the process. The information may include details of fees, including its purpose, break-up, periodicity, categorisation as refundable or non-refundable and payment deadlines. Seats available in each class and category, including their total number at the entry level and those for children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group should be displayed on school notice board.

The ministry made it clear that the process of charging capitation fees or donations by schools was prohibited under Section 13 of the RTE Act, and punishable with fine.

Section 30 of the RTE Act prescribes that every child completing his elementary education shall be awarded a certificate of completion.

Section 28 of the RTI Act prohibits teachers from engaging in private tuitions. Guidelines for eliminating corporal punishment in schools under the RTI Act state that physical punishment and mental harassment under Section 17(l) was prohibited and a punishable offence under Section 17(2).
An Edgerton man who was looking at his cellphone allegedly caused a two-vehicle crash when he crossed the center line on a Green County highway.

The crash happened at about 4 p.m. on Highway 92 in the town of Brooklyn, the Sheriff's Office said.

Robert Harried, 23, was eastbound on Highway 92 when he crossed the center line, causing a westbound vehicle driven by Audrey Holland, 70, of Brooklyn to swerve into the eastbound lane to avoid a collision.

At the same time, Harried swerved back into the eastbound lane and the collision happened.

Holland was taken to a local hospital while Harried was not injured.

Harried was cited for operating left of center and inattentive driving.
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 6

Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg today visited Bathinda and Goniana grain markets to take stock of the ongoing paddy procurement by interacting with farmers, arthiyas and representatives of labour organisations.

Expressing satisfaction over the ongoing process, Garg said the procurement was going on at good pace. However, he asked the authorities concerned to expedite the lifting process.

He also asked the procurement agencies to procure paddy within the approved moisture standards.

The Deputy Commissioner appealed to the farmers of the district for bringing only dry and clean crop to the mandis to avoid any inconvenience.

He interacted with farmers and asked them about the problems they were facing in mandis.

Garg, accompanied by an officer concerned, got the produce of Avtar Singh of Naruana, Jagsir Singh of Jodhpur Romana, Gurmel Singh of Bibi Wala, Joginder Singh of Phoos Mandi, Boota Singh of Aaklia and Balwinder Singh of Burj Mehma procured.

Answering a query regarding procurement, lifting and arrangements at the grain markets, he said 181 procurement centres had been established in the district and adequate arrangements had been made, besides ensuring amenities for farmers.

He said last year, 10 lakh metric tonne of paddy was procured in the district while this season, more than 12 lakh metric tonne was expected.

The Deputy Commissioner said lifting had also been started in the district, which would expedite in the coming days.

He urged the farmers to bring paddy with moisture content up to 17 per cent.
New Delhi, October 6

BP Plc, Europes third-biggest oil company, has received government approval to set up petrol pumps to retail petrol and diesel in India. BP will be the 10th player to enter the lucrative fuel retailing business that is seeing double-digit growth, not seen anywhere in the world.

The UK-based firm, as also Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, was given approval by the Oil Ministry to retail petrol and diesel just a few days back, sources said.

When contacted, a BP India spokesperson said: BP sees a strong future for transportation fuels in India. We are keen to be involved in this market and contribute to its development.

The company had in January this year won in-principle approval to retail ATF to airlines in India. A few months later, it got full approval for that. Now, the company has also got permission for retailing petrol and diesel.

We can confirm we have been granted approval for marketing for ATF and have additionally applied for an authorisation to market MS (petrol) and HSD (diesel), the BP spokesperson said. PTI

Oil prices top $50/barrel

Oil prices in New York rose above $50 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since June, boosted by lower US petroleum inventories. The drop in US oil inventories in yesterday's weekly US report added to momentum after last week's OPEC announcement of a plan to cut output. AFP
New Delhi, October 6

Use of technology, transparent processes and ease of doing business will help India pull off 8% growth over the next couple of decades, the government said today.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said states were also working in concert with the Centre in this regard.

"It (8% growth) is achievable and with this commitment, the government is working. And across the states, we find that urge now that they want to get out of the rigmarole and see brighter ways," she said at the India Economic Summit jointly organised by CII and WEF here.

According to the minister, awareness about the issues and difficulties on which the Centre and the states need to work is helping politically too.

"... the kind of issues on which we have to come together and get over the difficulties are actually helping politics.

If only you succeed in removing these obstructions and if you are committed to moving forward on using technologies, making sure transparent processes are established, I can see that 8% growth is moving. So, it is achievable," she asserted.  PTI

FDI norms to be relaxed further

Over 90% of FDI is coming through automatic route and the Commerce Ministry is further relaxing the FDI regime. Huge potential exists in India to attract FDI and the government is implementing a series of transformative actions and policies which are required to realise this potential Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, dipp
Tribune news service

Chandigarh, October 6

Coming down hard on the rampant use of polythene in Chandigarh, a team led by Dr Tapasya Raghav, Sub-divisional Magistrate (East), along with sanitary inspectors today seized more than five quintals of polythene during the raid in the Transport Area, Sector 26, today. Acting on information, the team seized the polythene from a truck that had reached from Delhi.

Raghav said the drive would continue against the use of polythene. She said that four quintal of polythene was seized and a challan of Rs 5,000 was issued at Ram Darbar, Phase II, Industrial Area, Chandigarh, yesterday.

She said a warning had been issued to the shopkeepers not to use polythene bags. The Administration had imposed a blanket ban on polythene and plastic bags in 2008 in the Union Territory of Chandigarh under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986). The blanket ban on the manufacture and use of polythene and plastic bags was aimed at ensuring sustainable improvement in the environment.
Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 7

The 4th South Asian History conference, being organised by the Punjabi Universitys Department of History, on Exploring the Evolution of State and Polity in South Asia: Continuities and Transformation began at the universitys Arts Auditorium here today.

Prof Shireen Moosvi, Professor, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, presented the keynote address, while Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, gave the presidential remarks at the inaugural session of the conference.

Dr Mesbah Kamal, Secretary General, National Coalition for Indigenous Peoples and Chairperson, Research and Development Collective, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Prof Moh Sholehatul Mustofae, Dean of Social Sciences, Semarang State University, Indonesia, delivered special lectures.

The speakers focused on strengthening the bond between SAARC countries, especially in the light of the postponement of the summit that was supposed to be held in Pakistan due to strained relations between India and Pakistan in the recent past for the overall development of countries in South Asia. South Asia as a region, Dr Jaspal Singh said, was important from the strategic as well as socio-economic and geographical perspectives. Every country, he said, needed to find uniformity in diversity from the pluralistic point of view.

Dr Mesbah Kamal criticised the communal approach being adopted by Pakistan not only against people belonging to other faiths but also against Muslims of Bangladesh and elsewhere. People of East Bengal, that is, Bangladeshis, were not allowed to celebrate the birth anniversary of Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore. India, on the other hand, has proved itself a true democracy in all respects and by and large a secular state in the region, he said.

Prof Moh Sholehatul Mustofae focused on strong cultural and religious ties between India and Indonesia. Prof Shireen Moosvi said political independence alone doesnt bring development on its own. Countries passing through the post-colonial phase have to support each other to march ahead on the way to progress.

Talking about history as a subject, Registrar Devinder Singh said no research was possible without going through the historical perspective of its theme, which constitutes one of its very crucial elements in shape of review of literature. He also proposed vote of thanks.

Head of the History Department Prof Jaspal Kaur introduced the theme and talked about other details of the three-day conference, while Prof KS Dhillon, Dean, Colleges, welcomed the guests. The proceedings of the 3rd conference were also released on the occasion.
Our Correspondent

Dera Bassi, October 6

In yet another firing incident at Haripur Kuran village near Dera Bassi, a 26-year-old youth sustained bullet injuries when armed youths opened fire at him here today.

The victim, Jagtar Singh, a resident of Dhanauni village, was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi, where doctors referred him to the GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh, in view of his critical condition.

Jagtar suffered two bullet injuries on his right thigh, sources said. This is the third such incident in Dera Bassi in the past two months.

The incident occurred around 8.30 pm when Jagtar, along with his friends Deepak and Gurbez Singh, was going towards Dera Bassi on a motorcycle.

Jagtar was riding the motorcycle when the youths, who were in an Innova, opened fire at them near the Bhushan factory at Dera Bassi.

Deepak and Gurbez escaped unhurt while Jagtar sustained two gunshots. The assailants escaped from the spot.

Police sources said old enmity between the two groups was believed to be the reason behind the firing incident.
Nihal Singh

SHIMON PERES, who died recently at 93, belonged to the small fraternity of Israels founding fathers who shared some quintessential beliefs. They encompassed a streak of idealism, total cynicism in exploiting American power even while spying on it and using brute force in getting the better of Palestinians.

Exploiting these traits to the hilt, Peres was the soft face of a hard policy. During breezy interviews he gave me on the hop in the1990s across Arab capitals, he was always polite, always secretive and gave little away. No wonder he wore an array of hats as prime minister, president and cabinet minister.

The great tragedy for the Palestinians has been that they could never win the diplomatic game because the chief mediator, the US, was biased in favour of Israel, both for security reasons and the effective use Israel made of the American Jewish lobby. Most agreements that have dotted the graveyard along with the intefadas were mostly signposts for Israel buying time to reach its desired destination. The halo of Oslo accords won Peres, together with Rabin and Arafat, the Nobel Peace prize.

Behind the ceremony on the White House lawns, a great photo opportunity, was Egypt throwing in its towel, signalling it wanted its territory back and was tired of leading the Arab world. The most striking aspect of the agreement was the emergence of Yitzak Rabin as the only front-rank leader prepared to give Palestinians something of their due. For the Jewish majority, he was too much of a risk and had to be murdered by a Jew.

And so the story returned to the familiar script: building more illegal Jewish settlements on occupied land (initially eliciting an American slap on the wrist), a parrot-like repetition of a two-state solution the Israeli leadership was determined not to give. Initially, US Secretary of State John Kerry, did make an earnest effort to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer but was frustrated at every turn by Israel relying on its reach to American power brokers. He and the Obama administration realised that Jerusalems hold on US power centres was simply too strong.

The first time I met Yasser Arafat was in Tunis where the Palestine Liberation Organisation had sought refuge after it was thrown out of Jordan. He was an impressive figure vigorous in defence of his cause and he was largely relying on his oratory to convince the world that his cause was both just and would be ultimately triumphant.

But as Arafat trotted on the world stage, it was becoming increasingly clear that oratory was no match for power. More and more Palestinian land was swallowed up by Israel in settlements under Peress leadership; even the initial protests ceased after a time. The two-state solution became a curiosity.

Among Israels leadership, it was only Rabin who belatedly realised that a long-term solution giving Palestinians their rights and land would bring peace to his nation. During my visits to Israel. I could discern that many of the people I met agreed with this thesis but their voices were weak and they were greatly outnumbered by the majority who wants everything for Israel and Palestinians can go drown in the sea.

President Obama has thrown in the towel as he approaches the end of his sojourn in the White House. Hillary Clinton, the probable winner of the presidential election, seems to have even greater empathy with Jews to initiate honest efforts for peace. And so Palestinians must continue with their struggle leading nowhere.

There was of course the Nasser era in Egyptian and Arab politics. He won the Suez Canal back to the humiliation of Britain and France. But it was largely a downhill journey since then. Every Arab attempt to take on Israel militarily ended in humiliation and loss of territory. And the region reverted to a stalemate as Israels main defender, the US, largely wanted peace on Israeli terms. And there was no counter-force strong enough to take up the Palestinian cause.

Peres had a big role in the evolution of these events. He presided over the illegal settlement building spree. He was party to every other major decision to deprive Palestinians of their land and rights. And yet he remained the soft-spoken face of Israeli colonialism.

Where does Israel go from here? Today it is a modern state with high-tech innovative industries, an exporter of sophisticated weapons and an underbelly full of Palestinian resentment over seeing their land seized and being treated as second class citizens. But most Israelis seem content living in a police state (for Palestinians).

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has a broader lesson. There are limits to the use of oratory to win points. Arafat was a charmer when in full flow, but the limits of his power were demonstrated with his death, mission unaccomplished. True, the mess we see today in the Middle East is in part the creation of outside powers, most significantly the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement between Britain and France dividing up the spoils of the Ottoman Empire for their own convenience. We can only regret the colonial era, but the important point is that after Nasser no charismatic Arab leader has emerged to take charge of the situation.

We have had various shapes and sizes of dictators, some more bizarre than others. And after being bitten in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration has stayed away from military intervention, except through the air. The five-year civil war we see in Syria is because the minority Alawite government of Bashar al-Assad is buttressed by Iran and Russia for their own interests.

The UN has again proved unable to cope with events. The greater the East-West divide, the less prospect there is of effective direction from the Security Council. One can only be amused by the tussle over the job of the next Secretary-General. Over the years, he has exercised less and less power.
It was expected that political peace reached at the national level over the September 29 anti-terror strikes would not last long but given the high-stakes elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, it has ended disappointingly a bit too soon. All sides share the blame. The BJP is trying to market the armys achievement as Narendra Modis in Uttar Pradesh. It has put up posters portraying Modi as Lord Rama and Nawaz Sharif as Ravana while Arvind Kejriwal has been shown as Meghanad. The Modi glorification and the public felicitation of Defence Minister Parrikar in UP have provoked an opposition backlash. Congress leaders assert that the UPA too had carried out similar strikes minus the bragging. On Thursday Rahul Gandhi reacted with his khoon ki dalali comment that invited retaliatory fire from Amit Shah, which, in turn, led Kapil Sibal to launch a counter-attack. There is a noticeable deterioration in political dialogue.

Opposition leaders rallied behind Narendra Modi initially because he had kept politics aside. It was one of those rare moments in Indias political culture. Despite his habit of putting himself in centre stage the PM had commendably distanced himself from the army strikes. The political restraint on all sides, however, did not last. B-grade leaders display of triumphalism and attacks on anyone doubting the strikes created and widened the fissures. By the time Modi intervened to stop chest-thumping, the damage had been done. The posters in UP hail the BJP governments befitting reply to Pakistan after Uri. Like Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah too has objected to the use of the army in political posters.

At their press briefing, the army and MEA spokespersons had emphasised that the surgical strikes were against terror, and not against Pakistan or its army. Yet this fine distinction between terror and Pakistan has got blurred. Hotheads on both sides of the divide, supported by TV channels, engage in hate talk. War rhetoric may not be always harmless or manageable. The political discourse, whether between the two nations or political parties, should not slip below a certain level of decency and civility.
In Punjabs border belt schools have reopened but people have not been officially told to return home. They are doing it at their own risk. The next time the Union Home Ministry tells the border residents to leave their homes for safer places, it would be taken less seriously. This is dangerous because the next time the threat of war may not be as unreal as it has turned out to be this time. It is amazing how casually an important order resulting in the displacement of lakhs of people in the states bordering Pakistan has been passed even though it has been possibly done in good faith. The BSF says it did not ask for such an order. There was no military deployment along the border. After Pakistans denial on the surgical strikes, chances of a conflict receded. Did the Home Ministry rely on unreliable intelligence and overreact? Was there a political motive?

For the people in the border villages leaving homes at such a short notice is a costly affair. Already their modest financial resources are overstretched in the struggle for survival. In addition, the sudden announcement inflicted on them emotional discomfort. A familiar fear gripped them  the fear of losing all that they had accumulated and built over the years. One order threatened their lifetime savings. None in the administration had a clue about what was going on. None of their elected representatives came to tell them where to go and for how long.

When immediately after the surgical strikes Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Parkash Singh Badal to get the border villages vacated, the Punjab Chief Minister did not bother to ask questions. He simply followed the brief diktat. Badal spent the next few days listening to problems of the uprooted as if he had just arrived from another planet. Anyone of his age living in Punjab is familiar with the pain of dislocation and homelessness. Punjabis have suffered the pangs of Partition and experienced the scourge of war. At this hour people need concrete help, not politicians visits and questions about their well-being. Followed by photographers, Badal replayed his familiar sangat darshan political game.
Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

Supporters of former CM Bhupinder Hooda and state Congress president Ashok Tanwar clashed while waiting to receive vice-president of the party Rahul Gandhi for his rally on the completion of his 2,500-km Kisan Yatra here today.

The clash occurred in two bursts.

Tanwar received minor injuries on his head in the incident. He was taken to hospital for first aid. Farmers from Haryana and party leaders were given a venue to receive Rahul, who had to address a public meeting.

The Tanwar faction alleged Hooda supporters were the aggressors. The Hooda supporters counter-charged that the Tanwar faction stage-managed a fracas to create a controversy.

CLP leader Kiran Choudhry, considered to be from the anti-Hooda group, expressed concern over the incident.

MLAs Geeta Bhukkal and Kuldip Sharma, who are from the pro-Hooda camp, said the incident was unfortunate.

It was the duty of the state party president to control the situation, said Bhukkal.

While the Tanwar camp apparently dominated the venue in terms of the number of hoardings, Hooda supporters had area domination.

While Hooda stood silently throughout at one end, Tanwar was seen addressing his supporters in the crowd with the help of the portable public address system.

The skirmish broke out all of a sudden. In a flash, a fight broke out among a few persons on the side of the crowd owing allegiance to Tanwar. This was about 30 minutes before Rahul arrived.

A memorandum signed by Congress leaders on behalf of farmers regarding their grievances was submitted to Rahul.

Hooda turned back by Tanwar men

Former CM Bhupinder Hooda who visited Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to inquire about the health of Tanwar was turned back by the latters supporters on Thursday evening. Hooda was not allowed to meet Tanwar by the latters supporters. They raised slogans against him, forcing him to return.
A Madison man is among 102 people whose prison sentences, almost all for drug-related offenses, have been shortened by President Barack Obama.

Ronald L. Baskin, 36, who was serving a 21-year, 10-month sentence for dealing crack cocaine, will be released in October 2018, if he enrolls in a residential drug treatment program. That will effectively cut 10 years off of Baskins sentence.

Baskin was sentenced in October 2007 by then-U.S. District Judge John Shabaz. Prior to being sent to federal prison, Baskin had served five- and 10-year state prison sentences, both for dealing crack, according to court records.

Obama also commuted the sentence of Victor Matias Jr. of Baraboo, who was sentenced in March 2001 to 30 years in prison for several cocaine-related convictions. His sentence was amended last year to just over 24 years. It is now set to expire in February 2017, after he served nearly 16 years.

Baskins and Matias cases were among more than 2,000 that have been submitted for clemency by the Clemency Project 2014, a Washington, D.C.-based project made up of the American Bar Association, the ACLU, Families against Mandatory Minimums, the Federal Public and Community Defenders and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The project was formed at the behest of the U.S. Department of Justice in order to reduce disparities in sentencing for nonviolent, drug-related offenses. Until sentencing guidelines were revised, stricter sentences were imposed on those who sold crack cocaine in the belief that it was more addictive than powder cocaine.

The Justice Department set criteria for those eligible for clemency that included people currently serving a sentence in federal prison who would likely have received a lower sentence if convicted of the same crime today; are low-level offenders without significant ties to gangs or cartels; have served at least 10 years of their sentence; have no significant criminal history; have behaved in prison; and have no history of violence.

The Clemency Project provides free lawyers for prisoners who fit the criteria.

To date, Obama has issued 774 commutations, 356 of which were supported by the Clemency Project 2014.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

Just about four months after the Principal Secretary, Local Bodies Department, Haryana, was asked to personally examine the outsourcing of firemen in a Municipal Council, lapses have been found in the system.

Taking cognizance of the developments, the Principal Secretary has directed the Sirsa DC to fix responsibility of the delinquent officers and officials, who made such arrangements. He has also called for a report so that appropriate action can be taken against them.

As the case came up for resumed hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, an affidavit by Anil Kumar, Principal Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, was placed before the Bench.

It said a detailed examination of the matter was carried out and record pertaining to the appointment of fire staff through a tendering process on an outsourcing basis from a private agency was inspected. The level of fitness vis-a-vis the requirements of physical standards for fire-fighting was also checked before the report was submitted to the government.

The Bench of Justice Rajiv Narain Raina was told that the report was examined and lapses were found at the level of the selection committee constituted by the Sirsa DC for the selection of candidates to be appointed on a contract basis through the agency. The physical standards of some candidates were short of requirements for the job and they did not fulfil the criteria prescribed for engagements/appointments.

The developments took place on a petition filed by Rajinder Singh against Haryana and other respondents. The High Court, during the preliminary hearing of the petition, had asked the Principal Secretary to examine the issue of outsourcing.

The court was also told that vacancies were indeed available. Every effort would be made to engage candidates through a better designed outsourcing system, which would be fair and transparent. Efforts would also be made to adjust the petitioner and other similarly situated persons as firemen against available sanctioned posts.
Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 6

The substantial increase in the number of glacial lakes in the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh from 596 to 705 within two years has raised concern over the possible threat from lake bursting and a dire need for proper monitoring and management of these water bodies having international dimensions.

The latest study undertaken by the State Centre for Climate Change of the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment confirms that there is accelerated glacial melting in all the river basins of Chenab, Ravi, Beas, barring Satluj. Though the number of lakes in the Satluj basin has remained stagnant at 391 one cannot overlook the fact that the number of lakes in the Satluj basin rose from a mere 38 in 1994 to 390 in 2015.

With Himachal having lived under the threat of the bursting of Parechu Lake, located in the upper catchment of the Spiti basin in Tibet in 2004, the findings of the study necessitate the need for having a mechanism where these mapped lakes are monitored regularly for any change to avert any major mishap on account of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF).

Though there has been no incident of GLOF in the Indian Himalayas such cases are frequently witnessed in Nepal. The Uttrakhand floods of 2013 have also been correlated with bursting of a lake.

There is no denying that climate change is impacting the Himalayan glaciers but what we need to do is to use these effectively as water sources and at the same time monitor them regularly to avert any mishap due to bursting, said Tarun Kapoor, Principal Secretary, Forest and Environment.

Since the threat in 2004, the Parechu Lake is being monitored regularly during April-September when there is more melting and the State Disaster Management Authority, district administration and the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam is being updated from time to time.

The study also confirms accelerated glacial melting which has resulted in increase of 109 small lakes in the three basins of Chenab, Ravi, Beas, within a short span of two years. The study undoubtedly indicates more pronounced effect of climatic variations in the Himalayan region resulting in the formation of small lakes, said S.S. Randhawa, Senior Scientific Officer in the Council who undertook the study along with other scientists.Though the number of lakes in Chenab basin has risen from 116 in 2013 to 192 in 2015 the number of lakes in 2001 was a mere 55. In case of Satluj basin though the number of lakes has remained stagnant during the last two years this region has some of the biggest lakes as there are 10 lakes with areas more than 10 hectares and 45 having are between five to 10 hectares.
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 6

While supporting the response of Indian Army after the Uri incident, the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association today called upon the people of the country to boycott the Chinese goods as the country has always been unfavourable to India.

The association today held a discussion session to extend an unconditional support to the India Army. They said people should boycott the Chinese goods. Since festival season is just round the corner, the citizens of India must not buy Chinese goods as it boosts their economy.

Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, Lt Col Balbir Singh, association president, said: The Indian Army has always shown their valour, when it comes to giving befitting response to the enemy. Therefore, no political party should take credit for the surgical strike that has been undertaken by the Indian Army. The Indian army is fully capable to tackle any situation at the border.

He said, It is unfortunate that a war like situation has been created in India and some political parties have been taking political benefit.

The association also urged the government and political parties not to create war hysteria in the country.

The association also condemned the government for not meeting the ex-servicemens long pending demand of One Rank One Pension (OROP).
Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Sehr Makri (Zero Line, LoC), October 6

People are living in extreme fear and the administration has already started an evacuation process at Sehr Makri village, located near the Line of Control, since Pakistan shelling started but residents are caught in a dilemma. On the one hand they want to leave for migrant camps, but on the other hand they have concern about their crops which is ready to be harvested.

On Tuesday, when Pakistan resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation on the LoC, this area was one of the most-affected ones. The administration swung into action and evacuated several villages which fall in the range of mortar shells and where people are living at high risk.

Though there has been calm since yesterday, people are still fearful in this village that is located beyond the fence.

A few villagers, who are staying back to keep watch on their valuables and cattle, seemed to be in confusion as a local political leader, who visited the area in the morning, had told them that they would be evacuated on Friday morning whereas the administration had already sent a vehicle to take people to camps established at safer places.

Shelling on Tuesday had damaged a house near Radha Swami Satsang ground, a septic tank of school and had broken window panes of the school building.

A few men and women, who were returning to their home after days work in nearby fields, said it was not safe to stay in the area. However, they are caught in catch-22 situation. They want to leave for migrant camps established near Nowshera town, but their ripened crops are a cause for concern.

At this point of time, we reap our crops to get food for winter months. But this shelling and firing from across the LoC has shattered our plans and if it continues we may not be able to harvest our crops, said Vijay Kumar, a resident of Sehr village, who is also working with the Education Department.

People dont want tension on the LoC which directly impacts their day to day life. We face the brunt of any hostility between India and Pakistan. This time also we have been forced to leave our homes at the mercy of god, said Rattan Lal Choudhary, a resident of Kalsian village in Nowshera sector, where mortar shells landed.

What we want is peace on the border so that we are able to live normal life and our children are able to attend schools, which have been closed due to prevailing situation on LoC, Choudhary added.
Suhail A Shah

Anantnag/Srinagar, Oct7

A policeman was killed and two others, including a policeman and a member of the minority Pandit community, were injured in south Kashmirs Shopian district after a weapon-snatching bid by militants turned into a gunfight this evening.

According to police reports, militants attacked a police post guarding the Kashmiri Pandit community in the Reshnagri area of Shopian district.

The policemen on duty opened fire to foil the weapon-snatching bid.

Militants retaliated the fire and the exchange of fire lasted about 10 minutes in which two policemen and a Kashmiri Pandit were injured, said a police source.

The injured were evacuated to District Hospital, Shopian, where one of the policemen was declared brought dead. The other two injured have been shifted to Srinagar for specialised treatment, a hospital source said.

Meanwhile, curfew was imposed today in parts of Srinagar to foil separatists march to the UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) office on the 13th Friday since the current unrest started. The unrest entered the fourth month today, following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

Amid a complete shutdown and restrictions across Kashmir, curfew was imposed in areas under five police stations of Srinagar downtown  Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal and MR Gunj  and two police stations of Maisuma and Batamaloo in the uptown. All roads leading to Sonwar, where the UN office is located, were sealed off and no movement was allowed in the area. Friday prayers were not offered at the shrine of Hazrat Syed Yaqoob Sahib near the UN office as the authorities locked its gates to prevent movement of the people in the area.

In view of the UN chalo call given by some separatist organisations and the violence caused by miscreants during the last few Fridays, curfew was imposed in parts of Srinagar city as a precautionary measure, a police spokesman said.

During the day, 11 incidents of stone-throwing were reported from Srinagar, Baramulla and Sopore. Reports of clashes in the city were reported from Peerbagh, Burzulla, Natipora and Safakadal. The situation, however, remained under control and there was no report of any untoward incident, the police said.

Curfew and restrictions are imposed mainly on Fridays to avoid any trouble after the prayers, mainly in the downtown areas, where Srinagars grand mosque Jamia Masjid is located at Nowhatta. With the restrictions, the congregational prayers were not held at Jamia Masjid today.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 6

The status of the major ongoing development projects in the Vaishno Devi shrine area and the expansion of facilities for pilgrims were discussed at a meeting under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra.

The Governor, who is also chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), reviewed the projects at a special meeting of the Jammu-based members of the board at Raj Bhawan here yesterday. The meeting discussed the preparation of the master plan of the entire shrine area and the area adjoining the Super Speciality Hospital at Kakryal where the College of Nursing is also functioning.

The meeting advised the CEO, AK Sahu, to ensure that the work to finalise the master plan, being prepared by the School of Architecture, New Delhi, is concluded well within the agreed time frame and takes into account all existing structures, all projects under implementation and all projects which are still to be finalised and executed.

It also discussed in detail the current state of development in Sira and Kakryal villages and directed the CEO to have master plans prepared for each of the two areas to identify the basic amenities which have still not been provided: particularly lanes, drains, street lights.

The meeting decided that both roads connecting Kakryal, from the Domel and Manthal axis, should be beautified and illuminated. The meeting also approved the CEOs proposal to incur expenditure to upgrade the skills and capacity building of the ponywallas, palkiwallas and pithoos to enable them to acquire the requisite professional capacity to render satisfactory services to the pilgrims.

The meeting discussed the offer of the Northern Railway for the shrine board to establish certain facilities with added convenience for the yatris near the Katra railway station, Katra. The CEO was asked to draw up a proposal to develop the resting, toilet and eating facilities for the low-budget pilgrims who cannot afford to stay in guest houses and hotels.

The meeting was attended by SS Bloeria, Ashok Bhan, HL Maini, Justice Permod Kohli (retd) and Maj Gen Shiv Kumar Sharma (retd), all Jammu-based members of the board. MK Bhandari, Secretary, Health and Medical Education, attended as a special invitee; the CEO of the board and Piyush Singla and MK Kumar, Additional CEOs.
Jammu, October 7

Pakistan Army on Friday morning resorted to heavy shelling and gunfire at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu region.

Heavy shelling and firing started in Malta area in Poonch district on Friday morning after Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate mortar shelling and firing at Indian military and civilian positions, a police official said here.

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According to sources, Indian Army retaliated effectively using same calibre weapons after unprovoked shelling by the Pakistani side.

Pakistan has been violating with impunity the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed with India in November 2003.

The violation of the ceasefire agreement by Pakistani side has become a rule rather than an exception after the Indian Army on September 28 night carried out surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. IANS
Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 6

Claiming that despite facing a number of hardships due to non-settlement of issues by the government for the past seven decades, the displaced families of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) are ready to sacrifice their lives for the nation and fight till the last breath with the enemy if need arises.

No doubt, the displaced families of PoJK are confronting with financial problems due to the non-settlement of our economic package but all this has no effect on our loyality towards India, said Rachhpal Singh, president, J&K PoJK Front.

Every single member of displaced families is ready to sacrifice his life for the safety and integrity of motherland, just like our brave forces are doing at the moment on border, Rachhpal added. The economic package is no doubt necessary for our survival, but it has nothing to with our love for the nation and our children are ready for supreme sacrifice, said Krishna Chib, a member of the PoJK Front.

Some of the displaced families have shifted to other areas while some are still there. In the prevailing

war-like situation on the border, each one of us is with the our armed forces to defend the sovereignty of the country. The spirit is really high among displaced families despite facing tremendous hardships, said Jaswant Singh, a PoJK Front member.

Due to the non-settlement of economic package issue, most of the displaced families are facing financial crisis as they are finding it extremely tough to survive. Further, there is no education for our children. Our wards should be given quota as is given to the students from the Valley in professional and academic courses, another member of the front Suram Singh opined.

Despite the delay by the government in solving our issues, we all are united and fully support the Central government for its tough stance against Pakistan because the nation always comes first, he said.
Tribune News service

Jammu, October 6

After the Armys surgical strikes on terror launch pads, Pakistans desperation has gone up and it is trying to disturb peace in India, said Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh.

He said this was clear from various terrorist attacks which were successfully thwarted by security forces.

At Langate, after the militants struck at 10 Rashtriya Rifles camp, our security forces neutralised all three militants, said the Deputy CM.

Nirmal Singh said the morale of the security forces was very high. Though there were attempts from Pakistan to sabotage peace by infiltration or by firing on the border, these were being repulsed forcefully.

High alert has been sounded. All tasks given to the security forces by the Army or the government are being carried out successfully, he said.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session of the Jammu District Working Committee, Nirmal Singh said the BJP had not deviated from its agenda and core issues. He said both BJP and PDP had honoured the mandate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and came together for governance.

He said the people of the state had voted overwhelming in favour of BJP and PDP as they were fed up with the National Conference and the Congress. They voted for our coalition to fulfil their desire of good governance and corruption-free administration, he added.

Nirmal Singh said the state government was working towards developing Jammu as a tourist hub so that trade and business do not suffer.

Appealing to the people not to get misled by false propaganda against the BJP, Nirmal Singh said comparison between the decades-long rules of the Congress and that of Narendra Modi government itself showed that who had been pro-people, pro-development and concerned for the common masses.

Speaking about the ongoing developmental work in Jammu city, Nirmal Singh said the Tawi River Front Beautification Project, artificial lake, Mubarak Mandi Heritage Development Project, Gondola and multitier parking in Jammu city were a few of such important projects which were aimed at attracting tourists. These would benefit the traders, daily wagers and give employment to the youth, he added.

Morale of security forces high

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Thursday said Pakistans attempt to sabotage peace by infiltration or by firing on the border was being repulsed forcefully. He said the morale of the security forces is very high
Two UW-Madison students are recovering from the disease that can cause meningitis as officials try to determine if the two cases are related.

The unidentified students were hospitalized this week with meningococcal disease, University Health Services officials said Friday.

UHS is the on-campus medical clinic for students.

We are still investigating whether these cases are related, said Dr. William Kinsey, director of medical services at UHS. Depending on that determination, a vaccine recommendation from UHS may be forthcoming.

The two students had different strains of meningococcal bacteria. Most students are already immunized against one but not the other.

The bacteria spreads through close contact with an infected persons oral or nasal secretions, such as by sharing a drinking cup.

Students concerned about meningococcal disease are encouraged to contact UHS at 265-5600. UHS also has information about meningitis on its website.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 6

The situation across the Kashmir valley remained peaceful and incident-free amid shutdown and restrictions today.

The ongoing unrest triggered by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8 completed 90 days today.

The government has decided to impose restrictions in some areas of Srinagar city to foil the separatist march to the UN office here tomorrow. The decision to impose curbs in downtown and some other areas of the city was taken at a security review meeting held this evening.

The separatist organisations in the fresh weekly protest programme from October 7 to 13 have called for the march to the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan at Sonwar here tomorrow.

In the joint protest calendar, the separatists have called for handing over a memorandum to the UN regarding Indias recent attempts of creating a war hysteria and also to impress upon India to shun violence.

There were no reports of any incidents of violence from any part of the Valley today, the police said.

A police spokesman said that with the improvement in the overall situation there was a quantum increase in the day-to-day activities across the Valley.

Increased volume of private as well as public traffic was seen on roads across the Valley, the spokesman said, adding that the shops were open and a large number of vendors were seen on roads, lanes and bylanes.

Meanwhile, some transporters today staged a protest against the continuous shutdowns in Kashmir. A small group of transporters along with their families assembled at Press Enclave in Srinagar and held a protest.

We have children and families. We are suffering. During the relaxation hours (strike), shops open here and autorickshaws ply, but the transporters suffer, said a protester.

As the protesters were speaking to the media, a group of youth assaulted them for speaking against the strikes.

Kupwara: Residents of Bumhama village in Kupwara district today protested the arrest of a youth by the police.

Locals, mostly women, blocked the Kupwara-Sopore road and raised slogans against the police.
Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Nonial Migrant Camp (Nowshera), October 7

Ten-year-old Aaradhya might be sharing the name of the daughter of famous B-town couple Abhishek-Aishwarya Bachchan, but her fortunes are not as good as the star child. She has been rendered homeless by an increased hostility between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) and is waiting to return to her home in Kalsian village in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.

She is not able to mingle with other children as she doesnt have many friends around in the migrant camp which has been set up at a safe place far from her village where mortar shells landed on Tuesday.

After the shelling, the administration evacuated people from Kalsian and other villages and brought them to the migrant camp at Government High School, Nonial. Around 584 persons from 175 families have found shelter at this place where the administration is providing food and other essentials.

Studying in Class VI at Government Middle School Kalsian, Aaradhya wants to go home and attend the school. But she does not know how and when this will happen. With the situation turning tense with every passing day, children, like Aaradhya, might have to wait for a long time to go back to their home.

Eight-year-old Disha Chaudhary too had a similar tale. We are here because our village is witnessing shelling from Pakistan side. Shells have landed in vicinity of our homes and we had no choice but to leave, said Disha, also belonging to Kalsian village.
Johnson Thomas

Mirzya, a film based on the folklore of Mirza-Sahiban, with a screenplay set to Shakespearean-like verse by Gulzar, is annoyingly incomprehensible and narratively alienating.

The tactics employed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to tell this story look patchy, unwieldy and untenable. Even though its visually arresting, juxtaposed as it is between two parallel time-lines  one in the distant past and the other in the present, the story-telling is so pretentious and self-aware that theres no attachment in the experience.

Set in rural Rajasthan, the film explores why Sahiban betrayed Mirza and then killed herself. But to get to that metric the aam audience would probably need an interpreter.

Monish aka Monisha aka Adil Mirza (Harshvardhan Kapoor in the adult role) is his widowed mothers only hope while Suchi (Saiyami in the adult role) is his best and only friend in school. They share a bonding that outlasts even juvenile crime, punishment, escape, aliases and further impoverishment. Considering this is a mainstream Bollywood film, you wouldnt be wrong in thinking that it could only be love!

An eight-year-old shoots dead his teacher who dared to punish his girlfriend and then grows up to become an escaped convict with an alias working in the stables of the very Prince (Anuj Chowdhury) who happens to be the lover/fiance of the adult Suchi. Of course Suchi recognises Adil as Monish of her past, passion between them is rekindled while jealousy and revenge play spoilsports.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra romanticises juvenile crime and makes it seem like something all romantics must aspire to. The film lacks intensity, the acting is posture happy, the narrative is confusing, the dialogues are theatrical (alluding to a nautanki style) and the visuals are showboat stuff; the content too is pedestrian. Gulzars lyrics sound juvenile and the music is just a little too loud and copiously entreating to be deemed melodious. Truly pretentious stuff this!
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 7

BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday slammed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his khoon ki dalaali remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a press conference here, Shah said there were two reasons for holding the conference. One, he wanted to congratulate the media for standing by the army, which had done wonders for its morale and generated positivity in the country. The media had also played an important role in Indias strategic and diplomatic success in the world, he added.

Not only did the media help boost the morale of the country but some investigative journalists also helped expose Pakistans lies from across the border, he said.

Shah warned political parties for questioning the surgical strikes and doing politics over the issue. He said the government had called a press conference by the DGMO soon after the surgical strikes to talk about them.

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Shah said, Who are you trying to question, the brave Indian Army? Kejriwal supporting Pakistan is trending in the social media in Pakistan. When Rahul Gandhi used the term khoon ki dalaali, he crossed all limits. Using the word dalali shows your mindset.

Can the blood of the Army be used with the word dalali? When the army is fighting against the countrys enemies can you use the word dalali? he asked.

Maut ka saudagar, zehar ki kheti and khoon ki dalaali, what is your aim in using these terms, we dont know, Shah said, blasting Rahul.

You may have problems with Prime Minister Narendra Modi but I implore you not to belittle the Indian forces, he said.

Each and every worker of the BJP is proud of the surgical strikes. Why dont you share the sentiments and joy in its success? Had you done an analysis of the unrest in Pakistan after the strikes you would not have made the comment, he said.

The credit of the success of the surgical strikes should be given to the Army, he said. None of our top leaders claimed credit or publicised the strikes. If some ground-level leaders are expressing happiness, it is because they are proud of the success of the Army. The victory belonged to the army and not any political party, Shah said.

We congratulate the Army on the success of the surgical strikes. We will go to the people with the bravery shown by the Army, Shah said.

We believe in the Army; maybe there is something wrong with the basic mindset of the Congress that it does not believe in it, he said.

It was our promise to the people of the country in 2014 that we would not falter on the countrys security, which we have kept, he added.

Congress defends Gandhi

Congress senior leader Kapil Sibal, who was fielded to defend Gandhi, said the party vice-president had lauded the Prime Minister when he said Modi finally acted like a true PM.

We defend the strikes, but stop this propaganda. It is wrong to claim credit for the sacrifice made by the jawans, he said and attacked Shah for criticising Gandhi.

Those who were in jail, got externed, had murder cases against them are telling us that we are at fault, Sibal said. With PTI inputs
Sanjeev Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

Flipkart executive chairman and co-founder Sachin Bansal will be delivering orders personally to customers at their homes tomorrow in Chandigarh as part of the Big Billion Days sale season.

Bansal, who was born and brought up in Chandigarh and is one of the pioneers of the e-commerce industry in the country, will be handing over the packages himself.

According to sources, Bansal will meet shoppers personally and hear about their experience with the e-commerce portal. He will be charting streets that he grew up in and delivering parcels.

This was Flipkarts third edition of the Big Billion Days, and the company claims this years sale was definitely bigger and better. The company also crossed the 100-million registered users mark recently, becoming the first to reach this milestone in a single country outside the US and China.

Flipkart clocked Rs 1,400-crore sales in a single day. This has also been the first time that sales on a particular e-commerce platform have surpassed the total sales of all organised retail across India, which stands around Rs 1,070 crore.
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 7

Pakistan today hit back at India saying it cannot unilaterally revoke the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The reaction follows Indias recent change of stand with regards to the historic water-sharing treaty between the two nations. After a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the treaty and took the decision that India, while staying within the legal limits of the treaty, would squeeze Pakistan more, the tensions over a growing water war have grown.

In Islamabad, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, The IWT is not time-barred and was never intended to be time or event-specific. It is binding on both India and Pakistan and has no exit provision.

He went on to add that according the sub-provisions (3) and (4) of the Article XII of the IWT, it cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally. The international community should take notice of Indian claims that are indeed a violation of Indias obligations and commitments under the treaty, he said.

Since the Uri attack of September 18, the India-Pakistan tensions have only increased with the passage of time. This is the first time that India is using the threat of tweaking the IWT to bring pressure on Pakistan to act against terrorism that targets India time and again. The treaty was signed in 1960 and has stood the test of time, so far.

At the review meeting, Modi reportedly said blood and water cant flow together. In another significant development, Pakistan told the US that the road to peace in Kabul ran through Kashmir. This is the first time Pakistan has clubbed Afghanistan and Kashmir together.
Panaji, October 7

A 39-year-old Goan perfumer was found naked and dead at her house in a village near Panaji, leading police to believe she was murdered.

Police said they found Monica Ghurde striped naked and tied to a bed, while her house bore signs of burglary. Marks on the victims neck indicate she could have been strangled, police said.

"We received information about the incident late last night. We found her body in naked condition while the flat was burgled," Police Inspector Rajesh Kumar, who is investigating the case, said. Police said the victim could also have been raped, although only a medical examination could confirm it.

An independent perfumer and a researcher, Ghurde moved into a rented three-bedroom flat in Sangolda, a village some 10 km from Panaji, in July from an adjoining village, Porvorim, police said.

Police said they have yet to investigate what items had been taken from her house.

A security guard at her building was questioned but knew nothing, Kumar said.

"We have sent the body for postmortem (examination). Only after the postmortem report is received we will be able to know the exact cause of death," the inspector said.

The village is 5 km from the famous Calangute beach.  PTI
Washington, October 7

The next US president must be ready to welcome Indians with open arms and should work with Congress to reform Americas outdated export control policy that is limiting its defence cooperation with India, two Republican party members have said.

The next American President must be ready to welcome the Indians with open arms into the US re-balance, wrote Puneet Ahluwalia and Alexander B Gray in a joint op-ed in the latest issue of the National Interest magazine.

Ahluwalia was recently appointed to the Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee of the Trump Campaign while Gray has formerly served as Senior Advisor to a Member of the Armed Services Committee of the US House of Representatives.

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To begin with, the American foreign policy establishment should begin referring to the Indo-Pacific with greater regularity. This is not only an accurate description of the map on which the United States and China will be competing, it is also an important rhetorical recognition of Indias strategic importance, they said.

The next administration can work with Congress to reform the antiquated export control regime that is limiting defence cooperation between Washington and Delhi, they said.

They said these rules were preventing Washington from selling India the armed version of the Predator drone, despite having already provided India the unarmed version.

Similar restrictions are hampering technology transfers and defence cooperation across the board, particularly in the naval and aerospace domains, and need to be revised.

The US has long castigated India for its byzantine bureaucracy; it is time the US fixed its own paperwork deficiencies to strengthen this relationship, the op-ed said.

Ahluwalia and Gray said regardless of the outcome of Novembers presidential election, the US is poised to continue its re-engagement in the Asia-Pacific region to counter Chinas growing military might and increased belligerence.

While Beijings brinkmanship in the South and East China Seas and bullying behaviour towards US partners like the Philippines, Japan, Australia and Singapore have most occupied Washington policymakers, there is another important but underused arrow available in the US quiver to fully implement the much-heralded re-balance to Asia, they wrote. PTI
Washington, October 7

For the first time, Pakistan has linked peace in war-torn Afghanistan to the resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying a solution to both is required for peace and they cannot be compartmentalised.

Road to peace in Kabul lies in Kashmir in the sense that when you talk of peace, you cannot compartmentalise peace, you cant segregate a section ... ok you can have peace in Kabul and let Kashmir burn. That is not going to happen, Pakistan Prime Ministers special envoy on Kashmir Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said here.

So you (US) talk of a comprehensive peace settlement, so let the people of South Asia not be hostage to the hostility of the past. Let them move forward, said Syed, Chairman of the Pakistan Senates Defence and Defence Production Committee said during an interaction at Washington-based think-tank Stimson Centre.

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He is accompanied by Shezra Mansab, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, as Special Envoys of Pakistan Prime Minister on Kashmir.

Our core issue this time is Kashmir and no peace can prevail in the region, if this issue is not solved. It is an international dispute. It is not an internal problem. The stakes are very high now, we are nuclear neighbours so we need to have peace on the issue of Kashmir and then rest of the things can be solved, Mansab said.

She added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has offered peace talks without any preconditions but it has been consistently rejected by India.

The way to move forward is negotiations. We are ready to talk on any subject. It is India which says that it is willing to talk about only one subject. We are ready to talk on that subject as well as other subjects, she said.

Referring to the lackluster response that they received during their visit to Washington DC, Michael Krepon of the Stimson Centre asked as to why the US should interfere in this.

Why, when it is so hard for the US to my embarrassment to get involved in more helpful way in Syria; why should the US listen to the argument to be more involvement in Kashmir, Krepon said, adding that the situation in Kashmir is much better than many other conflict-prone areas of the world, including Syria.

The two Pakistani envoys had no clear explanation to it.  PTI
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined Senate hopeful Russ Feingold on Friday in Madison to urge Wisconsinites to vote in advance of the Nov. 8 election, while Warren lambasted Republican nominee Donald Trump in remarkably personal terms  as a two-bit con man and the ultimate racist bully.

Warrens scathing assault on Trump depicted him as an unsuccessful real estate mogul who routinely stiffs contractors and brags about dodging taxes.

To alternating jeers and cheers from a crowd of about 950 at Madisons Overture Center, Warren, D-Mass., recounted some of Trumps most controversial remarks, including his critiques of various women and of a Mexican-American judge and his clash with the Muslim family of a fallen U.S. soldier.

Warren then laid into Republicans such as Feingolds opponent, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, of Oshkosh, for continuing to support Trump. She derided Johnson and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, as puppies on a leash, sticking right there with Donald Trump.

If Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Ron Johnson dont have the backbone to stand up to Donald Trump, I guarantee they dont have the backbone to go to Washington to fight for Wisconsin families, Warren said.

Ryan, Johnson and Gov. Scott Walker had been set to appear with Trump on Saturday at an event in Elkhorn in what would have been Trumps second Wisconsin stop in a little more than a week. But Trumps appearance was canceled after news broke later Friday about lewd remarks Trump was recorded making about women in 2005.

Earlier Friday, Trumps Wisconsin campaign director Pete Meachum sought to contrast Trumps recent visits with Clintons absence from Wisconsin. Meachum said in a statement that Clinton is sending surrogates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren because Wisconsin voters do not trust her.

Trump, speaking to Wisconsin talk radio host Jay Weber early Friday, said Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would be four more years of Obama.

A lot of people arent going to vote for Hillary because theres no spirit to vote for her, Trump said.

Enthusiasm for Warren, one of the Senates leading liberals, was apparent at Fridays event. Warren and Feingold were joined by U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, and Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell.

Warren and fellow Democrats, beyond hammering Trump, used the event to attack Wisconsin Republicans such as Walker for enacting laws to limit early voting.

A federal judge struck down those restrictions in a July ruling. Judge James Peterson found one of the early-voting laws intentionally discriminated on the basis of race  and that lawmakers passed it with the intent of suppressing the reliably Democratic vote of Milwaukees African Americans.

McDonell gave a nod to the judicial ruling in his remarks, telling the crowd we are here today because unconstitutional restrictions on early voting were lifted.

Feingold went after Wisconsin Republicans for enacting the restrictions, which he called about the most cynical thing Ive ever seen anyone do.

The city of Madison began early voting this year on Sept. 26. Prior to the court ruling, early voting statewide had been restricted to a period spanning about two weeks before Election Day.

Feingold said if he returns to the Senate, he would be excited to work with Warren to advance liberal causes, especially making college more affordable.

Republicans, highlighting the six-figure sums Warren and Feingold collected while teaching at universities, said they lack credibility in calling for reducing college costs. Warren is a former Harvard Law School professor; Feingold taught at Stanford University, Lawrence University and Marquette University after Johnson defeated him in the 2010 Senate race.

One of the audience members at Fridays event was Ellie Horsnell, a senior at Oregon High School. Horsnell tracked Warren down after the event and snapped a selfie with her.

Horsnell, 17, said shes in the midst of a college search and appreciates Warrens and Feingolds emphasis on college affordability.At this point in my life, I really appreciate how much they talked about getting college debt-free, Horsnell said.
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

In a barb reminiscent of his mother Sonia Gandhis Maut ke Saudagar remark made in Gujarat in 2007, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making political capital from the Armys surgical strikes in PoK and said the PM was trading in the blood of soldiers.

Our soldiers have given their blood. They have conducted surgical strikes for the country in Jammu and Kashmir. You are hiding behind their blood. You are trading them (Aap jawanon ki dalaali kar rahe ho) Rahul said to Modi, as he addressed a rally at Parliament Street this evening to end his 3,500-km kisan yatra through UP.

Unusually caustic in his manner, the Amethi MP blamed the BJP for exploiting a national security issue and advised the PM to help farmers, generate jobs and do stuff he was elected to do.

What you are doing is wrong. Indian soldiers have done their work. You do yours. Help farmers, raise seventh Pay Commission emoluments for the Armed Forces. That is your job, your responsibility. People have elected you to do that, Rahul said, cementing his partys line of BJP is politicising surgical strikes.

Rahul spoke amid Congress supporters who cheered him whenever he went for Modi. Keeping farmers agony central to his tirade, Rahul slammed the PM for doing nothing for anyone and said the PM had divided the country.

To make his point, Rahul used an allegory that surprised everyone. Turning to UP Congress chief Raj Babbar seated on the stage, he said: When I asked Raj Babbar ji which one of his films was the best, Raj Babbar ji replied Insaaf ka taraazu Now, I will tell you what the Congress has done in 70 years. Congress has given justice to people. Congress has respected Insaaf ka taraazu, which Modi has not. The country wants justice from the PM but he has done nothing expect divide the nation and turn one Indian against the other.

Rahul cited the Jat agitation of Haryana, the Patidar backlash in Gujarat and the communal riots in UP as examples to strengthen his RSS-BJP have dissected India argument.
Islamabad, October 6

Facing international isolation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in an unprecedented move has warned the powerful military not to shield banned militant groups and directed authorities to conclude the Pathankot terror attack probe and the 2008 Mumbai attack trial, a leading Pakistani daily reported today.

Sharifs orders came after a series of meetings between military and civilian leaders, Dawn newspaper said.

Edit: Dont count chickens

The government delivered a blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning to the military leadership and sought consensus on several key issues, including action against banned militant groups, the paper quoted unnamed individuals involved in the meetings.

However, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Prime Ministers Office rejected the Dawn report. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said: The story is purely speculative and, as the author himself acknowledged, none of the attributed statements were confirmed by the individuals mentioned.

The report says at least two sets of actions have been agreed upon. ISI Director General Rizwan Akhtar, accompanied by National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua, will travel to all provinces with a message that military-led Intelligence agencies should not interfere if law enforcement agencies act against banned militant groups.

Sharif directed that fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attack trial in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.

Those decisions, taken after an extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG, appear to indicate a new high-stakes approach by the PML-N government, the paper said.

On Monday, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry made a presentation in the Prime Ministers Office to a small group of civil and military officials. It summarised the results of the diplomatic outreach by Pakistan, the crux being that Pakistan faces diplomatic isolation and that the governments talking points have been met with indifference in major world capitals, the paper said.

On the US, Chaudhry said ties could further deteriorate because of its demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network.  PTI
Greater Noida, October 6

Bishada in Uttar Pradesh is on the boil once again as villagers today refused to cremate the body of 22-year-old Ravi, accused in the Dadri lynching case.

Ravi, alias Robin, died in Delhi yesterday of kidney and respiratory failure.

Villagers draped his coffin in a Tricolour, saying he had been martyred protecting Hindu values. Tensions rose as the body reached the village and residents rejected the death report claiming he was murdered. Heavy police force was also deployed in the area.

Villagers demanded Rs 1 crore for the deceaseds family, arrest of Akhlaqs brother Jaan Mohammad in a cow slaughter case and an FIR against the jailer, said Sanjay Rana, BJP leader and father of one of the accused.

The District Magistrate said the government would give consent for a CBI probe if the family is not satisfied with a judicial probe.  PTI
Washington, October 6

Kashmir is a money-making machine for the Pakistani army which wants to maintain status quo in the Valley, a prominent activist from Gilgit-Baltistan has said and quipped that a thief in Gilgit cannot be a friend in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan has proxies in Kashmir with explosives and other things, Senge Sering, director of the Gilgit-Baltistan National Congress, said.

Every time the money dries up, you show up with blackmail, Russia talk, China talk. I request the US to get out of this vicious cycle. Pakistan is not good for any country and it has not done good for the United States, he said.

You (Pakistan) occupy one-third of Kashmir. An occupier cannot be a friend of Kashmir on the other side. You have been exploiting resources in Gilgit- Baltistan without paying royalty or compensation. I call you a thief in Gilgit-Baltistan. A thief in Gilgit-Baltistan cannot be a fried in Jammu and Kashmir, he alleged.

Pakistan, which calls for implementation of the UN Security Council resolution of a plebiscite, is not fulfilling its first perquisite, which is that Pakistan should vacate the area and hand it over to India, he said.

The double talk that you have been doing in Afghanistan, Kashmir and the US needs to be exposed, Sering alleged.

Such remarks from Sering and several other Pakistani expats came during an interaction of two Special Envoy of Prime Minister on Kashmir  Mushahid Hussain Syed and Shazra Mansab  at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a top American think-tank.

Ahmar Musti Khan, who said he is a US citizen who migrated from Pakistan-occupied Balochistan, said Kashmir pales in comparison to what the Pakistan military and security forces are doing against its own people in Balochistan.

Your army and ISI is the problem. Please acknowledge that, Khan said. He alleged that 6,000 Baloch people have been killed and dumped. PTI
Washington, October 7

An influential American lawmaker slammed Pakistan for continuing to provide "tacit and overt" support for terrorism and allowing terror outfits access into India as she pledged to work with other Congressional colleagues to cut back assistance to the country.

Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US House of Representatives, said Pakistan has "continued to allow terrorist organisations to operate within their borders, moving across borders and unchecked, allowing access into India".

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She said the recent terrorist attack in Uri, which killed 19 Indian soldiers was deeply troubling.

"People within the Pakistani government continue to provide tacit and overt support for terrorism. This is not new - this pattern of attacks has been occurring now for the past 15 years, and it must end.

"That's why I've continued working in the Congress to cut back US assistance for Pakistan and increase pressure on Pakistan to stop this violence. In the past, the US government took steps to increase pressure on Pakistan, and it's time to revisit that approach," Gabbard, a two-term Congresswoman from Hawaii, said in a statement.

She said the Pakistan government must fully cooperate in the investigation of these attacks, take clear, verifiable actions to put an immediate stop to these cross border attacks, and prosecute all those responsible.

"We stand in solidarity with India in the face of these attacks and will continue to work together in this fight against terrorism," she said. PTI
Islamabad, October 7

Rana Muhammad Afzal, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has questioned as to why no action has been initiated against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed.

The Dawn quoted a BBC Urdu report as saying that Afzal demanded an action against non-state actors, especially Saeed.

Read Edit: Dont count your chickens

Also read: Sharif s surgical strike against Pak army: Report

During a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the PML-N lawmaker asked which eggs was Hafiz Saeed laying for them that they were nurturing him.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The efficacy of our foreign policy speaks for itself when we couldnt curtail Hafiz Saeed, he said.

India has built such a case against us about the JuD chief that during the meeting on Kashmir, foreign delegates mention him as the bone of contention between Pakistan and India, he added.

The MP said even though he had hardly ever heard about Saeed, the JuD chief was considered a notorious character in international circles. He questioned whether Saeed was good or bad for the Kashmir cause.

Asserting that the governments stance on Kashmir is correct, the lawmaker, however, said the banned outfits were a source of embarrassment for the country. ANI
GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 6

Life in border areas is slowly returning to normal. Border belt residents of Amritsar, Ajnala and Tarn Taran rural belt  who had left their houses after evacuation orders  have started returning.

Since September 29 when the evacuation orders for 10-km area from the Indo-Pak border were announced, majority of residents had moved to their relatives homes located at a safer distance.

Those having little resources or options were shifted to relief camps set up by the administration and SGPC.

But many men didnt budge as they didnt want to leave their house, field and cattle unattended.

Though tension prevails, the villagers have now started returning home. The state government had opened schools yesterday but the strength of students was low.

The BSF has extended the working hours for farmers who want to work in their fields located beyond the border fence.

The Indo-Pak bus and train service has been least affected by the tense situation.

Around 80 per cent of the residents have returned, said the Sarpanch of Ranian village, located just 700m from the border.

At Tarn Taran, people have been returning since Tuesday. Schools located in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ajnala had 25-30 per cent attendance.

Satinder Bir Singh, DEO, Secondary, Amritsar, said that Amritsar schools witnessed 30 per cent attendance in the past two days.

Around 11,330 children study in higher secondary schools in Amritsar district border belt. All 147 primary and 51 model, high and senior secondary schools are functional since October 5. We have also been making announcements through gurdwaras of border belt villages about normalcy and are telling parents to send their children to school, he said.

Harbhej Singh, member of Kakkar panchayat, said that the abandoned Pakistani boat in our area had created panic, but when nothing suspicious came to the fore in the BSF investigation, we were relieved.

SGPCs additional secretary Diljit Singh said that those who took shelter in SGPC-run gurdwaras in Amritsar, Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur districts have started going back to their homes.

Amritsar DC Varun Roojam said that in Amritsar, not a single family turned up at the 16 relief camps. Our situation was different as people from villages like Daoke, Rajatal , Bharopal preferred to stay at their relatives places. But we put up the camps as the situation was not clear, he said.
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

Without fixing accountability for the missing foodgrain stock worth Rs 29,000 crore, the Akali-BJP government has saddled the state with another debt liability.

The government will not just be borrowing Rs 31,000 crore for settling this loan but also be floating bonds of Rs 30,000 crore to repay the fresh loan. The state already has an outstanding debt of Rs 1.38 lakh crore.

According to a consortium of banks, the legacy food credit account of Rs 29,000 crore is the gap between the provisional loans granted to the state since 1994-95 and the value of actual food stock procured for the Centre.

After meetings with a consortium of 67 banks, the government got an approval for a fresh loan of Rs 31,000 crore at a rate of interest (8.25 per cent) lower than the base rate (9.26 per cent) offered by banks. Since the consortium had to lend at a rate lower, a permission was sought from the RBI. It has now been granted. Once the loan is given, the state government will use it to settle its legacy food credit account  which, till recently, it was unwilling to acknowledge.

To repay this new loan and the interest on it, the government proposes to float bonds. Since no instalment has to be paid on the bonds, and it only requires an interest of 8.25 per cent, these bonds, once approved by the Centre, will help the state repay the new loan of Rs 31,000 crore, said an official. He also said that the state was asking the Ministry of Finance to allow it to float bonds at a lower rate of interest than the existing 8.5 per cent.

The states plan for repaying the principal amount borrowed now is mainly through the buoyancy it expects in the tax collection on the sale of foodgrains, and getting its old and promised dues from the Centre (adjustment of the grain stock held by state procurement agencies, the interest liability on the state since 1994-95).

The state government earns around Rs 3,400 crore annually, which officials hope will increase each year with a rise in the MSP of foodgrains. However, there is no clarity on whether the government will be compensated for the taxes on grains by the Centre, beyond the promised five years, once the Goods and Services Tax regime is rolled out.

A senior economist, requesting anonymity, said the government was just passing on the debt burden to its successor(s). Even as the state government is patting itself on the back for getting the loan at a lower rate of interest, and thus saving Rs 855 crore annually on interest, the Opposition has questioned the decision to square off the food credit account by taking a fresh loan.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

Acting on a bunch of 10 petitions, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the notices issued by the Punjab Government to the sugar mills for the recovery of Rs 50 per quintal disbursed to the cane growers.

The government had earlier decided that all private sugar mills in the state would disburse the cane price of Rs 245 per quintal to the growers for the 2015-16 season. The balance agreed price of Rs 50 per quintal was to be disbursed either by the state or the Centre. Counsel for Punjab also told the court that it would pay Rs 50 per quintal to the cane growers.

The matter was initially brought to the courts notice by Chadha Sugars and Industries Private Limited. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Chetan Mittal, Alok Mittal and Kunal Mulwani submitted that the Punjab Cane Commissioner informed the sugar mills of the governments decision on the disbursement of the cane price.

Chetan Mittal said the state government had paid Rs 1,206.11 lakh, but the petitioner was still being asked to pay Rs 2,842.10 lakh (the Rs 50/quintal component).

Referring to the instructions issued by the Cane Commissioner, Mittal said the petitioner was not liable to pay the cane price beyond Rs 245 per quintal. The sum of Rs 50, a part of the total price of Rs 295 per quintal, was to be paid by the state government.

He submitted that the respondents had threatened to lock the petitioners sugar mill and godown. Staying the operation of the impugned letter and the notice issued to the petitioner, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain said, In case the industry and the godown of the petitioner have already been locked, the respondents shall open the locks immediately.
Two Republican political operatives at the center of a defunct John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walkers recall campaign have asked the state Supreme Court to investigate a related document leak.

Top Walker advisers R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl, who are identified in the filing as unnamed movants Nos. 6 and 7, also asked the court to order the immediate return of documents and equipment seized by police from their homes on Oct. 3, 2013, as part of the investigation.

The warrants used to obtain the records were quashed in January 2014 and the state Supreme Court ended the investigation last year. The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal of that decision.

A British newspaper recently published leaked documents from the secretive investigation that painted the clearest picture yet of the case a special prosecutor was building before the case was halted.

The investigation was looking into Johnsons role coordinating political activities on behalf of both the Wisconsin Club for Growth and the Walker and Senate recall campaigns of 2011 and 2012. No charges were filed and the court ruled that the activity was protected under the First Amendment.

The identities of the unnamed movants who challenged the John Doe in court were identified in the leaked documents. Johnson is represented by Washington lawyer Edward Meyers, and Jordahl is represented by Madison lawyer Dean Strang.

In Fridays court filing, Johnson and Jordahl noted that Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, who initiated the John Doe investigation in 2012 before it expanded statewide, and Attorney General Brad Schimel have both said the leak constituted a crime.

They also said John Doe Judge David Wambach, who replaced Judge Gregory Peterson earlier this year, has declined to pursue a contempt of court inquiry and that the district attorneys who were party to the investigation should not be responsible for prosecuting the leak because it may have originated in their office.

The district attorneys didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Johnson and Jordahl wrote the Attorney General should lead the investigation.

They also said Schimel said privately that the leak could have been perpetrated by a hacker, but Schimel spokesman Johnny Koremenos said Schimel has never said that publicly or privately.

If in fact a hacker was involved, the court filing says, legitimate ongoing law enforcement investigations, court records, personal information, and even personal safety all may be in peril. For that matter, public confidence in the operation of the courts themselves, and of the ability of the government to assure data safety, may be in peril.

Koremenos said DOJ does not comment on or discuss specific details that could jeopardize a potential or ongoing investigation.
Chandigarh, October 7

The Union Government on Friday revoked its decision that led to the mass evacuation of villages in a 10-km belt along Punjab's border with Pakistan.

Following this, the Punjab Government has issued directions to allow the return of the people to their homes in the border villages in all six districts. The villagers will be allowed to return after nine days.

The evacuation was ordered on September 29 following the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC).

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the state Home Minister, said that the decision to reverse the evacuation of border villages was taken at a meeting of Chief Ministers of western border states with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, where the situation along the border with Pakistan was reviewed.

Badal has informed Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal about the decision and Deputy Commissioners of all six districts were asked to take immediate steps to ensure smooth return of the people affected.

Badal said that he had asked the Union Home Minister to allow Punjab to raise five armed battalions to act like a second line of defence behind the Border Security Force (BSF), which mans the border.

The Punjab Government has already identified 75 points where checkpoints were needed, he said.

The state government, following directions from the Union Home Ministry, had on September 29 ordered evacuation of people to safer areas from within the 10-km belt of its 553-km international border with Pakistan.

Over four lakh (400,000) people in nearly 1,000 villages in six border districts of Fazilka, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot were affected due to the evacuation.

Many families and people had refused to move out saying that they had to tend to their crops, cattle and properties.

The Punjab Government and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine were criticised by opposition parties for overreacting.

The Union Government had, on October 2, allowed border farmers to harvest their paddy crop following growing resentment among farmers.

Schools in the border belt, which were closed since September 29, were also asked to reopen from October 5.

Evacuated villagers accused local authorities of mismanaging evacuation camps.

The evacuation move followed apprehensions that Pakistan could retaliate after the cross-LoC strikes.  IANS
Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 7

The Court of Baljinder Singh, Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, today awarded three-year imprisonment to then Superintendent of Police Sukhdev Singh Cheena and Sub-Inspector Narinder Singh Malhi, and one-year jail to then Assistant Sub-Inspector Kamaljit Singh for tattooing jeb katri (pickpocket) on the forehead of four women in 1993.

The incident took place in December 1993, when Cheena and Malhi, posted in Amritsar, detained four women on charges of stealing a Canadian nationals purse. They got the word jeb katri tattooed with black ink on their forehead. Later, the incident set off a furor nationwide with the National Human Rights Commission taking serious note of it.

The victims moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 1994 and the court ordered plastic surgery for the removal of their tattoos. The victims had alleged that the police detained them on December 8, 1993, while they were on way to the Golden Temple and kept them in illegal confinement, besides branding them with tattoos to settle personal scores. The defence maintained that the women were branded by their own neighbours as a warning to others.

The NHRC had granted compensation to the women, besides seeking a CBI probe into the case which was accepted by the court.
DEHRA DUN, October 6 (PTI): Police opened fire on a student mob in the Clock Tower area here at noon today. The City Magistrate on duty told newsmen that the fire was opened by the police in self-defence. According to non-official reports two persons were killed and a dozen injured in student-police clashes here today. One subedar of the provincial armed constabulary, one constable and some homeguards received injuries in the clashes. One P.A.C. vehicle was burnt near Bindal Bridge. The students threw stones on the kotwali for some time and were dispersed by the police after a lathi-charge. They also threw brickbats on a police outpost. Many shops were also damaged as a result of stonethrowing by the students.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 6

Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt on Thursday said Congress national president Sonia Gandhi should initiate an action against state Congress president Kishore Upadhyay for doubting the authenticity of surgical strikes carried by the Indian Army on terror launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK).

Kishore Upadhyay should be the first person against whom the national Congress president should take action. He should not have cast doubts on the Indian Army and strikes carried by them, Bhatt said.

Bhatt said the need of the hour was an action against him as the AICC leadership had already asked the Congress leaders not to talk off-handedly and had even threatened action against them.

The PCC president owes an apology to the whole nation for putting the Armys action against terrorist camps across the LoC under the ambit of doubt he said.

How can he question the veracity of an action carried out by our troops? Bhatt said. Significantly, Upadhyay had caused huge embarrassment to the state Congress forcing Chief Minister Harish Rawat to pitch strongly for the Indian Army.

Further, to extract mileage from the surgical strike the Uttarakhand BJP has stepped up its pre-election campaign. Announcing the programme BJP ka Abhiyan Sena ka Samaan in the state, Bhatt said in order to woo ex-servicemen and war widows, the party would launch an extensive programme on September 28.

The party would also organise a Jawab Do Hisab Do programme from October 11 to 25 where party workers will ask the Congress government to provide details of the money sanctioned by the Centre for the state. This would be followed by a Parivartan Yatra on November 9.
Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 6

Har-ki-Pauri, the world famous sanctum sanctorum of the Braham Kund, falls under ward 12 that registers footfall of millions of people throughout the year. Councillor Kanhaiya Khewadiya, though, claims to have kept a special focus on sanitation and basic amenities, area residents have a different story to tell.

Trader Sanjay Aggarwal says Councillor Khewadiya, Mayor Manoj Garg and MLA Madan Kaushik have failed to keep cleanliness up to the mark that Har-ki-Pauri deserves. Last week, President Pranab Mukherjee arrived at Har-ki-Pauri for a Ganga aarti. The district administration, the Municipal Corporation and the Ganga Sabha went whole hog to maintain high standards of cleanliness at Har-ki-Pauri and on the 6-km route through which the Presidents cavalcade passed from the BHEL till Har-ki-Pauri. Why cant the officials at helm maintain the same standard of cleanliness throughout the year? questions Aggarwal.

Sandeep Sharma, a veteran lensman who has been providing photography services to pilgrims and tourists for decades, says the sanitation issues are yet to be redressed. Though the officials concerned claim to have been working in this direction, the level of cleanliness is not up to the mark, he says. Drains get choked on regular basis. Nullahs discharge waste directly into the Ganga near Har-ki-Pauri, but no one took a stock of the situation. Even the Namami Gange projects impact is yet to be seen here, he said.

When asked, Councillor Kanhaiya Khewadiya said he would bring it to the notice of Union Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharati. The budget to treat the sewage and stop the flow of drains into the Ganga is quite costly that a ward councilor cant bear. I am making efforts to bring it to notice of the authorities concerned, he said. who through his social Sankalp foundation carries out drain cleanliness drive and helping poor people.

Khewadiya is also a teerth purohit and social activist who runs the Sankalp Foundation to carry out cleanliness drive to clear drains and help needy.

He claims to have taken up development works in his ward on a large scale, ranging from regular cleaning of drains, sewer lines, installation of street lights, recarpeting of roads and safety walls alongside the Ganga canal. I was instrumental in reopening and renovation of Sulabh toilet at Har-ki-Pauri near Kangra Ganga ghat, constructing safety wall at Kangra temple, Jogiya Mandi, at the cost of Rs 9 lakh, renovating ghat at Mamchand Haveli, constructing Kali Mata Mandir drainage system, laying of sewer line at Vanprasth Ashram among other works, he boasts. I have utilised maximum funds from the Municipal Corporation fund, legislator fund and parliamentarian fund (Rs 9 lakh) in my ward, he adds.

Khewadiya said he had placed a resolution before the Municipal Corporation board meeting to ensure that all dead cows were cremated under the supervision of the Municipal Corporation employees, so that their skin and bone couldnt be used for commercial purposes.
Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 6

Though the Uttarakhand BJP is still uncertain about the leader under whom the party will fight the 2017 Assembly elections, the party is heavily banking on former Chief Minister BC Khanduris clean image to take on Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

A short film was released by a public relation unit of the party where the former Army man was censuring the Harish Rawat government in his characteristic no-nonsense style. The short film will be shown to the masses as part of the pre-election campaign.

Right from the surfacing of a CD of the Chief Ministers aide, IAS officer Mohammed Shahid, showing making deals and two more CDs showing the Chief Minister allegedly making a deal to save his government, there is nothing new in the film except the general narrative of corruption.

The film has given an adequate footage to BC Khanduri, who is now being considered by the party bigwigs in New Delhi to be too old to lead the party in the Assembly elections. Naturally, the question in the minds of the Khanduri supporters is, if the issue is of corruption, why not bring BC Khanduri to the forefront who is known for his fight against corruption in Uttarakhand.

But things are indeed different now. There is a general agreement in the party that Khanduri and even Koshiyari have all outlived their utility for the party and it is time to look for other alternative

Even the state executive of the party that met for two days in Roorkee could not come to any conclusion and the leaders returned empty handed. More than the solution, the party leaders had to face a series of verbal volleys lobbed by the irrepressible senior leader BS Koshiyari. His snide remarks against state BJP president Ajay Bhatt, Union minister Ajay Tamta and Sanjay Singh, who is in-charge of the organisation in Uttarakhand in Roorkee, left no one in doubt that the search for a face for the Assembly elections will not be an easy task for the BJP.
Oslo/Bogota, October 7

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a 52-year-old war with Marxist guerrillas, a surprise choice and a show of support days after voters rejected a peace deal he signed with the rebels.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Santos had brought one of the longest civil wars in modern history significantly closer to a peaceful solution, but there was still a danger the peace process could collapse.

The award excluded FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, who signed the peace accord with Santos in Cartagena on September 26.

Santos has promised to revive the plan even though Colombians narrowly rejected it in a referendum on Sunday. Many voters believed it was too lenient on the FARC guerrillas.

There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, continue to respect the ceasefire, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

The fact that a majority of the voters said No to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead, it said.

More than 220,000 people have died on the battlefield or in massacres during the struggle between leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and government troops.

Millions have been displaced and many beg on the streets of the capital, while economic potential has been held up in the mostly rural nation. The committee quoted Santos as saying the award would help further the peace process.

Asked why Londono was left out, committee leader Kaci Kullmann Five said Santos had been central to the process. President Santos has been taking the very first and historic initiative. There have been other tries, but this time he went all-in as leader of the government with a strong will to reach a result. Thats why we have put the emphasis on president.

She declined to elaborate on Londonos role. The rebel leaders initial reaction indicated no disappointment that he had been left out.

The one-sided prize echoes previous awards, such as to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000 for his work for reconciliation with North Korea. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt won in 1971 for his policies of reaching out to the communist East. But often the awards go to both sides in peace negotiations, such as to Israelis and Palestinians in 1994 or to Egypts Anwar Sadat and Israels Menachem Begin in 1978.  Reuters

Know the peacenik

Santos is the first Latin American to receive the peace prize since indigenous rights campaigner Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala won in 1992, and is the second Colombian laureate after writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the literature prize in 1982

The scion of one of Colombias most prosperous families, Santos was not thought likely to spearhead a peace process with FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)

He also trained as an economist at the London School of Economics. He was finance minister in the 1990s, helping to steer the Andean nation through one of its worst fiscal crises

Only want peace, not Nobel: Rebel leader

The commander of Colombias Marxist rebels said on Friday that he only wanted the prize of peace after the guardians of the Nobel Peace Prize left him out of the 2016 award to President Santos

FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono signed a peace deal with Santos last month seeking to end their 52-year conflict. Voters narrowly rejected the award in a referendum on Sunday

The only prize to which we aspire is that of peace with social justice for a Colombia without paramilitarism, without retaliation nor lies, he wrote on his personal Twitter account after the award went only to Santos

Achievement after setback
ORLANDO./MIAMI, October 7

Hurricane Matthew, packing winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph), lashed central Florida on Friday, hugging the Atlantic coast as it moved north and threatening more destruction after killing 572 people in Haiti.

Matthew, the first major hurricane to threaten a direct hit on the United States in more than a decade, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

Southern parts of Florida escaped the brunt of the storm overnight, but authorities on Friday urged people further north not to get complacent. The Florida coastal city of Jacksonville could face significant flooding, Florida Governor Rick Scott warned.

The storm had cut power to some 600,000 households, he told a news conference.

In Haiti, where poor rural communities were ravaged by Matthew earlier this week, the death toll surged to at least 571 people on Friday, as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, officials said.

At 8:00 am EDT (1200 GMT), Matthew's eye, or center, was 35 miles (55 km) east of Cape Canaveral in Florida, home to the country's main space launch site.

"The winds are ferocious right now," said Jeff Piotrowski, a 40-year-old storm chaser from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was near Cape Canaveral early on Friday. The storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards in Cape Canaveral, he said.

No significant damage or injuries were reported in West Palm Beach and other communities in south Florida where the storm had brought down trees and power lines earlier in the night, CNN and local media reported.

Trail of destruction

With fatalities rising quickly, different government agencies and committees differed on the total death toll. A Reuters count of deaths reported by civil protection and local officials confirmed 572 people had lost their lives.

Haiti's central civil protection agency, which takes longer to collate numbers, said 271 people died as Matthew smashed through the tip of Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mile-per-hour (233 kph) winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, the agency said.

The storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which are only now being contacted.

At least three towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the inland community of Chantal, whose deputy mayor said 90 people perished, without giving details. At least 89 more were missing, many of them in the Grand'Anse region area in southern Haiti.

Coastal town Les Anglais lost "several dozen" people, the central government representative in the region, Louis-Paul Raphael told Reuters.

Les Anglais was the first place in Haiti that Matthew reached, as a powerful Category 4 storm before it moved north, lost strength and lashed central Florida on Friday.

Hours before the hurricane landed in Haiti, Les Anglais' mayor told Reuters residents were fleeing for their lives as the ocean rushed into their homes.

With cellphone networks down and roads flooded by sea and river water, aid has been slow to reach towns and villages around the peninsula. Instead, locals have been helping each other.

"My house wasn't destroyed, so I am receiving people, like it's a temporary shelter," said Bellony Amazan in the town of Cavaillon, where around a dozen people died. Amazan said she had no food to give people.

"I have nothing, my hands are empty," said Kimberly Janvier in the town, where dozens of residents staged an angry protest on Thursday demanding more government help.

False sense of security

But Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said in media interviews he was concerned that relatively light damage so far could give people further north a false sense of security.

"People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. He also said people should be aware the hurricane carried more than just ferocious winds.

"The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s."

"It's still a very dangerous situation," he said.

NASA and the US Air Force, which operate the Cape Canaveral launch site, had taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment. A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

In West Palm Beach, street lights and houses went dark and Interstate 95 was empty as the storm rolled through the community of 100,000 people.

Matthew lessened in intensity on Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. From an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, it became a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, but was still a major storm.

It could either plow inland or tear along the Atlantic coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said, warning of "potentially disastrous impacts."

The US National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

The NHC's director, Rick Knabb, said that although Matthew was so far raking the coast, with its eye offshore, it still posed great danger to residents along the coast.

"You don't have to be near the center of the hurricane to be in the center of action with inland flooding," he said in a webcast.

The NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on US shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then moved out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island.

'Gut feeling'

Governor Scott has urged some 1.5 million people in coastal areas of Florida to evacuate and he continued to urge people to move away from danger on Friday.

"You still have time to evacuate. There's no reason to be taking risks," Scott told NBC's "Today" program. "The most important thing to me is that we don't lose one life." As of Friday morning, about 22,000 people were in Florida shelters and more moved inland or to the state's west coast, Scott said.

Georgia and South Carolina had also opened dozens of shelters for evacuees.

Those states, as well as North Carolina, declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard. President Barack Obama declared states of emergency in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

While some on the Florida coast decided to sit out the storm, many left, some heading for shelters.

Shane Murray, 41, of Palm Bay, said he decided on Thursday afternoon to leave his single-wide mobile home and head inland to Orlando with five members of his family, including his father.

"My father was thinking about staying, but we figured it was probably going to get rough, and we didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt. It just came down to a gut feeling," Murray said.

Hearing news reports on Friday he said, "we probably made the right call."  Reuters
Chantal, October 7

Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti before it lashed Florida on Friday with howling winds and rolled northward up the US Atlantic coast.

The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 842 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials.

Matthew, potentially the first major hurricane to hit the US head on in more than a decade, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

Southern Florida escaped the brunt of the storm overnight, but US President Barack Obama urged people not to be complacent in the face of a storm that could be the most severe to strike northeast Florida in more than 100 years.

I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists, Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials.

The city of Jacksonville in the northeast of the state could face significant flooding, Florida Governor Rick Scott said. The storm had cut power to some 827,000 households in Florida, he said.

Matthew had smashed through Haitis western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages.  Reuters
Sydney: A piece of wing debris found in Mauritius is from MH370, Australian authorities said on Friday as they cautioned the discovery shed no new light on the missing passenger jets specific location. The composite debris, recovered from the island nation in May, is the latest fragment found along western Indian Ocean shorelines linked to Malaysia Airlines MH370. The Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew. Despite an extensive underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean, no trace of the aircraft has been found so far. PTI
A Department of Transportation spot check of the states program for providing free voter IDs found no additional problems, beyond those previously uncovered by an advocacy group, according to a report filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

The report authored by Attorney General Brad Schimel also suggests that the advocacy group sought to trip up DMV employees while acknowledging that recordings by the group showed employees giving inaccurate or incomplete voter ID information.

It comes as opponents of the voter ID requirement have asked U.S. District Judge James Peterson to overturn the states photo ID requirement ahead of the Nov. 8 election. A hearing is scheduled for next week.

After a trial earlier this year, Peterson kept in place the requirement that voters present a valid ID when they vote this fall.

However, recordings released to news organizations by VoteRiders, a group opposed to the voter ID requirement, raised new concerns that state employees at multiple Division of Motor Vehicles locations werent properly administering a program to help those who dont have a traditional drivers license or other standard photo ID to obtain a free ID for voting.

In response to the reports, Peterson ordered the state Department of Transportation to investigate the problem and submit a report by Friday.

As part of the investigation, the DOT reviewed the alleged incidents at several service centers and implemented several changes in response, including:

Updated ID petition process (IDPP) training requirements for field staff, including verification that employees and supervisors have completed the training;

Updated procedures at every five-day DMV service center so that anyone seeking an ID will be sent to a specialist trained in IDPP procedures;

Updated customer handouts, including information on a direct contact line for any ID problems; and

Hotlines for staff and customers for any questions or concerns with the IDPP.

The review also included quality assurance checks at 31 service centers across the state in which undercover state troopers presented themselves as customers inquiring about obtaining an ID for voting without all of the required documents.

In those cases, DMV employees provided accurate information about obtaining an ID through the ID petition process, the report stated. Unlike in the Vote- Riders recordings, employees did not tell the customers that they needed a birth certificate for a voting ID, that they would not be able to get an ID for voting with the documents they had, or that they would not have an ID in time for the election.

However, the report did not dismiss those problems as presented in the Vote- Riders recordings.

There should be no doubt: DMV acknowledges that some recordings show that some DMV employees communicated inaccurate or incomplete information about the IDPP, the report stated. But it bears emphasizing that the situations portrayed in the media reports  involving volunteers trying to trip-up DMV employees  were not typical customer encounters, and do not in fact establish any real difficulties for actual IDPP applicants or potential applicants.

Rather, the report continued, the objective data show that the IDPP is functioning as this Court and the DMV previously understood: 100% of individuals who have entered the IDPP since May 2016 have been mailed temporary IDs valid for voting.

Gov. Scott Walker, speaking with reporters earlier in the day, said the investigation found the problems in the VoteRiders incidents were caused by staff not properly following the training they had received, not by the training itself.

Thats why the extra steps were taken to make sure every employee has not only been trained, but making sure that theyre following through on their training properly the way they received that information, Walker said.
Islamabad, October 6

Pakistan's parliament unanimously passed legislation against honour killings three months after the high-profile murder of an outspoken social media star.

A joint session of parliament approved the new anti-honour killing law, removing a loophole in existing law that allows family members to pardon a killer. Laws are supposed to guide better behaviour, not allow destructive behaviour to continue with impunity, former senator Sughra Imam, who initially tabled the bill, told media.

Some 500 women are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to honour. In a majority of cases, the victim is a woman and the killer is a relative who escape punishment by seeking forgiveness for the crime from family members.  Reuters
Warsaw, October 6

Polish lawmakers voted overwhelmingly today to reject a proposal by an anti-abortion group that would have imposed a total ban on abortion, caving in to massive outrage by women who have been dressing in black and waging street protests across the country.

The mostly Catholic nation already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with abortion only allowed in rare cases, rape or incest, when the mother's life is in danger or the fetus is badly damaged.

The proposal for further tightening the law came from a citizens initiative that gathered some 450,000 signatures in this nation of 38 million. It was supported by the Roman Catholic church. But it was highly unpopular with most Poles, with people balking at the idea that a teenage rape victim should be forced to have her baby, or that a woman whose health was badly compromised would be forced to carry to term. The proposal had also called for prison terms.

With abortion already illegal in most cases, many women said what frightened them the most in the proposal was that it could have led doctors to be afraid to perform prenatal tests or that women who suffered miscarriages could start to fall under criminal suspicion.

The outcome of the vote is a blow to the ruling party, which has a core of ultra-conservative Catholic voters that wanted to see further restrictions to the abortion law.  AP
London, October 6

UK Independence Party (UKIP) leadership hopeful Steven Woolfe was today rushed to hospital in a serious condition after he was punched by a colleague in the far-right anti-EU party during an altercation.

Woolfe, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), suffered two seizures hours after what the party described as an "altercation" with fellow UKIP members in the European Parliament.

According to reports, Woolfe was punched by his party colleague Mike Hookem. I deeply regret that following an altercation that took place at a meeting of UKIP MEPs this morning that Steven Woolfe subsequently collapsed and was taken to hospital. His condition is serious, UKIP interim leader Nigel Farage, who spearheaded the Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum, said in a statement.

Woolfe is seen as the favourite to take over from Farage as party leader after a newly-elected leader, Diane James, had stepped down recently after just 18 days in the post.

Woolfe issued a statement from hospital in Strasbourg: The CT scan has shown that there is no blood clot in the brain. I am feeling brighter, happier and smiling as ever. I am sitting up and said to look well. The only consequence at the moment is a bit of numbness on the left hand side of my face. I am being kept in overnight awaiting secondary tests to make sure everything is fine.

Raheem Kassam, the other candidate to have declared for the UKIP leadership so far, tweeted his best wishes for Woolfe.  PTI
Washington, October 7

The US on Friday said it does not support declaring Pakistan a terrorist state, but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens, which also pose a threat to India.

The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences, including the Kashmir issue, and to bring down the recent tensions.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a terrorist state, Kirby at his daily press briefing said: "I have not seen anything specifically about the  such a bill, and obviously we don't."

He, however, said he would not comment on "whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard". "What we  what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously it's a threat to the Indian people as well.

"So we're going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we've always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that's  we're going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end," Kirby said.

He said the US position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place  meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said.

He said the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them," Kirby said.

"That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we don't believe for a minute that they don't take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children," he said.

Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistan's nuclear security.

"I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal," he said. PTI
Our five fantastic lakes frame our city, give us endless recreational opportunities, and help truly make Madison  Madison.

Since 2010, the Clean Lakes Alliance has worked with community, government and business partners to push for lake health and lake protection. Our target area has always been phosphorus reduction.

Phosphorus is a naturally occurring element that plants, such as lake algae, use for growth. But too much phosphorus washes into the lakes from farm fields, city streets and construction sites. In excess amounts, it can lead to the green, pea-soupy algal blooms that limit our enjoyment of the lakes. Phosphorus is found in material such as manure, certain fertilizers, soil, organic matter (such as leaves), and the accumulated sediment on the bottom of our lakes and streams.

Always a supporter of lakes and the Clean Lakes Alliance, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is proposing a giant step forward for clean and clear lakes. In his 2017 budget, Parisi is proposing a $12 million, five-year plan to remove phosphorus-laden legacy sediment in over 30 miles of creeks that feed our lakes.

This innovative plan could see the removal of hundreds of thousands of pounds of phosphorus at a cost that is among the lowest of alternative control strategies. When the Clean Lakes Alliance commissioned the Yahara Capital Lakes Environmental Assessment and Needs (CLEAN) Engineering Report in 2012, it highlighted how projects such as this were essential to clean and healthy lakes.

Clean Lakes Alliances Community Board, including more than 40 public- and private-sector leaders, voted unanimously to endorse the county executives plan and budget proposal at its September board meeting. Board members know it is innovative projects such as this that will speed up the process of cleaning our lakes.

But more community support is needed if this breakthrough approach is going to move forward. We urge you to call, write or email your county supervisors and urge them to support this budget item.

The Clean Lakes Alliance has worked with Dane County since 2014 to pilot a sediment removal project in Dorn Creek, a major tributary to Lake Mendota. This project is moving forward with supporting funds pledged from the Clean Lakes Alliance, and implementation is slated for this fall in a 300-foot test section.

The legacy sediment removal proposed in the Dane County budget builds on this pilot initiative and will not only remove nearly two feet of muck from creek beds, it will help restore a naturally sandy creek bottom that can better support healthy fish communities. Our agricultural partners have made tremendous efforts to reduce phosphorus runoff through practices such as low disturbance manure injection, planting winter cover crops, and planting soil-protecting buffer strips between farm fields and waterways.

If we fully implement the Yahara CLEAN plan, we will see clearer water, fewer algal blooms, and less frequent beach closures. This legacy sediment project is one very important part of a larger plan and mix of strategies that are moving us toward our goal of cutting phosphorus pollution to the Yahara lakes in half by 2025.

Clean Lakes Alliance is very excited about the next five years, and what they could hold for lake improvement thanks to Parisis leadership. Whether its the swimmer or angler looking for clear water or good fishing, or a company looking to sell the beauty of Madison to a top recruit from out of state, as a community, we all stand to benefit from clean and healthy lakes.
The U.S. Supreme Court just returned to work after its summer break. And while the justices heard arguments in the first cases of this term, the court is not functioning normally.

The court has been missing one justice for more than 200 days  a vacancy that is historically unprecedented and constitutionally unsupportable. And now that the courts new term has begun, there are direct consequences on Wisconsin law.

Consider Murr v. Wisconsin, a pending case about the interaction of environmental regulations and private property rights that arose from St. Croix County. The Supreme Court agreed last January  just weeks before Justice Antonin Scalias death left the court short-handed  to hear the Murr case.

The parties filed briefs this summer, and the case could have been argued last week. But despite the usual practice of scheduling arguments in roughly the order the court agreed to hear cases, the court has omitted Murr from its calendar, while scheduling 18 cases behind Murr in line and leaving several argument slots unused.

Experts believe the court is holding Murr  and another case addressing a church daycares eligibility for government grant money  because the current justices could split 4-4, leaving the ruling of a lower court in place and failing to resolve uncertainty about state and local laws in Wisconsin and beyond. This is just one example of how the operation of our judiciary is being improperly held hostage to partisan political posturing.

Immediately after Justice Scalias death became public Feb. 13, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, declared he would not allow a vote on any nominee submitted by President Obama. According to McConnell, only the next president should fill the courts vacancy.

Neither the Constitution nor any chapter in our nations history supports McConnells declaration. The Constitution gives President Obama the authority  and the obligation  to nominate candidates for vacancies on the Supreme Court. And throughout our history, no vacancy has gone unfilled because of an election year. And no nominee to the Supreme Court has ever been denied a Senate vote for this long.

Even after Obama submitted a consensus nominee, McConnell and the GOP Senate caucus refused to yield. Judge Merrick Garland  Obamas nominee, submitted March 16  is impeccably qualified. He has a long record of accomplishment, first as a private lawyer and then a federal prosecutor. He has a distinguished record of almost two decades of service as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, often described as the nations second highest court.

Garland has epitomized a non-ideological approach to the law. At the Department of Justice, Garland prosecuted then-D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, the Unabomber and the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City attack.

Nor is Garland a partisan. In 1997, a Republican-led Senate confirmed him to the D.C. Circuit by a wide margin. Then, he received effusive praise from then-Judiciary Committee Chairman and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who called him a fine nominee and said he belongs on the court. Current Judiciary Committee Chairman and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, described Garland as well qualified and predicted he would make a good judge. Several of their colleagues had similar views: 32 Republican Senators voted to confirm Garland.

Has the judges performance on the D.C. Circuit fallen short of expectations? Hardly. In 2010, when Obama was considering potential nominees for the Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice John Paul Stevens, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, advocated for Judge Garland as a consensus nominee whose confirmation would be no question. Even after Justice Scalias death, Sen. Hatch continued to praise Garland as a moderate.

Indeed, while Republican Senate leaders have refused to grant Judge Garland a Judiciary Committee hearing  and most Republican senators have refused even to meet with him  their criticism has not focused on his judicial performance or qualifications. Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has little to say about Garland. Instead, he insists Obama should not have nominated anyone in an election year.

But that position, which has become the Republican Party line, has no basis in law or history. Americans deserve a fully staffed high court capable of resolving our most complex legal questions. As long a vacancy exists, our government will not have a fully functioning judicial branch. If Senate Republicans, including Johnson, persist in shirking their constitutional obligations, the high court will be left short-handed for more than a year.

That is unacceptable. We should expect  and demand  our senators take action when the Senate reconvenes.
Map shows most of the originally proposed truck-only toll locations in Rhode Island. Image: RI DOT

Continuing to battle Rhode Islands truck-only tolling plan, the American Trucking Associations is again questioning how the Ocean State will restrict trucks from avoiding its planned new automated tolls.

The R.I. Dept. of Transportation said on Oct. 5 that it has executed 13 Memoranda of Understanding with the Federal Highway Administration. These MOUs make clear that the federal government agrees with Rhode Island's program to implement bridge tolls on large commercial vehicles at the specified locations.

ATA said on Oct. 7 that it has asked Rhode Island to provide information about outreach the state has done to communities that are likely to be affected by an increase in truck traffic as a result of the states extortionary truck-only toll plan.

According to one such information packet obtained by the American Trucking Associations, [the Rhode Island Department of Transportation] intends to prevent diversion of tractor-semitrailers to potential alternative routes through signage limiting truck access to local services, along with a variety of state and local enforcement methods, ATA said in a letter to R.I. DOT dated September 29.

ATA said it has serious concerns as to how the contemplated restrictions can be reasonably enforced without imposing an unreasonable burden on motor carriers and their customers, truck drivers, other motorists and the citizens of Rhode Island.

Along with its federation partner the Rhode Island Trucking Association, ATA has loudly opposed the toll scheme since it was first proposed by Gov. Gina Raimando (D) in 2015.

We have said from the beginning that the governor and politicians in Providence are attempting to extort revenue from our industry using the trucks that deliver their states goods as a piggybank to avoid making the tough choices that are necessary to maintain the states roads and bridges, said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.

We will continue to fight these discriminatory and unjust tolls and as other states have learned, we will not stop until this plan is abandoned," he added.

This plan is bad for our industry, but it is also bad for Rhode Islanders who will see costs and congestion rise as a result, said RITA President Chris Maxwell. The only beneficiaries of Gov. Raimondos plan are her cronies and politicians in Providence who get to once again kick the can down the road when it comes to a real, sustainable highway funding solution.
Screenshot of FMCSA's preview site for proposed SMS changes.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced a set of proposed changes to its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program and is seeking comment on the proposals via a special website it's set up to show motor carriers how the changes would affect their safety ratings.

The notice, published in the Federal Register for Oct. 5, lays out the enhancements the agency want to make to information on its public Safety Measurement System (SMS) website. It also responds to comments FMCSA has received in response to its earlier notice (published on June 29, 2015) on proposed future SMS enhancements.

While the Federal Register announcement responds to comments received following the June 29, 2015, notice, no changes will be implemented in the public SMS website display until after completion of the National Academies of Sciences Correlation Study, as required by the FAST Act highway bill.

The two newly proposed changes call for increasing the minimum number of crashes needed for determining whether a carrier receives a score in the Crash Indicator BASIC from two to three and assigning BASIC percentile ratings only to carriers that have had an inspection with a violation in the past year vs. within the current 24-month period.

The proposed enhancements are now available for previewing on the special website. FMCSA is seeking public comment on the changes based on viewing the preview site. Comments must be received by December 3, 2016.

FMCSA also said it will be holding public sessions at which industry stakeholders will be able to ask questions about the proposed SMS enhancements and the preview site.

To support the Q&A sessions, FMCSA has developed a video presentation that outlines the proposed changes and how to use the preview website. Before joining an online Q&A session, participants can view the video along with other reference materials available in the SMS Preview Help Center.

Each session will end once all questions related to the preview have been answered. The Agency encourages stakeholders to submit questions ahead of time via the Compliance, Safety, Accountability feedback form.

The Q&A sessions will be presented four times:

Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 10:0011:30 a.m. EDT

Thursday, October 13, 2016, 2:003:30 p.m. EDT

Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 3:004:30 p.m. EDT

Thursday, October 20, 2016, 11:00 a.m.12:30 p.m. EDT

Comments on the proposed SMS enhancements bearing Docket ID FMCSA-2015-0149 may be submitted via any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.

Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Fax: 1-202-493-2251.

Click here for more information on the proposals and preview site.
Mike Pence went into the Farmville, Virginia, vice presidential debate as a lame-duck, one-term governor and left two hours later as the favorite for conservative Republicans to win the GOP presidential nomination for 2020. Of course that would require Trump losing in November, but well get to that later.

Pence managed his 90-minute career comeback with a combination of a broadcast-quality performance (thanks to a past career as a radio host) and a shrewd political strategy of not even trying to defend much of the record of his own running mate, Donald Trump.

Early in the debate, Kaine threw out the catnip that had crippled Trumps performance in his first debate against Hillary Clinton  references to Miss Universe, Trumps tax rate, his curious praise for dictators as strong and insults for women as pigs or disgusting.

But Pence ignored the bait as any seasoned professional should. Trump couldnt help but defend himself, but Pence made a different choice.

Pence also affirmatively hit on all of Trumps inexplicable omissions from the last debate. Clintons emails? Check. Her private server, check. The Clinton Foundation, check. Her description of half of Trumps supporters as belonging in a basket of deplorables? Done and done.

That kind of blocking and hitting is the sign of a well-prepped candidate. But when it came to some of the most central aspects of Trumps candidacy, Pence chose to talk about a parallel universe that looked a lot more like Ronald Reagans Morning in America than Donald Trumps vision for the future.

Pence described Trumps foreign policy just as Reagan described his own, as peace through strength, even though Trump routinely talks about bombing the hell out of American adversaries and suggests Japan either pay the U.S. more money for protection or acquire nuclear weapons of its own. Pence described Vladimir Putin as small and bullying, while Trump has described Putin as a strong leader for Russia.

On immigration, Pence described Trumps position as securing the border, building a wall, and deporting criminal aliens  a process any member of the Gang of Eight could recognize as his own idea  even though Trumps entire candidacy has been animated by his promise to deport all illegal immigrants, not just criminal aliens, with what Trump has described as a deportation force.

They have to go, Trump tells his crowds.

When the debate turned to social issues such as abortion, Kaine asked Pence why Trump would call for punishing women who seek abortions. Pence responded that he and Trump would never suggest punishing women for making that choice, even though Trump suggested exactly that in an interview with Chris Matthews.

Pence capped off the debate by declaring, I couldnt be prouder to be Donald Trumps running mate.

Was it helpful to Trump that Pence delivered a top-flight defense of his candidacy, even though the Trump who Pence described doesnt really exist? Trump might have preferred a more vigorous defense of the things he has actually said and done, but in a year when facts hardly matter, Pences steady delivery may be all voters needed from Trumps VP pick if they were just looking for a sign of adults in the room of a Trump administration.

For disheartened conservatives, Pences performance was more than that. It was as a reminder, after months of Trump, of what its really like to see a fellow conservative on a national platform, talking about issues they care about in a way that is respectful and effective.

If Trump wins, conservatives can know that at least one of their own will be in the administration to fight their battles for them. If he loses, conservatives got a view Tuesday night of what their future could look like after Trump, a phase many would like to pretend never happened in the first place.

Either way, its obvious that conservatives future will include Pence.

Mark your calendars for Iowa 2020.
Turkey seeks a solution in the aftermath of the Bashiqa issue despite Iraqs negative attitudes, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni in Ankara, Cavusoglu said the Iraqi parliaments decision against the presence of Turkish troops at Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq does not pose a serious problem if Iraq purifies itself from its domestic political concerns and drops the veto [referring to the Iraqi parliament's decision against Turkish troops].

We always seek a solution, but Iraq, continues its negative attitudes about Bashiqa Camp because of its internal political turmoil and polarization, he said.

On Tuesday, Iraqi parliament asked the government to send a diplomatic note to Turkeys ambassador in Baghdad, describing Turkish troops in Iraq for the purpose of training Iraqi forces against Daesh as hostile occupying forces. Lawmakers also asked for trade and economic ties with Turkey to be reassessed.

On Wednesday, Iraqs ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Baghdad also summoned Turkeys ambassador.

Cavusoglu added he discussed latest developments in Syria with his Italian counterpart, saying both countries play an active role in the fight against Daesh as part of the U.S.-led coalition.

Gentiloni said the two countries should give a joint message against Russia and the Bashar al-Assad led Syrian administration.

"We should give a message to Russia and the Assad regime that they cannot go on like this. It is impossible to continue with the incidents that have occurred in eastern of Aleppo in the last 15 days. You cannot get anywhere by destroying a city where 300,000 people live."

He said the international community was responsible for finding a solution to the Syrian issue. "The Syrian issue should be resolved by taking suggestions from the United Nations."

Recalling that Turkey and Italy jointly deployed troops for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Gentiloni said the two countries were now also jointly fighting against the Daesh terrorist organization.

Since Sept. 19, when the Syrian regime ended a week-long cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia, almost 500 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in attacks on Aleppo.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests  which had erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings  with unexpected ferocity.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, a Beirut-based nongovernmental organization, has put the death toll from the six-year-old conflict at more than 470,000.

Anadolu Agency
Turkish troops were deployed in northern Iraq with the full consent of officials in Baghdad, Safin Dizayi, a spokesman for northern Iraqs Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), said Thursday.

"After the Daesh terrorist group attacked the Kurdistan region and Iraq, many countries extended military support and provided training [to fight Daesh]," Dizayi asserted.

"With the full knowledge of the central [Iraqi] governments Defense Ministry, two bases were set up -- in Dubardan and Bashiqa near Mosul -- to provide military training," he added.

These facilities, he went on to note, "were intended to provide training to Iraqi police forces and volunteers from Nineveh province [of which Mosul is the regional capital]".

"The government of Kurdistan [i.e., the KRG] provided the facilities necessary for this process," Dizayi said.

"Within this context, Turkish military experts provided the necessary training for Iraqi police and local volunteers," he added.

According to Dizayi, these forces had since been visited and inspected "by the Iraqi defense minister himself".

In mid-2014, Daesh captured Mosul -- Iraqs second largest city -- along with vast swathes of territory in the countrys northern and western regions.

In recent months, the Iraqi army has managed to retake much territory. Nevertheless, Daesh remains in firm control of Mosul, which Iraqi officials have vowed to recapture by years end.

In December of last year, Turkey sent some 150 troops and about two dozen combat tanks to Camp Bashiqa, located some 12 kilometers northeast of Daesh-held Mosul.

The deployment -- which has been criticized by some Iraqi politicians -- was meant to provide protection to Turkish military personnel tasked with training Iraqi volunteers to fight Daesh.

Anadolu Agency
Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) sent 29 ambulances to aid civil war-torn Syria on Thursday.

The foundations Hasan Iri told Anadolu Agency that Syria needs ambulances to help treat the injured amid a wave of devastating and deadly attacks.

Iri said the ambulances, donated by European countries to the IHH, are going to Syrian cities, rural Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Homs.

"More than 400,000 civilians have died in the attacks in Syria, and hundreds of thousands have been injured. As long as the attacks are against civilians, more people die and more medical needs are seen," he said.

Iri added that hospitals have been major targets in these attacks.

"People usually die on the way [to medical care] as there are no ambulances. The IHH is trying to fill this gap. The ambulances donated by Europe are being sent to Syria via the IHH," he said.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, a Beirut-based NGO, has put the total death toll from the five-year conflict at more than 470,000.
At least 283 people have been killed in Haiti as the death toll continues to rise after Hurricane Matthew cut a path through parts of the country, according to reports Thursday.

The interior ministry warned that the number could still increase as waters recede and rescue workers reach the most devastated areas in the southwest.

The figures could increase because there are about seven departments severely damaged, civil defense chief Alta Jean Baptiste told Anadolu Agency.

Officials counted 50 dead in the 16,727-resident community of Roche-a-Bateau. In Grand'Anse, authorities said 38 victims were killed.

Approximately 4 million residents live in the south and southwest region of the Caribbean nation where homes are typically built with inadequate materials.

Civil defense rescuers and others organization are still evaluating the area struck by heavy rains and wind that destroyed homes and caused flooding. One southern province has been cut off from the rest of the country after its main bridge was destroyed by flood waters.

We will give more information as soon as we get it, Baptiste told Anadolu Agency.

The eye of the Category 4 storm made landfall in Haiti on Monday night with maximum winds of 220 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Before it struck the poorest country in the western hemisphere, Matthew left four people dead and more than 25,000 displaced in neighboring Dominican Republic.

Forty-four communities are still without access from flooding or other damages and 2,398 houses were affected, the Emergency Operation Center (COE) said Tuesday.

We are working on clearing roads, pruning trees, debris removal and other rehabilitation work to enable the blocked access, the agency said in statement.

More than 1.3 million residents have been displaced by the heavy rains and flooding caused by Matthew that slammed into the eastern tip of Cuba and leveled homes. Aggressive evacuation and preparation have been credited for no reports of deaths on the island.

Matthew is currently just south of Freeport, Bahamas, where 70 percent of the islands 250,000 residents live. It is expected to cause heavy damage to the island chain from rain and floods.

It will then take aim at the southeastern U.S. where a state of emergency has been declared in Florida.

Approximately 2 million residents in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have been warned to evacuate as Matthew could make landfall sometime late Thursday or early Friday.

Anadolu Agency
The Minister of Local Government.. says when the local government legislation comes into effect.. regional corporations can better service their communities. He made the remark.. during the San Juan Laventille Corporation's interfaith service and military parade.. as the corporation turns 30 years.
BOSTON  Something is quintessentially American about political bumper stickers. They are blunt, dogmatic, occasionally witty and always provocative. If thats not an apt description of the zeitgeist, I dont know what is.

Unfortunately, in the midst of an election season rich in gawking, there havent been many bumper stickers to gawk at in my reliably blue neighborhood outside Boston. I fared better on a recent trip to New Hampshire. Pickup trucks rule the rural routes of my swing state neighbor, and several of their bumpers featured Donald J. Trump stickers.

My children squealed each time they spotted one and began to chant, Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump has a big fat rump!  a practice on which I frown, often while smirking.

Outside Derry, my wife noticed a truck on our right. Its rear bumper touted Trump, while the message on its cab window heralded Hillary. We speculated the vehicle belonged to a couple with opposing loyalties. Drawing closer, we saw that the sticker on the window didnt read Hillary for President. It read Hillary for Prison.

My immediate response was a rant roughly as mature as my kids nursery rhyme. Bumper stickers used to be a cheap and humble means of announcing public support for a candidate. These days, theyre a gauge of our escalating political rancor. A slogan from the 1950s, such as I Like Ike, or All the Way with Adlai scans as positively quaint next to a car bumper that roars Trump the Bitch. The presidents iconic 2008 affirmation, Yes We Can, has found a malignant echo in the anti-Trump Yes, We Klan.

Its not just the rhetoric thats intensified. Its our reaction to it. I remember seeing bumper stickers for Bob Dole back in 1994 and thinking to myself, He means well, but his policies are too conservative. By 2004, I was routinely pegging Bush-Cheney drivers as macho warmongers. Four years later, I dismissed Romney fans as rich, shortsighted and lacking compassion.

Now when I see a Trump bumper sticker, the judgments I make about the driver are even more detailed and insidious: white, uneducated, aggrieved, racist, misogynist, gun-owning and prone to violence.

I suspect a Hillary sticker automatically generates a corresponding set of slanders within Trumpniks. Whoevers with her must be a corrupt gun-grabber, wimp, snob, reverse racist and so on.

It is this pattern of thought  the speed, specificity and seething sanctimony of our assumptions  that travels to the root of our current political crisis.

In 2014, political science researchers at Princeton and Stanford tested the divide and concluded, Hostile feelings for the opposing party are ingrained or automatic in voters minds. Partisans discriminate against opposing partisans, and do so to a degree that exceeds discrimination based on race.

At Emory University other political scientists found that Americans are increasingly driven more by a fear and loathing of their opponents than a positive identification with their own candidates. This so-called negative partisanship is not grounded in objections to policies advanced by the other party. It is tribal.

Bumper stickers, then, are tribal markings, emblems of an age that privileges ad hominem over reasoned discourse, that dispatches complex problems with sound bites. In a nation that is increasingly self-segregated into red and blue realms, bumper stickers represent genuine, unplanned encounters with the Other. They remind us, rudely, that ours is not the only tribe in the jungle.

I am not suggesting bumper stickers are proliferating. In a world ruled by digital self-expression, why bother with something as analog as a strip of vinyl? A Twitter account will broadcast your views in a few keystrokes. Or heck, why not post an emoji on Facebook? Besides, given the vitriol that has dogged the 2016 campaign, voters may not want to advertise their political identities in such an indiscriminate manner.

My wife and I have joked about this. Sure, we want to signal our support for Clinton. But what if a deranged Trump supporter in a Ford F-150 takes umbrage? Nobody wants to make an enemy at 70 mph.

As absurd as this may sound, in the unfungible world beyond our screens, bumper stickers represent a form of commitment. And as ephemera go, they can have a curious staying power.

Recall the passage in Kurt Vonneguts 1969 novel Slaughterhouse Five in which the author mentions that his hero, Billy Pilgrim, has a Reagan for President! sticker on his Cadillac. Vonnegut intended this detail to signal his heros political naivete, given that Reagan was little more than a fringe candidate in the 1968 race. As it happened, history rendered Billy Pilgrim unwittingly prescient.

It bears mentioning that my aging Honda still proudly (some would say smugly) wears a Hope, Not Fear emblem from the 2008 election. In my circles, this is a status symbol, an affirmation that I was an early investor in the Obama legacy. But I should also admit I possess a less inspiring sticker from the George W. Bush years. It reads Impeach the Lying Little ...   you get the picture.

I fully intended to slap that sticker on my bumper, but I never got around to it. Perhaps I was afraid that Dick Cheney, or one of his fans, would shoot me in the face. But I like to think my reluctance was a bit more principled.

As a means of discourse, after all, the bumper sticker is little more than a joy ride. But the raw prejudice they elicit represents a powerful symptom of our historical peril.

Our democracy grants us the right to free speech in all its outlandish forms. We can and should participate in vigorous public debate about our candidates and our crises of state. But a democracy dominated by bigoted wrath  by the lazy pleasures of bumper sticker politics  is on a road to nowhere.
On 60 Minutes, a bizarre murder case involving an Australian in Jakarta, and Andrew Denton talks euthanasia once more.

Death in a Cafe

A young woman walks into a busy upmarket cafe in Jakarta to have a coffee with her friends. According to police, what happens next is truly shocking. A deliberate poisoning, all caught on CCTV cameras. Australian resident Jessica Wongso is now on trial for murdering her friend, Mirna Salihin, who she met when they were studying in Sydney. The prosecution accuses Jessica of spiking Mirnas iced coffee with cyanide and then calmly standing by and watching her beautiful friends last gasps of breath. And this story is even more bizarre  its alleged the reason for the killing is rage fuelled by jealousy. Jessica resented her friends fairytale life so much she decided to end it. Four judges in an Indonesian court are trying to determine the truth, but the stakes are particularly high because if shes found guilty of the crime, Jessica Wongso could face the death penalty.

Reporter: Ross Coulthart

Producer: Laura Sparkes

Kylies Law

Its entirely understandable that we prefer not to talk  or even think  about death. But when asked, more than 70 per cent of Australians are clear on one thing  their support for voluntary euthanasia. We want to be given choice about how and when we die. Its a sensitive issue for governments, but in South Australia the politicians seem to be listening to Kylie Monaghan, the brave and beautiful 35-year-old woman who is the face of a new campaign to legalise euthanasia  even though the cancer she suffers from is so advanced its denying her the choice she wants. Among the many Australians supporting Kylie is Andrew Denton, who reveals to Liz Hayes the very personal reasons motivating him to fight for voluntary euthanasia legislation.

Reporter: Liz Hayes

Producer: Garry McNab

Big Brother

Everyone knows the Bee Gees because theyre responsible for half a century of hit songs. Its a remarkable achievement in a business where success is rare, and if it does happen, is usually fleeting rather than enduring. But the Gibb boys  Barry and the twins Robin and Maurice  just refused to leave the stage even when times were tough. Now, sadly, theres only one Bee Gee left, big brother Barry Gibb. He says the show must go on and this 70-year-old grandfather of seven has a new album, his first in 15 years, and is preparing to once again hit the road.

Reporter: Tara Brown

Producer: Garry McNab

8:30pm Sunday October 9 on Nine
Yet another look at the JonBenet Ramsey murder, this time on Discovery Channel which has a three-night event JonBenet: An American Murder Mystery.

For those who just cant get enough, this one promises experts have studied the case and interviews with new and old key players.

In a series of firsts, JonBenet: An American Murder Mystery features exclusive content including:

 More than 500 rarely-seen personal photos and home videos from the Ramsey family archives;

 Interviews with lead investigators who covered the case as it unfolded in Boulder, Colorado;

 An exclusive interview with John Mark Karr  his first in 10 years  who is the only person to ever be arrested for the murder, recently filmed from Bangkok;

 Insights from journalists who covered the case as it broke during Christmas of 1996;

 Never-before-seen crime scene footage from inside the house, captured in the moments after JonBenet was found;

 Commentary from the current district attorney regarding how the case was mishandled.

JonBenet: An American Murder Mystery is an unabridged and comprehensive look at the crime and the investigation surrounding JonBenets murder. As headlines and sensational breaking news chronicled the investigations every move, the US, along with the world, became transfixed by the child behind the pageant star, and the bizarre circumstances of her death. Featuring rarely-shared police interrogation tapes with Patsy and John Ramsey, unsealed documents and more than 500 family photos, the series sheds new light on the cold case.

Episode 1

A Killer on the Loose. Sunday 30 October at 8:30pm AEDT

The murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet gripped the US and the world. Twenty years later, witness exclusive interviews with top investigators, Boulder (Colorado) police detectives, and family friends who reveal untold secrets from the case and every heart-pounding memory. Exclusive never-before-seen footage from the crime scene gives a chilling glimpse inside the Ramsey home, within hours after her body was found. In the wake of her murder, America is shocked by news of the Boulder polices prime suspects: JonBenets mother, father, and nine-year-old brother.

Episode 2

Pool of Suspects. Monday 31 October at 8:30pm AEDT

As the Boulder Police zero in on accusing the Ramsey family of JonBenets murder, the case is turned on its head when veteran homicide detective, Lou Smit, makes a shocking discovery. Smit finds evidence that an intruder broke into the Ramsey home, and his investigation uncovers a crop of shocking new suspects.

Episode 3

He Calls Himself Daxis. Tuesday 1 November at 8:30pm AEDT

The JonBenet Ramsey murder case takes an alarming turn when an anonymous confession comes to light in an unlikely location; 8,000 miles away from Colorado. In an exclusive interview, hear from the only person ever arrested for JonBenets murder  eccentric recluse John Mark Karr. And, critics cast doubt on the reliability of what some considered the lynchpin to the unsolved homicide case: DNA.
Chris Bath will introduce Mondays Australian Story, a profile on Seven News presenter Talitha Cummins who admitted to an addiction to alcohol.

Holding it all together was becoming a really hard act. I ended up in hospital on a weekend and got my stomach pumped. Trying to pretend everything was normal was no longer sustainable.  TV newsreader, Talitha Cummins

Television is this bright, shiny, fabulous facade. When youre a news presenter you put on a mask most of the time. Talitha fooled everyone.  Chris Bath, journalist

Sometimes Ill just say, Im an alcoholic thanks, and see the reaction. That gets people!  Talitha Cummins

Television newsreader Talitha Cummins describes herself as the modern face of alcoholism: young, professional, educated and high functioning.

Cummins, who gave birth to her first baby in August, is now four years sober and wants to share her story in all its confronting detail.

The Channel Seven journalist is also determined to break down stereotypes around alcoholism and promote more discussion about the extent of problem drinking in society.

With alcoholism and recovery there is no finishing line, she says. Its ongoing, recovery will be always and forever.

Cummins began binge drinking when she was 14. As soon as she had one drink it would unleash an unstoppable need for more and more.

Ive done things that Im not proud of and Ive done things that I probably wont ever remember, she says.

I went to the media awards in Brisbane all dressed up in a formal dress and proceeded to drink myself into oblivion. I was told I was carried into a car to be sent home.

When things came to a head a few years ago, Cummins was drinking up to four bottles of wine a night. She was fighting serious depression and had overdosed and been rescued by a friend.

When her boss at Channel Seven confronted her, Cummins finally found the strength to take action.

The threat of losing her job made her sober up, says friend and fellow newsreader Chris Bath.

Cummins signed up for Alcoholics Anonymous and the online help site Hello Sunday Morning and embraced the long haul of recovery.

The journalist never intended to go public with her addiction. But when she accidentally published a private blog revealing she was an alcoholic, she was heartened by the response.

Initially I was really shocked and wanted to delete it, says Cummins. But when I saw the responses I was amazed. People said my story was theirs as well. I got emails from people who were binge drinking, mothers who would start drinking in the afternoon, high profile people who were reformed alcoholics.

I think Talitha was very brave, says friend and fellow journalist Chris Bath. There were a few unkind comments, but the overwhelming reaction was that it was a really courageous thing for her to do.

Monday October 10 at 8pm on ABC
An opening title card for Brock declares what follows is a Drama not a Documentary, noting some parts have been fictionalised.

I dont know who could misconstrue a 2 part miniseries with actors as a documentary, but presumably this is a hefty disclaimer in case a legal case ensues (thanks House of Hancock).

Former Offspring favourite Matt LeNevez portrays the king of the mountain in a dodgy wig in this 70s inspired saga.

Peter Brock was a Holden driving champ who won 9 Bathurst titles and the attention of a nation. But it wasnt without its controversies in his personal life, many of which pertain to his romantic life.

Holden Dealer Team manager Harry Firth (Steve Bisley) invites rising star Brock to join his team, depicted in an amusing press conference where the brash young driver shows he doesnt follow the rule book. There were also stars in his eyes with the young driver soaking up the trappings of fame, partying and fast women. But Firth cant deny Brocks skill on the track.

You drive a really perfect race, from top to finish, he admits.

Bev (Ella Scott Lynch) is one who attracts his attention, despite already being married to team member, James McIntosh.

One thing I want in life I cant have, laments Brock.

He marries former Miss Australia Michelle Downes  a short-lived partnership in which he eventually stands accused of domestic violence.

On the track Brocks biggest threat is Canadian-born champ Allan Moffatt (Brendan Cowell) driving Ford. It is Firths ambition to knock off Moffatt, and there is plenty of blokey engine talk around the kind of speedster that might do it.

In the right car he could be dangerous, Moffatt warns.

But Brock also believes his own publicity and tries to stand as an independent driver after he is fired from the Holden team.

An assured Matt LeNevez plays Brock as a bit a playboy, ambitious, flawed but without malice. Steve Bisley is excellent in the supporting role of Firth, in one of his better roles in recent times. Brendan Cowell is unrecognisable as Allan Moffatt and nearly steals the show. Ella Scott Lynch keeps Brock anchored as fame and success begin to take hold, while Natalie Bassingthwaighte does not appear in Part I.

The script by Adam Todd and directed by Geoff Bennett captures the raw, testosterone 70s, in all its gaudy shirts and brown suits, but it also sits in third gear for much of the opening episode.

Race scenes awkwardly mix archival footage of Bathurst with newly-staged sequences, some of which are in black and white. Its all a bit distracting. I guess producers did what they could.

The soundtrack draws upon masculine tracks from Daddy Cool, Russell Morris, Billy Thorpe, Lobby Lloyd, Ted Mulry, Stevie Wright, Dragon and The Angels.

The message of Brock appears to be that Peter Perfect was not exactly all that, and I get the feeling it could have been tighter as a telemovie. But paired together with Bathurst 1000, ten years after his death, TEN should do well given our interest in bio-dramas.



Brock airs 8:30pm Sunday and 9pm Monday on TEN.
Production on Keeping Up With the Kardashians has been shut down, following the robbery on Kim Kardashian West in Paris.

Kims well-being is our core focus right now. No decision has been made as to when production will resume, a spokesperson for E! told Variety.

Season 12 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians still resumes on October 23rd but there is no word on which season was currently filming.

When asked if cameras were rolling in Paris around the time of the robbery, E! declined to comment.

Season 13 had already renewed the series to 2018.

Earlier this week Kim Kardashian West was bound at her hands and feet and locked in a bathroom, while the robbers stole more than $AU14m million of jewellery and other valuables, including mobile phones. Her husband, Kanye West, was alerted of the emergency during his concert, and he abruptly left the stage to tend to his wife and family.

Kardashian West has remained silent on social media, since the robbery. She is reportedly unharmed but shaken by the incident.
Postcards moves to Sunday nights for Melbourne viewers this weekend with Livinia Nixon taking over hosting duties while Rebecca Judd takes maternity leave.

The show had a network relaunch as a Victorian / South Australian and Western Australian travel series earlier this year but now returns to its Victorian roots, as a half hour Sunday programme, with a 9Life replay.

Branded content series Ready for Take Off gets the primetime Friday slot from tonight.

Livinia tours the town with Rodger Corser, the star of Nines family drama Doctor Doctor, and together they explore his favourite quirky bars in Melbournes CBD and bayside suburbs.

The first stop on Rodgers ultimate bar crawl is Harley House on Strachan Lane, which doubles as a trendy bar and a Peruvian eatery. Next they revisit his old Bayside stomping ground at The King of Tonga on Tennyson Street in Elwood, before going to the After the Tears restaurant and bar in Elsternwick.



Brodie Harper meets some of the local artisans working in the beautiful country Victorian town of Daylesford and later relaxes at EKO Spa, regarded by the locals as the number one spa in the area.



Geelong AFL superstar Patrick Dangerfield takes Shane Crawford on a tour of his beloved home town Moggs Creek, which is nestled between Aireys Inlet and Lorne along the Great Ocean Road. After meeting on Moggs Creek Beach the pair head round the twist to one of the areas most notable landmarks, Split Point Lighthouse, where the 1990s childrens program Round The Twist was filmed.



And Glen Moriarty takes us on a weekend drive to Queenscliff along the Bellarine Peninsula where you can be wined and dined, stay in pure luxury and experience the great local attractions.

Sunday at 5.30pm on Channel Nine (Melbourne).
The BBC has approved a full series for its Porridge sequel, which was part of the broadcasters 60th Anniversary of Comedy.

But one-off revivals for Are You Being Served?, Goodnight Sweetheart and Young Hyacinth -a prequel to Keeping Up Appearances will remain just that .a one-off.

All three have been denied full seasons by the BBC.

Porridge sees Kevin Bishop play the grandson of Ronnie Barkers iconic comedy creation Norman Fletch Fletcher, behind bars for computer hacking.

In the comedy special he was joined by Ralph Ineson as prison bad boy Richie Weeks, EastEnders Dave Hill as his cellmate Joe Lotterby, and Catastrophes Mark Bonnar as Officer Meekie. But the cast for the full series is still to be confirmed, with production due to start in January 2017.

Creators Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais said: Were in a state of disbelief that Porridge is coming back after all these years, but Kevin Bishop is a worthy successor to Ronnie Barker. So even though we feel like recidivists, were more than happy to go back inside.

It was an honour to be asked to play Fletch although I never thought it would go further than just the one-off homage, said Bishop.

To be welcomed back by Porridge fans and the BBC to make a full series, is one of the proudest moments in my career. Dick and Ian are true sitcom masters and I know theyre going to write a brilliant series.
Scott McDonell has done a solid job as Dane County clerk.

Hes upgraded election equipment and instituted audits of voting results, exceeding the practices of other Wisconsin counties.

Two years ago, McDonell proudly made Dane the first county in Wisconsin to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. More recently, McDonell helped organize early voting in nearly every Dane County municipality this fall. McDonell has communicated voting rules  including the states demand for photo identification  in effective and creative ways to the public.

The State Journal editorial board endorses McDonell in the Nov. 8 election. He deserves another four-year term running the clerks office, which records and reports information on elections, licenses, permits, ordinances and zoning.

A Democrat, McDonell previously served as the partisan chairman of a very liberal Dane County Board. Yet as clerk, McDonell has mostly stayed about the political fray, performing an important job that demands a steady hand and good management.

He also has led an important study committee on the future of the Dane County Coliseum, keeping the countys options open and not being afraid to think big. His extensive background in local and state politics should help him get things done.

McDonells opponent, Karen McKim, is running as an independent. Yet she acknowledged this week shes seeking the endorsement of the local left-wing political organization Progressive Dane (as is McDonell, who already has the Democratic Partys backing).

McKims 30-year career in government includes managing records for the state Supreme Court, supervising audits and evaluations for the Legislative Audit Bureau, and managing quality assurance programs for the state Department of Health Services.

Thats good experience for a job that requires careful and consistent administration. Yet shes running a one-issue campaign calling for better election integrity  with little evidence of problems.

McKim cites national groups that recommend more complete and reliable audits of election results, as well as protection against hacking. But McDonell notes that none of the countys voting machines are linked to the Internet, which provides insulation against attack. The countys machines also are federally approved and encrypted for protection. McDonell makes a convincing case that state government is the best place to implement more elaborate protocols.

McKim praises much of McDonells record, blunting her case for change. Shes sharp on election standards, but the job is bigger than that, sometimes requiring political finesse.

McDonell is the better choice for Dane County clerk this fall.
Russian-backed militants launched 30 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in eastern Ukraine over the past day, the press center of the ATO headquarters reports.

In Luhansk direction, 10 ceasefire violations were recorded. Terrorists shelled Novooleksandrivka, Novozvanivka, Trokhizbenka, Stanitsa Luhanska, and Popasna, using small arms, grenade launchers and machine guns.

In Donetsk direction, four ceasefire violations were recorded. Militants used small arms, grenade launchers, machine guns to shell Ukrainian troops near Avdiivka, Zaitseve, Novhoroske and Kamianka.

In Mariupol direction, terrorists launched 16 attacks on Ukrainian positions. The enemy used small arms, machine guns, grenade launchers to shell Marinka, Shyrokyno, Starohnativka, and Hnutove.

ish
Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak and Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist held an official meeting in Stockholm on Thursday to discuss the state and prospects for developing cooperation in the defence sector between the two countries.

The ministers said they intend to consolidate efforts to provide for security in Europe and internationally. "Discussing the development of military-political partnership, the Ukrainian Defence Minister noted the fundamental importance for Ukraine of the results of the 27th NATO Summit in Warsaw, in particular the comprehensive package of assistance from the Alliance to Ukraine", the official communique reads, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry reported.

Poltorak also emphasized that the program to reform the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the program to reform the Swedish Armed Forces have the same time indicators, namely 2016-2020. "In this context, we are interested in a more detailed study of the experience of Sweden cooperation with NATO," he said. Officials also discussed the current state and prospects of further development of Ukrainian-Swedish cooperation in the defence sector, which undoubtedly has great potential. Poltorak proposed to deepen practical cooperation between the General Staffs of the two countries for the effective implementation of defence reform measures by 2020, and for the exchange of experience on the organization and implementation of territorial defence measures. He also showed interest in cooperation in the field of military medicine and getting advice on the training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in tactical medicine and other areas.

pd
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with Minister of Environmental Protection, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze'ev Elkin.

This has been reported by the press service of the Head of State.

As Head of Israeli part of the Joint Ukraine-Israel Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Minister has informed the President on the results of its regular session held in Kyiv on October 5-6.

Petro Poroshenko has emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation in trade and economic direction and speeding up the conclusion of the bilateral free trade agreement.

The parties noted successful functioning of the visa-free regime between Ukraine and Israel in the context of trade-economic cooperation development and tourist exchange.

The President of Ukraine thanked the Israeli side for its active participation in the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy.

ish
Polands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed concerns over the arrest of Ukrinform correspondent Roman Sushchenko in Russia, which may lead to further escalation of tense situation between Kyiv and Moscow.

The ministry issued a corresponding statement following a request from the Ukrinform correspondent in Warsaw.

Circumstances of the arrest of Ukrainian journalist and Paris-based correspondent of Ukrinform, Roman Sushchenko, as well as serious charges against him raised concerns, reads the statement.

According to the Polish Foreign Ministry, this situation leads to further escalation of tense Moscow-Kyiv relations.

"The international community is seriously concerned about another arrests, as well as the previous ones, harsh judgments by Russian courts against the Ukrainian citizens, who during show trials are sentenced to long-term prison terms, and whom later the Russian side de facto uses as hostages  this doesnt not facilitate the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and complicates the implementation of the Minsk agreements, reads the statement.

iy
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has travelled to Odesa region today to inspect the course of repair work on the Odesa - Reni highway.

When speaking with journalists, President Poroshenko stated that due to joint efforts of the state, regional councils and customs, major roads in Odesa, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions were repaired, the presidents press service reports.

Road construction program is a strategic line of the Ukrainian authorities. The fact that the state budget for 2017 allocates over UAH 30 billion for the road fund clearly demonstrates the priorities of the Ukrainian authorities, Petro Poroshenko told said.

He also added that today we see absolutely concrete results in a very short period of this project.

iy
Falmata, 32, rests with her daughter Mamagona in Kuya camp, north-east Nigeria. The 16-month-old girl suffers from malnutrition and is being treated at a small clinic run by the NGO Halima.  UNHCR/Helene Caux

MONGUNO, Nigeria  Tens of thousands of Nigerians liberated from Boko Haram face a desperate lack of food that has left some children severely malnourished and families struggling to make ends meet, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency warned today.

Children are being sent on to the streets to beg for food and money, or on risky trips to surrounding fields to find firewood to sell. Many people still have nowhere safe to sleep, and some are camping in dilapidated schools.

Mothers whose husbands were kidnapped or who have disappeared have been left to care for as many as 10 children alone in places where they struggle to work or earn money, and many live with fear that insurgents could attack them again.

Free from Boko Haram, Nigerians still need help.

Nigerian military operations earlier in 2016 in the country's north-east pushed Boko Haram out of a sweep of some major towns, such as Monguno, 140 kilometres north of the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, and freeing tens of thousands of people from the insurgents rule.

But conditions remain very difficult, UNHCR reported following a recent emergency assessment mission it led with a partner NGO.

"Boko Haram attacked my village six weeks ago, they stole all of our belongings and our food," said one mother, Falmata,* who is now living among the displaced in Monguno.

"Boko Haram attacked my village six weeks ago."

Her husband disappeared and she fled with their baby on her back and their five-year-old daughter by her side to a makeshift camp in Monguno called Kuya. Mamagona, her 16-month-old baby, is so malnourished she needed medical treatment at a nearby clinic.

"Most people from my village fled and are in this camp with me," said Falmata, 32. "Mamagona's health started to deteriorate when we were in the camp. There is not enough food here and I don't have enough millet to give to her, but I don't want to go back to my village, it is too dangerous with Boko Haram in the area."

Another mother, Jabba, 28, also said she could not find enough food for her family. "I am sending my children, including my youngest boy who is eight years old, to be in the streets" to beg for money to buy food, she said.

A UNHCR staff member takes notes during a conversation with a displaced woman at Kuya camp, in Monguno, Nigeria. Women head many of the families there because their husbands have been killed by Boko Haram or have disappeared.  UNHCR/Helene Caux

UNHCR teams noticed a lot of breastfeeding women in Kuya camp, including teenagers, as well many young girls with children. The launch of livelihood projects is urgently needed to help women become self-sufficient and lessen the risk of people turning to survival sex.

More than 60,000 displaced people are living in nine temporary encampments in Monguno, and more people arrive every week as military operations continue to dislodge Boko Haram further north.

The Nigerian authorities and some aid agencies have arranged limited food distributions, but it was now key that these were increased and made more regular.

UNHCR is working with the regional government to find a new site where displaced people can properly be cared for, and meanwhile plans to provide basic household items like kitchen utensils, mattresses, mosquito nets, jerry cans, female hygiene materials, soap and detergent.

"Few of these people are likely to return to their homes and villages soon."

Women whose husbands had been killed or kidnapped by Boko Haram remain traumatised, and they and their children need counselling and help to restart their lives, including to find ways to earn a living.

Few of these people are likely to return to their homes and villages soon because of continuing insecurity, disrupted economic activity, and the presence of land mines in their villages and fields. Security continues to restrict aid agencies' movements in parts of Borno, but UNHCR hopes to continue its vulnerability screening visits to sites in Banki, Dikwa and Gamboru-NGala in the next few weeks.

These visits allow us to assess needs and address gaps to better assist the internally displaced populations, especially in terms of security, shelter, psycho-social support, and livelihood activities, as well as to avoid duplicating tasks with other agencies.

More than two million people have been forcibly displaced in Nigeria, including 1.87 million who fled Boko Haram violence since 2014. Some 195,350 people have sought shelter in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

* full names withheld for protection reasons
Stratis Valamios is a fisherman on the Greek island of Lesvos.  UNHCR/Roland Schonbauer

LESVOS, Greece  The village of Skala Sikamnias is a picturesque place in northern Lesvos, just five miles across the sea from Turkey. It was here where Stratis Valamios and Aimilia Kamvisi earned their Nobel Peace Prize nomination for their efforts to save thousands of refugees and migrants who washed ashore back in 2015.

Around 800,000 people reached the Greek islands in 2015, the majority on Lesvos. Thousands of volunteers rallied to help  among them Valamios, rescuing exhausted new arrivals at sea, and Kamvisi, cooking for them on land.

We knew we gave the refugees courage and the refugees understood that, says Kamvisi. We hugged and kissed them. I feel like I have helped a brother or a sister.

"I feel like I have helped a brother or a sister.

The pair were nominated by several Greek academics and the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, along with actress Susan Sarandon, who was one of the most prominent foreign volunteers during last year's crisis.

"In the faces of these three people are reflected the efforts of the Greek government, humanitarian organizations and volunteers, the unseen people who contribute to the struggle for dignity, read the nomination. "This face of Greece is what we recommend for the Nobel Peace Prize."

Valamios recounts many days when it was impossible to fish. "Last year, the square was never dry, so many people came out of the water. When people were drowning would you go fishing? If it happens again, I would do the same thing."

"The tavernas here were hospitals, on these tables we were bringing people back to life."  UNHCR/Roland Schonbauer

Some 800 men, women and children died last year in the eastern Mediterranean. So far this year, over 400 have been recorded dead or missing in the same area and the Mediterranean will suffer its deadliest year on record.

"Sometimes babies died in my arms from hypothermia, says Valamios, with a sigh. The tavernas here were hospitals, on these tables we were bringing people back to life."

"One night, we heard voices in the dark, but we could not see anything," he recounts. "So I put my headlamp on and jumped into the water, and then I found them  66 people, all with car tires but no boat. It had sunk. They had to cling on to my boat to get to the port."

One of his most unforgettable experiences occurred back in 2009. "A dinghy with 20 people went against the rock near the lighthouse because the smuggler did not know how to manoeuvre. We dropped our nets immediately and I dived there to rescue them. Everything happened so quickly. When I had pulled one to the shore, another one had drowned already. I saved ten, ten died. And several babies among them."

"He was always caring for people, this is how I met him."

"I am very proud of him," says his wife, Stratoula Mavrapide. "He was always caring for people, this is how I met him. But it was not always easy, sometimes the atmosphere at home was very heavy after all that we had seen. We had some sleeping difficulties."

Valamios is now back at sea, fishing once more, but he worries every day for the future.

"What I am really afraid of is the people that turn others into refugees, he says. That might also happen to us. Nobody should be certain about what lies ahead of us."

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was announced as Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos on Friday, October 7. But, for Valamios and Kamvisi, they have already scooped their prize.

When they feel safe, when they thank you, this creates a very rewarding atmosphere, says Valamios, smiling.
Most civilians living in areas of northern Nigeria recaptured by the armed forces from Boko Haram since the start of the year still face serious protection problems and lack the most basic assistance, with women particularly at risk.

These are the initial findings of UNHCR staff who have been conducting screenings in the past fortnight on needs and vulnerability in newly accessible areas of Borno state.

The UNHCR team and partners have been interviewing community leaders and individuals since the start of last week about their situation in towns like Monguno, Bama, Damboa, Dikwa, Konduga, Mafa, Magumeri and Shani.

They have found similar patterns in these places of a high level of vulnerability among people displaced by Boko Haram, with nearly every family affected by very worrying protection issues, and observed that some of these people live in fear that the insurgency group could attack them again.

In Monguno, more than 60,000 displaced people, mostly originating from the Marte local government area, are living in nine sites, where they urgently need regular supplies of aid. More people continue to arrive as a result of military operations still taking place in the northern part of Borno state to dislodge Boko Haram, but food shortages are a major concern in sites in Monguno like Kuya, where some 7,500 people are living in dilapidated school buildings and makeshift shelters.

Women in Kuya site have to send their children  sometimes as young as five years  to sell small items or beg in the streets of the town, which was recaptured last February, for money to buy food and medicine. Others send children to collect firewood for sale, putting daughters at risk of assault.

The authorities and some aid agencies have distributed food but on an irregular basis and it is vital that distributions be stepped up and made more regular. UNHCR is working with the government to find a new site for displaced people. UNHCR now plans to deliver much-needed assistance of relief items including mattresses, mats, solar lanterns, cooking supplies, mosquito nets, jerry cans, slippers, female hygiene materials, soap and detergent, to the most vulnerable families in Monguno.

The UNHCR team also found that many families were headed by women because their husbands had been killed by Boko Haram, forced to join the insurgents or disappeared. Many women and children remain traumatized by their time under Boko Haram rule, including the massacre of 50 men rounded up in one village in Marte local government area four months ago. They and their children need counselling and livelihoods support to prevent them resorting to negative coping mechanisms.

Our teams noticed a lot of breastfeeding women, including teenagers, as well many young girls with children. The launch of livelihood projects is urgently needed to help women become self-sufficient and lessen the risk of people turning to survival sex.

We also saw several children in Monguno suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Even though several agencies are providing life-saving treatment, malnutrition remains rampant in Monguno and other newly accessible areas.

Shelter is another major protection need for most of the displaced populations. The UNHCR visited the Central Primary School, which hosts some 1,300 people; some were staying in buildings with crumbling roofs. The authorities have asked UNHCR and other aid agencies to help them develop a new site in Monguno to host the people presently accommodated in school buildings.

They are unlikely to return to their home villages soon because of continuing insecurity, disrupted economic activity and the presence of land mines in their villages and fields.

Security continues to restrict our movements in parts of Borno, but we hope to continue our vulnerability screening visits to sites in Banki, Dikwa and Gamboru-NGala in the next few weeks. These visits allow us to assess needs and address gaps to better assist the internally displaced populations, especially in the areas of security, shelter, psycho-social support, and livelihood activities, as well as avoid duplication of tasks with other agencies.

More than 2 million people have been forcibly displaced in Nigeria, including 1.87 million who fled Boko Haram violence since 2014. Some 195,350 people have sought shelter in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
At approximately 3:00 pm, the military position in the refugee hosting area of Tazalit in the region of Tahoua, bordering Mali was attacked by armed assailants, whose identities are not yet known. The attack resulted in the deaths of 22 Nigerien military officers and the injury of five others. It is reported that the remaining three military officers who were at the post at the time, managed to escape unharmed. The refugee hosting area currently hosts almost 4,000 refugees, however none were harmed during the attack.

The armed assailants are reported to have arrived at the site in two pick up trucks. Witnesses say that following the attack, the assailants stayed in the area for up to 2 hours, and looted the health centre, stealing vital medical stocks. They also burned a UNHCR ambulance. No UNHCR staff or partners were present when the attack took place. The attackers then stole a military vehicle and fled, before support arrived.

This is not the first attack against security forces guarding Malian refugee camps in Niger. On the 10th of September, armed assailants attacked a security post at the camp of Tabareybarey in the region of Tillabery, which also borders Mali and is home to almost 10,000 refugees. A young Malian refugee woman of 18 years was killed, as well as a 5 year old refugee boy. Five others were shot and wounded.

UNHCR strongly condemns these acts of violence against people who were working to protect and secure the safety of vulnerable Malian refugees, who have been forced to flee their country since violence and civil war broke out in 2012. UNHCR is also troubled by the increasing number of violent incidents in the western regions of Niger bordering Mali, including ambushes, armed robbery and mine incidents.

Immediately following the attacks, UNHCR sent a team from Niamey to the site to identify needs and provide a response. Senior staff will travel to the area on Saturday to meet the community and the authorities and express support and solidarity.

Despite the fact that the Algiers Peace Accord was signed in June 2015 between several of the conflicting parties in Mali, inter-communal and inter-ethnic violence continues in the northern part of the country, forcing more refugees to flee to neighboring Niger. The UN MINUSMA forces in Kidal in Northern Mali also suffered attacks and casualties during the week.

Niger currently hosts over 60,000 Malian refugees, and welcomed over 5,000 new arrivals in 2016 alone. Niger also hosts over 80,000 Nigerian refugees in the east of the country. UNHCR appreciates the solidarity shown by the Niger government welcoming vulnerable refugees fleeing both Mali and northern Nigeria. UNHCRs MoU with the Niger government regarding the provision of security in the refugee camps and hosting areas was amended in August to include the camps in the Diffa region, hosting refugees fleeing Boko Haram.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi addresses a press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on October 7, 2016.  UNHCR/Jean Marc Ferre

GENEVA  UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised the political courage of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who today won the Nobel Peace Prize, and welcomed the recommendation of Antonio Guterres to his new role as the top peacemaker in the world.

Speaking at the conclusion of UNHCRs annual Executive Committee meeting in Geneva, Grandi praised the extraordinary commitment by Santos government, the left wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and civil society to bring peace to the South American country, which he visited earlier this year.

What I saw on the ground was extraordinary commitment by government, by the FARC and by civil society in particular to make this work, Grandi said of the peace deal, which was narrowly rejected by Colombians in a referendum on Sunday.

Only through the peace process can internal displacement in Colombia be addressed and resolved.

I am sure that having seen that commitment, the present complicated political impasse will be overcome and President Santos, his government and his fellow actors in the peace agreement will stay the course and bring it forward, he said.

Grandi noted that, at around seven million, Colombia had the largest population of internally displaced people in the world, and said that it is only through the peace process that this can be addressed and resolved. So again, my heartfelt congratulations for a peace process that essentially recognizes political courage.

In his remarks to reporters at the Palais de Nations on Friday (October 7), Grandi said he was also greatly encouraged by the recommendation of former UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres as the next United Nations Secretary-General.

During his 10 years heading UNHCR, Guterres managed some of the worlds biggest refugee crises, including the displacements of millions of people from Syria, Iraq and South Sudan.

It is wonderful that the top peacemaker in the world, the top diplomat in the world  whose main task will be really to address these terrible conflicts that plague our world  is somebody who knows so well, and feels so much human empathy for, the consequences of those wars.

The wide-ranging news conference marked the conclusion of the annual meeting of representatives from 98 states that make up the UNHCRs Executive Committee.

In that forum, Grandi called for greater responsibility sharing by rich countries to provide effective responses to the record displacement caused by wars and persecution worldwide.

He noted that the majority of the worlds 65.3 million forcibly displaced people  many uprooted by wars in countries including Syria and South Sudan  are currently hosted by poorer nations, many of them their neighbours.

"Poor countries need more of the rich world to share their responsibilities."

Those poor countries need more of the rich world to share their responsibilities, in different ways  through more financial contributions, through more resettlement and other legal pathways, helping find more solutions for these refugees, Grandi said.

The four-day meeting ended late on Thursday. In his concluding remarks, Grandi stressed that it is absolutely critical that a fundamental commitment to protection remains as the central pillar of UNHCRs engagement, even as we redouble our efforts in search of more robust, systematic and comprehensive approaches.

He highlighted the key commitments made in the New York Declaration adopted by 193 UN Member States last month, and said UNHCR would now seek to apply the Comprehensive Refugee Response framework with urgency, responsibility and resolution.

The framework has huge potential  for a more predictable, systematic, better resourced, more connected response, shaped by protection principles and standards  provided that the commitment and political will that has been articulated over the last few weeks can now be translated into concrete action.

To meet these challenges, the High Commissioner set out in a keynote address several core areas of strategic focus to guide his organization over the next five years, which he noted were supported by the forum.
When you see them on screen, you seldom realize the amount and weight of education they have under their belt. Viewers often judge them based on their performance and their quality as performers or artists. But sometimes, if you dig deep enough, you get to find out that they have a higher education that will carry them through.

Take for example, Troian Bellisario. She is known for her role in the current television show 'Pretty Little Liars.' But what many do not know, is that Troian is actually a graduate from the University of Southern California.

Before Troian Bellisario became famous, she attended the Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California. She was a loyal enrollee from kindergarten until twelfth grade. She graduated as the valedictorian of her batch. For her higher education, she attended the University of Southern California. In 2009, according to Seventeen, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.

However, she has always been in the acting scene since 1988. She made her acting debut in the 1988 movie, 'Last Rites.' She was only three years old at the time. Her acting career went on during her childhood years. She starred in many television shows that were produced by her own dad. She joined shows like 'JAG', 'NCIS' and 'First Monday.'

However, she also joined in films. She was given the lead role in 'Martyrs'. Troian created her own film, too. In October 2011, she wrote her own film funded by Kickstarter. But it was not until November 2009 where fans knew her for her role in 'Pretty Little Liars.' The series is based on the book written by Sara Shepard. In 2016, she was given the opportunity to direct an episode in 'Pretty Little Liars' season 7 episode 15. She was one of the first in the cast to do so.

What is interesting to note is that she continued her education while she pursued her acting career. Do you think Troian Bellisario should get a masters degree? Shout out in the comments section!
"The future is yours for the taking" is the motto Netflix is going with when it decided to team up with Girl Scouts. They want the kids to know that STEM Careers are theirs for the taking.

For the past year, Netflix, the popular video streaming online platform, has been busy encouraging young girls to pursue STEM. STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) are career fields that can take them anywhere and everywhere. And this is something Netflix is passionate about with their original show 'Project Mc2.'

'Project Mc2' is now on its third season. And according to Babble, is a show that features McKeyla McAlister and her friends. They are secret ops that works for NOV8 (innovate). They use STEM to save and protect the whole world. Each girl is a valuable member of the organization and covers all STEM fields. And the show is the perfect example for young girls looking to pursue a career in STEM.

Women, female students and young girls are under represented in STEM career fields. With Netflix taking an interest on the future of this children, partnering with the Girl Scouts of America seems like the best way to change all that. According to GSA's Research Institute, 74% of teen girls in the United States are interested in STEM. But women only make up 20% of the degrees in these fields.

Which is why Netflix invited the Girl Scout Troops to their headquarters in Los Gatos, California to campaign for "She Rules: STEM." Young girls get the chance to listen to and witness STEM Experts and role models give inspirational talks.

And as a treat, Netflix reveals a sneak peek of 'Project Mc2' season 3 with the cast of the show! Such a treat for Girl Scouts who are fans of the show. This is just the start for girls everywhere. Women and young girls should be inspired to work in STEM and be leaders of the industry.
In the past, online college courses had a negative reputation. Thanks to cheap advertisements and its being synonymous to for-profit providers which gave people the impression that they were hawking cheap knock-offs of on-campus degrees. But that perception is changing as elite universities, like Harvard and Stanford, are taking notice of its potential.

Online courses, which was popularized by for-profit organizations like Phoenix University and Corinthian Colleges, was not successful because of quality concerns. Even when Columbia University started its online learning portal and invested $25 million on it, public perception did not change because people were not ready about it.

Fast forward to the present, all these have changed when MIT, Stanford, and other big name universities started offering some of their programs for free through the Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs in partnership with technology startups, such as edX and Coursera.

After that, Georgetown University, the University of South Carolina, and Berkeley followed suit and offered some of their graduate programs online. Then there was the Arizona State University striking a partnership with Starbucks allowing the coffee chain's eligible employees to complete their courses online while providing full tuition reimbursement.

Chip Paucek, co-founder and CEO of 2U, an educational technology company based in Landover, Md. said that a "sleeping giant is awakening online in the form of elite colleges" in reference to the bigwigs joining in the online education race. He also added that these universities realized that if they won't change with the times, somebody else will dominate the space; thus, they decided before another gets there first.

2U has partnered with Berkeley, Georgetown, the UNC, and several other universities developing online programs since 2008. The company's online programs has around 21,000 enrollees and tend to have a much better quality than what for-profits and MOOCs offer. More so, the tuition for the online degrees at U2 is the same as what these universities charge for their on-campus programs.

"We focused on the student experience, on the teaching, so the outcomes for graduates are excellent, which is where the for-profits failed," said Paucek and he was not exaggerating because their online nursing program for Georgetown has a 97 percent board passing rate. Furthermore, those who availed Berkeley's online programs through U2 reported that they were promoted after completing the program.
Those who are looking for a high-paying job these days will find them in abundance as amazon, JP Morgan, Oracle, and other top companies are offering its prospective employees an annual salary of $50,000 or more.

According to Indeed, H&R Block, the tax preparation company based in Kansas City, heads the list. The company is at present looking for more than 5,000 tax professionals to fill various positions. At present, the company has more than 80,000 employees nationwide.

Best Buy comes in second place as it is looking forward to hiring around 3,000 employees across the country. The company was established in 1996 and was originally called the Sound of Music. From its humble beginnings, the company boasts of more than 125,000 employees around the world.

Amazon, the largest online retailer in the United States is looking for 2,854 employees to fill various positions that have a salary range of $50,000 plus. They are also hiring people for temporary positions during the holiday season.

The fourth spot belongs to the London professional services company Deloitte. At present, the company already boasts of 244,000 employees. The company continues to expand and is looking for 1,895 employees for various positions.

Global financial giant JPMorgan Chase proves that money remains the most important commodity in the world as it is looking to hire an army of 1,760 financial professionals. The finance world can be pretty stressful but an annual $50,000 paycheck is not bad.

It is also good news for system engineers and those in the information technology industry because Oracle is the sixth company looking forward to hire a lot of employees this year. The tech company is looking for 1,476 employees that have knowledge in cloud applications, platform services, and other related positions.

In seventh place is AT&T. The communications company wants to add more than 1,000 employees to its roster of 280,000 people.

At number eight is the embattled financial services company. Despite the scandal, it was involved in recent months, the company is still looking for 1,197 people to fill various positions. The mass hiring must've been the result of thousands of employees who got axed after the expose that they were involved in hacking the accounts of their clients.

Finally at number nine is the not-for-profit health service company Kaiser Permanente. Considered as the largest in the industry in the United States, Kaiser is hiring 1,140 employees across the country.
Student protests at South African universities have not died down. The rallies have resulted to a week-long shutdown of some campuses in the country.

It was previously reported that student protests in South African universities came after Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced that tuition fee hike decisions will be left to the schools. Rhodes University has met with some students, the Student Representative Council (SRC), and staff to discuss at how feasible free education and free supplementary exams would be. The process of including students for budget-making has also been discussed.

Recently, Reuters reported that clashes between the police and student protesters have forced South African college the University of the Witwatersrand, known as Wits, and Cape Town universities to suspend classes for the second time in less than a month. A spokesperson for Wits revealed that classes would be canceled until Oct. 10.

On Tuesday, it was noted that police fired stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas after student protesters at the Johannesburg campus threw stones at them and flipped one vehicle. The university added that some protesters even pulled lecturers out of their offices.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has announced that it would be shut down for the rest of the week due to safety concerns. The school has hired private security guards to help secure the campus.

According to Quartz, student protesters have said that the violence will not end until tuition fees are scrapped. They are basing their protests on South Africa's constitution that states, "Everyone has the right to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible."

However, the treasury admitted that free higher education would require a financial restructuring that the country's already ailing budget cannot handle. A leaked 2012 report did reveal that free university for the country's poorest students is possible with significant additional funding of both the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the university system.
Canadian platinum-selling rapper Drake has finally visited Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday. However, not a lot of people witnessed his visit, though.

Local news station WhoTV reported that Drake stopped by the empty Drake University campus at around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday on his way out of Des Moines. The rapper took to Instagram to document how he fulfilled his promise to visit the school.

The rapper posted a photo of himself posing atop the Drake University sign to his Instagram account. He even tagged the school in the caption. Drake also uploaded videos of him stopping by at the sorority houses for Kappa Kappa Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta.

One student was able to personally have a chat with the rapper, though. Ben Scott, a junior, was still awake after he went to Drake's concert at the Wells Fargo Arena. He lives across the street at Theta Chi fraternity.

"I think I was the only one that actually saw him and spoke to him which was phenomenal," he told KTLA. "I can't believe it happened. We just had a really brief conversation, 'Hey, do you think anyone is awake? What's going on?'"

TIME noted that students have been campaigning to get the rapper to visit their school since 2009. The "Bring Drake to Drake" campaign hype increased when school administrators noted that their city was listed as a stop on his Summer Sixteen tour.

Last Monday, the school tagged Drake on an Instagram post. The rapper replied with this comment, "I'mma pull up on ya," which led to students waiting for him to show up to no avail.

Chronicle added that Drake University was able to convince Drake to visit through persistence. Four months ago, the college got a much-coveted follow from the rapper's Instagram account.

Thalia Anguiano, the Student Government president, revealed how she met with administrators over the summer to plan how to get Drake's attention as well as to get the students involved. "If we show enough engagement, there might be a possibility of Drake stopping by campus," she told her classmates.
The University of Illinois - Champaign is one of the campuses that has recently been shaken by a shooting. One man fatally died of his wounds.

USA Today College reported that students and faculty were alerted when gunfire was heard on Sep. 25 on the 300 block of East Green Street in Champaign, Ill. The message warned the community to stay in their homes while those who were at the local campus bars were kept inside until it was safe to go out.

The Community Safety Notice emailed by the Division Public Safety revealed that four people were shot. Another person was hit by a car after trying to escape. One person, George Korchev of Mundelein, Ill., 22, died of the wounds from a fatal shot. He was visiting his friends over the weekend and would have started his work as a nurse in Libertyville.

The police charged Robbie M. Patton, 18, with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. Two weeks before the incident, he was released from a boot camp which helped him avoid prison on a gun charge conviction last December.

The UIUC community mourned with a vigil in the aftermath of the shooting. Some were still shaken at how an act of violence could be done in a popular area of town.

According to the News-Gazette, State's Attorney Julia Rietz revealed that the shooting was all because of "a spilled drink." Apparently, they were attending a party in an apartment at 306 1/2 E. Green St. about 12:30 a.m.

"During the party inside, a girl spills a drink on another girl," Rietz said. "his leads to a disagreement that spills out into the parking lot."

Patton was said to have intended to fire at the men who were kicking his friend. However, the victims who got hit were not involved in the beating.

This is not the first time that a shooting near campus has happened. It was previously reported that two students were killed at a house party near North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
October 7 2016

Highbridge Properties and Clyde Gateway have launched what could become one of the UKs largest office parks on the former Shawfield development site in Glasgow.Magenta will offer 1.3m sq/ft of Grade A accommodation on 27 acres of land bounded by the River Clyde and M74 motorway and is development ready following an investment of 20m in public realm and infrastructure works.This will seek to lure businesses from the city centre by offering rental rates up to 37 per cent lower than space of a similar spec with the offer of purpose built accommodation for individual organisations to meet their exact requirements.Adrian Hill, director of Highbridge Properties said: When I first saw this site it reminded me of London Docklands in the early years  so much potential and so close to the city centre. Magenta is a very compelling option for businesses, boasting superb connectivity, infrastructure and value for money.The location is first class  a stunning riverside development thats just ten minutes from the city centre, 15 minutes from Glasgow Airport, two minutes from the M74, and with ample parking available on site.An architect has still to be appointed for the scheme which will include supporting services such as shops, cafes, a gym and business centre as well as headquarters office space for BRE
More than 5,600 new Roadrunners join UTSA family this fall

New university census numbers show UTSA is the choice for top-ranked, Hispanic students. Read the report.

(October 7, 2016) -- The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) welcomed 5,616 new freshman students this fall, according to a newly released census report by the UTSA Office of Institutional Research. The new Roadrunner class brings the universitys total enrollment to 28, 959.

UTSA is a university of choice for top-ranked students in Texas and across the country. Nearly 50 percent of the new freshman class ranked in the top quartile of their graduating class. Approximately 43 percent of incoming freshmen are the first in their families to attend college. Two-thirds are taking 15 or more semester credit hours, putting them on track to graduate in four years.

A quarter of incoming freshmen are enrolled in the College of Sciences, which is known for its top-tier biomedicine, brain health, cancer, computer science and chemistry research.

The College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA) and the College of Business saw the largest overall enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students this fall. Each college saw about 20 percent of all UTSA students enrolled in programs within their departments. COLFA is known for its groundbreaking approaches to liberal arts education. The College of Business is nationally ranked as a top five undergraduate program in Texas by BusinessWeek.

Bexar County remains the largest source of students to UTSA. In total, 13,751 enrolled students are residents of Bexar County. The second highest population comes from the Houston area.

UTSA is a Hispanic-serving institution. More than half of its total enrolled undergraduate student population (14,889) identifies as Hispanic. Fifty-four percent of new freshman identify as Hispanic.

International enrollment is up. This fall, 1,169 UTSA students come from outside the U.S. These students have traveled to study at UTSA from countries like Mexico, India and China. Thirty-two percent of this years doctoral candidates are from somewhere other than the U.S.

UTSA is an emerging Tier One research institution specializing in health, energy, security, sustainability, and human and social development.

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For more information, visit the UTSA Office of Institutional Research.

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Former UW Professor to be Inducted into Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame

Former UW Professor Stanley Anderson will be inducted, posthumously, into the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame in a ceremony Oct. 22 at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody.

A former University of Wyoming professor who founded the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit will be inducted into the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame this month.

The late Stanley Anderson is one of four who will join 49 past inductees during a ceremony scheduled Oct. 22 at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, 720 Sheridan Ave., in Cody. Dinner is scheduled at 6 p.m., with the awards ceremony to follow at 7 p.m.

The Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame was established in 2004 by then-Gov. Dave Freudenthal to celebrate individuals who have shown leadership and vision related to conserving wildlife, habitat or the heritage of hunting and fishing. Tickets for the induction ceremony are available online at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Get-Involved/Contests-and-Awards/Outdoor-Hall-of-Fame.

Anderson moved to Wyoming full time in 1980 to take a position as a professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology at UW. While there, he helped launch a new endeavor -- the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. The unit established a formal partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and UW to conduct important, applied wildlife research.

Anderson and the students he mentored have made lasting contributions with research on conserving the endangered Wyoming toad; reintroducing the black-footed ferret; on big game migration; on how changing landscapes affect nongame birds; and on energy developments effects on pronghorn and mule deer.

His contributions also led to changes benefiting wildlife, such as the use of markers on transmission lines to decrease bird collisions; population estimation techniques for raptors in the state; and habitat delineation.

During his career, Anderson advised or co-advised 100 graduate students, and he wrote 200 scientific articles and several books. His work appeared in journals ranging from The Auk to the Journal of Wildlife Management. He also wrote or co-wrote multiple editions of three textbooks that have been used widely in the field of wildlife management, as well as books on the prairie falcon, and forest and rangeland birds of the United States.

Anderson was one of the first avian ecologists to study bird-habitat relations using multivariate statistical techniques. Throughout his career, a special interest in habitat selection guided his research and his training of students. In his later years, he focused increasingly on endangered species and made significant contributions to solving problems confronting black-footed ferrets and greater sage grouse.

He received his doctoral and masters degrees from Oregon State University, and his bachelors degree in biology from Redlands University.

Anderson led the co-op unit until his death in 2005.

For more information, call Sara DiRienzo at (307) 777-4540.
Town-Hall Meeting on UW Fiscal Plan Wednesday

University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols and UWs Financial Crisis Advisory Committee (FCAC) will detail their plan to reduce UWs 2017-18 fiscal year budget during a town-hall meeting Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Wyoming Union ballroom.

Nichols has approved 90 minutes of release time for UW employees to attend. The scheduling of release time should be a collaborative discussion between employee and supervisor to ensure the effective and efficient operation of the unit.

UW employees and students also may view the meeting via the WyoCast system at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/8a3db3751df948aa902d8e3efa3af1661d.

In addition to a presentation by Nichols and FCAC Chair Stephen Bieber, the meeting will include a question-and-answer period.

The FCAC has been meeting regularly to help the president prepare a plan to reduce spending in the 2018 fiscal year to present to the Board of Trustees in November.

The FCAC and the president continue to invite input from the campus community and others via email as well as in person. People are encouraged to email their comments and ideas to uwpres@uwyo.edu.
UW Breaks Ground on Engineering Education and Research Building

Earl Tatman, left, one of the donors to UWs Engineering Education and Research Building, speaks with UW President Laurie Nichols and College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Michael Pishko during todays groundbreaking ceremony. (UW Photo)

The University of Wyoming broke ground Friday on the Engineering Education and Research Building, a new state-of-the-art engineering facility that fosters innovation and collaboration among students and faculty.

The university has made real progress toward a Tier-1 College of Engineering and Applied Science, and I wholeheartedly support their efforts, Gov. Matt Mead says. This new building is key to achieving that status. UW will have a world-class learning environment for students and faculty.

The approximately 100,000-square-foot Engineering Education and Research Building (EERB) is the most ambitious construction project in the universitys history at $105 million. The facility is part of UWs Tier-1 Engineering Initiative.

A Tier-1 college is a nationally recognized institution of academic excellence and world-class research. It provides great opportunity for students to work with world-class faculty in nationally ranked programs and engage in cuttingedge research and learning.

The Engineering Education and Research Building is an important component of strategically advancing engineering at the University of Wyoming, says UW President Laurie Nichols. Aspiring to the highest levels of engineering excellence means attracting very good faculty and bright, motivated students, and conducting leading research that grows the economy and addresses needs within the state. I am so appreciative of the governor, the state Legislature and donors who invest in the university so we, in turn, can help create a bright future for Wyoming.

The four-story EERB will include reconfigurable research laboratories, active-learning classrooms, an active-learning wet laboratory, a drilling and completions simulation laboratory, an advanced manufacturing laboratory, student project spaces, a student innovation center, a student entrepreneurship center, informal collaboration spaces and meeting rooms.

The facility is flexible, with space that can be re-programmed without major renovation. It is built for collaboration, with space designed to foster student interaction and to support collaborative research teams. It fosters innovation, with space that supports creative thinking and student entrepreneurship.

The facility will bring the sciences at all levels closer together. Its proximity to the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility, the Department of Geology and Geophysics, and the Energy Innovation Center integrates engineering faculty, students and laboratories into undergraduate science education, the geosciences and the School of Energy Resources.

The Engineering Education and Research Building is going to be a fantastic educational facility for our students, says Michael Pishko, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. It was designed with the specific goals of promoting innovation and creativity, themes central to the mission of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative. We look forward to seeing new programs developed thanks to the capabilities of the building, and creating a transformational environment that is focused on student learning.

The Tier-1 Engineering Initiative and the EERB were prompted by the work of the Wyoming Governors Energy, Engineering, STEM Integration Task Force. Mead created the task force in 2012 to address the Legislatures charge to lead the university toward a Tier-1 academic and research institution in areas of excellence appropriate for Wyoming.

The goals of the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative are to elevate UWs College of Engineering and Applied Science to national prominence in undergraduate and graduate education and in select areas of research, and to significantly enhance economic development in Wyoming.

To this end, the initiatives implementation plan focuses on the strategic goals of excellence in undergraduate education, world-class research and graduate education, productive economic development through partnerships, and K-14 STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math).

Gov. Matt Mead speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Engineering Education and Research Building. (UW Photo)

-- Excellence in undergraduate education. The College of Engineering and Applied Science has solid educational programs that produce talented graduates who are in demand by employers. This goal is to enhance these programs and expand regional recognition into a national reputation.

-- World-class research and graduate education. Research leading to discovery and innovation often happens at the interface between different disciplines -- where ideas and talents intersect to solve pressing problems. This goal seeks to build world-class interdisciplinary research capabilities in selected areas that will have significant impacts on Wyoming and the nation, and to enrich student mentoring.

-- Productive economic development through partnerships. This goal promotes discovery and innovation, and seeks productive partnerships with the state, national agencies and industry to actualize research findings and catalyze economic development in Wyoming.

-- K-14 STEM education. Strength in K-14 education enhances the quality and quantity of students who pursue STEM programs at UW and ultimately pursue high-impact careers in the state. This goal introduces STEM concepts early in the K-12 educational experience and will enrich the STEM skills of UWs freshmen and sophomore students to improve performance and retention.

Private support has surpassed the initial $5 million goal, but fundraising continues with naming opportunities within the facility. Wapiti Energy founder Dick Agee and Snaptron founder Earl Tatman provided lead gifts, with retired Baker Hughes Chairman and CEO Chad Deaton and Precision Drilling founder Hank Swartout supporting the project with major gifts. Energy company Encanas previous gift for a professional oil and gas industry data room goes toward equipping the facility.

Progress already has been made toward achieving the goals of the initiative. Enrollment in the college has increased 15.8 percent over the last two academic years. A full-time K-14 coordinator was hired to manage all K-12 and community college engagement activities, and a full-time engineering career services coordinator was hired to help students find internship and career opportunities.

The Engineering Scholars Program has an average ACT score of 33, with 93 percent retention. Engineering summer programs for students, teachers and counselors have been implemented. Articulation agreements with community colleges have been strengthened.

Thirty-one percent of UWs recent engineering graduates have completed undergraduate research. Eleven percent of recent graduates participated in international experiences. Sixty-four percent of recent graduates reported starting salaries greater than $50,000, with 43 percent reporting starting salaries greater than $60,000.

The college offers two job fairs each year, with 55-75 companies looking to hire UW students and graduates for internships and full-time jobs. Not only that, but the colleges students and alumni consistently pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam at a rate of 5-12 percent higher than the national average.

Speakers at the groundbreaking included the governor; Nichols; Tom Botts, co-chair of the Wyoming Governors Energy, Engineering, STEM Integration Task Force; and Pishko.

This new engineering facility is located on the north end of the UW campus near 11th and Lewis streets, across Lewis from the existing Engineering Building. It is expected to be completed in spring/summer of 2019.
Wyoming Business Tips for Oct. 16-22

A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Nicholas Giraldo, WSBDC market researcher

Do I need social media? And what social media platform should I be on? Tracy, Casper

Lets start by looking back at your marketing plan. The plan lays out who youre trying to reach, where they are and what you want them to do. If your target customers are hanging out on social media, then social media is the place to go.

Facebook had 226 million monthly active users in North America at the beginning of 2016; Twitter has 66 million monthly active users in the U.S. so far this year; Instagram had 77 million active users in 2015; and, last year, Pinterest surpassed 100 million monthly active users. So, yes, in order to reach the maximum amount of people easily and effectively, your business should be on social media.

As a small-business owner, you cant do everything and, unfortunately, deciding which social media platform to leverage is no simple answer. It depends on your customers, your product/service and your communication style.

The real question to ask is: What do we want your target customer to do? We want them to buy your product and, hopefully, spread the word about your business. That is an oversimplification, yes, but it also is counter to how digital customers (your target market who is active on social media) believe they are behaving.

Digital consumers see themselves as having freedom of choice. They have a lot of power. Search engines, in order to provide the most efficient results, follow the wisdom of the crowd and rank websites based on what users find useful and informative. Social media platforms operate the same way. Facebook, for example, follows the crowd and makes recommendations based on the behaviors and preferences of not only individual users, but those of their network of friends.

Here are some ways to optimize your social media profiles for search engines:

-- Have a complete About section. This includes the basics of your business, such as who you are (name of business and names of business owners), where youre located and what you do. Also vital is a short and descriptive value proposition explaining why visitors should pay attention to your business, and an enticing call to action encouraging visitors to visit the store or website.

By shoring up your social media profile (or profiles) with consistent and relevant business information, search engines can create an accurate digital profile of your business. The more complete your profile, the better search engines can recall it and align it with the searches of your consumers.

-- Customer reviews. Reviews are useful because they take the guesswork out of making a purchasing choice. These positive and shared experiences customers have with a brand provide proof of the brands reputation, therefore making purchasing decisions more comfortable and easier. Search engines understand the power of reviews and have been incorporating these data points into the digital profiles they create for businesses.

-- Consistent and relevant posts. There are no hard rules about when and what to post, so long as its consistent in both schedule and in theme. Sticking to a posting schedule, where youre actively posting content a few times a week, provides search engines with a consistent flow of data they can use to create that digital profile of your business. Being consistent in theme means staying on message when it comes to promoting your brand. Posts that stray from your brand message or identity confuse not only visitors, but search engines as well.

-- Linking between social media profiles and your website. Search engines look at corresponding data to help verify your business. Corresponding data include the types of information mentioned above that can be found across different social media profiles, as well as how they link to each other.

Looking at social media activity as pure data points is playing to the strengths of search engines, but it doesnt address how to effectively engage with your social media audience. To answer that question, we have to look at the bigger picture of what digital consumers really want: personal connection and community.

Your business should be the bridge that connects people and allows them to create their own community of shared interests and experiences rooted in your brand. Finding a way to foster this connection can be difficult, because it requires business owners to look inward and use their ingenuity and insight to craft engagement strategies that play to the strengths of their brands -- and speak to the unique personalities of their digital consumers.

Its counterintuitive, but it could yield great rewards if done right.

A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments are available at www.wyen.biz/blog1/.

The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922.
Norway predicts it will for the first time need to withdraw cash from its $820 billion sovereign wealth fund as western Europe's biggest oil exporter uses a record chunk of its petroleum revenue to cover budget holes and stimulate the economy.

In January the fund transferred $781 million dollars to the government -- the first such transfer since the fund was set up in 1996, according to the country's Ministry of Finance.

"It is however not surprising that oil revenues eventually would become lower than the real return on the fund, resulting in a net transfer from the fund to the budget" said state secretary Pall Bjornestad in a statement to CNBC Monday. Bjornestad even told CNBC that even with withdrawals, the oil fund will continue to get larger. "As long as spending of oil revenues is within the expected real return on the Fund, the Fund will overtime not to be tapped in real terms." He said.

The government in using the cash to boost growth. So-called structural oil money spending will amount to 7.1 percent of mainland gross domestic product and 2.8 percent of the fund. The budget stimulus is equal to 0.7 percentage point. The government also said "A large part of the expected return will remain in the fund and contribute to that the fund is expected to increase by 423 billion kroner during 2016".

As it boosts spending, the government predicted mainland economic growth of 1.3 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year. Unemployment will rise to 4.4 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2016. It said that oil investments will fall this year and in the following two years. It bases its estimates on Brent crude averaging $52 a barrel in 2015 and $53 next year, converted from kroner.

The government also said that it will spend 4 million kroner on a jobs plan and cut or hold income taxes for nine out of ten people. Its lowering its corporate tax rate into 25 percent from 27 percent and aims to cut it in 22 percent by 2018.

Norways key policy rate stands at 0.75 percent but analysts are predicting the country will reduce rates at the next meeting.
A deal was announced on Wednesday that would send tens of thousands of Afghan migrants who had reached Europe back home to an increasingly hazardous war zone. The deal was made by the European Union and the Afghanistan.

It is the most specific effort by Europe to have such an agreement to divert or reverse a wave of hundreds of migrants from torn countries from war like Afghanistan and Syria. But this different from the major agreement with Turkey this year to have that country host more Syrian refugees, as worded, the new deal would send Afghans forcibly whose asylum applications were directly rejected back to an intense war that has devoured a worse toll on a civilian life. This is seemingly strange with the international convention codes on refugees.

E.U and the Afghanistan government intend to work closely in order to organize the dignified, safe and orderly return of Afghan nationals to their country who do not keep the conditions to stay in EU as read in the agreement.

Along with the international conference the repatriation deal was announced. Governments pledged $3.75 billion in an annual development aid to Afghanistan over the next four years. Yet few of the speakers got a clue of the worsened security in the country in recent weeks and no one had discussed the repatriation deal publicly which was according to the report it was signed on Sunday.

At the conference the speakers praised the Afghanistan for their improvements. The idea that even significant Afghan cities could be secured was under direct assault.

The E.U. officials disagree that the repatriation deal was a condition for aid to Afghanistan. The European Union for foreign affairs and security, Federica Mogherini told the reporters that there was never a link between their development aid and whatever they do on migration.

However, the head of Integrity watch Afghanistan and part of the Afghan delegation Ekram Afzali said that on the meeting with the Europeans in Brussels, delegates were told by Afghan and international officials that the repatriation deal was a quid pro quo for European aid. There was a memo that leaked dated March 3 discussed openly making pledges of aid at this week's conference conditional on Afghanistan's agreement with the repatriation deal.


Vegas Rocks! Magazine Publisher/CEO/Editor-In-Chief Sally Steele has released her first book Rock n Roll Nun detailing her experiences living in Hollywood in the 80s.

Not without drama and humor, Sally bluntly takes readers on one crazy dramatic adventure after another in search of fame and fortune.

This event will feature Stephen Pearcy Band (Ratt) along with top rock acts Chaotic Resemblance and Leona X. Sally Steele will be hosting the event with appearances by many special guests.

The event will include a Red Carpet media event at 8pm with special appearances by celebrities and rock artists in the music industry.

Artists confirmed so far to appear for the Red Carpet include : Mark Boals (Dokken/ Raiding the Rockvault), Andrew Freeman (Puddle of Mudd/Raiding the Rockvault), Desire The Fire, Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), (Chaotic Resemblance, Leona X, Nick Hawk (From Showtimes Gigolos), Stoney Curtis and members of Counts 77, Frank Dimino (Angel), Blas Elias(Slaughter) Scott Griffin, The Sin City Sinners, Johnny Rude, Lonn Friend (RIP Magazine Publisher), Eric Stacey (Faster Pussycat) Sweet Al Miller and many more.
Violet Jessop in her Voluntary Aid Detachment uniform while assigned to HMHS Britannic.

Olympic

RMS Olympic damage

Titanic

Fr. Browne's photograph of the RMS Titanic at Cobh, Irelend is the last photo of the Titanic before it sank.

"I was ordered up on deck. Calmly, passengers strolled about. I stood at the bulkhead with the other stewardesses, watching the women cling to their husbands before being put into the boats with their children. Some time after, a ship's officer ordered us into the boat (16) first to show some women it was safe. As the boat was being lowered the officer called: 'Here, Miss Jessop. Look after this baby.' And a bundle was dropped on to my lap."

"I was still clutching the baby against my hard cork lifebelt I was wearing when a woman leaped at me and grabbed the baby, and rushed off with it, it appeared that she put it down on the deck of the Titanic while she went off to fetch something, and when she came back the baby had gone. I was too frozen and numb to think it strange that this woman had not stopped to say 'thank you'.

Britannic

Photographs of the Britannic are pretty rare. Here is one, taken about 1915, of the ship decked out in her hospital colors. The funnels would have been painted tan. HMHS stands for His Majestys Hospital Ship.

"I leapt into the water but was sucked under the ship's keel which struck my head. I escaped, but years later when I went to my doctor because of a lot of headaches, he discovered I had once sustained a fracture of the skull!"

"The white pride of the ocean's medical world... dipped her head a little, then a little lower and still lower. All the deck machinery fell into the sea like a child's toys. Then she took a fearful plunge, her stern rearing hundreds of feet into the air until with a final roar, she disappeared into the depths."

Later life

Violet Jessop was an ocean liner stewardess and nurse who is known for surviving the disastrous sinkings of both the RMSand her sister ship, the HMHS, in 1912 and 1916 respectively. In addition, she had been on board the RMS, the third sister ship, when it collided with a British warship in 1911.Born on 1 October 1887, near Bahia Blanca, Argentina, Jessop was the eldest daughter of Irish immigrants, William and Katherine Jessop. She was the first of nine children, six of whom survived. Jessop spent much of her childhood caring for her younger siblings. She became very ill as a child with what is presumed to have been tuberculosis, which she survived despite doctors' predictions that her illness would be fatal.At age 16, Jessop's father died due to complications from surgery and her family moved to England, where she attended a convent school and cared for her youngest sister while her mother was away at sea working as a stewardess. When her mother became ill, Jessop left school and, following in her mother's footsteps, applied to be a stewardess. Jessop had to dress down to make herself less attractive in order to be hired. At age 21, her first stewardess position was with the Royal Mail Line aboard thein 1908.In 1910, Jessop started working as a stewardess for the White Star vessel, RMS. Thewas a luxury ship that was the largest civilian liner at that time. Jessop was on board on 20 September 1911, when theleft from Southampton and collided with the British warship, HMS. There were no fatalities and despite damage, the ship was able to make it back to port without sinking. Jessop chose not to discuss this collision in her memoirs.Jessop boarded the RMSas a stewardess on 10 April 1912, at age 25. Four days later, on 14 April, it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean, where thesank two hours after the collision. Jessop described in her memoirs how she was ordered up on deck, because she was to function as an example of how to behave for the non-English speakers who could not follow the instructions given to them. She watched as the crew loaded the lifeboats. She was later ordered into lifeboat 16, and, as the boat was being lowered, one of the Titanics officers gave her a baby to look after.The next morning, Jessop and the rest of the survivors were rescued by the RMS. According to Jessop, while on board the, a woman, presumably the baby's mother, grabbed the baby she was holding and ran off with it without saying a word.During the First World War, Jessop served as a stewardess for the British Red Cross. On the morning of 21 November 1916, she was on board the HMHS, a White Star liner that had been converted into a hospital ship, when it sank in the Aegean Sea due to an unexplained explosion. Thesank within 57 minutes, killing 30 people. British authorities hypothesized that the ship was either struck by a torpedo or hit a mine planted by German forces. Conspiracy theories have circulated that suggest the British were responsible for sinking their own ship. Scientists have been unable to reach definitive conclusions as to the true cause.While thewas sinking, Jessop and other passengers were nearly killed by the boat's propellers that were sucking lifeboats under the stern. Jessop had to jump out of her lifeboat and received a traumatic head injury, but survived despite her injuries.In her memoirs, she described the scene she witnessed as the Britannic went under:After the war, Jessop continued to work for the White Star Line, before joining the Red Star Line and then the Royal Mail Line again. During her tenure with Red Star, Jessop went on two around the world cruises on that company's largest ship, the Belgenland. In her late 30s, Jessop had a brief marriage, and in 1950 she retired to Great Ashfield, Suffolk.Years after her retirement, Jessop claimed to have received a telephone call, on a stormy night, from a woman who asked Jessop if she saved a baby on the night that the Titanic sank. "Yes," Jessop replied. The voice then said "I was that baby," laughed, and hung up. Her friend and biographer John Maxtone-Graham said it was most likely some children in the village playing a joke on her. She replied, "No, John, I had never told that story to anyone before I told you now." Records indicate that the only baby on boat 16 was Assad Thomas, who was handed to Edwina Troutt, and later reunited with his mother on the Carpathia.Jessop, often winkingly called "Miss Unsinkable", died of congestive heart failure in 1971 at the age of 83.
According to the data, cancer results in 70,000 deaths in Vietnam per year, Dr. Tran Van Thuan, director of Hanoi-based K Hospital, said at the conference on cancer prevention.

Nguyen Chan Hung, chairman of the hospital's Vietnam Cancer Society, said that lung cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease in Vietnam and the world as a whole.

One third of the patients in Vietnam are women, and passive smoking is one of the main causes, Hung added.

More than 70 percent Vietnamese with cancer seek treatment in hospital at late stages, which has dramatic negative effects on their recovery ability and survival rates, according to Dr. Thuan.

The proportion of patients internationally who fully recover from cancer is 80 percent, but in Vietnam the rate is only 33 percent for men and 40 percent for women, he added.

Thuan said that most types of cancer in the Southeast Asian country are on the rise, except cervical cancer, thanks to the rise in prevention awareness amongst Vietnamese women.

Vietnam cancer rates are ranked at 78 out of 172 countries and territories, according to a 2014 survey by the WHO Global Cancer Countries.

Speaking at the conference, French experts noted that there will be around 189,000 new patients diagnosed with cancer in Vietnam in 2020, nearly triple the 70,000 cases recorded in 2000.

Pundits suggested that Vietnam aim to cure treatable cancer types, including breast cancer, and cervical cancer, while providing higher living standards and medical treatment quality for those who suffer from cancer types that are more difficult to cure, like lung cancer.

They added that Vietnam should follow developed countries to focus on early cancer detection.

Dr. Thuan said that Vietnam only conducts regular medical investigations in Hanoi, Thua Thien-Hue, Thai Nguyen, Hai Phong City, Can Tho City, and Ho Chi Minh City.

We will increase the number of localities where new cancer cases and deaths are tracked to nine in the near future, Dr. Thuan said.
Lorries queuing at the Kapitan-Andreevo checkpoint, the main crossing point between Bulgaria and Turkey. (Photo: AFP)

European Union officials inaugurated the new task force at the Kapitan-Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the main land frontier via which migrants try to enter the bloc to avoid the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing.

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (EBCG) will have at the ready some 1,500 officers from 19 member states who can be swiftly mobilised in case of emergency such as a sudden rush of migrants.

Brussels hopes the revamped agency will not just increase security, but also help heal the huge rifts that have emerged between western and eastern member states clashing over the EU's refugee policies.

The long-term goal is to lift the border controls inside the bloc and restore the passport-free Schengen Zone.

"The new agency is stronger and better equipped to tackle migration and security challenges," EBCG director Fabrice Leggeri said in a statement.

Crucially, the force will conduct "stress tests at the external borders to identify vulnerabilities before a crisis hits", he added.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos hailed the inauguration as a "milestone" of "shared responsibility and solidarity".

"From now onwards, the external EU border of one member state is the external border of all member states - both legally and operationally," he said in a statement.

CAUGHT OFF GUARD

The boosted force is an expansion of Frontex, founded in 2004 to help coordinate Europe-wide efforts to combat people smuggling and illegal migration.

But the Warsaw-based agency proved inefficient last year when it was caught off guard by the hundreds of thousands of people who began trekking up from Greece along the so-called western Balkan route towards northern Europe.

With limited staffing levels and powers, Frontex was unable to effectively patrol the EU's external borders, including those of frontline countries Greece and Italy where most migrants enter.

The uncontrolled arrival of well over one million people, many fleeing war in Syria, triggered chaos on the continent, prompting key transit nations along the migrant trail to seal their borders with fences.

The flow also sparked fierce tensions inside the bloc, with eastern and central European nations lambasting Germany's "open-door" policy which they say allowed Islamist radicals to pose as refugees and help carry out attacks inside Europe.

IDENTIFYING WEAKNESSES

All 28 member states agreed on the creation of the new border agency earlier this year.

As part of its expanded mandate, the EBCG will be involved in the repatriation of migrants who have their asylum claims rejected or are considered a security threat.

Its new coast guard unit will also "play a key role at Europe's maritime borders", Leggeri said.

With the Balkan route shut, an increasing number of migrants attempt the treacherous sea journey from North Africa to Italy.

More than 3,500 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean so far this year, latest figures show.

Bulgaria has already strung up a barbed wire fence that will soon cover most of its 259-kilometre (160-mile) border with Turkey.

The estimated 13,000 migrants stranded inside the country remain modest compared to the 60,000 stuck in Greece or the 140,000 who have crossed the Mediterranean to Italy so far this year.

But with its migrant centres overflowing, the EU's poorest member is still worried it will become a "buffer state" if a shaky EU deal with Turkey breaks down after the July coup attempt.
At a working session with the Japanese businesses, Le Tri Vu, director of Haiphong citys investment, trade and tourism promotion centre, briefed the guests on the citys potential, socio-economic strength and infrastructure development.



He also provided them with information about population, human resources, infrastructure, logistics services, foreign investment, import and export value and incentives at industrial zones.



Representatives from Haiphong departments and industrial zones answered the guests questions related to investment in the city.



The Jetro representatives proposed organizing monthly meeting between the city leaders and Japanese businesses operating in the city.



Haiphong welcomes and encourages Japanese businesses to invest in low pollution and green industries, high added-value processing establishments and hi-tech industrial zones infrastructure and the support industry, the city leaders said.



Haiphong citys skilled human resources can meet requirements of investors. Besides, it is the sole locality in northern Vietnam having multimodal transport spanning from road, railway, seaway and domestic waterway to airway and a deep-water port and an international airport.
Visitors walk by a section displaying trucks from Russian manufacturer KAMAZ at the Vietnam Motor Show 2016, which opened in Ha Noi yesterday. Viet Nam Customs report an automobile import increase from Russia this year. - VNS Photo Doan Tung

Viet Nam lifted duties for some cars imported from Russia and Belarus as part of protocols supporting production of engine-powered transport between Viet Nam and these countries.

The protocols came into force yesterday, the same day a free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union  a bloc including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgystan  took effect.

Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) cited a Ministry of Industry and Trade scheme, reporting that about 800 Russian cars will enjoy the preferential tariffs this year. A similar rate will be applied for 850 vehicles next year and 900 vehicles in 2018.

Products of Russian automobile manufacturers such as Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ), Kamskiy Avtomobilny Zavod (KAMAZ), Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (UAZ) and Sollers will reportedly enjoy the tariff reductions.

For Belarus, the ministry allocated preferential tariffs to 200 units in 2016, 250 units in 2017, and 300 units in 2018. Minsk Automobile Plant will reportedly be among Belarusian automakers given the quotas.

The ministry said automobiles listed for the quotas will include sport utility vehicles (SUVs), trucks, passenger cars with 10 seats or more, and special purpose vehicles.

It said the import tax exemption for completely built units (CBUs) is to test Vietnamese customers' demand, while the protocols require Russian and Belarusian automakers to establish joint ventures with local firms to manufacture cars in Viet Nam.

The joint ventures will also enjoy tax exemptions for importing components for car assembly, with quotas, over the next five years before the tariff for spare parts falls to zero per cent in line with the Viet Nam  Eurasian Economic Union trade deal.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Igor Ivanovich Shuvalov, told news agency Sputnik that the moves would stimulate Russia's automobile exports and open up new markets for its technical equipment, boosting access to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

No massive imports'

However, industry insiders said no massive Russian car imports into Viet Nam will occur due to conditions in the protocols.

For example, the joint ventures have to present production plans to authorities, specifying terms related to employee training and technology transfer, and what kinds of vehicle and how much domestic content they project using every year.

By 2025, compulsory domestic content will be 40 per cent for SUVs and special purpose vehicles, 45 per cent for trucks and 50 per cent for passenger cars with 10 seats or more.

The industry and trade ministry will have to sign off on joint ventures meeting various conditions to give them the tax exemption.

No such joint ventures have been established yet, and industry insiders said imports with tax exemptions may not happen this year.

Lam Chi Quang, the former general director of the Viet Nam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation, said it would be hard for Russian and Belarusian automakers to compete with global rivals in Viet Nam.

It would be difficult for their cars to compete with South Korean, Japanese and US vehicles in terms of design and fuel saving, he told Dau tu.

Further, industry insiders said cars from Southeast Asia will have an edge in terms of price because Viet Nam's import duty for CBUs from ASEAN will fall to zero per cent in 2018.

Carmakers such as Toyota, Honda and Ford, whose large-scale factories are located in Thailand and Indonesia are brand names familiar to Vietnamese customers and will have many advantages, they said.

Sources told Dau tu that the industry and trade ministry had connected Russian automobile firms with HCM City-based Truong Hai Auto Corporation to help them penetrate the local market, but to little avail.

In 2003, KAMAZ collaborated with the Viet Nam National Coal  Mineral Industries Holding Corporation (Vinacomin) to assemble automobiles in Viet Nam. They manufactured about 2,000 vehicles with highest annual sales reaching 500 units, before ceasing production in 2010.

In April 2015, KAMAZ signed a new agreement with Vinacomin, expecting to resume production and business activities in Viet Nam, but little progress has been reported.

Growing sales

The General Department of Customs reported that the quantity of cars imported from Russia was increasing, however.

Viet Nam imported roughly 68,900 cars with a total value of US$1.6 billion from 12 countries in the first eight months of this year.

As many as 1,180 cars worth a combined $66.9 million were imported from Russia in the first eight months of 2016, compared to 300 units in 2015 and 68 units in 2014.

KAMAZ General Director Sergey Kogogin told an international economic forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia last June that his company would sell 1,000 vehicles in Viet Nam this year, out of 7,000 total exports in 2016.

"Agreements we have signed and practical actions of Vietnamese distributors allow us to be confident in significant growth of sales in this market," he told international press.

Akhat Urmanov, the deputy general director of business and services at KAMAZ, told local press earlier this year that the company had a long-term strategy and planned to establish assembling, trade and service complexes in Viet Nam.

To Dinh Lam from Auto K, a distributor of UAZ in Viet Nam, told news website bizlive.vn that the first shipment of UAZ vehicles will arrive in Viet Nam on October 16, and will go on sale a few days later.

Auto K will sell SUVs named UAZ Patriot, UAZ Pickup, and terrain cars called UAZ Hunter. Prices are expected to be VND700-800 million per unit for the first type, and VND500-550 million for the second, while how much the third costs remains unknown.

Organisers of the Vietnam International Motorshow 2016 told a press conference recently that UAZ will display its vehicles at an exhibition in HCM City from October 26-30.
In Vietnam, UR will cooperate with the Innovative Technology Development Corporation (ITD) and Servo Dynamics to supply effective automation solutions at reasonable prices.



Vietnam will be URs sixth market in Southeast Asia. This demonstrates UR commitments to meet the increasing demand for automation solutions in the Asia-Pacific region.



Ms Shermine Gotfredsen, UR General Manager in Asia-Pacific, said UR is interested in Vietnam as the market has a lot of development opportunities, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises which account for 97% of businesses in the whole country.



UR has developed a long-term development plan and will focus on its distribution network to meet special demands of different industries in Vietnam, Ms Gotfredsen said.



With 200 distributors in more than 50 countries in the world, UR has gained much experience in supplying flexible automation solutions to help businesses improve their productivity and production process.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks during a press conference, next to IMF Spokesman Gerry Rice, at the 2016 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund Headquarters and the World Bank Group at the IMF in Washington, DC. (ZACH GIBSON/AFP)

With Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leading a surge of anti-free trade sentiment in the United States, and Britain voting to secede from the European Union, top central bankers and finance ministers were pressed to defend long-standing ideology at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings.

"We shouldn't apologise for what has happened and hundreds of millions of people being lifted out of poverty and opportunity being created," Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, told a panel on the global economy.

"But there are challenges with distribution," he said. "How do we work with people to share those fruits more effectively and how do we make trade tangible?"

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble expressed alarm at the rise of anti-trade populism across the developed world. "If you look at what we have achieved in reducing the number of very poor people all over the world," he said.

"We must have in mind that we must not increase the gap between elites - political leaders, economic leaders, media leaders - and the people. Otherwise we will risk increasing populism and that's one of the major risks."

At the same time, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, whose organisation has long advocated lowering trade and investment barriers around the world, warned that now was not the time to close the door on globalisation, which she said had benefitted so many. "We don't think it's time to push against it," she said.

TRUMP, BREXIT

Long promoted by the major international development institutions and leading economies, the message of trade liberalisation faces an increasingly unreceptive audience.

In the United States, Trump has rallied supporters by promising a trade war with China and retaliatory import duties on Mexico.

Across the Atlantic, the British vote to leave the European Union threatens to spur other countries to roll back European economic integration. The free-trade pact currently under negotiation with the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), faces stiff resistance in Europe.

Globalisation finds itself accused of depressing wages, causing industrial decline and keeping low-skilled workers unemployed.

"I'm a believer of free trade. I think free trade will promote the welfare of mankind," said Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China. "But we have to deal with the inclusive growth seriously. I think now the problem, the challenge we're facing is real," he said.

"We gain a lot of efficiency from globalisation, from free trade, but also we have to see the problem of the growth is not even, income distribution is not even."

CONCEDING THE POINT

Speaking elsewhere in Washington on Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew steadfastly defended his administration's two big trade projects, TTIP and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

But he also tried his hand at the growth-equality balancing act. "If you win the argument that a trade agreement grows the economy, you're most of the way there," he said at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"There's a broad sense of anxiety that growing economies don't necessarily get to people where they live," he added.

The IMF and World Bank now more openly concede that global growth benefits too few and globalisation's losers should receive dedicated support.

Oxfam International on Wednesday said the IMF and World Bank were acknowledging the reality of social injustice in the current globalised economic regime.

"By saying that globalisation needs to work for all, Lagarde has recognised that it currently works predominantly for an elite minority. This has to change," said Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at Oxfam International.


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The largest community of Iranians outside of Iran is located in Los Angeles. According to the National Iranian American Council there are approximately one million Iranian Americans. Another poll shows 87 percent of them are registered to vote in the U.S. So it is no surprise that many Persian Americans have strong opinions about this year's two presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. VOA's Elizabeth Lee reports from Los Angeles.
United Nations and international aid agencies are rushing to help tens of thousands of Haitians devastated by Hurricane Matthew, one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the Caribbean in recent history. More than 800 people reportedly have been killed, but that number is expected to rise.



All the major U.N. and relief agencies have sent expert teams into Haiti to assess the storm damage and to deal with the logistics of providing critical shelter, food, safe water, medical care and other vital assistance.

The government of Haiti estimates at least 350,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. The authorities report nearly 2,000 homes have been flooded and hundreds more damaged or destroyed.

Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, says a seven-person emergency team has begun assessing the damage caused by the hurricane.

We are still awaiting for consolidated findings of what they saw. We are pending the return of this team," Laerke told reporters. " But, the aerial photos that we have seen does show very severe destruction and flooding in the area. Communications are limited. Many roads are impassable in that area due to the flooding.

Disaster-prone



Haiti is prone to disasters. In anticipation of this hurricane, the World Food Program pre-positioned enough food for 300,000 people for one month.

WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher says 25 tons of food have been put in some of the worst affected areas, ready to be distributed to some 9,000 people.

There are big logistical challenges," she explained. "Some of the most important bridges, which are the lifelines to the southwest have been damaged. We are going to use a helicopter to bring humanitarian personnel and relief items to the affected areas. For example, flying in a generator.

Danger of waterborne illnesses



The World Health Organization warns waterborne illnesses will likely break out in a couple of weeks. The agency is particularly worried about the spread of cholera due to the massive flooding. WHO says it is deploying field epidemiologists with cholera experience to track and control the outbreaks.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is appealing for nearly $7 million to provide first aid and emergency health care, psycho-social support, water and sanitation, shelter materials and many other necessities.
President Barack Obama shortened the sentences of 102 federal inmates Thursday, in another round of commutations for those convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.

The early release is part of Obama's effort to correct what he views as unreasonably long mandatory minimum sentences.

"With today's grants, the president has commuted 774 sentences, more than the previous 11 presidents combined," White House counsel Neil Eggleston said Thursday. "With a total of 590 commutations this year, President Obama has now commuted the sentences of more individuals in one year than in any other single year in our nation's history."

Obama's push to lessen the burden on nonviolent drug offenders reflects his stated view that the nation should remedy the consequences of decades of onerous sentencing rules, which have put tens of thousands of Americans behind bars for far too long, in his view.

Obama has urged lawmakers and government officials to end strict sentences for drug offenses by phasing them out gradually. He argues that such practices are excessive punishment, and lead to incarceration rates not seen in other developed countries. With presidential support, the Justice Department in recent years has directed prosecutors to rein in the use of harsh mandatory minimums.

Presidents tend to use their powers to commute sentences or issue pardons more frequently near the end of their terms of office. Administration officials say the rapid pace will continue until Obama leaves the White House in January 2017.
North Koreas relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons is forcing both its allies and adversaries to rethink their strategies for maintaining regional peace and security.

On Thursday, North Korean state media denounced U.S. President Barack Obamas policy of strategic patience as ineffective. The policy includes imposing isolation and increased economic sanctions to pressure the Kim Jong Un government to halt its nuclear program and agree to renew lapsed denuclearization talks.

It has resulted in us enhancing our nuclear weapons capability and becoming a confident nuclear power state equipped with the most powerful nuclear attack capabilities," said a KCNA state TV announcer.

Nuclear activity

On Friday, 38 North, a group that monitors satellite images of North Koreas nuclear activities, said there is currently movement at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel.

Analysts with the group, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, speculate that this increased activity could indicate preparations for a new nuclear test, or it could be follow-up work to the last test, which was conducted on September 9.

In addition to already conducting an unprecedented two nuclear tests this year, Pyongyang has advanced its land-based and submarine-based ballistic missile capabilities with numerous launches in the last six months.

Chinese frustration

China has tried to strike a balance between opposing the Norths nuclear program and keeping the authoritarian Kim in power as a stable buffer zone to counter the regional influence of the U.S. and its ally South Korea.

Beijing supported the last round of U.N. sanctions in March and voiced support for further measures after the September nuclear test, but it has been reportedly lax in enforcing trade restrictions.

The government of Xi Jinping continues to hold this moderate position of urging all sides to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue, but the Chinese public is growing more divided over whether tougher measures are needed.

Sun Zhe, a U.S., China relations scholar and co-director of Columbia Universitys China Initiative, said many in China are frustrated with North Koreas nuclear provocations, and he is seeing increasing support for some sort of military intervention in the Chinese media.

In the [Chinese newspaper] Global Times people argue that China should make a contribution, China should do something to support the idea of surgical strikes decapitation, said Sun Zhe Thursday at a forum organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

With 90 percent of North Korean trade flowing thorough China, Beijing could also impose drastic economic pain on its ally by strictly implementing existing sanctions, banning all coal and other mineral exports and shutting down all Chinese businesses with any ties to the North.

While Beijing is not prepared to abandon Pyongyang yet, Sun Zhe said, it realizes the situation on the Korean Peninsula is growing more dangerous.

U.S. priority

Washingtons overriding priority should be to prevent North Korea from developing a reliable inter-continental ballistic missile armed with a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can strike the U.S. mainland, according to a recent task force of security analysts organized by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR.)

The CFR task force recommended that Washington offer Pyongyang incentives like immediate food aid and a possible reduction in U.S., South Korea joint military exercises in return for a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests.

These recommendations are conditioned on North Korea demonstrating a commitment to address the denuclearization issue, and offer the possibility of further concessions down the road, including a formal peace treaty and the normalization of relations, if real progress is achieved.

Other former officials and experts dismiss the engagement option as appeasement that will end up subsidizing the Norths nuclear program, and reinforce the message that coercion works.

Robert Gallucci, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large who was the chief U.S. negotiator during the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994, said pursuing negotiations is still the best option available.

And he said the international community should not be deterred by Kim Jong Uns stated position that his countrys status as a nuclear power is non-negotiable.

I understand that they have wanted to convey the idea that they will never give up their nuclear weapons program. My view is that just raises the price, said Gallucci at a recent Johns Hopkins University forum in Washington.

At the same time that the CFR task force is recommending increased engagement, it is also endorsing tougher sanctions and deterrence measures to respond to the Norths continued provocations, and even calls for military preemptive strikes against its nuclear facilities if an attack seems to be pending, or if the North sells nuclear weapons technology to other countries or terrorist organizations.
Finland and the U.S. signed an agreement Friday to strengthen their military collaboration, in the wake of accusations that Russian fighter jets violated Finnish airspace the day before.

Russia's defense ministry quickly denied the accusations, saying their Su-27 military planes flew "in strict compliance with the international regulations."

Finland has accused Russia of similar airspace violations multiple times since Russia's annexation of Crimea began in 2014.

The non-legally binding agreement between Washington and Helsinki seeks to deepen ties between the countries through information exchange and joint research in areas such as cyberdefense among other things.

The U.S. has expressed concern over what it sees as aggressive behavior by Russia on the Baltic Sea, where Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and other countries have reported airspace violations.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work was in Helsinki Friday to sign the agreement with Finnish defense minister Jussi Niinisto.
Hurricane Matthew has killed nearly 900 people in Haiti and left tens of thousands of people homeless.

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has never completely recovered from a devastating earthquake in 2010.

"We lost cows and all our crops," said farmer Geffrard Duplessis about Matthew. "Nothing is left. And our homes are destroyed."

News video shows entire landscapes of metal shanties with their roofs blown off, downed trees and mud from overflowing rivers spilling over onto the ground.

The Haitian town of Jeremie with a population of 30,000 is completely destroyed, said Care Haiti director Jean-Michel Vigreux.

The United Nations said nearly 6 million Haitians have been affected by the storm with 350,000 people needing immediate aid.

The International Red Cross has announced an emergency appeal for $6.9 billion in relief aid for Haiti.

Haitian Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles has announced the creation of a committee comprising Cabinet members to coordinate the distribution of aid provided by donor countries and organizations.

Limited vehicle traffic has been restored to the southern part of Haiti that was cut off when a bridge collapsed Tuesday, enabling more emergency relief workers and supplies to be transported to the isolated region.

Matthew is now moving northward just off the eastern U.S. coast, causing mass evacuations from Florida to North Carolina. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour and rainfall predicted from 20 to 38 centimeters.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has activated 3,500 National Guard troops. Experts say parts of the state could be uninhabitable for weeks.

Matthew unleashed powerful winds and heavy rains on Florida Friday.

Weather forecasters said coastal storm surges combined with high tides and destructive waves pose dangers of life-threatening inundation through late Saturday afternoon along coastal areas in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

U.S. President Barack Obama has declared states of emergency for all four states.

WATCH: President Obama on his biggest concerns

After meeting Friday with Federal Emergency Management Agency ((FEMA)) administrator Craig Fugate, Obama held a news briefing during which he said, I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge flooding, loss of life and severe property damage continues to exist.

One of the areas bearing the brunt of the storm is the northeastern Florida town of Orange Park. Florida resident and former VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins said she is temporarily residing there after heeding mandatory evacuation orders in her hometown of St. Augustine.

The rain is just so, so hard right now. Its really, really coming down. Sometimes it looks like its raining sideways. There is a lot of debris out in the streets. There are a lot of tall trees directly behind where I am and they have been swaying so much in the wind that its really a bit of a concern.

In Brevard County, Florida, where NASA's Cape Canaveral is located, Emergency Management Office spokesman David Walker told VOA mandatory evacuation orders were issued for 90,000 people living on barrier islands and in mobile homes but some people ignored them.

WATCH: Florida Gov. Rick Scott on hurricane concerns

Some of that can be attributed to hurricane complacency, which is a factor we have to contend with in Florida because we havent had a major incident remotely close to this, hurricane-wise, since 2004.

Walker said one family called for help after the roof of their home just flew off and several other residents reported fires of an undetermined cause.

WATCH: US Navy prepares to deliver aid to hurricane victims

The National Hurricane Center called Matthew the strongest hurricane seen in the region in decades.

Some Florida residents who have lived in the state 50 years or more and through the worst that Mother Nature can create fled their homes, telling reporters Matthew looked like a "bad one."

US evacuations

Along the eastern U.S. coast, more than 2 million people were ordered to evacuate their homes and head for safer areas. More than 600,000 people were left without power as Matthew approached the Florida coast, and that number is expected to rise by the hour as the storm makes its way north.

Forecasters predict the storm will track north along the eastern coastlines of Georgia and the Carolinas before heading out to sea, or possibly circling back around to hit Florida again.
On its current trajectory, Hurricane Matthew is not expected to have a direct impact on Washington, D.C. But as it barrels up the East Coast, pundits on both sides of the political spectrum are accusing each other of using the storm to advance their political agenda.

The hurricane is set to roll through several battleground states considered crucial to the presidential election, now less than five weeks away. The storm is also renewing a debate over global warming, which scientists have warned is making storms more intense.

On Friday, Matthew lashed central Florida, a state almost unanimously considered a must-win for Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Clinton has a narrow lead in Florida, as well as in the swing state of North Carolina, where Matthew is expected to hit in the coming days.

The Category 3 storm is packing winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour. Thats significantly less powerful than it was when it swept across Haiti, where it left massive devastation and a death toll that is at least 800 and quickly rising.

In the U.S., so far one person has died. But the storm has also knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and forced authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 3 million residents. Its a far cry from the destruction in Haiti, but it could have important political implications.

Voter deadlines

Many of those evacuated residents live in states where voter registration deadlines are fast approaching. Florida is of special concern to Democrats, who have vastly outpaced Republicans at last-minute voter registration efforts.

Clintons campaign Thursday called on Florida officials to extend the states October 11 voter registration deadline because of the storm. But Rick Scott, the states Republican governor, says he doesnt intend to make changes, insisting people have had time to register.

Democrats may not be content to leave it at that.

Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California-Irvine, suggested on Twitter that if displaced Floridians are not allowed to register, and if officials dont extend the deadline, Democrats could sue Scott, who chairs a Trump Super PAC.

Clinton ads postponed

The storm also caused political controversy in Florida after it was revealed that the Clinton campaign had purchased TV ads on the Weather Channel, which many in Florida and elsewhere tune into for hurricane coverage.

The Clinton campaign quickly postponed the ads after many Republicans accused them of trying to use the disaster for political gain.

Climate change views

The storm is also highlighting Trump's and Clintons differing views on climate change.

Trump does not believe in man-made global warming, saying any temperature fluctuation is the result of natural causes. He famously said in a 2012 tweet that global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

Clinton has called climate change one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, and has supported green initiatives such as the 2015 global climate change pact agreed to in Paris. Trump has said he will cancel the agreement.

As the storm made landfall, both campaigns released statements that avoided making political arguments, instead focusing on the immediate needs of those in the storms path.

Exaggerating the storm

But on social media and among politically conservative commentators, the dire warnings ahead of the storm were seen as evidence that officials and forecasters were hyping the threat to bolster their political agenda on climate change.

Conservative political commentator Matt Drudge suggested in a tweet Thursday that the government is lying to the public about the intensity of the storm to make an exaggerated point on climate change. The National Hurricane Center has a monopoly on data, he said, adding that there is no way of verifying their claims.

Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh also chimed in, saying National Hurricane Center forecasts should be treated with skepticism.

Theres politics in hurricanes. Theres politics in the forecasting of hurricanes, because there are votes, Limbaugh said Thursday on his nationally syndicated radio show.

The comments tap into widely held skepticism about global warming and whether it is being influenced by human activity. A poll released earlier this year by Monmouth University suggested that only 27 percent of U.S. citizens believe human activity is the main cause of climate change.

Superstorm Sandy

Its not the first time a presidential election was affected by a hurricane. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy made its way up the East Coast, killing more than 100 people in the U.S. and causing $50 billion in damage just four days before the presidential election.

One of the enduring political images from that storm was President Barack Obama, who was running for re-election, embracing Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, as the two coordinated the response to the storm. Obama, a Democrat, went on to defeat Republican Mitt Romney, and many say the positive image of bipartisan cooperation helped his cause.
Farid Khanlou owns Jordan Market in an area of Los Angeles called Persian Square. Its packed with Persian businesses, many of which fly the country's flag from before the 1979 Iranian revolution.

In this heart of the Iranian-American community, the largest group of Iranians abroad, there are many who remain undecided about which presidential candidate they support.

According to a poll by Zogby Research Services, 87 percent of Iranian Americans are registered to vote in the U.S. Of that number, 52 percent are Democrats and 8 percent are Republicans. But 40 percent identify themselves as either independent or have no party affiliation.

Khanlou says he will not vote for either candidate in the upcoming presidential election because he does not like Republican candidate Donald Trump, and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will only continue President Obamas policies, such as his national health insurance program, also known as "Obamacare."

Trump you cannot trust his word and Clinton its bad for the economy. Its bad for me because Obamacare is killing me for my health insurance. This is not right. Im paying almost $30,000 in health insurance because of the Obamacare, Khanlou said.

His economic concerns are in line with most Iranians. The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans conducted a survey which showed national security and the economy are the top two issues Iranian Americans look at when they vote for a candidate.

Across the street the owner at the Tochal Market, Todd Khodadadi, is also concerned about the economy.

Because Im Republican, I am supporting Donald Trump. The major reason Im supporting him is the economy. I believe if he became the president we can have better economic choices for all of us in the United States, said Khodadadi.

Zohreh Forouhi who is shopping near Persian Square, said she supports Hillary Clinton. Forouhi voted for a Republican in the last presidential election, but not this time. I think I [will] vote [for] Hillary. I did last time for the Republican, but I changed my parties.

Forouhi says many of the people she knows do not think Trump is a serious candidate.

Everybody just thought hes crazy and acting weird and just wants to fight. He doesnt care about other people. He wants to make America great but how? Nobody has any idea, Forouhi said.

Issues involving Iran

When it comes to Iran, the Public Affairs Alliance survey showed Iranian Americans said the top two issues that affect them and are most important to them are promoting human rights in Iran and lifting the U.S. trade embargo against Iran.

A man in Persian Square who will only identify himself as Reza says he is looking at each candidates policy towards Iran.

I think the candidates should offer their utmost respect to the Iranians. Iranians know where their interests lay. But the world community should expose the [Iranian] regimes corruptions and show that it does not represent the Iranian people. Its better for Mr. Trump to stop lying, and he should put a halt to attacking Iranians, said Reza.

But Bijan Khalili, the publisher of the weekly newspaper Iran Shahr said Trump is attractive to some Iranian Americans.

Some of the Iranians really like the way that he talks being harder against the Islamic Republic because of matters of human rights, said Khalili.

But Reza fears Trump's policies.

I think Mrs. Clinton has a better chance, because of Trumps background and profession. Also his speeches are aggressive towards the minorities. Hes an extremist who poses danger to both the U.S. and the world, said Reza.

The National Iranian American Council estimates there are 1 million Iranian Americans in the U.S; those who are still undecided will be weighing the issues before election day.

Whoever wins the White House, Khalili said Iranian Americans would like the next U.S. president to focus more on the human rights issues in Iran.
The Kurdish Peshmerga military is showing off the spoils of war  items confiscated in battles with the Islamic State.

Locals call it the IS Museum. The collection, located in Duhok, Iraq, includes over five hundred different weapons, assorted gear, books, and other items collected in eight frontlines of Nineveh province in northern Iraq since mid-2014 in warfare with IS fighters.

Kurdish troops say they hope the exhibit gives Kurdish people a better insight into ISs military capabilities and their battle strategies ahead of a major military operation planned to retake Mosul from IS.

We want our friends to know how lethal these weapons can be and [that] they should stay away from them, said Bewar Khalid, a member of the Kurdish forces.

The idea for the exhibit came from the massive amounts of equipment and paraphernalia IS left behind as it retreated from U.S. coalition bombings and Kurdish offensives.

At first, 130 Kurdish fighters from the engineering division of the Peshmerga ministry began collecting IS improvised explosives devices to assess how IS manufactured them.

The homemade IS explosives are created from  among other things - childrens toys, gas canisters, iron pipes and tin cans. IS mass produced the explosives, often planting them as landmines around territories it controlled.

Collecting those items from the battlefield often came with much danger. The team was faced with direct IS attacks on several occasions.

We witnessed a lot on the way, said Kurdish fighter Dlovan Salih. One time we found a cellphone that IS turned into an explosive that could blast if someone called it. An IS fighter called the phone a few minutes after we discharged it.

In time, the team of Kurdish troops confiscated a variety of IS weapons, uniforms and assorted literature.

Some of the literature includes pamphlets that provide specific instructions on how to abuse sex slaves, have intercourse according to Sharia law, and what clothes are acceptable for women to wear.

Some of the documents are residence permits IS issued for its foreign fighters.

Weve brought here whatever we could obtain, Kurdish commander Nawzad Hassan said in an interview with VOA.

The military is enlisting the help of French museum curators to help create display cases and make the items accessible internationally. That, Hassan hopes, will increase the visitor count which so far has been sparse.

We hope future generations always remember what IS has done."
Russia warned of serious legal consequences Friday arising from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's comment that Moscow and Damascus should be investigated for war crimes as a result of their airstrikes on civilian targets in Syria.

At the State Department, U.S. officials sought to play down Kerry's remark as nothing new. The secretary used similar terms at the United Nations last month, when he denounced Russian and Syrian aerial bombings of hospitals and children as "flagrant violations of international law."

But Kerry escalated the rhetoric bluntly on Friday, declaring that this week's repeated attacks on Syrian hospitals "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes."

WATCH: Kerry on hospital bombing in Syria

The secretary was speaking at the State Department, alongside visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. During a news briefing later in the day, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry's statement did not represent "a change of tone" in U.S. views about Russia and Syria's tactics.

Kirby rebuffed reporters' repeated questions about whom Kerry would want to lead a war-crimes investigation. "The secretary is not getting ahead of a process," the spokesman said.

'Outrageous violations' cited

An attack on a Syrian hospital Thursday night reportedly killed 20 people and wounded 100. The aid group Doctors Without Borders said attacks this week on four major hospitals in opposition-controlled areas of Syria were "outrageous ... violations of humanitarian law" that were severely limiting civilians' access to medical care.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children," Kerry said Friday.

"Kerry's statement  this is propaganda," said Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. "There are some very serious legal consequences behind this terminology, and I think that Kerry used all of these terms to inflame the situation."

Kerry earlier this week formally ended bilateral discussions with Russia on a potential military partnership in Syria, but he has since spoken on the telephone, at his request, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the situation in the war-torn country.

As many as half a million people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the civil war there in 2011, and millions of people have been displaced.

Russia opposes Security Council action

Russia said it deems unacceptable a draft U.N. resolution put forward by France and Spain, demanding an end to airstrikes and military flights over Aleppo. Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said the French proposal politicizes humanitarian aid.

The U.N. Security Council received a private briefing Friday from U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, one day after he delivered an emotional appeal on the bloodshed: "I would then like to ask the Russian authorities and the government of Syria, please look at my eyes ... and the eyes of the world and the public opinion. Are you really ready to continue this type of level of fighting, using that type of weapons, and de facto destroy ... the ancient city of Aleppo, with its own 275,000 people, for the sake of eliminating 1,000 al-Nusra fighters?"

Diplomats said de Mistura repeated similar statements Friday to the Security Council. They described "very tense" discussions, with only council member Venezuela appearing to support Russia's account of its actions in Syria.

WATCH: De Mistura statement on Syria

"Staffan de Mistura was crystal clear. He could not be clearer," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told U.N. reporters after the meeting. "His message to the Security Council was, 'You must act, and you must act now.'"

Veto by Moscow is likely

Delattre said the draft resolution grew out of a week of "very hard, literally night and day" negotiations, and that France intends to press for a Security Council vote on Saturday.

"There is no time to waste," he said. "There is an absolute emergency in Aleppo."

While saying he would have to wait for instructions from Moscow, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin signaled a veto is likely. "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," he told reporters.

"The French proposal is very hastily put together," Churkin added. "I frankly believe that it is designed not to make progress and take the situation out of the current stalemate or not to help Staffan de Mistura, but to cause a Russian veto."

He added that it is unprecedented for the council to ask a permanent member to limit its own activities.

"There are certain things which we may do or not do. We may fly or not fly. But definitely they cannot expect that we will go there through a demand by the Security Council," Churkin said. "It does not mean certain things cannot happen, but they can happen through a certain process."
Following the influx of millions of migrants and refugees in recent years, the European Union has launched a task force charged with securing the blocs external frontiers. A ceremony at the Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint on Bulgarias border with Turkey  the far eastern edge of the EU  marked the official launch of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency on Thursday.

Newly assigned EBCG border guards in bright blue uniforms demonstrated state-of-the-art surveillance equipment purchased with the increased budget.

The blocs commissioner for migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, hailed the agency as an unprecedented achievement of the union.

"Today is a milestone in the history of European border management, he said in prepared remarks. "From now onwards, the external EU border of one member state is the external border of all member states, both legally and operationally."

It "has now become a reality in less than nine months since the European Commission proposed it," Avramopoulos added. "The European citizens have demanded, and they rightly do so, a tangible European response  and today we deliver it collectively."

Beefed-up border efforts

Permanent staff at the revamped agency  previously known as Frontex  is expected to double in size, to 1,000, by the decades end, and a reserve pool of 1,500 border guards will be available for rapid deployment.

The agency will bolster security, testing vulnerabilities and trying to shore up any weaknesses at external borders "before a crisis hits," Agence France-Presse reported EBCG director Fabrice Leggeri as saying at the agencys inauguration.

The EBCG also will help repatriate migrants.

European leaders hope a more secure external border will relieve the pressure on the internal passport-free Schengen zone, which allows EU citizens to travel freely across borders in 26 countries. Several states have re-imposed border controls in recent months to try to stem the flow of migrants.

Well-off countries criticized

Critics say Europe is shirking its responsibilities.

"Still, those top countries who earn the most, who have the highest GDP in the world, host  less than 10 percent of the worlds refugees," said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty Internationals deputy director for Europe. "That needs to shift, and no border guard is going to make that happen. Thats going to require political will and some durable solutions."

More than 300,000 migrants have arrived in Europe so far in 2016. Flows from Turkey have decreased since the EU struck a deal with Ankara in March to return all migrants who try to cross into Europe illegally.

Van Gulik said the EUs leaders are outsourcing Europes asylum policy.

"Theyre leaving it up to Turkey to host millions of refugees, theyre leaving it up to the very borders of Europe  so mostly Greece and also Italy now  to host refugees," she said. "And it means that people are stuck in the most horrendous conditions."

EU officials insist the border agency will respect fundamental human and refugee rights, but they say the bloc must regain control of its external frontiers to avert another crisis.
U.S. transit safety officials say the commuter train that crashed in New Jersey last week, killing one person and injuring more than 100, was traveling at twice the speed limit at the time of impact.

The speed limit for trains arriving at the Hoboken terminal is 10 miles per hour (16 kph).

The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that information from the data recorders aboard the train shows that the train was traveling at 8 miles per hour (nearly 13 kph) and the throttle was in the idle position less than a minute before the crash. The throttle was increased about 38 seconds before the collision, and the train speeded up, reaching a maximum of about 21 mph (34 kph).

The data also revealed that the engineer applied the brakes less than one second before the train crashed into the stations bumping post, the NTSB said. A woman standing on the station platform was killed by debris.

Also Thursday, New Jersey Transit ordered that a second crew member must join the engineer before the train enters the terminals in Hoboken and Atlantic City.

That means a second set of eyes will be watching as a train completes the final phase of its trip into stations where there are platforms at the end of the rails.

The New York Times first reported the change in rules.

A final report on what caused the deadly crash on September 29 could take a year or longer to complete.
Boko Haram militants have largely been routed by the Nigerian army, but they have not disappeared and still pose a threat in the northern part of Borno State.

Boko Haram controlled some of northeast Nigeria at the start of last year, but it has been pushed out of most of that territory by the Nigerian army, aided by troops from neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad, Reuters reported in September.

Geneva-based officials representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) say security in northern Nigeria remains fragile and that people who have suffered for years at the hands of Boko Haram are living in fear of renewed attacks from the militant group.

Over the past two weeks, U.N. aid workers have been interviewing community leaders and individuals in a number of newly accessible areas of Borno State to learn their needs and concerns.

UNHCR spokesman William Spindler says they have assessed the situation in towns like Monguno, Bama, Damboa and Shani.

They have found similar patterns in these places of a high level of vulnerability among people displaced by Boko Haram, he said, with nearly every family affected by very worrying protection issues and that some of these people live in fear that the insurgency group could attack them again.

Spindler says the displaced people are living in desperate conditions.

For example, he said more than 60,000 people who fled to Monguno largely from the Marte local government area, are living in dilapidated school buildings and makeshift shelters in nine sites.

They are suffering food shortages, he said, yet they continue to arrive in Monguno to escape the Nigerian militarys ongoing operations to dislodge Boko Haram from the northern part of Borno State.

Spindler says women and children are particularly vulnerable. Many families are headed by women, he said, because their husbands were killed by Boko Haram, were forced to join the insurgents or disappeared.

He tells VOA these people have lived under the brutal rule of Boko Haram for a long time and are having difficulty recovering from the experience.

They are traumatized, he said. They are in need of help. Some of the problems that we see are related to the fact that they do not have the necessary aid or livelihoods. So, that is why we see some of these negative coping mechanisms like survival sex and other practices.

Spindler says women are forced to send their children, some as young as 5, to sell small items or beg in the street so they can buy food and medicine. Others, he says, send children to collect firewood to sell. This puts the girls at risk of sexual attack.

Few of the refugees are likely to return to their home villages soon because of continuing insecurity and the presence of land mines in their villages and fields, Spindler said.

Boko Haram is blamed for about 20,000 deaths since beginning its insurgency in northern Nigeria in 2009. The Islamist extremist group says it wants to create a strict Islamic state in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria.
Police in Texas have arrested the CEO of online advertising website Backpage.com and raided the companys offices on charges of prostitution and sex trafficking.

CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested on a California warrant after arriving in Houston, Texas, on a flight from Amsterdam. California Attorney General Kamala Harris accused Ferrer and his partners of setting up the worlds top online brothel and aiding criminals who used the site to advertise prostitutes.

Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal, Harris said in a statement.

Backpage.com is primarily used to host advertisements for adult escorts, but is also used to advertise goods, services and jobs.

Internal revenue reports obtained by the attorney generals office show Backpage.com made 99 percent of its revenue between January 2013 and March 2015 from its adult advertisements, according to the statement. During that time, the company made around $51 million in revenue just in the state of California.

The charges came after a three-year investigation, in which the California Department of Justice used undercover agents to set up meetings with people who advertised in the escort section to confirm the meetings were arranged for commercial sex.

Ferrer, along with Michael Lacey and James Larkin, controlling shareholders of Backpage, were all charged with conspiracy to commit pimping, a felony. Ferrer also received charges for pimping a minor, as some of the prostitution ads were for victims younger than 18, according to Harris office.
As record numbers of visitors flock to the new African-American history museum in Washington, another landmark exhibit has opened across the Atlantic, offering a stark and sometimes brutal take on racism in the United States through the lenses of black artists.

Running until mid-January 2017 at the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum in Paris, "The Color Line" spans post-Civil War America through a stunning trove of 600 books, posters, paintings and video clips. They document the struggles and gradual empowerment of African-Americans through art.

"French people know jazz music and some black movie stars and literature. They know words like 'Ferguson,' " said the show's curator, Daniel Soutif, referring to the 2014 race riots and protests in the U.S. state of Missouri, touched off by the fatal shooting of a black youth by a white police officer. "So one aspect of the show is to complete their culture, to show black people aren't only those killed on the streets, but also very important artists."

The show traces the origins of the "color line," a term referring to racial segregation in America after the abolition of slavery in 1865. It explores how blacks were ridiculed in vaudeville shows and movies, faced discrimination through Jim Crow laws in the southern United States and elsewhere, and fought for their country during the World Wars in a segregated military.

Expressions of brutality

Perhaps the most chilling part of the show deals with the brutal practice of lynchings. One painting shows hooded members of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan erecting a cross, lit up by a bloody moon; another, by Lois Mailou Jones, shows the anguish of a shackled man minutes before his death.

The collection, however, also features growing black consciousness, underscored by the artistic expression that exploded in New York's Harlem section during the 1920s.

The civil rights movement followed. There is a film clip of renowned contralto Marian Anderson singing at Washington's Lincoln Memorial in 1939, after she was denied the right to sing at the capital's largest concert hall.

Nearby hangs a giant portrait of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and another showing the 1963 March on Washington, as African-Americans demanded greater civil and economic rights.

"We try to present the context," Soutif said. "Words like Reconstruction or Jim Crow  they mean nothing to French people."

WATCH: Artist Ringgold's 'Allegory' of America at Paris Exhibit

In some ways, the exhibit seems a given for the French capital, long a magnet for legions of African-American writers, artists and musicians who found the liberation they were denied at home.

"I would not say race is erased, but race does not provide as much of an impediment, many people would argue, as it does in the U.S.," Duke University art history professor Richard Powell said of the African-American experience in Paris.

Wandering through the show, Ko Bragg of Pennsylvania assessed the exhibit as doing "a fair job" at depicting how black artists responded to segregation, although she said she thought it glossed over some areas.

"What I think is interesting about traveling abroad as an African-American is you're seen as an American first," said Bragg, who studies journalism in Paris. "When I'm home, automatically I'm seen as black, and I carry all the weight of what a black American means."

Universal themes

Yet France has its own troubled history of racial and ethnic tensions, including relations with its large Muslim community.

"French are not in the position to give lessons," Soutif said.

Paris-area high school teacher Oceane Batman, whose family comes from Martinique, agreed.

"When you think about America, one of the main subjects that comes to mind is racism," she said. "But it's the same in France, even if our histories are completely different. That's one of the reasons I came to the show. I thought it might help me understand what's going on in France today."

As much as documenting history, however, the exhibit is about art, Soutif said.

"Look over there," he said, pointing to an elegant sculpture of hanging African masks by artist David Hammons. "They are moving so gently. When you are a curator, you want to show beautiful works. For me, that's the main point."
Pakistans parliament on Thursday tightened a legal loophole that allowed perpetrators of honor killings to avoid justice. Under the new law, a pardon granted by the victims family can spare the convicted perpetrator from capital punishment  but not from a mandated minimum sentence of life in prison.

In the conservative Pakistani society, encounters between males and females are strictly monitored. Any deviation from the defined code of conduct, especially by a woman, is considered shameful. The punishment can be death.

Hundreds of Pakistani women die each year at the hands of relatives in so-called honor killings. Pakistans independent Human Rights Commission estimated last year that 860 honor killings were committed between January 2012 and mid-September 2015.

The supposedly offensive behavior may or may not include a sexual act. In a notorious 2012 case in the countrys remote, northern Kohistan region, village elders reportedly ordered the killing of at least four young women  and other family members  after seeing a mobile phone video of them clapping and singing while two young men danced during a celebration. The case reached the Supreme Court but was left unresolved due to local complications, the BBC reported in a 2014 story on honor killings.

Spurred legislation

The July death of Pakistani celebrity model Qandeel Baloch  choked to death by her brother for uploading risque videos  helped spur efforts to pass the new legislation.

Under Islamic influence, Pakistans current law defines murder as a crime against a person rather than a crime against the state. It gives the next of kin the right to forgive or to seek revenge.

In the case of honor killings, the next of kin typically consents to the retribution. Therein lies the problem, according to human rights activist Tahira Abdullah.

"So what happens is that in dishonor killings, it's family members who kill the woman ... and then the male relatives forgive each other," Abdullah said. "So if the father has done the dishonor killing, the son will forgive. If a brother has done it, the other brother will forgive. Likewise, uncles forgive."

Shes among womens rights activists who say there is no honor in murder, so theyve revised the phrase.

No immunity

The new law curbs blanket immunity for the convicted perpetrator. Even if the family grants forgiveness, that would only provide relief from capital punishment, not from life imprisonment.

But members of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, as well as several womens rights activists, objected to the clause and said those who kill women in the name of honor should not be given a break.

Pakistan passed its first anti-honor killing law in 2004. That law contained several loopholes like the one allowing family members to pardon the accused. In 2014, Pakistans Senate passed another bill to try and plug those loopholes, but it lapsed when the National Assembly failed to take it up within 90 days.

Thursdays joint session took up the same bill, albeit with some changes that watered it down, according to the opposition.
When the young Australian cervical cancer patient learned she had to lose her womb in order to survive, she proposed something audacious to the doctor who was treating her: She asked if she could have a womb transplant, so she could one day carry her own baby.

This was nearly two decades ago, when the Swedish doctor Mats Brannstrom was training to be a physician abroad.

I thought she was a bit crazy,'' Brannstrom said.

But Brannstrom didn't dismiss her idea. Instead, after he returned to Sweden he began a series of painstaking research projects to learn whether it might be possible to transplant a womb, despite criticism that the unheard-of procedure was dangerous, medically unnecessary, and impossible.

Brannstrom went on to become the first doctor to deliver babies  five so far  from women with donated wombs. No other doctor in the world has succeeded, despite attempts in the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and ongoing efforts in China, Britain, France, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.

The first of Brannstrom's patients' babies was born in 2014 and the fifth arrived in January; another is due in early 2017.

Brannstrom is working with doctors at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic to help women beyond Sweden get access to the procedure. Doctors at Baylor University in Texas, including two former members of Brannstrom's team, announced this week they performed four womb transplants. One was successful, but not yet ready to attempt a pregnancy.

And scientists, many of whom were both doubtful and critical before, now believe Brannstrom's work could help them extend the use of organs for those who need transplants and learn how embryos implant in the uterus after conception, a poorly understood but critical stage in pregnancy.

Early studies, custom-made tools

To figure out if womb transplants were even feasible, Brannstrom first asked Rana Akouri, then one of his doctoral students, to start experimenting in rodents in 1999. He picked Akouri because of her delicate surgical skills  a mouse uterus is only less than an inch long (about 2 centimeters). The surgery was so complex, Akouri needed four custom-made tools to perform the microscopic operations.

After nearly two years, Akouri noticed in the belly of one of her mice a slight bulge. Too impatient to wait, she performed a cesarean section that evening  and found two tiny babies inside.

I called Mats at 10pm and told him, one of our mice is pregnant! she said.

That night, Brannstrom said, was the first time he thought that a womb transplant in humans might actually be possible.

If it hadn't worked in mice, we would have quit, he said.

Transplants, tests, travel

Over the next decade, Brannstrom and his team performed hundreds of uterus transplants in rats, sheep, pigs and monkeys. Because Sweden forbids experiments in non-human primates, Brannstrom and 10 other doctors and nurses flew to Kenya nearly 20 times to perfect things like their surgical technique and the use of immune-suppressing drugs in baboons.

Brannstrom described the less-than-ideal conditions in Nairobi  no regular showers and power failures during surgery  as team-building experiences. Wooden carvings of African birds picked up during those trips now adorn several shelves at Brannstrom's fertility clinic in Stockholm.

Into the unknown

In 2012, it was time to try the surgery in humans. He obtained ethical permission to perform womb transplants in nine Swedish women. He then held an information session one evening in the southern city of Gothenburg, where the operations were to take place.

We were quite frank in telling them, This is not an infertility treatment, you're participating in a scientific trial, he said. We're going into the unknown.

Of the nine women who had the transplants, two had their wombs removed when complications arose. Five women had healthy babies and the last two are trying to get pregnant.

At the time, many fertility experts considered it an outlandish pursuit.

I thought this was crazy, a high-risk surgery for no reason, said Dr. Tommaso Falcone of the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. But a trip to Sweden to see Brannstrom's clinic changed his mind. Falcone is now at the forefront of the Cleveland Clinic's womb transplantation project. He and colleagues performed the first such operation in the U.S. in February, although the organ had to be removed after the patient developed an infection.

Falcone predicts that Brannstrom's work will lead to a better understanding of embryo implantation. And he marveled at the fact that babies have been born from organs once flushed with a cold solution  rendering them technically dead  before being placed into the recipient.

Miscarriages are happening all over the place but here you have these dead uteruses that can carry a baby, he said.

Rejuvenating older wombs

Other experts thought it was astonishing that wombs of some post-menopausal women were able to grow healthy babies after being transplanted. Doctors typically expect younger organs to work better, but in the case of womb transplantation, organs from older women appeared rejuvenated after being dosed with hormones.

All of a sudden, you have this old organ doing things that you only expected a young uterus to do, said Dr. Stefan Tullius, chair of transplant surgery at Harvard Medical School, who said that could lead to insights into extending the use of other organs.

Until now, Brannstrom has only used live donors, considered by some to be unethical because it means putting a healthy woman at risk for a procedure that isn't life-saving. The wombs are intended to be kept for a maximum of two pregnancies and are then removed so that patients can stop taking anti-rejection medicines.

Brannstrom believes doctors in other countries will soon deliver more babies from women with transplanted wombs and predicts that the surgery will one day become routine.

Emelie Eriksson, who received a womb transplant and then had a baby boy in 2014, said she could never thank Brannstrom enough.

I think I need to thank him a thousand times more, she said. He's my hero. He made it possible for me to have a child.
Everything happened so fast," said Lesa Kasoma. From nowhere I was grabbed in my jeans, somebody held my shirt, and they were advising each other, Lets pull her inside where theres no one; theres too much attention outside here.

Kasoma is owner of a radio station in Zambia's capital, Lusaka. The station was suspended for unspecified "unprofessional conduct" in April, during the run up to Zambia's tense presidential election. She had gone to the station Wednesday after authorities said she had permission to reopen.

There, she ran into two police officers.

"I screamed for help; they kicked my legs and I fell down, they started dragging me by my hair, trying to pull me inside, they started kicking me, started beating me up, and they were just doing that in my ribs. And these police officers grabbed my bra, to the extent that it even cut my breasts, [they] were so painful as they pulled me, and I caught his hand and beat him.

Police have now charged Kasoma with assaulting an officer  something she denies, though she said she defended herself.

The incident is one of several suggesting that political tension continues in Zambia in the aftermath of President Edgar Lungu's re-election.

The same day, police arrested the nations top opposition leaders and charged them with sedition over their claims that Augusts presidential poll was unfair.

Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and his deputy, Geoffrey Mwamba, were released on bail; dozens of their supporters were also arrested.

In a statement, Hichilema denied the charges, going further to describe them as laughable  utter nonsense, stupid.

Turmoil unusual for Zambia

Analyst Dimpho Motsamai of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies said this sort of turmoil is new for Zambia, a nation that has a long history of peaceful transfers of political power and multi-party democracy.

Its a very important development in Zambia, she said. And it is worrisome in some circles, for the simple reason that it can create an impression that there is kind of a political witch-hunting on the part of the president in dealing with someone who has challenged his legitimacy.

Zambias information minister did not answer repeated calls seeking comment. Nor has President Edgar Lungu made any statements or public calls for dialogue.

Chilufya Tayali, founder of the new Movement for Economic Development and Equity, told VOA he does not think Zambia is in a crisis  yet  but said he is concerned about the implications of recent events.

There is no investor who wants to invest in a country that is not stable, he said. There is no investor who is looking to invest in a country that does not respect human rights. There is no investor that is looking at investing in a country where the opposition is not given that freedom of expression, freedom of movement.

Kasoma said her station will remain closed until she is well enough to collect her transmitter, which was confiscated.

She said the scariest thing about her assault was not its suddenness or its brutality. What scared her the most, she said, was that she yelled for help and watched the confused faces of the many people around her. Kasoma said she thinks they were asking themselves: "who can we call for help when the people who would help are the ones doing this?"
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to broker an end to more than a half-century of civil war  the Western Hemispheres longest-running conflict.

"I'm so honored and so grateful...this is a very important event for my country, for the victims of this war and this is a commitment to keep trying to bring peace to my country," Santos told the director of the Norwegian Institute in Oslo when he called to tell him the news.

"This honor is not mine, but rather for all the victims of the conflict. Together we will win the most important prize of all: PEACE," the Colombian president later tweeted in Spanish.



Santos' efforts culminated in a peace deal this year between the Colombian government and leftist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Santos work, however, has until now amounted to little more than attempts that have been frustrated by disappointment and setbacks.

Colombians rejected the deal in a recent vote - a reflection of anger among many who objected to giving amnesty and political power to rebels who for decades terrorized Colombians from bases deep in the countrys forests.

The rebels, whose activities were funded by drug trafficking and kidnapping, committed to laying down their weapons and pursuing peace, accomplishments that were sufficient for the Norwegian Nobel Committee to recognize Santos role.

A statement read Friday in Oslo by Kaci Kullmann Five, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, said Santos won the award for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year long civil war to an end.

WATCH: Nobel Peace Prize announcement

The war has cost the lives of at least 220,000 Colombians and displaced close to 6 million people. The conflict began in the mid 1960's, when the guerrillas founded the FARC and declared their intention to topple Colombias government and replace it with a Marxist regime.

The group amassed a large fortune through drug trafficking and ransoms from kidnappings, but it lost ground in the 1990's and early 2000's as the Colombian leadership boosted its offensive against the guerrillas - largely with the assistance of the U.S. government.

In recent years, the guerrillas made concessions for peace that included giving up their practice of kidnapping for ransom.

It included a cease-fire, the handing over of weapons, and security guarantees.

The agreement, however, also provided for transitional justice or amnesty and granted the rebels 10 seats in the Colombian Congress  provisions that are controversial among citizens who have not forgotten abuses they endured during the guerrillas campaign of bombings, kidnappings, murders and abduction of child soldiers.

'No' vote



In an October 2 referendum, voters narrowly rejected the deal.

In announcing the award Friday, the Norwegian Nobel committee did not ignore the suffering that the war has caused ordinary Colombians, or the difficulties they have confronted to win peace.

The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who despite great hardships and abuses have not given up hope of a just peace and to all the parties who have contributed to this peace process, said Kullmann Five.

Santos said Friday Colombia is very, very close to ending the war and he said the Nobel Peace prize will serve as a great stimulus to reach that end.

I receive this award in their name -- the Colombian people who have suffered so much, and especially the millions of victims that have suffered with this war that we are on the verge of ending, he said in a telephone conversation with officials of the Nobel foundation.

In the end, it is his determination in the face of adversity that won Santos the prize.

President Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in the peace accord, Kullmann Five said, well knowing that the accord was controversial.

Nobel committee officials recognized what they said is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and the civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties headed by President Santos and the FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono continue to respect the cease-fire, the committee chair said.

Praise from UN chief



United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the award as a "timely message to all who have toiled so hard for peace." He said Colombia has come "too far to turn back now."

FARC guerrillas were not included in the prize. Still, Londono congratulated the Colombian president in a tweet Friday.

"The only prize we aspire to is peace with social justice for Colombia," he tweeted, "without paramilitary groups, without retaliation, or lies. Peace in the streets."
With relations between Washington and Moscow deteriorating, Russian news agencies are quoting a top defense official as saying the possibility of reopening Russian military facilities in Cuba and Vietnam is under consideration.

Asked Friday by lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, if the Russian military might return to countries like Cuba and Vietnam, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov replied: "We are doing this work." He provided no details.

The Soviet Union established a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) base in Lourdes, Cuba, in the early 1960s and a naval base in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, in the late 1970s. While Russia continued to operate those facilities following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, they were shut down in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

Russia is currently operating an air base and a naval base in Syria.

According to Russian news agencies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was also asked Friday about the possibility of reestablishing bases in Cuba and Vietnam. He refused to comment on it directly, saying the question should be addressed to the defense ministry.

However, Peskov was quoted as saying: "The international situation is not static; it is rather fluid. You can see that the last two years have introduced in general significant adjustments to international affairs and the international security regime. So, naturally, all countries in accordance with their national interests are assessing these changes and taking certain measures in the direction that they see fit."

In July 2014, President Vladimir Putin denied media reports that Russia was planning to reopen the Lourdes Signals Intelligence base in Cuba.

The comments about reestablishing Russian military facilities far from home came as tensions between Russia and the United States grew.

On Monday, Washington suspended talks with Moscow on a cease-fire in Syria, citing continued military attacks against civilian targets there. That same day, President Vladimir Putin suspended an agreement with the U.S. on disposing weapons-grade plutonium, citing "unfriendly actions" by Washington  a reference to sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Russia suspended an agreement with the United States on cooperation on nuclear and energy-related research.
At least 26 Niger government soldiers have been killed in an attack at a refugee camp.

Unidentified armed men, suspected to be jihadists, attacked the Tizalit refugee camp, which shelters nearly 4,000 Malians, in the Tahoua region around 2 p.m. Thursday.

A local journalist told VOA's Hausa service that the attackers came in three pickup trucks and launched the surprise attack on soldiers who protect the camp, which is 80 kilometers from Niger's border with Mali.

Twenty-two soldiers were killed at the scene, and four more succumbed to their injuries Friday after being admitted to a nearby hospital.

"It's truly a great loss for our security and defense forces," Niger Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said.

Witnessess said the gunmen stole at least three vehicles  two from the military and one from a civilian. An ambulance was also set aflame.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack, according to a statement from his spokesman. The U.N. chief called on authorities to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice and reinforce security around refugee camps.

Niger hosts about 60,000 Malian refugees, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
Home to a dizzying array of endemic flora and fauna, Borneos rainforests are among the globes most precious.

And yet, no other tropical landscape is being lost as fast, with a third of the islands old-growth forests  a chunk nearly the size of Syria  having been lost over the last four decades.

Many point to the expansion of industrial agriculture to explain the loss; in particular, the boom in palm oil plantations, which today cover some 10 percent of the islands 74.3 million square hectares.

But a recent study published in Scientific Reports, which sets out to test this thesis, found that although the palm oil industry is a major driver of deforestation, location matters more.

Drawing on 40 years of satellite imagery, researchers concluded that while the palm oil industry was the top deforestation driver on the Malaysian side of the island (26 percent of the land mass), its role in deforestation on the Indonesian portion, also called Kalimantan (73 percent of the land mass), was less pronounced. (Brunei has the other 1 percent.)

Only in the last decade has industrial agriculture (pulpwood and palm oil) become the number one driver of forest clearance in Kalimantan, a finding researchers attribute to widespread use of degraded land for planting.

Our study clarifies that the role of oil-palm in deforestation is dependent not on the plant, but on where it is planted, the study authors wrote.

We are thus better able to assess whether industrial plantations are the cause or consequence of forest area loss in Borneo. Unsurprisingly, they are both, though the extent and contribution of each varies by country and period, they added.

Planting on degraded land

To assess the true impact of industrial agricultural on deforestation, researchers examined the time-lag between clearing and planting.

They judged that if plantations were developed within five years of clearance, the owners were likely responsible. Longer delays, however, suggested natural or accidental clearing by fire, as the risk of leaving cleared land idle is known to be significant.

Once land is deforested, it is likely to be taken by communities or by another company if it is not quickly developed, lead study author David Gaveau told VOA.

So companies usually do not clear forests long in advance if they do not quickly convert it to plantations or they will lose the land, he added.

In Malaysia, deforested land was found to have been rapidly converted to plantations 57-60 percent of the time, while in Indonesia, the rate was just 15-16 percent.

The low rate in Indonesia, researchers reasoned, was due to the comparatively high availability of degraded forests, or shrublands, for planting. This they attribute to the twin effects of a dry climate and recurrent burning by subsistence farmers.

In modern Kalimantan, forests have become disturbed by logging, conversion to plantations, etc., and these disturbed forests are now more prone to fires, Gaveau explained.

This permitted the development of some large-scale industrial plantations, without necessarily causing additional forest loss, he wrote in the study.

Development in Malaysian Borneo, however, which contains some of the wettest rainforests on Earth, tells a different story.

In Sarawak [one of two provinces in Malaysian Borneo], the climate is much too humid for fires ...in Sabah [the other province] the climate can be as dry as Kalimantan, but does not experience large fires, Gaveau said. This could be explained by more efficient no-fire practices, but we do not have proof.

Shifting patterns

Despite its unexpected history of degraded land use, Kalimantans deforestation rate skyrocketed over the last 15 years. It was a trend that mirrored the growth of the industry as a whole.

Indeed, more than half of the current number of plantations in Borneo, island-wide, were established between 2005-2015 - and nearly 70 percent of that growth was in Kalimantan, where rapid conversion soared.

Rapid, within-five-year, conversion in Indonesian Borneo increased from 7 percent in 19732000 to 51 percent in 20102015, the study found.

According to Gaveau, Indonesias dream of becoming the worlds number one palm oil producer, as well as a 2005 economic boom, were major factors in the deforestation increase.

Herry Purnomo, a scientist at CIFOR, said the political economy of land burning was also a key influence.

To truly understand all the factors, he said, We need to map the rate of deforestation with the political agenda. There is much evidence that fires and deforestation were connected to local elections, [when local heads] used land allocations/permits to attract voters.

Even so, he said the study was valuable, and could help inform incentive schemes for no deforestation.

The research team is currently developing an online tool that would allow companies doing the right thing to avoid being lumped in with the firms still chopping down forests, Gaveau said.

Such a tool would enable better oversight by certification bodies like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and, hopefully, help keep Borneos remaining forests in the ground.

Planting on degraded lands is a cornerstone of sustainable development, Gaveau said. Our work reveals which firmsactively cleared forests, and which ones avoided deforestation by planting on degraded lands over the last four decades.

Right now REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) is not really working, but our data sets a 42-year baseline for future effectiveness assessments.
Police in Turkey have arrested a member of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) they suspect carried out a bomb attack near an Istanbul police station Thursday.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu News Agency reported that police detained six people they suspect were involved in the attack that wounded 10 people. The suspected perpetrator was captured about 700 kilometers from Istanbul, in the central Turkey town of Aksaray, while travelling in a car with two other men and carrying a fake identification card.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and authorities said none of those wounded were in serious condition.

Damage from the blast was limited to a few cars parked nearby and several windows shattered by the blast, the Dogan news agency reported.

Turkey has been hit by a wave of attacks in the past year, carried out both by Islamic State and the PKK.
U.S. President Barack Obama has lifted sanctions on Myanmar, saying the Southeast Asian country has made substantial advances to promote democracy.

Obama signed an executive order Friday that overturns a previous declaration calling Myanmars government a threat to U.S. national security.

Since historic elections last November that resulted in the former opposition party winning a majority of the seats in parliament, the president said, the situation in Myanmar has been significantly altered, including greater freedoms for the population and the release of many political prisoners.

Obama pledged he would lift sanctions last month during a visit to the White House by Myanmars de facto civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The sanctions, imposed 20 years ago, prevented American firms and foreign investors using U.S. financial services from having any dealings with more than 100 businessmen tied to the former military regime  business tycoons who owned conglomerates that dominated Myanmars trade, banking, extractive industries, farming, tourism and airline businesses.

The legal hurdles deterred many potential foreign investors from entering Myanmars market, while also tainting Myanmar exports to America.

The United States also has eased some sanctions on Myanmar, formally known as Burma, as the Southeast Asian nation has made political reforms over the last several years.
Six U.S. soldiers and two other men were indicted Thursday on charges of stealing and selling sensitive military equipment to foreign buyers including those from China, Russia and Ukraine.

The soldiers are stationed at Fort Campbell, which straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky border. A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tennessee, indicted the eight defendants.

The stolen equipment includes sniper telescopes, machine gun parts, body armor and grenade-launcher sights.

The indictment accuses the six soldiers of stealing the equipment and passing it to the two civilians who allegedly resold it on eBay, an internet auction site.

Among the customers were buyers in a number of foreign countries, including China, Russia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

David Rivera, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said the allegations should in no way stain the honor of the brave men and women who proudly serve in our countrys armed forces and selflessly give everything to protect Americas freedom.
Diplomatic efforts between Ankara and Moscow are likely to get a boost Monday when President Vladimir Putin visits Turkey, where he is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Growing differences over Syria, however, as well as Turkey's moves to align itself closer to Saudi Arabia, threaten to overshadow Putin's visit.

Putin's attendance at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul is the latest effort to repair relations after Turkish jets shot down a Russian bomber operating from a Syrian air base in November.

"It is a follow-up visit of Erdogans visit to Saint Petersburg," said Murat Bilhan, deputy chair of the Ankara-based Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies. "While certain normalization [steps] have already taken place to get the relations back on track again, there will be some positive developments in Turkish-Russian relations after the meeting between Putin and Erdogan."

Those positive developments are predicted to involve energy cooperation. Turkey, a geographical bridge between Russia and Europe, has long been viewed by Moscow as an alternative route to Ukraine, for a gas pipeline to serve European markets. The pipeline project  called "Turkish Stream"  was frozen after the collapse in relations between Ankara and Moscow in November.

Seeking deals

Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar of Carnegie Europe, says Putin's Istanbul visit likely will see concrete steps to bring the countries closer together.

"There is an expectation that there will be an intra-governmental agreement on Turkish Stream on that occasion," he said, referring to a proposed natural gas pipeline that would connect the countries. "So there will be statements on furthering collaboration on energy."

But Ulgen warns that Putin's visit wont be without its difficulties. "At the same time, there will be a discussion where Ankara and Moscow do not see eye to eye, in particular on Syria and possibly Iraq given the present developing situation there."

To facilitate closer ties with Moscow, Erdogan softened his Syrian policy, dropping the demand for the immediate removal of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Instead, he suggested Assad could remain in power during a transition period. Reportedly, Ankara also agreed to reduce its support to Syrian rebels.

Competing relationships

The Turkish President is again hardening his stance toward Damascus, though, in a move that coincides with deepening relations with Saudi Arabia.

"In Turkey's case, there is this juggling act, you cannot keep the balls up in the air, at all times," cautioned former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served widely in the region. He notes that Ankara is increasingly pursuing contradictory policies.

"You cannot give covert support to Jihadi elements and have your way with Moscow," Selcen said.

Adding to Moscow's unease, Turkish forces fighting the Islamic State in Syria are continuing to move deeper into Syrian territory, in the face of Russian warnings to curtail its operation.

Analyst Ulgen argues there is no contradiction in Turkish foreign policy.

"I think there has been a normalization with Russia rather than a real, genuine rapprochement. Because a rapprochement would entail a convergence of views on Syria, and they don't and we don't see that happening," he said. "That was also the case before the downing of the Russian jet in November 2015, when the relationship was good, but nonetheless both sides had regional differences, where both sides almost agreed to disagree on Syria. I think that is almost the situation now, where both sides agree to disagree. So in that sense, Turkey's rapprochement with Saudi Arabia on Syria is not incompatible with the normalization with Russia."

Ankara-Riyadh connection

Ulgen also suggests Ankara's relationship with Riyadh is likely to deepen, as pressure from Russian-backed Syrian regime forces intensifies on rebels.

Adding further tensions with Moscow, many of the rebel groups supported by Turkey and Saudi Arabia are deemed terrorists by Russia. Such differences likely will be featured prominently in the discussion between Putin and Erdogan, according to regional expert Bilhan.

"The differences of opinion on Syria, these will be tried to be narrowed," Bilhan said, "although some radical reappraisal of the situation is not expected. But of course both countries need each other, because Russia's economy is not going well. The more needy one is Turkey. Turkey also needs friends and seems to be isolated."

Iraq, too, threatens to complicate Russian-Turkish relations. Baghdad, another regional ally of Moscow, is locked in a deepening row with Ankara over its refusal to withdraw its military forces from the Bashiqa base in Iraq.

Ankara is likely to be banking on the lure of lucrative commercial deals, particularly in the field of energy. Such an initiative would help lubricate efforts to resolve regional differences with Moscow, or at least compartmentalize them.

Observers underscore that with regional pressure building, and Moscow and Ankara on increasingly opposing sides, sustaining closer relations can only get more difficult.
Every day in a modest home in Queens, New York, more than 100 women of Afghan descent are crammed into makeshift classrooms. They are learning the basics of life in America, such as getting a driver's license or reading and writing English, but they also can gain help with something as complex and critical as dealing with an abusive spouse.

The program is run by Women for Afghan Women (WAW), a women's advocacy group. The participants are a mixture of single, married and divorced women. Some are newly arrived to America, while others have been here for several years. Their mentors and teachers are mostly Afghan-Americans who are naturalized American citizens.

Supported with state and federal money, WAW was formed prior to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks to help Afghan women overcome illiteracy and domestic violence in Queens' Afghan community.The organization beefed up its program after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, redoubling efforts to educate and deal with community fears.

In New York, according to the Afghan Consulate and local mosques, the Afghan population is estimated at 20,000 families. The Afghan community traditionally has been a patriarchal society, with women in more submissive roles.That can lead to spousal abuse, fewer education opportunities and other issues resulting from a lack of rights.

Safety first

Manizha Naderi, WAW's executive director, said, "We're trying to make sure Afghan women are safe. Our aim is for women to have access to education, justice, so they can be normal citizens."

WAW also wants to change ingrained cultural habits.

"It's not an easy task where decades of gender imbalance has been going on," said Naderi. "We work with the communities  not just women, but with the families  because Afghanistan is a patriarchal society, and women don't want to leave their families.They just want to be safe within their families."

Sitara Momand, 43, came to New York in 2013 as a divorcee with a young daughter.

"I was married to a very violent husband," Momand told VOA. "We were living with my in-laws but could not take the violence from my ex-husband and my in-laws any longer. I left Afghanistan and went to Pakistan to escape the violence. Then I came to America."

Hired by group

Momand had heard about WAW, and it was one of her first stops. She needed money. WAW hired her as a housekeeper. Ultimately, she found her own place to live.

"WAW helped me get public benefits, helped getting my child in school, and helped me learn to read and write in English," said Momand. She continues to work at WAW and has a second job in a restaurant. She says she is very happy to be living in America.

Yalda Afif, a program coordinator at WAW, deals with many women who have been abused by their husbands and in-laws.

"I have seen terrible abuse, sexual abuse by their partners," Afif told VOA. "But they kept the information to themselves; they never opened up about it. Then, after being here, they started to trust us, and I learned more about what was really going on, the root of the problems."

Afif added, "We try to make the family understand that they cannot control everything; they have to share with their wives. If a woman gets empowered, gets a job, she is taking a burden from the shoulders of the man."

Crucial basic skills

In addition to helping women get jobs and places to live, Women for Afghan Women places great emphasis on education.

WAW helped Faozia Noory, 42, a naturalized U.S. citizen who has been in the United States for eight years, prepare for her citizenship exam and helped her get a driving permit. She is happily married with four children and said, "This is home, sweet home, for me. I like the feeling of being safe."

Skills also are taught to younger Afghan-Americans in WAW's Young Leadership Program.

"These are primarily young women, some as young as 15. Some had been forced into marriages they didn't want," said Naderi. "We teach them empowerment, how to ask for their rights, what their rights are, what the rights of women in Islam are, and what the rights of the family are. And, you know, education is the key to it, to everything."

According to Naderi, since the girls leadership program began in 2005, not one girl in the community has been forced to marry.

What about Afghanistan?

WAW has taken its programs back to Afghanistan. It has child support centers in 13 provinces and provides legal support to abused women through its facility in Kabul. Trying to develop a positive attitude about women in the workforce, the organization has struck a nerve in the male-dominated society.

"We've been targeted by the Taliban," Naderi said. "In 2014 ,two of the WAW staff were kidnapped by the Taliban. Their release came in 2015 with the interjection and help of local Afghan communities. Change can be very difficult."
One of the visions in The Birth of a Nation. Photo: FOX Searchlight

Nat Turner had distinctive blemishes on his chest and forehead, which supposedly marked him for greatness. He also had prophetic visions of angels battling in the sky, which convinced him he had been chosen by God. The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parkers new biopic of Turner, includes the markings, and its got the visions too, in the form of a series of dream sequences full of frenetic camera work and eerie, larger-than-life figures. Like the films title, taken from D.W. Griffiths 1915 Klan epic, the visions are marks of Parkers ambition. He wants to make Turners story deeply meaningful, for it to resonate widely. But in those visions and elsewhere, Parker uses aspects of Turners faith in a generic portrait of Turners heroism, but fails to fully explore its context and meaning.

Accounts of Turners religious experience come primarily from the so-called Confessions of Nat Turner, an account of the conversations between the rebel leader, in the last days before his execution, and Thomas R. Gray, a white Southerner. Gray gives a portrait of Turner as a religious fanatic who believed that he communicated with the Holy Spirit and received visions that motivated his actions. (Birth of a Nation replicates one such vision, drops of blood that appear on a corn cob as though it were dew from heaven.) According to Grays account, Turner started his rebellion after witnessing an eclipse, and took up arms not for some worldly goal, but as part of a holy war. Grays account is accompanied by a list of the white people killed in the rebellion, and he routinely emphasizes how Turner and his men killed women and children indiscriminately.

As a white writer, Gray had good reason, willfully or not, to misinterpret Turners intentions. Since the publication of his Confessions, other writers have pushed back against his fanatical portrait of Turner. In 1967, the white author William Styron published the Pulitzer prizewinning The Confessions of Nat Turner, which tried to give dimensions of humanity to the man, and controversially portrayed Turners romantic interest in a white woman. A series of rebuttals, William Styrons Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond, was published shortly afterward, setting the stage for a debate about which authors should get to tell slave narratives, and to what end. In Birth of a Nations press notes, Parker cites Stephen B. Oatess The Fires of Jubilee, Scot Frenchs The Rebellious Slave, and William Sidney Drewrys compilation of interviews with eyewitnesses to the insurrection that was published in 1900. Parker adds that Turner is no more controversial than other Americans who made controversial decisions that decimated human beings in the name of seeking peace.

The Birth of a Nation downplays Turners fanaticism, but Parker doesnt assemble his sources into a clear counterargument about his motivations. Parker often frames Turners sermons as reactions to recent atrocities committed against him and his fellow slaves. The eclipse, crucial in Grays telling, comes as an afterthought, as Parkers Turner is more moved by the rapes of his wife and another slave, and the betrayal of his master (Armie Hammer). This is primarily an earthly revenge story, concerned with earthly goals and consequences  the lasting impact of the rebellion is seen at the end of the film, when a young black boy who observes Turners lynching grows up to fight for the Union in the Civil War. Turners revolt mattered, Parkers film argues, because it had a lasting effect on history.



Birth of a Nation still includes Turners visions, but its unsure what it wants to do with them. Rather than referencing scripture, these scenes draw from non-specific, vaguely African spirituality. As a child, Turner runs through a forest; he encounters a ghostly white figure (Parker himself); at times, a hooded man who looks suspiciously like Star Wars emperor Palpatine lurks beyond a tree. The comparison is fitting: Like Star Wars, this is classic Joseph Campbell. The visions mean to tell us that Turner is gifted with some great purpose, he just has to realize his potential. In the New Yorker, Vinson Cunningham detected the traces of a superhero flick in Birth of a Nation: Slavery is the setting for an elongated origin story, in which our hero, destined for greatness but restrained, for a time, by circumstance, emerges as a nearly supernatural force. Parker is so tentative about Turners religion that he ends up telling the story of his life as a secular fable. When, after his lynching, Turners wife appears as angel, complete with Halloween-costume-ready wings, the effect is haphazard. After obscuring the revelatory aspects of Turners faith for so long, why deploy it now?

Parker resists saying anything bad, or even alienating, about his hero, which is another way of saying he doesnt say much thats specific. He sands away the jarring aspects of Turners history  the visions, the fanaticism  without which, its hard to understand Turners actions. What compelled him to take up arms and cause the loss of so much life, white and black? Parker has said in interview that violence wasnt a necessary component of Turners rebellion, insisting that he wouldve used social media for protests today. But Turner didnt live today. His rebellion cant be all rebellions. His philosophy cant be all philosophies. Turner was a product of his time, and of his faith  the complexity of which deserves to be explored. Turner didnt use Facebook; he used a sword, and a Bible, which, by the way, now rests in the newly christened National Museum of African American History, for anyone who wants to interrogate Turners legacy on their own.
Dudamel conducts Ravel, with the Bolivar Symphony, last night. Photo: Chris Lee/Carnegie Hall

Gustavo Dudamel and his childhood band, the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, arrived at Carnegie Hall for opening night, trailing a beautiful backstory. After conducting Stravinskys Rite of Spring, and before striking up a globe-trotting suite of dances, Dudamel told the audience that he and most of the musicians on the stage had made their New York debut as children more than 20 years before, playing for an audience of distracted dignitaries in a hallway outside the U.N. cafeteria. What got them from Caracas to Carnegie Hall was a nationwide network of youth orchestras with an Orwellian name and a bifurcated reputation: El Sistema. Created in 1975 by the musical guru Jose Antonio Abreu, El Sistema supplies musical instruments and lessons to kids of all classes, all over Venezuela. Proudly claimed and bankrolled by the governments of Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro, the organization has become a symbol of both social justice and collaboration with a repressive regime.

If Dudamel were a run-of-the-mill maestro, or the Bolivarians were just another ensemble, then the background would hardly matter. But in 2011, the conductor, who is also music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, turned the former youth orchestra into a major (almost entirely male) touring ensemble, making it Venezuelas most prestigious cultural export. Carnegies gala showcase put the group in a rarefied league, too. Last years opening-night orchestra was the New York Philharmonic; in 2014, it was the Berlin Philharmonic.

The orchestras disciplined uproar is sporadically thrilling, and its mixture of mission and rhythmic verve usually guarantees enthusiastic ovations. But the group doesnt so much have a style as a shtick. Dudamel made stars of the brass and percussion, underlining each trombone slide and snare-drum whack. For all the complicated gestures that he lavished on Ravels La Valse, he seemed to be operating a simple switch that toggled between loud and a little less loud. He practically Photoshopped Rite of Spring to an alarming hi-res brightness, saturating Stravinskys orchestral colors and leaching out the scores subtlety and shadows. There was plenty of dancing in his Rite, but precious little mystery.

These days, when Venezuelans back home have to scramble for scarce food, sell their boots for groceries, die from lack of medicine, and are paid in increasingly worthless bills (when theyre paid at all), its tough to argue that the government subsidies that have kept El Sistema humming are still a top priority. Dudamel remains undeterred. In a White House speech at the National Medal of Arts and Humanities ceremony last month, he argued that when people have nothing, they are all the more desperate for music. He asked: Can Venezuela save El Sistema? Which is now more important than ever to the people of Venezuela and to their hope. I work every day to ensure that once Venezuela moves beyond this current crisis, El Sistema will continue to rise and empower those who otherwise would have no dreams.

That statement enraged another well-known Venezuelan musician, the pianist Gabriela Montero, who posted her retort on Facebook. Dudamel, she wrote, blew a chance to address the causes of Venezuelas crisis, or denounce those responsible for one of the most catastrophic state failures in history and the many daily violations of human rights. Had he done so, he would have had to point a finger at his many personal friends in the administration. The conductors insistence that a failing state should preserve its commitment to music evokes the leader of the string quartet aboard the Titanic. Finally aware that the unthinkable is happening and that the ship is, indeed, sinking, he appeals to the equally doomed passengers to urgently save the quartet  but not each other.

At Carnegie Hall, though, all was happy, shiny, and hip-shaking. Is it overreaching to tie a specific interpretation to a whole educational program or political circumstance? Maybe, but when the players leapt to their feet and twirled in place in the middle of Bernsteins Mambo, from West Side Story, as they always do, it felt like a display of obligatory merriment. Dudamel remarked that each of El Sistemas youth ensembles plays Malambo from Ginasteras Estancia suite virtually every day, and its true that the pieces headlong gallop and folksy sparkle run through the orchestras DNA. Clicking maracas, quick marimba runs, piccolo whistles, horn blasts, and left-hook fortissimos  these are the elements of the Venezuelans strident charm.

Other orchestras, too, have their styles and aesthetic limitations: The Vienna Philharmonic might make a hash of Mambo, even if it can play the hell out of a Strauss waltz. But Dudamels history and his orchestras are so intertwined that its hard to separate his taste for vigorous precision from the musicians communal training  or from the system that produced them both. Dudamel doesnt try.
Thanks to his highly anticipated emergence as the murderous Negan on The Walking Dead, Jeffrey Dean Morgan may have already secured the title of Biggest Villain of 2016. And the shows seventh season doesnt even come out for two more weeks. But before you find out who died at the business end of Morgans bat in the TWD sixth season finale, you can find him in an even more terrifying turn as a sadistic game hunter in Desierto. The movie follows a group of people trying to surreptitiously cross the border from Mexico into the United States, and among them is our hero, played by Gael Garcia Bernal. While on a journey that already puts them at risk of dehydration, incarceration, or death at the hands of desert wildlife, the group ends up in the gun sights of a racist self-styled border patroller named Sam (Morgan). In the exclusive clip above, we see the border crossers first encounter with Sam, who starts picking them off one by one from a distant high perch. As they begin to scatter, Morgan affects a scary growl as he wryly remarks, Now youre catching on.
Its a smart move for Greys Anatomy to put the focus of I Aint No Miracle Worker on a patients story. If nothing else, it distracts us from how infuriatingly childish Meredith is being with this whole Maggie-and-Riggs thing. Which, in case you were wondering, is very childish. I refuse to dedicate a ton of space to talking about how ridiculous it all is, so lets get it over with quickly.

Maggie is in the midst of some top-notch ennui over Riggss rejection, but Meredith continues to blow her off. She wants Mags to get over it and move on. Annoyingly for all of us, Maggie cant. Amelia tries to fill in as No. 1 confidante, but shes mainly just pissed at Meredith for being so insensitive. Theyre all sisters, and sisters listen to each other whine whether they want to or not. Meanwhile, Meredith and Riggs keep bumping into each other to get their flirt on. Riggs thinks they should just tell Maggie the truth and be done with it. I know! An actual adult response to an awkward situation. Who knew? But before you start thinking these doctors are thinking rationally, Meredith has her own suggestion. She wants Riggs to take Maggie out on a date and be his old jerk-self so Maggie gets over his charms. Theres no way around it: Meredith is a dick.

Thankfully, Riggs does not take Merediths idea seriously, but this whole thing is about blow up in a big way. It cannot happen soon enough. Save us all!

The bright light amid all of this romantic angst is Arizona Robbins. AZ is back from NYC, where apparently all is well and good with Callie, Dr. Snooze, and Sofia. Also, everyones brains have been wiped so nobody remembers how badly that story line was botched last season. EXCEPT FOR ALL OF US. Well never be able to forget, no matter how great the view of Central Park is from Callies apartment.

Regardless, having Arizona back in the hospital is a breath of fresh air. She has a different perspective on the Alex-DeLuca situation since she is DeLucas landlord and basically shaped Alex into the good man and defender of tiny humans we know him to be today. She loves Alex, and when she lectures him about throwing his career away, its definitely fueled by sadness and disappointment, not just anger.

On the flip side, Arizona cares about DeLuca, too. DeLuca assumes Arizona will be definitively #TeamAlex and tell him to move out for what hes putting her friend through. This poor guy is obviously scared and alone, so Arizona pulls him in for a roomie hug. Its a great scene and I didnt realize how much I missed Jessica Capshaw until that hug happened. The kindest landlord in all the world!

Arizona also offers an optimistic take on the big case of the week. Lets talk about the Fisher family for a moment, shall we?

Much to Ben Warrens demented glee, the ER fills up after a funeral procession gets hit head-on and a seven-car pile-up ensues. Everyone comes out of it relatively unscathed, including the dearly departeds wife and adult children. The person the docs are most concerned about, of course, is pregnant Kara. She confesses to Arizona and Owen that she was the driver who caused the accident  and shes also the estranged daughter of the deceased. She hasnt seen her family in ten years and was trying to get to her fathers funeral when she, well, ran right into it.

Kara is distraught. Her family wont want to see her after this. Arizona tells her patient to buck up. She believes that a mother will always forgive her child, so Kara needs to talk to her mom. Jo Wilson scoffs at this while permanently sulking in her corner, but no one cares. Go home, Jo Wilson.

Kara is warming up to Arizonas idea, but when Arizona heads downstairs to the pit to find Georgia Fisher, she runs into a problem.

Georgia is shocked and thrilled to hear that Kara is back. (Her siblings, not so much.) Before she sees her daughter, though, she wants to see her husbands body. She tells him that their baby has come home. Its a miracle! Georgia also admits that she wanted to die with her husband, hand in hand. Georgia is a big fan of The Notebook.

Just as shes spilling that Nicholas Sparks death wish, Georgia goes into cardiac arrest. Amelia, Maggie, and Stephanie work on her, but Georgia ultimately gets her wish  she goes out with her husband. Typical Greys heart-wrenching stuff, amirite? Georgias children dont take the news well, and blame Kara for killing their mother. Kara panics, the babys heart rate drops, and AZ has to rush her into the OR for an emergency C-section.

Yes, another emergency C-section.

While Arizona is busy being a surgical dynamo, Amelia, Maggie, and Stephanie let the Fisher family grieve over their mother. Suddenly, Georgias daughter screams out. Her mother squeezed her hand! She must be alive! The three good doctors try to explain why thats impossible  and then Georgia sits up, eyes wide open, gasping for breath. This dead woman is totally alive, you guys.

Apparently its called Lazarus syndrome and, as Stephanie points out, there have been 38 reported cases since 1982. They slip in that fact a little too nonchalantly for my taste. Im sorry, 38 people have COME BACK TO LIFE and were all just cool knowing that?

So, Georgia is completely fine and Kara may be a complete disaster, but she did not kill her mother. Yet, it still takes an Amelia Shepherd scolding to get the Fisher kids to realize the truth of the matter: They just got their sister and their mother back! Both of those things are miracles, so they need to recognize. And they do. They recognize big time. Together, they visit their sister and their new nephew and now were all a bunch of crying sad sacks, arent we? Thanks, show.

Arizona may not be ready to forgive her own complete disaster, but she does find Alex to make sure he knows how much she missed him in the OR. She needed him, and more important, the patients deserve a doctor like him. Hes mad at himself, too. And as much as he wants to give up and walk away, hes staying put. Hes going to do whatever it takes to get his job back  and that is the person Arizona raised. Yeah, its really good to have Arizona back.

Laughter Is the Best Medicine, Except for Real Medicine:

Ben and Bailey play a delightful round of good cop, bad cop to properly punish Tucker, now a fully formed human, after he bullies a kid at school. After Bailey deputizes Ben, he takes it upon himself to have Avery show Tucker photos of DeLucas face post-Alex, and tell him that the person who did it is now in prison. Chandra Wilson and Jason George look like they have so much fun together. Please never hurt Bailey and Ben, Greys Anatomy.

Jackson Avery is still winning Dad of the Year. April is bored out of her mind at home, so she brings Harriet to the hospital in hopes of getting a nice whiff of the chaos. Jackson saves his daughter from all the blood and guts of the ER. He does hold Harriet a lot, but there are zero eskimo kisses. I guess theyre right  we really cant have it all.

Webber is so excited to see Arizona hop off that elevator! Get those two to a lesbian trivia night, STAT.

Meredith has lived through some truly scary moments, so where does Amelias Dont make me move back home! threat fall on the scale? Definitely less scary than watching her husband get shot, but more scary than holding a bomb in a mans chest. Girls a terrible roommate!

Theres not a lot of urgency in that job, I think. Stephanie Edwards on the lack of hustle coming from the morgue.

I love my job. Jerrika Hinton needs more to do. Shes so good! Someone should see if Wilmer Valderrama is clanking around in that morgue or something.

Sob Scale: 5/10

Sure, sure. Meredith talking about her miracle dream where Derek knocks on the door and apologizes for being gone is a punch to the gut, but Im mad at her. Aside from the Fisher family reunion, you know what really got the waterworks flowing? When Arizona hugs DeLuca. That boy really needed a hug.
Photo: Getty Images

Nora leaves Torvald, her family, and the stage, at the end of Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House; but Lucas Hnath, in his latest play, and Broadway debut, has decided to bring her back. Its a gutsy move, made gutsier by the fact that A Dolls House, Part 2, as Hnath calls the new work, was picked up for Broadway by producer Scott Rudin, not after a stint Off Broadway or at a regional theater but on the merits of its script alone.

Sight unseen and at high speed, A Dolls House, Part 2 has still managed to recruit a set of serious names. Laurie Metcalf (Misery, Getting On, Horace and Pete), Chris Cooper (an Oscar winner for Adaptation), Jayne Houdyshell (The Humans), and Condola Rashad (Complete Unknown, Billions) make up the cast, and Sam Gold, a recent Tony winner for Fun Home, will direct. Its really fun every once in a while to say, hey, this shows great, Gold said of signing onto the sudden project. (He is also directing Sally Field and Joe Mantello in The Glass Menagerie this season.) Lets not talk it to death. Lets get a great cast together.

A Dolls House, Part 2 was already on the schedule at South Coast Repertory, which commissioned it, when Rudin decided to mount the play in New York. That means two productions will open at two theaters on two coasts in quick succession. South Coast Repertory, in Costa Mesa, California, will begin previews on April 9, with opening night on April 14. The 16-week Broadway engagement will go up at the John Golden Theatre, with previews starting April 1 and an opening night of April 27. The opening date lets the show slip in just under the wire of the 20162017 Tony eligibility period; with a thin roster of new plays so far announced this season, Hnaths is at least a plausible contender.

Hnath didnt expect A Dolls House, Part 2 to head straight to Broadway, but its become something of a Rudin trademark to elevate exciting Off Broadway talent quickly and decisively, as he did with Stephen Karam and The Humans last season. As the playwright puts it, he couldnt exactly say no to the offer. Ive been going to see a lot of shows on Broadway to study what it feels like to be in one of those Broadway houses, Hnath said. Its a very heightened experience. I think it elevates every line in a way.

Thats fitting, to an extent, as Hnaths resume is full of shows that tackle heady themes: The Christians dug into matters of heaven and hell; Red Speedo investigated doping and the competition economy. Now, hes taking another big swing. I always wanted the chance to walk in his shoes a bit, Hnath said of the chance to add to Ibsens work, admitting theres something audacious about going in and saying, Im going to write a sequel to a classic drama.

Gold describes the play as something that stands on its own and lives in its own world, though Hnath is canny about exactly what transpires after Nora knocks on the door she slammed shut so many years before. But hes got a few ideas on his mind, in addition to Ibsen and the prospect of his Broadway debut. I got excited about writing a play about marriage and divorce, he said. How far weve come and how far we havent.
Photo: Netflix

The United States Department of Energy probably thought it successfully shoved its skeletons back in the closet after everyone finished binge-watching Stranger Things this summer. After a brief and light-hearted stretch where people wondered, But what is the DOE really doing? the government body decided to set the record straight, writing a blog post called What Stranger Things Didnt Get Quite-So-Right About the Energy Department, in which they claim that while the DOE doesnt chart parallel universes, it does help power the exploration of new worlds. But things got more intriguing earlier this week, when the DOE sent the U.S. Energy secretary Ernest Moniz to Chelsea Handlers eponymous Netflix talk show to address whether or not the department really is incubating monsters in a parallel dimension. Moniz was game to keep up the DOEs sinister new reputation, saying, I will note that we do work in parallel universes.

So who can we trust? A writer for the Washington Free Beacon wanted to get information straight from the source, so he actually filed a Freedom of Information Act request to the DOEs public affairs office to get their assessment of Stranger Things from the inside. And he received a pretty sizable stack of papers in return.

I FOIA'd DOE's public affairs office for internal talk of Netflix's Stranger Things. This is...more than I expected pic.twitter.com/asSgPllk8J  Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) October 6, 2016

Within that ream were a few fun tidbits, like the departments director of strategic communications and messaging saying in an email, Its not true that the Energy Department doesnt explore parallel universes. We support theoretical physicists/cosmologists through the Office of Science High Energy Physics program, some of whom almost certainly are doing a fair amount of research on parallel universes, which supports what secretary Moniz said on Chelsea. Theres another exchange that has one staffer saying, We actually do make weapons before touching on the atomic energy commissions history of experimentation.

Update on this: these are some seriously shady redactions pic.twitter.com/3DTrHaro2c  Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) October 6, 2016

But just because DOE workers are theoretically privy to a dark shadow network of supernatural research and human weapons testing doesnt mean they dont hate spoilers just like the rest of us:

These poor @energy staffers never stood a chance pic.twitter.com/kqs15AEetE  Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) October 6, 2016

And we can rest easy knowing that were all on the same team when it comes to Barb.
As your niece herself can testify, American Horror Storys Sarah Paulson reacted with grace and aplomb last night when she was suddenly told she had to rap Salt-N-Pepas Shoop on the Tonight Show. While most people might have blanched upon learning from Jimmy Fallon that they have four seconds to prepare to rap on national television, Paulson recovered instantaneously and launched into a skilled rendition. This really is why she has an Emmy.
D.W. Griffiths 1915 epic The Birth of a Nation, which painted Southern white terrorism of blacks and Yankees in the Reconstruction South as a good thing, was described as writing history with lightning, a quote attributed to President Woodrow Wilson, but later determined as marketing fiction from the novelist Thomas Dixon.

Griffths story was dubious history at best, drawn from Dixons racist 1905 novel. but powerful enough to spawn a rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century.

Nate Parkers account of Virginia slave Nat Turner, who led a bloody slave revolt in 1831, has stronger grounding in history, but its writing sputters, with occasional flashes of shock and power undercut by prosaic storytelling, thin characters and stylistic choppiness.

The films end titles speak of Turners legacy, but one leaves Parkers The Birth of a Nation wishing it had lived up to Steve McQueens superior 12 Years A Slave or even Spike Lees powerful and still relevant Do The Right Thing in addressing race in America and its history.

Mystic visions bookend Parkers film, winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at this years Sundance Film Festival, starting with Turner as a boy viewed in a secret naming ceremony as having a prophetic destiny and then, as an adult, facing his death by hanging.

What could have been an intriguing thread through the film  the spiritual dimension of the slave preachers turn to armed revolt  instead gets touched only periodically as Turner (Parker) grows up in a land soaked in violence, where he and his fellow slaves are brutalized, demeaned, raped and killed by their sadistic white masters. As the horrors he witnesses mount, Turners embrace of armed uprising seems less connected to his religious side than simply a human response to an intolerable world.

Turners path to destiny starts with his learning to read as a boy, something started on his own then encouraged by the wife (Penelope Ann Miller) of his plantation owner . The Bible, viewed as safe and appropriate for a slave, is his first text and leads him into reading Scripture aloud. Years later, that ability to read Scripture turns into a financial opportunity for master Sam Turner (Armie Hammer) who inherits the plantation and struggles with its profitability.

What fellow plantation owners are willing to pay Sam for is another tool in their arsenal of oppression: a fellow slave who preaches those specific Scriptures that instruct slaves to obey their masters.

Turner does so, even as his travels with his master to neighboring properties expands his awareness of slaverys brutalities: vigilantes patrolling the woods at night for escaping slaves (an unsettling echo of the police-black citizen encounters addressed by Black Lives Matter); field laborers starved, whipped and mutilated; female slaves raped by white strangers and familiar masters alike.

Turner, cotton picker and preacher-for-hire, tries to carve out a personal life, persuading Sam to buy a much-beaten slave Cherry (Aja Naomi King) as a gift to his sister, then eventually wooing Cherry as his wife. Their meager happiness gets crushed, however, when shes viciously raped and beaten by white slave patrollers.

The Birth of a Nation carries its power in disturbing images such as a young white girl leading an equally young slave around with a leash as a pet or a disobedient slave having his teeth chiseled out for a force feeding. Parker as director, however, cant let such scenes speak for themselves, but frequently underlines the obvious. Swelling choral strains or low thunderlike rumbles accompany key dramatic moments while a chilling scene of a mass hanging in the revolts aftermath gets underlaid by Nina Simones rendition of Strange Fruit, a song written to address 20th century lynchings.

His characters, both white and black, are largely two-dimensional. One could make the argument that in the limited world of a plantation and its neighboring properties, all whites coming in contact with slaves might be racist, uncaring and violent, but, outside of Turners wife and mother Nancy (Aunjanue Ellis), theres little to distinguish the slave characters from their jobs and roles.

Missing, too, is a sense of depth and charisma with Parkers Turner, qualities one expects from a reading preacher able to lead followers in emotional worship. Birth has flashes of that, but they never seem to cohere.

Also missing is a sense of scale: Some 60 plantation owners, family members and workers were killed in the uprising and perhaps three times that many slaves and freemen died in its bloody suppression. Turners revolt, one started and carried out by slaves, sent shock waves throughout the slave-holding South, causing a repressive system to become even more so.

His storys an important, if violent one, and Parker deserves credit for his efforts to bring it to film, even as a rape in the writer-directors past has become a point of contention in discussions of the movie.

By starting a conversation on Turner and his action, the moving, but flawed The Birth of a Nation might share a part of the legacy it hopes to honor.

-----

THE BIRTH OF A NATION

2 1/2 stars

Starring Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Gabrielle Union, Mark Boone Jr.

Rated R. Brief nudity, disturbing violent content. 2 hours. SG16, RJ16.
Applause

The Central Texas Food Bank has received a $15,907 grant from Caterpillars philanthropic organization, the Caterpillar Foundation, to provide food to individuals facing hunger in McLennan County.

The Central Texas Food Bank is one of 34 food banks nationwide to receive this grant.

According to the food bank, more than more than 48,000 McLennan County residents  nearly 17,000 of them children ages 18 and younger  struggled with food insecurity each year.

The Caterpillar Foundation grant will be used to help provide food to McLennan County residents through the food banks mobile food pantries, which provide Central Texans in need with basic staples, fruits and vegetables, and frozen foods.

The Central Texas Food Bank has served McLennan County since the early 1990s and provides food to more than 22,000 individuals each month through its 30 partner agencies and programs there.

In 2015, the food bank distributed more than 4.3 million pounds of food to McLennan County.

Class acts

WGU Texas, an online university that is a state-endorsed affiliate of Western Governors University, held its fifth annual commencement ceremony in Austin on Sept. 17 and celebrated the graduation of 1,263 students, representing more than 300 cities across the state.

Local graduates include: Stacy Howard, of Axtell, Bachelor of Science in business management; Holly Barnes, of Hewitt, Master of Science in nursing-leadership and management; Andrew Head, of Hewitt, Bachelor of Science in information technology-security emphasis; Sue Parrigin, of Hewitt, Master of Science in nursing-education; Sarah Wu, of Waco, MBA in management and strategy; Christina Nemec, of Waco, Master of Arts in mathematics education (5-9); Tammy Towner, of Waco, Master of Science in nursing-education; and Christopher Bailey, of Woodway, Bachelor of Science in information technology.

Matthew Curry, of Waco, a mechanical engineering senior at Texas A&M University, was named to the deans honor roll for the summer semester.

Send submissions to neighborplus@wacotrib.com.
Marlin ISD has appealed the 2016 state academic accountability ratings it failed, saying this years state tests didnt meet legal requirements; the district made significant progress despite its failure; and a former Texas Education Agency monitor misled district officials about state accountability requirements and impeded progress.

Marlin Independent School District officially filed the appeal two days before the Sept. 30 deadline. It also requested a review of the states decision to place a conservator to oversee operations ahead of a state board of managers replacing the board of trustees.

The Texas Education Agency announced its decision on the conservator and board of managers after the district failed this years academic accountability ratings, its fifth consecutive failure.

The first claim in the appeal, signed by Superintendent Michael Seabolt, is that this years State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness did not meet requirements laid out in state law. The appeal does not explain how the tests failed to comply with state law, but several issues with the tests and their scoring have been covered in news reports and acknowledged by the TEA.

Marlin ISD trustees also voted Sept. 20 to become the first school district to join a Travis County lawsuit against the state education commissioner, which argues the 2015-16 assessments were illegal. In March, more than 14,000 tests were affected by a computer glitch, including fifth- and eighth-grade reading, fourth- and seventh-grade writing and English I and English II End of Course exams.

The results of those tests were to be excluded from all STAAR index calculations, and officials would ensure no district would be penalized or fail a state standard because of affected test results, according to the TEA.

Texas law states school districts with failing financial or academic accountability scores for four straight years can be closed. Marlin entered an abatement agreement with the TEA last year that held off the districts closure. That agreement allowed the commissioner to order the state to take over the districts operations by bringing in a board of managers.

The districts appeal also outlines progress the district has made since Seabolt started a year ago.

I simply want the progress to be recognized, Seabolt wrote in an email Thursday. Progress is one thing. Making state standard is another. Because the district did not make state standard, the commissioner really had no choice but to take some action. Putting in a board of managers is probably the least the commissioner could do.

A campus principal was removed midterm last year, and more than 25 educators filed a combined three grievances against Seabolt as the new superintendent, the appeal states.

Despite those setbacks, Seabolt said the district made progress.

Seabolt told the Tribune-Herald in August almost every grade level saw progress in reading, which was the biggest weakness the district had in standardized testing. Eighth-graders passed the state standard score for the first time in years, and the district met student progress and postsecondary readiness standards, he said at the time.

Failing teachers and administrators were also moved out of the district, and a new salary scale approved by the districts trustees created a starting minimum salary of $50,000, the appeal states. That allowed the district to fill key positions, including science and math teachers, according to the document.

Misinformation

The appeal also urges the education commissioner to consider actions the school district took based on what Seabolt calls misinformation from a former TEA monitor, who was replaced in June by another monitor that was recently appointed to serve as the TEA conservator for the district.

The appeal states the monitor urged the district, contrary to state law, to change the names and Public Education Information Management System numbers of Marlins elementary and middle school campuses, the two that have failed state standards.

Recordings of a board meeting shortly before the district faced revocation of its accreditation include the former monitor urging the board to make the changes, Seabolt wrote in the appeal. The monitor told the board changing the names and ID numbers for the schools would reset the clock on their accountability ratings and keep the district open, according to the appeal.

The board had no desire to change the names, which is apparent from the tapes, but the board did want the reset, which of course, never materialized, Seabolt wrote in his email. If anyone was trying to game the system it was (the monitor) and other people within TEA, some of which she names. (The monitor), on tape, does not describe it as gaming. (She) told the board it was because the (former) commissioner was doing everything he could to keep the district open. Its also clear from the recordings that I was not behind the idea at all. The reset cost $350,000 annually in much needed intervention money, and we never got the reset to boot. What a deal.

Before Mike Morath was named as the new education commissioner in December 2015, Seabolt pursued the fact the district never got a reset on accountability ratings, as agreed upon, as far up the TEA chain as he could, he stated in his email Thursday.

Was it above board? I dont know, Seabolt wrote about the trustees decision to rename the schools. But I have to wonder the same thing when no one in TEA can produce an authorizing document and I get referred to TEA legal when I push further for an answer.

Because the appeal is under review and the documents are considered audit working papers, the TEA cant comment on the contents of the appeal while its in the appeal process, TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said in an email Thursday.

Morath will make a decision on the appeal in December, Culbertson said.

Whatever the outcome, Seabolt said hes sorry adults played silly games and children lost years of quality education.

Left Marlin and moved on

Had true and accurate reports been filed and meaningful actions put into place back in 2011, we would likely not be having this conversation now, he wrote. And where are the adults who perpetrated this fraud upon Marlin? Every one of them have left Marlin and moved on, never to look back. Does anyone ask about North Forest (ISD) any longer? No. The news cycle moved on, and no one looked back, Seabolt wrote, referring to another school district that faced similar complications and was annexed into to Houston ISD.

Since the annexation in 2014, guess what? North Forest High School is still Improvement Required. Surprise, surprise. A district was destroyed, a community was destroyed, but was anything done for the children? I say no. The school accountability and closure game was played, and then everyone walked away never to look back, like an arsonist walking away from the evidence.
Every year, several entities compare taxes in each state and rank them from best to worst. Depending on the methods used and what is included, Texas sometimes looks pretty good on the surface, with a lower overall burden than many places. However, theres more to the story.

WalletHub ranks states by the total state and local burden for households. For 2016, Texas falls at 29, with one being best. WalletHub looked at real estate (property) taxes, vehicle property taxes, income taxes as well as sales and excise taxes. The overall burden in Texas by this method was $6,022 per year for a household typical by U.S. standards in terms of housing and income. Thats slightly higher than the national average and significantly higher than the lowest states.

Many states have income taxes, which Texas, of course, doesnt have. However, Texas makes up the difference in the area of property taxes, where WalletHub ranked Texas among the highest (47, in fact), with an average cost for a $175,700 home of $3,392. Texas also has higher sales taxes than most, ranking 38 with an average burden of $2,629.

Yet another ranking is from the Tax Foundation which focuses more on how taxes affect states business climates. Here, Texas compares relatively well overall. In this ranking, one is good (lowest tax burden) and 50 is bad (highest tax burden); Texas is 14. Even so, the underlying components of this ranking tell a more uneven story.

The Tax Foundation looks at several categories of taxes: corporate taxes (where Texas ranks 49, individual income taxes (6), sales taxes (37), unemployment insurance taxes (12) and property taxes (37). Texas favorable position in certain categories obscures the fact that the Lone Star State is among the worst in others. From a business perspective, the fact that Texas is second-highest in the nation for corporate income tax is strike one, with the high property taxes strike two. Part of the problem with the Texas corporate tax  known as the franchise or margins tax  is the fact that its formula makes it highly possible for firms with little or no profits (or even losses) to have a high tax liability.

Currently, Texas has other advantages that make up for these problems, and it continues to enjoy a substantial volume of quality corporate locations and expansions. Nonetheless, capital-intensive industries shoulder a disproportionate share of the tax burden and there will almost certainly be consequences over time.

Lower taxes reduce the cost of living as well as the cost of doing business. At the same time, long-term prosperity and quality of life depend on having enough tax revenue to pay for essential services. The entire reason for taxing is to provide for quality schools, infrastructure, public health and safety and other essential government services. It is certainly possible for taxes to be too low, putting future growth prospects at risk as education and infrastructure deteriorate.

The real goal should not be to drive taxes down as low as possible, but rather to work to optimize efficiency and fairness, minimizing the consequences for business activity and decision-making. If taxes result in a significant disincentive for businesses to invest, expand and create jobs, all Texans lose. At the same time, if tax revenues dont pay for needed investments, standards of living will be eroded in the future.

All in all, there are significant structural problems with the Texas tax system which should be addressed despite not doing too terribly bad in some rankings. Property taxes are a problematic source of revenue, varying with underlying values and sometimes poorly reflecting financial liquidity and an ability to pay. They also fall on capital-intensive industries in a way that could stifle growth over time, while services businesses often pay disproportionately low amounts. The system has not kept pace with changes in the state economy, and there is clearly room for improvement.

Nationally known economist Ray Perryman is president and chief executive officer of the Waco-based Perryman Group. He was selected as the 2012 Texan of the Year by the Texas Legislative Conference; received the 2013 Baylor University Distinguished Service Medal; and was inducted into the Texas Leadership Hall of Fame in 2014 by the JBS Leadership Institute.
The Brisbane Lions have been handed a big boost before the 2017 season, after being granted a priority pick by the AFL in the upcoming national draft.

The AFL's chief legal counsel Andrew Dillon has written to the Lions, stating they will be entitled to pick 19 in the draft under the special assistance rule. Brisbane are allowed to trade the pick.

While the Lions asked for pick 3, to go after their current pick 2, the club never thought it was a realistic chance of being granted that wish and is therefore ecstatic with being given pick 19.

It means Brisbane will now have picks 2, 19, 21 and 29 in the upcoming draft  as the current order stands  leaving it in a strong position heading into the trade period.

The Lions won just three games this year, conceding an average of 131 points, their worst loss a 138-point drubbing at the hands of Adelaide in round 20.
Or, as she put it on Twitter in July in one of her final posts: "I am sick of this shit. Sick of saying over and over how scary this is, sick of being told to suck it up." Outside today, it's sweltering, the kind of oppressive New York summer heat relished by ice cream vendors and loathed by the city's 8 million other residents. Valenti, a true New Yorker, disabuses me of the notion we might sit in the restaurant's pretty vine-covered courtyard straight away, opting for a table for two inside in airconditioned comfort. In person she is warm, fast-talking and occasionally sardonic, with a wide smile and a terrific coral manicure. The restaurant is a favourite, somewhere she comes "probably too much". As we mull over the menu, I ask her why she decided to return to social media at this particular time. "Well if I'm being honest, [it was because of] the debate coming up," says Valenti, referring to the first clash between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. "The idea of having to sit through that horror show without Twitter felt like a lot."

There was also the fact that social media is an integral to the work of many writers today  it's where she shares her work with readers, as well as where much of the cultural and political conversation is happening. "As I get older  not that 37 is that old  I have this fear of becoming an 'older feminist' who's not paying attention at all to what younger feminists are saying," she says. "And if you want to hear what younger feminists are saying you really do have to be on Twitter and Tumblr and Instagram and all of these places." This particular threat came through Instagram, though much abuse of her is through Twitter, and the former platform did get in touch with her straight away. But she believes these companies could be doing much more to protect everyday users: "We have a long way to go until there is a financial disincentive for them. You know that they can figure out a way to stop this, they just haven't." There is perhaps some unfortunate symmetry in the fact that this latest incident of online abuse came just as Valenti released her latest book, a memoir that focuses particularly on the emotional and personal toll that sexism and harassment has taken on women. In Sex Object: A Memoir, she details the frequent harassment she experienced as a teenager, particularly on public transport, from the lewd and harassing comments, to the flashing and even worse  including one man who ejaculated on her in crowded subway carriage, or another who tried to pull her into his car. "I think we've been talking about street harassment for a while," she says, "but I don't think people understand how unrelenting it can be.

"I also just wanted to get to the question of what does that do to you, how does that shape who you become, when something like this is going on when you're so young and still figuring out who you are." Born and raised in Queens, Valenti was in her mid-20s and working for a women's advocacy organisation after she finished her Masters in Women's Studies when she pinpointed a gap in platforms for younger feminists. In the middle of the Bush years and the blog boom of the early 2000s, she co-founded Feministing.com, a collective blog that tackled issues such as attacks on abortion rights, equal pay, sexuality and pop culture, with incisive, often funny commentary. They also launched an alternative to the much publicised lad's magazine Maxim's annual ranking of women "The Hot 100" called "The Real Hot 100"  celebrating women making a difference for other women. As we tuck into our plates of pillowy gnocchi and fennel salad, I ask her when she and her friends knew they were really on to something with the blog  something that might even become a career. "It would be easy to say 'Oh, it was such a surprise.' No," she says leaning in, "I wanted it to be something." And it was. It became a defining voice at a time when feminism moved from the margins to the cultural mainstream. She left in 2011, but the blog lives on. She says she's proud now, looking back at all that has changed for feminism in the interceding decade, but there's some downside too.

"It's like  'What have I helped create?'  when you see the commercialism that's attached to it, this sort of 'You go girl!' advertising for cellulite cream that exists because they recognise the power of feminist language." Something else that shows how far feminism has come, she observes, is the unashamed feminist language and tone of Clinton's current campaign, in contrast to 2008, when she rarely mentioned her gender or the historic nature of her candidacy. That the Republican nominee is a "literal sociopath whose disdain for women is a selling point" makes this election fascinating to Valenti, even as it also terrifies her. This election, she believes, is a "referendum on sexism", not so much because Clinton is a woman, but because Trump is such a misogynist. "I really feel like, in the same way as some male voters see his wealth as aspirational, they also see his bigotry as aspirational, because he is saying all the things they feel like they're not allowed to say any more," she says.
It's time we got serious about how much time our children are spending in front of electronic screens.

The findings of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children reveals a much more serious problem than has been reported in the media.

The amount of screen time Aussie kids have is dangerous, a WA doctor says. Credit:Getty Images

The study showed that, on average, screen use in young Australian teenagers has grown to three hours a week and increases to four per day on weekends, which represents 20 per cent and 30 per cent respectively of their waking hours.

These figures are alarming. However, even worse is, the data refers to screen use by Australian children in 2012.
Former Olympic swimmer and emerging restauranteur Eamon Sullivan has taken to Instagram seeking the return of a large mirror and old recipe page in a frame stolen from the bathroom wall of the Mary Street Larder.

A perplexed Mr Sullivan posted a photo on Wednesday night showing the blank space where the items used to be placed at the popular breakfast and lunch venue in East Fremantle.

Eamon Sullivan was less than impressed after the bathroom decorations disappeared. Credit:Instagram @eamon_sullivan

He told Radio 6PR the mirror was about 80 centimetres in diametre and he could not work out how the person had done it.

"At the same time, as frustrating as it is, you kind of have to laugh, because it's a pretty daring heist I would say," Mr Sullivan said.
West Palm Beach, Florida: As Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the Florida coast, forecasters now say there's a possibility that the deadly storm will go into the Atlantic and slam back into Florida.

If it Matthew makes that turn into the Atlantic, it could get in Tropical Storm Nicole's path, resulting in both storms interacting with one another. This phenomenon is called the Fujiwara effect.

Named after a Japanese meteorologist, this phenomenon can happen when tropical cyclones are less then 1440 kilometres apart.
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KG, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SASU, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services B.V., Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture International B.V., Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea B.V., Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Lithuania UAB, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Marketing Services LLC, Accenture Marketing Services Limited, Accenture Middle East B.V., Accenture Minority I B.V., Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi Pty Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations GmbH, Accenture Operations S.p. z o.o., Accenture Operations Services Private Limited, Accenture Operations Services Sdn Bhd, Accenture Outsourcing S.r.l., Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations B.V., Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru SRL, Accenture Post Trade Processing SASU, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture Qiyun Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture S.p. z o.o., Accenture S.p.A., Accenture SASU, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sdn Bhd, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services and Technology S.r.l., Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Single Member S.A. Organization Information Technology & Business Development, Accenture Solutions Co. Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions S.p. z o.o, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc, Accenture Sub III Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions S.r.l., Accenture Technology Solutions SASU, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures B.V., Accenture Technology Ventures SPRL, Accenture Tecnologia Consultoria y Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co. Limited, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Ltda, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Advoco, Agilex Technologies Inc., Alfa Consulting, Allen International, AlphaBeta Advisors, Altevie Technologies S.r.l., Altima, Altima (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Altima Asia Ltd, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Altius Consulting Limited, Altius Data Solutions Private Limited, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Apis Group Pty Ltd, Appaloosa Technology SASU, AppsPro, AppsPro, Arca, Arca Ingenieros y Consultoria S.L., Arca Telecom S.L., Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Artio People (Payroll) Pty Ltd, Artio People Pty Ltd, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Automation Partners Pty Ltd, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc, Avanade Consulting Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Limited, Avanade Europe Services Limited, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SASU, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade Inc, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy S.r.l., Avanade Japan KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Middle East Limited, Avanade Netherlands B.V., Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain S.L., Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Limited, Avanade do Brasil Ltda , Avanade Osterreich GmbH, Avenai, Avieco, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCS Consulting, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BENEXT, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, BRIDGEi2i, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Zhidao Future Consulting Co. Ltd, Benext, Berico Technologies LLC, Bionic, Bionic Solution LLC, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Bow & Arrow, Bow & Arrow Limited, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, Byte Prophecy Private Limited, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CS Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, CS Technology (UK) Limited, CS Technology Group LLC, CS Technology LLC, CadenceQuest Inc., Callisto Integration Europe B.V., Callisto Integration Europe Limited, Callisto Integration LLC, Callisto Integration Ltd, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc, Certus Solutions Consulting Services Limited, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cirrus Connect Australia Pty Ltd, Cirrus Connect Limited, Cirruseo, Clarity Insights, ClearEdge Partners, Clearhead, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas Japan G.K., Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Limited, Cloudeasier SAS, Cloudpoint Limited, Cloudsherpas Inc, Cloudworks, Cloudworks Consulting Services Inc, Cloudworks Technology LLC, Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda, Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda, Context Information Security, Context Information Security LLC, Context Information Security Limited, CoreCompete LLC, CoreCompete Limited, CoreCompete Private Limited, Corliant Inc., Creative Drive LLC, Creative Drive US LLC, CreativeDrive, CreativeDrive Digital Content Services (Shenzhen) Co Ltd., CreativeDrive EMEA Limited, CreativeDrive Singapore Pte Ltd, CreativeDrive UK Group Limited, Cutting Edge Solutions Limited, Cygni AB, Cygni Norrsken AB, Cygni Stockholm AB, Cygni Syd AB, Cygni Vast AB, Cygni Ost AB, Cygni Ostersund AB, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Limited, DI Futures Corporation, Data Essential SARL, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings LLC, Decora Marketplace LLC, Decorado Marketplace Ltda-EPP, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digital Results Group LLC, Double Digit Limitada, Double Digit Pty SA, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Limited, Duck Creek Technologies, ESR Labs, ESR Labs AG, EdenOne Solutions Limited, Edenhouse ERP Holdings Limited, Edenhouse Solutions Limited, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting LP, End to End Analytics LLC, End-to-End Analytics, Endorphin Medici (M) Sdn Bhd, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Limited, EnergyQuote JHA, Enimbos, Enimbos Global Services S.L., Enkitec, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V., Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enthusian Pty Ltd, Entropia, Entropia (M) Sdn Bhd, Entropia Holdings Pte Ltd, Entropia Intercraft Sdn Bhd, Epylon, Ergo, Espedia S.r.l., Ethica Consulting Group, Ethica Consulting S.p.A., Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Experity, Exton Consulting, Exton Consulting Spain Strategy&Management S.L., Exton Germany GmbH, Exton International SAS, Exton Italia S.r.l., Exton SAS, FGM LLC, Fairway Technologies Inc, Farah BidCo Limited, Farah MidCo Limited, Farah Topco Limited, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Formicary, Founders Intelligence, Fruendo S.r.l., FusionX, Future State Consulting LLC, FutureMove (Beijing) Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., FutureMove Automotive, FutureMove Automotive Co. Ltd., GRA Supply Chain Pty Ltd, Gagel Group S de R.L. de C.V., Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gevity, Gren utvikling AS, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hahntel Ltda, Halo Partners LLC, Hamilton Holding Company S.A, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Happen GP Limited, Happen Limited, Headspring, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl A/S, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IBB Consulting, ICM.S S.r.l., IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INSITUM, IQSP Consulting LLC, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Icon Integration (NZ) Limited, Icon Integration Pty Ltd, Imagine Broadband (USA) Limited, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Imaginea Technologies LLC, Industrie IT (Hong Kong) Ltd, Industrie IT (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Industrie IT Group Pty Ltd, Industrie IT Pty Ltd, Industrie&Co, Infinity Works Consulting Limited, Infinity Works Holdings Limited, Infinity Works Management Limited, Infinity Works Midco Limited, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Innotec International EAD, Innotec International S.p. z.o.o., Innotec Marketing GmbH, Innotec Marketing International Ireland Limited, Innotec- Marketing Spain S.L, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., International Biometric Group LLC, International Biometric Group UK Limited, Intrepid, Intrepid Futureworks Sdn Bhd, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, King James Group, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision LLC, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations  Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Olympus Systems Corporation, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, T.A. Cook, TXF LLC, Tambourine, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis AG, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines Inc, Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc, Zestgroup, Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut.

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The following companies are subsidiares of PPG Industries: AIPCF V Texstars Blocker Inc., AkzoNobel, Alpha Coating Technologies LLC, Alpha Coatings Inc., Broad Range Development Limited, CG Holdings Manufacturing Co., Centro de Investigacion en Polimeros S.A. de C.V., Chemfil Canada Limited, Chorlton Trade Paints Limited, Comercial Mexicana de Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Comex, Comex Industrial Coatings S.A. de C.V., Consorcio Comex S.A. de C.V., Cristacol S.A., Cuming Microwave Corporation, Deutek SA, Dexmet Corporation, Dexmet Holding Corporation, Distribuidora Kroma S.A. de C.V., EPIC Insurance Co. Ltd., Eberle Design Inc., Empresa Aga S.A. de C.V., Ennis Canadian Holding Company, Ennis Paint Canada ULC, Ennis Paint Netherlands Holdings LLC, Ennis Paint U.K. Holding Company Limited, Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions Pty Ltd, Ennis-Flint, Ennis-Flint Inc., Foshan Bairun Chemicals Co. Ltd., Fpu Industrial S.A. de C.V., Grupo Comex S.A. de C.V., Hemmelrath Automotive Coatings (Jilin) Co. Ltd., Hemmelrath International Trade (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hodij Coatings B.V., Homax Products, Industria Chimica Reggiana I.C.R. SPA, Johnstones Paints Limited, Kalon Investment Company Limited, Kalon South Africa Proprietary Limited, Karl Woerwag Lack-und Farbenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Masterwork Paint, MetoKote Corporation, MetoKote Mexico Holdings Inc., MetoKote UK Limited, MetoKote de Mexico S. de RL de CV, Milamar Coatings LLC, OOO Tikkurila, PPG A P Resinas S.A. de C.V., PPG AC - France SA, PPG ALESCO Automotive Finishes Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PPG Aerospace Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Architectural Coatings (Puerto Rico) Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc./PPG Revetements Architecturaux Canada Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Ireland Limited, PPG Architectural Coatings Italy S.r.l, PPG Architectural Coatings UK Limited, PPG Architectural Finishes Inc., PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., PPG Business Services S.A. de C.V., PPG COATINGS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., PPG Canada Inc., PPG Cetelon Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Cieszyn S.A., PPG Coatings (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, PPG Coatings (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., PPG Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Thailand) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Wuhu) Company Ltd., PPG Coatings (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings B.V., PPG Coatings Belgium BV, PPG Coatings Danmark A/S, PPG Coatings Deutschland GmbH, PPG Coatings Europe B.V., PPG Coatings Nederland BV, PPG Coatings S.A., PPG Coatings South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PPG DYRUP S.A., PPG Deco Czech a.s., PPG Deco Polska sp. z.o.o., PPG Deco Slovakia s.r.o., PPG Deutschland Business Support GmbH, PPG Deutschland Sales & Services GmbH, PPG Distribution S.A.S., PPG Europe B.V., PPG Finance B.V., PPG Finland Oy, PPG France Business Support S.A.S., PPG France Manufacturing S.A.S., PPG Guadeloupe SAS, PPG Hemmelrath Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Holdco SAS, PPG Holdings (U.K.) Limited, PPG Holdings Argentina USA LLC, PPG Holdings Latin America USA LLC, PPG Iberica S.A., PPG Iberica Sales & Services S.L., PPG Industrial Coatings B.V., PPG Industrial do Brasil - Tintas E. Vernizes - Ltda., PPG Industries (Korea) Ltd., PPG Industries (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PPG Industries (UK) Ltd, PPG Industries Argentina S.R.L., PPG Industries Australia PTY Limited A.C.N. 055 500 939, PPG Industries Colombia Ltda., PPG Industries Delfzijl B.V., PPG Industries Europe Sarl, PPG Industries France S.A.S., PPG Industries International Inc., PPG Industries Italia S.r.l., PPG Industries Kimya a Sanayi VE Ticaret AS, PPG Industries LLC, PPG Industries Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Industries Lipetsk LLC, PPG Industries Middle East FZE, PPG Industries Netherlands B.V., PPG Industries New Zealand Limited, PPG Industries Ohio Inc., PPG Industries Poland Sp. Z.o.o., PPG Industries Securities LLC, PPG Industries de Mexico S.A. de C.V., PPG Investment (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PPG Italia Business Support S.r.l., PPG Italia Sales & Services S.r.l., PPG Japan Ltd., PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes Canada LP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.K. LLP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.S. LLC, PPG Luxembourg Finance S.aR.L., PPG Luxembourg Holdings S.aR.L., PPG Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Packaging Coatings (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Performance Coatings (Hong Kong) Limited, PPG Powder Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Refinish Distribution Limited, PPG Romania S.A., PPG Reunion SAS, PPG SSC Co. Ltd., PPG Switzerland GmbH, PPG Trilak Korlatolt FelelosseguTarasasag (PPG Trilak Kft.), PPG Vietnam Co. Ltd., PRC-DeSoto Australia Pty Ltd., PRC-DeSoto International Inc., PT. PPG Coatings Indonesia, Painter's Supply, Paintzen, Peintures de Paris SAS, Plasticos Envolventes S.A. de C.V., Polymeric Systems Inc., ProCoatings B.V., ProCoatings BV, Protec Pty Ltd, Reno A&E LLC, Revocoat France SAS, Revocoat Holding SAS, Revocoat Iberica SLU, Revocoat S.A.S, Road Infrastructure Investment Holdings Inc., SEM Products Inc., Sealants Europe SAS, Sierracin Corporation, Sierracin/Sylmar Corporation, Sigma Marine & Protective Coatings Holding B.V., SigmaKalon (BC) UK Limited, SigmaKalon Group, Sikar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Spraylat International Ltd, Texstars LLC, The Crown Group Co., The Crown Group Inc, The Homax Group, Tikkurila Group, Tikkurila Oyj, Tikkurila Sverige AB, Traffic Safety Intermediate LLC, Traffic Safety Parent LLC, VF Specialty Products LLC, Vanex Inc., Vernisol S.p.A., VersaFlex Acquisition Corp., VersaFlex Inc., VersaFlex Intermediate Holdings LLC, Versaflex, Viasa S.A. de C.V., Whitford, Whitford B.V., Whitford Corporation, Whitford Jiangmen Ltd., Whitford Ltd. (HK), Whitford Ltd. (UK), Whitford Pte. Ltd., Whitford S.r.l., Whitford Worldwide Company LLC, and Worwag Coatings.

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Durga Puja

Time : October

Significance: Veneration to Goddess Durga

Date: 11.10.2021 - 15.10.2021

Durga puja is performed during the nine days of Navaratri. According to the Hindu calendar it falls on the first nine days of the month of Ashwin (october). It is celebrated all over India, but with great zeal in the eastern part of India especially West Bengal.

In West Bengal, it is celebrated in most households apart from the gaily-decorated puja mandaps that are erected in almost every locality. The puja pandals have beautifully decorated images of the goddess Durga and community pujas are organised. People gather here in large numbers to enjoy the festivities. Families visit each other to share feasts.

The festivities start with the first day called Mahalaya, when people remember their ancestors (tarpan) and 'chakku dan' the ritual of drawing the eyes of the image is performed. The first day as well as the following days of Sashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami or Bijoya Dashami have their own unique rituals. On Sashthi, all mothers keep a fast and pray for the well being of their children.

The religious ceremony starts on Saptami or the seventh day and are observed till Dashami, the tenth day. 'Bodhun' the ritual of infusing life to the Goddess (Pran Pratishta) is performed on Saptami, when a banana plant draped in a yellow saree with the leaves uncovered, symbolising the goddesses soul, is taken to a water source i.e a river or pond. Life is symbolically transferred from the water to the plant. The plant is brought back in a procession and placed in the Pandal near the Ganesh idol.

On the 10th day, Bijoya dashami, the idols are taken in elaborate processions for immersion in the river or the sea.

Legend behind the Origin of Goddess Durga:

Most of the themes of Hindu mythology is the struggle between good and evil and the ultimate triumph of the good. Goddess Durga symbolizing divine energy (Shakthi), was created to slain the demon in the buffalo form; Mahishasura who attacked the Gods and conquered heaven. The Gods led by Brahma went to Shiva and Vishnu and prayed for help. The energies of the trinity of the Hindu Gods condensed to create the Goddess. She went to battle on her ferocious mount lion, armed with the weapons given to her by the other Gods. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura and restored heaven to the Gods. Since then the goddess is invoked for protection from the powers of evil. Durga Puja is observed in her honour, to celebrate her victory over evil.

In north India, it is characterized by fasts and solemnity, in western India, it is marked by gaiety and the traditional and garba dances, and in the south, pujas are offered separately for three days to each of the three goddesses, Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi. In some parts of India, the first three of the nine days of Navratri are devoted for worshipping Durga (Goddess of valor), next three days for Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) and the last three days for Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge).
SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Khang & Khang LLP Announces an Investigation of Centene Corp. and Reminds Investors with Losses to Contact the Firm

Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces that it is investigating claims against Centene Corp. ("Centene" or the "Company") (NYSE: CNC) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you purchased shares of Centene and want more information, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA (News - Alert) 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at [email protected].

The investigation center around on statements made after Centene's acquisition of Health Net, Inc. on March 24, 2016. In he months after the acquisition, the Company told investors that there were no negative developments in the Health Net medical reserves. On July 26, 2016, Centene announced that it increased reserves for medical claims associated with disputed costs for substance abuse treatment centers and that it recorded "premium deficiency reserves primarily associated with Arizona and the California individual PPO business." When this news was released to the public, Centene shares fell in value.







If you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at [email protected].

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006006539/en/
[October 06, 2016] BI Vendor Yellowfin Ramps Momentum in Asia Pacific with Seven Additional Channel Partners

SINGAPORE and MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Yellowfin, a global Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics software vendor, today announced it has signed agreements with seven new Value Added Resellers (VARs), deepening its expertise in Singapore and strengthening its presence across Asia Pacific (APAC). Launching its Singapore operations in 2012, via reseller partner NCS Pte Ltd, Yellowfin has continued to build momentum in Asia through strategic partnerships focused on growing its installed base. New partner signings include experienced BI-focused and Singapore-based VARs, such as TO THE NEW, Minerra Pte Ltd, Shearwater Asia Pte Ltd, MFE International Pte Ltd, Traktech Pte Ltd, Moore Stephens IT Solutions Pte Ltd, and Epitome Pte Ltd. Delivering a new-generation of BI solutions, Yellowfin's partner profile includes VARs with BI and analytics expertise, deep cloud capabilities and vertical industry specialization. Partners are also selected based on a shared mission of making BI easy for all people in business, not just the data analysts and technologists. Recently appointed Yellowfin APAC Sales Director, Adam Chicktong, said having a channel-led growth strategy in the region meant that working with the right partners was "absolutely critical". "I cannot understate the importance we place on identifying partners with the right BI expertise, cultural fit and customer-centric attitude," said Chicktong. "We rely wholeheartedly on them for being the face of our brand and delivering the business acumen, technological proficiency and professional services required for successful and meaningful BI implementations. "The seven partners we have recently signed in Singapore deliver these qualities in spades. I'm very optimistic about our growth prospects in this region. Being headquartered in Australia, not only is Singapore a strategically important market for Yellowfin, we're also uniquely positioned to support our channel partners in the rest of the rgion to ensure mutual success."



Steve Remington, CEO of Minerra Pte Ltd, said that the partnership was inked at the perfect time for the region. "In the intensely competitive market of South East Asia, BI and analytics are becoming increasingly mission critical to businesses here," said Remington. "I believe that Yellowfin's combination of usability and cost of entry will make a fast impact in the region."

Ashok Patro -- Vice President of South East Asia for recently signed partner TO THE NEW -- said that Yellowfin's ability to offer customers an alternative to the cost and complexity of traditional BI tools differentiated them from other BI vendors in the market. "As a global leader in BI and analytics software, we are pleased to partner with Yellowfin," said Patro. "Our analytics team sits in six countries across South East Asia and India, helping companies -- ranging from the Fortune 500 to start-ups -- gain insights from various digital channels. We know our partnership with Yellowfin gives us a competitive edge, opening up more market opportunities through Yellowfin's unique collaborative and business-user-oriented approach to BI." Choo Kwong Chee -- Director of IT Solutions at Moore Stephens LLP -- said the Yellowfin partnership would enable Moore Stephens to further capitalize on its expertise in BI and visual analytics, empowering its clients to unlock the value of their data. "At a time when organizations need to be as agile as possible to react to changing market conditions and growing demand for analytics capabilities, we see Yellowfin as a very innovative, robust, next-generation product in the visualization and analytics space," said Choo. "With a dedicated channel-based approach to the market, we're confident that working with Yellowfin will help our clients make faster, more informed decisions." With a channel-based go-to-market strategy, Yellowfin has over 600 technology, distributor and reseller partnerships worldwide, which span every major industry and geography. Yellowfin is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with offices in Sydney, USA (Ketchum), the UK (Milton Keynes), Japan (Tokyo and Osaka), Brazil (Porto Alegre), South Africa (Johannesburg) and the Philippines (Pasig City). About Yellowfin Yellowfin is a global Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics software vendor passionate about making BI easy. Founded in 2003 in response to the complexity and costs associated with implementing and using traditional BI tools, Yellowfin is a highly intuitive 100 percent Web-based reporting and analytics solution. Yellowfin is a leader in mobile, collaborative and embedded BI, as well as Location Intelligence and data visualization. Over 10,000 organizations, and more than 2 million end-users across 70 different countries, use Yellowfin every day. For more information, visit www.yellowfinbi.com For regular news and updates, follow Yellowfin on Twitter (@YellowfinBI), LinkedIn (Yellowfin Business Intelligence), YouTube (Yellowfin Team) or email [email protected] to subscribe to Yellowfin's free e-newsletter. For further media information, interviews, images or product demonstration, please contact: Lachlan James, Yellowfin Global Communications Manager on +61 (0)3 8617 4954, +61 (0)431 835 658 or [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150930/8521506452LOGO

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[October 07, 2016] International Short Course on Resilience and Adaptations to Climate Change for Sustainable Management of Tidal Areas held at NCKU

A special course highlighted the land and water management in tidal areas is currently happening in National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, with approximately 25 representative scholars from over 20 countries including Iran, India, Tanzania, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Iraq, Uzbekistan and South Korea. This is the first course in Taiwan organized by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), which is the leading scientific, technical and not-for-profit organization facilitating sharing of experiences and transfer of water management technology for over half-a-century. According to the ICID's working group on sustainable development of tidal areas, this short course on resilience and adaptations to climate change for sustainable management of tidal areas is designed for resource managers, practitioners, researchers, and others who are familiar with the relevant issues in tidal area.



An opening ceremony was held on the morning of August 1 at C-Hub where Dr. Vijay K. Labhsetwar, the Director of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) and Mr. Bong Hoon Lee, President of Korean National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (KCID) attended on behalf of their organizations. NCKU Vice President Dr. Cheng-Hung Huang on behalf of President Huey-Jen Jenny Su welcomed the guests at the ceremony and said, the intertidal region is an important model system for understanding the ecology, and the droughts, floods, rising sea level resulting from climate change has rendered threats on the intertidal region.

The course will help the participants understand and apply the experiences to cope with climate change and man-induced changes in land use, added Huang. There is a pressing need to accelerate efforts for resilience and adaptation to climate change. Through learning processes and experience sharing, feasible strategies for sustainable management of tidal areas can be derived, according to the working group. Young professionals with at least five years of experience in the subject area are encouraged to participate. The short course consists of keynotes, speeches, lectures, technical tours and in-class exercises. In the six-day course, participants are required to contribute case studies based on experiences from their own country. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006006575/en/

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[October 07, 2016]

ignio Wins AIconics Award for Best Enterprise Artificial Intelligence Application at AI Summit

MUMBAI and NEW YORK, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, today announced that its ignio solution has been recognized as the 'Best Enterprise Application for AI' by The AIconics, the world's only independently judged awards celebrating drive, excellence and innovation in the Artificial Intelligence community.

TCS received the award for ignio, an enterprise cognitive automation leader for IT operations. ignio combines enterprise contextual intelligence and binds together disparate, but interconnected business applications and their underlying infrastructure to drive smart decisions and perform actions autonomously. Moreover, ignio helps IT to determine the likely impact on infrastructure or business before changes are made to the environment. Therefore, the timeframe for modelling and analyzing the impact of such changes goes from months to minutes, while ignio also includes recommendations to mitigate predicted negative issues stemming from change.

"We are honored to be recognized by AIconics at the AI Summit as the Best Enterprise Application of Artificial Intelligence," said Harrick Vin, Chief Scientist at TCS. "Since launching a year ago, we are managing more than 600,000 infrastructure resources for many Fortune 500 enterprises, and are well positioned to help lead business productivity and efficiency across all industries."

The AIconics awards were held in San Francisco on September 28, 2016, featuring more than 100 entries in six categories, and award winners being recognized as industry leaders across a broad spectrum of AI technologies. The awards were part of the AI Summit.

About Tata Consultancy Services Ld. (TCS)







Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model , recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India's largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 362,000 of the world's best-trained consultants in 45 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $16.5 billion for year ended March 31, 2016 and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. For more information, visit us at http://www.tcs.com.

To stay up-to-date on TCS news, follow @TCS.



TCS media contacts:

- Global: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +91-22-6778-9999

- Europe: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +44-078-418-92227

- UK: Email: [email protected] Phone: +44-7764-835-773

- India: Email: [email protected] | [email protected]; Phone: +91-22-6778-9078 | +91-22-6778-9081

- USA / Canada: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +1-646-313-4594

- Asia Pacific: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +65-9139-3668

- Australia and New Zealand: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +61-(2)-8456 2800

- Latin America: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +569-6170-9013

- Nordics: Email: [email protected]; Phone : +358-40-756-6655

- Japan: Email: [email protected]; Phone: +81 80-2115-0989
[October 07, 2016]

Voip-Pal Files $2.699 Billion Lawsuit vs Social Networking Giant Twitter for Patent Infringement

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Voip-Pal.com, Inc. (Voip-Pal, the Company) (OTCQB:VPLM) announced today that, on October 6, 2016 the Company filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Inc. in Federal District Court in Nevada seeking $2,699,000,000 in damages for patent infringement, plus punitive damages. To view the court documents, visit www.voip-pal.co.









About Voip-Pal.com Inc.

Voip-Pal.Com, Inc. (Voip-Pal) is a publicly traded corporation (OTC Pink:VPLM) headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. The Company owns a portfolio of patents relating to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology that it is currently looking to monetize.



Corporate Website: www.voip-pal.com IR inquiries: [email protected] IR Contact: Rich Inza (954) 495-4600
[October 07, 2016] Southern New Hampshire Medical Center Recognized For Stroke Care

Southern New Hampshire Medical Center has been recognized for implementing the latest research-based treatment guidelines for stroke patients through the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke quality improvement program. Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, a Gold Plus level recipient, is among 1,186 hospitals receiving a Get With the Guidelines-Stroke award this year. This is the fifth consecutive year the Medical Center has received this recognition. More than 1,300 hospitals received awards for their achievements in heart, stroke and resuscitation care. All recipients are featured in a special advertisement in the 2016 issue of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Hospitals." Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality improvement program created to ensure hospitals consistently care for heart and stroke patients using the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. With Get With the Guidelines-Stroke treatment guidelines, stroke patients are started on aggressive therapies and medications that can help improve patient care and outcomes. Hospitals must follow these measures at a set level for a designated period of time to be eligible for the achievement awards. Published scientific studies provide evidence that adhering to Get With The Guidelines quality measures can result in better patient outcomes, including increased survival. "We are proud that the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has chosen the 'America's Best Hospitals' issue o U.S. News & World Report to recognize Southern New Hampshire Medical Center for our achievements in their quality improvement programs," said Corin DeChirico, DO, FACP, Chief Quality Officer, Associate Vice President of Medical Affairs, Medical Director, Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. "Get With The Guidelines gives our healthcare team the tools to enhance the treatment and care of our patients and highlights our ongoing commitment to the health of our community."



According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. About Southern New Hampshire Medical Center

Southern New Hampshire Medical Center is a 188-bed regional medical facility that serves an estimated 100,000 patients annually. As a clinical affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital, residents of southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts have easy access to advanced clinical expertise in areas including stroke, cancer, trauma and pediatric specialties. SNHMC is a proud partner of Foundation Medical Partners, an independent group of nearly 300 providers in primary, specialty and immediate care, serving thousands of patients in more than 70 practices across southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. Together, SNHMC and FMP comprise Southern New Hampshire Health, an organization working collaboratively to achieve the mission of maintaining and preserving the overall health of individuals living in the communities it serves.

About Get With The Guidelines

Get With The Guidelines is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines and recommendations. For more information, visit heart.org/quality and find a recognized hospital near you. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005047/en/

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[October 07, 2016] ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis Launches The Power of One-to-One Initiative

ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis today announced a year-long initiative - The Power of One-to-One - to significantly increase Statewide access to free peer support for breast cancer patients, survivors, those living with breast cancer and their families and friends. For decades, cancer patients and their loved ones have advocated for supportive services to complement medical care, from peer support to practical assistance. Today, supportive services, including peer support, are recognized by the medical community as an essential part of easing the burden of the breast cancer journey - from the time of diagnosis throughout life. The National Cancer Institute along with accrediting organizations and professional oncology associations now recommend cancer care providers emphasize both quantity and quality of life issues. ABCD is dedicated to assuring that all Wisconsin residents have access to personalized survivorship support from the moment of diagnosis, during treatment and every day beyond. "A variety of studies have confirmed that emotional support complementing appropriate medical care can increase treatment compliance, improve survival rates and diminish distress - from coping with family to work matters," said ABCD Executive Director, Ginny Finn. ABCD's Power of One-to-One Initiative has several components. The first to formally launch is the "Liaison Project," which involves advanced volunteer training for breast cancer survivors who, in collaboration with ABCD staff, become ABCD survivorship program liaisons to specific healthcare organizations throughout Wisconsin. Liaisons regularly meet with cancer care professionals and other community health leaders to assure easy access for patients and loved ones to ABCD's Helpline, resource navigation assistance and one-to-one peer support services. Liaisons are already active in Southeast Wisconsin and the Project is expnding throughout the State. A new $25,000 grant from the Wisconsin Cancer Control Program will support expansion north to the Fox Valley, Green Bay and Wausau areas, to be followed by a southern Wisconsin emphasis in the Beloit/Janesville region. The grant will allow ABCD to assess the effectiveness of the model in each community, customizing the approach on a region-by-region basis. Additional Wisconsin communities will be added as the Project grows and funding partners are secured.



ABCD Board member, Program Committee Chair and breast cancer survivor, Bonnie Anderson said, "Even without studies showing the benefit of peer support, our founder Melodie Wilson Oldenburg and the breast cancer patients she recruited to build ABCD, understood that cancer is so much more than scans, biopsies and treatment. Getting through it requires support that is reliable and consistent from people who understand personally what is like to hear the words: you have cancer. With thousands of breast cancer survivors in Wisconsin and our nation, ABCD has a lot more work to do." The Initiative's additional components include expansion of collaborations already underway in southeast Wisconsin, including work with Hispanic and African American communities, rural areas and sister breast cancer organizations through ABCD's work on the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Task Force.

ABCD encourages support during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, by visiting http://www.abcdbreastcancersupport.org, by participating in community breast cancer awareness support programs, such as InterContinental Milwaukee's Pink Room Project, and attending upcoming events such as Date with a Plate (Thursday - April 6, 2017). About The Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Program The Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Program serves as the state's cancer prevention and control program, promoting screening, risk reduction and appropriate care for Wisconsinites affected by cancer. The Wisconsin CCC Program is funded through federal, state and University of Wisconsin funds and works collaboratively with private organizations to reduce the burden of cancer. For more information visit: www.wicancer.org About ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis Founded in Milwaukee in 1999, ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis is now a national leader in providing genuinely personalized information and one-to-one support for people affected by breast cancer - patients, families and friends. Committed to the 4,000+ Wisconsin families newly affected by breast cancer every year, ABCD's free services are also available nationally via its Helpline (800.977.4121 or [email protected]). For further information visit: www.abcdbreastcancersupport.org View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005087/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Data Science Company, Mogean, Is Publicizing Analysis of Evacuation Progress in Regions Impacted by Hurricane Matthew

With millions potentially impacted by Hurricane Matthew along the Southeastern U.S. coastline and traffic building along evacuation routes, Mogean is using its proprietary and patent-pending data collection capabilities and advanced data science techniques to analyze the evacuation progress in Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. Mogean's analysis shows that as of Thursday evening, the following counties have made the greatest progress in evacuating residents away from areas under the hurricane warning or mandatory evacuation: Charleston, SC Osceola, FL Seminole, FL The company's data found that the counties where the largest percentage of people have yet to evacuate are in: Martin, FL Flagler, FL Brevard, FL "At Mogean, we decided to monitor and make this information available as a public service in the hopes of helping individuals and government officials after y sister's family in Hilton Head, S.C., was forced to relocate out of the storm's reach," said Matt Reilly, CEO, Mogean. "We will periodically post updates on the evacuation progress during the storm on the Mogean website at http://www.mogean.com/mogean-analyzes-matthew-evacuation/."



Mogean's data identifies the counties where the highest percentage of the population has complied with the government's evacuation order and those areas where the evacuation response has been lowest. About Mogean

Mogean, based in Atlanta, creates advanced geospatial location data and predictive analytics to deliver the real time information companies need to offer relevant services and products to consumers. Rather than spamming consumers with unwanted mobile ads, Mogean uses advanced algorithms that analyze ambient data in real time to enable companies to assess, predict and meet consumer needs. More information is available at www.mogean.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005508/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Top 6 Vendors in the Mobile NAND Flash Market from 2016 to 2020: Technavio

Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors in their recent global mobile NAND flash market report. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of NAND flash chips to consumer electronics manufacturers for smartphones, tablets, audio players, and digital still cameras (DSCs) segments. The global mobile negative-AND (NAND) flash market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. NAND flash is gaining more popularity over dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as it does not have to be powered continuously to retain data. Vendors are shifting their focus from the production of 2D NAND to 3D NAND, as the latter stores more bits of data per layer of memory cells and lowers the cost per gigabyte. The smartphone and tablet application segments are the two largest segments of the global mobile NAND flash market. NAND flash is ideal for portable devices due to its non-volatile feature and hence it is widely used in smartphones and tablets. The smartphone market is growing at a CAGR of 7.61% and the tablet market is growing at a CAGR of 8.32%, which provides an incentive for NAND flash vendors. Competitive vendor landscape The market is dominated by major vendors and the competition among vendors in the market is intense. As the entry barriers in the market are high, the entry of new players in the market is difficult. Many new suppliers are attracted to the market because of its high growth potential. The existing vendors in the market are investing heavily in R&D of new and innovative products. "Samsung (News - Alert) produces 3D NAND flash by vertically stacking the memory cells instead of photolithography, which enables 3D NAND to provide more capacity and occupy less space. Micron Technology (News - Alert) and Intel have jointly manufactured the high-density 3D NAND flash memory known as 3D XPoint," says Chetan Mohan, a lead embedded systems analyst from Technavio. Samsung is mass-producing 3D-NAND flash memory, and it has gradually increased its market share. Toshiba and SanDisk (News - Alert) are also expected to increase supplies of NAND flash products during the forecast period. Intel is expected to start manufacturing 3D NAND flash products in Dalian, China, in the second half of 2016. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=53302>



Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Top six mobile NAND flash market vendors

Intel (News - Alert) The NAND flash business of Intel comes under the non-volatile memory solutions segment. The company's NAND flash memory products are manufactured by IM Flash Technologies and Micron Technology. In 2015, the company announced the launch of 3D XPoint technology, which is a type of non-volatile memory. The introduction of products like 3D NAND and 3D XPoint technology is helping companies to deliver solutions to customers in their data centers and Internet of Things businesses. The company has also increased its capital investment in new memory technologies. Micron Technology It manufactures and sells a full range of memory products such as DRAM, NAND flash, and not OR (NOR) flash memory for applications in computing, networking, consumer, industrial, automotive, embedded, and mobile products sectors. In the NAND flash memory segment, the company offers high-speed SLC, MLC, and TLC NAND flash products. These products are compatible with advanced interfaces. MLC products have two times the bit density of SLC products and TLC products have three times the bit density of SLC products. Samsung Electronics Samsung plans to strengthen its core business by focussing on segments such as memory chips, TVs, and mobile phones to develop premium products and strengthen technology leadership. In 2015, Samsung Electronics was the market leader of NAND flash memory, accounting for 32.57% of the total market. Its top ranking in the NAND memory market is supported by its superior technology. SanDisk SanDisk products include flash storage solutions for enterprise data centers and client computing platforms, and removable and embedded flash products for mobile devices, automotive, cameras, and connected home electronics. The products are reliable and affordable and are used as flash storage solutions by consumers and enterprises in a variety of devices and applications. SK Hynix SK Hynix produces memory semiconductors like DRAM and NAND flash, which are required for mobile devices, computers, and other IT devices. The demand for larger volumes of compact, high-capacity, and high-speed products such as TLC and 3D NAND flash has been increasing. Therefore, the company has been focusing on producing 16-nano MLC since 2014. The company has employed the cost reduction process through TLC and the 3D technology to increase its market share in the NAND flash market. Toshiba (News - Alert) Toshiba has a strategic alliance with SanDisk for the production of NAND flash memory, which includes production joint ventures. Under this agreement, Toshiba is allowed to purchase SanDisk's ownership interests in the production joint ventures. Furthermore, Toshiba and SanDisk each provide a 50% guaranty in respect of the lease agreements of production facilities held by the production joint ventures. The aim of the joint venture is to strengthen the production of NAND flash memory. Browse Related Reports: Global NOR Flash Market 2016-2020

Global 3D NAND Flash Market 2015-2019

Global NAND Flash Market 2016-2020 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005221/en/

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[October 07, 2016] University of Connecticut's Center of Excellence for Security Innovation to Host CyberSEED 2016

The University of Connecticut's Comcast (News - Alert) Center of Excellence for Security Innovation (CSI) today announced CyberSEED 2016, the third annual cybersecurity event, taking place at UConn October 10-11, 2016. The hackathon and conference, hosted at the nation's foremost center on hardware security, will be packed with interactive challenges for the students and will unite top information security professionals to discuss emerging trends and formulate best strategies for tackling current and future threats in an academic setting. "As our world continues to weave technology into day-to-day life, cybersecurity needs to be at the forefront of academic and industry discussions now more than ever," said Dr. Kazem Kazerounian, Dean of UConn's School of Engineering. "The diverse conversations that CyberSEED fosters have untangled major technological challenges, proving integral to preventing serious cybersecurity breaches." Invited and confirmed government speakers include Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Christopher Murphy (D-CT, Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT), State Senator Joan Hartley (D-CT) and State Representative Matthew Lesser (D-CT), and the Attorney General of Connecticut, George Jepsen.



The major themes this year will include wearable tech risks, DevSecOps, social engineering, open source vulnerabilities, ransomware, data integrity, geopolitical security, and the Internet of Things. The two-day hackathon and conference will feature three interactive challenges for students and keynote addresses from notable thought leaders from government, industry and academia. The event will encourage an open dialogue that leads to concrete strategies. Attendees will hear from the security pros behind the tech hacks featured on the Peabody-award-winning television series "Mr. Robot;" Scott Amyx, CEO at Amyx+; Dr. May Wang, co-founder and CTO at Zingbox; Noopur Davis, SVP Chief Product Information Security Officer at Comcast; Sridhar Solur, SVP Xfinity Home IoT and data services at Comcast; and Dr. Joseph Feiman, Chief Innovation Officer at Veracode. "As the information security industry continues to evolve, it is imperative for businesses, government, and academic institutions to keep pace with emerging threats and new trends," said Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad, Executive Chair of CSI (News - Alert) and Vice President of Cybersecurity R&D, Comcast Cable. "CyberSEED combines thoughtful discussions of key security issues with a hackathon that helps develop tomorrow's cybersecurity leaders."

The hackathon portion of the conference will feature three major challenges - Secure Coding, Capture the Flag, and Social Engineering - where 50 college and university teams will compete for a grand prize of $10,000. An award ceremony takes place at the conference's conclusion where up to $70,000 worth of prizes and cash will be awarded to students. About UConn The University of Connecticut is one of the nation's leading public research universities. As the state's flagship university, UConn is a leader in Connecticut workforce development, preparing its students with the latest knowledge, skills, technologies and industry standards to allow them to succeed in today's highly competitive global marketplace. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005639/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Top 6 Vendors in the Travel Irons Market from 2016 to 2020: Technavio

Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors in their recent global travel irons market report. This research report also lists nine other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. Travel irons are mostly used by business professionals. However, with increasing consciousness of consumers about dressing even during leisure travel, the sales of these portable, lightweight irons will likely increase during the forecast period. As irons comprise a part of the very basic appliances, there is not much innovation taking place on this front, globally. However, in order to increase the sales of travel irons and further entice consumers, players are introducing various features such as convertible wings, dual voltage, and compact nonstick soleplates. Competitive vendor landscape The global travel irons market is moderately competitive with the presence of numerous leading conventional iron brands presenting a wide variety of models. Companies compete against each other in terms of quality, technology, and pricing. Therefore, to survive and succeed in this stiff competitive environment, it is imperative for vendors to distinguish their product offerings by incorporating innovations and stay abreast of emerging technologies that have a bearing on their product lines. "Providing low-price options is one of the strategies that the players of small domestic appliances like travel irons are focusing on. Players operating in this space are also focusing on offering innovative features for consumers looking to upgrade their existing travel iron models," says Poonam Saini, a lead retail goods and services analyst from Technavio. A rise in the prevalence of Omni channel retailing can be seen in the market, as players realize the vital role of this channel in ensuring the maximum visibility of products. Omni-channel retailing uses a mix of distribution channels like retail stores and online stores for enhancing customer engagement. Key players like Koninklijke Philips (News - Alert) and Sunbeam Products are focusing on omni channel retailing for selling their products. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=52969



Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Top six travel irons market vendors

Conair Conair develops, manufactures, and markets personal grooming, bath and spa, hair care, health and wellness, garment and home care, oral care, and travel products. It serves customers through its online retailers and online stores in the US, Mexico, Spain, and Brazil. It has distribution centers in Phoenix, Arizona and East Windsor, New Jersey, US. The company's manufacturing facility is located in Rantoul, Illinois, US. Koninklijke Philips Koninklijke Philips engages in healthcare, consumer lifestyle, and lighting businesses worldwide. In FY2015, the company reported a revenue of $26.9 billion. In the same financial year, the company reported a revenue of $3.06 billion through its domestic appliances category. The company is focusing on entering into new agreements and contracts, which will create ample growth opportunities by strengthening its revenue sources. In April 2015, the company entered into a partnership agreement with Al-Araby Group for the launch of its first steam iron production line in Egypt. Such agreements and contracts enable the company to acquire new customer bases. NACCO Industries NACCO Industries offers diversified products that enhance its brand value. It offers premium household appliances under the Hamilton Beach brand and low-priced appliances under the Proctor Silex brand. It also licensed the Jamba brand for its line of blenders and juicing products. Such diversified brand portfolio helps the company to enhance its brand value. Panasonic (News - Alert) Panasonic offers various products that improve its brand value. It sells its products through dealers and distributors across the world. It also sells its products through e-commerce websites. Such diversified distribution channels enable the company to leverage its position in the market. Rowenta Rowenta operates as a subsidiary of Groupe SEB, and therefore can gain support from its parent company's well-established business operations and distribution channels. Groupe SEB sells its products in 150 countries. It operates in most major as well as emerging geographical markets. Through its parent company, Rowenta can gain low outsourcing costs and can acquire businesses or assets to expand its business. Such initiatives will aid in increasing the share of the company in the market. Sunbeam Products Sunbeam Products markets and sells its products in the US, Latin America, EMEA, Canada, and APAC markets. It sells its products through sales representatives, dealers, direct sales, authorized dealers, and education sales. It has sales offices in 20 countries. Such strong network enables the company to sell its products in various countries. Browse Related Reports: Global Travel Insurance Market 2016-2020

Global Travel Duffel Bags Market 2016-2020

Global Baby Travel Bags Market 2015-2019 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005712/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Merck Animal Health Announces USDA Approval of Innovative Canine Flu Bivalent Vaccine

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside of the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a license for Nobivac Canine Flu Bivalent vaccine - the first vaccine to aid in the control of disease associated with both canine influenza virus (CIV) H3N2 and canine influenza virus H3N8. "Merck Animal Health has a rich history of vaccine development supported by a wealth of expertise, as well as a deep commitment to bringing innovative products to market that truly impact the health and well-being of animals," said KJ Varma, BVSc, Ph.D., senior vice president, R&D, Merck Animal Health. "Our new bivalent canine influenza vaccine will simplify protection against this disease and is a tremendous example of our ongoing pursuit of the science of healthier animals and our dedication to providing veterinarians with new medicines and vaccines to advance optimal pet care." CIV H3N2 was identified last year in the United States following multiple outbreaks throughout the country. Since cases were first reported in March 2015, dogs in more than half of the United States1 have been stricken by this respiratory disease. CIV H3N8 was first diagnosed in 2004 and has impacted dogs in more than 40 states. "Dogs at risk for CIRDC (canine infectious respiratory disease complex) should be vaccinated at least yearly with both influenza strains, H3N8 and H3N2, in addition to the other causes of 'Canine Cough'," said Ronald Schultz, Ph.D., professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. "The occurrence of one strain or the other is unpredictable and so dogs should be protected against both. Because dogs do not maintain long duration of immunity against influenza, it is important to vaccinate them annually." According to clinical studies by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, the CIV H3N2 may be shed for an extended period of time - up to 24 days, which is far longer than what is seen with CIV H3N8.2 As a result, the infection can spread quickly among social dogs in inner cities, doggie daycares, boarding facilities, dog parks, sporting and show events and any location where dogs commingle. Clinical signs of both strains of CIV in dogs include coughing, fever, lethargy and interstitial pneumonia,3 and can be spread by direct contact with respiratory discharge from infected dogs, through the air via a cough or sneeze and by contact with contaminated objects, such as dog bowls and clothing or by people moving between infected and uninfected dogs.2 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes there is no evidence of transmission of the virus from dogs to people. Nobivac Canine Flu Bivalent is recommended for healthy dogs 7 weeks of age or older as an aid in the control of disease associated with canine influenza virus H3N8 and canine influenza virus H3N2. Primary immunization requires two vaccinations given two to four weeks apart. Annual revaccination with one dose is recommended. "Our commitment to animal health runs deeper than simply providing safe, high-quality products to our customers," said Kathleen Heaney, D.V.M., executive director, companion animal technical services, Merck Animal Health. "It's also our responsibility to help educate pet owners about potential ealth threats and the factors that put dogs at risk. We are actively collaborating with veterinarians to share information about CIV and the importance of prevention through vaccination, as well as sharing simple precautionary measures pet owners can take to help protect the health of their animals."



To learn more about CIV and the educational outreach initiative, visit doginfluenza.com and doginfluenza.com/ifthisdogcouldtalk.asp. About Merck Animal Health

For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter (News - Alert) at @MerckAH. Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline products that the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov). 1Canine Influenza H3N2 Updates. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine website. https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/news/civchicago.cfm.

2Updates in Canine InfluenzaVirus: Management, treatment and prevention of disease. VETgirl Webinar, July 27, 2015. Archived at www.vetgirlontherun.com.

3Kang et al., H3N2 Canine Influenza Virus Causes Severe Morbidity in Dogs with Induction of Genes Related to Inflammation and Apoptosis, Veterinary Research 2013,44:92. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005775/en/

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[October 07, 2016] A.M. Best Removes From Under Review and Affirms Credit Ratings of MetLife Inc. and Its Subsidiaries; Downgrades Credit Ratings of Brighthouse Subsidiaries

A.M. Best has removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aa-" of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC) (New York, NY), General American Life Insurance Company (St. Louis, MO) and Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company (Wilmington, DE) (collectively called RemainCo). Additionally, the Long-Term ICR of "a-" of MetLife, Inc. (MetLife) (headquartered in New York, NY) [NYSE: MET] and its existing Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings have been removed from under review and affirmed. Concurrently, A.M. Best has removed from under review with developing implications and downgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR to "a+" from "aa-" of MetLife Insurance Company USA (Wilmington, DE), New England Life Insurance Company (Boston, MA) and First MetLife Investors Insurance Company (New York, NY). These entities (collectively referred to as Brighthouse) will be held under Brighthouse Financial, Inc., a newly formed holding company. A.M. Best also has removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of "a+" of MetLife's property/casualty companies, consisting of Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and seven fully reinsured subsidiaries, as well as a separately rated subsidiary, Metropolitan Group Property and Casualty Insurance Company (both domiciled in Warwick, RI) (together referred to as MetLife Auto & Home). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See link below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) The ratings of MetLife and its subsidiaries were placed under review with developing implications in January 2016 after the company announced its intent to separate a substantial portion of its U.S. retail segment via an initial public offering, spin-off or sale. On Oct. 5, 2016, Brighthouse Financial Inc. (Brighthouse) filed a registration statement on Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission describing its planned separation from MetLife. Brighthouse's operating earnings represents approximately 20% of MetLife's total operating earnings and 50% of its retail segment's operating earnings. The rating downgrades of Brighthouse reflect itsless creditworthy liability profile and the fact that it will no longer benefit from the strength and support of MetLife, as well as its related diversified businesses. A.M. Best notes that the business that resides within Brighthouse is more capital intensive and includes variable annuities with living benefit riders and universal life with secondary guarantees, which increases the group's exposure to market volatility and interest rate risk.



A.M. Best notes the significant reserve charge taken in the second quarter of 2016 due to revisions to policyholder behavior assumptions on its variable annuity line of business and believes that similar charges may occur in the future. Execution risk with the separation will be an ongoing concern over the next few years, including branding acceptance and MetLife's ability to complete the ultimate separation as planned. However, A.M. Best acknowledges the experience and strong capabilities of the Brighthouse management team, which has managed MetLife's retail segment for the past several years. In addition, A.M. Best expects the entities to remain well-capitalized with strong risk-management capabilities. The rating affirmations of RemainCo reflect its industry leading position in the group insurance markets and international presence in which it holds several market leading positions in mature and emerging markets. A.M. Best believes that RemainCo will benefit from more streamlined operations, the ability to focus more intently on its existing businesses and its reduced exposure to higher risk insurance products. However, A.M. Best does note that the company maintains an elevated level of risk within its investment portfolio, including commercial-mortgage loans and alternative investments, which remains above industry averages. In addition, the company continues to face a challenging economic and market environment within its existing business lines, including increased volatility in certain emerging and international markets in which MetLife operates.

While MetLife maintains adequate financial leverage at approximately 25% and favorable interest coverage ratios, its operating leverage remains relatively high compared to similarly rated peers. In addition, A.M. Best expects MetLife's financial leverage will increase as a result of the spin-off, but will remain within A.M. Best's guidelines for its current rating. For a complete listing of MetLife's FSRs, Long-Term ICRs and Long- and Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings, please visit MetLife Inc. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright  2016 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005800/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Intercon Messaging Earns CAM-X 2016 Call Centre Award of Distinction

Outstanding Service Brings National Award

GRIMSBY, ON, Oct. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Intercon Messaging Inc. of Drayton Valley, AB has been honoured with the prestigious 2016 Call Centre Award of Distinction by the Canadian Call Management Association (CAM-X). The Industry's Trade Association for providers of Call Centre Services including Inbound Order Desk/Help Desk and Web Enabled customer assistance has recognized Intercon Messaging Inc. for their outstanding achievement at their 52nd Annual Convention, held recently at the Chateau Laurier, Quebec City, QC. The Call Centre Award of Distinction was created in response to overwhelming requests by Call Centres across North America for a tool to measure the skills of their professional Call Centre Agents on the job. After six months of testing,independent panels of judges score call-handling skills for "enhanced service" applications. The focus is on customer relationship management (CRM), courtesy, etiquette, the use of proper call techniques, as well as response time and accuracy. These are all cornerstones of the Call Management Industry.



"14 years ago, CAM-X introduced the Award of Distinction to the Call Center industry as a tool for independent assessment of the quality of service delivery. We are so pleased that Intercon Messaging Inc. has proven its commitment to excellence by its participation in this program, and are delighted that they have earned this prestigious distinction. Intercon Messaging Inc. has proven their excellent grasp of the extraordinary service levels necessary to satisfy such diverse and complex accounts." The Canadian Call Management Association congratulates the management and staff of Intercon Messaging Inc. for their significant achievement.





About CAM-X: CAM-X is a Canadian based trade Association for the Call Management industry which includes call centres, telephone answering services, telemarketing services, and other communication services. Their goal is to contribute to their members' profitability by fostering a willingness to exchange ideas, experiences and solutions while promoting the general welfare and ethical standards of our industry. Please visit www.camx.ca for more information.

SOURCE Canadian Call Management Association

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[October 07, 2016] Twilio Files Registration Statement for Proposed Follow-on Public Offering

Twilio (News - Alert) Inc. (NYSE: TWLO), a leading Cloud Communications Platform company, today announced that it filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)) relating to a proposed follow-on public offering of shares of its Class A common stock. A majority of the shares in the proposed offering are expected to be sold by existing stockholders. Twilio will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling stockholders. The number of shares of Class A common stock to be sold and the allocation of the shares between Twilio and existing stockholders has not yet been determined. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will act as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. Allen & Company LLC; Pacific Crest Securities, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.; JMP Securities (News - Alert) LLC; William Blair & Company, L.L.C.; and Canaccord Genuity Inc. will act as co-managers. The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy ofthe preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained from either Goldman, Sachs & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, telephone: 1-866-471-2526, or email: [email protected]; or from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 1-866-803-9204, or email: [email protected].



A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC, but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About Twilio

Twilio's mission is to fuel the future of communications. Developers and businesses use Twilio to make communications relevant and contextual by embedding messaging, voice, and video capabilities directly into their software applications. Founded in 2008, Twilio has over 650 employees, with headquarters in San Francisco and other offices in Bogota, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Mountain View, Munich, New York City, Singapore and Tallinn. Source (News - Alert): Twilio Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005807/en/

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By WestKyStar Staff & Paducah Public Schools Oct. 06, 2016 | 06:56 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The symposium, which runs October 14-16, gives high school students an opportunity to explore the arts and humanities in a college environment. Dos Remedios was nominated by administrators at Paducah Tilghman and invited to attend by Princeton's Dean of Admissions.





The all-expenses-paid weekend allows prospective students to get a taste of a Princeton education while exploring dance, theater, film, music, writing, and visual arts at a university level. Participants will work closely with Princeton's accomplished professors in cross-disciplinary workshops and seminars.





I'm honored to represent Paducah Tilghman High School at Princeton, said dos Remedios. I am very excited to spend a weekend with some of the best and brightest professors and students in the country.





Dos Remedios is a National Merit Semifinalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction, and an alumnus of the Governors School for the Arts where he studied instrumental music. He is a graduate of Youth LEAD, earned a regional champion designation in the Kentucky History Day competition, and serves as Features Editor for the Tilghman Bell. In addition, he serves on the Youth Missions Council at Concord United Methodist Church.





Superintendent Donald Shively said of dos Remedios, Roberto is a prime example of a student having what we call Tilghman Talent. He excels nationally in the academic arena, and he is a well-rounded student in the arts. Not only does he take advantage of all Tilghman has to offer in academics and the fine arts, but he is also engaged in the Paducah community.





Dos Remedios is the second student from Paducah Tilghman in two years to receive an invitation to Princeton's event. This is the program's sixteenth year.





Jose Roberto dos Remedios, a senior at Paducah Tilghman High School, has been invited to be one of only 90 outstanding student artists and scholars from across the country to attend Princeton University's Creative Arts and Humanities Symposium.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 06, 2016 | 05:18 PM | PADUCAH, KY





Paducah Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Daniel Sene has announced his resignation, effective Oct. 31. He reportedly plans to relocate to Nashville, TN.Sene joined the symphony in 2011, and in the years since has contributed to the balancing of the operating budget after several deficit years.In a press release, Sene cited the expansion of the education programs and services, doubling the subscriber and donor base, launching Score magazine, and enhancing/starting several new fundraising initiatives as some of the accomplishments he's most proud of during his tenure.Paducah and the PSO have been my home and family ever since I arrived, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity and the lifelong friendships that have developed during my time here. Sene said."Daniel has been the leader of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra's remarkable growth," said board president Clay Howerton. "He has put this organization on a path to success, and we will diligently follow that path.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 07, 2016 | 10:15 AM | MAYFIELD, KY

A two-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon in Graves County sent two people to the hospital.

According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office the crash happened at around 4:45 pm on State Route 131, approximately three miles from Mayfield. Deputies said Howard Morgan was traveling north on 131 when a southbound pickup truck crossed the center line and side-swiped his car.

Morgan was transported by ambulance to Baptist Health Paducah for treatment of his injuries. A juvenile passenger in his car was taken to the emergency room by a family member.

The driver of the truck, Anthony Poe, was not injured. Poe told deputies he fell asleep while driving, causing him to cross the line and strike Morgan's car.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpyoutube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--iP8RPaNvw:wfpyoutube

A decade-and-a-half ago, Sarah Jessica Parker was one of TVs most beloved and buzz-worthy figures, thanks to the popularity of the groundbreaking HBO comedy Sex and the City.

Playing lovelorn but mostly hopeful newspaper columnist Carrie Bradshaw, Parker became the poster girl for cockeyed post-feminist optimism and the inspiration for a generation of girlfriends determined to live and love on their own terms, while always having each others backs.

Its fair to say Parkers popularity was, in large measure, directly linked to the fact people really loved the fictional character she played and, to a certain extent, either wished or believed they were just like her.

HBO Thomas Haden Church and Sarah Jessica Parker star in HBOs new dark comedy Divorce.

Eighteen years after Sex and the City turned premium pay-TV on its ear, Parker returns to HBO in another series thats marketed as a comedy. And this time, shes asking viewers to love her all over again as she portrays a character whos quite hard to like.

In Divorce, Parker plays Frances, a woman whos been married for more than a decade and is so disenchanted with her life that shes about to make the choice described in the shows title. Her husband, Robert (Thomas Haden Church), is equally uninspired by the state of the relationship, but is sufficiently change-averse that he has no idea whats coming.

In the series pilot, an ugly incident at a birthday party for one of Francess friends prompts her to declare her intentions to her spouse. The grim announcement is preceded by an observation that isnt exactly about her own marriage, but might as well be: How do you go from eight years of happy marriage to wanting to blow someones head off?

And what follows, as the title suggests, is an exploration of a relationship in the final few revolutions of a tailspin before hitting the ground and exploding into a million overheated pieces.

What happens will be immediately relatable for anybody whos been through a divorce, and both frightening and cautionary for those who havent. Whether anybody in either category will consider it amusing is a wide-open question.

What everyone will agree on, however, is that the dissolution of a marriage tends to bring out the worst in most people, and Divorce lays bare some deep and distasteful character flaws in its central duo.

The comedic moments, such as they are, serve mostly to lighten Divorces darker moments, so when they happen, theyre less likely to inspire an out-loud laugh than a fleeting feeling of relief from the otherwise grim proceedings.

It isnt that Divorce is a bad show; in fact, its a well-executed and impressively acted story, with noteworthy supporting-cast contributions from Molly Shannon and Talia Balsam as Francess supportive best friends, and Tracy Letts as a man whom Robert hopes will be his go-to guy as things continue to go south.

The series was created by Sharon Horgan, the creative force behind the brilliant British comedy import Catastrophe (which, if youre so inclined, can be streamed on Shomi until the streaming services end-of-November demise), a show whose optimistic outlook inspires more comparisons to Sex and the City than to this new U.S.-cable endeavour.

And therein lies the biggest challenge for Parker as she returns to series television  finding out whether her popularity as an actor is based solely on her skill as a performer, or if its dependent on playing someone viewers would probably love regardless of who was cast in the role. Carrie was loved and admired and imitated, but theres absolutely no one in the TV-watching world who will watch Divorces Frances and say, I want to be like her.

Issa Rae stars in the profanely funny new HBO comedy Insecure

  

Its interesting that on the same night Sarah Jessica Parker returns to TV, another new HBO arrival unveils a character and actor who could potentially create a Carrie Bradshaw-sized buzz.

The newcomer in question is Issa Rae, the co-creator (along with writer/comedian Larry Wilmore) and star of the new comedy Insecure, which also premieres Sunday on HBO Canada. Rae, whose entry into mainstream TV was driven by the success of her 2011 web series Awkward Black Girl, plays a fictional version of herself, a confident but conflicted young woman trying to balance career ambitions, romantic ideals and long-term life goals.

The TV Issa is a dedicated worker for an inner-city non-profit organization; she loves her job, but is constantly gripped by the feeling theres something better for her somewhere out there. Her love life is even more conflicted, as she handles all the emotional heavy lifting in a four-year relationship with an unmotivated boyfriend while carrying on a text-message flirtation with another guy who, at least from a distance, seems more promising.

Issas best friend and constant confidant is Molly (Yvonne Orij), a corporate lawyer whos outwardly much more in control than Issa but actually even more insecure. Its the ongoing dialogue between the two women  blunt, aggressive, sharply funny and eagerly over-the-top profane  that creates the attitude, emotional agenda and vocabulary that defines Insecure and likely establishes this series as HBOs next buzz-creating, cultural-touchstone conversation piece.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @BradOswald

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2016 (2216 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Teachers Society is not impressed by a new American lockdown policy that teaches students and staff to run away if possible, and as a last resort, to fight for their lives.

But if the employer says teachers have to do it, then they have to do it, MTS president Norm Gould said Thursday.

Its called ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), and comes from an Akron, Ohio, company that touts its ability to teach customers to move from passive to proactive response strategies becoming the norm for Citizen Preparedness for Active Shooter events.

IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON files Manitoba Teachers' Society president Norm Gould

And Education Minister Ian Wishart said Thursday that the first time he heard of ALICE was when he read Thursdays Free Press.

Were curious about the portion where theyre talking about student resistance, Wishart said in an interview.

He said that fighting back is obviously designed for the situation in the U.S.

The Winnipeg Police Service says its offering training to teachers and staff at all city schools to help keep people safe before something happens here.

Were not telling them they have to do this, said Winnipeg Police Service school safety officer, Const. Vern Novalkowski. ALICE training is being offered to help schools know what they can do in if an armed intruder shows up.

Gould argued that this is not the U.S., and while no one can predict what could happen, he urged Manitoba schools to stick with whats been working fine so far.

Schools now lock their doors to the outside, and gather inside locked classrooms and offices, staying away from doors and windows until the all-clear sounds.

Im comfortable. So far its worked for us, Gould said.

Police Const. Novalkowski said that the lockdown  with drills held twice a year  is a good start. But, rather than just telling teachers to lock the door, turn off the lights, and cower in the corner with their students hoping police will soon arrive, the ALICE training gives them other tools to interrupt the intruders ability to do what he came for, said Novalkowski. By barricading the door, you make that room harder to get into, he said. The shooters are looking for easy targets.

Canada doesnt have anywhere near the level of gun violence thats in the U.S., but that doesnt mean schools here shouldnt be prepared for it if it happens, he said. It has happened before. The 1989 Montreal Massacre at Ecole Polytechnique left 14 women dead. In Winnipeg in 1978, a boy was shot to death inside Sturgeon Creek Regional Secondary School.

If an armed intruder gets inside the classroom and no one does anything you can become one of the statistics, said Novalkowski.

Youve got to have options, Novalkowski said. What can you do? He went for ALICE training in Alexandria, Minn., and is ready and willing to teach teachers some options to stay safe. Its better to flee than hide if theres a choice, for example. And if an armed intruder does get inside a school room, there are ways to counter that, he said. Yelling, screaming, moving around, throwing things at the person are some examples, he said. It puts him on the defensive.

Novalkowski said he met with school divisions in the city back in June and offered to train their teachers at no cost to schools.

This is information we want the schools to be aware of, he said.

Gould, who said that as far as MTS could determine Thursday, the union had not been notified or consulted about the American lockdown system. I just read about that today, he said.

A students safety, teachers safety, guest in the schools safety, are paramount, Gould said.

Wed need to do an evaluation, said Wishart, who acknowledged that while implementing ALICE will ultimately be up to school boards, he does give advice to those trustees.

ALICE recommends that if students and staff go into hiding, that they barricade the door with chairs and desks.

ALICE tells schools that anyone near an exit door should run, and those barricaded in a room can try breaking a window if theyre on the ground floor. Novalkowksi said the Winnipeg Police Service would provide ALICE training to school teachers and staff, not students. Its intended to help adults in charge identify ways to keep themselves and students safe.

If there was a run mandate, where would you run? asked Gould.

Students could be running towards the threat, they could run into traffic. Fire evacuations teach kids and teachers to congregate in certain places outside, or to head to nearby community centres or churches, but thats done under adult supervision.

As for breaking a window, Gould pointed out how often a lockdown produces a false alarm. Many lockdowns come about because of police activity in the area, which does not directly involve the school.

I dont think fighting back is the right decision, Gould said. The notion of having cans of soup in the classroom to repel an intruder?

The bear arms mentality in the U.S. might imply a fight back  we have a very different mentality here.

Gould said that just a few years ago, teachers were told to gather four or five teachers to confront intruders, not knowing what weapons that person may have. Now, teachers stay with their students and put their trust in police, he said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

with files from Carol Sanders
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  At the start of the movie The American President, the chief domestic policy advisor is trying to convince President Andrew Shepherd to use his sky-high 63-per-cent approval rating to push through unpopular regulations on handguns.

Sir, we may never have an opportunity like this again, he says. Lets take this 63 per cent out for a spin and see what it can do.

With the Conservatives and the NDP embroiled in leadership contests and lacking clear policy direction, Trudeau is in a similar position to the fictitious Shepherd. Nanos this week said 70 per cent of Canadians think Trudeau has good leadership skills and 48 per cent would vote for him if an election were held today.

SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Popular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is spending political capital with his carbon-tax move.

So this week, Trudeau took that approval rating out for a spin.

On Monday, Trudeau told the House of Commons that any provinces that dont have some form of a carbon price in place by 2018 will have one imposed upon them.

Any money generated from the new carbon price will remain in the province it is generated in, and be used by that provincial government however it wants, whether that is to cut taxes, pay down debt or invest in things such as infrastructure or green energy.

The reaction from Trudeaus opponents was swift and entirely predictable. Conservative environment critic Ed Fast flew onto his feet to accuse Trudeau of lowering the boom with a massive carbon tax grab.

On the other side, NDP leader Tom Mulcair, whose 2015 campaign included a pledge to impose a nationwide cap-and-trade system, was shouting Trudeaus plan was weak and a betrayal of the next generation. So, in come the Liberals up the middle, looking measured and reasonable, with room in their polling numbers to take a hit from the shrinking number of Canadians who dont like it.

Public sentiment has shifted in recent years in favour of curbing emissions and carbon pricing. More than a third of the population already has a price on carbon, with B.C.s carbon tax and Quebecs cap-and-trade system which were implemented in 2008 and 2013, respectively. On Jan. 1 that will rise to 86 per cent when Albertas new carbon tax and Ontarios cap-and-trade system start up.

The Manitoba government is being guided by David McLaughlin, former chief of staff to prime minister Brian Mulroney, who spent five years as the Stephen Harper-appointed president of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy. McLaughlin is a well-known advocate of a carbon tax (in fact, the roundtable was shut down by the former Conservative government because it advocated too often for a carbon tax). Manitoba will now be able to implement the tax as previously planned, but blame any fallout on Trudeau. So, Premier Brian Pallister was pretty happy with Trudeaus actions this week.

That leaves five provinces representing less than 10 per cent of the population. Several are screaming mad at Trudeau, with Saskatchewans Brad Wall the loudest of the angry mob.

But they are on the losing end of a trajectory towards carbon pricing. Anyone even half-listening to either Trudeau or McKenna for the last year knew this was the route they were taking. They could have handled it more diplomatically  the provinces found out on Monday at the same time as everyone else  and will have to make some amends with the premiers when Trudeau meets them in Ottawa in December.

If British Columbias example is followed, many skeptics will be won over. In B.C., all revenues from the carbon tax were more than offset by income tax cuts, and polls suggest most British Columbians are perfectly happy with the tax now.

University of Ottawa environmental law professor Stewart Elgie says B.C. has done better at cutting emissions than the rest of the country, the use of fuels covered by the tax is down sharply, and the economy has actually done better on average than the rest of the Canada. A carbon tax, Elgie says, hasnt necessarily helped the economy, but it certainly has not been the economic doomsday naysayers predicted.

With the federal tax imposed being gradually increased, and if provinces offset the hit with investments, tax cuts and help for low-income families, the result across the country should mirror that in B.C.

For the first year of his mandate, Justin Trudeau was easily accused of not doing a heck of a lot. Now he finally made a big move. Few can accuse him of being a do-nothing prime minister any more.

Mia Rabson is the Winnipeg Free Press parliamentary bureau chief.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mrabson
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided that the most effective tool for solving climate change is the sledgehammer. His mandatory carbon tax for all provinces  starting at $10 per tonne and rising to $50 per tonne by 2022  raises the ire of western provinces, punishes the virtuous, and worst of all, fails to confront the real problem.

Simon Fraser Universitys Mark Jaccard, Canadas foremost climate economist, observes that to meet our Paris accord obligations of a 30 per cent decrease from 2005 carbon emissions by 2030, the carbon tax needs to be far higher than Mr. Trudeau proposes  at least $200 per tonne. He further notes that no government can impose such a draconian tax and expect to be re-elected. That is the first half of Mr. Trudeaus inconvenient truth.

The second half is that his carbon tax fails to address the real source of our carbon emission problems.

JASON FRANSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Switching the oil sands from using fossil-fuel power sources to clean renewable electricity would lower the industry's carbon footprint.

Two provinces, accounting for just 15 per cent of Canadas population, produce half of our carbon emissions. While the rest of Canada has been steadily reducing carbon emissions over the last decade (-14 per cent from 2005 to 2014), Alberta and Saskatchewan have been substantially increasing theirs (+15 per cent). Without Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada would already be more than halfway to meeting our 2030 Paris accord commitment. As it stands, we are stuck in the mud.

Until we deal with these bad boys, our country has no effective carbon-reduction strategy.

By comparison, Manitoba, with its reliance on clean hydroelectric power, ranks among the virtuous. Our per capita carbon emissions are well below the national average and just one-fourth that of Saskatchewan or Alberta. Mr. Trudeaus heavy-handed approach fails to recognize the considerable investment Manitobans have made in renewable power.

How should we deal with less virtuous Alberta and Saskatchewan? One option that might as well have been proposed by the architects of the Leap Manifesto is to hang Closed for Business signs at the provincial borders and retrain oil and gas workers to work in daycares or on farms growing organic kale. This enjoys little support outside the Marxist fringe.

Alternatively, the federal government could acknowledge the enormous economic contribution Alberta and Saskatchewan have made to the rest of Canada in recent decades. Their petrodollars have propped up Ontario, Quebec and most other provinces, including Manitoba. With the energy sector now falling on hard times, reciprocating in the form of assistance to reduce carbon emissions seems the Canadian thing to do.

Much of Albertas and Saskatchewans carbon footprint stems from coal and gas-powered electricity generation, and the oil sands are major electricity consumers. The Canadian Energy Research Institute at the University of Calgary (yes, I know, funded by the petroleum industry) published a report last spring on options to decarbonize oil sands production in Alberta by replacing coal- and gas-generated-electricity with clean hydroelectric power. That power would come from one of three sources: B.C., Alberta, or Manitoba.

Weaning Alberta from dirty sources of electricity could start tomorrow using the existing B.C.-Alberta intertie. Over the long run, however, more power would be needed than can be currently provided.

The Manitoba option, with the largest generation capacity, holds the greatest potential. The long-planned, but now mothballed, Conawapa generating station on the Nelson River, coupled to a 500-kV high-voltage DC power line to Alberta, provides more power than any other studied option. Roughly similar in scale to Bipole III and Keeyask, it could be finished before 2030.

Manitoba ratepayers obviously cannot afford to assume more megaproject debt. Recent revelations about the size of Manitoba Hydros debt burden and looming sharp increases for ratepayers have been sobering. Conawapa is one megaproject too many for Manitobas small population of 1.3 million. For Canada, however, Conawapa is a relatively modest megaproject and a big first step toward a national energy grid. Its where the federal government could and should step in. Unlike Mr. Trudeaus too-small-to-be-effective carbon tax, it would work.

Building climate-change infrastructure has one further advantage. Once built, it tends to stay built. Taxes and regulations not so much, being subject to the whims of the governing party. Just ask Julia Gillard.

Australias Labour government introduced a ground-breaking carbon tax in 2012, but just 24 months later, faster than you can say climate change denial, it was repealed by Tony Abbots new Liberal government. The tax achieved little in its short life.

Mr. Trudeaus current path bears more than just passing similarity to that of his father, the architect of the infamous National Energy Program. Mr. Trudeaus carbon tax ultimatum moves in that same direction  oblivious, it seems, to the lessons of recent history. Does he really need reminding that the last time it was tried, Liberals in western Canada became rarer than whooping cranes? Just sayin.

Scott Forbes is an ecologist at the University of Winnipeg.

Twitter @lsf58
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How safe are Winnipeg schools, and what do we have to do to make them safer?

One barometer that provides insight is the statistics provided by the Winnipeg School Division regarding school suspensions.

The good news is in the six-year period between 2009-10 and 2014-15, the number of students suspended has declined. Only two per cent of the overall student population in 2014-15 were suspended, and the majority of the suspensions came about because of physical violence between students.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

In 2014-15, there were roughly 475 suspensions based on physical assault of students (we say roughly because the information is contained in bar charts and the specific numbers arent provided), and few of the suspensions lasted longer than two days, suggesting the physical altercations were minor in nature. Why is this important? Well, the Winnipeg Police Service, which is often long on ideas about how to spend taxpayers money, has suggested the school division embrace ALICE, an American response system to deal with active shooters.

ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. It appears to move beyond the current policy, which involves locking the school doors and having everyone in a secure place and staying away from doors and windows.

Instead, it moves to a proactive response that suggests the potential victims should rise up and attack the assailant. It would be pretty controversial if adopted in its entirety and certainly an overreach for the Canadian situation because school violence in Canada is still pretty rare.

In the La Loche, Sask., school shooting earlier this year, where two students and two teachers were killed, the 17-year-old suspect was a former student of the school. In the Taber, Alta., school shooting in 1999, the 14-year old boy was a former student as well. He killed a 17-year-old student and injured another 17-year-old student.

While its not clear if the school system was aware of either of these boys prior to the killings, both boys had been bullied, and there were concerns about their mental health. In other words, this wasnt random.

When we look at school shooting incidents that have occurred south of the border, the persons involved have a history with the school in which the violence takes place, including suspensions.

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were students of Columbine high school, where they killed 13 people in 1999 before they shot themselves. Both had been suspended from their school for hacking into the schools computers. Both had violent tendencies that concerned school officials.

Adam Lanza, the 20-year old responsible for killing 20 children and six adult staff members as well as his mother before killing himself in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was also known by school authorities for writing violent material. He was pulled out of the school system by his mother.

The first line of defence in gauging violence in the school system has to start with the teachers themselves. They can provide information on mental health issues and students who appear to be struggling. Couple that with the statistics on school suspensions and theres a much clearer understanding of where trouble spots are.

But going to a system built on the fears of an American education system inured by a prevalent gun culture is a step too far. Lets not go there.
The man who shot and killed a Winona man a year ago this October has confessed.

Thursday morning, under oath in open court, Lonnie Lavonte Keymone Hudson, 24, responded to questions put to him by his attorney:

When you went to Adam Forts apartment you had a gun with you?

Yes.

The gun was loaded?

Yes.

When you had that gun pointed at Adam Fort you pulled the trigger?

Yes.

You shot Adam Fort one time?

Yes.

Adam Fort died as a result of being shot?

Yes.

As a result of Hudsons testimony, Winona County District Court Judge Mary Leahy accepted Hudsons guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree assault.

Hudson was scheduled to go on trial later this month, indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder and charged with second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, second-degree assault and illegal possession of a firearm.

Thursdays plea was the result of an agreement between Hudson and his attorneys and Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman, with the support of Forts family.

If convicted on the first-degree murder count, Hudson would have faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years. Second-degree murder carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years. According to the terms of the agreement, Hudson will be sentenced to a 30-year prison term, and eligible to be considered for parole after spending 20 years behind bars.

In the early afternoon of Oct. 18, 2015, Hudson and three others went to Forts west-end Winona apartment on Gilmore Avenue, supposedly to buy marijuana in a deal set up by Hudsons uncle.

After they arrived, the drug buy turned into an armed robbery when Hudson produced a handgun and demanded all the money youve got. When Fort and his girlfriend did not immediately comply, Hudson fired a single shot that pierced Forts arm, traveled through his chest, and through and out his other arm, hitting a major artery as it passed through his body, resulting in his death at the scene.

Hudson and an accomplice, Reginald Alexander Burnett, Jr., 19, filled bags with money and belongings, and then fled.

Hudson and the driver of the getaway car would be arrested four days later. Burnett was arrested in Rockdale, Illinois on Oct. 24.

Eventually seven people, four men and three women, would be indicted for their participation in events before, during and after the trigger was pulled.

Burnett pleaded guilty July 14 to aiding and abetting second-degree murder and two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault. He will be sentenced on Oct. 20.

Kayla Mae Clay, 19, driver of the getaway car, pleaded guilty to a single count of aiding an offender as an accomplice after the fact. She was sentenced to five years of probation.

Richard Gordon Deppe, 24, the man who arranged the drug deal and gained admittance to Forts apartment for Hudson and Burnett, pleaded guilty to a single count of aiding an offender as an accomplice after the fact. He was sentenced to 20 years of probation.

Cornelius Dunnigan, 22, the uncle who was behind the planned marijuana purchase, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell marijuana and was sentenced to two years, six months probation.

Ashleigh Ann Bye, 22, pleaded guilty to perjury for giving false testimony to the grand jury. She is on probation for five years, with a stay of adjudication.

Tyesha L. Williams, 24, was indicted on three counts of aiding an offender, accomplice after the fact, but all charges were dismissed since the alleged offenses all occurred in Wisconsin, outside the jurisdiction of Minnesota courts.

Sentencing for Hudson is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 17.
Winona has more public school buildings than it has children to use them.

That summary message was provided to the WAPS school board Thursday night by Paul Aplikowski of Wold Architects and Engineers, the firm hired by the board to evaluate the condition of district school buildings and make recommendations on the districts long-term facility needs.

Currently, there is the equivalent of 683 empty seats in the districts K-12 classrooms, Aplikowski said, with about 250 of those empty seats spread across the districts five elementary school buildings.

This excess building capacity is the result of a community which has seen a progressive decline in the number of school-age children over the past three decades. Since public school funding is based on the number of children in attendance, a shrinking school age population has resulted in shrinking revenue for the operation and maintenance of public school buildings.

Youre spending more money on facilities than you need to to house your students, Aplikowski told the board.

How much more can be estimated by comparing the square footage of the districts school buildings with Minnesota Department of Education recommendations.

Wolds analysis shows the district has nearly 900,000 square feet of school building space  the largest physical plant operated by any Minnesota school district of comparable size. This works out to 284 square feet of building space per student attending Winona Public Schools  more than any of the comparable districts or within the Big Nine Conference. Comparing that total building footprint with state recommendations shows Winona to have about 295,000 square feet of building space in excess of state recommendations  140,000 of which are in the districts elementary schools.

Every square foot you carry has costs, Aplikowski said.

Averaging district facility operating and maintenance costs over the districts total square footage shows it costs WAPS an average of $2.53 per square foot of building space to operate and maintain district school buildings. By multiplying that figure with the square footage in excess of state recommendations, operating and maintaining excess facility space costs the district nearly $750,000 annually.

This compares with $653,000 in total 2015 state funding designated for capital projects and deferred maintenance for the entire district.

Aplikowsi pointed out that not only do district dollars have to cover current operating and maintenance, but lack of adequate funding in years past has resulted in a backlog of repair, renovation and replacement projects totaling nearly $63 million.

In general, you have a lot of needs, Aplikowski said.

He said district facility task force members have been presented with information on the capacity and condition of district facilities and he anticipates they will begin to discuss the options and opportunities available.

I anticipate a lively discussion, he said.

This excess building capacity is the result of a community which has seen a progressive decline in the number of school age children over the past three decades. Since public school funding is based on the number of children in attendance, a shrinking school age population has resulted in shrinking revenue for the operation and maintenance of public school buildings.
Kim Bates investigative science class spent Friday morning aboard the Cal Fremling, chugging along the Mississippi River in search of bald eagles and extra credit.

The Winona State University professor and her students were there to discuss the rivers history and to seek out whatever wildlife might be stirring in the brown water or the yellow trees.

The first person to spot a bald eagle, Bates announced, would be awarded five extra credit points.

Its nice getting out of the classroom, senior Kaitlyn Keeney said. It makes me more engaged. I really like getting a hands-on experience.

The class of 30 or so elementary education majors  the course teaches students how to teach science in their future classrooms  spent most of the 90-minute tour on the boats top deck.

A cold wind whipped their notebooks and knocked over chairs. Several young women expressed regret over their wardrobe choices, appealing to friends for a spare hat or pair of gloves.

With numb fingers, they scrawled observations into their notebooks, or typed them into their phones. They recorded just about everything they could see: the high and fast-moving water, the seagulls flying overhead, the boats and barges they passed on their way.

Imagine what the river was like 10,000 years ago, Bates said. That was around the time Native Americans began to settle here, relying on the river for food and transportation.

Back then it was wide and meandering  there were marshes and forests, she said.

The stretch of river that runs past Winona was first developed in 1878. The river needed to be deeper to accommodate ships, and so workers dredged the main channel until it was 4 feet deep. As ships continued to get bigger, the channel continued to get deeper. Workers made it 6 feet deep in 1907, and made it 9 feet deep in 1930.

This little boat had no problem motoring right along, slipping back underneath the old and new bridges.

Floating toward the dock, the students crowded together at the front of the boat, where the sunlight was. Someone saw a bald eagle and made the mistake of letting everyone else know about it. Soon half the class was making its case for extra credit.

A couple hours later, another investigative science class would set out on its own voyage aboard the Fremling.

I realized the Mississippi is really important to Winona, said junior Kortney Plummer. I never knew how many barges go through here.

I learned, said Keeney, looking down at her flip-flops, to dress appropriately.
GENEVA  The U.N. envoy for Syria called on al-Qaida-linked militants to leave the embattled city of Aleppo in exchange for an end to government and Russian bombardment, warning Thursday that thousands of civilians could be killed and the historic city destroyed by year end if conditions do not soon change.

Special envoy Staffan de Mistura urged fighters from Fatah al-Sham Front to leave the city in exchange for peace. The group was previously known as Nusra Front and changed its name after announcing it had split from al-Qaida earlier this year. The U.N. considers it a terrorist organization.

De Mistura entreated both sides to look at my eyes before offering to personally escort the fighters to a refuge of their choosing, provided they agree to lay down their arms.

The combined Syrian government and Russian bombardment of the citys rebel-held east has killed 376 people over the last two weeks, the envoy said. While far fewer have been killed in the western side, which has a population of over a million, presumed rebel shelling killed at least eight people on Thursday, Syrian state media and observers said. It marked one of the bloodiest days in recent memory for government-held neighborhoods of the city.

De Mistura acknowledged that the fighters would need some guarantees before an evacuation to another rebel-held part of the country, but said these would have to come from the government. He also called for the local administration in opposition-held eastern neighborhoods to remain in place after Fatah al-Sham leaves, with the U.N. establishing a presence there to bring humanitarian supplies to the besieged population.

His proposals marked the first major initiative by the U.N. to help find a way out of the Syria crisis after the United States, citing in part the Aleppo onslaught, suspended its joint effort with Russia to stop the fighting. Those two powers had been leading the diplomatic push. Russia, which currently holds the presidency of the U.N. Security Council, called for de Mistura to brief members on Friday morning.

Yet rebel fighters in Aleppo expressed deep skepticism over the terms of de Misturas proposal. They say the Fatah al-Sham Front has been instrumental to the easts defense, having led an August counter-offensive that briefly broke the governments siege. The U.N. estimates 275,000 people are trapped in eastern Aleppo.

Ammar Sakkar, a military spokesman for Fastiqum rebel group, said the evacuation plan was a form of trickery that would allow pro-government forces to carry out a longer period of killing and crime. He accused the U.N. of holding a double standard, arguing that before calling for fighters to leave it must first stop the head of terrorism and stop his own acts of terrorism and crime against the Syrian people, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

It would have been better if (de Mistura) spoke about protecting civilians and halting the criminal activities that target civilians in Aleppo, echoed Yasser Alyousef, a political spokesman for Nour el-Din el-Zinki insurgent group.

While Assad has not commented on de Misturas proposals, his remarks during an interview with Denmarks D2 station Thursday indicated he would not be satisfied with the limited rebel evacuation. Insisting his military would retake the whole of Aleppo, the president rejected any distinctions between the array of nationalist to ultraconservative Islamic factions fighting against his authority.

The moderate opposition is a myth, he told D2. Thats why you cannot separate something that doesnt exist from something that does exists. All of them have the same grassroots.

During the interview, Assad also denied reports by opposition activists and international relief agencies that his government was targeting hospitals and civilian infrastructure.

In his press conference, de Mistura said the presence of 900 Fatah al-Sham Front fighters should not be used as an excuse to besiege and bombard over a quarter of a million people. Is this going to be the alibi for destroying the city? he asked.

The bottom line is: In a maximum of two months  two and a half months  the city of eastern Aleppo at this rate may be totally destroyed ... and thousands of Syrians, not terrorists, will be killed, he said.
Forests in Sauk County will be primed for oak growth and provide better habitat for birds and other wildlife after restoration efforts that are set to take place over the next few months, a nonprofit conservation group says.

Representatives of The Nature Conservancy caution that people may see some out-of-the- ordinary things at Baxters Hollow, located between Sauk City and Baraboo, and Hemlock Draw, which sits about 30 minutes southwest of Baraboo near Leland.

Theyll see some small trees laying on the ground, and in some cases some standing trees that will be dead, said Cate Harrington, a spokeswoman for The Nature Conservancy. This isnt random. Weve had our scientists thinking about this for a while. We think it will work.

The goal is to allow more light into certain areas where oak trees have stopped regenerating. That should provide enough room and light for the oaks, which are critical to forest health, to spread.

In some cases, contractors may use controlled fires to clear areas and reduce competition among plant species. That will be done by trained professionals with careful consideration for neighbors and weather conditions, the conservation group says.

The project will focus on 90 acres of property inside Baxters Hollow and 70 acres at Hemlock Draw. Work began in September and will continue over the next year.

Project coordinator Ann Calhoun said certain plants and trees that have overgrown will be removed, allowing more light into those areas. At some point, the project may include timber sales.

The additional space will give oaks more room to drop acorns. Once deer and turkey have eaten their fill, there should be enough left on the ground to germinate additional trees. But it could take up to 10 years to start to see results, Calhoun said.

Its great to see what comes in when theres more light on the forest floor, she said.

The project, which will cost more than $10,000, is partially funded by turkey stamp grants through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The Nature Conservancy, which has been in existence since 1951, works to protect ecologically important lands and waters. The organization has protected more than 119 million acres and thousands of miles of rivers worldwide, according to its website.

The Nature Conservancy currently protects more than 11,000 acres in the Baraboo Hills, the largest block of upland forest that remains in southern Wisconsin. Most of the nonprofits property near Baraboo is open to the public for low-impact recreational activities, including hunting.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Thursday if he wins re-election over challenger Russ Feingold in November, he would step down at the end of his second term.

Johnson has painted his campaign as that of a businessman facing off against a career politician in Feingold, a Democrat who served in the Wisconsin Legislature for 10 years and was a U.S. Senator for 18 years before Johnson defeated him in 2010.

Johnson said he is driven by a desire to use his knowledge as an accountant and manufacturing business owner to fix issues facing the state and nation, not to seek reelection. He made the comments during an interview at the Baraboo News Republic office before traveling to Reedsburg to speak with supporters.

Senate race

The rematch between Johnson and Feingold has been considered one of the more compelling races in the country, as it could determine which party holds the majority in the Senate. The most recent Marquette Law School poll has Johnson trailing Feingold 42 percent to 46 percent among registered voters.

Johnson said despite his status as an incumbent, he believes he is the underdog.

Its always a challenge, he said. When you look historically at Republican candidates running statewide during a presidential (election), its always been a challenge. I dont think weve won a statewide race since 1984 with Reagan.

Adding to the differences between himself and his opponent, Johnson said he wants to reduce government regulations, whereas Feingold wants to expand big government.

He wants to grow government and take more money out of Wisconsin taxpayers pockets  I want to grow the private sector so the people have more money in their pockets, he said. Its an enormous difference  a significant difference in attitude.

Security

Through all of his campaigning across the state of Wisconsin, Johnson said he can sum up his supporters greatest concerns with one word: security.

Its not just with ISIS. Its not just about homeland and national security. Its job security, its income security, its retirement security, its healthcare security, he said.

He said progressive, liberal policies havent provided people with that security.

Instead, he said theyve added to the debt and made people dependent on the government. Johnson said he plans to improve security across the board with a conceptually simple, three-step solution to grow the economy: reduce the regulatory burden of the federal government, establish a competitive tax system and use the nations energy resources to remain independent.

Johnson said ever-increasing government regulations make it harder for people who operate businesses.

You comply with this regulation over here and youre in violation over there, he said. It becomes so complex. A business owner is spending more time trying to follow the law and not break these rules and regulations, as opposed to thinking about how you survive in a competitive marketplace.

National debt

Johnson said unsustainable debt and deficits are the greatest issue concerning the country. He said trillion-dollar spikes in the national debt  which is now nearing $20 trillion  since 2011 will lead to a $103 trillion deficit in 30 years.

Were mortgaging your future. Were mortgaging our childrens future, he said. We actually need people who understand numbers, because these are financial situations, and we need people who are willing to run for office not with a primary motivation for being reelected, but who actually want to solve these problems.

Johnson said President Barack Obama has not been serious about addressing the national debt and has put the country on an unsustainable path, which prompted him to seek reelection in the Senate.

As chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental affairs, Johnson said he will continue to try to pass bipartisan legislation and lower the national debt.

My technique has been to move the bipartisan bills that identify a problem in a bipartisan fashion and fix them, he said. Most of the stuff we pass makes government a little more efficient, a little more effective and a little more accountable. Thats a good thing.

Affordable education

In addition to reducing regulations, Johnson also expressed concern about skyrocketing college tuition costs. Whereas Feingolds campaign has focused on initiatives that would make refinancing student loans an option for borrowers, Johnson said the real problem is in collegiate spending and federal subsidizing.

He said the government poured money into a limited-supply marketplace by offering massive amounts of student loans, which drove up the cost of tuition and now students are left to pay for the artificially inflated cost of higher education.

Its interesting because when Sen. Feingold was no longer senator, he became a college professor; lets put it that way, he went to Stanford, got paid $150,000 for 19 lectures  kind of an example of why college tuition has increased so drastically. Thats almost $8,000 a lecture, Johnson said. Those must have been some smoking good lectures, I guess.

To combat the issue, Johnson said there are 38 programs currently run by the federal government to help alleviate student debt. The problem, he said, is the Department of Education does an inadequate job telling borrowers about the various repayment options.

I look at 38 programs, I just dont think you need another one, he said. Why dont we have the education department make students who have graduated with debt aware of what help there already is?

Presidential election

When asked if he believed a presidential candidate like Donald Trump could have an adverse effect on his campaign, Johnson reiterated his claim that he is not a career politician.

Im not a politician. Im not a political pundit, he said. Im an accountant. Im a manufacturer from Oshkosh, Wisconsin who stepped up to the plate, and now Im a U.S. senator. And Im a U.S. senator who is focusing on these problems.
Miles of phosphorus-laden muck must be removed from streambeds that lead to Madisons lakes.

Its the most promising and dramatic way to improve the health of Mendota, Monona and the other lakes in the Yahara chain, which has been fouled by heavy weeds and algae most summers.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisis plan to vacuum the polluted sediment from the bottom of streams deserves support from the County Board and public. The sludge has built up over more than a century from manure and other nutrient-rich material washing off barnyards and fields.

Parisi is proposing spending $12 million over four years to remove 870,000 pounds of phosphorus from 33 miles of waterways leading to Madisons lakes. The result  when combined with other efforts to keep new sources of manure, soil, leaves and other organic material out of the water  should be cleaner lakes, which are vital to the regions identity, quality of life and economy.

The muck is more than 2 feet thick in some stream sections. This includes part of Dorn Creek, which leads to Governor Nelson State Park and Lake Mendota. The phosphorus that settled in Dorn Creek long ago steadily leaches into the water at what officials believe are potent concentrations.

Because Dane County, working closely with farmers northwest of Lake Mendota, has done a good job of protecting the lakes from additional manure, going after the slurry thats already in the streambeds makes sense because it wont be quickly replaced.

Parisi told the State Journal editorial board this week that many farmers upstream of Lake Mendota have lowered the phosphorus leaving their operations to about half of whats allowable. And the county has calculated that removing the muck from streambeds may be the most cost-effective way to make further progress.

Dane County should closely monitor the impact of removing the worst sections of sludge to gauge whether additional dredging is worth the expense.

Significantly, Parisis plan has the backing of the Clean Lakes Alliance, a diverse coalition of private and public groups and individuals.

Besides going after the pollution already lodged in streambeds, Parisis county budget seeks to help smaller agricultural producers safely store manure on land to avoid harmful discharges. It helps fund further conservation practices, such as buffer strips at the edge of fields, and it would partner with local communities to reduce urban stormwater runoff.

The Madison region has made a lot of progress at protecting its lakes in recent years. But the miles of sludge that have sat at the bottom of streambeds cant be ignored. The County Board should approve Parisis request to clean the streams. A century of foul sediment wont disappear in our lifetimes on its own.
The sarcastic Internet meme saying Thanks, Obama to blame the president of all of lifes travails ran its course years ago.

Except in Congress.

In that venue the president still gets blamed for everything, minus the sarcasm.

Members took the practice to a new low when they blamed Barack Obama for passage of the bill that allows 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries.

Yes, they blamed the president even after they overrode his veto, handing him his the first such defeat of his presidency.

I think it was just a ball dropped, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. I wish the president  I hate to blame everything on him and I dont  but it would have been helpful had he, we, had a discussion about this much earlier than last week...

Everybody was aware of who the potential beneficiaries were, but nobody really focused on the potential downsides in terms of our international relationships.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, echoed McConnells comments. Id like to think that theres a way we could fix (it) so that our service members do not have legal problems overseas, while still protecting the rights of the 9/11 victims.

How on earth do they think they can blame the president when he vetoed the bill? Dont members of Congress take responsibility for their own actions?

To be clear, this is not just another a partisan slip-up.

The bill to allow 9/11 victims had major bipartisan support. The Senate voted 97-1 to override the veto. The House voted to override 348-77.

But within a day Republican leaders were voicing regret that they had not considered the potential ramifications of the legislation.

Now they are worried that it opens the door for other countries to sue the United States. As a Vietnam combat veteran, I could almost certainly be sued by the Vietnamese government of a Vietnamese citizen, said former Sen. Larry Pressler. We Vietnam veterans will be raw targets if Americans can sue Saudi Arabia.

There is no evidence that the Saudi government directed or financed the 9/11 attacks. But some family members of victims believe the country played a role.

The bill passed by Congress expanded the legal exception to the doctrine of sovereign immunity that protects foreign governments from lawsuits in the United States.

Theres no doubt that it was feel-good legislation that many members were loath to publicly oppose.

But theres no excuse for Congress not doing its job. Neither the House or the Senate even held a hearing on the bill, Sen. Bob Corker pointed out.

And now congressional leaders are blaming President Barack Obama? When are voters going to put a stop to this nonsense?
The Wisconsin Film Festival hosted a special screening of the documentary Rwanda and Juliet Thursday at Kimberly Chapel at Wayland Academy, 101 N. University Ave.

More than 25 people attended the film directed by Ben Proudfoot, which follows Dartmouth professor emeritus Andrew Garrods travels to Rwanda as he attempts stage William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet that features members of both the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. The year 2016 also marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeares death.

Every time I watch it, it takes me back, Proudfoot said.

The documentary takes place about three years ago in a post-genocide Rwanda and the film spends a good amount of time profiling the actors personal lives and the effects of the genocide on the families and the country.

The Rwandan genocide took place from April to July in 1994. During that time, the Hutu, according to BBC News, killed an estimated 800,000 Rwandans in which 70 percent were against the Tutsi.

As the film leads up to the opening night of Romeo and Juliet, Proudfoot takes time to dwell on the personal fallout from the genocide, to dive into the power of theater and to explore a clash of culture between Garrods privileged life as a white college professor and the native Rwandan students.

Mark Molldrem addressed the audience before the film saying that he and Friendship International will soon be sending their sixth 40-foot semi-trailer to Liberia packed full of donated items.

After the screening Proudfoot stayed to answer questions from the audience that ranged from stylistic choices, to origins and production.

Proudfoot said one of his friends came up with the idea and just before leaving for Rwanda his friend broke his arm. Proudfoot stepped in to take over. This is his first feature film.

He spent three years working on the film, which he said presented a huge learning curve, but he is humbled by the results.

Proudfoot had never been to Africa before shooting the film, but he now intends to return and possibly work with a Rwandan film school.

Its not a money making effort, but it is worthwhile, he said.

Throughout the course of filming, he said that he has learned a lot, and focused on telling the story in front of him and not filming the scenes with blinders on.

Since the production on the film wrapped, Proudfoot has been showing the film at film festivals  it won best film at the Rwandan Film Festival and is now starting to screen at schools.

Thats how Proudfoot got in touch with University of Wisconsin Arts Institute, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, Friendship International and Shakespeare in Wisconsin.

Right now Proudfoot, with the help of the Wisconsin Film Festival, is screening the film in Madison and Appleton. He said that he is excited to share his film with more people and he hopes that teenagers watching the film take an interest in Rwandan history, as well as the power of Shakespeare.

Proudfoot is also a producer and director on Rust (2015) and The Ox (2013).
HORICONThe next meeting of the Horicon Marsh Bird Club will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the lower level of the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, N7725 Highway 28.

This meeting is being held a week earlier than usual this month to accommodate avid Packers fans.

The featured speaker will be HMBC president Jeff Bahls who will talk about the great -crested flycatcher. The great-crested flycatcher is a common flycatcher of open hardwood forests. It is unusual in that it nests in cavities. Learn what kind of cavities it is known to choose, and how to attract it to a property. Find out what unusual item it uses to decorate its entrance and the biology behind this bird.

Bahls is a lifelong resident of Dodge County. He has been an avid water fowler for nearly 40 years. He has vast knowledge of Horicon Marsh where he works part time for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He has been a member of Horicon Marsh Bird Club for the past 15 years and is the current president. He sits on the board of the Wood Duck Society, a nationwide organization devoted placement and care of wood duck boxes and wood duck habitat. Bahls was a member of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2007 search team, looking for ivory billed woodpeckers in Arkansas.

Bird club programs are free and open to the public. For more information call 387-7893 or visit horiconmarshbirdclub.com.
Dawson Firlus, Olivia Lulich, Emily Patton and Dravan Robinson of the Mauston FFA Chapter attended the Wisconsin Association of FFA FIRE Conference on Sept. 24 at the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Campus.

FIRE stands for Foundations in Reaching Excellence. The conference helps young FFA members discover opportunities in the FFA organization and gain valuable leadership skills. This is one of three conferences held around Wisconsin for seventh, eighth and ninth grade FFA members. All of Maustons attendees are currently freshman at Mauston High School. Over 600 members will attend these three conferences over three weekends statewide.

The State FFA FIRE Conference is designed to inform beginning FFA members about the FFA and motivate them to participate in its many activities. Students learned about communication skills, social skills, goal setting, FFA awards and programs, and opportunities in agriculture along with developing leadership skills to help them be effective members in their local chapters.

The conference is conducted by the 2016-17 State FFA Officer Team along with assistance from the UW-Madison Collegiate FFA. The conference centered on the theme Building Your Foundation-One Brick at a Time. All of the state officers encouraged students that attended the FIRE Conference to set goals for their FFA involvement and meet people from around the state who can help them reach those goals.

Not only does this conference help students understand the FFA Organization and all its opportunities, but helps them develop skills in meeting people, working with others and setting goals with a plan of action. In the FFA, we assist members starting in seventh grade to develop skills they will need for future careers and opportunites, said Cheryl Zimmerman, State FFA Executive Director. FFA develops the whole person and these young members are taking a step in the right direction.

The Wisconsin FFA Association is comprised of more than 250 local chapters with over 20,000 members gaining leadership for the future of agriculture. FFA activities and award programs complement instruction in agriculture education by giving students practical experience in the application of agricultural skills and knowledge gained in classes. FFAs mission is to develop members potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
Vibrant colors will blaze indoors and out Oct. 14-16 as the Fall Art Tour returns to Baraboo.

In its 23rd year, Wisconsins oldest rural art tour will feature 47 local artists in four communities. During those three days, theyll open their studios to 3,000 visitors.

I think this tour will be during peak color, said fiber artist Char ter beest-Kudla. The weather forecast looks great: Mild, sun-filled days with no rainy touring.

The free tour will be held in Baraboo, Spring Green, Dodgeville and Mineral Point. It allows art lovers to watch artists create their work and ask questions about the process.

We are the art tour many others have crafted their own area tours around, ter beest-Kudla said. We are recognized as being one of the best, most professionally run art tours in our area.

New this year will be Baraboo artist Laura Annis. Shell showcase her paintings and multi-dimensional wood pieces in a studio she and husband John Peruzzi built this summer next to their home.

Annis said the tours regional draw grants artists exposure and an opportunity to sell their work directly. These are people who wouldnt otherwise see my work, she said. People come with their checkbooks in hand specifically to purchase art.

With thousands of visitors descending on Baraboo, the benefits should be widespread. Itll be good for the towns economy all around, Annis said.

She and Peruzzi tore down a garage next to their Lynn Avenue home and replaced it with a 540 square-foot studio. It gives Peruzzi space for carpentry, and Annis room to paint murals, cut wood pieces and weld metal.

On Thursday the couple installed drywall, readying the studio for its public debut. Its going to be so beneficial for my artistic process, Annis said.

Shes looking forward to demonstrating her work and discussing it with visitors. The studios interior wont be complete, but the Fall Art Tour is about showcasing works in progress. Im really excited to have people come see what weve built here, Annis said. Its been challenging, but I think its going to be worth it.

Artists will open their studios from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day of the tour. Brochures with maps will be available at Cornerstone Gallery, which will serve as Baraboo tour headquarters.

Many artists have been on the tour route for many years, but ter beest-Kudla said theres always something new to see. If youve done the tour in the past and think youve seen everything, you might be surprised at how every artisan grows and changes, she said.
NORTH FREEDOM  The Mast family is doing its part  and more  to build the economy of this small community. Marvin and Lillian Mast have opened two businesses on Walnut Street this year.

The Amish couple and their two teenage children came to the village to open Classic Heritage Furniture in February. Last month, they added Mrs. Masts Bakery down the street.

We like the lay of the land here, Marvin Mast said.

The Masts formerly made and sold furniture in Hillpoint for nine years. They returned to the area with a plan to sell furniture made in Indiana by Amish craftsmen and possibly to establish a small Amish community in North Freedom. The family and its businesses have enjoyed a warm reception.

We really like the community as a whole, Marvin Mast said.

The son of a carpenter, he grew up tinkering in his fathers wood shop. He went on to become a furniture maker. Although he doesnt make the pieces on display in the family store, he knows the people who do. Id challenge anybody to find any better quality than what we have right here, he said.

Classic Heritage Furniture offers custom-ordered bedroom sets, dining sets, cabinets and bookcases. Its located in a former grocery store that building owner Darrell Weiland had used for storage. Weiland installed new windows, drywall and flooring to suit his new tenant. It makes a nice showroom, Marvin Mast said.

The furniture store is a regional draw that ships pieces all over the country. Everyday foot traffic tends to be light, though, so the Masts opened a bakery down the street to keep themselves busy and create an additional revenue stream. Lillian Masts family had a bakery, and her cinnamon rolls and cookies have become a hit with customers.

Theyre steadily coming, she said. They seem to be glad were here.

The bakery is only open three days a week, keeping demand high. Thirty cinnamon rolls flew off the shelf Saturday. I think people really like the homemade, from-scratch baked goods, Marvin Mast said.

On days when the bakery is open, they start working at 4 a.m. to ensure the shelves are stocked by 9. Marvin Mast shuffles between the bakery and furniture store as customer traffic dictates.

Whether they come looking for pies or tables, customers are after high-quality, handmade goods. Longtime village resident Beverly Vertein said locals have welcomed the bakery. Its fresh, homemade and great-tasting, she said. I think its a nice feature for our village.
A Chippewa Falls Republican is using her past opposition to fellow GOP Gov. Scott Walker in an effort to win re-election.

In a piece of campaign literature provided to the Wisconsin State Journal by Democrats, Rep. Kathy Bernier says she "stood up" to Walker's cuts to education.

Bernier is seeking a fourth term in the Assembly and voted against the 2015-17 state budget.

The mailer emphasizes Bernier's commitment to improving schools, though doesn't specify what kind.

Bernier did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the mailer, but Bernier issued a statement in July 2015 objecting to the state budget and cuts proposed by Walker to the University of Wisconsin System.

"Cuts to the UW System are simply too deep, despite the Legislatures restoring $50 million," she said. "Efficiencies can and should be implemented, to be certain. However, not all UW campuses are affected equally by these cuts, and I believe more time is needed to adequately address funding levels."

Tom Evenson, spokesman for Walker, said in response to Bernier's literature that schools are benefitting from savings related to his collective bargaining measure known as Act 10, "and they will be getting more aid at the end of this budget than they were before Governor Walker took office."

"Governor Walker is committed to working with the Legislature in the next session to increase investments in K-12 education and the UW System," said Evenson.

A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RIO  Four rural school districts are exploring ways they might collaborate to save money and create more opportunities for their students.

Pardeeville, Rio, Cambria-Friesland and Fall River school boards and administrators met in Rio last week to discuss areas of collaboration in transportation, health insurance, purchasing and coursework, among other topics. The administrators agreed at a time when rural school districts are struggling with similar issues, working together will only help them.

Im guessing were blazing a trail here, said Rio Superintendent Mark McGuire, whose district came up with the idea to collaborate earlier this year. I dont know of any other area in the state where you have four districts coming together like this, to look at how we can do things better for our kids.

It was a fantastic meeting, Cambria-Friesland Superintendent Timothy Raymond said. Its just exploration at this point, but the boards have definitely given us the framework to do something next year, or to see what it would look like.

The administrators had already twice met over the summer, including Poynette, whose administrators ultimately decided Poynette is large enough  like Portage  that it wouldnt benefit from joint practices. Poynette has about 1,150 students, Pardeeville has 800, while Rio, Cambria-Friesland and Fall River each have fewer than 500 students. Portage has about 2,400 students.

Health insurance, for example, was an issue Poynette and Pardeeville had decided they wont be collaborating in, though that conversation for the other districts will continue.

The magic number seems to be 100 participants, Pardeeville Superintendent Gus Knitt said of health insurance. Were slightly over that, so we have a little better leverage than the others do, individually.

But that doesnt mean Pardeeville isnt interested in collaborating in other areas. Knitt noted virtually everything that could save his district money will remain on the table, including sharing buses for co-curricular activities. Rio and Pardeeville share the same bus service  Smiths  so they had already been taking advantage of such trips, like for Future Business Leaders of America, Knitt said.

Could we do something to fill buses so were not sending a half-filled bus somewhere? Knitt said of questions raised at the meeting. Most fourth-grade classes go to the Capitol in Madison, could we schedule ours on the same day? Those are the things were looking at.

McGuire said he expects the four rural districts to get together again either in the winter or in the spring. From Rios perspective, collaboration is very important as the district when campaigning for a referendum promised its taxpayers it would explore doing things differently to both save money and provide excellent services for our students. In April voters in Rio approved a referendum that allows the district to exceed the revenue limit by $825,000 in 2016-17, $900,000 the next year and $975,000 in year three.

We also want to keep the identity of our school districts, McGuire said of the collaboration, as the administrators agreed any such joint efforts would fall well short of consolidation. (But) if we can cooperate on any items that will help us, its going to save us money in the long run.

Raymond said practical matters such as those involving something as simple as paper is primarily what the districts are focused on at this time.

We dont often think about (paper), but school districts still go through a lot of paperwork, he said. A purchasing cooperative among the districts for paper, for example, is one of several issues Raymond expects to receive more attention in the coming months, as the rural districts respective business and building and grounds managers will soon join the conversation too. Purchasing cooperatives would simply mean better rates, Raymond said.

While perhaps more complicated for implementation, the districts have also been discussing sharing teachers and coursework. Raymond noted Cambria-Friesland could be a spot for rural districts to send high school students for environmental-science courses, while Pardeeville could serve as a place for students in career technology education (CTE).

Some of these districts offer family and consumer education, but we dont have that here, Knitt used as an example for Pardeeville. Thered be a small fee, but it would enhance our curriculum.

We offer some Advanced Placement, and some schools dont  so maybe they could send some of their kids to Pardeeville and enroll in our classes. Agriculture is another area (we offer).

Fall River does not offer agriculture, which had Superintendent Michael Garrow interested in tapping in.

So, basically, we can hang on to our students but afford them the opportunities they cant get in our district, he said of the idea. Were at a point where we recognize that even though its a competitive market, we need to work with one another, and that will make all of us stronger.

The discussion is especially valuable, Knitt said, when you consider smaller schools budgets seem to get tighter as the years go on, meaning they have to make significant cuts in some areas. But, if those areas can be shared among rural districts, it only makes sense to share them.

As great as that all sounds, however, Knitt cautioned that obstacles exist, needing to factor contracts, school calendars and teachers workloads, for example.

Right now it sounds like a good idea, but the devils in the details, Knitt said. This is probably thinking outside the box, obviously, but its worth investigating.

The way the world is moving globally, Raymond said, for small school districts, whether in Wisconsin, Michigan or Minnesota, we just have a different set of challenges in front of us than weve ever had. Part of that is the fiscal model  so the more were able to work collaboratively with other districts in the same situation, the (better).

We feel we can truly be competitive with the DeForest districts, the Sun Prairie districts. ... I think theres potential.

Its a really exciting opportunity for us.

Right now it sounds like a good idea, but the devils in the details. This is probably thinking outside the box, obviously, but its worth investigating. Gus Knitt, Pardeeville superintendent
Barbara Irene (Zastrow) Hockerman

Barbara Irene (Zastrow) Hockerman passed away Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, after battling numerous health conditions for the last several years. Although those who knew her gained wisdom and insight from her courageous fight, that person is not the person she would want us to remember.

Barb inherited her fathers sense of humor, and, like him, she never met a stranger. She began traveling with her family as a young child and never lost her taste for adventure or a good prank. Her friends across the country will remember her for collecting menus, rocks, people and other prized souvenirs.

A 1962 graduate of Portage High School and a 1965 graduate of the Madison Area Technical College chefs training program, Barb worked for a number of years at the University of Wisconsin Union kitchens in Madison. She maintained a lifelong interest in cooking and entertaining.

Barb is survived by her beloved husband and partner, Vernon Hockerman, with whom she lived in the Waukesha and Pewaukee area for the last 48 years. She is also survived by cousins and friends too numerous to mention, each of whom she frequently reassured of her love.

She was preceded in death and will be welcomed into heaven by her parents, Bob and Irene Zastrow; infant sister, Roberta; her maternal grandparents, Lula and Frank Henne; and her paternal grandparents, Arnold and Minnie Zastrow.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday at Kratz Funeral Home in Portage, with the Rev. Greg Hovland officiating. Inurnment will follow immediately at Silver Lake Cemetery. The family is being assisted by Kratz Funeral Home (www.kratzfuneralhome.com).

Memorials may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County, or a charity of your choice.

Though we are all deeply grieved at Barbs passing, let us remember the words she chose for her own epitaph many years ago, Lets have a party! That is the way Barb would like us all to remember and celebrate her.
Hannah Feller put her language skills to the test last year.

The Reedsburg Area High School student spent her junior year in Westerwede, Germany, as an exchange student. She said she had previously taken a two-year online language course and wanted to expand her knowledge.

Hannah gave a presentation Oct. 6 at the Reedsburg Public Library to share her experiences and hopefully inspire other students to study abroad.

She said it was a little intimidating moving to a strange country but went with wisdom from others. Her mother, Heidi Feller, who works with the Reedsburg School District, was an exchange student when she was in school and also taught German. From an early age Hannah was exposed to the culture.

Over the years her family has also hosted exchange students, including ones from Germany.

Hannah told the Times-Press she didnt consider herself to be fluent in the language when she went but gained a better understanding overseas. Many adults and youth in Germany speak some English but Hannah said she tried to stick to German as much as possible.

Responsibility

German education is quite unlike that in the U.S. and may cause some controversy. Once students reach fifth grade they need to decide whether they will attend a high-level or low-level school. Hannah said higher schools focus on university readiness while lower levels prepare students for trades or skilled labor. She attended a high-level school.

Not many fifth graders know for sure what they want to do with their lives though so transfers are possible once they get older, she added.

School itself is less like high school and more like college. Students are responsible for attending and participating in their classes. Discussions, oral responses and tests are a few of the requirements to pass, Hannah said.

Tests are long and vigorous, sometimes taking up to six hours. Hannah said there are no multiple choice questions; everything is in essay format.

Students at her school also didnt type their work; everything was handwritten. Hannah said it challenged the students because they couldnt rely on spell-checking to fix their mistakes. Germany values proper punctuation, spelling and grammar, which students pick up through constant writing.

Hannah said she liked this method of teaching because its engaging. Classes were less about lecturing and more about discussion and active learning.

Interaction is also different. Hannah said shes used to growing up in a small town where people ask lots of questions when they see new faces. She expected as much when she went to Germany but was surprised when few seemed to notice her.

She later found out that people in her area tend to be more reserved but become very kind as they get to know one another. Relationships take time to build, she said, and no one expects to instantly become best friends.

Different lifestyle

Architecture, transportation and family living vary a bit from Wisconsin. Hannah said she quickly learned that its not a good idea to go barefoot indoors. Superstitions say those who are underdressed are more likely to get sick so everyone is advised to wear at least socks.

It may have something to do with the weather. Like Wisconsin winters can be cold and unexpectedly snowy at times. Hannah said the peoples philosophy is that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

Hannah knows something about variable weather. Students dont get their drivers licenses until they are close to 18 years old and bus passes cost money so most kids opt to ride their bikes, she said. Very few students drive to school and bikers will brave anything from heavy rain to snow.

Decor is also distinct, she said. Many dwellings, at least in northern Germany, have red brick walls and roofs, a sight she frequently saw from upstairs classrooms. Indoor decorations tend to be less abundant than what she has seen at home in the U.S. Residents where she stayed preferred white walls, minimalist decorations, Scandinavian influences and Ikea furniture.

Homes themselves are smaller but taller and yards are usually small and fenced. Hannah said there was a rule that homeowners could only mow the lawn during certain hours of the daytime and mowing was never allowed on Sunday.

As for meals bread is a staple, which Hannah admits she grew to both love and hate. The bread is delicious and may include a variety of toppings. The downside is its a lot of carbohydrates to consume in one day.

Personal improvement

Culture wasnt the only reason Hannah wanted to study abroad. She said she wasnt sure about her future career goals and thought gaining a broader perspective might help.

Shes now planning to pursue a field related to international relations, though she isnt quite sure whether that will mean work in business, politics, media or another sector.

Hannah added that she has applied for college in The Netherlands.

She said exchange-student programs introduce youth to the global community. People need to learn to embrace each others differences, and study abroad is one way to discover and respect diversity.

Although shes back in the U.S. Hannah said she still keeps in touch with her friends and boyfriend in Germany.
Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, renewable generation, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. It also engages in the wholesale of electricity to municipalities, electric cooperative utilities, and load-serving entities. This segment serves approximately 8.2 million customers in 6 states in the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States covering a service territory of approximately 91,000 square miles; and owns approximately 50,259 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure segment distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation natural gas customers; and owns, operates, and invests in pipeline transmission and natural gas storage facilities. It has approximately 1.6 million customers, including 1.1 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as 550,000 customers in southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The Commercial Renewables segment acquires, owns, develops, builds, and operates wind and solar renewable generation projects, including nonregulated renewable energy and energy storage services to utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and corporate customers. It has 23 wind, 178 solar, and 2 battery storage facilities, as well as 71 fuel cell locations with a capacity of 3,554 MW across 22 states. The company was formerly known as Duke Energy Holding Corp. and changed its name to Duke Energy Corporation in April 2005. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; prepaid programs and management services; commercial credit and debit payment products and solutions; and payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts. It also provides value-added products and services comprising cyber and intelligence solutions for parties to transact, as well as proprietary insights, drawing on principled use of consumer, and merchant data services. In addition, the company offers analytics, test and learn, consulting, managed services, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants. Further, it provides open banking and digital identity platforms services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.
The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers a range of skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, cleansing devices, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools. The company also provides fragrance products in various forms comprising eau de parfum sprays and colognes, as well as lotions, powders, creams, candles, and soaps; and hair care products that include shampoos, conditioners, styling products, treatment, finishing sprays, and hair color products, as well as sells ancillary products and services. It offers its products under the Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin, Smashbox, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, GLAMGLOW, Kilian Paris, Too Faced, Dr. Jart+, DECIEM, and The Ordinary brands. The company sells its products through department stores, specialty-multi retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and salons and spas; freestanding stores; its own and authorized retailer websites; third-party online malls; stores in airports; and duty-free shops. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 218,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,481.5 megawatts of generation capacity and 8,892 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. The Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 1,094,000 natural gas utility customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming; owns and operates 4,732 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines; 41,644 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines; six natural gas storage sites; and approximately 50,000 horsepower of compression and 515 miles of gathering lines. The company also constructs and maintains gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers; and provides appliance repair services to residential utility customers, as well as electrical system construction services to large industrial customers. In addition, it produces electric power through wind, natural gas, and coal-fired generating plants; and coal at its coal mine located near Gillette, Wyoming. The company was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Navistar International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells commercial trucks, diesel engines, school and commercial buses, and service parts for trucks and diesel engines worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Truck, Parts, Global Operations, and Financial Services. It manufactures and distributes Class 4 through 8 trucks and buses in the common carrier, private carrier, government, leasing, construction, energy/petroleum, and student and commercial transportation markets under the International and IC brands; and designs, engineers, and produces sheet metal components, including truck cabs and engines. The company also provides customers with proprietary products needed to support the International commercial truck, IC bus, and engine lines, as well as other product lines; and a selection of other standard truck, trailer, and engine aftermarket parts. In addition, it manufactures and distributes mid-range diesel engines, as well as provides customers with additional engine offerings in the agriculture, marine, genset, and light truck markets; sells engines to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for various on-and-off-road applications; and offers contract manufacturing services under the MWM brand to OEMs for the assembly of their engines. Further, the company provides retail, wholesale, and lease financing of products of its trucks and parts, as well as financing for wholesale and retail accounts receivable. Additionally, it exports trucks, buses, and engines. The company markets its commercial products through an independent dealer network, as well as through retail outlets; and its reconditioned used trucks to owner-operators and fleet buyers through its network of used truck dealers. It operates approximately 1,052 outlets in the United States and Canada, and 89 outlets in Mexico. Navistar International Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois.
Swem Library acquires rare 19th-century, handwritten Quran

Rare find: The 19th-century Quran is the same kind that would have been used by the first Muslims in America - enslaved West Africans of the colonies. Photo courtesy of Swem Special Collections

Rare find: Oludamini Ogunnaike, assistant professor of religious studies, requested the historic Quran for use in his Introduction to Islam class. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption

A rare tome recently joined Swem Librarys collection of gemsone that could shed light on an important slice of American history.

At the request of Oludamini Ogunnaike, assistant professor of religious studies at William & Mary, Swem Special Collections recently purchased a 19th-century handwritten, hand-decorated Quran, the same kind that likely was used by the first Muslims in Americaenslaved West Africans of the colonies.

This manuscript has significance for this area because of the history of enslaved West Africans who were brought to Virginia, a third or fourth of whom were Muslim and would have used a Quran exactly like this, said Ogunnaike.

The Quran is the first of its kind to be added to Swem Special Collections, though, Ogunnaike notes this isnt the first time a Quran from this era has found its way to campus: Thomas Jefferson, while attending law school at W&M, purchased and studied a translation of the Quran thats now housed in the Library of Congress.

Jay Gaidmore, director of Swem Special Collections who purchased the manuscript for the library, notes the value of this artifact to Ogunnaikes classroom and to the library.

We are always pleased to acquire materials that support the instructional needs of a professor and encourage professors to bring their students into Special Collections so they can view the rare books and manuscripts that have been collected since the College was founded, said Gaidmore. The acquisition of this volume also represents our efforts to diversify our holdings to areas of study beyond Virginia and the South.

This Quran, which was most likely penned in northern Nigeria, is a rare find for a plethora of reasons beyond its age and artistry. Many details, such as the style of calligraphy and decoration, and variants in language, script and vowel usage, are unique to West African versions of the Quran. The way the manuscript is divided into 60 parts suggests it was used in a way that is also common among West Africans.

Many Muslims, particularly in West Africa, would try and recite the entire Quran once every month or once every two months, said Ogunnaike. So the division of this Quran into 60 partsyoud read one part every dayindicates that it was meant to be used for continuous recitations and wasnt just a showpiece.

Ogunnaike said that having the Quran on campus will be beneficial for teaching purposes. This semester, he plans to take his Introduction to Islam class to Swem to compare the calligraphythe most central visual art of Islamic traditionof this Quran with others of enslaved Africans in South America and the Caribbean.

Its always great to make things tangible for students, especially when theyre studying something that seems so foreign, he said.

Beyond the Qurans use in the classroom, Ogunnaike is interested in studying the unique detailssuch as hand-drawn symbols, illustrations or notesof the manuscript to shed more light on its origins for his own research.

Each scribe brings their own understanding of the meaning of the Quran, so the types of symbols used and what verses theyre used with varies from Quran to Quran, he said. Sometimes there will even be notes in the margins with insights or ideas the person had while reading it. Its fascinating to get a sense of how different people interacted with this text and understood it.




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When Ed Keall first visited Iran, at the age of 24, little did he realise that he was about to embark on an archaeological venture  involving a Persian castle and a fire temple  that has now been 50 years in the making.

In 1962, I took an adventurous trip to Iran to work with British and American archaeologists, and was immediately seduced by the dramatic landscape and richness of the countrys historical culture.

I became buoyed by the idea that I could break into the profession and begin a new career for myself. Resident scholars at the British Institute of Persian Studies advised me to pick an area of specialisation that was not trendy, in order to get my foot in the door. With my background in Classical studies (Greek and Roman), one obvious potential target was the Sasanian dynasty  the Iranians who had plagued the Romans over control of the Euphrates River corridor in the 3rd-6th centuries AD. Dealing with the enemies of Rome appealed to me at that stage in my life.

Most scholars at that time paid little attention to the Sasanians: they were not ancient enough to be interesting to the prehistorians, nor much relevant for the Islamic specialists. The Sasanians became my new focus in life. The Sasanians were the last Persian dynasty to rule Iran before the Muslim Arabs took over in the 7th century AD. In common parlance, we speak of Persian culture due to how the ancient Greeks saw Iran; Iran is the name of the land, as it is in todays political world. The Iranians saw a world of Iran and non-Iran. In terms of their beliefs, there is a famous rock relief near Persepolis  the capital of the ancient Achaemenid Persians  showing the first Sasanian king of the 3rd century AD receiving his royal diadem (the symbol of his divine right to rule) from the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda. The Sasanians adopted Zoroastrianism formally as the religion of state, displacing the earlier polytheism.

As for their sites, there was one that particularly intrigued me. I first learned of the legendary castle of Sasanian King Yazdigird in 1964, and then used it as part of a successful application to the British Institute of Persian Studies to study the Sasanians. This feature is an account of what happened next.

All Images: Yousef Moradi, Iranian Heritage Organization, except image on the left (Edward Keall)

This is an extract from a feature published in CWA 79. Read on in the magazine or click here to subscribe.
Work starts on on-shore infrastructure for Russian floating plant

07 October 2016

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A ceremony was held on 4 October in Pevek, Russia, to mark the start of construction of the coastal infrastructure for the first-of-a-kind floating nuclear power plant. The floating power and heat plant is set to be commissioned there in 2019.

The coastal infrastructure for the floating plant takes shape (Image: Rosenergoatom)

The event in Pevek in the Chukotka Autonomous Region - the northern most city of Russia - was attended by, among others, the regional governor Roman Kopin; Rosenergoatom deputy CEO and director of special projects and initiatives Pavel Ipatov; and head of the floating nuclear power plant construction administration Sergey Zavyalov.

During the ceremony, the first sheet pile driving into the foundation of the on-shore infrastructure was carried out. A memorial plaque and a time capsule were then installed to mark the start of construction of the infrastructure.

Kopin noted the floating plant addresses two major issues for Pevek and the region as a whole. "The first one is that it substituted the Bilibino NPP because Bilibino and Pevek operate within a single power centre, so the timeline for the Bilibino NPP's first power block shutdown in 2019 will be synchronized with the floating plant's launch," he said.

"The second issue to be addressed is supplying enough power for the major mining companies located in western Chukotka in the Chaun-Bilibino power centre. This is a huge mining and metal cluster that also includes gold mining companies and projects related to the Baimsk ore zone development."

"It does not mean that the floating plant will fully cover the power needs of those companies," Kopin added. "However, it will be operational and will give development incentives to the industry at the first stage, when it is supposed to substitute the withdrawn power plant and to supply power for new demand."

Zavyalov said, "We expect that the works on elaborating the technical conditions for the floating plant's power delivery we carry out jointly with the Department of Energy, Chukotenergo, and RAO EES Vostok will be completed by October-November 2016." He added, "In December, we plan to be ready to submit operational documents and to order the electric technical equipment to be installed on our site."

The keel of Academician Lomonosov was laid in April 2007 at Sevmash in Severodvinsk, but in August 2008 Rosatom cancelled the contract - apparently due to the military workload at Sevmash - and transferred it to the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, which has experience in building nuclear icebreakers. New keel-laying took place in May 2009 and the 21,500 tonne hull - 144 metres long, 30 m wide - was launched at the end of June 2010. The two 35 MWe KLT-40S reactors were installed in October 2013.

The Akademik Lomonosov is undergoing trials at the Baltic Shipyard. These trials are expected to be completed by late October 2017 and it should be ready to be transported to Pevek later that year. Rosenergoatom plans to start installation of the plant in September 2019, followed by trials and operational launch.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
North Korea is an urbanized country, with 56% of its population living in urban areas. Rapid urbanization was experienced between the years 1953 and 1960 when the population migration into the cities ranged between 12 and 20 percent annually. The rate later reduced to 1 to 3 percent by early in the 1990s. This rapid migration led to the emergence of some of the North Korea's biggest cities, such as Pyongyang and Hamhung. Pyongyang is North Korea's capital and largest city with more than 3 million residents. Currently, the government monitors the movement of people from the rural areas into the cities to try and control population boom experienced in the urban areas.

Biggest Cities In North Korea

Pyongyang

Pyongyang means "flat land" or "peaceful land" in Korean. It is the largest city in North Korea and has a total population of 3,255,388. It is also the capital city of North Korea. The highest numbers of government offices are in Pyongyang. It is a major economic center with all types of business. It has several natural resources such as limestone, coal, and iron. The city has a well defined transport system. It has air, water, and land transportation systems that connect both locally and to various international destinations. Farming takes place on the city's outskirts hence supplying the city with a variety of agricultural products. It holds some of the major learning institutions in the country, including II-Sung University. The city's large population has had to face some adverse effects, such as climate change, overcrowding, and pollution.

Hamhung

Hamhung is the second largest city in North Korea with a total population of 768,551. It is a major administrative city and serves as the capital of South Hamgyong Province. It acts as chemistry and an industrial center. Hamhung is a port city and serve foreign trade in the country it has an integrated transport system that connects the northern port to the eastern ha port. It has the Pyongra line railway and Toksan airport. Hamhung is an educational center with institutions such as Hamhung University.

Chongjin

Chongjin city started as a small fishing area, and stayed relatively unremarkable until after the Japanese took control of the area at the start of the 20th Century prior to World War 1. It later grew to be an open trading center for transporting Korean resources and a stopping point for the resources from China. Currently, the city is a steel and fiber industry center. It has a rubber factory, a locomotive plant, and a shipyard. It also has a coal and steel company and is home to a population of 627,000 people. Lack of resources cripples industrial activities in Chongjin. The presence of many industries in the city also leads to high pollution rates. Several factories have been shattered owing to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the shortage of oil to generate electricity. The area has little agricultural land hence it frequently experiences drought and famine. Due to its population size, conditions in the city remain poor regarding the availability of food.

Nampo

Nampo city is in the South Pyongan Province of North Korea. It started as a small fishing village and later became a port of foreign trade. It is a major industrial center with facilities such as the fishery complex, the Glass Cooperation, The Shipbuilding Complex, among others. It is an agricultural center for apples. It is a chief seaport connected by rail to the interior and by the river to the Taedong.

Increased Urbanization and Concerns Arising from Growth

North Korea is a country that is widely known for its human and technological advancement. However, as nation building intensifies and the economy becomes larger through urbanization of villages and rural areas, new concerns arise. As a result, environmental degradation escalates hence the need to conserve the environment. On the other hand, improvement of cities, roads, rural areas and coastal regions improves the living condition of the people. Some of the biggest important cities in the country include Wonsan, Tanchon, Sinuiju, Kaechon, Kaesong, and Sariwon.
The Republic of Turkey boasts of housing parts of two of the most important Biblical and historical rivers flowing within its landmass. The Euphrates River is the longest and most important river in Western Asia, and River Tigris define Mesopotamia. The two rivers form the Euphrates-Tigris River system. However, these two rivers also flow in Iraq and Syria as well and as such disputes are likely to occur. The Kizilirmak (Halys) is the longest river running wholly in Turkey. The highlands of Turkey, from the south and eastern is the source these mighty rivers. The rivers winds through Turkish territory before crossing borders to foreign lands. The Kura River for examples zigzags Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Euphrates

Turks call the Euphrates the Firat Nehri. It is the longest in Southwest Asia at 1,740 miles. The river rises from the Armenian highlands in Turkey at the confluence of the Karasu and Murat Rivers. It flows southeast to the Syrian Plateau and across Iraq where it meets the Tigris to flow as Shatt-Al-Arab before draining into the Persian Gulf. In the mountains of Turkey, the river flows through xeric woodland. In moisture parts, oaks, Rosaceae, and pistachio trees grow. In the drier parts cereals such as einkorn wheat, oat, rye, and emmer wheat grow. Mixed woodland of steppe vegetation rises to the south of the xeric forest. As it enters Iraq, the river passes through an actual dessert where no vegetation grows due to the excessive human interference to a natural water body. During the biblical years and civilizations that followed along its course, the river provided irrigation water and fed the people. Throughout history, overgrazing by inhabitants has threatened the river and its ecosystem. The river discharge regime is also altered by the construction of dams and irrigation set along the banks. Besides, the reservoirs reduce the river water available to the people as evaporation rates are in Turkey.

Tigris

The River Tigris is sourced from the Taurus Mountains, 30 kilometers east of the headwaters of the Euphrates. Tigris runs for 1,150 miles before joining the course with the Euphrates and emptying into the Persian Gulf. In Turkey, the river flows for 400 kilometers before forming the border between Syria and Turkey. Similar to the Euphrates, civilizations and urbanization have arisen along its banks for millennia. The Sumerian civilization drew water from the banks of the River Tigris. Cities of Nineveh, Seleucia, and Ctesiphon flourished along the river banks. The port of Basra sits on the Shatt-al-Arab. Baghdad in Iraq stands on its banks. The river also provides transport routes in the desert country of Turkey. In World War I the river was used to supply General Townsend's Army just before the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The river has dams constructed on both the Iraqis and Turkish sides. The dams feed the irrigation schemes in the arid and semi-arid areas of the two countries. The dams control flooding in Iraq especially in the month of April when the snow melts in the Turkish mountains. The Tigris-Euphrates River has a similar biodiversity. The fauna along the course include the jackals, hyenas, mongooses, foxes, wolves, and gazelles. There are also bats, hares, shrews, river otters, and hedgehogs.

Kura

The Kura River, known in Turkish as the Kurucay, is the largest in Transcaucasia. Rising from the slopes of Mount Kisirindagi in Eastern Turkey, River Kura flows to Georgia and Azerbaijan where it confluences with its main tributary river Aras as it empties into the Caspian Sea. The Rivers runs for a total length of 941 miles. Steppe vegetation characterizes the Arid Areas of River Kura, and meadows occupy the alpine areas. Along with its course in the desert forests, the cover is small. Around 60 species of Loach, bleak, trout and many endemic fish species dominate the waters of Kura. As with major rivers in Asia, dams, reservoirs, and hydroelectric stations have been constructed along Kura River banks. For thousands of years, the Kura River has provided water for agriculture in the Kura Valley. Large civilizations that grew up on the banks of Kura are now in ruins as a result of natural disasters, and foreign invasion. Throughout the 20th Century, human activities have damaged the watershed forests and grassland, contributing to disastrous floods in the lower reaches of Kura River.

Kizilirmak (Halys)

The Kizilirmak is the longest river to run entirely within Turkey. The "Red River", Kizilirmak in Turkish, rises in the Eastern Anatolia, then flows for 842 miles to the west and southwest, then northeast past the Lake Tuz, it winds to the north and back to the northeast to meet the Delice River. From there it turns to the northwest to a confluence with the Devrez River and back to the northeast to join the Gokrmak. From here it flows into the Black Sea as a beautiful delta. Dams constructed along its banks include the Boyabat, Derbent, and Altnkaya. In the years before the 585 BC, the river formed the western boundary of Hatti, the city of Hittite Empire. Also, it formed the boundary between Asia and Asia Minor, and between Paphlogania and Pontos. On May 28, 585 BC it separated Lydia from Media during the Battle of Halys. Today the river is used to grow rice or support water buffalo rearing in other places. There is no navigation on the river, but it does provide a source of the hydroelectric power.

Territorial Disputes

Syria and Iraq criticize the manner in which Turkey controls the hydrological projects on the upper Euphrates' waters. These conflicts arise from the fact the Euphrates flows in the three countries. As in many ecosystems, human activity is the primary threat facing the rivers in Turkey. Urbanization and Pollution have depleted the water quality and biodiversity too. Preservation efforts if any are few, and these rivers are prone to further depletion and abuses.
Next Match: at Alaska 10/8/2016 | 7 p.m. AT Next Match Full Schedule Oct. 08 (Sat) / 7 p.m. AT at Alaska History



-- WOUWolves.com --

Western Oregon played tough, but was unable to take a game from ninth-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Thursday night at the Alaska Airlines Center. The Wolves fell in the GNAC match by a 3-0 score (14-25, 21-25, 19-25).The loss puts Western Oregon at 5-9 on the year and 2-5 in GNAC play, while Alaska Anchorage  who won their 16consecutive match  improves to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in league play. In was UAA's seventh straight win in the all-time series against the Wolves.While WOU led in digs (44-41) and played even at the net (5 blocks each), the Seawolves owned advantages in kills (44-29), hitting percentage (.248-.146) and aces (10-2).Sophomorehad a team-high nine kills (.350 hitting) and juniorposted a .556 hitting percentage to pace the Wolves offense. Junior outside hitterhad six kills. Senior libero led all players with 19 digs, the only person with double figures., making her first start of the year, dished out 26 assists.WOU jumped out to a 3-0 advantage to start the match before Alaska Anchorage followed with a 10-1 run to take a 10-4 lead. At 10-4, Western Oregon used a pair of Vandenkooy kills and a UAA error to pull within three, but that is as close as the Wolves would get. The Seawolves scored multiple points in three of the next rotations to build the lead up to 19-10. Consecutive kills gave UAA the set and a 1-0 lead in the match. Both teams hit well, with the Seawolves holding a .414 to .320 advantage.Blankinship anddelivered kills to place WOU in front 7-6 in set two. UAA scored seven straight points and led 13-7 before Orth ended the string with a kill. The Seawolves continued to push ahead and opened a 19-10 advantage. A Blankinship kill, a Colasurdo ace and five UAA errors brought WOU within two at 20-18, but the Seawolves regained momentum scoring three straight points and eventually won the set, 25-21.With the third set tied at 6-6, Alaska Anchorage opened up a 17-10 lead with a scoring spurt of five out of six points and responding to a three-point WOU retort with a 6-0 scoring run. A Bettinson kill would pull WOU within five at 23-18 and an error waved off one match point. But UAA closed out match on a WOU attack error for the victory.Erin Braun had a monster night for UAA with a match-high 12 kills and a .706 hitting percentage. Morgan Hooe handed out 34 assists for the Seawolves.Western Oregon heads to Fairbanks to play Alaska on Saturday night (Oct. 8) at 7 p.m. Alaskan, 8 p.m. Pacific time.
Four Arson Attacks in a Week  Communities Urged to Remain Vigilant

This article is old - Published: Friday, Oct 7th, 2016

Communities are being urged to remain vigilant following a further arson attack in the Caia Park area overnight.

Emergency services were called to the vehicle fire in Cefndre, Caia Park shortly before midnight on Thursday 6 October.

One fire appliance from Wrexham attended the scene however the fire was out on arrival.

Damage was confined to the front of the vehicle.

A spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the cause of the fire was deliberate ignition.

The arson attack was the fourth on a vehicle to take place this week, with separate attacks taking place in Caia Park on Saturday 1 October and Sunday 2 October.

A motorbike was also destroyed after being set alight on the evening of Wednesday 5 October.

As a result of the mindless vandalism additional police patrols have been deployed to the Caia Park area.

Speaking to Wrexham.com Town District Inspector Simon Kneale urged communities to remain vigilant and to contact police if they are aware of any suspicious activity.

Inspector Kneale said: We do not believe the arsons this week to be linked or part of a series but we have already gathered some positive leads and will be progressing these in order to identify a suspect.

It is a time like this when your friends, families and neighbours are being affected by this mindless vandalism that we ask for support.

Please be vigilant and help us by passing any information regarding anyone you know or suspect to be involved in lighting deliberate fires. If the community are hesitant about speaking to the Police directly then please speak to your local councillors or call Crimestoppers completely anonymously.

He added: The community are our eyes and ears in every street and with your support we can make progress to identify those committing these mindless fires. We will exhaust every opportunity in order to identify the culprits and can assure the community that both uniformed officers and local detectives are working towards this.

Anyone with any further information is urged to contact North Wales Police on 101 quoting reference number RC16152552.

Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

*Pictures of car fire in Gwenfro over the weekend sent to Wrexham.com by Dan.
Wrexham Council Ready to Rise to Challenge & Increase Number Of Welsh Speakers Back To 2001 Levels

This article is old - Published: Friday, Oct 7th, 2016

Wrexham Council have outlined ambitious plans to implement a five year statutory strategy to facilitate and increase the number of Welsh speakers in the County Borough.

In a report due before Wrexham Councils Executive Board on Tuesday it is stated that the Council are ready to rise to the challenge and increase the number of Welsh speakers in Wrexham following a decline locally in the language in recent years. We have been told the initial target is to reverse the decline, then move forward to an increase.

Details about the usage of the Welsh language are detailed within the report  showing a drop in the population who are able to speak Welsh from the 2001 census (18,102) to the 2011 census (16,659).

Based on 2011 Census figures the report notes that 33.2% of young people aged 10-14 in the County of Wrexham are able to speak Welsh.

Wrexham Council are aiming to increase the figure back to its 2001 level by the time to 2021 census is undertaken in five years time.

The report states: The Welsh language in Wrexham has been in decline for some years. The Council is ready to rise to the challenge and is ambitious in its desire to achieve the outcomes outlined in the strategy.

The Council is particularly keen to involve young people as well as non-Welsh speaking residents in order to create a better understating of the Welsh language and culture in the County Borough and develop a sense of Welshness for the town and the area.

To help increase the number of Welsh speakers, Wrexham Council say they will be taking a partnership approach with regard to the delivery of the strategy and will work with stakeholders to ensure that all interested parties are actively involved in ensuring it achieves its aims and objectives.

This would involve providing both Welsh and non-Welsh speakers with opportunities to make their views known about the Welsh language and what actions can be taken to improve understanding and awareness of the Welsh language and culture.

The report also notes Wrexham Council has not received any additional funding from Welsh Government in order to implement the strategy. A figure of 103,000 is attributed to current spend on translation, with a further 250,000 allocated to meet the anticipated costs associated with the implementation of the Welsh language Standards.

There are a range of standards in place and being worked towards, with Tuesdays focus on Standard 145 that reads:

You must produce, and publish on your website, a 5-year strategy that sets out how you propose to promote the Welsh language and to facilitate the use of the Welsh language more widely in your area; and the strategy must include (amongst other matters)  (a) a target (in terms of the percentage of speakers in your area) for increasing or maintaining the number of Welsh speakers in your area by the end of the 5 year period concerned, and (b) a statement setting out how you intend to reach that target; and you must review the strategy and publish a revised version on your website within 5 years of publishing a strategy (or of publishing a revised strategy).

Lead Member for Communities and Partnerships, Cllr Hugh Jones told us: It is important to put this in context, Welsh is the oldest language spoken on these islands. It is inextricably linked with our culture and our heritage.

It is through promoting culture and heritage that gives us an opportunity of keeping the language alive. I prefer the carrot than the stick in terms of how we promote and encourage the increased use of the Welsh language.

He added: The initial target is to reverse the decline in the use of Welsh language, and then move forward to increase the numbers.

A Council Officer speaking of making it exciting for learners offered a practical example on how Wrexham Council are taking steps to help provide an environment for learners: For instance here at the Council we are enabling people to have their lunch with groups of Welsh speakers, we are trying to do it in a non-threatening informal way and we would like other work places to do similar things.

Back in November Cllr Jones made national headlines with a bold claim that Welsh was spoken 4th behind English, Polish and Portugeues in Wrexham (full story and our look at the data here) in terms of language demand or take up during a meeting item on the standards.

Wrexham.com asked Cllr Jones if that was something he still believed, and with the current Welsh standard being required by law would the other mentioned languages see similar schemes.

Cllr Jones distanced himself from the comments saying the claim was basically was generally what you hear in the town centre, and stating he did not use the words take up, generalising the comments to that was the sort of the general perception you got in the town centre.

Cllr Jones was keen to move back to the topic of the standards implementation strategy, adding: What is important is not to focus on that but to focus on the strategy, which is aimed at increasing the opportunities for people to speak and use Welsh throughout the County Borough.

We are trying to set an example as a Council, so rather than focus on the current status it is important to focus on what we are trying to do, which is to stop the decline and reverse the flow.

I would like to get to a position where you walk through the centre of Wrexham you would hear Welsh spoken on a regular basis. Each language has its place, but Welsh being the oldest language in these islands and our national language has a very special and unique place and we have a duty and responsibility to promote it.

Speaking on Wrexham.coms second question on if there would be a desire to do similar for the other languages, he replied: No. This is a statutory responsibility and a statutory duty. It is our national language and we have a duty to promote it.

The fact Polish and Portuguese is used, and we welcome the diversity of the people we have in Wrexham and the contributions of those communities, but by the same token Welsh is our national language.

We are happy to have people speaking Welsh with a Portuguese or Polish accent, we think that is progress. It is not a question of putting down Polish or Portuguese or any other language as I have said they are a welcome part of our diverse community. We would hope they embrace the culture of the Welsh language and the Welsh heritage.

It is no different, if I went to Poland I would like to learn to speak Polish

The report will go before Wrexhams Councils Executive Board on Tuesday 11 October at 10am. For those who cannot attend the meeting it will be webcast live and archived on the Wrexham Council website.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - About 12,500 union coal miner retirees are receiving letters warning them they'll lose their health benefits on Dec. 31 without congressional action.

The Patriot Voluntary Employee Beneficial Association shipped the letters last week.

The United Mine Workers of America retirees worked at mines run by now-bankrupt Patriot Coal, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal.

The letters say the money will run out Dec. 31 unless Congress passes a bill expected to come up after the Nov. 8 election.

It would protect health care and pension benefits for about 120,000 former coal miners and their families amid the industry's decline.

Supporters call it a life-saving measure honoring a 70-year-old promise from the federal government.

Some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, are wary of bailing out unionized workers.

The letter that was sent to the retired miners is attached to this story.
After voting down a sellout contract proposal for the fourth time, 4,800 Allina nurses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are continuing their strike.

The Allina nurses, who have been on strike for over a month at five hospitals, voted down a contract that would exchange their health care for more expensive plans with higher out-of-pocket costs, while allowing the hospital chain to continue increasing workloads.

The vote was a rebuke to the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), which brought back a contract that was previously rejected by nurses with the expectation that, after a month on strike and with the recent cutoff of their health care, nurses would be cowed into accepting the deal.

Immediately after the nurses voted down the contract, the MNA declared that it is ready to negotiate again with Allina, although no date has been set for the resumption of talks. Throughout the strike, the MNA and the trade unions have worked to isolate the struggle, while seeking to channel opposition behind bankrupt appeals to the corporate executives that dominated Allinas Board of Directors.

Nurses who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site on Thursday expressed a desire to expand the struggle to nurses throughout the region and other sections of the working class facing similar attacks on wages, health care and other benefits.

A veteran nurse with over 30 years of experience spoke about the wages-only contracts signed by the MNA at other hospitals to prevent a united struggle involving the more than 10,000 nurses in the Minneapolis area. Ive been talking with everyone about that, why arent the other 6,000 out here?

Whatever happens here, they are definitely going to be fighting once their contracts are up.

Allina has taken the lead in demanding sharp cuts in health care benefits. This will be used as the basis for similar attacks on health care workers throughout the region.

When a WSWS reporter asked her about expanding the strike to other sections of workers, she agreed, Yes, were out here fighting for the general right to health care, and not only health care, but good health care, which everyone should have.

Another veteran nurse with over 20 years of experience spoke about Democratic Party politicians who have visited the picket line and have been promoted by the MNA. These politicians come to the picket line and show their face, but in reality they will go back and do nothing in the interest of the working class.

Its just self-promotion for the Democratic Party, especially with elections coming upthey are only here to get our votes.

The MNA, like its parent union the National Nurses United, is politically aligned with the Democratic Party, which no less than the Republican Party supports the attack on health care and the working class as a whole. The Obama administrations misnamed Affordable Care Act has been a spearhead not only for shifting costs from corporations to workers, but also increasing the workload of already understaffed nurses.

During the Democratic Party primaries, the MNA supported Bernie Sanders in order to provide a cover for their alliance with the Democrats. Sanders recently visited Minneapolis in order to campaign for Hillary Clinton and said nothing about the ongoing struggle of the nurses.

Another nurse with 15 years of experience told the WSWS, I have been telling the younger nurses that everything they enjoy was fought for by older generations. I am really fighting for the younger workers.

She continued, expressing concern for the conditions future nurses and workers will face: If nobody fights, then by the time the older nurses are gone, they will hire new young nurses and pay them half or less than what we get and give them 10 patients to watch at a time.

Another nurse with over 10 years at Allina spoke about the need for an expansion of the nurses strike: It really should be the whole state on strike, not just other hospitals, but other workers too. This is everyones fight, because the outcome of this will affect everyone in the state. She agreed with a WSWS reporter who suggested that the fight be expanded to workers internationally, We need to unite.

The defeat of the contract is a powerful statement of opposition from nurses and a determination to fight. The effort of nurses to expand their struggle to other sections of the working class comes into direct conflict with the MNA and the trade unions as a whole, which operate as instruments of corporate management and the state in isolating workers and seeking to impose a defeat.

Even before the strike began, the MNA had already accepted the main demand of the company, to replace the current health care plans with corporate-run plans. In the wake of the latest no vote, the union will continue its efforts to find some way to pressure or force nurses to accept concessions.

The WSWS calls on nurses to act now to form rank-and-file committees to take the conduct of the struggle out of the hands of the MNA. An appeal to all workers to join the struggle will be met with a powerful response from workers fed up with declining wages and incessant demands for givebacks on health care, pensions and other rights.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders continued his campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Michigan Thursday, making appearances in four cities. His stops included a United Auto Workers (UAW) union hall in Dearborn, the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan State University in East Lansing and a high school in Grand Rapids. He moves on to New Hampshire Friday.

The former Democratic candidate is seeking to rebrand his political revolution into a get out the vote effort for Clinton, the favored candidate of Wall Street and the military intelligence apparatus. However, instead of the crowds of thousands he addressed during his primary campaign, Sanders spoke before audiences of only several hundreds, largely made up of Democratic Party faithful.

At his first stop at the UAW Local 600 union hall, he addressed an audience of 200 to 300 people mobilized by the UAW. In her introductory remarks, UAW Vice President for General Motors Cindy Estrada noted the difficulties Clinton faced in attracting young voters. She called on those in attendance not to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein or other third party candidates. She urged union members and others in the audience to make an all out effort to get out the vote for Clinton and to register those not already registered.

During the revolt of autoworkers against UAW-backed contracts last fall, Estrada played the lead role in ramming through the concessions. The vote ended in a supposed yes vote at Local 600 that gave the UAW just barely enough votes to claim that the contract passed, amidst accusations from workers of ballot stuffing.

Sanders, who spoke for about a half hour, advanced his boilerplate pitch, promising that Clinton would redress a myriad of illsincome inequality, lack of access to healthcare, crumbling infrastructure, poverty wages and overflowing prisons. He spoke as if the disastrous social conditions in the US were unrelated to the policies pursued by President Obama and the Democratic Party for the past eight years.

Sanders heaped praise on the unions, calling the Local 600 union hall hallowed ground. He said nothing about the miserable sellout foisted on US autoworkers last year by the UAW or its role in suppressing the class struggle for the past three decades. Likewise he made no mention of the ongoing struggles of nurses in Minneapolis, teachers in Cleveland and Chicago, Canadian autoworkers or symphony musicians in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, who are among tens of thousands locked in bitter contract battles.

A little later, at the University of Michigan, Sanders spoke before an audience of several hundred, mainly students. In contrast to the enthusiastic crowds of students he addressed last spring, this campus visit was noticeably subdued. At UM he continued his effort to blackmail young people into voting for Clinton by appealing to hatred of the fascistic Trump.

In none of his appearances did Sanders make any mention of Clintons record as a warmonger or the support for her policies by scores of top admirals and generals. He did not warn of the growing danger of a confrontation in Russia over Syria, or note the fact that the Clinton campaign is attacking Trump from the right, by claiming that he is not prepared to counter Russian aggression.

Sanders has been assigned the role by the American ruling class of channeling growing opposition to endless war and social inequality back into the Democratic Party. To do this he attempted to tap into the growing interest and support for socialism among workers and young people in order only to demoralize and smother it.

A Socialist Equality Party campaign team distributed information about the partys election campaign of Jerry White for president and Niles Niemuth for vice president to students attending the Sanders event in Ann Arbor. Niemuth joined the campaign and used the opportunity to talk to young people about the November 5 conference, Socialism vs. Capitalism and War, at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Many students indicated to Niemuth and SEP supporters that they only planned to vote for Clinton as the lesser of two evils. There was widespread dislike for the Democratic nominee, as well as a frustration over the outcome of the Democratic primary and a feeling there was no choice but to vote for Clinton to stop Trumps election.

SEP supporters asked one student, Zainab, what she thought of Sanders decision to endorse Clinton. He had to do it, but I dont agree, she said. We shouldnt play off the fear for Trump to support someone who is almost as bad.

On Clintons record of support for war, Zainab said the US has caused chaos in the Middle East with billions of dollars lost. It has cultivated animosity and created a vacuum in Iraq, displacing so many families and turning them into refugees. Its all for money and power, which go hand in hand. We havent even gotten over colonialism. Honestly I dont see a difference between Democrats and Republicans. Clinton is not anti-war. And with Trump, I cant even understand him.

When asked about attending the November 5 conference against war, she said: Its a great idea. I dont even know how to put it in a sentence, but yeah! Im for it. An international movement would be interesting because there are so many people in the Middle East who are anti-war, who are opposed to the invasions and occupations of their countries. I want to know how we can unite them.

Another student, Korey, said he was a supporter of the Green Party but was voting for Clinton. I voted for Sanders in the primary, and I support Clinton because shell appoint liberals to the Supreme Court.

Niemuth noted that Clinton and Trump both represent the financial aristocracy, and that regardless of who is elected the next administration will expand war and intensify the attack on the working class. Korey replied, I dont like her positions on the wars. Im against intervention, and I dont believe in the occupations, and Clintons record has contributed to the crisis in the Middle East. I dont agree with the US involvement in Syria and Im also against these drone strikes, but Im worried about a Trump presidency.

Another student, Gary, who was originally from England, said, Im a socialist. I think everyone should be given a decent shot at life. I think the state should help people. Sanders was the only American political campaign Ive ever contributed to. I think he had to endorse Clinton.

A SEP supporter asked him whether there was a contradiction between Sanders self-proclaimed democratic socialism and his support for the pro-war, pro-Wall Street Clinton campaign. He said, I dont like it, but shes better than Trump. I wouldnt say Im entirely anti-war, but Im anti-unjust wars. When asked whether any of the US wars of the last 15 years were just, he said: No. They are not justified.

Courtney said, The wars are to get oil. Clinton is a billionaire and shes in it for the business.

Her friend Aji said, Everyone in politics is stupid, and we tend to do things for financial gain. When Niemuth explained that the wars are not the product of general greed, but of the capitalist system, Courtney said: Oh, I hate capitalism, basically for the reasons I already said. I think socialism would be better.
After 51 years, Caterpillars factory in Charleroi, Belgium is being prepared for closure.

The US-based heavy equipment giants plan to shut the facility will destroy 2,200 jobs. The number of job losses at subcontractors and suppliers is estimated to be five to ten times larger.

The Charleroi factory manufactures industrial equipment, power systems, attachments for bulldozers and machinery, as well as machine parts. The closure, announced September 2, is part of a restructuring plan aimed at driving up productivity and profitability at Caterpillars European and global plants. Despite a 16 percent fall in turnover during the last quarter, overall turnover still amounted to $47 billion for 2015. The companys operating profits stood at $3.25 billion.

Across the globe, the conglomerate has interests in the rental sector, the finance sector with CAT Financial, MAK marine engines for cargo ships and mining equipment in China through its ZhenZhou Siwei subsidiary.

In a world economy stagnant since the 2008 financial crisis, global corporations are driving up productivity not through investment but through cost-cutting measures.

The Charleroi plant opened in 1965, with an output of 40 machines a month by 1967. It was expanded over the years to become the second most important production facility in Caterpillars global network of factories. Just 25 years ago, it still employed 5,500 workers. Charleroi exported 97 percent of its production.

Following the 2008 crash, Caterpillar management announced 20,000 worldwide jobs cuts. In November 2008, Gosselies management imposed, in collaboration with the trade unions, 16 days of forced redundancy on workers.

As the financial crisis spread to credit markets, Caterpillar faced a severe shrinking of sales, leading it to reduce factory activity by 75 percent in the first quarter of 2009. In that year, the trade unions collaborated with management to make workers pay for a crisis not of their making through the imposition of time-credits.

In 2011, Caterpillar invested 150 million aimed at boosting productivity over four years. In 2012, the group earned 4 billion in profits by pitting each of its factories against one another in a never-ending spiral of wage cutsbacked by the unions.

In an article published on the equaltimes web site of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) last month, a retired Charleroi worker described the intolerable conditions imposed at the site where speed up was imposed under the Caterpillar Product System in 2012. The worker recalled how, They installed a cord above my workstation. I had to pull it if I needed to leave my post to go for a pee, and my boss knew about it immediately. It was like going back to the time of the Charlie Chaplin film, Modern Times.

He continued, They then progressively extended these practices to all the assembly lines. The management had become too aggressive. Before we at least had the time to chat with a colleague for a couple of minutes or to smoke a cigarette. Caterpillar was my life. It is we, the workers, who made the factory. They, they have just destroyed it.

In 2013, with the world economy continuing to stagnate, Caterpillars Asian factories undercut its others so much that it became more profitable to import Caterpillar machinery for sale into the European market rather than manufacturing it within the European Union.

In 2013, the company cut 1,400 jobs in Gosselies to further decrease costs and increase productivity. Two new production lines were added and new models were allocated for manufacturing.

The termination of the Gosselies plant will see the extra workload shifted onto the backs of workers at Caterpillars plant in Grenoble, France as well as its workers in the Asia Pacific.

France is still under a mandatory 48 hours working week, under the state of emergency imposed by Socialist Party President Francois Hollande since 2015. In Asia there is a six-day workweek, longer working days, lower wages, and high productivity. These conditions are now being imposed everywhere.

Conglomerates such as Caterpillar are sitting on huge reserves of cash, accumulated at the expense of any real investment in production and through wage cuts negotiated with trade unions. Caterpillar workers are facing lower wages due to an exponential increase in productivity, which sustains high profits for the giant company and its wealthy investors. Yet the drive for higher profits never ends, as the decision to close the Charleroi plant attests.

In April, Caterpillar announced that it was closing five component plants in the US and eliminating at least 800 jobs. Last month, it announced a new round of job cuts at its two US sites in Mossville, Illinois, slashing another 300 jobs.

Worldwide Caterpillar has reduced its workforce from 128,000 to 105,000 since 2012. Meanwhile the value of the companys shares on the New York Stock Exchange has more than doubled since 2009.

After years of collaboration in imposing the cost cutting measures, the trade unions and their pseudo-left backers are working to ensure an orderly mass redundancy at Charleroi. They are sabotaging any struggle by Caterpillar workers, under conditions of growing anger among workers and youth nationwide against never ending austerity.

A token protest by the trade unions and the Workers Party of Belgium (PTB) was organised September 16, with 10,000 participating from throughout Belgium and all sectors of the economy. The unions refuse to fight the closure and are instead tying workers to negotiating redundancy packages. They are playing the same role among workers at Caterpillar subcontracting companies. A Christian Trade Unions union representative at Caterpillar subcontractor Yusen Logistics said, We will be drowned by this wave of redundancies from Caterpillar.

The unions pro-capitalist agenda was summed up by Benoit Gerits, the deputy general secretary of the Geneva-based IndustriAll. He stated of the unions role at Charleroi that they had agreed to do everything they could to close the competitiveness gap, to the extent of becoming as competitive as factories in China or Japan.
Only three days after the New York Times exposed how Donald Trump claimed paper losses of $916 million in 1995, which he could use to avoid paying any federal income tax over the ensuing 18 years, a new study was published showing that Trumps legally sanctioned tax dodge is dwarfed by the standard practices of major US multinational corporations.

Offshore Shell Games 2016: The Use of Offshore tax Havens by Fortune 500 Companies was released Tuesday by three organizationsthe US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The report, based on an analysis of 2015 corporate tax filings, revealed that 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintained subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, which enabled them to avoid paying a total of $717.8 billion in US corporate income taxes.

How pervasive is legally and politically protected corporate tax avoidance in the US capitalist system? The amount of money the biggest US multinationals withhold by booking profits to subsidiariesoften paper companiesnominally located in offshore tax havens is some $290 billion more than the federal budget deficit for 2015, $428 billion.

$717.8 billion is nearly seven times the amount the US government spends on education each year. It is nearly 22 times the 2015 budget of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Health and Human Services budget is barely 3 percent of the taxes not paid by means of offshore tax havens.

A separate report by USA Today found that 27 companies in the Fortune 500 paid no federal tax for 2015, including General Motors, American Airlines, United-Continental Airlines and Xerox.

The same politicians, media pundits and government bureaucrats who repeat ad nauseam that there is no money for jobs, schools, health care, pensions or housing, oversee the de facto corporate theft of hundreds of billions in taxes.

According to the study, Fortune 500 companies are holding nearly $2.5 trillion in accumulated profits offshore for tax purposes. US tax laws, essentially written by corporate lawyers and lobbyists and rubber-stamped by the bribed lawmakers of both big-business parties, allow American-based multinationals to pay no taxes on these profits until they repatriate them back to the US. In the meantime, the corporations, which in many cases actually generated the profits either within the US or in places far distant from the countries where their tax haven subsidiaries are located, are able to deploy these profits to raise cash, invest, speculate, etc.

Of the Fortune 500 companies, 367 collectively maintain 10,366 tax haven subsidiaries. Of these, the 30 companies with the most money booked offshore collectively hold nearly $1.65 trillion overseas. They operate 2,509 tax haven subsidiaries.

The study notes that only 58 Fortune 500 companies disclose how much they would expect to pay in US taxes if their profits booked to offshore subsidiaries for tax purposes were reported as US profits. Just these firms would owe a total of $212 billion in additional federal taxes, equal to the entire state budgets of California, Virginia and Indiana combined.

The average tax rate these 58 firms pay to other countries on these profits is a mere 6.2 percent, making it clear that most of this income is booked to subsidiaries in countries that exact little or no corporate taxes.

The report concludes that US multinationals withhold $100 billion in federal corporate taxes every year by means of offshore tax havens.

What is involved here is legally sanctioned fraud facilitated by the regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve, whose supposed function is to police big business. The corruption is open and brazen.

As the study puts it: Corporate lobbyists and their congressional allies have riddled the US tax code with loopholes and exceptions that enable tax attorneys and corporate accountants to book US-earned profits to subsidiaries located in offshore tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes often, a companys operational presence in a tax haven may be nothing more than a mailbox.

The report cites a 2008 Congressional Research Service report noting that American multinational companies collectively reported 43 percent of their foreign earnings in five small tax haven countries: Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

It adds that the profits American multinationals claim to earn in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, countries with no corporate tax, total 1,884 percent and 1,313 percent, respectively, of these countries entire yearly economic output.

By far, the multinational with the biggest hoard of offshore profit holdings is Apple, which reports $214.9 billion. It would owe $65.4 billion in taxes if that money were to be brought back to the US. Other top offshore tax avoiders are Pfizer, at $193.6 billion; Microsoft, at $124 billion; General Electric ($104 billion) and IBM ($68 billion).

Goldman Sachs, which officially holds $28.6 billion overseas, reports having 987 subsidiaries in offshore tax havens. The study cites Goldmans own web site as reporting that 537 of these are in Bermuda, despite not operating a single legitimate office in that country.

The $2.5 trillion that Fortune 500 companies report holding in offshore subsidiaries today is double the level reported by companies in 2009.
On Friday, October 7, at 7:00 pm Eastern Time, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) will be holding an online forum featuring SEP presidential candidate Jerry White, who will be speaking on war and the 2016 elections. The event will be streamed live on the SEPs Facebook page, fb.com/sepus.

With one month to go before the US presidential election, the ruling establishment in the United States is debating whether or not a major military escalation in Syria can wait until after the vote on November 8.

On Wednesday, leading officials in the Obama administration and the US military met to discuss proposals to attack Syrian government forces with cruise missiles and other acts of aggression. At the same time, key sections of the US media have weighed in on the side of those pushing for a new eruption of American militarism.

Whether it is Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton who is the next president, the American ruling class is planning on implementing policies that could lead to a direct military confrontation with Russia.

White will review the state of the US elections within the context of the ever-expanding war drive. He will speak about the political basis and motivation for the November 5 emergency conference, Socialism vs. Capitalism and War, sponsored by the SEP and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, to be held at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Listeners will be able to ask questions and comment on the video stream. The WSWS urges all of its readers to participate.
While leading Christian Democratic politicians are drumming up support for a coalition with Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Left Party in particular is playing a key role in integrating the far-right party into the official party spectrum and making it acceptable. The latest example of this development is a two-page illustrated interview in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) with Sahra Wagenknecht and AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry.

Wagenknecht heads the parliamentary faction of the Left Party in the Bundestag and had already come to notice earlier with a tirade against refugeesfor which she was expressly praised by AfD vice-president Alexander Gauland. Wagenknechts appearance alongside Petry in the FAS newspaper represents a new quantitative step. It underscores the fact that the Left Party is not only able to work with those parties that introduced the anti-social Hartz-IV lawsthe SPD and Greensbut also with the extreme right.

The extent of the political agreement between Wagenknecht and Petry was reflected in the FAS headline: For the first time the Left Partys Sahra Wagenknecht and the AfD chief Frauke Petry meet. They talk about refugees, patriotism, free trade. And they are often closer to each other than one would have thought. The conversation developed rapidly, resembled in part a great opposition coalition, noted the conservative paper.

In fact, there is consensus between the two protagonists over long stretches in the interviewand the consensus is very right-wing. Wagenknecht begins the interview by attacking the German governments policy in the manner of the AfDi.e., from the right: If so many people come to Germany as they did last autumn because of Merkels policy, then it is also necessary to ensure that integration is successful and the necessary housing or jobs are available.

The Left Party had made the mistake of giving the wrong impression that we were behind Angela Merkels chaotic politics, Wagenknecht declared. The demand in the party programme Open Borders for All is merely a good demand for a world of the future. Nobody today wants to close the border with France or Austria. But there are prerequisites for open borders.

Just like Petry, Wagenknecht counterposes refugeescoming to Europe mainly because of the wars triggered by the imperialist powers (not a single word said on the topic by Wagenknecht)to workers in Germany. Many refugees are looking for work in the low-wage sector and are thus exerting pressure on wages. It is similar with regard to housing. The refugees are looking for accommodation especially in those parts of the city where the poor are already living.

The sharpest criticism made by Wagenknecht of the AfD came clearly from the right. When the AfD refers to the founding fathers of the social market economy in its programme, it should be aware that Those economists wanted a strong state that would regulate business and guarantee social security. You want a weak state. ...

Wagenknechts calls for a strong state have little in common with the limited social concessions of the conservative era of post-war chancellor Adenauer. Rather she advocates a massive buildup of the state apparatus. It was only at the end of September that Wagenknecht declared, also in the Frankfurter Allgemeine, We have always criticised the dismantling of police personnel. And further: We are not the party of a weak state, but want a state sufficiently equipped to fulfil its tasks. This includes ensuring the safety of its citizens.

In her last book, Wealth Without Greed, Wagenknecht also argued for nationalism and a strong state. The market economy needs a strong national state, she wrote, a nation-state, which separates itself from others and is linguistically and ethnically homogeneous.

On occasion, Wagenknecht sought to put some ground between herself and the AfD chairwoman. For her part, Petry went out of her way to stress the very strong overlaps between the two. Among other things, she shares Wagenknechts criticisms of the EU and her allegiance to the nation state. At one point, she appealed to Wagenknecht: We should talk more. The interview ends with a plea by Petry for a timely collaboration on concrete issues.

Irrespective of the precise nature of any such future collaboration, the interview speaks volumes about the real character of the Left Party. In the mouthpiece of the German banks, Wagenknecht is signalling to the ruling class that, under conditions of extreme capitalist crisis, she and the Left Party are prepared to back military rearmament and preparations for war on an extremely right-wing and nationalist basis against the working class.
Residents in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina began evacuating the coastal regions on Wednesday and Thursday as Hurricane Matthew moved northward to the East Coast of the US. The category 4 hurricane, with winds up to 140 mph, is expected to make landfall in Florida late Thursday evening or early Friday morning.

As of Thursday evening, authorities were reporting that the hurricane had already caused caused nearly 300 deaths in Haiti, with the death toll continually rising. Homes and shanties there were left in ruins, engulfed by a deluge of mud, while standing water is mixing with human and animal waste.

The flooded villages in the southern peninsula of the impoverished nation have been largely cut off from the rest of the island. Officials estimate that 350,000 people have been affected by the hurricane, while over 15,000 have been displaced. Prior to the hurricane, some 60,000 Haitians remained homeless as a result of the 2010 earthquake.

Hurricane Matthew is expected to be first category 4 hurricane to make landfall in the region from West Palm Beach to the border of Florida and Georgia since records began in 1851, according to Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University. Since 1950, only three hurricanes have impacted the Bahamas with stronger winds.

Even if we get lucky and the storm stays offshore, the odds are high that it will be close enough that life-threatening flooding will inundate coastal sections and the winds will cause widespread damage, Bryan Norcross, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel, wrote Thursday morning on his Facebook page.

If the storm makes landfall, severe to catastrophic damage is possible, likely for hundreds of miles, he said. There has never been a hurricane like this in East Central Florida. There is nothing to compare it to.

The National Weather Service is warning that locations in East Central Florida may be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Sustained winds of over 100 mph are expected, and even areas further inland over Florida could see sustained winds over 50 mph, which will lead to widespread power outages. Florida Power & Light anticipates that 2.5 million customers will lose power.

The storm surge could see the ocean water rise as high as 7 to 11 feet above dry land, destroying structures along the coast.

Air travel in Florida has practically ceased. By Thursday evening, more than 3,785 flights had been canceled nationwide due to the hurricane.

In the largest mandatory evacuation since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, officials have urged over 2 million people residing in the coastal regions of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to leave their homes.

Roads in Florida were overcrowded as many of the 1.5 million residents ordered to evacuate fled the area. There were long lines at gas stations. Store shelves quickly emptied as people stocked up on supplies. State officials warned residents that there would likely be attempts at price gouging, with businesses hiking prices on gas, food and accommodations.

This storm will kill you, Florida Governor Rick Scott warned on Thursday. A direct hit by the hurricane, he said, could result in massive destruction. The governor has activated half of the states National Guard, while President Obama has declared a state of emergency in Florida.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal ordered a state of emergency in 30 counties and, for the first time in 17 years, ordered a mandatory evacuation of the entire coast of the state.

In South Carolina, an estimated 175,000 residents evacuated on Wednesday, and a similar number were expected to leave by Thursday. Governor Nikki Haley recommended that residents move at least 100 miles inland to ensure their safety.

As residents fled the lowlands by car in South Carolina, Sheriff deputies shot and killed a motorist, 35-year-old Lucas M. Felkel, after he knocked down traffic cones at a checkpoint and drove away. When officers caught up to the man several miles away, Sheriff Duane Lewis claims that Felkel brandished a gun and shot at deputies who then returned fire, injuring the man. Felkel later died of his wounds at a hospital. None of the deputies were wounded, and four have been placed on administrative leave.

In North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency for half the counties in the state, although it appears the state will avoid a direct hit from the hurricane.

While politicians have called for mass evacuations of the coastal areaswhich, therefore, will allow them to place the blame for the inevitable fatalities on the individuals who chose to stayonly the most minimal infrastructure has been put into place help those needing to evacuate. Inevitably, it will be the poorest and most vulnerable of the population who will be left to ride out the storm on their own.

No financial assistance is offered to people who cannot afford the cost of evacuating. The resources provided come in the form of the National Guard and other repressive sections of the state, which are being mobilized not to help individuals weathering the storm, but to protect private property and preserve law and order.

The residents who remain consist largely of individuals and families without the resources necessary to evacuatereliable cars, extra money for food and lodging. For example, in North Charleston, located on the coast of South Carolina, many of the residents of the poorer and predominantly African-American neighborhoods stayed behind.

We cant afford to travel the road, Adrian Ford, a North Charleston resident, told the Los Angeles Times. She was loading blankets and baby supplies into her car when the newspaper spoke to her. She and her entire family are planning to hunker down at her residence, which is located on higher ground.

As with all natural disasters in the United States, Hurricane Matthew will reveal the stark social inequalities that characterize all facets of American life. Tens of thousands of those affected will be unable to withstand the financial shock brought on by the hurricane. The damage caused by the storm will be exacerbated by the countrys crumbling infrastructure, as levees break, electric grids fail, bridges collapse and sewage systems overflow.

The media will briefly cover the suffering of the most vulnerable layers of society that it typically ignores. Politicians will shed crocodile tears in front of the TV cameras and offer empty promises and assurances. Once the storm passes, no effort will be made to prepare for future natural disasters, while those affected will be forgotten and left to fend for themselves.

While the political establishment can mobilize seemingly unlimited resources to prop up the financial system at home and fund destructive wars abroad, it will claim that there is no money available to improve the countrys decaying infrastructure or provide adequate aid to the victims of the hurricane.
On October 7, 2001, the United States launched a full-scale military assault against the Islamist Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda bases in the country.

The invasion of Afghanistan was less a war than a series of massacres. The US military utilised the opportunity to test an array of murderous weaponry and tactics. Suspected bunker and cave networks were obliterated with bombs that can penetrate seven meters of concrete. Areas where Taliban fighters were thought to be concentrated were incinerated with Daisy Cutters, which turn a radius of up to 1,700 meters into an inferno, or carpeted with cluster bombs. US, British and Australian special forces stalked the country, assassinating alleged Al Qaeda and Taliban members.

Thousands of Taliban prisoners were murdered by US-backed Northern Alliance militias in cities such as Mazar-al-Sharif and Kunduz. Hundreds of people, many with no connection to Al Qaeda, were sent for torture to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba or to CIA black sites. The Bush administration defended its war crimes with assertions that its victims were unlawful enemy combatants who were not protected by the Geneva Conventions.

The bloodletting in Afghanistan was followed by Pakistani military offensives, demanded by Washington, in the tribal border regions of northwest Pakistan. Thousands were slaughtered and millions driven from their homes. Over the subsequent years, the US military has terrorized both Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan with drone-launched missile strikes.

The acquiescence of the Pakistani government, formerly the Talibans main sponsor, was secured in a particularly crude manner. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Pakistani officials in September 2001: If youre against us, were gonna bomb your little tinpot country back into the stone agecapiche?

The representatives and apologists for US imperialism still claim that the motivation for the rampage in Afghanistan and Pakistan was to exact justice on Al Qaeda for the September 11, 2001 terrorist atrocities. The invasion was, President George W. Bush declared, the first battle in a war on terror. The Bush administration advanced as the pretext for the invasion the charge that the Taliban had harbored Al Qaeda and refused to extradite its leader, Osama bin Laden.

These justifications were based on lies. The Taliban and the vast majority of Al Qaeda members in Afghanistan had no involvement in the 9/11 attacks, which were carried out by a terrorist cell in the United States operating with the assistance of representatives of the Saudi Arabian ruling elite, the principal US ally in the Middle East alongside Israel. The attacks succeeded because of a de facto stand-down by US intelligence agencies, which, despite monitoring the activities of known Al Qaeda-linked individuals, took no action to prevent them hijacking commercial airliners. The murderous acts committed on 9/11 were used as the pretext for long-planned American invasions of Afghanistan and, within 18 months, Iraq.

The World Socialist Web Site editorial statement published on October 9, 2001, Why we oppose the war in Afghanistan, is testimony to the clarity of a Marxist approach to political and social developments, as opposed to the superficiality and bloodlust that pervaded bourgeois commentary on the rush of events that followed 9/11.

The statement stressed from the outset: The US government initiated the war in pursuit of far-reaching international interests of the American ruling elite. What is the main purpose of the war? The collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago created a political vacuum in Central Asia, which is home to the second largest deposit of proven reserves of petroleum and natural gas in the world.

The assessment of the WSWS proceeded from the analysis of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) of the world-historic implications of the restoration of capitalist property relations by the Stalinist regimes in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and China, and the liquidation of the USSR itself in 1991.

As WSWS Chairman David North stated in a 2006 speech on the fifth anniversary of 9/11: The collapse of the Soviet Union was interpreted by broad sections of the American ruling elite as an unprecedented opportunity to establish the unchallenged global geostrategic hegemony of the United States. Without the Soviet Union, there existed no effective restraint on the projection of American military power anywhere in the world. The American ruling elite believed that the overwhelming supremacy of the United States, in terms of raw military power, could be deployed to offset the long-term decline in the countrys world economic position. (Published in A Quarter Century of War, by David North, Mehring Books, 2016, p. 375).

The invasion of Afghanistan cannot be understood except as part of a chain of interconnected developments, stretching from the 1990-1991 Gulf War against Iraq, the establishment of permanent US bases in the Middle East, the US interventions in the Horn of Africa and the Balkans, and the 1999 war against Serbia, to the still unexplained events of 9/11.

The very origins of Al Qaeda and the Taliban lie in earlier intrigues by US imperialism to weaken and destabilise the Soviet Union, which hastened the decision by the Stalinist regime to preserve the position of its privileged bureaucratic caste through the restoration of capitalism. From 1978, on the orders of the Carter administration, the CIA, in collaboration with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, financed and armed Islamist fundamentalists to wage war against the Soviet-backed government in Kabul, drawing Soviet forces into a protracted counter-insurgency. Among those the US government supported was Saudi millionaire bin Laden and the Wahabist extremists from around the world who were brought to train at the Pakistani camps called Al QaedaThe Base.

Throughout the 1980s, the Reagan administration hailed the Islamist mujahadeen as freedom fighters and denounced the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, deliberately provoked by Washington, as a crime against the Afghan people. Over the past 15 years, Washington has perpetrated violence against the Afghan people on a scale far beyond anything attempted by the Soviet Union. The US has been the central instigator of the Afghan tragedy for a period that now spans 38 years. The toll in dead and wounded numbers well over a million people. More than six million people have fled the country, making Afghanistan the largest refugee-producing country in the world.

The war on terror has had vast implications within the United States itself. It became the pretext for the 2001 Patriot Act, virtually unchecked government spying, indefinite detention, military tribunals, the stepped-up militarization of police agencies and the wholesale persecution of Americans of Muslim background. The real purpose of these measures has not been to deter terrorists, but to ramp up the state apparatus in order to suppress rising social and class antagonisms. The assault on democratic rights in the US became the model for similar policies around the world.

Fifteen years after the invasion, the American ruling class is faced with the reality that it has achieved few, if any, of its predatory aims. Afghanistan is by far the longest war the United States has fought. It has cost well over $800 billion. Thousands of American and allied troops have been killed or wounded, but there is no end in sight. Far from being defeated, the Taliban and other anti-occupation militias continue to wage an insurgency against the US puppet government and foreign forces. Entire areas of southern Afghanistan are under their control. In recent weeks, bitter fighting has taken place for control of the northern city of Kunduz.

The Afghan government is among the most corrupt in the world, with the ruling stratum basing its privileges on ethno-sectarian divisions, the theft of international aid and the opium and heroin trade. It is commonly accepted that the US-backed regime, despised by the Afghan masses, would collapse if deprived of the ongoing prop of 15,000 US and European troops.

As for Central Asian oil and gas, its exploitation is still dominated by Russia, while increasingly coming under the sway of Chinese energy conglomerates as new pipelines are built. A recent comment in Diplomat noted: If the current trend continues, the International Energy Agency has estimated that China may be importing up to 50 percent of the regions oil and gas by 2020, signaling a decisive shift in Central Asias energy flow from the west to the east.

While the American capitalist class has no intention of releasing its grip on Afghanistan, it is today increasingly focused on ending the perceived threat that nuclear-armed China and Russia pose to US global dominance. The strategists of US imperialism have determined that if it is going to control Eurasia, it has to install client states in the two countries that dominate the vast land mass, geographically, politically and militarily. Tensions are rising everywhere as every power, great and minor, seeks to assert the interests of its ruling elite in evermore fraught conditions. The prospect of World War III looms over humanity.

The future depends upon the development of an international anti-war movement based on the working class and guided by a revolutionary socialist perspective. The conference Socialism versus Capitalism & War being held by the Socialist Equality Party (US) in Detroit on November 5 will be a decisive step in the fight for such a movement. All those looking for a way to oppose war, austerity and repression should register to attend today.
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankan tea estate workers have been engaged in protest actions since September 26, demanding decent pay and better working conditions, in opposition to the attempt by the companies and government to impose a wage system tied to productivity.

Initially, the local leaders of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC)a widely discredited plantation trade unioncalled a protest for two hours at two estates in Bogawantalawa and Upcot in the Nuwara Eliya district to defuse workers anger. However, under conditions of deep-going discontent among the workers, the protest has triggered unrest that is spreading throughout the plantation area.

One and a half years ago, the CWC formulated the demand for a daily wage of 1,000 rupees ($US6.86), an increase of 380 rupees. Despite the limited character of the unions campaign for this demand, workers have spontaneously stopped work for several hours to join demonstrations and pickets. They have blocked main roads in plantation area towns and defied police intimidation unleashed by the government in collaboration with union leaders.

This unfolding struggle sharply poses the need for workers to establish new forms of organisation and a new leadership, to fight for a political program to defend wages, jobs and working conditions and defeat the onslaught of the capitalist companies, which are backed by the government and assisted by the trade unions.

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) calls on workers on every estate to form their own democratically-elected action committees, independent of the trade unions, and to take up the fight for socialist policies and a workers and peasants government.

The unions did not call for or initially support the protests. The unions organised in the Tamil Progressive Alliancethe National Union of Workers (NUW), Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF) and Democratic Workers Congress (DWC)only declared their support on Tuesday.

On the contrary, the leaders of the NUW, UPF and DWCP. Digambaram, V. Radhakrishnan and Mano Ganeshan respectivelyare seeking to manipulate and suppress the eruption of opposition by plantation workers. These unions will line up with the employers and the government, and try to ensure that the demands of workers are suppressed.

The NUW, UPF and DWC, along with the Lanka Jathika Estate Workers Union (LJEWU) controlled by the ruling right-wing United National Party (UNP)are partners in the coalition government and their leaders hold ministerial and deputy ministerial posts.

These unions backed the US-sponsored regime change operation, during the January 2015 election, to install Maithripala Sirisena as president. The CWC, which was part of the previous governments led by President Mahinda Rajapakse, is now negotiating to join the UNP-led coalition.

These unions have a notorious record of backing police repression and company witch-hunts of workers and youth in the plantations. Workers have accused a local NUW leader of prompting the police to take out a court order to ban a protest in Maskeliya last Sunday.

Undoubtedly, the unions are already engaged in negotiations behind closed doors with the companies and the government for a rotten deal to boost company profits at the direct expense of the workers.

Confronting a worsening global crisis in the tea and rubber industries, the Sri Lankan plantation companies have rejected any wage increase and demanded greater productivity, with the backing of the government.

After the last wage agreement expired in March 2015, Planters Association chairman Roshan Rajadurai declared that the companies could not accept a pay rise of even one rupee. He proposed a revenue sharing systemin effect a share-cropper systemwhereby a family would be allocated between 1,200 and 1,500 tea bushes to tend, and would receive a share of the revenue after the harvest. He insisted that without high productivity and low labour costs, the plantation companies could not compete on the world market.

The unions supported company plans to increase the tea plucking targets but in many estates the workers resisted. The Employers Federation has now proposed a hybrid system or two-tier systema daily wage of 720 rupees, including a 100-rupee variable allowance for 12 days a month, and 13 days of wages directly dependent on productivity. According to Rajadurai, this system would be a rehearsal for the revenue sharing system.

The government supports the employers plan and demands it be expedited. At the same time, it is also discussing plans to assist the companies in dismantling many unviable estates and switching to other cropswith the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.

The assault on plantation workers is part of a broader attack on the living conditions and social rights of workers and the poor. The government is implementing the austerity measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund, including tax increases, prices rises for essential items, the privatisation of state-owned enterprises and cutbacks to public education and health.

Amid the deepening crisis of world capitalism, workers in every country face similar onslaughts on their wages, jobs, living conditions and basic democratic and social rights.

To have a decent life, plantation workers need a guaranteed monthly wage indexed to the cost of living; proper housing, health care and education; jobs for young people and full citizenship rights for all plantation workers. They also need an end to backbreaking workloads.

None of these essential social rights can be achieved under capitalism and the private ownership of the plantations. The plantation companies are destroying even the current oppressive living conditions. What is necessary is the nationalisation of the plantations under workers control as part of the broader transformation of society on socialist lines.

This struggle requires workers in the plantations to turn to their class brothers and sisters in other sectors in Sri Lanka and globally, in the common struggle for socialist internationalism, that is, the reorganisation of society to meet the pressing needs of the majority, not the profits of the wealthy few.

To fight for this perspective, workers need new organisations. That is why the Socialist Equality Party is urging workers to take matters into their own hands, break from the unions and form their own independent rank-and-file action committees, committed to socialist policies and the establishment of a workers and peasants government. It is urgent that workers in every plantation elect their own action committees to form the basis for a joint committee, which will coordinate the struggle throughout the plantations and other sectors.

Above all, this political struggle needs revolutionary leadership. The SEP is the party that fights for this perspective in Sri Lanka. We urge workers and youth to join the SEP and to build it as the mass revolutionary party of the working class.
In the face of overwhelming popular opposition, Polands right-wing government of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) has been forced to retreat on a proposed bill banning abortions. While acknowledging its growing weakness, the government is preparing for more fundamental attacks on the living standards of the working class and an escalation of the military build-up against Russia.

Following Monday protests by tens of thousands of people in about 90 Polish cities against the antiabortion bill, as well as public condemnations of the legislation by EU officials, the PiS government initiated a hasty review of the bill in two parliamentary commissions on Wednesday. The Polish Sejms (parliament) Human Rights commission had been tasked with reviewing the law after a vote in the Sejm in favor of the bill in late September. After all-night sessions and heated debates, both commissions, with the supporting votes of PiS delegates, recommended rejecting the bill, which the Sejm did on Thursday with an overwhelming majority of 358 votes.

The bill was introduced by the far-right Catholic organization, Ordo Iuris, and would have provided for a total ban on abortion, including for minors and victims of sexual assault, as well as prison terms for women and doctors involved in abortions. Polls showed that an overwhelming majority of the population opposed the bill, with only 14 percent in favor of it. The protests on Monday drew support largely from layers of the middle class and were advertised by the liberal opposition.

When asked why PiS had changed its position on the bill so dramatically within just a few days, Jarosaw Kaczynski, the head of the party, declared in the Sejm: In light of the situation in society we find that the bill will lead to results that are opposed to the goals of those who proposed it.

The liberal oppositions media outlets celebrated the retreat by PiS as a major victory (Gazeta Wyborcza). From the standpoint of the interests of the working class, this is nonsense and window dressing. First, PiS is still planning to propose another bill to further curtail the right to abortion. Second, either way there exists no right to abortion in Poland. The current law, which is being defended by the liberal opposition, allows for abortions only in the most extreme cases (incest, sexual assault or serious malformation of the fetus), forcing hundreds of thousands of women every year to abort illegally in Poland or seek abortions in other countries.

From the very beginning, the liberal opposition did everything it could to limit the protests against the antiabortion law to gender issues, deliberately diverting them from the larger political questions involved, and trying to prevent a mobilization of the working class against the government. At the same time, the opposition never went further than demanding the maintenance of the current, reactionary law.

The main reason for the retreat by PiS was fear of a broader movement by the working class. Approval ratings for the ruling party recently dropped to just 29 percent, while recent weeks have seen increasing protests and strikes in the working class, including by auto and medical workers.

On the basis of its rejection of the proposed abortion bill, the government is now seeking to appeal to the liberal opposition and the layers of the upper middle class for which it speaks in order to prepare more drastic attacks on the living standards of the working class and to push ahead with the military buildup against Russia. This appeal was well understood by the opposition, which shares the governments fear of the working class.

Last week, Prime Minister Beata Szydo dismissed Finance Minister Pawe Szaamacha. The week before, the head of the Polish treasury was dismissed. The functions of both the finance ministry and the treasury are now to be handed over to Mateusz Morawiecki, a former banker and close confident of the head of PiS, Kaczynski. Under his supervision, a new super-ministry will be created whose immediate task will be to push through a restructuring of the Polish economy and a reform of the health care system.

In particular, the PiS government wants to bring important branches of industry under greater control of the state in order to supervise a rapid militarization of the economy. Thus, the PiS has announced the building of several new state-owned factories in various Polish cities that will produce armaments for the Polish army, which is undergoing its greatest buildup since 1989. Morawiecki has come forward with proposals to expand the defense industry and make this the heart of a so-called reindustrialization.

Jarosaw Kaczynski reemphasized the governments priorities in a speech that he gave Wednesday for the inauguration of the academic year at the Military Institute of Medicine. He said: We are now in an extraordinary situation  both the armed forces and the heath care system have to change and are changing. He added that the armed forces were now necessary to Poland as perhaps never before in the previous decades. While little to no concrete information about the planned health care reform has been released to the public, Kaczynski hinted in his speech that the influence over the health care system of the Military Institute, which is subordinate to the Defense Ministry and supervises numerous hospitals, and the military in general will be expanded.

The Polish health care system ranks among the very worst in Europe. According to the Euro Health Consumer Index, which evaluates the patient friendliness of health care systems, Poland placed 34 out of 35 European countries. The country suffers from a massive shortage of doctors with only 224 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants. Polls show that 75 percent of the population has a very negative view of the health care system. Among the OECD countries, Poland has the lowest investments in the health care system. In 2014, it spent only 6.8 per cent of its GDP on health care, far below the OECD average of 9.3 percent.

Due to extremely poor working conditions, four out five medical students indicate they want to go abroad for work. Last week, thousands of medical workers went on strike for higher wages.

The virtual destruction of the Polish health care system is the result of the combined efforts of all the bourgeois parties that have held power since 1989, including the liberal opposition party PO and the so-called social democratic party PSL. Whatever their tactical differences over aspects of foreign and domestic policy, there is a consensus about the necessity to rapidly militarize Polish society for a war with Russia and to make the working class pay for it.
Last Friday, September 30, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton announced a plan to institute a National Service Reserve for the purpose of recruiting five million young people between the ages of 18 and 30 for a minimum of a year of service. This initiative is not a milquetoast reform as it is being described in the media, but represents a dangerous shift towards wider wars abroad and a more militarized society at home.

While she packaged the idea as a local/national volunteer force, Clintons proposed corps are modeled after the Armed Forces Reserves. Volunteers would receive basic training and be on-call for natural disaster, public health campaigns or other projects, according to the Washington Post .

In return, Clinton offers possible college credits, time off from work and/or a modest living expense for volunteers, contingent on demonstrated financial need. Significantly, the federal government would not pay even for these limited rations; her plan suggests she will negotiate with corporations to do so.

Clinton also called for tripling the size of AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000, increasing its loan forgiveness/stipend allocation to a miserable $23,000 for two years of full-time work plus another year in public service. Finally she advocated for the expansion of the Peace Corps and the enlistment of the over-55 age bracket for volunteer opportunities.

She has advertised the Reserve corps as an appeal to the volunteering spirit of millennials whose support she needs in November. Posted comments online, however, reacting to media reports indicates that most of the intended audience would prefer student-loan forgiveness and a decently-paying job rather than working for near-free. Even more fundamentally, they are deeply skeptical of the military implications of National Service.

Indeed, such proposalsalways of a militarist characterhave periodically arisen in the US, but are now receiving significant political traction. In fact, National Service fits in with the outlook and aims outlined in the recent Atlantic Council document The Future of the Army. Among other measures, the policy paper calls for an expansion of military personnel, both career and part-time. It suggests the creation of an Army Civilian Volunteer Auxiliary Corps, an idea not dissimilar to the National Service Reserves.

With an eye to the age of perpetual war and social breakdown at home, The Future of the Army states, The lines between military and civilian, active and reserves, volunteers and retirees need to become far more blurred.

In other words, policymakers are demanding the militarization of large swathes of American society, with millions of reservists on call for military duties. The report also cautions, the Army must address how to bring large numbers of new recruits into a growing force and identify the talents it might want to rapidly access if the Selective Service were to institute a draft.

National Service, even if at first voluntary, would mark a step in this direction. In fact, Clintons concept has been developed by General Stanley McChrystal, the career four-star general responsible for five years of war crimes in Afghanistan, together with the high-level American think-tank The Aspen Institute.

In the wake of the huge support for Bernie Sanders among young people coupled with a rising combativity within the working class, Clintons plans dovetails not only with the interests of the financial elite to prepare for new wars, but especially to enable the promotion of American nationalism and militarism as a battering ram against a rising class consciousness.

This becomes clear when examining the statements of advocates for National Service. Some appear in unexpected places. The major K-12 journal, Education Week which usually concerns itself with issues which directly bear on primary and secondary schoolingran a commentary in mid-September entitled The Case for Universal National Service. It is authored by James H. Stone, a man with serious Wall Street bona fidesa former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission now running a billion-dollar insurance group.

The Education Week article calls for mandatory National Service. It envisions requiring every young person between 17 and 22 to perform at least one year of service in an approved field. Stone ranks the options: 1) On the military side, where compensation would almost surely be highest and a two-year enlistment likely required, the need is obvious. Suggesting infrastructure as 2), he states young folks with basic training could deal with safe drinking-water and crumbling school facilities. Finally he offers 3) Social Services explaining there is always more to be done.

Stone concludes that universal national service offers the only workable answer to the major issues in American education and is essential as a healthy wake-up call for a divided nation Our nations pride, compassion, and national unity would all be increased.

Such concerns are made even more emphatically by Gen. McChrystal, who is the leading advocate for National Service. McChrystal cites statistics of growing social inequality, worrying that social trust is breaking down, in a 2016 article in the Atlantic. He warns the ruling elite how Americans restore trust may be an existential question for their country  an increasingly shorn society. The solution? Bind[ing] our young people to one another and [to] the nation via National Service, he says in Politico .

Clintons adoption of the McChrystal program is not surprising. As secretary of state, she found common cause with the general against Obama on the military policy, including on sending more soldiers to Afghanistan. As one of her aides revealingly observed, She likes the nail-eatersMcChrystal, Petraeus, Keane. Real military guys, not these retired three-stars who go into civilian jobs, according to the Atlantic .

McChrystal is by no means just speaking for himself. While he founded the Franklin Project at the Aspen Institute to advocate for National Service in 2012, the Institute is a major US think tank of business and military leaders. It includes both leading Democrats and Republicans and includes as board members Madeleine Albright, David H. Koch, and Condoleezza Rice. (It is also relevant to note that in 1988 the Democratic Leadership Council, including Bill Clinton, issued a report Citizenship and National Service proposing that federal college student aid be conditioned on such service.) In January 2016, the Franklin Project merged with several other groups to form Service Year Alliance, also chaired by McChrystal.

Tae Yoo, a figure at the World Economic Forum and senior vice-president at Cisco, issued a similar warning on behalf of the ruling elite, pointing to the depth of social anger building up in America, making the extraordinary prediction that the crisis was leading to a weakened civilization. As reported in Huffington Post, she said, Young Americans today are facing the crisis of unraveling traditional communities and social structures. In fact, 1 million students drop out of school each year, and 17 percent of youth aged 16 to 24 are out of school and work. This isnt just a problem about unemployment or a weak future workforceit escalates to encompass poverty, illiteracy, food insecurity, homelessness and a lack of health care, leading to a weakened civilization.

Doubling down on the point that the crisis of capitalism is bringing American society to the breaking point, McChrystal emphasized, The danger of inaction should be clear. Tensions and violence in cities across America are reminders of how quickly communities can erupt with an absence of social trust. Dallas, St. Paul, Baton Rouge, and Orlando, following on the heels of Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago illustrate a disheartening reality. McChrystal concluded his July 2016 Atlantic article by calling on the presidential candidates to adopt National Service as a policy solution. It appears Clinton answered the call.

The militarization of the labor forceblurring the lines between civilian and military personneland the use of nationalistic propaganda to bind the nation are not new concepts. The 20th century and its two world wars have provided us with the tragic outcome of these outlooks. Young people must turn to the working class and fight to unite it internationally as the great oppositional force to put an end to this rapacious system and construct a new socialist society.
Siemens announced in March its intention to cut 2,500 jobs worldwide in its process industry and engine division, 2,000 of these in Germany.

The central works council subsequently collaborated closely with the company to work out the details, presenting a plan on September 26 that includes 1,700 job cuts at German plants. Workers constructing engines at plants in Bavaria will be affected most severely by the layoffs.

As usual, the works council portrayed the agreement as a success because 300 fewer workers are to be let go than was originally demanded by company management. The agreement proposes cutting around 330 instead of the original 370 in Bad Neustadt, 590 in Nuremburg instead of 730, and 600 in Ruhstorf near Passau instead of 710. In addition, there will be 28 job cuts in Berlin and 130 in Erlangen.

At the Siemens Ruhstorf plant, practically half of the workforce will lose their jobs. The plant, which has a history going back over a century as Loher GmbH (founded in 1895, dissolved in 2012) and only recently purchased by Siemens, is now in serious danger. It is among the most important businesses in the region. A large percentage of residents in Ruhrstorf and the surrounding area are either directly or indirectly dependent upon Siemens. In March, 2,000 people protested in Ruhrstorf against the planned layoffs.

The protests organised by the IG Metall trade union over recent months sought to keep the workers at each plant separate from each other, including a day of action in July under the slogan, Siemens is staying in Bavaria. These protests have nothing to do with a serious defence of jobs, but form the framework within which job cuts have repeatedly taken place and been organised jointly by the company management and works council.

In the face of great concern among workers and their families about the future of their jobs and the Ruhrstorf plant, Jurgen Wechsler, regional leader of IG Metall in Bavaria and deputy chairman on the supervisory board of Siemens Healthcare GmbH, declared, There are big concerns as to whether what has been agreed will still exist in four years.

Wechslers crocodile tears should fool no one. As regional leader for IG Metall, he earns more than 10,000 per month, without even taking account of the payments he receives for sitting on the supervisory board and other top-ups. After he agreed to the layoffs, this bureaucrat is now declaring that this could be the prelude to the shutdown of the Ruhstorf plant. He is obviously well aware of the plans already in place for the proposed shutdown.

Further indication of this is given by the fact that plans already exist for establishing a trade centre with financial support from the Bavarian government at the Siemens location.

The deputy chair of the Ruhstorf works council, Elke Malcher, told the regional public broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk that the agreement to cut jobs meant the effective elimination of pre-production. A large percentage of the job cuts will be carried out in 2018-19.

As with countless other examples of layoffs carried out within the framework of social partnership, some of the workers will be transferred to temporary jobs for 17 to 24 months, amounting in practice to a transfer into unemployment, while others will be paid off or go on part-time hours en route to retirement.

A similar procedure is under way at other plants.

These job cuts come on top of the 13,000 layoffs announced by CEO Joe Kaeser as part of Siemens restructuring plans last year. Apart from administration, the main area affected by this cost-cutting programme of job destruction was the energy division.

As was the case last year, the justifications for the layoffs include the oil price drop, the deepening global crisis, declining demand for equipment and engines in the oil and gas industry and an intensification of global competition.

Under these conditions, shareholders are demanding drastic cost-cutting, stepped-up exploitation and the outsourcing of production to cheap labour locations in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Siemens human resources head Janina Kugel spoke of painful cuts and added, But ultimately we all have an interest in making the business sustainably competitive once again. IG Metall and the works councils are in full agreement with this view.

They serve as co-managers and an industrial police force to enforce the job cuts and attacks against the workers, while seeking to smother any form of resistance to this.

They refuse not only to organise a genuine struggle to defend all jobs, but also divide workers and pit them against each other with their nationalist politics. IG Metall functionary Wechsel boasted that he had called on Siemens not to outsource any more production jobs to Eastern Europe. This had been achieved to a limited extent in the talks, but Siemens had insisted upon its outsourcing strategy, he claimed.

The only way to defend all jobs is through a joint international struggle of all workers against the job cuts planned by the corporations and their IG Metall and works council stooges. This struggle must be based on an internationalist and socialist programme.
The WSWS Autoworker Newsletter is holding an information call-in meeting for autoworkers in Canada and the US on Wednesday, October 12 , at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To participate, dial 438-800-2937 in Canada and 213-416-1560 in the US and enter PIN 581 991 086#.

Autoworkers in Canada are in the midst of a bitter struggle to defend their jobs and working conditions as the Detroit Three, with the full support of the Unifor union bureaucracy, demand further givebacks and concessions in the name of improving corporate competitivenessthat is, swelling investor profitsand securing investment.

The substantial opposition among GM workers, who passed Unifors derisory pattern settlement with the smallest-ever majority for a Detroit Three contract, demonstrates that workers are determined to fight back against decades of job, wage, and benefit cuts.

A successful worker counter-offensive will require: (1) a political and organizational break with the pro-company Unifor apparatus; (2) a struggle to mobilize autoworkers across North America to fight for decent and secure jobs for all workers; and (3) a political struggle against the entire ruling class and their big business parties, the Liberals, Conservatives and New Democratic Party (NDP).

Any challenge by autoworkers to the auto bosses will bring them into headlong conflict with the political representatives of big business. This was proven by the role that all three parties played during the 2008-2009 auto bailout, when they joined forces with the automakers to impose unprecedented contract concessions and job cuts.

Seizing on the fall 2008 global economic implosion, the ruling establishment in Canada and the United States rushed to prop up the criminal financial elite who had caused the banking collapse with billions in bailout funds with no strings attached, while enforcing devastating attacks on working people. The spearhead of this offensive came in the auto industry.

Making workers pay for the capitalist crisis

When Chrysler and GM came forward with restructuring plans requiring massive new worker givebacks, the newly elected Obama administration rejected them because they did not go far enough in attacking workers rights. With the aim of slashing wages, further entrenching the two-tier system and otherwise gutting rights won by workers in decades of bitter struggle against the automakers and the capitalist state, the Obama administration effectively pushed the automakers into bankruptcy.

In all of this, the federal Conservative government of Stephen Harper and the Ontario Liberal provincial government of Dalton McGuinty were Obamas and the auto bosses co-conspirators.

Both governments participated in Obamas auto task force, which drafted the plans for restoring profitability to the auto industry by shredding workers rights and living standards. Subsequently, the federal and Ontario governments gave GM and Chrysler Canada C$14 billion in bailout funds on the condition that the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), Unifors predecessor, impose the brutal concessions demands the three governments had drawn up in collaboration with the Wall and Bay Street banks and investment funds.

In exchange for these givebacks, workers received worthless investment and production guarantees from the automakers through 2016. These did nothing to prevent massive job shedding through plant and production-line closures and speed-up over the next eight years, as well as a continuing assault on working conditions.

While the auto bosses and capitalist governments across North America cooperated to jointly fleece autoworkers, the CAW and the United Auto Workers (UAW), in line with their role as chief enforcers of one round of attacks after another since the 1980s, worked tirelessly to divide workers along national lines and offer them up as cheap labour commodities to be exploited by Ford, GM and Chrysler.

Twice in the spring of 2009, the CAW blackmailed Chrysler and GM workers into reopening their contracts, repeating the threats of the auto bosses and politicians that the auto industry would otherwise collapse and production would be shifted wholesale to the US and other locations. The sell-out deals that the CAW rammed through contained givebacks amounting to C$19 per hour per worker. This pattern was replicated at Ford later in 2009, when CAW officials argued it was only fair to grant Ford the same cost savings. Even though the automaker was not part of the bailout, the CAW bullied workers into reopening the previous 2008 concessions-laden deal, so as to ensure Ford remained competitive.

In April 2009, with the Conservatives threatening to push GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy, McGuintys Liberals sought to increase the pressure on workers, by declaring that the Ontario government would not abide by a decades-long commitment to cover pension shortfalls for workers at a bankrupt company.

The Liberals followed this up by offering their own package of tax breaks and cheap loans to the automakers. These helped GM, Ford and Chrysler to rake in massive profits in subsequent years.

The Liberals role in the anti-worker bailout is a damning indictment of the politics of the CAW and Unifor. Since the late 1990s, the CAW/Unifor has promoted the Liberals as a progressive party. It provided the Liberal campaigns in the 2003 and 2007 Ontario elections with millions in funding, helping elect, then re-elect a right-wing Liberal government that left in place the key regressive tenets of Mike Harriss Thatcherite Common Sense Revolution. In the 2006 federal election, CAW President Buzz Hargrove campaigned for Paul Martin, who as finance minister had imposed the greatest social spending cuts in Canadian history, and for Belinda Stronach, the Magna auto parts boss who first helped found Harpers new Conservative Party and then defected to the Liberals.

The only answer for autoworkers to the 2008-2009 crisis lays in a complete rejection of the entire bailout framework. Workers were not responsible for the financial crisis and should not have been made to pay for it. As the Socialist Equality Party urged at the time, workers had to launch a militant campaign of strikes and plant occupations, appealing for support from workers across North America in opposing the big business-government attempt to foist the burden of the capitalist crisis onto the backs of working people. This required the adoption of a socialist program based on the fight for a workers government, which would place basic industry and the financial system under public ownership and the democratic control of working class, so that the economy could be reorganized to meet social needs, not enrich a tiny clique of ultra-rich.

The CAW/Unifor and UAW divide and suppress worker opposition

By contrast, the CAW promoted the pro-capitalist and nationalist poison that had been its hallmark since it split from the UAW in 1985. At every turn, the CAW and UAW did everything in their power to thwart a joint struggle by autoworkers in North America, even though workers on both sides of the border confronted the same corporations and big business politicians demanding the same concessions.

In May 2009, the CAW-GM Master Bargaining Committee issued a leaflet that dripped with nationalism and presented US workers, rather than the corporate bosses, as the enemy. Our productivity is superior to the U.S., the Master Bargaining Committee boasted. And our labour costs are lower. It makes no sense to impose a one-size-fits-all formula on us, that ignores Canadas advantage.

In October and November, workers at Ford rebelled against the brutal concessions being enforced by the UAW, voting down a contract patterned after the US bailout contracts. The CAW reacted to this burgeoning worker revolt by announcing an agreement with Ford on a Friday afternoon and rushing to hold ratification meetings over the weekend in order to block any possibility of a joint struggle of North American autoworkers.

Canadas social democratic NDP maintained virtual radio silence on the auto bailout. But in deeds it demonstrated that it was fully on the side of corporate management and the ruling elite. In the fall of 2008, it agreed to form a federal coalition government with the big business Liberals committed to slashing corporate taxes by C$50 billion, imposing austerity, and continuing Canadas participation in the Afghan War. The coalition ultimately failed to come to pass due to the anti-democratic constitutional coup carried out by the Harper Conservatives when they suspended parliament with the assistance of Canadas unelected Governor General and the support of Canadian big business. Just a few months later, the NDP propped up Harper in a vote in the House of Commons, ensuring that Canadas most right-wing government in modern Canadian history retained in power.

To be successful in their current struggle, autoworkers must draw the political lessons of these experiences. The establishment political parties are the hirelings of big business and, consequently, the bitterest enemies of working people. This is as true for the ever-rightward-moving NDP, as it is for the Liberals and Conservatives.

Workers must combine an industrial offensive against the auto bosses with the building of a party committed to fighting for their class intereststhat is for a workers government that would place the needs of working people for decent-paying and secure jobs, a safe retirement, public utilities and access to culture above the drive for corporate profit.

Such a party must be based on an internationalist program, uniting the struggles of autoworkers in Canada with their brothers and sisters in the United States, Mexico and around the world. For decades, CAW/Unifor and the UAW have peddled nationalism to play workers off against each other, forcing them to compete in a race to the bottom in the interest of boosting corporate profitability. As the SEP statement on the current contract battle notes, Auto workers face powerful enemies, but they have even more powerful allies in the working class across Canada and around the world (see: For a counteroffensive against the auto bosses! A socialist-internationalist strategy for Canadian Detroit Three workers).

We encourage all autoworkers who agree with this perspective and want to develop a social and political working-class counter-offensive to contact the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter and the Socialist Equality Party.
THOMASVILLE, GA (WTXL) - Though surrounding counties do not appear to be in the storms projected path, a Thomasville hospital is working with health systems and first responders state-wide to lend a helping hand in preparation for Hurricane Matthew.

After a mandatory evacuation ordered by Governor Nathan Deal this morning for counties located on Georgias coast, they reported that around 200 hospital patients will be transported to hospitals inland throughout the state.

Archbold hospitals located in South Georgia, to include Brooks County Hospital in Quitman, Grady General Hospital in Cairo and John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, will be receiving 15 patients that have evacuated from Glynn County.

Archbold is monitoring the storm carefully, and we are working closely with coordinating state agencies to provide assistance and medical resources needed to ensure patients across the state are well cared for, said Perry Mustian, Archbold president and CEO.
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - As we continue to highlight arts and culture in the community, we spoke with a dancer who's been in the business for over a decade.

Aurora Torres-Hansen has been dancing since she was a little girl and has never skipped a beat.

We talked with her about her experience and this year's 12th annual Experience Asia Festival.

You can check out Torres-Hansen dancing with her dance group at the festival this weekend.
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - On Thursday, Governor Rick Scott said that Floridians should expect "catastrophic power outages" and destruction as a result of Hurricane Matthew.

"This is 100 to 150 mile per hour winds. We've got storm surge. We are going to have a catastrophic storm. Whether it is a direct impact, or whether it just goes along the coast, we are going to have damage. We are going to be without power," Governor Scott.

As a result, he has activated 3,500 Florida National Guard Members to assist around the state to help with important life-saving operations.

Governor Scott said, "I've directed the National Guard to help with evacuations and with sheltering. National Guard members will also make sure those who wait until the last minute to evacuate can do so as safely as possible. But don't take a chance that somebody is going to be there to make sure, if you wait to evacuate.'
WASHINGTON (AP) - Florida Gov. Rick Scott is turning down a request from Hillary Clinton's campaign to extend the state's voter registration deadline.

The deadline for Floridians to register is next Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign says the deadline should be pushed back because Hurricane Matthew is threatening to wreak havoc on the state.

But Scott, a Republican, says "everyone has had a lot of time to register" and he doesn't intend to make any changes.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Tallahassee Memorial Hospital has been preparing for the possibility of incoming evacuees.

TMH said it will assist hospitals on the east coast of Florida by transferring patents from those areas to the hospital for care, if needed.

After dealing with Hurricane Hermine at the beginning of last month, hospital officials said they feel much better prepared to assist other medical centers in severe weather emergencies.

TMH has also prepared food, water, and many other supplies to help aid hospital patients on the east coast.
Missed out on the Fresh Hop Ale Festival? You got another shot at the beer festival experience this weekend. (SHAWN GUST/Yakima Herald-Republic file)
UPDATE 10 p.m. -- Police are searching for two people suspected in the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old clerk during the robbery of a downtown 
The greatest geopolitical disaster of our generation was the American invasion of Iraq and that which transpired thereafter, certainly for the Middle East. The war in Iraq led to a terrible civil war which has yet to end, to the disintegration of the country, to a rise in Irans power, to the regional emergence of al-Qaeda and to the birth of the monster known as the Islamic State . The war precipitated the flight of millions of Iraqi refugees to Syria which, in turn, accelerated the civil war there.

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Yet this is just the beginning. The Iraq war forced the American administration to try to advanceas some kind of distorted compensationa policy of actively pushing for the democratization of the Middle East. That was the reason why the Bush Administration forced the Palestinian Authority elections on Prime Minister Ariel Sharonfree elections in which Hamas participated and won. The administration also went to the trouble of training Egyptian revolutionaries to lead, in due course, a democratic revolution in their country. Of all the failed plans orchestrated by Bushs people, this actually worked. There was an Arab spring which turned into a nightmare in some places. We are witnessing the results today in Libya, in Syria, in Sinai and in the Gaza Strip.

Syria would have served as a difficult test for any American president, but in Obama's case it embodies a personal Achilles heel (Photo: AFP)

Would any of the readers here like to send their relative pilot to strike in Syria to stop the slaughter there? Would any of us be willing to risk our own lives or the life of his of her loved ones to prevent the most heinous war crimes since the genocide in Rwanda? The answer is most probably no. The Americans are just as unwilling to volunteer to prevent an international injustice at the risk of their soldiers lives. But there is one difference: America has chosen, and chooses every day, to be a superpower. And superpowers pay, or are supposed to pay, a price.

The children of Rome used to learn the Aeneid, the imperial ethos: Remember, Roman, it is for you to rule the nations with your power, (that will be your skill) to crown peace with law, to spare the conquered, and subdue the proud. Every Roman knew the price that must be paid for global supremacy, but what was the price that Obamas America was prepared to pay?

Clearly, America did not withdraw from the world during his term, as is commonly claimed. It boosted its presence in the Pacific areas, for example, mainly as a counterbalance to China. Obama greatly increased the American soft power, and his country is gaining growing popularity in the world, particularly after the agreements with Cuba and Iran. But what about the use of power, not just in order to prevent the massacre of innocent people in Aleppo, but also in order to demonstrate Washingtons strength in the region?

Putins Russia is a failed country, with a crushed economy and a disastrous demography. The United States is enjoying an impressive momentum of growth and a sparkling image and is leading several technological revolutions. Russia is not a superpower, but is willing to pay the heaviest pricebloodto appear as one. The US is definitely a superpower, but its willingness to use force appears increasingly hesitant.

America is taking revenge against the Russian conduct through, among other things, the international price of oil and sanctions. But in a world where dictators are returning, cautious and sensible long-term processes do not necessarily lead to the anticipated results.

Syria would have served as a difficult test for any American president, but in Obamas case it embodies a personal Achilles heel: how to defeat hooliganism and hooligans in a complex global reality. Theodore Roosevelt suggested speaking softly and carrying a big stick. There is no doubt that Obama is speaking softly, but the world isnt sufficiently convinced about the size of the stick.
A sign which reads "follow the arrows to the building site" across the road from the entrance to one of the Gaza border communities is the only hint as to what is truly taking place on Israel's border with the Strip.

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At this undisclosed location on the border with Gaza, and under heavy security, a civilian contracting company, working in conjunction with the Solel Boneh company is working on the IDF's largest project ever"the barrier"costing NIS 2.5 billion to finally put an end to the threat posed by Hamas terror tunnels.

Project "The Barrier" underway

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The barrier project is comprised of three components: the construction of a concrete barrier reaching several stories underground, the construction of a barrier several stories tall along the length of the border, and equipping both with a wide range of defensive technologies.

Building the border barrier (Photo: Roee Idan)

Construction on the border with Gaza (Photo: Roee Idan)

Construction workers building the Gaza border barrier (Photo: Roee Idan)

Cement being poured into the underground Gaza border barrier (Photo: Roee Idan)

Despite the importance placed on the project by military officials and political leaders, it is at risk of being de-funded, as no financial resources have been allocated to its implementation for fiscal years of 2017-2018. However, officials from the Ministry of Defense have emphasized that the project will not be delayed, while the Ministry of Finance has reassured that there is, in fact, a budget earmarked for its continuation.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu promised that the monies will not be a limiting factor (for the construction of the barrier), and he must stand by his word," said MK Haim Yelin (Yesh Atid) and resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located less than a mile from Gaza. "Creating a budget for each section of the barrier will triple the cost, thus potentially bringing the project to a halt."
The UN Security Council is set to meet next Friday to discuss the issue of Israeli settlements under the official banner of The settlements as the obstacle to peace and a two-state solution.

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The talks, which will take place within the Arria-Formulaa relatively recent practice whereby the Security Council meets on an informal basisand are expected to take a hostile line toward Israel.

The initiative is expected to constitute and opening diplomatic Palestinian salvo designed to solicit a practical Security Council resolution regarding the settlements.

While the convening of the meeting was initiated by the Palestinians, the official request to bring it to fruition was submitted by Malaysia, Venezuela, Senegal, Egypt and Angola.

UN Security Council (Photo: Reuters)

Ynet obtained and reviewed the position paper distributed among the participants. The existence and expansion of the settlements on Palestinians lands which were occupied in 1967 endanger a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the two-state solution, the paper reads.

It further assigns guilt to Israeli security forces for overlooking violent acts of the settlers against Palestinians and not giving them the protection to which they are entitled under international law.

The central focus regarding settlements is expected to be placed on construction in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, the expansion of existing communities in the West Bank and what the organizers have described as the abandonment of Palestinian lands.

Following the talks conclusion, it coordinators are expected to demand that the Security Council take practical steps against Israel on the issue.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon

The planned meeting evoked scathing criticism from Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon. The Palestinians are using the international community to harm the State of Israel instead of stopping incitement and sitting at the negotiation table. The Palestinians are conducting state terror against the communities in Judea and Samaria, Danon said.

Danon raised further objections to the Palestinian practice bypassing the direct negotiations with Israel, instead opting to take matters to the UN.

The Palestinian leadership is choosing, once again, to reject our repeated suggestion for direct negotiations and is going straight to the UN. This move will not lead to an improvement in the Palestinian situation, he wanrned. It is the international communitys responsibility to strongly reject these attempts. Only an absolute stop to Palestinian incitement and the halting of terror against Israeli citizens will facilitate a dialogue.
HELSINKI- Finland's defence ministry said on Friday it detected a suspected violation of Finnish airspace by a Russian fighter jet, the second in less than 24 hours.

The ministry said it scrambled jets late on Thursday to identify the SU-27 fighter over the Baltic Sea.

It previously announced a similar suspected incursion involving a different Russian fighter earlier on Thursday, which it said lasted about a minute.

"Russian air activity over Baltic Sea has been high on Thursday," the ministry said in a statement.
GENEVA- A UN human rights watchdog called on Saudi Arabia on Friday to end "severe" discrimination against girls and to repeal laws that allow the stoning, amputation, flogging and execution of children.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child condemned the Saudi-led coalition's air strikes in Yemen, which it said had killed and maimed hundreds of children, and its "use of starvation" as a tactic in that war against Iran-backed Houthis.

The committee's 18 independent experts examined the kingdom's record of compliance with a U.N. treaty protecting the rights of people under the age of 18.

Bandar Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, chairman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, who led a Saudi delegation to the committee's review, told the body that sharia, Islamic law, was above all laws and treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But the kingdom had the political will to protect children's rights, he said.
IAF pilot Capt. Ohad Cohen Nov, who died on Wednesday after while landing an F-16 jet upon returning to Ramon Airbase in the Negev from a retaliatory airstrike in Gaza, was laid to rest in Moshav Mazor Friday in a funeral attended by 2,000 people.

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Photo: Yaron Brener

Over the last few years, Ohad had been living on the Ramon Airbase in the Negev and was considered by his colleagues to be one of the most respected pilots, passing courses to operate both the F-15 and F-16 jets.

The 34-year-old pilot is survived by his pregnant wife, Shahar, and a young daughter.

Funeral takes place in Moshav Mazor

One of Cohen Novs neighbors described him as a good boy, people loved him. I cant believe that just a few years ago we danced and were happy at his wedding. He was such a happy person. This is a huge blow to us all and we still havent processed the news.

Funeral attended by soldiers from the IAF (Photo: Zvika Tishler)

He was a charming and gentle man with a wonderful family another neighbor said.

The precise cause of Cohen Novs death has not yet been fully established. However, under the instructions of Israel Air Force Commander Amir Eshel, an immediate investigation was launchedthe initial findings of which point to technical malfunctions.

Israel Air Force Commander Amir Eshel visits Cohen Nov's family

Eshel visited the bereaved family on Thursday night and promised them that the air force would do everything in order to understand what happened and how it happened.

On the Israel Air Force official Facebook page, a post was written praising both the pilot and his father, Dorion. The father of Capt. Ohad Cohen Nov, served for many years as a pilot in the Hercules aircraft and knew the corps extremely well. This morning we will accompany the Cohen Nov family as Ohad, blessed be his memory, is laid to rest.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett posted a Tweet Friday morning clarifying controversial comments he made in which he stated that you need to sacrifice yourself in order to bring about the Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria.

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To all those asking: to sacrifice yourself means to work hard for the goal, he posted in an attempt to clarify his remarks.

The Bayit Yehudi Chairmans comments came amid a political storm surrounding the evacuation of the Amona settlement and governmental plans to demolish it this December.

Naftali Bennett (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Bennett was speaking during an event at the Jerusalem International Convention Center marking five years since the passing of Hanan Porat , one of the leaders of the religious Zionism who was considered one of the leaders of the Yesha settlement movement.

In what appeared to be a possible attempt to outflank Prime Minister Netanyahu by appealing to his more conservative base, Bennett told his listeners, When it comes to the land of Israel, we need to switch from restraint to a decision. We need to highlight the dream and that dream is that Judea and Samaria will be part of the land of the sovereign State of Israel. We have to act today and be willing to sacrifice ourselves.

Proponents of construction in the West Bank are particularly apprehensive about the evacuation of Amona, believing that such a move would constitute a dangerous precedent to other settlements built on privately-owned Palestinian land.

We cannot continue to label the land of Israel as a tactical goal, and a Palestinian state a strategic goal. Those who frown upon the communities (settlements) in Israel have given up on the heart of the people of Israel, Bennett continued. I cannot ignore a (question mark) over thousands of homes in Judea and Samaria. I state here: We are taking responsibility. No more tactical solutions but, rather, strategic order.

Bennett went on to pay tribute to Porat. He and his people established the settlements. Now it is our turn to harness and perpetuate the settlements. Thanks to the people of Amona, we will lead a strategic solution for all the settlements. Hanan had a phrase: He who wants to realize his dream, will do so with his life. Our dreams, we will realize with our lives.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a 52-year-old war with Marxist rebels, a surprise choice after Colombians voted against the accord in a referendum.

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Santos had brought one of the longest civil wars in modern history significantly closer to a peaceful solution but there was still a real danger the peace process could come to a halt.

"The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people," committee leader Kaci Kullmann Five said. Voters did not say "No" to peace but to the agreement, she said.

The award pointedly excluded FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, who signed the accord with Santos.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize ()

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Santos has promised to revive the peace plan even though Colombians narrowly rejected it in the referendum on Sunday. Many voters believed it was too lenient on the FARC guerrillas.

Some Nobel watchers had taken Colombia off their lists of favorites after the referendum "No".

"There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, continue to respect the ceasefire," the committee said.

"The fact that a majority of the voters said "No" to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead," it said.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (Photo: AP)

More than 220,000 people have died on the battlefield or in massacres during the struggle between leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and government troops.

Millions have been displaced and many beg on the streets of the capital, while economic development has been stunted in the mostly rural nation.

"It's a message of hope for my country and for peace in Colombia," the country's ambassador to Norway, Alvaro Sandoval Bernal, told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.

"It reiterates that there is hope for the peace process in Colombia."

Asked why the Londono was left out, Five said Santos had been central to the process.

"President Santos has been taking the very first and historic initiative. There have been other tries, but this time he went all-in as leader of the government with a strong will to reach a result.

"That's why we have put the emphasis on president."

She declined to elaborate on Londono's role. "We never comment on those who do not receive a reward."

The peace that was rejected by a nation (Photo: AFP)

Santos is the first Latin American to receive the peace prize since indigenous rights campaigner Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala won in 1992, and is the second Colombian after writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the literature prize in 1982.

BITTER ENEMIES

The scion of one of Colombia's most prosperous families, Santos was not thought likely to spearhead a peace process with FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

But though he had served as defense minister under hardline ex-president Alvaro Uribe, when the FARC were weakened by a US-backed offensive, Santos used his two terms in office to open negotiations with rebel leadership at four-year long talks.

His family once owned leading Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, where Santos worked as an editor before turning to politics. He also trained as an economist at the London School of Economics.

Santos was finance minister in the 1990s, helping to steer the Andean nation through one of its worst fiscal crises.

The talks made bitter enemies of Santos and Uribe, who accused his former protege of betraying FARC victims, and who founded a new right-wing political party and won a Senate seat, in an effort to undermine Santos' peace efforts.

The one-sided prize echoes previous awards, such as to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000 for his work for reconciliation with North Korea. And West German Chancellor Willy Brandt won in 1971 for his policies of reaching out to the communist East. IRA guerrillas were excluded from the 1998 prize to Catholic John Hume and Protestant David Trimble for their peace agreement.

But often the awards go to both sides in peace negotiations, such as to Israelis and Palestinians in 1994 or to Egypts Anwar Sadat and Israels Menachem Begin in 1978.

The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 8 million Swedish crowns ($930,000), will be presented in Oslo on December 10.
A plane carrying 64 new immigrants, or olim, from Ethiopia is expected to land in Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday as part of the first phase of a government decision to bring over 1,300 Jewish Ethiopians who have been languishing in refugee camps in Gondar and Addis Ababa.

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The flights are being coordinated under the framework of reuniting families. The names of the 1,300 Jewish Ethiopians were submitted in an official list to the Israeli Interior Ministry by family members who have already made it to Israel.

However, this first flight is just a fraction of the number of Jewish Ethiopians who were granted approval to immigrate to Israel, and who have been stuck in camps awaiting transport to the Jewish state for six months.

Ethiopian Jews in Gondar (Photo: Nitzan Hafner)

MK Omer Bar Lev (Zionist Union) blames the government for what he described as indifference to the fate of the community, especially in light of the unstable security situation Ethiopia is facing due to Oromo land rights protests.

"The bloody war occurring in Ethiopia right now threatens the lives of many people. One of our people has already been killed, and an end to the conflict still isn't on the horizon. The Israeli government has determined that there are still 9,000 Jews remaining in Ethiopia, even before the state of emergency there. However, now the order of the day has changed and the government's apathy is unacceptable," Bar Lev said.

"I call on the Prime Minister to announce that the remaining Jews in Ethiopia will be brought home to Israel in an emergency operation," he continued.

Some of the money for the operation to bring over the 1,300 Jewish Ethiopians is coming from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, which has transferred NIS 2 million to the Jewish Agency for Israel. The money will be used for 3 operations which will enable 630 Ethiopian, French, and Ukrainian Jews to come over the course of October.
KUWAIT CITY- Authorities in Kuwait say two Iranians have been arrested after being seen photographing Shiite congregation halls ahead of a major religious ceremony.

Kuwait's Interior Ministry issued a statement late Thursday saying the two men took "suspicious photos" of the halls, also known as husseiniyahs. It said the two men entered Kuwait separately in the past two months.

It wasn't immediately clear if the men had lawyers.

Their arrests come ahead of next week's Shiite commemoration of Ashoura, which marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett came under harsh criticism Friday over controversial comments he recently made in which he stated that you need to sacrifice yourself in order to bring about the Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria.

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Naftalli Bennett (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Despite posting on his Twitter account, To all those asking: to sacrifice yourself means to work hard for the goal, Bennett was unable to preempt the political backlash as Zionist Union Chairman Isaac Herzog accused him of leading Israel to the brink of civil war.

The opposition labeled the Jewish Home party leader as messianic and dangerous. Herzog went on to say not only that Bennetts remarks risked sparking a civil war, but that they could also lead to a return to the 1967 lines, to a loss of the main (settlement) blocs, to the division of Jerusalem, and to international isolation, and it will not be the first temple that extremists such as this destroy.

MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) sought to ridicule Bennett, pointing to what many have highlighted the demographic inconsistencies that an Israeli annexation of the West Bank would create. Bennett wants to annex the whole of Judea and Samaria when 2.5 million Palestinians live there. The meaning of annexation is an Arab majority.

If Bennett wants people to give their lives for this dream, I'd like to tell him that people do give their lives for Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, which is exactly why we must fight this dream of Bennett's, said Livni.

Livni (L) and Bennett (Photos: Gil Lerner, Gil Yohanan)

MK Yoel Hasson (Zionist Union) also responded to Bennett's words, calling him a fascist and describing him as the real danger to the State of Israel. He is a minority within a minority that has managed to masquerade itself as the majority. The Judaism that he is talking about isn't our Judaism. He's a weird extremist and a suicidal nationalist who is willing to throw us all into the sea, since he values the land more than life itself.

MK and Meretz Chairperson Ilan Gilon went on an attack of his own in response to Bennett's remarks. This morning, we awoke to realize that the Education Ministry isn't led by a thoughtful and serious minister, but by a nationalist extremist who doesn't think twice about inciting and calling for a Jewish Jihad and shahids over the annexation of the West Bank. What began with five units of math ended with five levels of giving one's life. Bennett's words show how bewildered his party, Bayit Yehudi, really is, and that behind the smiles and start-ups lurk the most messianic and extremist people in Israeli politics.
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Africa on Sunday seeking investment opportunities which her government hopes will drive economic development on the continent and curb future waves of migration to Europe.

A flood of almost a million migrants into Germany last year, many from Syria and Iraq, has hit Merkel's popularity at home. A European Union deal with Turkey helped stem the flow from the Middle East and Asia, but thousands of people still risk the perilous Mediterranean crossing every day from Africa to Europe.

"The migration pressure will increase dramatically in the coming years if we do not manage to generate economic prospects in African countries," German Development Minister Gerd Mueller told Reuters.

Merkel has described Africa, with its population of 1.2 billion people, as "the central problem" in the migration issue, and last month said the EU needed to establish migrant deals with north African countries along the lines of the Turkey deal.
The Philippine defense chief said Friday he told the US military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break in defense cooperation after months of increasingly strident comments by the country's new president.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said that 107 US troops involved in operating surveillance drones against Muslim militants would be asked to leave the southern part of the country once the Philippines acquires those intelligence-gathering capabilities in the near future.

According to Lorenzana, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who in recent weeks has become increasingly outspoken and hostile against the US, also wants to halt the 28 military exercises that are carried out with US forces each year. Duterte has said he wants an ongoing US-Philippine amphibious beach landing exercise to be the last in his six-year presidency, as he backs away from what he views as too much dependence on the US. "This year would be the last," Duterte said of military exercises involving the Americans in a speech on Friday.
Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information Gilad Erdan (Likud) came out against Joint List Head Ayman Odeh on Friday, due to Odeh's meeting with convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences under the Israel Prison Service.

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Posting on his Facebook page, Erdan wrote, "Odeh met with the murderer Barghouti in prison yesterday. This isn't the first time he's visited him. It's very important to Ayman to visit him. In the past, he's promised that he and Barghouti will 'march together in Jerusalem.'"





Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information Gilad Erdan (Photo: Amit Shabi)

"On what planet does the head of a political party meet with a terrorist who is directly responsibleand this is just one examplefor the terrorist attack at Beit Maariv?" continued Erdan.

Joint List Head Ayman Odeh (Photo: Knesset Spokesperson's Office)

"You didn't make it to Shimon Peres' funeral, a man who always worked toward cohabitation between Jews and Arabs. You and the other members of your party chose to desecrate his memory. But Maruan Barghouti, a man who is responsible for dozens and hundreds of funerals of innocent peoplethis man you have no trouble visiting?"

Erdan ended his post by saying, "There's a limit, Mr. Odeh. And youve crossed it. I'm not going to be silent about this."

Odeh, for his part, answered the post by saying that Erdan not only knew of the meeting in advance, but that he was the one who approved it, making the incredulity of his statement inauthentic.

"Erdan personally approves every meeting between an MK and a political prisoner," wrote Odeh. "So it's likely that he was drafting his provocative, incitement-filled post while he was approving it."

Odeh added that "It's disturbing to see the minister in charge of the police turning the political arena into one of threats and intimidation."

Just before the Sabbath, Erdan managed to answer Odeh's latest remarks via Twitter. "It seems that Ayman Odeh doesn't just support terrorism and disparage the public he is supposed to represent, but that he's also a serial liar. The minister of public security does not approve inmate visitation, as this is an independent authority held by the Prison Service. And by the way, Ayman: Barghouti isn't a "political" prisoner, as you put it. He's a murderer. And you support terrorism, not peace. If you did support peace, you would at least have honored Peres' memory."

The truth, it seems, lies somewhere in the middle: while the Joint List's spokesperson posted the Ministry of Public Security's a priori approval of the meeting in response to Erdan's Tweet, the Israel Prison Service stressed that the ministry's involvement is merely a technicality and is done to avoid having an MK directly request such a visit from the Prison Service. This despite the fact that in actuality, after the request is processed by the ministry, it is transferred to the Prison Service, which makes the decisions in such matters.
France's UN ambassador says he wants to put a draft resolution aimed at stopping "the bloodbath in Aleppo" to a vote in the Security Council.

Francois Delattre told reporters at UN headquarters in New York on Friday that after a week of negotiations, "We are close to the moment of truth and now it is up to the Security Council and its 15 members to take their responsibilities." He did not say when a vote will take place.

The draft resolution seeks an immediate truce in Aleppo and calls for an end to all military flights over the Syrian city, where over a quarter million people in rebel-held areas are besieged by Syrian forces. Meanwhile, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin has rejected any grounding of aircraft and questioned whether a resolution at this time would actually produce any results.
Syrian opposition activists are reporting intense clashes in the northwestern province of Idlib between two of Syria's most powerful insurgent groups.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes began when the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham attacked positions of the extremist Jund al-Aqsa group in several areas in Idlib. It said nine Ahrar al-Sham fighters were killed.

The Local Coordination Committees said Ahrar al-Sham fighters captured the Mastoumeh base, a former Syrian army barracks, from Jund al-Aqsa Friday afternoon. Fighting between the two groups is uncommon, but some insurgents have complained about Jund al-Aqsa's extremist ideology.
Lt. Gen. Jerry P. Martinez assumed command of United States Forces, Japan, and 5th Air Force during a ceremony here Oct. 6.

Martinez was the Director of Operations for the U.S. Air Forces Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, Illinois. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours in the C-17A, C-5B, C-141B, and KC-135R.

Martinez assumed command following the departure of Lt. Gen. John L. Dolan, who left USFJ in August to become the Director for Operations for the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C.

Admiral Harry B. Harris, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, General Terrence J. OShaughnessy, Commander, U.S. Pacific Air Forces were the presiding officers for the ceremony. Also in attendance were numerous distinguished Japanese guests from the Japan Joint Staff, Ministry of Defense, the Government of Japan and local municipalities.

Admiral Harris spoke about the critical role of the U.S.-Japan Alliance.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has identified five strategic, and very real, global challenges to U.S. security that drive our defense planning and budgeting North Korea, China, Russia, the Islamic State or ISIL, and Iran, the admiral said. And guess what? Four of these challenges are resident in this neighborhood.

So we must consider every possible step to defend the U.S. homeland and defend our allies, he continued. Thats why I continue to emphasize trilateral cooperation between Japan, South Korea and the United States. And thats why all nations must continue to rally the international community to loudly condemn North Koreas aberrational behavior and be prepared to counter this challenge.

In his comments, General OShaughnessy emphasized the importance of air power in our nations defense.

From the F-16s at Misawa and the F-15s at Kadena, air superiority is never in question, the general said. From the intel assets at each base and the AWACS at Kadena, both ISR and command and control are synched and always ready wherever, whenever tasked. From the helos, C-130s, C-12s, and KC-135s, we ensure our ability to deliver rapid global mobility no matter the time or place.

During his speech after the assumption of command, General Martinez directed his remarks to the Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines under his command.

"Whether you are in U.S. Forces Japan or 5th Air Force know that I will pledge something that I pledge every time that I have been in command; and that is that I will do my best to take care of you and your families," General Martinez said.

"I will do my best to keep this alliance as strong as it can possibly be."
Group celebrates worldwide photowalk day at YARS

The 910th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department demonstrates the water cannon on one of the crash trucks for a group of photographers participating in Scott Kelbys Worldwide Photowalk on Oct. 1, 2016 here. Seven photographers from eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania participated in the walk at YARS. The group spent time on station photographing fire department trucks, equipment and personnel. They ended their visit with lunch at the Community Activity Center. According to the walk website, the walk is a social photography event where photographers get together to walk around, shoot photos and have fun with other photographers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Polly Orcutt)
This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.

As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.

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This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.

Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.

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But while agents are hoping to ink several million-dollar contracts during this period, real estate promoter Arron Liu claimed that there is less activity this year compared to last year. In fact, there are just 40 auctions listed in Melbourne for this coming weekend.

Last year, we organised about three trips a month of about five or six people each time, said Liu. Now we only have a few people but we have yet to have enough to form a group.

One of the reasons for the decline in recent months is the tougher lending restrictions from Australias big four banks. Another problem is the steep price rises in first-tier Chinese cities that have continued to fuel concerns of a rapidly inflating real estate price bubble.

However, Marshall White director Marcus Chiminello is not concerned with his Chinese clients financial capacity, since most of them already have established business ventures or property in Australia.

Among the Melbourne suburbs to be shown to Chinese buyers are Balwyn, Glen Waverley, and Toorak.
As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More
Latest News

Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary John Kirby: "On behalf of the people of the United States, I applaud the people of Cabo Verde for their enthusiastic and peaceful participation in the recent presidential election. These successful elections reaffirm Cabo Verdes standing as a model of democratic values and processes in Africa.

"I wish to further congratulate Cabo Verdean President Jorge Carlos Fonseca on his reelection. The United States looks forward to continue working with the government and the people of Cabo Verde in support of Cabo Verdes prosperity through good governance, improved health and access to energy, as well as in the fight against common threats, including transnational crime and terrorism."
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - In honor of National Community Planning Month, the City of Yuma is introducing residents to several issues planners face. And you will have a chance to help us imagine some new uses for old, familiar properties in our city.

October has been designated as National Community Planning Month by the American Planning Association (APA) as a way to highlight the role of planners and planning in each community. This years theme is civic engagement, which acknowledges that thoughtful local planning cannot happen without meaningful community engagement.

At the Oct. 4 Yuma City Council worksession, Mayor Doug Nicholls proclaimed National Community Planning Month and recognized City staff members.

Throughout October, the City invites you to engage and learn about the job our planners do in a variety of ways.

On the Citys website, residents are invited to offer comments below pictures of two area landmarks and two familiar areas as to what their wish is for using those lands. Examples could be residential housing, commercial businesses, services, public space, or other uses. Direct link is http://www.yumaaz.gov/community-development/community-planning/infill-yuma.html.

Similarly, residents and Yuma visitors alike can offer their comments on the Citys official Facebook and Twitter feeds.

A large poster at City Hall next to the main entrance provides space for visitors to write their wish for use of those areas.

The City has teamed up with the Yuma Sun to provide a series of articles on topics related to community planning, highlighting several ways community planning impacts life and quality of life in Yuma, and related issues. These articles will cover:

Introduction to zoning.

Complete Streets, a concept for refashioning streets to include various forms of transportation and support variety of users regardless of physical ability, mode of travel or age.

Infill, the process of developing vacant or under-used parcels or buildings in the core of the city.

Historic preservation with a description of the citys three historic districts.

Video interviews with City staff members in the Citys Department of Community Development will appear online and during episodes of City Outlook on the City of Yuma government cable channel, which is channel 73 for Time Warner/Spectrum customers.

Radio interviews with City staff members will air on the Citys weekly radio program, City News Thursday, which airs 6 to 9 a.m. Thursdays on KCYK, AM 1400 (Outlaw Country).

The poster and web page will be open for residents comments through Oct. 31.
LIVE-2 Inning |31-35

AUSTRALIA VS IRELAND

AUS 179/5 VS 103/8 IRE

Ireland need 77 runs in 33 balls at 14 rpo
Bogota: The Colombian government and FARC rebels said Friday they have agreed to discuss "adjustments" to a contested peace deal and continue a bilateral ceasefire.

In a further boost to peace just hours after President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize, the two sides vowed in a joint statement to "continue listening" to opponents of the deal, which voters narrowly rejected in a referendum Sunday.

"It is important... to promptly define a way forward," they said in a statement read out in Havana. Both sides promised to resume the talks they had opened there in November 2012 -- and which they thought they had concluded.

"Colombia doesn`t want to return to war," said the government`s chief peace negotiator, Humberto de la Calle.

"Any adjustment or change made to the final accord must be the product of a constructive dialogue between the (government and rebel) delegations," he added.

The two sides said they had agreed to extend the bilateral ceasefire that began on August 29, without setting an expiration date.

Santos thus took a step back from his earlier comment that the army would halt its ceasefire at the end of this month if no solution to the impasse was found by then.

Santos, who has staked his legacy on making peace, has warned that Colombia is in a "very dangerous limbo" since voters rejected the deal signed on September 26.

The opposition wants a tougher deal, accusing Santos of granting the rebels impunity for their crimes.

Leaders of FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have insisted they are committed to making peace, but it is unclear whether they will be able to sell a new deal to their rank and file.

In the meantime, they have ordered their fighters back to "secure sites," after starting to group them together for the disarmament process planned in the deal.

Friday`s statement said the government and FARC have agreed to a "protocol" to avoid any flare-ups of fighting.

It will be monitored by the United Nations and representatives from both sides, it said, asking for the blessing of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council to reappoint a UN mission originally sent to Colombia to monitor the rebels` disarmament.

The two sides said they would continue "trust-building" measures such as joint efforts to find missing persons, to de-mine conflict zones, to remove child soldiers from the FARC`s ranks, and to help farmers in rebel-held areas switch from coca -- the raw ingredient for cocaine -- to legal crops.

The Colombian conflict has killed more than 260,000 people and left 45,000 missing over five decades, drawing in several leftist guerrilla groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.

FARC, the oldest and largest rebel group, was to relaunch as a political party under the deal.
Oslo: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos was on Friday declared the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2016.

The award is a `recognition` of efforts by Santos to end five decades of war in his country.

Santos won the Nobel despite voters` shock rejection of the terms of a historic deal he reached last month with Rodrigo Londono, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, the chief of the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

He reached the deal with Londono after around four years of talks.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the country`s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end," said committee chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five.

"There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, continue to respect the ceasefire," she said.

The Colombian peace process had been seen as a possible winner of the prestigious prize, but experts had suggested that its chances went up in smoke after voters` rejection of the peace deal.

"The fact that a majority of the voters said `no` to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead. The referendum was not a vote for or against peace. What the "No" side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement," Five said.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasises the importance of the fact that President Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process."

Santos takes home the eight million Swedish kronor (around $924,000 or 831,000 euros) prize sum.

Swedish inventor and scholar Alfred Nobel created the prizes in his 1895 testament, stipulating that his fortune was to be placed in a fund destined to honour "those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind".

The peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses," his will said.

The peace prize is the only one of the six awards announced in Norway. Nobel wanted to include Norway in his initiative, since Norway and Sweden were joined in a union at the time.

(With Agency inputs)
Washington: Donald Trump no longer wants to impose a total ban on Muslims entering the US, his running mate Mike Pence has said, indicating a disavow of one of its most provocative policy proposals by the Republican presidential nominee.

"It is not Donald Trump's position now," Pence told CNN in an interview yesterday when asked about Trump's stated policy of banning Muslims from entering the country.

"Donald Trump has... Talked about putting the security of the American people first... And he's made it clear our position is, we're going to suspend immigration from countries compromised by terrorism," Pence argued.

Pence said Trump has underscored on the need to suspend immigration from countries and territories that have been compromised by terrorism.

"I understand why you want to play the oldies, you want to talk about the where the campaign began or what statements were made, but the American people are focused on the policies that Donald Trump is articulating every day across this country," 57-year-old Pence said.

Later at an election rally in Pennsylvania, Pence slammed the Obama Administration for making an alleged cash payment to Iranians as ransom, which has been denied by the US Government.

"This administration and Hillary Clinton, with Clinton's assent, signed an agreement that essentially puts off USD 150 billion to the Iranian, the radical Mullahs in Iran. And all we did was delay their nuclear ambitions."

"The worst of it to me was the very day that the Iranians released four American hostages from captivity in Tehran, we delivered USD 400 million in cash on a pallet as ransom," he said.

"Let me make you a promise. When Donald Trump becomes president of the US, we won't be paying ransom to terrorists. They will be paying the price if they detain American citizens or threaten our people," he added.

The US, he said, can't have four more years of Obama Administration.

"We cannot have four more years apologising to our enemies and abandoning our friends. For America to be safe, for the world to be safe, America needs to be strong. And when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, we will lead with American strength on the world stage once again," he said.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old reality TV star denied allegations that a town hall, held yesterday, was not his preparation for the next debate with his Democratic rival Clinton.

"This isn't practice, this has nothing to do with Sunday," Trump said in an apparent response to the criticism against him.

Trump's performance in the first debate against Clinton was widely panned. "We're just here because we just wanted to be here. And I want to be with the American people, I want to be with the people from New Hampshire, and she (Clinton) wants to rest," he lashed out at Clinton.

The next debate in town hall-style presidential format is scheduled to be held on Sunday.
New York: Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump has told terminally ill people to hang on until the election day so that they can vote for him.

Speaking at a rally in the battleground state of Nevada, Trump said that it was important that people voted for him, according to Independent.

He said it was a magnificent chance for justice for supporters to replace the failed, corrupt establishment.

He told the crowd that he would repeal and replace Obamacare and show America is back.

The Republican nominee and business tycoon then said that voter turnout would be important, prefacing his comments:

I say kiddingly, but I mean it. I dont care how sick you are.

I dont care if you just came back from the doctor and he gave you the worst possible prognosis, meaning: its over  you wont be around in two weeks.

It doesnt matter  hang on until 8 November, get out and vote. All were going to say is we love you and we will remember you always.

Nevada is one of the states that Trump will be aiming to win for the Republicans after it was held by Barack Obama in 2012. However, its six electoral college votes are a toss-up at the moment, with both he and Hillary Clinton leading various polls.

However, a number of swing states are now leaning towards Clinton, two new polls show.
Chantal: Hurricane Matthew`s trail of destruction in Haiti stunned those viewing the aftermath on Friday, with the number of dead soaring to 842, tens of thousands made homeless and crops destroyed in the impoverished Caribbean nation`s breadbasket region.

Information trickled in from remote areas that were cut off by the storm, and it became clear that at least 175 people died in villages clustered among the hills and coast of Haiti`s fertile western tip.

Matthew pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which are only now being contacted.

At least three towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the hilly farming village of Chantal, whose mayor said 86 people perished, mostly when trees crushed houses.

He said 20 more people were missing.

"A tree fell on the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldnt get out," said driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald, 27, who had been married for a year.

"People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying "Mommy."

Dozens more were missing, many of them in the Grand`Anse region on the northern side of the peninsula.

Coastal town Les Anglais also lost "several dozen" people, the central government representative in the region, Louis-Paul Raphael, told Reuters.

With fatalities mounting, various government agencies and committees differed on total deaths. A Reuters count of deaths reported by civil protection and local officials put the toll at 842.

Haiti`s central civil protection agency, which takes longer to collate numbers because it needs to visually confirm victims itself, said 271 people died as Matthew smashed through the western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mile-per-hour (233 kph) winds and torrential rain.

Some 61,500 people were in shelters, the agency said.

Fleeing for life

Les Anglais was the first place in Haiti that Matthew reached, as a powerful Category 4 storm before it moved north, lost strength and lashed central Florida on Friday.

Hours before the hurricane landed in Haiti, the Les Anglais mayor told Reuters residents were fleeing for their lives as the ocean rushed into their homes.

With cellphone networks down and roads flooded by sea and river water, aid has been slow to reach towns and villages around the peninsula. Instead, locals have been helping each other.

"My house wasn`t destroyed, so I am receiving people, like it`s a temporary shelter," said Bellony Amazan in the town of Cavaillon, where around a dozen people died. Amazan said she had no food to give people.

Outside Chantal, stall holders at a makeshift market were selling vegetables and soft drinks, brought it from Port-Au-Prince as roads were cleared to the capital.

"All our houses have been destroyed, this is our existence," said one stall holder, who declined to give her name.
Orlando/Miami: The first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years lashed Florida on Friday with heavy rains and winds after killing at least 339 people in Haiti on its destructive march north through the Caribbean.

Hurricane Matthew was packing gusts of 70 miles per hour (115 kph) and heavy downpours across coastal communities in Florida as it moved parallel to and just offshore of the east coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.

"We are just bracing and the winds are picking up," Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry told CNN early on Friday. "A great number of our residents have taken heed to our warnings and we are certainly concerned about those that have not."

About 300,000 Florida households were without power, local media reported. In West Palm Beach, once lit street lights and houses went dark and Interstate 95 was empty as the storm rolled through the community of 100,000 people.

Hurricane Matthew was carrying extremely dangerous winds of 120 mph (195 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Matthew`s winds had dropped on Thursday night and into Friday morning, downgrading it to a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, where it could either plow inland or tear along the Atlantic coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.

Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew`s have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts." The U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), Matthew was about 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Florida`s Cape Canaveral, the hurricane center said. It was heading north-northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) and was expected to continue on this track through the early part of Friday. The center said the storm is expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours.

Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida on Friday and a dangerous storm surge was expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

"What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.

Some 339 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island.

It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most damage in the United States, but the NHC`s hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website (www.wunderground.com) that Matthew`s wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.

"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," Masters wrote.

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the nations primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.

A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center`s Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

We`ve had some close calls, but as far as I know it`s the first time we`ve had the threat of a direct hit, NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker.

`AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS`

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached early on Thursday.

Governor Rick Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"If you`re reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people ... already killed, Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast."

Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.

Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard.

President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Late Thursday, Obama declared an emergency in Georgia and ordered federal aid to the state.

"Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.

Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm`s path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines said.

In Florida, fuel stations on Thursday afternoon posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps had run dry on Wednesday.

The shop was a stopping point for coastal residents seeking shelter inland. Among them was Jonas Sylvan, 44, of Melbourne, Florida, who planned to hole up in a hotel with his wife, two daughters and dog. "We`re just trying to get away from the coast," he said. "It`s safer here."
Orlando/Miami: Matthew, the first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years, closed in on Florida on Thursday after killing at least 339 people in Haiti on its destructive march north through the Caribbean.

Carrying extremely dangerous winds of 130 mph (215 kph), the storm pounded the northwestern part of the Bahamas en route to Florida`s Atlantic coast, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Matthew`s top sustained winds had dropped to 130 mph by Thursday night. But it remained a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as it neared Florida, where it could either plow inland or tear along the Atlantic coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.

Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew`s have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts."

The US National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida late on Thursday or early on Friday and a dangerous storm surge was expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

"What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.

Some 339 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island.

It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most of its damage in the United States, but the NHC`s hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website (www.wunderground.com) that Matthew`s wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.

"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," Masters wrote.

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the nations primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.

A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center`s Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

We`ve had some close calls, but as far as I know it`s the first time we`ve had the threat of a direct hit, NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker.

`AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS`

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached early on Thursday.

Florida Governor Rick Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"If you`re reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people ... already killed, Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast."

Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.

Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard.

President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Late Thursday, Obama declared an emergency in Georgia and ordered federal aid to the state.

"Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.

Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm`s path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines said.

At 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), Matthew was about 125 miles (200 km) southeast of Florida`s Cape Canaveral, the hurricane center said. It was heading northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) and was expected to continue on this track through Thursday and early Friday. The center said the storm is expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours.

In Florida, fuel stations on Thursday afternoon posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps had run dry on Wednesday.

The shop was a stopping point for coastal residents seeking shelter inland. Among them was Jonas Sylvan, 44, of Melbourne, Florida, who planned to hole up in a hotel with his wife, two daughters and dog. "We`re just trying to get away from the coast," he said. "It`s safer here."
Florida: Hurricane Matthew was downgraded to a Category Three storm Friday as it churned just off Florida and threatened to pummel the US southeast after wreaking havoc in the Caribbean.

Florida, which is facing its most dangerous storm in living memory, can expect Matthew to move near or over the coast overnight, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.

It downgraded the storm to a still-powerful Category Three, on a scale of five, and said it would remain as such as it moved near the state`s coast, with some additional weakening over the next 48 hours.

The eye of the "extremely dangerous" hurricane was moving closer to Florida and was expected to be near or over the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday, the NHC said.

As of 2:00 am (0600 GMT) Matthew was located around 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Vero Beach, which is about a third of the way up the peninsula.

Wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour had been reported in the city, while the eye of the storm was producing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.

Hurricane conditions were expected to reach Florida over the next several hours, with life-threatening flooding during the next 48 hours from Florida to southern North Carolina.

Some six to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of rain were expected in the same areas, with isolated totals near 15 inches.

Before arriving off the US coast, Matthew cut a deadly swath across the Caribbean, leaving more than 300 dead in Haiti -- according to a senator from the hard-hit south of the country -- as a Category Four storm.

Only a handful of hurricanes of this strength have ever made landfall in Florida, and none since 1898 has threatened to scythe its way north along the low-lying, densely populated coast into Georgia and beyond.
Washington: The effort put in by lakhs of Indians who signed an online petition seeking the declaration of Pakistan as a "terrorist state" appears to have not yielded result as the Obama administration, Friday, said it does not support such a move but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

Kirby also expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state', Kirby at his daily press briefing said: "I have not seen anything specifically about the such a bill, and obviously we don't."

He, however, said he would not comment on "whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard". "What we what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously it's a threat to the Indian people as well.

"So we're going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we've always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that's we're going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end," Kirby said.

He said the US' position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said.

He added that the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them," Kirby said.

"That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we don't believe for a minute that they don't take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children," he said.

Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistan's nuclear security.

"I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal," he said.

With PTI inputs
Patna: The Supreme Court will on Friday hear the Bihar government's appeal for cancellation of suspended RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav's bail in the rape case of a minor.

On Thursday, Yadav met party chief Lalu Prasad and said he has no grudge against the state government.

Emerging from the meeting at 10 Circular Road residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi where he met RJD president Lalu Prasad, Raj Ballabh Yadav told reporters it was a courtesy visit to extend greetings of Durga Puja.

There was no word from Lalu Prasad on the meeting. The office at Rabri Devi's house also maintained it was a usual courtesy visit.

Raj Ballabh Yadav, the MLA from Nawada, said he has no complaint against the state government for going against his bail in the apex court.

"Government works according to a system. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has not gone into appeal ... I do not have any grievance against the state government. Why you (mediapersons) are raising a question about the system," he said.

Replying to questions, Yadav said, "There is no serious charge against me. There is no FIR or statement of the victim under 164 CrPC against me."

The third term RJD MLA was suspended from the party in the wake of the rape allegation against him. The girl, a resident of Rahui in Nalanda, was raped allegedly at the MLA's house under Mufassil police station on February 6.

He was arrested in the case but got bail from the Patna High Court on Friday last.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav told reporters that the government was doing its duty and it is up to the court to see if the accused MLA is guilty.

"Let us leave the matter to the court to decide," Tejaswi Yadav, who is also the leader of RJD Legislature party in the state Assembly, said.

(With PTI inputs)

Read the update here: SC notice to Bihar MLA on plea challenging bail in rape case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to a Bihar legislator on the state`s petition seeking cancellation of his bail granted by the Patna High Court in the alleged rape of a minor girl.

The bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice NV Ramana, however, declined to stay the Patna High Court`s order, saying it could not do so without hearing the accused -- Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA, Raj Ballabh Yadav.

Issuing notice returnable on October 17, the court permitted the Bihar government to serve notice to the accused in person.

While issuing the notice, Justice Sikri, however, observed, "Chief Justice (of Patna High Court) hearing bail matters."

Raj Ballabh Yadav, the MLA from Nawada, was accused of raping a school going girl at his residence in Bihar Sharif in February this year.

He was suspended from the party after the incident surfaced. However, he continues to be an RJD lawmaker in the state Assembly.
Chennai: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited the Apollo Hospitals to enquire about the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's health condition.

The Congress leader went straight to the hospital after arriving at the airport in Chennai today and visited the unit where Jayalalithaa is being treated.

After coming out of the hospital, Rahul Gandhi told reporters that Jayalalithaa is improving and going to be alright.

"I wanted to give my support and Congress president's support to the Chief Minister".

"I want to give maximum energy to Jayalalithaaji, so that she gets well soon," Rahul said, while replying to a question, adding, he wishes for her speedy recovery.

He was briefed by doctors about the treatment being given to the AIADMK supremo. State Congress chief Su Thirunavukkarasar accompanied him.

Rahul's visit to Chennai lasted barely a little over an hour and half. He arrived around 11.20 am and boarded a flight to Delhi around 1 pm.

The Tamil Nadu CM was hospitalised for fever and dehydration on September 22.

The Apollo Hospitals had said yesterday that the treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supporting therapy.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: The Anti-Corruption Branch has summoned Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with its probe into an alleged recruitment scam in Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).

Sisodia will be questioned on October 14, Mukesh Meena, the LG-appointed chief of the anti-graft body, said.

Earlier, the ACB had named Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and DCW chief Swati Maliwal in the FIR registered in the case based on the complaint of the commission's former chief Barkha Shukla Singh.

Kejriwal had vowed to expose the "conspiracy" behind the matter. The FIR was registered at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he had alleged.

A special session of the Delhi Assembly was convened on September 30 in this regard, but the Delhi CM refrained from furnishing any details, saying the timing was not appropriate as the Army had conducted surgical strikes across the LoC the night before.
Helsinki: Finland`s Defence Ministry said on Friday it detected a suspected violation of Finnish airspace by a Russian fighter jet, the second in less than 24 hours.

The ministry said it scrambled jets late on Thursday to identify the SU-27 fighter over the Baltic Sea.

It previously announced a similar suspected incursion involving a different Russian fighter earlier on Thursday, which it said lasted about a minute.

"Russian air activity over Baltic Sea has been high on Thursday," the ministry said in a statement.

The Finnish border guard is investigating the incidents, it said.
Panaji: Monika Ghurde, a well-known perfumer, was found dead at her residence in Goa's Sangolda village today.

There were no clothes on her body and her hand and legs were tied to a bed, said the police, who suspect that the 39-year-old was raped and murdered. There are marks on the neck that could indicate that she was strangled, said a police inspector who is investigating the case,

Ms Ghurde's body, he said, has been sent for a post mortem, which will help establish cause of death.

"We received information about the incident late last night. We found her naked body and the flat had been burgled," said the police officer, Rajesh Kumar.

The police has been unable to ascertain what is missing from the three bedroom apartment that Ms Ghurde rented, as she lived alone.

The building watchman has allegedly told the police that he had no information on anyone entering the apartment. The police have rounded up several people from the village, which is 5 km away from Goa's famous Calangute beach.

Monika Ghurde had moved to Sangolda only in July this year from the neighbouring Provorim village. Sangolda is about 10 km away from Goa capital Panjim.

With PTI inputs
Islamabad: After Pakistani Twitterati extended support to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter in Pakistan, they made terrorist Hafiz Saeed go trend on the social networking service on Thursday night.

Social media users in Pakistan showered praise on Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba and the head of its frontal charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and within hours, #IAmHafizSaeed listed among the top trends on Twitter.

The JuD`s chief supporters, in a series of tweets, praised and lauded his efforts and works that he is doing in Pakistan.

Earlier on Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's demand from the Modi government to release proof that the Indian Army did conduct surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) made him top Twitter trend in Pakistan.

His demand earned him bashing back home and a hashtag `#PakStandsWithKejriwal` in Pakistan.

Have a look at the tweets with hashtag #IamHafizSaeed:

Govts come & go ideologies remain constant.

#IAmHafizSaeed  Omer Yousuf (@Roger_RogerDat) October 6, 2016

Hafiz Saeed's Organization "FIF" Is Busy in Serving The Mankind! #IAmHafizSaeed   Pakistan - Wake-UP (@NewPakistan2020) October 6, 2016

#KiaTumJanteHo Modi killed 6 thousand, And he is friend of Nawaz . But Hafiz Saeed a Social worker is terrorist.#IAmHafizSaeed  Syed Sohail Ali (@Syedsohailali) October 6, 2016

When TTP, BLA & ISIS were killing Pakistanis he was busy exposing them & helping people of Fata & Balochistan #IAmHafizSaeed pic.twitter.com/g6e3jvYzPy  Musab Lodhi (@MusabJUD) October 6, 2016

If a politician talks on #Kashmir remains a state-actor & when a common man does so then he becomes a non-state actor!!#IAmHafizSaeed @aqpk  #IamBurhan (@iAnasOmar) October 6, 2016

This is Hafiz saeed who saved the youngsters of Pak from becoming the part of Indian TTP & Isis and made them patriotic #IAmHafizSaeed   Pakistan - Wake-UP (@NewPakistan2020) October 6, 2016

Ever wonder why Kashmiris Love him, chant his name and wave his flag? Because he never betrayed them #IamHafizSaeed   SALAAR  (@SalaarOfficial) October 6, 2016

Hafiz Saeed, one the most wanted terrorists in India, has been blamed for masterminding terror attacks in Kashmir and other parts of India including the 2008 Mumbai carnage that killed 166 people.

Meanwhile, voices favouring action against terror groups are growing louder in Pakistan with ruling as well as opposition lawmakers asking the government to stop protecting terrorists like Hafiz Saeed whose activities have plunged the country into diplomatic isolation.
Islamabad: All communication channels with the Indian military including the hotline are open, the Pakistan Army has said, even as it accused India of escalating tensions.

"The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then a few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes across the Line of Control. We did check everything on the ground and we found the claim was absolutely false," Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said.

"What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements" by the Indian side, Bajwa told China's state-run Xinhua news agency yesterday.

At least two Pakistani soldiers have been killed while nine injured in the Indian firing over the past week, the general said.

However, the Army spokesman emphasised the importance of resolving the current tension through dialogue.

He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the "start of the cross-LoC firing".

"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitors the situation and reports to its headquarters.

India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, with the Army saying it had inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

The strike came just days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led central government on Friday opposed in the Supreme Court the practice of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims, saying these practices do not adhere to Constitutional values and, therefore, cannot be accepted.

The Union government opposed the practices while filing its response in the apex court on the rights of Muslim women in matrimonial matters.

In its reponse the government filed an affidavit, which read the above mentioned practices by the Muslims in India were not "integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices."

The Ministry of Law and Justice, in its affidavit, referred to constitutional principles like gender equality, secularism, international covenants, religious practices and marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries to drive home the point that the practice of triple talaq and polygamy needed to be adjudicated upon afresh by the apex court.

"The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reforms goes to establish that the practise in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices," argued the government in the affidavit.

Referring to the changes in the personal law that have already taken place in Islamic countries, the government has cited the instances of changes in marriage laws in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

"It is noteworthy that even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of the law and therefore in a secular republic like India, there is no reason to deny women the right available under the constitution," it said.

The affidavit filed by Mukulita Vijayawargiya, Additional Secretary in the Ministry, read: "It is submitted that the issue of validity of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of principles of gender justice and the overriding principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality."

Responding to a batch of petitions including the one filed by Shayaro Bano challenging the validity of such practices among Muslims, the Centre first dealt with the right of gender equality under the Constitution.

"The fundamental question for determination by this court is whether, in a secular democracy, religion can be a reason to deny equal status and dignity available to women under the Constitution of India," it said.

Dealing in detail with the idea of secularism, the government said that in a secular democracy, the state has no religion, which moreover has already been held to be the basic structure of the Constitution.

Saying that the right of women to human dignity, social esteem and self-worth are important facets of right to life, the government said that the gender justice is important and any practice by which women are left socially and financially or emotionally vulnerable or subject to whims and caprice of men folk is against gender justice.

Linking the issue with the Right to Life and Personal Liberty, the Centre in its 29-page affidavit said "gender equality and the dignity of the women are non-negotiable, overarching constitutional value and can brook no compromise.

The government said that the question of triple talaq, where husbands can summarily divorce their wives by pronouncing the word 'talaq' thrice, 'nikaah halaal' under which a divorced couple cannot remarry unless the woman marries again and becomes single again through divorce or death of the second husband, and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of the "principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality".

"These Rights are necessary in letter and in spirit not only to realise the aspirations of every individual woman who is an equal citizen of this country but also for the larger well-being of the society and progress of the nation, one half of which is made up by women".

The Centre's affidavit said women must be made equal participants in the development and advancement of the world's largest democracy and any practice, which denuded their status as citizens due to religion, is an "impediment" in achieving the larger goal.

The Centre also said that the nation, being a founding member of the United Nations, was committed to international covenants and the UN Charter which spoke about equal rights for men and women.

The affidavit extensively dealt with the issue of personal laws in relation to fundamental rights.

Referring to the recent affidavit filed by All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in the instant case, the Centre said the practices of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy cannot be regarded as an essential part of the religion and hence not entitled to protection under Article 25 (Freedom to practice religion) of the Constitution.
New Delhi: Former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia on Thursday said that last week's surgical strikes carried out by the Army along the Line of Control were the first of its kind.

With his statement, Bhatia dented Congress' claims that at least three surgical strikes were carried out between 2011 and 2014 under the party-led United Progressive Alliance regime.

"We never carried out such strikes earlier. They were not strikes, but actions carried out at very very local level. When you are firefighting you may go across the LoC a few meters, but then you cannot call them cross-border strikes," Bhatia, who was the Director General of Military Operations from 2012 to 2014, told DD News.

On Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said: "In the past, our forces have successfully conducted such surgical strikes on numerous occasions, particularly on September 1, 2011, July 28, 2013, and January 14, 2014, giving a befitting reply to the enemy."

Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram too had recently claimed that surgical strikes were carried out in 2013 during the UPA regime.

Bhatia said the September 29 early morning surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads were "perfect", and displayed India's strong political will.

"The current strikes are a class apart, they are perfect. They are a well-thought out action done at a national level, with strategic and tactical planning.

"They have yielded the desired results and more importantly, they have displayed India's strategic resolve and strong political will.

"This operation has displayed that India has a strategic resolve to safeguard its national interests in the counter-terrorist domain," he said.

Expressing anguish over demands for proof of the military action, Bhatia said special military operations are never publicised.

"Give the credit that is due to the Indian Army. There have been questions on whether the (current) DGMO's (Lt Gen Ranbir Singh) claims of the strikes are correct or not. Please do not question the DGMO or hurt the Army. By doing this you are degrading your own Army," said Bhatia.

"No Army in the world ever publicises or propagates its tactics or the way it carried out operations, especially covert operations. No one should ask for evidence; that means you are doubting the credibility of your own Army and the nation also.

"Special operations are never publicised, no Army, no nation ever does that," added Gen Bhatia.

A section of politicians has been demanding for the release of videos of the surgical strikes to expose Pakistan's "false propaganda" on the cross-border action by the Indian Army.

(With IANS inputs)
New Delhi: Taking potshots at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for accusing Narendra Modi of doing politics on the sacrifices of jawans at the border, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said the former needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the country`s Prime Minister.Swamy raked up the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Bofors scandal and the National Herald scam to corner the Gandhi family.

"Dalal mean lobbyist. It`s a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Augusta, Bofors and National Herald," Swamy said.

"I think Rahul Gandhi needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India," he added.

The Congress vice-president earlier insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda. "I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets.

The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

Concluding his `Kisan Yatra` at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men."Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi.

A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.
Ahmedabad: Authorities were on alert on Friday morning after a sound resembling a blast or a gunshot was heard near a naval base at Porbandar in Gujarat`s Saurashtra.

However, later it turned out to be a hoax after the security men conducted a thorough search in the entire area.

"The sound heard at Porbandar was of a firecracker," Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma said.

"We received a complaint this morning from one of the guards at the communication room of the Naval base which said that he had heard two-three gunshots being fired," Porbandar Superintendent of Police Tarunkumar Duggal told news agency PTI.

"We carried out a search operation in the entire area, in and around the Naval base, for about three hours," he said.

"However, after a thorough search operation, nothing was found. The alarm raised seems to be a hoax," Duggal further said.

He also denied that there were any reports of an explosion at the Naval base.

The Porbandar city located on Gujarat coast is on a high alert following the surgical strikes recently carried out across the Line of Control by the Army.

The Indian Coast Guard, Navy, and the Gujarat coastal police have increased vigil on the coast.

Security has been enhanced on the Gujarat coast, which has vital installations like ports, oil refineries and famous temples at Dwarka and Somnath, following inputs from intelligence agencies about possible infiltration bids by terrorists through the sea route, police had said yesterday.

The alert has been issued for coastal districts of Gujarat based on an input received from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) recently, they had said.

Gujarat, having 1,600 km-long coastline, shares border with Pakistan.

During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, terrorists had hijacked a fishing trawler from the mid-sea in Gujarat to travel to Mumbai shores.

(With Agency inputs)
Jaisalmer: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced that the Indo-Pak border will be completely sealed by December 2018 by using all effective means including technological solutions.

Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four states, Singh said a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place at the central and state government levels for it.

He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the states which share border with Pakistan.

"It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders," Singh said.

The Home Minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added "this project will be periodically monitored by Home Secretary at the central level, BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level."

He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. "Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border.

Commenting on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's 'khoon ki dalali' remark, Singh said that people, working in any field, must show restraint at the time of escalated tensions.

Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, the Union Minister today reviewed the security situation with Home Ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat's Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.

Senior BSF officials were present at the meeting here which reviewed security arrangements on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by the Army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union Home Minister will also tour border areas of Rajasthan and visit outposts to assess the situation along the Indo-Pak border.

Out of 2,289.66 km of Indo-Pakistan Border (IPB), 2,034.96 km has been covered by physical barriers, including fencing, and the remaining 254.80 km of the border is planned to be covered by physical and non-physical barriers shortly.

There are stretches in which construction of physical barriers is not feasible due to geographic constraints such as riverine, low-lying, creek and marshy areas.

In this stretch, it is proposed to deploy technology solutions, including the deployment of cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc.

The BSF is testing the available technologies through pilot projects in the Jammu region, Punjab, and Gujarat.

The paramilitary force is in the process of a rollout of a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for this stretch of IPB, which is due to be undertaken in a year`s time.

The Indian side of the IPB, which is 3,323-km-long, passes through the states of Gujarat (508 km), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km).

Out of the 3,323-km border with Pakistan, about 2,289.66 km of the International Border (IB) is under the operational control of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Apart from the IB, there is a Line of Control (LoC), which is under the operational control of the Ministry of Defence.

(With Agency inputs)
Jodhpur: After his cross-border wedding ran into the headwinds of rising tensions between India and Pakistan, a youth here has approached External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who on Friday assured him of help.

Jodhpur resident Naresh Tewani and Karachi-based Priya Bachchani, who are planning to tie the knot exactly a month from now, were facing anxious moments as the Indian embassy in Pakistan had not granted visas to the bride's family and relatives.

According to the groom, despite having applied for visas in the prescribed time and format, no one from the bride's side has been issued the documents so far. Seeing no headway in the process, Tewani had reached out to External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter for help.

Swaraj today responded to his plea saying that the visas would be issued to them.

"Pl do not worry. We will issue the Visa(sic)," she said on Twitter.

Tewani said, "The applications for visas for the family of the bride were filed well in time about 3 months back. We assumed that the documents would be issued in time."

The groom's family had said wedding preparations had come to a standstill as all their efforts were being directed towards ensuring that the bride's family gets the documents.

"The minister has been quite responsive to tweets by people in trouble and they have received aid from her. Seeing her willingness to resolve the troubles of those in need, we knocked on her Twitter account," Tewani said.

"It was my long-cherished dream to have a Pakistani bride for my son since my visit to Pakistan in 2001, considering the resemblance in culture and traditions between the two countries. But given the circumstances, I was afraid that the realisation of this dream might take longer," the groom's father Kanhaiya Lal said.
New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah has hit out against Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and others who have politicised the surgical strike carried out by the Indian Army inside PoK on September 29.

Some parties tried to question the surgical strike that was carried out by the Army. We had, from the start, had tried to keep the operation by the Army away from politics but these parties have shamed the soldiers by giving it a political colour, Amit Shah said at press conference on Friday.

Going for a frontal attack, Shah said, Who are you questioning? Are you questioning the soldiers who risked their lives to fight terrorism? It was first started by Arvind Kejriwal when he asked for proof. And after his statements, Kejriwal became a trend in Pakistan. From this, it is clear his words have helped whom.

Rahul Gandhi crossed all limits with his khoon ki dalali remark, he said, adding Who has done coal ki dalali, who has done 2G ki dalali.

I want to ask whether the blood of soldiers is a tradable commodity? Today when the Army is fighting valiantly, he is questioning them, Shah said.

We don't believe in the statements by anti-India politicians, we only believe in the bullet of our soldiers, he said.

Shah also thanked the media. The manner in which the media united to laud and present the Army's heroic deeds in front of the people of the country is appreciable, he said.

Media has also played a vital role in exposing Pakistan on the world stage.

The media also ensured that the reality of the surgical strike was exposed, silencing those who were questioning its veracity.

The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam had went a step ahead and called the surgical strike "fake".
New Delhi: The BJP and the Congress indulged in a bitter war of words on Friday over the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir with latter accusing the ruling party of using the military operation for political propaganda.

A day after Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing "dalali" over the sacrifices of Indian soldiers, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah called a press conference and said Gandhi "crossed his limit".

The Congress, in turn, accused the ruling party of politicising the strike, and the BJP called a second press conference in the day to rebut Congress charges.

Not staying behind, the Congress too called a second press conference and accused the BJP of insulting the Army by saying that the Army didn't have the courage to control the Line of Control (LoC) for 68 years.

On Friday morning, Shah demanded a clarification from Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" remark.

"By saying 'dalali' over soldiers' blood, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. The remark reflects the Congress' mentality," Shah said.

"I want to ask Gandhi: Does he perceive our soldiers' blood to be a thing to do 'dalali' (trade) with. His words are an insult to the armed forces and the country as a whole. I want to ask what dalali is he talking about," asked Shah.

Shah also asked Rahul Gandhi to focus on issues pertaining to "Alu ki factory" (potato factory) instead of making statements on such sensitive issues.

Shah also targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"It was Kejriwal who started the trend of doubting the surgical strikes and casting aspersions on the bravery of our armed forces," he said.

Soon after, Congress called a press conference, where party leader Kapil Sibal blamed the BJP for formation of the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Sibal also came down heavily on Shah for his attack on the Congress Vice President.

"The people who have been to jail and who have murder cases against them are pointing fingers at others. We never imagined the Bharatiya Janata Party will stoop so low," Sibal said.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Sibal said, "Today these attacks happened as they (BJP) released Jaish-e-Mohammad militant Maulana Masood Azhar."

"If BJP hadn't released Maulana Masood Azhar then the JeM wouldn't have taken birth," Sibal alleged.

The BJP responded soon after with union Minister Ravishankar Prasad holding a press conference.

"For them (Congress), defending Rahul Gandhi is more important than defending the country," Prasad said.

"Yesterday (Thursday), it was very embarrassing (for the Congress). I know some Congress leaders who are disturbed because of what he had said," said the minister.

He also slammed Congress for saying the BJP was responsible for creation of JeM.

"What does Congress mean by saying that the BJP created Jaish-e-Mohammed It is the ISI which will be the most happiest people on hearing the remarks," he said.

The Congress then hurriedly called its second press meet and accused the BJP of insulting the army.

"BJP President Amit Shah today (Friday) insulted the Indian Army in front of the nation by saying that for 68 years, Indian Army didn't have the courage to control the Line of Control (LoC)," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.

"If the army didn't try to control the LoC for 68 years, then is former Army chief Gen. Bikram Singh and other former Army Chiefs lying to the nation? Or do you want to perform final rites to the sacrifices and valour of army?" he asked.

Asking the BJP if it had forgotten the 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars, Surjewala charged the ruling party with "politicising" the Army's cross-border surgical strikes and trying to "colour the valour and sacrifice of Indian Army into its doctrine".

"Our soldiers have laid down their lives for the country, as they live and die for the tricolour," he added.

Similarly, Amit Shah was attacked by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia for criticizing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the surgical strikes.

Sisodia said in a tweet: "So now Amit Shah will issue certificates of patriotism?"

Saying Amit Shah was not even qualified to take Kejriwal's name, Sisodia described the BJP President as a "black spot" on issues of political probity.

Sisodia went on: "The army is ours. It belongs to the people. The soldiers belong to the people. Who has made Amit Shah a spokesperson for the army?"

Indian commandos raided terrorist launch pads across the LoC in Pakistani territory on the intervening night of September 28-29, killing an unspecified number of terrorists. Pakistan denies this happened.

The strike was carried out after the terror attack on an Army camp in Uri, where 17 soldiers were killed and two succumbed to injuries later.

While certain political leaders have sought a proof of the attack, the central government has not so far spoken about sharing any evidence.

According to Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the video has been handed over to the Prime Minister's Office.

With IANS inputs
Jaisalmer: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday began his two-day visit to Jaisalmer to review the security situation along the India-Pakistan border with Chief Ministers of some states.

He chaired the review meeting at the Border Security Force`s Sector headquarters (North). The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat's Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma.

Top Border Security Force officers and senior officials of the state governments of Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Punjab were also present.

Sealing of India-Pakistan border was discussed during the meeting.

The Home Minister will later tour border areas of Rajasthan and the border outposts to assess the situation along the border.

Rajnath Singh will also hold a separate meeting with BSF officials in Barmer tomorrow.

Out of 2289.66 km of Indo-Pakistan Border (IPB), 2034.96 km has been covered by physical barriers, including fencing, and the remaining 254.80 km of the border is planned to be covered by physical and non-physical barriers shortly.

There are stretches in which construction of physical barriers is not feasible due to geographic constraints such as riverine, low-lying, creek and marshy areas.

In this stretch, it is proposed to deploy technology solutions, including the deployment of cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc.

The BSF is testing the available technologies through pilot projects in the Jammu region, Punjab, and Gujarat.

The paramilitary force is in the process of a rollout of a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for this stretch of IPB, which is due to be undertaken in a year`s time.

The Indian side of the IPB, which is 3,323-km-long, passes through the states of Gujarat (508 km), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km).

Out of the 3,323-km border with Pakistan, about 2,289.66 km of the International Border (IB) is under the operational control of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Apart from the IB, there is a Line of Control (LoC), which is under the operational control of the Ministry of Defence.

(With Agency inputs)
Mumbai: Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam is being trolled on social media ever since he questioned the veracity of surgical strikes by the army in PoK, prompting his wife to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure safety of her family as she is feeling "very unsafe" in India.

Geeta Nirupam's letter to Modi came on a day when her husband claimed he had received a "threat call" on October 5 from gangster Ravi Pujari asking him to tender a public apology over his remarks on surgical strikes.

Earlier this week, Nirupam had called the surgical assault "fake" but the Congress leadership dissociated itself from his remarks, saying it had full faith in the armed forces.

In her letter, Geeta claimed she was also being abused openly in "most vulgar and demeaning manner possible not only on social media but even via phone calls."

Expressing concern about the security of her family, Geeta has appealed to Prime Minister to "check the vulgar comments of the random social media activists and keep politics aside from the personal and familial life."

Noting that her family has received threats from the underworld, Geeta wrote, "Yes, my husband said something that was clearly political in nature, which could have easily been discussed/ debated intellectually amongst political rivals and even commoners; just like any other Indian."

She said, "He was talking about the nation and politics, not about his personal life and family. So, why is this so-called culture and family oriented nation that otherwise worships 'the Devi' dragging his 80-year-old mother into this political drama and abusing her by using the most vulgar language possible on social media?"

"If a girl is raped or molested, activists organise candle-marches to restore modesty, but not one person is ashamed of using social media to abuse, emotionally torture and verbally 'rape' the women in my family by threatening to burn my husband alive or killing him in broad daylight just because he expressed his opinion."

Referring to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's statement that his wife Kiran Rao was feeling "unsafe" in India, Geeta said she too was feeling "very unsafe" in her own country.

Terming the social media outrage against her family as "barbarism", Geeta stated that thousands of "abusive and downright vulgar" tweets are being shamelessly re-tweeted on a mass media portal and not one person man or woman - has stood up to say stop."

Through the letter, which she also shared on her Facebook account, Geeta appealed to PM Narendra Modi to "press the stop button on vulgar comments as politics is not a family game."

"I am sadly disappointed and waiting for you to press the stop button and at least make sure that there is some censorship that monitors language on mass media. Politics is not a family game, so, can we stop dragging families into it I want answers to my questions," she said.
Srinagar: A policeman was killed and two other persons, including a civilian, were injured Friday in a guerrilla attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said.

The attack ensued as militants tried to snatch the weapons of local policemen deployed at a "minority post" or armed guard deployed for protection of members of the Pandit community who continue to live in their homes in the Valley.

"Militants tried to snatch the weapons of policemen posted at Reshnagri minority post. The attempt was resisted by the policemen resulti ng in a shootout in which three persons, including a civilian and two policemen, were injured," a senior police official said here, adding that one of the injured policemen later succumbed to injuries

The militants managed to escape after the shootout, said the official, adding that a manhunt has been started to trace the assailants.

#WATCH Visuals of spot where terrorists attacked police post in Shopian distt (J&K), one policeman dead, another injured (Visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/w0vjTl6ACu  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Guerrillas have been attacking the minority posts, especially in south Kashmir areas, to snatch weapons from the security guards at these posts.

Earlier this week, guerrillas had snatched five rifles from a minority post in Kulgam district.

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Srinagar: Curfew was imposed in seven police station areas of the city today due to apprehensions of violence after Friday prayers. After increased movement of private vehicles for six days, the roads across Srinagar city today wore a deserted look.

"Curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure in seven police station areas of Srinagar city," a police official said here.

The police station areas where curfew has been imposed are Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma and Batamaloo.

"Restrictions on assembly of people are in force in rest of Kashmir Valley while security forces have been deployed in strength to maintain law and order," the official said. Normal life remains affected in Kashmir since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.

The unrest has claimed as many as 83 lives and left thousands of others injured in clashes between protestors and security forces.

The separatists had called for a march to the local UN office here today.

Some of the top separatist leaders and youths accused of inciting violence have been arrested by police over the past three months. Over 300 persons have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is all set to probe the Langate (Handwara) encounter from Friday, reports said.

Two terrorists were killed in the encounter yesterday morning after they opened fire outside the 30 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Langate. The terrorists, who were in army combat uniform, had opened fire at around 5 am.

During the search operation in the area, the militants opened fire at the forces. The firing continued for 10 to 15 minutes. Since the troops were alert, the attack was aptly retaliated by the security forces.

The Langate incident came days after terrorists attacked a BSF and adjoining camps in Baramulla district, where one Border Security Force (BSF) soldier was killed in the attack.

The attack also comes after the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes and destroyed seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC), last week.

Last month, terrorists had attacked the army brigade headquarters at Uri, killing 19 soldiers.
Jammu: The Pakistan Army on Friday morning resorted to heavy shelling and gunfire at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu region.

"Heavy shelling and firing started in Malta area in Poonch district today (Friday) morning after Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate mortar shelling and firing at Indian military and civilian positions," a police official told IANS here.

According to sources, the Indian Army retaliated effectively using same calibre weapons after unprovoked shelling by the Pakistani side.

Pakistan has been violating with impunity the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed with India in November 2003.

The violation of the ceasefire agreement by Pakistani side has become a rule rather than an exception after the Indian Army on September 28 night carried out surgical strikes against terrorist "launch pads" across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Jammu: Union minister Jitendra Singh today told the BJP cadre to tell those trying to "create a divide" in the society by making "provocative references" to the RSS that they receive their orders "from Nagpur and not Islamabad".

"If somebody sarcastically taunts you by saying that you receive orders from Nagpur (the RSS headquarters), you should politely reply back saying that you are proud to take them from Nagpur and not Islamabad or Pakistan as they do," he told a public rally at Kishtwar town here.

"Those who make these sarcastic and provocative references are actually suffering from a deep sense of insecurity and seeking their political survival by keeping the separatists lobby and Pakistan in good humour through obsessive and childish references to RSS and Nagpur," he added.

Singh lashed out at those who try to "create a divide" in the society by making provocative references to certain "nationalist social organisations" (RSS).

The Union minister said, regardless of political affiliation or belief, all Indians must unitedly rise to the challenge posed by Pakistan and its "sympathisers".

His comments were in an apparent reference to his brother and National Conference's (NC) provincial president Devender Singh Rana's statement on Wednesday in which he criticised the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir for "promoting" the RSS in the sensitive region of Chenab Valley by permitting lathi-wielding 'swayamsevaks' to march on the streets of Doda.

Rana had also regretted that the state administration had become a "tool in the hands of the BJP" which was "furthering the RSS agenda openly and taking orders from Nagpur".

Singh said the BJP believed in non-violence but added that even Mahatma Gandhi had preached that non-violence was not a virtue of the "meek or the weak".

Therefore, he said, the belief in non-violence should not be construed as "cowardice or weakness".

Hitting out at the separatist leaders of the state, he said each of them should give at least one son from their families for the "so-called jihad", before "inciting" the innocent youth to take to violence and lose their lives.

Describing Kishtwar as a glittering example of Hindu-Muslim unity and brotherhood, Singh said the people as well as the Hindu and Muslim religious leaders of the region deserved to be congratulated for not "succumbing to the provocation" to cause communal strife.

He said Kishtwar was going through a rapid phase of development and referred to the wide network of roads and power projects coming up in the region.

The Union minister said he had honoured his commitment of setting mobile phone towers en-route the Machail Yatra and sanctioning of a degree college at Paddar.
Bhopal: While no criminal would like to be in jail, an 'open prison' in Madhya Pradesh is a welcome change for convicts who wish to spend the last leg of their sentence in its homely environ before being set free.

Shanker, Mukesh, Mangilal, Dharmendra and Jitendra are among the prisoners of the open jail in Hoshangabad district who, like normal people, go out for work daily. In the evenings, they return to the prison and after watching TV with their families and taking dinner, they go to bed.

These chores are witnessed everyday in the state's first open jail, built on 17 acres land in Hoshangabad, where the prisoners long to spend last days of their imprisonment.

"I sell vegetables to earn bread for my family," open jail prisoner Mukesh Kewat said.

Like Mukesh, other prisoners are also doing different works to eke out a living for their families.

"We all are happy as we are living with our wives and children who are studying in a homely atmosphere while we serve our sentences," he said.

"Many prisoners want to spend the last days of imprisonment in open jail, but we are the lucky ones to get entry here after scrutiny of our behaviour," Kewat said.

The jail consists of houses for 25 families built at a cost of Rs 32 crore.

"We are left with 18 prisoners as seven inmates have been released after they served their sentences," Hoshangabad open jail superintendent Manoj Sahu said.

"The convicts, during the last two years of their imprisonment, are transferred to open jail from other prisons to make them familiar with the environ outside so that after release they don't face hassles in settling down," Additional Director General of Prisons, MP, Sushovan Banerjee told PTI.

The convicts whose conduct is found good are kept in the open jail, he said.

"After the success of the Hoshangabad open jail, one more prison similar to it is coming up in Satna district which would be operational next year," the ADG said.

"We also have plans to set up such open jails in Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Ujjain districts. These prisons will have 25 houses," he added.
New Delhi: Women will continue to be barred from entering the Dargah of Sufi saint Haji Ali in Mumbai, as the Supreme Court on Friday continued with the interim order of the Bombay High Court.

The Bombay High Court, while ruling that women can go to the mazar of Haji Ali, had put the operation of its verdict on hold, giving time to the Haji Ali Trust that is managing the affairs of Dargah to approach the Supreme Court.

Issuing notice, the bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar said that the interim order of the Bombay High Court, putting on hold the operation of its own verdict, would continue till October 17, when the matter would come up for hearing.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary on Friday met the state's Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and briefed him about ailing Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's health and the general administration, hours after the Apollo Hospital said that the AIADMK chief was responding well to the ongoing treatment but required more time to improve.

According to PTI, two top Tamil Nadu government ministers - O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswamy - said to be very close to AIADMK chief - also meet Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao along with him.

Chennai: TN Ministers O. Panneerselvam, Edappadi K. Palanisamy & Chief Secretary to Government met Tamil Nadu Governor CH. Vidyasagar Rao pic.twitter.com/EvKr9rihNb  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

The meeting came a day after the Apollo Hospitals said J Jayalalithaa was responding well to the treatment but required a longer stay at the hospital.

The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) today said that there is no need for temporary Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

A spokesperson of the ruling AIADMK noted: "There is no legal necessity for that.

Speaking to news agency IANS, AIADMK spokesperson Avadi Kumar said: "There is no need for a temporary or substitute Chief Minister at the current juncture.

According to him, Jayalalithaa is conscious and is recovering.

Kumar said when there were legal hurdles in Jayalalithaa holding the Chief Minister`s post, Finance Minister O Panneerselvam was sworn in as the Chief Minister.

Once the legal problems were sorted out, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the Chief Minister again.

He said AIADMK founder, the late MG Ramachandran, won the Assembly Election in 1984 while he was in a hospital in Brooklyn, US. He was sworn in as Chief Minister on his arrival.

Kumar said the late DMK leader Murasoli Maran was in a hospital for a long time as a Union Minister without portfolio till he died.

The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 22 for fever and dehydration.

On Thursday, the consensus opinion of all experts at the Apollo Hospitals was that Jayalalithaa will require a longer stay in the hospital and the line of treatment given to Jayalalithaa should be continued.

"The present treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, neubilisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supportive therapy," Apollo Hospitals said.

The hospital said Jayalalithaa is making gradual progress but did not say for how long she may have to stay in the hospital.

(With IANS inputs)
New Delhi: BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to impose President`s Rule in Tamil Nadu following the prolonged hospitalisation of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her remaining incommunicado.

Swamy also sought the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be imposed in the state since "sleeper cells of the IS have become active in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Tirunveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari", and "disruptive groups" such as Dravida Kazhagam, leftover LTTE, and Naxalites "are out to create an upheaval".

"I urge Home Minister Rajnath Singh to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution and put the Legislative Assembly in suspended animation till Jayalalithaa is able to attend office," Swamy said a press statement.

According to him, the step should be taken in view of the administrative disarray in the state following the indefinite hospitalisation of the Chief Minister and her having to remain incommunicado for health reasons.

"A retired Chief Secretary has been allowed to conduct the business of the state," Swamy added.

In this ad hoc administrative situation, he pointed out, the sleeper cells of the ISIS have become active in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Tirunveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari.

Besides, "a collaborative and supportive action by Dravida Kazhagam, leftover LTTE, and disruptive groups such as underground Naxalites are out to create an upheaval in the state causing a massive disorder and lawlessness", added the statement.

In view of this situation, Swamy sought imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in all the southern districts as well as Chennai for a period of six months.

The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 22 for fever and dehydration.
Chandigarh: There is no terror alert specific to Chandigarh, a senior officer said here on Friday.

"It is clarified on behalf of the Chandigarh administration that a routine advisory regarding precautions to be taken during festival days has been received from the IB (Intelligence Bureau)," a government spokesperson said on Friday.

"The said advisory has been addressed to all the states. No specific input about Chandigarh have been received from anyone," he added.

Earlier reports said that the union territory of Chandigarh was put on terror alert on Thursday following inputs from the IB of a possible terrorist strike.

"We have asked the Chandigarh Police to take appropriate measures. We have sought cooperation from city residents to be alert and inform police about anything suspicious," Chandigarh`s Home Secretary Anurag Aggarwal said earlier.

Chandigarh is the joint capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

A number of VIPs, including Governors, Chief Ministers, ministers, legislators and top civil and police officials of both states live in the city.

The headquarters of the army`s frontier Western Command are located at Chandimandir, 10 km from here.

With a population of 1.1 million, Chandigarh gets a large number of visitors from neighbouring Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Following last week`s surgical strikes by the Indian Army on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC), the border states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, and Rajasthan have been put on high alert.
Lucknow: The family members of Ravin Sisodia, one of the key accused in the Dadri lynching case, have refused to cremate his body, two days after he died at a hospital in Delhi where he was brought for treatment from a Noida jail.

His relatives are demanding the arrest of Akhlaqs brother Jaan Mohammad on charges of cow slaughter and Rs 1 crore compensation for Sisodia's death.

Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched last year for allegedly consuming beef.

Hundreds of people on Thursday gathered in Bisara where Sisodia's coffin draped with the Tricolour has been kept.

The 21-year-old, who is one of the accused in Akhlaqs killing, had died at the LNJP Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday.

His family members have refused to cremate the body unless the UP government pays them Rs 1 crore as compensation.

They have also demanded a CBI probe against the officers at a Greater Noida jail where he had been lodged, the Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, the district police have turned the village into a fortress amid fears of fresh communal clash.

VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi visited Bisara on Thursday to express her solidarity with Sisodias family.

The district administration has already deployed two companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) besides jawans from Gautam Budh Nagar, Bulandshahr and Ghaziabad areas.

On Thursday, talks between the administration and a 11-member committee of Bisara residents ended without any decision on their demands.

According to the report, the Bisara residents are now planning to invite people from nearby on villages to exert more pressure on the local administration.

They have said that the body will not be cremated if Mohammad is not arrested. They also did not agree to accept the Rs 10 lakh that was being offered by the state government as compensation and demanded Rs 1 crore.

We are trying to reach out to Ravins family. For now, they have refused to cremate him, the report quoted a senior police officer as saying.

If our demands are not met, the cremation will not take place. The administration has given us some assurances but we are not satisfied.

Our main aim is Mohammads arrest and unless that happens, we will not cremate the body, the report quoted a local resident as saying.
Ghaziabad: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad on Friday gave capital punishment to Surendra Koli who has been found guilty of the murder of Nanda Devi in the 2006 Nithari serial killing case.

The court had found Koli guilty of the murder on October 5.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had sought the response of Koli on a plea of the Uttar Pradesh Government against the Allahabad High Court`s verdict that commuted his death penalty to life term.

Koli is also accused of gruesome killing Rimpa Halder.

He is also the accused of sexually assaulting girls before killing them, and allegedly eating them.

The case came to light when two Nithari residents hinted his involvement in the disappearance of several children over the past two years since 2004.

The case was further strengthened when carcasses of children were found in the drain outside the house of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, where Koli worked as a servant.

On February 13, 2009, Koli was sentenced to death by a special CBI court in Ghaziabad.

The high court had passed the order while allowing a PIL filed by People`s Union for Democratic Rights, clubbed with another petition filed by Koli himself.
Mirati: President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday arrived at Kirnahar in Birbhum district, where his elder sister's house is situated, to perform Durga Puja.

The President would spend four days in his ancestral house at Mirati and at Kirnahar on the occasion.

At the helipad, the President was welcomed by state Fisheries minister Chandranath Sinha, Birbhum District Magistrate P Mohangandhi and police super Sudhir Nilakantam.

Apart from performing puja, he would take part in an Army programme in Behrampore in Murshidabad district and a felicitation programme at Suri in Birbhum district tomorrow.

He would formally rename a road at Suri after his father Kamadakinkar Mukherjee, a freedom fighter.

On Sunday, after the Astami Puja, he would inaugurate a health awareness programme initiated by the Birbhum district administration.

He is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Tuesday morning.

A senior police official said, "All possible security measures have been taken. The number of CCTV cameras has been increased in comparison to previous years."
Washington: President Barack Obama is lifting US economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar.

The White House says Obama signed an executive order lifting the sanctions today. He had announced plans to do so last month, when Myanmar's new civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee), visited the Oval Office.

Obama's move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the US and Myanmar that Obama has worked to facilitate. The Southeast Asian nation has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

The US has already eased broad economic sanctions on Myanmar, including prohibitions on investment and trade. But the US had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta.
Seoul: An increase in activity at North Korea`s nuclear test site could signal preparations for a new test or a collection of data from its last one, a US-based monitoring group said on Friday, citing satellite images.

The 38 North group, run by Johns Hopkins University`s School of Advanced International Studies, said there was activity at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel.

"One possible reason for this activity is to collect data on the September 9 test although other purposes cannot be ruled out, such as sealing the portal or other preparations related to a new test," the group said, referring to the last nuclear test.

The North is believed to be ready for another nuclear test at any time and there has been speculation it could mark the October 10 anniversary of the founding of its Workers` Party with another underground detonation.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and has since then defied UN sanctions and rejected international talks to press ahead with the development of the weapons and missiles to carry them, which it says it needs for its defence.

In January, it conducted its fourth nuclear test and last month its fifth and biggest, on the anniversary of the nation`s founding.

The United States and South Korea are pushing for tighter sanctions against North Korea by closing loopholes left in a UN Security Council resolution in March.

South Korea`s Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a briefing there were no particular indication of a plan for a nuclear test timed to coincide with the Oct. 10 anniversary.

South Korea`s Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified government official that there was activity at the North`s rocket launch station near the west coast that could be preparations for a long-range missile launch.

Last month, the North said it had successfully conducted a ground test of a new rocket engine that would be used to launch satellites. South Korea said the engine could be used for a long-range missile.

North Korea last month fired three missiles that flew about 1,000 km (600 miles). In August, it tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile that international experts said showed considerable progress.

Japan said the possibility of further "provocative action" by North Korea could not be ruled out.

"The government is taking all possible measures in gathering information, exercising vigilance and taking surveillance activities to be able to respond to any situations," Japan`s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.
Taipei: Taiwan is to launch talks with Japan on maritime cooperation, including on fisheries and search and rescue, President Tsai Ing-wen said, part of a push to deepen ties with Asia`s second-largest economy.

China regards Taiwan as a wayward province, to be taken back by force if necessary, and is likely to disapprove of it building ties with Japan, especially when China is suspicious of Japan forging closer maritime cooperation in Southeast Asia.

"In the near future, we will jointly open the Taiwan-Japan maritime affairs cooperation dialogue," Tsai told Japan`s Yomiuru Shimbun newspaper.

"We don`t rule out it could take place this month," she said, according to a transcript of the interview, issued by Tsai`s office on Friday.

Media interviews by Taiwan presidents are often used as a way for the diplomatically isolated, self-ruled island to state positions to a wider audience.

Tsai, like her predecessors, is constrained from travelling to other countries, most of which have official relations with China and recognise its "one China" principle.

Tsai leads the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party and she took power in May after an election win, raising suspicion in Beijing.

Tsai said she looked forward to cooperating with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen relations and promote regional stability.

"From Taiwan`s perspective, Prime Minister Abe is someone we are quite familiar with over a long period of time. We also understand that he has goodwill toward Taiwan," she said.

For Japan, building ties with Taiwan could risk its relations with Beijing, which are already strained by arguments over their wartime history and a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

China is also suspicious of Japanese moves to help the Philippines and Vietnam develop their maritime security. Both are in disputes with China over rival claims in the South China Sea.

Tsai called on Beijing to talk, saying that immediately after she took power on May 20, China appeared to be "relatively rational and calm" in handling matters with Taiwan.

"But we have seen China reverting to past practice of exerting pressure on Taiwan to obtain a political position," she said.

"We will have patience but we hope the other side can show more wisdom."

Taiwan has been self-ruled since Nationalists defeated in China`s civil war fled there in 1949. Beijing is particularly sensitive of any hint of a move by the island towards independence.
Bangkok: Thailand`s junta came under scrutiny this week after critics filed a petition asking the office of the auditor-general to investigate allegations of extravagant spending on a trip to Hawaii for a defence meeting.

It is the latest in a series of allegations against the military government that seized power in May 2014, promising to root out entrenched corruption in state institutions and close Thailand`s festering political divide.

The government has defended allegations that a 20.9 million baht ($600,000) chartered flight taken by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and his entourage to a meeting in Hawaii last week was exorbitant.

On Wednesday, Srisuwan Janya, head of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, a government watchdog, petitioned the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate expenses incurred on the Thai Airways flight.

These expenses included 600,000 baht ($17,200) spent on in-flight food and beverages, according to details posted on the Secretariat of the Prime Minister`s website.

The allegations threaten to erode the military government`s credibility, say critics, including civil society groups.

Last month, Isra News, an investigative news website, reported that Pathompol Chan-ocha, a nephew of junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, was awarded seven construction projects with the Third Army Region, which had been under his father`s command, prompting claims of nepotism.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating those claims.

Preecha Chan-ocha, Pathompol`s father and junta chief Prayuth`s brother, has defended his son and said he acted according to the army`s rules and regulations for contractors.

"Both of these are issues that Thai society is criticising a lot and it will reduce the junta`s credibility," Srisuwan told Reuters. "This is contrary to what people expect from this military government. The prime minister should boldly act to restore public confidence and not shirk responsibility."

Colonel Piyapong Klinpan, deputy spokesman for the junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said it welcomed public scrutiny.

"If there is any issue of public interest, then the agency involved can examine it. We are not trying to hide or conceal anything," Piyapong told Reuters.

"The NCPO does not interfere in these independent bodies and we ask that people trust the NCPO."

The investigation follows allegations of graft last year, levelled by some Thai media and opposition groups, involving construction of a $28 million park built to honour the monarchy that threatened to undermine an anti-graft drive by the junta.

An internal investigation by the army in November 2015 found no evidence of corruption.

Thailand`s military has always been powerful, but the 2014 coup established it as the nation`s pre-eminent institution.

Thais voted overwhelmingly in August to accept a junta-backed constitution that the government says is designed to heal more than a decade of divisive politics. Critics of the government, including major political parties, say the charter will enshrine the military`s role for years to come.
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Older model Super Pumas have been involved in several accidents in the British oil sector, some of them deadly

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Friday said it had lifted a temporary flight ban imposed in June on Airbus' Super Puma helicopters.

The agency handed down the ban after an April crash of one of the copters off the coast of Norway which killed all 13 people on board following what Norwegian investigators found to be a technical failure.

EASA said on its website that in lifting the temporary flight suspension imposed on June 2 it had laid down "very stringent protective measures which enable the decision to allow these type of helicopters to return to flight."

The agency said those measures included eliminating gearbox specification of a type used by the downed copter with another configuration that "has a demonstrated reliable service life."

It added it had been closely monitoring Airbus analysis and tests and that "all main gearboxes that have suffered from unusual events will be withdrawn from service.

"EASA will closely monitor the compliance action taken by the helicopter manufacturer and operators following the return to service along with operational information" in targeting "the highest possible safety standards."

The EC225 Super Puma crashed on a small island en route from a North Sea oil platform. The 13 killed in Norway's deadliest helicopter crash in four decades included 11 Norwegians, one Briton and one Italian.

Older model Super Pumas have been involved in several accidents in the British oil sector, some of them deadly.

The most serious dates back to 2009, when a helicopter crashed off Scotland, killing its 16 occupants after its rotor detached.
By David Ljunggren and Stephen J. Adler TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was not overly worried about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), even though the main U.S. presidential candidates have said they want to change the deal. Trudeau told a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto that while he realized people around the world were genuinely angry about missing out on the benefits of free trade, turning back the clock on globalization was not the answer. Canada, a major oil exporter, is struggling to cope with a prolonged slump in crude prices that has slashed budget revenues and led to higher unemployment. The sluggish economy could be hit further by changes to NAFTA in the wake of the Nov. 8 presidential vote given the country sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States. "I know that the rhetoric gets heated in election campaigns, but the fact is that NAFTA has been incredibly good for all three of our economies," Trudeau said when asked whether he was concerned about the deal's future. "It just makes sense for us to be working together as an integrated and harmonized economy," he added, saying he was "not overly worried" about the anti-NAFTA rhetoric and the accord's future. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has variously vowed to tear up or renegotiate the 1994 deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Democrat Hillary Clinton has also called for changes. Trudeau, who is nearing the end of his first year in office, has declined to say which candidate he favors, only that he would be happy to work with whomever wins. Canadian diplomats have been fanning out across the United States to talk up the benefits of trade with state and local leaders in the run-up to the election. "The challenge is that during an American presidential election you always hear protectionist rhetoric and you don't know until after the election to what extent it will actually change into policy," said Craig Alexander, chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada think-tank. In a bid to reduce its overwhelming reliance on the United States, Canada has negotiated a free trade deal with the European Union. Protests by anti-globalization groups have delayed the signing of the agreement. "When faced with that anger you can either try and exploit it for short term political gain, or we can say, okay, this is a problem that we have to fix," said Trudeau. "We just have to make sure that we're making the right arguments for trade." The 44-year-old prime minister has enjoyed remarkably strong opinion poll numbers since winning power in last October's election but now faces tough decisions that could lower his popularity. A Nanos Research poll on Tuesday said 56 percent of people preferred Trudeau as prime minister compared with 14 percent for the leader of the opposition Conservatives. Trudeau said his Liberal government was trying to disperse infrastructure investments to stimulate the economy as quickly as possible while being careful to ensure the funds were being spent responsibly. The Liberals have promised C$60 billion ($45 billion) in new infrastructure spending, bringing the total to C$120 billion over 10 years. Trudeau spoke after Thomson Reuters Chief Executive Officer Jim Smith announced the news and data provider would create a new technology center in Toronto, hiring 400 people over the next two years. Smith and other senior executives will move to Toronto from the company's office in Stamford, Connecticut. Trudeau drew laughter from the audience by saying he had just raised Smith's taxes. Earlier this year the government hiked the rate on top earners to help fund tax cuts for middle income earners. Thomson Reuters is the parent of Reuters News. (Additional reporting by Matt Scuffham, Allison Martell, Fergal Smith and Alastair Sharp; Editing by Alan Crosby)
[Justice Minister Jodi Wilson-Raybould maintains shes open to repealing problematic elements of Bill C-51. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press]



The Liberal Party of Canada came to power with a promise to review and reform the previous governments controversial anti-terrorism law.



Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government announced a public consultation on national security. But that consultation seems more of a sales job than the balanced review promised, says a report published this week by Citizen Lab research associate Christopher Parsons at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs.



This was presented to the Canadian public as a way of reconsidering some of the more problematic elements of the national security framework as its developed over the years, with an eye to maybe adding some additional safeguards that maybe havent been there, says Tamir Israel, a co-author of the report and a staff lawyer at the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa.

So its been anticipated as a civil liberties-enhancing exercise.

But the green paper and background document released by the government to spur discussion for the consultation are disappointing, Israel tells Yahoo Canada News.

It does kind of mention up top that there is a need for respect for civil liberties and privacy rights, but most of the document is really just a defence of new powers, he says.

Recycling rejected proposal



The most problematic aspect of the consultation for critics is the focus on re-examining legislation that would give law enforcement the ability to compel subscriber identification from telecommunications companies without judicial oversight.



Thats a power that has been visited by several previous governments before being soundly rejected by information and privacy experts along with the general public, according to Israel.

It really looks like an attempt to reintroduce a power that was already dealt with in great detail and with a lot of public debate and rejected by the public fairly soundly as being too invasive, he says.

Story continues

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has called the process a step toward meeting the Liberal commitment to repeal the problematic elements" of Bill C-51.

Our goal is to ensure the safety of Canadians, while protecting our rights and freedoms, she notes in a statement.

The news release adds the Liberal government has also introduced legislation to create a national security and intelligence committee of Parliament to strengthen scrutiny and accountability of all our security agencies.

Additional intrusive powers



Unfortunately, the framing of the consultation shows minimal regard for privacy and civil liberties, says the Citizen Lab report.

It is primarily preoccupied with defending the existing security framework while introducing a range of additional intrusive powers, the paper states.

There is no discussion of the need for judicial oversight of Canadas foreign intelligence agency, the Communications Security Establishment, or regulation of the agencys surveillance activities, the report says. And the documents do not provide any detailed suggestions for improving accountability or transparency around existing surveillance and investigative tools, it adds.

Israel and Parsons are planning to publish reports that will explore data retention, which would compel Internet service providers to store metadata tracking contact between users online and the websites they visit. That information, for the most part, is not currently recorded.



Such measures have been struck down as unconstitutional in the European Union and rejected in the United States.



They will also examine more closely the proposal that would compel people to disclose passwords to law enforcement, which Israel calls problematic.



Those behind the report plan to attend some of the public consultation meetings and are expected to pen a written submission to the panel.

The point of having this consultation was actually to address that rollback, but as you read the documents, it doesnt look like that, Israel concludes.
English Dutch

Delta Lloyd N.V. (hereafter "Delta Lloyd" or the "Company") notes the announcement made by NN Group N.V. ("NN Group") on 5 October 2016 and confirms that it received an unsolicited and conditional proposal from NN Group on 2 October 2016 regarding a possible cash offer for Delta Lloyd at a price of 5.30 per ordinary share.

The Executive Board and Supervisory Board (together, the "Boards") of Delta Lloyd have carefully reviewed and considered NN Group's proposal.

The Boards believe that Delta Lloyd is a strong business with a compelling strategy and a clear path to value creation on which it is showing good progress.

Consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities, the Boards of Delta Lloyd are not opposed to transactions that would create compelling value for shareholders and deliver benefits to other stakeholders.

The Boards are of the opinion that the financial terms and conditions set out in NN Group's proposal do not form an acceptable basis for such a transaction. Accordingly they reject NN Group's proposal.



Hans van der Noordaa, chairman of Delta Lloyd's Executive Board, said: "We have considered NN Group's proposal carefully and have decided to reject it. We have a clear strategy and we are delivering on our priorities of capital, performance and customer. We have made good progress during 2016. Our capital position is now solid with opportunity to improve further capital generation and dividends. In light of this, we cannot accept this proposal."



In coming to this decision the Boards took into account the following factors, amongst others:

The proposal substantially undervalues Delta Lloyd, its prospects and its strategic opportunities

The terms of the proposal represent only 0.64x 30 June 2016 book value and an implied consensus 2017E dividend yield of 5.6% [1] . The premium of 29% to the closing price of 4 October 2016 is below market norms for cash transactions of this type and for companies at our stage of recovery. The premium is only 11% when compared to Delta Lloyd's undisturbed 6 month high share price of 4.79;

The terms of the proposal represent only 0.64x 30 June 2016 book value and an implied consensus 2017E dividend yield of 5.6% . The premium of 29% to the closing price of 4 October 2016 is below market norms for cash transactions of this type and for companies at our stage of recovery. The premium is only 11% when compared to Delta Lloyd's undisturbed 6 month high share price of 4.79; The timing is opportunistic in light of Delta Lloyd's progress on its strategy

Following a challenging period, Delta Lloyd has made strong progress on stabilising its balance sheet and implementing its strategy including in recent days the announced merger of Delta Lloyd's life businesses in The Netherlands and Belgium. This proposal is opportunistic in its timing, seeking to take control of the Company before shareholders, customers and employees have fully benefitted from the realisation of management's plans;

Following a challenging period, Delta Lloyd has made strong progress on stabilising its balance sheet and implementing its strategy including in recent days the announced merger of Delta Lloyd's life businesses in The Netherlands and Belgium. This proposal is opportunistic in its timing, seeking to take control of the Company before shareholders, customers and employees have fully benefitted from the realisation of management's plans; The proposal fails to reflect an appropriate share of benefits of Dutch consolidation

The benefits of combining Dutch insurers are significant. These benefits include cost synergies, avoided investment and project spend, capital and financing synergies. The Boards believe that Delta Lloyd shareholders are in a position to benefit from the value of these synergies through a number of possible combinations now or in the future. NN Group's proposal does not deliver an adequate share of this value for Delta Lloyd's shareholders.





The Boards believe that Delta Lloyd can create substantial value for shareholders from implementing its current strategy:

Delta Lloyd has made s ubstantial progress during 2016 on its capital plan

The Company has implemented management actions to improve the strength and stability of its balance sheet, including the Van Lanschot equity offering, de-risking and ALM actions which delivered 173% Solvency II at 30 June 2016. Delta Lloyd continues to improve the level and resilience of its capital through further management actions, including most recently the Belgian merger announced on 5 October 2016, which is expected to add an incremental 5 percentage points to its Solvency II ratio, and the Partial Internal Model which is on track for implementation from 1 January 2018;

The Company has implemented management actions to improve the strength and stability of its balance sheet, including the Van Lanschot equity offering, de-risking and ALM actions which delivered 173% Solvency II at 30 June 2016. Delta Lloyd continues to improve the level and resilience of its capital through further management actions, including most recently the Belgian merger announced on 5 October 2016, which is expected to add an incremental 5 percentage points to its Solvency II ratio, and the Partial Internal Model which is on track for implementation from 1 January 2018; Delta Lloyd is executing actions to improve operational performance and capital generation Delta Lloyd has a clear plan to improve its life new business margins and P&C combined ratio, to improve strategic asset allocation, to reduce financing costs following deleveraging and to implement its announced cost saving targets of c.60m by 2018. These measures together will mitigate the adverse impact of current low interest rates on capital generation. Delta Lloyd remains committed to its capital generation target of 200-250m per annum over time and its target dividend of 130m for 2016; and

Delta Lloyd has a clear plan to improve its life new business margins and P&C combined ratio, to improve strategic asset allocation, to reduce financing costs following deleveraging and to implement its announced cost saving targets of c.60m by 2018. These measures together will mitigate the adverse impact of current low interest rates on capital generation. Delta Lloyd remains committed to its capital generation target of 200-250m per annum over time and its target dividend of 130m for 2016; and Upside from realising the value of Delta Lloyd's customer franchise for stakeholders

Delta Lloyd serves 4.2 million customers across the Netherlands and Belgium through our strong multichannel platform, with leading positions in attractive capital light segments of the life market such as defined contribution pensions and protection. Delta Lloyd is a leader in IFA and customer satisfaction and has a consistent track record of effective cost management. In the context of the developing Dutch long term savings market, this franchise is particularly well positioned for the future to drive value upside for shareholders and other stakeholders.

A copy of this announcement will be on our website www.deltalloyd. com.

This is a public announcement by Delta Lloyd N.V. pursuant to section 17 paragraph 1 of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). This public announcement does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities in Delta Lloyd N.V.









[1] IBES Consensus 2017 dividend estimate of 0.295 per share as of 4 October 2016





Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/20a19bbf-1ecc-4b12-9c4c-fa880e7b0709
Owego, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Time at Impera Marketing inc.: 6 year anniversary on July 27th!

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

Favorite quote: You can never be great at anything unless you love it. ~ Maya Angelou

Through his leadership and mentoring, William inspires others to push themselves, allowing his team to consistently deliver and meet goals. Thinking outside the box and creative problem solving are his greatest assets  which allows him to consistently drive revenue and work with the biggest clients on the planet. This October, he was awarded the most prestigious award, Comeback Manager of the Year on the annual company trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. When he spoke to the audience of over 1,000 of his peers at the awards ceremony he said, This business has given me purpose. This business has given more power. The business has given me influence. This business has given me power.

What type of culture do you try to foster within your team?

I like to treat my team like my family  we are all accountable, respectful, considerate, collaborative and put in the hard work necessary to understand our customers challenges and how we can help them reach success. I feel like, since we spend such a large percentage of time at work, the least we can do is work hard, have fun and love the people we work with.

What have been some of the biggest challenges youve faced in your career?

I was in the fraud prevention business and facing the prospect of staying at my job and remaining underemployed or taking a gamble on myself in the marketing industry. Thanks to a very determined acquaintance, who put my resume in front of the manager, I finally got an interview and was hired. The moral of that story is that when a chapter in your life ends, another begins  have faith, passion and work hard and you CAN land right-side up.

What is the best career advice you ever received?

Always work from a place of integrity so that you never burn bridges. People may not always like you, but in the end if they at least respect you, then youve succeeded.

What makes a good leader?

A good leader is someone who leads with integrity and transparency. They understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team, and they look for ways to improve the strengths and address the weaknesses. They are direct and honest  you always know where you stand and what the expectations are.
MILLWOOD, Va., Oct. 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Haitian Interim President, Jocelerme Privert, told Project HOPE today that humanitarian needs are increasing rapidly after Hurricane Matthew unleashed massive flooding and widespread destruction, claiming hundreds of lives.



The President and First Lady, Ginette Michaud Privert, met with Project HOPE's disaster relief team in Port-au-Prince on Friday amid growing concerns about a surge in cholera cases and other illnesses.

"President Privert said he is addressing the immediate need for food, shelter and health care, but also wants to focus on rehabilitating systems that were damaged or destroyed by the storm such as the health, agricultural and education sectors," said Teresa Narvaez, Project HOPE's Country Director in the Dominican Republic and a member of the team that met with Haiti's President and First Lady.

Ms. Narvaez said the Interim President expressed gratitude for all aid coming into the country but emphasized that it must be coordinated through the correct channels and overseen by the government.

Project HOPE is preparing a shipment of medical supplies, including water hydration tablets, gloves, saline solution, sponges, gauze, water purification units, generators and more. The NGO will deploy additional disaster relief experts this weekend and is building a team of medical volunteers to be ready for rapid deployment.



Project HOPE will continue to work with the Haitian government to identify areas of greatest need and is prepared to shift its response to ensure that donated supplies reach those in need and that medical volunteers are deployed where they are needed most.



Repeated cholera outbreaks present an on-going challenge in Haiti. Since the Haiti earthquake in 2010, Project HOPE has sent medical volunteers to train and assist local health care professionals in areas affected by cholera. The NGO partnered with the U.S. Navy to care for more than 1,000 Haitians aboard the hospital ship, USNS Comfort, in the aftermath of the earthquake and distributed more than $60 million of medicines and medical supplies one year later.



About Project HOPE

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solution to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, and conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 30 countries. Visit our website projecthope.org and follow us on Twitter @projecthopeorg.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=41630
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
Hi Tom, Longtime reader, but first time Im writing to you. Unfortunately, I dont have a question this time, but did want to share my not so great experience at The Riggsby a couple weeks ago. My friends and I went for dinner and drinks during a weekday about two weeks ago - it was or first visit. We started the night at the bar enjoying a quick pre-dinner drink  the drink and service at the bar was fantastic. We then moved over to our table where we ordered a new round of drinks. However, when the waiter came over to pour my wine, he ended up spilling a full drink down my back  to the point where my entire shirt, pants, and parts of my hair were soaking wet and sticky with the drink. The glass also ended up breaking and glass was everywhere on my chair and the floor near me. When this all happened, I was completely shocked and didnt know what to say. I also didnt want to make a big scene or embarrass the waiter  so I didnt jump up or scream or yell. We just asked for some more napkins and I tried to do damage control to the best of my ability while trying to still enjoy the rest of the night. At no point did anyone from the restaurant come back over to check on me. Moreover (and most importantly), no one from the restaurant actually apologized for the issue! I wasnt looking for them to bend over backwards for me, but I expected at least a quick apology  if nothing else. We did make it through dinner though (despite very slow service throughout the night) and I did dry out a bit, but was still wet throughout the entire dinner. When we received the bill, we asked the waiter if anything would be comped given that I was still wet nearly 2 hours later. His response was that due to the inconvenience, the Riggsby graciously bought one of my glasses of wine. Am I being unreasonable in expecting more than buying me one glass of wine after dropping an entire drink down my back?? At that point, we did make more of a fuss and insisted the Riggsby really needed to provide us with some better service. After some back and forth, our waiter finally agreed to comp our first round. My issue, however, is that I am really troubled that we needed to make a fuss in order to receive an apology or any sort of acknowledgement as to the issues we had that night. It really was sub-par service all around from the Riggsby. I know you always say to ask to speak to the manager when something goes wrong and we probably should have done that at the very beginning, but I guess I just really thought they would handle the issue properly and was truly surprised with their lack of concern over the incident. Bottom line, great food at the Riggsby, but terrible service  if you go, watch your back!
IS Reports Killing of American Soldier in Afghanistan in Naba 49, Portrays Group as Unstoppable Force
HHS Pursuing Tests for Radiation Absorbed in Nuclear Emergencies

ASPR's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will use authority granted under the Project BioShield Act of 2004 to support the tests' late-stage development and potentially purchase tests from one or more of the companies for the Strategic National Stockpile.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response will sponsor late-stage development of two biodosimetry tests that can determine how much radiation a person's body has absorbed -- crucial information for saving people who would need medical care for injuries or illness caused by high doses of radiation, after a large-scale nuclear or radiological emergency. Such a scenario envisions large numbers of casualties needing medical assistance.

Doctors would need information about how much radiation each survivor has absorbed to determine the type of treatment that person should receive to combat any radiation injuries to internal organs and blood cells. While devices are available to detect radiation externally, such as on skin, there are no biodosimetry tests approved to measure the amount of radiation absorbed into the body, HHS reported.

ASPR's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will use authority granted under the Project BioShield Act of 2004 to support the tests' late-stage development and potentially purchase tests from one or more of the companies for the Strategic National Stockpile. BARDA will provide more than $22.4 million over two years to DxTerity Diagnostics and more than $21.3 million over four years to MRIGlobal of Kansas City, Mo.

The agreements support clinical studies required for the companies to apply for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the biodosimetry tests. Both tests are being designed for use in clinical health care labs; they analyze blood samples to measure how genes respond to different amounts of radiation and are expected to generate results in about eight hours and can be used up to seven days after exposure. Both are high-throughput tests potentially able to process 400,000 or more tests per week.

For more information on national public health and medical preparedness, visit www.phe.gov. For more about partnering with BARDA in developing medical products needed for public health emergencies, visit www.medicalcountermeasures.gov.
For USAID, local solutions are a way of aiding sustainable development and local ownership. During this one hour webinar, we'll aim to demystify the USAID business development process by taking a fresh look at the USAID local solutions initiative, discuss innovative approaches for local organizations to work with USAID and how best to engage with priming implementers.





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The Bunt Live  Episode 7, Season 2  Brian Delaney The Bunt returns for Episode 7 of Season 2 featuring Bostonian Brian Delaney discussing growing up in the wake of PJ Ladds Wonderful, Horrible Life video, riding for local brands, working at Converse HQ and more. As ever, amusing stuff from Cephas and the Ghost  this weeks Rapidfire is particularly brutal/hilarious. You already know what it is Subscribe to the Bunt on iTunes here . Soundcloud link below, along with Brian Delaneys recent part from Boston-based RAW skateboards.

Chris Roberts, Roger Bagley and Kelly Harts Nine Club is back with a new episode featuring skater, photographer, Berrics face and the man behind Vices...

The Nine Club With Chris Roberts | Episode 18  Jeron Wilson This week Crob and Roger sit down with Jeron Wilson to discuss electric cars,...

The Bunt Live returns with Canadian legend Rick McCrank for episode 8 of Season 2. We make no secret of how much we like The Bunt...

The Bunt Live  Season 2 Episode 9  Kevin Lowry The Bunt is back chatting ollies, teenage arrests and Blueprint 2.0 with Calgarys own Kevin...

The latest episode of The Bunt sees Stevie Williams in the hot seat to talk their normal combination of skateboarding and sports.

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MOSCOW(Sputnik)  The International Organization for Migration (IOM) set up three medical clinics in Libya's main disembarkation points for migrants rescued at sea, the organization said in a statement Friday.

"IOM Libya, in coordination with the Libyan Coast Guard and Libyan Port Security, has established three fully equipped medical clinics at the countrys main migrant disembarkation points in Tripoli, Garaboli and Zliten," the IOM statement reads.
Tallinn, October 7, Sputnik Press-Office  Official complaints signed by the Head of Sputnik Estonia Yelena Cherysheva will be forwarded to Reporters Without Borders, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the UNESCO Communication and Information Sector, the European Federation of Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists.

Head of the Sputnik Estonia news website Yelena Cherysheva said: We consider the denial of accreditation an attack on freedom of speech.

On October 6, the Estonian Defense Ministry denied Sputnik Estonia accreditation for a news conference with Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, his Estonian counterpart Hannes Hanso, Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Riho Terras and other officials. A letter from the Defense Ministry explained the refusal by accusing Sputnik of engaging in propaganda for Putins regime. The journalists were asked not to contact the Estonian Defense Ministry in the future.
A total of 208 Swedish municipalities participated in the survey about the hiring of security guards to patrol public places in order to provide security, which was conducted by Swedish Radio . Sixty-five municipalities, that is about a third, answered affirmatively, whereas dozens admitted to having such plans. A number of municipalities indicated a reduced police presence as the reason.

Sigtuna Municipality, which lies between Stockholm and Uppsala and has a population of 45,000, was reported to be spending over 3 million SEK annually ($350,000) on extra security guards.

"The visible police resource in the municipality has been gradually reduced, and the need for uniformed personnel that make the residents feel safe has increased. Given this, the municipality doesn't have many options left other than to turn to private security companies," Thomas Mileborn, head of security in the municipality of Sigtuna, told Swedish Radio.
Despite its famous neutrality and non-allegiance, as well as humanitarian efforts of saving European Jews by providing them Swedish passports, Sweden's part in WWII has a less gallant side.

During the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union, Sweden allowed the Wehrmacht to use Swedish railways to transport military personnel, weapons and associated ammunition via its territory. Additionally, Swedish iron ore was sold to Germany throughout the war. This led to British wartime PM Winston Churchill's accusations against Sweden of ignoring the greater moral issues and playing both sides of the conflict for profit.

Furthermore, there was a strong pro-Nazi sentiment among the Swedish establishment, which resulted in the emergence of a plethora of National-Socialist organizations, such as the National Socialist Workers' Party and the Swedish National Socialist Party, which all sported swastikas in party logos.

Den 26 juni 1941 godkande regeringen tyskarnas transitering av division Engelbrecht genom Sverige. #dagensdatum pic.twitter.com/MwD6JZFXH4  Svensk Historia (@svenskhistoria) June 26, 2015

Another trait, which all the Nordic countries had in common in the pre-war era, was the passing of eugenics laws in the 1930s. In Sweden, the State Institute for Racial Biology was founded in 1922 with the stated purpose of studying eugenics and human genetics. More remarkable is that some of the controversial laws remained until the late 1970s. Consequently, over 60,000 Swedish women were forcibly sterilized between 1935 and 1976. The most embarrassing fact, however, is that this inhumane law was passed by a Socialist Democratic government, which remained in power for decades and was a forerunner to Sweden's present rules.

Blir sa otroligt ledsen och upprord over att lasa om denna historien #rashygien #sterilisering #sverige pic.twitter.com/UOylo0fCIg  Joffen Kleiven (@JoffenKleiven) December 15, 2014

The Tornedalians are descendants of Finns who, from the 14th century onwards, settled in the Torne Valley district in today's Northern Sweden, near the Finnish border. Sweden does not distinguish minority groups in population censuses, but the number of people who identify themselves as Tornedalians is usually estimated at between 30,000 and 150,000. Many of Tornedalians still speak Meankieli ("our language"), which constitutes a group of Finnish dialects spoken in the northernmost part of Sweden and is recognized as one of Sweden's minority languages alongside Finnish, Sami, Romani and Yiddish.


TOKYO (Sputnik)Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on the country's parliament to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, signed in February, before other states.

"We could provide an impetus for the entry of this agreement into force by approving it in parliament faster than other countries," Abe said.

He added that that way Japan would prove its mission as a country that developed its economy through free trade.


TOKYO (Sputnik)South Koreas Defense Ministry braces for a possible new nuclear detonation or a missile launch by the North ahead of an upcoming anniversary next week, the Souths media reported Friday.

"Starting today, the military will maintain heightened vigilance against any provocations by the North," a Defense Ministry official was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry official told the outlet on condition of anonymity they believed the North was preparing to carry out a sixth nuclear test, after exploding a warhead in August.
According to him, "soldiers are carrying out the tasks with a maximum degree of professionalism".

"I want to note that the operation is fully supported by the locals and the country's civilian population on the whole. This factor is encouraging when it comes to the prospects for the fight against terrorism on Afghan territory," he said.

He added that there are no logistical problems pertaining to the special forces who he said get reinforcements when necessary.

"Also we provide support for the civilian population. All this activity is carried out in a planned manner, and there are no obstacles to it," he said.

On Monday, Taliban militants launched an offensive and managed to capture several areas in Kunduz, with local media reporting that the militants took control of the National Security Directorate building and headed towards the governor's administration office.

On Tuesday, media reports said that the center of Kunduz had been freed from the Taliban and that more than two dozens of militants had been killed in clashes with the Afghan security forces.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  India is working on a plan to shut tight the entire border with Pakistan by late 2018 after the recent clashes in the disputed region of Kashmir, Indian Interior Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday.

"It will be done by 2018 December. We are readying an action plan," the minister said after a security meeting in the border city of Jaisalmer, as quoted by the NDTV news channel.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  India considers the Russia-Pakistan military cooperation to be a wrong foreign policy approach which can bring problems in future, Indian Ambassador to Moscow Pankaj Saran told RIA Novosti in an interview on Friday.

"We have conveyed our views to the Russian side that military cooperation with Pakistan, which is a state that sponsors and practices terrorism as a matter of state policy, is a wrong approach. It will only create further problems." Saran said.

At the same time, the ambassador said that New Delhi was satisfied with the level of strategic and privileged partnership between Russia and India.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)South Koreas Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho pledged an additional $90 million in funds to the World Bank over the next three years to help poorer countries, local media reported Friday.

"The funding will strengthen partnership between South Korea and the World Bank," Yoo was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying at a ceremony that took place in Washington Thursday local time.

The minister is in the United States for an annual meeting of the World Banks Board of Governors, which is a discussion platform for government officials, central bankers and private businesses.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is deeply concerned over allegations that children held at Australian-funded Naurus refugee camps are exposed to sexual abuse and discrimination, a report published Friday said.

The Committee said that children living in Naurus Regional Processing Centers continue to suffer from "Inhuman and degrading treatment, including physical, psychological and sexual abuse" due to "limited capacity" of the national police to investigate these crimes.
The president's latest remarks came following his announcement last month that Manila would be looking to pivot to China and Russia to counterbalance US and broader Western influence. Later this year, Duterte plans to visit both Moscow and Beijing, searching for improved economic and business relations with both powers, including Russian and Chinese investment, particularly in the aviation and telecommunications sectors.

Moscow seems to have been taken aback by Duterte's unexpected overture. On Monday, commenting on Manila's initiative to improve relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said only that "traditionally, Russia has sought friendly, mutually beneficial and constructive relations with Washington, Beijing and Manila  in all directions."

Geopolitical analyst and Svobodnaya Pressa columnist Sergei Aksenov was more blunt, suggesting that Duterte's proposal is fully in line with Moscow's strategy of promoting global multipolarity.

"The exit of Washington's strategic ally from its absolute influence is consistent with the interests of our country," Aksenov explained. "At the same time, it's important to note that Duterte is not rushing from one ally to another, but looks to maintain a multi-vector policy which is first and foremost in the interests of his own country."

Essentially, the analyst suggested, the president of the Philippines is engaged in bringing a formal end to the former US colony's present status, including in the area of military cooperation. Earlier this week, the president pledged to end joint US-Philippines military exercises. Before that, he warned that he might ask that US to pull its troops out of the country altogether.
"If we take a closer look at the agreement, we can see that it contains no references to the instances of our fellow countrymens deaths that Hekmatyars men are suspected to be responsible for. The people of Afghanistan feel for those killed and injured, and call to rectify this injustice. Hekmatyar must face justice," Anuri said.
New Delhi (Sputnik)  Millions of Indians could soon be buying gasoline and diesel from global oil majors as British Petroleum will soon set up 3,500 retail outlets and Russias Rosneft will seal a deal to purchase a 49% stake in Essar oil by the end of this October.

Essar is Indias second largest private refinery. Rosneft is likely to enter the Indian retail market with 2,000 retail outlets currently owned by Essar. The Rosneft Board is expected to approve the $6.5 billion transaction next week.

On 26 August this year, Sputnik reported that notwithstanding the pressure being exerted by the US indirectly to scupper the initiative, the Indian and Russian energy firms will go ahead with the deal. The US had included Rosneft on its sanctions list, accusing Moscow of involvement in the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
Chinese, Malaysian and Australian search parties have covered 42,500 square miles of the search area. With about 10,000 square miles of unsearched territory left to comb, Australian officials say that December will likely see the end of the search.

In early August, Pandikar Amin, speaker of the Malaysian parliament told an audience "We hope the relatives of the 239 people, including 50 Malaysians, will remain strongBut we know that neither the passage of time, nor this evidence, will comfort those whose grief cannot be assuaged."

The first confirmed fragment of MH370 was found on the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, by French authorities in July 2015. Malaysian officials confirmed the second piece, which was found off the coast of East African country Tanzania in mid-September.

In a statement released on Friday, Chester said, "The finding of this debris continues to affirm the focus of search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," and that investigators "remain hopeful" that all of MH370s remains will be recovered.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russian and French companies, especially those operating in Normandy, have great potential for business cooperation, the French region's president, Herve Morin, said on Friday.

"There is great potential for cooperation between Russian and French companies, especially those in Normandy," Morin said, as he met with Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, in Moscow.

The French official added that Russia's Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev planned to send one of his deputies in November to Normandy, France's key farming region.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  At least 264 people have been killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, the South (Sud) department division of the countrys Civil Protection Agency reports.

About 30,000 people are in temporary shelters in 12 towns of the South department. At least 10,000 have been left without homes.

Meanwhile Radio Television Caraibes is reporting an even higher death toll  283. According to Radio Television Caraibes, almost 35,000 have been left without homes amid the storm.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The aid includes food, medicine, tents and blankets as well as equipment to remove debris and reconstruct bridges and roads, El Universal said on Friday citing Venezuelas Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, Nestor Reverol.

Haitis Ambassador to Venezuela Lesly David thanked Venezuela for sending humanitarian aid, stressing, as quoted by El Universal on Friday, that "Venezuela was the first countrythat has come to help Haiti."

Venezuela had previously sent two batches of humanitarian aid to Haiti amid the hurricane.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Thursday, Finland's Yle television reported citing border guard services that a Russian Su-27 jet had alleged stayed in the Finnish airspace for about a minute after crossing the border near the town of Porvoo some 30 miles east of the capital, Helsinki.

"Russian SU-27 fighter suspected of having violated Finnish airspace in the afternoon on October 6. Later in the evening there was another suspected violation of airspace by the same aircraft type. The Air Force identified and described both machines," the Finnish Air Force said in a Friday statement.

According to the release, the first suspected alleged violation occurred at 16:43 local time on Thursday, while the second event took place in the same area at 21:33.


KIEV/PETRIVSKE (Sputnik)Ukraine government troops and self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia have begun withdrawals from the Petrivske disengagement area, the regional administration and a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Friday.

"Regarding the troop withdrawal in the Bogdanivka-Petrivske area of the front. The process has just begun," Pavlo Zhebrivsky, the head of the Donetsk military and civil administration, said in a Facebook post.

A RIA Novosti correspondent, meanwhile, reported that DPR militia have been given the signal to withdraw.


TALLINN (Sputnik)The Sputnik Estonia news portal will submit complaints to international organizations that defend the rights of journalists over the actions of the Estonian Defense Ministrys press service, which recently denied Sputnik accreditation for a news conference with the Ukrainian and Estonian defense ministers, citing the outlets "propaganda for Putins regime."

Official complaints signed by Yelena Cherysheva, the head of Sputnik Estonia, will be forwarded to Reporters Without Borders, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the UNESCO Communication and Information Sector, the European Federation of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists.

"We consider the denial of accreditation an attack on freedom of speech," Cherysheva said.
In an interview with Sputnik, economics expert and blogger Charles Sannat questioned the government's salvation plan regarding Alstom, saying that a year after the presidential elections in France the problem will again come to the fore.

"The plan may cause problems pertaining to European competition law, and it is unclear whether this plan will be implemented. The French government's unilateral order via Alstom is an illegal move and it is really hidden aid [to French industry]," Sannat said.

This view is echoed by Yves Pozzo di Borgo from the center-right UDI party, who is also deputy chairman of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Commission.

French state ready to buy over-sized, overpriced trains just to save an #Alstom factory. Why? Elections in 6 months. https://t.co/bM0BSu4CkV  Maxime Sbaihi (@MxSba) 4  2016 .

Speaking to Sputnik, he suggested that the European Commission for Competition is "very likely to the project," which he said can be described as "a pre-election move by President Hollande, who wants to delay the closure of the Alstom plant for the period that will follow the presidential elections [in France]."

"He knows full well that the decisions will not be taken immediately. He hypocritically declares that 'we will do it' although the European Commission for Competition may reject the project because it is not related to direct subsidies and is out of line with economic standards," he said.
"Brexit negotiations won't be easy."

She said that full access to the internal EU market was conditional on the freedom of movement, otherwise "each member state will start doing what it wants."

Hollande told a meeting at the Jacques Delors Foundation:

"Britain has decided to go for a Brexit, in fact I believe a hard Brexit. Well, we have to follow through with Britain's wishes to leave the European Union and we need to be firm. If not, we would jeopardize the fundamental principles of the EU."

However, that very freedom of movement policy lies at the heart of the current migrant crisis in Europe, centering on the Schengen area. Most EU member states  except the United Kingdom and Ireland  are members of the Schengen area, with no border controls between member countries.

What is the new European Border & Coast Guard Agency & how will it work? #EUBorderGuard explained: https://t.co/WqZ9LHnQEw [Fact Sheet] pic.twitter.com/38dbJEVCMK  European Commission (@EU_Commission) October 6, 2016

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania are not Schengen members, but are legally obliged and wish to join the area. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, are not members of the EU, but have signed agreements on association with the Schengen Agreement. Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City  can be considered de facto participants.

Border Controls

Since the massive influx of migrants into Europe  precipitated by Merkel's declarations that Germany's doors were "open" to refugees  many countries have erected fences and border controls. The fact that so many migrants were able to enter the Schengen area so easily and then travel on throughout Europe unchecked exposed massive security flaws in the outer borders of Schengen.

The terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, Germany, Nice and other cities also exposed major shortcomings in security vetting and intelligence-sharing across Europe, with terrorists able to travel freely in and out of Schengen unseen.

Many countries have refused to take in migrants according to a mandatory quota system, proposed by Brussels. Both Slovakia and Hungary are taking the European Commission to court over the issue.
As recently as last month, President Petro Poroshenko complained that Ukraine's exports to Russia have dropped by 80%  a serious "shock" costing at least $15 billion, equivalent to Ukraine's entire state budget. "And that, in Poroshenko's opinion, amounts to Russian 'economic aggression'," Gomzikova added.

Ultimately, the journalist noted that "it turns out that each time, Ukraine's leaders shoot themselves in the foot, and then start looking for someone to blame. The question is: How much longer can this continue?"

Speaking to the online newspaper, political scientist and Ukraine expert Dmitri Zhuravlev suggested that unfortunately, the answer to that question is  "for a long time still."

There are two main groups within Ukraine's elite, the analyst explained. On the one hand are those who "sincerely believe that Russia is to blame for everything." On the other are those who "think it is necessary to carry on with this propaganda, since if they do not, Ukrainians will 'raise them up on pitchforks', because what was once one of the richest countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States will soon face a situation where people have nothing to eat"

Zhuravlev suggested that the second group may attempt to "quietly normalize relations with Russia," in the economic sense, "while continuing to berate us on political issues." But it's unlikely that Moscow will agree to go along with such a demeaning approach, according to the analyst. Nor would Kiev's curators from Washington, or its own base of radical supporters.

The key problem for the Ukrainian economy, the expert recalled, is that having cut itself off from Russia, the country has demonstrated its inability to reach European standards. This applies to everything from agricultural exports, to what's left of Ukraine's machine-building and hi-tech industries including rocketry, aircraft, and ships. Europe, meanwhile, has been in no hurry to assist, having trouble propping up the economies of the tiny Baltic States, much less a massive country like Ukraine, with its 40 million plus people.
The idea to name the 161st special training course after the slain Russian special forces operator was proposed by the head of the associations Roman branch Adriano Tocchi.

During an interview with Sputnik, Tocchi explained that his organization has a tradition of dedicating training courses to real heroes, people who accomplished important combat missions.

"I consider Prokhorenko a hero. His nationality doesnt matter: hes Russian, but he couldve been American, German or Syrian. A man who performs such a feat, risking or even sacrificing his life, can only be called a hero. Perhaps we special forces paratroopers value life differently and the actions of people like Prokhorenko are very important to us, which is why we named this training course after him," Tocchi said.
These export licenses included tear gas, ammunition, CS grenades [gas grenades], water cannons and acoustic devices designed to cause severe discomfort and disperse crowds.

It is no secret that the British Government have regarded the Gulf States as strategic partners, according to War on Want. It is also not the first time that the UK has been accused of arming countries that openly violate human rights laws. Only recently, the British Government found itself under scrutiny for arming Saudi Arabia, who in turn, are leading a bombing campaign in Yemen, which has resulted in countless civilian deaths.

"It is clear we need to know the detail of what this secretive Gulf Strategy Unit is up to, who is involved and what its overall objectives are. It's time too for an immediate ban on exports of arms and repressive technologies and an inquiry into training provisions for regimes, where there is a risk of supporting internal repression and human rights abuses," Vicki Hird, director of policy and campaigns at War on Want, told Sputnik.

"This investigation shows that it possible to link the export of sniper rifles and tear gas, and the training of security forces by the UK, to the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests across the region. Even the UK Armed Forces Minister has admitted that 'it is possible that some members of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, who were deployed in Bahrain, may have undertaken some training provided by the UK military.' In addition, there is evidence that birdshot sold by three UK companies was used to suppress Bahraini protesters, with cartridges bearing company logos found at protest sites. Our military and corporate role in repression needs to be stopped."

John Hilary, executive director at War on Want, said that this is the latest chapter in a long and violent history of British imperialism in the Persian Gulf.

"The UK government's renewed military and economic strategy is putting the UK's access to oil ahead of any commitment to democracy and human rights. It's time for an immediate ban on exports of arms and repressive technologies where there is a risk of use for internal repression or human rights violations," John Hilary said in a recent statement."

Our very own Dr @sam_raph writes a very important report on UK's policy of arming repressive regimes https://t.co/YRiUbc9rYT  DPIR Westminster (@DPIRWestminster) October 6, 2016

"The government has a serious case to answer when clandestine meetings between public intelligence and security agencies form the basis of the UK's role in arming repression in the Gulf. It's time the government came clean on the personnel, objectives and activities of the government's secretive Gulf Strategy Unit."

Dr. Sam Raphael, the report's author and senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Westminster, said that their investigations have uncovered the true extent of the British complicity in state violence in the Persian Gulf.

"In addition to UK support for the illegal Saudi bombing campaign in Yemen  through arms sales, targeting advice and intelligence sharing  our report details for the first time the sheer scope of weapons exports and training provided to regimes in the Gulf in order to police their own populations," Dr. Raphael said in a statement.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)At a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Gentiloni stressed that following the agreement with Turkey the level of migration had decreased, which improved the situation with refugees not only in the Balkan region and the Aegean Sea, but across the whole of the Mediterranean, ANSA news agency reported.

'"For now, things are working and we hope they can work increasingly better. In this way, it would be a positive example to tell the EU to also wake up on the central Mediterranean Last year thousands of people travelled from Turkey to Greece through the Aegean sea, now dozens," Gentiloni was quoted as saying by the media outlet.

The minister reportedly said that the agreement helped to improve conditions for migrants in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed no Friday to set up in Brussels the central command headquarters of the European Unions civil and military operations.

"I proposed to place the central headquarters in Brussels," Juncker said, delivering a speech at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.
"In a democracy there is always a spectrum of views," he wrote in an Evening Standard article.

I find nothing to disagree with @RolandRudd here  Labour must fight for single market access and give not 1 inch to anti-migrant prejudice https://t.co/SuKgn3UfX3  Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) October 6, 2016

"Those of us who want a sensible Brexit, who want Britain to remain a beacon of tolerance and who find the denigration of non-British workers appalling have a duty to speak out," he added.

The Home Secretary's brother was a prominent campaigner for a Remain vote in the EU referendum and has since founded the Open Britain campaign.

.@RolandRudd Businesses want a sensible #Brexit, staying in the Single Market to protect jobs, investment & trade #peston  Open Britain Press (@open_britpress) October 2, 2016

The family feud illustrates the growing dividing lines in Britain on the issue of immigration following the Brexit vote in June.

In the article, Mr. Rudd says that the government is being more divisive than healing.

"Try and point out this U-turn and you are dismissed as a bad loser; try and stand up for a multiracial Britain and you are labeled part of the liberal elite; point out the 20 billion [US$24,68 billion] net contribution from immigrants over a decade and you are told you are not listening to the people; oppose hate crime and you are mocked for political correctness.

"It is easier to vilify foreigners in the new Britain than it is to espouse European values. No wonder most of the Remainers have headed for the hills," Mr. Rudd wrote.

Meanwhile, a search for Amber Rudd on Google also shows up some unfortunate results.

The top suggested search is Mein Kampf, the autobiography of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. This follows a viral tirade by LBC Presenter James O'Brien, who compared sections of Amber Rudd's speech to the second chapter of the dictator's book.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) The level of pollution caused by fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in Delhi will continue to exceed normal limits even if all emissions inside the city were stopped, as over 40 per cent of it originates outside the NCR, a study has found.

About 60 to 80 per cent of ozone concentration in Delhi was also attributed to sources outside the city in the report, prepared jointly by TERI and the University of California, San Diego.

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"This study finds that in-house sources in Delhi contribute about 32 per cent (10?65 per cent) of the air pollution in Delhi, while NCR (National Capital Region) sources (other than Delhi) contribute an additional 25 per cent (13?37 per cent).

"The remaining 43 per cent (25?63 per cent) is the background due to sources outside of NCR," the report says.

The analyses and solutions suggested in the report released here today at the World Sustainable Development Summit organised by TERI, are based on a "synthesis" of studies and reports done over the last decade.

Even if all emissions from Delhi were to be stopped, the PM (particulate matter) levels would still exceed the standards at several locations in the city, mainly due to higher contributions from outside regions to Delhis air quality, it says.

The safe limits of PM 2.5 and PM 10, microscopic particles that can enter and embed deep into the lungs and subsequently the bloodstream, are 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.

It also offers 10 "scalable solutions" to reduce air pollution across the country, focusing on regional cooperation and a multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination including the launch of a National Clean Air Mission.

"Switch to low-sulphur fuels (10 ppm) and implement Bharat VI (similar to Euro VI) standards for engine emissions...Implement wall-to-wall paving of streets and vacuum cleaning of roads; enforce ban on open burning of solid waste; manage waste and recovery of methane from landfills," are among the suggestions.

Indias efforts to meet its Paris INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) will significantly reduce air pollution, the report states.

The monitored annual average PM 2.5 concentrations in Delhi have varied between 60 mg/m3 to 140 mg/m3, as measured by different agencies, such as Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and SAFAR, during the last few years. PTI SBR BSA

--- ENDS ---
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The EU sanctions against Russia may be lifted after the elections in France and Germany should they result in a shift of power in the two countries that are staunch advocates of a tough line on Russia, Herve Morin, president of France's Normandy region, said Friday.

"No matter how much they [sanctions] damage us, sooner or later they will end In particular they may change after the upcoming elections in the leading EU countries of France and Germany," Morin said during a meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, in Moscow.

He expressed hope that France would have a new president as a result of the elections.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  French President Francois Hollande has called on the European Union not to let the United Kingdom leave the bloc without paying a high economic price, in particular by loosing access to the European single market.

"We need to remain strong. If not, we will threaten the very principles of the European Union. That could lead to other countries or regions wanting to leave the EU to gain so-called benefits but without any inconvenience or rules Now, the UK wants to leave and pay nothing. Its not possible," Hollande said as quoted by the Independent newspaper on Friday.

A number of EU leaders have already stated that the United Kingdom will lose its access to the single market unless it keeps freedom of movement rules. On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May suggested at the Conservative party conference that the countrys exit from the European Union would be a "hard" rather than "soft" Brexit, meaning that control over immigration would be prioritized over the access to the European single market.
In the immediate aftermath of the historic Brexit vote in June, EU leaders expressed dismay that they would be losing one of the bloc's key members. But more than that, there were jitters that spread across the continent, that other nationalist movements would be embolden by the UK's rejection of the EU, and attempt to follow suit.

Among those concerned is the socialist government of France. It's leader, President Francis Hollande, is facing an election next Spring, and already, the virulently anti-EU Nationalist Front Party, and its charismatic leader, Marine Le Pen, is gaining in support.

Mr. Hollande's attempt to see off his own threat of anti-EU politics at home almost immediately triggered a response in Asian markets on Friday.

A wave of selling off the pound caused sterling to dive about 10% within a matter of seconds. Sterling did quickly rebounded after some volatility, settling to about a 1.5% drop on Friday morning.

So far, the only official response from the UK government to Hollande's comments came from Mark Garnier, the UK's international trade minister. Speaking in Hong Kong on Friday, he sough to smoothe over the pounds dramatic slip, claiming that pound had "probably been too high anyway."

"Clearly it's [the falling pound] to do with the [Brexit] vote, but actually it's not an unwelcome reaction. Sterling is probably about where it should be. We're just going through a relatively short period of volatility," Mr. Garnier said.

"We've probably found stability at this level. What we don't want is to see it jumping around 5% on a weekly basis  nobody wants their currency to be volatile."

"It would be very easy to turn around and say: 'this is the end of the world.' Actually it's not, it's the opposite, it's a great opportunity for us to do more trade," he added.

The pound has been falling for most of the week, after UK Prime Minister Theresa May finally announced that she intends to start Brexit negotiations by the end of March 2017.

At the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, she also sough to reassure UK business leaders that she will fight for the UK to maintain access to the EU single market  a lucrative goods and services customs union.

However, the response from Hollande to this, was a swift "non!"


KIEV (Sputnik)On Thursday, chief of the National Police of Ukraine Khatia Dekanoidze said that 20 Canadian instructors had arrived in Ukraine to train local police officers. She added that the Canadian experts would hold training courses in Ukraine's largest cities to last till November 20.

"In addition to the police mission, [Canada] will allocate 25 million Canadian dollars [$19 million] within 2.5 years," Waschuk wrote on his Twitter page.

Earlier in October, Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said that Ottawa would allocate $8.1 million to support the reform of the National Police of Ukraine.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to Russia on Friday to help bring peace and relief aid to the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, German media reported.

"What is happening out there is atrocious," Merkel said, as quoted by the ARD broadcaster. "I can only appeal to Russia as Russia has a lot of influence on [Syrian President Bashar] Assad: We must put an end to this crime as soon as possible."


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The driver of the freezer truck moving across the M25 motorway found a group of 15 migrants, including one minor, in the back of his vehicle after he had heard a noise inside it, the Sky News broadcaster reported.

The broadcaster added that the migrants had been detained by police on suspicion of illegal entry into the country and had been sent to a local hospital for a medical checkup.

European countries, including the United Kingdom, have been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The French Armed Forces cannot fulfill functions of a European army on its own, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Friday.

"French army cannot be Europe's army forever," Valls said in Paris at the Jacques Delors Institute, commenting on France's involvement in operations aimed at the provision of security in the Middle East and Africa.

His position was echoed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said that the European Union cannot rely solely on the French army.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The European Commission will grant 2.35 million euros ($2.6 million) to 12 projects created for helping refugees to better integrate in Europe, the commission announced on Friday.

"The awarded projects will receive grants worth a total of 2.35 million and involve 62 organizations from 20 countries," the European Commission said in a statement.

In April, the commission started the Creative Europe initiative to generate proposals to help the vast number of refugees arriving in Europe to successfully integrate in the European environment and to enhance mutual cultural understanding and foster intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.
Sodagar is scheduled to deliver a series of lectures in London in October, despite appearing in an online video six years ago, purporting the punishment of homosexuals by beheading.

Very concerned about Shaykh Hamza Sodagar being allowed to teach hate in our country @ukhomeoffice  Daniel Sadek (@Danielnelmsuk) October 7, 2016

Footage reveals him telling an audience: "If there's a homosexual man, the punishment is one of five things." Sodagar then lists the cruel examples, promoting human rights activists to urge the Home Office in Britain to ban him from entering the UK.

Sodagar's lectures are supported by the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission at the Islamic Republic of Iran School in London.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Belgium's trade unions went on strike against the proposed job cuts, causing disruptions in the operation of public transport and Brussels Airport, local media reported Friday.

The industrial action also targeted major multinational companies, who support governmental policies, the Flanders news site said.

The strike resulted in about 120 flights delays and cancellations of nearly 30 incoming flights in the international airport of Brussels, while waiting time of public transport increased, the media outlet added.
By Vishakha Saxena: If you've met a Tamilian you've heard the word 'aiyo' - that typical, endearing southern phrase that can easily be a synonym for uh-oh or oops or even OMG!

Well, it turns out that 'aiyo' is now a legitimate English phrase as well after it was included in the Oxford dictionary last month, as part of the latest addition of words to its database.

Image via OED.com

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While the Internet had fun discussing the addition of Oompa Loompa in the Oxford dictionary, this southern slang had also quietly made an entry.

OED has defined the popular word as, "In southern India and Sri Lanka, expressing distress, regret, or grief; 'Oh no!', 'Oh dear!'"

Apart from aiyo, 'aiyoh' and 'aiyah' have also been included in the lexicon. Though the two words can be identified as part of the Indian vocabulary too, OED has actually included their Chinese usage.

Image via OED.com

Image via OED.com

The latest addition saw the inclusion of various Singapore English words like mamak (Malaysian word for street stall), pancit (flat tyre) and even popular dishes from Singapore and South-east Asia like "char kway teow", "chicken rice" and "rendang".

The dictionary also paid a sort of a tribute to author Roald Dahl, by adding words he invented like "splendiferous", "human bean" and "Oompa Loompa." The children's books writer's birthday falls in September too.

The OED updates its bank of words four times in a year, and almost every year some people find its choices like "srsly", "squee", obvs" and "omg" hard to believe. Some quirky entries can be found in this month's list too, including biatch, butt-f**k, jagoff, 'Merica, scrumdiddlyumptious, moobs, yoda and YOLO.

The Oxford English Dictionary has been the foremost authority on the English language, all over the world. OED is more than 150 years old and contains at least 6,00,000 entries. It is updated four times -- March, June, September, and December -- in a year.

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In this vein, Pashinsky also pointed to the lack of orders for each and every enterprise of the country's military-industrial complex.

"We have no potential. As for our former potential, it was reduced to the following: we take [the mothballed] T-72 or the T-64 tanks from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry at the price of scrap metal, repair them at an armored plant and sell them for 400,000 dollars," he admitted.

He also recalled that that at the expense of total sales of property after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine once was on the list of the world's top ten exporters in terms of military equipment.

"But let's call a spade a spade: this is the potential of the Soviet army rather than our military-industrial complex. We have just a few military hardware pieces that can compete on foreign markets, while the rest does not work," he added.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov State Company, which produces only passenger and transport aircraft, had received an order from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to start developing a plane for the country's Armed Forces.
UKIP was previously led by Nigel Farage, who is a MEP and sits in the European Parliament. The party had long been accused of being a one-issue party and  despite winning 12.6 percent of the share  only managed to return one seat in Westminster. Farage lost his bid to become and MP and resigned as party leader on May, 8, 2016.

Three days later, Farage was back in charge of the party after being persuaded to revoke his resignation. He resigned again on July 4, 2016, triggering the leadership election. That was won on September 16 by Diana James who promptly realized the sheer scale of the problems she faced in the party and promptly resigned 18 days later.

"It has become clear that I do not have sufficient authority, nor the full support of all my MEP colleagues and party officers to implement changes I believe necessary and upon which I based my campaign," she said.

I must thank the parliamentary staff, the UKIP MEPs with me and hospital staff for their care and love.  Steven Woolfe MEP (@Steven_Woolfe) October 6, 2016

FULL STATEMENT: Thank you for all the kind comments and wishes, it truly means alot. https://t.co/HkSWJF0FnT pic.twitter.com/mVGcBkAz7D  Steven Woolfe MEP (@Steven_Woolfe) October 6, 2016

Rudderless

The multiple resignations were a sign that the party was rudderless. It's only MP in Westminster, Douglas Carswell, never wanted to be party leader and had clashed with Farage in the past over many policy issues. Their relationship was often acrimonious.

I have asked @Europarl_EN Advisory Committee to urgently investigate incident involving MEP @Steven_Woolfe https://t.co/2dJV9KAh6o  EP President (@EP_President) October 7, 2016

Meanwhile, the former Conservative minister, Neil Hamilton, who now leads UKIP in Wales, has also said he would not stand  not least because his relationship with Farage is toxic. Farage described such a possibility as a "horror story."

Stephen Woolfe  an MEP and barrister  declared that he would be standing for the leadership in July 2016, but his application was filed 7 minutes after the deadline and he was disqualified from standing. After James resigned, Woolfe declared that he would stand again, but things were brought to a head when rumors spread that he was thinking of defecting to the Conservatives.


BRUSSELS (Sputnik)Strengthening Europe's security and defense capacities will enhance NATO military potential in facing modern security challenges, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Friday.

"Strengthening the European defense is also the way of strengthening security and peace building in the world. a strong European defense is also a way of strengthening NATO NATO needs the strong European defense cooperation," Mogherini said at a press conference.

She added that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was the first person to whom she "physically" handed over the Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign And Security Policy.
Kamran Malik libel claim against Donald Trump struck out https://t.co/B0cRufycf5  Inforrm (@Inforrm) October 6, 2016

However, Kamram Malik and his Communities United Party lost the legal battle over Mr. Trump's controversial claims.

Mr. Malik has sought permission from London's High Court to proceed with his claim  however Master Victoria McCloud, ruled that the case was not actionable.

"It's disgusting, I spent a lot of money and it took a lot of hard work to be turned down by the judge like this. I hope to appeal the decision. His comments really affected and upset people, which is why I wanted to seek justice through the court," Mr. Malik told Sputnik.

Mr. Malik explained that in the area where he lives in London, around 45 percent of the population is Muslim, and people were very upset to read Donald Trump's comments.

"When people see these kinds of remarks it seriously affects them," he said.

"Trump has no base to defame Muslims in this area. The whole religion is not bad. No one has the right to publicly defame people like that and when it's said by someone like Donald Trump  it's repeated on televisions around the world and allowed to spread. This is not fair," Mr. Malik told Sputnik.
Blair called it "a tragedy" that the two choices facing the electorate now, are the Conservative government pursuing a hard Brexit and "an ultra-left Labour Party."

But, a mere three months after the Chilcot Inquiry gave a crushing verdict of Blair's premiership in the run up to the Iraq War, is there any appetite among Brits for a Blair Mark 2?

Tony Grew, a political journalist at The Sunday Times newspaper, told Sputnik that even Blair's famed abilities at spinning a good story may struggle to convince voters that he's what is needed.

"I'm not quite sure where he would fit in. It's all very well for him to hint at a return but I don't see a place for him," Mr. Grew told Sputnik.

Let me help close that question for you #tonyblair once and for all

We don't need you, we don't want you, so kindy 'do one'!#Labour https://t.co/6EjAS3QVZP  Ms G Richards (@Grombags) October 7, 2016

"He may choose to found and lead a pro-European movement. But I don't know if that would work as his reputation is pretty patchy. I don't think there's a place for him to return to front-line politics in the Labour Party, as the party is going to be hostile to him.

"The public is in two minds about him: the war in Iraq is still in people's minds There's also the possibility of him pursuing a seat in the Lord, although that too is problematic for Blair."

Discredited & toxic Blair is not wanted or needed in British politics. Labour, under Corbyn's leadership is rebuilding and has moved on.  Durham Miners (@DurhamMiners) October 7, 2016

"Then there's the idea of the Labour party splitting and a centrist party being created, but that is not likely I think. The Labour party aren't good at doing anything brave in a united way. It's an intriguing story but I don't think there's much support for Blair," he added.

Perhaps in a pitch to some of his former parliamentary Labour colleagues, Blair also heavily criticized the current Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Blair decried Corbyn's policy platform as "a mixture of fantasy and error", with "a set of policies that takes us back to the sixties."

The problem with the Blair right of Labour they imagine that the last 2 decades haven't happened and the public have forgotten about Blair.  Callum Archibald (@CallumWarwick96) October 7, 2016

Blair added: "It's a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, very remote from the way that broad mass of people really think. The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left or because they're too principled; it's because they're too wrong."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The EU quota system on the resettlement of thousands of refugees has failed in a political sense, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Friday.

"Mandatory quota [system] became a dead political issue," Fico said, as quoted by the Czech News Agency, after a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, whose nation had opposed the migrant quota system at the recent referendum on the issue.
"Unless we start looking at broken families as the root cause of gang violence, instead of just trying to move families out of housing estates and into another area, we're never going to solve the problem," Mr. Thomas told Sputnik.

A former gang member himself, turned outreach worker and adviser to the UK government's Home Office on gang related violence, Mr. Thomas believes that, "no one wants to address the root cause of the issue."

"Everybody remains silent about it when the reason we're in this is because the family structure has broken down.

"Our children are vulnerable. Up and down estates across the country, you'll find families where the father is missing, where gangs control areas. Youngsters look up to them to make money from selling drugs, they see their older brothers making money that way instead of being offered jobs These kids see no hope for their future, before they even reach the age of ten," Sheldon Thomas told Sputnik.

Vulnerable children recruited as drug mules for gangs https://t.co/VS7hsvBQd0 #London  London366 (@London366) September 21, 2016

Thomas explains that government cuts to youth services, which saw outreach workers going into estates to intervene and stop children from joining gangs has led to an increase in youth violence.

"I know several outreach workers, including myself, who have prevented murders, but the government doesn't respect youth services and outreach workers, who are the ones who go onto the estates and who engage with gang members and keep the younger kids safe from them."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A prominent UK newspaper drew attention to the issue of sexual harassment committed by the UK universities' personnel with more than 100 women having shared information about sexual abuses with the media outlet.

The Guardian said on Friday that it had received accounts of sexual harassment and gender violence through a questionnaire published on its website in late August.

The cases included verbal bullying, serial harassment, assaults, sexual assaults and even rapes. Many women did not file lawsuits as they feared for their academic careers. Those, who complained, said that they felt isolated and unprotected as they realized that the assaulters were untouchable.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The EU-British agreement on the United Kingdoms' leaving the bloc will be a tough deal as Brussels is going to protect the integrity of the internal market, which implies retaining all four freedoms including the freedom of movement, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Friday.

"I think our trade relations will also be strong in the future but the Brits have to realize that we will of course protect the four freedoms, the integrity of the internal market so you know it's going to be a tough deal," Dijsselbloem told the CNBC television channel.

He pointed out that the United Kingdom cannot ignore the freedom of movement, while enjoying other freedoms.
Canard Enchaine, a satirical paper, reported Wednesday that sources within French intelligence claimed Air France had been confronted with a strategy of infiltration by extremists at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

The paper stated that conspirators tried to seal off exits on the airplanes and sever pilots from systems that allow them to monitor engine activity. The parody publication also claimed that one suspects wife ran a Koranic school in the suburb of Orly, and that the Arabic phrase Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest) was written on the fuel tanks of 40 airplanes, causing one pilot to refuse to fly his assigned craft.
Ajay Devgn says that he is not working with Pakistani artists at the moment and that after a point, talking to resolve issues ceases to be an option.

By India Today Web Desk: After Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Nana Patekar, now National Award-winning actor Ajay Devgn is the latest Bollywood actor to speak his mind on the Uri attacks and the issue of banning Pakistani artists.

Following the September 18 terror attacks at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, which was allegedly the work of Pakistani elements, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued a 48-hour-ultimatum to Pakistani artists working in India to leave the country.

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ALSO READ: Pakistani actor Fawad Khan releases first official statement on Uri attacks, ban on Pak artists, etc

ALSO READ: Singer Shafqat Amanat Ali becomes first Pakistani artist to condemn Uri attacks



The MNS also threatened to halt the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

Speaking to CNNNews18, when asked whether he would be working with Pakistani actors, Ajay Devgn said, "Not at the moment. I heard some people say that talks are the only way to continue. I want to see you getting into a fight with somebody after he gives you a tight slap on your face and you say 'let's have a talk right now."

Ajay Devgn's upcoming film Shivaay is releasing on October 28 which is also the date of release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

When Ajay was asked about his thoughts on several Bollywood personalities supporting the presence of Pakistani artists in Bollywood, the Singham actor said, "It's saddening. I don't know what the reasons are. I don't even believe that they are human beings who are scared at this time."

"Country comes before money. What will you do with money if your country sinks?," Ajay asked attacking the idea that banning Pakistani artists from working in Indian films will cause financial damage to the film industry.

Ajay Devgn also said that he wants peace just like any other person but after repeated attacks, 'talking' ceases to be an option.

"You can't clap with one hand," the 47-year-old actor said, "You keep talking to people but then they come and kill you. How can you still continue a dialogue?"



Watch Ajay Devgn opine on the issue of the ban on Pakistani artists from working in Indian films.





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Clashes of civilisations have been predicted before. What no-one predicted was that a genuine anti-civilisation could be created under the cover of religious fervour and religious dogma, but having nothing in common with either religion or humanism or even with simple material desires.

One event in particular left its imprint on the global economy  the crisis of 2008. At the time we said that working together was the key to avoiding a second wave of the crisis. And we were right.

Most importantly, of course, we have seen events driven by something that previously we had no experience of, i.e., intra-civilizational conflict, such as the splits that we have seen in Europe as a result of an influx of migrants who do not adapt or assimiliate and do not become equal members of their host societies.

Q: The DOCs research agenda includes a call for alternative economic models in light of the challenges that conventional models have faced in the last decade. Does money really rule the world, do you think? And how can more human-oriented indicators be accommodated and factored into decision-making on key issues?

The DOCs research focuses on the opposition between different models of development, i.e., statistical GDP growth and development as a set of economic measures to create suitable and necessary infrastructure for peoples lives.

There is some research (not ours) which has shown that as few as 150 international corporations own almost half of the global economy. People are unhappy with this, and there is some soul-searching going on as people look to move away from the politics of value to the politics of values. Civilizations are measured in thousands of years, which has inevitably led to the development of human society as a whole as well as individuals themselves. In this sense, it does not really matter whether a person believes in God and follows his commandments, or whether she or he believes in the development of humankind out of considerations of humanism, our shared humanity, dialogue and peace.

We have a number of research areas that look at issues such as globalisation and its role in the spread of conflicts. In practice the DOC operates on a principle of solidary development, which is a methodology for dialogue that helps to explain what we need to do to reduce tensions. We are also currently developing a Dialogue Index.

Q: Given its historically good relations with a number of states in the Middle East, can Russia act as a mediator to avert all-out war and to mend relations between Saudi Arabia and Tehran?

A:The conflict between Sunni and Shiite Islam has been going on for hundreds of years. Mediation only makes sense when both sides are interested in resolving a conflict, and are looking for a reliable, respected partner who is acceptable to both sides, and who is able to do it. Given Russias historical relations with the region and position in the Middle East I think that Russia could play this role. But for this to happen, it is essential that all parties  warring parties, those involved in low-level conflicts, and all of the other players in the region  should have a genuine interest. An imposed solution will not work here. Recently the DOC hosted a round table with Sunni and Shiite participants. This is an example of how we can create the public and social space for dialogue.

Russia began military operations in Syria a year ago. How has the balance of forces in the region changed during this period?

As a political analyst, it is abundantly clear to me that the situation has changed with the involvement of Russias Armed Forces. And as Professor Fred Dallmayr, an American participant of the Rhodes forum, pointed out, they were asked to get involved by the current legally elected Syrian government.

It is notable that since Russia began targeting convoys of illegal oil being carried out of ISIS-controlled territory, that others have also followed suit. Previously it would seem no-one knew anything about this. But given the current state of the financial system, in which every dollar, euro or real can easily be traced, I cannot see how previously it was not possible to cut off financing to ISIS and terrorist organisations.

Q: How would you propose to shut down these channels now? And most importantly, when and how will the war in Syria come to an end?

A: The Japanese have a proverb: The fortune-teller knows not his own fate (uranaiya minouye shiradzu). In this sense, making predictions is something of a fools errand. On the other hand, simple logic would dictate that Russia has learned its lessons from historical experience, particularly in Afghanistan, and that the countrys policy is constructed in compliance with the letter of international law, given that the outcome of the fight depends in large degree on this.

Rather, I would stress  and this is one of the issues we discussed at the Rhodes Forum  that international powers are not dealing here with a conventional opponent. Seventy years ago we found ourselves in a similar situation, and then those countries that considered themselves to be civilised were able to join forces, despite their adherence to two diametrically opposed and irreconcilable ideologies. Roosevelt and Churchill, who were committed anti-Soviets, formed a coalition against Hitler with the communist Stalin. Unfortunately, what we are seeing today is rather the opposite, and Cold War rhetoric is being ratcheted up.

It seems to me that not everyone has recognised that we are dealing here not with simple religious extremism, which for better or for worse is preached by various religious teachers, but with a new social  not religious  form of barbarism that in todays world should give us extremely serious pause for thought.

Q: How does the DOC see the potential impact of the US election? Will Russia really benefit if Trump wins? Will US-Russia relations worsen under Hillary Clinton? Do you believe Trump can really win? And could that lead to a swift removal of sanctions against Russia?

A: If one of my friends in America  and I have a lot of old friends there  called me up and asked, Listen, Vladimir, who do you think is the better candidate?, and if I knew for sure that this could influence something, then I would probably give a very simple answer. The more complex answer, though, is that it depends on what the world wants or does not want  the stability of the US political system affects political stability around the world. And based on the US presidential race to date, it seems clear that societal tensions are increasing, which many DOC researchers believe could have a significant impact on political stability both in the US and globally.

Q: There was some discussion on the sideline of the Forum about Russia and Ukraine and related issues. Do you believe that the two sides can be reconciled, and how long will it take? What does Russia have to do to bring this about?

A: People at the Forum talked less about Russia or any other country than they did about processes, about how we should think about these processes, and how to structure and prevent increased tensions. Earlier this year we carried out a study, which we havent published, that took statistics from a number of different sources on the Ukraine crisis. The results were quite unexpected. Even when the conflict in Ukraine was at its height, more than 50% of respondents even in Western Ukraine said they had a positive opinion of Russians, and more respondents felt positively than negatively about Russia as a state. So in this sense there is hope that the two countries common history and shared cultural experience will sooner or later play an important role in fully restoring relations. Especially because I believe that this is the hope of the rest of Europeans as well.
After four years of negotiation, last month the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government signed a ceasefire deal ending a guerrilla war that began over 50 years ago.

On Friday Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the war, which has killed some 220,000 people and displaced eight million.

In order to come into force, the agreement signed by Santos and FARC leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez had to be ratified by the Colombian people in a referendum.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  "Most of the doctors and medical personnel have left the country  a total of 6.5 million people have left Syria," Hofman said in a Friday interview with the Russian Izvestia newspaper.

The humanitarian specialist stressed that Syria used to be one of the top Middle Eastern states in terms of healthcare before the civil war erupted in the country. However, according to Hofman, there are still enough doctors in Syria despite the outflow.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Islamic State (ISIL, also known as Daesh) and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, both of which are banned in a range of countries.
DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  International tensions over situation in Syria make the visit of UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura currently impossible, Ramez Tarjaman, Syria's information minister, told Sputnik on Friday.

"De Mistura's visit is linked to international context. Currently there is much fuss over the situation in Syria. Moscow's and Washington's stances run contrary to each other, and I believe that de Mistura cannot arrive in Syria in such situation," Ramez said, suggesting that the UN envoy's would not visit Damascus in two coming weeks.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate committee last week that the US administration was mulling other options of stopping fighting in Syria after claims that the nationwide truce, brokered by Moscow and Washington, was collapsing.

"The US has no Plan B for Syria It is nothing but noise used by the US to hide its inability to influence the situation [on the ground]," Jamil told reporters.

"[US President Barack] Obama admitted there was not chance of opening a new front," the opposition representative said. "They took on a task they could not deliver and are rowing back on it."
He further said that the US seems to pursue the same very practice nowadays in Syria. It is quick to label either Russia or the Syrian government and start accusing them without any proof offered.

"If we recall the US claims right after the attack on the humanitarian convoy in Syria's Aleppo, they said that they had no proof but they still believed it was Russia. And then they take this to the international arena," the expert said.

The political analyst also noted that both the US State Department and Pentagon have recently started claiming that Russia has been taking the credit for activities performed by the US in Syria.

While explaining why it is so important for the US to so hurriedly blame Russia, Konovalov said that the US simply can't afford to admit to its mistakes in Syria. This is why it will continue ruling out all the evidence of Russia's noninvolvement in the attacks.

"If the US admits that it was completely wrong in accusing Russia of the attack on the humanitarian convoy, it will therefore admit that Russia is only supporting the Syrian army in its attempts to fully liberate Aleppo from terrorists," the expert explained.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks called on Turkey on Friday to remove its state of emergency in place after an attempted coup in July in order to guarantee the observation of human rights and the principles of the rule of law.

According to the commissioner's report, the introduction of the state of emergency has allowed Ankara to apply "unlimited discretionary powers," which resulted in the detention of thousands of military officers, high-ranking civil servants, judges. suspected of alleged links to the movement of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is believed by Ankara to be the mastermind behind a recent failed coup attempt.

"the Commissioner insists on the urgency of reverting to ordinary procedures and safeguards, by ending the state of emergency as soon as possible. Until then, the authorities should start rolling back the deviations from such procedures and safeguards as quickly as possible, through a nuanced, sector-by-sector and case-by-case approach. The Commissioner also urges the Turkish authorities to make the widest use possible of the experience and guidance of Council of Europe bodies in this process," the report said.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Turkish troops are doing a really useful work in Iraq and Ankara has no claims to the Iraqi territorial integrity, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Friday.

"[Our troops] are doing a very significant, useful work there. We have no hostile intentions toward the Iraqi territory and territorial integrity. We are responsible for ensuring peace in the region," Yildirim said, as quoted by the Cumhuriyet newspaper.

Relations between Iraq and Turkey worsened after the Turkish parliament last week extended a mandate allowing Turkish troops to carry out operations in Iraq and Syria for 13 moths more to confront terrorist organizations.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Defeating terrorists in Iraq and restarting political process in Syria is impossible without Russia, Herve Morin, the president of Frances Normandy region, said Friday.

"I would not believe even for a second that a peaceful future is possible without Russia," Morin said at a meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, chair of the Russian parliaments foreign affairs committee, in Moscow.

"The issue of fighting terrorism, stabilizing Iraq, reaching a political settlement and normalizing processes in Syria cannot be addressed without Russias participation," the French politician added.
History of Plastic Surgery

One of the most interesting topics in medicine is its history, believes Dr. Nayani.

"What is now called plastic surgery has actually been around since 600 BC. Ancient books such as the Sushruta Samhita, a well-known Sanskrit text on surgery, mention that those who lost their noses as a result of punishment had them reconstructed with the help of plastic surgery," he told Sputnik Persian in an interview.

"Despite the fact that many books and historical documents related to medicine were lost because of the attacks of the Arabs and of Alexander the Great on Iran, some evidence of ancient plastic surgery can still be found. For example, a skull with an artificial eye found in the burnt city of Zabol," the expert added.

Dr. Nayani also recalled the ancient Encyclopedia of Medicine (al-Hawi) written by Persian scientist al-Razi, an important figure in the history of medicine: "This is a rich source of knowledge in medical science, including the field of plastic surgery. The author describes how to properly carry out nose surgery."

However, techniques for modern professional plastic surgery began their development in the 19th century.

"After the Iran-Iraq war, due to the large number of injuries sustained during combat operations, plastic surgery in Iran received another impetus. Now there are more than 300 high-level experts in various fields of plastic surgery in our country.

What is Plastic Surgery in Fact?

Contrary to popular opinion, plastic surgery is not just for beauty, Dr. Nayani explained. "The term 'plastic surgery' is derived from the Greek word 'plasticos', which means a form or a sculpture. This largely relates to the field of beauty, but in reality plastic surgery is a type of general surgery and has five main areas."
Akshay Kumar, a son of a former member of the Armed forces, told the nation to spare a thought for the slain heroes instead of squabbling among themselves.

By India Today Web Desk: Akshay Kumar has broken his silence on the chaos along the India-Pakistan border, and the possibility of a war and requested his countrymen to take a moment and cut the noise. In a passionate statement, Akshay Kumar introduced himself not as a Bollywood celebrity, but as a son of someone who was the member of the armed forces.

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ALSO SEE: Akshay Kumar and Jolly LLB 2 crew arrive in Manali



He asked the media, the people of the country to have some shame and mourn the slain soldiers in line of action. He requested everyone to stop squabbling over the proof of 'surgical strikes', mulling over the ban on Pakistani artistes, release of a film, and pay attention on the main issue at hand - the death of India's armed personnel in Uri and Baramula. He requested Indians to show some respect.



Something which has been on my mind since the past few days and I just had to say it. Not intending to offend anyone...so here goes pic.twitter.com/ASaLwobWgu Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) October 6, 2016

Akshay Kumar also added in his short monologue, that the families of the armed forces need some time to heal from their loss. He made a case for them stating, they are the reason we can safely have our debates here and argue about petty things. He said it is because they defend the country on the borders is why we are alive today.

If not respect, then the least we can do is show some empathy for the family of those who have passed away during active duty.

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Cavusoglu said during a press conference with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil that support of local forces would ease the fight against Daesh, the Daily Sabah daily reported.

The minister added that Turkey was ready to provide the US-led coalition with any necessary support.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The ongoing violence in the Syrian city of Aleppo demands a war crimes investigation, US Secretary of State John Kerry said prior to a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Friday.

"These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation into war crimes, and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions," Kerry stated.

Kerry explained that he and Ayrault would have a serious discussion about a joint US-French response to the situation in Aleppo.
Later on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that military action against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad contradicts US national interests, but cannot be ruled out,

"Military action against the Assad regime, to try to address the situation in Aleppo, is unlikely to accomplish the goals that many envision now in terms of reducing the violence there, and is much more likely to lead to a bunch of unintended consequences that are clearly not in our national interest," Earnest said in a briefing.

However, Earnest added that he is "not going to take any options off the table."

Russias Defense Ministry has cautioned US-led coalition against carrying out airstrikes on Syrian army positions, adding that there are numerous S-300 and S-400 air defense systems up and running in Syria.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, any air or missile strikes on targets in territory controlled by the Syrian government would put Russian personnel in danger.

Meanwhile, regardless of Washington's warmongering rhetoric, Russian political analyst, Director of the Institute of Strategic Planning Alexander Gusev expressed doubts that President Obama will go to the length of a full-fledged war.
"The situation is changing very rapidly, thus it is almost impossible to predict when we will take Dabk," he said,

It may be in a week, or it may be in several hours.

The commander said that Turkey is providing aerial support to the fighters, conducting airstrikes on Daesh positions in the region.

FSA fighters undergo medical treatment in Turkish hospitals, he said, adding that Turkey is supplying them with arms.

The commander said that Turkey is the only power which is supporting them in their military operations on in Syria.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A total of 2031 violations of ceasefire regime by the US-backed 'moderate opposition' units have been registered in Syria from February 27 to September 1 this year in which 3,532 Syrian servicemen and 12,800 civilians were killed, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Friday.

"Another 8,949 servicemen and 25,642 civilians were wounded during the same period as a result of these violations," Antonov told reporters in Moscow.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  About 35,000 terrorists, including over 2,700 natives of Russia and other CIS countries, have been killed in clashes with Syrian government forces since February 2016, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Friday.

According to Antonov, a total of 586 settlements and 12,360 square kilometers (some 4,800 sq. miles) have been liberated from Daesh and Nusra Front terrorists from February 27 to September 1, 2016.

"As a result, around 35,000 terrorists have been killed, including more than 2,700 natives of Russia and other CIS countries," Antonov told reporters in Moscow.
UN (Sputnik)  The plan of UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on withdrawal of the Nusra Front jihadist group militants from Aleppo may be carried out solely in case the bombardments of the Syrian city are stopped, French Ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre said Friday.

The UN Security Council agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the situation in Syrian Aleppo, namely, de Misturas proposal, on Friday on the initiative of Russia.

"Those are interesting proposals, which require careful examination. But they may be implemented solely given the end of the bombardments in Aleppo," Delattre said before the meeting of the Security Council.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied Friday that a ministry official had visited Yemen for talks with the leaders of the Houthi movement.

On Thursday a Saudi newspaper, Al Watan, alleged that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaber Ansari had traveled to the Yemeni capital Sana'a for talks with the Houthis.

"Fabrication of such news by Saudi media takes place while the route to Sana'a has been closed for several months and Saudi Arabia does not even allow Yemeni nationals to travel" to the city, spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by Press TV.
What's more, as if in concert, the European Parliament has announced that it is examining a resolution on the introduction of a no-fly zone over Syria, and a new round of sanctions against Russia, ostensibly 'to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.'

Commenting on the latter story, Ivanov suggested that two points immediately jump out at him.

"Firstly, it's not clear exactly how European countries can technically achieve a no-fly zone. The situation on the ground in the area is controlled by the Syrian Army on the one hand and by terrorist gangs on the other. To create a no-fly zone it would be necessary to install an air defense system. Who will do it?"

"Are European countries prepared to provide SAMs to Bashar Assad, so that he can prevent Russian planes from flying over his country? Or are the weapons meant for the militants? Or perhaps French planes will shoot down Russian ones?"

"Secondly, what interests exactly does Europe have in Syria over which it is necessary to threaten our country?" Ivanov asked. "The answer suggests itself: Brussels is showing solidarity with Washington, who has decided to halt all contact with Moscow in resolving the Syrian crisis."

"But Europe, and Germany in particular, have already seen that sanctions hit not only Russia, but also European businesses. The continent is suffering huge losses. It was even rumored earlier that countries were even ready to 'forgive' Russia for Crimea. Now, it turns out that Berlin and Brussels are ready to face new losses, all on behalf of militants belonging to terrorist organizations."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The Islamic State (also known as Daesh) terrorist group will be driven from its stronghold cities of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq by this time next year, US Vice President Joe Biden told supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a rally on Friday.

We are on our way to eliminating ISIS, Biden said. The reason youre seeing these one-off [terrorist] attacks is because theyre losing their caliphate.
By PTI: Islamabad, Oct 7 (PTI) All communication channels with the Indian military including the hotline are open, the Pakistan army has said, even as it accused India of escalating tensions.

"The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false," Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said.

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"What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements" by the Indian side, Bajwa told Chinas state-run Xinhua news agency yesterday.

At least two Pakistani soldiers have been killed while nine injured in the Indian firing over the past week, the general said.

However, the army spokesman emphasised on the importance of resolving the current tension through dialogue.

He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the "start of the cross LoC firing".

"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitors the situation and reports to its headquarters.

India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, with the Army saying it had inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

The strike came just days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers. PTI ASK AKJ ASK

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"After the Mosul operation a problem with refugees will inevitably arise. Mosul is located quite far from Turkey, and in order to get to Turkey it is necessary to travel across the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan. However, there are about two million refugees there right now, so Iraqi Kurdistan is already experiencing great difficulties with those refugees. That's why there is reason to believe that irrespective of the large distance, the refugees will come to Turkey anyway," Turkdogan said.

Turkdogan said that while Ankara has largely kept to its side of the refugee deal agreed with the EU in March, it has not received the promised financial support or visa-free regime from the EU.

On Monday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the EU for failing to disburse the three billion euros it promised as part of the deal, and said that only 179 million euros had so far been provided to Turkey to pay for refugees living there.

"The flow of migrants to the EU from Turkey has decreased significantly. Turkey has announced that it has stopped the flow of refugees, and as far as we can see that's true. In exchange for stopping the flow of migrants Turkey is demanding a visa-free regime for Turkish citizens. The EU has said that Turkey has to fulfil a series of conditions, including changing legislation regarding terrorism. However, Turkey is not willing to make changes in this sphere," Turkdogan explained.

"That's why the future of this agreement is very questionable. At the moment, some aspects of this agreement are being carried out in reality, but I'm not sure that they can be carried out legally. In order to solve the problem of Syrian refugees it is necessary to regulation the Syrian crisis and create the conditions for a ceasefire and for Syrians to return to their homeland."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Houthi rebels have agreed to a ceasefire in Yemen, which is expected to be announced soon, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said Friday.

On Thursday, Cheikh Ahmed held a meeting with the General People's Congress (GPC) party of the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the Houthi delegation in the Omani capital of Muscat.

The Houthi delegation and the GPC have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, which will be announced within the next several days with an option for prolongation, Cheikh Ahmed told the Oman News Agency in an interview.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Syrian crisis settlement is impossible to be reached unilaterally and requires cooperation between Moscow and Washington, the former French defense minister told Sputnik on Friday.

On Monday, the US State Department said it was suspending bilateral channels with Russia that had been set up in an effort to sustain a September 9 US-Russian brokered ceasefire deal in Syria.

"In this region of the world [Syria], nothing can be carried out only by one side. It is necessary that each party [Russia and the United States] plays this game, participates in it," Herve Morin, who is the incumbent president of Frances Normandy region, said.
"This is propaganda," Zakharova said in an interview with TV channel Rain. "For this terminology has very serious legal consequences, and I think that Kerry tried all of these terms from the perspective of the discharge situation.

"If it comes to war crimes, US officials must begin with Iraq. And then go to Libya, be sure to go to Yemen  find out what's there. I want to say to juggle these words is very dangerous, because behind the American representatives really are war crimes."

Zakharova added that "the American side simply could not fulfill the ceasefire agreement" in Syria.

"They themselves have told us that they have no levers of pressure on the opposition."

On Friday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby dialed back Kerry's accusations.

"No, and the secretary did not allude to that today," he told reporters when asked if Kerry was ready to say he believed Moscow to be guilty of war crimes.
As for the intense scrutiny the interview eventually received, regarding everything from the commander's slippers to his apparent lack of a beard to his golden ring (all ostensibly meant to prove that the man wasn't who he said he was), Todenhofer suggested that in reality, "there was no critical analysis. People simply pushed absurd allegations."

"For example, they say that Jebhat al-Nusra militants always go unshaven, while some of the ones I show have shaven faces." The reality is not so cartoonishly simple: "Some shave, some have a beard."

"Then, [critics] say that Nusra fighters do not wear gold rings, even if they come from another organization. This is simply nonsense. In Syria, thousands of people wear gold jewelry  it's perfectly normal. This is a very weak argument that comes from those who take absolutely no account of life in Syria, and is a view that could be held only by those who have never been to wartorn Syria."

"To all these people I can suggest only one thing: of course someone can do the interview better than I did, but let those who want to do it meet with al-Qaeda in East Aleppo in neutral territory and do it better. These are the same people who so fiercely criticized me when I spent ten days among the Daesh militants. Again  take the trip yourself, do it better, and then you can have a say."

Having been accused of being biased in favor of Russia and the Syrian government, Todenhofer emphasized that he remains convinced that there is "no such thing as a decent war," since civilians always end up being the main victims.

Still, the journalist added, one can only go so far in one's lack of objectivity. "In the western part of Aleppo, where government forces are based, several hundred people have been killed since the end of the truce  in 14 days. No one speaks about this. This means that the rebels have also been shooting, and this is a very simple proof that the two sides fight with equal ferocity."

But the mainstream media, according to Todenhofer, absolutely lacks any objectivity on the issue. "The one-sided and simply dead-wrong coverage of the conflict itself is part of the scandal. If in this situation someone like myself goes to Syria, asks questions and get answers such as 'Yes, of course we get weapons from the Americans, in whatever way,' a lot of noise is generated around this; because the West does not want its image of the world  of 'good bombs' and 'bad bombs', to be disturbed."
PRAGUE (Sputnik)  If the US policy in Syria ends in a fiasco, it would be solely Washington's fault, Czech President Milos Zeman said Friday.

"Nobody officially invited the United States to Syria. And if their mission fails, that will be their own fault," Zeman said in an interview with the online edition of the Parlamentni Listy newspaper.

Zeman noted that the Syrian ceasefire deal could be concluded only with the moderate opposition, but not with the Islamist groups. However, unlike the US side, which believes in the existence of the Syrian moderate opposition, Zeman said he believed there were only radical groups in the Arab republic.
According to Dr. Jacob Diliberto, the successful initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom were conducted with a very small amount of casualties. But with time, the Iraq War began "distracting" US military command, intelligence and logistical support, which led to a "deterioration" of the US efforts in Afghanistan.

According to Peter Kuznick, before the operation began, there were at least twenty high-level meetings between the Taliban and US representatives. The Taliban, Kuznick claims, proposed to hand over Bin Laden to the Organization of the Islamic Conference for trial, but the US refused.

"We never heard what they were trying to say, we had no common language," Kuznick quoted CIA station chief Milton Bearden saying. "[The Taliban] were happy to give up [bin Laden] but they needed the United States to work with them to give them some kind of face-saving way of doing so."

"In some ways we could have achieved our goal without an invasion at all," Kuznick says.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  The UN Security Council will vote at 3 p.m. EDT (19:00 GMT) on Saturday on a draft resolution from France that seeks to establish a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Russias mission to the United Nations confirmed.

The vote will take place tomorrow at 3 p.m., the mission stated on Friday.

The Security Council met, at Russias request, on Friday to discuss conditions in Syria.
Col. Jeffrey Hager, the Apache program manager, told Inside Defense that a signed agreement can be expected by early 2017. The Senate and House versions of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act have both been approved, but concerns over the cost efficiency of production and procurement programs has kept any bill from being passed.

The director of defense pricing for the Pentagon's acquisition directorate, Shay Assad, approved the Apache proposal. Assad told Politico in April that his years spent as an executive at Raytheon showed him how companies often overpay for multi-year defense contracts. As a result, Assad claims that he requires contractors to justify their prices, in an attempt to garner the most savings.
Russian officials have warned against the provocative buildup.

"This warmongering and scares about invented Russian aggressiveness certainly produce a detrimental effect on the overall climate in the region, including on the Russia-EU relationship," Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Sputnik earlier this year.

"Those countries that are the objects of NATO surge in military presence in Central and Eastern Europe pursue policies of their own, which are not always conducive to maintaining partnership-style relations with Russia," he added.

"Since many decisions in the European Union are taken by consensus of 28 member states, I would say that sometimes the result is a position reflecting 'the least common denominator.'"

The first battalion will be rotated out next September, and replaced by a second ABCT, the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division out of Fort Riley, Kansas.
BJP chief Amit Shah said he wants to ask Rahul if "dalali" is a word to refer to the Indian Army and their efforts to save the country.

By Brijesh Pandey: Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi for his 'khoon ki dalali' remark, BJP president Amit Shah today said the word 'dalali' may be a part of the Congress vocabulary because of a series of scams that have plagued the Sonia Gandhi-led party for decades.

"Yesterday when Rahul Gandhi used the phrase 'khoon ki dalali', it crossed all levels of decency. But I want to ask him which dalal is he talking about. From Bofors scam to coal auction, the Congress knows exactly what dalali means," Shah told reporters at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

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Shah said he wants to ask Rahul if "dalali" is a word to refer to the Indian Army and their efforts to save the country.

ALSO READ | Khoon ki dalali: Rahul says he supports surgical strikes but slams use of Army in BJP posters



At a rally at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Thursday, Rahul had launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged politicisation of Army's surgical strikes, accusing him of doing "dalali" (trade) over the bloodshed by Indian soldiers.

"Unki dalali kar rahe ho...Yeh bilkul ghalat hai... Hindustan ki sena ne Hindustan ka kaam kiya, aap apna kaam keejiye... (You are trading on them. This is totally wrong... The Indian Army did its job for India, you do your work)," he said.

BJP not using surgical strikes for votes: Shah

Shah denied the BJP is using the Army's surgical strikes for political mileage in poll-bound states and claimed that no senior party leader, including PM Modi, has taken credit for the cross-border operation.

He, however, said the BJP is proud of the strikes and will take the issue to the people. "We have not politicised the surgical strikes, but yes, at the local level, some of us are enthused with patriotic zeal over the strikes," he said.

Asked about opposition leaders questioning if the strikes at all took place, Shah said such people should look at the scramble within Pakistan in the past week. "The scramble that is happening in Pakistan is enough proof of the surgical strikes taking place," he said and asked the "sceptical political parties to analyse that".

Watch Video:





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In 1995 Russia and Armenia signed an agreement on the deployment of the 102nd Russian Military Base in the city of Gyumri, in northern Armenia, which is on alert as part of the CIS Integrated Air Defense System for 25 years. On August 20, 2010, Russia and Armenia extended the term of the base contract and it will now run through 2044.

In Belarus, under a 1995 bilateral agreement signed for a 25-year term, Russia leases the Hantsavichy radar station, located near Baranovichi, which tracks missile launches at ranges of up to 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles) and space objects the size of a ball several millimeters in diameter in any orbit. The facility is part of the missile attack warning system and is linked to the Russian presidents so-called nuclear briefcase.

The other Russian military base that has for years been actively operated on Belarusian territory is the Vileyka zonal communication point of the Russian Navy. Vileyka Communication Point 43 is an ultra-long-wave radio station ensuring communication with strategic nuclear-powered submarines.

Kazakhstan hosts the largest military facilities of the former USSR with their total area exceeding 11 million hectares.

Russia has retained and currently continues to operate seven large military facilities in Kazakhstan under bilateral agreements. These include the 5th State Test Range of the Russian Defense Ministry (the Baikonur cosmodrome); facilities of the 4th State Test Site of the Russian Defense Ministry: the Kapustin Yar test range (located mostly in Russia, but also including areas near the Atyrau and Western Kazakh regions of Kazakhstan), the 20th Separate Measuring Station and two measuring facilities (IP-8 and IP-16, in Western Kazakhstan).

Under an agreement on the presence of a joint Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan, the military facilities as part of the base include an air base (Kant airfield), a testing range (Cape Koi-Sary, Kara-Bulun Peninsula), a communication center (the village of Spartak, the town of Chaldovar) and an independent seismic post (the city of Mailuu-Suu). An aviation training center (Edelweiss mountainous training center) is a shared facility.

In May 2013 Russia ratified a base agreement with Tajikistan concerning the 201st Military Base, which is the largest ground force formation outside Russia. Its term has been extended through 2042.

At present, the military base, formed by reorganizing the 201st Division, is deployed in a Dushanbe suburb. The base ensures the protection of Russian interests and  together with local armed forces  the security of Tajikistan. At the same time, Russia provides Tajikistan with inter-operable weapon systems, military and special equipment in accordance with Russias defense technology cooperation laws.
"The recent surveillance flight tests demonstrate NNSAs commitment to ensure all weapon systems are safe, secure, and effective."

In addition to building 400 new missiles to replace the aging Minuteman ICBMs, the Air Force is also in pursuit of a new nuclear cruise missile known as the Long Range Standoff (LRSO). The former program is estimated to cost roughly $85 billion. The LRSO development is expected to cost at least $20 billion.

In addition to cost concerns, a number of Congressional lawmakers have fought to abandon the LRSO program on humanitarian grounds, arguing that a new nuclear weapon puts world peace at risk.

"Nuclear war poses the gravest risk to American national security," ten Democratic Senators wrote in a letter.

US officials seem unlikely to bow to these concerns, as this months tests demonstrate.
One more instance of corruption within Chicagos law enforcement bodies should not come as a surprise, following as it does discoveries that officers dashcams are the objects of intentional destruction; that it operates secret, illegal interrogation rooms, that it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cell phone tracking systems; and that, like so many other American police forces, its members seem to so often shoot first (when it comes to black male suspects) and ask questions later. And only if they are forced to by a judge.

"The report itself isn't that shocking or surprising, we have long heard misconduct complaints about Chicago Police Department," Freddy Martinez, director of the Lucy Parsons Labs, who brought the cell phone tracking lawsuit against the city, told Sputnik.

"It's quite interesting seeing Nick Roti at the center of the story," Martinez noted. Roti is the former head of the Organized Crime Bureau of the Chicago Police Department, and is described in the Intercept report as calling whistleblowers "rats" and saying that he would refuse to work with them. "Our investigation found that he's been central to many of the decisions of Bureau of Organized Crime, which seems to be quite plagued in scandal. It's a bit shocking to see that year after year commanders from CPD keep getting promoted and given more power [emphasis in the original]. The overlap of the war on drugs and police corruption is deeply entrenched in Chicago and you can tell this story is just another aspect of it."
"Good to go on killing CBS idea," Psaki wrote back one day later. "And we are going to hold on any other TV options just given the swirl of crap out there."

Palmieri later left the White House to work on Clintons campaign.

In response, State Department spokesman John Kirby claimed there was nothing unusual about the exchange between Psaki and Palmieri.

"It is common practice for State Department and White House staffers to be in touch when agency officials are potentially conducting television interviews," he said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Brazil's former UN ambassador Gelson Fonseca Jr told Sputnik that the nomination of Guterres, an "outstanding politician," took place in a different way from previous recommendations.

"The biggest news is that the nomination process was new this year. The personal characteristics of the candidates were taken into account. There were interviews and discussions, where never happened before. The choice of Guterres was not made on the basis of political expediency, but was largely determined by his personal qualities, which were discussed by all the members of the Security Council," Fonseca explained.

While the appointment of Guterres demonstrates the ability of the Security Council to reach an agreement, reforming of the institution will require a lot of negotiation between the Security Council members and the UN General Assembly.

The Security Council is composed of five permanent members (China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States) and ten non-permanent members, which are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.

In 1965 the number of rotating non-permanent member was increased from six to ten, to be distributed on a regional basis. There are calls for the Security Council to be reformed and expanded to further reflect the geopolitical changes that have taken place since 1945, which include an increase in UN membership, from 51 countries in 1945 to 193 today.

In 1993 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution to "consider all aspects" of the issue of increasing the membership of the Security Council, and negotiations have taken place since 2009.

"There is a general consensus, also among the permanent members, on the need to reform the Security Council. The question is how to do it. It is necessary to redistribute authority, which is difficult in the present day," Fonseca said.

In 2004 Brazil, Germany, India and Japan established the Group of Four, which advocates the expansion of the categories of permanent and non-permanent members. The four countries want to become permanent members of an expanded UN Security Council, and advocate including a greater number of developing countries as both permanent and non-permanent members.
ANKARA (Sputnik)  The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, scheduled for October 10, is expected to give a fresh impulse to improving the Russian-Turkish relations, the Turkish presidential administration said in a statement on Friday.

"Putin is expected to attend the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul at the invitation of our president. At the presidential meeting, planned to be held during the visit, they [Erdogan and Putin] will discuss bilateral and regional problems. The meeting is expected to become the follow-up to the presidential meetings, earlier conducted in St. Petersburg on August 9 and in China's Hangzhou on September 3, to give a new impetus toward the process of normalization of Russian-Turkish relations that has started and to contribute to expanding cooperation," the statement said.
Beeley, a journalist-turned expert on the group, who actually visited Syria to thoroughly investigate its operations, began by pointing out that the organization's funding (conservatively estimated to be around $100 million) comes from NATO alliance countries, "which have a vested and declared interest in regime change in Syria."

Accordingly, in her view, this group "cannot be considered anything other than an extension of the propaganda and the actual proxy war inside Syria; they are an infiltration agent for the US coalition inside Syria."

Commenting on the group's shady links with British and US intelligence, as well as its members' dual role as 'rescuers by day and jihadists by night', the journalist stressed that she believes that "history will show that the White Helmets is one of the most insidious and destructive of the propaganda campaigns that has been running inside Syria."

Beeley further explained that the group "was created in 2013 by James Le Mesurier, fundamentally a British mercenaryThis guy moves in the circles that are connected to the mercenary outfit known as Blackwater, now called Academi. Blackwater was paid by both President Bush and President Obama to work officially as a CIA assassination 'outreach' organization; in other words, they carried out the assassinations that the CIA did not want to get involved into distance these assassinations from the US government."

"That is extensively documented, and James Le Mesurier has very strong connections back to that quarter  back to organizations that set up these private security firms, specifically to carry out 'outreach' operations on behalf of their governments. And that is very much the role that he has played with the White Helmets."

What's more, Beeley noted, "if we look at the White Helmets themselves, they are embedded exclusively in al-Nusra and ISIS [Daesh] controlled areas; even if there are other associated brigades of terrorists in those areas, it's Nusra and ISIS that take control."

Another proof about neutrality of Syrian White Helmets with islamists https://t.co/RmLSTtsS0y  Ashkan (@Zarathoustra96) 6  2016 .

The journalist stressed that "we have specific video and photographic evidence of the White Helmets not only supporting these groups in their effort to overthrow the Syrian governmentbut we also see video evidence, for example, of them facilitating executions in northern Aleppo, or attacking Nusra prisoners in Idlib. There are extensive video footage and photographic evidence of them behaving certainly not in the way that you would expect from a first responder unit."

Having paid a visit to Syria's official civil defense organization (Syria Civil Defense) for herself to get to know conditions on the ground last month, Beeley suggested that she is convinced that the White Helmets are really an attempt "to eradicate the Syrian state and Syrian state institutions and to replace them with what is fundamentally a fabricated, intelligence shadow state." Unfortunately, she noted, "the White Helmets are doing this very effectively."

Read about the REAL Syrian Civil Defense (and the fake U.S.-UK front group the White Helmets) v @VanessaBeeley https://t.co/SYMfQehlKU pic.twitter.com/dLUYGC6s87  Navsteva (@Navsteva) 2  2016 .

People in Western countries "only know about the White Helmets as being the Syrian civil defence; that's palpably untrue; they've taken the identity of the real Syrian Civil Defense and manipulated it via propaganda, the media, think tanks and NGOs so that they become in people's minds the solitary and exclusive first responder unit inside Syria  that is untrue."

Speaking to members of the country's official rescue services, Beeley recalled that she told that when militants overran cities such as Aleppo and Idlib, they "massacred crew members, stole equipment, and then from among these terrorists emerged the White Helmets." Accordingly, the journalist noted, "while we cannot say they are terrorists, I would say they're very strongly linked to terrorists; they act as a terrorist support group, and they have facilitated terrorist criminal acts within Syria."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian President Vladimir Putin has reestablished Russias "former glory" and enhanced countrys international standing, earning trust and respect of the international community, Bahrain's ambassador to Russia told Sputnik Friday.

"Vladimir Putin has restored Russias former glory and its place among the world powers. As a result, he is respected by his friends and his opinion is taken into account by his opponents," Ahmed Abdulrahman Saati said.
In the eyes of Washington "by any means" apparently means involving terrorist groups like al-Nusra Front, which has changed its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of Syria/the Levant), Krasheninnikova continued.

The Syrian ceasefire agreement required that Washington would separate the so-called moderate opposition from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terrorists. However, she remarked, Washington was not willing to do so, since it contradicts its aim to oust Bashar al-Assad.

Remarkably, back in 2015 Charles Lister of the Brookings Doha Center highlighted in his op-ed that al-Nusra Front's major objective to topple Assad coincides with that of the Free Syria Army and other US-backed rebel groups.

"Although many of the most prominent commanders in the recent Idlib operations were Islamists of one kind or another, their roots in the province's society appear to have discouraged the kind of inter-group and intra-ideological rivalries that have arisen elsewhere in the country. This is not to dismiss the very real differences that exist between, say, Jabhat al-Nusra [al-Nusra Front] and the FSA-affiliated 13th Division, but the very fact that they did not appear to negatively affect advances on regime-held territory is a sign that they are a powerful unifying factor," Lister wrote in early May, 2015.
Citing Middle East experts, Zinin notes that there are at least two scenarios of how the situation will unfold.

If the US court eventually obligates Saudi Arabia to pay compensation to the families, Riyadh may reject the idea and start withdrawing its financial reserves from American banks. However, in such a scenario Washington is likely to threaten the House of Saud "with a complete breakup of all political, economic and military ties."

In accordance with the second scenario, the royal elites may follow in former Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi's footsteps: in 2003 he compensated for the downing of a Boeing passenger airliner over Lockerbie by two Libyan nationals in 1988. However, it would deal a heavy blow to the already embattled Saudi economy.

Commenting on the issue, Semen Bagdasarov, director of the Center for Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, recalled that Riyadh has repeatedly threatened to sell $750 billion in US assets but is so far shown no signs of putting its threat into practice.

"Perhaps, it would be economically disadvantageous [to Riyadh]," Bagdasarov assumed in an interview with online newspaper Vzglyad, stressing that that the JASTA will inevitably deepen the rift between the Americans and the Saudis.
Delhi CM Kejriwal has hit out at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for accusing PM Modi of using soldiers for political benefit by saying that he was indulging in 'khoon ki dalali'.

By India Today Web Desk: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has hit out at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for accusing Prime Minister Modi of using soldiers for political benefit.

Attacking the Prime Minister, Rahul said yesterday, "Humare jawan hain jinho ne khoon diya hai, jinho ne surgical strike kiya, unke khoon ke peeche aap (PM) chhupe huye ho," Rahul Gandhi had said while taking a dig at the BJP for encashing the surgical strikes.

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Also read: Kejriwal salutes PM Modi for surgical strikes, starts Twitter trend



KEJRIWAL PITIES RAHUL'S MINDSET



Kejiwal tweeted, "I strongly condemn what Rahul Gandhi said about our jawans, this is a matter in which we all need to stand united." He added, "I pity Rahul's mindset. There should be no politics on surgical strike and I am with Modi."



I strongly condemn what Rahul Gandhi said about our jawans, this is a matter in which we all need to stand united: Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/0qXYoCEPzC ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Rahul Gandhi was trolled on Twitter for calling PM Modi a 'dalaal'. His remark has been condemned not just by BJP and other parties but even Armymen such as Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd).

Also read: Lt General Shekatkar slams Rahul Gandhi for Khoon Ki Dalali remark against Modi

EX-ARMYMAN CRITICISES RAHUL'S REMARK



Shekatkar told India Today that it was very unfortunate that some people were getting politics into army operations. "Vice-President of a particular party accusing the Prime Minister of using soldiers for political gains- he is institutionalizing, he is humiliating, he is abusing the Prime Minister's institution. One should not play with national interest for narrow political gains," he said.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy also criticised Rahul Gandhi for attacking the Prime Minister.



Rahul Gandhi either has had no education or should get a mental check up done for using these words against the PM: Subramanian Swamy pic.twitter.com/3RemsKOT1h ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Watch video:



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WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United States needs to work with its allies in Europe to protect their institutions from alleged Russian cyber intrusions and stop further meddling in elections, US Congressman Adam Schiff said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the US intelligence community formally blamed the Russian government for recent hacking of political institutions tied to US elections.

"We should now work with our European allies who have been the victim of similar and even more malicious cyber interference by Russia to develop a concerted response that protects our institutions and deters further meddling," Schiff stated. Schiff also noted the United States should be concerned when any nation tries to undermine our democracy.
And speaking of crazy, this week saw another insane story emerge after the Clinton-Trump debate. And no, we arent talking about the ear piece that Hillary may have had, or even the mysterious cleaning man that, as gateway pundit explained-After the debate a strange man now referred to as the cleaner quickly rushed the stage and picked up Hillarys notes off of her podium. This stranger then handed the notes to Holt as he was leaving the stage. He mysteriously is also the first person to meet Hillary before the debate as she walked in the building after arriving in her black vehicle which leads some to speculate that he handed her notes before the debate or placed them on her podium before the debate. Shocking, right? Hillary Clinton possibly involved in more shady business? Say it aint so, Joe.

No, our story takes place after that. Real True News, a strange website to say the least that reports on non-mainstream news, wrote a story about how Clintons web team was going on the offensive, to sanitize her image, and to set the record straight. Thats right. In the first debate, and according to almost every single internet poll, Trump had won hands down, and it really wasnt even close. Some in the media immediately tried to counter this, and to spin it in Clintons favor. To get ahead of the curve, so to speak. For example, VOX wrote  A poll of debate watchers by CNN/ORC, which found that 62 percent thought Clinton won and 27 percent thought Trump did. A poll of debate watchers by Public Policy Polling, which found that 51 percent thought Clinton won and 40 percent thought Trump won. A focus group of 20 undecided Florida voters by CNN found that 18 of them thought Clinton won. And a focus group of Pennsylvania voters by GOP pollster Frank Luntz overwhelmingly thought Clinton had won.

But, upon a closer glance, any serious person would realize that there was something dishonest going on here. Vox cited 4 different sources, which sounds pretty good, right? Except, lets look at those numbers. In the CNN poll, they note that it was skewed Democratic, and it was only.. 521 people! And what about the second poll? Well, that one was a poll of just slightly more than 1000 people! And what about the last two? Well, they were polls of 20 undecided voters, thats right, twenty, as in a 2 and a zero, and the GOP pollster? Well, from his Twitter  Who won tonite's debate? In my focus group, 6 people said Trump and 16 said Clinton.

So, back to the Real True News story, and forget about their name, because this might not real or true or even news. But, in that story, they note  In the fall-out from last night's debate, they are beginning a new campaign of targeted harassment (or worse) against the "ring leaders" of the decentralized online Trump movement. In that story, one guy who goes by the name Brock, tells others in his group that not only do they have NSA software to hack a citizens computer, but they are going to try to ruin a real persons life, simply because that person has opposing political views.

And just who is this group? Well, Correct the Record is a Hillary-campaign super-pac that is dedicated to "fighting the lies" on the Internet. What it is, is a battalion of paid trolls whose job it is to disrupt, demoralize, and defame any Trump supporters and message boards. Thats right. Paid trolls. In fact, the LA Times noted that  Correct the Record, a super PAC coordinating with Clinton's campaign, is spending some $1 million to find and confront social media users who post unflattering messages about the Democratic front-runner.

As the rhetoric around Syria gets even hotter, many are left wondering, what is real? What is fake? And where is the world heading? Towards a World War III? And with that troubling thought, the lyrics from Black Sabbaths famous song, War Pigs come to mind.

Generals gathered in their masses,

Just like witches at black masses.

Evil minds that plot destruction,

Sorcerer of death's construction.

In the fields the bodies burning,

As the war machine keeps turning.

Death and hatred to mankind,

Poisoning their brainwashed minds.

Oh lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away,

They only started the war.

Why should they go out to fight,

They leave that role to the poor.

So, what do you think, dear listeners  Where Is the World Heading?

We'd love your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by history professors and authors Peter Kuznick and Jeremy Kuzmarov, as well as Brian Terrell, long-standing peace activist co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and Dr. Jacob Diliberto, a researcher at the University of Birmingham and an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran.

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan by the United States and Britain. The start of what was called Operation Enduring Freedom came less than a month after the attacks of 9/11 and ushered in George W. Bushs War on Terror that led to the U.S. occupation of Iraq starting in March 2003. But today the Taliban that the U.S. removed from power controls more territory in Afghanistan than it did in 2001, and almost 10,000 U.S. troops remain in the country. Will the United States ever actually withdraw from Afghanistan?

We'd love your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
Heading into the second presidential debate, Donald Trump makes an appeal to a voting bloc of terminally ill Americans.

Also, some unironically good news about the 2016 election. One quarter of the country looks set to fully legalize marijuana in November. So if youre bummed about the outcome, at least you can still get stoned.

And we recap the weeks big intelligence news, including what could be a new surveillance program being run out of Yahoo, and the arrest of spy contractor accused of stealing government secrets. Investigative reporter Marcy Wheeler is on to discuss.
Moroccans take to the polls today to vote in the national parliamentary elections. While the ruling Justice and Development Party are tipped to come out on top, human rights concerns and a potential lack of trust in the nation's political system could result in a low voter turnout. We speak to Ahmed Benchemsi from Human Rights Watch.

The UK Government overruled the decision made by a local council yesterday, by granting permission to oil and gas company Cuadrilla to begin fracking in Lancashire, England. Just hours later the Scottish Government announced it would be banning the similar gas extraction method, underground coal gasification. We speak to Dr Doug Parr, Chief scientist at Greenpeace, Dr Paul Monaghan, MP for the Scottish National Party.

You can find previous editions of World in Focus here.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, said this week that deliberations over the agreement authorizing a Russian air group to be stationed at the Hmeimim airbase for an unspecified period would come as early as next Wednesday.

On Monday, a source in the lower house, the State Duma, said that the Russia's lower house of parliament could ratify the agreement as early as Friday, October 7.

The Hmeymim airbase agreement was signed in Damascus on August 26, 2015, and was submitted to the State Duma for ratification in early August 2016.


TULA (Sputnik)The first prototype of the crawler-mounted Pantsir air defense system is expected to be developed by early 2017, head of the Sheglovsky Val company, part of the Rostec Corporation, Vladimir Popov said Friday.

"The first prototype will be completed in about three months, in early 2017," Popov told journalists.

The Pantsir-S (SA-22 Greyhound) is a Russian short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system, which first entered service in 2012 and will gradually replace the Tunguska self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The Finnish Air Force said two Russian Su-27 violated Finnish airspace twice mid- and late Thursday.

"In accordance with the combat training plan, Russian Aerospace Forces Su-27 jets conducted planned training flights on October 6 and 7. The flights took place over the neutral waters of the Gulf of Finland in accordance with the flight plan," the ministry said in a statement.

It added that no aircraft had deviated from their planned routes or violated foreign airspace.
The Hmeymim airbase agreement was signed in Damascus on August 26, 2015, and was submitted to the State Duma for ratification in the beginning of August, 2016. The document was approved by 446 State Duma lawmakers.

A Russian airforce group has been deployed to the Syrian Arab Republic following a request from Damascus. The airforce group is located on the Hmeymim airfield in Latakia. Moscow will use the base 'free-of-charge' and will carry out supplies of necessary equipment and ammunition to the base without customs or any other duties, the memorandum says.

"The operation of the air group is conducted in line with its commander's decisions based on the plan approved by both sides," the document says.
Scientists at Russia's Tomsk University have created a computer program which enables them to predict individuals' criminal behavior, the university announced in a press release

The researchers surveyed 180 prisoners who had been jailed for six different offenses, including murder, assault, theft and drug dealing.

They trained two types of artificial neural network (ANN) to look and test for psychological characteristics which were distinctive to each category of prisoner. An ANN is a paradigm for information processing inspired by biological neural networks such as the brain.
At least five people were killed and 28 others injured when two improvised bombs hit Rawalpindi bound Pakistan rail in Bolan area of Mach.

Workers repair damaged rail tracks after a bomb blast attack on a train near the town of Mach in southeast of Quetta, Pakistan. (Photo: Reuters)

By Anil Kumar: At least five people were killed and 28 others injured when two improvised bombs hit Rawalpindi bound Pakistan rail in Bolan area of Mach.

Speaking from an undisclosed place, the spokesperson of BLA, Jeeyand Baloch sent an email to media and told that his organisation has accepted the responsibility of attacking the Jaffar Express train. He said, "Such attacks will continue to take place in Balochistan until Balochistan is liberated from foreign occupation. We have every right to attack all those institutions and installations which belong to occupier because over the last several decades we are at war with occupying state, Pakistan."

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He said Pakistani state aggression is based on indiscriminate barbarity in every section of Baloch society. He said that it is BLA's national duty to defend Baloch homeland and public by all means.

The occupying state is using illegal method to subjugate Baloch freedom struggle, he warned.

He said that his forces will continue to deploy the guerrilla warfare tactics and the targets of the war will be of our own choice according to time and condition.

Jeeyand urged the Baloch public and other nationalities to distance themselves from the installations and institutions of the occupying state as his forces can attack them anytime.

On this occasion, Jeeyand warned "peace in Balochistan will remain to be a delusion until occupation is ended".

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned the attack on Jafar Express today. He expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives during the blasts.

The Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss.

The Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to find the culprits and bring them to task immediately. He, while directing for extending best medical treatment to those injured during the attack, prayed for swift recovery of the victims.

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If you said "sorry, its just that my brain's too warm," you could be right. At least, thats the direction that results from a new study by researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta, and published online October 4 by Biology Letters , indicate.

"We were just really blown out of the water," Andrew Gallup, one of the researchers with the Department of Psychology at SUNY Oneonta, told the Atlantic . Its such a strong predictor.

Brains use a lot of energy, and current research on the mysterious yawn suggests that its a cooling mechanism for our hardworking noggins. SUNY researchers introduced the hypothesis that animals with larger, more complex brains would yawn longer, and the evidence supports their conclusions. It turns out that animals with heavier brains, containing more cortical neurons  the cells of the biggest part of your brain, the ones that handle most of the big-deal stuff like thinking and voluntary movement  yawn for longer than those with lighter brains and fewer of those neurons. The correlation is striking, they found, and is related only to the size of the brain, not the size of the animal or its jaws

The study authors reviewed publicly available YouTube videos of different types of animals yawning, because apparently that is in some lucky peoples job descriptions. STAT detailed some of the findings: researchers noted that mice yawn for 0.8 seconds, cats for 1.97 seconds, dogs for 2.4 seconds and people for, on average, 6.5. (They also looked at other primates, elephants, horses and other animals whose brains had been weighed and measured.

Gallup and fellow scientists have not settled the question of why we yawn. There are still theories that it is some kind of marker of empathy, as yawns are socially catching. But whatever the point of yawning may be, Gallup says he has pinned down a real consequence. "Whether yawning functions specifically to cool the brain can still be debated, but there is no debate on whether yawning has thermoregulatory consequences, he told STAT.





But whatever the point of yawning may be, Gallup says he has pinned down a real consequence. "Whether yawning functions specifically to cool the brain can still be debated, but there is no debate on whether yawning has thermoregulatory consequences," he told STAT.
Could Mr. Farage be on his way back?

Sam Allardyce  England Manager  67 Days

The England post was Allardyce's "dream job" as a manager. But it all turned sour after he was secretly filmed by The Telegraph newspaper giving advice on how to get around FA transfer rules.

#BREAKING England manager Sam Allardyce leaves job by mutual consent  FA pic.twitter.com/xj8VauQskI  AFP news agency (@AFP) September 27, 2016

His bosses didn't take kindly to that and "Big Sam" was shown the door.

Pat Glass  Shadow Education Secretary  2 Days

Jeremy Corbyn appointed Glass as shadow education secretary. Ms. Glass described it as her "dream job."

But two days later she resigned, describing the current situation within the Labour party as "untenable."

Chris Evans  Top Gear Host  1 Series

Chris Evans was another who was delighted to have found his "dream job." But intense media pressure and a series of scandals hit the show.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, US prosecutors charged NSA contractor Harold Thomas Martin, a federal government contractor, with theft of official property and illegally retaining classified materials.

"It is the same problem weve got with contracting out stuff that really is a government function," Akerman said on Thursday. "It is the same thing that happened with [Edward] Snowden. Its the same company, it turns out."

Martin worked at Booz Allen Hamilton, the private contracting firm that had employed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 when he leaked classified materials exposing US mass surveillance programs.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Hurricane Matthew, which is the strongest storm to hit northeast Florida in 118 years, is expected to damage energy infrastructure along the East Coast during the upcoming weekend, the US Energy Information Administration announced in a press release on Friday.

"Hurricane Matthew is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm Friday morning. The storm is on track to move north along the East Coast as far as North Carolina this weekend, potentially bringing torrential rainfall, storm surges, and flooding to the region Because of the storm's proximity to the coast, high winds, rainfall, and flooding will potentially affect electricity infrastructure such as power transmission and distribution lines," the press release said.

Governors in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia have declared states of emergency in advance of the storm's arrival, the Energy Information Administration added.
In a Friday afternoon update from the National Hurricane Center, National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said, "Life threatening flooding is occurring in the storm surge area." He commented that the surge wasnt slow rising, but coming in "with great force."

Wind gusts as high as 107 mph were reported from Cape Canaveral, Florida, roughly where the storm began its turn north. The eye of the storm may never actually make landfall, storm watchers say, but the wind and water churned up by its eyewall will do plenty of damage as it continues to spin north-northwest. The storm is expected to turn more strongly north and spare the coast a direct hit. If it instead shifts west, the destruction in its wake could be expected to be much worse.

The storm surge is often the most destructive part of a hurricane, and the power of Matthews surge is already being seen in Daytona, St. Augustine and points north. Twitter users are showing that the St. Augustine seawall has been completely submerged.St Augustine sea wall has vanished under the waves.

 Jeff Goodell (@jeffgoodell) October 7, 2016

The National Weather Service is warning that the storm surge could be stronger than the one that wreaked havoc on the New Jersey shore in 2012.

In Brevard, Flagler, Indian River, St. John and Volusia counties, more than half of electrical customers have lost power, according to Florida Power and Light.

South Florida was already spared much of the storms consequences when it tacked slightly north, though the Miami Herald reports that more than 100,000 people in the southern counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach lost power Thursday and into Friday. As of 1 p.m. Friday, the storm was 25 miles east-northeast of Ormond Beach, Florida.

 Ashley Hollander (@AshleyANjax) October 7, 2016

Matthew is moving into territory usually spared the worst of Floridas storm season. Jacksonville has not been under a hurricane warning in 17 years, The Weather Channel reports; now, the city is preparing for a potentially devastating hit. The northern Florida city of 868,000 is the largest population center in the hurricanes path.
The hack into the private emails of the DNC occurred in June. While a number of US officials have suggested, without evidence, that the Russian government was behind the intrusions, this is the first time that Obama administration has officially accused the Kremlin.

Additionally, the statement suggests that "some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company," but the USIC has not yet blamed these incidents on the Russian government.

In the wake of the accusation, the chairman of the US Senate Cyber Security Subcommittee plans to introduce legislation that would impose new sanctions on Russia.

Moscow has fervently denied any connection to the security breaches.

"But I want to tell you again, I don't know anything about it, and on a state level Russia has never done this," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Bloomberg last month.
This is not the first time social media has been used for process service. In 2013, a federal judge in Virginia allowed the Federal Trade Commission to use Facebook to serve individuals in India accused of fraud; in 2014, a federal judge allowed service via Facebook and LinkedIn to reach a Turkish citizen; and in 2015 a New York judge ruled that divorce papers can be served over Facebook.

St. Francis attorney Mogeeb Weiss said his clients are preparing a mechanism to put notices on al-Ajmis Twitter account, reports Courthouse News Service. "We will tweet it at them with a link where the summons and complaint can be obtained."

Weiss called the decision "huge."

"You have a Twitter account and are trying to avoid service? Now I can just get you on Twitter  You can just serve them there on the spot," he said, US News reports. (Though attorneys will have to demonstrate that traditional methods of process service have failed, he pointed out.)

Al-Ajmi is also accused by the US government and the UN Security Council of funding armed terrorist groups by campaigning for donations through Twitter, then funneling the money through Kuwait Finance House and Kuveyt-Turk Participation Bank. He was detained in August 2014 by Kuwaiti authorities for financing Al Nusra Front and is accused of traveling between Kuwait and Syria to raise and deliver money.
Liverman, who allegedly went by @_d3f4ult on Twitter, maintains that he only knew the members of the group online, and never personally accessed any federal databases. He also states that his computer was hacked two nights before he was raided. He is the admin of AnonSec and @L0sExtraditables.

Me and Cracka utilized OTR encryption which [Edward] Snowden exposed that the NSA cant break, but if they raid you and get your computer they can use your private key to decrypt OTR encrypted traffic that they might have dragnetted, Liverman explained to Sputnik.

He also pointed out that when Cracka leaked information to Motherboard reporter Franceschi-Bicchierai, he had requested that he not be named and only identified as a confidential source. That request fell on deaf ears.

When Cracka leaked to Motherboard he asked not to be named as he wanted to confidentially leak information, Lorenzo disregarded it and listed that it was from him  he even wrote that Cracka asked not to be listed like a total piece of shit, Liverman noted.

After being arrested at gunpoint, Boggs tweeted that he was busted when investigators caught him logging on to an implicated Twitter account from an IP address registered to his father, with whom he lives.

Liverman does not believe that was the case however, and that the FBI used illegal tactics to aid in their arrests. The method he believes that they employed is in line with the highly controversial amendments to Rule 41, which would allow for the agency to hack and surveil an unlimited number of computers and devices globally, without a warrant. These amendments are not currently law, as the deadline for Congress to strike it down is December 1.

They mentioned something about me and Cracka using similar tor nodes, so its possible that they utilized their malicious tor nodes for MitM Jabber servers which we mostly used to communicate, Liverman detailed.

The amendments also remove jurisdiction limitations, allowing the FBI to obtain a search warrant in, for instance, Virginia and then hack computers across the country using Network Investigative Techniques (NITs).
Syrian journalist and political analyst Kevork Almassian told Radio Sputnik's Brian Becker that a US announcement that it would halt coordination with Russia is "misleading," as there was no genuine cooperation in the first place, given the parties' contradicting approaches to ending the Syrian civil war.

According to Almassian, Washington was likely not interested in preventing violence in Aleppo, as it is satisfied with the status quo and supports the al-Nusra Front  an al-Qaeda-linked violent jihadist group  while the Russians and Syrians are determined to liberate the city at any cost.

"The Americans were forced, I believe, to halt this cooperation because they feel that they are embarrassed in front of their allies at least in the Middle East, and they're also embarrassed that their strategy is not working in Syria," Almassian said during the Loud & Clear broadcast.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The favorites of the race were Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) chief Rodrigo London, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez for signing a historic peace treaty that should have ended a more than 50-year long war. However, on October 2, Colombia's National Election Council said the peace agreement failed to garner the support of the majority of Colombian voters at a referendum, which decreases the chances of the warring parties leaders to get the prize.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as well as several nuclear experts are also regarded as favorites for reaching the 2015 nuclear deal.

Among other contenders reportedly are National Security Agencys (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina and the Syria Civil Defense volunteer organization also known as the White Helmets.
Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

By Press Trust of India: Supreme Court today stayed the Patna High Court judgement quashing the Bihar government's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor in the state.

A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit, issued notices to all respondents including some liquor manufacturers on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional the Nitish Kumar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

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Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, the Nitish Kumar government came out with a new law banning the sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on October 2.

Also Read:



Bihar liquor ban illegal, says Patna High Court; Nitish Kumar government moves Supreme Court



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Kyrgyzstan (Sputnik)The "active phase" of the Rubezh 2016 exercise brought together over a thousand of special operations troops from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia at the Edelweiss training ground in Central Asia.

"Representative from the US, China and India have been invited to monitor the active phase of the exercise in Kyrgystan," spokesman Col. Yaroslav Roschupkin said, adding military envoys from the six-nation CSTO military alliance were also attending.

This edition of war games is aimed at training interoperability of armed and police forces during counter-terrorist operations and repelling attacks on law enforcement authorities.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)On Thursday, the UN Security Council formally recommended Guterres as the world bodys next secretary-general following a unanimous vote. Now his candidacy will be put to a vote at the UN General Assembly, which is regarded as a formality.

"This is one of the heaviest mandates in terms of responsibility on the international stage. More than ever, our world needs the United Nations as a guarantor of global, effective and fair responses," the statement quoted both Belgian politicians as saying.

It also mentioned that in light of more existential threats and complex tasks like climate change, fight against terrorism and violent radicalism, prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts, need to achieve universal respect for human rights and social justice, the world needs a real multilateral commitment with the new secretary-general of the UN being called upon to guide the world on this path.
"It is a very positive statement The idea of corridors initially belonged to the Russian Defence Ministry that in the beginning of the war proposed to set up such a corridors for Aleppo but at that time this proposal was misunderstood. We have to force fighters to leave the cities because they put in jeopardy lives of civilians," Jamil said.

On Thursday, de Mistura proposed to accompany militants from the Nusra Front jihadist group if they wanted to leave Aleppo with arms and to head for the city of Idlib. He added that there were some 900 militants of the group in the war-torn city. According to the UN official, if the military activities in Aleppo continue, the eastern part of the city will be destroyed in two weeks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on the proposal, said that it deserved the most careful consideration.

The UN special envoy also asked the Russian and Syrian authorities about their intentions and further steps in eastern Aleppo witnessing heavy fighting.

Aleppo has been a battlefield between government forces, jihadists, as well as numerous opposition groups. Fighting in Aleppo has escalated over the past few weeks, with the Syrian army and local militia forces having managed to encircle large groups of militants in eastern districts of the city.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end decades of war with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Friday.

2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Photo from 2010 @creativecommons pic.twitter.com/IHEEt2nFLb  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) 7  2016 .

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end," the committee said in a statement.

Colombia's National Election Council said over the weekend the peace agreement failed to garner the support of the majority of Colombian voters at a referendum.


TOKYO (Sputnik)A Marines Corps AV-8 Harrier plunged into the sea off the Okinawa shore last month during a routine training flight. The only pilot ejected to safety, but the cause of the incident was not identified.

Okinawa Vice Governor Mitsuo Ageda complained on Friday that the US military cleared the warplanes for further operations without paying attention to concerns of local residents, the Kyodo news agency said.

It also cited Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada as saying that the government would make sure that a thorough investigation was conducted into the crash and all safety requirements were met.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Omer Celik said that it was immoral to subject refugees to death by constructing a barbed wire fence on borders, local media reported Friday.

Celik noted at a joint press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni that cooperation between the European Union and Turkey was a matter of great importance in solving migration crisis, according to the Daily Sabah newspaper.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The refusal to cooperate with Russia on the Syrian crisis and failure to separate moderate opposition and terrorist groups is a clear evidence that the US administration is not serious about its obligations on Syria, Ramez Tourjman, the Syrian information minister, told Sputnik.

"The US administration keeps running away from its obligations and it was last seen in the cutting of connections and negotiations with Moscow and the reason is Washington's inability to separate between groups that it labels as moderate opposition and the Nusra Front, because that is simply impossible in reality." Tourjman said.

Tourjman added that there was an organic link between the Nusra Front and the US administration ever since the United States adopted the new policy of "war by proxy."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The meeting is due to begin at 10.00 a.m. local time (14:00 GMT) at the UN headquarters in New York City.

The meeting is set to focus on the situation in the embattled city of Aleppo.

The participated are expected to discuss UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura's proposal to escort Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia) fighters out of Aleppo.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  France's upper house of parliament, the Senate, would continue its efforts aimed at lifting the sanctions imposed against Russia, discussing the issue with the parliaments of other European states, a French senator said Friday.

"You have had a keen eye for the fact that the French Senate is moving toward lifting sanctions and I am sending you a message that it would be actively engaged in these activities not only in France, but through a parliamentary dialogue with all European countries," Jean Bizet said at a meeting in the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russia will take appropriate measures if Ukraine reinstates visa travel for Russian passport-holders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

Andriy Parubiy, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, said this week he wanted to renew debate on reinstating the visa regime with Russia.

"If a decision is made to infringe on the interests of ordinary people and the visa regime is introduced, then of course this situation will be reviewed and Russia will make decisions it deems necessary in its own interests," Peskov told reporters.
By India Today Web Desk: Sources have reported that Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has met the kids for the first time, since Angelina Jolie filed for divorce on September 19. The LA Child Services have held an open investigation about Brad's behaviour with son Maddox on the family jet plane, where the Allied actor is reported to have gotten verbally abusive and physical.



ALSO SEE: Brad Pitt being investigated for physical and verbal abusive behaviour

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ALSO SEE: Mr and Mrs Smith to By The Sea, how Brangelina movies have mirrored their relationship

However, he was later cleared of the charges stating there was no evidence that Pitt misbehaved. He met his children in the presence of a therapist which was the couple's temporary plan to cope with the transition.

Brad loves his children more than anything in this world, and they matter more than anything else to him,?? a Pitt source told a leading weekly magazine in USA. He will do whatever it takes to be with them, now and always.??

There have been various reports suggesting that Brad Pitt has been left devastated by the shock wife Angelina had up her sleeve. He's known to be a committed husband and a devoted father, therefore it comes as no surprise that he is devastated from the events transpired in the past 3 weeks. The couple will undergo therapy and Pitt will continue voluntary drug and alcohol testing.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik)The current US administration has no interest in engaging in a direct military clash with Russia in Syria, Ramez Tourjman, Syrian Information Minister told Sputnik.

"The current US administration has no interest in its last days, to engage in a military conflict especially after it has avoided it all through its ruling period, and what it wants to do now is to transfer this file to the next administration who is going to find a difficulty in a military intervention because it will lead to clashes and conflicts with the Syrian state, Russia, Iran and the resistance, and now China has entered the scene, it would be a dangerous move," Tourjman said.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and North Korean ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun Joong met for talks on the situation on the Korean peninsula Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"[The sides] exchanged opinions on current issues of bilateral relations as well as on the situation on the Korean peninsula," the statement read.

Russia was a side to the six-party talks on turning the peninsula into a nuclear-free zone which began in August 2003 and led to North Korea freezing its nuclear program and even preparing for a demolition of a Yonben reactor, but ground to a halt in 2008 as the United States and North Korea failed to reach an agreement on the manner of checking the inventory of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.


BERLIN (Sputnik)Germany and its partners are unanimous in their opinion that the settlement in Syria cannot be achieved without Russias constructive participation, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Friday.

"During the talks with our US, French, Italian and UK colleagues, the unanimous opinion was expressed that a decision on Syria will not be made without Russias participation, without Russias constructive participation, to be precise," Schaefer told a briefing.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday submitted an agreement reached with Armenia to create a joint air defense system in the Caucasus to the lower house of the Russian parliament for ratification, according to the draft laws database of the State Duma.

"The main purposes of the joint regional air defense system are organization and performance of military duties on air defense alert in the Caucasus region of collective security; maintaining of command and control system, weapons and military equipment of the joint regional air defense system on ongoing standby," an explanatory note to the draft law read.

The draft law specifies that the agreement, signed in Moscow on December 23, 2015, has been concluded for the term of five years, with the possibility of an automatic prolongation by 5-years periods.


BERLIN (Sputnik)The proposal of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to gradually ease the anti-Russia sanctions as Minsk agreements are being implemented is still on the table, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Friday.

"The offer of the minister was met with considerable support by the German government. The proposal of the minister entailing gradual lifting of the anti-Russia sanctions as Minsk agreements are still being implemented is on the table," Schaefer told a briefing.

The Kiev authorities launched a military operation against militias in Ukraines southeast in April 2014. In February 2015, the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine worked out a ceasefire deal in Minsk later signed by Kiev and the Donbas militias. Despite the agreement, both sides to the conflict have been reporting violations of the deal.
On Thursday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura proposed to personally accompany Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia) fighters out of Aleppo.

"I heard his statement concerning only Nusra. For God's sake, if al-Nusra leaves with weapons toward Idlib, where its main forces are based, we are ready to support this approach for the sake of Aleppo and will be ready to urge the Syrian government to agree," Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Channel One.

Militants remaining in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo after the UN special envoy's plan is enacted should be clearly separated from the Nusra militant group, he added.
Meanwhile, many experts fear that the situation may finally lead to a total lack of understanding between the parties and the implementation of the Pentagon's so-called Plan B on Syria, which stipulates launching airstrikes on Syrian government forces.

Some political commentators claim that the Pentagon is already dealing with the so-called "escalation for the sake of de-escalation" plan. Mirzoyan, for his part, did not rule out such a scenario.

"Many in the Pentagon are really poised and ready to resort to the use of force in order to resolve the Syrian conflict. Therefore, the danger of escalation is very likely," he said, adding at the same time that Washington's European partners will hardly support the Americans' push for escalating the conflict.

As far as the Syrian issue is concerned, Mirzoyan expressed hope that a chance to return to the negotiating table and reach a breakthrough agreement may only appear after the new US administration comes to power.

Even given the fact that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are known for their hardline stance on foreign policy, reaching a consensus on Syria will be a task that in any case should be solved by Obama's successor, according to Mirzoyan.

"It doesn't matter to Russia whether the successor will be Clinton or Trump. The main thing is that upon coming to power, the new US administration will not only take but also implement their decisions," he said, warning against demonizing Clinton's image.

As for the Pentagon, he added, it may change its hawkish stance after the new US administration is in office, something that will help Russia and the United States return to dialogue.

"I feel that Moscow and Washington have a common interest when it comes to Syria, namely, to end the civil war there. Although their approach to the problem differs, one thing is clear: neither Russia nor the United States want to be involved further in the Syrian war," Mirzoyan said.
Previously German Foreign Affairs and the representative of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Frank-Walter Steinmeier also reiterated that he did not support the idea of introducing new sanctions against Russia. In his opinion, these measures will not change Russian policy towards Syria.

Moreover, Gernot Erler, Special Representative of the Federal Government of Germany for the OSCE Chairmanship in 2016 and Coordinator for Intersocietal Cooperation with Russia told the news website ZDFheute.de that there have been considerations voiced about the possible rolling-up of punitive anti-Russian measures.

"The policy of sanctions in the form in which it took place in the Ukrainian conflict is not encouraging to use it as a tool once again, the politician said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladislav Belov pointed out to Vzglyad that the article in The Wall Street Journal was based only on one unnamed source who could have said whatever he wanted while the representatives of the German government have officially denied such claims.

The political analyst doubted that the Germany government would follow the US-pushed agenda. Berlin, he said, as well as the EU leadership does not approve Russia's operations in Syria, but it at least "leaves a window for negotiations with Russia and Russia's Foreign Ministry in particular."

"The publication in The Wall Street Journal was a provocative information hoax which is intended not only to start discussions on the introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions over Moscow's role in the Syrian crisis, but also forces German official circles to react to it," Belov said.

"In my view, the chances of Germany introducing new additional sanctions, such as punitive economic measures, are zero," he told the newspaper.

The expert however added that theoretically he wouldn't have completely ruled out such a development.

Meanwhile Alexander Rahr, German political analyst and Research Director of the German-Russian Forum told Russian website National News Service that some mass media sources who took the side of the "party of war" are "mistaking the wish for the reality."
According to him, "it was 15 years ago when a period of incessant war started, which was instigated by America."

"The wars which were unleashed at the time continue today. They began with the US strikes on Afghanistan and continued in Iraq, Syria and Libya, where scores of people were killed and many more injured," he said, also citing those who were displaced.

Muzhdah blamed the United States for failing to deliver on its promises made during the beginning of the military operation against the Taliban, including the arrest of Osama bin Laden.

"Fifteen years have passed and none of the promises made by the United States has been fulfilled. Tens of thousands of Afghan servicemen were killed by Americans. For what?" he said, referring to the tough times ordinary Afghans are now going through.

"The US's foreign policy tactics will one day lead the world into the Third World War. The example of Afghanistan shows us how they have introduced a system which counters the world," according to him.

Earlier, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan and senior Foreign Ministry official said that the United States is politically responsible for the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

"They cut back their presence and did not resolve a single issues and created more problems. They carry political and moral responsibility for what is taking place in Afghanistan now," Kabulov said.
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The fight between the two this time is over holding a rally under a banner of their own choice.

By Rohini Swamy: There seems to be no end to the rift between BS Yeddyurappa and KS Eshwarappa in the Karnataka BJP unit.

It is almost as if they have crossed swords and even the intervention by BJP national general secretary Ramlal has failed to patch the growing rift.

Opposition leader KS Eshwarappa decided to go ahead with his Sangolli Rayanna Brigade rally which he plans to hold on October 8 in Tumkur.

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Yeddyurappa wants these rallies to be held under the obc and sc/st banner of the BJP, but Eshwarappa is bent on holding the HINDA meeting under the SRB banner.

BATTLE OF BANNERS

The HINDA conventions will help the BJP consolidate their vote base amongst the Dalits and the backward classes.

Yeddyurappa, who is the state BJP president and who came back to state politics to consolidate the vote bank of the BJP in view of the state elections in 2018, said that Eshwarappa's stance has sent wrong signals to the party workers.

ALLEGATIONS



Ramlal advised the state president to take into consideration all leaders and involve them in the decision making process as one of the allegations against Yeddyurappa has been that he has been dictatorial and does not consult senior leaders in the party while taking decisions.

"Eshwarappa's activities are sending the wrong message to the party workers and if he continues it could prove disastrous to the BJP at a time when people are looking for a change in government," said BS Yeddyurappa.

The Central leadership of the BJP has also advised Eshwarappa to dissociate himself for Sangolli Rayanna Brigade and work under the party banner.

Also Read:



BS Yeddyurappa embarrasses party, slams Karnataka CM

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STEM

Knox Middle School Receives $5,000 Robotics Grant

Knox Middle School of San Diego Unified School District has received a $5,000 Barona Education Grant to develop an "innovative robotics program."

The grant program was created and administered by the Barona Band of Mission Indians in rural eastern San Diego County. The goal of the program is "to create strong educational opportunities for the children of California building upon the success of the Barona Indian Charter School," according to a news release.

Knox Middle School, which includes grades 6 through 8, plans to use the money to launch a new robotics program designed to help students develop problem solving skills and to promote interest in advanced technology, science and computer programming.

"We believe it will inspire our students to gain a love for robotics that will help them in high school, college and beyond," said Heather Potter, principal of Knox Middle School, in a prepared statement. "Now that they have the tools they need to compete with other middle schools locally and across the state, it will expose them to so much and help boost confidence and self-esteem."

The Borona Education Grant was established in 2006 and has awarded more than $2.9 million to 587 schools around the state of California. Further information and applications for the Barona Education Grant can be found on the Barona Band of Mission Indians' site.
Internet Accessibility

NYC Libraries to Offer 5,000 WiFi Hotspots to Students, Families

In New York City, more than 800,000 households do not have broadband connection. To help close the homework gap for these students, the New York Department of Education announced that the city partnered with its three library systems, Google and Sprint to distribute 5,000 free WiFi hotspots to public school students and families without home Internet access.

The initiative is the next phase of the New York Public Librarys Library HotSpot program, which started in 2014 to help close the digital divide for more than 2 million New Yorkers without access to broadband Internet at home. In 2015, the program expanded to include Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library, as well as Google and Sprint.

The next round of the program involves distributing 5,000 hotspots from Sprint, which eligible families can rent at no cost for one year. Google previously donated $1 million toward the program. To be eligible, a household must meet the following requirements:

No Internet access when signing up;

At least one student in grades pre-K12 enrolled in a NYC public school; and

At least one adult resident with a fine-free library card; and

The renter must attend a lending event at one of the three branches.

Hotspots will be offered at 46 library branches run by the three libraries. The branches are located near the departments Community Schools, or neighborhood hubs where students receive high-quality academic instruction, families can access social services and communities congregate to share resources and address their common challenges, according to a news release.

The Library HotSpot program aligns with the White Houses ConnectED initiative to bring next-generation broadband to 99 percent of U.S. students by 2018.

To learn more about the Library HotSpot program, visit the New York Public Library site.
Buyers representative / Buyers agent

(Also known as a buyers agent) A REALTOR hired by prospective buyers to work in the buyers best interest throughout the transaction. The buyer can pay the agent directly through a negotiated fee, or the buyers rep may be paid by the seller or through a commission split with the sellers agent.

Associate broker

A real estate professional licensed by the New Mexico Real Estate Commission (NMREC) after completing the background check, fingerprinting, finished the 30-hour pre-licensing courses in Real Estate Principles and Practice, Real Estate Law, and Broker Basics and passed the NMREC broker exam.

Qualifying broker

A real estate professional licensed by the New Mexico Real Estate Commission (NMREC) after completing the background check, fingerprinting, holding their active Associate Brokers license with a real estate brokerage for two of the last five years, completed the 30-hour Brokerage Office Administration course and passed the NMREC broker exam.

Graduate, Realtor Institute / GRI

REALTORS with the GRI designation have in-depth training in legal and regulatory issues, technology, professional standards, and the sales process. Earning the designation is a way to stand out to prospective buyers and sellers as a professional with expertise in these areas.

Brokerage

A brokerage is a Real Estate company with at least one licensed qualified broker.

Realtor

An associate or qualified broker that is an active member of the National Association of REALTORS and subscribes to their strict Code of Ethics. In New Mexico, close to 60% of associate and qualified brokers are active REALTORS.

Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager / CRB

The Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) is one of the most respected and relevant designations offered in real estate business management and is awarded to REALTORS who have completed advanced educational and professional requirements. CRB Designees are better positioned to streamline operations, integrate new technology and apply new trends and business strategies. Join today and discover a new approach to enhancing knowledge and leveraging opportunity.

Sellers representative/ Listing or sellers agent

The REALTOR hired by and represents the seller. All fiduciary duties are owed to the seller, meaning this persons job is to get the best price and terms for the seller. The agency relationship usually is created by a signed listing contract.

Accredited land consultant / ALC

The esteemed Accredited Land Consultants (ALCs) are the most trusted, knowledgeable, experienced, and highest- producing experts in all segments of land. Conferred by the REALTORS Land Institute, the designation requires successful completion of a rigorous LANDU education program, a specific, high-volume and experience level, and adherence to an honorable Code of Conduct.

Accredited Buyers Representative / ABR

The Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR) designation is designed for real estate buyer agents who focus on working directly with buyer-clients at every stage of the home-buying process.

Certified Residential Specialist / CRS

The CRS designation is the highest credential awarded to residential sales agents, managers, and brokers. On average, CRS designees earn nearly three times more in income, transactions, and gross sales than non-designee REALTORS.

Seller Representative Specialist / SRS

The Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) designation is the premier credential in seller representation. It is designed to elevate professional standards and enhance personal performance. The designation is awarded to real estate practitioners by the Real Estate Business Institute (REBI) who meet specific educational and practical experience criteria.

Source: NewMexicoHomeSearch.com
Bunny bromance and rabbit speed-dating are all in a days work for members of the New Mexico House Rabbit Society.

Volunteers from across Rio Rancho and Albuquerque are dedicating their lives to rescuing, fostering and adopting house rabbits, who often roam urban areas as strays.

Bill Velasquez, president of the local House Rabbit Society, has been working to rescue rabbits since 2009.

People call and say, Hey, I saw a stray rabbit,  Velasquez said. Sometimes our volunteers will go and help capture the rabbit. Were usually pretty successful.

Velasquez commands a group of volunteers who have been known to scour neighborhoods, cross highways and run down mountainsides to save the fluffy strays.

Rio Rancho resident Matt Wasson has been so successful in rescue work that he has earned the unofficial title of chief rabbit wrangler.

I help out where I can, said Wasson, who has been catching rabbits for the group for nearly six years and has since collected house rabbits of his own.

Theyre just helpless, he said of the strays. They dont know what to do.

Stray rabbits?

It may be difficult to imagine, but stray rabbits run rampant through streets and neighborhoods in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Its a lot more common than people realize, Wasson said.

House rabbits are very different from the brown cottontails and large jackrabbits commonly seen in the wild  they are, in fact, a totally different species of animal.

They just dont have the survival skills, Wasson said. Which is why we work so hard to get them in when theyre reported as strays.

The boom in strays is greatly due to commercialization of Easter. People commonly buy baby rabbits from pet stores or feed stores as a gimmick, Velasquez said, and then reject or dump them when their cuteness has worn off or they become too much to handle. People take the rabbits to city animal shelters or let them loose.

They think if they dump them by the side of the road, that they will go and live with the wild rabbits, Velasquez said. Letting them loose in the wild is basically a death sentence for them.

Another problem is the proverbial quickness of rabbit breeding. Often, people buy batches of bunnies and cannot tell whether their new pets are male or female. They also do not neuter the rabbits due to the expense. That leads to population explosions.

It can get really out of hand really fast, Velasquez said, noting that a batch of unaltered rabbits can produce over 100 babies in mere months. Thats when people start to get desperate.

Velasquez, Wasson and other members of the New Mexico House Rabbit Society have strong feelings about the maltreatment of rabbits  especially since, like most pets, rabbits dont cause trouble if properly cared for.

Rabbits are highly intelligent and very social, Wasson said. The saddest thing in the world is a forgotten rabbit in a backyard  Theyre a long-term commitment. Theyre not toys.

Rabbits do best in pairs. People are encouraged to adopt them in duos  spayed or neutered, depending on their bunny buddy.

There has to be a dominant bunny, and 80 percent of the time, its the girl, Velasquez said. This makes it difficult to bond two bossy girl rabbits together. Boys are more easygoing.

The bond between a male and female rabbit is the strongest, Velasquez said, and is best achieved by rabbit speed dating. Velasquez acts as matchmaker in bonding adoptions. In the case of bonding a boy rabbit, he will have three or four girls available for a meet and greet.

The meetings range from love at first sight to I want to kill you!  just like with people, he said. Usually its something like, Youre OK, but wed better date awhile to see if this is going to work. 

Velasquez takes the rabbits home for a week or two to get them better acquainted.

Once theyve spent a night or two together without issues, the relationship is established, he said.
The Modi-led BJP government in the Centre revoked its order of evacuating border villages in Punjab.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had ordered to clear up to 10 km along Punjab Border; Photo: Reuters

By Indo-Asian News Service: The Central government today revoked its decision that led to the mass evacuation of villages in a 10-km belt along Punjab's border with Pakistan.

Hours after the Indian Army's surgical strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on September 29 and keeping in view a possible retaliation by Pakistan, the border villages in Punjab as well as Jammu and Kashmir were evacuated.

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Also Read: Will Pakistan hit back? Villages close to border being evacuated, leaves of soldiers cancelled

The Centre today reversed its order.

Following the revocation, the Punjab government issued directions to allow the people to return to their homes in the border villages in all the six districts of Punjab.

The villagers will be allowed to return after nine days.

'DECISION TAKEN AFTER PROPER REVIEW'



Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the state Home Minister, said that the decision to reverse the evacuation of border villages was taken at a meeting of Chief Ministers of western border states with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, where the situation along the entire border with Pakistan was reviewed.

Badal has informed Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal about the decision and Deputy Commissioners of all six districts were asked to take immediate steps to ensure smooth return of the affected people back to the border villages.

Badal said that he had asked the Union Home Minister to allow Punjab to raise five armed battalions which would act like a second line of defence behind the Border Security Force (BSF), which is manning the border with Pakistan.

Also Read: India-Pakistan border to be completely sealed by end of 2018: Rajnath Singh

PUNJAB GOVERNMENT IDENTIFIES 75 PLACES WHERE CHECK POINTS NEEDED



The Punjab government has already identified 75 points where check points needed to be placed as a second line of defence, he said.

The Punjab government, following directions from the Union Home Ministry, had on September 29 ordered evacuation of people to safer areas from within the 10-km belt of its 553-km international border with Pakistan.

Over four lakh (400,000) people in nearly 1,000 villages in six border districts of Fazilka, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot were affected due to the evacuation.

Many families and people had refused to move out saying that they had to tend to their crops, cattle and properties.

Also Read: India's claim of surgical strikes across LoC an 'illusion', says Pakistan

WAS THE PUNJAB GOVERNMENT OVER REACTING?

The Punjab government and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine came in for criticism from opposition parties for over-reacting to the situation and ordering evacuation of border villages.

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The Union government had, on October 2, allowed border farmers to harvest their paddy crop following growing resentment among farmers.

Schools in the border belt, which were closed since September 29, were ordered to be opened from October 5.

Evacuated villagers had alleged mismanagement by local authorities at the evacuation camps saying that there were hardly any arrangements.

The evacuation move followed apprehensions that Pakistan could retaliate after the cross-LoC strikes.



Also Read:

Uri martyr's family hails surgical strikes on Pakistan

2 Pakistan soldiers killed as India responds to ceasefire violation with punitive strikes

Nawaz Sharif condemns surgical strikes by Indian army How to punish Pakistan when a war is ruled out



Indian Army crosses LoC, conducts surgical strikes in Pakistani territory



Nawaz Sharif condemns surgical strikes by Indian army



All you need to know about Pakistan's nastiest weapon: Tactical nukes



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James Roday and Danny Glover star in Pushing Dead. A scene from Dont Call Me Son, one of the centerpiece films at the SWGLFF. Tim Boardman, center, and Molly Shannon, background, in a scene from Miles. Connor Jessup stars in the film Closet Monster, which is a centerpiece film at the SWGLFF. Jesse Plemons and Molly Shannon in a scene from Other People, which will open the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Prev 1 of 5 Next

Fourteen years. Thats how long the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has been running consecutively.

Which makes it the longest-running film festival in New Mexico.

This year, there are 77 films that will screen over the course of 10 days in Albuquerque.

Weve always tried to mix it up, says Roberto Appicciafoco, festival director. Its a fun program.

Over the course of the 14 years, the film festival has managed to gain more traction each year.

And, this year, Appicciafoco says the festival had about 400 submissions.

We were at the point where we were trying find ways to actually minimalize the number of submissions, he says. We opened up submissions in December. We have 13 screen committee members and all of the films were scored.

The festival opens at 7 tonight with the film Other People.

It stars Jesse Plemons, Bradley Whitford and Molly Shannon.

It seems to be the year of Molly Shannon, Appicciafoco says. We have this film, and then theres the film Miles in the Youth in Focus part of the festival.

Other films Appicciafoco is looking forward to screening are two centerpiece films, Closet Monster and Dont Call Me Son. The festival will also feature the Queer Youth United! short films, which are about todays LGBTQ youths.

Im very happy with the films we have, he says. We have more showcases this year. Were trying to focus on getting the youth out to the festival.

Appicciafoco is thankful that the community supports the festival and that, this year, there are more sponsors than ever.

The community has stood by us for all this time, he says. We are a niche festival, and what we do is give the community a chance to see a lot of these films that wouldnt otherwise screen in New Mexico.
Diane Jack, Mindi Manzanares and Catherine Walters. Robert Meya of the Santa Fe Opera, Mark Kiffen of The Compound restaurant and Barbara Brackett. Jenny Cintron and Vicki Rojas sample a zinfandel. Wine supplier Philip de Give. Prev 1 of 4 Next

Its only a three-hour mid-afternoon event. And to keep it a manageable size, they limit the tickets, so they sell out every year.

You dont think of the Wine & Chile Fiesta as being a fundraiser, raising money for a good cause, do you? Maybe because its so freewheeling, informal and unstructured, its in the daytime and its so much fun!

This historic tribute to New Mexicos affection for fabulous chile, and chiles great pairing with vino, is their mutual festival every autumn up at the Opera grounds.

This years 26th Annual Grand Tasting occurred on a gorgeous, sunny, blue-sky, not too hot, not too cold, Santa Fe storybook autumn day.

One should not eat much of a breakfast the day of the Wine & Chile Fiesta. Best to go on an empty stomach and sample all 300 tasty offerings from Santa Fes restaurants and the countrys vineyards as they merge to tempt us with their creations.

Some dishes are one tiny nibble; others are almost a meal. All should contain either New Mexico red or green chile  even desserts, which were great!

Cognoscenti of the outstanding vineyards stand in line for long spells waiting for the complimentary pour of something sumptuous that could easily be $100 a bottle, bypassing the ordinary brands and then beelining for the other A+ chateaux. Im not telling which.

We spent 10 minutes in line for one of my big favorites, for a quarter of an inch of the garnet liquid. And to think some people (the real pros) swirl it around in their quite expert mouths and then spit it out! Crazy! We wanted to savor it with our succulent tuna tartare with red chile and sesame oil.

This days trend, though, was tacos  the perfect serving format: forks not necessary  pick up your food and have the other hand free for your wine. Vanessie did a yummy wasabi tuna tartare taco with red chile sauce.

There were pulled pork tacos, shredded beef tacos and green chile chicken tacos, and Chef Martin made a sublime duck mole taco that I hope hell put on his menu. A blissful surprise was Sazons Fernando Olea with his famous, fantastic Sopa de Amor  lump crab in a cream soup with almond foam on top, excellent with a chilly, crisp rose!

What joy, wandering around eating divine tapas and drinking tastes of wonderful different wines al fresco on top of the Opera, looking out at the Sangres just turning yellow, live music floating through the tents  well, just a blissful afternoon.

The profit from the Wine & Chile Fiesta underwrites Cooking With Kids, a program started in 1995 that has grown to serve over 5,000 children and is now in 13 schools. Such culinary luminaries as Johnny Vollertson, Martin Rios, Rocky Durham and Fernando Olea volunteer to teach children the value of healthy, fresh foods, and how to prepare them and have fun in the belief that they will choose these good foods over junk foods when given the chance.

The board members, chefs, and Wine & Chile participants also have an eye on apprenticing those children who grow up through the ranks of the program who show a talent and an interest in pursuing the food service/hospitality industry. So far, the Wine & Chile Fiesta has donated $150,000 to Cooking With Kids over the past eight years and seems inclined to keep going.

Its a wonderful way to sample new restaurants and see if you might like to go there; a jolly place to say a quick hello to old friends; a good way to try wines you might like to order, if you only knew. Yes, I found several restaurants to try and some Id forgotten. It all closes down at 4 and then, woozy and satiated, you have to go home and take a nap!
WYOMING

Theres nothing like a rootin-tootin Old West-style gunfight in the street to get your heart pumping; you can root for the good cowboys, cheer on the dance-hall sweetie (secretly an armed Pinkerton detective) and jeer at the bullies who get plugged full of lead.

This happens six nights a week during the summer in Cody, Wyo., but better not stand too close. At the last Friday night showdown, three tourists, a raft and the front of a business were all gouged by real, ricocheting fragments of bullets fired from a Civil War-era gun.

No one was seriously injured, though a Minnesota man and his 3-year-old daughter were treated at the hospital and released, and a 22-year-old New Yorker was assisted at the scene.

Just for comparison, Cody Enterprise reporter Lew Freedman went to Jackson, Wyo., to watch the tourist gunfight thats been held there for 60 years. The shots fired in Jackson were truly blanks, no spectators or rafts were harmed, and the best joke involved a guy named Lanky Lou, so smitten with a bar girl named Cheyenne Rose that he asked: Can I have your telegraph number?

Meanwhile, the Cody sachems are investigating what happened and deciding how to bulletproof their gunfighters show, which erupts outside the historic Irma Hotel, Buffalo Bills old hangout.

At the very whisper of discontinuing the now-suspended event, supporters made their opinions known to the Cody Enterprise. Said one reader, calling himself Fox River: Some liberals or effeminate weaklings will start a protest and we will no longer have the gunfight. Also the rodeo will be replaced by a vegan tofu bar and Reiki therapy center.

But probably it taint nuthin to worry about, maam, as Lanky Lou might say: The gunfight and rodeo are venerable Cody institutions and likely to remain so.

WYOMING

Speaking of roadside excitement, game warden Todd Graham got a call about an unusual traffic jam near Alpine, Wyo., south of Grand Teton National Park: A moose was giving birth to her calf right in the middle of a gravel road. The calf was still very shaky and unable to walk, Graham said. If a vehicle came within about 50 yards, the cow would pin her ears back and charge.

So everyone waited  six vehicles on one side of the blessed event, two trucks on the other  and, after an hour and a half, with wobbly steps, the calf was able to totter after its mother into a willow patch.

There, Graham said, he was surprised to hear the newborn open up with chirps and whistles. Two days later, reports Wyoming Wildlife, the pair had vanished into the wild.

THE WEST

In a first for the nation, nine budless marijuana plants were displayed at the Oregon State Fair in Salem.

The exhibit brings pot cultivation into the agricultural mainstream less than two years after Oregon voters legalized recreational marijuana, reports the Associated Press.

The plants, all judged winners in their categories  sativa, indica and hybrid  were housed in a translucent tent and no one under 21 was allowed entry.

And, in another first for the nation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wind turbine technician is now the fastest-growing profession, with job opportunities expected to double by 2024, reports the Union of Concerned Scientists.

MONTANA

It was a thrilling sight and we were privileged to see it: Nearly a thousand Native Americans, all wearing traditional regalia decorated with beads, feathers, elk teeth and bells, slowly circled an outdoor arena to the steady beat of six enormous drums.

It took the dancers more than an hour to enter the moving circle, where hundreds of spectators stood to honor the American flag, held by a woman wearing a war bonnet, and flanked by Native American war veterans. This was the Grand Entry at the annual Crow Fair at Hardin, Mont., a four-day event first held in 1904.

Nowadays, this get-together, complete with rodeo, and various dance, singing and drumming contests, bills itself as the largest outdoor powwow in the United States and visitors approaching it are liable to see hundreds of teepees erected on the banks of the Little Bighorn River.

Not far from the Crow Fair, theres a very different tourist attraction and we wish wed had a day to explore it  the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, where, in 1876, George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry made their disastrous last stand.

COLORADO

Bill Knapp, a resident of Carbondale, has done Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump the dubious favor of drafting his future concession speech.

Speaking for Trump in a letter to the Post Independent, he begins, I congratulate myself for pulling off the most elaborate con of all time. You seriously thought I wanted to be president? America, you are all a bunch of fools! For starters, I could not take the pay cut  .

Betsy Marston is the editor of Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News (hcn,org). Tips and photos of Western oddities are appreciated and often shared in this column. Write betsym@hcn.org or tag photos #heardaroundthewest on Instagram.
Did you hear about Jacob Hall?

Maybe his name rings a bell for you, maybe not. Jacob was the 6-year-old boy who was shot on the playground at Townville Elementary School in South Carolina last Wednesday. Another boy and a teacher were also struck, but survived.

Its a blessing Jacob was denied. Hit in the femoral artery, he suffered massive blood loss and spent his last three days in a hospital fighting to live.

He lost that battle Saturday.

Police say his assailant was another boy, 14 years old.

Maybe you heard about it, maybe not. Unless you live near where it happened, it probably didnt lead your local TV news, nor would your favorite cable network have spent much time on it. Donald Trump didnt tweet about it. Stephen Colbert of The Late Show didnt mention it in his Monday night monologue.

But last month, when pressure cooker bombs exploded in New York City and on the Jersey Shore, it led Colberts monologue, Trump tweeted about it, and TV news was all over it. No one died, though over two dozen were injured.

Of course, that was terrorism. Jacob died in a schoolyard shooting.

Thats meant to criticize neither Colbert, Trump, nor the news media. Nor is it meant to minimize the threat posed by terrorism. No, its meant only to make the following point:

Without really meaning to weve evolved a kind of hierarchy of death in which anything thats called terrorism requires wall-to-wall media coverage, reactions from political candidates and somber acknowledgment from late-night talk show hosts. But a 14-year-old shoots a 6-year-old on a playground and its just Wednesday.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that hierarchy has no basis in reality.

Last year, PolitiFact tallied the number of Americans killed in this country by terrorism in the 10 preceding years. It came to 71. The number of us killed by guns in that same time frame? 301,797.

Even if you allow that some of those shootings were in self-defense, the gap between 71 and 301,797 still yawns vaster than oceans. Extrapolating from numbers compiled by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, we can estimate that well over 25,000 of the dead in that decade are teenagers  and children.

So yeah, did you hear about Jacob Hall? Or Justice Burroughs? Or Rodriquez Ferguson? Did you hear about Solomon Jordan Smith, Savier Jones and Melanie Martinez? Did you hear about the 18-month-old in Georgia who was shot in the head? Police arent sure if he did it himself or if it was his brother, who is 3 years old.

Thats a snapshot from the week Jacob died  seven average days in America. For the record, Jacob, 6, was the oldest of those victims.

Given the disparity between the threats represented by gun violence and terrorism, it is not rational that the latter comes out on top in our hierarchy of death. For some reason, some of us are less alarmed by random violence if it doesnt come from people with funny names acting in service to what is seen as an off-brand faith.

For some reason, some of us find it easier to focus on the threat posed to us by perceived others than on the threat we pose ourselves.

Some of us need to open their eyes.

We have built an America where a 14-year-old can get his hands on a weapon of mass destruction, use it to kill a 6-year-old, and we respond with a national shrug  an America where weve normalized carnage and called it freedom.

Did you hear about Jacob Hall? No, he was not a victim of terrorism.

May that bring you absolutely no comfort at all.

Copyright, The Miami Herald; email to lpitts@miamiherald.com.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held off deciding the fate of a local case involving state funding for private school textbooks.

The justices will likely hear a similar appeal from Missouri this term before turning to New Mexico Association of Nonpublic Schools v. Moses.

It is still in the pipeline, but it will take some time, said John Foreman, NMANS executive director and superintendent of Mesilla Valley Christian Schools in Las Cruces. Our legal team is watching it.

The case centers on a constitutional question: Can the state provide money to cover textbooks for private schools, both secular and religious?

In November, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously struck down the provision, overturning two lower court rulings.

A public school under the control of the state can directly receive funds, while a private school not under the exclusive control of the state can not receive either direct or indirect support, Supreme Court justice Edward Chavez wrote in the ruling.

The decision pulled $1.4 million from over 100 private schools across New Mexico.

NMANS appealed to the Supreme Court, then pushed for a delay pending the outcome in the Missouri case, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley, a fight over federal funding for playground resurfacing at a church preschool.

Frank Susman, attorney for the plaintiffs challenging the textbook law, thinks the cases are different and should not have been lumped together.

Well wait and see what happens, he said.

In the meantime, New Mexicos private schools will have to pay for their own materials.

Before the New Mexico Supreme Courts ruling, the state had covered private school textbooks for nearly 30 years using federal mineral leases money. Legally, the schools could not use the funding for religious materials.

Two New Mexico parents, Cathy Moses of Santa Fe and Paul Weinbaum of Las Cruces, decided to fight the law in 2011, arguing that public support for parochial schools effectively forces taxpayers to follow religious dictates.

Foreman said the funding loss has hurt families.

You go to schools in some of the smaller communities and it really impacts them a lot, he said. They have to cut back  they have to pull away a program or not have a teachers aide in the classroom with the kids or cut back on tutoring. They have to cut back on something because now they have to go out and spend that money on textbooks.
Animal Protection of New Mexico is offering $5,000 for any information leading to a suspected burglar who shot and mortally wounded a Great Dane named Moose during a Sandia Park break-in.

A Sandia Park familys home was burglarized on Sept. 22 and their beloved Moose was found inside  wounded and struggling to breathe.

Because Moose was suffering, the family said it made the difficult decision to have him euthanized by a veterinarian. A necropsy confirmed Moose had been shot.

Investigators with the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office said that Moose was likely shot during a robbery at the home. The case is being investigated as an aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and felony animal cruelty.

A few days after the Sandia Park incident, a suspect in the East Mountains burglary was caught on home surveillance footage burglarizing a home on Albuquerques West Side.

The stolen vehicle that the suspect left behind when he fled from officers contained items that were stolen from the Sandia Park incident, Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Officer Tanner Tixier said.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the APNMs Animal Cruelty Hotline at 877-548-6263. All calls are confidential and callers may remain anonymous.
The man who evaded police capture for more than 30 years after fatally shooting his girlfriends brother in 1984 was sentenced Thursday in District Court to 14 years in prison.

Valentin Vasquez, 63, will be deported following completion of his prison sentence. He pleaded no contest in August to second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery.

During a fight, Vasquez, then 31, fired shots into a home, striking his girlfriend and two men, police said. Juan Gutierrez, the girlfriends brother, was hit three times and died days later of his injuries.

Judge Briana Zamora, describing the killing as extremely violent, imposed the maximum sentence and said she was bothered by Vasquezs lengthy disappearance.

There was no acceptance of responsibility, she said. Not for one decade, two decades, three decades.

Vasquez finally was arrested late last year after a minor wreck in Illinois. Though he gave a fake name, officers eventually determined his identity and located the Albuquerque murder warrant.

Vasquezs attorney Naomi Salazar explained in a court filing that her client, who was raised on a ranch in Mexico, left school at age 8 when his father was murdered. His mothers limited job options could not support the family and Vasquez, the eldest brother in the family, worked fields for meager earnings until he was old enough to do road construction.

His wages went directly to his family, and even after he moved to the U.S., he sent money home so his siblings could stay in school. Salazar said Vasquez went on to take difficult work to provide for 10 children of his own.

She asked the judge to consider a minimal sentence, noting that Vasquez led a crime-free existence in the 31 years between the shooting and his arrest and that he would have to leave his loved ones behind when his sentence is complete.

When he is released from prison, its not the end of his punishment, Salazar said. Hes still going to be deported, and hell be away from all those people that he gave so much for.

But prosecutor David Waymire told the judge that Vasquez would be eligible for 50 percent good time, because the crime took place before serious violent offenders were required to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.

Even with a 14-year sentence and a year of pre-sentence confinement, Waymire said, hell be eligible for release in six and half years.

Zamora, noting the good time eligibility, said the sentence was extremely light.
The two candidates running for the state House of Representatives from sprawling District 50, stretching from the Santa Fe suburb of Eldorado south to near Belen, come from opposite sides of the political spectrum.

Thats obvious from their social media posts.

Incumbent Democrat Matthew McQueen, running for his second term, is a regular on Twitter, and often uses the forum to rip Republicans and support Democrats and their causes.

In recent days, he has been criticizing GOP legislators for trying to reinstate the death penalty during the ongoing special session. Over the past several months, he has often mocked Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

One tweet from McQueen, a Santa Fe-based attorney whos running for re-election after winning the seat in 2014, said: Its bad that #Trump used charitable money to bribe the Florida Attorney General. ITS WORSE THAT HE BRIBED THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Tremko, the Republican District candidate and political newcomer, has a campaign Facebook page where he says he has supported Trump since 2008 when I was in Iraq. I believe he has what it takes to give the military the tools to be successful.

I will not support abortion. Not ever! he said in another post.

Tremko, a freelance drafter and architect who spent nine years in the U.S. Army, and owns a karate school and mixed martial arts gym in Moriarty, also wrote that, after researching the Democratic Party, I feel like they are trying to force Americans to believe what they want or be fined. Even in some cases be thrown into prison. Lets Unite and stop the socialist propaganda.

But in recent interviews, the two candidates found some common ground on economic policy, starting with not being so friendly to big companies like Facebook and Google, and not depending so much on the states oil and gas industry.

To help grow the states flailing economy, McQueen said the state needs to stop courting big companies like Tesla and Facebook, which is set to break ground on a new data center in Los Lunas with the help of millions in state and local financial incentives, and instead grow the economy by making it easier for people to start a business.

He also said the state should look to promoting tourism and its scenic spaces. Lets focus on what we already do well and try to focus on attracting people to our state, McQueen said. I think we should promote what makes New Mexico a special place.

Tremko, whose hometown of Moriarty recently said goodbye to Google subsidiary Titan Aerospace after the state had invested nearly $1 million in infrastructure improvement to help the company, said big companies should be offered incentives to come here to create jobs, but with limits.

Why are we giving tax breaks to these massive companies where they can obviously afford it? Tremko said. We need to get our money out of these companies while theyre here, and ensure that theyre putting into the economy and were not just taking out of the economy to help them.

The race got off to a rough start as McQueen challenged Tremkos candidacy for not having enough valid registered voters signatures on his nominating petition. McQueen maintained that Tremko was one signature short of the required 35.

Secretary of State Brad Winter initially sided with McQueen and took Tremko off the ballot, but, after further review, Winter found that Tremko did have 35 valid signatures. The deadline to put him on the ballot had passed, so Winter asked a state district judge to put Tremko on the ballot.

McQueen filed a complaint in District Court against Tremko and Winter, but Judge David Thomson ruled in Tremkos favor in March.

While both men agreed slightly on economic development, they differ on how to make changes to the states educational system, which is constantly ranked toward the bottom of the nation.

Only about a quarter of New Mexico public school students were considered adequate in English and math last school year, according to standardized test results released by the Public Education Department in August. The scores assesses how well New Mexico students adhere to Common Core standards, which have been adopted by most states.

Tremko said the state should drop Common Core and proposes letting each school district decide what standards they should adopt. Common Core is kind of kryptonite for the state, Tremko said. We need to look at whatever our districts need and let them decide what curriculum they want to use to address their needs, rather than being forced to use Common Core.

Tremko also proposes keeping students with the same teacher each year so the students dont have to adjust to a new teacher and the teachers dont have to figure out where the students left off the previous year.

By jumping them from teacher to teacher to teacher every single year, theyre getting a fresh new face that doesnt exactly know what they learned last year, Tremko said. I think (keeping the same teacher) should be done all the way up to high school. That way, were able to hold the teacher more accountable for the kids.

McQueen objects to teacher evaluation scores that depend heavily on student test scores.

I think the current administration has been completely hostile to public educators, and were losing people as a result, McQueen said. Qualified teachers are retiring rather than going through a process thats set up on an evaluation thats tied to the testing.

McQueen said one way to improve public education would be to get parents more involved in their childrens education, although he concedes that there would be no easy way to get the government to do that. I truthfully think that you cant put this all on the schools and the teachers, he said. You need to bring parents into the equation.

On legalizing recreational marijuana, McQueen said his biggest concern is keeping it out of the hands of children and would like to see lawmakers who introduce a legalization bill discuss how they would do that. Otherwise, he said hes not opposed to adults 21 and over using recreational marijuana.

As that bill gets introduced year after year, I hope not only does that debate happen, but that people address that, McQueen said. Its not something I do personally or would do personally but, if my other concerns were addressed, I wouldnt be opposed to that.

Tremko said he would like to know more about marijuana before making a decision on whether or not it should be legalized for recreational use.

For me, I have to do a lot more research on it, Tremko said. For Colorado, it has been a good economical aspect but, at the same time, it increases the costs the police department has to go through as far as different types of tests they have to do. You dont have any hard facts about what marijuana truly does to your body. Until I have somebody come up to me and show me hard, proven facts about marijuana, then I cant really make a decision.
OJO SARCO  When I visited this tiny village off the High Road to Taos a couple of weeks ago, residents said it was in danger of being wiped off the map, at least as far as the U.S. Postal Service was concerned.

A notice over the summer from local postal service officials informed them that their addresses no longer include Ojo Sarco. At least for postal purposes, they now lived in Chamisal, as much as 11 or 12 miles away (depending on where your house is) past Las Trampas and across the Rio Arriba/Taos county line on the way to Picuris Pueblo.

It was the last straw for some locals.

In 1995, Ojo Sarco lost its post office. About 10 years ago, their ZIP code was abolished, and Rio Arribas Ojo Sarco became part of the same ZIP code zone as Chamisal, which is located in Taos County and still has a post office.

But until the notice in June, their mailing addresses, as described by the Postal Service, at least still included Ojo Sarco, not Chamisal.

For my visit, a group of seven Ojo Sarco residents gathered at the tiny village community center to detail a list of alleged postal-related horrors in recent years, months and weeks. More than local identity is at stake.

They described a mangled system in which sometimes various iterations of an Ojo Sarco or a Chamisal address work, sometimes they dont, and sometimes mail just doesnt show up. And you can be penalized if your mail is improperly addressed.

Since the post office closed, Ojo Sarco has been on a highway contract route, or HCR, with the mail delivered by a contractor and residents assigned an HC number for their mailbox.

Just recently, Patsy Sanchez said, she had to pay a $3 fee  and it wasnt postage due  after receiving notice to go to the Chamisal post office to pick up a copy of the Old Farmers Almanac that shed ordered.

She was informed that it wasnt placed in her mailbox (everyone has a box, with the name inside, at a group box on the highway). The fee was due because the book had the wrong address.

The package had been addressed to a post office box number, which people in Ojo Sarco have continued to use over the years, instead of the required HC number (although the actual number on the actual, physical mailbox is the same as it has always been, the residents say). These days, detail is paramount, and casual acceptance of past custom and practice in a small place is a thing of the past.

Everything used to be different. Before a former 25-year local postmistress retired a couple of years ago, if someone just wrote the name and the ZIP code, you would get the mail, said Carol Miller, Larrys spouse, a former congressional candidate and an activist on many issues.

Its not fair, said Sanchez.  Whats the big deal? Weve always gotten the mail at the post office box number. Larry Miller added: Ive never heard of being charged a penalty for a wrong address on a package.

Carol Miller said that, with only about 120 mail boxes, they know everybody  why dont they just put it in the box?

After a complaint to U.S. Sen. Tom Udall over the summer, Carol Miller got a letter from the Postal Service saying it would continue to accept Ojo Sarco addresses, but that didnt solve the problem. Since June, some mail with Ojo Sarco in the address got delivered, maybe with a scribbled note that says the mail had a wrong address, and some didnt, the residents said.

Delivery companies like UPS and FedEx dont know where to go, they said, and return packages to Santa Fe after trying to deliver a package meant for Ojo Sarco to somewhere in Chamisal. Various entities, or at least their computers, no longer recognize Ojo Sarco, with its ZIP code post office now in Taos County, as part of Rio Arriba.

Often, mail that gets to Ojo Sarco, for no apparent reason other than incompetence or carelessness, gets put in the wrong mailbox, according to the residents.

There may be a problem with the contractors or whatever, but theyve taken something thats a personnel problem and thrown it out there to start changing peoples addresses, said Larry Miller.

My mother had the same address for 70 years  its really a bizarre approach to say were going to fix a problem that we have with people putting things in the right boxes by changing your address, without even considering what kind of problems that makes for us. Its a very weird way to do things.

Who knows when your insurance company or a government agency wants to send you something and doesnt know about an address change? How do we know whos trying to send us mail? Carol Miller asked.

The group said credit ratings are at risk. Apparently, my mails going somewhere else, said Nadine Velasquez. Two of her phone bills never showed up.

Carol Miller said that, for one resident, a past-due notice showed up after it was sent to the same address that was on bills that were never delivered. Its so inconsistent, she said. Its like it depends on whoever works that day.

Bi-county ZIP code issues

The internet apparently does not like a place in a ZIP code with a post office thats across the county line. Auto-fill systems wont accept Ojo Sarco as part of Rio Arriba County, as when a young person Miller knows tried to register to vote online and the address wasnt accepted, requiring a trip to the county clerks office in Espanola.

Yvonne Bonner said she tried to enroll in a Medicare Advantage insurance plan and was told she couldnt because she lived in Taos County, not covered by the plan. She was given only five days to prove she was eligible.

Thank goodness, the man on the phone at Social Security believed me, and changed her address to Ojo Sarco and Rio Arriba in records. That could have caused a big problem, Bonner said.

A woman trying to buy a house in Ojo Sarco couldnt convince an insurance company of the existence of the village and its fire station until Carol Miller sent photographic evidence, Miller said.

She says theres a simple solution: The Postal Service should restore the Ojo Sarco ZIP code to clarify in which county the people of Ojo Sarco reside and accept Ojo Sarco as part of the address.

Ojo Sarco can stay

Last week, I called Peter Hass, a regional Postal Service spokesman in Phoenix, to discuss the postal plight of Ojo Sarco. When he called back, the Postal Service  in response to my queries  had clarified that the residents can in fact use either Ojo Sarco or Chamisal as an address.

Were making sure employees know that either place is acceptable, Hass said. Notices of this development were received in Ojo Sarco late last week. Score one for the power of the press!

But Hass said not using the proper ZIP code or an HC number could result in mail being returned to sender. The rest of the address has got to be addressed properly, he said.

Hass couldnt say why Ojo Sarco lost its ZIP code (other nearby villages still have one). He said administrative changes at the Postal Service made it hard to track down events of a decade ago.

But the guiding principle for the Postal Service, which depends on the revenue it generates to operate rather than on tax dollars, is efficient delivery of the mail, said Hass.

As for that $3 charge for Patsy Sanchezs Old Farmers Almanac, it was legit, Hass said. Its a fee for a piece of mail that has the wrong address, but is deliverable to somewhere else in the service area, in this case the Chamisal post office.

Hass said someone could have a post office box at the post office where mail is delivered if the street address is wrong.

Carol Miller said the reassurance that Ojo Sarco can be part of local addresses is a good thing. But she said the Postal Service is still blowing off what our people say about the problem of being in a two-county ZIP code.

She asks: How much more could one additional ZIP code add to the burden of the multibillion-dollar U.S. Postal Service?
An unidentified woman arrested last month on battery on a police officer charges  but then released when the judge found Albuquerque police violated her rights by not doing enough work to identify her  is back behind bars.

Albuquerque police officer Tanner Tixier, a department spokesman, spotted the woman Thursday near Central and University while on his lunch break. He called for southeast area command officers who took the woman into custody.

This time, police identified her as Kelly Covey, 25, and arrested her on suspicion of aggravated battery on a police officer and battery on a police officer charges.

Covey was originally arrested on Sept. 21 after she swung a purse containing a rock into a police officers face, cutting open his forehead. She also bit another officer, according to the complaint.

Police never identified the woman and booked her into jail under the name Jane Doe. When she appeared before Metro Court Judge Christopher Schultz, he released her, saying that police didnt include enough personal descriptors in the complaint.

Tixier last week said that police were concerned that the judge released the suspect without positively identifying her.

But Schultz then issued a findings of fact and conclusions of law that said he had no choice but to release the woman, because the criminal complaint against her violated the womans Fourth Amendment rights and rules of criminal procedure.

The judge said he could have held the woman in jail if police had included things like the womans height, weight, age, race, ethnicity, hair color and length, eye color, scars, tattoos, other markings or piercings, fingerprint classification or DNA identifiers in the court document.

Celina Espinoza, a police spokeswoman, said police met with Schultz and court officials this week and discussed ways a similar scenario could be prevented in the future.

Covey is homeless, according to court documents. And police originally approached her last month to see if she was intoxicated or needed medical assistance, according to the complaint.

Hopefully, well be able to get her some help, officer Simon Drobik, another police spokesman, said Thursday.
The Centre today opposed triple talaq and said that such practises are against the principles of equality and dignity of women.

By Anusha Soni, Ahmad Azeem: The Central government today opposed the triple talaq while filing an affidavit against it in the Supreme Court. The Centre in its statement said that there can be no negotiation on the uplift of women and their Right to Equality.

The government filed a 28-page affidavit adding that dignity of women cannot be compromised and that triple talaq cannot be an essential part of religion.

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In its affidavit, the Centre said, "Practises like triple talaq are against the principles of equality and dignity enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Validity of polygamy and triple talaq should be seen in the light of gender justice."



TRIPLE TALAQ MISPLACED



The Centre said, "There is no reason that women in India should be denied their constitutional rights. The sanctity of triple talaq under the Sharia law is completely misplaced in a secular country and is unfair, discriminatory and unreasonable."

Also read: SC to continue with Bombay HC order, no entry to women in Haji Ali shrine for now



The Centre also mentioned that nearly 20 Islamic countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh have regulated matrimonial laws.



AIMPLB STANDS BY TRIPLE TALAQ

Earlier on September 2, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had told the Supreme Court that personal laws cannot be re-written in the name of reforms. The AIMPLB in its stand for the triple talaq had said that marriage is a contract in which both parties are not physically equal. it had added that a male is stronger and a female is weak.

The Board while justifying its stand on triple talaq had said, "Securing separation through a court takes long time and deters the prospects of re-marriage. Personal laws cannot be challenged as being violative of Part III of the Constitution." The AIMPLB had told the Supreme Court that Uniform Civil Code was a directive principle and therefore not enforceable.

Also read: No funds to state associations without compliance, Supreme Court tells BCCI



Last month, the Supreme Court had given the Centre four weeks to submit its reply to a batch of petitions on the issue of triple talaq.

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The state Supreme Court has ruled that police officers in New Mexico can rely on a state database to stop motorists whose car insurance status comes up as unknown when they run a license plate check, overturning an earlier state Court of Appeals decision.

The court found that officers who accessed a state Motor Vehicle Division database using their onboard computers had a reasonable basis for pulling over cars, even if the database query showed the insurance status for the vehicle as unknown.

Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels wrote for a unanimous court that testimony showed that, in 80 percent of cases, cars with an unknown insurance status werent covered by an active insurance policy, as required by state law.

The case originated in San Juan County when a State Police officer pulled over a motorist based on an unknown status on the MVD insurance database. The driver, Joann Yazzie, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after the traffic stop and was convicted in Magistrate Court.

Yazzie lost her appeal in District Court, then appealed the case to the state Court of Appeals, which ruled in her favor.

Court of Appeals Judge Roderick Kennedy wrote that the unknown insurance report on the MVD database didnt give police probable cause to pull over Yazzies vehicle.

But, in reversing that decision, the Supreme Court concluded that the police traffic stop of the automobile involved was subject to whether the officer had a reasonable suspicion to stop the car and ask for proof of insurance.

Testimony in the case showed that MVD updated the database nightly and that, in 80 percent of the incidents in which the database reported the insurance status as unknown, the car was not insured.

That was enough, according to Daniels opinion, to meet a reasonable suspicion test.
SANTA FE  Los Alamos County Sheriff Marco Lucero is suing Los Alamos County and the County Commission after the commission voted this summer to put an ordinance on the Nov. 8 general election ballot that would eliminate the tiny sheriffs office, arguing that the measure violates the New Mexico Constitution.

Lucero and the New Mexico Sheriffs Association are asking a Santa Fe District Court judge to have the ordinance removed from the ballot and from future elections. They also want a judge to decide whether the county is restricted from abolishing the sheriffs office.

The commission majority that approved the ballot measure maintains that a sheriffs office with limited functions is superfluous and exposes its part-time staff to unnecessary risks. The Los Alamos Police Department provides police duties in Los Alamos, where there is no city government, as part of county government.

If voters approve the ordinance, which states that the police department is capable of performing all the duties assigned to the Sheriff by state statues, the sheriffs office would go away on Jan. 1, 2019, when Luceros current term expires.

Lucero argues in the suit that the proposed ordinance unconstitutionally interferes with the rights of voters to vote for candidates for sheriff, and he says the actions by the commission exceed authority of the Los Alamos County charter granted by the state.

Lucero, who makes $6,888 a year as Los Alamos sheriff and retired from the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office in 2010, told the Journal that people need to elect a sheriff and its important to have a sheriffs office to avoid conflicts of interest between a governing body and its police department.

I think its important that the people have a law enforcement officer thats accountable to them, he said. I believe were going to do everything we can so the people of Los Alamos have that option to go to someone to look into the concerns they have. Every county needs a sheriff so you can go to them with allegations of corruption.

Los Alamos County spokeswoman Julie Habiger said the countys policy is to not comment on a lawsuit it hasnt received. She said the sheriff makes $6,888 a year and Luceros five deputies are unpaid.

The lawsuit says New Mexico law places exclusive jurisdiction on the sheriffs office to enforcement of sex offender registration. Lucero has made arrests for noncompliant sex offenders, the suit states.
TIJUANA, Mexico  A crowd of about 1,000 Haitians shouted and shoved at the door of Mexicos immigration agency at the U.S. border, which has found itself an unhappy gateway for thousands of would-be migrants in recent months hoping to cross into the United States.

They wrapped their arms around the waists of people in front of them to prevent anyone from cutting in line in their desperation for one of just a few dozen slots granted daily with U.S. immigration authorities about a half-mile away.

Several thousand Haitians have traveled to Tijuana in recent months, overflowing migrant shelters and often sleeping outside next to their backpacks on sheets of cardboard, many after traveling 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers) by foot, taxi and bus from Brazil through eight nations to the threshold of the United States. There have been so many that in August, Mexican authorities imposed a system of appointments in order to keep the Haitians away from the flow of other visitors at one of the worlds busiest border crossings.

Most of the Haitians appear unaware that the trip, and the desperate scramble at the border, has been in vain.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sept. 21 began putting Haitians in detention facilities before attempting to send them back to the homeland they fled, a departure from previous practice of freeing them on humanitarian parole. The U.S. softened its posture after Haitis 2010 earthquake but now treats them like people from other countries.

Many of the Haitians continuing to arrive in Tijuana have said they were unaware of the change, while those who knew about it said turning back was not an option. Brazil opened its doors to the Haitians after the earthquake devastated their impoverished country, but the South American country later developed its own economic problems, recently prompting many to seek work in the United States.

Antonio Juneiro, 40, is typical. He lived in Sao Paolo for four years until factory work dried up and he decided to join family in Miami. After spending $4,000 to reach Tijuana, the prospect of a job in the United States was worth the risk of getting deported to Haiti.

When you have money, you have hope. You have health, Juniero said at the Padre Chava migrant shelter in Tijuana, where he lived for a month while awaiting his appointment at San Diegos San Ysidro port of entry.

The exodus from Brazil accelerated in May and has shown no sign of slowing. U.S. officials say about 5,000 Haitians showed up at San Ysidro from October 2015 through late last month, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said at a recent congressional hearing that officials told her on a trip to Central America that 40,000 more were on their way. Mexicos National Human Rights Commission said this week that an average of 300 Haitians and Africans were crossing Mexicos southern border daily.

On Thursday, Nicaraguan authorities captured smugglers driving two trucks containing 98 migrants from Haiti and a variety of African nations. Authorities said they planned to return them to the border with Costa Rica where hundreds of others are stranded.

With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Haitian men, women and young children regularly spending the night just outside the busiest United States border crossing, Mexican officials have moved to bring some order to the unruly scene by granting 20-day permits to stay in Mexico while also helping schedule their slots with the Americans on the other side.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection can only handle up to about 75 people a day at San Ysidro, and Tijuana authorities were unhappy about large crowds assembled on the Mexican side of the border crossing. So Mexican officials began distributing paper slips with dates to appear at San Ysidro but the documents were often copied. Now, three days a week, officials stamp dates to appear at San Ysidro on 20-day permits that Haitians receive to stay in Mexico.

Mexico also extends the 20-day permits to smaller numbers of U.S.-bound immigrants from Ghana, Senegal and other African countries.

One morning last week, 50 people who had dates to enter the U.S. quietly lined up at the border crossing. A Mexican official emerged from his trailer to say there was room for five more and was mobbed by about 100 people looking to cross. The official led the group across a bridge to a U.S. inspector, who directed them through a turnstile to an area inside the U.S. border station for questioning.

Once inside the United States, the Haitians cannot be turned back to Mexico. With the previous earthquake-related protections now dropped, they are held in U.S. detention centers pending repatriation.

Mexicos National Migration Institute in Tijuana on Monday made appointments in the coming weeks for 766 people to enter at San Ysidro, making it one of its busiest days since the influx began. All people in line got a date, with the last ones getting appointments for Nov. 10, stranding them in Tijuana for more than five weeks.

Padre Chava, one of 10 Tijuana shelters that house Haitians, turned away hundreds over the weekend, leading many to sleep outside on cardboard sheets. The shelter accommodated 271 people Saturday, about half of them women  some pregnant  and 34 children. Many slept on floors without mattresses. Shouting matches erupted.

We are exhausted, completely exhausted, said shelter administrator Margarita Andonaegui. When we have more than 200 people, we lose control.

Rosario Lozada, the citys director of migrant affairs, was exasperated after the latest arrivals raised her estimate of Haitians stuck in Tijuana to 2,000, half of them in shelters and the rest in hotels or on the streets.

Weve been going nonstop for almost five months, 24 hours a day, she said.

Its early to say if the U.S. policy shift is deterring Haitians from coming, but challenges lie ahead.

Haiti took back just 433 deportees in the 2015 fiscal year  before the influx, the recent policy shift and damage inflicted this week by Hurricane Matthew  and its unclear how many the impoverished nation is willing or able to absorb. The United States has a limited number of beds at its immigration detention facilities to accommodate people while flights and travel documents are arranged.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it was monitoring the hurricane and will assess its impact on current policies as appropriate. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was working with other governments on how to address the Haitian immigrants.

Wilfred Jean-Luis, who moved to Brazil in 2014 and left when construction work dried up, was optimistic that he would eventually join cousins in Miami after a grueling journey that included getting robbed in Nicaragua, a common experience among the Haitians.

How is Haiti going to able to take us back as deportees? he asked after a night on Tijuanas streets. They dont have the capacity.
SANTA FE  Democratic candidate Maggie Toulouse Oliver has a hefty lead over Republican rival Nora Espinoza in the race for secretary of state, a Journal Poll found.

Toulouse Oliver, the Bernalillo County Clerk, led Espinoza, a lawmaker from Roswell, by 45 percent to 31 percent in a poll of 501 likely voters.

Twenty-four percent of those polled said they had not decided whom to vote for in the Nov. 8 general election. One percent declined to say.

The candidates are vying to fill the remaining two years of the term of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran, who resigned last year and pleaded guilty to misusing her campaign funds, including for gambling expenses at casinos.

Duran, who left in the middle of her second term, was the first Republican elected secretary of state in 80 years when voters put her in office in 2010.

Research & Polling Inc. conducted the poll last week.

Im not surprised by those results, said Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of the firm.

This has been an office that typically has gone to Democrats.  This race is following your typical Democratic-Republican curve in a low-profile race, he said.

Espinoza has been a member of the state House of Representatives from District 59, representing Chaves and Lincoln counties, for the past decade.

Her support is strongest on New Mexicos east side, where 59 percent of poll respondents said they would vote for her, in contrast to 13 percent for Toulouse Oliver.

Espinoza has a tremendous lead in eastern New Mexico, Sanderoff said.

Toulouse Oliver has been the clerk in Bernalillo County  the states most populous  since 2007, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy. She was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, and has a strong base of support in the Albuquerque area, according to the poll: 52 percent, as opposed to 27 percent for Espinoza.

Her support is even more significant in the Democratic stronghold of north-central New Mexico, where she polled at 57 percent to Espinozas 19 percent.

The secretary of state is New Mexicos chief elections officer, overseeing a system in which the 33 county clerks run elections as well as regulating ethics and campaign finance reporting.

The candidates are at odds on many issues, with Espinoza emphasizing fighting voter fraud and favoring a requirement for photo voter identification. Toulouse Oliver opposes photo voter ID and says voting should be made easier and more accessible, including allowing voters to register the same day they vote, which Espinoza opposes.

The Journal Poll found that Democratic and Republican voters are, for the most part, sticking to party lines, with Toulouse Oliver getting only 11 percent of Republicans and Espinoza drawing only 10 percent of Democrats.

Espinoza was favored by 66 percent of Republicans who were polled, while 23 percent remained undecided. Toulouse Oliver drew 71 percent of Democrats, with 19 percent undecided.

And Toulouse Oliver had a 2-to-1 lead over Espinoza among voters who arent affiliated with either major party  probably based on her name recognition, according to Sanderoff.

This is the second time the Democratic nominee has run for the office; she lost to Duran in 2014.

The poll also showed Toulouse Oliver with 52 percent of Hispanic voters  who tend to register and vote Democratic  and Espinoza, who is Hispanic, with 22 percent of Hispanic voters.

Their polling with Anglo voters was about even, with the Democratic nominee at 38 percent and the Republican at 39 percent, according to the poll.

With New Mexicos voter registration about 47 percent Democratic and 31 percent Republican, Republicans must pick up crossover Democratic voters to win low-profile statewide races.

Duran, who had been a state senator and the Otero County clerk, swept a Democratic incumbent out of the Secretary of States Office in 2010 whose tenure had been marred by complaints of misconduct.

Of the poll respondents who identified themselves as conservative, Espinoza had 54 percent and Toulouse Oliver 24 percent. Among self-described moderates, Toulouse Oliver had 49 percent and Espinoza 24 percent. Of the self-described liberals, Toulouse Oliver had 80 percent and Espinoza 5 percent.

Sanderoff said the fact that 24 percent of poll respondents were still undecided is not surprising.

A lot of people havent even focused on this race yet, he said.

The Journal Poll was conducted Sept. 27 through Sept. 29. Its based on a scientific, statewide sample of 501 voters who said they plan to vote this year, and who either cast ballots in the 2012 or 2014 general elections, or who have just registered to vote.

The full voter sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The margin of error grows for subsamples.

All interviews were conducted by live, professional interviewers, with multiple callbacks to households that did not initially answer the phone. Cellphone numbers accounted for 52 percent and landlines 48 percent.
PHOENIX  More than a dozen Indian tribes in Arizona will receive nearly $7 million in federal grant funding for public safety.

Arizona U.S. Attorney John Leonardo announced Thursday that more than $6.8 million has been awarded to 14 tribes as well as associated law enforcement agencies.

Leonardo says the grants will increase safety in Indian Country.

The funding will go toward hiring officers, purchasing equipment and assisting crime victims.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe received four awards totaling $1.6 million to improve services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Other recipients include the Navajo Nation, the Tohono Oodham Nation and the Hopi Tribe.

The Salt River and San Carlos Apache Tribe police departments will also benefit.
PARIS  French President Francois Hollande has postponed a visit to Poland after the country backed off from a multibillion-euro purchase of French-made Caracal helicopters.

Hollande had been expected in Warsaw on Thursday for French-Polish talks.

The decision to postpone was made Friday, following the confirmation by Polands defense minister that his country was breaking off offset negotiations with Airbus Helicopters, which produces the Caracal, Hollandes office told The Associated Press.

The offset deal had been a major condition for Polands purchase of 50 Caracal helicopters for 13.5 billion zlotys (3.14 billion euros).

In an offset agreement, the seller of a product agrees to invest in sectors or goods on the buyers side as a way of compensating or enhancing the value of the deal.
BEULAH, Colo.  The rest of the people evacuated by a wildfire that destroyed eight homes in southern Colorado are being allowed back home.

Because of progress made fighting the Beulah Hill Fire, the Pueblo County Sheriffs Office says that they can return starting at 1 p.m. Friday.

Authorities believe a Colorado Department of Transportation excavator doing routine maintenance somehow started the fire on Monday. It quickly spread in strong winds, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of people in the town of Beulah and the surrounding valley.

Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor says the operator was moving a stone when he noticed a fire had ignited.

Under an executive order from Gov. John Hickenlooper, people who lost their homes will get grants of up to $5,000 from the states disaster emergency fund.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  ABC anchor Diane Sawyer, correspondent Jim Avila and the network are asking a South Dakota judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit over the networks reports on a meat producers lean, finely textured beef product, which critics dubbed pink slime.

Court documents filed this week provide detailed accounts from Sawyer, Avila and others about how they gathered the information for the reports on Beef Products Inc. and also defend their work, arguing it was done in the publics interest as consumers were unaware that the product at the time was present in 70 percent of the ground beef sold in supermarkets.

To make lean, finely textured beef, the trimmings left after a cow is butchered are heated, the meat is separated from fat and ammonia gas is applied to kill bacteria. BPIs lawsuit, filed in 2012, claims ABCs multiple reports misled consumers into believing that the product was unsafe and led to the closure of three plants and roughly 700 layoffs. The network, Sawyer and Avila  the only three remaining defendants in the civil case  deny that claim.

The case is currently slated to go to trial in June. BPI could be awarded as much as $1.2 billion.

In affidavits filed Monday in support of motions seeking summary judgment, Sawyer and Avila argue that the number of reports was driven largely by questions from viewers, as well as decisions by the government, supermarket chains and BPI. Their argument counters the lawsuits characterization of the networks coverage as a monthlong vicious, concerted disinformation campaign against BPI.

ABCs attorneys have argued that in each of its broadcasts, the network stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture deemed the product safe to eat. Theyve said BPI might not like the phrase pink slime, but like all ground beef, its pink and has a slimy texture.

My sole interest was to help the consumer by providing information to our viewers, Sawyer states in an affidavit. I thought that our reporting might result in consumers getting more information from their grocers or might result in some form of labeling that would facilitate consumer choice. I was surprised when supermarket chains decided to discontinue use of BPIs product altogether.

After the reports aired, some grocery store chains announced that they would stop carrying ground beef that contained the lean, finely textured beef, and the USDA began offering school districts that received food through the governments school lunch program choices in ground beef purchases.

In August, the judge hearing the case signed off on the dismissal of five defendants: ABCs news division; correspondent David Kerley; USDA microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein, who named the product pink slime; former federal food scientist Carl Custer; and Kit Foshee, a former BPI quality assurance manager who was interviewed by ABC.

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Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO
LAS CRUCES  A federal jury on Thursday convicted two operatives in a drug trafficking ring that smuggled marijuana, heroin and cocaine from Mexico to Albuquerque and funneled proceeds south of the border.

The jury in Las Cruces federal court found Amado Acevedo-Gonzalez, 36, a Mexican national, and Yolanda Rodriguez, 50, a U.S. citizen who formerly resided in Mexico, guilty of multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges after a four-day trial, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Mexico.

An October 2015 indictment charged Acevedo-Gonzalez, Rodriguez and 18 others in a conspiracy that spanned Dona Ana, Luna and Bernalillo counties, in which operatives shipped cocaine and marijuana in tractor-trailers from Mexico to an Albuquerque auto body shop.

From there, members of the ring coordinated with crime bosses in Mexico to distribute the dope, collect proceeds and smuggle the cash back to Mexico.

Federal agents used court-authorized wiretaps to gather evidence over a 10-month investigation, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a statement.

Agents seized more than $267,000 in drug proceeds, other assets valued at $153,000 and a tractor-trailer packed with marijuana. They also seized or purchased 6.2 kilograms of cocaine, 2.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, about 1,040 kilograms of marijuana and 351 grams of heroin.

Specifically, Acevedo-Gonzalez was pinned for distributing marijuana for the organization, while Rodriguez acted as a courier, transporting drugs and drug proceeds from Albuquerque to Mexico. Acevedo-Gonzalez faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and Rodriguez faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Ten other people named in the indictment have pleaded guilty, while eight others remain fugitives.

The multi-agency investigation included the Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Border Patrol under the U.S. Justice Departments Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which combines the resources and expertise of federal agencies and their local counterparts in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
It started with the states biggest Starbucks.

Now the pueblo-owned corporation developing the land across from the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is about to go big again.

With the Albuquerque City Councils approval last month of an updated development plan, the corporation expects to continue with what could ultimately be $95 million more worth of work on the 46-acre tract along 12th Street between Menaul and Indian School. That would include finishing the first phase of retail that started with last years mega-sized Starbucks, adding another round of retail, creating a second level of parking over the existing lot and building two office buildings.

This gives us the green light to move forward with the rest of the development, said Dwayne Virgint, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Indian Pueblos Marketing Inc. The for-profit entity is owned by New Mexicos 19 pueblos and is meant to generate revenue and economic opportunities.

It will be several years before the entire vision is realized, Virgint said. But finishing the first phase of retail, which is slated to include a two-tenant, 6,000-square-foot building north of the Starbucks and an 8,000-square-foot building northeast of the cafe, should happen by next year, he said.

Virgint said he expects some of the infrastructure work, like interior roads with names like Pumpkin, Parrot and Eagle in honor of pueblo clans, to begin in January. He said it should dovetail with the citys 12th Street improvement project.

The city has a multi-phase plan for about $7.3 million worth of upgrades to 12th between Interstate 40 and Menaul, including the addition of a southbound left turn lane at Indian School and a roundabout at 12th and Menaul, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Municipal Development. The city has not released a construction timeline yet.

Its going to make it really user-friendly for residents, commercial tenants and, of course, visitors, Virgint said of the citys plans.

Indian Pueblos Marketing is working with commercial real estate brokers Ed Anlian and David Kleinfeld and has letters of intent out with two potential tenants for the forthcoming first-phase retail properties. Its already starting to look toward the second retail phase.

Speaking to real estate professionals he gathered at the property earlier this week, Anlian said the plan is to bring in restaurants, soft goods retailers and service providers. He touted the area for its existing activity  about 500,000 people visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center every year, he said  and location.

It really is becoming the center of town, he said.
By Moeena Halim: When Alain Passard, the world renowned French chef, decided he wanted to work predominantly with vegetables, the meat-loving regulars at his three-starred contemporary French restaurant L'Arpege were shocked. But the chef was adamant and in the early 2000s, he introduced an awe-inspiring menu which brought vegetables that were once mere extras on a plate centre stage.

Chef Vicky Ratnani is pulling a Passard in his The Korner House kitchen in Bandra, Mumbai.

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No, he is not doing away with meats on his new menu. But working with vegetables clearly seems far more exciting to him at the moment. Smoked, brined, roasted, salted, grilled, marinated--the humble cucumber, carrot, eggplant and cauliflower are given a whole new avatar.

Ratnani takes us through his wondrous experiments during the course of a Grazing Menu, which as opposed to a tasting menu, has the table sharing each of the 18 dishes across the five courses. There's an entire course dedicated to vegetables, featuring five different salads.

The Wild Mushroom and Brie Flatbread is better than any veg pizza. Photo: The Korner House

The Art House is certainly a standout favourite on our table. Blackened pumpkin, marinated mushrooms, plump raisins get a pick-me-up from a dash of truffle oil. But it's the smoked cauliflower in this dish that has the last word. A roasted baby carrot salad served with minted chickpeas, peppered feta dusted with sumac is interesting.

Also read: Get a taste of the Orient at this iconic new restaurant in Mumbai



As is the soy marinated egg salad. Inspired by the concept of the Chinese century egg, the chef marinates the eggs in soy sauce, mirin and star anise for a minimum of 24 hours. In the process, the egg is blackened and takes on a mild flavour of the sauce and spice. He serves the egg with baby spinach and beautifully grilled Japanese eggplant.

This Duck Liver Mousse with Crackers is a good starter. Photo: The Korner House

But I'm jumping courses. Our meal begins with a flavoursome bisque made of a mix of locally sourced shellfish. Up next are pates served with crackers. The richness of the duck liver mousse is cut by the sweet cranberry chutney, but I am partial to the wild mushroom pate lifted immensely by the aftertaste of the truffle oil.

I could turn vegetarian at Ratnani's restaurant, I joke to the chef. But that's before the carpaccio of New Zealand beef makes it to our table. Served with parmesan foam, pickled mushrooms, balsamic jelly and mustard jelly, the thinly sliced red medallions are a treat I am glad I don't have to miss.



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Trials in the Victoria Martens rape and murder case are set to begin in October 2017, Judge Charles Brown announced Friday at a scheduling conference in 2nd Judicial District Court.

While the cases for Fabian Gonzales, Jessica Kelley and Michelle Martens are currently being handled jointly, attorneys indicated that they will likely move to have the cases severed.

I think under the Constitution thats pretty clear, Gary Mitchell, defense attorney for Michelle Martens, said when Brown asked about potential severance.

Brown asked that those motions be submitted by April.

Each defendant appeared in court separately and briefly Friday morning, all three shackled and wearing orange jumpsuits. Kelley, who police said jumped off of a balcony to evade them, was using a wheelchair.

According to police, Michelle Martens watched as Gonzales, her boyfriend, and Kelley, his cousin, drugged her daughter before sexually assaulting, strangling and dismembering her. They are each facing first-degree murder, intentional abuse of a child, criminal sexual penetration involving a child and many more charges.

Victoria Martens was found dead in her mothers West Side apartment Aug. 24, the day after her 10th birthday.

If handled together, all three defendants will be tried beginning Oct. 2, 2017. If the cases are severed and each proceeds to trial, Brown said, one will begin on that date, and the remaining two would follow beginning on Nov. 13, 2017, and Dec. 11, 2017.

If any of the defendants opt to take a plea deal, that must happen by Sept. 1, 2017.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  The former purchasing agent for the Jicarilla Apache Nation has been sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution for embezzling funds from the New Mexico tribe.

Federal prosecutors say 46-year-old Vanessa Cohoe was indicted last December on theft of funds.

The indictment alleged that Cohoe embezzled about $23,000 from the tribe between December 2010 and May 2011.

It also alleged that she embezzled more than $1,000 by using the Jicarilla Apache Nations credit card on eight separate occasions in early 2011.

Cohoe pleaded guilty in the case in May.

She was the purchasing agent for the Jicarilla Apache Nation from 2007 to 2011.

Cohoe was suspended in May 2011 and fired the following months after the embezzlement scheme was discovered and investigated.
WASHINGTON  A trucking company that was recently involved in an explosion while hauling automobile air bag inflators was ordered to take its vehicles off the road Friday by federal regulators who said they found a long list of serious safety violations.

Industrial Transit Inc. of LaGrange, Georgia, must immediately halt all operations because the company poses an imminent hazard to public safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said.

One of the companys trucks was hauling inflators made by Takata Corp. in August when it crashed, caught fire, exploded and destroyed a house near the small Texas border town of Quemado. A woman in the house was killed, four others were injured and several other houses damaged. The truck was speeding while approaching a curve when the crash occurred, the agency said.

The small trucking company recently used drivers without commercial licenses, did not perform required drug and alcohol tests, and didnt follow the requirements of its license to haul hazardous materials, among other violations, the safety administration said in its out-of-service order.

During each of last 10 times the companys trucks were pulled over for a random, roadside inspection, the trucks were ordered to stay off the road or cited for safety violations, the agency said. The safety administrations investigation also found major safety defects with the companys trucks, including out-of-adjustment and contaminated brakes, oil leaks, loose steering system components, inadequately working air-brake components, and an unsecured fire extinguisher.

Takata uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that fills air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to prolonged heat and humidity and burn too fast. That can blow apart a metal canister and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. As many as 15 people, including 10 in the U.S., have been killed by exploding Takata inflators, and more than 100 have been hurt.

About 69 million vehicles in the U.S. and about 100 million worldwide with the problem inflators have been recalled.

Industrial Transit officials didnt return a phone call from The Associated Press.

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Follow Joan Lowy at http://twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joan-lowy
LAS CRUCES, N.M.  Dona Ana County Sheriffs detectives say theyve have uncovered a counterfeit money manufacturing ring and one suspect in the case is facing 104 counts of forgery.

The investigation began last month after the manager of a Las Cruces pizza delivery company reported fake bills used in a transaction between a driver and a customer.

Detectives traced the money back to a home where a search warrant uncovered several pieces of equipment that detectives suspect were used to manufacture all denominations of bills from $1 to $100.

They say nearly $3,300 in counterfeit bills were seized from the house.

Authorities say the fake bills possibly were passed at businesses in Las Cruces and Alamogordo.
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 07.10.2016 - This years annual Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, the worlds largest conference devoted to the Arctic region and the scientific, political, environmental and economic challenges it poses, will include a presentation by Switzerland of its vision for the Arctic and an overview of its activities there. The focus of this years Assembly, which will be held on 7-9 October 2016, is on the consequences of climate change. The Swiss delegation, whose members include political representatives and scientists, is headed by State Secretary Yves Rossier. Switzerlands participation at the Arctic Circle Assembly takes place against the background of its candidacy for observer status on the Arctic Council.

Switzerland has been invited to present an overview of its vision, policy and involvement in the Arctic at a plenary session of this fourth annual Arctic Circle Assembly. Switzerland will take advantage of this opportunity to highlight the parallels between Switzerland and the worlds northern countries. Glaciers have played a substantial role in the shaping of Switzerlands geography. Like Greenlands ice sheet, glaciers are particularly sensitive to climate change. Switzerland can boast many years of experience and a long-standing tradition in the exploration of the cryosphere, the regions of the earth that are covered by ice masses. That expertise has been put to use for many years in a variety of exploration projects in the Arctic.The largest of those projects is the Swiss Camp research station in eastern Greenland, which has been conducting climate measurement for over 20 years.

At a plenary Country Session, Switzerland will highlight its numerous interactions with the Arctic region and its scientific activities there. State Secretary Yves Rossier, National Councillor Tiana Angelina Moser, Frederik Paulsen, co-founder of the new Swiss Polar Institute, Konrad Steffen, Director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), and Matthias Finger of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) will attend the session.

Switzerlands participation at the Arctic Circle Assembly takes place against the background of its candidacy for observer status on the Arctic Council. The members of that intergovernmental forum include, in addition to the eight countries bordering on the Arctic (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States), organisations representing indigenous peoples and countries with a significant involvement in the region.

Arctic Circle

Ice melts in the Arctic are making possible new trade routes between Asia and Europe. At the same time, they are contributing to the acceleration of climate change and opening access to large and hitherto unexploited natural resource deposits. The political, economic, scientific and environmental questions this raises are the subjects on the agenda of this years Arctic Circle Assembly.

The Arctic Circle Assembly is an annual gathering attended by political decision-makers, business leaders, environmentalists, scientists and representatives of indigenous peoples. Its purpose is to stimulate more dialogue between the various actors and to draw the attention of the international community to the future of the Arctic.

As a result of the increasingly important strategic role played by the Arctic, the Arctic Circle Assembly has rapidly taken on a significance that goes far beyond the interests of the countries that border on the Arctic. Thus, at the 2015 Assembly, some 2000 participants from 50 countries met in Iceland to discuss the future of that vulnerable region.

Indigenous peoples and cultures

Switzerlands interest in the Arctic is not limited to scientific questions, but also extends to cultural issues. Among other things, Switzerland is an advocate for the inclusion of indigenous peoples in the discussion. At a side event to the Arctic Circle Assembly, guests from Switzerland and Greenland will discuss the consequences of climate change for the inhabitants of the Arctic. In addition there will be an exhibition devoted to Switzerlands activities in the polar region, which will highlight the many ties that exist between our country and the Arctic.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West Wing

CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland

Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55

E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Twitter: @SwissMFA

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Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
Ares Management is reportedly seeking to raise more than $45bn for its latest batch of funds.
WhatsApp and Facebook campaign that went viral shows impact as wholesalers report about 20% drop in sale of Chinese stuff.

Some people have conducted a social media campaign to urge people to boycott Chinese products in the festive season. (Picture for representation)

By Kumar Vikram: A social media campaign to boycott 'Made in China' goods, in a rebuttal to its continued support for Pakistan and for voting in the United Nations against Indian interests, has begun to show results. Traders at some of the biggest wholesale markets across the country have reported 10 to 20 percent fall in demand for "cheaper" Chinese wares.

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The development is an indication of a nationalist sentiment sweeping the country in the aftermath of terror attack on Uri Army base and consequent surgical strikes by Indian Army in retaliation.

TRADE WAR



"If people have decided to teach China a lesson, it can have serious repercussions for the trade," said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). Khandelwal said there was an unprecedented patriotic wave across the country and the market cannot remain unaffected.

READ| Chinese checkers: On social media, a silent campaign to boycott Chinese products

India is a huge market of Chinese items as they are cheaper. According to an estimate, the volume of Chinese goods during eight to 12 weeks ahead of festive seasons falls in the vicinity of Rs 1000 crore in Delhi alone. There are similar wholesale inventories of imports from China in all major cities of the country.

PUBLIC BOYCOTT OF 'MADE IN CHINA'



A majority of these goods include toys, fancy lights, gift items, plastic ware, decorative goods etc. "Retailers say that their customers have started asking for Indian items," said Rameshwar Goyal, a trader dealing in decorative items at Sadar Bazar, the biggest wholesale market of north India.

Goyal said he too had received messages on his phone about boycotting Chinese lights during Diwali. "I think that campaign has made a difference. People are openly talking about boycotting Chinese items," he said.

Devendra Bansal another trader in Sadar Bazar told Mail Today: "Retailers from NCR and other states come to this market to purchase items. And, there has been huge demand of Chinese items as they are cheaper. But, this time they have taken lesser amount of such items. Instead, they specifically asked for Indian items."

CAMPAIGN TRIGGERED BY FAKE LETTER



The campaign began with a fake letter which was claimed to be signed by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi which urged the Indian consumer to use swadeshi products during Diwali and repulse Chinese goods.

The fake letter was circulated all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and also on WhatsApp. The Prime Minister's Office, however, was quick to contest the veracity of the letter and in a tweet clarified that the document was not authentic.

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READ| Justice Katju warns 'war drums' between India-Pakistan are 'clearly sounding'



Other than this fake letter, there have been memes and images doing the rounds on the internet spreading the same message. The campaign has managed to tap into the latent anger against China, which has supported Pakistan in the past and had also blocked India's bid to join Nuclear Supplier Group.

Soon, politicians of all hues began to ask people for the boycott. BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on October 3 called for a boycott of Chinese products in protest against its role to shield Jaish-e-Mohammed head Masood Azhar from United Nations ban.

However, he had to delete his tweet some time later.

WHY THIS MOVE WORKS FOR INDIA?

Majority of traders that Mail Today spoke to agreed that such a boycott might harm the business this year but in the long run it will be good for Indian traders and industry. "Traders will have to take a call on not to import Chinese items and consumers will have to decide not to purchase these goods," said Khandelwal of CAIT.

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"This will be good if people start accepting Indian goods." Several groups have initiated the campaign which include promoting sale of earthen diyas from villages on social media platforms. #BoycottChina, #BoycottChineseproducts have trended on Twitter recently. Please pledge "This Diwali we will only buy Indian, regardless of price and not Chinese," was tweeted from the handle Fearless Hindu.

READ| Pakistan will move towards China, Russia if views on Kashmir ignored, say Nawaz Sharif's envoys



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By PTI: to Javadekar

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Union Women and Child Development minister Maneka Gandhi today asked HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar to consider providing free education to the children of martyrs of Uri attack.

She told PTI that she would also be writing to state governments on the issue.

"Have written to HRD Minister Sh @PrakashJavadekar ji to consider the plea to provide free education to children of #Uri Martyrs," she tweeted.

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The move comes after she received a petition signed by over 50,000 citizens on Change.org on behalf of the children of Uri Martyrs.

"I received a petition signed by over 50,000 citizens on Change.org on behalf of the children of #Uri Martyrs (sic)," she said in a series of tweets.

"Our soldiers have made supreme sacrifices. Taking care of the cost of educating their children will be a small part of our gratitude," she tweeted.

The petition titled "Free education for children of Indias martyrs" was initiated on Change.org by a management student last month.

It has been endorsed by as many as 70,000 people online.

According to the petition: "Their (martyrs) sacrifice is priceless. These kids have no one to support their dreams, theyve lost their fathers so that India could be safe."

"Providing a one time compensation is not enough, rather it is insulting their sacrifice. These children deserve constant support in order to give wings to their dreams."

19 soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri on September 18. PTI JC SMJ

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Modified On Oct 19, 2016 04:51 PM By Alshaar for Mahindra e2o

It might be no Tesla yet, but Indias lone full-fledged electric car manufacturer, Mahindra Electric built further on its reputation by christening its next-generation battery-operated four-door car as the e2oPlus, on Friday. The car is expected to be launched in the near future and will carry forward the companys eco-friendly legacy, informed a press release.

On the occasion, Mahindra Electric director, Pravin Shah termed the new cars unveiling as something about positive additions. The e2oPlus is all about positive additions. We have incorporated additional space - something that would delight our customers, he said

We have also added extra range and fast charging, among other very interesting pluses. I am confident that this new model will be a game changer not only in the electric vehicles segment but also among all other categories of cars, he added.

The e2oPlus is the all-new electric car from Mahindra Electric, a part of the Mahindra Group of companies. Prominent new features on the car include a refreshed design, an enhanced range and faster charging capacity, according to the company.

READ: Mahindra Reva is now Mahindra Electric

The car was spied recently, ahead of its launch and the most notable change on the outside was the four-door design of the car. The front fascia and the rear also resemble Mahindras design language from its other products.

The cabin is expected to feature an all-digital instrument cluster, a little more premium upholstery, while the touchscreen infotainment system, climate control system, smartphone connectivity and navigation tools are set to be carried over.

Under the hood, the familiar electric motor is set to perform propelling duties, but will be tweaked to generate a few extra horses. The powertrain in the current model of the e2o is good for 25.8PS of maximum power and 53Nm of peak torque.

The current range on the car stands at 120km as the manufacturer claims that it will be upgraded significantly. Expect the prices on the new e2oPlus to be revised at around Rs 6.5 lakh (on-road, Delhi), after subsidies, once its launched in India.

Read More on : e2o
No one can question Bonnette Dawsons commitment and leadershipor time-management skills.

In the eighth episode of the CUNA News Podcast, the trailblazer from Tennessee explains how she manages to wear the hats of CEO of $228 million asset Old Hickory Credit Union while serving as mayor of her hometown, Greenbrier.

Some people will say to me, How do you do this? Are you the Energizer Bunny? Not really, Dawson says. I love what I do in both the mayor position and CEO, and I think Ive got strong support in both places. The people who work for me are great, and I think that makes all the difference.

Dawson says she didnt intend to become the first woman to hold either of those titles. She took over at Old Hickory when the board of directors dismissed her predecessor, and ran for mayor when the incumbent got ousted after a scandal.

But throughout her 41-year credit union career, Dawsons desire to make an impact on everything she touches is abundantly evident.
Not only Ravin has been declared a martyr, the villagers have now also demanded the release of all the 17 accused of lynching Mohammad Akhlaq.

Ravin Sisodiaas body arrived at his native village of Bisada draped in the national flag. Thousands of people have been continuing protests against the death for three days now. (Photo: Twitter)

By Mail Today Bureau: Dadri lynching case accused Ravin Sisodia's body reached Bisada on Thursday morning amid heavy police presence.

Incidentally, the coffin was draped in tricolour, and residents have now declared him a 'martyr'.

On the other hand, the UP government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and agreed for a CBI probe into his death.

VILLAGERS DEMAND IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ALL 17 ACCUSED



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Thousands of residents of Bisada and neighbouring villages sat on a dharna at the same place where Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched a year ago, demanding immediate release of all the 17 accused in the case.

Ravin's family members have refused to cremate the body alleging that he was killed by jail authorities. He had died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday reportedly due to renal and respiratory failure.

READ| Dadri lynching accused dies in jail, villagers drape coffin in tricolour, refuse to cremate body



However, his family maintained that he was 'perfectly fine', a claim contradicted by their application in court on Ravin's behalf on September 30 which said that he was suffering from chikungunya and he needed to be transferred to Gautam Buddh Nagar district hospital for better treatment.

'COMPENSATE US THE WAY AKHLAQ'S FAMILY WAS'



Protesters continued their sit-in in front of the Sisodia residence, even as his family demanded 'equal' compensation that was granted to Akhlaq's family.



"Why is the state government adopting a partial approach? A huge compensation was announced for Akhlaq's family even without an investigation, but our kid was tortured to death. Even the forensic report has established that Akhlaq's family was wrong as they had stocked and consumed beef," said a family member.

READ| Dadri lynching accused tortured to death, claim Bisada locals



Ravin (22), was among 18 youths arrested for allegedly lynching Akhlaq and injuring his son Danish over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing its meat for consumption on September 28 last year.

FAMILY DEMANDS A CRORE, JOB



Till late on Thursday evening, the family did not perform his last rites and demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation and a government job for Ravin's wife.

"We have formed a committee of villagers who will discuss the demands with the administration.

We are also trying to resolve the issue," said Hariom Sisodiya, husband of village pradhan Kaushalya Devi. The administration is also mulling to end the standoff and has deputed SP, Rural, and SDM, Dadri, for negotiations with villagers.

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"The state government has announced an ex-gratia and is also ready to recommend the case for a CBI probe. We are trying to pacify the protesters.

The last rites of the body will be done once the villagers agree," said NP Singh, District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.

HINDUTVA ON BOARD, ADDRESSES GATHERING



The situation in the village continued to be extremely tense with several Hindutva groups and VHP leaders, including Sadhvi Prachi, addressing the gathering. Hindutva leaders have seconded the family's demands of Rs 1 crore as compensation and a government job to his wife.

"We will not tolerate such things. The government has to assure that the rest of the boys, who are behind bars, are safe. They should be transferred to a jail outside UP," Prachi said.

On the other hand, complaints have poured in against the use of the national flag on Ravin's coffin. Police said it would investigate the matter and take legal action if any disrespect was shown to the tricolour.

READ| Dadri lynching: Fresh forensic report says meat in Akhlaq's freezer was beef, not mutton

READ| Dadri lynching: Fresh forensic report says meat in Akhlaq's freezer was beef, not muttonREAD| Dadri lynching: Take back UP govt perks from victim's family, says accused's kin





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When a new rule is proposed, have you ever taken the time to look at the comments that are being submitted? If the answer for you is no, then I highly suggest you make that a part of your new routine.

Recently the folks at the Iowa Credit Union League (ICUL) submitted a comment letter to the CFPB on their proposed rule on short-term, small dollar lending. That letter got a few of us here talking, so we decided to take a look at what other comments were out there. I have to admit that this was my first time actually going through the posted public comments, and not just reading something posted from one of the various trade groups. The one thing that shocked me the most was the amount of comments I saw from actual consumers.

To me, these comments just amplify the fight song for all those credit unions out there. You see comments like The only way that I can afford to pay for my medical bills sometimes is to get a payday loan to help me cover the out of pocket costs or A pay day loan helped me make sure that my child was properly taken care of when I fell behind on bills. Now I understand the CFPBs intent for publishing this rule, but I dont think they are addressing the underlying issues here. This rule does not address the need for education.
Because the deadly Hurricane Matthew is expected to hammer Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas over the next few days, nearly 40 credit unions in these states have publicly announced branch closings for Thursday and Friday and Saturday.

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for every county in the state as the eye of the hurricane was just less than 200 miles from Floridas coast on Thursday morning. When the storm system reaches the state late Thursday night or early Friday morning, it is expected to gain strength as a Category 4 hurricane, according to national media reports.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 30 counties and order mandatory evacuation for six coastal counties Thursday. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley Wednesday ordered an evacuation of coastal areas in and around Charleston and Beaufort. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has not declared a state or emergency or ordered evacuations as of Thursday afternoon though state officials are monitoring the storms track.
Young & Free Michigan Spokester Erin Winters is among the top 20 finalists to sit in the co-host chair next to Kelly Ripa during one episode of Live with Kelly!

The Live with Kelly and You Co-host Search Contest solicited videos from aspiring talk show hosts throughout the United States and Canada. The first entry from Winters was selected as one of the top 40 entries among the thousands of videos submitted. Once in the top 40, Winters was asked to submit a second video with a How To theme. The Live with Kelly staff then narrowed down the contest entries to 20. Winters was one of the lucky participants to be selected.

Winters and Young & Free Michigan are powered by Michigan First CU, based in Lathrup Village, Mich.

My dad encouraged me to enter the contest and, on a whim, I decided to give it a shot, said Winters. Serving as the Young & Free Michigan Spokester has truly helped me leverage my creativity and personality when on camera. Im hoping to bring that energy and excitement to New York and Live with Kelly.
On the occasion of an expert meeting organised by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), a consensus was reached on the identification of endocrine disruptors. The consensus paper was published in the scientific journal Archives of Toxicology.

Twenty-three internationally renowned scientists took part in the meeting. In addition, four observers from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) were present. Among other things, the consensus paper lists the criteria for identifying endocrine disrupting substances. The scientific principles are an important precondition for creating uniform criteria at EU level as a basis for future human health assessments of substances and products with endocrine disrupting properties. The results of the meeting may therefore support the European Commission in developing regulatory criteria for the identification of endocrine disruptors in pesticides and other chemicals and products.

The current discussion focuses on substances or substance mixtures which alter the function of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or in (sub)populations. Such substances referred to as "endocrine disruptors" include, for example, industrial chemicals or active ingredients in biocides or pesticides. Some endocrine active substances naturally occur in plants, however, for example as ingredients (phytoestrogens). Since such substances in principle play a role in all regulatory areas, it was emphasised that in all regulatory domains procedures and assessment should adopt the "one substance - one assessment" principle.

An inalienable condition for legal regulation is, however, that substances with endocrine disrupting effects that adversely affect the health of an organism or its progeny can be identified with certainty within the regulatory framework. Unfortunately, endocrine disruptors are not a clearly defined group of substances which may be identified as such on the basis of their structural characteristics. Scientific criteria for identifying endocrine-disrupting substances have been the subject of controversial discussion among experts for several years.

At the end of 2014, the European Commission instructed DG Health and Food Safety, to define conclusive criteria for the regulation of endocrine disruptors, so that they could in future be used in European pesticide and biocide legislation. Due to the globally increasing concern with regard to possible adverse effects of endocrine disruptors, active substances used in biocide and pesticide products subject to approval within the EU are in future to be tested more rigorously for endocrine disrupting properties.

The expert meeting held in Berlin was attended by scientists from Europe, the USA and Japan. They discussed the foundations as well as open questions relating to the identification of endocrine disruptors. The two-day expert conference notably focused on the following questions:

How should endocrine disruptors be defined in the regulatory context of health assessment?

What are the general principles of endocrine effects from a toxicological, pharmacological and endocrinological viewpoint?

Which sources of uncertainty influence the identification of endocrine disrupting substances in terms of regulatory decision-making?

Which adverse effects caused by endocrine disruptors can already be determined using existing testing methods?

Which scientific research activities should be initiated to ensure better identification of endocrine disruptors?

The goal of the scientific discourse was to discuss questions and, where possible, find solutions to current scientific divergences.

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LUGANO-COPENHAGEN, 7 October, 2016 - Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab is safe and feasible prior to surgery for early lung cancer, researchers reported at the ESMO 2016 Congress in Copenhagen.1

"Until now nivolumab and the other anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 drug studies have only been reported in metastatic or advanced lung cancer," said lead author Dr Patrick Forde, Assistant Professor of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, US. "This was the first study of neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade in early stage lung cancer."

The primary objective of the study was to see whether it was safe and feasible to administer neoadjuvant nivolumab to patients with early stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prior to resection of the tumour. Treatment was considered feasible if it did not delay surgery.

Exploratory aims included extensive correlative analyses of the pretreatment biopsy and post-treatment resected tumour including PD-L1 staining, multiplex immunohistochemistry and T cell receptor sequencing. An additional exploratory analysis looked at the degree of pathological regression. This was analysed by a lung cancer pathologist using a method previously reported for use in measuring response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in NSCLC. Major pathological regression (90% or more) was defined as a resected specimen with less than 10% remaining viable tumour cells.

The study included 20 patients who had a tumour biopsy taken. They then received two doses of nivolumab at four and two weeks prior to surgical resection of the tumour.

The results in the first 16 patients were presented today. The investigators found that there were no significant safety concerns and no delays to surgery with nivolumab.

Six of 15 patients (40%) had major pathological regression of their tumour following nivolumab. All of those tumours had dense infiltration of immune cells and either a complete pathologic response or isolated remaining tumour cells. An additional five patients had some regression of their tumour noted and evidence of immune infiltration. Multiplex IHC demonstrated infiltration of cytotoxic T cells into the tumours and also detection of new T cell clones in the tumour that did not appear to be present in the pre-treatment biopsy.

Forde said: "We found that neoadjuvant administration of nivolumab is safe and feasible in stage I-IIIA NSCLC and also a preliminary signal that anti-PD-1 immunotherapy may have activity in early stage lung cancer. Following these initial results we are expanding the study.

One cohort will receive a third dose of nivolumab preoperatively and the other will receive the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab preoperatively. This expanded study will continue to be conducted in collaboration with investigators at Johns Hopkins University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre. Others, such as the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium in the United States, are also conducting larger studies of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibition in NSCLC."

Commenting on the study, Professor Pieter Postmus, chair of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Liverpool, UK, said: "There is a potential for bias when comparing a small biopsy, which might not represent the whole tumour, with the resected tumour. This is not a validated way to measure response to a treatment. It describes a biological effect but whether that has any clinical impact on survival is unproven."

"Although we do not know for the time being if a major pathological response is correlated with improved survival, this method could first be validated in a cohort of patients with advanced disease by comparing the percentages of viable tumour cells in tumour biopsies taken before and four to eight weeks after immunotherapy," continued Postmus. "If in this way regression - as defined in the preoperative study - correlates with survival in patients with advanced cancer, it is likely to hold true in less advanced or resectable patients. Long-term survival data will be the ultimate test for these neoadjuvant immunotherapy strategies."

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Mathematical modeling of the brain scans of patients with Alzheimer's disease and others at risk for the devastating neurodegenerative disorder has identified specific patterns of brain atrophy that appear to be related to the loss of particular cognitive abilities. In their report that has been published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the National University of Singapore describe how different atrophy patterns may explain the different ways that Alzheimer's disease can be manifested in individual patients.

"The symptom severity and neurodegeneration can vary widely across patients in Alzheimer's disease," says Thomas Yeo, PhD, of the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH. "Our work shows that participants in this study exhibit at least three atrophy patterns - cortical, temporal or subcortical - that are associated with variability in cognitive decline not only in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's but also in individuals with mild cognitive impairment or those who are cognitively normal but are at risk for Alzheimer's." In addition to his affiliation with the Martinos Center, Yeo is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clinical Imaging Research Centre and Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology at the National University of Singapore.

The study analyzed data collected as part of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a multi-institutional project to develop biomarkers - including blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid tests, and imaging studies - that can be used for diagnosis or in clinical trials. Yeo and his team - including investigators at the MGH and in Singapore - analyzed MR images taken of the brains of 378 ADNI participants when they enrolled in the study. Of these participants, 188 had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; the others - 147 with mild cognitive impairment and 43 who were cognitively normal - were at increased risk based on levels in their brains of the beta-amyloid plaques that are characteristic of the disease.

As a first step, the research team analyzed data from the baseline structural MRIs using a mathematical model that estimated the probability that particular details of each image were associated with atrophy of a specific location within the brain. Based on the location of atrophy factors, they determined three atrophy factor patterns: cortical - representing atrophy in most of the cerebral cortex; temporal - indicating atrophy in the temporal cortex (the cortical lobe behind the ears), hippocampus and amygdala; and subcortical, indicating atrophy in the cerebellum, striatum and thalamus, structures at the base of the brain.

Analysis of study participant scans taken two years later indicated that atrophy factor patterns were persistent in individuals and did not reflect different stages of disease. Most participants - including those in the mild cognitive impairment and cognitively normal groups - showed levels of more than one atrophy factor.

Behavioral and cognitive tests of study participants taken at six-month intervals indicated associations between particular atrophy factor patterns and specific cognitive deficits. Individuals in whom temporal atrophy predominated had greater problems with memory, while cortical atrophy was associated with difficulties with executive function - the ability to plan and to accomplish goals. Individual differences in how atrophy factors are distributed within the brain may allow prediction of the rate at which cognitive abilities would be expected to decline.

"Most previous studies focused on patients already diagnosed, but we were able to establish distinct atrophy patterns not only in diagnosed patients but also in at-risk participants who had mild impairment or were cognitively normal at the outset of the study," Yeo says. "That is important because the neurodegenerative cascade that leads to Alzheimer's starts years, possibly decades, before diagnosis. So understanding different atrophy patterns among at-risk individuals is quite valuable.

He adds, "Previous studies assumed that an individual can only express a single neurodegenerative pattern, which is highly restrictive since in any aged person there could be multiple pathological factors going on at the same time - such as vascular impairment along with the amyloid plaques and tau tangles that are directly associated with Alzheimer's. So individuals who are affected by multiple, co-existing pathologies might be expected to exhibit multiple atrophy patterns."

Future research could further determine whether and how these atrophy patterns relate to the distribution of amyloid and tau and the mechanisms by which they affect specific cognitive abilities, Yeo explains. The same analytic approach also could be applied to other types of patient data and extended to other neurodegenerative disorder that produce varying symptom patterns, such as Parkinson's disease and autism.

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Xiuming Zhang, of Yeo's National University of Singapore lab, is lead author of the PNAS article. Additional co-authors are Elizabeth Mormino, PhD, and Reisa Sperling, MD, MGH Department of Neurology; Mert Sabuncu, PhD, Martinos Center, and Nanbo Sun, National University of Singapore. The study was supported by grants from the National University of Singapore, Singapore National Medical Research Council and U.S. National Institutes of Health grants 1K25 EB013649-01, 1R21 AG050122-01A1, P01 AG036694, and F32AG044054.

Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with an annual research budget of more than $800 million and major research centers in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, photomedicine and transplantation biology. The MGH topped the 2015 Nature Index list of health care organizations publishing in leading scientific journals, earned the prestigious 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. In August 2016 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals."
Female moths produce a sex pheromone, a different blend of chemicals for each species, which attracts males from a distance. Males detect these chemicals with exquisitely sensitive hair-like structures in the antenna. These hairs contain specialized neurons, nerve cells that express pheromone receptors which are activated when they bind to individual pheromone components. Different species have different pheromone receptors, and so the ability to most accurately smell females of the same species prevents attraction to other females. Solving the puzzle of why a certain pheromone receptor is activated only by a specific chemical has motivated much past research. "Our previous work in mapping the pheromone receptors of the European Corn Borer convinced us that this species doesn't fit the mold, and so we took another approach," says lead author Fotini Koutroumpa.

The European Corn Borer uses a simple pheromone with only two isomeric compounds, identical except for the orientation of a double bond. The two "pheromone strains" of this species produce them in different proportions. E-strain females make mostly the E isomer with traces of the Z isomer, which is highly attractive to E-strain males. Z-strain females release the opposite ratio, attracting Z-strain males. In both cases, both components are absolutely necessary for attraction, and males of both strains can smell both, with similar or identical antennal structures and pheromone receptors. So what difference among the E and Z males could explain their opposite preferences? "We decided to look for a difference at the genetic level", says co-author Astrid Groot.

By crossing the E and Z strains in the laboratory and mapping the gene governing male preference, the researchers found that the pheromone receptors had little or no effect. Instead, a chromosomal region containing genes involved in neuronal development explained most of the male behavioral response. "This result fits with our previous work showing that E and Z males have different connections between the brain and the neurons containing pheromone receptors," explains co-author Teun Dekker. This suggests that females of the E or Z strain smell the same to both E and Z males, while their preferences are controlled not by their noses but instead by their brains. "This result will point future research towards the tiny but complex moth brain, and shed light on how the diverse pheromone systems of the thousands of moth species has changed throughout evolution," concludes co-author David Heckel. [DGH]

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Original Publication: Koutroumpa, F. A., Groot, A. T., Dekker, T., Heckel, D. G. (2016). Genetic mapping of male pheromone response in the European Corn Borer identifies candidate genes regulating neurogenesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Early Edition), DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1610515113 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1610515113

Further Information: David G. Heckel, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Str. 8, 07743 Jena, Germany, +49 3641 57 1500, heckel@ice.mpg.de

Contact and Media Requests: Angela Overmeyer M.A., Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoll-Str. 8, 07743 Jena, +49 3641 57-2110, E-Mail overmeyer@ice.mpg.de

Download high-resolution images via http://www.ice.mpg.de/ext/downloads2016.html
Prisoners have one of the highest rates of lifetime trauma of any segment of society, with recent surveys showing that 85% have been a victim of a crime-related event, such as robbery or home invasion, or physical or sexual abuse.

Trauma is associated with higher rates of recidivism (returning to prison) and mental and physical health conditions, including cardiovascular disease.

To try to find a remedy for the high rates of trauma among prisoners, an innovative study with Transcendental Meditation was implemented in a large group of Oregon male inmates. The results, published in The Permanente Journal online, found that after four months of practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique, inmates at two Oregon prisons had significantly reduced trauma symptoms, including anxiety, depression, dissociation, and sleep disturbance, and a significant decrease in perceived stress compared to non-meditating controls. Within the TM group, a 47% reduction in total trauma symptoms was observed over the course of the four-month study.

Further post-hoc analysis showed an even higher magnitude of effect due to TM practice in those with the highest level of trauma symptoms. A 56% reduction was found within the TM group for those above the mean in baseline trauma scores.

"To date this is the largest randomized controlled trial with the Transcendental Meditation program on trauma symptoms," said Dr. Nidich, lead author of the study and director of Maharishi University of Management Center for Social and Emotional Health. "These findings, along with previous published research on veterans, active military personnel, international refugees, and other at-risk populations provide support for the value of the Transcendental Meditation program as an alternative treatment for posttraumatic stress."

Study of moderate- to high-risk inmates

The study used a randomized controlled design and was conducted at the Oregon State Correctional Institution and Oregon State Penitentiary, located in Salem, Oregon. A total of 181 moderate- to high-risk inmates were assigned to either the Transcendental Meditation group or a non-meditating control group, with all subjects continuing with their standard of care.

The participants were assessed using two standardized instruments: the Trauma Symptoms Checklist and the Perceived Stress Scale. After four months of practicing Transcendental Meditation, the inmates in the TM treatment group exhibited significant reductions in total trauma symptoms, anxiety, depression, dissociation and sleep disturbance subscales, and perceived stress.

Compliance with TM practice was high. Of those randomized to learn the TM program, 88% completed the initial seven-step TM course (total of five sessions) and over 80% were regular with their daily TM practice over the course of the four-month study.

"I have watched inmates learn Transcendental Meditation and become more human after a long and isolating period of becoming less human," said study co-author Dr. Tom O'Conner, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Western Oregon University. "TM helps to awaken, deepen, and solidify the kind of transformational process that we so badly need in our overburdened and costly correctional system."

Consistent with previous research on prisoners

Transcendental Meditation has been implemented in other prison settings for the purpose of studying other mental health and behavioral factors. At La Tuna federal penitentiary near El Paso, Texas, findings suggested that Transcendental Meditation reduces obsessive-compulsive behavior, decreases social introversion, and increases positive social relations. A study at Folsom State Prison in California found a reduction in anxiety and neuroticism, as well as improved sleep.

Research in several prisons, including Folsom State Prison and San Quentin State Prison in California, and Walpole State Prison in Massachusetts, found reduced rates of recidivism, ranging from 33% to 47%.

How it works

"Previous published studies have shown that Transcendental Meditation decreases hyperarousal of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, responsible for such processes as the 'fight or flight response.' These kinds of changes from an overly aroused style of functioning to a more healthy, stable condition of physiological functioning may help explain how TM practice reduces trauma symptoms," said Dr. Nidich. "Brain imaging studies and other psychophysiological research have shown that TM meditators have less reactivity to stressful stimuli, further indicating a more stable and balanced style of functioning."

One of the participants in the study expressed his experiences with Transcendental Meditation in the following way: "As I entered the 24th year behind bars I had come to grips with most of the demons of the past but still felt fragmented. Recently I was given the chance to learn TM.... As the weeks passed that sense of fragmentation started to flow into something deeper and new. A quiet that feels so natural and restful that I feel like I've finally come home. To a place where things make sense and I'm just happy. The pains of my life haven't gone away.... just feels like I've grown beyond them."

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The study was funded by the David Lynch Foundation, New York.

Sanford Nidich, EdD; Tom O'Connor, PhD; Thomas Rutledge, PhD; Jeff Duncan; Blaze Compton, MA; Angela Seng; Randi Nidich, EdD. Reduced trauma symptoms and perceived stress in male prison inmates through the Transcendental Meditation program: A randomized controlled trial. Perm J 2016 Fall;20(4):16-007. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7812/TPP/16-007.

About the Transcendental Meditation Technique

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a simple, natural technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. The TM technique is easy to learn and enjoyable to practice, and is not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle. Unlike other forms of meditation, TM practice involves no concentration, no control of the mind, no contemplation, no monitoring of thoughts. It automatically and effortlessly allows the active thinking mind to settle down to a state of deep inner calm. For more information visit http://www.tm.org.
Twelve individuals will receive the first-ever Champion of Environmental Health Research Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), for their significant contributions to the field.

The awards will be presented Nov. 1 at the NIEHS campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. NIEHS is part of the National Institutes of Health, and is the only institute headquartered outside the Washington, D.C., area. NIEHS funds approximately 1,000 grants to researchers across the country each year, and has also played a key role in the economic development of North Carolina.

"2016 marks 50 years since NIH began a dedicated research program to discover links between environment and health," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "It's a complex research field that needs the attention of top scientists, and I congratulate these awardees for their outstanding contributions."

The champion awards recognize outstanding researchers, leaders, and communicators that have contributed to the NIEHS mission to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives.

"NIEHS and the research it has supported during the last five decades has made significant improvements to public health," said NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D. "From our pioneering studies showing the dangers of lead and secondhand smoke, to our more recent efforts to prevent breast cancer and other diseases, NIEHS has helped identify and reduce the environmental factors that contribute to these diseases. We couldn't have accomplished these things, without the help of many talented, dedicated people."

2016 Champion of Environmental Health Research awardees

Charles E. Blumberg

Blumberg is an architect and interior designer of research facilities with the Division of Environmental Protection at NIH. He is a principal player in the sustainable buildings movement, using science-based solutions to make buildings more supportive of human health. His influence can be seen in nearly all NIH facilities, including NIEHS. Blumberg represents NIH on the U.S. Green Building Council, championing the application of human health research and principles of sustainability in the development of building standards.

Jeffrey Gordon, M.D.

Gordon is an internationally recognized expert on the microbiome, whose pioneering studies have dramatically altered our understanding of the microbial origins of health and disease. His research for the NIH Human Microbiome Project has broken new ground in our understanding of how gut microbial communities affect intestinal growth and function, and relates directly to the core mission of NIEHS -- to understand how the environment influences human health, especially during the first years of life. Gordon is the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor, and director of the Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Thomas Kunkel, Ph.D.

Kunkel is a world leader in the study of DNA replication fidelity and how environmental disruptions of the process can produce cytotoxicity, mutagenesis, and adverse health effects. As an NIEHS distinguished investigator leading the Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory, Kunkel's exceptional work during his 34-year career at the institute has merged biochemistry, structural biology, genetics, and genomics to help us better understand how mutations are avoided or generated. His work has broken new ground in our knowledge of DNA repair processes that operate prior to DNA replication.

Philip Landrigan M.D.

Landrigan is a pediatrician and epidemiologist known for his many decades of work protecting children against environmental threats to health, in particular, reducing the level of children's exposure to lead, pesticides, and other environmental contaminants. His landmark lead poisoning studies in the 1970s played a key role in phasing out lead from gasoline and the ban on lead paint. Landrigan is dean for global health, professor of environmental medicine and public health, and professor of pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, as well as president of the Collegium Ramazzini.

John Peterson (Pete) Myers, Ph.D.

Myers is a biologist, and founder, CEO, publisher, and chief scientist of the nonprofit foundation Environmental Health Sciences. Through its twin online publications, Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate, Environmental Health Sciences has successfully mainstreamed science reporting. In 1996, Myers co-authored "Our Stolen Future," which explores the threat of endocrine disruption to fetal development. He is an adjunct professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. He has won several awards, including the 2016 Laureate Award for Outstanding Public Service from the Endocrine Society.

Jeanne Rizzo, R.N.

As president and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund since 2001, Rizzo has been a tireless advocate for improved public awareness of the increasingly complex science linking environmental exposure and breast cancer, helping citizens make potentially lifesaving changes in their daily routines. She has helped remove harmful chemicals from consumer products, and oversees a program that trains community activists on breast cancer science and sends them into the community to learn about people's health needs. As co-chair of the federal Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee, she helped produce the landmark 2013 report, Breast Cancer and the Environment: Prioritizing Prevention.

Kurt Straif, M.D., Ph.D.

Straif is a world-renowned epidemiologist and public health leader whose research has advanced our understanding of the occupational and environmental risk factors for cancer. He has worked for the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, for 15 years. For the last six, he has led the IARC cancer monographs section, which alerts national health agencies to sources of potential exposure to carcinogens. He is also the scientific director of the IARC Summer School on Cancer Epidemiology. Straif was a leading force in the classification of outdoor air pollution as a carcinogen.

Allen Wilcox, M.D., Ph.D.

Wilcox is a leader in studies of reproductive epidemiology and head researcher in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch. His work has fundamentally changed our understanding of fertility and pregnancy. He has studied the critical time period from conception to birth, and how specific environmental factors might affect reproduction and development. His current work focuses on cerebral palsy and its possible prenatal causes. He has received numerous awards for his contributions, including the 2016 NIH Director's Award. He was also a finalist for the 2016 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America medal, which highlights excellence in the federal workforce.

Champion of Environmental Health Research Awards will also be presented to four distinguished scientists who have served as leaders of the institute.

Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D.

Birnbaum has been director of NIEHS since 2009. She is an internationally recognized toxicologist, whose research has enriched our understanding of endocrine disruption and cancer, and shed new light on the environmental health risks posed by substances such as dioxins, flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls, and bisphenol A. Birnbaum has authored hundreds of papers, and received numerous awards, including the 2016 North Carolina Award, the state's highest civilian honor for her science contributions. She is the first woman, and first toxicologist, to head NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program (NTP).

Kenneth Olden, Ph.D.

During his 14 years, from 1991 to 2005, leading NIEHS and NTP, Olden repeatedly broke new ground. As the first African-American to direct an NIH institute, he worked tirelessly to make the striking health disparities between racial and ethnic groups a research priority. He was a powerful advocate for collaboration between community groups and research institutions to identify and address environmental health concerns. After leaving NIEHS, he became the founding dean of a new School of Public Health at Hunter College in New York City. From there, Olden served as director of the National Center for Environmental Assessment at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for five years.

David Schwartz, M.D.

Schwartz became the fourth director of NIEHS in 2005. He is world-renowned for his contribution to the understanding of the roles played by genetic determinants and environmental exposures in the onset of lung diseases, such as asthma and pulmonary fibrosis. At NIEHS, Schwartz led the institute into new arenas, such as epigenetics and exposure phenotyping through the Exposure Biology Program. He planned a new clinical research unit for NIEHS, and supported advanced technologies for sensor devices and bioinformatics. Currently, Schwartz is a professor of medicine and immunology and holds the Robert W. Schrier Chair of Medicine at the University of Colorado, Aurora.

Samuel Wilson, M.D.

Wilson is a leader in structural biology techniques and head researcher in the NIEHS Genomic Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory. He also served as deputy director and twice as acting director of NIEHS and NTP. Wilson has distinguished himself as a pioneer in the use of powerful structural biology techniques to understand DNA replication. Knowledge gained through his work has fundamentally advanced our understanding of base excision repair, a key cellular defense mechanism against the effects of metabolism, inflammation, and environmental exposure. Wilson has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein Mentoring Award, for his mentoring and leadership skills.

In addition to the award presentations, the NIEHS 50th anniversary program, which is open to the public and being webcast from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 1, will include several distinguished speakers, including Ira Flatow, host of Science Friday, Public Radio International; James Hunt, former governor of North Carolina; Carol Folt, Ph.D., chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and U.S. Representative David Price.

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NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of NIH. For more information on environmental health topics, visit http://www.niehs.nih.gov. Subscribe to one or more of the NIEHS news lists (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsroom/releases/index.cfm) to stay current on NIEHS news, press releases, grant opportunities, training, events, and publications.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
Along with the visible light and warmth constantly emitted by our sun comes a whole spectrum of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation that streams toward Earth. A new CubeSat - a miniature satellite that provides a low-cost platform for missions - is now in space observing a particular class of X-ray light that has rarely been studied.

On June 9, 2016, the NASA-funded, bread loaf-sized Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer, or MinXSS, CubeSat began science operations, collecting data on soft X-rays. Watch the video to see a low-intensity solar eruption - a solar flare - from July 21, 2016. The flare imagery was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory; the MinXSS data shown on the right shows the soft X-rays observed in near-Earth space by the CubeSat before and during the flare.

Each type of solar radiation conveys unique information about the physics underlying solar flares. This data reveals the temperature, density and abundance of solar flare material, all critical factors for determining how flares evolve and heat the sun's atmosphere. Ultimately, solar eruptions impact Earth's upper atmosphere: X-rays from the sun can disturb near-Earth space, interfering with GPS, radio and other communication signals. The class of X-rays that MinXSS observes are particularly important for their influence in the level of the upper atmosphere called the ionosphere.

This video shows how dynamic the solar atmosphere can become, and highlights that MinXSS has great sensitivity to observe even the weak flares. These observations exemplify the goals of the six-month mission, which began after the spacecraft was deployed from the International Space Station in May 2016 and has already met its criteria for comprehensive success. The University of Colorado, Boulder, manages MinXSS under the direction of principal investigator Tom Woods.

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Ravin's family was assured a total compensation of Rs.25 lakh. The administration also said it will help Ravin's widow Pooja get a private job. His family members expressed satisfaction and decided to cremate the body in the evening.

By Mail Today Bureau: Three days after the custodial death of an accused in the Dadri lynching case, residents of Bisada village reached a compromise and agreed to cremate his body. Family of Ravin, 22, held several rounds of meetings with the district administration and police in presence of Union minister and local MP Mahesh Sharma and BJP MLA from Sardana, Sangeet Som, before ending the deadlock.



GOVERNMENT EXTENDS SUPPORT TO FAMILY

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Ravin's family was assured a total compensation of Rs.25 lakh. The administration also said it will help Ravin's widow Pooja get a private job. His family members expressed satisfaction and decided to cremate the body in the evening. The villagers have been demanding 1 crore as compensation and a government job for the family of the deceased. They insisted on an FIR against the jailer and arrest of Jaan Mohammad, the brother of Akhlaq who was murdered last year for allegedly storing beef.

Sangeet Som and minister Sharma visited Bisada village in the afternoon and met the family members of Ravin. After a two-hour-long meeting with the village committee, Som urged the agitators to end their protest and perform the last rites of the deceased. While Ravin's parents agreed, some of the villagers wanted the protest to continue. However, with the promises from the BJP leaders, the protest was called off later. "The committee has agreed to arrange Rs.25 lakh as compensation besides computer training and a job at a private company for the wife of Ravin," Som told the crowd, making a request to end their protest.

"Government will give a compensation of Rs.10 lakh, and another `10 lakh will be given by the NGOs. We will donate Rs.5 lakh to the family as well," said Som. He also said that the senior superintendent of police has assured a thorough investigation of the FIR on alleged cow slaughter against Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammad.



NO ARRESTS

The district magistrate assured safety of jailed youths of the village. The DM also promised to sponsor the education of Ravin's sixmonth-old daughter. However, police officials said arrest of Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammad was not possible without concrete evidence. "We will take action against him only if we find concrete evidence," said a senior police official. Minister Sharma accused the state government for death of Ravin and extended his support to the Bisada residents.

"The state government is responsible for this. No compensation amount is equal to the loss of a life. The struggle of people will continue," Sharma said in the presence of several saffron leaders and cow vigilantes. Som urged the villagers to continue their fight without taking the law in their hands. "Most of the youths lodged in the jail are innocent. We should continue our fight peacefully," he said. Ravin's father Ranveer Sisodiya said: "We are sad at the death of our son. But we are satisfied with the compromise." Ravin, 22, was among the 18 men arrested last year for allegedly lynching Mohammad Akhlaq on suspicions of slaughtering a cow.

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Dadri lynching accused dies in jail, villagers drape coffin in tricolour, refuse to cremate body

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Satellite images that capture short-term changes in population size in communities in the developing world can help vaccination campaigns achieve more complete coverage to help prevent and control disease outbreaks. A team of researchers led by Penn State scientists have combined satellite imagery, vaccination records, and measles case reports to illustrate how using predictable population fluctuations can help to improve vaccination coverage -- a vital factor in combatting infectious disease outbreaks. The research is published in the October 5, 2016 edition of the journal Scientific Reports.

"Access to vaccinations, and other preventative health services, is limited in much of the developing world," said Nita Bharti, assistant professor of biology at Penn State and an author of the paper. "We've shown, however, that access to vaccines isn't static through time. The same seasonal gatherings of people that we've previously shown to correlate with times of disease transmission risk could also be used to better target public health interventions -- taking advantage of times of high population density to more efficiently distribute care."

The researchers studied a measles outbreak in Niamey, Niger that resulted in over 10,000 cases and nearly 400 deaths in 2003 and 2004. Population estimates available at the time of a vaccination campaign to combat the outbreak did not take into account seasonal migrations into Niamey. This missing information led to an underestimate of the population in Niamey and therefore an overestimate of the proportion of children vaccinated during the campaign. The team used satellite images of nighttime lights in Niamey to more accurately estimate the size of the population at the time of the outbreak and estimate the percentage of the population that received the vaccination. The team's retrospective estimates much more closely matched actual measurements of the coverage of the vaccination campaign that were made following the outbreak.

"Lots of recent work has been done on remote measures of human movement," said Bharti. "Satellites are actually a pretty old technology compared to cell phones and social media. But satellite-based measures are really appealing, because we can look back in time and assess trends in patterns of human movement and distribution. Cell phones are an exciting new technology and have great potential for public health outreach, but the rapid rate of adoption means that we need to be careful about interpreting trends -- the patterns might reveal changes in behavior, or they might just reflect trends in accessibility to phones."

The researchers further constructed a computer model based on population estimates from satellite images, vaccination records, and measles case studies to simulate measles outbreaks and evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination strategies. Their models showed that in a reactive vaccination campaign -- one that tries to control an ongoing outbreak -- early intervention was the most effective, regardless of fluctuating population size. The model also showed that the coverage and reach of a preventative vaccination campaign -- one that tries to prevent outbreaks before they start -- could be improved by timing the campaigns with peaks in population size.

"Human movement and gathering have been a big part of understanding the epidemiology of directly transmissible diseases, like measles," said Matthew Ferrari, associate professor of biology and statistics at Penn State and an author of the paper. "What was exciting about this project was to turn that phenomenon into a potential solution. Rather than looking at times of large gatherings -- harvest season, or cultural festivals -- as high risk periods, we can look at them as opportunities to serve people who are normally beyond the reach of conventional health systems."

The researchers also showed that estimates of population fluctuations based on satellite images of nighttime lights in two other cities in Niger, Maradi and Zinder, could be used to coordinate vaccination campaigns and other public health interventions even when detailed vaccination records or disease case studies are not available. With the satellite data, the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns can be maximized by coordinating with predictable seasonal peaks in population size in the cities, expanding the reach of the campaign to many people who might otherwise have been missed.

"There's a lot of discussion about the difficulty of reaching the 'last mile,' those people who are well beyond the reach of the conventional health system," said Ferrari. "But if we recognize that the 'last mile' is a moving target because populations are constantly in flux, then we can target efforts in ways to make more efficient use of limited public health resources. Remote measures, like satellite imagery, allow us to make pretty rapid assessment of regular movements that could lead to better targeting -- it doesn't replace 'boots on the ground' evaluation, but it could go a long way to helping to prioritize efforts."

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In addition to Bharti and Ferrari, the research team includes Bryan T. Grenfell from Princeton University and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, Ali Djibo of the Universite de Niamey in Niger, and Andrew J. Tatem of the Fogarty International Center, the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, and the Flowminder Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden.

The research was supported by Branco Weiss - the Society in Science, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the Research and Policy for Infectious Disease Dynamics (RAPIDD) program of the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Fogarty International Center, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the Wellcome Trust.

Matthew Ferrari: mferrari@psu.edu, +1 (814) 865-6080

Nita Bharti: nita@psu.edu (unreachable in the field until after November 1, 2016)

IMAGES

Two images with captions and credits are available for download at https://psu.box.com/v/Bharti10-2016 (If captions are not visible, click the horizontal arrow in the small right-most box at the top of the page.)

TITLE OF RESEARCH PAPER

The title of the research paper that will be published in the Nature Publishing Group journal Scientific Reports is "Measuring populations to improve vaccination coverage."
PRINCETON, N.J.--Affordable child care and flexible work schedules have all been topics of debates in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Yet, according to a new study by Princeton University and Harvard University, the average American worker is indifferent to flexible work schedules and instead prefers a set 40-hour workweek.

It comes down to pay: Most workers, men and women, aren't willing to take even a small pay cut to set their own schedules. However, if given the option to work from home, many workers -- especially women -- would take an 8 percent wage cut to do so.

The findings, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), also show that workers consistently dislike irregular work schedules set by employers on short notice. They would even give up one-fifth of their salary to avoid working evenings or weekends. Nearly half of jobseekers would not take an irregular-schedule job even if it paid a quarter more than a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. This is true even of workers who currently have irregular work schedules.

"Our findings show that flexible scheduling is not valued by many workers in the sense that they prefer a little extra income rather than a more flexible workplace. However, we find that for a relatively small number of workers, flexible schedules are really important," said paper co-author Alexandre Mas, professor of economics and public affairs in Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

"Most workers want to work Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They don't value flexible scheduling, and they really dislike working evenings and weekends. Nevertheless, many jobs require workers to work nonstandard hours" said paper co-author Amanda Pallais, the Paul Sack Associate Professor of Political Economy and Social Studies at Harvard. "Women and women with young children find working irregular schedules particularly costly. Yet, many women with young children are in jobs with irregular schedules."

Mas and Pallais carried out their study via a real-life hiring process for a national call center. The call center was used to conduct a labor-market survey (unrelated to the study) in 2016, which was made clear to applicants. Approximately 7,000 people applied for the positions online.

When applying, applicants were asked to state their preference between two positions: a traditional 40-hour, weekday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. onsite job, or a randomly chosen work schedule that included one of the four options listed below.

A flexible schedule in which a worker could make his/her own schedule but needed to work 40 hours.

A schedule with a flexible number of hours of which workers could choose how many hours they wanted to work each week up to 40.

A traditional 40-hour, weekday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. job that allowed workers to work from home

A combined flexible schedule wherein workers had a choice to make their own schedule, choose their number of weekly hours and work from home.

A schedule based on the employer's discretion, under which a worker's 40-hour schedule was dictated by a supervisor, was irregular (included evenings and weekends) and was given to the worker a week in advance.

Jobseekers were told these choices would not be used to make hiring decisions. Wages varied between the traditional and alternate work schedules. Applicants could apply for jobs offered at the maximum salary, or, they could apply for the alternate-schedule jobs, which were lower in salary salaries by 25-cent increments.

The researchers also developed a module in the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative sample, which allowed them to obtain such information as whether workers had children at home.

Overall, the "bliss point" for workers seems to be a 40-hour workweek, according to the findings. Of all the worker-friendly arrangements, workers are willing to pay the most -- 8 percent -- to work from home. Women, especially those with young children, prefer this option.

Average workers do not prefer making their own schedule or setting their own hours or schedule. In a separate focus group, Mas and Pallais found people didn't want to "force themselves to work" a certain number of hours. However, there is a subset of workers who would give up some wages -- about 10 percent -- to make their own schedules.

In general, workers very much dislike unpredictable schedules set by employers to the point of giving up 20 percent of wages to avoid an irregular schedule set by a boss. Forty percent of applicants said they would not choose a job like this, even if it paid 25 percent more than a traditional position.

Even those workers who dislike irregularity the least would give up 10 percent of their income to avoid this type of arrangement. Interestingly, workers dislike irregular schedules because of having to work evenings and weekends and not because of the scheduling unpredictability.

"While much of the discussion about work-life balance has focused on providing workers with more flexibility and more predictability in scheduling, we find that this isn't what most workers want. Most workers simply want to work during traditional working hours," Pallais said.

While the paper does not make specific policy recommendations, it does raise questions about whether irregular scheduling should be regulated and if flexibility polices should be expanded.

"For example, it might be worth thinking about the benefits and costs of policies that require wage premiums for short-notice scheduling, or evening and weekend work. Our findings suggest that the benefits of these policies to workers are potentially large," Mas said.

Even though some companies offer work-from-home options, there may be financial reasons behind why others don't.

"The fact that most industries still don't offer work-from-home options suggests it may be costly to do so. Our estimates imply that it would cost 21 percent of wages for employers to switch over to work-at-home positions because there are workers who are willing to take a pay cut that large who do not work from home," Mas said.

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"Valuing Alternative Work Arrangements," was published as a working paper Oct. 3 by the NBER.
ARLINGTON, Va.--October 6, 2016--Research!America's 21st annual Advocacy Awards will honor outstanding advocates for research whose contributions to health and medicine have saved lives and improved quality of life for patients worldwide. The event will take place on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC.

The 2017 Advocacy Award winners announced today, with additional awardees to be named in the coming weeks, are Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recipient of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership; Leland H. Hartwell, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Health at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and Virginia G. Piper Chair of Personalized Medicine, recipient of the Geoffrey Beene Builders of Science Award; and The Lupus Foundation of America, recipient of the Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award. Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health, will receive the Legacy Award.

"Dr. Anthony Fauci is a dedicated public servant and brilliant scientist who fundamentally transformed HIV/AIDS research and many other disease areas, saving countless lives," said Honorable John E. Porter, Chair, Research!America. "As a gifted communicator, he is an outspoken champion for research, and we are honored to recognize his many contributions to human health with the Legacy Award."

The annual Research!America Advocacy Awards program was established by the Board of Directors in 1996 to honor outstanding advocates for medical, health and scientific research.

"The honorees announced today have devoted their leadership talents, relentless energy and expert advocacy to drive medical progress forward benefiting patients and families worldwide," said Mary Woolley, president and CEO, Research!America. "We are delighted to celebrate their efforts in advancing our nation's commitment to research and innovation."

Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., who will receive the Legacy Award, is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health. Since his appointment as NIAID director in 1984, Dr. Fauci has overseen an extensive research portfolio devoted to preventing, diagnosing, and treating infectious and immune-mediated diseases. Dr. Fauci also is chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, where he has made numerous important discoveries related to HIV/AIDS and is one of the most-cited scientists in the field. Dr. Fauci serves as one of the key advisors to the White House and Department of Health and Human Services on global AIDS issues, and on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats such as Ebola and pandemic influenza.

Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been selected to receive the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership for his powerful advocacy efforts for cancer research, serving as Chairman of Stand up to Cancer's (SU2C) Scientific Advisory Committee since the organization's inception in 2008. His research interests have centered on the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing. His landmark achievement was the discovery of RNA splicing in 1977. This work provided one of the first indications of the startling phenomenon of "discontinuous genes" in mammalian cells. The discovery that genes contain nonsense segments that are edited out by cells in the course of utilizing genetic information is important in understanding the genetic causes of cancer and other diseases. This discovery, which fundamentally changed scientists' understanding of the structure of genes, earned Dr. Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Leland H. Hartwell, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and director of the Center for Sustainable Health at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and Virginia G. Piper Chair of Personalized Medicine, is selected to receive the Geoffrey Beene Builders of Science Award, for his leadership and determination in building an outstanding scientific research organization as president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) from 1997 to 2010. His leadership further elevated FHCRC into a premier research center working to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. In 2010, Dr. Leland H. Hartwell joined the Arizona State University (ASU) where he has appointments in the Schools of Education, Biomedical Engineering, and Sustainability. He leads a team that teaches Sustainability Science for all pre-service K-8 Teachers, and aspires to provide continuing education, internationally, for in-service teachers. In addition, Dr. Hartwell leads the HoneyBee program at ASU overseeing a series of small clinical trials using wearable devices to monitor physiological parameters in clinical patients for a variety of diseases.

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has been selected to receive the Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award. Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease affecting an estimated 1.5 million Americans. LFA was founded in 1977 when a group of more than two dozen independent local lupus organizations came together to provide national leadership for lupus research, patient and professional education, and public awareness. Since then, the Foundation has grown to become the nation's leading nonprofit voluntary health agency dedicated solely to lupus by providing national, state, and local programs through a nationwide network of more than chapters and support groups. LFA provides grants to researchers working on promising studies that could save and improve lives. Investigators who have received funding from LFA have made contributions towards achieving many of the most important advances in research on lupus including the development of one of the first diagnostic tests specifically for lupus and discoveries in specific risk factors and biomarkers.

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For more information about the 2017 Advocacy Awards Dinner, visit http://www.researchamerica.org/advocacy_awards.

About Research!America

Research!America is the nation's largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by member organizations that represent the voices of 125 million Americans. Visit http://www.researchamerica.org.
For his pioneering research in computer-assisted organic synthesis, UNIST's Bartosz A. Grzybowski has been honored with the 2016 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize for theoretical nanotechnology, by the California think tank dedicated to the beneficial implementation of nanotechnology.

Prof. Bartosz A. Grzybowski is a distinguished Professor of Nanoscience and Bioengineering in the Department of Chemistry at UNIST. He is a Group Leader in the Center for Soft and Living Matter at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), as well as a professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. The award is in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of research on computer-assisted organic synthesis.

Prof. Grzybowski's research focuses on computer-assisted organic synthesis. This award recognizes him for developing a database of all known organic chemical compounds and the ways that they react together. This artificial intelligence software, called Chematica uses algorithms and a collective database of 250 years of organic chemical information to predict and provide synthesis pathways for molecules. This one giant network of organic chemistry has the potential to enhance a chemist's quest for drug discovery and other industrially important chemicals.

When asked about what receiving this award had meant to him, Prof. Grzybowski said, "I am truly honored by this recognition, and this is a tribute to the many students, postdocs, and colleagues who have helped me achieve my goals." He adds, "Chematica allows chemists to focus their knowledge and creativity on harder questions by making the synthetic process shorter and way more economical. I hope it can provide answers to previously and currently unsolved problems in chemistry."

The prize, first awarded in 1993, is an award given by the Foresight Institute every year to an individual whose recent work has most advanced the achievement of Feynman's goal for nanotechnology, as exemplified by the late physicist Richard P. Feynman. It is given in two categories of nanotechnology, one for experiment and the other for theory.

The institute awarded a second Feynman Prize for experimental nanotechnology to Chair Prof. Franz J. Giessibl of the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics in the Department of Physics, University of Regensburg, Germany for his contributions to the fields of research on tip structure and atomic manipulation in scanning probe microscopy.

Prof. Bartosz A. Grzybowski, FRSC, formerly of Northwestern, joins the UNIST faculty in 2014 as a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale and with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard. In addition to this new honor, Prof. Grzybowski is the recipient of many ACS, AICHE, RSC, DChG awards and also of the worldwide 2013 Nanoscience Prize, as well as a founder of a few biotechnological companies with total capital estimated at half a billion dollars. He is also the author of over 200 publications in chemistry, physics, and biology, including 20 articles in Science and Nature with nearly 10,000 citatations.

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For many patients, the uncertainty and stress that can come with cancer treatment is compounded by what is now known as "financial toxicity," the anxiety and distress that follow health care and medication expenses, often compounded by reduced ability to work.

In the October 5, 2016, issue of the journal Cancer, a team of specialists demonstrates how a survey can measure a patient's risk for, and ability to tolerate, financial stress.

With data from 233 patients going through treatment for advanced cancers, the researchers showed that the COST (COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity) questionnaire identified patients at financial distress, which was found to be a "clinically relevant patient-centered measure."

"As expected, we found a strong association between a patient's use of health care resources and his or her sense of financial toxicity," said the study's lead author Jonas de Souza, MD, MBA, a head-and-neck cancer specialist and health services researcher at the University of Chicago Medicine. "This is something we need to look for, to recognize early and make sure it does not become a barrier to care."

More than two admissions to the hospital, for example, had a significant impact on a patient's sense of financial toxicity. "This is reasonable," de Souza said. "Hospital care is much more expensive than office-based care. We now know that it also impacts a patient's self-reported financial feelings."

The research team kept the COST questionnaire short and simple. It includes 11 brief statements about costs, resources and concerns. For each question, patients were asked to circle one of five possible responses that help determine their level of concern.

Faced with statements such as: "I feel financially stressed," or "My out-of-pocket medical expenses are more than I thought they would be," patients had to choose the answer that best described their situation.

The questionnaires revealed several factors that were closely tied to financial toxicity. Employment status was at the top of the list, followed by household income, psychological distress, the number of hospital admissions, and race. African-American individuals tended to have more financial toxicity, on average, than Caucasians.

One surprise was the lack of a perceived financial benefit from participation in clinical trials. "Usually the maker of an innovative device or the company that supplies a new drug will pick up the costs related to the investigational drug," de Souza said. "But that did not reduce our patients' sense of financial toxicity. We've added that to our model."

The next step is to go back to our patients and understand the factors that drive financial toxicity for each kind of cancer," said de Souza. "Then we need to learn how to intervene. How can we help these patients, perhaps with financial counselors? And how can we decrease the costs of what we do to treat cancer overall and, at the same time, lessen the financial burdens that fall on the patient.

"It's important to note that the financial distress identified by the COST scale captures a unique set of stressors affecting patients above and beyond the physical and psychological strains of their disease," notes Lauren Hersch Nicholas, PhD, a health economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and member of the study team. "Being able to quantify this burden is an important step towards giving patients, their families and care team the information necessary to make the best treatment decisions for each patient's situation."

"As society increasingly considers the costs incurred by patients with cancer as a side effect of treatment, instruments to measure financial toxicity should be patient centered, scientifically derived, and clinically relevant," the authors wrote. "It is time to start measuring and talking about the costs of care for patients as we would with any other side-effect," De Souza said.

Or, as the Irish mathematical physicist Lord Kelvin put it in 1883: "When you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind."

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This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health's Clinical and Translational Science Award program. Additional authors were Bonnie Yap, Kristen Wroblewski, Christopher Daugherty, Fay Hlubocky, Jeremy O'Connor and Mark Ratain of the University of Chicago; Fabiana Araujo of the Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago; Victoria Blinder of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY; Bruce Brockstein of North Shore University Health System in Evanston, IL, and David Cella, of Northwestern University, in Chicago.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A hearty dose of Mother Nature may be an effective antidote for many physical and psychological ailments, several studies have suggested. However, no one has calculated how much green - as in dollars - nature's greenery saves on health care costs.

A new research project intends to do just that: explore how urban forestry affects health care spending, and then build a free online modeling tool city arborists can use to estimate their communities' potential rate of return on their investments in parks and other natural elements.

The three-year project is led by University of Illinois recreation, sport and tourism professor Matthew Browning. Major collaborators include Ming Kuo, a professor of natural resources and environmental sciences and director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at Illinois; senior epidemiologist Stephen Van Den Eeden of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research; and Jonathan Greenberg, professor of natural resources and environmental science at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The $647,000 project includes more than $278,000 from a U.S. Forest Service National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost-Share Grant, in-kind support from the U. of I. and 16 project partners, and a small grant from the Midwest Big Data Hub.

Given the skyrocketing costs of health care in the U.S., the project is timely because it will document urban forestry's potential as a low-cost, effective and politically popular means of reducing health care costs, Browning said.

"While a number of studies suggest that exposure to nature improves people's health and well-being, nobody has ever calculated a return on cities' investments in urban forestry. Our study will be the first to look at tree plantings and parks, and how much people spent on health care before and after those greening effects," said Browning, who also is the health and nature lead researcher for the Parks and Environmental Behavior Research Group at Illinois.

The study will examine how urban green space is related to health expenditures among more than 4 million members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, which maintains health utilization and cost data in its comprehensive electronic medical records.

"The Kaiser Permanente setting provides a unique opportunity to test this relationship, given the detailed longitudinal health data available," Van Den Eeden said.

The member data maintained by Kaiser Permanente will enable the researchers to examine whether health care expenditures decline after communities invest in urban forestry and how these expenditures change when people move to greener or less green neighborhoods, according to the project description.

Many of the studies on the health impact of urban forestry were conducted in regions with cold, inhospitable climates, and little of that research focused on underserved communities, according to the researchers on the current project.

"As such, the impacts of the urban forest on health outcomes are likely independent - or at most only partially mediated - by the extent to which a region's climate is favorable to people going outside and recreating," Browning and his co-authors wrote.

The study's geographic area encompasses 80,000 square miles in northern California and "is representative of more climates than almost any other area that could be studied," according to the project description. The population in the area being studied is equally diverse: About half of the 7 million inhabitants are black, Latino or from other ethnic groups.

"And income varies all over the map," Kuo said. "One of the great opportunities that the Kaiser Permanente data give us is the chance to examine the impacts of residential greenness on low-, medium- and high-income neighborhoods."

The region will be mapped in 3-D and its urban forestry categorized by type (such as yards with trees or overgrown, wooded areas) and by trait (such as tree canopy density and shape) to identify which characteristics and settings are associated with the greatest health care savings.

Two nonprofit partners, Friends of the Urban Forest and California ReLeaf, will provide the cost data for the region's urban forestry so the researchers - and ultimately city arborists across the U.S. and beyond - can estimate the costs of designing, planting and maintaining these structures in other residential surroundings.

The findings will be used to generate a free open-source modeling tool using the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) platform, developed by the Natural Capital Project. Translating the findings into a free online modeling tool will make the research accessible to a broader audience of urban planners, designers and city leaders.

The National Wildlife Federation, a consultant on the project, will help lead efforts to communicate the findings to policymakers, the public and other audiences.

Other project partners include: the American Cancer Society, the Arbor Day Foundation, the California Department of Health Care Services, the California Urban Forests Council, Highstead Foundation, the State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Paul Scherrer Institute, The Trust for Public Land and the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For decades, neuroscientists and physicians have tried to get to the bottom of the age-old mystery of post-traumatic stress disorder, to explain why only some people are vulnerable and why they experience so many symptoms and so much disability.

All experts in the field now agree that PTSD indeed has its roots in very real, physical processes within the brain - and not in some sort of psychological "weakness". But no clear consensus has emerged about what exactly has gone "wrong" in the brain.

In a Perspective article published this week in Neuron, a pair of University of Michigan Medical School professors -- who have studied PTSD from many angles for many years -- put forth a theory of PTSD that draws from and integrates decades of prior research. They hope to stimulate interest in the theory and invite others in the field to test it.

The bottom line, they say, is that people with PTSD appear to suffer from disrupted context processing. That's a core brain function that allows people and animals to recognize that a particular stimulus may require different responses depending on the context in which it is encountered. It's what allows us to call upon the "right" emotional or physical response to the current encounter.

A simple example, they write, is recognizing that a mountain lion seen in the zoo does not require a fear or "flight" response, while the same lion unexpectedly encountered in the backyard probably does.

For someone with PTSD, a stimulus associated with the trauma they previously experienced - such as a loud noise or a particular smell -- triggers a fear response even when the context is very safe. That's why they react even if the noise came from the front door being slammed, or the smell comes from dinner being accidentally burned on the stove.

Context processing involves a brain region called the hippocampus, and its connections to two other regions called the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. Research has shown that activity in these brain areas is disrupted in PTSD patients. The U-M team thinks their theory can unify wide-ranging evidence by showing how a disruption in this circuit can interfere with context processing and can explain most of the symptoms and much of the biology of PTSD.

"We hope to put some order to all the information that's been gathered about PTSD from studies of human patients, and of animal models of the condition," says Israel Liberzon, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at U-M and a researcher at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System who also treats veterans with PTSD. "We hope to create a testable hypothesis, which isn't as common in mental health research as it should be. If this hypothesis proves true, maybe we can unravel some of the underlying pathophysiological processes, and offer better treatments."

Liberzon and his colleague, James Abelson, M.D., Ph.D., describe in their piece models of PTSD that have emerged in recent years, and lay out the evidence for each. The problem, they say, is that none of these models sufficiently explains the various symptoms seen in patients, nor all of the complex neurobiological changes seen in PTSD and in animal models of this disorder.

The first model, abnormal fear learning, is rooted in the amygdala - the brain's 'fight or flight' center that focuses on response to threats or safe environments. This model emerged from work on fear conditioning, fear extinction and fear generalization.

The second, exaggerated threat detection, is rooted in the brain regions that figure out what signals from the environment are "salient", or important to take note of and react to. This model focuses on vigilance and disproportionate responses to perceived threats.

The third, involving executive function and regulation of emotions, is mainly rooted in the prefrontal cortex - the brain's center for keeping emotions in check and planning or switching between tasks.

By focusing only on the evidence bolstering one of these theories, researchers may be "searching under the streetlight", says Liberzon. "But if we look at all of it in the light of context processing disruption, we can explain why different teams have seen different things. They're not mutually exclusive."

The main thing, says Liberzon, is that "context is not only information about your surroundings - it's pulling out the correct emotion and memories for the context you are in."

A deficit in context processing would lead PTSD patients to feel "unmoored" from the world around them, unable to shape their responses to fit their current contexts. Instead, their brains would impose an "internalized context" -- one that always expects danger -- on every situation.

This type of deficit, arising in the brain from a combination of genetics and life experiences, may create vulnerability to PTSD in the first place, they say. After trauma, this would generate symptoms of hypervigilance, sleeplessness, intrusive thoughts and dreams, and inappropriate emotional and physical outbursts.

Liberzon and Abelson think that testing the context processing theory will enhance understanding of PTSD, even if all of its details are not verified. They hope the PTSD community will help them pursue the needed research, in PTSD patients and in animal models. They put forth specific ideas in the Neuron paper to encourage that, and are embarking on such research themselves.

The U-M/VA team is currently recruiting people with PTSD - whether veterans or not - for studies involving brain imaging and other tests.

In the meantime, they note that there is a growing set of therapeutic tools that can help patients with PTSD, such as cognitive behavioral therapy mindfulness training and pharmacological approaches. These may work by helping to anchor PTSD patients in their current environment, and may prove more effective as researchers learn how to specifically strengthen context processing capacities in the brain.

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Liberzon and Abelson receive research funding from the Department of Defense (W81XWH-13-1-0377) and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH075999 and MH093486).

Reference: Neuron, Volume 92, Issue 1, 5 Oct 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.09.039 http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(16)30640-7
New research, led by the University of Southampton, has demonstrated that a nanoscale device, called a memristor, could be used to power artificial systems that can mimic the human brain.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) exhibit learning abilities and can perform tasks which are difficult for conventional computing systems, such as pattern recognition, on-line learning and classification. Practical ANN implementations are currently hampered by the lack of efficient hardware synapses; a key component that every ANN requires in large numbers.

In the study, published in Nature Communications, the Southampton research team experimentally demonstrated an ANN that used memristor synapses supporting sophisticated learning rules in order to carry out reversible learning of noisy input data.

Memristors are electrical components that limit or regulate the flow of electrical current in a circuit and can remember the amount of charge that was flowing through it and retain the data, even when the power is turned off.

Lead author Dr Alex Serb, from Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, said: "If we want to build artificial systems that can mimic the brain in function and power we need to use hundreds of billions, perhaps even trillions of artificial synapses, many of which must be able to implement learning rules of varying degrees of complexity. Whilst currently available electronic components can certainly be pieced together to create such synapses, the required power and area efficiency benchmarks will be extremely difficult to meet -if even possible at all- without designing new and bespoke 'synapse components'.

"Memristors offer a possible route towards that end by supporting many fundamental features of learning synapses (memory storage, on-line learning, computationally powerful learning rule implementation, two-terminal structure) in extremely compact volumes and at exceptionally low energy costs. If artificial brains are ever going to become reality, therefore, memristive synapses have to succeed."

Acting like synapses in the brain, the metal-oxide memristor array was capable of learning and re-learning input patterns in an unsupervised manner within a probabilistic winner-take-all (WTA) network. This is extremely useful for enabling low-power embedded processors (needed for the Internet of Things) that can process in real-time big data without any prior knowledge of the data.

Co-author Dr Themis Prodromakis, Reader in Nanoelectronics and EPSRC Fellow in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, said: "The uptake of any new technology is typically hampered by the lack of practical demonstrators that showcase the technology's benefits in practical applications. Our work establishes such a technological paradigm shift, proving that nanoscale memristors can indeed be used to formulate in-silico neural circuits for processing big-data in real-time; a key challenge of modern society.

"We have shown that such hardware platforms can independently adapt to its environment without any human intervention and are very resilient in processing even noisy data in real-time reliably. This new type of hardware could find a diverse range of applications in pervasive sensing technologies to fuel real-time monitoring in harsh or inaccessible environments; a highly desirable capability for enabling the Internet of Things vision."

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This interdisciplinary work was supported by a CHIST-ERA net award project and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It brought together engineers from the Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology Group at the University of Southampton with theoretical computer scientists at the Graz University of Technology, using the state-of-art facilities of the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre.

The Prodromakis Group at the University of Southampton is acknowledged as world-leading in this field, collaborating among others with Leon Chua (a Diamond Jubilee Visiting Academic at the University of Southampton), who theoretically predicted the existence of memristors in 1971.
Children of mothers who took vitamin D during pregnancy with resultant high levels of the vitamin in the umbilical blood have fewer symptoms of ADHD at the age of 2.5 years

Children of mothers who took vitamin D during pregnancy with resultant high levels of the vitamin in the umbilical blood have fewer symptoms of ADHD at the age of 2 years.

These were the findings in a new study from the Odense Child Cohort just published in The Australia & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

- "And for every 10 nmol/L increase in the vitamin D concentration in umbilical blood, the risk of a being among the 10% highest score on the ADHD symptom scale fell by 11%," explains one of the study's initiators, Professor Niels Bilenberg.

1,233 children from Odense Municipality were monitored in the study. Vitamin D was measured in umbilical blood, and mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) when their child was 2 years old. The CBCL questionnaire can be used to identify early symptoms of ADHD, even though an ADHD diagnosis cannot be made at that age.

- "And the trend was clear: those mothers who had taken vitamin D, and had a vitamin D level (25OHD) in their umbilical blood over 25 nmol/L, had children with lower ADHD scores," continues Bilenberg. "This was after we had corrected for other factors that could explain the link, such as the mother's age, smoking, alcohol, obesity, education, number of children, psychiatric disease in the parents, child's sex, age and seasonal variation."

The link between vitamin D and early ADHD symptoms has not been described before, and has therefore attracted attention.

- "We were very surprised that the link was so clear," say two of the study's other authors, medical students Jens Bull Aaby and Mats Mossin, "as there was no previous awareness that this link could be identified at such an early age. It's impossible to say with which children will develop ADHD later on, but it will be interesting to further follow up those children who were at the highest end versus the normal range of the ADHD scale."

The study offers no explanation as to how vitamin D can protect against ADHD, but other studies have shown that vitamin D plays an important role in the early development of the brain.

"We had an idea about it," says Aaby, "but we cannot say with certainty that vitamin D protects against early symptoms of ADHD. Our study only indicates that there is a link that we cannot explain in any other way."

Facts: Odense Brnekohorte is a joint study between Odense University Hospital, the Psychiatric Service of the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense Municipality, and the University of Southern Denmark. In the study, 2,500 mothers and their children are being monitored from early pregnancy to the child's 18th birthday. The children are now 3-5 years old and a number of follow-up studies are planned.

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For more information, please contact Professor Nils Bilenberg, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research Unit, Tel. +45 9944 8680
Warmer weather is related to an increase in traumatic injuries for outdoor agricultural workers in central and eastern Washington.

These findings, which appear Oct. 7 in PLOS ONE, come from a study by researchers at the University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries' Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) program.

The study is the first to estimate the risk of traumatic injury in farm workers using temperature data linked to the geographic location of the injury.

The researchers reported on more than 12,200 traumatic injury workers' compensation claims filed by agricultural workers from 2000 to 2012.

"Taken together with prior research in this area, our results suggest that we need to be proactive when it's warm outside, particularly when work is physically demanding, in order to prevent heat-related injuries as well as heat-related illness," said June Spector, lead author of the study and assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Internal body heat generated from physical exertion contributes to overall heat stress. One of the most well documented health effects of hot weather is heat-related illness. This can range from heat rash to heat stroke, which can be fatal.

"This study reinforces the importance of prevention," said David Bonauto, co-author of the study and research director of SHARP. "Employers need to provide plenty of fresh drinking water, start work as early in the day as possible, and encourage workers to take breaks and pace themselves."

In the case-crossover study, researchers identified the temperature and humidity at the approximate location of the injury on the injury day. To understand how heat may have been a factor in the injury, the researchers compared the heat and humidity on the injury day with days when there was no new injury for that individual working at the same work location.

The connection between heat and injury was not surprising to the researchers. With heat exposure, dehydration, and fatigue, a person can become less stable on their feet and have more difficulty concentrating. The exact mechanisms responsible for the increased risk observed need further study, Spector said.

The average daily maximum temperature between May and September during the twelve-year period studied was 82.2 degrees Fahrenheit, with temperatures at times exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Add humidity and the weather can feel even hotter. Exertion also influences heat stress placed on the body. A cherry harvester, for example, has a physically demanding job that requires carrying and climbing ladders with bags of fruit. Being paid for work by the amount harvested can make the job more intense. This piece rate scheme can provide an opportunity for increased pay but also encourages workers to work harder and faster.

"Our findings underscore the importance of working together with workers and growers to identify and evaluate practical strategies that address the increased risk of injury that outdoor agricultural workers face in the heat," she said.

Washington state has workplace safety standards--in effect from May to September-- that address outdoor heat in agriculture. Legislation was recently passed to require paid rest breaks.

Financial support for the study was provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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A story in which the Goddess Kali makes a cameo appearance on page four, and which ends with wizards and djinns directing the action, is not, perhaps, a conventional historical novel. Set in eastern Bengal in the Mughal era, Shazia Omar's tale weaves together a handful of historical figures with some fictitious ones, and adds splashes of black magic, the supernatural and pure fantasy. The result is delightful and fun. The yarn spins on rapidly through short, energetic chapters delicately laced with a hint of self-satire.

Shayista Khan, the Mughal viceroy of Bengal in the reign of Aurangzeb, turns what was originally a punishment posting into the summit of his career, nurturing the province until it flourishes both culturally and economically. Hamstrung by the curse of the eponymous dark diamond in his possession, he struggles to protect this legacy against assorted traitors, renegades, bigots and the British. The hero has to kill a lot of people before learning-from a Rumi-quoting dancing girl-that you can only vanquish your enemies through love.

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Up until that point, the tale is not for the squeamish. Someone loses an arm or a head in almost every chapter. The sudden, brutal violence shocks. We have only just been introduced to a pleasant curly-headed slave boy before both curls and head are pointlessly severed. And we are warming to the gamine French jewel thief-wishing her every success in life and crime-just as she is eaten by a tiger. Yet this theme of danger, from sword or beast, historically rings true. For all its brilliance, the Mughal world was a hazardous place. Justice was rough and ready. A thirst for power breeds paranoia. Years of loyalty could be set aside on the merest suspicion. Omar admirably captures the menace, with everyone on edge lest a frown spell doom or a disagreement be settled at the point of a blade.

Happily, the novel is awash with other bodily fluids besides blood. The scenes of passion are drawn with great relish. There may be a hint of Mills & Boon vocabulary in such formulations as "She melted in his arms", but that is just the author smiling as she licks her lips. An author who, not once but twice, has her hero use his strong arms to scoop a maiden onto his horse, and, not once but twice, describes breasts spilling out of a torn choli, has evidently decided that clichs can be fun. So when, "Inflamed to vagary? he dove into her valley", only the churlish would deny him; though we might ask whether he paused in his ardour to consider whether it really was a vagary, and whether he used the correct form of the verb.

We might be moved to more serious reflections by a scene where the hero lays into a party of book-burning mullahs. Incensed that girls are being taught poetry, the orthodox mullahs make a bonfire. The viceroy first reads them the riot act, in the form of a verse from the Quran about learning and the pen, then he slaughters the lot of them. One's grim satisfaction at this arises not just from the scene's place in the narrative. This is one passage where history spools into the present.

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Earlier, the viceroy reprimands a senior mullah, insisting, "Bengal is a secular, liberal and enlightened social sphere", and that he will not "hear any further complaints against women, children, teachers, Hindus, musicians, dancers or artists". One cannot help hearing the author's voice in this. In a note at the end, she reveals that she lives in Dacca and is saddened by history repeating itself. "In Bangladesh and the world today we are threatened by many of the enemies Shayista Khan fought back in the 1680s". Indeed we are. But few of us fight back with such gusto and wit.

Giles Tillotson has written books on Indian history, architecture and the historical novel Return to Bhanupur



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LOGAN, UTAH, USA - Utah State University is the recipient of a competitive $2.7 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship award that will afford USU students in 20 STEM graduate degree programs the opportunity to pursue advanced interdisciplinary research training and a Climate Adaptation Science specialization.

Named "Graduate Climate Adaptation Research that Enhances Education and Responsiveness of Science at the Management-Policy Interface" - or Grad-CAREER for short, the project team anticipates training 80 master's and doctoral students during the five-year grant period.

"This is a remarkable opportunity for graduate students to be involved in a dynamic, cross-disciplinary research environment," says Nancy Huntly, professor in USU's Department of Biology, director of the USU Ecology Center and principal investigator and project director for Grad-CAREER.

Huntly leads the project team, which includes USU faculty members and co-principal investigators Patrick Belmont, Department of Watershed Sciences; Courtney Flint, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology and the USU Ecology Center; David Rosenberg, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Utah Water Research Laboratory; Simon Wang, Department of Plants, Soils and Climate and the Utah Climate Center and core participants David Feldon, Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences; Luis Gordillo, Department of Mathematics and Statistics; Peter Howe, Department of Environment and Society; James Lutz, Department of Wildland Resources and Sarah Null, Department of Watershed Sciences.

Grad-CAREER begins in January 2017 with an initial cohort of 10 students. Twenty additional students will join the project in fall 2017, with about 20 new students entering the program each year for the grant's duration.

Participation will be offered to students majoring in natural, physical and social sciences, engineering and mathematics. Huntly says program participants, referred to as "trainees," will receive "significant" research support and professional skills training. In addition, about 28 trainees will receive one-year fellowships.

"Grad-CAREER focuses on preparing trainees for research-based careers that will integrate science with management and policy to understand and adapt to a changing climate," Huntly says. "The program includes interdisciplinary training in data management, informatics and modeling, as well as communications, management and leadership skills."

Trainees will gain real-world experience through a novel, two-part internship with a government, industry or non-governmental organization partner that brackets a year-long research studio and "embeds trainees in a cycle of creating actionable science," she says.

Thanks, in part, to the efforts of iUTAH (innovative Urban Transitions and Aridregion Hydro-sustainability), another NSF-funded, USU-led research endeavor, Huntly says a statewide, community partnership is already in place to aid Grad-CAREER trainees in pursuing a wide range of internship pursuits. A broader regional network of internship opportunities is made available through collaborations with the USGS Southwest Biological Science Center in Moab, Utah; the USGS Southwest Climate Science Center in Arizona and the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Logan, Utah.

Yet, even with the added benefits and training, Grad-CAREER adds no credit requirements to existing degree programs.

"Grad-CAREER is designed to actually shorten the time to a degree, as it integrates research with training from the beginning of each student's program and uses short-courses to provide efficient and individualized training," Huntly says. "A key goal of NSF's Research Traineeship program is to improve the preparation of STEM graduates for a variety of future careers, including those outside of academia. We believe Grad-CAREER provides a supportive, collaborative learning structure that will support students in completing their degrees and enabling them for careers of the future."

Grad-CAREER is offering two upcoming informational forums to acquaint students and faculty with the new program. All are welcome to attend Monday, Oct. 17, 2017, from 4-5 p.m. or Thursday, Oct. 20, 2017, from 4:20-5:20 p.m. Both gatherings will be held in AGRS 141.

Huntly also invites Aggies to visit the program's website at climateadaptation.usu.edu and Twitter feed @USUClimateAdapt.

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A social media campaign to boycott Made in China goods, in a rebuttal to its continued support for Pakistan and for voting in the United Nations against Indian interests, has begun to show results. Traders at some of the biggest wholesale markets across the country have reported 10 to 20 percent fall in demand for cheaper Chinese wares.

The development is an indication of a nationalist sentiment sweeping the country in the aftermath of terror attack on Uri Army base and consequent surgical strikes by Indian Army in retaliation.

TRADE WAR

If people have decided to teach China a lesson, it can have serious repercussions for the trade, said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). Khandelwal said there was an unprecedented patriotic wave across the country and the market cannot remain unaffected.

India is a huge market of Chinese items as they are cheaper. According to an estimate, the volume of Chinese goods during eight to 12 weeks ahead of festive seasons falls in the vicinity of Rs 1000 crore in Delhi alone. There are similar wholesale inventories of imports from China in all major cities of the country.

PUBLIC BOYCOTT OF MADE IN CHINA

A majority of these goods include toys, fancy lights, gift items, plastic ware, decorative goods etc. Retailers say that their customers have started asking for Indian items, said Rameshwar Goyal, a trader dealing in decorative items at Sadar Bazar, the biggest wholesale market of north India.

Goyal said he too had received messages on his phone about boycotting Chinese lights during Diwali. I think that campaign has made a difference. People are openly talking about boycotting Chinese items, he said.

Devendra Bansal another trader in Sadar Bazar told Mail Today: Retailers from NCR and other states come to this market to purchase items. And, there has been huge demand of Chinese items as they are cheaper. But, this time they have taken lesser amount of such items. Instead, they specifically asked for Indian items.

CAMPAIGN TRIGGERED BY FAKE LETTER

The campaign began with a fake letter which was claimed to be signed by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi which urged the Indian consumer to use swadeshi products during Diwali and repulse Chinese goods.

The fake letter was circulated all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and also on WhatsApp. The Prime Ministers Office, however, was quick to contest the veracity of the letter and in a tweet clarified that the document was not authentic.

Other than this fake letter, there have been memes and images doing the rounds on the internet spreading the same message. The campaign has managed to tap into the latent anger against China, which has supported Pakistan in the past and had also blocked Indias bid to join Nuclear Supplier Group.

Soon, politicians of all hues began to ask people for the boycott. BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on October 3 called for a boycott of Chinese products in protest against its role to shield Jaish-e-Mohammed head Masood Azhar from United Nations ban.

However, he had to delete his tweet some time later.

WHY THIS MOVE WORKS FOR INDIA ?

Majority of traders that Mail Today spoke to agreed that such a boycott might harm the business this year but in the long run it will be good for Indian traders and industry. Traders will have to take a call on not to import Chinese items and consumers will have to decide not to purchase these goods, said Khandelwal of CAIT.

This will be good if people start accepting Indian goods. Several groups have initiated the campaign which include promoting sale of earthen diyas from villages on social media platforms. #BoycottChina, #BoycottChineseproducts have trended on Twitter recently. Please pledge This Diwali we will only buy Indian, regardless of price and not Chinese, was tweeted from the handle Fearless Hindu.

Source : India Today
Scholarship Fund Supports Students' Study Abroad

Kerry Zhang 17 at UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge, in England.

Oct. 6, 2016

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. When she was selecting a college, Lucy Sanchez 17 vowed she would study abroad, but only if she could do so without creating a financial burden on her family. Thanks to Illinois Wesleyan Universitys Betty Ritchie-Birrer Endowed Study Abroad Fund, Sanchez could fulfill her dream of studying art outside of the United States.

I wanted to make my parents sacrifices worth it and take advantage of the opportunities Ive been given because of their hard work, said Sanchez, the first in her family to go to college. The IWU Study Abroad Scholarship helped so much. It would have been harder and a heavier burden on my family if I didnt have it.

The competitive, need-based study abroad scholarship ranges from $1,000 to $5,000. Ritchie-Birrer, a 1947 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan, established the endowed study abroad fund because she valued the opportunities she had to travel to other countries.

Since its creation, the IWU Study Abroad Scholarship has been awarded to nearly 30 students. Each student who receives the study abroad scholarship agrees to document and share his or her experiences. Nick Cocorikis 17 created a Facebook album chronicling his semester in Japan. Business administration major Emily Diehl 17 shared her experiences in a May Term travel course through an Instagram account entitled Emily in Italy. Sanchez, an art and business administration double major, chose to document her semester in Ireland by creating original works informed by her experiences in the Emerald Isle.

Lucy Sanchez 17 said this self-portrait "deals with finding my place in Ireland, a very different culture than what I was used to, coming from a Mexican-American household.

As an artist, I developed my style more fully, and interestingly, I explored my Mexican heritage more, Sanchez said. Living in the County Clare village of Ballyvaughn, population less than 300, Sanchez said the tiny hamlet helped her focus on her art. I could isolate myself completely in this creative bubble, she said.

My work became larger and more detailed, and it came to mean something to me. Before, I tried to find something to say in my art. In Ireland, the art itself became the message.

Unlike Sanchez, who vowed to make study abroad a central goal of her college experience, Diehl had not considered a learning experience away from the Illinois Wesleyan campus. But when a sorority sister returned from a semester in Seville, Spain, Diehl began exploring her options, and the May Term travel course Renaissance Italy ticked every box on her list.

Emily Diehl '17 posted a collage of her first day in Italy, which included visits to the Colosseum, Arch of Constantine and the Pantheon.

Diehl said the experience taught her the importance of adapting to and managing change. The travel bug also bit her hard.

Im more ready to explore, she said. The experience opened up opportunities I hadnt considered before going to Italy. Im also more confident in my abilities. Research indicates that study abroad benefits students in many ways, including building self-confidence and broadening worldviews.

Study abroad is a requirement for international business majors like Cocorikis, who chose Japan because of his admiration for Japanese business practices.

They are some of the best in the world, Cocorikis said. Studying in Japan could only help my prospects of eventually obtaining a job with one of those companies.

Cocorikis said his semester in Japan was the most formative experience of his life. It was also the hardest thing Ive ever done, but knowing I succeeded and grew from the experience makes it rewarding, he said.

Without the Betty Ritchie-Birrer Endowed Study Abroad scholarship, it would not have been possible for me to study in Japan, he added.

Nearly half (48 percent) of Illinois Wesleyan students study abroad, and Illinois Wesleyan students are encouraged to strongly consider the opportunity. Illinois Wesleyans study abroad tuition policy allows students to apply their IWU scholarship and need-based assistance toward the cost of studying abroad for a semester.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Oct. 7, 2016) - BWR Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BWR) ("BWR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a definitive acquisition agreement, whereby BWR can acquire 100% interest in the Little Stull Lake Gold project in Northern Manitoba from Puma Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PUM) ("Puma"). The closing is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture exchange.

Definitive Agreement

The main elements of the definitive agreement include:

 Cash payments of $150,000 to Puma; the first $50,000 was paid upon signing the LOI on July 11, 2016, there are two additional milestone payments of $50,000 each, payable within 30 days of Edmund Lake and Kistigan Mineral Exploration Licenses being granted and transferred to BWR by Manitoba Department of Natural Resources.  Puma will receive up to 10 million BWR common shares, of which 4,750,000 are subject to escrow provisions. 4,750,000 of the first 5,000,000 securities will be delivered to Puma upon execution and approval of the definitive agreement to be released in increments over a 36-month period, 250,000 shares will similarly be delivered as directed by Puma to a finder. The additional 5,000,000 additional securities are to be delivered to Puma as directed by Puma, upon certain exploration and development milestones being met by BWR over the next several years as follows: o 1 million shares to be issued once 500,000 ounces of gold have been identified in the measured and indicated category; o 1 million additional shares to be issued once 1,000,000 ounces of gold have been identified in the measured and indicated category; o 1 million additional shares to be issued once a positive preliminary economic analysis has been prepared; o 2 million additional shares to be issued upon delivery of positive feasibility study Notwithstanding the above, with respect to the additional 5,000,000 securities, BWR must expend $1.5 million in exploration within the first 36 months of the effective date. Failure on the part of BWR to do so will result in the additional 5,000,000 securities being issued to Puma in accordance with provisions of the escrow agreement.  Puma has nominated Marcel Robillard to be their representative on the BWR Board of Directors as part of the agreement. BWR has agreed to add Mr. Robillard to its' Board of Directors upon closing of the agreement.  Puma will have the right to maintain its' pro rata equity interest in BWR by investing in future financings of BWR for as long as it maintains greater than 10% equity. The pro rata equity interest calculation is as if Puma has received all 9.75 million shares.  If commercial production is attained at the Little Stull Lake Project, Puma retains a non-buyable 1% NSR.  BWR has assumed Puma's right of first refusal regarding an underlying 1% net smelter royalty that is payable to Tanqueray Resources Inc. ("Tanqueray"). This underlying royalty is buyable in its entirety at anytime for $3 million by BWR, Tanqueray has consented to this assignment.

The Little Stull Lake Gold Project

The Little Stull Lake Gold project consists of 20 staked mining claims covering approximately 2,387 hectares that cover the main exploration sites for the project. The staked claims were originally staked in 1984 and have applied assessment credits making them valid until 2025. The 20 claims are surrounded by the Kistigan Mineral Exploration License (M.E.L. 1026A) application covering an area of approximately 15,640 hectares. The western extension of the project is covered by the Edmund Mineral Exploration License (M.E.L. 426A) application covering an area of approximately 20,308 hectares. The Little Stull Lake Project covers exploration rights over a total of 38,335 hectares (approximately 384 square kilometers), including the 20 claims and the two Mineral Exploration Licenses.

Historical results on Project

Historical drilling has been carried out in three drill campaigns, initially by Westmin Resources Inc. in the period 1984 to 1990 when 202 drill-holes were completed totalling 34,498 meters, followed by Wolfden Resources Inc. drilling 7 holes in 2000 totalling 1,423 meters, followed by Puma Exploration drilling 10 holes in 2007 totalling 1,500 meters. These 219 drill holes represent an aggregate of 37,421 metres, the analysis of which resulted in the delineation of five separate zones of gold mineralization along a 6.2 kilometre geological structure. Most of the drilling focussed on the West Zone reported by Westmin in 1991, to contain a potential resource estimate of 750,000 tons averaging 10.5 g/t Au as recorded in Open file 90-2 by Manitoba Department of Energy and Mines (p 58), also reported in Canadian Intergovernmental Working Group on Mineral Industry, in 2008. The Westmin resource estimate is considered historical in nature and was done prior to the implementation of NI 43-101 reporting requirements and adoption of CIM Guidelines for Estimation of Mineral Resources and Reserves, however the reported resource estimate is considered relevant as it has been used as reference to the gold potential of the region in various technical reports about the area by government agencies. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify this historical estimate and the Company is not treating this historical estimate as a current mineral resource estimate.

Recent activity in Project area

Most notably, in June, 2015 Yamana Gold acquired Mega Precious Metals, in a share transaction valued at an estimated $17.5 million. As a result of this corporate takeover, Yamana now holds title to the Monument Bay Gold Deposit, that is located approximately 20 km southwest of BWR's Little Stull Lake Gold Project. The Little Stull Lake mineralized gold zones lie in a similar geological environment to those on the Monument Bay property. Recent news by Yamana includes an update press release on September 6, 2016 where they report an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.787 million ounces of gold contained in 36.58 million tonnes at a grade of 1.52 g/t Au and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.781 million ounces of gold contained in 41.97 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.32 g/t Au. The mineralization hosted on the Monument Bay property is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization, if any, hosted on the Company's property.

"BWR is excited about this new exploration and development opportunity acquired from Puma Exploration. Our Board of Directors is looking forward to working with Marcel Robillard of Puma over the next several years as the Little Stull Lake Gold Project matures from an attractive exploration project into what BWR hopes to be a development project. Puma will continue focussing their exploration efforts on their base metal assets in New Brunswick while BWR focuses on this exciting gold project." notes Neil Novak, President and CEO of BWR Exploration Inc.

BWR is a public company (TSX VENTURE:BWR) focused on exploring early stage projects for base and precious metals, with three exploration projects in Northern Ontario, and more recently one in Northern Quebec, Canada. Management of BWR includes an accomplished group of exploration/mining specialists with many decades of operational experience in the junior resource sector. There are currently 39,191,961 shares issued in BWR prior to this transaction.

The contents of this press release were prepared by Neil D. Novak, P.Geo., a Qualified Person; Patrick Chance, M.Sc., P.Eng. has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release in the capacity of Independent Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 reporting guidelines.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BWR Exploration Inc. to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made, except as required by law. BWR Exploration Inc. undertakes no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include: the uncertainty of completing the acquisition of the project from Puma at all as the final acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, or on the terms described in this press release, or that actual results obtained by BWR in the future may differ materially from the historical results described in this press release, which historical results have not been verified by BWR. In addition, readers of this press release should review the risks and uncertainties that are described in the quarterly and annual reports and in the documents submitted to the securities administration. Neither the Toronto 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.

BWR's website is currently being updated to include information about the new project and will be launched over the next few weeks.
VANCOUVER, Oct. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - Nevsun Resources Ltd. ("Nevsun") (TSX: NSU) (NYSE MKT: NSU) advises that the British Columbia Supreme Court has refused to permit a claim against Nevsun to proceed as a common law class action. The court did permit the lawsuit by the three named plaintiffs to continue.

Today's court decision addresses only preliminary legal challenges to the action raised by Nevsun. The judgment makes no findings with respect to the plaintiffs' allegations, including whether any of them were in fact at the Bisha Mine. The judge also emphasized that the case raises novel and complex legal questions, including on international law, which have never before been considered in Canada.

Nevsun is studying the court's decision and considering an appeal of the decision that the action can proceed at all.

Nevsun remains confident that its indirect 60%-owned Eritrean subsidiary, Bisha Mining Share Company ("BMSC") operates the Bisha Mine according to international standards of governance, workplace conditions, health, safety and human rights. There are contractual commitments in place that strictly prohibit the use of national service employees by BMSC's contractors and subcontractors.

BMSC is committed to managing the Bisha Mine in a safe and responsible manner that respects the interests of local communities, workers, stakeholders and the natural environment. Nevsun's and BMSC's commitment to corporate social responsibility is detailed in Nevsun's 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility report, available at this link: http://nevsuncsr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NevsunCSR-2015_Digital.pdf. Nevsun and its partner, Eritrean National Mining Corporation, also commissioned a 2015 human rights audit of the Bisha Mine which is available at this link: http://nevsuncsr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Bisha-HRIA-Audit-2015.pdf

About Nevsun Resources Ltd.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. is the 60% owner of the high grade Bisha Mine in Eritrea. Bisha has over nine years of reserve life, generating revenue from both copper and zinc concentrates containing gold and silver by-products. Nevsun has a strong balance sheet with no debt and pays a peer leading quarterly dividend. Nevsun is well positioned to grow shareholder value through exploration at Bisha and the newly acquired Serbian assets that include the high-grade copper-gold Timok Project.

Forward-Looking Statements

The above contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "hopes", "intends", "estimated", "potential", "possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are statements concerning the Company's current beliefs, plans and expectations about the future, including but not limited to statements and information made concerning: statements relating to the business, prospects and future activities of, and developments related to the Company, anticipated dividends, goals, strategies, future growth, planned future acquisitions and explorations activities, the adequacy of financial resources and other events or conditions that may occur in the future, and are inherently uncertain. The actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, the risks that the Company is subject to any adverse ruling in any of the pending litigation to which it is a party and other risks are more fully described in the Company's Management Information Circulars dated May 18, 2016 with respect to the proposed arrangement between Reservoir Minerals Inc. and Nevsun, and the Company's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and the Company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.

Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements and our business can be found in our Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, which is available on the Company's website (www.nevsun.com), filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F.

SOURCE Nevsun Resources Ltd.
By Yi Whan-woo

Cho Tae-yul

The government has named second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul as the country's new ambassador to the United Nations, the ministry said Friday.

Cho, 61, will replace Oh Joon as chief of the South Korean mission there.

The third son of renowned poet Cho Ji-hoon, he started his career in 1989. Cho served as the country's ambassador to Spain and dealt with global trade and multilateral affairs before being appointed vice foreign minister in March 2013.

His nomination comes as the U.N. Security Council is working on fresh sanctions on North Korea following its fifth nuclear test last month.

Cho will meet with the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, who is slated to visit Seoul, Saturday, to discuss the North Korean issue.

He is expected to begin his official duty late this month or next month.
In a surprise move, Uttar Pradesh BJP made Swati Singh, the wife of expelled party leader Dayashankar Singh, the president of the party's women's wing.

By Indo-Asian News Service: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday appointed Swati Singh, wife of its expelled leader Daya Shankar Singh, as the chief of its Uttar Pradesh unit's women wing.

Party spokesman Chandra Mohan told the media that state party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya had appointed Swati Singh to the post while naming Kaushal Kishore, the MP from Mohanlalganj, as the chief of the SC/ST Morcha and Haider Abbad Chand as the minority wing head.

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Swati Singh's appointment however came as a surprise as she is not a political person and only shot to limelight after her husband was expelled from the party some months back after he made objectionable remarks of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati.

Later when during a protest rally by BSP workers in Lucknow, when some senior leaders made some uncharitable remarks about their minor daughter, she took Mayawati on and castigated her for allowing apartment go unpunished even when they used the most foul language for a child, who had nothing to do with the ongoing spat.

She got wide support from the people. Swati Singh also filed a complaint with the police against the Dalit leader and her party men, after which a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences was slapped on BSP state chief Ram Achal Rajbhar and some others.

The BJP is likely to use her as a potent ammunition against the BSP chief in the forthcoming state assembly polls, scheduled for early next year.

Also Read:

Mayawati wants my husband beheaded, will lodge FIR for 'mental trauma': Dayashankar Singh's wife

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By PTI: Lucknow, Oct 7 (PTI) In a surprise move, Uttar Pradesh BJP today made Swati Singh, the wife of expelled party leader Dayashankar Singh, the president of the partys womens wing.

Swati, who had led a campaign against Mayawati and other leaders of her party for the "unsavoury" slogans against her minor daughter during a BSP dharna here, was made the president of the state BJP Mahila Morcha.

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According to a party release, besides Swati, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya appointed MP Kaushal Kishore the president of the partys SC Morcha and MP Chotey Lal Kharwar the head of the partys ST Morcha.

Swati Singh of Ballia had come to prominence after she led a campaign demanding FIRs against BSP leaders who raised slogans targeting her minor daughter during a protest staged by the party against her husbands "derogatory" comments against Mayawati.

Her husband and former Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president Dayashankar Singh was expelled by the party after his comments on the BSP supremo caused a nationwide controversy. PTI SAB RC

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Doctors allege that during VIP visits, many of the doctors are deputed to look after the VIPs in the hospital which affects the overall functioning of the hospital.

By Astha Saxena: Doctors in Delhi hospitals are in peril: they are suffering the visits by high-profile leaders to the hospitals. These visits make things difficult for the doctors who are already working hard to treat the dengue and chikungunya patients. However, it seems Member of Parliament Pappu Yadav isn't impressed.

VIP VISITS DISTRACTING

He recently inspected Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital and alleged that its preparedness to tackle the health crisis is 'not up to the mark'. And this allegation has hassled the doctors who feel they can serve better without these VIP visits. Doctors allege that during such visits, many of the doctors are deputed to look after the VIPs in the hospital which affects the overall functioning of the hospital. "We are then left with no other option. We have to look after the patients as well. But during such visits, we have to also look after the VIP visitor who is inspecting the hospital," said a senior doctor from Lok Nayak Hospital requesting anonymity. "We understand their intention is to help the patients. But the hospital administration is putting their heart and soul to deal with the crisis. As we are on the ground, we know what the patients are looking for. The number of beds in the hospital are lying vacant at times as every hospital has increased the bed occupancy," said a doctor from GTB Hospital requesting anonymity.

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LEADERS ALLEGE PREPAREDNESS NOT UP TO THE MARK

The Madhepura MP visited the 2,000-bedded LNJP Hospital, the biggest under the Delhi government two weeks back. He also inspected the fever clinics and fever wards among other places. "The city is dealing with rising number of dengue and chikungunya cases. So I came to assess the preparedness at this hospital. After seeing the situation here, I can see a lot needs to be done as the preparedness is not up to the mark," Yadav alleged. "Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain has been claiming that Delhi hospitals are prepared to tackle the crisis, but I saw the reality today. Volunteers and counsellors are not deputed adequately and patients visiting the hospital for the first time feel hassled," Yadav said.

Interestingly, the central government-run Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital has a dedicated nursing home for the treatment of VIP patients. The nursing home includes rooms for Members of Parliament (MPs), CGHS beneficiaries and other important people. "This is the time when all the hospitals are overloaded with the patients and even doctors are falling ill due to the increasing infection. Deputing doctors for these VIP rooms is no more a smart move. Moreover, the rooms have not been used for the last five year. No former Prime Minister has been admitted to the hospital in last five years," a senior doctor from the hospital told Mail today.

Delhi has witnessed 5,293 cases of chikungunya this season so far, which is much higher than last year's count. About 15 persons have died due to the vector-borne disease in the city. As many as 2,133 cases of dengue have been reported in the national Capital, with 21 people succumbing to the vector-borne disease. With Delhi witnessing a steep rise in the cases of chikungunya, a political war had erupted with all the parties taking a dig at each other. As the cases increased, from MPs to MLAs, all began to visit.

ALSO READ:

Jung and Kejriwal not interested as Delhi suffers from dengue: SC

Viral threat still high in Delhi, say experts





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- Ghana has started exporting fuel and gas oil to Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali from the Bolgatanga Petroleum Depot

- The West African country has moved to extend the exports to Liberia in the coming months

Ghana has started exporting fuel and gas oil to the landlocked countries of West Africa, including Nigeria.

According to a report on Vanguard, Ghana has started exporting fuel and gas oil to the Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali from the Bolgatanga Petroleum Depot.

Ghana has started exporting fuel and gas oil to the Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Benin Republic and Nigeri from the Bolgatanga Petroleum Depot

READ ALSO: Nigerias oil and gas reserves running out - NNPC

The state-owned Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) Limited, is also supplying petroleum products from the same depot to Benin Republic and Nigeria.

This was disclosed by Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Ghanas Minister of Petroleum at the meet-the-press series in Accra on Thursday, October 7.

Buah said there were plans to extend the exports to Liberia in the coming months.

The minister said the vision of the government was to make Ghana the hub for the distribution of petroleum products in the West African sub-region, even as he added that Ghana had been ushered into a new gas era that would guarantee its energy security for the next two decades.

He said: Despite the global downturn in the oil industry, we have managed to increase production.

Ghanaians have been empowered to be at the forefront of the industry and a liberalised petroleum downstream sector with strong private sector participation where product availability, competition, better customer service and lower prices are making Ghana the preferred destination for doing business in the sub-region."

He said the Ghana Gas Company (Ghana Gas) had completed the extension of its pipeline to the battery limit of the West Africa Gas Pipeline Companys (WAPCos) Regulatory and Metering Station at Aboadze and indicated that Ghana Gas was awaiting WAPCo to interconnect.

In the long term, a 290-km onshore pipeline to ensure gas supply reliability and downstream infrastructure expandability is planned.

Additional volumes will, in the long term, provide the opportunity for Ghana to realise its vision to utilise gas for the other industrial uses, beyond power generation, such as fertiliser and petrochemicals, he said.

Buah said Ghanas strategic stock was at an all-time high, with about one million metric tonnes of petroleum products imported from January to June 2016.

According to him, this achievement is due to the restructuring of BOST, which had been successful in ensuring the availability of petroleum products in the country.

He said: The restructuring of BOST has resulted in a turnaround in the performance of this strategic national asset which is now successfully fulfilling its mandate of ensuring the availability of petroleum products.

The Bolgatanga Petroleum Depot, with a capacity of 46 million litres of refined gasoline and gas oil, was re-inaugurated in August 2015.

READ ALSO: #Nigeria@56: Senate offers 21 point resolution to Buhari

The discovery of oil in Ghana in 2007, added to its gold and cocoa wealth and its other major asset, stable democracy, gave it a chance to start catching up with oil giant Nigeria and regional West African economic powerhouse Ivory Coast.

While Nigeria on the other hand, has entered a recession and it's largely the work of the oil industry.

The country's economy contracted by 2.06% in the second quarter, between April and June, this year, according to figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS). That's the second straight quarter of declining growth or "the usual definition of recession."

Declining oil prices have hurt a number of countries worldwide, like Brazil or Russia, as well as U.S. towns that saw massive growth amid a fracking boom. Nigeria was hit especially hard by the decline in oil since crude oil sales account for 70% of government income.

Source: Legit.ng
The complaint stated that the 22 standing counsels were appointed under various categories by five notifications issued by Delhi government. It sought the immediate quashing of the notifications.

By Sneha Agrawal: A complaint filed in the office of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has challenged the validity of 22 standing counsels appointed by the Aam Adami Party government without the L-G's approval. The list of the appointees includes offspring of two sitting judges in higher judiciary.

BATTLE BETWEEN LG AND KEJRIWAL CONTINUES

This development may add yet another chapter to the acrimonious battle between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the L-G office if the latter nullifies the appointments on the basis of the complaint. Under the Delhi High Court order on August 4, it is mandatory for the city government to secure L-G sanction for an appointment of this nature. "This is a frivolous, politically motivated complaint," Rahul Mehra, senior standing counsel for the Delhi government, told Mail today.

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"It is for the honourable L-G to look into it and take a call. My office is here to bestow its duty and serve the people of the city." Mehra said the subject of litigation comes under the mandate of the Delhi government. Incidentally, the complaint, filed by advocate Vibhor Anand, questioned Mehra's appointment itself, pointing out that "there is not post by the name of senior standing counsel (civil) under any law and no such post can be created without the approval of the Lt Governor".

EXAMINING DELHI GOVERNMENT'S DECISIONS

Mail Today has a copy of the complaint. The complaint stated that the 22 standing counsels were appointed under various categories by five notifications issued by Delhi government. It sought immediate quashing of the notifications. After the August 4 decision of the Delhi High Court in which it held that Delhi continued to be a Union Territory under the authority of the Lt-Governor, a three-member committee was appointed by Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung to examine over 400 files on decisions taken by the government since February 2015, in which the Lt-Governor's approval was not taken. Sources in the Lt-Governor's office admitted receiving the complaint and said that it has been handed over to the committee examining Delhi government orders.

"Under the procedure, the approval of the Lt-Governor has to be sought while engaging counsels out of the government panel," the sources said. "Since the government had not done this before August 4, these files are now placed before the independent three-member committee. The concerned secretaries have themselves submitted these files to the committee and the committee is examining them," the sources said. The Delhi government has challenged the high court order on seeking the L-G's permission in the Supreme Court which has scheduled a hearing in the case on November 15.

The apex court did not grant any stay on the high court order. The files under scrutiny also pertain to the appointments of senior counsels to represent the government in various matters. The AAP government claims it cannot pay the fees of the counsels appointed earlier. The AAP government earlier accused the L-G office of impeding its efforts to fight him in a court of law by stalling payments of senior lawyers like Chandra Uday Singh, Sudhir Nandrajog, Guru Krishan Kumar and Raju Ramachandran. The claim was denied by the LG's office. According to sources, department secretaries have forwarded such files to the committee where the L-G's permission was mandatory but was not sought, which includes cases of lawyers who were appointed without the L-G approval.



ALSO READ:

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Jung and Kejriwal not interested as Delhi suffers from dengue: SC

After SC rap, Kejriwal, Jain meet L-G over dengue, chikungunya





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The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Legit.ng.

The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari like any other President has been the subject of a lot of funny memes, here are the best Buhari memes you will come across on the Internet.

1. This meme about who to blame for Nigeria's problems is the absolute best.

2. Then somebody obviously decided to make a joke about Buhari's visit to Germany and Angela Merkel.

3. This meme is just perfect to make fun of anybody, you should save it. I am sure you have, just look at your life. Smh

4. People of the internet do not want to leave Buhari and Merkel alone. This was really funny to see.

READ ALSO: 10 times Pete Edochie KILLED us with Igbo proverbs (photos)

5. This meme is for all those who keep thinking Buhari is shy.

6. If you have seen 'White House Down', this particular meme will make you laugh.

7. Someone made a meme out of the most famous line in the president's inaugural speech.

8. And another meme about his performance in various aspects. We did not say anything o.

9. Buhari here in his role as Buharlin, in a land of no fuel, the fate of .......

10. This meme was quite relevant when the president was searching for his result.

READ ALSO: 13 photos of beautiful, BEAUTIFUL jollof rice that will make you hungry (photos)

11. The Buhari ear infection saga led to a whole batch of new memes like this

12. Buhari's many trips caused Nigerians to plan giveaways based on them. Predict and Win!!

13. When she cannot even cook like your mum, this is the perfect facial expression

14. The beauty of Aisha Buhari was perfectly described with this meme

15. When you ask for a loan in Nigeria right now, this is the most likely answer you will get

16. The smile on Buhari's face perfectly fits this tweet. Nigerians are hilarious.

17. Indeed the president was a good, bad guy during his youth.

18. The face of the Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal in this picture will absolutely make your day.

19. The recent campaign launched by the president has not seen spared in the creating of cartoons

20. The reaction of Obasanjo to Buhari's speech was hilariously shown in this meme

Source: Legit.ng
222 grams of cannabis along with a 67 bottles of beer and 2 bottles of hard liquor were recovered by the Delhi Police.

By Tanseem Haider: Two Nigerian nationals who were involved in the sale of narcotic substances were arrested today. 222 grams of cannabis along with 67 bottles of beer and 2 bottles of hard liquor were recovered from the location.

The police team arrested the two Nigerian nationals namely Odininake Chukwu Eugene, resident of Port Hort River State, Nigeria and Word Edwrad resident of Fastc Nigeria Lagos, Nigeria today.



BUST

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On receipt of secret information about selling of drugs and liquor at the basement of H. No. 23 Krishna Nagar, S.J. Enclave, a police team conducted a raid at the spot and the two Nigerian nationals were arrested and illicit liquor, which they had planned to sell was recovered.

On further search, 102 grams of ganja, packed in 20 small polythene pouches was recovered from the possession of accused Odininake Chukwu Eugene and another 120 grams packed in 15 polythene pouches was recovered from the possession of accused Edward Ebere.



ALSO READ:

Desi Narcos? Cocaine smuggling up by 670 per cent in India

One arrested for selling cough syrup as drugs in Mumbai

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By Reuters: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday accused US authorities of speeding citizenship proceedings for some illegal immigrants so they can vote, returning to a core issue as he girded for a second debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"They're letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote," Trump said during a meeting with representatives of the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents Border Patrol agents, at Trump Tower in New York.

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The New York businessman provided no specifics on the accusation.

FAST-TRACKING APPLICATIONS

But Shawn Moran, a Border Patrol council spokesman, said after the meeting that the union was not suggesting illegal immigrants were being allowed to vote, but that US immigration officials were fast-tracking applications for citizenship before the Nov. 8 election.

"They're being ordered from above to fast-track these applications so that people are naturalized in time for the election," he said. "We're being told that the background checks are kind of being short-circuited and just not done as thoroughly as necessary so that these people may still qualify to be naturalized."

Moran said Border Patrol agents were also seeing more people crossing the border with Mexico, either in hopes of gaining legal status if Clinton wins the election or out of fear they could not enter the United States later if Trump wins.

Trump's comment came ahead of his second presidential debate on Sunday night against Clinton, a town hall-style event at which he must do well as he tries to rebound from a slump in some opinion polls after a rocky first debate late last month.

Clinton has been quietly immersed in debate preparation with top aides since her last campaign event on Tuesday.

The US presidential race, which has commanded Americans' attention all year, has taken a backseat as the focus has shifted to Hurricane Matthew's slow, destructive march up Florida's eastern coast.



PROCESS OF APPLICATION FOR CITIZENSHIP

Slowing illegal immigration and dealing with undocumented aliens already in the country have been signature issues for Trump, who has vowed to build a wall along the US-Mexican border.

While Democratic President Barack Obama has struggled with controlling the flow of illegal immigrants across the southern border, there has been no evidence that US officials are purposely allowing them to cast ballots in American elections.

In order to register to vote, Americans must provide proof of citizenship, documentation that illegal immigrants would not have unless obtained illegally.

If a person is already a legal permanent resident and has lived in the United States a required minimum of five years, it can take six months or even longer to become naturalized as a citizen, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. (Minimum residency requirements can vary; they are shorter, for example for people with a spouse who is a citizen.)

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ILLEGAL MIGRANTS NOT BEING APPREHEND?

The agency last month reported a backlog of 524,014 naturalization applications pending as of June 2016.

In New York, Trump praised the Border Patrol agents, saying they love their country and want to protect its borders.

"It's much easier if you don't do this. It's much easier if you just let people come in," he told them. "But you love our country. You know it's wrong."

Trump's comments about people coming across the border to vote were a response to Art Del Cueto, president of the union's Tucson, Arizona, chapter, who attended the session.

Del Cueto said people who were apprehended crossing the border illegally and who have criminal records were not being dealt with because immigration authorities were tied up helping people get citizenship.

Trump asked why, and del Cueto responded, "so they can go ahead and vote before the election."

"They want to hurry up and fast-track them so they can go ahead and be able to vote for the election," Del Cueto said a few moments later, without providing specifics.

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"You hear a thing like that, it's a disgrace," said Trump.

ALSO READ:

Post declares Trump's candidate winner prior to the results, goes viral



Indian-American fan says Donald Trump has no anti-immigrant bone in his body



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DRI has arrested three Dubai-bound passengers from IGI airport in New Delhi for carrying undeclared forex worth Rs 2.90 crore suspected to be used for smuggling of gold.

Three persons arrested by DRI for carrying undeclared forex at IGI airport in New Delhi.

By Atir Khan: The sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence have arrested three persons on the charges of smuggling foreign currency at IGI airport in New Delhi. Three passengers, who were booked on a flight to Dubai, had concealed the currency in their rectum.

Acting on a tip-off, DRI sleuths apprehended the three persons from an Indigo international flight from Delhi to Dubai on Wednesday. The accused were carrying undeclared 3,90,000 Euros equivalent to Rs 2.90 crores.

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FOREX PACKED IN CAPSULES

All three persons were detained and interrogated by DRI sleuths at the airport premises. On sustained questioning they revealed that they had packed currency in capsules, which they had swallowed and were hiding the same in their rectums.

The arrested passengers were taken for medical examination and thereafter the currency capsules were seized from them. One of the accused, Jograj has been identified as the main carrier. He is said to be a frequent flier. The remaining two were travelling for the first time.

All three persons arrested were produced in court and were remanded to fourteen days judicial custody.

Forex capsules recovered from the three accused Forex capsules recovered from the three accused



RACKET ON THE RADAR

Though, the DRI has arrested the carriers, both the handler and the receiver are yet to be identified. The currency was handed over to the three carriers by another person, whom DRI sleuths are trying to track down. The DRI is also trying to identify the person, who was supposed to receive the forex in Dubai.

The agency suspects that a syndicate was trying to smuggle out Euros with an intention of using it to buy gold in Dubai. The purchased gold was supposed to be smuggled back into India.

DRI has arrested 13 persons this year on the charges of smuggling assorted foreign currency in connection with smuggling of gold. Total amount of seizures of foreign currency by DRI has been about worth Rs 9.30 crores.



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The most anticipated festival in Bengal - Durga Puja- is here. The pandals this year spread the message of peace, love and are celebrating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

By Romita Datta: The much-awaited annual festival of the Bengalis - Durga Puja - has finally arrived.

The slice of Bengal has physically metamorphosed into Mamata Banerjee's dream theme- Biswa Bangal (Bengal is the World).

The dingy lanes, by-lanes, street corners, addar thek (gossip zones) and even busy thoroughfares have blossomed into the likes of regal grandeur of havelis (palaces) of Rajasthan, the golden temple of Amritsar or the Buckingham Palace, the frozen land of Antarctica.

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The art and handicrafts typical of these places have changed the profile of the city. Snaking through the streets is bringing back the flavours of the

world.

Also Read: Planning your Durga Puja pandal hopping in Kolkata? This restaurant will help

MESSAGES OF PEACE, LOVE IN DURGA PUJA PANDALS

There are captions and hoardings in each and every pandal, loudly proclaiming that the theme of brotherhood is the theme of humanity.

With the surgical strike in the background, the message of love and brotherhood rings loud and clear.

Since majority of the pujas in the city have Trinamool Congress leaders as patrons, they have ensured that people going for pandal hopping takes back home the secular message.

The rise of BJP in Bengal politics has been a cause of concern for Mamata Banerjee. She has always been apprehensive of the BJP trying to meddle with the secular fabric of the state.

Conscious that the fallout of the surgical strikes doesn't affect Bengal, the patrons have been advised to put up hoardings and announce at regular frequency the need to stay united and together.

Messages concerning harmony and peace of Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath, Ram Mohan are rubbing shoulders with messages straight from Mamata's head and mouth.

Also Read: Happy Durga Puja: 5 times Bollywood brought in Maa Durga and won Bengalis over

THIS YEAR'S DURGA PUJA CELEBRATES MAMATA BANERJEE

Apart from the social sermons and peek into different segments of the world, this year's Durga Puja celebrates Mamata in a big way.

Her second term with a huge mandate, which has trounced the Left, has become a popular theme with many puja committees.

There is a puja committee in Mamata's home constituency, Bhowanipur, which is showing a clay model, draped in a white and blue-bordered saree, resembling Mamata.

The Mamata look-alike is being blessed by Goddess Durga. Next to Mamata, there is another clay model in a red dhoti. The model is the Asura or demon, whom Durga slays. The red dhoti is symbolic and is stoking people's imagination to think that the demon is definitely a Communist since red colour is associated with the comrades.

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Also Read: Pandal-monium in Bengal after TMC ministers convert Durga Puja into virtual Mamata shows

There is another pandal in North 24 Parganas where a Mamata Banerjee look-alike has been made to take the centrestage instead of Durga. Like Durga, Mamata's model has ten hands and instead of weapons, she is holding placards of various projects, such as Kanyashree, Yuvashree, Sabuj Sathi and Shikshasree, in each hand.

People have taken to the roads to catch up with these beautiful and unique pieces of art and architecture that have taken over the drab, mundane spaces.

Also Read:

Sex workers in Kolkata stop holding Durga Puja



Durga puja: Bangladesh's tallest idol erected in Noakhali, organisers expect huge crowd



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Europeans dont enjoy much elbowroom. The continent is second only to India and on par with China and Nigeria when ranked by population density. Which means there are a lot of cities here.

But unlike the largely assimilated cities of India, China and Nigeria, European ones drastically differ from each other as you travel through the continents 50 countries and half as many languages. While London, Paris, Rome and other famous city magnets are rightfully deserving of your sightseeing time, why not consider one of these less frequented stars instead?

The best Iberian coastal town youve never heard of. Located four and half hours south of Lisbon by train, La-goosh might eventually become the next best beach town. Although known for its beautiful coastline, walled old town, 14th century fortresses, and dramatic cliffs, it also plays host to some of the best nightlife in the Algarve region. In between all that, you can take a boat tour to natural caves or just consider your good fortune upon finding yourself in such a delightful corner of the world.

Make no mistake, for many people Istanbul is old hat. But far too many Westerners are clueless about this ancient city. What makes this place so special, however, is the confluence of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman cultures that once ruled the place. That and the city effectively serves as a bridge between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With over 15 million people, its also one of the largest cities in Europe. Highlights include breathtaking architecture, bustling bazaars, and Turkish baths.

Southeastern Europe doesnt get near as much love as it should. Neither does Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Like Istanbul, the formers architecture is a fissure of Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Yugoslav, and Serbian influences. What that means to you, dear reader, is that the citys many theaters, museums, monuments, beaches and the Danube/Sava river barges will keep your eyes and heart interested for a very long time. Truly one of the continents most compelling destinations.

As the former capital of Poland, Krakow remains a leading hub for Polish academic, cultural and economic life. Situated at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains in the southern part of the country, the city is known for its well-preserved medieval core and Jewish quarter. Downtown districts are brimming with cafes, superior pubs to Warsaw and a 10-acre market square that is a joy for the senses. As the former central sight of the Nazi General Government, theres also a solemnity here. But thankfully thats not represented in the citys high visual appeal.

Get your camera ready. Due to its sweeping views and similar architecture, Boo-dah-pesht is lovingly nicknamed Paris of the East. With a youthful atmosphere and renowned classical music scene, the capital is a delightful mix of new and old outlooks on life. Hungarians are proud of this city and the different language it speaks and chances are you will too upon visiting it.

Photo: Corinne Cavallo, CC-BY

Off the Grid columnist Blake Snow writes epic stories for fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies. Follow him on Twitter.
Inside Gaming: Seminoles Gain Hard Rock Rights, Battle State in Court Over Compact

October 07, 2016 Martin Harris

This week's installment of Inside Gaming updates three ongoing stories involving the Seminole Tribe of Florida, including its recent acquisition of the Hard Rock International brand, the sudden vote to remove its longtime chairman, and the tribe's federal court battle with the state over a new compact.

As the week concludes, Hurricane Matthew has understandably occupied the attention of most Floridians as it makes it way up the state's eastern coast. Meanwhile as far as industry news is concerned, the previous week has been something of a whirlwind for the Seminole Tribe of Florida who have been involved in multiple stories of significance.

Early in the week the tribe announced it had purchased the remaining rights of the global Hard Rock Hotel and Casino brand. That came on the heels of the tribe's abrupt decision to remove its longtime chairman. Meanwhile the Seminoles this week battled in federal court with the state of Florida over a new compact, including the tribe's desire to keep exclusive statewide rights to offer blackjack and baccarat.

Seminoles Gain Exclusive Ownership of HRI

Last Friday came the announcement that the tribe now exclusively owns Hard Rock International Inc., a brand which had been formerly split among multiple owners for more than three decades.

In its press release, Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen noted how it had been over 35 years since HRI had one controlling ownership, calling it a "historic day for the brand... that we believe ignites the path for further expansion around the globe."

The tribe is now "exclusively entitled to develop, own, license, franchise and manage Hard Rock Casinos and Hotel-Casinos in the western U.S., including Minnesota and state[s] west of the Mississippi River, as well as in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Venezuela and Vancouver, British Columbia" the presser notes. The tribe also continues to own and operate the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

In an article considering "What a united Hard Rock brand means for customers," VEGASINC further quotes Allen describing benefits to be hand from the consolidation.

"It creates consistency in the guest experience and in customer service because now we can be working with all the same brand standards on a global basis," explained Allen. "It also allows us to do Hard Rock deals in territories with respect to gaming. And it enhances the revenue stream. We are now collecting revenue streams from the licensees themselves."

Chairman Ousted, No Comment from Tribe

Meanwhile, last week the Seminole Tribal Council voted 4-0 to remove James E. Billie as chairman, a role he'd served for more than 25 years in two separate stints dating back to 1979.

Gary Bitner, tribe spokesman, offered no details regarding the decision to end Billie's tenure when speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, stating the tribe "considers this an internal matter and is not going to be more specific or elaborate beyond what was said" in the announcement of his ouster.

TBT notes the ongoing battle between the tribe and Florida regarding a new compact, adding that it is unclear what effect a change in Seminole leadership might have on those negotiations.

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida Plays Out, New Compact at Issue

Picking up that thread, lawsuits by both the state and the Seminoles were together combined into a single case, Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, that opened up on Monday in Tallahassee and continued through Wednesday.

As the Sunshine State News explains, the tribe argued that a clause in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires the state "to negotiate a new deal [with the tribe] in good faith after the expriation of the first gambling compact," a five-year agreement made in 2010.

Following the expiration of that compact at the end of July 2015, Governor Rick Scott signed a new 20-year compact with the tribe in December 2015, but the agreement required approval by both the state's House and Senate. The compact failed to get such approval, however, not making it through the latest legislative session.

Among the conflict-causing items is the tribe's wish to keep exclusive statewide rights to offer "banked card games" like blackjack and baccarat.

According to the Sun Sentinel, it appeared at the close of proceedings on Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle was signaling a ruling in favor of the Seminoles after "suggest[ing] state regulators had violated an existing deal with the tribe."

"If the tribe wins the lawsuit, it could lead to a new round of negotiations over gambling with the state," writes the Sentinel. The tribe could also stop making millions of dollars of payments to the state until a new deal is reached.

Judge Hinkle is expected to rule in the case in the coming weeks.

Photo: Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.
"As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world", Fawad wrote on Facebook on Friday

By Mail Today Bureau: Actor Fawad Khan broke his silence for the first time on demands that Pakistani actors be banned from working in India, but social media heavily panned his stance as being diplomatic.

FULL STATEMENT

"I've been in Lahore since July as my wife and I had been expecting our second child. I've received numerous requests from the media and from well-wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks. As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow," Fawad wrote on Facebook on Friday, in the wake of growing ban demands against Pakistani artists after 19 Indian armymen were killed in the Uri terror attack recently.

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TWITTER REACTS ANGRILY



However, soon after Fawad's post, #Insensitive started trending. "As father of 2 children actor #FawadKhan says he prays and wishes for peace. Indian soldiers burnt alive in #UriAttacks were also parents (sic)," tweeted @chitraSD.

Filmmaker Ashok Pandit was also among those critical. "Fawad Khan remains silent on #UriAttacks and then says let's unite the divisive World. #Insensitive (sic)," wrote @ashokpandit. "Basicaly fawad khan is saying FO politely (sic)," @OneTipOneHand_ tweeted.

Others felt Fawad had carried out a formality to ensure Ae Dil Hai Mushkil gets released on Diwali. The Karan Johar biggie, costarring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Anushka Sharma along with Fawad Khan, faces boycott by exhibitors.

ALSO READ:

Fawad Khan's role chopped from MS Dhoni biopic: Other films the Pak artists' ban will affect

Pakistani artistes silent on Uri attacks: What does it mean?





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ReCap Secures $15 million, Non-Recourse, 30-year fixed rate, Construction Bridge to Perm Loan for Single Tenant Medical Office in Long Island, NY

By: Real Estate Capital of America, ReCap

Contact

Admin

***@recapny.com Admin

End

-- Real Estate Capital of America (ReCap) recently completed a $15 million financing assignment for one of the biggest real estate builder in Long Island."The loan was difficult on many fronts," says Johnny Su, COO of ReCap. "Office building in Long Island  suburb market- is very difficult to finance because most of the office jobs are in New York City. Also, there is an oversupply of office building in Long Island and it was the hardest hit asset class during the Great Recession of 2008, with still very high vacancy rate around 10%" explains Su. "Single tenant, special use amplifies the risk of tenant default, rental income concentration, and lower recovery rate since it requires reposition and even rehab of the office building to convert from single tenant, special use to a multitenant, general use office building." he adds.To make this financing assignment even more challenging, the client did not need any construction financing but rather requested a $15 million cash out loan with $5 million released during construction and $10 million after construction to fund a separate and unrelated purchase. The $5 million bridge loan was 100% loan to cost and total the $15 million permeant loan was 300% loan to cost and 95% Loan to value."Once again, we delivered the financing for our clients despite all the challenges and we are proud that our client trusts us to come through for them, no matter how difficult the scenario may be," stated Su. The loan was a non-recourse, 30-year fixed rate loan with debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 1.01X.Tomer Dicturel, CEO of ReCap, added, "the Great Recession has only strengthened and solidified our relationships with our clients, partners, and lenders. They appreciate, more than ever, the added value of our expertise in the commercial finance arena. We continue to deliver unparalleled financing solution and structure for our clients to provide them the additional competitive edge over their competitions."ReCap is a prominent finance boutique assembled by distinguished experts. The professionals at ReCap assist their customers throughout the entire loan process. Their commitment to service and excellence keep customers satisfied and referring ReCap services to their colleagues. "We work hard to provide the best financing in complicated deals," said Dicturel, "We succeed where others fail."
The Platform of Cultural Initiatives "Isolation" has more than 100 guests and finalists of the III-rd annual "National Philanthropists Rating", held under the auspices of "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum".

Media Contact

pr@iff-charity.org

+380444590304 +380444590304

End

-- Several day ago, the Platform of Cultural Initiatives "Isolation" has more than 100 guests and finalists of the III-rd annual "National Philanthropists Rating", held under the auspices of "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum", in partnership with world-renowned audit company EY (formerly Ernst & Young).The one of the winners of the philanthropists ranking became the Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future." According to results of review, the Igor Iankovskyi charity foundation became the leader in the category "Costs in the art and culture" among charities with a budget of 1 million to 10 million UAH."The National philanthropists rating awards is an important event for us, recognition of the efforts of the Foundation to support the talented young Ukrainians in the field of culture and art. I feel pride in the fact that the Fund is completely clear and people are not afraid to join us. We proved that everything we have done - it was done correctly and honestly", - said Igor Iankovskyi, the founder."Honored to be a leader, but to be clear in financial terms - is the charities responsibility. Accountability is the key to the hearts of people who help us. Therefore, the goal of "National rating benefactors"- make open financial and tax reporting charitable organizations in Ukraine standards and norms of their work "- said Anna Gulevskaya-Chernish, director of "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum" and organizer of the rankings. Also, she stressed the need for further development of charities in culture, art and education, as investments in this area are less than 2% of total aid.Thanks to the annual rankings organizers seek to make the sector accountability prerequisite of philanthropy funds and organizations develop confidence in philanthropy in Ukraine. In all, the results of 2015, the charity spent 9.4 billion UAH. And the total number of charity organizations in Ukraine - more than 9000.However, only a small fraction of them is opening their financial statements to the public. The rating participants in the "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum" this time was 74 foundations, which are the results of 2015 the charity spent 790.9 million UAH.Among the important charity projects of the "Initiative for the Future": support for Ukrainian cinema and young directors at the renowned international film festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Karlovy Vary; organization of the Days of Ukrainian Cinema in the capital cities and cultural centers in European countries. Starting from 2013, in Ukraine' held the largest annual contest of children's drawings, which aims - to support the artists, beginners to contribute their creative and professional development. The works of the winners and finalists represent the public both in Ukraine and abroad.Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future", founded in 2012, promotes the preservation of historical and cultural heritage of our country, financial and organizational support educational and cultural projects, helping to solve important social problems. The projects that have been implemented charitable foundation have been recognized not only in Ukraine but also in other countries - Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, USA, and etc. The work of the Foundation adheres to high standards of charities and provides its financial statements.Also, Igor Iankovskyi initiated a nationwide short film competition, which in this year was held under the relevant to the Ukrainian community theme - "Ukraine: The way to peace!". Igor Iankovskyi Foundation in collaboration with the organizers of the Mykolaiv Short Film "The Civic Projector" for the third consecutive year supporting the development of cinema and talented directors in the region of Ukraine.
The theme of this year's contest has been clear and simple: "Changes", to bring into the light the complicated process of changing our country and our citizenship.

Media Contact

pr@iff-charity.org

+380444590304 +380444590304

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-- The awarding ceremony of the short film festival "Civic Projector", the third one in a row, has been conducted on the 24of September. The theme of this year's contest has been clear and simple: "Changes", to bring into the light the complicated process of changing our country and our citizenship. Traditionally, the festival has been supported by Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future".With the help of the short meter movies, the producers aimed to create a platform along with directors and viewers to induce a constructive dialogue on how the life around is being changing in Ukraine, how those changes perturbate people, cities and the whole country. And furthermore  how those changes are being Ukrainians go through them."We are supporting the "Civic Projector" for the third year in a row and truly rejoicing that the festival grows both quantitative and qualitative. Due to the changes that are happening in our country, the new law on cinema, due to the appearance of new festivals, a lot of people among the contestants will find partners and investments for their projects. I believe that those changes will bring the wave of success for our country as well. Ukraine will be recognized in the world by its creativity and arts. That is what makes me happy, that's why we will continue our support of this festival in the future", - said the philanthropist Igor Iankovskyi.It is important to note, that in three years the festival in Mykolaiv has grew into the national event. If the last year there were 40 movies in the contest, this year the quantity grew up to 80. Among this enormous quantity of movies, the jury had to those the best 25, which were projected on the big screen of the Mykolaiv's concert-hall "Yunist". The concert-hall was full of spectators so the organizing committee ran out of 500 copies of enquiries to distribute among them."We contacted the West of Ukraine and received movies from Lviv, contacted the East  received the movies from Kharkiv. Traditionally the contest is frequented by the contestants from Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson. This year we note the increase of works from Kyiv. We also received movies from Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro. What is very pleasant is the increase of the part of young directors from such little cities as Pivdenne in Odessa region. We received works even from villages like Rozsoshentsi villageof Poltava region. We are rejoicing that socially-sensitive cinema is introduced to the regions", - noted the activist Andriy Lokhmatov.Due to the rapid geographical extension of the festival, under the initiative of ex-governor Vadym Merikov (2014-2016) has been introduced a new nomination: "Cinema of the regions". This year his own award to the best director was given by Mykolaiv's mayor Oleksandr Senkevych, who gave the "loose-tie" attitude to the whole ceremony. Thanks to him, this year's ceremony has been accompanied by fun, applause and laughter from spectators.The festival's jury, that this year was honorably headed by the Head of the State Film Agency of Ukraine, Pylyp Illienko, has been traditionally choosing three winners in two nominations:"Story film" and "Documentary". The winner of the "Viewer's choice" nomination was decided by voting by the spectators themselves."This year's theme is very appealing because of those important changes that Ukrainian cinema industry is going through. Notably, there has been an important shift in the State's perception of cinema, and the industry and cinema-makers felt this immediately. The adoption of the law on the State support of the cinema is without exaggeration the most revolutionary reformatory act in our cinema from the Independence, and this is a step towards Europe, this is a farewell to the rudimentary leftovers of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, this is an enormous motivation towards the integration of our cinema into the world processes", - noted the Head of the State Film Agency of Ukraine, Pylyp Illienko.So, the awards in the "Documentary"nomination went to:place  "Sribnym polem" ("By Silver field") by Volodymyr Kovbasa, Rozsoshentsi village of Poltava region.place  "Sirius" by Anastasiya Tyha, Kyiv.place  "One day in Niko" by Ievgen Umanov, Mykolaiv.The awards in the "Story film" nomination have divided as follows:place  "The squares" by Oleg Filipenko, Kyiv.place  "The inmate" by Nazariy Shpylchak, Lviv.place  "Cocoon" by Mykola Khlistal, Mykolaiv.The "Viewer's choice" nomination was given to the "One day in Niko" by Yevgen Umanov from Mykolaiv.All the winners have also received monetary prizes, which should contribute to their creative and professional growth.To recall, the collection of works for the third short-films festival "Civic Projector" had been opened from the 15of June to the 15of September. The cinema-makers have been shooting documentaries and story films on acute social matters that reflect the changes in the society. For the finals the jury has selected 25 short films worth a special attention from the viewers.Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future" supports this film festival in Mykolaiv for the third year in a row. Along with the festival's organizing committee, it aims at supporting the talented youth from the regions and helps it in the creative and professional growth. The civic and social specialization of the festival helps to develop the national dialogue and the civil society in Ukraine.
1 2 Uniti with open doors Uniti front perspective

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-- Electric car start-up Uniti Sweden AB exceeded their equity-crowdfunding campaign target after 36 hours and will now release additional shares.After launching their campaign on October 5, Uniti reached its investment goal from 196 crowd investors. The campaign is still running on the Swedish platform FundedByMe - the initial target was 500.000 for 5,1% ownership in the company. The campaign secures the startup's seed funding that will be used to build their futuristic EV prototype, which is scheduled for completion in late 2017."It's a great start to our funding but now we have a lot of work to do," says founder and CEO Lewis Horne. "We wanted to start our seed round with the crowd as it suits our brand and our values to be open and authentic."Uniti's provocative crowdfunding video shows raw footage from the very beginnings of the idea. This level of openness has never been seen in the traditionally secretive automotive industry.Uniti is an electric city car that is designed to match the needs of the modern urban commuter, with a light and lean construction designed to maximize the benefits of electric car technology. The vehicle includes an industry first, full-screen augmented reality heads up display, and utilizes sustainable materials as well as the highest quality 'off-the-shelf' solutions from leading suppliers. The startup's main source of revenue in the short term will be through licensing its technologies to other vehicle manufacturers, while in the long term it will be through the direct sale of Uniti-branded vehicles.Uniti's crowdfunding campaign will continue running until November 19, 2016.View the campaign on FundedByMe here www.fundedbyme.com/uniti.Uniti is an electric city car that aims for holistic sustainability, and a futuristic user experience. It is under development in Lund, Sweden. For more information, please visit www.unitisweden.com
The fourth world finals of the contest organized by Giusy Nobile and Giuseppe Borrillo held in Francavilla Fontana. Natasha won thanks to her project for students to prevent sexual abuse of minors in the Benelux.

By: Associazione Culturale In Progress

Contact

Associazione Culturale In Progress

***@missprogressinternational.com Associazione Culturale In Progress

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-- FRANCAVILLA FONTANA - Informing students about devious methods used by those who commit sexual abuse of minors, through the autobiographical testimonies of the victims. In two words: "Stop loverboys". This is the title of the project on human rights that allowed the 18 year-old representative of the Benelux,, of Almere, the Netherlands, to win the title of, in addition to the one of Miss Progress Human Rights.The new queen of progress was elected at "Teatro Italia" of Francavilla Fontana, in the event presented by the top modeland the Italian-Korean actor, organized for the fourth year by cultural association In Progress chaired byand directed by- says Natascha -When asked what she most liked of Italy, Natascha's replied, showing off a bright smile, without hesitation:Another person very satisfied for the success of Natascha is her national director,, guest as many others pageant organizers, who enjoyed the tour around Puglia, discovering the cultural and natural beauties of the region.The final show was also enriched by the presence of, who won the 2015's edition and realized her project, the illusionist Dodo and the Ohm. The coreographies were's and's.A two-hour show, broadcasted live on TV and the web by, during which the attention was focused on the projects presented by twenty contestants from all over the planet, who also delighted the audience by showing off their distinctive national dress: a festival of colors,, history, traditions and cultures. The other titles were assigned to the BritishMiss Progress(from Coco Island), Miss Progress(Sri Lanka) Miss Progressand(Canada), the most voted on the Internet.The Brazilianhas been awarded for the most beautiful national costume.The maestrocreated a photo-reportage titles "Profiles of the world" in which all the twenty Ambassadors of Progress were immortalized in profile with their national costumes, recalling the image of the logo of the contest, in which a woman seems to hold up the world.More details: http://www.missprogressinternational.com
Siegel Expertise Helps Engineer Successful Vodka Brand Acquisition

Contact

Texas Hospitality, LLC

***@texashospitality.com Texas Hospitality, LLC

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-- Shackelford, Melton & McKinley Represents Sellers in $384 Million Acquisition of Fastest-Growing Vodka BrandDallas, Texas March 21, 2007 Business News(PRLEAP.COM)DALLAS  SVEDKA, the fastest-growing vodka brand in the country, has been sold to Constellation Brands Inc. for $384 million. The deal, which closed today, includes the acquisition of Spirits Marque One LLC, the SVEDKA brand owner.Former partner Andrew L. Siegel and Of Counsel Roy J. True of Dallas' Shackelford, Melton & McKinley, LLP, represented the sellers, Belgium's AlcoFinance, S.A., AlcoFi, Inc., Spirits Marque One LLC and SVEDKA creator Guillaume Cuvelier in the transaction. Constellation Brands was represented by New York's Nixon Peabody LLP."The dramatic growth of the SVEDKA brand into the leading U.S. vodka import has been remarkable,"says Mr. Siegel, who has worked with Mr. Cuvelier and Spirits Marque One, LLC, since the premium vodka first hit the American market. "The sheer size of this deal and its high multiple to earnings are a great tribute to SVEDKA's innovative marketing and superior quality."SVEDKA, an 80 proof premium vodka produced in Sweden, was launched in 1998 and is now the fastest growing major imported premium vodka in the United States. Approximately 1.1 million cases of SVEDKA were sold during 2006, representing a 60 percent increase over 2005 sales volume.Shackelford, Melton & McKinley provides business and litigation solutions for clients in a wide array of industries, including financial institutions, real estate companies, Fortune 500 companies with corporate aircraft fleets, and retail automobile dealerships, among many others. Firm attorneys rely on their experience and expertise when advising successful business clients on the sale or acquisition of companies, business expansion and reorganization, labor management issues, and other day-to-day operational matters.
By: GZA

David Lamothe

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-- GZA, a leading environmental and geotechnical consulting firm, announces that David Lamothe has been promoted to Associate Principal in the Bedford, New Hampshire office.A resident of Manchester, New Hampshire,Lamothe joined GZA in 1998; he specializes in geotechnical, geoenvironmental and geothermal consulting to clients across multiple industries and governmental agencies.Lamothe earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and his MSCE in Geotechnical Engineering from Tufts University. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in New Hampshire and Vermont and is an Accredited Geothermal Installer with the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA).Lamothe is a charter member and former Board member of the New England Geothermal Professionals Association (NEGPA) and holds membership in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES) and the Northern New England Chapter Eastern Region of the APPA.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
Catella Real Estate AG, through its residential team in Berlin, has acquired residential properties for 325 million in Germany, Poland and Denmark since January 2016. Acquisitions worth another 250 million in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Denmark are currently in the due diligence phase. A further 500 million is

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L1 building, belonging to the second phase of Coresi Business Park, with an area of 8,300 sq m, was delivered in September 2016. There are ongoing construction works on the second new building, N1, with 8,500 sq m, planned for delivery in Q2 of 2017. Coresi Business Park now totals

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Strong GDP growth, increased real estate lending activity and constant level of investment volume transactions make Romania attractive investment destination in the CEE region.

Romania GDP growth - strong GDP advance in Q2

Economic activity in Romanian investment market posted one of the hi...

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If Fawad Khan's role was chopped off from MS Dhoni biopic, even his cameo in Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is also under the radar.

By India Today Web Desk: Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shah Rukh Khan's Raees are in trouble over the presence of Pakistani artists, but not many know that Neeraj Pandey too had to edit a certain portion of his recently-released film MS Dhoni The Untold Story as a result of the ban on Pakistani artists. Buzz has it that Fawad Khan was the surprise package of the MS Dhoni biopic. Despite being a saleable actor, his presence in the film was a well-kept secret.

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ALSO READ: After banning Pak actors, Indian filmmakers' body wants Ae Dil Hai Muskil, Raees to be released; MNS refuses

ALSO READ: Why Fawad Khan is giving Indian women (and men) sleepless nights



MS Dhoni The Untold Story was the first victim of the ban on Pak artists. Reportedly, Fawad essayed the role of Virat Kohli in the biopic. But he was nowhere to be seen on 70mm in the film. According to a report in BollywoodLife.com, the Pakistani actor was very much a part of MS Dhoni The Untold Story, but his part was chopped off before the film made it to the theatres. Just before the release of the film, the Raj Thackeray-led MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) threatened to stall the release of films like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees, and gave a 48-hour ultimatum to Pak artists to leave the country.

And this very threat from the MNS made Neeraj take a tough call on omitting Fawad's role from the film as he was in no mood to attract negative publicity.

A source close to MS Dhoni The Untold Story was quoted as telling the website, "Neeraj Pandey didn't want any negative publicity or controversy around the film. Though Fawad Khan's character was an integral part of the film, it wasn't as important as that of MS Dhoni's. So he thought it's better to do away with Fawad's portions in the film than face the ire of this controversy. Neeraj didn't want the focus of the film to shift from MS Dhoni and Sushant Singh Rajput to Fawad Khan, Virat Kohli and Pakistan."

The source added, "Fawad Khan wasn't even aware about his part being omitted until the movie was released."

Not just his role in the MS Dhoni biopic, even Fawad's cameo in KJo's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is also under the radar.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which is set to hit the screens this Diwali, has landed in trouble after the MNS threatened to not let the film release owing to Fawad's cameo in it. The ban was pronounced by the MNS right after the Uri attack of September 18. And the MNS is not keen on allowing films featuring Pak artists to be screened in India. While members of the Indian Motion Pictures Association (IMPA) have urged the MNS to not ban Pakistani-starrer films Raees and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, it has fallen on deaf ears. With just a few days left for the film to hit the screens, the makers are in a fix now.

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Raees

Even Shah Rukh Khan's Raees is being targeted. Reason? The presence of Mahira Khan. The Pakistani actor was all set to make her big Bollywood debut with Rahul Dholakia's Raees, starring Shah Rukh in the lead role, but that seems a distant dream for this beauty now. What's worse is that Shah Rukh and Mahira are yet to shoot a few scenes for the film and with this ban, the fate of the film is in a limbo. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, a song featuring SRK and Mahira is yet to be shot, as well as the opening sequences of the two actors. A source was quoted as telling the tabloid, "While Shah Rukh's portions can be shot in Mumbai, they are yet to work out where they will film with Mahira; it could be in a foreign location."

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Dear Zindagi

Not just Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, even Pak actor Ali Zafar is on the receiving end of the ban called for by the MNS. Zafar's upcoming film Dear Zindagi, which stars Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead roles, is also to face the MNS's wrath. The film is set to hit the screens a month after Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and it is KJo's film that will decide the fate of the rest of the films starring Pak artists.





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Earlier this year in March, a report from Times of India had claimed that Honda Car India would discontinue the Mobilio MPV. But the claim was rubbished by the company.

Now, a new report claims that not a single unit of Honda Mobilio has been produced by the company in the last 10 months! When we met Mr Jnaneswar Sen, Sr. VP  Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd; on the sidelines of the new Brio facelift media drive, we managed to ask a few questions on the same.

Mr Sen agreed that they have not manufactured Mobilio since the last 10 months. The reason, existing stock. Honda had expected the Mobilio to do well in the Indian car market. It was even doing well, beating the Ertiga in sales during the early months. This gave HCIL to start producing more Mobilio units, in order to reduce waiting period.

But, the launch of new SUVs in the same price range resulted in decline in demand of Honda Mobilio. The condition is such that from peak of selling about 5,000 units of Mobilio a month, the company is now selling about 200 units of the same per month these days. Obviously, the company would want to clear the existing stock of Mobilio before they start producing new ones.

So how is Honda taking care of those Mobilios which are lying at their stock yard for months now. Mr Sen says, they have a world-class standard to take care of the cars which are in their stockyard. Every car in their posession, gets inspected / cleaned every 15 days, thus keeping it fresh for respective owners.

So when does Honda Car India plan to restart the production of Mobilio? Mr Sen did not give a clear answer. But he did say that they have plans to start production soon. When asked, are there any plans to discontinue Mobilio, Mr Sen said no. The company has no plans to discontinue Mobilio.

Honda Mobilio Special Edition and RS  2016 GIIAS
KTMs partner and stake holder Bajaj manufactures the 125 cc, 200 cc, 250 cc and 390 cc variants of Duke and RC series under the KTM nameplate at their facility in Pune. It is from here that these eight variants are exported to the world.

Now, at the 2016 EICMA last year, KTM the new RC 390. Apart from a refreshed paint scheme, the new KTM RC 390 is also more responsive and sharper in handling. It also gets new adjustable brake and clutch lever, wider mirrors, larger 320 mm brake rotor and a new seat, which makes long rides more comfortable.

Additional updates on offer with 2017 KTM RC 390 include slipper clutch, ride-by-wire, always on headlight (headlamp on-off switch no longer there since 2016 variants), plastic flaps on front fork, revised NOK seal, improved seat cushion, improved alloy wheels, new ECU mounts, adjustable handle bar levers, improved radiator fans for better cooling, and much more.

Unlike the previous edition, which had received under-belly exhaust, the new 2017 KTM RC 390 features a side-mounted exhaust system. Now this was done so as to meet the stricter emission norms in developed countries, especially in Europe.

New KTM RC 390  10 Things No One Told You

With inputs from Rahul Mazumder (Ride With Rahul) we bring you 10 features about the new 2017 KTM RC390 which no one told you. Offered in colors of Orange, Jet Black and White, the RC390 receives a 373.2 cc 1 cylinder liquid cooled engine offering 43.5 PS power and 36 Nm torque.

1

Front Disc  KTM RC390 receives larger 320mm front disc brakes. These larger disc brakes offer better stopping power and being made with aluminum ensures lighter weight even as these new brakes also result in better heat dissipation.

2

Oil Seal  2017 KTM RC390 receives imported oil seal from a reputed Japanese company.

3

Throttle by Wire  This ride-by-wire throttle with adjustable levers also makes its way onto the new RC390 replacing the electronic system seen on its earlier counterpart. This in turn offers better response and is more beginners friendly.

4

White and Orange Paint Scheme  A new paint scheme seen on 2017 KTM RC390 is glossy and UV resistant which means that the strong summer sun does not damage the paint in any way. Its paint scheme is further accentuated by new graphics seen across the bike.

5

A new belly pan design  is narrower and positioned higher than was seen on the earlier model

6

Side mounted Exhaust  The new aluminum silencer now complies with Euro 4 standards. Sounds are smoother and it also offers better idling. This new exhaust system is a combination of stainless steel underbelly pre muffler and aluminum absorption type final exhaust.

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Shock Absorbers  2017 KTM RC390 gets separate oil and gas canisters which enhances performance. It is internal so is not visible.

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New Tyre Rating  Seen with H rating which is good for 180-200 kms, the RC390 tyres are also cheaper and available on Amazon at INR 30,000. Front tyres measure 110/70 ZR 17 while at the rear are 150/60 ZR 17.

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Frame and Chassis  RC390 sits on a tubular space frame made of steel and powder coated. It comes in with 12mm extra padding on seats for added rider and pillion comforts while grab handles for pillion is also evident. It is now 4 kgs heavier than its earlier counterpart, weighing a total of 164.5 kgs.

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ECU Upgrade  This feature is also noted on the new RC390 with a safety feature which ensures that the bike cannot be started without a key and a security system that cannot be hacked.

Watch the video below, for a detailed understanding.
Maruti Suzuki India, leading automaker in India, recorded a 29.41% increase in growth for the month of Sep 2016. This is the highest ever monthly sales they have posted, with a total of 1,37,321 units sold during the month.

Its leading models include Alto, DZire, Swift and WagonR while Vitara Brezza, Ciaz, Eeco and Ertiga. The leading model was the Maruti Suzuki Alto with a total of 27,750 units sold during the month as against 20,658 units sold in September 2015 resulting in a 34% increase in sales.

WagonR sales at No. 4, climbed 12% from 14,912 units sold in September 2015 to 16,645 units in the past month while sales of DZire and Swift at No. 2 and 3, dipped 4% and 8% respectively. Baleno sales, at No. 6 on the list of top 20 cars sold during September 2016, crossed the 10,623 unit mark while sales of Vitara Brezza stood at 9,375 units. Ciaz sales increased 53% from 4,291 units in September 15 to 6,554 units last month while Eeco and Ertiga sales also increased 26$ and a whopping 144% respectively.

Hyundai Motors India announced total domestic sales of 42,605 units in September 2016, registering 0.24% sales growth as compared to 42,505 units sold in September 2015. Hyundai Grand i10 was at No. 5 position and Creta at No. 10 on list of top 20 cars sold in September 2016. The company noted increased sales while sale of the i20 Elite and Eon dipped by 2% each.

Hyundai sold 12,212 units of the i10 Grand during September 2016 as against 11,241 units sold in the same month of the previous year. Creta sales increased 21% to 8,835 units in September 2016 as compared to 7,320 units sold in September 2015. The upcoming festive season coupled with the 7th Pay Commission should bring in more positive sales for the company in the coming months. The company also introduced the Elantra sedan in the executive segment while plans are afoot to launch the Tucson SUV later this month.

Mahindra and Mahindra sales in September 2016 were up 5% and stood at 20,537 units as compared to 19,564 units sold in September 2015. 19,206 UVs and 1,331 cars and vans were sold of which the Mahindra Bolero was positioned at No. 17 position on the top 20 cars sold during the month. The company has noted increased exports over the past six month period with an increase of 18% and expects to see added momentum for the rest of the year ahead.

The recently launched Tata Tiago was the companys sole model on the list of top 20 cars sold in September 2016 at No. 19, with a total of 4,557 units sold. Total company sales in September stood at 14,601 units, a 24% increase in sales. The company now looks forward to the launch of the new Hexa sometime soon which is expected to stir up markets and give sales a boost.

Below is the list in brief ;

via Auto Punditz
For the last 20 years, researchers have focused on amyloid beta peptides and the "plaque" they sprout in diseased brains as the main target of Alzheimer's research. But the pace of progress in treating -- not to mention curing -- the debilitating, neurodegenerative disease has been painfully slow.

A Tel Aviv University study published last month in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease suggests a new target for Alzheimer's research: the APOE gene. This gene, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, has two faces: a healthy form called APOE3 and a disease-related pathological form called APOE4. Researchers have developed a novel mechanism and approach with which to convert the "bad" APOE4 to the "good" APOE3.

The research was led by Prof. Daniel M. Michaelson, Director of the Eichenbaum Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease Research and incumbent of the Myriam Lebach Chair in Molecular Neurodegeneration at TAU's Faculty of Life Sciences, together with Anat Boehm-Cagan, the Eleanore and Harold Foonberg Doctoral Fellow in Alzheimers Disease Research, and in collaboration with the commercial company Artery Ltd., based in California.

Focus on a new approach

"APOE4 is a very important and understudied target," Prof. Michaelson said. "It is expressed in more than 60 percent of Alzheimer's patients. Anti-APOE4 treatments are thus expected to have a major impact on the patient population.

"The normal APOE gene provides the interface that moves lipids -- naturally occurring molecules that include fats, cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins and other components essential to the health of cells -- in and out of cells," Prof. Michaelson continued. "Whereas the healthy APOE3 does so effectively, the bad form -- APOE4 -- is impaired."

Prof. Michaelson and other groups found in past research that the bad APOE4 and the good APOE3 differed in their interactions with lipid cargo. The good APOE3, for example, is associated with substantially more lipids than APOE4.

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The researchers devised an experimental approach to measure the "bad" features of APOE4, utilizing genetically manipulated mice expressing either good or bad forms of APOE. Mice with APOE4 exhibited impaired learning and memory, as well as damaged brain synapses and an accumulation of phosphorylated tau and a-beta molecules -- two pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's.

Turning a bad gene to good

"Once this model was established and the pathological effects of APOE4 could be reproduced in mice, we could test therapeutic approaches and tackle APOE4 itself," Prof. Michaelson said. "Because we know that APOE4 carries fewer lipids, we looked at the means of counteracting the lipidation deficiency.

"We focused on an enzymatic machinery called ABCA1 that loads lipid cargo onto APOE4. We found that the impaired lipidation of APOE4 could be successfully reversed by activating ABCA1. Most importantly, we discovered that this increased lipidation of APOE4 reversed the behavioral impairments and brain damage seen in non-treated APOE4 mice."

The researchers found in the course of administering treatment that mice, which prior to the treatment exhibited disoriented behavior and seemed "lost," were able following treatment to locate a submerged island in the middle of an artificial pond. Mice had forgotten familiar objects -- like Coca Cola bottles -- suddenly exhibited sharp object recognition.

"Is there really a magic bullet? One treatment that covers all aspects of Alzheimer's? Not likely," said Prof. Michaelson. "Therefore there is a need to define specific subpopulations and to develop treatments targeted at genetic risk factors of the disease, like APOE4, which affects more than half of the Alzheimer's population."
Individuals with alcohol dependence (AD) often have sleep-related disorders such as insomnia, circadian-rhythm sleep disorders, breathing-related sleep disorders, movement disorders, and parasomnias such as sleep-related eating disorder, sleepwalking, nightmares, sleep paralysis, and REM sleep behavior disorder. The last comprehensive review on this topic was published in March 2005. This review examines the various aspects of insomnia associated with AD, especially using findings over the last decade, and employing updated diagnostic criteria for sleep disorders found in the third edition of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders.

The authors reviewed 135 studies retrieved from four databases -- Pubmed, Medline, Embase and Google Scholar -- to gather abstracts from American, European, and other international databases for the period January 1, 1967 to December 31, 2015. Searches were limited to human subjects, the English language, and research directly evaluating the relationships between alcohol use/disorders and sleep complaints/disorders. Wherever multiple studies were found on the same topic, the largest and/or most rigorous studies were evaluated. The literature review extended. Manuscript references were cross-checked for possible additional studies; likewise, the last two literature reviews on this subject along with their references were checked.

A significant proportion of the literature has focused on insomnia, and the association between AD and insomnia appears to be bi-directional in nature. AD may also be associated with circadian abnormalities, short sleep duration, obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep-related movement disorder. Insomnia treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise for treatment of sleep disorder in the context of alcohol dependence, as do newer medications such as ramelteon, which can alleviate sleep initiation and/or maintenance disorders.
New research has found that working night shifts has little or no effect on a woman's breast cancer risk despite a review in 2007 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifying shift work disrupting the 'body clock' as a probable cause of cancer.

At the time of the 2007 classification there was limited evidence about breast cancer risk in humans so the classification was mainly based on a combination of animal and lab studies.

The new research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and funded by the UK Health and Safety Executive, Cancer Research UK and the UK Medical Research Council, examined whether night shift work increased women's breast cancer risk by following 1.4 million women in ten studies and seeing if they developed breast cancer.

It combined new results from three large studies, studying 800,000 women from the Million Women Study, EPIC-Oxford and UK Biobank cohorts, with data from seven already published studies from the USA, China, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Compared with women who had never worked night shifts, those who had ever done night work -- including those who had worked nights for 20 or 30 years -- had no increased risk of breast cancer.

Dr Ruth Travis, lead author and a Cancer Research UK-funded scientist at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said: "We found that women who had worked night shifts, including long-term night shifts, were not more likely to develop breast cancer, either in the three new UK studies or when we combined results from all 10 studies that had published relevant data."

The researchers found that the incidence of breast cancer was essentially the same whether someone did no night shift work at all or did night shift work for several decades -- the combined relative risks taking all 10 studies together were 0.99 for any night shift work, 1.01 for 20 or more years of night shift work, and 1.00 for 30 or more years night shift work.

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On average one in seven (14 per cent) women in the UK have ever worked nights and one in 50 (two per cent) have worked nights for 20 or more years.

Each year in the UK around 53,300 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and around 11,500 die from the disease.

Professor Andrew Curran, chief scientific adviser for the the HSE, which commissioned the study, said: "Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women so it was vital for us to fund work in this area to establish if there is a link to night work.

"In Great Britain, there are 2 million women, about one in six female workers, who are currently working in some types of shift work, and over half million of them are working in shifts that involves night work.

"This study has shown that night shift work, including long-term shift work, has little or no effect on breast cancer incidence in women. However, there are a number of other known risks with shift work that employers must take into consideration when protecting their workers' health and safety."

Professor Cathie Sudlow, chief scientist at the UK Biobank, said: "The work demonstrates the power of very large, well-designed studies to answer important questions where previous evidence has been unclear. This study is also a landmark for UK Biobank, since it is the first time that associations between potential risk factors (in this case working nights) and new cases of cancer developing during follow-up, have been published using UK Biobank data. We expect many further findings to emerge from UK Biobank alone as well as from combining its data with other major studies, such as the Million Women Study and EPIC. Collaborative efforts like this will advance our understanding of a wide range of diseases more quickly and help find new ways to prevent and treat them."

Sarah Williams, Cancer Research UK's health information manager, said: "This study is the largest of its kind and has found no link between breast cancer and working night shifts. Research over the past years suggesting there was a link has made big headlines, and we hope that today's news reassures women who work night shifts.

"Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and research to fully understand the different risk factors is vital so that we can give women clear health advice. Women can reduce their risk of breast cancer by keeping a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol and being active."
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers are a step closer to understanding the genetic basis of autism, which they hope will lead to earlier diagnosis of what is rapidly becoming the most prevalent developmental disorder worldwide.

In the study published in Behavior Genetics, the researchers examined the sequences of more than 650 genes associated with autism and discovered characteristics that distinguish them from other brain-specific genes and genes of other diseases.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in 50 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder which can severely impair communication and social skills. These figures have skyrocketed since the 1980s, when only one in 5,000 were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

"We are now a step closer to understanding the genes associated with autism and understanding the biological process involved in the disease," says Dr. Idan Menashe, who along with his colleagues, Erez Tsur and Prof. Michael Friger, is a member of the BGU Department of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Dr. Menashe and Tsur are also members of BGU's Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience.

"This study gives us a tool to help identify additional autism genes using the genetic signature we found. From there, we hope to be able to diagnose autism earlier," the researchers say.

One particularly distinct characteristic of autism genes the researchers found is their exceptional genomic length, which is longer than other brain-expressed genes of closely related diseases such as Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.

Additionally, when the researchers studied families that have a child diagnosed with ASD, they found a unique genomic signature shaped by negative selection, an evolutionary process that purifies and removes disruptive mutations from genes and prevents them from replicating over generations.

Dr. Menashe and his colleagues also searched for evidence of positive selection in these genes, which would cause an increase in frequency until they are a factor in the population. "While this kind of mechanism could explain the prevalence of autism in the human population, we found no indications of positive selection acting on autism genes," he says. "Thus, while autism susceptibility mutations are in the human genome, they only present as an autism disorder when combined with other genetic, non-genetic or environmental factors.

"Our findings suggest that ASD genes have evolved under complex evolutionary forces, which have left a unique signature that can be used to identify new ASD candidate genes," the researchers add.
The elusive and complex components of creativity have been identified by computer experts at the University of Kent.

Dr Anna Jordanous, lecturer in the School of Computing, worked with language expert Dr Bill Keller (University of Sussex) on how to define the language people use when talking about creativity, known in the field as computational creativity. With that knowledge it becomes possible to make computer programs use this language too.

Dr Jordanous and Dr Keller looked at what people say when they talk about "what is creativity" in academic discussions, from various disciplines -- psychology, arts, business, and computational creativity.

In an article entitled "Modelling Creativity: Identifying key components through a corpus-based approach," published by PLOS ONE, they describe a unique approach to developing a suitable model of how creative behaviour emerges that is based on the words people use to describe it. Computational creativity is a relatively new field of research into computer systems that exhibit creative behaviours.

Using language-analysis software they identified the creative words and grouped them into clusters. These are considered to be 14 components of creativity. These clusters have been used to evaluate the creativity of computational systems, and are expected to be a useful resource for other researchers in computational creativity, as well as forming a basis for the automated evaluation of creative systems.
Fish may have regional accents and communicate differently in different parts of the world, according to fish expert Steve Simpson, Associate Professor of Marine Biology and global change.

Professor Simpson, who has listened to the vocalisations of fish using sophisticated underwater listening equipment, has identified variations in the "voices" of cod from America and Europe.

Different 'dialects' have been found in many animals, from songbirds to sperm whales. Simpson is now exploring whether vocal fish, including cod and haddock, living in different areas around Britain could have localised accents because they gather in the same spawning grounds generation after generation.

Prof. Simpson's research into bioacoustics and the "soundscape" of Britain's seas has so far focused on the impact of maritime noise pollution on fish. His group has shown that fish become stressed by noise, make bad decisions when feeding and faced with predators, and that early development is impacted by noisy conditions. He fears noise pollution from maritime construction, speed boats and ships could affect their ability to attract mates, where their vocal behaviour is key to reproductive success.

"Seawater is hundreds of times denser than air, so underwater sounds travel much faster and further. We have found that fish on coral reefs are susceptible to noise pollution, but we are yet to study the effects in our own waters, which are some of the busiest shipping areas in the world.

"Fish produce a variety of sounds, sometimes using their swim bladders to make thumping and rumblings sounds, to establish territories, raise the alarm and attract mates. In noisy places the 'gossip' essential to their society is being drowned out. If we value our fish stocks -- or our Friday night fish supper -- we need to understand this," he said.

His research into fish has found that American cod make "a staccato, banging, bop bop bop sound" while European cod he has listened to, make a "deep rumbling growling."
If you've ever wondered whether your ancestors served as a medieval soldier in the Hundred Years War, a newly launched website from historians at the universities of Southampton and Reading may have the answer.

The names of over 3,500 French soldiers linked to the Battle of Agincourt (1415) have been added to www.medievalsoldier.org. They join the quarter of a million names already available for English armies who fought in a number of campaigns, including Agincourt- forming what's believed to be the largest database of medieval people in the world. This latest stage of the Soldier in Later Medieval England project has been supported by the charity Agincourt 600 and by both universities.

Professor Anne Curry, project Director and Dean of Humanities at the University of Southampton, says: "It is fitting that this new resource has been made available following the major 600th anniversary commemorations of Agincourt in 2015, in which our university played a key role. The Medieval Soldier website has already proved an invaluable resource for genealogists and people interested in social, political and military history. This new data will help us to reach out to new users and shed fresh light on the Hundred Years War."

Of the thousands of French soldiers added to the new website, 550 were killed on the battlefield. Research by Southampton's Dr Remy Ambuhl has also shown that over 300 were taken prisoner and held for ransom.

Professor Adrian Bell, fellow project Director and Head of the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School at the University of Reading, comments: "Our newly developed interface interrogates sources found in many different archive repositories in England and France. Without our site, searching for this information would require many visits to the National Archives of both England and France, the British Library and Bibliotheque nationale and all of the Archives Departementales in Normandy."

The Medieval Solider website was first launched in 2009, resulting from a three year research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Names of soldiers were sourced from archive collections of muster rolls used to audit pay during military campaigns and from evidence of letters of protection, which soldiers bought from the Chancery to prevent legal actions while they were absent from home.

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Now refreshed and given a new search interface by Russian postdoctoral fellow Dr Aleksandr Lobanov, the website brings together three separate databases to make them searchable as a single resource. In addition to the names of the French soldiers recently added, the database now also contains details of geographical origins of soldiers and locations of their service -- enabling the local life of the medieval soldier to be illuminated more fully. People can search by surname, rank, or year of service.

For example, Professor Bell was pleased to find 58 'Bells' on the database, including a John Bell from Chatham serving in Calais in 1414 and again with the royal household on the Agincourt campaign.

The site provides biographies of all English captains of 1415 and further insights into the Battle of Agincourt, which was commemorated extensively in the UK and France last year.

Notes:

1) The University of Southampton provides a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) exploring the Battle of Agincourt which will run again from 17 October 2016. For this and details of other MOOCs, please visit http://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/free-online-learning.page

2) The Soldier in Medieval England originated from a major project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This research grant was worth just under 500,000 and was awarded jointly to Professor Anne Curry of the University of Southampton and Professor Adrian Bell of the Henley Business School to challenge assumptions about the emergence of professional soldiery between 1369 and 1453. The original project ran from 1/10/2006 -- 30/9/2009 and the team was made up of Professor Bell, Professor Curry and Dr Andy King, Dr David Simpkin and Dr Adam Chapman.

Since the end of the official project, researchers have continuously developed, with funding from both institutions, this sustainable website and its searchable database. They have welcomed interactions with colleagues, academics and 'citizen' historians and now host a number of soldier profiles. In the summer of 2016, working with Dr Aleksandr Lobanov, the website and database was refreshed following feedback from users.

The database contains the names of soldiers serving the English crown between 1369 and 1453. Most were fighting the French. In this second phase of the Hundred Years War, major invasions of France were launched, including that of 1415, which culminated in Henry V's victory at Agincourt in 1415. Soldiers serving in other theatres have also been included (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Spain, Calais in France etc), and in all types of service (expeditions on land and sea, garrisons, escorts and standing forces). www.medievalsoldier.org
By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 7 (PTI) Former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has authored an e-book in order to lend a better interpretation of the Right To Information legislation for common people.

The 81-page e-book named RTI Act- Authentic Interpretation of The Statute has been uploaded on www.satyamevajayate.info and can be downloaded for free. The link can also be shared on social media.

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Speaking on the necessity to pen a book over his pet subject, the 69-year old activist told PTI, "our RTI law has been ranked as the third best in the world in terms of its provisions. But India ranks at number 66 in terms of implementation. This book could empower citizens, RTI users and would work like a plea to all adjudicators to follow the words of the law".

The book is co-authored by Pralhad Kachare, a bureaucrat who earlier headed Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune and trained many officers in the field of RTI.

It also represents the views of Satyananda Mishra, a former Chief Information Commissioner, and Toby Mendel who is an acclaimed expert on transparency laws.

Justice B N Srikrishna has written the foreword in which he has expressed confidence that the book will serve as a practical manual to persons interested in the subject, and students, activists and authorities in charge of implementation of the Act.

The print version of the e-book will hit the stands in the next few months.

Gandhi says that many now-a-days decisions do not reflect the essence of the Act passed by the Parliament, and the law is slowly being amended by misinterpretation.

"The bad decisions given by PIOs, first appellate authorities, commissions and judges are being followed everywhere," he said.

The ex-CIC also expressed displeasure over the rising cases of rejection or denial of information which are contrary to the Act.

"Right to Information is being slowly disfigured into a right to denial of information and I hope that this book could guide citizens as well as adjudicators to follow the word of law," Gandhi said claiming, "that this is the most authentic interpretation of the RTI Act".

At the end of the book, authors have launched an RTI competition where readers can participate by sending entries by e-mail to rticompetition@satyamevajayate.in and can win a prize of Rs 25,000 without an entry fee or registration.

"Anyone who reads the book and has a logical and analytical mind can participate in it," Gandhi said. PTI APM DK ASV

--- ENDS ---
With the climate warming and the sea level rising, conditions are ripe for storms deadlier and more devastating than Sandy that put more people at risk.

That's the outlook from David A. Robinson, a Rutgers geography professor who has served as the New Jersey state climatologist for 25 years.

With the warming of New Jersey's climate expected to continue, the atmosphere will hold nearly 4 percent more moisture for every 1 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature, according to Robinson. The increased warmth and moisture will lead to a more energetic atmosphere, and warmer sea surface temperatures will add fuel to the fire. Meanwhile, rising development in coastal areas has put more people in harm's way.

"You still need a trigger but we're primed for more significant storms that will produce heavy rainfall and heavy snowfall," he said.

That doesn't mean storm frequency will rise because it's unclear whether the conditions that trigger storms will increase or decrease. But storm precipitation and wind speeds should increase, along with freshwater and storm surge flooding and wind damage, according to Robinson. And more intense tropical storms may make it up to the Jersey coastline and beyond, fueled by warmer ocean waters, researchers say.

Robinson and Steven G. Decker, an instructor in Rutgers' Meteorology Undergraduate Program, say Sandy was not the worst possible storm in the region and they warn that as the sea rises, much weaker storms than Sandy may pack big punches.

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Since the early 1800s, several storms have posed greater threats in the mid-Atlantic region than Sandy. They include the 1821 hurricane that made landfall in Cape May, with sustained winds that may have topped 100 mph; the deadly 1938 hurricane that slammed into Long Island and southeastern New England; and the 1944 hurricane that cruised just off the New Jersey coast but dumped heavy rain, brought strong winds and spawned a significant surge, according to Robinson and Decker.

Sandy's extreme storm surge and strong winds caused most of its damage. But a slower storm could cause far more coastal and inland flooding damage than Sandy, and future storms could unleash stronger winds along the coast and inland, they say.

Last month, Hurricane Hermine threatened to cause major coastal flooding in New Jersey and other states, but moved farther east than computer models initially predicted, sparing the region its full fury.

Anthony J. Broccoli, a meteorologist and professor who chairs Rutgers' Department of Environmental Sciences, said the consensus, based on computer simulations, is that the strongest hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin will get stronger by the end of this century.

But that conclusion is far from iron-clad and it's also unclear if the number of hurricanes will increase, decrease or remain the same, Broccoli said.

A more subtle question is how the hurricane threat to New Jersey will change over time, he said.

"A warmer climate could make it easier for storms to maintain their intensity as they move out of the tropics," he said. "So even if there aren't more storms, there could be more storms that survive at a given intensity level and reach our latitude. Storm tracks also could change, and that could lessen or increase the threat to New Jersey."

If damaging storms become more frequent, Robinson said, retreat from areas with mounting repetitive losses will become a topic of discussion.

"But we have such an investment along the Jersey coast that it's going to be one of the last places where people will back off," he said. "Economically, it's an enormous part of the state, so you're going to see battles to deal with Mother Nature well into the future."
Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington have been the first to demonstrate that an organic semiconductor polymer called polyaniline is a promising photocathode material for the conversion of carbon dioxide into alcohol fuels without the need for a co-catalyst.

"This opens up a new field of research into new applications for inexpensive, readily available organic semiconducting polymers within solar fuel cells," said principal researcher Krishnan Rajeshwar, UTA distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry and co-Director of UTA's Center for Renewable Energy, Science & Technology.

"These organic semiconducting polymers also demonstrate several technical advantages, including that they do not need a co-catalyst to sustain the conversion to alcohol products and the conversion can take place at lower temperatures and use less energy, which would further reduce costs," Rajeshwar added.

Rajeshwar and his co-author Csaba Janaky, professor in the Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science at the University of Szeged, recently published their findings in The Royal Society of Chemistry journal ChemComm as "Polyaniline films photoelectrochemically reduce CO 2 to alcohols."

In this proof-of-concept study, the researchers provide insights into the unique behavior of polyaniline obtained from photoelectrochemical measurements and adsorption studies, together with spectroscopic data. They also compared the behavior of several conducting polymers.

The stationary currents recorded after two hours during testing suggests that the polyaniline layer maintained its photoelectrochemical efficacy for the studied time period. While in the gas phase, only hydrogen was detected, but potential fuels such as methanol and ethanol were both detected in the solution for carbon dioxide-saturated samples.

"Apart from these technical qualities, as a polymer, polyaniline can also be easily made into fabrics and films that adapt to roofs or curved surfaces to create the large surface areas needed for photoelectrochemical reduction, eliminating the need for expensive and dangerous solar concentrators," Rajeshwar added. Frederick MacDonnell, chair of UTA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, underlined the importance of this research in the context of UTA's focus on global environmental impact within the Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions|Global Impact.

"Dr. Rajeshwar's ongoing leadership in research around new materials for solar fuel generation is vital in a world where we all recognize the need to reduce the impact of carbon dioxide emissions," MacDonnell said. "Finding an inexpensive, readily-available photocathode material could open up new options to create cheaper, more energy-effective solar fuel cells."

Rajeshwar joined the College of Science in 1983 and is a charter member of the UTA Academy of Distinguished Scholars. He is the newly appointed president of the Electrochemical Society, an organization representing the nation's premier researchers dedicated to advancing solid state, electrochemical science and technology.

He is an expert in photoelectrochemistry, nanocomposites, electrochemistry and conducting polymers, and has received numerous awards, including the Wilfred T. Doherty Award from the American Chemical Society and the Energy Technology Division Research Award of the Electrochemical Society. Rajeshwar earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, and completed his post-doctoral training in Colorado State University.
Nine in 10 dairy farmers participating in a new survey from the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RADBF) say that the farming industry must take a proactive lead in the battle against antibiotic resistance. Those questioned also think that over the next five years they could cut their own antibiotic use by almost a third in dry cow therapy and a fifth in clinical mastitis.

The survey of over 300 farmers, farm managers and farm workers conducted by RADBF last month in collaboration with the University of Bristol assessed attitudes to and use of antibiotics in dairy and beef farming. It was carried out in the wake of the Government-commissioned O'Neill Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) published earlier this year.

At a media briefing in London, Dr Kristen Reyher from the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences expressed that, in analysing the results, her team was very encouraged that dairy farmers thought it possible to achieve a median reduction of 30 per cent in antibiotic dry cow therapy use within the next five years.

Dr Reyher, senior lecturer in Farm Animal Science, said: "As well as this, reductions of 15 per cent in antibiotic use to treat calf diseases -- most probably pneumonia and calf scour, and 20 per cent to treat clinical mastitis in milking cows are thought possible.

"Within this there is also scope to reduce the use of antibiotics considered critically important for human medicine. Reduction of critically important antimicrobials is something the University of Bristol has been working hard on, and over the past six years their farm animal practice has reduced prescribing of these critical antimicrobials, using none in recent years. There are big gains to be made, and the best way forward is to encourage farmers and vets to work closely together," Dr Reyher said.

RABDF Council member and dairy farmer, Di Wastenage said the findings indicated that some of the motivation to reduce may coming down the supply chain. "Three-quarters of respondents in dairying said their milk purchaser was starting to ask about antibiotic use. Alongside this, 97 per cent thought the sector needed to be seen to be 'doing its bit' to tackle the issue, and 88 per cent agreed reductions needed to happen before they were forced to make them," she explained.

Mrs Wastenage said the survey results would be fed into current farming industry initiatives to measure and reduce use of antibiotics, such as those being run by RUMA and CHAWG . However, she said they also highlighted some important calls to action the RABDF itself would take forward, using its UK-wide reach and close connections with the wider dairy industry.

"Vets are also crucial in this conversation," added Mrs Wastenage. "The survey results indicate that there is space for vets to have greater input in this area. The survey also identified that 40 per cent of respondents in the dairy sector were recording medicines use electronically in some form already. It should be possible to migrate these records to a central system -- something that will help CHAWG in its current investigations on how to gather data on use."

Finally, Mrs Wastenage said there were opportunities to look at the role dairy consultants could play, to incorporate modules to support the reduction of antibiotic use into RABDF training programmes and to promote the concept to BTEC and other training providers.

"It's clear there is very good awareness of the threat. Now is the time to think big and be ambitious. The activities suggested in the survey include selective dry cow therapy, better uptake of vaccination, use of fever tags and thermal imaging, along with improving ventilation, housing and system design, so it would be interesting to explore these in more detail. The challenge remains of how to make reductions without impacting welfare."
The October 2016 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, features the article "Consumer Rankings and Health Care: Toward Validation and Transparency" by Bala Hota, MD, MPH, and co-authors, Rush University Medical Center (RUMC), Chicago. After RUMC received a lower than expected ranking for patient safety in the 2015-16 U.S. News & World Report's (USNWR) "Best Hospitals" rankings, the authors compared the data that USNWR used for their hospital to their own internal data.

The authors found that the USNWR data showed many more patient safety events, such as pressure ulcers, almost all of which had actually been present at the patient's admission. Suspecting a broader problem, Hota et al. analyzed data on a sample of hospitals and found that RUMC was not the only organization with discrepancies in data. False-positive event rates were common among high-transfer and high-volume hospitals.

The authors conclude more transparency and validation is needed for consumer-based benchmarking methods. In response to these findings and concerns raised by others, USNWR made changes to its methodology and data sources in 2016.

In an accompanying editorial, "The Quality Measurement Crisis: An Urgent Need for Methodological Standards and Transparency," David M. Shahian, MD, Elizabeth Mort, MD, MPH, and Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, reflect on the Hota et al. article to conclude, "Just as health care providers have ethical and moral responsibilities to the public they serve, rating organizations and journalists that grade providers have similar obligations -- in their case, to ensure measure validity and methodological transparency."

RUMC further explored the importance of rating organization's validity and methodological transparency in the following essay, "Hospital Rankings Have Room for Improvement

Hospital Rankings Have Room for Improvement

Hospitals that care for sickest of sick found to be unfairly ranked

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When consumers make what can be life-or-death decisions about where to seek health care, they often look to the numerous online hospital rating services that are available, including the government-sponsored Hospital Compare, Consumer Reports, and Leapfrog.

Rating hospital quality is not as simple as rating the quality of a car, though. One reason is that patients vary in terms of how sick they are when they arrive at the hospital or undergo surgery. Older patients with multiple health problems or advanced diseases are more likely to develop an infection or complication than younger, healthier patients -- even though they receive the same quality of care.

The best hospital rating systems try to account for severity of illness. However, a Rush data expert's recent analysis of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" rankings shows that these rating systems often are dependent on faulty data sets and performance metrics.

Something didn't add up

Rush University Medical Center consistently has scored high on patient safety measures, according to most rankings. In fact, Rush University Medical Center has received nine consecutive "A" grades for safety from the Leapfrog Group, putting it among fewer than 100 hospitals in the country that have received the highest possible grade each time since Leapfrog began issuing the semi-annual ratings in 2012.

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But last year U.S. News "Best Hospitals" issue gave Rush the publication's lowest ranking for patient safety (one out of five). To learn what was behind the discrepancy, Rush's quality team -- Tom Webb, Bala Hota, MD, MPH, and Omar Lateef, DO -- dug into the U.S. News data and methodology.

"When we compared the data that U.S. News used for our hospital to our own internal data, we found big differences," says Hota, Rush's chief research informatics officer. "U.S. News showed many more patient safety events than our actual rates."

For example, U.S. News data showed that 25 patients at Rush had developed pressure ulcers, or bed sores, over a particular time period. In fact, only one patient had developed a pressure ulcer while at Rush.

Suspecting a broader problem, they analyzed data on a sample of hospitals and found that Rush was not the only organization inaccurately unfairly ranked. Hota reported the results of his study in the October issue of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

High demand for hospitals' services skew safety scores down

Two hospital characteristics tended to negatively skew U.S. News patient safety scores: Taking care of large numbers of patients (i.e., high volumes) or admitting a high percentage of patients transferred from other hospitals.

Webb, Hota and Lateef found that the U.S. News data set was missing key information, such as whether patients with pressure ulcers had these sores when they were admitted to Rush. If conditions were present prior to arrival, Rush should not have been penalized.

Large referral hospitals such as Rush, which provide highly specialized care for the sickest patients and most complex conditions, also tend to have high volumes and high transfer rates. "Rush is the biggest transfer center in Illinois," Hota says. "If somebody is sick in a community hospital and not getting better, that hospital knows Rush is a reliable place to transfer the patient to."

'Data is not perfect'

Rush notified U.S. News about the Rush findings in 2015and U.S. News made some revisions to its data methodology. As a result, Rush's patient safety score increased to four out of a possible five in the 2016-2017 U.S. News ratings released in August.

"U.S. News was very responsive to our findings, and the Rush community should take pride in the fact that we take care of very sick patients very well," says Lateef, Rush's chief medical officer. "When you adjust for patient acuity (severity of patients' conditions), our outcomes data are among the best in the country."

The Rush analysis of the U.S. News ratings confirms what many experts have suspected. "People have argued and theorized that if you take care of a lot of very sick people or have a lot of transfers, then the data could be biased," Hota says. "This study proves that. It shows that data is not perfect, and misunderstandings in the data can negatively portray a hospital."

Acknowledging that hospital rankings have room for improvement, U.S. News is convening a panel of experts in November to discuss how to better evaluate hospital quality, safety and performance.

Transparency Is a Two-Way Street

Lateef and Hota, and the quality team believe that right now the rules used by hospital rating systems are too complex for most consumers to navigate. That's why they are urging U.S. News and other hospital rating systems to be more transparent about how they rate hospital quality, so that individual hospitals can validate the accuracy of their scores and work with the rating organization to adjust the scores as appropriate.

"The companies that are producing these ratings have to be more transparent," Hota says. "Their methodology should be reproducible and easily understood."

In the meantime, Rush will continue to measure, track, and share patient safety data rigorously, and use that date to drive improvements to make Rush's care even safer. "We consider quality to be the most important part of patient care," Lateef says. "We believe in being transparent about quality so we can continue marching towards improvement."

Access the report at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/article?option1=title&value1=Consumer+Rankings+and+Health+Care%3a+Toward+Validation+and+Transparency&sortDescending=true&sortField=prism_publicationDate&pageSize=10&index=1

Access the editorial at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/article?option1=tka&value1=The+Quality+Measurement+Crisis%3a+An+Urgent+Need+for+Methodological+Standards+and+Transparency&pageSize=10&index=1
Scientists have long understood that mother's milk provides immune protection against some infectious agents through the transfer of antibodies, a process referred to as "passive immunity." A research team at the University of California, Riverside now shows that mother's milk also contributes to the development of the baby's own immune system by a process the team calls "maternal educational immunity."

Specific maternal immune cells in the milk cross the wall of the baby's intestine to enter an immune organ called the thymus. Once there, they "educate" developing cells to attack the same infectious organisms to which the mother has been exposed.

The research, which used mouse foster nursing models, has important implications for vaccinating newborn babies. The researchers show that you can vaccinate the mother and this results in vaccination of the baby through this process.

"It's another way moms provide immune information to their babies," said Ameae Walker, a professor of biomedical sciences in the UC Riverside School of Medicine, who led the research. "It's as though the mother is saying, 'Look what I have seen in the environment that you need to be immune to as well.' The replicas -- the copies of the maternal immune cells that the baby makes -- will provide immunity to the baby for life."

Research results appear in the Sept. 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology

"Some vaccines are not safe to give a newborn baby and others just don't work very well in newborns," Walker said. "If we can instead vaccinate mom or boost her vaccination shortly before she becomes pregnant, transferred immune cells during breast feeding will ensure that the baby is protected early on. While our work has used mouse models because we can study the process in detail this way, we do know that milk cells cross into human babies as well."

One of the infectious agents the research team studied was the organism that causes tuberculosis (TB) -- a disease that is a huge problem in many countries of the world and getting worse because of the development of antibiotic-resistant strains. Generally, babies directly vaccinated against TB do not have a very good response: while the vaccination prevents some of the worst complications, it does not prevent the respiratory part of the disease -- what was once called consumption.

"We hope that by vaccinating the mother, who will eventually nurse the baby, we will improve infant immunity against TB," Walker said. "It's like vaccinating the baby without actually vaccinating the baby. In some instances, our work has shown that immunity against TB is far more effective if acquired through the milk than if acquired through direct vaccination of the baby. Of course, clinical trials will need to be conducted to test whether this is the case in humans."

How many cells get passed from mother to child depends a lot on how exposed the mother was to an infection. If she gets repeatedly exposed to an infection, her immune response would be boosted, and more cells would be passed on to the baby.

According to Walker, the passing of both antibodies and cells through the milk of wet nurses likely contributed to the survival of royal babies in times past.

"Wet nurses were usually from a lower social echelon," she explained, "and were likely exposed to more infectious agents. They had to have very robust immune systems to survive, and transfer of antibodies and cells through their milk probably contributed greatly to the survival of royal babies. What the research is telling us is that a baby would likely gain from nursing by multiple women with different immune backgrounds. Not too long ago in most cultures, if a baby cried a woman would pick it up and nurse it; most women were pregnant or lactating. Now, socially, we would think that rather peculiar -- to nurse someone else's baby. But is the change in how society thinks about this issue the best for the baby's health?"
For at least a billion years of the distant past, planet Earth should have been frozen over but wasn't. Scientists thought they knew why, but a new modeling study from the Alternative Earths team of the NASA Astrobiology Institute has fired the lead actor in that long-accepted scenario.

Humans worry about greenhouse gases, but between 1.8 billion and 800 million years ago, microscopic ocean dwellers really needed them. The sun was 10 to 15 percent dimmer than it is today -- too weak to warm the planet on its own. Earth required a potent mix of heat-trapping gases to keep the oceans liquid and livable.

For decades, atmospheric scientists cast methane in the leading role. The thinking was that methane, with 34 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide, could have reigned supreme for most of the first 3.5 billion years of Earth history, when oxygen was absent initially and little more than a whiff later on. (Nowadays oxygen is one-fifth of the air we breathe, and it destroys methane in a matter of years.)

"A proper accounting of biogeochemical cycles in the oceans reveals that methane has a much more powerful foe than oxygen," said Stephanie Olson, a graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, a member of the Alternative Earths team and lead author of the new study published September 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "You can't get significant methane out of the ocean once there is sulfate."

Sulfate wasn't a factor until oxygen appeared in the atmosphere and triggered oxidative weathering of rocks on land. The breakdown of minerals such as pyrite produces sulfate, which then flows down rivers to the oceans. Less oxygen means less sulfate, but even 1 percent of the modern abundance is sufficient to kill methane, Olson said.

Olson and her Alternative Earths coauthors, Chris Reinhard, an assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Georgia Tech University, and Timothy Lyons, a distinguished professor of biogeochemistry at UC Riverside, assert that during the billion years they assessed, sulfate in the ocean limited atmospheric methane to only 1 to 10 parts per million -- a tiny fraction of the copious 300 parts per million touted by some previous models.

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The fatal flaw of those past climate models and their predictions for atmospheric composition, Olson said, is that they ignore what happens in the oceans, where most methane originates as specialized bacteria decompose organic matter.

Seawater sulfate is a problem for methane in two ways: Sulfate destroys methane directly, which limits how much of the gas can escape the oceans and accumulate in the atmosphere. Sulfate also limits the production of methane. Life can extract more energy by reducing sulfate than it can by making methane, so sulfate consumption dominates over methane production in nearly all marine environments.

The numerical model used in this study calculated sulfate reduction, methane production, and a broad array of other biogeochemical cycles in the ocean for the billion years between 1.8 billion and 800 million years ago. This model, which divides the ocean into nearly 15,000 three-dimensional regions and calculates the cycles for each region, is by far the highest resolution model ever applied to the ancient Earth. By comparison, other biogeochemical models divide the entire ocean into a two-dimensional grid of no more than five regions.

"There really aren't any comparable models," says Reinhard, who was lead author on a related paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that described the fate of oxygen during the same model runs that revealed sulfate's deadly relationship with methane.

Reinhard notes that oxygen dealt methane an additional blow, based on independent evidence published recently by the Alternative Earths team in the journals Science and Geology. These papers describe geochemical signatures in the rock record that track extremely low oxygen levels in the atmosphere, perhaps much less than 1 percent of modern values, up until about 800 million years ago, when they spiked dramatically.

Less oxygen seems like a good thing for methane, since they are incompatible gases, but with oxygen at such extremely low levels, another problem arises.

"Free oxygen [O 2 ] in the atmosphere is required to form a protective layer of ozone [O 3 ], which can shield methane from photochemical destruction," Reinhard said. When the researchers ran their model with the lower oxygen estimates, the ozone shield never formed, leaving the modest puffs of methane that escaped the oceans at the mercy of destructive photochemistry.

With methane demoted, scientists face a serious new challenge to determine the greenhouse cocktail that explains our planet's climate and life story, including a billion years devoid of glaciers, Lyons said. Knowing the right combination other warming agents, such as water vapor, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide, will also help us assess habitability of the hundreds of billions of other Earth-like planets estimated to reside in our galaxy.

"If we detect methane on an exoplanet, it is one of our best candidates as a biosignature, and methane dominates many conversations in the search for life on Mars," Lyons said. "Yet methane almost certainly would not have been detected by an alien civilization looking at our planet a billion years ago -- despite the likelihood of its biological production over most of Earth history."
For decades, neuroscientists and physicians have tried to get to the bottom of the age-old mystery of post-traumatic stress disorder, to explain why only some people are vulnerable and why they experience so many symptoms and so much disability.

All experts in the field now agree that PTSD indeed has its roots in very real, physical processes within the brain -- and not in some sort of psychological "weakness." But no clear consensus has emerged about what exactly has gone "wrong" in the brain.

In a Perspective article published this week in Neuron, a pair of University of Michigan Medical School professors -- who have studied PTSD from many angles for many years -- put forth a theory of PTSD that draws from and integrates decades of prior research. They hope to stimulate interest in the theory and invite others in the field to test it.

The bottom line, they say, is that people with PTSD appear to suffer from disrupted context processing. That's a core brain function that allows people and animals to recognize that a particular stimulus may require different responses depending on the context in which it is encountered. It's what allows us to call upon the "right" emotional or physical response to the current encounter.

A simple example, they write, is recognizing that a mountain lion seen in the zoo does not require a fear or "flight" response, while the same lion unexpectedly encountered in the backyard probably does.

For someone with PTSD, a stimulus associated with the trauma they previously experienced -- such as a loud noise or a particular smell -- triggers a fear response even when the context is very safe. That's why they react even if the noise came from the front door being slammed, or the smell comes from dinner being accidentally burned on the stove.

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Context processing involves a brain region called the hippocampus, and its connections to two other regions called the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. Research has shown that activity in these brain areas is disrupted in PTSD patients. The U-M team thinks their theory can unify wide-ranging evidence by showing how a disruption in this circuit can interfere with context processing and can explain most of the symptoms and much of the biology of PTSD.

"We hope to put some order to all the information that's been gathered about PTSD from studies of human patients, and of animal models of the condition," says Israel Liberzon, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at U-M and a researcher at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System who also treats veterans with PTSD. "We hope to create a testable hypothesis, which isn't as common in mental health research as it should be. If this hypothesis proves true, maybe we can unravel some of the underlying pathophysiological processes, and offer better treatments."

Liberzon and his colleague, James Abelson, M.D., Ph.D., describe in their piece models of PTSD that have emerged in recent years, and lay out the evidence for each. The problem, they say, is that none of these models sufficiently explains the various symptoms seen in patients, nor all of the complex neurobiological changes seen in PTSD and in animal models of this disorder.

The first model, abnormal fear learning, is rooted in the amygdala -- the brain's 'fight or flight' center that focuses on response to threats or safe environments. This model emerged from work on fear conditioning, fear extinction and fear generalization.

The second, exaggerated threat detection, is rooted in the brain regions that figure out what signals from the environment are "salient," or important to take note of and react to. This model focuses on vigilance and disproportionate responses to perceived threats.

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The third, involving executive function and regulation of emotions, is mainly rooted in the prefrontal cortex -- the brain's center for keeping emotions in check and planning or switching between tasks.

By focusing only on the evidence bolstering one of these theories, researchers may be "searching under the streetlight," says Liberzon. "But if we look at all of it in the light of context processing disruption, we can explain why different teams have seen different things. They're not mutually exclusive."

The main thing, says Liberzon, is that "context is not only information about your surroundings -- it's pulling out the correct emotion and memories for the context you are in."

A deficit in context processing would lead PTSD patients to feel "unmoored" from the world around them, unable to shape their responses to fit their current contexts. Instead, their brains would impose an "internalized context" -- one that always expects danger -- on every situation.

This type of deficit, arising in the brain from a combination of genetics and life experiences, may create vulnerability to PTSD in the first place, they say. After trauma, this would generate symptoms of hypervigilance, sleeplessness, intrusive thoughts and dreams, and inappropriate emotional and physical outbursts.

Liberzon and Abelson think that testing the context processing theory will enhance understanding of PTSD, even if all of its details are not verified. They hope the PTSD community will help them pursue the needed research, in PTSD patients and in animal models. They put forth specific ideas in the Neuron paper to encourage that, and are embarking on such research themselves.

The U-M/VA team is currently recruiting people with PTSD -- whether veterans or not -- for studies involving brain imaging and other tests.

In the meantime, they note that there is a growing set of therapeutic tools that can help patients with PTSD, such as cognitive behavioral therapy mindfulness training and pharmacological approaches. These may work by helping to anchor PTSD patients in their current environment, and may prove more effective as researchers learn how to specifically strengthen context processing capacities in the brain.
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September 30 marked the deadline for Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to sign into law or veto legislation that the California Legislature sent to his desk during the 2016 session. One significant piece of HR legislation that the governor ultimately vetoed was SB 654, a bill opposed by SHRM and the California State Council of SHRM (CalSHRM). In short, the bill would have expanded the state's parental family leave law (affording six weeks of unpaid leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child's birth, adoption or foster care placement) to employers with 20 or more employees.



In his veto message, Brown echoed identical concerns expressed by SHRM and CalSHRM in a letter urging him to veto the bill. In short, both groups stressed the impact the new leave requirement would have on small businesses and the potential liability that could result. SHRM's lobbying efforts in Sacramento, as part of a large coalition in opposition to the bill, played a key role in guaranteeing that this bill did not become law.

The governor did sign a number of workplace bills that CalSHRM and SHRM monitored throughout the legislative process, however. These include:

AB 1063, which expands California's Equal Pay Act to target race- and ethnicity-related wage differentials.

AB 1066, which phases out the overtime exemption for agricultural workers.

AB 1676, which precludes salary history from justifying gender-based wage differentials.

AB 1843, which prohibits hiring-related inquiries concerning juvenile convictions.

AB 2337, which requires employers to provide written information regarding leave rights for employees who have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.

SB 1001, which expands the prohibitions regarding "immigration-related practices."

SB 1167, which expands California's heat illness regulations to include indoor employees.

SB 1234, which expresses legislative approval of a state-administered retirement program for employees who do not have a private retirement plan through their employers.

SB 1241, which prohibits an employment contract from requiring an employee, as a condition of employment, to agree to a provision that would require the employee to adjudicate outside California a dispute arising in California.

The governor also vetoed the following bill:

AB 1890, which would have required employers with a state contract amounting to more than $50,000 that either are required by federal regulations to submit a federal nondiscrimination report or that have more than 100 employees in the state to submit their nondiscrimination programs to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

There were also several bills that failed to pass the California Legislature this year but are likely to resurface in the next session of the California Legislature that begins in December 2016. Included in this group were bills that would have:

Required employers to pay double-time for employees working on Thanksgiving (AB 67).

Required employers to provide copies of their Illness and Injury Prevention Programs (AB 2895).

Authorized the labor commissioner to commence investigations even if no complaint had been made (AB 2261).

Created whistle-blower protections for employees of the Legislature (AB 1788).

Because this was the second year of a two-year session, bills that did not make it to the governor's desk this summer are no longer viable when the new legislative session begins this December. One important HR issue that is likely to appear next session is legislation that allows a California employer to establish a voluntary preference in the hiring of veterans.

CalSHRM and SHRM sponsored a bill on this issue this session, AB 1383, proposed by Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee); however, after making it through the Assembly with unanimous support, it died in a tie vote (3 in favor, 3 opposed and 1 "no vote recorded") in the Democratically-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee in June.

For questions on any piece of California legislation (whether listed in this article or not), please contact Jason Gabhart, SHRM's California state government relations advisor, at Jason.Gabhart@shrm.org or (916) 403-3465.
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NEW YORK -- Recruiters, get ready: Talent acquisition will become even more challenging as it becomes harder to find qualified candidates, more people switch jobs, wages accelerate and corporate profits are squeezed. It will be a challenge and an opportunity to shine.

"It's not good news in terms of your jobs" as recruiters, said Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America for The Conference Board, at The Conference Board's Talent Acquisition Conference on Sept. 30. "But in some sense, it's more important now because there is pressure to maintain labor costs and fill positions faster. Your job is going to become more difficult, but also more crucial."

What's Causing Shortages

Levanon said two main forces drive the tightening labor market: the retirement of large numbers of Baby Boomers and a slowdown in labor productivity. In the past five years, labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector grew by just 0.5 percent annually, compared to 2 percent to 3 percent in the decade before the great recession. Meanwhile, unemployment fell in January to 4.9 percent, which economists consider full employment.

The good news is more Americans are getting back to work and there's been a "significant recovery" among 25- to 34-year-olds. The downside for employers? The Conference Board predicts, based on U.S. Census figures, that there will be almost no growth in the next 15 years in the working age population in the U.S. since Generation Z is smaller than the Millennial generation. That's markedly different from other periods in U.S. history, Levanon added.

Tight labor markets are clearly affecting HR. The perceived difficulty of hiring qualified workers is already above what it was in 2007, and time needed to fill job openings is the highest it has been in at least 16 years. For that reason, he said, companies may want to consider adjusting experience and degree requirements for some positions.

It's also harder to retain workers. More are quitting, and while the number isn't quite as high as it was in 2007, "it's getting there," Levanon said. Meanwhile, wages are starting to recover, although they are still well below pre-recession rates, and corporate profits are trending down.

Projected Labor Shortages by Occupation

The Conference Board's Labor Shortage Index compares shortages expected in the next decade based on circumstances such as how much a career field is expected to grow and how many people will enter it or retire from it, whether education or experience is required to perform the job, how flexible the field is, whether certification is required, and whether positions can be offshored or done by telework or visa holders. Here are some findings:

Health-related jobs are at the highest risk of experiencing shortages, in part because of how quickly the field is growing due to the aging population and the introduction of health care reform. For example, the number of people working as occupational therapy and physical therapy assistants and aides in 2024 is expected to be 40 percent higher than in 2014.

There are large variations in the risk of projected shortages for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) occupations. Some aren't considered high-risk because of the relatively large number of new entrants and visa holders immigrants in STEM occupations. Mathematical jobs (actuaries, operation research analysts and statisticians) tend to be at a very high risk.

While shortages are expected in computer jobs at rates higher than other occupations, Levanon said, the field will likely fare well in the next decade because it has a lower retirement rate and many new people are entering the field since it's considered "the cool and sexy occupation." About 2 percent to 3 percent of U.S. employees work from home, but that number jumps to 9.4 percent for computer occupations, he added.

Skilled trade labor positions (jobs like machinists, plant and system operators, and electricians) are at high risk in part because a lot of people are retiring from the field and few younger workers want to enter it, he said. For example, 41.3 percent of rail transportation workers are expected to retire in the next decade. And while using remote or teleworkers is a common solution for STEM occupations, it's really not an option for skilled trades.

Labor Market Tightness Varies Across States

Risk of labor shortages varies across states. Nevada, Arizona and Florida, which suffered a lot from the housing crisis and are still recovering, still have above-normal unemployment rates and therefore are unlikely to experience labor shortages anytime soon. Meanwhile, New York state is "beginning to feel labor market tightness" and "has an unfavorable demographic outlook," Levanon said.

Another factor affecting states is the age composition or ratio of people 3 to 17 years old and those 50 to 64. In 15 years, all the people currently 3 to 17 years old will be working age and the people currently 50 to 64 years old will be out of the workforce. "In Utah, there are a lot of young people compared to old people," but in the Northeast, the population is older and more at risk for shortages, Levanon said.

What Employers Can Do

Solutions to shortages will vary from one company and one industry to another. But here are a few things to keep in mind:

Anticipate retirement of older workers. Consider looking at the typical retirement age of different types of jobs and forecast when "the crunch will come," Levanon said.



Evaluate future labor market conditions by occupation and location and consider relocating operations, if necessary.



Since various occupations and locations will experience different levels of shortages, be agile. Consider ditching one-size-fits-all companywide policies on wages, benefits or retention policies.



Explore alternative working arrangements like offshoring, teleworking, contingent workers and "gig economy" platforms.



Tap untapped pools of workers, including new immigrants, older workers delaying retirement, and discouraged or underemployed workers. During and after the economic downturn, there were about 2 million people in the U.S. who looked for a job and gave up but theoretically are still interested in working, Levanon said.



HR's Role

While the forecast sounds gloomy, Levanon told SHRM Online that he thinks HR professionals at most companies "are aware of the struggle and [are] in the trenches," but he added it's often difficult for them to convince leaders that talent shortages aren't just an HR problem; they are systemic and impact the bottom line.

Armed with information that recruiting is increasingly difficult, it takes longer to fill positions, and quit rates are higher, talent acquisition leaders can help to address the problem with senior leaders.

"Those, I think, are the kind of data that convince business leaders," he said.

Pamela Babcock is a freelance writer based in the New York City area.
By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 7 (PTI) Former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has authored an e-book in order to lend a better interpretation of the Right To Information legislation for common people.

The 81-page e-book named RTI Act- Authentic Interpretation of The Statute has been uploaded on www.satyamevajayate.info and can be downloaded for free. The link can also be shared on social media.

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Speaking on the necessity to pen a book over his pet subject, the 69-year old activist told PTI, "our RTI law has been ranked as the third best in the world in terms of its provisions. But India ranks at number 66 in terms of implementation. This book could empower citizens, RTI users and would work like a plea to all adjudicators to follow the words of the law".

The book is co-authored by Pralhad Kachare, a bureaucrat who earlier headed Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune and trained many officers in the field of RTI.

It also represents the views of Satyananda Mishra, a former Chief Information Commissioner, and Toby Mendel who is an acclaimed expert on transparency laws.

Justice B N Srikrishna has written the foreword in which he has expressed confidence that the book will serve as a practical manual to persons interested in the subject, and students, activists and authorities in charge of implementation of the Act.

The print version of the e-book will hit the stands in the next few months.

Gandhi says that many now-a-days decisions do not reflect the essence of the Act passed by the Parliament, and the law is slowly being amended by misinterpretation.

"The bad decisions given by PIOs, first appellate authorities, commissions and judges are being followed everywhere," he said.

The ex-CIC also expressed displeasure over the rising cases of rejection or denial of information which are contrary to the Act.

"Right to Information is being slowly disfigured into a right to denial of information and I hope that this book could guide citizens as well as adjudicators to follow the word of law," Gandhi said claiming, "that this is the most authentic interpretation of the RTI Act".

At the end of the book, authors have launched an RTI competition where readers can participate by sending entries by e-mail to rticompetition@satyamevajayate.in and can win a prize of Rs 25,000 without an entry fee or registration.

"Anyone who reads the book and has a logical and analytical mind can participate in it," Gandhi said. PTI APM DK ASV RDS

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<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReversedRescue/" target="_blank">Reversed Rescue</a></p>

Montreal just put hundreds of shelter dogs on notice: Get out of the city now or get put down.

The Canadian city's new law, which was passed on Tuesday, is a terrifying ultimatum for animals whose only crime is being born a pit bull - loosely defined as American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers or any mix of these breeds.

Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Couple Meets A Beach Dog In Mexico Who Changes Their Life

Since the story broke, hundreds of individuals and rescue groups across Canada and the U.S. have been asking the same question: How can we help? It turns out there are a lot of ways to save these dogs. But not a lot of time. By October 3, just days from now, the legislation will prevent any pit bull from being adopted from the city's shelters. Sign this. Just sign it. Time and time again we've seen the power of petitions in action. A dog who was seized by animal control in Ireland for looking like a bully breed was only returned to his family after more than 300,000 people signed a petition begging for his release. The pressure exerted on the Belfast city council was cited as a major factor in saving Hank the so-called pit bull's life.

Leonard Collins

Letter writing works too. Just ask Herbert Blake, the police chief in Hendersonville, North Carolina. One January day, he woke up to around 450 emails from people across the globe demanding he look into a situation involving a badly neglected dog.

The Dodo

Blake went directly from his computer to the dog owner's address. And not long after that, the long-suffering animal was rescued. So far, nearly 150,000 people have signed a petition demanding the Montreal pit bull ban be repealed. Add your name to it right now. Also, here's a sample letter you can send to Montreal lawmakers demanding the law's repeal. Just copy and paste that letter to Montreal government officials. You can find a complete list of their email addresses here. Buy these dogs more time Since the ban was passed, the Montreal SPCA has asked the Quebec Superior Court to review the law in hopes of having it declared illegal. Targeting a specific type of dog, the organization argues, is discriminatory.

The organization filed this week for an emergency injunction, essentially asking the court to suspend the ban until the full legal case is heard - which could be months from now. "If our injunction is granted," Alanna Devine, advocacy director at the Montreal SPCA, tells The Dodo, "it would put the brakes on everything." But, she admits, getting that injunction will be "a bit of an uphill battle." The earliest the group could get a judge to hear the case for an injunction is Monday - the same day the ban takes effect. But if the judge sides with the SPCA, the new law will be suspended immediately. In the meantime, the SPCA needs all the support it can get. If you think you can help transport or give homes to dogs outside of Quebec, get in touch with Tammie Benoit of the Montreal SPCA at tbenoit@spcamontreal.com. To support the Montreal SPCA's fight against this unfair law make a donation here: SPCA de Montreal on CrowdRise Support rescues on the ground The four volunteers who make up One Last Chance Animal Rescue Team (OLCART) saw the writing on the wall months ago. Since the specter of a ban reared its head in the city, the group has been organizing an exodus of pit bulls from Montreal to pit-bull-friendly parts of Canada - from Saskatchewan to the Maritimes.

One Last Chance Animal Rescue

Now, just days away from pit bulls being locked down in Montreal, the group is racing to get as many dogs out of the city as it can. So far, they have removed around 30 dogs from city shelters, all of them with high rates of euthanasia. "Our mission right now is to get all of those dogs out, because they will not be allowed to be adopted," Carolynn Williams, of One Last Chance, tells The Dodo. "So, that is our main priority right now." And people have responded in a big way to the group's efforts. Its GoFundMe page, set up to help fund the operation, has exploded in a single day.

"We set a limit of $5,000," Williams says. "We're up to almost $10,000 which is going to help so many dogs." "The support has been absolutely unbelievable. We're actually blown away," she says. "We're getting messages from all over the world." But the clock is ticking. Support the efforts of One Last Chance Animal Rescue here. Get behind an airlift Paul Steklenski of Flying Fur Animal Rescue flies hundreds of dogs every year from shelters to rescue groups. He's willing to make as many flights as it takes to get Montreal's refugees to safety. "These dogs do not deserve to be failed by humans and by breed labeling," Steklenski tells The Dodo. "If we can help, we will."

But he can't do it alone. Steklenski needs rescue groups on both sides of the border to help coordinate the airlift. "There are many, many rescues within 100 miles of me," he says. "If they can take dogs, I can work out the transportation part."
A media giant is forsaking Wall Street for Bay Street.

Thomson Reuters announced Friday it is expanding its Canadian operations with a new Toronto technology centre that could create up to 400 jobs over the next two years.

Among those who will be working here instead of New York City are Thomson Reuters president and CEO Jim Smith and Stephane Bello, the companys chief financial officer.

Canada is not only our home; it is home to an emerging ecosystem of world-class technology talent, said Smith, who hopes to eventually add a total of 1,500 jobs in Toronto.

We applaud the Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal governments for making jobs, innovation, and the knowledge economy a top priority  and look forward to our role in supporting these initiatives.

The financial news organizations news was so big it brought Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Kathleen Wynne, and Mayor John Tory together at the Bay-Adelaide Centre to mark the occasion.

Todays news is an example of how great things can happen when the public and private spheres work together  for the betterment of Canadian workers and Canadian families, said Trudeau.

The prime minister noted that no tax dollars were needed to lure the jobs north  in contrast to many such announcements where governments bankroll corporations.

Every case is different, but in this particular case the successful company that is Thomson Reuters didnt actually need any tax breaks or incentives or offers of public money, he said.

This was about smoothing red-tape processes that we were happy to do for Thomson Reuters, but, indeed, were happy to do in general to draw in top-notch global companies who are creating great jobs for Canadians.

Wynne, for her part, said she was delighted the firm chose to boost its presence in Ontario.

Its a perfect example of how the conditions we have created here  are right for this company to expand, the premier said, adding its important to ensure that government doesnt get in the way  in an obstructive way  of a company coming to do what it can to expand and thrive here.

We have actually upped our game.

Tory acknowledged that Thomson Reuters decision meant something to him on a personal level.

His late lawyer father, John Tory, Sr., had worked with the Thomson family in Toronto dating back to 1955.

I can remember as a boy going to the office on University Ave.  it was a pretty small office of a pretty small company and here we are today with one of Canadas great global multi-nationals, the mayor said.

More and more businesses like Thomson Reuters are choosing Toronto as the city to expand their footprint, embracing new technologies and new partnerships. Its good for business and its good for our economy, he said.

Thomson Reuters already has about 1,200 employees in Canada.

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Reina Foster knows intimately the fury of powerlessness. This week, she glimpsed the flex of true power.

She spent Tuesday with Carolyn Bennett, minister of indigenous and northern affairs, on Parliament Hill.

She sat in on ministry meetings. She joined the minister in a television interview. She stood next to the prime minister at a vigil for missing and murdered indigenous women.

Remarkably, Foster wasnt intimidated. At the end of the day, she tweeted: I definitely felt like I belonged there.

Foster is one of thousands of girls stepping into places of power for international development agency Plan Internationals #GirlsBelongHere project. It marks the fifth anniversary for the International Day of the Girl Child, championed by Plan International Canada, but instead of highlighting all that is wrong when it comes to international girls rights, the campaign offers a vision of what right would look like.

By days end on Oct. 11, 120 girls in 50 countries will have shadowed a titan of business, media, development or politics. Among the leaders who have agreed to open their offices to girls for the campaign are the mayor of Paris, the president of Nepal and Pakistans minister of human rights.

In Canada, eight girls from across the country were partnered with federal politicians  six of them cabinet ministers. (Five other girls were matched with school board directors, an ambassador and two NGO heads including Plan Canadas.)

All six were moved and inspired by the experience, but none quite so much a Foster.

Foster is from the small Ojibwa first nation of Lac Seul, not far from Sioux Lookout in northwest Ontario. She comes from a family of generational trauma, she says.

She was put in foster care when she was just 2. It was the first of six foster homes she lived in. The last was a few months ago, when she saw again that her mother couldnt care for her, and she arranged for her own independent living.

Says Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull: She budgeted her own money, she knows life skills  she learned at the school of hard knocks.

Her experiences in foster care were mixed, she said. The bad: When she was just 7, she witnessed her younger brother being abused, and I couldnt do anything about it. A few years later, she says they were both targeted.

I told the social worker, but she didnt do anything about it, she says. When the foster parent found out, she called us liars.

Despite all this, Foster joined the Lac Seuls youth council at 14, and at 15 became Youth Chief. She graduated last spring from high school with an armload of awards, and started the culinary management program at Centennial College last month. Shes now 17.

Shes fought for everything shes got, says Laura Arndt, the director of strategic development for the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. (Foster is literally the poster child for the advocates Feathers of Hope program. Her face decorated a poster for its recent culture, identity and belonging forum and she sits on its advisory committee.)

Its not hard to see why Bennett was moved by Fosters story, as well as her calm, quiet presence. As it happened, that day a damning report was released revealing shocking levels of sexual abuse of indigenous girls in British Columbias foster-care program.

That was a day Ill never forget, Bennett says. She spoke truth to power in a very poignant way. It reaffirmed my understanding about the need to listen to people who are affected by polices. Id do it again next week. Id do it every week.

The campaign's results will no doubt be concrete for the girls involved. Programs like these invariably open channels for young participants. But the hope is they will plant aspirations in other girls minds. For many girls, seeing is believing, says Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO of Plan International Canada. I never saw this when I was a girl  that I could aspire to these roles, because they were always held by men.

Foster is still processing the experience. The weight of who she represented bore down on her  not just Canadian girls, but First Nations girls who are statistically the most marginalized.

Standing next to Trudeau during the vigil for missing and murdered indigenous women, she looked out at all the women carrying photos of their lost loved ones. In her hand, she held an eagle feather, given to her by an elder in Kenora. It was a difficult moment.

I wanted to let all the people know I was standing with them and I was not with the government, she says.

Thats one real lesson about power she learned: it can be conflicting. Still, she wont let that hold her back.

Bennett has asked her to speak at the ministers summit on reforming the childrens welfare system in January. Foster has accepted the offer.

Catherine Porter's column regularly appears on Friday. She can be reached at cporter@thestar.ca

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Jim Sales is no longer the citys fire chief after a long, unexplained absence.

The city announced Sales departure Friday, effective immediately.

Its been an honour to lead Toronto Fire Services for the past four and a half years, Sales is quoted as saying in the release. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish. I sincerely hope that our efforts will provide a strong foundation for the Fire Service to continue to excel.

The city has refused to comment on the reason for Sales departure or his earlier absence. On Friday, they also would not confirm whether Sales, who earned $244,625 in 2015, was on paid or unpaid leave. On Saturday, the city confirmed by email Sales was on paid leave. Sales could not reached for comment Friday at his home in Barrie.

Chief of the countrys largest municipal fire service since 2012, Sales took a leave of absence for personal reasons in June.

Im off for a few weeks and thats it, he told the Star then, without offering more explanation.

He never returned.

Though Sales was seen to be toeing the line when it came to budget cuts under Rob Fords administration, which approved his appointment, president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters Association Frank Ramagnano said Sales had said that he had come to believe there was no more room for cuts.

That comes at a time when Mayor John Tory is asking all departments to find 2.6 per cent in budget reductions for next year.

I know hes (Sales), the last couple years, made a lot of strides to make sure we keep all the current trucks we have in service, Ramagnano said. He felt there was no room in our operation divisions for any further cuts.

Ramagnano noted that while the press release sent Friday credited Sales with developing a master fire plan, city council didnt give him any of the resources to actually implement that master fire plan.

I think there were just a lot of little things that he wasnt happy about and little things that the city wasnt happy about, Ramagnano said.

But the head of the union said it would be total speculation to say why Sales is gone.

Deputy Chief Matt Pegg has been acting as interim chief, appointed by deputy city manager John Livey.

On Friday, Livey thanked Sales for his service.

Toronto Fire Services has strong leadership throughout its ranks, and I am confident that the team is prepared to meet current and future challenges as we embark on a process to fill the top leadership role, he is quoted in the release.

The city says Pegg will continue as acting chief while the city searches for a new permanent chief. Ramagnano said he believes Pegg is more than capable at the job.

Councillor James Pasternak, who chairs the community development and recreation committee that considered several of the initiatives Sales introduced, said the former chief worked to modernize the service during a difficult time.

He was trying to lead the fire services in creating more diversity among firefighters, in dynamic staging and predictive modeling, and he was trying to create strategies for the complexities of firefighting in heavy urban emergency response, Pasternak said.

Sales, who was previously chief in Edmonton and Markham and a bureaucrat in Barrie, joined the service at a time when the union was fighting cuts to staffing under former Mayor Rob Ford.

He came to Toronto promising to respect financial pressures at the city and look for a better way.

Asked to freeze spending, Sales proposed eliminating frontline positions and five trucks during his first budget season, much to the dismay of the union which said it would impact service and response times. In the end, 63 positions were saved.

In 2014, Sales again clashed with the union when council agreed to cut 84 frontline firefighters and four trucks.

Jennifer Pagliaro can be reached at 416-869-4556, jpagliaro@thestar.ca or by mail at Toronto Star, 1 Yonge St., 5th Floor Editorial, Toronto ON, M5E 1E6

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A young woman traces the outline of her foot on manila cardboard, the pencil line clearly visible in the bright fall light that peaks from under a window shade at the Bata Shoe Museum.

Its the first step in a six-week course to teach the young men and women gathered here, sitting at a table in a room just off the museums entrance, the art of beading and moccasin-making.

Were going to foster your growth here, says instructor Stephanie Pangowish, telling painter Michael Loone, 22, that how he decorates the moccasins is up to him.

Called the Manitobah Mukluks Storyboot School  students will make moccasins or mukluks  the program is as much a business venture as it is a school.

Pangowish, originally from the Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, will pass her cultural heritage on to a younger generation, instructing them on how to make a pattern, trace it on leather and faux fur and bead the wool vamp of the moccasins.

But the idea is also to teach people a craft that they could potentially profit from in the same way the artists who create Manitobah Mukluks Storyboots do. The company passes 100 per cent of the sticker price on to the artists.

The one-of-a-kind hand-made Storyboots can sell for more than $1000 depending on the artist. Typically, they tell a story of the artist, a tradition or the animals they might have hunted to stay warm.

Bata has set up a permanent display of the footwear and tour groups, including Trafalgar and Contiki, will bring tourists to the museum who are interested in Aboriginal culture.

People will learn about First Nation culture and purchase mukluks instead of maple syrup, says Winston Ma of the non-profit foundation TreadRight, which is sponsoring the program along with the museum and Manitobah Mukluks. It will make an impact.

The foundation is the charitable arm of The Travel Corporation, which owns Contiki, Trafalgar and Insight Vacations. This is its first North American grant.

For former Olympic athlete Waneek Horn Miller, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg-based mukluk company, the scene in the room is reminiscent of her childhood when shed watch her relatives sit around and bead.

Thered be a table full of women and sometimes men, she says, and theyd be joking and gossiping. Usually thats when you find out what was going on  who was pregnant, who was marrying who, who was leaving who, she says with a laugh. But just talking and laughing and showing each other the stitches, helping each other out.

Horn Miller grew up making porcupine quill earrings and necklaces that she sold in Ottawa stores.

They werent beautiful, she says, but the money she made from their sale helped pay for her sports. Every bit helped when we were kids, says Horn Miller, whose mother, Kahn-Tineta Horn, a prominent native rights activist in the 60s, raised Horn-Miller and her three sisters on her own.

Horn-Miller won gold as a member of Canadas water polo team at the Winnipeg Pan Am Games in 1999 and was co-captain of Canadas first womens team at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Manitobah Mukluks, which are manufactured, grew in popularity after celebrities like Megan Fox, Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus wore them. Horn-Miller says shes seen a resurgence in the last 20 years of young people wearing the footwear in Toronto.

But Horn-Miller says the art form of hand-making and beading mukluks is disappearing from First Nation communities. Perhaps, she tells the students, its because of colonization and residential schools and how that impacted our self-esteem and how we saw ourselves and how we saw our cultural practices  whether they were important to us, whether we wanted to actually wear mukluks.

Vancouver actor and film maker Kelvin Redvers, who was there to support the launch, told the group he still wears his traditional mukluks when he goes hunting for moose in the NWT, where he grew up as part of the Dene First Nation.

Theyre so effective as footwear, says Redvers, the usefulness of these shoes  being able to get around quietly to track the moose down. Theres a real purpose to them to in addition to the beauty.

Horn-Miller expects the Sunday afternoons the group spends together to add up to a positive experience.

And in a way, whether you know it or not, thats a very personal way that you impact reconciliation in this country, she tells them. Youre helping stitch together this relationship that we have with each other.

The next six week course begins October 30. Applicants can go to the online site for more information. The course is open to non-indigenous students.

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Anthony Brown is illiterate, permanently injured, and lives on a farm in rural Jamaica. But according to Ontarios worker compensation board, he could still reasonably be expected to land a full-time sales job in Canada.

Which is why the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has cut the former migrant worker off long-term benefits, after the father of three was thrown off the back of a flatbed truck at a Niagara-area fruit picking operation, sustaining traumatic injuries.

Its a decision his lawyers call farcical since Brown no longer has the legal right to be in Ontario, has worked his entire life growing yams and plantains, has received no job retraining, and is disabled.

It just is laughable, said Maryth Yachnin of the Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario, a Toronto-based legal clinic. Even if he were here, he wouldnt be able to do a customer service job given the severity of his injuries and his lack of education. He just isnt employable.

In a statement to the Star, the WSIB said it was unable to comment on individual cases but that it has a long history of treating migrant workers with care, compassion and respect.

The WSIB is planning outreach and engagement activities with the migrant worker and farming community to identify how we can continue to improve the services we provide to migrant workers, it said.

Migrant workers who are injured on the job in Ontario are entitled to the same benefits and services as any worker in an Ontario workplace covered by the WSIB, the statement added.

If the WSIB deems injured workers capable of finding a suitable job in Ontario, their benefits are cut accordingly. Critics say that system is flawed, generally, and is especially absurd for migrant workers like Brown who are usually sent back home after an injury  but are treated by the board as if they still live in Ontario.

In a sworn affidavit sent to the board this summer, Brown said he didnt understand the ruling.

I dont have the money to travel to Ontario and I dont think I could legally work there, he said.

This is the position they take on all migrant workers cases, Yachnin added.

When Brown arrived in Ontario in 2006, he says picking fruit, planting trees, and clearing brush as a migrant worker in verdant Niagara-on-the-Lake held the promise of extra money for his family, despite the 50- to 60-hour weeks and a dorm stuffed with 16 workers. Brown had worked the land since he was a child. Back home, his parents were unable to pay for schooling past Grade 4; his affidavit says he cannot read or write much more than his own name.

A few months into the job, he was thrown off the back of a work truck, smashing his head, back, neck and arm. The WSIB accepted Browns claim and awarded him a one-time payment of around $20,000 given the severity of his injuries. But it has now cut him off ongoing loss-of-earning benefits, which injured workers are entitled to if their disabilities prevent them from returning to their pre-accident wages. After almost a decade of legal to and fro, the board maintains Brown has recovered enough to get a full-time customer service job in Ontario.

Except Brown no longer lives in Ontario. As a migrant worker, his visa was tied to being a farm labourer in Niagara-on-the-Lake  a job multiple doctors have said he will never perform again. So Brown returned home, with no prospect of ever working in Canada again.

Now 49, Brown cant lift more than 10 lbs., according to an independent medical evaluation. He is physically unable to farm his own land or find any kind of suitable work given his injuries and his location in a remote part of the country, his lawyers argue. They say he also cannot access the kind of ongoing health care hed be entitled to as an injured worker in Ontario because public services are limited in rural Jamaica.

Yachnin says Browns compensation to date is not a fair exchange for never being able to work again, and getting little support for rehabilitation in Jamaica.

Practically speaking, this man is completely changed from the way he was before his injury. His life is completely changed and yet he has no financial support from the WSIB, even though they agree he has injuries, Yachnin said. Thats troubling because it suggests a lack of regard for the actual fact of his injuries. Would they have that lack of regard for a Canadian worker?

Injured worker advocates say the system is fundamentally discriminatory. The Star has previously profiled a complaint made to the Ontario Human Rights tribunal arguing injured migrant workers are not getting the health care they are entitled to because of their immigration status.

A Canadian Medical Association Journal study shows that between 2001 and 2011, over 780 migrant farm workers in Ontario were sent home for medical or surgical reasons.

In its statement, the board said workers who are repatriated may still be entitled to further treatment or assessments but added that a migrant workers immigration status is a factor unrelated to the workers accident.

This summer IAVGO launched a charter challenge to the WSIB policies on behalf of a migrant worker in a similar situation to Brown, although the case is not expected to be heard for a couple of years. The legal notice filed by the clinic argues that the workers constitutional right to equality has been violated, since the only reason he could not access loss-of-earning benefits and health care was that he was a migrant.

As racialized persons working in largely white communities, (migrant workers) face racial discrimination on the job and in the communities where they work and live, the notice says.

At the very least, advocates say they want the board to treat migrant workers in line with their actual circumstances: for example, judging their ability to get a new job and access health care based on conditions in their own country, rather than in Canada  where they are unlikely to ever live or work again.

We think the board should actually help them to find jobs in their home countries, Yachnin said. The board is not providing them with meaningful health care because the board doesnt want to deal with logistics.

On a fuzzy phone line from his yam farm in Jamaica, Brown  who feels he has been stripped of his identity as a producer and provider  says such measures would go some way to softening his sense of disposability.

They dont treat you good, he said. As soon as you get hurt, they are not looking after you.

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The provinces police watchdog found Friday there was no criminal wrongdoing in a case where a Toronto police officer fired a Taser many times at a break-and-enter suspect.

A bone in the mans face was broken during the arrest. A different officer was also hurt in the Jan. 11 incident.

The subject officers actions were both thoughtful and measured, said the director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, in a written release Friday.

He assessed the situation and decided that his (Taser) was necessary in order to bring a violent and ongoing altercation to an end.

The incident happened in Scarborough at around 8:40 a.m., when the tenant of a basement apartment at Kenney Rd. and Malta St. called 911 to report a break-in happening on the main floor.

Two officers entered the house through a side door and found a 37-year-old man. The man tried to leave through the front door, but more officers were waiting outside, the SIU report found.

The SIU says the man then threw his leg over the iron railing attached to the porch while two officers tried to grab him.

The railing broke off in the struggle that ensued, the SIU said, and all three tumbled to the ground. The two officers fell on top of the suspect.

According to the SIU report, the man continued to fight the police. One officer hurt her wrist at some point during the altercation, and another slipped and fell off the icy porch while trying to take hold of the mans arm.

The man was non-responsive to the police commands to stop resisting and he continued to thrash his legs even with multiple officers trying to subdue him, Loparco said.

The officer under investigation then approached, removed his Taser from its holster, and warned the suspect that hed have to use it if the man continued to resist arrest, the SIU said.

The officer fired the Taser three times before the man stopped fighting, the SIU report found.

He provided a warning prior to firing his CEW, and only resorted to his weapon when that warning was ignored, said Loparco.

He deployed only as many charges as were necessary to incapacitate the man. After the man was taken into custody, no further force was applied.

Later, a medical examination found a bone in the mans face had been broken. Loparco said although its not clear when that injury happened, it may have come about when the man fell from the porch.

Regardless, the cause of the mans serious injury is a moot point, given the excessive-force analysis, and my conclusion that the full body of force applied was reasonable in the circumstances, said Loparco.

The SIU investigates all incidents involving police that involve death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

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The cover story explores why India made the strike and what lies ahead. There is a separate piece on what really happened on the night of September 28, when a hundred-odd elite troops struck multiple locations across the LoC.

The September 29 surgical strikes by India have changed the dynamics of the complicated India-Pakistan relationship. The government not only authorised the Special Forces attacks on terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir but publicly acknowledged them, marking a strategic departure from its convention of turning the other cheek. The new game plan of offensive defence-the principle of being proactive rather than passive when attacked to regain the strategic advantage and cramp an opponent's ability to launch a counter-offensive-has been met with a huge roar of approval across the country and even from opposition parties.

But the policy of making it unaffordable for Pakistan to indulge in terror as war by other means has huge implications and high costs. Pakistan's riposte for the surgical strike was an attack on an army camp in Baramulla on October 4, leaving a BSF soldier dead. India is well aware of the consequences and needs to prepare for them. The attack on an air base in Pathankot on January 2 and on an army camp in Uri in September 18 exposed the chinks in our armour.

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Our September 2016 cover

So, how prepared is India for a long-drawn-out campaign? There are two aspects to it-paramilitary preparedness, which involves perimeter defence, and the ability to launch and sustain a war by the armed forces. The counter-infiltration fence, which stretches 540 km along the Line of Control, is already a decade old. It has reduced infiltration to a great extent, but it needs to be technologically augmented. Maintenance of technology is not one of our strengths. In the Pathankot attack, terrorists breached the international border in Punjab at precisely those points where BSF sensors were not working. War readiness also demands being on permanent red alert. In Uri, the assault took place when battalions were off-guard during a change of command.

In January, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar set up a committee, headed by a retired Lt General, to inquire into the security lapses in Pathankot. The committee submitted a comprehensive report to the ministry in May this year, and is the first of its kind to talk about the security of army, navy and air force bases. Four months have passed; Uri and Baramulla have happened, but the report has not been implemented, for reasons best known to those who sit comfortably ensconced in South Block while our vulnerable soldiers look death in the eye every day.

The cover story, by Executive Editor Sandeep Unnithan, explores why India made the strike and what lies ahead. He describes, in a separate piece, what really happened on the night of September 28, when a hundred-odd elite troops struck multiple locations across the LoC. The cover package also discusses whether such surgical strikes will be the new normal. Army officials privately acknowledge at least two cross-border special forces raids in 2008 and 2011. However, these were authorised by Northern Army command, in response to specific action by Pakistan army Border Action Teams, and not publicised.

The tragedy is that the real war that India and Pakistan should be waging, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently, is the one against poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, infant mortality and maternal deaths. That, unfortunately, is a far cry from what Pakistan seems to have in mind. We now anxiously wait to see the consequences of India's bold new blueprint. Ultimately, war is no solution. India and Pakistan have to resolve their differences through dialogue-war is a means, not an end. Skilled diplomacy cannot be replaced by booming guns. Whether through military retaliation or by isolating it as a global outlaw, Pakistan has to be made to realise that there are costs to its sponsorship of terrorism. A constant state of low-intensity conflict can only bleed both India and Pakistan by a thousand cuts. Dialogue has to be resumed to solve our differences peacefully and for both countries to get down to the business of providing good governance to their citizens. That's what people really care about.



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The son of the late headmaster of a now-defunct private Christian school in eastern Ontario, which is subject to a $225-million abuse lawsuit, has been charged with sexual assault and indecent exposure.

Ontario Provincial Police allege the offences occurred against a single victim in 1986 and 1987. To protect the anonymity of the alleged victim, OPP Sgt. Angie Atkinson would not confirm or deny any connection to the school, which was called Grenville Christian College. She would only say that police believe the crimes took place in Grenville County, northeast of Kingston.

Robert Farnsworth, 49, was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in a Brockville courtroom the following day. Donald Farnsworth, one of the long-time headmasters other sons and a former teacher at the school, confirmed to the Star on Thursday that the man arrested is his brother.

I cant really talk any more about it. Well let the legal system take care of it, he said.

From 1973 to its closure in 2007, Grenville Christian College billed itself as a prestigious boarding school for girls and boys, with a scenic campus near the shoreline of the St. Lawrence River, just east of Brockville. The class action lawsuit, which was certified in 2014, features more than 180 plaintiffs who attended the school between 1973 and 1997. Their statement of claim alleges that, as Grenville students, they were subject to arbitrary discipline, bizarre religious practices and systemic abuse that left them sexually, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually traumatized.

In a statement of defence from 2010, the school claimed there is no truth whatsoever to the allegations.

Charles Farnsworth, who died in March 2015, was the Grenville headmaster from 1983 to 1997, according to his son Donalds affidavit from 2010.

The Farnsworths lawyer, Geoffrey Adair, who is also defending the college in the lawsuit, told the Star on Thursday that Robert Farnsworth would have probably been assigned some work at the school during the mid-1980s. He said he was aware that police were investigating the 49-year-old based on historic allegations, but was surprised to learn that he had been arrested.

He added that the statement of claim in the lawsuit does not mention Robert Farnsworth as an alleged perpetrator of abuse.

In an email Thursday, Loretta Merritt, one of the plaintiffs lawyers, said she believes Charless son Robert Farnsworth was a junior staff member at the school when the alleged assault occurred.

Angus Janes told the Star on Thursday that he remembers Robert from his time at Grenville, where they were students in the early 1980s. He was a few years older than Robert, and said he recalls that he didnt like the rules of the school. He didnt even like his father, from what he told me, said Janes, who is now 52. He seemed like a normal guynormal meaning he wasnt your typical staff kid pushing the schools agenda.

Andrew Hale-Byrne, another student who graduated in the mid-1990s, said he was subjected to psychological warfare at the school, where teachers routinely called students names like pig, filth, trash and slut.

He said he remembers Robert Farnsworth as a member of the school staff.

Earlier this year, the Star reported on the allegations of seven former Grenville studentsincluding Hale-Byrnewho claimed in affidavits and interviews that they experienced fear, humiliation and violence during their time at the school.

Central to the claims of former students are allegations that Grenville faculty, including Charles Farnsworth, had close ties with a small religious sect from Massachusetts called the Community of Jesus.

According to the plaintiffs statement of claim, while the school presented itself as Anglican, the colleges staff engaged in a systematic campaign . . . to promote and indoctrinate students in the teachings of the Community of Jesus.

Fathers Charles Farnsworth and J. Alastair Haig, who co-founded Grenville, were members of the Community of Jesus, but in 1977 they were also ordained Anglican priests. Haig served as headmaster until 1983, at which point Farnsworth took over until 1997.

With files from Ben Spurr

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The cash-strapped provincial government wants to cash in on the patient data collected by eHealth Ontario without compromising privacy or privatizing record-keeping.

With the controversial electronic health agencys 10-year mandate expiring at the end of 2017, Queens Park is looking at whats next for eHealth.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins on Friday asked Premier Kathleen Wynnes privatization guru, Ed Clark, for help in valuing public and private assets with respect to Ontarios digital health strategy.

I would ask you to provide the government with a value assessment of Ontarios digital health assets and all related intellectual property and infrastructure, Hoskins wrote in an open letter to Clark.

Please provide us with recommendations related to how to maximize the value of these assets for Ontarians by improving how care is delivered, the patient experience in interacting with the health-care system and, indirectly, through the economic value that is created for Ontarios economy, he said.

The protection of personal health information is paramount, the minister said, stressing the information and privacy commissioner will be kept in the loop throughout the asset review.

Clark, the former TD Bank CEO who recommended the sell-off of up to 60 per cent of Hydro One and was the architect of expanding beer and wine sales into supermarkets, is to report back before Dec. 31.

He has been serving as an unpaid adviser to Wynne for the past two years.

Hoskins conceded eHealth has encountered some setbacks and challenges since its launch in 2008  including an expense-account scandal after private consultants earning $3,000 a day were found to be billing taxpayers for cookies and tea from Tim Hortons.

Despite that  and a 2009 auditor generals report revealing $1 billion was spent on electronic health records with little to show for it at that point in time  the minister said it has had success.

Nearly all residents of Ontario who have interacted with the health system now have health records that are electronic, he said, noting most family doctors, hospitals, and labs are now connected to province-wide databases.

These systems have generated significant value for Ontario.

With Ontario running a $5 billion deficit last year  and a plan to balance the books in the next budget ahead of the 2018 election  the Liberal government is looking for ways to monetize assets.

Thats why Wynne is selling $9 billion worth of Hydro One, the provincial electricity transmitter, and using $4 billion in proceeds to fund new transportation infrastructure and $5 billion to pay off the utilitys debt.

New Democrat MPP France Gelinas (Nickel Belt) warned that the Liberals will try to sell patients personal information to the private sector.

It looks like the Liberals are trying to find a PR-friendly way of saying they want to privatize more of our health-care system, said Gelinas.

Ontarians expect their health-care system to look out for patients, not hand confidential health records to private, for-profit companies, she said.

Nobody voted to have our private, personal, confidential health records sold off to the private sector.

But Hoskins insisted the initiative is not about selling off eHealth, but to calculate what it is worth to the provinces bottom line.

The purpose of this work is to better understand the value of our digital assets to help guide, in combination with the advice of other experts, Ontarios future digital health strategy, the minister said.

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BALTIMOREA tip from a prison guard has yielded the single largest federal case in Marylands history: 80 people including corrections officers, inmates and outside facilitators have been charged with orchestrating a vast contraband smuggling enterprise that traded drugs, tobacco and cellphones to prisoners for money and sex.

A pair of federal indictments unsealed Wednesday allege that a sweeping racketeering scheme at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover  Marylands largest state prison  lasted years and involved 18 prison guards, 35 inmates and 27 civilians who helped co-ordinate the flow of drugs and other contraband.

Guards smuggled heroin, cocaine, MDMA and Suboxone, among other narcotics, into the prison in exchange for cash, money orders and in some cases, sexual favours from inmates, the indictments alleged.

The court documents also said guards smuggled the contraband past security screenings and delivered it to inmates in their cells or at pre-arranged stash sites such as laundry rooms and bathrooms. The indictments said the scheme involved smuggling at both the east and west compounds of the prison.

Prison corruption is a long-standing, deeply rooted systemic problem that can only be solved by a combination of criminal prosecutions and policy changes, said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein in a statement announcing the crackdown.

He added that those smuggling contraband were in a highly lucrative enterprise. According to the indictment, a single strip of Suboxone, a partial-opioid intended to help treat drug addiction that sells for $3 on the street, could fetch up to $50 inside the prison. A $20 can of tobacco could go for $250.

Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen Moyer said he assigned eight investigators to work with the FBI and other federal agencies to crack the case, relying heavily on wiretaps.

Moyer said the indictments send a strong message that we will no longer tolerate corruption committed by a few tarnishing the good work of our 10,500 dedicated and committed department employees.

According to the indictments, defendant correctional officers routinely warned inmates when prison administrators were planning to conduct cellphone searches.

In some cases, the documents say, when participating prison guards learned that inmates were giving administrators information, or snitching, they would alert other inmates and encourage retaliation. Twice in July, prison guards encouraged inmates to stab other prisoners, Rosenstein said. Two inmates and two guards were charged with civil rights violations stemming from the attacks, he added.

Rosenstein said the investigation began in 2013 after a concerned corrections officer caught wind of the scheme and brought it to the attention of prison authorities. The local prosecutor, Moyer said, handed the case over to federal authorities. He added that the scheme was perpetrated not by managers, but mostly by low-level correctional officers.

The indictments follow a high-profile prison contraband scandal at the Baltimore City Detention Center in 2013 in which 44 people were federally indicted. Authorities aid that racketeering schemes ringleader, Tavon White, who was also a known member of the Black Guerrilla Family gang, impregnated several prison guards and on a recorded telephone line famously told a friend on the outside, This is my jail. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison after agreeing to testify against his co-defendants.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who was responsible for making the decision to close the Baltimore City Detention Center last year, said in a statement that his administration has been and will remain steadfastly committed to stopping this kind of illicit behaviour.

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QUETTA, PAKISTANTwo bombs struck a passenger train minutes apart in southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least six people and wounding 19, officials said.

The first bomb exploded on the train and the second device, which was planted on the railway track, struck the moving train near the village of Mach in Baluchistan province, according to railways official Tufail Ahmad and local police official Mohammad Sajid.

Ahmad said the train was heading to the garrison city of Rawalpindi in the eastern province of Punjab from Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan, at the time. He said the casualties were taken to nearby hospitals and that some of the wounded were in critical condition.

Initially officials said only one bomb went off and three people were reported dead, but three more later died of their injuries, according to Sajid, who examined the damaged train and track.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but separatist groups in the province have claimed similar attacks in the past.

Baluchistan has long been the centre of a low-level insurgency by nationalist groups that demand more autonomy and a greater share in the regions natural resources. The government says its trying to improve peoples welfare in the province and bring the separatists into mainstream politics.

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique denounced the bombing as an act of terrorism and said authorities were still trying to determine how the bomb was planted on the train.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and ordered authorities to find and arrest those behind it.

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SHANGHAIFor a few thousand dollars, Chinese companies offer to export a powerful chemical that has been killing unsuspecting drug users and is so lethal, it presents a potential terrorism threat, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export the chemical, a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil, to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as $2,750 a kilogram, no questions asked.

Carfentanil burst into view this summer, the latest scourge in an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed tens of thousands of people in the United States alone.

Dealers have been cutting carfentanil and its weaker cousin, fentanyl, into heroin and other illicit drugs to boost profit margins.

Despite the dangers, carfentanil is not a controlled substance in China, where it is manufactured legally and sold openly online.

The U.S. government is pressing China to blacklist carfentanil, but Beijing has yet to act, leaving a substance whose lethal qualities have been compared with nerve gas to flow into foreign markets unabated.

We can supply carfentanil . for sure, a saleswoman from Jilin Tely Import and Export Co. wrote in broken English in a September email. And its one of our hot sales product.

Chinas Ministry of Public Security declined multiple requests for comment from the AP.

Before being discovered by drug dealers, carfentanil and substances like it were viewed as chemical weapons. One of the most powerful opioids in circulation, carfentanil is so deadly that an amount smaller than a poppyseed can kill a person. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin; carfentanil is chemically similar, but 100 times stronger than fentanyl itself.

Its a weapon, said Andrew Weber, assistant secretary of defence for nuclear, chemical and biological defence programs from 2009 to 2014. Companies shouldnt be just sending it to anybody.

The AP did not actually order any drugs so could not conduct tests to determine whether the products on offer were genuine. But a kilogram of carfentanil shipped from China was recently seized in Canada.

Carfentanil was first developed in the 1970s, and its only routine use is as an anesthetic for elephants and other large animals. Governments quickly targeted it as a potential chemical weapon. Forms of fentanyl are suspected in at least one known assassination attempt, and were used by Russian forces against Chechen separatists who took hundreds of hostages at a Moscow theatre in 2002.

The chemicals are banned from the battlefield under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In fiscal year 2014, U.S. authorities seized just 3.7 kilograms (8.1 pounds) of fentanyl. This fiscal year, through just mid-July, they have seized 134.1 kilograms (295 pounds), according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the AP. Fentanyl is the most frequently seized synthetic opioid, U.S. Customs reports.

Users are dying of accidental respiratory arrest, and overdose rates have soared. China has not been blind to the key role its chemists play in the global opioid supply chain. Most synthetic drugs that end up in the United States come from China, either directly or by way of Mexico, according to the DEA. China already has placed controls on 19 fentanyl-related compounds. Adding carfentanil to that list is likely to only diminish, not eliminate, global supply.

Despite periodic crackdowns, people willing to skirt the law are easy to find in Chinas vast, freewheeling chemicals industry, made up of an estimated 160,000 companies operating legally and illegally. Vendors said they lie on customs forms, guaranteed delivery to countries where carfentanil is banned and volunteered strategic advice on sneaking packages past law enforcement.

Speaking from a bright booth at a chemicals industry conference in Shanghai last month, Xu Liqun said her company, Hangzhou Reward Technology, could produce carfentanil to order.

Its dangerous, dangerous, but if we send 1kg, 2kg, its OK, she said, adding that she wouldnt do the synthesis herself because shes pregnant. She said she knows carfentanil can kill and believes it should be a controlled substance in China.

The government should impose very serious limits, but in reality in China its so difficult to control because if I produce one or two kilograms, how will anyone know? she said. They cannot control you, so many products, so many labs.

Several vendors recommended sending the drugs via EMS, the express mail service of state-owned China Postal Express & Logistics Co., as a fail-safe option.

EMS is a little slow than Fedex or DHL but very safe, more than 99% pass rate, a Yuntu Chemical Co. representative wrote in an email. If send to the USA, each package less than 250g is the best, small and unattractive, we will divide 1kg into 4-5 packages and send every other day or send to different addresses.

EMS declined to comment.

A Yuntu representative hung up the phone when contacted by the AP and did not reply to emails seeking comment. Soon after, the companys website vanished.

Not all of the websites used to sell the drugs are based in China. At least six Chinese companies offering versions of fentanyl, including carfentanil, had IP addresses in the United States, hosted at U.S. commercial web providers, the AP found.

NOBODY WAS MOVING. THEY PUT THE PEOPLE THERE LIKE DOLLS

In 2002, Russian Special Forces turned to carfentanil after a three-day standoff with Chechen separatists, who had taken more than 800 people hostage in a Moscow theatre. They used an aerosol version of carfentanil, along with the less potent remifentanil, sending it through air vents, according to a paper by British scientists who tested clothing and urine samples from three survivors.

The strategy worked, but more than 120 hostages died from the effects of the chemicals.

Olga Dolotova, an engineer who survived the attack, remembers seeing white plumes descending before she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she found herself on a bus packed with bodies. It was such a horror just to look at it, she said. Nobody was moving. They put the people there like dolls.

The theatre siege raised concerns about carfentanil as a tool of war or terrorism, and prompted the U.S. to develop strategies to counter its use, according to Weber, the former Defence Department chemical weapons expert.

The U.S., Russia, China, Israel, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and India are among the countries that have assessed carfentanil and related compounds for offensive or defensive applications, according to publicly available documents and academic studies.

Countries that we are concerned about were interested in using it for offensive purposes, Weber said. We are also concerned that groups like ISIS (Daesh) could order it commercially.

Weber considered a range of alarming scenarios, including the use of carfentanil to knock out and take troops hostage, or to kill civilians in a closed environment like a train station. He added that it is important to raise awareness about the threat from carfentanil trafficking.

Shining sunlight on this black market activity should encourage Chinese authorities to shut it down, he said.

Fentanyls also have been described as ideal tools for assassination  lethal and metabolized quickly so they leave little trace.

Agents from Israels secret intelligence service, Mossad, sprayed a substance believed to be a fentanyl analog into the ear of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal as he walked down a street in Amman, Jordan, in a botched 1997 assassination attempt.

HURRY TO BUY

DEA officials say they are getting unprecedented co-operation from China in the fight against fentanyls, noting unusually deep information sharing in what can be a fractious bilateral relationship.

The DEA has shared intelligence and scientific data with Chinese authorities about controlling carfentanil, according to Russell Baer, a DEA special agent in Washington.

I know China is looking at it very closely, he said. Thats been the subject of discussion in some of these high-level meetings.

Last October, China added 116 synthetic drugs to its controlled substances list, which had a profound impact on global narcotics supply chains. Acetylfentanyl, for example, is a weaker cousin of carfentanil that China included on last years list of restricted substances. Six months later, monthly seizures of acetylfentanyl in the U.S. had plummeted by 60 per cent, DEA data obtained by the AP shows.

Several vendors contacted in September were willing to export carfentanil, but refused to ship the far less potent acetylfentanyl. A Jilin Tely Import & Export Co. saleswoman offered carfentanil for $3,800 a kilogram, but wrote, with an apologetic happy face, that she couldnt ship acetylfentanyl because it is regulated by the government now.

Contacted by the AP, the company said it had never shipped carfentanil to North America and had offered to sell it just to attract the customer.

Seven companies offered to sell acetylfentanyl despite the ban, however. Five offered fentanyl and two offered alpha-PVP, commonly known as flakka, which also are controlled substances in China.

The problem with carfentanil is not limited to the United States. In late June, Canadian authorities seized a kilogram of carfentanil shipped from China in a box labelled printer accessories.

The powder contained 50 million lethal doses, according to the Canada Border Services Agency  more than enough to wipe out the entire population of the country. It was hidden inside bright blue cartridges labelled as ink for HP LaserJet printers. Keep out of reach of children, read the labels, in Chinese.

RCMP officers in Vancouver sealed themselves inside hazmat suits, binding their wrists, ankles, zippers, and face masks with fat yellow tape. With large oxygen containers on their backs and chunky respirators, it looked as if they were preparing for a trip to the moon.

Cocaine or heroin, we know what the purpose is, said Allan Lai, an officer-in-charge at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Calgary, who is helping oversee the criminal investigation. With respect to carfentanil, we dont know why a substance of that potency is coming into our country.

In August and September, high-level delegations of Chinese and U.S. drug enforcement authorities met to discuss joint efforts on synthetic opioids, but neither meeting produced any substantive announcement on carfentanil.

Nonetheless, some Chinese vendors are already bracing for a new wave of controls. In an email, Wonder Synthesis wrote, If you need any chems, just hurry to buy.

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LOS ANGELESThe daughter of vocal Donald Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani is publicly supporting Hillary Clinton in the presidential race.

Caroline Giuliani included Clintons campaign logo in her Facebook profile picture recently. The pages cover photo is a shot of Clintons #ImWithHer campaign slogan banner.

The younger Giuliani tells Politico, I love Hillary, and adds that she thinks Clinton is by far the most qualified candidate that weve had in a long while. She says her father knows about her support for the Democrat and is fully comfortable with it and thinks I have a right to my opinion.

Politico says she wouldnt comment about her fathers support for the GOP nominee, Trump.

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BEAUMONT, HAITIPeople across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could from a deadly and devastating encountered with the full force of Hurricane Matthew.

The central governments official death toll stood at nearly 300, but authorities doing the on-ground assessment in the remote corners of the southwestern peninsula said it would likely be significantly higher when the full accounting was complete.

The Reuters news agency  compiling its own figures from various officials around Haiti  said the death toll has risen to at least 572. But the count could not be independently verified, and there was no confirmation from government agencies in Haiti.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said his team had found 82 bodies that had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of spotty communications. Most appeared to have died from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 235 km/h on Tuesday.

We dont have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still havent reached, Jeune said, as he and a team of Civil Protection agents in orange vests combed through the area.

As Haitians mourned their losses, they tried to recover what they could of their meagre possessions. Homes throughout the area were piles of rubble, the roofs mangled to stripped away, the fruit gone from the trees.

Telemaque Dieuseal, 54-year-old farmer, fled his small house to stay with a cousin but returned to find that his TV, motorcycle and radio were nowhere to be found among the wreckage.

The thieves were out all day after the storm stealing everything they could get, Dieuseal said. Its going to take a long time to get back on my feet.

Workers from the International Organization of Migration and other groups were going through the area to assess the damage and provide assistance, though their efforts were hampered by damaged roads, rough terrain and other factors.

Devastation is everywhere, said Pilus Enor, mayor of Camp Perrin, a town near the port city of Les Cayes on the peninsulas south shore. Every house has lost its roof.

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. The 283 deaths reported by Pierre did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear Thursday as waters receded in some places two days after Matthews 235 km/h winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her 6-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

On the way to the church, the wind took them, Ais said.

Officials said that food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been levelled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

In Les Cayes, many people searched for clean water as they lugged mattresses and other belongings they were able to salvage.

Nothing is going well, said Jardine Laguerre, a teacher. The water took what little money we had. We are hungry.

Officials with the Pan American Health Organization warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew. Haitis cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced into the countrys biggest river from a UN base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Haitis government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the countrys worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemispheres least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In the coming days, the U.S. military expects to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas via helicopter.

After passing over Haiti, Matthew hit Cubas lightly populated eastern tip Tuesday night, damaging hundreds of homes in the easternmost city of Baracoa but there were no reports of deaths. Nearly 380,000 people were evacuated and measures were taken to protect infrastructure.

Matthew advanced up the length of the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, tearing roofs away, toppling trees and causing flooding that trapped some people in their homes. There had been no reports of casualties by late Thursday as the storm headed toward Floridas coast.

Before hitting Haiti, the storm was blamed for four deaths in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

With files from The Washington Post

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MANILA, PHILIPPINESPhilippine troops have captured three suspects in the bombing of a night market that killed 15 people and seized a cellphone video of the blast from them that they apparently took for propaganda purposes, the defence chief said Friday.

The Sept. 2 blast wounded 69 other people in President Rodrigo Dutertes hometown of southern Davao city and prompted him to declare a state of lawlessness that empowered the government to use the military in countering terror threats in urban areas.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the suspects are members of Maute, a small and relatively new Muslim militant group based in southern Lanao del Sur province that has wanted to align itself with Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Philippine forces launched an offensive against Maute earlier this year.

Military officials identified the three as TJ Tagada Macababang, Wendel Apostol Facturan and Musali Mustapha. They said the suspects were arrested Tuesday after they tried to evade law enforcers at a checkpoint while riding on a motorcycle without a license plate in southern Cotabato city. Troops seized bomb-making materials, a submachine-gun and a pistol from them, they said.

The operation recovered solid pieces of evidence showing that they are indeed the terrorists who bombed Davao City market, Lorenzana said.

The three suspects were presented at a news conference but not allowed to speak. Lorenzana said seven other militants were allegedly also involved in the Davao city blast and are still being hunted.

The cellphone video, which was shown at the news conference, showed the night market scene, followed by a huge flash of light as the bomb went off, yells of Allahu akbar, or God is great, and then chaos as the victims screamed and yelled for help.

Lorenzana said one of the three suspects planted the bomb at a massage area beside food stalls, while another called a cellphone attached to the bomb to set it off and the third took the video. He said they hoped to use the video as propaganda to help Maute align with Daesh.

Lorenzana said the bombing was one of a series of planned attacks aimed at diverting the militarys attention from ongoing offensives against Maute and the Abu Sayyaf, another extremist group notorious for kidnappings and beheadings.

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LONDONBritish police say a man has been arrested after scaling a gate outside Buckingham Palace.

The Metropolitan Police force says the 21-year-old was arrested for trespassing as he dropped to the ground Friday afternoon.

He was not carrying a weapon and will undergo a mental health assessment.

Queen Elizabeth II was not at the palace.

A royal spokeswoman declined to comment, saying security was a matter for the police.

Several intruders have breached security at the queens London residence over the years, including a man convicted of murder who climbed a wall in May while the queen was at home.

In 1982, Michael Fagan managed to sneak into the queens private chambers while she was in bed. Elizabeth spent 10 minutes chatting with him before seeking help.

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GENEVARussia lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top UN officials condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin.

There is no evidence Trump sought Russias assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights.

Vitaly Churkin, Russias ambassador to the United Nations, told The Associated Press on Friday that he complained to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about Zeids remarks.

Three diplomats familiar with the conversation said the complaint occurred in a private meeting on Sept. 13. Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced demagogues and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, propaganda.

Prince Zeid is overstepping his limits from time to time and were unhappy about it, Churkin said Friday. He criticized a number of heads of state, government. He should stick to his file, which is important enough.

In a speech in Cleveland three months before Republicans gathered there to nominate Trump, Zeid said: Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture. Zeid was referring to a speech Trump gave in Ohio in November promising to restore waterboarding and introduce even harsher interrogation methods for suspected terrorists.

In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack  disguised as courageous taboo-busting  on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society, Zeid said.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to several requests for comment.

The Kremlin has said it has no position on the U.S. election. Its officials regularly oppose the UN interfering in what it considers the internal politics of sovereign nations.

Still, Churkins personal intervention could add to questions about the relationship between Trump and Russia.

Trump has praised President Vladimir Putins strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated. He has suggested Russia hasnt entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east. And he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state.

The diplomatic complaint could revive charges that Moscow is interfering in the presidential election, following the U.S. governments accusations that Russia sponsored cyber-intrusions including the hack of the Democratic National Committees emails.

Three diplomats, including two UN officials who were familiar with the meeting between Churkin and Ban, said that the Russian complained virulently to Ban about Zeids Cleveland speech and one in Europe in September.

A senior UN diplomat familiar with the discussion said Churkin specifically condemned the fact that Zeid mentioned Trump.

The diplomats werent authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing possible diplomatic repercussions from Russia, a powerful, permanent member of the UN Security Council.

We dont comment on meetings with ambassadors, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Trumps policy pitches have upset human rights officials like Zeid, including the candidates calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, temporarily ban Muslim immigration and even potentially kill the families of Islamic extremists.

Trumps positions on Russia have faced sharp attacks from some Republican leaders as well as Clinton.

His supporters pressured Republicans to back away from supporting U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine, which many GOP leaders want. Instead, the platform backed appropriate assistance to Ukraine.

Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign manager, resigned this summer over revelations about Manaforts work for Ukraines Moscow-backed former president and other pro-Russian officials. And Carter Page, a former Trump foreign policy adviser, criticized the U.S. and other Western governments on a July trip to Moscow for their often-hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change.

Clintons campaign pounced on the Russian complaint.

This is not only strangeits scary, senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said. A major party candidate for the presidency of the United States is being protected by the Kremlin. Wow.

Eight days before Churkins demarche, Zeid went after Trump again in a Sept. 5 speech in The Hague, Netherlands, lumping the billionaire businessman with several populist leaders in Europe. All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion, Zeid said, calling it a sentiment they share with Daesh.

Zeid concentrated on Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders, who opposes asylum for refugees and, similar to Trump, immigration from Muslim countries. Wilders also advocates closing mosques and Islamic schools, and outlawing the Quran.

Zeid also criticized by name the pro-Brexit head of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, who appeared with Trump at an August rally; Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico; Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer; French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen; Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Czech President Milos Zeman.

U.S. and European officials accuse Russia of supporting several of these politicians parties. Russia doesnt acknowledge such support.

Allies of Wilders, Orban, Le Pen and Farage complained vociferously after Zeids speech. Trump didnt publicly respond.

While Zeids criticism carries no legal weight, his position gives him a highly visible pulpit to shame governments and politicians around the world. The U.S.  like Russia and other powerful governments  lobbies hard to avoid condemnation.

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Professors at the University of Ghana launched a petition last month calling for the removal of the statue, which was unveiled by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in June.

By AP: Ghana has expressed its intention to remove a statue of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi from a university in the capital, citing a controversy over what critics call his "racist identity."

But the government made clear the move would be for the statue's safety, telling the critics that "we must remember that people evolve."

Professors at the University of Ghana launched a petition last month calling for the removal of the statue, which was unveiled by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in June.

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Ghana's foreign affairs ministry said the government "would want to relocate the statue from the University of Ghana to ensure its safety."

ALSO READ: Ghana university students say Gandhi was racist, want his statue removed



Obadele Kambon, one of the petition's organizers, said Thursday there was no confirmation the statue would be removed. He said moving the statue to another location in Ghana would be insufficient.

He urged the government to send it back to India.

"We don't think the statue would be well received anywhere in Ghana," he said.

Gandhi, a lawyer, traveled to South Africa in 1893 and stayed for two decades, fighting to expand rights for Indians there. The petition quotes writings from that period in which he refers to black South Africans as savages.

At the same time, Gandhi's approach of nonviolent protest influenced the African National Congress and its resistance to white minority rule.

"While acknowledging that human as he was, Mahatma Gandhi may have had his flaws, we must remember that people evolve," Ghana's statement said. "He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world."

The statement also expressed concern that the professors' campaign could harm Ghana's ties to India.

The professors say the university instead should feature statues of local heroes like Yaa Asantewaa, who led a rebellion against British colonialism, or Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president.

Also Read: Why does Ghana football struggle? 'Because players have too much sex'



--- ENDS ---
Charles Taylor, Canadas foremost philosopher, our great champion of multiculturalism, has brought home yet another honour. This week he was awarded the first annual Berggruen Prize for ideas that shape the world. The accolade comes with a million-dollar cheque and proves once again the McGill professors reputation as one of the worlds most important thinkers.

The award is also a reminder that, in this moment of Trumpist fear and confusion, Taylors progressive, humanistic thought has never been more important.

The philosophers works are marked by a profound empathy  an understanding of the complications of selfhood in the secular age, of how our identities and our sense of meaning are inescapably shaped by our communities. Taylor has shown that, because of the inseparability of individual and collective, our politics and public institutions must recognize and protect our differences and we in turn must not recede from common life.

Taylor understands the risks of modernity, of self-absorption and political apathy in particular, but has arguably been the most persuasive, nuanced champion of what he sees as its great promise: pluralism and, particularly, multiculturalism.

Throughout his career, Taylor has often descended from the ivory tower and defended these ideas on the ground. In Quebec, he is perhaps best known as co-chair of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on Reasonable Accommodation, a yearlong inquiry into how the province should handle cultural clashes with minority communities. At its end, Taylor urged Quebecers to show more openness and generosity of spirit. He even ran for federal office once, as a New Democrat, losing by a good margin to Pierre Trudeau in 1965. (The philosopher had an unsurprising reputation for politically problematic prolixity.)

Taylors intellectual status has lent rare weight to his opinions on public issues, a power he uses to admirable effect. Just last month he publicly urged the federal government to lobby for the release of Homa Hoodfar, a Canadian anthropology professor who was being detained on trumped up charges in Iran. She was freed three weeks later.

In his CBC Massey Lecture, The Malaise of Modernity, Taylor explored both the pitfalls and the potential of the secular era. The atomism and selfishness that modernitys critics constantly point to are no doubt real. But so is the welcome emergence of pluralism, of a tolerance of diversity. During an American election campaign that embodies the worst of our moment and poses a threat to the best, the Berggruen Institutes decision to honour Taylor has a special resonance. The world has much to learn from our philosophical giant.

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Apple for the teacher? Not in some classrooms, where apples  and even peaches  are now forbidden fruits.

And forget chocolate at two elementary schools in Peel Region, where the sweet treat isnt welcome in any form because of a staff members extreme reaction to the smell of it.

Food allergies and sensitivities have prompted a number of schools to turn to bans and restrictions, solutions some parents decry as unfair and impractical for the rest of the kids.

Though nut bans are common and widely accepted in Ontario schools, some question how far to go for other foods.

Theres no allergy organization that Im aware of that would support a widespread ban on apples or chocolate, said Dr. Douglas Mack, a McMaster University professor who heads the anaphylaxis section at the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Thats just reality  Im not making a judgment.

Mack said true fruit allergies are rare; its much more common to have milder symptoms toward apples  you really have to eat this food to have a severe reaction to it, or a life-threatening, anaphylactic reaction to it.

While bans may work for preschoolers where you have very limited control as to what they are eating and sharing  (but otherwise) you really dont have a lot of support for a food ban in most developed countries.

We try to train our students to live in the world, and develop skills that in the long term are going to be important, he added. They need to know they should not be eating without epinephrine (an EpiPen). They should not be sharing food. They should not be eating food they are allergic to.

Thats the strategy Montreal-area mom Annie Boisvert has used for her 5-year-old son Thomas, who has 17 allergies  to peaches, kiwis, nectarines, strawberries, tomatoes and legumes, among others. He has had three anaphylactic reactions so far in his life, one from a kiwi.

He is now in kindergarten, and instead of pushing for restrictions on foods other kids bring, Boisvert worked with the school, its nurse and her sons teacher to come up with a strict hygiene protocol that has worked well so far.

We called six months prior to the first day, she said. We put in place really good measures to clean hands and we warned everybody.

Students wash their hands upon entering the classroom. At snack time, the teacher screens what other kids have brought, and if its something Thomas is allergic to, they dont sit together. The school also has brought in help for the teacher to sanitize tables and desks after eating.

Meanwhile, Torontos R.H. McGregor elementary told families that while no foods are officially banned from the school, kids have been told not to bring apples to school because of a young students life-threatening allergy.

How best to handle a childs allergies depends on their age and severity of allergy, said Beatrice Povolo, director of advocacy for Food Allergy Canada.

Once a child is diagnosed, you dont know how severe the reaction will be and theres a big unknown because each exposure can bring a different reaction.

When it comes to schools, the thing we always counsel schools and parents is to work together to determine the proper strategy, she said. (The organization prefers not to use the word ban because of the negative connotation.)

Under the 2006 Sabrinas Law, all of Ontarios public schools have to have a plan in place to deal with anaphylactic allergies. It does not specify banning foods.

Food Allergy Canada promotes policies within the environment that make sense ... and its important to incorporate everything else like staff training and education, supervision, and to (consider) the ages of the children and their ability to understand what they can and cannot do, said Povolo.

David Farnell, founding dad and chief executive officer of catering company Real Food for Real Kids, has run into issues when accommodating food allergies for schools and daycares.

At one school, where apples were prohibited, the company started making a peach sauce instead of applesauce, only to be informed that peaches were now banned, too.

Of course, our first priority is kids safety, he said. We have to weigh real, tangible risks every day and we take what we do incredibly seriously and have a kitchen built to prevent cross-contamination of food.

But restricting foods like apples does not consider the implications of several of these kinds of allergies converging in one school, said Farnell.

What happens when a student with a dairy allergy, one with a gluten allergy and one with an apple or citrus allergy all attend the same school. Will that school ban pizza and pasta? All milk products, including yogurt snacks or cheese? All apples or applesauce or apple pie  or even that apple your child wants to give their teacher as thanks for teaching them how to read?

At Toronto Catholic elementary school Our Lady of Wisdom, one student has a severe apple allergy, so the snack program excludes apple products.

In Peel, two schools have a no-chocolate policy  including signs posted in hallways  and while its not common for chocolate to be discouraged, when theres a significant medical concern that may place staff or students at risk, we do recommend that it not be brought into the school, said spokesperson Carla Pereira.

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Private equity giant Carlyle (CG) will pay $3.2 billion for Total's (TOT) specialty chemicals business Atotech, handing the French oil major fresh cash to cut debt and fund its all important dividend.

Washington, DC-based Carlyle will pay 11.9 times earnings and about 2.8 times revenues for the maker of metal plating and surface finishing technologies used in circuit boards, semiconductors and automobile manufacturing.

Atotech is "a non-core asset for Total, with no synergies to the rest of its business," noted Goldman Sachs. "The specialty chemicals business is a higher multiple business than Total's oil and gas business (which is trading on c.6 X 2015 EV/EBITDA), so the divestment is accretive...though it reduces diversification."

Investors in the Paris-based oil producer gave the deal a cool reception, sending Total's to 42.66 on Friday morning, down 0.40 or just under 1% on their Thursday close. Carlyle shares closed Thursday at $15.60.

Carlyle secured Atotech following an auction that was reported to have attracted bids from heavyweight private equity rivals including London-based Cinven and BC Partners. Neither Cinven or BC confirmed their participation in the auction.

"Atotech is a strong business with excellent growth prospects," said Carlyle's MD industrial and transportation Martin Sumner in a statement.

Carlyle will pay for the equity portion of the deal using cash from its Carlyle Europe Partners IV and Carlyle Partners VI funds.

For Total, the sale continues a planned exit from its specialty chemicals operations as part of a planned $10 billion of divestitures between 2015 and 2017. Total sold its adhesives unit Bostik in early 2015 to Arkema for about 1.74 billion ($1.93 billion) or 11 times earnings.

Attention will now turn to Total's last significant specialty chemicals operation, Hutchinson, a maker of rubber and insulation. Total was last year rumored to be preparing the unit for either a sale or an IPO that might value it at as much as $5 billion.

Total did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hutchinson's future.

Total has been selling assets to reduce debt and focus capital and management attention on its upstream oil operations. The company is likely to have net debt at the end of 2016 of about $24.7 billion, assuming that the cash from Atotech is used to pay down loans. That will leave its net debt /equity ratio at about 25%, down from 29%, according to Goldman.

Goldman has a buy rating on Total and a 12-month target price of 47.70.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Gap (GPS) were gaining 6.67% to $24.30 in pre-market trading on Friday after the retailer said late Thursday that September sales didn't decline as badly as analysts had expected.

Same-store sales for the retailer were down 3% in September vs. analysts' estimates for a decline of 3.6%, according to Bloomberg. Same-store sales at the Old Navy brand increased 4%, while analysts were looking for less than 1% growth.

But Gap's two other brands, Gap and Banana Republic, reported significant same-store sales declines of 10% and 9%, respectively.

Total sales for the month fell by 2% year-over-year to $1.43 billion company-wide.

Gap noted that a September fire at a distribution center will likely weigh on October and fourth-quarter same-store sales.

Jefferies increased its price target to $32 from $30 on shares of the San Francisco company following the announcement, citing better-than-expected merchandise margins, accelerating trends at Old Navy, and a bottom setting in at Gap.

The firm sees "significant near-term opportunity" given easy comparisons and low expectations.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C.

Gap's strengths such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and good cash flow from operations are countered by weaknesses including feeble growth in the company's earnings per share, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: GPS

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Boeing (BA) were down in mid-morning trading on Friday as the company prepares to announce an $18 billion wide-body aircraft deal with Qatar Airways later today, the BBC reports.

Qatar Airways and Boeing are holding a joint news conference in Washington, DC on Friday where they are expected to unveil the agreement.

Last week, the deal was speculated to include more than 30 Boeing 777 and 787 planes valued at $6.7 billion, Bloomberg reported.

But the final agreement will also include orders for the aircraft maker's 737 MAX planes, according to the BBC.

The deal could help boost sales for Chicago-based Boeing amid slumping wide body plane orders.

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 "hold" with a ratings score of C+.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, generally higher debt management risk and weak operating cash flow.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: BA
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) were higher in mid-afternoon trading on Friday as Qatar's royal family might increase its stake in the German lender to as much as 25%, sources told Bloomberg.

Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani, former prime minister of Qatar, and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of the country, currently own about 10% of the company.

The royal family is interested in achieving greater control of the lender, and the higher stake could ultimately lead to management changes, Germany's Der Spiegel magazine reported today, according to Bloomberg.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D.

Deutsche Bank's weaknesses include its deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: DB

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Oil prices dropping under $50 on Friday isn't a "surprising reversal," CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis said on "Power Lunch" this afternoon.

"We usually test these levels, and traders said that they didn't think crude had a lot more steam past that $50 mark even with the OPEC deal in play," she noted.

Last week, the 14-member oil cartel agreed to cut up to 700,000 barrels a day from its combined output of about 33 million barrels, in an effort to stem the global oil glut and lift oil prices.

Next week, the annual World Energy Congress will be held in Istanbul, where OPEC and non-OPEC producers will meet on the sidelines, DeAngelis noted.

Non-OPEC members like Russia may not cooperate with the deal and "that could be the caveat that takes this deal off the table," she reported.

"That's what traders are worried about at this point," she added.

If the deal goes through, then oil prices could go up to $60.

However, if no news about the deal comes out of the World Energy Congress meeting or the next formal OPEC meeting in November, then oil prices could potentially go "much lower," DeAngelis said.

Meanwhile, utility stocks are down some 10% since July, but David Katz of Real Money Pro (our subscription-only site for active traders and investment professionals) writes that "the risk/reward is [still] modestly negative." Click here for a free 14-day Real Money Pro trial and see how much lower Katz says the group must go before he'll recommend buying it.
Investors are sizing up the possibility that Verizon (VZ) could knock $1 billion off the purchase price for the operations of Yahoo (YHOO) or even try to walk away altogether after a report on Thursday in the New York Post suggesting the telecom giant is unhappy.

Verizon agreed to pay $4.8 billion, or closer to $5.9 billion including the purchase of restricted stock units, for the business in July, and was unaware of a massive cyber breach, as well as Yahoo's participation in government surveillance that have repeatedly put the company in the headlines in recent weeks.

The burning question for investors is whether the breach, combined with backlash from Yahoo's participation in government surveillance of users, would trigger the material adverse effect clause (MAC) in the Verizon deal, allowing the buyer to tweak the terms of the sale.

"I think a lot of people in Verizon's position would at the least look to have a conversation with Yahoo! about these recent developments related to email which for many years has been not just a core to Yahoo! in terms of operations but a core to Yahoo! in terms of its business value," said Scott Kessler of CFRA Research. "I don't know to what extent Yahoo! is vulnerable but I think Verizon reasonably wants to have that conversation."

On Friday, shares of Yahoo! fell 1% to $43.22, while those of Verizon fell 0.7% to $49.92.

The New York Post reported that Tim Armstrong, the boss of Verizon's AOL unit, is perturbed by unexpected revelations in recent weeks that Yahoo! suffered a major email hack and participated in a government surveillance probe of user emails. The Post said that according to unnamed sources, Armstrong was meeting with Yahoo! executives this week to reduce the price of the deal.

Verizon declined to comment and Yahoo did not respond to a query.



SunTrust analyst Robert Peck ranked the top questions from investors in the wake of the breach and surveillance disclosure in a Thursday report. "Can Verizon invoke the MAC on the hacking and surveillance issues, and leverage that to either negotiate the price down or walk away?" is the top question, Peck noted. "If Verizon tries to do that, can Yahoo! sue to enforce the agreement in its entirety?" is second.

Invoking a material adverse effect clause is not a gimme.

"Buyers have had a hard time invoking them," said Widener University corporate and business law professor Lawrence Hamermesh, adding that he is not familiar with the nuances of the material adverse effect clause in Yahoo's sales agreement.

The clauses typically cover material problems specific to the company that damage the business and its finance, but do not allow a buyer to walk because of missed financial targets, declines in the markets, acts of god or other events external to the company.

"This kind of company-specific, unexpected development that is very specific, if there is anything that is going to be a MAC this could well be it," Hamermesh said of Yahoo's long-undisclosed breach.

For shareholders, a price cut presents a tough choice. Yahoo has a little more than 950 million shares outstanding, so a $1 billion price cut would cost investors about $1 per share. Which is more troubling, the loss of a dollar per share or the risk of remaining an independent company if Yahoo does not find another buyer?

Investors aren't the only ones asking questions, CFRA's Kessler noted.

Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden and Edward Markey wrote Marissa Mayer a letter on Sept. 27 about the "troubling" scope of the breach.

"We are even more disturbed that user information was first compromised in 2014, yet the company only announced the breach last week," the Senators wrote. "That means millions of Americans' data may have been compromised for two years. This is unacceptable."

The group asked for details about when Yahoo contact law enforcement and how the company is help to protect users, among other details.

Congress has summoned Mylan CEO Heather Bresch and Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf to face tough questions recently. Yahoo! was a victim in its attack, unlike the scandals that have engulfed Mylan and Wells Fargo. However, Leahy and the other Democratic Senators clearly want more information about how Yahoo! responded to the attack and conveyed information to affected parties.

Meanwhile, Senator Mark Warner wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Yahoo's handling of the email attack.

Yahoo! has also had issues in the lower house. The House of Representatives IT department banned the usage of Yahoo! email after recent ransomware attacks, according to Gizmodo.

At least Yahoo! avoided one email security scandal in Washington. Marissa Mayer and shareholders can take comfort that Hillary Clinton didn't use Yahoo! mail.
Wells Fargo holds nearly $32 billion of the areas deposits, making it the regions largest bank for the fourth consecutive year. (Jeffrey MacMillan)

Wells Fargo, which has come under fire in recent weeks for fraudulently creating more than 2 million fake accounts, remains the Washington areas largest bank, according to new data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The San Francisco-based financial institution holds $31.87 billion in local deposits, accounting for 17 percent of the regions money, according to the FDIC.

This is the fourth consecutive year Wells Fargo has led the list of the regions largest banks, but banking analysts say its reign at the top could soon end, as lawmakers across the country call for severing ties with the bank.

Wells Fargo employees opened 1.5 million phony deposit accounts  including an estimated 15,000 in Maryland  and 565,000 unauthorized credit card accounts in recent years in a race to meet company quotas, according to an investigation by federal regulators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined the bank $185 million as a result.

This widespread practice gave the employees credit for opening the new accounts, allowing them to earn additional compensation and to meet the banks sales goals, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a statement. Consumers, in turn, were sometimes harmed because the bank charged them for insufficient funds or overdraft fees because the money was not in their original accounts.

John Stumpf, chief executive of Wells Fargo, testified before a Senate banking committee on Sept. 20 about Wells Fargos involvement in fraudulent accounts. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

[Wells Fargo boots 5,300 employees for creating accounts its customers didnt ask for]

As a result, California and Illinois have said they would stop doing business with Wells Fargo for at least a year. A number of other states and municipalities, including the District, are looking into similar measures.

Maryland recently reviewed its dealings with the bank before determining it did not have any major underwriting, investment or dealer-broker contracts with the bank, according to Susanne Brogan, the states deputy treasurer for public policy. She added that some state agencies keep bank accounts at Wells Fargo.

Those contracts will be allowed to continue until their terms run out, Brogan said. We didnt want to put those agencies in the predicament of not having access to banking services by canceling the contract.

Wells Fargo recently said as many as 15,391 bank accounts in Maryland could have been created fraudulently. A spokesman for the bank said it was not clear how much money was held in those accounts but said new checking and savings accounts require an opening amount of at least $25.

Maryland state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Democrat from Prince Georges County, has been among the banks most vocal critics.

Maryland cannot do business with an institution that robs our citizens and targets people based on race, he wrote on his Facebook page. We should not allow them to do business here.

In Virginia, state agencies and local governments keep about $1.9 billion in deposits in 1,500 Wells Fargo accounts, according to Treasurer Manju Ganeriwala. But, she added, the state was not looking to cut ties with the bank, which recently bought $385 million in municipal bonds.

Were monitoring the situation, but we are not planning to take any action right now, she said, adding that breaking the states contracts with Wells Fargo would take at least four to six months and would probably result in fines and penalties. We do business with Wells Fargo on a number of different fronts and dont want to make any rash decisions.

But that doesnt mean local families arent moving their money. Executives at other area banks say they have noticed a pickup in deposits but that it is too soon to tell what the impact will be.

Theres going to be some migration of deposits, but its really hard to measure, said Bert Ely, a financial industry consultant in Alexandria. The last time we saw this level of shifting because of deposit concerns was back during the financial crisis.

At EagleBank in Bethesda, the areas eighth-largest bank, chief executive Ronald D. Paul says he is seeing an uptick in larger clients, including municipalities, nonprofits, law firms and escrow companies.

I will tell you, we hear it anecdotally all the time  whether its Wells Fargo or something else, people say theyre coming to us because theyre tired of the big banks, Paul said. Candidly, I think thats going to be the case more and more.

Deposits at EagleBank rose 9 percent to $5.4 billion in the year ended June 30, according to the FDIC. (Local deposits at Wells Fargo, by comparison, grew 2.7 percent in the same period.)

[How to get justice after the Wells Fargo scandal]

Among the areas largest banks were Bank of America (with $30.28 billion in local deposits), Capital One ($25.65 billion) and SunTrust Bank ($18.6 billion), according to the FDIC. Overall, 82 banks had a presence in the Washington region, accounting for 1,671 bank branches.

The FDIC considers metropolitan Washington to include the District, its Maryland and Virginia suburbs and Jefferson County in West Virginia. Deposits from the Arlington-based online financial firm E-Trade Financial were excluded in these calculations.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) All lighthouses dotting Indias 7,517-km coast line will be fuelled by solar energy by December which would help reduce emission of 6,000 kg of greenhouse gases per day, government said today. "The Directorate has planned to achieve complete solarization of all the lighthouses by December 31, 2016. With this complete solarization, approximately 1.5 MWh energy will be generated which will amount to approximately reducing 6000 kg of greenhouse gases per day," Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.

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The Directorate General of Lighthouse & Lightships (DGLL), a subordinate organization under the Ministry of Shipping is presently maintaining 193 Lighthouses which provide aids to marine navigation to the mariners transiting in coastal waters of India.

"Most of these lighthouses were operating on the conventional source of energy i.e. electricity and diesel generators which consume fossil fuel and emit high amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) thus increasing greenhouse effect and causing air pollution," the statement said.

Generation of 1 Mega Watt Hour (MWh) power through fossil fuel leads to emission of approximately 900 Kg of Co2, it added.

"In order to reduce CO2 emission, DGLL has decided to replace the source of energy utilized at lighthouses to renewable source and started harnessing solar energy to operate its lighthouses. Till date 176 Lighthouses have been fully solarized," the statement said.

This is a step in line with governments initiative to maximize the use of Green Energy for protection of environment besides making the lighthouses operate on a reliable, resilient and renewable energy system and reduction of global warming emissions.

Till date 176 lighthouses out of about 200 have been running on solar power. PTI NAM ADI MR

--- ENDS ---
"Coming Together," a piece performed by the Dance Theatre of Harlem. The company will be at Sidney Harman Hall in the District on Oct. 14-15. (Rachel Neville)

When the Dance Theatre of Harlem makes its annual visit to Washington on Friday and Saturday, it will be helping to break barriers for female choreographers, who dominate the program, just as it has broken barriers for African American dancers of classical ballet. One of the pieces, System, is receiving its local premiere and addresses social-justice issues in the Black Lives Matter era, says DTH Artistic Director Virginia Johnson. Choreographed by Francesca Harper to the music of John Adams and played live by the Attacca Quartet, System is a very contemporary piece, but also very beautiful and uplifting, Johnson says. For Johnson, 66, the performances will be a homecoming to the city where she grew up the only dancer of color in the Washington School of Ballet. Virginia Johnson, artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. (Sasha Nialla) A founding dancer of DTH in 1969, where she danced for 28 years, Johnson returned in 2011 as only its second artistic director, charged with bringing back the touring company that had been on hiatus since 2004. She spoke from a tour stop in Elmira, N.Y.

by Roger Catlin

When the Dance Theatre of Harlem makes its annual visit to Washington on Friday and Saturday, it will be helping to break barriers for female choreographers, who dominate the program, just as it has broken barriers for African American ballet dancers.

One of the pieces, System, is receiving its local premiere and addresses social justice issues in the Black Lives Matter era, says DTH Artistic Director Virginia Johnson.

Choreographed by Francesca Harper to the music of John Adams and played live by the Attacca Quartet, System is a very contemporary piece, but also very beautiful and uplifting, Johnson says.

For Johnson, 66, the performances will be a homecoming to the city where she grew up the only dancer of color at the Washington School of Ballet.

A founding dancer of DTH in 1969, where she danced for 28 years, Johnson returned in 2011 as only its second artistic director, charged with bringing back the touring company that had been on hiatus since 2004.

Q: Is it meaningful for you to return to D.C.?

A: It is hugely special. Im a Washingtonian. I grew up and was raised in Northeast Washington and had a fantastic education in the public schools as well as with a dancer with Washington School of Ballet and with Therrell Smith, my first teacher, who is still teaching.

It means a lot to be back in Washington. I have so much respect for that city, and how its grown, how very important the arts are in Washington. I think thats something you dont necessarily see in many cities across the country. So its always a treat and a test to perform in Washington . . . because its a very sophisticated audience.

Q: What drew you to dance?

A: When I was 3 years old, my mother took my sister and myself to classes to support her good friend Therrell Smith, who had just opened a ballet studio. And I fell in love with it right from the start. Right from the start. It was the most wonderful thing. It made me the happiest of anything in the world. It was always challenging, and I liked that. But it was also uplifting. . . .It inspired me.

In 1963 I was listening to the radio and I heard that the Washington School of Ballet was holding auditions for their school. Being a child, I didnt know there was any reason why I shouldnt go to the audition. And I went, and [school founder] Mary Day looked me, she looked at me long and hard. But she invited me to be part of the school. But I was the only one at the school at that time.

So yes, its been a journey. The through line is that classical ballet is of interest to everyone. Its something that belongs to everyone.

Q: You must be gratified how many African American girls are getting into ballet these days.

A: It is interesting to me. The thing that people need to know is that weve always been here. Im a founding member of Dance Theatre of Harlem. When Arthur Mitchell decided he wanted to create a company, there were first six, and then there was 12, and then there were 20 dancers, all of us who have been told, No, you dont belong here. He created a place for us to have careers. So we have always had an interest in classical ballet. Its now that classical ballet is beginning to say, Oh, lets welcome them in.

Q: By now, do you mean today?

A: Gradually. Gradually. Its taken a good long time. You know, the Misty Copeland effect is fabulous. Because everybody knows Misty and loves her and shes a beautiful ballerina. Shes not the first. Its a bit worrisome that people think she is the first. But she has caused a lot of interest, and shes inspired a lot of young dancers of color. So thats a good thing.

Q: What were the early days of Dance Theatre of Harlem like?

A: We were pioneers, in a sense. People were thinking we were Harlem Globetrotters when we came to a theater. And then they said, Oh, youre ballet dancers. It was an interesting thing to see how people came to the theater with a lot of skepticism and then left the theater with a lot of belief in what was possible.

Q: You were there for a long time.

A: I was. I was there for the first 28 years. I was first dancing in the corps and then a principal dancer. It was an amazing experience, a very long career for a ballet dancer. I did finally quit, though.

Q: Was it a difficult decision to come back to the company as artistic director in 2011?

A: It was and it wasnt. This is an impossible job, and Ive always known that it was an impossible job, and it was not something that I ever aspired to do. But when Arthur Mitchell . . . called me and he said he was stepping down, and he wanted me to step into this role, I had no choice. This is the man who had given me the life I had dreamed of, and it was my turn to make it possible for the next generation of dancers. I found a lot, lot, lot of joy in this position that I never knew was there.

Q: The touring company was closed in 2004. Was it part of your job to create a new professional company?

A: It was indeed. Thats what Arthur Mitchell said  Im stepping down, and its your job to bring the company back.

Q: Was that daunting?

A: It was a thrilling challenge. Remember, Im a person who performed some of the great repertoire in the world, in some of the great opera houses in the world. . . . Being part of Dance Theater of Harlem was the most meaningful thing I had ever experienced. To me, it seemed like, this is something that the world needs to see again.

Q: Was the pool of dancers greater because of what had been created earlier?

A: No. I think that if the company been gone for maybe a year or two it would not have been as difficult as it has been. With Dance Theatre of Harlem off the touring stage for eight years, theres a generation of dancers who didnt think there was a place for them to go in ballet. . . .

When you are 14 and 15 and should be turning the gas up on your training, and your aspirations to be a classical dancer, and people are discouraging you, that means that youre not going to go to that next step, and youre not going to be ready when theres a place for you to go. But I found a tremendous group of wonderful dancers that we have built into a fantastic company. Thats one of the joys: seeing this company grow, year by year. Seeing them gain that strength, that mastery. You dont just add water. It takes time. It takes focus. But its happening.

Dance Theatre of Harlem Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 15 at 2 and 8 p.m. at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. Tickets: $30-65. 202-785-9727 or washingtonperformingarts.org.


Spicy-sour soup with pork spare ribs at Baan Thai. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

When people say Washington has finally become a restaurant town, what they really mean is that its finally become a chef-driven restaurant town. For years, the area has had an embarrassment of riches when it comes to mom-and-pop eateries founded by immigrants or by locals hungry for something cheap and good. Here are my favorites, in descending order:

1. Baan Thai

Located in an upstairs space that once hawked only Americanized sushi, Baan Thai has evolved into a destination for those who crave the authentic, clear-channel flavors of Thailand. 1326 14th St. NW. 202-588-5889. baanthaidc.com.

[Review: The exquisite Baan Thai hides in plain sight]



El Sol's cueritos tacos. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

2. El Sol Restaurante & Tequileria

Siblings Alfredo and Jessica Solis, vets of Passion Food Hospitality kitchens, have combined the technical obsessiveness of a chef-driven restaurant with the unadorned charms of a family-run taqueria. 1227 11th St. NW. 202-815-4789. elsol-dc.com.

[Review: The best taqueria in Washington by a long shot]



Karaagedon at Donburi. (Joseph Victor Stefanchik/For The Washington Post)

3. Donburi

When Donburi opened in 2013, it introduced a serious counter-service Japanese restaurant to a neighborhood once known mostly for its cheap thrills. 2438 18th St. NW. 202-629-1047. facebook.com/donburidc.

[Review: A deep bowl of precisely comforting food in Adams Morgan]



The Moto white pizza at Pizza CS. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

4. Pizza CS

A certified member of the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani America, Ankur Rajpara keeps a tight focus on the pies at this five-year-old Rockville pizzeria. 1596-B Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. 240-833-8090. pizzacs.com.

[Review: A salute to Naples off Rockville Pike]



Spicy potato noodles at Northwest Chinese Food. (Farrah Skeiky/For The Washington Post)

5. Northwest Chinese Food

Go for the spicy potato noodles  a glistening pile of strands ignited with chili oil, garlic and aged Shaanxi vinegar  and stay for everything else at this rare spot for Liaoning Province cooking. 7313 Baltimore Ave., College Park, Md. 240-714-4473. No website.

[Review: A tasty misdirection in College Park]



Yassa chicken at Chez Dior. (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post)

6. Chez Dior

The owners behind this suburban restaurant have made Senegalese cooking  a complex cuisine that draws from French, North African and Vietnamese cultures  at once approachable and irresistible. 5124 Baltimore Ave., Hyattsville, Md. 240-696-5907. chezdior.com.

[Review: You dont have to miss Senegal to feel at home here]



The Spicy Shroom Taco at Taco Bamba. (Marge Ely/For The Washington Post)

7. Taco Bamba

Chef Victor Albisu recently opened a second location in Vienna with more space and a full bar, but I still love the Falls Church original for its agenda: delivering creative tacos to an area dominated by chains. Its not a mom-and-pop, but it tastes just as vibrant. 2190 Pimmit Dr., Falls Church, Va. 703-639-0505. tacobambarestaurant.com.



Pan-fried soup dumplings from Shanghai Taste. (Farrah Skeiky/For The Washington Post)

8. Shanghai Taste

The wait can be interminable on weekends as diners line up for Wei Suns pan-fried soup dumplings, but I prefer the chefs steamed variety, with their impossibly thin wrappers that somehow hold back a rush of stock enriched with pork skin. 1121 Nelson St., Rockville, Md. 301-279-0806. No website.

[Review: The virtuoso of soup dumplings]



Pork belly and lemongrass tofu banh mi sandwiches at Banh Ta Deli. (Farrah Skeiky/For The Washington Post)

9. Banh Ta Deli

The Eden Centers best banh mi shop was expected, as of press time, to reopen in early October with an expanded menu, similar to the one the owners used to execute at Green Papaya, the painfully underrated restaurant in Bethesda. 6783 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, Va. 703-532-1069. No website.

[Review: Where Vietnamese sandwiches pack in artistry and balance]

10. Queen of Sheba

Increasingly overshadowed by its trendy Shaw neighbors, this unassuming spot has been producing some of the finest Ethiopian fare in the District for more than a decade. 1503 Ninth St. NW. 202-232-7272. No website.


Design Sponge founder and author Grace Bonney. (Christopher Sturman)

Bonneys second book focuses on creative female entrepreneurs. (Artisan)

One of Grace Bonneys favorite parts of running the popular Design Sponge blog is discovering creative and inspiring women.

Her second book, In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice From Over 100 Makers, Artists and Entrepreneurs, published by Artisan Books this week, celebrates this diverse group. The ceramists, crafters, furniture makers, tattoo artists and prop stylists profiled in the book range in age from 19 to 78.

Bonney, 35, grew up in Virginia Beach and went to the College of William & Mary before she moved to New York. She founded Design Sponge in 2004, learning quickly how to connect with readers looking for inspiration in home design, cooking and DIY projects. She realized early on how important it was to support other female entrepreneurs.

[Sandy Chilewich on matching dishes, linen tablecloths and other table-setting rules worth breaking]



A portrait of Brooklyn textile designer Hana Getachew, shot for In the Company of Women, the new book by Design Sponge founder Grace Bonney. (Sasha Israel)

In 2009, Bonney published her first book, Design Sponge at Home. Her business has continued to grow, and Bonney says Design Sponge reaches nearly 2 million readers per day. She has 818,000 followers on Instagram.

I spoke with Bonney this week just before she took off on her national book tour. Here is an edited excerpt of our conversation.

Is the maker movement still growing?

The handmade movement has had a resurgence. For some it is an ethical choice, and that usually comes with a price tag. There are things that are made of organic materials and are fair trade. You can spend thousands of dollars on a handmade item. This is not possible for most millennials. But things sold at craft fairs or flea markets are as admirable to have in your home as high-end craft pieces.

Why did you focus on women in your book?

Women are absolutely as successful as men in a lot of fields but not given equal stance in things like loans, investment capital or media coverage. I wanted to inspire women to follow their dreams and flood the market with women-owned businesses. There needs to be a greater amount of women doing that, and that critical tipping point is about to happen. I really wanted to highlight people doing things at home and show the resurgence of handmade things across the board and in all age groups.

How did you find the fascinating group of women you profiled?

They are people I have followed from afar or up close. It made sense also to reach out to people I admire and ask them whom they admire. Women are happy to shine a light on others. I had 200 and edited them down. I wanted a lot of paths highlighted.



A portrait of Brooklyn interior designer Anishka Clarke, shot for In the Company of Women. (Sasha Israel)

How has design blogging changed in 12 years?

The story of Design Sponge is that in the beginning, we were an early adopter. We were blogging when there were only two or three design blogs. We all had very different aesthetics. We grew quickly. Then social media exploded onto the scene. We jumped on that quickly, and early. I had to figure out what these new platforms were and how they feel genuine for us. We have an exciting and vocal community. Its my job to communicate and share content, whether on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or Pinterest. I like Instagram because it celebrates people on where they live and their points of view. Instagram has this informal, fun, of-the-moment feeling that you dont really get with a blog anymore. We plan our content to be more serious, but this is our lighthearted companion.

Whats the future of Design Sponge?

Design Sponge is a hand with multiple fingers in different directions doing different things: social media, video, books. There are areas we get to explore and have fun with. But we will continue to shift our gears toward a deeper and more meaningful conversation with people about home, things like people behind the products we love and buy for our houses, and the deeper issues that get discussed at home. Now that I own a home and have a family [Bonney moved to the Hudson Valley area with her wife and three pets a couple years ago], I am sort of growing up. I have become less interested in talking about things, but the bigger issues and feelings come up when you try and build a home, whether financial or emotional.



A portrait of Maine potter Ayumi Horie, shot for In the Company of Women. (Michael Wilson)

Are younger people changing the concept of entertaining?

Millennials are interested in how to do more in a small space. As peoples pay scales go down and the cost of living in metropolitan areas goes up, people are sharing communal spaces. If you live in a small space, its often difficult or impractical to entertain. So people are entertaining differently. When people dont have big kitchens, its not an option to cook a five-course dinner. People like potlucks or picnics or going on outdoor adventures that take advantage of open public spaces.

Entertaining is part of Southern hospitality, and I know you grew up in Virginia. Do you consider yourself Southern?

My mother was an incredible entertainer, host and decorator. She taught me all that at an early age. Southerners do have that sense of hospitality, and that is what I try to get across: Everyone is welcome in my home and in my online home. We live in a small town, and my wife and I love having people over. Its our desire to feed and take care of people and make them feel comfortable. And that has extended to the Internet as well. Im starting to say I am three-quarters Southern and one-quarter New Yorker, but I will always be a Virginian.

Bonney will be at Dock5 at Union Market on Oct. 25 to talk about her book and lead a conversation with four local female entrepreneurs. For tickets, contact Kramerbooks & Afterwards.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, left, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombias Rodrigo Londono shake hands after signing a peace agreement. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday for his efforts in that deal. (Fernando Vergara/AP)

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a five-decades-long civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people in the South American country.

The award came just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal that Santos helped bring about, and Nobel judges left out his counterpart, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), from the honor.

The referendum was not a vote for or against peace, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, insisting the peace process wasnt dead. What the No side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement.

Colombian voters rejected the deal Sunday by the narrowest of margins  less than a half percentage point  over concerns that the rebels, who were behind scores of atrocities, were getting a sweetheart deal. Under the terms of the accord, rebels who turn over their weapons and confess their crimes will be spared jail time and the FARC instead would be given 10 seats in congress through 2026.

Santos says hes deeply honored by the Nobel Peace Prize, which he dedicated to the people of his country.

I receive this with great emotion, Santos told the Nobel Foundation in an audio interview posted on its Facebook account.

This is a great, great recognition for my country, he said. I am eternally grateful.

I receive this award in their name: the Colombian people who have suffered so much in this war, he said. Especially the millions of victims that have suffered in this war that we are on the verge of ending.

Santos and Londono, better known as Timochenko, signed the peace deal last month after more than four years of negotiations in Cuba. Six days later, Colombians rejected it in the referendum.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it believes that Santos, despite the No vote, has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution.

Prize committee chair Kaci Kullmann Five said Santos has made it clear that he will continue to work for peace in Colombia.

The Committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task, she said.

A record 376 candidates were nominated for this years award, which carries a prize of about $930,000.

The 2016 Nobel Prize announcements continue with the economics prize Monday and the literature award Thursday. All awards will be handed out on December 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobels death in 1896.


Longtime White House reporter Connie Lawn looks back on a career covering historic milestones. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

In her long career, Connie Lawn has had a knack for showing up at memorable moments in history.

The veteran independent broadcast journalist conducted one of the last interviews with Robert Kennedy before he was assassinated. She arrived in Czechoslovakia in 1968 two weeks after Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the Prague Spring. In 1972, she was living in a Watergate apartment at the time of the infamous break-in at Democratic headquarters in the fashionable Washington complex. She talked her way into Beirut as the 1982 Israeli invasion was heating up.

And her intrepid reportage has not gone unnoticed by some of historys most memorable figures: Nelson Mandela once told her that he had listened to her radio reports in his prison cell on South Africas Robben Island.

I cant think of a better profession in the world, she says of her longtime career.

For the past 40-plus years, Lawn has also been a card-carrying member of the White House press corps, long enough to reach the rank of senior journalist in that group. But at 72, and suffering from Parkinsons disease, she shows up at White House briefings less and less frequently, although when she does, she jokes, press secretary Josh Earnest looks terrified as she slowly makes her way into the briefing room.

Now in the final stages of the disease, Lawn is being treated with in-home hospice care; she has lost 45 pounds, and her once-booming radio voice has grown weak. But her memory is clear, and her recollections of her roller-coaster career  which she chronicled in her 2014 memoir, You Wake Me Each Morning: The Final Chapter are tinged with pride and nostalgia, along with some regrets.

From the start, her life has been a combination of intrepid adventures and screwball situations that seem perfect for a screenplay about the redhead who challenged presidents, argued her way past the Secret Service and shouted her breaking news reports into the nearest landline available.

But as a female journalist for half a century, she has also confronted the less desirable aspects of her chosen profession: the condescension and outright sexual harassment served up by male bosses, politicians, fellow journalists, and other men she encountered in her career. One of those men, she now says, was none other than deposed Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women and was the object of a lawsuit brought by former Fox host Gretchen Carlson (My hero, says Lawn), which Fox settled for $20 million.

Lawn says that Ailes made an obscene proposition when he interviewed her for a television job in a Washington hotel room in the late 1960s, when she was a young reporter. In the middle of the interview, she says, he suggested that she give him a certain sexual favor if she wanted to be considered for the job.

I had never even heard the term, she says of the suggested act. She walked out of the interview.

Asked for comment, Ailess lawyer, Susan Estrich, responded via email: Roger has no recollection of what Ms. Lawn is talking about  from 50 years ago  but he does remember that she was a good, hard-working reporter and considers her a friend.

Lawn, who did not include this alleged incident in her 2014 memoir, concedes that she and Ailes became friendly over the years, running into one another in Washington, and says that she harbors no real grudge against him. It was, in retrospect, incredibly stupid of her to go to his hotel room, even if she was a naive 20-something.

If Im mad at anybody, she says, Im mad at myself for not speaking up sooner. But in those days, instead of banding together, women were much more aggressive and competing against each other, she recalls from her sunny home on Lake Barcroft in Falls Church, Va. We should have worked with each other to combat harassment and abuse.

And both were rampant in an era when the term sexual harassment hadnt yet been coined, and female journalists were routinely relegated to covering the soft features then known as womens news.

In one of her TV jobs in 1969, in New Bedford, Mass., Lawn was tapped to be the weather girl, even though she knew nothing about meteorology reporting. I was provided a wardrobe that included a dress that stopped at the top of my thighs, she writes in her memoir. I was supplied a red wig, with straight hair that fell down to meet the hemline of my dress. It was beautiful, but if I swung my head around to point at the weather map, it would fall off, right in front of the audience.

In protest, she refused to learn weather reporting and occasionally made things up, like the time she told her southern New England audience that it would be a great day to visit the beaches on Cape Cod. With no windows in the studio, she was unaware of the torrential downpour outside.

In Washington, she was a regular on a WPGC radio talk show called Harv Moore and the Redhead, where her job was to make witty, sexy comments. Another time, she writes, a star of a local television station locked her in a room and chased her around his desk as his Saint Bernard romped along behind them.



Lawn at a White House Correspondents Association brunch in May 2007. ( Neshan Naltchayan/ )

A gallery of photographs in her home show Lawn with Paul Newman, Jimmy Carter, the Obamas, the Clintons and others. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

One vivid chapter describes her encounters with a now-deceased Southern senator who she says was widely known for inviting female reporters to visit him in his private offices and who managed to grope her a few times before she could squirm away. He was always after me, Lawn says today. When I would interview him, he would get an erection and he would put a newspaper on his lap to hide it.

She admits, however, that she sometimes played the sex game of the 1960s and 70s herself. To get a prime parking spot on Capitol Hill back then, she says, she wasnt above engaging in a little flirtation with the guards. She soon learned that everything concerning the Hill had mildly sexual connotations, she recalls in her memoir.

So much of the attention was unwelcome and seemed belittling at the time, but today, she jokingly says that shed be almost flattered if someone made a pass at her.



Lawn in her memorabilia-filled home office. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

Lawn didnt start out as a journalist, although she always had Washington in her sights. Born in Long Branch, N.J., she landed a post-college job on Capitol Hill, where her budding career as a staffer ended abruptly, she says, after she accidentally walked in on a congressman in the loo. Fiercely opposed to the Vietnam War, she canvassed for Sen. Eugene McCarthy in New Hampshire in 1968. When she mailed a long report of her experiences to a newspaper only to have it appear verbatim under someone elses byline, she decided that broadcast journalism would suit her better.

After several years working at various radio and television jobs, she eventually started her own news bureau, Audio Video News, so that, she said in a 2011 speech, no one could force her to do anything.

Thereafter, she was free to cover every subject under the sun: wars, invasions, air crashes, the White House. She has filed stories hours after giving birth, while her beloved sister was dying of cancer, and in front of the synagogue where one of her sons was about to have his bar mitzvah.

In Washington, she became known as the butter queen for her many questions about imports from New Zealand  one of her chief clients for many years being a New Zealand radio station. At White House briefings, press secretaries across administrations have been known to look at her raised hand and automatically say, Nothing about New Zealand today, Connie.

Today, she spends most of her time in her cluttered, memorabilia-filled home office. Her husband, Charles Schneiderman, is a physician who tends to her along with her hospice team; her two adult sons from an earlier marriage live nearby.

After so many years in the business, its no surprise that she looks at her own current circumstances with an unblinking journalists eye: As a reporter, its fascinating to see how my body doesnt work anymore, she says.

And she also knows how she wants to go: like a few longtime colleagues who have died recently while still on the job.

Thats the way I want to die, she says. Doing my last performance.
Even one year after it was busted by police, the notorious 'gulel gang' continues to have its hold in Delhi-NCR region. Police arrested one member of the gang, which uses sling and iron balls to break window glass of cars parked in market places.

By Himanshu Mishra: Delhi police have arrested a member of 'gulel gang', notorious for breaking window glass of cars using sling shots and stealing all kinds of valuables. The gang was busted last year, but its members continue to hold sway in Delhi and NCR.

In the present case, a team of RK Puram police station arrested Parvez Alam, 33 from Sangam Vihar area. His associate identified as Nikhil managed to dodge the police team and fled from the spot.

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Police have recovered four stolen mobile phones, several ATM cards, driving licenses, one motor cycle and other incriminating articles.

OVER 50 CASES OF THEFTS

Police claimed to have solved 16 cases of theft with Parvez Alam's arrest. But, they were in for a surprise, when the accused told them that he had committed more than 50 thefts.

Parvez told the police that his gang targets cars parked at market places, shopping complexes in Delhi-NCR region. He also told them that for past three-four months, Nikhil and Sumit were his associates.

MODUS OPERANDI

The 'gulel gang' used to conduct reccee of the target areas, generally located in busy market place or shopping malls. They traveled extensively on two-wheeler to identify soft targets.

After zeroing in on their target, one of the members would break the window glass of the car using sling and iron balls. Another member of the gang would pick up the valuables like laptop, mobile phones, bags or any other articles of some value from the car.

The accused used to conceal the stolen articles at different places to evade being recognised and apprehended.

ALSO READ:

Delhi: Police nab criminals responsible for 45 cases of burglary

Delhi police solves murder case of Defence Colony elderly







--- ENDS ---
The former Christian Science church in Adams Morgan is being remade into a luxury hotel. The developer promised to hire 342 D.C. residents for construction jobs in exchange for a $46 million tax abatement. But it has hired 90, according to a recent tabulation. (Jeffrey MacMillan/The Washington Post)

The District government is failing to ensure that developers fulfill pledges they make in exchange for tax benefits and loans, and hasnt collected potential monetary penalties since the mid-1980s as a result, the citys auditor said.

Auditor Kathleen Pattersons remarks followed recent complaints from Adams Morgan community leaders that a developer lags far behind in its pledge to employ 342 D.C. residents on a hotel construction project, a commitment it made to acquire a $46 million tax abatement.

[In Adams Morgan, a promise to the community unfulfilled]

There needs to be oversight of commitments that developers make, Patterson said. I think theres a lot of deference to the private sector in the District government. Theres a lot of belief that the private sector knows how to do things better than the government rather than I work for the taxpayers and I need to make damn sure they do what theyre supposed to do. 

In August, Pattersons office reported that the citys oversight of at least two development projects showed that even as developers delivered on a variety of promises, city agencies did not sufficiently monitor compliance.

In particular, the auditor reported that two agencies  the Department of Small and Local Business Development and the Department of Employment Services  persistently failed to monitor developers compliance with requirements that would allow the District to collect significant monetary penalties.

In addition, Department of Employment Services officials acknowledged that no monetary fines have been assessed to any developer or contractor since at least 1984 for non-compliance, according to the auditors report.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowsers administration, in a written response to the report, said it is committed to making sure that developers follow through on their agreements and ensuring there are consequences for unexcused non-compliance with legal obligations.

But the administration also said it wanted to reassure those who may believe that alleged weaknesses in our systems lead developers to systemically avoid commitments.

Systems are in place to ensure compliance, the administration wrote.

Yet, in the case of the Line hotel, now under construction in Adams Morgan, District officials learned that the developer was not meeting hiring requirements only after a community leader, Bryan Weaver, complained to D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), whose district includes the neighborhood.

Nadeau, who took office in January 2015, acknowledged that she initially was unaware that legislation required the hotels developer, the Sydell Group, to hire 342 D.C. residents for construction jobs on the project to receive the tax abatement.

The legislation had been proposed by Nadeaus predecessor, Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), in conjunction with Weaver, then a member of Adams Morgans Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Weaver said he pushed for the hiring requirement to help D.C. residents find jobs and training. A year after construction began in March 2015, he found that few, if any, residents were employed.

After he complained to Nadeau, she pushed for an explanation from Deborah Carroll, director of the Department of Employment Services. Carroll said she was unaware of the tax abatement  and the accompanying hiring requirement  until Nadeau brought it to her attention this past spring.

The agency had been monitoring whether the developer was meeting its obligation to hire District residents for the project under the First Source agreement, a provision that requires builders to offer jobs to local residents, Carroll said.

But agency officials were unaware of the more significant obligation  that the developer hire 342 District residents.

Carroll, who was appointed by Bowser (D), said she could not explain why agency officials did not know about a tax benefit enacted by the council three years ago.

I cant tell you what happened in the past, she said. I can tell you what happened when we picked up the ball on the tax-abatement issue.

When it came to our attention, we took action, she said.

According to a recent tabulation by the Bowser administration, the Sydell Group has hired 90 District residents  or about 26 percent of the required workforce of 342. The city is in the process of verifying that those 90 people hired by Sydell are District residents.

Construction on the project is scheduled to end next month.

The District will make a final assessment of the developers hiring record after the hotel opens next year and could then decide to cancel the tax abatement.

Since a Washington Post report last month about Sydells failure to fill the construction jobs with District residents, the developer announced that it would host a job fair on Oct. 7.

Weaver said he is skeptical that the developer has enough time to fill more than 200 construction jobs before the project is completed.
THE DISTRICT

Chief judge sworn in

D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin was sworn in Friday as the courts seventh chief judge.

Morin, 63, a former defense lawyer who represented death-row inmates, was picked in June as the courts top judge, beating out four other judges who vied for the position, including the most recent chief, Judge Lee F. Satterfield.

Morin was appointed judge in 1996 by President Bill Clinton and previously served as presiding judge of the courts criminal division, where he helped oversee management of calendars for judges who handle criminal cases. He also has worked representing death-penalty clients at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender.

Morin was selected by the seven-member Judicial Nomination Commission.

 Keith L. Alexander

THE REGION

Local rescuers aid in hurricane relief

Two local search-and-rescue teams  one from Maryland and another from Northern Virginia  headed south to help with relief efforts related to Hurricane Matthew.

One team from Montgomery Countys Urban Search & Rescue Team, known as Maryland Task Force 1, arrived in the Carolinas late Thursday night and early Friday morning, according to county firefighters.

The group of roughly 50 rescuers was awaiting direction of where its rescue and recovery efforts would be needed, according to Pete Piringer, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue.

Another group from Fairfax County, known as Virginia Task Force 1, which also has a K-9 unit, plans to help with hurricane recovery and relief efforts in Florida.

 Dana Hedgpeth
D.C. Public Schools promised that it would save millions of dollars if it paid a private company to prepare and serve meals to its students, but a new report released Friday reveals the school system has not saved much money at all since it made the switch in 2008.

The report, from the D.C. auditors office, shows that D.C. Public Schools spends more on meals than other similar U.S. school systems, and the report says that DCPS has no clear plan to control its costs under private contractors.

The auditor recommended that DCPS go back to managing its own meals program, arguing that officials could better control the cost of preparing meals and the cost of labor than it does now.

Bringing this critical service back under the control of individuals who are directly accountable to the Mayor and the Council offers the hope of better participation by students, and a reduction in costs, D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson said in a statement.

The school system opposes that recommendation, saying there are risks to bringing the program back into the school system, such as a need to employ food-service workers, a new warehouse and logistics related to food distribution. DCPS acknowledged that there could be some long-term benefits to bringing food service in-house but also said that it would prefer to stick with private sources.

We have confidence in our existing contracts, which require the highest level of nutrition, food quality, customer service, innovation and community partnership, Carla D. Watson, interim chief operating officer, wrote in a DCPS response to the audit.

The report notes that former chief operating officer Nathaniel Beers said the systems focus needs to be on educating children.

We had a hugely broken school system. We concentrated on getting the academics right, Beers told the auditors. Our fear of bringing it back in-house is that it would become all-encompassing.

The school system serves breakfast, lunch and snacks to thousands of its students each day. Many of its students, especially those who live in poverty, depend on those daily meals. But the cost of feeding students is high because federal subsidies often do not cover the entire cost of preparing and serving meals.

School systems also must deal with increasing regulation of school lunches, as there are now mandates relating to the amount of sugar or salt food can contain, and schools are being pushed to increase the quality of their food. DCPS has said that an outside company can better handle it.

DCPS has been under scrutiny for its food service, and it agreed to pay $19 million last year to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality, its largest food vendor at the time, overcharged the city and mismanaged the school districts meals programs.

[Embattled D.C. schools food vendor quits contract, puts pressure on city]

Chartwells withdrew as the school systems food vendor earlier this year. In July, the D.C. Council begrudgingly approved a one-year, $35 million contract with a new food-service vendor, SodexoMagic, which settled its own dispute in New York after it allegedly overcharged more than 20 of the states school districts for food service.

[D.C. Council approves new food service vendor for D.C. Public Schools]

Before 2008, meals were prepared by DCPS employees in full-service kitchens. But the school system said its food-service department was inefficient, and it made a case for hiring a private company to feed its students. The council and mayor approved the move.

At the time, the school district estimated that it would lower its costs by 73 percent by 2011, but the auditor found that the actual savings came in at 5 percent.

The auditor found that the school system is paying contractors much more money than it receives in federal dollars. DCPS pays its contractor between $4.16 and $4.24 for each school lunch, but the federal government reimburses the school system for $3.15. The city has to cover the rest of the cost  close to $9 million last year.

While other school districts often pay money out of their own budgets to cover school meals, the auditor found that DCPS is paying more per meal than other districts it studied that are roughly the same size. DCPS paid $3.90 per meal in fiscal 2015 while serving 9.2 million meals. Baltimore served 14.1 million meals at a cost of $2.95 per meal, and New Haven, Conn., served 4.5 million meals at $3.10 per meal.

DCPSs projected savings in 2008 also relied on a projected increase in students opting to eat school-provided lunch and breakfast. Participation has declined slightly: In 2008, 67 percent of DCPS students ate school lunches, and in 2015, 64 percent did.

The school systems director of the Office of Food and Nutrition Services told the auditor that one reason it hasnt boosted participation rates is that students do not like the more healthful food.

Michelle Lerner, a school system spokeswoman, said the program under its new contractor is going in a positive direction.

We have almost doubled the number of schools that are offering supper, in our after-school program, and new this year we are offering fresh salads at all of our schools, Lerner said.
The Fairfax County School Board has selected Deputy Superintendent Steven Lockard to lead the school system on an interim basis as it conducts a nationwide search for outgoing Superintendent Karen Garzas replacement.

Lockard is set to take over in December for Garza, who announced last month that she would step down to become the president and chief executive of Battelle for Kids, an educational nonprofit organization based in Ohio.

Garzas announcement, which came just three months after she signed a new four-year contract with the school system, shocked the community. It also sparked anguish among board members, who say that replacing her will be a difficult task.

[Fairfax County Schools superintendent Karen Garza resigns]

In her one term as schools chief, Garza pushed high school start times to a later hour and eliminated half-day Mondays, massive undertakings in one of the nations largest school districts. Both moves won widespread praise. She also shepherded massive school budgets, winning raises for teachers and securing additional funds to help reduce elementary-school class sizes.

Steven Lockard, who was named interim superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools. (Fairfax County Public Schools)

Lockard has served as deputy superintendent since August 2014. Previously, he was a deputy superintendent for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland. Lockard is a graduate of Frostburg State University in Maryland and has a masters degree in school administration from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College), and his PhD from the University of Maryland in educational leadership and policy studies. He was a second- and fourth-grade teacher and also an elementary-school assistant principal and principal.

[From the archives: Karen Garza fills key positions]

Steve Lockard is a skilled, collaborative administrator who understands how our school district works, School Board Chairman Sandy Evans (Mason) said in a statement. He is a champion for students and ensures that student achievement is at the forefront of everything we do. The Board is grateful that he has agreed to lead Fairfax County Public Schools while we search for a new superintendent.

When Lockard was hired, he acknowledged the challenge of educating children in such a vast school system, with more than 186,000 students. The school system, known for its affluence, also educates a large number of students from low-income households. Nearly 30 percent of students qualify for free- and reduced-price meals.

Fairfax is a large and diverse system, Lockard said. Not only do you need to continue to meet the needs of students who are struggling but also those who come to school ready to learn. . . . I hope to bring my skill sets to a new environment to contribute and help.

Lockard will take over the school system as it weathers another budget season, with officials warning that it will face a $134 million shortfall if the county cannot provide additional funds. Garza has in previous years argued that the coveted school system could be irreparably damaged without full funding, and she turned to the public for suggestions about how to make major cuts if needed. But Garza also successfully lobbied the county for more school funding.

Garza also has urged voters to pass a meals tax that would bring in a projected $100 million in new revenue, much of which would flow to the school system.

[Projected budget shortfalls in Fairfax County become a plea for a new meals tax]

School Board members say they believe that Lockard is well positioned to handle the budget season  and the school system  upon Garzas departure.

We have a number of challenging issues facing us in the next few months, and the board is confident that his leadership will enable us to make a seamless transition, Evans said in the statement.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has appointed a new patient advocate to the 16-member Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which has come under fire for, among other things, not considering racial diversity of companies when awarding the first batch of marijuana cultivation licenses this summer.

The governor selected Saundra Washington, an African American cancer survivor and director of a Maryland nonprofit group that provides food and charity to people in need, after consulting with the General Assemblys Legislative Black Caucus.

Del. Cheryl D. Glenn (D-Baltimore), the caucuss president, said Washington wasnt the groups recommendation. But she welcomed additional diversity to the regulatory body, which previously had only one African American.

Glenn, a strong proponent of medical marijuana, said she will push legislation in the upcoming 2017 session to overhaul the structure of the commission, which she and other critics say is not suited to oversee a complex, multimillion-dollar industry of growers, processors and dispensers.

Washington replaces Deborah Miran, a longtime medical marijuana advocate. Miran was the sole commissioner who dissented from a decision to award preliminary growing licenses to lower-ranked applicants in an attempt to spread cultivation sites across the state. That decision is the subject of a lawsuit against the commission.

Miran told The Washington Post that she plans to continue her advocacy for what she considers an amazing plant.

My dream is to see the first patient in Maryland legally dosed, Miran said. Ill just be seeing it as an ex-commissioner.
The vast majority of Marylanders back Gov. Larry Hogans recent order requiring public schools to extend summer recess through Labor Day, but far fewer share his support for fracking, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll.

The survey, which covered a broad range of topics, also found that support for legalizing recreational marijuana use has risen sharply in Maryland over the past two years, as the state has begun licensing businesses to grow marijuana for medical purposes.

The poll shows that support for the school-start mandate remains strong even if ending summer recess after Labor Day could require some districts to trim other holidays, which school officials say is likely.

Almost three-quarters of Marylanders surveyed approve of the governors order, compared with 16 percent who disapprove.

[Read the full poll results]





Hogan (R) has said that extending summer vacation will benefit the states tourism industry, give families more time together and help boost the environment by cutting air-conditioning needs in public schools.

Opponents of Hogans order say it infringes on local control of the school calendar, even though school systems may apply to the state school board for waivers. Critics also say a longer summer break can increase learning loss, especially for poor children, and negatively affect preparation for standardized tests. Presented with some of those arguments, few poll respondents changed their position on the issue.

Among those who oppose Hogans policy, 82 percent said they were not dissuaded by the argument that the change would have economic benefits.

Similarly, 82 percent of Marylanders who indicated support for the mandate say they would still back the idea if it required cutting into holidays during the school year.

I think kids have too many holidays now, said Frederick County resident David Cloud, who strongly supported Hogans order and is a father of two elementary-school students. It seems like they never go for a full two weeks at a time. Theres always something coming up with religious holidays or teacher work days or half-days. Its just ridiculous.

In terms of fracking, the process of pumping water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground to release natural gas, 6 in 10 Marylanders oppose the practice in the state, more than twice as many as who support it (27 percent). Support for the practice, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, is down from 36 percent in a 2015 poll.

Two-thirds of Marylanders think fracking would pose significant risks to the environment, including 73 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of independents and 49 percent of Republicans. Marylanders are more divided over whether the drilling technique could provide significant economic benefits for the state, with 43 percent saying it would, while 40 percent say it would not.





[Heres how Maryland wants to regulate fracking]

Concerns about groundwater contamination, air pollution and earthquakes prompted the General Assembly to pass legislation in 2015 that prohibits the drilling technique until October 2017 and required the state to develop regulations for the industry. Last week, the Hogan administration proposed fracking guidelines that Maryland Environment Secretary Ben H. Grumbles called the most stringent in the nation.

Several Democratic lawmakers have said they will sponsor legislation next year to ban fracking, saying no safeguards can adequately protect the public and the environment from the practice.

Miriam Brewer, a Prince Georges County resident, said that she has many questions about the practice but that she is open to allowing it with strong regulations.

Are we really going to be the winners, or is the environment going to be the loser? she said. Im not all-out for a ban, but I think we need some assurances about the environment, and we need to use the best practices done in different areas.

On the issue of marijuana, 61 percent of Marylanders said they favor legalization of small amounts for personal use, up from 49 percent in 2014. Support for recreational use of the drug increased by double digits across ideological lines, with 74 percent of liberals, 65 percent of moderates and 45 percent of conservatives now supporting legalization.

I think this is a reflection of the fact that a lot of states and the District of Columbia have moved in the direction of legalization, said Michael Hanmer, research director for the University of Marylands Center for American Politics and Citizenship, which collaborated on the poll. Theres a national trend toward support for small amounts of marijuana, and I dont think Maryland is immune to that.

[Marijuana legalization is leading everywhere its on the ballot this fall]

The state awarded preliminary licenses in August for more than 20 companies to grow and process medical cannabis. With the first crops expected to be available next year, 37 percent of Maryland adults in the poll say they or someone close to them would seek a medical recommendation for the drug.

I know a lot of people who get tremendous benefit from it health-wise and with anxiety relief  its such a better option than alcohol, said Nancy McFadden, an elementary-school teacher and Baltimore County resident.

One-fifth of Marylanders say they would seek medical permission to use the drug themselves.

The poll also asked about casino gambling, which Maryland legalized in 2008. By 47 percent to 27 percent, more residents continue to say the growth of casinos in the state has been good rather than bad for the state; about 3 in 10 report visiting one of the five casinos that are open.

Nearly 9 in 10 Marylanders surveyed say they would rarely or never go to the MGM National Harbor facility scheduled to open in Prince Georges County on Dec. 8. Officials there say they expect more than 20,000 daily visitors, many of whom could come from neighboring Washington or Virginia.

The Washington Post-University of Maryland poll was conducted Sept. 27 to 30 among a random sample of 906 Maryland adults reached on cellular and landline phones, in partnership with U-Md.s Center for American Politics and Citizenship. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for overall results.

Scott Clement and Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
The leading candidates for Marylands open Senate seat sparred over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and attacked each others voting records during their first debate Friday.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who held a 29-point lead in a recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, tried several times to tie his opponent to Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland.

Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County), minority whip in Marylands House of Delegates, distanced herself from Trump and reminded listeners that she has been endorsed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R), whose approval ratings have soared since he took office last year.

Unlike Hogan, who says he will not vote for Trump, Szeliga has said she will support her partys nominee. But she split with Trump on two issues Friday, saying he should release his tax returns and that she does not support building a wall between the United States and Mexico even though she wants to secure the border.

Szeliga accused Van Hollen of accepting thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Trump, but the congressman countered that the money was actually given to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee years ago, when he was chairman of the group.

[Hogans approval soars in Md., buoyed by disavowal of Trump]

The Republican candidate also criticized her opponent for backing the Iran nuclear deal, calling his position a big difference between the two of us. Van Hollen said the agreement will help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and noted that some Israeli military leaders have supported the pact.

Both candidates promised to look out for military veterans and the middle class while continuing the legacy of retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D), who has held the seat for three decades.

Van Hollen said he would make sure that hardworking Marylanders get a fair shake, in part by focusing on education investments, reducing the burden of college debt and increasing the minimum wage. He criticized Szeliga for voting against state legislation that incrementally increases the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2018.

It is a scandal in this country that you can work full time  40 hours a week and all year long  and be below the federal poverty level for a family of two, he said.

Van Hollen said he supports increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour but that he backs Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons plan for bumping the rate to $12 first.

Szeliga, who runs a construction business with her husband, argued that increasing the minimum wage would be a job-killer for youths, noting that fewer than 4 percent of employees work at or below the rate and that most of them are younger than age 20.

The GOP candidate said she would work to control spending and taxes while serving as an independent voice who is not beholden to special interests. She rattled off a list of low-wage jobs she worked in the past, including washing dishes, cleaning hotel rooms and making doughnuts.

I can tell you what people on minimum wage want  they want a career, she said. Theyre tired of career politicians taking an issue like this and ginning people up with it. Lets get people jobs and opportunities . . . so theyre on a career ladder.

Szeliga also slammed Van Hollen for voting against the Veterans Affairs Accountability Act, a bipartisan measure aimed at addressing problems associated with a scandal over treatment delays and falsification of scheduling records. Many Democrats opposed the legislation, saying its firing provisions would roll back civil-service protections and discourage talented professionals from joining the VA.

Van Hollen, who picked up an endorsement from Veterans and Military Families for Progress on Friday, pointed out that he helped secure federal funds for ending veteran homelessness in Montgomery County and for helping veterans launch small businesses.

Weve got a lot of work to do to make sure our vets get the support they need, he said. Its always disturbing when people try to use vets for political purposes.

[In a wealthy Virginia suburb, their cars are their homes]

Fridays debate on WAMU-FMs Kojo Nnamdi Show was the second of five events that Van Hollen and Szeliga have agreed to attend together, including a forum last month hosted by AARP and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. They are also scheduled to take part in an Oct. 8 forum hosted by the group African Americans in Howard County; debate Oct. 26 on WJZ-TV, the CBS affiliate in Baltimore; and participate in another forum on Oct. 30 in Friendship Heights.

Margaret Flowers, a Green Party candidate for the Senate seat, was not invited to Fridays debate because her poll numbers were below WAMUs 10 percent threshold for participation.

Szeliga has pinned her campaign hopes on the idea that Marylanders are becoming more centrist and disappointed with Democratic leaders, based largely on the fact that Hogan, a straight-talking businessman, won the governorship in 2014.

But she faces steep odds of pulling of a Hogan-like election upset in a state where 63 percent of residents have an unfavorable impressions of her party and registered Democrats outnumber Republican voters 2 to 1.

Clinton leads Trump 63 percent to 27 percent among likely voters in the state.

Van Hollens campaign has more than twice as much money in the bank as Szeligas campaign, which reported $255,000 cash on hand at the end of June.

Szeliga this week finished a two-week run of campaign commercials that aired statewide on Fox News Channel. Van Hollen has not aired ads since defeating Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) in the primary.

But the GOP candidate still faces a gaping deficit in support among Marylanders, trailing the congressman 58 percent to 29 percent in the Post-U-Md. poll, which was conducted Sept. 27 to Sept. 30.

Szeliga put Van Hollen on the spot with her closing remarks by challenging him to agree to more debates, accusing him of avoiding such contests.

The congressman said he had agreed to a televised debate and another radio debate that has not been officially scheduled.

Szeliga persisted with her line of attack, saying Van Hollen is still dodging her.

You will not commit, she said, He does not want to debate me on TV.
Pakistan's ruling party PML-N legislator Rana Muhammad Afzal has questioned the Sharif government over continued patronage to terrorists like Hafiz Saeed, terming him as a reason for growing international isolation of the country.

By India Today Web Desk: First India said it and Pakistan denied it. Then, the world repeated the charge, still Pakistan remained in denial. Now, Pakistani officials and leaders have started raising their voice against state policy of terror.

Rana Muhammad Afzal, a legislator of the ruling PML-N, has questioned the Nawaz Sharif government's failure to act against terrorists.

"Which egg is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him," Afzal asked his leaders in a meeting of the standing committee on foreign affairs, BBC Urdu reported.

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Afzal has sought action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its chief Hafiz Saeed amidst growing clamour for action against terrorist outfits in Pakistan.

READ| Lie nailed: Pakistan police officer admits India did carry out surgical strikes

HAFIZ SAEED- AN EMBARRASSMENT

The Pakistani legislator said that giving a free hand to terrorist like Hafiz Saeed "led the world to start isolating us and trying to declare (Pakistan) a terrorist state".

Afzal termed the inability to "get rid of Hafiz Saeed so far" as the failure of Pakistan's foreign policy. Hafiz Saeed is the on the most wanted list of India for masterminding 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.

Afzal reportedly shared his personal experience of his recent diplomatic tour of France, where he tried to raise the Kashmir issue but was repeated asked about Hafiz Saeed. He told the members that terror outfits, like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed were a source of embarrassment for Pakistan.

READ| Pakistan terror-handlers frustrated, Hurriyat losing ground in Valley: Intel reports

TOUGH MESSAGE TO ARMY, ISI

A day earlier, the Dawn reported that foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry warned the ISI chief about growing international isolation of Pakistan after Uri terror attack.

Chaudhry gave a presentation at a confidential meeting chaired by prime minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by senior ministers and officials. ISI DG General Rizwan Akhtar represented the military side.

Chaudhry specifically told the ISI and army not to interfere if the civilian establishment took any action against terrorists to check growing isolation of Pakistan under the present circumstances.

READ| Can Nawaz Sharif order Pakistan Army to act against terrorist groups? Dawn reports he just did

OPPOSITION JOINS THE CHORUS

Meanwhile, the opposition has also joined the chorus for action against the so-called non-state actors. Pakistan People's Party leader Aitzaz Ahsan said that Pakistan's diplomatic isolation was because the freedom it had given to terror outfits.

According the Dawn, Ahsan blamed the Sharif government for Pakistan isolation. "You (Sharif) have isolated Pakistan," Ahsan said.

He urged the Sharif government to curb terrorist else "Bangladesh and Afghanistan will not speak to you, and Bhutan and Nepal will begin supporting India."

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ALSO READ:

'No let-up in Pak support to terror after surgical strikes, 200 terrorists waiting to cross over'





--- ENDS ---
Police charged a 45-year-old woman with assaulting a student from a special-needs school in Mitchellville on a Prince Georges County school bus.

The woman, Owoade Elusanni, repeatedly struck the 19-year-old student on Sept. 2, authorities said Thursday.

The assault was recorded on a camera on the bus, a department news release said. The student did not suffer any injuries, according to the release, and the bus was in the parking lot of C. Elizabeth Rieg Regional School at the time.

[Police investigate allegation that special-needs student was abused on school bus]

Elusanni lives in Lanham and is employed by another students family, a police spokesman said. That student rides the same bus, the spokesman added.

Authorities charged Elusanni with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Police said a criminal summons has been issued for her.

Raven Hill, a spokeswoman for Prince Georges County schools, said the district will continue working with law enforcement to ensure justice for this victim, who was unjustly assaulted.

Elusanni is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 23.

Police ask that anyone with information about the incident call the Prince Georges County Police Departments Children and Vulnerable Adult Unit at 301-772-4930. Callers may remain anonymous by calling Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). They can also text PGPD plus the message to CRIMES (274637) on their cellphone or go to www.pgcrimesolvers.org to submit a tip online.
The man at the Maryland shooting range introduced himself as a native of Iraq.

He tried to be friendly with Nelash Das, telling the young man that he, too, was Muslim, by Dass account. As weeks went by, they spent more and more time together, going to the shooting range, sharing meals and celebrating the holy holiday of Eid.

Eventually, federal officials say, they also plotted to kill a member of the U.S. military.

But when law enforcement intervened in suburban Washington on Sept. 30, the day of the planned attack, Das was arrested and held on charges of supporting terrorism, while the man who had befriended him went free.

The purported Iraqi from the gun range, according to Das and federal court papers, was a paid confidential source working for the FBI.

Das told The Washington Post he thinks he was unfairly set up and badgered into a scheme by the U.S. government. In a phone call Wednesday, Das said the informant manipulated his emotions, showed him videos sympathetic to the Islamic State and hounded him into taking part in a supposed terrorist plot targeting the military.

I didnt really want to do it, said Das, 24. He just came and put it in my head.

A Post reporter happened to be interviewing Dass mother Wednesday at her home when she received a call from her imprisoned son. Das then agreed to speak with the reporter. He had an initial appearance in federal court in Greenbelt last Monday and has another hearing set for Tuesday.

In the countrys ongoing fight against terrorism, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to use undercover informants they pay to befriend suspects who later are charged. But Das argues that he is a victim of entrapment as the FBI unfairly targets Muslims in its counterterrorism efforts  investigations that he said ruin families and portray people like him as monsters.

[Maryland resident charged with supporting ISIS, allegedly plotted to kill member of U.S. military]

The danger posed by Mr. Das during this investigation was very real, said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBIs Baltimore Division when authorities announced charges against Das. He was committed to carrying out an attack against a military member.

The FBI would not address the specifics of Dass version of events, saying the case is still under investigation. But in a statement, the agency said it investigates activity which may constitute a federal crime or pose a threat to national security. The agency uses a variety of techniques in investigations that are subject to vigorous oversight, the statement said.

Julie Stelzig, Dass attorney with the Federal Public Defender, said her client plans to enter a plea of not guilty at a future hearing and denies the charges.

It is much too early to draw any conclusions about Mr. Das or the allegations, and we would request that the public reserve judgment while the legal process proceeds as it should, Stelzig said.

Das, who went to high school in Florida, is a legal permanent resident of the United States and was admitted to the country in 1995 after moving as a young child from Bangladesh, according to his mother and an affidavit filed by federal officials.

Dass mother, Bijaya Das, wore sunglasses in her home, where she had also drawn the curtains. She said she has spent the week since her sons arrest crying.

She said that her son made a mistake and that the confidential informant messed up his head. She insists he is not a terrorist but rather a young man who helps her get groceries, picks up her medication and shoos flies out of the townhouse they share in Prince Georges County, Md., rather than swatting them dead.

I know my son is a very good boy, Bijaya Das said. He has a very soft heart. He believes everybody.

Das had been on the FBIs radar for some time before he encountered the confidential source in May, according to a law enforcement official and the federal complaint. The FBI declined to say Thursday what information brought Das to the agencys attention.

The federal complaint charging Das states that an investigation found he had posted social media messages dating to November 2015 that appeared to support the Islamic State, terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., and violence against those who did not back his form of Islam.

In one Twitter message from September 2015, according to federal officials, he posted: Sitting on twitter is not enough. I envy seeing brothers getting shahada n slaying kuffar while im at home not gettin any action.

Shahada, according to the FBI in its court filing, refers to dying as a martyr, and kuffar translates to disbelievers or infidels.

Das acknowledged in the phone interview that he had made social media posts referring to violence, but said he did it because he felt like it was cool and did not post anything to help propagate Islamic State ideology.

In May, Das met the FBIs confidential source for the first time and believed the man to be a like-minded supporter of the Islamic State, according to federal court filings that did not say where the meeting occurred.

[The Islamic States suspected inroads in America]

After the initial encounter at the gun range, Das said, the man who had approached him would randomly show up at his home. Bijaya Das said the man appeared at her pizza shop, where her son worked. He would talk to Das about how U.S. soldiers indiscriminately kill children abroad and that killing American soldiers is justified in Islam, Das said.

The man also paid for Dass time at a shooting range in Prince Georges County about 30 minutes away from his home and took him there about 10 times, according to Das.

The federal affidavit cites seven specific dates in the summer on which investigators say Das was at the range. They say that during the summer, he spoke of wanting to acquire an AK-47 and travel abroad for the Islamic State, which Das denies.

A federal affidavit says Das told the source in July he wanted to kill a particular military member who lived in Prince Georges County, Maryland, whose identity and location Das had found a year earlier in a posting online by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

One week later, Das told the source he couldnt find the listing, federal investigators assert, and asked whether any of the sources Islamic State contacts could resend a list.

In later meetings with the source, Das said he was continuing to search for military personnel to be targeted and was  100%  committed to an attack, the federal affidavit states.

The source, who said he could provide both of them with weapons, also told Das that an Islamic State contact in Iraq has passed along information that identified a military member and that the Islamic State would pay them $80,000 for the attack, the court files charge.

But Das said in the phone interview that he was never seriously seeking the list of U.S. military personnel and was urged by the source to search for it.

Das said he went to the shooting range for fun, and Bijaya Das said her son began going to the range after considering a job in criminal justice or as a security officer but never had guns at home.

In the weeks before the slated attack, federal officials said, the source took Das to buy ammunition and conduct surveillance on the supposed targets address, which was a fake provided by the FBI.

On Sept. 30, the day of the planned attack, Das allegedly texted the source: Im ready.

The confidential source picked up Das, and Das loaded ammunition into a weapon that, unknown to him, had been rendered inoperable, according to federal filings.

A short time later, at the address Das had been told belonged to a military member, Das got out of his vehicle, moved toward the trunk where the firearms had been placed and was approached by FBI agents who took him into custody after a short foot chase, according to federal filings.

Das said by phone that he was set up and that the source provided him with weapons and told him to load. Das said that when it was time to launch the attack, he never intended to shoot anyone and that the confidential source told him he had only to knock on the military members door.

Das said he lost sleep in the days before the planned attack and told the FBIs source that the plot doesnt feel right. But the source kept insisting that such targets deserve it, Das said by phone. The source also said he would do the driving and the shooting, according to Das.

He just kept harassing me, Das said.

Das said he relented because he was being emotionally manipulated and was told hed receive $40,000 for helping with the attack. And when the big bad ISIS guy, as Das described the FBI source, was applying pressure, Das said he felt he could not say no.

Das said that despite his misgivings, he never turned the man over to law enforcement because it didnt feel right to turn in a fellow Muslim.

The government is trying to peg him as a person who dislikes people of other faiths, as Das sees it. But, Das said, he has friends who are soldiers, has dated women who are not Muslim and goes to bars just like everyone else.

Im just a kid smoking weed in my basement and playing video games, Das said.

Samsul Islam, the manager of the pizza shop owned by Dass mother, says that Das is well-liked and that customers sometimes ask for him by name. Islam said Das was a good, normal young man until the mysterious man came into his life four months ago.

Hes a good guy, said Islam, who has known Das for about three years. He takes care of customers; very nice.

Bijaya Das said the man spending time with her son portrayed himself as a friend. Now she blames him for her sons arrest.

We love this country, she said. We hate terrorism.

Dan Morse and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
Suleiman Anwar Bengharsa once told a court during a custody dispute that he worried his ex-wifes new husband was too close to Islamic radicals under FBI investigation and she might raise their child in an extremist environment.

A little over a decade later, the Maryland man became the thing he once feared. The onetime Commerce Department trade analyst had remade himself into something rare in the United States: a radical imam publicly supporting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Bengharsa celebrated ISIS killings and immolations on Facebook and issued a blistering fatwa against feminism through a sharia law center he started in Montgomery County, Md., not far from the nations capital. He criticized fellow Muslims who assisted authorities in terrorism investigations.

The stunning transformation culminated last month when FBI search warrants mistakenly unsealed in a Michigan terrorism case alleged that Bengharsa, 59, provided money to Detroit resident Sebastian Gregerson, who authorities say used it in 2015 to buy weapons.

There is reason to believe Bengharsa and Gregerson are engaged in discussions and preparations for some violent attack on behalf of [ISIS], an FBI agent concluded in the warrants, first reported by the Detroit News.

But roughly a year after the first warrant was filed, Bengharsa, a onetime Maryland prison chaplain, has not been charged. It is unclear whether the investigation is still active, and federal officials declined to comment. Gregerson is facing explosives charges.

Bengharsa did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but he denied any wrongdoing in an interview with the Detroit News.

Its ridiculous. All I can say is its ridiculous, Bengharsa told the newspaper. If this was the case, why havent they come to arrest me?

Former federal prosecutors and legal experts said the most likely reason is that authorities do not have the evidence to charge Bengharsa. They said the case illustrates the challenge of dealing with religious leaders who spout rhetoric in the service of the nations enemies.

Free speech rights give imams such as Bengharsa wide latitude to push followers toward radicalism as long as they stop short of calling for violence or providing material support to terrorist groups.

It is rare to find an imam, who has such a strict interpretation of Islam and who is so willfully willing to call out others in the community as apostates, said Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism. That is pretty remarkable.

The status of the investigation is just one of the mysteries surrounding the case, which stretches from Michigan to Maryland and may have ties to Virginia and Yemen.

[The Islamic States suspected inroads into America]

A search warrant claims Gregerson purchased AK-47 magazines on behalf of a Sterling, Va., man who has not been charged in the case. Authorities requested Gregersons emails to the man to see if they discussed ISIS.

Another question is how Bengharsa, who told a judge four years earlier he had no job and income, got more than $900,000. The search warrants claim the money was wire-transferred into his account from an unnamed source and that Bengharsa transferred part of the sum to an unnamed individual in Yemen.

Finally, there is Bengharsas radicalization. A friend and ex-wife remembered him as not overly religious, saying he liked to party in college and spent years as an oil industry analyst and Commerce employee, before becoming an imam.

Bengharsa holds a masters degree in public policy and speaks five languages, according to his resume and court documents. A number of officials with Muslim groups said he was little-known in the local community. Experts who track extremism said he only recently came on their radar.

Bengharsa first came to the attention of authorities via Gregerson, according to court documents. Gregerson lived in Windsor Mill, Md., from 2011 to 2014 and met Bengharsa at a mosque in the area, court documents show. The name of the mosque is not mentioned, but Bengharsa lists working as an imam at Masjid Umar in Woodlawn, Md., during that period.

The tiny, storefront mosque is situated in a scruffy industrial park, next to an auto body shop. Worshipers there on a recent day said they did not recall Bengharsa or Gregerson. Mosque officials did not respond to requests for comment.

After Gregerson moved to Michigan, an individual told the FBI in April 2015 that Gregerson had weapons, expressed support for ISIS and evicted his wifes family from their home because they were not true Muslims, according to court documents. He also talked of moving his family to ISIS-controlled territory.

The FBI launched a probe, tracking Gregerson over the next 15 months as he amassed an arsenal and tactical equipment that included 700 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, three guns, knives and training videos, according to charging documents. Gregersons phone records showed he had substantial contact with Bengharsa during the period of the purchases, according to the search warrants.

FBI officials described Bengharsa as an avid supporter of ISIS, who frequently posted about the group on his Facebook page.

The search warrants claim Bengharsa put up links to ISIS followers slitting a soldiers throat and wrote Allahu akbar!! (God is great) in response to an article detailing how ISIS assassinated an Iraqi army chief with a bulldozer laden with explosives.

In June 2015, Bengharsa wrote a $1,300 check to Gregerson, inking zakat, the term for the Islamic obligation to give charitably, in the memo line, according to the search warrants.

The same month, Bengharsa launched the Islamic Jurisprudence Center, which aims to promote the understanding of sharia law and is engaged in fighting the anti-Islamic agendas of the kuffar [unbelievers] and munafiqeen [hypocrites] in the West.

Bengharsa condemned homosexuality, declared that Muslims who take Christians or Jews as friends are disbelievers and attacked many mainstream mosques and Muslim groups, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as too beholden to Western values.

Bengharsa appears to be the sole force behind the organization, which was little more than a website. He is listed as IJCs founder and manager, and the organizations address was a post office box in Clarksburg, Md., near his home. IJCs website was taken down in recent weeks.

After receiving Bengharsas money, Gregerson talked with an undercover FBI agent about purchasing grenades and claymore mines, according to charging documents. Then, at the end of July, authorities said, Gregerson swapped a handgun for grenades provided by undercover agents. He was arrested.

Glen A. Kopp, a partner with the Bracewell law firm in New York and a former federal prosecutor, said there is a good chance the investigation into Bengharsa has stalled, given the amount of time that has elapsed since the search warrants were filed.

It is possible, as they got deeper into the investigation, they discovered while Gregerson necessarily had a relationship with the imam, the imam was not necessarily plotting the attack, Kopp said.

The FBI did not present any direct evidence in the search warrants that Bengharsa knew of Gregersons alleged plans.

Kopp said it is less likely, but also possible, that the investigation has grown larger because the FBI found links between Bengharsa and other terrorism suspects and they wanted to monitor those activities.

Whether Bengharsa committed a crime or not, he represents a troubling trend that presents a challenge for officials, said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

The fact is that he brings his followers close to the line thats important, Hughes said. He provides that mood music for individuals to make that jump into violence.

A 2014 report by the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence found that another American cleric  Ahmad Musa Jibril, of Dearborn, Mich.  and others fell into a similar category. A search warrant says Gregerson had also searched online for Jibril.

At the time, the report found Jibril was followed on Twitter by 60 percent of the foreign fighters in Syria. It should be pointed out that Jibril does not openly incite his followers to violence, the authors of the report wrote. Instead, he adopts the role of a cheerleader.

Bengharsas audience was far smaller. His posts on Facebook received only a smattering of likes, and many sermons posted on YouTube received only a couple hundred views.

Likewise, he seemed to have little clout locally. Zainab Chaudry, outreach director for the Maryland chapter of CAIR, described Bengharsa as a fringe figure in the Muslim community.

Bengharsa gave sermons at mosques and with Muslim groups around the area. Before IJC, he tried and failed to launch an Islamic school for low-income students, briefly worked as an imam at the Islamic Society of Annapolis (ISA) and spent three years as a Muslim chaplain with the Maryland prison system.

Rashid Iqbal, president of ISA, said Bengharsa was let go after about four weeks because he did not provide the proper government documents for employment and rubbed members the wrong way.

He was forcing his sayings on people, Iqbal said. He was too extreme for the community.

It is unclear what triggered Bengharsas slide toward radicalism, but the previous 15 years were turbulent personally and professionally. He divorced three times and was embroiled in disputes with ex-wives over child support and custody.

He testified during a child support hearing in 2012 that he was fired from the Commerce Department for plagiarizing a document and was unable to find work for a long stretch because of his age and prejudice against Muslims.

Abdul Hammuda, a lifelong friend of Bengharsas, said he had a hard time reconciling the man he knew with the one described in the terrorist investigation. He and Bengharsa grew up in Tripoli, Libya, together, and both came to the United States.

Im just shocked, Hammuda said. He was always like the class clown. He was not even very religious.

Dan Morse and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
A pedestrian was seriously injured in a crash with a vehicle Thursday night, Montgomery County police said.

The collision happened around 7:30 p.m. in the area of Georgia and Arcola avenues in Wheaton. Authorities said the pedestrian was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Ahead of Halloween, officials are warning parents to rethink costume choices as menacing clowns increasingly terrorize people around the country. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Ahead of Halloween, officials are warning parents to rethink costume choices as menacing clowns increasingly terrorize people around the country. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Clown-related threats on social media directed at Montgomery County students has led to the arrest of four teens, police said.

Authorities said the four boys  who are all 13 and live in the county  were charged Wednesday as juveniles with offenses relating to the threat of mass violence.

The arrests were in connection with several posts and messages on Instagram, where investigators said the teens created an account using the word clown and used photos of clowns to tell students they were coming to school that day and to be ready. Some of the messages also had photos of shovels and axes, police said.

[Scary clown rumors, threats feed hysteria, leading to school lockdowns, arrests]

The clown-related threats were directed at specific students at Rosa Parks Middle School in Olney, said Officer Rick Goodale, a department spokesman. The posts also made threats against at Argyle and William H. Farquhar middle schools, but no specific students were mentioned.

When one of the victims asked the poster what they planned to do to the named victims when they arrived at school Wednesday, the response was kill them, according to a department press release.

Administrators from Rosa Parks Middle School and victims alerted Montgomery County police about the posts on Monday.

Police said detectives used details in the postings and information from victims, victims parents and school administrators to identify the four teens.

The boys were arrested and later returned to the care and custody of their parents, authorities said. Investigators added that the case has been referred to the Department of Juvenile Services for adjudication.

[Eighth-grader arrested in connection with social-media threat against Md. school]

The teens arrest comes days after two separate arrests of Prince Georges County students in connection with social media threats. One eighth-grader was taken into custody on Tuesday after police said he made threats against his middle school, while another was taken into custody on Monday after he set up a clown-themed Twitter account in class and threatened to hurt students at another school.

As for the Montgomery County clown-related threats, school officials sent a message to parents and guardians saying that similar threats have made at surrounding school systems. School spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said officials will continue to work closely with police to investigate any threats.

She added: We want to remind our students and families that if they see any posts online or anywhere else that could be perceived as threatening, they should report it to a trusted adult immediately.
Consider the sequoia, Oded Shoseyov says. Weighing hundreds of tons, it typically stands tall and strong for hundreds of years, in a wide range of climates. You ask yourself, What is it made of?  he says. A nanofiber called nanocrystalline cellulose, which, pound for pound, is about 10 times stronger than steel.

We shouldnt be surprised at that strength, he says. After all, nature had three billion years to perfect some of the most amazing materials. And what hes doing is figuring out how to use them.

Shoseyov, a professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, specializes in the new field of nanobiotechnology  in his case, using molecular-level biological systems to inspire man-made inventions. In a TED Talk delivered in May, he gives an eye-opening, entertaining tour of a little-known realm of science.

It starts with the stuff thats in those sequoias.

Say you want to buy a half a ton of nanocellulose to build a boat or an airplane, he says. Theres no commercial source. So his university found it could be extracted from the sludge coming from the paper industry  which, in Europe alone, produces 11 million tons of the gunk a year. For everybody, its an environmental problem  and for us, its a gold mine. Now, he says, Israeli innovators are using nanocellulose on an industrial scale, including in structures now on display at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

Next, he said, his researchers looked into resilin, the protein that gives certain fleas the ability to jump about 100 times their own height  and they decided to combine the strongest material produced by the plant kingdom with the most elastic material produced by the insect kingdom  nanocellulose with resilin. The tough, elastic, transparent material they came up with can be used for lots of things  including sneakers that may help people jump higher and touch screens that dont shatter when dropped.

Wait, theres more. Shoseyov describes how he and his team cloned five human genes that make a certain kind of collagen  a protein in connective tissue  and put them into a tobacco plant. So now they grow tobacco fields full of collagen, which they extract by crushing the leaves (If you ever made a pesto  essentially, the same thing, he says) and use it to make medical implants and collagen fibers that are six times stronger than the Achilles tendon, he says. In the future, when a patient is transplanted with artificial tendons or ligaments made from these fibers, well have better performance after the surgery than we had before the injury.

He ends by saying that a friend once told him, If you want a new idea, you should open an old book  and the textbook for his kind of science was written over three billion years of evolution. . . . All we have to do is read this text, embrace natures gift to us and start our progress from here.

Correction: An earlier version of this report misspelled the name of Oded Shoseyov.
Women will continue to be barred from entering the Dargah of Sufi saint Haji Ali in Mumbai, as the Supreme Court on Friday continued with the interim order of the Bombay High Court.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Women will continue to be barred from entering the Dargah of Sufi saint Haji Ali in Mumbai, as the Supreme Court on Friday continued with the interim order of the Bombay High Court.

The Bombay High Court, while ruling that women can go to the mazar of Haji Ali, had put the operation of its verdict on hold, giving time to the Haji Ali Trust that is managing the affairs of Dargah to approach the Supreme Court.

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Also read: Trustees can't stop women from entering Haji Ali Dargah, says Maharashtra government



Issuing the notice, the bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar said that the interim order of the Bombay High Court, putting on hold the operation of its own verdict, would continue till October 17, when the matter would come up for hearing.

Watch Video:





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THERE ARE few governors in the nation so widely reviled in their home states as New Jerseys Chris Christie, the man who would lead Donald Trumps transition to the White House. Little wonder: Many New Jerseyans by now believe Mr. Christie, a Republican, was clued in to the lane closures three years ago at the George Washington Bridge, which triggered cataclysmic traffic jams for four days, all in service of punishing a local mayor who had the gall to oppose Mr. Christies gubernatorial reelection campaign.

In the federal Bridgegate trial now underway of two former top confidants to Mr. Christie, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike say the governor knew what was going on while the access lanes were closed for four days, snarling schoolchildren, emergency workers and commuters in gridlock. The bridge is among the worlds busiest; 100 million cars cross it annually.

While the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman, has not explained why Mr. Christie was not indicted along with his two former aides, he has said that simply knowing of the scheme is not necessarily a federal crime.

That jibes with what has been divulged so far in the trial, in which the mastermind of the scheme, David Wildstein, formerly a key Christie ally, testified that he told the governor about the lane closures at a Sept. 11 memorial service, two days after they began. He recalled that Mr. Christie laughed and made no effort to reopen the lanes after that; they remained closed for two more days.

Mr. Christie has denied he had any role or knowledge about the lane closures before or while they were undertaken. His denial runs headlong into his reputation as a hands-on executive.

The details of testimony in the federal trial paint a portrait of a governor and his aides in Trenton as a small-minded, cynical coterie to whom political spite is all in a days work. The high road is not part of their navigational universe.

One of those charged, Bridget Anne Kelly, Mr. Christies former deputy chief of staff, was quoted by Mr. Wildstein as saying that the governor would relish the lane closures when he learned of them. I remember the quote, he said, recounting his conversation with Ms. Kelly.  The governor is going to love this. 

Defense lawyers have portrayed Ms. Kelly and her co-defendant, Bill Baroni, another former ally of the governor, as pawns who have been scapegoated by Mr. Christie. Whatever the outcome of the trial, the governors image as a bully and blowhard is more firmly fixed than ever.

He knew about it, Mr. Trump said in December of Mr. Christies role in Bridgegate. He totally knew about it. That Mr. Christie would lead the transition for Mr. Trump is all the more appalling given the trial testimony, which lends credence to Mr. Trumps own damning view, and amply justifies worry and fear about the people who would staff a Trump administration.
NATIONALIST POPULISM often looks like a rising, even inexorable force in Europe, particularly in the formerly communist nations on the eastern edge of the European Union. Right-wing governments that base their appeal in part on Islamophobic attacks on immigrants, and liberal values more generally, are entrenched in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. So it was striking, and heartening, to see a popular backlash in two of those countries this week that dealt the populists stinging rebuffs.

The first came in a referendum last Sunday in Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban appealed to voters to reject a European Union plan for distributing the refugees that have poured into Europe from the Middle East and Africa. The government spent tens of millions of dollars on a blatantly racist campaign describing all refugees as potential terrorists. Though the E.U. allocated only 1,294 refugees to Hungary, a country of about 10 million, Mr. Orban insisted they could destroy the countrys Christian identity.

Opposition parties urged voters to skip the vote, or cast invalid ballots, to prevent the referendum from reaching the 50 percent turnout needed for legal validity. That is what happened: Only 43 percent of voters went to the polls, and 6 percent of those turned in spoiled voting sheets. The referendum, on which Mr. Orban was reported to have spent more than on any advertising campaign in Hungarian history, flopped. Though the prime minister vowed to press on anyway with new anti-migrant laws or a constitutional amendment, the anti-immigrant statement he hoped to send to the E.U. instead became a vote of no confidence in his toxic xenophobia.

Something similar happened in Poland, where legislators of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party were pushing a measure that would have turned what is already one of the Wests most restrictive abortion laws into a near-absolute ban. The bill, which won initial approval last month, would have allowed abortions only when the life of the mother was directly threatened; doctors and women who carried out abortions in other circumstances would have faced prison terms of up to five years.

On Monday, tens of thousands of women and men dressed in black turned out in Polish cities to protest the measure. Central Warsaw was paralyzed. Three days later, the ruling party abruptly reversed itself, voting down the measure and withdrawing another that would have severely restricted access to in vitro fertilization. It was the first significant political retreat by Law and Justice, which has refused to give up an attempt to take control of the countrys Constitutional Tribunal and curtail judicial checks on its power despite mass domestic protests and sharp criticism from the European Union.

Mr. Orban and his Polish counterpart, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, are far from vanquished; they still hold strong parliamentary majorities and use state-run television networks to bombard citizens with propaganda. Mr. Orban has endorsed Donald Trump for the U.S. presidency; if the American populist wins, his counterparts in Europe will get a big boost. However, this weeks results showed that, even where the populists are now strongest, their extremist ideas are generating powerful resistance. In Europe as in the United States, liberalism still has its defenders.
Tom Wilsons Oct. 3 op-ed, Companies must be forces for good, nailed one of the most important and necessary changes occurring in modern capitalism  a shift from focusing on short-term, narrow self-interest to building long-term value for a companys many stakeholders, including the planet. Business leaders who understand how to contribute to solving the worlds most pressing challenges will be the winners of the 21st century.

Mr. Wilson is correct in saying that corporations are key to achieving sustained social impact, but we also need to create ecosystems that support entrepreneurs working toward the same goal. According to the United Nations, most of the jobs we need to create in the next 20 years will come from companies that do not today exist. This means the core values and purposes driving the next generation of business leaders matter. From socially conscious B corporations to impact investing, the forces working to evolve capitalism are gaining momentum. We can accelerate this change by rewarding companies that are designed to solve social problems, not just make a quick buck for their owners.

Ben Powell, Washington

Allstate Chief Executive Tom Wilson makes a welcome admission that companies must do more than merely focus on the bottom line.

But the leading big-business voice in Washington  the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of which Mr. Wilson is vice chairman  is one of the loudest proponents of policies that harm workers, consumers, the environment and democracy.

The Chamber opposes raising the minimum wage and recently sued to prevent millions of workers from getting paid for the overtime they work. It also sued to block efforts to combat climate change and went to court to ensure U.S. companies can continue dodging taxes by reincorporating overseas. The Chamber opposes efforts to require public disclosure of corporate political spending and limit corporate money in politics.

The Chambers reactionary agenda would create a society of low-paid workers ruled by a corporate overclass that would control our elected officials, pay little in taxes and pollute as much as it wanted. If Mr. Wilson is serious about corporations being a force for good, then he must denounce the Chambers agenda. If the Chamber is unwilling to change, then Mr. Wilson and Allstate must leave the Chamber.

Dan Dudis, Washington

The writer is director of

Public Citizens U.S. Chamber Watch Program.
A PRESIDENT TRUMP could alter the face of this country and its role in the world, in many cases with Congress and the courts having little power to check him. In a series of editorials over the past several days, we have described the vast reach of executive power in areas where Mr. Trump has made his intentions clear. He could, in fact, unilaterally order mass deportations, resume torturing detainees, undo the preservation of natural treasures and tear up long-standing trade agreements.

But we should be clear: The scope of the damage a President Trump could do cannot be fully predicted or imagined. His candidacy forces us to confront the extent to which democracy depends on leaders adhering to a set of norms and traditions  civic virtues, to be old-fashioned about it. Mr. Trump has made clear his contempt for those virtues, norms and traditions: He despises the press, threatens his enemies, bullies the judiciary, disparages entire religions and nations, makes no distinction between his personal interest and the public good, hides information that should be revealed and routinely trades in falsehoods. Handed the immense powers of the presidency, what could such a man do? The honest answer: No one can be sure.

[The clear and present danger of Donald Trump]

In one of the more thoughtful examinations of the danger, the Brookings Institutions Benjamin Wittes explained why checks and balances cannot be counted on to protect the nation from an elected leader with contempt for democracy. Ultimately, the entire executive branch is corruptible by one person because constitutionally, the executive branch is one person, Mr. Wittes wrote on the Lawfare blog. Everyone else is just his arms, hands, and fingers. That means that over time, the executive branch under Donald Trump becomes Donald Trump.

Given Mr. Trumps quickness to take offense and lack of impulse control, it is natural to focus on the most extreme possibilities; the president, after all, has authority to order everything from drone strikes to changes in U.S. surveillance policy to nuclear attack. A National Security Council staff that has mushroomed under President Obama is not confirmed by or in any meaningful sense accountable to Congress.

At a rally in Reno, Nev., Oct. 5, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told his supporters that he was a reflection of them as he concluded his speech. (The Washington Post)

But more prosaic powers also present grave dangers. U.S. prosecutors have enormous discretion to investigate, or not investigate, and Mr. Trump would appoint his attorney general and a raft of new U.S. attorneys. These have to be confirmed by the Senate; but if you take comfort in that, simply imagine a Gov. Chris Bridgegate Christie at the Justice Department, or a Newt Gingrich  who, in Mr. Trumps thrall, has advocated expelling any American who believes in sharia law  as homeland security secretary.

[A President Trump could end the era of American global leadership]

We dont have to imagine how Mr. Trump would like to wield his powers once congenial officials were in place. He has repeatedly disparaged journalists as moron, disgusting and absolute scum while banning news organizations that offend him from his events and proposing to open up libel laws to sue journalists who write negative things about him. When he learned during primary season that a wealthy Chicago family was contributing to his opponent, he tweeted, They better be careful, they have a lot to hide! While many people remember Mr. Trumps disparaging the Mexican heritage of the federal judge overseeing a Trump University fraud case, how many recall the implicit threat against him? Ill be seeing you in November, Mr. Trump said in May.

If Mr. Trump wanted to wield the IRS against that Chicago family; if he tried to use U.S. diplomats to help his hotel business in Russia or Azerbaijan; if he barred disfavored reporters from the White House; if he ignored a judge who told him, say, that immigrants had to be given hearings before being deported  what recourse would Americans have?

Yes, Congress has the power to remove a president who ignores the law. But given the easy GOP capitulation to such an obviously unfit candidate, how far would Mr. Trump have to go for a likely Republican House to impeach him? How much damage would he have to do?

We have faith, ultimately, in the integrity of the federal workforce, the resilience of the U.S. system and the essential fairness of the American people. But all three could be tested as never before by a Trump presidency. The nation should not subject itself to such a risk.
Susan Jacoby is the author of, among other books, The Age of American Unreason.

At a June rally in Richmond, Va., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lamented the 59 percent unemployment rate of African American youth. Although I did not know the precise unemployment rate of young African Americans, I knew that Trumps figure was wrong. I realized this not because I am a mathematical genius but because the statement was implausible, given that millions of young Americans  whatever their race  are full-time students who are not looking for jobs and therefore cannot be considered unemployed in the conventional sense.

As PolitiFact later reported, the May unemployment rate for blacks ages 16 to 24 was 18.7 percent  bad enough, but nowhere near the statistic trumpeted by Trump. You can look up that figure on the Labor Departments website, but the key to spotting the bogus nature of the statistic is a logic-based awareness  not readily obtainable on Google  that it is as misleading to describe teenage students as unemployed as it would be to apply the term to retired octogenarians.

This stellar example of junk statistics came too late for the publication deadlines of two new books focused on the intertwined glut of real and false information, magnified by the Internet, that affects fields from politics to medical decision-making. In A Field Guide to Lies, Daniel J. Levitin, a neuroscientist and author of the fascinating 2006 bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music, observes that humans have a tendency to apply critical thinking only to things we disagree with.

"A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age," by Daniel J. Levitin (Dutton)

Levitins book, which emphasizes fear of numbers as a general barrier to critical thought, is intended as a guide for those who wish to test the authenticity of information that inundates us from every corner, dark and light, of the Web.

Unfortunately, in examples on subjects ranging from medical tests to birth rates, the author emphasizes sophisticated probability theory that many readers are likely to find more intimidating than numbers.

You dont have to know a thing about the 18th-century mathematician and theologian Thomas Baysess methods of calculating probability  which attempt to take into account changing and subjective conditions over time  to understand that if a drug is said to increase the life expectancy of cancer patients by 50 percent, the critical number is not the percentage increase but the typical life expectancy of the patient.

Fifty percent of what? If life expectancy without the drug is three months, that is the only figure needed to understand the negligible value of a 50 percent increase. Solving the problem requires only a working knowledge of fractions, decimals and percentages  imparted in fourth grade when I was growing up in the 1950s.

In his zeal to apply Bayesian logic to such issues as assessing false positive and false negative results of mammograms (as well as treatment for his dying 13-year-old dog), Levitin complicates what is  or once was  essentially a grade-school math question. On the emotional plane, of course, such decisions are more complex. A mother might want an extra six weeks of life if she could see her child graduate from college during that period.

William Poundstones Head in the Cloud offers a different take on similar subjects, but he pays less attention to innumeracy and more to deficits in general cultural knowledge. Poundstone is the author of 14 previous books, including a biography of the cosmologist Carl Sagan. He cites endless surveys demonstrating what the American public doesnt know about subjects from religion to government.

Both authors rightly identify the inability of many Americans to distinguish between correlation (or coincidence) and causation as a major enemy of logic and reason.

"Head in the Cloud: Why Knowing Things Still Matters When Facts Are So Easy to Look Up," by William Poundstone (Little, Brown)

Poundstone, after discussing a survey of his own design (without really explaining his methodology) comes close to falling into a similar trap when he cites a number of factual questions that have the power to predict income.

Guess what? You are likely to have a higher income if you know that Emily Dickinson was a poet and not a chef, designer, philosopher or reality-show star. Even better if you also know that the Battle of Waterloo took place before the American Civil War.

The results undoubtedly mean (surprise) that the wealthy are better educated and more likely to have encountered certain facts in the course of their studies. Predict, in common English usage, is not a synonym for correlate  though it is often used that way, as Poundstone employs it, in the world of surveys and statistics.

I expected to like both of these books because of the thesis implied in their titles: that critical thinking and general knowledge still matter, and may even matter more, in a culture saturated with quack information. But, although Levitins grasp of the importance of numbers makes his book superior to Poundstones, neither author seems capable of full-throatedly praising cultural knowledge for its own sake. Does it really matter, whatever your income, if you know that Dickinson was a poet but have never read her poetry?

Levitin makes the important point that expertise tends to be narrow  that a physicist, for instance, is not necessarily an expert on social science. Then he proceeds to ignore his own admonition. To demonstrate that even experts fail, he cites a 1968 quote in which the historians Will and Ariel Durant predicted that the high birth rate of Catholic families would mean, no later than 2000, that the Roman Catholic Church will be the dominant force in national as well as in municipal or state governments. Levitin notes that the Durants failed to consider the possibility of change in Catholic attitudes toward birth control, but he follows up with the dubious observation that in 1968, alternative scenarios were difficult to imagine.

No, they werent. Neither 21st-century neuroscientists nor middlebrow cultural historians (as the Durants, born in the 19th century, were) are the best sources of information on American religious trends. The Second Vatican Council, with its long-term liberalizing influence, ended in 1965, and the size of middle-class Catholic families was already dropping (something the Durants clearly did not know). Alternative scenarios were being discussed at length in intellectual Catholic publications. Because Levitin is not an expert on religion, he picked the wrong sources of expertise.

Still, Levitins general point that some sources are more reliable than others is well taken. In the absence of gatekeepers, a broader and deeper level of general knowledge is the only real protection against bogus experts and theories of all kinds.

Yet Poundstone argues: Canons are dissolving, and predictions of cultural doom have not come to pass. Cultivated taste is more diverse than its ever been. For the less cultivated, a superficial literacy cribbbed from the cloud is enough to get by in the world  and its time to stop pretending otherwise.

If Poundstone believes this, it is difficult to understand why he wrote his book. Significantly, he offers no definition of cultivated. More than half of Americans, for instance, do not know that Genesis is the first book of the Bible (assuming that respected public opinion polls are right). Whatever the biblically illiterate are cultivating, in what is supposedly the most religious country in the developed world, it is certainly not the history of Western civilization. The real question is whether we want to settle for a world in which superficial knowledge, mixing half-digested facts and lies, is enough to get by.

A Field GUide to LIes Critical Thinking in the Information Age By Daniel J. Levitin Dutton. 292 pp. $28
Regarding the Oct. 1 front-page article Russia doubles down in Syria:

History will judge the United States and President Obama poorly for standing by and watching genocide being perpetrated in Syria by the Russians with their warplanes. A no-fly zone should be imposed immediately, and the Russians should be told to stay out.

I know this would be a difficult decision, but I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, when President Kennedy had the courage to stand up to the Russians. They are bullies and, like most bullies, will not challenge us if we act decisively. Vladimir Putin is a bully but no fool. We tell the world that we have the strongest and most capable military on Earth, but if we refuse to employ it, it really doesnt matter. Mr. Putin views us as timid and indecisive; this can be very dangerous. The situation is critical.

Mr. Obama and Congress need to act decisively now to save the lives of innocent civilians who are being bombed into oblivion.

Michael Holland, Carlsbad, Calif.
Carl Gershman is president of the National Endowment for Democracy.

Ten years ago Friday , Anna Politkovskaya, Russias most famous journalist, was murdered in Moscow. Her death serves as a window to Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin autocrat whom many Americans are looking at for the first time  his name now in U.S. election headlines as a result of alleged hacking of Democratic National Committee servers by Russian actors and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps praise of Putins strongman rule.

Politkovskaya was known throughout the world for her reporting on the second Chechen war, a conflict Putin pursued with the same ruthless brutality that he is using today in Syria, an approach U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power described as barbarism.

Only an utterly fearless journalist such as Politkovskaya would dare to visit war-torn Chechnya in the North Caucasus. Showing astounding bravery, she brought the lesser-known war to the worlds attention, documenting murders, kidnappings, torture and the destruction of whole villages. Her investigative reports even resulted in the initiation of more than 20 criminal cases in Chechnya.

Politkovskaya repeatedly received death threats as a result of her reporting. She was threatened with rape and was subjected to a mock execution after being arrested by the Russian military. In 2004, while traveling to the North Ossetian town of Beslan in the hope of trying to mediate the school hostage crisis, she was poisoned  and nearly died.

After the Beslan poisoning, Politkovskaya wrote, We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance. She thought that by reporting the truth and standing up to terror, she might be able to prevent Russia from becoming a danger to itself and to the world.

She survived until she came up against Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord who was installed by Putin to run the republic with iron-fisted impunity. The relationship between Putin and Kadyrov is notoriously close; Putin has said that the Chechen is like a son to him, while Kadyrov has professed his great love for Putin, saying, Those who criticize Putin are not human, they are my personal enemies.

Politkovskaya was such an enemy. When she interviewed Kadyrov in 2004, he angrily said, You have come between Chechens. You are an enemy. Being called an enemy of Kadyrov was the equivalent of a death sentence, but she didnt back down. On Oct. 5, 2006, she gave an interview to Radio Liberty in which she said that Kadyrov was a coward armed to the teeth and the Stalin of our days. She also said that her objective was to make sure that a criminal case was opened against him. The article she was working on at the time  which turned out to be her last investigative report  documented the torture and killing of two people by a law-enforcement body controlled by Kadyrov.

Politkovskaya was murdered two days later in a contract-style killing, her body dumped in the elevator by her apartment along with the Makarov pistol used to kill her. It was Oct. 7, which just happened to be Putins 54th birthday.

Since her assassination, Russias descent into the abyss has continued and is gaining momentum. Other Russians labeled as enemies by Kadyrov have also been assassinated, among them the human rights activist Natalya Estemirova and the opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. Today, Russia occupies 20 percent of Georgias territory. It has annexed Crimea, invaded eastern Ukraine and threatened its Baltic and Nordic neighbors. It uses email hackers, information trolls and open funding of political parties to sow discord in Europe, weaken the European Union and NATO, and undermine confidence in Western institutions. In league with the Iranian and Syrian regimes, it is expanding its influence in the Middle East, and it is even intervening in the U.S. presidential election.

Politkovskaya understood that there was a connection between Putins sudden rise to power in 1999 by inflaming anti-Chechen passions and the horrible violence that followed. In her book A Small Corner of Hell, she wrote about Westernizers in Chechnya who looked toward Europe and with whom one could make peace. But Putin saw otherwise. He used the Chechen issue to seize and consolidate his power and then to extend it. Politkovskaya saw the danger, but she and other liberals in Russia were not strong enough to stop it.

The United States has the power to contain and defeat this danger. The issue is whether we can summon the will to do so. Remembering Politkovskaya can help us rise to this challenge.
Regarding Richard Cohens Oct. 4 op-ed, Obamas heartless approach to Syria:

President Obama is as good as AWOL on Syria, where civilians are being butchered, bombed, displaced internally and rousted out of the country. The United Nations calls the Syrian slaughter one of the worst since World War II, and yet our president is content with drone pinpricks and allied air patrols of quite limited effect. He has rejected setting up safe areas for civilians enforced by no-fly zones. With the chemical weapons red line debacle, he ended up making Vladimir Putin our plenipotentiary to work out face-saving with his ally, Bashar al-Assad, thus helping propel Mr. Putin, no friend of ours, to his current position of capo di tutti capi, or boss of all bosses, in the region.

When questioned about his Syria policy, Mr. Obama finds comfort in the arc of history, which, he says, is bending our way. He appears undisturbed by defeats of the worthy at the hands of our enemies.

The arc of history, which many of us cannot visualize and which many consider only an excuse for inaction, is his comfort blanket.

Paul Bloustein, Cincinnati

As a former foreign correspondent with an intimate, personal knowledge of the Middle East (my grandparents emigrated from Lebanon to Australia), I am appalled by President Obamas refusal to aid in preventing the slaughter of thousands of trapped, innocent civilians (including many Christians) in Aleppo, Syria. This after pledging to draw a protective red line that no aggressor could cross.

Richard Cohens excellent op-ed examined Mr. Obamas timidity and apparent heartlessness in the face of Russias bombing of hospitals and civilian centers in the siege of Aleppo with bunker busters.

No responsible world leader has ever ignored such desperate pleas, amid an ongoing slaughter of thousands of innocents on a scale such as this. By turning a deaf ear to the cries for help and the advice from Secretary of State John F. Kerry, the president has thrown away a good record and instead will be remembered alongside British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who was duped by Hitler as a prelude to World War II.

The damage that has been done to the United States world prestige is immeasurable.

Vic Rasheed, Adelphi

Richard Cohens depiction of the destruction and human suffering in war-torn Syria was accurate and tragic. Nonetheless, implying that arming a moderate opposition earlier in this conflict would have resulted in a different outcome is not only counterfactual but also defies recent historical experience.

We need only to review recent examples with the same objective  to try regime change to save lives, albeit by different means  and all with the same outcome, to prove the point. In Afghanistan, we tried 15 years of U.S. troops on the ground; in Iraq, it was the presence of troops aiding in the establishment of a new government, followed by troop withdrawal; in Libya, under NATO, the leadership was toppled and the moderates left to their own devices; and in Syria, we provided no direct intervention, hoping for diplomacy and a negotiated settlement. Despite huge American human and materiel sacrifices, none have worked.

As Michael Mandelbaum argued in his book Mission Failure: America and the World in the Post-Cold War Era, none of our attempts at nation-building in the past three administrations have worked. Though the war in Syria is tragic, Mr. Cohen would have us repeat the same mistakes instead of offering an alternative solution. Such a policy, though morally virtuous, would only continue to drain our resources, undermine our effectiveness abroad and weaken our nation at home.

Dean R. Wasserman, Plymouth, Mass.
Regarding the Oct. 2 editorial Mob legislating by Congress:

Immediately after overriding President Obamas veto of the bill that allows victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, congressional leaders began backpedaling due to unintended ramifications, which include exposing U.S. officials to lawsuits abroad. I have no doubt those are indeed unintended ramifications, but in no way are they unforeseen.

For Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to say nobody had really focused on the potential downsides in terms of our international relationships is just laughable. Thats the entire reason the president vetoed the legislation. So Mr. McConnell is either exceedingly dim, or hes lying and the bill was nothing more than political theater from the beginning. Its clear its the latter, because before the Senate even finished voting to override the veto, more than two dozen senators signed a letter indicating that after the election, they would advance legislation to blunt the bills impact.

I cant think of a better example of political theater than stating that youre going to vote for a bill with the intention of watering it down after the election. Its a good thing this country doesnt have any real problems that need solving.

Andy Walko, Springfield

Well, this is about as far as you can stretch the going-on-eight years of Republican obstructionist strategy. McConnell & Co. are now blaming President Obama for letting them override his veto. My brain hurts. Forget their standard-bearer in the presidential election; these lawmakers have a lot to answer for themselves. They have failed our country.

Tom Barrett, Alexandria
From Parineeta to Kahaani, we look at five times Bollywood showcased the chaos of Puja in its true form.

By India Today Web Desk: It's that time of the year. Maa Durga is at our doorstep, and the rolls, briyanis are about to leave the floodgates. Ashtami will see even most of the atheists, go in for the Pushpanjali ritual and then head out for Luchi-Ghoogni and Khichudi afterwards. It is a auspicious time for the Bengalis to renew their vows with the most unhealthy snacks the might not binge on through the year.

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Bollywood has seen its share of Puja celebrations and the Bengali audience have related to it too. We take a look at five such instances, where Bollywood showcased a near perfect celebration of the festival and used it to perfection for the story.

1. Devdas (2001)

Sanjay Leela Bhansali unleashed the magnificence of Durga Puja, by getting together two of the prettiest women of their generation to dance and pay their tributes to the Goddess. As the song Dola re...Dola re... became a rage, Bongs couldn't stop gushing at how nicely Puja was presented in Devdas.

2. Parineeta (2005)

Who can forget the sporting Sanjay Dutt doing the Dhunuchi dance with three 'Dhunuchis' which are basically earthen pots with coconut shells burning with the help of coal. Pradeep Sarkar beaufifully showed the joy of Pujo with his expansive Pandal, nice looking Kurtas.

3. Kahaani (2012)

Sujoy Ghosh's thriller based in Kolkata paid a fitting tribute to the city, as the climax took place in the chaos of the 'shidur khela' a ritual around vermillion, and takes place on the day of Dashami. Vidya Balan's character in search for her husband plays her final hand in the film and Puja looks like the perfect setting for it.

4. Vicky Donor (2012)

Even though it features the Durga Puja for a fleeting second, where actors Yami Gautam and Ayushmann Khurrana have one of their dates, Shoojit Sircar's Vicky Donor essentially talks about the Bengali culture quite extensively. It basically shows the successful confluence of the Punjabi and the Bengali culture.

5. Lootera (2013)

Vikramaditya Motwane's adaptation of O Henry's Last Leaf starts in West Bengal in Sonakshi Sinha's character's house and shows her enjoying Durga Puja with her best friend. The film's first half is set in West Bengal where Sonakshi's father is a wealthy landlord in a newly independent India.

--- ENDS ---
Amanda L. Jacobsen, a law faculty member at the University of Copenhagen, faculty of Law, and Joseph Margulies, a professor of law and government at Cornell University, are lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah.

The poster child of the American torture program sits in a Guantanamo Bay prison cell, where many U.S. officials hope he will simply be forgotten. But blood always leaves a stain, and the mark on our conscience and law will remain until we reckon with the case of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, known to the world as Abu Zubaydah.

Zubaydah was the guinea pig of the CIA torture program. He was the first prisoner sent to a secret CIA black site, the first to have his interrogation enhanced  and the only prisoner subjected to all of the CIAs approved techniques, as well as many that were not authorized. He is the man for whom the George W. Bush administration wrote the infamous torture memo in the summer of 2002.

[Letters from Abu Zubaydah: My mother. I have not seen her in so long now.]

The United States pressed Zubaydah into this indecent role because the Bush administration believed he was a senior member of al-Qaeda. Senior officials thought he had been personally involved in every major al-Qaeda operation, including 9/11. Today, the United States acknowledges that assessment was, to put it graciously, overblown. As much to the point, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee, his extended torture provided no actionable intelligence about al-Qaedas plans.

The chasm between myth and reality explains much about what has happened since his arrest in March 2002. The United States has cast him into limbo. He has never been charged with a violation of U.S. law, military or civilian, and apparently never will be formally charged. Instead, he languishes at Guantanamo. After years in secret prisons around the world, he remains incommunicado, with no prospect of trial.

We have been representing Zubaydah for nine years and have gotten to know him through numerous face-to-face meetings. Recently, the public got a brief glimpse of Zubaydah. For the first time since his arrest, he appeared for a few minutes on a video broadcast from Guantanamo. A dozen journalists and human rights advocates huddled in the District to watch as he appeared silently on the screen; no recording devices were permitted. The ostensible purpose of the appearance was a hearing to consider whether Zubaydah might finally be released. But this proceeding was mere political theater.

To begin with, Zubaydah had no counsel at the hearing. Although he has a team of lawyers who have volunteered to represent him, for free, the United States authorized only one of his counsel, Seton Hall law professor Mark Denbeaux, to appear on his behalf. Just before the hearing, Denbeaux had to cancel his flight, when he was informed that his wife of 51 years, Marcia, needed emergency surgery. No other attorney could substitute because Denbeaux alone had been authorized by the government to fly to the base.

Although Denbeaux made clear to the government that his wife was on her deathbed, the government refused to delay the proceeding, even for a few days. After imprisoning Zubaydah for years with no legal process, it was suddenly imperative that the hearing take place without delay, and therefore without counsel. Marcia Denbeaux died four days after the hearing.

Unable to appear on his behalf, his legal team asked the Periodic Review Board, composed of a cross-section of national security officials, to consider a summary of the report on the torture program prepared by the Senate Intelligence Committee. That summary, based on a review of more than 6 million pages from inside the CIA, provides the most detailed account of Zubaydahs torture and the mistakes and misrepresentations made about him. The Review Board refused to read it. They said it was too long.

At the public portion of this hearing, Zubaydah was not merely silent, but silenced. The public did not hear Zubaydah speak because the government would not allow him to respond publicly to the allegations against him. Instead, Zubaydah was permitted to speak only in the closed session, and a government representative, who had met him only briefly a few weeks before the hearing, was assigned to read a half-page statement, which was prepared for Zubaydah and pre-approved by the government for the public session.

Dismissing Zubaydahs express repudiation of terrorism, the government insisted in its official allegations against him that Zubaydah probably retains an extremist mindset and possibly or might or could be dangerous. Even the fact that he has consistently been highly cooperative during his imprisonment was twisted to suggest he was simply honing his skills as a terrorist.

Who is Zubaydah, really? Despite the tremendous amount of information about Zubaydah that has become publicly available over the years, public understanding about Zubaydah remains remarkably controlled and superficial.

The person we have come to know over nearly a decade is caring, funny, forgiving, honest. But you do not need to agree with our assessment of his character to recognize Zubaydahs humanity and, therefore, be horrified at his treatment  first his torture, and now the drawn-out pain of being held indefinitely.

In connection with Zubaydahs stalled case seeking federal court review of his detention, the government has recently agreed to clear for public release a few of the letters he has written to us. These brief letters, published here for the first time, provide what we believe is a far truer glimpse of Zubaydah than the governments hearing has or ever was intended to provide.
Susan Sheehan won the Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction for her book Is There No Place on Earth for Me?

The Mitford sisters may be the most written-about girl group in history. Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah: The flamboyant British aristocrats have kept tabloid journalists and biographers scribbling away for nearly a century. Between their high-profile trysts, questionable politics and literary output, its no wonder theyve been the source of fascination.

Mary S. Lovell published The Sisters, a definitive biography of the Mitfords, in 2001. Now comes The Six by Laura Thompson, author of books on subjects as diverse as greyhound dog racing, Agatha Christie and the Lucan Affair and, most recently, a biography of Nancy Mitford. The question is whether we need another book about the Mitfords.

Thompson herself notes that shes treading a well-worn path. Familiarity is undoubtedly an issue, she writes in the introduction, but she asks that readers look afresh at the familiar and consider. These girls are prize exhibits in a Museum of Englishness. What they represent is complex, although their image has divine simplicity. And whatever ones opinion of what they represent, it is impossible, in truth, to find them boring.

True enough, the sisters are rarely boring  and in a narrative that contains some stylish prose, Thompson dwells on their quirky charms. Readers will need the Mitford family tree that appears at the front of the book, however, as Thompson leapfrogs through the saga of this infamous sisterhood.

Deborah Mitford was the youngest of six aristocratic sisters who, in the early 20th century, consorted with British and American royalty. Some even befriended Adolf Hitler. (Associated Press)

[The letters of the Mitford sisters]

The Mitford parents, David and Sydney, Lord and Lady Redesdale, were minor British aristocrats. The daughters all made their debuts, despite the fact that Muv and Farve (this is a family of countless nicknames) kept having to sell property to pay for presentations at court, cruises, nannies and governesses. The daughters were expected simply to find suitable husbands and breed, but instead of settling down quietly, five of the six achieved notoriety.

First theres Nancy Mitford, the eldest, born in 1904 and the best-known; she was the author of popular and well-regarded semi-autobiographical novels (The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate) and biographies such as The Sun King. Thompson is generous  one could say overly generous  to Nancys novelistic skills, describing Love in a Cold Climate as her second masterpiece. Upon its publication, Thompson adds, Nancys status as an author reached the exalted position for which writers pray, in which every single thing that they publish is received with rapture and no failure can really touch them. Her social life, too, was a glitterball whirl.

Diana, the beauty in a good-looking family, married in 1929, had two children, then left her first husband, the Hon. Bryan Guinness (heir to the brewery fortune) for Sir Oswald Mosley, the married, philandering founder of the British Union of Fascists. The Mosleys, who married in Joseph Goebbelss drawing room in Berlin in 1936 in a ceremony attended by Adolf Hitler , were imprisoned during the Second World War. What Diana would learn, 40 years later, was that Nancy, to whom fascism was a disease, had done her best to ensure that Diana would be imprisoned and, subsequently, kept that way instead of being released under house arrest. This was the central relationship of the Mitford girls, this push-and-pull between Nancy and Diana, Thompson observes.

Unity Valkyrie Mitford, an ardent fascist, met Hitler in 1933 and moved to Munich a year later. Hitler took pleasure in her company. Unity attempted suicide the day Britain declared war on Germany by shooting herself in the head, but she survived the bullet. The man she called blissful Fuhrer had her flown to neutral Switzerland. After Unitys return to Britain, Muv took care of this brain-damaged daughter until she died of meningitis in 1948.

[The memoirs of Deborah Mitford]

Pamela Mitford, a fascist sympathizer, became the second wife of a renowned and rich physicist, who married three more times after divorcing her. This so-called quiet sister lived in the country and, like Unity, didnt write books. (The only son in the family, Thomas Mitford, who also had fascist leanings, pursued a military career. He declined to fight Germany, preferring to fight the Japanese, and was killed in Burma in 1945 .)

"The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters," by Laura Thompson (St. Martin's)

Jessica, a fervent left-winger, eloped with her second cousin, Esmond Romilly, Winston Churchills nephew by marriage, to Bilbao; he had fought with the communists in the Spanish Civil War. The couple subsequently emigrated to America, where Romilly volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force and was killed in action in 1941. Jessica remained in America. Two years later she married Robert Treuhaft, a partner in a radical law firm. Mitford and Treuhaft were active communists until 1958. She went on to write The American Way of Death, a best-selling expose on the high cost of funerals in her new land. One of the odder passages in The Six pertains to Jessicas politics. Jessicas extremism is more acceptable to history than that of her sisters, Thompson writes. Such is the luck of the left.

The youngest sister, Deborah, born in 1920, married Andrew Cavendish, who became the 11th Duke of Devonshire after the wartime death of his older brother, Billy Hartington, the husband of Kathleen Kennedy. The duchess renovated Chatsworth, the Devonshire ancestral seat, and turned it into a thriving enterprise. She consorted with British royalty and American royalty  she attended President John Kennedys inauguration and his funeral  and wrote a number of books, including a featherweight memoir just before her death in 2014.

The Six includes thousands of facts about the Mitford family, but Thompson offers few clear opinions of her subjects. She ought to have done so. Never mind their popularity, most of the Mitfords were unlikable. Their politics were appalling. There is no letting them off the Hitler hook. The most sympathetic figure in the book is Dianas first husband, Bryan Guinness, who offered the adulterous Diana the necessary false evidence of his infidelity so she could procure a divorce. Thanks to his generosity, she moved with their two sons to Eaton Square and lived in luxury until Mosleys young wife died. After a few more dalliances for Mosley and two abortions for Diana, they married.

The book offers so much material  too much, perhaps, and much of it redundant. The Six is fine for readers new to the Mitfords, but the definitive biography remains The Sisters.
PRESIDENT RECEP Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has announced a three-month extension of the state of emergency imposed after a failed July 15 coup attempt, giving him broad powers to rule by decree. He has launched a massive crackdown against followers of the self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Mr. Erdogan accuses of instigating the attempted overthrow. Mr. Gulen denies it. More than 30,000 Turkish citizens have been arrested and upward of 100,000 people accused, many without due process. On Tuesday, authorities announced that 12,800 police officers had been suspended on suspicion of being part of Mr. Gulens network.

Journalists have been in Mr. Erdogans crosshairs, and his campaign is pushing into the digital universe, too. Turkey is pressing Twitter to silence journalists, and Twitter must resist more vigorously. Twitter is a powerful force for free expression. The tweets must flow, the company likes to say. But they dont always flow, as freedom of speech and democracy are in retreat around the globe. Mr. Erdogan briefly banned Twitter in 2014 to block messages about a corruption scandal. After Twitter returned, Turkish authorities submitted long lists of accounts they wanted banned, but Twitter for the most part protected journalists and did not switch them off. After the coup attempt, however, new court orders were issued and Twitter was asked to hush accounts, some belonging to journalists from the newspaper Zaman, close to the Gulen movement, that was seized in March and then shuttered. Twitter has switched off a number of the accounts  by one reckoning, several dozen.

One of them belongs to journalist Mahir Zeynalov, who was deported by Turkey in 2014 for his criticism and now writes for the Huffington Post and Al Arabiya. When a court ordered his English account shut in Turkey and Twitter did so, he and others protested, and it was unblocked. But now Mr. Zeynalov has found that, at the behest of a Turkish court, Twitter has blocked his Turkish-language account inside Turkey.

Twitter says that it follows the laws of a country when it gets a a valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity. But what happens when a law is used to silence political speech? Turkey has asked Twitter to restrict accounts more often this year than any other country in the world, according to Twitters transparency reports; Turkey made 2,493 requests covering 14,953 accounts, and Twitter complied 23 percent of the time. Twitter ought to see that in Turkey, as in other closed societies, laws are often used to restrict freedoms rather than protect them. It should keep journalists accounts open and not become a tool of repression for Mr. Erdogan.
Tuesdays encounter between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence was substantive at times and contentious throughout. But the eminences who run the Commission on Presidential Debates should ask themselves this question: Why have a vice-presidential debate at all?

Of course there should be some sort of public forum for voters to get to know the individuals who might find themselves, as the cliche goes, a heartbeat away from the presidency. But the debate format told us little about Kaine and Pence that we didnt already know.

For those keeping score on performance, I thought Pence was a bit more polished and poised. Kaine came out of the gate with the clear intention of being aggressive, and his tactic from the beginning was to interrupt the Indiana governor almost every time he spoke. By the midpoint of the debate, Pence, too, was interrupting frequently when Kaine had the floor. But first impressions linger.

As for what the candidates said, it quickly became clear that the two men had little interest in talking to each other. Kaine was there to attack Republican nominee Donald Trump, and Pence was there to attack Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. It is too soon to say who drew blood and how much, though I do think Kaine may have come away with more ammunition for attack ads.

Whenever the subject under discussion gave Kaine an opening  and quite often when it didnt  Kaine reminded viewers of outrageous and offensive things Trump has said, such as his allegation that Mexican immigrants are bringing drugs, theyre bringing crime, theyre rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.

Pence actually tried to defend that statement, believe it or not. When Kaine raised other appalling Trump statements, Pence would generally shake his head in negation  which was odd, since all this stuff is on videotape  or pretend he hadnt been listening.

Attempts by both candidates to land a knockout punch did not go well. During a discussion of Social Security  which Kaine claimed Trump and Pence want to privatize  Pence tried to echo Ronald Reagan: There they go again, he said, but it sounded contrived. Kaine, trying to capitalize on Trumps problems of the past week, said that Donald Trump cant start a Twitter war with Miss Universe without shooting himself in the foot. But the line totally missed the significance of Trumps feud with Alicia Machado, which is that Trumps behavior was sexist and cruel.

Moderator Elaine Quijano, armed with a long list of topics she wanted to cover, shifted gears briskly. She frequently cut off exchanges just when they were getting interesting. A bigger problem was that the candidates so often insisted on talking over each other. It was at times impossible to understand what either man was saying.

Pence did a lot of smiling, frowning and head-shaking while Kaine was speaking, and those are generally not good things to do in a debate. Kaine kept his facial expressions under control, even his rogue eyebrow.

Kaine went after Trump for his temperament, his business bankruptcies, his refusal to release his income tax returns, his boast that he is smart if he manages to avoid paying federal income taxes at all, his admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putins leadership qualities . . . so many issues, so little time. Trying to cram it all in made him sound rushed.

Pences list of particulars was shorter and his cadence slower, but he must have missed school the day his classmates learned what a non sequitur is. My favorite among many was when Quijano asked about the intelligence surge that Clinton proposes as part of her plan for fighting terrorism. Kaine went first and described the concept. Pence ignored the subject altogether and instead gave a prosecutorial soliloquy about Clintons emails.

For me, the most interesting part came toward the end when Quijano asked about social issues. Kaine said his Catholic faith leads him to oppose both the death penalty and abortion  but that as governor of Virginia, he believed he was duty-bound to enforce laws allowing both. Pence spoke of being an evangelical Christian and explained why his faith leads him to oppose abortion. It sounded, finally, like a genuine discussion. But it lasted just a few minutes, and then the debate was over.

As the dust settles on the vice-presidential debate, the Washington Posts Alexandra Petri explores what the candidates (really) meant to say on Oct. 4. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

I know what Kaine and Pence got out of the evening: They established themselves as national political figures and also managed to avoid harming their respective candidates chances. The benefit for voters, however, was harder to discern.

Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A.
Secretary of State John Kerry listens to remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault after a bilateral meeting in Washington on the crisis in Syria. (Mike Theiler/Reuters)

Secretary of State John F. Kerry called Friday for the Syrian and Russian governments to face a war-crimes investigation over attacks on civilians in Syria.

Speaking in Washington alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Kerry said Russia and Syria had a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and kill anybody who is in the way of their military objectives.

In Geneva, the United Nations put the death toll in rebeloccupied eastern Aleppo at 377 over the past two weeks, with 1,286 injured. Actual figures, a U.N. spokesman said, were expected to be higher. Repeated bombing of hospitals had left only six operating medical facilities and 30 doctors to serve a population of a quarter-million civilians.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Kerrys statements unacceptable judgments. Repeating Moscows charge that the United States has failed to comply with a U.S.- Russia negotiated cease-fire last month that collapsed within a few days with renewed Syrian and Russian bombing, Ryabkov criticized high-ranking U.S. officials who are trying to lecture us and talk to us in an unacceptably conceited and arrogant tone.

[Russia has its permanent air base in Syria. Now its looking at Cuba and Vietnam ]

Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, called Kerrys statement propaganda. She referred to very serious legal consequences behind the term war crimes and said that Kerry had used it with a view to escalating the situation. She also suggested that the United States was guilty of war crimes in Iraq, Libya and Yemen.

Both Britain and France have previously spoken of Russian and Syrian war crimes in Aleppo, and Kerry last week described violations of international law.

Actual war-crimes investigations, which generally require action by the U.N. Security Council or by the International Criminal Court  the United States, Russia and Syria are not members of the ICC  have been few and far between. What is unimaginable is that any international war-crimes effort could seriously investigate a great power that does not want to be investigated, particularly a power with a Security Council veto, said Benjamin Wittes, who edits the Lawfare blog on national security.

France has introduced a draft resolution in the council, expected to be voted upon on Saturday, calling for an immediate end to the Aleppo bombing.Ayrault, who met in Moscow on Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, told Lavrov that he hoped Russia would not want to be an accomplice to this tragedy, which mankind will remember, the French minister said in a meeting with reporters in Washington.

Every nation, he said, must follow not only international law but also its own conscience. Should Russia veto the resolution, we will never give up simply because it is difficult, Ayrault said.

Russias ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters there Friday that he assumed the purpose of the resolution was to force Russia to veto it. I dont see how we could possibly admit adoption of that resolution, he said, according to Tass news service.

Carol Morello contributed to this report.
Trump, a real estate billionaire, has earned a reputation of hostility towards minorities with proposals such as "extreme vetting" of potential immigrants and building a wall along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration.

By Reuters: Donald Trump sympathises with India in its recent escalation of tensions with Pakistan and supports skilled immigration, an adviser said on Friday, portraying the U.S. presidential hopeful as a friend of India and Indian Americans.

Trump, a real estate billionaire, has earned a reputation of hostility towards minorities with proposals such as "extreme vetting" of potential immigrants and building a wall along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration.

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BAN IMMIGRATION FROM COUNTRIES WITH HIGH ISLAMIC MILITANCY



The Republican nominee has proposed a ban on immigration from countries where vetting would be difficult, such as nations faced with Islamic militancy.

Some Indian officials worry the United States could become more isolationist under Trump, leaving allies like New Delhi without the support it has enjoyed under President Barack Obama against China's growing regional influence.

INDIAN AMERICANS NOTHING TO FEAR FROM TRUMP PRESIDENCY

Shalabh Kumar, a Chicago-based businessman of Indian origin tasked by the Trump campaign with reaching out to Asian-Americans, said India and the Indian-American community had nothing to fear from a Trump presidency.

There may be only four million Indian Americans but the potential to develop the relationship with their country of origin, a land of 1.3 billion, was huge, Kumar told a news conference at a hotel in New Delhi that drew a curious audience of about 30 journalists and several TV cameras.

GOAL TO BE INDIAN-AMERICAN CENTURY

"Our overarching goal is for the 21st century to be an Indian-American century - instead of a Sino-American century," said Kumar, wearing a dark suit and gold-rimmed pilot glasses, his white hair swept back.

"Mr Trump is a businessman - he has no bone in his body, not a drop of blood that is anti-immigrant," Kumar said. "He wants to have legal, skills-based immigration."

The Punjabi-born businessman, who emigrated in 1969 and was converted to the Republican cause by Ronald Reagan, also said Trump's determination to keep Islamic militants out of the United States played well with his community.

HINDU NATIONALISTS APPLAUD ANTI-MUSLIM COMMENTS

Around four in five Indians profess the Hindu faith, while 14 percent are Muslims. Hindu nationalist groups, including many Indian Americans, have applauded Trump's anti-Muslim comments.

"There is a war declared on the free world by Islamic terrorists," Kumar said. "We are very happy that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a very firm stand."

Kumar said the Republican Hindu Coalition, a group that he set up last year, would hold a cultural event and charity fundraiser in New Jersey on October 15 at which Trump will deliver a keynote address.

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Also Read: Donald Trump defends himself, says he 'brilliantly used' US tax laws

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During a meeting with representatives from the National Border Patrol Council, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the United States is letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote. (The Washington Post)

During a meeting with representatives from the National Border Patrol Council, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the United States is letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote. (The Washington Post)

Donald Trump suggested without evidence Friday that the Obama administration was letting illegal immigrants into the country to vote  part of a series of unsubstantiated complaints by the GOP nominee that the election is rigged against him and that his backers should monitor polling locations in certain areas.

Trumps allegations were a dramatic escalation of the usual partisan warfare over ballot access issues and came as Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) denied a request by Hillary Clintons campaign to extend voter registration because of Hurricane Matthew. The storm caused the extension of voter registration deadlines in South Carolina, while officials in Georgia have urged residents in storm-affected areas to register online instead of going to registration centers.

In Nevada, state Democrats also threatened Friday to file suit if the voter registration deadline is not extended beyond Saturday to comply with a federal law requiring deadlines to fall within the 30 days before an election.

Voting experts say they are increasingly troubled by Trumps tone amid fresh strain on voting systems nationwide, warning that his comments could undermine trust in an election system renowned as largely efficient and free of corruption.

Weve never seen anything like this coming from a presidential candidate, said Richard L. Hasen, a law and political science professor at the University of California at Irvine who is the co-author of a leading casebook on election law.

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 out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. 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.

Hasen said Trumps comments about undocumented immigrants illegally voting is a continuation of his irresponsible pushing of the discredited idea that voter fraud is rampant and undetected, especially in poor and minority areas. Hasen said voter impersonation fraud is rare and that in his years of research, he has yet to find a single election where such cases compromised the results.

It just doesnt happen in the United States, he said.

Daniel A. Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida, added that Trump is trying to undermine the election system, which is very decentralized, which has very good people.

If anything, its putting a damper on the ability to register and creating some paranoia that is unfounded, Smith added.

Trumps latest comments came during an event on border security held on the 25th floor of Trump Tower on Friday.

Art Del Cueto of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents U.S. Border Patrol agents and has endorsed Trump, claimed that agents were instructed not to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

Why? Trump asked.

1 of 83 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Hurricane Matthew pummels Florida, southeast U.S. View Photos The strongest hurricane to menace the United States in a decade is continuing its trek north as it rumbles near the coastline. Caption The strongest hurricane to menace the United States in a decade is continuing its trek north as it rumbles near the coastline. Oct. 8, 2016 Storm surge and rainwater burst the banks of Colonial Lake and partially submerging park benches after Hurricane Matthew hit Charleston, S.C. Jonathan Drake/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

So they can go ahead and vote before the election, Del Cueto responded.

Trump replied: Big statement, fellas. Motioning to the small group of reporters, he added, Youre not going to write it. Thats huge. But theyre letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote.

The union later clarified that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has authorized extra overtime for employees processing a higher volume of U.S. citizenship applications before Election Day. It also claimed in a statement to have text messages from upper level managers saying that criminal prosecution cases were being put on hold so that immigration judges could make rulings on citizenship applications.

The Obama administration has focused on targeting for deportation undocumented immigrants who have committed felonies. Marsha Catron, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said that our borders are not open to illegal migration. We must and we will enforce the law in accordance with our enforcement priorities. Our actions reflect that commitment.

Only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. To apply for citizenship, an individual must be a legal resident for at least three to five years and meet other requirements.

Trump has repeatedly warned his supporters that he might lose the election because the system is rigged against him, and his campaign is recruiting election observers.

During rallies held in white suburbs of diverse cities, Trump has often urged his followers to go to neighborhoods other than their own and watch the voters there. Many voting rights activists have accused Trump of encouraging voter intimidation.

Youve been reading the same stories as Ive been reading, so go to your place and vote, and then go pick some other place, and go sit there with your friends and make sure its on the up and up, Trump said at a rally in the Detroit suburbs Sept. 30.

Because of Hurricane Matthew, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) announced that the state plans to accept voter applications online and by email until Sunday and by mail until Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign began pressing Florida election officials to do the same.

Our hope would be that a little more time will be given, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters Thursday. We certainly expect that the governor and local officials will make that possible.

But Scott declined, saying that everybody has had a lot of time to register. On top of that, weve got lots of opportunities to vote: Early voting, absentee voting and Election Day. So I dont intend to make any changes.

Scotts decision could keep thousands of Floridians from participating in the election, according to Smith, who is studying the voting habits of people who register to vote in the later months of an election season.

About 50,000 individuals successfully registered to vote in the final five days of Floridas registration period in 2012, according to state data analyzed by Smith. Thirty-nine percent of registrants were Democrats; 39 percent independents; and 22 percent Republicans. About 47 percent of the registrants were white; about 19 percent Hispanic; and 18 percent black.

Three out of four people who registered in the last five days of the registration period ended up voting, Smith said. While they may have been last-minute in terms of registration, they certainly had the election on their mind.

Hasen said problems with registrations could lead to even bigger problems on Election Day and noted that after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, some jurisdictions in New Jersey relaxed the voting rules in ways that violated state law and might have even led to some fraudulent voting.

Just imagine if any of this happens in Florida after Matthew, Hasen wrote in a column for Slate this week. We already have Donald Trump telling voters that the election is rigged. Any attempt to try to accommodate, or fail to accommodate, voters will be second-guessed, challenged, and likely litigated.

Sean Sullivan in New York contributed to this report.
The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

Dave Shiflett once was responsible for developing the manifesto of a Donald Trump presidency. Hired in 1999 to ghostwrite The America We Deserve, Shiflett spent days with the real estate magnate, channeling his voice and temperament into the pages of a manuscript.

The draft alarmed Trumps aides. They demanded Shiflett come to Trump Tower for a meeting, where he said they told him to turn the temperature down a few notches by making the businessman sound less strident and more inclusive. The result was a relatively restrained and wonky book, with chapters on Social Security and foreign policy.

Trump ultimately withdrew his prospective 2000 candidacy and promptly returned to the unfiltered person whose inflammatory statements have defined his image ever since  endearing him this year to many Republican presidential primary voters but emerging in the general election campaign as a focal point for critics, including Democrat Hillary Clinton, who say he is temperamentally unfit for the White House.

On Sunday, when he faces off for the second time in a debate against Clinton, a major question will be which version of Trump shows up: the unfiltered provocateur Americans have come to know, or a carefully managed candidate whose words were once delivered to the electorate with a ghostwriters gloss.

Trump has declared that he has a winning temperament. He argued in the first debate that my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump went on the attack during a town hall-style event in Sandown, N.H., on Oct. 6. From the Commission on Presidential Debates and their microphone to CNN's John King, here's a look at what he lashed out against. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Surveys, though, suggest it is one of his biggest political weaknesses. A Fox News poll taken after the first debate, for instance, found that just 37 percent of likely voters believe Trump has the right temperament to be president, compared to 67 percent for Clinton.

Moreover, Trumps behavior, including his recent Twitter tirades against a former Miss Universe, has stoked concerns among those who have worked closely in the past with presidents from both parties and are having trouble envisioning Trump as a commander in chief with access to the nuclear codes.

What you need is a good temperament . . . not character alone, but a sense of balance, perspective and judgment, and that has a lot to do with history, a perspective of where the world is, said David Gergen, who has been a counselor to presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton.

Trump has long embraced many of his personal attributes that worry his critics, according to a review of his writings and statements.

He has acknowledged that he has fired those who disagree with him and has argued that shallowness is a virtue because it helps him make quick decisions.

The day I realized it can be smart to be shallow was, for me, a deep experience, he wrote in Think Like a Billionaire, his 2004 book.

Trump also wrote that it is crucial to be curious, writing in the same book that you have to be alive to your surroundings and hungry to understand your immediate world.

At a rally in Reno, Nev., Oct. 5, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told his supporters that he was a reflection of them as he concluded his speech. (The Washington Post)

Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post earlier this year that he has never read a biography of a president and has little patience for detailed reports or briefings. He said he makes decisions with very little knowledge other than the knowledge I [already] had, plus the words common sense, because I have a lot of common sense and I have a lot of business ability.

While a president has to deal with countless issues, relying on advisers and the ability to absorb and distill vast quantities of information, often from competing interests, Trump has prided himself on being a one-man army.

Youre not only the commander in chief, youre the soldier as well. You must plan and execute your plan alone, he wrote in Think Like a Billionaire.

Trump has cited Ronald Reagan as his political role model. He noted in Think Like a Billionaire that rivals often underestimated Reagan, who suffered years of insults about his lack of intelligence and political experience.

Trump has faced similar criticism.

Ken Duberstein, Reagans former chief of staff, said that a president has to be willing to surround themselves with smart people and be willing to listen to them. That doesnt mean they always have to agree, but they have to listen to them. Reagan said, Thats why God gave us one mouth and two ears. 

Duberstein, who has not said which candidate he will support in this election, said Reagan understood the necessity of compromise. Part of governing is you have to say no to some of your strongest supporters and yes to some of your adversaries. That is how you build coalitions.

Different types of individuals can adapt to the presidency, Duberstein said. Trump increased his fame through a reality show, not unlike how Reagan rose as a B-film actor, television host and pitchman.

People used to criticize Reagan, saying, How can an actor be president?  Duberstein said. His answer was, How can you be president and not be an actor? 

Clues to Trumps approach to the presidency can be found in his many books. As he explored a run for the presidency on the Reform Party ticket in 2000, Trump suggested that as president he would attack North Korea to destroy its nuclear weapon capability. Am I the only one who thinks it might make more sense to disarm the North Korean nuclear threat before it shows up in downtown Seattle or Los Angeles? Trump wrote.

Yet Trumps changeability on the issues makes him hard to predict. He favored abortion rights before he opposed them. In 2012, Trump said Mitt Romneys plan for illegal immigrants to self-deport was crazy and maniacal, and he complained it cost Romney the Hispanic vote. Today, Trump wants forced deportation of illegal immigrants.

In recent weeks, Clinton and her allies have chided Trump for being easily drawn into feuds in a way that suggests a lack of fitness for the presidency  a job that requires an even keel and the ability to endure public criticism.

William Cohen, a Republican who served as President Clintons secretary of defense, said a commander in chief must choose his words carefully. There has to be a filter between his thoughts and words, and one hopes his thoughts are deeply anchored, said Cohen, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton. What I see is [Trump] just shoots whatever is in his mind.

Leon Panetta, a Democrat who served as President Clintons chief of staff and President Obamas secretary of defense and CIA director, said a president must be able to remain calm and to have control of your emotions. Panetta said he is concerned that Trump would be so easily provoked that he thinks more about himself and the consequences to his name and image.

Similar concerns have been cited by other former national security officials, Democrats and Republicans alike, in their decision to oppose Trumps candidacy. In August, a group of officials that included Michael Chertoff, who led the Whitewater investigation into Clinton dealings and became President George W. Bushs secretary of homeland security, wrote a letter saying that Trump lacks the temperament to be president . . . lacks self-control and acts impetuously. Chertoff has endorsed Clinton.

Trump has waved off the attacks, referring to such critics as political hacks. His campaign last month countered with a letter signed by 88 retired military generals and admirals endorsing the Republican nominee and criticizing Clinton, pointing to Trumps commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order.

Shiflett, the ghost writer, recalled that when he went to talk to Trump to gather material for The America We Deserve, the businessman was surrounded by beautiful women and by three men in pinstripe suits, who expressed agreement with whatever Trump said. Shiflett began to refer to them as the Amen Charlies.

As president, however, Trump would need to solicit disagreement and consider whether he is wrong, something that he has often disdained.

Shiflett said he wont vote for Trump, having observed how the real estate mogul  without a ghost writer or reality television show script  has talked like he is in a frat house. But he said another aspect of Trumps character might help him modulate his behavior.

My whole view of Trump is Trump wants to be successful, Shiflett said. He doesnt want to be a loser.
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom home at 5786 Valley View Dr. in Alexandria, Va., is on the market for $875,000. (Photo by HomeVisit)

While buyers in Northern Virginia might appreciate an influx of affordable houses to buy and sellers might prefer a spike in home values, the areas real estate market is likely to remain stable this autumn and winter.

Barring any major news, overall I dont expect a big change in the Northern Virginia housing market, says Jonathan Hill, vice president of marketing and communications for Rockville-based multiple listing service MRIS. Since 2012, the market in suburban Virginia has followed seasonal patterns, with a busy spring and early summer and then a slow fall and winter.

Buyers in Northern Virginia face a limited supply of homes, particularly for first-time buyers, says Nela Richardson, chief economist for Redfin real estate brokerage in Washington.

The Northern Virginia housing market is particularly driven by the school schedule, so buyers wont be seeing a lot of new listings in the fall, says Richardson. The housing market appears to be slowing there like it is in a lot of the country, in part because prices are high.

[In Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, a tale of two markets]

Prices stabilizing

Unlike suburban Maryland, where prices vary widely between Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, prices in Northern Virginia are relatively high everywhere, says Richardson. The highest prices are typically in neighborhoods closest to the District such as Arlington, McLean and Alexandria.

The one place where prices rose earlier this summer was Alexandria, probably because Old Town and Del Ray are considered super cool places to live and they have a lot of personality, says Richardson. The emotional attachment to neighborhoods like that work in their favor.

Overall in Northern Virginia, median home sale prices from January through August 2016 rose just 0.5 percent to $432,000 from $430,000 in that same period in 2015. The number of homes sold between January and August rose 5.2 percent, from 25,102 in 2015 to 26,401 in 2016, according to MRIS.

The original list price to average sale price ratio in August 2016 was 97.4 percent, an indication that demand is strong but the market isnt as heated as it is in D.C. or Prince Georges County, where many sellers are getting 100 percent or more of their asking price, says Hill.

The number of available homes declined in August 2016 compared to August 2015, by 18.0 percent for single-family homes, 29.1 percent for townhouses and 20.4 percent for condos, according to MRIS. Hill says the price range with the largest number of single-family homes on the market is $600,000 to $800,000; for townhouses, that price range is $300,000 to $400,000 and for condos, $200,000 to $300,000.

[Fall housing market may be chilly for D.C. buyers]

New construction

The decline in the number of existing homes for sale leaves many would-be house hunters unable to find a home to buy. Some turn to new construction for a house, but according to Metrostudy, construction on new homes during the second quarter of 2016 rose by just one percent compared to the second quarter of 2015. However, closed sales rose by seven percent during the first half of 2016 compared to the first half of 2015.

The top four counties in Northern Virginia for new construction are Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford and Fairfax, but there are just 618 units under construction in Fairfax County, according to Metrostudy.

Fairfax County is very much like Montgomery County, a mature market with few land opportunities, says Ben Sage, director of Metrostudys Mid-Atlantic Region in Chantilly, Va. Loudoun County dominates the new home market with 2,851 units under construction, almost double Prince William. But land prices are higher in Loudoun County and getting higher, so the homes being built are getting more expensive. The county isnt keen on approving a lot of new development, either, which could slow construction there in the future.

Buyers looking for more affordable homes are more likely to find options in Prince William and Stafford counties, says Sage. Most of the homes in Prince William are being built near Woodbridge, Manassas and Dumfries, along with approximately 400 units started in Haymarket and Gainesville.

Stafford is an unusual submarket, with good employment because of the military and government facilities in the area, says Sage. The VRE provides commuters with a good option, too.

Builders started construction on 740 new units in Stafford during the second quarter of 2016.

Sage says builders in the entire Washington area, including Stafford, are building a balanced mix of townhouses and single-family homes.

Prince William is a good alternative to Fairfax and Loudoun counties because you can find some new townhouses there priced in the $200,000s, he says. However, most of the new townhouses in Prince William are priced in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and new single-family homes there are priced from $500,000 to $600,000.

Prices are higher in Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria, particularly for new houses.

Builders can build houses less expensively, but they would have to be much farther out from the city, says Sage. So far, no one is seeing buyer interest in moving farther away, but builders will be ready when consumers are ready to make that move.

While not necessarily affordable, Sage says that Craftmark Homes Carver Place development in Arlington is priced lower than expected for that area, with townhouses starting below the $800,000s and two-level condos starting at $670,000.

Inventory is still short in Northern Virginia, in part because homeowners cant find a place to move when newly constructed houses are more expensive and smaller than older homes, says Hill. People are staying in their homes longer and millennials are stuck renting longer.

Inventory issues and the affordability gap are anticipated to continue to keep the Northern Virginia market from overheating this fall and winter.


Northern Virginia developer Merwin Ardeen Mace built Dominion Hills from 1945 to 1948. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

If you like a suburban feel thats close to an urban center, Dominion Hills in Arlington is a good place to look for a house.

Its an older, quiet neighborhood of 615 two-story redbrick Colonials built after World War II. Blue, black and dark-green shutters adorn windows, and mature tulip poplars and pin oaks line the sidewalks. On one corner lot, a swing hangs from a majestic sycamore, beckoning a passing child.

There are lots of children here, said Jeff Coughlin, former president of the civic association. A baby boom that started in 2004 is still going on. He and his wife, Arbora Johnson, moved there in 2002 and have three children: Theo, 12; Nick, 9; and Allie, 6. Arlington has a lot of great neighborhoods, but I wouldnt trade [Dominion Hills] for anyplace else.

Laura Holtry-Hughes and her husband, Todd Hughes, have lived there for 10 years. We expected to be here three to four years while my husband was on a temporary assignment, but were still here and love it, she said.

Theres been a big turnover since we came. There were many older families. Now theres a shift and there are younger ones and lots of kids. People who first thought this was their starter home have decided to stay because its so wonderful here, she said.

[In Prince Georges County, an automobile suburb evolves into a desired enclave]

She said she loves that her daughter, Ellery, 8, walks to school and will be able to do so through eighth grade.

The houses are sturdily built. Theyre not going anywhere, said Brian Hannigan, a third-time president of the civic association.





Enhanced appearance: Northern Virginia developer Merwin Ardeen Mace built Dominion Hills from 1945 to 1948. He varied the door surrounds and the setback distance from the sidewalk to enhance visual diversity.

When we moved in more than 30 years ago, the community profile was much more modest. Over time it has become a middle, middle-class neighborhood, said Hannigan, who moved in with his wife, Judy Sullivan, in 1983. Their two children are now 33 and 29.

Thats a very interesting aspect. People want bigger houses today than they did 50, 60, 70 years ago. Theyve found a way to expand them and in doing so have stimulated the neighborhoods character and also ratcheted it up socioeconomically, he said.

People put up decks in the back and porches in the front; and add additions to the side or rear. So while the neighborhood still presents a consistent visual appearance from the street, the interiors are all different, he added.

Halloween festivities: Arlington is a bike- and pedestrian-friendly jurisdiction, and three bike trails cross the community and link up: the Interstate 66 Custis Trail, the W&OD Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail.

Bon Air Park, which adjoins the community on one side, is 24 acres of grass, ball courts, playgrounds and picnic areas with grills.

Dominion Hills Park is the neighborhood jewel and is public. Grass surrounds a sandbox, colorful play equipment, picnic tables, benches, gentle undulating topography, low bushes and a mix of plants landscaped by the county. Mace donated about half a dozen house lots to the community to create the park.

Holtry-Hughes and another neighbor look after a 93-year-old man who lives between them and whose wife died 18 months ago. Really, this is a village, she said. We have a deal. He grows tomatoes and gives them to us. My daughter and I bake and make soup for him.

[D.C.s Trinidad neighborhood sheds its troubled past]

The Annual Halloween Parade and Festival is scheduled for Oct. 29. A grand marshal driving a white Mustang convertible blaring Halloween tunes will lead a parade of 150 kids in costume down to the park, where they will play games, eat sugary treats and have their costumes judged.

The Dominion Hills Civic Association asks for a $20 a year household contribution, which results in an annual budget of $6,000 to $8,000, the bulk of which goes to upkeep of the park.

Where to shop: Stores and businesses line Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard and abound at Baileys Crossroads, Clarendon and Tysons Corner. Nearby Westover runs a farmers market on Sundays.



Dominion Hills in Arlington offers a suburban feel thats close to an urban center. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Living there: Dominion Hills, Zip code 22205, is bounded by Interstate 66 on the north, Bon Air Park on the east, Wilson Boulevard on the south and N. McKinley Road and Ohio Street on the west.

According to Tom Anderson, an agent with Long and Foster in Arlington, no properties are for sale now. One house with three bedrooms, four bathrooms and several additions is under contract with a list price of $849,900. In the past year, 23 homes sold, ranging from a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house as is for $555,000 to a five-bedroom, four bathroom house for $1,180,000.

Schools: McKinley and Ashlawn Elementary, Swanson Middle, Washington-Lee and Yorktown High.

Transit: Were about five miles from the Washington Monument as the crow flies, said Hannigan. From the District, the community is reached via Interstate 66 to Exit 71. The East Falls Church Metro station on the Orange Line is a mile west and Ballston-MU, also on the Orange Line, is a mile and a half east. Metrobus and Arlington Rapid Transit bus lines run across the neighborhood. Recently, a bus connection to East Falls Church was added.

Crime: According to www.spotcrime.com , no crimes were reported in the past year.
Pakistan, after its denial of the Indian Army's surgical strikes, has now accused a leading Indian news channel of forging the interview of a Pakistan official in which he admitted that the strikes happened.

By India Today Web Desk: After a Pakistan official's interview admitting the Indian Army's surgical strikes went viral, Pakistan today has accused the Indian news channel on which it was aired of running a "forged" interview.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the interview of Ghulam Akbar, a police officer of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in which he admitted that India did carry out surgical strikes on terrorist camps across the LoC was forged by the channel.

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VOICE ON RECORDING NOT AKBAR'S, SAYS PAKISTAN



"The reporter impersonated himself as Inspector General Police Punjab," the Ministry said in a statement, adding that "Akbar has categorically denied having spoken over phone and that it is not even his voice on the recording run by the said Indian TV channel."

Also read | Lie nailed: Pakistan police officer admits India did carry out surgical strikes



The statement asks for stringent action to be taken against the TV channel, "as not doing so will be regarded as directly owning to this unethical and manipulative act." It added that Pakistan has "the right to take necessary legal action against the said TV channel."

As Pakistan continues to deny that India retaliated to the Uri attack that martyred 19 jawans with surgical strikes, the news report of the channel said that Akbar disclosed that the strikes did indeed take place and killed at least five Pakistani soldiers, along with an unspecified number of militants.

(With inputs from PTI)

Also read:

Exclusive: How India's para commandos used flame throwers, night-vision glasses to strike terrorists behind enemy lines

Pakistan flies international media to LoC to prove denial of India's surgical strikes, and fails

Don't indulge in unwarranted jingoism over Army's strike: Modi to Cabinet

BJP, Opposition debate over evidence of Indian Army's surgical strikes

After surgical strikes, Pakistan floods Facebook with terror videos



--- ENDS ---
Five days after the worst defeat of his political career, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his dogged, but unfulfilled, effort to end a half-century of civil war.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it made the decision because of Santoss landmark attempt to stamp out one of the worlds longest-running conflicts, which has killed more than 220,000 people and driven at least 7 million from their homes since 1964.

The award was a surprise because Colombians voted Sunday against Santoss peace accord, which many viewed as too generous to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Santos was considered a leading candidate for the prize prior to the referendum, but his chances seemed to fade after voters sunk the deal by a narrow margin.

Offering a window into Nobel deliberations, the committee said its members were conscious that the Colombian peace efforts were imperiled and wanted to offer a boost.

There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again, said Kaci Kullmann Five, a former Norwegian politician who is now chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. We hope it will encourage all good initiatives and all the parties who could make a difference in this process in Colombia.

1 of 9 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What it looked like when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Colombian president View Photos Juan Manuel Santos was recognized for his work to end a half-century conflict with Marxist rebels in his country. Caption Juan Manuel Santos was recognized for his work to end a half-century conflict with Marxist rebels in his country. Oct. 7, 2016 Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos arrives with his wife, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez, for a news conference at the presidential palace in Bogota. Fernando Vergara/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

[The rejection of the peace deal, by the numbers ]

Santoss award was celebrated in Colombia, whose only previous Nobel winner was the late novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez , recipient of the 1982 prize in literature.

Santos dedicated the prize to the Colombian people and the millions who have suffered from the bloodshed.

This is for the victims, he said in a nationally televised address Friday morning. So that there wont be one more victim, nor one more death. We must come together and unite to complete this process, and begin to build a stable and lasting peace.

Among the surprises of the award was that it was bestowed on Santos alone, rather than the president and his main partner in the peace efforts, FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, who goes by the alias Timochenko.

But the FARC leader was never considered as strong a candidate for the honor. Like other guerrilla commanders, he is wanted in the United States on drug-trafficking charges, and he leads a rebel army that the U.S. and Colombian governments consider a terrorist organization.

Londono said Friday on Twitter that he remained committed to peace, and the rebels issued a separate joint statement with government negotiators saying the FARC would be willing to discuss adjustments to the accord.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, with his wife, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez, reacts after casting his vote on the peace accord referendum Sunday. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

It appeared to be the first time the rebels have indicated a willingness to revisit the 297-page agreement, which was formally signed by Londono and Santos on Sept. 26 but cant be implemented because voters rebuffed it.

[Watch: The Nobel committees announcement ]

Norway had a special stake in this years peace prize. Its government, together with Cuba, has served as a guarantor for the negotiations with the FARC, essentially playing a mediator role throughout four years of painstaking talks.

Whether the Nobel prize will give Santos new leverage to rework the peace deal remains to be seen.

Colombians already knew that Santos had the support of the Obama administration, the United Nations, the European Union and Pope Francis  an immensely popular figure in their heavily Catholic nation of 50 million . The pursuit of a peace deal with the guerrillas was a deeply personal conviction for him, said Pilar Calderon, who worked closely with Santos as his communications director for two years, until April.

[Five stories to read to understand Colombias conflict ]

But it appeared to make little difference in Colombia, where Santoss popularity is significantly lower than it is abroad. With the economy slowing and crime on the rise, Santoss presidential approval rating has slumped below 30 percent in recent months. His opponents were able to defeat his peace deal Sunday in part by making the vote a referendum on his presidency.

Calderon said she expected that some in the deeply polarized country will say that Santoss long campaign for a pact with the rebels was motivated by personal vanity and a kind of prize-chasing.

Theyre wrong, she said. He did it because he knows that the only way for Colombia to move forward is with peace.

The Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombias most prominent families, Santos, 65, was the nations defense minister from 2006 until 2009, a period when the Colombian military dealt the FARC some of its toughest setbacks.

In a region long polarized by ideology, he is viewed as a new kind of statesman, a pro-business, socially liberal, globally minded centrist on a laudable quest to end his countrys bloody, bitter war.

The future of the efforts is in flux. Ordinary FARC soldiers have already spent months preparing to lay down their arms and rejoin their families. Any new deal will probably include harsher penalties for those accused of kidnapping, drug trafficking, murder and other war crimes. Many rebels have spent decades in the jungle.

Absent any breakthroughs, a fragile cease-fire will expire Oct. 31.

Santos faced a major challenge from his former political benefactor and predecessor as Colombias leader, Alvaro Uribe, who led the successful effort to derail the peace accord.

I congratulate President Santos for the Nobel, Uribe wrote on Twitter on Friday morning. I hope it leads to changes to the accords that are damaging for democracy.

If Uribe pushes for a deal that the rebels cant accept, the peace accord could crumble. If he and the guerrillas can reach a compromise, he, more than Santos, could play the peacemaker role.

[The anonymous phantoms of Colombias FARC ]

But the Nobel prize moves the dial back toward Santos, said a source involved in the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate state of the talks. This solidifies international support and puts extra weight on Uribe to not be the guy who kills the peace. Whether its enough, or whether Uribe will see it that way, is another story.

Santos and Uribe met at the presidential palace for the first time in six years Wednesday, but they have yet to agree on a path forward or which elements of the peace deal could be rewritten.

Michael Shifter, president of Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank, said there is a risk that the prize could make it even harder to put the process back on track, given that the bad blood between Uribe and Santos stems from envy as much as anything else.

Hopefully both will be magnanimous and work together to forge a national consensus on peace, Shifter said. It would be a pity if this ended up being the ultimate consolation prize for Santos.

Miroff reported from Havana. Annabell Van den Berghe in Brussels contributed to this report.

Read more:

Colombias president scrambles to save peace with FARC rebels

Colombians vote against historic peace agreement with FARC rebels

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
As the creek behind Hermosante Fednas home overflowed its banks and lapped at her walls, she waited, afraid the hurricane winds outside posed the greater danger.

She and her husband, Tiophal Sintable, had built their home and raised seven children there. He grew rice and cassava in the green coastal fields behind it. She sold them in the market.

But the sounds Monday night were tremendous, like roaring engines. The winds uprooted towering palm trees and hurled them into the cinder-block shacks all around her. Coconuts landed like cannonballs. When the wind shook her walls and the floodwaters reached her knees, her son carried the 85-year-old Fedna to church to wait out the storm.

Haitians all along the southern coast are now reckoning with the extraordinary toll of that night, destruction on a scale none there had ever seen. Along the southern peninsula that was largely spared from the devastating 2010 earthquake, Hurricane Matthew landed a ferocious blow, damaging or smashing thousands of homes, schools and churches, razing trees and crops, and sweeping away farm animals.

Fednas house was flattened. Her husband, who fled to a different building, died when the ceiling crashed down, pinning him under the wreckage with a flashlight in his hand.

1 of 63 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Hurricane Matthew devastates parts of the Caribbean View Photos The powerful hurricane ravaged Haiti, slammed the eastern tip of Cuba and lashed the Bahamas. Caption The powerful hurricane ravaged Haiti, slammed the eastern tip of Cuba and lashed the Bahamas. Oct. 7, 2016 Homes destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Matthew are seen in Jeremie, Haiti. The full scale of the devastation in hurricane-hit rural Haiti became clear as the death toll surged over 400. Nicolas Garcia/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

This is the worst thing to ever happen to our town, Fedna said Friday, tears glistening on her cheeks.

[Watch: Matthew roars through the Bahamas]

Hurricane Matthew has killed at least 300 people in Haiti, according to the national government, but the figure was sure to rise as aid teams reached areas cut off by washed-out bridges or fallen trees. A Reuters tally from local and national officials put the death count at more than 800. The town of Chantal and its surroundings are among the worst hit, with 106 confirmed dead.

U.N. officials have called the hurricane the countrys worst humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake, which killed about 200,000 people.

Residents said people died after being struck by falling trees or collapsing roofs. Others disappeared in the floodwaters.

This is killing us, said Fedna, weeping quietly. There is nothing left to live on. Our trees and our crops are gone.

The United Nations reported that more than 350,000 of the 1.5 million people living in the area affected by the storm need assistance. Aid agencies fear that cholera  a deadly disease spread by contaminated water  could also decimate vulnerable populations. Already, new cases are being reported at local clinics.

Picture taken by the U.N. Mission in Haiti in the town of Jeremie, Haiti on Thursday October 6, 2016 showing people walking down a flooded street. (Logan Abassi/AFP/Getty Images)

Four days after the hurricane slammed into the Western Hemispheres poorest nation with winds reaching 145 mph, thousands of Haitians remained without power, communications or clean water. The powerful storm continued its destructive march through the Caribbean and hammered Florida on Friday.

In Jeremie, the hard-hit capital of the GrandAnse department at the western end of Haitis southern peninsula, 80 percent of the buildings have been damaged or destroyed, said Holly Frew, a spokeswoman for the aid group CARE. The western area is pretty much still cut off, and many communities are accessible only by motorbike, she said.

As information begins to come in from the west, well continue to see the death toll rise, Frew said from Jacmel on the southern coast. Over in the southwest, its utter despair.

[Hurricane Matthew rumbles along Florida coast]

Conor Shapiro, 35, who runs the St. Boniface Hospital in Fond-des-Blancs, said few patients have been able to get to his hospital, the largest on the southern peninsula, because roads are blocked and a key bridge washed out. He said he hoped to see more of an international rescue effort soon.

Maybe the surge will come, he said. But this feels like a forgotten disaster.

Chantal is on the far side of a damaged bridge over the LAcul du Sud River  still cut off from main roads in this part of Haiti  and residents now fear for their access to food. Before his house collapsed, Pierre Listene, 37, grabbed small plastic sacks of coffee beans and black beans, which he spread on the ground Friday at a chaotic makeshift market along the riverbank. His livestock  five cows, five pigs and 25 chickens  had been swept away.

This is all we were able to save, he said. There is going to be hunger.

The scope of the storm damage was difficult to discern in the first couple of days because this peninsula was unreachable by road, and aid groups have only recently begun to explore coastal villages to assess the problems. Some towns are still isolated, and only rumors of destruction have trickled out. Power was still out along the coast, and phone service was sporadic. Health-care workers expressed worry that hospitals had insufficient supplies to deal with the injuries or disease that could follow the storm.

Along this part of the coast, most houses appear to have suffered some damage from wind, flooding or falling trees.

Gisette Maurice, 62, began building a two-bedroom home outside the nearby city of Les Cayes after her husband died nine years ago. She farmed rice to scrape a meager living and to buy the concrete blocks and metal sheeting for the roof. Maurice finally moved in this past December. She shares the humble home with 19 other relatives.

The hurricane ripped off her roof, submerged the television and refrigerator, washed away her childrens and grandchildrens birth certificates, and made her eight-year achievement uninhabitable.

Ive lost my appetite; I cant eat, she said. I just keep thinking about what I have to do to rebuild this.

The kids are still in school, she went on. Then she started to cry.

[Gallery: Hurricane Matthews destruction]

Maurice and her family are now sleeping with neighbors. The government estimates that about 35,000 Haitians are in shelters across the south. Residents are struggling to dry out from the deluge. Up and down the roads Friday, people were hanging their clothes to dry on fallen tree branches, on downed power lines, on gravestones and on the ground. Women dragged soaked furniture and mattresses out into the sun. Men fired up chain saws to cut through downed trees that blocked the roads.

Denise Louis, 40, did not need to move anything outside to dry; the sun now poured right into her home. Only one wall still stood after the storm, exposing all her belongings to the passing cars.

Ive seen flooding, but never something like this, she said.

Louis, who sells cosmetics in the local market, fled with her two sons when her walls rattled violently, running to a neighbors house on higher ground. She returned to no home at all. Muddy clothes, shoes, scraps of homework assignments and a soggy mattress were all jumbled on the floor and strewn in the yard. The front door was propped sideways on the ground.

With a $400 debt outstanding at the bank, and her cosmetics lost in the flood, Louis had no idea what would come next.

Ive lost everything, she said.

Brian Murphy and William Branigin in Washington and Paul Schemm in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this report.

Read more

Hurricane Matthew slams Haiti en route to U.S. East Coast

How the U.S. military is responding to Hurricane Matthew

East Coast on high alert after Matthew strikes Haiti as strongest hurricane in 52 years

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Finland and the United States have signed a bilateral defense cooperation pact pledging closer military collaboration at a time when the Nordic country is increasingly concerned over Russias activities in the Baltic Sea region.

The deal was signed in Helsinki on Friday by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work and Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto.

While Washington and Helsinki already closely cooperate through joint military drills on air, land and sea, the non-legally binding pact seeks to deepen the ties through information exchange, joint research and development in areas such as cyberdefense and training, among other things.

The pact covers cooperation in shipbuilding, nuclear defense and developing technologies for the Arctic  an area of increasing interest for both nations.

In the three-page declaration, the U.S. Defense Department and the Finnish Defense Ministry jointly state that the U.S. presence in and around the Baltic Sea undergirds stability in the region, and creates opportunities to increase defense cooperation between our countries.

As a stark reminder of the military realities in the region, Niinisto said earlier Friday that Finland suspects that Russian SU-27 fighter jets violated the countrys airspace on two separate occasions in the Gulf of Finland on Thursday.

The claim was quickly denounced by Russias Defense Ministry which, as quoted by the news agency Tass, said the planes flew over international waters in strict compliance with the international regulations.

While the Finnish news media speculated that the air intrusion may be related to Works visit, others claimed that it was caused by an ongoing air drill by Russian air forces in the region.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila considered it serious that two such incidents took place on the same day and urged a thorough investigation.

Estonian national broadcaster ERR reported that Russian military has been transporting short-range Iskander missiles by sea to the Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad this week, complete with substantial air escort  something that could explain intrusions on the narrow international air strip on the Gulf of Finland.

Estonia reported separately that a Russian SU-27 fighter plane had violated its airspace early Friday for less than a minute.

The United States has expressed concern over what it says is Russias aggressive and reckless behavior on the Baltic Sea, where Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia  among other nations  have reported air violations and there has been other activity by Russias military near U.S. aircraft and ships.


An islamic State propaganda video shows a teacher in front of child. "These small bodies are filled with the oneness of God," the teacher said, "so when they explode they will kill and devastate." (Obtained by The Washington Post)

For a story on children who have been indoctrinated by the Islamic State and the psychological legacy of that kind of education, Post reporter Souad Mekhennet held several interviews with a boy who attended a school run by militants in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the groups de facto capital, and his parents.

[For the children of ISIS, target practice starts at age 6. By their teens, theyre ready to be suicide bombers.]

Eight-year-old Taim now lives in Western Europe, where his family is seeking asylum. His parents asked that The Post not use their last name or specify where they are living, fearing retribution from Islamic State sympathizers. Mekhennet discussed her interviews for the story with Julie Vitkovskaya.

Youve previously interviewed members and leaders of al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban. Now youve come face-to-face with a boy who had been recruited by the Islamic State. What is it like interviewing a child as opposed to an adult?

Its different to interview a child, and I have some experience with that from reporting in war zones, refugee camps and also when I worked on a childrens book some years ago. Taim is a boy who in one moment describes to you how he loves being in Europe, how he loves playing with his toys. He would smile and laugh. Sometimes, as soon as we discussed his life in Syria or mentioned ISIS, his facial expression would change, he would stop smiling and cover his eyes, and say he didnt want to remember what he has seen in Syria. And then there were other moments when he described with pride some of the lessons he learned from his ISIS teachers about what was right and what was wrong. He had some knowledge about arms and military.

He seemed in some turmoil. He is now in a country which his teachers had told him was the terrible home of unbelievers, but he actually liked it and was adapting to the change. But he never entirely escapes his memories. He once asked me why there were ISIS fighters from all these different countries, including the United States and Europe, who came to his country, took away the homes of people and began to spread violence and fear. Why did these countries allow them to come to us? he asked at one point.

How did Taim describe his experience with the Islamic State? What was he exposed to, and how is his narrative similar or different from other children who are recruited by the Islamic State?

He explained that he began to go to their classes because there was no other school, but also because ISIS members would encourage the children to go and attend lectures with candy and toys.

During the lectures, the teachers would also show them the latest ISIS videos, including executions. They also watched propaganda material that said foreign armies and Shia militias were killing Sunni Muslims in Syria and Iraq, and the caliphate was the only protection from the murdering and raping of these enemies.

Taim also watched the actual beheadings of prisoners, not just videos.

He also was conflicted because some of the things he was told were haram or forbidden, such as smoking, were things his father or relatives did. He would tell his father to stop smoking or risk being killed. He told his mother to wear the niqab and not be uncovered in front of her brother-in-law. His parents thought their 6-year-old had turned into a sharia policeman for ISIS.

When he turned 7, ISIS commanders tried to convince Taim to join a training camp for children. They told him only the best were chosen and he would learn how to become a real fighter. He was interested in going, but his parents held him back. When they decided Taim would be forced into the camp, they fled Raqqa.

Taim asked you in the middle of one interview for a piece of paper and a pen, and began to draw something for you. Can you describe what it shows and what he told you?

A drawing by eight-year-old Taith, who attended a school run by militants in the Syrian city of Raqqa. (NO CREDIT)

One hour into one meeting, he said he wanted to draw something for me. And allow me to recount the conversation between us:

SM : What did you draw?

Taim : This was in the Ar Rashid park where I went to play. I saw people standing around two men.

See, he said, pointing at the man with no hair. See, he was looking very angry. He is holding the other man and is also holding something in his right hand. The other man has no eye. They had already taken his eye, you see?

He pointed with his right index finger to the face he had drawn with one eye.

SM:: And what happened then?

Taim: And then the other men stood behind him, and the head of the man with one eye just fell. His head just fell.

Taim then said, I dont want to remember it.

The Islamic State regularly releases videos and photos of its activities. In fact, you describe the groups use of media as the most potent propaganda machine ever assembled by a terrorist group. What role do children like Taim serve in the groups propaganda? What do we know is real and what do we know is used as propaganda?

Children are watching executions and have been watching executions long before we saw the first Western hostages killed in front of cameras. Children in Syria and Iraq have witnessed a tremendous amount of violence for years now.

In terms of ISIS, they have in the last year increased the production of videos which show the training of children and also executions done by children.

Also, there are apps and books  The Post had access to two  which teach children various things, from the alphabet to how to become a future soldier. They have also books for parents who live outside ISIS territory but who would like to educate their children in the groups ideology. So ISIS is putting a lot of effort into the education of children and influencing how they see the world and behave.

Youve written before that the Islamic State is preparing for an eventual collapse. Does this mean the Islamic State will get even more desperate in recruiting child soldiers like Taim?

I dont think they are desperate to recruit more child soldiers. The fact is they already have a lot of them. Foreign fighters with sons older than six or seven happily send them to training camps, according to an ISIS operative who spoke to The Post. And when it shows videos of children, it is sending a message to the outside world that the next generation is ready.

What happens to Taim now?

His mother said she would like him to see an Arabic-speaking psychiatrist, but she is also worried that somehow people might try to take him away from his family, particularly if the authorities learn about his experiences. So far he has not received professional help, and his family thinks its clear he needs it. But his family also feels lucky that they were able to flee before ISIS turned Taim into a killer.

Read more:

Hes the son of Osama bin Ladens bombmaker. Then ISIS wanted him as one of its own.

Inside ISIS: Quietly preparing for the loss of the caliphate

ISIS kidnapped my best friend. But when I met its fighters, I couldnt hate them.

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Protesters hold signs reading Tthe truth for Giulio Regeni' during a demonstration in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Rome in February. (Massimo Percossi/European Pressphoto Agency)

Opponents of the Egyptian government seem to just vanish.

Over the past two years, hundreds of political activists, journalists and students  anyone deemed a threat to the government  have been picked up by the national security agency and forcibly disappeared, according to human rights groups.

Now, a new app disguised as a common feature on cellphones  a calculator  is being used to protect the next victims and, perhaps, hold the government accountable.

When you get arrested, you have no one to help you, said Ahmed Abdallah, a director on the board of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), which launched the app last month. With this app, everyone will know that this person is detained by the government. It will make a huge difference.

The app  known as I Protect  is the latest example of how technology is increasingly being used by activists to put pressure on human rights violators and seek justice. More than 500 Egyptians have downloaded the app, Abdallah said.





Activists say the program, thought to be the first of its kind in Egypt, comes amid an intensifying wave of repression under the government of President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. People describe being seized, abused and imprisoned for months without access to relatives, lawyers or independent judicial oversight. They are often blindfolded and handcuffed for the entire period.

One case that attracted worldwide attention was the death of an Italian graduate student, Giulio Regeni, whose badly tortured body was found in Cairo in February. Regeni was researching Egyptian trade unions when he disappeared.

The government has denied any involvement, but human rights groups say his death bore the hallmarks of Egypts security forces.

[Italian students remains reveal torture , Egyptian prosecutor says]

In a July report on forced disappearances, the watchdog group Amnesty International said that anyone who dares to speak out is at risk, with counter-terrorism being used as an excuse to abduct, interrogate and torture people who challenge the authorities.

Its the strongest tool in the hands of the regime to oppress the opposition, said Mokhtar Mounir, a lawyer in the legal-justice unit of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, a rights group.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police and other state security forces, did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment. The government has repeatedly denied that forced disappearances are taking place.

Most abuses take place inside prisons, largely in secret. So protecting arrestees requires pinpointing where they are arrested  and moving quickly before their phones, laptops and other forms of communication are taken away.

Thats where the app comes in.

After downloading the app, which for now works only on phones with Android, the user creates a profile and inputs the cellphone numbers of three people to contact in case of an arrest. Then, the user designates a single-digit number to serve as an alarm button.

Once installed, the app shows up as a calculator on the phone to prevent detection.

If an arrest is imminent, the user quickly pushes the alarm button on the calculator. That sends a help message to the three designated recipients and an email to the ECRF. Using the phones GPS, the location of the arrest is also transmitted.

By using this application, we can find the point from where to search for people, the programs developer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he feared arrest. It will be easier for us to help people.

The app, he said, was inspired by a mobile distress signal created by Amnesty International and called Panic Button. It also sends alerts to three recipients and transmits location updates every five minutes.

The developer said that more than 20 of his friends have been arrested. Many of them disappeared into prisons. He knows he could be forced to join them for creating the app.

I have a lot of friends in the army, he said. They have warned me in many ways. They told me, Its as if you are standing against the state. 

[Egypt targets poet for Facebook post on sheep]

Islam Khalil said he wishes hed had the app when he was arrested last year.

State security forces arrived at night at his family home in Tanta, a town north of Cairo, and seized him, his brother and his father. His phone and laptop were taken away.

Khalils brother and father were later released, but he entered a dark world of prisons and abuse. It took his attorney 122 days to find him.

By then, Khalil had been beaten with metal rods and given electric shocks, his hands and legs often tied up during the torture, he said.

Perhaps if I could have pushed the button and instantly sent the message to my friends, things would have been different, said Khalil, who was released from prison a few months ago.

Mounir, the human rights lawyer, said the app could be the beginning of creating a database that could be used to bring justice in future cases. Detailed profiles of victims and their cases, including dates and locations of arrest, could be used to hold people accountable for their crimes, he said.

Abdallah eventually wants to create a nationwide network of emergency responders.

We are not going to stop the government from taking people, he said. But this will tell the government that you took this person, that youre going to be held accountable for the person and that if he gets hurt, then you hurt him.

Theres now someone watching you.

Heba Mahfouz contributed to this report.

Read more:

Italy recalls ambassador to Egypt to seek the truth about students slaying

From Cairo, its Saturday Night Live!  without politics, sex or religion

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
"The news of explosion is erroneous. It was a firecracker that exploded near the Porbandar naval base," the Navy said in a statement.

By India Today Web Desk: The Indian Navy has clarified that the explosion heard inside its base in Gujarat's Porbandar was firecrackers.

"The news of explosion is erroneous. It was a firecracker that exploded near the Porbandar naval base," the Navy said in a statement.

The Navy however said the heavy security outside the base will continue following India's surgical strikes against Pakistan-based terrorists across the Line of Control last week.



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ALSO READ | Mumbai: Pilot saw balloon mid air, sparks terror alert, turns to be navy balloon

The blast at the naval base this morning had alarmed the security agencies and the local police, which rushed to the spot.



A Pakistani boat was apprehended and nine crew members detained off the coast near Porbandar earlier this week.

--- ENDS ---
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2016 / Lupaka Gold Corp (LPK.V) (LQP.F) ("Lupaka Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update regarding its three development projects, as follows:

Invicta Gold Project ("Invicta")

Invicta continues to move forward and we anticipate start-up of on-site work shortly. Although the Pre-Paid Forward Gold Purchase Agreement with PLI Huaura Holdings LP was signed on June 30, 2016, the actual receipt of funding has experienced some significant delays due to a number of items such as clarification of tax issues, re-structuring of pre-existing royalty agreements on the Invicta property and the very slow process of formally registering the liens and mortgages required under the financing agreement.

As soon as funding is received, the Company intends to ramp-up to a 350 tonnes per day ("tpd") production rate as soon as reasonable while processing all mineralized material on a contract basis. Once a steady-state 350 tpd production rate is established, expansion potential and a timetable for the construction of Invicta's own processing facility will be developed.

Please also see "Cautionary Note Regarding the Invicta Production Decision" below.

Josnitoro Gold Project ("Josnitoro")

Lupaka Gold is also moving forward with its Josnitoro project, a joint venture with Hochschild Mining.

Company geologists have visited the Josnitoro site and confirmed historical geologic mapping and conducted a limited confirmation sampling program. Company geologists sampled the disseminated gold halo zone, obtaining values of 9 grams gold per tonne ("g/t") at surface, and sampled the central copper skarn zone receiving values of 1.76% copper and 1.2 g/t gold.

Please see the Company's news release dated November 26, 2013 for further information on Josnitoro and the Hochshild Joint Venture.

The Company is now focusing on the core copper/gold skarn zone where the former Josnitoro owner, Minerales del Suroeste S.A., reported high-grade sampling results for copper (of 3 to 9 percent) from samples taken in 2008 from existing mining works and from the sacks of mineral rock accumulated by artisanal miners from a four km long corridor. Currently this area is being mined by local artisanal miners on a small scale of a few hundred tonnes per day. Processors and off-takers for the artisanal miners' mineralized rock report consistent high-grade (of 2 to 5 percent) copper with gold being delivered to two different plants that are processing material from the copper skarn.

Readers are cautioned that the historical sample results and the related reported grades and the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the historical sample results and reported grades have not been verified by the Company. Further, the samples were selectively collected and may not have been subjected to modern quality assurance and quality control measures, and therefore the results may not be representative or reliable.

The Company will be stepping up its exploration of the property after the rainy season ends in early 2017.

Crucero Gold Project ("Crucero")

Crucero contains a pit constrained indicated/inferred resource estimate which is reported below. Geochem and rock samples indicate that additional gold anomalies may be present along strike both north and south of the main zone. Lupaka Gold is currently entertaining joint venture proposals for the Crucero property.

Gordon Ellis, President and CEO commented, "The Company has three good properties, each of which has either a defined resource or ongoing small-scale mining over potentially large deposits." Mr. Ellis further commented that, "After a number of years of challenging market conditions to find sufficient funding, we look forward to further exploring and developing these assets at a much accelerated rate in today's improving metals markets."

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this news release.

About Lupaka Gold

Lupaka Gold is a Peru-focused gold explorer and developer with geographic diversification and balance through its interest in asset-based resource projects spread across three regions of Peru.

Invicta Gold Project - the Company's 100%-owned Invicta Gold Project is a well-developed, poly-metallic gold-copper underground deposit located approximately 120 kilometres by road north of Lima. Management expects to commence production in 2016 by using third-party mining contractors and utilizing the adit and workings completed by previous owners.

Mining operations would be focused on accessing Invicta's Measured and Indicated resource estimates, which are comprised of:

Measured - 131,000 tonnes grading 6.65 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold equivalent for 28,000 contained ounces ("ozs") gold equivalent, from: 18,000 ozs Au grading at 4.29 g/t, 133,000 ozs Ag grading at 31.71 g/t, 2,119k lbs Cu grading at 0.73%, 1,110k lbs Pb grading at 0.39% and 1,105k lbs of Zn grading at 0.38%.

Indicated - 8,513,000 tonnes grading 3.43 g/t gold equivalent for 939,000 contained ozs gold equivalent, from: 573,000 ozs Au grading at 2.09 g/t, 4,285,000 ozs Ag grading at 15.65 g/t, 79,048k lbs Cu grading at 0.42%, 45,171k lbs Pb grading at 0.24% and 53,482k lbs of Zn grading at 0.21%.

Inferred - 2,534,000 tonnes grading 2.90 g/t gold equivalent for 236,000 contained ozs gold equivalent, from: 131,000 ozs Au grading an average of 1.61 g/t, 979,000 ozs Ag grading at 12.02 g/t, 25,879k lbs Cu grading at 0.46%, 14,891k lbs Pb grading at 0.27% and 9,854k lbs of Zn grading at 0.18%.

The resources are stated at a 1.30 g/t gold equivalent cut-off contained within potentially economically mineable mineralized solids. Metal prices assumed for the gold equivalent calculation are US$1,500/oz for gold, US$32.50/oz for silver, US$3.90/lb for copper, US$1.05/lb for lead and US$1.00/lb for zinc. The gold equivalent calculation assumes 100% metallurgical recovery, and does not account for any smelting, transportation or refining charges.

Invicta's approved EIA allows for mine production at 1,000 tpd although the current mining plan is limited to 400 tpd.

Josnitoro Gold Project - the Company holds an option to earn a 65% interest on this project from Hochschild Mining PLC. The project is located approximately 600 kilometres by road southeast of Lima in the Department of Apurimac, southern Peru, within which lies the La Arena mine (Tahoe Resources) and the Constancia mine (HudBay Minerals). Historical work on the disseminated gold zones includes over 170 shallow drill holes and extensive surface trenching, as well as artisanal mining.

Crucero Gold Project - the Company holds a 100% interest in the Crucero Gold Project, a 5,500 hectare gold property located in southern Peru. Crucero has an Indicated mineral resource estimate of 1,003,041 ozs Au contained in 30,919,873 tonnes at 1.02 g/t gold (capped) and an Inferred mineral resource estimate of 1,027,806 ozs Au contained in 31,201,648 tonnes at 1.03 g/t gold (capped). These mineral resource estimates have been constrained by a conceptual pit shell in order to confirm reasonable prospects of economic extraction as set out in the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and NI 43-101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Lupaka Gold Corp.

Investor Relations

+1 (604) 681-5900

or visit the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or its website at www.lupakagold.com

Qualified Person

The technical information in this document has been reviewed and approved by Julio Castaneda Mondragon, MAIG, the President of Lupaka Gold Peru S.A.C., a Peruvian subsidiary of the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Other than the scientific and technical information regarding Josnitoro which has not been verified as discussed above, Mr. Castaneda has verified the scientific and technical information, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in this news release.

The Invicta Gold Project resource estimates referred to in this news release are disclosed in the technical report dated April 16, 2012, titled "Technical Report on Resources, Invicta Gold Project, Huaura Province, Peru", and prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., which is available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold Corp's profile.

The Crucero A-1 mineral resource estimates referred to in this news release are disclosed in the technical report with effective date January 17, 2013, amended and re-stated October 22, 2013, titled "Technical Report for the Crucero Property, Carabaya Province, Peru", and prepared by Tetra Tech WEI Inc. and SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. The Technical Report is available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold's profile.

Cautionary Note Regarding the Invicta Production Decision

The decision to commence production at the Invicta Gold Project and the Company's plans for a mining operation as referenced herein (the "Production Decision and Plans") were based on economic models prepared by the Company in conjunction with management's knowledge of the property and the existing preliminary estimate of measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources on the property. The Production Decision and Plans were not based on a preliminary economic assessment, a pre-feasibility study or a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with the Production Decision and Plans, in particular the risk that mineral grades will be lower than expected, the risk that construction or ongoing mining operations are more difficult or more expensive than expected, the risk that the Company will not be able to transport or sell the mineralized rock it produces to local custom toll mills on the terms it expects, or at all; production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a detailed economic and technical analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.

Quality Control and Assurance

The analysis for Lupaka Gold's assays of surface samples from the Josnitoro Gold Project was carried out by ALS Chemex Laboratories in Lima, Peru, exercising a thorough Quality Assurance and Quality Control program (QA/QC). As part of QA/QC protocol, duplicates, standards and blanks are inserted into the sample processing stream. The sample locations were photographed for reference and logged with field notes and GPS locations. The samples were broken in half, with half kept for hand specimens and half submitted for assay. The assay samples were bagged, sealed and delivered from Lupaka Gold's Lima office to ALS Chemex Laboratory location in Lima, Peru. The remaining hand specimens are kept at the Company's Lima office for reference. Gold was assayed by a 50 gram nominal weight fire assay and the other 41 elements were assayed by ICP-MS methods with aqua regia digestion. ALS Chemex is an accredited laboratory, ISO 9000 registered.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release relative to anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to the receipt of and anticipated use of proceeds of the PLI Financing, the Company's plans and intentions for Invicta, a Company owned processing facility, potential mineralization on the properties in which the Company has an interest, the Company's exploration and development plans and mineral resource estimates, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made that the Company believes are reasonable, including: that the PLI Financing is consummated on the anticipated terms and the stated timing, that the supplies, equipment, personnel, permits, and local community approvals required to conduct the Company's planned pre-production and development activities will be available on reasonable terms, that the Company will be able to comply with the delivery and other obligations in the Agreement, that the contemplated Company owned processing facility will, if acquired or constructed, achieve the expected benefits, that results of exploration activities will be consistent with management's expectations; that the Company will not experience any material accident, labour dispute, or failure of equipment and with respect to the planned mining operations at Invicta; that pre-production mine development can be completed in the time and for the cost projected; that the Company will be able to obtain funding for planned production expenses; that mineralization on the Invicta project will be of the grades and in the locations expected; that the Company will be able to extract and transport mineralized rock efficiently and sell the mineralized rock at the prices and in the manner and quantities expected; that permits will be received on the terms and timeline expected and that other regulatory or permitting issues will not arise; that mining methods can be employed in the manner and at the costs expected and that such methods yield the results the Company expects them to. However, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: all of the risks described in this news release; failure of the PLI Financing to complete on the proposed terms or at all, including due to the Company's inability to complete the conditions precedent, the risk that the contemplated Company owned processing facility will not be completed or will not achieve the expected benefits, the risk that actual results of exploration and development activities will be different than anticipated; that the Company will not be able to comply with the delivery or other obligations in the Agreement and the risk that PLI Huaura Holdings LP will enforce its security over the Company's assets, including its mineral properties; that cost of labour, equipment or materials will increase more than expected; that the future price of gold will decline; that the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the U.S. dollar; that mineral resources are not as estimated; unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates; risks related to shipping mineralized rock; the risk that local mills cannot or will not buy or process mineralized rock from the planned production for the prices expected or at all; risk of accidents, labour disputes and other risks generally associated with mineral exploration; unanticipated delays in obtaining or failure to obtain community, governmental or regulatory approvals or financing; and all of the risks generally associated with the development of mining facilities and the operation of a producing mine, as well as the risks described in the Company's annual information form, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Lupaka Gold does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Lupaka Gold Corp
From Cosmopolitan

On Sunday night, all eyes will be on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the two have a presidential debate rematch. And one of the referees will be Martha Raddatz, a seasoned war reporter with foreign-policy cred and a history of asking tough questions of politicians. (The other will be CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.)

Raddatz, the chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News, was named co-anchor of This Week in January. Its a role she has held informally since 2014, alternating weekends with George Stephanopoulos. Before that, she traveled the world reporting on politics, foreign affairs, and especially the military. Heres what you need to know about her.

She dropped out of college to start her career. According to the Washington Post, the Salt Lake City native dropped out of the University of Utah to work at a local television station. She later received an honorary degree from Kenyon College, the same year her son graduated from the school. "I am sorry you have to get your degree on the same day your mother is given one as well, without doing any of the work," she joked in her commencement speech. In 2014, she told The Hill that dropping out was "not my best move."

She has badass stories from her reporting around the world. She covered the Bosnia crisis in the late 1990s and then spent long stretches of time reporting in Iraq and Afghanistan, visiting Iraq more than two dozen times. She was the only TV reporter allowed to fly on an F-15 fighter jet on a combat mission over Afghanistan. She told The Wrap that the most dangerous thing she ever did was cross a river near Jalalabad on a homemade raft made of wooden boards with an 8-year-old boy as her guide.

Lately, she has been covering airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, and even anchored This Week from an air base where drone strikes are conducted. In a 10-minute conversation, Martha will break your heart with the stories of children living in rural Afghanistan, shell inspire you with tales of front-line heroism, and shell make you laugh uncontrollably with observations about the stylishness of scarves and body armor, director Kathryn Bigelow told the New York Times in 2011.

Story continues

Veterans issues are especially close to her heart. Raddatz was the Pentagon correspondent for National Public Radio from 1993 to 1998 before moving to ABC News to cover the State Department. She wrote a book, The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family, about a two-day battle in Iraq that changed the nature of the conflict; that book will be adapted into a miniseries for National Geographic Channel. She is also on the board of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which supports wounded veterans and their families. I know how they notify families of the dead, she told the Times. No matter how you feel about this war or how we got into it, you have to care about our servicemen. I cant pretend to be objective when it comes to service or sacrifice.

She had to beg her way off a plane when Osama bin Laden died. According to the Times, Raddatz was about to fly to Kabul for a story when she got an email from ABC telling her bin Laden had been killed. In order to get off the plane, she had to confide the then-secret information to a flight attendant - and then told her son, who got worried about her when she first vaguely mentioned a national security issue.



Shes a force to be reckoned with in debates. Raddatz, alongside World News Tonight anchor David Muir, moderated one Democratic primary debate and one Republican primary debate this election season. As moderator, shes not afraid to challenge candidates on their views, especially when it comes to foreign policy. She also moderated the vice presidential debate in 2012, sitting down with Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan, who is now speaker of the house. That debate won her general acclaim and even a Walter Cronkite Award for political journalism. And CNN declared her, not Biden or Ryan, the debates real winner.

But Republicans have said shes too close to President Barack Obama. Raddatzs second husband, Julius Genachowski, went to law school with Obama; the president attended their wedding in 1991 and eventually appointed Genachowski to run the Federal Communications Commission. (Raddatz and Genachowski divorced in 1997, and Raddatz is now married to NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten.) Back in 2012, Republicans used that as evidence of a conflict of interest when she was set to moderate the VP debate, but the Commission on Presidential Debates brushed it off, and ABC called the allegations absurd.

She has amazing taste in ringtones. At a presidential press briefing in 2007, Raddatzs phone started ringing, which is embarrassing enough. But her ringtone was Chamillionaires Ridin Dirty, a curious choice from the usually serious reporter, who blamed it on her 15-year-old son. Chamillionaire loved the moment, said it made his night, and told Raddatz to keep it gangsta.

Election Day is Nov. 8. If you havent registered to vote yet, you can do so here.

Follow Megan on Twitter.

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A 10-year-old Texas boy was severely burned after another child ignited a flash fire in an incident that did not appear to be premeditated, authorities said Thursday.

Kayden Culp is on life support and is suffering from second- and third-degree burns that cover 20% of his body, his family said. Kayden, who has a hearing impairment and speaks with a lisp, was injured on Sunday and told his family that another boy set him on fire, according to the Washington Post.

Four boys who knew each other were involved in the incident, which took place near a shed, Kerrville Police Chief David Knight said.

Kaydens mother Tristyn Hatchett told the San-Antonio Express-News that her son had been bullied by the group of boys. He considered these guys his friends, but they would make fun of him and pick on him and tease him, she said. Hatchett told the Associated Press that Kayden exhibits autistic behavior but has not been officially diagnosed.

Knight said at a news conference Thursday that the shed was already on fire when another boy tossed a burning gas canister, which inadvertently struck Kayden. We have no indication that there was any premeditation involved to injure this child, the police chief said.

Authorities have charged the unidentified boy with first-degree arson, according to the AP. Thousands of people have donated more than $140,000 to an online fundraising page set up to help Kaydens family pay for medical expenses.
Moscow (AFP) - An empty chair and a small potted palm still stand in Anna Politkovskaya's former office, preserved as a shrine by her colleagues at the Novaya Gazeta opposition newspaper.

An uncompromising critic of Russia's bloody suppression of its opponents in Chechnya, the journalist was gunned down on October 7, 2006 in the entrance hall of her apartment block. She was 48.

The murder, committed on President Vladimir Putin's birthday, caused shockwaves round the world particularly in the West where Politkovskaya was widely known for her investigative reporting on Chechnya.

"We asked her many times to stop covering Chechnya because it had grown too dangerous," said the newspaper's deputy editor Sergei Sokolov, her former colleague.

"But Anna said she could not turn a blind eye to what the Russian authorities were doing there," he told AFP.

For two days after Politkovskaya's murder, Putin pointedly made no public comment despite the storm of media interest. He finally broke his silence to promise an "objective investigation."

The investigation and the trial saw a series of dramatic twists: the authorities unexpectedly replaced the investigative team, the suspected killer fled to Siberia, three suspects were acquitted and then the Supreme Court overturned the verdict.

"It was very hard," Politkovskaya's son Ilya told AFP. "And in the end, there was no kind of justice."

- 'Justice not done' -

In June 2014 after eight years, a Moscow court finally handed long sentences to the five defendants -- four of whom were ethnic Chechens.

Rustam Makhmudov, who fired the fatal shots, and his uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, identified as the murder's organiser, are serving life terms.

The court also handed long sentences to their accomplices: 20 years for former Moscow police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov and 12 and 13 1/2 years respectively for the gunman's two brothers Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov.

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But despite the harshness of the sentences, the verdict did not provide an exhaustive explanation as demanded by Politkovskaya's loved ones.

"Justice has not been done," said Sokolov. "Yes, those who killed her are in prison, but not their boss, nor the boss of their boss."

For her son, "justice stopped halfway."

"Many politicians say the case is closed, but that's a lie. We're nowhere near. The organisers have yet to go on trial."

And a group of investigators set up to identify the masterminds has made no breakthrough for two years.

"All the trails lead back to Chechnya, to the highest level of its elite, but the Russian authorities are stalling the investigation," said Pavel Kanygin, a journalist at Novaya Gazeta.

"Until there is a change of political regime in Russia, those who gave the order will remain free."

- Similarities to Nemtsov murder -

The gunning down of the opposition politician and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov close to the Kremlin on February 27, 2015, revived painful memories for Politkovskaya's relatives.

"We quickly noticed a large number of similarities in the way (Nemtsov's) murder was carried out," said her son Ilya.

"They caught the guys who killed him immediately and made them testify in front of television cameras before arresting them very quickly, plus they are mainly Chechens," he said.

"Even the court process, which has just started, is very similar."

For Politkovskaya's son, Nemtsov's murder leads to an uncomfortable conclusion -- "that nothing has changed."

On Friday, to mark the 10th anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's murder, Novaya Gazeta invited her supporters to gather beside the memorial plaque at the entrance to the newspaper's offices.

Even though six of its staff and stringers have been killed since its foundation in 1993, Novaya Gazeta has never lost heart, said Sokolov.

"There was just one occasion," he admitted. "It was just after Anna's murder. We got together and decided to close the newspaper. Because no newspaper is worth sacrificing human lives for."

"But the younger people on staff were against this. And we decided to continue, on condition that we found those guilty for the deaths of our journalists," he recalls.

"Sooner or later, we will get there."
This story was originally published in October 2016 and updated this week in light of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. For more information about how to help prevent gun violence, visit everytown.org.



It's terrifying to think about your child ending up in a situation like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, or the recent fatal playground attack at Townville Elementary in South Carolina. But experts say not only should you think about it  you should plan for it.

Sadly, we're living in a new normal, where mass shootings are in the news regularly. Caitlin Durkovich, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security, says she's seen an uptick in educational institutions wanting to prepare for "the eventuality" of a mass shooting. In her opinion, training for one is no less important than regular fire and tornado drills.

"As we've learned, nowhere is immune to this," says Durkovich. The good news, she says, is that there's already proof that drills can save lives. So, we asked Durkovich and other experts to share what they know with you. Get ready to take notes:

1. Teach your kids this mantra: run, hide, fight.

"The idea is to provide basic, easy-to-remember actions in the event that people find themselves in an active shooter incident," says Durkovich. "Run, which means evacuate. Hide means find shelter. And in the worst-case scenario, if you have to fight, fight to save your life." (Think of it as "stop, drop and roll" for a different kind of emergency.) But, she is quick to point out, the steps are not necessarily intended to be done in order. Instead, it depends on your environment. "You can't always find an escape route, so it may require that you find a hiding place that is out of the visibility of the shooter," she says.

2. Here's another one: If you see something, say something.

"As we go about our daily lives, the biggest mistake is not being aware enough of our surroundings to notice what might be out of the ordinary or not normal," says Durkovich."It's reporting suspicious activity if something does seem out of place rather than going into that facility." The same goes for reporting suspicious activity on social media. Also good to note: Tell your kids not to open locked emergency doors, no matter how nice the person asking to get in may seem.

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3. Make sure your kid understands school protocol.

Tonya Edwards, a kindergarten teacher in Kentucky, says her school implemented active shooter training for teachers after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook and now practices "lockdown" drills several times throughout the school year. In the drill, teachers lead students into a small, enclosed space, lock the door and tell them to be completely quiet. "I've had some [kids] burst out crying when I first start talking about it," says Edwards. "So you stress that it's pretend and a drill. We make it a game by picking out the quietest one, to get them in that mode of being still and quiet. One sound and that might make [the shooter] want to come in." Know what your children's school practices, and discuss it at home.

4. But it's not all on the school  you can help too.

Meet with local law enforcement, school administrators and even the PTA, advises Durkovich. Ask questions about what parents should do in the event of a lockdown and who's going to keep them updated and how (the school Durkovich's children attend sends out text messages to parents that are similar to when an Amber Alert has been issued). "Those are the types of things that schools need to have in place," says Durkovich. "Plan for what you're going to do with the kids and how you're going to effectively manage your communication with parents and law enforcement."

Photo credit: Megan Tatem

5. If they can run, do it in a zig-zag.

All three of the experts we spoke with agree it's the number one way to increase your chances of surviving. "A moving target is far more difficult to shoot than a stationary one," says Clint Emerson, a retired Navy Seal of 20 years and New York Times best-selling author of 100 Deadly Skills. His recommended technique? Running to something that could shield you from oncoming gunfire  think concrete pillars or behind a sink counter in the science lab  before sprinting to the next thing that could provide cover, until you're out of the building. "If there is no cover, run in a zig-zag motion as fast as you can to the first right-hand turn and get yourself out of sight," says Emerson. "That makes it very difficult for the shooter to be accurate."

6. If they can hide, hide behind something concrete.

You may not always have a choice, but if you do, avoid hiding behind things made of plastic (think bathroom stalls) or other thin materials (cabinet doors, for example). "If I'm going to hide, I'm going to hide behind things that stop bullets like trees, structural pillars and big concrete planters," says Emerson. He adds that if you're outside and there are vehicles like a school bus, hide on the engine end, not on the trunk end. "Bullets can rip right through that trunk and still hit you, but the engine is going to stop it," he says.

7. If there's nothing solid, at least hide out of sight.

Concealment could be your next best option. "That's like hiding behind curtains, but the curtains aren't going to stop a bullet," says Emerson. If you're in a room and it's possible, "always barricade the door for extra safety," he adds. "In a classroom, you should put filing cabinets on the same wall as the door and say, 'Kids, let's just slide this over.' [Ideally] what's going to happen is the shooter is going to give it some effort for a couple of minutes and then he's going to say 'Forget it' and move on."

Photo credit: Megan Tatem

8. When hiding, stay on hands and knees.

Whether you're dropping down as an immediate reaction to hearing shots fired or crouching down to hide behind something, never put any vital organs against the floor. "Most bullets, when they ricochet, they follow the path of the floor," explains Emerson. "If a bullet comes flying, I'd rather have my hands, knee or wrist hit. If you put your lungs, heart or head right against the ground, you might get a ricochet bullet passing through your body."

9. The bathroom shouldn't be their first choice.

Another thing that may not be possible, but if it is, avoid boxed-in spaces like bathrooms, conference rooms and movie theaters. "Anytime there's a confined space, get out of there," says Emerson. "[Public] bathrooms are horrible; they don't usually have windows and there's nothing in there that's going to stop a bullet." Another tip: Stay out of doorways.

10. The adults should fight as a group.

If you can't run or hide, adults especially still have the option of fighting. It's risky but, as Emerson points out, "This is probably one of the worst scenarios that you could ever imagine, so you've really got nothing to lose." Consider this: "It's [probably] the bad guy's first time to come through those doors and take people's lives," says Emerson. "He's nervous, he's not an experienced shooter. The reality is, with some confidence and knowing what you're going to do ahead of time, you actually have more of an advantage, especially if you're within striking distance."

So, how do you take down an armed killer? If possible, Emerson encourages adults to fight as a group. "Point out a few people and say, 'Hey, when he comes through the door I'm going to go for the weapon, you go for the head and you go for the hips.' It takes one person to make a move, and that gives everyone else the courage to help," he says. "But the weapon is primary. If it comes through the door, grab it and drive it toward a wall. Then get control of the [shooter's] spine, the hips and the head, which will control the rest of the body."

11. If all else fails, look for a fire extinguisher.

When you're fighting for your life, sometimes you have to get creative. Weapons? They're all around you. "Fire extinguishers are everywhere," he says. "You can hit somebody over the head with it, spray their face or put chemicals in their eyes. A lot of commercial buildings have fire hoses in the fire stairwells. You can grab one and turn the pressure on full and knock a bad guy down or create distractions."

12. Bottom line: Keep calm.

If nothing else, says Emerson, just try your best to keep everyone around you calm to avoid drawing unnecessary attention from the shooter. "Calm is just as contagious as panic," he says. "If you panic, others will panic. You need calm, you need calculation and you need to work as a team. There's always something you can be doing to increase your security, safety and lifespan when you're in this type of situation."

Photo credit: Megan Tatem

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Washington (AFP) - Fifteen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, President Barack Obama and the American military have dug in for a long campaign that defies rigid timelines and easy barometers of victory.

On October 7, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom to dislodge the Taliban and capture or kill Al-Qaeda militants they were harboring.

For much of the 15 years since, the US has groped for a strategy -- flitting between trying to chase down jihadis, take accursed terrain, stand up a fragile government or beat back a dogged Taliban insurgency.

Obama came to office in 2009, promising a war-weary US electorate that he would bring the troops home.

But, after a series of missed deadlines and some semantic gymnastics about the definition of combat, he finally abandoned his pledge during his last year in office.

Insisting that he opposes "the idea of endless war," Obama has acknowledged his presidency will end before America's longest conflict does.

Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, who have barely discussed Afghanistan on the campaign trail, will inherit a much smaller war -- with some 9,000 US troops on the ground -- but one with no clear end in sight.

"Right now we don't have a time-bound commitment," said a senior US administration official, who asked not to be named. "It will be up to the next administration to determine how it wants to proceed."

- War without end -

That debate is likely to start with a fundamental question: Is a secure Afghanistan still a vital American strategic interest?

"You could ask, now that Al-Qaeda has been decimated, do we still have a reason to be in this region? It's a very legitimate question and certainly a question the next administration will ask very early on," said the official.

Afghan officials argue that the administration of Ashraf Ghani is trying hard to root out the corruption and bad governance that defined Hamid Karzai's decade in power.

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"It would be an incredible mistake not to safeguard the progress that has been made," a senior Afghan official told AFP.

Afghan security forces still need training and US air power, the official said, as well as help in stopping Pakistan from harboring Taliban and Haqqani network leaders.

Few US officials, either current and former, would disagree with that assessment.

Many point to the experience of the 1990s as evidence for the need to stay.

Back then Washington, having watched their mujahedeen allies oust the Soviets, began to disengage.

"Ignoring Afghanistan proved unwise," a group of respected generals and ambassadors -- including Ryan Crocker and David Petraeus -- recently wrote in an open letter urging a sustained US commitment.

"The turmoil that ensued in Afghanistan after 1989 ultimately gave rise to the Taliban -- and then to the sanctuary for Al-Qaeda that the Taliban provided Osama bin Laden."

- Timelines and deadlines -

Unlike Bush, Obama has been willing to bring the Taliban into the peace negotiations with Kabul, so long as they respect the rule of law and hard-won progress on things like women's rights.

But so far, neither the US killing of hardline Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour nor Kabul brokering a peace deal with a notorious warlord has convinced militants to come to the negotiating table.

Earlier this month Taliban insurgents launched an assault to retake Kunduz and so delegitimize the government, before being repelled.

Washington is betting it's a matter of time before the Taliban, increasingly confined to rural areas and facing stiffer opposition from Afghan forces, change their calculus.

"The Taliban, who are equally resilient I'll grant you that, are learning that they are not able to gain their objectives," the US official said. "They have not be able to gain control and hold strategic terrain."

"So the question is, how long will they persist in this strategy?"

For much of Obama's tenure, it was an open question how long the United States would wait to find out.

His declarations of timelines and determination to drawdown forces has been criticized for sending mixed signals about US commitment and thus encouraging the Taliban and elements in the Pakistani security services to wait Washington out.

The administration argues they have offered a vital leverage.

"The Afghan security forces, I'm positive of this, would not have developed in the manner they have developed -- which in general has been very, very positive -- had it not been for the requirement imposed upon them by the international community for them to become more self-reliant," said the US official.

But setting a hard timeline of ending the war in 2014 was "the explicit announcement that the Taliban just capitalized on," said Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution.

Obama's departure is likely to make such timelines and troop numbers less of a political hot potato.

That may be fitting in a war where victory is illusive and success or failure cannot be easily measured by the number of boots on the ground.
As America prepares for the foreign-policy fireworks in Sunday nights second presidential debate, a town hall format co-moderated by ABC Newss Martha Raddatz and CNNs Anderson Cooper, we asked our columnists to pose the question theyd want to put to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump  and why its so important that Americas next president have the answer. In no particular order, here are their toughest questions.

Q: Chinas economic and military power has been rising rapidly and it has been increasingly aggressive in advancing territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere, in part by reclaiming reefs and shoals and expanding its military presence. Do you believe it is a vital U.S. interest to prevent China from establishing de facto control of these key maritime passageways and, if so, would you authorize the use of military force to halt Chinas efforts? If you are unwilling to use force, how will you keep China from eventually dominating the region?

This question gets at the heart of the main strategic challenge the next president (and his or her successors) will face  namely, how to deal with a powerful and increasingly assertive China. This issue is far more important than the Islamic State, Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict, immigration, or any of the lesser issues that have distracted U.S. policymakers in recent years. If the United States responds too harshly, it could provoke a spiral of hostility with Beijing and alarm its own allies in the region. The United States and China might even stumble into war. But if Washington is unwilling to stand up to piecemeal Chinese encroachments, Americas position in Asia will weaken and some current U.S. allies may decide to accommodate Beijing. Addressing this problem effectively will require resolve, an accurate understanding of the current balance of forces, and a cool head.

Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University.

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Q: What is your priority in Syria? Fighting the Islamic State or ending the civil war? And who are Americas allies in doing so?

Syria is the next presidents biggest headache. But neither candidate has engaged recently in a detailed policy discussion on the issue, so we dont know where they stand. Hillary Clinton previously called for safe zones, but does she still support the idea? Donald Trump has made few references to Syria other than to say hed bomb the shit out of the Islamic State. The question is important because the answer will determine how the candidates view not the just the Middle East but Americas role in the region and on the global stage. The priorities will give us a sense of whether the candidates see the Islamic State as a separate counterterrorism problem, or if they think its connected to the civil war and Bashar al-Assads continued hold on power.

If its the latter, for Clinton this would mean ramped-up action, diplomatic and military, to build leverage for the opposition in their negotiations with the government. This requires full buy-in by Arab allies (Libya-style) and would send a signal to Russia and Iran that there will be no Pax Russica in the region. Trump could conceivably bring peace by letting the Russians finish off the Syrian opposition. If the focus is the Islamic State first or only, this sheds light not just on the candidates views of Americas moral leadership, but is also an implicit acknowledgment that for the sake of counterterrorism, the United States would cede Syria to Russia and Iran  regardless of the impact on Americas wider posture in the region.

Kim Ghattas is a BBC correspondent covering international affairs and Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. She is the author of The Secretary: A Journey With Hillary Clinton From Beirut to the Heart of American Power. Follow her on Twitter: @BBCKimGhattas.

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Q: With so many women being raped in conflict areas  from Syria to Iraq to South Sudan  what would you do to put a stop to it, and how would you ensure survivors receive psychosocial and medical services?

Weve long perceived war as a struggle between men, meaning soldiers on the battlefield. But the reality today is that civilians, aka noncombatants  who are in large part women and children  make up at least 90 percent of casualties in conflict. And 51 percent of the population in any conflict is facing tremendously high levels of sexualized violence. Rape is an effective and rampant weapon of war for many reasons: It terrorizes, humiliates the enemy, and silences communities. Survivors of this violence usually receive no psychological help and rarely medical intervention. They face shame and stigmatization when they return home.

When the United States considers its role in the world, humanitarian assistance must be of the highest priority. As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, our country has the potential to not only help stop rape as a weapon of war but to make a huge difference in the assistance survivors receive. Whether it means repealing the Helms Amendment, which denies lifesaving measures for women raped and now pregnant, or merely abiding by the five international human rights treaties it has ratified, the United States has options and an obligation to do more than it has been doing for women in conflict areas.

Unfortunately, it would seem that having a clear conscience is not enough motivation to help the worlds most vulnerable people.

Lauren Wolfe is a journalist and director of Women Under Siege, a journalism project on sexualized violence based at the Womens Media Center in New York.

Q: The Middle Easts a mess. But the United States has vital interests there. What are your top three and why?

Governings about choosing. As FDR  one of our greatest presidents  reportedly said of our greatest: Lincoln was a sad man because he couldnt get it all at once.

In the broken, angry, and dysfunctional Middle East, the next president must set priorities and not be distracted by discretionary enterprises in which America will have only limited success at best, such as ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or trying to put the Syrian Humpty Dumpty back together again. The next president must focus on Americas three vital interests  all of which turn first on the security and prosperity of the United States and secondarily on that of its Israeli and Arab partners, however imperfect some of them may be they may be. Id offer these three priorities:

First, protect the homeland. Episodic homegrown terror will be hard to stop. But Washington must intensify efforts to keep transnational terror groups on their heels through smart counterterrorism, intelligence sharing with allies, and projection of military power against terrorist sanctuaries, resources, and leadership targets. Second, continue to wean America off Arab hydrocarbons while ensuring the free flow and security of Middle East oil for those who are still dependent. Third, contain any hegemon that threatens the regional balance of power or the interest of Americas partners. Oh, and continue to prevent Irans acquisition of a nuclear weapon.

Aaron David Miller is vice president for new initiatives and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He is the author of The End of Greatness: Why America Cant Have (and Doesnt Want) Another Great President.

Q: How will you prevent entitlement programs from crowding out spending for defense and diplomacy?

Diplomacy, intelligence, and the military account for about 25 percent of government spending, and half of discretionary spending (that which is not automatically allotted to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare). In 1960, entitlement programs accounted for 26 percent of federal spending, while discretionary programs (including defense) were 67 percent. Currently, entitlements consume 60 percent of federal spending  a reversal of the proportions. Popular and important as they are, entitlement programs are present consumption; national security programs are public investment.

Our government has three alternatives: raise taxes, cut benefits, or expand the debt. It has chosen to expand the debt  the worst and least sustainable of the three options. Our national debt stands at $20 trillion  $56,375 per American citizen. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the interest costs alone on that debt will triple in the coming 10 years, surpassing defense as an expense. Unless the growth of entitlement programs is reined in, less and less of the government budget will be available for national security programs. A bipartisan agreement to put our entitlement programs on a sounder footing is a crucial national security issue  but in this highly partisan season, the candidates cant shy from this problem.

Kori Schake is a fellow at the Hoover Institution and contributor to Foreign Policys Shadow Government blog.

Q: Both of you have disavowed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major economic element in the Obama administrations pivot to Asia. Many of our allies, partners, and friends in the region are dismayed, fearing the costs of waning U.S. involvement. Given the growing aggression of China throughout East Asia, what other tools of foreign policy will you use to assert U.S. influence and power in the region and reassure our friends?

In the long arc of the 21st century, the rise of China will be a central feature. The relationship between Washington and Beijing, therefore, will be the most important geopolitical pairing over the next two or three decades. And both will want to avoid the so-called Thucydides trap, wherein a rising power confronts an established power militarily with dire consequences on either side. At the moment, the trajectory is negative, fueled by a growing sense of Chinese nationalism; resentment over the U.S. presence in Asia, especially militarily; looming internal problems for China regarding demographics, environmental remediation, and an overheated construction sector; the increasing unease of neighbors who fear Beijings rise; and preposterous Chinese claims of territorial control over the vast South China Sea that the United States and other Asian nations will resist.

If we are going to drop the single most effective geopolitical instrument we could use  the Trans-Pacific Partnership  we will need other strategies and tools to influence China, support U.S. goals, and encourage allies and partners to resist Chinas nascent hegemony. Hopefully, both candidates will talk about the need to use an alliance-based approach; balancing defense burden-sharing between the United States and our Asian partners; the need to build trust and cooperation between Japan and South Korea; the importance of U.S. bases in Japan and Australia; building strategic partnerships with fellow democracy India; use of regional organizations like ASEAN; and the need for a long-term trade agreement of some kind, even if the current version of the TPP is not to their liking. Both candidates need to demonstrate their knowledge of the history, culture, and complexity of Asia in general and China in particular given its crucial impact on America over the coming decades.

James Stavridis is a retired four-star U.S. Navy admiral and NATO supreme allied commander who serves today as the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Q: Will you end Americas Secret War? If so, how?

Since the 9/11 attacks, the United States has fought two very open wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But for most of the last 15 years, the United States has also been engaged in a third, secret war, fought mostly by drone strikes and special operations raids.

Unlike the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq  or the brief U.S.-initiated NATO intervention in Libya in 2011  the Secret War has no geographic boundaries: It has reportedly ranged from Pakistan and Yemen to Somalia and the Philippines. Journalistic and NGO estimates suggest that the Secret War has killed 4,000 to 5,000 individuals, but the White House has yet to publicly acknowledge the scope or scale of this fight, much less provide a clear explanation of which organizations and individuals have been targeted, what legal theory justifies these cross-border military operations, what mechanisms exist for preventing abuse and mistake in targeting decisions, how much these operations cost U.S. taxpayers, or how we can evaluate whether such operations enhance or undermine long-term U.S. security interests.

President Barack Obama has acknowledged the importance of greater transparency and accountability but has yet to take significant steps in that direction. As president, will you continue to prosecute this Secret War? If so, how will you reassure the American people and the world that the United States is using force responsibly, and not just becoming the globes most successful assassination machine?

Rosa Brooks is a law professor at Georgetown University and a Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation. She served as a counselor to the U.S. defense undersecretary for policy from 2009 to 2011 and previously served as a senior advisor at the U.S. State Department.

Q: No food on the shelves, no medicine in the pharmacies, and no money in the government coffers. Most analysts believe it is a matter of time until something dramatic happens in Venezuela. How would your administration prepare for and respond to the potential collapse of the state in Venezuela?

Here are some possible scenarios: 1) A humanitarian crisis of devastating proportions  something that is in fact already underway. 2) A political collapse, coup, or even civil conflict. 3) Widespread crime and instability that lead to a failed state-like situation.

Responding to the Venezuelan crisis would require more acumen than the typical country in distress. For years, the governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro have demonized the United States as being responsible for its travails. The country is now refusing to let foreign aid into the country, despite shortages of even the most basic supplies. Yet balanced with that animosity is the incredible strategic importance of Venezuela within the Andean region. The country has become a key drug trafficking corridor, and this would only accelerate in the event of instability. And political violence there stands to destabilize already fragile Colombia next door. It may be slightly off the radar for the candidates, but U.S. interests in the region could be deeply affected by what happens in Caracas.

Elizabeth Dickinson is a Gulf-based Deca journalist.

Q: What will it take to stop Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from killing civilians and step down from power? How will you deal with Russias destabilizing and aggressive role in Syria?

The Syrian civil war has turned out to be a catastrophe for American interests, international stability, and the Middle East. Assad has systematically destroyed his own state rather than reform his rule and negotiate a political transfer of power to a real elected leader. The resulting war has created a human tragedy of colossal scale, including as many as half a million dead; millions of refugees straining Europe, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan; and half the population of Syria driven from their homes. The fragmentation and power vacuum in Syria has spurred the rise of the Islamic State; spilled over into Iraq, driving that country back into war; and polarized the region with sectarian hatreds. A resurgent Russia has capitalized on Western inaction, worsening the conflict and provoking an international crisis.

Syrias crisis has no neat resolutions, but its toxic strategic consequences have to be managed. Russias aggressive behavior will eventually have to be contained, and there is no way to do so without risk. America has tried to chart a middle course and has suffered all the fallout of Syrias war while relinquishing levers of influence. The U.S. government already is deeply involved in a covert war in Syria, and in the humanitarian response to the crisis. Its time to expand that policy into a more assertive and effective intervention. Unchecked, a victorious Assad, Iran, and Russia will only set their sights even higher, to the worlds detriment.

Thanassis Cambanis, author of Once Upon a Revolution: An Egyptian Story and A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollahs Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel, is a fellow at the Century Foundation. Follow him on Twitter: @tcambanis.

Q: The White House asked Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency funds to fight the Zika virus. That was nine months ago. Congress approved $1.1 billion only in late September, but those funds wont be released for months. What would you do to protect the American people, ensuring that when you are president, epidemic and disaster emergency funds get where they are needed  fast?

Haggling among the House, Senate, and White House over Zika funds was the key emblem of Washington dysfunction in 2016. For months, the GOP House leadership refused to approve funds unless the bill also banned payments to Planned Parenthood and permitted flying the Confederate flag in military cemeteries. During the months of this petty back-and-forth, federal agencies  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, chiefly  borrowed money from countless other research and health funds until even those ran out.

Meanwhile, Zika infected up to one-quarter of the Puerto Rican population; the Republican governor of Florida begged for federal assistance; and vaccine and other areas of research were slowed. Americans were forced to simply cross their fingers or stock up on bug spray, hoping the Zika virus wouldnt end up in their backyards. The world watched in jaw-dropped amazement: America, the country that has called for global readiness to fight epidemics and bioterrorism, cant manage to appropriate a dime when faced with a real-and-present danger?

Laurie Garrett is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer.

Q: Weve heard a great deal in this campaign about threats from abroad, whether from trade, immigration, or terrorism. The American people are now thoroughly convinced that the world is a dangerous place, from which we need to take refuge behind walls, tariffs, or extreme vetting. But what about opportunities rather than threats? How can the United States use its technological prowess, its investment and aid, its culture of openness and free exchange, to create a safer, healthier, more prosperous world? Or is it naive to think in such terms?



Though we have trouble remembering it today, Barack Obama took office hoping to replace George W. Bushs color-coded politics of fear with a new foreign policy based on a sense of shared interest and possibility. He wanted to be remembered for rallying citizens and leaders around the world to work on global problems like climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, poverty, and failed states. That agenda was engulfed by chaos in the Middle East and great-power challenges from Russia and China. Both he and we now have a chastened sense of what American leadership can accomplish in the world. We are perhaps too aware of our own limits, and of the worlds intractability.

Donald Trumps zero-sum worldview  the posture of the deal-maker  is all too seductive for a weary and cynical electorate; but it rests on a false picture of statecraft. The big global problems can only be tackled with a sense of shared opportunity. And they will not be addressed at all without confident American leadership. The next president must remind the American people of what they have done, and very much still can do, to shape a better world.

James Traub is a contributing editor at Foreign Policy, a fellow at the Center on International Cooperation, and author of the book John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit.

Q: Crackdowns on human rights advocates, journalists, and independent academics are intensifying in China, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and elsewhere. Some argue that with the press of fighting the Islamic State, the war in Syria, and tensions over North Korea, human rights have been shunted aside in the Obama administrations foreign policy. Would maintaining credibility as a global leader on human rights be a priority for your administration, and what would you do to fulfill that leadership role?

Despite strong rhetoric and some committed officials, human rights have increasingly taken a back seat in an Obama administration foreign policy that is focused on managing Russias and Chinas assertiveness and handling persistent crises in the Middle East. In a world with two or three leading powers, Americas values and its political system are a potent, if in some quarters tarnished, source of differentiation and strength. The American publics willingness to shoulder the burdens of global engagement hinges in part on security, but also on the belief that the United States can be a force for good in the world.

Hillary Clinton has a powerful track record on womens rights, LGBT rights, free expression, and other issues; the question for her is how to keep human rights on the agenda in some of the United Statess most important  and fraught  bilateral relationships. Donald Trump has said next to nothing about human rights, beyond embracing waterboarding and much worse for terrorist suspects. He should be asked whether upholding and projecting American values of democracy and human rights matters to him personally and will matter to his administration, and how he intends to do so.

Suzanne Nossel is the executive director of the Pen American Center and was formerly deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations at the U.S. State Department.

Q: You both have spoken often and at length on your initial positions, in 2002, on the Iraq war. But neither of you have spoken quite as much explaining your views of the Iraq surge in 2007. Secretary Clinton, we know that you opposed the surge: Why? Mr. Trump, how would you characterize your views then and now about President George W. Bushs surge decision?

Clinton has a well-rehearsed and poll-tested response to any question about the origins of the Iraq war, but she seems less at ease speaking to some of the other no-less important questions about Iraq. She owes it to the men and women who risked their lives fighting in Iraq after 2007 to explain her position, especially since there is a credible source  her close colleague, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates  who reports that he heard her explain her anti-surge stance as driven by primary politics, not national security. Trump has been characteristically vague and hard to pin down on his views about the Iraq surge. Given that the next president may well face another situation where a war is going poorly and the commander in chief needs to decide what to do, it would be instructive to hear what they have learned and how they would apply those lessons in the future.

Peter D. Feaver is a professor of political science and public policy and Bass fellow at Duke University, and director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy. He is the co-editor of Foreign Policys Shadow Government blog.

Q: Should the United States ever use a nuclear weapon if a conventional one would destroy the target just as well?

Back in May, I argued that a lot of things that Donald Trump says about nuclear weapons are exactly what allegedly respectable analysts think  but without fancy words that help defend awful ideas. So what I want to know is whether Clinton thinks differently from Trump, or simply knows her way around the euphemisms of nuclear strategy. So here is a deceptively simple question that my colleague Scott Sagan and I have posed to others.

Politicians like to talk about nuclear deterrence resting on the unique psychological impact of nuclear weapons. But military lawyers will tell you that terror-bombing civilians is absolutely forbidden. I dont see a difference between psychological impact and terror-bombing  other than that one sounds a hell of a lot nicer over coffee in the conference room.

So what are nuclear weapons really for? Destroying targets that conventional weapons cant get at or terrorizing civilians? Its a big question, one thats not terribly polite  but its one a president should be able to answer.

Jeffrey Lewis is the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program for the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Q: As the United States continues to draw down forces in Afghanistan, are you worried that country will return to being a safe haven for the Taliban and terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and the Islamic State? If so, how would you ensure, militarily and diplomatically, we are actually successful in reducing the drivers of terrorism and extremism that continue to flourish there?

The conflict in Afghanistan has taken a back seat as the worlds attention has shifted to Syria, Iraq, and Russia in recent years. But American and allied troops continue to fight in the United Statess longest war, and stability and peace there are far from certain. Clearly, the drawdown there is a welcome respite from the pains of the battlefield, but turning our attention elsewhere opens the doors for the safe havens that nurtured the masterminds of the attacks of 9/11 to re-emerge. The international community has sacrificed huge amounts of blood and treasure in its effort to reduce the drivers of terrorism and extremism that led to those attacks and the many that have followed. If those efforts have not borne fruit, Clinton and Trump must grapple with the hard questions of whether such a reduction is even possible and, more critically, if the fight to make it so is worthy of U.S. resources and American lives.

Whitney Kassel is a foreign-policy analyst based in New York City. Kassel spent four years with the secretary of defense, where she focused on special operations, counterterrorism, and Pakistan. She also served as a senior director focused on strategic analysis and risk management at the Arkin Group, a private intelligence firm.

Q: The United States pushed hard for the creation of the United Nations after World War II. But relations with the world organization have often been fraught, and over the years some influential U.S. commentators have called for Washington to withdraw from, or radically reduce, its funding of the U.N. The Security Council recently recommended that former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres become the next secretary-general. What would you tell him about how the United States can have an effective relationship with the U.N.?

This election has often been described as a globalist versus nationalist affair, with Clinton defending the U.S.-led international order and Trump questioning major elements of that order  including the U.N., the World Trade Organization, and NATO. Trumps pushback against the existing order resonates with many Americans  and theres no shortage of evidence that these organizations are sometimes dysfunctional. But the question of what Trump and his supporters want a new, less-globalized world to look like is murky. Almost everyone thinks some forms of cooperation and coordination between states are essential, and existing international organizations, flawed as they are, facilitate some of that coordination. So, Mr. Trump, lets hear more about what a less global, de-institutionalized world looks like and how you achieve the global cooperation that even you must acknowledge has to happen for America to succeed in this new age.

David Bosco is an associate professor at Indiana Universitys School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of books on the U.N. Security Council and the International Criminal Court and is at work on a new book about governance of the oceans.

Q: How do you explain the necessity of American engagement with the world in terms that matter to people who dont think about foreign policy? We in the bubble of wonkdom take certain things for granted, like why America should care what Vladimir Putin does in Donetsk or Aleppo. But I have yet to hear a compelling, coherent explanation for why anyone in the Rust Belt should care about the South China Sea. Why is it worth it for Bob and Mary in Des Moines to have some of their tax dollars go into funding Syrian rebels, into funding USAID, or into NATO?

With a friendly geography like ours  two oceans and two friendly neighbors  it can be hard to understand why the rest of the world matters, and matters enough for us to invest resources in it. 9/11 was a dramatic, but ultimately fleeting reminder: the lesson our country drew was to send troops, at tremendous cost, to strange foreign lands, and it didnt seem to accomplish much. The better example is, well, most of 20th-century history. The wealth our country enjoys today  spread unevenly as it may be  is in many ways the product of our investments abroad: in World War II, in the Marshall Plan, in the EU, in NATO. (The latter, by the way, significantly defrayed our costs of doing battle in Afghanistan, providing tens of thousands of troops.) All of this intensive diplomatic, political, and economic support prevented further armed conflicts in the West  which, lest we forget, was constantly at war with itself for millennia  and helped usher in the Pax Americana, the relative peace and prosperity we have enjoyed for the last few decades and today, the Islamic State notwithstanding.

Its easy to get used to a good thing, and to forget that a lot of work went into making it a good thing in the first place. Its also easy to fail to imagine the way our lives would look if the good thing hadnt been built. Thats not to say that things shouldnt be tweaked and reformed, but we dont need to destroy the wheel and reinvent it. We dont need to keep touching the stove to learn that its hot. Its hot. We know this.

Julia Ioffe is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine. She was a senior editor at the New Republic and was the Moscow correspondent for Foreign Policy and the New Yorker from 2009 to 2012.

Q: Do you think the process you have gone through, and have a few more weeks to endure, is the best way to find a commander in chief?

I ask this because the electoral system seems particularly screwy this year. The people are volatile. There seems to be a lot of distrust of elites. So Id like to know how they would do things different, if they could.

Ive got a few of my own thoughts on whether there is a better way to do this: Of course there is. I know, it seems almost un-American to suggest the notion. After all, are we not the best, most thoughtful, expansive, exceptional country in the world?

Yes, sometimes we are. And sometimes we are just a bunch of spoiled fuck-ups. Right now, we have a political system that is close to derailment, yet no one seems to be thinking about how to improve it. We are not a paragon of democracy. Instead, we may be an instructive tale in how the people can lose control of their government without realizing it.

First, I think we need to reconsider the role of money in politics. I am all for free speech. But I am not for considering corporations to be people. Kick them out of politics. This is not just a rap on Republicans. Democrats kowtow to Wall Street as much as Republicans, even more sometimes. I am not a big Bernie Sanders fan, but I do agree with his comment that Congress no longer regulates Wall Street, but instead is regulated by it. I think Americans deserve to hear what the candidates really think.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military for the Washington Post from 2000 through 2008. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com.

Photo credit: Getty Images/Foreign Policy illustration

Correction, Oct. 8, 2016: The Helms Amendment bars the use of foreign assistance funds for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions and thus denies lifesaving measures for women raped and now pregnant worldwide. A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to this as the Hyde Amendment.
By PTI: Johannesburg, Oct 7 (PTI) Indian-origin South African Olympian is among 13 other women leaders from various countries were briefly arrested by Israeli authorities while they were attempting to break Israels blockade of the Gaza strip in Palestine.

According to a spokesperson for the group on Womens Boat to Gaza (WBG), Zeenat Adam, the Israeli navy intercepted the Womens Boat to Gaza (WBG) in international waters outside Israeli territory.

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Leigh-Ann Naidoo had been a part of a group trying to oppose the blockade on Gaza. She is a political activist and an academic at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

The women include, former Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland, Malaysian doctor Fauziah Hasan and retired US army colonel Ann Wright, all of whom have allegedly not been allowed access to either lawyers or their consulates.

Naidoos family told media here yesterday that they were deeply concerned for her safety as diplomatic staff from the South African missions in Ramallah and Tel Aviv attempted to gain access.

South African foreign ministry official Nelson Kgwete said his department was aware of the matter and the consulate in Tel Aviv had requested access to Naidoo.

Naidoo has received support from the African National Congress (ANC), which has decried her arrest as "unlawful" and called for her immediate release.

"This arrest is yet another insult to South Africans and an act of hostility, we therefore request, in line with ANC policy and the position stated by president Jacob Zuma in a recent address, that government review its diplomatic relations with Israel," the ANCs Western Cape branch, where Naidoo hails from, said in a statement.

"We repeat our ANC2014 statement on Gaza: "Gaza is the worlds largest open air prison with over 1.5 million Palestinians caged inand cut off from the rest of the world," it said.

"The Gaza Strip isthe worlds most densely populated piece of land on this earth making theIsraeli bombing of the Palestinian Gaza Strip all the more horrendous. The collectivepunishment and illegal siege of the Palestinian people of Gaza mustimmediately end," the statement said.

According to media reports, the Department of International Relations (Dirco) has confirmed that Leigh-Ann Naidoo has been released by Israeli authorities.

It is believed the activist is currently on her way home. PTI FH KJ AKJ KJ

--- ENDS ---
Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

Hurricane Matthew hammered several countries starting on October 4, causing major flooding and claiming at least 400 live in Haiti alone. Matthew continues to barrel up the eastern coast of the United States, forcing millions to evacuate as 120 mph winds cause massive power outages and property damage.

If you'd like to help, the American Red Cross is currently seeking donations for the victims of Hurricane Matthew.



Getty
The Stamp Act Congress met 251 years ago today in New York, an effort that led nine Colonies to declare the English crown had no right to tax Americans who lacked representation in British Parliament.

JamesOtisJr640

James Otis

The crown and British Parliament didnt exactly agree with that idea, and within 10 years, the sides would be at war over some of the concepts endorsed by the 27 delegates in three documents sent by ship to England.

The turmoil started earlier in 1765, when Parliament approved a little-noticed measure in Britain called the Stamp Act. On March 22, 1765, Parliament required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used. The tax also included fees for playing cards and dice.

The proceeds from the Act would further defray the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the Colonies from attacks; it was a measure to make the Colonies pay costs for hosting British troops on the continent.

The new tax amounted to a sales tax for the Colonies, which didnt sit well with many residents who considered themselves quite removed from such measures. The protests were based on a legal principle that only the colonial legislatures had the power to tax residents who had representatives in those legislatures. Some colonies had official agents to Parliament, like Benjamin Franklin, but no colonies had sitting representatives in the British Parliament.

In May 1765, Virginias Patrick Henry wrote the Virginia Resolves, which made clear the taxation without representation argument. The protests against the Stamp Act also were particularly strong in Massachusetts. That summer, Massachusetts called for a meeting of all the colonies  a Stamp Act Congress  to be held in New York in October 1765. Committees of Correspondence were also formed in the colonies to protest the Act.

On October 9, 1765, representatives from half the British colonies on the continent showed up at New York Citys Federal Hall. The legislatures in Virginia and Georgia didnt allow representatives go to a meeting that some felt went against British constitutional law.

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The 27 delegates included several men who would later sign the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, or play a role fighting for, or against, American independence. John Dickinson, William Samuel Johnson and John Rutledge would have roles at the Constitutional convention in 1787; Thomas McKean, Robert Livingston, Philip Livingston, Caesar Rodney and John Morton were other prominent delegates.

But there was also conflict between two representatives from Massachusetts. Timothy Ruggles, a moderate former Massachusetts House speaker, was chosen as congress President. James Otis, a firebrand lawyer, had popularized the phrase taxation with representation is tyranny in a series of public arguments.

In 1764, Otis wrote in Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved that the very act of taxing, exercised over those who are not represented, appears to me to be depriving them of one of their most essential rights, as freemen; and if continued, seems to be in effect an entire disfranchisement of every civil right.

The Stamp Act Congress met for 18 days. On October 19, the delegates approved the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which stated the joint position of the delegates for other colonists to read.

Resolutions three, four and five made clear that while the delegates repeatedly stressed their loyalty to the crown, the issue of taxes was at the forefront.

That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own consent, given personally, or by their representatives. That the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great-Britain. That the only representatives of the people of these colonies, are persons chosen therein by themselves, and that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed on them, but by their respective legislatures, read the passage.

Another resolution complained about admiralty courts conducting direct trials. Trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British subject in these colonies, it read.

The Stamp Act Congress then ended on a controversial note, as the delegates drafted three petitions to send to the King, House of Lords and House of Commons. Ruggles opposed the petitions and left without signing them.

The petitions were ignored when they arrived in Britain, but boycotts and financial pressure exerted by the colonists led to the Stamp Acts repeal the next year. Parliament then passed the Declaratory Act, which stated its right in principle to tax the colonies as it saw fit.

At that point, momentum had begun within the colonies for more economic independence and guarantees from the crown about the protection of colonists natural rights.

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30 Republican lawmakers signed an open letter urging the GOP to reject Donald Trump on Election Day.

The Hill reported that the letter complains Trump lacks the intelligence and temperament to be president, while pointing out that the letter includes numerous Republicans opposing Trump publicly for the first time.

Our partys nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we sought to represent in Congress, the group said.

Also Read: Tim Kaine Unleashes 'Avalanche of Insults' at Donald Trump During VP Debate

The group of Republicans who signed the letter include former Sen. Gordon Humphrey, former Rep. Vin Weber, Reps. Bill Clinger, Jim Leach, Tom Petri, G. William Whitehurst, Sherwood Boehlert, Jim Kolbe, Amo Houghton and Geoff Davis.

Given the enormous power of the office, every candidate for president must be judged rigorously in assessing whether he or she has the competence, intelligence, knowledge, understanding, empathy, judgment, and temperament necessary to keep America on a safe and steady course, the group continued. Donald Trump fails on each of those measures, and he has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president.

The letter concludes: Donald Trumps unfitness for public office has become ever more apparent, we urge our fellow Republicans not to vote for this man whose disgraceful candidacy is indefensible. This is no longer about our party; its now about America. We may differ on how we will cast our ballots in November but none of us will vote for Donald Trump.

Also Read: Will Chris Christie's Prosecutor Pal Go After the New York Times Over Trump's Taxes?

Back in August, 50 senior Republican national security officials said Trump lacks the character, values and experience to be president and would put at risk our countrys national security and well-being, according to the New York Times.

Additionally, several high-profile Republicans have spoken out against Trump individually, including Mitt Romney and various members of the Bush family. Right-wing broadcaster Glenn Beck, The Weekly Standards Bill Kristol, Washington Post columnist George Will, MSNBCs Joe Scarborough and former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden have also spoke out against Trump.

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Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend recently said former president George H.W. Bush told her that he will vote for Hillary Clinton. In May, a spokesman for Bushs son, 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush, said he does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign, making it four cycles worth of former Republican presidents who will not endorse Trump this year.

Related stories from TheWrap:

Forget Winning: Gary Johnson's Running Mate Will Use Campaign to Attack Donald Trump

Tim Kaine Unleashes 'Avalanche of Insults' at Donald Trump During VP Debate

Will Chris Christie's Prosecutor Pal Go After the New York Times Over Trump's Taxes?
Samira Wiley in 37 (Photo: Film Movement)



Samira Wileys unexpected exit from Orange Is the New Black this season left viewers gasping. But the actress, who played fan favorite Poussey Washington, has been through the mourning period for her character, and is moving on to new challenges like the new indie drama 37. Opening in theaters and VOD on Friday, the film is based on the famous story of Kitty Genovese, the Queens woman murdered outside her apartment building in 1964, while a reported 37 witnesses watched and did nothing. Directed by Danish actress and filmmaker, Puk Gratsen, 37 offers fictionalized glimpses into the lives of the people inside that building  people like Joyce and Archibald Smith (Wiley and Michael Potts), a married couple who have just moved to Queens with their young son in search of a better life. Yahoo Movies spoke with Wiley about the reality of the Kitty Genovese case, leaving Orange Is the New Black, and the upcoming project shes most excited about: Hulus adaptation of Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale.

How much did you know about the Kitty Genovese case before making 37?

I didnt know anything about the story before I was approached with the film. I had to read up on it, and talk to people who lived in New York at the time. Learning about it was fascinating, and I knew I wanted to be involved. It felt like a story that needed to be told. Because even though its amazing what technology has allowed us to be able to do these days in terms of [recording crimes], at that time, saying something wasnt necessarily the smart thing to do, especially for an African-American family that had just moved into the neighborhood. Thats one of the reasons our characters are portrayed as holding back; they didnt want to have anything pointed at them. If there was a cellphone involved, thered be proof. But back then, it was your word about what you saw.

In recent years, theres been some debate about the actual number of witnesses who saw the crime. The recent documentary, The Witness, for example, questions the 37 figure.

I heard about The Witness after we filmed this movie, but I havent seen it yet. I do remember reading a lot about what the actual number was; theres a lot of stories about that. Even with all of that, this is based on a real story; were not trying to re-create exactly how it was, but trying to tell it as best we can.

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Are the Smiths based on a real family who lived in the neighborhood at the time?

There is a family that they seem to be based on, but with a really high-profile crime like this, a lot of people want to live in obscurity about their connection with it. So I wasnt able to find out too much about them. We created the characters in the best way we could. We see that theyre moving on up, but theres a lot of fear associated with that as well. Because theyre now living in a neighborhood where no one looks like them. So even though its a wonderful thing to be able to live in better conditions, theres also this fear of the unknown that can really get to people.

Besides the racial and class differences in her new neighborhood, Joyce is also dealing with her husband Archibalds attempts to force a certain kind of masculinity on their son.

Yes, Archibalds ideas of what being a man is differs from what Joyce wants for her son. She wants him to get an education, and sees that as his way through the world. And because hes five, she wants him to be a boy and not worry about being a man. Theres a point where she says, Hes my baby, in a motherly way, and you want to hold on to that feeling as long as you can  to protect your child from the horrors of the world. Which is ironic, because what happens that night is almost the opposite in terms of Joyce and Archibald fighting all night, and not taking care of their son in that moment when [the murder happens].

Samira Wiley in 37 (Photo: Film Movement)



Im sure that at some point in the process, you had to put yourself in Joyces place and ask, What would I do? How did you answer that question for yourself?

I did ask myself that, but its hard to come up with an answer, because you really had to live during that time, and I dont. So many of my answers involve calling 911, but this crime was one of the things that made 911 come into being. So its hard to imagine what I would do in that situation. I know theres an instinct to close the window and say, Lets not watch. Then you can correctly say that you dont know what happened, because you werent watching! And that was a survival technique for these characters. If I had lived at that time, I might be in the same mindset in terms of being afraid for my own life and the lives of my family.

For fans of Orange Is the New Black, it was very difficult to watch what happened to Poussey this season. Some have even said that theyll never watch the show again. Do you hope they change their minds?

Absolutely! Despite the heartbreak about not being on the show anymore, one of the things Im looking forward to is being able to watch it like everyone else. People get really attached to the characters, and its unfortunate if theyre saying they wont watch the show anymore. But Ill definitely watch it! To be able to watch a season and have no idea whats going to happen would be an amazing thing. Even if my former cast mates tried to tell me what was going to happen, Id stop them.

Wiley on Orange is the New Black (Photo: Everett)



Some of the negative reaction may be due to the fact that Pousseys death came in the wake of several high-profile deaths of lesbian characters on shows like The 100 and The Walking Dead.

I absolutely do think its unfortunate that it got caught up in that. I knew it was going to happen over a year before it was released, and it was a decision that was made before any press came out about that. I also feel that its missing the point of the story were trying to tell, which is more of a Black Lives Matter story than a Bury Your Gays story. And I want people to know that the story were trying to tell is echoing the deaths of Michael Brown, and a lot of other young men who have experienced the tragic thing that happened to Poussey. I want them to be able to understand that, and why its different.

Is there a chance that Poussey could return in flashbacks in future seasons?

No ones called me or anything, but if they wanted me back, theres no way I could say no. The chance to put on those clothes again sounds completely appealing. But I trust the direction and leaders of the show; I know whatever story they tell will have some integrity, and I hope they dont do things just for the fans. The reason the show succeeded in the first place is that we wanted to tell true stories and not cater to what people outside of the show want. Thats something we still want to do. Or what they want to do! Im not there anymore. [Laughs]

Wiley and Aya Cash on Youre the Worst (Photo: FX)



On a lighter note, its been great to see you on Youre the Worst this season. Will you be back for Season 4?

Like with Orange, if they want me back, Im so there! Sometimes you do things that dont feel like work, and Youre the Worst is one of those things. Stephen Falk is a former writer on Orange, so I had a relationship with him before being asked to be on the show, and working with him is a blast. I felt like the new kid in school at the beginning, but everyone made me feel so comfortable. Most of my scenes have been with Aya Cash, and shes such an amazing actress. She and Chris [Geere] have amazing chemistry; they made me a little starstruck!

Next up for you is Hulus adaptation of The Handmaids Tale. Have you started filming already?

Weve started shooting, and I havent been as excited about a project as I am about this in a very long time. Elisabeth Moss is the main character, and shes an amazing scene partner. Im also having the best time working with Reed Morano as a director; I feel so lucky that my first ventures in this industry have so many women of power. We had dinner with Margaret Atwood recently; having her so closely involved with our production has been such a gift. I talk to people how relevant this story is, especially in this time. For me, its even a little scary! But I do think its about time that theres a new adaptation of this particular Atwood book. Im thrilled to be a part of it.
Greif, Inc. GEF, a manufacturer of industrial packaging products, bulk containers, and containerboard as well as corrugated products has been performing well off late. Shares of this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock have gained 55% year to date.

If you havent taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet, the time is right for you to add the stock as Greif looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead. Additionally, the stock carries a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.67% and a VGM Score of B.



Strong Third Quarter



Greif performed impressively in the fiscal third quarter 2016, delivering an improvement in its bottom line despite a decline in its top line. Adjusted earnings came in at 91 cents, a 52% climb year over year, also surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents. Revenues on the other hand slumped 9% year over year to $845 million due to weakness in agricultural markets in Europe and North America.



Upbeat Guidance



Greif raised its earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2016 to the range of $2.36$2.56, from the prior band of $2.20$2.46. The company expects results to benefit from continuous focus on customer service excellence and fundamental operational improvements despite a sustained sluggish global industrial economy, weaker containerboard prices and weaker-than-expected seasonal agricultural sales.



GREIF INC Price and Consensus



GREIF INC Price and Consensus | GREIF INC Quote



Estimates on the Upswing



We note that earnings estimates for Greif have displayed a healthy uptrend. For 2016, all the five estimates went up over the last 60 days with the Zacks Consensus Estimate rising approximately 7% to $2.46. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 has also jumped 11% over the same timeframe to $2.86 per share. The company has an expected growth rate of 12.66% for earnings for fiscal 2016 and 16.45% for the next fiscal.



It is also worth noting that the company has delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 21.29% in the last four quarters.



Growth Efforts in Place



We are encouraged by the companys financial discipline and solid volume growth that will help it achieve the high end of its free cash flow range of $160-$190 million. It will also gain from sale of non-core assets, consolidation of facilities and cost reduction activities. Greif has been successful in fixing under-performing businesses and divested non-core assets and closed facilities which will drive long-term performance. Further, share repurchases will be accretive to earnings.



Attractive Valuation



Also, on a price-to-book basis, shares are trading at 2.3x, a discount to the industry average of 6.3x. Moreover, on a price-to-sales basis, shares are trading at 0.7x, a significant discount to the industry average of 1.3x.

In view of the above positives, we believe that Greif represents an attractive investment opportunity at current levels.



Stocks to Consider



Nordson Corporation NDSN has a positive average earnings surprise of 9.13% over the last four quarters and it currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Berry Plastics Group, Inc. BERY and Packaging Corporation of America PKG also sport a Zacks Rank #1. While Berry Plastics generated a positive average earnings surprise of 13.97% over the trailing four quarters, Packaging Corporation reported a positive average earnings surprise of 4.59% in the trailing four quarters.



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Americans remain fixated on a presidential election like no other, but that doesnt mean democracy has ground to a halt everywhere else. Here are five other upcoming votes that matter enormously for the world at large.

1. Italys Constitutional Referendum (Winter 2016)

Imagine that your country has had 63 governments in 71 years. Now youre faced with a series of political crises that your sclerotic political system cant manage. Thats the problem Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi faced upon taking office in 2014. His solution? Drastically reduce the scope and power of the Senate in favor of empowering Italys lower house of parliament, among other structural legislative reforms.

But while the reforms Renzi has proposed would indeed help bring political stability to Rome, its far from certain that theyll pass. By promising to resign should the referendum fail, Renzi has made this a referendum on himself rather than on the merits of the reformsand as former British Prime Minister David Cameron now knows, thats a tactical error. Renzis tried walking the pledge back, realizing that his 30 percent approval rating wont give the referendum the push it needs. Europe surely hopes it passesa chaotic political transition in Italy is yet another headache it doesnt need.

(BBC, Reuters)

2. Frances Presidential Election (Spring 2017)

France is at the forefront of Europes battle with radical Islamic extremism and ISIS, and it has paid a steep price for it. Attacks in Paris and Nice have bled into the countrys politics, and the Front Nationals Marine Le Penanti-immigrant, anti-Islam, anti-E.U.has been the most immediate beneficiary. It has also helped that current center-left President Francois Hollande, who has a 15 percent approval rating, is bogged down by a seemingly unreformable economy and continuing security worries. Then theres former center-right President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose comeback bid is often sidetracked by his own brash rhetoric and string of political scandals. Finally, theres former Prime Minister Alain Juppe, also of the center-right, who is positioning himself as the fields competent centrist.

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Frances saving grace is its two-round presidential system, with most polls showing that Le Pen would defeated in the second roundjust as her father Jean-Marie Le Pen was in 2002. If Le Pen wins the presidency, shes vowed to hold an in/out referendum on Frances own E.U. membership. Brexit is trouble enough. Frexit would undermine the entire E.U. foundation.

(Bloomberg, Reuters)

3. Germanys Federal Elections (Fall 2017)

The E.U. certainly cant withstand a German exit or even a retreat from E.U. leadership. And make no mistakeAngela Merkel, still the person best able to provide that leadership, is now weaker politically than at any point over her decade-plus career as Germanys chancellor. Merkel has shown herself to be a remarkably deft politician through the years, yet even she is in danger of getting sucked into the political wake of the refugee crisis. Her loss in popularity has fueled the rise of the Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), a rabidly anti-Islam and anti-immigrant party. AfD has made impressive gains in regional elections since its founding in 2013, and has entered 10 of the countrys 16 state parliaments to date. Its also poised to be a player in federal elections in the fall of 2017.

Merkel is still widely believed to run (and win) those elections, but the more problems mount, the more likely Merkel bows out. The odds-on favorite to replace her would be Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, a fiscal hawk whose standoffish demeanor would do little to boost E.U. solidarity.

(BBC)

4. Irans Presidential Elections (Spring 2017)

Anti-establishment challengers arent really a concern in Iran given that the Guardian Councilthe 12-person body that ensures the countrys politics line up with Islamic lawvets and approves all candidates who stand in elections. Irans complex government structure means that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is the one who calls the final shots, backed by Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps. Still, as weve seen with current moderate President Hassan Rouhani, presidents determine the countrys near-term trajectory. It was Rouhani who pushed through the nuclear deal, albeit with Khameneis final sign off.

Yet Iran still struggles to find its footing post-sanctions. Whether the Iranian people elect a moderate or a hardliner will determine how friendly Irans overtures will be to the rest of the world, and vice versa. Iran also has a history with volatile presidential electionswhen hardliner president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won reelection in 2009, accusations that the election results were rigged touched off months of social unrest, protests and violence. And while Ahmadinejad was planning a comeback presidential campaign, just last week Khamenei effectively barred him from running, claiming he was too divisive a figure. This next election will be the most important Iran has held in a generation.

(Washington Post)

5. Chinas Leadership Transition (Fall 2017)

Yet the biggest political transition the world faces over the coming year doesnt involve an actual election. China is gearing up for its 19th Party Congress, where many of the countrys top leaders for the next five years will be selected. But given the scale of turnover this time around, 2017s congress could easily shape Chinas trajectory for the next 15 years. About half of Chinas powerful 18-member Politburo will be swapped out next fall; more importantly, 5 of the 7 members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the ultimate arbiters of power in the country, are scheduled be replaced.

The only Standing Committee members who will remain are President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who will serve out their second and final terms until 2022. But their eventual successors will be chosen from the ranks of this Standing Committee, so who ends up making it matters a great deal, especially as China is in the midst of an ambitious and difficult reform of its economy. If these reforms get off track, the reverberations will be felt around the world.

(Economist)
From Cosmopolitan

In the American cultural id, theres long been a presumed connection between femininity and fragility. But anyone whos watched a baby being delivered knows just how tough women can be. Whether its with or without an epidural, vaginal or C-sectioned, induced or not, giving birth is a badass feat. Last year, a woman went viral when she finished a college exam while having three-minutes-apart contractions at the hospital. My goals will not be put on hold, she later explained. The following women may not have achieved internet fame, but they, too, did incredible things while in labor. As one woman quoted here put it, contractions definitely hurt, but when youre running around toting kids and holding down a job, you just work through stuff. Things have to get done.



Elizabeth Carney, 38, full-time mom, Baltimore

My first pregnancy was with my son Ben, and it was a very, very long labor. I think I started labor on a Friday night and I didnt have him until Monday afternoon. My doula gave me lots of exercises. The contractions were intense - I was feeling the need to move around to deal with it. She told me to do stairs to promote the contractions.

The street that I live on, all the houses are up on stairs and have front porches, and I volunteered on the community council for many years, and I gave out the newsletters on my block. I looked at the stack of newsletters on my bookshelf and I said, I might as well deliver the newsletters. Im practical - I try to multitask when I can.

I have about 80 houses that I deliver to. It must have been a really funny picture to have the sun coming up and my husband chatting with the doula on the sidewalk as the abundantly pregnant lady treks up all these stairs, stopping in the middle of the stairs to breathe through a contraction. There was a neighbor I hadnt really met before, and I was going up the stairs right next to him. I paused and saw him looking at me and I said, Oh, dont mind me, Im delivering the newsletters and Im also in labor. He just gave me this look that was like, what planet am I on right now?

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We went back to the house. The contractions hadnt improved at all. Until we got into the hospital and they broke my water, I never had the five-minutes-apart contractions youre supposed to have.

Raechel McGhee, 56, psychotherapist in Somerset, Massachusetts

My water broke about two weeks prior to my due date. I thought I was going to have time to gracefully exit from my duties, but when my water broke at 3 a.m. on Saturday, I realized that within about 48 hours, I was going to have a baby.

That evening, I had agreed to appear on WNET, which is the New York PBS affiliate. I was at the time the director of a girls group home in Mount Vernon, New York. WNET had contacted me and asked if I would be willing to be appear [with my therapy dog, Madeline] during their pledge week while they were showing a documentary about dogs and their therapeutic value. So when my water broke, I spoke to my doctor. Its not like they show it on TV where you have to rush to the hospital. I called WNET and I said, Listen, my water broke. I dont have any contractions. If Im still like this by 4 oclock this afternoon, Ill be there. It was an opportunity to plug my agency. I didnt want anybody to point fingers and say, She was supposed to be on TV, but she blew it.

There I am in the makeup chair, and all of a sudden, it felt like I must have had a wad of silly putty in my lower abdomen, and somebody stuck two thumbs in and pulled. Seven or eight minutes later, I had another one. The producer brought me out and I said, I just wanted you to know that I just started having contractions in the makeup chair, and she was like, Oh, my god! I was like, Its OK. They were ready to call an ambulance.

They put me up on stage. The host and hostess started asking me questions. I did my duty in mentioning the name of my agency and talking about how wonderful it was to be able to work with a therapy dog. I was still having contractions. I had to control my speech, control my face. Then, the guy or the woman says something to the effect of, You must be a very enthusiastic supporter of PBS because I have been told that you are in labor right now. I said, Yes, thats right, and I looked right in the camera and I said, Dr. Dresden, I will be seeing you shortly. That got a lot of laughs. The phones were ringing and ringing, and they got me off camera, and the host leaned over to me and said, That was amazing - look at these phones.

I was not going to not complete that final assignment in my job as long as that kid was still inside of me. I dont regret it, but I think it sucks that thats how women have to feel. Until we have respectable laws for parents that honor the creation of a family, were going to continue to feel we have to go above and beyond whats reasonable - or even safe, at times - in order not to be damaged professionally.

Deborah Stengle, 40, director of a college study abroad program, Staten Island

I had been without a car for about six months. I was trying to be more economical and better for the environment, taking public transportation. It came down to the last week before I was due, and I was like, I cant have a baby without a car. So I went through a rent-to-buy three-day program, and I found a car. Tuesday night comes, middle of the night, Im starting to have labor pains. Wednesday, I have to buy the car, or I have to take the car back to the city and turn it in by noon. We decide to buy the car.

The bank opens at 9 oclock, so we drive ourselves to the bank the minute they open. We go to the customer service area where this kid says, How can I help you? Im like, I want to buy a car and I want to transfer money, and Im having contractions the whole time. Im hyperventilating and hes kind of looking at me like, Whats going on with you, woman? I said, Im having a baby, and he, like, gasped and took a step back from the desk.

The guy thats helping me is, like, 22 and doesnt know anything about having a baby. Hes taking his time, talking very slowly and trying to be all customer service-oriented. I said, We need to get through this as fast as we can so I can have the baby, and he was like, We dont want you to have the baby at the bank. I was like, I dont want to have the baby at the bank either.

Somewhere in the middle of this conversation, I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom because I got sick.

We finished up transferring the money and he was like, Good luck! and I walked as fast as I could to the car. Im taking super-deep breaths and freaking out, and we drive to the hospital. My daughter was born at 8:35 in the evening, and the joke was that we bought her a car.

Anonymous congressional staffer, Northern Virginia

I was due to have my son a week before a major bill that I had been working on was set to be marked up in a committee. I was trying to get as close to finished with everything before I went out on maternity leave. I was one day past my due date, and I woke up that morning and I was having contractions.

I went into work, worked all morning. Late in the afternoon, I had to go up and talk to my boss [a member of Congress] about the bill, and at that point, the contractions had gotten significantly stronger, and I was actually timing them on my phone. So I talked to him for 20 minutes while surreptitiously stealing glances at the timer contraction app each time I had a contraction. I dont think he knew what was going on, but my colleagues all did and they were pretty nervous.

I finished the meeting, went back to my office, and thought, Maybe going for a walk will help. So thats when I went to get frozen yogurt. I went with my friend and colleague who was also pregnant at the time, who kept saying, You should go home now. The contractions werent terribly close together. Once we got back from that, I had one really strong contraction, and I called my husband and he came. We went and picked up my daughter and took her to where she was going to stay. He kept saying we should go to the hospital, but I got really concerned about our dog so we went home to let her out. I dont know - I was just fixated on that. As soon as we got home, I could barely walk. He took me to the hospital, and as soon as I got there, I was dilated to a 10.

Rosemary Farley, 64, mathematics professor at Manhattan College

It was February 1984. I was nine months pregnant. I woke up as normal and came to school. I had three classes that morning and I taught the first two without incident. I started to get a little bit of discomfort, but nothing big at all. But then the third class came, this multivariable calculus course. Things started to happen very quickly. Serious labor pains hit me and I had never gone from discomfort to pain in the other two pregnancies that fast.

I thought, OK, Im here, Ill just get through this last class and then Ill go home. I was definitely speeding up my lecture as I was going along. I knew it was time to go when I looked at my hand and it was gripping the chalk ledge. I was pretending I was formulating my thoughts; in reality, I wasnt thinking anything but, I hope I havent waited too long. After that, I turned to the class and said, Im going to have to leave. You could see there was just terror in their faces. I have never left a class early - I just dont do that.

I went back to the office. People told me I actually mimeographed some directions; I have a colleague who said, I remember that day. You were turning that mimeograph crank! I left directions galore to make sure the people taking over for me knew where I was. I just had it in my head that they were going to help me so much that I was going to make sure that I dotted every i and crossed every t. Everybody was yelling at me to go. Some people left because they thought I was going to have the baby in the office, and they didnt want to be there. The secretary was saying, I will do it; let so-and-so drive you home, and she was lecturing me about the third child - You dont know how fast this could go. I said, OK, Ill just do one more thing.

I think it revealed to me that sometimes you have to realize your limitations and just say, Theres another human being who could do this job, and let them.

I can visualize the lobby of that hospital so well because of how long it took me to get through the lobby. When each contraction came, I had to stop. I went straight into delivery. It was - boom. It was just the fastest I had ever delivered.

Jessica Grose, 34, Brooklyn-based editor of Lenny Letter and author of the new novel, Soulmates

I think with the first child, I didnt know what to expect and everything felt so much more monumental, and I felt I had to be really present for it. My second child was a week late and I was sort of at the point where I was like, This baby is never coming. I had to put delivery out of my head because otherwise every day felt endless when I was not going into labor.

I woke up that morning and I had a little blood and I was like, Thats weird. I didnt think it was the bloody show; I sort of ignored it. I had scheduled to look at this apartment. In retrospect it seems silly - I was starting to be in a lot of pain - but I was only four blocks away, and I waddled on over. I had the appointment and I didnt want to reschedule it. And I had had intense contractions twice before that and they were false alarms. Plus, the more people see a place, the more theres a chance more people will bid, and I knew once I had the baby, it was going to be harder to see the apartment.

But by the time I got back to my apartment, they were getting closer together, and I was like, This feels real. I called my obstetrician, who said, Why dont you come into the office? He examined me and said, I think youre in labor.

By the time we got to hospital and checked in, I was, like, 5 centimeters dilated and I got my epidural pretty much immediately. Then I was just, like hanging out, feeling nothing, watching the Kardashians. I didnt even tell my literary agent I was in labor - she texted me and I texted her back. I remember her texting me later and she was like, Um, were you in labor when we were texting?

It looks like we may get that apartment.

Follow Libby on Twitter.

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All eight teams of the deadly warriors reach their targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir without detection and annihilate them with a sudden thunder of explosions, smoke bombs and gunfire.

By Rahul Kanwal: Up in the skies and beyond the range of enemy radars, 30 Indian commandos armed with Kalashnikovs, Tavors, rocket-propelled guns and thermobaric weapons deploy parachutes on a dark, cold moonless night for a rare military insertion to ambush terror assets on the rugged Himalayan terrain of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

No audio devices on the ground are able to pick any sound either as they plummet down from a freezing height of 35,000 feet.

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Simultaneously, seven other crews of the Indian army's dauntless Special Forces walk, crawl and slither through Pakistani barricades across the Line of Control.

All eight teams of the deadly warriors reach their targets without detection and annihilate them with a sudden thunder of explosions, smoke bombs and gunfire. Highly-placed military sources have exclusively shared with India Today TV the lowdown of the covert surgical strikes of September 28, from their planning to meticulous execution.

Here's the timeline of the entire inside story that began in Uri on September 18 and culminated in the destruction of terror infrastructure across the LoC 10 days later.

THE PROVOCATION BEHIND THE ARMY OPERATION

TERRORISTS ATTACK URI CAMP (September 18)

On September 18, a Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeen group attacked the administrative station of the Indian Army's 12 Brigade, killing 19 soldiers. Data on GPS sets seized from the slain terrorists suggested Pakistan links

Two local guides captured after the Uri raid also revealed how the Pakistani army helped the fidayeen sneak into India. A wave of unyielding anger soon gripped the nation

INDIA SUMMONS PAK ENVOY (September 21)

Three days later, India's foreign secretary S. Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and shared evidence of Pakistani involvement in the Uri attack, which Islamabad rejected

SHARIF PROVOKES INDIA AT UNGA (September 22)

On September 22, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif delivered a provocative speech at the UN General Assembly, hailing Hizbul commander Burhan Wani

In Delhi, Indian decision-makers geared up to respond to Pakistan. Army chief General Dalbir Singh and Director General of Military Operations Lt-Gen Ranbir Singh briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval on the range of military options. Pakistan sensed trouble after Indian media ran reports. Islamabad activated its radar systems along the LoC and the International Boundary. It deployed the Swedish Saab 2000, an early airborne-warning and control aircraft



MODI TAKES WAR-ROOM BRIEFING (September 23)

On the night of September 23, Narendra Modi visited the Army's top-secret war room at Raisina Hill's South Block. The three service chiefs briefed him and the NSA about India's next course of action

ISRO's earth-observation satellites were re-calibrated to zoom their cameras on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

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R&AW deployed its human assets closest to the eight demarcated launch pads in PoK

Inside Pakistan, R&AW activated its assets in Rawalpindi and Islamabad

MOBILISING SPECIAL FORCES (September 26)

On September 26, NSA Doval held a key meeting with the three service chiefs and intelligence heads. Operational details are finalised for eight synchronised raids along a 250 km arc

The plan was drawn for Indian forces to infiltrate terrain held by three divisions of the Pakistani army

Soon, Mi-17 transport helicopters started ferrying commandos and their equipment to forward areas along the Line of Control

Northern Army Commander Lt-Gen DS Hooda tasked the 6 Bihar and 10 Dogra battalions, which suffered casualties in the Uri attack, to deploy their Ghatak commandos

SURGICAL STRIKES (September 26)

On the moonless night, Operation Surgical Strikes took off after the midnight hour

Across the LoC, Indian Army's elite commando teams slipped through the barricades

In swift attacks, snipers with silencers silenced sentries at terror camps

They stormed the camps

THE EXTRICATION

One commando stepped on a land-mine during exit and injured himself. There was no other Indian casualty. The paras also take images on their still cameras

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The objective of the Indian army, the source added, was successfully achieved. By 9 am, all commandos were back to their base

The enemy was deceived. Pakistan's army had no clue what hit them

A Cabinet Committee on Security was called to review the outcome of the operation

THE DECEPTION

At 2.30 am, Indian artillery units opened a diversionary fire to confuse Pakistani defence forces, pounding enemy posts. Pakistan retaliated heavily. In the loud noise and confusion along the LoC, Indian commandos started slipping back, unchallenged

Enemy troops scurried to their bunkers, leaving the terrain clear for the Special Forces teams to return to the Indian side

ALSO READ:

How para commandos used flame throwers to decimate terror camps behind enemy lines



How Ghatak platoons from units attacked in Uri helped commandos in surgical strike



--- ENDS ---
Analysis of recent satellite images of North Korea's nuclear test site shows activity at all three of its tunnel complexes, fuelling speculation of another test ahead of a key political anniversary next week.

North Korea has already conducted two nuclear tests this year -- in January and September -- and experts say it is capable of carrying out a third as soon as the order is given.

Past nuclear tests, and missile launches, have often coincided with special political dates.

The September test took place on the anniversary of North Korea's founding as a state, and the country will celebrate a similar milestone on Monday with the 71st anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party.

In a posting on its closely-watched 38 North website Friday, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said satellite images dated October 1 showed continuing activity across the Punggye-ri test site in the northeast of the country.

"Activity at the North Portal where the September 9 test occurred, may be for a number of purposes including collecting post-test data, sealing the portal or preparing for another test," the post said.

It also highlighted movement around the West Portal, as well as the South Portal where excavation stopped in 2012.

"The purpose of this activity is also unclear, although the (South) portal is assumed to be capable of supporting a nuclear test once a decision is made to move forward," it said.

North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006, but has insisted it will continue.

The yield from September's test was estimated at 10 kilotons -- the largest so far and almost twice as much as the device detonated in January.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Friday quoted an unidentified foreign ministry official who raised the prospect of another test to mark the Workers' Party anniversary next week.

"We believe that the North is ready to carry out a nuclear test and all it needs is political determination," the official said.
PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. actor John Malkovich won libel damages from French daily Le Monde on Friday over an article in which the newspaper suggested he had held a secret Swiss bank account. A French court ordered Le Monde and two of its reporters, Gerard Davet et Fabrice Lhomme, to pay 14,000 euros ($15,600) in fines and damages to the Dangerous Liaisons star, lawyers for both sides told Reuters. In a February 2015 article about tax evasion and HSBC's Swiss private banking arm, the newspaper included Malkovich in a list of celebrities it claimed had held secret accounts with the bank between 2005 and 2007. However, the actor's lawyers told the court he had never held an account with HSBC. A share account held elsewhere by Malkovich had been disclosed to U.S. tax authorities and closed in 1999, before the institution was acquired by HSBC, they said. Le Monde will appeal the ruling, its attorney Christophe Bigot said on Friday. (Reporting by Gerard Bon; Writing by Laurence Frost Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Afghan forces battled to flush out Taliban insurgents from Kunduz for a fifth day Friday, as a humanitarian crisis deepened with civilians in the northern city reporting a crippling shortage of food and medicines.

The Taliban launched an all-out assault on Kunduz on Monday, triggering fierce fighting and sending residents fleeing, a year after the militants briefly overran the city in a stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces.

The government said it was seeking to push insurgents out of residential neighbourhoods as they took up positions inside homes.

"Government forces have made advances in the last couple of days and have cleared a lot of areas, killing dozens of Taliban fighters," Kunduz deputy police chief Mohammad Masoom Hashimi told AFP.

"Our clearance operation is still ongoing in the city."

Hashimi did not offer information about civilian casualties. More than 200 are estimated to be wounded, according to local medical officials cited by Amnesty International, which warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.

"Civilians in Kunduz are once again at a precipice, and time is running out," Amnesty said in a statement on Thursday.

"Unless all parties to the conflict permit a humanitarian corridor to allow vital aid in and people to flee, we could soon be looking at a devastating humanitarian crisis."

Ghulam Rabbani Rabbani, a Kunduz provincial council member, warned of a dire shortage of essential supplies.

"People are dying of hunger," he told AFP.

"There is a shortage of food, water and medicines. The price of food has skyrocketed -- a simple loaf of bread is beyond the means of ordinary people."

The fighting in Kunduz comes as the Taliban have sought to storm into other provincial capitals, including that of neighbouring Baghlan province, but government troops managed to repel the attacks.

US forces are supporting Afghan troops in clearance operations inside Kunduz, with at least six air strikes against Taliban positions since Thursday.

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Up to 10,000 civilians have fled Kunduz, the UN said Thursday, as rocket attacks continued in the streets of the city.

Afghanistan on Friday marked 15 years since the US invasion of the country which toppled the Taliban from power.

Afghanistan has become Washington's longest military intervention since Vietnam -- and the most costly, now crossing $100 billion.

The Taliban said it was a "black day in the history of Afghanistan", as the insurgents vowed to press ahead with their offensive against the Western-backed local forces.
Seoul (AFP) - Humanitarian agencies are warning of a "second disaster" in flood-hit North Korea with tens of thousands -- many of them children -- still homeless as the region's bitter winter approaches.

Nearly 70,000 people are estimated to have lost their homes in disastrous flooding in North Hamgyong province in August and September that claimed more than 130 lives.

In a joint statement Friday, Save the Children and UNICEF warned that flood-hit areas would begin to see sub-zero temperatures from the end of October as the "long and bitter" winter sets in.

"Thousands of children are suffering and the impending winter will trigger a second disaster if we do not increase assistance for children and families," said UNICEF's country head in North Korea, Oyunsaihan Dendevnorov said.

"They have lost everything: clean water, food, medicine and shelter. Without more attention, the suffering of children will only get worse," Dendevnorov added.

The floods along the Tumen River, which partially marks the border with China and Russia, tore through villages, washing away buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands in urgent need of food and shelter.

Paolo Fattori, Save the Children's Program Director in North Korea, urged donors to come through with funds before winter arrives.

"The situation right now is urgent and on an enormous scale not seen here in decades. That's why we need the international community to step up," Fattori said.

The agencies are calling for $28.2 million in funding for immediate and long-term assistance, including repairing broken water systems and providing daily necessities like food, hygiene kits and temporary shelter.

The Red Cross has echoed the call for "urgent action" before winter sets in, but only 11 percent of the $15.5 million emergency appeal it launched on September 21 has been covered.

Aid agencies say raising money for humanitarian assistance in North Korea has become an increasingly difficult task given the global condemnation of its nuclear weapons programme.

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Some donors have questioned how the North can afford to develop and test nuclear weapons, but still need financial help to alleviate the suffering of flood victims.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said homeless flood survivors were burning bits of wood in makeshift stoves to stay warm after losing their coal supplies in the flood waters.

"Urgent action is needed before the first snowfall," said Chris Staines, head of the IFRC delegation in Pyongyang.

"Last year that was in the third week of October. People lack proper shelter, clothing and other basic items to stay warm and healthy through the winter," Staines said, following a visit to the affected areas.

The impoverished and isolated North is vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods, due partly to deforestation and poor infrastructure.

At least 169 people were killed by a massive rainstorm in the summer of 2012.
On Oct 7, 2016, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). With a return of 56.6% over the past one year and encouraging revenue guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2016, Amazon emerges as an attractive investment opportunity.

Encouraging Earnings

Amazons second-quarter earnings per share of $1.78 and revenues of $30.40 billion were ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14 and $29.73 billion respectively. The North America and AWS segments were strong contributors while investments in international continued.

Buoyed by the better-than-expected results, the company provided an encouraging outlook for the current quarter. For the third quarter of fiscal 2016, management expects revenues in a range of $31 billion to $33.5 billion (up 6.1% sequentially and 27.2% year over year).

AMAZON.COM INC Price and Consensus

AMAZON.COM INC Price and Consensus | AMAZON.COM INC Quote

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Holds the Key

Amazon Web Services is the cash cow for Amazon. The business generates much higher margins than retail, so it has a very positive impact on Amazons profitability. The business contributed $2.89 billion in the last quarter, taking the revenue runrate to over $11.5 billion, representing sequential and year-over-year growth of 12.5% and 58.2%, respectively.

An important customer win in the last quarter was Salesforce CRM, which selected AWS as its preferred public cloud infrastructure provider to run its core services like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, App Cloud, Community Cloud, and Analytics Cloud. Amazon ended the quarter with 35 available zones across 13 infrastructure regions. Notably, the Mumbai (India) region was added in the last quarter, the sixth region in the Asia Pacific.

We remain optimistic about the functionality, partner ecosystem and experience AWS offers and believe this will lead to continued customer wins.

Internet of Things (IoT) Showing Prospects

One area of potential growth is devices and IoT. Amazon has partnerships with several IoT hardware makers to integrate Alexa (the personal assistant Echo uses). The idea seems to be to make Alexa the central point connecting IoT devices used in any household.

Story continues

With 50% of Americans having Prime memberships (meaning that they are heavy Amazon users), Amazon can leverage this position to drive penetration. Its also an important method of collecting household information, since Alexa is used to listening to commands and storing everything that it hears in the cloud.

Stocks to Consider

Besides Amazon, investors may consider Intel Corporation INTC and Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT. All sport a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Intel has seen estimates for the full year rise over the past 30 days by 3.6%. For Applied Materials, estimates rose 13.6% in the last 60 days.

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Amber Rose had the perfect response toLove and Hip Hop: Atlanta star Benzinos comments about her SlutWalk: She invited the record producer to come hear her speak about rape culture, and to bring his daughter, too.

Ill be speaking at Harvard University, Stanford university and Syracuse University in the next couple of months about Rape Culture, Slut Shaming, Body Positivity and Sex Positivity as well. I would like to cordially invite you and your beautiful 19-year-old daughter to come and get educated, she wrote.

The exchange started when Benzino criticized Rose for staging a SlutWalk designed to raise awareness about rape and sexism. CBS reports that the first SlutWalk was staged after a Toronto police officer told college women in 2011 that if they didnt want to be sexually assaulted, then they shouldnt dress like sluts.

Also Read: 'Dancing With the Stars' Contestants Do Somersaults on Cirque du Soleil Night (Video)

Benzino went on a tirade after Rose announced that she needed models and artists for her second Los Angeles SlutWalk last week.

Wtf has happened to us a society??? Where we condone and support this bs Im starting to hate this industry!!! the reality star wrote in an Instagram post. He added that his 19-year-old daughter doesnt follow this garbage because she has parents who guide her.

A photo posted by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on Oct 1, 2016 at 6:26pm PDT

Benzino continued to express his disbelief at the SlutWalk in an Instagram video in which he said hes confused when people sometimes praise women for embracing their sexuality, and other times judge them.

Also Read: Amber Rose's Emoji Line Directly Calls Out Bill Cosby

This is basically embracing that: Oh well its okay for me to sleep with a 1,000 men and I should be held to the same standard as men are,' he said in the video.

A video posted by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on Oct 1, 2016 at 6:22pm PDT

Rose added that despite his criticisms, the SlutWalk turned out to be a great success. She said 7,000 men and women attended  and thanked Benzino for the publicity.

Story continues

I really appreciate all of the extra press youve been giving The Amber Rose Foundation! she wrote.

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By Scott Bransford

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Ammon Bundy, who led an armed occupation of a U.S. wildlife center in Oregon earlier this year, testified in federal court on Thursday that his hostility toward federal land ownership was shaped by his religious faith and "natural laws."

Taking the witness stand for a third day at his conspiracy trial in U.S. District Court in Portland, Bundy delved further into the ideology he said was behind the forcible takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by a band of militants in January.

Bundy told jurors that his group seized the refuge in rural eastern Oregon not only to protest what they saw as overreach by the U.S. government but to show how public lands should be entrusted to private citizens according to an ancient, divinely inspired set of doctrines.

These principles, theyre not something that comes and goes, Bundy, 41, said under questioning from his attorney. Theyre natural laws that we were teaching.

During a brief, heated cross-examination, federal prosecutor Ethan Knight questioned how Bundy could disdain federal land management while owning a truck repair business that once received a $530,000 loan from the Small Business Administration, a federal agency.

Bundy asserted he did not fully understand that the loan he received came from the SBA, since he obtained it with the help of a private bank.

I recall I got it through that, but Im not sure what that means, Bundy said.

Dressed in a blue-and-pink jail jumpsuit, Bundy expounded on his view that the refuge could be legitimately confiscated from the government through an obscure mechanism of property law called adverse possession, involving the taking of land that is idle or in need of improvement.

He also detailed aborted plans to track down property deeds he said would have allowed private citizens to resume ranching and other activities on the refuge and other federal lands in the area.

"We were well on our way," Bundy testified. "We felt we had a really good start to this."

Story continues

Bundy has said the immediate trigger for the 41-day refuge occupation was outrage over two Oregon ranchers being resentenced to longer prison terms for arson convictions.

But he said the Malheur siege, like a separate 2014 armed standoff with U.S. authorities he took part in at his father's ranch in Nevada, was part of a larger protest against federal control of millions of acres (hectares) of public lands across the West.

Bundy, his brother Ryan and five others involved in the Malheur takeover are charged with conspiracy to impede federal officers through intimidation, threats or force, as well as with possession of firearms in a federal facility and theft of government property.

At the conclusion of their trial in Oregon, the brothers and their father, Cliven Bundy, face assault, conspiracy and other charges stemming from the 2014 confrontation in Nevada.

(Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Bruce Campbell reprises his most famous role in Starz series Ash vs. Evil Dead, which begins its second season this month. He shares exec producer credit on the series with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, who first collaborated on the 1983 film The Evil Dead. The trio started with a Super 8 short film, Within the Woods, which was designed to lure investors for a big-screen version. As Campbell recently told Variety, We said, Hey, if you like this, we can do it bigger, better, longer! And itll be in 16 millimeter!  They made the film for $350,000, and the Feb. 9, 1983, review marked Campbells first mention in these pages. Though the review was mostly positive, the actor recently said, Here is my favorite quote ever: Dynamic sound is overbearing. We worked a lot on the sound, actually. We wanted it to be dynamic.

What was the best part of making the film?

It was the most hand-made movie Ill ever work on. We edited the trailer, we laid out the Variety ad for American Film Market screenings, so we had to learn typesetting and layout. It was all buddies of ours who did all this. No investors were even allowed on the set if we didnt want them to, and it was not a college production, like some people think. It was actually a very well structured, legal document, and all these investors signed. People always ask Is there going to be a directors cut for Evil Dead? Im like, Youre looking at it. Theres only one cut, one version, hope you like it. That to me is how movies should be made. I dont like movies by committee. Ive never had previews to see if people like it where theyll cut scenes out because some unemployed guy from Glendale, California, didnt like it. Forget that. We had zero interference in every aspect of the movie and it never has happened again. Normally, you make your first movie and you get ripped off and its a horrible disaster. For us it was just the opposite. Our second movie was a disaster because the studio came in and re-edited and re-cast. It was a horrible reality check.

Was Evil Dead your big break?

For sure, yeah. Every actor goes through phases of dont call me Ash! or Im not this character but now Im just going to choke people with Ash. You want Ash? Youre going to get five years of Ash. Its been a great association of Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, and Starz has been spectacular about letting us do our thing so were back in very good hands. I think the half-hour format works because of the old adage, always leave them wanting more. I tell people, just push Play, and watch it again.

TV has become what indie films used to be, with very little creative interference.

Someone said its not the golden age of television, its the platinum age of television. I dont know how it happened because it used to suck. Ive been a television actor for a long time; when I was first doing it, I was like, Great, a job on Knots Landing, oh, my God, this is awesome. Years later you go, What a shitty show, but at the time it was great. And television moves at the pace that I like.

Were you still doing non-acting jobs after Evil Dead?

Oh, yeah. I did a production job. We were all production assistants, you know, gofers, runners, that sort of thing. It took four years to make the first Evil Dead, so we had to do other jobs.

What about acting roles after the movie?

I was just trying to be in anything at any time. If it was bad, who cared? I was in a crappy soap opera in Detroit, Michigan. I did three scenes and they paid me 35 bucks a scene, so I think it was 105 dollars. It was a massive day, massive payday.

Any regrets about those early days?

No, no regrets at all. I cant look back and try and erase where I came from. Its all a huge learning curve. The irony of course, is Im currently best known as playing Ash in Evil Dead. Im best known for the part I played when I was the least experienced. So theres a part of me now that goes, OK, 37 years later, now I know how to do Ash. I didnt know how to do Ash before. Now I got him.

Has he evolved?

Hes evolving now because you have to. Ash can be an idiot and fancy himself, but hes got to come through at the end of the day, and hes got to progress  albeit glacially  in his social experiences. In Season 2 for Ash vs. Evil Dead, Ash goes back to his hometown and hes got to save the place. Hes a good Deadite fighter, but kind of a bad son and not necessarily the greatest guy to hang out with. But he does come through, so he will be continuing to progress and thats important. He kind of is the father figure to these younger characters, particularly Kelly. So we will develop very strong bonds between us because the audience needs it. If you dont care what happens to the stars of your show were all doomed.

What is the secret in your relationship with Sam Raimi? Why do you work together so well?

I do everything he tells me. It makes it real easy. He kind of wants it that way, just shut up and do what I tell you and everythings going to work out fine. Hes got a plan and he knows how to get it, and so I have total respect for his ability as a filmmaker. Hes always a step ahead of everybody, and I have not worked with really any other director who is so on top of his game and yet willing to completely throw it out the window and do something different on the day. Sam is the most fearless director out there and its infectious. His whole crew, theyll throw themselves off a cliff for him because hes a mad genius, you know, he still is. Its always great to work with a master.

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With Jewish festive season underway, the intelligence agencies have warned that visiting Israeli tourists may be targeted by the terror outfits.

By Atir Khan: Central intelligence agencies have issued an alert on possible threat to Israeli tourists and Jewish establishments in India. The alert has been issued in the wake of the Jewish festive season that began with Rosh Hashanah on October 2.

Rosh Hashanah is followed by Shabbat Shuva on October 8, Yom Kippur on October 12 and Sukkot on October 17. Large number of travelers from Israel and other parts of the world visit India to celebrate the festive season with local Jewish community.

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Intelligence agencies have warned that since a large number of Israeli tourists are expected around this time, there is a possibility of them being targeted by the terror outfits.

SECURITY BEEFED UP

Acting on the intelligence input, security has been beefed up at various Jewish establishments, especially the Chabad House in New Delhi's Pahar Ganj and Vasant Vihar areas. Police have been briefed to upgrade security measures around synagogues and other places visited by Jewish community and Israeli representatives.

Special security measures are undertaken by Delhi Police every year during Jewish festivals after the 2012 attack on an Israeli diplomat's car by a motorcyclist. The diplomat's car had burnt into blames due to an explosion. The incident took place very close to the Prime Minister's residence.

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Security at 22 airports tightened after Intelligence warning of terror attack

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--- ENDS ---
By Jack Stubbs and John Davison MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday a draft U.N. resolution demanding an end to air strikes and military flights over the Syrian city of Aleppo was unacceptable, as Moscow faced growing international pressure to stop a devastating bombardment of the city backed by Russian air power. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said a draft put forward by France contained a number of unacceptable points and politicized the issue of humanitarian aid. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would support an eye-catching proposal by U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura to escort militants out of Aleppo personally. Russia was ready to call on the Syrian government to allow fighters from the Islamist Nusra Front to leave the city with their weapons, Lavrov said. Lavrov was speaking a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered fighters and their families amnesty to leave rebel-held eastern Aleppo under guarantee of safe passage to other parts of Syria held by the insurgents. However, rebels have told Reuters they do not trust Assad, and have said they believe such an agreement would be aimed at purging Sunni Muslims from eastern Aleppo. The offer follows two weeks of the heaviest bombardment of the 5-1/2-year civil war, which has killed hundreds of people trapped inside Aleppo's eastern sector and torpedoed a U.S.-backed peace initiative. More than 250,000 people are believed to be trapped in eastern Aleppo, facing severe shortages of food and medicine. The war has already killed hundreds of thousands, made half of Syrians homeless, dragged in global and regional powers and left swathes of the country in the hands of jihadists from Islamic State who have carried out attacks around the globe. The United States and Russia are both fighting against Islamic State but are on opposite sides in the wider civil war, with Moscow fighting to protect Assad and Washington supporting rebels against him. "ATROCIOUS CRIMES" German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia to use its influence with the Syrian government to end the bombardment of Aleppo, as her government opened the door to possible sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict. Merkel said there was no basis in international law for bombing hospitals and Moscow should use its influence with Assad to end the bombing of civilians. "Russia has a lot of influence on Assad. We must end these atrocious crimes," Merkel told an audience of party members in Germany. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russian and Syrian actions such as bombing hospitals in Syria cried out for a war crimes investigation. "Last night, the (Syrian) regime attacked yet another hospital and 20 people were killed and 100 people were wounded. Russia, and the regime, owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women," Kerry told reporters in Washington. "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions." Russia said the call for an investigation was an attempt to distract from the failure of a U.S.-Russia brokered ceasefire, according to Tass news agency. "It is very dangerous to play with such words because war crimes also weigh on the shoulders of American officials," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, according to RIA news agency. Russia and Syria accuse the United States of supporting terrorists by backing rebel groups. The Syrian and Russian governments say they target only militants. Russia has built up its forces in Syria since the ceasefire collapsed, sending in troops, planes and advanced missile systems, a Reuters analysis of publicly available tracking data shows. The U.N. Security Council was expected to vote on Saturday on a draft resolution that calls for an immediate truce throughout Syria and access for humanitarian aid. It also "demands that all parties immediately end all aerial bombardments of and military flights over Aleppo city." French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, speaking through an interpreter as he and Kerry spoke to reporters before they met at the State Department in Washington said: "Tomorrow, will be a moment of truth - a moment of truth for all the members of the Security Council. Do you, yes or no, want a ceasefire in Aleppo? And the question is in particular for our Russian partners." Russia is expected to use its power of veto. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency Moscow had hoped talks with Ayrault, who was in Moscow earlier this week, "would help to find a way forward". "Instead of that, in New York we now have an attempt at political blackmail by putting to the vote, possibly tomorrow, a French resolution on the Syria crisis which is unacceptable for us." ALEPPO FIGHTING The Syrian army and its allies clashed on Friday in the south of Aleppo with rebels seeking to oust Assad, part of a pro-government offensive to retake the city. The fighting was concentrated in Sheikh Saeed, a rebel-held district of the city next to Ramousah, where the most intense battles this summer took place, but there were conflicting accounts of whether the army made any gains. Air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo by the Syrian military and Russian jets remained significantly lighter than during the previous two weeks following an army announcement on Wednesday that it would lessen its bombardment. "Today there's no bombardment on the neighborhoods in the city, until now. We don't know what will happen in an hour," said Ammar al-Selmo, head of the civil defense rescue organization in Aleppo. A Syrian military source said the army had captured several important positions on Sheikh Saeed's hilltop, but rebels said later those gains had been reversed and that insurgents still held the area. Later in the day a number of air strikes hit areas of Sheikh Saeed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported. Syrian state TV meanwhile reported that rebel shelling of government-held neighborhoods killed four people and wounded many more. The Observatory said insurgent shelling had killed 15 people in Aleppo over the past 24 hours. The Observatory said that according to its own tallies, thousands of people had been killed in Russian air strikes over the past year, a significant number of them civilians. Since the start of an offensive two weeks ago, following the collapse of a short ceasefire, the army and its allies have made some progress in northern and central districts of rebel-held eastern Aleppo. However, to completely storm eastern Aleppo could take months and would involve the destruction of the city and great loss of life, de Mistura said on Thursday. (Additonal reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Angus McDowall in Beirut; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Bernard Orr and James Dalgleish)
NIAMEY (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Niger's government to reinforce security around refugee camps after gunmen killed 22 soldiers stationed at a camp for 4,000 Malian refugees. Thursday's attackers also burned an ambulance and looted a health center at the Tazalit camp in Niger's western Tahoua region, bordering Mali, a U.N. statement said on Friday. The Malian refugees were unharmed, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said. The camp shelters Malians who have fled to Niger since Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012. A French-led military intervention pushed back the insurgents a year later but clashes with rebels and Islamist attacks have led more people to flee. More than 60,000 Malian refugees now live in Niger. Last month, a Malian woman and child were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a security post at another refugee camp in Niger, the United Nations said. Niger's government said it had launched an investigation into the Tazalit attack and declared two days of national mourning. "The president of the republic (and) the government present, in the name of the devastated Nigerien people, their condolences to the families of the victims," said a statement read on national radio. Niger's small army is not only seeking to prevent armed groups and bandits entering from Mali to the west, but also fighting Boko Haram militants launching raids from Nigeria in the south. There are also concerns that Islamic State fighters could be pushed into Niger by a government offensive in Libya to the northeast. (Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Aaron Ross and Dominic Evans)
By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will conduct an independent review into a blackout last week across South Australia state, although a meeting between state and federal energy ministers failed to resolve their differences over renewable energy targets. South Australia state, a major wine producer and traditional manufacturing hub, had no power last week for nearly 24 hours after a series of severe storms and lighting strikes. But while energy officials agreed on Friday at an emergency meeting on the need for an independent review, political divisions over renewables targets still persisted. "The Australian government would like to see greater harmonization of renewable targets, and I made that clear to the state energy ministers," said Josh Frydenberg, Australia's federal energy minister. Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull - leader of the country's ruling conservative government, which supports traditional coal and natural gas power generation - has blamed South Australia's high dependence on renewables for the outage. Turnbull's assessment has drawn criticism from state leaders, who accused the prime minister of letting ideology drive his comments. The federal government wants 23.5 percent of Australia's energy mix to come from renewables by 2020. Nearly all states, though, have set more ambitious renewables goals to cut carbon dioxide emissions from their power sectors. Australia's government has sought to clarify Turnbull's comments about renewables, saying that because South Australia relies on intermittent renewables for 40 percent of its power, when those sources fall short there is not an alternative such as gas or coal to pick-up the slack. Gas-fired power generation has struggled to complete with cheaper-to-operate renewables, and that has led to up to 15 percent of Australia's natural gas power capacity being mothballed. Besides looking at the role played by renewables in the power outage, the independent review will also examine measures supported by Australian power generators for increase the competitiveness of natural gas, Frydenberg said. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Tom Hogue)
By Anshuman Daga and Michael Flaherty

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Avolon Holdings, part of China's acquisitive HNA Group, is acquiring CIT Group's (CIT.N) aircraft leasing assets worth $10 billion (8.16 billion pounds) in a deal that will create the world's third-largest lessor in a rapidly consolidating sector.

Asian lessors, led by cash-rich Chinese banks, are spending billions of dollars to expand in the $228 billion global plane-leasing sector that offers long-term revenue in dollars. Leasing accounts for some 40 percent of the world's airline fleet as carriers increasingly rent planes to lower fixed costs.

"When you have a depreciating currency and local industries are not showing strong growth, then aircraft leasing looks like a pretty good option," said Johnny Lau, who ran aircraft leasing units at some Chinese banks before starting his own consultancy.

Chinese conglomerate HNA bought Irish lessor Avolon last year, building on a series of acquisitions in recent years as it expands its global presence in aviation and related sectors.

Avolon is valuing CIT's aircraft leasing business at $10 billion, a 6.7 percent premium over the net asset value. CIT said in a presentation the deal had an implied equity value of $3.9 billion.

CIT, whose shares rose 7.6 percent to $39.16 in extended trading, had been exploring a sale or a spin-off of the business since about a year.

The transaction will help Avolon add 334 owned and managed aircraft and 133 planes already on order or committed to its fleet of 443 planes, giving Avolon access to an additional 69 airlines.

"While this transaction is strategically compelling and will double the scale of Avolon, it is not the summit of our ambition," Avolon's CEO, Domhnal Slattery, said in a statement.

Reuters reported in September that Avolon was nearing a purchase of CIT's aerospace assets, which were also being pursued by China's Ping An Insurance Group's aircraft leasing arm, and Century Tokyo Leasing (8439.T) - a joint venture partner of CIT.

Story continues

Other interested buyers included lessor AirCastle (AYR.N), which offered potential tax advantages as a U.S.-based company, sources said.

AerCap Holdings (AER.N) and General Electric's (GE.N) GE Capital Aviation Services still dominate the global leasing sector.

The CIT transaction will be funded by a combination of Avolon's cash, new equity contributed by Avolon's parent Bohai and debt financing of $8.5 billion. Bohai bought Avolon in 2015 and closed the transaction this year.

With the new purchase, Avolon said it will have a fleet of 910 planes valued at over $43 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

The deal also marks another victory for Hudson Executive Capital, the activist hedge fund founded by two former JPMorgan bankers last year. Hudson held 1.2 million shares of CIT, or around 0.5 percent of the stock, according to the fund's latest regulatory filing.

Hudson was among the investors pressing CIT to sell the aircraft leasing arm, sources said, adding that the fund has also pressed CIT to shed its rail business and lending operations.

Avolon's financial advisers for the transaction are UBS Investment Bank and Morgan Stanley & Co LLC. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are its legal advisers.

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS and Narottam Medhora, Diptendu Lahiri and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Leading global beauty company, Avon Products Inc. AVP is back in the green zone and how. The company, which was delivering a dismal performance for a while, seems to have returned to the growth trajectory, thereby giving investors plenty of reasons to cheer. This is well-evident from the 51.1% surge in its year-to-date stock price, which also hit a 52-week high of $6.18 yesterday, before eventually closing at $6.12.

AVON PRODS INC Price and Consensus



AVON PRODS INC Price and Consensus | AVON PRODS INC Quote

Avons business revival efforts, along with the implementation of its Transformation Plan (announced in Jan 2016), have been key drivers for the company. As part of the Transformation Plan, Avon is continually working on its long-term target of bringing down costs and investing these savings back into growth initiatives like media, IT systems and social selling. As a first step toward the execution of the plan, Avon completed the separation of its North American business in Mar 2016.



Additionally, in March, the company announced a change to its operating model that would bring in more cost savings. The plan includes streamlining of corporate infrastructure, headquarters shift to the U.K., and eliminating about 1,700 filled and 800 open positions. With these actions and other supply chain and sourcing initiatives in place, the company is on track to deliver its targeted $70 million cost savings in 2016.



Further, with this plan underway, Avon envisions generating roughly $350 million worth of pre-tax annualized cost savings after three years. Also, the company expects this plan to help it attain its long-term goal of delivering low double-digit operating margin and constant-dollar revenue growth in the mid-single digits. These hint at a splendid future for this New York-based company.



Further, Avon has been focused on boosting growth of Active Representatives. Noting significant progress on this front, the company revealed that the Active Representatives trend is on the right track, with strength seen in most of its top markets in the second quarter. That said, the company anticipates 1%2% growth in Active Representatives in 2016. This inspires optimism about further recovery of Avons business, as Active Representatives form a key factor for the success of any direct-selling business operator.



Thanks to all the aforementioned factors, Avon posted solid second-quarter 2016 results, wherein both top and bottom lines beat estimates, marking a significant recovery. Results gained from improved performances in 9 of the companys top 10 markets in local currency. Also, managements efforts to improve pricing, lower costs, build brand strength and boost Active Representatives started to pay off.



Clearly, Avon is on track to revert to sustainable, profitable growth in the long term, thus instilling confidence about this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock among investors.



Stocks to Consider



Investors can count on better-ranked beauty products stocks like Coty Inc. COTY, with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Inter Parfums Inc. IPAR and Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. NUS, with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Coty, with a long-term EPS growth rate of 8%, has seen positive estimate revisions for the current fiscal, over the past 60 days. Also, the company has delivered positive earnings surprises in three out of the trailing four quarters, with an average four-quarter surprise of roughly 50%.



Inter Parfums has to its credit a long-term EPS growth rate of 15% and positive estimate revisions for 2016, over the past 90 days.



Nu Skin, with a long-term EPS growth rate of 8.1%, has witnessed positive estimate revisions for the current quarter and year, over the past 90 days. Also, the company has delivered a negative earnings surprise only once, in the trailing four quarters.



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Suzuka (Japan) (AFP) - Russian Daniil Kvyat caused something of a kerfuffle on Friday when he came over his team radio to complain he was being molested by a "baby octopus".

While Toro Rosso pit crew immediately understood the bizarre cephalopod reference, made during the morning's free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, fans and media alike were left flummoxed.

"Oh no, the octopus is back," Kvyat cried. "It's quite a small one -- a baby octopus."

It turns out he was referring to small pieces of rubber wrapped around his car's antenna, which appeared to grow legs when stretched out at high speed.

Kvyat first noticed it happening in China two seasons ago, when the 'tentacles' began touching his helmet.

"It started in China in 2014, my first year with the team," he said.

"During the race there was a big octopus. Today was a small one, but I think some pieces of rubber can fly and build up around the antenna.

"In China it was almost hitting my visor so I was really struggling," he added with a laugh.

"I was fighting it. But the one today was small - a baby one - just born. It must have (sounded) weird on the radio."

Kvyat has endured a hugely frustrating 2016, being relegated from Red Bull back down to junior team Toro Rosso earlier in the year after twice clashing with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

To add insult to injury, the Russian was replaced by Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, but he was pleased with his showing at Suzuka on Friday, despite a spectacular spin in the afternoon session.

"It was a good day, decent," said Kvyat. "We ticked all our boxes, did a good long run, so we are basically ready.

"We will try to find bits and pieces to try to optimise everything for tomorrow," he added. "But we never know tomorrow what the weather will do. It might become quite interesting."
Over the last five trading days, banking stocks witnessed some recovery. Though Wells Fargo & Company WFC was in focus for its wrongdoings, it seems that the gradually improving operating environment encouraged the investors.



Banks have been expanding their market share and revenue sources through acquisitions as low-rate environment is not expected to reverse anytime soon. Also, the ongoing economic recovery is expected to lead to a rise in demand for loans, thereby supporting top line to some extent.



Further, over the last five trading sessions, big banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corp. BAC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM submitted their revised Living Wills to the banking regulators, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). This indicates that these banks have rectified the problems identified by the regulators in April.



In addition, resolution of litigations and probes related to legacy matters and business misconducts dominated the banking space, as usual.

Banks - Major Regional Industry Price Index

Banks - Major Regional Industry Price Index

(Read: Bank Stock Roundup for the week ending Sep 16, 2016)



Important Developments of the Week



1. Wells Fargo, that once earned admiration for steering well through the onslaughts of the 2008 financial meltdown, seems to face a bigger crisis now, following its sales scandal which cropped last month. In the latest fallout from the scam, the state of Illinois has suspended $30 billion in investment activity with the bank for predatory and illegal banking practices (read more: WWells Fargo Loses Illinois State Business in Latest Setback).



Further, the Chicago City Council, with support from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, agreed to suspend business relations with Wells Fargo. Hence, the company will be prohibited from receiving city deposits, underwriting bond issues and brokering services on the citys behalf. Also, it would be disallowed from serving as a financial advisor or a trustee in any loan or redevelopment agreement (read more: Wells Fargo Suspended by Chicago over Sales Scam)



Additionally, Wells Fargos credit outlook has been cut from Stable to Negative by Fitch Ratings Inc. The rating agency stated that the cut highlights the potential damage to the banks reputation and earnings profile owing to recent regulatory actions and fines (read more: Fitch Cuts Wells Fargo's Outlook to Negative, Affirms Rating).



2. In other news pertaining to Wells Fargo, the company announced closure of deal to acquire the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) segment of GE Capitals Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) business. Nine offices and 163 team members in markets across Europe, including Belgium, Finland, France and Germany, will join the company (read more: Wells Fargo Closes Purchase of GE's CDF Business in EMEA).



3. Capital One Financial Corp. COF has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the credit card operations from Cabela's Inc. This acquisition will include about $5.2 billion in credit card receivables and other assets, and around $5 billion in related funding liabilities. Notably, the credit card operations will be obtained for par value of the credit card receivables, less the par value of assumed liabilities (read more: Capital One to Acquire Credit Card Operations of Cabela's).



4. Citigroup Inc. C has announced its plans of investing more than $1 billion in its Mexican unit, Banco Nacional de Mexico or Banamex, which will be renamed as Citibanamex. The investment is expected to be completed by 2020 and will improve digital tools, ATMs and branches (read more: Citigroup to Invest $1B More in Mexican Unit).



5. Amid heightened regulatory and political scrutiny on banks' ownership of the physical commodity business, the latest dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit brings relief for The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS, JPMorgan and mining company  Glencore Plc GLNCY. The U.S. District Judge  Katherine B. Forrest  dismissed the nationwide suit by aluminum purchasers. The suit alleged the defendants of conspiring to hoard aluminum to push up prices, per a Reuters report (read more: Goldman, JPM, Glencore Aluminum Price-Fixing Suit Tossed).



Price Performance



Here is how the seven major stocks performed:



Story continues

Company Last Week 6 months JPM 1.9% 15.4% BAC 3.6% 22.2% WFC 2.0% -6.0% C 3.9% 17.2% COF 1.7% 7.0% USB 2.3% 9.5% PNC 1.9% 9.6%



In the last five trading sessions, shares of Citigroup rose 3.9%, while BofA was up 3.6%.



Over the last six months, BofA and Citigroup were the best performers, with their shares surging 22.2% and 17.2%, respectively. However, Wells Fargo declined 7%.



What's Next in the Banking Space?



Some banks are scheduled to report Q3 earnings in the next five trading days. While Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. OZRK will be reporting on Oct 11, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC are coming up with their results on Oct 14.



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New Delhi maintains that message has been delivered to Islamabad through surgical strikes while rejecting demands of giving proof.

Soldiers display arms and ammunition recovered from slain militants at an army camp in Kupwara, Srinagar, on Thursday.

By Mail Today Bureau: New Delhi on Thursday maintained that a message has been delivered to Islamabad through the precise surgical strikes across the Line of Control and rejected demands of giving proof about the surgical operations even as the army battled terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, killing seven of them in separate operations.

"It was a 100 percent perfect surgical strike," said defence minister Manohar Parrikar in Agra.

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He claimed that even when bigger nations do surgical strikes, they are not as successful.

I AM 'TEDHA' WHEN IT COMES TO DEFENCE: PARRIKAR



A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked his ministers to refrain from chest thumping over the surgical strikes, Parrikar said he is considered to be a straight-forward person but in the matters of the country's defence, it was "tedha" (clever).

Also read: Stop talking: PM Modi gags his ministers on surgical strikes, Pakistan



"The Indian Army was given a task that was carried out with surgical precision. The desired result has been obtained. The intended message has been conveyed," foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, adding that the truth comes out no matter how hard one tries to conceal it.

'TRUTH ABOUT STRIKE CAN'T BE CONCEALED'



Even as Pakistan army continued to remain in a denial mode about the surgical strikes, India said the truth about army's covert operation cannot be concealed by Islamabad for long as the evidence would emerge.

Also read: Stop asking for evidence of surgical strikes: Put India above politics



Seven terrorists were killed on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir while trying to attack an army camp and in infiltration attempts. Three of the terrorists attempted an Uri-style attack on an army camp in Kashmir's Langate at daybreak. Food and medical supplies with Pakistani markings were found on them, said the army.

The three terrorists who opened fire on posts of the 30 Rashtriya Rifles camp in Langate were shot dead before they could enter the camp. Four more terrorists were killed while trying to cross over in the Naugam sector.

PAKISTAN ASSISTING INFILTRATION BIDS?



The infiltration attempts, the army said, were assisted by Pakistani troops.

The army said militants fired at the RR camp at around 5am, which continued for 20 minutes and then resumed again at 6am.

However, the three militants were killed around 7am. The army said it recovered three AK47 rifles, two UBGLs, several firearm magazines, radio sets, GPS, medicine and food items from the killed militants. The army said the militant group had infiltrated recently.

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Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua visited the frontier area of Uri to review the security.

Also read: Pakistan is rattled, and that's evidence of India's surgical strike

Also read: I'm sad it took constable Nitin Kumar's life for media to honour BSF

Also read: Pakistan's denial of surgical strikes exposes Kejriwal's colonial hangover



--- ENDS ---
Editors Note: Nate Parker has been of two minds about the historical grounding of his film, The Birth Of A Nation, which tells a story based on the Nat Turner slave revolt of 1831. As recently as last Sunday, Parker reminded Anderson Cooper in a 60 Minutes interview that the movie is, in effect, a reality-based fiction. Theres never been a film that was 100% historically accurate, Parker said. Thats why they say based on a true story and doesnt say, A true story.

But in a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, Parker insisted that his movie was heavily grounded in fact. For me, historical accuracy was very important, he said, adding that he hoped The Birth Of A Nation would lead viewers to look more deeply into the real story. You will learn more, he said.

In that spirit, Deadline asked Patrick H. Breen, an associate professor of history at Providence College, to view The Birth Of A Nation with his historians eye. Breen is the author of The Land Shall Be Deluged In Blood: A New History Of The Nat Turner Revolt, which was published by the Oxford University Press in 2015.

Breens mission was not simply to fact-check or truth squad the movie, but rather to help to sort through its use of history in the service of cinema and current social debate. After viewing The Birth Of A Nation in Boston, Breen wrote what follows.

Michael Cieply

Introducing Frederick Douglasss 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, famed abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison vouched for the reliability of Douglasss account of his life in slavery: I am confident that it is essentially true in all its statements; that nothing has been set down in malice, nothing exaggerated, nothing drawn from the imagination; that it comes short of the reality, rather than overstates a single fact in regard to SLAVERY AS IT IS. To Garrison and Douglass, the most powerful indictment of slavery that could be composed required a clear-eyed and honest portrayal of the institution.

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In The Birth Of A Nation, Nate Parker takes a different tack. His rage jumps off the screen as Parker condemns the slaveholders who in 1831 enslaved nearly half the population of Southampton County, Virginia. While Southampton provides a setting for the movie, in Birth Of A Nation Turners crusade is really about much more than the corruptions of a system of slavery in a small corner of Virginia nearly two hundred years ago. The real subject of the movie is all the terrible injustices that black people have faced in America over the last four hundred years.

Birth Of A Nation clearly draws from all of American history. At the end of the movie, when Cherry Turner told Nat that the slaveholders were killing people for nothing more than being black, I heard an audible gasp from the audience because they recognized immediately that her words could have been a tweet #BlackLivesMatter. Birth Of A Nation evokes both the African heritage that the slave trade did so much to erase and the horrors of the internal slave trade. The movie dwells especially on the sadism that slavery made possible and that continued through Reconstruction and the era of Jim Crow. It reminds viewers that long before whites such as D. W. Griffith invented and promulgated the myth of black men who raped white women, white men raped black women without fear of any consequences.

Nina Simones barebones rendition of Strange Fruit is not the only allusion to the lynching that was so frighteningly common a century ago. The shot of Cherry Turners swollen face after she has been raped resembles the 1955 pictures from Jet magazine of Emmett Tills disfigured corpse lying in an open casket after the 14-year-old was tortured and killed for whistling at a white woman. The challenges that Nat Turner faced as he learned to read parallel the challenges facing poor black students squeezed into Americas resegregating schools get. The ability of Turners owner to monetize Turners preaching reminds one how so many whites have made ever increasing sums off exploited blacks. In perhaps the most powerful scene in the movie, when Nat Turner was hit simply for returning to a white child a doll she dropped, one can see all the small acts of human kindness that have so often been repaid with a coldhearted brutality.

Parkers indictment of Americas racist past is powerful in part because it draws upon so much of American history, but its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Parker made Birth of a Nation the story of America, but in so doing the movie fails to portray what happened in Southampton in 1831.

Parts of Nat Turners story that do not fit Parkers storysuch as the way that the rebels intentionally targeted women and children, Turners inability to kill anyone by his own hand other than Margaret Whitehead, the impotence of a slave rebel army that did not actually make it ten miles to Jerusalem, and Turners ultimate surrender when he was discovered in a little hole not far from where the revolt beganare left out of the film entirely.

Other parts of Parkers indictment against America describe other places but not Nat Turners Virginia. For example, the indiscriminate lynching that Parker notes led to hundreds of deaths in Southampton actually did not happen. In Southampton, slaves were the most valuable form of property and tax records reveal that whites killed roughly three dozen slaves as the revolt was put down. Some of these murdered blacks were surely innocent, but the rebels force numbered about sixty at its peak, which suggests that the vast majority of those killed after the revolt were in fact rebels or their allies. There was, not surprisingly, a great deal of anger at blacks after the revolt. One white correspondent noted that another revolt would lead to the total extermination of their race in the southern country, but Southamptons slaveholdersrecognizing the danger that enraged whites posed to their wealthdid everything that they could to stop the indiscriminate killings.

Even the most controversial decision of the directorgiven Parkers own history of trial for and acquittal of rape and sexual assaultto use rape as the trigger for the revolt does not fit the evidence. According to the movie, Samuel Turner, the man who is presented as Turners master and his first victim, well deserved Turners hatchet in his chest because he pimped Turners best friends wife to another man. This marked the ultimate debasement of the slaveholder who first appeared in Birth Of A Nation as a friend and a defender of the slave leader.

In the movie, Samuel Turners personal trajectory, as he becomes a cruel drunk, recalls that of another famous figure, Sophia Auld, who in Frederick Douglasss Narrative personified the ways that slavery corrupted everything, even this kind hearted and well intentions slaveholders wife. But at this point, the essential difference between Douglasss and Parkers approach becomes most clear. Auld may stand in for a larger theme, but one trusts that she did become the mean drunk that Douglass described.

One cannot have the same faith in Parkers story. It is not simply that Parker did not properly identify the man Turner called his master, whose name was in fact Joseph Travis. Rather, by making Turners master a person who had become thoroughly evil, Parker justifies Nat Turners initial attack as a deserved personal retribution. In his confession given after he was captured (and largely supported by current scholarship, despite challenges to its full validity), Turner described it differently. In discussing the initial raid on the Travis farm, Nat Turner recalled Travis was a kind master in fact, Turner added, I had no cause to complain of his treatment to me. For Turner, as for Frederick Douglass, slavery as it was provided ample justification for his revolt. A slave need not have experienced the most heinous crimes to reject this system. Birth Of A Nation would have been a different film if Nate Parker had shared their confidence.

Related stories

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'The Birth Of A Nation' Review: Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion Loses Some Power In Flawed Movie Treatment

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In front of the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood Thursday night, a small group of protesters gathered for a silent candlelight sit-in at the first screenings of Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation.

The protest was organized by the group F - Rape Culture - made up of artists, filmmakers and women in Hollywood - and began at 7 p.m., when the historical drama is scheduled to first hit theaters in previews. Around 30 to 40 people joined in the protest, planning to quietly sit for around two hours, about the length of the film. The group, honoring victims of rape and sexual assault, was mostly women, but a few men also joined in, and some of the protesters brought their dogs with them.

"We were approached by women in Hollywood who felt this case was so complicated, and the conversation came up about how to respond in a way that respected how important this film was for people of color," said Remy Holwick, the founder of F - Rape Culture at the sit-in. "We came up with a silent vigil that does nothing to condemn the makers of the film or Fox Searchlight, but does work to show that there is space for this film to both hopefully do very well and show that people of color can do very well in Hollywood - and also honor those victims of rape and sexual assault who may have been buried in this conversation a little bit."

An hour into the protest, the event's organizer Elyse Cizek, spoke briefly to the group, thanking them for attending. "This will not go unnoticed," she said.

Read more: How 'The Birth of a Nation' Dishonors Rosa Parks and Black Female Activists (Guest Column)

For the past two months, Parker, the director, co-writer, producer and star of Fox Searchlight's Birth of a Nation, has been at the center of controversy stemming from a 1999 rape case that involved Parker and his Birth of a Nation co-writer Jean Celestin. They were accused of raping a Penn State classmate. Parker, who maintained the sex was consensual, was acquitted, while Celestin was convicted. (Celestin's case was later overturned on appeal.) Parker has recently spoken out about the case, which sparked more details from the trial to be released, and the media also discovered that the woman involved with the case committed suicide in 2012.

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"I think that with the release of this movie there was an opportunity to be intersectional, and they missed that mark," said Stephanie Filojones, a volunteer at the event. "I think that it was a real chance for Nate Parker to recognize that the definition of consent was something that he didn't know at the time. I think that there was a chance for him to say sorry for what he did and he could have elevated the voices of survivors that don't have voices."

A few security guards kept watch over the group as they quietly sat, surrounded by small tea lights and a few larger candles. Two police officers stood nearby, and some people passing by on their way into the theater paused to watch the group.

A statement from the group on its Facebook page reads: "We recognize the need to hold space for those celebrating the advancement of people of color in Hollywood while continuing to fight for the victims of sexual assault and rape around the world."

"The intention was not to defame or attack but to defend our right to exist," said the event's organizer Elyse Cizek to The Hollywood Reporter, by phone the morning after the protest. "We were there for the unnamed victims of sexual assault or rape that have been so overlooked in the entire process of this film coming out, and also in Hollywood as a whole."

Cizek concludes: "[Parker] has the power, right now, to back down and stop defending himself and instead start sharing what he is learning."

The Birth of a Nation will be hitting an estimated 2,100 theaters in North American this weekend, which is even more than the original 1,500 that Fox Searchlight had planned. It's tracking to earn in the $7 million to $8 million range, according to early projections. The story centers on Nat Turner, a slave that led the 1831 rebellion in Southampton County, Va.

Read more: Nate Parker Declines to Apologize Over Rape Trial Scandal, Says "I Don't Feel Guilty" in '60 Minutes' Interview
Sit-in outside Arclight Hollywood Cinemas to raise awareness for victims of rape and sexual assault (Photo: Valentina Valentini/Instagram)

Activist organization Fvck Rape Culture and a consortium of artists, filmmakers, and women (and a few men) in Hollywood sat in silence Thursday night outside the Arclight Hollywood Cinemas in an attempt to bring awareness to the millions of unnamed victims of rape and sexual assault.

The candlelight sit-in vigil, announced the day before, was scheduled specifically to time with the first screenings of Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation.

Related: Nate Parker Blasts Media Coverage: Are We in the Business of Headlines or Healing?



FRC recognizes the need to hold space for those celebrating the advancement of people of color in Hollywood while continuing to fight for the victims of sexual assault and rape around the world, said a statement from the organization.

While the members at Thursdays sit-in chose to participate in silence including not talking to press  Variety was able to speak with FRC founder Remy Holwick and model/writer Elyse Cizek, who was among the estimated 50 people in attendance.

The goal tonight is to show that there is space in Hollywood to both celebrate a film that has incredible promise for people of color advancing in Hollywood while simultaneously creating space for those that wish to honor victims of rape and sexual assault, said Holwick.

Related: Birth of a Nation Filmmaker Nate Parker Struggles to Take Responsibility for Past Rape Allegations



Holwick said the timing of Parkers Birth of a Nation in proximity to the Brock Turner case was a really important factor in their decision.

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Rape has been in the news for the last year in a way that its deserved for a long time, she said, but hasnt had the exposure that it should have.

Added Cizek: There is a really big problem with the way rape is portrayed in film. I have a problem with it being portrayed in the way that it was (in Birth of a Nation), written the way that it was, with an actress having to depict that happening to her, who also happened to be a survivor; and all of that done under the cloud of history, thats a problem for me, for it not to be brought up or talked about. I want to start that dialogue.

Related: Fox Searchlight Launches Voter Registration Drive for Birth of a Nation Screenings



FRC was founded to respond to the Brock Turner case and specifically the recall for Judge Aaron Persky. This is their first action outside of the infamous Stanford case. The group said they were approached independently by a consortium of women in Hollywood asking for the event.

Were working on a case-by-case basis, said Holwick. This case sparked our interest because it represents such an interesting dynamic. Our event tonight is not meant to shame Nate Parker or shame the film.

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The Birth of a Nation: Watch a clip:


The Starz pirate drama Black Sails is wrapping up with Season 4 next year, and its going out with a bang. Or, more accurately, a ka-boom!

The entire series, a prequel to Robert Louis Stevensons classic novel Treasure Island, has been building up to a massive war in the West Indies between pirates and British settlers. And in the new trailer for the final season, which just debuted at New York Comic Con, we get all that and then some, with massive ship battles, cannonball blasts, and brutal hand-to-hand combat.

RELATEDBlack Sails to End With Season 4

The characters even seem to know theyre nearing the finish line: As we see John Silver, Eleanor, and Captain Flint preparing for war, Rackham tells Bonny, the end is about to begin. And Flint wont be satisfied with anything but victory, saying, We came here not just to expel England, but to defeat them.

But Silver has even bigger plans in mind, it seems. The trailer closes with a stunning shot of him in a doorway, standing on his one good leg, and declaring, Im here to free the New World.

The fourth and final season of Black Sails premieres Sunday, Jan. 29 on Starz.

Press PLAY on the trailer below to get a first look at Black Sails final season, then hit the comments to share your thoughts.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Tony Blair could return to a frontline role in British politics to try to prevent Theresa May's Conservative Party from destroying the country with a so-called "hard Brexit", he said in an interview. The only Labour prime minister to win three general elections, Blair was hugely popular during the start of his 10 years in power but his support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq severely tarnished his reputation. In an interview with Esquire Magazine, Blair said it was a "tragedy" that Britons were left with a choice between a Conservative Party intent on a hard Brexit and a Labour Party that he described as "ultra-left" and stuck in the 1960s. "I don't know if there's a role for me," he said. "There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment. "All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question." Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union in June propelled May to power and the former interior minister has indicated that she sees the vote as a demand for wide-ranging change in the way Britain is run. May's approach has spooked investors who believe Britain is heading for a "hard Brexit", meaning it will give up trying to remain in the EU's single market in order to impose controls on immigration from the other 27 member states. The vote, which has triggered the deepest political and financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two, has also rocked Blair's Labour Party, with leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn accused of failing to campaign hard enough to keep Britain in the bloc. First elected last year on a wave of enthusiasm for a new type of politics, Corbyn was forced to compete again for his job. Although he was returned as leader with a higher mandate than before, he still lacks the backing of the centrist members of his party. Blair said Corbyn offered a "mixture of fantasy and error". As a result, he said Britain was a "one-party state". "The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left, or because they're too principled. It's because they're too wrong," he said. "Frankly, it's a tragedy for British politics if the choice before the country is a Conservative government going for a hard Brexit and an ultra-left Labour Party that believes in a set of policies that takes us back to the Sixties." Blair's chances of forging a new major role might be limited after a seven-year inquiry delivered a scathing verdict in July on his handling and justification for the Iraq War, with many Britons believing he should face criminal action. (Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
No terror group has taken responsibility for the attack yet.

Police officers, rescue officials, firefighters and officials surround the scene of blast in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters: A bomb attached to a motorbike exploded near a police station in southwest Istanbul on Thursday wounding 10 people, the provincial governor said.

The blast occurred in the Yenibosna neighbourhood, several kilometres from Istanbul Ataturk Airport, the country's largest. Television footage showed damaged vehicles, shattered glass and broken windows in the residential area.

NO GROUP HAS CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY YET

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Governor Vasip Sahin said all of the wounded were civilians and that investigations into who might be responsible were ongoing. There were no immediate claims of responsibility on Thursday.

Kurdish, leftist and Islamic State militants have all carried out bomb attacks across Turkey in the past.

EARLIER BLAST IN ISTANBUL CARRIED OUT BY IS?

The last blast in Istanbul was in June, a month before an attempted coup to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan's government, when 45 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing at the airport. That attack was blamed on Islamic State.

There have been other attacks in the east of the country, including the bombing of a wedding party near the city of Gaziantep in August, when more than 50 people were killed.

Also read | Turkey: 50 killed in suicide blast at wedding party in Gaziantep



--- ENDS ---
Justin Vernon has always come across as a bit of a recluse. He famously disappeared into a cabin in the woods to write his first album as Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago, a decade ago, and the image of him as a private figure who would rather keep trees as company has followed him around ever since. Though Bon Iver is not a solo venture and he keeps his Eau Claire, Wisconsin, brethren close, Vernon has been typecast as the solitary man, a curmudgeon at the age of 35 who just wants to make music and be left alone.

On Bon Ivers first album in five years, 22, A Million, the atmosphere is dark and removed, with familiar guitar and brass sounds mixing with fuzz and glitches. He veils his well-known falsetto in filters, putting distance between himself and the listener. Vernon has played with electronics and vocal effects before, but this is by far his most experimental record, and therefore might be his most off-putting. For a guy who broke out with the instrumentally sparse and vulnerable Skinny Love, his words and melodies in plain sight, he now feels so far away.

But this is still a Bon Iver record, and despite the push back against that more acoustic sound, Vernon retains his trademarks: the falsetto, the poetry that flips between oblique references and direct communications, and the gray day music. He might erase some of his earthy image with this project, but really he is just trading one isolated persona for another. In todays world, the techie with a homemade computer is the new deep forest recluse, whether hes the tweaked out, dark-hooded hacker, somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, or an artist making music alone on his laptop. Vernon is certainly challenging listeners with the electronic additions of 22, A Million, but he is not abandoning all hes been and done before.

He might erase some of his earthy image with this project, but really he is just trading one isolated persona for another. In todays world, the techie with a homemade computer is the new deep forest recluse.

In fact, instead of covering up the emotion in his music, the filters and effects amplify it. It might be over soon are the first words you hear on the albums opener, 22 (OVER SN). The voice belongs to Vernon, but it is pitched up and robotic, making the line sound like it came from some heartless killjoy on your shoulder whispering in your ear that nothing lasts forever.

According to an essay written by Vernons friend and former bandmate Trever Hagen about the album, Vernon recorded the words on a portable sampler while on his panic attack-inducing solo trip off the coast of Greece. He was in a bad place emotionally, crippled by the idea of lifes impermanence, and those are the words that came out. The line and the context are sad enough on their own, but the stark delivery turns the whole thing into a punch in the gut.

These sobering moments of clarity dot the album, but Vernon spends the majority of his words lost in vague retellings of his past. Take 715 - CRKS. In a voice split into pieces by a custom-made vocoder, with no other accompaniment, Vernon describes being outdoors by a creek and running into a heron. Then he moves indoors for unrationed kissing on a night second to last, and finally he closes with a command that might refer to the 1980s TV classic: Goddamn, turn around now, youre my A-Team. The images are so precise, but the scene switching makes it hard to know exactly what youre looking at.

The music jumps as well, from thunderous, staticky rhythm on 10dEAThbREasT  to delicate acoustic guitar on 29 #Strafford APTS. But compared to the words (some of which are not even real, like astuary king on 8 (circle)), the music clarifies Vernons ideas. He is in chaos in the jazz-like dissolve of 21 MN WATER, calm on 8 (circle) (the most traditional Bon Iver song of them all), and both on 33 GOD, depending on whether you are in the piano-driven first half or the drum-crashing second. Those context clues might not give you the specificity you want, but at the very least, the instruments give you a more definitive outline of what is going on in his head.

At one point in Hagens piece about the album, he considers the personal nature of Vernons entire catalog of songs and asks, How can this be relevant to someone else? The truth is, this album might not be. For Emma and Bon Iver, Bon Iver contain comparatively straightforward thoughts and sounds, giving listeners an easier entry and things to point to and say, I can relate to that. Not so on 22, A Million. The way Vernon has framed his disillusionment is so specific to his experience that it will be hard for listeners to claim total ownership and understanding of these 10 songs.

The way Vernon has framed his disillusionment is so specific to his experience that it will be hard for listeners to claim total ownership and understanding of these 10 songs.

The music is still personal, only this time, it is personal without being open. Here, he exposes details of his life as nebulous thoughts thrown out into a hostile environment, an affront to the calm and approachable sound that defined Bon Iver up until this point. The success of the first two projects overwhelmed Vernon, leaving him exhausted, so it isnt surprising that he would want to push away from the old sound, or even step back from making music as Bon Iver altogether, something he claimed to be doing back in a 2011 interview. I look at it like a faucet, he said. I have to turn it off and walk away from it because so much of how that music comes together is subconscious or discovering.

He did manage to step away for a couple of years, but it seems that when his demonsanxiety, uncertainty about the future, fear of mortalitytook over his mind, he had to exorcise them once again through his music. He recently said that though the process of making the album allowed him to heal, he knew he still had a ways to go. 22, A Million is the documentation of the early days of that disorienting journey. You wont find resolution in these songs, only a reminder that sometimes you have to walk a while in the darkness to get to the light.

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He may have played The Talented Mr. Ripley, but who knew Matt Damon was talented enough to travel through time?

A 1961 wedding photo recently posted online is turning heads after the groom was found to bear an incredible likeness to the Hollywood actor.

Read: Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac Come to Sean Penn's Defense After He Interviewed 'El Chapo'

Reddit user Coffeeandtrout posted the shocking photograph of who he claimed were his parents.

In the description, he wrote: My parents wedding day, February 1961. I think Dad looks like Matt Damon.

The photo of the couple sparked an interesting debate to determine if the man is actually the Bourne Ultimatum star.

The man in the photograph, who shares some of Damon's features, including his signature smirk, dimple, and hairline, is now 75-years-old and residing in Seattle.

The beautiful couple have been happily married for 54 years until the wife and mother passed away last year, the Reddit user said.

Read: Tom Hanks Crashes Couple's Wedding Photo Shoot and - Poses for a Selfie

He posted, Mom passed away last year. Dads still trying to adjust. They were great together.

The user stated that he and his father are both older than Damon, finally putting an end to the interesting discussion on Reddit.

However, some people still refuse to believe the truth.

One Reddit user commented, Plot twist: that is Matt Damon and he didnt age much.

Watch: Bride Shaves Her Head During Wedding for Terminally Ill Husband

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(Simone Blount/Facebook)

What was supposed to be a fun day of play turned into a heartbreaking situation for Simone Blount and her three-year-old son, Stephen.

Stephen, who has Down Syndrome and uses a wheelchair, was particularly looking forward to the Fireman Sam toys at the Mattel Play! Centre in Liverpool, England, since those are his favourite. But after lining up for 20 minutes, a staff member took one look at Stephen and said that the play centre was unsuitable for children like him, says Blount.

The member of staff didnt ask any questions about his ability or check with me to see what I thought, she just said that it was unsuitable and made an assumption based on just looking at him, Blount tells Metro News.

What made the situation even more frustrating was that there was much younger children playing and having fun.

I was told it wasnt suitable for him. yet there were babies in there. and although Stephen is delayed cognitively and physically.. he is more developed than a baby so it cant be for physical/ability/health and safety/accessibility reason, it must be pure discrimination, Blount said in a Facebook post.

While Stephen was upset about not getting to play with the other kids, his mom told him they had to leave because the centre was closing.

How could I explain to a crying 3 year old that he wasnt allowed in because he has Downs and that means some people will never accept him?



In response to her complaint, Mattel issued a statement: We would like to respond to recent online comments suggesting a young child with Downs syndrome was turned away from Mattel Play! Liverpool. This was a case of misunderstanding, as our member of staff believed the childs parent was enquiring about how suitable the play area was for a young baby who was unable to walk.



Blount disputes this, saying that the staff member mistook her son in a wheelchair to be a baby in a stroller, which she says is just another form of discrimination.

I dont consider him disabled  the only thing that makes him disabled is places like this. I feel like I had a glimpse into his future.
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It's 3 a.m., you're on board an overnight flight from Phuket to Sydney and you're ready to slip off into the land of nod. The only thing stopping you is a fist fight in the aisle beside you.

A man and woman are currently under investigation from the Australian Federal Police after an "incident" on board the Jetstar JQ33 Boeing 787 Dreamliner resulted in the pair being escorted off the plane by police once it landed in Sydney.

SEE ALSO: Smoke fills cabin on commercial flight, making an unscheduled landing

Passenger on the flight Scott Haywood spoke with radio station 3AW recounting the incident, saying that the pair were fighting over the reclining of chairs.

"One of the passengers was distressed as a lady put her seat back on his mother," Haywood recounted. "It was a night flight, so it was two or three o'clock in the morning. This other passenger got out of his seat and clipped that woman's seat who did that to (the seat of his) mother three or four times " Haywood told 3AW.

The female passenger was less than impressed with the returned seat jostle and "threw a punch at that person who did that clip and then he had a throwback as well."

When quizzed on who was throwing punches at whom Haywood added "in the area there was about 12 of us who saw it all there and they were certainly laying into each other."

According to The Daily Telegraph, police have confirmed that the pair were removed from the flight once it landed in Sydney.

A statement from Jetstar sent via email said "We dont tolerate disruptive behaviour by passengers on our flights. We will conduct a review with a view to banning these passengers travelling with us in the future."

Travelling is hard for everyone, so think before you get enraged; it could get you out of a lifetime ban from flying.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's biosafety commission CTNBio approved on Thursday imports of three genetically modified (GM) varieties of corn from the United States for animal feed production, said the government and the poultry and pork industry group ABPA. The measure will facilitate U.S. corn exports to Brazil, said ABPA, adding it will help mitigate tight corn supplies after a harsh drought severely cut production this year, and forced the animal growers to import corn from Argentina. The Brazilian biosafety commission approved two GM corn varieties produced by Monsanto Co and one developed by Syngenta AG . Brazil already cultivates and processes genetically modified organisms, but varieties that are not planted in the country need a greenlight from CTNBio to be imported and processed. Francisco Turra, head of ABPA, said Thursday negotiations between Brazilian pork and poultry processors and U.S. corn traders were already under way, but any purchases hinged on the import approval for the three corn varieties. Turra said U.S. GM corn could help supply the local market through January, when Brazil's next corn crop starts being sold domestically. "That does not mean we would import large quantities," Turra said, adding that the measure gives the sector flexibility at times of tight supplies. Earlier this year, the Brazilian government lifted taxes on corn imports from outside of the Mercosur trade bloc to mitigate the issue of low supplies. (Reporting by Gustavo Bonato; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Ana Mano and Lisa Shumaker)
BRASILIA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's top court has approved a request by prosecutors to split the investigation of dozens of politicians implicated in the sprawling Petrobras corruption scandal by grouping them by the main parties that prosecutors allege received kickbacks.

The separation is bad news for President Michel Temer because it will focus the investigation directly on politicians of his Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB).

In a decision made public on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki agreed to the request by Brazil's chief prosecutor Rodrigo Janot that the unwieldy investigation be divided into four probes focusing on the Workers Party (PT), which was ousted from government in August, the Progressive Party (PP) and the PMDB in the Senate and in the lower chamber.

"The Car Wash investigation was so big and each group had its own way of operating in the Petrobras graft scheme that it was more efficient to investigate them separately," a spokeswoman for Janot said.

Among the politicians who will be under the new spotlight is the leader of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, whose help Temer needs to pass an austerity program through Congress that is key to bringing Brazil's widening fiscal deficit under control.

The leftist PT of impeached former president Dilma Rousseff will also feel the heat from the new division of labor by prosecutors. They included PT founder and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Janot's investigation. Lula is already to stand trial on corruption charges in a lower court and faces other related investigations. Four former Rousseff ministers are also included in the probe.

"This is a momentous moment for the Car Wash investigation, this splitting the investigation into politicians into four parts," said Sergio Praca, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a leading Brazilian university. "This decision will really get things moving against the PMDB, it will speed up the case."

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Praca said there has been criticism of the investigation for being slow to go after sitting politicians - but that this was the result of Brazilian law mandating that the over-taxed Supreme Court itself be directly involved in all probes into active lawmakers.

Praca said the PT tried to protect itself from prosecution and failed, and the PMDB was failing too.

"This is a clear sign that neither the Supreme Court nor federal prosecutors are doing anything to try to protect the PMDB simply because they are now in power," he said.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle in Brasilia and Brad Brooks in Sao Paulo; Editing by Bill Rigby)
The U.K. should expect a fight in its negotiations to secure a Brexit from the European Union, the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, told CNBC.

European and Asia markets were shaken up on Friday, after sterling briefly dived 6 percent , with traders struggling to find out whether it was a "fat finger error" or related to fears over Brexit.



While no official reason has yet been given for the pound's sharp fall, one suggestion is linked to comments made by French President Francois Hollande, who said that the EU had to remain firm with the U.K..



Dijsselbloem said the reactions seen across the continent in recent days were more related to some "quite stern comments (which) were given, sounding like a hard Brexit" during the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham by Prime Minister Theresa May and her cabinet on subjects including immigration and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.



"I think the effects of Brexit have yet to sort of trickle down. We really are still in the process of trying to understand it," said Dijsselbloem, telling CNBC that "we need a good deal. We need it sooner rather than later, however complex it may be."





"I think our trade relations will also be strong in the future, but the Brits have to realize that we will of course protect the four freedoms, the integrity of the internal market, so you know it's going to be a tough deal."

"I think there is a very strong feeling among the EU-27 that if the Brits cannot accept the four freedoms  in particular of course on the migration issue this is crucial  that it will be a tough trade deal as well. There is a strong connection here and the British government seems to think that they can take the goodies and leave the bad elements which they don't like."

"But there will have to be a deal and the freedoms that have built the EU, including the free movements of people are crucial to this."

However, Poul Thomsen, Director of the IMF's European Department, told CNBC that he expected both parties in the Brexit talks to move beyond the rhetoric and "start focusing on what is in the mutual interest; to maintain an open system. I am hopeful that we get a solution eventually."

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However, Thomsen did stress that Europe and the U.K. needed to keep trade channels open as much as possible and eliminate any grey areas.

"Clearly this where the potential negative growth impact is if there are excessive disruptions in trade in goods and services. And it's too early to say that but we need to eliminate uncertainty as soon as possible."

Ever since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union back in June , strong words have been exchanged from both sides of the English Channel, with several influential European leaders stressing that the country could not cherry-pick its way through the negotiations.

The Eurogroup president echoed these comments saying that there'd be "no cherry-picking possible" within the negotiations. Yet he emphasized that it would be "a very huge mistake" to punish the Brits or anyone on the continent who was thinking of stepping out of the union.

"I don't believe any punishment exercises  not towards the Brits and not towards anyone on the continent who would also like to step out; I think that would be a very huge mistake. But the reality checks are about something else."

"If you want to be part of the internal market, if you want trade to be as free as it is until now, then you will have to accept some of the standards and principles that are so crucial for the internal market. So it's much more about the reality check that the British government will have to face rather than punishing or making sure that exiting the EU is a very unfavorable approach."

"I hope that all of us can relax a little bit in the coming period, start to seriously talk about future relations and once again, that will require a reality check. There will be no cherry picking. The four freedoms will be on the table."

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By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 7 (PTI) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has discussed international taxation issues in the backdrop of the Panama papers leak with Commonwealth Finance Ministers to devise a common strategy.

Jaitley, who is on an official visit to the US, chaired the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting at the IMF headquarters here.

"During the meeting, two important issues -- the Economics of Climate Change and Financing Climate Adaptation and Mitigation; and International Taxation - a Commonwealth Conversation around the Panama Papers were discussed and deliberated," an official statement said.

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Details of the deliberations were not released to media.

A huge leak of documents has revealed how a Central American law firm allegedly set up shell companies to help several individuals around the world conceal their riches.

Jaitley had last week stated that the Indian government is taking steps to deal with the names that have appeared in the Panama Papers.

"In Panama cases, 250 references have been given to other countries and investigation is progressing in good pace," he had said.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, more than 11 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm that specialises in setting up offshore companies in tax havens, revealed emails, bank records and client information dating back several decades.

The official statement said the Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Baroda signed an MoU on Commonwealth Small States Trade Finance Facility in presence of Jaitley. "This finance facility is expected to make available up to USD 100 million of incremental trade finance over a period of three years.

"During the meeting, as part of the voluntary contributions, India also pledged 1,022,100 to Commonwealth Fund for technical cooperation," it said. Jaitley also chaired the Governing Council Meeting of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) wherein he announced that the CRA being operational now. Following this, BRICS member central banks are fully ready to carry out the transactions. Members welcomed the proposal to formalize the setting up of a network of central banks research units that will support the working of BRICS CRA, the statement said. At the meeting, the Finance Minister also extended invitation to attend BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held in Goa later this month. MORE PTI JD ANZ ASK AKJ ASK

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Sarah Jessica Parkers return to television on HBOs Divorce follows the story of a woman as she uproots her life with the hope that liberation from a 17-year marriage will solve all her problems. The series not only sheds light on divorce, it makes light of it, too.

But the history has not been kind to peopleespecially womenwho sought divorce. And it wasnt even until the late 60s that Americans were allowed no-fault divorces, meaning either party could walk away sans spousal wrongdoing.

The modern concept of a divorce can vary by culture and religion, but early forms of the idea were almost always a male prerogative.

People think divorce is a modern invention but divorce was very common in the past, says Stephanie Coontz, a teacher of history and family studies at Evergreen State College and author of Marriage, a History.

As evidence, Coontz points to one of the most famous divorcees in history, Henry VIII, who was initially married off for a dynastic alliance to Catherine of Aragon. He asked the Pope for permission to end his marriage when Catherine couldnt bear children and, despite being denied, went on to do it anyway, using loopholes in the church to marry Anne Boleyn. This break with the Church helped bring Protestantism to England.

In the U.S., the escalation of divorce came alongside the American revolution, says Steven Mintz, who teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin.

Just like you could break a union of countries, by analogy, you should have been able to break a union of couples, Mintz says. The revolution ideology had a real effect on divorce in the 1820s and 1830s.

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It became increasingly common for Americans to use legal ambiguities to dissolve their marriages, using what was called omnibus clauses in the 1800s to persuade courts to liberate them. At the time, Mintz says, divorces were legally allowed with proof of physical cruelty and adultery, but the omnibus clauses legalized divorce in all cases where the court in its discretion thinks it just and reasonable.

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The idea of divorce continued to spread throughout the country, and certain states used the vagueness of the omnibus clause to entice new residents by promising them easy divorces.

Throughout the second half of the 19th century, divorce rates continued to rise. As marriage and divorces laws changed, 1867 was the first year national marriage and divorce data became available. And for the next few decades, Americans continued to try working around loopholes in what she calls a really weird legal system. Fault-based divorce laws required specific grounds for divorce, and rule known as the clean hands doctrine necessitated that the complaining party couldnt have done anything contributory to the problem.

There was a case in Oregon in the 1930s where the father had a violent temper but the wife had thrown things at him, too, so since neither party came to court with clean hands, even though they were miserable, they couldnt divorce, Coontz says.

By the 1950s, however, there was an entire legal industry set up to make a mockery of these laws, Coontz says. For example, in Illinois, couples could get divorced if a witness could see the hand print of a slap on someones cheeks, which led to many a witness claiming as much with or without an actual sighting. Eventually, jurists figured it was time to stop making divorce such an adversarial process and in 1969, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California and himself a divorcee, signed the states Family Law Act, introducing the concept of irreconcilable differences.

Though divorce became commonplace, it still carried a heavy stigma.

Calling all history lovers: Get a book from our History collection with your paid subscription to TIME. Click here for more details.

In 1964, Nelson Rockefeller couldnt become president because he was divorced, Mintz says. There was never a law that you couldnt be divorced and become president, it was just inconceivable at the time.

Both experts confirm, however, that though divorce rates are often reported as spiking, those statistics can be misleading. In fact, in 2014 it was reported that couples married in the 2000s are divorcing at lower rates than those of the 1970s and 1980s. Data provided to the New York Times from Justin Wolfers, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, proved that if current divorce trends stayed on track, it could lead to nearly two-thirds of marriages never ending in divorce.

When it comes to HBOs latest potential hit, Coontz says the show may be a side effect of people realizing that divorce doesnt need to be extreme.

I think many people are trying to divest divorce of its element of it being a tragedy, a betrayal or a reason to hate each other forever, she says. I think [the shows creators] are responding to whats been a healthy development.
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A note warning people about snitches led police to discover that the owner of the residence was dealing drugs.

Deputies for the Fayette County Sheriff's Department responded to a joyriding complaint at a residence in Oak Hill, West Virginia at approximately 10:15 a.m. on Thursday. When the deputies approached the residence, they spotted a bright pink sign posted on the front door, warning that everyone entering the home is subject to arrest "due to snitches."

"Due to snitches everyone entering my home is subject to being searched," the note reads. "All cell phones and drinks will be left outside!! If you're not a snitch, it won't offend you if I search you!"

The note led deputies to believe drugs were being sold at the residence.

"In addition to conducting their investigation into the joyriding complaint, deputies questioned the occupants about drug sales and obtained consent to search the residence," the department wrote on Facebook. "This search resulted in the seizure of quantities of both heroin and methamphetamine, as well as various other unknown substances that were believed to be narcotics."

SEE ALSO: Marijuana-filled porta potty stumps naive cops and enrages public

The homeowner, April Lynn Lavender, 38, was arrested and charged with the felony offense of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Lavender was remanded to the Southern Regional Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Kristie Weis, 22, was arrested and charged with the misdemeanor offense of joyriding, and was also booked at the Southern Regional Jail in lieu of $1,500 bond.

"While drug investigations often require a great deal of time and effort, sometimes the criminals make our job pretty easy," said Sheriff Kessler. "If someone posts a sign on their front door about searching 'snitches,' it's a pretty safe bet that there are illegal drugs being sold out of that location."

Bonus: If 'Stranger Things' was made with hamsters
Nairobi (AFP) - Burundi announced plans Friday to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a week after the UN began an enquiry into human rights abuses committed since April 2015.

"It is perfectly clear that this is a plot to do harm to Burundi," said Gaston Sindimwo, Burundi's vice president, citing European Union "pressure" allegedly exerted on the UN, which opened a rights investigation a week ago.

According to a list seen by AFP, the UN investigation is targeting a dozen members of the governing regime, including General Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, regarded as the second most powerful figure after President Pierre Nkurunziza.

In April, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she was conducting a "preliminary examination" of the situation in Burundi -- the first step towards a full investigation and possible prosecutions -- looking into allegations including murder, torture, rape and forced disappearances.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said there was evidence of "widespread and systematic" rights violations and a risk of "genocide".

Echoing similar complaints made by other countries where those in power have been investigated by the ICC, Sindimwo dismissed the court as a "political tool" used to "oppress African countries".

He said a bill proposing withdrawal from the ICC would be put to parliament, which is dominated by the ruling party. If ratified by parliament, the decision to quit the world court cannot take effect for a year, nor does it halt ongoing investigations.

Burundi's political crisis began in April 2015 when Nkurunziza announced plans to run for a controversial third term in power, which he went on to win.

Violence since then has killed more than 500 people and driven 270,000 people to leave the country, according to the United Nations.
Korean Cinema Retrospective, the Busan Film Festivals signature program that spotlights classic Korean filmmakers, gave belated recognition to genre film master Lee Doo-yong.

Best known for his Taekwondo action films and erotic satire comedy series Mulberry, Lee rose to fame in South Korea in mid-1970s. Along with Im Kwon-taek, Lee was one of the very few Korean filmmakers in the 1980s who were known internationallyhe went to Venice with The Hut and to Cannes with Spinning Tales of Cruelty Towards Woman.

Though his name has largely been forgotten by the new generation filmmaking field in recent years, some of Koreas prominent filmmakers including Park Chan-wook (The Handmaiden), Ryoo Seung-wan (Veteran) and Oh Seung-uk (The Shameless) have paid attention to Lees films and praised his acute editing skills and masculine action sequences.

Invited to speak on the stage at the Korean Cinema Retrospective Night party, the 74-year-old director expressed his gratitude to BIFF director Kang Soo-youn and chairman Kim Dong-ho for organizing a retrospective highlight for him at a time when the festival itself has been struggling.

I will never forget tonight, it marks a very important moment in my life as a filmmaker, said Lee, as he was dedicated a directors chair. He was joined by a number of his fellow veteran Korean filmmakers such as Kim Soo-yong (My Love) and the elder Kim Ki-duk (Eagle of Wild Field) on the stage.

Some may think that I see ahead too much, but I would say that tonight is a turning point in my filmmaking journey and that I would desperately like to continue making films as long as my brain works with no major problem, Lee said.

4K remastered footages of Lees The Last Witness and Hut were unveiled at the party by the Korean Film Archive. Eight of Lees films, including Witness and Hut, are screened in the BIFFs Korean Cinema Retrospective section.

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An old farmer has difficulty giving up his bull for sacrifice in Knife in the Clear Water, a somber elegy richly lensed like a rotating gallery of oil paintings. While news related to Muslim ethnic groups in China has largely focused on Uighurs and their separatist movement, this minimalist debut by Wang Xuebo affords a rare glimpse into the Hui, a Chinese-speaking Muslim group, as well as their faith and docile views about destiny. While the downbeat, sparsely-plotted yarn risks turning into an ethnographic pastoral at times, it also observes their dire poverty and probably disappearing agrarian lifestyles. Some audiences may understandably tune out the films sleepy rhythm, but those who rate imagery over dialogue or drama may buy its earthy simplicity.

According to Wang, who produced Tibetan helmer Pema Tsedans Tharlo before making his own directorial debut, he decided to frame for a 4:3 aspect ratio in emulation of Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky, as well as painters Andrew Wyeth and Jean-Francois Millet. While this film lacks the aesthetic or philosophical depths of Tarkovskys work, its swarthy lighting of primitive, electricity-free interiors and blending of human figures into stunning images of parched, mountainous terrain in Ningxia do evoke the abstract-realism of Wyeth and the rural lyricism of Millet.

On the day of his wifes burial, Ma Zishan (Yang Shengcang) must plan for the Arbaeen ceremony to be held on the 40th day after her passing. His son (Yang Shengcang, a different actor with the same name) pleads with him to slaughter their only bull to feed the large number of guests wholl come to pay respects. The farmer has no grounds on which to refuse: His wife deserves to be honored for working hard all her life, and besides, the bull is old and has little strength left to plow the fields. And yet, he cannot part with the animal that, much like his wife, labored meekly for him all its life, especially since hes already lost his closest companion.

As if aware of its impending doom, the bull loses its appetite, falls ill and becomes too weak to till the soil. Believing in the traditional wisdom, which holds that when an animal has been marked for slaughter, the beast sees the reflection of a knife in the way and recoils with fear. Although its never spelled out, the protagonist secretly sees the bull as a kindred spirit  a domesticated slave, passively getting on in years, its lonely, inconsequential death looming not so far off. A calm, soft-spoken man and a patient listener, he nonetheless carries an air of dejection around him.

Not a lot happens in the 90 or so minutes leading up to the ceremony, but seeing Ma and his neighbors struggle to till the fallow soil underlines the inhospitable nature of their environs. Mas only livestock other than the bull is a lone little lamb. The screenplay by Wang, Shi Shuqing, Ma Jinlian, and Ma Yue is built around the small handful of people in Mas orbit, all of whom are also dirt poor. A scene in which Ma visits his niece to return a piddly sum his wife borrowed is subtly wrenching. Ma wishes his son could return from the town to help him farm, but predictably, he says its easier to find jobs in town to feed the young mouths at home, suggesting the age-old community is already on its way to dissolution.

The helmer eyes their lot with perceptive detachment, avoiding a strident voice of social protest or melodramatic lament. He also captures the peace and piety of the community during worship. Mas meeting with the Imam transcends his guilt toward the bull, turning the consultation into a lesson on how to accept ones role in Gods chain of being. A silent scene in which Ma reads the Quran under a frail, swaying oil lamp the night before the 40-day ritual evokes a kind of spiritual rhapsody.

The senior Yangs wrinkled face appears to be a depository of a lifetime of back-breaking labor and other untold turmoil. The final shots take ones breath away, transporting audiences into a symbolic realm where the old mans inner landscape mirrors the barren, snow-blanketed exterior, inviting viewers to wonder whether he is at peace or has his heart frozen after losing everything.

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One of the very few Korean actors working in Hollywood, Lee Byung-hun says his Hollywood breakthrough was a scary experience.

The two moments that I felt the most nervous in my entire life were: when I first had reading rehearsal for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; and when I was at the Academy awards ceremony, said the 45-year-old actor.

Now I intentionally try to feel more comfortable and confident in Hollywood, telling myself that its not a crime not to speak fluent English.

One of Koreas top actors, Lee was speaking Friday at an event at the Busan Film Festival organized by the Korean Film Reporters Association.

Hollywood is an inspiration that pushes him to try new things. But he also takes his Hollywood adventure very personally at the same time.

I wanted to show my late father, Lee said. He was a huge cinephile. He would show me all kinds of films since I was little and tell me about directors and actors. When thinking how happy he would have been to see what I am experiencing [in Hollywood], I feel excited.

I care more about the story itself, rather than the size of the budget, when I choose films, said he. I recently traveled to New York and met J.C. Chandor, the director of Margin Call. Even if it features star actors, it was made with an average budget for Korean commercial filmssome $2.96 million. His next feature would be a low-budget film too.

Lee has also been at the forefront of Korean cinemas big year, headlining two successful big-budget films: Inside Men, and The Age of Shadows.

He picked Kim Jee-woons A Bitter Sweet Life as the film that has made him who he is. I have a special attachment to Bitter Sweet and feel grateful, because it introduced me to people in the film industry overseas and helped me experience Hollywood, said Lee.

Although he hopes Korea would produce more franchise films, he said he wouldnt want his own Korean movies, especially not crime movies to have sequels.

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There are more crime films about the corruption of power, because our society has similar problems, said Lee. It would be great for me as an actor to work on an Inside Men sequel, but I hope it never gets made. Because it would mean the corruption is still there.

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Asian Films Looking to Cast More Hollywood Names
BUSAN  Japanese star Ken Watanabe wasted no time  and did not mince his words  in discussing the recent problems of the Busan festival and the trust issues raised by film Rage.

Despite all the seemingly insurmountable difficulties, this festival happened and that makes me happy, said Watanabe, who has credits including Inception, Clint Eastwoods Letters From Iwo Jima, and the Japanese remake of Eastwoods Unforgiven. The decision to go ahead with the festival this year was brave. It happened because of dedication to the cause.

Watanabe was speaking in Busan ahead of the gala presentation of Rage, which probes a murder case in three seemingly unconnected cities. Directed by Lee Sang-il, the film has had festival play and Toronto and San Sebastian. It released in Japan Sept. 17 and has grossed $10.6 million so far.

I abhor those in power using their power to push others, said Lee. I may be based in Japan, but I know whats happening around the Busan festival.

Lee said that the films core theme is trust  How far can people trust each other?  a topic which is clearly still a live issue in Busan.

Festival director Kang Soo-youn, put aside her role as moderator of the press event, and joined in. As I was watching Rage I was thinking about trust issues. What kind of trust can the festival give to the public?, Kang said.

Lee later quipped that perhaps Rage was chosen for the festival because of its title.

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By PTI: The Finance Minister attended the G-20 Finance Ministers

The Finance Minister attended the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Working Dinner where discussions centered around the global outlook, key risks for the global and national economies and the proposals made by the Global Forum and the Financial Action Task Force to improve implementation of the beneficial ownership standard.

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During the course of the day, he also held a number of bilateral meetings with British Secretary of State, US Treasury Secretary, Finance Minister of Bhutan, Finance Minister of Bangladesh, and CEO of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The bilateral trade and investment ties were the focal point of each of these meetings for ensuring greater economic cooperation. On the side-lines of the Fund Bank meetings, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) also participated in a panel discussion organised by Morgan Stanley, to deliberate upon the Cyclical and Structural Progress in the Emerging Market Economies, wherein he spoke about the fiscal consolidation and economic reform path being undertaken in India.

Jaitley is currently on an official tour to Washington to attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and other associated meetings.

He is accompanied by RBI Governor Urijit Patel, Das, Chief Economic Advisor and other officials. PTI JD ANZ ASK

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It could be easy to think there are only five or six banks in Canada. RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC and National Bank lay claim to the tallest towers on Bay Street, the biggest sponsorship of major events, and seemingly half of the commercial time on TV with ads reminding you of the value of (their) sound financial advice.

But labouring in the shadow of the Big Six is a handful of smaller banks struggling for a toehold in a crowded market, and getting little help from regulators, according to a new study by the C.D. Howe Institute.

According to the report, entitled Swimming with Whales, Canadian regulations, which were largely put in place before the Internet came along, and then were tweaked after the 2008 financial crisis, limit the growth prospects of the smaller banking.

And while you might be thinking Who cares? My TD credit card works fine!, the upshot is that this regulatory bias leads to less innovation and competition, which can only hurt the Canadian market in the long term.

The fundamental question is whether our regulatory framework is too narrow, thereby limiting the ability of new entrants to provide the services that todays consumer demand and inhibiting their ability to become economically viable, lawyer and author John Jason says in the report.

The top-heavy nature of Canadas banking industry follows years of mergers that have left us with six banks controlling the lions share of the industrys assets. Its a far cry from the U.S., for instance, where there are big players, but also a healthy mid-tier sector that allows for competition and customer choice.

Canadian governments have had a stated goal to promote competition in the sector since 1999, but the results have been mixed. While the number of Canadian banks has actually grown from eight to about 30 during that period  with more on the way  the big six have actually increased their market share to 93 percent from 90 percent over the past decade. So there are new players, but theyre fighting for scraps.

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Given that there are now many more competitors in the market, why have we not seen a greater redistribution of market share? says Jason.

This may not affect the vast majority of bank customers out there, who see little difference in a mortgage offered by BMO or Scotiabank.

But smaller banks do serve a key niche in the economy, filling the needs of often under-served local businesses and households, says James Shanahan, a Canadian bank analyst at Edward Jones.

Community banks, and especially credit unions, often have stronger relationships and can sometimes offer lower-priced products and services than the larger banks, he says.

First National Bank of Canada, for instance, caters to the needs of the Aboriginal market, while Wealth One Bank of Canada, which just opened last month, focuses on the Chinese Canadian market.

And then theres the whole innovation aspect. While the big banks are all pushing diligently into the smartphone age, smaller banks have the benefit of being nimble and faster to adapt services to new technology.

And new technology is fast elbowing its way into the market, with a burgeoning financial technology, or fintech market, also offering services and looking to steal customers away from the banks.

But while the government says it aims to balance the needs of efficiently, utility and stability in the sector, James says the rules focus too much on promoting stability.

Instead of acting as an innovator, a new bank is incented [sic] to offer the same products and services in the same manner as every other bank, he says.

The emphasis on stability is likely in part a hangover from the 2008 crisis, when the government imposed tighter rules on lending, forcing banks to set more money aside to ensure they could stay afloat in the event of a major market disruption. While the big banks can easily handle that kind of cost, it makes life tough on smaller players that dont have the same resources.

And besides, Jason argues, is it that necessary to eliminate risks at smaller banks? If a major bank fails, it could trigger an economic crisis, but if a tiny lender specializing in a niche market goes under, its not exactly going to destroy the system. And new businesses by their nature are more risky.

Jason suggests the government should consider new regulatory approaches to pump up the role of the smaller banks.

This could include allowing smaller lenders to seek a kind of regulatory relief, since they pose a smaller risk to the system, and reducing the smaller banks capital requirements, or money essentially held on their balance sheet to guard against disaster.

If the government continues to believe that a level playing field is required, then it may be time to reconsider the regulatory model across the industry, he says.
TORONTO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Canadian government is closely monitoring the country's housing market, which some analysts fear is overheated, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

"It's something that we are never finished doing, we continue to work very closely with all partners to ensure that Canadians have confidence in their homes and in the future," Trudeau said during a news conference before a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto.

The federal Liberal government, which took power late last year, said on Monday it would tighten mortgage rules and close a tax loophole on home sales, seeking to rein in both foreign investors and indebted consumers.

Although housing markets in the major cities of Toronto and Vancouver have boomed in recent years, growth elsewhere has been more moderate, posing a challenge for federal policymakers seeking a possible national solution.

The measures that Ottawa announced on Monday are designed to affect foreign investors, who many have blamed for soaring prices in Vancouver and Toronto.

Home sales in the greater Toronto Area jumped 21.5 percent in September from a year ago and prices climbed at a similar pace, data showed on Wednesday.

"I think the important messages is one of stability and responsible action that will ensure that Canadians can continue to have confidence in their investments in their homes," Trudeau said.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Matt Scuffham; Editing by Alan Crosby)
The booming of the drums, amplified by two loudspeakers, rolled over thousands of heads, as if to bolster the spirits of an army before battle. People of all ages hurried down Tbilisis main street, Rustaveli Avenue, towards Rose Revolution square. Fathers with children sitting on their shoulders, older men in traditional Georgian hats, women of all ages dressed up in fancy summer blouses, all chanting: Gamardzhob, Nationals! This Wednesday, the 40,000-strong crowd was wishing victory for the United National Movement (UNM), Georgias main opposition party.

Some people looked dehydrated after hours of traveling by bus from the countrys remote provinces to the capital. It was matter of pride for the opposition to come out in support for their party in protest of a violent attack on one of its leaders, parliament member Givi Targamadze. The night before, on October 4, the rear of Targamadzes Jeep exploded not far from the partys headquarters, two blocks from the capitals main Freedom Square. At least four pedestrians were injured, and an ambulance took away an unconscious man. Targamadze himself, who was in the car, was left shocked and deafened, but otherwise unharmed.

Highest democratic standards to be upheld following free and fair electoral campaign, declared a Georgian government press release on Friday. But the election campaign has been marred by violence and popular anxiety. Opposition candidates have been severely beaten and shot at. Just in case, a few ambulances parked near Freedom Square during Wednesdays rally. The frequent police and ambulance sirens reminded Georgians of 2008, the painful year when Georgia fought a brief war with Russia. Im stressed and Im always worried that another revolution might be followed by more killings, by another war with Russia, said Tomara Bakradze, a middle-aged teacher. She sat on a bench on Rustaveli Avenue during the rally, preferring to watch the opposition march from a distance. Georgia has just started recovering. There are more tourists than residents, any unrest would scare them away, she said.

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That morning, two university students, siblings Eka and Gia Georgadze, took a bus from the nearby city of Gori to take part in the rally  and to check out the Tbilisi club scene. Both recalled Russian tanks on the streets of their city in August 2008. Their terrified parents packed up their small Lada and took them to the mountains, away from the fighting.

Violence is back in our country, said Gia. The car bombing is the first ever terrorist attack in our capital, at least in my life. The young voters were also concerned that both the UNM and Georgian Dream, the ruling party, have been tapping each others phone conversations and leaking discrediting data on the internet. I want to know who plotted the car bombing, who leaks gossips on dubious websites, said Eka. I dont want to see any more violence or any more rotten KGB-style recordings. We dont need revolutions and we dont want wars. Georgia can choose its leaders through elections.

The Georgia Dream party, which has been in power since 2012, now faces criticism for jailing members of the opposition (mostly from the entourage of former President Mikheil Saakashvili), for slowing economic growth, not fulfilling their promises, and for the shadowy reputation of its billionaire leader, Bedzina Ivanishvili.

The targeting of Targamadze may have something to do with his reputation across the post-Soviet world as a sort of professional revolutionary. In 2003, he supported Georgias Rose Revolution, when the UNM first came to power. Next he took part in the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan. Unsurprisingly, given its antipathy to this wave of color revolutions, the Kremlin has blamed Targamadze for meeting with Russian opposition leaders and even plotting to depose Vladimir Putin.

Its no wonder UNM leaders suspect a dark Russian influence behind the failed assassination attempt. We believe that the Georgian state security services are infiltrated with former KGB officers, who still have strong ties with Moscow. [They] planted the explosives in our friends car, said Georgi Kandelaki, a UNM leader and member of parliament. See, we dont need a revolution this time. Were relying on a younger generation in our party, and aim to win in the most transparent and democratic way possible  unlike the terrified ruling party, he said.

The Georgian authorities had a different view. In a political talk show on the countrys popular Rustavi-2 television channel, a member of the ruling party, Gedevan Popkhadze, insisted that the attack had actually been plotted and executed by the opposition itself in a bid to discredit the government.

Despite the excitement of the bombing and the rally, 57 percent of the electorate remains undecided. This is the most unpredictable election ever, the first time in Georgian history when a ruling party and an opposition party have almost the same popularity, said Georgi Gogia, a Georgia specialist for Human Rights Watch. Were concerned about potential violence. The unpredictability is only heightened by the question of whether ex-president Saakashvili would return to Tbilisi after the election. Last week Saakashvili  who is wanted by Georgian police on corruption and abuse of power charges that many consider politically motivated  declared that his return would be a matter of days. For Georgians who yearn for a quiet, peaceful election, the prospect may be an unsettling one.

In the photo, supporters of the United National Movement rally on October 5 in Tbilisi.

Photo credit: VANO SHLAMOV/AFP/Getty Images
samsung galaxy note 7

Some wireless carriers are letting customers return the replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7, following a report that one caught fire and caused an evacuation on a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday.

A Sprint spokesperson told Recode that the carrier will allow customers to return replacement Note 7s while Samsung and authorities investigate the incident. You can exchange it for any device Sprint sells.

AT&T will also let you exchange your replacement Note 7 for any device, according to a company spokesperson.

A spokesperson for T-Mobile said you can only return the replacement Note 7 within 14 days of purchase, per the company's standard return policy. However, T-Mobile can override the 14-day return policy if a customer is concerned about the recent Note 7 fire reports.

Finally, Verizon will allow Note 7 exchanges as well.

Samsung formally recalled the original Note 7 on September 15 following several reports of fires, injuries, and damage to property. The company said all phones sold after September 15 would be safe to use.

But the owner of the device that caught fire on the Southwest flight told The Verge and Reuters that he purchased a replacement Note 7 after September 15. If that's actually the case, it means even phones that Samsung said aren't at risk of catching fire could still have the battery defect. Bloomberg reported that Samsung may have to issue a second recall.

A Samsung spokesperson told Business Insider the company can't confirm that the Note 7 that caught fire on the Southwest flight was a replacement device until it's able to retrieve it from authorities. An investigation is still underway.

NOW WATCH: Googles new VR headset is squishy and very comfortable  heres what its like





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The cast of Empire just endorsed Hillary Clinton, and their message is so powerful

Have you ever wanted to know which candidate Cookie Lyon would vote for in the 2016 Presidential Election? While we will never who Cookie would vote for, we know which candidate the actress who plays her is supporting. Taraji P. Henson and the cast of the FOX hit series Empire endorsed Hillary Clinton in a powerful video released today.

The minute-long ad featured stars of the show, such as Henson, Jussie Smollett, Bryshere Gray, Trai Byers, Gabourey Sidibe, Grace Byers, Tasha Smith, and Empire co-creator Lee Daniels. While focusing predominantly on race and racial intolerance in America, the stars also touched on the topics of healthcare and womens issues.

A vocal Clinton supporter, Daniels also directed the ad for the Clinton campaign.

Took our next President to my church today #stthomasepiscopalchurch A photo posted by Lee Daniels (@theoriginalbigdaddy) on Apr 24, 2016 at 10:21am PDT

In addition to highlighting Clintons stances on gun control, healthcare, and womens issues, the actors called out Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump for his ignorant stances and comments about various opponents, racial groups, and women.

I want a president who stands up against intolerance, said Trai Byers, who plays the oldest Lyon son, Andre.

In the ad, which was targeted towards those hesitant to vote featured a comment from Daniels, who spoke directly on the importance of voting. Daniels said,

So many women and men have died for us to have the right to vote. Every time we sit out, we dishonor their sacrifices.

I love this pic. We work so hard  Time to finally celebrate Where is @briangrazer ? #empire #fox  A photo posted by Lee Daniels (@theoriginalbigdaddy) on Feb 6, 2016 at 4:17am PST

Just a few days after Trumps running mate, Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee and Indiana Governor Mike Pence denied that institutional racism exists, Grey, who plays Hakeem Lyon, called out the Trump campaign for their stances on racism in the United States. After naming a list of black men and women killed due to police brutality, he said, of Clinton,

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Theres only one person in this race who said Black Lives Matter.

Check out the ad from the Empire cast below:

With just over a month until the election, its important for people in positions of power to speak towards the importance of voting, especially in an election that is so important for our future.

Hopefully this ad encourages people, especially hesitant young people to vote. Your voice matters so use it!

The post The cast of Empire just endorsed Hillary Clinton, and their message is so powerful appeared first on HelloGiggles.
By Eileen Soreng

(Reuters) - Oil analysts are not convinced that OPEC's proposal to cut output for the first time since 2008 will result in much higher prices, as doubts run high over the feasibility of the group's decision, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

The 32 analysts and economists surveyed cut their 2016 average Brent (LCOc1) price outlook to $44.74 a barrel from the $45.44 forecast in August, the second straight downward revision after successive upgrades in the five preceding surveys.

Brent, which has averaged $43.34 this year, was forecast at$57.28 a barrel in 2017 as against the previous outlook of $57.90.

"We are pessimistic about the chances of a comprehensive deal being reached at OPEC's November meeting due to a history of reluctance from producers to agree to, or adhere to individual output quotas," Morgan Stanley analyst Ashley Petersen said.

In an informal meeting in Algiers last month, OPEC agreed to reduce output to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day, in a bid to end the "production war" that has caused a supply glut and led to an over 50-percent slump in prices since mid-2014.

The cartel is likely to seek support from non-OPEC members like Russia ahead of its next formal meeting in late November, when it is expected to make a decision on production quotas for its member countries.

Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq will be among representatives of key OPEC producers meeting with Russia for informal talks next week on the sidelines of a major energy conference in Istanbul.

"The biggest stumbling block in the whole process is going to be whether they can get all countries to agree upon quota levels," said FirstEnergy Capital analyst Martin King.

"It has been a sticky point for the cartel in the last couple of years."

Supply from OPEC has risen to 33.60 million bpd in September from a revised 33.53 million bpd in August, according to a survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources.

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Oversupply is expected to continue presenting challenges for the market since inventories have risen to multi-year highs in numerous locations, said Giorgos Beleris, analyst at Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts.

A rebalancing before mid-2017 was unlikely, even though global demand could increase by over 1 million bpd next year, analysts said.

"We expect any gains in a freeze scenario will be quickly reversed as production will be frozen at very high levels, thus still leaving the market with excess supply, which only pushes back further into late 2017 the prospect of a rebalancing in the oil market," BNP Paribas Global Head of Commodity Markets Strategy Harry Tchilinguirian said.

The poll forecast U.S. light crude (CLc1) will average $43.49 a barrel in 2016 and $55.46 in 2017, compared with the $41.69 average this year.

Morgan Stanley had the lowest 2016 forecast for Brent at $42 a barrel, while Bernstein and ABN Amro had the highest at $50.

(Additional reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in BENGALURU; Editing by Amanda Cooper and William Hardy)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2016 / Centurion Minerals Ltd. (CTN.V) ("Centurion", or the "Company") announces it has arranged a one-year loan financing for up to $300,000 from arms' length parties. Proceeds from this financing shall be used to assist the Company in advancing the Ana Sofia, Argentina, agri-gypsum pilot plant operation and for general corporate purposes. The pilot plant will test the efficiency of contract mining and marketable agri-gypsum materials.

In consideration for the loan, the Company has agreed to issue, an aggregate of up to 857,000 bonus common shares, or warrants (per the lenders preference) at a deemed price of $0.07 per share and pay interest of 1.5% per month. The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, and any shares issued will be subject to a four-month hold period. The Company contemplates that various exemptions will be utilized pursuant to this financing and it may rely upon the suitability advice exemption (B.C. Instrument 45-536) for a portion thereof. There is no material fact or material change that has not been generally disclosed.

The Ana Sofia project comprises two mining concessions totaling 50 hectares (ha) in size within a larger (approximately 500 ha) exploration permit area. Trenching and test pit sampling work completed by joint venture partner Demetra Minerals Inc. and Centurion identified multiple, high grade, near surface gypsum layers. Small scale producers located in the vicinity are currently extracting agricultural gypsum and selling to fertilizer distributors and farmers. Agricultural gypsum is a valuable plant nutrient and plays a vital role in maintaining soil structure and nutrient balance in South American soils, allowing greater crop yields.

ABOUT CENTURION

Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with an international focus on the exploration and development of agri-mineral and precious mineral projects.

On Behalf of the Board,

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"David G. Tafel"

President and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For Further Information Contact:



David Tafel

President and CEO

604-484-2161

This news release may contain forward looking statements concerning future operations of Centurion Minerals Ltd. (the "Company"). All forward looking statements concerning the Company's future plans and operations, including management's assessment of the Company's project expectations or beliefs may be subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual performance and exploration and financial results may differ materially from any estimates or projections.

SOURCE: Centurion Minerals Ltd.
It contributed $14.4b in 2014.

The food industry has given more than food in the table for the city-state as it contributed a bulk to Singapore's GDP.

According to the Food Industry Asia report by the Oxford Economics, F&B industry contributed an estimated $14.4 billion to GDP and employs nearly 300,000 people.

Food distribution dominated the industry by making the most impact in the said year, accounting two-thirds of the food industry's GDP contribution and over four in five employment it supports.

Meanwhile, the food manufacturing industry has also made a huge impact on Singapore's GDP, with its direct support for 38,800 jobs.

In 2014, the food manufacturing industry earned S$9.8 billion from sales in Singapore.

More so, food manufacturers supply chain spending within Singapore supported $1.6 billion of domestic procurement, $610 million of GDP, 6,100 jobs, $31 million in tax revenues, and S$37 million in Central Provident Fund contributions in the same year.







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Former James Bond Pierce Brosnan is now on the front page of many newspapers, and on hoardings across Indian cities, posing with a pan product.

By India Today Web Desk: The first face that comes to your mind when you think about one of the most iconic characters ever written, the human superhero James Bond, is that of Pierce Brosnan. He has been active in Hollywood as an actor, doing three to four movies every year, but has not been making headlines.

advertisement

Unlike today.

This morning, Indians saw Pierce Brosnan in a classy avatar -- wearing a suit and sporting grey hair, beard and moustache -- on the front page ads of many newspapers, posing with Pan Bahar.

Here is Pierce Brosnan posing with the pan product.



Photo courtesy: Twitter (@uma8987)

Twitterati, half of them still in denial that this is happening in real, have been tweeting the ads with hilarious reactions. Here are a few:

Pierce Brosnan selling pan on the front page of the Times of India. The Asian Century is upon us. pic.twitter.com/Kj5nsLdkqj Iain Marlow (@iainmarlow) October 7, 2016

When James Bond starts selling pan, you know the empire really has struck back. pic.twitter.com/KhgdKrVDDG Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) October 7, 2016

Born to chew & spit.... James Bond Pierce Brosnan pic.twitter.com/4Bbq3qVpS2 Mitul Thakkar (@MitulThakkar) October 7, 2016

When the brand ambassador is also a satisfied consumer of the product, he puts down his signature. You mean Pierce Brosnan chews Pan Masala. pic.twitter.com/IqLVZFVv0K Sagar (@sagarcasm) October 7, 2016

As Pierce Brosnan is endorsing Pan Bahar, his new line should be - My name is bond, aakthoo(spits).. James Bond. pic.twitter.com/spzuA6fGFy Angry Indian Chikna (@Madan_Chikna) October 7, 2016

I always wondered how James Bond was surrounded by girls, fought his enemies, used gadgets. The secret is out, he chews Pan Bahar pan masala Ra_Bies (@Ra_Bies) October 7, 2016

Then:

The name's Bond. James Bond. Now:

Thookna hai. Side hatt ja, Thookna hai. pic.twitter.com/6TbRTUyPkK Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) October 7, 2016

Moral of the story: If you need to sell masala you need to have such a mustache pic.twitter.com/lJJ3g2U2aN Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) October 7, 2016

Now, if you didn't have enough, and still have the strength to bear more, watch the Pan Bahar ad featuring Pierce Brosnan, right here.





Video courtesy: YouTube\ET BrandEquity





And if you were shocked/surprised to see Brosnan endorsing a pan brand, see what five of our Bollywood celebrities chose to endorse.





--- ENDS ---
Chicago (AFP) - Chicagoans are not too happy with Donald Trump's portrayal of their home town.

Elected leaders in the third largest US city are trying to show their displeasure by taking down an honorary "Trump Plaza" street sign in front of the businessman's Chicago skyscraper.

In the first presidential debate, on September 26, the Republican nominee brought up the thousands of shootings recorded in Chicago and asked, "Where is this? Is this a war-torn country? What are we doing?"

There have in fact been 3,324 shooting victims in the city so far this year, according to data compiled by the Chicago Tribune, and 568 murders.

The city, President Barack Obama's home town, has the worst violent crime statistics of any major American metropolis.

But it is also home to vibrant tourism, shimmering skyscrapers -- including Trump's own glass and steel tower housing a hotel and condominiums -- and one of the most striking waterfronts in the country.

Local officials have bristled at comparisons to war zones.

"His decision to drag us into this campaign and... paint a very distorted caricature of Chicago is a mistake," said Brendan Reilly, a city council member and the architect of the sign removal effort, which now has the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a prominent Democrat and former chief of staff to Obama.

"We'll put the sign back up when he releases his tax returns," Emanuel quipped at a news conference this week, ribbing at Trump's refusal to disclose those documents.

Trump's campaign shot back that Reilly "should spend his time focused on economic growth, educational choice, and safer streets for Chicago children," Chicago-based Trump surrogate Steve Cortes said, according to the Sun-Times newspaper.

It would take at least a month for the city council to vote on the idea. The presidential election may well be over by the time the sign's fate is decided.

Early this year Trump offended another world-class city, saying that parts of Paris seemed to be "outside the law." Mayor Anne Hidalgo later branded the candidate as "so stupid."
At his Wednesday night (Oct. 5) show at California's The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Calif., rapper Chief Keef fired off shots at today's crop of rappers.

"I just wanna let everybody know. They say they want that old Sosa back. All that clown sh-t. 2017, I'm coming," says Sosa in a clip from the concert, without naming names. "All these f----t a-- n----s rapping today, shaking they booties and all that gay ass sh-t ... All these f----t ass blonde head, pecan, orange Let em finish shaking they ass. They can finish shaking booties. All that f----t ass sh-t is ending in 2017. I swear on my dead homies. I finna come back and go crazy."

The Chicago rapper has kept quiet over the past few months since his contract with FilmOn was suspended last November. Keef (real name Keith Cozart) experienced drama prior to the suspension after cops shut down his L.A. hologram concert last September. FilmOn founder, Alki David, also expressed dismay with Keef and his management after they violated their contract by doing a tour without approval.

"Keef has a seven-album 360 deal with FilmOnTV. We are committed to making his career the best that it can be," David, told Billboard at the time. "We also have about 70 new songs recorded. A lot of these are major bangers. His management needs to understand that we could sell this package to someone else then they will have to deal [with] less loving attitudes."

Guess I got 3 more grand kids smh ------. It feels good knowing my son is a motivator. And inspirational to others. Cause somebody inspired him just like he inspired others.

A photo posted by LoLo (Mommasosa) (@lolithacarter) on Sep 28, 2016 at 7:48am PDT

Keef's mom, Lolita Carter, also shared an Instagram post last month with the faces of rappers Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and Playboy Carti, calling them out for allegedly biting her son's style. "Guess I got 3 more grand kids smh ------. It feels good knowing my son is a motivator. And inspirational to others. Cause somebody inspired him just like he inspired others."
Clarence Avant, nicknamed the "Godfather of Black Music," was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday (Oct. 7). And as befits the former artist manager, label executive, radio broadcaster, music publisher and ongoing social activist/philanthropist, Avant's star (No. 2,590) is located next to that of the Grammy-winning songwriting/production team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis -- just one of the many music talents and executives Avant has mentored over the years.

Avant's ceremony on a hot Los Angeles morning brought out a large contingent of friends and colleagues -- from Irving Azoff to Jamie Foxx -- all paying tribute to a man who, in the words of Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Leron Gubler, played a "big part in the history of American music." Among the speakers and comments:

Bill Withers: "As I told his wife Jackie, Clarence is the only person I know of who could have played in this arena and done so well for so long. Not too far from here was the Wally Heider Studio where we recorded 'Ain't No Sunshine' and 'Grandma's Hands.' And also not far from here was Sussex Records, where I had my first meeting with Clarence and signed my first recording contract. With his energy and very colorful language, Clarence seemed to know people of all manner and mannerisms. We called him the guru which evolved into godfather. I remember something Diddy -- did he? -- said when he ran into some trouble. He said, 'I did what we all do when we get in trouble -- I called Clarence Avant.' Now [turning to Avant] we're gonna put your name on the Walk of Fame."

Jimmy Jam: "There would be no Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis without Clarence Avant. His star going next to ours couldn't be a better place. Welcome to the neighborhood."

Terry Lewis: "To the brightest star among the stars  welcome, Pops."

Irving Azoff: "Clarence wasn't just the godfather to black music; welcome to your bar mitzvah, Clarence. But I have turned to Clarence many times in my career. He was a benevolent godfather who taught me to respect the business. I was asked to recall an anecdote about Clarence. Well, back in those days there was payola. And a man named Al Sharpton came to me on behalf of independent black promoters. I called Clarence, who told me don't let that man in your office and then hung up on me."

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Jamie Foxx: "I remember meeting Clarence for the first time. It was like meeting the principal. But I got a chance to meet an absolute legend who embraced me like a family member. The footprints you've left in the sand will never be washed away. We love you."

Quincy Jones: "This brings a profound senxe of joy to my life. I first met Clarence in 1963 when I was vice president of Mercury Records. And in those 53 years, he's become my oldest friend, brother, confidant, mentor and ghetto-lectual. He's always told me the damn truth in all aspects of my life. He's also been the silent architect of so many deals it would make your head spin. He gets things done but doesn't beat his chest or look for credit. Clarence, you're the original godfather of our business."

At that start of his career on the East Coast, Avant managed jazz organist Jimmy Smith and composer Schifrin (Mission Impossible TV theme) before moving to Los Angeles in the '60s. Over the next five decades, Avant launched Sussex Records (Withers, Dennis Coffey), Avant Garde Broadcasting and Tabu Records (Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle). Along the way he mentored such producers and executives as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and LaFace Records' L.A.Reid and Babyface (Toni Braxton). He later served as chairman of the board for Motown and has worked with several organizations, including the Apollo Theatre Foundation, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Inner City Broadcasting.

Avant, someone who generally shuns the spotlight, was quick and to the point during his acceptance speech. "This is a great moment in my life, especially since I'm not being paid. I didn't write a speech, so there's no speech. But thank you all for being here. Let's leave; I don't need a suntan."

Also in the audience paying their respects to Avant: Epic Records chairman/CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid, songwriter/producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Magic Johnson, Jerry Moss, filmmaker Brett Ratner, composer Lalo Schifrin and music industry veteran Joe Smith (Warner Bros.).
Gags the clown

As Halloween approaches it appears reports of menacing clowns terrorizing citizens in the US have reached epic proportions.

Reports of clown sightings across the country, now in the dozens, have continued unabated since clowns were first spotted in Greenville, South Carolina, in August. That's where clowns apparently tried to lure children into the woods, according to the police.

Since then, creepy clowns have been reported roaming around more than 20 states, according to BuzzFeed News.

Most of the scary encounters involving bozos have been either harmless or unfounded, but one incident involving a dispute over a clown mask led to the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old, the Associated Press reported.

Almost 30 people have been arrested in clown-related crimes, BuzzFeed News said, including false reports of clown sightings. Police officers have also arrested people on charges of harassment and making "terroristic threats."

The problem has been exacerbated by a series of false reports that have spread on social media, some of which turned out to be pranks or hoaxes. As is the case with popular crimes, media attention to the clown sightings may have led to copycat occurrences.

On Monday, Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, was put under lockdown and students sheltered in place after a report of an armed clown on campus. Officials later concluded the unsubstantiated report originally came from a Twitter account that posts user-submitted reports of clown sightings that are unverified.

Though police departments have been taking the claims seriously to keep residents safe, they are growing impatient with pranksters who are taking advantage of the hysteria to scare the unsuspecting public.

"This is like pulling a fire alarm on a wide scale," Jim Chiavelli, a Merrimack College spokesman, told the Boston Herald. "It's really irresponsible. It's disruptive to hundreds of lives and puts everyone in a dangerous situation."

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The creepy-clown problem has even caught the attention of federal authorities when the issue was brought up during a White House news conference.

"Obviously, this is a situation that law enforcement is taking quite seriously," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told a reporter when asked whether President Barack Obama had been briefed on the clown problem.

Pennsylvania State University students took matters into their own hands on Tuesday night when hundreds gathered to go "clown hunting," even though the Pennsylvania police had insisted there were no credible reports of clowns on campus.

3 Clowns spotted at PSU allegedly. So naturally 6,000 kids mob the streets to hunt it down. I love Penn State pic.twitter.com/P4xYx0nVhs  Addison Carson (@AddiCarson) October 4, 2016

Professionals who dress up as clowns for a living have been caught in the middle as they appear to be taking the brunt of public frustration.

Sara Moore, the director of the Clown Conservatory, a school for clowns in San Francisco, told The Oregonian that the negative media coverage on clowns was tarnishing the image of the comedic performers.

"The people perpetuating this are sick individuals in masks who are playing off a spate of clown images being used for horror purposes," Moore said.

The uproar over clowns has spurred a Clown Lives Matter march scheduled for October 15 in Tucson, Arizona, that aims to show "clowns are not psycho killers."

With a few weeks left until Halloween, more clown sightings are possible.

Here is a map of where clown sightings have been reported in the US:

NOW WATCH: Samsung now says it's too dangerous to even turn on your Galaxy Note 7





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Members:

Christopher Velez, 20, from Ecuador; Richard Camacho, 19, from Dominican Republic; Zabdiel de Jesus, 18, from Puerto Rico; Joel Pimentel, 17, from Mexico; and Erick Brian Colon, 15, from Cuba.

Roots:

The quintet is a product of Univision reality show La Banda (co-produced by Simon Cowell). "That's where I learned to sing, dance and present myself onstage," says Pimentel, the unofficial spokesman of CNCO (pronounced seen-co). After the show aired in 2015, the heartthrob-ready ensemble earned a massive social media following (498,000 Instagram followers) and an opening slot on show producer Ricky Martin's tour.

Breakthrough:

The group's reggaeton-inflected first single, "Tan Facil," landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Latin Airplay chart in May, and its debut album, Primera Cita (Sony), crowned the Top Latin Albums list in September.

Up Next:

"It has been more than six months since the show, and they've shown they can stand on their own two feet," says manager Armando Lozano, who plans to release CNCO's next single in October. Then, in February 2017, comes the group's first solo tour, which means getting used to the least desirable part of newfound fame: "Airports," says Pimentel. "We hate waiting in line in security."

This article originally appeared in the Oct. 15 issue of Billboard.
Moscow (AFP) - Colleagues of slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya gathered Friday at the office of her paper Novaya Gazeta exactly 10 years after the crusading reporter was shot dead.

The 2006 murder, committed on President Vladimir Putin's birthday, sent shockwaves around the world, particularly in the West where Politkovskaya was widely known for her critical investigations on the Kremlin's policies in the war-ravaged Chechnya region.

While five men were found guilty of carrying out the contract hit on Politkovskaya in the entrance hall of her Moscow apartment, those who ordered the killing have never been identified -- leaving her loved ones still hunting for justice.

A crowd of friends, former colleagues and Western diplomats bowed their heads in a brief silent tribute to mark the moment 48-year-old Politkovskaya was killed.

Supporters laid flowers at a memorial plaque in her memory on the wall of the Novaya Gazeta office.

"It is impossible to say that the murder is solved when those who ordered it have not been found," an emotional Sergei Sokolov, the paper's deputy editor, told journalists.

The killing of Politkovskaya sent a chill through Russia's small community of independent journalists -- at a time when the Kremlin was turning the screws on critical reporting.

"Justice stopped halfway," Politkovskaya's son Ilya told AFP ahead of the anniversary.

- 'Trails lead back to Chechnya' -

"Many politicians say the case is closed, but that's a lie. We're nowhere near. The organisers have yet to go on trial."

While Russian officials were silent on the anniversary, the US State Department praised Poltikovskaya's "courage and persistence" in reporting on the Kremlin's two brutal wars in Chechnya.

"We again call upon the Russian government to bring to justice those responsible for ordering, planning and executing Ms Politkovskaya's murder," the State Department said.

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In June 2014 after a protracted investigation and trial, a Moscow court handed long sentences to the five suspects -- four of whom were ethnic Chechens -- suspected of carrying out the killing.

But a group of investigators set up to identify the masterminds has made no breakthrough in two years, with colleagues pointing the finger of blame at Chechnya's Kremlin-loyal leadership under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

"All the trails lead back to Chechnya, to the highest level of its elite, but the Russian authorities are stalling the investigation," Pavel Kanygin, a journalist at Novaya Gazeta, told AFP earlier this week.

"Until there is a change of political regime in Russia, those who gave the order will remain free."

Painful memories of Politkovskaya's killing were revived by the high-profile murder of leading Putin critic Boris Nemtsov just yards from the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.

This week five men -- all Chechen -- went on trial in Moscow for the carrying out the killing of the former deputy prime minister, but yet again his allies insist none of the masterminds have been uncovered.

In memory of Politkovskaya, the Raw in War group -- which supports rights defenders in conflict-ravaged countries -- handed a prize named in her honour to Russian activist Valentina Cherevatenko and Columbian journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima.
Bogota (AFP) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, is a son of a powerful family who staked his legacy on troubled efforts to make peace with the communist FARC rebels.

The Nobel Committee hailed the two-term president's "resolute" bid to end Latin America's longest conflict -- despite a shock referendum defeat last weekend for the peace accord he has championed.

"I prefer an imperfect accord that saves lives to a perfect war that keeps sowing death and pain," Santos had said as he signed the historic deal last month with his erstwhile mortal enemy, the FARC guerrilla leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez.

Voters rejected the deal to end five decades of conflict by a razor-thin margin in Sunday's referendum -- a move the Nobel committee warned could plunge the country into fresh civil war.

The 65-year-old Santos, a career politician, led a major offensive against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as defense minister from 2006 to 2009.

But after becoming president in 2010, he changed tack and negotiated for a settlement with the guerrillas.

"I was never a hawk or a dove. I've always been a standard-bearer for peace," he told AFP in an interview before the September deal.

- 'Do the right thing' -

Santos defied fierce opposition to the talks from some former allies.

"I am not looking for applause. I just want to do the right thing," he once said.

He won reelection in 2014 in a vote widely seen as a referendum on the talks. But his popularity rating has since plunged.

Santos said receiving the Nobel Prize would be "a great stimulus" for efforts to achieve peace.

"We are very, very close, we just need to push a bit further," he told the Nobel Foundation in a telephone interview.

He accepted the prize "not in my own name, but in the name of all Colombians, especially the millions of victims," he added later in a televised address.

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"I will dedicate all my strength to this cause for the rest of my life."

- 'Political courage' -

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi hailed Santos's "political courage" and voiced hope the impasse could be overcome.

A former hostage of the FARC, Ingrid Betancourt -- a Franco-Colombian former politician who was held in the jungle for six years -- said it was a "just" reward for Santos, but added that the rebels should have shared the Nobel.

Since Santos launched peace negotiations four years ago, his predecessor, ex-president Alvaro Uribe, has become his main critic, arguing that the peace accord offered the rebels impunity for their crimes.

Both Uribe and FARC leader Timochenko congratulated Santos on the award, however.

Santos "made war as a means to achieve peace," Santos's brother-in-law and adviser, Mauricio Rodriguez, told AFP recently.

"He weakened the FARC to make them sit at the negotiating table," he added.

The peace drive "required courage, audacity, perseverance and a lot of strategy -- those are Santos's strengths."

- 'Extreme center' politician -

Santos was born in August 1951 in Bogota into a rich, powerful family entrenched in Colombian politics and the media.

He has described himself as politically in the "extreme center."

He was educated at a top naval academy in the Colombian city of Cartagena and later at the London School of Economics.

Santos began his career as a journalist, winning a Spanish award for his coverage of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua as a young man.

The work he did along with his brother Enrique in Nicaragua "had a profound impact on us both," Santos once said.

In 1991 he switched to politics, and has served in various ministerial posts.

An admirer of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Nelson Mandela, Santos is said to be an early riser and late sleeper. He survived prostate cancer in 2012.

His source of strength, he says, is his family -- "my saints," he has called them, playing on his surname which means saints in Spanish.

He and his wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez have three children.
The Governor enquired about the health of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and also about the arrangements made for the visit of the High-level Technical Committee on Cauvery water issue

By Pramod Madhav: The Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu along with Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam and PWD Minister Edapadi Palanisamy met with the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan today evening.

The Governor enquired about the health of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and also about the arrangements made for the visit of the High-level Technical Committee on Cauvery water issue constituted by the Union Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry.

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He also enquired about the general administration and affairs of the Government, the details by the Chief Secretary and the Minister.

READ: Jayalalithaa will be alright soon, says Rahul Gandhi after meeting ailing Tamil Nadu CM



The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today visited the Apollo Hospital in Chennai to enquire about the condition Jayalalithaa, who was hospitalised recently for fever and dehydration and said "she is improving and going to be alright."

Rahul Gandhi, who was at the hospital for over 30 minutes, said, "Her health is improving".

and enquired about the AIADMK leader's health.

The Congress leader is the first national leader to visit the 68-year-old Jayalalithaa, who was brought to the Apollo Hospital on September 22.

Earlier, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and Tamil Nadu Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao visited the hospital.

READ: Plea on Jayalalithaa's health, interim CM rejected by Madras High Court



An AIADMK spokesperson said, "There is no need for temporary Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu till such time that Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa gets fully recovered and resumes normal activities".

"There is no legal necessity for that, he added.

On Thursday, the consensus opinion of all experts at the Apollo Hospitals was that Jayalalithaa will require a longer stay in the hospital and the line of treatment given to her should be continued.

ALSO READ:

Jayalalithaa requires longer stay in hospital, line of treatment to continue: Apollo hospital

Honorable dehydration? Apollo hospital's health update on Jayalalithaa becomes a joke



--- ENDS ---
By Davide Scigliuzzo

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (IFR) - A setback in the peace process with the FARC rebel group will not derail Colombia's fiscal reform agenda, the country's head of public credit told IFR on Friday.

The market had been bullish on the oil exporting country following a rebound in crude amid expectations that the sovereign would soon reap a peace dividend from the end of Latin America's longest running civil war.

But the surprise no vote last weekend took investors off guard and raised questions about the government's ability to get through tax reforms seen as vital to supporting Colombia's credit standing among rating agencies.

"We need to have everyone sit at the table so that we can have an agreement that is acceptable for all Colombians," Ana Milena Lopez Rocha, Colombia's director general of public credit, said on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank meetings.

"The economic agenda remains as it was before the plebiscite."

A reform bill aimed at simplifying the tax code and increasing fiscal revenues over the coming years is expected to land in Congress next week.

Lopez said the government made no changes to the bill following the October 2 referendum that rejected President Juan Manuel Santos's peace proposal.

Colombia is expected to cut its fiscal deficit to 3.3% of GDP in 2017 from 3.9% this year to comply with its fiscal responsibility law.

The tax reform is designed achieve that goal and give investors a long-term view on what taxation will be over the coming years, said Lopez.

To meet its external financing need for 2017, Colombia plans to raise US$3bn from the international capital markets and an additional US$3bn from multilateral agencies.

"We have a fair bit of dollar cash so we don't have a need to prefinance," said Lopez. "That said, we always look at markets opportunistically." (Reporting by Davide Scigliuzzo; Editing by Paul Kilby)
Weve all been guessing it was going to happen for months, but that doesnt make it any more fun when it actually does: data caps are marching across the nation, and coming for millions of Comcast customers from coast to coast.

The caps (they gave up on "thresholds") have been slowly spreading across new cities for years, and in a blog post today, Comcast confirmed that its bringing data plans (read as: broadband service limits) to many markets nationwide.

Users who go over the limit of 1 TB of data used in a billing cycle will get a stern warning. Customers get two courtesy months in a year without being billed for overage. After that, its overage charges, much like a traditional wireless plan. Your service wont be cut off or throttled; youll just suddenly see extra charges on your next bill.

The full list of states and metro areas now subject to the cap is a few scrolls down in Comcasts updated FAQ, and you can check at Comcasts dedicated data plan site to see if the ZIP code where you live is subject to a cap or not.

Related Stories From Consumer Reports

Comcast is emailing customers in affected markets to let them know about the change, which goes into effect at the beginning of next month. Consumerist readers in several metro areas, including Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Sacramento forwarded their Comcast emails to us.

The form letter comes in two varieties, and which one a customer receives varies based on their average recent usage. Customers with low data usage receive soothing messages saying, Based on your usage history you can still . . . do whatever you want to do online, worry free, like this example from a customer in greater Indianapolis:



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High-usage customers, on the other hand, receive a somewhat more passive-aggressive message saying that The vast majority of our customers would consider one terabyte to be a massive amount of data, before conceding, it may not be enough for everyone, like this example from a customer outside of Detroit:

Comcast is, of course, cheerfully praising the generosity of its 1 terabyte limit, without actually mentioning that its not really necessary to impose such a limit on most customers at all.

If its true that more than 99% of [Comcasts] customers do not use 1 TB of data in a given month, why cap at all? After all, the company has admitted before that data caps are not actually a network or congestion-management tool, and surely theres a limit on how much extra revenue they can extract from that remaining 1%.

Comcast also reiterates several timesin their FAQ, in their blog post, in the e-mails to customersthat, Our data plans are based on a principle of fairness. Those who use more Internet data, pay more. And those who use less Internet data, pay less.

And yet that is not, in fact, true. If 99% of their customers, as they claim, use less than 1 TB of data per month, then those who use less are not paying less. Those who use lesseveryone but the one-percenters, as it wereare all paying the same, without an opportunity or method to reduce their bills.

Several readers who forwarded their letters from Comcast to us also expressed concern about Comcasts ability accurately to meter their usage. As weve seen several times before, Comcasts usage meters are far from infallible, and when something goes wrong theres basically no recourse for consumers.

One high-usage customer shared with us his usage graph of 3,270-3,360 GB per month over the past several months, and wondered how Comcast turned that into an average of 2,766 GB in the letter they sent him. Im not sure what kinda math they use, he told us, although admittedly their confusion is in his favor.

I gotta love just how strong they push the it wont affect you part, one reader tells Consumerist. Reminds me of politicians announcing a new toll road.

As for options, well, theyre slim. Another reader wrote to us about his service optionsComcast or DSLbefore concluding he was stuck: No one else has something like this in [his city] speed-wise, he wrote. Another asked us, what can consumers do about this in markets without competition?

And unfortunately, that answer continues to be: basically nothing.





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Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright  2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S.
This past Sunday was the absolute low point for Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. His signature achievementa peace accord signed last month to end a half-century-old guerrilla war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as (FARC)had just been rejected by Colombian voters in a binding referendum. The results threw his government into disarray and placed the country in danger of sliding back into war. There was even speculation that Santos would resign.

But on Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize to Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.

The war, which began in the 1960s, has cost the lives of at least 220,000 Colombians and has uprooted nearly 8 million from their homes. Thus, the committee stated that the award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace This tribute is paid, not least, to the representatives of the countless victims of the civil war.

Read More: 5 Things to Know About Nobel Peace Prize Winner Juan Manuel Santos

Santos received the news in the pre-dawn hours at the Casa de Narino presidential palace in Bogota. He becomes only the second Colombian to win a Nobel, following novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who received the prize for literature in 1982. I receive this prize on behalf of all Colombians, especially the millions of victims, Santos said in a short address. To make sure there is not even one more victim in this conflict we must reconcile, unite and finish this process and begin to construct a stable peace.

Santos, 65, climbed to the top of Colombian politics as a warrior rather than a peace advocate. He is one of the few recent Colombian presidents to have served in the military, having joined the Navy straight out of high school. That was an unorthodox choice as member of Colombias upper class rarely put on the uniform. Santos hails from a family of politicians and media titans. His great uncle, Eduardo Santos, was president from 1938-44 while his family for many decades owned El Tiempo, the countrys largest newspaper. Though he worked there as an editor, Santos is said to have been grooming himself for the presidency since he was a teenager. At one point shaved off his beard, reportedly, because he thought he would look more presidential.

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Read More: Colombian Government and FARC Rebels Sign Peace Accord Ending Five Decades of Conflict

He served in several administrations but came to national prominence in 2006 when he was named defense minister by then-President Alvaro Uribe. The two men led a successful military offensive against FARC. The U.S.-backed campaign cut the rebel forces in half to about 7,000 fighters and Santos rode this success to the presidential palace. Pledging to continue these hard-line national security policies, Santos won the presidency by a landslide in 2010.

But despite his military background, soon after he was sworn-in Santos secretly sent a team of envoys, including his brother, to Havana, Cuba, to open exploratory talks with the FARC. He calculated that the guerrillas had been weakened to the point that they would finally be ready to cut a deal and pursue its goals of social justice through legal politics. Formal talks opened in 2012 and lasted for nearly four years.

Early on, Santos sought the backing of the international community and reached out to leftists in Colombia to support the negotiations amid a fierce backlash from conservatives. Four years of tense negotiations culminated in a historic peace agreement signed on September 26 in the Colombian city of Cartagena before 2,500 diplomats and invited guests, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. To symbolize the transition from war to peace, the treaty was signed by Santos and FARC commander Rodrigo Londono using a pen fashioned from a bullet cartridge. The horrible night of war is finally over, Santos declared.

Read More: Why Referendums Have Been Backfiring

Only it wasnt.

Many Colombians viewed Santos as a traitor for reaching out to the FARC, a guerrilla army that funded its war with the profits from drug trafficking, extortion and illegal gold mining. The FARC also committed massive human rights abuses, carrying out massacres and kidnapping thousands of civilians for ransom. Critics complained the the peace agreement was too lenient on the FARCespecially the provisions that would allow rebels accused of war crimes to avoid prison if they confess before a special tribunal.

Uribe, Santoss former boss, soon became the presidents fiercest critic. He led the campaign against the peace accord in Sundays referendum. Amid flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew, only 37% of the electorate turned even though the vote was widely viewed as one of the most important in Colombian history. Despite polls showing that the agreemeent would easily pass muster, the no vote topped the yes vote by less than one half of one percentage point.

Uribe is now demanding that the accords be renegotiated. He wants FARC rebels accused of war crimes sent to prison and objects to provisions that would give a future FARC-led political party 10 guaranteed seats in Congress between 2018 and 2026. But its unclear whether the FARC would be willing to go back to the drawing board and renegotiate these points. Meanwhile, rebel foot soldiers who were preparing to concentrate in special zones around the country and turn over their weapons to U.N. inspectors are now left in limbo. A ceasefireset to run until Oct. 31is still holding and could be renewed. But FARC leaders, while emphatically stating that they want peace, have cautioned their troops to protect themselves and be prepared for war.

While it may seem perverse to honor Santos in the wake of voter rejection on Sunday, the Norwegian Nobel committee seemed to believe the prize could help push Colombian leaders to settle their differences and complete the peace process. There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, continue to respect the ceasefire, the committee said.

On his Twitter account, Uribe indicated that the prize would not change his mind, stating tersely: I hope this leads to changes in these accords that are damaging to democracy.

But Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America said the Nobel award may help shift the balance. He noted that Costa Rican President Oscar Ariass win in 1987 for his efforts to end the civil wars in Central America really helped him counter resistance from the Reagan Administration at the time.

Prize in hand, Santos says he is now determined to push the peace process across the goal line. He told reporters: I think this is the moment, conditions are ripe, and we just have to persevere and this has been what has given me stimulus to persevere. This is the best cause that any person can try to achievepeace for his country.
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
(Adds PDVSA response, paragraphs 8, 9)

By Brian Ellsworth and Alexandra Ulmer

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Subsidiaries of U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips have sued Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA in Delaware, according to a court filing, accusing it of fraudulent operations involving its U.S. subsidiary Citgo.

ConocoPhillips said in an Oct. 6 filing PDVSA operations, including an ongoing bond swap that uses shares in Citgo Holding Inc as collateral, are part of an effort to prevent Conoco from collecting compensation in a dispute over a 2007 nationalization of its Venezuela holdings.

ConocoPhillips has for nearly a decade been pursuing a case against Venezuela in a World Bank tribunal to obtain billions of dollars in compensation for the 2007 takeover of its Venezuela assets by late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.

The tribunal known as ICSID in a partial ruling in 2013 said that takeover was illegal.

The U.S. company cited numerous operations involving Citgo, including an attempt to sell it in 2014, a debt offering that financed dividend payments to PDVSA, and most recently a bond swap operation that uses Citgo Holding as collateral.

"The purpose behind each of these transfers is the same: to remove assets from the United States to Venezuela and/or to encumber assets in the United States, with the intent to hinder, delay or defraud PDVSA's and Venezuela's arbitration award creditors, including ConocoPhillips," it said in the document.

ConocoPhillips says Venezuela has also sought to protect its assets from being seized in any of some 20 arbitration cases filed by companies ranging from U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil to small Canadian mining company Crystallex.

PDVSA said in a statement on Friday that the bond swap was "perfectly legal" and that the lawsuit did not have any legal basis.

"These claims are one more instance of manipulation by ConocoPhillips," the Caracas-based company said in a statement, adding that operations would continue as planned.

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A court decision will likely take several weeks, said Carlos Bellorin, petroleum analyst at IHS.

"Before taking any additional steps the tribunal has to weigh the merits of the case and if Conoco's claims are sufficiently strong," said Bellorin.

PDVSA's bonds dropped sharply on Friday after it postponed a deadline for offering to swap debt due to low participation, signaling that investor reluctance could scuttle the operation, and following news of Conoco's suit.

(Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)
(ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)

* STOXX 600, DAX and CAC all fall

* But UK's FTSE 100 rises as sterling loses more ground

* Edenred falls after UBS downgrade

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Continental European stock markets fell on Friday, with vouchers company Edenred and airline easyJet among the worst performers, although a new slump in sterling propped up Britain's FTSE 100.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down by 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX and France's CAC both retreated by a similar amount. The STOXX 600 has fallen by around 7 percent since the start of 2016.

"European stocks look utterly uninteresting to me at the moment. Corporate profits are weak and the economy remains weak as well," said Andreas Clenow, chief investment officer at Swiss-based ACIES Asset Management.

Edenred fell 4.7 percent after UBS cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy". EasyJet fell 3.3 percent after broker downgrades following its profit warning on Thursday.

However, the FTSE 100 managed to gain 0.5 percent, since the slump in sterling should benefit exporters and help the index's international companies .

Sterling slid on new concern that British Prime Minister Theresa May's government will back a "hard Brexit" where Britain quits the European Union's single market in favour of imposing controls on immigration.

That could hinder inward and outward trade and constrict the foreign investment needed to fund Britain's current account deficit, one of the biggest in the developed world.

Concern over European banks were also weighing on stocks, said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Geneva-based fund management and consultancy firm Prime Partners.

Deutsche Bank, whose shares rose on Friday but remain near record lows, is fighting a fine of up to $14 billion from the U.S. Department of Justice over the alleged mis-selling of mortgage backed securities.

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Investors are also concerned about bad debts in the Italian banking system.

"Europe seems to offer value, but concerns over the financial system and political uncertainties - particularly with the French and German elections next year - call for caution," said Savary, who has reduced his European equity allocation.

(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash, editing by Larry King)
(Corrects throughout to show court order did not come under Section 702 of FISA Corrects headline and first paragraph to remove references to soon-expiring law in story released on Oct 5, 2016) By Tom Bergin REUTERS - Yahoo's decision to scan clients' email accounts at the behest of the U.S. authorities has prompted questions in Europe as to whether EU citizens' data had been compromised, and could help derail a new trans-Atlantic data sharing deal. Reuters reported emails for specific on Tuesday that Yahoo complied with a classified U.S. government demand to search customers' incoming information provided by U.S. intelligence officials. Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, the lead European regulator on privacy issues for Yahoo, said on Wednesday it was making enquiries about the matter. European politicians called on the European Commission, the European Unions executive body, to look into the issue and lawyers said a legal challenge to the new EU-U.S. data sharing deal agreed earlier this year was now more likely in Europe. "Any form of mass surveillance infringing on the fundamental privacy rights of EU citizens would be viewed as a matter of considerable concern," the regulator in Dublin, where Yahoo's European headquarters is based, said in a statement. Yahoo said in response to the original Reuters story that it was "a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States". It declined to confirm whether it scanned users' emails or to say whether Europeans' emails were intercepted as part of the programme. Johannes Kleis a spokesman with BEUC, an umbrella group for European consumer organisations, called on other EU data protection authorities to investigate Yahoo. Fabio de Masi, a German member of the European Parliament with the leftist Die Linke party, said he had submitted a formal request to EU High Representative for External Affairs Federica Mogherini asking her to seek clarification from U.S. authorities about the treatment of EU data. PRIVACY SHIELD Ashley Winton, a data protection and privacy lawyer with Paul Hastings, said the revelations that Yahoo had helped the authorities scan user emails could prompt clients to ditch Yahoo. In addition to retail users in Europe, Yahoo also provides email services for other companies, including UK-listed groups Sky Plc and BT Plc. Sky did not respond to a request for comment. When asked about the matter, BT referred to Yahoos comment about being a law abiding group. In February, the United States and Europe published a new deal -- the so-called 'Privacy Shield' -- to allow U.S. companies to move data on EU clients to the United States. The full list of all companies which have applied to benefit from the Privacy Shield has not yet been published as a deadline for early applications passed just last week. Yahoo declined to say whether it hoped to be able to participate in the new arrangement, which has been criticised by some European politicians as not offering enough protection to consumers against mass surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies. Winton said EU data regulators would probably deem the kind of scanning the sources told Reuters that Yahoo had engaged in last year -- sifting through millions of emails for those with specific characteristics -- as being not consistent with the terms of the Privacy Shield. As part of the Privacy Shield, the United States has ruled out indiscriminate mass surveillance, a European Commission spokesman said. "The U.S. will be held accountable to these commitments both through review mechanisms and through redress possibilities," he added. Yahoo could use other legal mechanisms to transfer data to the United States from Europe but these are more complicated and involve additional expense, lawyers said. Winton added that the Yahoo news increased the chances of a legal challenge in Europe against the agreement. (Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin, Eric Auchard in Frankfurt and Julia Fiorretti in Brussels)
A day after Jayalalithaa's foster son was denied permission to meet her, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to the ailing Tamil Nadu chief minister.

By India Today Web Desk: With suspense and uncertainty prevailing over Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's health condition, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to the ailing leader.

"Jayalalithaa is recovering and I am sure she will be alright soon," Rahul Gandhi said after visiting Tamil Nadu CM at Apollo hospital in Chennai.

The Congress vice-president's visit to the hospital came a day after Jayalalithaa's foster son, Sudhakaran was denied permission to meet the chief minister. Jayalalithaa was admitted to the Apollo hospital on September 22 for treatment of 'fever and dehydration'.

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Meanwhile, the Madras High Court has rejected a plea seeking details of the health of Jayalalithaa. The high court observed that the petition was filed for publicity and thus, not maintainable.



READ: Plea on Jayalalithaa's health, interim CM rejected by Madras High Court

SECRECY BREEDS RUMOUR

While the state government maintained a complete secrecy about Jayalalithaa's health condition, the rumour mongers claimed that the Tamil Nadu CM suffered a 'multi-organ failure'. The rumour mill was so noisy that even the Apollo hospital's health bulletins failed to calm the nerves.

However, even the Apollo hospital is to be blamed for this situation. The hospital releases several health bulletins but at least six of them had identical wordings.

"The honorable Chief Minister has responded well to the treatment. The honorable Chief Minister has been advised to stay at the hospital for a few days," said the medical bulletins, which became a joke on social media.



ALSO READ:

Jayalalithaa requires longer stay in hospital, line of treatment to continue: Apollo hospital

Honorable dehydration? Apollo hospital's health update on Jayalalithaa becomes a joke



Watch video:



--- ENDS ---
Credit Suisse Group AG CS has agreed to pay a fine of $90 million and admit charges that it misrepresented the way to determine net new assets (NNA), a key performance metric of its wealth management business.



U.S. regulators found that Credit Suisse had misguided investors by wrongly representing its NNA. This metric is useful for investors in determining how successfully a bank can attract new business.



According to the findings, during 20112012, the bank was valuating assets on a case-by-case approach, based on its clients intentions and objectives. However, at times, it had deviated to an undisclosed result-driven approach to achieve targets set by senior management.



The regulator also stated that the banks former Chief Operating Officer of private banking division, Rolf Bogli, has agreed to pay $80,000 as penalty to settle charges for his role in the banks wrongdoings.



Bogli has been alleged to have put pressure on the banks employees to improperly reclassify certain high net worth clients assets into NNA. This was done despite objections raised by the concerned employees who were aware of the clients needs. Bogli did not accept or deny the SECs findings.



Background



The SECs probe was initiated more than two years back. It followed the U.S. Senates investigation report release in Feb 2014. In this report, Credit Suisse was found guilty of favoring wealthy Americans in off-shore tax evasion. The bank aggressively sought business from American customers who were conspiring to hide their money from the U.S. government.



The report also included the banks public statement to investors, where it misrepresented the NNA performance. Further, it was discovered that during 2012, several senior management and accounting officials of the bank did not adhere to their own methodology to measure the NNA. At that time, the Swiss bank was facing heightened scrutiny for assisting tax evaders. This resulted in the banks net cash inflows to dry up.



Credit Suisses stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).



Banco Macro S.A. BMA and Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. GGAL are better-ranked stocks in the same space, sporting a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Both the stocks have delivered an average positive earnings surprise over the trailing four quarters.



Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. ITUB is another stock in the same space that warrants a look. The stock, holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), delivered positive earnings surprise over the trailing four quarters.

Confidential from Zacks



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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



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Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Cree, Inc. CREE have remained within a sideways range over the last 12 months. The companys stock yielded a negative return of 1.62% compared to the S&P 500s growth of 7.32% over the same period.

The negative return on the stock could be due to lower sales in the consumer lighting segment as well as a slowdown in its Power and Radio Frequency business.

Meanwhile, the company expanded its Essentia by Cree line of products with the introduction of the new LED Surface Wrap in a bid to bolster sales in the consumer lighting segment.

Features of the LED Surface Wrap

Efficacy: The new product gives out 115 lumens per watt, which is considered to be the best in its class.

Quality: The LED Surface Wrap emits clean white light with a low profile that scores over the harsh emissions of fluorescent tubes.

Easy to Install: The unit can be easily mounted on walls or ceilings.

Energy Saving: The unit offers energy savings through the use of an occupancy sensor.

Attractive Design: It has an attractive arc lens design that is aesthetically appealing.

Dimming: The product offers 0-10V dimming to 5%.

How this Product Fits Into Crees Growth Strategy?

As per a market study conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy, LED lighting is estimated to gain 84% of the general illumination market by 2030. This will cut down lighting energy consumption by a whopping 40% in that year alone. That translates to savings of over $26 billion as per current valuations of energy prices.

Given the fact that LED lighting is gradually gaining traction, Crees efforts to light up its revenues via the LED way is certainly a move in the right direction and is poised for growth in the years to come.

Intensifying Competition

We note that competition in LED products is intensifying with every passing day as the segment continues to gain traction. Some notable competitors in this field include Nichia, OSRAM, Philips and Samsung.

However, Crees focus on introducing innovative LED products augurs well for the company in the long run and positions the company in good stead amongst its peers.

Story continues

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

CREE INC Price

CREE INC Price | CREE INC Quote

At present, Cree has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, Tokyo Electron Limited TOELY and CACI International Inc. CACI, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Notably, earnings estimates for NVIDIA for the current year and the next have remained stable at $1.85 and $1.92, respectively, over the last 7 days.

Earnings estimates for Tokyo Electron for the current year and the next have been revised to $1.46 and $1.60, respectively, over the last 7 days.

Estimates for CACI for the current year and the next have remained stable at $6.24 and $6.73 respectively, over the last 7 days.

Confidential from Zacks

Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



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The creepy clown craze that has consumed parts of the country recently has now spurred copycat incidents beyond the U.S.

The phenomenon that has fixated Americans, reaching more than two dozen states, has prompted police in England, Australia, Scotland and Canada to investigate multiple reports of scary clown sightings, according to local news outlets.

In one of the incidents, a group of children in the U.K. told authorities that a knife-wielding man wearing a mask and a clown outfit leaped in front of them on Friday but left them unharmed, The Guardian reports.

We believe this to be part of a much larger prank, which is currently sweeping across the U.S.A. and parts of the U.K. It is very alarming [the man] was carrying a knifehowever, we do not think he intended to harm the children and as far as we are aware, this is part of the prank, local police Sgt. Mel Sutherland told the newspaper. The children arrived at school understandably upset and distressed by this incident and we are currently trying to locate this man.

Victoria Police in Australia also suggested it was handling similar situations, writing on Facebook that the clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the US. Any intimidating or threatening, as well as anti-social behaviors will not be tolerated and will be investigated, the police department added.

Clown hysteria has dominated headlines in the U.S. since late August, when reports surfaced in South Carolina of creepy clowns lurking in the woods and targeting children.
Los Angeles (AFP) - A series of creepy clown sightings across the United States has caused a wave of hysteria, forcing police and schools to scramble to contain spreading jitters, and even the White House to weigh in.

The spooky sightings were first reported in August in South Carolina when police were called in to investigate what turned out to be bogus accounts of men dressed as clowns trying to lure children into the woods.

But similar sightings have since been reported in more than a dozen states with authorities forced to react to stories of clowns lurking outside schools or businesses, armed clowns driving around in a van or clowns prowling neighborhoods.

One school in Ohio even shut down over security concerns after a woman said she was attacked by a man dressed as a clown. And hundreds of students at Penn State University, in Pennsylvania, went on the hunt for jesters Tuesday night after reports of creepy clown sightings.

Coming just weeks before Halloween, when millions of children across the United States don costumes and go house-to-house trick-or-treating, the frenzy has become a social media sensation with the hashtag #IfISeeAClown trending on twitter and the @SpookyClowns account attracting 186,000 followers.

- Targeting schools? -

Meanwhile Instagram has exploded with posts of people dressed in clown costumes staring menacingly at the camera or photos of clowns appealing for understanding or offering free hugs.

The hysteria spread further this week with officials in California and Oregon forced to respond to numerous clown sightings -- largely considered to be hoaxes -- and social media threats against schools, also considered to be pranks.

Sergeant Juan Briseno, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told AFP that patrols outside schools had been increased in the city of Carson, south of downtown Los Angeles, following a threatening message on Twitter about clowns targeting an area high school.

"I have sent our school deputy to go speak with every school within our jurisdiction and make them aware of the situation," Briseno said.

Story continues

The city of Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, was also swept into the frenzy this week after men wearing clown masks -- and possibly carrying kitchen knives -- were seen walking around in what police said was an attempt to frighten people.

At one school in Oregon, officials sent an email to worried parents this week reassuring them after a rumor spread about clowns planning to harm local students.

- No laughing matter -

"This rumor has surfaced across the country, mostly due to people reposting or sharing previous (social media) posts," the email states.

"We are working with our partners at Portland police to monitor this issue."

The White House weighed in on the phenomenon this week saying the sinister sightings that have led to about a dozen arrests should be taken seriously and that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security had been consulted on how to handle the scare.

"Obviously, this is a situation that local law enforcement authorities take quite seriously and they should carefully and thoroughly review, you know, perceived threats to the safety of the community and they should do so prudently," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

Experts said the epidemic of real or imagined sightings and ensuing hysteria could be explained by "coulrophobia", a long-documented phenomenon which increased in the wake of the 1986 Stephen King novel "It" featuring a malevolent clown, later turned into a hit movie.

"The last number that I have heard is that one in almost 10 people report a phobia of clowns," said Matthew Lorber, director of the child and adolescent psychiatry program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

"For kids, to not be able to see somebody's real face is what makes the clown so scary," he added.

Lorber said social media was feeding the current scare, which he warned could cause lasting trauma and panic attacks among younger children.

"Dangerous fads tend to catch and social media really fuels them," he said.

"The idea of scaring people with clowns and posting their reactions online is garnering so much attention that it's happening more and more."

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, which runs a clown school, views the creepy frenzy as no joking matter.

"It is troubling because it's a distraction for our clowns who just want to make people laugh and smile," it said in a statement carried by US media.

But King, whose cult thriller gave a generation the heebie jeebies, has decided to laugh it off.

"Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria -- most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh," the novelist tweeted on Monday.
By Igor Ilic ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia's conservative HDZ and the smaller center-right Most party said on Friday they had agreed to revive their coalition, clearing the way to form a new government this month after September's snap vote. The country's president is expected to ask HDZ leader Andrej Plenkovic to form a government on Monday. "I expect a stable and an efficient government in the next four years," Plenkovic told reporters. The previous HDZ-Most coalition collapsed in June after just five months amid squabbling over appointments and policy priorities. The new cabinet faces an uphill task stabilizing public finances and spurring modest growth to bring down unemployment from 13 percent and cut public debt from its current level of about 85 percent of gross domestic product. Economics-focused Most (meaning Bridge) would have four ministries in the new government, though no ministers have been named. The party will also hold the post of the parliamentary Speaker for the first two years of the mandate. In last month's snap election, the HDZ won 61 seats in the 151-seat parliament, leaving it short of a governing majority but well ahead of its Social Democrat rivals. Most, a proponent of liberal economics, won 13 seats. "Stability between HDZ and Most may be tested around municipal elections next year, but this time Most is not an irreplaceable partner," said political analyst Davor Gjenero, who expected the new government to be longer-lasting. Plenkovic also won support from several other lawmakers, including statutory members of parliament who represent Croatia's ethnic minorities. The European Union wants its newest member to cut red tape in order to improve the investment climate. The economy, heavily dominated by state enterprises, currently struggles to grow faster than 2 percent a year. Economists say Croatia also needs to lower taxes and overhaul its pension and health systems, while streamlining or shuttering many loss-making public firms. (Reporting By Igor Ilic; Editing by Thomas Escritt and Andrew Heavens)
The Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng took a swipe at Fox News correspondent Jesse Watters and his segment on The OReilly Factor that drew accusations of racism due to its portrayal of Chinese-Americans.

In the original segment, Watters went to Chinatown in New York to find out what folks think about the 2016 election after China was mentioned in the first presidential debate.

Let me get this straight, they say China in the debate so you go to Chinatown in New York? So when they mention Mexico do you send someone to Taco Bell? Chieng asked.

In the Fox News segment Watters asked, Is this the Year of the Dragon?' to which Chieng responded, No, this is the year of Go F Yourself.'

Watters segment is set to a version of the song Kung Fu Fighting and shows the host doing martial arts.

If youre going to be racist at least get your stereotypes right you ignorant sack of s, Chieng said. Karate isnt Chinese, its Japanese. And youre doing it in a Taekwondo studio which is Korean, he ranted.

When it first aired, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was among the people to speak out against the Fox News segment. The vile, racist behavior of Foxs Jesse Watters in Chinatown has no place in our city. Fox News  keep this guy off TV, de Blasio tweeted.

Bill OReilly defended the bit stating he knew the controversy would come: Its gentle fun, so I know were going to get letters  inevitable, OReilly said.

Chieng wrapped up his Daily Show segment by going to Chinatown himself to speak to people there. When he asked how one woman knew so much about American politics, she replied, Im from Queens.

Tonight at 11/10c, correspondent Ronny Chieng reports on the Fox News/Jesse Watters racist Chinatown segment. pic.twitter.com/FTq8HyJ0KD  The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 7, 2016

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Story continues

Fox News Host Expresses Regret Over Controversial Chinatown Segment

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A recent segment on Fox News, which featured correspondent Jesse Watters supposedly finding out what residents in New York Citys Chinatown think about the upcoming election, has caused considerable backlash online from the Asian-American community.

In response, The Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng decided to do go to Chinatown to find out how people there really felt about the election.

They say China in the debate, so you go to Chinatown? In New York? a visibly astonished Chieng asked in response to Bill OReillys introduction to the Watters video.

The Daily Show segment then aired footage of Chieng talking with people in Chinatown in all earnestness  and in Chinese  for their views on the showdown between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The featured interviewees all gave thoughtful and nuanced responses in Mandarin or Cantonese, for which The Daily Show supplied subtitles.

When he asked a woman how she knew so much about U.S. politics, she shrugged her arms and gave a matter-of-fact response.

Im from Queens, she said.
Congress leader Kapil Sibal has hit back at the BJP over the surgical strikes issue, accusing it of creating terror outfit JeM by releasing Masood Azhar during the Kandahar standoff in 1999.

By India Today Web Desk: The war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the surgical strikes continued today with senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal accusing the saffron party of creating terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) by releasing Masood Azhar during the Kandahar standoff in 1999.

"These attacks would not have taken place had the JeM not been created. And who created JeM? The BJP, by releasing Masood Azhar. Who escorted Masood Azhar to Afghanistan? BJP. What did Masood Azhar do after that? He formed Jaish-e-Mohammad," Sibal told reporters at a press conference called in response to Amit Shah's attack on Rahul Gandhi over the 'khoon ki dalali' remark.

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Also read: Dalali part of Congress vocabulary: Amit Shah tears into Rahul Gandhi's 'khoon ki dalali' remark

THE KANDAHAR CRISIS

1. On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked by Harkat Ul Mujahideen terrorists. The hijackers demanded the release of three people in Indian custody - Masood Azhar, Mustaq Ahmed Zargar and Omar Sheikh.

2. The Vajpayee government relented and asked the then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and the then Intelligence Bureau Chief Ajit Doval to escort the three terrorists to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where they were handed over to the Taliban.



India has accused the JeM of carrying out the Uri army base attack on September 18, in which 19 soldiers were killed, triggering an unprecedented tension between India and Pakistan and the subsequent surgical strikes across the Line of Control last week.

Also read: 'Which egg is Hafiz Saeed laying for us': it's Pakistan vs Pakistan as clamour for action against terror grows



CONGRESS SLAMS BJP'S CHEST-THUMPING

Sibal said the Congress only objects to the chest-thumping and political mileage being taken by the BJP over the Indian Army's operation in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"Stop putting up these posters claiming credit. It was the Army who should be hailed so stop this politics," Sibal said.

The Congress also slammed Shah's statement that the BJP will take the surgical strikes to people. "It shows how they themselves have politicised the matter," Sibal said.

DESTROY CANCER THAT IS PAKISTAN: CONG



"Amit Shah is forgetting the Election Commission's 2013 order. Forget politics but destroy the cancer that is Pakistan. Then we will be with them," he said.

The Congress also said this was not the first surgical strikes conducted by the Army nor will it be the last. "They are claiming to have conducted the history's first surgical strikes across the LoC. Have they forgotten 1965, 1971 and 1999?" Sibal asked.

--- ENDS ---
Donald Trump was a frequent guest on David Letterman's Late Show in the years before his current presidential campaign. But Letterman stepped down from his position as host of the CBS late-night show before the real estate mogul announced his Republican bid for president. In the early days of Trump's campaign, when the candidate's outlandish comments were still seen by many as a source of amusement, Letterman jokingly lamented retiring before he was able to partake in the late-night comedy gift of Trump's run.

But now that Trump is the Republican nominee for president, Letterman no longer finds him funny, calling his behavior that of a "damaged human being" and saying his reluctance to apologize for seemingly offensive comments and acts makes him "a person to be shunned."

"I've known Donald Trump for a long time and I always thought he was exactly what New York City needed to have: the big, blowhard billionaire. 'By God, I'm Donald Trump and I date models and I put up buildings, and everything is gold.' Nobody took him seriously, and people loved him when he would come on the show. I would make fun of his hair, I would call him a slumlord, I would make fun of his ties. And he could just take a punch like nothing. He was the perfect guest," Letterman tells the New York Times in an interview tied to his involvement in the National Geographic series Years of Living Dangerously.

But now, Letterman says, he's been disturbed by how Trump has continued to offend without anyone stopping him. Letterman indicates he was particularly turned off when Trump appeared to mock a reporter with a disability.

Read more: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Cut Florida Campaigning Short Due to Hurricane Matthew

"Right out of the box, he goes after immigrants and how they're drug dealers and they're rapists. And everybody swallows hard. And they think, oh, well, somebody'll take him aside and say, 'Don, don't do that.' But it didn't happen," Letterman continues. "And then, I can remember him doing an impression, behind a podium, of a reporter for The New York Times who has a congenital disorder. And then I thought, if this was somebody else - if this was a member of your family or a next-door neighbor, a guy at work - you would immediately distance yourself from that person. And that's what I thought would happen. Because if you can do that in a national forum, that says to me that you are a damaged human being. If you can do that and not apologize, you're a person to be shunned."

Story continues

Letterman thinks Trump will still "be crushed in the general election," citing and supporting a prediction made by The Times' David Brooks.

Letterman also seems to call for people to stop giving attention to Trump, referring to Ruth Bader Ginsburg's brief dispute with the candidate. "Kids, if you turn off the light, the moths will stop coming," Letterman says.

The former Late Show host adds that if he still had a talk show and Trump agreed to appear as a guest, "I would have gone right after him."

"I would have said something like, 'Hey, nice to see you. Now, let me ask you: What gives you the right to make fun of a human who is less fortunate, physically, than you are?' And maybe that's where it would have ended," Letterman said. "Because I don't know anything about politics. I don't know anything about trade agreements. I don't know anything about China devaluing the yuan. But if you see somebody who's not behaving like any other human you've known, that means something. They need an appointment with a psychiatrist. They need a diagnosis and they need a prescription."

Read more: Stephen Colbert: Donald Trump Won't Return to 'Late Show' Because He's a "Coward"

It's worth pointing out, though, that while Jimmy Fallon was criticized for going easy on Trump in the candidate's recent appearance on Fallon's Tonight Show, Trump has seemed to avoid programs hosted by comedians who have been more critical, like Seth Meyers' Late Night and Stephen Colbert's Late Show, with the candidate just making one appearance on Colbert last year. So perhaps Trump wouldn't have given Letterman the chance to go after him.

Still, while Letterman's off late night, his show has been a part of the current presidential campaign, with Hillary Clinton's team using a 2012 appearance by Trump on Letterman's Late Show in a campaign ad.

On that, Letterman said, laughing, "It made me a wealthy man." He then added, seriously, "I was flattered. I was pleased. I felt like I still have a small voice in this. I thought it was good."

Read more: Seth Meyers Compares Donald Trump to Batman Villain Bane
david letterman donald trump late show

If David Letterman could have held on for another year in late night, he would've had a really good time taking on Donald Trump.

In previous years, Letterman enjoyed having Trump on his show. They went toe-to-toe several times. In fact, Hillary Clinton uses a clip from a 2012 "Late Show" interview  in which Letterman called out Trump for having his Macy's clothing line made in Asia  in one of her campaign commercials (watch it below).

"Nobody took him seriously, and people loved him when he would come on the show," Letterman, 69, said in a new interview with The New York Times. "I would make fun of his hair, I would call him a slumlord, I would make fun of his ties. And he could just take a punch like nothing. He was the perfect guest."

But that was before he became a serious contender for the American presidency. Letterman has ceased to find the real-estate mogul so funny in that capacity. Letterman said he had been shocked by Trump's comments about immigrants and by the time Trump mocked a reporter with a disability.

"If this was somebody else  if this was a member of your family or a next-door neighbor, a guy at work  you would immediately distance yourself from that person," the retired late-night host said. "And that's what I thought would happen. Because if you can do that in a national forum, that says to me that you are a damaged human being. If you can do that, and not apologize, you're a person to be shunned."

When asked about Jimmy Fallon's recent interview with Trump on "The Tonight Show" that observers criticized for its lack of tough questions, Letterman said he would definitely have been harder on the Republican nominee.

"If I had a show, I would have gone right after him," Letterman, who is promoting his involvement in the National Geographic Channel series "Years of Living Dangerously," told The Times.

Story continues

"I would have said something like, 'Hey, nice to see you. Now, let me ask you: What gives you the right to make fun of a human who is less fortunate, physically, than you are?'" he continued. "And maybe that's where it would have ended. Because I don't know anything about politics. I don't know anything about trade agreements. I don't know anything about China devaluing the yuan. But if you see somebody who's not behaving like any other human you've known, that means something. They need an appointment with a psychiatrist. They need a diagnosis and they need a prescription."

NOW WATCH: Letterman rips Trump, calls him a 'damaged human' who should be 'shunned'





More From Business Insider


David Letterman rejected and rebuked Donald Trump, in a new Q&A published by the New York Times Friday.

In the interview, to promote his role in the National Geographic series Years of Living Dangerously, Letterman said he assumed that voters would distance themselves from Trump early in the campaign after he labeled Mexican immigrants as rapists and mocked a reporter with a congenital disorder.

If you can do that in a national forum, that says to me that you are a damaged human being, Letterman said. If you can do that, and not apologize, youre a person to be shunned.

Letterman also reflected on having Trump as a guest on his late-night show.

Nobody took him seriously, and people loved him when he would come on the show, he said. I would make fun of his hair, I would call him a slumlord, I would make fun of his ties. And he could just take a punch like nothing. He was the perfect guest.

In light of late-night host Jimmy Fallon being heavily criticized for not challenging Trump on his show, Letterman offered up what he might ask today.

I would have said something like, Hey, nice to see you. Now, let me ask you: what gives you the right to make fun of a human who is less fortunate, physically, than you are?'

He added that, perhaps, his line of questioning would stop there.

I dont know anything about politics, he said. But if you see somebody whos not behaving like any other human youve known, that means something. They need an appointment with a psychiatrist. They need a diagnosis and they need a prescription.

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Welcome to The Hollywood Reporter's weekly DC TV Watch, a rundown of all things DC Comics on TV. Every Friday, we round up the major twists, epic fights, new mysteries and anything else that goes down on The CW's Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Fox's Gotham and what it all means. As Legends and Supergirl don't premiere until next week, this edition covers The Flash, Arrow and Gotham.

The Flash season three premiere

WestAllen: The Flash is really leaning into the WestAllen relationship this season after constant delays and near-starts during its first two seasons. Even when Barry (Grant Gustin) reset the timeline and, as a result, hadn't spent his entire life with Iris (Candice Patton), they still found a way back to each other in the new timeline. Iris even told Barry that she felt like something was off her entire life until the day he approached her in CC Jitters, and then all of a sudden everything felt right to her. When he doubted that he could defeat the Rival (Todd Lasance), it was Iris' words of encouragement and his memories of them together that motivated him to win. And after Barry went back and let the Reverse-Flash (Matt Letscher) kill his mother to make things right, the timeline shifted again, but regardless of the new rift between Iris and Joe (Jesse L. Martin), at least Barry and Iris are still going strong. Or has the timeline messed with their relationship as well? That's unclear until we see Iris and Barry meet face-to-face in the new present.

Reverse-Flash: Is he going to return this season? It's already been announced that Reverse-Flash is going to be one of the four major villains this season on Legends of Tomorrow as a part of the Legion of Doom, but his parting words to Barry made it seem like he wasn't done with him just yet.

Alchemy: Viewers got a small taste of this season's big bad in the final moments of the premiere, when Clariss (also Lasance) heard a voice calling his name in the middle of the night, and the word "Alchemy" was scratched onto his mirror. The mysterious season three big bad Doctor Alchemy is trying to awaken the Rival in Clariss in this timeline, but so far, that's all that's been shown of this villain. In the comics, he's a chemist suffering from multiple personality disorder, with one good side and one evil side constantly battling for control. His darker side uses his scientific expertise along with the Philosopher's Stone to transmute elements into different ones, along with discovering ways to defeat the Flash.

Story continues

Read more: 'The Flash': Everything to Know About Season 3

Arrow season five premiere

A new Canary: Laurel's (Katie Cassidy) final words to Oliver (Stephen Amell) were revealed via flashback, and it wasn't a plea for him to not go it alone, as the Comic-Con trailer implied. She actually made him promise that she wouldn't be the last Canary. She wants her legacy to live on in someone new. With former Canary imposter Evelyn Sharp (Madison McLaughlin) joining the team this season as Artemis, that leaves the Canary position wide open. Could Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) be the one to take up that mantle? We certainly thought so last season.

Mister Terrific: Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum) is well on his way to becoming his DC Comics alter ego, Mister Terrific, now that he's decided to be one of Oliver's vigilante trainees. While out searching for one of Felicity's choices for potential new Team Arrow members, Curtis was jumped by some thugs, and he didn't want to feel helpless ever again. He's an Olympic-level athlete but has zero fight training, so his journey to becoming a hero is not going to be quick or easy.

Olicity: Oliver and Felicity may be working well together on Team Arrow, but there's no romantic sparks getting reignited between the two - at least for now. Felicity has a new boyfriend, Detective Malone (Tyler Ritter), and from the way they were acting in her loft, this isn't a new relationship. They're close, possibly even living together. Time will tell if this relationship is for real, or if it's just a delay to the inevitable Olicity reunion.

Big bads: There are three to watch out for this season so far. Tobias Church (Chad L. Coleman) is the gangster uniting all the criminal families and organizations under his leadership, and he has his sights set on taking out Green Arrow. There's the masked archer, Prometheus, which we still don't have any information on aside from him killing a police officer outside the SCPD station. And in the flashback storyline to Oliver's time in Russia being initiated into the Bratva, the Russian mob, the government strongman Kovar (Dolph Lundgren) is somewhere out there, awaiting the moment Oliver tries to kill him to keep his season four finale promise to Taiana (Elysia Rotaru). Without Diggle (David Ramsey) and Thea (Willa Holland) returning to Team Arrow, Oliver's going to need all the help he can get with the amount of bad guys targeting him.

Read more: 'Arrow,' 'The Flash,' 'Supergirl,' 'Legends of Tomorrow' Reveal 4-Way Crossover Villain

Gotham

Two Bruce Waynes: After Bruce (David Mazouz) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) met Bruce's Indian Hill doppelganger, they let him stay in Wayne Manor until they could figure out where he came from and why he exists. Turns out that 514A, or Five as he was nicknamed, couldn't remember anything before waking up in Indian Hill a year ago. All they know about him is that he can't feel pain and has a large scar on the back of his neck. In the middle of the night, Five cut his hair to look like Bruce, stole Alfred's car and met up with Selina (Camren Bicondova), pretending to be Bruce, and Selina fell for it. Is he just trying to get out and experience life now that he's free from Indian Hill, or does he have ulterior motives?

Lee's new love: Gordon's (Ben McKenzie) ex Lee (Morena Baccarin) came back to Gotham permanently after her new fiance got a job at Gotham General Hospital. What Gordon doesn't know is that her fiance is the son of Carmine Falcone (John Doman), his season one nemesis. Lee isn't too worried about that connection, but Falcone certainly is. He's extremely wary about how Gordon is going to react when he finds out, and rightfully so. This season, Gordon has been acting on the darkest impulses and his worst qualities, so there's no telling how he's going to handle this news when he finds out.

A new mayor: And in one of the biggest shockers of the hour, Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) decided that he's done with ruling the criminal underworld of Gotham. He's setting his sights on running Gotham legitimately as mayor, and he bribed/blackmailed the new head of Arkham Asylum into letting his campaign manager Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) go free. The terrible twosome of Penguin and Riddler is officially back together, and Gotham couldn't be more screwed.

What did you think of all the shocking twists, reveals and mysteries on the DC Comics shows this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Gotham airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox, The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW. Supergirl premieres Monday at 8 p.m. and Legends of Tomorrow premieres Thursday at 8 p.m. on The CW.
By Joseph Guyler Delva and Scott Malone PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti/DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti earlier this week before it lashed Florida on Friday with howling winds and churned northward up the U.S. Atlantic coast. The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 842 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials. Matthew, the fiercest cyclone to affect the United States since Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast four years ago, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina. U.S. President Barack Obama urged people not to be complacent and to heed safety instructions in the face of a storm that could be the most severe to strike northeast Florida in more than 100 years. I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists," Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials. Matthew smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted. At least three towns in the hills and coast of Haiti's fertile western tip reported dozens of people killed, including the farming village of Chantal where the mayor said 86 people died, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing. "A tree fell on the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldnt get out," said driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald, 27, who had been married for only a year. "People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying "Mommy." With cellphone networks down and roads flooded, aid has been slow to reach hard-hit areas in Haiti. Food was scarce, and at least seven people died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage. The Mesa Verde, a U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was heading for Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms. ONE DEAD IN FLORIDA Matthew skirted Florida on Friday morning with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but had not made landfall by the evening. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded the storm to a Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as its sustained winds dropped to 110 mph. Category 5 is the strongest. No significant damage was reported in Florida cities and towns where the storm brought down trees and power lines. But one person was killed by a falling tree in Volusia County after venturing outside to feed animals during a lull in the storm, said James Dinneen, manager of the county that includes Daytona Beach. Hurricane warnings late on Friday extended up the Atlantic coast from northeast Florida through Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina. In Daytona Beach, the street under the city's famed "World's Most Famous Beach" sign was clogged with debris washed up by the ocean. The waves had receded by early afternoon, but there was damage throughout the city, including a facade ripped off the front of a seaside hotel. Robert Walker, a 51-year-old mechanic, weathered the worst of the storm in his seaside Daytona Beach apartment where high-powered winds peeled back the roof. "It sounded like a jet plane coming over. I was scared," said Walker, as he stood in front of the battered remains of the two-story building.. The city of Jacksonville could face significant flooding, Governor Rick Scott said. The storm cut power to some 1 million customers in Florida, his office said. Armed guards patrolled the outside of Fox Hill prison in Nassau, the only prison facility in the Bahamas, after the storm knocked down parts of its concrete walls. No deaths were reported in the Bahamas, but residents of Nassau were still without power on Friday. At 7 p.m. (2300 GMT) Matthew's eye or center was about 50 miles (80 km) east-northeast of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with strong winds and storm surge already spreading into Georgia, the NHC said. It was on a track that would take hurricane-force winds very near or over the coast of northeast Florida and Georgia through Friday night and near or over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he was concerned that relatively light damage so far could give people up the coast a false sense of security. "People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. "The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s," Fugate said. In Cape Canaveral, Florida, home to the country's main space launch site, the storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards. RELUCTANT TO LEAVE In St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville, about half of the 14,000 residents refused to heed evacuation orders despite warnings of an eight-foot (2.4- meter) storm surge that could sink entire neighborhoods, Mayor Nancy Shaver said in a telephone interview from the areas emergency operations center. Television images later showed water surging through the historic downtown area of St. Augustine, the oldest U.S. city and a major tourist attraction. There's that whole inability to suspend disbelief that I think really affects people in a time like this, Shaver said. In addition to those who simply did not believe the storm was a major threat, some of the citys residents lacked vehicles or other means to evacuate, said Shaver. Lack of means to move was one reason some people stayed in New Orleans before it was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm killed more than 1,800 people there and along the U.S. Gulf Coast. About 22,000 people were in Florida shelters and Georgia and South Carolina also opened dozens of shelters for evacuees. (Reporting by Susan Heavey, Eric Walsh and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Gabriel Stargardter in Miami; Zachary Goelman in Orlando, Fla.; Zachary Fagenson in Wellington, Fla.; Irene Klotz in Portland, Maine; Laila Kearney in New York; Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Neil Hartnell in Nassau; Writing by Tom Brown; Editing by Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)
The number of people killed in Haiti due to Hurricane Matthew soared Friday to at least 842 as the massive storm made its way up the Florida coast toward Georgia and South Carolina.

Residents in all three states were all instructed to leave coastal areas as the storm approached. On Friday, in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama said the storm was capable of causing significant damage.

I want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, Obama said after meeting with the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security.

Do not be a hold-out here, because we can always replace property, but we cant replace lives, the president added.

On Thursday, Obama declared states of emergency in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, opening the door for federal assistance after the hurricane hits. Governors in those three states also activated thousands of National Guard personnel to help with the response to the storm. According to CNN, roughly 26 million people live in areas that are under hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning due to the Category 3 hurricane.

The Pentagon also announced Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has canceled a weekend trip to Colombia, to stay and deal with Matthews aftermath. On Thursday, Defense spokesman Peter Cook said Carter approved the release of $11 million in funds to help relief efforts across the Caribbean.

Photo credit: MARK WILSON/Getty Images
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd on Friday rejected an unsolicited 2.4 billion euro (2.17 billion pounds) takeover bid from larger rival NN Group as being too low but said mergers between Dutch insurers could make sense.

"Our capital position is now solid with the opportunity to improve further capital generation and dividends," Delta Lloyd CEO Hans van der Noordaa said in a statement. "In light of this, we cannot accept this proposal."

He said the bid was only 64 percent of Delta Lloyd's book value as of June 30 and the premium offered was "below market norms for cash transactions of this type and for companies at our stage of recovery".

NN launched its 5.30 euros a share bid on Wednesday saying that Delta Lloyd's boards had declined to meet to discuss an agreed offer.

Delta Lloyd shares, which closed at 4.12 euros before NN's bid was announced, ended at 5.26 euros per share on Thursday.

Investors and Dutch regulators have said they expect the Dutch insurance industry to consolidate, and Delta Lloyd's statement on Friday did not dismiss the possibility of a merger out of hand.

Potential benefits include cost savings from combining operations, lower spending on technology and product development, and benefits of scale and financing, it said.

"Delta Lloyd shareholders are in a position to benefit from the value of these synergies through a number of possible combinations," the company said.

It said NN Group's proposal failed to apportion an adequate share of the value of a merger for Delta Lloyd's shareholders.

While many investors and analysts have said NN's bid looked too low, several thought NN would eventually acquire Delta.

"We hope (management) will fight to get the highest possible price," said one investor.

Delta Lloyd shares have lost more than 60 percent of their value over the past two years, most of it in the summer of 2015, as its low Solvency II deficiency became clear. It restored the ratio to 173 percent by issuing shares and selling assets.

NN Group, by contrast, was spun out of ING Group with a strong solvency ratio of 252 percent according to its last report. Its stock is up more than 15 percent in the same period.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by David Clarke)
When former President Bill Clinton suggested this week that President Obamas signature health care law was crazy, it didnt take long for Republicans to pounce.

Finally, a leading Democrat speaks the truth on Obamacare, said Donald Trumps campaign in an advertisement released Monday. Can you imagine what he went through after making that statement? Trump said at a rally. Going to have to agree with Bill Clinton on this one, tweeted House Speaker Paul Ryan.

But despite the furor, Clintons remarks were not much different from what his friends and family have already been saying in recent weeks.

As health-insurance premiums rise and problems with the law become more acute, Democrats have become increasingly comfortable criticizing President Obamas landmark health care law. Progressive members of Congress have openly voiced their concerns on Capitol Hill, and the calls for reform have spilled out onto the campaign trail.

To be sure, the words used by Bill Clinton  who also said some Americans are getting killed by rising premiums and expenses  were more jarring than others. But his daughter, wife and even President Obama himself have voiced concern about the law in recent weeks as news about rising costs dominates the headlines.

We know we need to work on the affordable part of the Affordable Care Act, Chelsea Clinton said at an event on Wednesday in Iowa.

Hillary Clinton has long called for improvements to the law, but stepped up her tone after a recent bout of pneumonia. Lots of Americans still dont even have insurance, or they do but its too expensive for them to actually use when theyre sick, she said in Greensboro, N.C., last month. So they toss back some Tylenols, they chug orange juice, and they hope that the cough or the virus goes away on its own.

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And earlier this week in Pennsylvania, Clinton said Congress needs to fix the Affordable Care Act by keeping what works about it but improve it, get the costs down.

President Obama himself, the chief promoter of his law and its enthusiastic spokesman, has spoken more critically of the law in recent months. In an interview with New York magazine published on Sunday, he said as much. In my mind the [Affordable Care Act] has been a huge success, but its got real problems, he said.

Aides say Bill Clinton simply misspoke on a message the campaign has used all along, insisting that the campaigns message has not changed. Throughout the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders often clashed on health care policy, with the Vermont Senator arguing for a single-payer system and Clinton advocating a more moderate approach that involved building on Obamacare and improving it.

Clinton and Democrats have praised the Affordable Care Act for providing health insurance to 20 million Americans, allowing people under the age of 26 to get insurance through their parents, and prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Still, the tone of some of the criticism among Democrats has grown increasingly critical in recent months. Hillary Clinton has praised the act for widening coverage, but has spoken more about taking steps to fix it.

At least half of the Senate Democrats who voted for the bill are no longer in Congress, many of them voted out in the wake of the legislation. New members who did not cast a vote for the law are quicker to address the problems with it. And as it becomes more and more apparent that the law will need to be fixed, Democrats openness to changes has become more apparent.

The most prominent and detailed plan is Hillary Clintons. She has proposed several fixes that she says will reduce the cost of insurance and prescription drugs. Clintons plan is intended to assist those who are not poor enough to qualify for government subsidies, but not making enough money to comfortably pay for health insurance.

She would limit the amount that families have to pay on health insurance premiums for plans bought through the exchanges to 8.5%, a measure aimed at helping those who do not qualify for subsidies. She would create a public insurance option, which would compete with private insurance plans and theoretically drive down the price of premiums. And she would give tax credits of up to $5,000 for families still struggling to pay out-of-pocket costs.

Clinton published an op-ed in the New England Journal of Medicine late last month defending the act, but arguing it needs improvements.

It strikes me as a move in the direction of affordability, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Foundation who has extensively studied the Affordable Care Act, said of Clintons proposals.

Republicans, meanwhile have called for Obamacare to be scrapped and replaced, potentially with a plan that involves tax credits instead of subsidies. Trump, meantime, has said he would encourage insurance plans be sold over state lines and eliminate the requirement that most Americans carry health insurance, two moves that would dramatically undercut the laws current features.

But Clintons plans to tweak the Affordable Care Act, would require an acquiescent Congress. A Republican House of Representatives is unlikely to support a public option, and it is unclear what other pieces in her plan Clinton could pass without GOP support. Some health care policy experts say she could be forced to settle with implementing the smaller-grade fixes, like appointing more regulators to insure the insurance companies dont monopolize markets and passing tax credits.

In a statement on Thursday, Jason Miller, the Trump campaigns senior communications adviser, said Hillary Clinton should answer for her husbands remarks, who has since repeated that he supports the law but thinks Congress needs to make improvements.

Secretary Clinton, do you agree with your husband that Obamacare is a crazy system that has a model that doesnt work? Miller said in a statement.

Clintons answer to that, however, is likely more complicated than Republicans might expect.
This year the Boundless Enthusiasm Bike Build Off switched from a morning in springtime, to an evening in September, plus they added a few more categories, and it was bigger and better than ever. Bikers and builders gathered at five Deus Ex Machina locations worldwide, Sydney, Milan, Tokyo, Bali, and Venice Beach California, the latter of which is where RideApart was able to attend and bring you a glimpse of these amazing motorcycles.

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Whether or not you love the style and hipness of Deus, or hold them personally responsible for the pipe wrap fad and Firestone tires, there is no arguing with the fact that Venice Beach is a nice place to spend a few hours on any given Saturday. Speaking of Firestones; Firestone Walker brewers were the official beer sponsor of the event, and their 805 brew is a massive improvement over the Pabst Blue Ribbon which previously had a hammer lock on every previous shows. Mmmm...Beer.

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A big change from last year's event had organizers splitting the bikes into classes instead of judging everyone together. There were classes for invited professional builders, small displacement bikes (below 125cc), race bikes (not street legal), and the various others we can't seem to recall. Between the invited builders, the new classes, and the change of date/time, the show layout seemed to be about twice the size of last year and the bikes seemed to be even better too.

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Looking over the entries, and judging by the winners, we may finally be at the end of the balloon-tired "Cafe Racer" trend. Not only were there more dirt-oriented bikes here than Cafe style, for the first time I can recall, none of the winning bikes fit into that trendy segment. In fact, this crop of bikes were all over the place stylistically, and most of the winners showed creativity that has alluded previous winners (in my opinion). My personal favorite was the Honda Trail 90 converted into a motorized BMX Cruiser by Jay Lossa. Basically, he retainied just the steering stem and downtube from the original bike frame, creating a cool, clean cycle replete with bicycle footpegs, rigid frame and a seat meant for very short distance rides. His effort won the prize for Best Small Displacement motorcycle. He wasn't the only winner with this theme.

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Another motorized bicycle creation was the Wolf Board Track bike, powered by a hot rodded Briggs Stratton lawnmower engine. It's a super-minimal bike design, with Wolf choosing to incorporate a modern mountainbike-spec disc brake on the back and shock on the springer ront end. In a twist of fate, these components actually make it more advanced than the bikes it emulates from the 1920s. Good thing too, because the converted lawnmower engine now puts out more than 10hp, thanks to a race cam and custom Billet aluminum head. This bike was impressive enough to win first in the Open Class.

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The Best Race Bike class winner went to a custom BSA flat tracker, built by Adam Sheard from of Speed Deluxe in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who drove for two days to get to the show. Sheard did all the work himself, from fabricating the aluminum tank and seat, to laying down the paint. And as nice as this bike is, it's still meant to be a functional flat track racing bike. Based on a 1967 BSA 250cc Single, it looks like a lightweight, fun to ride bike that can be hosed-off and hung in your living room afterwards. When the aluminum looks this good in the raw, you know you are dealing with an expert metal worker. Mr. Sheard, we salute you!

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Second place in the Open Class was a nicely modified Yamaha RD400 built by Anthony Scott of Enginethusiast out of Portland, Oregon. Unfortunately, I failed to snap any pictures of that bike, but you can see it here. I did get pictures of the 3rd place Open Class moto though, because it was a sparkly, purple Ducati which was hard to ignore. This Italian started off as a simple classic Ducati before the builder, Colin Stinson added Ohlins suspension, sprinkled with modern LED lighting, brakes some period correct paint to go along with various other minor updates that culminate in this little gem you see here. Stinson, a self proclaimed artist and craftsman who likes preserving history was keen to point out that in addition to looking very retro cool, you can ride his bike until it runs out of gas. Apparently, it doesn't have a fuel gauge?

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Lastly, the winner of the People's Choice Award is a stripped down flat track inspired Yamaha Seca 400. This bike started out as a build for another contest, the IV League Flat Track Junkyard Build Off, and was raced hard and put away dirty. The current owner David Wong, and the builder Michael Froelich reworked it, made it street legal again, and turned it into a cool bike that struck a chord with the attending crowd. It certainly is the bikethat represents the spirit of doing the more with less.

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Now, you can have your say too, because the worldwide people's choice voting has opened on the Deus Build Off site. You can browse through the Top Five bikes from each of the contests that Deus held in 2016, and vote for your favorite. The global winner will be announced at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan in December, and hopefully winning it means the builder gets a trip there. There are more pictures in a big gallery on my personal site: Boundless Enthusiasm Bike Build Off 2016.

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I'm always game to go out and look at cool bikes, so drop us a line if you know of a cool show, or race, or other event you think we should cover.

Learn more about Bryan and the rest of RideApart's excellent staff here: The RideApart Team

Follow RideApart on Facebook and Twitter, along with@RideApart on Instagram.
China made globes sold in Kerala did not show Kashmir as part of India and a complaint has been filed by Yuva Morcha.

By Revathi Rajeevan: A case has been registered at Edakkara police station in Malappuram district, Kerala after globes sold to students in the region did not show Kashmir as part of India.

The complaint was filed by Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP. The globes are said to be made in China. However, the complainants said there was no information of the manufacturer on the globes.

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"These may have been distributed in other states as well. We noticed it here, so we alerted the authorities," said Gopinath Nair, Panchayat President.

Also read: Kerala's Marxist CM Pinarayi Vijayan now a fan of PM Narendra Modi



GLOBES AVAILABLE IN MARKET



Reportedly, students in the panchayat who bought the globes from a local market for their studies noticed that Kashmir was not part of the country on the globe and they informed their parents about this.

"Parents checked with the shopkeepers and then informed the police. These are available in many places in Malappuram. When we went and checked, all of them were the same. One part of Kashmir is part of Pakistan and another part of it is part of China. We complained to the nearest police station," said Aji Thomas, State Secretary, Yuva Morcha.

Also read: Kerala college alumni distribute air guns to tackle stray dogs

"We cannot say this is an accident considering the kind of place Malappuram is. It has been a centre for many foreign activities. There must be hands of anti-national forces behind this, beyond doubt," he added.

Kerala has been on high alert specially after 21 youths were reported missing from different parts of the state in July, suspected to have joined the ISIS. On Sunday, six people were arrested from Kerala for allegedly conspiring to carry out terrorist activities.



--- ENDS ---
By Tom Finn and Arno Schuetze

DOHA/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank has secured backing from its largest investor and is seeking advice from other banks as it scrambles to restore market confidence undermined by a demand by U.S. authorities for up to $14 billion over mis-selling allegations.

Qatari investors who own the largest stake in Germany's largest bank do not plan to sell their shares and could consider buying more if it decides to raise capital, sources familiar with Qatari investment policy told Reuters.

"Purchasing more (Deutsche Bank) stock - that could be considered ... which is not to say there are any imminent plans to do that," said a source close to the Qatari investors who own just below 10 percent in Deutsche Bank. The source declined to be identified as the matter is confidential.

If a capital hike does turn out to be required, the Qatari investors would probably take part in it as they want to keep their roughly 10 percent stake, a second source close to the matter added.

Deutsche shares plunged to record intra-day lows below 10 euros last week on Friday and although they have since rebounded to just above 12 euros, they are 13 percent below last month's peak and 46 percent below their close at the end of last year.

That implies the Qataris may have lost, on paper, over $1.2 billion on their investments in the bank.

German weekly Der Spiegel reported, without citing sources, that Qatari investors around Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, with backing from sovereign wealth funds, were mulling taking a 25 percent in the lender, sending Deutsche Bank's U.S.-listed shares higher.

But sources familiar with the situation told Reuters it was unlikely that the Qataris would acquire a stake as big as 25 percent.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment and Sheikh Hamad was not immediately available for comment.

HIGH LEVEL TALKS

Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan, who is attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's autumn meetings in Washington, is due to meet with the Department of Justice as well as with senior managers of other investment banks in the United States to discuss the lender's options, people familiar with his schedule said.

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However, the talks with other bankers are expected to focus on immediate steps the German bank may be able to take such as asset sales, rather than asking shareholders for fresh cash.

"The cap hike issue will unlikely be the focus of most of those meetings," one of those people said, adding that pulling off a capital-raising would be a well-rehearsed exercise which does not need too much advance discussion.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on Cryan's discussions.

Separately, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that while Deutsche Bank faced enormous challenges with potential fines in the United States, moves by its leadership to change the bank's business model showed it was reacting to the risks.

Gabriel said the government did not have its own risk assessment for the bank, but that Germany was keen to see the 146-year-old bank succeed in the longer term.

"It's completely obvious that we have an interest in Deutsche Bank again becoming a stable financial institution that is successful nationally and internationally," Gabriel said. Germany's largest bank is under heavy pressure as it fights the penalty that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to impose for mis-stating the risks of securities the bank sold ahead of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. This sent its shares to a record low last week and spooked clients.

Deutsche Bank's proposed fine has emerged as another bone of contention between the United States and the European Union after the EU said earlier this year that U.S. tech giant Apple Inc owed $14 billion in taxes. The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, told Reuters that the fine was disproportionate and could place Europe's financial system at risk.

"Here is a financial institution which needs to be restructured and strengthened and needs to bring in new capital and we cannot then have an even bigger amount of capital being pulled out by the American authorities. That is really counterproductive, to put it mildly," he said.

SMALLER FINE IN STORE

Deutsche says it expects to settle with the DOJ for far less than $14 billion, in line with other big banks that negotiated over similar allegations.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde gave it some tough advice on Thursday, saying it needed to reform its business model and rapidly reach a deal with U.S. regulators.

Deutsche is cutting back a workforce of around 100,000, revamping information technology and shrinking non-core assets. Unlike some European peers, it is sticking with investment banking, with a global reach that the IMF says makes it among the riskiest of all banks.

CAP HIKE

Launching a capital increase before a settlement with U.S. authorities is seen as unlikely as few investors will be willing to buy shares without being able to gauge the impact on the lender's capital, equity capital markets bankers said.

"And even when a settlement is eventually reached, Deutsche Bank is likely to wait for its share price to recover before launching a cap hike. Currently it would only be able to raise 4.5-5 billion euros and they may want more," one banker said.

"A cap hike could be done in the first half of 2017 at the earliest," another banker said. Deutsche Bank ranked 7th worldwide in global equity capital markets according to Thomson Reuters data. While it has the in-house expertise for a capital increase it will rely on other investment banks. In 2014, 25 helped with its rights issue.

"At this stage, no bank has gotten any mandate for a cap hike," a person close to Deutsche Bank said.

Most banks will be called in just days before any deal, which will likely be structured as a fully underwritten rights issue with banks guaranteeing to take on shares to sell on to a mix of investment funds, pension funds and hedge funds.

Meanwhile, some of Germany's top industrial companies have revived a decades-old network to discuss taking a direct stake in the bank as a way to help shield it, one executive at a large DAX-listed company has said.

(Additional reporting by Katrhin Jones, Alexander Hubner, Pamela Barbaglia, Sophie Sassard, Joseph Nasr, Andrea Shalal and Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexander Smith)
By Nick Carey and Meredith Davis

CHICAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Disruptions to air travel, manufacturing, supply chains and retail stores spread on Friday as Hurricane Matthew worked its way up Florida's Atlantic coast, leaving people and goods stranded and plants idled.

After cancelling a total of 590 flights on Thursday, American Airlines Group Inc canceled 580 on Friday and 160 on Saturday. A spokesman said flights had resumed in Miami on Friday morning.

Delta Air Lines Inc said it had canceled 240 flights for Friday, and roughly 80 for Saturday for northeastern Florida, coastal Georgia and South Carolina.

Southwest Airlines Co canceled 130 flights for Friday and 95 for Saturday.

The storm had also caused railroads and retailers to suspend or curtail operations.

Ports in Florida and up the coast, including Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, also suspended operations.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it had closed a number of stores ahead of Hurricane Matthew. A spokesman said the company is using its experience of past disasters to anticipate what goods may be in greater demand after the storm passes.

Office supply retailer Staples Inc said it had closed stores in line with emergency evacuation guidelines. Nike Inc has closed facilities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina and encouraged "employees to follow the guidance of state and local officials to evacuate areas in the path of the storm."

Manufacturers were also affected.

Deere & Co closed its Miami, Florida, office for three to four days, and several of its Nortrax construction equipment dealerships around the state.

"We basically want people to go home and take care of their own personal property," spokesman Ken Golden said. "For their safety we would rather have them doing whatever the government disaster officials are saying."

Boeing Co suspended production on Wednesday at its South Carolina plant in North Charleston, and in Florida, including Miami, the Kennedy Space Center, Jacksonville and Orlando. The company said it was monitoring the situation for its operations in Georgia and North Carolina.

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Auto supplier WABCO Holdings Inc halted production in Charleston, South Charleston and said that "weather permitting," work would resume on Monday, Oct. 10.

Honda Motor Co Ltd spokesman Chris Abbruzzese said the company was evaluating the impact of Hurricane Matthew.

"At this point, the hurricane will not impact any of our manufacturing plants," he wrote. "We are, however, monitoring any potential impacts to our supply chain." (Additional reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Bogota (AFP) - In a Colombia left deeply divided by a contested peace deal with the FARC rebels, not everyone was happy about President Juan Manuel Santos winning the Nobel Peace Prize Friday.

"Santos doesn't deserve it," said Rodolfo Oviedo, one of the opponents of a peace deal that aimed to end half a century of conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Oviedo, a 40-year-old farmworker, was forced from his land by the FARC in 2004, in the central department of Tolima, a rebel stronghold.

Like many critics of the peace deal signed on September 26 and narrowly voted down in a referendum Sunday, he accuses Santos of being too soft on the Marxist guerrillas.

Instead of holding high-level talks with rebel leaders in faraway Cuba, the president should have listened to the rebels' victims on the ground, he said.

"He went about this all wrong. He started by making peace from the top down. He didn't start from the ground up. Peace has to be made from the countryside, with the displaced," he told AFP.

Oviedo was speaking on Bolivar Square in central Bogota, where he has been camped outside the presidential palace for more than a month.

It is his way of protesting what he says is the government's neglect of the nearly seven million people forced to flee their homes by the conflict, which has also killed more than 260,000 people and left 45,000 missing.

- 'They kill families' -

Jose Alberto Soriano, an 18-year-old whose grandfather was killed by the FARC in 1991 for refusing to leave his land in the central department of Meta, said he too disagreed with the Nobel committee's decision.

Like many opponents of the peace deal, he accused Santos of offering impunity for massacres, kidnappings and other rebel crimes.

"They kill families, and we're supposed to get down on our knees for them," he said.

Opposition to the deal has been led by former president Alvaro Uribe, Santos's predecessor and one-time boss.

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The right-wing hardliner condemned the rejected agreement for letting rebels, even those guilty of gross human rights violations, escape jail time and run for elected office.

Santos has now opened talks with Uribe's camp in a bid to salvage the deal. His negotiators are simultaneously pushing the FARC to accept revisions.

The Nobel appeared to encourage the peacemakers, with the government and rebels pledging Friday to continue their ceasefire and discuss changes to the agreement "to give guarantees to all".

- 'Colombia not alone' -

Other Colombians welcomed the award -- laying bare the polarization of a country where the referendum on the peace deal was decided by a razor-thin margin of 50.21 percent against to 49.78 percent for.

"President Santos deserves the Nobel, and also all Colombians for the struggle we've made to achieve peace. This prize is the best thing that could have happened to us," said Alvaro Castaneda, 62, a photographer who takes tourists' pictures on Bolivar Square.

Nearby, Nicolas Giraldo, a 29-year-old business manager, said the Nobel sent Colombians a much-needed message: that the world supports its search for peace.

"A lot of people feel like this is a process that Colombians have to take on all by ourselves," he said.

"But no. This international backing shows we're not alone."
Its a bird its a plane its a superhero-themed Doctor Who Christmas special!

A BBC first-look trailer revealed the Doctor will swing his Tardis via New York and team up with an investigative journalist played by Charity Wakefield and a mysterious comic-book superhero named Grant (Justin Chatwin) in a Christmas special called The Return of Doctor Mysterio.

Ive always loved superheroes and this Christmas Doctor Who dives into that world, said Steven Moffat, the showrunner of Doctor Who. My favorite superhero is Clark Kent. Not Superman, Clark Kent.

The trailer sees the Time Lord, played by veteran Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, adopt a mystified look while sitting on a fire escape as he races to save New York from a deadly alien threat.

Dont panic, he reassures viewers while dangling precariously from someones foot.

Chatwin, who previously starred in Season 3 of Orphan Black, said of his time on the show, Working with the amazing people at Doctor Who has been one of the most fun and rewarding projects Ive ever had the pleasure of being involved with.

The episode will also feature Little Britain star Matt Lucas as well as Adetomiwa Edun, Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Hoffman. Steven Moffat wrote the episode executive produced by Brian Minchin, produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Ed Bazalgette.

The 60-minuteDoctor Who special will air on BBC One Christmas Day.

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump brought renewed attention to a criminal case that gripped New York City and the nation nearly 30 years ago when he recently suggested thatdespite their exonerationthe five black and Hispanic teenagers who became known as the Central Park Five carried out the rape and beating of Trisha Meili, the so-called Central Park jogger, a white female banker who went for a run on the night of April 19, 1989.

They admitted they were guilty, the candidate told CNNs Miguel Marquez this week. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same.

His comments are not the first time he has spoken out about the case, in which the perpetrator spent half an hour beating [the victim] senseless with a rock and a metal pipe, raping her and leaving her for dead, per TIMEs May 8, 1989 recap of the incident. A month after the attack, Trump called for justice by running an ad in the New York Daily News advocating the return of the death penalty.

Five teens  Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Kharey Wise  became the chief suspects, and police said that they had engaged in what they called wilding, a series of assaults committed that night out of boredom. Four of them confessed on videotape that the jogger had been one of their victims, TIME later reported. They later recanted, saying their statements had been coerced, but all were convicted.

Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter

Then in 2002, their convictions were vacated after convicted murderer Matias Reyes, who was serving a life sentence in prison, confessed to the crime  and DNA evidence proved it. TIME explained how the miscarriage of justice had occurred:

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In a 58-page court filing, the lawyers assigned to investigate Reyes claim wrote that ultimately, there proved to be no physical or forensic evidence recovered at the scene or from the person or effects of the victim which connected the defendants to the attack on the jogger, or could establish how many perpetrators participated. The weaknesses in the evidence were there from the start. The teenagers confessed to the attack, yet their versions of what happened that night varied widely, from their descriptions of the victim to their account of the crimes location. There were also inconsistencies about the weapon. Several boys talked of stabbing her repeatedly, but there were no knife wounds. Although their parents were present for part of their questioning, the most damaging admissions all appear to have come when the adults were out of the room. Perhaps more important, eyewitness testimony from other victims that night seems to suggest that at the time the jogger was being attacked, the boys were involved in muggings elsewhere in the park. Moreover, Reyes had committed another assault in the park a few days earlier; if investigators had noted the similarities in the cases, they might have considered other suspects besides the boys. The police had made up their minds, says Roger Wareham, the attorney for McCray, Santana and Richardson. They werent going to let anything spoil their neatly tied package of convictions, and they used these children as scapegoats.

Twelve years later, the groupwho were also the subject of a 2012 Ken Burns documentaryagreed to a more than $40 million settlement with New York City. Trump called the deal a disgrace in a June 2014 op-ed for the New York Daily News and wrote What about the other people who were brutalized that night, in addition to the jogger?These young men do not exactly have the pasts of angels.

A recent ABC News article reported that one of them, Yusef Salaam, said, Had Donald Trump had his way  we would have been dead.

As for the jogger, Meili went on to write a memoir and became a motivational speaker who volunteers with hospitals and charity runs.
Donald Trump, June 12, 1989. (Photo: Neil Schneider/ NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images)

Its been 14 years since the young men known as the Central Park Five had their convictions vacated for the brutal rape and assault of a female jogger that rocked New York City in 1989, yet Donald Trump remains convinced of their guilt.

They admitted they were guilty, Trump told CNN this week of Antron McCray, Raymond Santana Jr., Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Kharey Wise, who ranged in age from 14 to 16 when they were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the attack that left the 28-year-old victim in a coma for 12 days.

The young men have long maintained their innocence and claimed that police coerced them into providing false confessions that lead to their convictions in 1990. In 2002, a convicted rapist and murderer named Matias Reyes confessed to the gruesome attack, and after an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney revealed DNA evidence linking Reyes to the victim, the Central Park Five were exonerated.

Still, the Republican presidential nominee argued, The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty.

The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous, Trump told CNN. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same.

Long before he became the self-described law and order candidate, Trump was a vocal proponent for the harsh punishment of those responsible for this particular crime.

Less than two weeks after the attack, Trump took out a full-page ad in four of New York Citys major newspapers calling for the return of the death penalty.

Trumps Bring back the death penalty ad in the Daily News, May 1, 1989. (Photo: Via the New York Daily News)

Mayor [Ed] Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers, read part of the 600-word ad, which bore the headline Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police! and Trumps signature at the bottom. They should be forced to suffer  How can our great society tolerate the continued brutalization of its citizens by crazed misfits? Criminals must be told that their CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS!

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Though he did not mention anyone in particular, lawyers for the five black and Hispanic teenagers argued that Trumps ad unfairly created a negative perception of the suspects in the eyes of the public and prospective jurors.

I think Donald Trump at the very least owes a real apology to this community and to the young men and their families, attorney Michael Warren told the New York Times in 2002 while the young men awaited their exoneration.

An investigation by Manhattans district attorney concluded that the new evidence could have changed the verdict and recommended their charges be vacated. At the time, supporters of the so-called Central Park Five protested outside Trump Tower in Manhattan.

But the businessman was unfazed. I dont mind if they picket, Trump told the Times. I like pickets.

In 2003, the five men filed a civil rights lawsuit against New York City for wrongful arrest, racial discrimination, malicious prosecution and emotional distress. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg fought the suit, but his successor, Bill de Blasio, agreed to resolve it in 2014 with a $41 million settlement  awarding each of the men approximately $1 million for each year they were imprisoned before their convictions were vacated.

Once again, Trump made clear that his opinion on the case remained unchanged.

Id bet the lawyers for the Central Park 5 are laughing at the stupidity of N.Y.C. when there was such a strong case against their clients  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2014

@JUSTGRIND: @realDonaldTrump How do you feel that the central park 5 were innocent Innocent of what-how many people did they mugg?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2013
In a meeting with the National Border Patrol Council, Donald Trump seemed to agree with the unfounded assertion that the U.S. government is allowing immigrants into the country so they can vote in the election.

At the gathering Friday morning in Trump Tower, Art Del Cueto, national vice president of the labor union representing Border Patrol agents, which has endorsed Trump, first suggested the idea.

Some of these individuals that [weve] apprehended with criminal records, he told Trump. Theyre setting them aside because at this point they are saying immigration is so tied up with trying to get the people who are on the waiting list to hurry up and get them their immigration status corrected.

When Trump asked why, Del Cueto said, So they can go ahead and vote before the election.

Read More: Read Donald Trumps Speech On Immigration

Trump initially motioned to the reporters in the room and said, Big statement, fellas. Then he said, Thats huge. But theyre letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote.  And these are the professionals. You hear a thing like that, and its a disgrace. Well, it will be a lot different if I get elected.

According to the Chicago Tribune, union spokesman Shawn Moran, who was at the meeting, said Del Cueto and Trumps conversation combined two issues. One is that there has been an increase in attempts to cross illegally cross the border, which Moran told CBS News has to do in part with fears of tightened border security during a Trump presidency. The second is that some union officials believe the United States Citizen and Immigration Service is trying to fast-track citizenship applications for legal immigrants before the election. There is no evidence that USCIS agents have been directed to do so.

The number of undocumented immigrants has decreased during President Obamas administration, and he has deported more people than any other president, with a particular focus on those with criminal records.

It is illegal under federal law for undocumented immigrants to vote in federal elections.
Hong Kong (AFP) - Formula E's chief played down comparisons with F1 and said the all-electric racing series had pointed the way to the future of motoring as it gears up for its third season.

An influx of major manufacturers and a schedule that includes Hong Kong, Paris and New York underline the momentum of the electric car trend, chief executive Alejandro Agag told AFP.

He said starting the 10-month, 12-race season in chronically polluted Hong Kong highlighted the benefits of electric motoring -- cleaner engines and better air.

"I think the objective of Formula E is to change the perception of electric cars and encourage people to buy electric cars," the Spanish businessman said, ahead of Sunday's season-opening race in Hong Kong.

"And one of the solutions to tackling a city's pollution is to have electric cars. If cities have electric cars only, the pollution would be a lot lower and the quality of life would be a lot higher."

Formula One has proved a potent tool in promoting Hong Kong's Asian rival Singapore, but Agag said it was unfair to compare Formula E with its much larger precursor.

While high-octane F1 has built up its following over decades, Formula E, the world's first electric racing series, only started in 2014 and has different objectives, he said.

"We try never to compare Formula One and Formula E, we're totally different concepts," Agag said.

"But racing electric cars promotes a different technology. And I think the association with Hong Kong, the values of sustainability and a clean city, go together well with Formula E.

"So if you want to promote those values it's going to have a major impact."

- 'Electric, driverless, connected' -

Manufacturers Renault, Jaguar, Audi and BMW are already involved in Formula E, while Mercedes has taken an option to enter a team from 2018.

Agag said he was also in talks this week with Brazilian driver Felipe Massa about joining a Formula E team when he retires from Formula One this season.

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"The momentum is fantastic, not only for Formula E but for the electric car concept in general," Agag said.

"Now there is a belief that the future is going to be electric and that electric cars are going to be the main way of moving around in 20, 30, 40 years.

"Electric, driverless, connected, clearly that's the future."

Hong Kong's debut race will take place on a small, 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) street circuit in the city centre, with only 10 turns and a main straight of 555 metres (607 yards).

It is the template for Formula E, whose compact tracks can be squeezed into built-up areas, allowing it to go to cities including Buenos Aires, Monaco, Berlin and Montreal this season.

"We don't think we compete at all with Formula One. Also because Formula One couldn't race here," Agag said.

"This is ideal for Formula E: the track is shorter and we can fit on the streets and we make a lot less noise... we are ideal for small tracks in the heart of cities."

The technology is still evolving: even in a race that only lasts 50 minutes, drivers have to swap cars halfway as their batteries won't go the distance.

But Agag said advances made in Formula E were now migrating to road cars, with Renault recently unveiling a prototype electric car with similar technology.

"Major manufacturers are coming into Formula E because they see this is a platform to develop technology that then they can use on road cars," he said.
By Shuja-ul-Haq : The state government today imposed severe restrictions on the movement of the people in Srinagar in a bid to foil a 'UN chalo' March called by separatist leaders as the Valley crossed 90-day mark of the ongoing unrest.

The separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, who are spearheading the ongoing agitation in Valley, have called for UN march. Consequently, authorities imposed curfew-like situation and sealed most of the roads leading to the UN office in the summer capital of the state.

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ALSO READ: Kashmir: Night raids by security forces send youth into hiding



90 DAYS OF COLD SUMMER

In last 90 days of the urest, which was triggered after the killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on July 8, as many as 93 people have been killed,more than 13,000 have been injured and 7,000 have been arrested with hundreds of them booked under the controversial Public Safety Act. The use of much criticised and debated pellet guns have resulted into over 1,000 sevre eye injuries.

As per reports more than 100 separatist leaders/activists have been detained or arrested in last three months. Syed Ali Geelani, hurriyat conference(G)chairman, remains under house arrest at his Hyderpora residence in Srinagar, Miwaiz Umar Farooq has been jailed at Chesmashahi, while JKLF chief Muhammad Yasin Malik has been lodged at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) at Humhama.

Meanwhile, scores of Kashmiris held a protest march against separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Srinagar on Thursday.

Local shops and schools have been closed and public transport remains severely affected due to the shutdown.

ALSO READ:

Kashmir Unrest: Tension rises after another civilian dies in Baramullah

Kashmir unrest: Valley remains shut for 89th day, police on arrest spree



--- ENDS ---
Dylan O'Brien is back on Twitter!

The Maze Runner star gave a shout out to the New York Mets in his first tweet since being injured on set nearly seven months ago.

NEWS: Check Out Dylan O'Brien's Deadly New Look in 'American Assassin'

"LGM," tweeted the New York native during a wild card game between the Mets and the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

LGM baby  Dylan O'Brien (@dylanobrien) October 6, 2016

Despite his hometown team losing to the Giants, O'Brien's "Let's Go Mets" tweet snagged 22,000 retweets, and sent his Twitter followers into a frenzy.

"OMG You're back. I'm officially dying" an excited fan tweeted, as another joked, "Dylan O'Brien broke the internet."

@dylanobrien and with that, dylan o'brien broke the internet. (hi.)  Kaitlyn Vella (@Kaitiii) October 6, 2016

Fans continued celebrating the Twitter return with more kind tweets and funny memes.

@dylanobrien finally tweeted, what a beautiful day to be alive.  Dylan O'Brien Vines (@dob4everxo) October 6, 2016

@dylanobrien ITS BEEN SO LONG  m a t t y c  (@stilesides) October 6, 2016

RELATED: 'Teen Wolf' Ending After Season 6, Dylan O'Brien Still 'Recuperating' During Comic-Con

O'Brien, 24, suffered multiple broken bones after being run over by a car while filming Maze Runner: The Death Cure in Vancouver, Canada in March.

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See his first post-accident photo in the video below.

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Kim Kardashian West's robbery at gunpoint earlier this week continues to make waves. E! has halted production on Keeping Up With the Kardashians in the wake of the incident in Paris, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. "Kim's well-being is our core focus right now. No decision has been made as to when production will resume," a network spokesperson tells THR.

Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint in the early morning hours of Oct. 3 when five thieves dressed as police officers broke into her Paris hotel room. They tied up the reality star and stole nearly $11 million worth of jewelry. At the time, her rep said she was "badly shaken" by the robbery.

Since the incident, which is still being investigated, Kardashian West has rescheduled a Dubai makeup class and her husband, Kanye West, has rescheduled several dates on his current Saint Pablo tour to be with his wife. There also has not been any new activity on her social media accounts since the robbery.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians is currently in its 12th season, with the reality show slated to return on Oct. 23. Season 13 was picked up back in 2015 as part of a three-season pact for the series, which is expected to keep it on the air through 2018. E! also is currently airing the spinoff series Rob & Chyna, which wraps its first season on Oct. 23.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
From Popular Mechanics

The Army will no longer buy future versions of the Apache helicopter, according to FlightGlobal. Instead, it will pour funding into developing the armed version of the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program, the mission to make a new helo that will fly in 2030.

The AH-64 Apache entered service in 1984 as the first purpose-built attack helicopter for the U.S. Army. The Apache pioneered advanced technologies including the TADS target acquisition system, thermal imaging night vision, helmet-steerable 30-millimeter chain gun, and the Hellfire laser-guided missile.

The Apache was designed as a tank-killer for the battlefields of Western Europe, capable of carrying up to sixteen Hellfire missiles. Just two Apaches could smash a battalion of 30 Soviet tanks, which would go a long way toward addressing NATO's numerical inferiority.

In reality, its mission would prove to be elsewhere. The helicopter saw combat in the 1989 invasion of Panama and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. It fought with U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, with Israeli forces in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, and with British forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Saudi Apaches are currently using the AH-64 to battle Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Apache is in service with 12 countries and on order with three more.

The latest version of the Apache, the -E Model Guardian, features an uprated engine, tactical datalinks for sharing information with other friendly forces, an improved transmission, and the ability to control unmanned aerial vehicles from the cockpit. The Army is buying a handful of AH-64Es, but the majority of the helicopters will be older Apaches upgraded to the Guardian standard.

Still in service more than 30 years after introduction, the Apache has been flying a lot longer than anyone anticipated. The Army is finally bent on replacing it with the FVL program. The middleweight aircraft will replace both the UH-60 Blackhawk and the AH-64 Apache. At some point the Army has to redirect the funding hose away from existing programs and into newer ones, and that point is now. The Army may buy more -E models in the near future, but that would be to replace existing helicopters lost in crashes or combat operations.

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Meanwhile, Apache maker Boeing is pressing ahead with plans for an -F model, with or without the Army. Many of the Apache's overseas sales didn't occur for a decade or more after the helicopter entered U.S. service. If the same happens with the armed FVL aircraft, it might not attract foreign buyers until 2040 or later. Meanwhile, an -F model Apache could act as bridge-a very lucrative bridge indeed as the Apache continues to gain fame as a proven combat platform.

Source: Flightglobal.

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Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. ENH recently announced that it has inked an agreement to be acquired by SOMPO Holdings, Inc. for a cash payment of $6.3 billion. The transaction, which is pending shareholders approval, is expected culminate by Mar 2017. The acquisition will help SOMPO Holdings fortify its U.S presence.



Transaction Details



The purchase consideration of $6.32 billion translates to $93 per share. The transaction price represents about 40.3% premium to Endurance Specialty's closing stock price on Oct 3, 2016.



According to the definitive agreement signed by the companies, Tokyo-based SOMPO Holdings will finance the purchase consideration using the existing sources of liquidity as well as additional facilities without a financing emergency. SOMPO Japan NI Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of SOMPO Holdings, will execute the transaction.



Acquisition Rationale



The acquisition of Endurance Specialty complements SOMPOs strategy to expand its overseas insurance business. Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty has evolved over the years to become a global specialty provider of insurance and reinsurance operations. The company now boasts significant presence in the U.S., the U.K. and Bermuda. The company is the fifth-largest company in the U.S.(based on underwriting insurance fees for 2015) in underwriting crop insurance. According to Kengo Sakurada, President and CEO of SOMPO Holdings, Today's agreement marks the beginning of SOMPO's overseas transformation which undoubtedly enhances the quality and reach of our insurance services. Endurance brings strength in the primary insurance business in developed market. SOMPO Holdings expects the acquisition to boost its return on equity.



SOMPO Holdings strategic buyouts as well as strong operational profile have been driving its bottom-line growth. Notable acquisitions by the company include Turkey-based FibaSigortain 2010, Malaysia-based Berjaya SOMPO in 2011, additional stake in Brazil-based Maritima in 2013 and the acquisition of Canopius in Lloyd's in 2014. The acquirer primarily eyes buyouts that are likely to boost its primary insurance business in developed as well as emerging markets.



SOMPO Holdings eyes adjusted consolidated profit of $2.9 billion (JPY 300 billion) and adjusted consolidated ROE of more than 10% from fiscal 2020 onward. This transaction will result in $0.3 billion (JPY 32.1 billion increase in adjusted consolidated profit from $1.6 billion (JPY 164.3 billion to $1.9 billion (JPY 196.4 billion) and a 130 basis points increase in adjusted consolidated return on equity to 8.2% from 6.9%. Income from SOMPO's overseas insurance business as a percentage of the total group income would jump to 27% from 12% presently.

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ENDURANCE SPLTY Price

ENDURANCE SPLTY Price | ENDURANCE SPLTY Quote

Rating Actions



A.M. Best placed the Long-Term issuer credit rating (ICR) of bbb and the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) Endurance Specialty under review with positive implications. Subsequently, the rating agency placed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of a of Endurance Specialty and its rated affiliates under review with positive implications.



The credit rating giant reiterated the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR aa-of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. However, Moodys Japan reiterated the insurance financial rating of A1 subordinated bond rating of A3 of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. with a stable outlook.



Moody's Investors Service, a wing of Moodys Corp. MCO reiterated the insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings of Endurance Specialty Holdings principal operating subsidiaries at A2.



Acquisitions Ramping Growth Profile



Acquisitions are a well-accepted strategy for growth among insurers. Last month, First American Financial Corporation FAF closed the buyout of RedVision Systems, Inc. Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. MMC, recently announced that it has acquired Vero Insurance, Inc.



Zacks Rank



Endurance Specialty 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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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ERIC has collaborated with French telecommunications firm, Orange, for the development and testing of selected 5G use cases and services, including technical alignment and external demonstrations. This partnership reflects Ericssons efforts to promote 5G development. This is part of its three-pronged core business growth, the other two being targeted growth and cost and efficiency program.

Leveraging on Oranges network and Ericssons profound 5G knowledge, the collaboration is aimed at enabling 5G technology building blocks, proof of concepts, and commence pilot programs in Europe from 2017. The use cases and services will include wireless multi-gigabits internet access in remote areas, development of a robust Internet of Things infrastructure, huge mobile coverage solutions and making connected cars.

Ericsson and Orange will also work on other critical areas, such as Software Defined Network (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and development of technology. These are needed to upgrade existing 4G networks to 5G. Orange believes that this partnership will empower its customers to achieve greater data speed and access specialized services, thus boosting their satisfaction.

Paving Way for the 5G Commercialization

Industry players expect 5G standards to be finalized at the earliest, in 2019, with commercial deployments to roll out after 2020. In order to take advantage of this, Ericsson continues to aggressively drive progress in 5G technology and currently has 5G network trials scheduled with 24 operators. In addition, it is working on 5G projects and future use cases, with 12 industry partners and about 20 research institutes and universities.

Ericsson has already signed significant 5G agreements with telecom biggies, like Vodafone Group VOD), Telefonica and Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, to bank upon the commercialization of 5G technology. Meanwhile, the mobility report of the company, released last year, signals bright prospects for 5G network with strong demand from key end markets, including U.S., China, South Korea and Japan. We believe that strategic partnerships, dominant market share and favorable industry trends will help the company benefit significantly from the impending commercialization of the networks.

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Macroeconomic Headwinds Hurting Prospects

Reduced consumer telecom spending, including the delayed spectrum auction have been playing a spoilsport for Ericsson. The companys mobile broadband sales continue to take a beating from the soft macroeconomic environment and weakness in countries like Brazil, Russia and the Middle East. Moreover, the company has been facing investment headwinds in network developments in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Central Asia (especially Russia) regions as well as in Latin America and the Middle East.

ERICSSON LM ADR Price

ERICSSON LM ADR Price | ERICSSON LM ADR Quote

Additionally, given that the company derives a major portion of its revenues in various foreign currencies, it is prone to negative impacts from currency fluctuation. During second-quarter 2016, weakening currencies across some of the major Latin America markets and floating of the Nigerian currency were major dampeners for the company. Further, stiff competition from peers, prolonged weakness in key end-markets and ongoing industry consolidation among customers & major rivals are adding to this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) companys woes.

InterDigital, Inc. IDCC develops and markets advanced digital wireless telecommunications systems using proprietary technologies for voice and data communications. The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company has an excellent earnings surprise history over the trailing four quarters, beating estimates all through with a robust average positive surprise of 82.43%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Swedish communication technology and services giant, Ericsson ERIC has tied up with Vodafone's M-Pesa in an initiative to make mobile money payments and cash collection easier and more straightforward.

The integrated payment solution is intended to simplify the process of paying for safe water. This joint effort will begin with the first deployment connecting M-Pesa with the growing network of Grundfos safe water kiosks spread across Kenya and Tanzania. Other countries are expected to follow soon.

Grundfos' intelligent and connected water kiosks dispense safe drinking water in developing countries. However, about 50,000 water supply points have been unsuccessful across rural Africa, mostly due to shortage of funds and capacity for operations and maintenance. The Ericsson-Vodafone tie-up is intended to deal with this critical challenge through efficient cash collection, lower cash management risks and reduced overhead costs. This will offer a scalable safe water solution.

The initiative will build the much-needed connections between wallet providers and enterprises, thus representing a major leap forward for the mobile money ecosystem.

Late last month, Ericsson entered into a partnership with HomeSend. The deal is aimed at accelerating the adoption of international remittances through mobile phones across emerging markets. Together, the two entities are aimed at delivering a cost-effective, prompt and simple way to financial service providers to connect the HomeSend global money transfer hub with Ericsson's mobile money offering around the world.

ERICSSON LM ADR Price and Consensus

ERICSSON LM ADR Price and Consensus | ERICSSON LM ADR Quote

Ericssons technology has been enabling telecom players and financial services providers to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape, and expand the financial services available across the world.

However, reduced consumer telecom spending has been playing a spoilsport for Ericsson. Also, stiff competition and currency fluctuations have been hurting this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) companys performance.Ericsson is also grappling with waning sales in some key end-markets, slowdown in 4G deployment in China and ongoing industry consolidation among customers and major rivals.

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include InterDigital, Inc. IDCC, ARC Group Worldwide, Inc. ARCW and ViaSat Inc. VSAT. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

InterDigital, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an impeccable earnings history over the trailing four quarters, beating estimates all through. It has a striking positive average surprise of 82.4%.

ARC Group and ViaSat both carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). ARC Groups earnings are projected to grow at the rate of 75% in the current fiscal year, far ahead of its peers.

Viasat deals in advanced digital satellite telecommunications and other networking and signal processing equipment, and has a striking expected long-term growth rate of almost 17.8%, compared with an industry average of 11.8%.

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Addis Ababa (AFP) - Anti-government protesters in Ethiopia have turned their anger on foreigners, torching tourist resorts and foreign-owned factories in the restive Oromia region, local media reported Friday.

At least 11 companies, including textile and plastic factories, were torched in recent days in the town of Sebeta as well as about 60 vehicles, according to Fana, a state-controlled broadcaster, which blamed "anti-peace forces" for the attacks.

The Bishangari Lodge on the shores of Lake Langano south of the capital Addis Ababa, one of the main tourist destinations in Oromia, was among the premises set alight.

"The lodge is completely destroyed. 100 percent burnt down," said a hotel employee who did not want to be named.

A Dutch fruit farm, AfricaJuice, was also ransacked this week in the south-eastern Awash Valley.

Oromo protesters blame foreign investors for occupying land appropriated from them by the government and said they have had enough.

"The people have been protesting peacefully for almost a year. They didn't find any solutions from the government until now, but rather the killing has continued as we have seen at Ireecha festival," said Barnabas, a protester in the town of Holeta who gave only his first name.

"This makes the people furious."

The latest violence follows the deaths of more than 50 people in a stampede triggered by police firing tear gas at the Ireecha religious festival in Bishoftu, a town in Oromia, last Saturday.

On Tuesday, a US citizen was killed close to Addis Ababa when a rock thrown by protesters hit the vehicle she was travelling in. She was identified as plant biology researcher Sharon Gray, in a statement from California's UC Davis University.

The UN on Friday called for an independent investigation into the violence, as government faces its most serious unrest since coming to power in 1991.

Such a probe was needed "to ensure accountability for this and several other incidents since last November involving protests that have ended violently," Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations human rights agency, told reporters in Geneva.

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- 'Companies took our land' -

Protests began in Oromia in November and have since expanded to Amhara with human rights groups claiming several hundred killed so far in a crackdown on demonstrations.

Together, Oromos and Amharas make up 60 percent of the population of Ethiopia.

The protesters accuse the country's leaders, who largely hail from the northern Tigray region, of monopolising power.

"The businesses are targeted because these are the companies that took the land from the farmers without giving enough compensation," said Barnabas, who also complained that few locals get jobs at the foreign-owned companies.

"We are not getting benefits from them," he said.

The mobile internet network was cut in the capital Friday for a third day running, a measure often taken by authorities seeking to prevent people from organising demonstrations.

The unrest has pushed some investors to question their continuing presence in Ethiopia, threatening to undo the economic growth on which the government stakes its reputation.

Dutch-owned flower company Esmeralda Farms announced it was shutting up shop after its facility in the northern Amhara region was attacked last month.

"Ethiopia has received a lot of attention from investors over the last couple of years, on the premise of its relative stability and security. They are now becoming increasingly conscious of the need to enhance their approach to security risk mitigation," said Tom Berry, an analyst at S-RM Intelligence and Risk Consulting, which has raised its investor "risk rating" as a result of the violent protests.
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Protesters in Ethiopia damaged almost a dozen mostly foreign-owned factories and flower farms and destroyed scores of vehicles this week, adding economic casualties to a rising death toll in a wave of unrest over land grabs and rights. The violence has cast a shadow over a nation where a state-led industrial drive has created one of Africa's fastest growing economies, but where the government has also faced rising international criticism and popular opposition to its authoritarian approach to development. The flare-up followed the death of at least 55 people in a stampede on Sunday when police fired tear gas and shot into the air to disperse demonstrators in the Oromiya region near the capital. It raises to more than 450 the number of people rights groups and opponents say have been killed in unrest since 2015. A U.S. researcher was killed on Tuesday when her car was attacked by stone-throwers near Addis Ababa. The government says the toll cited by critics is inflated. Fana Broadcasting, which is seen as close to the state, reported on its website that 11 companies ranging from textile firms to a plastics maker to flower farms had been damaged or destroyed, while more than 60 vehicles had been torched. Dutch firm FV SeleQt said its 300-hectare vegetable farm and warehouse had been plundered. Another Dutch firm, Africa Juice, said its factory had been partially destroyed. The manager of one of the Turkish companies, textile firm Saygin Dima, told Reuters this week at least a third of his factory was burned down. Fana's website showed images of burned-out trucks on the road side, blaming the damage on "perpetrators of violence", echoing the line taken by the government, which accuses local rebel groups and dissidents based abroad for stoking the unrest. It said the firms damaged had created 40,000 jobs in a country of 99 million people that has long been blighted by famine but which has been rapidly transforming its fortunes, delivering growth rates that hit 10 percent in fiscal 2015/16. STRUGGLING FOR WORK People from Oromiya, a region at the heart of the state's industrialization efforts, accuse the state of seizing their land and offering tiny compensation, before selling it on to companies, often foreign investors, at inflated prices. They also say they struggle to find work, even when a new factory is sited on property they or their families once owned. "I went to apply for a job at a steel factory that was built on my familys land but I was turned away when they discovered I was the son of the previous land owner, said Mulugeta, who asked for only his first name to be used to avoid any state reprisals. "Most factories give priority to employees from other regions for fear local people would one day stage strikes," he said, speaking by telephone from Oromiya where he now drives a truck for another company. In Ethiopia, once ruled by Marxists whose draconian policies drove the nation into a devastating 1984 famine, all land still belongs to the state and owners are only deemed leaseholders, even if they have been living or farming there for generations. For the state, it means a swift and legally uncomplicated route to ejecting leaseholders to make way for new factories and construction of highways and railways, including a 750-km electrified line opened this week that links the capital of landlocked Ethiopia with Djibouti's busy sea port. For the opposition and those turfed out of farm plots where they grow food for their families, it shows how the government that has ruled for quarter of a century tramples on their rights. "It is time for the government to change tack," said Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress. "People are demanding change, but the problem is the only language the government knows is the use of excessive force." The government says police have clashed with what it calls "armed gangs" intent on destabilizing the nation. A regional Oromo official accused protesters of hindering efforts to reverse generations of poverty in Oromiya. Pressure has been mounting from abroad too. U.S. President Barack Obama told his Ethiopian hosts in Addis Ababa last year that greater political openness would "strengthen rather than inhibit" the development agenda. The government said it differed over the pace of any reforms demanded by Washington. "Economic development has outpaced political change," said former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and academic David Shinn. Noting "phenomenal" economic gains, he said: "It is less clear, however, whether the Ethiopian peasant farmer, who still constitutes about 80 percent of the population, has benefited significantly." FEELING THE HEAT Foreign investors are feeling the heat from protesters, not because they are foreigners but because they are among the biggest purchasers of the new land leases from the state. Ethiopia's budding tourist industry is also taking a hit. The Bishangari Lodge, on Lake Langano about 200 km south of Addis Ababa, was looted and torched this week. Resort owner Omar Bagersh said, even before the attack, he had had 90 percent cancellations in the past two or three months. "It is very difficult to convince a tourist to travel to a country that has this kind of situation," he said. Investors have been attracted by cheap electricity from Ethiopia's huge new hydroelectric dams being built, cheap labor, improving transport and tax incentives offered by a financially stretched government hungry for foreign exchange. New industries have been focused in Oromiya and the nearby Amhara regions, which surround Addis Ababa, a city that now boasts Sub-Saharan Africa's only light rail metro system and a rapidly rising skyline. Protests in Oromiya province initially erupted in 2014 over a development plan for the capital that would have expanded its boundaries, a move seen as threatening farmland. Clashes with police flared in 2015 and this year, although the government has shelved the boundary plan. Protesters have increasingly focused on broader political issues, accusing the government of stifling opposition. The government, which won a parliamentary election in 2015 in which the opposition failed to secure a single seat, denies this. (The story corrects in 17th paragraph to government of "quarter of a century") (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Edmund Blair in Nairobi; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, slammed the English language media and Indians' obsession with the language. He said it was everybody's responsibility to promote mother-tongue Hindi.

By Siraj Qureshi: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today criticized the English language media and said there was a defect in their mentality and outlook as they were not letting India's mother tongue progress.

He said that 200 years of British slavery had made some people so habitual to English that even at home, they talked in English.

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"Hindi is one language which is understood across all Indian states and it should not be limited to government communication," Rijiju said while addressing the people at the Rajya Bhasha Sammelan at the Kalakruti Auditorium in Agra.

Also Read: Google Allo will support Hindi by the end of 2016

INDIANS OBSESSED WITH ENGLISH?

He said India must leave its obsession with English.

"A large-scale movement is needed to raise Hindi to the heights it deserve," he said, adding "This is not a movement against any regional language. But Hindi is our mother tongue and the values of Indian culture are embedded in this language."

Rijiju said it was the constitutional responsibility of every Indian citizen to promote Hindi and help it prosper.

He then shared an anecdote of his visit to USSR in 1987.

The Indian delegation which went with Rijiju had many members, including a professor from Agra university. The minister said that while the Russian translator assigned to them spoke with them in fluent Hindi, the professor was talking to her in English.

Rijiju said he had to remind the professor that when a Russian girl had spent so much effort in learning Hindi, the professor too should respect the mother tongue. The professor did not speak after that.

The minister of Home Affairs was quick to add that each and every language in the country deserved an equal importance.

Also Read:

Need to promote Hindi in higher education, says Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra



--- ENDS ---
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A group of 10 European Union countries that support a common financial transactions tax (FTT) will meet on Monday to discuss the issue but no breakthrough is expected yet, two EU officials said on Friday.

The introduction of a single tax on financial transactions across the EU countries that adopt it has been debated by EU finance ministers for more than five years but countries remain divided on how to apply the levy.

The group has repeatedly set deadlines that have not been met. After having pushed back the latest target of reaching a deal in September, the meeting in October was seen as important in view of a possible compromise by the end of the year.

The meeting on Monday will take place in Luxembourg on the sidelines of a monthly gathering of the 19 euro zone finance ministers.

"It will be a rather short meeting. I don't expect any outcome from this debate," an EU official involved in the talks said on Friday. A second official said the meeting will assess technical work carried out by two expert groups set up in June, but is not meant to reach decisions.

The countries that support an FTT are Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

A minimum of nine countries is required for the plan to go ahead under EU rules allowing a group of members to push forward common projects without the support of all 28 EU states.

On Tuesday, finance ministers from all EU member states will meet in Luxembourg but will not discuss the FTT, as no significant progress is expected at Monday's meeting.

Talks on the issue are usually widened from the restricted group of 10 to 28 to address the impact of the possible tax on countries that would not apply it.

Several EU countries already apply national financial transaction taxes. However, a common tax is seen as more efficient and would reduce tax competition among the countries applying it.

The Slovak presidency of the EU is considering whether to add the issue to the agenda of the next EU finance ministers' meeting in November, the official said.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Brussels (AFP) - The European Union on Friday hit China with anti-dumping duties on two types of steel imports as Europe tries to cope with a global steel glut largely driven by massive Chinese output.

The measure is part of an EU push against China, which makes more than half the world's steel, for allegedly flooding world markets with steel and aluminium in violation of international trade agreements.

The European Commission said the levies, which if confirmed run for five years, concern hot-rolled flat steel and heavy plates of steel.

"The Commission today decided to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of two steel products from China, in a swift reaction to unfair competition," the EU executive said in a statement.

The commission is "making full use of the instruments available in the EU anti-dumping legislation," it added.

Hot-rolled steel is a primary product which is then converted to make finished goods, from automobiles to refrigerators.

The Commission said the duties on hot-rolled steel would run between 13.2 percent and 22.6 percent and between 65.1 percent and 73.7 percent for heavy plates.

"This should restore the profitability of the European heavy plates' producers and prevent damage to the companies involved in the production of hot-rolled steel products, the commission said.

The EU has had a series of trade disputes with China, its second-largest trading partner and which makes more than half the world's steel.

Brussels now has more than 100 trade defence measures in place, 37 of them targeting unfair imports of steel products of which 15 are Chinese.

Beijing has not been slow to respond to what it sees as unfair measures and has imposed its own anti-dumping tariffs on a series of steel imports from the EU, Japan and South Korea.
Paris (AFP) - The EU must be "unyielding" in the face of Britain's demands on the terms for its divorce from the bloc, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday.

"You can't have one foot in and one foot out," he told a conference in Paris, warning that Britain risked "trampling everything that has been built" over six decades of European integration.

"We must be unyielding on this point. I see the manoeuvring (by Britain)," Juncker said.

His remarks were aimed at British Prime Minister Theresa May who said Wednesday she wanted an exit deal that offered Britain "maximum freedom" to operate in Europe's single market while also maintaining control over immigration.

May has said she will trigger negotiations with Brussels to leave the EU before the end of March.

Her remarks on immigration have sparked fears of a "hard Brexit", sending the pound into a tailspin and setting the stage for a showdown with European leaders.

French President Francois Hollande warned Thursday Britain would have to pay "a price" for its decision to leave the EU.
By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has set provisional import duties on two types of steel coming into the bloc from China to counter what it says are unfairly low prices, in a move likely to anger Beijing.

The duties are the latest in a line of trade defences set up against Chinese steel imports over the past two years to counter what EU steel producers say is a flood of steel sold at a loss due to Chinese overcapacity.

Some 5,000 jobs have been axed in the British steel industry in the last year, as it struggles to compete with cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs.

G20 governments recognised last month that steel overcapacity was a serious problem. China, the source of 50 percent of the world's steel and the largest steel consumer, has said the problem is a global one.

The duties will be in place eight months after the launch of respective investigations, a month earlier than would normally be the case. The European Commission has committed to speed up its trade defence actions under pressure from EU producers.

The Stoxx basic resources sub-index was by far the strongest component of the Stoxx 600, propelled by European steelmakers. Shares of the world's largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal were up 4.3 percent, ThyssenKrupp's by 2.2 percent.

European steelmakers association Eurofer said it welcomed the fact that the duties would be in place earlier than normal.

The duties, which will take effect on Saturday, are provisional, meaning they are in place for up to six months until the European Commission completes its investigation. If upheld, they would typically be set for five years.

No one was available for comment at a series of steelmakers in China, which was celebrating a week-long national holiday.

The duties are set at between 13.2 and 22.6 percent for hot-rolled flat iron and steel products and at between 65.1 and 73.7 percent for heavy-plate steel, according to a filing in the European Union's official journal.

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SPEED WELCOMED

Industry association UK Steel said in a statement that the speed at which tariffs were imposed was very welcome.

"However, while we hope the tariffs for heavy plate are robust enough to ensure free and fair trade, the proposed levels for hot-rolled steel are not high enough, which might encourage China to continue dumping it on to the EU market," it said.

Jefferies analyst Seth Rosenfeld said the heavy plate duties were well above expectations and would have a meaningful impact, while those set for hot-rolled steel were as expected and should help should help disincentivise imports.

The hot-rolled steel case includes Bengang Steel Plates Co Ltd and Hebei Iron & Steel Co. Ltd and units of Jiangsu Shagang Group.

The heavy plate steel case covers Nanjing Iron & Steel Co Ltd, Wuyang Iron and Steel Co and Minmetals Yingkou Medium Plate Co Ltd..

Eurofer said Chinese producers' share of the EU market in heavy-plate steel, used in construction, mining and shipbuilding, grew to 14.4 percent in 2015 from 4.6 percent in 2012, while the average price dropped by 29 percent over the same period.

For hot-rolled, the market share grew to 4.3 percent from below 1 percent over the same period, while import prices fell by about 33 percent.

European producers of hot-rolled steel include ThyssenKrupp, Tata Steel and ArcelorMittal, while heavy-plate is made by Tata and two unlisted German companies.

The European Commission is also investigating alleged dumping of hot-rolled steel by producers in Brazil, Iran, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. That could lead to duties imposed by April.

(Additional reporting by Adam Jourdan in Beijing and Maytaal Angel in London; Editing by Adrian Croft and Susan Thomas)
Paris (AFP) - Europe's leaders have vowed no compromise on the terms of their divorce with Britain as a free-falling pound on Friday dramatically underlined the dangers ahead for Prime Minister Theresa May's government.

French President Francois Hollande sent one of the strongest warnings yet that Britain will have to pay a heavy price for leaving the European Union, while European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the bloc must be "unyielding" in the face of London's demands.

Hollande called for "firmness" by the EU powers in Brexit negotiations to prevent other countries from following Britain's lead and leave the bloc.

"There must be a threat, there must be a risk, there must be a price, otherwise we will be in negotiations that will not end well," he said in a speech Thursday evening.

His message was hammered home Friday by Juncker, who said the 27 nations Britain was leaving behind must not give way easily in what are set to be tense negotiations.

- 'Unyielding' -

"You can't have one foot in and one foot out," Juncker told a conference in Paris, warning that Britain risked "trampling everything that has been built" over six decades of European integration.

"We must be unyielding on this point. I see the manoeuvring (by Britain)," he added.

Hollande's comments added to pressure on the pound on financial markets, with the currency suffering its biggest drop since Britain voted in a June referendum to leave the EU.

In Asian trading the pound briefly plummeted by 6 percent to hit a 31-year low of $1.1841, recovering to $1.2385 in mid-afternoon European trading. A euro was 89.35 pence.

However experts said the pound's "flash crash" was probably mainly caused by a computer-generated sell-off that followed Hollande's comments.

Automated trading systems can be set up to monitor news headlines and react to potentially market-moving information.

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The flurry of comment was sparked by May's announcement that her government will trigger Brexit negotiations by the end of March, putting the country on course to leave the EU by early 2019.

- Anger -

May said Wednesday she wanted an exit deal that offered Britain "maximum freedom" to operate in Europe's single market while also maintaining control over immigration.

The idea that Britain wants to leave the EU but keep some of its advantages is visibly angering fellow member states.

In his speech, Hollande noted that a previous British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, had in the 1980s obtained a rebate on Britain's EU contributions worth billions of pounds every year.

Thatcher "wanted to remain in Europe, but receive a cheque in return," he said.

"Today, Britain wants to leave, but does not want to pay anything. That is not possible," he said.

Germany's veteran Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble tried to calm the war of words, saying the ball was in Britain's court.

"As soon as the government of her majesty has taken the decision, or has taken the initiative, the EU institutions... stand ready to negotiate," he told a G20 news conference in Washington as Germany prepares to take over the presidency of the powerful club.

But he added that volatility in the markets was "always a concern for the G20".

May's government and her Conservative party are divided over whether to go for a "hard" or "soft" withdrawal from the EU.

- Hard or soft -

"Hard" Brexit would mean quickly severing all links with EU institutions and pulling out of the single market, relying instead on World Trade Organization rules to trade overseas.

Supporters of a "soft" Brexit, on the other hand, foresee a future where Britain would retain some form of membership of the EU single market in return for allowing a degree of free movement for workers from EU countries.

The Open Britain group, an offshoot of the "Remain" campaign which lost the referendum, said the pound's fall showed the markets had been "spooked" by talk of a "hard" Brexit.

"The government should aim to negotiate for Britain to be a member of the (European) single market in order to protect jobs, create future growth, and hold up confidence in the pound," its co-executive director Joe Carberry said.

But Professor Richard Rose of Strathclyde University in Scotland told AFP that as May entered negotiations with Brussels, she needed to bear in mind that economic considerations were not the motivating factor for most Brexit supporters.

"People who voted wanted to take back control, they wanted to repatriate powers to the UK parliament," he said, adding that for them the economic aspect was "secondary".
Eva Longoria appears in a video from the Democratic National Committee that posted on Friday in which she takes issue with Mike Pences Mexican thing comment from the vice presidential debate.

Governor Pence  we are not a thing, she says in the video. We are proud American citizens. We are mothers and fathers working for a better future for our kids. And we are children studying hard and dreaming of giving back to the United States that we love.

In the waning minutes of the debate, Pence responded to one of Tim Kaines comments by saying, You whipped out that Mexican thing again. Kaine had been referring to comments that Donald Trump made when he announced his presidential candidacy in June 2015. Trump said, When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

After the debate, Democrats seized on Pences Mexican thing comment, with Hillary Clintons campaign even acquired ThatMexicanThing.com as a domain name. It directs to her campaign website. #ThatMexicanThing also became a trending hashtag on Twitter.

#Thatmexicanthing is going to decide whos going to be the next President. No one can make it to the WH without the Latino vote. Youll see, Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

The Longoria video is not just an effort to keep the post-debate story alive, but to mobilize voter registration. In the video, she directs viewers where to register.

Longoria spoke at the Democratic National Convention in July, and said that Trump was insulting American families with his comments.

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By Tom Finn and Kathrin Jones

DOHA/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Qatari investors who own the largest stake in Deutsche Bank do not plan to sell their shares and could consider buying more if the embattled German bank decides to raise capital, sources familiar with Qatari investment policy told Reuters.

Funds controlled by Qatar's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani bought 6.1 percent of Deutsche in mid-2014 and increased their stake to just under 10 percent, including options, in July this year.

But Germany's biggest bank has been engulfed by a crisis of confidence since last month after the U.S. Department of Justice demanded up to $14 billion to settle claims that the bank missold U.S. mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis. It is fighting the fine but may have to turn to investors for more money if it is imposed in full.

Deutsche shares plunged to record intra-day lows below 10 euros last week on Friday and although they have since rebounded to just above 12 euros, they are 13 percent below last month's peak and 46 percent below their close at the end of last year.

That implies the Qataris may have lost, on paper, over $1.2 billion on their investments in the bank.

However a Qatari source, who is close to Sheikh Hamad's office but stressed that he was not involved in the Qataris' internal discussions about Deutsche, said he expected Sheikh Hamad to stand by the bank.

"Purchasing more stock - that could be considered ... which is not to say there are any imminent plans to do that," said the source, declining to be named as the matter is confidential.

Officials in Sheikh Hamad's office did not immediately comment, while Deutsche declined to comment.

A second source said the Qataris had no intention of selling out. "This is a long-term investment. Qatar believes it will all work out well for the bank in the end."

If a capital hike does turn out to be required, "they would probably take part in it as they want to keep their roughly 10 percent stake. But they want to stay below the 10 percent threshold" for regulatory reasons, the source added.

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Any investor owning a stake of more than 10 percent in a listed German company is subject to stricter public disclosure rules.

MANAGEMENT

The first source also said that since the U.S. Department of Justice's claim in September, he was not aware of any formal correspondence between Sheikh Hamad's investment vehicles -Paramount Services Holdings and Supreme Universal Holdings - and Deutsche's management.

The second source said, however, that Qatar's continued involvement in the bank would be under the condition that it resumed focusing on its daily business and did not lose more market share in key businesses such as investment banking.

"They are too much focused on legal issues, the whole bank is ruled by lawyers at the moment. This needs to be changed."

Lawyer Stefan Simon was nominated to Deutsche's supervisory board in July at the suggestion of the two Qatari investment vehicles. He was placed on the board to keep an eye on the bank's execution of its strategy, the source said.

The source added, however, that at the moment there was no pressure from Qatar for any changes in top management at Deutsche. "Execution is the issue, not strategy."

Qatar's ruling family and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, have suffered a string of paper losses on high-profile portfolio investments in recent years, including a stake in Germanys Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE>, which is facing fallout from a damaging emissions scandal.

Meanwhile, low energy prices have pressured the economy of Qatar, the world's top liquefied natural gas exporter, causing the government to restrain spending.

Nevertheless, there is no sign of serious financial pain in Qatar - the QIA's assets are estimated at $335 billion - and Qatari investors continue to buy assets around the world. In June, QIA agreed to buy a major office building in Singapore for about $2.5 billion.

"Hamad bin Jassim, and Qatar for that matter, enter investments looking way down the road," said Syed Bashar, a former economist with Qatar's central bank.

"They don't think in years but in generations. Waiting is okay for them."
By Jack Stubbs and Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has built up its forces in Syria since a ceasefire collapsed in late September, sending in troops, planes and advanced missile systems, a Reuters analysis of publicly available tracking data shows. The data points to a doubling of supply runs by air and sea compared to the nearly two-week period preceding the truce. It appears to be Russia's biggest military deployment to Syria since President Vladimir Putin said in March he would pull out some of his country's forces. The increased manpower probably includes specialists to put into operation a newly delivered S-300 surface-to-air missile system, military analysts said. The S-300 system will improve Russia's ability to control air space in Syria, where Moscow's forces support the government of President Bashar al-Assad, and could be aimed at deterring tougher U.S. action, they said. "The S-300 basically gives Russia the ability to declare a no-fly zone over Syria," said Justin Bronk, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. "It also makes any U.S. attempt to do so impossible. Russia can just say: 'We're going to continue to fly and anything that tries to threaten our aircraft will be seen as hostile and destroyed'." Russia's Defence Ministry did not respond to written questions. A senior air force official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed talk of an increase in supply shipments. But data collated by Turkish bloggers for their online Bosphorus Naval News project, and reviewed by Reuters, shows reinforcements sent via Russia's "Syrian Express" shipping route from the Black Sea increased throughout September and have peaked in the last week. The data shows 10 Russian navy ships have gone through the Bosphorus en route to Syria since late September, compared with five in the 13-day period before the truce -- from Aug. 27 to Sept. 7. That number includes The Mirazh, a small missile ship which a Reuters correspondent saw heading through the Bosphorus toward the Mediterranean on Friday. Two other Russian missile ships were deployed to the Mediterranean on Wednesday. Some of the ships that have been sent to Syria were so heavily laden the load line was barely visible above the water, and have docked at Russia's Tartus naval base in the Western Syrian province of Latakia. Reuters has not been able to establish what cargo they were carrying. Troops and equipment are also returning to Syria by air, according to tracking data on website FlightRadar24.com. Russian military cargo planes flew to Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria six times in the first six days of October -- compared to 12 a month in September and August, a Reuters analysis of the data shows. INCREASED ACRIMONY Russia sent its air force to support the Syrian Army a year ago when Moscow feared Assad was on the point of succumbing to rebel offensives. U.S.-led forces also carry out air strikes in Syria, targeting Islamic State positions. Aerial bombardments in the past two weeks, mainly against rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo, have been among the heaviest of the civil war, which has killed more then 300,000 people in 5-1/2 years. Since the collapse of the ceasefire in September, acrimony between the United States and Russia has grown and Washington has suspended talks with Moscow on implementing the truce. U.S. officials told Reuters on Sept. 28 that Washington had started considering tougher responses to the assault on Aleppo, including the possibility of air strikes on an Assad air base. "They (Russia) probably correctly surmise that eventually American policy will change," Bronk said, commenting on the analysis of the tracking data. "They are thinking: 'We're going to have to do something about this, so better to bring in more supplies now ... before it potentially becomes too touchy'." The FlightRadar24.com data shows Ilyushin Il-76 and Antonov An-124 cargo planes operated by the Russian military have been flying to Syria multiple times each month. It offers no indication of what the aircraft are carrying. But the Il-76 and An-124 transporters can carry up to 50 and 150 tonnes of equipment respectively and have previously been used to airlift heavy vehicles and helicopters to Syria. State-operated passenger planes have also made between six and eight flights from Moscow to Latakia each month. Western officials say they have been used to fly in troops, support workers and engineers. Twice in early October, a Russian military Ilyushin plane flew to Syria from Armenia. Officials in Yerevan said the planes carried humanitarian aid from Armenia, a Russian ally. Russia's Izvestia newspaper reported last week that a group of Su-24 and Su-34 warplanes had arrived at the Hmeymim base in Syria, returning Russia's fixed-wing numbers in the country to near the level before the drawdown was announced in March. (Additional reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan in Yerevan and Murad Sezer in Istanbul, Writing by Jack Stubbs, Editing by Christian Lowe and Timothy Heritage)
By John Tilak and Nia Williams TORONTO/CALGARY (Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc is weighing the sale of its Petro-Canada retail gasoline station business in order to monetize the asset, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The move comes after Imperial Oil Ltd , majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corp , agreed earlier this year to sell 497 Esso gas stations for C$2.8 billion ($2.11 billion). Suncor, Canada's biggest energy company, may be able to draw a similar valuation, the sources said, which would peg the Petro-Canada retail gas stations at close to C$8.4 billion. The price would also depend on the terms of the contracts the company has with retailers, the sources said. Petro-Canada operates about 1,500 gas stations across Canada and is one of the biggest players in the country. Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said selling the stations is not part of the company's current asset divestment plan. "Retail is part of our integrated model as it provides a channel of sale for much of our refinery production," she said. Some large oil and gas companies in North America have been moving out of the retail gas business so they can use the capital to invest in exploration and production. While Suncor would like to sell the whole asset to one party, it is more likely the gas stations will be sold to multiple buyers, given the size of the portfolio, the sources said. The asset is expected to attract interest from convenience store operators and private equity firms, the sources said. The buyers of Imperial's Esso stations were Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc , 7-Eleven Canada Inc and Parkland Fuel Corp . (Editing by Marguerita Choy; Editing by Sandra Maler)
A chargesheet was filed by the police against the three accused in the Kopardi gangrape and murder case before a sessions court.

By Vidya : Ahmednagar Police today filed a chargesheet against the three accused in the Kopardi gangrape and murder case. The 300-page chargesheet was filed at the Ahmednagar sessions court.

In July, a 15-year-old girl was brutally raped at Kopardi village, allegedly by three Dalit men who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before killing her. The gangrape divided two communities in the village of Maharashtra - Marathas and Dalits.

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The chargesheet has been filed a week, just before the stipulated 90 days for filing chargesheet by police gets over. The NCP had threatened further protests if the chargesheet was not filed within the stipulated time of 90 days.

Also read: BJP asks NCP leader Supriya Sule not to try to take undue credit for Kopardi gangrape probe



PROTESTS BY MARATHAS

Ahmednagar district has witnessed much tension and police had to be stationed in the locality after furious locals blocked roads and protested to demand the arrest of the rapists.

Even though the three accused were arrested soon, the incident saw many protests by the Maratha community across the state.

The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO). Ahmednagar SP Saurabh Tripathi's team also managed to get 70 witnesses in the case.

Also read: Pune: Maratha Kranti Morcha to hold silent march

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam who had been appointed in the case after special request from the family said, "The case does not have eye witnesses but the case will be proved through circumstantial evidence."

He added, "We will try to conduct the trial as early as possible and will try to see to it that justice is delivered in the case soon. We will set an example for getting severest punishment for this kind of brutal acts."

Also read: Maharashtra government to put a strong case for Maratha reservation in HC

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LONDON (Reuters) - A 10 percent "flash crash" in sterling on Friday was the latest sign of how far Britain's impending exit from the European Union has rattled financial markets, with the UK's currency, stocks and government bonds all falling for a second straight day. With a current account deficit of nearly 6 percent of economic output, Britain is highly reliant on foreign investment. Here is a closer look at overseas holdings of its main financial assets: * Around 5 percent of the world's known central bank foreign currency reserves are in British pounds, the equivalent of more than $350 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund. That is the third largest holding, behind U.S. dollars (63 percent) and euros (20 percent). To see a graphic, click here: http://tmsnrt.rs/2dxOwEU * More than half of UK stocks are held by overseas investors, according to Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS). Foreign holdings were less than 10 percent in the 1970s and 1980s, and stood at around 35 percent at the turn of the century. To see a graphic, click here: http://tmsnrt.rs/2dAy57l * Nearly a third of investors in British government bonds are from outside the country, ONS data shows. That equated to 500 billion pounds' worth at the end of June. To see a graphic, click here: http://tmsnrt.rs/2dxLJLP * Direct investment into the UK by enterprises located abroad has risen steadily over the past 30 years, with the only major blip occurring during the 2008 financial crisis, according to ONS data. To see a graphic, click here: http://reut.rs/2dYYjDn * Foreign investors accounted for around 45 percent of the value of total transactions in British commercial property since 2009, although that tailed off quite sharply in the first half of this year, the Bank of England has said. "An abrupt reduction in the willingness of foreign investors to engage in new investment could also have a severe impact on asset markets in which foreign investors account for a substantial proportion of transactions," the BoE said in its latest financial stability report. (Writing by John Geddie; Graphics by Vikram Subhedar and John Geddie; editing by Giles Elgood)
magic leap

Secretive startup Magic Leap, which is developing a new headset technology that integrates computer graphics into the real world, is ready to move into its new office in Seattle that will also house a team of creators led by famed science fiction author Neal Stephenson.

Magic Leap, with Stephenson's help, is currently recruiting additional producers and talent for a content studio based in Seattle, multiple sources tell Business Insider.

Magic Leap recently finished a year-long construction process to outfit a historic building in Seattle with the facilities the company needs. In the meantime, the company was working out of temporary offices, including a trailer previously spotted by Geekwire outside the office.

The Seattle office is where the company's chief science officer and co-founder, Brian Schowengerdt, is based, and where Magic Leap does some technical research work.

But the location is also where Stephenson will be creating content, or "experiences," for Magic Leap's still-unannounced product. Stephenson, whose library of work includes acclaimed novels like "Snow Crash," was hired by Magic Leap in 2014 to be the company's "Chief Futurist."

We're hearing that Stephenson's projects have "a consistent theme" with the interactive projects that he has done in the past. One key employee at his previous game studio, Subutai, now works as a design producer at Magic Leap in Seattle.

In 2012, Stephenson raised over $500,000 on Kickstarter for "Clang," a sword fighting PC video game based around custom motion controllers that ultimately never shipped.

Neil Stephenson

And Stephenson was recruited to Magic Leap with a sword: Orcrist, a fictional sword described in JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit."

"Its not every day that someone turns up at your house bearing a mythic sword, and so I did what anyone who has read a lot of fantasy novels would: I let them in and gave them beer. True to form, they invited me on a quest and asked me to sign a contract (well, an NDA actually)," Stephenson wrote about his recruitment on the Magic Leap blog.

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In the past few months, several employees have joined Magic Leap at its Seattle location, according to a review of LinkedIn profiles, including people who used to work for Microsoft, Valve, and Amazon.

CLANG tech demo screenshot_swords

Seattle is not the only place where Magic Leap is developing content for its secretive headset. The company also has content projects based in Florida, New Zealand, Los Angeles, and Dallas, Texas as well, a source tells Business Insider.

The multiple locations are to help recruiting, so that talent doesn't necessarily have to move to nearby the company's Florida headquarters.

A Magic Leap spokesperson declined to comment on Stephenson's current projects.

Magic Leap has raised $1.39 billion from some of technology's biggest investors including Alibaba, Google, Andreessen Horowitz, and KPCB.

Have you tried Magic Leap? We'd love to hear about your experience. Email the author at kleswing@businessinsider.com. Anonymity guaranteed.

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Paris (AFP) - Colombia's FARC rebels should have shared the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday for his efforts to end Latin America's longest war, one of the guerrilla group's former hostages said.

Ingrid Betancourt, now 54, spent six years in the jungle after being abducted by FARC guerrillas while campaigning in Colombia's 2002 presidential election.

The charismatic Franco-Colombian former politician told France's iTele broadcaster the prize showed "there was no turning back from peace".

Asked if she thought the FARC should also have been honoured by the Nobel committee, an emotional Betancourt said haltingly: "Yes... it's very hard for me to say yes... but I think so."

After five decades of conflict, Santos last month signed an historic peace deal with FARC chief Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, but in a shock development on Sunday it was narrowly rejected in a referendum, leaving the peace process hanging in the balance.

Betancourt said the Nobel Prize was a "just" reward for Santos.

"He was practically alone in fighting for this result. He is making history. He is giving the next generation the possibility of living in a different country. It's a huge moment for Colombia."

Betancourt later told Colombia's Blu Radio the award was an "extraordinary boost" to the peace process and a rebuttal to its hardline opponents.

"It drowns and diminishes the voices of those who wanted to see the peace process aborted," she said.

The prize is also a recognition of the FARC's "extraordinary transformation," she added.

The Marxist guerrillas, she said, have gone from being "a terrorist group linked to drug trafficking to a group of human beings convinced they can contribute to peace."
People gather at a small rally in support of Apple's refusal to help the FBI access the cell phone of a gunman involved in the killings of 14 people in San Bernardino, in Santa Monica, California, United States, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into "legal and technical options" to access information stored in the locked iPhone of Dahir Adan, the suspected terrorist who allegedly stabbed 10 people at a mall in Minnesota.

The information comes from a report from Wired quoting special agent Rich Thorton during a press conference.

Due to the involvement of the FBI, a suspected terrorist, and a locked iPhone, this case echoes the controversial San Bernardino case in February.

In the San Bernardino case, the FBI issued a court order that demanded Apple to create an alternate version of the iPhone's operating system that could allow an unlimited number of passcodes to be input electronically  this would be used to unlock an iPhone owned by Rizwan Farook, a suspect in the alleged terrorist attack in San Bernardino. Apple fought against the court order, saying an altered version of iOS would undermine the privacy and security of all iPhone users. The FBI dropped its case toward the end of March after the bureau announced it had found a third-party to help it unlock that particular phone.

In a similar way, this new case in Minnesota might resurface the debate of whether or not law enforcement should be able to make continuous and successful requests for access to locked devices belonging to suspects.

In March, the FBI argued that Apple was obstructing law enforcement efforts, whereas Apple argued that creating a "back door" into its devices could compromise the security of all its devices, and therefore its customers.

As of yet, there are few details on the FBI's feasibility to crack Adan's iPhone. It's still unclear whether or not the FBI could use the same methods and/or third-party to break into Adan's iPhone as it did with the San Bernardino iPhone in March, as the FBI did not disclose any details of those methods.

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It's also still unclear if the FBI and Apple have been in contact regarding this new case. Apple declined Wired's request for comment, and the company has not yet replied to Business Insider's request. Business Insider also reached out to the Minnesota FBI for comment on the case; we'll update this story if we learn more.

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One festival might be enough for most, but after wrapping up Cannes in late May, artistic director Thierry Fremaux goes straight to work on his other passion project, the Festival Lumiere, organized under the aegis of the Institut Lumiere, which this year takes place Oct. 8-16.

Situated in Lyon, where the Lumiere brothers shot their pioneering 1896 short Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, the festival acts as a kind of extended version of the Cannes Classics sidebar, shining a spotlight on films from the recent and distant past, with a steady stream of current stars and filmmakers to front the behind-the-scenes work of archivists and historians.

Fremauxs famous hospitality puts him in good standing here. Though only in its eighth edition, the Festival Lumiere has already presented its main award, Le Prix Lumiere, to a litany of star names, starting with Clint Eastwood in 2009 and followed by Milos Forman, Gerard Depardieu, Ken Loach, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodovar and, last year, Martin Scorsese.

This year breaks the all-male tradition by honoring French legend Catherine Deneuve for, according to the Instituts press statement, what she is, has done, says, acts, sings and delights, from time immemorial and forever.

Deneuve is just one of an eclectic group of guests this year. Others include Chinese actress Gong Li; American genre director Walter Hill; French screenwriter Jean-Loup Dabadie; Korean director Park Chan-wook; and French director-slash-provocateur Gaspar Noe. Each will be the subject of a short, selective retrospective. In the case of directors Hill and Park, these will include their most recent movies. In addition to screenings of Parks 2000 Berlinale breakout film JSA and his 2003 Cannes hit Old Boy, which also shows as part of the Vengeance trilogy in an all-night screening, the director will screen his latest film The Handmaiden, a global festival favorite since its competition debut on the Croisette.

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Walter Hill, meanwhile, screens his 1970s and 80s works: The Driver, The Long Riders, The Warriors, and Southern Comfort along with last months Toronto Film Festival entry, the gender-switch hitwoman movie (re)Assignment.

Though the festival is first and foremost rooted in restorations, revivals and reissues, Lyon-born auteur Bertrand Tavernier, who runs the Institut Lumiere film foundation in association with Fremaux, will screen a sneak preview of his new documentary My Journey Through French Cinema, which premiered in Cannes Classics earlier this year. The film follows the template of Scorseses Personal Journey series, reflecting upon the directors key influences as a young cineaste.

Cinema was part of my education and it was also something which helped me to go on fighting because of some of the handicaps I had as a child, says Tavernier, who suffered from tuberculosis. Sometimes I had some rough moments when I was in the recuperative center  and films kept me alive.

Nevertheless, adhering to the festivals mission statement to give Lyon the best classic film festival possible, tribute is paid to classics in all genres and from all corners of the world.

While French cinema is represented by a solid raft of films by Marcel Carne, the master of poetic realism, American cinema gets the spotlight in the fests Universal Monsters, a mini-run of creature features, among them the original 1931 Dracula and Frankenstein films.

2013s Prix winner Quentin Tarantino praised the festivals commitment to cinema saying, I dont know what I would be if the Lumiere brothers mother and father had never met. I would probably be selling Royales With Cheese at McDonalds. He has programmed an unexpectedly international selection of films released in 1970. These include Dario Argentos The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Claude Chabrols The Butcher, and Jerzy Skolimowskis The Deep End alongside U.S. cult classics from Robert Altman (MASH) and Russ Meyer (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls).

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Quentin Tarantino to Open 2016 Lumiere Festival

Bertrand Tavernier's Dramatic 'Journey' Through French Cinema

Cannes: Thierry Fremaux to Hold Master Class at Italy's Taormina Film Fest (EXCLUSIVE)
It looks like Human Resources got to them.

Roughly 24 hours after their social-media skirmish made headlines, feuding Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Megyn Kelly presented a united front on Twitter.

Were Irish. Its complicated, Kelly wrote on Twitter alongside an image of her and Hannity happily joined at the hip. (Hannity published a similar tweet one minute later, tweaking the copy slightly to add two exclamation points.)

The drama between two of Fox News biggest stars began Wednesday night when Kelly ripped into Donald Trump for not venturing outside his journalistic comfort zone, and she cited Hannitys program as an example. Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10 pm, will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days, which doesnt exactly expand the tent, she said.

Hannity quickly responded on Twitter, saying Kelly should be mad at Clinton because clearly you support her. He then reminded Kelly that Trump did talk to you during her Fox special last May.

TVLine readers overwhelmingly sided with Kelly. Per the results of our unscientific poll, nearly 80 percent of respondents said they were on #TeamMegyn.

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's army and allies clashed on Friday in the south of Aleppo with rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad, a military source, rebels and a monitor said, part of a pro-government offensive to retake Syria's once largest city. The fighting was concentrated in Sheikh Saeed, a rebel-held district of the city next to Ramousah, where the most intense battles earlier this summer took place, but there were conflicting accounts of whether the army made any gains. Air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo by the Syrian military and Russian jets remained significantly lighter than during the previous two weeks following an army announcement on Wednesday that it would lessen its bombardment. "Today there's no bombardment on the neighborhoods in the city, until now. We don't know what will happen in an hour," said Ammar al-Selmo, head of the civil defense rescue organization in Aleppo. A Syrian military source said on Friday morning that the army had captured several important positions on Sheikh Saeed's hilltop, but rebels said later that all those gains had been reversed and that insurgents still held the area. Since the start of an offensive two weeks ago, following the collapse of a short ceasefire, the army and its allies have made some progress in northern and central districts of rebel-held eastern Aleppo, home to more than 250,000 people. They have captured the Handarat refugee camp and part of an industrial district next to it on eastern Aleppo's northern outskirts, part of the Bustan al-Basha district just north of the city center and some ground in the central Old City. However, to completely storm eastern Aleppo could take months and would involve the destruction of the city and great loss of life, the United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday. Assad has offered fighters and their families an amnesty to leave eastern Aleppo under guarantee of safe passage to other parts of Syria held by the insurgents. However, rebels have told Reuters they do not trust Assad, and have said they believe such an agreement would be aimed at purging Sunni Muslims from eastern Aleppo. Rebel shelling on government-held western Aleppo killed 11 people on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor said on Friday. (Reporting By Angus McDowall; editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
It may not be a subject that fans of the Beatles and John Lennon want to recall again, but the producers of new film, The Lennon Report, which opens Oct. 7, two days before what would have been the former Beatle's 76th birthday, say the movie will finally tell the real story about what really happened the night Lennon was killed by a deranged fan on Dec. 8, 1980.

The film's director and writer, Jeremy Profe, told Billboard the movie has an even simpler focus in that it looks at the roles that police and medical personnel played that night and how they worked to save the life of a man who they didn't know at first was Lennon.

The story of the film revolves around a news producer in Roosevelt Hospital who discovers that a John Doe being treated for severe gunshot wounds in the facility at the same time is none other than John Lennon.

"It follows the everyday people that are affected by a tragedy and what their roles in that are," Profe said in a phone interview. "Everybody kind of gets very focused on celebrity and on the names and the people, but really this is a story of doctors and nurses and journalists and police in their effort to save John Lennon. And so, one of the interesting things that happens when you look at the film, that story through that lens is you've got these everyday people becoming heroes." The focus of the film is "really about the people behind the scenes that don't get too much light shed on them," said producer Gabriel Francisco.

"The film follows the surgical effort to save John's life," Profe adds. "You never see the shooting, but you see the aftermath as the police arrive. And it goes from there, to the hospital to the confusion of not knowing who this victim is, which I think is such an important part. He didn't arrive as John Lennon. He arrived as John Doe. And these surgeons and nurses scrambled to save his life the same as they would anyone else. And then there is this phenomenal stranger-than-fiction story of Alan Weiss, this journalist, having been in a motorcycle accident that evening and he just happened to be there to break the story, the biggest story of the year."

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Beatles fans, who may fear that the film gives Lennon's killer more celebrity attention may be relieved to know his name gets no mention in the film. "We really, really did not want to be a party to lending any more celebrity or credibility to a shooter," Profe said. "We shouldn't be helping people to market themselves through violence. So we were not going to be part of that."

The filmmakers say they also had to be careful to how to film the scenes in the operating room. "We didn't want a gore film," said producer Rafael Francisco. "We had to find a very delicate balance between visually letting people understand what's involved in a shooting and trying to make sure it didn't become the John Lennon gore film and hitting that balance in the surgery," said Profe.

But the script initially written for the film underwent a massive rewrite as the film's team learned that much of what was thought to be the story of what happened in the hospital was not what really took place at all after talking to some of the personnel present. Profe said they wanted the script to be accurate. "We didn't make a film about what didn't happen in the room. It's about what did happen in the room. The reason we came forward with the story was because in order for the truth to have any weight or credibility, people really needed to understand what happened." One of the biggest revelations of the film is that Dr. David Halleran (played by Evan Jonigkeit), not Dr. Stephan Lynn (Richard Kind), performed the surgery on Lennon that night. Stephan Spinella plays Dr. Marks, who worked alongside Halleran.

One of the nurses who was in the the operating room that night, Barbara Kammerer, told Billboard, "They showed us the script basically that had no relevance to anything that occurred that night. And as we were speaking with them and bringing up certain things, they were looking at us as if we truly did not know what we were talking about. And they didn't. And their version and our version was so grossly different it was almost a rewrite. I think Jeremy got more gray hair when more and more and more of the truth started coming out." "And then we gave up Dr. David Halleran as the doctor that actually performed the surgery," Deatra Sarto, another of the nurses, said. Stef Dawson and Ashley Atkinson play Kammerer and Sarto in the film.

Sarto explained the nurses originally had no idea it was Lennon when he was brought into the operating room. "He made no sounds," Kammerer said. "He was basically D.O.A.," said Sarto. "And we worked on him like we work on everybody. Young gentleman, multiple gunshot wounds. You don't look at anybody's face when they're like that. You address the wound."

Lennon's identity was finally confirmed after searching his pockets. Sarto says among the items found was Lennon's green card and other pieces of I.D. "Dr. Halleran has (also) reported there was a roll of undeveloped film, a picture of Yoko, Sean and John in front of a white Rolls-Royce and his American Express card," Kammerer said.

The nurses said Yoko Ono (played In the film by Karen Tsen Lee) came in with the police and was escorted to a room so she would have some privacy. Another story refuted in the movie is that Yoko Ono banged her head against a concrete floor that night. The two nurses say that didn't happen.

"The floor, to begin with, wasn't cement," said Sarto. "And Stephan (Lynn) was not in the room long enough to observe anything at all. We walked into together and she said, 'Please tell me he's OK.' And Stephan said, 'I'm sorry, I can't tell you that.' And he turned around and walked out. The doctor, who's taking credit for everything never even spent 60 seconds with her. He just announced he was dead and he left the room." Ono, in response to an interview done by Fox News' Howard Kurtz about the new revelations contained in the film, said her priority was to get home to her son Sean.

Profe said he is very much aware that Beatles fans are concerned about how the film portrays Lennon and the incidents of that tragic night. "This is the best effort we could possibly make to tackle this subject respectfully to the family, to the fans, respectfully to the people involved," he said. "And I think we've hit that chord."
By PTI: Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 6 (PTI) Stung by criticism, the CPI-M led LDF government today cancelled the appointment of a close relative of Industries Minister as Managing Director of the state-run Kerala State Industrial Enterprises LTD (KSIE).

Days after P K Sudheer, son of P K Sreemathi, Kannur MP and a close relative of Industries Minister E P Jayarajan was made MD, the Industries Ministers office today said his appointment has been cancelled.

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Jayarajan is married to Sreemathis younger sister. Sudheer was apppointed on October 1, sources said.

The Managing Director of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation M Beena has been made the new MD of KSIE, sources said.

A press release from the office said the appointment order was issued as he had the requiste qualification.

However, Sudheer sought more time to take charge and gave a letter in this regard to the Industries Secretary.

As government decided not to extend the period for joining, instructions were given on October 3 to cancel his appointment, the release added.

Earlier in the day when asked about the appointment, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the issue had not come to his notice and he would examine the matter.

Usually only qualified persons are appointed in the industries department, he added.

KSIE also has charge of operations of Air Cargocomplexes at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode International Airports.

Kerala Soaps is also owned by the KSIE. KSIE operates offices in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kottayam and Palakkad.

Attacking the government on the issue, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that appointment of relatives in Public Sector Undertakings was a violation of the oath of office.

"Appointing relatives who lack required qualification as heads of Public Sector Undertakings is a violation of the oath of office and amounts to nepotism, he said.

Apparently referring to reports that the LDF government planned to appoint more relatives of party leaders in PSUs,he alleged that government was appointing unqualified persons as heads of various state run institutions just because they are relatives of CPI-M leaders.

Former BJP President V Muraleedharan termed the appointment as misuse of power and said Sudheer was made the MD overlooking the list prepared by the public sector restructuring and internal audit board. PTI JRK UD APR BSA

--- ENDS ---
By Tuomas Forsell and Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - Estonia said a Russian jet violated its airspace on Friday, hours after neighboring Finland said two similar planes passed over its territory as it prepared to sign a defense pact with the United States. Moscow denied sending planes across anyone's borders - but one analyst said the flights could have been staged as a reminder of Russia's influence, as countries in the region looked to strengthen ties with the West. Estonia's defense ministry said a Russian fighter jet entered its airspace for less than a minute with its transponder turned off at 2.38 a.m. (7.38 p.m. ET, Thursday). Helsinki said two different SU-27 planes crossed into its airspace on Thursday afternoon and evening, over the Gulf of Finland - the body of water that separates it from Estonia. "We take these incidents seriously," Finland's defense minister, Jussi Niinisto, told reporters. "Having two suspected violations on the same day is exceptional." Past incursions had mostly been by Russian cargo planes, not fighter jets, he said. Russia's defense ministry dismissed the reports, saying SU-27 military planes had conducted training flights on Thursday and Friday over neutral waters, Russian agencies reported. Finland has grown increasingly worried about military activities by Russia - its former ruler with which it shares a 1,300-km (812-mile) land border - particularly since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in February, 2014. In response, Finland has tightened cooperation with Sweden and fostered closer ties with NATO. On Friday it signed a defense cooperation deal with the United States, covering training and information sharing but stopping short of military assistance. "It's positive that United States is interested in Northern Europe's security situation and of collaboration with the region's countries. We see this as a stabilizing element," Niinisto said. He declined to speculate on whether Russia had tried to show its power before his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work. But Charly Salonius-Pasternak, analyst at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said it was "entirely credible, that airspace violations were a reminder from Russia: 'Hey, we are still here'." "It costs them nothing, and they can see that these violations have an effect on Finland," he told public broadcaster YLE. The reported incursion in Estonia also coincided with a one-day visit there by Ukraine's defense minister. German pilots patrolling the skies over the Baltics reported "noticeable and aggressive behavior" by Russian military aircraft overnight, a spokesman for the German defense ministry said. He said two of up to six German Eurofighters stationed at Amari air base in Estonia had been scrambled several times to identify the Russian aircraft. In April, two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea. (Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow, and Andrea Shalal and Sabine Siebold in Berlin; editing by Richard Balmforth)
Screwworms do exactly what it sounds like screwworms do.

The adults lay eggs in open wounds, and the hatched larvae burrow, corkscrew-like, through flesh. Screwworms ate their way into livestock, dogs, deer, and even humans in the U.S. until they were wiped out in 1982, in one of the most successful national eradication campaigns ever.

This week, however, U.S. officials confirmed that the screwworm is back. Poor deer in a wildlife refuge in the Florida Keys had somehow picked up the parasite, the U.S.s first local infestation in 30 years. The screwworm sends shivers down every rancher's spine, said Floridas agricultural commissioner Adam Putnam in an unusually vivid official statement. I've grown up hearing the horror stories from the last occurrence.

Last time, the U.S. eradicated the screwworm by releasing sterile males, essentially putting the species on birth control. Florida will now be using the sterile male screwworms to tamp the infestation in the Keys. The success of the past eradication campaign , the current failure (temporary, hopefully) in Florida, and the challenge of maintaining a permanent sterile insect wall to keep screwworms out of the U.S. hold lessons for the control of other insects. Especially mosquitoes and especially in Florida, where the British company Oxitec now wants to test mosquitoes genetically modified to be sterile to combat diseases like Zika.

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In 1950, two U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists Edward Knipling and Raymond Bushland realized they could sterilize screwworms by shooting X-rays at them. (Early experiments literally borrowed X-ray equipment from an army medical unit.) High doses of X-rays damaged the screwworms chromosomes, so the sperm of irradiated males could no longer fertilize eggs. If they could overwhelm an infested area with sterile males, thought Knipling and Bushland, they could wipe out the pest. So they tried this on islands, first in Florida and then in the Dutch Caribbean island of Cuaracao. It worked.

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A Florida lab opened to churn out sterile screwworms by the millions to release further and further west: Texas, Arizona, California. By 1982, the U.S. became screwworm free.

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But the USDA did not stop at the U.S. border. After all, screwworms, which grow up to be flies as adults, do not stop at borders either. The USDA established international partnerships and pushed further south. Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, all the way to one of the narrowest parts on the continent: the Darien Gap on the border between Panama and Colombia.It was a huge effort over more or less 50 years, from the late 50s to the beginning of this millennium, says Jorge Hendrichs, head of insect control at the Food and Agriculture Organization and International Atomic Energy Agencys joint program. It cost a billion dollars. But it was worth it; ranchers in just the US lost about that much per year to screwworms before eradication.

This multi-country project is still not over. The USDA and its partners maintain an invisible but permanent sterile fly barrier at the Darien Gap. What this means is that every week, airplanes fly over the Darien Gap, dropping sterile males by the millions to keep screwworms out of North and Central America.

The permanent sterile fly barrier just underscores the mind-boggling work it takes to not just eradicate an insect from a country, but to keep it away forever. In the mid-20th century, the Rockefeller Foundation programs actually eradicated Aedes aegypti, the mosquito behind Zika, dengue, and yellow fever, from a lot of South America with pesticides. But there was no permanent sterile insect barrier, no continent-wide eradication. Aedes aegypti came back. So did yellow fever and dengue. New diseases like Zika came, too.

A lamb infested with screwworms.

(USDA)

The recent emergence of Zika has rekindled conversations about mosquito eradication. Oxitec cites screwworm eradication as an example of the success of sterile-insect techniques, though it has for now set its sights lower, on mosquito suppression rather than complete eradication. (Oxitec makes its mosquitoes sterile by inserting a gene, a completely different technique than the X-rays used on screwworms.) The company recently received permission to test its genetically modified mosquitoes in Floridaa decision that has met plenty of controversy. New genetic engineering tools, like gene drives, could make it even easier to eradicate mosquitoes without having to release as many sterile ones. But eradication will require more than science to be successful; itll require a lot of delicate politics.

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The source of Floridas current screwworm infestation is still unknown, but some are speculating its Cuba. The island nation still has screwworms. Its conceivable an adult fly could be blown over on the right wind, but that hadnt happened before in 30 years. What has changed recently are thawing relations between the U.S. and Cuba. With recent political changes, we predicted this would be happening sooner or later, says Hendrichs about the Florida infestation.

Florida, in the meantime, doesnt have a sterile-screwworm facility anymore. It closed after the eradication. We have requested insects from screwworm barrier maintenance program in Panama, says Jenn Meale, communications director for Floridas department of agriculture. The state has also set up a checkpoint out of the Keys, inspecting all pets and livestock for screwworm infections. So far, its inspected 100 dogs and 4 cats. No livestock yet.

If the U.S. continues to open up trade and travel with Cuba, the screwworm is likely to cross those few hundred miles of ocean again. The best thing to do, says Hendrichs, is partner with Cubans to eradicate screwworms in their country, too. Screwworms dont care about international relations, but theyll exploit any holes in it to survive.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Dont call it a second recall just yet  although another recall may be on the table  but Sprint is already taking preemptive actions based on growing customer concerns. The carrier said on Friday that it will let Galaxy Note 7 owners exchange their "safe" phone for any other smartphone following the airplane fire caused by one of Samsungs replacement phones.

DONT MISS: Under no circumstances should you buy a Galaxy Note 7

UPDATE: AT&T and T-Mobile are now offering to take back replacement Note 7 handsets as well. Details can be found here.

According to Recode, Sprint is the first carrier to put in place new measures to handle Galaxy Note 7 complaints. The company said that it is working collaboratively with Samsung to better understand the most recent concerns regarding replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

If a Sprint customer with a replacement Note 7 has any concerns regarding their device, we will exchange it for any other device at any Sprint retail store during the investigation window, a Sprint representative said.

The phone that exploded aboard the plane was a replacement Galaxy Note 7 from AT&T, according to the phones owner. Samsung has not issued any updates on the matter, as it begins to investigate the incident. The FAA and CPSC are both investigating the Southwest Airlines Galaxy Note 7 incident, as well.

T-Mobile told Recode that customers could replace the replacement device or new Galaxy Note 7 under the companys standard remorse policy that lets buyers return devices within 14 days. But the carrier hasn't yet announced any additional steps it plans to take. AT&T and Verizon did not comment on the matter.

As Recode points out, all carriers are still offering Galaxy Note 7 replacement units, a full refund, or the ability to exchange the recalled phone for another device.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
From Esquire

The last couple years have been one of the most exciting times in footwear. Up until two years ago Nike and Jordan Brand were the clear dominators throughout all footwear and in terms of numbers, they still are: Nike sells many times more sneakers than any other brand. But the smaller brands are catching up and pooling talent.

Adidas is the obvious one to watch, but even Puma and Reebok are getting celebrity endorsements (Rihanna, The Weeknd, Teyana Taylor) that are snapping necks. It's a transition period, but not everyone is winning in this market: Customers have more choice in product than ever, but through increasingly limited outlets.

But maybe that's poised to change.

Photo credit: Getty

A couple weeks ago legendary NYC sneaker collaborator and designer Jeff Staple announced that his creative home and retail location, Reed Space, was closing and a new future would be revealed. This week we learned what that future will look like. TGS, Inc.-the parent company that overlooks retailers like Extra Butter, Rise, and a new sneaker concept in Tennessee, Rooted-has absorbed Reed Space and taken Staple on as creative director. Reed Space will return in time, but first Staple is going to help guide Extra Butter and the other TGS properties into the future.

"When we opened our doors at Reed Space back in 2002, it was a completely new and authentic way to contribute and engage with this community," Staple says. "In Reed's next form, it will be even bigger, more meaningful, and more influential."

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Nike, Adidas, and Air Jordan are the brands that have kids lining up for releases almost every weekend, but retailers don't always get to choose which shoes they get and how many pairs they can sell. That means that they can't always serve their customers in the best ways possible. TGS stepping out of the shadows in such a public way means there are more chips on the table. These retailers now have the potential to operate as one, leveraging their collective size and customer bases to have more valuable conversations with brands.

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This could be really great for the customers who shop at Extra Butter and Rise, and used to shop at Reed Space. If it all works out like it should, these stores should have greater access to a wider range of products instead of a couple stores in the area having a monopoly.

It's true that the long game of footwear is played with running shoes and mainstays like Air Force Ones and Stan Smiths, but brands can be built on a couple hot releases. The major brands play favorites as a way to create prestige and build relationships for themselves, but it's not always best for the customer. TGS's appearance means that it's possible for the customer to be brought back center into the conversation.

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It will take some time to see if this shift means anything significant for the way sneakers are sold and how smaller boutiques can leverage relationships for the benefit of the customer. Until then Staple and TGS are going to focus on Extra Butter's 10-year anniversary, which is right around the corner.

"As we embark on our 10th year, we've found both a unique perspective and commonality with Jeff in how we view what's next and we're thrilled to be moving things in that direction," Jason Faustino of Extra Butter says. It will be a good test to see how TGS and Jeff Staple will work together in the coming years.

Representatives for TGS, Inc. contacted us after the publication of this piece expressing concerns that the views expressed might be misinterpreted as their own. To clarify: They are not.

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DOHUK, Iraq  Sixteen-year-old Achmed sits in his tent with his shoulders slumped forward, as if hes been carrying heavy weights.

He is a survivor. Achmed escaped last year from a military training camp run by the Islamic State for boys in Mosul. ISIS has made no secret that it is raising a new generation to fight for its cause, calling the boys the Cubs of the Caliphate.

Achmeds story, which he told Yahoo News, is an example of the tragedy unfolding in areas of northern Iraq controlled by ISIS, where boys are coerced into becoming fighters and suicide bombers.

The battle for Mosul is expected to begin before the end of October. The United Nations anticipates the conflict could displace more than a million people, with at least 700 , 000 needing immediate assistance when the war starts. UNICEF estimates that as many as 100,000 children will be affected, and that many of the boys could be used as child soldiers on the frontline as decoys to shield ISIS positions.

What becomes of the boy soldiers after they have left the control of the armed group is often tragic.



Achmed was 14 when ISIS stormed into Sinjar province, a majority Yazidi region, in 2014, and he was captured along with his brother and several others in his family. The fighters demanded that everyone empty their pockets. Achmed was beaten on the back with a water hose until he gave up his cellphone.

The younger boys were separated from their parents. They brought the buses and then they forced us to ride the buses, and we told them we were too young. They told us, No, you have to go. Some of the kids refused and they beat them, and they told us, We will kill you if you [dont go].

From then on, Achmed said, he did as he was told, fearing for his life. They forced us to memorize verses from the Quran, and whoever didnt, got beaten, he said. Because I was scared, I memorized them.

Screen grab of ISIS training via YouTube.

The ISIS fighters at the training camp tried to force the children to convert to their version of Islam. But Achmed, who was raised as a Yazidi, a minority faith ISIS regards as heretical, said he only went through the motions. His routine included daily prayers, physical training and weapons practice. They would come and wake us up at 4 a.m., to pray the Islamic prayers. And then after that they would feed us breakfast  a piece of bread, cheese, maybe an egg. They trained us to use the M16, the AK47 and a pistol. They also showed us videos on how to behead people.

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Achmed said he never killed anyone, but while watching the videos, he said, I was so scared, and I would often try to imagine myself being forced to do this, and I would tell myself, I wont do it.

After months of intense training, Achmed and his brother persuaded their trainers to let them leave for a weekend to see their aunt in a town west of Mosul. On that trip, they decided to escape. They waited until after sunset and headed west, traveling at night. It took them nearly nine days to meet up with their uncle, and then make their way to a camp for internally displaced persons, where they would join their mother and sister.



Achmed is one of the lucky ones; he made it to a camp and has never been questioned by Iraqi authorities. But those who are caught by Iraqi military or police are treated as enemy combatants, with little or no access to rehabilitation.

Hussein, believed to be around 13 years old, is one such boy. He was detained in August wearing a suicide vest in a market in Kirkuk province. His cousin had successfully detonated explosives near a mosque that same day and died, but police were able to intercept Hussein.

The Kirkuk police spokesperson, Col. Afrasiau Kaml, told Yahoo News, We had information about this boy before. We knew he was coming. The father of the boy is [ISIS]; he is a leader of the group.

Iraqi media filmed the boys arrest. Video showed him crying when he was caught, and he could be heard using an Arabic word for uncle. Iraqi media branded the boy a terrorist and headlined his capture in the following days.

Husseins whereabouts are unknown. Kirkuk police denied a request by Yahoo News to meet him. After several days of stonewalling, a senior police official said he would arrange for Yahoo News to meet another boy accused of spying for ISIS, but did not respond to follow-up calls.

Kaml said Hussein was still under investigation and in police custody, but did not say where, or in what kind of custody, whether a juvenile detention facility or an adult prison. Hes not a criminal; hes a terrorist, Kaml insisted. A criminal maybe would [have been] better, but a terrorist, [hell] be a terrorist forever.

Nate Rabkin, a political analyst specializing in Iraq and managing editor of the publication Iraqi Politics, told Yahoo News, The Iraqi criminal justice system  or at least their criminal investigation system  is very heavily interrogation-driven. The police dont have the experience to go out to the scene and collect evidence.

Screen grab from police video of Husseins arrest via Local Media/K24.

There is a very vengeful mood in Iraq right now toward ISIS fighters, Rabkin said. Because there is no confidence in the courts, he said, its not likely that boys arrested by Iraqi authorities will get an opportunity to deradicalize or be rehabilitated after their experience.

Boys like Hussein are supposed to be assigned a lawyer and go before a judge, but Kirkuk police would not confirm when or if that would actually happen.



The United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is working toward a more lenient judicial system for children, in accordance with international law.

Jeffrey Bates, a communication director at UNICEF, said, We have some small-scale projects for child soldiers  where they can come into a safe environment, where they have specific interventions to trail them through the legal system to ensure theyre given their rights as children.

Bates explained that some religious authorities in Iraq agree in theory that there shouldnt be 13-year-olds on the battlefield, but cannot enforce this position because it would be going against a larger religious canon. For many, the tradition is generally that manhood begins at puberty, along with the responsibility of taking up arms for the community.

Bates admitted his agency does not always have direct access to the children. By tribal custom, he said, once a boy reaches puberty, he becomes an adult, and being an adult carries certain privileges and responsibilities.

Nate Rabkin believes economics is a better explanation. In countries where its common for children to be working at age 14, 15, 16, its hard to make the case that this 16-year-old who was captured along with ISIS is a child and should be treated as a misled child, rather than as an adult whos responsible for [his] actions.

He suggested that given how weak the rule of law was in Iraq even before the war with ISIS, it would be difficult to put pressure on the Iraqi government to give different treatment for these kids on the ground.



Screen grab from an ISIS training video via YouTube.

As hostilities approach Mosul, the question of what will happen to thousands of boys hangs in the balance. For those captured alive by authorities, their future looks bleak.

For boys like Hussein, deradicalization programs are highly unlikely because, as it stands, the Iraqi government isnt considering handing over arrested terrorists to outside forces, even if they are children.

Achmed said he had seen a psychologist only once, given that sessions are not free and he would need money to continue. He said he also saw a Yazidi cleric, who simply gave him a blessing and sent him on his way.

They [ISIS] are always in front of me when I sleep, Achmed said, so sometimes I am afraid to fall asleep. Everything was bad. It was all so bad.

Achmeds fear makes him angry, and he admits that he wants revenge. He said he wants to fight, and would go with any group willing to let him kill members of ISIS for what they did to him  and his family.
By Pamela Barbaglia

LONDON (Reuters) - A former Italian minister is preparing an alternative rescue plan for Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) amid signs that a 5 billion euro ($5.6 billion) recapitalisation arranged by JPMorgan is not getting investor support, three sources said.

Corrado Passera, who as well as being a former industry minister served as chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), is working with private equity firms including Warburg Pincus (WP.UL) on a plan that includes a reserved capital increase of 2.0-2.5 billion euros, the sources said.

Two of the sources said none of the funds approached by Passera had committed to backing the plan and while they were open to doing a deal, this was subject to due diligence. Another source said no deal was imminent.

It is far from certain that Monte dei Paschi will turn to Passera, who was not immediately available for comment, or that his scheme would stand a better chance of success than JPMorgan's, one of the sources said.

And a source close to the JPMorgan-led consortium of investment banks said they were pressing ahead with their plan and were confident it would succeed.

OLDEST BUT WEAKEST

The sources said private equity funds who have been working with Passera trust his ability to turn around the Siena-based bank, the world's oldest, which in July emerged as the weakest lender in the latest round of European stress tests.

Monte dei Paschi's board rejected in July a last-minute attempt by Passera to put forward a rescue plan backed by Swiss investment bank UBS (UBSG.S), a long-standing adviser to the Tuscan bank. It approved instead the privately-backed rescue arranged by JPMorgan with the help of Mediobanca (MDBI.MI).

However, the deal has since ran into trouble, senior bankers say. A preliminary survey of investors over the summer found scant interest in a third cash call in as many years, while analysts have questioned the feasibility of a capital raising that totals 10 times the bank's current market value.

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Last month, Monte dei Paschi abruptly replaced chief executive Fabrizio Viola with the head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.L) in Italy, Marco Morelli, in the hope of winning investors confidence and is now studying a debt-to-equity conversion to cut the size of the share sale.

JPMorgan is also looking for investors to back a reserved share sale but has yet to find any, several sources said.

Recent talks with a sovereign wealth fund fell through, one of the sources said, raising fears the bank may need state aid.

Most foreign investors are unwilling to commit any cash until a Dec. 4 referendum on constitutional reform that could unseat Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government, bankers say.

"No investment committee will ever approve a deal for Monte dei Paschi without knowing the outcome of the Italian referendum," an investor close to the bank said.

(Editing by Alexander Smith)
By PTI: soft target: Jitendra

Jammu, Oct 7 (PTI) Attacking the leaders questioning the "credentials" of the Central government and the Indian Army on surgical strikes, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said they "did not have the guts" to call a terrorist a terrorist, but found the Army as a "soft target" for their campaign.

"These (who target Centre and Army on surgical strikes) are precisely the leaders who do not have the guts to call a terrorist a terrorist, but they find the Army a soft target for their vicious campaign," he said.

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"If you (BJP cadres) ask them a pointed question whether Burhan Wani was a terrorist or not, they will avoid and evade the question and give some philosophical reply, but they have the cheek to question the patriotism of countrys leadership," he said.

Addressing a public rally in Kishtwar today, the Union Minister thumpingly told a cheering crowd, "We are Indians first and everything else later."

Paying rich tributes to security forces, Singh said, if at all we are safe and secure today, it is because our young jawans who are guarding our borders and exercising day-and-night vigil under most difficult circumstances.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam had earlier tweeted, "Every Indian wants surgical strikes against Pakistan but not a fake one to extract just political benefit by BJP. politics over national interest(sic)."

He went on to demand "some evidence" to prove the surgical strikes did take place and accused the Centres ruling BJP of indulging in politics over the issue.

With patriotic sentiments running high amid soaring tensions with Pakistan, Union Minister Uma Bharti had said leaders who cast "doubt over the armys surgical strike should take Pakistani citizenship".

The Congress had also asked the government to put forth "credible" evidence of surgical strikes. PTI AB IKA

--- ENDS ---
- Russian Daniil Kvyat caused something of a kerfuffle when he came over his team radio to complain he was being molested by a "baby octopus". While Toro Rosso pit crew immediately understood the bizarre cephalopod reference, made during the morning's free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, fans and media alike were left flummoxed. "Oh no, the octopus is back," Kvyat cried. "It's quite a small one -- a baby octopus." It turns out he was referring to small pieces of rubber wrapped around his car's antenna, which appeared to grow legs when stretched out at high speed. Kvyat first noticed it happening in China two seasons ago, when the 'tentacles' began touching his helmet.

AFP
- Several of the nine Australian men who sparked outrage after stripping off at the Malaysian Grand Prix returned home Friday, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying they were lucky to escape without charge. The men were celebrating Australian Daniel Ricciardo's Formula One win on Sunday when they stripped down to tight-fitting swimming briefs emblazoned with the Malaysian flag and drank beer from their shoes. The men, all in their 20s, were arrested and brought before a court to face potential charges of public indecency and national insult. Judge Harith Sham Mohamad Yasin called their conduct "totally inappropriate", but ordered their release. Displays of public indecency are not tolerated by authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia, with foreign offenders typically slapped with a fine before being deported.

AFP
- Mercedes offered a sharp riposte to Lewis Hamilton's bizarre claims of a team conspiracy, insisting the notion would be rejected by "anyone with an ounce of intelligence". The Briton was furious after an engine fire robbed him of victory at in Malaysia, demanding answers and even questioning whether he had been the victim of sabotage from within the team garage. But in Suzuka, Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe insisted that any suggestion of skullduggery was pure fantasy. "If we were that good we would win everything and control everything," he told reporters ahead of Sunday's race in Japan. "We've had other failures in the year that are very unfortunate and if we were good enough to arrange such sabotage we wouldn't have any."

AFP
Acknowledging a recent lack of communication from the top, Fox News Channel co-presidents Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy addressed FNC employees gathered this morning for the channels 20th anniversary and the unveiling of a new $30 million studio in Manhattan. The set will make its on-air debut on Election Day, November 8.

Today is about looking back at 20 news-packed years and then looking ahead to doing even more journalism, Shine said. We understand for the last few years there has been a lack of communication from the top; Jack and I are set to fix that.

The anniversary celebration comes just three months after the abrupt departure of chairman Roger Ailes amidst charges of sexual harassment, rampant improprieties and massive settlements.

At the 10 AM employee gathering, Shine said: Let me start by saying that having Rupert (Murdoch), the founder of Fox News and our executive chairman, with us and running the company has been a wonderful experience. He loves this company and only wants it to continue to thrive. He could not be here today; hes in L.A. and, as you will soon see in an email to the staff, congratulates you all.

An FNC spokesperson says Shine and Abernethy were flanked by the management team, with staffers from all domestic and international bureaus dialing in to hear the speeches.

In comments released by FNC, Shine said, Were a team, and its important to us today that we celebrate as a team.

Said Abernethy: Our records show that about a little over 190 people have been here from the very beginning, continuously. Most of you, like me, have been here for only a portion of that time. As I get reacquainted with folks, I find tremendous amount of pride in what we do here  I can assure you that Bill and I are going to do our very best to innovate. An example is this beautiful studio here.

Abernethy said the company is working on a number of different projects and one of the key things is the workspace, which hasnt really much changed in 20 years. We have plans in place to upgrade, particularly the newsroom. We also have a plan in place to upgrade Foxnews.com and our other digital ventures.

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In an email to employees, Murdoch avoided the channels recent upheavals, striking a congratulatory tone. Heres his email in full:

Colleagues: 20 years ago, we created and launched a news network determined to challenge the establishment and deliver fair and balanced news. Today, I look back at what we have accomplished and I couldnt be more proud. We have changed the face of television news and the industry at large. Not only has FOX News been the number one rated cable news channel on television for nearly 15 years, but we routinely place atop basic cable, beating out stalwarts such as ESPN, USA, TBS and AMC. This is a feat that was unheard of just 20 years ago, yet has become commonplace today, thanks to the hard work, determination and creative thinking of everyone here. For the past two decades, weve been charting new territory with both our journalism and opinion programming. FOX News innovations like the news crawl have now become industry standards and our recent initiatives like the FOX News Deck play a pivotal role in our ability to stay ahead of the competition during breaking news. Weve also cultivated the best news and analysis teams in the business  a roster largely composed of both homegrown star journalists and opinion hosts, all of whom are immensely talented. As we enter our third decade, FOX News is still continuing to achieve new milestones. This year we are on track to have our highest rated year ever, our own Chris Wallace will be the first FOX News anchor to moderate a presidential debate, and we are currently the most engaged news brand on social media. The majority of our success, however, comes from our commitment to delivering the fair and balanced news coverage that our viewers have grown to trust and depend on. It has been tremendously inspiring to watch FOX News flourish these past 20 years, and I am beyond excited for the network to continue its dominance into our next decade. Congratulations to the entire staff, and thank you for helping to build this great national institution. Rupert Murdoch

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Updated: One day after taking swings at each other over GOP candidate Donald Trumo, Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity have buried the hatchet, as their employer, Fox News Channel prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Both primetime stars tweeted the identical photo and message; Kelly also wrapped tonights show by throwing to Hannity, saying, Up next live, Sean Hannity, my friend. Peace!:

Previous, 5 PM: Despite the best efforts of on-staff planners, Fox News Channel is kind of staggering toward Fridays official 20th anniversary date after a bad couple of days in which two of its biggest stars got into a very public brawl. Adding to the networks headaches, a Chinatown segment on its most watched show, hosted by yet another of its biggest stars, got blasted all the way to the New York mayors office.

As FNCs party planners were performing the challenging task of putting finishing touches on platinum anniversary commemoration plans in the wake of Roger Ailes sudden and sensational departure, Sean Hannity finally took pop at Megyn Kelly via Twitter on Wednesday, after taking several incoming from the cable news networks primetime It Girl.

It all started when Kelly, on her The Kelly File, criticized the Republican presidential nominee for refusing to be interviewed outside of the safe zone of Hannitys show: Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10 oclock, will go on Hannity, and pretty much only Hannity, and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days which doesnt exactly expand the tent for either one of them, Kelly said.

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Hannity, whose bromance with Trump is a thing of discussion in TV news circles during this election cycle, responded via Twitter, hurling the worst insult he could think of:

@megynkelly u should be mad at @HillaryClinton Clearly you support her. And @realDonaldTrump did talk to u. https://t.co/vsQiNMgHut  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 6, 2016

In fairness, it had only been a week since Kelly has last had thrown shade at Hannity, on the night of the first presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

As Hannity interviewed Trump post-debate from whatever hallway was standing in as the GOP spin room, Kelly said, on air: Weve got Trump speaking to our own Sean Hannity. Well see whether he speaks to the journalists in this room, after that interview.

That not-so-subtle dig generated many headlines.

Kelly might have been a bit peeved because, about 60 minutes earlier, Trump had given Hannity a huge wet debate kiss when he mentioned the FNC star by name, no less than eight times in two minutes, and seen by a record 84 million viewers. The recitation of Hannitys name came during Trumps refutation of moderator Lester Holts assertion the real estate mogul-turned-reality TV star initially had endorsed of the war in Iraq:

That incredible on-air plug totally trumped, so to speak, Kellys own Trump debate moment, way back in August 2015, when she asked him to explain why someone who called women pigs should become our next POTUS. Kellys debate moment only clocked about 24M people, though Trumps subsequent You could bee blood coming out of her  wherever reax to Kellys question, the next night on Don Lemons CNN show, is credited with making her a household name.

But last weeks post-debate snark is not the first time Kelly has dinged Hannity. Way back in February, on Stephen Colberts post-Super Bowl Late Show, Colbert noted the program was live that night, as is The Kelly File every weeknight.

I love it. I think it adds a lot to the show. If youre not live at 9  because the shows around me are taped  you lose a lot,  she smiled archly.

Hanitys show, and Bill OReillys  between which Kellys is sandwiched on FNCs schedule  are phoning it in, Colbert suggested, throwing Kelly an opening.

Lets just say they tape earlier in the day, which is an advantage to us, Kelly replied, smiling, still archly.

Wow, Colbert responded, as his studio audience gasped and tittered.

The Kelly-Hannity rumble isnt even the only fire Fox News Channel minders had to put out in what should have been a celebratory week for the nations most-watched cable news network.

RelatedBill De Blasio Urges Fox News To Keep Jesse Watters Off Air After Chinatown Segment for OReilly Factor

On Wednesday, Jesse Watters finally issued a statement via Twitter when the hue and cry got loud enough over a Watters World segment he did earlier this week for The OReilly Factor in which he visited New Yorks Chinatown. In the segment, Watters asked people their thoughts on the election; if hes supposed to bow when he addresses them; if the watches theyre selling are hot; if, in China, they called Chinese food just food; etc. When not confusing his Chinese stereotypes with his Japanese stereotypes, Watters explained he was foisting himself on Chinatown because Trump has made attacking China a centerpiece of his campaign.

OReilly forecast, correctly, on air that the segment would be subject to pushback. When it reached a certain threshold, and maybe because it aired in the walk-up to Fridays anniversary, Watters eventually tweeted out a statement in which he said, My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense.

New York Citys Mayor Bill de Blasio, however, was having none of it and tweeted his suggestion to FNC, as it looks to its next 20 years, considers retiring the franchise:

The vile, racist behavior of Foxs Jesse Watters in Chinatown has no place in our city. @FoxNews  keep this guy off TV.  Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) October 6, 2016

Related stories

Fox News Channel At 20: New $30 Million Studio Set & Promise To "Thrive"

'The Daily Show' Torpedoes Jesse Watters' Chinatown Visit On Fox News Channel

Bill De Blasio Urges Fox News To Keep Jesse Watters Off Air After Chinatown Segment for 'O'Reilly Factor' - Update
Fox News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine unveiled a new $30 million studio to employees on Friday to celebrate the cable news networks 20th anniversary on the air, TheWrap has learned.

I find tremendous amount of pride in what we do here  I can assure you that Bill and I are going to do our very best to innovate, Abernethy said during the speech. An example is this beautiful studio here. $30 million studio which is going to be available on Election Night.

Fox News Channel celebrates its 20th anniversary today! Here's a sneak peek of our newest studio, which will be unveiled on Election Night. pic.twitter.com/LOvxpQxPEM  Fox News (@FoxNews) October 7, 2016

Also Read: Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity Make Up Following Twitter Feud: 'It's Complicated'

2016 has been a tough year for the network. Former CEO Roger Ailes, who had been in charge of the network since its launch in 1996, stepped down in wake of a sexual harassment lawsuit from former anchor Gretchen Carlson, followed by another lawsuit from another female anchor, Andrea Tantaros.

Shine subtly recognized the trouble, too: Today is about looking back at 20 news packed years and then looking ahead to doing even more journalism. We understand for the last few years there has been a lack of communication from the top, Jack and I are set to fix that.

Insiders tell TheWrap that Shine also read negative reviews from 1996 that mocked the network, but Fox News obviously got the last laugh. Rupert Murdoch sent a letter to Fox News staff to boast, We have changed the face of television news and the industry at large.

Also Read: Top 21 Cable News Shows, Ranked: What are the Most Popular CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Programs? (Photos)

Not only has FOX News been the number one rated cable news channel on television for nearly 15 years, but we routinely place atop basic cable, beating out stalwarts such as ESPN, USA, TBS and AMC, Murdoch continued in the letter. This is a feat that was unheard of just 20 years ago, yet has become commonplace today, thanks to the hard work, determination and creative thinking of everyone here.

Story continues

He said the networks is continuing to achieve new milestones and on track to have our highest rated year ever.

Murdoch concluded by phrasing the networks news coverage, The majority of our success, however, comes from our commitment to delivering the fair and balanced news coverage that our viewers have grown to trust and depend on. It has been tremendously inspiring to watch FOX News flourish these past 20 years, and I am beyond excited for the network to continue its dominance into our next decade.

Related stories from TheWrap:

Top 21 Cable News Shows, Ranked: What are the Most Popular CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Programs? (Photos)

Fox News' Sean Hannity Tops Key Demo for First Time Since 2013

Fox News Beats CNN, MSNBC Combined in Both Total Viewers, Prime
shep smith hurricane matthew

Fox News anchor Shep Smith issued some terrifying proclamations urging people to evacuate before Hurricane Matthew makes landfall in Florida on Friday.

"This moves 20 miles to the west, and you and everyone you know are dead  all of you  because you can't survive it," he said on his show Thursday afternoon. "It's not possible unless you're very, very lucky. And your kids die, too."

Thanks Fox News! pic.twitter.com/eGV2CCMSIo  Marty of Social Club (@Deathbymartymar) October 6, 2016

Smith also spoke with a Floridian woman who didn't want to leave her home. "I'll ask her why she's staying, and if she expects us to cover her funeral," he said before the segment.

While these statements are chilling hyperbole, meteorologists are predicting that Matthew could be one of the biggest hurricanes to hit Florida in decades.

President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina so prepare federal and state aid. Gov. Rick Scott of Florida ordered everyone on the state's east coast to evacuate  roughly 1.5 million people. The governors of Georgia and South Carolina have issued similar warnings and are readying aid at the local level.

Matthew is expected to be a Category 4 or 5 storm (the highest there is) once it reaches Florida on Friday morning. Maximum wind speeds Thursday night were 130 miles per hour as the hurricane barreled through the Bahamas.

The storm struck Haiti on Tuesday, and the death toll had risen above 280 by Thursday. Aid workers there are still recovering bodies, and the official count is likely to rise.

Earlier on Thursday, hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross said Matthew was "like no storm in the record books."

"We are concerned about reports of people deciding to stay in areas under mandatory evacuation orders," he said on the Weather Channel. "This is a mistake. This is not hype. This is not hyperbole, and I am not kidding. I cannot overstate the danger of this storm."

Story continues

Watch Shep Smith's ominous warning below:

Shep Smith issued a morbid warning for those riding out #HurricaneMatthew: "and your kids die too." pic.twitter.com/sQWINlf711  George Montgomery (@geomontgo) October 6, 2016

NOW WATCH: President Obama declares a state of emergency in Florida as Hurricane Matthew upgrades to a Category 4 storm





More From Business Insider


One day after Fox News' Sean Hannity called out Megyn Kelly on Twitter for her "support" for Hillary Clinton, the two have seemingly made up.

Both Fox News personalities tweeted the same image of solidarity after their Twitter spat, saying "We're Irish. It's complicated. #friends."

Hannity had gone after Kelly on Twitter on Wednesday after Kelly previously slammed Donald Trump for only taking "safe" interviews with TV pundits like Hannity.

"Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10:00, will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days, which doesn't exactly expand the tent."

Read more: Fox News War: Sean Hannity Calls Out Megyn Kelly for Hillary "Support"

Replying to a Mediate post, Hannity tweeted that Kelly should instead be mad at Clinton, concluding that Kelly wouldn't criticize Clinton because she "clearly supported her."

Some Twitter users suggested that Hannity should stand by to his Fox News colleagues, which is when he replied simply: "Sure. When they stand by me."

Hannity could have been pointing to criticism from Kelly particularly after the first debate when she suggested that he wasn't a real journalist. "We've got Trump speaking to our own Sean Hannity. We'll see whether he speaks to the journalists in this room after that interview," Kelly said immediately after the debate.

We're Irish. It's complicated. #friends pic.twitter.com/MRkimEuLMr

- Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 7, 2016

@megynkelly We are Irish!! Its complicated #friends pic.twitter.com/i8l9SMOcqY

- Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 7, 2016
* France to review all defence ties with Poland - source

* Poland cancels $3.5 bln Airbus helicopter contract

* French president cancels scheduled visit to Warsaw (Adds Polish foreign minister's statement)

By Marine Pennetier and John Irish

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - France reacted angrily on Friday after Poland scrapped a multi-billion dollar helicopter deal with Airbus, saying it would review defence cooperation with its NATO ally and cancelling a presidential visit to Warsaw.

Poland had agreed to buy 50 Airbus utility helicopters in April 2015 for 13.5 billion zlotys ($3.5 billion) as part of efforts to modernize its military at a time of tensions with Russia.

Its previous, centrist government, which was beaten by the Law and Justice (PiS) party in elections last October, had agreed the provisional deal. But on Oct. 4 the new administration said it was scrapping the contract altogether.

Members of the new eurosceptic government have said they would rather see the deal awarded to a company that could build the helicopters locally.

"The Franco-Polish bilateral relationship will undeniably be extremely affected by this decision," a French source close to the matter said.

"The contract's cancellation will force us to review all the defence cooperation that we have with Poland and see what can be maintained and sadly what can't in the current context."

Without indicating which investments, the source added that the French government, which holds roughly 11 percent in Airbus, would advise the firm to review its strategy in the country, including investments that had already been made.

A source in the French presidency said earlier that President Francois Hollande had decided to cancel a visit to Warsaw next week for intergovernmental consultations, in protest.

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski attempted to play down the spat, emphasizing that Poland had offered "important concessions" in the failed commercial negotiations.

"Due to persistent differences in negotiating positions it proved impossible to reach a compromise," he said in a statement, adding that the abandoned contract "will not affect overall cooperation with France".

Story continues

In a speech on Friday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls took a swipe at Poland at a time when the European Union is trying to reinforce its common defence policy in the face of growing concerns over Russian foreign policy, Islamic militancy and the refugee crisis.

"Poland is a big country, but questions need to be asked of Poland, notably its defence industry, after the choices that have just been made," Valls said.

"As far as France is concerned, we're worried because negotiations had started, but also for the very concept of European defence."

Polish media has reported that Warsaw has already begun negotiations with U.S. firm Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky, manufacturer of locally produced Black Hawk helicopters that could be purchased by the Polish army as soon as this year.

As well as boosting Poland's defence industry, buying Sikorsky helicopters could further strengthen Warsaw's ties with Washington, already its closest ally.

"Before we had a centre-right platform that understood it was in Poland's interest to go beyond the U.S. axis and have a bilateral relationship with France and Germany," a French diplomatic source said.

"But clearly the PiS doesn't understand the benefits for Poland, which are frankly huge in its European arena."

Poland's government spokesman and the defence and economy ministries were not immediately available for comment.

(Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Elizabeth Pineau and Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw; Editing by Leigh Thomas and Andrew Roche)
Chargesheet in the Parbhani ISIS module case has been filed by the Maharashtra ATS despite NIA investigating the case.

By Mustafa Shaikh: Maharashtra ATS today filed the chargesheet in the Parbhani ISIS case in Nanded court in the state. The state's ATS filed the chargesheet within the stipulated time period of 90 days even though the case is being presently investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to an official, the NIA is mandated to probe cases registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), but Maharashtra ATS wanted to file the chargesheet as they were the ones who cracked the ISIS module.

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Alos Read: How revelation by ISIS suspect's friend foiled terror attack in Maharashtra

THE CASE

A Parbhani-based ISIS module was busted by Maharashtra's counter-terrorism agency this year. Between July and August, the state ATS arrested four youths from Prabhani and Hingoli - Mohd Raisuddin Mohd Siddique, Iqbal Ahmed Kabir Ahmed, Nasir Chaus and Shaheed Khan.

Also Read:

Another man arrested from Parbhani for suspected ISIS links



Kin of men, held for suspected ISIS links, want fast trial of cases

Farooque, alias Shafi Armar, who is an erstwhile member of the Indian Mujahideen(IM) is still absconding.

Maharashtra ATS claimed they were planning to carry out an attack on the Aurangabad ATS unit.

According to reports, Farooque instructed Chaus to chat with him through various messenger apps after which Chaus brought in others and formed a module to carry out attacks in Maharashtra.

Later, an IED was also recovered from Shahid's maternal home which was supposed to be used to carry out attacks.

The case file runs into 3632 pages.

Also Read:



Man held in Hingoli for suspected ISIS links



Politics over ISIS suspect arrest heats up



--- ENDS ---
By Marine Pennetier and John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) - France reacted angrily on Friday after Poland scrapped a multi-billion dollar helicopter deal with Airbus, saying it would review defence cooperation with its NATO ally and cancelling a presidential visit to Warsaw.

Poland had agreed to buy 50 Airbus (AIR.PA) utility helicopters in April 2015 for 13.5 billion zlotys ($3.5 billion) as part of efforts to modernize its military at a time of tensions with Russia.

Its previous, centrist government, which was beaten by the Law and Justice (PiS) party in elections last October, had agreed the provisional deal. But on Oct. 4 the new administration said it was scrapping the contract altogether.

Members of the new eurosceptic government have said they would rather see the deal awarded to a company that could build the helicopters locally.

"The Franco-Polish bilateral relationship will undeniably be extremely affected by this decision," a French source close to the matter said.

"The contract's cancellation will force us to review all the defence cooperation that we have with Poland and see what can be maintained and sadly what can't in the current context."

Without indicating which investments, the source added that the French government, which holds roughly 11 percent in Airbus, would advise the firm to review its strategy in the country, including investments that had already been made.

A source in the French presidency said earlier that President Francois Hollande had decided to cancel a visit to Warsaw next week for intergovernmental consultations, in protest.

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski attempted to play down the spat, emphasizing that Poland had offered "important concessions" in the failed commercial negotiations.

"Due to persistent differences in negotiating positions it proved impossible to reach a compromise," he said in a statement, adding that the abandoned contract "will not affect overall cooperation with France".

Story continues

In a speech on Friday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls took a swipe at Poland at a time when the European Union is trying to reinforce its common defence policy in the face of growing concerns over Russian foreign policy, Islamic militancy and the refugee crisis.

"Poland is a big country, but questions need to be asked of Poland, notably its defence industry, after the choices that have just been made," Valls said.

"As far as France is concerned, we're worried because negotiations had started, but also for the very concept of European defence."

Polish media has reported that Warsaw has already begun negotiations with U.S. firm Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky, manufacturer of locally produced Black Hawk helicopters that could be purchased by the Polish army as soon as this year.

As well as boosting Poland's defence industry, buying Sikorsky helicopters could further strengthen Warsaw's ties with Washington, already its closest ally.

"Before we had a centre-right platform that understood it was in Poland's interest to go beyond the U.S. axis and have a bilateral relationship with France and Germany," a French diplomatic source said.

"But clearly the PiS doesn't understand the benefits for Poland, which are frankly huge in its European arena."

Polands government spokesman and the defence and economy ministries were not immediately available for comment.

(Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Elizabeth Pineau and Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw; Editing by Leigh Thomas and Andrew Roche)
Washington (AFP) - France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will visit the United Nations on Saturday to try to push through an improbable Security Council resolution to impose a ceasefire in Syria.

"I still have hope that the resolution can be approved and put into operation," he told reporters in Washington on Friday, despite a clear warning from Russia that it would veto the draft text.

"I will go to New York myself to make the case for the resolution," he added, after talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry a day after meeting Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Moscow holds a Security Council veto and its ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters that "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

The French resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire in Syria, including an end to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed assault on the rebel-held eastern half of the city of Aleppo.

Ayrault also called for a no-fly zone over the city for regime and Russian jets.

Before the talks with Ayrault, Kerry accused Moscow and Damascus of deliberately targeting hospitals.
It's hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since the horrific Paris terror attacks that took the lives of 130 people, including 89 at an Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan. A Nov. 15 memorial concert at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire will honor the lives of those lost with sets from Maximo Park, Frank Turner, Supergrass' Gaz Coombes and Travis' Fran Healy, as well as some as-yet-unannounced special guests.

Announcing #APeacefulNoise, a special night of Rock & Roll in aid of @NickAlexanderMT - Nov 15th at @o2sbe, tickets on sale Friday at 10am pic.twitter.com/iZP2TrWNCs

- A Peaceful Noise (@apeacefulnoise) October 4, 2016

Proceeds from the show are earmarked for the Nick Alexander Memorial Trust, set up in honor of Eagles of Death Metal roadie/merchandise manager Nick Alexander, 35. The Trust's goal is to provide grants to community and small charitable groups in the UK -- especially those who represent the most disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of society -- by giving them musical equipment to positively enhance the lives of their members.

Nick sister, Zoe Alexander, one of the founders of show organizers A Peaceful Noise said in a statement, "Live music was Nick's passion and it seemed only fitting that we mark the anniversary of his passing in this way. Everyone who lost their lives that night had a shared love of music and we're thrilled to bring some of Nick's favourite artists together for this celebration of unity, peace and rock and roll."
PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday he disagreed with Germany over how to boost growth in Europe and that the European Union should be able to take on debt, something Berlin has long opposed.

"I believe we need to pursue a real growth policy, which can't only be achieved through competitiveness," Valls said in a speech at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.

"I know this is a strong point of disagreement with our great German partner, and I'm comfortable with that," he said at the joint event with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Valls also said the EU's enlargement should not continue indefinitely and that although Balkan states will be able to join eventually, EU countries will have to say stop at some point.

"The question of Turkey is of course on everyone's mind. ... The hypocrisy over its membership will have to stop at some point," Valls said.

(Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Leigh Thomas)
Freital (Germany) (AFP) - One had a beer bottle flung at him on a train. Another was woken at midnight as three men holding wooden slats rang his doorbell. A third had her headscarf pulled off by a stranger in the street.

A year after they arrived in Germany seeking refuge from war, some Syrians say they have experienced so much animosity that they are contemplating leaving.

The trouble is, they have landed in the eastern state of Saxony -- a flashpoint zone home to the Islamophobic PEGIDA movement that has seen a spate of racist hate crimes.

"It's too scary here," said Fares Kassas, victim of the train aggression.

"The man threw the bottle just as the door was closing and the train left the station. There was nothing I could do," said Kassas, who has obtained refugee status in Germany but is now contemplating leaving for Turkey, where his parents are living.

Mohammad Alkhodari, who spoke of a car that pulled up next to him with men preparing to beat him before he ran away, said he avoids going out after 6:00 pm.

"I am so stressed that I have developed a stomach problem," he said.

In Saxony, the number of far-right crimes, including assaults against asylum seekers and arson at refugee homes, tripled to 784 last year compared with 235 in 2014.

Both Kassas and Alkhodari are in the town of Freital, scene of anti-migrant demonstrations a year ago.

The area is linked to two neo-Nazi groups that plotted attacks against refugees but were dismantled by security forces last year.

In a report last month taking stock of the quarter century since reunification, the government warned that growing xenophobia and right-wing extremism now threaten peace in eastern Germany.

"Eastern states are bad states for refugees. It's hard to find apartments. There are no jobs and no contact with locals," said Alkhodari, a dental hygienist who desperately wants to move to western Germany.

- 'New level of hate' -

Story continues

The arrival of 890,000 refugees last year has deeply polarised Germany, and misgivings against the newcomers run particularly deep in eastern states like Saxony.

The former communist state has become fertile ground for the far right, with unemployment fuelling resentment and xenophobia.

"They should all just disappear," said a man in his fifties, when asked what he thought of the refugees in Saxony.

Enrico Schwarz, who runs an association in Freital that has been helping Kassas and Alkhodari, said "latent racism and latent right-wing radicalism" has always existed in German society, but "at this time of the refugee movement, they have become bolder."

He said eastern Germans were more susceptible to xenophobia because many felt like migrants in a new country when Germany reunited.

"And (they feel) threatened by other migrants who are arriving now," he said.

Right-wing extremists are capitalising on fears with arguments such as "they're taking jobs away, or they'll drive health insurance contributions up", and lines are gradually blurring between those who are stirring up hate, and others who are simply worried about their future.

"Who is the 'concerned citizen', and who is the violent citizen? Who is the extremist citizen and who is the one who only has fears? It's no longer so clear," Schwarz said.

Erdmute Gustke, pastor at a church in Heidenau -- another Saxony village hit by violent anti-refugee demonstrations -- said some saw the migrant influx as another unwanted change affecting their lives.

"There is a feeling of 'leave us in peace, we've only just found our way after reunification and now we're facing something new again,'" she said.

Social media has also lifted the expression of hatred for foreigners to a "new level", said refugee aid volunteer Marc Lalonde.

"Before this social media explosion, people were probably racist but they kept it to themselves," he said.

Now they see that "they are not alone."

- 'No one to talk to' -

Lalonde helps out weekly at a small village that few had heard of before February.

But Clausnitz gained notoriety after a bus carrying refugees was mobbed by a marauding crowd.

"They shouted things like 'we will kill you'. They were drunk. We were so scared," said Afghan asylum seeker Sadia Azizi.

Six months on, two dozen refugees still living there complain of isolation as most locals have kept a distance and only German is spoken.

"There is no one to talk to," said Lebanese asylum seeker Majdi Khatun.

Some however have made an effort to reach out.

Khatun's son Luai, 15, spoke of schoolmates who help with homework or lend him notes to copy when the teacher's German is too rapid for him.

"There are no Nazis here," Luai said before greeting an elderly German couple.

"Did you like the marmalade? I've also packed some cake for you," said the woman who called herself "Luai's Deutsche Oma", or German grandma.

Lalonde admitted that it is "discouraging" that these efforts are often overshadowed by xenophobia.

"But I get motivated when I hear about a new attack because it means we have more work to do," he said. "And we can't give up."
* No G20 talks on FX, Deutsche Bank - MOF official

* G20 agreed global economy recovering moderately

* G20 debated costs of ultra-easy monetary policy

* Many G20 nations complained of weak trade (Adds quotes, detail)

By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Finance ministers from the world's top economies debated global economic risks and the potential impact that ultra-loose monetary policies have on banks' profits, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said on Thursday.

The G20 gathering in Washington did not discuss currency moves, the impact of Britain's decision to leave the European Union or the financial state of Deutsche Bank, said Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs.

"The impact of Brexit (on the global economy) must be watched from a medium- to long-term perspective," he told reporters, when asked about the sterling's recent plunge.

Weak global trade and the need for bolder steps to boost investment featured high at Thursday's G20 working dinner, with some finance leaders voicing concern that growing protectionist sentiment may be hurting trade, Asakawa said.

"The general understanding was that the global economy continues to grow moderately but there are various risks, including political ones," he said.

Asakawa attended the G20 dinner on behalf of Finance Minister Taro Aso, who was needed in parliament at home to discuss the budget. No communique was issued after the meeting.

Worries about the health of Europe's banking sector, persistently low global growth and market volatility caused by Brexit overshadowed the G20 gathering, held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings.

The sterling hit three-decade lows in thin Asian trade on Friday on anxiety about a messy exit by Britain from the European Union.

Deutsche Bank's financial troubles added to the gloom. The IMF urged Germany's biggest lender to reform its business model and identified it as a bigger potential risk to the financial system than any other global bank.

Story continues

The IMF has also urged countries to fix their over-reliance on ultra-loose monetary policy by making more use of fiscal and structural policies to boost their economies.

The G20 finance leaders discussed the pros and cons of the ultra-loose monetary policies undertaken by advanced economies, with some pointing to the damage very low borrowing costs could inflict on bank profits, Asakawa said.

But there was some debate on whether ultra-easy monetary policy alone were to be blamed for low bank profits, he added.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kim Coghill)
From Harper's BAZAAR

Emilia Clarke posted a very windy clip on Instagram from the set of Game of Thrones season seven in Ireland earlier, wig and all.

She wrote: "And then I fell over. Or rather a brisk 50mph N.Irish wind caught me unawares.... #gameofhowtostanduprightinagaleforcewind #atleasttheviewmsdeitallworthiteh #bitoftailwinddoesnicleyonadragonridethough."

We can see a patch of grass, so it looks a long way from Essos and seemingly confirms that she has landed in the Seven Kingdoms.

Of course, the last time we saw Daenerys Targaryen she was sailing across the Narrow Sea to take the Iron Throne, though quite what happens when she arrives remains to be seen.

Emilia posted another on-set picture a few weeks back with co-stars Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm) baring their dragon teeth.

However, she is not the only star teasing their appearance in season seven, with Kristofer Hivju and Bella Ramsey teasing a team-up for Tormund and Lady Lyanna Mormont, which we so want to see.

Meanwhile, Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) has recently suggested that we could be saying goodbye to a couple of characters in season seven, so prepare your customary Game of Thrones shocked faces.

Unfortunately, fans have a long wait until summer 2017 to actually see the new episodes, so it's going to be a tough winter indeed.

Photo credit: HBO

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Shares of specialty-retailer The Gap Inc. GPS rose 6.5% in the after-market trading session yesterday. While the company disappointed with another month of dismal sales performance in September, the results were slightly better-than-expected owing to the recovery at its Old Navy brand.



Sales for the Old Navy brand picked up in September mainly driven by a favorable response from customers for its product assortments.



Gap, which has been struggling with its top line and comparable store sales (comps) for a while now, continued to be impacted by softness across its Banana Republic and namesake brands. Additionally, sources revealed that stiff competition from fast-growing fashion retailers and a rapid shift in preference to online shopping have been the primary hurdles in Gaps growth path.



Additionally, comps for September were hurt by the campus fire that hit its distribution center in Fishkill, New York in August. Sources revealed that majority of the damage done by the fire were related to the companys namesake brand, primarily online. The fire hurt the companys September comps by 3 percentage points.



Overall, the company marked that the merchandise margins for September were higher-than-estimated. This more than mitigated the negatives arising from the distribution center fire, mainly on estimated earnings due to lost sales and higher logistics costs.



Moreover, the company anticipates the fire related impacts to carry into October as well, bearing an equivalent impact as in September. The fire related effects are also expected to have a bearing on the companys fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 results.



September Sales



Coming to numbers, Gaps net sales for Sep 2016 dipped nearly 2% to $1.43 billion from $1.46 billion recorded in the same period last year. Additionally, the companys comps for the month slipped 3%, compared with a 1% fall noted in the year-ago period.



Comps at Gap Global slumped 10%, following flat comps recorded last year. Further, performance at Banana Republic Global continued to be weak, as the brand recorded a 9% drop, compared with a 10% decline last year. Old Navy on the other hand, spelled out positive results as comps grew 4%, versus an equivalent comps growth witnessed last year.



Brand-wise, the Fishkill fire hurt comps at each of the companys brands. Comps for Gap Global included about 5 percentage points impact from the fire, while comps for Banana Republic were hurt by nearly 3 percentage points. Further, Old Navys comps, though positive, bore approximately 2 percentage points impact from the fire.



Though Gaps sales performance has been in the doldrums for quite a while now due the ever-changing fashion trends, slow traffic, currency headwinds and softness across the Banana Republic and Gap Global brands, management remains committed to enhance the performance of all of its brands. Further, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company recently chalked out a fresh strategic plan to keep track of the accelerated pace of change in the apparel industry.



The company intends to speed up its transformation plan by bringing meaningful changes to its product portfolio and operating capabilities globally. Though the September sales results indicate that Gap is still not out of the woods, lets see if the aforementioned efforts can bring about a turnaround in its business.

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GAP INC Price

GAP INC Price | GAP INC Quote

Stocks to Consider



Investors can count on better-ranked stocks like Urban Outfitters Inc. URBN, The Childrens Place Inc. PLCE and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. AEO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Urban Outfitters has to its credit an average beat of 6.7% in the trailing four quarters and estimates for the current fiscal year have moved north in the last 60 days.



American Eagle has a positive record of earnings surprises in the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 9.3%. The stock has seen positive estimate revisions for the current fiscal year over the last 60 days.



Childrens Place has an average earnings beat of 33.1% in the last four quarters. Estimates for the current fiscal year moved up in the last 60 days.



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By PTI: Imphal, Oct 6 (PTI) Ruling Congress MLA N Biren today resigned from the party and the Assembly in protest against the Okram Ibobi Singh governments "inability" to tackle burning public issues.

The legislator of Heingang constituency in Imphal West district told a press conference that the Congress government failed to tackle issues like settlement on differences between communities over passing of new bills to protect the indigenous people of Manipur.

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He said bodies of nine persons, killed in police firing in Churachandpur on August 31, 2015, were still lying in hospital there and their last rites were not performed, though one year has passed.

They died in police firing after an agitation protesting against three Bills brought in by the Congress government to meet the Inner Line Permit demand.

Biren also asked the Ibobi government to give reason for letting free 3 NSCN-IM cadres who were arrested with arms in Senapati district late last month.

To resign from Assembly, he submitted a letter to Speaker Th Lokeshor Singh and another one to state Congress chief T N Haokip to quit the party. PTI COR NN BSA LNS

--- ENDS ---
Ninth-ranked middleweight Gegard Mousasi has been the main event or co-main event in eight of his nine UFC fights, but they've all been UFC Fight Night cards. On Saturday, he'll be the co-main event of a UFC pay-per-view for the first time when he takes on fifth-ranked Vitor Belfort at UFC 204 in Manchester, England.

Its a big fight for me. Its in Europe, so I feel like Im fighting in my backyard, the Dutch fighter told MMAWeekly.com.

Belfort's a former light heavyweight champion who's been fighting professionally since he was a teenager. Mousasi considers Belfort a legend in the sport and is eager to add such a big name to his resume.

Hes a legend because of his past. Hes fought in Pride. He has a long history. Hes been fighting for so long. Vitor is one of the biggest (names), especially in the UFC. Hes one of the more well known names. Its a big fight. Hes a big name, said Mousasi. Everyone knows Vitor Belfort. Hes been fighting for so long. Hes popular.

Belfort's known for his knockout power and hand speed. 18 of his 25 wins have been by knockout, but his last four knockout wins have come by way of kicks.

TRENDING > Khabib Nurmagomedov Demands Title Shot; Threatens to Block UFC in Russia

Everyone knows that hes an explosive striker. I think lately he hasnt been working a lot on his ground especially for the Jacare Souza and Chris Weidman fights. You can see that. Hes been concentrating a lot on his striking and takedown defense. When his takedown defense doesnt work, hes in trouble. I think hes adjusted that, he said.

I train a lot with southpaws, so I know I can handle his southpaw. He has heavy hands, but lately hes been knocking a lot of people out with kicks. Were focused on the stand-up. Im more of a kickboxer, and hes more of an explosive fighter. If its just stand-up, Im not worried, added the 31-year-old.

Mousasi is well aware that Belfort is a dangerous fighter, and oddly that adds to his confidence heading into Saturday's fight.

Im very confident going into this fight. Its a big fight and I need to perform. Knowing whats at stake  a lot of times I wasnt worried about my opponent, and thats when I lost. Once Im worried about my opponent and know that hes dangerous, thats when Im my sharpest. I know I will have a good performance.

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By Caroline Copley and Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia on Friday to use its influence with the Syrian government to end the devastating bombardment of Aleppo, as her government opened the door to possible sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict. In some of her harshest comments to date, Merkel said there was no basis in international law for bombing hospitals and Moscow should use its influence with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the bombing of civilians. "Russia has a lot of influence on Assad. We must end these atrocious crimes," Merkel told party members in Magdeburg. She did not address sanctions directly, but said the international community needed to do all it could to bring about a halt in the fighting and get supplies to civilians. Merkel's chief spokesman Steffen Seibert, speaking at a regular news conference, declined to rule out possible sanctions against Russia for its part in the conflict, but said Berlin's top priority remained a ceasefire to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population. Seibert said Western officials discussed the Syrian conflict in Berlin on Wednesday and those discussions were continuing. A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters on Wednesday that there were no formal proposals to impose sanctions on Russia over its role in Syria, but the issue has received growing attention in recent days. ALEPPO FIGHTING Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power have stepped up an offensive on rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo in the most lethal bombardment in nearly six years of war, with conflict monitors citing attacks on hospitals and water supplies. Government forces fought fierce clashes with rebels in the south of the city on Friday. Moscow and Damascus say they target only militants and deny they have bombed hospitals. Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German parliament, called for new sanctions against Russia over its role in the bombardment of Syria. His comments to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung came two days after another CDU member and member of the European Parliament, Elmar Brok, urged the EU to impose new sanctions against Russia. "A lack of consequences and sanctions for the most serious war crimes would be a scandal," Roettgen said, adding military measures would be the wrong approach. The idea of sanctions was discussed at a coalition meeting on Thursday and also at a meeting of senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Germany in Berlin on Wednesday but both groups have decided against it for now, participants said. Seibert urged key backers of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran, to use their influence to halt the escalation in violence and the suffering of the civilian population," he said. One European diplomat has said sanctions could prove extremely difficult for Europe. The EU has sanctions in place against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. Italy and some other EU states have said these should be eased, but the prospects for any relaxation of those sanctions had dimmed, given the crisis in Syria. (Reporting by Caroline Copley, Andrea Shalal and Andreas Rinke; editing by Ralph Boulton)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has grounded half of its aging Tornado fighter jets, including six currently deployed to Turkey as part of the fight against Islamic State, after discovering loose screws that cannot be properly tightened in some key cockpit equipment. A spokesman for the Defence Ministry said the issue affected 42 of Germany's 85 Tornados, built by Airbus Defence and Space , including the six jets being used for surveillance flights out of Incirlik air base near the Syrian border. He said the issue centered on the screws used to fasten the control and display unit in the rear of the jet's cockpit. He said the aircraft would not be allowed to fly until a solution had been found, since loose screws could cause problems elsewhere in the aircraft. A spokeswoman for Airbus Defence and Space said the firm had discovered the problem during routine maintenance and reported it to the German authorities. "We are working with the supplier in order to define the root causes and prevent similar occurrences in the future," she said. It was not immediately clear how long it would take to resolve the issue, or the likely cost. The issue affects the newer ASST A3 model of the Tornados, which first entered into service between 1981 and 1992. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Miami (AFP) - The United States marked its first four fatalities from Hurricane Matthew as the powerful storm lashed the Florida coast after killing more than 400 people in Haiti, officials said Friday.

A 58-year-old woman suffered cardiac arrest in her home in central Florida's St Lucie County overnight, but high winds from Matthew -- then a major Category Three storm on a five-point scale -- prevented fire officials from reaching her, a fire spokeswoman told AFP.

"We were unable to respond safely, and unfortunately she died," said St Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney.

In the early morning hours, rescuers also received a call about an 82-year-old man who was experiencing stroke-like symptoms and was having difficulty breathing.

"Again, we could not go because that's when the winds were high," Chaney said.

The man was taken in a personal vehicle to a nearby hospital, and fire officials learned later that he died, she said.

At midday Friday, a woman in Volusia County ventured outside to feed some animals during a lull in the storm and was killed by a falling tree, said county manager Jim Dinneen.

Further north up the coast, in Putnam County, another woman trying to "ride out the storm" was killed by a tree after it fell on the trailer, the local sheriff's office said. A man that was also in the trailer was able to escape with only minor injuries.

The powerful storm surged through the Caribbean earlier this week, at times as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, leaving a trail of destruction in Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In addition to the scores killed in Haiti, four died in the Dominican Republic.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category 2 storm on Friday evening as it pummeled the northeastern Florida coast with winds of 110 miles (175 kilometers) per hour. It was moving northward at 12 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said.
Thirtysomething Ahmet sits and stares out at the soft summer rain. He works at the visitors center located up a steep incline off Turkeys highway E80, roughly 20 miles shy of the Iranian border. Minutes later, were scrambling through wet grass and ankle-breaking crevices. Thats it, Ahmet says, pointing to a piece of elevated land known as the Durupinar site that some say resembles a ship. The ark is under that.

Noahs ark is fabled to have ended up close to or on the slopes of Turkeys Mount Ararat, 15 miles north of Durupinar. As the story goes, Noah was warned by God of a great flood and told to shelter a pair of every species before water flooded Earth. The biblical tale is also one of the most contested: Scholars, scientists, explorers and theologians have argued, proved, found and discounted evidence of the arks existence several times. Both the Bible and the Quran, though, mention Ararat as its resting place.

But there was always the chance we would see the old boat hiding in the ice high on Mount Ararat, and when there is a chance, it is worth the effort. Bob Cornuke

Cue wannabe Indiana Joneses, relic hunters and Christians like American James Irwin and Scotsman Donald Mackenzie who have set out to find it, often at great cost. Mackenzie was caught in a blizzard at 13,000 feet up Ararat in late September 2011. Two years later, a shepherd came across some of his campsite belongings, but the fervent Protestant was never found. Decades earlier, a far higher-profile expedition set off from Colorado in search of the ark.

In 1971, U.S. astronaut James Irwin, on Apollo 15, became the eighth man to walk on the moon and the first to use a lunar rover in space. Eleven years later, fueled by his creationist beliefs, he was on Mount Ararat, hunting for the ark on the first of several missions to eastern Turkey. Irwin was part of what Bob Cornuke, a former SWAT team member who accompanied him on a 1986 ark trip, calls one of the greatest accomplishments of humankind. Yet Irwin remained a humble, gentle and quiet man despite all the fanfare, Cornuke says.

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Gettyimages 541780787

A February 1967 test of James Irwins pressure suit for the Apollo Program.

Source Getty

Cornuke loved the adventure and relished the company. I was with a living legend looking for the ark, which, if found, would be the most amazing find in all of history, he says, noting how they fully expected to find the biblical gem. He admits that emotions often blurred reasoned expectations; on one occasion, they were detained and accused of espionage by Turkish authorities. But there was always the chance we would see the old boat hiding in the ice high on Mount Ararat, he says, and when there is a chance, it is worth the effort.

Hope and belief drives many explorers to attempt the dangerous climb. Parts of Mount Ararat are military zones, and government permits are required to climb the 16,853-foot peak. In the summer of 2015, guide companies were banned from taking trekkers up Ararat because of the deteriorating local security situation  Kurdish separatists often hide out on the mountain.

Does the ark even exist? Metin Emlek of Mount Ararat Climbing Tours is certain it does. Its usually Christian people who come to search for Noahs ark, he says, noting how most are men. Several expeditions, however, have disproved the Durupinar site as the arks final resting place with scientific means. Some claiming to have found timber from the arks hull on Ararat have since been revealed as elaborate hoaxes.

For some scholars dedicated to studying the ancient civilizations of the region, the ark has never been real. It is highly unlikely, says Bob Cargill, an assistant professor of religion at the University of Iowa. The biblical story of the flood is adapted from earlier, well-known Mesopotamian flood accounts like the story of Atra-Hasis and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Most critical biblical scholars understand the biblical flood story to be a reworking of these earlier flood myths, which were tailored to reflect later Jewish identity, ideology and theology.

Gettyimages 530146028

Mount Ararat

Source Jane Sweeney / Getty

But that hasnt stopped generations of explorers from looking. Though not a particularly high or technical climb, what makes Ararat dangerous is the large amounts of scree and ice on its steep slopes. In addition to Mackenzies disappearance, two Italian climbers died on the mountain in 2006, having lost their footing amid a blizzard.

Irwin himself nearly lost his life on Mount Ararat. After being badly injured by falling rocks in 1982, he was carried to safety by a donkey. A helicopter hired to look more closely at the Ahora Gorge section of the mountain during his 1986 trip failed to uncover clues about the arks whereabouts.

By the late 1980s, Irwin stopped his search. He had conquered the moon but couldnt quite unearth the fabled vessel. Its easier to walk on the moon, he once said about the effort. Ive done all I possibly can, but the ark continues to elude us.

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DailyFX.com -

Talking Points:

Gold prices drop to four-month low on Fed rate hike bets

Crude oil prices continue to march toward June swing high

US payrolls figures may put commodities under pressure

Gold prices continued to sink, hitting a four-month low as a firming Fed monetary policy outlook drove US bond yields higher and undermined demand for anti-fiat and non-interest-bearing assets. Meanwhile, crude oil prices advanced following reports that officials from Russia will meet with their OPEC counterparts in Istanbul next week to discuss participation in the cartels supply control deal announced in Algiers last week. Expected supply disruptions linked to Hurricane Matthew may have also proved supportive.

Looking ahead, Septembers US Employment report is in focus. The headline nonfarm payrolls increase needs to overcome a relatively shallow hurdle to reinforce bets on a Fed rate hike, an outcome that seems likely to boost the US Dollar and compound pressure on gold prices. Crude oil may likewise suffer as a stronger greenback puts de-facto selling pressure on the USD-denominated WTI benchmark. Prices are already on the defensive after Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he doesnt expect the Istanbul sit-down produce an accord.

Track short-term crude oil and gold price patterns with the GSI indicator!

GOLD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS  Gold prices dropped for the eighth consecutive day, marking the longest losing streak in four months. Near-term support is now at 1240.96, the 76.4% Fibonacci retracement, with a break below that exposing the May 31 low at 1190.55. Alternatively, a reversal above the 61.8% level at 1266.58 targets the 50% Fib at 1287.29.

Gold Prices Drop to 4-Month Low as US Jobs Data Looms Ahead

CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS  Crude oil prices continue their march toward Mays swing top at 54.61. A daily close above this barrier exposes the 100% Fibonacci expansion at 52.51. Alternatively, a reversal back below the 76.4% level at 50.20 targets the 48.77-97 area (August 22 high, 61.8% Fib).

Story continues

Gold Prices Drop to 4-Month Low as US Jobs Data Looms Ahead

--- Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com

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BALTIMORE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2016 / Goldman Small Cap Research, a stock market research firm specializing in the small cap and microcap sectors, announced today that it has released a new corporate profile on S.P.O. Global Inc. (SPOM), an innovative performance testing optimization and monitoring software IP provider to the enterprise market. The profile can be viewed or downloaded in its entirety (www.GoldmanResearch.com).

Tracing its roots to 1998 through the acquisition of Reflective Solutions, S.P.O. (Software Performance Optimization) Global Inc. appears poised to generate substantial top-line growth and market penetration of its flagship application software performance stress test, optimization and monitoring tools. With a growing customer base in the U.S. the Company also has customers many other countries since inception, including such household names as Harrod's, Nissan, AIG, AXA, Vodafone, and others. The Company's products are sold through more than two dozen resellers and partners as well as via direct sales.

In the Corporate Profile, analyst Rob Goldman discusses the Company's trends and valuation.

Goldman noted, "Average orders, along with sales and indications of interest from new customers are on the rise and the industry is enjoying solid growth. Plus a 3rd party firm recently expressed interest in considering engaging in acquisition talks with S.P.O. management. A Net Present Value calculation indicates that the Company should be afforded a valuation in the millions. In our view, S.P.O. Global Inc. is an intriguing and low valuation play on the software performance testing and monitoring space and could receive a valuation boost by investors or a potential acquirer as the Company meets or exceeds expectations."

About Goldman Small Cap Research: Founded in 2009 by former Piper Jaffray analyst and mutual fund manager Rob Goldman, Goldman Small Cap Research produces sponsored and non-sponsored small cap and microcap stock research reports, articles, daily stock market blogs, corporate profiles, and popular investment newsletters. Goldman Small Cap Research is not in any way affiliated with Goldman Sachs & Co.

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This press release contains excerpts of our most recently published sponsored corporate profile on S.P.O. Global Inc. The information used and statements of fact made have been obtained from sources considered reliable but we neither guarantee nor represent the completeness or accuracy. Goldman Small Cap Research relied solely upon information derived from S.P.O. Global Inc. ("the Company"), authorized press releases or legal disclosures made in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov.

Separate from the factual content of our report about the Company, we may from time to time include our own opinions about the Company, its business, markets and opportunities. Any opinions we may offer about the Company are solely our own, and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice. Statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties affecting results.

A Goldman Small Cap Research report, update, newsletter, article, trading alert, or press release is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated full disclosures, disclaimers, and analyst background on our website before investing. Neither Goldman Small Cap Research nor its parent is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with FINRA or any other agency. To download this sponsored research report or any of our research, view our disclosures and disclaimers, or for more information, visit www.goldmanresearch.com. Goldman Small Cap Research has been compensated by the Company in the amount of $1500 for research services.

About S.P.O. Global Inc.:

S.P.O. Global Inc. (SPOM) is an emerging technology company that is focused on selling its unique performance testing optimization and monitoring software IP for all enterprise applications. The focus of SPO is to build the company into a major player in this exciting billion-dollar market.

SPO Global recently purchased the technology company Reflective Solutions Corp. that sells its unique IP software to major enterprises in North America and Europe.

The principle software products of Reflective Solutions is "Stress Tester" a robust Performance Stress testing solution for large enterprise applications and its new product "Sentinel" that is providing enterprise customers an intelligent monitoring solution 24/7 software as a service (SaaS).

For more information on SPO Global visit: www.spoglobal.com.

Goldman Small Cap Research

Rob Goldman, Analyst

410-609-7100

rob@goldmanresearch.com

SOURCE: Goldman Small Cap Research
If you can get past the hardware design, which we'll politely call "an acquired taste," Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are shaping up to be two of the hottest smartphones of the year. Google unveiled the new handsets earlier this week and from start to finish, they sound like a hardcore Android fan's dream. The phones pack cutting-edge specs, premium hardware, class-leading cameras, the latest and greatest Nougat software from Google, and so much more. You can read all about the new Pixel phones' 10 best features right here.

Sadly, it's not all good news for Android fans. As Google tries to get its footing in the increasingly competitive US smartphone market, it may have made some deals with the devil that ruin the user experience for many people who end up buying the phones.

DON'T MISS: Under no circumstances should you buy a Galaxy Note 7

Apple and Samsung dominate the smartphone market in the US, combining to account for nearly all profits generated from smartphone sales each quarter. If other handset makers hope to manage any sales whatsoever, they need a tremendous amount of support from carriers. And in order to get that support, they often agree to exclusive deals.

Such is the case with Google and its new Pixel phones, which are set to launch in the coming weeks. The company struck a deal with Verizon, which will be the only wireless carrier that will sell the phone in the US. Subscribers of other carriers will have to purchase the phone unlocked directly from Google, or from one of its retail partners.

In case an exclusive deal wasn't already bad enough, things get worse. Part of Google's deal with Verizon involves letting the carrier ruin two of the best things about Google's new phones.

As was the case with Nexus devices, the Pixel phones will run a version of Android that is untouched by other smartphone vendors and carriers. They will also have instant access to Google's Android operating system updates the moment they are released... unless you have a Pixel or Pixel XL from Verizon. In that case, software updates will be managed by Verizon and yes, there will also be bloatware that comes preinstalled on your phone.

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Android fans are already up in arms over both issues, but it remains to be seen how this might impact sales.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
The Boeing 777 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking a two-year search has turned up few leads.

Investigators previously confirmed a piece of debris found on the French island of Reunion (above) in July 2015 was also part of MH370. (File Photo)

By Reuters: Malaysia said on Friday that a piece of plane debris discovered in Mauritius was from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking a two-year search has turned up few leads.

ALSO READ | Investigators use font to confirm debris found off Mozambique is from MH370

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Analysis by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had found that the debris was consistent with the trailing edge of an aircraft wing, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement.

Two pieces of plane debris were previously confirmed as being from the missing jet. The first was recovered from the French island of Reunion in July 2015, while the second was found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania.

--- ENDS ---
Tim Cook

Google launched a pair of phones earlier this week that were positioned as alternatives to Apple's iPhone, which is the most profitable smartphone in the market thanks to its dominance over the high-end.

Apple shouldn't be too worried that the Pixel, which retails for $649, will immediately cut into its market share, though.

An early supply chain-based estimate from Digitimes, a Taiwanese trade publication, suggests that Google's Pixel could ship between 3-4 million phones in the second half of 2016.

By comparison, Apple sold 232 million iPhones during 2015, and is on pace to do about the same amount sales in 2016. Apple ships over 4 million iPhones per week.

Of course, nobody expected Google's Pixel to reach the scale of Apple's iPhone instantly. Apple has spent nearly a decade building its supply chain, retail operation, and brand so that it could sell that many phones.

It's just a reminder that Apple has quite the head start on Google in the hardware business.

NOW WATCH: This monster floor cleaner is incredibly satisfying to watch





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Family drama Great White Shark, written by Andrew Kightlinger has won the 2016 Slamdance Writing Competition Grand Prize.

Kightlinger, born and raised on Madagascar before transplanting to South Dakota, was awarded $7,000 in cash prizes for his feature script at the annual awards ceremony hosted by the Writers Guild of America West on Thursday night at the WGA Theater in Beverly Hills. The event drew about 170 attendees.

Great White Shark tells the story of estranged siblings who embark on a scavenger hunt in South Dakota to secure their inheritance after their loathsome father dies.

The Slamdance Festival was founded as an alternative to the larger Sundance film festival. The 23rd edition of the Slamdance Film Festival will run concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 20-26, in Park City, Utah.

Slamdance received a record-breaking 3,600 submissions for the 2016 Writing Competition. Shane Andries, who won last years Grand Prize for The Delegation was able to land a literary agent at CAA, attach an Oscar-winning producer to the script and has been brought on to adapt a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Screenplays connected to the Slamdance Writing Competition that have gone to production include Maria Full of Grace from writer/director Joshua Marston and The Woodsman, co-written by Nicole Kassel and Steven Fechter, directed by Kassel.

The top three Slamdance screenplays in each prize category are as follows:

Features:

1st Place: Great White Shark by Andrew Kightlinger

2nd Place: Oil and Water by Alfred Thomas Catalfo and Morgan Webster Dudley

3rd Place: Montana Quagmire by David Biscevic

Horror:

1st Place: The Housesitter by Suju Vijayan

2nd Place: Welcome to the Hotel Chateau Cheveux by Michael Snow

3rd Place: Dead Pilgrims by Colin Campbell

Shorts:

1st Place: Conviction by Anju Andre-Bergmann

2nd Place: Fetch by Sam Gill

3rd Place: Entrenched by Joey Chebatte

Teleplays:

1st Place: Feral: Lone Wolf by Bryan Kett

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2nd Place: Lovecraft by Doug Wolfe

3rd Place: Sugartown by Amanda Toye

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(Spoilers for this weeks episode of Greys Anatomy inside.)

As if Greys Anatomy wasnt already dramatic enough, Thursdays episode featured an elderly woman who was pronounced dead and came back to life.

In the following scene, we see some doctors refer to this miracle as the Lazarus Syndrome. So, what is this phenomenon and do people really come back from the dead?

In scientific terms the Lazarus Syndrome is described as delayed return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after cessation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In laymans terms it means that attempts at reviving someone from death using CPR have failed only to end up working minutes, or hours later. Thus spontaneous revival. This thing gets its name from the biblical story about Jesus resurrecting a man named Lazarus from the dead.

Also Read: Ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy' Hands ABC a 'W' - With No NFL Competition

In the October 6 Greys Anatomy episode, I Aint No Miracle Worker, Dr. Stephanie Edwards is amazed at the medical phenomenon she just witnessed and notes that there have been only 38 cases of Lazarus Syndrome reportedand she is correct. According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 38 cases have been recorded in medical literature.

One of the more recent cases occurred in 2013 in Ohio when Anthony Yahle, a 37-year-old man, coded for 45 minutes and was pronounced dead, but when his son arrived at the hospital he noticed a heartbeat on the monitor.

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Warning: This recap for the I Aint No Miracle Worker episode of Greys Anatomy contains spoilers.

Halloween is still a few weeks away, but the undead are walking the halls of Greys Anatomy.

We kid, we kid. No, in one of the stranger, but very uplifting, cases on the show, a widow named Georgia dies  and then comes back to life. Its not just a second chance for her, but also an opportunity for her entire family to heal after a rift estranged one of her daughters.

Despite Alexs ongoing legal/professional battle, this is a more lighthearted episode of Greys Anatomy, complete with Bailey deputizing Ben as a bad cop, April thirsting for surgeries, and Stephanie drooling over the miracle case. But there are still clouds on the horizon, as Alex continues to struggle with what he did and Meredith still keeping the secret about Riggs from her sister.

Heres a rundown of this weeks episode, including our live tweets:

Family feud

Meredith drives Alex and Maggie to work and asks how hes doing. Maggie misinterprets and starts spouting off about how Riggs rejected her and how weird its going to be the hospital. Alex, meanwhile, is resigned to his fate working in the clinic.

At the hospital, Arizona has returned from New York (visiting Callie and their daughter) and spots DeLuca for the first time. Shes shocked to the core.

Finally, Arizona is back! Shes got a lot of catching up to do #GreysAnatomy @JessicaCapshaw  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Arizona and Owen work on a pregnant lady named Kara, who it turns out caused the accident. Not only that, shes one of Georgias kids! But shes been estranged from her family and nobody knows shes expecting.

Arizona sees Alex pass by and confronts him in the storage room about beating up DeLuca. She yells at him for ruining the career that she helped him build. Alex huffily replies that he cant take back what he did, hes mad at himself too, and nothing she can say will help.

Story continues

Oh Alex, dont tell your mentor to shut up and back off #smh #GreysAnatomy @JessicaCapshaw  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Ellen Pompeo and Martin Henderson (Credit: ABC)

Meredith and Riggs run into each other waiting for ORs, and he asks if Maggie is acting weird. Maybe Mer should just tell her what happened? Mer rolls her eyes and then schools him.

Yeah, technically Meredith is the boss of you, Riggs! #GreysAnatomy  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

When Amelia informs Georgia and her children about Karas condition, the siblings go off on Kara  she used drugs, how could she come back like this, shes terrible for causing the accident. Georgia just wants to see her dead husbands body, and as she holds his hands and expresses relief at Karas return, she starts seizing.

Can this day get any worse for poor Georgia? Burying her husband, her whole family is hurt in a wreck, and now shes seizing #GreysAnatomy  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Arizona tells Kara that shes stable enough to get surgery on her broken pelvis and asks if they should bring Georgia to see her. Kara gets upset  no, theres no way her mom has forgiven her. Arizona tries to cheer her up, saying mothers will always forgive their children.

When she gets in the elevator, DeLuca asks her if he should move out, because Alex is her protege and everyone else is so pissed at him. Arizona just shakes her head and gives him a hug.

DeLuca asking Arizona if he has to move out: ???? #GreysAnatomy  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Chandra Wilson and Jason George (Credit: ABC)

Meanwhile, Ben confronts Bailey after picking up Tuck. Turns out the little guy got into a fistfight at school, but Bailey is avoiding punishing him. She throws up her hands  she has to be the bad guy at work, now she has to be the bad guy at home? Ben offers to step in, because hes Tucks parent too. Awww!

You need a bad cop. Deputize me. Ben and Bailey are total #relationshipgoals #GreysAnatomy @JasonWGeorge  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Jerrika Hinton, Caterina Scorsone, and Kelly McCreary (Credit: ABC)

Maggie and Amelia watch as Georgias children say goodbye, but when daughter Morgan is in with her, she screams out. Georgia squeezed her hand! Thats impossible! Nope, it IS possible. Georgia sits up  shes alive! Bailey cant believe it and asks how this happened. Amelia and Maggie shrug and say its a miracle.

How is she, besides undead? LOL Bailey is our favorite #GreysAnatomy  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Ben gets to playing bad cop, with an assist from Jackson. They show Tuck gruesome pictures of a beaten-up DeLuca, and Ben exaggerates that DeLuca lost his eyesight and that the guy who did it went to jail. Tuck is getting some serious straight talk!

Mer and Riggs are scrubbimn up for separate surgeries when he tells her about Miracle Lady Georgia. Then he wonders if shes ever had the miracle dream  hes had it about his ex. Mer denies it at first, then admits she has. He knocks at the door. Says he forgot his keys, and hes sorry for being gone so long. SOB!

We dream of a McDreamy miracle, too, Mer #GreysAnatomy ????  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Amelia and Maggie examine Georgia and she seems to have emerged from her deadly episode unharmed. They tell her kids, who start bashing Kara gain. But Amelia isnt having it and gives them hell for not forgiving their sister. Georgia gives her a thumbs up; they deserved it.

Kieran and Morgan visit Kara again. She came out of the C-section just fine, and so did her baby. They tell her that everybodys OK  including their undead mother!

Ben and Tuck meet Bailey to go home. Tuck hands over his phone and promises to apologize to the kid he beat up. And he apologizes to his mother. Bailey is amazed  she shouldve deputized Ben a long time ago!

Jackson catches April staring longingly at the OR schedule. He knows whats up: Shes bored. April confesses she is. She loves Harriet, their little miracle baby. But she is bored of just staring at her sleeping daughter all the live-long day. Jackson tells her to go back to the ER; hes got Harriet.

Jackson: Best dad and ex-husband ever #GreysAnatomy  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Maggie and Amelia go outside and Amelia gives them a talking-to. Maggie needs to stop worrying about oversharing with Meredith, while Meredith needs to get better at listening. Dont make me move back in, Amelia warns.

Thats what a sister does. Also: Sisters should be honest. Hint hint Meredith #GreysAnatomy  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 7, 2016

Greys Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Halle Berry doesnt show her kids faces on the internet for this awesome mom reason

It must be so strange to be a celebrity with millions of fans, a very public persona, and a social media presence, while also trying to raise and protect your children. Halle Berry, the incredible actress who has starred in huge movies like the X-Men franchise and Monsters Ball, which won her an Oscar, is living in this exact world, where shes feeling criticism from fans about the way she portrays her children online.

Halle posted this stunning photo of her two children, and it got backlash for a totally weird reason.

 A photo posted by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on Oct 5, 2016 at 12:14pm PDT

What a sweet picture, right? We love the artsy composition, and the empowering messages on her kids t-shirts. But apparently, that wasnt enough for the internet, and Halle got criticism for not showing her kids faces.

One user wrote, Whats with the hiding of the faces? Theyre beautiful children why not show them off .

Of course, the comment was not lost on Halle, and she had the kind of response that makes her a Super Mom.

Ive noticed you have said this several times now so let me be clear Im not at all ashamed of children. I try to find creative ways to incorporate them into my feed because they are the biggest part of my life, but I also work very hard to keep their identities as private as I can considering they are only children. Its my belief, and Im not criticizing others who have different beliefs, that its my job as their mother to protect their privacy as best I can. When they grow and theyre of age and they want share their images on the internet, that will be for them to decide, not me. Feel me? Have a beautiful day.

Hold up, they don't love you like I love you. Slow down, they don't love you like I love you. A photo posted by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on Apr 27, 2016 at 8:16am PDT

Halles response is so spot on, and we absolutely see where shes coming from. If shes using her Instagram to share a bit of her life, of course her kids would be included. But we are actually really glad to see that her passion to share does not beat out her powerful mom instincts to protect her kids.

Story continues

Plus, we cant deny that these protective instincts turn out some truly stunning images.

A photo posted by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on Jul 7, 2016 at 3:30pm PDT

And as she said, once her kids are old enough, they can make their own decisions about whether they want to have a presence online.

Way to go, Halle. Now we all know not to mess with your awesome mom powers!

storm x-men

The post Halle Berry doesnt show her kids faces on the internet for this awesome mom reason appeared first on HelloGiggles.
LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor Philip Hammond said sterling's sharp fall this week may reflect investors' realisation that Britain is going to leave the European Union, Sky News reported on Friday.

"Perhaps what happened this week was that ... (investors) reacted and took on board the fact that Brexit was going to happen," Hammond was quoted as saying by a Sky reporter on Twitter.

"This will be a period of turbulence. I expect that we will feel turbulence. There will be ups and downs," Hammond added, saying he did not think the entire fall in the pound was due to technical factors.

Hammond has been meeting media in Washington before a meeting of the International Monetary Fund, as sterling looks set for its heaviest weekly fall since 2009.

(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)
The Minority Commission's chairman has come out openly against triple talaq and said he would implead in the ongoing case in his individual capacity.

The panel chief said he would implead in the ongoing triple talaq case in his individual capacity. Photo: PTI

By PTI: Chairman of State Minorities Commission that serves Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Abid Rasool Khan, who had come out openly against the triple talaq issue, today said he would implead in the ongoing case before the Supreme Court to explain the "happenings" in the community so as to protect the interest of Muslim women.

"I have personally taken a decision to implead (myself) before the Supreme Court in the ongoing case," Khan, who had last month said the Muslim community at present has a huge social problem where lakhs of women all over the country are suffering because their men divorced them by pronouncing talaq thrice, told PTI.



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"The idea of impleading is not to question the authority of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)," he said.

Also Read: Centre opposes triple talaq in Supreme Court, says gender equality not negotiable

MUSLIM WOMEN AGAINST TALAQ ARE QUESTIONING ITS MISUSE



According to him, most of cases filed by Muslim women before the Supreme Court or any other court of law relate to economic problems and physical abuse.

"The women who are approaching the Supreme Court or the (Minorities) Commission or any other court of law including family courts are not questioning the Islamic way of Talaq. They are questioning the misuse and in the way it leads to economic and physical distress," Khan said.

"We are saying that the Supreme Court in this particular case can give recommendations to the government to pass some rules which will in turn mitigate these types of problems," he said.

"Basically, the rules should be on the lines of simple marriage as shown in Islam, where women are not burdened".

Also Read: Minorities panel chief comes out openly against triple talaq



'WILL IMPLEAD TRIPLE TALAQ IN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY'



He said he would implead in his individual capacity but noted that as the Commissions Chairman, he is well-versed in happenings in the community and also concerned about it.

"I would like to explain to the Supreme Court why these things are happening and in what way the apex court can intervene and give its recommendations in the interest of the society as well as the community; in what way they can advise the AIMPLB to act without conflict with the religion or the tenets of the religion," Khan said.

He would ask the court to consider his version also because it is based on "facts and happenings" in the country.

Khan said he has gone through the petitions of the AIMPLB and others who impleaded, adding, their stand is "very religious and based on scriptures".

Also Read:

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre challenging constitutional validity of triple talaq

Triple talaq: Supreme Court can't interfere in religious freedom, says Muslim Personal Law Board

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SC to continue with Bombay HC order, no entry to women in Haji Ali shrine for now

--- ENDS ---
By Peter Hobson LONDON (Reuters) - More than half the money donated to groups campaigning in Britain's EU membership referendum was given by 10 individuals or companies, according to research published on Friday, raising questions over the outsize influence of the wealthy on politics. Anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International UK also said 95 percent of donations to the 'Leave' and 'Remain' campaigns in the run-up to the June 23 Brexit vote were made by only 100 donors. "The debate around the biggest question we have faced in a generation was financed by an astonishingly small group of exceptionally wealthy donors. That's a dangerous place for any democracy," said Duncan Hames, Transparency International UK's director of policy. "It illustrates the general dependency of our country's political parties on a millionaires club of some 50 donors, many of whom also sit in the House of Lords," he added in a statement, referring to parliament's upper chamber. Transparency International said public trust in politics was falling, with 76 percent of respondents to a poll run by the group saying wealthy individuals were using influence on government to benefit their own interests and 28 percent saying most or all members of parliament were involved in corruption. It said the two largest donors in the Brexit vote were David Sainsbury, the former chairman of the supermarket Sainsbury's, who donated 4.2 million pounds ($5.32 million) to Remain between January and June, and stockbroker Peter Hargreaves, who gave 3.2 million to the Leave campaign. The third-largest donor, a group called Better for the Country which donated 2.1 million pounds to Leave, had not declared the source of its income, Transparency International said. Britons voted to leave the EU by 52 percent to 48 percent, launching the country into its biggest constitutional shift since World War Two and resulting in downgrades to its economic outlook. Transparency International recommended a cap on political donations of 10,000 pounds per donor per year, as well as tighter rules over declaring and companies donating. It said one-sixth of reported donations to political parties since 2001, or 125 million pounds, were made by companies. Current rules do not limit the size of donations but require political parties to declare large sums. Britain was rocked in 2006-07 by a "cash for honors" scandal when police investigated allegations that the then ruling Labour Party had rewarded some donors with appointments to the House of Lords. No charges were brought. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; editing by Stephen Addison)
By Aidan Lewis and Ahmed Elumami MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) - Next to the rusting shell cases outside Misrata's museum of Libya's 2011 uprising is a new addition: a scaffold used by Islamic State in Sirte to display bodies of executed prisoners, mounted on a would-be suicide bomber's captured truck. Five years after Misrata's fighters killed Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte, his home city, they are on the verge of ending another campaign there, this time against Islamic State militants who controlled the city for a year. The battle has been costly and drawn-out. Many Misratans, who form one the strongest of the rival military forces to emerge after Gaddafi's overthrow, say they are tired of war. But defeating Islamic State in Sirte, about 230 km (140 miles) southeast of Misrata along the Mediterranean coast, will leave their city far from secure. Other enemies remain, and some Misratans are ready to fight again if pushed. In early September, with the war in Sirte already approaching its end, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar seized some of Libya's major oil ports, one just 200km east of Sirte. It was a challenge to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli that is trying to unite competing armed groups. Misrata has supported the GNA; Haftar rejected it. "We are trying to avoid war, but Haftar is not clear and his intentions are not clear," said Ibrahim Baitulmal, the head of Misrata's military council. "Sometimes war is imposed on us, and when the enemy approaches, you have to defend yourself." Just two years ago, Misrata was the power base for Libya Dawn, an Islamist-leaning alliance that prevailed against forces aligned with Haftar in a battle for control of Tripoli. The conflict left Libya with two competing sets of governments in the capital and the east, and eastern authorities later named Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally, to head their forces. Haftar waged a military campaign in Benghazi against an alliance of Islamists and other opponents that Misrata supported. Misrata swung its support behind the U.N.-brokered deal that resulted in the GNA, and has provided security for the new government in Tripoli since its arrival in March. Misrata's brigades began the campaign in Sirte after Islamic State advanced north-west toward their city in May. Though the operation has been supported by small teams of Western special forces, and since Aug. 1 by U.S. air strikes, Misratans say they feel abandoned. A large majority of fighters are from Misrata itself. Many lack training and equipment, and casualty rates have been high, with more than 560 fighters killed and at least 2,750 wounded. Misrata businessmen have made donations, and hundreds of women prepare food each day to be driven in to Sirte. "We have been alone in this battle," said Mustafa Ben Haiba, a 46-year-old police employee who lost two of his seven sons in 2011 and another in Sirte in June. SUPPORT FOR TRIPOLI The campaign in Sirte is nominally under the GNA's command, but the government, which has struggled to establish its authority, has been slow to provide support. Officials in Misrata say the fight against Islamic State has improved relations with residents of Sirte and the inland town of Bani Walid, both bastions of Gaddafi support that Misrata rebels attacked during 2011. This is part of a broader push for reconciliation that included a recent deal to allow the return of residents to Tawergha, another inland town, which was destroyed and emptied in 2011 after Gaddafi forces used it as a base. There have also been prisoner exchanges with the western pro-Haftar town of Zintan, said Ali Abusetta, a member of Misrata's municipal council. He does not exclude a rapprochement between east and west but, like many in Misrata, he suspects that Haftar wants to become the country's military ruler. Both Abusetta and Baitulmal said Misrata would respond if Haftar's forces advanced further west or tried to keep oil revenues for themselves. But there is little confidence that the GNA and its Western backers would come to Misrata's defense. Ziad Bellam, a brigade leader from Misrata, pointed to Egyptian and Emirati support for Haftar, and the presence of French special forces who worked alongside the eastern commander's troops. "If they want Haftar, it's strange that they helped us overthrow Gaddafi," he said. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Dominic Evans)
BOSTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Hedge fund returns inched ahead in September to finish their strongest quarter of the year, new data released on Friday showed, but they are still lagging the broader stock market's gains.

The average hedge fund gained 0.62 percent in September, leaving it up 4.2 percent for the first nine months of 2016, research firm Hedge Fund Research said. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has climbed 7.8 percent this year.

With stock markets rebounding in the last weeks, many hedge funds boasted relatively strong returns in September. Daniel Loeb's Third Point climbed 1.1 percent, while Citadel's Wellington fund gained 2 percent, and Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners returned 2 percent, the funds told investors. That leaves Third Point up 7.2 percent for the year, while Citadel is up 2.6 percent and Jana Partners trimmed its losses to 1.1 percent.

Hedge fund returns have drawn particular scrutiny in recent months as some large investors, including pension funds in Rhode Island and New Jersey, are pulling money out, complaining about lackluster returns and high fees. Poor performance has also forced some firms, including most recently Richard Perry's Perry Capital, out of business.

As a group, hedge funds gained 3 percent during the third quarter with some, like Citadel which surged 7.3 percent, scoring even bigger gains. They gained 1.8 percent during the second quarter after a 0.60 percent loss for the first three months of the year.

Funds concentrating on technology and healthcare performed the best last month, notching 4 percent gains, HFR said. But as a group they suffered heavy losses at the start of the year and are up just 3.22 percent for the first nine months of 2016.

But for some funds, September was a tough month. David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital saw its gains for the year shrink to 4.5 percent after losing nearly 1 percent in September and Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Holdings fell 5.3 percent last month leaving the fund down 18.8 percent for the year, investor documents seen by Reuters show.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David Gregorio)
From Harper's BAZAAR

Hedi Slimane, former creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, took to Twitter this evening to clarify how he's used the brand's iconic YSL logo.

"Fact checking / There have been inaccurate statements on recent articles regarding Hedi and the usage of the YSL historical logo," he posted just before 7 PM. Thereafter, as he began a string of 22 tweets detailing a history of how he's used the staple acronym during his tenure at the French fashion house, a time when the brand was often referred to as simply, Saint Laurent.

"In conclusion, it is accurate to say that the YSL iconic initials were in fact celebrated and championed by Hedi," last post reads.

The designer formally stepped down as creative director this April, and Anthony Vaccarello was soon announced as his successor. The latter showed his debut Yves Saint Laurent collection in Paris last week.

Read through Slimane's explanation below. These are the only tweets on his Twitter account.

FACT CHECKING / THERE HAVE BEEN INACCURATE STATEMENTS ON RECENT ARTICLES REGARDING HEDI AND THE USAGE OF THE YSL HISTORICAL LOGO - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD, THE USAGE OF THE CASSANDRE LOGO WAS ENTIRELY PART OF HEDI'S REFORM PROJECT FOR THE HOUSE FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF 2012 TO 2016 - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

HEDI PHOTOGRAPHED THE PRECIOUS ORIGINAL DRAWING, DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST CASSANDRE, AT YVES'S HOME, RUE DE BABYLONE IN NOVEMBER 2008 pic.twitter.com/bSGnCFCTgI - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

90S RECORD / HEDI HAS A HISTORY WITH USING THE YSL LOGO/ BLACK TIE 1999, HEDI DESIGNED A GIANT AND LUMINOUS YSL ON A PROTO LED STAGE SCREEN pic.twitter.com/MtSVgrerp3 - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / MARCH 2012 HEDI STARTS HIS NEW DESIGN PROJECT INSTALLING A YSL LOGO FOR THE FENCE OF HIS TEMPORARY STUDIO, RUE FRANCOIS 1ER pic.twitter.com/xU1YBbBHZI - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / A PAIR OF MONUMENTAL YSL / HEDI'S INAUGURAL SHOW AND LATER, EACH OF HEDIS SHOWS FOR SAINT LAURENT AT THE GRAND PALAIS pic.twitter.com/5cgBhYwffD - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / A PAIR OF MONUMENTAL YSL / AT EACH OF HEDIS SHOWS FOR SAINT LAURENT AT "LE CARREAU DU TEMPLE" VENUE pic.twitter.com/YdVEAsA5CX - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / HEDI DESIGNED THE STORE ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT / HIS DESIGNS INCLUDES A PAIR OF YSL BRASS LOGOS ON THE BUILDINGS FACADES pic.twitter.com/s74y9A5hec - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD /HEDI DESIGNED AND RESTORED THE NEW COUTURE HOUSE RUE DE LUNIVERSITE IN 2014, WITH A PAIR OF ANTIQUE BRASS YSL ON THE FACADE pic.twitter.com/6dSxtSgc2R - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

HEDI DESIGNS AND LAUNCHES AN ENTIRELY NEW LINE OF BAGS WITH A YSL HISTORICAL LOGO , WITH OR WITHOUT TASSELS, STUDS, ETC. - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

THIS YSL ACCESSORY LINE CAME IN HUNDREDS OF MATERIALS, DOZENS OF SHAPES, AND GREW UP EACH SEASON WITH HEDI'S NEW DESIGNS OF THE LOGO LINE. - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTOGRAPH AND STYLING HEDI S.

SACHA 2013 pic.twitter.com/zpXWJxmhId - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTOGRAPHS AND STYLING HEDI S.

NATHALIE 2014 pic.twitter.com/ukQVqAqEdA - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTOGRAPHS AND STYLING HEDI S.

VALERY AND GRACE 2014 pic.twitter.com/PvGrgcYlSl - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTOGRAPHS AND STYLING HEDI S.

GRACE FOR PSYCHROCK COLLECTION 2015 pic.twitter.com/mgyON7kpVs - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTOGRAPHS AND STYLING HEDI S.

KIKI FOR THE GLAM COLLECTION 2015 pic.twitter.com/ha5BpEWvW0 - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTO AND STYLING HEDI S

HELENA FOR THE PARIS SESSION COLLECTION 2015 pic.twitter.com/M9ooeQjZi8 - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTO AND STYLING HEDI S.

JULIA AND FLO FOR THE PUNK COLLECTION 2015 pic.twitter.com/kYTkDUjmFC - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL BAG LINE ON HEDI S CAMPAIGNS FOR SAINT LAURENT / PHOTO AND STYLING HEDI S.

RUTH FOR THE PERMANENT COLLECTION 2015 pic.twitter.com/dfKUJR3nZh - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / DURING 4 YEARS, HEDI ALSO DESIGNED 100S OF JEWELRY + CHARM PIECES WITH YSL LOGO, BELTS, MENS POLO SHIRT ETC. pic.twitter.com/EMKiLgog3R - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / YSL CONFETTI AT THE END OF THE SURF SOUND FASHION SHOW IN JUNE 2015 pic.twitter.com/FRbgATg1XJ - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

IN CONCLUSION, IT IS ACCURATE TO SAY THAT THE YSL ICONIC INITIALS WERE IN FACT CELEBRATED AND CHAMPIONED BY HEDI - Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

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Photo: Getty Images

Hedi Slimane has historically let his clothes do the talking, rarely speaking to the media. But now that hes parted ways with Saint Laurent (or is it Yves Saint Laurent again?), hes turning to another medium to express himself: Twitter.

On Thursday night, the fashion designer reactivated his account, which sat dormant for about three years following a rant against Cathy Horyn, to defend his deference to the YSL logo, which he apparently attempted to wipe amid a rebrand to just Saint Laurent.

Slimanes seemingly offended that recent reports have accused him of disrespecting the logo during his tenure at the French brand. Anthony Vaccarello, the current creative director, incorporated the YSL logo into a heel design, prompting many to offer him praise  and allegedly drag Slimane.

This prompted Slimane  or a third party, its unclear  to post a short history of his usage of the symbol to social media.

Fact checking / There have been inaccurate statements on recent articles regarding Hedi and the usage of the YSL historical logo, he began. For the record, the usage of the Cassandre logo was entirely part of Hedis reform project for the house from the early days of 2012 to 2016. What followed was a short history of each time Slimane used the YSL logo.

HEDI PHOTOGRAPHED THE PRECIOUS ORIGINAL DRAWING, DESIGNED BY THE ARTIST CASSANDRE, AT YVESS HOME, RUE DE BABYLONE IN NOVEMBER 2008 pic.twitter.com/bSGnCFCTgI  Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

90S RECORD / HEDI HAS A HISTORY WITH USING THE YSL LOGO/ BLACK TIE 1999, HEDI DESIGNED A GIANT AND LUMINOUS YSL ON A PROTO LED STAGE SCREEN pic.twitter.com/MtSVgrerp3  Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

FOR THE RECORD / MARCH 2012 HEDI STARTS HIS NEW DESIGN PROJECT INSTALLING A YSL LOGO FOR THE FENCE OF HIS TEMPORARY STUDIO, RUE FRANCOIS 1ER pic.twitter.com/xU1YBbBHZI  Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

Slimane documents instances where the iconic logo was photographed, used as an LED, or built into the architecture of Saint Laurent buildings. It was even used as confetti at a mens show.

Story continues

FOR THE RECORD / YSL CONFETTI AT THE END OF THE SURF SOUND FASHION SHOW IN JUNE 2015 pic.twitter.com/FRbgATg1XJ  Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

It should be noted that Slimane did try to rid the Yves from Yves Saint Laurents ready-to-wear line of the brand, changing it to Saint Laurent Paris. That said, the brand maintained the usage of the YSL acronym and accompanying logo elsewhere. Slimane himself even incorporated it into the brands accessories.

Whats more, when Slimane stopped the usage of Yves, it wasnt a sign of disrespect. In fact, he intended the opposite. The designer used the full Yves Saint Laurent moniker for the couture ateliers that were relaunched under his purview.

IN CONCLUSION, IT IS ACCURATE TO SAY THAT THE YSL ICONIC INITIALS WERE IN FACT CELEBRATED AND CHAMPIONED BY HEDI  Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) October 6, 2016

Slimanes Twitter tirade came on the same day he reportedly filed further legal action against Kering, YSLs parent company. In June, a court ordered Kering to pay Slimane $13 million in a non-compete clause dispute. Slimanes allegedly seeking an additional $2.2 million.

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Hello Kitty fans rejoice: Sanrio has teamed up on a super cute subscription crate

Back when we were children and young teens, getting something in the mail was always a fun and exciting thing. Wed find a birthday card from our grandma, the latest edition of Tiger Beat magazine and an anticipated letter from our pen pal we met in summer school.

As an adult, its not like that anymore. All we can expect are bills, flyers for fast food coupons juxtaposed with deals to get our butts to the gym.

Because of that, its important to make sure you have something coming in the mail via fun crate subscription to stop the anxiety at the mailbox and bring back the squeals of joy.

And thats why were so, so excited about this latest team up because its giving us the cutest subscription crate ever and we cant hold our excitement.

Sanrio, who has blessed the world with Hello Kitty, has teamed up with Loot Crate to bring us an adorably cute subscription crate thats going to make us excited about mail again.

A photo posted by Hello Kitty (@hellokitty) on Oct 6, 2016 at 3:17pm PDT

The mystery box subscription called Sanrio Small Gift Crate will be filled with never-before-seen treats from Sanrio, including accessories, collectibles, and apparel that will make you the envy of all your friends  until they get one of their own.

Each crate will bring fun products from Japan right to our doorsteps including our favorite Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz Maru, Little Twin Stars and more.

A photo posted by Loot Anime (@lootanime) on Oct 6, 2016 at 8:59am PDT

Through our collaboration with Sanrio, were able to tap into one of the most loyal fan communities with a multi-generational audience worldwide, said Chris Davis, CEO of Loot Crate.

Were excited to bring Hello Kitty and more Sanrio characters to Looters with uniquely curated products, while providing this great fan community with an immersively designed experience they wouldnt find in stores.

A photo posted by Maria Fleischman (@hellokittyjunkie) on Oct 7, 2016 at 8:36am PDT

Loot Crate unveiled their first Sanrio Small Gift Crate design at New York Comic Con yesterday and if you want to see it yourself, Hello Kitty and Sanrio are onsite at the event this weekend.

The post Hello Kitty fans rejoice: Sanrio has teamed up on a super cute subscription crate appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Singapore private home prices fall most in seven years in Q3.

On the surface, the property markets in Singapore and Hong Kong have much in common. The two Asian financial hubs have both moved to rein in runaway home prices in recent years as they sought to make housing more affordable

.

Yet, consider how home values in the cities have diverged. Singapore has been successful in damping buyer demand with curbs (prices slumped by the most in seven years last month), while restrictions have had little impact on Hong Kongs gravity-defying market, which is rebounding after a short-lived dip.

Singapores public housing model offers one explanation for how the island-city has been able to keep a tight leash on prices. Homes owned under a program run by the Housing and Development Board accounted for 80 percent of all dwellings as of last year. Hong Kongs public housing accounts for only about 21 percent of total home ownership, and there is an average waiting list of more than 3 years to get a government flat in the city.

Here's more from Bloomberg.





More From Singapore Business Review


EXCLUSIVE: The former Secretary of State missed her last set of Hollywood fundraisers due to a case of pneumonia but Hillary Clinton is now coming back to the Tinseltown ATM next week for a hefty withdrawal. Just days after sparring with rival Donald Trump on October 8 in the second Presidential debate of this election, the Democrat will be in L.A. on October 13 for a deep pocket shindig. Billed as the final Los Angeles dinner for Clinton, the A-lister co-hosted event is set for the Beverly Hills home of 2024 Olympics bid chair Casey Wasserman and wife Laura.

The $33,400 to $100,000 a ticket evening huddle sees the long time Clinton donor gang getting together for what might their last hoopla before the November 8 election. The Democrats biggest check writers Jeffrey Katzenberg and wife Marilyn and Haim Saban and spouse Cheryl are co-hosting with the Wassermans.

Joining them as co-hosts at the gathering for the Hillary Victory Fund are Legendary founder Thomas Tull and wife Alba, Facebook backer Sean Parker and wife Alexandra plus Chris and Crystal Sacca, according to an invite Deadline obtained. All are long time and big time donors to the Clinton campaign and have been co-hosts or co-chairs to numerous past fundraisers in the last year.

Having performed for the ex-NY Senator at Radio City Music Hall earlier this year, Elton John is performing at the Wassermans pad for the donors  AKA can you feel the big bucks love tonight?

Hillary isnt the only Clinton swooping into Hwood for cash in this month.

Campaign 2016 Chelsea Cliinton

Former First Daughter and top surrogate Chelsea Clinton will be rallying the rich and slightly less troops on October 20. The $250 to $10,000 a ticket fundraiser will be held at the home of Showtime boss David Nevins and wife Andrea with special guest Kristen Bell. A host reception will is happening beforehand at the Hancock Park home of magazine moguls those repeat Clinton donors and fellow October 20 fundraiser co-hosts Michael Kong and Stacy Twiley.

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Absent is ex-POTUS Bill Clinton, who filled in for his wife last month when she had to drop out of the September 13 scheduled fundraisers. Still, the deployment of both of the other Clintons makes it pretty clear the campaign is gearing up for an injection of big cash for a big ad push in the last days of the still tight race against the GOPs Trump.

Of course, what the polls could look like after Sundays Anderson Cooper hosted debate is anyones guess in this roller coaster race.

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Monika Ghurde, hailed as one of India's best perfumer, researcher was found murdered at her Goa residence on Friday.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Monika Ghurde, hailed as one of India's best perfumer, researcher was found dead at her Goa residence on Friday.

Police found 39-year-old Ghurde's body naked, with her hands and legs tied. Investigations are underway and according to the police her hands and legs were tied to a bed on Thursday night when she was robbed, raped and killed subsequently.

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"It looks like someone known to her was there at her house as all things were in place. We are working on various theories and have got few hints on which we are working," said Goa DIG Vimal Aanand Gupta.

There are marks on the neck which indicate that she was strangled. Ghurde's body has been sent to government hospital for autopsy which will help Goa Police to establish the cause of death.

"We have recorded statement of her husband, servant and neighbour. We have sent our teams in other parts of state and in few other neighbouring states on the basis of inputs which we have got," said DIG Gupta.

The building watchman has told the police that he had no information on anyone entering the apartment. The police have rounded up several people from the neighbouring village. Police today also recreated the crime scene to get more information about the case.



Who was she?

Ghurde was an independent perfumer based out of Goa and founded 'MO Lab'. She set up her first lab in Chennai.

Before turning to perfumery, Monika was a photographer and graphic designer. She also co-founded Graf Publishing, design and publishing company.

She was known for conducting smell workshops in various part of the world and was involved in collaboration projects in Europe, India and New York.

Monika believed one's choice of fragrance reveals a great deal about their personality and mood. "Nobody knows what the nose knows, despite the fact that for centuries human beings have used fragrant materials to pray, to heal, to make love and war. It has always been a part of our legacy. We recognise that our sense of smell plays an important role in the formation and expression of human consciousness," reads her website.



--- ENDS ---
By James Mackenzie and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - After years of abandonment, the ruined Darul Aman palace in Kabul, one of the most recognizable symbols of Afghanistan's decades of war, is to be restored in a project authorities hope will come to symbolize revival instead of destruction. The aim is an ambitious one, with Afghan forces fighting the Taliban insurgency across the country, Kabul regularly hit by suicide attacks and the broken economy seemingly in no better shape than the bombed-out palace itself. The project was launched by President Ashraf Ghani in May and Urban Development Minister Sadat Mansoor Naderi said the government hoped the site, next to a new, Indian-financed parliament, can become the center of a new government quarter as well as a tourist attraction. For the moment, such goals remain a long way off and the most visible sign of renewal is a crew working on preparing the site for the full reconstruction to come later. "In the team we've built here, we've got over 100 young graduates," Naderi told Reuters during a visit to the site this week. "Twenty percent of the technical engineers you see here are female," he said. In a country where opportunities for women to develop careers are severely limited, the restoration effort, which will depend heavily on support from foreign donors, is a showcase for young graduates. "This is a historical site and of course it's a new experience," said Sofia Roshan, 24, a structural design engineer who graduated recently from a private university in Kabul and has been working at the site for four months. She said the fact the restoration was so unusual meant there was more freedom for younger engineers and women in particular than there would be in a standard construction project. "It's different from a new building so it's a new experience for everyone. We can learn from the project but we can also share our opinions," she said. "People don't put much value on women in Afghanistan but this project will show that women can do anything." 'THE RESULT OF WAR' Reduced to a shattered skeleton following repeated bombardments over the years, the imposing European-style palace was built in the 1920s by former King Amanullah Khan on a low hilltop just outside the capital. The edifice was destroyed in the civil wars of the 1990s, when fighting between rival militias killed thousands in Kabul. In the years after the fall of the Taliban, the bullet-scarred wreckage was left empty as a flood of foreign cash fueled a boom in the city around it. Its abandoned corridors, rooftops open to the sky and the faded graffiti left by passing militia fighters have a ghostly feel as dusty sunlight streams in through cracks in the walls. "This is the result of war. Think about that," reads a message scrawled on a corner wall. Naderi said requests for proposals would soon be issued, inviting foreign companies to bid for work on the project, which could cost up to $20 million, and officials had already sought advice abroad. The celebrated restoration of the Reichstag in the German capital Berlin, which like the Darul Aman palace was destroyed in war and abandoned for decades and which incorporates many reminders of the destruction, was one model he had looked at. "Obviously, we are looking at other countries with similar experiences to ours," he said. How long the project may take is not clear. Until engineers complete surveys, they will not know the full extent of the damage and how much work will be needed to repair it. Financing must also be worked out and Afghanistan's unpredictable politics may still create obstacles. But for Sonia Alizada, one of the young engineers working on the palace, her enthusiasm outweighs any doubts. "We are a team of girls working here with joy and everyone has a huge interest," she said. "We hope for peace, stability and development in our country." (Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Jeremie (Haiti) (AFP) - The full scale of the devastation in hurricane-hit rural Haiti became clear Friday as the death toll surged over 400, three days after Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of the country's south.

As Matthew threatened the US coast, President Barack Obama urged Americans to mobilize in support of Haiti, where a million people were in need of assistance after the latest disaster to strike the western hemisphere's poorest nation.

While the capital and main population center Port-au-Prince was largely spared, the south suffered devastation.

Aerial footage from the hardest-hit towns showed a ruined landscape of metal shanties with roofs blown away and downed trees everywhere. Brown mud from overflowing rivers covered the ground.

Herve Fourcand, a senator for the Sud department, which felt the full force of Matthew's impact, said he had recorded 400 deaths, with several localities still cut off by flooding and mudslides.

In Jeremie, a town of 30,000 people left inaccessible until Friday, an AFP reporter discovered a scene of desolation.

No power. No phone lines. People cut off without news of the capital for days since the storm struck Tuesday -- and who had yet to hear that the weekend's presidential election has been postponed.

Virtually all the town's corrugated-iron homes have been destroyed, with only a few concrete buildings left standing.

"It was as if someone had a remote control and just kept turning the wind up higher and higher," said Carmine Luc, a 22-year-old woman.

"When the roof of my house blew off, I clung to a wall with my left hand, and with my right, I held on with all my strength to my three-year-old child -- who was screaming," she said.

- 'Nothing left' -

Further south, Haiti's third-largest town of Les Cayes was battered, its Sous-Roches district turned from a quiet beachfront neighborhood to a chaos of mud and shattered trees.

The river level has begun to drop, but its waters are still mixed with the storm surge that inundated the beach during the Category Four hurricane's hours-long assault on Tuesday.

Story continues

"I thought I was going to die. I looked death in the face," said 36-year-old Yolette Cazenor, standing in front of a house smashed in two by a fallen coconut palm.

Over 10 hours, hurricane-force wind blasts and heavy rain leveled all the crops in the community's fields, promising lean months ahead even by Haiti's impoverished standards.

Up to 80 percent of crops have been lost in some areas, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs.

Around one million people are in need of urgent assistance, according to the NGO Care-France.

"They have nothing left except the clothes on their back," it said.

As the toll climbed, pledges of aid flooded in, with the United States announcing it was sending a Navy ship, the USS Mesa Verde, whose 300 Marines will add to the 250 personnel and nine helicopters already deployed to Haiti.

The Mesa Verde is transporting Marine teams that specialize in medical-emergency assistance and reconstruction, as well as three transport helicopters.

France announced it was sending 60 troops, with 32 tonnes of humanitarian supplies and water purification equipment.

Obama also urged Americans to donate for Haiti via the Red Cross or other charities.

"We know that hundreds of people have lost their lives and that there's been severe property damage and theyre going to need help rebuilding," he said.

"Even the smallest contribution can really make a big difference."

- Haitians skeptical -

The country has had its fair share of natural disasters: Haiti sits on a hurricane path and in January 2010 was hit by a devastating earthquake that demolished much of the capital and left more than 250,000 dead.

Since then, the nation has been struggling to overcome a cholera outbreak.

Some of its needs have been met by international aid.

But the large-scale international aid programs in place since the quake have also been criticized for failing to build local capacity while spending millions on their own short-term programs.

Many ordinary Haitians are skeptical of help from abroad -- in a country's whose economic decrepitude is seen as connected to its disastrous post-colonial legacy of foreign intervention and home-grown corruption.

"I've never believed in foreign aid," said Gedeon Dorfeuille, a resident of Les Cayes. "Please, don't come back promising us billions again if nothing is to come of it."
Steve Jobs School Student iPad

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have a lot in common.

They both have net worths in excess of a billion dollars, they both dropped out of Harvard, and they both support a buzzy form of education known as personalized learning.

Schools that believe in personalized use technology to tailor lesson plans to specific student needs and goals.

That can look like software that adjusts reading levels to kids' abilities or long-term plans to help a high-school freshman get into an Ivy.

Given its reliance on technology, personalized learning might seem like a recent solution. But the truth is, the model began in the mid-1970s and had no ties to tech at all. Personalized learning started in special education.

"It's been popularized by the techies, but it's really come from the teachers themselves who recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach is not the most effective way to teach the kids in their classroom," Jennifer Carolan, co-founder and senior partner at the education-focused venture capital firm Reach Capital, tells Business Insider. "We need more differentiated strategies."

Even if special-ed teachers and policymakers didn't use the term "personalized education" to describe the approach, they are essentially the same theories Gates, Zuckerberg, and others now use use to outline their vision for creating a 1:1 ratio between student and device.

In 1975, for instance, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). It ensured kids who were blind, deaf, or had other mental disabilities could receive an education that was comparable to their peers. At the time, more than 1 million students legally couldn't access public education because they were deemed unfit for normal schooling.

By 1990, the law had been renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. The law remained mostly the same in that students were guaranteed an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Schools had to design these IEPs based on the students' unique needs.

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Even to this day, one child's IEP might call for a teacher to read instruction aloud rather than write them down, while another child gets a designated reader or more time to complete an assignment.

In the 41 years since EHA was first enacted, a great deal of educational research has found the personalized approach is the most effective in raising student achievement.

A study published last year, for example, found that among 62 schools using personalized education, many of the kids scored higher in math and reading compared to kids learning normally. Many who were below-average scorers ended up above-average.

Another study, this one conducted by a personalized literacy platform called Newsela, looked at kids scoring below the 50th percentile in reading who regularly read Newsela articles and took quizzes. Ongoing collection of data showed the longer kids use the platform, the bigger their literacy gains. Kids who took 6 to 10 quizzes a month saw increases of 5 to 10 percentile points in three months. Over four months, they jumped 7 to 12 points. (The caveat, of course, is that Newsela itself conducted this study).

"That's like passing hundreds of thousands of kids," Matthew Gross, founder and CEO of Newsela, recently told Business Insider. "It's like they're speeding by them in the left lane of the highway."

At its heart, the lesson from special education should be a fairly obvious one  that each student comes from a different family, has different interests, different strengths and weaknesses, and thinks in different ways. These differences should influence how teachers teach.

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are big fans of personalized learning because technology is finally allowing teachers to do for all students what education has always tried to do, and what special-ed teachers have done for decades: teach every individual student effectively.

In a recent post on his blog Gates Notes, Gates expresses admiration for a Seattle-based charter school called Summit Sierra. At Summit Sierra, personalized learning is front and center. Kids guide their own instruction and use technology like tablets and laptops to help them go at their own pace.

"I love that approach," Gates writes. "When students get out in the world, they have to organize their own time, have goals, and realize what they're behind on. It's fantastic to see them getting a head start on those skills in school."

NOW WATCH: This monster floor cleaner is incredibly satisfying to watch





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Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f239129%2fthumbstorm

Hurricanes = no power. No power = no Netflix.

In case you haven't heard, Hurricane Matthew  currently classified as a category 3 storm  is wreaking havoc on the eastern coast of Florida.

The storm presents a serious safety threat, and has already caused a reported 2.5 million U.S. evacuations.

However, because this is 2016, many Twitter users are less concerned with the severe flooding and structural damage the hurricane has caused than with slightly superficial 2016 "hurricane problems."

SEE ALSO: No hurricane will ever convince people to buy clam chowder

For instance, many people are outraged because Hurricane Matthew has interfered with their ability to watch Netflix for hour and hours...

Was thinkin the hurricane was bouta be lit cuz its an excuse to Netflix all day but then I realized hurricanes=no power=no Netflix=not lit  jordan (@AKAJroy) October 5, 2016

as soon as i found a show to watch on netflix, the power went out lol thanks hurricane matthew.   keairah (@ovokeairah) October 7, 2016

YOU CANT WATCH NETFLIX DURING A HURRICANE IF THERES NO ELECTRICITY !!!!  jade? (@JADEDL0VE) October 5, 2016

I'll start worrying about hurricane Matthew when my wifi goes out, and I can't watch Netflix anymore.  marcus (@mark_roman14) October 7, 2016

Others are suffering because they stocked up on a ton of food to prepare for the hurricane, and are now tempted to eat it all at once...

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can this hurricane hurry up im starting to eat all the hurricane food  nuggie (@__jdollasign) October 6, 2016

I'm gonna eat all the hurricane food before the hurricane even gets here  Gracey (@graacevillegas) October 6, 2016

i got food for the hurricane and i'm kind of tempted to eat it now  doll monster (@tearzahs) October 6, 2016

#FloridaNow i already started to eat all the hurricane food and my mom is pissed  Emily (@emipurvis) October 5, 2016

To further highlight our very important 2016 priorities, Twitter user Dnt_Follow_LC posted a screengrab of a news report on mass Hurricane Matthew evacuations.

The photograph shows one side of a highway packed with cars attempting to flee the designated danger zones. On the other side of the highway, one lonely car can be seen bravely driving towards the evacuated area.

The photograph was appropriately captioned "forgot my headphones," because everyone in 2016 knows that headphones are worth driving into a hurricane.

User IrishNexus also posted the photograph to Reddit, which encouraged the online community to suggest alternate captions.

Here are some other very possible reasons why someone would be driving directly into a hurricane:
hurricane matthew space earth oct7 2016 8am copyright eumetsat labeled

Hurricane Matthew is barreling into southeastern United States as a monster category 3 storm.

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus, in a post for the Pacific Standard on Thursday  when the cyclone was stronger, yet expected to weaken  said "Matthew is a storm unlike any yet seen" in some parts of Florida.

"Since weather records began in 1851, no hurricane of Matthew's predicted strength (Category 4, with sustained winds of at least 135 mph that the National Hurricane Center labels as 'catastrophic') has ever made landfall in Florida north of West Palm Beach," Holthaus said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricane hunters who are flying through the storm, and an international fleet of satellites are keeping close tabs on the situation.

The above image is a composite of several images taken by EUMETSAT weather satellites around 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, October 7, 2016. Because it was taken in the dark, it's 100% not true-to-life: It's infrared weather data layered on top of NASA's "blue marble" satellite images.

The following image is a composite made in daylight by NOAA satellites on Wednesday, October 5. The large size of Matthew compared to nearby landmasses is clear:

hurricane matthew space earth nasa noaa labeled2

NOAA and NASA also provided this close-up image:

hurricane matthew space satellite image oct 6 cat4 nasa

And this is an animated sequence showing Matthew's path from October 5-6:

Astronauts and cosmonauts are also getting a clear view of the storm from the International Space Station, as they fly about 200 miles above it every 90 minutes:

hurricane matthew space station nasa

Hurricane hunters who flew through Matthew on Friday morning reported sustained winds of 120 mph and even stronger gusts.

The NOAA said on Friday morning that Matthew is "hugging" onto Florida's eastern coast and headed for a destructive spree up the shoreline at a speed of about 13 mph.

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The most recent computer simulations of the storm suggest it could blow out to sea, loop back, and pummel Florida again with whatever remnants are left.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has also issued a hurricane warning for Georgia's and much of South Carolina's coasts:

hurricane matthew storm path prediction 8am oct7 2016 noaa

In a previous public advisory, NOAA said the storm could have "potentially disastrous impacts for Florida." Areas that bear the brunt of the storm can expect torrential rain, incredibly damaging winds, powerful storm surges, and flooding.

If you live in or around the warning or watch regions highlighted in this map, it is time to evacuate or find safe shelter.

You can keep track of Hurricane Matthew by visiting NOAA's NHC website.

Note: This story was updated at 9:30am EDT on Friday, October 7, 2016.

NOW WATCH: Nate Silver explains why meteorologists get the weather forecast so wrong





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By Carolyn Cohn and Noor Zainab Hussain LONDON (Reuters) - A hurricane threatening the first direct hit on the United States in more than a decade could cause insurance losses of $25-30 billion and be the second costliest U.S. hurricane on record for insurers, according to initial industry estimates. Hurricane Matthew is just off the east coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on Friday, after killing hundreds of people in Haiti on its move north through the Caribbean. Data modelling firm RMS told clients earlier this week its initial estimates were a 42 percent chance of a $20 billion insurance loss and a 26 percent chance of a $30 billion loss from the hurricane, a source familiar with the research said. Ben Brookes, vice president capital markets at RMS told Reuters its guidance to clients was based on a single forecast, adding: "to project impact from this alone would be misleading". "We have continued to update our guidance as the situation changes," Brookes said, without giving further details. An estimate from Kinetic Analysis of insured losses of $25 billion would make Matthew "the second most costly hurricane in U.S. history behind Katrina", JPMorgan analysts said in a note late Thursday, referring to the hurricane which hit New Orleans and the surrounding coast in 2005. A Kinetic Analysis spokesman said its $25 billion estimate was made on Thursday and its current estimate was "considerably lower", without giving further detail. Market participants were keeping a close track on the hurricane's movements. "People are looking at this literally every minute and working overnight on it," one trader said. The average impact to U.S. property and casualty insurers' book value from $10-30 billion of insured losses from the hurricane would equate to around a quarter's worth of earnings, the JPMorgan analysts added. Heritage Insurance Holdings gave a preliminary loss estimate on Friday of around $500 million. A $20 billion insured loss would match the insured losses caused by Hurricane Sandy in the northeast of the United States in 2012, which did not make landfall. A loss of this size would lead to "material risks" for Lloyd's of London insurers, analyst Ben Cohen at Canaccord Genuity said in a note on Friday. Cohen calculated a loss equivalent to Sandy would hit Beazley's earnings by $104 million, Hiscox's by 117 million pounds ($145 million) and Lancashire's by $39 million. Beazley estimates an $80 billion storm would cause a $200 million loss, a spokesman said, without specifying losses from a smaller disaster. A Hiscox spokeswoman said it was too early to judge the impact of the hurricane. A Lancashire spokesman also said it was early days, but the firm was feeling "relatively relaxed" about its losses because it was very lightly exposed to risk in Florida compared with other states in which it offers reinsurance for wind damage. The hurricane represented a "real test" of reinsurers' exposure, S&P Global said in a report, but it did not see a ratings impact, due to reinsurers' strong capital buffers. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Simon Jessop and Mark Potter)
The SP members today counted potholes in Colaba, Mumbai and found 50 on a single street as against 35 claimed by the BMC.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: As Mumbai grapples with the pothole menace, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has aid that the city has just 35 potholes.

To protest against the BMC, the Samajwadi Party today held a campaign in Colaba where the members set out to count the number of potholes. The members found 50 potholes on a single street of South Mumbai.

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"It is quite embarrassing for Mumbai and the BMC. Just 35 potholes in the city is really a laughable statement. Here in Mumbai's one of the elite area of Colaba, we showed you 50 potholes on a single street," said Samajwadi Party corporator, Rais Shaikh.

Also read: SC to continue with Bombay HC order, no entry to women in Haji Ali shrine for now

DEADLINES MISSED

BMC Chief Ajoy Mehta had given couple of deadlines to the civic staff to repair and fill the potholes. But it was if no use. The BMC had also promised to provide smooth roads before the Ganapati festival but they failed in that also.

The recent rains have damaged Mumbai roads badly. It becomes difficult to drive specially for bikers to drive on these roads. Few days back, a young biker lost his life, after he fell off his bike because of a pothole near JJ Bridge.

Also read: Pothole menace continues, claims life of Mumbai youth



Few years ago, the Bombay High Court had also asked the BMC that Mumabikars have a right to have pothole-free roads.

ACCHE DIN

"Shiv Sena and the BJP should feel ashamed for what 'Acche Din' they have given to Mumbai? It is the financial capital of India and see the condition of roads. They have no moral right to stay in power in the BMC. People of Mumbai will teach them a lesson during the upcoming BMC election," added Rais Shaikh.

Taking aggressive stand on the issue of potholes, the MNS corporators, few days back, forced a BMC chief engineer (Roads) to stand near a pothole holding a board which read, "I am responsible for these potholes".

Also read: MNS forces top BMC official to stand on road with placard that says: I am responsible for Mumbai potholes

This act of MNS corporators did not go well with the BMC engineer who protested today against the incident in Azad Maidan demanding strict action against them.

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From Cosmopolitan

Last month, 34-year-old Laura Levis died after suffering a tremendous asthma attack. Her husband Peter DeMarco has been posting tributes to her on his Facebook since she died, one of which was republished by the New York Times.



This particular essay from DeMarco thanked the staff at Bostons CHA Cambridge Hospital, where Levis spent the last week of her life. As I begin to tell my friends and family about the seven days you treated my wife, Laura Levis, in what turned out to be the last days of her young life, they stop me at about the 15th name that I recall, he begins. The list includes the doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists, social workers, even cleaning staff members who cared for her. How do you remember any of their names? they ask. How could I not, I respond.

He explains how the hospital workers were always respectful, compassionate, and kind, and specifically remembers how they went out of their way to ensure DeMarco would have one last hour alone with his wife on the day she died:

On the final day, as we waited for Lauras organ donor surgery, all I wanted was to be alone with her. But family and friends kept coming to say their goodbyes, and the clock ticked away. About 4 p.m., finally, everyone had gone, and I was emotionally and physically exhausted, in need of a nap. So I asked her nurses, Donna and Jen, if they could help me set up the recliner, which was so uncomfortable, but all I had, next to Laura again. They had a better idea.

They asked me to leave the room for a moment, and when I returned, they had shifted Laura to the right side of her bed, leaving just enough room for me to crawl in with her one last time. I asked if they could give us one hour without a single interruption, and they nodded, closing the curtains and the doors, and shutting off the lights.

"I will remember that last hour together for the rest of my life," he concludes. "Really, I have all of you to thank for it."

Story continues

Read DeMarcos essay in its entirety here.

Follow Tess on Twitter.

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Jerusalem (AFP) - The International Criminal Court has no deadline for deciding whether to investigate alleged war crimes by Israel and the Palestinians, an ICC official said on Friday.

"There is no time limit," the ICC's Phakiso Mochochoko told AFP during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"We are just working hard on this file and in due course when the time is right, when all the conditions have been met and when we have assessed everything, then the decision will be made."

The Palestinians formally asked the ICC last year to investigate the Jewish state, which is not a party to the treaty that governs the court, for alleged war crimes.

Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki presented the court with a dossier alleging violations during the 2014 Gaza war and another on Israel's occupation and settlement of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Some 2,251 Palestinians, including 551 children, were killed in fighting between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and other factions, according to UN figures.

Israel is alleged to have used indiscriminate force against the blockaded territory, while Hamas is accused of firing rockets at Israeli civilian population centres and using Palestinians as human shields.

In January 2015 the ICC, the world's only permanent war crimes court, opened a preliminary examination into alleged abuses by both sides but has not moved to a formal investigation.

The Palestinians have expressed frustration at the slow pace of proceedings.

Mochochoko did not comment when asked if it could take years to reach a decision, but said the amount of data from all sides meant that the Gaza examination was "unique in its nature."

"There is a lot of information, there is a lot of reports and there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to analyse that information and to assess it," he said, speaking in English.

Mochochoko, a member of the ICC's prosecutor's office, arrived Wednesday as part of a four-strong delegation for a five-day mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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He said the trip was purely about explaining the work of the court and not seeking testimony.

"At this stage...we do not have any mandate to engage with witnesses, we don't have any mandate to collect evidence," he said.

"We are not doing any fact finding mission," he added.

"What the future holds for us, that remains to be seen."
The Hague (AFP) - The International Criminal Court announced Friday it will hold its first ever public hearings into awarding reparations to the victims of war crimes, focusing on child soldiers recruited by a Congolese warlord.

Former warlord Thomas Lubanga was the first person to be convicted by the tribunal, found guilty of abducting children as young as 11 and forcing them to fight in a bloody war in a gold-rich region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2002-2003.

He was sentenced to 14 years in jail in July 2012, a prison term which was later upheld on appeal, and was transferred late last year to a Congolese jail to serve out his term.

Now the ICC, based in The Hague, will hold two days of hearings "to approve collective reparations projects in this case".

The Trust Fund for Victims, set up in 2008 to support programmes to help those who have been the victim of war crimes, has allocated one million euros for projects to help Lubanga's victims.

The court will hear on Tuesday and Thursday from groups with experience working with child soldiers, including the non-governmental organisations Women's Initiatives and International Child Soldiers.

The fund has already drawn up a draft plan, but it still awaits the court's approval.

Pieter de Baan, executive director of the fund, told AFP the aim of the hearings was to get "wider insights" from those groups who have already worked with child soldiers in order to complete the plan.

A final decision on how to disburse the reparations "will be made at a later date by the chamber," an ICC spokesperson told AFP.

The court stressed that the reparations will not go to individuals but to collective projects.
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, expects to close a $2.7 billion debt refinancing for the Nacala Corridor railway project in Mozambique early next year, a senior IFC official said on Friday. The refinancing could help to ease balance sheet pressure on Brazilian miner Vale which is developing the railway and a coal mine in the region. "The plan is to close by the end of the first quarter 2017," Marcel Bruhwiler, the IFC's principal investment officer for infrastructure and natural resources, told Reuters on the sidelines of a gas conference in Cape Town. Vale last month agreed new terms for the sale of stakes in the mine and railway project to fellow shareholder Mitsui & Co, a deal which hinges on the approval of a project finance plan. The newly built 912 km line, which links Vale's Moatize coal mine in Tete in the north of Mozambique to the Nacala port on the east coast and crosses over into Malawi, will also be used to move general freight and passengers as the southern African nation recovers after decades of civil war. Vital to enhancing access to global markets, the project has an initial capacity of transporting up to 22 million tonnes a year of which 18 million will be allotted to Vale's Moatize mine, the IFC has said. Bruhwiler said the IFC, the private lending arm of the World Bank, was looking to commit up to $200 million on its own account for the deal, in which it was the co-lead arranger together with the African Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. However, budgetary scandals as well as security concerns, which have included frequent stoppages along the different Sena-to-Beira port coal line due to gunfire, could lead to delays, he said. "Right now there are still many risks which could derail such a big undertaking, not the least it's the macro-economic and security situations," Bruhwiler said. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August demanded an external forensic audit of Mozambique's public debt to regain investor confidence after a scandal involving more than $2 billion in secret loans led to the international lender suspending budgetary assistance to one of the world's poorest countries. "Investors want to have clarity whether the IMF will re-engage at some point in time," Bruhwiler said, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic" the $2.7 billion syndicated loan will be successful given the strength of the sponsors and huge coal reserves in Tete province. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Adrian Croft/Keith Weir)
By Aditi Shah and Devidutta Tripathy

NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - India said on Friday it will consider re-auctioning mobile phone spectrum that remained unsold in a sale this week when the financial situation of its telecoms companies improves.

The government raised $9.9 billion from a spectrum auction that ended on Thursday, but there were no takers for the most-efficient yet priciest 700 megahertz band of airwaves and only 40 percent of the total on offer was sold.

Indian telecoms services are among the cheapest in the world, making margins relatively lower than elsewhere and putting pressure on carriers' finances, with local ratings agency ICRA forecasting their combined debt to rise to 4.25 trillion rupees ($64 billion) after funding the latest sale.

"If their financial situation is not good, and they can't buy it now, what is the guarantee that they will be able to if we do another auction immediately," Telecoms Minister Manoj Sinha told reporters, when asked about the unsold airwaves.

"So, we will take the appropriate decision at the appropriate time."

Telecoms Secretary J.S. Deepak separately told Reuters that the ministry was on course to achieve its revenue target set by the finance ministry, despite earning far less than he budgeted 645 billion rupees from the auction.

Deepak said the government will decide later on whether to consider cutting the price of the 700 band airwaves.

The telecoms ministry will get a minimum of 320 billion rupees upfront as carriers are allowed to pay in instalments.

Vodafone Group Plc was the top spender in the auction with 202.8 billion rupees worth of bids, followed by Bharti Airtel's 142.44 billion rupees, according to government data released on Friday.

Reliance Jio Infocomm bought airwaves worth 136.72 billion rupees, Idea Cellular spent 127.98 billion rupees, and Tata Teleservices bid for 46.19 billion rupees. ($1 = 66.7349 Indian rupees) (Editing by Alexander Smith)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Neither Innogy nor parent RWE are likely to take a stake in Germany's largest lender Deutsche Bank, Innogy's Chief Executive told Reuters on Friday.

"We have just raised billions with the promise to invest in networks and renewables. I don't think this included a promise for a Deutsche Bank investment," Peter Terium said in Frankfurt following the initial public offering offer of Innogy, Germany's largest listing in 16 years.

German business paper Handelsblatt reported earlier that German blue-chip corporations were ready to offer a capital injection to Deutsche Bank, which has been engulfed in crisis since news emerged last month of a U.S. demand for a $14 billion settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage bonds.

The paper did not name any specific companies.

German utility RWE, part of Germany's blue-chip DAX index, holds a 75 percent stake in Innogy, which bundles its power networks, retail and renewables operations.

Terium said Deutsche Bank was more in need of reliable partners and clients than investors, pointing to Deutsche Bank's role as one of the global coordinators of Innogy's IPO.

"I think I've helped them much more that way than by buying a few shares."

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Alexander Huebner; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
With the initial public offerings (IPO) market heating up, now could be an ideal time for investors to revisit exchange traded funds such as the First Trust US IPO Index Fund (FPX) and the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) .

Stocks stay in IPO for a maximum of two years. FPX holds companies longer than that. IPO is a portfolio of the largest, most liquid U.S.-listed newly public companies prior to their inclusion in core U.S. equity portfolios. IPOs that pass Renaissance Capitals formulated screening process are weighted by investable market capitalization, capped at 10% and removed after two years, according Renaissance Capital.

Related: IPO ETF Adds Ferrari

IPO ETFs do cut some of the implicit sector risk, mostly by effective screening measures designed to keep the highest-risk companies out of the funds. But any money poured into an IPO, either directly or through a fund, brings with it a risk element most retail investors may not find palatable, reports TheStreet.com.

Due to its indexing flexibility that allows for the inclusion of some IPOs after their fifth day of trading, the Renaissance Capital ETF can move to add hot IPOs soon after they come to market. That was seen with Alibaba (BABA) in 2014 and Line Corp. (LN), the Japanese company behind the popular messaging app, earlier this year.

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FPX has an international equivalent, the First Trust International IPO ETF (FPXI) . Like FPX, FPXI includes spin-off and can hold constituent firms for up to 1,000 days after their IPOs. Potential new additions to the ETFs underlying generally must have at least six full days of trading in order to enter the index on each rebalance, according to First Trust.

International IPO ETFs such as FPXI offer investors an advantage via the removal of the stock-picking burden. While that may not sound like the most attractive selling point, consider this: Most international IPOs and spin-offs have produced negative returns over the 12-, 24-, 36- and 48-month periods following their IPOs, the best performers have generated returns that have more than offset the losses from the laggards, according to First Trust.

Story continues

SEE MORE: Technology ETFs Are Making a Strong Comeback

The number of actual IPOs is down significantly in 2016, thus reducing the number of IPO investment opportunities for investors. According to Renaissance Capital, which operates the flagship Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) , states there were 275 new IPOs in 2014, followed by 170 in 2015, and only 75 so far in 2016, through September 30. In January 2016, the market saw zero new IPOs  the weakest start to a new year for the sector since 2008, reports TheStreet.com.

Renaissance IPO ETF

ipo

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.
Purchasing a business jet is a special occasion, and Embraer treats it as such.

The complete experience of buying a new aircraft from Embraer Executive Jets, the business-jet division of Embraer, includes a visit to the global Customer Center in Melbourne, Fla. You can bring along your familyand your pilotfor a test flight with a sales representative, who will point out the small touches that make the interior special. The rep will show you the fabric-lined compartments near each seat in which you can stow your tablet or phone. He or she will note that the interiors side panels are easy to remove so that repairs to any of the cabins systems can be done quickly and time on the ground can be minimized. Youll be invited to swivel in the seats and recline them, to feel how smoothly they operate. Then youll peek into the cockpit to view the avionics.

After the flight, youll tour the manufacturing facility and maybe watch workers install a jets wiring or unpack fuselage parts delivered from Brazil, where Embraer is based.

You may even get to see the entire production line roll forward as each aircraft moves to the next step in its assembly process.

When you finish the tour, youll have a three-course meal in the customer dining room, choosing items from a menu with your name printed on it. Then, if this courting process has solidified your decision to buy the jet, a service representative will present you with a keepsake to mark the occasion: a used aircraft part, perhaps a bolt with the grease still on it. We like to give people a greasy airplane part as a way of saying, Welcome to the family,  says Jay Beever, the vice president of interior design for Embraer Executive Jets.

Embraer entered the business-jet market in 2002 with a reconfigured version of its ERJ-135 regional airliner. The company had never sold aircraft to private owners, and that first business jetcalled the Legacy at the time and now called the Legacy 600revealed Embraers inexperience. The design was poor, not elegant, says Marco Tulio, the president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets. The first time [Embraer] designed a galley [for the Legacy], they wondered if the passengers would need ice. No one on the design team understood the mind-set of someone who stays at the finest hotels and dines at Michelin-starred restaurants. But the company learned quickly. For the next iteration of the Legacy, Embraer partnered with BMW DesignworksUSA to create a cabin that mimicked features found in the interior of a luxury car.

Story continues

Its one thing to create fine stitching on leather seats, but giving the customer a memorable buying experience takes a different type of effort. Embraer opened the Florida facility in 2011, a couple years after it introduced the Phenom 300. That aircrafts success has helped elevate the companys position in the market (See A Phenomenal Success, page 260). Yet after it launched the Phenom 300, Embraer wanted to offer potential customers more than just a new aircraft. So it built a U.S.-based manufacturing facility that also serves as the center of the buying experience. In the past decade, Embraer has developed three other clean-sheet designs in addition to the Phenom 300, and each has been a brisk seller to fractional programs and individual owners. The company believes that the buying experience has played a part in those sales. We are dedicating a lot of energy to being the best, not just in service, but in the experience, says Tulio.

After going home with your greasy aircraft part, youll be invited back to Florida to select the design elements for your aircrafts interior. The manufacturing facility has rooms full of fabric swatches from which you can choose. Or you can bring your own; Embraer will have it certified by the Federal Aviation Administration before installing it. Choosing the wood, fabric, and leather for your jet could take only a couple hours. If youre less decisive, it could take weeks of consulting with the companys designers, who will ask how you want the space to feel, and what elements are most important to you. At each step of the process, the designers can create a digital rendering of the proposed interior. You can even view a 360-degree video simulation of the cabin.

Once you choose an interior, it takes about 10 months for Embraer to complete it after the aircraft comes off the assembly line. But while your aircraft is being finished, your sales rep will meet youat your favorite restaurant, if you chooseand present you with another keepsake: a small box about the size of a humidor. It will be made of the wood that youve chosen for the interior trimming, and inside youll find folded samples of your cabins fabrics, leathers, and carpeting. The idea is that you can put it on display at home and it becomes a conversation piece, says Beever.

When its time to take delivery of the jet, the company offers a ceremony, to which you also can bring the whole family and the pilot. Inside the customer suite, the children can play video games or watch movies while you sign the contracts in an adjacent room with a wide window overlooking the hangar. At the appropriate moment, the sales representative will open the curtains, and youll see your jet for the first time, gleaming in a hangar painted stark white. The doors will be open, and a red carpet will lead to the stairs that fold down from the cabin door. The entire delivery process, complete with test flights, takes a couple of days. By the time you leave, youll have become very familiar with the Embraer facility and feel as though you know the people who work there. And thats the idea.

Luciano Froes, Embraer Executive Jets senior vice president of marketing, tells a story about a guy who drove up to the facility in a Bugatti, arriving without an appointment. The receptionist asked if he wanted to take a tour or a test flight or see a cabin mock-up. Oh, no, the man said. I already have a Phenom. I just wanted to come back and visit the place. Embraer Executive Jets, embraer (executivejets.com)

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The Muslim organisations have expressed their support to the government and army on surgical strikes.

By Javed M. Ansari : India's political parties may be divided on the question of the surgical strikes conducted on September 29, there is however, a near unanimity of views amongst the parties and organisations from within the minority community.

Parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), All India Muslim Mashewarat, and All India Milli Council and organisations like the Mumbai-based Raza Academy. The All India Ulama Board has not just condemned the Uri attack but also lauded the Army's counter strike."

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There should be no politics and no two opinions on this issue. Our motherland comes first. We wholeheartedly support whatever action the government has taken for protecting the country," said Kamal Farooqui, member AIMPLB.

Also read: Khoon ki dalali: Rahul Gandhi says he supports surgical strikes but slams use of Army in BJP posters



SUPPORT GOVERNMENT ON SURGICAL STRIKES

He is not alone. Scores of similar organisations, both at the national and state level, have echoed similar sentiments. Leaders like Arshad Madani, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, have chosen to put political differences aside and support the government.

"We need to be wary of Pakistan's evil designs. Kashmir has always been and will always remain an integral part of India," said Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Secretary, Hamid Nomani.

UNITED AGAINST PAKISTAN

The unequivocal condemnation of the Uri terror attack and the whole hearted support to the 'surgical strike' must have come as a dampener to the designs of Pakistan that has been hoping to create a communal divide on the Kashmir issue.

Also read: BJP created Jaish-e-Mohammad by releasing Masood Azhar: Congress



Significantly, this comes at a time when the political class is engaged in an unseemly attempt to score political brownie points off each other. The BJP and its supporters are hailing the strikes as a victory for the party and the government while the opposition is trying desperately to accuse the government of encashing on army's achievement for its political gains.

Prominent amongst the organisations that have called on political parties to stop the bickering around the surgical strikes are Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, AIMMM, All India Milli Council and Jamiat Ahle Hadees.

Also read: Cyber attack post surgical strike: Indian techies hack into Pakistan government network



--- ENDS ---
Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan recently signed on to be the newest spokesperson of Pan Bahar, an Indian pan masala brand.

Pan masala or paan masala is a mixture consisting of areca nut and spices thats generally chewed with tobacco and/or betel leaves. According to The Washington Post, the concoction has a government-mandated warning that tells consumers that its injurious to health; its also worth noting that the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer says that the areca nut is carcinogenic to humans.

Brosnan appears in an ad campaign for the product that includes a video depicting him as an action star who is aided by a can of pan masala; the campaign however, has received backlash online for the suave endorsement of a product that is associated with health risks.

Pierce Brosnan_ Pan Bahar

Pic1- when you want to kill others.

Pic2- when you want to kill yourself.  pic.twitter.com/V0C2hKN3HT  Lazy Cat (@DenNehaS) October 7, 2016

As Pierce Brosnan is endorsing #PanBahar, his new line should be  My name is Bond, aakthoo (splits).. James Bond.  Dinesh Jain (@djdineshjain) October 7, 2016
From Cosmopolitan

Ewo Harrell, 28, has dealt with the debilitating consequences of lupus, an autoimmune disease that affects almost 1.5 million Americans for nearly a decade. Now in her final year of grad school at Brown, the illness prompted her to pursue a masters in public health to become a patient advocate for patients like herself and become heavily involved with The Lupus Foundation of America and National Kidney Foundation. Harrell spoke to Cosmopolitan.com about her kidney transplant, medically induced coma, and what its like to finally be able to live.



When I was a sophomore at Union College, I went to China for a semester abroad; while there, I was feeling very sluggish and started having muscle pains. And Im thinking, OK, Im not exercising regularly, let me go exercise, but when I would try to exercise, I was short of breath and I would have a pain in my left side. Eventually I was hospitalized. I had fainted and they diagnosed me with severe constipation. A lot of people kind of laughed it off thinking I needed to drink more water, and that I wasnt taking care of myself.

So then I get back to [the U.S.] and I start getting these infections - EBV [the Epstein Bar virus], and upper respiratory infections. Again, when youre in a college situation in upstate New York, its quite common - I was told, "people are getting sick, its going around." I had pneumonia, extreme fatigue, and muscle and joint pain, and people brushed it off! I started going to see all types of different specialists and within six or seven months, I heard everything from "You might have cancer, you might have Crohns, you might have leukemia, we have to test you for this and that."

I was feeling alone. I had this awful roommate and everyone was taking her side - she wanted to have a party, but I was too tired and in pain and didnt want to party, you know? But I was making it to class and was smiling and was sociable and seeing people, so [people thought] I was making it up. Her gossiping about me and saying something that was not true, it fazed me. That was a lot to deal with, [but] Im not going to hunt down the 50 people she told and say "Im sick" or "We dont know whats going on" because its personal. I remember trying to explain to a guy friend of mine weeks after my diagnosis what I had been through, and he said, "I think its in your head because you were fine. It couldnt have been that bad because you hung out a lot." Ive never talked to him about it again, not even to this day, though hes been super supportive.



Story continues

That spring break I went home to Florida. After a couple of days at home, I woke up one day and I could not get out of bed. Not because it was painful, but because I could not move my legs. Obviously that scared my [dad] and he took me to a primary care doctor. The doctor gave me synthetic opiates to relieve the pain, but when that didnt work, and after three days of watching me not be able to move, my dad took me to the emergency room. I was scared I was dying, but I dont remember crying because I wanted to protect my family. I didnt want them to see me scared.

I was scared I was dying, but I dont remember crying because I wanted to protect my family.

A team of doctors there diagnosed me with lupus. There are different ways to diagnose lupus, but for me it was just a series of tests and a bone marrow biopsy that confirmed it. After that they were kind of like, "You can go into remission, but there is no cure. Heres a doctor that you need to follow up with." I remember them telling me to get enough sleep. Thats it!

Doctors then began treating me with really strong doses of steroids to reduce inflammation and subsequently help with pain, but we still dont know what kinds of consequences being on drugs like these for a long time can have. I found out later that [this course of treatment] was the wrong thing to do based on my demographics; for [African Americans], any damage to the kidney, let alone kidney failure, dialysis, or transplant, may make it more difficult for a woman to carry a child later in life.

So I dealt with flare-ups from the lupus for the next two years at school, and when I would come home, I would always see my doctor to adjust my medications as needed. After my graduation - which was an amazing experience because there were so many times I didnt feel I could make it to that point - I moved to Paris with my then-boyfriend. While I was there, I was having other, unfamiliar symptoms. I was gaining weight, but I was in Paris eating bread and cheese! I was also in love! The pain and the fatigue were normal by that point, so I didnt suspect anything. On my birthday that year, I came home early from a surprise party my then-boyfriend had planned at my friends house because I was not feeling well. I Skyped with my parents who told me I looked great. I was like, "Well, I feel awful." I remember going to bed and when I woke up, my BF had come home and he was like "Oh my god, babe, whats wrong with you?" From my belly button down was twice the size it shouldve been. My body was completely swollen. I asked him if he thought it was lupus and he was like, "That doesnt look like lupus, we have to go to the doctor."

I remember just trying to keep my head up because I kept falling asleep. We got checked in and I was trying to be positive. Meanwhile, [my boyfriend] would tell you that he was freaking out because the doctor had told him I was dying and that he needed to get me to the hospital immediately. My body was shutting down and I didnt know.

My body was shutting down and I didnt know.

Your kidneys control everything in your body. They regulate water, so if [they] dont work, water builds up in your body. I was pretty much drowning from the inside out. That swelling, the extra fatigue I was feeling was water around my heart, around my brain, in my lungs. If Id never had lupus, I probably wouldve been like, "This is strange," when I first felt weird, but because no one ever has answers for what happens to your body when you have lupus, I had no idea. Theres no one common symptom.



At the hospital, doctors induced a coma. They got my brain swelling down and they immediately started me on dialysis. We found out the cause of [the failure] was partially lupus, but theyll never be quite sure. At the time of my diagnosis, there was a lot of new scientific evidence of this gene called the APOL 1 gene that people of African descent may have or are more likely to have. I had that gene and that gene predisposes me to kidney disease or failure. Its also possible this was exacerbated by lupus or lupus caused my kidney failure and was exacerbated by the APOL 1 gene. Either way, my type of kidney disease was very aggressive and difficult to treat.

I was in the hospital for three months [after being hospitalized]. To ensure remission, I had chemotherapy while I was in France. I felt amazing. I was on dialysis too [but] the goal, when I got back to the U.S., was to get a kidney transplant.

My brother, who had been living in Japan, moved back to America to donate, but it took me about eight months to get my paperwork done and more than a year to get [on the transplant list]. By then, my brother had gone back to Japan. Once I got listed, my sister wanted to donate. Shes my younger sister so I kind of ignored her, because Im supposed to protect her, but behind the scenes, she went and got tested at her school. I had others - the then-head of Greek life at my alma mater and my best guy friend - who wanted to donate as well. But we just kind of had to wait.

I went to counseling so that I become OK with my sister donating. She was approved and we had the transplant on July 31, 2013. It was hard at first. When you have the transplant, it takes a long, long time to adjust and recover and get used to your medications. There is a three month-minimum monitoring period. After I was released from the hospital, I had to attend regular check-ups three times a week for the first month. After that, it went down to twice a week.

Thats why we look back and wonder if I always, as a child, had lupus. When I was 11 and then 13, I had severe allergic reactions to peaches and mangoes respectively. I had skin rashes and face-swelling very similar to the flares I had after my official diagnosis, which wouldve indicated I was immunocompromised. And I had always been kind of sluggish, and I had always complained about joint pains. But I dont have those pains anymore. I get tired like a normal person, but I can think straight. The biggest thing for me is when I was on dialysis, I couldnt walk a block without needing to rest. Now sometimes Im walking around and Im like, "Oh my god, Im breathing normally!"

Wed found out two days before my transplant that my sister wasnt a perfect match, so we had to make a family decision. My sister said she wont regret giving me a kidney, so we went along with it, but the average living donor kidney lasts about 20 years. Because my sister wasnt a perfect match, the average will probably be about 15 years. Again, its an average, so if Im lucky, maybe 30 years. For the lifetime of the transplant I will have regular blood work to monitor kidney function and the levels of my medication, but hitting three years post-transplant is a big deal - the first three years are when theres the highest risk of rejection so me getting to [this point] without having a rejection episode is amazing.

I want people to know that lupus is a real disease that can affect anyone and it affects all parts of your body. And so even though its invisible and your mother, brother, or friend may seem OK, theyre dealing with things they cant even describe. Ask them how theyre doing. Im tearful thinking about it because I cant believe its been three years and that Im living my life. I feel very lucky because theres a lot of people who think its the end for them. I lost five years of my 20s, you know? But Im killing it right now. My dreams are coming true.

Invisible Illnesses is a column featuring twentysomething women who suffer from chronic illnesses. They explain their conditions, how it affects their lives, and what they wish people who have no idea they are sick would know. If you would like to be interviewed about your experience with an invisible illness, email tkoman@hearst.com. Read previous installments of the column here.



Follow Tess on Twitter.

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Oslo (AFP) - Syrian rescuers risking all to save war-hit civilians and the brokers of Iran's nuclear deal are among contenders for Friday's Nobel Peace Prize after Colombia's peacemakers fell from pole position.

As the annual Nobel prize-giving week reaches its peak, the five-member Norwegian committee will unveil its decision at 0900 GMT, the only one of six awards to be presented in Oslo and the one which traditionally garners the greatest attention.

For once, experts, online betting sites and commentators had thought they were on to a sure thing with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo London, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, widely seen as frontrunners after signing a deal to end 52 years of civil war.

But they were suddenly forced to rethink after voters in Colombia rejected the agreement between their government and the communist FARC rebels in an October 2 referendum.

That threw the prestigious prize wide open again, and with a record 376 nominations to consider, predicting the winner is largely a lottery, with experts far from unanimous over who the committee will choose.

On the eve of the award, several Nobel watchers flagged civilian-led endeavours, with two betting sites giving Greek islanders the best odds for coming to the aid of thousands of desperate refugees landing on their shores after making the perilous journey across the sea from Turkey.

For others, it was the work of Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege in helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

- 'Resilience and bravery' -

Syria's White Helmet volunteers were also touted as possible winners for their daring efforts to rescue civilians caught up in the carnage of the country's five-year war.

Working in rebel-held areas, the force has won international plaudits for the bravery of its nearly 3,000 volunteers who risk life and limb to pull survivors from the rubble, with their nomination for the prize firmly backed by Britain's Guardian newspaper.

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"What the White Helmets accomplish may seem like a drop in the ocean, but what they represent is immense: resilience and bravery in the face of barbarism," said the paper in an editorial.

"And they show that individual acts of courage can go a long way to fight indifference. They also embody a spirit of civic resistance... exemplifying courage and solidarity in the face of state-sponsored terror."

For Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Oslo's Peace Research Institute (PRIO), the top contender was Russian rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina for her decades-long work with refugees and migrants -- an issue which has shot to prominence in Europe since the start of the migrant crisis.

Also in the running is Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who endured months of sexual abuse by Islamic State militants before escaping to become a global spokesperson for her people.

And US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been touted for his exposure of the scope of US surveillance.

- Nuclear diplomacy -

If diplomatic achievement wins the prize, it could go to the negotiators behind the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord which effectively curbed Tehran's nuclear drive, putting an atomic bomb out of reach, in exchange for a gradual lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on its economy since 2006.

That could see the prize going to Washington's top diplomat John Kerry, his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as to nuclear experts Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary, and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

In an illustration of just how difficult it is to call, last year's prize went to four Tunisian groups who were instrumental in the country's transition to democracy -- none of whom had been mentioned in any of the pre-announcement speculation.
Started from YouTube, now we here! Issa Rae boasted Thursday night in Los Angeles. A woman of many jokes, Rae had the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center auditorium filled with laughter at the premiere of her HBO series Insecure.

The writer, creator, and star of the comedy was praised at the screening by her family and friends  many of whom star in the show alongside her. Theyre all just so dear to me and a lot of the reason [why] Im here, said Rae, whos behind the Awkward Black Girl web series, looking around on the pink carpet. Everyone is super talented and so hungry for it.

Even Casey Bloys, HBOs president of programming, credited the former web star for bringing her vision and fresh talent to the network.

We always knew that Issa was special, but this show confirms that Issa is a star, Bloys said before introducing the comedy. I think we all know how hard it is in this business to break through and for a show where three people broke through creatively, I think its really special and I hope they stick around to make many seasons of the show, he said about showrunner Prentice Penny, director Melina Matsoukas and Rae.

The series follows a millennials journey through life in south Los Angeles as she balances dating, being the only African American in her workplace, and building confidence, alongside her best friend (played by Yvonne Orji).

There are universal things that we talk about, everyones had a job that they loathe and try to navigate those waters, Orji said. Everyone has had a job where theyve been the only black person, woman, man, [you] name it. Everyones been single thinking that its never going to happen for me.

Penny says the show is relatable, despite Issas distinct voice on the modern-day African American womans experience living in South L.A.

You can get caught up about what they tell you is going to sell or not going to sell and you can forget to just be honest to you and to tell honest and truthful stories  that was always paramount for us in the writers room, he said. Hopefully that will continue to translate.

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Insecure premieres Sunday on HBO.

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By Umberto Bacchi LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Italy's Defence Minister is to personally officiate a same-sex civil union, in a move she said would send a strong message against discrimination and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the armed forces. Italy in May became the last major Western country to legally recognise gay couples, but activists say homophobia and prejudice remain widespread, particularly in male-dominated environments like the military and police. "The fact that the defense minister decides to officiate a civil union sends a powerful message to all armed forces," Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti told Italian state broadcaster RAI Uno on Friday. "We need to condemn all behaviours that create a negative environment." Pinotti said she will celebrate the union between two women in Genoa on Saturday, becoming the first Italian defence minister to officiate at a same-sex civil union. She originally made the announcement in a letter to Polis Aperta, a group promoting LGBT rights in the police and armed forces. "I am glad to inform you that on Oct. 8 I will celebrate a civil union," she wrote in the document seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The head of Polis Aperta, Simonetta Moro, said Pinotti's gesture would embolden police and military personnel who are forced to hide their sexuality, fearing abuse. "Many are afraid that coming out could harm their career, leading to excuses and pretexts to sideline them," Moro told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. Italian law makes no restrictions on gay men and women joining the armed forces but "disorders of gender identity" are still listed as a cause of ineligibility, in a norm that Moro said is discriminatory against transgenders. The Italian parliament approved same-sex civil unions in May after months of fierce debate across the country. The bill had faced stiff opposition from Catholic groups who said it went too far, while gay activists said it was too timid. It gave gay couples the right to share a surname, draw on their partner's pension when they die and inherit each other's assets in the same way as married people. (Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly. (Photos: Rick Scuteri/AP, Chris Carlson/AP)

Two of Fox News biggest TV personalities declared Thursday night that they were #friends after the two publicly traded shots.

Earlier this week, Megyn Kelly noted on her show that a good portion of Donald Trumps interviews are with Sean Hannity, who openly supports his campaign and rarely subjects the GOP nominee to tough questions.

Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10 oclock, will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days, which doesnt exactly expand the tent.

Hannity responded by accusing Kelly of supporting Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee:

@megynkelly u should be mad at @HillaryClinton Clearly you support her. And @realDonaldTrump did talk to u. https://t.co/vsQiNMgHut  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 6, 2016

Speculation swirled about the apparent feud between the two hosts.

But on Thursday, they publicly buried the hatchet. Kelly and Hannity tweeted nearly identical messages noting their shared Irish heritage, saying its complicated, and including the #friends hashtag.

After CNNs Andrew Kaczynski said he would love to know more of the backstory, Hannity said he and Kelly had settled a minor disagreement.
Before Jane Pauley even considers finding her own voice on CBS venerable Sunday Morning, she wants to make certain the shows own tones remain intact.

I have enough experience in television with brand-name programs to know that if theres anything viewers dont want too much of, its overt change, particularly in the morning, she said in an interview this week. They kind of have an expectation that the same is fine.

And yet, when viewers tune into CBS Sunday Morning this weekend, they wont be served the same thing. For the first time in decades, a new anchor will be at the helm of the Sunday-breakfast institution. Pauley will greet viewers this Sunday, not Charles Osgood as has been the norm, and the shift is a major one: Jane Pauley will be just the third anchor since Sunday Morning launched in January of 1979.

Longtime watchers will get what they regularly tune in for, said Pauley. There will still be unique features, like the one Mo Rocca recently delivered on vexillology, the study of flags. Pauley this Sunday will present an interview with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and even get a peek inside her freezer. And there will be some hints of her predecessor. I have had difficulty trying to escape the unique rhythm of his read. Hes just very natural, she said of Osgoods signature style. Thats what viewers, myself included, associate with Sunday Morning  a certain cadence, and interpretation, of words.

Maintaining that aspect of the show, she said, is almost unavoidable. Sunday Morning will certainly evolve during her tenure as stories and audience demand, but I think Ill be given a pass for a brief period of time, and there will be an expectation that maybe I find my own style.

Rand Morrison, the shows executive producer, feels Sunday Morning should shift along with the subjects it covers and new ways of telling stories, but doesnt think a new anchor requires a new modus operandi. As Jane settles in to her new life, well adjust the mix of stories to speak to things that play to her strengths or are just of interest to her, he said. He did express an interest in covering science and technology, but remained adamant that Sunday Morning would maintain its eclecticism. A story about prostitution is in the production pipeline, he said, and a profile of Celine Dion may air this weekend.

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Pauley takes the Sunday helm as a new rivalry looms. NBC earlier this year devised a new Sunday edition of Today, hosted by Willie Geist, who gets to offer his viewpoint on some of the news of the day and explore longer-term reportage. Ironically, Geists father, Bill, has been a long-time Sunday Morning correspondent for CBS. Its kind of a friendly competition, from where we sit,said Pauley, whose ties to NBC go back to 1975, when she joined its Chicago station, WMAQ.

CBS has reason to consider any change to Sunday Morning carefully. Advertisers including Merck, Trivago.com and Boehringer Ingelheim spent approximately $50.3 million on the program last year, according to Kantar, a tracker of ad spending. In the first six months of 2016, advertisers have already committed about $32.5 million to the show  slightly more than they did in the year-earlier period.

Whats more, Sunday Morning provides a lead-in to Face The Nation, the public-affairs program that is the network news units entry in the ongoing TV-news battle to win the attention of senior government officials and influencers. It has a relatively new host at its helm as well: John Dickerson, who has been in place there for more than a year after succeeding Bob Schieffer in June of 2015.

Pauley is not an unfamiliar presence. She jumped quickly to NBCs Today morning show from her Chicago perch, and then, after winning viewer sympathy when the network moved to replace her with Deborah Norville, transitioned into a decade-plus-long stint on Dateline. Indeed, Pauley has appeared in viewers living rooms as long as Osgood.

Her arrival at Sunday Morning is the result of happenstance. She had been contributing segments to NBCs Today about transitions in middle-age, and Sunday Morning did a report on it. Social-media reaction was positive, and she was invited to join the program as a contributor.

She says she would not be eager to adopt the pace currently en vogue in modern weekday morning programs. Its punishing, she says of todays A.M. news productions. Its sixty-five miles an hour in heavy traffic. In my era, it was pretty casual.

Her new morning show lets viewers take time to smell their coffee, rather than gulping it down. Each segment has the potential to be seven to nine minutes, which is practically a documentary in broadcasting today, she notes. There is the luxury of taking time and spending time on topics or with individuals that you arent going to see elsewhere.

Except Pauley herself, of course. Given the average tenure of a host on Sunday Morning, viewers are likely to see her quite regularly.

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By PTI: From Shirish B

Pradhan

Kathmandu, Oct 7 (PTI) Nepal government is working towards amending the new Constitution to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties and ethnic minority groups within a couple of weeks, a senior minister said today.

Minister for Urban Development Arjun Narsingh K

C said that the government is speeding up the process to address the concerns of the disgruntledparties.

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"A motion to amend the constitution would be registered in the parliament that would address the demands of the disgruntled groups within a couple of weeks after the Vijaya Dashami festival ends," he said.

Last year, Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, held protests for five months in southern Nepal districts to oppose the new Constitution, claiming the federal structure incorporated in the new charter did not satisfy their demands.

"The promulgation of the Constitution through the Constituent Assembly was a historic achievement for the people of Nepal as they had fulfilled their long cherished dream to have a Constitution that guarantees democratic rights and freedom," Narsingh said.

"However, it is also equally important to make the Constitution acceptable to all sections of the society through its amendment," the minister said.

There is a need to forge unity among the three major parties, including Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-UML to amend the Constitution, he said.

The country is going through a crucial period at the moment and there is a need to forge unity among all sections of the society, he said. PTI SBP NSA

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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will seek to ratify the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to cut emissions and prevent climate change as soon as possible, after support from European nations sent the accord over an important threshold earlier this week. "We would like to make our best efforts to complete ratification as soon as possible," Japanese environment minister Koichi Yamamoto told a news conference on Friday, adding the government will submit a ratification bill to parliament as early as Oct. 11. However, approval may take weeks and if Japan misses the Nov. 4 implementation date for the agreement, that could limit its ability to influence negotiations on the finer details of the agreement. Those talks are set to formally start during the COP-22 meeting in Morocco next month. Backing for the accord from several European nations, Canada, Bolivia and Nepal this week pushed the agreement past the 55 percent of emitters limit needed for implementation, with U.S. President Barack Obama calling for other nations to sign up "as soon as possible." The agreement is meant to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, to limit floods, droughts, more powerful storms and rising ocean levels. "We were surprised to see EU and some other nations to ratify the agreement so quickly," a Japanese government official told Reuters on Friday. Other government sources also said it makes Japan look bad diplomatically as it hosted the Group of Seven summit in May where leaders agreed to ratify the agreement this year. "It may mean Japan's voice will have less influence in discussions over detailed rules," said Kentaro Tamura, leader of climate and energy area at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. Environment Minister Yamamoto denied there would be any substantial impact from non-ratification as of Nov. 4 on Japan's ability to influence the Morocco negotiations. Japan has also been criticized for pressing ahead with plans to open scores of new coal-fired power plants at home and as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes coal burning power technology abroad. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Aaron Sheldrick and Christian Schmollinger)
By Astrid Wendlandt

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Japanese cosmetics group Shiseido is aiming to become one of the world's top five perfume makers in five years, up from its current seventh spot, helped by recent acquisitions and a step up in marketing, especially online, it said on Friday.

Shiseido beat Spain's Puig this summer to win Procter & Gamble's Dolce & Gabbana perfume (D&G) licence, which generates 400 million euros ($445 million) in annual revenue. It aims to grow this to 1 billion euros in 10 years.

"We want to be in the top five in the five years to come," said Louis Desazars, Shiseido Group Chief Executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa, who was previously U.S. head of Shiseido's Nars make-up brand.

"There is a new mindset and energy in the group."

Top perfume makers globally include L'Oreal, Coty , LVMH and Chanel.

The D&G licence business will compensate for Shiseido's loss this year of the Jean-Paul Gaultier perfume licence as part of an agreement with Puig when it bought the French brand in 2011 - only to discontinue its ready-to-wear three years later.

Shiseido said the D&G perfume business had helped it more than double its market share instantly to 5.8 percent from 2.2 percent. It is aiming to reach 9 percent in five years.

On top of its own skin care lines, Shiseido makes perfume under licence for fashion brands Issey Miyake, Narciso Rodriguez, Elie Saab and Azzedine Alaia.

The group said it had created a separate branch for niche brands it has acquired such as Serge Lutens last year and the skin care and cosmetics brands Laura Mercier and ReVive in July.

The global perfume market grew 2.9 percent in 2015, while niche perfume brands saw their sales surge 15 percent as consumers increasingly favour rare and upmarket fragrances.

Estee Lauder has also placed niche perfume brands it has bought, such as Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle and Le Labo, in a separate division.

Including perfume, skin care and make-up, Shiseido ranks fifth globally behind L'Oreal, Coty, LVMH and Chanel, and is bigger than Clarins. In skin care alone, Shiseido said it aimed to join the top three globally, up from its current fifth spot.

($1 = 0.8983 euros) (Editing by Mark Potter)
Jemima Kirke rocks a short blonde bob and our eyes can barely handle it

Whos that girl?

Sarah Paulson? Vera Farmiga? Uma Thurman?

Would you believe us if we told you its Jemima Kirke? Her Girls co-star, Allison Williams, shared Kirkes new look on Instagram, and we did a triple-take.

This is the Jemima were used to:

&that's a wrap for me on the series of GIRLS. Bye Jessa. Thank you 4 all you've done for me. SEE YA ROUND MY LOVE X pic.twitter.com/Kv9P5PBxxC  Jemima Kirke (@jemimakirke) August 26, 2016

This is ~new~ Jemima with a long blonde bob!

When cool kids grow up, they just become cooler kids. #JemimaKirke @theheartsmanual #IKnowSmokingIsBad #ButSheWasBornSmoking A photo posted by Allison Williams (@aw) on Oct 7, 2016 at 10:19am PDT

The look matches Kirkes uber cool demeanor perfectly. Did you know shes an artist? She majored in painting at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Her work is impressionistic, and focused on portraits of women. #cool

#JemimaKirke in her lovely brooklyn art studio for @semaine_online hair @brianbuenaventura_ #ninaparkbeauty using @onomiebeauty #fbf A photo posted by Nina Park (@ninapark) on Jun 17, 2016 at 6:35am PDT

Daughter of Bad Companys Simon Kirke, she only stumbled into acting when her longtime friend Lena Dunham (they both attended Saint Anns School in New York City), asked her to be in her little movie, Tiny Furniture.

But she considers herself first and foremost an artist.

They can't keep us apart for long #dagirls A photo posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Oct 7, 2016 at 11:05am PDT

She has two children with husband Michael Mosberg, and even her kids names are artsy: daughter Rafaella Israel, and son Memphis Kirke.

FYI, Jemima is not on Instagram. Sad face. Youll have to search #jemimakirke if you want to obsess over her, like we often do, or obsess over her friends feeds, since the show is over now and we cant obsess over her on screen anymore.

Story continues

Or, follow her on Twitter:

Sort of happy to be on carousel w/ son. Who is delightedly playing with giant red phallus. pic.twitter.com/vEMU5wHtUB  Jemima Kirke (@jemimakirke) September 25, 2016

And definitely watch Life with Jemima Kirke:

Okay, consider this post your Jemima Kirke primer, all inspired by her long blonde bob.

The post Jemima Kirke rocks a short blonde bob and our eyes can barely handle it appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Jennie Garth is beaming with joy!

The 44-year-old actress took to Instagram on Wednesday to congratulate her best friend and Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star, Tori Spelling, on her pregnancy.

WATCH: Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott Get Matching Tattoos for 10th Wedding Anniversary

"Congrats to my beautiful friend," she wrote. "#friends #bff #baby #iloveyou @torispelling."

Congrats to my beautiful friend #friends #bff #baby #iloveyou @torispelling A photo posted by Jennie  (@jenniegarth) on Oct 5, 2016 at 6:29pm PDT

The post came just a few hours after Spelling announced she was expecting her fifth child with husband Dean McDermott via Instagram. Spelling, 43, and McDermott, 49, are already parents to Liam, 9, Stella, 8, Hattie, 4, and Finn, 4. (McDermott also has an 18-year-old son, Jack, from his previous marriage to Mary Jo Eustace.)

So blessed and excited that our family is growing again! Were expecting our 5th! Get all of the details in this weeks issue of @people & click the link in my bio for more photos! A photo posted by Tori Spelling (@torispelling) on Oct 5, 2016 at 10:41am PDT

WATCH: Tori Spelling Talks Rebuilding Marriage After Dean McDermott Cheated

On Friday, Spelling thanked her family, friends and fans for their well wishes, and shared a sweet pic of herself cradling her baby bump in a bright yellow dress.

"2nd Trimester #babybump & feeling great!" she wrote. "Thanks for all of the amazing love and support everyone has shown us with the news of #5! The comments and DM's and texts have been incredible! I  all of you!"

Congrats to the happy couple!

Story continues

WATCH: Tori Spelling Is Pregnant With Fifth Child

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By Hilary Russ

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - New Jersey's Democrat-led legislature passed a 23-cent gasoline tax hike on Friday to re-start the state's stalled transportation projects, sending the measure to Republican Governor Chris Christie for his expected signature.

The legislative package would increase the state's gas tax, which has not risen since 1988, to 37.5 cents per gallon. Christie and lawmakers struck a $16 billion deal on Sept. 30 to fund road, bridge and transit projects for eight years.

In exchange for the higher gas tax, the bills reduce the sales tax rate in phases and eliminate the estate tax, which now applies to estates valued over $675,000. The total tax cuts will ultimately cost the state $1.4 billion of revenue annually once fully implemented.

The hard-fought deal comes after months of talks and previous agreements that ultimately fell flat. In early July, Christie halted all but the most essential projects paid for with the state's Transportation Trust Fund, including $2.7 billion of NJ Transit projects.

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association, a trade group representing businesses in the state, hailed the deal as a step toward slowing the outmigration of companies and residents from New Jersey.

But the head of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a think-tank focused on the state's economy which on its website says it "has played an essential role in advancing progressive state policies," was harshly critical.

Gordon MacInnes, president of the think-tank, called the plan "absolutely toxic to New Jersey's future." While the gas tax increase was long overdue, he said in a statement, the companion tax cuts will lead to higher college costs, less property tax relief and higher transit fares for future generations.

(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Leslie Adler)
(WASHINGTON) Secretary of State John Kerry called Friday for Russia and Syria to face a war crimes investigation for their attacks on Syrian civilians, further illustrating the downward spiral in relations between Washington and Moscow.

Kerry said Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100, describing what would be the latest strike by Moscow or its ally in Damascus on a civilian target.

Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children, Kerry told reporters alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who arrived in Washington directly from meeting Russian officials in Moscow.

Kerry said such acts beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.

They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond, Kerry said in some of his toughest criticism to date. He accused Russia and Syria of undertaking a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians.

Ayrault, for his part, spoke of a new French effort for a cease-fire in Syria. But its unclear what advantages his plan would have over the U.S.-Russian led process that collapsed last month.

Kerrys Sept. 9 agreement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counterterrorism alliance in Syria, had fighting stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas.

Neither condition was ever met.

The truce then broke completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo. Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Russia on the military partnership earlier this week.

The war has killed as many as a half-million people since 2011, contributed to Europes worst refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State group to carve out territory for itself and emerge as a global terror threat.

As Kerry and Ayrault spoke at the State Department, Russias lower house of parliament ratified a new treaty with Syria that would allow Russias military to remain indefinitely in the Arab country. The vote was unanimous, a show of support for Syrian President Bashar Assads government.

Russia launched its air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assads forces make significant territorial gains.
Burke Ramsey, the brother of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, is suing a famed forensic pathologist for $150 million after the expert falsely stated the Burke Ramsey killed his sister, according to a court filing.

Burke Ramsey, 29, claims Dr. Werner Spitz attacked and permanently harmed his reputation when he accused Burke of killing JonBenet during a September interview with CBS Detroit, according to a defamation lawsuit filed Thursday in Michigan.

Spitz made this accusation without ever examining JonBenets body, without viewing the crime scene, and without consulting with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on JonBenet, the complaint said. Burke Ramsey has suffered, is suffering, and will continue to suffer harm.

Spitz, whose office declined to comment on Friday, appeared on CBSs docuseries The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey in September. The nearly 20-year-old cold case drew new interest this fall thanks to a handful of documentaries and Burkes first media interview since his sisters grisly murder.

Spitz gave a separate interview to CBS Detroit on Sept. 19 in which he blamed the boy for the murder. The story appears to have been taken down from the website.

If you really, really use your free time to think about this case, you cannot come to a different conclusion, Spitz said at the time, according to the complaint. Its the boy who did it, whether he was jealous or mentally unfit or something. I dont know the why, Im not a psychiatrist, but what I am sure about is what I know about him. That is what happened here.

The lawsuit accuses Spitz of being a publicity seeker who caused mental anguish over his vicious, unsupported attacks.

JonBenet was 6 when she was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her familys Colorado home in 1996. Authorities still do not know who killed the girl, but prosecutors had cleared her parents and brother in 2008 after DNA tests concluded that an outsider committed the crime.
From Esquire

As Hurricane Matthew barrels towards the Florida Coast, residents are preparing for what could be the strongest storm in history. More than 2.5 million people in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have been ordered to evacuate their homes. Disney World is closing its doorssomething the "happiest place on earth" has only done three times before. Current forecasts show Matthew reaching Florida as a category 4 or 5 hurricane, with the Palm Beach area taking the worst impact.

Jeanette Brown, a mental health professional, lives on the beach in Jupiter, a coastal town in Palm Beach County. She and her family, like many residents, have been forced to evacuate. I called to ask what it's like to leave her home behind.

People were waiting and watching. But for the last few days, people have been preparing. And when people in Jupiter start preparing, that means that they're taking it seriously. There were lines at the gas station, and eventually they ran out of gas. You can't buy bread. You can't buy water. It's all gone. People have been shuttering their homes, and a lot of people have been leaving.

The predictions had the hurricane going off the coast. But we woke up the other day, and they had it coming towards Florida. I think that's when people knew that they needed to get out. We didn't decide to evacuate until last night because we were waiting to see what was going to happen. It was just upgraded today from a category 3 to a category 4, so it's even stronger. We were in a mandatory evacuation zone, which means that it's a really good idea to get out.

Photo credit: Getty

Some of the neighbors left. What tends to happen-what used to happen to me growing up-is that the man in the house will send his family somewhere while he stays with the house. That didn't happen to us, but we do have neighbors who sent their family somewhere inland or somewhere south, but they stayed in the house.

I think they stay with the idea that if something happens, like if a shutter comes off or something happens to the house, that they can fix it. But this storm is supposed to be hitting in the night, so it's going to be very difficult, because not only will they probably not have power, but it will be dark. Sometimes the problem with Florida is that, since we do get a lot of hurricanes, people think, Oh, I'll be fine, and they don't leave their homes even if they're in an evacuation zone. And then, if something happens, first responders and emergency people can't get to them.

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They ran out of gas. You can't buy bread. You can't buy water. It's all gone.

Some families try to take valuables and things of that nature. We put some food and some blankets and clothes, and we grabbed our dogs and got in the car. We have our electronics, so we have anything that's on the computer, like pictures and that kind of stuff. But other than that, everything else is in the house.

We chose to come to Ft. Lauderdale because we had a place to go. They open shelters in schools and stuff, but we wanted to take our dogs, so we found someone who has an apartment down here. We're staying with a friend.

Photo credit: Getty

I think we're feeling like we did everything we could with the house, and I think coming to Ft. Lauderdale was the right plan, because we've been watching the news and it looks like Broward County, which is where we are now, should be fine. We have hurricane shutters, and we took in all of the outdoor furniture and made sure that the house was boarded up. We cut power to the lights outside so that if something happens to the lights or if a tree falls or something like that, that there isn't power. That's mostly what people do, just try and cover their windows and move anything outside that could be damaged.

Our house is on the water. Typically, even with a storm that's not that bad, the water rises and ends up in the backyard. We're hoping that the house stands and that it's structurally fine.

Now, we're just waiting.

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By PTI: Colombo, Oct 7 (PTI) Under attack from the opposition for boycotting the SAARC Summit to be held in Islamabad, the Sri Lankan government today said there was no question of pulling out when there was "no summit to attend".

"There was no question of pulling out when there was no summit to attend", Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament.

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He said Sri Lanka had regretted that conditions were not conducive to holding the Summit.

Samaraweera said the Lankan statement was released only after several countries had issued statements with their intention to pull out.

"We will take part (in the summit) whenever it happens," he said.

The opposition hit out at the government, saying Sri Lanka was staying out of the summit to please India while hurting Pakistan.

Samaraweera said the South Asian region must unite against terrorism.

"Terrorism must unite our region not divide it," he said while inviting the regions leadership to forget the past and unite against terrorism.

Sri Lanka on Sepember 30 pulled out of 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, becoming the fifth country to do so after India, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

"Sri Lanka regrets that the prevailing environment in the region is not conducive for holding the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad," the Foreign Ministry had said in a statement.

On the same day, Pakistan had postponed the SAARC Summit to be held in Islamabad from November 9 and 10.

Besides India, three other SAARC members -- Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan -- had pulled out of the summit, indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which was not right for the successful holding of the meet.

Citing continuous cross border terrorism by Pakistan, India had announced last month that "in the prevailing circumstances, the Indian government is unable to participate in the proposed Summit in Islamabad."

SAARC member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. PTI CORR ASK AKJ ASK

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From ELLE

The night Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, Kims bodyguard Pascal Duvier was with Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, who were out clubbing together. The two were among the first over to comfort Kim after the incident and left Paris the next day with her. In the days since the incident, the sisters have been silent on social media.

Kourtney was the first to return to Twitter, tweeting a devotional passage last night. Do not judge a day devoid of Joy just because it contains difficulties, it read, encouraging her and others to find comfort in their faith.

Meanwhile, Kendall just posted herself wearing a literal heart on Instagram. Its the same Saint Laurent jacket Rihanna wore a couple weeks ago:

Kim has yet to post anything on her accounts. She has postponed a makeup event in Dubai she was supposed to fly out for on October 12.

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As of Thursday afternoon local time, things were not looking good for the Space Coast. The region of eastern Florida that plays host to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, was looking set for a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew with all its Category 4 strength.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Thursday afternoon that Hurricane Matthew, which has wreaked havoc in Haiti, eastern Cuba and battered the Bahamas, could cause "potentially disastrous impacts for Florida."

Neither the iconic NASA facility nor the nearby air force station, along with Patrick Air Force Base, have ever been tested in a storm of this magnitude before.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Matthew could damage the U.S.' newest weather satellite before it launches

The NHC predicted heavy rain, 7 to 11 feet of storm surge flooding above high tide level and 140-mile-per-hour winds as the eye of the storm potentially moves "close to or over the east coast of the Florida peninsula through Friday night."

The 45th Space Wing, the United States Air Force (USAF) unit that commands Patrick Air Force Base and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, prepared for Matthew earlier this week.

It entered HURCON II (or Hurricane Condition II) on Wednesday. All "non-mission essential personnel" were released at 11 a.m. and "a mandatory evacuation for personnel and residents on barrier islands, in manufactured homes and in slosh zones" began at 3 p.m.

NHC's 4 p.m. ET update on Thursday shows odds of tropical storm force winds (39 miles per hour) or greater.

Image: NOAA/NHC

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, meanwhile, was completely closed Thursday and Friday and "anticipated to reopen" Saturday. By Thursday the center was in HURCON I status, the last stage before the hurricane hits, with final checks for loose debris being made.

A Facebook update from the Kennedy Space Center Thursday afternoon warned of gusts to 150 mph.

All eyes will be on Matthew over the coming hours. If it tracks slightly further out to sea, the potential for damage could lessen. If it continues swinging straight for the Space Coast, the cost could be catastrophic. And if it hits during a high tide, surge-related flooding could make things even worse.

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The NHC is warning of storm inundation as high as 9 feet or more above normally dry land all the way up the neighboring section of coast, and of "life-threatening inundation" along the Florida east coast. Most of the Kennedy Space Center is built on land between five and ten feet above sea level.

The inundation forecast, which is shown in the graphic below, is considered a "reasonable worst-case scenario," not a precise forecast, but the NWS said that the surge threat looks to be a worst-case scenario in the end.

An experimental storm inundation graphic for Cape Canaveral.

Image: NOAA/NHC

Cape Canaveral is one of NASA's most valuable assets. It has sent dozens of rockets into space since the mid-1960s and from 2007 it's also played host to SpaceX and the company's series of Falcon 9 launches and booster rocket landings.

However, it's built on spectacularly precarious ground. About a quarter of a mile from the Atlantic and surrounded by marshes, its a sitting duck for surges and is increasingly at risk as sea levels rise due to global warming.

While the two launch pads sit on artificial hills some fifty feet above sea level, many of the buildings are much lower. It's also ensconced in a wildlife reserve so storm and sea level rise adaptation options are limited.

The site's coastal location makes sense in terms of launch safety, since the rockets travel over water, but that oceanfront real estate comes at a cost.

The buildings, too, were not designed for winds of these speeds and have never been tested in a real world scenario. Many of the structures on the complex are only designed to withstand gusts of 125 mph, or sustained winds of 110 - 114 mph.

The Orbiter Processing Facility is only built for gusts of 105 mph, for example, and the Payload Hazard and Servicing Facility cannot withstand sustained gusts over 110 mph. The launchpads only hold up until around 114 mph.

Facilities built after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 have been constructed to the revised hurricane engineering standard of 130 - 135 mph, NASA says. Even so, none of them have ever faced the test they face now.

In fact, no hurricane of Category 3 or greater intensity has ever hit Cape Canaveral like Hurricane Matthew is forecast to do, even if the eye misses the facility by 10 to 20 miles.

Combine those two weaknesses  insufficiently prepared infrastructure and a vulnerable location  in the face of Matthew and the prospects for the facility during this storm are troubling.

The site is surrounded by water.

Image: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Matthew could be the strongest hurricane to make a direct hit since the 1880s, John Nielsen-Gammon, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, told Mashable.

Texas also is home to numerous NASA facilities as well as private sector space industry companies, and faces similar hurricane and sea level rise issues as Florida does.

Buildings in hurricane-prone, coastal areas of Florida are not generally built to withstand a storm above a Category 3, he said.

Once you get much above that intensity, events are unlikely enough to happen that buildings arent built to deal with them.

In any given year, there's about a 1 percent chance of a Category 4 storm hitting Florida, so "common design standards" don't usually aim to address that unlikely eventuality.

This storm is pushing that envelope, he said.

Seas building to near 40 ft offshore FL coast through Fri from #HurricaneMatthew https://t.co/0gsj5y6XKg pic.twitter.com/xyfaPBohde  NHC_TAFB (@NHC_TAFB) October 6, 2016

The Space Coast has been hit by severe weather before, which offers some clues as to what could happen with this storm.

Hurricane Sandy caused serious coastal erosion when it passed about 200 miles offshore in 2012, taking out 100 feet off the beach between the two launchpads and costing millions of dollars in shoreline repair work. NASA had to spend some $3 million to rebuild a protective dune.

Hurricane Frances, meanwhile, struck around 100 miles south of Cape Canaveral in 2004, and the 60-mile-per-hour winds at the facility knocked over rockets and ripped panels from the Vehicle Assembly Building. It was one of four hurricanes that hit the region that year alone.

Kennedy Space Center's 500 foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) was badly damaged by Hurricane Frances in 2004. About 800 of the 16'x 4' panels were ripped off the south side of the building as the storm made landfall near Ft. Pierce.

Image: BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/Getty Images

Hurricane Frances caused more than $100 million in property damage to space and military facilities in the Cape Canaveral area, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Hurricane Matthew could hit closer and far harder than Frances  or any other weather event to strike the region. Quite simply: the buildings and infrastructure that make up the Space Coast have never been tested in winds this strong before.

Launch Pad 39A, which underwent modifications to adapt to SpaceX's needs last year, sits on marshland not far from the Atlantic.

Image: NASA

A hurricane ride-out team of some 116 people is set to report significant events during the storm to the Emergency Operations Center in the Launch Control Center at Complex 39, NASA said in a statement provided to Mashable.

"They can take any action needed to stabilize the situation and keep the facility secure," it added.

SpaceX, which is still reeling from the September explosion at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, has been modifying Launch pad 39A for future flights. While no rockets are stacked for launch right now, two expensive satellites are reportedly in storage awaiting take-off.

"Once the storm has passed, center facilities and infrastructure will be assessed and employees will be cleared to return when it is safe to do so," NASA told Mashable in a statement.

With things looking the way they are, there could be a lot to assess.

UPDATE Oct. 7 5:14 PM PT:

The region was not hit as hard as feared Friday, with Matthew's eye passing just east of Cape Canaveral, although it did experience gusts of up to 132 miles per hour.

The one thing that played into our favor somewhat is that the center core of the hurricane was really tight, so it stayed off our coast, although it did kind of touch the tip of Cape Canaveral, said Don Walker from the Brevard County Emergency Operations Center.

The Kennedy Space Center issued a statement on Facebook Friday saying that there is "limited roof damage" to its facilities and "scattered debris." A formal assessment is expected Saturday morning.

Andrew Freedman contributed reporting.
A clearly exasperated Secretary of State John Kerry called Friday for Russia and Syria to face a war crimes investigation for the continuing deadly attacks on Syrian civilians, including one that hours earlier killed 20 and wounded 100 in a strike against a hospital.

But a U.S. official quickly sought to clarify Kerrys comments, telling Foreign Policy the top American diplomat wasnt proposing a distinct U.S. investigation, but was merely noting that such attacks fly in the face of international law.

Meeting at the State Department with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Kerry told reporters that Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children.

They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond, said Kerry, adding that Damascus and Moscow were carrying out a concerted strategy to terrorize civilians.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ayrault, who arrived in Washington directly from Moscow after meeting with Russian officials, called the situation in Syria a human tragedy.

He noted French efforts to broker a new ceasefire at the U.N. Security Council, including a cessation of hostilities, a no-fly zone over Aleppo, and humanitarian access to besieged areas. Still, it remains unclear how Pariss plan will succeed where a very similar U.S.-Russian effort failed last month.

Were not giving up, and we cannot accept that Aleppo will be totally destroyed by Christmas, said Ayrault. This is the reason why I traveled to Moscow, this is the reason why I came to Washington, D.C. to see you, and Im looking forward to continuing this discussion with you because I know, John, that we do share the same goals and the same values.

The two diplomats met as Russias lower house of Parliament approved a treaty with Damascus allowing Russia to remain indefinitely in Syria.
The monster Hurricane Matthew, after slamming through the Caribbean, has been closing in on the U.S. as expected all night late Thursday and early Friday, triggering the largest mandatory evacuations since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The National Hurricane Center says this extremely dangerous hurricane is moving parallel to and just offshore of Floridas eastern seaboard as of 5 a.m. EDT Friday, in its latest public advisory. Multiple warnings have been given to the public to charge their electronic devices in anticipation of potential power outages.

Storm surge of anywhere between one and 11 feet along the southeast Atlantic seaboard is expected Friday morning, affecting coastal areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The high tide later Friday morning is expected to only make things worse.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations hurricane hunters posted early Friday this video of their most recent flight into the storms eye.

Very turbulent flight today into the eye of powerful Cat 4 #HurricaneMatthew on WP-3D Orion #NOAA43. Credit: CAPT Tim Gallagher/NOAA pic.twitter.com/8VJpKzs3mn  NOAAHurricaneHunters (@NOAA_HurrHunter) October 7, 2016

Floridas governor Rick Scott tweeted just after 4:30 a.m. EDT Friday that Matthews eyewall is within 5 miles of Floridas central coast, and cautioned people in the state to stay aware.

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The eyewall of Hurricane #Matthew is now within 5 miles of the Central Florida coast and extremely close to land. Stay aware.  Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) October 7, 2016

Just 40 miles (65 km) offCape Canaveral, Fla., and 90 miles (150 km) southeast of Daytona Beach, Fla., Matthews sustained wind speed is hitting up to 120 m.p.h. (195 km/h), down from the previous Category-4 levels of 130 m.p.h. (209 km/h). The Hurricane Center says that the storm, now a strong Category-3 hurricane, is moving north-northwest at 13 m.p.h. (22 km/h), scraping along the Sunshine States east coast.

Here is what we know about Matthew so far:

1. Where in the U.S. is Matthew expected to hit?

The storm is expected to bring strong winds, rainfall and storm surge to the Southeast Atlantic coast area. In total, over 2 million people in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia have been told to evacuate, the largest since Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast in 2012. Officials warned Wednesday that the hurricane is an imminent threat to anyone in its path. This storm will kill you, Floridas Governor Rick Scott said at a press conference earlier. Time is running out.

If there is an evacuation order in your community, you need to take it seriously, President Obama said after a briefing on the storm. You can always rebuild, you can always repair property; you cannot restore a life if it is lost.

Here is the Hurricane Centers latest 5-day track forecast for Matthew:

There were reports of difficulty accessing the Hurricane Centers website throughout Thursday evening, which the agency said around midnight Friday was caused a technical issue that was subsequently fixed shortly before 3 a.m. ET on Friday. It has continued to provide updates via Twitter through the night.

2. How bad is it?

President Obama has declared a state of emergency in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Even as a strong Category-3 storm, Matthew has whipped the southeastern seaboard with forceful winds and downpour. This storms a monster, Scott said at a press conference Thursday evening. Im going to pray for everybodys safety.

It is also increasingly likely that the storm could make a U-turn and hit Florida a second time, which would hamper initial recovery efforts.

GFS Ensemble, the loop solution is becoming very popular (and perhaps even probable) pic.twitter.com/3a7hwsuD55  Marshall Shepherd (@DrShepherd2013) October 5, 2016

The Weather Channel reports that Matthew is set to become the strongest tropical storm to slam into the east coast in Florida since Hurricane Andrew pummeled the area in 1992.

A local National Weather Service (NWS) advisory for Melbourne, Fla., late Thursday night contains what CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen calls the strongest language hes seen since Hurricane Katrina. The advisory urges that efforts should fully focus on protecting life, warning that failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life, or immense human suffering. It adds that after the storm, locations may be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

As the night proceeds, an updated NWS advisory for the Melbourne area asks the public to prepare for life-threatening winds with potentially devastating impacts across coastal counties of east central Florida, and warns that locations may be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

In the face of possible widespread disruption in the power grid, multiple government officials and media outlets have been advising people in areas affected by Matthew to charge their electronic devices.

Overnight Friday, the NWS is forecasting that the area around Charleston, S.C., would face peak wind speeds of 45 m.p.h. (70 km/h) to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h), with occasional gusts up to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h).

On the other hand, Floridas southern tip looks to be relieved from the storms worst effects, as the 5 a.m. EDT Hurricane Center advisory sees the warning from Jupiter Inlet south to Boca Raton dowgraded from a Hurricane Warning to a Tropical Storm Warning, while the Tropical Storm Warning for areas south of Boca Raton was cancelled altogether.

3. Follow the latest official instructions for your safety  if you havent already left.

If you are in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, you should have already checked if you need to evacuate. If you havent left, check your options for hunkering down or the nearest shelters immediately. Officials are taking Matthew very seriously, because it has already caused hundreds of deaths and wreaked severe damage in three Caribbean countries.

There are no excuses to not evacuate, declared Scott. You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate  Are you willing to take a gamble? Thats what youre doing.

As the storm closes in, emergency services in Brevard County in Florida announced on Twitter shortly after midnight Friday that the situation had deteriorated so badly that 911 responses could no longer be provided.

UPDATE -BCFR says it is now too dangerous to respond to emergencies. Live power lines are down, stay inside. #HurricaneMatthew  Brevard EOC (@BrevardEOC) October 7, 2016

4. What about storm surges?

Meteorologists are expecting storm surge to come with the storm, which could raise sea levels as much as 9 ft. (2.7 m) in some coastal communities in Florida. Forecasters say it is particularly serious during high tide  which is expected just after midnight Friday morning and again early Friday afternoon along the Florida coast, just as the storm is along it.

Unlike heavy rainfall, storm surge will start before locals expect it. Youre going to get storm surge before the storm gets there, says Sean Sublette, a meteorologist at Climate Central.

Storm surge has worsened the damage in some particularly devastating storms in the past, including Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy where storm surge reached heights of 25 ft. (7 m) and 9 ft. (2.7 m), respectively, according to a National Hurricane Center report.

5. How is transportation and other infrastructure being affected?

The Associated Press (AP) reports that over 1,500 flights have been canceled Thursday, and more that 1,300 flights Friday, in anticipation of bad weather. American Airlines, with a large operation in Miami, is the worst hit by these cancellations, followed by JetBlue and Southwest Airlines.

Fort Lauderdale and Orlando airports have already closed, with the latter not expected to reopen until Sunday. Delta Air Lines, which has a hub in Atlanta, told AP that cancellations were likely to spread to coastal Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday.

The Sun Sentinel is reporting that while Miami International Airport will remain open, all airlines flying there have suspended their flights. It also reports that all south Floridian seaports have either been closed or seen cruises rerouted in the face of Matthew, and the local Tri-Rail trains are expected to be out of service through the weekend.

Highways in south Florida are expected to remain open, according to the Sun Sentinel, but authorities are warning the public to be extremely cautious. A voluntary driving ban is also in effect in Broward County in Florida. Meanwhile, a section of I-16 highway in Georgia has been given over to exclusive use by evacuees of the area, reports the Macon Telegraph.

As of 5 a.m. ET on Friday, Matthew had caused at least over 307,000 homes and businesses across Florida to lose power, according to the Florida Power & Light Co. A CNN correspondent reporting from Palm Bay, Fla., said overnight Friday on CNN that he and his crew had seen transformers popping off in the late hours of Thursday.

The Kennedy Space Center, located in Cape Canaveral, announced that it would be closed Thursday and Friday, saying that it expects hurricane-force wind to hit surrounding areas Friday morning. Mashable reports that the NASA facility has never experienced a direct hit of this magnitude before.

Hurricane ride out team is in place and secure. Tropical force wind expected ~midnight EDT, hurricane force wind ~6am EDT.  NASA Kennedy / KSC (@NASAKennedy) October 6, 2016

6. It has left a trail of devastation in the Caribbean

The destruction wrought by Matthew has wrought devastation in Haiti, where at least 283 people died. Many houses and bridges have collapsed. This is the first time in more than half a century Haiti has been hit directly by a Category-4 storm. The storm also blew through the Bahamas and eastern Cuba, but the damage was far lighter.

The U.N.s mission in Haiti has tweeted Thursday night several images of destruction in the country left behind by Matthew.

An elderly man sits on the remains of his home in the western town of #Jeremie #Matthew pic.twitter.com/j4iqXz0W0E  MINUSTAH (@MINUSTAH) October 6, 2016

7. Matthew isnt the only hurricane in the Atlantic at the moment.

A second hurricane, Nicole, is also developing in the Atlantic. Though the latest Hurricane Center forecast has Nicole 340 miles (545 km) south of Bermuda, it is already a category-2 storm, with sustained wind speeds at nearly 105 m.p.h. (165 km/h).

8. How can I help?

Hurricane Matthew has caused much destruction and misery both in the U.S. and elsewhere. If you would like to donate to a charity helping with recovery efforts, which would likely take a very long time, here is a handy guide to giving efficiently.

Donating blood at your local Red Cross is another helpful gesture, as blood donation drives across the region feeling Matthews full force have been disrupted, according to a Red Cross representative on CNN.
Kourtney Kardashian has some super loving, powerful words for her sister Kim after the robbery

In the days since Kim Kardashian left Paris after being held at gunpoint in the middle of the night, few details have emerged about exactly what happened to Kim, and the usually very active social media members of the famous family have been understandably silent in the wake of the attack.

Kylie Jenner has taken to social media  albeit far less often than she normally does  by posting a selfie on the beach and snapchatting about her newest Lip Kit arrivals. Kendall Jenner returned to social media earlier today, posting a happy shot of herself  but didnt directly address Kim in any way. Caitlyn Jenner has also posted a sweet, supportive message to Kim in the wake of the robbery and the latest Kardashian to publicly support Kim is her older sister, Kourtney.

Kourtney tweeted a passage from her daily prayer book, according to Us Weekly. The passage is heartfelt and truly touching and were sure Kim appreciates the support of her sister in this way.

Remember that joy is not dependent on your circumstances. Some of the worlds most miserable people are those whose circumstances seem the most enviable. People who reach the top of the ladder career-wise are often surprised to find emptiness awaiting them. True Joy is a by-product of living in My Presence. Therefore you can experience it in palaces, in prisons  anywhere.

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Sister Slay A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Sep 29, 2016 at 12:20pm PDT

Do not judge a day as devoid of Joy just because it contains difficulties. Instead, concentrate on staying in communication with Me. Many of the problems that clamor for your attention will resolve themselves. Other matters you must deal with, but I will help you with them. If you make problem-solving secondary to the goal of living close to Me, you can find joy even in your most difficult days.

The Kardashians have opened up in the past about their faith and the role it plays in their lives, and its wonderful to see that Kourtney is supporting her sister with such a profound message. Heres hoping that Kim and all of her family members can find solace in what is likely a scary and uncertain time for them.

The post Kourtney Kardashian has some super loving, powerful words for her sister Kim after the robbery appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Istanbul (AFP) - A radical Kurdish group with ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Friday for a motorbike bombing near an Istanbul police station.

The claim by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) for Thursday's bombing came after Turkish police detained a suspected female militant from the PKK, who is believed to have perpetrated the bombing.

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb which authorities said was attached to a motorbike exploded in the Yenibosna district of Istanbul, close to the city's main international airport.

Television pictures showed several cars wrecked and glass scattered across the ground after the blast.

In a statement on its website, TAK -- seen as a splinter group of the PKK -- claimed the bombing but did not give any information about the individual responsible.

"Our action was done against ... the oppression and persecution of the Kurdistan people," it said, referring to the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.

The group warned that Turkey was "not a safe country" and threatened expansion of its actions in big cities against the "fascist" Turkish government.

"We make it known that we are able to act everywhere in Turkey," the group said, adding that its militants were ready to act "creatively" across the country.

The group has already claimed three attacks in Turkey this year including a June 7 car bombing in the centre of Istanbul which left 11 people dead. TAK had then warned tourists to stay away from Turkey.

A suicide car bomb attack in March in the capital Ankara left 34 dead.

Police have captured the female suspect, along with two other people in Aksaray province in central Turkey, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

The latest capture brings the total number of arrests over the bombing up to six.

Although Turkish officials say TAK is linked to the PKK and used for attacks on civilians, the PKK says it has no control over the group and claims it acts on its own.

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The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, has resumed deadly attacks since the collapse of a fragile truce in 2015.

Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK first took up arms in 1984.

Thursday's strike was the first bomb attack in Istanbul since the failed July 15 coup seeking to oust the government from power.
ANKARA (Reuters) - The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group, said on Friday it carried out a bomb attack near a police station in Istanbul on Thursday that injured 10 people. Earlier on Friday, six people were detained in connection with the attack in the Yenibosna neighborhood, several kilometers from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. Istanbul's governor said the explosive device was attached to a motorbike. In a statement on its website, TAK vowed to continue attacks across Turkey. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; editing by Luke Baker)
ISTANBUL  It was a case that stirred dark memories among Turkeys Kurds: Hursit Kulter, a 33-year-old politician working for the Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), vanished this summer under ominous circumstances.

Lawyers and rights groups feared that he had been forcibly disappeared by the Turkish state, as I reported in an article for Democracy Lab in July. On Friday morning, however, Kulter emerged alive and well in Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

His explanation  an unlikely tale of detention, miraculous escape, and months in hiding  was scant on details. Government officials and their supporters were quick to label his disappearance a propaganda stunt engineered by the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is engaged in a bitter insurgency against Turkish security forces in the countrys Kurdish-majority southeast. (The photo above shows ruined houses in Cizre, where Turkish forces concluded a military operation earlier this year.)

But many who had publicly demanded an investigation into Kulters case now felt duped. They  and I  looked at the facts known at the time and reasoned that Kulter was either dead or being held incommunicado. After all, why else wouldnt he contact his worried family?

As it turned out, Kulter was  by his own admission  not in custody when I interviewed his brother, his lawyers, and others in early July. His version of the story, which he outlined in a press conference held in Kirkuk this morning, follows.

According to Kulter, he was detained on May 27 in his hometown of Sirnak by special police forces who were engaged in fierce clashes with PKK militants entrenched there. He was then held in a basement for 13 days. They inflicted intense psychological and physical torture on me and constantly imposed pressure on me to serve as a spy, Kulter said, according to a transcript of his statement by the Kurdish news agency ANF.

He added that the officers guarding him regularly mentioned that they would soon kill him. After being moved to a different floor of the building, Kulter said he managed to escape, though he provided no further details.

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He claims that he then hid in Sirnak, which by this point was nearly deserted due to ongoing fighting, for about 40 days. After he came across other resisters, whose affiliation or identities he did not disclose, Kulter said he left the city and travelled with their help to Iraqs Kurdistan region, a journey that reportedly took him two months.

According to this timeline he should have reached Iraq in mid- to late September. His only explanation for staying hidden for so long involved unspecified security conditions.

In May, the regional governor responsible for Sirnak denied that Kulter was in custody. Asked on Friday whether the Kurdish politician was detained for 13 days as he claimed, a presidential official sent me a link to the governors initial statement, indicating that they stood by his words.

On social media, both government supporters and critics questioned Kulters story: How did he escape? Who helped him flee Turkey? Had he been detained at all? His explanation was too vague to be satisfying.

In the end, two facts remain: Kulter disappeared in Sirnak, Turkey, on May 27, under suspicious circumstances. He reappeared on October 7 in Kirkuk, Iraq, to give a press conference.

Sirnak remains under military lockdown. Similar measures have been imposed on other cities and districts in Turkeys southeastern region as violence surged, severely restricting access for independent media and human rights groups. The result is an environment where confusion, rumors, and propaganda reign.

In Turkeys highly polarized media environment, the same event frequently produces two entirely different reports. A pro-Kurdish newspapers account of civilian killings may be headlined as a successful counter-terror operation in the pro-government press.

Kulters press conference followed the same path: The Kurdish media hailed his reappearance as a happy event and underlined the torture he described at the hands of the state. But pro-government journalists and officials cast the story as PKK propaganda, a made-up disappearance that never occurred.

Our assessment is that the whole thing was a publicity stunt orchestrated by the PKK, a government official told me, adding: We hope this episode will raise questions about other false information that the group may have disseminated in the past.

With peace talks suspended for the near future, the government and Turkeys Kurdish movement are engaged in an intense war of words to discredit the other. Kulters case will provide ammunition to both.

Photo credit: CAGDAS ERDOGAN/Getty Images
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 was on Friday awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, for his work to bring peace to his country.

By India Today Web Desk: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 was on Friday awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, for his work to bring peace to his country.

The Norwegian committee decided to honour Santos with the award, despite the peace deal initiated by Santos with Farc rebels being voted down in a referendum less than a week ago.

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ALSO READ: The story of a Colombian woman who was raped for speaking out against rape



The committee took a strong view against the referendum, saying "it could lead to a flare-up of conflict and civil war in the country."

President Santos had earlier said he would fight for peace until his last day in office, referring to decades long conflict between the Colombian government, paramilitary groups, crime syndicates and left-wing guerrillas like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

"The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further it is the committee's hope that in the year's to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process," the Nobel committee spokeswoman said.

ALSO READ:

Colombian guerrillas to embrace Gandhism, reveals Art of Living

Colombia shocker: Voters reject FARC peace deal that would have ended 52 years of war





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The US added 156,000 jobs in September, bringing the total number of workers added to the labor force to 3 million over the past year, the biggest gain since 2000. That, coupled with the fact that September was the 72nd consecutive month of rising nonfarm payrolls, is a sign of overall improvement in the job market.

This report shows steady jobs growth and steady wage growth, US Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez told Yahoo Finances Seana Smith in the video above. Weve now had 72 months in a row of jobs growth to the tune of 14.4 million jobs. The real wage growth were seeing in this business cycle is the best of any business cycle since the 1970s.

Average hourly wages rose 6 cents to an annualized rate of 2.6% as the average workweek inched up one-tenth to 34.4 hours.

While there are a number of indicators moving in the right direction, Perez is quick to point out that theres still more work to do.

I still meet too many people who are struggling. We still have way too many people who are working a 50-hour job and getting their food at the food pantry, and you have to win the geographic lottery to have a decent minimum wage in this country, said Perez. If we had infrastructure investments at scale, if we had a higher minimum wage, if we passed immigration reform, our unemployment rate would be even lower, said Perez.

The jobless rate rose one-tenth of a percent to 5.0% in September, its highest level in four months. It was projected to hold at 4.9%, close to its lowest level since 2007.

In terms of what needs to happen in order to get more Americans back to work, Perez says its important to invest in skills and match peoples skills with in-demand jobs.

There are 5.9 million job openings right now, including about 10% in the IT sector, so theres real opportunity out there, said Perez. Were Match.com here at the Department of Labor. We match job seekers who want to punch their tickets to the middle class with businesses who want to grow.
By Gul Yusufzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two bombs targeting a train in the restive western Pakistani province of Baluchistan killed at least four people on Friday and wounded 16, officials said. The bombs hit the Jaffer Express which runs between the provincial capital, Quetta, and Rawalpindi, next to the capital, Islamabad, said Kashif Akhtar, a senior railways official in Quetta. "The train was stopped, and then as people were leaving the train, there was another explosion under a different (carriage)," he told Reuters. No group had claimed responsibility for the explosions near the town of Mach, about 65 km (40 miles) southeast of Quetta. Ethnic Baluch rebel forces have targeted transport infrastructure in the province in the past. Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique, addressing reporters outside parliament in Islamabad, confirmed the attack. Railway services from Quetta had been suspended and rescue services were tending to the wounded, Akhtar said. Security forces foiled a similar attack on Thursday as an attacker laid explosives on a railway track near Quetta, he said. Last week, Allah Nazar Baloch, the chief of the Balochistan Liberation Front, appealed for international help in his group's fight against the state, including from Pakistan's regional rival India. Attacks on infrastructure in Baluchistan are a cause of concern for Pakistan's neighbor and "all-weather" friend China. Beijing is investing $46 billion in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which aims to link western China to Pakistan's Arabia Sea with a network of road, rail and energy pipelines. Many of the routes pass through Baluchistan. ($1 = 105 rupees) (Reporting by Gul Yusufzai; Writing by Asad Hashim; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Nick Macfie)
By many peoples accounts, Trumps best accessory is her graciousness. But she can rock work goggles pretty well, too. (Photo: Getty)

Its safe to say that safety goggles arent commonly associated with style. But fashion entrepreneur Ivanka Trump somehow transformed the utilitarian glasses into a chic accessory while visiting a construction site on Thursday. The 34-year-old was invited tour Middletown Tube Works in Cincinnati, Ohio and join other businesswomen for a round table chat about her fathers candidacy, according to the Daily Mail.

The statuesque Trump marched onto the site in a flowing pair of wide-legged white slacks, a fitted black tank top, and a cropped black cardigan. Of course, she also donned a pair of clear work goggles while cruising the steel mill, as one would  except they somehow looked perfectly synched with her outfit.

Thank you Angie Phillips for inviting me to tour your plant and assembling an amazing group of Ohio based female business owners for a round table discussion at Middletown Tube Works. #Ohio A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Oct 6, 2016 at 11:22am PDT

Trump  the glamorous daughter of GOP candidate Donald Trump  appeared to also be wearing a simple pair of black pumps with a pointed toe. Footwear is the accessory the tall blond is most known for, as her eponymously named line of womens shoes is famously sold through major retailers like Nordstroms, Lord & Taylor, and Bloomingdales. Her brand also includes clothing, handbags, jewelry  and, yes, eyewear.

Fresh off of celebrating Rosh Hashanah with her family, says the Daily Mail, the mogul and mom jetted off to the site of the family-owned business, where she had been invited by owner Angie Phillips. On her Instagram, Trump can be seen  sans goggles  posing with the Middletown Tube Works team. She also posted a candid shot in the steel mill, thanking owner Phillips for having her. Thank you Angie Phillips for inviting me to tour your plant and assembling an amazing group of Ohio based female business owners for a round table discussion at Middletown Tube Works. #Ohio.

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Later in the day, she posted another picture to her account; in it she posing with the employees of a female-owned juicery (and it should be noted that her crisp, white pants remained pristine throughout her tour through the plant). She captioned the photo, In Cincinnati, OH today meeting with several amazing female entrepreneurs and business owners including Megan Tysoe, the founder and owner of Rooted Juicery. Thank you Megan. It was great meeting you and your team!

In Cincinnati, OH today meeting with several amazing female entrepreneurs and business owners including Megan Tysoe, the founder and owner of Rooted Juicery. Thank you Megan. It was great meeting you and your team! A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Oct 6, 2016 at 10:00am PDT

Earlier in the week, Trump encountered one of her fathers longterm foes, Rosie ODonnell, in New York City. The comedian had nothing but good words to say about Trump. ODonnell tweeted, Ivanka Trump in a city of 8 million  we meet face 2 face  i thank u 4 listening  mother 2 mother  on this new years week  my best 2 u.

So, it seems the secret to looking fabulous everywhere you go  for Trump, anyway  has a lot to do with one important accessory thats often overlooked: grace.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Her No. 1 supporter! Lindsay Lohan's mom, Dina Lohan, is relieved that the actress split from her fiance, Russian heir Egor Tarabasov.

"I'm very glad she's single, she is much better off," Dina, 54, told Us Weekly at Real Housewives of New York City alum Jill Zarin's 80th anniversary event for Zarin Fabrics in NYC on Thursday, October 6. "Egor was too young and at the end got abusive. Of course, as a mother who has been a victim of abuse and I do charities for abused women, I was very happy to see her get out."

PHOTOS: Celebrity Splits of 2016

"I'm just glad she's single and happy and that's what matters," she continued. "My children are the most important forces in my life."

Us broke the news in April that the Mean Girls actress, 30, got engaged to Tarabasov, 23, after eight months of dating. Three months later, however, their relationship began to crumble when police were called to their London apartment. Lindsay claimed via social media that the businessman was cheating on her. Additionally, The Sun obtained a video that allegedly showed the pair fighting on their balcony and Lohan claiming that he tried to kill her. (Lohan moved to London in 2014.)

PHOTOS: Famous Celebrity Families

The situation became even more bizarre when the former child star claimed that she was pregnant with their child. Her socialite friend Hofit Golan later told Us exclusively that Lindsay was not expecting.

The Parent Trap actress and Tarabasov tried to work on their relationship before officially calling it quits. Last month, Lindsay opened up about the breakup during an interview with The Mail on Sunday. "I realize now you cant stay in a relationship just for love," she said at the time. "No woman can be hit and stay with that person if that person isnt prepared to say sorry."

PHOTOS: Lindsay Lohan's Face: How It's Changed

Since parting ways with Tarabasov, Lindsay has been spending time with friends in the Mediterranean. On Sunday, she revealed via Snapchat that she almost lost her finger in a boating accident.

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"She's doing OK, thank goodness," Dina told Us on Thursday. "She was on a boat, a two story, not like a small boat, and she was pulling up the anchor. We grew up with boats, Lindsay and I both grew up with boats, but it slid the bottom part of her finger off when she was pulling it up! Luckily one of her her girlfriends she was with, her best friend, was a hand surgeon! Her friend picked up the piece of Lindsay's thumb and they put it back. It fit perfectly and wrapped it up."



The Long Island native went to a plastic surgeon and she has her second appointment this week. "Luckily she knows about boats and her friends could help her," Dina added. "Lindsay has always had good people around her. Lindsay knows what's important in life and in friends."





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The 38 North group, run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said there was activity at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel.

By Reuters: An increase in activity at North Korea's nuclear test site could signal preparations for a new test or a collection of data from its last one, a U.S.-based monitoring group said on Friday, citing satellite images.

The 38 North group, run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said there was activity at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel.

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"One possible reason for this activity is to collect data on the Sept. 9 test although other purposes cannot be ruled out, such as sealing the portal or other preparations related to a new test," the group said, referring to the last nuclear test.

ALSO READ: North Korea's Kim guides new rocket engine test, calls for satellite launch



READY FOR ANOTHER NUCLEAR TEST



The North is believed to be ready for another nuclear test at any time and there has been speculation it could mark the Oct. 10 anniversary of the founding of its Workers' Party with another underground detonation.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and has since then defied UN sanctions and rejected international talks to press ahead with the development of the weapons and missiles to carry them, which it says it needs for its defense.

In January, it conducted its fourth nuclear test and last month its fifth and biggest, on the anniversary of the nation's founding.

The United States and South Korea are pushing for tighter sanctions against North Korea by closing loopholes left in a UN Security Council resolution in March.

South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a briefing there were no particular indication of a plan for a nuclear test timed to coincide with the Oct. 10 anniversary.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified government official that there was activity at the North's rocket launch station near the west coast that could be preparations for a long-range missile launch.

ALSO READ: Not cool Kim: North Korea may have banned sarcasm, or maybe they were being sarcastic



NORTH KOREA LAST MONTH FIRED THREE MISSILES

Last month, the North said it had successfully conducted a ground test of a new rocket engine that would be used to launch satellites. South Korea said the engine could be used for a long-range missile.

North Korea last month fired three missiles that flew about 1,000 km (600 miles). In August, it tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile that international experts said showed considerable progress.

Japan said the possibility of further "provocative action" by North Korea could not be ruled out.

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"The government is taking all possible measures in gathering information, exercising vigilance and taking surveillance activities to be able to respond to any situations," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.



ALSO READ:

North Korea suspected to have conducted fifth nuclear test

Kim Jong has two officials executed with anti-aircraft gun for disobeying him



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This runaway caused quite a bit of llama drama when it was spotted Wednesday trotting around a small Canadian town.

Read: Gone With the Wind: This Llama Loves Getting Gusted by a Leaf Blower

Commuters in Lively, Ontario, said they were driving down a major highway when Sylvie, a well-known llama around town, disrupted their morning drive.

John Porter, who took a video of the whole incident from his car, told InsideEdition.com he was on his way to Tim Hortons when the scene broke out.

"I was getting coffee, Porter joked. You dont want to be [caught] behind the llama at the coffee shop. They take forever."

Becky Punkari, another resident of the town  with a population of about 7,000  told InsideEdition.com that Sylvies owner lives about a half-mile away, and the poor llama must have gotten spooked by bears before running off.

Sylvies owner soon arrived on the scene, fastened a leash on the llama and took her for a long stroll around the neighborhood before taking her home.

But, the llama made a quick pit stop at Punkaris driveway, where her son, Davin, and husband Nate Mahon paused to take a selfie with the animal.

Read: Buttons the Friendly Elk Shows Some Affection to Hard-Working Firefighters

Despite the peculiar scene, residents said this was not the first time they saw a llama running amok in their town.

In fact, Sylvie got loose just last year.

Watch: Cop Chases Chicken on the Run Near Restaurant, Insists It Didn't Cross the Road

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In June 2013, just months before he died, Lou Reed sat down at Masterdisk studios in Manhattan with his friends and co-producers Hal Willner and Rob Santos to work on a project he'd longed to do: remastering his entire RCA and Arista solo catalog. Reed was an audio obsessive, and despite failing health, he came in day after day, savoring and scrutinizing his life's work  marveling at David Bowie's vocal arrangement on Transformer's "Satellite of Love"; pumping his fist to "Lady Day," from his dark song cycle, Berlin; submerging himself in the binaural sound recording of the space-jazz title track of The Bells. "He took so much joy rediscovering these records," Willner says. "Being able to sit there in the room with him while he was doing it  whew. I felt like the luckiest person in the world."

The remasters were intended for a lavish 17-disc box set to be released that fall  until Reed's condition worsened, and the project was put on hold. Following his death, archivists Don Fleming and Jason Stern worked with Reed's wife, Laurie Anderson, to complete the set's accompanying book, an 80-page LP-size hardcover volume full of memorabilia and rare photos (including a priceless one of a grinning Reed leading a vocal group at his high school variety show). The result, out now, is Lou Reed  The RCA & Arista Album Collection. Covering 1972 to 1986, it's an object lesson in how a record company should treat an artist's back catalog. "I'm glad we waited, because it came out better," says Santos.

The set appears to be a prelude to a rarities and outtakes project akin to Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series. There are years' worth of demos and orphaned songs in Reed's vault, though it's unclear exactly how much material exists. One starting point could be the wealth of unreleased live material: Santos says there has been talk of an expanded set of recordings from the 1973 show behind the live landmark Rock 'n' Roll Animal, and notes that the label "recorded a lot of shows for [the live 1978 set] Take No Prisoners." There are also two live albums omitted from the new box set, because Reed didn't consider them part of his catalog proper: the 1984 import Live in Italy, a ferocious outing with the late guitarist Robert Quine; and the 1975 label cash-grab Lou Reed Live.

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The RCA & Arista Album Collection, however, appears to be Reed's final statement. Willner recalls the last day of remastering, after which he and Reed headed to Sirius Studios to record their New York Shuffle radio show. "We would never play Lou's music on the show," Willner says. But that day, they had the finished recordings for the box set with them, and their guest on the show, Orange Is the New Black actress Natasha Lyonne, suggested they play some of Reed's music. (Lyonne was a huge fan of Reed, and Reed was a huge fan of OITNB.) "Lou started saying things like, 'I can't believe we're getting to do this while I'm alive,'" Willner says. Lyonne recalled it as "the heaviest moment in my life."

"It was an incredibly emotional afternoon," Willner adds wistfully. "I never saw anyone who wanted to live so much."

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Bauergriffin/Splash News Online

If youve seen a photo of Lupita Nyongo on the red carpet recently, you would have noticed she has introduced a new element to her elaborate ensembles: A head wrap.

The actress, 33, has worn them all throughout her press tour for her Uganda-set film Queen of Katwe, and its a look that means a lot to her, the star tells PEOPLE in this weeks issue.

Going with the theme of the movie, they are my crowns, says the star, who also appears in Tiffany & Co.s Legendary Style campaign this season (seen below). The Disney drama tells the inspiring true story of a Ugandan girl who becomes a chess champion. Nyongo plays her mother, Nakku Harriet.

Its the quintessential African accessory, she says of the look, noting that she loves to research different styles on Pinterest.

RELATED: The Meaning Behind Lupita Nyongos Dotted Brows

Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

So, where are they all coming from? Nyongo and her team themselves. She works with her stylist, Micaela Erlanger, and her hairstylist, Vernon Francois, to customize each of the pieces. Its definitely teamwork to make the head wraps, she says. Micaela and I like to be inspired by the thing were promoting. So we find our own little secrets and sources of inspiration. So, for this film were inspired by the character I play.

RELATED: The Amazing True-Life Story Behind Queen of Katwe

They source the fabrics themselves, too. We use the fabric either from the designer that I am wearing or African fabrics that we sourced in east Africa and in the African fabric stores here in New York, notes Nyongo. And its been lots of fun to work to create these crowns for my head and celebrate the release of this film.

Below, a look at her most memorable red carpet moments of her Queen of Katwe press tour.

In Carolina Herrera and Tiffany & Co. jewels:

Dominik Magdziak Photography/Getty

In an Elie Saab gown and Graziela Gems:

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

In a black and blue strapless dress with an orange accent:

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Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

In Mary Katrantzou and Tiffany & Co. jewels:

Mike Windle/Getty

In Erdem:

Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty

In Kibonen NY:

Cindy Ord/Getty

In a houndstooth and striped printed dress:

Ray Tamarra/GC Images

Read more of our interview with Lupita Nyongo in this weeks issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.




A writ petition had been filed by Osho disciple Yogesh Thakkar alleging that a fake will with Osho's forged signatures had suddenly surfaced in a court in Spain by which the current trustees of Osho's will were misusing it to divert the crores of money that the trust has.

Osho had passed away in Pune in January 1990 and the will had been made by him in 1989.

By Vidya : The division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Prakash Naik today came down heavily on Pune Police for their lackadaisical approach towards the court proceedings regarding spiritual leader Osho's will.

A writ petition had been filed by Osho disciple Yogesh Thakkar alleging that a fake will with Osho's forged signatures had suddenly surfaced in a court in Spain by which the current trustees of Osho's will were misusing it to divert the crores of money that the trust has. Thakkar had registered a First Information Report (FIR) in Pune in 2013 but police did nothing about it, saying that experts have not yet opined whether it is a forged signature or not.

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Justice Patil enquired, "So a team is going to Spain?" On hearing a no from the public prosecutor and getting to know that only a junior officer of the rank of assistant police inspector was present in court to answer queries on investigation, Justice Patil noted, "You write a letter of rogatory to Central government but you don't get a senior officer, this shows your seriousness."

Looking at this, Thakkar's advocate Pradeep Havnur reminded the court that for this very reason a central agency like CBI would be a better agency to investigate the case and thus it should be transferred. Meanwhile a couple from Italy has also approached court and supported the petitioner's claim that the signatures of Osho on the 1989 will are forged. Osho had passed away in Pune in January 1990 and the will had been made by him in 1989 but it was torn according to the petitioner.

The couple from Italy had been translating and publishing works of osho however the current trustees terminated this and this has hurt them. Their lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani told the court that the couple have a yoga book signed by Osho himself in 1976 and the alleged will of 1989 bears a striking resemblance to the 1976 signature. However he said, "forensic evidence has said that both the signatures are similar. While it is a stated fact that no two signatures of a person can be similar that too when they are thirteen years apart."

Senior advocate Ravi Kadam representing a trustee too wanted to be heard however the court extended the time for investigation to Pune Police and asked for a senior officer to be present in court on October 25 to answer queries of the court.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Friday that a piece of plane debris discovered in Mauritius was from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking a two-year search has turned up few leads.

Analysis by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had found that the debris was consistent with the trailing edge of an aircraft wing, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement.

Two pieces of plane debris were previously confirmed as being from the missing jet. The first was recovered from the French island of Reunion in July 2015, while the second was found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Paul Tait)
Paris (AFP) - A French court on Friday ordered Le Monde newspaper to pay damages to US film star John Malkovich over a story falsely claiming he had a hidden Swiss bank account.

The "Dangerous Liaisons" actor sued the paper and two of its journalists over the February 2015 story, part of the so-called SwissLeaks investigation into a tax evasion scheme run by HSBC.

Le Monde had claimed Malkovich had stashed money in a Swiss account to avoid paying tax.

The court fined the two journalists behind the story 1,500 euros ($1,700) each and the newspaper's director of publications 1,000 euros. The three were ordered to pay the actor 10,000 euros between them.

The ruling also instructed the paper to publish a statement summarising the ruling on both its front page and the home page of its website.

"My clients will obviously be appealing," said their lawyer Christophe Bigot.

Malkovich's lawyers welcomed the ruling.

Malkovich, 62, was one of several celebrities listed by Le Monde among the "elite tax evaders" to have had a secret Swiss account between 2005 and 2007 -- a claim Malkovich has rejected.

"Not only did John Malkovich not defraud tax authorities" he "never had an account with HSBC", Julia Minkowski, one of his lawyers, told the court in July.

The only Swiss account he ever had was a securities portfolio with a bank later bought by HSBC, Minkowski added, accusing the journalists of dragging the actor's name through the mud to sell a poorly-researched story.

She said the actor had declared his securities account to US tax authorities before closing it on November 30, 1999, a month before the creation of HSBC's Swiss private banking arm.

The SwissLeaks investigation was a collaboration by a several leading international newspapers into tax evasion by the rich and famous.
LONDON (Reuters) - A 21-year-old man was arrested on Friday for scaling a gate at Queen Elizabeth's London residence, Buckingham Palace, police said. "As he dropped to the ground he was met by officers and arrested for trespassing ..." they said in a statement, adding that the man was unarmed. He was taken into custody and will undergo a mental health assessment. The 90-year-old queen was not in London at the time. Several security breaches have taken place at the palace over the years. In May, a man with a conviction for murder climbed over the wall and walked for about 10 minutes around the grounds of the palace before being arrested. He was jailed for four months. In October 2013 a man armed with a knife tried to enter through one of the gates and was later jailed for 16 months. That incident took place just a month after two men were arrested following a break-in at the palace in one of the most serious security breaches there for about 30 years. One of the biggest security breaches at Buckingham Palace happened in 1982 when an intruder, Michael Fagan, climbed a wall and wandered into a room where the queen was in bed. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Helen Reid)
A West Virginia man has been charged with first-degree murder in the violent, sexual assault killing of his girlfriends 9-month-old baby, authorities said.

Benjamin Taylor, 32, was arrested Tuesday after the childs mother discovered him and her baby lying on the basement floor at about 5 a.m., investigators said.

Read: Student Comes Forward After Alleged Rape by UNC Football Star: 'I Was Treated Like A Suspect'

The child was unresponsive and covered in blood. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced her brain dead. Her family removed her from life support on Wednesday and she died later that day.

At a brief court hearing Wednesday, a magistrate read a long list of injuries sustained by the baby, whose body was bruised, bloodied, shaken and strangled, he said.

Taylor sat emotionless and did not enter a plea. He is being held on $2 million bail.

The family of Emmaleigh Barringer released a statement after her death, thanking Jackson County police for their investigative work.

Finally, we would like to assure anyone with any doubt, that this crime against an innocent child was solely perpetrated by a monster who had disguised himself as a caring and supporting friend.

Emmaleigh's mother and surviving siblings were victims in this and are guilty only of placing trust in the hands of a "wolf in sheep's clothing, the statement said.

The mother told police she had found Taylor and her baby in the basement with the lights off.

Read: Family Friend Charged With Rape, Murder of 15-Month-Old Girl Found Dead Miles From Home

He initially told detectives he had blacked out, after taking the child downstairs with him to do laundry Monday night after everyone else in the apartment had gone to sleep, authorities said.

He later said he did not know how the baby became injured, investigators said.

According to a criminal complaint, Taylor sexually assaulted the baby and caused life-threatening injuries during the attack, WOWK-TV reported.

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He also made no effort to save the childs life after the assault, the complaint said.

Watch: Mom of Daughter Drugged and Killed on 10th Birthday Sought Men to Rape Her

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By Kevin Murphy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - A man who pleaded guilty to spray-painting offensive graffiti on the walls of an Islamic center in Missouri in 2011 and later leaving burned copies of the Koran outside the building's front door was sentenced on Thursday to two weeks in jail.

A U.S. district judge also ordered Adam David Smock, 24, to serve five years probation and pay $10,400 in restitution for violating the civil rights of others at the Islamic Center of Springfield in southwest Missouri, federal prosecutors said.

The judge required him to perform 40 hours of community service and to personally apologize to leaders of the center, according to prosecutors.

Smock pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to oppress, threaten and intimidate worshippers at the Islamic Center in 2011. His attorney, Stacie Bilyeu of Springfield, did not return a call from Reuters seeking comment.

In July of this year, a judge sentenced Smock's co-defendant, Joshua Daniel Lobsien, 24, to five years of probation, ordered him to perform 20 hours of community service, and pay $5,220 in restitution.

Prosecutors say Lobsien and Smock, in pleading guilty, admitted that they joined a 14-year-old minor in spray painting the Islamic Center walls in January 2011 with language that included Bash Back, Now is our time! and You bash us in Pakistan we bash here.

In April 2011, Smock and Lobsien left two partly burned copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, near the center's front doors, and Lobsien left a note with remarks that included "Death to Islam," prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Bill Rigby)
7 Oct - Actress Lorna Tolentino recently expressed her concern over the highly-publicised scandal of actor Mark Anthony Fernandez in the media and the treatment of police towards the actor.



As reported on Coconuts Manila, the actress, who is also Fernandez's stepmother by way of her marriage to the late Rudy Fernandez, stated that his rights may have been violated when he was presented to the media following his arrest.



According to the Republic Act No. 7438, any person arrested, detained, or under custodial investigation shall at all times be assisted by counsel. However, Fernandez has been presented and speaking to the media since his arrest.



She also admits that she is saddened by the arrest of Fernandez due to drugs.



On the other hand, Robin Padilla expressed his relief that nothing bad happened during Fernandez's arrest.



He wrote online, "I am relieved and on my knees in gratitude that you are alive, Mark. Your father will not forgive us if something bad happened to you. Thank you Bato and Angeles City PNP, please accept my deepest gratefulness for your professional and humane apprehension of Mark Anthony Fernandez.



(Photo source: sunstar.com.ph)
The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

By Press Trust of India: The US today said it does not support declaring Pakistan a 'terrorist state' but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.

The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

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State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state', Kirby at his daily press briefing said: "I have not seen anything specifically about the such a bill, and obviously we don't."

WORK WITH PAKISTAN AND INDIA TO CONTINUE

He, however, said he would not comment on "whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard". "What we what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously it's a threat to the Indian people as well.

"So we're going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we've always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that's we're going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end," Kirby said.

He said the US' position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said.

INDIA AND PAKISTAN SHOULD RESOLVE DIFFERENCES



He added that the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them," Kirby said.

"That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we don't believe for a minute that they don't take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children," he said.

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Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistan's nuclear security.

"I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal," he said.

Also Read:

Pakistan resorts to heavy shelling, gunfire along LoC in Jammu



--- ENDS ---
Influential blogger Matt Drudge faced fierce backlash on Thursday after downplaying the threat of Hurricane Matthew.

The now Category 3 storm reportedly killed more than 500 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Haiti and has prompted mass evacuations in the U.S. Drudge, however, expressed doubts about the severity of the storm.

The founder of the widely read Drudge Report website took to Twitter to suggest that the government was hyping the threat of the hurricane to make an exaggerated point about climate change.

One of Matt Drudges tweets about Hurricane Matthew. (Screenshot: Twitter)

One of Matt Drudges tweets about Hurricane Matthew. (Screenshot: Twitter)

The respectables are starting to wonder if Drudge is trying to get people killed by discouraging evacuations https://t.co/sfzRAarKGp  John Tabin (@johntabin) October 6, 2016

Whatever respect I had for Drudge, which was minimal to start with, was destroyed with this tweet. How insanely asinine can one be? https://t.co/aqjzjRfb8B  Greg Fishel (@gbfishel) October 6, 2016

Hey @DRUDGE, is this all fake? Part of the governments exaggerating about the potential damage of hurricane #Matthew? https://t.co/Q35Guiubcg  Chad Lowe (@ichadlowe) October 7, 2016

As of late Thursday, President Obama had declared a state of emergency in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
Matthew Perry doesnt keep his Batman obsession underground. In fact, a source reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly that the actor has an entire room in his $8.65 million Hollywood home dedicated to his favorite Gotham City superhero.

Its a dark space near his bedroom filled with memorabilia, lots of movie posters and figurines, a pal close to the single The Odd Couple star, 47, says, adding that Perry loves to show off his impressive Caped Crusader collection to guests.



PHOTOS: Friends Stars: Then & Now!

The Friends alum has shown his superhero worship in public, too. In 2001, the actor was spotted at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, looking elated on the "Batman: The Ride" roller coaster. And in 2012, he confirmed to fans on his Twitter account that the Dark Knight was his favorite superhero.



PHOTOS: 10 Big TV Stars Without an Emmy Nomination

Perry plays a kind of hero himself in The Odd Couple (premieres October 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS), where his character lets his college friend Felix Unger (Thomas Lennon) move in with him after splitting form his wife. The thing about doing a sitcom is the hours are the best hours youll get as an actor, he told AOL in April of returning to the format. We basically work from 10 till 3, or something like that, a day. And its really fun to do in front of a live studio audience because you get the reactions right away.



PHOTOS: '90s Nostalgia Photos: Pictures of Boy Bands, Grunge, Throwback Moments

The cherry on top? Matt LeBlanc, who played Bings Greenwich Village roommate Joey Tribbiani, films Man With a Plan (premieres October 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS) one stage away. I saw him yesterday, LeBlanc, 49, said during the Television Critics Association press tour in August. I could not see him for five years, and then put me in a room with him, and it will be like I saw him yesterday. We still have this shorthand with one another. Its amazing, really.



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By Scott Malone DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - Robert Walker began to wonder about his plan to ride out Hurricane Matthew in his seaside apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida, when it began to rain indoors. "It sounded like a jet airplane coming over. I was scared," Walker, a 51-year-old mechanic, as he stood in front of the two-story building whose roof had been peeled back by the storm. Much of its remains lay in an adjoining parking lot. "It took our roof right off. We were getting rained on," said his neighbor, Michael Dellapuerta, a 49-year-old swimming pool installer. The two men recounted fleeing the building and hiding in a sheltered outdoor stairway during the height of the storm. Matthew, which killed more than 800 people in Haiti before pounding Florida on Friday, was forecast to churn up the coast of the U.S. Southeast, bringing fierce winds and driving rain, to coastal Georgia and South Carolina before heading out to sea on Sunday. State officials had urged residents of coastal areas to evacuate ahead of the storm, which had been as strong as Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale before reaching the United States. But many residents of this popular tourist destination, known for its beaches and auto raceway, said concern for their property, pets or ailing loved ones prompted them to remain during a storm that ripped the facades off buildings, downed trees and light poles and brought a storm surge that pounded waterfront hotels. Under Daytona Beach's iconic "World's Most Famous Beach" sign, the street was clogged with debris washed up by the ocean. The waves had receded by early afternoon, but widespread damage was evident. The pavilion of a gas station flattened by winds. Power was out throughout the city, and most businesses were closed. "It was a little scary. I could hear the shingles coming off the roof, and I knew I couldn't do anything about it. I felt a little bit helpless," said Sam Brayla, 65, who remained in his home with his wife and dog. "It started to rain in the house for a while. I was running around with buckets to save what I could." John Sidor, a 43-year-old motorcycle mechanic, said that he and his wife had opted to ride out the storm with their two dogs and two cats, in part because they were concerned about trying to evacuate with their animals. "It took a long time to make the decision. We spent five days thinking about it. But in the end we thought we'd be OK," said Sidor, who added that they decided to remain behind in part because their house was surrounded by a concrete wall that offered protection from flying debris. "It was OK in the end." Others were less lucky. Lester Vega, 52, surveyed the wreckage of his car, which was crushed when the roof of his apartment building landed on it, parked in the building's courtyard. "I thought that was a safe place to park, I thought it would be protected here," Vega said, standing surrounded by debris. "No car but mine was hit. And it's totaled." (Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Frank McGurty and Cynthia Osterman)
Sydney (AFP) - A piece of wing debris found in Mauritius is from MH370, Australian authorities said Friday as they cautioned the discovery shed no new light on the missing passenger jet's specific location.

The composite debris, recovered from the island nation in May, is the latest fragment found along western Indian Ocean shorelines linked to Malaysia Airlines MH370.

The Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew.

Despite an extensive underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean far off Western Australia's coast where investigators believe the plane crashed, no trace of the aircraft has been found there.

The wing part "was a trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO (MH370)", the government agency leading the search, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said in a report.

"A part number was identified on a section of the debris," the ATSB said, adding that another "unique work order number" assigned by the flap manufacturer corresponded to MH370.

Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said investigators "remain hopeful" MH370 would be found.

"The finding of this debris... continues to affirm the focus of search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said in a statement.

"It does not, however, provide information that can be used to determine a specific location of the aircraft."

The ATSB report came two weeks after the agency said officials had yet to link debris recovered from Madagascar by US amateur investigator Blaine Gibson to MH370 or a Boeing 777.

Officials also said the debris found in Madagascar was not exposed to fire, quashing earlier speculation.

The failure to locate any debris in the search zone has fuelled speculation the plane may have crashed outside the area.

Several pieces of debris linked to the flight have been discovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines -- in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius.

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The Mauritius part is the third fragment to be confirmed as coming from MH370. Malaysia said in mid-September that debris found in June off Tanzania came from the doomed airliner.

The first piece found -- a two-metre (six-foot) wing part known as a flaperon that washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July 2015 -- was confirmed by French authorities as from MH370.

More than 110,000 square kilometres of the search area has been scoured so far, Australia said this week, adding that the hunt was set to be completed in December.
Regina Mersons Mexican culture inspired her to create the Reina Rebelde makeup line. (Photo: Reina Rebelde)

Beauty lovers, rejoice! Theres a new makeup line on the market, and its the unapologetically bold collection weve all been waiting for.

Reina Rebelde (Rebel Queen) is the brainchild of former bankruptcy lawyer Regina Merson. As an established Latina woman in the legal field, Merson always knew her passion was elsewhere. Like most aspiring creatives, Merson noticed a gap in the market for beauty products that really spoke to her and her Mexican culture. Five years ago, she decided on the concept, and it wasnt until three years later that she made her daydream a reality and a full-time gig.

Growing up in Mexico, my makeup obsession started with the [soap opera] Rosa Salvaje (Savage Rose) and sitting at my mothers feet watching her beauty rituals. says Merson. Years of makeup hoarding later, my collection is equal parts wild and unpredictable, bold and impractical, feminine and luxurious, sexy and severe  in many ways perfectly reflective of my complicated identity as a Mexican woman embracing an amazing American existence.

Reina Rebelde is just that and more. The packaging and the colors are reminiscent of the food, music, and fashion in Mexico. Merson worked with a design agency, the Design Spot in New York City, to bring her vision to life. The packaging is meant to speak to our dualities. We are Latina and American, we speak English and Spanish, and with each layer we become more complex, colorful, and multidimensional than the last, she says. The sleek black packaging also features spiritual symbols like the milagros, which are the centerpiece of the design. These are not just lipsticks or eyeshadows. They are colors that are shaping and blessing our lives and our journeys, says Merson.

Reina Rebelde is full of bold, brightly colored makeup products. (Photo: Reina Rebelde)

With a diverse customer base in mind, all Reina Rebelde products come in a variety of shades and are highly pigmented. Cosmetics and accessories range from $15 to $37. Beauty mavens have been raving about the Bold Lip Color Sticks, Lip Brilliance, and the 4 Play Wet Dry Eye Color palette. Our Lip Brilliance in Enchufada is a customer favorite, says Merson. Its an electrifying gold, which fans keep telling us performs like a highlighter for your lip. We like the Bold Lip Color Stick in Brava, a fiery, bold red lip color with a satin finish. Its long-wearing and glides right on, perfect when youre on-the-go. The 4 Play Wet Dry Eye Color palette is also great, as you can use it wet or dry to play up the intensity of the colors on your lids.

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For the launch of Reina Rebelde, Merson decided to use real women as models for the collection. The Reinas y Rebeldes (Queens and Rebels) included a comedian, public relations experts, and makeup artists. I draw inspiration from all the Latina women of all ages that are around me. These real women are badasses, she says.

Model Alejandra Infante also stars in the Reina Rebelde campaign. (Photo: Reina Rebelde)

Starting a new business is never easy, and Mersons biggest challenge initially was whether or not she was making the right move to launch the makeup line. The hurdles are very high in the cosmetics industry. It is intimidating being a very small beauty brand with a very specific point of view and a unique audience, she says. The biggest challenge was just deciding to actually risk it all and start Reina Rebelde. Merson realized that this was her dream and was up for the challenge. Her next difficult task was pairing down the colors and product offering for the brand launch. She wanted each product to go along with her experiences in Mexico.

As cultural appropriation is starting to become the norm in the beauty industry and is an ongoing trending topic on Twitter, Merson points out that Reina Rebelde is clearly a nod to her Mexican culture and her inspiration. She encourages everyone to learn about different cultures and start a dialogue. Authenticity is everything, but it is not done at the exclusion of anyone else. For Reina Rebelde, we are doing us, the way we know how to do us, which is a very unique point of view and a nuanced but powerful statement all on its own, she says. However, if someone who is not Hispanic, Mexican, [or] Latino is interested in learning about it, our beauty rituals, our respective cultures, I personally welcome and encourage that, because I believe that what is uniquely yours and authentic can never be taken from you, but it should be shared with others.

The 4 Play Wet Dry Eye Color palette by Reina Rebelde. (Photo: Reina Rebelde)

Merson also prides herself on employing people of color for her Latina-owned and -operated company. She values having a team of employees connected to their heritage, who are hardworking and can contribute to the growth of the brand. I strive to have a work environment where people can be unapologetic about bringing their personal cultural experiences and unique ideas to the table, says Merson. I truly do believe that if people bring their authentic selves to the workplace, it is a better experience for them and more beneficial for everyone else.

This is only the beginning for Merson. She is working on creating new shades and combinations inspired by Mexico  everything from the tequila to the fruits to the vibrant colors of her homeland. What she loves most about her new venture? The most incredible part of this journey has been meeting all of these different women who each have a unique story that is more mind-blowing than the next, she says. I want all of these women to connect with each other, even if lipstick shades are the first thing they are talking about, because there is so much to learn from each other. I want Reina Rebelde to help them connect.

The Exagerada Lash Kit by Reina Rebelde. (Photo: Reina Rebelde)

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Alls fair in love, war and social media feuds.

Fox News anchors Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity kissed and made up on Thursday after having a high-profile fallout via Twitter the night before.

The Kelly File host tweeted a cheery photo of the pair together with the caption, Were Irish. Its complicated. #friends.

Also Read: Fox News' Sean Hannity Slams Megyn Kelly for 'Clearly' Supporting Hillary Clinton

Meanwhile, Hannity denied one Twitter users accusation that they had been ordered to make nice by their corporate masters. He wrote, Actually, thats just not true. 2 friends just worked out a MINOR disagreement.

The reunion came after Hannity called Kelly out on Wednesday for being biased toward Hillary Clinton in the heated presidential race.

u should be mad at @HillaryClinton Clearly you support her. And @realDonaldTrump did talk to u, he tweeted, while linking out to a clip on Mediaite.com in which she said Trump will only go on Hannity because it is a safe place.

Also Read: Fox News' Top 10 Shows: Megyn Kelly to Bill O'Reilly, Ranked (Photos)

Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10:00, will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days, which doesnt exactly expand the tent, Kelly said in the video.

She also went on to criticize Clinton, however, by saying that the Democratic nominee was opting for soft interview opportunities as well.

See their make up tweets below.

Actually that's just not true. 2 friends just worked out a MINOR disagreement https://t.co/JduyLi949p  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 7, 2016

Related stories from TheWrap:

Fox News' Sean Hannity Slams Megyn Kelly for 'Clearly' Supporting Hillary Clinton

Megyn Kelly Returns to Crush Rachel Maddow in Ratings

Megyn Kelly Ripped for Baring Flesh During Convention Coverage
From ELLE

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of ELLE.

Unlike many grimly blue-tinged stories of dysfunctional families, The Clancys of Queens (Crown) overflows with buoyant exuberance. Much of its magic lies in its narrator's frank, funny voice and evident passion for a good story. Even as a kid, a "young tomboy with a mussed pageboy haircut, legs covered in black-and-blues, and a perpetual Dali dirt mustache," Tara Clancy was clearly a born raconteur as well as a keen appreciator of the eccentricities of her relatives. The book isn't all rosy. There are deaths, blackout drinking, and coming-of-age struggles. But no matter what happens, as long as someone's telling a good story, especially if it's someone in the family, Clancy is right there, listening. This book is a winningly sunny tribute to the strong ties of kinship.

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As the only child of long-divorced parents, Clancy grew up in the 1980s and '90s, bouncing between her two sprawling working-class Queens clans, the Irish Clancys and the Italian Riccobonos. She spent part of the time at her Irish American cop father's tiny "converted boat shed/trailer of a house" in Broad Channel, an island off the Rockaways. Her other home was her maternal grandparents' compound in Bellerose, Queens, a neighborhood where her mother lived along with six elderly Italians dubbed by the author "The Geriatrics of 251st Street."

And there was a third, radically different milieu that Clancy inhabited: Every other Friday afternoon, she was spirited in a limo from her public schoolyard to spend the weekend at the seaside Hamptons estate of her mother's self-mademillionaire boyfriend, Mark, where she ate gourmet meals and played croquet.

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A proud member of the working class who was "able to jump social strata in a single bound!," Clancy shows how generously fluid the lines between classes can be: The entire Riccobono clan arrives en masse for the annual summer party Mark throws for them in Bridgehampton, and likewise, at the family's annual raucous Italian Thanksgiving, Mark squeezes his 6'10" frame into a chair in a Queens basement. The imagination whirs at the details of these gatherings, and Clancy, who's written for the Paris Review Daily and the New York Times Magazine and is a Moth GrandSlam winner, has the literary prowess to do it justice.

Clancy also describes with funny poignancy the process of coming out as a lesbian to her Republican Catholic father (her mother, on the other hand, knew her daughter was gay early on and simply waited for Tara to figure it out herself). Her dad's reaction is to take his daughter to a German theme-park hotel, where the two of them sit in the bar drinking whiskey in awkward silence broken by an oompah band. "Then, somewhere between the sauerbraten and the strudel, my dadsaid, 'Ah, screw it. At least now we have two things in common-whiskey and women!'"

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Suzuka (Japan) (AFP) - Mercedes offered a sharp riposte to Lewis Hamilton's bizarre claims of a team conspiracy on Friday, insisting the notion would be rejected by "anyone with an ounce of intelligence".

The Briton was furious after an engine fire robbed him of victory at last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, demanding answers and even questioning whether he had been the victim of sabotage from within the team garage.

But in Suzuka, Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe insisted that any suggestion of skullduggery was pure fantasy.

"If we were that good we would win everything and control everything," he told reporters ahead of Sunday's race in Japan.

"We've had other failures in the year that are very unfortunate and if we were good enough to arrange such sabotage we wouldn't have any."

Hamilton's blown engine allowed team-mate Nico Rosberg, who finished behind the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, to open a 23-point gap lead in the Formula One standings with just five races left.

"Formula One is a very tough business," added Lowe. "The engineering operates right at the boundaries of performance so things do go wrong.

"But if we invent something that makes us quicker then of course we want it in both cars because we want to win the race. We never hold back and never contemplate it -- anyone who is intelligent can work it out."

Hamilton has since backed away from his controversial remarks, while Lowe also towed the party line as Mercedes closed ranks following the incident.

"I can't agree that the driver hinted there was sabotage," he said. "Lewis has been very clear, certainly with us, that that's completely out of the question."

But Hamilton's outburst caused considerable embarrassment to Mercedes and the triple world champion has taken to social media over the past few days to praise his mechanics in an attempt at damage limitation.

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Lowe admitted he was at a loss to explain Hamilton's cruel luck after suffering his third engine failure of the year.

"We are all very rational people," said Lowe after watching Rosberg edge Hamilton in Friday's practice.

"We all know that you can throw three double-sixes in a row. It's possible, statistically -a and yet when you see it done, emotionally you feel 'How did that happen?' We have got a little bit of that scenario with Lewis."

Hamilton asked why of the eight cars on the grid fitted with Mercedes engines, only his have conked out this season.

"We have eight power units out there running around and, with the exception of one failure, they have all fallen to Lewis this year," said Lowe.

"That is something that none of us can really understand, but it is just the way the dice has been thrown. We are gutted about it."
By Andreas Rinke BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Africa on Sunday seeking investment opportunities which her government hopes will drive economic development on the continent and curb future waves of migration to Europe. A flood of almost a million migrants into Germany last year, many from Syria and Iraq, has hit Merkel's popularity at home. A European Union deal with Turkey helped stem the flow from the Middle East and Asia, but thousands of people still risk the perilous Mediterranean crossing every day from Africa to Europe. "The migration pressure will increase dramatically in the coming years if we do not manage to generate economic prospects in African countries," German Development Minister Gerd Mueller told Reuters. Merkel has described Africa, with its population of 1.2 billion people, as "the central problem" in the migration issue, and last month said the EU needed to establish migrant deals with north African countries along the lines of the Turkey deal. She visits Mali on Sunday, Niger on Monday and Ethiopia on Tuesday in her first multi-day trip to Africa since 2011. Germany, France and Italy want to develop particularly close partnerships with Niger and Mali, which they see as key states in the migration issue. In Mali, Germany has over 550 soldiers as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission. Merkel, who has yet to declare if she will seek a fourth term as chancellor next year, wants to discuss bilateral aid and business investment on her trip, rather than aiming to secure any deals to return migrants there. "Being an open society means that we should try to aim for a kind of balance such that the first thing for young Africans, when they get a smartphone in their hands, isn't 'I have to go where I see a better world,' but rather that they live in a country in which things are at least getting better step by step," she told an industry conference on Thursday. "This is our task," Merkel added. Mueller pointed to the energy sector as an area where there was an opportunity for a "win-win partnership" for Africa and German businesses, which have been pioneering in developing solar technology. "We have the innovation, Africa has the sun and needs innovation," he said. However, the experience of the Desertec renewable energy project, founded in Germany to much fanfare in 2009, has made businesses sceptical about such schemes as investors worry about security risks associated with investing in Africa. Desertec aimed to help to provide up to 15 percent of Europe's power from solar and wind parks in North Africa and the Middle East by 2050 but it all but folded after the withdrawal of most of its shareholders. "We need a Marshall Plan for Africa," said Mueller, looking for international stakeholders to contribute as Germany prepares to make Africa a focus of its G20 presidency next year. Berlin is also open to working with China on infrastructure projects. "We are looking into doing joint projects with the Chinese," a Merkel adviser said. (Additional reporting by Noah Barkin and Michael Nienaber; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Dominic Evans)
India and Pakistan had signed the bilateral ceasefire agreement in Novemeber 2013. However, Pakistan on numerous occasions has violated the agreement with impunity.

By India Today Web Desk: In yet another case of ceasefire violation, Pakistan army today resorted to indiscriminate heavy shelling and gunfire at Indian military and civilian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu region.

"Heavy shelling and firing started in Malta area in Poonch district today (Friday) morning after Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate mortar shelling and firing at Indian military and civilian positions," a police official told IANS here.

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ALSO READ: Pakistan resorts to heavy mortar shelling on LoC in Jammu's Naushera sector

However, according to sources, Indian Army effectively retaliated using same calibre weapons.

Pakistan has been invariably violating the ceasefire agreement after Indian Army on September 28 night carried out surgical strikes against terrorist "launch pads" across the Line of Control in Pakistan administered Kashmirthe.

India and Pakistan had signed the bilateral ceasefire agreement in November 2013. However, Pakistan on numerous occasions has violated the agreement with impunity.

With inputs from Agencies



ALSO READ:

Another ceasefire violation: Pakistan opens fire near Phallanwallan







--- ENDS ---
NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's tricky strategy of communicating its policy intentions needs improvement because it focuses public attention too much on short-term economic data, a top Fed official said on Friday.

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, who sits on the central bank's communications committee, said the repeated message from the Fed that rate hikes are "data dependent" fails to accurately portray that such decisions are actually based on medium-term economic forecasts.

"Our policy communications could benefit from further enhancements," Mester, a hawkish official who has a vote on policy this year, said at a Shadow Open Market Committee meeting. "Uncertainty is the norm, not the exception."

Specifically, she said the first paragraph of the Federal Open Market Committee's regular policy statements "tends to concentrate on changes in economic conditions since the last FOMC meeting, which can spur a short-run focus."

In one example of a statement zeroing in on an individual data sets, the FOMC said in July that: "Job gains were strong in June following weak growth in May..."

Mester, who backs a rate hike, was one of three policymakers to dissent against the Fed's decision last month to stand pat, a sign that internal divisions are growing. Rates have remained at 0.25-0.5 percent since December, when U.S. policy was tightened for the first time in nearly a decade.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Writing by Jonathan Spicer)
Shares of global hospitality company, MGM Resorts International MGM, rallied to a 52-week high of $27.04 on Oct 6. However, the company ended the days trading a trifle lower at $26.80. Meanwhile, year to date, the stock has returned nearly 18%.



Notably, gross gaming revenues (GGR) for the month of September rose 7.4% on a yearly basis to roughly $2.3 billion or 18.4 billion patacas, per the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. This marked the second consecutive month of growth, following the extended slump of over two years.



Notably, new resorts including Wynn Resorts Ltd.s WYNN Wynn Palace (opened on Aug 22) and Las Vegas Sands Corp.s LVS subsidiary, Sands China Ltd.s The Parisian (opened on Sep 13), attracted visits by tourists and leisure gamblers, which helped boost revenues.



The Macau region has been struggling over the past few quarters due to the Chinese governments anti-graft corruption drive, which has lowered footfall at casinos. However, Macau operators have been adding more non-gaming facilities in order to attract tourists and recreational gamblers, in order to revive revenues. Such efforts have finally started yielding results, indicating that the Macau market might be on the recovery path.



This bodes well for MGM Resorts as Macau is a key operating region for the company. The companys $2.9 billion casino hotel is also set to open in the Cotai area of Macau in the second quarter of 2017.

MGM RESORTS INT Price and Consensus

MGM RESORTS INT Price and Consensus | MGM RESORTS INT Quote

Meanwhile, MGM Resorts Las Vegas business is doing well on the back of ongoing economic recovery and growing tourism, which is driving incremental revenues at the companys properties in the region.



Moreover, the company is also considering expansion opportunities in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland. The construction of MGM National Harbor, a casino resort, is also underway. The resort will include gaming as well as non-gaming amenities, and is set to open on Dec 8, 2016. On the back of this new opening, the company is expected to witness increased occupancy and better pricing in the domestic markets.



Meanwhile, the companys profit growth plan that began in Aug 2015 has already started reaping benefits and is poised to boost profits further. The plan focuses on improving revenues and reducing expenses by making optimum use of resources, improving purchasing power, as well as utilizing technology to improve analytics and forecasting tools.



MGM Resorts currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the sector is Boyd Gaming Corporation BYD, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Boyd Gamings 2016 earnings climbed 3.8% over the last 60 days. The companys earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 39.87%.



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Michael Buble is to host the 2017 Brit Awards, the U.K.'s biggest awards show, due to take place at London's O2 Arena on February 22. He replaces British TV personalities Ant and Dec, who have hosted the event for the past two years.

"It's a huge honour for me to host such a big night in music," said Buble in a statement. "Even though I didn't grow up as a Brit I've always been well aware of The Brit Awards and their impact globally. As a fan of music this is the perfect gig. I'm very much looking forward to February and celebrating the success stories of a great year in music," the Canadian crooner went on to say.

"This is a huge coup for The Brit Awards and we are delighted to announce Michael as our host for 2017," added BRITs Chairman Jason Iley, who called Buble "an extremely talented and charismatic world-class entertainer much loved by the British public."

Next year will mark the 37th edition of the Brit Awards, which are run by labels trade body BPI and recognize the year's biggest selling U.K. artists and releases. This year's event featured live performances from Adele, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd and Lorde, who memorably paid tribute to David Bowie by performing "Life on Mars," accompanied by Bowie's longstanding backing band.

A British TV audience of almost 6 million tuned in to watch the two-hour show, which saw nearly 7.5 million tweets sent, with Adele's acceptance of the global success award generating a peak of 55,000 tweets per minute. The global success prize was one of four awards that Adele won the night, alongside British female artist, British single and album of the year. Other winners included James Bay, Coldplay, Tame Impala, Bieber, Bjork and One Direction.

Nominations for this year's awards will be announced on Jan. 14 and for the first time will be broadcast in a primetime slot on commercial TV station ITV.
The oft-told story about what happened during production of the Gregg Allman biopic Midnight Rider on Feb. 20, 2014 is that the film crew, having been denied permission to shoot on Wayne County, Ga. train tracks, entered private property anyway and a subsequent train collision killed camera assistant Sarah Jones and left other crewmembers injured.

But what if the filmmakers weren't denied permission? It obviously wouldn't change the tragic fact that Jones couldn't get away from a train barreling forward at an estimated 57 miles per hour, but does it cast a different light on Midnight Rider director Randall Miller and others involved in the film who pled guilty to criminal trespass and involuntary manslaughter?

On Thursday, explosive new papers were filed in an ongoing insurance dispute allegedly revealing that key evidence used to indict Miller might not be so key anymore. There's also new video, an insurance company's conflict, a suggestion made by one of the insurer's employees of driving Miller into bankruptcy, plus more. Now, Miller and producer Jody Savin want to be added as plaintiffs in a proposed amended complaint against New York Marine and General Insurance Company to assert coverage and bad faith.

The development occurs just days after New York Marine filed a summary judgment motion arguing it isn't responsible for providing coverage for criminal acts. The insurer points to Miller's guilty plea in March 2015, his deposition last month, and what Miller and others told the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to support the position that filmmakers entered railroad property after being told they could not.

But Film Allman LLC is now coming forward with a newly discovered email sent by Carla Groleau at CSX, the train rail company, that "recalled" a prior message that the Midnight Rider producers say had been used by criminal prosecutors and OSHA to indicate that CSX withheld its permission to use its tracks. The first e-mail from CSX to a Midnight Rider location manager stated the train company was "not able to support your request," but quickly afterwards, Groleau appears to have attempted to rescind the message.

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The problem, implied by the court papers, is that CSX had an agreement with Rayonier - the timber company that was landowner of the tracks where the Midnight Rider accident happened - that allowed Rayonier to conduct certain operations on CSX tracks. Denying permission to use the tracks might not have been simple.

During a deposition, John Johnson, the prosecutor who indicted Miller, was shown a photograph of a Rayonier employee at the accident site and was asked whether this person was trespassing. Johnson responded it would be a matter of interpretation because of the CSX-Rayonier agreement. Later in the deposition, Johnson was asked about the presence of other mill workers at the scene of the crash and whether he interviewed them. The prosecutor didn't.

"If they had colluded with the film crew in any way... to be on the bridge, you don't think that would be significant?" asked the film company's attorney.

"I have no evidence of that," responded Johnson.

Midnight Rider producers say that the insurer's lawyers "either failed to discover" the CSX-Rayonier agreement "or failed to advise" them about the agreement "even though the existence of such agreement would have been useful in both the civil and criminal defenses defeating the trespassing allegations, and would defeat New York Marine's coverage defense regarding the Producer Policy based on allegations of trespass. New York Marine knew or should have known that Rayonier knew that CSX had not expressly denied permission to shoot on its tracks..."

And why would the insurance company have withheld evidence that may have helped Miller and others on Midnight Rider rebut the charge they were on the property illegally?

According to the producers, New York Marine had represented CSX in other matters before having its attorney, Matthew Jones, represent them in the Sarah Jones wrongful death case. The insurance company thus allegedly had a conflict, but "neglected to inform" producers of these past representations.

The CSX-Rayonier agreement isn't the only piece of evidence that producers now have in their possession. Film Allman's lawyer Doug Gastelum also says he has now obtained CSX locomotive videos "similar to aircraft 'black box' data" from the insurance company even though on June 3, New York Marine's lawyer testified in a deposition that he never had or seen the videos. (Back in March, 2015, ABC's 20/20 aired chilling video of the train accident after the footage was shown in court in the criminal prosecutions. It's not clear yet how the footage differs, if at all, or what purpose it would serve.)

Among the other pieces of new evidence brought to light in the latest court papers is how New York Marine responded when faced with the possibility of providing coverage for the Midnight Rider production.

On March 19, 2015, an insurance employee named Jill Pompeii wrote that the policies had already been exhausted (Sarah Jones' family got a $5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit) and that the insurance company would be arguing against ongoing obligations.

"On the production side, things have gotten a bit odd with Randy Miller's recent criminal sentence," Pompeii wrote in an internal email. "We're going to push a bit to get that case dismissed, but if they refuse, we'll have to force them to do some work in hopes that we'll force their hand to file bankruptcy, which will stay the case."

Now, the Midnight Rider producers have erupted in outrage over this discovery.

"New York Marine opted to delay and impede progress on the claim, even considering how it could force insureds into bankruptcy," states the proposed amended complaint. "New York Marine's bad faith conduct left Plaintiffs with the prospect of having to abandon production entirely. In a classic 'Catch 22,' Plaintiffs could not proceed with the Film without obtaining its insurance proceeds, and it could not obtain its insurance proceeds until it continued filming. In addition, delays in restarting production of the Film, caused in large part by the lack of secure funding under the Producers Policy resulted in delay until a criminal prosecution of Miller and Savin was set for trial. The postponement has resulted in these insureds having been unable to make any film since before commencing production of Midnight Rider in 2013, damaging their careers as managers, film producers, writers, and director."

We've reached out to the attorney for New York Marine and will provide any response given.
Midnight Rider director Randall Miller and producer Jody Savins Film Allman are pointing to a newly discovered email to show that they were not expressly denied permission to shoot on a CSX trestle on Feb. 20, 2014, when a train plowed through their shooting location and killed a camera assistant, Sarah Jones, and injured eight others.

The email was included in Film Allmans motion to amend its complaint in its lawsuit against insurer New York Marine, which denied its claim for the losses after the movie shut down. The insurer based its denial by citing a clause that it would not pay for losses caused by criminal acts.

In the aftermath, Miller was sentenced to two years in Wayne County Jail in Jesup, Ga., after he reached a plea agreement for charges of criminal trespass and involuntary manslaughter. He was released in March after serving one year.

In a filing with U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, Miller and Savins production company are pointing to an email from a CSX Corp. executive to raise doubts about the claim that the railroad explicitly denied them permission to be on the train tracks and trestle.

The email is from CSXs Carla Groleau at 10:48 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 20, and it simply says, Groleau, Carla would like to recall the message, CSX.' It was sent to Charley Baxter, the location manager on Midnight Rider, and Tina Kicklighter, a representative of Rayonier Performance Fibers, which owns the land around the tracks and did give the production permission to shoot on its property.

The message that was recalled was cited by prosecutors as proof that the producers of Midnight Rider were denied permission to be on the tracks. The email, sent at 10:47 a.m., stated that CSX was not able to support your request. According to the latest filing from Film Allman, the recall email was produced by Rayonier during the discovery process of separate litigation that was brought by Jones family. That case was settled.

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Film Allman is citing other evidence in their case against the insurer. They contend that the attorney that New York Marine hired to represent them in the Jones litigation, Matthew Stone, had a conflict because he had represented CSX at least dozens of times.

According to the filmmakers latest filing, Stone failed to advise them that he had the recall email, and only produced it in response to a subpoena during the discovery process of the insurance case. They also claim that Stone produced video from the train during the accident, even though he had testified that he has never received video with the locomotive recorder data.

Whats unclear is whether Baxter, the location manager, forwarded the recall email to Miller, Savin or other members of the crew. He did forward Groleaus original email to Miller, Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish, first assistant director Hillary Schwartz and others, according to a Occupational Safety and Health Commission opinion. Baxter said that he discussed the e-mail with Schwartz, Sedrish and production designer Missy Stewart, and that after they looked at it we were like, Oh, well, there you go.'

Film Allman points also to a deposition of John Johnson, the Wayne County prosecutor who indicted Miller and Savin, in which he said that CSX and Rayonier had an agreement to allow Rayonier to conduct certain operations on the tracks. Film Allman contends that the existence of such agreement would have been useful in both the civil and criminal defenses defeating the trespassing allegations.

New York Marine knew or should have known that Rayonier knew that CSX had not expressly denied permission to shoot on its tracks, but failed to advise Miller, Savin or Film Allman of this fact, even though they asked for it, Film Allman said in its filing.

A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7 in New York Marines motion for partial summary judgment.

Related stories

'Midnight Rider' Director Released From Jail

'Midnight Rider,' Two Years Later: Sarah Jones' Family Launches Safety Campaign

'Midnight Rider' Filmmaker Denied Early Release From Jail
From Town & Country

Over the course of their lifetimes, Pierre Berge and his former partner, the designer Yves Saint Laurent, amassed museum-worthy collections of art, furniture, decorative objects, and books. After Saint Laurent's death in 2008, Berge decided to sell most of their collection at Christie's, and the auction garnered $477 million for their foundation. Now, he turned to Sotheby's to sell his own collection of books.

Berge's library includes over 1,600 books, manuscripts, and musical scores, which range from the 15th century to the 20th century. They cover a large variety of subjects, which is no surprise because his and Saint Laurent's art and decor collection had immense breadth; their Christie's auction contained everything from modernist paintings to important Renaissance canvases and Middle Eastern decorative arts.

Photo credit: Getty

Berge started collecting his library of tomes when he was a teenager, and it is so large that the sale has broken into six parts. On November 8th and 9th, Pierre Berge & Associes will conduct the second part of the auction in Paris, which is dedicated to 19th century literature.

The sale will include 376 works by authors ranging from the Marquis de Sade to Karl Marx and a variety of genres, including philosophy and fiction. Highlights include first edition books by important philosophers like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, and one of the most important collections of work by Gustave Flaubert (Berge's favorite author) in private hands. Berge even owns a copy of Flaubert's La Tentation de Saint Antoinethat the author gave to Victor Hugo with the inscription "Au Maitre, souvenir et hommage" ("To the Master, my regards and homage").

The one major 20th century author not included? Albert Camus. Berge does not like him at all.

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In the aftermath of his strong performance in Tuesdays debate against Democrat Tim Kaine, Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence is giving a lot of Donald Trump supporters a bad case of buyers remorse.

A new poll says one out of three Trump backers now wish that the Indiana governor was at the top of the GOP ticket instead of in the second spot. According to the Politico/Morning Consult poll, 32 percent of Trump supporters say they would rather have Pence as president, while only 9 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters who would rather have Kaine. The post-debate survey of almost 2,000 registered voters was taken Oct. 5-6.

Related: Heres the Map Keeping Team Trump Awake at Night

Pence has gotten a lot of heat on social media for a comment he made during the debate in which he responded to a jab from Kaine about Trump calling many Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. Senator, youve whipped out that Mexican thing again, Pence said.

#ThatMexicanThing is now a thing on Twitter and a punchline on TV comedy shows, and the words from the debate that seem to be sticking in the publics collective memory.

But what a lot of Republicans may remember most about the debate is how much more presidential Pence looked than their nominee.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
After his strong debate performance Tuesday night, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is now a favorite to lead the Republican ticket in 2020, according to a new poll.

The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted this week found that 22% of Republicans want Pence to be their next nominee if Hillary Clinton wins in November. That puts him nine percentage points above both Speaker Paul Ryan and the current top of the ticket, Donald Trump, who each have 13% of support.

Even though the VP debate had about half the audience of the presidential debate, both Mike Pence and Tim Kaine have seen their name recognition go up significantly, said Morning Consult co-founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp, Politico reports. The news is much better for Pence, though. Not only do more voters think he won the debate, his favorability now sits 10 points higher than Kaines.

A total of 12% of Republicans polled want Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to represent the party, 11% support Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and 7% are hoping for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The survey was conducted of 1,989 registered voters from Oct. 5-6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Read More: Why Mike Pence Didnt Defend Donald Trump
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has once again donned the role of the 007 agent for an advertisement to endorse an Indian pan masala brand, which was met with ridicule online.

In the one-minute video, Brosnan, 63, is seen using the can of pan masala as a weapon to fend off enemies. In the end he says, "Class never goes out of style".

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Soon after the release of the advertisement, Twitter went berserk with some making fun of the actor for choosing to be part of it while others wondering whether Brosnan was even aware of what he was selling.

The actor also started trending on the micro-blogging site.

One user wrote, "Pretty sure Pierce Brosnan was fooled into endorsing Pan Bahar by saying that it was some exotic Himalayan Indian herb."

Another said, "Please tell me Pierce Brosnan is photoshopped into this ad and hes not endorsing Pan Bahar."

"Pierce Brosnan for Pan Bahar..now if they can get Anne Hathaway or Kate Winslet for washing powder Nirma. Life would be complete," read a post.

A Twitter user said now that Brosnan has endorsed a pan masala, he would like to see current James Bond star Daniel Craig endorsing another Indian company.

"Now I have seen it all! Pierce Brosnan plugging Pan Bahar Pan Masala. How about Daniel Craig for Zandu Balm?!" PTI JCH BK

--- ENDS ---
Modcloths latest collection is filled with rich fall colors and intricate patterns

The beloved retailers of flattering floral delights and signature retro-inspired clothing, Modcloth, has released a new October line, and the colors and cuts are both as diverse and distinct as youd hope. With a large selection of vibrant pieces available in a full range of sizes (XXS to 4X), Modcloths new line is the first signature collection released under the leadership of their new Fashion Director, Lizz Wasserman. Luckily, we were able to ask a few questions and get a statement about the process from Lizz herself!

But first, you should sneak a peek of a few of the new looks in this promo video to get a taste!

Even in the promotional video, you get a sense of the variety of warm colors the line provides. When asked about her inspiration for the line, Lizz shared a statement of her vision for the line:

As we transition from the fall collections and start to get excited for Holiday, we imagined the idea of travel in a more fanciful way. Its the way a lot of us travel  imaginatively through books. This collection is inspired by folktales; we wanted to capture that nostalgia and joy of discovery, with imaginative prints, vintage-inspired silhouettes and luxe richness in our fabrics: velvet burnouts, embroidery, lurex clip dots, cozy sweater dresses and coats.

1_ModCloth_A Conversation Masterpiece A-Line Dress (1)

HelloGiggles: My favorite pieces in the line involved bold, graphic prints (tie-dye fire scenes, etc.) What inspired the more distinctive and graphic designs?

Lizz Wasserman: We looked, as always, to vintage, folktales, and traditional folk dressing and craft. The Conversation Masterpiece dress was inspired by a vest my mom bought in Bulgaria on a trip in the 1970s; our folktale book print on the Whimsy Without End dress is all imagined fairytales we wish we could read in several foreign languages (Susan, MC founder and our CCO, helped us with the German translation!); and the Charms My Heart horses print is inspired by a Dala horse, a traditional Swedish handcrafted toy.

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2_ModCloth_Whimsy Without End A-Line Dress in Bookworm (1)

HG: A lot of your pieces do a good job of balancing the line between flowy/comfortable and fitted/more constricting. How do you pick the cuts for your clothing?

LW: Thanks! As we have expanded our collection, the design team is doing an awesome job building off of our known silhouettes, like true vintage-inspired pieces and great fit and flare dresses, into more diverse shapes. This season, I especially love our Charms my Heart dress in the Tuxedo colorway, the Dala horse print, the Apple Cider Toast sweater dress and a great caped dress we have coming in later. We look to vintage of all decades for our design inspiration, and starting with this past August, youll start to see a wider variety of silhouettes in the ModCloth Signature label.

3_ModCloth_Pin-Up to the Challenge Velvet Dress in Emerald (1)

HG: At what age did you first form an interest in fashion design?

LW: My mom helped me sew a rainbow star skirt (very ModCloth!) after work when I was around 3, so the bug bit early :). Id creatively put outfits together with my mom and grandmothers vintage, and later, with great thrift finds. With sewing, I was a little too adventurous with paper patterns, so in high school I started draping (and Im an impatient sewer so it was always more about the idea than the reality). I was always drawing, weaving, dyeing fabric, making jewelry, trying to make shoes (ha!), and was voted Most Unusually Dressed and Most Artistic. I thought I was going to be a sociologist or do something with art for most of college, so I didnt consider fashion design as a career until I graduated  and then there was no looking back!

4_ModCloth_Go Down in Mystery Top (1)

You can shop the new collection online now!

The post Modcloths latest collection is filled with rich fall colors and intricate patterns appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Tokyo (AFP) - French second-seed Gael Monfils will face Australian Nick Kyrgios in the Japan Open semi-finals after he beat Croatian seventh-seed Ivo Karlovic Friday.

Fourth-seed Marin Cilic defeated Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-1 and will meet Belgian fifth-seed David Goffin in the last four.

Monfils pulled off a nailbiting 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6) win against Karlovic, with both men landing nine aces in their 91-minute contest.

Monfils, a runner-up at the Japan Open in 2010, is now set to play Kyrgios, who comfortably fended off a challenge from Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4, 6-2.

"I thought I played great today," Kyrgios said. "I served well, returned well and my engagement level was really good the whole time."

Goffin came from behind to beat Joao Sousa1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in their quarterfinal.

"It was not easy. From the beginning of the match, I was feeling a little bit nervous, a little bit sleepy also," Goffin said.

"I was struggling a little bit with my footwork. Then I started to play much better, more aggressive from the start of the second set.

"In the third set, I played my best tennis."
By Sarah Mills (Reuters) - A film about a young black impoverished man's struggle with his sexuality hopes to give a voice to characters not often seen in movies, according to the cast and director of "Moonlight." "Moonlight," which debuted on Thursday at the London Film Festival after receiving strong reviews last month at the Toronto International Film Festival, is the coming-of-age tale of a black boy named Chiron, grappling silently with his homosexuality. The movie, based on Tarell McCraney's play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue," tells Chiron's story in three chapters - as a skinny child called 'Little,' picked on by his peers; as a skinny teenager, bullied as he tries to understand his sexuality; and as a hardened grown man who goes by 'Black.' "It's almost taboo to be a black American man who is homosexual, or a black man who is homosexual because growing up you're told that you have to be that much more imposing, that much bigger, that much better ... than your counterparts," said Trevante Rhodes, who plays adult Chiron. "It's kind of oxymoronic to be homosexual and have those same attributes." Set in impoverished neighborhoods of Miami, the film shows a black community supporting each other where they can - such as when a young Chiron, neglected by his drug-addict mother, finds a surrogate family in a couple. Naomi Harris, who plays Chiron's troubled mother, said the film "sheds light on a section of society that doesn't normally get light shed on it." "It has universal themes about humanity, about our universal search for love and also it's representing the gay community in a way that I don't think they generally are represented," the actress said. Director Barry Jenkins added, "I don't think we see characters like this often in the arts." He said when he read McCraney's play, "it grabbed me in such a way that I thought it would be cowardly not to look at it." The film, out in UK theaters this week and in U.S. theaters on Oct. 21, has already been garnering Oscar buzz for its subject matter and performances. Janelle Monae, who plays a surrogate mother figure to Chiron, said she hoped movie-goes would "feel more empathetic towards the black, poor gay male experience and that we continue not to ostracize those who are different from us." (Reporting by Sarah Mills for Reuters TV; Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
From Dr. Oz The Good Life

School shooting victim Jacob Hall was dressed as Batman for his funeral in Townville, South Carolina, on Wednesday, and many of his more than 1,000 mourners appeared as superheroes to honor him. The young victim was 6 years old.

The first-grader's mother, choking back tears, wore a Robin costume.

Jacob's family had asked mourners to celebrate the boy's life by dressing as the superheroes he loved, and so they did. Captain Americas and Wonder Women filed past his small blue casket, along with Supermen and Supergirls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers.

His teachers came in handmade blue capes with a Ninja Turtle face and Jacob's name.

Jacob loved to pretend he was a superhero, imagining himself as the good guy, the Rev. David Blizzard recalled. He encouraged mourners to honor his wishes by forgiving the 14-year-old boy charged with killing him at Townville Elementary School.

"Preacher, I know what Jacob would say to me," Blizzard said Jacob's mother, Renae Hall, had told him. "He'd say, 'Mama, forgive that boy and love him like Jesus loves him because Jesus loves him.' That's exactly what Jacob would probably say."

Photo credit: AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt

Blizzard also referred to the nine people killed in last year's church shooting inside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, reminding the crowd that their families forgave that shooter.

"We have the same Jesus that Mother Emanuel had, and we can do the same thing if we choose to," Blizzard said, because "a superhero story is about good versus evil. The good always wins. We live in a dark world, but the good's going to win."

Jacob died Saturday from a bullet that struck the main artery in his thigh. Authorities said the 14-year-old shooter killed his own father, then drove to the school and sprayed gunfire. Jacob's classmate and a first-grade teacher also were struck by bullets, and they were treated and released from a hospital. The teen faces charges of murder, attempted murder, and weapons possession.

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A capacity crowd of more than 500 squeezed into the church's sanctuary. Hundreds more watched live feeds in the gym and the youth building, and still others waited outside the Oakdale Baptist Church. A thousand programs were handed out before the funeral began.

A 6-year-old friend from church, Lily Gunby, wore a pink and black Superman shirt. She said Jacob "was really sweet" and "knew a lot about Jesus."

Lily's uncle Derek Gunby says Jacob was "the cutest thing ever" at Bible school.

John Buckland drove his Batmobile from West Virginia to attend the funeral. Wearing full Batman garb, he gave the kids posters saying "Tough things make me stronger."

"Keep an eye on each other. Care about each other, love each other. If someone's in trouble, reach out and give them the help they need, because Jacob would," Buckland said.

Students won't return to Townville Elementary until Thursday, but the district's other five schools planned to honor Jacob by participating in Superhero Day, with all employees and students invited to come to school in costume. A Facebook page created for Superhero Day said schools across the state planned to participate, but in central and coastal South Carolina, schools were closed in advance of Hurricane Matthew.

District Superintendent Joanne Avery also announced a moment of silence at 1:42 p.m. Wednesday, to mark one week since the shooting.
Larry Page

Google suffered a setback in an age discrimination suit this week. A judge ruled that other software engineers over age 40 who interviewed with the company but didn't get hired can step forward and join the lawsuit.

The suit was brought by two job applicants, both over the age of 40, who interviewed but weren't offered jobs.

Specifically, the judge has approved turning the suit into a "collective action" meaning that people who "interviewed in person with Google for a software engineer, site reliability engineer, or systems engineer position when they were 40 years old or older, and received notice on or after August 28, 2014, that they were refused employment, will have an opportunity to join in the collective action against Google," the ruling says.

While this isn't good news for Google, the ruling was strictly focused on whether the suit could be broadened to include more people. It doesn't meant that Google will ultimately lose the case.

Google says it's fighting the suit. A spokesperson told us, "We believe the allegations here are without merit and we will continue to defend our position vigorously. We have strong policies against discrimination on any unlawful basis, including age."

Interestingly, the judge is particularly not buying that "policies" defense from Google, writing in the ruling:

"Having such a policy does not necessarily shield a company from a discrimination suit, particularly in light of the evidence and allegations presented here ... today, most, if not all, companies are well versed in anti-discrimination and make great efforts to ensure their written policies comply with anti-discrimination law."

In terms of allegations, one of the plaintiffs alleged that a Google recruiter told her she needed to puts the dates of her graduation on her resume so interviewers could determine her age. That same plaintiff argued that she had found seven others who say they had similar experiences at Google. She also presented evidence to the court that the median age of Google's workforce is 29 while the median age in the US for programmers is 42.8 years old.

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How old are Google employees?

Google has about 61,000 employees and we asked Google if the company has publicly released statistics on its median age. Age is not included with the company's published diversity report, which discusses sex and race. Google didn't respond.

Google Greyglers

However, we do know that Google has a diversity club on campus called "Greyglers" which is for Googler employees over 40. The company describes it as a group for "company elders" that helps the company with "promoting age diversity awareness."

The company was sued way back in 2004 for age discrimination and, after winding through the appeals system, the case was ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Still, just allowing people who went on job interviews but didn't get a job to join a suit is a startling turn of events. Some folks on Hacker News, a site where programmers discuss news items of interest to them, worry that instead of solving the tech industry's age discrimination problem, it will make it worse.

One wrote:

"Fallout from this: Companies will go to great lengths to avoid contact with people who submit resumes that imply they are old. No phone screens, no responses. It's going to be wintertime for folks in their late 30s now."

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By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's moderate Islamists are favoured to win a parliamentary election on Friday, five years after they entered government when the kingdom introduced limited reforms in the wake of Arab Spring protests calling for change. The Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has led the ruling coalition since 2011, is seeking to retain office in the ballot against its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which opponents say is too close to the palace. When the Arab Spring uprisings convulsed the region, Morocco's royal palace introduced limited reforms granting more powers to parliament. But the king retains most executive authority and no party openly challenges the monarchy. Voters will select lawmakers for the 395-seat House of Representatives. The palace will then appoint the prime minister from the party that wins most seats. Under the electoral system, no one party can win an outright majority, forcing winners into a drawn-out process of negotiations to form a coalition government. Popular for its anti-corruption stance, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD has pushed fiscal reforms to reduce Morocco's deficit and overhaul a system of heavy subsidies, a programme he says will continue if the PJD is re-elected. "I voted for the PJD because I want to give them a chance to finish what they started," said Hamza Saidi, a pensioner casting his ballot in the capital Rabat. Opinion polls are banned, but most analysts say they expect the PJD to dominate after its performance in last year's municipal elections, when it won major cities for the first time. PAM also did well, especially in rural areas. The Interior Ministry said turnout was around 30 percent by 1600 GMT, two hours before closing. Early results were expected later on Friday. BOYCOTT Campaigning was marked by accusations that the royal establishment, uneasy about sharing power with Islamists, was unfairly backing PAM as a way to roll back PJD influence. On Friday, the PJD accused local officials under the control of the Interior Ministry of trying to influence voters. The ministry has dismissed some claims and said it would investigate others. "Our central election committee is worried about reports of local authority officials trying to influence the will of voters toward one party. It is also concerned about reports of officials filling ballot boxes with votes for one party," a PJD statement said. PAM, whose founder is a close ally of the king and a royal adviser since leaving the party, has promised to review PJD reforms, especially a contested pensions overhaul. PAM presents itself as a liberal alternative to the Islamists. More than 30 political parties are running, but only the conservative Istiqlal party, which quit the PJD government in 2013, has the national reach of the PJD and PAM. "It's hard to judge, but from what we have observed, the PJD looks to be the favourite," said Mohamed Madani, a political scientist at Rabat University. "Let's hope it is a transparent vote so we can see the real tendency." Other groups, including the Islamist Justice and Spirituality party and leftist organisations, are boycotting the vote because the monarchy retains most powers. King Mohammed won international praise for improving the country's human rights record after coming to the throne in 1999, but critics say rights groups still face harassment and that the establishment has let slide promises made in 2011 of more tolerance. (Additional reporting by Zakia Abdennebi; writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Rabat (AFP) - Moroccans voted Friday to elect a new parliament, five years after an Islamist-led government took office following Arab Spring-inspired protests that toppled regimes across the region.

The vote pitted the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) against the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which says it wants to roll back the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society.

But whatever the result, the real power will remain in the hands of King Mohammed VI, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled the North African country for 350 years.

Two hours before polls closed at 1800 GMT, the interior ministry put turnout between 25 percent and 38 percent.

First results are expected late Friday and Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad was expected to address reporters at midnight (2300 GMT).

The PJD meanwhile issued a statement saying it was "very concerned about numerous reports of fraud being carried out by authorities" in favour of the PAM, and called on the interior ministry to "urgently intervene".

PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun declined to comment but said that his party had filed "50 complaints" of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.

Local media said that a PJD candidate had been attacked and wounded outside a polling station in Rabat.

It also reported that the PJD filed a complaint after a video was shared on social networks showing a man stuffing votes in a ballot box.

Throughout the day the interior ministry issued statements reporting minor incidents, including one in which a cart had blocked the entrance to a voting station.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane acknowledged some disturbances but told Telquel online website he felt positive.

"I continuously receive complaints from our candidates but it is nothing serious and I remain serene and confident," he said.

Early turnout was low in Rabat with many people waiting till after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots while others trickled to the polls after office hours.

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Meriem, a voter in her 40s, said after casting her ballot in central Rabat: "I came to carry out my duty as a citizen. Our Morocco needs a healthy democracy."

To make life easier for the illiterate, who make up a third of Morocco's population, the 30 parties in contention were marked on ballot papers with symbols such as a tractor or camel.

"No one, really no one, can say or predict... who will win tonight," said analyst Abdellah Tourabi, adding however that the PJD was the "favourite" to clinch the election.

- Scandals -

The PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy.

A new constitution transferred some of the king's powers to parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

While in government, the PJD passed a controversial reform of the retirement system and followed a relatively liberal economic policy.

Its task has been complicated by the unstable world economy and a drought this year that hit Morocco's vital agricultural sector and sent growth plummeting.

The party has been weakened by rising unemployment and what critics say is a failure to make good on promises in 2011 to tackle corruption.

It has also faced a string of scandals within its ranks including a drugs bust, a land-grab deal and the suspension of two vice presidents found in a "sexual position" on a beach.

The opposition PAM, formed in 2008 by a close adviser to the king, hopes to take advantage at the polls.

Headed by Ilyas El Omari, it has poured enormous resources into a campaign criticising the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledging to roll back the "Islamisation" of society.

The PAM, which wants to legalise cannabis, aims to bring more women into parliament, where they hold just 67 out of 395 seats.

Several parties have fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

Around 16 million Moroccans were eligible to vote. Turnout will be a key factor, after it reached only 45 percent in the November 2011 polls.

A list system and an electoral threshold that has been halved from six to three percent could hand small parties a key role in forming the next government.

The PJD and the PAM have ruled out joining forces in a grand coalition.

Under the 2011 constitution, the king appoints a prime minister from the biggest party in parliament once the election results have been announced.
Vijayan said the PM has assured him of all possible help for the all-round development of the state. He said Modi has told him that there will not be any problem of funds for road projects.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got an unlikely admirer in Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Marxist leader was all praise for the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre at a function in Kozhikode, where he said, "The PM has extended full support for the developmental issues of the state, keeping all political differences aside."

Vijayan said the PM has assured him of all possible help for the all-round development of the state. He said Modi has told him that there will not be any problem of funds for road projects.

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Speaking at a reception hosted by the Kozhikode Corporation, Vijayan said the earlier situation was different but now the Centre is ready to support the state.

However, Vijayan's detractors accuse him of trying to copy Modi's style of functioning.

The Kerala Chief Minister's admiration of Modi signals a major shift from the usual blame-game relationship between the state and the Centre.

--- ENDS ---
SUZUKA, Japan, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Formula One teams are divided over next year's pre-season tests, with champions Mercedes keen on going to Bahrain but Williams and others opposed to leaving Europe on cost grounds. The 2017 sporting regulations state that no testing of current cars can take place on any track outside of Europe without the agreement of a majority of the teams and the governing FIA. While Barcelona has been scheduled for the two four-day tests in February and March, that could change. "(Tyre supplier) Pirelli have asked the FIA if they would support testing in Bahrain, which is outside Europe. So by regulation it requires a process to get there," Mercedes technical head Paddy Lowe told reporters at the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday. He said Pirelli needed to test the new wider 2017 tyres in hot conditions and were concerned about what might happen otherwise. "We've seen what can happen, for example, in Indianapolis 2005," said Lowe, referring to the infamous U.S. Grand Prix that saw only six Bridgestone-shod cars start after all the Michelin-provided teams withdrew on safety grounds. "We need to run a 300 kilometers race with sensible numbers of tyres, so that's not an inconsiderable risk and should be covered. So that's why we particularly support that request," added the Briton. Williams technical head Pat Symonds said he was firmly opposed. "The cost of doing a test outside of Europe is vast," he told reporters. "Depending on exactly how you do it and how much you have to ship back to the UK, how much you can ship on to the first race - we're talking of a minimum of 300,000 pounds ($372,810.00), probably a maximum of 500,000. "A team like Mercedes, I'm sure that they can put contingencies in their budgets to cover things like that. A team like Williams simply can't, it's a significant amount of our budget." Symonds said there was also the risk of sandstorms in Bahrain, and the first few hours can be spent clearing the track. "I think Abu Dhabi would be a much better place, maybe even Malaysia. But as a team we're opposed to the idea," he added. ($1 = 0.8047 pounds) (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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Hydraulic fracturing is a water-intensive business: Bursting open just one shale gas well can require pumping millions of gallons of water underground.

Yet much of the United States' fracking activity takes place in areas that are suffering from high or extremely high water stress, according to Ceres, an advocacy group for sustainable investment.

About 57 percent of the nearly 110,000 wells that were hydraulically fractured in the last five years are in these highly stressed regions, including basins in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and California, Ceres found in an interactive map and report published Thursday.

SEE ALSO: Oil and gas wastewater is changing the Earth's surface, study finds

Companies used 358 billion gallons of water from Jan. 1, 2011, to Jan. 31, 2016, to frack shale oil and gas wells  an amount equal to the annual water needs of 200 mid-sized cities, the report said.

As prolonged droughts and population growth continue to strain U.S. water supplies, oil and gas companies could soon find themselves competing with local communities, farmers and other water-guzzling industries.

Data from Jan. 2011 to Jan. 2016.

Image: ceres

"This remains a very high-risk area for investors [in energy companies]," Monika Freyman, the report's author and director of Ceres' water program, told Mashable.

Oil and gas companies aren't just operating in water-stressed areas. They're also using substantially more water in fracking operations.

The average water use in each fracked well more than doubled in recent years, from 2.6 million gallons per well in 2011 to 5.3 million gallons per well in 2015, according to Thursday's report.

The research is based on national shale well data from FracFocus.org, via the consulting firm IHS, and water-stress data provided by the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas.

Freyman said it was not entirely clear why the water-per-well rate was rising, but she said it could be because companies are drilling longer horizontal wells to tap oil and gas deposits in shale formations, and thus need more water to travel longer distances.

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Data from Jan. 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2015.

Image: ceres

Total water use for fracking operations has similarly grown. The industry used 105 billion gallons to frack wells in 2014, up from less than 40 billion gallons in 2011, the report found.

However, water use did decline last year, to about 85 billion gallons overall, as plunging energy prices forced drillers to scuttle plans for new wells.

Not all of the water used in fracking is freshwater. Some of it could be recycled or treated wastewater that would've otherwise been stored underground, although Freyman said researchers did not know the exact breakdown.

Avner Vengosh, a professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University, has separately studied the water footprint of fracking activities.

In a September 2015 study, he found that energy companies used nearly 250 billion gallons of water to extract "unconventional" shale gas and oil via fracking between 2005 and 2014.

Over the same period, fracked wells produced about 210 billion gallons of wastewater.

Vengosh concluded that, even though the water numbers seemed sky-high, fracking operations represent just 1 percent of total U.S. industrial water use.

Still, fracking can "still pose serious risks to local water supplies, especially in drought-prone regions such as the Barnett formation in Texas, where exploration and development is rapidly intensifying," he said in 2015, adding that "local water shortages could limit future production."
By Yimou Lee and Shwe Yee Saw Myint PANGSAN, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's most powerful ethnic armed group, accused by the United States of running a narco-empire that has flooded Asia with illegal drugs, has rejected the allegation, saying Washington has blacklisted its leaders for political reasons. The United Wa State Army (UWSA) boasts some 30,000 soldiers who control a secretive, China-dominated statelet the size of Belgium in the remote hills on Myanmar's eastern border. After decades of isolation, leaders of the self-proclaimed Wa State invited a small group of foreign journalists to visit its territory - a first step in a tentative opening up to the outside world prompted by Aung San Suu Kyi's dramatic victory in a historic general election in Myanmar last year. Reaching an accord with the Wa and other armed groups is one of the biggest challenges faced by Myanmar's first democratically-elected government in decades, as it grapples with the interlocking issues of ending years of ethnic wars and tackling drug production in its lawless border areas. "After the civilian government took office, we come down to the capital more often and we try to demonstrate what we have achieved," said the Wa territory foreign affairs minister, Zhao Guo An, in a rare interview in the region's capital Pangsan. "The Wa State wants overseas investment. Bosses get rich first, and then the Wa State can develop." At present, much of the money underpinning the Wa's state-within-a-state is widely believed to be derived from the trade in methamphetamine, known locally as "ya ba" or "crazy medicine". Soaring use of "ya ba", much of it said by experts to come from the so-called "Golden Triangle" that includes the Wa territory, has fueled hardline anti-narcotics policies in Southeast Asia, such as the bloody "war on drugs" waged by the Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte. The United States indicted several UWSA leaders on heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges in 2005. "They are making those decisions based on their own political interests," said Zhao, when asked about why the UWSA and some of its leaders were listed in U.S. Treasury Department sanctions lists for alleged involvement in the drugs trade. "The problem of ya ba can't be solved by one region. Many of the drugs are brought in from abroad ... people continue to defame the Wa State. This is not fair." OPIUM AND RUBBER Reuters journalists traveled across the rugged Wa territory, possibly the least-known part of Southeast Asia where Westerners have had less access than to North Korea. The region used to be one of Myanmar's largest poppy-growing areas, but, under international pressure, Wa leaders say they replaced poppy fields with plantations, mostly rubber, but also coffee and tea, more than a decade ago. Many plantations are backed by investors from China or Taiwan, alongside businessmen connected to the Wa State leadership. Rubber trees line the region's freshly-paved roads, which snake for hundreds of kilometers through emerald mountains. The region cultivates some 220,000 acres of rubber and has been hit by falling rubber prices due to waning demand from China. Wa leaders say that as part of its push to get rid of poppy, they relocated some 100,000 citizens  a sixth of the population - between 1999 to 2002 to the southern part of the state on the Thai border, where they say the land is more fertile. Government officials described the relocation as "miserable" and said that "dozens" died along the way because of disease and road accidents. But local people told Reuters that drug use was a problem in the Wa region, which suffers from a chronic lack of basic government services. "Every six months, police looks for drug users on the streets  this is called a special project," said a migrant worker from another part of Myanmar, picking tea leaves at a plantation that has replaced a poppy field. "At that time, I am too afraid to go outside  I am worried that I could be wrongly arrested." Other Wa residents said they worried for their children due to the ease of access to drugs. "The drugs are very easy to buy everywhere," said a Burmese migrant working as a cook in Pangsan, who has a five-year-old son. "Ya ba tablets  that's the biggest problem." The Wa government's justice secretary, Li San Lu, said it was working hard to tackle the drug issue, and had arrested about 1,000 people this year for drug use, production or trafficking. He said Wa authorities had seized two tons of meth entering the region from China, India and Myanmar, including both the finished product and precursor drugs used to produce it. "Ya ba comes from overseas. Wa State is a victim ... we have banned the plantation, trade and use of drugs," said Li. "Ya ba is coming from China, India, Myanmar and Thailand. We are clueless." (Fixes typo in paragraph 4.) (Writing by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Alex Richardson)
reed hastings netflix new yorker tech 2

Things are not looking good for Netflix in China, CEO Reed Hasting said at The New Yorker's TechFest on Friday.

In January, Netflix announced a gargantuan expansion into 130 new countries on a single day, bringing it to every major market in the world  except China.

Many expected Netflix's entrance into China would be a matter of months, not years, as companies like Disney had already done well in the country.

That has not turned out to be the case, and on Friday, Hastings was candid about how hazy Netflix's China ambitions are.

"We are not sure," he said. "It doesn't look good," he followed. Hastings cited two cautionary tales: Disney and Apple. Both these companies are "very good" at working with China, Hastings said, and both saw their movie services shut down a few months ago.

"We are really focused on the rest of the world," Hastings said. "There is so much opportunity for us ... That's what we are focused on."

Translation: Don't expect Neflix in China any time soon.

NOW WATCH: Netflix just dropped a new 'Luke Cage' trailer and it looks incredible





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With all the digital fakery out there, it's sometimes easy to forget how much skill goes into steadicam work behind-the-scenes. In this fast-paced shoot in Beijing and Hong Kong for Nike, cameraman Florian Hatwagner displays the kind of incredible finesse needed to capture the action on foot.

The nimble Austrian, goes by the very apt nickname "Gimbalninja" online, specialises in steadicam video shooting while doing crazy parkour himself.

That sequence of him running over the bamboo scaffolding is not for the faint of heart.

And if you're wondering how Gimbalninja's shots turned out, here's the final cut for Nike:

Londoner casually 'surfs' moving double-decker bus in terrifying GoPro footage

Underwater explosions in extreme slow motion look totally mesmerising

Malaysian magicians perform breathtaking sequence of 18 costume changes in 60 seconds

This trailer for Jeremy Clarkson's new driving show looks car-explodingly epic
Earlier CM Pinarayi Vijayan had announced that his government would appoint only professionals and technocrats on the basis of merits for heading PSUs in Kerala. Majority of the PSUs are in the red due to mismanagement.

By Jeemon Jacob: After the appointment of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's advisors raked up controversy, now the appointment of heads of state to run public sector units are shaking the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala.

Industries Minister EP Jayarajan cancelled the appointment of his nephew PK Sudheer Nambiar as the managing director of Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Limited (KSIE) after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan intervened.

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Sudheer, son of PK Sreemathi CPI(M) member of Lok Sabha from Kannur, was appointed as MD of KSIEL a week ago and his appointment was cancelled after Opposition raised the issue of flouting norms and nepotism in his appointment.

Earlier CM Pinarayi Vijayan had announced that his government would appoint only professionals and technocrats on the basis of merits for heading PSUs in Kerala. Majority of the PSUs are in the red due to mismanagement.

Sudheer a graduate and CEO and founder of National Academy of Pre-Recruitment Training and Essense Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd based in Thiruvananthapuram was favoured as the minister's nominee for appointment.

Minister Jayarajan earlier defended his appointment stating that "many of his relatives were working in many institutions and there was nothing wrong in their appointments". By evening the industries department issued a statement canceling his appointment. Dr. M Beena, IAS, was reinstated as MD of KSIE.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told India Today that Pinarayi government is in a hurry to favour kith and kin by appointing them in PSUs to loot the state.

According to him, industries department had already appointed Jeeva Anandan, son of CPI(M) leader Anathalavattom Anandan as managing director of KINFRA Aparel Park at Menamkulam. Industries Minister Hayarajan also appointed his elder brother's daughter-in-law Deepthi as general manager of Kerala Clays and Ceramics Ltd, Pappinissery in Kannur.

Few other appointments of kith and kin of political leaders are also in advanced stage in various ministries.

Senior bureaucrats had already warned the Chief Minister against such appointments, as the government's priority was to restructure and appoint professionals to head the PSUs in the state.

"Former government auctioned the posts in the PSUs and LDF government is rehabilitating their relatives in the key posts of PSUs. Both ruling and Opposition had contributed for the slow death of PSUs in Kerala," commented a senior Bureaucrat in Kerala government.

--- ENDS ---
London (AFP) - The British government does not want academics from the London School of Economics who do not have UK passports to give Brexit briefings to officials, a spokesman for the university told AFP on Friday.

LSE staff have been briefing the foreign ministry on scenarios around leaving the European Union but the famous institution has now been told that submissions from non-British staff will not be accepted.

"Some of our experts who were contributing will not be able to contribute because they are not UK nationals," a spokesman for the LSE said after a complaint by Assistant Professor Sara Hagemann.

The Foreign Office did not deny the report, saying in a statement: "It has always been the case that anyone working in the FCO may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work".

But it added: "Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds, regardless of nationality".

Hagemann, who is originally from Denmark, wrote on Twitter on Thursday: "UK govt previously sought work & advice from best experts. Just told I & my colleagues no longer qualify as not UK citizens".

Hagemann teaches at the LSE's European Institute, which she joined in 2009. She has held research and policy positions in Brussels, Copenhagen and London, according to her biography on the LSE website.

Reports said up to nine academics could be affected.

- 'National security' issue -

An internal memo posted on Twitter by LSE professor Simon Hix said: "Whilst the Foreign Office has long had a rule restricting the nationality of employees or secondees, the extension of the bar to advisory work seems to be new.

"However, it is for the Foreign Office to determine what its national security arrangements are, and their legality, not for us," read the memo.

The university said in a statement that its academics were regularly called to advise the government.

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"We believe our academics, including non-UK nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the UKas relationship with Europe and the rest of the world," it said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will initiate talks on leaving the European Union by the end of March, following a shock referendum in June in which Britain voted to end its 43-year membership.

One of the key issues in the referendum campaign was the impact of immigration on British society and May has said she plans to clamp down on EU arrivals.

A government proposal to make businesses publish lists of foreign workers sparked fierce controversy this week after interior minister Amber Rudd revealed it at the Conservative party conference.

The LSE opened in 1895 and has become famous as a global hub for economic and political thinking.

Its alumni include billionaire financier George Soros and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Hollywood star and UN refugee agency envoy Angelina Jolie is currently a visiting professor at the LSE.
By Jim Christie

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Units of former telecommunications equipment giant Nortel Networks said on Friday they need more time for talks to try to reach deal on divvying up $7.3 billion raised from liquidating the failed company.

A letter filed with the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals by a lawyer for Nortel requested an additional 30 days to continue settlement talks over the funds.

Former Nortel business units in Canada, the United States and Europe have been pushing differing proposals for splitting the money.

The funds came from the sale of Ontario-based Nortel's global businesses, including patents sold in 2011 for $4.5 billion to a group of technology firms led by Apple Inc , Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp.

The proceeds triggered one of the most expensive and complex cross-border legal battles in history.

Fees for lawyers and advisers paid out of the Nortel estate have topped $1.9 billion, according to Diane Urquhart, a financial analyst who compiles the data from court records.

Nortel was among the world's most valuable companies during the 1990s' Internet bubble, but it fell into bankruptcy in 2009 and into liquidation.

An agreement would clear the way for pensioners and bondholders to get paid after a seven-year wait.

(Reporting by Jim Christie; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
(Adds comment, detail)

* Agreement reached after talks extended for 3 hours

* Strike would have hit gas supplies to Britain

* Could also have harmed global LNG deliveries

OSLO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Workers and employers at three plants serving Norway's energy industry agreed a wage deal early on Friday, avoiding a strike that could have cut gas supplies to Britain, the negotiators said.

The parties reached the agreement after extending talks for three hours past a midnight deadline. A strike could also have harmed deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide,

"We are happy that the parties have agreed during the mediation on a new collective agreement for the next two years," said Jan Hodneland, a negotiator for the oil industry.

Altogether 338 members of the SAFE union were set to go on strike at Statoil's Melkoeya LNG plant, Shell's Nyhamna natural gas processing plant and ExxonMobil's Slagen refinery terminal if the wage talks had failed.

The Melkoeya plant turns gas from the Arctic Snoehvit field into LNG, while Nyhamna can supply up to 20 percent of Britain's natural gas demand from the giant Ormen Lange field offshore in Norway.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Joseph Radford)
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's $882-billion sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, is closely monitoring developments at Deutsche Bank, the fund's deputy chief executive said on Friday.

"We don't want to comment on the possibility of raising capital," Trond Grande told Reuters on the sidelines of the fund's third-quarter earnings presentation.

The Norwegian fund held a 2.47-percent stake in Deutsche at the end of 2015 and also holds bonds.

Deutsche has been engulfed in crisis since news emerged last month of a U.S. demand for a $14 billion settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage bonds. The bank is fighting the fine but could have to turn to investors for more money if it is imposed in full.

(Reporting by Camilla Knudsen, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)
From Seventeen

All right Mendes Army, it's time to officially welcome Justin Bieber to our ranks.

Around this time last year, Justin awkwardly revealed during an interview that he had absolutely no clue who Shawn Mendes was. At the time, Justin was promoting his new album, and his cluelessness was misconstrued as shade (because, come on, who doesn't know the guy who sings "Stitches"?!).

Since then, Justin has listened to "Stitches" and admitted it's a bop. On top of that, he's now stanning for Shawn on Twitter. Like, sergeant-major-of-the Mendes Army-level stanning.

First, he told fans to buy Shawn's new album, Illuminate.

Then he tweeted about how amazing the album is, gushing about how Shawn's voice makes him smile.

Shawn Mendes voice makes me smile. Truly a gift to be able to move peoples emotions through songs!So proud of you brother!Great album! - Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) October 5, 2016

Then, in case anyone needed one last nudge, Justin shared the link to Illuminate's iTunes page so fans could buy it with one click.

Listen to Illuminate (Deluxe) by Shawn Mendes on @AppleMusic.https://t.co/vXuOt3pYgn - Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) October 5, 2016

Clearly, Justin was so moved by Shawn's album that he felt it was his responsibility to spread the word. As a member of the Mendes Army myself, I'd like to thank Justin for his service.

Story continues

Our leader, Shawn, is beyond honored to have Justin as a fan, BTW. Being showered with praise by the Grammy-winning pop star totally made him blush.

Ah man! Thank you SO much!!! Truly thank you! https://t.co/57dJNaJbsb - Shawn Mendes (@ShawnMendes) October 5, 2016

Now I'm going to ask the same question I ask when any two mega pop stars have the slightest interaction on social media: When's the collaboration happening?

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By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Rifle Association is on track for record spending this year on U.S. political campaigns, including Missouri's U.S. Senate race where a gun-owning Democrat is waging a tough fight against an incumbent Republican backed by the gun rights group. Democrat Jason Kander, an Afghanistan war veteran, is running just 2.5 percentage points behind Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt in opinion polls in Missouri, despite the NRA's expenditure of $1.8 million so far trying to protect Blunt as well as the Republicans' U.S. Senate majority. Gun violence has transfixed the United States in 2016, from a massacre at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub to a rash of police shootings, fueling demands by some Democrats and activists for tighter gun laws. Those efforts have been thwarted, as in years past, by the NRA and its supporters, who say such measures would infringe on the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Congress has not approved major gun-control legislation since the 1990s. An Aug. 19 Reuters/Ipsos poll found 41.8 percent of respondents agreed there should be strong restrictions on firearms and 22.4 percent supported moderate regulations. Per-capita firearm ownership in the United States far exceeds any other country, according to government estimates. In the Missouri race and other Senate contests in states such as North Carolina, Nevada, Florida and New Hampshire, the gun-control battle gripping Washington is playing out on the campaign trail. The NRA has spent $23.4 million in this election cycle, with a month to go before voting on Nov. 8, compared with a previous high of $27 million in the entire 2014 campaign cycle, according to federal data gathered by the Center for Responsive Politics. The NRA did not respond to requests for comment. In addition to Senate Republicans, the lobbying group is also backing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Blunt, 66, is a two-decade veteran of Congress. He accuses Kander, 35, of being soft on gun ownership rights. Blunt has an "A" rating from the NRA. Kander has an "F," which the NRA says he earned by backing expanded background checks on gun buyers and legislation that failed this year in Congress to bar people on "terrorism watch lists" from buying guns. "The difference between Senator Blunt and myself is that I want to stop criminals and suspected terrorists from having the same access to guns as the rest of us, which is why I support background checks," Kander said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday. 'RESET THE DEBATE' Kander, Missouri's secretary of state, counterpunched against Blunt last month with a 30-second TV commercial that has had more than 1 million views on youtube.com. In the ad, the former U.S. Army captain assembles a military-style rifle while blindfolded. He says he has supported gun ownership rights, but adds: "I also believe in background checks so that terrorists can't get their hands on one of these." A fierce debate in Washington over such background checks in June led to a 25-hour sit-in by Democrats on the floor of the House of Representatives. "The reaction to that ad has reset the debate" in the Missouri Senate race, said Tim Daly, managing director of guns and crime policy for the liberal Center For American Progress, a think tank in Washington. Kander's polling numbers were already rising when the Sept. 15 ad was first broadcast. But Daly said Kander planted fresh doubts over the NRA position on background checks. Blunt and his campaign spokesmen were not available for comment. The NRA is Blunt's No. 2 financial backer in the Missouri race, surpassed only by a group closely associated with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that backs Republicans. SENATE MAJORITY AT STAKE Like the Blunt-Kander battle, other key 2016 Senate races feature intense debate over guns as Republicans work to defend their control of the Senate. In North Carolina, the NRA has pumped in $2.8 million to support threatened incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr. The first televised debate in New Hampshire this week between Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte and her Democratic challenger, Governor Maggie Hassan, began with a moderator asking how they could reduce gun violence without infringing on gun rights. Ayotte has come under attack from Americans for Responsible Solutions for her opposition to tough gun background checks. The group works to reduce U.S. gun violence in the United States. (Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)
Elwood: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses."

Jake: "Hit it."

While it's not quite the Blues Brothers saving a Catholic orphanage with a platoon of legendary R&B/blues musicians, the real-life Numero Group, a Chicago-based archival record label, may be doing far more to preserve and promote American music and other sounds than Jake and Elwood could ever dream of. Rather than smokes and shades, however, the Numero crew is heading west in a black Ford E-350 15-person passenger van filled to the brim with an estimated 9,000 records, two turntables, an amp, battery-powered speakers, five folding tables, a T-shirt rack, two sleeping bags and three humans as part of the label's pop-up van tour of the West Coast.

Numero Group Joins Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans in Newly Formed 'Secretly Label Group'

"We can average say $10,000 a day in places like Kansas or Phoenix or Denver," says Numero co-founder Ken Shipley, who today is en route to the fist pop-up stop in Bloomington, Indiana, with label co-founder Rob Sevier and the label's audio archivist Blake Rhein. "In Los Angeles or the Bay Area we might make $25-30,000," Shipley adds. These days, with physical and brick-and-mortar sales flagging, that's a substantial amount of revenue."

This year's music sales are the worst since the 1991 debut of SoundScan (now Nielsen Music). Album sales, including track-equivalent albums (TEA, whereby 10 track sales equal one album unit) are down 16.9 percent in the first half of this year, which doesn't explain the seemingly inelastic demand for Numero Group releases.

"A lot of it has to do with having a great brand already in the marketplace and people knowing that the brand is great," says Shipley, who formerly worked at Rykodisc and calls his label a "privately owned Smithsonian." With roughly 300 wide-ranging reissues, compilations and lost titles -- much of which the Numero team has excavated from basements, long-shuttered studios and elsewhere -- the analogy is apt. And no one record store could possibly ever carry all of the label's often obscure and brilliant compilations.

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Numero's titles range from Ork Records: New York, New York, a compilation chronicling the rise of New York's '70s punk label with artists like Television, Richard Hell and Cheetah Chrome; to Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta, a triple album and photography book dedicated to the mid-'70s sounds and culture of what is today Africa's Burkina Faso; to Light: On the South Side featuring photos by Michael Abramson, who took incredible photos of nightlife on Chicago's South Side in the 1970s and includes two LPs of electric blues (and which earned Numero's three of its five Grammy nominations).

Numero Group Announces 'Project 12' Music Club

The label also has several ongoing series, like Eccentric Soul, featuring obscure soul and funk; Cult Cargo, which has foreign takes on American music; Local Customs, which documents various local scenes; Wayfaring Strangers with obscure folk music; and Good God spotlighting the sounds of religious soul and funk.

"There are kind of like religious people out there who follow what Numero does and buy every record and every color vinyl variant -- they're obsessed with the things we do," says Shipley. "These pop-ups end up being a pretty big event where people come out."

Last spring the label did a pop-up in a 350-square-foot space in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood, where Shipley says they took in $24,500 in four days. Even better, the label did a pop-up in a 900-square-foot Parks Department comfort station in Chicago's Logan Square where they did $13,000 in sales in eight hours.

When asked what their biggest sellers are, Shipley says it's newer releases but no one individual title. Often, he says, it's something that's overstocked and discounted and that might result in an LP being priced at $10 and selling 50 units.

As impressive as Numero's pop-up sales are, the co-owner doesn't see the 12-person company's future in selling records. "We're not relying on making records as our primary source of revenue anymore because it's not really realistic," says Shipley. "I don't personally believe that vinyl is the future of the record industry -- I think it's a tchotchke that we're making."

Instead, Shipley believes in making Numero's music accessible and figuring out other ways to monetize. The label's entire catalog, for example, is available on Spotify and Apple Music. It also owns two publishing companies in Dust Index, which has between 7,000-8,000 copyrights, and Songs of Numero Group which focuses on contemporary songwriters. The label also has a robust sampling business, which for example, owns part of the copyright on Jay Z's "Public Service Announcement" and works with Syl Johnson, whose "Different Strokes" is one of the most-sampled songs in music history.

The company's most-licensed track is a song by Penny and the Quarters called "You & Me" which first appeared in the Ryan Gosling film Blue Valentine. "Since then it's been our No. 1 streamed track, our No. 1 on YouTube, our No. 1 downloaded track," says Shipley. "It's been in an Ikea commercial and in a Polish commercial right now -- it's an unending flow of money and the result of just this really cool track."

In 2013, Numero formed the Secretly Canadian Group in partnership with the Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar and Dead Oceans labels and whose principles own minority shares in Numero. The deal gave the label greater back-end resources and distribution.

That company, incidentally, is based in Bloomington, Indiana, the first stop on the Numero Group's pop-up van tour, where Shipley is in the process of hawking Numero product out of the van. "We're still figuring out what the future record company might look like," he says. For right now, that means driving a Ford E-350 passenger van filled with 9,000 Numero Group releases across the country.

Numero Group Pop-Up Van Tour Dates

10/7 Bloomington, IN - 213 S. Rogers

10/8 Kansas City, MO - Mini Bar, 3810 Broadway Rd.

10/10 Denver, CO - Studio C, 2700 Arapahoe St.

10/12 Phoenix, AZ - Monorchid, 214 E. Roosevelt St.

10/13 Los Angeles, CA - Rappcats, 5636 York Blvd.

10/14 Los Angeles, CA - Rappcats, 5636 York Blvd.

10/15 Los Angeles, CA - Rappcats, 5636 York Blvd.

10/16 Berkeley, CA - 651 Addison St

10/17 Berkeley, CA - 651 Addison St

10/18 Berkeley, CA - 651 Addison St

10/20 Portland, OR - The Cleaners, 403 SW 10th Ave.

10/21 Seattle, WA - Seattle Center, 472 1st Ave. North

10/22 Seattle, WA - Seattle Center, 472 1st Ave. Nort
By PTI: Ahmedabad, Oct 7 (PTI) A complaint was today received by police of gun shots heard at a Naval base in Gujarats Porbandar, but later it turned out to be a hoax after the security men conducted a thorough search in the entire area.

"We received a complaint this morning from one of the guards at the communication room of the Naval base which said that he had heard two-three gun shots being fired," Porbandar Superintendent of Police Tarunkumar Duggal told PTI.

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"We carried out search operation in the entire area, in and around the Naval base, for about three hours," he said.

"However, after a thorough search operation, nothing was found. The alarm raised seems to be a hoax," Duggal further said.

He also denied that there were any reports of explosion at the Naval base.

The Porbandar city located on Gujarat coast is on a high alert following the surgical strikes recently carried out across the Line of Control by the Army.

The Indian Coast Guard, Navy and the Gujarat coastal police have increased vigil on the coast.

Security has been enhanced on the Gujarat coast, which have vital installations like ports, oil refineries and famous temples at Dwarka and Somnath, following inputs from intelligence agencies about possible infiltration bids by terrorists through the sea route, police had said yesterday.

The alert has been issued for coastal districts of Gujarat based on an input received from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) recently, they had said.

Gujarat, having 1,600 km-long coastline, shares border with Pakistan.

During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, terrorists had hijacked a fishing trawler from the mid-sea in Gujarat to travel to Mumbai shores. PTI PD GK GVS

--- ENDS ---
CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday cast his ballot for the Nov. 8 election during a trip to his hometown of Chicago. Onlookers cheered as Obama, who was a U.S. senator from Illinois prior to becoming president, entered the early-voting facility in downtown Chicago. A smiling Obama shook hands with the poll workers at the site and thanked them for their "outstanding work" before heading to an electronic voting machine. "Now they can't see me, can they?" Obama asked the workers as he jokingly shielded his machine from reporters standing nearby. Obama has been campaigning for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to succeed him in the Oval Office. In 2012, Obama was the first president to vote early. At the time he was running for his second term in the White House. Obama was scheduled to spend the weekend in Chicago. He made the stop at the voting facility in between appearances at two political fundraisers. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Leslie Adler)
By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler

DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC officials are embarking on an unusual flurry of meetings in the next six weeks, OPEC sources said on Friday, to nail down details of their deal to cut production agreed last week in Algiers.

The chain of meetings, starting with ministers in Istanbul next week, signal that unlike in the first half of 2016, the exporting group is more serious now about managing the global supply glut and propping up prices.

First up, OPEC energy ministers will be meeting each other and Russian officials for informal talks on oil output in Istanbul next week as the Turkish city hosts the World Energy Congress from Oct. 9-13.

Citing Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Russia's energy ministry said in a statement on Friday it expected an output freeze deal could be reached before the OPEC meeting on Nov. 30.

No decision however is expected to be taken in Istanbul, OPEC sources said, but the meeting will be a chance for the officials to discuss the next step after the Algiers deal, which was agreed after intensive shuttle diplomacy.

"I have been extremely engaged in recent weeks," said an OPEC official involved in the talks.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Sept. 28 agreed to reduce output to a range of 32.50 million barrels per day to 33.0 million bpd, its first output cut since the 2008 financial crisis.

But ministers left aside the delicate and critical issue of how much each of the 14 OPEC members will produce, handing the matter to what the group terms a High Level Committee.

This committee, which will probably include OPEC governors and national representatives - officials who report to their respective ministers - will work out details of country allocations ahead of OPEC's next ministerial meeting on Nov. 30.

"Everyone will be very busy until the end of November," said another OPEC source.

The committee's first meeting is expected to take place at OPEC's Vienna headquarters around Oct. 28-29, OPEC sources said. This will be followed by meetings of the OPEC governors to discuss OPEC's long-term strategy - delayed due to disagreements last year - and other administrative issues from Nov. 1-4.

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Then, a technical meeting of OPEC's national representatives will again meet in Vienna on Nov. 23-24, followed possibly by a second meeting of the High Level Committee on Nov. 25, OPEC sources said, which will then present its recommendations to the ministers when they meet on Nov.30.

The number of meetings is not on the scale of the early 2000s, when OPEC oil ministers met as many as seven times a year to micro manage supply policy, but it represents an increase in activity from the last few years.

"Consultations remain ongoing among the OPEC-14, the High Level Committee initiated by the OPEC conference is moving forward on the implementation of the Algiers decision," said OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo in a speech at the G-24 ministerial meeting in Washington.

"Steps are being taken to further develop a framework for high-level consultations between OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries. We believe there is firm and common ground for continuous collaborative efforts among producers, both within and outside OPEC."

(Editing by William Hardy)
Donald Trump

Donald Trump has stood by his decades-old claim that the group of five men blamed for a 1989 rape and beating in Central Park before being exonerated were actually guilty.

In a statement to CNN as part of a retrospective on the case, the Republican presidential nominee maintained, despite DNA and other evidence to the contrary, that the men were guilty of raping and beating an investment banker who had been jogging in Central Park at night.

"They admitted they were guilty," Trump said. "The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same."

The five men, who became known as the Central Park Five, were exonerated in 2002 when an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney found DNA evidence linking the vicious crime to a previously convicted rapist. That man admitted to acting alone in the crime.

New York City settled with the five men in 2014, agreeing to pay them a collective $40 million for time spent wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. The hasty conviction of the men, who were ages 14 to 16 at the time, was widely viewed as a symptom of racial biases and the pressure prosecutors and law enforcement felt to find culprits amid fear of crime in the city amid a spiraling crime rate.

Trump, then as now a prominent Manhattan real-estate figure, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times shortly after the jogger was attacked calling for New York to revive the death penalty.

"I want to hate these muggers and murderers," Trump wrote. "They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence."

Trump also previously complained in an op-ed article in the New York Daily News that the settlement between the five men and New York was a "disgrace," saying the "recipients must be laughing out loud at the stupidity of the city" to settle for an amount as high as $40 million.

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Trump's campaign has previously defended his demonization of the wrongfully convicted men.

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, an adviser to Trump's campaign, touted the ad earlier this year during an interview with an Alabama radio station, saying that it showed Trump was committed to law and order.

"Trump has always been this way," Sessions said. "People say he wasn't a conservative, but he bought an ad 20 years ago in The New York Times calling for the death penalty. How many people in New York, that liberal bastion, were willing to do something like that?"

NOW WATCH: Watch the brutal Hillary Clinton ad that pits Trump against himself





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Port-au-Prince (AFP) - At least 400 people are now known to have died as Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of Haiti's south, a local senator told AFP Friday.

Herve Fourcand, a senator for the Sud department which felt the full force of the impact, said he had so far recorded 400 deaths with several localities still inaccessible.

The civil protection agency for the Sud told AFP it has registered 315 deaths, with at least four towns still to report back on local fatalities.

The entire southern part of the country was inundated by torrential rains and buffeted by violent winds that lasted for hours as Matthew made landfall in Haiti on Tuesday.

The country -- the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the poorest in the world -- is particularly vulnerable to storm damage due to extensive deforestation that has left many of its hillsides bare.

The winds and rains flooded thousands of homes and damaged schools, businesses, roads and bridges.

More than 29,000 homes were destroyed in southern Haiti alone.

Some 80 percent of the buildings in Jeremie, the capital of the southern department of Grand'Anse, with about 30,000 inhabitants, were destroyed, according to Jean-Michel Vigreux, director of the NGO Care Haiti.

More than 21,000 people have been evacuated and 350,000 are in need of assistance, according to the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs.

With high waters and badly damaged infrastructure, authorities fear a serious rise in the number of cholera cases.
Pauley Perrette is slowly seeing justice.

David Merck, who attacked the NCIS star last year, was ordered during a hearing on Thursday to serve time at a jail-based competency treatment program in San Bernardino County.

WATCH: Pauley Perrette Is Grateful to Be Alive After Violent Attack by 'Psychotic Homeless Man

At the hearing, it was decided that Merck will be a part of the county jails program that provides mental health services to felony defendants that the court has found incompetent to stand trial. A court date has been set for Oct. 28 to determine when he will be transported to the county facility or to confirm the transfer has been completed.

Merck was charged with attacking and threatening to kill Perrette near her Hollywood home on Nov. 12 last year.

ET was with the actress the day after the scary incident, where she said she was just glad to be alive.

He told me he was going to kill me several times and I absolutely believed him, she emotionally recalled. I prayed as hard as Ive ever prayed for anything ever in my life, and I didnt do anything. I thought, anything I do would escalate the situation  I couldnt overcome him, he was stronger than me.

Im glad I lived, she said, adding of her alleged attacker, Im glad he didnt kill me, but whatever, he doesnt know who I am. He doesnt know. Hes mentally ill and he has no support.

WATCH: Pauley Perrette Fights Back Tears as She Confronts Her Alleged Attacker in Court

See more in the video below.

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The deceased, identified as Varun Gowda who was riding his two wheeler, lost control of his bike and fell off his bike while trying to negotiate the pothole.

Biker comes under the wheels of a bus while negotiating a pothole

By Rohini Swamy: A pothole has claimed another life of commuter on Mysuru road in Bengaluru city.

The deceased, identified as Varun Gowda who was riding his two wheeler, lost control of his bike and fell off his bike while trying to negotiate the pothole. Subsequently, Varun, who wasn't wearing helmet, came under the bus behind him.

The Bytarayanpura police have CCTV footage of the incident but have refused to share the images stating it is a matter of investigation and very gory too.

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The Bengaluru development minister KJ george has ordered a probe and has also drifted senior officers to conduct a detailed enquiry.

'Action will be taken against those who have erred in this incident. I have directed the officials to determine the cause of the accident and appropriate action will be taken against those responsible," George said.

--- ENDS ---
By David DeKok

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct 7 (Reuters) - New regulations governing the extraction of natural gas through fracking will go into effect on Saturday in Pennsylvania, the first overhaul since the industry took off in the state more than 10 years ago.

The new rules allow the state's department of environmental protection to require additional measures if fracking is taking place near public resources, and requires drillers to restore water supply that is degraded or damaged through fracking, according to the statement.

Environmental groups hailed the new rules. An oil and gas industry group blasted the regulations, with a spokesman saying he expected legal challenges.

The rules have been in development since 2011, and faced opposition from the oil and gas industry and their allies in the state legislature, where the regulations were rejected earlier this year.

Since then, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf has reached a compromise that gave traditional oil and gas wells different rules than "unconventional" wells developed through fracking.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into rock to extract natural gas or other products. Opposition has mounted as the run-off from fracking has been blamed for polluting water supplies in parts of the United States.

In March, residents near Dimock in the northeast corner of the state won $4.2 million in damages from Cabot Oil & Gas for the contamination of well water. The verdict is being appealed.

Thomas Au of the Sierra Club in Harrisburg said one of the biggest changes in the new regulations involves industry reporting of spills and contamination. "It's much more thorough," he said.

Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association president Daniel Weaver blasted the new regulations in a statement, saying they grew out of a "flawed, pre-determined and antagonistic development process."

Industries cannot challenge state regulations in court until they go into effect. Au said he expects there will be litigation over some of the new rules.

(Reporting By David DeKok in Harrisburg; Editing by David Gregorio)
By David DeKok HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - New regulations governing the extraction of natural gas through fracking will go into effect on Saturday in Pennsylvania, the first overhaul since the industry took off in the state more than 10 years ago. The new rules allow the state's department of environmental protection to require additional measures if fracking is taking place near public resources, and requires drillers to restore water supply that is degraded or damaged through fracking, according to the statement. Environmental groups hailed the new rules. An oil and gas industry group blasted the regulations, with a spokesman saying he expected legal challenges. The rules have been in development since 2011, and faced opposition from the oil and gas industry and their allies in the state legislature, where the regulations were rejected earlier this year. Since then, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf has reached a compromise that gave traditional oil and gas wells different rules than unconventional wells developed through fracking. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into rock to extract natural gas or other products. Opposition has mounted as the run-off from fracking has been blamed for polluting water supplies in parts of the United States. In March, residents near Dimock in the northeast corner of the state won $4.2 million in damages from Cabot Oil & Gas for the contamination of well water. The verdict is being appealed. Thomas Au of the Sierra Club in Harrisburg said one of the biggest changes in the new regulations involves industry reporting of spills and contamination. Its much more thorough, he said. Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association president Daniel Weaver blasted the new regulations in a statement, saying they grew out of a flawed, pre-determined and antagonistic development process. Industries cannot challenge state regulations in court until they go into effect. Au said he expects there will be litigation over some of the new rules. (Reporting By David DeKok in Harrisburg; Editing by David Gregorio)
From Esquire

Now this is a weird one. If only the governor of Indiana were in a position of such national prominence that he could use his influence to find out what in the hell is going on back home in Indiana.

Waitwhat? Tell us, Indianapolis Star.

The investigation began in late August when police learned of the filing of fraudulent voter registration forms in Marion and Hendricks counties. The investigation has expanded from Marion and Hendricks counties to include Allen, Delaware, Hamilton, Hancock, Johnson, Lake and Madison counties, according to a statement from State Police. Police said the growing number of involved counties leads investigators to believe that the number of fraudulent records might be in the hundreds. The possible fraudulent information is a combination of fake names, addresses and dates of birth with real information. As part of the expanded investigation, State Police detectives served a search warrant for the business offices of the Indiana Voter Registration Project in the 2400 block of North Meridian Street. The search warrant was served Tuesday morning, police said. The results of the search are not being released, and the affidavit and search warrant will remain sealed for 30 days.

Really? So we won't find out whether or not this particular investigation was justified untilhmmm, let's figure this outcarry the threeall the rest have thirty-one, except Februaryright, here we go.

November 5.

Seems like there's something else going on right about then. I'll check my calendar and get back to you on that.

Varoga said he does not know the status of those 45,000 applications but said the seizure of cellphones and laptops during Tuesday's search warrant impedes the organization from further registering people to vote before the Oct. 11 deadline. Varoga said State Police have been coordinating with the secretary of state's office, which he said became clear because of the timing of Lawson's statement and the onset of the State Police investigation. He said the investigation is a partisan effort "designed to make it harder to vote in this election." He also said investigators seized personal cellphones during the search and denied staff the opportunity to contact an attorney, then told them that if an attorney were contacted, a state trooper had to be present. When an attorney did arrive, Varoga said, he was denied access to the office. Tuesday's search and details of the investigation have been reported to the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, he said. "It's an abuse of state resources, and it is a waste of taxpayers' money," he said. "It is outrageous what they are doing."

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When investigators tell you that it is somehow not to your advantage to call an attorney, or when they actively obstruct you from doing so, that's a fairly obvious tell that the investigation is being run by the folks in the kangaroo suits. The following is also a clue.

The only reason the secretary of state's office issued a statement was because it wanted voters to be aware of the possibility of altered registrations, Warycha said. "We came out because we wanted Hoosiers to know that there were altered and falsified registrations out there, and we wanted Hoosiers to know how to protect themselves," she said.

Protect themselves from what, you might ask. You will also note that the secretary of state's flack is saying flatly that the applications "were" altered-not that there was a "possibility" of it-which makes me wonder what the Star is up to here, as well, although I suspect what we have here is the customary timidity of "objective" reporting.

Bursten said the complexity of the investigation likely means that the work will continue until well after the November elections.

No kidding. What could possibly go wrong with that?

This smells like the ACORN ratfcking on a smaller scale. Meanwhile, up in Wisconsin, the indefatigable Ari Berman of The Nation is all over the story of how various low-level bureaucrats are slow-walking the orders of the federal court as regards that state's voter ID law.

In an August ruling, US District Judge James Peterson said the IDPP was "unconstitutional" and "pretty much a disaster. It disenfranchised about 100 qualified electors-the vast majority of whom were African American or Latino-who should have been given IDs to vote in the April 2016 primary. But the problem is deeper than that: even voters who succeed in the IDPP manage to get an ID only after surmounting severe burdens." He ruled that "Wisconsin may adopt a strict voter ID system only if that system has a well-functioning safety net." He said the state must "promptly issue a credential valid as a voting ID to any person who enters the IDPP or who has a petition pending." Wisconsin claims it is doing this. In a legal filing on September 22, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel cited a press release from the Department of Transportation stating, "DMV will now be issuing photo identification receipts no later than six business days from receipt of the petition application." The Wisconsin Election Commissions issued a similar press release saying, "Free Photo ID for Voting Now Available with One Trip to DMV." The Wisconsin attorney general said, "DMV is carefully administering the process to ensure that anyone who is eligible for the IDPP will have a valid ID for the November general election."

"Carefully administering" does not mean what you might think it means, however.

This is not just a problem in Madison. A volunteer for VoteRiders traveled to 10 other DMVs across the state to see what would happen to a voter who did not have a birth certificate and wanted to get an ID to vote. DMVs told her "it's going to take quite a while" to get the credentials needed to vote and "it's hard to predict" when that would be. Several suggested she get a birth certificate on her own. One said it would be "easier for everyone" to have her purchase a birth certificate from her home state than it would be to use the petition process to get an ID to vote. Most DMVs did not have IDPP forms readily available, but needed to hunt for them online, in a file drawer, or in a different part of the room. Overall, only three of 10 DMVs assured her that she would get an ID to vote in a week or less, as state law requires.

This is the kind of penny-ante corruption that has marked the entire political career of Governor Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage their Midwest subsidiary once called the state of Wisconsin. This is the kind of cheap trickeration that has landed so many of his campaign aides in the hoosegow. This is what passes for cleverness in what has become a Republican banana republic. It's certainly not what passes for democracy anywhere. And it sows convenient confusion-and even more convenient distrust-in the electoral process.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="The%20Fight%20for%20Voting%20Rights%20Is%20Never%20Over" customimages="" content="article.47489"]

The aftermath of this year's election could end up a howling, Category 5 shitstorm that won't have died out by the inauguration next January. There are too many people standing around the powder magazine with blowtorches.

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By Mitra Taj LIMA (Reuters) - Deforestation in Peru has slowed since peaking at nearly 180,000 hectares (700 square miles) in 2014 when swaths of the Amazon were illegally cleared for oil palm plantations, the head of the country's forest service said on Friday. Fabiola Munoz said tougher new laws and enforcement, including fines 700 percent higher and jailtime for people who destroy primary forest, are helping Peru rein in deforestation. "People really used to think there would be no consequences," Munoz told foreign media. "That's changed." In 2015, Peru lost about 160,000 hectares of forest cover, and less should be cleared this year, Munoz said. So far in 2016, about 120,000 hectares have been destroyed, according to satellite imagery. "We expect the trend to continue to be downward. But that means we have to be more active, we can't let our guard down," Munoz said. Peru controls about a tenth of the Amazon, a tropical forest home to unrivaled biodiversity and vast stores of carbon dioxide that fuel global warming when destroyed. Environmentalists have criticized Peru for not doing enough to keep wood and gold from being torn illegally from its forests for export, and for allowing local authorities to dole out agricultural concessions that include swaths of virgin rainforest. Munoz said the government has ordered oil palm plantations in Peru owned by United Cacao Limited SEZC to halt activities after finding they had illegally cleared primary forest in previous years. But efforts to evict workers from the land have been met with threats, Munoz said. United Cacao, headquartered in the Cayman Islands, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company has previously denied any wrongdoing. The dispute is now in Peruvians courts. "We're still fighting that battle," Munoz said. "We hope the courts understand the importance of these emblematic cases...of sending the right message." A large Indonesian palm oil company interested in operating in Peru recently requested a meeting with Munoz and other public officials to discuss possible investments, Munoz said. The officials told the company that the kind of large-scale oil palm plantations that have contributed to rapid deforestation in Indonesia are not viable in Peru. "We do want investments, but we don't want investments at any price," Munoz said. Munoz added that it was unclear how much a recent spate of forest fires might hurt efforts to slow deforestation as the Amazon suffers its driest year in nearly two decades. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Andrew Hay)
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2016 / Stans Energy Corp. (TSX-V: HRE, OTCQB: HREEF), ("Stans" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a lithium carbonate has been produced from lithium concentrate extracted from the Pervomayskiy Lithium Mineralization Stockpile (the "Pervomayskiy Stockpile") using a patentable milling and hydro-metallurgical technology.

Laboratory research was completed on three different milling processes to determine the optimal composition of a concentrate to be processed into lithium carbonate. It was determined that a concentrate yielding 4.48% Li20 is the ideal source material for the developed hydrometallurgical technology proposed for the production of lithium carbonate from the Pervomayskiy Stockpile. The lithium carbonate product will be suitable for sale on the world market.

Research on the beneficiation and processing of the lithium mineralization and lithium concentrate was performed by VNIIHT (Lead Institute of Chemical Technology), which is overseen by the Science and Innovation Corp., a research and development branch of Rosatom, the Russian State Nuclear Energy Agency.

Stans' partners, Pervomayskiy GOK, undertook this work, with partial government funding supported by Rosatom.

"It is encouraging to see the amount of the development and research our partners have already conducted on the Pervomayskiy project. Stans is moving quickly to conduct due diligence of the geological and technical materials provided by our partners," states Rodney Irwin, Interim President and CEO.

The scientific and technical information in this document was reviewed, verified and compiled by Stans Energy Corp.'s geological and mining staff under the supervision of the company's qualified person, Dr. Gennady Savchenko FGS, Director of International Mining Operations, Stans Energy Corp.

About Stans Energy

Stans Energy Corp. is a resource development company focused on advancing rare and specialty metals properties and processing technologies Stans is now transitioning into a supplier of materials and technologies that will assist in satisfying the future energy supply, storage and transmission needs of the world. Previously, the Company acquired, among other things, the right to mine the past producing rare earth mine, Kutessay II, in the Kyrgyz Republic. Due to the expropriatory actions taken by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Company is undertaking international arbitration litigation to protect the Company's rights and recover damages estimated at over US$210,000,000, caused by the Republic.

Story continues

We seek safe harbour.

Contact Details

Rodney Irwin

Stans Energy Corp

Interim President & CEO

rodney@stansenergy.com

647-426-1865

David Vinokurov

Stan Energy Corp

VP Corporate Development

david@stansenergy.com

647-426-1865

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, use of proceeds from the Offering, the completion of the Offering, the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of mineral exploration projects. When used in this press release, the words "will", "shall", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intent", "may", "project", "plan", "should" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although Stans Energy Corp. believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of minerals, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian Securities Regulators.

SOURCE: Stans Energy Corp.
The Philippines wants to liberate itself from a shackling dependency on the U.S., according to the countrys Foreign Affairs Secretary, Perfecto Yasay Jr.

He said the move was imperative in putting an end to our nations subservience to United States interests, according to a statement on the website of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

In an extraordinary outburst  first made on Tuesday on what appears to be his Facebook page  Yasay accused the U.S., a former colonial power in the Philippines, of holding on to invisible chains that reined us in towards dependency and submission after the proclamation of Philippine independence in 1946. He also accused it of being unable to promptly come to our defense under our existing military treaty and agreements, and said Washington had forced Filipinos into submission to American demands and interests.

Referring to tension in the South China Sea, Yasay wrote, We have serious concerns and challenges with the Chinese as we try to engage them in bilateral talks but said that past mistakes in Manilas relationship with Washington, which he referred to as our white big brother, would be instructive for this purpose.

Yasays statements come as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ratchets up increasingly anti-American rhetoric.

Duterte has repeatedly told Barack Obama to go to hell over criticism on the countrys war on drugs and the U.S.s refusal to sell weapons to the Philippines.

On Tuesday, speaking to a Jewish congregation in Manila, the President said he would break up with the United States. According to Reuters, he mentioned that he was emotional because America has certainly failed us.

Duterte has also told the U.S. and the European Union to go ahead and withdraw aid to the country if they are unhappy with the countrys war on drugs.

Story continues

When asked about Manilas increasingly anti-American stance, White House spokesperson John Kirby told Reuters that [the U.S. is] mindful of the rhetoric but  believe[s] that it is at odds with the kind of cooperation that we have right now.

Kirby also told Reuters that for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, the U.S. committed $180 million to the Philippines and that the U.S. was committed to working on areas of mutual interest.

[Reuters]
Lately, Philippines stocks and ETFs have been under stress most likely because a few irrational comments and planned initiatives by the countrys president Rodrigo Duterte. He intends to lower the buying of U.S. arms, all for Russian and Chinese missiles and weapons. Also, Rodrigo Duterte warned the U.S. on October 4, 2016 that his countrymay abandon combined military exercises with Washington.

The outburst was provoked by extensive criticism by the U.S. on Dutertes hostile clampdown on illegal drug trade that took lives of thousands of alleged drug dealers and users. If this was not enough, Duterte compared himself with the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler  infamous for killing millions of Jews  when it comes to killing masses of drug addicts.

As the U.S. expressed concerns over his apparent Hitler-like acts, Duterte noted that he may finally choose to "break up with America." Not only the U.S., Duterte also attacked the European Union for commenting on his severely aggressive move against drug issues.

Investors should note that Rodrigo Duterte came to presidential power on June 30, 2016 and since then seems to be trying to overhaul the countrys foreign policy that has long been in close ties with the U.S. However, Duterte now appears more inclined to rekindle the countrys relationship with China and Russia.

As per Reuters, U.S. officials have so far given little importance to Duterte's outrageous statements, instead emphasized its long-standing coalition with the Philippines for diplomatic interest. This is truer in the light of China's fast rise in recent years in the Asian bloc and its intention to command over the South China Sea. However, as per White House, the U.S. has no formal message from Duterte's government about any change in ties as yet.

Market Impact

Though nothing is official yet, market watchers probably started speculating a disruption in the PhilippinesU.S. foreign policy. This could be a reason why iShares MSCI Philippines EPHE slumped over 6.3% in the last three months (as of October 4, 2016)  just after Rodrigo Duterte took office, while the broader emerging market ETF Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO tacked on about 7% gains (read: 3 Top Performing Emerging Market ETFs of Q3).

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EPHE lost over 1.4% on October 4, 2016 while VWO retreated 1%. In this context, we would like to note that apart from Dutertes comments on Tuesday, renewed worries over the Fed rate hike in December also played a role in dragging down emerging market ETFs.

Below we highlight the Philippines ETF in detail so that investors can keep track of it, if there is any new development in U.S.Philippines diplomatic ties (read: Bremain or Brexit: No Worries for EM ETF Investing).

EPHE in Focus

The ETF looks to track the MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index. The fund invests about $249.1 million of assets in 45 securities (see all Asia-Pacific (Emerging) ETFs here).



The financial sector takes the top spot in the fund with about 46% exposure and is closely followed by industrials (22.3%). No other sector gets a double-digit allocation in the fund.



It is worth noting that the fund has considerable concentration risk with about 60% of assets invested in the top 10 holdings. Ayala Land (9.53%), SM Prime Holdings (7.70%) and JG Summit Holdings (7.16%) make up the top three holdings.



The fund charges an expense ratio of 62 basis points. EPHE currently has Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook.

Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>



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VANGD-FTSE EM (VWO): ETF Research Reports



ISHARS-MS PHILP (EPHE): ETF Research Reports



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Manila (AFP) - The Philippines announced Friday it had officially informed the United States that joint patrols in the South China Sea patrols had been suspended, following orders from President Rodrigo Duterte.

"They have been suspended for the time being. They (Washington) know it already," Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters, adding he had relayed the decision to the commander of the US Pacific Command when he was in Hawaii at the start of this month.

Still, Lorenzana indicated he was still not 100 percent sure of Duterte's final plans.

"They will not be conducted anymore until we clarify if he (Duterte) means what he says," Lorenzana said.

The longtime allies began planning joint patrols under the previous Philippine government, which had sought to attract a greater US military presence in the region to counter Chinese efforts to take control of the South China Sea.

China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, and has in recent years built artificial islands in the disputed areas that are capable of hosting military bases.

Lorenzana said the United States and Philippines had conducted two "passing through" manoeuvres over the section of the sea claimed by Manila this year, but not actual "combat patrols".

Duterte, who began his six-year term on June 30, quickly shredded Aquino's strategy on China, seeking co-operation and dialogue with Beijing while diluting the Philippines' alliance with the United States.

He also repeatedly railed against the Philippines' former colonial ruler for criticising his war on crime, which has claimed more than 3,300 lives and raised concerns about extrajudicial killings.

"I have lost my respect for America," Duterte said on Tuesday, as he threatened to break ties completely with the United States.

Duterte had previously branded US President Barack Obama a "son of a whore".

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- Concrete actions -

He had also said he wanted US Special Forces out of the southern region of Mindanao, where they have been helping to quell Islamic militants, and threatened to scrap a 2014 agreement granting American troops increased access to Philippine bases.

Duterte also said he would cancel all 28 military exercises the two sides hold annually.

However, until Friday, officials from both sides had said Duterte's pronouncements were not necessarily policy.

US officials had repeatedly said they had not been officially informed of Duterte's comments.

So the announcement that the joint patrols had been suspended was the first public confirmation that one of Duterte's anti-US comments had become policy.

Lorenzana said none of the other Duterte pronouncements had been officially delivered to the Americans.

But he did say the Philippines was planning to eject the US forces in the southern Philippines in the "near future", as he disclosed details of their normally secretive activities.

The US Special Forces began short-term deployments in 2002 to train Filipino troops in how to counter Islamic militants, with the American personnel peaking at about 600 before the operation was scaled down in 2014.

"There are actually very few of them (now), just about 157 people," Lorenzana said, adding they were stationed inside a large military camp on the outskirts of Zamboanga city on the main southern island of Mindanao.

"All they do is operate their drones and some intelligence equipment to help our troops in the south."

He said the drones flew over the militant strongholds of the Basilan and Sulu island groups, as well as central Mindanao where another small armed group had pledged alliance to the Islamic State group.

Lorenzana said those US forces would be asked to leave when the Philippines acquired its own drones.

"The president said that he doesn't want them to leave immediately but maybe in the near future," Lorenzana said.
By PTI: Chennai, Oct 6 (PTI) National racing champion Vikash Anand, arrested on charges of causing death to a 29-year-old auto-rickshaw driver and injuring 10 people last month while driving his luxury Porsche car, was granted interim bail by the Madras High Court today to appear for law examinations.

"Considering the submissions made by the counsel for Anand and the prosecution, it reveals that the petitioner is a law college student and his examinations are scheduled to be held from October 7, and also considering his future, I am inclined to grant him interim bail from October 7 to October 20," the judge said.

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The judge then directed him to execute a personal bail bond for Rs 10,000 with two sureties to the satisfaction of Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet here.

The judge further directed him to surrender before the magistrate on October 21 and posted the matter for further hearing to the same date.

Another autodriver and nine others were injured when the car allegedly driven by Vikash Anand in an inebriated condition, rammed the autorickshaws in the wee hours of September 19.

Vikash and his his friend were arrested later under various sections of IPC including Sections 304 (ii) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). PTI CORR RC ZMN MVV

--- ENDS ---
A picture book featuring 14 watercolors, painted by Otto Dix in 1925 for his five-year-old stepdaughter Hana Koch, is on display for the first time at a German gallery through December 22nd.

While five picture books produced by Dix -- for his three children, stepson and granddaughter, respectively -- are publicly known, the Dusseldorf-based Galerie Remmert und Barth is currently displaying the never-before-seen "Picture Book for Hana" (Bilderbuch fur Hana) that the artist created for his step-daughter, Hana (the offspring of Dix's wife Martha from her first marriage to a Dusseldorf doctor, Hans Koch). She had, until now, kept the book private in her home in Bavaria.

"Twenty years ago, Hana showed us one page, so we knew it was there," Herbert Remmert of the Dusseldorf Galerie Remmert und Barth told The Art Newspaper.

After Hana's death, her daughter Olga gave the gallery permission to display the book, along with several other confidentially kept watercolors and drawings by Dix -- notably a portrait of Hana, a drawing of Dix's mother and a watercolor of an elderly woman.

The illustrations feature mythical and biblical figures, almost phantasmagoric, painted in vivid hues with giddy strokes. Recognizable tropes include St. George fighting a dragon, St. Christopher, Jonah and the whale, and David and Goliath. The book also addresses the Seven Deadly Sins, which Dix would later paint as an allegory of Germany under the Nazi regime in 1933.

Dix (1891-1969) was a painter and printmaker known for his unsparing depictions of Weimar society and the bleakness of war and its aftermth. He was associated with the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement of the 1920s: a group of artists including George Grosz, Max Beckmann, Rudolf Schlichter and others, whose sober view on the world staunchly rejected notions of romantic idealism.

One famous Dix painting, "Metropolis" (1928), is a louche triptych of the Weimar Republic peppered with disillusioned prostitutes, crippled wartime veterans and brightly outfitted dancers. In his "Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden" (1926), a smoking, plaid-clad figure with a monocle and a clenched jaw ignores conventions of gendered behavior.

In addition to Dix, the Galerie Remmert und Barth also represents Polish-Jewish painter and printmaker Jankel Adler, German Expressionist painter Walter Gramatte, German Dada artist Hannah Hoch, German painter, printmaker, and sculptor Otto Pankok, and painter Adalbert Trillhaase -- whom Dix painted in 1923, titled "Die Familie des Malers Adalbert Trillhaase."
India has been shaken and stirred by the appearance of a former James Bond in an advertising campaign for Pan Bahar, a traditional Indian breath freshener - or "pan masala" in Hindi - that is a mixture of nuts, seeds, herbs and spices.

Brosnan's endorsement has come as a surprise to critics, given that the use of pan masala has never been seen as a healthy habit, as some studies have suggested it may include ingredients that can cause cancer. Usually taken after meals, it is also blamed for red-colored spit stains in public spaces across India.

While some Bollywood stars have endorsed the breath freshener - the previous Pan Bahar campaign featured actor Saif Ali Khan - there has been a long-running debate in the country about the marketing of such products.

According to an earlier report in Advertising Age India, a directive by the Delhi government requested Bollywood stars not endorse pan masala. "Even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts [known as 'supari' in Hindi], and now there are a lot of scientific evidences, which prove that supari causes cancer," it quoted the directive as saying.

The Brosnan commercial, which re-creates a 007-style scenario, opens with his arrival at a stately mansion in an unnamed location. He overpowers some villains, all with the help of a Pan Bahar tin in his hand, impressing an awestruck wannabe Bond girl. The climax sees Brosnan seated on a thronelike chair, tin in hand, saying: "Pan Bahar: Class never goes out of style."

Read more: India's Film Censor Cuts 'Spectre' Kissing Scenes, Sparks Twitter Backlash

As India woke up Friday to full-page newspaper ads featuring Brosnan in the Pan Bahar campaign, as well as a TV spot, the actor was trolled on Twitter.

"How the mighty have fallen," said Twitter user Gunjan Govani.

Some users posted pictures of Brosnan in the print ads Photoshopped with red spit stains.

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Others suggested Brosnan had to be desperate to do such a campaign, with some joking it must have been the result of post-Brexit economic concerns. "Pierce Brosnan is down to endorsing pan - Brexit clearly is much more severe than it appears," posted Ajith.

Brosnan's Pan Bahar association is in contrast to his earlier Indian campaigns for international companies, such as U.K. men's suit brand Reid & Taylor. Given that India was under British rule for over two centuries until freedom was gained in 1947, the colonial past between the two countries also inspired some tweets.

"When James Bond starts selling 'pan,' you know the empire really has struck back," posted Dhruva Jaishankar. "You know that the [British] empire has really fallen when James Bond starts endorsing Pan Bahar," added Vinisha Valsan.

Brosnan and Pan Bahar have not yet commented on the backlash.

Watch the Brosnan commercial below.

And here are some tweets making fun of Brosnan:

Pierce Brosnan, the most famous James Bond is coming up with his new movie - James Bond - License to Spit. pic.twitter.com/wd9NuhrKho

- GR (@imAbhishek_J) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan feeling the brunt of Brexit.

-  (@Ghair_Kanooni) October 7, 2016

Did that just happen????? Pierce brosnan now chews Pan bahar... oh lord #Dieanotherday is taken way too seriously.. #PierceBrosnan

- Monika Gera (@Mons_here) October 7, 2016

Years from now there'll be case studies about Pan Bahar & Pierce Brosnan breaking the internet without ever realising it #PanBahar #pierce

- Percy Bharucha (@sab_bakwaas_hai) October 7, 2016

UK! Look at Pierce Brosnan selling Pan Masala and realise the effects of Brexit.

- Budhaditya Roy (@budhadityaroy) October 7, 2016

Never thought this would happen. Brexit effects? https://t.co/txF6W5eGUe

- Aditi Bakshi (@oddity1912) October 7, 2016

You know that the empire has really fallen when James Bond stars endorsing Pan Bahar. Pierce Brosnan the sexiest bond and gutka poster boy

- Vinisha Valsan (@WildChildVini) October 7, 2016
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Pierce Brosnan may have won millions of fans with his portrayal of James Bond, but his latest avatar peddling a mouth freshner in India has created a frenzy on social media for all the wrong reasons.

SEE ALSO: Classic ads that will make any Indian nostalgic

India woke up shaken and stirred on Friday to a full-page ad starring the iconic Hollywood actor endorsing a mouth freshener and tobacco brand. The ad sees Brosnan fight bad guys in his signature Bond style and keep a box of 'Pan Bahar' from getting in the wrong hands.

The ad has split Indians into those who see the lighter side of it and are having a field day creating memes and jokes, while others are outraged about Brosnan giving up his legacy for such a brand and wonder if Brosnan even knows what's inside the box.

Pan Masala is made from betel leaves, areca nut and a variety of other ingredients like clove, cardamom and others. While there is no tobacco or nicotine, in 'Pan Bahar' it can get addictive and the advertising comes with a government warranted statutory warning that says, "chewing of Pan Masala is injurious to health."

It seems Brosnan has taken his "license to kill" too seriously.

"I believe you hold the famous 'License To Kill' in your possession, Mr. Bond?"



*takes out Pan Bahar from his pocket*



*130,000 people die*  Akshar (@AksharPathak) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan has taken his dialogue too far:

I always enjoyed learning a new tongue. pic.twitter.com/vW5KFcSUHj  Yashi Singh (@AyushiYashing) October 7, 2016

When James Bond starts selling pan, you know the empire really has struck back. pic.twitter.com/KhgdKrVDDG  Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan is the new brand ambassador for Pan Bahar. Yes, James Bond wala Pierce Brosnan. I have no joke. Nothing to say. Speechless.  Hardik Rajgor (@Hardism) October 6, 2016

Priyanka Chopra chews Rajnigandha & now Pierce Brosnan chews Pan Bahar. Now I know why I am not successful, will start chewing gutka today.  Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan selling pan on the front page of the Times of India.



The Asian Century is upon us. pic.twitter.com/Kj5nsLdkqj  Iain Marlow (@iainmarlow) October 7, 2016

Please tell me Pierce Brosnan is photoshopped into this ad and he's not endorsing Pan Bahar. https://t.co/BJ4ddaZZyO  Moon (@moonsez) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan.

Played James Bond.

Endorses Pan Bahar.

Licensed to kill.  Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) October 7, 2016

Brexit has hit UK so hard financially that James Bond has to endorse Pan Bahar. pic.twitter.com/XBDv0djE4a    (@WoCharLog) October 7, 2016

"The name is ...chomp...Brosnan...chomp chomp...Pierce...phthew...Brosnan." No wonder he's grown a beard! It'll be hard to live this down  https://t.co/UDc6ZDkCOW  Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) October 7, 2016
Inauguration weekend can't come soon enough for many Americans, and you can witness the history and excitement up close in our nation's capital. "It's never too soon to start planning. Book your hotel room as soon as possible and leave your car at home," advises Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, Washington's official tourism organization. "Joining the crowds on the National Mall for the swearing-in and later for the inaugural parade just takes patience, a warm coat and comfortable shoes," Ferguson adds, highlighting that Destination DC offers a helpful online guide to the 2017 presidential inauguration. While many key event details will be determined by the Presidential Inaugural Committee after the new commander-in-chief is elected on Nov. 8, here's a primer on top packages and tips for planning a successful inauguration trip.

[See: 16 Free Things to Do in the Top Affordable U.S. Destinations.]

Consider Getting Tickets for the Inauguration Swearing-in Ceremony and Parade

Many of the key inauguration events are free, including the swearing-in ceremony with inaugural address of our new president at the U.S. Capitol's West Lawn and the Inaugural Parade from the Capitol Building to the White House. But if you want seats for these free events, you will need tickets. The number of tickets is limited and demand is high, so reserve your spot far in advance. For seats at the swearing-in ceremony, contact either of your two U.S. senators or your U.S. representative. And for traditionally free bleacher seats along the parade route, apply to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which will offer a website after Election Day.

If you want to stand on the National Mall and along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route, you won't need a ticket. Fortunately, Jumbotrons will show the ceremony and parade, enabling you to see and hear the action. Still, if you plan to stand on the National Mall, plan to arrive early and come prepared. You'll need to clear one of the many security checkpoints along the Mall, so be sure to bring a valid photo ID for yourself and all family members and do not bring prohibited items such as backpacks or packages. Check the list of prohibited items in advance on the Presidential Inaugural Committee website to get prepared.

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[See: 8 Amazingly Affordable Family Vacations.]

Attend an Inaugural Ball

Official inaugural balls are typically invitation-only events. President James Buchanan had only one inaugural ball in 1857, with a menu that included 400 gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 1,200 quarts of ice cream, 60 saddles of mutton, eight rounds of beef, 75 hams and 125 tongues, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. If you don't get invited to an official ball, try to get tickets to one of the many unofficial balls hosted by states, veterans' organizations and other groups. Contact the Texas State Society for its "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball" or the American Legion for its "Veterans Inaugural Ball," a tribute to America's Medal of Honor recipients.

Special Inaugural Packages

The Newseum, located along the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue, will offer an all-inclusive "2017 Presidential Inauguration Celebration Experience" on Jan. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The special package includes a panoramic view of the parade, food by Wolfgang Puck Catering, discussions by journalists and newsmakers about the 2016 election and issues facing the next president, talks with Newseum curators, access to the museum and more. The full cost is $500, but discounts are available. Hotels across the area will also offer inauguration packages. The Willard InterContinental's "Stay Like a President" inauguration 2017 Package, for example, costs $450,000, and includes two round-trip tickets from anywhere in the continental U.S. to D.C. on a private jet and a four-night stay in a presidential suite overlooking the inaugural parade route. Meanwhile, the Mayflower Hotel will be donating the entire $45,000 amount of its four-night inaugural package in the Presidential Suite directly to the Children's National Health System in Washington. The hotel, which President Harry Truman dubbed "Washington's Second Best Address," includes two tickets to the Inauguration Day ceremony.

How to Get Around

Don't even think about driving during the weekend of gridlock and street closures. Walk, bike or take public transportation. Buying a reloadable SmarTrip metro card in advance online is a smart way to dodge long lines. Each traveler age 5 and up needs a card. Check for up-to-date information on the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority's website. And keep in mind that some stations closest to the National Mall, such as Smithsonian, Archives and Mt. Vernon Square, will be closed during Inauguration Day ceremonies. Another option is taking the DC Circulator, which offers inexpensive service across the city, with routes along the National Mall, Georgetown and other popular tourist areas. Bikes can also be rented at reasonable prices at dozens of city locations through Capital Bikeshare.

Where to Eat

The nation's capital is now a foodie capital, newly validated by the prestigious international Michelin Guide that published a Washington, D.C. guide this October. Washington is only the fourth U.S. city, after New York, Chicago and San Francisco, to be honored with a Michelin Guide. For a meal to remember, check out the lively restaurants scattered throughout vibrant neighborhoods such as Dupont Circle, Georgetown and the U Street Corridor.

[See: 10 Top Historic Hotels Across the U.S.]

Other Can't-Miss Cultural and Historical Attractions

Presidential election-related displays will be mounted by the Library of Congress, the National Archives and many museums across the city. To apply for a tour of the White House, contact one of your senators or representative up to 90 days in advance, and no less than 21 days in advance. You can also visit the only D.C.-based home of a former President, the President Woodrow Wilson House, a house-museum near Dupont Circle. George Washington's stately home Mount Vernon is also an easy trip, just 15 miles south of the city, along the Potomac River banks. Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was assassinated, is a museum honoring his legacy, as well as an active theater. All these attractions are in addition to classic landmarks, such as Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Marsha Dubrow is a freelance writer specializing in travel and the arts. You can follow her on Twitter @MarshaDubrow, connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn. She earned an M.F.A. in Writing and Literature at Bennington College, which published her book "Single Blessedness."
Police in Sanford, Florida, issued two warnings to residents on Thursday, October 6, into Friday morning  dont drive on flooded roads and dont loot. The department posted two videos to Facebook Live, one showing a car trapped in deep waters and another reporting the arrest of a man who had broken into a local business.

When we ask you to make preparations and stay inside, we meant for you to buy your own supplies and stay inside your own residence. Not break into somebody elses business. On a serious note though, you need to understand that during a state of emergency, there are enhanced penalties. The gentleman who decided to take this upon himself is going to a different shelter tonight, the officer in the video said.

Flooding stranded several vehicles across Sanford, reported Orlando-based News 6. A mandatory curfew was set in the county from early Friday morning until Saturday morning. A voluntary evacuation was also issued for residents who live in mobile homes, manufactured home and low-lying areas. Credit: Facebook/Sanford Police Department
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We've said it before and we'll say it again  police on social media have zero chill.

While cops in Queensland usually take the cake for the most over-the-top social media "jokes" in Australia, on Thursday the New South Wales (NSW) force tried their hand at humor. And wow, they screwed it up.

SEE ALSO: How the Queensland Police used Nickelback to win Facebook friends

A Star Wars-themed coffee shop called The Empire Coffee Co. met up with some members of a police squad at a festival in Lake Maquarie, and presumably, both parties thought, "You know what would make a great photo op? A cop arrested a kneeling an Indigenous Jawa wearing a hood, while some stormtroopers keep watch in the background! It'll be hilarious!"

Wrong.

Thanks to @nswpolice for allowing us to take this shot at the Living Smart Festival. And paying it on their Facebook page with over 660,000 likes. For the record, no Jawas were harmed in the making of this shot. No taxpayers funds were used. Except for the 2 minutes involved doing the shot while the officer was on duty. Which was to talk to members of the public anyway. A photo posted by The Empire Coffee Co (@theempirecoffeeco) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:58pm PDT

*Sigh* couple of things:

1. Stormtroopers are the bad guys. That makes you the bad guys, police. Jawas on the other hand are passive and neutral.

2. The police were clearly unaware of point #1 when they posted the image to their Facebook with the caption, "Keeping you safe from the dark side of the force."

3. Police brutality is as much of a hotly-discussed issue in Australia as it is in the U.S., especially when it comes young Indigenous people.

Not to mention the "torture" of juvenile Indigenous youths in detention  immortalised by an image of a young man strapped to his chair with a hood over his head that made worldwide news in July of this year.

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After receiving a barrage of negative comments about the picture, police later updated their image caption to read, "Keeping NSW & the galaxy safe. This little guy was arrested for selling stolen goods."

Oh, that's much better. Totally solves the problem.

Image: Facebook/NSW Police

Do Australian police have too much time on their hands? Are they public protectors or merry pranksters? Make up your mind, police. Choose, you must. Be a candle, or the night.



[H/T Junkee]


Washington (AFP) - Hillary Clinton capitalized on growing support among independent voters to surge to a five-point national lead against rival Donald Trump barely a month before the US presidential election, a new poll showed Friday.

The Democrat improved her standing to 45 percent support compared with 40 percent for her Republican rival Trump in a four-way race that includes lesser-known candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

The result shows the former secretary of state extending her lead by four points from last month's Quinnipiac survey, further solidifying the gains that Clinton's campaign has registered since her strong performance against Trump in their first presidential debate on September 26.

In a two-person race, Clinton leads Trump 50 percent to 44.

"Post-debate, Hillary Clinton checks all the boxes," Quinnipiac poll assistant director Tim Malloy said in a statement.

"With her base of women and non-white voters now solidly behind her and independent voters moving into her column, Donald Trump gets a wake-up call."

The poll of 1,064 likely voters nationwide shows a dramatic shift toward Clinton among those not registered with any party.

Independents now back her 46 percent to 32 percent, compared to 42-35 for Trump in late September.

Clinton stayed off the campaign trail Friday and Trump kept his events to a minimum ahead of their second head-to-head debate, to take place Sunday in St Louis, Missouri.

The Manhattan real estate billionaire is widely believed to have not prepared extensively for their first showdown, while Clinton is known for rigorously studying up before such events.

Sunday's debate will be in the format of a town hall, with questions coming from audience members.

Trump held a town-hall-styled event Thursday night in New Hampshire, but appeared not to treat it like a warmup session.

"Forget debate prep," he said.

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"Do you really think Hillary Clinton is debate-prepping for three days? Hillary Clinton is resting," he added.

Trump has routinely charged that Clinton does not have the "stamina" to be president.

"She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night."
Mike Pence

A Friday poll from Politico/Morning Consult found that following his performance in Tuesday's vice-presidential debate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is now the 2020 Republican frontrunner.

Respondents were asked who their top choice was for the Republican nomination in the 2020 election if Donald Trump were to lose. Pence, Trump's running mate, came out on top, with 22% of Republicans selecting him.

Second place ended in a relative tie between Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, with each garnering 13% of GOP support. Next was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with 12% support, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida with 8% and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 7%.

Rounding out the list was the "other" category with 4%, and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas with 1%.

Respondents were also asked who they would want to represent the Democratic Party in 2020 if Hillary Clinton were to lose the election. The top choice was Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts  28% of Democrats polled selected her.

Next up was Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Clinton's running mate, who faced off with Pence in Tuesday's debate. He received 16% of the support among Democrats. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey received 9%, followed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 8%. Democratic respondents who selected "other" also totaled 8%.

NOW WATCH: A hair surgeon explains what's going on with Donald Trump's hair





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This Immigrant Doctor Is Reimagining Health in the American City

In 1971, President Richard Nixon vowed to wage an all-out offensive against public enemy number one. That foe was drug abuse, and his call to battle launched a costly war that is now in its fifth decade and has put hundreds of thousands of people behind bars. The casualties of the war on drugs are most concentrated in the federal prison system, where drug offenders make up more than half the population.

In her new book, social psychologist Mona Lynch takes an in-depth look at federal prosecutors and the drug laws they enforce, pointing to their largely unmitigated power as a primary driver of mass incarceration in the U.S. Lynchs research in three regional federal court districts examines how prosecutors use harsh federal drug laws to encourage defendants to plead guilty rather than go to trial and the ways these practices have contributed to racial disparities in the federal prison population. TakePart spoke to Lynch about Hard Bargains: The Coercive Power of Drug Laws in Federal Court. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

TakePart: How has the power of federal prosecutors changed over time?

Mona Lynch: The federal system was allegedly reformed in the 1980s in an attempt to control the discretion of judges and the disparities in sentences that were coming because of that discretion. That system now continues, but it happens through mechanisms that arent on the record. In the old system, the judge made public rulings in front of a court reporter, creating a public record of the judges sentencing logic. Now, many of the things that can drive sentences up happen behind closed doors with prosecutors. Prosecutors power gets exercised more robustly prior to the final sentencing stage and often in places outside the view of the court. Its harder to get a grasp on it.

TakePart: In terms of volume, the state prison population is much larger than the federal prison population. Why did you decide to focus on drug laws and prosecutors in the federal system?

Lynch: Prosecutorial power and its role is fairly similar across systems, but the federal system is the most important player in terms of how drug prosecutions have contributed to mass incarceration. It has been a really huge engine in terms of driving a huge increase in the federal prison population and ratcheting up the length of sentences for drug defendants. Until 2011, federal drug prosecutions were the No. 1 category of cases being prosecuted. Its a good case study of a larger phenomenon.

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TakePart: Although we still have a long way to go, the war on drugs has become a focal point in the criminal justice reform movement over the last few years. Do you think real progress is being made?

Lynch: We are making incremental progress, but its spatially divergent across federal court districts. In places that have more of a collective will to move away from punitive prosecutions, that has happened, and it has happened less in places that are more committed to aggressive drug prosecutions. Sentencing reform efforts like the Fair Sentencing Act have directly attacked racial disparities. But they dont address the problem of whos being brought into the system by policing practices. We have to grapple with that.

TakePart: While they remain at a standstill, what do you think of the current sentencing reform efforts in Congress?

Lynch: They are a very good start, but those [reform efforts] are addressing the big, obvious challengeswhen mandatory minimum sentences are triggered, for example, and the sentencing enhancements that can be built into drug cases. These are good steps, but theyre not going to contain the problem. We need to think about how to contain the power to ratchet up the length of drug sentences that can be put into play in any jurisdiction that has the will to do so.

TakePart: What surprised you while conducting field research in the federal district courts?

Lynch: We think of federal drug prosecutions as targeting kingpins or people dealing with large amounts of drugs, or of federal drug cases targeting large-scale conspiracies. But when you actually go to federal court in some jurisdictions, its the local kids dealing on the corner that are being dragged into federal court. There are a huge number of small street-level cases.

TakePart: What sort of change do you hope your book will inspire?

Lynch: Im happy to be able to contribute research that challenges the notion that a top-down policy will be implemented the same way in different places. We need to think about how a policy may get absorbed into local practices to mitigate the various twists and turns people will take to get around it. When and if Congress acts, thats only a starting point for us; its how it gets put into action thats important. Policy change is the first stepwe cant just shake hands, congratulate ourselves, and walk away.

Take the Pledge: Dont Be Silent: Take the Pledge to Be an Ally for Racial Justice

Related stories on TakePart:





 Federal Drug Policy Softens as Whites Become Face of Heroin Addiction

 The Trouble With Cracking Down on the Drug That Killed Prince

 United Nations Takes On Drug Policy for the First Time in 18 Years

Original article from TakePart
By Mail Today Bureau: It's the ultimate 'Kisan jam' that choked the Capital on Thursday. With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's Kisan Yatra bringing the city to a grinding halt on its last day, main thoroughfares of central and New Delhi districts got blocked. Interestingly, no advisory was issued by the Delhi Police about this rally to warn the commuters about its impact on traffic.

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RAHUL CHOKES DELHI



The procession of farmers reached the city during peak hours leading to massive traffic snarls. The traffic police officials claimed that roads connecting Delhi to Ghaziabad and Noida were completely blocked. The traffic jam spilled over to Ring Road, Connaught Place, parts of central and New Delhi districts. According to some commuters, it took them three hours to travel a distance of three kilometre. On his way to Delhi, Rahul held meetings with farmers at several places. His convoy entered Delhi from Ghaziabad. However, buses and cars transporting his supporters changed the route and used the NH-24 and Vikas Marg. Initially, Delhi traffic police had an information that Gandhi will reach in the afternoon.

But with large number supporters, he reached Delhi almost two hours behind schedule.

READ| Modi is doing 'khoon ki dalaali': Rahul's scathing attack on PM



"We had an information that almost 1,500 people will be coming with him. But a large number of his supporters reached Delhi, besides those who were waiting for him at different venues. We also changed the route and asked them to enter Delhi through NH-24. But the two main roads connecting Ghaziabad to Delhi were chocked." a senior Delhi Traffic police official told Mail Today.

NO ADVISORY TRACED TO INADEQUATE INFORMATION



When asked about the absence of advisory for public regarding the rally, they claimed that there was inadequate information.

We got the details of the rally and routes just 24 hours back. There were no clear information about the number of vehicles and people." the Delhi Traffic Police justified. Traffic snarls began around 4 pm from Laxmi Nagar and Akshardham flyover. It spilled over to Pragati Maidan, ITO, Barakhamba, Mandi House among other areas.

Also read: In a first in 28 months, Rahul Gandhi praises Modi for surgical strikes in PoK

ATTACKS MODI, BJP SAYS REMARKS REFLECT MENTAL BANKRUPTCY



At his rally, Rahul accused PM Narendra Modi of indulging in political exploitation of the sacrifices of soldiers in remarks that come in the wake of cross-LoC surgical strikes in PoK. Meanwhile, the BJP hit out at Rahul and called his remarks a new low in Indian politics. "It is shameful. Such remarks reflect his mental bankruptcy. The army and the Prime Minister are getting praise from everywhere for the surgical strikes. Modi is being praised for his decision and he is unable to digest it. Rahul Gandhi is in frustration," said BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma.

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READ| Lt General Shekatkar slams Rahul Gandhi for Khoon Ki Dalali remark against Modi

Also Read: Drones filmed operation, 2 soldiers hurt by mines: All you need to know about the surgical strike



--- ENDS ---
Industrial gas producer and supplier, Praxair Inc. PX recently announced that it has entered into a long-term agreement for supplying oxygen to Fibria Celulose S/A FBR, worlds leading producer of eucalyptus pulp. Financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.



As revealed, Praxair secured the contract through its Brazilian subsidiary, White Martins. It will be building and operating a new plant that will supply oxygen to support Fibria Celuloses Tres Lagoas facility in Brazil. Praxair anticipates the plant to start production in late 2017.



The supply contract will enable Praxair to meet Fibria Celuloses growing demand for oxygen for expansion of eucalyptus pulp production capacity at Tres Lagoas facility, from 5.3 million tons to 7.25 million tons annually.



We believe such contracts reflect customers preference for Praxairs products and will prove beneficial for its growth, going forward. The company had a solid backlog of $1.3 billion at the end of second-quarter 2016. Also, increasing applications of industrial gases in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, food and beverages, and metal fabrication industries will act as growth boosters for industrial gas producers like Praxair.



Despite such bright prospects, we believe that exposure to near-term headwinds will weigh on its performance in the quarters ahead. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and has a market capitalization of $34.5 billion.

PRAXAIR INC Price

PRAXAIR INC Price | PRAXAIR INC Quote

Stocks to Consider



A couple of better-ranked stocks in the chemical industry include Innophos Holdings Inc. IPHS and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation MTLHY. Both the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Innophos Holdings reported better-than-expected results in the last two quarters as well as witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2016 over the past 60 days.



Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings has witnessed positive revisions in earnings estimates for fiscal 2017 and 2018 over the past 60 days.



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Oct 7 (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

Hollande demands tough Brexit negotiations http://on.ft.com/2dyIn7x

Hammond tries to reassure Wall St on Brexit http://on.ft.com/2dyI2C0

WANdisco chief scores return to helm http://on.ft.com/2dyIZtZ

Overview

French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that Britain must suffer the consequences of leaving the European Union in order to save the institution from an existential crisis.

UK finance minister Philip Hammond moved to reassure Wall Street that Britain will seek a special deal for financial services when it leaves the EU and will ensure the continued flow of international talent to the City of London.

David Richards has been reappointed to board and as chief executive officer of WANdisco Plc with immediate effect, less than a week after he kicked off his battle to return to the helm of the company.

(Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Oct 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- The CIT Group Inc, a commercial lender, agreed on Thursday to sell its aircraft leasing business to a Chinese-owned competitor for about $10 billion, signifying a big step by CIT to slim itself down in the face of pressure from investors. http://nyti.ms/2dz5e2N

- Mars Inc has finally taken full control of Wrigley, formally putting M&Ms and Altoids mints in the same division - and cashing out its partner, Warren Buffett, in the process. http://nyti.ms/2dz4Mll

- Deutsche Bank AG said on Thursday that it would eliminate 1,000 full-time positions in Germany as part of job cuts the embattled lender first announced last year. http://nyti.ms/2dz5oHy

- The six-day courtroom confrontation between Maurice Greenberg and lawyers for New York State accusing him of orchestrating sham transactions as chief executive of American International Group Inc 16 years ago ended Thursday without any knockout blows. http://nyti.ms/2dz4CdJ

- In the six weeks since federal agents raided a suburban Maryland home and arrested Harold Martin III on suspicion of stealing classified information from the National Security Agency, another organization has quietly prepared to face the fallout: Booz Allen Hamilton, Martin's employer. http://nyti.ms/2dz5Plf

(Compiled by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru)
Prince's acoustic guitar, Jimi Hendrix-signed arrest documents and a John Lennon/Yoko Ono-signed "bed-in" display photograph highlight Julien's upcoming "Icons & Idols: Rock N' Roll Auction," scheduled for Saturday, November 5th in Los Angeles.

According to the listing, Prince used the 1959 vintage Gibson L48 archtop acoustic to sketch out song ideas and record demos in the early 1970s. He posed with the guitar in his first professional photographs by Robert Whitman in 1977, two of which are also for sale. The instrument is estimated to bring between $40,000 and $60,000. Other notable Prince auction items include his black paisley jacket, handwritten lyrics for "We Can Work It Out" (then titled "I Hope We Work It Out") and a microphone that's, of course, purple.

Julien's Auctions Inc.

Jimi Hendrix's signed arrest documents from his January 4th, 1968 arrest in Gothenburg, Sweden are also for sale. The 24-page document includes a report  mostly written in Swedish  detailing the events leading to the arrest, including Hendrix's statement and one from his then-drummer, Mitch Mitchell. The materials are estimated between $20,00 and $30,000.



"The Jimi Hendrix Experience had just arrived in Gothenburg the day before for a four-day tour of Sweden and Denmark," the listing explains. "Upon returning from a nightclub that night, the band and some additional friends retreated to Mitchell's room, during which time a guest from the floor below filed a noise complaint. Upon entering the room, the night receptionist, Per Magnusson, found Hendrix in a pool of blood after breaking the hotel window with his hand, amidst an entirely destroyed room. Hendrix was arrested and taken to the hospital and charged with criminal damage."

Lastly, the Lennon and Ono photograph documents their famous "bed-in" session, held between May 26th and June 2nd at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The item, an image of an Inuit man, was displayed in couple's room, where they recorded "Give Peace a Chance." The photo, signed "John Lennon 1969" and "Yoko Ono Montreal" on the top-right, is estimated between $20,000 and $30,000.

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The Julien's auction also features items from the Beatles, Nirvana, Frank Zappa, Foo Fighters, Michael Jackson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, U2, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Slash, Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, among others.

Related Content:
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. PEG, or PSEG, announced its decision to shut down the two remaining coal-fired plants in New Jersey on Jun 1, 2017 due to stringent environmental regulations and the ongoing shift to natural gas for power generation.

Reason for the Move

The move concerns the Hudson Generation Station in Jersey City and the Mercer Generation Station in Hamilton Township.This is because the plants are rarely used and have failed to clear the last two capacity auctions held by PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator.

According to Bill Levis, the President and Chief Operating Officer of PSEG Power, these plants have been experiencing competitive pressure for quite some time now, thanks to persistently low prices of natural gas. Moreover, the company estimates huge investment in upgrading the two plants in order to meet the new reliability standards, which could be avoided entirely by closing them down instead.

PUBLIC SV ENTRP Price

PUBLIC SV ENTRP Price | PUBLIC SV ENTRP Quote

Even though coal used to be the key catalyst behind industrial growth in the U.S., the scenario has changed dramatically now. Increasingly stringent pro-environmental regulations and growing demand for cleaner options have been hurting the prospects of coal. In the state of New Jersey, coal now contributes a mere 2% to the total electricity generated. These developments underscore the need to shutter the remaining coal-fired plants as soon as possible and instead focus on renewable expansion.

On Aug 3, 2015 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Clean Power Plan, a regulation aimed at reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants 32% by 2030. This is another reason for the ongoing focus on cutting the usage of coal in power generation and increasing the share of renewables.

Impact of the Close-Down

In the third quarter of 2016,PSEG expects to record one-time charges related to the closuresof $40.0$70.0 million for the Hudson plant and $35.0$77.0 million for the Mercer plant as energy costs, and operation and maintenance expenses. The closure will also lead to non-cash charges of $560.0$580.0 million this year and $940.0$960.0 million in 2017.

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The move would also affect nearly 200 employees at these facilities. The company has, however, reassured that it will relocate most of the employees to other facilities.

PSEGs Presence in New Jersey

PSEG is forging ahead with several initiatives to support New Jerseys renewable energy goals. In Mar 2016, the New Jersey Senate passed a bill that required utilities in the state to source 80% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2050. Under the bill, utilities have to generate 11% of their electricity from renewable sources in 2017. This proportion would increase by roughly 10% every five years, until the target of 80% by 2050 is met.

PSEG will also invest over $600 million in a new state-of-the-art combined-cycled gas plant in Sewaren, NJ, in addition to other new facilities in Connecticut and Maryland. Currently, PSEG Power has gas facilities with nearly 4,000 MW of generating capacity in New Jersey and nuclear plants of 3,740 MW capacity, of which approximately 2,500 MW are located in New Jersey.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

PSEGcurrently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the same industry include OGE Energy Corp. OGE, DTE Energy Company DTE and Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte S.A. EDN, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

OGE Energy has witnessed a 8.5% rise in its stock price in the last six months. The expected EPS growth rate for the next five years is 5.2%.

DTE Energys share price was up 3.9% in its last six months. On an average, the company has delivered a positive earnings surprise of 6.94% in the trailing four quarters.

Empresa Distribuidora saw a 3.4% upside in its stock price in the last trading session. This companys 2016 earnings estimates have improved 36.4% in the last 60 days.

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Qatar Airways' Boeing jets

Qatar Airways today sent a strong message to the Boeing Co.  and to Airbus, its European rival  by putting in an order for 40 wide-body Boeing jets and leaving the door open for up to 60 more 737 MAX jets.

The orders for 30 of Boeings 787-9 Dreamliners and 10 of the 777-300ERs would be valued at $11.7 billion at list price, Boeing said. The 60 single-aisle 737 MAX jets, covered by a letter of intent, would go for $6.9 billion at list price.

That adds up to $18.6 billion retail, but The Seattle Times Dominic Gates cites an estimate from Avitas, an aircraft valuation firm, that sets the value at $8.8 billion after standard industry discounts.

The order provides a huge boost for Boeings 777 and 787 programs, and for the companys operations in Everett, Wash., where the planes are assembled. Qatar Airways currently flies 54 of the 777s and 30 of the 787s, with six 777F freighters and 60 of the next-generation 777X passenger jets on order.

24/7 Wall St.s Paul Ausick sees the prospect of 737 MAX sales as the more interesting bit of news. Qatar Airways doesnt have any 737s in its current fleet  but it has previously put in orders for Airbus A320neo jets, which are seen as the 737 MAXs rival.

Qatar Airways ended up canceling delivery of the first three A320neos due to performance problems with the jets Pratt & Whitney engines. The airlines CEO, Akbar Al Baker, has voiced dissatisfaction with that twist as well as Airbus delayed deliveries of A350 jets.

Our relationship is very strained, Bloomberg News quoted Al Baker as saying in August. Whats happening at Airbus with the deliveries is seriously affecting our growth.

In contrast, Al Baker praised Boeing as a valuable partner in todays announcement of the new orders, which he said were a testament to our appreciation of the quality of their product and their dedication to providing world-class customer service.

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That has got to be satisfying to Boeing officials, Ausick said.

Todays announcement came just days after the U.S. government informally signaled its approval for the multibillion-dollar sale of Boeing-made F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets to the Persian Gulf nation, despite concerns voiced by Israel. Al Baker said there was no connection between the two deals, but itd be hard to imagine Boeings commercial jet sales going through if the military sales fell through.

More from GeekWire:
Frankfurt (AFP) - Qatari investors, including members of the royal family, are considering raising their stake in Deutsche Bank to 25 percent to shore up the embattled lender's capital position, German weekly Der Spiegel reported Friday.

Qatari ex-premier Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani and his cousin, the former emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, currently own 10 percent of the German bank's shares, the report said.

Deutsche Bank has been in crisis mode since a US demand last month for a $14-billion fine for selling toxic mortgage bonds sparked fears over the lender's financial health, sending its share price plummeting to a record low.

If the Qatari group does indeed raise its stake in Deutsche to 25 percent, the investors would likely expect to have a say in management issues, Spiegel reported.

Without citing its sources, the magazine said the Qatari royals were "increasingly unhappy" with the current management under CEO John Cryan.

"If the Qataris were to raise their stake they would probably also push for changes to the management," it added.

The German finance ministry told Spiegel it would have no objections to a greater investment by the Qatari group.

Deutsche Bank's woes have eased somewhat after an AFP report last week said the German giant was in talks to reduce the fine to a more palatable $5.4 billion, although concerns remain over the bank's relatively weak capital foundations.

The bank has insisted it will not require a bailout.
I support surgical strikes but will not support the use of Army in political posters and propaganda, the Congress vice-president said.

By India Today Web Desk: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said that he supports the surgical strikes against terrorists, but he will never endorse the use of the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda.

The Gandhi scion's clarification on social-networking site Twitter comes a day after he said that PM Narendra Modi is doing 'khoon ki dalaali' by trying to take political advantage of the Army's anti-terror operation.



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ALSO READ | Modi is doing 'khoon ki dalaali': Rahul's scathing attack on PM



"Hamare jawaan hain jinhone khoon diya hai, jinhone surgical strike kiya, unke khoon ke peechhe aap (PM) chhupe hue ho. (You are hiding behind the soldiers, who gave their blood and who carried out the surgical strikes)" Rahul has said on Thursday.

"Unki dalali kar rahe ho...Yeh bilkul ghalat hai...Hindustan ki sena ne Hindustan ka kaam kiya, aap apna kaam keejiye... (You are trading on them. This is totally wrong... The Indian Army did its job for India, you do your work)," he thundered.

The Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on September 29 against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in the wake of a terror attack that left 19 soldiers dead in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asking Modi to do justice to the people of the country, Gandhi said that the Prime Minister has only tried to divide the country.

"Modiji has been able to do two things - one making two Indians fight between each other and to divide the nation. He made people fight among each other in all states. In Uttar Pradesh, he made the Hindus and the Muslims fight among each other.

"I want to tell Narendra Modi ji, to the RSS people, and the BJP that this country wants justice from you, and your responsibility is to give justice," he said.



The blistering attack on Modi came only days after he congratulated the Prime Minister on India's successful surgical strikes in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah is expected to hold a press conference later in the day in response to Rahul's statement.

Watch video:



--- ENDS ---
Earlier this week, aerospace giant Boeing Co. (BA) CEO Dennis Muilenburg made it clear that his company will create the first ever rocket to land on Mars, despite hot, flashy competition from SpaceX and its billionaire chief, Elon Musk. Mr. Muilenburg was speaking at a conference the Whats Next conference in Chicago sponsored by The Atlantic.

Im convinced the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding a Boeing rocket, Muilenburg said, and he could be correct. Just days after Musk laid out grand plans for SpaceXs Interplanetary Transport System, a ship-like structure that would ferry passengers to Mars, Muilenburg described a more commercialized vision for future space travelspace tourism, if you will. There would be dozens of destinations orbiting Earth, while hypersonic aircraft would shuttle travelers to different continents in two hours or less.

Unlike SpaceX, Boeing has a reliable and trustworthy track record in space travel: it helped the U.S. beat the Soviet Union to moon in 1969. They built the first stage for the Saturn V, which took astronauts to the moon and back, and is the most powerful U.S. rocket ever built.

Recently, the company has been working with NASA to develop the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket to be used for deep space exploration. Boeing, along with SpaceX, are actually the first companies to be selected by NASA to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

Musk, however, does not seem to mind that Boeing has entered the Mars race. "I think it's actually much better for the world if there are multiple companies or organizations building these interplanetary spacecraft. You know, the more the better. Anything, I think, that improves the probability of the future is good, he said at the recent International Astronautical Congress.

Mr. Muilenburg said that costs will need to drop significantly before any of these experimental aircraft can be considered for commercial use. According to Engadget, Boeing is hoping to launch its first manned flight sometime in the 2030s, while SpaceX is aiming for the year 2024only eight years away!for its manned mission.

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Raoul Pal

Deutsche Bank is going through a crisis.

The German bank is facing a $14 billion fine from US authorities, hedge funds are putting short bets on its stock (though two big funds have eased off), and the bank announced further layoffs this week.

Some commenters have been comparing Deutsche's issues to the fall of investment bank Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

Raoul Pal, a macro investor who previously managed money for GLG Partners, one of the world's biggest hedge fund groups, doesn't think it's quite that bad. Rather, the Deutsche Bank example speaks to larger issues in the financial industry.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with his video platform, Real Vision TV (emphasis is added):

"Is it a Lehman Brothers crisis? I think, somebody interestingly put it to me, it's like, it can't be, because the problem with Lehman Brothers was Dick Fuld's arrogance of reaching a deal with somebody. In this situation, I don't think anybody's going to get in that situation. Nobody's playing the kind of Wall Street, puff-chested, master of the universe. The problem we've got here is, nobody knows what the outcomes are and who can do anything about it."

Pal added his belief that banks are going to shift from private to state ownership:

"So will they find some sort of fudged way of doing it again? Yeah. Will they find some way of maybe a third party, supernational to hold the stakes in the banks?

But basically, in the end, whatever the outcome is, there may not be a big bang. But the ownership of these banks is going to change from private hands to state hands, in one way, shape, or form. And basically, it's the nationalization of the banking system, which is the end of the Trail of Definancialization of the global economy that we're seeing.

We're seeing it everywhere. The whole finance economy is shrinking. And it had to shrink  got too big as a percentage of world GDP. And it's going down. And I think somehow, this will all get amalgamated into either government or third-party balance sheets, so the ECB can fund it. You know, it's a mess. And it's still got a long way to play out, I think."

Story continues

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denounce Maccari painting Cicero puts Catiline on blast

I recently tracked down and read William Bolitho's "Twelve Against the Gods," an out-of-print, one-time bestseller from 1929 that's become scarce in the wake of an endorsement from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

The book spotlights a dirty dozen of historical characters who rebelled against convention in some form (with occasionally disastrous results). Bolitho's renderings of this rogue's gallery of figures is historically problematic in parts, but it still makes for an interesting read  one that reveals quite a lot about the author's ideas about success and greatness.

The best chapter shone the spotlight on a young patrician from ancient Rome named Lucius Sergius Catilina  commonly called Catiline. In his typical exuberant fashion, Bolitho dubs Catiline "one of the most interesting possibilities in the history of the world."

The author kicks off the character sketch with some notes on background (describing Rome as a gilded, corrupt city and comparing its trajectory to that of the US  according to Bolitho, by 2029, we'll very closely resemble the ancient empire). He calls Catiline a figure that could arise in any century  a patrician on the verge of being ousted from Rome's elite due to financial ruin.

Catiline also had more than a few skeletons in his closet, which is impressive, considering this was a time before closets were even invented. He'd messed up his tenure as governor of Africa (the Roman province, not the entire continent); allegedly murdered his brother-in-law; viciously persecuted rivals during a coup; and seduced a Vestal Virgin who just happened to be the sister-in-law of the consul Marcus Tullius Cicero ... spoiler alert: He's going to come up again later.

At a certain point, drowning in debt and reeling from his mess of a life, Catiline began plotting a "night of blood and fire" to kill Cicero, take over Rome, and abolish all debt. Bolitho characterizes the scheme as "... a sinister drollery, the simple delight of stirring up great crowds to die and kill."

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However, crushing, insurmountable debt was a huge issue for many Romans. Whatever his motives (ulterior, pure, or otherwise), Catiline's cause proved popular amongst poor people and veterans in particular.

elon musk book

The plan crumbled when a patrician woman named Fulvia became aware of the plot and warned Cicero of his impending assassination. After rounding up a number of conspirators, Cicero showed up at the Senate and was surprised to find Catiline there, too.

Cicero proceeded to deliver a "pitiless and unwavering" speech denouncing Catiline and the conspiracy. It got so scathing that all of the other senators began sliding away from Catiline, until he was all alone on one side of the room. Exposed, the conspirator fled Rome and led a hasty battle against the Republic's forces. Catiline died in the fighting and the conspiracy was squashed.

Bolitho describes the young Roman aristocrat's adventure as "one of the most surprising of all," as he did not have much to gain considering the unlikelihood of the plot's success. This chapter provides an interesting counterpoint to some of the more positive, jovial depictions of adventurers elsewhere in the book.

Catiline loathed the Roman system and promised change, but lacked the temperament, planning skills, and ability to carry out his idea. Once the plot was unveiled, he rushed into a hopeless battle and only succeeded at getting himself and many of his followers slaughtered.

Regardless of his true motives, Catiline represents the darker side of adventuring and innovation. Fresh, new ideas can go very wrong and execution can be more important than ideas themselves.

NOW WATCH: Archaeologists just unearthed a massive 1800-year-old mural





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By David Randall

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Even with a good salary as a data scientist at a San Francisco technology firm, Yang Guo, 30, knew he couldn't afford a home in the Bay Area, among the priciest U.S. markets.

He still wanted to own property in addition to stocks, however, and soon found a way to buy cheap rental houses in faraway cities - and to outsource the associated hassles to HomeUnion, a three-year-old startup in Irvine, California.

The firm is among a small crop of new companies, including competitors Investability and Roofstock, that offer ways to buy, renovate and manage properties in markets that command relatively strong rents compared to their low home prices.

The risks remain the same as any landlord faces, from vacancies to broken appliances to the potential for a rent- or home-price downturn. And using such services places a lot of faith in young companies with short track records.

But the firms, launched after the housing crisis, say they can take much of the worry and work out of owning out-of-state rentals, for fees that typically run from 7 percent to 10 percent for property management and 3 percent for acquisition. Their clients usually buy one or two homes to supplement their incomes and investment portfolios.

The companies are pulling in money from clients in costly coastal markets that is boosting demand and home prices in the lower-cost cities they target.

"In the last 12 months, I've seen more cash buyers from California than I've ever seen in my career, and I've been doing this for 25 years," said Anne Callahan, a real estate agent in Cleveland, Ohio, where the average rent for a single-family home is up 4.2 percent over the last year, according to Zillow Research.

Earlier this year, Guo bought and fixed up a small home in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama that he found through HomeUnion. He purchased another home in the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina - spending about $60,000 on the pair.

Story continues

Now, from his apartment in San Francisco's trendy South of Market neighborhood, Guo collects monthly checks from tenants he has never met in properties that he has never seen, all located more than 2,000 miles away.

"There's too much risk with buying property in the Bay Area," Guo said. "As long as the cash flow is coming and hitting my bank account, I basically don't care about seeing them in person."

Buyers like Guo are attracted to less glamorous regions where home prices and rents have risen at modest rates in the housing recovery. They're eyeing steady income rather than rapid home-price appreciation.

In suburban Atlanta, the average landlord of a single-family home reaps a 25.8 percent gross annual yield, a measure of annual rent divided by median sales price, not including other potential costs, according to real estate data firm RealtyTrac. That compares with just a 3.4 percent yield in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the median home price was $675,000 in August, according to data provider CoreLogic.

"It's all people from the coasts coming to us and saying, 'We want to find a way to buy properties out of state,'" said Don Ganguly, the chief executive of HomeUnion.

LEARNING TO BE A LANDLORD

Most homes purchased through the firms go for between $50,000 and $150,000, the companies said, or about typical for first-time home buyers in the same markets.

Florida has long been the most popular state for out-of-state investors, in large part because of its beaches, but lower-priced states such as Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio are emerging as destinations for buyers from beyond their borders, according to RealtyTrac.

For a graphic showing top markets for out-of-state landlords, see: http://tmsnrt.rs/2dvEq7l

While these investors have identified a real opportunity, their inexperience and lack of local market knowledge can lead to some mistakes, real estate agents said.

"You see these people coming from California and what I like to call 'yuppie-ing up a place,' but they don't realize it's not in the best area because they didn't do their homework," said Tony Kazanas, a real estate agent in Cleveland.

Guo, the San Francisco investor, had no experience as a landlord and is already realizing that it is not as simple as he imagined.

His property near Birmingham - in a metro area whose 14.4 percent vacancy doubles the 6.9 percent average nationwide - sat empty for a few months before he landed a tenant. The high cost of property insurance, meanwhile, is making him wary of buying in areas susceptible to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

There are signs, too, that the rental industry is cooling off. After the housing crash, hedge funds raced into beaten down markets including Las Vegas and Los Angeles, buying up large blocs of single family homes to rent out. But some institutional investors are now eyeing an exit strategy. Blackstone Group LP's Invitation Homes announced in July that it expects to sell about 5 percent of its about 50,000 homes to current renters.

In addition, while U.S. rents have risen by an average of 4.1 percent since 2010, average rents in New York, San Francisco and San Jose fell in the third quarter for the first time during that period. The decrease in expensive markets could presage broader weakness rent prices nationally.

BUYING WITH RETIREMENT FUNDS

Many investors still see a long-term play. They are turning to self-directed individual retirement accounts, which allow investors to buy property and let their rental income build tax-free as long the home is kept for investment, not personal use. Some buyers use their IRAs to pay cash for rental properties, but others get mortgages from niche lenders that offer them on properties held in retirement accounts.

"Self-directed IRAs are becoming a more critical piece of property sales as an investment," said Dennis Cisterna, chief revenue officer at Investability.

Major asset management firms like Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade do not allow account holders to buy property directly using their IRAs. Smaller firms such as Oakland-based The Entrust Group, which manages about $2.2 billion in assets, say that about a third of clients use their self-directed IRAs to buy real estate, with Kentucky, Alabama, and Arizona among the most popular markets for California-based clients.

Guo, the San Francisco investor, used cash savings and took out a mortgage on each property. The monthly notes for both houses total less than what he pays in rent in San Francisco, he said.

He takes some of out every paycheck and earmarks it for real estate, hoping to build a portfolio of at least 10 rental properties for less than what it would cost to buy a single home in the Bay Area.

"There's nothing like the competition that you see in San Francisco," he said.

(Reporting by David Randall; Edited by Dan Burns and Brian Thevenot)
In March, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was vehement: Super PACs are a disaster and very corrupt.

With his opponent, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, gazing expressionlessly at him from the next podium during a Republican primary debate, Trump added, Ted has super PACs, and you have to look at the people that are giving to those super PACs, number one. It's very important to do that.

There is total control of the candidates, Trump continued. I know it better than anybody that probably ever lived.

If hes right, New York investor Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, the very same mega-donors who propped up Cruzs bid, are due for some scrutiny.

In June, the Mercers threw their support  and super PAC  behind Trumps bid, at a time few other mega-donors were doing so. And in August, reportedly acting on Rebekah Mercers suggestion, Trump hired and promoted a cadre of operatives closely connected to the Mercers, including two who had run the Mercers super PAC, to his campaign leadership team.

Mercer, reclusive by nature, isnt inclined to speak publicly about his giving, making it a challenge to determine much about either his reasons for promoting a Trump administration or what he stands to gain. Robert and Rebekah Mercer both declined to be interviewed for this story.

But a Center for Public Integrity review of Mercers political and philanthropic spending found clues.

Mercers largesse has largely gone to anti-establishment groups and insurgent candidates working to pull the Republican Party further to the right, rather than the business-backed organizations closely associated with the Republican establishment, adding to his reputation as an ideologically motivated giver.

He has heavily funded ultra-conservative media outlets, like Breitbart News and Brent Bozells Media Research Center.

His foundation gives to groups that question human involvement in climate change, such as the Heartland Institute think tank and others. Hes also backed the Citizens United Foundation and the Government Accountability Institute, organizations that have ardently pursued an anti-Hillary Clinton agenda.

Story continues

There are signs, however, that Mercer is also motivated by issues that affect him personally. At least twice, he has unleashed gushers of outside spending to derail the re-election of a lawmaker  one who backed a tax on hedge fund transactions, another who investigated his companys tax strategies.

This story is part of Buying of the President 2016. Tracking the candidates, political committees and nonprofits that are making this presidential election the most expensive in history. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.

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Major player

Robert Mercer, 70, co-chief executive officer of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, has emerged as the single most influential donor to Trump, the brash businessman whose political rise was propelled by his personal fortune.

Mercer grew up in New Mexico, participated in the band and the chess club in high school, and attended the University of New Mexico. He has said he didnt use a computer until he attended a youth science camp after high school, though he was fascinated by them. He got a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Illinois and joined a team at IBM that used statistical techniques to enable computers to understand speech and translate languages, work widely hailed as groundbreaking.

In 1993, Renaissance recruited Mercer and his longtime colleague, Peter Brown, and the two took the leap into investing. In 2010, they became co-CEOs of Renaissance. The two are a study in contrasts. Brown is known as a voluble Democrat, and Mercer as his calmer, conservative foil; the book More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of the New Elite reported his boss at IBM jokingly referred to him as an automaton.

"I'm happy going through my life without saying anything to anybody," Mercer told The Wall Street Journal in 2010, in a rare interview given when he and Brown took over as co-CEOs of Renaissance Technologies.

Since then, he has become one of the highest-paid hedge fund managers in the business.

Influence beyond money

But Mercers greatest influence on Trump may not be via his cash but, rather, through key operatives who have leaped from the Mercers organization to lead Trumps: campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, campaign CEO Steve Bannon and deputy campaign manager David Bossie.

What [Rebekah] and her dad did was go sit down with the Donald and talk to him about his team. His team was failing him. They werent controlling the message and all that, said Toby Neugebauer, a donor who worked in conjunction with the Mercers when they were supporting Cruz.

Neugebauer, speaking on a panel of large political donors at the Texas Tribune Festival in September, said Conway has really gotten the message there, shes gotten him under control. Hes not as bombastic, obviously. So I give her  Rebekah Mercer  a lot a lot of credit for talking some sense into Donald Trump to bring [Conway] on board and get her there, and well see if it pays off in the end.

Related: "I give her - Rebekah Mercer - a lot of credit."

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Conway is a Republican pollster who oversaw day-to-day operations of the Mercers super PAC through early June, while it backed Cruz and had a different name, Keep the Promise I. In late June, after Cruzs withdrawal, the Mercers repurposed the group as an anti-Clinton PAC, changing the name to Make America Number 1. Conway departed to join the Trump campaign, a move announced on July 1.

Conways association with Mercer and Trump has been profitable.

The Mercer super PAC, Make America Number 1, reported paying Conways firm, the Polling Company, more than $950,000 during this election cycle, including roughly $247,000 in August, after she had left to work directly for the Trump campaign.

Trumps campaign, for its part, reported paying the Polling Company roughly $128,500 in August.

Campaigns and the super PACs supporting them are legally prohibited from coordinating, though the laws are complicated. They are permitted to have common vendors if appropriate steps are taken to avoid illegal sharing of information.

Public filings do not make it clear when the work was performed.

Conway said in an e-mailed response to questions from the Center for Public Integrity that she has never worked for Make America I PAC, and been inside the campaign firewall from the beginning.

She did not respond to follow-up questions.

In comments to Politico on the same subject, she said the company has separate staffs working on the two accounts and there is a firewall between them. She initially told Politico that her firm performed survey research and messaging work for this PAC in late June and early July but subsequently said the payment pertained to "surveys in late June."

In addition, she said no further work is planned for the super PAC.

Bossie took over briefly until he, too, joined the Trump campaign at the beginning of September. Bossie was head of Citizens United, the organization that made the anti-Clinton documentary that led to the landmark 2010 Supreme Court campaign finance ruling Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Bossie is taking a leave from Citizens United while working with the campaign. The Citizens United Foundation received about $3.6 million in grants from the Mercer Family Foundation between 2012 and 2014, tax filings show.

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Bannons relationship with the Mercers has long been chalked up to Robert Mercers reported investment in Breitbart News, the conservative news site Bannon headed before taking a leave of absence to join the Trump campaign. The Mercers declined to comment on the reports of the Breitbart investment but Breitbart has disclosed a debt to a limited liability company with the same address as Renaissance Technologies, Gravitas Maximus LLC, according to corporate filings.

Breitbart News, however, is not the only joint endeavor involving the Mercers and Bannon. Rebekah Mercer and Bannon have also worked together on the boards of two nonprofits, the Government Accountability Institute, a conservative investigative research group, and Reclaim New York, a watchdog and advocacy group, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of tax filings on the Citizen Audit website.

Bannon and Bossie have long collaborated on projects. Bannon has directed some film projects for Citizens United, and the Citizens United Foundation paid Bannons company $150,000 for film consulting in 2013, according to its tax return.

Web of connections

Bossie has taken credit for introducing Bannon to Trump in 2011, when Trump was considering running for president during the 2012 election cycle and sought advice.

And in a previously unreported transaction, Bannon Strategic Advisors received $300,000 from Bossies Citizens United Foundation in 2012, a fundraising fee apparently in exchange for bringing in a $2 million grant from the Mercers foundation.

Related: Mercer connections to David Bossie

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Mercer has provided more than advisers and cash. Hes reportedly a significant investor in Cambridge Analytica, an offshoot of British company SCL that recently opened offices in New York, which claims to help clients target voters or donors by using a personality model to determine the type of appeal that will be most effective.

The company has been a vendor for the Mercer super PAC, currently known as Make America Number 1, and now, the Trump campaign, which paid it a total of $350,000 this summer.

Direct investments

Mercer has made more direct investments in politics.

Together with his wife, Diana, Robert Mercer directly contributed roughly $23 million to federal candidates and political committees during the 2016 election cycle through the end of August. That made the couple the top individual donors on the Republican side, according to federal campaign contribution data tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Of that, Robert Mercer gave $15.5 million to Make America Number 1 and $2.5 million to the John Bolton super PAC. Robert and Diana Mercer together gave about $1.3 million to the Republican National Committee.

Theres potential for millions more: Robert Mercer earned $150 million last year, according to Forbes.

Rebekah Mercer has given roughly $510,000 this election cycle, including nearly $450,000 to the joint fundraising committee established by Trump and the RNC, a Center for Public Integrity review of campaign finance filings found.

Most of those who have received funding from the Mercers did not respond to repeated requests for comment or declined to speak on the record.

But the Mercers have clearly built one of the most significant independent political infrastructures of the moment.

Early in the 2016 election cycle, the Mercer operation emerged as a key backer of Cruzs presidential bid, and the operatives running it hit Trump hard. The Mercer-backed super PAC even gave $200,000 to an anti-Trump group, Our Principles PAC, in March.

When Cruz withdrew, the Mercer family nonetheless threw their backing to Trump  a striking show of support for the then-almost certain nominee at a time when many major GOP donors hung back.

The Mercers issued a rare public statement to The New York Times reprimanding Cruz when he declined to endorse Trump at the Republican convention in July, and now are being publicly credited with convincing the Texas senator to make the public endorsement he issued in late September.

In another statement, this one given to The Washington Post applauding Cruzs endorsement, the Mercers made their feelings about the election  and the establishment  clear.

For the first time in many decades, American voters have the chance to turn their backs on the political elite, an elite both Democrat and Republican, that has chosen as its leader Hillary Clinton, a dedicated foe of both the First and Second Amendments and the most dishonest, corrupt and incompetent politician ever to seek the American presidency, the statement said.

Even such great Americans as Mitt Romney and George Bush have stooped to endorse Mrs. Clinton rather than risk electing a president who follows the will of the people. We have long supported Senator Ted Cruz. He has waged a fearless battle against the elite throughout his career. We are delighted that he is joining us and a growing army of Americans in support of Donald J. Trump's candidacy for the presidency of the United States of America.

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Position tough to track

Rebekah Mercer, 42, an active philanthropist who lives in a Trump building on Manhattans Upper West Side, is the middle of three daughters and the director of the Mercer Family Foundation. The foundation reported giving $18.3 million in contributions and grants according to its 2014 tax filing, the most recent available.

Like her father, she rarely gives interviews or comments publicly about her philanthropy. The Stanford University-educated mother of four is nonetheless more visible and hands on. She is frequently photographed attending charity events, and reportedly consistently participates in conference calls about the super PACs day to day operations.

Because of the familys reticence to speak publicly, its difficult to determine the motives behind their giving. Stories about Robert Mercer tend to highlight the same few publicly known details: his poker playing, the $2.7 million model train in his basement that became the subject of litigation, his advocacy on behalf of the gold standard, the high-end bakery, now online only, owned by the three Mercer daughters that was featured in Vogue.

Doug Deason, a major political donor who described Rebekah Mercer as a close friend while speaking on the panel of major donors at the Texas Tribune Festival, said Robert Mercer is a very smart, thoughtful person.

Conservative lawyer Jim Bopp, the general counsel of the James Madison Center for Free Speech, which received a 2011 grant from the Mercer Family Foundation, said he heard from Robert Mercer directly only once, when he called to inquire about a nonpolitical case Bopp was involved in. (Bopp is credited with first bringing the Citizens United case, and is the lead lawyer in other efforts to overturn limits on money in politics.)

Bopp said hes also spoken to Mercers lawyer in the past about cases in which the Mercers are interested. The conversations are always just about cases, whats this case about, what are the issues, why is it important, he said.

Katie Packer, a Republican consultant, described them as philosophical givers  the Mercers are donors who give because of very specific conservative philosophies.

Packer is a former Romney deputy campaign manager who founded Our Principles PAC, the group that received $200,000 from the Mercers super PAC last March. She said they were brought in by other donors and she doesnt know them personally.

Related: Mercer connections to Kellyanne Conway

Right-wing media empire

Their philosophy has led them to invest heavily in conservative media outlets.

In addition to the reported private investment in Breitbart News, the conservative Media Research Center, a media watchdog run by longtime conservative activist Brent Bozell, received about $13.5 million in grants from the Mercer Family Foundation between 2008 and 2014, and Rebekah Mercer is a member of the groups board, tax filings and annual reports show.

According to its website, MRCs sole mission is to expose and neutralize the propaganda arm of the Left: the national news media.

The Media Research Center also runs a news service whose mission is to cover news thats ignored or under-reported as a result of media bias by omission.

Recent highlighted stories included a story on Trumps child care proposals, another on Fords decision to move small car production from the United States to Mexico and a piece on studies that found no observable sea-level effect from man-made global warming.

In 2014, the Mercer Family Foundation gave the Media Research Center $3 million, which made up nearly $1 of every $4 the group received in contributions that year.

Bozell leads a related nonprofit, ForAmerica, which describes its mission as For freedom. For prosperity. For virtue.

In addition to fighting the left, ForAmerica also asserts conservatives are under attack from the moderate wing of the Republican party and must be creative, better organized and better funded.

The group says its videos were viewed more than 21 million times in 2015. Its campaigns include advocating for new GOP leadership and criticizing President Barack Obamas response to ISIS.

The group reported on its 2014 tax filing spending more than $1.1 million on Cambridge Analyticas services for analytics and marketing.

According to audited financial statements ForAmerica filed with New York state regulators, more than 90 percent of the $5.3 million the organization received in contributions in 2014 came from a single donor, but Bozell did not respond to questions about the donors identity.

Climate change denier

The Mercer Family Foundation has also backed multiple organizations that aggressively question whether humans contribute substantially to climate change.

Most scientists do not believe human greenhouse gas emissions are a proven threat to the environment or to human well-being, despite a barrage of propaganda insisting otherwise coming from the environmental movement and echoed by its sycophants in the mainstream media, reads the website of the Heartland Institute.

The Mercer Family Foundations contributions have repeatedly made up a major percentage of Heartlands total contributions. In 2014, the Mercers gave the think tank $885,000, which amounted to 13 percent of the total amount it raised in contributions that year. Altogether, the Heartland Institute received nearly $5 million from the foundation between 2008 and 2014.

A spokesman for the Heartland Institute did not respond to a request for comment on the Heartland Institutes relationship with the Mercer family.

Related: Mercer connections to Stephen K. Bannon

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Another group, the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, received a total of $800,000 in 2013 and 2014 grants from the Mercer foundation. Ron Arnold, the executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, is also a policy advisor to the Heartland Institute. He has been quoted as saying his goal is to eradicate the environmental movement.

The money from the Mercer Family Foundation was nearly all of the money the group received in 2013, according to its tax filing  the group only reported receiving another $27,235 in contributions and grants that year.

The Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise 2014 tax filing does not reflect the $250,000 grant the Mercer Family Foundation reported giving it that year; the reason is unclear. It otherwise reported receiving a mere $28,512.96 in contributions.

The groups website appears to be currently offline. Arnold did not respond to a request for comment.

Another Mercer Family Foundation grantee, the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, is headed by a scientist who spearheaded a petition opposed to the hypothesis of human-caused global warming, according to its website.

That scientist, Art Robinson, is currently making his fourth bid as the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from Oregon currently occupied by Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat. In 2010, the first time Robinson ran against DeFazio, Robert Mercer spent roughly $600,000 via a super PAC to boost Robinson, catching DeFazio by surprise.

Sometime in October, they had to file a disclosure, and thats when it came out that it was Mercer, DeFazio said.

Self-interest

To this day, DeFazio isnt sure whether to chalk Mercers opposition up to the wealthy donors preexisting relationship with Robinsons institute or to DeFazios own promotion of a so-called transaction tax, a proposal that has the potential to cut into Renaissance Technologies earnings.

Either way, he said, Mercers continued backing of Robinson  though he has yet to spend any money on the race this cycle  has distorted the normal course of events in the district.

The district is a swing district, DeFazio said, and a more credible, less extremist Republican opponent could be a real problem. Mercers backing, though, gave Robinson an edge over other Republican contenders, he said.

Robinson did not respond to requests for comment.

During the 2012 election cycle, Mercer contributed about $440,000 to a super PAC that spent roughly the same amount boosting Robinson. In 2014, he gave $1.75 million to the Ending Spending Action Fund, which spent about $733,000 in the DeFazio/Robinson race.

A review of campaign finance filings shows no contributions by Mercer targeting the Oregon race so far this cycle, though in past years, hes contributed large sums as late as the end of October.

That doesnt mean he doesnt have any grudge matches going this year.

In July, Robert and Diana Mercer contributed $200,000 to KelliPAC, a super PAC backing Arizona state Sen. Kelli Wards Republican primary challenge to U.S. Sen. John McCain. In August, the couple dropped in another $500,000, making them, by far, the biggest contributors. Nonetheless, McCain easily beat Ward in the August primary.

In 2014, McCain helped oversee a Senate committees investigation into Renaissance Technologies tax strategies, especially one known as basket options. The committee held a hearing and issued a report, eventually concluding specific data supplied by the banks with respect to RenTec, the largest basket option user, suggests that the basket options may have been used to treat short-term capital gains as long-term capital gains, resulting in estimated tax avoidance of more than $6 billion.

The firm denied it, but the Internal Revenue Service subsequently took steps to limit the use of the strategy employed by Renaissance.

McCain himself has openly said the Mercers contributions to his opponent were revenge for the tax investigation.

We issued a scathing report about this guy evading taxes, his firm. Im sure theres no connection of a $600,000 injection into the Kelli Ward campaign, he told Politico.

A side note: In August, Cambridge Analytica popped up for the first time as a vendor to KelliPAC, which paid it $450,000.

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Anti-Hillary

In June, when Mercer repurposed his super PAC, it was billed as a vehicle for donors who wanted to oppose Clinton but werent ready to back Trump.

It would informally be known as the Defeat Crooked Hillary PAC, Bloomberg reported.

It has been slow to attract other donors, though it did in August pull in a $1 million contribution from philanthropist Cherna Moskowitz and $50,000 from Erik Prince, the former head of private security firm Blackwater.

It certainly wont be the only Mercer-backed organization to focus on anti-Clinton efforts.

Among the Mercer Family Foundations grantees: Bossies Citizens United and the Government Accountability Institute, both of which have steadfastly opposed her.

Peter Schweizer  the author of the book Clinton Cash, which examines the sources of the Clintons wealth  is president of the Government Accountability Institute, which has received at least $2 million from the foundation. Rebekah Mercer and Bannon were both members of the board as of 2014, according to tax filings, though a board listing on the groups website doesnt currently include Rebekah Mercer.

The film version of Schweizers work, also titled Clinton Cash, was in part financed by the Mercers.

It was made by a video company that uses a California address also used by other Mercer-linked companies, including Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica, as well as by Bannons company.

Defeat Crooked Hillary, of course, sounds a lot like what Trump says, so its clear the Mercers have been listening to the candidate  and the other way around, too.

The candidate who spent the primaries tweeting that big donors cannot influence Trump! appears, at least for now, to be listening pretty closely to the biggest mega-donor to line up behind him so far.

Chris Zubak-Skees and Will Fitzgibbon contributed to this story.

Versions of this story were co-published with NBC News and Newsweek.

This story is part of Buying of the President 2016. Tracking the candidates, political committees and nonprofits that are making this presidential election the most expensive in history. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.

Related stories

Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
ZURICH (Reuters) - The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate relief to 50,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean since 2007. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is seeking 6.8 million Swiss francs ($6.92 million) to help provide medical relief, shelter, water and sanitation over the next year to people affected by Hurricane Matthew in southwestern Haiti. "We are extremely concerned for the safety, health and well-being of the women, men and children who have been impacted, particularly those in remote towns and villages," IFRC's Latin Caribbean head, Ines Brill, said in a statement late on Thursday. A Reuters tally of deaths reported by local officials showed the storm killed at least 339 people in Haiti and displaced thousands as it flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods on its way through Haiti's southwestern peninsula . The Red Cross estimated more than one million people in Haiti were affected, with hundreds of thousands in need of humanitarian assistance. "Our teams in Jeremie report massive destruction in the town," Brill said of the peninsula's regional capital. "Water and electricity have been cut and the medical services are not functioning any more. Communication is very limited." The Red Cross said its response teams in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Bahamas and the United States had also been mobilized as Hurricane Matthew moved north. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, editing by Larry King)
Javed Mian, who was wanted in journalist Rajdev Ranjan murder case, surrendered today in the court in Siwan.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Javed Mian, alleged sharpshooter of don tuned politician Shahabuddin, today surrendered at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Siwan, Bihar.

Javed was wanted in journalist Rajdev Ranjan murder case and had been evading arrest for the last six months. Another sharpshooter of Shahabuddin, who is also allegedly involved in Ranjan murder, Mohd Kaif has already surrendered in the court and is currently in jail.

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Also read: Bihar: Raped schoolgirl expresses fear over release of suspended RJD leader Raj Ballabh Yadav



CBI HUNT



The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which in middle of September, formally took over the investigation in the case, was on a hunt for Javed since then. The CBI had also conducted raids and searches at his house in Siwan.

Javed was recently spotted with Shahabuddin and Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav in a photograph that went viral after which the sharpshooter had gone absconding.

Also read: Supreme Court stays Patna High Court order quashing Bihar liquor ban law



According to the police sources, both sharpshooters of Shahabuddin, Kaif and Javed, were involved in Ranjan's murder case. Soon after Javed surrendered in the court, he was sent to 14-days judicial custody.

--- ENDS ---
Donald Trump

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk's campaign fired back at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday morning after the Manhattan billionaire said Kirk was "not doing so well" in the Illinois Senate race.

Kirk's campaign manager, Kevin Artl, told Business Insider in a statement that the Illinois Republican was far outperforming Trump in the state.

"The simple fact is that the Illinois Senate race is a statistical tie and Sen. Kirk is outperforming Donald Trump by a net of 13 points," he said.

During a town-hall event on Thursday, Trump said pundits' predictions that Republican Senate candidates would be hurt by Trump's candidacy had turned out to be untrue. He then targeted Kirk, who in a rather unprecedented way earlier this year unendorsed Trump to help distance himself from the GOP nominee.

"I guess there's a gentleman in Illinois that's not doing so well," he said.

Howie Carr, a conservative radio host moderating the town hall, jumped in and said "Mark Kirk."

"This guy was actually taking out ads against me," Trump said. "I said, 'Are you sure he's a Republican? Maybe he's a Democrat?' And he's not doing well, but hey, that's his problem. I mean, you know, he was not for me. But if you look at  and he was  that was for political reasons."

Kirk is trailing Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth by 7 points in the RealClearPolitics average of several polls. A recent Emerson poll, however, found Duckworth to be leading Kirk by just 2 points  within the margin of error.

On the flip side, Trump is trailing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton  who is from the Chicago area  by 14.7 points in the RCP average. Recent polls that found Kirk trailing by 14, 2, and 5 points found Trump trailing by 25, 6, and 13 points.

Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Illinois, utilized Trump's remarks to take a swipe at Kirk in a statement to Business Insider.

"Donald Trump has proven himself totally unfit to be President, but even a broken clock is right twice a day," he said.

Story continues

Maxwell Tani contributed reporting.

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump is under fire for his comments about the Iraq War





More From Business Insider


As we continue to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, Ricky Martin and Chayanne remember their hits.

Ricky Martin

With 11 No. hits on the Hot Latin Songs since 1992, Martin's chart trajectory has traced the rise not only of his solo career but also Latin music in the United States. From his crossover hit "Livin' la Vida Loca," which ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion, to "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tu," which celebrates the personal milestones he has publicly embraced, Martin has had 11 No.1s on Hot Latin Songs. That makes him the fourth artist with more No. 1s on the chart, behind only Enrique Iglesias, Luis Miguel and Gloria Estefan.

"I still remember how I felt when I saw my name at No. 1 on the chart for the firs time. It was an amazing sense of accomplishment, tangible proof that my music was connecting with many people and all the hard work was paying off. the songs that have reached No. 1 are all milestones in my life, and when 'Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tu' also reached the top of the charts I just felt so happy, because that meant many people were sharing the same joy I've found in my children, but also taking time to think about issues of equality."

-- As told to Judy Cantor-Navas

Chyanne

In a career that has spanned the chart's 30-year history, pop heartthrob Chayanne has had nine No. 1s on the chart, including his 1987 breakout hit, "Fiesta en America", and 1998's "Dejaria Todo," which spent five weeks at No. 1.

"My first record was 'Fiesta en America' in 1987. It became my signature record in shows and on tours. It's an uptempo song, which was different, because at the time ballads always got promoted first. And because it was a rhythmic track, it helped me move onstage. 'Fiesta en America' was the song that took me through Latin America, to Brazil, Portugal, everywhere. It's the song that made me international. And later, in 1999, it was 'Salome', which took me to other places at a different time in my career. I had gold records in Sweden, in Turkey. It sold 1 million copies in Spain in a single year. One of my favorites? 'Dejaria Todo' was a marvelous record. I already had experience, I'd done several kinds of tours, I was established, I had mass recognition, enthusiasm, and it all came together with "Dejaria Todo."

-- As told to Leila Cobo


Last month, it was announced that SAG-AFTRA would be opening a screening room and educational space in New York in honor of the late and great Robin Williams. The center will offer free educational programming for more than 40,000 actors, broadcasters, and recording artists in the New York metropolitan area. To celebrate the opening to the center, many celebrities attended the event and after party, including a rare appearance by Robin Williams son, Zachary Pym Williams.

Were both blown away by the sweet and fitting tribute AND how much Zachary Pym Williams looks like his father. Check out this side by side.

They have the same eyes, the same smile, the same face shape. Its uncanny.

Obviously, a father and son WOULD look a like, but its still sweet to see. Zachary was joined by sister Zelda Williams, and they looked totally lovely at the event. Although Zachary is the spitting image of his father, we definitely see some of Robin Williams in Zelda, too.

Our hearts go out to Zachary and all of Robin Williams friends and loved ones who have certainly gone through a terribly difficult time, but hopefully the opening of this center and lovely tribute brings a little light to their lives.

The post Robin Williams son made a rare apearance and aw, he looks so much like his dad appeared first on HelloGiggles.

For more celebrity videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.
The daughter of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says she is a full-fledged Hillary Clinton supporter, despite the fact her father is a close adviser to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Caroline Rose Giuliani made it clear via social media that she supports and will vote for Clinton, posting the campaign's "H" logo as her profile picture along with a #ImWithHer campaign banner on her Facebook page.

Her father has been an outspoken critic of Clinton while out on the campaign trail with Trump.

Caroline Giuliani confirmed to Politico that the Facebook page was legit, adding, "I love Hillary, I think she's by far the most qualified candidate that we've had in a long while. My dad knows. I was for Barack in 2012. He knows and is fully comfortable with it and thinks I have a right to my opinion."

She did not immediately return a request for additional comment from The Hollywood Reporter.

Her father has made headlines for some of his remarks about Clinton and other statements in support of Trump, such as just this week when he said "everybody" commits infidelity. That happened while he appeared on NBC's Meet the Press when Giuliani was called out by host Chuck Todd about his own indiscretions while he attempted to skewer Bill Clinton for his past.

This is far from the first time Caroline Giuliani has broken away from her father's political views and party. In 2008, while her father was a GOP presidential candidate during the primary season, Caroline Giuliani made news when she posted on social media that her views were liberal and she joined a group supporting Barack Obama, according to Politico. Her page was taken down after that news spread like wildfire.

Read more: Rudy Giuliani's Brutal Sunday: Trump Is Better "Than a Woman," "Everybody" Has Infidelity Issues
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the government has decided to completely seal the India-Pakistan border by the end of 2018.

By India Today Web Desk: In the wake of heightened tension between the two countries, the government today decided to completely seal the India-Pakistan border by the end of 2018, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

"The Home Ministry has decided to completely seal India-Pak border by December 2018 and this will be monitored," Singh told reporters in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, a border town.

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ALSO READ | Khoon ki dalali: Rahul says he supports surgical strikes but slams use of Army in BJP posters



The Home Minister, however, did not explain what the complete sealing of the border between the two neighbours would imply.

Singh said the government will also start a new concept called the Border Security Grid for which inputs will be taken from all the states bordering Pakistan.

The decisions came in the wake of the rising India-Pakistan tension after the September 18 attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir and the later surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control.

Be united, believe in Army: Rajnath

Singh also slammed the politics over the Indian Army's surgical strikes. "The nation's security will never be compromised. Tension between India and Pakistan has increased, so we should be united and believe in our Army," he said.

ALSO READ | India's intended message conveyed to Islamabad through surgical strikes: Vikas Swarup



On Thursday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices



"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai (You are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is wrong}," Rahul had said.

In reply, BJP president Amit Shah today said Rahul has crossed all limits of deceny by his remarks, which also insulted the bravery of the Army.

--- ENDS ---
When it comes to seeing extra fabulous people on television, RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race is great place look. On the most recent episode, the queens of the runway showed off their fabulous ability to say fabulous things in a fabulous tone. Alaska has always loved a good confessional shoot, but when she apologized for being the best, it went to another level. "I'm sorry, I'm sure that there's some hos who would love to get me out of the way.," said the drag queen, "I would want to get me out of the way if I was up against me. Luckily I am me. Sorry bout that." It wasn't just the contestant that had some fabulously catty things to say. When Aubrey Plaza was introduced as the guest judge she said, "This is the best day of my life. I'm killing myself tomorrow." Which sounds dreadfully morose but drew a lot of laughs from everyone on set.
Photo-illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP

A group of former top national security officials and outside experts is warning that Russian intelligence agents may doctor emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee and other political groups as part of a sophisticated disinformation campaign aimed at influencing the 2016 election.

The group, including former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former White House counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke, is urging the news media to be cautious about publishing such material lest they be playing into the Russians hands.

What is taking place in the United States follows a well-known Russian playbook: First leak compelling and truthful information to gain credibility. The next step: Release fake documents that look the same, the group said in a joint public statement to be released Friday. An advance copy was provided to Yahoo News.

The statement is being released the day after DCLeaks  a mysterious, recently created pop-up website that has been linked to Russias military intelligence service  posted a cache of emails apparently hacked from the private gmail account of Capricia Marshall, a longtime Hillary Clinton aide who served as chief of State Department protocol during the time the Democratic nominee was secretary of state.

While it was not immediately clear whether the Marshall emails contained anything politically damaging, the posting was viewed with alarm inside Democratic Party circles, said two sources who are closely monitoring the Internet hacks. It was seen as the latest sign that the DCLeaks website and others believed to be receiving material from Russian intelligence, including WikiLeaks, may be planning more surprise disclosures in the last few weeks of the election campaign.

Russia Influence Warning Letter



The Russians arent coming. Theyre already here, said Tara Sonenshine, a former undersecretary for public diplomacy under Clinton and one of the organizers of the joint statement.

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The fear that more embarrassing emails may be coming is especially acute among Democratic operatives and loyalists who have become convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin favors Republican nominee Donald Trump and is attempting to help his campaign. And perhaps not surprisingly, most, if not all, of the 16 former officials and national security experts who signed the statement  including Chertoff, who served during the Bush administration  have endorsed Clinton.

(Other signers include several Obama administration alumni, such as former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Derek Chollet and former State Department counterterrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin; former Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who served as chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee; and Robert Kagan and Max Boot, two influential Republican national security commentators who are backing Clinton.)

Sonenshine insisted that the purpose of the letter was not to pressure the news media to refuse to publish leaked emails. She said it was to alert editors to the Russians history of fabrications and the need to proceed cautiously.

You cant put out a red stop sign to journalism, she said. But you can put up a yellow flag.

Sonenshine and another organizer of the letter, Ken Gude of the Center for American Progress, said there is evidence that the Russian intelligence service has fabricated or altered documents to further its political aims in Ukraine and elsewhere. And the joint statement warns such actions appear to fit into a larger strategy of using cybertools against Western democracies. Similar concerns about Russian information warfare were raised in a recent U.S. intelligence report, disclosed last week by Yahoo News, that cited the activities of Russian Internet trolls and the broadcasts of RT and Sputnik, two state-sponsored media outlets.
By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia is moving nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a tiny Russian enclave sitting between Poland and Lithuania, a U.S. intelligence official said Friday, confirming Estonian news reports. Russia's reasons for shipping the 500-kilometer-range Iskander-M missiles to Kaliningrad "could be innocuous," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They moved a similar missile system to Kaliningrad in 2014 for a military exercise. It could also be a political gesture - a show of strength - to express displeasure with NATO," said the official. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Moscow (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow is ready to support a UN plan for jihadist fighters to leave war-ravaged Aleppo, but slapped strict conditions on any rebels remaining behind.

United Nations' Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura on Thursday called on the regime and Russia to halt brutal strikes on eastern Aleppo if fighters from the former Al-Nusra Front, now known as Fateh al-Sham Front, left the city, even offering to escort them out himself.

"If Nusra leaves with its arms in the direction of Idlib, where its main forces are based, then for the sake of saving Aleppo we are ready to support such an approach and would be ready to call on the Syrian government to agree to this," Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Channel One television.

The presence of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra in rebel-held eastern Aleppo is used by Russia as the main justification for its air strikes on the besieged city in support of the Syrian ground offensive.

Despite opening up the possibility of Moscow halting its attacks, Lavrov set strict conditions for any Nusra fighters who remain behind in Aleppo -- insisting they would have to sign official documents renouncing any ties with the group.

"Then the government law enforcement structures from the police and the armed opposition could form some sort of joint law enforcement bodies," he said.

Syria government forces have made their first real gains in years into rebel-held Aleppo in the latest offensive after the collapse of a truce hammered out by the United States and Russia.

The assault on the strategically vital divided city has sparked Western accusations of possible war crimes, with de Mistura warning that east Aleppo could be "totally destroyed" by the year's end.

The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting later Friday at the request of Russia to receive a briefing from de Mistura.

Council members are also discussing a French-drafted resolution calling for a ceasefire in Aleppo.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council will vote on two rival resolutions on Syria on Saturday, one drafted by France calling for an end to air raids on Aleppo and a second by Russia that makes no mention of a halt to the bombings.

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted measure backed by the United States and Britain that also provides for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

The council will then move to a second vote on the Russian-drafted text that calls for a ceasefire but makes no specific mention of stopping the aerial bombardment of Aleppo.

British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft dismissed the Russian draft text as a political ploy.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the need to stop the bombing of Aleppo," he said.

The Russian text, obtained by AFP on Friday, "urges immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, in particular in Aleppo" and demands that all parties allow deliveries of humanitarian aid.

At least 250,000 people are living under siege in rebel-held east Aleppo, and facing almost-daily heavy bombing since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city last month.

Council members have been holding negotiations for the past week on the French proposal for an end to the bombing of Aleppo, access for aid deliveries and a ban on military flights over the city.

But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the measure was "hastily put together" and suggested it was "not designed to make progress... but to cause a Russian veto."

"I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," he told reporters when asked whether he would resort to the veto as one of the council's five permanent members.

If Russia blocks the draft, it will be Moscow's fifth veto of UN resolutions on Syria.

- Tougher on Russia ? -

The Security Council met in emergency session at Russia's request to hear UN envoy Staffan de Mistura outline proposals to allow jihadist fighters to leave Aleppo.

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The Russian-drafted text welcomes the envoy's initiative and calls on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present a detailed plan that could be endorsed by the Security Council.

A Security Council diplomat, who asked not to be named, said the Russian "resolution on the surface looks like a lot of constructive language that draws from previous resolutions and the French draft, but the key point is that it does not call for an end to the aerial bombardment."

He said the "vast majority" of council members want "an immediate end to the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Aleppo."

The decision to move to a vote followed days of shuttle diplomacy by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who traveled to Moscow and Washington to secure agreement on the draft resolution.

Ayrault, who will attend the council meeting on Saturday, said the vote will be a "moment of truth for all the members of the Security Council."

"Do you want a ceasefire in Aleppo, yes or no? And the question is in particular for our Russian partner," the foreign minister said in Washington.

European countries and the United States are shifting toward a tougher line on Russia over its actions in Syria and have suggested that sanctions could be imposed.

The United States on Friday called for Russia and Syria to be investigated for war crimes for the bombing of hospitals.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, children and women," US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Now in its sixth year with more than 300,000 dead, the war in Syria has raged on as the Security Council has been divided between Russia, which backs President Bashar al-Assad, and western powers supporting opposition rebels.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian security forces on Friday killed six militants in the republic of Ingushetia, including one fighter from Islamic State who had been planning terrorist attacks, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK) said. Special forces of the FSB security police laid siege to a private house in Ingushetia's capital Nazran, NAK said in a statement. The FSB officers persuaded them to free a child kept in the house, after which the rebels opened fire. Four militants were killed in the shoot-out. Another two rebels were killed in a special operation conducted in a rural area outside Nazran, NAK said. Those killed included a local resident who had fought in Syria and had returned to Ingushetia to resume "terrorist activity in the republic", NAK said, calling the man "an Islamic State emissary". Moscow has fought two wars with separatists in the neighboring Caucasus region of Chechnya. But its mainly Muslim North Caucasus remains volatile as widespread unemployment and corruption push some young people to embrace radical Islam. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Istanbul (AFP) - Russian warship "Mirage" on Friday passed through Istanbul's Bosphorus strait, heading to the Mediterranean to back up Russia's bombing campaign in Syria, AFP journalists reported.

The corvette, which left Russia's Sevastopol base in Crimea on Thursday, is on a mission is to protect other navy ships from other ships or submarines.

Russian marines soldiers were seen on the vessel loaded with cruise missile launchers as well as artillery, AFP journalists reported.

Mirage took part in the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia over Moscow-backed South Ossetia region.

The Russian navy used cruise missiles to strike Syria for the first time last October, launching them from the Caspian Sea, as well as in December, when they were launched from a submarine in the Mediterranean.

Dozens of Russian warships have passed through the Bosphorus Strait, northbound and southbound, especially since Moscow stepped up operations inside Syria.
By Tatsam Mukherjee: Rakesh Roshan is a Bollywood actor/director, father of actor Hrithik Roshan, and quite possibly the latest poster-boy for new-age Indian patriarchy. From making blanket declarations that the Indian audience do NOT want to see an Indian woman superhero to shaming Kangana Ranaut for the shocking truth behind her affair with Hrithik, Papa Roshan will not stop at anything to salvage Beta Roshan's sinking career as the ONLY hit superhero in Bollywood.



ALSO READ: The truth will shock everyone, Rakesh Roshan on Hrithik-Kangana tiff



ALSO READ: Rakesh Roshan blamed bad VFX for Mohenjo Daro's underwhelming performance

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For the uninitiated, Kangana Ranaut ended things rather bitterly with Hrithik Roshan. And the spat has been quite public and ugly. And for obvious reasons, Rakesh Roshan had to get down in the dirt and defend his son. Since his son will always remain a child for him. Completely understandable. So what if he's 43 years old? And has been rumoured to be a serial-cheater because of which he got divorced a couple of years ago. And from recent revelations by Tisca Chopra, Hrithik is only following in his father's footsteps.

Tisca Chopra in a freewheeling session spoke about an instance about an outdoor shoot, where this established director invited her to his room to 'discuss the script' after dinner. Being the wary newcomer and having heard horror stories of those who have earlier worked with him, she played the perfect ploy and escaped his captivity. Now all hints point towards Rakesh Roshan and her 2000-release Karobaar. So it is only fitting for Roshan senior to publicly shame Kangana Ranaut for having an affair with his son. How dare she be so open about it?

Quite similarly, Salman Khan's father and veteran screenwriter Salim Khan, has never shied away from showing his hipster ways by showing up in colourful jackets. And then defending the subjudice matters of his son. He has in fact even apologised for his son's raped woman remark. His son, a 50-year-old man and one of the biggest superstars in India. He has blasted the media for calling his son old enough to be a grandfather. He has even gone on to say that he has never really gone out and spoken out in defence of his son mauling pavement-dwellers while drunken-driving. So considerate.

This new wave of fathers protecting their superstar sons, is Bollywood's latest contribution to patriarchy in India. These fathers will denounce anyone and anything that antagonises their spoiled brats. So what if the brats are well in their 40s or 50s and paint a picture of a dutiful son for the public. It's sickening to see Rakesh Roshan losing all class to attack a bitter ex-girlfriend in his son's life. And it also brings forward another face of Bollywood men, who will do just about anything to crush anyone's voice. Especially a woman's. How dare she?

This ugly face of Bollywood is patriarchy's most dangerous form. Because, on the outset they might appear like a bunch of over-protective fathers defending their sons, when in fact they are a bunch of pseudo-liberal patriarchs who cannot stand being told what is wrong with them and even more so with their sons. Both Rakesh Roshan and Salim Khan have to be called out, or this infestation of new-age patriarchy will ensure the men of Bollywood will keep getting away with their escapades. And the women will continue to get harassed.

--- ENDS ---

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Rescue crews and organizations like the Salvation Army are preparing for the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, following its landfall in Southern Florida on Friday.

Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Director Kevin Smith joined the FOX Business Network to provide an update on their operations as the storm continues up the Florida coastline.

We are urging people still up on that Northeast part of Florida to really stay tuned to the weather, listen to the meteorologists, Smith stated. Were talking 10 miles10 miles is the difference between this thing being a catastrophic event along some of the areas its already impacted, to being a significant power outage Our teams are rolling in as we speak into each of the communities along that East Coast.

The storm surge associated with Matthew, now a Category 3 storm, is causing flooding along the coast in the Sunshine State as well as further north into the Carolinas.

As the meteorologists have said, theyre looking five to seven even possibly up to 12 feet in certain areas as this water continues to batter the coast. Several of our facilities along that line of inundation, if you will, have already started to see water rise, coming into facilities with storm water drains and stuff like that around.

Smith said many citizens have already heeded the warning to evacuate and head to safer locations, but hopes anyone still in areas of danger will leave.

The resilience of communities are the ones that had plans, Smith said. Those that knew to go to a friend and loved one that is a safe location. So dont let the trigger of the number of people in shelters be the trigger of how many people evacuated. And I think thats a positive.

He added: Were going to be getting in there with the search and rescue teams from the government and the resources that we bring in to identify those that were left behind. But we do see that a lot of people heeded the warning and we encourage those that still have time that are hearing these warnings, to take it very seriously because its not over.

Story continues

Though Smith says the organization has received a lot of support from the state and Governor Rick Scotts office, Americans can still contribute to help fund the relief efforts of the organization.

We have a capacity to feed up to 100,000 meals a day and thats our planning assumption and that has not changed. Our units will be rolling in and where its needed the most were going to be on site and people can help us financiallycall 1-800-SAL-ARMY or go to our SalvationArmyUSA.org and make a contribution to really help make us an effective response.



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SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co said it expects third-quarter operating profit rose 5.6 percent, beating estimates, as a pickup in chip and display business likely offset the impact of a global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

The world's biggest smartphone maker said on Friday in a brief regulatory filing July-September profit was likely 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with the 7.4 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of analysts' forecasts, and the 7.4 trillion won it reported a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter likely fell 5.2 percent to 49 trillion won, Samsung said.

Samsung's filing disclosed only overall numbers, giving no details of how its various businesses performed in the quarter. The company is scheduled to issue full results in late October.

(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS> said it expects third-quarter operating profit rose 5.6 percent, beating estimates, as a pickup in chip and display business likely offset the impact of a global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The world's biggest smartphone maker said on Friday in a brief regulatory filing July-September profit was likely 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with the 7.4 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of analysts' forecasts, and the 7.4 trillion won it reported a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter likely fell 5.2 percent to 49 trillion won, Samsung said. Samsung's filing disclosed only overall numbers, giving no details of how its various businesses performed in the quarter. The company is scheduled to issue full results in late October. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
By Se Young Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co expects third-quarter profit grew 5.6 percent, beating estimates, as a pickup in chip and display earnings likely offset the impact of a global smartphone recall that has roiled the tech giant.

The world's biggest smartphone maker said in a brief filing on Friday its operating profit for July-September was likely 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with the 7.4 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of analysts' forecasts. A year earlier operating profit was 7.4 trillion won.

The firm won't issue full results until late October and gave no details on the cost of recalling about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after batteries caught fire. Analysts have said the Note 7 woes - rumbling on with Wednesday reports of a smoking battery in a replacement device - could have undercut mobile earnings by at least 1 trillion won.

Revenue for the quarter likely fell 5.2 percent to 49 trillion won, the South Korean firm said, less than the Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of 51.1 trillion won.

"Obviously the Note 7 recall costs were reflected but (business) segments such as memory and OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays did well and will probably continue to do so until at least next year," said IBK Asset Management fund manager Kim Hyun-su.

Samsung's semiconductor business - the world's top memory chip maker - is thriving as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and peers boost the global market, seeking chips for new iPhones and other products launched ahead of the peak year-end sales season. Germany's Dialog Semiconductor Plc (DLGS.DE), an iPhone chip supplier, said on Thursday its revenue beat expectations.

NOTE 7 CHIP BOOST?

Ironically, the Note 7 problems could also boost Samsung's chip business. Industry executives say the sudden need for chips in 2.5 million replacement phones is exacerbating already tight memory market conditions, which could push prices higher.

Story continues

Paul Romano, chief operating officer at U.S.-based electronic component distributor Fusion Worldwide, said the firm's clients, which include Samsung, are currently having a harder time procuring memory chips. Some smartphone makers are also trying to secure more of the chips as they see an opportunity capitalize on Samsung's mis-steps and boost handset sales, Romano said.

"Sometimes this creates a seize mentality  everyone tries to manage the risk," said Romano. "Often the response is to procure new product, trying to grab what's left of a shrinking pile of supply."

Researcher TrendForce says contract prices for DRAM chips - used in temporary data usage - will rise by more than 10 percent in October-December. Demand is outpacing supply in the market for NAND chips used for long-term data storage during the third quarter, the researcher added, tipping prices to continue rising.

Samsung shares were up 0.5 percent at 1.7 million won at 0220 GMT, compared with 0.3 percent fall for the broader market. (.KS11)

The stock touched a record high of 1.716 million won on Thursday after Samsung said it was "carefully reviewing" the proposals by activist investor Elliott Management for a radical corporate makeover that would split Samsung Electronics into a holding vehicle for ownership purposes and a separate operating company.

Samsung didn't comment on Friday on how it plans to respond to the Elliott proposals.

(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
From Cosmopolitan

While watching the vice presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence on Tuesday night, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin had a startling realization: The only time in recent years where V.P. candidates have been required to stand while debating was when she took the stage to face off against Joe Biden in 2008.

At first, this observation might seem insignificant - after all, what difference does it make if the candidates are standing or sitting? But as Palin went on to explain in a Facebook post on Tuesday, the option to sit becomes a luxury when youre debating while wearing an uncomfortable pair of heels.

"How is it that the dudes lucked out and got chairs over the last 20 years of VP debates minus one?," she wrote. "Want a real test - try standing in [heels] for 90 minutes."

As Jezebel points out, the choice to have vice presidential candidates sit or stand for debates has been inconsistent over the years; and in 1992, Dan Quayle and Al Gore stood up for theirs.



Nonetheless, Palins observation feels incredibly poignant, and for many women, the complaint is extremely relatable. Given how much Hillary Clinton has been scrutinized for her appearance both during this election and throughout her entire career, the whole thing is just another reminder of how women are continuously held to different standards than their male counterparts - and how were totally crushing it anyways.



As the great writer, actress, SNL legend, and former Palin impersonator Tina Fey once said, "Bitches get stuff done."

Follow Gina on Twitter.



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SEOUL (Reuters) - An increase in activity at North Korea's nuclear test site could signal preparations for a new test or a collection of data from its last one, a U.S.-based monitoring group said on Friday. The 38 North group, run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said satellite images showed activity at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel. "One possible reason for this activity is to collect data on the Sept. 9 test, although other purposes cannot be ruled out, such as sealing the portal or other preparations related to a new test," the group said. North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test on Sept. 9 and South Korea has said it believes the north is ready to conduct another nuclear test at any time. There has been speculation that Pyongyang could mark the Oct. 10 anniversary of the founding of its Workers' Party with a sixth detonation. A study published on Friday by a U.S.-based North Korea research project said North Korean missile and nuclear tests, and other major "provocations", had clustered increasingly closer to U.S. elections. The study from Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies said the pattern based on looking at 30 U.S. elections since 1956 suggested a North Korean action as early as a month before the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. This could mean a test coinciding with the Oct.10 anniversary. The trend also suggested the possibility of an act during the December transition period for the next U.S. administration. North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and has since defied U.N. sanctions to press ahead with the development of the weapons and missiles to carry them, which it says it needs for defence. In January, it conducted its fourth nuclear test and the fifth was carried out on the anniversary of the nation's founding. South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a briefing there were no particular indications of a plan for a nuclear test on Oct. 10. However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying that activity at North Korea's rocket launch station near the west coast could be preparations for a long-range missile launch. Japan said the possibility of further "provocative action" by North Korea could not be ruled out. "The government is taking all possible measures in gathering information, exercising vigilance and taking surveillance activities to be able to respond to any situations," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference. (Reporting by Jack Kim and Ju-min Park in Seoul and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish)
If the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, better known as Saudi Aramco, can get its ducks in a row, we may see a 2018 initial public offering (IPO) that would create the most valuable public company in the world. The most recent figure being considered is an IPO of about 5% of Saudi Aramco, valuing the resulting publicly traded company at around $2 trillion.

Before that happens, however, Saudi Aramco has to get its books sorted out so that it has something to show potential investors that meets the requirements for financial transparency. According to a report at the Financial Times, the company is working with JPMorgan to do just that.

ALSO READ: 37 Countries the US Government Doesn't Want You to Visit

The Financial Times wisely notes: "Crucial to valuing Saudi Aramco will be its dividend policy for shareholders, and how much it pays in taxes and royalties to the state." In other words, once the state creams off its share, how much is left over for investors? That's a reasonable question because the whole reason for the IPO is to diversify the country's economy and use the cash generated by the IPO to begin that process.

Saudi Arabia currently controls the country's crude oil reserves, generally estimated at around 268 billion barrels, and as of June, the country's oil minister said that the state would not relinquish control over either output targets or production capacity. That means that the publicly traded company could effectively be a contractor for the Saudi government, and likely be compensated in the same way as any other contractor. That's just our guess, but until we hear differently, it's not a bad one.

Getting Saudi Aramco's books in shape for an IPO is focused on being able to report 2017 financial results in compliance with international standards. The company also plans to show potential investors accounts for 2015 and 2016 according to the same standard, most likely the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

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A fund manager told the Financial Times:

The market will be cautious unless the information provided is in line with international [financial] reporting standards. There is a risk that the headline excitement will give way to an opaque and frustrating reality.

When and if the IPO happens, shares are expected to trade in Riyadh on the Saudi Tadawul exchange and at least one other exchange. New York may be out of the running thanks to the recent congressional vote permitting families of 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom for its alleged support of the terrorists who made the attacks. Because nearly two-thirds of Saudi oil is sold to Far East customers, a listing in Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Tokyo may be more likely.

ALSO READ: Big Pharma and Top Biotechs Highlight Jefferies Stocks to Buy Now

Will an IPO get done? Investment bankers need to believe (or at least behave as if) it will happen in order not to get left out if it actually does (see Pascal's wager). That means Saudi Aramco needs to provide credible financial statements, an audited estimate of its oil reserves and an outline of how the public company would be run. The Financial Times offers some advice on how investors can get what they need:

Financiers know they are dealing here with princes, not biddable industrialists from Akron or Aberdeen. Wise courtiers do not instruct or suggest. They drop hints. Publication of Aramco accounts would give them an opportunity to do so.

Related Articles
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The Supreme Court today sought the response of suspended RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav, who is facing trial in a case for allegedly raping a minor girl, on a plea by the Nitish Kumar government challenging his bail granted by the Patna High Court.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana issued notice to Yadav asking him to file his response by October 17, the next date of hearing.

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Bihar government counsel Gopal Singh urged the bench to stay the high court order and said the statement of the alleged victim was being recorded in the trial court.

However, the bench refused to stay the order and said "we have issued the notice without even asking you".

Singh had said that Patna High Court had erred in granting bail to Yadav in a heinous case like this.

Yadav had allegedly raped the minor girl at his residence in Biharsharif on February 6 this year. After evading arrest for considerable time, he surrendered after a local court issue proclamation notice and an order to attach his properties for not surrendering before the police.

The Bihar Police, in its charge sheet, has also named a woman and her relatives as accused on the ground that they had been allegedly supplying women to the suspended RJD MLA representing Nawada Assembly constituency.

The RJD suspended Yadav from the party on February 14, a day after his arrest warrant was issued.

The grant of bail to Yadav created a furore in the state as opposition parties led by BJP accused the Nitish government of facilitating the relief.

The state government had come under severe criticism recently after RJD leaders like Yadav and Shahabuddin managed to get bail from the High Court in separate cases. PTI SKV ABA MNL RKS ARC

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Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f237610%2fvoyage-of-time-the-imax-experience-vot_europa_rgb

There were always hints of Terrence Malick's obsession with nature in his movies.

In 1973's Badlands, it was lingering shots of the Montana wilderness; when Tree of Life came out in 2011, between scenes of Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain, it was shots of dinosaurs and astronomical phenomena.

SEE ALSO: This '100 greatest films of the 21st century' list is really dividing people

With Voyage of Time, out on Oct. 7, Malick ditched the traditional narrative and decided he was simply going to tell a visual history of the universe and life on Earth.

Easy, right?

To do that, he enlisted the help of a group of scientific advisers.

"He wanted it to be accurate," Dr. Andrew Knoll, a professor of natural history at Harvard University, told Mashable.

Knoll was first approached by Malick about advising for the film around 20 years ago. While eating in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he realized that this wasn't going to be some PBS special.

"It was only until about halfway through lunch when I realized, 'This is the guy who made Badlands. This is a guy who has some directorial chops.'"

Then, the Oscar-nominated director moved onto other projects, before contacting Knoll again around six years ago.

Knoll and other scientists would get copies of the script and give feedback. For the visuals, Malick filmed erupting volcanoes, used NASA footage, created CGI creatures, and more to create a 45-minute film about, well, existence.

It features plenty of Malick's trademark philosophical musings, here spoken by Brad Pitt. (A 90-minute version, narrated by Cate Blanchett, is coming out next year.)

"There are a lot of fairly abstract, philosophical parts of it, and yet, he wanted that philosophical take on our history to be scientifically accurate," Knoll said.

This kind of science film  aesthetically and narratively adventurous, not afraid to be vague or leave questions unanswered  puts it into a cinematic category of its own.

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"There are lots of PBS and BBC and National Geographic science documentaries, and those are fine, they have their place, but this is not one of them," Dr. Lee Smolin, theoretical physicist and author of Time Reborn and The Life of the Cosmos, told Mashable. "I dont think it should be called a documentary  its a spiritual experience."

Smolin also consulted on the film. He thinks the philosophical tone of Voyage of Time makes it a "useful and important" film  especially for science.

While religions and spiritual traditions can tell complete, reassuring stories that stay consistent over time, scientific studies are always contradicting each other, leading to an evolving  and sometimes confusing  narrative that can discourage people from looking to science for answers to life's big questions.

"I think its partly because of the bad way science is taught in schools, as simply a collection of facts, and you, the student, are meant to memorize and regurgitate facts," Smolin said.

"Whats never taught is science as a cultural tradition, which arose out of peoples curiosity. Science is part of the history of civilization. Its a very human process, and its ongoing, and its very far from finished, and I dont think there is anything about nature or the scientific process that suggests it will ever have an end."

Both scientific advisers who talked to Mashable stressed the role art has in moving science forward.

"I think of this film as a step in an ongoing dialogue between artists and scientists in which we tell the story of the universe," Smolin said.

That includes dramatic shots of the birth of the universe. It also includes more intimate moments.

In one scene, an early human stops on the savanna and recognizes his face in a pool of water.

As Knoll notes, other animals  such as chimpanzees and dolphins  can pass the so-called "mirror test," a sign of at least a minimal level of self-awareness.

"What really separates humans is the theme of the movie," he said. "Were the one species that is not only self-aware, but can actually recognize and ruminate on the fact that its the product of 14 billion years of history."
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2016 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers of the Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation ("Booz Allen" or the "Company") (BAH). Such investors are advised to contact Peretz Bronstein or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz at info@bgandg.com or 212-697-6484.

The investigation concerns whether Booz Allen and certain of its officers and/or directors have violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

On October 5, 2016, a criminal complaint against former Booz Allen employee Harold T. Martin III, a private contractor assigned to a U.S. government office, was unsealed. The criminal complaint revealed that Martin was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") on charges of theft of government property and unlawful removal or retention of classified documents. The affidavit supporting the criminal complaint application stated that on August 27, 2016, FBI agents searched Martin's residence and vehicle and located several hard copy documents and terabytes of highly classified government information, including top secret and sensitive compartmented information. Following this news, Booz Allen stock dropped $1.19 per share, or 3.78%, to close at $30.31 on October 5, 2016.

If you are aware of any facts relating to this investigation, or if you purchased shares of Booz Allen, you can assist this investigation by visiting the firm's site: http://www.bgandg.com/bah or by contacting Peretz Bronstein or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484 or via email info@bgandg.com. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, email and telephone number.

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firm's expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

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Contact:

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz

212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com

SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
Shia LaBeouf is staging another performance-art piece.

The American Honey actor, who has been known to stage bizarre performances, is teaming up with artists Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner (collectively known as Campaign Book) to take part in the first-ever BingeFest, a 24-hour pop culture event being held at Australia's Sydney Opera House, reports Art Net magazine. The celebration will run from Dec. 17-18.

According to the BingeFest website, the event is "a festival of television, performance art, podcast trailblazers, video game battles and internet lols." The site doesn't specify what the trio will be doing, saying only that their set starts Sunday and goes from midnight until 6 a.m. But given the theme, LaBeouf should have no issues art binging.

Read more: Shia LaBeouf Dozes Off During His Own Performance Art Piece

In November, the Transformers star organized a performance-art piece titled #ALLMYMOVIES, in which he watched his own movies consecutively in reverse chronological order for 72 hours at the Angelika Film Center in New York. He even took a nap at one point.

In 2014, he held an exhibition titled #IAmSorry. The public performance invited guests to tell him anything they wanted as he sat in a room with a paper bag over his head. That followed his red-carpet appearance at the Berlin Film Festival, where he wore a paper bag on his head, declaring, "I am not famous anymore."

The actor will also be joined by Community creator Dan Harmon and Serial podcast executive producer Julie Snyder at BingeFest.

But if you can't head Down Under to catch LaBeouf in December, you can always check out his latest film project, American Honey, in theaters now. He stars alongside Riley Keough and newcomer Sasha Lane.

Read more: Shia LaBeouf Launches Bizarre Public Performance Art Piece
BREAKING: More than 40 women and a few men held a candlelight vigil tonight outside the ArcLight theater in Hollywood to support the alleged rape victim at the center of the controversy surrounding The Birth of a Nations director Nate Parker and co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin. The protesters, who sat in total silence, were demonstrating to bring attention to the alleged victim who 17 years ago accused the two men of raping her while she lay unconscious; the incident in question took place when they were all students at Penn State. Many years later, the woman committed suicide.

Parker was acquitted at the end of a 2001 trial, and Celestins conviction for sexual assault was later overturned; the case was never retried. The protest in Hollywood was organized by the Fvck Rape Culture organization.

The events organizer, Elyse Cizek, broke her silence after an hour to address the group sitting quietly with her, saying, Im so appreciative of all of you being here. Hopefully, it will not go unnoticed.

In a press release issued earlier in the week by Cizek, she stated the reason for the protest: Nate Parker has the platform at this time to speak to his brothers on how to listen to us, respect our boundaries and rights as women, and lead the conversation on consent. When this happens, when he is willing to listen before silencing us, and when he can join the dialogue on what can be done to advance the voices of women everywhere silenced by rape culture and toxic masculinity, I will be his greatest support. Until then I will not stand for it. Instead I will sit, in quiet solidarity, with those in need of a moment of silence for the lives and stories ignored by those who care more about the appearance of change than the responsibility of creating it.

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'The Birth Of A Nation' Review: Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion Loses Some Power In Flawed Movie Treatment

Hurricane Matthew Forces Several Southeast Coastal Theaters To Close: Regal, Cinemark, Cobb, AMC - Update
Chinese visitors average stay is further shortened to just 3 days.

Singapore hoteliers wide smiles and open arms seemed to be not working their charm for Chinese tourists, as their average length of stay (ALOS) has deteriorated rapidly since its peak of 4.4 days in 2014.

In a UOB Kay Hian report, analyst Derek Chang said ALOS for Chinese tourist has declined 24% to around 3 days, with overall ALOS for all tourists sinking 6.7%.

"This might well be explained by increased Chinese land travel to Singapore from Malaysia, propelling overall Chinese arrival growth," Chang noted.

The report pointed out that the proportion of Chinese land travel to Singapore has risen from a low of 15.7% in 2014 to year-to-date high of 25.2% in 7M16.

More so, majority of Chinese tourists have tighter purse strings. Chinese per capita expenditure on hotels fell 5% YoY to $211 in 1Q16. This is 40% lower compared to the peak of $352 in 2014.

Chang said this could help explain the increased cross-border travels, with nearby Johor Bahru likely appealing to tour groups which have more restricted spending plans.

"Our channel checks suggest these visitors came in tour groups and are usually budget-conscious on accommodation. Singapore hospitality REITs also largely do not cater to such tour groups as they operate in the mid- and upper-tier segments," he said.







More From Singapore Business Review


The war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the surgical strikes continued today with senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back at Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

By Brijesh Pandey: The war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the surgical strikes continued today with senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back at Congress leader Kapil Sibal where he said, "What does Congress mean by saying BJP created JeM " after Sibal accused the saffron party of creating terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) by releasing Masood Azhar during the Kandahar standoff in 1999.

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Also Read: Modi is doing 'khoon ki dalaali': Rahul's scathing attack on PM



HIGHLIGHTS

I am starting this presser with pain. The kind of language used by Congress is shamefull, regrettable and full of venom. We can't expect more from Kapil Sibbal: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Congress defending Rahul Gandhi is more important than defending the country: Ravi Shankar Prasad

I thought Congress being reduced to 44, they would understand but from zero loss theory they have come to this: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Even Congress men are troubled with what Rahul has said. I thought that they will teach them something: Ravi Shankar Prasad

I am happy that 1965 war was discussed because Lal Bahadur Shashtri is pretty low on their importance: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Irresponsible comments of Rahul Gandhi are regrettable and with the 'khoon ki dalaali' comment, the Congress has crossed all limits of decency: Ravi Shankar Prasad

This is not the first time. In JNU where seditious slogans were raised, Rahul went there and didn't say a word. Yesterday he said 'khoon ki dalali'. It seems he has not learnt his lesson because of 'maut ka saudager': Ravi Shankar Prasad

What is the message that the Congress is sending to the country. Under what influence are they calling our President criminal: Ravi Shankar Prasad

I want to ask Kapil Sibbal what he has to say about the cheating case against President and Vice president. Does this behove a national party: Ravi Shankar Prasad



Also Read:

BJP created Jaish-e-Mohammad by releasing Masood Azhar: Congress



Lt General Shekatkar slams Rahul Gandhi for 'Khoon Ki Dalali' remark against Modi



Rahul's remarks on PM Modi should be measured and dignified, says Ram Vilas Paswan



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The North Korea problem. The Obama administration been quietly debating whether to trigger harsh sanctions against North Korea that would target Chinese companies doing business with the hermit regime, in a crackdown like the one that crippled Irans economy, Foreign Policys Dan De Luce has learned.

Officials working on the matter tell De Luce that the approach would be similar to the sweeping secondary sanctions that were slapped on global banks handling transactions with IranBut a decision to go after Chinese banks and trading companies that deal with Pyongyang could rupture Washingtons relations with Beijing, which bristles at any unilateral sanctions imposed on its companies or drastic action that could cause instability in neighboring North Korea.

Russian Threats. The Russian Ministry of Defense warned Washington on Thursday that any strike on Syrian regime forces would be considered a strike on Russian troops stationed in the country, FPs Paul McLeary reports. Armed with two recently shipped surface-to-air missile batteries, Russian troops in Syria will make sure any attacking forces will face a disappointing reality, Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. The Pentagon has reacted cooly to the threats, with U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. John J. Thomas telling FP that while he wouldnt comment specifically on the latest statements from Moscow, we look at actions, were interested in why theyre moving some of these system in, theres not really an air force there to defend against other than aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition.

Kunduz, redux. One year ago this week, an American gunship strafed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 42 patients and staff. The strike came while U.S. Special Operations Forces were fighting off a Taliban takeover of parts of the city alongside Afghan troops. Almost as if to mark the grim anniversary, the Taliban are back, and Afghan troops  backed by Americans  are again fighting house to house for control of the city.

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Andrew Quilty captured some of the first photographs of the destroyed hospital and charred bodies for FP last year, and he went back to Kunduz recently to interview the survivors, only to be caught up in the new fighting. His report, and his new pictures, are a must read as a signpost of where the country is, 15 years after the Taliban was toppled.

Tangled Web. The forces arrayed against the regime of Syrian President Bashir al Assad are a complex network of moderate and Islamist forces who form alliances and half-truces when it suits their purposes, and break apart just as quickly. But as the New York Times reminds us, the forces fighting for the regime are no less complicated. There are Iraqi Shiite militiamen cheering for clerics who liken the enemy to foes from seventh-century battles, Anne Barnard writes. But there are also Iranian Revolutionary Guards fighting on behalf of a Shiite theocracy. There are Afghan refugees hoping to gain citizenship in Iran, and Hezbollah militants whose leaders have long vowed to fight wherever needed.

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

South China Sea

Indonesia is the latest country to strut its martial stuff on the South China Sea dance floor, carrying out military exercises near territory claimed by China. Indonesian officials made no secret of the message the exercises carried, telling Reuters that the show was aimed at an audience in Beijing. Indonesia has clashed with China over fishing rights near the Natuna islands, which China doesnt claim but does assert a traditional prerogative for fishing rights.

Spy wars

Is a humanitarian relief center or the cover for a Russian listening post? The AP reports on whispers about a Russian-Serbian relief center run by Russias Ministry for Emergency Situations and the Serbian government. Anonymous non-governmental organization workers and analysts claim the center is actually Russias first post-Cold War spy base in Europe but so far theres little evidence to back up the claim. NATO officials havent weighed in conclusively on the subject and the Russians flatly reject the accusations, offering a tour of the facility to the wire service.

The Justice Department says two Russian citizens and an American arrested today were conspiring to smuggle export-controlled microelectronics to Russia for use in weapons systems. At least some of the systems the men are accused of seeking made it to Russia without notification to or the approval of the Department of Commerce, according to the Justice, including included sensitive integrated circuits used in missiles and radar systems. The three men, arrested on Thursday, worked out of a firm based in Brooklyn, New York.

Syria

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura says eastern Aleppo will be totally destroyed within two months if the fighting continues at the current rate. Mistura said the estimated 900 fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fateh al-Sham should leave in order to spare the remaining 275,000 residents of the city from the Russian and Assad regime assault. In a dramatic move, Mistura offered to travel to Aleppo to escort them, saying I am personally ready to physically accompany you.

Africa

The Islamic State and al Qaeda have been locked in a war for the hearts, minds, and allegiances of Islamist militant groups throughout the Middle East ever since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi broke up with Ayman al-Zawahiri and struck out on his own. Now, the Guardian reports, the often violent competition for influence is taking hold in sub-saharan Africa. So far, the Islamic State has only had a small footprint outside of Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in early 2015. The al Qaeda-aligned Shabaab group in Somalia has been cracking down on the Islamic State-curious dissidents within its ranks and a new group has appeared in Burkina Faso calling itself the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, looking to challenge al Qaeda in the Maghreb.

Afghanistan

The United States is a pretty popular place for Afghan soldiers to go AWOL. Forty-five members of the Afghan National Army have shirked duty and disappeared into America over the past two years. The troops came to the country as part of the Defense Departments effort to train up the Afghan military and are screened for security risks. Nonetheless, the Pentagon says it will be changing the eligibility criteria for training in the U.S. to reduce the chances of more troops going AWOL.

Army

Defense Secretary Ash Carter abruptly fired his assistant, Army Maj. Gen. Ronald Lewis, in November 2015 and now were finding out why. At the time, Carter only made reference to unspecified allegations of misconduct but an Inspector Generals report released on Thursday accused Lewis of patronizing strip clubs with a Defense Department credit card. The allegations stem from trips Lewis took to Seoul, South Korea and Rome, Italy, where the Army general was said to have swiped his Pentagon credit card to pay hefty tabs., one as high as $1,800. Investigators also accused him of drinking to excess in public and improper interactions with females.

Photo credit: KNS/AFP/Getty Images
On Oct 4, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Colorado-based SM Energy Company SM.



We expect the companys attractive oil and gas investments, balanced and diverse portfolio of proved reserves and development drilling opportunities to create long-term value for shareholders. We view SM Energy as one of the most attractive players in the exploration and production space.



Given the companys increasing focus on oil, specifically in the Permian and Rocky Mountain regions, we believe that SM Energy will be able to boost its oil-weighted activity. Additionally, the company has meaningful leasehold positions of the leading U.S. shale plays like the Bakken, Niobrara, Haynesville, and Granite Wash. We expect the companys holdings in these shale plays to provide it with many years of profitable drilling inventory. Growth drivers include the South Texas Eagle Ford Shale and Rockies Williston Basin Bakken/Three Forks shales.



SM Energy has been able to lower its per unit cash operating costs and continues to improve drilling as well as reduce capital expenditure  an impressive achievement amid the low price scenario.



Eagle Ford will likely accelerate growth because of additional takeaway and the company also remains proactive in its Permian play. The inclusion of additional acreage to its holding in the Permian play (through the recent Rock Oil acquisition) validates the potential of the basin. Moreover, the leasehold expansion in New Ventures, along with acreage additions in its East Texas and the Powder River Basin, contributed to production growth.



SM ENERGY CO Price and Consensus

SM ENERGY CO Price and Consensus | SM ENERGY CO Quote

However, SM Energy is a firm in the upstream energy space and hence, is adversely impacted by weak commodity prices. The company anticipates a substantial decline in the number of operating rigs in 2016, which in turn, would result in reduced production. Moreover, cuts in its capital spending could hurt production volumes.



Though SM Energy holds considerable acreage in the Williston Basin, most of its holdings lie in the region having low yield. Thus, its results will likely lag its peers who have acreage in the core region of the Bakken.



Oil and gas companies like SM Energy need to explore and find economic reserves to stay competitive in this space. If a company fails to add commercially viable oil and gas reserves or properly market production, its financial condition and results of operations may be affected.



Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider



Currently, SM Energy carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some better-ranked players from the energy sector include Enviva Partners, LP EVA, NGL Energy Partners NGL and Evolution Petroleum Corp. EPM. All of these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Enviva Partners posted a positive earnings surprise of 20.51% in the preceding quarter.



NGL Energy Partners has a mixed earnings surprise history. The partnership posted positive earnings surprise in two of the last four quarters. It reported a positive earnings surprise of 1480.0% in the preceding quarter.



In the last reported quarter, Evolution Petroleum Corp. delivered a positive earnings surprise of 350.00%. Coming to the earnings surprise history, the company beat estimates in two of the last four quarters.



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Its no secret were all addicted to smartphones. U.S. users check their phones at least 17 times a day. In countries like Thailand, Argentina, Mexico and South Africa, that average jumps to a staggering 40 times. And yet, as we text, snap selfies and post to social media, we probably dont give much thought to how our precious devices are made. Did you know, for example, that smartphones, computers and tablets contain four minerals that have contributed to some of the worlds worst atrocities?

For more than two decades, the vast, resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo has been the site of what has been called the deadliest war since World War II. It is fueled largely by conflict minerals  tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, known as the 3TG. These are crucial for the production of electronics and found in abundance in Congo, where armed groups use them to fund violent activities.

This ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of more than 5 million Congolese and displaced millions more. Sexual violence is also used by rebels and the Congolese army to demoralize, intimidate and control communities; as a result, Eastern Congo, where the mines are located, has been described as the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman. Smuggling is also rampant. With the rebels in control of the borders, its not exactly difficult to shift minerals to neighbors Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. From there they can be shipped to Asian countries  such as China, India and Indonesia  where many electronics companies base their factories.

International attention on the issue of conflict minerals has been growing, notes Christopher Bayer, a principal investigator at Development International. Bayer, who has extensively researched conflict minerals, points to the signing of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 as a turning point. The act requires companies using 3TG minerals to verify their source. And if theyre from Congo? Their supply chain undergoes a thorough review to determine if the companys mineral purchases are funding armed groups. A few top tech companies are leading the charge here. Intel, which began its work on conflict minerals back in 2008, introduced the worlds first conflict-free microprocessors in 2014. Their current goal: to have their full supply chain validated as conflict-free in 2016.

Up from two in 2010, there are currently 236 smelters and refiners globally that are compliant to the Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP) protocol.

The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) is also helping. Their independent third-party audit of management systems and sourcing practices helps multinational companies like Intel receive proper guidance when selecting minerals within specific supply chains, explains Leah Butler, program director of CFSI.

The regulatory framework has been a major step forward. Miners who meet certain standards are now registered with permits  and are being compensated more fairly, as opposed to the $1 to $2 daily wage that they used to be paid in conflict zones. Child labor and the exploitation of women are prohibited, and illegal taxes are banned. Centers have been opened near the mines to thwart militarization.

So there is hope, but the industry is nowhere near where it needs to be, Bayer explains, with thousands of companies not even close to complying with the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act. Theres no silver bullet to solve the issue of conflict minerals in Congo, says Bayer. But the average consumer can help by demanding conflict-free products and buying from companies that can account for the sources of their products. Mindful consumption and awareness can go a long way, Bayer adds.

So while we always know whats in our phones  the photos, contacts, apps  we need to know whats really in our phones.

Related Articles
A dozen jurors will no longer have to choose between iconic rapper Snoop Dogg and popular beermaker Pabst Brewing Company, as the rapper and brewer have settled their dispute just three weeks before trial was set to begin.

Snoop sued Pabst in 2015, claiming his endorsement deal for Blast by Colt 45 entitled him to a share of profits if the brand were sold but, when that happened, the company didn't pay up. According to his complaint, in the fall of 2014, Pabst was sold to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, a joint venture of Eugene Kashper and a private equity firm, for a reported $700 million. Pabsts' attorneys argued that wasn't technically a sale, but rather a change in the stock ownership of the brewer's parent company.

In August, Snoop's suit cleared the last major hurdle before trial when judge Malcolm H. Mackey denied Pabst's motion for summary judgment in its entirety.

Snoop's attorney Alex Weingarten sent The Hollywood Reporter a brief statement on Friday: "We are pleased that the parties were able to reach agreement and resolve this matter amicably."

Pabst attorney Richard Kendall has not yet commented on the settlement, and the exact details of the deal have not been released.

Read more: Quincy Jones' Royalty Trial Delayed Because of Sony Music Conflict
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Constitutional Court has told the state prosecutor it cannot appeal a ruling to reinstate corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma, another setback for the embattled leader. The High Court in April ordered a review of a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decision to set aside hundreds of corruption charges against Zuma, calling it "irrational". That decision allowed Zuma to run for president in 2009. The High Court has already refused the NPA's attempt to appeal that ruling. After that, the NPA approached the Constitutional Court while Zuma went to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which is yet to rule on the matter. "The Constitutional Court has considered this application for leave to appeal. It has concluded that it is not in the interest of justice for this court to hear the matter at this stage," the court said in an order dated Sept. 28. "The application for leave to appeal is dismissed." NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said the court was mindful of the fact that Zuma had petitioned the SCA on the same matter. "The matter at the SCA is still pending, so with that in mind they cannot adjudicate on a matter that can come back to them," Mfaku said. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said the appeals were attempts by the NPA and Zuma to delay him having his day in court. "The DA has argued that there are no reasonable prospects of success nor are there any other compelling reasons why the appeal should be heard," it said in a statement. The scandals swirling around Zuma contributed to the worst election showing by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in local polls in August, intensifying calls for his resignation. The prospect of Zuma's corruption charges being reinstated follows a damning constitutional court judgment against him in March. The court said he breached the constitution by refusing to refund some of the 240 million rand ($17 million) of state money spent on refurbishing his private residence. Zuma has since repaid some of the money. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Ed Cropley)
By Andrew R.C. Marshall and John Chalmers MANILA (Reuters) - There are two versions of how Manila pedicab driver Neptali Celestino died. According to Philippines police, he shot at plainclothes officers during a sting operation on Sept. 12, and they returned fire. His family says police burst into their ramshackle home, cornered an unarmed Celestino and shot him in front of his teenage sons. Whatever the case, Celestino's days seem to have been numbered. His name had appeared on a police "watch list" of drug suspects drawn up with the help of community leaders and other people who lived alongside him in Palatiw, a frenetic, traffic-choked area on the eastern side of the nation's capital. The local officials who help cops draw up these lists are foot soldiers in a war on drugs that has led to the killing of more than 3,600 people since President Rodrigo Duterte took office on June 30. Most of the 1,377 people shot by the police had appeared on the lists, according to national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa. It was unclear how many of the remaining 2,275 victims, who human rights activists suspect were mostly killed by vigilantes, were on the lists. The campaign draws its momentum from President Duterte: Last Friday, he seemed to compare himself to Hitler and said he would be "happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts in the Philippines. But the campaign's efficiency depends on the lowliest officials in the country's barangays - its districts and villages. "They are on the forefront of this fight," Dela Rosa told Reuters. "They can identify the drug users and pushers in their barangays. They know everyone." MOTORBIKE-RIDING ASSASSINS Interviews with local police, residents and barangay officials reveal the mechanics of an anti-drugs crusade that the popular Duterte has vowed to wage until next June in the face of global condemnation. Barangay leaders, known as "captains", have been instrumental in drawing up the lists, say police. Maricar Asilo Vivero is the captain of Pinagbuhatan, a Manila barangay with about 145,000 people, and says she is an enthusiastic supporter of Duterte's campaign. "The war on drugs is good," she said. "It lowers crime. It identifies those who want to change." The night before, said Vivero, motorbike-riding assassins killed two men who had been named as pushers on the barangay's watch list. Vivero said she sympathized with the victims' families but didn't feel responsible for the deaths. People weren't included on the watch list with "the objective of killing them, or asking the police or authorities to kill them," she said. "Our objective is to guide them, to direct their lives to the better - not to kill." Asked if people named on the watch list were more likely to get killed, Vivero replied: "No, I don't think so." There were 323 suspected users and dealers on Pinagbuhatan's watch list, according to a computer print-out seen by Reuters. It had been swelled by people who had gone to the barangay office to admit to police they were users, a process known as "surrendering". OFTEN A FAMILY AFFAIR The origins of the barangay system predate the arrival of Spanish colonisers in the 16th century. In Manila, a barangay can consist of just two densely populated streets; in the countryside, it can sprawl for miles. Each has a barangay captain and six kagawad, or councillors, who are elected in polls often dogged by allegations of corruption. And as with more senior posts in the Philippines, the barangay captaincy often passes between members of the same family. The barangay office sits at the heart of the community and, on any given day, its hallways are clogged with people seeking so-called "clearances." These are certificates, signed by the captain, for people needing to establish residency, set up a business, apply for a job or enroll a child at a local school. Barangay captains routinely attend the weddings, baptisms and funerals of constituents, and even victims of serious crimes will sometimes report to them first rather than the police. "They trust us more and get an immediate response," said Eriberto Guevarra, who for 11 years was captain of Palatiw. His wife Dinah now occupies the position, while Eriberto works at her side as a self-styled "peace and order czar". "DRUG PERSONALITIES" The Barangay Anti-Drug Action Committees (BADACs) play a key role in helping the police identify alleged drug dealers and users in each district. Each BADAC's 6-10 members are chosen by the barangay captain, who also chairs the committee. They might be teachers, church workers, youth leaders or members of other civil society groups. Each BADAC provides the names of what police term "drug personalities", meaning suspected users or dealers, most of them small-time. Police say they then "validate" these names in consultation with national anti-narcotics and intelligence officials. They also add names of their own. First created by the government in 1998, BADACs were meant to convene every month, but for years many did little or existed only on paper. Duterte not only revived the BADACs, he made them the lynchpin of his war on drugs. Duterte pioneered the nationwide campaign in the southern city of Davao, where he was mayor for 22 years. There, barangay leaders and police compiled similar lists that were used by death squads to assassinate hundreds of alleged drug dealers, petty criminals and street children, said Human Rights Watch in a 2009 report. Duterte denied any involvement in the killings. "A GRUDGE AND A GUN" Officials say the watch lists are not arbitrary hit lists. Metro Manila's list of 11,700 users and dealers has been "validated and revalidated by intelligence", said Kimberley Molitas, police spokeswoman for a region that has seen more than a quarter of the drug-war deaths. Human rights monitors and some officials counter that the process is open to abuse. Lists have included the names of people "who are not even drug users, never mind pushers," said Karen Gomez-Dumpit, a commissioner at the Philippines' Commission on Human Rights. "It's an environment conducive to someone with a grudge and a gun to hunt you down," she said. In one high-profile case, the bullet-riddled body of Mark Culata was found in Cavite, a province south of Manila, on Sept. 9. It bore a placard identifying him as a drug dealer. Culata's mother Eva told local media that her 27-year-old son had nothing to do with drugs and had been heading overseas to start a job. Police told Reuters in a statement that investigators were considering the "illegal drug trade and love triangle" as a possible motive. Four officers involved in the case have been moved to administrative positions pending an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippines equivalent of the FBI. Culata's death was raised as a possible extrajudicial killing in a Philippines Senate hearing on Oct. 3. Police told Reuters that watch lists are confidential. But so-called "knock and plead" operations, in which police visit drug suspects at their homes and urge them to mend their ways, means inclusion on a list is often public knowledge. Drug pushers and users are also urged to "surrender" to the police at barangay meetings that are, again, public. Their names are added to the watch list. The process resembles a mass arrest. The so-called "surrenderers" are questioned by police, who ask for details of their dealers and fellow users. This information can be used to identify other drug suspects, police said. The names of surrenderers are later added to a national database so they can be watched even if they move to another barangay. After the questioning, the users are fingerprinted and pose for a mugshot holding a whiteboard bearing their name and that day's date. Raising their right hands, they then swear to stay away from drugs and support "the government and the police in their noble campaign." In the following weeks, said barangay captain Vivero, surrenderers are expected to do community service such as painting walls, unclogging sewers or picking up trash. INTENDED TO CHANGE Former barangay leader Eriberto Guevarra said he tried to avert the killing of pedicab driver Celestino. The dead man, Guevarra said, was just a small-time dealer and user, not the "notorious pusher" police dubbed him. "He was endangered because he was on the watch list," he said. Guevarra said he had warned Celestino to stop dealing and using drugs. Three days before his death Celestino had attended a three-hour "drug awareness" seminar run by police and barangay officials. "It was his intention to change," said Guevarra. John Patrick Celestino, 17, one of Celestino's four children, trembled as he recalled the night his father died. The dogs began barking at about 9 p.m. There were armed men at the door who showed John Patrick a photo on a cellphone. "Is this your father?" they demanded. When he said it was, according to John Patrick, the men rushed upstairs and kicked open the door to a small room where Celestino was hiding. John Patrick, who had followed them to the room, said: "The men kept shouting, 'Where's the shabu?' Where's the shabu?'" referring to the local name for crystal methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug widely available in the Philippines. He told them his father was unarmed and begged them not to shoot. But one gunman fired three rounds into the room, and the teenager heard his father gasp with pain. The gunman then ordered John Patrick to flee. As he ran downstairs, he heard five more shots. Police said they found a .22 revolver and three sachets of shabu on Celestino. His wife Zandey, 38, denies this was the case. "My husband had already surrendered, so why did they kill him?" she asked. "Why didn't they give him one more chance?" Sitting around his coffin, relatives told a Reuters reporter of a long-running feud with another family, who they blamed for telling the police that Celestino was a drug dealer. Reuters was unable to independently verify this claim. "NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES" Celestino was on the watch list as a drug dealer, confirmed Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, director of the Eastern Police District of Manila. "The information came from the community," he said. "It was given by barangay officials and validated by the police." The "best information" comes from the neighborhood itself, he added. "Most of the watch lists which came from that place are true and correct." Celestino's surrender as a drug user didn't put him above suspicion, said Sapitula. "There are some on the watch list who surrender but continue their nefarious activities," he said. "They pretend to embrace the program, but in reality ... they are still doing their old thing. And there are some who surrender as users when they're really pushers." Sapitula confirmed the operation was carried out by seven or eight members of the anti-narcotics police. He rejected the family's claim that drugs were planted on Celestino. An internal investigation, he said, had concluded that the police opened fire in self-defense because Celestino had "opted to shoot it out". Sapitula said family members shouldn't be afraid to file a formal complaint, but only "if they're innocent" and not involved in criminal activities. The Celestinos told Reuters there was little point appealing to the same people who had killed their relative. Zandey said she feared not only for the safety of her children, but for other members of her extended family who, like Celestino, had "surrendered" to authorities. Her older son, Cedric, 19, was so traumatized by the killing that he has stopped talking, she said. "IT WILL BE BLOODY" Some local leaders plead with the police to spare lives. In the Manila slum of Tondo, barangay captain Erick Simbiling said two policemen recently told him they had "scheduled to kill" a local man who was a small-time but persistent drug dealer. "I spoke to the policemen and said, 'Please give him a chance,'" Simbiling said. He then visited the dealer and urged him to surrender to the authorities. The dealer did so, like hundreds of thousands of others nationwide, and then fled the barangay. The barangay captains are under pressure from the president himself. Duterte has vowed to publish a list of a thousand elected officials suspected of drug ties. Prominent among them are captains who have connived with terrorists and drug lords, he told reporters on Sept. 18. But not all barangays have toed the line. Police in central Luzon told Reuters that 31 of the region's 3,100 barangays had not supplied a watch list. Romeo Caramat, police chief of Bulacan province in central Luzon, said these barangay officials were probably either allied to Duterte's political opponents or bankrolled by drug traffickers. "Actually, one of the barangay captains who was uncooperative got killed," said Caramat. The man was shot in early August in San Jose Del Monte city by unidentified assassins on a motorbike, he said. "One barangay chairman runs out of luck!" added Caramat, laughing. He described the man as "a well-known drug pusher and user" who had not included himself on his barangay's watch list. The dead captain, Damaso Santiago, was a drug user, not a dealer, said his younger brother Arman Santiago. "Anyone you ask, they will say he does not peddle drugs. He was just a victim of drug use," said Arman. Police chief Caramat described his province's 17,000 drug dealers and users as "a walking time bomb". For him, the death toll in his province is a measure of the campaign's success. "It will be bloody," he said. "You have a problem with dengue. You think you can solve it without killing mosquitos?" (Additional reporting by Clare Baldwin, Manuel Mogato and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Editing by Martin Howell)
stephen colbert gael garcia bernal donald trump wall late show cbs

Stephen Colbert spoofed Donald Trump's proposed wall between Mexico and the US by introducing one Hispanic man who's really behind the proposal.

"Naturally, the wall isn't particularly popular in Mexico or with fans of dignity," Colbert said on Thursday's "Late Show." "We did find one Hispanic person who's a big supporter of the wall. Please welcome live via satellite from the border, Martin Hernandez, everybody!"

In the sketch, Golden Globe-winning "Mozart in the Jungle" star Gael Garcia Bernal (who is himself Mexican) plays Martin, wearing a hard hat and yellow vest.

"I love the wall. I will take any opportunity to talk about the wall," Bernal's Hernandez said. "The wall is the simplest, most elegant solution for keeping people out of a country. Way more practical than, say, a flaming moat full of crocodiles, or trained swarms of bees to check the passports."

But all is not what it seems. When Colbert expresses surprise over his guest's excitement about the wall, it becomes abundantly clear that Hernandez isn't a Mexican citizen. He's Canadian.

He protested, "Just because someone's Hispanic, they can't be Canadian? Come on, man. Have you ever heard of the host of 'Jeopardy!' Alejandro Trebek?"

"Hernandez" then reveals that he's actually at the border between the US and Alberta, Canada, and hopes the wall will keep away all those Americans threatening to move to Canada if Trump wins the presidency.

"Youll take our jobs, and steal our women. You keep your filthy American hands off Celine Dion! My heart will go on, not yours," he exclaims.

Watch the sketch below:

NOW WATCH: Trump is doing worse than Romney with white voters





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Remo, starring Sivakarthikeyan, seems to be a spoof of any of actor-filmmaker Bhagyaraj's films. Here's the Remo movie review.

By Srivatsan: Sivakarthikeyan is the rising star in Tamil cinema, whose films pander to a wide range of audience, age not being a barrier. The first look posters of Remo revealed the Maan Karate star in dressed as a nurse and it created a buzz in the industry.

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Keerthy Suresh, Sathish and Saranya

Director: Bakkiyaraj Kannan

Rating: (1.5/5)

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Remo opens with a short, dull monologue describing our hero SK's (Sivakarthikeyan) life. Cut to the present, we have SK taking a quiet stroll down the road. And that's when Cupid strikes an arrow at SK's heart. Enter heroine Kavya (Keerthy Suresh).

Like many commercial potboilers, Remo too follows a set template. We have a hero vying for the heroine's attention. Hero-worshipping dialogues, mood-killing romance and of course, how can we miss a TASMAC song in this genre?

As for the plot, SK, an aspiring actor falls for Kavya, a doctor. When SK comes to know that Kavya is already engaged, he disguises himself as a nurse REgina MOtwani (Remo) to woo her. The rest of the plot follows how SK wins Kavya's heart.

ALSO READ: Anirudh Ravichander to compose music for Pawan Kalyan's Devude Digi Vachina

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Remo, even on paper, sounds problematic because the film has enough elements to glorify stalking and the film does it with ease.

There's a tacky scene where a rowdy says, "Your fly is open," to which SK's friend Vallikanth (Sathish) replies, "Why don't you take a look?" But this doesn't end here. The rowdy says, "It's not worth gazing at." And to this, Vallikanth says, "Why don't you put some powder on it and gaze at it?" This is just one of the many despicable comedy tracks Remo has.



In another scene, SK's mother says, "Men don't cry." To this, SK says, "Ask women not to make men sob!" This scene is just the beginning of the rather dreadful and misogynist film that follows.

If cinema is but a mere reflection of the society, then filmmakers have the moral responsibility to cautiously depict what they intend to. It's been more than three months since the murder of Swathi by the suspect Ramkumar that shocked the entire country, and here we have a debutant filmmaker trying to glorify stalking.

Sivakarthikeyan has tried dressing in drag in Remo and he plays the role quite convincingly. But twerking your booty and adjusting your chest doesn't make you a woman, Sivakarthikeyan. And it doesn't tickle your funny bone either! Remo, on many levels, is a glaring reminder of how sexist Tamil cinema is. One also invariably blames the audience, who are seen hooting and cheering to these misogynistic dialogues. In fact, one wonders how cautious and dignified Kamal Haasan was in donning a woman in Avvai Shanmugi / Chachi 420. In Remo, both the director and the actor have played their part in objectifying women yet again.

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The film has tell-tale references to many popular films, those of Rajinikanth's to be precise. However, Remo itself seems to be a spoof of any of actor-filmmaker Bhagyaraj's films.



Remo is backed by Academy Award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty and ace cinematographer PC Sreeram. Despite a mundane subject, PC Sreeram's shot compositions add colour to the film. Be it the songs or the thumping BGM, Anirudh Ravichander, who is collaborating with Sivakarthikeyan for the fourth time, delivers the adequate mass moments.

Remo runs for 150 minutes. Though the first half is laced with so-called romance and comedy, it is the second half that really tests your patience. So much so, that one checks his/her pocket for Saridon or any painkillers.

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In all, Remo gives an all-new dimension to stalking. As its lead actor puts it, there's no problem in stalking as long as 'your love is pure'. Not sure what common people would make out of it. We leave it to you to decide.





( The writer tweets as LoneWolf_7126 )



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A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck - James A. Garfield

Wise advice above but a British Pounds worth of pluck is not worth what it used to be in euro or dollar terms. When your home currency is battling with the much maligned Argentine peso to be only the second-worst major global currency performer during 2016 then you know it is out-of-favour. To put some numbers on this you have to go right the way back to 1985 to find a lower Pound-US dollar exchange rate than todays meanwhile against the euro the Pound is down to levels last seen in 2011. I hope you do not need to buy some foreign currency for a getaway break anytime soon.

Consensus is that it is going to get worse. There are various theories why the Pound has fallen so sharply in recent days but fears of the impact of a hard Brexit, concerns of tensions between the UK government and the Bank of England plus a growing realisation that 2017 will economically be an uncertain year for the UK economy have all be cited. I see thoughtless computer trading has also been thrown into the mix. Meanwhile investment banks are starting to compete with each other to have the lowest target for the Pound.

Back in 1985 this manifested itself in investment calls anticipating parity between the US dollar and the Poundin reality however the next stop for the Pound was two US dollars and not one. As always pessimism peaks just before the turning point.

And this will happen again. All of the above economic and financial market criteria overhanging the Pound are legitimate and real  but also widely known. There is certainty in the uncertainty! An exchange rate relates not to just one currency but two and the corollary to todays weak Pound is a stronger euro and a stronger US dollar. For these two currencies  and others around the world  to be persistently stronger against the Pound their local economies are going to have to do betterpersistently. You see longer-term currencies follow big economic trend criteria like growth, productivity and competitiveness all nicely captured in a metric called Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). When you look at the PPP numbers generated by the big supranational institutions like the OECD and the IMF they suggest that fair value for the Pound is around 1.45-1.50 against the US dollar and about 1.12 against the euro.

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Despite the fog around the upcoming US Presidential election maybe the relative strength over recent years of the American economy does justify a stronger dollar but  at current exchange rates  a 15% stronger US currency is hard to justify. Even at current exchange rates you will soon hear US exporters squealing in pain.

Against the euro the Pound has fallen to around fair value. You will all have your own views on the relative direction of the Eurozone and UK economies but in my view both are clouded by uncertainty  and the UK has a much better economic track record over recent years. Certainly no reason for the Pound to slide further against the euro. You could say the same for Sterling against the Japanese yen or Chinese yuan.

What I am trying to say here is that the panic in the Pound is overdone. You cannot ignore the political uncertainty around Brexit and related but financial markets have the trait of selling first and asking questions later. If you dig behind the excitable headlines your Pound will be firmer against pretty much any currency you might like to mention this time next year.

Good news for any summer 2017 foreign holiday currency requirements you may have!

Chris Bailey has 20 years of investment industry experience at long-only and long-short institutions as a global multi-asset fund manager, strategist/macro thinker and, in the earlier part of his career, as a securities and fund analyst.

In 2013 he founded Financial Orbit focusing on daily macroeconomic comment and securities analysis.

The content on this page does not constitute financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. Nothing on this page should be regarded as an offer to conduct investment business or to buy/sell any investment
By Michael Georgy and Babak Dehghanpisheh BASHIQA, Iraq (Reuters) - Abu Mahmoud, part of a 2,500-man predominantly Sunni Arab force pulled together to launch an offensive against Islamic State in the Iraqi city of Mosul, has heard from relatives the group has been threatening to behead anyone who speaks of "liberation". That threat has not discouraged him but he is worried about a lack of support from the Shi'ite-led central government. "The most important thing we need is weapons and government support," said Abu Mahmoud, 42, who like others interviewed at a training camp in Bashiqa in northern Iraq, declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals. Abu Mahmoud, who covers his face so that Islamic State militants don't target his family, hopes he and other men in the National Mobilisation force will capture Mosul and rescue its residents in an operation expected to start within weeks. The Iraqi army, along with Kurdish peshmerga fighters, will take the lead in one of Iraq's most important offensives in years, with the aim of clearing Islamic State from its last major stronghold and promoting long-term stability. But complaints from fighters and commanders in the National Mobilisation force about lack of weapons from the Baghdad government highlights sectarian faultlines that could undermine the offensive and chances for sectarian and ethnic harmony. Iraq has descended into civil war, mainly between Shi'ites and Sunnis, since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. The force, that trains about five hours a day at the camp, was patched together by former Mosul governor and Sunni politician Atheel al-Nujaifi in 2014, not long after Islamic State swept through northern Iraq, virtually unopposed by an army riddled with corruption. Nujaifi purchased used weapons for the fighters in markets, according to his commanders. After the camp came under heavy Islamic State rocket fire, Turkish trainers positioned six tanks along the edge of the compound in May 2015. While the men have benefited from the training, Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey's military presence in Iraq could spark a regional war. Last week, Turkey's parliament voted to extend its military presence in Iraq for a further year to take on what it called "terrorist organizations". PRIMED FOR BATTLE At first glance, the fighters seemed disciplined in their crisp military uniforms and flak vests. Many of the commanders are former army officers who served under Saddam Hussein. Others abandoned their posts during Islamic State's lightning sweep through Mosul and the rest of Nineveh Governorate that at one point seemed to even threaten Baghdad. "There are two rocket types," said instructor Mishaan al-Jibouri, as a group of men sat and listened. "This is what you do if it jams." The occasional boom of training mortars could be heard echoing off nearby mountains, in a pastoral setting where teenage shepherds on donkeys guided their flock. The Turks provide basic training but the focus is on urban warfare. The United States also provided training earlier this year and took part in a few joint raids on Islamic State targets, said the Iraqi commanders. The leader of the camp, General Mohamed Yehya, said there are 2,500 men primed for battle, and with proper support he could muster twice as many fighters. "Baghdad gives support only for Shi'ites, not Sunnis. We believe we are one. Iraq is our country," said Yehya, sitting in a small command center which included a colorful mockup of the battlefield. Yehya, 59, is still bitter about the disbanding of the Iraqi army in 2003 by the United States. He believes that was the first step to weaken Sunnis, who dominated positions of authority under Saddam. "The government doesnt give direct support to the National Mobilization (force) because it is not part of the Popular Mobilization and there is no coordination between the two," said a government spokesman in Baghdad. The mostly Iran-backed, Shiite-led Popular Mobilization force falls theoretically under the command of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. "While Shiites make up a majority in the Popular Mobilisation, it also has in its ranks Sunnis," the spokesman added, denying allegations that the government is only supporting Shi'ites, and not Sunnis. He said of 110,000 men in the Popular Mobilisation force, 25,000 to 30,000 are Sunnis. PERSONAL STAKE The Sunni force has already put itself at risk, setting up the camp 13 kilometers from the frontline with Islamic State. Several shrapnel holes in the walls of the command room at the camp had been plugged with plaster, a reminder of a flurry of Islamic State rocket attacks earlier this year. Back on the training ground, an officer was holding up an AK-47 assault rifle as fighters sat on the ground and looked on. The camp trains mostly Sunni Arabs but there are also some Kurds, Shi'ites and Yazidis, whose community was singled out by Islamic State for particularly harsh persecution. Hundreds were executed and many Yazidi women were captured and raped or used as sex slaves. Abu Mourad, a Yazidi sniper, describes himself as a hunter of Islamic State. The group beheaded one of his cousins and threw another off a building in Mosul, he said. Many fighters believe they have the highest stake in the battle because they are from Mosul and have friends and relatives who were killed by the group. Ali Ahmed argues that this personal stake in the fight means the force should lead the offensive and take firm control of Mosul, uncompromising talk that underlines the potential for sectarian strife. "We want to stay in the province no matter what and not give it up until death," he said. "We are going to settle scores. We won't let them live. We want to butcher them." (Fixes word in last sentence.) (Editing by Anna Willard)
By Johan Ahlander and Johan Sennero

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A government commission is set to propose a 15 percent payroll tax on Sweden's financial services industry, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, a move that banks have said could cost thousands of jobs and raise costs for borrowers.

Sweden's centre-left government has been trying to impose a tax on financial services, which are exempt from value-added tax, but has struggled to come up with a way to do it.

"The proposal will mean a 15 percent payroll tax on VAT-exempt financial services," the source said, adding it would not only affect banks.

"It will hit all companies which have revenues from financial services, which is many," the source said.

The government believes a tax would level the playing field between financial sector firms and other companies.

"The banking sector is under-taxed and has therefore received an advantage compared to other businesses," Anna Soderstrom, a spokesperson for Financial Markets Minister Per Bolund said.

Bankers in Sweden said a tax would hit employment in the financial services industry, which is trying to attract firms to the country in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

"It will have a dramatic effect on the number of jobs in this sector," said Johan Hansing, chief economist at The Swedish Bankers' Association.

"You lose existing jobs but also reduce the possibility of attracting new jobs," he said.

Around 120,000 people in Sweden are employed by financial firms and insurance companies.

Industry lobby groups and a trade union representing bank workers said last month such a tax could cost up to 16,000 jobs.

Others think additional costs will be passed on.

"We believe this tax hike will be directly pushed onto the customers, Swedish households and businesses," Andreas Hakansson, banking analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said.

Nordea, the Nordic region's biggest bank, has previously said it could consider moving its head office from Sweden if a bank tax is introduced.

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On Thursday, Dutch newspaper NRC reported Nordea had made an approach regarding a merger to ABN Amro, which would include a move to the less-regulated Netherlands.

An ABN Amro official on Friday, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, confirmed the approach but said it had been rebuffed.

The head of the government commission, Christer Sjodin, declined to comment.

On Thursday, a budget document seen by Reuters showed neighbouring Norway's right-wing government plans to impose a 5 percent payroll tax on the banking industry in 2017.

Denmark already has such a tax.

(Reporting by Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander; Editing by Susan Fenton and Elaine Hardcastle)
The girl comes screaming out of the rubble, pulled by her purple shirt from the wreckage of the house, destroyed by an airstrike five hours earlier. A rescuer hoists her up and places her into the arms of another man. Get an ambulance! he yells. An excited shout goes up from other rescuers and bystandersAllahu akbar! God is great! The girls hair is matted and her face is smeared with blood. For a second, the camera captures her tiny face, anguished and confused. Later, the rescuers pull out a young boy, alive and waving a bloody hand. Then the rescue team pulls out two more children. Their bodies are lifeless, their faces white with dust. The men of the Civil Defense, Syrias volunteer rescue organization also known as the White Helmets, lay the children in blankets. The onlookers murmur and cluck their tongues in dismay.

That scene was captured on video after an alleged Russian airstrike in a small farm town called Bashqateen, in the rebel-held countryside West of the city of Aleppo on Sept. 23. For the volunteer rescue worker, it was another daily rescue. Mohamed Ateeq, a 35-year-old civil defense worker, who appears in the video hoisting the young boy from the wreckage, says in a Skype interview, Were used to seeing dead people under the rubble. Were used to seeing people crying from under the rubble.

Read More: The White Helmets of Syria

After rescuing an estimated 60,000 people, the White Helmets had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize which was instead awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday, for negotiating peace with the FARC rebel group. After Colombian voters rejected the peace deal in a referendum in September, some observers considered the White Helmets the frontrunner for the prize. Instead the Nobel committee lauded Santos efforts to end his countrys decades-old conflict, and the Syrian rescue workers reacted with grace. Congratulations to the President of Colombia for the @NobelPrize and we wish the people of Colombia peace, they tweeted, shortly after the announcement. The group followed with sad news: a civil defense volunteer had been killed in the southern Syrian city of Daraa. In Hama province, shelling targeted another civil defense center, apparently destroying it.

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The White Helmets head back to work at a moment when President Bashar Assads regime is engaged in an escalating military campaign against rebel-held areas of Syria. Backed by Russian airpower, the regime has unleashed devastating airstrikes in recent weeks on the besieged opposition-held section of the city of Aleppo, killing hundreds of civilians and destroying hospitals and other vital infrastructure. On Thursday, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, warned that if the bombing continues at the current pace, all of eastern Aleppo could be destroyed within two and a half months. The writing on the wall is if this continues to be the pattern, at this rate this cruel, constant use of military activities, bombing, fighting, destruction will continue, he said, saying the world needed to act to avert another Srebrenica, another Rwanda.

Read More: What Comes Next For Juan Manuel Santos and Colombia?

In Syria, every day presents new traumas, and many of them are captured on videotape. In addition to rescuing other Syrians, civil defense workers also exhaustively document their work, providing a record of the life and death drama playing out inside Syria. The Sept. 23 rescue in Bashqateen was no different.

At least some of the children had been sleeping when jet came roaring in low over the rebel-held countryside west of the city of Aleppo that morning, Friday Sept. 23. The air raid targeted a two-story house, shared by four families who fled the fighting in Aleppo city, settling for the moment in Bashqateen. The airstrike flattened the house, killing fifteen people. Five others survived the attack, which civil defense officials believe was a Russian airstrike.

The strike took place around 9.a.m., and three civil defense teams arrived within fifteen minutes. The rescue workers say they labored for more than eight hours to recover the bodies and pull out the survivors, including the eight-month-old girl in the video, named Shams Mohamed Ali. The boy is her two-year-old cousin, Ali, whose mother was killed by the attack as they both slept. The girl was almost dead, says Mohamed Ateeq, a 35-year-old civil defense worker, who appears in video footage plucking the young boy from the rubble. In an interview later conducted over video chat, he said he now considers the kids like my own children.

The rescue of the children in Bashqateen was little noted by the outside world, but the same day, footage appeared online of another dramatic rescue, in the besieged rebel-controlled section of Aleppo city. Rescuers plucked another young girl, Rawan Alowsh, from the rubble of yet another building smashed by yet another an airstrike. The video went viral, sparking a fleeting moment of attention from the worlds media.

Child victims become icons for a day in this long and exhausting war. In August there was Omran Daqneesh, the boy in the ambulance whose bloody face appeared on front pages in Europe and America. In 2014, there was the so-called miracle baby, 10-dayold Mahmud Ibildi, somehow pulled from the rubble of an airstrike alive. The boys rescuer, a Civil Defense worker named Khaled Omar Harrah, was hailed as a herountil he was killed during a mortar attack in Aleppo in August 2016. Under shelling and airstrikes by Bashar Assads regime and now that of his Russian allies, Syrian civil defense workers in Aleppo and elsewhere have rescued many miracle babies. Some of them go viral. But most fade into obscurity.

In September, airstrikes knocked two of the White Helmets four facilities in Aleppo out of service, but Syrias rescue workers say they have no choice but to press on. The bombs continue to fall, and the White Helmets continue to rush in to save civilians trapped in the rubble. God willing keep doing our work, our humanitarian mission to save the souls of innocent people, said Ismail Mohamed, 31, a rescue worker in besieged Eastern Aleppo, in a phone interview in late September. Other than that, we dont know what to do.

On Sept. 30, yet another airstrike destroyed a civilian house in Syrias Idlib province, adjacent to Aleppo. Civil defense spent two hours digging through the wreckage of a civilian house, and eventually pulled out a woman and two children, including a one-month old baby girl. As they left the scene in a vehicle that appears to be an ambulance, a 26-year-old rescue worker named Muhammad Dieb Al Hur held the girl in his arms and wept. The girl, bleeding from the forehead, made tiny noises. The White Helmets filmed the scene, a moment of pure emotion. She was the latest miracle baby, and she will not be the last.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian and Syrian actions such as bombing hospitals in Syria cry out for a war crimes investigation, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday. "Last night, the (Syrian) regime attacked yet another hospital and 20 people were killed and 100 people were wounded. Russia, and the regime, owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women," Kerry told reporters before a meeting with France's foreign minister. "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions." (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
From Cosmopolitan

After shocking his supporters by endorsing Donald Trump last month, a recent viral video now suggests that Ted Cruz not only supports the Republican nominee, but is phone banking for him, as well.

Ted Cruz is now a giant sigh come to life pic.twitter.com/idounOSoij - Colin Jones (@colinjones) October 6, 2016

In the video, Cruz can be seen leaving a voicemail on Trumps behalf, encouraging Texas voters to show up to the polls this November. Yes, despite Trump continuously referring to him as "Lyin Ted" on social media, threatening to "spill the beans" on his wife, and insinuating that his father was somehow linked to the JFK assassination.

Unsurprisingly, the internet had a field day with the video, and immediately came up with some pretty savage responses. In fact, Mashable reports that if you Google "ultimate humiliation," a still of Cruz making phone calls for Trump is now one of the top results.

Here are just a few of the tweets that got him there.

1.

"Hello, Ted Cruz from 2015? This is Ted Cruz from 2016. No wait, don't hang up, this is for real. I have something very imp -- Ted? TED?" pic.twitter.com/0tMZQso3sq - Chris Taylor (@FutureBoy) October 6, 2016

2.

"For only 29 cents a day, you can help me get my soul back" pic.twitter.com/dl2h3G5FLX - elan gale (@theyearofelan) October 6, 2016

3.

"Hi, this is Ted Cruz. Is your refrigerator running?



Yes?



Vote for it.



HAHAHAHATAKETHATTRUMP!" pic.twitter.com/uyD51wn4pQ - Steve Leichman (@SteveDashOh) October 6, 2016

4.

I know when that hotline bling



That can only mean one thing pic.twitter.com/lSWtZeYs97 - Blood? Blood. (@mynameisntdave) October 6, 2016

5.

Call 911. Ted Cruz is being held hostage pic.twitter.com/GE2QMAWSiM - Marcus Wells (@MarcusWells_) October 6, 2016

6.

*record scratch, freeze frame*



Yup. That's me. You might be wondering how I ended up here. pic.twitter.com/LTkx4dG6tS - Brandt (@UrbanAchievr) October 6, 2016

7.

Donald needs your help so he can cut taxes, appoint conservative judges and [looks at script] investigate Rafael Cruz's role in the Kennedy pic.twitter.com/FVPA7WZRZg - Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) October 6, 2016

8.

Let's check in on Ted Cruz... pic.twitter.com/TdtyxMz2TX - Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 6, 2016

9.

"I, Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz, am being held here against my will. My captors have treated me well, providing regular bread and water..." pic.twitter.com/La4xRbSPUV - Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) October 6, 2016

10.

Ted Cruz is Colin Farrell in Phone Booth. pic.twitter.com/BaSczs7XFO - Ben Greenman (@bengreenman) October 6, 2016

11.

That Ted Cruz phone banking thing looks like how the Onion would portray Ted Cruz right now. - Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) October 6, 2016

12.

"Yes, that's right. It's me, Ted Cruz. Sir I can't hear you through your laughter. Yes, I'll hold." pic.twitter.com/F2BYNo9jEr - Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) October 6, 2016

13.

TED CRUZ: It's official, that string of spree killings I committed in the 60s and 70s is only my second greatest regret... pic.twitter.com/jLCyeWcevz - Glenn Loury 2.0 (@justabloodygame) October 7, 2016

14.

Did you see the clip of @TedCruz phone banking for @realdonaldtrump? Some one should check to see if he actually dialed anyone! - Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) October 7, 2016

15.



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this is perfect https://t.co/7yhYhEbhPx - Adam Khan (@Khanoisseur) October 6, 2016

Follow Gina on Twitter.

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Civil airports in India's western states and in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have been put on a high alert as part of heightened security arrangements following cross-LoC surgical strikes by the Indian Army.

By India Today Web Desk: As many as 22 airports across the country, including civil airports in India's western states and other important ones like those in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, have been put on a high alert as part of heightened security arrangements in the wake of surgical strikes by the Indian Army on terror camps in PoK.

Airports in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have been asked to step up vigil and security to tackle any attack or sabotage.

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Also read: Pakistan is rattled, and that's evidence of India's surgical strike



There have been intelligence inputs, warning of a terror strike. Elaborate security arrangements have been made to thwart any terror bid.

AIRPORTS ON HIGH ALERT



"Security at vital airports has been increased. All major airports have been put on a high alert," CISF Director General OP Singh told PTI.



Officials said a decision in this regard was notified by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) following which the airports, especially hyper-sensitive ones like those in Mumbai and Delhi, were put on alert.

Also read: Pakistan's denial of surgical strikes exposes Kejriwal's colonial hangover



They said the Central Industrial Security Force chief had also reviewed airport security with his top officials posted at all the sensitive airports.



EXTRA-VIGIL AT SOME FACILITIES



"While a general review was done for all airports, some specific facilities were asked to be extra-vigilant," they said, without going into the details.

Counter-sabotage teams, bomb squads and commando teams have been asked to be extra-vigilant to thwart any possible terror strikes, sources said.



(WITH PTI INPUTS)



--- ENDS ---
An Oklahoma teen with Down syndrome, who was made an honorary deputy amid his battle with cancer, celebrated with his "fellow officers" as he was declared cancer-free.

Read: 10 Cops Escort 7-Year-Old to 'Father-Son Breakfast' After His Dad Was Murdered

Cade Wegener, 13, of Berryhill, was celebrated for the second time in a year by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office when he was declared cancer free, just months after becoming an honorary deputy.

"We are happy to report that Cade has been declared cancer free," The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook. "He inspired us all with his courage and positive attitude. Congratulations Deputy Cade!"

The teen even rang their ceremonial bell, that signifies "a battle is won today," according to the plaque.

The show of solidarity comes just a year after Cade complained of a pain in his hip during gym class, KWTV reported. He was rushed to the pediatrician, and was diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma after they found a tumor against his spine.

Dropped a pretty big bomb on us and our family, and left us with not a whole lot of hope at that point, his dad, Chris Wegener, told KWTV.

To cheer the teen up, the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office recognized Cade as an honorary deputy of the department in April.

Sheriff Vic Regalado even presented Cade with a Hero Among Heroes award for his bravery and optimism in the face of cancer.

Read: Teen With Down Syndrome Cries as Boyfriend Asks Her to Homecoming Dance

"I felt God say, 'Chris, I'm going to heal your son,'" the teen's father said to KWTV, "and that peace came over me and we've had a peace about it ever since."

To fund Cade's medical treatment, the family has since started a GoFundMe campaign.

Watch: 6-Year-Old Honorary Firefighter Loses Battle With Leukemia, 3 Weeks After Being Sworn In

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This teen dressed up as a thief for Culture Day at school, and his reason is so funny and true

If you get so, so sick of the totally not OK and generally racist costumes that take over every Halloween season, get ready to LOL, because this teens costume is the best response to those messed up looks. For Culture Day at school, Josh Welch dressed like a thief to mock cultural appropriation. He told BuzzFeed News he came up with it while searching online and trying to find an aspect of white culture to poke fun at for culture day. The result was straight up ah-mazing.

The now-viral look:

dressed like a thief for culture day bc white people steal everyone else's culture pic.twitter.com/XnY4juY9fh  welch's grape juice (@jotswa_welch) October 5, 2016

Like, OMG. Welch explained,

dressed like a thief for culture day bc white people steal everyone elses culture.

Its so perfectly ~scandalous~ that we just had to laugh out loud.

Obviously, it was a HILARIOUS success.

@jotswa_welch aight you can come to the cook out  clark (@karlboogie_) October 6, 2016

Though not everyone was happy.

@jotswa_welch I feel so sorry for your mentions.... all the white tears  ___ (@sIutmantha) October 6, 2016

Which is just, like, a fact. Because no one can do or say anything on the internet that challenges whiteness without getting trolled.

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@jotswa_welch I'm just here to scroll through the mentions. pic.twitter.com/xqZij8q4EL  Pillsbury Doughbroad (@EdgarAlanFro) October 7, 2016

The costume has since gone *totally* viral, with 39K retweets and nearly 70k likes. Its also been pretty educational, considering that the people who tell everyone not to be ~so sensitive~ about culturally appropriative, sexist, and racist Halloween costumes are clearly pissed off about this. Like, welp.

H/T BuzzFeed

The post This teen dressed up as a thief for Culture Day at school, and his reason is so funny and true appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Photo: Getty Images

One of the saddest trends weve seen in recent months is people being fired for wearing dreadlocked hair. The latest among them is 16-year-old Tyler House, who was let go from her part-time job at a movie theater outside Country Club Hills, Ill., for sporting locks that fall a few inches past her shoulders, according to Chicagos WGN TV. She had been growing dreads for five years, but it took less than a day on the job for her to lose employment for having them.

What do my dreads have to do with anything? the black teen asked in the news report, recalling how she was pulled aside on her first day as an employee of the Marcus Country Club Hills Cinema and told, Dreads are not allowed.

In the video interview below, House speaks of the pleasant job interview she attended  with her dreadlocks in full view  that led to her hiring in the first place. She said she and the hiring manager were talking like regular people. Like I said, I made her laugh, and she said I had a nice personality. A week later, she received an email informing her that shed officially landed the job.

House  an honors student at her high school  had been eager to work a part-time job, and was ecstatic when she earned one. After her positive hiring process, she said that she was not expecting to be pulled aside and fired  at orientation, no less  for a having a relatively common hairstyle. Regardless, she apologized and explained that she planned to keep her hair in a ponytail and under her uniform hat while she worked.

The explanation wasnt good enough, apparently, and House was told dreads were not allowed for any employee, male or female. Though confused, she told the reporter that she took the high road, shaking her employers hand and leaving. She then called her sister, Toi Perry, crying over the termination. Perry later wrote on Facebook, When your little sister calls you crying because a job revokes her job offer on the first day just because she has dreadlocks  it makes your heart hurt a little but they missed out on a intelligent and bright young girl smh #TheWorldWeLiveIn.

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The post was shared more than 1,200 times and received over 100 supportive comments  some calling for a boycott of the movie theater. I wont be going here with this type of discriminatory policy in place, one user wrote. Another user said, Tell that baby to continue to embrace her Locs!! I havent had any issues with mine, but thats not to say they wont come. I was sooo excited about this theater opening up, not anymore. Theyve lost my business!!

Girl, 14, Faces Charges for Exploiting Herself With Pics

In the wake of the controversy, though, something unexpected happened: The theater seems to have been swayed by the publics reaction, and released a statement implying that it plans to change its policy as a result of Houses termination. The statement reads:

This week we learned that a job candidate at our Marcus Country Club Hills Cinema was turned away because she wore dreadlocks. Some have expressed concern, and their reaction has led us to re-examine that decision. Marcus Theatres operates in many communities across the United States, and our success is due in part to our talented team. Our associates come to work each day committed to delivering a best-in-class experience to everyone who passes through our doors. Effective immediately, no job candidate will be disqualified because they wear dreadlocks. We are in the process of reviewing our protocols, and will update them to ensure that they reflect our professional standards and commitment to recognizing the diversity of our associates.

Its unclear if this statement means that House will get her job back.

Chanel Just Made a Really Chic (and Probably Expensive) Hair Tie

Similar cases have turned out differently. Rachel Sakabo, an African-American woman, said she was fired from her job as a concierge at New York Citys St. Regis Hotel in August because of her dreadlocks. Sakabo had made it through the hiring process and orientation before she was let go seven months into her role. At the time, she told BuzzFeed News that she planned to contact the Department of Labor and Starwood Hotels, the St. Regiss parent company, in search of answers.

And in September, a woman had a job offer rescinded because of her dreadlocks. Chastity Jones was offered a role at CMS, an insurance-claims processing company in Alabama, but the firm took back the offer because, as she was told by a manager, her dreadlocked hair tend[s] to get messy, although Im not saying yours are, but you know what Im talking about, according to the Cut. Jones took her case to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of CMSs decision not to hire Jones. The court said it did not qualify as discrimination based on race because, by law, no hairstyle can be inextricably tied to a race or ethnicity.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
From Redbook

Texas doctors have done the first womb transplants using live donors in the United States.

Four women who had been born without a uterus received one in operations last month at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. Three of the wombs have had to be removed because of poor blood flow. But the hospital said in a statement Wednesday that the fourth recipient still has hers and is showing no signs of rejection.

The hospital would not identify any of the donors or recipients.

There have been at least 16 previous uterus transplants worldwide, including one in Cleveland from a deceased donor that had to be removed because of complications. Two doctors from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, which has done the most of these operations, were in Dallas to assist with the four transplants there.

At least five births have resulted from the womb transplants in Sweden. Dallas doctors are hopeful the patient who still has her transplanted womb will become the first successful case in the U.S. She is part of a clinical trial that Baylor announced in January that aims to enroll 10 women born without a uterus or with a faulty one.

Womb donors can be dead or alive, and the Baylor study aims to use some of both. The first four cases involved "altruistic" donors - unrelated and unknown to the recipients, a hospital spokesman said. The ones done in Sweden were from live donors, mostly from the recipients' mother or a sister.

Doctors hope that womb transplants will enable as many as several thousand women born without a uterus to bear children. To be eligible for the Baylor study, women must be 20 to 35 years old and have healthy, normal ovaries. They will first have in vitro fertilization to retrieve and fertilize their eggs and produce embryos that can be frozen until they are ready to attempt pregnancy.

After the uterus transplant, the embryos can be thawed and implanted, at least a year after the transplant to make sure the womb is working well. A baby resulting from a uterine transplant would be delivered by cesarean section. The wombs are not intended to be permanent - having one means a woman must take powerful drugs to prevent organ rejection, and the drugs pose long-term health risks, so the uterus would be removed after one or two successful pregnancies.

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Womb transplants are one of many newer trends in a field that has advanced many frontiers in recent years. On Wednesday, doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said they performed a double-arm transplant for a retired Marine sergeant who lost all four limbs to a bomb in Afghanistan. It was not a first, even for the hospital - at least 85 hand or arm transplants have been done globally since the first one nearly two decades ago.

Doctors from Houston Methodist Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2014 did the world's first partial skull and scalp transplant to help a man who suffered a large head wound from cancer treatment. More than two dozen face transplants have been done since the first one in France in 2005; the first one in the U.S. was done in Cleveland in 2008.

A host of patients have received transplants or implants of 3-D printed body parts, ranging from blood vessels to windpipes.

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By Orathai Sriring and Pairat Temphairojana BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai crackdown on cheap tour packages for Chinese tourists has hit arrivals in Thailand during China's peak "Golden Week" holiday, and dimmed prospects for an important sector in a sluggish economy. China's Golden Week break, which started last Saturday, sees millions of Chinese tourists traveling to overseas holiday spots including traditional favorite Thailand. But Thailand's military government says the packages, known as "zero dollar" tours aimed at Chinese tourists on a budget, are tarnishing the country's image and the tourist police have moved to shut them down. The tours involve Chinese visitors paying Thai-based operators low prices for their package holiday. But once in Thailand, they are often pressured into buying overpriced food, accommodation and gifts, said industry experts. Police Major General Surachate Hakparn, commander of the Tourist Police Division, said police had shut three companies operating "zero dollar" tours and had seized 2,155 tour buses. Arrest warrants have been issued for nine people involved in the tours as of Oct. 6, he said. Ruengdet Amorndetphakdee, owner of the D Land Holiday Co., Ltd, which caters to Chinese tourists, said the crackdown had made travel to Thailand more expensive for Chinese visitors. "Chinese travel agents are not recommending Thailand because it suddenly became more expensive. It is easier for them to sell cheap package tours to South Korea or Vietnam," Ruengdet told Reuters. Thailand expects 220,000 Chinese visitors during the Golden Week break, up about 30 percent from last year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. But industry operators said those numbers could have been even bigger had it not been for the action against the "zero dollar" operators. "There have been fewer bookings since the crackdown. We have seen just 10,000 to 20,000 bookings from Chinese tourists during Oct. 1-10," Ronnarong Chewinsiriamnuai, president of the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association, told Reuters. "Normally, we would have 100,000 during this period," Ronnarong said, adding that 30 to 40 travel operators have gone out of business because of the crackdown. The Tourism Authority of Thailand recently said Chinese visitors this year could fall to 9.6 million from 10 million due to the crackdown. Pimonwan Mahujchariyawong, an economist at Kasikorn Research Center, said the crackdown could cut Chinese arrivals by 300,000 in just the current quarter. Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product and has been a rare bright spot for Southeast Asia's second-largest economy which has struggled since a May 2014 military coup, with exports and domestic demand stubbornly weak. Thailand had forecast a record 33 million visitors this year, driven mostly by an increase in Chinese numbers. (Additional reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)
The minute you have a back-up plan, youve admitted youre not going to succeed.  Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO, Theranos

This time last year, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was on top of the world. Her Silicon Valley startup was valued at $9 billion, it had a blockbuster deal with Walgreens, her picture was plastered on magazine covers and she was heralded as the second coming of Steve Jobs. Then the proverbial s--- hit the fan.

On October 16, 2015, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter John Carreyrou wrote a page one expose for the Wall Street Journal calling into question the companys claims that its breakthrough technology could run the full gamut of diagnostic tests from a few drops of blood  in record time and far less expensively than traditional labs.

You probably know what happened next, but ICYMI: the companys technology was shown to be fatally flawed, its claims were refuted, its flagship California lab was shuttered, its relationship with Walgreens was terminated, its reputation was in shambles and Holmes was banned from the lab testing business for at least two years.

What a difference a year makes.

Above all, Holmes proved to be a feckless leader whose culture of secrecy and opacity doomed the companys 12-year effort. In an open letter recently posted on the companys website (you have to marvel at the irony), Holmes announced that Theranos will exit the lab testing business, lay off 40% of its staff and focus on developing a miniLab platform.

Considering the ban, this would appear to be the only way that Holmes could remain at the helm of her closely held company. And while she announced that a new executive team would lead this new direction, the 32-year-old Holmes still appears to be chairman and CEO, according to the website, and in denial about her role in the debacle.

Instead of holding herself accountable for what happened, stepping down as CEO and giving her company a fighting chance to survive, the entrepreneur who infamously told a group of Stanford business school students that, The minute you have a back-up plan, youve admitted youre not going to succeed, is instead trying to pivot to plan b.

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The question is, how will this plan turn out differently than the last one?

The letter says that the company will seek FDA clearances, build commercial partnerships, and pursue publications in scientific journals for its new product line. Considering how effectively Theranos burned all three of those bridges the last time around, I dont think Im being the least bit cynical by saying Ill believe it when I see it.

From the beginning, Holmes considered the FDA to be the gold standard in terms of regulatory approval. But it was that same FDA and other federal regulators who showed up on the companys doorstep in the aftermath of the Journal piece, audited its facilities, and levied critical sanctions that led to Theranos voiding two-years-worth of blood tests and shuttering its premier lab.

Theranos seems to have a particular problem keeping its relationships together. The Walgreens deal was supposed to be nationwide but never really got past Arizona before the pharmacy chain called it quits. Previously, Safeway sought to end an agreement with Theranos on concerns over missed deadlines and inaccurate test results, even after spending $350 million to build wellness clinics in nearly half its 800 supermarkets.

Theranos also announced several partnerships with big-name healthcare providers, including Cleveland Clinic and Dignity Health, but those relationships never materialized.

And nothing has hurt Theranos more than failing to vet its technology through scientific publication. On the contrary, the company attempted to avoid the rigorous peer-review process entirely, opting instead to use aggressive PR tactics to generate media hype. And when the story started to unravel, Holmes repeatedly promised to publish in peer-reviewed journals, but never followed through.

If I were a federal regulator with the FDA, a potential corporate partner, or a member of the biomedical scientific community, I wouldnt just be highly skeptical of anything Holmes says or writes, I would simply say Show me. Meanwhile, Holmes tells her stakeholders that we are fortunate to have the runway, meaning funding, to realize our vision. If I were a stakeholder, I would take that with a big old grain of salt, as well.

Theranos failed to reply to an email request for more details on its new executive team prior to publication. If that changes, we will update.

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Ottawa (AFP) - The Thomson Reuters news agency and financial information group will open a technology center in Toronto, adding 400 jobs over the next two years, the company announced Friday.

Its president Jim Smith and chief financial officer Stephane Bello will also move to the city from the United States in 2017, it said in a statement.

"Canada is not only our home, it is home to an emerging ecosystem of world-class technology talent," Smith said.

Canadian Thomson Corp bought the British financial information group Reuters in 2007 in deal that made it the sector's largest global force, ahead of rival Bloomberg. The deal also gave Thomson ownership of Reuter's non-financial news and photo agency.

Friday's announcement is widely viewed as the start of the company's consolidation of its head office operations in Canada. Its executives are currently spread out in Stamford, Connecticut, New York and in Europe.

The company said it hopes to tap into Toronto's young, diverse workforce and critical pool of technology talent in the region.

"The Toronto-Waterloo region corridor is one of the largest technology clusters in the world and offers a rich mix of emerging and mature technology talent and a robust pipeline of development graduates from local universities," Thomson Reuters said.

"Proximity to large and strategic customers will also enable rapid, customer-driven innovation, particularly in Toronto's fast growing fintech community."
From Esquire

Donald Trump's utter disdain for the truth is hardly news. In fact, it's now so commonplace to see him spout lie predicated on lie that it's become far more interesting to explore the inner recesses of those lies. Basically, throw a dart at any comment he's made during this election cycle, and then dig deeper into the inevitable contradiction that flourishes underneath. For Racked, that contradiction is the hypocrisy of Trump's relationship to Chinese manufacturing.

Photo credit: Getty

As Spencer Woodman, the author of the excellent "Trump, China, and the Ties That Bind," mentions at the outset, Trump's opponents have long criticized him for his inconsistency when it comes to foreign-made goods. Not that it slows him down at all, though. Just last week, during the first presidential debate, Trump went on a tirade about unfair trade agreements that sent U.S. manufacturing to China. Which is a perfectly fair point to make, assuming that the candidate making it isn't profiting from said agreements.

For Woodman, this is a story about Trump's lies as told through a tie. Specifically, a Trump tie, which he purchased for $60 in the lobby of Trump's skyscraper on 5th Avenue. Traveling to a city in China called Shengzhou, Woodman wanted to find the birthplace of that tie. What he uncovered was a story not just about Trump's hypocrisy, but also about the complexity of foreign manufacturing. It's well worth a read, and here are some of the highlights.

Central to Woodman's thesis is the fact that Trump loves to claim that China's taking of American manufacturing jobs is down to little more than bad trade policies:

He has pitched his candidacy on the assertion that, by rewriting trade agreements to stifle the Chinese government's aggressive cultivation of its manufacturing base, American workers will be able to compete for factory jobs that left the country decades ago.

Except that, after investing multiple factories responsible for manufacturing Trump's ties, it's clearly not that simple:

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It doesn't take much time in the factories that made Trump's own garments for the candidate's promise on trade to be confirmed as another salesman's sleight of hand. The problem with his pledge to American workers is not just the enormous challenges of relocating good-paying factory jobs back to the United States. The real problem is that the jobs Trump speaks of no longer exist.

Photo credit: Getty

Much of this comes down to the fact that China is able to exploit an impoverished class that has no corollary in the U.S.:

Each worker I spoke with in Shengzhou said he or she was paid not by the hour but by the piece. Some of the workers found it amusing when I asked whether they were granted paid sick leave. 'If you don't work, you earn nothing,' one factory worker put it.

Several of the workers I spoke with said that, if they didn't work fast enough, their pay could fall to the bottom of the range of factory jobs in Shengzhou.

And as for morale at the Shengzhou factories:

Although the Shengzhou workers stopped short of criticizing the factories outright, they didn't mince words when I asked them what they enjoyed about their jobs: Nothing, they said.

Photo credit: Getty

Unfortunately for those workers, the work that they don't enjoy, but remains crucial to their survival, is drying up. Phillips-Van Heusen, the apparel agent responsible for manufacturing Trump's ties, used his break with Macy's over racist comments about Mexican immigrants in 2015 to announce that it would begin phasing out its dealings with Trump.

In Shengzhou, PVH's elimination of its work with Trump meant the sudden loss of a brand that, at least for Shengzhou Vision Textiles, had been a mainstay of its annual production. "All of a sudden they called and said 'no more Trump.'"

A phrase that would be more than welcome here, but that could have dire consequences in Shengzhou, China. In the end though, Woodman, like many of us, can only stand in awe of Trump's staggering degree of hypocrisy:

That Trump himself has profited handsomely from the very outsourcing he has claimed is his top priority to prevent still stands out as astonishing.

And yet here we are, within a whisper of this man becoming president. Scary times.

Read the full article at racked.com.

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By PTI: Birmingham, Oct 5 (PTI) Describing the historic Brexit vote as a "once-in-a-generation chance" to transform the country for good, Prime Minister Theresa May today said her government would trigger the process of leaving the EU bloc by the end of March and appealed to Britons to "seize the day".

Unveiling her vision for Britain at the Conservative Partys annual conference here in central England, less than three months after she became prime minister, May pledged to build a "stronger, fairer and brighter future".

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She said her vision was of a country "where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person, regardless of their background or that of their parents, is given the chance to be all they want to be".

She urged people whichever way they had voted in the June 23 referendum to leave the 28-nation trading bloc "to come with me as we rise to meet this moment, come with me and together lets seize the day".

May, who succeeded David Cameron in July, said Article 50 will be triggered no later than the end of March and a "Great Repeal Bill to get rid of the European Communities Act" will be introduced in the next Parliamentary session.

"Our laws made not in Brussels but in Westminster," the 60-year-old tough-talking leader said.

"Its going to be a tough negotiation. It will require some give and take," she said.

The vote to leave the EU, she said, demonstrated not only a desire for greater control but also reflected the deep divisions that had built up in the country over generations, with working people too often ignored by the "privileged and powerful".

"It was not the wealthy who made the biggest sacrifices after the financial crisis, it was ordinary working class families," she said.

May said only the Conservatives can build a "united Britain" in which "fairness is restored" and opportunities are shared more equally.

The prime minister said the UK must change after the "quiet revolution" of the Brexit vote.

Labour were now seen as the "nasty party" and only the Tories would "stand up for the weak... up to the powerful". Government should be a "force for good" to help working people, she argued.

"It feels like your dreams have been sacrificed in the service of others," she said.

Promising to build a "united Britain rooted in a centre ground", she said her government would protect jobs and "repair" free markets when they did not work properly.

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Setting out a "responsible capitalism" agenda, she said the government would "go after" businesses that regarded paying tax as "an optional extra", challenge those which recruited "cheap foreign labour" at the expense of British workers and, in a reference to the collapse of retailer BHS, condemn those who "take out massive dividends while knowing that the company pension is about to go bust".

Previous Tory leaders have sought to reduce state intervention, but May said her government would take action to identify injustice, find solutions and drive change. PTI AKJ AKJ

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BERLIN (Reuters) - At least three Turkish diplomats, reportedly including one military attache, are seeking asylum in Germany in the wake of the failed military coup in Turkey, German media cited government sources as saying. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has recalled an unknown number of diplomatic passports since the coup. Representatives of the German Interior Ministry told members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament that three Turkish diplomats in Germany had applied for asylum, Sueddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR said. That would likely further strain tense ties between Ankara and Berlin after Turkey was outraged by a resolution passed by Germany's parliament that declared the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces to be genocide. Germany is relying on Turkey's help to stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe. Sueddeutsche cited government sources as saying the number could be higher by now. It also cited them as saying the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) had not yet decided on the applications. The diplomats are suspected of being followers of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally turned enemy of President Tayyip Erdogan, the report said. Erdogan blames the coup attempt on Gulen supporters. Gulen has denied any involvement. Neither the German Interior Ministry nor the BAMF could be immediately reached for comment. The Turkish Embassy declined to comment on the report. Around 32,000 people have been jailed pending trial during Turkey's post-coup crackdown, while around 100,000 members of the security and civil services, university professors and others have been fired or suspended from work. (Reporting by Michelle Martin and Paul Carrel; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Timeless is raising the dead  and famous.

The new NBC drama will time-travel to the day of Abraham Lincolns assassination during Mondays episode (airing at 10/9c), before setting its sights on Sinatra, JFK and more  but not Marilyn Monroe  in future installments.

RELATEDTimeless Premiere: Will Your Future Self Tune in for More of the NBC Drama?

Timeless Spoilers

In depicting well-known people from history, the show doesnt want to distract viewers with a lookalike actor, executive producer Eric Kripke says, but when its a figure that the modern audience doesnt have immediate familiarity with, we can get away with showing them on screen. Honest Abe was an exception because the gentleman who played him is, literally, a Lincoln impersonator. We flew him out from Illinois.

The same, however, cannot be said for the icons featured in an upcoming Rat Pack-era time trip.

We have a scene that takes place in the Copa [nightclub], where Frank Sinatra is singing and John F. Kennedy is in the audience, Kripke previews. We found [actors] that were really close. They were great, but when we were watching the footage, we were like, The audience is way too familiar with what these guys actually look like. We ended up using a lot of the angles that are over their shoulders and behind their heads.

RELATEDNBCs Timeless Adventure Wont Fall Down Serialized Rabbit Hole, Says EP

Timeless NBC Season 1 Episode 3 Atomic City

Although the crooner of such tunes as My Way and Fly Me to the Moon wont show his face, his voice will be heard.

We actually got live Sinatra performance stuff to play in the [scenes], EP Shawn Ryan shares. The songs sound amazingly realistic. But its more impressionistic, from behind and in soft focus, than it is trying to sell somebody who 85 percent looks like Sinatra.

For similar reasons, a famous blonde got a quick veto in the writers room. Someone pitched me Marilyn Monroe, and I said, No way,' Kripke recalls.

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Several less recognizable historical characters will grace the series during the early episodes, including Lincolns son Robert Todd Lincoln (The Mysteries of Lauras Neal Bledsoe) and his killer John Wilkes Booth (Fear the Walking Deads Kelly Blatz); James Bond author and spy Ian Fleming (Once Upon a Times Sean Maguire); and frontiersmen James Jim Bowie (Sons of Anarchys Chris Browning) and Davy Crockett (Sons of Anarchys Jeff Kober).

And as more roles come up, you better believe Kripke is looking to reunite with his former Supernatural stars. Hints Kripke: Theres not a day that goes by that I dont think about trying to find a part for Jim Beaver.

Does Timeless Abe Lincoln look presidential enough for you? And what other historical figures do you want to see in future episodes?

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Bogota (AFP) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts in bringing to an end 50 years of conflict with the FARC rebels.

Here are the key dates in Latin America's longest armed conflict, which killed 260,000 people, according to Colombian authorities.

- 1964: FARC formed -

The government launches an offensive against communist groups in the center and west of the country.

On May 27, rebel commander Manuel Marulanda Velez flees the assault with 47 other men and forms the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

- 1984: First peace bid -

On March 28, conservative president Belisario Betancur launches peace talks with the FARC under a bilateral truce.

Talks break down in 1987 after right-wing paramilitaries assassinate a presidential candidate from a party allied to the FARC. Further peace efforts collapse in 1991 and 2002.

- 1996: Hostages taken -

On August 30, the FARC takes 60 Colombian soldiers hostage at a military base in the south.

The raid marks the start of its strategy of mass hostage-takings, which dominates the conflict over the following years.

- 2000: 'Plan Colombia' -

In June, the United States and Colombian president Andres Pastrana launch "Plan Colombia," a joint anti-narcotics strategy.

It is later broadened to include anti-guerrilla operations. Washington has spent more than $10 billion on arming and training Colombian forces.

- 2002: Betancourt captured -

In February, the FARC kidnaps Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, a candidate for Colombian president.

Captive for more than six years in the jungle, she becomes an international symbol of the conflict. She is rescued by the military in 2008.

- 2011: FARC leader killed -

The FARC's top commander, Alfonso Cano, is killed in a raid by the Colombian army on November 4.

Two other top leaders, Raul Reyes and Jorge Briceno, were killed in 2008 and 2010.

- 2012: New peace talks -

Cano is replaced by current leader Timoleon Jimenez, who makes contact with the government to consider peace talks.

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On October 4, President Juan Manuel Santos's government launches new peace talks with the FARC, weakened by the loss of its top leaders.

- 2016: Peace deal -

On June 23, the FARC and the government sign a definitive ceasefire and disarmament agreement, a precursor to a comprehensive peace deal.

On September 26, they sign the full peace accord, which stipulates that the agreement must be ratified by voters in a referendum.

- Referendum shock -

On October 2, Colombian citizens reject the accord by a razor-thin majority of about 56,000 votes in a shock referendum result.

The result throws Colombia's future into uncertainty. The government and the FARC say they are still committed to peace efforts.

- Peace Prize -

Despite the referendum shock, Santos wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring the conflict to an end.
From Cosmopolitan

How can you afford to buy a house with lots of land in Los Angeles? Buy a burned-down shack. Thats what Aubree Bernier-Clarke and Jordan Strang decided to do on a recent episode of HGTVs Tiny House Hunters-and they explained their seemingly bizarre decision in an interview with Slate.



The couple was looking for a fixer-upper with a budget of $265,000, which can hardly get you much in Los Angeles, especially in a more desirable area. Aubree was cool with renovating, but Jordan wanted something more move-in ready. Its clear that Aubree won that argument, because they picked a small house that burned down, but in an area close to their work.

If you watched the episode, what didnt get mentioned was the smell. The property had been abandoned since 1998, and colonies of feral cats had moved in, and you can imagine the stench. The smell that was going on inside that house was a fragrance I cannot describe and would not wish upon anyone, Jordan told Slate. Lately, some coyotes have started to hang out nearby, so the cats have called it quits.

Since the show, Aubree and Jordan have hauled away 60,000 pounds of trash and debris from the property, and its still not completely clear. Theyre keeping parts of the foundation and framing of the house, and trashing the rest. Theyre looking to build a one-bedroom, one-bath tiny house with a lofted space, and want to eventually have a pool outside, too. They spent $155,000 for the burned-down shack, but will end up spending a total of $325,000 when all is said and done, a whopping $100,000 over budget.

But the couple says the cost and hard work will be worth it in the end. In fact, they argue they saved money because they bought a lot that already was properly permitted and had electricity and water. We read the Twitter comments, also, and people were like, Oh my God, I just watched two totally insane people pay this much for literal trash, Jordan said. But if you are in LA, thats what it costs!

Story continues

Follow Megan on Twitter.

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Identical twins Zoey and Zayne Espayos were in trouble before they were even born.

In the womb, the girls suffered heart failure and received transfusions through a complicated and delicate surgery that pumped blood through their umbilical cords.

Read: Woman Becomes Nurse at Hospital That Treated Her Cancer When She Was a Baby: 'I've Had My Heart Set on It'

After birth, they were diagnosed with a rare genetic blood disorder. What they needed, their doctors in Canada said, was a bone marrow transplant. The search was on for a donor.

Enter DKMS, a nonprofit that works to end blood diseases by registering bone marrow donors.

Judiel Annis, a 32-year-old woman living in Orange County, California, agreed to sign up after the group did a presentation at loanDepot, where she works.

She gave a cheek swab and thought nothing of it until she was contacted last year and told she was a match.

Initially, they told me it was a baby girl, they didnt say she had a twin, Annis said Thursday. In November, she had surgery to remove marrow from her hip bones, taking enough for both girls.

The transplants were a resounding success. Both girls are now free of the disorder, and at age 3, they met Annis for the first time this week in a ceremony at her workplace.

On Thursday, they went to Disneyland.

I was always curious about who they were and what kind of condition they had, she said by phone from the Magic Kingdom. Just knowing that these girls are able to lead a long, fulfilling life, that just made me happy to be a part of it, she said.

Read: 13-Year-Old Boy Battling Cancer Sworn In as Sheriff's Deputy: 'It Was the Best Day of His Life

The twins are too young to know the significance of Annis act, but she plans to be part of their lives, going forward, and to stay in touch despite the distance between California and Canada.

Theyre kind of like my genetic twins, she said.

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Meeting the twins mother, Reina, also meant a great deal to Annis.

Just talking to her, its like Ive known her forever. Its like my sister or my aunt. Theres none of that awkwardness.

Its like were family, she said.

Watch: 9-Year-Old Twins Dance With Bone Marrow Donor Who Changed Their Lives

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EuropaCorp will release its thriller, The Circle, on April 28, 2017. Pic is based on the international best-seller by Dave Eggers, and stars Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and John Boyega. Directed and adapted by James Ponsoldt, The Circle follows burgeoning social media executive Mae (Watson) who is encouraged by the tech company founder Eamon Bailey (Hanks) she works for to live her life with complete transparency. But no one is really safe when everyone is watching reads the press release. The Circle is produced by Gary Goetzman and Hanks for Playtone, Anthony Bregman for Likely Story and Ponsoldt. During that pre-summer weekend, The Circle will face off against Lionsgates Eugenio Derbez title How to Be a Latin Lover and Universals untitled Blumhouse horror project. The Circle was fully financed by Image Nation Abu Dhabi and is presented by Image Nation in association with Parkes MacDonald Productions.

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By PTI: patriotism: AAP

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The war of words over the surgical strikes intensified today with AAP hitting back at BJP chief Amit Shah, saying a man whose "criminal history is known to the entire country" is now issuing "certificates of patriotism".

AAP also said the BJP President is "not capable" of standing beside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue of nationalism.

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"Amit Shah is a blotch on political values. He does not have credentials to even utter Kejriwals name. The entire country is aware of his criminal history. He was externed (from Gujarat) and faced murder charges.

"It is surprising that Shah is issuing certificates of patriotism and honesty," Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said.

Shah, who was an accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, was acquitted of murder charges by a special CBI court on December 30, 2014.

"The Army is ours...Our brothers from the hinterland join the force. How come they (BJP) have become the contractors of the Army and patriotism.

"They are questioning Kejriwals patriotism? The entire country is aware of his patriotic sentiment. Is Shah even capable of standing next to Kejriwal when it comes to patriotism?" Sisodia asked.

Earlier today, Shah took potshots at Kejriwal, saying he was the first one to cast doubts over the occurrence of surgical strikes and was trending on Twitter in Pakistan. PTI PR GVS GVS

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This Immigrant Doctor Is Reimagining Health in the American City

Proponents say theyre creating safe spaces for sexual assault victims, combat veterans, or other college students who have experienced trauma or violence. Experts say theyre well intentioned but doing more harm than good, working against the very idea of higher education: acquiring knowledge and learning how to think critically.

In the latest part of a fast-growing trend, the student body president at American University in Washington, D.C., is demanding that the administration mandate trigger warningsordering professors to caution students ahead of disturbing lessons, readings, or classroom discussions.

RELATED: College Students Say Free Speech Has Its Limits

The fact of the matter is, trigger warnings are necessary in order to make our academic spaces accessible to all students, especially those who have experienced trauma, Devontae Torriente argued on a YouTube video released in September His demand, in turn, inspired a supportive Twitter thread under the hashtag #LetUsLearn.

But AUs faculty senate rejected the demand, and an increasing number of academics at colleges nationwide are following suit, including one University of Chicago dean who warned students in August that they wouldnt be warned at all. At the same time, free-speech proponents arguing against the practice say well-meaning students are taking a common-sense advisory used in online rape-survivor forums to block literary classics such as The Great Gatsby, classroom discussions about the everyday brutality of slavery, and law-school lessons on how to prosecute a rapist.

Students generally think this is helpful to their fellow students, [but] students are misusing the language of post-traumatic stress disorder, Greg Lukianoff, an attorney and the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, an academic-freedom advocacy group, told TakePart. They are not recognizing the fact that if you are actually someone who is in such a bad position that you will actually be triggeredthat is, have an episode in classyou need serious [psychological] help well beyond a warning.

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Others argue the warnings are having a chilling effect on professors, stifling experienced educators who want to challenge students in a marketplace of ideas but dont want to get fired for teaching a lesson that might make some students uncomfortable.

RELATED: Debate Over Racist Symbols on College Campuses Spreads to England

History can be ugly. A lot of the great literature of the world is filled with things that might be shocking, offensive, or upset people, but thats part of the reason why that literature is so great, Jesse Saffron, managing editor at the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, a North Carolinabased think tank, told TakePart. It helps increase our ability to understand our fellow human beings.

Most analysts agree that the trend of trigger warnings likely sprang from attempts to moderate internet forums for rape victims and the mentally ill. Schools from Oberlin College in Ohio to the University of California, Berkeley, are now grappling over whether to give students a heads-up before launching into material some may find disturbing.

A recent NPR survey of more than 800 academics found roughly half of the professors had warned students before introducing difficult material, and most said they did so by choice, not policy or student request.

Ismail Muhammad, a professor at UC-Berkeley, told NPR his ambivalence about trigger warnings changed after he screened the Academy Awardwinning 1974 film Chinatown for a film and literature class last fall and noticed an Asian American student in the class was very uncomfortable and genuinely hurt.

I was like, If I can prevent that kind of pain from happening in the classroom by simply alerting students to that kind of language before it gets sprung on them, why wouldnt I do that?  Muhammad said.

At the University of Chicago, however, Dean of Students John Ellison wrote a letter in August to incoming students vowing the school wont cancel controversial speakers, wont provide safe spaces for sensitive students, and doesnt condone any attempts by some on campus to retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.

RELATED: Do College Students Believe in Religious Freedom?

Lukianoff applauds Ellisons letter. Academics, he said, believe theyre walking on eggshells and can get fired if someone takes offense for nearly any infraction, real or imagined.

It becomes very difficult to teach some of the most important things adults need to learn, and trigger warnings dont protect the people theyre intended to help by creating student aversion to a topic or subject where it didnt exist, Lukianoff said. More importantly, and where the big divide comes from, is some students think theyre [being] perfectly reasonable, whereas professors are worried because they feel [the warnings create] a large number of reasons you can punish provocative professors.

The Pope Centers Saffron said the trigger warnings are coming from a sort of ideological progressive mind-set in which young people dont know what they dont know.

The professor is supposed to be the expert. [Students are] supposed to defer to the professors knowledge and the professors scholarship, Saffron said. What were seeing is the students saying, We know whats best for uswe know what we should learn and not learn. 

Sign the Petition: Encourage CreativityKeep the Arts in Schools!

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TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian government is closely monitoring the country's housing market, which some analysts fear is overheated, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. "It's something that we are never finished doing, we continue to work very closely with all partners to ensure that Canadians have confidence in their homes and in the future," Trudeau said during a news conference before a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto. The federal Liberal government, which took power late last year, said on Monday it would tighten mortgage rules and close a tax loophole on home sales, seeking to rein in both foreign investors and indebted consumers. Although housing markets in the major cities of Toronto and Vancouver have boomed in recent years, growth elsewhere has been more moderate, posing a challenge for federal policymakers seeking a possible national solution. The measures that Ottawa announced on Monday are designed to affect foreign investors, who many have blamed for soaring prices in Vancouver and Toronto. Home sales in the greater Toronto Area jumped 21.5 percent in September from a year ago and prices climbed at a similar pace, data showed on Wednesday. "I think the important messages is one of stability and responsible action that will ensure that Canadians can continue to have confidence in their investments in their homes," Trudeau said. (Reporting by David Ljunggren and Matt Scuffham; Editing by Alan Crosby)
Heres a modest suggestion for Donald Trump to consider in advance of his second debate with Hillary Clinton: Put her on the spot to join you in actively opposing any lame-duck effort by President Barack Obama to dictate the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Suspicions are high that during his final days in office, Obama will give a speech in which he lays out the Obama Parameters, detailing the terms for a two-state solution on all the core final status issues, including Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees, and settlements. Obama would then have these terms enshrined in a new United Nations Security Council Resolution, giving them the status of binding international law.

How likely is Obama to do it? No one can say for sure. But when asked, the administration refuses to rule it out. On the contrary, officials coyly acknowledge that the president is actively reviewing what steps he might take to preserve the two-state solution before he departs the White House.

Somewhat more certain is the timing of any last-ditch initiative. Theres almost zero chance of Obama acting until after his successor is chosen on November 8. The reason is clear: Obama knows that any attempt to impose a solution on Israel would ignite a political firestorm in the United States. He doesnt want to do anything that might damage Clintons electoral prospects.

But after Election Day, all bets are off. Obama will be free to indulge his obsession with securing his own legacy. Within two days of his inauguration in 2009, Obama identified Israeli-Palestinian peace as one of his highest priorities. But his performance on the issue has been dismal, an extended disquisition on diplomatic failure and malfeasance. The sad fact is that after two Obama terms the prospects for a settlement are more remote today than at any time in the past quarter century. What quicker way to overcome that blot on his record than by authoring a Security Council resolution that sets in stone for all time the terms of any future deal? All hail the Obama Parameters!

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An added bonus, of course, would be the chance for Obama to stick it to his long time bete noire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Not surprisingly, Netanyahu, along with most Israelis, fiercely opposes any outside effort to strong arm their country on matters directly affecting its vital national interests.

The case against any eleventh-hour Obama initiative is compelling. It would overturn decades of U.S. policy insisting that a stable peace cannot be dictated by external powers, but will only emerge as a result of good-faith negotiations between the parties. It would flagrantly violate the principle that lame-duck presidents lack the democratic legitimacy to undertake major policy initiatives that would tie the hands of their just-elected successor. It would undercut Israel, our strongest Middle Eastern ally, and put it in the untenable position of having to oppose a binding U.N. resolution  a gift if there ever was one to the growing chorus that seeks to isolate, sanction, and boycott the Jewish State. Theres a reason, after all, why none of Obamas predecessors have seen fit to hand the peace process file over to the United Nations  a body that once infamously declared that Zionism is Racism, and whose coterie of dictatorships and tyrannies still manages year-in-and-year-out to disgrace itself thoroughly by passing more resolutions condemning Israel, the Middle Easts only liberal democracy, than any other member state.

Oh, and one more minor thing: The odds that any international initiative would actually advance the immediate cause of peace are basically zero.

So how best to deter Obama from making a lame-duck Hail Mary move on the peace process? Opposition from Trump alone is not likely to do the trick. On the contrary, it might only incentivize Obama to go for broke. A far more powerful deterrent would be for Obamas designated heir, Hillary Clinton, to call upon him publicly not to proceed. To her credit, Clinton has on several occasions during the campaign stated her general opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including by the U.N. Security Council. What she hasnt done is state her specific objection to any initiative that Obama might launch after the elections to pre-determine final status issues. That leaves open the suspicion that, once elected, she might protest perfunctorily while secretly welcoming Obamas willingness to take the political heat for dictating the terms of a settlement, clearing the way for her administration to pressure Israel on behalf of a binding U.N. resolution that it only inherited.

Thats where Trump could perform a real service in the remaining debates. He could try to force Clintons hand on the issue of Obama Parameters and a subsequent Security Council Resolution. He should look for an opening to eliminate her wiggle room by posing a series of questions: Would you oppose any effort by President Obama after the elections to dictate the terms of a peace deal and have those terms enshrined in a binding U.N. resolution? Will you join me now in calling on the president not to attempt any such initiative that would tie the hands of his successor? If youre elected, will you commit to doing everything in your power to stop the president from undertaking such an effort?

Preventing Obama from doing any further damage in the Middle East, while standing up for Israel, Americas best regional ally, is both good policy and good politics. By getting Clinton to join him in explicitly rejecting any lame-duck shenanigans by Obama on the peace process, Trump can use the debates not only to burnish his own foreign policy gravitas, but to advance the concrete interests of the United States as well. Not a bad nights work at all.

Photo credit: CHRISTY BOWE/Corbis via Getty Images)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested on Friday that the U.S. government was intentionally letting people into the U.S. to influence the election.

He made the comments during a meeting at Trump Tower with five members of the National Border Patrol Council, according to a campaign pool report. Trump and Art Del Cueto, a vice president of the border patrol agents union, criticized the U.S. government for not doing enough to crack down on illegal immigration.

Its much easier if you just let people come in, Trump said while praising the work of border agents. Your jobs are much easier. But you love our country.  You know many people are coming in with criminal records.

Del Cueto said he spoke to several agents in charge of processing people crossing the border illegally.

He said some of the people apprehended at the border have known criminal records but were being set aside, because at this point they are saying immigration is so tied up with trying to get the people who are on the waiting list to hurry up and get them their immigration status corrected.

Donald Trump meets with leadership members of the National Border Patrol Council while receiving the groups endorsement during a meeting at Trump Tower. (Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters)

After Trump asked why this was happening, Del Cueto replied, So they can go ahead and vote before the election.

Big statement, fellas, Trump said, concurring with the claim. Thats huge.  Theyre letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote, he continued.

People living illegally in the U.S. are prohibited from voting in federal elections.

Trump has repeatedly offered conspiracy theories about the election supposedly being rigged against him. In August he said at a rally, Im afraid the election is going be rigged, I have to be honest. That same month he also predicted that the only way he would lose Pennsylvania, a Democratic-leaning state, is if cheating goes on.

Go down to certain areas, he told his supporters then, and watch and study and make sure other people dont come in and vote five times.
As you might have heard, Donald Trump visited Nevada yesterday. When not instructing the locals on how to say the states name, he gave a quick interview to Jim Snyder of News3 in Las Vegas, which included this observation:

International tourism is important to southern Nevada's infrastructure. In the past, Trump has suggested 'getting tough' with American trading partners. "But what if China said no more visas to go to Las Vegas and stay at Trump Tower," pressed Snyder. "If China ever did that, and we cut off relationship with China, China would go bust so fast," said Trump.

This is a really stupid thing to say. It would be stupid enough from some average person on a sidewalk who happened to be captured in one of Jay Lenos old Jaywalking segments. From a presidential candidate, especially one whose strong suits are supposed to be economic policy and trade, its worse in its way than the same candidates assertion (way back in installment #6!) that there is no California drought.

Recommended: Against Donald Trump

Why?

1. On the merits, the idea that the U.S. would or could bring China to its knees if we cut off relationship is just ignorant. Mr. Trump, perhaps youve heard about Chinas holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds? Or in U.S. stock and real estate markets? Have any idea what would happen to them in a cutoff?

What about the countless U.S. businesses whose supply chains reach deep into China? Or the countless exporters, from Boeing to GE to most of Americas farmers, for whom China is a crucial market? Cavalierly saying you can cut off [the] relationship is like previous Trump speculation about breaking up NATO or using nukes. China might go bust, but it wouldnt be the only one.

Its also a misreading of the options China itself would have, in a scenario that would obviously be terrible for all parties. Here are some of the countries or blocs that already buy more from China than from the United Statesthat is, important markets other than the U.S. for Chinese products. They include: the European Union as a whole, which depending on how you measure is the first- or second-largest economic group in the world; Japan, next-largest after the U.S., Europe, and China; both Koreas; Australia; many countries in South America and Africa; nearly all countries in ASEAN. You get the idea: its most of the economic world. A U.S-Chinese cut off would hurt everyone, but its not as if China has nowhere else to go.

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Recommended: She Had a 'Grapefruit-Sized Tumor' on Her Shoulder. Her Mom Chose Prayer Over the E.R.

2. On the strategy, its equally foolish. Trump talks about U.S.-China relations as if they were just one more real-estate transaction. Youre always ready to walk; you bluster and play tough; and in the end, you get a great deal.

I resist family-based metaphors for public life. For instance, the federal budget is not like a household budget, despite obligatory assertions to the contrary in political speeches. Still, a far better parallel for U.S.-China relations than a real-estate deal is a long-term marriage. If a marriage is to survive, you dont threaten to walk each day; you dont talk about the other person going bust so fast; you do need to carefully hear some things and pretend not to hear others; you try to understand the world through your partners eyes; you recognize the interests of the extended family; and so down the long list. The metaphor obviously misses a lot, but its much closer to reality than the make great deals! view is.

Almost every American who has worked with, thought about, dealt with, worried about, or done business in China over the past 40-plus years has come to some version of this perspective. Its tough for the U.S. to work with China, but the only thing tougher would be working against them as outright foes. Nothing in Trumps comments about China suggests that hes ever looked or thought beyond the make a great deal! real estate outlook.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Washington (AFP) - Negotiators on the ambitious transatlantic trade treaty pledged Friday to push ahead despite rising anti-free trade sentiment and the rejection of new trade deals by US and European politicians.

Ending their 15th round of negotiations in New York, US and European Union negotiators said they had made "significant progress" as the talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) hone in on some of the most difficult issues.

But crucially, with some politicians running for top leadership positions in the United States and Europe bashing new trade deals as bad for workers and consumers, the two sides said they remain committed to reaching a deal.

"We have heard some skeptical voices about TTIP lately, but I want to emphasize that the United States remains fully engaged in these negotiations and is as committed as ever to their success," said chief US negotiator for the United States Dan Mullaney.

"We remain ready to move forward on an agreement that is in our mutual economic interest."

Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, the chief negotiator for the European Union, stressed that TTIP is a potent way to strengthen transatlantic ties and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

"The reasons to continue these talks are as strong as three years ago when we started negotiating this biggest bilateral trade agreement in the world," he said in a statement.

"In this uncertain world, having close economic partners could help Europe to shape globalisation according to our high standards and according to our vision."

The two ambitious trade deals pushed by the administration of President Barack Obama, TTIP and the Trans Pacific Partnership, both appear imperiled by the hot fight between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton to succeed him.

The deals aim to lower trade and investment barriers and harmonize regulations, but both have attracted deep criticism for eroding local business and consumer protections and potentially granting multinational corporations too much power.

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Trump has strongly condemned both deals as job-killers and Clinton, perhaps swayed by the campaign's populist rhetoric, has said she would not pursue them if they prove to undermine the jobs of American workers.

In Europe, France and Germany are both headed to elections with some candidates warning that TTIP could hurt European workers and consumers.

On Friday European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in Paris that Europe would not go down on its knees to reach a TTIP deal.

"Europe is now negotiating, but Europe is not going to kneel down in front of the Americans," he said.

"We are not going to toss into the wind the principles which have made Europe a success."
One policeman was killed and two others were injured in a terror attack on a police post in Jamnagar area of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir.

By India Today Web Desk: A policeman was killed and two others were injured after militants attacked a police post guarding minority community in Jamnagar area of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack ensued as militants tried to snatch the weapons of local policemen deployed at a "minority post" or armed guard deployed for protection of members of the Pandit community who continue to live in their homes in the Valley.

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"Militants tried to snatch the weapons of policemen posted at Reshnagri minority post. The attempt was resisted by the policemen resulti ng in a shootout in which three persons, including a civilian and two policemen, were injured," a senior police official said here, adding that one of the injured policemen later succumbed to injuries

The militants managed to escape after the shootout, said the official, adding that a manhunt has been started to trace the assailants.

Guerrillas have been attacking the minority posts, especially in south Kashmir areas, to snatch weapons from the security guards at these posts.

Earlier this week, guerrillas had snatched five rifles from a minority post in Kulgam district.



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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities detained 120 police officers on Friday and issued warrants for 46 others, media reported, extending a nationwide clampdown launched following a failed coup in July. The operation was focused on Istanbul police headquarters but simultaneous raids were carried out in 35 provinces, targeting people who used a little-known smartphone messaging app called ByLock, state-run Anadolu Agency said. President Tayyip Erdogan blames the coup on followers of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally turned enemy, who has denied any involvement. Privately owned Dogan news agency said all those detained or sought were police employees, including 13 police chiefs, 114 ranking officers and 39 regular officers. Around 32,000 people have been jailed pending trial during the post-coup crackdown, while around 100,000 members of the security and civil services, university professors and others have been fired or suspended from work. Turkey's Western allies in the European Union and NATO have voiced concerns that innocent people may be swept up in the investigations, which critics have described as a purge. The Council of Europe, a law and human rights organization based in Strasbourg, called on Turkey to lift its state of emergency, imposed days after the coup and extended this week for a further 90 days. "It is inconceivable that the obvious threats on Turkish democracy at the time of the coup attempt have not dropped drastically," Nils Muizniecks, the council's human rights commissioner, said in a statement. The emergency measures have effectively granted Erdogan the ability to rule by decree, with his decisions not subject to oversight by the Constitutional Court, Turkey's highest legal authority. Ankara says followers of Gulen staged the coup to overthrow the president and seize control of the country. The coup involved rogue troops who commandeered warplanes to bomb parliament and used tanks to kill 240 people, many of whom were civilians. A senior Turkish official said in August the country's intelligence agency had identified at least 56,000 operatives of Gulen's network after it cracked the ByLock app, which the group began using in 2014. (Additional reporting by Gilbert Reilhac in Strasbourg; Writing by Daren Butler, editing by Luke Baker and John Stonestreet)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police have captured a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant whom they suspect carried out a "motorbike bomb" attack on Thursday that wounded 10 people near an Istanbul police station, the state-run Anadolu Agency said on Friday. It said a total of six people had been detained in connection with the attack in the Yenibosna neighborhood, several kilometers from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Turkey's largest airport. The suspected perpetrator was captured with a fake identity card in the central province of Aksaray, traveling in a car with two other people, Anadolu said. Television footage released after the explosion on Thursday showed damaged vehicles, shattered glass and broken windows in the residential area, along with the mangled wreckage of a motorbike to which the bomb was attached. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. The PKK launched a separatist insurgency in 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. The conflict flared up again in July last year after the collapse of a two-year-old ceasefire. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Leftist and Islamist groups have also carried out bomb attacks across Turkey in the past, with Islamic State blamed for some recent attacks. The last blast in Istanbul was in June, a month before an attempted coup to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan's government, when 45 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing at the airport. That attack was blamed on Islamic State. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Paul Tait)
In todays TV news roundup, Bridgit Mendler has joined the cast of Nashville Season 5 on CMT, plus Showtime has released a first look at The Affair Season 3

CASTING:

Former Disney Channel star Bridgit Mendler will join the cast of Nashville for Season 5 in a recurring role, CMT announced on Friday. Mendler will play Ashley Wilkenson, described as a sexy, talented internet sensation with 30 million views who is about to record her first album. Mendler starred on Disneys Good Luck Charlie, and also was a regular on NBCs Undateable. She is repped by Gersh.

Tyrese Gibson has joined Lee Daniels upcoming Fox music drama Star in a recurring role. He announced the news on Instagram. Gibson will play Queen Latifahs on-screen love interest. His character, Pastor Bobby Harris, presides over Carlottas (Queen Latifah) congregation. He is a handsome ex-thug, who has, like Carlotta, turned his life over to God, and the two begin a relationship that will be challenged on many fronts and which will ultimately create a crisis of faith for them both.

Instagram Photo

First Look:

Showtime has released a first look video at Season 3 of The Affair.

Season 3 picks up three years after Noahs (Dominic West) shocking admission of guilt at the murder trial of Scott Lockhart. Noah attempts to restart his life, but the damage wrought by his past decisions has made him a ghost of his former self and the trailer sees him handcuffed and behind bars.

Season 3 premieres on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 10 p.m.

DEVELOPMENT

Production company Film Roman has optioned the rights to the comic This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow, Variety has learned exclusively.

Film Roman will develop the comic strip, written and illustrated by Dan Perkins, as an animated series, and will be shopping the show around to broadcast, cable and digital platforms.

Film Roman is the ideal company to produce a series based on the strip, considering its immensely successful track record over the years, said Perkins.

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Film Roman CEO, Steve Waterman, added: We are exceptionally pleased and excited to be working with Dan to adapt his fiercely insightful and hilarious strip for television or digital. With its large and enthusiastic following, its a show that could work in a broadcast, cable or streaming environment, and were going to explore all of those options.

The project will be exec produced by Film Roman founder/animator Phil Roman and Jeff Segal, who says, The show, targeting essentially the same demographic as The Simpsons, will tackle hot button social and political issues, with Dans trademark brand of rapier wit and edgy satire.

Related stories

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TV News Roundup: Sandra Oh Joins 'American Crime' Season 3

TV News Roundup: Jennifer Esposito Recurring in 'The Affair' Season 3, 'Shameless' Released Early
(Adds background, comment from law professor)

By Andrew Chung

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a $120 million jury award for Apple Inc against Samsung, marking the latest twist in the fierce patent war between the world's top smartphone manufacturers.

The court said that there was substantial evidence for the jury verdict related to Samsung's infringement of Apple patents on its slide-to-unlock and autocorrect features, as well as quick links, which automatically turn information like addresses and phone numbers into links.

Friday's decision was made by the full slate of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. In an 8-3 ruling, the judges said that a previous panel of the same court should not have overturned the verdict last February.

The three-judge panel did not follow U.S. Supreme Court limits on the scope of its review, because it examined evidence outside the record of the case, the decision said.

Representatives for Samsung and Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

The appeal stems from a May 2014 verdict from a federal court in San Jose, California, which ordered Samsung to pay $119.6 million for using the Apple features without permission. Infringement of the quick links feature accounted for nearly $99 million of the damages.

The jury had also found that Apple infringed a Samsung patent on digital photo technology and awarded $158,400 in damages. Friday's decision upholds that award.

The two companies have been battling over mobile device technology patents for years, with Apple mostly prevailing.

In December, Samsung paid Apple $548.2 million stemming from a separate patent case. Part of that dispute has been appealed to the Supreme Court, which will hear it on Tuesday.

James Gibson, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said in an email to Reuters that Friday's ruling is based on a procedural issue rather than a disagreement over patent law.

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"But this seemingly pedestrian ruling is an important precedent for those who want patent protection going forward - and it's a big win for Apple."

The case is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 15-1171.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrew Hay)
By Julia Fioretti and Allison Lampert BRUSSELS, MONTREAL (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers said on Friday they would keep the bloc's existing emissions trading system for flights within Europe, and would weigh a future decision to apply it to foreign carriers because the world's first global aviation pollution deal is not "ambitious" enough. The European system actually reduces pollution from flights, according to EU lawmakers, while a United Nations approved deal on Thursday merely curbs it at 2020 levels. The EU ETS is a "cap and trade" system in which emissions are capped at certain levels. The deal reached by the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal allows carriers to increase emissions without limit as long as they offset them by purchasing carbon credits from designated environmental projects. "This (the ICAO deal) is historic, but unambitious," said German MEP Peter Liese, from the center-right group, the largest, in the Brussels legislature. EU lawmakers recently passed a resolution saying intra-European flights would still be covered by the ETS. "It (the ICAO deal) is a first step of action from countries who until now didn't do so," said Bas Eickhout, a green member of the European Parliament. "But other countries are allowed to go beyond that." Two EU diplomats said the bloc was unlikely to dismantle its internal emissions trading scheme, with one calling it a red line.' Industry has argued the ICAO deal should be the only emissions scheme for international aviation. But as a concession, the deals text was drafted in a way that allows the EU to keep its scheme for flights between European countries, said two sources familiar with the matter. "Of course this ICAO deal is not enough to really decarbonize aviation," said EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc at a news conference. But "without this deal, there is no other progress." "We will now build on it." The European Commission, the EU executive, said it would soon present a report on the future of the ETS. Following the ICAO deal, the EU must decide whether to extend an exemption for international flights from its ETS beyond next year. The issue almost sparked a trade row ahead of the 2013 ICAO assembly. "The next five or six months will be important, said Jens Nilsson, an MEP from the parliament's center-left grouping. There will have to be a decision on the best way to act in Europe with this global deal in place. Eickhout, who favors imposing the ETS on foreign carriers, said lawmakers should weigh whether the ICAO deal goes far enough to curb pollution from airlines. "That will be the yardstick. Was (the deal) decided here ambitious? My answer is 'no,'" Eickhout said in Montreal. The EU had ordered foreign carriers to buy credits under its ETS in 2012 but backtracked when countries said it violated their sovereignty and China threatened to cancel plane orders to Airbus Group SE. The EU instead agreed to temporarily stop applying the ETS to foreign carriers and allow ICAO to craft a global deal. At least 65 countries generating 86 percent of aviation activity will join that deal's voluntary phases from 2021 to 2026. The deal becomes mandatory from 2027 for states with larger aviation industries. (Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in MONTREAL and Susanna Twidale in LONDON; Editing by Ruth Pitchford and David Gregorio)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will vote on Saturday on a draft resolution that urges Russia and the United States to ensure an immediate truce in Syria's Aleppo and "put an end to all military flights over the city," the French U.N. envoy said. Russia signaled it would veto the resolution, drafted by France and Spain. "This is not a draft which is right for adoption, I have this suspicion that the real motive is to cause a Russian veto," said Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Friday. "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass." French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said on Friday he has asked for the draft resolution to be put to a vote on Saturday. In Washington, French Foreign Minister Jean-Mark Ayrault said that he planned to go to New York for the vote. "I still have hope that the resolution will pass and that it can be implemented," Ayrault told reporters in Washington. He also appeared to echo comments by others, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, suggesting Russia could be complicit in war crimes in Syria. "The U.N. secretary-general has spoken of war crimes. It's the reality," Ayrault said. The draft text, seen by Reuters, also asks U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to propose options for a U.N.-supervised monitoring of a truce and threatens to "take further measures" in the event of non-compliance by "any party to the Syrian domestic conflict." The draft urges Russia and the United States "to ensure the immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, starting with Aleppo, and, to that effect, to put an end to all military flights over the city." Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, backed by Russian war planes and Iranian support, have been battling to capture eastern Aleppo, the rebel-held half of Syria's largest city, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped. "It is unprecedented for the members of the council to ask a permanent member to limit its own activities," Churkin said. "I'm supposed to vote for a demand that then our military will have to comply with. It doesn't mean that certain things cannot happen but they can't happen through a certain process, which is definitely not putting a resolution with this kind of text on the table," he said. Russia and China have previously protected the Syrian government from council action by blocking several resolutions, including a bid to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Siddaramaiah appealed to his followers saying that people have supported him for more than 30 years of his political career and hope that they will support his son Yathindra too as he makes his foray into politics.

By Rohini Swamy: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during his visit to Mysuru appealed to the people of the region to bless his eldest son Yathindra who is all set to take over from him in the Varuna constituency.

Siddaramaiah appealed to his followers saying that people have supported him for more than 30 years of his political career and hope that they will support his son Yathindra too as he makes his foray into politics.

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Siddaramaiah's second son Rakesh succumbed to multi-organ failure in Belgium a few months ago. Rakesh used to take care of the constituency work as his father administered the state.

Yathindra, who is a doctor by profession was initially hesitant to plunge into politics. It is believed even Siddaramaiah did not want Yathindra to dabble with politics. But it is Yathindra's mother who advised that he take over the mantle from his father as the oncoming elections will require a lot of leg work and Siddaramaiah's years of work in the constituency should not be taken over by another party in the absence of a successor.

Yathindra in an exclusive interview to India today earlier had expressed the same and his initial hesitance and how the love of the people for his father and his family has forced him to work for the people of Karnataka.

--- ENDS ---
The Obama administration today publicly accused the Russian government of cyberattacks against U.S. political organizations and prominent figures that are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.

The extraordinary move comes after months of disclosures stemming from the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and other groups  cyberattacks that the U.S. intelligence community is now confident were directed by the Russian government.

The accusation came in a joint statement by the office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations, the statement reads. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts.

These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process, the statement continues. Such activity is not new to Moscow  the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.

The statement appears to raise the political stakes over the cyberattacks, threatening a new confrontation with Russia at a time of increasingly tense relations between Washington and Moscow in Syria and elsewhere. But some commentators immediately noted that the joint statement cites no specific evidence to back up the public accusation. Words, no proof, no threat, wrote Jack Goldsmith, a former senior Justice Department lawyer during the Bush administration, on Twitter.

Earlier Friday, a group of former top national security officials and experts warned that Russian intelligence agents may doctor emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee and other political groups as part of a sophisticated disinformation campaign aimed at influencing the 2016 election.

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The group, including former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former White House counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke, urged the news media to be cautious about publishing such material lest they play into Russian hands.

What is taking place in the United States follows a well-known Russian playbook: First leak compelling and truthful information to gain credibility. The next step: Release fake documents that look the same, the group said in a joint public statement.

The Russians arent coming. Theyre already here, said Tara Sonenshine, a former undersecretary for public diplomacy under Clinton and one of the organizers of the joint statement.

The fear that more embarrassing emails may be coming is especially acute among Democratic operatives and loyalists, who have become convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin is more favorably disposed to Trump and doing what he can to assist his candidacy. And perhaps not surprisingly, most, if not all, of the 16 former officials and national security experts who signed the statement  including Chertoff, who served during the Bush administration  have endorsed Clinton.

Sonenshine insisted that the purpose of the letter was not to pressure the news media to refuse to publish any leaked emails. Instead, she said, it is only to inject a cautionary note into the review of such material given the Russian propensity to fabricate documents.

You cant put out a red stop sign to journalism, she said. But you can put up a yellow flag.

Sonenshine and another organizer of the letter, Ken Gude of the Center for American Progress, said there is evidence that the Russian intelligence service has fabricated or altered documents to further its political aims in Ukraine and elsewhere. And the joint statement warns that such actions appear to fit into a larger strategy of using cyber tools targeting Western democracies. Similar concerns about Russian information warfare were raised in a recent U.S. intelligence report, disclosed last week by Yahoo News, that cited the activities of Russian Internet trolls and the broadcasts of RT and Sputnik, two state-sponsored media outlets.
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The United States has sent teams of military and U.S. Agency for International Development personnel to help Haiti after Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people and destroyed infrastructure in the Caribbean nation, the White House said on Friday. USAID has sent teams to Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas to work with local authorities to coordinate disaster relief, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters aboard Air Force One. The Defense Department has about 150 people in Haiti now, and "weather permitting" that number will grow to a couple of hundred over the weekend, Schultz said. The teams are distributing food and water, helping with transportation, and setting up first responder capabilities, he said. The U.S. military said on Friday the USS Mesa Verde, an amphibious transport dock ship, is heading toward Haiti to support relief efforts and will start helicopter flights to support USAID efforts on the island. The ship can produce fresh water and has water delivery vehicles aboard. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe Aboard Air Force One and Timothy Gardner and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)
By Josh Smith KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. government watchdog is pressing the Pentagon to explain reports of tens of thousands of "ghost" soldiers and police on the payrolls of the Afghan security forces, which are heavily funded by international donors. The U.S. government has allocated more than $68 billion since 2002 to help support Afghan security forces battling Taliban insurgents and other militants. The United States and its NATO allies pledged earlier this year to provide around $5 billion per year until at least 2020 for the army and police. Some of that money could be fraudulently wasted by funding non-existent positions in the security forces, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, wrote in a letter to the U.S. Defense Department. The letter was sent in August but released publicly on Friday. "Persistent reports indicating discrepancies between the assigned force strength of the (Afghan security forces) and the actual number of personnel serving raise questions regarding whether the U.S. government is taking adequate steps to prevent taxpayer funds from being spent on so-called 'ghost' soldiers," Sopko wrote. Afghan forces are struggling to defend against Taliban militants seeking to reimpose a fundamentalist Islamist government in Afghanistan, as well as other militant groups. In northern Afghanistan, government troops have been battling since Monday to try to clear Taliban fighters from positions they seized in key city of Kunduz. Nationally, the Afghan army and police have an approved strength of about 320,000, but officials say the real number is much lower than that. Heavy casualties and soldiers and police deserting or not reporting for duty mean security forces lose thousands of personnel every month, which they struggle to replace. The shortage of personnel has been most acutely felt in hot spots like Helmand province in southwest Afghanistan, where a lack of troops has undermined efforts to blunt Taliban gains. Officials in Helmand have said as many as half the security forces on the rolls did not exist, with much of the salaries for the non-existent troops going to corrupt leaders, Sopko said, citing media reports. The U.S. Department of Defense has taken steps to try to prevent fraud by automating some systems and collecting biometric data to track police and soldiers, but Sopko said such measures would only be effective if accurate data on Afghan force levels was collected and maintained. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Paul Tait)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The European banking system is in "much better shape" than it was several years ago, UBS Group AG (UBSG.S)(UBS.N) Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said on Friday.

"The last two weeks are a testament to that," Ermotti said at the 2016 Institute of International Finance Annual Membership Meeting in Washington. "The same kind of dynamics seven or eight years ago would have created a major fallout."

The comments came as Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's biggest lender, faces heavy pressure as it fights a penalty of up to $14 billion that the U.S. Department of Justice plans to impose for misselling mortgage securities. On Thursday, IMF chief Christine Lagarde gave the bank some tough advice, saying it needed to reform its business model and rapidly reach a deal with U.S. regulators.

Ermotti also said that European banks should see some consolidation around geography and client segmentation.

"Each bank should really try to figure out, 'What is my DNA? What is my relevance to clients?'" he added.

Also at the conference, Ana Botin, the new chairwoman of Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC), said Europe is not prepared for cross-border mergers between banks as several perquisites, from regulatory measures to efficiency gains, are still needed.

Some regulators and European Central Bank officials have called for more cross-border mergers, arguing that Europe's bloated bank sector must be reduced, given weak profitability, poor efficiencies and excessive competition.

"I dont think Europe is ready for cross-border consolidation ... I think politically thats not the path right now," Botin said.

Botin was appointed last month after the sudden death of her father, Emilio. She has said she would push ahead with the international diversification of the lender.

The comments come as Britain prepares to leave the European Union, either in a hard Brexit in which in it leaves the EUs single market in order to impose controls on immigration, disrupting access to the countrys main trading partner, or in a soft Brexit in which it keeps in or close to the EUs single market, retaining many trade and business benefits.

(This version of the story corrects inactive stock symbol in paragraph 3)

(Reporting by Olivia Oran; Writing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Meredith Mazzilli)
(Corrects inactive stock symbol in paragraph 3)

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The European banking system is in "much better shape" than it was several years ago, UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said on Friday.

"The last two weeks are a testament to that," Ermotti said at the 2016 Institute of International Finance Annual Membership Meeting in Washington. "The same kind of dynamics seven or eight years ago would have created a major fallout."

The comments came as Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, faces heavy pressure as it fights a penalty of up to $14 billion that the U.S. Department of Justice plans to impose for misselling mortgage securities. On Thursday, IMF chief Christine Lagarde gave the bank some tough advice, saying it needed to reform its business model and rapidly reach a deal with U.S. regulators.

Ermotti also said that European banks should see some consolidation around geography and client segmentation.

"Each bank should really try to figure out, 'What is my DNA? What is my relevance to clients?'" he added.

Also at the conference, Ana Botin, the new chairwoman of Banco Santander SA, said Europe is not prepared for cross-border mergers between banks as several perquisites, from regulatory measures to efficiency gains, are still needed.

Some regulators and European Central Bank officials have called for more cross-border mergers, arguing that Europe's bloated bank sector must be reduced, given weak profitability, poor efficiencies and excessive competition.

"I don't think Europe is ready for cross-border consolidation ... I think politically that's not the path right now," Botin said.

Botin was appointed last month after the sudden death of her father, Emilio. She has said she would push ahead with the international diversification of the lender.

The comments come as Britain prepares to leave the European Union, either in a "hard Brexit" in which in it leaves the EU's single market in order to impose controls on immigration, disrupting access to the country's main trading partner, or in a "soft Brexit" in which it keeps in or close to the EU's single market, retaining many trade and business benefits.

(Reporting by Olivia Oran; Writing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Meredith Mazzilli)
ZURICH (Reuters) - Authorities in Spain have asked for support from Switzerland's tax agency on tax matters, Swiss bank UBS said.

"Spanish tax authorities have filed a request for international administrative assistance in tax matters with the Swiss Federal Tax Administration," UBS said in a brief statement on its website for the bank's Spanish business.

UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, said in July it had been ordered by Switzerland's tax agency to provide France with tax information, adding that it expected other countries to file similar requests.

News of the request was reported earlier on Friday by Swiss finance website InsideParadeplatz.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; editing by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi)
* Sale of 9 pct UK stake to resume after Brexit halt

* UKFI recommends scrapping sale to general public

* Analysts question timing of sale

* Hammond says no plan to sell RBS shares now (Adds Hammond comment on RBS)

By Andrew MacAskill and Sinead Cruise

LONDON Oct 7 (Reuters) - Britain will resume selling its residual 3.6 billion pound ($4.5 billion) stake in Lloyds Banking Group after a break following the country's vote in June to quit the European Union.

UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), which manages the government's stake in the bailed-out bank, said it would relaunch a trading plan led by Morgan Stanley to try to return Lloyds to full private ownership over the next 12 months.

The plan means the shares will be offered in increments to institutional investors, with the first sales likely in the coming days.

UKFI has recommended scrapping plans to sell some of those shares via a discounted offer to the general public, risking disappointing thousands of small investors hoping to cash in on growth at Britain's biggest mortgage lender.

"Returning Lloyds to the private sector is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole. That is why exiting our stake in Lloyds in an orderly way and at the best possible price is one of my top priorities," Finance Minister Philip Hammond said in a statement on Friday.

The government currently owns about 6.5 billion ordinary shares in Lloyds, representing about 9 percent of its shares.

Hammond said he had no plans to start selling shares in fellow state supported lender Royal Bank of Scotland due to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the alleged misselling of U.S. mortgage-backed securities and delays in the sale of unit Williams & Glyn.

Market conditions were also not right for the sale, he told reporters during a trip to Washington.

BEST VALUE?

After a 28 percent fall in the value of Lloyds stock so far this year, some analysts questioned whether restarting share sales in the middle of a banking share slump represented the best value for taxpayers.

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"Having sold 11 billion shares at 81.4 pence over the last 18 months, it would appear that the Chancellor is now willing to sell them at a ballpark 50 pence, which I find slightly surprising," said Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec.

"Selling assets before the (November) Autumn Statement may play a part in his thinking but I thought he had removed those pressures by pretty much abandoning all plans to balance his budget," Gordon added.

Lloyds shares slipped 5.5 percent to a two-month low of 52p by 1415 GMT.

Lloyds was rescued with a 20.5 billion pound taxpayer-funded bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, leaving the state holding 43 percent.

So far the government has recouped about 16.9 billion pounds after the finance ministry began selling off its stake in 2013.

In January, the government posted a planned sale of shares in Lloyds due to turmoil in global financial markets.

Hammond himself has stopped short of scrapping an eagerly anticipated share sale to the public but few investors and analysts expect the offer to be revived, especially if the trading plan goes well.

That would break with the Conservative government's previous commitment to offload the shares in one of biggest public privatisations since the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher's administration sold shares in British Telecom and British Gas.

The decision comes as the government faces increased pressure to recoup the 9 billion pounds it said it planned to gain from selling stakes in Lloyds and RBS this year.

Earlier this week, it also announced plans to restart the sale of almost 16 billion pounds of Bradford & Bingley mortgage loans, in a further sign of renewed confidence in the economy.

Lloyds Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio welcomed the decision, saying it will help return the bank to private hands.

(Additional reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and David Chance in Washington; Editing by Keith Weir and Alexander Smith)
By Gilbert Reilhac STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The UK Independence Party (UKIP), which played a key role in securing Britain's vote to leave the European Union, was at "breaking point" on Friday with the main contender to be its new leader in hospital after a scuffle with a colleague. Steven Woolfe suffered seizures and needed brain scans after he collapsed following a "physical" confrontation at a heated meeting of UKIP's European Parliament members (MEPs) in Strasbourg to discuss the party's future. "People have worked too long and too hard to get UKIP to where it is today, but it is clear that we ourselves, are at breaking point," said businessman Arron Banks, the populist party's most prominent donor. The anti-EU UKIP, which is no stranger to infighting, has become a political force in Britain in recent years, riding on a surge of euroscepticism and concerns about immigration. It has 22 MEPs, two more than either Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservatives or the main Labour opposition, and took almost four million votes in the 2015 national election. However, since it achieved its main goal helping force June's referendum and securing Brexit, its hopes of becoming the main opposition by winning over Labour supporters from its northern English heartlands where support for leaving the EU was strong have been severely dented by internal divisions. Its well-known, charismatic leader Nigel Farage announced he would step down after the referendum but his elected successor Diane James quit this week after just 18 days saying she lacked sufficient authority. Woolfe then angered some in his party when he said he would stand for the leadership but then also admitted he had considered defecting to the ruling Conservatives. "THINGS WENT TOO FAR" Matters came to a head at the meeting on MEPs on Thursday to discuss these comments leading to a clash between defence spokesman Mike Hookem, 62, and Woolfe, 49. "The meeting was called to discuss the concerns over Steven Woolfe ... just what was happening and could we trust him as a leader, is he going to jump ship in the future," Hookem told the BBC. Hookem denied he had thrown any punches, but said there had been a scuffle after Woolfe had approached to attack him. They had wrestled and Woolfe had fallen back but had got straight up. "Steven has this morning reached out the hand of friendship to Mr Hookem, to Mike, and has realised that things did go too far in the MEP meeting," UKIP MEP Nathan Gill told reporters on Friday after visiting Woolfe who will be held in hospital's neurological department for another 48 hours as a precaution. There will be no police action but UKIP will hold an internal investigation and the European Parliament is to launch a disciplinary inquiry. Back in Britain, public recriminations amongst party figures came to the fore while newspaper front pages featured a picture of an unconscious Woolfe sprawled face down in the European parliament building. "UKIP out for the count," said the Daily Mail's headline. Neil Hamilton, UKIP's leader in the Welsh Assembly, said the police should have been involved, calling the incident "absolutely appalling". Meanwhile party donor Banks denounced Hamilton on Twitter as "an odious toad", said he would no longer back UKIP if Hamilton and Douglas Carswell, UKIP's only representative in the Westminster parliament, remained in the party and Woolfe was not allowed to run for leader. Despite the turmoil, senior figures in the party, which has in the past seen claims of racism, misogyny and homophobia against its members, believe it can shrug this off. "As we've discovered many times with UKIP, we are a bit Teflon so things get thrown at us and it seems to bounce off," Gill said. (Additional reporting by Alastair MacDonald in Brussels; Writing by Michael Holden in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
By PTI: Guwahati, Oct 7 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has greeted people on the occasion of Durga Puja stating it will foster peace and tranquility among all.

In a message today, the Chief Minister said, "On this joyous occasion of Durga Puja, I extend my greetings and good wishes to everybody.

Durga Puja represents the triumph of truth over untruth, good over evil, justice over injustice".

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He also called upon the people of Assam to take a pledge to make Assam foreigners free, corruption free, terrorism free and pollution free on the occasion of Durga Puja.

He also said that Durga Puja will foster peace and tranquility among all besides strengthening the age old bond of amity and unity in the state.

Moreover, celebration of Durga Puja will instill cordiality and camaraderie among the cross section of people living in Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys, Hills and Plains. PTI ESB MD

--- ENDS ---
Of the many neglected foreign policy pots and pans that will be waiting on the next U.S. presidents stove, the one marked Ukraine may be ready to boil over. The countrys problems are a hearty borscht of bribery, theft, official corruption, and even murder  and nothing is as it first appears.

Ukraine has faded from the American national consciousness as other, even more recent and far more spectacular foreign policy fiascos  Syria, Libya and the Islamic State  overwhelm our capacity to catalog them.

Most Americans have all but forgotten Russias invasion of the Crimea in 2014, and at least one U.S. Presidential candidate seems willing to pardon it altogether. Nevertheless, Russians still occupy Crimea, and pro-Russian rebels, supported by the Russian military, control much of the countrys two eastern provinces: Donetsk and Lugansk.

Russia is deploying a massive military force along Ukraines borders, which will be capable of invasion by 2018. The ongoing fighting in Donbass strains the Ukrainian society and undermines peoples trust in the government.

Pro-Russian politicians, such as Alexander Medvedchuk, whose daughters are goddaughters of Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, are still occupy positions of power in Kyiv. Super-rich oligarchs, Moscow- and Yanukovich connected East Ukraine energy king Rinat Akhmetov, finance pro-Russian political parties.

And then, there is corruption, of the most systemic and ubiquitous kind, corruption that the Obama administration singled out as one of the main threats to Ukrainian state. It would be difficult to fight corruption at the best of times, but during the Russian military engagement and pervasive subversion sponsored by the Kremlin this is all but mission impossible.

Yet the Obama administration  especially Joe Biden  has emphasized corruption fighting, while its reaction to Putins aggression has been tepid. President Barack Obama prefers a cautious combination of economic sanctions against Russia and economic support for the Ukrainian government in Kiev.

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Obamas delicate carrot-and-stick approach hasnt worked, and the long-simmering Ukrainian kettle threatens to boil into the worst crisis in relations between Moscow and Washington since the Cold War.

Despite all the best efforts of the West since its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine is a kleptocracy. Its political history amounts to little more than a non-stop perp-walk, with one popularly elected leader kicked out of the country in a popular uprising, another suspected of murder, and the third blamed for the weakened institutions and lost opportunities.

The optimism created by the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan street demonstrations was short-lived. Prime Minister Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk was forced to resign in April against a backdrop of permanent political crisis and high-profile charges of corruption.

The Russia-inspired war killed thousands of Ukrainians and displaced a million more, but when asked which is more urgent  the war against the pro-Russian rebels or the war against corruption  Ukrainians believe corruption is more important, by a margin of more than two-to-one.

The so-called Panama Papers  the millions of leaked documents from the Panamanian corporate law firm Mossack Fonseca last April also proved that President Petro Poroshenko was busy registering offshore accounts even as his own troops were retreating from one of the bloodiest defeats of the war.

Poroshenko is Europes richest leader according to Forbes, and despite his promises to embed new traditions by selling off his assets, he has sold nothing. In fact, he was the only one of Ukraines wealthy businessmen to see his net worth actually increase in 2015, to $858 million. Like his predecessor Viktor Yanukovich, he has erased the thin line once existed between business and politics in Ukraine and he is profiting richly, even as his country struggles through the worst economic and political crisis since the 1991 independence.

Perhaps most dispiriting of all, even those Ukrainian activists, politicians, and journalists who are portrayed as true reformers appear likewise unable to resist the temptation to engage in the systemic looting of the Ukrainian economy.

In early September, the New Yorker magazine dedicated several thousand words to three citizen-journalists who now serve in the Ukrainian Parliament. Like other western media outlets, the New Yorker portrayed Sergei Leshchenko, Svitlana Zalishchuk, and Mustafa Nayem as dedicated journalists  new faces who sought election to parliament as part of President Poroshenkos bloc in the wake of the Maidan street protests, which Nayem helped organize.

Now, however, Leshchenkos post-election acquisition of high-end housing has attracted the attention of the Anti-Corruption Agency of Ukraine, an investigatory body that was established at the urging of the United States. Last week, the Anti-Corruption Agency forwarded the Leshchenko file to the special prosecutors office tasked with corruption fighting. Leshchenko could not explain the source of the income that allowed him to buy the residence, loan documents are missing, and the purchase price was allegedly below market

The owner of the building, according to Ukrainian media accounts, is Ivan Fursin, the partner of mega-oligarch Dmytro Firtash.

Recent reports have revealed that Leshchenkos expenses for attending international forums were paid for by the oligarch Viktor Pinchuk who also contributed $8,6 million to the Clinton Foundation While Leshchenko remains the toast of the western media and Washington think tanks, back at home, his fellow reformers in the Parliament are calling on him to resign until his name is cleared.

Meanwhile, the next president is sure to find Ukraine besieged on all sides: With Russian troops and pro-Russian rebels at its throat and corruption destroying it from within and as the Leshchenko scandal suggests, not all in Ukraine is what it appears to be.

The new president must learn to discern Ukraines true reformers from those who made anti-corruption crusades into a lucrative business, and be able to distinguish real action from empty words.

If not, the two and a half decades-long Ukrainian experiment with independence may boil over completely.

Photo credit: BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
The other day, a little present arrived in the mail. It was book, or rather a pair of doorstops. Titled Doomed to Cooperate, the massive two-volume set is about 1,000 pages of essays, interviews, and vignettes from more than 100 participants in the remarkable period of cooperation between the nuclear weapons complexes of the United States and Russia in the immediate post-Cold War period. Siegfried Hecker, who edited the volumes, titled them after the remark of a Soviet scientist, who said of the shared danger that nuclear weapons pose, Therefore, you know, we were doomed to work together, to cooperate. Not everyone got the message, certainly not Vladimir Putin. Set against relations between Washington and Moscow today, the incredible stories in Heckers two volumes seem to be from another era entirely. On Monday, Putin issued a decree suspending a plutonium disposition agreement with the United States due to its unfriendly actions. (An unofficial translation is available from the Center for Energy and Security Studies in Moscow, as is a draft law submitted by the Kremlin.) Putins decree ends one of the last remaining forms of cooperation from that remarkable era.

Plutonium disposition is a fancy sort of phrase, the kind of term of art that, when I drop it at a cocktail party, sends people off to refill their drinks. But plutonium is the stuff of which bombs are made. After the Cold War, the United States and Russia agreed to dispose of tons of plutonium to make sure it could never be put back into bombs. So believe you me, when the Russians decide that maybe they should just hang on to that material for a while longer, its not so boring.

And were talking about a lot of plutonium here. If you recall the dark days of the Cold War, or maybe just read about them in a book, the United States and Soviet Union each had tens of thousands of nuclear weapons. Thats sort of insane if you think about what just one nuclear bomb did to Hiroshima and another to Nagasaki. But the United States and the Soviet Union each built stockpiles in excess of 30,000 nuclear weapons at their peak, massive arsenals of nuclear weapons that vast exceeded any conceivable purpose. And at the beating heart of the vast majority of those bombs were tiny little pits of plutonium.

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Washington and Moscow have made great strides in reducing their vast nuclear arsenals, although we still have more than enough nuclear weapons to kill each other and then make the rubble bounce. The United States, for example, has reduced its stockpile from a peak of 31,255 nuclear weapons in 1967 to 4,571 in 2015. Lets just say Russias stockpile is comparable, though perhaps not quite as modest.

Of course, retiring a nuclear weapon requires it to be dismantled. In the United States, a backlog of thousands of weapons awaits dismantlement. That queue stretches to 2022, and few experts think the United States will meet that target. And even once a weapon is dismantled, that still leaves the plutonium. As long as the plutonium exists, it can be turned back into a nuclear bomb.

The United States and Russia have lots and lots of plutonium left over from the Cold War. Neither country makes new plutonium anymore, or at least no weapons-grade plutonium, but dont worry  theres still more than enough to keep you up at night. The International Panel on Fissile Materials, at Princeton University, estimates the stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium at 88 metric tons for the United States and 128 metric tons for Russia. To give you a sense of how much plutonium that is, it is an unclassified fact that a nuclear weapon can be made with as little as 4 kilograms of plutonium. Its a slightly touchier subject that this is the average in the U.S. stockpile  one can make do with less. But lets do the math: Even at 4 kilograms per nuclear weapon, 88 metric tons represents enough material for 22,000 nuclear weapons.

One hundred and twenty-eight metric tons is enough for 32,000 nuclear weapons. Want to get your arms race on?

When the Cold War ended, the more enlightened souls among us realized that reducing these stockpiles of plutonium was a critical task. As long as the plutonium remained, so did the possibility of resuming the arms race. Or, god forbid, the possibility the material might fall into the wrong hands. A pair of studies by the National Academy of Sciences (published in 1994 and 1995) called excess fissile material a clear and present danger to national and international security.

The United States and Russia freely admitted that much of their stockpiles of plutonium and highly enriched uranium was excess to any conceivable need. In addition to programs to help Russia keep track of its massive amount of material, Washington and Moscow agreed to eliminate some of it. For the plutonium stockpile, in 2000 the United States and Russia each offered 34 metric tons for elimination under the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement. That represents 8,500 nuclear weapons that Russia will never build and another 8,500 nuclear weapons that will never enter the U.S. arsenal. Of course, that was only a portion of the massive stockpile, but along with an agreement to downblend highly enriched uranium, it was a promising start to making sure the arms race never started up again.

And then  nothing happened. As it turns out, Washington and Moscow make better enemies than friends. Plutonium isnt easy to dispose of, and the United States and Russia quarreled endlessly about how to eliminate the material. The story of why the material was never disposed of is long and complicated, involving different technological attitudes in Russia and the United States, as well as healthy helpings of South Carolina barbecued pork. The simplest way to put it is this: The United States and Russia quickly fell to arguing, requiring a new disposition plan in 2007, followed by more arguing until the disposition plan was amended in 2010, and both sides were still arguing about amending the deal when Putin finally pulled the plug this week. Pavel Podvig, who literally wrote the book on Russias nuclear program, tells the whole sordid story if you want to read about it.

At some level, though, the details dont matter. The technical and political questions of how best to eliminate the plutonium pale in comparison to the political urgency of eliminating the threat it poses  they should. If either side wanted a solution, there were options. Knowledgeable observers like Podvig offered plenty of constructive solutions that might have kept the agreement alive. We collectively chose to do nothing.

And so here we are. Putins decree states that Russia isnt planning on turning the plutonium back into weapons just yet. But there is no reason it couldnt. And there is no clear plan for what happens to it now. The plan seems to be that the United States and Russia will simply continue to sit on tens of thousands of nuclear weapons worth of plutonium for the indefinite future. (Oh, and plutonium ages better than Sophia Loren, so the bombs that might be built out of it could be menacing your grandchildren.) If you think about it, this isnt really a plan at all  just a terrible inability to do anything in the face of a common danger or head off what looks like a return to Cold War animosity.

If anything makes Heckers collection of stories seem like they come from another time, it is that. Once upon a time, there was a collective belief among American and Russian scientists that they could do something about the shared danger posed by nuclear weapons. They may have joked about being doomed to cooperate, but it was a wry humor. These men and women who were charged with building the weapons to destroy one another still believed that we could work together to make the world a safer place. Weve lost that sense. And without the belief that we can cooperate, what are we other than doomed?

Photo Credit: -/AFP/Getty Images
Washington (AFP) - US officials on Friday formally accused the Russian government of directing cyber attacks "intended to interfere with the US election process," amid escalating tensions between the two powers.

The assertion against Russia comes with relations already frayed over stalled efforts to end violence in Syria, NATO defenses and other differences.

A joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence was the first official accusation by Washington against Moscow in the spate of cyber attacks, although many analysts had said the hacks appeared to be from Russia.

A US administration official said Washington would respond to the cyber attacks, without offering details.

"We will take action to protect our interests, including in cyberspace, and we will do so at a time and place of our choosing," said an official shortly after the statement accusing Russia of cyberattacks.

The official statement said the US intelligence community "is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations."

The officials added: "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities:"

The statement said the disclosures of alleged hacked emails on WikiLeaks and other websites and by the online persona "Guccifer 2.0" were "consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts."

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the statement said.

The statement, however, stopped short of accusing Russia in the recent cyber attacks on state election databases.

"Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company," the statement said.

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"However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian government."

It was not immediately clear how Washington would respond in the matter. Officials have in the past said any cyber attacks on important US institutions would prompt a response, which could take the form of diplomatic or economic sanctions, or possibly cyber measures.

- 'Strong response' -

US Senator Dianne Feinstein, who last month said she and other lawmakers believed Moscow was seeking to disrupt the election, said the new statement "conveys the seriousness of the threat" to the vote.

"Attempted hacking of our election system is intolerable, and it's critical to convince the Russian government to cease these activities," the California senator said.

"If it does not, we must develop a strong response."

Jason Healey, a former White House director of critical infrastructure protection who is now a researcher at Columbia University and with the Atlantic Council, said the US has tools to respond.

"The initial response will be to protect and thwart what the other side wants to do," Healey told AFP.

Healey said Washington is also capable of "counteroffensive cyber actions" which can limit or deter attacks.

"Don't attack them back but use our own cyber capabilities to disrupt them," he said.

"I would not call that offensive, it's counteroffensive."

The FBI has been investigating a leak of Democratic National Committee emails, which were published by WikiLeaks in July.

A hacker group using the name Guccifer 2.0 has also released leaked emails and has claimed to have hacked into the Clinton Foundation, led by former US president Bill Clinton, whose wife Hillary is the Democratic presidential nominee.

But the US statement said that "it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion."

That is because of the decentralized nature of the US election system, which is operated by thousands of state and local government entities.

"States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process," the statement said.

"Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so."
Jacksonville (AFP) - A weakened Hurricane Matthew made landfall Saturday in South Carolina, nearing the end of a four-day rampage that left a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean and up the southeastern US coast.

In Haiti, where Matthew was a monster Category 4 when it slammed into the poorest country in the western hemisphere Tuesday, the official death toll rose to at least 336.

Nine were killed in the United States.

The interim president of Haiti, Jocelerme Privert, announced three days of national mourning, beginning Sunday.

The scope of the devastation in the south of the country was becoming clearer as the toll remains provisional due to the difficulty of gaining access to some areas and communications.

At least 336 people were dead, the head of Haiti's civil protection services, Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, told AFP. "We won't have a definitive toll before Wednesday," she said.

Other officials said earlier that at least 400 were dead.

Half a million children live in the worst-hit departments in southern Haiti, according to UNICEF, which said it needed at least $5 million to meet the children's immediate needs.

Pledges of aid have flooded in, with the United States announcing it was sending the USS Mesa Verde, whose 300 Marines will add to the 250 personnel and nine helicopters already ordered to deploy to Haiti.

France announced it was sending 60 troops, with 32 tonnes of humanitarian supplies and water purification equipment.

California-based charity International Relief Teams said it was donating $7 million in medical supplies with international organizations MAP International and Hope for Haiti.

- US toll rises -

Matthew, downgraded to the lowest-level Category 1 hurricane, lashed the coast of South Carolina as the storm moved inland.

But despite flooding, fallen trees and power outages, most of the American southeast appeared to have been spared catastrophic damage as the storm surge turned out to be less severe than expected.

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As Matthew approached -- after storming through Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas -- millions of Americans were ordered to evacuate and curfews were slapped on cities.

On Saturday, the center of Matthew made landfall in the South Carolina town of McClellanville and there was a "serious inland flooding event unfolding," the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

McClellanville is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Charleston, a port city with a historic city center.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of a still-dangerous 75 miles (130 kilometers) per hour.

The NHC predicted hurricane and tropical storm conditions in Georgia and South Carolina that could produce "life-threatening" flooding.

President Barack Obama declared federal states of emergency in Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.

At least four people died in Georgia -- including at least three killed by falling trees, officials said. Five people died in hurricane-related incidents in Florida.

"We did take a major hit last night," Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach told a news conference.

- St Augustine damage -

The mayor of Georgia's ocean-fronting community of Tybee Island described Matthew as the worst storm to hit the area since 1898.

Nearly 120,000 customers remained without power in the city of Savannah and its surrounding Chatham County, officials said.

Various roads were still impassable, there was a curfew on Savannah for a second night running and residents became increasingly frustrated that they were prevented from returning to homes.

Eric Thomas, 42, a local business owner, brought his own chainsaw to cut down a fallen tree that blocked access on the road from Savannah to Tybee Island, desperate to get home.

Although he and his friends cleared the road, police barred residents from driving across until Sunday at the earliest.

Thomas told AFP that he heard there was "substantial" damage on the island.

"We're concerned for their safety. I've been riding this entire county and it's scary," Chatham County Chairman Al Scott told reporters.

In Florida, power was slowly being restored. Officials said that some 879,000 customers still were without power, or nine percent.

In Jacksonville, Florida, the rain had stopped. There were fallen trees and flooding but no major damage.

But the nearby historic town of St Augustine, a former Spanish colony that calls itself the nation's oldest city, was not so lucky.

There was "a lot of damage," Commander Chuck Mulligan, spokesman for the St Johns County Sheriff's Office, told AFP.

In Jacksonville Beach, 68-year-old retiree Sam Vond calmly rode his bike along the shore.

"It wasn't that bad. I didn't go outside," he said. "Luckily, no damage to my house, so I'm happy."
Brooklyn New York federal court

Three men  a US citizen and two Russian nationals  were arrested on Thursday and charged with attempting to send sensitive technology used for military devices to Russia, according to a released from the Department of Justice.

On Thursday, Alexey Barysheff of Brooklyn, New York, a naturalized US citizen, was arrested on federal charges of illegally exporting controlled technology from the US to end-users in Russia.

Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Alexey Krutilin, both Russian citizens, were arrested in Denver, Colorado, on charges of conspiring with Barysheff and others in the plot, the DOJ said.

Authorities said Barysheff, Krutilin, and Karpenko, among others, used two Brooklyn-based front companies, BKLN Spectra, Inc. and UIP Techno Corp., to buy and unlawfully export sensitive electronics without a mandatory federal license. US officials also said the three men falsified records to conceal where they were shipping the electronics, routing them through Finland, according to the Associated Press.

The electronics in question were restricted for "anti-terrorism and national security reasons," the DOJ said.

According to complaints unsealed in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, Krutilin and Karpenko arrived in Colorado from Russia on October 1 and tried to access Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs but were prevented from doing so.

S-400 Russia Missile

"The microelectronics shipped to Russia included, among other products, digital-to-analog converters and integrated circuits, which are frequently used in a wide range of military systems, including radar and surveillance systems, missile guidance systems and satellites," the DOJ said in a release.

Exporting such technology requires a license from the Department of Commerce, which places restrictions on items it believes "could make a significant contribution to the military potential and weapons proliferation of other nations and that could be detrimental to the foreign policy and national security of the United States."

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The three men were held without bail, according to the New York Daily News. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

NOW WATCH: International investigation: MH17 was struck by a Russian-made missile





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Tensions between the United States and Vladimir Putins Russia have reached a pitch not seen in decades on Friday, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for an investigation of whether Russia and Syria should be charged with war crimes for bombing civilian targets in the besieged city of Aleppo, and the Obama administration released an extraordinary statement accusing Russia of deliberately attempting to tamper with U.S. elections.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence publicly blamed the Russian government for various attacks on the computer systems of U.S. political parties and government employees, to interfere with the U.S. election process.

Related: Is This the Real Reason Putin Is Interfering With the US Election?

We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities, the statement reads.

It continues, Such activity is not new to Moscow  the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there.

The statement notes that multiple states have noticed scanning and probing of their election-related systems by computers belonging to a Russian company, but said they could not yet directly link those attacks at the state level to the Kremlin.

Nevertheless, they encouraged state officials to seek out security assistance from the federal government.

The two broadsides from the Obama administration add fuel to an already smoldering relationship between the two countries. They come just a day after a Russian general threatened to shoot down American planes if they engage Syrian military units that are bombing civilian populations in the city of Aleppo.

Related: The Failed Ceasefire in Syria Now Leave Russia in Charge

On Thursday, in response to a report in The Washington Post that the U.S. was considering the possibility of direct military action against the Syrian government forces attacking rebel-held party of the city, Major General Igor Konashenkov said publicly, I would recommend that our colleagues in Washington carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans.

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He went on to say that if missiles were fired at Syrian units, Russian soldiers in Syria would not have time to contact the U.S. on the hotline the two have established to avoid accidental encounters between their respective militaries.

One should realize that the Russian crews manning the air defense systems will unlikely have time to find out an exact flight path of missiles and their origin, he said.

The Russians have moved sophisticated air defense systems into Syria -- a move that raised eyebrows around the world, because the Russian troops are ostensibly just there to help defend the country against rebels, including some Islamic extremists, who have no air power at all.

Konashenkovs remarks came a day after the Russian embassy in Washington sent out a surprising tweet that included a picture of White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest juxtaposed with a battery of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.

Related: Trump Still Singing Putins Praise, and His Chorus Is Growing

USA wonder why Russia would want to carry the s-300 to Syria, it said. Because you never really know what kind of assistance terrorists might get.

It added, All jokes aside, #Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in #Syria from terrorist threat.

All jokes aside, #Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in #Syria from terrorist threat. pic.twitter.com/6vc4X9lGyT  Russian Embassy, USA (@RusEmbUSA) October 5, 2016

Kerrys remarks on Friday were made after another round of bombing destroyed more civilian targets in the city of Aleppo and left at least 20 dead.

Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, medical facilities, children, women, he said during a ceremony welcoming French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault to Washington.

Related: Trumps Praise of Putin Overshadows Clintons Continued Email Struggles

These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions ... This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anyone and everyone who is the way of their military objectives.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday accused Kerry of trying to distract attention from the U.S.s role in a failed ceasefire.

The American side was simply unable to fulfil the ceasefire agreement, she said. They told us themselves that they have no levers of influence on the opposition.

Earlier in the week, Russia suspended its cooperation with the U.S. in a project to destroy weapons-grade plutonium. The U.S. has halted direct talks with Russia aimed at organizing a ceasefire in Syria.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Washington (AFP) - The United States is sending a Navy ship to aid Haiti, where Hurricane Matthew claimed at least 400 lives and caused catastrophic damage, a US defense official said on Friday.

"The USS Mesa Verde has received an order to support the Southcom humanitarian effort in Haiti," the official said. Its 300 Marines will add to the 250 personnel and nine helicopters already ordered to deploy to Haiti.

The final storm toll in Haiti is expected to rise even higher, with mass destruction reported across the south of the country, the poorest in the Americas.

Matthew's torrential rain and winds of around 140 miles (230 kilometers) per hour destroyed more than 29,000 homes in Haiti's hard-hit Sud department alone, and displaced more than 20,000 people, the local authorities said.

Haiti's southern city of Jeremie suffered "complete destruction," with 80 percent of the buildings leveled, relief agencies said.

Some 350,000 people need assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Mesa Verde is transporting Marine teams that specialize in medical-emergency assistance and reconstruction.

The vessel is also carrying three heavy-transport CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters and landing craft.

It left Norfolk, Virginia on Wednesday and had been waiting at sea for an order to deploy.

Before giving it the green light, Washington was gathering information about Haiti's needs as well as how the hurricane was progressing up the US East Coast after leaving the Caribbean.

Two more US military ships, the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and the hospital ship USNS Comfort, are also at sea, ready for possible deployment.
Washington (AFP) - US officials formally accused the Russian government of trying to "interfere" with the American presidential election, and vowed to respond at an undisclosed time and place.

The assertion against Russia comes with relations already frayed over NATO defenses and stalled efforts to end the bloody civil war in Syria.

A joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Friday was the first official accusation by Washington against Moscow in the spate of cyber attacks, although many analysts had said the hacks appeared to be from Russia.

A US administration official said Washington would respond to the cyber attacks, without offering details.

"We will take action to protect our interests, including in cyberspace, and we will do so at a time and place of our choosing," the official said.

"The public should not assume that they will necessarily know what actions have been taken or what actions we will take."

The official statement said the US intelligence community "is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations."

"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," it added.

The Kremlin labeled the allegations as "rubbish."

"Every day (President Vladimir) Putin's website gets attacked by several tens of thousand of hackers," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax.

"A lot of these attacks are traced to the territory of the USA, but we do not blame the White House or Langley each time."

The American statement said the disclosures of alleged hacked emails on WikiLeaks and other websites and by the online persona "Guccifer 2.0" were "consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts."

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"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the statement said.

The statement, however, stopped short of accusing Russia in the recent cyber attacks on state election databases.

"Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company," the statement said.

"However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian government."

It was not immediately clear how Washington would respond in the matter. Officials have in the past said any cyber attacks on important US institutions would prompt a response, which could take the form of diplomatic or economic sanctions, or possibly cyber measures.

- 'Strong response' -

US Senator Dianne Feinstein, who last month said she and other lawmakers believed Moscow was seeking to disrupt the election, said the new statement "conveys the seriousness of the threat" to the vote.

"Attempted hacking of our election system is intolerable, and it's critical to convince the Russian government to cease these activities," the California senator said.

"If it does not, we must develop a strong response."

Jason Healey, a former White House director of critical infrastructure protection who is now a researcher at Columbia University and with the Atlantic Council, said the US has tools to respond.

"The initial response will be to protect and thwart what the other side wants to do," Healey told AFP.

Healey said Washington is also capable of "counteroffensive cyber actions" which can limit or deter attacks.

"Don't attack them back but use our own cyber capabilities to disrupt them," he said.

"I would not call that offensive, it's counteroffensive."

The FBI has been investigating a leak of Democratic National Committee emails, which were published by WikiLeaks in July.

A hacker group using the name Guccifer 2.0 has also released leaked emails and has claimed to have hacked into the Clinton Foundation, led by former US president Bill Clinton, whose wife Hillary is the Democratic presidential nominee.

But the US statement said that "it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion."

That is because of the decentralized nature of the US election system, which is operated by thousands of state and local government entities.

"States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process," the statement said.

"Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so."
This development may add yet another chapter to the acrimonious battle between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the L-G office if the latter nullifies the appointments on the basis of the complaint.

By Sneha Agrawal: A complaint filed in the office of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has challenged the validity of 22 standing counsels appointed by the Aam Adami Party government without the L-G approval.

The list of the appointees includes offspring of two sitting judges in higher judiciary.

This development may add yet another chapter to the acrimonious battle between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the L-G office if the latter nullifies the appointments on the basis of the complaint.

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Under the Delhi High Court order on August 4, it is mandatory for the city government to secure L-G sanction for an appointment of this nature.

"This is a frivolous, politically motivated complaint," Rahul Mehra, senior standing counsel for the Delhi government, told Mail Today. "It is for the honourable L-G to look into it and take a call. My office is here to bestow its duty and serve the people of the city." Mehra said the subject of litigation comes under the mandate of the Delhi government.

Incidentally, the complaint, filed by advocate Vibhor Anand, questioned Mehra's appointment itself, pointing out that "There is not post by the name of senior standing counsel (civil) under any law and no such post can be created without the approval of the Lt Governor". Mail Today has a copy of the complaint.

The complaint stated that the 22 standing counsels were appointed under various categories by five notifications issued by Delhi government. It sought immediate quashing of the notifications.

After the August 4 decision of the Delhi High Court in which it held that Delhi continued to be a Union Territory under the authority of the Lt-Governor, a three-member committee was appointed by Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung to examine over 400 files on decisions taken by the government since February 2015, in which the Lt-Governor's approval was not taken.

NECESSARY TO SEEK L-G'S APPROVAL



Sources in the Lt-Governor's office admitted receiving the complaint and said that it has been handed over to the committee examining Delhi government orders.

"Under the procedure, the approval of the Lt-Governor has to be sought while engaging counsels out of the government panel," the sources said. "Since the government had not done this before August 4, these files are now placed before the independent threemember committee.

The concerned secretaries have themselves submitted these files to the committee and the committee is examining them," the sources said.

The Delhi government has challenged the high court order on seeking the L-G's permission in the Supreme Court which has scheduled a hearing in the case on November 15. The apex court did not grant any stay on the high court order.

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The files under scrutiny also pertain to the appointments of senior counsels to represent the government in various matters. The AAP government claims it cannot pay the fees of the counsels appointed earlier.

The AAP government earlier accused the L-G office of impeding its efforts to fight him in a court of law by stalling payments of senior lawyers like Chandra Uday Singh, Sudhir Nandrajog, Guru Krishan Kumar and Raju Ramachandran. The claim was denied by the LG's office.

According to sources, department secretaries have forwarded such files to the committee where the L-G's permission was mandatory but was not sought, which includes cases of lawyers who were appointed without the L-G approval.

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Jung and Kejriwal not interested as Delhi suffers from dengue: SC

Jung with Jung: 4 reasons why Kejriwal will move Supreme Court over tussle with L-G

--- ENDS ---
Yahoo investors appear to be unmoved this morning by a story saying that Verizon, concerned about disclosures that the internet company failed to protect users privacy, wants to slash $1 billion from its $4.83 billion acquisition deal.

Yahoos stock price is down less than 1% after the New York Post reported that Tim Armstrong from Verizon-owned AOL recently met with Yahoo executives to argue for a price cut. The companys said to be resisting, saying it wants to stick with their agreement.

The meeting follows Yahoos announcement last month that in late 2014 a state-sponsored actor stole about 500 million users information including names, passwords, email addresses, birth dates, and  in some cases  answers to security questions.

And this week Reuters disclosed that last year Yahoo searched hundreds of millions of users emails for information that the National Security Agency and FBI requested in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order.

Armstrong believes that the developments diminish Yahoos value, the Post says citing several sources. Theres a danger that victims of the hack attack will sue, potentially leaving Verizon with unanticipated liabilities.

But Yahoo reportedly says that this does not provide sufficient grounds to break the agreement.

The two sides continue to discuss the matter ahead of a Yahoo board meeting in two weeks.

A $1 billion cut in Verizons deal would represent a significant reduction in the valuation for Yahoos assets. But more than 60% of its stock value comes from its investments in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, which are not included in the sale.

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Vice Media is set to debut its finance and business news and video website, Vice Money, as the youth-targeted media company parlays its brand into another vertical category.

The Vice Money channel will go live Sunday, Oct. 9, at news.vice.com/money coinciding with the premiere of the daily Vice News Tonight show on HBO and the Vice News site relaunch. Vice Money is part of the Vice News network.

The channel is headed by editor-in-chief Matt Phillips, most recently at Quartz where he was finance and markets editor. Prior to joining Quartz in 2012, he spent seven years as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal on the money and investing team where he his coverage included detailing the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis.

Vice Money will apply the same youth-splaining lens to financial and biz news and trends, a hallmark of the Vice editorial approach. Phillips said it will fill a gap to bring useful information to a younger audience, focusing on issues like the disappearance from the U.S. workforce of millions of men.

It just seems like theres a real chance to do something new, Phillips said. Were trying to bring business news to generations of readers and viewers who are intensely interested in the role that business and finance play in the world.

Vice Money is one of a half-dozen new channels the company is launching this year, in a bid to attract more readers  and pull in revenue from category-endemic advertisers. For the launch of Vice Money, the company has landed Geico and Ally Financial as ad sponsors.

This summer the company hired Austin Walker, former news editor at CBS Interactives Giant Bomb, to head its new gaming channel; other channels in store cover health, travel, LGBTQ, and sustainability. Those will join the existing owned-and-operated online channels, which include Vice News, Noisey (music), Motherboard (tech) and Munchies (food).

Phillips for now will be the primary writer for Vice Money, with plans to hire additional writers and editors. Roberto Ferdman, the economics correspondent for Vice News Tonight on HBO, also will contribute coverage to the channel.

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Vice Money will place an emphasis on visually oriented stories, with a goal of half of the channels content output comprising video, Phillips said.

Topics Vice Money will cover include: affordability issues in real estate, including how first-time home buyers should approach the market; the rising cost of higher education in America and managing student debt; cities and regions attracting young people and why; and social issues including how the prison industrial complex does significant harm to the economic prospects of the formerly incarcerated.

Were not interested in the S&P 500 going up 4%. Were trying to tell people things that matter to them, Phillips said.

Original video series planned for Vice Money include: Lunch Money, offering opinionated takes on financial topics in the news (over lunch); Long Story Short, a graphics-oriented series focused on long-term shifts in the economy and why they matter today; and How to Be a Person, examining everyday financial issues facing young people.

Phillips, 38, is based in Vices Williamsburg, Brooklyn, headquarters and reports to Ryan McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Vice News. He joined the company full-time at the end of August.

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Around two tonnes of ivory hidden in a timber shipment from Mozambique has been seized in Vietnam, customs authorities said Friday, the second large haul of the illegally-trafficked product in a week.

Although ivory trade is banned in Vietnam, the country remains a top market for ivory products prized locally for decorative and medicinal purposes.

It is also a busy thoroughfare for tusks trafficked from Africa destined for other parts of Asia.

Officials initially said they found 500 kilogrammes of ivory in two crates of timber from Mozambique at a Ho Chi Minh City port, but later updated the figure after a more thorough search.

A statement from the official newspaper of the Vietnamese Customs Department confirmed more than 2,000 kilogrammes of elephant tusks were seized in total.

"This shipment would not have been discovered without professionalism and vigilance," the newspaper quoted the deputy head of the customs department, Hoang Viet Cuong, as saying.

The latest catch follows last week's discovery of 300 kilogrammes of elephant ivory in Hanoi's airport, where officials found tusks from Nigeria falsely labelled as glass.

Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992, but shops still sell ivory dating from before the ban and weak law enforcement has allowed its illegal trade to persist.

A two-week long survey last year found more than 16,000 ivory products available in Hanoi, according to The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Meanwhile, conservation group Save Vietnam's Wildlife said Friday they received 61 rescued pangolins that were being trafficked, three of them dead, from police in the northern Thai Binh province.

The reclusive creatures, often called scaly anteaters, are the world's most heavily trafficked mammal, sought after in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia for their meat and scales used in traditional medicine.

Vietnam is hosting an international conference on illegal wildlife trade from November 17 to 18, which will be attended by Britain's Prince William, who has repeatedly spoken out against wildlife trafficking.
To paraphrase a certain soup-slinger: No Assistant for you!

A leaked and confirmed document detailing the different features coming to the Pixel handsets and all other Android 7.1 Nougat devices shows that Google Assistant is limited to the company's flagship phones for the time being.



The Pixel and Android differences leaked in a changelog published on Tuesday (Oct. 4) by Android Police that Google confirmed in a conversation with TechCrunch yesterday (Oct. 5). While Pixel handsets will no longer see the Google Now service (it's getting folded into Assistant), Android devices not "made by Google" will likely be stuck with Google Now.

Android users eager to use and play with Assistant can still find it inside of apps such as the messaging client Allo (downloads of which have plummeted as of late).

MORE: 40 Best Free Android Apps

Other Pixel-exclusive features include Smart Storage, which automatically removes backed-up photos and videos when storage runs low and 24x7 phone and chat customer support. Pixel phones will also be the only Android handsets to get camera features such as Electronic Image Stabilization and Smartburst, both of which Google demoed at its Tuesday (Oct. 4) event and appear to be major advantages for those capturing smooth video and precise snapshots, respectively.

Google Pixel buyers will also be the only to get the packed-in Quick Switch Adapter, the company's hardware accessory that makes it easy to import all of your content from an iPhone or other Android device.

Pixel users will also be the only to get the Pixel Launcher interface, with its pill-shaped Google widget and swipe-up apps tray. Industrious Android users can find a way to get Pixel Launcher, though, as it's been available to sideload since September. Pixel handsets will also be the only smartphones to get unlimited backup of original-quality photos and videos to Google Photos.

MORE: Google Pixel Hands-on: Beating Siri at Her Own Game

Story continues

A lack of unlimited, original-quality backups to Google photos latter may not be the biggest deal for most users, as Google Photos presently allows for unlimited backup of images with resolution of up to 16 megapixels, and most flagship Android devices are cut off at 12-MP shooting. Unfortunately, Google Photos' free unlimited backup limits video resolution to 1080p, and many phones, including Samsung's Galaxy S7 handsets, can shoot 4K videos.

But what exactly can users of non-Google-made Android devices look forward to? When 7.1 Nougat reaches those devices, they'll get access to Daydream Virtual Reality and Night Light, which is similar to iOS's Night Shift, as it reduces the blue light emitted by a Android's display, a feature used by those looking for any solution to fall asleep easier.

While we could see Samsung and other smartphone makers figure out ways to replicate the above list of exclusives, this laundry list of exclusives should be enough to make users give the Pixels a serious look, if they haven't already.
Bogota (AFP) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his "resolute" efforts to end five decades of conflict with Marxist FARC guerrillas.

The award was announced despite Colombians narrowly rejecting September's historic peace accord in a referendum vote last weekend.

And the Nobel Committee warned there was a "real danger" that the peace process could come to a halt and civil war flare up again.

Here are five key points on Latin America's longest conflict and the peace process.

- Disputed origins -

There is disagreement on when and why war broke out.

In a country covered in mountains and jungle, where the government's presence is often weak, rural poverty has played a central role.

Most historians trace the conflict to the 1960s, when several leftist guerrilla groups rose up against a government they accused of subjugating peasants and the poor.

Some go back to the 1940s and a period known as "La Violencia" (the violence), an eruption of bloodshed in the countryside following the assassination of leftist presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. Others date it to peasant uprisings in the 1920s.

- Key players -

Founded in 1964, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is the country's oldest and largest leftist guerrilla group. But there have been many players in the conflict.

Others include:

- The National Liberation Army (ELN). Still active. Has agreed to peace talks.

- The April 19 Movement (M-19). Demobilized in 1990.

- The People's Liberation Army (EPL). Demobilized in 1991.

- In the 1980s, a right-wing paramilitary group, the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), began fighting the guerrillas. Funded by large landholders, the group sometimes collaborated with the army. It was disbanded between 2003 and 2006, though remnants continue to operate as criminal gangs.

- Drug cartels have also fueled the violence since the 1980s.

- Long list of victims -

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The conflict has left 260,000 people dead and forced nearly seven million from their homes in the past five decades. Another 45,000 are missing.

- Atrocities on all sides -

Massacres, kidnappings, scorched-earth campaigns and extrajudicial killings have been hallmarks of the conflict, with atrocities committed on all sides.

FARC: Massacres such as one in the town of Bojaya in 2002, when guerrillas killed at least 79 people sheltering in a church.

- Kidnapping and holding hostages, such as then presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, abducted in 2002 and rescued in 2008.

- Accused of a 2003 car bombing at a social club in Bogota, which killed 36 people.

ELN: Mass hostage seizures such as the hijacking of Avianca Flight 9463 in 1999.

- Massacres such as the one in Machuca in 1998, when rebels dynamited an oil pipeline. Burning oil set the village alight and killed 84 people.

M-19: Besieged the Supreme Court building in 1985, leaving some 100 people dead.

Paramilitaries: Wiped out entire villages, often blasting loud music as militia members killed and raped victims. In one gruesome case, the El Salado massacre in 2000, 60 people were killed.

Army: Executed hundreds of civilians and reported them as rebels killed in combat in the so-called "false positives" scandal.

- Peace efforts -

The first talks were launched in March 1984 but broke down several years later, and subsequent peace efforts collapse in 1991 and 2002.

But after four years of new negotiations, the government and FARC reach a definitive ceasefire and disarmament agreement on June 23, 2016.

They signed a historic peace deal on September 26, with Santos and Timochenko using pens made from bullet casings.

The six-point accord provided for the FARC's full disarmament and its transformation into a political party, the creation of courts to judge crimes committed during the conflict, crackdowns on drugs trafficking along with help for farmers, and land reform.

But Colombia was plunged into uncertainty when voters on October 2 rejected the accord by a razor-thin majority of 56,000.

Santos has scrambled to salvage the peace deal, holding meetings with leading opponents of the accord who protested that it was "weak" and gave impunity to the rebels.
BJP's Subramanian Swamy has written to Rajnath Singh, urging him to impose President's Rule in Tamil Nadu as law and order in the state has deteriorated after Jayalalithaa's unavailability.

By India Today Web Desk: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, urging him to impose President's Rule in Tamil Nadu.

In a press release, Swamy said the indefinite hospitalisation of the Chief Minister had led to an administrative and political vacuum in the state due to which sleeper cells of ISIS in Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu had become active.

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Also read: Islamic State operative arrested in Tamil Nadu had fought in Iraq, says NIA



LAW AND ORDER IN TAMIL NADU DETERIORATING

The law and order situation had worsened in the state with underground Naxalites and some remnant groups of LTTE threatening to disrupt peace and calm in the state, the release quoted Swamy as saying.

Subramanian Swamy writes to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, urges him to impose President's rule in Tamil Nadu. pic.twitter.com/fgmIN2b0CR ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

It is in the light of these developments that Swamy has urged Rajnath to impose President's Rule in the state and put the Tamil Nadu assembly under suspended animation. He has also asked the Centre to impose AFSPA in all southern districts and in Chennai for 6 months until Jayalalithaa was in a position to return to office.

PRESIDENT'S RULE CONSTITUTIONAL: SWAMY



Swamy said, "The Apollo Hospital has as it is made it clear that Jayalalithaa will stay hospitalised until further notice. Hence, the Union Government's imposition of President's Rule is not just constitutional, but also urgent."

Also read: Jayalalithaa requires longer stay in hospital, line of treatment to continue: Apollo hospital

Opposition DMK has also alleged that there is no government in Tamil Nadu with Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa being hospitalised for over two weeks and no clarity yet on how long she will take to recover. DMK has also said that in the wake of Jayalalithaa's unavailability, Tamil Nadu has failed to present its position adequately in the Cauvery row with Karnataka.

Watch Video:





--- ENDS ---
From Esquire

Ted Cruz is a man of principle, according to Ted Cruz. So it was (mildly) surprising when he came out last month and endorsed Donald Trump. Cruz didn't just call the Tangerine Generalissimo a "pathological liar," a "bully," and a "narcissist" with "New York values" during the primary. That alone wouldn't make his endorsement remarkable. (After all, Star Dancer Rick Perry once called Trump a "cancer on conservatism," then backed him.) Cruz also had to endure Trump's continually dragging his family through the mud.

After threatening to "spill the beans" on Cruz's wife, Heidi, Trump retweeted a photo disparaging her appearance. Then, in May, Trump insinuated that Cruz's father, Rafael, was an accessory before the fact in the assassination of JFK. He later revived that jab after Cruz's infamous (also admirable) RNC speech.

Fast forward a few months, though, and Cruz is secretly selling his supporter list to Trump, endorsing him, and now, calling Texas voters on his behalf:

This is sad on a number of levels, including that Cruz was forced to leave a bunch of messages on people's machines because he couldn't get anyone on the phone. He also seems to be trying to convince himself this is about freedom and the Bill of Rights, when in fact it's about preserving his political ambitions just in case Trump storms into the White House next month.

That's actually a good microcosm of Cruz's career: Talk incessantly about looking out for freedom and the Constitution and religious liberty while you're really looking out for numero uno.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="Is%20Ted%20Cruz%20the%20Zodiac%20Killer?" customimages="" content="article.42288"]

[H/T: Mediaite]

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SYDNEY (Reuters) - BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) expects to complete work by year-end to contain the remaining waste that spewed from the Samarco iron ore project after a dam collapsed last November in Brazil's worst environmental disaster on record.

When the Fundao dam burst at the mine, owned 50-50 by BHP and Vale SA (VALE5.SA), enough mud to fill 12,000 Olympic swimming pools flattened an entire village, killed 19 people and left hundreds homeless.

"Works are underway by Samarco on the dam structures to contain the remaining tailings materials and to treat sediment," BHP said in a statement on Friday, adding that work would be completed by Dec. 31.

Containing the waste involves keeping it in a single area, ready for cleanup.

It is still not known exactly why Fundao failed, but experts have suggested it was probably the result of a loss of stability in the tailings foundation, a process known as liquefaction.

A report commissioned by BHP and Vale in August concluded the collapse was caused by drainage and design flaws.

The report attributed the disaster to a chain of events dating back to 2009, but did not assign blame or highlight specific errors in corporate or regulatory practice.

A BHP spokesman said no timeframe had been set for a restart of the operation, but added that it would not come in 2016.

Samarco is BHP's only asset in Brazil, a country from which it has been gradually retreating over the years.

Vale, on the other hand, has a number of iron ore mines close to Samarco's deposit, making it a valuable asset that could be used in the company's wider mining system.

(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Joseph Radford)
U2 took aim at Donald Trump during a concert in the Bay Area Wednesday night and fired the Republican presidential candidate.

Performing for the Dreamforce benefit concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Bono went head-to-head with a virtual manifestation of Trump, facing off against an edited video of some of his more controversial statements.

Never calling Trump by name, Bono referred to him as "candidate," engaging in a brilliantly executed back-and-forth.

Bono challenged Trump on his promise to build a "great wall" along the U.S. and Mexico boarder, asking, "A wall? Like the Berlin Wall? Like the Great Wall of China?"

To which the recording of Trump replied, "And I will have Mexico pay for the wall."

"Now candidate, you understand it's not just Mexican people who are going to have a problem with this wall of yours," Bono responded. "It's everyone who loves the idea of America. like the Irish, for example. Or the French. Or the Brazilians. Everyone who loves the idea of America, everyone who believes what they read at the foot at the bottom of the statue of liberty: 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.'"

Bono went on before starting into "Bullet the Blue Sky," "Good people are not going to stay silent while you run off with the American dream. Alright, candidate? ... You hear me candidate? You're fired!"

U2 will be donating proceeds from Wednesday's sold-out concert to help pediatric care and research at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals.

Watch a clip above.
Photos: Roy Beeson

The party at the beginning of the night.



The week that Im supposed to meet Ladyfag and interview her in preparation for New York fashion week, she sends me an email: Hello! Apologies about the delay, Im in and out of consciousness with some sort of chest virus. But Ive been on antibiotics since Sunday so Ill be ready and all yours when you need me! She continues with a list of the events shell be attending, any of which Im welcome to join: the Adam Selman show, the Telfar show, a McQ party shes hosting. The 40-year-old nightlife impresario whom the New York Times has called the rave of the future has more get-up-and-go than most twentysomethings.

We decide that Ill turn up to her party that Sunday nightSeptember 11for Battle Hymn, her weekly dance party held at Flash Factory in Chelsea, which she hosts in addition to 11:11 Fridays at Open House in the East Village, Holy Mountain monthly at Slake in Midtown, and Shade, a warehouse party whose address is never the same place twice. Ladyfagor, Lady, as her friends and associates call herwill also be celebrating her 40th birthday that night, which means that even for someone whose professional description requires party throwing, it should be a night.

Ladyfag is a name that the Toronto native adopted in a nod to the contradictions of her persona; though not a gay man, most of her friends are, and though she doesnt consider herself a lady, her sartorial tastes can often run toward the Victorian. As she tells it, her goal before moving to New York eleven years ago was to open a vintage clothing store in the Toronto neighborhood of Kensington Market. I thought of this trip to New York as my last hurrah before setting up roots in Toronto, she says, and I never went back.

Aquaria, Harry Charlesworth, Lady, Sussi strike a pose.



She still thinks one day she might return to her shop (Itd be nice to set up something like a living room where my friends could gather once I turn 60) and her vision of Kensington Market lays bare a series of predilections in thrall to the high/low beautiful mess of it all. Kensington Market is amazing because people go to the fruit and vegetable markets there, but theres also the Caribbean and Jamaican food, and its right next to Chinatown, and then there are the hippies and the punks who have stores there, too, she says. People have tried to gentrify Kensington Market for so long, but no one ever can. I mean, the junkies are still there. Its really the one thing I miss about Toronto. Its fabulous.

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When I arrive at Flash Factory and head to the back room, Lady is getting ready in her Adam Selman dress, her makeup artists applying crystals to her bodyI wanted to go for Studio 54 glamorous disco look. Even mid-makeup, Ladys already leading the circus, telling trans model Connie Girl (whose watchful eyes will be determining who makes it past the door) who should be getting V.I.P. and stage tickets tonightV.I.P.s are allowed into the booths along one wall of the club, while those with stage access can actually enter the security-guarded area around the D.J. booths. Later that night the stage is where I see Lady greeting Mel Ottenberg, Derek Blasberg, and Amanda Lepore.

A glimpse of Lady dancing in the ambient light of the downstairs dance floor.



An assistant comes through at intervals to get Ladys approvalabout lighting, guest list, sound quality. At one point Lady goes out to assess how the Mylar balloons spelling L-A-D-Y should look in front of the stage. The A looks funny. Can you please tie it down in the center so it doesnt look tilted like that? she asks one of the assistants. She comes back in the dressing room and checks her phone, answering text messages and responding to birthday wishes on social media. She doesnt stop. The only concession to the chest virus shes battling off is the orange vitamin C slurry shes been drinking in lieu of her usual vodka soda.

As the clock ticks closer to midnight, Lady confers with her makeup artist on the final touches. What are we doing for eye? she asks. Her chic platinum-dyed makeup artist, whos impressively rocking a leather biker during the last throes of summer, says, Im thinking we want to do something dewy. Lady lets a beat pass. I trust you. I just need something for definition. Some definition and mascara, but not too much. Its horrible and fabulous, right?

Lady hangs out at the party she is hosting for McQueen and Document Journal on the Lower East Side.



When its finally time to start the party, Lady gives me a stage braceletIve been anointedand asks me to follow her as she makes her way up. The route from the dressing room to the stage crosses the dance floor, and as were wending our way, Lady stops to say hello to the club kids, the ones in full makeup and costume whose neon paint and headwear and high heels single them out as the former drama nerds and wallflowers whose creative genius the nightlife circuit gives meaning and occasion. Others come up to wish her a happy birthday, and though Lady has to be onstage, she hugs and briefly chats with each person who reaches out for her.

Lady is constantly answering emails and texts.



When we do finally make it, I see the various demographic slices of Manhattan and beyond that Lady has managed to gather together on a Sunday night (9/11, no less): the slim fashion types in tucked t-shirts and jeans, the black-clad Caesar-sporting health goths, the muscled Chelsea daddies, the androgynes doing their best Leigh Bowery impressions. All ages, all racesthough, yes, more (gay) men than women.

I manage only to stay till 2:30, but the next day I see on Instagram that Lady has stayed up until the time most people are headed into the office. When I call her later, she miraculously sounds fully recovered. I go to parties for a living obviously, she says, so when its my own birthday, I have to really go for it. I tell her that what really struck me about the evening was how she managed the ship. There was a moment while her makeup artist was applying crystals to her body when Lady directed in her specific wayfriendly but firmhow the glue should be put on: You see, you have to let it dry slightly before putting the crystals on or else theyll fall off, and therell just be a huge mess to be cleaned up. There was something about her control of the nights many, many moving parts that I found surprising not in its existence, exactly, but in its graciousness.

Lady poses with fashion designer Adam Selman and stylist Mel Ottenberg.



Im so used to doing insane productions and having a million people asking me a million things at the same time while a million eyes are watching me, she says. So its about knowing that people are looking at me but also having someone on my team catch my signal that Im not happy with lighting. Making it seem like youre not working is half the job. In this business, its almost true that youre not really allowed to have bad days.

That is, after all, why they come to Battle Hymn and Holy Mountain and Shade. To release their bodies to the thump of the bass, to experience the thrill of meeting someone new, to bask in the radiance of Ladys light. You want everyone to feel important, says Lady. Not just V.I.P.s and not just club kids and not just the younger people. Im jumping from group to group and making them feel special because they are specialthey came to my party! Gritty, hardscrabble New York, its been argued, has been gentrified out of existence, quashed by $19 martinis, Norman Foster luxury towers, and Grindr. But theres Ladyfag, still throwing parties for $10 a head ($5 before 10) and dancing till the sun comes up over the East River.

Lady takes a seat at the end of a long night.

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White House economist Jason Furman told CNBC that September's jobs report is good news even though it shows the pace of job creation had slowed.

The chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors said numbers in the labor force should actually be falling due to an aging population, but instead, they are rising  a promising reflection of the strength of the economy.

The worse-than-expected jobs report showed the creation slowing to 156,000 nonfarm jobs last month and unemployment edging up slightly to 5 percent. Economists had expected 176,000 new jobs.

In an interview on " Squawk on the Street ," Furman said that despite job losses in the manufacturing sector and headwinds from slowing global trade growth, "wages are up at a 2.8 percent annual rate so far this year. We've seen more wage growth since 2012 than we did in the entire period from 1980 to 2007."

He said he and his colleagues are seeing exactly what they want in terms of continued job growth.









More From CNBC


You'd heard Bruno Mars' new single before "24K Magic" actually came out last night (Oct. 7). At least, you had digested every retro element of its production, and witnessed every drop of second-hand vocal braggadocio, before Bruno returned late on a Thursday to preview his first full-length in four years.

The words "24K Magic" might not have been familiar, but everything gleaming inside of it - the glittery disco synths, the cheesed-up vocoder flourishes, the popped-collar call-and-responses - certainly was. That doesn't make Mars' grand return any less exciting, or "24K Magic" any less impressive: The reference points are just clearer now, more than they've ever been, and if a synthesis of some well-worn ideas can stand on its own, what's to prevent the masses from pressing play?

Nothing, it turns out. "24K Magic" is probably going to be a smash hit, just a few months after another piece of superb nostalgia, Stranger Things, dominated pop culture. You know the familiar feeling you got when you first heard the Stranger Things theme music and watched those red letters slowly come together onscreen? Bruno Mars knows that feeling well, and has harnessed it into a killer groove.

Set in 1983 Indiana and telling the story of a group of kids uncovering a supernatural mystery, Stranger Things is not a remake of a past film or series, but a reboot of an era of sentimental sci-fi filmmaking that's instantly recognizable and fiercely beloved all the same. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer have openly discussed the show as an homage to Steven Spielberg's '80s films, but fans of Poltergeist, The Goonies and Starman have also picked up on the nods in those films' directions.

The plot travels down well-treaded paths, with action sequences and government nemeses and unlikely heroes; there are character archetypes presented and subsequently deconstructed, to draw us in and then keep us on edge. Stranger Things would seem schlocky if it relied too heavily on its pastiche of source material, but something this carefully designed and thoroughly entertaining never had a chance to fail.

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Same goes for "24K Magic," which corrals Grandmaster Flash, Zapp & Roger, Rick James and the whole of G-funk into three minutes and 46 seconds, while adding some modern ornaments ("Got to blame it on Jesus / Hashtag blessed!") for good measure. Mars, who grew up impersonating Elvis Presley and started his career as a songwriter for other artists, has become a superstar thanks to a knack for channeling different pop eras through his warm, expressive persona. Yet only recently have his gestures to the past become so explicit that a new single can produce memories of several classics upon first listen.

On 2012's Unorthodox Jukebox, "Locked Out of Heaven" harkened back to the Police, "Treasure" took cues from funk greats like Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang, and "Moonshine" leans on the futuristic cruise of Bad-era MJ. There were clear-cut influences on each track, but they were hardly karaoke sessions. With "Uptown Funk!," however, Mars moved towards the melting-pot approach, gathering the sounds of Prince, Chic, James Brown and The Gap Band and tossing in a few "hot damn!"'s on the way to his biggest hit to date. The homage was obvious enough that the members of the Gap Band got added to the songwriting credits after the release of "Uptown Funk!," for the song's similarities to their 1979 hit "Oops Upside Your Head."

With "24K Magic," Mars has continued to assert himself as Top 40's premier pop rememberer, dishing out moves that are well-known (a dash of 2Pac's Roger Troutman-provided "California Love" talk box here, a sprinkle of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" cadence there) and widely accepted as pretty great. Most importantly, Bruno doesn't bury his personality underneath the past - "24K Magic" falls apart without his swagger keeping us engaged, or his ear for melody turning "Twenty-four karat magic in the a-a-a-a-a-air" into a rallying cry. He's become an expert at this type of golden-oldie excavation, and makes the update sound effortless.

How long will it be before Bruno Mars' throwback approach to pop turns derivative? He's walking a tightrope with songs like "24K Magic," but he has yet to fall. Netflix turned genre revival into the biggest new show of the year, and Mars still sounds fresh while mining the most bulletproof moments of pop's past. "24K Magic" would sound good now or 25 years ago, in this world or in the Upside Down; Bruno's influences are very much on his sleeve, but that's not a bad thing when they're this unassailable.
Before Hurricane Matthew hit the United States this week the storm tore through the Caribbean, bringing torrential rain and high winds to Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. But despite hitting each of these countries hard, Haiti faced the greatest devastation with more than 470 killed compared to just a handful in its neighboring Caribbean countries.

The key difference between countries that succeed in weathering a storm and those that struggle is preparation and poverty. Perhaps most importantly, the national government regularly ranks among the worlds least effective and has invested little in disaster preparedness and response. In the hours leading up to the storm many Haitians were unaware of the impending disaster and continued with their daily lives. In the aftermath, bodies were left in the street and the government failed to provide food and water, according to a Reuters report.

Read More: See the Path of Hurricane Matthew

One major factor is simple poverty, which tends to exacerbate the effects of natural disasters. Haiti is the poorest country in the northern hemisphere with 2.5 million people living in extreme poverty, and the citizens lack the resources to prepare on their own. The lack of preparation extends to the shoddy construction of buildings in the shanty towns where most of the countrys urban residents live. The country lacks a national building code and engineers often design to standards established for other countries that do not necessarily account for the countrys risks, according to a report from the American Institute of Architects in the aftermath of the countrys 2010 earthquake. The limited building regulations are practically never enforced.

Hurricane Matthew comes just six years after an earthquake in the country that killed more than 100,000 people, according to a U.S. Geological Survey estimation. That event destroyed three quarters of Port-au-Princes buildings, including the Presidential Palace, according to the AIA report.

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In comparison, Cuba implemented its thorough disaster preparedness plan in advance of the storm. The country has a mandatory hurricane drill every May in advance of hurricane season, according to a Center for International Policy report. The country blasts out notices about the upcoming storm on state-run television and radio, warning people to take cover. Hundreds of homes were destroyed but no deaths have been reported.

Read More: Hurricane Matthew Will Hurt African Americans and Low-Income People Most

The gap between the damage wrought by extreme weather events in wealthy countries and their underdeveloped counterparts will only grow in the coming years as climate change continues, climate policy experts say. Building new infrastructure to adaptsea walls, elevated building and much morecan cost billions leaving the measures out of reach of poor countries that have emitted few of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Addressing that gap was a key sticking point in last years Paris Agreement with developing countries ultimately committing to mobilizing $100 billion in financing for the developing world to address climate change. But unfortunately even those funds will not be enough to stave off disaster in the short term in much of the developing world.
One stock that might be an intriguing choice for investors right now is NCI Building Systems Inc. NCS. This is because this security in the Building & Construction Products - Miscellaneous space is seeing solid earnings estimate revision activity, and is in great company from a Zacks Industry Rank perspective.

This is important because, often times, a rising tide will lift all boats in an industry, as there can be broad trends taking place in a segment that are boosting securities across the board. This is arguably taking place in the Building & Construction Products - Miscellaneous space as it currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71 out of more than 250 industries, suggesting it is well-positioned from this perspective, especially when compared to other segments out there.

Meanwhile, NCI Building Systems is actually looking pretty good on its own too. The firm has seen solid earnings estimate revision activity over the past month, suggesting analysts are becoming a bit more bullish on the firms prospects in both the short and long term.

NCI BLDG SYSTEM Price and Consensus

NCI BLDG SYSTEM Price and Consensus | NCI BLDG SYSTEM Quote

In fact, over the past month, current quarter estimates have risen from 31 cents per share to 33 cents per share, while current year estimates have risen from 75 cents per share to 77 cents per share. This has helped NCS to earn a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), further underscoring the companys solid position. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

So, if you are looking for a decent pick in a strong industry, consider NCI Building Systems. Not only is its industry currently in the top third, but it is seeing solid estimate revisions as of late, suggesting it could be a very interesting choice for investors seeking a name in this great industry segment.

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Supreme Court expressed displeasure at the handling of vector-borne diseases by the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Lt. Najeeb Jung.

The court was dissapointed with the outcome of the meet between CM Kejriwal and L-G Jung.

By Mail Today Bureau: In a stinging criticism of the handling of dengue and chikungunya menace in Delhi, the Supreme Court on Thursday said the authorities here were not interested and the people have been left to suffer.

It also expressed disappointment over the outcome of Wednesday's meeting between the Lieutenant Governor and Delhi government on curbing vector-borne diseases and asked them to hold another meeting on Thursday evening to firm up steps to check the diseases.

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DISAPPOINTED WITH THE MEETING: SC



"We have gone through the minutes of meeting held yesterday and we are quite disappointed with the outcome," a bench of justices M B Lokur and Amitava Rao said.

The court was also irked over serving of refreshments at the meeting.

READ| Chikungunya and dengue outbreak: No Sunday off for LG Najeeb Jung, visits hospitals to take stock of situation

"If we knew what is required to be done, we would have done it. We would not have had tea and snacks," the bench said.

SC OBJECTS SERVING OF TEA AND SNACKS AT THE MEET



When the bench was informed by Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar that Delhi's health secretary was present in the courtroom, the bench asked, "What do you say sir... What about the tea? It must have been served in the meeting." The officer said refreshments were served in the meeting. To this, the bench asked, "What were the refreshments served?" When the official said that tea, coffee and biscuits were served during the meeting, the bench shot another query: "Was the refreshment served when the meeting was in progress?"

"These people are not interested and the people of Delhi are left to suffer," the bench observed and asked the LG and Delhi Government to hold a meeting at 5.30pm on Thursday to discuss the matter.

READ| SC slams Jung, Delhi govt for blame game over vector-borne diseases



During the hearing, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Delhi chief secretary, told the bench that L-G Najeeb Jung would convene a meeting in which those officers, who were directed to attend the meeting by the court in its October 4 order, would be present.

The bench also asked senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who is amicus curiae in the matter, to participate in the meeting.

READ| Chikungunya cases in Delhi rise to 560, 12 mobile fever clinics launched

READ| Delhi: LG Jung asks civic bodies to keep city clean, sanitation workers demand payment of dues

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The warnings about Hurricane Matthew's potential impact on Florida could hardly be more dire.

The Category 4 storm has already smashed Haiti and the Bahamas, killing at least 264 people in Haiti, and its current trajectory endangers millions of people living along the east coast of Florida and the coastline of Georgia and South Carolina.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Matthew could damage the U.S.' newest weather satellite before it launches

Despite the warnings, many people will batten down the hatches and attempt to outlast the ferocious storm. But that's not necessarily because they'd rather watch the hurricane rip across their home than escape somewhere inland. Often, those who stay don't have a choice, and that lack of choice could prove deadly.

"This is going to kill people," Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned on Thursday.

"If you are still sitting at home, if you have not evacuated, gas stations are getting ready to close," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Thursday morning. "Your pharmacies are getting ready to close. Everything is getting ready to leave."

Politicians are known to exaggerate, but weather experts have adopted a similarly dire tone.

*IF* you're being ordered to evacuate please do so NOW. This is a potentially devastating hurricane. Staying isn't worth the risk. #Matthew  Michael Lowry (@MichaelRLowry) October 6, 2016

ANYONE ignoring evacuation orders on E. Coast of Florida is making a potentially suicidal decision given intensity of #HurricaneMatthew  Andrew Freedman (@afreedma) October 6, 2016

DON'T ignore evacuation orders. Your decision could be the difference between life and death. #Matthew pic.twitter.com/OoCqslzDhL  NWS (@NWS) October 6, 2016

Around 2.5 million people are under an evacuation order along the southeastern coast of the United States. South Carolina has reversed its highways to allow for more traffic away from the coasts. The governor of Florida "activated" an additional 1,000 members of the national guard to deal with the fallout.

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And yet some people will almost certainly stay.

An estimated 150,000-200,000 Louisiana residents stayed through Hurricane Katrina in 2005, one of the most devastating storms to ever make landfall in the United States.

Residents wait on a rooftop to be rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, on Sept. 1, 2005, in New Orleans.

Image: AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The reasons they did this aren't uniform, but thousands simply didn't have enough information to make an educated decision about whether to leave or stay. Even if they had, they wouldn't have had ample resources to evacuate.

"Compared with stayers, leavers had more education and income, greater access to news, more reliable transportation, and more geographically extended social networks," wrote the authors of a 2009 Stanford and Princeton University study on the reasons residents stayed behind during Hurricane Katrina, which was published in the journal Psychological Science.

The study found that white, middle class Louisiana residents were more likely to flee because they had the means to do so. Working class black residents often didn't have the same means, so they made do with what they had.

Evacuating can be expensive. Residents in evacuation zones may have to sacrifice hourly wages for the days they're away from work. They'll have to buy food, gas and  if they can afford it  hotel rooms.

Officers of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department patrol as residents were alerted to evacuate the beaches in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew, on Oct. 6 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Image: Logan Bowles via AP Images

Nicole Stephens and Hilary Bergsieker, two of the study's five coauthors, have said wealthier residents were also more likely to evacuate because they were likely more accustomed to travel.

There's sort of the physical resources factor, but there's also the psychological factors," Bergsieker, a psychology professor at the University of Waterloo, said in 2012. This is where you've always been your whole life, and suddenly people on the radio are telling you you have to leave? That may seem like a much more dangerous choice than to stay with people from your church, or people from your block."

On Thursday, the governor of Florida said "there are no excuses" for staying. This wording hints that a lack of preparedness or decision-making ability, but research has proven that this thinking is off-base.

I've been visiting Emergency Operations Centers across the state for updates on #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/SsxUCUBSIS  Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) October 6, 2016

Observers often viewed "stayers" in Louisiana as lazy or irresponsible. But, as Stephens  now a professor at Northwestern University's school of management  said in 2010, those people who stayed didnt just wait around for the hurricane to destroy them."

"They did the best that they could given the situations that they were in," she said. "People worked together with other people. They cared for their families and communities. They tried to maintain strength and resilience. They had different ways of responding  they did what they could with what they had available to them.

There are those people, however, who believe their homes  and anyone inside them  will be alright.

"I am concerned that some folks might be staying who are in mandatory evacuation zones because they believe they are safe," Gina Eosco, an expert in risk communication who advises the National Weather Service, told Mashable.

"The message that needs to get there is that your home may  and let me emphasize may  be standing when you return, but it does not mean that your community won't be largely affected."

LIVE look from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Outer bands of Matthew bringing rain & wind. System still in Atlantic. pic.twitter.com/SSyPnMyCNz  Tom Miner (@TomMiner_) October 6, 2016

Many homes along the southeastern coast of the country may be well-equipped to survive thrashing winds, but Eosco said that could lead to a false sense of confidence. Evacuation zones are based on the potential for coastal areas to flood, and hurricanes have many ways of ruining a home.

A home that survives a storm isn't necessarily a home that's suitable to live in during the immediate aftermath.

Without functioning grocery stores, gas stations and other necessities, it may be difficult to survive in a community that was just blown out by a Category 4 hurricane.

Still, some along the southeastern coast are more concerned by leaving than they are with staying.

"This is going to be our first big storm up here, but we stayed through Sandy up in New Jersey and it worked out OK for us," Gary Flynn, speaking about himself and his family who live along the South Carolina coast, told The Greeneville News on Thursday. Were a little nervous, but we think its the right thing to do.

Matt Harvie, 32, who also lives in the area, told the paper that he wanted to stay to make sure his house wasn't too damaged.

My roof leaks so I want to be here in case of water damage, he said. I could come back and my place could be in bad shape.

Troy Cooper takes down a restaurant sign at Home Team BBQ in preparation for Hurricane Matthew on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, on Oct. 6.

Image: AP Photo/Mic Smith

Eosco says she has spoken with people who refuse to leave, and sometimes gets to a stage where she realizes she won't get through to them. At that point, she says she can only rely on the most basic of sentiments.

"You can rebuild a home, you cannot rebuild your life," she said. "That's about as firm as I can get. Your body is not replaceable."

BONUS: Roof ripped off house by Hurricane Matthew
Most women begin to worry when they find a lump on their breast, but Nicole Phillips of Ohio never suspected a bruise-like shadow was her first indication of breast cancer.

Read: Mom With Breast Cancer Breastfeeds Her Son For The Last Time Before She Has A Mastectomy

I was never meant to have cancer, Phillips told InsideEdition.com.

Phillips said her family has no history of breast cancer, and she always went to her regular mammogram appointment scheduled every year, on her birthday.

She had just turned 40 when her doctor noticed the bruise on her left breast. She was told to get more testing.

I went home and I looked at myself in the mirror, Phillips recalled. What I saw was a greenish haze, like a bruise, where that tumor was. There was [also] some strange dimpling in that area that I hadnt noticed.

She was soon diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, and had to undergo a single mastectomy.

To chronologize her journey through cancer, she enlisted the help of photographer Ann Fredricks.

While Phillips said she was lucky to have never had to undergo chemotherapy, her biggest concern is her daughter, Jordan, and future generations of women in her family.

She was declared cancer free in August 2015, and now dedicates her time to helping spread awareness about the disease.

Read: Meet The Survivors Inspired to Switch Careers After Cancer: 'Now I Feel Like I'm Making a Difference'

Jordan, 11, has since started working with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and has raised over $10,000 selling handmade coffee cup cozies for women in need.

Proceeds go toward funding mobile mammograms so lower income and more remote neighborhoods have the same access to screenings.

Watch: Husband Gifts 500 Roses to Wife During Her Final Round of Chemo for Breast Cancer

Related Articles:
(BEIRUT )  The battle for Aleppo has gripped the world, but it is hardly the only major front among the tangle of adversaries clashing across war-torn Syria.

Opposition forces are on the offensive in the countrys center trying to sever the governments connection between Aleppo and the capital, Damascus, which is itself at the edge of a major theater of the war. In the northwest, Turkish-backed opposition forces are battling Islamic State militants, while to the east government forces are weathering an Islamic State siege of Deir El-Zour.

Heres a look at some of the battles around Syria:

HAMA

In the central province of Hama, insurgent groups led by the extremist Jund al-Aqsa have been on the offensive since late August, capturing dozens of villages and towns in areas close to the northwestern rebel stronghold of Idlib.

The insurgents are now about 15 kilometers (nine miles) north of Syrias fourth-largest city, also called Hama.

The militants aim to eventually block the main road used by the government to send supplies to the northern province of Aleppo, where the fighting has intensified in recent weeks.

Among the major towns and villages captured by insurgents in Hama province are Halfaya, Maan and Soran. The government and its Russian allies have responded to the offensive with intense airstrikes.

DAMASCUS AND THE SOUTH

After retaking the once-opposition-held hub of Darya, on Damascuss southern outskirts, and forcing the evacuation of the 6,000 or so civilians and fighters trapped inside, the military and allied militias have turned their attention to the steadily shrinking zone of rebel control to the capitals northeast.

The rebels in Douma and al-Nashabiyeh are beset by factional infighting over control of the limited resources that leak through the governments blockade. The opposition holds two pockets in northeastern Damascus, in the Jobar and Barzeh neighborhoods, from which they carry out daily shelling attacks on the citys government-held areas. Pro-government forces are close to sealing off these pockets from the larger rebel-controlled swath of territory on the capitals outskirts.

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Meanwhile, fighting rages between the ideologically-diverse rebel factions and pro-government forces in Daraa province, along the Jordanian border. A government crackdown against popular demonstrations in Daraa in 2011 sparked the ongoing civil war. And in neighboring Qunaitra province, Israeli jets are sporadically striking Syrian military positions near the occupied Golan Heights as stray shells fall on Israel.

THE NORTHWEST

Opposition fighters backed by Turkish ground and air forces continue to erode the Islamic State groups hold over northern Syria while also containing the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces that control most of the countrys northern border. Turkey sees the Kurdish forces as an extension of its own outlawed Kurdish rebels.

The fighting has not come without a cost to Turkey, which has lost nine soldiers on Syrian soil since intervening in August.

The Turkish-Syrian opposition coalition is advancing in the direction of Dabiq, which occupies a central place in IS propaganda. The extremists, citing ancient prophecy, believe Dabiq will be the scene of an apocalyptic battle between Christianity and Islam. The group named its online magazine after the town, which it has occupied since August 2014.

DEIR EL-ZOUR

Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants are locked in battle over control of Deir El-Zour province, which is also the setting of some of the fiercest international coalition air raids against the extremists.

The U.S.-led coalition is targeting bridges up and down the Euphrates River, leading the Syrian foreign ministry to accuse the air campaign of destroying the countrys infrastructure.

The extremists have kept the provincial capital, also called Deir el-Zour, under siege since 2014, but pro-government forces have withstood the encirclement thanks to air-dropped humanitarian assistance from the U.N. and weapons and ammunition flown into the nearby airport, which remains under government control.

ALEPPO

Rebel groups, President Bashar Assads government and the governments international backers have committed thousands of fighters to the battle for Aleppo, Syrias largest city. The fierce fighting has prompted the U.N.s special envoy to warn that thousands of civilians could be killed and the city destroyed if the Russian and Syrian air forces do not halt their bombardment of its rebel-held eastern neighborhoods.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has described conditions in eastern Aleppo, where 275,000 people are trapped under a government siege, as worse than a slaughterhouse.

On Wednesday, Syrias military command announced it had scaled back its assault in order to allow civilians to evacuate, two weeks after it declared an all-out offensive for the east.

In an urgent plea on Thursday, U.N. Special Envoy Staffan De Mistura proposed evacuating the estimated 900 al-Qaida-linked fighters holed up in the east in exchange for an end to the Russian and government bombardment.

But rebel commanders said they could not trust the government to stop bombing, while Assad said there was no distinction between the al-Qaida-linked militants and the other estimated 7,000 opposition fighters in the city.

___

Associated Press Writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Donald Trump

Donald Trump has suggested that an "attack first" strategy might be best when confronting America's enemies.

During a town-hall event in Sandown, New Hampshire, on Thursday, the Republican presidential nominee expressed contempt for Hillary Clinton's plan to fight terrorist groups like ISIS.

Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has proposed supply-line disruptions and increased airstrikes to drive ISIS militants out of key areas of Iraq and Syria.

Trump, who has been criticized for refusing to publicly discuss details of his campaign's antiterrorism proposals, asked on Thursday: "Isn't there an element of surprise?"

"Remember when we were young and we were studying history, and they talk about some of the great generals, and the great attacks? ... Wouldnt it be nice if we attacked first, and talked about our great victory later?" the GOP nominee added.

"It's a very, very sad thing. We are being run by people that are incompetent."

Clinton, who served as secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term, has criticized Trump for not outlining the specifics of his plans to fight terrorism. At the candidates' first debate, she said, "He says it's a secret plan, but the only secret is that he has no plan."

Watch the full video of Donald Trump's town hall meeting below:

NOW WATCH: 'He never said that': New Clinton ad shows Trump contradicting Pence's VP debate denials





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(This October 5 story has been corrected to show court order did not come under Section 702 of FISA. Headline and para 1 have also been corrected to remove references to soon-expiring law.)

By Mark Hosenball and Dustin Volz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Yahoo operation in 2015 to scan the incoming email of its customers for specific information identified by the U.S. government was authorized under a foreign intelligence law, U.S. government officials familiar with the matter said.

Reuters on Tuesday reported that the Yahoo program was in response to a classified U.S. government request to scan emails belonging to hundreds of millions of Yahoo users.

The revelation rekindled a long-running debate in the United States over the proper balance between digital privacy and national security.

The Department of Justice obtained the order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, said the sources, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

The order came under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related specifically to Yahoo, but it is possible similar such orders have been issued to other telecom and internet companies, the sources said.

Two government sources previously said the request was issued under a provision of the law known as Section 702, but Reuters subsequently learned the information was incorrect. Section 702 will expire on Dec. 31, 2017, unless lawmakers act to renew it.

In a statement on Wednesday, Yahoo said Tuesday's report by Reuters was "misleading" and that the "mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems."

When asked to identify any specific way in which the story was misleading, or whether the operation described by Reuters had previously existed, Yahoo declined to comment.

Former Yahoo employees told Reuters that security staff disabled the scan program after they discovered it, and that it had not been reinstalled before Alex Stamos, the company's former top security officer, left the company for Facebook last year.

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The intelligence committees of both houses of Congress, which are given oversight of U.S. spy agencies, are now investigating the exact nature of the Yahoo order, sources said.

Privacy advocates expressed alarm at the reported Yahoo program, saying it may amount to an unprecedented use of the authorities granted to the National Security Agency by Congress.

Speaking to students at Georgetown University on Tuesday, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked a trove of classified documents to journalists in 2013 exposing NSA surveillance programs, said the Yahoo report renewed questions about whether government surveillance programs are subject to sufficient congressional oversight and public scrutiny.

"That's not to say that this Yahoo program is sinister," Snowden said via satellite: "It could be related to cyber security, where it is related to known malware actors."

Government officials on Wednesday sought to defend U.S. surveillance operations as appropriately balanced and transparent, though they did not deny the Reuters report.

"The United States only uses signals intelligence for national security purposes, and not for the purpose of indiscriminately reviewing the emails or phone calls of ordinary people," Richard Kolko, a spokesman for the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in a statement.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday that he could not confirm the existence of specific intelligence programs or intelligence tools, but defended the checks and balances placed on what information or methods the intelligence community can seek.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Dustin Volz in Washington Additional reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Grant McCool)
There was nothing on their minds except the success of their mission. Not the 19 soldiers who had been killed in Uri on September 18, nor their fate if they were captured alive.

On the night of September 28, close to 100 specially trained operators exhaled gently as they lay in wait at multiple locations across the Line of Control. The moon had waned to a thin, near-invisible crescent. Until H-hour, the cutting edge of the Indian army's Parachute regiment Special Forces, Para-SF for short, did not exist. They blended into the rugged topography because they had reduced their four S-es-shape, shine, silhouette and smell. Their combat fatigues blended into the forest, their faces were streaked with camouflage paint. Their skin was covered in a thin film of mud to suppress body odour. Their weapons had been blackened. They had lain in ambush for over 48 hours.

There was nothing on their minds except the success of their mission. Not the 19 soldiers who had been killed in Uri on September 18, nor their fate if they were captured alive.

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Opinion: Indian Army's surgical strikes should make Pakistan think twice before trying another Uri

The operators were the decisive tip of a very long spear that began in the army's Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO) on the first floor of South Block. Here, India's military leadership sat with their political bosses, the prime minister and the defence minister. It passed through the Northern Army Command's bunker in Udhampur that planned the operation, and, finally, led across the border.

For days now, the SF teams had stalked their targets-launchpads used to infiltrate militants into India.

READ: How Ghatak platoons from units attacked in Uri helped commandos in surgical strike

At H-hour, a coded signal went out to the teams. The operators opened up with the portable artillery they had backpacked across the LoC-Carl Gustaf rocket launchers, thermobaric rockets, under barrel grenade launchers clipped on rifles and 'Milkor' multiple grenade launchers that spat out six 40 mm grenades in one pull of the trigger.

Six launchpads at Kel, Lipa, Athmuqam, Tattapani and Bhimber, located within five kilometres of the LoC, were hit near-simultaneously. The explosions were captured on hand-held cameras and by Indian Army drones floating above, relaying the images back to base. At each location, the operation was terminated in minutes.

"It was a destruction mission, they did not engage their targets with small arms fire nor wait to count casualties," one official says. The weapons were chosen to inflict the maximum structural damage. The Russian Shmel, for instance, is called a flame-thrower by its manufacturer as it ignites a fuel-air mix that collapses structures and has the impact of one 155 mm Bofors shell.

READ: How para commandos used flame throwers to decimate terror camps behind enemy lines

The commandos had accomplished a textbook 'raid' after infiltrating enemy-held territory. The US Special Forces Operational Techniques' field manual FM 31-20, one of the few such documents that is publicly accesible, hails overland infiltration "as the most secure way of getting the Special Forces team into place, especially if time is not crucial. Distance is not necessarily a problem for well-equipped Special Forces personnel, trained to use their skills, wits and resources".

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This is precisely why Indian SF operators eschew helicopters. They lack mission-specific helicopters like the stealthy Ghost Hawks Navy Seals used in the 2011 raid on Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden.

Indian SF operators who do 30-km cross-country speed marches with 40 kg backpacks are comfortable with stealthy landborne insertion. They know the swathe of dense virgin temperate forest on the LoC like the back of their hand. They navigate around the 'nars' or dry river channels leading into the Kishenganga and know which ridges to take to evade detection.

They are at home in the 2 km no man's land belt where vision drops to less than a metre in broad daylight and the crackle of twigs could well be a wild bear, a marauding panther, a militant or a Pakistani SSG operator.

READ: Terrorists plotting 'spectacular strike' to avenge surgical strikes, fear intelligence agencies

The commandos maintained their composure throughout the mission. At one camp which they staked out, terrorist sentries randomly hosed the trees around with assault weapon fire. Shredded leaves showered the waiting commandos, making them wonder if the mission had been compromised.

Army officials in the know say the number of casualties on the terrorist side are only guesstimates based on how many terrorists and their supporters are within each camp. There were no casualties on the Indian side. One operator sustained foot injuries when he walked across a mine on the way back. He did not cry even once. A commando attributes it to the adrenaline surge during these missions and say the build-up causes post-action nausea and vomiting.

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In what is believed to be a first for such missions, the operators took visual evidence of the strike. One team waited until daybreak, past 6 am, to capture a camp being blown up on video. The infrared bloom in one of the launchpads led the brass to wonder whether the operators had hit a weapons dump. The footage was carefully analysed by army and intelligence sources and shown to the leadership before India went public with the strike.

READ| Army gives videos of surgical strikes to government, PM Modi to take final call on release

At noon on September 29, while the launchpads were still smouldering, DGMO Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh addressed a press conference in New Delhi announcing that India had carried out 'surgical strikes' 'along' the border after receiving specific and credible input on terrorists planning to infiltrate into India to carry out attacks.

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"During these counter-terrorist operations, significant casualties were caused to terrorists and those providing support to them," Lt Gen Singh said, the restrained statement coming 11 days after he had vowed to respond to the Uri attacks at "a time and place of the army's choosing".

The signal to move in had already been given days after the Uri attack as the government seethed in its aftermath and the mounting public pressure for retaliation. An 'Eyes Only' file one officer calls the 'book of targets' kept in a secure location within the DGMO, was opened. The targets were identified in consultation with the Northern Army Command. Updated image feeds of the camps were taken from intelligence agencies.

READ| Pak exposed: Eyewitnesses across LoC give graphic details of India's surgical strikes, says report

The first teams of SF operators were infiltrated across the LoC to conduct Close Target Reconnaissance (CTR), a crucial element in the planning process. It identifies targets, verifies they are operational and reverts to the planners who then wargame the operation.

The CTR teams staked out and identified the targets, the infiltration routes and the approximate times for infiltration and exfiltration. They took pains to evade thermal imagers on the Pakistani side. One infiltration route ran through a counter-infiltration minefield laid by the Indian side, littered with buried anti-personnel mines. The team chose to mark a safe route through this lethal obstacle as an alternative route would take time.

Read| Claims denied: How Pakistan media is treating India's surgical strike

The planners kept the operation secret and anonymous. Unlike previous cross-LoC missions, it was not given a name, nor were written orders issued. The infiltration teams were believed to have been sent into the Indian posts on the LoC in disguise before their launch, to keep their arrival secret.

Predictably, Pakistan disputed the Indian army's version. "The notion of a surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists' bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects," the Pakistan army said in a statement.

Indian military commanders have chafed at their inability to strike at militant sanctuaries just across the border. At the height of the Kargil war in 1999, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee issued orders to his military commanders that the LoC was sacrosanct. This, when military advice indicated that the war could have been terminated even sooner had India struck Pakistan's supply routes and bases across the LoC. Vajpayee, however, wanted India to retake the Kargil Heights from a moral high ground.

READ: India strikes back: 6 ways Pakistan could retaliate after surgical strike

War apart, cross-border operations across the LoC have been commonplace for decades, part of establishing 'moral ascendancy' over the adversary and conducted at the battalion level. The November 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan drastically reduced such operations, but they began a decade ago when both armies began targeting each other in a cycle of violence and counter-violence.

Army officials privately admit to at least two cross-border SF raids in 2008 and 2011. But these were authorised by the Northern Command in retaliation to specific action by Pakistan army Border Action Teams (BATs).

Surgical strikes against Pakistan-based terrorists, including specific operations to target their leadership, were discussed by the Manmohan Singh-led cabinet committee on security in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai. These were abandoned for lack of precise targeting information and, more importantly, what one participant in the meeting calls, a clear lack of political will.

READ: India kept surgical strikes mission deliberately unnamed

To that extent, the September 29 raid authorised by the topmost political leadership and later broadcast to the world, marks a radical departure in policy. The September 29 operations covered a frontage of over 200 km, both north and south of the Pir Panjal range. In that sense, it was also a step-up from the June 6 raid by Indian SF on NSCN(K)-PLA camp after its guerrillas ambushed and killed 18 Army men in Chandel, Manipur. The raid was carried out with the knowledge of the Myanmar government.

Whether the September 29 strikes mark a permanent change in the government policy of restraint remains to be seen. Army brass believe this operation is a one-off. "There is no change in policy at the formation level," a senior army official says.

The army is quick to underline that this surgical strike calls for a Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to undertake a range of future clandestine and covert operations. This command was first proposed by the army in 2002 but shelved. The proposal was resurrected by the Naresh Chandra committee in 2011. The SOCOM, reporting to the Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff, would have integrated training facilities, a common pool of equipment and dedicated transport aircraft (the army and navy rely on the IAF to fly them for long-range missions). That the proposal has languished before the CCS since 2013 is inexplicable given that the leadership believes in the changed nature of future wars. This, even as the prime minister told the Combined Commanders' Conference last December that "full-scale wars may become rare, but force will remain an instrument of deterrence and influencing behaviour". The next surgery, clearly, has to be on India's moribund defence reforms.

Follow the writer on Twitter @SandeepUnnithan

ALSO READ:

Post surgical strike: India changes posture, continues operation

Nawaz Sharif calls for peace, then praises terrorist in UN speech

Surgical strikes effect: MHA asks all states to beef up security anticipating Pak retaliation

'Most aggressive action from India in years': What international media said about surgical strikes

--- ENDS ---
The 4.3 million annual visitors to the Statue of Liberty -- that most recognizable symbol of American freedom -- will be greeted by a modern multimedia museum in future, New York officials said Thursday.

The celebrated statue, designed by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel -- donated by France on the 1876 centenary of US independence and inaugurated on Liberty Island in 1886 -- has not had a museum worthy of the name since 2001.

Stringent security regulations put in place after the September 11 attacks had reduced the capacity of the exhibit space inside the monument, so that only 20 percent of visitors to Liberty Island could enter, said the National Park Service, which manages the site.

The private foundation that raises funds for Liberty Island and nearby Ellis Island -- and which has already renovated the immigration museum on Ellis Island -- broke ground on the new museum Thursday. Enclosed in floor-to-ceiling picture windows, the building will cost an estimated $70 million.

When it opens in 2019, the museum will offer a stunning view of Manhattan as well as a "multisensory experience" and a chance to "reflect on the very notion of liberty," according to its creators.

While the current museum is situated in the pedestal of the statue, the new Statue of Liberty Museum will be located on the opposite point of the small island. Its grass-covered roof will include a large terrace offering sweeping views of New York Harbor.

At a time when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been sharply critical of uncontrolled immigration, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio -- himself descended from Italian immigrants -- said his hope was that "this museum will be one of the bridges that helps us finally come to peace with who we are."

Officials in New York, which welcomes some 60 million visitors a year, also hope the new museum will boost tourism to Liberty and Ellis islands, which can be reached on the same ferry boat from the southern tip of Manhattan.

Several of New York's and America's most prominent philanthropists will help finance the museum, including the designer Diane von Furstenberg, an early backer of the project; Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon; and Michael Bloomberg, the businessman and former New York mayor.
On Sept. 4, 2.2 million Hongkongers  a record 58% of the territorys registered voters  went to the polls to elect their next Legislative Council, as Hong Kongs congress is called. The elections came almost exactly two years to the day after the beginning of what was called the Umbrella Revolution: a three-month-long protest staged in the citys most critical commercial districts to demand democratic reforms and stand up to Beijing, which has controlled the former British colony as a nominally semiautonomous territory since 1997.

Some critics would later call the protests a failure  the primary demand, the right to directly elect Hong Kongs top official, was not met  but those who did so failed (or chose) not to acknowledge the movements most lasting consequence: the awakening of a new political generation that is brazen in its fight for Hong Kongs autonomy and unafraid of an increasingly muscular Beijing.

This generation first stirred in 2012, when it rebelled against the governments proposal for a mandatory pro-China curriculum at Hong Kongs schools. The Legislative Council elections have now given it a mandate. Five young activists were voted into office, bringing political validation to a youth-driven movement dismissed by establishment elders as naive, unschooled, and untenable.

The youngest, Nathan Law, who was a figurehead of the Umbrella Movement demonstrations, is just 23. But more unprecedented than the age of these new opposition legislators are their beliefs: several of them are self-described radicals who openly resent the notion of Hong Kong as a Chinese territory (they see it as a colony of Beijing) and are willing to entertain the drastic solution of Hong Kongs outright independence.

On Sept. 21, TIMEs Asia editor Zoher Abdoolcarim, associate editor Helen Regan, writer-reporter Nash Jenkins and reporting intern Kevin Lui sat down for a conversation with three of them: Law, 30-year-old Sixtus Baggio Leung and 25-year-old Yau Wai-ching. (Thirty-eight-year-old Eddie Chu, a maverick who was elected on a bold anticorruption platform, had fallen ill the night before and could not attend.) Seated around a table in the gritty Mong Kok district  the site of some of the most violent clashes during the protests two years ago  these members of Hong Kongs new political guard spoke frankly about their goals for office, their hopes for Hong Kongs autonomy, and why they are committed to fight for the soul of Chinas freest city.

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What do your victories in the Legislative Council elections say about where Hong Kong is politically?

Leung: Hongkongers want change. They want some new faces in the Legislative Council and in the whole political system.

Law: People are feeling that the democratic movement is  stuck in a place where we follow an agenda provided by the central government but we gain nothing out of it. People want change. A lot of the new participants in this election want to uphold self-determination and [set] a new agenda for the democratic movement. We provide a new vision.

The Umbrella Revolution failed to achieve concrete political reform. How do you manage the disappointment?

Law: In terms of leading to concrete political change, it failed. But on the other hand, it left behind a huge political heritage. A lot of people were enlightened politically, and we can see that in the turnout rate in this election. Many people came out to vote. You can see that Hong Kongs civic society is getting stronger. Having had quite a relatively important role in the movement, I think I have the responsibility to sustain that spirit, and to sustain peoples hopes.

Youre all relatively young. How has Hong Kong changed in your lifetimes?

Leung: We are losing our freedoms. The new generation is looking for a new solution.

Yau: Since the handover, the values and collective memories that Hongkongers treasure have disappeared. All the Hong Kong government and Chinese Communist Party want is to [take over] Hong Kong, with no regard for Hongkongers. In my primary school, I was taught that China was the motherland of Hong Kong and we would have a good future, but what Ive experienced is that Hong Kong is getting worse under Beijings control  or, as I would describe it, colonization.

Law: Other than on military and diplomatic issues, the Chinese government [is not supposed to] intervene in Hong Kong. But Hong Kongs [autonomy] is being eroded because a lot of things we uphold are in conflict with the mind-set of mainland China. For example, we might uphold democracy, but they might see it as a channel for hostile foreign forces to interfere in internal Chinese issues.

The use of power by the Beijing government is [also] arbitrary and vague. And many of our primary and secondary schools are using Mandarin instead of Cantonese  were almost losing a generation of fluent Cantonese speakers.

Some people have said that the first turning point for the freedom movement in Hong Kong was the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, when the Chinese army killed thousands of pro-democracy student protesters in Beijing. What are the differences between you and those who were politically active back then?

Law: The 1980s was Chinas most liberal decade, and [those in Hong Kong who saw it] put their hopes in the opening of a new liberal China. But the generation that didnt experience that has never put much hope in mainland China. I dont have that Chinese national sentiment. For me, a Hongkonger, the most important thing is to defend our system. I care about and want to know more about the human-rights movement in China, but I realize that it is very difficult for me to be part of that.

Leung: There are some differences between the elder generation and us  like in the discussion about whether we should call it the Umbrella Movement or the Umbrella Revolution. One reason why some people preferred the word movement was that they feared the Chinese Communist Party would send tanks to kill us.

China is now the second biggest economy in the world, or even the biggest by some accounts. Isnt it better to be part of China than not to be a part of China?

Leung: Theres this saying: China needs Hong Kong, but it doesnt need Hong Kongs people. It means that, because Hong Kong is still a financial center, they need our law and our banking system. But Hongkongers are asking for freedom and changes to their political system. I am a Hongkonger, and what Im facing now is that China needs my homeland, but it doesnt need me.

When was your political epiphany?

Leung: If there were no Umbrella Revolution, then I probably wouldnt have formed [the political party] Youngspiration. And no one wouldve joined me in campaigning for such a crazy idea without the Umbrella Revolution. [There was also] the [massive] July 1 protest in 2003. I could feel the anger of Hongkongers.

Law: My political enlightenment came in 2010, when [mainland dissident writer] Liu Xiaobo received the Nobel Peace Prize. On the day following the announcement, the president of our school, which had pro-China sympathies, publicly denounced Liu Xiaobo. His comments made me curious about what was happening, about why Liu couldnt attend the award ceremony, so I looked for information online. That made me curious about the justice and human-rights movement and whats wrong in Hong Kong and Chinese society.

Yau: [The official attempt to impose patriotic] national education in 2012 was an awakening because, when I was in secondary school, I thought that such brainwashing would not occur in Hong Kong. But it wasnt until 2014, and the Umbrella Revolution, that I actually came out and fought against the government with my friends and colleagues. That was the start of my real political life.

Is there anything about your backgrounds that led you into politics?

Leung: I have democratic parents, but they wont go to street protests.

Law: I come from a blue-collar family. Theyre afraid of China and dont want to touch politics. The first time my mother really watched the news about politics was on Sept. 26, 2014, when I was arrested by police and she was looking for her son. My family are definitely not fully supportive.

Yau: My family have a lot of questions about my political standpoint. Just this morning, my mum asked me questions about Hong Kong independence. So I had to explain to her how Hong Kong could be self-sufficient.

As legislators, what policies do you hope to push?

Leung: The first is to try to curb the power of police.

Yau: I would like a well-planned population policy and migration policy in Hong Kong [to curb mainland Chinese immigration]. Also, we think Chinese lessons should be taught in Cantonese and not Mandarin. I want to build Hong Kong identity.

Law: My own emphasis will be on higher education, because of my background and experience as a student organizer. There should be a decolonization in the power structure of the whole higher-education system. The democratic movement is another emphasis  Hong Kong people deciding their future.

The Legislative Council is still like a private club for the ruling class of Hong Kong. Are you going to be intimidated on the first day you walk into that chamber? Or do you not care?

Leung: I dont care about what they think. The ones I care about are those who gave me their vote. We are here to challenge those in power.

Yau: People voted for me to get into the Legislative Council because Im not one of [the ruling class]. If I were one of them, they wouldnt have voted for me.

Law: I think there has been a change in what the council symbolizes. People have different expectations of legislators after the social movements of recent years. We see politics as our vocation instead of a job.

Do you dislike or even hate mainland Chinese? How do you see yourselves: as Hongkongers or as Chinese?

Yau: Im a Hongkonger, and how I see Chinese people is that we are not the same. Its because the history as well as the political and economic environment of Hong Kong and China are totally different, which creates two different kinds of culture. I dont hate Chinese people, but I dont think they are our family members  to use the claim touted by the communist government  or that theyre the same as us.

Leung: Actually I dont think the majority of people in Hong Kong hate Chinese people. But if someone is hurting our interest, hurting our hometown, then theyre enemies. If you love this place, or if you think it is your homeland, and someone is hurting it, then you will be angry. If someone breaks into your home and try to make it a mess, youll feel anger.

Law: I consider myself a Hongkonger and I dont build my identity on hatred. I build my identity on my sense of belonging and love towards this place, this city.

Would your ideal outcome be independence?

Leung: Political problems must be solved politically, and self-determination, how we change our form of government after 2047, is our answer.

Yau: [If there is no political reform,] Hong Kong will be fully occupied by China. [The public must decide whether] they want to be China, or have their own new path. [The latter] might lead to a change in sovereignty, but Hongkongers will enjoy a more stable life and economy  the things that they are most concerned about.

Law: For me, the goal of our political movement is to make Hong Kong more autonomous and democratic. Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong is the ideal, but it has failed to materialize with the system we have today. The reason why we uphold self-determination is that Hongkongers were deprived of the right to self-determination back in the run-up to [the resumption of Chinese sovereignty in 1997]. We dont want to repeat the same mistake. We hope there will be a referendum on Hong Kongs sovereignty.

Where do you see yourselves in 20, 25, 30 years?

Leung: What I want to have achieved by that time is that Hong Kong people are finally the ones who can decide Hong Kongs future.

Law: Ideally, Im no longer a legislator, and no longer an activist, because we have achieved the things [I have set out to do].

Are you optimistic about Hong Kong?

Yau: You have to be optimistic, especially as a lawmaker. We have to give a sense of optimism to citizens.

Leung: I dont think we are really that optimistic, but then were not allowed to just sit here and do nothing, or else wait to lose our freedom or wait for the day when Hong Kong dies.

Law: Im not really optimistic, but that is why we are here. If we were optimistic, then we wouldnt have to devote ourselves to this kind of battle.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A group of young people in eastern Germany threatened three Syrian refugee children with a knife and hit them before chanting right-wing slogans on Thursday evening, police said. The refugee boys aged five, eight and 11 were getting out of a bus in the eastern town of Sebnitz, around 40 km (25 miles) east of Dresden, when they were attacked, police said in a statement. A spokeswoman for the police could not confirm the nationality of the attacker, adding that their identity was not yet known. Police found several young people aged between 15 and 20 near the site of the attack but it is not yet clear if they were the attackers. Germany, Europe's largest economy, has taken in a total of 1.1 million migrants so far this year and last, upsetting some Germans who feel that their country is being overrun by foreigners with different cultures or religions to their own. Support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has surged since last year's migrant influx, particularly in eastern states where unemployment is generally higher than in the west. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; editing by Ralph Boulton)
For Immediate Release

Chicago, ILOctober 7, 2016Zacks Friday Finish Line is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Editor Maddy Johnson and Content Writer Ryan McQueeney that takes on the weeks biggest news from the financial and investment world.

Will Googles Pixel Phone Be a Game Changer?

Welcome to Episode #15 of the Zacks Friday Finish Line Podcast!

A Hunting & Fishing Mega Merger

This week, Maddy and Ryan started the show with a look at a big story for all the hunters and fishers out there. On Monday, Bass Pro Shops announced that it was acquiring Cabelas Inc. CAB for $5.5 billion. The combined company will create an outdoor retail giant consisting of 180 stores and 40,000 employees.

Amazon Bans Incentivized Reviews

The hosts also touched on Amazons AMZN decision to ban incentivized reviews. After a recent study discovered that customers who received products for free or at a reduced cost were creating noticeably bias reviews, Amazon moved quickly to shut the practice down.

Facebook Marketplace

On the topic of e-commerce, Maddy and Ryan took a look at Facebooks FB new Marketplace re-selling platform. The social media giant launched its Craigslist competitor this week, only for its debut to be marred by numerous posts advertising drugs, animals, and adult services.

New Google Hardware

Finally, the hosts covered Googles GOOGL) big hardware-announcing event this week. The hosts looked at all the new products, including the Google Home the Pixel phone. Its clear that Google is ushering in its newest era of software and hardware integration, but will it work?

Want More Zacks Friday Finish Line?

Check back every Friday for a new episode that looks at each weeks biggest financial and investment news. You can follow the Zacks Friday Finish Line Podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, and ZacksInvestmentNews on YouTube.

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Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Zimbabwe's 92-year-old strongman Robert Mugabe will pay a surprise one-day working visit to Malaysia on Friday, the Southeast Asian country said.

Malaysia's government said late Thursday Mugabe will have a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak but otherwise gave scant details on the purpose of the rare visit or the reason for the last-minute notification.

The foreign ministry said it was the Zimbabwean president's first working visit to Malaysia since 2000, but he has previously visited Malaysia and Singapore for medical procedures.

Mugabe's health has been increasingly under the spotlight in recent years.

He has denied reports of ill health and vowed to stand for reelection in 2018, but this year has seen demonstrations against his rule, which stretches back to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

Mugabe and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who stepped down in 2003, shared a close relationship and a love of anti-Western rhetoric in defence of the developing world.

A Malaysian foreign ministry spokesman said there would be no public events or media access during Mugabe's visit.
The rise of the Symphony system has been portrayed as a threat to the Bloomberg terminal's dominance in trading rooms (AFP Photo/Daniel Leal-Olivas)

Tokyo (AFP) - When the British pound fell off a cliff on Friday morning, it soon became clear what may have been responsible -- the computers.

Sterling plunged more than six percent in a matter of minutes, a flash crash that sent shockwaves throughout the financial world.

In years gone by, that kind of drop would have been the result of a major news event -- a disaster or a political earthquake -- or a monumental human error, the proverbial fat finger.

But in today's tech-dominated world, it probably had a lot more to do with complex mathematical equations known as algorithms.

- Trading floors -

With old school trading floors ancient history these days, investors -- particularly big institutional players with millions or billions to invest -- often depend on computers to pick winners.

Automated trading systems can be set up to keep an eye on news headlines and react to potentially market-moving information.

Facts are collected, analysed and a computer-generated decision is made based on an investor's pre-set wishes.

If a price moves to a pre-determined level, the computer starts selling, driving the price down as all the other algorithms join in.

The selling continues until the price hits the preconfigured "buy" level, and the computers reverse course and send the price back up.

These algorithms mean currencies and stocks can be bought and sold at specific prices in a matter of seconds, all without human intervention.

Algorithm-based trading tends to save on labour costs and takes human emotion out of the investing equation. They can also analyse vast amounts of information far quicker than humans.

But algorithms aren't perfect and they don't always get it right. Sometimes they over- or under-react to events.

- 'Perfect storm' -

That may have been what happened with the pound during early morning Asian trading hours when New York investors were getting ready to turn in and their Tokyo colleagues were about to start a new day.

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Thousands of kilometres (miles) away, French President Francois Hollande was calling for tough negotiations with Britain over its European Union exit.

The machines reacted. And with not much trading volume at that time, the reaction was an outsized "perfect storm", analysts said.

The pound dropped to a fresh 31-year low of $1.1841 before rebounding rapidly to around $1.2450.

The pound's plunge "unfortunately, occurred in the 'twilight' zone between the New York close and the start of Asia at a time when liquidity is always at a premium", Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at forex firm OANDA, wrote in a commentary.

The currency "quickly dropped in a matter of minutes on algorithmic driven selling".

The Financial Times -- among the first to report Hollande's comments -- said the computers might have been reading its website.

"Many algorithmic traders include tracking news websites in their systems. The FT story was first published the same minute as the move lower began," the paper said.

Market analyst David Cheetham at XTB agreed.

"It seems... plausible that news-scanning algorithmic trading systems began a move which gathered momentum as stop loss orders were triggered on the way down," he said.
Italy says Apple and Samsung have engaged in 'planned obsolescence' tricks (AFP Photo/JUNG YEON-JE) (AFP)

Washington (AFP) - A US appeals court on Friday handed Apple a victory in one of its battles with rival Samsung, reinstating a $119.6 million verdict for the iPhone maker for patent infringement.

In the latest twist in a series of patent cases between the smartphone giants, the Federal Circuit Appeals judges ruled 8-3 in a rehearing of the case, reversing a panel of the same court in February.

Apple's lawsuit contends that Samsung infringed on patents for "slide to unlock" and autocorrection, among others.

Friday's ruling said Samsung failed to prove that some of the Apple innovations were "obvious" and thus not able to be patented.

The opinion also said the court must defer to the decision of the jury when in doubt.

"Even in cases in which a court concludes that a reasonable jury could have found some facts differently, the verdict must be sustained if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record that was before the jury," Judge Kimberly Moore wrote for the majority.

Apple asked for an "en banc" rehearing of the case -- before all the appeals court judges -- following February's decision to toss out the award.

Apple had sought some $2.2 billion at trial, only to have a jury award the California-based company $119.6 million.

In February, the panel of judges ruled that Samsung did not infringe on one of the Apple patents and that the remaining two, which involved auto-correct and slide-to-unlock features, were not valid.

Neither company responded to requests for comment.

The case is separate from another suit in which Samsung was ordered to pay $548 million for patent infringement to Apple and whose appeal is set for a hearing next week in the US Supreme Court

Samsung and Apple decided in 2014 to drop all patent disputes outside the United States, marking a partial ceasefire in a seemingly relentless legal war between the world's two largest smartphone makers.

The companies have battled in close to a dozen countries, with each accusing the other of infringing on various patents related to their flagship smartphone and tablet products.
Strength in other divisions at Samsung helped offset the financial hit the company took in the third quarter as a result of its unprecedented Galaxy Note 7 recall. But if a new claim pans out and a "safe" Note 7 issued as a replacement did in fact catch fire aboard an airplane earlier this week, Samsung's initial recall might just be the beginning.

As we know all too well at this point, a major manufacturing defect has completely spoiled Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 launch over the past two months. The issue, which is believed to only have affected a small number of Note 7 devices, can cause the phone's battery to overheat and explode. So far, Note 7 fires have injured people, destroyed cars and even burnt down one family's house. Now, it's time to get up-close and personal with an exploding Note 7 to see exactly what it looks like when Samsung's flagship phablet explodes.

DON'T MISS: Some companies are threatening to fire workers who buy an iPhone 7

With all the news surrounding Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 debacle, researchers at the Applied Energy Hub battery laboratory in Singapore decided to examine exactly what happens when a Note 7 explodes. Why? Why not, apparently.

In a safe and controlled lab environment, the researchers applied pressure to the Galaxy Note 7's battery. They continued to apply an increasing amount of pressure until finally, the phone burst into flames. While the test doesn't simulate the exact conditions under which a defective Note 7 might combust, the result is the same: Smoke, then a huge ball of fire, then the charred remains of a one-beautiful smartphone.

Photos of the lab's test, which were posted by The Telegraph, follow below. First, the phone begins to smoke:

110528664_samsung_note_7-xxlarge_trans8erkdw2ilhlmmsgmlviesvtz_l_se16jlvv04n1ncj4

Where there's smoke, there's fire...

110528664_samsung_note_7-xxlarge_transa32itomlhzsw52nzmq97orugplts4jrbhfgygkigkuu

Lots of fire...

110528968_a_samsung_note_7-xlarge_transqtaog9ka6ecxcvpt5zp0rz6zntpogku50uzlfrnh31w

And finally, the charred remains:

110530054_a_samsung_note_7-large_translrsseiyms3q0g1a2zonczsaj4fi9zqb2-eqbnnnx0bu

Again, this test was performed in a lab and outside pressure was applied to the battery. But unfortunately, this is also what happens when a defective Note 7 explodes on its own, and that's why we recommend that no one should purchase a Galaxy Note 7 right now under any circumstances.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
By PTI: Bengaluru, Oct 7 (PTI) A high-level central technical team today began its nine-day field visit of the Cauvery basin from Mandya district of Karnataka to assess ground realities and "distribute water in a judicious manner" between the state and Tamil Nadu.

"The teams aim is to distribute water between the two states in a judicious manner. We will be visiting the entire command within the shortest possible time," Central Water Commission Chairman G S Jha, who is heading the team, told reporters after a meeting with the officials of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry governments.

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Karnataka Water Resources Minister M B Patil also attended the meeting and gave a power-point presentation, highlighting the distress situation in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka, saying the state is expected to fall short of 20 tmcft of water this year.

The team has been set up by the Supreme Court to assess ground realities of the Cauvery basin in the two states which have locked horns over the release of river water.

"The team first visited Maddur town in Mandya to asses the situation," a senior government official told PTI.

The committee is scheduled to visit K R Pet tomorrow morning and inspect Hemavathi dam to asses the water reserve. It will then leave for Tamil Nadu to see Mettur dam in the evening, the official said.

The team, which also comprises CWC member Syed Masood Hussain, its chief engineer R K Gupta and chief engineer-rank representatives of the states, will assess water availability in the basin area and crop situation in the wake of drought.

The panel will also tour Kerala and Puducherry before concluding its visit on October 15.

Jha said after studying the situation in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka, the team would place the existing ground realities before the Supreme Court.

"The minister (Patil) also submitted a memorandum and we would consider the same," he said, adding it highlights issues such as poor rainfall, damaged crops situation, drinking water need for towns, cities and villages in the Cauvery region in Karnataka.

Patil said Tamil Nadu was better placed than Karnataka in view of the probable normal North-East monsoon.

Meanwhile, DMK treasurer and leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu M K Stalin led hundreds of party workers in observing a fast in Thanjavur to condemn the Centres stand on setting up of the Cauvery Water Management Board.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu have accused the Centre of "betraying" the state by seeking modification of a Supreme Court order asking it to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB). The ruling AIADMK and Opposition DMK have alleged that the NDA government made the move with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly polls, scheduled in 2018.

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Stalin said DMK would lead an all party delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, if needed, also meet President Pranab Mukherjee on the issue. PTI BDN RA LUX ZMN

--- ENDS ---
The Google Pixel range, which was released in the US in 2016, was built by HTC.

Google is getting ready to open a pop-up store in Manhattan this month.

The details are sparse, with the exception of an address and opening date: October 20, at 96 Spring Street.

The brick and mortar store is expected to showcase the raft of Made by Google hardware introduced this week, including their Pixel smartphone, Daydream View VR headset and Google Home, points out Mashable.

A Made by Google store is already in the works for Mountain View, California and is set to open on the same day.

https://popup.withgoogle.com/nyc
Heres another sign for how closely Google Home, the companys answer to Amazon Echo, and its Chromecast streaming adapter are connected: Google will soon rename its Cast app to Google Home. The company started to inform users of the upcoming changes this week.

The change is bound to be confusing for some users: When Google first introduced its Chromecast streaming adapter in 2013, it also released a Chromecast-branded companion app for iOS and Android that could be used to install and configure the device. Earlier this year, the company changed the apps name to Google Cast in a nod to the fact that there are now numerous other devices that support Googles cast technology, including TVs from Vizio and Wifi-connected speakers from LG, Sony and other companies.

Now, the company is rebranding the app again, and simply calling it Google Home. Consumers will be able to use the app to discover new content and manage (their) Google Home assistant and Cast devices, according to Google.

Google officially launched Google Home as its answer to Amazons Echo smart speaker earlier this week. During a press event in San Francisco, a Google employee showed that Google Home owners will be able to use the new app to select sources for their daily news briefing, connect to other devices around the home and more.

Google Home and Chromecast arent just using the same smart phone app. Google Home is also based on Cast technology, which will allow owners of the device to send media to their TV or Wifi-connected stereo systems around the home with simple voice commands.

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Linguists say each candidate's word choices are part of their larger brand strategies (AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards)

Washington (AFP) - The US government's accusation that Russian government-directed hacking aimed to disrupt the November election comes amid fears about the security of the voting process.

The attacks have included breaches of emails of political organizations -- blamed on Russia -- as well as probes of state voter databases, for which US officials have said they cannot determine the source.

Here are some questions and answers:

Can hackers affect the November election results?

This is unlikely, voting experts say. There is no single, centralized hub to be hacked, and the system is comprised of over 100,000 precincts and polling places.

"While no system is 100 percent hack-proof, elections in this country are secure, perhaps as secure as they've ever been," David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation & Research told a recent congressional hearing.

"There isn't a single or concentrated point of entry for a hacker."

Voting machines undergo frequent tests, and are not connected to the internet, Becker said, adding that 75 percent of votes are either on a paper ballot or with a paper backup. Thirty-two of the 50 states require printed ballots that can be audited in the case of questions.

So the election is secure?

It remains to be seen. A study last year by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that "outdated voting equipment across the country presents serious security and reliability challenges."

Even if attacks do not affect a large number of ballots, "they can severely damage voter confidence, and would be particularly troubling in very close contests," the report said.

Dan Wallach, a computer science professor at Rice University who studies voting systems, told lawmakers the biggest vulnerability is voter registration databases.

Wallach testified at a House of Representatives hearing on election security that such an effort "can selectively disenfranchise voters by deleting them from the database or otherwise introducing errors."

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Even if voting machines are not connected to the internet, he said, they "still interact with normal computers as part of their initialization phase (loading software and ballot definitions) and the tabulation phase (extracting castvote records and computing the totals)."

This can allow hackers to attack even "air gapped" machines that are not online, Wallach said.

What about online voting?

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia home to the US capital Washington allow some form of internet voting, involving email, fax or online portal, mainly for overseas and military voters, according to a study by the Verified Voting Foundation.

But many computer experts contend these ballots may not be secure, with a potential for being altered, and with secrecy not guaranteed.

"Will we ever be able to vote on the internet? Eventually, yes, but definitely not with today's computers, and not on today's internet," according to Wallach.

Internet voting is widely used in Estonia and has been tested elsewhere. But a group of computer experts in 2014 urged Estonia and other countries to discontinue the practice "until there are fundamental advances in computer security."

What other disruptions are possible?

Instead of targeting voting machines, hackers or other activists could take a different approach: disinformation through social media or emails to create confusion in the final days of the campaign.

"A dump of carefully crafted fictional emails to WikiLeaks could do this, without ever actually attacking any machine," said University of Iowa computer scientist Douglas Jones.

"Creating havoc is far easier than systematically corrupting the results."

What is motivating the attacks?

Russia's involvement is not a surprise, according to James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Russians "see themselves in a new conflict where control of information is a tool or even a weapon," he said.

"They feel that Western institutions dominate global perceptions, and they feel there's a need to push back."
Google debuted its first smartphone this week, dubbed "Pixel," signaling the company's move into an industry long dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. And considering Google is already the developer of the Android mobile operating system, what will make the Pixel different from other smartphones already on the market?

Google unveiled the Pixel Oct. 4, saying it will provide the best experience "by bringing hardware and software design together under one roof."

This isn't Google's first foray into the smartphone industry: The company's Android operating system is available on smartphones from a number of companies, including Samsung, HTC and Motorola. Previous smartphone releases from Google were part of the Nexus program, in partnership with other smartphone providers. But Pixel is all Google's  the first smartphone built entirely by the company. [9 Odd Ways Your Tech Devices May Injure You]

"With Pixel, we obsessed over every detail, from the industrial design to the user experience," Brian Rakowski, vice president of product management at Google, wrote in a blog post to introduce the new phone.

With its curved edges, sleek design and two size options, the Pixel is reminiscent of Apple's iPhone. The 5-inch Pixel has a 1080p screen  1440 x 2160 on the 5.5-inch Pixel XL  4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 128GB of storage. The new iPhone 7 has similar specs: the screen resolution is 1334 x 750, with 2GB of RAM and storage options of 32GB, 128GB or 256GB.

Google has highlighted that Pixel users also will have unlimited photo and video cloud storage, which may quell some smartphone users' fears of reaching their storage capacity.

Pixel also has what Google is touting as the "best smartphone camera ever." The 12.3-megapixel rear camera received top marks from DxOMark, which measures camera image quality through rigorous testing. With an overall score of 89, the Pixel's camera surpassed every other smartphone camera currently on the market, reported Tom's Guide.

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"Pixel puts cutting-edge computational photography in an ultra-fast and easy-to-use camera," Rakowski wrote in the blog post. "Our team of photography gurus and image-processing experts have spent the last year designing and tirelessly optimizing our entire camera stack. Pixel's camera lets you take stunning photos in low light, bright light or any light."

Another feature touted by Google is the Pixel's battery and charge time. According to the company, 15 minutes of charge will yield 7 hours of use. Pixel is also the first phone with the company's virtual "smart" service, known as Google Assistant, built in, allowing users to have "a natural conversation with Google" to search or complete tasks.

Pixel phones will start at $649 (equivalent to the price of the new iPhone 7) for the smaller versions and $769 for the "XL" model. The phone comes in three colors: "really blue," "very silver" and "quite black." In addition to being available for preorder from Google directly, Pixel can be bought at all Verizon retail outlets, including Best Buy stores.

At the Google event earlier this week, the search-engine company also announced the launch of a new virtual reality headset and a home assistant to rival Amazon's Alexa.

Original article on Live Science.

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A Nokia phone reportedly saved a mans life in Afghanistan when a bullet lodged in the device.

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week, tweeted Peter Skillman, a general manager at Microsoft Tuesday. Skillman was previously a design executive at Nokia, which was purchased by Microsoft in 2014.

https://twitter.com/peterskillman/status/783490296491315201

It is unclear whose life was saved by the phone, as are the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Telegraph reports that the phone pictured is a Nokia 301, which was released in 2013.

This is not the first time that a phone has reportedly stopped a bullet. Otherincidents include a Lumia 520 that prevented a bullet from hitting a Brazilian police officer in 2014 and an HTC Evo 3D that helped save a gas station clerk in Florida in 2013.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Samsung's September-quarter earnings managed to beat estimates despite the current Galaxy Note 7 debacle thanks to strength in Samsung's other divisions. That's the good news. The bad news is that the long-term effects of Samsung's Note 7 nightmare could be severe. The South Korean company's latest flagship smartphone shipped with a defect in some units that has been causing them to explode, often injuring people and destroying property in the process. As a result, Samsung had no choice but to issue a global recall and replace the 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones it initially shipped to distributors.

The company has seemingly done its best to move quickly and replace potentially defective phones, but a new study suggests that a big chunk of users plan to abandon the brand regardless.

DON'T MISS: Some companies are threatening to fire workers who buy an iPhone 7

Mobile e-commerce solutions provider Branding Brand conducted an online survey late last month in an effort to determine just how much of an impact the exploding Galaxy Note 7 debacle might have on Samsung. The online survey had 1,000 respondents, all of which were current Samsung phone owners who lived in the United States.

Among the respondents, a whopping 34% said that they would not buy another phone from Samsung in light of the issues that have faced the Note 7. Of those customers, an overwhelming majority  81%  said that they have always owned Samsung phones or other Android phones in the past. Adding to the bad news for Samsung is the fact that this survey was conducted before news hit that a "safe" Galaxy Note 7 phone that was issued as a replacement burst into flames aboard an airplane earlier this week.

The survey found that 51% of respondents who are leaving Samsung plan to purchase an Android smartphone from another vendor. Meanwhile, 34% said that they planned to leave the Android ecosystem completely and instead purchase an iPhone.

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By PTI: Hyderabad, Oct 7 (PTI) Newly formed state of Telangana would soon have more than 27 districts, a nearly three-fold rise from the current 10.

However, the exact number of new districts in Telangana would be known only after final notification is issued for the purpose.

Deputy Chief Minister K Srihari, who briefed media after a meeting of State Cabinet here today, said the total number of districts would be more than 27.

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"It (number of districts) can be more than 27," he said.

"The Collectors and SPs (Superintendent of Police) would be in place as per the number of districts after the final notification is issued," Srihari said.

The new districts are proposed to come into existence from the Dussehra festival (October 11).

The TRS Government initially proposed to create 17 new districts, but the number may go up in view of the demands from public representatives and other quarters. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has already made it clear the total number of districts would not be more than 31.

Rao has appointed a high-power committee headed by TRS MP K Keshava Rao to look into the demands for formation of four new districts at Gadwal, Asifabad, Jangaon and Sircilla. The committee submitted its report to the Chief Minister today, Srihari said.

The Cabinet decided to appoint staff as per the re- organisation of districts, he said.

The Cabinet also decided to issue an ordinance for Telangana District Re-organisation Act by making amendments to the Telangana District Formation Act, 1974.

Among other decisions, the Cabinet decided to set up police commissionerates at Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Siddipet and Ramagundam and appoint a Backward Classes Commission. PTI SJR RSY SG SRE

--- ENDS ---
By Andrew Chung NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a $120 million jury award for Apple Inc against Samsung <005930.KS>, marking the latest twist in the fierce patent war between the world's top smartphone manufacturers. The court said that there was substantial evidence for the jury verdict related to Samsung's infringement of Apple patents on its slide-to-unlock and autocorrect features, as well as quick links, which automatically turn information like addresses and phone numbers into links. Friday's decision was made by the full slate of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. In an 8-3 ruling, the judges said that a previous panel of the same court should not have overturned the verdict last February. The three-judge panel did not follow U.S. Supreme Court limits on the scope of its review, because it examined evidence outside the record of the case, the decision said. Representatives for Samsung and Apple could not immediately be reached for comment. The appeal stems from a May 2014 verdict from a federal court in San Jose, California, which ordered Samsung to pay $119.6 million for using the Apple features without permission. Infringement of the quick links feature accounted for nearly $99 million of the damages. The jury had also found that Apple infringed a Samsung patent on digital photo technology and awarded $158,400 in damages. Friday's decision upholds that award. The two companies have been battling over mobile device technology patents for years, with Apple mostly prevailing. In December, Samsung paid Apple $548.2 million stemming from a separate patent case. Part of that dispute has been appealed to the Supreme Court, which will hear it on Tuesday. James Gibson, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said in an email to Reuters that Friday's ruling is based on a procedural issue rather than a disagreement over patent law. "But this seemingly pedestrian ruling is an important precedent for those who want patent protection going forward - and its a big win for Apple." The case is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 15-1171. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrew Hay)
Tech entrepreneurs met in Mogadishu to discuss business and innovation in a conflict-scarred city (AFP Photo/LOIC VENANCE)

Washington (AFP) - US officials on Friday formally accused the Russian government of directing cyber attacks "intended to interfere with the US election process," amid escalating tensions between the two powers.

The assertion against Russia comes with relations already frayed over stalled efforts to end violence in Syria, NATO defenses and other differences.

A joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence was the first official accusation by Washington against Moscow in the spate of cyber attacks, although many analysts had said the hacks appeared to be from Russia.

A US administration official said Washington would respond to the cyber attacks, without offering details.

"We will take action to protect our interests, including in cyberspace, and we will do so at a time and place of our choosing," said an official shortly after the statement accusing Russia of cyberattacks.

The official statement said the US intelligence community "is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations."

The officials added: "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities:"

The statement said the disclosures of alleged hacked emails on WikiLeaks and other websites and by the online persona "Guccifer 2.0" were "consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts."

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the statement said.

The statement, however, stopped short of accusing Russia in the recent cyber attacks on state election databases.

"Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company," the statement said.

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"However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian government."

It was not immediately clear how Washington would respond in the matter. Officials have in the past said any cyber attacks on important US institutions would prompt a response, which could take the form of diplomatic or economic sanctions, or possibly cyber measures.

- 'Strong response' -

US Senator Dianne Feinstein, who last month said she and other lawmakers believed Moscow was seeking to disrupt the election, said the new statement "conveys the seriousness of the threat" to the vote.

"Attempted hacking of our election system is intolerable, and it's critical to convince the Russian government to cease these activities," the California senator said.

"If it does not, we must develop a strong response."

Jason Healey, a former White House director of critical infrastructure protection who is now a researcher at Columbia University and with the Atlantic Council, said the US has tools to respond.

"The initial response will be to protect and thwart what the other side wants to do," Healey told AFP.

Healey said Washington is also capable of "counteroffensive cyber actions" which can limit or deter attacks.

"Don't attack them back but use our own cyber capabilities to disrupt them," he said.

"I would not call that offensive, it's counteroffensive."

The FBI has been investigating a leak of Democratic National Committee emails, which were published by WikiLeaks in July.

A hacker group using the name Guccifer 2.0 has also released leaked emails and has claimed to have hacked into the Clinton Foundation, led by former US president Bill Clinton, whose wife Hillary is the Democratic presidential nominee.

But the US statement said that "it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion."

That is because of the decentralized nature of the US election system, which is operated by thousands of state and local government entities.

"States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process," the statement said.

"Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so."
"The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscowthe Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.

Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government. The USIC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assess that it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion. This assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place. States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process.

Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so. DHS is providing several services to state and local election officials to assist in their cybersecurity. These services include cyber hygiene scans of Internet-facing systems, risk and vulnerability assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents, and best practices for securing voter registration databases and addressing potential cyber threats. DHS has convened an Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group with experts across all levels of government to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks potentially affecting election infrastructure and the elections process. Secretary Johnson and DHS officials are working directly with the National Association of Secretaries of State to offer assistance, share information, and provide additional resources to state and local officials."
Verizon is not happy about Yahoos revelation that hackers stole info on more than 500 million user accounts  and now the telco wants to shave $1 billion off its acquisition offer, the New York Post reported.

Yahoo reached a deal in July to sell its core web businesses to Verizon for $4.8 billion. Then, in late September, Yahoo disclosed that what it dubbed a state-sponsored actor broke in its network in late 2014 and stole usersnames, hashed passwords, and other personal info for at least 500 million accounts worldwide.

After Yahoo announced the user-info breach, Verizon said that it had only been informed of the scope of the breach two days prior. Last week six U.S. senators demanded answers from CEO Marissa Mayer about the hack, and Yahoo failed to report the incident until two years after it occurred.

This week brought another damaging disclosure for Yahoo: Last year, the internet company set up a system to secretly scan hundreds of millions of Yahoo email accounts at the request of either the NSA or FBI, according to a Reuters report.

Yahoo called the Reuters report misleading but it didnt deny its involvement in the scanning. We narrowly interpret every government request for user data to minimize disclosure. The mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems, Yahoo said in a statement.

Between the data breach and Yahoos reported spying on users, Verizon is looking to renegotiate the terms of the Yahoo buyout. This week AOL CEO Tim Armstrong traveled to California to meet with Yahoo execs and press for a price reduction, per the Post. But Yahoo is fighting against attempts to reduce the purchase price, and has told Verizon that it doesnt have any legal standing to do so, according the Post, citing anonymous sources.

In addition to the $1 billion discount on the deals price tag, Verizon is considering putting $1 billion of funds in reserve to cover potential liabilities from the Yahoo email hack, per the Post report.

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Yahoo as recently as early September had claimed in a regulatory filing that it was not aware of any security breaches. In a Sept. 9 proxy statement, Yahoo said that there have not been any incidents of, or third-party claims alleging, (i) Security Breaches, unauthorized access or unauthorized use of any of Sellers or the Business Subsidiaries information technology systems or (ii) loss, theft, unauthorized access or acquisition, modification, disclosure, corruption, or other misuse of any Personal Data in its possession.

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Intelligence sources said the alert has been issued in view of Jewish New Year, which is celebrated on October 2. It is followed by the Fast of Gedalya, Yom Kippur and Succot.

The alert has been issued in view of the Jewish New Year and festivities that follow.

By Atir Khan: Central intelligence agencies have issued an alert on possible threat to Jewish tourists and its establishments in India. The alert has been issued ahead of Jewish festivities celebrated by travellers and members of the Jewish community in India.

Intelligence sources said the alert has been issued in view of Jewish New Year, which is celebrated on October 2. It is followed by the Fast of Gedalya, Yom Kippur and Succot.

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During this season a large number of Israeli travellers and members of the local Jewish communities celebrate together in India.

Since a large number of Israeli tourists visit India around this time, there is a possibility that the festival season may be targeted by terrorist organisations.

Clear directions have been issued to strengthen security measures at places of Jewish congregation, especially Chabad House in Pahar Ganj and Vasant Vihar.

Security personnel have also been briefed to mount strict security measures around the synagogues, places visited by the Jewish community, Israeli representatives and Israeli facilities identified in the country.

ALSO READ:

Mumbai: Pilot saw balloon mid air, sparks terror alert, turns to be navy balloon

Is government trying to turn attention from important issues in guise of Uran terror alert, asks Shiv Sena's Saamana



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By India Today Web Desk: Amidst all the brouhaha created by his bribery tweet, there is a good news for Kapil Sharma! The actor's comedy show--The Kapil Sharma Show--has beaten all the supernatural and saas-bahu sagas to emerge as the No. 1 show of the week in urbal belt, according to the latest data released by BARC India (September 24-30).

The September 24 episode of TKSS featured Yuvraj Singh and his British model girlfriend Hazel Keech. The couple who is all set to marry in December this year exuded brilliant chemistry on the show.

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Also read: Anna Hazare said these 5 interesting things on The Kapil Sharma Show

Kumkum Bhagya's partial memory track is making sure the audiences stay glued to the show. But it looks like the track is getting stretched now. Brahmarakshas, however, hasn't lost its pace. In the coming episodes, after killing off Parag Tyagi's character for the second time in the show, Kishwer Merchantt will become the next Brahmarakshas.

After a not-so-impressive start TKSS' ratings have seen a steady improvement. After receiving criticism for replicating his Comedy Nights With Kapil format in TKSS, Kapil and the creative team of the show have been trying their best to include new elements in the show. From fresh characters every week to celebrities from the field of sports, movies, music, Kapil last week also invited anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

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Karnataka government has decided to celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti every year on November 10. Last year, clashes broke out in the state over observing the event.

By Rohini Swamy: After major clashes were witnessed in Karnataka over the celebrations of Tipu Sultan Jayanti last year, the state government has decided to make the event an annual affair. Going forward, it will be celebrated on November 10 across the state.

This decision was taken by the Government based on inputs and detailed discussions held with historians and academicians.

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VENUE OF CELEBRATION

The event will be organised at the Ravindra Kalakshetra each year.

Three people lost their lives in clashes in Kodagu last year after outrage by anti-Tipu Sultan activists calling him a tyrant.

COST INVOLVED



But now the Kannada culture department has earmarked Rs 60 lakh to celebrate the event statewide.

Also read:Tipu Sultan's weapons, armour auctioned for over Rs 56 crore



Historians have time and again been at loggerheads over celebrating Tipu's birthday. While many feel that his contribution to the kingdom of Mysore has been exceptional, another group has claimed that his tyrannical rule had caused a lot of unrest and hence, he should neither be revered nor his anniversary celebrated.

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In an interview with Esquire Magazine, Blair said it was a "tragedy" that Britons were left with a choice between a Conservative Party intent on a hard Brexit and a Labour Party that he described as "ultra-left" and stuck in the 1960s.

By Reuters: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair could return to a frontline role in British politics to try to prevent Theresa May's Conservative Party from destroying the country with a so-called "hard Brexit", he said in an interview.

The only Labour prime minister to win three general elections, Blair was hugely popular during the start of his 10 years in power but his support for the US-led invasion of Iraq severely tarnished his reputation.

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In an interview with Esquire Magazine, Blair said it was a "tragedy" that Britons were left with a choice between a Conservative Party intent on a hard Brexit and a Labour Party that he described as "ultra-left" and stuck in the 1960s.

"I don't know if there's a role for me," he said. "There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment.

"All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question."

Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union in June propelled May to power and the former interior minister has indicated that she sees the vote as a demand for wide-ranging change in the way Britain is run.

May's approach has spooked investors who believe Britain is heading for a "hard Brexit", meaning it will give up trying to remain in the EU's single market in order to impose controls on immigration from the other 27 member states.

The vote, which has triggered the deepest political and financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two, has also rocked Blair's Labour Party, with leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn accused of failing to campaign hard enough to keep Britain in the bloc.

First elected last year on a wave of enthusiasm for a new type of politics, Corbyn was forced to compete again for his job. Although he was returned as leader with a higher mandate than before, he still lacks the backing of the centrist members of his party.

Blair said Corbyn offered a "mixture of fantasy and error". As a result, he said Britain was a "one-party state".

"The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left, or because they're too principled. It's because they're too wrong," he said.

"Frankly, it's a tragedy for British politics if the choice before the country is a Conservative government going for a hard Brexit and an ultra-left Labour Party that believes in a set of policies that takes us back to the Sixties."

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Blair's chances of forging a new major role might be limited after a seven-year inquiry delivered a scathing verdict in July on his handling and justification for the Iraq War, with many Britons believing he should face criminal action.

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By India Today Web Desk: Year-ender vacations are always amazing. The entire world wants to do that, including your closest friends and relatives.

But then, things don't seem so rosy when you start the bookings. The flight tickets are overpriced and the hotels are either short of rooms or they force you to pay an exorbitant amount.

This is where TripAdvisor comes to the rescue. After doing a detailed analysis of the travellers' booking behaviour for the winter season, the travel planning and booking site has come up with useful revelations on the best time to make the bookings--needless to say, the time you get the maximum discounts on your bookings.

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Also read: 7 things to keep in mind while packing for a beach holiday



"Year-end holidays are keenly planned in India not only because it is the festive time but also because of the winter break in schools. The Best Times to Book report comes just in time to help the price conscious Indian traveller to maximise his/her savings for the year-end holiday season. And I believe it's the well informed traveller who will make the most of the savings since our booking data shows there is significant variation in hotel prices from one week to the next depending on the destination" said Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India.



Best time to book hotels for winter in popular world cities:

Bangkok: Rs 3,001 holiday average; book from late July to end of year for 13 per cent savings or more.

Barcelona: Rs 7,268 holiday average; dramatic changes throughout year; book from early November to end of year for 19 per cent savings or more.



Beijing: Rs 3,801 holiday average; from book from October to end of year for 17 per cent savings or more.

Berlin: Rs 6,267 holiday average; significant changes throughout the year, book in November to end of year for 35 per cent savings or more.

Buenos Aires: Rs 5,468 holiday average; rates level out in September and hover around the average until a 14 per cent drop in late December for last minute bookers.

Cancun: Rs 14,736 holiday average; dramatic price changes throughout the year, with prices highest through the summer before coming down as much as 17 per cent in late November.

Cape Town: Rs 15,136 holiday average; book from mid-September to end of year for 14 per cent savings or more versus peak.

Dubai: Rs 17,070 holiday average; significant changes in rates throughout the year and last minute bookers in mid-December can save 41 per cent versus peak.

Dublin: Rs 8,468 holiday average; week to week swings of as much as 10 per cent throughout the year; last minute booking opportunities starting in early December with 26 per cent saving vs peak.

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Hanoi: Rs 2,334 holiday average; prices under average until mid-November when prices begin to rise to peak prices, as much as 17 per cent at the end of December vs mid-October rates.

Istanbul: Rs 7,401 holiday average; from mid-July prices remain steady until a decline in mid-November when travellers can save 26 per cent or more vs peak.

Jakarta: Rs 3,067 holiday average; starting in late August prices begin to flatten at low rates until the end of the year, 29 per cent savings or more vs peak.

London: Rs 12,269 holiday average; prices decline just below the average beginning in mid-September before prices decline in mid-November when travellers can save 20 per cent vs the peak. Last minute bookers can save as much as 35 per cent in mid-December.

Marrakech: Rs 7,601 holiday average; after price volatility throughout the year prices begin to decline in late October, with lows in late November, as much as 19 per cent compared to peak.

Moscow: Rs 3,267 holiday average; travellers can find low rates starting in August when where travellers can save 34 per cent or more vs peak.

Mumbai: Rs 3,734 holiday average; prices hit lows and flatten out starting late August, when travellers can save 17 per cent or more vs peak.

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Paris: Rs 10,535 holiday average; start booking in early November until end of year to save 23 per cent or more vs peak.

Prague: Rs 6,868 holiday average; Dramatic swings from week to week throughout the year.

Rio: Rs 7,535 holiday average; week-to-week volatility throughout the year, before prices begin to come below the annual average in late August when travellers can save 42 per cent or more vs the peak.



Rome: Rs 7,335 holiday average; prices decline in November when travellers can save 20 per cent or more vs the peak.

Singapore: Rs 7,468 holiday average; starting in August rates remain relatively low until the end of the year and travellers can save 16 per cent or more vs peak.

Sydney: Rs 11,002 holiday average; Gradual decline throughout the year; by late August travellers can begin to find prices dramatically below average and save 55 per cent or more vs early year peak prices.



Tokyo:Rs 7,135 holiday average; prices swing by about 5 per cent every week or two throughout the year.

Best Time to Book Hotels for December Holidays in World Regions



Book US hotels starting in November.

US hotels during the holidays average Rs 9,335 per night and pricing remains fairly steady from March until November when rates start to decline. During Thanksgiving week, travellers can save the greatest amount, 21 per cent overall compared to early year peak pricing.



Travellers should shop for European deals beginning in March but can find consistent value by booking after mid-November.

European hotels average Rs 6,801 for the holidays. Prices level out in March offering value for travellers and stay relatively consistent until prices decline 5 per cent in mid-November, approximately 15 per cent savings compared to the early year peak.



Asia sees best savings from September on.

Hotels in Asia are a bargain at an average of Rs 4,534 for the holidays and decline gradually beginning in February to the end of December. Travellers that book after September to the end of the year can save 16 per cent or more versus peak rates.



Caribbean hotel prices remain relatively steady all year.

Holiday rates remain consistent around the Rs 16, 203 average in the Caribbean, with prices slightly lower in summer but varying by only a few percent throughout the year.



Central America rates are flat and climb slightly towards the end of year.

After remaining flat for most of the year at an average of Rs 7,668 prices gradually rise about 5 per cent higher starting in late August through the end of the year.



Prices begin to drop for Middle East hotels starting in November.

Average rates for the holiday weeks are Rs 10,802 and prices remain relatively steady from May until November, when prices drop 17 per cent or more versus the early year peak.



Start booking your holiday stays in November for Africa.

Prices average Rs 8,068 in Africa for the end of year holidays and fluctuate about 5 per cent from late March until November when they start to decline steadily, from 10 per cent less than the early year peak.



South America values available starting in September until the end of the year.

Hotel rates drop about 10 per cent from mid-July to September then remains steady around its Rs 6,201 average until a final drop of another 5 per cent for last minute bookers in mid-late December. Booking during this window can save 24-30 per cent vs the early year peak.



Book South Pacific from mid-July on to the end of December.

Hotels average Rs 8,668 during the last two weeks of December and travellers can save in particular during the September and late November lows, about 10 per cent vs the early year peak.



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An online petition filed on Change.org seeking free education for the children of martyrs of India received a response from Maneka Gandhi, union minister for Women and Child development.

By India Today Web Desk:

An online petition filed on Change.org by a Pune woman, Maryada Prasad, two weeks ago sought free education for the children of martyrs of India.

The petition went viral on social media and received over 65,000 supporters.





The petition that was addressed to Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, Defence Minsiter Manohar Parrikar and HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar received a response from Maneka Gandhi this afternoon.

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To the petition that stated 'it is the Indian government's foremost duty to help the children of India's martyrs graduate i.e. provide them free of cost education (sic)', Maneka Gandhi responded saying, "our soldiers have made supreme sacrifices in their call of duty to protect our country. Taking care of the cost of educating their children will be a small part of our gratitude toward them."

In her response, she also said, "I have written to the Minister for HRD requesting him to consider the petition favourably."

Here's her response:



If you think children of our martyrs deserve more than a one time compensation like Prasad mentioned in her petition, you can sign it too.



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The widow of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh, who was martyred in the Uri terror attack, said that the politicians questioning the Indian Army and the surgical strikes were traitors. She appealed to the Prime Minister to conduct surgical strikes against them.

Sangeeta Devi, the widow of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh said she was pained to see the politicians questioning the surgical strikes.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The anger amongst the family members of the soldiers who were martyred in the Uri terror attack is spilling over as politicians are making a beeline questioning the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army on terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The family members of the Uri martyrs are seething because few politicians who have raised questions over the authenticity of these surgical strikes.

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Many families are demanding the Centre to release the video footages as a proof of the surgical strikes.



Also Read: Uri martyr's family hails surgical strikes on Pakistan

CONDUCT SURGICAL STRIKES AGAINST POLITICIANS: MARTYR'S WIFE

Family of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh, who attained martyrdom in Uri attack, demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct surgical strikes against the politicians who are questioning the Indian Army and the entire operation.

Sangeeta Devi, the widow of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh said, " Politicians who are raising questions on the surgical strikes are traitors and it is they who are patronizing terrorists to operate in the country. I appeal PM Modi to conduct surgical strikes on these politicians so that they understand what surgical strikes are in reality".

Also Read: Was my husband a drunkard who died in a drain? Uri martyr's wife refuses Rs 5 lakh by Bihar govt

'HOW CAN AN INDIAN QUESTION THE INDIAN ARMY'

Sangeeta Devi said that it pained her to see politicians from India questioning the Indian Army.

"Pakistan has always been a terrorist nation but what our politicians are saying is shocking. These politicians can never understand the condition of a martyr's family and the pain they go through. Such politicians should be poisoned," she said.

A couple of days back, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had demanded the Centre to release video footages as proof of the surgical strikes.

Congress leaders P. Chidambaram and Sanjay Nirupam had termed the surgical attacks fake.

Also Read:

Chidambaram, Kejriwal and Nirupam are traitors, says Uri martyrs family

Uri attack: Families of martyrs from Bihar seek revenge on Pakistan

Indian Army crosses LoC, conducts surgical strikes in Pakistani territory

Nawaz Sharif condemns surgical strikes by Indian army

Uri terror attack: A blind father's second son martyred

Uri attack: We don't give terrorists a befitting reply, we must, says martyr's son

Heads start rolling in Uri attack, brigade commander removed as army probes terror strike



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"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," a US government statement said on Friday about hacking of political groups.

By Reuters: The US government on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations during the campaign for the presidential election on Novermber 8th.

US officials have said in the past few months that they believe cyber attacks were orchestrated by hackers backed by the Russian government, possibly to disrupt the election in which Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton faces Republican Party candidate Donald Trump. Russia has dismissed allegations it was involved in cyber attacks on the organizations.

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STATEMENT

"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," a US government statement said on Friday about hacking of political groups.

The statement by the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not blame the Russian government for hacking attempts against state election systems, but said "scanning and probing" of those systems originated in most cases from servers operated by a Russian company.

GOVERNMENT NOT TO BLAME

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the statement said. "However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government," the statement said.

The condemnation coincides with increasing tensions between Washington and Moscow on a range of international issues, from the Middle East to Ukraine and cyberspace.

ALSO READ:

US upset with Russia, China exercising veto power to blunt peace efforts for Syria

US suspends talks with Russia over ceasefire violation in Syria





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According to police in Mumbai, the yearlong scam involved running fake call centers which sent voice mail messages telling US nationals to call back because they owed back taxes.

A police official, center, escorts two men outside the court in Thane, outskirts of Mumbai on October 6, 2016. Photo: AP

By AP: Mumbai Police have arrested 70 people and are questioning hundreds more after uncovering a massive scam to cheat thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars by posing as US tax authorities and demanding unpaid taxes, a police officer said Thursday.

According to police in Mumbai, the yearlong scam involved running fake call centers which sent voice mail messages telling US nationals to call back because they owed back taxes.

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Those who called back and believed the threats would fork out thousands of dollars to "settle" their case, Mumbai police officer Parag Marere said Thursday.

The scam brought in more than $150,000 a day, Marere said without giving a total sum. If the scam netted that amount daily, it would have made almost $55 million in one year.

Some victims were also told to buy gift vouchers from various companies, and hand over the voucher ID numbers which the impostors then used to make purchases, Marere said.

FAKE CALL CENTERS

Police said they are likely to file charges against many of the 600 or more people still being questioned on suspicion of running the fake call centers, housed on several stories of a Mumbai office building.

Those arrested so far include several of the alleged ringleaders, as well as people accused of providing equipment and setting up the fake call centers. The criminal charges filed against the suspects include extortion, impersonation and violations of India's information technology laws.

"We are questioning those who were involved in the fraud, including those posing as tax investigators," Marere said.

Police raided the offices this week and seized hundreds of hard disks, hard disks, high-end servers and other electronic equipment.

Indian media reports said 70 per cent of the scam's proceeds were retained by the suspects in India, while the rest was paid to collaborators in the US

Indian news broadcaster NDTV reported that one US-based company allegedly collected the victims' personal information and passed it to the fake call centers.

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The Michelin-starred chef's show returns with a new season shot in the US, and traces his life there since 2000.

By Shreya Goswami: "My first Christmas in New York was memorable. I had no phone and only three dollars, just enough to get me to work and back. I knew if I went to work, I would be fed, so I made my way through the slushy snow, spending half my money on subway fare. I arrived to find the restaurant closed for the holiday. Not knowing what to do, I wandered around downtown. After passing many closed storefronts, I came upon a line of people. When I found out that they were waiting for a meal, I joined the line, thus spending my first Christmas at the New York Rescue Mission."

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The man who wrote these words is none other than Michelin-starred chef, Vikas Khanna. He first related these details of his early and rather gruelling life in the USA in his book Flavours First. The brilliant chef we know today as a celebrity, MasterChef judge, and philanthropist (among many other things), had to climb his way up from the bottom of the American culinary world.

Khanna announced the launch of the new season of Twist of Taste with this post on Facebook. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Vikas Khanna

His journey began in 2000, and today he has hobnobbed with world leaders, including American Presidents, their families, the Pope, etc. All this, apart from publishing 25 cookbooks, doing many food shows on TV, and making a documentary earlier this year. It's an understatement to say that he has achieved a lot. But there is still very little we know about his American journey.

And that's just what Khanna will trace with the new season of Twist of Taste, which is slated to go on air from 15 October, at 9pm on Fox Life India. He will start this story with the New York Rescue Mission, where he once said that he spent nearly three weeks during his early life in the US. In a post on Facebook, Khanna shared an image of himself sitting on the same bed at the Rescue Mission where he used to sleep.

Also read: Vikas Khanna's Junoon NYC wins the Wine Spectator Award 6 years in a row!



This time, Twist of Taste is definitely going to be more personal. He'll retrace his life in New York, and this includes all his culinary experiences as well. Not only did Khanna eat at various restaurants with whatever money he had to spare, he even took culinary classes at University of New York (NYU), Cornell, and the Culinary Institute of America. This is where he first learnt about global cuisines, and we still see the effect of that knowledge in his understanding of food.

Vikas Khanna with his team of chefs, sommeliers and managers at Junoon, New York. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Vikas Khanna Vikas Khanna with his team of chefs, sommeliers and managers at Junoon, New York. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Vikas Khanna

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The new season will focus on all the things Khanna learnt, the places he visited, and then, as usual, give American favourites a yummy Vikas Khanna twist. Does this mean he'll Indianise these dishes, making it easier for all of us in India to cook them? Or will hiscreative process lead to unique adaptations never seen before? These are all the little details we're dying to find out.

Watch the promo of Twist of Taste America, here:





.@TheVikasKhanna is back! This time he's working his magic by twisting the classics of American kitchens! #TwistOfTasteAmerica pic.twitter.com/HRoz4fSfCt FOX Life (@FoxLifeIndia) October 3, 2016

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By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 7 (PTI) The White House today refused to comment on a petition seeking support for Khalistan and invoked President Barack Obamas comments during his last years trip to New Delhi that India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along religious lines.

"While we appreciate your participation on this platform, we cannot comment here on the specific policy issue raised in your petition," the White House said responding to a separatist Sikh petition which had garnered more than 100,000 signatures.

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Responding to a petition created on July 10 by an individual, identified with the initials of GP, within the stipulated 60 days, the White House said the US President Obama has made it a priority to promote and protect religious freedom for all people, both at home and abroad.

In an address to the people of India in 2015, Obama had reaffirmed the universal right for those who practice faith to do so as they choose and without fear of persecution, the White House response said, and quoted from his remarks then.

"The peace we seek in the world begins in human hearts. And it finds its glorious expression when we look beyond any differences in religion or tribe, and rejoice in the beauty of every soul. And nowhere is that more important than India," Obama had said.

"Nowhere is it going to be more necessary for that foundational value to be upheld. India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith - so long as its not splintered along any lines - and is unified as one nation," Obama said in his address in January, 2015.

The White House said the US has monitored and publicly reported on human rights issues, including the atrocities committed against members of the Sikh community during the 1984 violence in India.

"For example, the State Departments Official Country Reports on Human Rights Practices covered the violence and its aftermath in considerable detail.

"We will continue to report on important human rights concerns, and State Department reports are available to the public," it said. PTI LKJ SAI AKJ SAI

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Hyundai invests a further US$155 million in Brazil

Brazil

The South Korean automaker has announced it is investing another US$155 million in its Brazilian manufacturing plant located in Piracicaba, state of Sao Paulo, to boost the production capacity if its new SUV.

William Lee, President, Hyundai Brazil, has announced the manufacturer is injecting another US$155 million into its manufacturing plant in Piracicaba. Inaugurated in November 2012, Hyundai invested US$700 million to set up the facility, which initially had a capacity of producing 150,000 units a year.

With this new investment Hyundai hopes to increase the current production by 10,000 units from 180,000 to 190,000. The plant manufactures the HB20 model and will also start producing the new Hyundai Creta SUV to be commercialised in the country in early 2017.

The remaining US$25 million will be used in the development of a new research centre within the Piracicaba manufacturing complex.

Ive been in Brazil for the past four years and I see a country that has a great capacity for development. The country is going through difficult moments but I think it will have its momentum as from next year, said Lee. We dont just invest in cars; we also import crude steel from Brazil. It is a strategic country for Hyundai, he added.

Net profit for the worlds fifth-biggest automaker, together with affiliate Kia Motors, slipped for the tenth consecutive time in the second-quarter of 2016. Hyundai registered a 2.6% drop to US$1.46 billion in the April-June 2016 period compared with the previous year, but revenue rose 8% and operating profit was up 0.6% - reflecting a 4% increase in the companys global vehicle deliveries in the period to 1.29 million vehicles, driven by a rebound in China.

The South Korean automaker is said to have the highest sales exposure to emerging markets like Brazil and Russia, meaning it is highly vulnerable to weaknesses in these regions. Sales from its Brazil factory slipped 6% in the second quarter of 2016.

Sources: Automotive Business/Fortune
Irans active diplomacy and the policy of constructive cooperation are based on the expansion of relations with all those who want to have good and friendly ties with Iran, Nahavandian said, but his further comments suggested that this policy was not out of keeping with Irans traditional commitment to an aggressive stance toward the countrys proclaimed enemies, including the United States.

Notwithstanding the current American presidential administrations role in engaging Iran diplomatically over its nuclear program, much of Rouhanis speech focused on condemnation of what Tehran sees as inadequate American implementation of the resulting Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Rouhani repeated a narrative apparently originated by Iranian hardliners, blaming the US for the slow pace of post-JCPOA economic recovery, and the reluctance of European businesses and international banking institutions in reintegrating into the Iranian market.

Nahavandian praised these elements of Rouhanis speech and argued that his more nuanced approach to Iranian foreign policy had resulted in unprecedented support for the Iranian position from among foreign nations and private entities, including some in Western Europe.

While it is true that some European businesses and policymakers have expressed desire for more explicit guidelines and assurances from the United States, it is also true that a great deal of their reluctance can be attributed to ongoing concerns about Iranian capital being used for the support of terrorism and the continuation of human rights violations. In recent months, a number of reports have argued that Iran could personally improve its prospects for international reintegration if it took measures to come into alignment with universal banking regulations aimed at providing institutions with certain assurances about the security of their investments.

Some have also concluded that the apparent resistance to these measures is indicative of an Iranian project to marginally increase trade relations with the world as a whole while not compromising on its defiant attitude toward the US. Rouhanis General Assembly speech is just the latest in a series of statements that seem to indicate his administrations close alignment with efforts by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and others to maintain the adversarial relationship between the two countries.

As Iran News Update has reported at length, Tehrans anti-Western rhetoric has seemingly intensified in the year since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations. Also during that time, confrontations between the US and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have increased in frequency and severity, with IRGC radio operators threatening to shoot down US aircraft shortly after IRGC patrol boats forced one US Navy vessel to fire warning shots in order to force them to disengage from a close approach in international waters.

In the meantime, representatives of the supposedly more moderate Rouhani administration have variously justified IRGC behaviors while also participating directly in the supreme leaders public rhetoric about JCPOA implementation and other matters. The UN General Assembly speech was a prime example of this trend, but it also continued in the subsequent days. Al Masdar News reports, for instance, that Rouhani delivered a speech on Wednesday boasting of Irans self-proclaimed status as a bulwark against American, Saudi, and Israeli imperialism.

In that speech, Rouhani presented the nuclear agreement as a victory not only for the Islamic Republic but also for all of the worlds freedom-seeking nations. The sentiment reflects the disputed claim that the JCPOA implied formal recognition of Irans right to nuclear enrichment. In another recent speech, Rouhani called for cooperative relations with traditional US adversary Cuba for the sake of further undermining a supposed Western plot to monopolize advanced technologies.

In Wednesdays speech, Rouhani also repeated a familiar line about Iran being the ultimate force against terrorism, in spite of the fact that many of Irans publicly recognized patrons are widely regarded as terrorist groups. Although several Gulf Arab nations recently joined the US and Europe in formal recognition of the Iran-back paramilitary Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, Rouhani declared: Gone are the days when Iran would be accused of supporting terrorism and the Iranian people would face other accusations such as building nuclear bombs as the true nature of the nation has come to light for the world.

Of course, even as Western policymakers dispute the proper way forward in relations with Iran, there is overwhelming agreement that the Islamic Republic remains a state sponsor of terrorism. And furthermore, there are numerous policymakers in the US and other Western nations who object to the JCPOA specifically because they remain convinced that Tehran has long-term ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons.
[October 06, 2016] Renesas Electronics Delivers Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication System Solutions for the Autonomous-Driving Era

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the global availability of its expansive lineup of V2X solutions that will help accelerate the arrival of autonomous driving. The solutions include two system-on-chips (SoCs) that will ease the development process for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication systems. One of the solutions includes the R-Car W1R 760 megahertz (MHz) band wireless SoC for the Japanese market, and the new R-Car W2H SoC that features a high-performance security engine that is indispensable for V2X systems designed for the Japanese, U.S., and European markets. The other solution consists of the W2H SoC combined with the R-Car W2R 5.9 GHz band wireless communication SoC developed for U.S. and European markets. By combining these new SoCs, system developers can now easily develop systems that support the corresponding V2X standard for the Japanese, U.S., and European markets. Renesas also delivers development starter kits that will enable system developers to immediately start application software development, leading to significant reductions in the development period for V2X systems. In October 2015, Renesas launched the R-Car W1R, which conforms to Japan's wireless communications standards, and is adopted in the ITS Connect1 V2V and V2I communications system. It is the only device in the world with a proven track record that is currently commercially deployed in the V2X wireless SoC market. The R-Car W1R was adopted in Denso Corporation's in-vehicle ITS units. These units are also used in Toyota's Crown, Prius, and Lexus RX models for displaying traffic signal violation, cross traffic, and pedestrian warnings at traffic signals using car and infrastructure communications to warn drivers about approaching emergency vehicles and to assist cruise control and other functions. In addition to the current V2X activities led by Japan, steady progress is being made in U.S. and European investment plans due to legislation and implementation of V2X technology. At the same time, the countries' differing communication frequencies, communication standards, and security standards have made optimizing devices for each region and the associated software development into significant challenges for V2X system development. To ease these burdens, Renesas delivers V2X kit solutions that combine either the R-Car W1R or R-Car W2R with the R-Car W2H. These kit solutions make it possible to construct optimal systems for each region at low cost. Key features of the V2X solutions: (1) Kit solutions conform to Japanese, U.S., and European standards to support user system development Systems that conform to the ARIB STD-T109 Japanese wireless communications standard as ell as the ITS Connect security and communications standards can be implemented by combining the R-Car W1R, which is designed for the Japanese market, with the R-Car W2H. Similarly, systems that conform to the North American standards (IEEE (News - Alert) 801.11p, IEEE 1609.x, and others) or the European ETSI standards, can be implemented by combining the R-Car W2R, which is designed for the European and U.S. markets, with the R-Car W2H.



Lineup of Renesas wireless communications SoC kit solutions:  R-Car W1R: Wireless communications SoC that supports the Japanese communications standards (760 MHz band).

 R-Car W2R: Wireless communications SoC that supports the European and US communications standards (5.9 GHz band)  R-Car W2H: V2X communications processor SoC that supports the Japanese, US, and European security standards.  R-Car W1R + R-Car W2H kit: Implements V2V and V2I communication systems for the Japanese market.  R-Car W2R + R-Car W2H kit: Implements V2V and V2I communication systems for the European and US markets. (2) V2X starter kits support rapid development and faster time-to-market Renesas provides starter kits that support the Japanese, U.S., and European standards, and provides basic software packages (BSP: products that include operating systems, drivers, firmware, and middleware) for V2X communication processors, which will simplify user development of application software. To lower barriers to entry to the market, Renesas also provides wireless communication evaluation tools. These tools support a wide range of evaluation and testing for the system developer's complex wireless communication characteristics evaluations, from the system development prototyping stage to wireless communication tests in the mass production stage to in-vehicle testing at the OEM manufacturer's site. V2X starter kits that support Japanese, US, and European markets: For the European market: RTK00V2XRC7746SBS

For the North American market: RTK00V2XRC7746SCS

For the Japanese market: RTK00V2XRC7746SDS Availability Samples of the R-Car W1R and R-Car W2H are available now. Mass production of the R-Car W2H is scheduled to begin in October 2017 and is expected to reach a volume of 300,000 units per month by 2019. (Availability is subject to change without notice.) For more information about Renesas, follow Renesas Electronics America at @RenesasAmerica on Twitter (News - Alert) and http://www.facebook.com/RenesasAmerica. About Renesas Electronics Corporation Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live-securely and safely. The number one global supplier of microcontrollers, and a leader in Analog & Power and SoC products, Renesas provides the expertise, quality, and comprehensive solutions for a broad range of Automotive, Industrial, Home Electronics (HE), Office Automation (OA) and Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications to help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. (Remarks) All registered trademarks or trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 1 ITS Connect: This is the general term for driving assistance systems that use the ITS dedicated frequencies stipulated by the ITS Connect Promotion Consortium. For more information, please visit: https://www.itsconnect-pc.org/en/. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006006216/en/

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[October 06, 2016] Engility Wins $10 Million Task Order to Combat Chikungunya Virus

Engility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EGL), today announced it was awarded a $10 million task order by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to conduct clinical trials for vaccines to combat the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus. The task order was awarded under the $900 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) medical product research and development (MPRD) contract for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. "Our company has a long history of providing innovative medical research," said Engility CEO Lynn Dugle. "With this contract, our Engility medical experts will work side-by-side with the researchers at the Walter Reed Institute to fight Chikungunya and protect our men and women in uniform and all of those vulnerable to this virus." Chikungunya, which has no vaccine, causes fever and joint pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 1.7 million cases in the Americas in 2015, and it entered the continental United States for the first time in July 2016. Engility will assist the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in gaining a better understanding of the efficacy of potential vaccines and any adverse impacts through these clinical trials. The new 5-year contract was awarded in the third quarter and expands the company's work in medical health and clinical trials. ABOUT ENGILITY Engility (NYSE:EGL), a leading provider of mission-critical and highly technical services to the U.S. government, is engineered to make a difference. Built on a five-decade commitment to our customers and our country, Engility delivers world-class performance, efficiency and value in a broad range of services, including engineering and technology life cycle support, program and business support and specialized technical consulting. Headquartred in Chantilly, Virginia, and with offices around the world, Engility supports customers throughout the defense, intelligence, space, federal civilian and international communities, drawing on our intimate understanding of customer needs, our deep domain expertise and our highly skilled employees to develop and deliver on-target solutions. To learn more about Engility, please visit www.engilitycorp.com and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.



Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding Engility's future prospects, projected financial results, estimated integration costs and acquisition related amortization expenses, business plans, as well as the TASC transaction and its expected benefits and the timing of such benefits. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates" and similar expressions are also used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of Engility's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Engility's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and more recent documents that have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)) and are available on the investor relations section of Engility's website (http://www.engilitycorp.com) and on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). Forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, historical information should not be considered as an indicator of future performance.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006005326/en/

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[October 07, 2016] RiskSense and Blue Hill Research to Host Webinar on Cyber Risk Management Strategies

RiskSense, Inc., the pioneer and market leader in pro-active cyber risk management, today announced that it is co-presenting a free, live webinar with Blue Hill Research next week on "Tackling Today's Threat Landscape by Visualizing Cyber Risk."







WHAT: Despite a plethora of best of breed cyber security tools and threat intelligence feeds, businesses are struggling to cope with rapidly evolving threats and ascertain the true risk that cyber threats pose to their business. In this webinar, cyber security expert Torsten George and analyst Dr. Alea Fairchild will explain how businesses can better understand the impact of cyber threats on business operations. They will present best practices in cyber risk management, including a pro-active model that enables security practitioners to visualize threats and correlate them with business impact to ensure that remediation efforts and resources are addressing the most critical vulnerabilities. WHEN: Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 9:00 AM PDT (11:00 AM CDT (News - Alert) / 12:00 PM EDT) WHO: Torsten George, vice president of global marketing and products at RiskSense. He has more than 20 years of global information security experience. Torsten has held executive level positions with RiskVision (formerly known as Agiliance), ActivIdentity (now part of HID Global, an ASSA ABLOY Group brand), Digital Link, and Everdream Corporation (now part of Dell (News - Alert)). He holds a Doctorate in Economics and a Diplom-Kaufmann degree, which is comparable to an MBA. Dr. Alea Fairchild is an analyst and entrepreneur-in-residence at Blue Hill Research. She is an expert in industrial automation, computer/networking, telecom, financial services, media, transport logistics, and manufacturing in the commercial, government/public sectors, NGO, and trade associations. Dr. Fairchild received her Ph.D. in Applied Economics from Limburgs Universitair Centrum (now Univ. Hasselt) in Belgium, in the area of banking and technology. WHERE: Online presentation. To register visit: https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/13801/224497 HOW: To schedule a conversation with Torsten George, contact Marc Gendron at [email protected] or +1 781.237.0341.

About RiskSense RiskSense, Inc., is the pioneer and market leader in pro-active cyber risk management. The company enables enterprises and governments to reveal cyber risk, quickly orchestrate remediation, and monitor the results. This is done by unifying and contextualizing internal security intelligence, external threat data, and business criticality across a growing attack surface. The company's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) platform transforms cyber risk management into a more pro-active, collaborative, and real-time discipline. The RiskSense Platform embodies the expertise and intimate knowledge gained from real world experience in defending critical networks from the world's most dangerous cyber adversaries. By leveraging RiskSense cyber risk management solutions, organizations can significantly shorten time-to-remediation, increase operational efficiency, strengthen their security programs, heighten response readiness, reduce costs, and ultimately minimize cyber risks. For more information, please visit www.risksense.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @RiskSense. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005030/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Top 5 Vendors in the Mobile Satellite Services Market from 2016 to 2020: Technavio

Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recent global mobile satellite services (MSS) market report. This research report also lists 16 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. The global MSS market was valued at USD 3.32 billion in 2015 and will reach USD 4.84 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 7.83%. The global MSS market will experience steady growth during the forecast period because of the growing adoption of satellite communication devices and services in emerging nations. In addition, the rapid adoption and use of satellite communication for disaster management in developed nations will enhance the market growth over the next few years. Satellite broadband services are in high demand as emergency applications require high-quality data services with a global coverage for enhanced safety features. Competitive vendor landscape Competition in the global mobile satellite services market is moderate due to the high initial investment required for new vendors entering the market. Vendors are competing in the market based on innovation, performance, product features, quality, and technology. Any advancement in a particular technology could make existing products obsolete. Vendors across the world are actively working to evolve and deploy their solution independently or with the help of channel partners to consolidate their market position. Therefore, to remain competitive in the market, vendors not only have to develop technologically but also have to follow the emerging technologies that could have an impact on their product lines. "The key players in this market such as Inmarsat, Iridium Communications, Globalstar, and ORBCOMM (News - Alert) find scope for launching new satellites and constellations with innovative capabilities to target diversified markets. The MSS market is still dominated by Inmarsat (News - Alert), Iridium Communications, and Thuraya," says Rakesh Kumar Panda, a lead M2M and connected devices analyst from Technavio. Companies operating in satellite market with the support of data aggregation capabilities can enter into this market, which further intensifies the market competition. It is also important for these companies to protect their patents and complex proprietary technology from destructions to improve the efficiency of business operations and focus on VAS revenues. Competition also rises from telecommunication service providers who deliver sophisticated two-way satellite-based data and voice communication services. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=52803



Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Top five mobile satellite services market vendors

Globalstar (News - Alert) Globalstar, is a US-based company that offers communication services through satellites. With the view to expand in the M2M and connected devices sector, the company announces the launch of SmartOne C (Simplex asset manager). The new SmartOne C is the enhanced version of existing SmartOne B and helps in providing connectivity for fixed as well as mobile assets such as transport trailers, shipping containers, vehicle fleets and construction machinery. The device helps in reporting asset status and monitoring faults and caters to industries such as aviation, alternative energy, multimodal, and military customers. It helps in leveraging the power of the IoT. Inmarsat In June 2015, Inmarsat announced the signing of an agreement with World-Link Communications, a maritime satellite communications company. According to the agreement, the company will be the Partner for FleetBroadband, serving the maritime market throughout the world. Inmarsat will assist World-Link in strengthening its infrastructure and integrating with the Inmarsat network through major investment in building an Inmarsat Point-of-Presence. Iridium (News - Alert) Communications Iridium Communications is a US-based company that offers mobile voice and data communications through satellites. The lines of business of the company include land-based handsets (have applications such as voice and data, mobile and remote office connectivity, public safety, and disaster relief and public telephone infrastructure), M2M (have applications such as fleet management, fixed asset monitoring, asset tracking, resource management, scientific data monitoring and personal tracking devices and location-based services), maritime (have application such as voice services, vessel management, procurement, and asset tracking and safety applications), aviation (have applications such as aviation operational communications, aviation passenger communications, air traffic control and safety applications) and government (caters for the mobile satellite communications services to the US government), and widely caters to the M2M and connected devices sector. Singtel Signtel, the Singapore-based company that offers services such as mobile, fixed line, internet, TV, digital solutions, and ICT operates through segments such as group consumer, group enterprise and group digital life and widely caters to the M2M and connected devices sector. Telstra The company has a strong business segment with a range of solutions for targeting the satellite sector across the world. It focuses on providing mobility solutions, security services, cloud services, digital media and collaboration solutions, M2M solutions, and consulting services. The company has a broad portfolio of products, which it utilizes to target the customers from the satellite sector. Its key products include LiteDOCK Extreme Bundle, RemoteSat RST100B (SAP (News - Alert) 117154) Fixed terminal, Grab n Go 9575 Handset Bundle, and accessories that complement Telstra Mobile Satellite experience with solar chargers, data kits, in-vehicle hands-free kits, and antennas. Browse Related Reports: Global Satellite Ground Station Equipment Market 2016-2020

Global Distributed Antenna Systems Market 2016-2020

Global Advanced Extremely High-Frequency Systems Market 2016-2020 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005233/en/

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[October 07, 2016] Renesas Electronics and Cohda Wireless Bring Together V2X Semiconductors and Software Technology to Deliver V2X Reference Solution for the Autonomous-Driving Era

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, and Cohda Wireless, the leading supplier in the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and connected autonomous vehicle (CAV), today announced their collaboration in the fields of automotive vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. By bringing together Renesas' V2X R-Car system-on-chips (SoCs) and Cohda Wireless' V2X and CAV software solutions, the companies deliver a V2X reference solution that supports European and North American communications standards for V2X system development. Cohda Wireless will demonstrate the jointly-developed V2X reference solution consisting of Renesas' R-Car W2R and R-Car W2H SoCs combined as a starter kit and Cohda Wireless' software at the ITS World Congress 2016 taking place October 10 -14 in Melbourne/Australia (Booth 313). In response to the industry expectations for U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to mandate V2X to improve road safety and efficiency in addition to the recent deployment of V2X technology in Japan, targets have been set to widely introduce secure V2X technology in multiple global regions. With over a decade of R&D on IEEE (News - Alert) 802.11p protocol, WLAN-based technology has proven to offer reliable and secure communication for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS). Critical and time-sensitive information on all road users and roadway elements, such as traffic control devices, are expected to be shared among for improved safety and efficiency. According to USDOT estimates, V2X technology can minimize over 80 percent of non-impaired crash types. Renesas has established an ecosystem with Cohda Wireless to offer a reference solution that will contribute to the acceleration of V2X system development. The new V2X reference solution complies with European and North America standards from the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI (News - Alert)), Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and IEEE. "Renesas is committed to providing better safety and comfort to the automotive industry by delivering easy-to-use soluions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and V2X systems that enable quicker time to market," said Jean-Francois Chouteau, Senior Director, Automotive Safety & ADAS Solution Business Division, at Renesas Electronics Corporation. "Cohda Wireless' software is a key element of our V2X solutions that contributes greatly to safer driving and to our shared goal of driving mainstream deployment of V2X systems and realization of autonomous driving."



"As the market leader for software solutions in the fields of connected autonomous vehicles and V2X, Cohda Wireless is pleased to support Renesas' R-Car W2R and R-Car W2H SoCs," said Paul Gray, CEO of Cohda Wireless. "Renesas' V2X SoCs in combination with Cohda's SW solutions addresses the needs for the upcoming challenges for autonomous driving." Renesas' V2X starter kit

The Renesas V2X starter kit for the V2X reference solution comprises the R-Car W2R, a 5.9 GHz band automotive wireless communication WAVE (News - Alert) SoC, and the V2X host processor R-Car W2H SoC with an embedded hardware security module (HSM), which encrypts the communication/messages and protects against cyber-attacks. The R-Car-based starter kit conforms to the IEEE 802.11p communication standard for ITS used in Europe and North America and to all other applicable standards including that for security requirements. The starter kit also meets or exceeds the SAE minimum performance requirements established for the USDOT-funded connected vehicle pilots, which is widely expected to be the precursor to wider deployment of V2X-enabled infrastructure. The R-Car W2R delivers industry-leading performance when using Renesas' exclusive radio frequency (RF) system design technology, e.g., suppressing out-of-band transmission signal noise below the -65 dBm (News - Alert) stipulated by ETSI. The R-Car W2H V2X Host processor SoC can integrate Japanese, US, and European security methods, communications protocols, and applications. The V2X starter kit is designed and tested to comply with automotive environmental, quality and reliability requirements and is refined for best performance using Renesas' experience and expertise developed over many years as a leading automotive advanced semiconductor supplier. Cohda's software solution Cohda Wireless' software solution consists of network-, facilities-, applications-, management-, and security layers for both IEEE1609 and ETSI ITS-TC stack. System manufacturers can now select an attractive Renesas - Cohda Wireless V2X reference solution and take advantage of the high maturity level of the hardware and software. Both were deeply validated and proven for reliable operation. Availability The Renesas-Cohda Wireless V2X reference solution is scheduled to be available in April 2017. About Renesas Electronics Corporation Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live-securely and safely. The number one global supplier of microcontrollers, and a leader in Analog & Power and SoC products, Renesas provides the expertise, quality, and comprehensive solutions for a broad range of Automotive, Industrial, Home Electronics (HE), Office Automation (OA) and Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications to help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. About Cohda Wireless Cohda Wireless the leading supplier in the V2X and Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) market. The Australian company manufactures systems with acknowledged best-in-world performance. Cohda's hardware and software products are used in more than 65 per cent of all V2X field trials worldwide today. Customers include many carmakers, tier one suppliers, automotive chipmakers, road authorities and new market entrants. Cohda's products are used widely in locations including the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan, Africa, Middle East, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea. (Remarks) All registered trademarks or trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005595/en/

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Jesus in Love supports lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer (LGBTQ) spirituality, with an emphasis on art and literature. It promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on these beliefs: God loves all people, including sexual minorities. The creative process is sacred. The queer visions, especially the gay Jesus and LGBT saints, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world. Jesus in Love was founded by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry as her personal project. It is her gift to the world. Many thanks to everyone who supports her vision.
Oct. 10-14

Mid-Illinois Senior Services, Inc.

114 E. Jefferson, Sullivan, 217-728-8521

Monday  Columbus Day.

Tuesday  8:30 a.m., coffee and donuts; 11:30 a.m. Peace Meal; 1 p.m., Med D Presentation by Kathi.

Wednesday  8:30 a.m., Free Breakfast thanks to Eastview; 10 a.m., Caregiver Support Group; 11:30 a.m., Soup and salad, Peace Meal; 1 p.m., Wii bowling.

Thursday  11:30 a.m. Peace Meal; 12 p.m. Bingo with Catfish from Courtyard Estates; 12:30 p.m., hand & food card game.

Friday  11:30 a.m. Peace Meal; 1 p.m., pool tourney.

Shelby County Senior Center

325 E. N. Ninth St., Shelbyville, 217-774-2251.

Monday  8:30 a.m., coffee; 11 a.m., Dine with a Doc; 11:30 a.m., Peace Meal.

Tuesday  7:30 a.m., exercise; 8:30 a.m., coffee/shuffleboard; 11:30 a.m., Peace Meal.

Wednesday  8:30 a.m., coffee; 11:30 a.m., Peace Meal; 12:30 p.m., canasta; 1 p.m., Medicare assistance.

Thursday  7:30 a.m., exercise; 8:30 a.m., coffee/shuffleboard; 10:30 a.m., low vision; 11:30 a.m., Peace Meal; 2 p.m., bingo.

Friday  11:30 a.m., Peace Meal; noon, RSVP volunteer luncheon.

Call Margery, 217-774-5595, to make reservations.

Arcola Senior Center

107 W. Main, Arcola, 217-268-3442

Senior Center is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. for anyone who wants to walk. For Meals on Wheels delivery, contact Arcola Health Care Center at 217-268-3022.

Wednesday  1-4:30 p.m., marbles.

Thursday  1-4 p.m., quilting

Life Center of Cumberland County

507 E. Main St., Toledo, 217-849-3965

Lunch, prepared by Peace meal staff, is served at noon each week day. Please RSVP at 217-849-3965 by 10:30 a.m.

Monday  8 a.m., coffee, Skip-Bo, jigsaw puzzles, visiting and project work to create blankets for shelters and the needy; 10:30 a.m., chairobics; noon, Peace Meal.

Tuesday  8 a.m., coffee, Skip-Bo, jigsaw puzzles, visiting and working on blankets for shelters and the needy; 10:30 a.m., chairobics; noon, Peace Meal.

Wednesday 8 a.m., coffee, Skip-Bo, jigsaw puzzles, and visiting and working on creating blankets for shelters and the needy; 10:30 a.m., chairobics; noon, Peace Meal. Note: No toenail clinic this month. The clinic will resume in November. Rides Mass Transit will take seniors to Effingham today. Call 866-389-7536 by noon Monday before the trip.

Thursday  8 a.m., coffee, Skip-Bo, jigsaw puzzles, and visiting and working on creating blankets for shelters and the needy; 10:30 a.m., Bingo; noon, Peace Meal.

Friday  8 a.m., coffee, Skip-Bo, jigsaw puzzles, and visiting and working on creating blankets for shelters and the needy; 10:30 a.m., chairobics; noon, Peace Meal.

Saturday  RIDES Mass Transit heading to the Covered Bridge Festival in Mansfield, Indiana. If you want to go, call 888-389-7536 by 3 p.m. Thursday before the trip.

Anyone who attends specially announced fund-raising events held by the Life Center will receive a free ticket to enter a drawing for a valuable collectors silver dollar. Drawing will be held at the next board meeting following such an event, which is at 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. The public is welcome to attend board meetings. Call 217-849-3965 for more information. To serve on the board, talk to one of the board members.

In addition, Joannie Roberts, senior information specialist, can help in filling out forms or applying for insurance, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, license-plate sticker discounts or supply other information. Call 217-849-3965 for information or appointment.

Peace Meal menu

Oct. 10-14

All meals are served with wheat or whole wheat bread, margarine, and milk.

For additional information or reservations call 1-800-543-1770.

Monday  Ham and beans, copper carrots, corn bread, purple plums.

Tuesday  Taco salad with meat, lettuce, cheese, beans, tomatoes, sour cream and taco sauce, pineapple, taco chips, orange bread.

Wednesday  Stuffed peppers in sauce, corn, Italian green beans, whole grain wheat, brownies.

Thursday  Pork loin in gravy, mashed potatoes, spinach, whole grain wheat, cherry cobbler.
Two Nebraska-based companies have been selected as finalists in the 2016 American Farm Bureau Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Ryan and Austin Stauffer of Seward County were selected for their business, Levrack, a mobile-shelving system that came out of a need for storage on their farm in Seward. Martin Bremmer of Perkins County was selected for his company, Windcall Manufacturing Inc., which manufactures the GrainGoat, a hand-held harvester that collects, cleans and calculates the moisture of small grains within minutes.

Both businesses have been awarded $15,000 in startup funds and will go to Phoenix in January for American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Phoenix for an additional $15,000 in prize money, courtesy of sponsor Farm Bureau Bank. After the live-streamed event, members of the public will be invited to vote online for the Peoples Choice Award, which gives an additional $10,000 in start-up funds to one of the teams.
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A gap re-emerged between business and consumer confidence in Nebraska during September, according to the latest monthly surveys conducted by the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

While businesses remained optimistic about the economy during the next six months, consumer confidence dropped steeply compared with July and August levels.

Nebraskas consumer confidence index, which is based on a monthly survey of Nebraska households, fell to 87.9 in September. This value is well below the neutral level of 100 and indicates weak consumer confidence. In comparison, the index registered at 97.4 in August and 97.5 in July, the highest levels of the year.

The summer improvement in consumer confidence has proven to be temporary, Eric Thompson, an economist who serves as bureau director, said in a news release. Consumer confidence in September fell back to levels seen in February through May of 2016.

Business expectations, by contrast, remained a source of strength for the state economy. The monthly Survey of Nebraska Businesses showed optimism about both sales and employment during September, with 31 percent of businesses anticipating sales increases over the next six months and 13 percent of businesses expecting to add jobs. In comparison, 19 percent predicted their sales would decline and 3 percent said they would reduce employment.

Business survey results indicate that there will be growth in both sales and employment in Nebraska for the rest of 2016 and during the first quarter of 2017, Thompson said.
When Emmylou Harris calls to ask you to play some shows, there is only one answer.

You say 'yes,' even if you dont know what it is, said the Milk Carton Kids Joey Ryan. Luckily, it turned out be be a great thing, because wed follow her off the cliff.

It is Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees, an 11-city tour to raise awareness of the worldwide refugee crisis and raise funds for the Jesuit Refugee Services Global Education Initiative.

Country legend Harris is a longtime activist, having previously organized a series of shows aimed at eliminating landmines around the world and running an animal rescue operation out of her Nashville, Tennessee, home.

She learned of the JRS work during a trip to Ethiopia this spring and decided to put together a tour to raise funds for its programs to educate displaced people in 45 countries around the globe.

So Harris got on the phone and rounded up friends Steve Earle and Patty Griffin, frequent collaborator Buddy Miller and folk duo the Milk Carton Kids to join her on the tour that takes its name from an island off the coast of Sicily that has become the major staging area for refugees escaping the war-ravaged Middle East for Europe.

The tour begins Friday in Boulder, Colorado, goes to Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday and will stop at the Rococo Theatre Sunday.

All of the artists will be on stage throughout the show, playing acoustic instruments and singing a few of their songs.

Its a guitar pull, all of us sitting around the stage, the way we did the landmine tour, Earle said. Anything can happen.

Well be sitting around singing, telling stories and raising some money, Ryan said. Then, hopefully, well chime in with some harmonies or instrumentals, accompanying who else is on stage, too. You cant be on stage with Emmylou Harris and not rope her into singing some three-part harmonies together. Thats going to happen.

When Earle called in from Telluride, Colorado, on Tuesday, he hadnt figured out what songs hes going to bring out during the shows.

I cant promise I wont play a Woody Guthrie song in this particular situation, but most of them will be my songs, he said. Ill know more about what Im going to play when I get to Boulder tomorrow. Thats when well talk about what were going to do. Itll turn into something really cool.

But Earle, who has been designated as the tours primary spokesman, and Ryan had plenty to say about the refugee crisis, American politics and musical activism.

The global refugee crisis is staggering in its scale -- one in every 122 people is a refugee, more than half are women and children and at least 30 million are under the age of 18.

The main thing I didnt know is the average time of displacement of a refugee is 17 years, Ryan said. Thats kind of the point of this. We have to think about shifting away from thinking about the refugee crisis as an emergency -- food, water, shelter -- thing to a long-term thing that lasts for almost two decades. That requires other things, like education, which is the JRS mission.

And Ryan pointed out that the refugee crisis isnt just in Europe, the Middle East or Africa. Its in Southern California where he and Kenneth Pattengale, the other Milk Carton Kids, live.

We see a particular side of the refugee crisis here -- refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador, that are appropriately being called refugees as their counties have been overrun by gangs are coming in," Ryan said in a phone interview last week. "Weve had some bad situations in towns where roads were blocked and busloads of kids were turned away. Were on the front line of that particular front, but its all over the world.

The blockades have occurred, Earle said, largely because refugees have been demonized by Republicans, particularly GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Its becoming a political issue for all the wrong reasons, Earle said. People think its about their jobs and its not. Its about women and children, people displaced from their homelands because its become so violent, so bad they cant live there.

For that reason and many others, Earle said, theres only one choice in the presidential election -- and it isnt Trump or Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.

Weve never had a clearer choice in an election, ever, Earle said.  Nobodys more left wing than me. Lefties who think theyre preserving their pure white liberal souls by not voting for Hillary (Clinton) are helping Trump. Its choosing between what little is left of our democracy and fascism. So register, vote and dont f*** up.

Those, Earle recognized, are fightin words. But hes not worried about any blowback, especially at the shows -- For the most part, we dont get a lot of people out to see any of us that watch Fox.

Like Harris, Earles a longtime, outspoken activist -- a part of Farm Aid since its beginning who has worked against the death penalty and has a handful of political songs and albums. That, he said, is natural for him -- and for Harris.

I grew up at a time when you didnt separate issues and music, Earle said. You didnt even think about that. Most of my songs are still about girls, but I can do it and I will do it. ... I think you convince people if you sing it more than if you just talk I come from the '60s man ... music did help change the world. Some of it stuck, some of it didnt. Emmylous a little older than me. We come from that.

The Milk Carton Kids are much younger, having come together just five years ago. But Ryan said the duo wants to be in the activist tradition that has been part of folk music since Woody Guthrie rode the rails in the 1930s.

Like-minded people, people who have played music like this have been very socially conscious over time, Ryan said. Were just getting started in our career. We think thats a tradition that should continue.

That in part is why the Milk Carton Kids are on the Lampedusa tour. The other reason -- Emmylou called and asked.
On May 1, when Kelsey Graves got the keys to what would become 1867, she and four friends went in to begin the process of peeling off three layers of black epoxy from what in many of the places past iterations was a borderline adhesive dance floor.

Bleached everything, Graves said of the downtown pub. We got there at noon, and we were there until midnight. We walked in the next day and it didnt look like we did anything.

Above the beer cooler, they discovered a few Woodys Pub hats. In the back, there was a bin of clothes they guessed had been piled up during the bars previous hurrah, as South Campus. Graves donated it to the Peoples City Mission.

In many of its previous lives, the venue that wraps around the Jimmy John's at 14th and O has been a college student-targeting club. As 1867, Graves, the owner, is looking to create more of a neighborhood bar atmosphere inside, with almost as many events, game and theme nights on tap as there are Nebraska-brewed beers. And she guessed 98 percent of the beer inventory is of the local craft variety. 1867, named in honor of Nebraska's statehood, has a rustic look to it thanks to some Edison bulbs hanging throughout the bar and a bar top adorned with long-expired Cornhusker State license plates.

We still have a lot to do, believe it or not, she said.

Graves said this weeks goal was to install scaffolding that could suspend some more intricate stage lighting in 1867s performance space, which is divided from the bar by a door she bought from Knickerbockers, where she and her boyfriend, Matty Sanders, first met. She also bought all of Knickerbockers tables and shot glasses soon after Anderson and the rest of The JV Allstars reformed to play KBs swan song show last year.

Along with supplying 1867 with some nostalgic items from the recently closed Knickerbockers, Graves has found support from staff and owners at Duffy's Tavern, the Bourbon Theatre, the Zoo Bar, Bodega's Alley and the rest of the downtown Lincoln venues. She offers up flyer space for them and they've done the same as she books more shows at 1867.

This is what I love about the downtown scene -- everybody is so friendly, she said. The best way to make this work is work together.

This weekend, the venue space will be used as the VIP lounge for Lincoln Calling performers. And more and more, Graves is booking local bands and comics, as well as touring performers like next Wednesdays comedy headliner, Derek Sheen. Between shows, youre liable to find a themed night or afternoon on the calendar.

Events are my thing, though, she said. When Im drinking with friends, I want to play games.

One of her proudest moment thus far, judging by her reaction, is the end result of event she hosts on the first Sunday of every month called Paws and Draws. Its a get-together featuring a proliferation of dog treats, a pint special that benefited the Capital Humane Society and a pitbull-boxer mix named Chazz.

The cutest, said Graves, whose own rescue lab, Dolly Parton, can often be found out lounging by the giant Jenga set in the smoking area.

Along with whats on tap, an HD television behind the bar flashes pictures of dogs up for adoption. During a recent Paws and Draws, Chazz came over from the shelter. Shes not sure if it was one of her patrons who did it, but Chazz was adopted soon after, which she described as awesome as she scrolled through a series of Chazz photos still on her phone.

To see what's coming up at 1867 Bar, go to facebook.com/1867Bar.
Trump strongly opposes free trade. He has argued for a 20 percent tax on all imported goods and called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) a "death blow for American manufacturing."

While OnTheIssues' data classifies Clinton as a liberal on free trade, she has previously been more open to free trade than Trump. She was a chief advocate for TPP until October 2015, having said it would create "not just more growth, but better growth."

If TPP is ratified, it will result in free trade between America and 11 other countries. Many of the United States' largest trading partners, including Canada and Mexico, are part of the TPP agreement.

As we get closer to the presidential election on Nov. 8, Trump continues to change his positions on some issues. For instance, Trump argued against raising the minimum wage, saying he "would not do it," last November; this July, he said he "would like to raise it to at least $10." Whether his positions on these issues will evolve more by election day is yet to be seen.
A retrial of a dorm-room sex assault case ended Thursday with a Lancaster County jury finding a 19-year-old college student not guilty.

Christopher Petersen's first trial, in June, ended in a mistrial after the all-male jury deadlocked.

In the case that came down to whether his accuser had done enough to let him know she wasn't consenting, some speculated then that it unfairly benefited him that no women were on the jury even though attorneys on both sides take part in the selection.

This time, six men and six women took 2 hours to acquit him of first-degree sexual assault, a felony that could've gotten him up to 50 years in prison and put him on the sex offender registry.

Little was different this time around, aside from the fact that Petersen chose to testify.

After the bailiff said not guilty, Petersen, a student at the University of Arizona now, let out a sigh heard from the back of the courtroom. His mother cried.

His accuser wasn't there. But early in the week, the 19-year-old took the stand to give her version of what happened Sept. 5, 2015, in a room at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Sandoz Hall.

They were both Greek pledges, 18-year-olds in their freshman year who met a couple of weeks earlier, Snapchatted, then started texting.

That Saturday, they saw each other at a tailgate before the BYU game, had a couple of drinks, then walked hand-in-hand back to her room so she could change her shoes.

They talked for a while before they started kissing. She didn't mind that.

"It was like maybe if I got to know this kid, I could like him," she said.

But at some point, she said, Petersen put his hand on the back of her head and forced her to kiss him.

"That's when I knew I didn't want to go any further," she said.

Defense attorney Bob Creager asked why she didn't just get up and leave.

"I don't know," she said.

Instead, she and Petersen talked about how she didn't want to do more with someone she wasn't dating. She said he told her to just let it happen and kept going.

Petersen said he agreed to be in a relationship, and she continued, even helping him take off her pants. She said he pulled them off her with one hand while he pinned her down on the bed.

She said she squirmed and pushed his shoulder at one point and said more than once to stop.

In a call recorded by police, Petersen told her his urges got the best of him and he took things too far.

"I think I definitely wanted to have sex more," he said on the stand, "but she didn't seem like she was adverse to it."

He penetrated her with his finger and tongue, her feet on his shoulders at one point, until she said to stop, that she was bleeding, and he stopped.

"You agree that you forced yourself on (her), correct?" Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Dan Packard asked him.

"To some extent, yes," Petersen answered.

He said at the time she was giving him signs she was OK with everything that was happening. But the next day, she said she wasn't.

In closing arguments, Packard said it wasn't about mixed signals.

"Maybe you think, 'Hey, she could've done more.' That's not the question," he told the jury. "The question is did she reasonably make known to him ... she was saying no."

He said her testimony alone was enough to convict Petersen.

Creager said there's no doubt she didn't consent, but did she say enough or do enough to make that clear to Petersen?

"That's the key to this case," he argued. "What's going on in her head versus what she's actually saying and doing."

After the verdict, he said, Petersen was thankful for the jury's thoughtful deliberations and hard work.

"It was a trying ordeal for all involved," Creager said, adding that Petersen was grateful to those who stood by him.

Neither Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly, nor Petersen's accuser responded to a request Thursday afternoon for comment.
Investigators say a 35-year-old Lincoln man preyed on a schizophrenic's hallucinations of men with guns to take money from him last month.

Joseph Wheeler, 4640 Orchard St., has been charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult and theft by unlawful taking over $1,500.

Lincoln police said the theft occurred Sept. 3, when a 54-year-old man with schizophrenia and a traumatic brain injury took $5,000, mostly in money orders, from his bank account to appease imaginary men he believed were extorting him.

According to court documents, he told police he withdrew the money so they would leave him alone.

He drove to 32nd and Q streets, left the money in his car for the imaginary armed men and then walked away from the car, police said in court documents.

The man told police his friend "Joe" was with him and told him people were in his car taking the money, but the 54-year-old never turned to look, police said.

When they returned to his car moments later, the money was gone, police said.

The 54-year-old man told police Wheeler took his money, according to an affidavit for Wheeler's arrest.

Another man told police Wheeler gave him the money orders to cash because Wheeler didn't have an ID, police said.

Wheeler was arrested Oct. 1.

"Joseph took advantage of the victim's mental health issues and hallucinations that people were extorting money from him and made the situation even more real for the victim," Officer Lynette Russell wrote in the affidavit.

A judge has appointed the Lancaster County Public Defender's Office to represent Wheeler and ordered him not to contact either of the men involved in the incident.

Wheeler remained in jail Thursday on $7,500 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 23 years in prison.
The Nebraska Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday on the state's appeal of a lower court decision to vacate the life sentence of a man convicted as a juvenile.

In 1994, the York County District Court vacated the life sentence of Sydney Thieszen, who killed his adopted sister in 1987 when he was 14, and ordered a new sentence.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 found automatic life sentences for teen killers unconstitutional in Miller v. Alabama.

But it didn't address whether the decision should apply to old cases, and Thieszen's was among about two dozen in which Nebraska lawmakers gave judges the option of sentencing first-degree murderers, convicted as juveniles, of 40 years to life.

On Thursday, attorney Erin Tangeman argued the case for the state, and attorney Jeff Pickens for Thieszen.

Thieszen, now 43, was convicted of shooting his sister Sacha, 12, after she threatened to call the police if he ran away. After putting her in a bathtub in an upstairs bathroom, where he shot her two times more, he left the family's farm in their van.

He was found several days later sleeping in a post office in Salina, Kansas.

Thieszen was adopted, but before that was abandoned by his father at 2 and then abused by his alcoholic mother, who tried to drown him, burned his eyes with a cigarette lighter and ran his hands through a meat grinder. He was then in foster homes for four years.

In his adoptive home, he was sometimes spanked with a hose or belt. After he turned 12, he developed behavior problems, was charged with sexually molesting a younger foster child, and was at times violent.

In 1988, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In 1994, he challenged that conviction and it was vacated. In 1995, the York county attorney reinstated an original first-degree murder charge, and a year later, Thieszen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The York County District Court vacated that sentence following the 2012 U. S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles. The Nebraska Supreme Court interpreted that federal ruling to apply retroactively to criminal cases that were final before the 2012 decision.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said the state appealed the district court ruling because the situation of this case makes it procedurally different than the others.

Tangeman argued Thieszen's case presented unique circumstances that made the state question whether re-sentencing was warranted.

At the time he was sentenced, she said, the judge had the option of not giving him a mandatory life sentence. And he had an opportunity for commutation and then to obtain parole before the end of his life. At the time he was sentenced, she said, there was evidence commutation of sentences happened.

Pickens said he didn't understand why the Attorney General's office considered Thieszen's case an exception.

He argued the possibility of commutation, which could then translate to parole, in Thieszen's case was slim, if not nonexistent. But it didn't matter, because the U.S. Supreme Court said the possibility of commutation was so remote it could not satisfy the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The court will rule on the appeal at a later time.
Nationally acclaimed historian and author Mitchell Yockelson will discuss World War I General John J. Pershing in a free presentation at the University of NebraskaLincoln at 7 p.m. Tuesday in 15 Andersen Hall.

UNLs College of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Department of History are hosting Yockelsons visit.

America is preparing to observe the 100th anniversary of World War I. Its great to have a noted historian like Mitch Yockelson talk about Pershings role in the war that established the U.S. as a global superpower, said CoJMC associate professor Barney McCoy.

McCoy is producing a television documentary on General Pershing, who was a UNL Law School graduate, head of the university's cadet program, a Pulitzer Prize recipient and the only six-star general in U.S. history.

Yockelson, a military history specialist at the National Archives and Records Administration, will discuss Pershings leadership in the deciding WWI Battle of the Meuse-Argonne. More than 1 million U.S. troops fought in the 1918 battle. Yockelson wrote about it in his new book Forty-Seven Days.
A (writ of) mandamus is an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.  Wex legal dictionary

Nothing positive should be said about the attempt by Lincoln City Council members Jon Camp, Roy Christensen, Trent Fellers and Cyndi Lamm to get their way on the city budget.

Dont give them any encouragement to attempt such a thing again.

Their loss in Lancaster County District Court should stand as a clear warning if they or future council members are tempted to pull something like this again.

No one in the capital city should ever be forced to go to court to get council members to properly fulfill their official duties.

Christensen, Fellers, Lamm and Camp were not elected to test their legal theories on the taxpayers dime.

They ignored decades of precedence, the advice of the current city attorney and previous city attorneys when they decided to insist on their version of the city budget. Fellers, Lamm, Camp and Christensen even ignored an attempt at compromise offered by Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird.

The plain and ordinary meaning of Lincolns voter-approved City Charter is that the City Council has a duty and obligation to fund the city's legal budget, according to the decision handed down by Lancaster County District Judge Robert Otte.

The unprecedented action by Lamm, Camp, Christensen and Fellers forced the city attorney to step aside, since he could not represent both sides in the lawsuit. Private attorneys were hired. In the grand scheme of things, the legal expenses may not be huge but theres no sense in running up the bill.

The four should not compound their error by insisting on appeal. They should let this sorry chapter in the history of City Hall end quickly, and accept the writ of mandamus issued by Otte.

They should do what they should have done in the first place. If they dont like the balance of power as defined by the City Charter, they should go to voters with a proposed change.

Lincoln has long had a deserved reputation for effective and efficient city government. Thats a tradition worth preserving. Of Nebraskas 15 largest cities, Lincoln has the sixth lowest property tax rate. Its economy is booming. The town is infused with optimism.

The court battle forced by four members of the City Council was a case of Washington-style dysfunction spreading to the local level. These negative tactics need to end. Now.
The psychologist Abraham Maslows suggested, "if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." This unfortunately describes the problem we have in education in Nebraska. Our leaders in Nebraska see the problem of the gap in educational performance between rich and poor children as a problem solvable solely by schools and teachers ("Test scores won't be used to classify schools," Sept. 17).

These leaders ignore scientific research and instead approach problems based upon anecdotes, impressions, opinions and beliefs unsupported by meaningful data. Pure faith in magic rather than science. This magical thinking is done in spite of a half century of failure of such magical thinking and a body of research that concludes that this gap is primarily the result of out-of-school factors and results from the stress of living in poverty long before a child shows up for preschool or kindergarten.

This is not a theoretical problem; we have thousands of children whose education and adult life has been damaged because of this magical thinking. This failure will continue to present significant costly social problems in Nebraska.

Our leaders must be held accountable for recognizing the hammer is not our only instrument to help children living in poverty achieve in school. Our leaders must look beyond the school system and intervene in the case of many children living in poverty with their parents long before they reach school age.

Bert Peterson, Hastings
The bigger the lie told with a straight face and repeated over and over, the more likely people will believe. Just look to Donald Trump for proof positive. His oft-repeated claim that Hillary Clinton will take away everyone's guns and abolish the Second Amendment has his followers shaking in their boots and accepting his word with heart and soul, passion and hate, vengeance and unbelievable neuroses.

Little does the Trump fan base know that it is virtually impossible for the President of the United States to wield this sort of power. Two-thirds of Congress must approve a constitutional amendment or two-thirds of the states pass it via constitutional convention. It isn't even necessary for the president to sign any documents in this process.

A popular history teacher and colleague of mine in a large Montana high school delivered a specially prepared lecture of deliberate whoppers to his classes once each year to emphasize an important lesson: Don't believe everything you read, hear or see. In due time, he would stop and tell his students they could tear up their notes. "You have been duped. Everything I have said today is untrue." The class would of course erupt in laughter and something important would be gained.

How soon do you expect Trump to reveal his lies to a forgiving, appreciative and zealous ovation of laughter? Does "when a pig flies" sound right?

Ron Holscher, Ogallala
U.S. Justice Department lawyers have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Nebraska and nine others states seeking to block the Obama administration's directive on transgender students' bathroom use.

In May, officials from the federal Education and Justice departments said schools receiving federal funding must allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their expressed gender or risk losing their federal funds.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson filed a lawsuit alleging the Obama administration doesn't have the legal authority to change the law or threaten to take away the funds from the states that are following "the laws Congress actually passed."

Now, the Obama administration argues in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the states don't have the legal standing to sue because they haven't proven they've suffered any losses because of the policy.

What's more, the administration argues, federal courts have rejected a narrow interpretation of discrimination based on sex and recognized bias because of an individual's gender identity as a form of sex discrimination.

A judge hasn't ruled on the motion, filed last week, and an attorney for the states hasn't responded to it.

At stake for Nebraska is more than $328 million in federal funding the state's Department of Education received for K-12 education, according to the lawsuit.

Arkansas, South Carolina, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Ohio and Michigan joined Nebraska in the lawsuit.

In August, a federal judge in Texas blocked enforcement of the Obama administration policy in connection with a separate lawsuit brought by 13 other states.
BROKEN BOW  Residents of Broken Bow are set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of a downtown bandstand that has seen the likes of Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan.

Festivities will take place Saturday.

Broken Bow City Administrator Brent Clark said the celebration seeks to elicit a sense of nostalgia and history. Events include a craft and food bazaar. Former Nebraska state Sen. David Landis will re-enact a speech by former U.S. Sen. George Norris.

The bandstand will be dedicated at 3 p.m. by Mayor Cecil Burt.

Clark says the bandstand is important to residents because it's at the center of many memories.
HICKMAN  Garrett Engelhard, a senior at Norris High School, will receive his Eagle Scout award during ceremonies Oct. 23 at Hickman Presbyterian Church. Garrett, 17, is the son of John and Regina Engelhard and a member of Boy Scout Troop 64, led by Scoutmaster Jay Nutter and based in Hickman.

His community service project consisted of cleaning up the Campbellite Cemetery east of Hickman. The cemetery had been cared for by one of his school teachers, who asked Garrett and his fellow Boy Scouts to help. The cleanup was an all-day event involving a wood chipper and the assistance of over 20 Scouts and their parents. At the end of the day, the group was able to push back the brush and uncover tombstones that had been hidden.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is offering special antlerless deer hunting opportunities within Eugene T. Mahoney and Platte River state parks (SP), as well as Schramm Park State Recreation Area (SRA).

Successful applicants will be issued a special access permit that allows them to hunt antlerless deer in designated areas of a park on certain dates, using specific equipment. Successful applicants and interested alternates must attend an orientation session in order to receive the access permit.

Applications, limited to one per person, will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Oct. 31. If more applications are received than can be accommodated, a drawing will be held Nov. 5.

Hunters may obtain an application at OutdoorNebraska.org or by calling Mahoney SP at 402-944-2523, ext. 7122, Platte River SP at 402-234-2217, Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium at 402-332-3901 or the Lincoln district Game and Parks office at 402-471-5431. Individual, mentor and buddy applications are available.

Legal equipment at Mahoney and Platte River state parks are archery and muzzleloaders. The legal equipment at Schramm Park SRA is archery.

In addition to the appropriate deer permit and habitat stamp, hunters must have the access permit, as well as a park entry permit for each vehicle entering the park.

The following are the hunting opportunities, with park, legal equipment and dates:

Mahoney SP, Platte River SP  archery, Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, Dec. 5-8, Dec. 12-15, Dec. 19-22

Mahoney SP, Platte River SP  muzzleloader, Jan. 2-5, Jan. 9-12

Schramm Park SRA  archery, Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, Dec. 5-8, Dec. 12-15, Dec. 19-22, Jan. 2-5, Jan. 9-12

Successful applicants will be assigned a hunting period at a park, according to their preference. Hunting sites for the disabled hunters will be available at Mahoney SP.

Only antlerless deer will be allowed for harvest. Appropriate deer permits for archery hunters are: statewide archery, antlerless-only Season Choice Wahoo or statewide youth. Muzzleloader hunters must have either an antlerless-only Season Choice Wahoo or a statewide youth permit. Some permits are limited and may sell out prior to these park hunts.

Orientation sessions will be Nov. 22 at Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium for archers and Dec. 20 for muzzleloaders. Both begin at 7 p.m. For more information, contact the Lincoln district office or the parks.
MILWAUKEE  Many people find a hobby in retirement after decades of hard work. Rarely is that hobby as intense and charitable as Burlingtons Tom Poe.

Poe, 77, began driving American Red Cross emergency response vehicles to natural disaster-affected areas in 2004 and has made 22 trips throughout the country  to Houston for hurricanes and flooding; to San Diego for wild fires; and most recently to West Virginia to help those dealing with flooding in June.

On Friday morning, Poe and fellow volunteer Milos Lazarevic departed the Red Cross Milwaukee headquarters for Orlando, Fla., to bring supplies and aid to those affected by Hurricane Matthew, the storm battering the Atlantic Coast this week.

For Poe, the trips are primarily about one thing: I want to help people, he said. Thats my big thing.

However, wanting to help people doesnt automatically translate to going on 22 trips in 12 years. Poe said he gets that extra motivation from the people he helps once he arrives.

You get so much satisfaction with people, he said. They hug you and they just appreciate everything you do for them.

On Friday morning, Poe told a particularly powerful story about neighbors he witnessed reunite when he was assisting with flood relief in Minnesota in 2008.

There were two neighbors that hadnt talked to each other in 17 years, he said. The flooding got them helping each other and they were back talking to each other.

Poes wife, Jan, came to Milwaukee with him Friday to help send him off. She said she doesnt get nervous when Tom goes on the trips because hes been on so many of them.

Hes always got to be doing something, she said. He really likes to help people. When they try to put him on something where hes not working directly with the people, hes not as happy with that.

Poe said that even if people dont have time to drive long distances to disaster-affected areas, they can help out at home by monitoring devastation in their neighborhoods.

The average person in their neighborhood can help out if they know what devastation their neighbors have gone through, he said. They can help clean up, help prepare and even bring water supplies over.

As for why, year after year, hell keep seeking out those affected by devastation, Poe said: If I dont do it, nobody else will.
RACINE  One of the missing suspects from a gang roundup Thursday turned himself in on Friday, the FBI reported.

Erik A. Ynnocencio, 33, of Racine, was arrested for his alleged connection to the Maniac Latin Disciples, according to a press release from the FBIs Milwaukee Division.

On Thursday, law enforcement agencies from throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois rounded up more than 20 people suspected of being involved in illegal, gang-related activities, the release said.

Ynnocencio turned himself into the U.S. Marshals Service Friday and he was arrested without incident, according to the release.

The FBI on Friday was still seeking information for Fabian J. Melendez, 30, of Waukegan, Ill., who is suspected to have strong ties to the Maniac Latin Disciples.

Melendez remained at large and was considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information regarding Melendezs whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI Milwaukee Division at 414-276-4684.
RACINE  The Racine Interfaith Coalition has scheduled a vigil for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, near the corner of 16th Street and Taylor Avenue to remember and memorialize the woman who was killed Tuesday inside a building at the intersection.

The womans body was discovered Wednesday in a trash container outside the building at 1559 Taylor Ave., which also houses the Sunshine Supermarket.

As of Friday afternoon, authorities had not named the victim. The vigil is open to everyone, according to Racine Interfaith Coalition organizers.

On Thursday, Harry S. Fumich, 49, who has been residing at the building, was charged with homicide and hiding a corpse in connection to the case.

Fumich reportedly killed the woman and pushed her body in a trash bin from a balcony on Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint.

Fumich faces three felony charges of first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse and robbery with use of force. He was in court Thursday for an initial appearance and his bond was set at $500,000, court records indicated.

He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Fumich remained in custody as of Friday at the County Jail, online records indicated.
MOUNT PLEASANT  On an intense day for law enforcement in the Racine area  one that saw drug raids that resulted in the arrest of 28 gang members and charges filed in two unrelated homicides  candidates running for Racine County District Attorney made the case for why they should be elected the countys chief prosecutor.

Addressing an audience of more than 100 people at a Thursday night forum, the candidates  Deputy Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson and Assistant Kenosha County District Attorney Tom Binger  fielded questions on a number of issues from attendees, including questions about drug enforcement and the way offenders with mental health issues are treated.

The forum, which took place at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 322 Ohio St., was hosted by the Racine Interfaith Coalition. Binger is running as a Democrat, Hanson as a Republican. The election is Nov. 8.

When the questions of treatment of offenders with mental illness came up, Binger said the county needed to have a mental health court like Kenosha and Milwaukee counties.

I dont know what is taking so long. We are long overdue on that, he said. What these programs have demonstrated is that they pay for themselves and lower the recidivism rate.

Hanson noted that while Racine County doesnt have a mental health court, it does divert offenders with mental health issues during the pretrial stage to steer them toward services.

She also noted that there is not money available to establish a mental health court, noting that the countys veterans treatment court has been in very real danger of shutting down due to a lack of funding.

There isnt money just laying around available for (these programs), Hanson said. We are out there fighting for every dollar that we have.

Several times throughout the forum Binger highlighted the need to address the disparities seen in the arrest and prosecution of black men and women, and other minorities, when compared to their white offenders.

Wisconsin is No. 1 in the nation in the mass incarceration of African American males. We spend more on our prison system than we do on our state university system, Binger said, noting that stronger evidence based risk assessments would help to address that trend locally.

Hanson agreed that the disparities existed, but noted that the reason that many young black males end up in the criminal justice system is the lack of employment opportunities. She said she is hoping to start a program in which first-time nonviolent offenders are referred to Racine County Workforce Solutions.

Sparks fly

Sparks flew several times during Thursdays forum as Binger attacked the record and effectiveness of the Racine County District Attorneys Office, at one point seeming to refer to the 2014 drunken-driving arrest of outgoing Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete.

Law enforcement needs to rebuild its trust with the public, he said.

It starts here with our Racine County D.A.s office, which, over the past couple of years, has had some really tough times. We all know about that. That has damaged the reputation of this office. We have got to restore that and the only way to restore that is with new leadership, Binger said.

Responding to the statement, Hanson, who corrected Binger throughout the debate on claims he made about the office that she said were untrue, stated that it was strange that Binger attacked the integrity of the Racine County district attorney, when Kenosha Countys District Attorney Robert Zapf was reprimanded by the state Supreme Court for withholding evidence in 1985 during an earlier stint as the Kenosha County district attorney.

Zapfs oversight was also called into question in 2015 after a former officer admitted to planting evidence at a homicide scene in April 2014.

If you want to talk about integrity, I will put my office against Kenoshas office any day of the week, Hanson said. There is no challenge to the integrity of the Racine County District Attorneys Office and the actions of one person away from the office should not reflect on us as a whole.

As the forum came to a close, several people in the audience expressed frustration that questions they had asked had not been posed to the candidates.

The moderator apologized, noting that Racine Interfaith Coalition always ends its forums on time.

Another Racine County District Attorney candidate forum is slated to take place on Oct. 29 at Gateway Technical College.
RACINE  A man has been charged with homicide and hiding a corpse in connection to the body that was reported found behind Sunshine Supermarket Wednesday.

Harry S. Fumich, 49, who lived above the market located at 1559 Taylor Ave., reportedly killed a woman and dumped her body in a Dumpster Tuesday, according to the criminal complaint.

The Racine Police Department responded to a call at about 9:50 a.m. Wednesday when a witness reportedly told police about a body being dumped in a Dumpster the evening before. The witness told police that Fumich called him to move the Dumpster near the balcony of his apartment Tuesday evening so he could toss a large item over his balcony into it, the complaint said.

The witness said the body was wrapped in a dark-colored blanket, according to the complaint.

Police then went to Fumichs apartment, where they detained him and a woman who was in the apartment with him. The woman admitted that Fumich had killed the victim, the complaint said.

The woman reportedly told police that Fumich brought the victim to his apartment Tuesday. When the victim arrived, he told her he had something to show her in a bedroom, according to the complaint.

The woman allegedly told police that Fumich had cut a cord from a fan in the bedroom. He then wrapped the cord around the victims neck and strangled her to death, the complaint said.

Fumich then wrapped the body in a dark-colored blanket and put it in the refrigerator in the apartment about noon Tuesday. After using cocaine later in the day, Fumich instructed the other woman in the apartment to get incense because the body began to smell, according to the complaint.

Fumich reportedly admitted committing the homicide to police. He told police the victim owed him money for cocaine, the complaint said.

After killing the victim, Fumich then took more than $80 from the womans pockets and 10 methadone pills, which he sold, according to the complaint.

Fumich later allegedly admitted he had put the body on his back deck above Sunshine Supermarket an hour before asking the witness to move the Dumpster. When it was below his deck, he threw the body over the edge and into the Dumpster, the complaint said.

Police redirected a Waste Management truck to the 16th Street landfill almost immediately after it made a pickup, according to Waste Management spokesperson Lynn Morgan. Once there, the truck dumped the body for police.

We were contacted by the Police Department and asked to stop a truck that had just serviced a stop in Racine, Morgan said. Police officers met with us and directed to us to proceed to the landfill and dump the load.

Neighbor Reaction

Jesus Moyett, the landlord of buildings adjacent to the Sunshine Supermarket building, said that there were many issues and complaints about Fumich in the neighborhood.

He had a short temper, Moyett said. He always picked a fight with tenants and always drank and threw bottles.

Latoya Lewis lives in one of Moyetts buildings and said she would occasionally see Fumich working at Sunshine. She would also frequently call police to report loud arguing coming from the units above the corner store.

I used to hear a lot of arguing coming from over there every night and I would call the police, but I would tell the police it would be hard to tell who was arguing, she said.

Moyett did not know the victim, but he said the woman had lived in an apartment in the same building as Fumich above the market. She lived there with her husband for approximately the last three to four months.(Fumich) would verbally abuse the (victim), he said.The block where the market is located has had problems with drug use and other illicit behavior, according to Moyett. People often venture into the backyards of the neighboring property, which he owns, where hell find syringes, condoms and miscellaneous trash in the back.This prompted Moyett to start putting up a fence.

I was putting up the fence Monday, Moyett said. There are kids that live in this house and these houses. People wont let their kids go outside because it isnt safe.

Lewis said she has witnessed significant illegal activity in and around the store, including illegal sales of cigarettes. Her heart goes out to the victim, but she said that theres more than one victim in this instance.

There was a victim who lost her life but the neighborhood is a victim as well, she said.

Court proceedings

Fumich faces three felony charges of first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse and robbery with use of force.

He was in court Thursday for an initial appearance and his bond was set at $500,000, court records indicated.

Fumich is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. He remained in custody as of Thursday night at the County Jail, online records indicated.

Police as of Thursday night had not released the name of the woman who was killed.

Journal Times Reporter Patrick Leary contributed to this story.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sought to win over reluctant Milwaukee-area conservatives in a local radio interview Friday, crediting Gov. Scott Walker and House Speaker Paul Ryan for their support.

"Wisconsin has been so amazing," Trump told host Jay Weber. "Your governor has been so supportive and so has Paul, so its been amazing."

Ryan hesitated to endorse Trump after he clinched the nomination, has criticized some of Trump's statements and has not yet appeared on stage with Trump. Walker endorsed Trump, in keeping with a pledge he made as a candidate, but has only appeared with him during one of his three trips to the state. All three will be at an event Saturday in Walworth County.

Walker said Friday that vice presidential nominee Mike Pence will also be at the event.

Asked about how he plans to overtake Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who has been leading in the polls, Trump said recent polls have shown him even or up by one point in Wisconsin. No publicly available polls have showed Trump leading. His campaign didn't respond to a request for which poll shows him ahead.

"I think Im up in Wisconsin, which is very important," Trump said. "Because you know I was down a little bit in Wisconsin, which Ive never understood because the crowds we have and theres a lot of love in Wisconsin that I have."

Polls have shown softened support for Trump in the conservative strongholds of suburban Milwaukee. Trump said those voters should back him because of his support for the military, veterans, the Second Amendment and a conservative Supreme Court justice to replace Antonin Scalia.

Trump also said he is receiving support from more and more Republicans who had previously been skeptical, specifically mentioning former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who has supported Trump since he clinched the nomination after backing Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the primary. Walker backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

For the first time, Trump will be campaigning at an event with Sen. Ron Johnson, who also has not previously attended Trump's public Wisconsin events. It remains unclear in what capacity they will share the stage at the 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin Fall Fest at the Walworth County Fairgrounds.
Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain.

Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred.

For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.
Cabinet okays plan to set up power generation co

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the Energy Ministrys proposal to set up a company to generate hydroelectricity under partial public ownership.
Congress state ministers after Dashain holidays

Deuba, who had planned to send the names by Friday, is facing intense pressure from both his and the rival camps to accommodate high number of aspirants
Notice to CIAA chief: Court attempt to serve summons fails again

A new drama unfolded on Thursday after a court official tasked with delivering a summons to Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) chief Lokman Singh Karki went out of contact. Hence, the Supreme Court (SC)s Thursdays attempt, second in as many days, to serve the notice to Karki went in vain.
Dashain Fulpati being observed today

On the seventh day of Bada Dashain festival, the Fulpati is being taken into the homes as per tradition throughout the country on Saturday.
GMR signs land acquisition accords

The developer of the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project has sealed land acquisition deals with residents of Achham and Dailekh districts, completing the process of pooling around 75 percent of the private land required for the scheme.
Govt turns blind eye to Dr KCs empty stomach battle

Dr Govinda KCs hunger strike entered the 11th day on Thursday, with his health condition drastically turning critical and his aides saying he might need emergency care any moment.
'Honour killings': Pakistan closes loophole allowing killers to go free

Pakistan's government has closed a loophole allowing those behind so-called honour killings to go free.
Mahat-Led MoFA team to attend ADC Summit

Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat Affairs is leading a Nepali delegation to the 2nd Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit in Thailand on Friday. The event, to be held in Bangkok from October 8-10, will have attendance of leaders of 34 member states.
Needs a little tweaking

Saarc has gone through many ups and downs in its history, but its still the best hope
Not working

Many financial cooperatives in Nepal are not open for business for vulnerable and disadvantaged youths
Ten injured in early morning road accident

Ten people were injured in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a micro-bus at Lokaha of Nawalparasi on the East-West highway early this morning.
Truck  microbus collision leaves 16 with injuries

As many as 16 passengers were injured in a collision involving a truck and a microbus at Chungkhola locality of Dorechowk VDC  3 along the Prithvi highway at 10:45 am today.
Two killed in motorcycle accident

Two people have died in a road accident that took place at Hardi chowk in Rapti municipality-6.
Unreal dream

Perhaps its time to form a new regional cooperation group among the smaller countries in South Asia
Tension at Om Hospital ends after agreement between admin, kin (update)

Tension at Chabahil-based Om Hospital that ensued after a patient died in course of treatment ended on Friday after an agreement between the hospital administration and the kin of the deceased.
Wife lights husband's funeral pyre

In an unprecedented event of its kind, a Maithali woman in Dhanusha has lit the funeral pyre of her husband by discarding an age-old Hindu tradition and establishing a new precedent in a patriarchal society.
From: jane dabah < janedabah1@gmail.com >

Sent: Tue, Jul 26, 2016 11:56 am

Subject: Please, i would like you to help me to transfer my money



My Dearest, How is your today? i hope fine . Mine is not good here. Dear please i would like you to think of me and my situation here, not just for fun or romantic affairs. Please i believe you are in a good position to help me out. I want you to be by my side and help me out of this condition, please. My name is Jane Dabah, I am 24years old , single and never married . l am from Ivory coast in West Africa and presently l am residing in the church Orphanage home of St Louis Catholic Parish here in Dakar Senegal as a result of the civil war that was fought in my country some years ago . My late father Dr. Jonathan Dabah was in politics and also he works contract for government , he supports the present government before the rebels attacked my family one early morning , killing my father and my mother Stella with my two younger brothers. My dear, it is only me who is alive now because i was in school where i was doing my first year in social science in the University of Ivory coast and l managed to run to a nearby country Senegal where l am staying now . In this the orphanage home , we are only allowed to go out of here only on few days of the weeks. It is just like one staying in the prison . I don't have any relative now whom i can go to, all my relatives ran away in the middle of the war and the only person i have now is Rev. Dickson who is a reverend father in St Louis Parish here. He has been very nice to me since i came here but i am not living with him, i am leaving in the women's hostel because we have two hostels, one for men the other for women. He is also the person who i use his computer to write to you because i help him type some documents for church services . The reverends Tel number is +221-708-572-104 if you call and tell him that you want to speak with me he will send for me in the hostel to answer your call . I want to go back to my studies because i was only in my first year in school before this happened . Please listen to this , my late father when he was alive deposited $6.750m. USD ( six million seven hundred and fifty thousand united state's dollars ) in a bank which he used my name as the next of kin and i have his statement of account and death certificate here with me . Please i would like you to help me to transfer this money to your account in your country and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling documents and air ticket to come over to meet with you in your country because i have nothing at hand with me here to make any movement or do any thing. I'm afraid of the enmity my father created back in my country when he was alive , that was also why i ran out to this place. I kept this secret other peoples here because i don't want them to know who i am or what i have. The only person that knows about it is the Reverend because he is like a father to me. Please because of this, i will like you to keep it to yourself and don't tell it to anyone for i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it. Remember i am telling you all this due to the trust i have in you, though we have not met in person. I like honest, understanding and God fearing people. My hobbies are music, reading, writing and sports. I have attached my picture for you and i will also like to see yours. I will like to know more about you your name and address in full. My favorite language is English, though not very perfect. Meanwhile i will like you to call me like i said i have a lot to tell you. Have a nice day and think about me and my situation here please. Awaiting to hear from you soonest

Best wishes Jane



From: jane dabah < janedabah1@gmail.com >

Sent: Wed, Jul 27, 2016 11:46 am

Subject: Darling, this is the bank contact informations

Hello My Dearest,

I hope you are keeping fine today, how is your work over there? As for me, I am looking fine over here, with all hopes to meet with you immediately after the transfer of my money to your position for a better life. Really it sounds some how depositing such a big trust to someone that you have never seen in person but one thing you ought to understand is that any body who is into difficult situation may be looking for help from every angle and when I come in contact with you I was some how felt relaxed saying with you that God has answered my fasting and prayers. I was moved as well darling ok.The contact informations of the bank where my late father deposited the money is as follows :



ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC .

Attn: Mr Ross Maxwell Mcewan.

Foreign Remittance Manager.

Telephone:+44797 4689 211

Telephone:+442076073 200

Fax. . . .+44(0)1534 629600

royalbanktransferdescotland@yahoo.co.uk



The name of the manager for foreign transfers as i was informed is Mr. Ross Maxwell McEwan by the time you contacted them on fax or email. Please try and contact them now to confirm this and as well on how possible to transfer the The name of the manager for foreign transfers as i was informed is Mr. Ross Maxwell McEwan by the time you contacted them on fax or email. Please try and contact them now to confirm this and as well on how possible to transfer the $6.750 million USA dollars ALC/NO (45008901546/QB/91/A) deposited by my late father Dr. Jonathan Dabah of which i am the next of kin to your account in your country. My dear i am glad that God has brought you to see me out from this situation and i promise to be very grateful and will equally need you in every area of my life plus investing this money into a project that will develop this fund in near future.



As i told you before, this camp is just like a prison and my prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible. Please make sure that you contact the bank so that after the transfer you can send some money from that money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country. I feel i can make it to join you as soon as you are through with this transfer or you can come down to met me over here and see how you will assist me to join you. I don't think i will regret being with you in your country, i feel it's so better for me to be with you than to be over here, i have made my decision not to continue staying in this country anymore. My dearest, i hope you approach this issue as yours, and give an urgent attention, because i am all yours and i want to be yours all my life, and also much trust you and I will be waiting to hear from you soonest.



May God bless you as you do this for me.

Have a nice day

Jane



From: Bank Ransferde < royalbanktransferdescotland@yahoo.co.uk >

Cc: janedabah1 < janedabah1@gmail.com >

Sent: Thu, Aug 11, 2016 2:31 pm

Subject: INHERITANCE FUND RELEASE TRANSFER







WELCOME TO THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC UNITED KINGDOM. MAKE IT HAPPEN . FIND OUT HOW INGENUITY

CAN HELP YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN HERE. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND .

36 ST ANDREW SQUARE

EDINBURGH EH2 2YE, UK.

MR, ROSS MAXWELL MCEWAN. FOREIGN REMITTANCE MANAGER SCOTLAND . FREEPOST :P O BOX 1527 Tel: +44 7 9 7 - 4 6 89 - 2 1 1

Tel: +44 207-6073-200

Fax: +44(0 ) 1 5 3 4 6 29 6 0 0 royalbanktransferdescotland@yahoo.co.uk



REF 035 11 /08/2016 - janedabah1@gmail.com

INHERITANCE FUND RELEASE TRANSFER



ATTENTION SIR./MADAM.



WE WRITE TO ACKNOWLEDGE OF YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE THROUGH MISS JANE JONATHAN DABAH : janedabah1@gmail.com TO OUR BANK MANAGEMENT REQUESTING THAT WE SHOULD RELEASE AND TRANSFER JONATHAN DABAH FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. DR MR JONATHAN DABAH FUND REMAIN OUR DECEASED CUSTOMER .



THOUGH WE HAVE RECEIVE INSTRUCTION FROM HIS DAUGHTER BY NAME MISS JANE DABAH TO TRANSFER HER LATE FATHER FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT WITH AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN YOU AND HER. IN VIEW OF THE ABOVE REFERENCE,I WRITE TO CONFIRM TO YOU THAT THE ACCOUNT DEPOSITED BY OUR LATE CLIENT, DR JONATHAN DABAH IS INTACT IN OUR BANK SECURITY VAULT. WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT BEFORE WE CAN BE ABLE TO DO AS YOU REQUESTED,OUR MANAGEMENT MUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE THE REAL PERSON DIRECTED BY MISS JANE DABAH.



THOUGH SHE HAS ALREADY INFORMED US ABOUT YOU.WE SHALL INVESTIGATE YOUR CLAIMS AS HER REAL TRUSTEE BEFORE CONSIDERING ANY RELEASE OF FUND, HENCE IT WILL BE VERY REGRETABLE TO MAKE SUCH RELEASE WITHOUT PROPER AUTHENTICITY. AT THIS MOMENT WE REQUESTED YOU OBTAIN

AFFI DAVIT OF CLAIM FROM SENEGAL HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE (SINCE THE YOUNG LADY IS CURRENTLY RESIDING IN SENEGAL) TO ENABLE US START PROCESSING THE TRANSFER RELEASE OF YOUR PARTNERS FUND MISS JANE DABAH'S LATE FATHERS FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.



ALSO YOU ARE THEREBY TO FORWARD THE DEATH CERTIFICATE OF LATE DR JONATHAN DABAH AND THE STATEMENT OF HIS ACCOUNT OF THE SAID FUND THAT WAS IN OUR BANK CUSTODY JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT FUNDS ARE NOT RELEASED/ TRANSFERRED TO THE WRONG PERSON.AND YOU ARE ALSO ADVICE TO SEND US THIS VITAL INFORMATION AND SEND IT TO OUR BANK MANAGEMENT FOR US TO BE

SURE OF WHOM YOU ARE.BESIDE YOU ARE ADVICE TO SEND THE FOUR DOCUMENT IMMEDIATELY AND INCLUDES ALL YOUR INFORMATION,



YOUR FULL NAME.



YOUR ADDRESS.



TELEPHONE.



YOUR AGE .



YOUR OCCUPATION.



COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.



IF YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU ARE THE ONE INSTRUCTED BY MISS JANE DABAH THAT YOU ARE THE REALLY BENEFICIARY/NEXT OF KIN TO OUR LATE CUSTOMER LATE DR JONATHAN DABAH;YOU ARE ADVICE TO CONTACT A LAWYER IN SENEGAL TO GET THE AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM DOCUMENT TO ENABLE US START PROCESSING THE TRANSFER RELEASE OF YOUR PARTNER FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.WE ARE SORRY FOR ALL INCONVENIENCES THIS MIGHT CAUSE YOU

AS THAT. IS OUR BANK MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT FUNDS ARE NOT RELEASED /AND TRANSFERRED TO THE WRONG PERSON.



IT WILL TAKE US ONLY 48HRS BANK WORKING HOURS TO GET THIS FUND CREDITED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT ( 6.750 million USA dollars )

.AS INSTRUCTED BY MISS JANE DABAH. YOU ARE ADVICE TO SEND US THIS VITAL INFORMATION AND SEND IT TO OUR BANK MANAGEMENT FOR US TO

BE SURE OF WHOM YOU ARE.



(1) THE AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM FROM SENEGAL HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE (SINCE THE YOUNG LADY IS CURRENTLY RESIDING IN SENEGAL)



(2) YOU ARE THEREBY TO FORWARD THE DEATH CERTIFICATE OF LATE DR JONATHAN DABAH



(3) THE STATEMENT OF HIS ACCOUNT OF THE SAID FUND THAT WAS IN OUR BANK CUSTODY JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT FUNDS ARE NOT RELEASED/ TRANSFERRED TO THE WRONG PERSON.



(4) A POWER OF ATTORNEY PERMITTING YOU TO CLAIM AND OR TRANSFER THE SAID FUNDS INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IN ANY PLACE ON HER BEHALF.



PLEASE NOTE:THIS POWER OF ATTORNEY MUST BE ENDORSED BY A QUALIFIED SENEGALESE RESIDENT LAWYER SINCE THE YOUNG LADY IS CURRENTLY RESIDING IN SENEGAL



TREAT THIS MESSAGE AS VERY URGENT AND GET BACK TO US

IMMEDIATELY WITH THESE FOUR DOCUMENTS.



ALWAYS AT YOUR SERVICE.



MR. ROSS MAXWELL MCEWAN .



SEC TO THE- FOREIGN OPERATIONS DIRECTOR RBS









From: jane dabah <janedabah1@gmail.com>

Sent: Fri, Aug 12, 2016 11:10 am

Subject: INHERITANCE FUND RELEASE TRANSFER



Good Morning,

how are you today i hope that you are in good heath, honey please below

here is the res ponce which i got from the bank and i no that you also

got your own copy from the bank as i do got my own here, then honey

after going through the res ponce from the bank and i went directly to

the Reverend father concerning how to get a Senegalese lawyer here base

on the demand from the bank then to god be the glory that Reverend

father gave me the lawyer contact address he also said that it is a

qualify lawyer here so please darling go through the res ponce very

well so that for those document demanding from the bank then you may now

go on and contact the lawyer for assistance us to get us those document

from the high court as i have also forwarded you the lawyer contact address and

phone number. From: jane dabah < janedabah1@gmail.com >

Sent: Mon, Aug 15, 2016 9:19 pm

Subject: Honey, please contact this lawyer



Hello My Sweet Darling,

How are you today and how is life moving over there? I hope fine.

Thanks for your ability to help me transfer the money to your position pending my arrival to meet with you and l want you to promise me that you will not disappoint me and myself l am promising you that l will not disappoint you as well. honey i can see that they demanded four documents of proof, well the four documents that the bank demanded i have two with me here the death certificate of my late father and deposit statement of account of this money which i will send to you, Honey i would have sent you the death certificate and deposit statement right now but there is no scanning machine here in the camp but i will plead to the reverend sisters to help me and scan it inside the city so that i will send to you soon and the other two called power of attorney and affidavit of claim, it seems that those ones will be obtained from high court of justice and like what they said is lawyer that will bring it from Senegal high court.



l told the Reverend about it and he gave me the contact of this lawyer below, he is a registered lawyer in the United Nations Camp here and he is also a registered member in (Senegalese Bar Association) who will help in preparing the documents for us. Please l will like you to contact him through email and phone today, when you contacting him, tell him that you are my Foreign partner and you want him to get a power of attorney and affidavit of claim from high court here in Dakar senegal and that he will do it in your name to enable the transfer of my (Late) father's account in the bank to your account in your country. His contact is as follows.



Name/ Barrister Creg Imoh.

Equal Right Chambers

00221-769-454-919

imoh.chambers@gmail.com , imoh.chamber@yahoo.com



So, l will like you to contact him for the preparation of the power of attorney and affidavit of claim, Please try and contact me when you are in contact with him and let me know if he agrees to help us!. Please l will like you to first of all get the money transferred and from it you can send some money for me to prepare my documents and when you come here, we can move at the same time.

So, l will like you to contact him for the preparation of the power of attorney and affidavit of claim, Please try and contact me when you are in contact with him and let me know if he agrees to help us!. Please l will like you to first of all get the money transferred and from it you can send some money for me to prepare my documents and when you come here, we can move at the same time. Honey, have a nice time and always think about me, i love you.

Yours Jane,





From: jane dabah < janedabah1@gmail.com >

Sent: Sun, Aug 21, 2016 1:49 pm

Subject: Hello, my love, how you went with the lawyer



Hello My Darling,

How are you today and how is life moving over there? I hope fine.

honey how you went with the lawyer concerning the issue of transferring my late father's money into your account in your country since the bank has agree to make the transfer pending when they hard from any of my foreign partner. So, my love, how you went with the lawyer concerning the issue of the power of attorney and affidavit of claim ?

Yours truly in love

Jane





From: Chambers Imoh < imoh.chambers@gmail.com >

Cc: jane dabah < janedabah1@gmail.com >

Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2016 2:57 pm

Subject: Acceptance of request (CREG IMOH Law Chambers)





EQUAL RIGHT CHAMBERS MEMBER ECOWAS ACCREDITED ATTORNEYS

Rue 48, Laminu Guye Street, Dakar

P. O . Box 28874 Dakar, Senegal + 221 -769-454-919

imoh.chambers@gmail.com

imoh.chamber@yahoo.com



LEGAL REPRESENTATION



KIND ATTN, SIR,

SEQUEL TO THE EMAIL WHICH I RECEIVED IN MY NOBLE LAW FIRM AND THE DISCUSSION I HAD WITH YOUR PARTNER MISS JANE DABAH ON HOW TO PREPARE AN AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT AND A POWER OF ATTORNEY IN YOUR NAME FOR YOU TO STAND ON BEHALF OF YOUR PARTNER AND TRANSFER SOME MONEY FROM THE BANK TO YOUR ACCOUNT. MY NOBLE LAW FIRM WISH TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT BEFORE WE CAN PROCEED WITH THIS SERVICES WE WILL WANT YOU TO FORWARD TO THIS LAW CHAMBER IMMEDIATELY YOUR FULL CONTACT DETAILS SUCH AS. .

YOUR FULL NAME. . . . . . . . .

YOUR ADDRESS. . . . . . . . . .

YOUR OCCUPATION. . . . . . . . .

YOUR DATE OF BIRTH. . . . . . . . . . . .

AND YOUR PHONE NUMBERS. . . . . . . . . .

AND OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR ON THE POWER OF ATTORNEY AND THE AFFIDAVIT OF OATH )SO THAT FIRSTLY, I WILL GO TO THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT HERE TO ASCERTAIN THE COST OF THE AUTHENTICATION OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY AND THE AFFIDAVIT OF OATH BEFORE IT BECOMES VALID FOR THE TRANSFER OF THE MONEY TO YOUR ACCOUNT. AFTER WHICH MY LAW FIRM WILL CONTACT YOU BACK WITH THE REQUIRED COSTS BEFORE ACCEPTING TO RENDER THE REQUIRED LEGAL SERVICES. THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.

BARRISTER, CREG IMOH (ESQ)

MEMBER ECOWAS ACCREDITED ATTORNEYS.

+221-769-454-919



















From: Barrister Luisian Alfredo < barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com >

Sent: Mon, Sep 12, 2016 5:29 pm

Subject: To follow the legal procedures



LEGAL PRACTITIONER & ATTORNEYS of Jane Dabah

SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC of SENEGAL. BAR . DR . LUISIAN ALFREDO CHAMBERS.

LEGAL PRACTITIONER, SOLICITOR &

CO-OPERATE CONSULTANT

GRAND YOFF LANE , B.P.4077, DAKAR, SENEGAL



+221-774616820 luisianalfredo@yahoo.com , barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com





The requested informations concerning your case is now understood after a proper discussion and proceedings with the Management of AMRO CAPITAL BANK,LONDON UNITED KINGDOM, in accordance to my email to you this day, prompting my details. We are in receipt waiting for your almost response to my law chamber which must fully be documented. You are requested to act on the informations below to enable me complete your requested demand within the specific time.



The documents you requested from my law chambers will be registered by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Tribunal in accordance to the stipulated legal standard in Senegal, before it could have a legal recognitions and acceptance to any legal or financial institution or Trust companies/Banks like the one you are directing it to. Due to the volume of the money to be transferred i will want you to allow the transaction to follow the legal procedures. To avoid any irregularities with the International Monetary Unit.



As we have said earlier the Power of Attorney is the principal legal document empowering you with the ownership status, there by transferring the legal identity to you in accordance to the country's law were the said fund is presently located in AMRO CAPITAL BANK, LONDON UNITED KINGDOM.



this legal documents will have your complete names and addresses. Confirm your personal informations

strictly again and get back to me via my telephone. This documents takes about 3 official days to get out from the ministry of Justice here in Dakar Senegal. So you must be very urgent in your reply.



CONFIRM ADDRESS PLEASE :

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

CODE

COUNTRY

TELEPHONE:

YOUR BANK DETAILS

NAME

NAME BANK

ADDRESS BANK

NUMBER ACCOUNT SWIFT CODE



The following is the cost analysis.

Cost services for that volume of parcel within 3 working days by



UPS, DHL, EMS

postal services to you above address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . A350.00 British Pound



Legalization of documents and National . .license. . . . . . . A450.00 British Pound



Registration/Stamping by the ministry of justice. . . . . . . .A120.00 British Pound



Authorization and translations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A430.00 British Pound

Transportation's. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A150.00 British Pound



Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 707.777

.00.British Pound, GBP = a $1, 000.USDollar, USD. =a 575,503

,CFA Franc. XOF.



The method of payment will allow in this law firm is through the western union money transfer bank/money gram transfer agent and if your country does not allow the transfer of money outside the country using the western union money transfer bank/money gram transfer agent you can go to any of the neighbouring country around to effect your payment from there to our reputable law chambers. Remember to send us your payment informations as soon as payment transfer is effected



We therefore advise you to remit a total amount of A 707.777 .00.British Pound, GBP = a $1,000.USDollar, USD. =a 575,503 ,CFA Franc. XOF. to my law chamber. through Western Union Money Transfer Bank or Money Gram Transfer Agent, Dakar-Senegal with the names of my Executive Secretary - PAUL GABRIEL You can send the fund with this names - PAUL GABRIEL via Western Union Money Transfer Bank/Money Gram transfer Agent and furnish me with the transfer information' that is INFORMATIONS



Western Union / Money Gram Transfer to :

Receiver's Name: - PAUL GABRIEL.

Country :- Dakar,Senegal



When you have completed the transaction, please call me on phone +221-774616820



luisianalfredo@yahoo.com , barristerluisianalfredo @gmail.com <barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com> and <barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com> provide us with the following informations :

Your/Sender's First Name. . . . . . . .?

Second Name: . . . . . . . . . . .?

Sender's Country . . . . . . . . ?

Destination o f Payments. . . .?

Transfer Reference Number or MTCN Num . . . . . .?



And the Money Transfer Control Reference Number[MTCN Num] (Ask your bank employee for Reference number after you have completed and signed the money transfer form).



Ensure you Inform me by via my mail or phone :+221-774616820



]. As soon as the fund is effected using the western union money transfer bank or money gram transfer agent ,I will proceed to do the needful. In few days you will be receiving all the original documents including detail instructions as soon as payments are made .This is an important case you must stick to all my advise for a positive conclusive end. My legal strenght is a plus. I believe my services will meet your legal demand. Please you may wish to call me if you need any clarifications. I believe this job should be started by earlier for a positive result.



Note: all payment will be duly receipted.



Felicitations

Barrister Luisian Alfredo (sas) + 221 -774616820









From: jane dabah <janedabah1@gmail.com>

Sent: Thu, Sep 15, 2016 9:45 pm

Subject: ACCEPTANCE OF REQUEST (CREG IMOH LAW CHAMBERS)

Good evening,

how are you today ? i hope that you are in good heath, honey please below here is the respond which i got from the lawyer and i know that you also

got your own copy from the lawyer as i do got my own here, then honey after going through the res ponce from the lawyer i no that he needed your for the preparation of those documents needed from the bank, so please if you have not send your informations to the lawyer, you send it to him now so that he can help us to get the documents for us OK ? Yours in love, Jane From: Barrister Luisian Alfredo < barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com >

Sent: Thu, Sep 15, 2016 11:42 pm

Subject: Cost services for that volume of parcel : $1,000



LEGAL PRACTITIONER & ATTORNEYS OF

SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE, FEDERAL

REPUBLIC DU SENEGAL.BAR

(DR) LUISIAN ALFREDO CHAMBERS.

LEGAL PRACTITIONER, SOLICITOR &

CO-OPERATE CONSULTANT

ADDRESS: GRAND YOFF LANE , B.P.4077, DAKAR SENEGAL

+221-774616820





The requested informations concerning your case is now understood after a proper discussion and proceedings with the Management of AMRO CAPITAL BANK, LONDON UNITED KINGDOM ,in accordance to my email to you this day, prompting my details. We are in receipt waiting for your almost response to my law chamber which must fully be documented. You are requested to act on the informations below to enable me complete your requested demand within the specific time.



The documents you requested from my law chambers will be registered by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Tribunal in accordance to the stipulated legal standard in Senegal, before it could have

a legal recognitions and acceptance to any legal or financial institution or Trust companies/Banks like the one you are directing it to. Due to the volume of the money to be transferred i will want you to allow the transaction to follow the legal procedures. To avoid any irregularities with the International

Monetary Unit.



As we have said earlier the Power of Attorney is the principal legal document empowering you with the ownership status, there by transferring the legal identity to you in accordance to the country's law were the said fund is presently located in AMRO CAPITAL BANK, LONDON UNITED KINGDOM. this legal documents will have your complete names and addresses. Confirm your personal informations strictly again and get back to me via my telephone. This documents takes about 3 official days to get out from the ministry of Justice here in Dakar, Senegal. So you must be very urgent in your reply.



CONFIRM ADDRESS PLEASE:



NAME



ADDRESS



CITY



CODE



COUNTRY



TELEPHONE:



YOUR BANK DETAILS



NAME



NAME BANK



ADDRESS BANK



NUMBER ACCOUNT



SWIFT CODE



The following is the cost analysis.



Cost services for that volume of parcel within 3 working days by UPS, DHL, EMS postal services to you above ddress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A350.00 British Pound

Legalization of documents and National . .license. . . . . . . A450.00 British Pound

Registration/Stamping by the ministry of justice. . . . . . . .A120.00 British Pound

Authorization and translations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A430.00 British Pound

Transportation's. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A150.00 British Pound

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A 707.777 .00.British Pound, GBP = a $1,000.USDollar, USD. =a 575,503 ,CFA Franc. XOF.



The method of payment will allow in this law firm is through the western union money transfer bank / money gram transfer agent and if your country does not allow the transfer of money outside the country using the western union money transfer bank/money gram transfer agent you can go to any of the neighbouring country around to effect your payment from there to our reputable law chambers. Remember to s end us your payment informations as soon as payment transfer is effected. We therefore advise you to remit a total amount of A 707.777 .00.British Pound, GBP = a $1,000.USDollar, USD. =a 575,503 ,CFA Franc. XOF. to my law chamber. through Western Union Money Transfer Bank or Money Gram Transfer Agent, Dakar-Senegal with the names of my Executive Secretary - PAUL GABRIEL. You can send the fund with this names - PAUL GABRIEL via Western Union Money Transfer Bank/Money Gram transfer Agent and furnish me with the transfer informations that are INFORMATIONS : Western Union / Money Gram Transfer to :



Receiver's Name: - PAUL GABRIEL

Country :- Dakar, Senegal



When you have completed the transaction, please call me on phone[OFFICE TELEPHONE No: + 221-774616820



luisianalfredo@yahoo.com barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com and provide us with the following informations:

Your/Sender's First

Name. . . . . . . .?

Second Name: . . . . . . . . . . .?

Sender's Country . . . . . . . . ?

Destination Of Payments. . . .?

Transfer Reference Number or MTCN Num . . . . . .?



And the Money Transfer Control

Reference Number[MTCN Num] (Ask your bank employee for Reference number after

you have completed and signed the money transfer form). Ensure you Inform me by via my mail or

phone[OFFICE TELEPHONE No: + 221-774616820



]. As soon as the fund is effected using the western union money transfer bank or money gram transfer agent ,I will proceed to do the needful. In few days you will be receiving all the original documents including detail instructions as soon as payments are made .This is an important case you must stick to all my advise for a positive conclusive end. My legal strenght is a plus. I believe my services will meet your legal demand. Please you may wish to call me if you need any clarifications. I believe this job should be started by earlier for a positive result. Note all payment will be duly receipted.



Felicitations

Barrister Luisian Alfredo (sas)









From: Barrister Luisian Alfredo < barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com >

Sent: Tue, Sep 27, 2016 2:41 pm

Subject: Furnish me the transfer informations



LEGAL PRACTITIONER & ATTORNEYS OF SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE,FEDERAL REPUBLIC DU SENEGAL.BAR (DR) LUISIAN ALFREDO CHAMBERS.

LEGAL PRACTITIONER, SOLICITOR & CO-OPERATE CONSULTANT

ADDRESS: GRAND YOFF LANE, B.P.4077, DAKAR SENEGAL.

luisianalfredo@ yahoo.com <yahoo.combarristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com> barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com

+ 221.781017043 .







You can Send the Fund with my Secretary Names - PAUL GABRIELvia The Western Union Money Transfer Bank or Money Gram Transfer Agent and Furnish met he t ransfer in formations that is



INFORMATIONS



Western Union Money Transfer Bank/Money Gram Transfer Agent To :

Receiver' Name: - PAUL GABRIEL

Receivers Country :- Dakar Senegal



When you have completed the Transaction, please e-mail m e barristerluisianalfredo@gmail.com luisianalfredo@yahoo.com



Provide us with the following Information :



Your/Sender's First Name. . . . . . . .?



Second Name: . . . . . . . . . . .?



Sender's Country . . . . . . . . ?



Question and Answer. . . .?



Money Tranefr Control Number[MTCN Number]. . . . . ?



And The Money Transfer Control Number (Ask your Bank Employee for the Money Transfer Control Number after you have completed and Signed The Western Union Money Transfer form).



Thanks,

Felicitations

Barrister Luisian Alfredo (sas)













From: Chambers Imoh < imoh.chambers@gmail.com >

Sent: Fri, Oct 7, 2016 12:15 am

Subject: LEGAL REPRESENTATION





EQUAL RIGHT CHAMBERS. MEMBER ECOWAS ACCREDITED ATTORNEYS

Rue 48, Laminu Guye Street, Dakar,

P. O . Box 28874 Dakar Senegal.

Tel: + 00221-769-454-919

imoh.chambers@gmail.com <Email%3A.imoh.chambers@gmail.com>

imoh.chamber@yahoo.com







LEGAL REPRESENTATION about : janedabah1@gmail.com KIND ATTN SIR,



SEQUEL TO THE EMAIL WHICH I RECEIVED IN MY NOBLE LAW FIRM AND THE DISCUSSION I HAD WITH YOUR PARTNER MISS JANE DABAH ON HOW TO PREPARE AN AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT AND A POWER OF ATTORNEY IN YOUR NAME FOR YOU TO STAND ON BEHALF OF YOUR PARTNER AND TRANSFER SOME MONEY FROM THE BANK TO YOUR ACCOUNT. MY NOBLE LAW FIRM WISH TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT BEFORE WE CAN PROCEED WITH THIS SERVICES WE WILL WANT YOU TO FORWARD TO THIS LAW CHAMBER IMMEDIATELY YOUR FULL CONTACT DETAILS SUCH AS,



YOUR FULL NAME. . . . . . . . .

YOUR ADDRESS. . . . . . . . . .

YOUR OCCUPATION. . . . . . . . .

YOUR DATE OF BIRTH. . . . . . . . . . . .

AND YOUR PHONE NUMBERS. . . . . . . . . .











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As Sandi wanted, the blog continues. If you would like to make a donation of support, you can do so at the links below. Most of the donated funds go to the purchase of medical supplies and covering my medical bills. Some goes to the purchase of various reading materials which are eventually read and reviewed here.
The police have asked Forum for Democratic change to call off its independence week activities.

This follows a letter from the party to the police notifying them of plans to conduct a number of assemblies and processions starting today through to Sunday.

However in the latest response, the police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kawesi has asked the party to desist from holding any assemblies and celebrations parallel to the national celebrations set for Sunday.

In a letter to the party dated 6th October Kawesi says the motives of these activities seem unclear and would undermine the security and success of the national celebrations.

He advises FDC party to attend the national celebrations to be held in Luuka further cautioning members of the public to avoid any parallel celebrations conducted outside the national celebrations.

Government earlier this week had equally sounded a warning to the FDC against holding parallel independence celebrations.

The FDC party spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda earlier said they planned to hold a public lecture on Ugandas journey to democratization and to highlight what he describes as extravagant expenditure by government institutions and seeking solutions to the problems affecting the country.

The Opposition plans to hold Independence Day celebrations at Kira Municipality in Wakiso District today, another rally in Kawempe on October 8 and a national rally in Katwe on Independence Day on Sunday to renew what they termed their energy in the fight for good governance in this country.
U.S. Army equipment officials are ramping up their extreme-weather testing to update the services cold and hot weather gear.

Since the early 2000s, the Army has been focused primarily on the Middle East, gearing all equipment needs toward operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now its much more likely that soldiers will find themselves fighting in jungle and cold-weather environments, equipment officials maintain.

Earlier this week, the Army put out a call to industry for a new style Jungle Combat Boot in an effort to equip two infantry brigade combat teams by late next year.

The Army is also trying to update its selection of cold-weather boots and gloves.

Several years ago, the service approved the Gen III Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System, or ECWCS. The seven-level system offers options from base layers to an extreme cold jacket and pants featuring man-made high loft insulation. The system is designed to go down to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

The biggest challenge is the industrial base; they werent focused on cold weather, especially where we needed it, Col. Dean Hoffman IV, who manages Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, said Wednesday at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting.

How many people in this room are going to need a negative 63-degree boot? There is not a strong market for that, but we might have the need to have the ability to fight in that environment.

The Army still uses the extreme cold weather trigger finger mitten gloves, but they are 1950s technology; they work great but what can we do to improve that quality?

The challenge with the extreme cold weather gear is we only have a few months out of the year that we can test it with soldiers at Fort Drum, New York and Alaska, said Col. Travis Thompson, director of the Soldier Division at the Armys Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia.

The service began looking for a new cold-weather boot last winter to replace the outdated, Extreme Cold Weather Boot, or ECWB.

We said hey we need to try to everything we can to speed this up, and the manufacture couldnt make it fast enough to be able to do the test last winter, so we are not actually going to get to do it for the next few months, Thompson said.

The Army is also looking at the cold-weather testing being done by countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Canada to see what type of gear they are buying, Hoffman said.
South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it is keeping close tabs on North Korea's military movements, amid speculation that Pyongyang would engage in yet another provocation to mark a set of anniversary events slated for next week.

Seoul officials and North Korea experts have warned of the possibility that the communist regime could conduct another nuclear test or test-fire a long-range ballistic missile to mark the 10th anniversary of its first nuke test on Sunday and the 71th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party on Monday.

"(We) are closely watching North Korea's (military) movements," a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters, declining to be identified.

A source said that the South Korean government has been keeping its quasi-state emergency posture, which President Park Geun-hye called for after the North's fifth and most powerful nuclear blast on Sept. 9. (Yonhap)

q
AUBURN  After 24 years of battling drug traffic in northeast Indiana, the IMAGE Drug Task Force has dissolved.

For most of its existence, the Indiana Multi-Agency Group Enforcement Drug Task Force combined the efforts of the Auburn and Kendallville police departments and the sheriffs departments of DeKalb, Noble and Steuben counties.

By this fall, only Auburn remained, as the other partners had dropped out for a variety of reasons.

We were the last one in IMAGE. Everybody else left, Auburn Police Chief Martin D. McCoy said Wednesday.

In response to the situation, Auburn reacted this week by forming the Auburn Police Narcotic Enforcement Team, which was approved by its city council.

We feel it is very important that we continue our undercover drug enforcement, McCoy said. Well be concentrating on DeKalb County specifically.

The Noble and Steuben sheriffs departments have switched to working with a federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force based in Fort Wayne, which they believe will be more effective in the future.

The Auburn Police Department started the IMAGE task force in 1992, McCoy said. Ever since then, Auburn had assigned a full-time officer to work as an undercover drug investigator for IMAGE. Other police agencies did the same.

IMAGE has taken millions of dollars of drugs off the streets. Theyve always been successful since inception, McCoy said.

But new sentencing laws and better funding options began to make IMAGE seem less attractive.

Its certainly sad to see the end of IMAGE, Steuben County Sheriff Tim R. Troyer said in a written response.

We had many meetings to discuss its fate. It all boiled down to best use of resources. Many of us were/are struggling with manpower issues and could not immediately assign an operator for undercover work, Troyer said.

What we got with the DEA, the reimbursement to the county is a lot more, said Chief Deputy Chad Willett of the Noble County Sheriffs Department. The feds will pick up the officers overtime for the details hes on. We also share in a seizures. We do a sharing on the civil asset forfeiture. Its not that were making money out of it, but they reimburse us for expenses and stuff.

At the end of 2012, Troyer said, he became the first local police administrator to assign an undercover operator to the DEA task force.

What I saw was the ability to reach into area of narcotics problems that we could not do at the street level or IMAGE level, Troyer said. At the time we were facing a huge K2/spice problem that was growing in the tri-state area at an alarming rate. IMAGE was not equipped for this type investigation without federal assistance.

After assigning an officer to the DEA task force, Troyer said, Within four months, that operator along with other agents shut down one of the largest K2/spice operating business in Indiana/Ohio and Michigan.

Not only did we seize over 100 pounds of K2/spice (thousands of packets), with DEA and IRS assistance, we seized assets, too. This type of thorough investigation shuts the flood down considerably. Many folks here in Steuben County and Angola were thrilled that we finally were able to get to the point of shutting it and its problems down. Without the assignment of an operator in the DEA task force, this likely would have grown to out-of-control proportions.

With the DEA option, Troyer said, My vision was to have an operator in DEA and another in IMAGE at the street level. That worked for a couple years with great communications and investigations between the two.

But a new factor arrived to undercut the effectiveness of IMAGE, Troyer and McCoy said.

Sentence reform then came through the Legislature, which made many of us closely examine our current techniques for narcotics enforcement, Troyer said.

IMAGE built its drug investigations by using confidential informants  convicted drug offenders who gave police tips about drug traffic in return for reduced punishment.

When sentence reform came into the picture, it changed everything, Troyer said. Community corrections program also harmed our ability. Many of the offenders were out of jail before the paperwork could be completed. The remaining knew they would likely get community corrections, so why give up any information? IMAGEs informant base dwindled, and without informants it is extremely difficult to investigate crimes of this nature.

With lighter sentences for drug offenders, McCoy said, Theyd rather be convicted and take their sentences than work with police. Its been harder to develop confidential informants.

In contrast to Indianas new sentencing laws, Troyer said, DEA and the federal system still has strong drug penalties with a good informant rate and could still attack the importation of the drugs in a much more efficient manner.

Even as enforcement strategies change, the illegal drug landscape is evolving again.

We think heroins going to be our next big problem, McCoy said. Were seeing it. Were still battling spice as well. Meths still around. Its not as prevalent as it once was, but its still a problem.

A new state law restricting the availability of pseudoephedrine cold medications  a key ingredient in illegal methamphetamine  already is beginning to show results in reducing meth traffic, McCoy said.

By contrast, heroin may be a little cheaper than meth for drug users, he added.

While northeast Indiana has not seen the plague of heroin overdoses affecting other parts of the state, I have a feeling its probably coming, McCoy said.

I think its probably in its infancy here in our county, McCoy said about heroin, which his officers already have purchased through undercover operations. Our hope is we can continue to be proactive through undercover enforcement and keep it out of our community.

But making undercover drug buys will become more difficult for the new Auburn Police Narcotic Enforcement Team.

At its height, IMAGE was spending $20,000 per year on drug buys. As a multi-jurisdictional effort, IMAGE was eligible for state grants. Auburns solo effort is not. The new APNET may have to conduct fundraisers to support its work, McCoy said.

Whatever it takes, McCoy said, his department will keep fighting drug traffic.

Its very important, he said, and were not going to drop that part of our enforcement.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  Derrick Sanders was never one to hang out with cops.

Far from it.

The 31-year-old says his instinct was to run when a squad car pulled up.

He has a recent drug conviction, but Sanders fears stemmed from his East Side childhood when cops often stopped him, he said.

I was just targeted; I wasnt doing anything, just walking down the street, Sanders recalled. They thought I was in a gang but I wasnt.

After more than a dozen stops, hed just run out of fear.

But things changed in the past couple of weeks.

Sanders and three other young black men spent a weekend in the nations capital with some St. Paul officers, visiting the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The African-American men, all with criminal convictions  from selling marijuana to accidentally killing a friend  are a part of Circle of Peace Movement, which helped them turn their lives around.

For the officers and the men from Circle of Peace, the trip was a transformational experience, a chance to understand the roots of modern day racial tensions and conflicts that seem to surface daily between the police and people of color.

The museum laid out 400 years of black history  from the Middle Passage to the March on Washington to Michael Jordan.

It was a range of emotions  from guilt to shame to sadness to laughter, said St. Paul Deputy Chief Paul Iovino, and just really understanding the true story of what the contributions of African-Americans have meant to this country and why its so much richer as a result.

Iovino, whos white, said the exhibits on the 1950s and 60s were especially revealing for a veteran cop and get to the heart of the tensions that persist to this day between police and communities of color.

Last year a contingent from the police department that included Iovino went to Selma, Ala., for the 50th anniversary of Selmas Bloody Sunday March. Iovino said the trip was a follow-up to last years.

It is about understanding the black experience and the African-American community and also what role law enforcement has played during some of those moments, and certainly during the civil rights movement, he added.

Iovino organized the trip with the Circle of Peace Movement, a six-year-old program that tries to  among other things  help bridge the gulf between police and African-Americans. Sanders and the three other men are part of the group.

It took a while to build trust, but officers eventually became regulars at the organizations weekly discussions, said Circle of Peace Movement founder and community activist Russel Balenger.

From the first day the Circle of Peace Movement met, he said, I started saying to the people in the room that we need to invite in the police and we needed a different relationship with the police.

Six years later, the group decided to travel together to Washington. The St. Paul Police Department got a grant from the Bremer Trust to pay for the flight.

For everyone who went, the most emotional part was seeing artifacts recovered from a Portuguese slave ship that sank in 1794.

That exhibit, in particular, brought a new and visceral understanding of his ancestors suffering, Sanders said.

Everybody was in tears, he recalled. There was a lady behind me in tears, I was telling her, Its all right, and then I started tearing up. 

Shannon Deidrick, a white officer with two years on the force, said it was eye opening.

All the horrific stories, all the chains  seeing all this untold history that you werent really told about in history class, I dont think there are any words that can express those moments you experience going through that museum, Deidrick said.

The group also visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which lists the more than 20,000 officers who died on the job since 1791.

For 21-year-old Joseph Martin, another African-American man who went on the trip, learning about police who made the ultimate sacrifice was also a profound experience.

Seeing all those names, he said, you have no choice but to understand that everybodys a human being so knowing that they leave their house, they can get killed in the line of duty.

The group went to the memorial on a quest: They looked for the 32 St. Paul officers honored there including James Sackett, a white policeman ambushed in 1970. Two men with ties to black militants were convicted of his murder just a decade ago.

Visiting the African-American museum and the police memorial was enlightening for everybody, said Randy Axtell, a second-year officer and the son of St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell.

Axtell said the trip has changed the way he approaches his job, giving him a greater sense of empathy for everyone in the community he took an oath to serve.

We had an opportunity, he added, for both sides to have a perspective on where we came from and the struggles we deal with today and have dealt with in the past in our lives and history.

Iovino said members of both groups will continue to build their newfound relationships at Circle of Peace meetings. He also referred to the trip as the first annual.

The trip changed hearts and minds, Iovino said, adding, we hope to duplicate it many, many times.
A Georgia man faces an intentional homicide charge in the Wednesday death of his girlfriend in the Crawford County town of Bridgeport.

Authorities found Linda Kline, 53, dead outside her house on Velvet Lane about 12:20 a.m., according to the Crawford County Sheriffs Department. Her sister and boyfriend Jimmy McDaniel, 48, also were at the house.

Police arrested McDaniel Thursday at a Prairie du Chien hotel while he was waiting for a ride to the La Crosse Regional Airport for a flight back to Georgia, according to the department.
Central High School closed at 9:30 a.m. Friday and the evenings homecoming game was postponed after the La Crosse School District received an online threat.

District officials confirmed late Friday afternoon the threat was in the vein of recent creepy clown sightings and hoaxes  including one earlier this week in La Crosse. The La Crosse Police Department was also involved in the investigation.

The Tribune was provided a screenshot of Facebook posts by Billy Thaclown that threatened gun violence at Central and at tonights homecoming football game against Onalaska. The posts and profile appear to have been removed from the site.

School buses were used to take students home after the early dismissal. A teacher departing Central Friday afternoon said most of the students were out of the school by 10 a.m.

The parking lots at the school were empty, and no one was in the office, the teacher said. District administrators were huddled in closed-door meetings for much of the day at Hogan Administrative Center as they dealt with the situation.

Every threat has to be taken seriously, district Safety Coordinator Jason Showen said. The most important part of the districts work is gathering information in order to determine just how far to escalate the response in relation to how specific and likely a threat is.

It is hard to balance. It truly is, he said. School districts struggle with it across the nation.

Fridays football game against Onalaska was rescheduled to 4:30 p.m. today at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The Central homecoming dance, scheduled for this evening, will go on as scheduled.

Showen said the district will work with the city and the university on extra security for the football game. There were also discussions of increased staffing for the dance.

Students missed out on Fridays homecoming activities, including an all-school lunch, homecoming parade and a pep assembly before what should have been the big game. There was a lot of disappointment, Central Activities Director Joe Beran said, over losing what was an important day for a lot of students and staff.

The actions of a few selfish idiots made it really hard for a lot of great student-athletes, he said.

La Crosse police declined to provide any information about the incident, referring inquiries to the school district. District officials referred inquiries to the police department.

Clown sightings started earlier this week after UW-L Police received several reports of clowns on campus Monday. So far, none of those reports has been actionable, Chief Scott McCullough said, but one incident in the residence halls did result in intervention from UW-L officials after two students were caught pulling pranks with a clown mask.

Viterbo University safety officers have also received reports of people dressed as clowns near campus and released a safety alert reminding students about the safe walk escort program and tips on how to be safe when walking at night. La Crosse police have also begun receiving reports about clowns, beginning Thursday night.

The clown craze started around the end of August, with school districts around the nation closing as the result of threats of violence from clowns. The incidents took off on social media as people have created fake online clown profiles to threaten violence or post photos supposedly taken of creepy or evil clowns lurking in the woods or near residences.

The incidents have resulted in tragedy in some cases, as people in clown costumes have been assaulted. In one case, a teenager wearing a clown mask in Pennsylvania was stabbed and killed by another man, and a number of people have been arrested for making terroristic threats online by posing as clowns, including a teen who was arrested this week after making clown-related threats to shoot up Milwaukee high schools, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

On Twitter Friday, a number of La Crosse residents vented their frustration with the clown craze and also threatened violence if they came upon any clowns in town. In an article in Time, one longtime clown, Jordan Jones of Pennsylvania, has joined a growing Clown Lives Matter movement in response to the hatred.

This is very serious for me, he told the magazine. I put a lot of time and effort into this. Its not a game anymore  I think its cruel. I think its a sickness.

UW-L sociology professor Lisa Kruse focuses on the use of social media in her research. Social media keeps people disconnected she said, making it easier for people to make threats, especially if they can do so anonymously.

Social media can also inspire others to latch onto a fad, she said, as the platforms spread information very quickly and to a large number of people. A lot of students and young adults use social media as their primary means of gathering information, which can fuel the spread of phenomenon like this, but Kruse also cautioned that many people also see these stories and dont act on them.

When people have anonymity, they are more likely to say things they wouldnt normally say in person, she said. They dont see the immediate reactions to their words.
SPARTA  A Sparta School District art teacher has received the highest honor from the Council of Art Education for her work as the chairwoman of the Wisconsin Youth Art Month program.

Tiffany Beltz, a teacher at Maplewood and Southside Elementary schools, received the Claire Flanagan Memorial Award. Beltz led the annual art month program from 2014 to 2016 and is president-elect of the Wisconsin Art Education Association.

Awards will be presented to the recipients March 2-4 at the 2017 National Art Education Association Convention in New York. Sponsored nationally by The Council for Art Education, Youth Art Month is an annual observance, typically in March, designed to emphasize the value of art education for all youth and to encourage support for quality school art programs.

Wisconsins Youth Art Month celebration, held annually in the capitol rotunda, is an outstanding event and a model for other state celebrations, John Hendricks, Sparta Area School District superintendent, said. Ms. Beltzs leadership, hard work and organizational skills make her a very deserving recipient.
The following editorial appeared in Thursdays Star Tribune:

The vice presidential debate was a painful exercise in the triumph of style over substance that should trouble every American voter.

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was declared the winner by numerous pundits and journalists, primarily on style points. It was enough for them, apparently, that Pence looked presidential  whatever that means  and was not rattled by a steady stream of attacks from Democratic rival Tim Kaine.

But that is precisely what was so unnerving about Pences performance. When Kaine repeated well-known statements by Donald Trump about women as pigs, dogs and worse and about Mexicans and Muslims, Pence waved them off as nonsense or just plain wrong, shaking his head repeatedly for effect. This even though Kaines assertions are easily proven, because Trump has said them in public settings. The fact-checking site PolitiFact looked at 32 statements by Kaine and Pence throughout the 90-minute debate. It determined that Kaine was truthful 79 percent of the time. Pences rating was an abysmal 31 percent.

Kaine was without doubt clumsy and slow-footed in his initial debate outing. He came armed with facts, but appeared overrehearsed, sometimes overstated his claims and lacked the artful polish of Pence, who has years as a radio and TV talk show host under his belt. Trump, too, has benefited from a finely honed theatrical sense gained from more than a decade as a network television star.

But the content of ones words must matter at least as much as how they are said. No democracy can thrive where its citizens are so easily duped by theatrics, unwilling to probe beyond a facile surface.

Pence provided a measure of comfort for uneasy Trump supporters and perhaps for undecideds. He was calm and measured, and he is steeped in Republican ideology on fiscal and social issues. He comes across as what he is  a small-government conservative, through and through. But Pence clearly communicated something else  he was there less as Trumps defender than as someone who badly wants to be able to pick up the pieces once this is over and emerge as a contender in 2020.

In a deft skewering of his would-be boss, Pence responded to one attack on Trump by saying, with a completely straight face: Hes not a politician like you and Hillary Clinton and so things dont always come out the way he means. Thus does a skilled politician put the knife in his opponent and his running mate in one stroke.

Notably, at several points in the debate Pence didnt even attempt to defend Trumps often-offensive statements. That is understandable. He was in the unenviable position of having to stand up for a man who can barely draw a breath without insulting someone. It is easy to see why he often chose to remain silent rather than respond.

The effects of Tuesdays debate wont linger. Well, except perhaps for Pences deathless comment about whipping out that Mexican thing again, which social media has turned into a rallying cry for Hispanics.

What is important as the nation enters the homestretch of one of the most tumultuous elections in modern history is that voters pay close attention to what the candidates say, not just how they say it.
Gabby Giffords didnt take up gun control as a cause when her 2011 shooting was the main story. The holes in gun ownership laws that enabled her shooter to leave her brain damaged and six others dead in a supermarket parking lot near Tucson, Ariz., had not been a focus of her political career. Nor would it be until about a year after the Jan. 8, 2011, attack on her, after another gunman in another state opened fire at an elementary school.

After the Sandy Hook school shootings killed 20 students and six adults in Newtown, Conn., the former congresswoman and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, had seen enough. They co-founded a political action committee called Americans for Responsible Solutions, using their voices to push lawmakers for tighter gun laws.

In Giffords case, the will is stronger than the voice. The 46-year-old understands everything but is only able to call up a few words at a time. Its called aphasia, a memory glitch resulting from trauma to the brain that makes words temporarily unavailable when she needs them.

Children, she explained in a Des Moines, Iowa, interview Monday. So sad.

So her 14-state, six-week bus tour of the country includes a nurse and aides who help her communicate. She does speech therapy sessions via Skype so she can travel and help spur voters to elect candidates who favor common-sense gun control measures.

The tour kicked off last week in Orlando, Fla., site of the deadliest mass shooting America has seen, which claimed 49 lives at the Pulse nightclub in June.

On Monday, the bus pulled up in front of the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, where Giffords was joined by Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate and House and members of the Iowa Legislature who favor gun reforms. But she said only a few public words at the event. Afterwards, I got to spend half an hour with her. We were joined by some of her traveling companions, including Isabelle James, deputy political director of Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Giffords courage, confidence and resoluteness in the face of her limitations are remarkable. She walks with a limp and cannot drive, but she rode 40 miles on her bicycle last year. She misses riding her motorcycle but looks forward to the advent of self-driving cars. And she notes her vocabulary has improved since she was in rehab and could say only what and chicken  over and over.

Had she craved chicken, I asked. No, she replied, making a face. It was just the word that came.

Since Sandy Hook, there have been 1,126 mass shootings in America. But earlier pledges to make guns harder to come by have fallen short as members of Congress or state legislators, funded by the National Rifle Association, block any such measures. In fact, laws like Iowas have gone in the opposite direction. As state Sen. Janet Petersen said in remarks Monday, before the Iowa Legislature passed the shall issue law, there were less than 50,000 gun permits issued. Now there are about a quarter million.

So the campaign aims to go directly to voters.

Giffords and Kelly dont oppose the Second Amendment, James said. They own guns, as does Giffords mother Gloria, who lives on a ranch where they all do target shooting. Not one candidate is talking about taking away anyones right to own a gun, James said in response to an anti-Clinton ad that shows a pajama-clad woman unable to defend herself late at night because she cant own a gun. The campaign is about keeping them out of the hands of people who shouldnt have them through expanded background checks.

Giffords shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, had been diagnosed with a mental illness and showed growing signs of violence, according to James. She says his family knew he shouldnt have a gun, but there was nothing they could do. So the campaign is supporting extreme-risk protection orders, which she says would give families and law enforcement the tools to remove guns from someone whos a risk. Though a mental illness is not sufficient grounds to disarm someone, the campaign says people convicted of domestic abuse, hate crimes or stalking should not be allowed to carry weapons.

Giffords believes public attitudes are more favorable to gun control since her shooting. The gun-safety side is also raising enough money to be competitive with the gun lobby, James said. Yet the awful truth is that 30,000 Americans die each year from gun violence. Every day, eight people under age 20 are killed by guns.

Mass murderers dont look at voter registration cards before they unload. Yet disappointingly, the only people who spoke at the event Monday were Democrats.

I asked Giffords if she still has nightmares about the shooting. Move ahead, she said. Asked how she stays grounded and upbeat, she rattled off a list that included yoga, prayer, medication, Spanish language and French horn lessons. Learning the latter two were New Years resolutions she has kept.

Back in 1993, I interviewed University of Iowa student Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, another shooting survivor. Shed been one of six victims of graduate student Gang Lus shooting rampage in 1991, and the only one who lived. (She has since died).

She suffered a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the neck down. But like Giffords, she showed extraordinary courage and grace. Asked why she didnt feel sorry for herself, Rodolfo-Sioson said: I always compare my situation to the situation of people in other countries like Central America. I had the benefit of a lot of really good medical care that allowed me to go on living and doing the same kind of work.  Im still very privileged living here in the U.S.

Yes, America is extraordinary for its medical and technological advances that keep people alive and able to function; for the equal rights the law requires for people with disabilities (thank you, Sen. Tom Harkin); and for the vibrant, resilient spirit that thrives in so many in spite of their hardships.

But America is backward in this way: Our people are 20 times as likely to be murdered by guns than people in other developed countries.

That has got to stop. This election is a good place to start.
A person of interest was taken into custody Thursday night in connection with an incident earlier in the day in which an officer was shot at while responding to a report of gunfire on the city's Southwest Side, Madison police said.

No one was reported injured in the earlier incident in the 5800 block of Russett Road.

Lt. Lori Chalecki said the male, whose name was not released, was not arrested as a suspect, but was taken in for questioning.

He was detained after a short foot pursuit, Sgt. Michael Alvarez said.

Police blocked pedestrian traffic on the 5800 block of Raymond Road around 8:30 p.m., and the street was closed to vehicles from Whitney Way to Prairie Road.

Officers said SWAT and K-9 units were used when entering the apartment occupied by the person of interest and his family.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Westby to discuss the needs of Americas competitive dairy industry, including market opportunities, as well as additional support that can be offered through federal safety net programs, Tuesday, Oct. 11 at noon.

Vilsack will hold a private roundtable discussion on these topics with area dairy farmers, followed by a press availability at Westby Creamery, a farmer-owned cooperative and producer of dairy food products and hard cheeses that has been in business for more than 113 years.

The U.S. dairy sector is a competitive, innovative, and export-driven industry. Like much of the agriculture sector, however, dairy farmers are standing strong against low commodity prices compounded by drought and other adverse weather conditions, causing dairy revenues to drop 35 percent over the past two years.

In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $11.2 million in financial assistance to producers enrolled in the Dairy Margin Protection Program, the largest payment since the program began in 2014. USDA also announced plans to purchase approximately 11 million pounds of cheese from private inventories to assist food banks and pantries across the nation, while reducing a cheese surplus that is at its highest level in 30 years.

Vilsack will discuss these efforts and release new details on the impact of trade to the dairy industry at the creamery.
The states largest teachers union came out swinging Thursday after the Wisconsin State Journal reported that Assembly Republicans are looking at bringing a new style of school voucher to Wisconsin.

Assembly Republicans are considering a program that would allow Wisconsin parents to pay for K-12 school expenses  including private school tuition, textbooks and tutoring  with a taxpayer-funded stream of money known in other states as Education Savings Accounts.

The subsidies  now being offered in Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee  have been dubbed the next generation of school vouchers, which allow students to use tax money to attend private schools and have been used in Wisconsin since 1991.

Ron Martin, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, said in a statement Thursday after the State Journal published a story about the lawmakers plans, that the programs amount to a back-door scheme to take money away from public school funding.

Education savings accounts literally take money out of our neighborhood public schools and hand it over to subsidize private tuition, with zero accountability, said Martin. Politicians who turn their backs on the public schools that provide all children with opportunity in return for campaign contributions from voucher lobbyists had better be ready to look parents in their communities in the eye in the next election and explain why local public schools are cutting teachers and programs, while tax dollars go unaccounted for through private subsidies.

If lawmakers move forward with creating such a program, it would add another option for Wisconsin parents, who already have a variety of alternatives to their designated public school, including open enrollment to other public schools, voucher-assisted private schools and independent charter schools.

In general, under the subsidies, parents of eligible children  typically students with disabilities, low-income students or those attending schools that dont meet state education standards  receive several thousand dollars from taxpayers to pay educational expenses.

In the states that have such programs, parents either are issued a debit card that accesses the money or are reimbursed for their expenses.

Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, said a starting point might be to offer the programs to families whose income currently makes them qualify for school vouchers  which is 185 percent of the federal poverty level in the statewide voucher program and 300 percent of the federal poverty level in the Milwaukee and Racine programs.

School Choice Wisconsin president Jim Bender said Martins hyperbolic rhetoric shows he doesnt understand how the program might work in Wisconsin.

Given the ability to customize educational programs, public schools could be leaders in innovating new solutions that improve education and attract new revenues in response to the clear, and growing, demand from parents for quality options, said Bender.

A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said lawmakers wont look at the idea in earnest until January, when the new Legislative session begins.

Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, on Thursday also reacted to the State Journal report, saying Republican lawmakers are willing to sell out our public schools in exchange for campaign donations from pro-voucher supporters.
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

Those who habitually put items in their recycling bins that don't belong there are the target of the ordinance amendment, not those who make an occasional, accidental mistake, said Public Works Director Jeff Demers.
Many countries use a public referendum to decide major policy questions. But the results of several recent referenda have been anything but clear and simple.

Governments usually call such votes to let the public have the final say on an issue or policy.

But last Sunday, voters in Colombia rejected a peace deal with the countrys largest rebel group. The deal would have ended over 50 years of conflict between the government and Marxist rebels.

Also last weekend, a referendum in Hungary on immigration left both sides claiming victory. Voters were asked if the European Union could require the country to accept asylum seekers.

Earlier this year, Britains vote to leave the E.U. has seemingly increased, not reduced, divisions in the ruling party.

Colombia peace deal voted down

Colombian voters rejected a peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC.

Colombian officials and FARC representatives negotiated the agreement over four years, mainly in Havana, Cuba. But voters narrowly rejected the deal in a popular vote on October 2.

Fifty-point-two percent of voters said no to the agreement. Earlier, public opinion studies predicted the measure would pass easily.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he is not giving up on the deal with the rebels. Santos spoke on Colombian television after the vote. He accepted the defeat, but did not declare peace efforts dead.

While the president did not win the referendum, he has received international recognition for his efforts.

Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The Nobel committee said it was honoring the president because of his resolute efforts toward peace. It also said the award should be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace.

Colombian officials and FARC negotiators met in Havana this week in an effort to save the peace deal. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent special representative Jean Arnault to Cuba to assist with the talks.

On Wednesday, the Colombian president announced he was extending a ceasefire with the rebels until October 31.

Santos and FARCs leader, known as Timochenko, signed the agreement on September 26. The U.N. Secretary-General attended the signing ceremony. So did a number of Latin American leaders and United States Secretary of State John Kerry.

The agreement would have brought to an end the longest conflict in the Americas which is blamed for more than 220,000 deaths.

Rebels would have been permitted to form a political party in exchange for putting down their weapons.

Hard Brexit, migrant question worries Britains businesses

Last Sunday, British Prime Minister Teresa May said Britain will officially start the process of leaving the European Union next year.

May has said the process could start by the end of March 2017.

Britons voted to cut their countrys ties with the E.U. in a referendum on June 23.

To cancel its membership, Britain must use Article 50 of the E.U.s Lisbon Treaty. That process would take two years to complete.

Britain would still have ties with Europe, but would need to negotiate new agreements with the E.U. on everything from trade to immigration.

But even supporters of Britains exit from the E.U., or Brexit, do not agree on what the move should involve.

Some supporters have called for a quick, sharp break with Europe, what is being called a hard Brexit. They want Article 50 to be invoked earlier.

The terms of a possible Brexit agreement, however, have divided Prime Minister Mays Conservative Party. Immigration is one of the central issues.

May and her ministers have said they will not compromise on immigration controls to get better free trade deals with the E.U. They want Britain to control its immigration policy without Europes influence.

That position has concerned business leaders and investors. They worry about more restrictions on immigration and use of foreign workers. The measures might include a test for businesses employing foreigners and requiring British companies to provide information about such workers.

Business leaders say Conservative ministers are trying to use economic populism by blaming companies for hiring foreign workers. They say the Conservatives are turning away from the legacy of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Her position was that businesses should be able to operate without political interference.

Businesses also are concerned that a hard Brexit would leave Britain in a weaker position when trading with the single European market. European trading partners could place higher taxes on British exports to punish the country for its position on migration or other issues.

Both sides claim victory in Hungarys referendum

Another referendum in Europe has raised more questions than it has solved.

Hungarians voted on October 2 against the European Unions power to set the number of immigrants E.U. members must accept.

However, the referendum was not valid because not enough citizens took part in the vote. Hungarian law required 50 percent of voters to take part in a referendum for the results to be considered official. Last weekend, only 40 percent of voters participated.

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, however, still called the vote a victory for Hungarys self-rule.

The result of this referendum will be a strong weapon in Brussels, he said.

Both supporters of the E.U. powers on immigration and opponents, including Orban, claimed victory in the Hungarian vote.

Im Dorothy Gundy. And I'm Mario Ritter.

Mario Ritter wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on stories by Nike Ching, Celie Mendoza, Fern Robinson, Jamie Dettmer and Heather Murdock. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear your thoughts. Send us your comments in the section below.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

referendum  n. a direct vote in which people cast ballots to decide on a specific issue or policy

exit - n. something used as a way to go out of a place; the act of leaving

populism  n. related to policies that supposedly represent the opinions of ordinary people

turn away from  v. to reject, to be less influenced by

legacy  n. something passed down from older generations

valid  adj. officially recognized
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Dave Landis, Lincoln Urban Development Department director and an acknowledged fan of tax increment financing, explained Thursday night how TIF works in the state of Nebraska, and also about how he thinks TIF has benefited Lincoln.

While Landis made a compelling case for the use of TIF, there were still some who thought more study is needed on the specific impact of TIF projects on Grand Island.

Landis addressed an audience composed of developers, government officials and private citizens in a Central Community College classroom on the Grand Island campus. Landis said Nebraska is far from the only state that uses tax increment financing to promote development in communities. However, Nebraska is tied with one other state for having the shortest amount of time that TIF can run: 15 years.

"The other 47 states have longer," Landis said. "We have the shortest TIF period in the country. I think there is one state in the country that doesn't have TIF, and the other 47 have some place between 20 (years) and forever. So we have the shortest TIF period in the country."

The increased valuation due to the development can be used to issue a bond, which gives the money upfront to the developer to buy the land, put in any improvements such as upgraded utilities, and build the building. Bondholders expect to get 15 years of payments for lending the money. Then, after 15 years, the additional valuation is on the tax rolls for the city, county, schools and every other local political subdivision.

Landis noted that during the 15 years when the bondholders are being repaid, it is not unusual to see the valuation rise beyond the original estimated increase. "Now, when that happens, you can pay off the tax bonds earlier, so you don't use all 15 years. But at some point, at the end of that time, you have a new tax base."

During the 15 years that an equalized school district does not receive the benefit of the increased tax base, the state aid formula normally would supplant about 85 to 87 percent of the taxes that would have come in.

TIF is increasingly being used in Nebraska, especially in Lincoln. Prior to the Beutler administration, there were $62 million in private-public partnerships involving TIF. Since the advent of the Beutler administration, there have been more than $900 million. He said people can see visible results of those projects in Lincoln.

An old building is a good candidate for TIF, Landis said. He explained that the physical structure may be very sturdy and safe. However, when a building is really old, it is almost a certain that its electrical system, plumbing, fire suppression and fire safety systems no longer meet code. Landis said TIF helps a developer meet the extra expenses of bringing a building up to code.

TIF should especially be used in the core areas of a city, "places where the market might overlook, but where a city very much would like to have growth occur and for several reasons," Landis said. He said first, redevelopment of a core area is efficient because that project uses existing infrastructure. The city does not have to put down new sewers; it does not have to build new streets or extend new electric lines, because they already exist in the city core. Landis said that instead of a two-story building, a redevelopment project might create an eight-story building. He said instead of 100 employees in that building, the city might now see 600 employees.

All that comes off an efficient use of existing infrastructure.

Landis said that Lincoln has used TIF near the edges of the city limits, but those projects have been limited to sites with characteristics that made them very difficult to develop without the use of TIF.

Landis took a look at some completed TIF developments in Lincoln where valuations went up 1,100 percent and now pays 10 times the taxes they once paid. He said Lincoln Public Schools had to wait only two or three years after TIF expired for those projects to recoup all the tax revenue it did not collect while TIF was in place. That is significant because Lincoln Public Schools collect 65 percent of all local property taxes in the community.

After the meeting, Virgil Harden, director of finance for Grand Island Public Schools, said Landis and Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity, who showed how a completed TIF projects and two TIF projects now underway are working in Grand Island, gave an excellent presentation. But, he said, that presentation still did not address some of the specific concerns raised by the school district. One concern is that school officials need more time between when they are notified about the public hearings for proposed TIF projects in Grand Island and when they actually occur.

"We don't see any kind of robust analysis of their impact on the school, as far as our capacity to educate additional children," Harden added. He noted that school officials are specifically concerned about single-family home and apartment projects that use TIF financing.

Harden noted that when the Talon Apartments are completed, the school district will need to add a bus route to serve students in that complex. He said the bus route will cost $50,000 a year, an expense that the school will have for 15 years before with no additional tax revenue. He said that makes school officials wonder if that project is the right one, at the right time, especially with other residential TIF projects happening at the same time.

"Sen. Landis (Landis is a former state senator) gave a great presentation," said Harden, but he noted he would like Landis to show his calculations how the state aid formula makes up for 87 percent of the property tax revenue.

Harden said it might be useful to have a smaller meeting on TIF so school officials can get their specific questions addressed.

Nabity told the crowd that the city has hired an economic geographer, Jim Knotwell, to see if TIF projects are helping increase the value of properties near the TIF development. Those increases in value could happen because of capital improvements a property owner made without the help of TIF. Nabity also wants to create a "game" or model that he can share with people in civic clubs and other groups.
A St. Petersburg man was killed after he was hit by two cars while crossing the street Thursday night, according to the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office. The second car fled the scene.

Deputies say that 36-year-old Randal Ripple was crossing 54th Ave. N near 58th St. N in Kenneth City around 9 P.M. when he was hit by the first of two cars. The second car, a white four-door hatchback, then hit Randal and dragged him further.

Randal was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the first car was not charged. Deputies believe Randal was drinking prior to the accident. They also say he was not walking in the cross-walk.

Deputies are searching for the driver of the hatchback who is described as a white male in his 50's or 60's, medium build, approximately 5'5" wearing a dark hat and pants. The hatchback was last seen traveling east on 54th Ave N from the scene.

Deputies are reviewing surveillance video in the area.

Deputies are asking anyone with information regarding this crash to contact the Sheriff's Office at 727-582-6200.
Amid the anti-Pakistani artistes sentiment brewing in India post-Uri attacks, of which he became the primary target courtesy his status as the biggest crossover star from across the border, Fawad Khan has finally broken his silence on the issue.

There have been various statements made concerning Fawad's "hurried departure" from India in the light of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's threats to Pakistani artistes, that they leave the country within 48 hours. It later emerged that he had left India back in July.

There were also comments attributed to Fawad in which he reportedly said, "Bollywood kisike baap ka hai kya?" (referring to the ban on Pakistani artistes and technicians in the Indian film industry) and accused Indians of being "small-hearted".

Read  No, Fawad Khan did not say 'Bollywood kisike baap ka hai': How false stories spread

Fawad took to Facebook on Friday to make a succinct statement:

"I've been in Lahore since July as my wife and I had been expecting our second child.

I've received numerous requests from the media and from well wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks. As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow.

This is the first time I have spoken on the matter. Please disregard any other words attributed to me during this time because I have not said them. I thank all my fans and fellow artists from Pakistan, India and people in general all over the world who have shown continued support for their belief in love and understanding to unite a divisive world."

Fawad and his wife Sadaf welcomed their baby daughter into the world on Wednesday. Fawad and Sadaf Khan tied the knot in 2005 after a seven-year courtship and their older son, Ayaan, was born in 2009.

Pakistani artistes have been asked, from various quarters in India, to condemn the Uri attacks. As of now, musicians Adnan Sami (who became an Indian musician in January 2016) and Shafqat Amanat Ali are the only ones to have strongly condemned the 18 September terror attack that left 19 Indian Army personnel dead.

Fawad has a short cameo in Karan Johar's upcoming film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, opposite Anushka Sharma. The film's release has been uncertain in the wake of rising bilateral tensions and the retaliatory cultural boycotts being imposed by both Pakistan and India on each other's content.

Read Fawad's post here:
It is not enough to say that MSG: The Warrior  Lion Heart starring Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda and wannabe rockstar, is a horrible movie.

That fact was expected after the torture inflicted on us by the previous two movies and the trailer of this one. After watching this movie, any sane person will walk out of the theatre wondering if the film makers, apart from their obvious intent of spreading propaganda, were actually trying to meticulously destroy many values of a progressive society.

Here is how this movie waged war against various principles and ideals which sensible people value:

The blatant stupidity

MSG: The Warrior  Lion Heart is about a man called 'Lionheart' with superhuman abilities who must protect the earth from invading aliens. No prizes for guessing that Lionheart is played by the sanskari rockstar Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Lionheart heads an organisation which is supposed to protect the planet. And the name of that organisation is 'Indian Lion Investigation Agency'.

Trust us when we say that this is one of the least ridiculous aspects of the film.

As the agency gets intel that aliens are planning to invade the planet, Lionheart realises that the aliens had invaded the planet 300 years ago too, after which the entire film goes into flashback and Lionheart tells his friends the story about how Sherdil, an army commander of an ancient kingdom, who looks exactly like Lionheart, saved the planet from aliens. The entire movie is practically about Sherdil's quest to save the planet.

The loopholes in the movie are sometimes so stupid that you give up trying to figure out the movie when you realise it had abandoned logic right from the beginning.

One of the most hilarious aspects of the movie is that Lionheart and his friends can actually see the flashback like the audience watching the movie. When the flashback starts and we see Sherdil for the first time, Lionheart (who is narrating in the background) actually says, "This is Sherdil," as if he and his buddies can actually see a memory from 300 years ago like a person watching a video.

Moreover, setting a new low for film editing, every time Lionheart starts narrating in the background, a small box pops up at the top right where you can see Lionheart narrating the story to his friends. Because without that pop up, how would the poor audience comprehend the concept of background narration, right?

Also, the explanation for how Sherdil happens to look exactly like Lionheart is laughable.

Every scene in the movie looks like it is a scene from a cartoon made under the influence of drugs.

The film makers probably thought that the movie would not be complete without filling every inch of the set and the costumes with colours so flashy that they make colour-blindness look a bit less miserable.

If we were to even call what the people in the film did 'acting', the expressions on the 'actors' look more fake than computer-generated expressions in a cartoon like Chhota Bheem.

But the plot and so-called acting in the film is just an excuse for something else.

The messiah complex

The plot of this movie is still not that important because for more than half the movie, what we see instead of the plot unfolding is unbridled narcissism.

Behind the facade of a 'family movie' trying to teach us higher values, MSG: The Warrior  Lion Heart is about sending only one message: Lionheart/Sherdil is the messiah the world needs today.

The biggest evidence of this message is that the film decides whether a character is good or bad on the basis of whether that character is praising Sherdil or not. If a character is praising Sherdil, he or she is good. If the character is insulting or opposing him, he or she is bad. As simple as that.

That is also the reason why every other character in the film has nothing to do except obsess over Sherdil or Lionheart. In the movie, Sherdil's sisters and his followers do not say anything which is not linked with praising Sherdil. It's almost as if not praising Sherdil was banned for the good guys in the movie.

The aliens, on the other hand, are the villains who obsess over Sherdil and attempts for his demise every second they spend on screen.

The most hilarious example of this self-obsession, though, is the scene in which Sherdil parts a water body in the same way Moses is supposed to have parted the Red Sea.

Sexism

A major part of the movie focuses on Sherdil's emphasis on the protection of women's dignity. But when you look beyond the obvious masquerade, you see how utterly sexist this movie is.

For example, when Sherdil's sisters are fighting a battle against a rival kingdom, they start losing the battle until good ol' brother Sherdil comes to their rescue. They later admit that they could "never" have won that battle without their brother.

Sherdil is so generous and large-hearted that he pledges to protect all the women in the country. Because where would all the women in the country be without the protection of a man, right? And he has a wife whose job is just that: being the 'good wife' who stands by her husband and occasionally massages his feet.

Racism

In a scene, Sherdil, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, plays a prank on his sisters by pretending to have selected a very bad gift for them.

And what is that gift? "Kaale kaloothe (slang for dark-skinned)" men for marrying them. More disturbing than this fact is the disgusted expression with which Sherdil says "kaale kaloothe". It's the same expression which many people will have while trying to watch the movie, if they make that mistake.

The cow vigilantism

Apart from the fact that a significant number of bad guys in the movie have names common among people from a certain minority community, there is also a scene in which Sherdil tries making some people "see sense" when they are seen hitting cows and shouting that they will eat the cows.

Now, it would have been completely fine if Sherdil was only reprimanding them for hitting the cows, which is animal cruelty. But he goes on to say that eating beef is wrong. When those people tell him that it is not wrong for them, Sherdil goes berserk, hits them and scares them away.

'All non-vegetarians are monsters'

It's not just beef eaters, though. Sherdil teaches us that all non-vegetarians are petty creatures. When one of the characters laughs about how a 'Sherdil' like him does not eat meat, he puts on a serious face and says that only monsters eat meat.

So, all the non-vegetarians in the world today are sinful beasts. Thanks for the epiphany, Sherdil.

In a report in The Times of India, the makers of the film had reportedly said that you should watch this movie because "Families can watch it without worrying about double entendres and needless skin show. Also, in an entertaining way, children will imbibe the values that their parents want to teach them."

If you want your child to turn into a sexist, racist, communal, self-obsessed non-vegetarian hating fool, then this is the film for you.

Otherwise, please keep children and yourself away from this surgical strike on your intellect.
On Friday morning, newspaper readers were in for a shock.

Pierce Brosnan, aka ex James Bond actor, was seen posing for a 'Pan Bahaar' ad on the front page of Times of India. This was no photoshop. This is a real endorsement.

Is he the ambassador for Pan Baahar? We don't know yet. Here's what we do know. Twitter being twitter, has already started with the jokes.

Pierce Brosnan was trending all of Friday morning. Here are some of the shocked, excited and funny tweets:

Are we sure that it's Pierce Brosnan and not a fitter Kulbhushan Kharbanda?  https://t.co/KEbON3AY04  Puddin' (@lady_gabbar) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan is endorsing Pan Bahaar. Don't know about India but Kanpur has certainly established itself as a superpower.  Aladdin (@Alllahdin) October 7, 2016

When James Bond starts selling pan, you know the empire really has struck back. pic.twitter.com/KhgdKrVDDG  Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) October 7, 2016

So much pressure on stand-up comedians and twitter comedians to crack a Pierce Brosnan joke today.  Sanket Aradhye  (@sanketaradhye) October 7, 2016

Ajay Devgn just sent a friend request to Bond... pic.twitter.com/YNd9lhQWjK  The Viral Fever (@TheViralFever) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan is the new brand ambassador for Pan Bahar. Yes, James Bond wala Pierce Brosnan. I have no joke. Nothing to say. Speechless.  Hardik Rajgor (@Hardism) October 6, 2016

Priyanka Chopra chews Rajnigandha & now Pierce Brosnan chews Pan Bahar. Now I know why I am not successful, will start chewing gutka today.  Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan selling pan on the front page of the Times of India. The Asian Century is upon us. pic.twitter.com/Kj5nsLdkqj  Iain Marlow (@iainmarlow) October 7, 2016

So I'm looking at Pierce Brosnan's Pan Bahar ad and thinking someone's trying to send us a message. Too many logic gaps in the world.  samit basu (@samitbasu) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan replaced Saif Ali Khan aftr endorsing Pan Bahar..

m afraid now Leonardo Dicaprio might replace Anup Jalota frm Kamla Pasand  Arun Lal (@dhaikilokatweet) October 7, 2016

Please tell me Pierce Brosnan is photoshopped into this ad and he's not endorsing Pan Bahar. https://t.co/BJ4ddaZZyO  Moon (@moonsez) October 7, 2016

At the cost of promoting Indian James Bond Ajit Doval, this is what Modi has reduced Pierce Brosnan to - endorsing Paan.#WillKejriSayThis  Ashwin S Kumar (@ashwinskumar) October 7, 2016

Once they made us chew cow & pig hide. Now we make them chew pan masala. Colonialism has come full circle with Pierce Brosnan & Pan Bahaar  Arnab Ray (@greatbong) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan is endorsing pan bahar , i think that dude doesn't even know what is in that box. He think its m&m's.  Singha (@heisenjit) October 7, 2016

Brexit has hit UK so hard financially that James Bond has to endorse Pan Bahar. pic.twitter.com/XBDv0djE4a    (@WoCharLog) October 7, 2016

Sigh. I couldn't get tickets to the pierce brosnan museum - I just wanted to wake up and see his face 500 times.

Thankfully there's twitter.  Tarun Tripathi (@probablytrippy) October 7, 2016

Watch the ad here:


Although Salman Khan has been hosting the popular reality show Bigg Boss for over six seasons, the actor is just as excited as ever to host the tenth season of Bigg Boss. His fans are equally excited to watch him once again on the small screen.

What's exciting him further is the show's new format where common folks will also be a part of the show along with celebrities. But nothing comes without challenges.

He feels he will be stuck between the two sections of people. If he supports any one group the other will feel that it is due to some ulterior motive of the host.

Despite being a part of the show since 2010, the actor doesn't feel the need to try anything new.

Speaking to DNA, the actor says, Bigg Boss, Dus Ka Dum, The Farm... these are shows that are my connect with my people. I dont think I would love to venture out of this space at the moment.

He says he will be bad at judging a show as well since he finds it hard to pit people against each other or to take sides.

After Bigg Boss the actor plans to bring a show called The Farm to Indian television. It will have a similar format as Bigg Boss only that it will be set in a farm.

Interestingly the Romanian version of the show was hosted by his rumoured girlfriend Iulia Vantur.

The tenth season of Bigg Boss will be going on air from 16 October and looks like Deepika Padukone will be the first celebrity guest to appear on the show.

Reports suggest that the actress will be on the show to promote her Hollywood debut xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. Apparently Khan, who has never worked with the actress, teased her on the show and said, Ab toh humare saath bhi act kar lo (at least now act with me). The actress had made an appearance on the show last year as well during the promotions of Bajirao Mastani.
India's famed online festive sales season spanning five days concluded on Thursday, and the verdict is out that India's home-grown online retailer Flipkart has put out a spectacular performance, outselling both close rival, Amazon and also, Snapdeal.

The combined sales of all the three e-commerce entities was pegged at around Rs 6,500 crore, up 20 percent over the previous year, according a report in Financial Express

By selling 15.5 million units in the five days online spectacle, the Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart pipped its nearest US-based online retail giant Amazon, whose Indian arm in comparison sold 15 million units during the period, a Mint report report said.

The company's flagship Big Billion Days (BBD) sale event registered gross sales of approximately Rs 3,000 crore during the five-day event, the Mint report said. However, industry sources told FE that the five day sale netted Flipkart a total gross merchandise value (GMV) of around Rs 2,200 crore - Rs 2,300 crore.

Gross sales of Rs 3,000 crore, however, appears to be far less than Flipkart's internal target to achieve gross sales of Rs 4,000-5,000 crore during the sale season.

Earlier this week, Flipkart said that the company recorded its highest-ever single day sales on Monday, selling products worth Rs 1,400 crore.

Flipkarts Big Billion Days is one of the signposts that defines our vision for transforming commerce in India by delivering high quality products to every customer that shops on Flipkart and to make these products accessible and affordable," the Mint report said quoting a Flipkart spokesperson.

Although Amazon India's sales numbers in value terms were unavailable, its figures are more likely to be lower than that of Flipkart, the Mint report said.

However FE reported that Amazon India's GMV stood at Rs 1,550 crore - Rs 1,650 crore, up 41 percent over the previous year. Similarly, Snapdeal's GMV sales rose 7 percent over the previous year to Rs 800 crore.

A day earlier, Times of India reported that the Amazon, the US online retail giant's Indian arm registered orders of around 1.5 crore units during the sale season, which could translate into sales of around Rs 3,000-3,500 crore of gross sales. Snapdeal also claimed that nearly 11 lakh buyers from over 2,800 cities and towns across India bought products on its marketplace in the first 16 hours of its sale.

Flipkart's impressive sales numbers, both in volume and value front, comes as a major respite to the company, especially given its subdued sales performance earlier this year and Amazon's rapid march backed by its robust capex plans.

While Amazon has committed to spend $5 billion on its Indian arm, and recently indicated that it would infuse another $2 billion this fiscal, Flipkart, too, is reported to be in talks with US retail giant Walmart to sell a minority stake in return for a cash infusion of $1 billion.
New Delhi: India can become a USD 10 trillion economy in the next 15 years, from the existing USD 2 trillion, like China did in last one and a half decade, said NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya today.

"India started off to rapid growth a little later than China, but now it has the potential to accomplish in the next 15 years what China did in the last 15 years. Today, India's GDP stands at about USD 2 trillion and it has good prospects of rising to USD 10 trillion in the next 15 years," Panagariya said addressing the India China Investment Conclave at Ficci.

"What China has accomplished in last 15 years is very impressive. It (China's economy) has gone from USD 2 trillion 15 years ago to USD 10 trillion today."

NITI Aayog is preparing a 15-year vision blueprint which will provide a road map for developing India into a big economic powerhouse with inclusive growth.

Analysts say Indian economy will have to grow at over 10 per cent in the next 15 years to hit the USD 10 trillion level.

On bilateral co-operation, Panagariya said, "With China promoting out-bound investment and India seeking foreign capital and technology, it should enable us to take advantage of the synergies and put in place a vigorous framework to strengthen bilateral investment relationships."

He was of the view that there is much scope for India to benefit from Chinese experience in the manufacturing sector and transform the country into a modern urban economy.

Panagariya termed India and China as "two rare bright spots" in an otherwise sluggish world economy. "Despite a decline in growth rate, China contributes a handsome USD 500 billion or more to annual growth of the global economy," he said.

His Chinese counterpart Xu Shaoshi, Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission (China) (NDRC), said: "China and India are two important forces. They are powerhouse of Asia and the world. There is a need for the two countries to go beyond bilateral relationships."

Shaoshi was clear that the two countries have the potential to build the world's most attractive and competitive places.

Shaoshi is leading a team of businessmen and government officials to participate in the two-day India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue on October 6-7, 2016.

"We need to have more consensus on co-operation in the region. India has some active promotion policies like Make in India and Startup India while China has initiatives, including smart manufacturing," he added.

Emphasising on investment as the key to rebalancing bilateral trade, Ficci's former president Jyotsna Suri spoke about a proposal for partnership with NDRC to set up a task force to identify potential projects for companies in respective countries.

Ficci also proposed a Joint China-India SMEs GVC Initiative in collaboration with NITI Aayog, Ficci and NDRC. For realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of China, India and neighbouring Asian countries and NITI Aayog's Vision 2022, Ficci also proposed setting up a forum to identify and facilitate bankable projects in energy, infrastructure and other sectors.
Pakistan's 195 million people should be praying that a recent Dawn report that spoke of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issuing an ultimatum to the powerful military to stop shielding terror elements, is true to every word, even as Sharif's office later discarded the report as a work of fiction. We don't know the truth behind the Dawn report, but for Pakistan, it's better if there is an element of truth to it.

The reason: Only a course correction can save the Pakistani economy from falling into deeper economic troubles.

There is a strong economic rationale for Pakistan to live on good terms with its neighbour and not escalate tensions with the Modi government. Engaging in a full-fledged war with India that could deeply damage its already-fragile economy will result in the exacerbation of deeper socio-economic issues of poverty and unemployment. Sharif probably knows this well as someone who is obliged to deal with the country's worsening balance sheet and growing international unease. For him, the only way to save the country from crashing is to make a clear statement that the government doesn't support terror outfits on its soil.

Until now, Sharif has failed to make such an impression before the international community. Remember his Burhan Wani comment? According to the Dawn report, Sharif has conveyed two crucial messages to the army: Not to intervene in law enforcement's actions against militants and to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.

He is believed to have warned that a failure to do so could result in Pakistan's isolation internationally. Sharif's new-found realisation, assuming that there is some truth in the Dawn report, must have emerged from his reading that Pakistan might be walking straight into a deadly pit, if it antagonises India beyond this point.

To understand this, one needs to first take a close look at both economies.

Although Pakistan poses itself as no less than India, the truth is that only its rumoured nuclear prowess is worthy of any comparison with India. Pakistan's economy is a pygmy compared with that of India, and it is facing a tough phase. Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves were at $23.6 billion in September compared with India's $371 billion reserves at the same time. Total merchandise exports of India currently sit at $262 billion, while those of Pakistan are a mere $21 billion. India's external debt to GDP ratio is now at 23.7 percent, while that of Pakistan is at a high 64.8 percent.

In short, Pakistan is a small neighbouring country for India, seven times smaller and with much weaker economic credentials.

A full-fledged war with India could greatly damage Pakistan's economy. The country would not be able to withstand the immediate economic impact, while India is in a much better position economically. Sharif's ability to face such a scenario  an economic emergency  is a great doubt. In fact, the country is already is fighting a crisis with near-empty coffers. A 15 February Bloomberg report said 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 that 77 percent of Pakistans budget is meant 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 up for repayment by the end of this year. Already, Pakistan has seen a visible decline it foreign remittances. According to a 22 September editorial published in The Express Tribune, "exports are on a continuous downward slide and remittances have started to slow down with foreign direct investments down 53 percent in the two-month period of July and August over the previous year." So, that's the Pakistan economy in a nutshell.

Now, what are the repercussions of messing with India beyond this point given Pakistan's current economic state? The immediate jolt will be international isolation  both economic and political  and that will leave Pakistan heavily reliant on China, its only major partner at this stage. But, it is no secret that the Chinese have clear interests in increasing their economic hold in that country to strengthen its own regional position. International isolation isn't just a theory any longer for Pakistan. It is already happening. The strong evidence for this is warning from the US to Pakistan supporting India's stance against terror originating in Pakistan. The US is one of the biggest merchandise-exporters and arms-suppliers to Pakistan  perhaps, second only to China. International isolation, including among South Asian countries, would mean China will have a dominant position in Pakistan's economy. If the US joins the Pakistan isolation camp, it wouldn't be long before others join.

Pakistan economy's dependence on China to improve its fortunes is so high that a recent World Bank report warned that Pakistan's prospects of growing even at at modest five percent a year are at risk due to delays in the implementation of the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Also, the decision of a majority of Saarc countries to pull out of the Islamabad meet, expressing solidarity with India, is a major signal. Within Saarc, Pakistan will have no friends given India's dominant position as an economic power. Sharif probably knows the potential downsides of this scenario.

Geographically too, Pakistan cannot survive on its own if India resorts to extreme measures such as cutting short river water supply to Pakistan, thereby diluting the spirit of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. This issue is something Firstpost highlighted in an earlier article. 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 percent 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 the latest data from the Pakistan government. If India acts on this front, upping its strategic offensive, there will be severe economic repercussions within Pakistan, which isn't easy for the Sharif government to handle.

Over the years, a series of terrorist attacks on Indian soil, including the Mumbai terror attacks, Pathankot and Uri have exposed the existence of non-state actors thriving on Pakistani soil with the active aid of the Pakistani military. They have also demonstrated the inability of the State to keep such elements. The political leadership under Sharif probably realises that if it doesn't act now, the State will find itself in a deeper mess in a future that isn't too distant. If Sharif manages to convince the army of the dangers in continuing to aid terrorists on Pak soil, he'll be remembered as the prime minister who dragged the failing State back from the precipice of an economic disaster.

With data support from Kishor Kadam
Kolkata: This Durga Puja will not only see Goddess Uma arrive on an annual sojourn to her paternal home and bring joy to millions, but also mark the homecoming of a select few to their dearest ones after years.

For Soumitra Kanji, a diploma engineer working in Dubai, it will be a return to home after four and half years.

Abhik Mukherjee, pursuing PhD in the US, will see his parents after more than four years.

All thanks to an initiative of a private radio station which aims to bring families together from overseas.

"I will not be able to make anybody understand my feelings. It's after so many years that I will see my son (Soumitra)," says a teary-eyed Rikta Kanji.

It was in 2011 when Soumitra, a resident of South 24 Parganas district's Mudipur, left for Dubai after completing his diploma in electrical engineering, his father, Dipendranath Kanji, said.

"I was working at a private factory and was unable to earn much to run the family and pay the tuition fees for my two sons. Soumitra decided to leave for Dubai," he said.

Since then, Soumitra has been sending money to for the family as well as expenses of his younger brother Pabitra's studies, Dipendranath said.

"His earnings there in Dubai are not so much that after sending us the expenses and paying for his brother's education, besides his expenditure, he can save (money) and return home," he said.

The family reunion became possible when Soumitra's sister, Pabitra, an engineering student at Jadavpur University, heard about the radio station's programme, 'Ticket to Durga Puja  Pardes to Swades', a campaign to bring families back home.

"I had texted them on behalf of dada (Soumitra) in mid-August and got to know only a couple of weeks back that my brother has been selected," she said.

Similarly for Abhik, his sister 42-year-old Mahua participated in the campaign and nominated her brother.

"He has not visited India for over ten years during the Durga Pujas and this will be for the first time that he will be coming here at this time," Mahua said.

Abhik, an alumnus of South Point school, left for University of Tennessee in the US in 2006 after completing his MSC in Microbiology.

"Abhik has completed his PhD in genetics disease syndrome and is currently without a regular job... He is teaching part time to meet his expenses, but that is not enough to help him return to India and our parents are old and retired. We do not have much funds to support his travel back home," she said.

"I will not be able to describe how happy we are, particularly my parents... They are making plans for Abhik. What they will cook and what they will do when my brother comes back home," she added.

The campaign was aimed at uniting people with their loved ones and give participants a chance to win flight tickets to their hometown.

"There was a huge response and we selected five families based on their background stories shared by the listeners and gratified them with a 'Ticket to Durga Puja' by bringing back one family member. The winners comprised two from abroad and two from within the country," a senior official of the station said.

Besides, the radio station chose a taxi driver, Ravindra Patra's, nomination for his parents living in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur, so that the entire family can celebrate the festivities together.

"Ravindra is living in the city for the last 20 years struggling to manage and meet his expenses. But, he has a dream to bring his parents to the city during the Durga Pujas.... We are just fulfilling his dream," the official said.

Further, the FM channel is also helping Gauri Shankar Dhar to bring her mother Alo Dhar from New Delhi to the city, and Sushmita from Haldia, who nominated herself to see Kolkata's Durga Puja.
Washington: India, the world's largest remittance recipient in 2015, may receive a remittance of USD 65.5 billion this year, a drop of 5 per cent, the World Bank has said in a new report citing weak economic growth in remittances-source countries and cyclic low oil prices.

"In 2016, remittance flows are expected to decline by 5 per cent in India and 3.5 per cent in Bangladesh, whereas they are expected to grow by 5.1 per cent in Pakistan and 1.6 per cent in Sri Lanka," the World Bank said in a latest report on remittances.

Despite the drop, India is likely to top the list of countries receiving remittance.

The World Bank said in 2016, India is expected to receive a remittance of USD 65.5 billion, followed by China (USD 65.2 billion). Pakistan positioned at number five is estimated to receive USD 20.3 billion in 2016.

The World Bank said remittances to South Asia is expected to decline by 2.3 per cent in 2016, following a 1.6 per cent decline in 2015.

This is attributed mainly due to weak economic growth in remittances-source countries and cyclic low oil prices.

India retained its top spot in 2015, attracting about USD 69 billion in remittances, the World Bank had said.

Remittances from the GCC countries continued to decline due to lower oil prices and labour market 'nationalisation' policies in Saudi Arabia.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an alliance of six Middle Eastern countriesSaudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

It said against a backdrop of tepid global growth, remittance flows to low and middle income countries (LMICs) seem to have entered a "new normal" of slow growth.

In 2016, remittance flows to LMICs are projected to reach USD 442 billion, marking an increase of 0.8 per cent over 2015.

The modest recovery in 2016 is largely driven by the increase in remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean on the back of a stronger economy in the US; by contrast remittance flows to all other developing regions either declined or recorded a deceleration in growth, the bank said.

The Bank said low oil prices continued to be a factor in reduced remittance flows from Russia and the GCC countries.

In addition, structural factors have also played a role in dampening remittances growth.

Anti-money laundering efforts have prompted banks to close down accounts of money transfer operators, diverting activity to informal channels, it added.

"Remittances continue to be an important component of the global economy, surpassing international aid. However this "new normal" of weak growth in remittances could present challenges for millions of families that rely heavily on these flows.

"This, in turn, can seriously impact the economies of many countries around the world bringing on a new set of challenges to economic growth," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director of the World Bank's Global Indicators Group.
Mumbai: On Thursday the Maharashtra government gave a go-ahead for carrying out a detailed project report (DRP) for the greenfield international airport, which will come in Purandar tehsil of Pune district.

The proposed airport will be spread over 2,400 hectares and the site has been already approved by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters on Thursday.

Fadnavis held a meeting with Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) on the issue.

"We decided to grant permissions for carrying out DPR as well as Obstacle Limitation Surface survey for the proposed site," the Chief Minister added.

"Located near historic fort Purandar - the proposed airport would named as Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje International Airport", Fadnavis said, adding post acquisition of land, the airport will commence within three years.

"The site is around 15-20 km away from Pune city. Located on the south of the city, the proposed airport will be connected with six different routes including National Highway 4 and 17", he said.

According to the Chief Minister, there will be a special ring-road connecting major industrial establishments with the proposed airport from Hadapsar area of Pune.

Officials said some of these establishments include Chakan MIDC, several phases of Talegaon MIDC, Bhosari MIDC, having an annual economy of Rs 30,000 crore and Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, which has an average IT-export of over Rs 50,000 crore every year.

The IT and auto sectors were demanding a dedicated international airport with cargo facility for over a decade.

When asked about earlier proposed sites like Chakan and Rajgurunagar, Fadnavis said except Purandar no other site

is approved by AAI.

"Most of the farmers have expressed their willingness for the project. The farmers, whose land will be acquired for the project, will become partner in the airport developing company which will ensure some steady income source for them. This model has been used in the state earlier for land acquisition of (proposed) Navi Mumbai International Airport", the Chief Minister added.

Officials said Purandar is an arid region with very low rainfall and most of the land is non-agricultural while in some areas farmers opt for kharif crops only.

Officials said the existing airbase of Indian Air Force near Pune city is used for civil aviation but it has limitations of security as well as land availability.

Hence, the Maharashtra government decided to go for the Purandar site, they added.

The current passenger movement from Pune airport is around 6 lakh per year.

"The proposed airport will have two airstrips-each having length of four km. It will handle cargo along with passenger traffic," Fadnavis said.

"Most of the land would be acquired from villages such as Pargaon, Munjewadi and Memane from Purandar teshil," the Chief Minister added.

Asked about proposed airport in Kolhapur, around 230-km from Pune, Fadnavis said "The state government is spending Rs 40 crore for Kolhapur airport and it will be a domestic airport".

The Chief Minister also spoke about the Nagpur airport, which is also going to be a cargo terminal.

"The Request for Quotation and Request for Proposal is completed. Six companies have submitted bids for it including Tata, Essel, IRB and GMR among others. For the first time, six companies have come forward for an airport," he added.
New Delhi: Even though the joint battle against the chikungunya epidemic, declared by the Delhi government and the Lt Governor is yet to be won, the turf war between the two resurfaced again on Friday after the latter slapped notices on the government for building Mohalla Clinics illegally.

The reemergence of the battle for domain adds much to the woes of the Delhites, struck by chikungunya outbreak, queuing in the Mohalla Clinics to avail free medicines, advice and diagnostic tests. The new stand-off came to public glare after the Delhi Chief Minister posted a news item on his Facebook page, about the slapping of notices by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung for allegedly building Mohalla Clinics without permission of the MCD. The news item also says that some of the Mohalla Clinics are being built blocking footpaths.

The tug of war that has put the common man at the receiving end is seen with much bitterness.

When the question is of public service, I think that minor deviations from rule should be over looked. Mohalla Clinics are doing great public service by providing us free medicine, free medical advice and free tests. If the Lt Governor must evict such a facility, then an alternative to it has to be given to us for meeting our medical needs, said Deepak Katyal, a resident of Patparganj.

Jung issued notices to the Chief Secretary and PWD Secretary of the Delhi government after the MCD complaint to him about the deviations, said a report.

North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Sanjeev Nayyar told Firstpost that the Delhi government is setting up structures wherever it wants, just to show that it is doing something.

Structures are built blocking footpaths in the name of Mohalla Clinics. What do they want to prove?"he asked.

He also said that the Delhi government has made one Mohalla Clinic in Paschim Vihar where already three dispensaries  one run by Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the other two by the Central government and the Delhi government itself  already exist within half a kilometre of each other.

"Do they want to close the dispensary run by the Delhi government and run the Mohalla Clinic there?" he questioned.

"Law will take its own course," he said when asked what the MCD plans to do after serving of notice, hinting that these structures may be evicted.

Nayyar said that the Aam Aadmi Party hardly listens to anyone. Hence, he said the MCD is left with not many options.

They even ask for proof of surgical strikes. What can one expect from them, he said.

Hinting that the move against Mohalla Clinic is a mere turf war, Abhishek Kumar, an Aam Aadmi Party functionary, said that there is hardly any such clinic made on the footpaths.

When a Mohalla Clinic is built, due suggestions from the local residents and local MLA is taken. I do not think that the local residents will allow it to be built on the footpaths. It is utterly wrong to say that Mohalla Clinics exist on footpaths," he said.

Kumar said that Mohalla Clinics are generally built in areas where people want a government health facility near to their dwelling places.

In most cases, Mohalla Clinics are built where there is no health facility," he said.

But he could not tell for sure whether all the Mohalla Clinics had permission from MCD.

He also said that patients flow to the Mohalla Clinics continue as the battle against chikungunya is still not won.

On the other hand, a local resident of Peeragarhi who did not wish to be named said that evicting Mohalla Clinics will make no sense. For in Delhi, a number of illegal colonies were regularised in the past, so there is no point in evicting Mohalla Clinics.

"After all Mohalla Clinics are providing great service to the poor for whom healthcare expense is unbearable," he said.
Pallanwala, J&K: As mortar shells rained on a nondescript Gigriyal village here, 15-year-old Surinder Kumar risked his life and returned home from a makeshift camp miles away to collect his books that he could not pick up while fleeing to safety.

Kumar, a Class X student from the frontier Gigriyal village in Pallanwala sector, along with his family members, had to hurriedly abandon his house and flee to a nearby safe camp after the Pakistani army resorted to "unprovoked" firing post the surgical strikes on terror launch pads in PoK on the intervening night of 28 September.

"Soon after shells started landing on our village, we had to leave our houses in a hurry. I could not even pick up my schoolbag," he said, adding he could not sleep the whole night and next day early morning, he decided to walk back home from the camp and bring back his schoolbag.

"...I had to walk on foot for several kilometres. Though I was stopped by the Army and when I told them that I want to bring my school bag, an officer helped me," he said.

As he was back home, there was a sudden bang of mortar bombs and rattle of guns, forcing him to take cover, along with others who had returned to the border hamlet to feed their cattle.

For Kumar, it was a mission accomplished as he now sits in a makeshift classroom in the government school in Khour which has been converted into a safe camp by the authorities.

Amid rising Indo-Pak tension, residents of several border villages had to abandon their houses and shift to safe camps.

To help children continue study, Jammu Deputy Commissioner Simrandeep Singh issued orders to the school administration where the safe camps have been set to start special classes for those who had to leave home.

"Keeping in mind the future of these migrant students, it was decided to start special classes in the migrant camps for the students who had to leave their houses due to cross-border firing," Singh said told PTI. He said that the special classes being held for the migrant students have been a "success".

The parents of the migrant students who were worried about the future of their children have also taken a sigh of relief after schools started having special classes for them. "Every time we had to migrate due to ceasefire violation, it was our children who had to abandon their studies, but now we are happy that their education is being taken care of by the administration," Kumar's mother Sheela Devi said.

Following orders from the state administration, the school authorities deputed teachers to hold special classes for the students living in camps.

"There are around 80 such students and we have deputed several teachers to hold special classes for them. Their parents are also happy that the precious time of their children is not wasted," said Rohsan Lal Sharma, in-charge principal of Government Higher Secondary School in Khour.

Schools in the border areas of Jammu, which were closed following the army's surgical strikes across the LoC, reopened on 4 October.

It said the principals/in-charges of the schools where border residents are camping should ensure that special classes were held for these children.

The district magistrate said that 15 schools in the border areas of Jammu district have been designated as temporary camps for the border migrants.
Taking a stand against the practice of triple talaq and polygamy in Islam, the Centre on Friday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying in the spirit of the Constitution, "gender equality is non-negotiable".

The government in its affidavit stated that the validity of triple talaq and polygamy should be seen in the light of gender justice while stating that there is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights, the ANI reported.

Gender equality, it said permeates the entire scheme of fundamental rights as articulated under Article 14, Article 15 and Article 21 of the Constitution and hence are non-negotiable values in secular India.

The Centre is also of the view that the issue is not to be seen from the prism of Uniform Civil Code, but be treated substantively as an issue of gender justice and that of fundamental rights of women. According to a PTI report, the Centre has taken the view that the Muslim Board's plea that triple talaq and polygamy be legalised as the Sharia upholds such practices is "completely misplaced". It went further to say that it is "unfair, unreasonable and discriminatory" as many Islamic countries have regulated matrimonial laws.

According to a Times Now report, the Centre cited 10 Muslim nations where matrimonial laws have been regulated and re-promulgated to substantiate its claim.

"A practice - unfair, unreasonable, discriminatory, has always given way before a humanising Constitutional principle, particularly under Chapter 3 of the fundamental rights. This whole plea of sanctity under Sharia is completely misplaced. There are nearly 20 Islamic countries in the world who have regulated their matrimonial laws, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and some Arabic countries like Saudi Arabia," a senior government functionary told PTI.

The Supreme Court had on 5 September granted four weeks time to the Centre to file its reply on a batch of petitions on triple talaq and the plight of Muslim women. However, sections of the Muslim community have been opposing the move citing Article 25 of the constitution which guarantees a citizen freedom to practice his or her religion. Tasleem Rehmani, the founder president of Muslim Political Council of India, told Times Now that the government affidavit violates the Article 25. He also said that Islam is a constitution in its own and cant be governed by another body, stating that Quran should be implemented in its entirety.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) too in its 2 September affidavit told the Supreme Court that personal laws of the community cannot be "re-written" in the name of social reforms and opposed pleas on issues including alleged gender discrimination faced by Muslim women in divorce cases.

Times Now also said that AIMPLB in its counter affidavit has reasoned that if practices like triple talaq and polygamy were tinkered with, it will lead to "unchaste practices" and women could be burnt alive and murdered. It said these contentious issues relating to Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala are matters of "legislative policy" and cannot be interfered with.

The board also said that practices provided by Muslim Personal Law on the issues of marriage, divorce and maintenance were based on the Holy Quran and "courts cannot supplant its own interpretations over the text of scriptures".

The board had said though it was the "least appreciated" form of terminating a marriage, yet it was "very much effective" and in line with the Shariat law.

Regarding polygamy, the board's affidavit said though Islam permitted it, but it does not encourage the same and referred to various reports, including World Development Report 1991, which had said that polygamy percentage in tribals, Buddhists and Hindus were 15.25, 7.97 and 5.80 percent respectively as compared to 5.73 percent in Muslims.

The apex court had taken suo motu cognizance of the question whether Muslim women faced gender discrimination in cases of divorce or due to other marriages of their husbands and a bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur is examining the issue.

Subsequently, various other petitions including one by triple talaq victim Shayara Bano were filed challenging the age-old practice of 'triple talaq' among the Muslim community.
In times of confusion, old adages offer prescience. And this one will be particularly useful when it comes to Pakistan  'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't'.

Before we rush in to rejoice over the apparent discord between Pakistan's civil and military administration over its terror operatives, it would be useful to remember that when it comes to Pakistan, nothing is at it seems.

The present conjecture has arisen out of a single source, a report from Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper that leaks details of an "extraordinary meeting" where Pakistan's civil administration purportedly told the military chiefs that they should either rein their terror puppets or the country faces "diplomatic isolation".

According to Dawn, the meeting between Pakistan's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a small but powerful coterie of government and military officials including ISI chief Rizwan Akhtar resulted in two decisions. One, military-led intelligence agencies won't interfere if law enforcement acts against militant groups and two, fresh attempts will be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.

This sounds, to put it mildly, improbable.

To assume that Pakistan's civil administration has asked the Rawalpindi khakis to act against militants requires major suspension of disbelief. It would mean that going against Pakistan's historical subversion of power and the civil administration's total irrelevance, Nawaz Sharif has miraculously found a spine.

We are talking about a country where the balance of power between elected government members and the army is so heavily skewed that nobody even in Pakistan believes that the Prime Minister enjoys any autonomy of power. There have been umpteen reports and even social media memes on how the speech read out by Nawaz Sharif at the UN General Assembly, where he praised a terrorist as a martyr and immeasurably weakened Pakistan's case, was vetted by Rawalpindi GHQ.

Also, professor C Christine Fair of the Georgetown University, author of Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War and a noted south Asia analyst, was quick to point out that the clever differentiation being attempted between Pakistan's civil and military dispensation is false, because when it comes to rearing, nurturing and exporting terror, the Nawaz Sharif government is as culpable as the army or ISI.

Also how many times have the civilians made this drama while still supporting JuD, LeJ, Afghan Taliban? https://t.co/2WXvemFwrK  (((Christine Fair))) (@CChristineFair) October 6, 2016

Even if we play the Devil's Advocate and grant that Nawaz is sincere in his latest effort, it stretches credulity to think that he'd suddenly find the courage to confront the Army, knowing well that his seat is secure as long as it is allowed to be from Rawalpindi.

Besides, there is history.

On the Pathankot attack, Professor Fair writes in Huffington Post how Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad was rejuvenated and used by Islamabad to manage "its own internal security challenges as well as a cornerstone of its policy of nuclear blackmail to achieve ideological objectives in Kashmir...Pakistan does so not merely to 'disrupt peace' with India; rather, to prosecute the Pakistan army's endless war on India within its borders and across South Asia."

Considering the posture that Nawaz Sharif has consistently aired vis-a-vis Kashmir and the steadfast effort he has put in  dispatching 22 envoys in different parts of the world to highlight the issue in different parts of the world  it is surprising that Indian media believes Pakistan's civil administration is not on the same page as the military.

Bear in mind that when Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was on a Saarc visit to Islamabad, he had to take a chopper to his hotel because 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed was holding a rally in Lahore against Rajnath's visit while Hizbul Mujaheedin chief Syed Salahuddin was lighting the embers elsewhere in Pakistan. It would be presumptuous to think that these terror masterminds were roaming free and holding rallies without active collusion and backing from the civil administration.

A more likely explanation of the charade is the concerted international pressure that Pakistan is under, following a string of terrorist attacks on Indian soil and New Delhi's diplomatic offensive. Sharif's "courtroom drama" with calculated leaks in media seems to be aimed at sending a message to the global powers that Pakistan is "serious about battling terror", a posture that has served Pakistan well and ensured a line of unending credit from Washington.

Interestingly, the Dawn report tantalizingly hints at such a manouvre. It says: "According to several government officials, Mondays confrontation was part of a high-stakes gamble by Prime Minister Sharif to try and forestall further diplomatic pressure on Pakistan."

As Tanvi Madan, Fellow and director of India Project at Brookings Institution pointed out on Twitter, this message could be aimed at Washington, who in recent times have indicated that its patience with Pakistan's war games is wearing thin and Beijing, which can never be taken for granted.

Whether this is messaging for DC+Beijing or will lead to change in actions TBD. & actions speak louder than leaked readouts of civ-mil mtgs https://t.co/WnrspwblH6  Tanvi Madan (@tanvi_madan) October 6, 2016

Whatever be the case, for policymakers in India, it would be better to wait and watch what Pakistan does. The proof of the pudding is in eating.
Islamabad: India cannot unilaterally revoke or alter the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan has asserted, days after India decided to revisit the treaty.

"The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is not time-barred and was never intended to be time or event-specific. It is binding on both India and Pakistan and has no exit provision," Dawn online quoted Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakria as saying on Thursday in a weekly media briefing.

He called upon the international community to take note of Indian claims as they were a violation of New Delhi's obligations and commitments under the treaty. According to the sub-provisions (3) and (4) of Article XII of the IWT, the treaty cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally, he pointed out.

"Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation and would respond accordingly," he added.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday asked the Foreign Ministry to launch 'water diplomacy' in the wake of India's threat to revoke the Indus Water Treaty.

"Blood and water can't flow together," India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is quoted as having said last month during a meeting on the Indus Waters Treaty, during which India decided to revisit the 56-year-old river water sharing treaty, apportioning more water to itself.

"There are differences on the treaty. For any such treaty to work, it is important there must be mutual trust and cooperation. It can't be a one-sided affair," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said last month following the 18 September Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 17 Indian soldiers. Two soldiers died later. India has held Pakistan-based militants responsible for the killings.

The water distribution treaty brokered by the World Bank was signed between the two countries in 1960.

According to the agreement, India has control over three eastern rivers - Beas, Ravi and Sutlej - all flowing from Punjab, while Pakistan, as per the treaty, controls the western rivers of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum that flow from Jammu and Kashmir.
In the wake of the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan and heightened tension along the border, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the government has decided to seal the entire stretch of 3,323-km-long Indo-Pak border by December 2018.

Briefing the press after chairing a security review meeting in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, Rajnath said that the implementation of the government decision to seal the international border will be carried out in a time-bound manner. The home minister also said that the development of the procedure will be done in a planned way, with a monitoring framework set up to review the the progress, monthly, quarterly, bi-annually and annually.

The decision comes in the wake of rising India-Pakistan tension after the 18 September attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir and the later surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control.

On the question of securing the riverine belts, and areas where it is geographically unfeasible to put physical barrier along the border, Rajnath said that the government will look into technological solutions to ensure every inch of our land is guarded. According to The Indian Express, the technical solutions may include deployment of cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc.

The Home Minister also sought to assure that the nation's security will never be compromised with ample security arrangements made at the borders. Praising the armed forces, Rajnath also said that the way a farmer guards his farms, Indian soldiers are vigilant and guarding the borders.

Rajnath also said that a Border Security Grid will be formed, wherein suggestions will be sought from all stakeholders in the border areas. He said that in the security review meeting, suggestions were sought from the chief ministers, home secretaries, and DGPs of the four border states, based on which the basic framework of the Border security Grid will be prepared.

The home minister however stayed vary of commenting on issues apart from the proceedings of the meeting. When asked if he would like to comment on Rahul Gandhi's Khoon Ki Dalaali remark, Rajnath refused to comment. However, he later added that all citizens should unite and support the armed forces when the nation faces tough times. "I wont comment, I will just say that in the face of tough times all the citizens should unite and be on the same page, irrespective of whichever line of profession they belong to," Rajnath said.

He also refused to comment on the rising demands of putting in public the proof of army surgical strike carried out in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Rajnath merely repeated that the entire nation trusts the armed forces and people should be patient and have faith in the army. " Tension between India and Pakistan has increased, so we should be united & believe in our army," he said.

The home minister is on a two-day visit to Rajasthan where he headed a security review meeting in Jaisalmer with home ministers, home secretaries, and deputy generals of police of four states whose boundaries touch Pakistan along with top BSF officials. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju was also present at the meeting. for amid repeated incidents of skirmishes along the Indo-Pak international border, according to ANI.

"It is a meeting of the Union Home Minister with the Home Ministers of the four states. Since the Chief Ministers and the Deputy Chief Minister (of Punjab) are holding the Home portfolio, they are participating in the meeting," a Home Ministry official said.

During the two-day visit, Singh will also hold meetings with top BSF officials and chair a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, officials said.

During the two-day trip, the Home Minister will tour border areas of Rajasthan and will visit Munabao, border outposts in Barmer and interact with BSF personnel.

Singh will also visit Murar, BoP in Jaisalmer and asses the situation along the Indo-Pak border. The meeting is being called to bring a synergy among the state police forces and Border Security Force, which guards the Indo-Pak border. Issues concerning the states are also expected to be discussed in the two-day deliberations, the officials said.

There have been many incidents of infiltration of terrorists through the border in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and trans-border smuggling of goods, narcotics and fake Indian currency notes in Rajasthan and Gujarat, they 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.

After the security review meet in Jaisalmer, Rajnath will hold a meeting with BSF officials in Barmer on 8 October, according to the Barmer Collector Sudhir Sharma. Elaborate arrangements are being made for the visit, he said.

With inputs from PTI
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who was hospitalised recently for fever and dehydration, continues to improve but requires a longer stay at the hospital, even as a team of doctors from AIIMS examined the AIADMK supremo.

The AIIMS team, comprising Dr G Khilnani, Professor of Department of Pulmunology medicine, Dr Anjanthrika, Professor of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care and Dr Nithish Nayak, Professor of Department of Cardiology had on Wednesday held detailed deliberations on the treatment protocols provided to Jayalalithaa by the specialist team at the Apollo hospital, the hospital said in a release on Thursday.

"The expert team from AIIMS examined the Chief Minister and concurred with the present line of treatment being provided to Jayalalithaa," the release from Subbiah Viswanathan, Chief Operating Officer of Apollo hospital said. "The expert team will be available till on Friday even as the British specialist Dr Richard John Beale examined the AIADMK chief again on Thursday," he said.

Based on the deliberations and clinical examination, the group of doctors from Apollo hospital have drawn up a detailed medical management plan, keeping in view Jayalalithaa's "known history of diabetes and winter bronchitis in inclement weather," the release said.

It said the present treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutritions, general nursing care and supporting therapy. "The consensus of opinions of all the experts is that the line of treatment given to the Chief Minister should be continued as she will require a longer stay at the hospital," the release said.

Jayalalithaa's health condition "continues to improve and is making gradual progress," it said. The comprehensive treatment plan, including appropriate antibiotics, respiratory support and other allied clinical measures were being continued, the release said.

"The Chief Minister under observation of a panel of doctors, consisting of intensivists, cardiologists, respiratory physicians, infectious disease specialists and diabetologists," it said, adding that detailed lab and radiology investigations were continuously being carried out by the doctors.
Barely four months into its existence, the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala that came to power crusading against corruption, has fallen victim to the same weakness that the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) allies were afflicted with.

Its not yet blatant corruption, but something very close  cronyism, that too involving the families of the CPM apparatchiks.

On Friday, the states media reported that the government appointed the son of a former CPM health minister, PK Sreemathi, who is presently a member of parliament, as the managing director of the state-run Kerala State Industrial Enterprises, flouting eligibility criteria. Incidentally, the man in question is also the nephew of the industries minister, EP Jayarajan, whose department chose him.

As the controversy threatened to loom large, the government cheekily withdrew the appointment saying that the candidate asked for more time to join, which it had rejected. Reportedly, the appointment was cancelled at the instance of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who had said in the past that his governments policy was to appoint qualified people to state-run enterprises. Sreemathi was at the centre of a similar scandal during the last Left government as well, when as a state minister she appointed her daughter-in-law as her "cook", who subsequently became her official assistant.

Its not just one family member of the CPM, but many that have been chosen to head government-run institutions now. Reportedly, close family members of senior party leaders have been appointed in the Kinfra Apparel Park, Clay and Ceramics Limited and the Womens Development Corporation. And more are in the pipeline.

Not that the UDF was clean. Under its rule, there was absolutely no control over such postings and they were meant only to employ close associates and party functionaries. The industries department, which managed a number of a public sector units, had the worst record. By the time the last government left the office, majority of them were making losses and their combined loss to the exchequer stood at about Rs 2000 crore. According to the CAG, in 2015, 53 state enterprises alone had incurred a loss of Rs 889 crore.

Although some of them were public utility services such as the electricity board, transport corporation and water authority that are not meant to make profits but serve people, majority were small industrial enterprises that hardly had any relevance to the states wealth generation or industrialisation, except providing lucrative backdoor employment to political leaders or their associates, and avenues for kickbacks. For instance, one such unit, headed by a Congress leader, imported inferior cashew from Africa, costing the state a few crores. Similarly, a loss-making state-run cement factory, the Malabar Cements, has made headlines only for corruption scandals.

The eligibility of some of the people who headed such institutions during the UDF regime was laughable. Some of them are now facing vigilance cases.

Whats disappointing about the CPMs apparent cronyism is that it contrasts with what Pinarayi Vijayan had promised when he came to power in May. He spoke of a grand vision of transforming the industrial landscape of Kerala with 'Silicon Valley' type hubs, big highways, high-speed railway lines and a lot of jobs. And his vision couldnt have excluded the 100-plus government-run undertakings because they are a big drain on the states economy and employ a large number of people. Appointing cronies from the party leaders families, with or without eligibility, through processes that look rigged doesnt seem to be a move that befits Vijayans vision.

Its not yet blatant corruption, but something very close  cronyism, that too involving the families of the CPM apparatchiks.

Interestingly, communist China had (and still has) a similar problem of cronyism, in which a club of elites had cornered plum positions in the party, and government and military run institutions. This was one of the major challenges of President Xi Jinping when he became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012. Jinping went after the big shots and felled about 50 senior officials in the first two years since launching his anti-corruption campaign. A large number of party functionaries and cronies were prosecuted and punished. The New York Times had noted that

Corruption has penetrated so very deeply into the party-state that it has become the glue that holds it together.

In a minor scale, theres a similar glue in Keralas CPM as well: families of the party leaders need jobs that pay them well. Industrially barren, contracts and kickbacks are hard to come by.

If massive infrastructure development and privatisation opened opportunities to the political elites in China, who over the last three decades had formed an invincible party-state syndicate, in Kerala, the situation appears similar in a much smaller scale. The opportunities before the party are the state-run enterprises and the gates that Vijayans industrial drive will open. Going by the early trend, if the people are not vigilant, these opportunities will be cornered by cronies and relatives of the party leaders.

In this 2005 paper in the International Review of Sociology that looks at the cultural context of corruption in communist societies, authors Wayne Sandholtz and Rein Taagepera argue that communism created structural incentives for engaging in corrupt behaviors, which became such a widespread fact of life that they became rooted in the culture in these societies/that is, the social norms and practices prevailing in communist societies. No wonder that many of the party leaders and proxies found nothing wrong in party leaders family members grabbing premium government jobs.

They had waited for five years while the Congress-led UDF had a free-for-all. Looks like its payback time, and the tax payers have to foot the bill this time as well.
Ahmednagar: The police on Friday filed a chargesheet in a district court against three prime accused in the case of gang rape and murder of a school student in Kopardi village on 13 July.

Accused Pappu alias Jitendra Shinde, Santosh G Bhaval and Nitin G Bhailume were arrested within hours of the crime and charged under Sections 376 (A) and 302 of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to rape and murder, besides other sections of relevant laws.

It marked the end of the 86-day police investigation into the rape and murder of the 15-year-old girl.

Criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been appointed the Special Public Prosecutor in the case to be tried before a fast-track court.

The chargesheet running into around 350 pages named around 70 witnesses, including family members and other villagers.

The crime, which was equated with the Nirbhaya case of Delhi in view of the grisly brutality involved, happened on 13 July evening at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district.

The girl went missing for a few hours, after which her mutilated, blood-splattered body was found under a tree in a field.

The crime sent shock waves through social and political circles and led to a ruckus in the Maharashtra legislature for two days during its monsoon session in July.

The opposition Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party targeted the state's Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government both within the legislature and outside.

Hundreds of villagers put up roadblocks in Kopardi and surrounding villages and took out processions to demand justice for the victim and her family.

The state government had announced a compensation of Rs 500,000 to the victim's family under the Manodhairya Scheme.
Two days after sending Mumbai ad professional Barun Kashyap Bhuyan to police custody, for allegedly faking harassment at the hands of gau rakshaks in Mumbai, the police is reportedly planning to question Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma Menon and former VJ Raghu Ram for aiding and abetting the accused, under the Indian Penal Code, suggesting a possible conspiracy from the political party.

Menon has been a vocal supporter of Bhuyan and has been helping him seek legal counsel in the matter. Ram, on the other hand, had helped Bhuyan reach out to Menon.

In a report published in The Indian Express, Menon had harboured Bhuyan at her residence, while the police was out looking for him. "We would want to know why Preeti Sharma Menon gave refuge to a wanted accused. It amounts to aiding and abetting under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and she would soon be summoned," the report said, quoting a senior police official from Amboli police station in Andheri, where the case is currently registered.

The 24-year-old ad professional was arrested on 4 October by a policeman named Daya Nayak from Menons car in Chembur along with her driver. He was then sent to police custody till 8 October by Andheri court.

According to the report, the police are also probing if Bhuyan is associated with the Aam Aadmi Party, since he lived in Delhi till 2014, and if he concocted the entire incident. He had previously used social media to share his angst on cow vigilantes, the report quoted the official.

Meanwhile, Menon has lashed out on reports alleging AAPs hand in Bhuyan faking the alleged harassment by gau rakshaks with a statement on Twitter, where she clarified that Bhuyan is not an AAP member.

Young reporters, in awe of Sub Inspector Daya Nayak, are printing pure lies on #BarunKashyap. My response below: pic.twitter.com/wFYcPvYjXq  Preeti Sharma Menon (@PreetiSMenon) October 7, 2016

She also alleged Nayak of spreading misinformation in the media, citing contradictions in the news reports including him staying overnight at her house while the police was searching for him. "They made an absurd claim that my driver told them he picked up BKB (Barun Kashyap Bhuyan) on Sunday with me from Masjid Bunder and then BKB stayed with me. Firstly my driver had the day off on Sunday. Secondly, I had my whole team over for a meeting at my place for almost the entire day. BKB came early evening and left later. My driver told them he first saw BKB in my house on Monday morning. Yet they lie to the media," she says.

However, according to news reports, the police has found discrepancies in Bhuyans statement about the time he left for work, and the time he reached office. News reports claim that this is proven by feeds from CCTV cameras placed outside his house and office.

Menon, however, alleged that the police noted a wrong time in the report. "The police claim they have footage of start and end but all cameras en route were conveniently not working. They further claim, very conveniently, that Amboli cameras also stopped working 10 days ago," she said in the statement.

Firstpost had reported on 21 August and 5 September that Bhuyan had filed a complaint at Amboli police station of an alleged harassment for carrying a leather bag by an autorickshaw driver and two unidentified men believed to be gau rakshaks.
New Delhi: Supreme Court on Friday extended the stay granted by Bombay High Court to facilitate an appeal against its decision to lift the ban on entry of women near the sanctum sanctorum of the famous Haji Ali Dargah, till 17 October when it will hear the matter.

However, during the brief hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar expressed hope that the Haji Ali Dargah Trust, which has challenged the high court judgement, "will take a stand which is progressive".

The court adjourned the matter at the request of senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam who appeared for the Trust. "The order of the High Court granting stay on operation of its judgement to continue till the next date of hearing on 17 October," the bench said.

Subramaniam assured the bench that he was on a "progressive mission" and said all holy books and scriptures promoted equality and nothing which is regressive in character should be suggested. The bench also remarked that "if you are not allowing both men and women to go beyond a point, there is no problem. But if you are allowing some to go beyond a point while others are not, it is a problem."

The bench, which recorded that an identical issue has been raised and was pending before the Supreme Court relating to the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, said "the problem is not only among Muslims, but among the Hindus also". The counsel, appearing for a women's group which has challenged the practice of the Trust not to allow women near the sanctum sanctorum, submitted that the position was different before 2011 than what it is now.

The Trust moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court order lifting the ban on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the renowned Muslim shrine in South Bombay. The High Court on 26 August had held that the ban imposed by the Trust on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah, contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution and said women should be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum like men.

The High Court had allowed a PIL filed by two women Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz, from NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, challenging the ban on women's entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah from 2012. It had granted a six-week stay on the order on a request by the Dargah Trust to enable it to appeal before the Supreme Court.

The high court had held that the Trust had no power to alter or modify the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or any group. The High Court in its 56-page judgement had also noted that the "right to manage the Trust cannot override the right to practice religion itself".

It had said the trust has not been able to justify the ban legally or otherwise. Hence it cannot be said that the prohibition was an essential and integral part of Islam and whether taking away that part of the practice would result in a fundamental change in the character of the religion or belief.

It had also refused to accept the justification of the Trust that the ban was imposed for safety and security of women, in particular, to prevent sexual harassment at places of worship. The Trust had claimed that the ban was in keeping with an order of the Supreme Court wherein stringent directions have been issued to ensure that there is no sexual harassment to women at places of worship.

The court had noted that the aims, objectives and activities of the Haji Ali Dargah Trust were not governed by any custom or tradition and held that it was a public charitable trust and hence, open to people all over the world, irrespective of their caste, creed or gender.

The Maharashtra government had earlier told the court that women should be barred from entering the inner sanctorum of Haji Ali Dargah only if it is so enshrined in the Quran.
New Delhi: Supreme Court on Friday stayed the operation of the Patna High Court judgement quashing the Bihar government's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor in the state.

A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit, issued notices to all respondents including some liquor manufacturers on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional the Nitish Kumar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of 30 September which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, the Nitish Kumar government came out with a new law banning the sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on 2 October.
After the surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army on 29 September (to destroy terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), Pakistan stepped up cross-border firing and violated the Line of Control ceasefire at least 20 times.

In the wake of the increasing violations of this nature, the BSF has increased deployment of its troops (and technical equipment) along the International Border (IB). People living in the areas along the LoC, have been evacuated and moved to safer places.

In 2015, 16 civilians were killed and 71 others injured in 405 incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistan. While 253 incidents of ceasefire violations took place along the IB, 152 incidents were reported along the LoC.

Here are is a dateline of all the violations that took place since the surgical strike.

30 September

On 30 September, a day after the announcement by the Indian government about the surgical strikes carried out by the armed forces on terror launch pads near LoC, Pakistan violated the ceasefire. Pakistani troops opened fire from small arms along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Akhnoor district. The troops had restored to small arms firing along LoC in Pallanwala, Chaprial, Samnam areas of Akhnoor sector of Jammu district during the night.

This was the fifth ceasefire violation in the month of September.

"There was small arms firing (from Pakistan on forward posts) along the LoC in Pallanwala, Chapriyal and Samnam areas of Jammu district during the night," Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh said.

The firing had lasted for an hour and a half. There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing.

On 29 September Pakistani troops had resorted to firing in Balnoie area of Mendhar sector without any casualty.

1 October

On 1 October, the Pakistani troops targeted Indian posts and civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy machine guns along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Akhnoor tehsil.

There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing, which lasted around three hours. There was heavy shelling of mortar bombs, RPGs and heavy machine guns and small arms firing on forward positions along the LoC in Pallanwala sector and Chamb area of Akhnoor tehsil.

Police said the Pakistani troops targeted Badoo and Chanoo hamlets and the villagers residing near the LoC were evacuated and shifted to safer places.

2 October

On 2 October, Pakistani troops launched firing and shelling on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Pallanwala sector of Jammu district this evening.

3 October

On 3 October, the Pakistani troops intensified action, by violating ceasefire four times. They resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing on Indian Army posts and civilian areas along LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving five civilians injured and several shops ablaze.

The firing and shelling was carried out in Shahpur, Krishnagati, Mandi and Sabzian sectors in Poonch district, officials said.

Reports said in the retaliatory action by the Indian Army, one Pakistani post Twiven was destroyed.

The Pakistani troops fired 120 mm, 80 mm mortar bombs, automatic weapons and small arms.

In shelling, five people were injured in Shahpur Kerni and Saujian sectors, officials said, adding the injured have

been hospitalised.

4 October

On 4 October, violating the border ceasefire five times since Monday, Pakistan troops pounded Indian military and civilian positions in 10 areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region, provoking retaliation.

The Pakistani troops resorted to shelling of mortar bombs and small and automatic weapons in Jhangar, Kalsian, Makri in Noushera sector of Rajouri district and Gigriyal, Platan, Damanu, Channi and Palanwala areas of Pallanwala sector of Jammu district and Balnoi, Krishnagati in Poonch district.

Firing and shelling along LoC was reported from Balnoi and Krishnagati sector in Poonch district.

One jawan reportedly suffered minor injuries in the action.

Pakistani troops targeted Jhangar, Kalsian, Makri sub-sectors of Noushera belt. They fired mortar bombs, automatic weapons and small arms.

5 October

On 5 October, the Pakistan troops violated the border ceasefire four times as they resorted to heavy shelling and firing on Indian posts and civilian areas in Poonch, Rajouri and Kupwara districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violations in Sunderbani and Krishnagati sectors in Rajouri and Poonch district, said Defence PRO Manish Mehta.

A senior army officer said ceasefire violations also took place in Mendhar sector of Poonch and Macchil sector of

Kupwara.

Mehta said Pakistan troops shelled mortar bombs and fired from automatic and small weapons.

With inputs from PTI
It is difficult to imagine any journalist with a modicum of integrity, especially one in a senior position like Manoj Gupta would fabricate a conversation with a Mirpur SP and of questioning him on Indias surgical strikes.

True, journalists are not always the picture of probity and have their fair share of bad eggs, but the fact is that even as Pakistans foreign ministry dismissed the CNN-News18 story, its acknowledgement that there is a policeman named Ghulam Akbar in the Mirpur station in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), kind of pulls the ground from under the ministrys feet.

And, as much of a fount of knowledge that Gupta might be, the odds of him personally knowing the name of a policeman in the hostile territory of PoK are incredibly low; thus, we have to assume that he got the name through someone.

I have no idea how good an impersonator Gupta is, but, if he pretended to mimic the IGP of Pakistans Punjab, there is a fair chance that a mere junior policeman in a station would have had his heart in his throat when he found that IGP Mushtaq had called. There is in fact an IGP Mushtaq.

If it is anything like we see in India, Akbar would have probably stood at attention over the phone line and saluted, and yes, inevitably spilled the beans. It is highly unlikely that he would have had the courage to question the bona fides of the voice on the other line or make out the subtle differences in the accent. How many SPs posted in remote areas would be familiar with the IGPs voice pattern?

I remember once going through the security check before taking a flight from the Mumbai airport and this burly man was stopped because of something suspicious in his handbag. A policeman asked him to open his bag, but instead of complying, he flashed his credentials  he was the commissioner or something. About twenty cops rose as one and stiffened up. His bag was not opened. So much for that.

Ditto the reaction across the border, where authority is even more feared. Regardless of Pakistans hot denial and accusations that the voices on the recording are forged and do not belong to Akbar, who now obviously suffers from memory loss and insists that no such call was received, the truth is reflected in their protests sans conviction.

Argument: There is no percentage in concocting this exercise. You are not going to put your career and credibility and your station at stake for a stunt that can easily be found out as false and blow up in your face. Imagine the horrific embarrassment if you conjured up a conversation for a moments delight.

Besides, the SP Akbar confessions, so to speak, are not particularly revealing of any new evidence. In fact, he just kind of tells the big boss how many casualties there were, that some Pakistani soldiers were lost and that seven places were attacked by India in the surgical strikes.

India already knows that. And more.

Which is why this little conversation has the scent of reality about it. There is no drama, no exaggeration; it's just a normal talk. We all are creatures of habit. If the boss calls we go into mental handsprings. It is the way we are.

Let Pakistan whine as much as it wants and disregard the call. It happened and we really dont need to prove it.

And yet, there are Indians who say, it could not have happened. Why not? Why would he divulge details, they say; he would want a proof that it was his boss... yeah, sure. You do that right? Have you seen how we curl up like worms and bend into question marks and sit on the edge of the chair, if we sit at all, when the big boss summons.

Our part of the world has the most servile body language in the world; we call it respect but it is, actually, a deeply ingrained sense of survival.

We do not need this cabal in India  demanding proof of the surgical strikes. Why would we make it public? Why would we let the terrorists watch a grand episode on Indias military modus operandi, and tell them about the drone models we have, the weaponry used, and the route we took to get in and get home. There is no need for that.

I think Gupta took a shot and was dead on target. For any journalist, it's wonderful, it's thrilling, it's what it is all about.
In the aftermath of the Uri attacks and India's subsequent response, a powerful narrative  one of the many around India's covert operation across the LoC to degrade Pakistan's terror infrastructure  seeks to place the Indian Army's action within the narrow context of domestic politics.

Worried that the successful offensive against Pakistan may give Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party an electoral boost in the upcoming Assembly polls, an assortment of Indian political leaders  from Arvind Kejriwal, P Chidambaram, Sanjay Nirupam to even Lalu Prasad Yadav's son Tejashwi  have accused the BJP of trying to gain political mileage out of the strike. The political discourse, plumbing new depths every day, slipped several notches further still on Thursday with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accusing the prime minister of doing 'khoon ki dalaali' with the blood of dead soldiers.

While Rahul's comments may be a surgical strike against the Congress' poll prospects, it is consistent with the Opposition's effort to undermine the importance of the operation by making it appear as if cross-border strikes are common place. While the Congress has suddenly remembered all the strikes that happened under its watch, some like Kejriwal have insinuated that the operation may have not happened at all.

It has even been alleged  as Dinesh Unnikrishnan has argued in this article  that the Modi government has frittered away the effectiveness of the covert operation by displaying needless triumphalism or chest-thumping.

Facts, however, say otherwise. Far from displaying triumphalism, the government has shown rare reticence and restraint. It has been wisely reluctant to comment on the surgical strikes, save one deplorable slip from Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. If we take away Parrikar's crude bragging where he compared the prowess of our armed forces to that of the mythical Hanuman, we have precious little from government's key figureheads on one of the most successful covert operations in recent times.

To begin with, the media briefing that followed the surgical strikes was conducted by the DGMO, not a government official, minister or even the army chief.

Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh's carefully worded statement set the tone. He portrayed the strikes as a preemptive attempt to ensure that further terrorist attacks do not take place, thereby placing the cross-border operation within the legal realm of "self-defence".

As Siddharth Varadarajan writes in The Wire: "Preemptive self-defence is a controversial concept in International Law. Over the years, however, in the context of the US-led war against terrorism, there is hardly any state that can or will criticise India for invoking it."

That done, the DGMO was careful to send out a message that the strikes were aimed at terrorist launch pads, and not the Pakistan Army, although some collateral damage to those trying to "support" the terrorists was inevitable.

The statement, which did not put a figure to casualties except describing it as "significant", was spartan in details and firm in assertion that the strikes have ended. The wording left no space for doubt that India, having sent the message across, is extremely reluctant to put additional pressure on Pakistan and risk more escalation.

Following the briefing held last Thursday (29 September), there has been no further communication from the civil or the military administration. The prime minister has maintained radio silence. Social media is Modi's preferred mode of mass communication. There has not been a single tweet from him so far on the strikes, not even a congratulatory one on the army's role.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has posted three tweets on the subject  all three on the day the operation was carried out. Two of those are on the valour of Indian Army, without being specific, and one on the "successful counter-terrorism operation".

Congratulations to the Indian Army on successful counter terrorism operations against terror groups and their launching pads. 1/3  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 29, 2016

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has posted two tweets on the issue. The tone and tenor of his tweets mirror that of the home minister.

We are proud of #IndianArmy for taking pre-emptive action & repelling terrorists' attempt to destabilise peace & tranquillity in the region.  Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) September 29, 2016

Both the senior ministers in Modi Cabinet have carried forward the theme of fashioning the surgical strikes as a reactionary measure taken in self-defence.

As far as the defence minister is concerned, Modi cut him down to size during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The prime minister asked ministers, and by implication party members, to avoid bragging about the raids and leave it to authorised spokespersons to speak on the issue, according to a report in The Times of India.

Firstpost had argued on Wednesday why not releasing evidence would be the correct move, but for a government "hungry for political mileage", it would have been far easier to put out evidence of the covert operation, especially in the face of Opposition's "disbelief", Pakistan's continued denial and skepticism from the western media.

The Times of India report, mentioned above, suggests however that the government may not release any evidence. It is understandably apprehensive that sharing of "video footage, photographs and infrared images would compromise operational details, tactics, techniques and equipment used in the strikes to take out the Lashkar-e-Taiba launch pads, at least two of which were co-located with Pakistan army positions, across the Line of Control."

To suggest, therefore, that the government has been indulging in chest-thumping over the strikes requires a masterful spinning of facts.

The second narrative, suggested by some commentators, that the NDA government's handling of surgical ops has been a PR disaster, is equally inaccurate.

Following the ops, global and regional powers have rallied behind India asking Pakistan to dismantle the terror factories. Recent reports indicate Pakistan is facing considerable internal pressure over an obvious global isolation. Dawn, a leading Pakistan daily, has reported fissures between the army and the civilian government. The report reveals how the top echelons of the Pakistani establishment are feeling the pressure of adverse international opinion.

The way BJP's habitual motor-mouths have maintained discretion over the strikes makes it clear that the memo has gone through.

News agency ANI reported on Wednesday that the vice-president of the European Parliament Ryszard Czarnecki, in a signed article published in EP Today, said Indias cross-border action against the terrorists should be "commended and supported by the international community".

The EU figurehead's endorsement of India's actions follow a string of such open pledges of support from the US, Russia, Germany and even Singapore. Most global powers have either backed India or called for restraint, an euphemism for urging Pakistan not to precipitate matters following the strike.

Far from a PR gaffe, the government's deft handling of the diplomatic offensive needs to be praised. So how exactly has the Modi government or the BJP messed up here?
Jodhpur: After his cross-border wedding ran into the headwinds of rising tensions between India and Pakistan, a youth here has approached External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who on Friday assured him of help.

Jodhpur resident Naresh Tewani and Karachi-based Priya Bachchani, who are planning to tie the knot exactly a month from now, were facing anxious moments as the Indian embassy in Pakistan had not granted visas to the bride's family and relatives.

According to the groom, despite having applied for visas in the prescribed time and format, no one from the bride's side has been issued the documents so far. Seeing no headway in the process, Tewani had reached out to External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter for help.

Swaraj on Friday responded to his plea saying that the visas would be issued to them.

"Pl do not worry. We will issue the Visa(sic)," she said on Twitter.

Tewani said, "The applications for visas for the family of the bride were filed well in time about 3 months back. We assumed that the documents would be issued in time."

The groom's family had said wedding preparations had come to a standstill as all their efforts were being directed towards ensuring that the bride's family gets the documents.

"The minister has been quite responsive to tweets by people in trouble and they have received aid from her. Seeing her willingness to resolve the troubles of those in need, we knocked on her twitter account," Tewani said.

"It was my long-cherished dream to have a Pakistani bride for my son since my visit to Pakistan in 2001, considering the resemblance in culture and traditions between the two countries. But given the circumstances, I was afraid that the realisation of this dream might take longer," the groom's father Kanhaiya Lal said.
Chennai: AIADMK on Friday said the detailed medical bulletin about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has "put an end" to questions about the treatment being given to the hospitalised party supremo and expressed confidence that "she will return home soon".

Apollo Hospitals, where Jayalalithaa was admitted on 22 September after she complained of fever and dehydration, has on Thursday answered in detail all queries on her treatment regimen, Party spokesperson CR Saraswathi said. People were eager to know about the treatment being provided to Jayalalithaa and the detailed statement answers it all, she said.

"Apollo Hospitals had clearly mentioned in the statement (on Thursday) the kind of good treatment being given to Amma (Jayalalithaa) and the good care being taken by doctors from AIIMS and London. This has put an end to all the questions about the treatment being given to her," she told reporters.

Among others, a three-member medical team from Delhi's AIIMS and a British doctor Richard John Beale had examined Jayalalithaa. Saraswathi pointed out that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had also noted on Friday that "Jayalalithaa is improving" and thanked him.

"Rahul Gandhi has also said that the Chief Minister is doing well and that she is recovering. That is the fact. Thanks to Rahulji," she said. Saraswathi also said the Chief Minister should take rest and that "she will return home soon."

The Apollo hospital had on Thursday said that the treatment regimen for Jayalalithaa includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supporting therapy.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on 7 October, 2016. It has been republished in light of World AIDS Day on 1 December, 2016.

After years of deliberating on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014, the Union Cabinet has finally approved it, with amendments, on Wednesday in a meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The Bill is a long-awaited legislation that seeks to end societal stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV (PLHIVs) and ensure their right to privacy.

The Bill takes a human-rights approach to public health, and makes antiretroviral treatment a legal right of HIV/AIDS patients. This would mean that it is now obligatory for the Central and State governments to provide for anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and arrange for the management of risk reduction of vulnerable populations. The legislation prohibits arbitrary and discriminatory acts by the state against PLHIVs and their families. The HIV/AIDS Bill, therefore, has the foundations of civil liberties at its centre, providing for positive and negative obligations for the State towards approximately 21 lakh PLHIVs in India.

Populations who are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS are female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSMs), transgenders and intravenous drug-users. The Bill seeks to protect these high-risk groups from discrimination, both through administration of treatment for their infections as well as improving their access to welfare schemes and services. Any discrimination or unfair treatment against PLHIVs and their families in their employment, education, healthcare and provision of insurance is prohibited; they also cannot be banned from housing or renting property and from standing for public or private office. Moreover, by bringing in legal accountability in the treatment and care of the PLHIVs, the Bill also mandates for a formal mechanism to probe on complaints of violations of the Act. Most importantly, it seeks to safeguard the privacy of the PLHIVs by stating that no HIV test, medical treatment, or research will be conducted on a person without his/her informed consent.

The Bill also makes it mandatory for institutions and establishments keeping records of PLHIVs to adopt data protection measures. By providing for a progressionist approach that safeguards the human rights of the affected, while simultaneously providing for risk and vulnerability reduction, that has its roots in social and economic justice, the Bill is an example of sound affirmative action.

However, will the adoption of this Bill be action enough for a bias-free environment for the people living with HIV and their families? While the Bill mandates for prevention of HIV/AIDS, will it be able to protect those who are most vulnerable to infections, namely the high-risk groups (intravenous drug-users, FSWs, MSMs, and transgendered individuals)? Moreover, the Bill does not elucidate on the legal dissonance between its provisions of non-discrimination and other acts and case-law that discriminate against sex-workers, homosexuals and transgenders.

For example, the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1956, that, despite its silence on the legality of sex-workers, is used by law enforcement to criminalize, punish and prosecute female sex workers. Moreover, the LGBTQI population also faces egregious human rights violations by the State and law enforcement; the Supreme Court judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation sought to reinstate the archaic Section 377 of the IPC, thereby validating the criminalizing treatment of the State towards the LGBTQI community. By not safeguarding the rights of sex-workers, MSMs and transgenders, the State continues to push them into further victimhood. How does the HIV/AIDS Bill, then, epitomise the clauses on anti-discrimination of the PLHIVs, when the most vulnerable continue to live, in the fringes of society, their identities, governed by morality, but still unprotected by any legislation?

The HIV/AIDS is, by all means, a cause for revelry within the communities as well as for advocates for the vulnerable. However, in my opinion, the HIV/AIDS Bill cannot be isolated from all the other issues currently tabled in the Parliament and the Supreme Court  the passing of an Anti-Trafficking Bill that does not incriminate all sex-workers; the ratifying of the Transgender Persons Bill, 2016 that provides for a comprehensive understanding of the transgender identity; the five-judge Constitution Bench that will decide the fate of Section 377, and therefore, the fates of the MSM, gays and transgender communities.

It cannot be denied that HIV/AIDS patients have had an arduous journey, legally. In December 2010, the Supreme Court struck down all reservations of the Central government to repudiate its obligation towards PLHIVs by stating that receiving second-line ART treatment to all HIV/AIDS patients was subsumed under Article 21 of the Constitution  the right to life. The Cabinets nod to the Bill is, therefore, commendable. The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda has stated  The Bill seeks to prevent stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. These amendments will allow families that have faced discrimination to go to court against institutions or persons being unfair; but how will the Bill have this power when many of the vulnerable dont have the luxury to express themselves or define their identities and are continued victims of violence and stigma in both public and private spaces?

The author is a human rights lawyer and researcher based in Bengaluru.
Washington: The US said on Friday that it will continue to work with countries in the region to eliminate safe havens of terrorists which also pose a threat to India but refrained from commenting on a bill in the Congress that America should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state'.

The US also called for a "meaningful" Indo-Pak dialogue to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down recent tensions. State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, did not comment on a bill in the Congress that the US should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state'.

Asked if the government would support the bill and a similar online petition, Kirby at his daily press briefing said: "I have not seen anything specifically about the  such a bill, and obviously we don't  I'm not going to comment on whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard."

"What we  what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. We're going to continue to work with  and obviously it's a threat to the Indian people as well."

"So we're going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we've always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that's  we're going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end," Kirby said.

He added that the US' position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that existright now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place - meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said.

He said the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them. "That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we don't believe for a minute that they don't take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children," he said.

Kirby also said the US had full co nfidence in Pakistan's nuclear security. "I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal," he said.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is headquartered in RK Puram, New Delhi. This is the national nodal agency that acts as a repository and reference point for all data relating to the enforcement of drug laws in India. In its 2015 report, it stated that there are approximately four million addicts in India. It further stated that a scheme to finance state governments to strengthen their enforcement capabilities for combating Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was launched by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 24 October, 2004 at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore. The Government of India further decided to extend this scheme for five years (2009-10 to 2013-14) with an estimated budget of Rs 15 crore.

During the financial year 2014-15, Rs 2,28,69,419 was sanctioned for five states to improve their drug-enforcement infrastructure; 388 Drug Law Enforcement training programmes were organised wherein a total of 14,255 personnel were trained; and 1,600 drug detection (DD) kits were given to Central and state agencies for spot identification of seized drugs.

A mere 20 kilometres away from the NCB headquarters is New Seelampur, a Muslim-dominated resettlement colony in North-East Delhi. Here, nearly 30,000 people are crammed into each square kilometre. "Entire families are addicted to smack, cannabis and medical drugs, aside from alcohol and tobacco," says Asif Chaudhary, resident and social worker. Outside the New Usmanpur Police Station, on a clean patch of green, adolescents lie passed out on cannabis and smack. At a stones throw is the areas first and only failed hotel project, just a small building dotted with reflective glass windows. Three wine and beer shops have cropped up in it. In and around it, young boys (from the age of 15 upwards) drink hard liqour, chew tobacco and sneak into parked buses to smoke up. Young people fear nothing because they know they will not be subject to punishment like adults, adds Chaudhary.

Last year, at the Karkardooma Court, armed assailants shot at a police constable and got off scot-free because they were minors and hence, only agents of the crime. On 4 January this year, the President of India accorded his assent to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Section 15 of the new act says in case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child, who has completed or is above the age of 16, the Juvenile Justice Board shall conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a juvenile offender is to be sent for rehabilitation or be tried as an adult. Youngsters in New Seelampur havent memorised constitutional provisions or kept track of its intricate amendments. Quite fatally, they only remember it through the broad social experience of it.

Those clumps of twisted syringe needles in public toilets, in a rundown brick plot (that belongs to the Delhi Jal Board) and inside electric transformers defy denial. Sometimes, addicts go and pull out charged parts of transformers, if they succeed, theres no power supply for hours, if they dont they die from shock, says Chaudhary.

Naseem is a recovering addict from the region. He asks why thekas flout the law and operate within 100 metres of a government school in the adjacent Shastri Park region. He says addicts are in the habit of breaking off and selling window grills, taps, ceiling fans and other school property. Last month, a Delhi Police head constable riding a two-wheeler was knocked down by a car near the Seelampur T-junction. The police confirmed that the car was allegedly being driven by a teenager without a license. How many criminals are actually addicts? That might be hard to find out because the last National Survey on Drug Abuse was conducted in 2000-2001 (report published in 2004). The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recently approached Aiims, Delhi, to conduct the survey.

Of course, education isnt a top priority for many. Sharib, another resident, lost his brother to a drug overdose some years ago. Today, he is angry that teenagers from JJ colonies in New Seelampur become peddlers for Rs 200 to 300 a day. The other employment alternative is the peeling of plastic coating from wires, in which even women and children are engaged. Addicts save on labour costs (Rs 10 a metre) and set large chunks of PVC wire on fire to get their hands on the copper; air be damned. Asha Community Health and Development Society is an NGO that has been running a centre here since 1990. In July, largely due to Ashas efforts, 14 students from Seelampur made it to Delhi University. Out of the 78 students who appeared for the Class XII examinations, 12 scored more than 80 percent. Subodh Masih, who currently manages the centre along with six staffers and four volunteers, says that after Class XII, theres a 40 to 50 percent dropout rate.

It all boils down to the fact that drugs are easily available. Shouldnt the local authorities check whether the queues outside local chemist shops in blocks A, C, B and K are for prescription-based drugs like Avil (anti-inflammatory for aches and allergies), Siazepam (tranquilising muscle relaxant), Nitrazepam (short-term relief from insomnia and anxiety), Alprax (a sedative, hypnotic, anxiolytic) and Phenergan (antihistamine, sedative, and anti-nausea drug), none of which can be sold over the counter? This is the question that Dr Nafis of Seva Dispensary in Seelampurs K Block wants to ask local authorities. In the last 10 years, he has referred to hospitals 38 cases of AIDS from Seelampur and only 10 to 20 addiction victims.

Three years ago, when he tried to counsel addicts, they gatecrashed his office and stole his laptop. Heres where the lack of a law deepens the rot. Drug addicts remain in the vague segment between carriers of a social problem and victims of a mental disorder. Section 19 of the Mental Health Act 1987 states any mentally-ill person who does not, or is unable to, express his willingness for admission as a voluntary patient, may be admitted and kept as an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home on an application made in that behalf by a relative or a friend of the mentally-ill person.

Even the new bill doesnt include rescue services. Which means it doesnt let us go pick them up from the street. If we keep them here against their wish and they run away; even the effort put into bringing them here goes down the drain, says Dr Nimesh Desai, director, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (it is 6.2 kilometres away from New Seelampur). Is there a solution? Yes, IHBAS operates a Mobile Mental Health Unit that tracks and treats senior citizens suffering from acute depression, paranoia, and schizophrenia. These patients have either been locked inside their homes or dumped on the streets. A similar community outreach for drug relief, in Desais opinion, is badly required.

On mossy, damaged walls, there are torn fliers for a Nasha Mukti Kendra. Dial in and its founder JS Jangra answers. He says he recovered some years ago, and along with six other volunteers, he runs a four-bed rehab in the neighbourhood. He says theres an almost 90 percent relapse rate, which means an addict needs to stay in rehab at least for six months. At the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital close by, the Delhi State AIDS Control Society provides opioid-substitution treatment. In Delhi, there are five drug de-addiction centres jointly run by the government, situated in urban villages like Nand Nagri, Amberhai and Mahipalpurand are battling for funds.The Delhi government has no separate budget for de-addiction. The Ministry of Women and Child Development department keeps funds aside for organising awareness activities under its prohibition services.

To bother about its naked grey drains where mosquitoes do the Mexican Wave, New Seelampur has to first quit being Mexico  a sobering reality for the National Capital.

The following are excerpts from an interview with Haji Ishraq Khan, MLA-Seelampur

Why is there no drug de-addiction centre in the region?

The DDA doesnt give us land to build a Nasha Mukti Kendra. We need a lot of land, at least one thousand metres.

There are NGOs operating in the region, do you work with them to tackle on-ground problems?

NGOs only make claims on paper, they dont do real work

What about the private liquor shops that have opened up inside an unopened hotel?

There are private shops and the owners of the hotel are responsible for pulling them out of somewhere else and placing them here. Their liquor licenses were old.

Doesnt the police do anything to stop addiction?

The police wants all kinds of illegal activities to go on so it can fill its own pocket.
After Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "playing with the blood of soldiers", in reference to the Indian Armys 29 September surgical strikes, BJP President Amit Shah addressed a section of the media in Delhi slamming Rahul's statements.

He started out by congratulating the media for its role in boosting the morale of the Indian Army after it carried out the surgical strikes, reported ANI. "Indian media exposed Pakistani terrorists to the world, and also showed the government's efforts in extinguishing the same," he added.

I congratulate the media for the role it has played in boosting the morale of the armed forces after surgical strikes: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/DkoxoPk57g  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Shah then dived straight into the matter of the surgical strikes being politicised, while stressing on the fact that the BJP stayed away from the controversy. "Some parties have doubted the surgical strikes. On behalf of the BJP I want to say to those people who are questioning the Army, I condemn this [politicisation]. You have only insulted army and the martyrs," he remarked.

But some political parties have raised questions on surgical strikes. From the beginning we tried to not politicise the strikes: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/qmVRCZUshh  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

It all started with Kejriwal, Shah said. Earlier this week, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a video message, praised Modi and the Indian Army for the surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) across the Line of Control (LoC) and warned the PM of "Pakistan's false propaganda" and asked him to "unmask" it. Immediately, the BJP lashed out at Kejriwal for demanding proof of the surgical strikes.

Soon after Kejriwalji made statement on #surgicalstrike he started trending in Pakistan. Soon after Rahulji talked of 'dalali' : Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/Kvs4WZztQF  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

"All this was started by Kejriwalji. Yesterday #PaksTandsWithKejriwal was trending in Pakistan, and that shows a lot. After this, there were stray comments from our other opponents. But when Congress V-P Rahul Gandhiji said khoon ki dalali, he crossed all limits" Shah said. He went to ask "Rahulji", if he thought the "blood of our brave soldiers is something that can be traded". Shah blamed the whole controversy on Rahul's political exceptions to Modi, claiming that this was no secret by giving examples of phrases that Rahul had employed in the past such as "maut ka saudagar", "zeher ki kheti". He also went on to ask if 'dalali' was the right word to refer to the Army's efforts.

Just want to ask Rahul Gandhi, Is dalali a word to refer Indian army and their efforts to save the country?: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/XB5WlTQJQ0  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

"We want to ask him, who was the dalali in the Bofors scandal? Who was the dalali in the 2G scam? I want to ask Rahul Gandhi: a dalali is only for deals. How is it possible when it comes to the efforts of the army?"

Pakistan ki chinta karna hamara kaam nahi hai, Rahul Gandhi se ye sawal kar lena: Amit Shah on instability in Pakistan  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Shah then said that none of the senior BJP leaders have issued a statement politicising the issue and that if some party workers at the state or district level had said anything, it only displays their enthusiasm and it should not be politicised. This is a matter, Shah said, that the whole nation is joyous about and that the real question here is, why aren't you "enthusiastic" about it? Shah noted that the "uproar" in Pakistan was proof enough that the surgical strikes took place and that sceptical political parties can take a look at that.

People who want to have a proof should go and take analysis of what is happening in Pakistan, they will learn a lot: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/mXo4Be5TLX  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Whole nation, Government of India, BJP support Indian Army; We believe in armys bullets, not politicians' statements: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/Pq2JLdNHuD  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Shah ended his address with a patriotic statement. "The whole country, the government and the BJP are behind the army. We trust the bullets of the Indian army which keep the nation safe." He also asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to clarify her stand on this statement and requested the Congress to keep the word dalali to themselves. "We believe in Jai jawaan, Jai Kisan," Shah said.
Washington: Hitting out at Pakistan for using terrorism as an "instrument of state policy", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday that 'Brand Pakistan' "really identifies with global terror" as every major terrorist incident in the world has a "Pakistani footprint" around it.

Jaitley, leading the Indian delegation to the IMF and World Bank meetings, also said Pakistan has a "very low credibility" in terms of the way it deals with matters involving terrorism.

He added that the pull out by a number of nations from the 19th Saarc Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Islamabad, show Pakistan is being isolated in the region.

"The fact that almost everybody said that we won't attend the Saarc Summit speaks of the isolation in the region. Ultimately, if you use terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and every terrorist incident - a major terrorist incident anywhere in the world, has Pakistani footprint around it, then 'Brand Pakistan' really identifies itself with global terror.

"Therefore, all contrarian noises that they make that Pakistan is a victim et cetera, clearly has established that the world is not willing to listen to them because of a very low credibility and a low track record as far as these matters are concerned," he told NDTV.

Responding to a question on the geopolitical risk of India's surgical strikes blowing up, he said: "I don't think we should overstate the problem".

"Emphasising that the two countries are nuclear powers and therefore, nuclear blackmail in the world is Pakistan's strategy. It's never been an Indian strategy.

"If you look at the economic impact of the surgical strikes, within minutes of the strikes, you had an upheaval in the currency market. Defence will always remain a top priority as far as expenditure is concerned because national security and sovereignty are paramount as far as India is concerned," Jaitley said.

He also termed the surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control (LoC) as "army strategy" and "pre-emptive strike against terrorism". He said all opposition leaders were briefed and consensus was build because India was "entitled to strategise" following the Uri and Pathankot terror attacks.

He had earlier said that any economic impact arising from recent tensions with Pakistan and incidents like the surgical strikes undertaken by Indian special forces will be "extremely marginal".
After BJP president Amit Shah's rebuttal to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Kapil Sibal has now fired off round two of the political salvo between the two parties.

"People who are named in murder cases will tell us that our roots are tainted. I didnt expect the BJP to stoop so low that its leadership will have to point fingers at those who gave independence. Convicted people are giving lectures; the government has no experience making statement," Sibal said.

Jinke khilaaf murder ke case ho,jinhone jail ki hava khaayi ho vo batayenge ki Rahul ji ke mool mein khot hai?: Kapil Sibal pic.twitter.com/jZC38LSRYD  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

He also exhorted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak out and advise Shah that indulging in political bickering is harmful for democracy.

On the issue of the BJP claiming that the Army crossed the LoC for the first time on 29 September, when it carried out surgical strikes, Sibal asked, "Who crossed the LoC in 1965, 71 and 1999? Did Modi, Amit Shah or Parrikar cross the LoC? Does the Indian history start from 2014?" He also reprimanded the BJP for forgetting all these dates in Indian history and accused the BJP of exploiting the Indian Army's strikes. "We didn't politicise Kargil," he said.

https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/784317765838528513

Comparing Pakistan to a patient, the Congress leader said that the neighbouring country has cancer cells in its body and therefore India seeks to treat it with chemotherapy as it wants Pakistan to be a healthy nation.

However, Sibal in an obvious taunt to the government said that the cancer isn't cured by one surgical strike that India undertook. "So has cancer stopped? Is terrorism over?"he asked.

Sibal was also vocal about the ruling government politicising the efforts of the army, asking them to "please stop this poster baazi. Let the army do its job like it has been doing. Amit Shah said that they will take this surgical strike to the people, which clearly shows they want to politicise the matter".

He also brought out a notice issued by the Election Commission to the BJP in 2013 for using the images of armed fores in its "political propaganda". The EC had then stated that the armed forces are apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a democracy and that politicians should exercise great caution in referring to the armed forces.

Aaj ye hamle hote hi nahi agar Jaish-e-Mohd paida nahi hota, aur use paida BJP ne kiya, Masood Azhar ko riha kiya: Kapil Sibal  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

But the most damning response of all by the senior Congress leader was that the BJP had given birth to the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.

"Who let out Masood Azhar; whose defence minister accompanied him to Pakistan? Why did you go to participate in a birthday party? Who is giving energy to Pakistan? Its BJPs so called special friend who is giving them power and their industrialist friends are negotiating it. And they blame Congress party?" Sibal said.

The former UPA minister then said that if the BJP was so concerned about the army, then why did they lower the combat pension? "Is this how you are standing with them, by not making OROP happen  is that how you show your support?" he asked.

Sibal also insisted that the BJP apologise to the army saying that the party had insulted it.
It seems that Rahul Gandhi has started to rue his 'khoon ki dalaali' jibe directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An indicator of that is the fact that the Congress vice-president issued a clarification on the same recently. But, none of his political rivals seem to be buying it, least of all the BJP.

In fact, with his latest jibe, he has yet again painted a target on his back for the ruling party to attack. The BJP simply couldn't let go of this opportunity to pounce on the Congress party and gave a suitable twist to the situation to reap political rewards.

It was also an opportunity for the BJP to point out that the de-facto boss of the Congress was insensitive towards issues of national interest  concerning internal and external security.

BJP president Amit Shah couldn't have wished for a more opportune moment to finally express his thoughts on the surgical strikes and on two of his political rivals, Rahul and Arvind Kejriwal.

Shah had called a press conference after the conclusion of the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) meet following the strikes but later cancelled it, apparently because Modi didn't want any political statement to be made by the party over the issue.

Instead, Shah issued a simple statement complimenting the prime minister and the Indian Army. But thanks to Rahul, he now has a cover to say what he wanted as it would only appear like he was responding to a distasteful remark made by the Congress vice-president against the Indian Army and the prime minister.

"From the beginning we tried not to politicise the strikes. The government tried to keep this as far from politics as possible. In fact, it was the DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) who spoke at the press conference," Shah said.

"By saying (that Modi was) profiteering from army jawans' blood, Rahul has crossed all limits of propriety. He has insulted the jawans' of the army. By questioning the surgical strikes, the Congress party has reiterated the disappointment expressed by Pakistan...which is unfortunate," Shah added.

Shah also found it convenient to target BJP's other main political rival, Kejriwal. "All this was started by Kejriwal ji. On Thursday, #PakStandsWithKejriwal was trending (on twitter) in Pakistan, and that shows a lot. After this, there were stray comments from our other opponents. But when Congress VP Rahul Gandhiji said 'khoon ki dalaali', he crossed all limits," Shah said.

He went on to ask if Gandhi thought that the "blood of our brave soldiers is something that can be traded."

The BJP has for long been targeting Congress with the dalaali word  for the bofors, 2G, coal, Commonwealth Games scams and so on. The party again swung the dalaali word back at them, by recalling all the scams.

"We want to ask him, who was the dalaal in the Bofors scandal? Who was the dalaal in the 2G scam? I want to ask Rahul, isn't dalaali only for deals? How is it possible when it comes to the efforts of the army?" Shah said.

He also took a dig at Rahul's Kisan Yatra campaign ahead of the upcoming UP polls. "The Congress leader's understanding of farmers is limited to the potato factory."

Shah was referring to a widely circulated video clip on social media, of one of Gandhi's speeches during his poll campaign yatra, where he talked about his inability to build a potato factory for the farmers.

Ironically, though Shah kept repeating that politicising the issue was wrong, he used the occasion to assert that his party will go to the people (in the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Punjab and elsewhere) and highlight the grit and success of the Indian Army.

It goes without saying that the inherent message behind it all was that the strikes couldn't have been possible without Modi's strong leadership. Shah said that this kind of action has happened for the first time since the country's Independence.

The day the Indian Army conducted the surgical strikes, this author had argued that it was noteworthy that India, in its almost 70 years of Independence, had for the first time entered Pakistani Occupied Kashmir (PoK) by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) to launch a surgical strike. So much so, that after the 1999 Kargil conflict, the then Indian establishment led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee had claimed not crossing the LoC, given the extreme situation, as a virtue.

Consider what Gandhi had said on the surgical strikes: "Aap (Modi) kya kar rahe ho. Hamare jo jawan hain, jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Kashmir me khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiya, aap unke khoon ke piche chupe hue ho...unki dalaali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai."

Rahul has clearly not learnt anything from the mistakes made by his mother, Sonia, with her "maut ke saudagar" remark in the run up to the 2007 Gujarat Assembly elections. That unsavoury comment turned the popular tide in Modi's favour.

Gandhi issued the following clarification on Twitter on Friday, which was deemed not convincing enough by Shah:

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using..(1/2)  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country (2/2)  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

Responding to a question by the media over Gandhi's clarification, Shah posed a counter question, "I ask you, are you convinced with that clarification. The nation is not."

In the end, it was left to Congress' most articulate leader, lawyer Kapil Sibal, to do damage control and take on the BJP president on his leader's behalf.
Rahul Gandhi should immediately learn to hop around on one foot till he has his destined tryst with political destiny.

Seriously, how long can a guy survive in politics when he has one of his two feet always in the mouth? How can he be taken seriously when none of his statements in politics spanning more than a decade is accepted without being ridiculed or laughed it?

With the kind of serial gaffes he has on his CV, it is suspected that Jawaharlal Nehru's great grandson, Indira Gandhi's grandson and Rajeev Gandhi's shehzada is in politics only to keep the ridicule flowing and undermine his own cause. On current evidence, like a pugilist facing a mirror, Rahul seems to be fighting with himself, delivering one killer blow after the other till there is a knock out.

"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho." (You are hiding behind the blood of soldiers who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices), Rahul said at a meeting in Delhi on Thursday, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dalali, Rahul? Let's hope he knows the meaning of the word. Hopefully the person who gave him these filmi lines

explained the exact meaning of these words to Rahul. A dalal of soldiers is someone who is in the marketplace to profit from their sacrifices. How has India's PM acted like a dalal after the surgical strikes on Pakistan? Had he publicly thumped his chest for ordering punitive action, proclaimed it as victory over Pakistan and then sought votes for his bravado, maybe Rahul's words would have been justified. But, Modi has acted with remarkable restraint, asking loudmouths in the government to zip up and eschew jingoism to avoid escalation, suggesting discretion is the better part of retribution. What made Rahul use such derogatory words for the PM? Maybe it is his characteristic wish to invite ridicule.

Yes, it is despicable when BJP workers seek votes in the name of the Indian Army's achievements. It is deplorable to see BJP workers put up posters, banners and hoardings to claim credit for teaching a lesson to India's arch enemy, just as they had sought votes in the name of Ram, Hindutva and cow in the past. But, to blame the PM of India for the enthusiasm of his supporters is unjustified.

The bigger worry is that Rahul's asinine outbursts are becoming part of a trend. Several times in the past, Rahul has shown a harakirous ability to contradict optimism that with age, like wine, he will mature as a politician. Unfortunately, he has negated it with a penchant for malapropisms every time he gets the opportunity to speak in front of a large gathering, underlining the need for a sagacious speechwriter and effective teleprompter.

Soon after the Army announced surgical strikes along LoC, Rahul had praised Modi's leadership, extending his support and the party's cooperation. Having made his stance clear, Rahul should have stuck to it, evincing maturity and strategic restraint. But, he unnecessarily dragged himself to the centre of controversy by the scruff of the neck with his below-the-belt remark, when all he needed to do was talk about his partially successful kissan yatra in Uttar Pradesh, highlight grievances of farmers.

Smart politicians learns from mistakes, their own and those of contemporaries and colleagues. They understand the value of subtlety of language, nuanced criticism and measured words in public life. They know that use of crude, dramatic street language could be counterproductive.

A few years ago, Sonia Gandhi had called Modi a 'maut ka saudagar' (Is Kader Khan writing Congress speeches?) in

Gujarat and paid an electoral price for it. Dalal, Rahul should have known, is a rung lower than saudagar on the insult hierarchy and could lead to proportionately higher damage to his party. Yet, he went ahead and contributed a third-rate jumla that would haunt him forever.

PS: I started out this piece by suggesting Rahul learn to hop around on one foot. Since this seems difficult, let me share with him the immortal words of Pankaj Kapoor in Maqbool: Gillori khao, Mian, zubaan kaboo mein rehti hai. (Chew betel leaves, it keeps words under control).
A day after Congress Vice Preseident Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his alleged politicisation of the army's surgical strikes, and accused Modi of doing "dalali" (profiteering) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers, senior leaders Amit Shah, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Kapil Sibal conducted press meets to debate the issue.

Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Friday launched a scathing attack against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his "dalali" remark and said he has crossed all limits.

"By saying 'dalali' over soldiers' blood, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. The remarks reflect the Congress' mentality," Shah told at a press conference.

"I strongly condemn his remarks. They are an insult not only to the brave armed forces and martyrs but the entire country," he said.

"I want to ask Gandhi does he perceive our soldiers' blood to be a thing to do 'dalali' (trade) with," asked Shah.

To the people seeking proof of the surgical strike, he said, "People who want to have a proof should go and take analysis of what is happening in Pakistan, they will learn a lot. If surgical strike didnt happen, why was a special session in Pakistan called? Why is the Pakistan PM constantly in Islamabad."

Who are you doubting? Are you doubting the intentions & actions of soldiers? This politicising is condemnable: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/2l0SoMztCA  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Kapil Sibal

After BJP president Amit Shah's rebuttal to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Kapil Sibal fired the round two of the political salvo between the two BJP and Congress.

"People who are named in murder cases will tell us that our roots are tainted. I didnt expect the BJP to stoop so low that its leadership will have to point fingers at those who gave independence. Convicted people are giving lectures; the government has no experience making statements," Sibal said.

On the issue of the BJP claiming that the Army crossed the LoC for the first time on 29 September, when it carried out surgical strikes, Sibal asked, "Who crossed the LoC in 1965, 71 and 1999? Did Modi, Amit Shah or Parrikar cross the LoC? Does the Indian history start from 2014?" He also reprimanded the BJP for forgetting all these dates in Indian history and accused the BJP of exploiting the Indian Army's strikes. "We didn't politicise Kargil," he said.

"Stop putting up these posters claiming credit, it was Army who should be hailed so stop this politics," he further added.

Criticising PM Modi's strategy in dealing with Pakistan, he said, "Why did PM Modi visit Pakistan to wish him (Nawaz Sharif) on his birthday?"

Comparing Pakistan to a patient, the Congress leader said that the neighbouring country has cancer cells in its body and therefore India seeks to treat it with chemotherapy as it wants Pakistan to be a healthy nation.

The Congress leader also claimed that the BJP had given birth to the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.

"Who let out Masood Azhar; whose defence minister accompanied him to Pakistan? Why did you go to participate in a birthday party? Who is giving energy to Pakistan? Its BJPs so called special friend who is giving them power and their industrialist friends are negotiating it. And they blame Congress party?" Sibal said.

Jinke khilaaf murder ke case ho,jinhone jail ki hava khaayi ho vo batayenge ki Rahul ji ke mool mein khot hai?: Kapil Sibal pic.twitter.com/jZC38LSRYD  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Ravi Shankar Prasad

Ravi Shankar Prasad appeared visibly agitated while addressing the press meet and said that nothing more could be expected from Congress and Sibal. He called Rahul Gandhi's statements extremely regrettable and shameful. The justification by the Congress press meet crossed all limits, according to Prasad.

Prasad said that defending Rahul Gandhi was more important for the Congress than defending the country. But he asked what message is the party sending out by doing so?

"We never expected that the Congress would stoop so low to defend its leader," he added.

Subramanian Swamy

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy too took pot-shots at Rahul Gandhi and said that he needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the country's Prime Minister.

He also brought up the Agusta Westland case and the Bofors deal, blots of the Congress rule. He said, "Dalal mean lobbyist. It's a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Agusta, Bofors and National Herald."

"I think Rahul Gandhi needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India."

Rahul Gandhi either has had no education or should get a mental check up done for using these words against the PM: Subramanian Swamy pic.twitter.com/3RemsKOT1h  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal, who was himself in the line of fire over his remarks on the surgical strikes, criticised Rahul Gandhi over his 'dalali' remarks on surgical strikes and urged political parties to cast aside their differences and rally behind the Prime Minister.

"Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I have previously done so and want to congratulate the army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhi's remarks wherein he said army's sacrifices and bravery was 'khoon ki dalali'.

"I condemn the use of such words. I have told in the House as well as in a video message that right now there is tension at the border. The entire country should stand behind the army keeping aside political differences and support the Prime Minister's steps pertaining to security. There should not be any politics over this issue," Kejriwal said.

I strongly condemn what Rahul Gandhi said about our jawans, this is a matter in which we all need to stand united: Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/0qXYoCEPzC  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Rahul Gandhi

On Friday Rahul Gandhi defended his stance on his 'Dalali' statement in a series of tweets from his official Twitter handle. He said, "I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country."

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using..(1/2)  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016
Rohith Vemula's brother, Raja Vemula on Friday alleged that the report of the commission, constituted by the HRD ministry after the Hyderabad university scholar's death, was aimed at saving the BJP Union Ministers, Vice-Chancellor of Hyderabad Central University and ABVP members.

The Justice Roopanwal Commission, in its report to the HRD ministry, has given a clean chit to Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, sources said. The University authorities too have been absolved of any blame for Vemula's death as the commission has held that they were not working under political pressure. Raising questions on Vemula's Dalit status, the commission has said the material on record did not establish it and attributed his suicide to personal reasons, according to sources.

According to a Firstpost article, Following Vemula's suicide his caste identity has been at the centre of the conflict since if it is established that he was a Dalit and was discriminated against, strict legal action could be taken against Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Hyderabad universitty Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile and all the accused according to the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act.

Earlier, the Guntur district collector that had first headed the inquiry into Vemula's caste had claimed that Rohith Vemula was a Dalit. Later, he doubled back on his statement, claiming that a fresh probe was required as his caste status was burried in "ambiguity." The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) dismissed the commission report, saying that both the district collector and the statutory body claimed in different reports that Rohith Vemula belonged to the Dalit community.

"The entire commission report has aimed at saving BJP Union Ministers, Podile Apparao (HCU Vice-Chancellor) and BJP MLC Ramachandra Rao along with ABVP members. Despite District Magistrate, Guntur's report, National Commission for Scheduled Castes Report which clearly stated my brother Rohith Vemula as Scheduled Caste, the present government is making all efforts to divert the reports of authenticated bodies," Raja Vemula said in a Facebook post.

"The agenda of the BJP and RSS are clearly manifested in the report of the commission, which does not take in to account the butchering and enslaving of Dalits, raping and murdering Dalit woman, pronouncement of social boycotts in villages and educational institutions, instead attack on the affirmative policies extended through reservations, and demand for a ban on reservations," he alleged.

In the same Firstpost article it is said that the judicial commission report stated that Vemula's mother "branded" herself a Dalit to attain caste benefits and that the decision to expel Vemula from the hostel was "most reasonable." It is learnt to have raised questions about Vemula's caste status as a dalit saying that there is no proof that his mother V Radhika belonged to "Mala" community. The commission report noted that Vemula's mother was not told the names of her biological parents by her foster family, according to the sources. It is therefore unlikely that she would have been told the caste of her biological parents, the commission is understood to have said.

According The Indian Express article, Radhika Vemula's foster mother Anjani Devi, gave adequate indication that her daughter was aware of her Dalit identity, based on a recorded conversation before her death. Anjani Devi belonged to the Vaddera community which classifies as OBC and not SC but her daughter's biological parents belonged to the Mala caste which is classified as SC. Radhika retained her SC Mala identity after separating from her alcoholic husband. The commission report had asked how Anjani Devi and her husband could have disclosed the information of Radhika's biological parents' caste if they hadn't even revealed their names to her. Radhika was angry and accused the commission report of diverting the issue. "Why is caste being given more importance in this inquiry than the reasons and the people who drove my son to commit suicide? No one is talking about the events in the university that led to my sons death. Every inquiry has taken a wrong direction, she said.

Raja claimed his mother Radhika Vemula was the one who endured a lot of sacrifices and discrimination. "She lost her son Rohith Vemula on account of the socio-political victimisation he had undergone along with four other dalit research scholars from Ambedkar Students Association," he said. "Who is he to decide on our caste. National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) gave a report that we belong to SCs, it is final. All this is done to waste time, assuming people will forget and to rescue whoever are accused under SC/ST Atrocities Case, accused for Rohith's suicide. Reasons for Rohith's death should be brought out," Raja Vemula said in a report by The New Indian Express.

HRD ministry officials have, however, maintained that ascertaining the caste status of Vemula was not part of the Terms of Reference of the Commission. Therefore they would only focus on those recommendations which aim at ensuring that such incidents do not happen in the future.

In its recommendation, the Commission has emphasised that there should be a proper counselling mechanism not just for students but also for research scholars. The Commission has also emphasised that there should be proper grievance redressal mechanisms and equal opportunity cells so that unfortunate incidents like Vemula suicide can be prevented.

With inputs from PTI
Seoul: Analysis of recent satellite images of North Korea's nuclear test site shows activity at all three of its tunnel complexes, fuelling speculation of another test ahead of a key political anniversary next week.

North Korea has already conducted two nuclear tests this year  in January and September  and experts say it is capable of carrying out a third as soon as the order is given.

Past nuclear tests, and missile launches, have often coincided with special political dates.

The September test took place on the anniversary of North Korea's founding as a state, and the country will celebrate a similar milestone on Monday with the 71st anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party.

In a posting on its closely-watched 38 North website Friday, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said satellite images dated 1 October showed continuing activity across the Punggye-ri test site in the northeast of the country.

"Activity at the North Portal where the 9 September test occurred, may be for a number of purposes including collecting post-test data, sealing the portal or preparing for another test," the post said.

It also highlighted movement around the West Portal, as well as the South Portal where excavation stopped in 2012.

"The purpose of this activity is also unclear, although the (South) portal is assumed to be capable of supporting a nuclear test once a decision is made to move forward," it said.

North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006, but has insisted it will continue.

The yield from September's test was estimated at 10 kilotons  the largest so far and almost twice as much as the device detonated in January.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Friday quoted an unidentified foreign ministry official who raised the prospect of another test to mark the Workers' Party anniversary next week.

"We believe that the North is ready to carry out a nuclear test and all it needs is political determination," the official said.
London: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday hinted at a possible return to frontline politics as he asserted that the UK at present seemed a "one-party state".

The former Labour party leader described it as a "tragedy" that the only two choices facing the British electorate were the Conservative party pursuing a hard Brexit and "an ultra-left Labour Party".

"I don't know if there's a role for me...There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment. All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question," he told the Esquire magazine.

Blair, who is unpopular with a section of the party and electorate for his decision to lead Britain into war in Iraq in 2003, had recently announced a scale back of his consultancy business to focus more on charity work.

"It's a tragedy for British politics if the choice before the country is a Conservative government going for a hard Brexit and an ultra-left Labour Party, that believes in a set of policies that takes us back to the sixties. In the UK at the moment you've got a one-party state," he said.

Blair said Labour under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn had shifted from a party of government to an "ultra-left" culture "which believes that the action on the street is as important as the action in Parliament".

"It's a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, very remote from the way that broad mass of people really think. The reason their policies shouldn't be supported isn't because they're wildly radical, it's because they're not," Blair said.

"They don't work. They're actually a form of conservatism. This is the point about them. What they are offering is a mixture of fantasy and error," he said.

In the decade since leaving office in 2007, the former Labour MP has focused on business ventures and on his role as the Middle East envoy, which he left in 2015.

"The centre ground is in retreat. This is our challenge. We've got to rise to that challenge," he said.
Was Gandhi a racist?

That's the question the Ghana government is basing its decision on, to relocate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi off a university campus, after professors launched a petition claiming that he was "racist".

The institution in question is the University of Ghana and interestingly enough, the statue was unveiled in June at the campus in Accra by President Pranab Mukherjee, symbolising a close tie between the two countries.

A petition was launched in September by a group of professors who called for the removal of the statue. They said that Gandhi was racist and besides, the university should be giving importance to "African heroes and heroines, first and foremost".

"It is better to stand up for our dignity than to kowtow to the wishes of a burgeoning Eurasian super-power," said the petition, which quotes passages written by Gandhi that say Indians are "infinitely superior" to black Africans.

Ghana's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that it has followed the controversy with "deep concern" and that it wants to relocate the statue. "The government would therefore want to relocate the statue from the University of Ghana to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy," it said.

"While acknowledging that human as he was, Mahatma Gandhi may have had his flaws, we must remember that people evolve," said the ministry, emphasising that Ghana and India have "championed the struggle for the liberation of oppressed peoples around the world".

"Mahatma Gandhi may have had his flaws." This is just one of the many sentences that have egged on the debate of Gandhi's legacy.

In an interview with Gouri Chatterjee for Firstpost, Indian historian Ramachandra Guha, perhaps one of the very few to have explored the Mahatma's life in great detail, said that "Gandhi was a racist", but only in 1883 when he "first reached South Africa". It would be pertinent to note that Gandhi was in his early 20s and filled with the prejudice of "his Indian and British upbringing. He then thought Africans inferior to Indians and whites, and said so in public," according to Guha.

As Ghana's ministry of foreign affairs then insightfully notes, Guha echoes a similar viewpoint: that people gradually overcome their prejudices and flaws and that Gandhi

slowly shed these prejudices. He came to appreciate the quality of African life, to admire their moral sense, and the beauty of their languages and culture. By about 1908 or so, he was advocating the equality of all races.

However, Guha was quick to point out that Gandhi's views changed after he returned to India, asking Indians in South Africa to unite with the Africans against the white regime. The historian said that those who still consider Gandhi a racist are those who are "cherry-picking from Gandhis own writings" and those who are "judging the 19th century by the canons and values of the 21st century".

Those in Ghana or elsewhere who damn Gandhi as a racist are misguided and misinformed. That said, I do not think the Government of India should be funding and installing statues of Gandhi in other countries. That is patronising; besides, would it not be better for the Government to honour and practice Gandhian principles at home?

Perhaps the South African academics do have a point. Soutik Biswas, writing for the BBC, says that the authors of The South African Gandhi: Stretcher-Bearer of Empire (also South African academics, but of Indian origin) believe so. The duo spent seven years researching for the book and observe that Gandhi was unconcerned about the plight of the Africans, held a firm belief that power should be with the whites and also addressed the Africans as 'kaffirs', which is a derogatory term.

The duo wrote that Gandhi, in 1904, wrote to a Johannesburg health officer, feeling quite strongly about the mingling of the "Kaffirs with the Indians", referring to a slum known as 'Coolie Location'.

Another BBC report mentioned that the hashtag #Ghandimustfall was being circulated on social media in South Africa, during April 2015, as was a statute vandalised by a group bearing placards that read: Racist Gandhi must fall.

But before we look outwards, we must look into our own backyard first.

The Dalit movement, which is gaining momentum in the country, has given fuel to the debate of Ambedkar vs Gandhi. The debate isn't a new one though, as Arundhati Roy wrote in The Caravan, in a long-winding essay titled, The doctor and the saint.

Both men were their generations emissaries of a profound social, political and philosophical conflict that had begun long ago and has still by no means ended... Ambedkar was Gandhis most formidable adversary. He challenged him not just politically or intellectually, but also morally.

Even though Gandhi famously campaigned against untouchability  professor Mridula Mukherjee, who criticises Roy's view, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that Gandhi devoted his life to fighting prejudice, and being a social reformer bringing about social transformation  it's Ambedkar we look to when we talk about caste annihilation. (It's a shame that Tamil Nadu's own EV Ramaswamy Naicker, popularly known as Periyar, is lesser known, even though he was Ambedkar's contemporary. But that's a topic for another day.)

Guha, in the interview to Chatterjee, has a fitting reply to why when it comes to emancipating the Dalits  who have politically suppressed and culturally oppressed and marginalised in India  Ambedkar is the icon and not Gandhi. He says,

It is just and inevitable that Ambedkar should be the great icon of the young Dalits today. He was their emancipator. At the same time, it is a mistake to discount Gandhis own lifelong fight against caste discrimination. Upper caste Indians should take inspiration from it, since caste prejudice is still so prevalent today.

 With inputs from AFP
Stockholm: Efforts by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to end five decades of war in his country were recognised with the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The award came despite voters' shock rejection of the terms of a historic deal he reached last month with FARC chief Rodrigo Londono, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, after nearly four years of talks.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end," said committee chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez come from different worlds: one a rich businessman and politician; the other a country boy turned communist guerrilla.

Here are profiles of the conservative president and the Marxist guerrilla leader who brokered the end of half a century of conflict.

Santos: fighter for peace

Santos, 65, led a major offensive against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as defense minister from 2006 to 2009.

After becoming president in 2010, he shifted tack and negotiated for a settlement with the guerrillas.

"He made war as a means to achieve peace," said his brother-in-law and adviser, Mauricio Rodriguez.

"He weakened the FARC to make them sit at the negotiating table."

The peace drive "required courage, audacity, perseverance and a lot of strategy  those are Santos's strengths," Rodriguez added.

Despite fierce opposition to the talks from some former allies, Santos staked his presidency on the peace process.

"I am not looking for applause. I just want to do the right thing," he said.

He won reelection in 2014 in a vote widely seen as a referendum on the talks.

Santos is the scion of a wealthy, powerful family entrenched in Colombian politics and the media.

He has described himself as politically in the "extreme center."

He was educated at the London School of Economics and began his career as a journalist, covering the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua as a young man.

He then switched to politics, serving in various ministerial posts.

Timochenko: Convict negotiator

The bearded, bespectacled FARC leader's real name is Rodrigo Londono, but he is better known by his noms de guerre Timoleon Jimenez and Timochenko.

He was born to a Christian mother and a communist father in a coffee-growing region where he says he soon became aware of social injustice.

"At school, I wondered why there were some classmates who went without breakfast while others lived wastefully," he once said.

He has said the first book he read as a child was the Bible but he also read Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto" by the age of 12.

State intelligence services say he received military and medical training in the Soviet Union and Cuba, which he denies.

"Eighty-five percent of what they say about me is lies," he once told Venezuelan TV network Telesur.

The stocky Timochenko, 57, is renowned as a strategist and former intelligence chief in the FARC, which battled state forces for decades in the jungle.

He has been convicted in absentia for various attacks for which he has been sentenced to more than 150 years in jail.

He took over as FARC leader in 2011 after his predecessor, Alfonso Cano, was killed by the army.

The following year, he wrote to Santos proposing fresh peace negotiations after efforts by previous leaders had failed.

He agreed to Santos's demand that the FARC end its campaign of kidnappings.

As a guerrilla he often said: "I prefer to die on my feet than live on my knees."

But in recent peace talks he softened his tone. At Monday's signing he apologized on behalf of the FARC to all the victims of the conflict.

Asked recently what he has learned in his career as a guerrilla, he said: "There shouldn't be wars."

"He is one of the most well-liked guys in the FARC," Ariel Avila, an analyst at Colombia's Peace and Reconciliation Foundation told AFP.

"He is the man who will go down in history for bringing the FARC into the peace process."
Syrian rescuers risking all to save war-hit civilians and the brokers of Iran's nuclear deal are among contenders for Friday's Nobel Peace Prize after Colombia's peacemakers fell from pole position. As the annual Nobel prize-giving week reaches its peak, the five-member Norwegian committee will unveil its decision at 0900 GMT, the only one of six awards to be presented in Oslo and the one which traditionally garners the greatest attention.

#NobelFacts There are 376 candidates for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize - 228 individuals and 148 organi-zations #NobelPrize  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2016

For once, Experts, online betting sites and commentators had thought they were on to a sure thing with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo London, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, widely seen as frontrunners after signing a deal to end 52 years of civil war. But they were suddenly forced to rethink after voters in Colombia rejected the agreement between their government and the communist FARC rebels in an 2 October referendum. That threw the prestigious prize wide open again, and with a record 376 nominations to consider, predicting the winner is largely a lottery, with experts far from unanimous over who the committee will choose.

On the eve of the award, several Nobel watchers flagged civilian-led endeavours, with two betting sites giving Greek islanders the best odds for coming to the aid of thousands of desperate refugees landing on their shores after making the perilous journey across the sea from Turkey. For others, it was the work of Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege in helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Syria's White Helmet volunteers were also touted as possible winners for their daring efforts to rescue civilians caught up in the carnage of the country's five-year war. Working in rebel-held areas, the force has won international plaudits for the bravery of its nearly 3,000 volunteers who risk life and limb to pull survivors from the rubble, with their nomination for the prize firmly backed by Britain's Guardian newspaper. "What the White Helmets accomplish may seem like a drop in the ocean, but what they represent is immense: resilience and bravery in the face of barbarism," said the paper in an editorial. "And they show that individual acts of courage can go a long way to fight indifference. They also embody a spirit of civic resistance... exemplifying courage and solidarity in the face of state-sponsored terror."

For Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Oslo's Peace Research Institute (PRIO), the top contender was Russian rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina for her decades-long work with refugees and migrants  an issue which has shot to prominence in Europe since the start of the migrant crisis.

Also in the running is Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who endured months of sexual abuse by Islamic State militants before escaping to become a global spokesperson for her people. And US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been touted for his exposure of the scope of US surveillance.

If diplomatic achievement wins the prize, it could go to the negotiators behind the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord which effectively curbed Tehran's nuclear drive, putting an atomic bomb out of reach, in exchange for a gradual lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on its economy since 2006. That could see the prize going to Washington's top diplomat John Kerry, his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as to nuclear experts Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary, and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

In an illustration of just how difficult it is to call, last year's prize went to four Tunisian groups who were instrumental in the country's transition to democracy  none of whom had been mentioned in any of the pre-announcement speculation.

Olav Njlstad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified some doubts about the nomination process for the Nobel Peace Prize, as said on the official Nobel Prize website. There is are a number of eligible nominators from professors in social science to governments, peace leaders and research institutes. The expansive list ensures a variety of candidates. Anyone eligible to nominate can nominate any person and the Norwegian Nobel Committee cannot interfere in submissions that is in accordance with the critera. Thus to be nominated is not an 'endorsement' nor an 'extended honour' as it does not mean any affiliation with the Peace Prize itself.

With inputs from AFP
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his "efforts" to bring peace to his nation.

The Nobel Committee lauded Santos and his statement that he would fight for peace until his last day in office. The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him the strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further, it is the committees hope that in the years to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process, The Guardian quoted committee spokeswoman, Kaci Kullmann Five, as saying.

Going by that logic, they should have also given the award to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (most commonly known as Farc) rebels, the biggest rebel group in Colombia.

Santos and Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, better known as Timochenko had signed the peace accord on August 25 this year, agreeing to end a 52-year-old conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people and left 45,000 missing over half a century, drawing in several leftist guerrilla groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs. The main founders of Farc were small farmers and land workers who had banded together to fight against the staggering levels of inequality in Colombia at the time.

However, the Committee said that Santos' role as president and "keeper of the process" was very important and while other attempts have been made to achieve peace in the country in the past, Santos went "all in".

Announcement of the 2016 #NobelPrize in Peace https://t.co/pMBPquTF3S  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2016

Success is subjective

The anomaly to be noted here is that the prize given to Santos is for his "efforts", which culminated in an "unsuccessful" peace deal with Farc. The Colombian voters rejected the peace accord with the Farc rebels in a referendum on October 2, throwing both the sides in a quandary. They are still struggling to find a solution.

However, the Committee believes that the peace deal itself was not rejected by Colombo. Rather, the specifics of the accord were. Ironically, the Committee acknowledged that the result of the referendum could lead to a flare-up of conflict and civil war in the country. It also encouraged Santos and the Farc rebels to respect the accord.

However, the fact remains that the future of Colombo is dubious even as negotiators are trying to resurrect the deal. After the referendum was rejected, Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, better known as Timochenko took to Twitter to ask: "And after that, the war continues?"

Even Santos has agreed that Colombo is in a kind of limbo that is dangerous and risky that could throw back this whole process of peace and negotiation with the rebels."

The NewYorker reported that the victory of the "No" side has triggered a political crisis of unforeseeable proportions in Colombia. Nobody knows what will happen next. According to AFP, the rebels who were expected to abandon their jungle and move to neutral ground, returned to their hideouts in the jungle on Thursday.

An inconsistent nomination?

It is also interesting to note that soon after the Colombians rejected the peace accord, the Nobel Peace Prize committee had announced that the name of Santos and Timoshenko were dropped from the nomination list. The PanamPost had reported that the historian of Nobel laureates Asle Sveen said that that if "no" won in the referendum, all chances were out of the window.

It really is a miracle that they were nominated again. And not only that, Santos actually won after being dropped from the nomination!

Criticising the Nobel committee, The New Yorker said, "The Nobel Peace Prize is given to someone who possibly agreed to Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets roaring close overhead Timochenko during his public speech, the report further states. It might have been a show of force by Santos to reduce the impact of Timochenkos public appearance."

Were it Santos' efforts to talk to his predecessor and former boss Alvaro Uribe to salvage the peace process that won him the Nobel Peace Prize or, his commitment to work with the "No" camp to find a path towards a peace accord? No one knows and no one will know. The committee spokeswoman has said, we never comment on the process.

With inputs from AFP.
Davao: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday dared the United States' CIA spy agency to try and oust him, as he branded Western critics of his deadly crime war "animals" and vowed many more killings.

In two fiery speeches to mark his 100 days in office, Duterte repeatedly raised the prospect of local or foreign opponents seeking to remove him from power in an effort to stop the violence.

But he insisted he would not be intimidated and that his campaign against drugs, in which an average of more than 33 people a day are being killed, would not end.

"You want to oust me? You want to use the CIA? Go ahead," Duterte said in a speech in his southern home town of Davao city, referring to the Central Intelligence Agency, while railing against US President Barack Obama and other critics.

Last month Duterte accused the CIA of plotting to kill him, but gave no specifics.

Also today he referred to a local newspaper columnist who warned a "People Power" movement could form to try and topple Duterte, using the term coined for the revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

"Be my guest. I don't give a shit," he said.

"I'll be ousted? Fine. (If so) it's part of my destiny. Destiny carries so many things. If I die, that's part of my destiny. Presidents get assassinated."

Duterte was elected in a landslide this year mainly on a pledge to eradicate illegal drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.

Since taking office on 30 June, police have killed 1,523 people and 1,838 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.

A poll released this week showed Filipinos overwhelmingly approved of Duterte's first 100 days as president.

But rights groups have warned extrajudicial killings are out of control, with shadowy assassins murdering drug addicts, traffickers, petty criminals and opponents of powerful figures.

Duterte insists police are only killing in self-defence and the unexplained deaths are mainly due to drug gangs suddenly fighting each other.

Duterte fuelled international concerns last week when he said he was "happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts, as he likened his campaign to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's efforts to exterminate Jews.

He later apologised for the Hitler reference, but said he was "emphatic" about wanting to kill millions of addicts.
By Dan Whitcomb

| LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES The California university researcher killed in Ethiopia protests was a brilliant scientist with an infectious smile who was studying the effects of climate change at the time of her death, the colleague who was travelling with her said on Thursday.Sharon Gray, a 31-year-old postdoctoral scientist at the University of California, Davis, was riding through Addis Ababa with her co-researcher Siobahn Brady when their car was attacked by demonstrators hurling rocks. Brady was not hurt in the incident and was returning to the United States, according to the university. The U.S. State Department was assisting in bringing Gray's body home."She had an infectious smile and giggle, a calm and patient nature and she was truly committed to helping people through her studies of plant biology. I and her colleagues and friends in my lab will miss her intensely," Brady, said in a written statement."These last hours of her life and the past day have been incredibly difficult and we ask for your respect for the privacy of my lab group, our project members and her colleagues while we mourn," she said.

The two women were the lead researchers on study to understand the response of plants to climate change with the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and were in Addis Ababa for a "kick off meeting," Brady said, calling Gray a future leader in her field.On her Twitter page Sharon Gray described herself as an "outdoor adventurer, traveller, foodie" as well as a postdoctoral fellow. A memorial page posted by the university was filled with photos of her in fields of crops, rock-climbing and hiking, surrounded by friends.Originally from the Chicago area, Gray earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois-Champaign.

State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that an American citizen had died in Ethiopia on Tuesday but declined to provide further details."We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and to the loved ones. We are providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the family, we must decline further comment," he said.

Asked if the United States believed that protesters had targeted Americans, Kirby replied: "As for the situation itself, thats really for the local authorities to speak to in terms of the investigation and how they are looking into it."The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has said that an American woman was killed on Tuesday when stones were hurled at her vehicle on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Residents there have described crowds attacking vehicles since a stampede at a weekend protest killed at least 55 people.That stampede began when police fired teargas and shots in the air to disperse anti-government demonstrations during a festival in the Oromiya region, south of the capital, which has been a focus for demonstrations by locals who say land has been seized to build factories and housing blocks.Protests have also increasingly turned to broader issues of political freedom. Amnesty International has demanded an investigation into how security forces handled the weekend protest. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammaed in Washington, D.C., and Asli Kandemir in Istanbul; Editing by Leslie Adler, Bernard Orr)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: The US is disappointed with the way Russia and, to some extent, China have been exercising their veto power in the UN Security Council to blunt global efforts for peace in Syria, the White House has said as it underscored the need to reform the powerful wing of the world body.

"We have been deeply concerned by the way Russia has used its veto power on the UN Security Council to prevent as much action from the UN as we would like to see," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

"I know there has been a broader and, in some ways, more esoteric discussion about proposed reforms of the UN Security Council and the way that it works. I know there have been some proposals to enlarge it. Our friends in India are certainly interested in benefitting from reforms like that," Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday.

India has been strongly pushing for reform of the UN Security Council and getting its permanent membership.

He said as it relates to the situation in Syria, the US' most urgent concern is with the way Russia has used their veto authority on the Security Council at the UN.

"The United States has been disappointed at the way in which Russia and to a certain extent China have wielded their veto authority on the UN Security Council to blunt international efforts to limit the violence inside of Syria," the White House spokesman said.

"We have been disappointed that they have used that veto to protect (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad. There have also been movements at the United Nations Security Council to raise concerns about the conduct of individuals in that conflict and to ensure that they are met with some accountability. Those accountability measures have been blocked by the Russians," Earnest said.

There are other examples of the US being able to work effectively outside the auspices of the UN to implement sanctions in a coordinated fashion to maximise the impact of those sanctions, he said.

The situation in Ukraine is the best example where the US has been able to work effectively with its European allies to impose tough sanctions against Russia, Earnest said.

"I would be among the first to point out that the sanctions that we have imposed on Russia, in concert with our European allies, as a result of Russia's actions in Ukraine have not yet achieved the desired result."

"We have not seen the change in strategy on the part of the Russians that we would like to see in Ukraine. We have not seen them indicate their clear respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Earnest said.

"We do know that those sanctions have had an impact on Russia's economy. Russia is paying the price for their actions inside of Ukraine. That price is one that they have to pay because of the ability of the US to work effectively with our European partners to impose those costs. That is something that we did not do through the UN obviously because Russia has a veto on the UN Security Council."

"Our preference is always to work through the UN when it comes to implementing these sanctions because it means that even more countries are able to coordinate their actions with the US which essentially has a multiplier effect in terms of the strength of the sanctions and the size of the cost," the White House Press Secretary said.

He said the US does have options and has demonstrated an ability to work outside of the UN to achieve a similar result.

"So I guess the point is in this case I would not rule out multilateral efforts outside of the UN to impose costs on Syria or Russia or others with regard to the situation inside of Syria. We have done that in the past. I would not take that off the table in terms of the options that the President may consider in this situation," Earnest added.

The 15-member UN Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- CEO of Absolute Hotel Services Group Jonathan Wigley is delighted to announce a new branded property the Eastin Grand Resort Phu Quoc. The resort is targeted to open in late 2018.

Eastin Grand Resort Phu Quoc will be a mixed used development of 85 hectares, located at Long Beach, Ganh Dau Commune, Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam.

The resorts accommodation which will consist over 600 rooms including standard rooms, superior rooms, suites and villas. The resort is planned to have a beach club, restaurants, bars, swimming pools, gym, spa and conference/events areas.

"We are really excited to be developing a luxury Eastin Grand Resort on the beautiful Island of Phu Quoc, Vietnam and we expect Vietnam to become our largest market in terms of number of keys by the end of 2016 showing the tremendours growth in the demand to the destination \" Jonathan Wigley, CEO of Absolute Hotel Services Group

Rajthevee Makkasan

Absolute Hotel Services

Absolute Hotel Services (AHS)
Its not unusual for police to find odd or interesting things when they make traffic stops. But Twin Falls Police Sgt. Ryan Howe made a discovery Monday that will probably go down as his strangest.

The driver of the car Howe stopped was using his wifes stolen purse and wallet as her own.

The discovery wasnt totally unexpected, as Howe was looking for two men with connections to the car believed to be using his wifes stolen credit card around town. But surely he wasnt expecting the driver to actually be using his wifes purse and wallet.

Heres what led to the discovery:

Howe and his wife reported on Sept. 26 that someone broke into her car and made off with her purse, wallet, credit cards, drivers license, phone charger and more. Howe reported the break-in likely happened on Sept. 22 or 23, and someone had racked up nearly $1,000 on the credit card at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, a gas station and local fast food restaurants.

Twin Falls Police Detective Ken Rivers took on the investigation, and in security footage from the businesses where the credit card was used he identified two men he knew from previous encounters.

They were Curtis James Kaneaster, 24, of Buhl and Isaiah Adam Johnson, 28, of Twin Falls.

Rivers asked a Twin Falls County Jail inmate about Johnson and Kaneaster, and the inmate confirmed the men had been buying lots of stuff with a stolen credit card. Rivers used that testimony plus the surveillance footage to get arrest warrants for the two men.

During the investigation, it also came to light that Johnson and Kaneaster typically traveled in a Pontiac G6 registered to Megan Ellen Rollins, 21, of Wendell. In fact, just days after the theft of the credit card, but before detectives connected all the dots, Kaneaster was pulled over driving the G6.

The arrest warrants were issued for the two men last Friday, and Sgt. Howe was patrolling on a motorcycle Monday when he spotted Rollins G6. Howe stopped the car for having too dark of a window tint and approached the driver, Rollins.

Howe noticed that when Rollins removed her drivers license from a wallet, that the wallet was actually his wifes wallet that had been stolen in the vehicle burglary, Rivers wrote in a sworn affidavit. Sgt. Howe was able to immediately recognize the wallet and also recognized the purse Rollins had in her possession as belonging to his wife.

Rollins told the detective the wallet and purse were a gift from Kaneaster, who was sitting in the passenger seat and was arrested on the warrant.

Rollins was also arrested after police found a methamphetamine pipe and bong in her car, court documents said. At the jail she admitted she drove Johnson and Kaneaster to some of the burglaries, telling them of a radar stolen from a car at the Magic Valley Mall and a GPS stolen from a car in another incident.

Johnson, Kaneaster and Rollins were all arraigned Tuesday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court. The two men were charged with felony counts of burglary and grand theft, while Rollins faces a felony drug possession charge.

All are being held at the Twin Falls County Jail, Kaneaster in lieu of $20,000 bond, Johnson in lieu of $10,000 bond and Rollins in lieu of $50,000 bond. All are scheduled for preliminary hearings Oct. 14.
TWIN FALLS  The College of Southern Idaho has a new food pantry. Its a way to help students who struggle with hunger.

The college launched Gilberts Pantry in late August. Its named after the colleges Golden Eagles mascot.

College employees used to refer students to community resources to get food assistance. But the topic of food insecurity came up again during a student success meeting this summer.

I think it has been a conversation on campus for years, student development coordinator Samra Culum said.

College leaders gave the OK for the new pantry.

The pantry is open to any part-time or full-time CSI students who need assistance. During his State of the College address in mid-August, CSI President Jeff Fox encouraged employees to donate.

The food pantry is in a storage room in a student club and organization room on the second floor of CSIs Taylor Building.

Our thing was to keep it pretty discreet, Culum said.

So far, about six students have received food from the pantry. Some have families with young children, Culum said.

One student who got food during a rough week came back last week to donate food.

To get assistance, students can download an form on CSIs website. It includes questions such as the household size and which items theyd ideally need.

It typically takes three to five business days to fill a request, Culum said.

College employees verify the person receiving assistance is registered as a CSI student.

In addition to food, students can get hygiene items from the pantry.

CSIs dental hygiene program donated toothbrushes and toothpaste. And CSI employees are asked to save toiletries they get at hotels to donate to the pantry.

Last week, the colleges welding club dropped off a large food donation.

Other student groups are collecting canned food and asking for items as the fee to attend some on-campus events.

Student clubs have been really excited to help each other, college spokeswoman Kimberlee LaPray said.

And CSI employees are helping out, too.

In September, CSIs Professional and Classified Employees organization put out boxes at each campus building to collect items, said LaPray, whos involved with the group.

PACE members used social media, emails and the employee newsletter to solicit donations. The group surpassed its goal of bringing in 350 items.
JEROME  When three Jerome teens were detained Easter Sunday night, sheriffs deputies knew one of them had just fired three shots at Jerome farmer Kiel Thibault, but they didnt know which teen was the shooter.

At the sheriffs station, deputies showed Thibault three pictures of the teens and the farmer identified one of them, 17-year-old Juan Santos Suarez-Gomez, as the shooter. That led to the 17-year-old being charged as an adult with attempted murder and facing up to 30 years in prison.

But Suarez-Gomezs public defenders argued the identification procedure was a show-up rather than a proper lineup and was too tainted and coercive to be allowed in court.

District Judge Richard Bevan agreed Wednesday, ruling Thibaults identification of Suarez-Gomez will not be allowed as evidence during trial.

This means the state cannot bring Mr. Thibault in and have him point out the defendant, defense attorney Stacey DePew said after Wednesdays hearing. So the significance is they dont have an identification of who pulled the trigger.

Bevan ruled against the defense on another motion to move the case back to juvenile court, but that might not matter. Without the identification, its likely the case will not reach trial, DePew said.

Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall and the county prosecutors had argued the unorthodox identification process was necessary under the circumstances  one of the three teens rushed Thibault unprovoked and fired three shots at him from close range.

The dangerous, violent nature of the shooter made it necessary for the detectives to make an identification and an arrest, prosecutors had argued.

Bevan ruled instead to grant the defendants motion to suppress the identification evidence. The judge did not file an expected written decision Thursday explaining his reasons for granting the motion.

This is not one of those things people call a technicality, defense attorney Brad Calbo said. This is ensuring innocent people dont spend significant periods of time incarcerated.

Justice doesnt happen in our system if we shoot from the hip and say, we think we got the right guy, its one of these three, DePew said. Thats not justice, thats a violation of due process. Thats just as much a violation of the Constitution as what happened to Kiel Thibault.

DePew, arguing last month for Bevan to grant her motion, made it clear she was not trying to paint Thibault as a villain or liar, but argued that he was under stress from being shot at, and it was law enforcements responsibility to do the photo lineup properly.

Calbo on Wednesday explained that studies show when a gun is used during a crime, the victim focuses on the gun.

Not on the face, not on the clothes, not on the height, not on the age, not even on the ethnicity of the person holding the gun, Calbo said. The fixation is on the gun.

At the sheriffs station the night of the shooting, Thibault was unsure at times whether he could identify which of the three teens was the shooter. But he clearly identified the gun as a silver J-frame revolver being held sideways, parallel to the ground rather than vertical.

The defense attorneys said the case is an example of why its important for police to conduct proper identification procedures.

Its not crucial so we can avoid a motion to suppress being granted, Calbo said. Its crucial so that the truly guilty person is the one who gets charged, sits in jail, has to sit through a trial and is ultimately convicted.

Justice, DePew added, isnt putting the wrong person behind bars.
BURLEY  A trial set to begin Wednesday for a Burley man police say attempted to abduct a girl has been delayed.

Vadian Eugene Dougal, 51, is charged with second-degree attempted kidnapping and misdemeanor charges of battery and enticing a child. A status conference is set for Nov. 1 in Cassia County District Court.

Dougal and Melvin DeWayne Simpson, 40, were arrested April 11 at their home for attempting to abduct White Pine Elementary School students, police said.

The two men were arrested after three girls told officials they were grabbed before school by a strange man. Another child reported she was grabbed by a man about a block from the school as she walked to class.

According to court records, Dougals bond was reduced from $250,000 to $1,500 on Tuesday. The Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center said he was released Wednesday. Conditions for his release includes wearing a GPS tracker, that he stay within the state and not enter the premises of a school, daycare, park or any place there are children.

Court records show Cassia County Prosecutor Doug Abenroth is seeking a special prosecutor to take the case citing a conflict of interest.

Abenroth is related to the principal at White Pine Intermediate School. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Dougal waived his right to a speedy trial.

Amended information in the court file said Dougal was charged with second-degree attempted kidnapping involving a child that got off the bus at White Pine. The girl said Dougal was sitting on a cement light pole near the bike racks and he tried to get her to come to him and offered her candy and money. She told him no and started to walk away. He ran up to her and grabbed her left arm. She yelled that he was hurting her and he did not let go until she hit his arm. The child then ran away, court records said.

Simpson was originally charged with two counts of second-degree kidnapping and two counts of misdemeanor battery, but the felonies were dismissed when Simpson declined to waive his right to a speedy trial, Cassia County Prosecutor Doug Abenroth said. Charges were refiled several weeks later, but then dropped again.

The prosecutor said he spoke with parents of one of the children and charges were again dismissed after an evaluation. The second set of charges against Simpson was dismissed when another child could not identify him during a May preliminary hearing.

Because the charges were dismissed, Simpsons bond was returned in June.

Attempted second-degree kidnapping carries a maximum penalty of 12 years, six months in prison and a $25,000 fine.
TWIN FALLS  Robyn Brody was in Twin Falls Thursday morning touting her support from prosecutors and law enforcement  including the sheriff and top prosecutor in Twin Falls  in her bid for Idaho Supreme Court.

Knowing that Ive earned their trust is important, and I think it sends an important message to Idaho voters, Brody said at a news conference, with Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs, Sheriff Tom Carter and a few members of their staffs standing by her side.

Loebs said he has known Brody, who practices law in the Magic Valley and lives in Rupert, for 20 years  her husband used to be the chief deputy prosecuting attorney in Loebs office. He characterized her as a support of firm and fair prosecution, an advocate for victims and a person who has faith in the law as a positive force.

I wholeheartedly endorse Robyn Brody for Supreme Court justice, Loebs said.

Brody is running against Curt McKenzie, a lawyer and state senator from Nampa, for the Supreme Court seat that Jim Jones is vacating. The two finished the best out of four in the primary in May.

Brody said she has been visiting courthouses and sheriffs offices throughout Idaho, talking to the staff about their challenges and what they want to see in the next judge. Brody said they want someone who will put the Constitution and the laws first, who shares their view from the trench and not the bench and who understands that rules that are made in an office building have to be translated into practice in courthouses throughout the state.

Thursday, Brodys campaign announced the formation of a group Law Enforcement for Robyn Brody and handed out a list of her endorsements. As well as Loebs and Carter, other locals on the list were Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall, Cassia County Sheriff Jay Heward, Minidoka County Chief Deputy Sheriff David Pinther, Blaine County Prosecutor Jim Thomas, Cassia County Prosecutor Doug Abenroth, Minidoka County Prosecutor Lance Stevenson, and Cliff Katona, who ran against Carter for Twin Falls sheriff in this years Republican primary.
TWIN FALLS  How much does gender matter in the Idaho Legislature?

Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, sees her job as gender neutral.

The job for me is to support your needs and serve you, she told an audience at the Turf Club Thursday evening.

Bell tied it back to the history of the settlement of the West, to the men and women who rode across the country in wagons until they eventually stopped somewhere and started farming.

We didnt know we couldnt do these things, she said.

Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, has a different take. She said that, while the job can be gender neutral, men and women have different leadership styles, and having women in the same room as men changes the dynamic.

We work as a team more readily than our male counterparts, she said. Theres a little more competition between the men.

Bell and Stennett were speaking at the Conversations with Women in Politics panel sponsored by the College of Southern Idaho and the American Association of Women in Community Colleges. Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, and Deborah Silver, a former Twin Falls Democratic Party chairwoman who is running for state Senate this year against Sen. Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, were on the panel as well. Melissa Davlin, the co-host of Idaho Public Televisions Idaho Reports and a former Times-News political reporter, and Perri Gardner, a political science instructor at CSI, moderated the discussion. The panel coincides with the Women in American Society Symposium being held at CSI on Thursday and Friday.

A little more than a quarter of Idahos 105 legislators are women, making the state 17th in the country for the percentage of female lawmakers. Some of those women are in powerful positions  the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, which sets the state budget, is co-chaired by two women: Bell and Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint. Horman is on JFAC and, having been a longtime school board member before being elected to the Legislature, she has been heavily involved in education policy and the education budget.

Stennett noted that she and Buckner-Webb are not only women, but the only Latina and black woman in the Legislature, respectively. Buckner-Webb said that can make it more difficult to bring your whole self to the job, since her way of being is different than the dominant culture.

Youre almost expected to (assimilate) into the environment, she said.

Buckner-Webb said women are socialized to be more collaborative but are just as passionate about the issues as their male colleagues.

We like to win, dont misunderstand, but we have less propensity for keeping score, she said.

One issue that came up a few times is that traditionally feminine qualities can be viewed as weak, but women who are too assertive can be viewed negatively.

The same behaviors that we emulate from men in mainstream dominant culture, we are derided for it, Buckner-Webb said.

Horman said her more collaborative style has been an asset to her when it comes to putting together the education budget.

Were supposed to come together and talk about these things, she said. Were not working in isolation.

Do women view issues like health care, child care and education differently than men? Bell doesnt think so.

All issues are family issues, Bell said, including things like jobs and the economy.

Everything we do is to protect the Idaho family and make it a safe and prosperous place to live, she said.

Do they view being a woman an asset when campaigning, since they might come across as less threatening than a man, or does that make them feel more vulnerable? Silver, who has been knocking on doors in Twin Falls for the past few months as part of her Senate campaign, said she was nervous about this when she started but she has never felt threatened. And people have been a lot more eager than she expected to talk to someone who is running for office.

I think the people at the doors in some neighborhoods are more frightened of opening the door to a stranger than she is of them, Silver said.

Horman recounted being surprised when she first came to the Legislature and realized most of the women around her had concealed carry permits. She said there have been a few times where she felt like to needed to protect herself at the Capitol, which has no security at the doors or controls on who can come in.

We do need to take care to be vigilant about protecting ourselves, Horman said.

Idaho has never had a woman governor, lieutenant governor, or U.S. senator, Horman said. None of the women present plan on being that first woman governor, or at least none of them said they would when asked.

Bell said she would rather run JFAC.

I have the best of all worlds, she said. I have more power and more ability to make a change in your lives and your schools, the safety of your streets ... with Wendy and our little troupe, than the governor of Idaho.
BUHL  Friends, family and the Magic Valley community are rallying to raise money and support a Buhl family in the aftermath of a tragedy that claimed the life of a father and one of his two sons.

The crash happened about noon Sunday at 4100 North near 2150 East near Filer when a pickup truck drove left of the painted dividing line and struck a bridge abutment, the Idaho State Police said in a statement.

The driver, 32-year-old Charles Max Cantrell, his wife, 34-year-old Mackensie A. Cantrell, and the couples two boys were all taken to St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, ISP said. They were later taken to Boise hospitals.

Ten-year-old Kamdyn Charles Cantrell was declared dead Sunday evening by the Ada County Coroners Office, an ISP captain said Thursday. A post for an online fundraising account for the family says Kamdyn Cantrell was taken off life support on Tuesday.

He was able to share life with lucky families through organ donation, the update said.

Charles Cantrell died Wednesday morning in Boise. The fundraising update says Charles Cantrell was released from the hospital and was feeling much better, but died in his sleep from injuries he suffered in the crash.

Were working with doctors to know more, the update said. But this is all we have at this time. We appreciate your words of encouragement and prayers.

Mackensie Cantrell was in fair condition Thursday at St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise, a hospital spokesman said.

The condition of the couples other son has not been released, but the online fundraising account said he was treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital.

Charles Cantrell was not wearing a seat belt during the crash, police said. Mackensie Cantrell was wearing a seat belt and both boys were in age-appropriate safety restraints.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the fundraising account had surpassed its goal of $10,000, but donations were still being accepted.

A fund for the family has also been established at Farmers Bank, where Mackensie Cantrell is an employee, said Buhl Branch Manager Vince Hamilton.

Anyone wishing to donate can ask for the Cantrell family account at any of our branches in Buhl, Twin Falls, Wendell and Jerome, Hamilton said.

The money will help Mackensie Cantrell cover medical costs, funeral expenses and any other expenses the family has incurred, Hamilton said. Donations are also accepted at the banks Buhl branch by mail.
Moving 86 inmates out of a tent lockup will prove trickier than simply marching them down the street to the Canyon County Jail or releasing some to relieve overcrowding.

Instead, judges and prosecutors will have to be consulted before determining whether some of those inmates could be eligible for a work-release program or whether they might end up housed in another county, Canyon County commissioners were told Tuesday.

There are so many variables in play. It would take some time, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Samuel Laugheed told Commissioners Steve Rule, Craig Hanson and Tom Dale.

Several escapes and the potential for additional ones led commissioners to tell Sheriff Kieran Donahue on Thursday to remove all inmates except those enrolled in a work-release program from a tent facility a block away from the Canyon County jail.

This needs to change now, Commissioner Craig Hanson said in offering a short-lived motion that would have required the Sheriffs Office to move inmates within 30 days who are serving time for misdemeanor offenses or who are awaiting trial. Its a safety issue.

In the past 18 months, there have been four escapes from the facility involving five inmates.

Most recently, Juan Valentin Cervantes and Jeffrey Scott Duvall climbed a wall and got into the facilitys kitchen late Saturday night. They broke through an emergency fire door and ran to freedom. They were apprehended Tuesday after being found in a Caldwell residence.

Jail officials and 3rd District Administrative Judge Bradly Ford said they werent sure the inmates could be moved within 30 days. The tent, used to relieve overcrowding at the regular jail, currently holds 86 inmates but has 122 available beds.

The problem will be finding a bed for these people, said Daren Ward, the jail commander.

Releasing inmates or moving them to another facility in another county would require authorization from the judges and prosecutors who handled their cases. Jail officials, Donahue said, do not have the authority to release inmates, even low-level offenders, once theyve been placed in custody.

Individual judges will have to make decisions on what is appropriate or not appropriate, Ford said.

Rule and Dale voted against Hansons motion. Instead, they came to an informal agreement with Hanson, a former jail captain, to direct the sheriff to begin moving inmates out of the tent, with no set time limit.

The commissioners said they expect to see substantial progress within the next month or so.

It should be done today, but I dont think we can do that and stay within legal parameters, Rule said.

Overcrowding at the Canyon jail, formally known as the Dale G. Haile Detention Center, has been a longstanding problem.

In 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union described conditions as indecent, cruel and inhumane. The ACLU sued the county and a federal judge ordered Canyon to comply with numerous conditions while limiting total capacity in all facilities to 477 inmates.

On Thursday, Canyon County reported 375 inmates. The Haile center, with a capacity of 281 inmates and a target population of 252, housed 240 of those. Others were in annexes or various jail programs outside facilities.

Eighty-five percent of the inmates are awaiting trial or sentencing, jail officials said. Only about 20 are incarcerated for long-term sentences approaching a year; those serving longer terms are sent to a state prison.

A second lawsuit, filed in 2011, targeted then-Sheriff Chris Smith and his chief deputy with allegations that inmates who complained about poor jail conditions were retaliated against.

The county settled both cases by agreeing to a consent decree that placed numerous conditions on the jail. Last year, Donahue said the jail still needed costly ventilation and plumbing upgrades.

In May, the court announced it would no longer require jail oversight.

Idaho ACLU Director Leo Morales could not be reached for comment Thursday on the latest Canyon County jail development.

Rule and Hanson favor expanding the existing jail, while Dale and the sheriff believe a new facility is the best approach. Hanson, who was defeated in the May GOP primary by Pam White, will leave office in January.

White, like Dale, supports construction of a new jail, which would cost an estimated $50 million, compared to $14.5 million to remodel and expand the existing jail.
A Moroccan boxer who claimed having been tortured in Morocco was found guilty of libel against the Kings private Secretary Mounir El Majidi.

The Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance, which issued its ruling on Wednesday, fined the boxer Zakaria Moumni to 1,000 in damages for defamation.

Zakaria Moumni, a confirmed liar, had filed a complaint in France against Abdellatif Hammouchi, head of Moroccos General Directorate of National Security (DGST) and Director of the National Intelligence Agency, for alleged torture and claimed that the private secretary of King Mohammed VI was behind his abuse.

Mounir El Majidi lodged a complaint for libel in the same court.

One of Majidis attorneys, Herve Temime, welcomed the courts ruling and said the allegations of Zakaria Moumni () have been recognized as baseless, frivolous and could not be substantiated by one scintilla of evidence.

Two other lawyers of the Kings private secretary, Hicham Naciri and Jean-Yves Dupeux, also welcomed the verdict that cleared their client.

They deemed the decision consistent and logical insofar as all proceedings by Zakaria Moumni have exonerated Mr. El Majidi 
Tension between Baghdad and Ankara has increased after the Turkish parliament approved to prolong the presence of their forces in Iraqi-Kurdistan region.

Meanwhile, the UN, through spokesperson Farhan Haq, encouraged the two parties to continue working on resolving the matter amicably and urged the Turkish Government to ensure that all activities in Iraq are conducted with the full consent of the Iraqi Government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi fears that the Turkish adventure could turn into a regional war while stressing that the Turkish leaderships behavior is not acceptable and we dont want to get into a military confrontation with Turkey.

The Iraqi parliament also rejected the approval and called on the government to review its ties with Ankara.

The relations are swiftly deteriorating as Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus defiantly stated that no one has the right to object to Turkeys presence in Bashiqa when the country (Iraq) is fragmented that much. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on his part said, no matter what Baghdad says, the troops will remain in their position as he considered the reaction of Iraqi authorities to be incomprehensible.

President Erdogan hinted that once Mosul is rescued from ISIS, only Sunni Arabs, Turkmen and Sunni Kurds should remain there, signaling fears of Kurds and Shias settling in the region.

The Bashiqa army base is located north of Mosul, ISISs de facto headquarters in Iraq. The Turkish government argues that it has the approval of Baghdad to send in troops and refutes allegations of occupation claimed by Iraqi authorities.

Iraq referred the matter to the Security Council on Thursday and requested an emergency session to discuss Turkish violations on the Iraqi soil and the interference in its internal affairs according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal. However, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Kurtulmus said neither Turkeys presence in Bashiqa nor its operation right now in Syrian territory are aimed at occupying or interfering with the domestic affairs of these countries.
The UN Security Council authorized the European Union (EU) and individual countries to disrupt the organized criminal enterprises engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking (from Libya to Europe) and prevent loss of life.

The resolution, adopted on Thursday with 14 votes and one abstention (Venezuela,) serves as a renewal of EUs Operation Sophia launched in October 2015.

The British Ambassador to the UN, Mathew Rycroft, said the operation has not been able to defeat the smuggling networks but has nevertheless rescued more than 26,000 people, helped to apprehend 90 suspected smugglers and rendered more than 300 smuggling vessels unusable.

Libyan authorities seem less concerned about the resolution but have vigorously rejected plans by several EU countries, including Austria and Hungary, which have requested the EU to build a large refugee city on the Libyan coast for would-be asylum seekers.

The authors of the proposal also want to reach an agreement with North African countries to accept rejected asylum seekers.

In a press conference on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mediterranean Conference, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala said such proposals are very far from the reality on the ground in his country. He wondered why the EU would be forgoing its own responsibilities and planning to dump them on our shoulders. He said people from Europe being sent back to Libya will only be granted entry if they had a Libyan visa. Siala stressed that the crisis in the country makes such a proposal unrealistic for the Libyan government.

The North African country is a principal transit point for migrants hoping to reach Europe illegally. The increasing number of arrivals over the years has put pressure on the EU member states and has developed into a dividing issue between EU members. Meanwhile, thousands of people are anxiously waiting in Libya to embark on the perilous journey aboard unreliable sea vessels.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
The appointment of the son-in-law of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ailing state airline, AirZim, reignited a national debate on the appointment of family members to powerful public sector positions in the Southern African nation.

The Thirty-nine-year-old Simba Chikore was finally confirmed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Air Zimbabwe on Wednesday following a social media storm prompted by leaked news of his appointment.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo told the official Herald newspaper on Wednesday that Chikores credentials actually surpass the required qualifications.

The presidents son-in-law is reported to have been one of more than 100 applicants for the post.

However, the experience of the 39-year-old was questioned by opposition parties and civil society organizations.

The young man has no experience of running anything in his life; he has not even run a chicken run. To expect him to be in charge of a national airline, as COO, would have been a good April Fools Day joke and yet we are in October, Peoples Democratic Party spokesperson Jacob Mafume was quoted as saying.

The airline, owned by the Zimbabwean government, is debt-ridden to a reported tune of $300 million.

Mugabes only daughter Bona married Chikore in a glittering ceremony in 2014.

Chikores father-in-law, 92-year-old president Mugabe, frequently uses Air Zimbabwe for official and personal foreign trips.
Zambias opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema and his deputy Geoffrey Mwamba arrested in the early hours of Tuesday said they have been denied basic necessities such as food and water.

Both men, who are expected to appear in court on Thursday, were arrested by police on suspicion of sedition.

They have been arrested and detained for seditious practices and unlawful assembly, Charity Katanga, police commissioner for Copperbelt province, said.

The alleged unlawful assembly took place on September 26 in the central city of Mpongwe, in the heart of the mineral-rich province.

Sixty-one of their supporters have also been detained while protesting the party leaders arrest, and charged with conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, Katanga said.

Vice-President GBM and myself have so far been denied food, water and our own beddings and warm clothing being brought by our legal team, the flag bearer of the United Party for National Development (UPND) posted on Facebook.

Lets remain strong Zambians as we fight to claim our democracy, freedoms and rights. Our great nation deserves better and we shall ensure sanity and justice prevail so we can get back as a united country fighting poverty and hunger as opposed to oppression, the defeated presidential candidate told supporters.

Hichelima and the UPND lost the August 11 polls in which incumbent Edgar Lungu was declared a first round winner with 50.35% of the vote. Hichelima according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) got 47.6% of the votes.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara on Wednesday called on parliament to approve the new constitution, which would create a senate and a new post of deputy president in the West African nation.

Ouattara pledged during his campaign for re-election last year to scrap a nationality clause, which contributed to plunge the worlds top cocoa grower and French-speaking West Africas largest economy into prolonged crisis.

This is the occasion to definitively turn the page on the successive crises our country has known, to write new pages in our history by proposing a new social pact, Ouattara told lawmakers at the National Assembly in the capital city, Abidjan.

Today (Wednesday, 5) the time has come for us to define together what kind of nation we want to build. The time has come to decide what we want to leave behind for our children, he said.

The current charter, ratified in 2000 in the wake of a military coup, states presidential candidates must prove both their parents are natural-born Ivorians. They must also have never claimed citizenship of another country.

Cote dIvoire has kept its role as the worlds leading producer of cocoa despite the civil war earlier in this decade, and Ouattara has since won re-election.

The opposition denounced the presidents proposal, saying it reflected a lack of national dialogue and consensus.

Parliament has until Oct. 15 to approve the text in order to submit it to the public in a referendum on Oct. 30.
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In order to penetrate the blood-vessel wall and get to the inflamed tissue, immune cells must pass several checkpoints. Cells that lack the required molecules get stuck along the way, says Markus Sperandio. The micrograph shows how neutrophils that lack MST1 (green) are trapped between the inner cell layer of the vessel wall (red) and the basal membrane. Credit: JCI

LMU researchers have uncovered the underlying cause of a rare type of immunodeficiency syndrome, which severely impairs their ability to fight infections.

A functional defect in the protein kinase MST1 has been associated with a rare human immunodeficiency syndrome, which is characterized by recurrent bouts of inflammation induced by invasive fungi, bacteria and viruses. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Markus Sperandio of the Walter Brendel Center for Experimental Medicine at LMU Munich, has now linked this defect to the inhibition of a specific molecular process. In a paper which appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, he and his colleagues report that so-called neutrophilic granulocytes  a particular class of immune cells  are functionally impaired in the absence of MST1.

Neutrophilic granulocytes are essential for the initial response to infection and inflammation, which is mediated by the so-called innate immune system. "These cells are the first "rapid-response" units to arrive at the scene of action, and they bring a whole arsenal of defense mechanisms with them," Sperandio explains. To reach the site of infection, they must leave the bloodstream by squeezing through so-called endothelial cells that line the inner blood-vessel wall. It now turns out that mouse neutrophils which lack the gene for MST1 don't get very far. "In the absence of MST1, neutrophilic granulocytes are unable to leave the vasculature and cannot reach the tissue sites where they are needed. They can penetrate through the endothelial cell layer, but they get stuck then at the next barrier  the so-called basement membrane," Sperandio explains. He and his colleagues characterized the defect in a study carried out as part of the work of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center on Trafficking of Immune Cells in Inflammation, Development and Disease (SFB 914).

In functional neutrophils, intracellular membrane vesicles transport specific proteins to the cell surface, which together recognize and potentially degrade components of the basement membrane, allowing the cells to migrate through it. If the MST1 enzyme is missing, however, trafficking of the vesicles to the cell surface fails to take place. This is probably because, as the team has also shown, MST1 normally interacts with a specific partner protein that regulates vesicle transport. "Our study demonstrates that MST1 is crucial both for vesicle transport and for the ability of neutrophils to migrate through the vasculature," Sperandio concludes. The new findings also explain why children who carry mutations in the MST1 gene (which was identified in 2012 by a team led by Professor Christoph Klein, Director of Dr. von Hauner's Children's Hospital at the LMU Medical Center) become so ill. Lacking the ability to mobilize their neutrophils, they are unable to mount an effective immune response to invasive pathogens.

Explore further Rush-hour for neutrophils

More information: Angela R.M. Kurz et al. MST1-dependent vesicle trafficking regulates neutrophil transmigration through the vascular basement membrane, Journal of Clinical Investigation (2016). Journal information: Journal of Clinical Investigation Angela R.M. Kurz et al. MST1-dependent vesicle trafficking regulates neutrophil transmigration through the vascular basement membrane,(2016). DOI: 10.1172/JCI87043
Amid rising fears about "superbugs" that are resistant to antibiotics, hospitals are still overusing antibiotics to treat patients.

In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that antibiotic use overall has not changed in recent years among 300-plus hospitals - while, the use of some kinds of antibiotics has gone up significantly.

"This trend is worrisome in light of the rising challenge of antibiotic resistance," CDC scientists wrote in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, which recently published the findings.

On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly was expected to discuss growing concerns about superbugs - microbes that have developed a resistance to the arsenal of antibiotics frequently prescribed for many different infections. The UN General Assembly rarely tackles health issues in its meetings, but the antibiotic issue has become one of global concern.

Despite increased awareness of the risks of overprescribing antibiotics, the hospitals in the study didn't change the rate of their antibiotic use between 2006 and 2012, researchers noted. And the use of certain classes of antibiotics - the newer, more powerful ones - went up significantly over the same period.

"Our findings can help inform national efforts to improve antibiotic use by suggesting key targets for improvement interventions," the researchers wrote. "Because inappropriate antibiotic use increases the risk of antibiotic resistance and other adverse patient outcomes, continued monitoring of antibiotic use is critical to future improvements in patient safety."

Explore further No significant change in overall antibiotic use among hospitalized patients

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A recent Ontario University and College Health Association (OUCHA) report isn't news to those working to improve student mental-health services at postsecondary institutions. But it is a catalyst to improving mental-health supports for university students across the province, said Jana Luker, Associate Vice-Provost (Student Experience) at Western.

Late last month, OUCHA, a body that represents health-care professionals working in health and counselling centres in postsecondary institutions, released a report indicating a significant increase in student mental-health concerns such as anxiety and depression.

The report indicated that:

65 per cent of students reported experiencing overwhelming anxiety in the previous year (up from 57 per cent);

46 per cent of students reported feeling so depressed in the previous year it was difficult to function (up from 40 per cent);

13 per cent of students had seriously considered suicide in the previous year (up from 10 per cent); and

2.2 per cent of students (or 558 students) reported a suicide attempt within the previous year (up from 1.5 per cent). An additional 2, 245 students indicated that had attempted suicide, but not in the previous year.

Data was gathered from the Ontario Reference Group of the National College Health Assessment 2016, in which more than 25,000 students from 20 Ontario institutions participated. It is the second time the survey was administered at postsecondary institutions in Ontario  the first was in 2013.

The survey results will give the government "the impetus to move forward with what we've known for a long time. We (at Western) have prioritized mental health for years," Luker said.

"We're very aware of increased needs for support. And we've figured out a different model in our evolution that ensures our students don't have a wait time in accessing support," she continued, noting the array of supports available to students at Western, including single session therapy.

The single-session therapy initiative was piloted on campus two years ago under Psychological Services. The program brings a specially trained therapist that offers a different, single-session treatment modality and over the last two years, it has been very successful. As a result, there are currently no wait times in Psychological Services.

"The students we are dealing with are reflecting the needs of the community. This (OUCHA information) just illustrates there is a need. The positive side is that it brings more attention to this increased needs of support for students across the postsecondary sector. And that's a good thing," Luker said.

"We need to have the government aware of the mental-health challenges the postsecondary sector is facing. Regional strategies with postsecondary partners need to be fully developed. But I'm keen on seeing them bring forward hope for new funding models, and when this trickles down to our schools, we will all see the benefit," she continued.

Luker noted there have been efforts in recent past to develop a pan-university strategy to address mental health on university campuses, and Western is currently in the process of drafting a mental health strategic plan, as well.

"This (OUCHA information) is what we already knew. It wasn't a surprise whatsoever, but it needs to be brought to the forefront for the government and the provincial sectors. It is showing the government what our lived experience has been like, every day," she said.

"We want to ensure our students have the best supports. We are on the leading edge of doing this with our colleagues in Ontario and we want to continue that and evolve, to continue providing these supports so all students know and are educated where they can access supports and where they are available."

Explore further Study backs approach to single-session therapy for students
The probability that at least n autochthonous cases occurred following a single introduction on the date given on the horizontal axis (error bars are the probability of autochthonous transmission  the binomial standard deviation). (B) The total number of dengue cases that occurred within 100 days of a single introduction on the date listed along the horizontal axis. (C) The fraction of total cases that occurred in the location of introduction. All other parameter values are as given in Table 1. In the box plots in (B) and (C), red lines indicate the median, blue dots indicate the mean, and the box represents the interquartile range. Whiskers indicate the interquartile range multiplied by 1.5. Credit: University of New Mexico

With Zika virus raising concerns around the United States about the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, the transmission of these viruses has become paramount in terms of how, when and where they are spread. Researchers at The University of New Mexico are using mathematics to try and learn more about the potential for emergence of mosquito-borne disease in metropolitan areas in the United States.

Working under the mentorship of University of New Mexico Associate Professor Helen Wearing, Postdoctoral Fellow Michael Robert in the Departments of Biology, and Mathematics and Statistics developed a mathematical model to study introduction and spread of mosquito-borne diseases in U.S. urbanized areas. The researchers highlighted the utility of this model by investigating the case of dengue fever in the Miami Urbanized Area (Miami UA), a region in which imported cases of dengue have been reported frequently in the past six years.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that typically causes flu-like symptoms but can develop into a potentially lethal complication called dengue hemorrhagic fever. The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, and the World Health Organization estimates that about half of the world's population is at risk of dengue today. Dengue is spread by the same mosquito species that transmits Zika virus and chikungunya: Aedes aegypti.

Robert and his colleagues used the model to study the role of timing and location of introduction in determining whether introductions of dengue in the Miami UA will lead to local transmission and outbreaks in the context of seasonal fluctuations in the mosquito population and human movement patterns determined by daily commuting behavior.

"While this model is not yet capable of making exact predictions about how many cases can be expected after an introduction of dengue, it can help us to better understand what times of the year are most at risk for local transmission and outbreaks due to changes in the size of the mosquito population," Robert said. "It also helps us to understand how human movement could contribute to the spread of local transmission throughout the region."

"This study could potentially assist in understanding why large outbreaks of dengue in southern Florida have been rare despite numerous imported cases," Robert said. In their model, the researchers found that outbreaks following introductions in fall were smaller than those following introductions in the late-spring and summer. Most of the imported cases of dengue that occurred in 2010-2015 were reported in late summer and early fall when the mosquito population is lower relative to mid-summer. Importations in late-spring and early-summer have been less common.

The researchers also utilized the model to help understand the potential impact of low reporting rates on detection and perceived outbreak size. "Because symptoms of dengue are typically mild, people who acquire the infection may not see a doctor, and thus those cases go unreported," Robert said. "For example, in the 2009-2010 dengue outbreak in Key West, it is estimated that only about 5-10% of all cases were reported. The model allows us to estimate the total number of cases that could have occurred when reporting rates are low, which helps us to better understand how likely it is that an outbreak can be detected with low reporting rates.""We showed that the time of year in which an imported case of dengue arrives within the Miami UA influences both the probability of local transmission and the ultimate number of locally acquired cases," Robert said. "Although according to our model, introductions in June and July led to the highest probability of local transmission, introductions in May often led to the greatest number of cases. This result emphasizes the need for proactive mosquito control measures that begin in late-spring and early-summer even if the mosquito population and the number of dengue cases observed at the time are low."

Additionally, the researchers tested the robustness of the model to changes in parameters that are poorly understood for the Miami UA, namely the transmission rate and the ratio of mosquitoes to humans in the region. "One great utility of the model is that it can help us to understand what role the many unknown variables could play in transmission and spread of dengue in the region," Robert said. "For instance, it is difficult to estimate the number of mosquitoes that transmits the virus in the region, which determines the ratio of mosquitoes to humans. It is also difficult to estimate how often mosquitoes and humans come into contact, which is important for accurately estimating the transmission rate. Without understanding these values, it is almost impossible to predict the risk of transmission and the number of cases that could occur with any degree of certainty."

This model could be adapted to study other potential threats such as chikungunya and Zika virus to the Miami UA and other metropolitan areas in the U.S. such as New Orleans, Houston, and New York City. Because dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus are all spread by the same mosquito species, areas where any one of the three viruses has been transmitted are potentially suitable for transmission of the other two.

Chikungunya became established in the western hemisphere in 2014 and imported cases were detected in nearly all U.S. States. Over 400 imported cases were detected in Florida in 2014, and the majority of those were in southern Florida. Zika virus was first detected in the Western Hemisphere in 2015 and is rapidly spreading throughout Central and South America. As of September 28 2016, the CDC has reported 3566 travel-related cases of Zika virus in the United States, 783 of which were reported in Florida. According the Florida Department of Health, 133 locally acquired cases of Zika virus have been reported in Florida since July 2016, 132 of which have occurred in the Miami Urbanized Area.

Robert and Wearing conducted this study in collaboration with Noah Silva, a graduate student working under the direction of Wearing in the Department of Biology, Rebecca Christofferson and Christopher Mores at Louisiana State University, and Chalmers Vasquez at Miami-Dade Mosquito Control Division. Robert with continue to work with Drs. Wearing and Christofferson who were recently awarded an NIH grant to examine the role of temperature variation in mediating the transmission of chikungunya and Zika viruses.

Explore further Health officials: Tourist contracted dengue in Key West
Dr. Joan Cook is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. She has specific expertise in the areas of traumatic stress and geriatric mental health. Dr. Cook has served as the principal investigator on four grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Guideline Development Panel for PTSD and is the 2016 President of APA's Division of Trauma Psychology.

Recently, I spoke with Dr. Cook about PTSD in older adults.

Dr. Jain: Can you comment on the unique methodological considerations for researchers doing PTSD research in the elderly?

Dr. Cook: There are a number of methodological considerations that researchers who want to study older traumatized individuals might want to think about beforehand. One issue in working with this current cohort of older (65 and above) adults is their potential denial or minimization of reporting of trauma and related symptoms. For some individuals in this current cohort, their traumas may have preceded the 1980 introduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) into the official diagnostic classification. Thus they may associate more stigma or blame themselves for having experienced such event and/or having subsequent symptoms.

I think events such as the September 11th terrorist attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Hurricane Katrina, have helped raise the national consciousness about trauma. But I still clinically come across older adults who lack an understanding of the potential effects of traumatic experiences or don't accurately label such events as "traumatic." In addition, there are also cognitive, sensory, and functional impairments that may affect the experience, impact, or reporting of trauma-related symptoms.

Dr. Steven Thorp, Heather Sonas and I (2011) provided some recommendations for conducting trauma and PTSD-related assessment and treatment with older survivors. This includes practical issues like the need for large, bold fonts in written assessment or therapy materials to increase readability and minimize frustration, using specific behaviorally anchored questions to assess for traumatic events, and the benefits of using more than one method of assessment (e.g., self-report, observation, caregiver report, and structured interviews).

Dr. Jain: Can you discuss the findings of intimate partner violence (IPV) rates (and related PTSD) in older women versus younger women? How might these findings be explained (e.g. reporting bias, less public awareness, lack of resources to help older women)?

Dr. Cook: I'm so glad you asked this question! This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I've done a little research in this area but wish I had time and resources (grant support, interested collaborators) to do more.

In general, rates of IPV and related PTSD are lower in older as opposed to younger women. This may be due to more recent violent times in our society, for sure. But it also may be due to an interaction between reporting bias and cohort effects. The current cohort of older women may be less likely both to label IPV as such and to disclose such histories to health care providers. There also appears to be limited public awareness and fewer available services specifically designed for older IPV survivors compared to younger and middle-aged women.

A fairly recent systematic review that my colleagues and I conducted found that older women with IPV histories have greater psychological difficulties than older women who do not have these experiences. More specifically we also looked at data from a large nationally representative sample and found that one out of seven older women reported a history of physical or sexual assault, or both. And those who reported this type of traumatic history were generally more likely to meet criteria for past-year and lifetime PTSD, depression, or anxiety than those without such a history. Although IPV does not appear to be a widespread phenomenon in older women, it should not remain a "hidden variable" in their lives. I'd love to see more public attention, research, and clinical endeavors with older traumatized women.

Dr. Jain: Much of the studies of PTSD in older populations have been done in Veteransdo you think these findings are applicable to other populations of trauma exposed adults?

Dr. Cook: You're right. The vast bulk of the empirical literature on older adult trauma survivors has been conducted on combat veterans and former prisoners of war. But there is a relatively decent sized research base on older adults who experienced Holocaust-related trauma earlier in their life and individuals who experienced natural or man-made disasters later in life. There is very little research on trauma in aging ethnic and racial minorities and, as explained above, less on physical and sexual abuse in older men and women.

I don't think this means that the findings from the literature can never generalize. That would feel too extreme, right? But I think we need to sometimes exercise caution in our interpretation and recognize the limits of what we can and should say. I'm a researcher. I'm always looking to widen the representativeness of my samples (e.g., men/women, assessing for all types of trauma and a range of mental health and quality of life type outcomes, looking at people from varying SES, racial/ethnic backgrounds, and disability statuses) and to dive more into the nuances or intersectionality of those variables.

Dr. Jain: Can you talk about the correlation between PTSD and dementia? How robust are these findings? What other causal factors may be involved? What about the reversehow does having dementia impact PTSD symptoms?

Dr. Cook: This is a hard one for me to answer. It's intriguing data for sure, but there's so much we don't know. We know that older adults with PTSD perform more poorly across a range of cognitive measures, particularly processing speed, learning, memory, and executive functioning compared to older adults without PTSD.

Over the years there have been several case reports indicating that dementia may exacerbate existing PTSD symptoms. However in the past few years data from two recent large veteran datasets relatively indicate some evidence for a link between PTSD and dementia. In a sample of 181,000 veterans age 55 and over, those with PTSD were more than twice as likely to develop dementia over a six-year follow-up. In another study, almost 10,000 veterans age 65 and older were categorized according to PTSD status (yes or no) and having received a Purple Heart medal (yes or no). There was a greater incidence and prevalence of dementia in the older veterans with PTSD.

Some, however, believe that PTSD and dementia may share a third variable, intelligence, which may account for the link.

Dr. Jain: With regards to PTSD and older adultswhat do you think are the top 5 questions/priorities for researchers to address in the coming 10-20 years?

Dr. Cook: The older adult population is increasing rapidly, and that changing demographic landscape will likely translate to an increased need for mental health services for older adults. Most randomized controlled trials investigating psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy for adults with PTSD do not typically include older individuals or sufficient numbers of them to examine age comparisons. A recent systematic review on psychotherapy for PTSD with older adults identified 13 case studies and seven treatment outcome studies. But this literature is disappointing in some ways. It has significant methodological limitations, including non-randomized research designs, lack of comparison conditions, and small sample sizes. One conclusion from this review was that select evidence-based interventions validated in younger and middle-aged populations appear efficacious with older adults. But while a number of the studies reported that older adults experienced a reduction of PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms, few experienced complete remission. It's currently unclear if those treatments were not delivered in sufficient dose (i.e., intensity and frequency) to produce full benefit or if chronic, severe PTSD is harder to treat in older as opposed to younger adults.

Over the past decade there have been several epidemiological studies both in the United States and in several industrialized countries using representative samples of community dwelling adults and examining the prevalence and impact of traumatic experiences and PTSD with sufficient numbers of older adults to examine late-life age effects. Needless to say, this is very exciting and a significant advancement for both the traumatic stress and geriatric mental health fields. Now that we've done that I'd love to see more on the experience of trauma and expression of any related distress in the least healthy and potentially most "vulnerable" older adultsthose with, physical, emotional, or cognitive impairment; those who are homebound; and long-term care residents.

Although the prevalence of full PTSD appears to be relatively low, there is some evidence to suggest that older adults may have clinically important PTSD symptoms. I think it would be great if we could invite subthreshold PTSD in the older adult population as well as trauma-related depression. There is a very robust literature on depression in older adults and only a handful of articles that look at the connection between depression and trauma.

Though older adulthood encompasses at least a 30-year age range, the vast majority of studies on older adult trauma survivors lump all of them into a generic older adult group. Ideally I would like to see more fine-grained analyses (even if they are exploratory) on young-old (6574 years), middle-old (7584 years) and old-old (85 years and older). This seems to be fairly low hanging fruit that most investigators could try to do.

I've also included other things in my wish list above.

Explore further PTSD symptomatology linked to increased risk of RA

This story is republished courtesy of PLOS Blogs: blogs.plos.org.
Robots are capable of all sorts of tasks to help better treat cancer: They connect oncologists to patients remotely, make incisions, staple them shut, deliver "nano" therapiesand they clean rooms. Newly published research from Penn Medicine infection control specialists found that ultraviolet (UV) robots helped reduce the rates of transmission of the common bacterial infection known as Clostridium difficile (C. diff) among cancer inpatients  mostly blood cancer patients, a group more vulnerable to hospital-acquired infections  by 25 percent. The no-touch device, used after patients with C. diff or contact precautions were discharged from the hospital, also resulted in substantial health care savings, estimated between $350,000 and $1.5 million annually.

The data, initially presented at the 2015 ID Week meeting in San Diego by David Pegues, MD, a professor of Infectious Diseases in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and a healthcare epidemiologist in the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania's Infection Prevention and Control, was published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Several new cleaning tacticson top of all the scrubbing, mopping, spraying, and wiping performed by Environmental Services (EVS) professionalshave been implemented at hospitals across the U.S to help reduce transmission of such infections, but which new methods are the most effective and practical has remained unclear.

UV robots flash UV lights across the room to lock onto DNA of organisms and kill them.

"There weren't a lot of studies showing the efficacy of UV lights to clean hospital rooms," said Pegues, who co-authored a recent study that found a lack of evidence for best methods for cleaning hospital rooms. "These results help fill that gap. This is a cost-saving measure that showed a sizeable reduction in infections for a high-risk group of patientsand set the stage for further implementation of the technology at our hospitals."

The team found that using a ultraviolet germicidal irradiation robot after a room cleaning by EVS not only reduced the number of infections in cancer patients compared to the year prior with no robot, but did so without adversely impacting room turn around time. They also report that infections increased by 16 percent on units without the robot during the study period.

C. diff forms spores that are resistant to many disinfectants and can persist in the hospital environment for months. Approximately 500,000 people contract C. diff while in the hospital every year in the U.S., and nearly 15,000 die directly from the infection. Cancer patients, whose immune systems may be compromised from stem cell transplants and/or chemotherapy, are more susceptible to infections than other inpatients.

In 2013, the number of cases of C. diff on the cancer units studied at Penn were five times the rate of all the other units in the hospital combined, despite targeted evidence-based interventions and EVS process improvements, including the use of bleach for daily and terminal room cleaning of C. diff rooms.

For the study, the researchers compared C. diff rates from that year to rates in 2014 (when the robot was deployed). The vast majority of the patients on these oncology floors were being treating blood cancers, including leukemia and multiple myeloma.

During 2014, the researchers used the ultraviolet robot for 21.1 percent of all patient discharges (542 out of 2,569 total patient discharges) on three study units (about 10 deployments for a week). Following cleaning of the room by EVS, the robot was deployed for two eight-minute cycles on either side of the patient bed with the bathroom door left open.

The researchers compared the rates of C. diff, and found a 25 percent reduction in cases during the 52-week intervention period versus the baseline period, 2013. There were 87 cases of C. diff on the study units in 2013, and 66 in 2014.

Some modalities, such as the hydrogen peroxide vapor system, can take up to two hours. Surprisingly, this intervention did not impact room turnaround. The mean clean time was roughly the same, approximately 36 minutes. Although no additional EVS staff was used during the evaluation, improving and spreading use of UV light for disinfection requires hiring additional EVS staff.

Explore further UV light robots cut c. diff transmissions by 25 percent on cancer patient floors
The image shows a section of mouse brain in which scientists have injected rAAV2-retro viruses carrying a red fluorescent protein. The red fluorescent protein labels the long-range output projections between two regions of the brain, the cortex and the pons, located in the brainstem. The site of the injection is shown with a co-injection of a virus carrying green fluorescent protein. Credit: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus and the University of California, Berkeley have developed a powerful new tool for neuroscientistsa viral vector called rAAV2-retro, which efficiently enters and travels through the long neuronal projections that connect different regions of the brain. Genetically-encoded tools for labeling cells or monitoring or manipulating their activity can be packaged inside the virus and delivered to groups of neurons that signal to a specific part of the brain, creating new opportunities to study large-scale neural networks.

Chemical dyes have long been used to trace neuronal projections. However, a viral vector that is transported to neuronal cell bodies as efficiently as dyes carries a distinct advantage: it delivers a genetic payload to the cells that it infects. "We have performed rigorous analysis to establish that this tool is more effective than anything available, and, based on feedback from our colleagues in neuroscience, we believe that it will expand the scope of neural circuit research," says Janelia group leader Alla Karpova, who led the large-scale effort to develop and test rAAV2-retro. Eventually, Karpova and her colleagues say, rAAV2-retro might also enable efficient delivery of gene therapies to cells affected by neurodegenerative disease. Karpova and her colleagues reported on rAAV2-retro on October 6, 2016, in the journal Neuron.

Karpova says the new tool helps solve a frustration many neuroscientists experience as they try to unravel how neural circuits process and relay information across the brain. The projection neurons that connect distant parts of the brain are intimately intermingled with one another, and it is difficult to manipulate specific groups of cells selectively to study their function. "It's pretty clear that projection neurons are a critical component of large-scale networks. But understanding their specific role is hard. It requires being able to distinguish and genetically access different subpopulations," Karpova says.

With the support of the Janelia Visiting Scientist Program, Janelia scientists partnered with David Schaffer's team at the University of California, Berkeley, to begin their search. Schaffer, had previously developed a diverse collection of variants of adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs), non-toxic viruses that are widely used in neuroscience research. Naturally occurring adeno-associated viruses are tremendously variable, and can infect different types of cells depending on the precise structure of their outer protein shell, or capsid. The researchers suspected that the right alterations to the capsid might give an adeno-associated virus just the properties they were looking for.

Postdoctoral researcher Gowan Tervo led the effort to find a virus that exhibited efficient retrograde transport in the brains of mice. Together with members of the Dudman, Hantman and Looger labs at Janelia, he devised a screen that would test viruses' ability to travel through two different sets of neurons that traverse long distances. After injecting the full set of viral variants into the sites where those cells send their signals, Tervo and his colleagues waited three weeks, giving the virus time to spread. Then they collected any viruses that had reached the distant part of the brain where the neurons' signals originated.

Credit: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

With the help of Schaffer's team, an enriched viral pool was then generated, and injected into the same sites in the brain, beginning the selection process again. The procedure was repeated several times, each time generating viral variants better suited for the task at hand.

At the end of that process, the team had several viral vectors that were very good at traveling through the particular neurons he had used in his screen. But to be the type of versatile tool the researchers were looking for, a virus needed to perform equally well in neurons elsewhere in the brain. Together, the team selected 15 contenders, and with the support of Janelia's core facilities, examined each variant's ability to trace many different neuronal paths through the brain. When they were used to deliver fluorescent proteins to neurons, the viral vectors that worked best generated clear maps of cells' courses through the brain, showing groups of labeled cells converging on the site where the virus had been injected.

After this massive effort, the team selected a single virus that excelled in their tests, efficiently diffusing through projection neurons in many different parts of the brain. That vector also successfully delivered a genetically-encoded sensor of neural activity to target cells, causing those cells to light up when they fired.

Still, Tervo says, additional testing was needed. Together with Sarada Viswanathan, a postdoctoral researcher in Loren Looger's laboratory at Janelia, he developed sensitive assays to measure the performance of the virus, and after spending more than a year comparing rAAV2-retro to alternative tracers and viral vectors, the team concluded that it is the best tool available for selectively accessing groups of neurons based on their projection patterns. "Now we're in the position where we can confidently recommend this for the vast majority of circuits," Tervo says.

Karpova and her colleagues are making rAAV2-retro freely available to the neuroscience community, and hope it will be used for a wide range of scientific applications. "We altered the capsid of the virus. The payload that you put into it is up to you," Tervo says.

Explore further Improved brain mapping tool 20 times more powerful than previous version

More information: A Designer AAV Variant Permits Efficient Retrograde Access to Projection Neurons, Neuron, Available online 6 October 2016, ISSN 0896-6273, Journal information: Neuron A Designer AAV Variant Permits Efficient Retrograde Access to Projection Neurons,, Available online 6 October 2016, ISSN 0896-6273, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.09.021
Credit: University of Alabama at Birmingham

A new study suggests many patients at risk for suicide would voluntarily place their name on a Do Not Sell list, prohibiting gun shops from immediately selling them a firearm.

The study, published today in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, says nearly half of the 200 people surveyed would willingly place their name on such a list.

"There is evidence that suicide, in particular suicide-by-gun, is often impulsivethat once an individual decides to take their own life they are, in many cases, able to quickly obtain a firearm and use it," said lead author Fredrick Vars, J.D., a professor in the School of Law at the University of Alabama. "The concept of a Do Not Sell list, similar to the national Do Not Call list, would be to eliminate such impulsive transactions. Restricting access to firearms, even temporarily, could save many lives."

The authors report that previous studies of survivors of firearm suicide attempts found a majority had suicidal thoughts for less than a day, while another found that, of nearly lethal suicide attempts among people 13-34 years of age, about one-fourth of attempters spent less than five minutes between the decision to attempt suicide and the actual attempt.

Vars conducted the survey with investigators in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine.

"People with mental illness are more likely to commit suicide," said Richard Shelton, M.D., vice chair of Research for the UAB Department of Psychiatry and a study co-author. "Studies indicate the vast majority of suicide attempt survivors end up eventually dying of something other than suicide, so a means of preventing someone from making future gun purchases during a suicidal crisis might reduce suicide rates."

The researchers surveyed 200 patients at an inpatient psychiatric unit and two outpatient psychiatry clinics at UAB. The most commonly reported conditions of those surveyed were mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders or substance abuse.

The survey presented two options to study participants. In the first, respondents would voluntarily place their name on the Do Not Sell list, which would feature a seven-day waiting period following a request for removal from the list to avoid an impulse buy. The second option would require a judicial hearing to remove a name from the list and allow a gun sale. A total of 46 percent of respondents indicated willingness to participate in one of the two methods, with a slight preference for the seven-day waiting period.

"Nearly one-half of participants indicated they would like to be able to restrict their own future gun purchases," Vars said. "This approach wouldn't stop all suicides, but any dent we could make in the estimated 20,000 people who use a gun to commit suicide every year in the United States would be significant."

"Waiting periods to purchase firearms have been shown to reduce gun suicide, most likely due to the impulsive nature of suicide attempts," said Karen L. Cropsey, Psy.D., associate professor of psychiatry at UAB and a study co-author. "The Do Not Sell list is a new type of means restriction, and means restriction generally has been shown to be one of the most effective suicide prevention strategies."

Cropsey says a Do Not Sell list would be a natural extension of current counseling practice.

"We regularly have conversations with patients who are having or have had suicidal thoughts about removing access to firearms in the home," she said. "Taking a gun out of the home or, as in this case, creating a delay period that removes the ability to impulsively purchase a firearm are good strategies for suicide prevention."

Vars, who has studied mental health and gun ownership for years, believes the concept of the Do Not Sell list is unique but could be implemented fairly easily.

"A waiting periodsay seven, 10 or perhaps 15 dayswould be fairly easy to establish and would involve primarily one-time set up costs rather than an ongoing expense," Vars said. "The judicial review option would be more expensive. The largest hurdle would be in educating health care providers and the public that an option such as a Do Not Sell list exists."

Vars would like to see the survey administered in other regions of the country to see if the results are similar.

"Alabama has a high rate of gun ownership and a strong consensus against gun regulation," Vars said. "Sign-up rates could be different and possibly higher in regions with lower gun ownership rates."

Explore further How to reduce US firearm suicide rates?

More information: Vars, F. E., McCullumsmith, C. B., Shelton, R. C. and Cropsey, K. L. (2016), Willingness of Mentally Ill Individuals to Sign Up for a Novel Proposal to Prevent Firearm Suicide. Suicide Life Threat Behav. DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12302 Vars, F. E., McCullumsmith, C. B., Shelton, R. C. and Cropsey, K. L. (2016), Willingness of Mentally Ill Individuals to Sign Up for a Novel Proposal to Prevent Firearm Suicide.
This screenshot from a video produced by the University of Washington demonstrates how to respond to workers who are experiencing symptoms of heat-related illness. Credit: Stacey Holland, Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center

Warmer weather is related to an increase in traumatic injuries for outdoor agricultural workers in central and eastern Washington.

These findings, which appear Oct. 7 in PLOS ONE, come from a study by researchers at the University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries' Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) program.

The study is the first to estimate the risk of traumatic injury in farm workers using temperature data linked to the geographic location of the injury.

The researchers reported on more than 12,200 traumatic injury workers' compensation claims filed by agricultural workers from 2000 to 2012.

"Taken together with prior research in this area, our results suggest that we need to be proactive when it's warm outside, particularly when work is physically demanding, in order to prevent heat-related injuries as well as heat-related illness," said June Spector, lead author of the study and assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Internal body heat generated from physical exertion contributes to overall heat stress. One of the most well documented health effects of hot weather is heat-related illness. This can range from heat rash to heat stroke, which can be fatal.

This is a scene from a University of Washington video that demonstrates how to respond to workers who are experiencing symptoms of heat-related illness. Photo credit: Stacey Holland, Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center. Credit: Stacey Holland, Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center.

"This study reinforces the importance of prevention," said David Bonauto, co-author of the study and research director of SHARP. "Employers need to provide plenty of fresh drinking water, start work as early in the day as possible, and encourage workers to take breaks and pace themselves."

In the case-crossover study, researchers identified the temperature and humidity at the approximate location of the injury on the injury day. To understand how heat may have been a factor in the injury, the researchers compared the heat and humidity on the injury day with days when there was no new injury for that individual working at the same work location.

The connection between heat and injury was not surprising to the researchers. With heat exposure, dehydration, and fatigue, a person can become less stable on their feet and have more difficulty concentrating. The exact mechanisms responsible for the increased risk observed need further study, Spector said.

The average daily maximum temperature between May and September during the twelve-year period studied was 82.2 degrees Fahrenheit, with temperatures at times exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Add humidity and the weather can feel even hotter. Exertion also influences heat stress placed on the body. A cherry harvester, for example, has a physically demanding job that requires carrying and climbing ladders with bags of fruit. Being paid for work by the amount harvested can make the job more intense. This piece rate scheme can provide an opportunity for increased pay but also encourages workers to work harder and faster.

"Our findings underscore the importance of working together with workers and growers to identify and evaluate practical strategies that address the increased risk of injury that outdoor agricultural workers face in the heat," she said.

Washington state has workplace safety standardsin effect from May to September that address outdoor heat in agriculture. Legislation was recently passed to require paid rest breaks.

Financial support for the study was provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Explore further Protecting workers in extreme heat

More information: June T. Spector et al, A Case-Crossover Study of Heat Exposure and Injury Risk in Outdoor Agricultural Workers, PLOS ONE (2016). Journal information: PLoS ONE June T. Spector et al, A Case-Crossover Study of Heat Exposure and Injury Risk in Outdoor Agricultural Workers,(2016). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164498
Georgian tea on show in Ireland

For the first time in history, Georgian tea has been showcased in Dublin, Ireland.The exhibition was held upon the initiative of the Georgian Embassy in Ireland and was attended by Irish tea importers, representatives of major Irish hotels and supermarket chains, also tea experts and journalists.Georgian tea producing company Natura Tea Company presented its products, as well as export opportunities."The culture of tea consumption has spread in Ireland centuries ago but Georgian tea is less known to them, said Georgias Charge d'Affaires in Ireland Giorgi Zurabishvili."Thats why we decided to present Georgian export tea samples to Irish tea importers and other professionals of this sphere.Zurabishvili stressed this was the first time Georgian tea was showcased in Dublin. He said the Georgian product received highly positive assessment from the Irish side.
Georgian Lottery Will Take Chance on New License Holder

A new company will get the license to organize the Georgia national lottery. The Ministry of Finance has announced a tender to award the license and will accept offers until December 12.According to the tender documentation, the winning company, foreign or Georgian, should meet the following criteria:Should have experience in organizing a lottery and its income from this business for the past five years should be not less than 350 million lari (about $US152.8 million).Pay to the central budget not less than 5 million lari (about $US 2.18 million) once it gets the license.According to the amendment to the law on Organizing Lottery, Gambling and Gainful Games on June 8, 2016, the Georgian government, based on data compiled by a neutral party, can decide the license fee and taxes to be paid. The new license holder will be required to pay 8 percent of lottery ticket receipts every quarter.The neutral party is the Georgian branch of PricewaterhouseCoopers Central Asia offices. The Ministry of Finance conducted a simplified procurement and hired PricewaterhouseCoopers for $US74,340. The company studied the Georgian lottery market for two months and presented their study to the Ministry in early September.Ifact.ge asked the Ministry of Finance why they chose PricewaterhouseCoopers using a simplified procurement. The Ministry replied:Since this issue has big importance for the state and society, we wanted to finish the research process quickly. PricewaterhouseCoopers has already done studies on the lottery industry in Georgia, so we decided to order this particular research from the same company.According to the new tender document based on the PricewaterhouseCoopers study, the Ministry is allowed to name the candidate companies during the procurement process. But other details should be kept confidential.According to a contract signed in 2010 and amended in 2011, current lottery organizer LLC Georgian Lottery Company should have paid over 15 years to the central budget total of 1.5 billion lari (about $US652 million at todays currency exchange rate).A holding company for Georgian Lottery Company was registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 2009. The sole shareholder for Lexor Capital was Dimitri Chikovani, whose brother-in-law Davit Kezerashvili was a powerful minister under former President Mikheil Saakashvili and is currently a fugitive from Georgian justice in England.Facing massive losses from the start, Lexor Capital was allowed to hand over 70 percent of the shares to the Ministry of Economy  along with a fast-growing debt that had reached at least 30 million lari (about $US13 million at todays rates)  in August, 2011.The Georgian Lottery Companys current debt is over 216 million lari (about $US 93.9 million). The Ministry of Finance says there is no discussion about canceling this debt, according to a letter received from the Ministry.
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.
The first painting Dudley Dana bought after he finished graduate school was a Robert Moore.

The diminutive piece  you could tuck it inside a hardcover book  is easy to miss in the Dana Gallery, even though it's hanging at eye level on a beam near the front desk.

Many of the other paintings in the gallery, somewhere around 40, are at the grander scale associated with the Declo, Idaho, resident.

The Dana, which is marking its 20th anniversary this year, has given over its entire space to Moore, its most well-known artist since they began working together in 2005 and a mentor to many of its younger painters.

For this show, Dana gave Moore free rein.

"He encouraged me to experiment and to push into directions that I am excited about trying but haven't allowed myself to do, just because of the parameters that the galleries have," Moore said in a phone interview. Instead of worrying about whether they'd sell, or the subject matter, Dana told the impressionist to "try something you're not sure about," Moore said.

For him, it meant pursuing new directions with the surface and application of paint and a looseness that pushes his compositions closer to abstraction.

When you step into the gallery, that's immediately obvious with "Winter's Bottom Line." The oil canvas revisits one of Moore's favored subject matters: an aspen grove in winter, rendered in an expressive, geometric patchwork of tones that seems decentered but still reads as a forest.

Moore said he's been experimenting with larger marks and larger tools. He's known for his palette knife works, but now using larger ones, even trowels for sheet-rocking; or using his fingers or the side of his hand, ink rollers to achieve the organic surfaces that professional sheet-rockers use.

He said that when making a large mark with a tool, the shape becomes dynamic and unlabored; at least it appears unlabored.

"You have to have a lot of miles behind you in order to make simple statements that have the correct relationship, and read as true to the viewer in physical realm. It takes a lot of time," Moore said.

Moore likes to compare his process to an equation. On one side is the number 12. On the other side are myriad options for achieving that result.

"That's the way it is with the process I'm trying to figure out. There's no real right or wrong to the process, it's just the ultimate outcome being a readable composition with clear information in the shapes of the masses so the viewer can tell what they're looking at," he said.

Moore's been working in this looser direction for only the past five years, a continuing progression away from the realist techniques he learned years ago at the Art Center College of Design in California.

"From there it got more impressionistic and more and more about the shapes and the surface and the color, and less about trying to do what a camera can do," he said.

***

Dana first approached Moore about showing his work at the gallery in 2005. It came with the stipulation that Dana would come pick up the canvases, which are quite large, himself.

Since then, Dana has made the trip probably three or four times a year.

Moore hires younger artists as apprentices, many of whom Dana has picked up for his gallery: Caleb Meyer, Trey McCarley, Francis Switzer, David Mensing, Garth Williams and Silas Thompson.

Dana said it's "been great to jump-start their careers."

"It gives me more energy about the gallery and helps me keep the gallery changing a bit," he said.

Moore said the apprenticeships have a twofold benefit.

"It's a selfishness on my part to want to have companionship and fellowship as opposed to being out there with my dog or the coyotes wherever I happen to be painting," Moore said.

Moore is Christian, as are many of his apprentices, which figures into that bonding while painting.

"We know the source of that beauty. And have the same beliefs in our Creator and God and what he's done with us," he said.

There are more earthly considerations: In exchange for working with Moore, the apprentices help pack, ship and keep his operation going. It frees him to paint more, and gives the apprentices "some steady income that's not necessarily guaranteed at the galleries."

Moore said he's grateful for the freedom Dana has offered him.

"Dudley is an exceptional human being and gallery owner," Moore said. "I'm convinced that he does not do it for profit, even though there is a profit. He does it because he appreciates and wants to invest in the people's lives. He loves the relationship that is formed with the artist, and helping artists out because he's in a position where he can," he said.
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?

I think nonviolent offenders should be handled in a different system, and given the opportunity to do community service. I also think that marijuana should be legalized. That will help with over-capacity and the revenue could help with infrastructure.

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?

We the people should and the Legislature should give them direction.

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?

There will still be jobs in coal with technology. Today coal can be made in to diamonds, oil for lubrication. Retrain them to work in a new field of energy.

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?

If we the people legalized marijuana for Montana then we the people can use the revenue to help our people.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

Health care for all Montanans at a price they can afford. I am for a strong democracy. I am for well-funded public schools. I will always vote in favor of the people of Montana over big business, large corporations. I believe corporations should pay to clean up the pollution that they cause. I think the EPA is one of our most important agencies. It should be well-funded and protected. I believe in global warming and think it should be acted on immediately. I think Planned Parenthood is good and should be well-funded and protected from those who would defund them.
A district judge ruled this week that former Ravalli County Treasurer Valerie Stamey committed official misconduct by failing to perform her statutory duties and will need to pay the county $151,478.22.

Ravalli County Commissioner Greg Chilcott said hes pretty certain the county will never see a dime.

I would be surprised if we ever see any remuneration, Chilcott said. It would be nice to get the money, but if history tells us anything, were not going to get anything. Weve spent enough money on this, in my mind.

The county filed a lawsuit against the former treasurer in June 2014 after she was suspended from that position for failing to perform her job.

It took the county six separate summonses and two years of searching before it finally tracked Stamey down in South Carolina, where she was served with legal papers last May.

Defiant to the end, Stamey told the Ravalli Republic in June that she would file her own legal response to the countys civil lawsuit and promised a legal challenge of her own if the county opted to proceed against her.

As of Friday morning, Stamey has not filed any action against the county. She did not respond to an email sent to her cherrybomb email address Friday.

Ravalli County District Judge Jeffrey Langton ruled in favor of the countys request for a default judgment against Stamey earlier this week.

In the one-page ruling, Langton wrote Stamey is judicially declared to have committed official misconduct by failing to perform the statutory duties of the office of treasurer.

Langton said the judgment was issued against Stamey, aka Valerie Scott, aka Valerie Addis.

The $151,478.22 will bear interest until it is paid in full, Langton ruled.

Ravalli County Deputy Attorney Howard Recht asked for the default judgment in September after Stamey failed to respond to the lawsuit.

Stamey was appointed to fill the vacant treasurers office in Sept. 2013.

Within a short period of time, the county commission was inundated with complaints about checks not being cashed and special districts said they werent receiving account statements.

Stamey was placed on leave in January 2014 after an investigation showed she was not performing her duties. It cost the county $122,478.22 to return the office to functioning status.

The countys lawsuit asked for that amount, plus a $29,000 penalty for the 55 times the commission documented that Stamey neglected or refused to provide reports.

With Langtons ruling, the case against Stamey was officially closed.
A Corvallis man who attacked his parents and a Ravalli County sheriffs deputy with a hatchet will spend at least two years in the Montana State Hospital.

Shadrick Steven Traver, 25, was sentenced Thursday on felony counts of assault with a weapon and assault on a peace officer.

The court found that due to a mental defect or disease, Traver was unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct, said Ravalli County Deputy Attorney Angela Wetzsteon.

Traver was arrested in September 2015 following an assault on both of his parents and the deputy.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Travers parents had just moved back to Corvallis from California. They were in the middle of unpacking when Traver became irate and started beating his mother.

The woman said later Traver became angry for no reason and started hitting her on the side of her head and knocked her to the ground.

His father hurried to the scene from the garage after he heard his wife screaming. When he entered the home, he found Traver bent over her and beating her.

The pair was able to escape to their car. As they were driving away, Traver threw a knife at them that struck the vehicle.

The parents realized that they had left their phones behind and decided to return to attempt to obtain them. When the father entered the home, he saw Traver standing inside holding an 18-inch hatchet.

Traver threatened him and told him to leave.

When the couple was attempting to get in the car to leave, Traver threw the hatchet through both the passenger and driver side windows. The hatchet missed both of the parents, but landed just outside the passenger door.

When the parents met with sheriffs deputies, the officers noted the mother was crying and had a large, bloody lump on the right side of her head.

The officers found Traver at his parents home. When he spotted them, he stepped partially into the hallway and, in one motion, lifted the hatchet above his head and threw it. The hatchet hit a deputys finger.

Traver accepted a plea bargain agreement that had him offer an Alford plea to the two felony charges and a misdemeanor count of partner or family member assault.

In an Alford plea, a person doesnt admit guilt but agrees there is enough evidence to convict him.

Traver was sentenced to be committed to the custody of the Department of Public Health and Human Services for a period not to exceed 10 years, with eight years suspended.

The court ordered Traver moved from the county detention center to the West House facility this week pending his expected move to the Montana State Hospital next week.
Missoula could resettle up to 150 refugees of as many as 15 nationalities in the next 12 months, but the biggest numbers will reflect the worlds most troubled spots.

A Reception and Placement Abstract filed in May with the U.S. State Department proposed up to 65 people from sub-Saharan Africa and 70 from the Middle Eastern countries of Syria, Iran and Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, during fiscal year 2017.

The first group includes those whove fled war or persecution from Burundi, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan and South Sudan.

Five families from the Democratic Republic of Congo  27 people in all  arrived in town in August and September, according to wrapsnet.org, an interactive website of the State Departments Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

They wont count toward the 150 total for FY17, according to Molly Short Carr, executive director of the International Rescue Committees Missoula office.

In the R&P Abstract the IRC said it will recruit with the goal of matching the language need of the anticipated caseload to the capacity of the staff, which is composed of 2  paid positions in Missoula.

Additionally, IRC will hire occasional staff interpreters, as needed, the three-page document stated.

Missoulas IRC office wasnt in place when the proposal was made. Bob Johnson, who retired in December as head of the IRC office in Seattle, agreed to help set up the office here as a senior adviser before Carr was hired in July.

An abstract also was filed for the remainder of fiscal year 2016, which ended on Sept. 30. It proposed a capacity of 100 refugees, though Missoula was clearly not in a position to receive that many.

The federal bureau uses information provided on R&P abstracts when it sits down each week with representatives of the IRC and the eight other resettlement agencies in the United States, a State Department spokeswoman told the Missoulian.

They review each family of refugees individually, one by one, the spokeswoman said. Its a really intensive process that tries to make sure a refugee family is going to a place thats going to fit its needs.

Missoulas FY17 abstract proposes as many as five people with U.S. ties from each of the worlds five refugee regions  Africa, East Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East and South Asia. Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are included in the latter category by the State Department. The remaining 125 will have no U.S. ties.

When a refugee has no family or personal ties in the United States, we place them based on plans submitted in the abstract, the State Department spokeswoman said.

She said Montanans should rest assured that Syrians coming from refugee camps in the Middle East and Europe will be thoroughly vetted. Thats been a bone of contention, especially since the Syrian refugee crisis escalated, and has been scoffed at by the likes of presidential candidate Donald Trump and Greg Gianforte, Montanas Republican gubernatorial candidate.

The safety and security of the American people is always the top priority, not just in the Department of State but throughout the government, said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified. Refugees coming into the U.S. are the most highly vetted of any traveler in that the vetting involves multiple security agencies and takes, on the average, 18 to 24 months.

Last fall the Obama administration announced a goal of resettling 10,000 refugees from Syria in FY16. That target was reached a month early, and the United States ended up with just under 12,500.

That was achieved, the spokeswoman said, even though Syrian refugees go through the same vetting process as any other, plus an additional security check that others dont undergo.

We were able to cut down the amount of time it took in some specific cases, though the worldwide average is still 18 to 24 months, she said. We devoted additional staff and located some staff temporarily so different parts of the admission process would be happening in the same place.

President Barack Obama set a ceiling of 85,000 refugees in the U.S. in the past fiscal year, up from 70,000 in each of the two previous years. The final count was five shy of 85,000.

The target has been bumped up to 110,000 for the current fiscal year, though Obama has not and may not set a number for Syrian refugees.

Its a big increase over the course of two years, so a lot of communities are going to see more. Were really pleased that so many communities have stepped up and said this is something we can do, the State Department spokeswoman said.

The IRCs abstract touched lightly on housing and employment in Missoula. Basing its figures on the latest Missoula Housing Report, it said the average monthly rent for homes or apartments with one, two and three bedrooms is $750, $950 and $1,200, respectively. Availability was listed as always for the two smaller homes and sometimes for three bedrooms.

Listed as available jobs for refugees in Missoula were construction, customer service, food service, health care, hospitality and retail. The average starting wage is $9.50 for full-time positions, while the starting wage of part-time positions and the percentage of positions offered benefits are to be determined.

According to the document, at the time of filing Johnson and the IRC had conducted three week-long site visits to Missoula to meet with local residents, elected officials and government agencies.

One positive result of these meetings was advice from Missoulas mayor (John Engen) and the head of United Way (Susan Hay Patrick) on suggested office sites, the abstract reported.

IRC representatives went to Helena in April and met with state refugee coordinator Katherine Quittenton as well as representatives from the state health agency and Gov. Steve Bullocks staff.

The meeting centered on the quarterly consultation process and plans for the opening of the IRC office in Missoula, the R&P Abstract reported. As a result of the meeting, the IRC became better acquainted with the state government and developed a more comprehensive understanding of the political climate in Montana.

Carr said she and her staff are in the process of instituting a quarterly consultation process that will update local agencies on the resettlement process.
Montanas history: part wonderful, part fascinating and part problematic. This was the way of many mineral-rich states that helped build our nation.

With no serious environmental regulation governing mining until the 1970s, early industrial activity left behind serious impacts. We look back on those early days questioning the decisions that were made, but also realizing that miners and other foundational industries used the best methods available to them at the time. Thankfully, this wonderful, fascinating and problematic mining history also helped us learn and advance in remarkable ways. Weve grown; weve invented and helped modernize our country; and weve learned how to create a regulatory structure around mining processes that protects both environmental and human values.

Today, with Tintina Resources recently submitting their revised Black Butte Projects application to the Department of Environmental Quality for review, we have a great opportunity to reflect on this progress and acknowledge the benefits that modern mining brings to our state. Its also time to demand reasoned and rational thinking about this project.

First, the DEQ has significantly revised its bonding process, which allows for no self-bonding and requires bonds to be completely reviewed/adjusted every five years to prevent taxpayers from having to assist in reclaiming sites after mining is complete. In fact, existing mine operations now fund legacy restoration projects through the Montana Metal-Mines Tax. Weve also re-written our reclamation statutes ensuring that Montana mine design standards are second to none and created the strictest tailings impoundment statutes in the world. This is progress to be proud of.

Next, we should be proud that Montana is the only state to address the boom and bust nature of mining by creating the Hard Rock Mining Impact Act. This act recognizes that large mineral developments put a strain on local government services and requires a negotiated plan upfront addressing issues from an influx of school students, to increased ambulance/fire service needs, or anything else putting socio/economic pressure on effected communities. These plans must be completed prior to construction and are designed to meet needs before, during and after the operating life of a mine.

Finally, Montana mines work closely with stakeholders and community groups ensuring they meet expectations of all neighbors. Modern mining companies recognize that they must not only meet or exceed our states regulatory requirements, but that they must also earn a social license to operate.

When a new mine application is being evaluated by the DEQ, we have every right to expect our regulatory structure and processes to scrutinize and hold that applicant accountable to the standards we have established. We also have an obligation to be informed and hold each other accountable, collectively ensuring that our state is a place that seeks both the protection of our environment and the benefits of new wealth creation simultaneously.

The Black Butte Copper project is a great example of why finding that balance is so necessary. If you have real concerns about the project or are simply interested in learning more, go out and seek the answers to your questions. Give yourself the benefit of looking past a three-word slogan and evaluate the merits of the project proposal yourself, and from more than one perspective. Tintina Resources, as open and transparent company as I have ever seen, is eager to listen to your questions and concerns. They provide frequent tours and are likely giving a presentation on their proposal somewhere in your area. If not, give them a call and request one. Youll be glad you did; I know I was.
The Montana Sportsmen Alliance opposes Initiative 177, the public lands trapping ban initiative. We believe this initiative interferes with sound wildlife management and in the end, serves to further politicize the scientific management of Montanas wild resources.

Trapping has a long tradition in Montana and was one of the major economic bases of our states early history. With the evolution of wildlife management as a science, regulated trapping has been and remains a sound and legitimate means of managing and harvesting furbearers and collecting data on their status. National and international professional wildlife science organizations such as the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Wildlife Society recognize that and sanction legal, regulated trapping as a fundamental means of wildlife management.

I-177 would, by banning the activity on public land within the state of Montana, take away a critical tool, unnecessarily and effectively complicating the scientific management of furbearer populations in those habitats and ultimately, statewide.

Furthermore, MSA strongly endorses the need for trappers to conduct their efforts in a responsible and ethical fashion.

MSA fundamentally opposes any attempt to take the management of the states wildlife from the hands of resource professionals and place it solely in the political arena. The restoration of Montanas wildlife resources from the brink of annihilation to robust herds and abundant populations is a direct result of careful and scientifically based management, developed and supported for over the last century by resource managers, private landowners and the general public.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has, and continues to be, the means to provide all publics with opportunities to participate in wildlife management decisions. I-177 would effectively override commission processes and place management and regulatory decisions outside of the states time-proven wildlife management program. We believe this constitutes a very bad precedent with short- and long-term negative consequences for Montanas wild resources and the public trust of those resources.

User conflicts can be addressed on a case-by-case basis and the incidental taking of pets can be minimized using best management practices for trapping. Other issues can already be addressed through the Fish and Wildlife Commission coupled with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks full enforcement of state rules, regulations and statutes. It is MSAs position that 1-177 is bad for Montana and our wildlife. We urge you to consider voting against this bad initiative.
It will ban one of the most effective and essential methods for controlling wolves, coyotes and other predators to protect Montana's elk, moose and deer populations, as well as livestock. I-177 will cost at least $422,000 in taxpayer money every year for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to do what trappers currently buy a license to do at no cost to taxpayers. Forty percent of all wolves harvested in Montana are taken by regulated trapping. I-177 is being pushed by animal rights groups such as PETA and the Humane Society, who are using huge amounts of out-of-state money to fund this agenda; part of their strategy is to divide and pit sportsmen against each other. They have already made it known that they intend to stop all hunting and trapping, state by state using the ballot box. I-177 is opposed by Montana's major sportsmen's organizations, cattle and sheep ranchers and wildlife management professionals. If you think that I-177 won't affect sportsmen across the state, think again; look at what has happened in other states like California and Washington.
Updated version

In a new television ad and an interview, Republican Greg Gianforte ratcheted up his criticism of Gov. Steve Bullock for not defending Montanans by seeking to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Montana.

Im not playing this game with you, he told a reporter and members of the Missoulian editorial board on Thursday, pounding the table in response to persistent questioning about the details of his position. Ive been very clear. Montanans' safety is at risk and I will protect it and my opponent will not.

Starting Monday, stations across the state began airing an advertisement paid for by Gianforte's campaign that shows Bullock's face, a map of Syria and images of thousands of fleeing refugees then a clip of apparent street violence in the nation torn by civil war and then the arrival of the Islamic State.

Democrats and some letter writers have criticized Gianfortes stance against Syrian resettlement as uncompassionate or a departure from an American responsibility to provide aid, particularly after two print mailers critical of refugee resettlement arrived in Missoula the same week as African refugees. On Thursday, a group of Montana clergy went a step further with a letter sent to media outlets titled, Faith leaders oppose racism in Gianfortes TV ad.

The group of Christian leaders from Missoula, Billings, Great Falls and Bozeman argued that faith demanded believers to not isolate ourselves with judgment or misguided fear and to welcome them to our communities with open arms.

The safety and security of all Montanans is not something we take for granted. We never will. And we trust our governor to keep us safe, the letter read. But we will never overcome the tragedies of war and persecution and violence by hawking fear designed only to win votes. Especially on an issue over which a governor has no jurisdiction.

Campaign Spokesman Aaron Flint responded to the letter, which arrived after Gianfortes meeting with the Missoulian.

"Whether it is efforts to shut down Colstrip, or support illegal immigration, Hillary Clinton and Steve Bullock will always trot out some astroturf letter like this to support their position, Flint wrote. Most Montanans agree with Greg: Don't bring the war here. Instead, help the refugees over there."

The letter, only the latest of several on both sides of the issue, reflects growing tensions in some Montana communities. The resettlement of Syrian refugees in America became a hot political debate last November and has spilled over into campaign attacks across the country. The concerns grew out of the announcement of a federal goal to bring 10,000 of the millions of displaced Syrians here in 2016 and upon the heels of terror attacks in Paris linked to ISIS, including at least one man who had traveled that far as a refugee.

On Thursday, Gianforte referenced June testimony to Congress by CIA Director John Brennan that terrorists might try to sneak into the United States as refugees. Brennan's comments have fueled anxiety, particularly among some in Missoula County.

There, images of a dead Syrian boy on a Greek beach inspired some residents to aid those fleeing violence and to reopen the states only resettlement office. All the families settled in Missoula have been from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most of whom have said they are from a region where Christians are the target of deadly attacks by a rebel faction identified by the United Nations as an Islamist terror group.

Several recent attacks by ISIS-radicalized Muslims, including those in Minnesota and New Jersey, have further stoked fears in Montana, spreading on social media and in stump speeches.

"This is the hot-button issue in so many communities. They are scared," Gianforte said, sometimes cutting off follow-up questions as he continued. I get scared when I hear about knifings and bombings.

Last week, the nations top immigration official told a congressional security committee reviewing the resettlement program that he is proud of the work they do to vet refugees.

The fact is that since Sept. 11, not a single act of actual terrorist violence has been committed by a refugee who has undergone our screening procedures. There have been individuals who came to the U.S. as children, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez said, according to a video and transcript of the hearing. There are individuals who came a long time ago before our modern procedures, but since Sept. 11, all we have had is conspiracies  not only by refugees, but in fact by U.S.-born persons, other kinds of immigrants. Its really an equal-opportunity world.

Rodriguez did not downplay the risk, noting that the number of Syrian refugee applicants who were ultimately denied entry for security or credibility reasons was twice as large as those who had been initially flagged as questionable. He pointed to that figure and the arrests of terrorist plotters in recent years as proof that the country has improved its ability to identify threats and prevent attacks before they happen.

Gianforte, like many Republicans, disagrees that the current vetting process is strong enough to guarantee the safety of Americans. He said he is fine with resettlement in Montana so long as refugees can be fully vetted, something he called impossible with Syrians because there are no databases.

He has repeatedly demanded that Bullock join 31 other governors who have pledged to stop settlement of Syrians in their states even though immigration is solely a federal power.

Gianforte also said resettlement from other terrorist nations should be halted. He did not answer repeated questions asking him which countries should be on that list, suggesting a reporter was trying to "put words in his mouth" and he "did not appreciate it."

Gianforte did say in his answer that national security is primarily a national issue. A campaign mailer sent earlier this fall said he would "ban refugees from countries known to harbor terrorists like Iran and Syria."

Bullock has largely avoided detailed responses to questions about why he did not join other governors in trying to halt resettlement. Speaking mostly through spokesmen, he has instead said that the state has no power to intervene in a federal matter, but that his Number One priority is the safety of Montanans.

A Thursday request for comment from Bullock was forwarded to Montana Democratic Party Spokesman Jason Pitt, who sent an emailed statement but did not answer why the governor did not join those opposing resettlement.

As he's pointed out, there are 40 states that are home to Syrian refugees, but Montana is not one of them, Pitt said. He will never support letting unvetted refugees in Montana. Montanans have already called out New Jersey millionaire Greg Gianforte for misleading voters on this issue.

Missoula's resettlement plan includes refugees from Syria, Iran and Iraq, though none have yet arrived.

Editor's note: We have substituted a transcript of Gianforte's discussion of his position on refugees for the audio clip posted earlier. While the interview was on the record, the Missoulian had told the campaign the recording was for internal use only.
KALISPELL  A young Kalispell woman is in critical condition after being shot in the abdomen early Thursday evening, Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry says.

The victim, 18, underwent emergency surgery at Kalispell Regional Medical Center and was then taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Curry said it is still unknown if the wound was self-inflicted, or caused by another person.

The shooting occurred in the Kila area at approximately 6 p.m., the sheriff said, and remains under investigation.
LIBBY  Lincoln County authorities arrested a 42-year-old man Friday and charged him with deliberate homicide, a day after finding the body of a 30-year-old woman in a Libby residence.

Trevor Mercier of Libby was charged, according to Lincoln County Undersheriff Brandon Huff.

Sheena Devine was discovered dead Thursday morning after a friend reported she believed Devine had been assaulted during the night.

Huff said the Mercier was initially detained following the execution of search warrants at his home, and another at Devine's home, in Libby.

County dispatch received the report from Devines friend at about 10 a.m. Thursday. Responding Libby Police officers and an ambulance crew found the body.
BILLINGS  Fall enrollment at Montana State University Billings dropped again in 2016, coming in below university estimates that already projected a decrease.

The school won't have to restructure its budget to cover the $1.4 million gap in enrollment-related funding, chancellor Mark Nook said Thursday.

"We left a cushion for some additional students," he said.

Student FTE, which reflects how many credits students are taking and is used for budgeting purposes, dropped about 200 students to 3,282, a 5.7 percent decrease from 2015's fall enrollment. MSUB had an FTE count of more than 4,000 in fall 2012.

The university saw a 9 percent increase in total part-time students, but that was largely driven by increases in dual credit programs; the university announced last spring that Billings high schools would be able to offer such classes, which are taught in a high school by a qualified high school teacher for college credit, without the usual fees.

"FTE is what pays the bills," Nook said.

Total on-campus resident students dropped 10.3 percent to 428, and total full-time students dropped 7.1 percent to 2,669. Both figures have dropped more than 22 percent since 2012.

A bright spot was an increase in students who stayed in school; freshman retention rates increased about 1.8 percent to 54.5 percent. Nook has set a goal of reaching 65 percent by 2019.

"We haven't been doing well with our retention," he said. "(But the increase) gives me some feeling of optimism that we're starting to turn things around. I'll feel a lot better if we get 2 percent for each of the next five years."

Retention programs received a significant budget boost this year. Vice provost Matt Redinger said that targeted efforts to reduce failing grades and dropouts in freshman classes have "seen early success," while vice chancellor for student affairs Joe Oravecz said the school is working to build a "holistic" approach that addresses students academic, social and emotional needs.

MSUB has a larger-than-usual proportion of adult and non-traditional students. Nook said the school needs to emphasize getting more traditional, stay-in-the-dorms freshman on campus.

Total students from Yellowstone County barely decreased this year, while students from other Montana counties dropped 2.5 percent and out-of-state students dropped 1.3 percent, based on total headcount. Having fewer out-of-state students hits the school's pocketbook harder, as tuition for out-of-state students is more expensive.

Housing requirement

MSUB is finalizing a new housing-requirement policy, Nook said, citing research that shows students who live in on-campus housing have better academic outcomes, use campus services more and are more likely to participate in campus activities.

The policy will likely require freshman who aren't commuters to live on campus, with some additional flexibility.

An increase in students living in campus housing will increase university revenue, Nook said.

"It will do that," he said. "(But) that isn't the reason we're doing it."
Dr. Bertrand M. Bell, who was instrumental in reducing the grueling shifts worked by interns and residents being trained in American hospitals, died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 86.

The cause was kidney failure, his daughter Judith Bell said. At his death he was a professor emeritus at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Bells causes went beyond hospital staffing. He advocated window guards, seatbelts in taxicabs and better training in emergency medicine, advancing his causes through, among other things, prolific letter writing.

But his greatest legacy involved a controversy about overworked and overextended medical trainees, which captured the publics attention after the death of 18-year-old Libby Zion in 1984 at a Manhattan hospital.
Snowmobile travel in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is expected to remain the same as current usage when the Forest Service issues its final decision next week.

What will change is that the Forest Service is better defining the boundaries where snowmobiles can and cannot go, said Jan Bowey, the forests administrative review and litigation coordinator.

This will improve the Forest Services ability to enforce areas closed to snowmobile use, Bowey said. The agency closed about 40 percent of public land to snowmobiles in 2009, which included almost every mountain range in Southwest Montana. Before 2009, the Forest Service had closed 16 percent of public land to snowmobilers, according to the agency.

Jason Howell, president of the Montana Snowmobile Association, said his group is fine with the Forest Services plan.

Were happy to see the plan moving forward, Howell said Thursday. Theres nothing new there for us.

Three environmental groups, led by WildEarth Guardians, objected to the Forest Services 2009 ruling, saying that it was not doing enough to protect wildlife, particularly big game, from the potentially intrusive impacts of snowmobiles. The suit reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in 2015, the court ruled that the Forest Service needed to revisit its decision.

The court also said the Forest Service had until Oct. 13 to make a final decision.

Greg Munther, chapter chairman of the Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said the snowmobile impacts are particularly concerning to environmentalists because winter is the most stressful time for wildlife with hooves.

For example, mountain goats have seen reduced numbers substantially over the last few decades, Munther said. Goats occupy high elevation terrain and conserve energy in the colder months by not moving from those areas.

Mountain goats have one of the lowest reproduction rates and highest mortality rates of all the (hooved animals) on the Beaverhead, Munther said.

However, Munther added that his organization believes that compromise can be found.

We think theres room for both high country snowmobiling if it excludes goat ranges, Munther said.

Bowey said 59 percent of mountain goat winter range areas are closed to snowmobiles with the current plan. Bowey also said that if the Forest Service closed all areas the environmentalists want closed, little of the forest would be accessible and open to use.

Everyones decision of whats reasonable is different, Bowey said.
DEER LODGE  Beti Lombardi, a senior at Powell County High School in Deer Lodge, has been selected to attend the Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa, this month.

She will be one of 200 high school students from the United States and seven other countries chosen to participate in the international institute hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation after writing a winning essay, Ethiopia: Land Degradation in the Sahel and Beyond.

Lombardi was born in Ethiopia and said that it is a land of hunger caused by land degradation. She saw firsthand what happens when people are poor and hungry and overuse the land and said she had an emotional involvement with this project.

They make decisions based on short-term hunger needs and not based on sustainable agriculture and what is best for the land in the long term, she said. My grandmother grew corn on a small plot of land next to her two-room house. The stalks were used for fuel, and the corn helped to feed my grandmother, my sister, an elderly neighbor, and me.

"She rented out one of the two rooms in her house to earn money to buy food and charcoal for fuel when the corn stalks ran out.

"Even if she or her neighbors had known about sustainable agriculture, the simple fact was we were hungry and needed the corn stalks and other crop residue for our cooking fires. We were like millions of others in the Sahel region  we made decisions based on short-term hunger needs.

Beti came to the United States in April 2009 when she was 10. She and her older sister Mekdas are the adopted daughters of Bill and Mary Rose Lombardi.

Her father is the ag-ed teacher at Powell County High School and the FFA adviser. Beti has been an FFA member since seventh grade and as a sophomore read the book The Man Who Fed The World by Norman Borlaug.

I didnt know much about food when I started, she said. In the essay, I had to present four potential solutions to help resolve the issues in Ethopia.

During the institute, Lombardi expects to make friends with others from around the world. She will discuss food security and agricultural issues with the student delegates, international experts, and policy makers; tour cutting-edge industrial and research facilities; and participate in a team project such as Kids Care International Outreach to package food aid for needy people abroad and in the U.S. and develop community-action checklists.

Delegates will also attend the World Food Prize Laureate Award ceremony when the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture is awarded to individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.
Halliburton Company executive Dave Lesar and his wife Sherry have donated $1 million to Montana Tech to support a professorship, programming, and research, Tech announced Friday.

"The Lesars gift is the largest personal endowment ever established at Montana Tech in support of our faculty," said Chancellor Don Blackketter.

Named in honor of Lesars parents, the Stan and Joyce Lesar Professorship will enhance Techs work in natural resources development.

The professorship may be shared by more than one faculty member as a means of promoting collaboration among faculty members and across disciplines.

Dave Lesar is the chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton Company, one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry.

The Lesars have a strong connection to Montana. As young men, Stan and his brother immigrated to East Helena at the end of World War II after they were forced out of communist Yugoslavia.

Tech will use the Lesar Professorship to encourage innovation and excellence in teaching and research by providing a three-year-maximum award to a Tech faculty member or members.

Their generous gift will allow our top-notch faculty to innovate and share that knowledge and practical application with our students, said Joe McClafferty, president of the Montana Tech Foundation.

A competitive process will determine the recipients, and Blackketter will select final winners. The award will be based annually on a fixed percentage of the endowments value.

Added Blackketter:

Mr. Lesar has long recognized the impact Montana Tech has in his industry, and we are thrilled to receive the Lesar familys personal support. This unbelievable gift in honor of Mr. Lesars parents will impact our institution in perpetuity.
Representatives from Barnard Construction of Bozeman and Montana Tech are pictured Friday during a ribbon-cutting event to unveil the Barnard Construction Lab. The lab is thanks to a donation of $75,000 from Barnard Construction to the Civil Engineering Department. The money upgraded a computer lab in the Science and Engineering Building. The lab will impact over 250 current general engineering students along with many future engineering students. "Our students will now learn using state-of-the-art equipment," said Larry Hunter, assistant professor of practice in the General Engineering Department. Pictured from left are Ron Holden, Barnard Construction; Don Blackketter, Tech chancellor; Jarrod Johnson, Barnard Construction; Larry Hunter, Montana Tech; and Joe Nelson, Barnard Construction.
Our father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle passed away Oct, 5, 2016. He spent the day with his family listening to stories and good times. After everyone had left, he passed away peacefully with his daughter Lea by his side.

He was born Oct. 19, 1926, to Louis and Elizabeth (Messer) in Belfield, North Dakota. He married Elaine DeFea on August 2, 1949. They were blessed with four children, Dennis (Bobbie) Hutzenbiler, Randy (Janice) Hutzenbiler, Lea Hutzenbiler, and June (Steven) King. He had seven grandchildren -- Greg (Stacey) Hutzenbiler, Wendy (Troy) Treiber, Laura (Shane) Jorgensen, Denise Hutzenbiler, Randy (Jana) Hutzenbiler, JD (Megan) Shelton and Dan (Kristin) Hutzenbiler and special nephew, John (Gloria) Kessel. He had 16 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

He attended school in Belfield, North Dakota, and later joined the Army in 1945 as a Military Police and served in the Philippines. He was a proud member of the VFW and the Elks and the Anaconda Catholic Community and was a regular at St. Peter's Church, enjoying taking up the collection plate on Sunday.

He worked for the Anaconda Company as a haul truck driver where he retired in 1982 as a teamster. Louis had many happy years, some of those years included driving for Avis, playing the accordion anywhere he could, and wherever there was a dance you would find him there. He also enjoyed watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren play sports.

He was preceded in death by his parents and 12 siblings. He is survived by his four children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephew and friends, including Ralph Villa, Mike and Cheryl Dunn, and Joe Mehrens.

A funeral Mass will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at St. Peters Catholic Church. There will be one hour of visitation prior to the service. A luncheon will follow the service at the Holy Family Catholic Church.

Visitation will begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, at St. Peters Catholic Church with the Vigil Service at 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to St Peter's Restoration Fund, 217 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Anaconda, Montana 59711.

He will always be remembered for his smile that could light up any room and with his sense of humor that put everyone at ease.

Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral & Cremation Service is entrusted with Louis funeral arrangements. You may pay your condolences at www.longfellowfinneganriddle.com or www.mtstandard.com.
Here are candidates for the state House and Senate from southwest Montana who do not reside in Butte-Silver Bow County. Some districts listed here do, however, cover parts of Butte-Silver Bow.

House District 71

Ray Shaw, Republican, incumbent

Age: 70

Address: 251 Bivens Cr. Rd., Sheridan

Occupation: Small business owner

Ray is a fifth-generation Montanan, having lived his whole life in the Ruby Valley and is running for his third term in the House of Representatives. He has always represented the people of H.D. 71, promoting jobs and working for a stronger economy. Ray is a big supporter of agriculture, small business, tourism, and outdoor recreation. Securing funding for Virginia City and Nevada City restorations, plus funding for the Jefferson slough watermilfoil project. Also funding education always has been and always will be a top priority. He has been a strong proponent and will be for the new Veterans Home in Butte.

House District 72

Mike Mosolf

Age: 78

Address: 720 Kentucky Ave., Dillon

Occupation: Self-employed/Property management

Education: B.S. University of Idaho, Physical Ed/ Biological Science 1964

As a Democrat running for public office in Beaverhead County, I know exactly what Im up against. For the past 40 years House District 72 has voted solidly Republican. At the federal level President Bill Clinton received 28% of the vote and Mrs. Clinton will probably get the same number this coming November.

So why am I running? When I was chairperson of the Beaverhead County Democrats, I vowed to never let a Republican go unchallenged in the general election. Seeing that the cost for filing is $15 and showing evidence of $50 in the bank while not living under a bridge, it was an easy pledge to keep. Being a veteran (U.S. Army 1957-59), I believe duty to defend democracy does not terminate at honorable discharge. Why other Beaverhead veterans do not run for office is a mystery to me.

Montanas major issues in 2017 will be addressing human-caused rapid climate change and dewatering of the rivers in our last best places, namely the Jefferson and Big Hole rivers.

Tom Welch, Republican

Age: 65

Address: 607 Highland, Ave., Dillon

Occupation: President/CEO Pioneer Federal Savings and Loan

Education: 1969 graduate of Powell County High School and 1973 graduate of the University of Montana

As a community leader for 41 years, I am a proven business leader and decision-maker who can apply common sense when needed. I have successfully dealt with difficult decisions on a daily basis. It has been my pleasure to work with customers throughout Legislative District 72 and from every walk of life.

My list of public service on a local, state and national level is as extensive and varied as are the issues facing us as Montanans. Taxes, jobs, water, healthcare, school funding, local property taxes, state and federal lands, wages, grazing fees and resource management are just a few of the issues that constituents have discussed with me.

When elected, I assure you that I will work hard, study the issues and make the decisions that will move southwestern Montana forward. I would be proud to represent you and humbly ask for your vote.

HOUSE DISTRICT 75

Kirk Wagoner, Republican, incumbent

Age: 47

Address: 1 Jackson Creek Rd #2347; Clancy

Occupation: Bomb Disposal Technician, Diver, Computer Guru

I have been the elected twice to Montana House of Representatives.

I state my position clearly on the issues and fight for what is right. Pro-Life, Pro-Gun, Pro-Business, Pro-You. I am one of the most effective legislators of the last session having six bills become law. That is a good example of my ability to work across party lines, communicate clearly and effectively and get the job done.

I have proven leadership, values, votes, and effectiveness that make a difference. I plan to bring more sunshine to the state in the form of open government and transparency bills, criminally penalize fraud and abuse in government, and for my archery friends lighted nocks. I will also continuously support reducing taxes to grow Montana businesses especially the overly taxed manufacturing industry.

If you want a fair and open government, individual protections and real business growth then vote for the legislator with proven Integrity, Intelligence and Sense in State government. Vote for Kirk B Wagoner.

Sabrina Steketee, Democrat

Age: 54

Address: 44 Browns Gulch Rd., Boulder

Occupation: Business Owner, KEY Personnel, Inc., a staffing firm I founded in Holland, Michigan, in 1990 and continue to own and operate from in Montana.

Education: Graduate of Jefferson High School class of 1979, Boulder. Studied accounting at University of Montana 1979-1981. Studied University of Maryland, Business Management, current Junior status. Am a certified staffing professional and a Senior Human Resources Professional.

Hello, Jefferson County friends and neighbors! As a Jefferson County native and longtime business owner, I am running to be your legislative Representative because I want to put Jefferson County back on top of the list for economic development and other opportunities at the state level. I see this as a year-round responsibility and have the time and determination to know the issues and the people involved in them, and to influence the issues in our favor.

I see this work as non-partisan, there are more local issues that unite us than national issues that divide us. It is the local and state issues on which we can work together and for which a strong voice is needed, regardless of party, and that strong voice is what will lead to the greatest amount of success for our County. Please visit my website www.mthd75.com and thank you for your support!

HOUSE DISTRICT 77

Kerry Graybeal, Republican

Age: 56

Address: 91 Barnes Creek Road, Hall

Occupation: Retired Elementary Education Teacher

Education: BA in Elementary Education, Carroll College.

My roots in Montana House District 77 go back to my father, State Senator John Manley, who was from Drummond, and my mother, Janet Eccleston Manley, who was from Anaconda.

The future of jobs in District 77 depends upon bringing in new businesses to employ our friends and family. Our loved ones are leaving the area for jobs; I want to be able to keep them in the district. The future of education depends upon the leaders in our Legislature properly allocating funds to allow our educators to prepare our students for the future.

The future of our state depends upon the political parties working together to ensure we all can thrive in the Treasure State. I believe I can make a difference and will work to bring all parties together to accomplish our goals.

I have traveled all over my district this summer and found many voters like me who want change. I am the candidate that wants to get to work to change the old political system that pushes Montanans apart and be the leader of a new legislature that brings us together for the good of all Montana.

Kathy Swanson, Democrat, incumbent

Age: 69

Address: 308 East 6th St., Anaconda

Occupation: Retired from Southwest Montana Community Federal Credit Union after a 20-year career. Enjoyed the position of Head Teller for approximately 18 years.

Education: Graduated from Anaconda Central High School in 1966.

I feel the primary issues for the 2017 Legislative session are: Infrastructure, which will create jobs, Healthcare, Education, Veterans Issues, and Keeping Public Lands in Public Hands. I serve on the State Administration, Veterans Affairs Committee, as well as Local Government and Transportation Committees.

I have been successful in sponsoring and passing a number of key bills, including the State Employee Pay Raise, as well as bills requested by the Credit Union League, and Engineers and Land Surveyors. I am a native Anacondan. I am the widow of Butch Swanson, and together we raised four children in Anaconda. I have four grandchildren. As a three-term incumbent of HD 77, I feel there has been some progressive legislation passed, and I will stand on my voting record. I love serving the citizens of Deer Lodge and Granite Counties, and I request your vote for a fourth term.

HOUSE DISTRICT 78

Dean DeSilva, Republican

Age: 52

Address: 701 Tumbleweed Lane, Deer Lodge

Occupation: Electrical Contractor (DeSilva Electric LLC)

Education: 6 years USN Submarine Service; 2 Years Community College AS Electrical and electronic technology

I am a six-year veteran of the USN Submarine service. I am a staunch supporter of Veterans both in private and government issues. I believe we need to stand up for those who have stood up for our country. My other big issue would be taxes. The best, fastest and fairest way to a good stable economy both here in Montana as well as the across the country is to let the people spend their money and keep more of what they earn. Retired fixed-income people should not have to constantly adjust for property-tax hikes and death taxes are redundant and probably illegal.

We need to address jobs, prison overcrowding, government overreach and fraud, waste and abuse of the public's money. Environmental concerns are serious but we can't over regulate ourselves out of a nation.

Gordon Pierson Jr., Democrat, incumbent

Age: 45

Address: 603 Washington, Deer Lodge

Occupation: Registered Nurse at Community Hospital of Anaconda, cooking business owner/operator

Education: Bachelors Degree in Nursing from Mt. Tech

I am running for re-election to HD 78 because I feel that the voters of Deer Lodge, Anaconda and Butte need a representative who recognizes the diversity of the district. It is important to continue protecting our state employees, ranches, teachers, public schools, children, elderly, veterans and working class not only in this area but throughout Montana. It is important to me to keep existing businesses healthy, such as mining, reclamation/clean-up, and the timber industry, as well as promote new industry/businesses.

It is extremely important to me to keep our public lands PUBLIC and open for Montanans to access. I will continue to work with my fellow legislators from Butte and Anaconda as well as others throughout Montana to find sensible solutions to Montana's problems. Having worked for Sun Mt Lumber for 20 years, being an avid life-long sportsman and snowmobiler and 4th generation Montanan, I want to continue to represent the people of HD 78 to the best of my ability.

SENATE DISTRICT 36

Jeff Welborn, Republican

Age: 47

Address: Box 790, Dillon

Occupation: small business owner

Education: May Technical College

I'm a life-long Beaverhead County resident and a fourth-generation Montanan.

My experience, always representing hard working Montanans, results in more opportunity with better jobs and a strong economy simply because I put people ahead of politics. Some of my past legislative accomplishments are: funding the re-construction of Old- Main Hall on the campus of UM-Western, The Ruby Dam project, as well as The Virginia and Nevada City Complex.

I've also been a strong advocate for Montana Youth Challenge. I've served as a Majority Whip, and chaired the FWP committee completely reforming wolf management policy, reaching a more effective solution for both ranchers and wildlife managers. I'm also prideful in working to fund the State's Share of the New Veteran's Home in Butte, and won't rest until it becomes reality.

SENATE DISTRICT 39

Dick Motta, Libertarian

Address: 13 John Long Road, Phillipsburg

Suzzann Nordwick, Republican

Age:53

Address: Walkerville, Montana

Occupation: Engineer

Education: Montana Tech - Masters and Bachelors Degrees in Metallurgical Engineering

Im running to help improve how our state government operates. My diverse engineering experience shows a proven record of working collaboratively with professionals, bureaucrats and public citizens to implement successful solutions to a variety of challenging problems. I would be supportive of state government getting the tools it needs to improve services, fulfill critical needs, and to provide needed infrastructure.

I believe in the founding principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Like most, I think government should be efficient, effective, accountable, and transparent. I would support legislation that best ensures these and I would also work to promote more opportunities for Montanans to work and enjoy their lives. My many attributes make me the best choice for your vote. Im a real-world problem solver, a life-long citizen volunteer, a fifth generation Montanan, and common-sense wife and mom. Put me to work for you.

Gene Vuckovich, Democrat, incumbent

Address: 1205 West Third St., Anaconda

Occupation: Semi-retired, consultant/administrator
WASHINGTON -- Now that the GOP is the Party of Trump, could Democrats become the party of ... Reagan?

That's a stretch. But Democrats are making a bid for the title.

At Tuesday night's vice presidential debate, the 40th president was name-checked twice -- both times by the Democrat, Tim Kaine.

"Our plan is like Ronald Reagan's plan from 1986," Kaine said on immigration.

The Republican, Mike Pence, countered that "Ronald Reagan said a nation without borders is not a nation."

Kaine later said Reagan believed nuclear proliferation could mean "some fool or maniac could trigger a catastrophic event" and said Trump is exactly the type "Reagan warned us about."

Pence responded that "Reagan also said nuclear war should never be fought, because it can never be won."

Reagan did say that, but this only highlights his difference with Donald Trump. Former GOP congressman Joe Scarborough, now an MSNBC host, reported in August that unnamed sources told him Trump had thrice asked his national security experts about nuclear weapons: "Why can't we use them?"

Both Trump and Pence, like most Republicans, routinely claim inspiration from Reagan. Pence even affects the Gipper's nod and tilt of the head, and on Tuesday he drew groans in the media filing center when he recycled one of Reagan's best lines -- "There you go again" -- when he scolded Kaine on Social Security.

But the Reaganization of Trump suffered a serious blow on Monday when Reagan's son, the conservative commentator Michael Reagan, revoked his earlier endorsement of Trump in a series of tweets after Trump suggested in a speech, without basis, that Hillary Clinton was unfaithful to her husband.

"No way do I or would my father support this garbage," he wrote, saying Nancy Reagan would have voted for Clinton and that she was "appalled" before her death when people likened Trump to her husband. "Not the Party of Reagan," he tweeted, and, "If this is what the Republican Party wants leave us Reagans out."

The resounding rejection of Trump by one who has some authority to speak for the late president brought to mind the scene in "Annie Hall" when a loudmouth in a movie line pontificates about media theorist Marshall McLuhan -- until the Woody Allen character brings over McLuhan himself, who says, "You know nothing of my work."

Ronald Reagan famously said that "I did not leave the Democratic Party -- the Democratic Party left me." Though it's impossible to know how Reagan's views might have evolved, Republicans such as former GOP Chairman Michael Steele speculate that Reagan couldn't win a Republican primary today. His record on immigration, taxes, the debt, gun control and abortion would disqualify him.

The most obvious difference may be style: Reagan was sunny and gentlemanly; Trump is gloomy and crude.

Trump talks of the American military as a "disaster," in "shambles," with generals reduced to "rubble." Reagan blamed civilian leaders but hailed the generals and their troops as "guardians of freedom, protectors of our heritage ... keepers of the peace."

Trump calls the Iraq War a "disaster" and a "huge mistake" with "absolutely nothing" to show for thousands of American lives lost. He suggested some U.S. troops stole cash in Iraq. Reagan, by contrast, hailed those who fought in another failed war, the "noble cause" of Vietnam, and said we shouldn't "dishonor the memory of 50,000 young Americans who died in that cause."

On immigration, Trump talks of building a wall, banning Muslims and Syrian refugees from entering the country and deporting all 11 million illegal immigrants. Reagan supported amnesty for illegal immigrants who put down roots in America, and he memorably called America home "for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness."

Reagan proudly updated Gen. George Patton's phrase that wars are "won by men" to "men and women." Trump derided the "geniuses" who "put men and women together" in the armed forces.

And Reagan, of course, spoke with great moral force about the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union and the "barbarism born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights ... and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations."

Now, a Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, is returning to these Soviet-era abuses, and Trump praises him as a strong leader he can work with, while disputing charges that Putin has killed journalists and meddled in the U.S. election.

Does Trump's abandonment of Republican internationalism and moral leadership give Democrats the Reagan mantle? Not necessarily. But as long as it's Trump's GOP, the mantle is for rent.

Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, @Milbank.

(c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group
Montanas gubernatorial candidates are racing for the title of most anti-sales tax.

After Democrats dug up a 2002 video of Greg Gianforte testifying to a state panel that a state sales tax could replace existing income and capital gains taxes, the Republican nominee vehemently denied being in favor of a sales tax.

Not to be outdone, Gov. Steve Bullock this week said he would ask the Legislature to support a referendum to ban general statewide sales tax with a constitutional amendment. Putting a referendum on the ballot would require approval from a super-majority of the state House and Senate.

Bullock proposed a constitutional state sales tax ban at a campaign stop in Missoula Monday, as previously reported by The Billings Gazette.

Many Montanans recognize that our state, counties, cities and school districts have burgeoning backlogs in deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs. To propose closing off a future funding option is unwise. Its a shortsighted election year pitch.

Montana is one of five states with no general state sales tax. Voters in 1971 and 1993 overwhelmingly rejected proposals to institute such taxes.

However, the state of Montana does tax fuel, dedicating that revenue to match federal transportation and road construction funding. The state taxes lodging with a 4 percent tax that supports tourism promotion and a 3 percent tax that goes to the state general fund.

GIVE CITIZENS CHOICES

The state does collect sales tax revenue, yet it forbids Billings and other large communities from using that tax option. State law has long allowed small population communities the option of voting on a local sales tax that must be used for infrastructure and local property tax relief. West Yellowstone, Big Sky, Red Lodge and Whitefish are among the communities that have approved local option taxes. The results are obvious in improved streets, sidewalks, lighting, sewer and water systems.

But lawmakers have for decades rejected the idea of allowing larger population cities to enact a sales tax. Such bills usually havent survived the first committee and in the last two sessions, none were even introduced.

Meanwhile, local infrastructure needs grow. Billings, Missoula, Bozeman and other cities dont have alternatives to property taxes for funding parks, law enforcement and fire protection. Thats why the Billings Chamber of Commerce is working to rally support for local option legislation in the 2017 session. Billings folks should have the same opportunity as people in West Yellowstone and Red Lodge to decide on a local sales tax.

Both Bullock and Gianforte have proposed funding state infrastructure projects through the state coal trust. Bullock wants to create a new fund within the fund using interest income for roads, sewers, water and schools. Gianforte would cap the trust and divert new revenue to infrastructure, not including schools.

No state infrastructure bill has become law in Bullocks administration. In 2013, he vetoed a $35 million bill that would have gone to Bakken area communities. In 2015, a Republican-sponsored statewide infrastructure bill went down in the last days of the session, failing by a single Republican vote in the House after winning strong bipartisan approval in the Senate. That bill had no aid for K-12 facilities.

Both Gianforte and Bullock say they are against tax increases and for infrastructure upgrades. The latest state revenue outlook indicates that money will be tighter for the coming year than projected when the 2015 Legislature and Bullock approved the budget. Finding money for infrastructure and public services will be more challenging in 2017.

ALL POSSIBILITIES

Rather than rejecting potential options, Bullock must look at all the possibilities. Even if he doesnt support a statewide sales tax, he should support allowing all Montana voters to have the same local option that some resort communities have to fund their infrastructure improvements. Gianforte has said he opposes local option sales tax.

Small wonder so many local property taxpayers are weary of annual levy elections; its the only way to raise city, county and school revenue.

-- The Billings Gazette
Miss Quigley, principal of McKinley School back when I attended it, was the single most intimidating person I have ever met. Period. Ramrod straight, always wearing a black dress, she was tall on the heavy side but always well corseted.

And she never smiled. Ever.

I've thought about her a lot during these two debates, one presidential, the other, the vice-president showdown last night.

I believe that the Presidential Debate Committee made a serious mistake by lining up nice looking media anchor people to be moderators. They should have been scouring the nation looking for retired school administrators, with the same absolutely no-nonsense rigidity as Miss Quigley.

When Senator Kaine and Governor Pence faced off, had a Miss Quigley been moderating, this is how it would have gone.

Miss Quigley: "You know the rules; I explained them very clearly backstage."

Senator Kaine goes first because he won the coin toss to do his two-minute intro which he is really into.

Suddenly, Miss Quigley breaks in. "SENATOR! Your TWO MINUTES are up!" Kaine tries to complete his thought. Miss Quigley says, "I MEAN your two minutes are up."

Kaine looks bewildered. Pence begins his two minutes -- he's barely into it, when Kaine blurts out a comment.

Miss Quigley rising up from her chair like a black-clad avenging angel, breaks in vehemently: "SENATOR! The RULES MUST BE followed! Governor Pence, YOU may continue your two minutes."

Kaine, intent, it seems, in emulating the rude interruption "style" of Donald Trump in his "debate" with Hillary Clinton, breaks in with a sharp comment on what Pence is saying.

Again, Kaine is pieced by a glare from Miss. Q, who cuts him off. "YOU are a well-educated young man, SENATOR. Did you NOT UNDERSTAND the rules that I EXPLAINED to YOU???!!!"

Kaine looks like a humbled school boy. And the viewers think they see a frightened look on Pence's face.

The remainder of the debate goes smoothly. The two men adhere to the two-minute rule and discussions are civil, without either interrupting the other.

Miss Quigley looks grimly satisfied. But, she doesn't smile.

-- Zena Beth McGlashan, Butte, worked on newspapers in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and California. She taught journalism at various universities before returning home to Butte where she is a freelance writer, editor and photographer.
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2016 Passer Rating: 119.0

With Tom Brady's suspension over, Garoppolo will return to his role as backup. Though we only saw him for less than six quarters, the difference in the Patriots' offense was stark with Garoppolo leading the way compared to third-stringer Jacoby Brissett. Garoppolo ranks second in passer rating, but we'll keep him at seventh in what will likely be his only appearance in our power rankings this season.
The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors met in regular session at 9:00 A.M. with Howard, Kelly, Sorensen, Sauer and Bonebrake present. Chairperson Sorensen presiding.

On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the agenda was approved as presented. Ayes: All.

On a motion by Howard, second by Kelly, claims dated September 26, 2016 were approved in the amount of $826,692.05. Ayes: All.

On a motion by Kelly, second by Sauer, the Board approved the following utility permit: Winsdstream Communications - replace existing cable in the right-of-way along Davis Avenue north of Nichols. Ayes: All.

County Engineer Keith White updated the Board on secondary roads construction projects and current flood level projections. White stated empty sandbags are available to County residents at the Secondary Road's office.

On a motion by Howard, second by Sauer, minutes of the September 19, 2016 regular meeting were approved as written. Ayes: All.

No correspondence was noted.

Committee Reports:

Howard attended a Muscatine County Veterans Affairs meeting September 20th.

Kelly attended an Eastern Iowa Mental Health/Disability Services Region meeting September 19th.

Sorensen attended a West Liberty Economic Area Development meeting September 22nd.

Sauer attended a Muscatine County Conservation Board meeting September 19th.

Sauer attended a Riverbend Transit meeting September 21st.

Sauer attended a Muscatine County Board of Health meeting September 21st.

Sorensen attended a Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce luncheon with the Counsel General from China September 20th.

County Auditor Leslie Soule stated the Auditor's Office began mailing absentee ballots today and will begin in-office voting Thursday, September 29th. Soule also stated there will be satellite voting from 9:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. at the Muscatine Community College McAvoy Center on October 17th and St. Joseph Catholic Church Parish Life Center in West Liberty on October 18th.

On a motion by Kelly, second by Bonebrake, the Board approved a revised class specification for the Building, Zoning and Environmental Inspector position with a grade change recommendation on the revised class specification from Grade 10 to Grade 12 and placed the current Building, Zoning and Environmental Inspector Jim Schaapveld at a Grade 12, Step 10 effective October 1, 2016. Ayes: All.

On a motion by Howard, second by Kelly, the Board appointed Anna Mack to the Muscatine County Historic Preservation Commission to fill a vacancy for a term ending January 1, 2017. Ayes: All.

The Board by consensus directed Administrative Services Director Nancy Schreiber to pursue a one year union contract with AFSCME which represents foodservice staff, nurses and clerical staff at the Jail in order to sync it with the three Teamster contracts that are two year contracts expiring next year.

Schreiber stated Wellmark is offering convenience care virtual visits free to employees requiring only an enrollment process with the virtual visits typically being cheaper to the employee. Board consensus was to proceed with offering the service to employees. The Board also expressed interest in the Naturally Slim program through Wellmark directing Schreiber to look into the costs associated with the program.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 P.M.

ATTEST:

Leslie A. Soule, County Auditor Jeff Sorensen, Chairperson

Board of Supervisors
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is proposing to approve an application for reissuance of an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit for the discharges described below:

DISCHARGER NAME AND ADDRESS:

MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO. - LOUISA STATION

8602 172ND STREET

MUSCATINE, Iowa 52761--9066 LOCATION:

Township: 75 Range: 02 Section: 9 County: Louisa

DESCRIPTION OF DISCHARGES

001 DISCHARGE CONSISTS OF COOLING TOWER BLOWDOWN.

RECEIVING STREAM: MISSISSIPPI RIVER

002 DISCHARGE FROM THE ASH POND WHICH RECEIVES WASTES FROM ASH SLUICE WATER, COOLING TOWER EMERGENCY OVERFLOW, BOILER BLOWDOWN, CONDENSATE, AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT COOLING WATER, DEMINERALIZER WASTEWATER, DYE TESTING, FIRE PROTECTION, METAL CLEANING WASTEWATER, FLOOR DRAINS, REVERSE OSMOSIS REJECT, SEAL WATER, STORM WATER, OVERFLOW FROM DEMINERALIZED WATER TANK AND SERVICE WATER TANK, WATER FILTER BACKWASH AND RINSE WATER, AND WELL CLEANING WASTES.

RECEIVING STREAM: MISSISSIPPI RIVER

Anyone wishing to comment on or object to the proposed issuance of this permit must do so in writing within forty-five (45) days of the date shown at the top of this notice. All comments received will be considered in the final determination. If no objections are received within forty-five (45) days, the Department will issue a final permit. You may request the Department hold a public hearing by submitting a written request stating specific reasons why a hearing should be held.

Comments, objections, and requests for hearings may be submitted online using the Wastewater Permit Information Exchange (WWPIE) system at https://programs.iowadnr.gov/wwpie/. Comments, objections, and requests for hearings may also be addressed to the: Iowa Department of Natural Resources, NPDES Section, 502 East 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319.

Copies of the proposed permit and other information may be viewed on WWPIE at the web address noted above. This information is also on file and available for public inspection from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday at the above street address. In addition, copies of this information may be requested by calling David Schelling at (515) 725-8407 or e-mail at david.schelling@dnr.iowa.gov.
AMES, Iowa The Iowa State University College of Business is pleased to announce the World Bank President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, will be the next featured speaker during the colleges CEO Speaker Series.

His lecture, From Muscatine to the World Bank, is free and open to the public. It will be held from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Thursday, October 13 in the Richard and Joan Stark Lecture Hall, 1148 Gerdin Business Building.

Kim is the 12th president of the World Bank, an international financial institution founded in 1944 that offers loans, advice, and a variety of resources to more than 100 countries. The World Banks goals are to push extreme poverty to no more than 3% by 2030 and promote shared prosperity and greater equity in the developing world.

After graduating magna cum laude from Brown University, Kim earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University. As a physician and anthropologist, Kim has dedicated himself to international development for more than two decades, helping improve the lives of populations worldwide.

Previously, Kim served as president of Dartmouth College. He was a co-founder of Partners In Health, and director of the HIV/AIDS Department at the World Health Organization. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved with his family at age 5 to the United States. He grew up in Muscatine, Iowa.

Its a tremendous honor for us to have someone of Dr. Kims caliber join our new CEO Speaker Series, said Raisbeck Endowed Dean David Spalding. This is a unique opportunity for our students to learn about a journey that began in Muscatine, Iowa, and went all the way to the World Bank. I encourage students to take advantage of this inspirational opportunity. There will be time for students to ask questions.

To learn about the World Bank, visit http://www.worldbank.org.

This event is sponsored by the College of Business CEO Speaker Series and World Affairs Series (funded by Student Government).

The Iowa State University College of Business is among the top 50 public business programs in the country. The College offers a wide variety of programs to maximize student potential, connects students with professionals through case competitions, interactive learning, study abroad, internships and ultimately successful employment. Learn more at: www.business.iastate.edu
AMES, Iowa  The 16th annual Iowa Organic Conference will be Nov. 13-14 on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. The conference is a joint effort of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa Office of Sustainability. Producers and experts from across the country will share tips for transitioning into organic production and methods to enhance organic operations.

The market for organic products in the United States reached $43 billion in 2015 and the demand for organic grains and produce continues to exceed supply, said Kathleen Delate, professor and extension organic specialist at Iowa State University.

Growers everywhere are encouraged to consider the potential for organic production. With worldwide interest in perennial systems that retain cover on the land, our conference theme is Perennial Passion: Building Resilience into Organic Systems to highlight how organic practices -- including pastures, buffers and perennial plants -- have been critical for preserving pollinator habitat and reducing erosion, Delate said.

To complement this theme, Mondays keynote speaker is Fred Iutzi, president of The Land Institute. Mr. Iutzi is an alumnus of Iowa State Universitys graduate program in sustainable agriculture, where he studied the benefits of forages in enhancing biodiversity in Iowa.

The conference begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, with a roundtable featuring organic farmers who will answer questions about organic production. A keynote talk by Caroline Halde, assistant professor in sustainable agriculture at the Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, will follow at 4 p.m. Halde will present a slide show on local food producers who use successful organic practices to meet market demand.

A reception featuring local and organic food and drinks begins at 6 p.m. in the UI Memorial Union, followed by the movie Whats on Your Plate, which explores the benefits of local and organic food production in the food system.

The conference lunch on Monday afternoon highlights local and organic produce, meats and dairy products assembled into a gourmet meal by award-winning UI Executive Chef Barry Greenberg and his team.

Mondays break-out sessions include transitioning into organic farming, weed management, organic livestock health, organic no-till for grain and vegetable crops, and growing small grains. The conference also includes information on soil and water quality research, crop insurance for organic producers, economic and financial assistance for organic producers, and local food system initiatives such as food hubs and Grow Johnson County. Farmer-mentor roundtables will offer farmers interested in transitioning to organic, or who have specific organic questions, an opportunity to meet one-on-one with organic farmers and organic certification experts.

The Iowa Organic Conference is the largest university-sponsored organic conference in the country, said Delate. Last years conference brought more than 50 exhibitors, ranging from organic seed sales to local food system nonprofits to government offices working with transitioning and certified organic farmers. Despite the challenges of wet weather during planting and the early weed management period this year in many parts of the state, organic farmers are anticipating successful organic yields with organic soybean prices currently averaging $19 per bushel and organic corn at $8.50 per bushel.

Conference registration is available online at www.signmeup.com/116550 .

Those needing hotel accommodations for the night of Sunday, Nov. 13 can contact the Iowa House Hotel at https://iowahousehotel.com/.

For additional conference information contact Shelly ONeal at soneal@iastate.edu or Kathleen Delate at kdelate@iastate.edu or 515-294-5116.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Musserville United Methodist Church will host a craft/vendor fair and bake sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22. Musserville United Methodist Church is located at 1001 Oregon Street, Muscatine. Featured during the event will be vendors and crafters selling products and handcrafted items. A lunch will also be available for purchase.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Riding for Success will host a Halloween Party/Open House from 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Muscatine Ag Center 3200 Lucas St.

There will be games for kids, face painting, refreshments and a clown. The therapeutic horses will also be in costume.

A silent auction will be held and money raised will go for scholarships.

Riding For Success is a therapeutic riding program for persons with disabilities and veterans with PTSD. The group is looking to gain additional volunteers to lead horses and assist with clients during lessons.

To learn more about how therapeutic riding activities can make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities or to learn how to help, visit ridingforsuccess.com.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Six new firefighters were sworn in at Thursday nights Muscatine City Council meeting at City Hall.

Council chambers was filled with family members and residents as Mayor Diana Broderson swore in new Firefighters Brett Becker, Justin McCarthy, Kyle Moser, Kyle Nickels, Trevor Levins, and Nathan Cruchelow.

Broderson and City Council members congratulated the new firefighters, and the audience clapped after the final firefighter was sworn in.

A public hearing was held to provide an update on the Community Development Block Grant Construction (CDBG) Project, which was begun to improve downtown buildings.

Adam Thompson, the CDBG Project Coordinator, said the project is expected to be completed by the end of October. The grant was for $500,000, and will assist in building improvements, as well as improving stormwater runoff in the area.

The second and final reading of an ordinance amending the citys Floodplain Management Regulations was approved, as was a marketing proposal from the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), which was awarded to McDaniels Marketing in the amount of $22,607 for a nine-month campaign in digital marketing.

"I'm very happy to see it, I think Muscatine can benefit from a professional company to promote Muscatine," said Councilman Allen Harvey.

Council members Bob Bynum and Scott Natvig were absent, and Councilman Mike Rehwaldt was present via conference call.

Several public hearings will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 20, in council chambers at City Hall, on the following topics:

A proposed development agreement with KRE LLC including annual appropriation tax increment payments in an amount not to exceed $155,000.

A proposed development agreement with Harrison Lofts LLC including annual appropriation tax increment payments in an amount not to exceed $675,000. The agreement will be part of the proposed amendments to the Urban Renewal Plan, which will also be held on Oct. 20. These amendments include a proposed development agreement with Harrison Lofts LLC for the construction of an apartment complex which will provide for low and moderate income housing.

The lease of certain premises located at the Municipal Airport for Fixed Base Operations. The proposed lease has been reviewed and approved by the current lessee, Carver Aero, and by the Airport Advisory Commission.

The vacation of utility easements in the Riverbend Second Addition, 3222 Clermont Drive. The property owner plans to combine the Lots 16 and 17 at the location.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, but the Muscatine Humane Society shelter director Chris McGinnis says those interested in bringing home a new pet should consider whether or not their home will be a good fit.

Although National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month may be a good time to adopt a dog, McGinnis said the choice to commit to the care of a dog should be carefully considered.

"Adopting or buying any dog can't be an impulse buy," she said.

The Muscatine Humane Society also considers carefully whether or not a dog or any animal will be a good fit in a home.

"We're dedicated to the animal, because we're trying to find their forever home," McGinnis said.

The humane society, she said, adopts out about 800 animals every year, and reunites around 200 dogs with their owners.

To adopt or not to adopt

Before making the decision to adopt a pet, especially a dog, McGinnis said careful consideration should be given to the time, effort, and care dogs require.

When deciding on a dog, or whether or not to adopt, first, McGinnis suggested, research the breed. Huskies and German Shepards, she said, are examples of more energetic breeds.

"And then they should think, 'Can I do this for this dog, can I provide three hours of exercise and am I willing to go to some obedience training, am I willing to learn what my dog needs,'" she said.

Large breeds particularly need exercise, in a fenced-in yard or being taken on walks, she explained.

Hours spent away from the home, McGinnis said, could also make a difference on the type of dog that would fit well, or if a dog is the right choice for a pet.

"Because it's not really fair for a dog to be in a crate 12 hours a day just so they won't have a potty accident, 'Can I go home at noon, to let my new puppy out,' so many things they need to consider," she said.

According to McGinnis, dogs are frequently brought into the shelter or back to the shelter because people realized after they took the dog home that they were not a good fit.

"People don't think of what all goes into having a dog. Cats are easier, dogs require a lot more attention and training and the potty training issue and all that," she said.

Process for dogs at the shelter

McGinnis said the shelter has a long process to follow before a dog can be adopted, as well as policies to help ensure the dog is placed in the correct home for them.

For example, when a stray is brought in, McGinnis said, the shelter first checks for a microchip or tags, in an attempt to find their owner. If that fails, the dog is vaccinated against contagious dog diseases, and given an exam.

A description of the dog is logged, with age and a description, and then the shelter searches a lost and found book to see if the dog matches the description of a dog that has been reported lost.

If no owners can be located, they are placed in the lost and found area, and must be held for seven days for the owner, which McGinnis said is state-mandated. If no one comes forward during the seven days, dogs are spayed or neutered, checked for heartworm, and then are listed as up for adoption.

"We try to work with the dogs in the order they come in, so sometimes it's more than two weeks before we get a certain animal ready, but there's a lot of things that need to be done and a lot of these things are state-mandated," McGinnis said.

Spaying and neutering is state-mandated, and the humane society has to take the dogs to another location once a month, which can also extend the time before a dog can be adopted.

The adoption cost for a dog is $135-$150, which McGinnis said covers the spay or neuter of the animal, an exam, a heartworm blood test, vaccinations, distemper, kennel cost, a free exam certificate, $10 off coupon for obedience classes, and the microchip, which will identify the dog and its owners if it is lost.

Finding a "furever" home

The humane society also works to ensure dogs that are adopted will have a safe and happy home, and although McGinnis said she does not want to say "No," decisions are based on the dogs and their well-being.

"You can't just hand them out to any type of home, even though they view their home as loving," she said.

Decisions not to send dogs to homes with no fences, or other decisions by the pound have caused backlash on social media, and McGinnis said she hopes she can help people understand that the decisions they make are based on what will be best for each dog.

"We're dedicated to finding them a good home," she said.

McGinnis added rules at the shelter are not arbitrary.

"Our rules stem from experience," she said.

She and others at the shelter attend seminars, and have learned much about the animals they care for. In 24 years at the humane society, McGinnis said she has seen a lot of animals and their behavior.

"Because we know what we know we have to be careful," she said.

For example, the Muscatine Humane Society will not allow certain large dog breeds to be taken home by families with children under the age of 12. McGinnis said that is a liability issue for the shelter, and certain breeds could harm small children.

They look at records as well, she said, to make sure owners have taken care of other pets, taking them to the vet when needed and not allowing them to run free, when they could be found and taken back to the shelter or hit by a car.

Around 50-75 dogs are brought to the shelter after being hit by cars every year, and McGinnis said seeing injured dogs, especially those who are beyond help, is difficult.

"It kills us," she said.

Dogs at the shelter are not euthanized due to time at the shelter, or space constraints, McGinnis said, however, if they are beyond help due to an injury, sometimes there is nothing else to do.

By carefully placing shelter dogs at new homes, McGinnis said she hopes to find every dog a happy, permanent family.

"Our decisions are based on what's best for the dog, we just want to make sure it works out."
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 []
Akamai has released its Q2 2016 State of the Internet report, which shows that South Africa ranks below Kenya in average broadband speeds.

Akamais State of the Internet report is based on data gathered from the companys Intelligent Platform, and provides insight into global connectivity and Internet metrics.

Akamai previously included Africas results with Europe and the Middle East, but broadband metrics are now presented separately for the European region and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

More African countries are included, which means we get a better idea of how South Africa compares with other countries on the continent.

Average broadband speed

South Africa recorded an average broadband speed of 5.6Mbps in the second quarter of 2016  a year-on-year increase of 71%.

The top African country was Kenya, with an average broadband speed of 7.7Mbps.

Average peak connection speed

In the second quarter of 2016, South Africas average peak connection speed was 29.6Mbps, the highest in Africa.

This represents the average of the maximum measured connection speeds across all the unique IP addresses seen by Akamai.

Broadband adoption

Looking at 4Mbps broadband adoption, South Africa ranks below Kenya and Morocco.

Time for action

With South Africa trailing Kenya in average broadband speeds, and doing even worse in broadband adoption, it is time for action.

The government can start by handing out LTE spectrum to the mobile operators, which will help them to offer faster and cheaper broadband services.

More on broadband

South Africas broadband revenue to hit R68.5 billion in 2020

We need to prepare for 5G today: Expert
Embattled SABC executive for corporate affairs and former chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng has told staffers at a meeting that he is now in charge of the radio division of the public broadcaster.

Radio is now mine, Motsoeneng said to staffers at Fridays meeting, two inside sources told News24.

Motsoeneng invited all radio staff to the meeting where he announced that leadership in the radio division had been reshuffled due to Leslie Ntlokos departure. Ntloko was the group executive of radio, but resigned in September.

All radio people now report to me from today, he apparently said.

He was joined in the meeting by acting SABC chief executive officer James Aguma.

Some of the plans he shared with employees at the meeting included that bad programmes, and those that failed to generate revenue, would be canned.

He announced that those who found a way to bring in revenue to the SABC would be financially rewarded.

Motsoeneng called on managers in the division to stop suspending people.

If people are wrong they should be given a warning, not suspended, Hlaudi said, according to one of the sources.

Motsoeneng has dodged several bullets thus far. Since the Supreme Court of Appeal denied him leave to appeal a ruling on the irregularity of his appointment in September, there have been growing calls for him to be removed, along with the SABC board.

On Thursday, the ANC said Communications Minister Faith Muthambi should get rid of the board.

On Friday, the Western Cape High Court dismissed an application by the SABC to delay a court hearing challenging the disciplinary hearing that cleared Motsoeneng.

News24

More on the SABC

SABC must decide if I stay or go: Motsoeneng

How much the SABC spent on its failed concert
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said that movie theatres are strangling the movie business and the state of film is a real tragedy.

According to a report by Business Insider, Hastings made the comments at The New Yorkers Tech Fest.

He said there has been no innovation in the movie theatre business in recent years, while TV has shown strong growth.

The report stated that Netflix wants to see movies distributed to homes and theatres, but movie studios which go against big theatres will get killed.

He said the bad dynamic of movie theatres having this power over studios needed to change.

More on Netflix

Netflix rival owned by Australian version of DStv is dead

Cell C has big Netflix dreams
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SACRAMENTO  Many police departments have specially trained officers and mental health professionals whose job is to help defuse the sometimes-volatile 5150 calls that involve people in the throes of mental illness.

But those officers are in short supply, and often they are unavailable in a crisis, as happened in Sacramento and the San Diego suburb of El Cajon, where police encountered men with mental problems and ended up shooting them to death.

Both cities would like to add additional resources but neither has the money.

Funding for mental health services has been cut, and we are responding to more of those types of calls, El Cajon police Lt. Rob Ransweiler said.

El Cajon, a city of 100,000, and Sacramento, the state capital with nearly half a million residents, each have a total of one mental health team that pairs a professional counselor and a specially trained officer.

We cant really expect that they can cover 100 square miles of the city 24/7. Its been a very effective program, but it is limited by resources, Sacramento police spokesman Matthew McPhail said.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nations largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization, estimates that only 3,000 of the nations 18,000 law enforcement agencies have mental health response teams like those in Sacramento and El Cajon. The alliance is calling on more departments to adopt so-called crisis intervention teams, often called CITs.

Even in cities where a CIT is in place, you have no guarantees, said Ron Honberg, a researcher with the alliance known as NAMI. But its always better to have the advanced training than not having it.

In Sacramento, state grants pay for a specially trained officer and mental health professional who respond together to 5150 calls. But the pair is limited to working in areas deemed to have the greatest need for mental health services.

Even departments with multiple intervention teams still struggle to answer every call with trained officers and mental health workers.

When 5150 calls come in, the officers with specialized training are often already dealing with another situation or they are off-duty at departments that have no backup. That was the case last summer when a mentally ill man was waving a knife on a Sacramento street. And it happened again last week when a man in El Cajon was acting erratically and walking into traffic.

A lot of crises dont happen between 9 and 5, Honberg said.

Beyond the formal teams, many departments including Sacramentos are training all officers in de-escalation techniques that stress giving an agitated suspect time and distance instead of aggressively rushing in for an immediate arrest.

San Francisco police spent six hours on Sept. 24 talking with a suicidal man who threatened to kill officers with an assault rifle. The daylong standoff shut down a train station, but the incident ended peacefully after crisis negotiators urged the man to surrender. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun.

As long as we have time to talk to this person, we have hope, San Francisco officer Carlos Manfredi said.

The Virginia-based Treatment Advocacy Center published a study last year showing that police are 16 percent more likely to shoot and kill mentally ill suspects than other suspects.

Its one of the biggest nightmares for families of people with mental illness ... and for law enforcement, too, said John Snook, the centers executive director.

That nightmare played out in Sacramento last July when Joseph Mann, a mentally ill homeless man, was shot 14 times. His family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that responding officers failed to seek assistance from mental health professionals or follow state guidelines for confronting mentally ill suspects by first attempting to diffuse the situation.

On Monday, the family called for two of the officers to be charged criminally after a recording captured by their dashboard camera revealed that the officers had discussed running down Mann with their vehicle before they shot him just seconds after getting out of their car. The officers attorney says they protected the community from an armed and erratic suspect.

In El Cajon, a police officer opened fire on Alfred Olango within a minute of arriving on scene following multiple 911 calls by Olangos sister, who described her brother as mentally unbalanced. The officer fired when Olango took a shooting stance and aimed an object at him that turned out to be a 4-inch electronic cigarette device called a vape pen.

After racially charged fatal police shootings of unarmed suspects, the Washington D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum has been training departments in de-escalation techniques, teaching officers to give agitated and disturbed suspects time and distance to calm down before moving in for the arrest.

In California, lawmakers recently passed legislation requiring increased officer training when it comes to interacting with disabled suspects, including those with mental illness.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Three-quarters of a century after he was killed during the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the remains of a young Navy sailor finally are heading home to Kansas.

Lewis Lowell Wagoner was a 20-year-old Navy seaman second class when he perished and was declared missing after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that propelled the United States into World War II. Wagoner was aboard the USS Oklahoma when that battleship, along with other U.S. warships, was doomed by torpedoes while helplessly moored in Pearl Harbor.

Wagoner's body, unidentified at the time, eventually was recovered, along with several hundred fellow shipmates. All of them were buried as "unknowns" in a Hawaii cemetery. But last year, the U.S. military dug up the mass graves and began a painstaking push by special military laboratories to put names to the remains, using pre-war dental records and modern advances in DNA testing.

Wagoner's remains are to be flown Friday to Wichita, Kansas, a day before a memorial service and interment with military honors at a family plot in Harvey County's Whitewater Cemetery. A bronze grave marker  noting the Missouri-born serviceman's status as a Purple Heart recipient  already awaits him in a row of final resting places for three of his seven brothers. Just one brother, 87-year-old Carl Wagoner of Syracuse, Utah, is still living.

While saying "it's a joy that we're finally able to bring Uncle Lewis home," 70-year-old Wichita niece Linda Guinn called it bittersweet in that only one sibling is able see it happen.

"When his brothers all were younger, they were always talking about Lewis and wondering if he could ever be brought home," said Doris Wagoner, Lewis Wagoner's sister-in-law. Her husband  Merle Wagoner, a Navy veteran of the Korean War  died three years ago at the age of 79.

Japanese planes hit the Oklahoma with a blitz of torpedoes, quickly capsizing the battleship. Thirty-two men were rescued via holes cut through the hull, but 415 sailors and 14 Marines didn't make it.

All told, more than 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers died in the Pearl Harbor attack that sank or damaged 21 U.S. vessels. The Oklahoma's casualties were second only to the USS Arizona, which lost 1,177 men.

The Pentagon has offered no public account about how Wagoner died, though Guinn said a shipmate friend of Wagoner's has said the two men dove off the torpedo-ravaged ship into the water ablaze with leaking oil and fuel. The friend survived and since has died; Wagoner was "not a good swimmer" and was never seen alive again, Guinn said.

The Navy spent more than two years recovering remains from the Oklahoma, eventually laying them to rest in mass graves in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in an extinct volcanic crater known as Punchbowl. But last year, the Pentagon's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began unearthing the remains from 45 gravesites, disinterring 61 caskets, many containing comingled remains of multiple people.

On Sept. 30, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that scientists identified Wagoner's remains through dental comparisons and DNA that matched two brothers, who relatives said supplied genetic samples to the military about a decade ago.

The same day, the agency also announced it had identified the remains of Navy Lt. j.g. Aloysius Schmitt of St. Lucas, Iowa, who was also aboard the Oklahoma. A visitation was held for the chaplain Wednesday in his hometown and a burial will be held in Dubuque, Iowa, on Saturday, The Telegraph Herald newspaper reported.

Schmitt was among a group of sailors who discovered a small porthole as the ship was filling with water. He had the chance to escape but refused and hoisted others through the porthole and out to safety, according to the newspaper.

By 2020, the accounting agency expects to identify 80 percent of the Oklahoma's unknown.
WASHINGTON  Defense Secretary Ash Carter's former senior military aide used his government credit card at strip clubs or gentlemen's clubs in Rome and Seoul, drank in excess and had "improper interactions" with women during business travel with Carter, according to a report released Thursday by the Defense Department inspector general.

The 50-page report describes in detail two strip clubs or show clubs where the aide, Maj. Gen. Ron Lewis, spent more than $1,000 on champagne and drinks. It includes conflicting statements that Lewis made to investigators explaining the outings, and on several occasions quotes his acknowledgement that he was drunk or drank to "more than moderation."

Lewis, whom Carter fired nearly a year ago, submitted a written rebuttal slamming the investigation, saying the IG assembled an inaccurate and inflammatory case based on innuendo and had failed to "find the truth."

The inspector general's report says Lewis improperly used his credit card, lied to a bank to get charges removed and said he was guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer, a violation of the code of military justice.

In the rebuttal, which was obtained by The Associated Press, Lewis denied that the bar he went to in Rome was a strip club and denied that he went to a strip or gentleman's club in Seoul, South Korea, in an area of the city that the report calls "Hooker Hill." Many clubs in that area are considered off-limits for U.S. military, according to the report.

The report also details several inappropriate interactions Lewis had with women, including one late-night incident in his hotel room when he was drinking with a female enlisted service member who later told investigators he tried to kiss her. According to the report, a female Defense Department staff member who saw Lewis and the woman alone in the room, told him, "Sir, respectfully, you're being really stupid. Don't do this. She needs to come and stay in my room."

Carter issued a statement Thursday saying he was briefed on the investigation but would defer comment pending an Army review. He added, "I expect the highest possible standards of conduct from the men and women in this department particularly from those serving in the most senior positions. There is no exception."

The report said Carter was unaware of Lewis's conduct until he was told about it. The report will go to Army leaders who will determine what, if any, punishment is required and at what rank Lewis would be able to retire.

Lewis also issued a statement on Thursday, saying that he made some of the mistakes outlined in the report, but strongly contests others.

"From the onset, this process was unfairly influenced by statements made and actions taken at the highest levels of the Department of Defense," he said.

Lewis took responsibility for several inappropriate actions, including charging nearly $1,800 on his government credit card at what he called a "dance club" in Rome. In an embarrassing set of circumstances, Lewis said, he tried to use his personal debit card at the club, but it didn't work, so he had to walk back to his hotel with a female employee of the club, and wake up a Defense Department staff member to get his government card to pay the bill. He said he paid back the charges when he returned to the U.S.

The report identified the club as Cica Cica Boom, a club whose sign advertises lap dances, but Lewis said that's not the club he went to. He said he went to "Verafollia Srl" a "high-end establishment with a respectable clientele that had a DJ, a bar area and a dance floor where couples were dancing."

Investigators, including local law enforcement, visited the club and provided photos showing stripper poles and a "lap dance chair." The report said the club manager said the name "Verafollia Srl" is used on credit card receipts "to conceal any link to the Cica Cica Boom club for patrons who frequent the establishment."

Lewis, in the report, explained the high prices charged to his credit card by saying he ordered "two or three bottles of champagne, lots of drinks."

Lewis had shot up the promotional ladder, and his job with Carter stemmed from their close professional relationship. He had served as an aide to Carter when Carter was deputy defense secretary.

In Korea, the report said, Lewis went to a gentleman's club called the Candy Bar. Lewis denied going there as well, but acknowledged being in a commercial area of Seoul. He said that when he returned to Washington and saw two charges on his credit card totally about $1,100, he called the bank to have them removed, and the bank agreed.

Investigators presented him with two receipts from the club bearing the name "Candy." Both receipts show only a short pen mark in the signature area, and do not show his written name.

The report says investigators, after getting Lewis' rebuttal, went back to check their information, and said they stand by their findings. It adds that a representative from the Candy Bar club told an investigator that she recognized Lewis, but could not recall any details.

The report portrays Lewis as a senior officer who often went out alone on overseas trips, and who sometimes drank to excess. It said his behavior concerned some staff members and at times was a topic of conversation.

In the incident involving the enlisted service member, Lewis said another staff member was in the hotel room for much of the time, and that even when he was alone with the enlisted service member "our discussions remained the type of conversation a command team would engage in."

The report does not suggest that Lewis had an extramarital affair or that he had sex with any of the women. And Lewis, in his rebuttal, criticizes the report for relying on insinuations and statements from people who may have distorted the facts or didn't actually see what happened.

Officials with knowledge of the matter said the allegations of misconduct, which first surfaced after the November overseas trip with Carter, stunned the secretary and sent shockwaves through the Pentagon. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Heres a twist for a county synonymous with wine  a site once targeted for a 600,000-gallon-a-year winery is now to be home to a storage center that just might be an upscale pack rats dream.

Granted, the 10 acres isnt in the heart of Napa Valley wine country. Its located at 1055 Soscol Ferry Road south of Highway 29 and the Grape Crusher statue in a largely undeveloped part of the countys airport industrial area.

Nor is Napa County ceding a potential winery site to a typical self-storage project.

Napa Vault Storage Facility is to have 130 storage units in 11 buildings, with 128 storage units to be sold to the users. The average unit size is to be 1,177 square feet, as roomy as the city of Napas more modest houses, and include heat, power and lighting.

Beth Painter, who is helping the applicant obtain county permits, said prices could be about $200,000.

Storage Tech, LLC said in its Napa Vault application that it has developed six similar projects in Colorado. It called the units condominiums, with the buildings and common areas to be maintained by an ownership association.

People buying a unit at Napa Vault could store recreational vehicles, wine collections or auto collections there. They could store items there to free up room in their garages and houses. Companies could keep equipment there, said Erik Bedford of Storage Tech.

Since users will own their units, they can customize them with shelves, carpets and other individual touches.

Youre a stakeholder, Bedford said. This is your space.

Advertisements for other storage condominium projects in the nation show that some users have added plenty of personal touches. Auto fans have covered the walls with automotive memorabilia. Others have added lofts and hung the American flag from the ceiling.

Bedford used the words man cave to describe one use. But these are man caves on a huge scale.

If a possible price of $200-a-square-foot sounds steep, its a pittance compared to the prices in Manhattan. The Bloomberg website reported storage spaces with square-foot prices ranging from $1,500 to $4,000, with one person buying a 200-square-foot storage cage for $300,000.

Near Denver, people can buy condominium storage units along Broncos Parkway at ManCaves for $55,000 to $170,000. The project is largely sold out.

The Napa County Planning Commission approved Napa Vault on Wednesday. Bedford said construction could begin next spring and that the condominium storage approach will be the first in the Napa area.

I believe it is a rather unique and innovative-type project, Planning Commissioner Terry Scott said.

Commissioners made sure unwanted uses couldnt spring up in the units. They decided the units cannot be used for commercial auto repair, commercial sales or industrial manufacturing.

Resident Gary Margadant criticized the county for shrinking the required stream setback at Suscol Creek from 150 feet to 75 feet for the project.

The required buffer zone is for animals and for water that runs into the stream. Beavers, otters and other creatures use the stream that is part of Napa Countys natural beauty, Margadant said.

I dont understand why an exception can be made for that, Margadant said. It just seems were full of exceptions.

County officials said the original 2006 winery use permit granted the exception in return for stream restoration work, such as the removal of nonnative Himalayan blackberries and the planting of native vegetation.

This is mitigated by the stream restoration measures, Planning Commission Chairman Michael Basayne said.

In a letter, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife expressed concerns about building on foraging habitat for the protected Swainsons hawk. A biological study done for the applicant concluded that the local hawks forage in an 18-mile radius and that the loss of non-native grasslands on the site wouldnt hurt the species.

In addition, the report concluded that surrounding areas are better able to sustain rodent populations that serve as food for the hawk.

Attorney Jay Harris on behalf of Soscol Ferry Self Storage, LLC  which owns a neighboring self-storage facility  criticized the Napa Vault environmental report used for the project as being inadequate. But county officials and the Planning Commission disagreed.

Among other things, Harris asked that the county require Napa Vault to annex to the Napa Sanitation District sewer system. County staff said the nearest line is more than 200 feet away and that sewer service in the area needs to be looked at comprehensively so lines are correctly sized.

Napa Vault is to have concrete tilt-up buildings 26 feet high to 35 feet high with earth tones and stone accents.
Current and former patients of Napa Valley Dentistry on Beard Road in Napa are being notified that their information, including names, birthdays and Social Security numbers, may have gotten into the wrong hands after the office experienced a theft, according to a press release sent by the dental office.

A computer server containing patient information was stolen from an offsite, locked storage unit on Aug. 11, Napa Valley Dentistry said. The password-protected server, which also contained patients names, addresses and insurance information, was placed in storage following an information technology upgrade.

The Napa Police were notified, the business said, and all affected patients, more than 500 who live in California, will be notified directly by letter. These patients are being offered credit monitoring and identity protection services through Kroll, a risk mitigation and response company.

Napa Valley Dentistry is unaware of any actual misuse of the stolen information.

Patients with any questions may call 1-877-309-9842.
A white pastor in New York has been swept up in a race debate following a proclamation that he would not say all lives matter.

The mantra, he said, does not address an essential issue.

Leading up to a sermon in late September, Carl Lentz, pastor at Hillsong Church in New York City, wrote on Facebook that at THIS church, we are not saying all lives matter right now because this is a logical assumption that most reasonable people agree with. All lives are not at risk right now. We ARE saying BLACK LIVES MATTER. Because, right now, black lives apparently are worth LESS on our streets. Its our fight not their fight. 

The 37-year-olds comment came just days after two police shootings left two black men dead. Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Tulsa on Sept. 16; four days later, another black man, Keith Lamont Scott, was killed at the hands of police in Charlotte. The shootings ignited peaceful protests interrupted by chaos in cities 1,000 miles apart.

At least 732 people  178 of whom were black men and womenhave been fatally shot by police in the United States this year, according to a Washington Post database.

Tensions have been especially high since a summer of shootings in cities across the country. On July 5, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by white police officers in Baton Rouge; a day later, Philando Castile, 32, was killed in Falcon Heights, Minn.

Then came the deadly assaults on police in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

In addition, Charles Kinsey, an unarmed black behavioral therapist, was tending to his autistic patient in Miami on July 18 when he was shot by a police officer. Kinsey survived that shooting.

Lentz said he made the remark that black lives matter because I felt like to not speak on this issue, this moment in our culture, would be wrong.

This statement meant that IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT RACE AND CULTURE ... saying all lives matter does not address the issue at hand, Lentz explained in an email Tuesday. Furthermore, we find it insensitive and absolutely minimizing to the frustrated, emotional cry of many many people. So my statement was to clarify that we hear the frustration, we empathize with the frustration and we will continue to stand with people that are hurting.

I clearly said and loudly said that anybody with a functioning brain, does not debate that all lives matter! Of course we believe that. Our contention, is that there is a debate on what lives matter MOST. To highlight one issue or one need, does not disparage another. To me, its just common sense and completely uncomplicated. The question has been asked do black lives matter? Our answer is yes black lives matter. The question was NOT do all lives matter.

Lentz said it was maddening to see how a pretty simple concept creates so much debate.

Hillsong, a megachurch headquartered in Sydney, has locations in 15 countries with nearly 100,000 attendees each week, according to its website. The church in New York, which has three locations, has about 9,000, Lentz said.

With his recent comments, Lentz has joined a broader conversation in the church.

In August, Lentz interviewed Brooklyn megachurch pastor A.R. Bernard during the 2016 Hillsong NYC conference and asked him: How do you know if your theology is racist? according to the Christian Post.

Well, lets make the distinction between racist and racism, Bernard, who said he is biracial, told Lentz. Racist is a person who has a feeling of superiority above other people by virtue of that persons race.

Racism is the intentional violence, oppression, marginalization, disenfranchisement against a segment of the society based on race. So if your theology gives you a sense of superiority over other people, then that theology is racist, Bernard said, according to the news site. He added: If you take it to the next step of engaging in acts of violence, whether overt or covert, or marginalization or the support of disenfranchisement and marginalization of a particular people because of their race, then now you have gone from being racist to engaging in racism.

Savanna Hartman, who co-pastors a church with her husband in Tampa, said in a viral video that she was aware of her own white privilege and wanted to encourage other white people to fight racial biases.

Hartman read a poem over the summer that she had written amid the recent fatal police shootings in the United States.

This isnt about Black men, white women, or cops

Its about senseless behavior that on all sides must stop

Whites arent all racist and Blacks arent all thugs

All our lives matter, we were all bought with love

The response to Lentzs statement last month has been largely positive, although some social-media users took issue with itarguing that God values people of all races.

Carl Lentz, thank you, one person wrote in response to the pastors statement on Facebook. In a time where many African Americans in this nation are hurting, its good to know that there are people that will stand with us and fight for us. Thanks for saying whats needs to be said and not caring about backlash. The truth is truth.

Another person added: What you just said resonates with my feelings; right now its not all lives that are treated worthless, its BLACK LIVES!

I love this because its not about siding with a particular race, its about siding with Gods mission which is reconciliation, not just between God and man but amongst mankind as well, another wrote. The church should lead in addressing issues like that. We are the salt and we are the light. When we love another and support one another regardless of race, we show the world how it ought to be.

Some suggested, however, that Lentz was a wolf in sheeps clothingspouting emotionally and politically charged ideas to get people to church.

Jesus Christ died for all people. Not just whites, blacks, Hispanics or Asians but all people. All lives matter to God so all this hype about BLM is ridiculous, one person wrote. This nation is in deep distress right now because God is slowly removing his hand of protection from this nation and once that happens it will get worse. We cannot continue to praise God and then one minute later protest with violence in the name of peace. It doesnt work that way.

Lentz, who has spoken about race issues in the past, told The Post on Tuesday that he has been talking more and more about it because of the current political climate.

If we want to truly combat racism in our country, we need to combat it first in our own lives. In our own churches, he said in an email. And because its so visible right now, I felt like it was a way to bring some hope out of this pain. It hasnt been easy. But we are at least beginning to force a conversation that is long overdue.

Lentz said that he has noticed that the vast majority of criticism regarding the conversation has been from people who are white.

I keep telling people, Im just not that interested right now in how WHITE PEOPLE feel about the pain and frustration of BLACK PEOPLE. It misses the entire point, he wrote, adding: We are not talking about black on black crime. We are not talking about every single societal ill that plagues ALL OF SOCIETY not just the black community. I am praying people see the light on this.

Ultimately, racism affects us all, he added. At its true root, it is evil and it is sinful. So Im not sure exactly how the conversation has been so suppressed for so long.
If I were to say New Zealand wine, it is likely that the first thing you would think of is sauvignon blanc from Marlborough.

After all, sauvignon blanc is New Zealands most widely planted varietal. It makes up 72 percent of the wine production of New Zealand, according to the 2014 New Zealand Winegrowers Annual Report. There are more than 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) planted to sauvignon blanc with more than 17,000 of those hectares in Marlborough.

If I were to then ask you how to describe New Zealand sauvignon blanc, I am sure some of the following descriptors come to mind  grassy, gooseberry, bell pepper, grapefruit, lime or even cats pee. New Zealand sauvignon blanc is recognizable in a glass by its pungent aromas and bold acidity on the palate.

But not all sauvignon blanc from New Zealand is one-dimensional and predictable. Giesen Wines is on a mission to change the dialogue of New Zealand sauvignon blanc and elevate the status.

Giesen Wines is a family brand owned by three German brothers, Theo, Alex and Marcel. They were first drawn to the cool climate of the South Island in New Zealand more than thirty years ago. They planted their first vineyard in 1981 and produced their first wine in 1984.

In 2008, with the over-production of sauvignon blanc in Marlborough, prices began to fall. Prices went from $2,500 per ton to 1,000 per ton. By 2009, Marcel Giesen said when he was recently in Los Angeles for a winemaker dinner, it was like a race to the bottom. It was all about who could make the cheapest sauvignon blanc or come up with something different, including sparkling wine and pink wine made from sauvignon blanc.

As more and more inexpensive sauvignon blanc came into the market, the Giesen brothers started to move in the opposite direction. They began looking for vineyards with unique soil characteristics and vine age. They focused on reducing yields and increasing quality. They are now committed to environmentally sustainable wine production practices.

In 2011 and 2012, the Giesen brothers added two single vineyards. Today, they have 700 acres of vineyards, 15 percent of which are certified organic, and offer four ranges of wine  The Estate, The Brothers, The Organic and The August 1888.

They also offer a Single Vineyard Series. Under the various labels, Giesen produces chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, syrah, merlot and of course sauvignon blanc.

Giesen Wines demonstrates an array of styles with their sauvignon blanc. While they still let the fruit express itself, they are more focused on the soil from which the grapes grow. Each vineyard expresses the grape differently and the climate also has an effect. Marcel explained that they have vineyards with free-draining river ground.

Here, the grape gives tropical and mango aromas in a cool season but loses flavor in a hot season. Vineyards with alluvial deposits and coastal influence offer green spectrum aromas, such as pepper and gooseberry, in a cool season and cut grass and nettles in a warm season. By blending different vineyards together, they can produce a wine that is consistent year to year.

Giesen Wines produces eight different sauvignon blancs. At the dinner with Marcel Giesen, I tasted six of these wines.

Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015  A blend of 60 vineyards from across Marlborough, including the Wairau and Awatere Valleys, the wine is a pale straw color with aromas of elderflower, kaffir lime leaf, grapefruit and dried herb. On the palate, it is zesty and bright.

Giesen The Brothers Sauvignon Blanc 2014  Sourced from five vineyards, the grapes are vinified separately in stainless steel and blended before bottling. The wine has the classic flavors of gooseberry, lime and grapefruit zest and is crisp on the palate.

Giesen The August Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013  Named after their grandfather, The August 1888 vineyard is organic. This wine is 100 percent barrel fermented with wild yeasts and matured on lees. It demonstrates a richer expression of Marlborough sauvignon blanc. The wine is well-balanced with savory and spicy notes, as well as minerality on the palate.

Giesen The Fuder Dillons Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013  From the single vineyards series, Dillons Point is located a few miles from the coast. This maritime influenced vineyard is certified organic and the old vines are non-irrigated. Whole bunch pressed, the juice is fermented in Fuder German oak barrels. The resulting wine has aromas of flint and gooseberry, and on the palate it is a focused wine with intense fruit and elegant acidity.

Giesen The Fuder Mathews Lane Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013  Also from the single vineyard series, these grapes come from a vineyard with free-flowing river bed soils. The wine is aged for 11 months sur lees in new Fuder German oak barrels. The resulting wine is complex with herbaceous notes of grass and thyme, as well as ripe fruit. The wine is elegant and delicate with a creamy texture.

Giesen The Brothers Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013  The grapes, which come from Giesens Alma St Vineyard, were left hanging in hopes of botrytis but weather conditions did not behave. The grapes remained clean and shriveled on the vine to be picked for late harvest. Fermented with wild yeast, the wine is filtered but unfined. On the nose, it is a tropical basket of apricot, passion fruit, guava, grapefruit, quince and honey. On the palate, the wine is rich and sweet but is also vibrant with beautiful acidity.

The diversity of each of these wines proves that New Zealand sauvignon blanc is more than a one-trick pony. It is a variety that offers a range of styles and Giesen Wines is proving that.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will visit Passau in Germany on Monday 10 October 2016 to attend the Menschen in Europa event hosted by the Verlagsgruppe.

Mr. Stoltenberg will take part in a panel discussion alongside EU officials entitled Can the great idea of Europe persist.

The panel discussion will be webstreamed live from 18:00 on 10 October via the NATO website.

Still and video images will be available on the NATO website after the event.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg)
France is working on a land route for grain export from Ukraine

International Rescue Committee: Blockade of Ukrainian grain may lead to disaster

Erdogan: Turkey will continue to solve the food issue despite Russia's hesitation

PACE MPs initiate resolution on political prisoners cases increase in Azerbaijan

EU studying issue of recognizing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organization

Employee of Karabakh permanent representation in Armenia is charged with high treason

Kyiv mayor claims damage to energy facility that supplies power to 350,000 apartments

Blinken has phone talks with China's FM

Artsakh strategic issues discussed at We Are Our Mountains agency first meeting

Death toll in bridge collapse in western India rises to 141

Armenia national debt against GDP is planned to be reduced

Iranian Foreign Ministry: Presence of foreign forces doesn't contribute to peace in Caucasus

Alen Simonyan, Garo Paylan discuss prospects for reopening of Armenia-Turkey border

Aliyev arrives in Sochi

Iran detains second suicide bomber in Shiraz mausoleum

Iranian and Azerbaijani FMs discuss situation in region

2023 expenses of Armenian defense sector will make AMD 506bln, a growth of 35%

Armenias Pashinyan arrives in Russias Sochi (PHOTOS)

UN agrees with Turkey and Ukraine on transportation of Ukrainian grain

Armenia parliament standing committees kick off joint session, debating on 2023 state budget draft

Lula da Silva wins Brazil presidential election

Oil prices go down

Gold prices show weak growth

Armenia renowned stage director, ex-MP Vahe Shahverdyan dead at 77

Turkey plans to open 100 oil, natural gas wells on land in 2023

Copper falls in price

USAID delegation arriving in Armenia

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
STEPANAKERT.  The adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces more than 50 times, from late Thursday night to early Friday morning.

During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired around 1,800 shots toward the Armenian position-holders, and by way of various caliber weapons, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

More intensive ceasefire violations were recorded in a northerly and northeasterly direction of the line of contact, where the adversary fired 155 shots from large-caliber machine guns, and 109 shots from long-range sniper rifles. In addition, the Azerbaijani army fired one grenade from an automatic grenade launcher, in a northerly direction.

But the NKR Defense Army vanguard units took actions in response to suppress the aggressive activeness of the adversary, and continued confidently carrying out the military task set before them.
STEPANAKERT.  Press service of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army publicized the photos of the Defense Army vehicle that was damaged as a result of a grenade launcher which the Azerbaijani armed forces used, from late Thursday night to early Friday morning.

As reported earlier, the adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces more than 50 times, from late Thursday night to early Friday morning.

During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired around 1,800 shots toward the Armenian position-holders, and by way of various caliber weapons.

More intensive ceasefire violations were recorded in a northerly and northeasterly direction of the line of contact, where the adversary fired 155 shots from large-caliber machine guns, and 109 shots from long-range sniper rifles. In addition, the Azerbaijani army fired one grenade from an automatic grenade launcher, in a northerly direction.

In addition, NKR Defense Army serviceman Hayk Hambardzumyan, who is born in 1996, sustained a gunshot wound on Friday at around 8:30am.

The soldier was wounded at a protection area of a Defense Army unit located in a southerly direction, and as a result of the shots fired by the Azerbaijani armed forces.
Mayor Michael B. Hancock of Denver, Colorado, USA has officially proclaimed September 21, 2016 as Armenian Independence Day for the twin states of the Armenian homeland, Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), reports the Armenian National Committee of America  Western Region (ANCA-WR).

Mayor Hancocks celebration of the Armenian homeland and recognition of Artsakhs ongoing struggle against aggression is a testament to the firm dedication of Armenian American grassroots in the Mile High City and the State of Colorado to raise awareness about human rights issues, including Azerbaijans April 2016 anti-Armenian war crimes, remarked ANCA-WR Executive Director Elen Asatryan. We thank the Hancock administration for their unwavering support of universal human rights, including recognizing Artsakhs independence and ongoing struggle to preserve its ancient Christian heritage and protect its freedom-loving indigenous Armenian population against an army that wipes out medieval monuments and tortures civilians and soldiers alike.

The proclamation notes that the Denver Metro Area is home to thousands of productive and patriotic Armenian Americans who have enriched our city for many decades, and that Artsakh continues the monumental struggle to maintain its indigenous Armenian identity, preserve medieval monuments and secure its borders against war crimes. Mayor Hancocks Proclamation also congratulates the Armenian community on their commitment to their heritage, their engagement in their new homeland and their ability to survive and thrive despite the challenges.
YEREVAN.  In recent years, the European Union (EU) has allocated 46 million for conducting reforms in the justice sector of Armenia.

Dirk Lorenz, Head of the Political, Economic, Press and Information Section of the EU Delegation to Armenia, on Friday stated the aforesaid, as he presented the mid-term results of the projects which the Council of Europe and the EU have envisioned for Armenia.

Speaking to reporters after presenting these results, Lorenz explained that they work with various measures. First, the EU and Armenian organizations share their know-how. The second is technical support, and they have prepared legislative initiatives. And the third is the budget sector.

The EU official noted, however, that even though there is progress in this domain in Armenia, the fight against corruption needs to continue.

Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia Suren Krmoyan stated, for his part, that the allocated amount was used for making changes, including the changing of the Criminal Code of the country.
YEREVAN.  The humanitarian aid convoy from Armenia has arrived in Aleppo, Syria.

Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned the abovementioned from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

As reported earlier, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Armenia Vardan Makaryan, and Russian Ambassador Ivan Volinkin on Wednesday sent off the second aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Syria. The first plane with humanitarian aid to Syria was sent from Armenia on Monday.

These humanitarian aid consignments were inscribed: With warm wishes for peace from Armenia to the brotherly people of Syria.

In addition, the Government of Armenia on Thursday adopted a decision, according to which the country will allocate 46 million drams (approx. US$100 thousand), as humanitarian aid for the residents of Syria. Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian informed that this amount will be transferred to Hayastan [(Armenia)] All Armenian Fund.
YEREVAN.  The U.S. Department of State announces the opening of the registration period for the 2018 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery.

Entries for the 2018 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 4, 2016, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, November 7, 2016, the Embassy of U.S. in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EDT on November 7, 2016.

Applicants are reminded that there is no cost to enter, that multiple entries result in automatic disqualification, and that they should retain their entry confirmation page with their unique confirmation number.

The annual DV program makes immigrant visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for visa interviews. The Diversity Visa Program requires the principal applicant to have a high school education, or its equivalent, or two years of qualifying work experience as defined under provisions of U.S. law. Entrants may prepare and submit their own entries or have someone submit the entry for them. Regardless of whether an entry is submitted by the individual directly or with assistance, only one entry may be submitted in the name of each individual. The person entering the DV lottery is responsible for ensuring that the information provided is correct and complete. Visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration. No DV visas are given to nationals of countries that sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than 7% of the available DVs in any one year.

The law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period. The Department of State uses sophisticated technology to detect multiple entries. Entrants who submit more than one entry will be disqualified. Applicants must submit a recent photo taken within the last six months. Entries that include the same photo from the last DV year (DV-2017) will be disqualified.

There is no cost or fee to register for the DV Program. You are strongly encouraged to complete the entry form yourself, without a Visa Consultant, Visa Agent, or other facilitator who offers to help for a fee. If somebody else helps you, you should be present when your entry is prepared so that you can provide the correct information. You should retain the confirmation page and your unique confirmation number.

To fight fraud, the Department will use web site-based tools to notify entrants of their selection and visa interview appointment information. The Department will not send selectee notification or appointment letters to successful entrants by regular mail or by e-mail. Instead, entrants will use their confirmation number to check their status online. Starting May 2, 2017, entrants may enter their DV-2018 entry confirmation number into the Entrant Status Check, which will be available at dvlottery.state.gov, to determine if their entry was selected to move forward.

It is important to note that winning the lottery is not a guarantee that you will receive a visa - winners must be interviewed and qualify for a visa.

For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV lottery, please see the instructions for the DV-2018 DV lottery available at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/diversity-visa/instructions.html .
U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry don't support military solution to the Syrian conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

She noted that there are reports that this was a plan B and that this scenario was still on the agenda. She also added that as they could understand, the plan B was supported by neither by the Secretary of State, nor the U.S. President who were committed to resolutions of the Security Council, which clearly said that there was no military way of resolving the conflict, RIA Novosti reported.

Zakharova also noted that the Russian side could not work with a uniform American approach to a situation in Syria as it did not see it.
Russian and German Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier exchanged views on the Syrian settlement during a telephone conversation on Friday, TASS reported.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian side noted the need to fully eradicate the terrorist threat on Syrian territory with simultaneous efforts to consolidate the cessation of hostilities, solve humanitarian problems and promote the political settlement of the Syrian conflict.

They expressed readiness to consider proposals of UN Secretary Generals envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on alleviating the situation in Aleppo relying on the existing UN Security Council resolutions and decisions of the International Syria Support Group.

Implementation of the Minsk package of measures to defuse the Ukrainian crisis and some issues related to the bilateral relations were discussed.
Gazprom Armenia held another charity event in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

This year in the framework of a program developed jointly with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, 20 educational institutions, including four kindergartens and chess schools received computers and other relevant accessories.

A computer classroom, for which Gazprmon Armenia provided 11 computers, opened in Stapanakerts Y. Charents school No. 7. The opening of the classroom symbolically coincided with the professional holiday of teachers.

According to the representatives of the NKR education sphere, the Gazprom Armenias initiative is very necessary and important for the educational institutions, y the introduction of modern technologies into the academic process being of great significance currently.

This year we received a gift from Gazprom Armenia, which provided us with computers, thanks to which the material and technical resources of the school have been replenished. Its very important that not only the educational institutions of Stepanakert, but also a number of schools of Artsakh rural communities receive computers, said head of the NKR Education, Science and Sport Ministry staff, Erik Grigoryan.
The UN Security Council has convened an urgent meeting to discuss the situation in Aleppo and the proposal of the UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura to clear the city of fighters with the Al-Nusra Front, TASS reports.

15 diplomats of Security Council member-states, including Russias Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin, entered the closed-door session room.

As the Permanent Representative of France Francois Delattre noted before the meeting, the envoys proposal needs to be studied carefully.

But in any case they can only be implemented with the cessation of bombardments in Aleppo, the diplomat said.

He compared the situation in Aleppo with the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, as well as the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and Srebrenica massacre in 1995.
The co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak said in an interview with the Business Insider that he is not worried about artificial intelligence and robots, reports the Lenta. According to him, previously robots were considered as a serious threat, because of the belief that their contribution might lead to job cuts. However, now he is confident that machines are not able to replace people. "I totally reversed myself for a lot of reasons. When machines can out-think humans, they can't be as intuitive and say what will I do next and what is an approach that might get me there, "said Wozniak.

Steve Wozniak created the first Apple computers and together with Steve Jobs became a co-founder of the corporation. In 1985 he left the company and began investing in IT sector and establishing his own companies.
What do history and poetry reveal about ourselves and our times? Rosemary Magee, director of Emory's Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, promised that the Universitys best minds and deepest hearts would answer the question for the eighth "Neil Asks" event, held Sept. 29.

L. Neil Williams Jr. was a generous donor to the Emory Libraries, a former trustee of the Halle Foundation and devoted to advancing the law, arts and education. The "Neil Asks" series honors his example by asking important questions  that would guide us toward greater understanding, innovation, service and hope.

Last week's event drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Jones Room of Woodruff Library to hear from Natasha Trethewey, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing, director of the Creative Writing program and former U.S. poet laureate, and Joe Crespino, Jimmy Carter Professor in the Department of History, in a discussion moderated by Kevin Young, Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing and curator of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library.

Their wide-ranging conversation examined the value of poetry and history, the relationships between them, and asked, "Who tells our history best?"

Its Robert Penn Warren 

Looming large was poet, novelist and literary critic Robert Penn Warren, whose own thoughts on the question framed the discussion. Warren wrote, Historical sense and poetic sense should not, in the end, be contradictory, for if poetry is the little myth we make, history is the big myth we live, and in our living, constantly remake.

Young asked Trethewey if poetry is a branch of history, to which she replied, Poets always, whether intending to or not, are inscribing something about our cultural moment, which is historical.

Crespino continued that thread, observing that Warren and C. Vann Woodward 30C 63H, the celebrated historian, were among the first to write against the received myths of their generation  namely, of American success and unending progress. The Civil War forever prohibited a sanguine view of history in the South, as the English historian Arnold Toynbee observed when he said:

[H]istory is something unpleasant that happens to other people. We are comfortably outside all that.  Of course, if I had been a small boy in 1897 in the southern part of the United States, I should  then have known from my parents that history had happened to my people in my part of the world.

No, its William Faulkner  or Robert Hayden

According to Woodward, it was a novelist, William Faulkner, who was the Souths greatest historian. The latter, of course, famously opined in Requiem for a Nun, The past is never dead. Its not even past.

Trethewey talked about the poet Robert Hayden, the first African American to occupy the position now known as poet laureate. Hayden wrote, according to Trethewey, to correct the misapplications of African American history.

Like Hayden, Trethewey feels an obligation to tie herself to history. And she celebrates the fact that the best literature or historical account comments on both the past and present. She cited her own Native Guard, which is at once about a regiment of black Civil War soldiers and also about right now and the contest we have about history.

Dont count out Atticus Finch

Crespino is writing a political biography of Atticus Finch, the hero of Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird. What drew him to the project were ideas about the change that happened in the American South in the mid part of the century. It was not just about filibustering Southern senators or court decisions to create greater equality, but about stories like To Kill a Mockingbird, stories that we teach our children.

At the time of its 2015 release, Lees Go Set a Watchman  thought to be a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird  engendered broad discussion that included Crespino and Trethewey. Said Trethewey, it broke peoples hearts that Finch could be at once someone who believes in justice and the letter of the law and yet, deep down, also believes in racial difference and the status quo.

Hail to the archivists

Young wanted to know what their greatest discoveries in archives had been. Surprisingly, one of Crespinos revelations was about Tretheweys family.

While researching the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, Crespino discovered that Tretheweys grandmother had tried to place a wedding announcement in 1955 for Tretheweys white father and black mother. That act earned her an entry in the commissions rolls. From 1956 to 1977, that body profiled more than 87,000 people associated with the civil rights movement and was complicit in the murders of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County.

For her part, Trethewey talked about what she learned in reading Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass. In subsequent versions, said Trethewey, Whitman was writing blacks out of his narrative, erasing them. What was that about?

And, above all, to Emorys own

Both Crespino and Trethewey agreed that, with history and poetry, there is always borrowing across the line, as she noted.

Crespino views that borrowing as a necessity, saying that even with regard to 20th-century history, where we are blessed with so much source material, still there are so many silences in the archives that need unpacking, whether by poets or historians.

As the panel drew to a close, Trethewey described a poem that she wrote for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture about the Sixteenth Street church bombing that took place in Birmingham, Alabama, in September 1963.

Trethewey chose to go at the incident sideways, by looking at the history of stained glass. All the churchs stained glass windows were destroyed except for the largest one  that of Christ the Good Shepherd.

In stained glass art, a Vidimus is created  a sketch that envisions the finished product. The translation from the Latin is, We have seen. That was the perfect entry point for Trethewey to note that the tragedy is an event to which we all must bear witness.

Poetry is interested in the facts but also in an emotional truth," she explained. "That perhaps makes it truer than anything else.

Tretheweys poem, We Have Seen: View from the Window of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, September 15, 1963, appeared in last months issue of Smithsonian magazine and is available as an audio file.

She apologized for not having brought the poem to read, but the audience was as moved as if she had. Whatever it is that Crespino and Trethewey do  history, poetry, a blend of the two  there is no doubting its power.
23:25

Four police officers were injured in a notorious working class housing estate near Paris today after being struck by a volley of Molotov cocktails, a police source said.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve described the attack in Grande Borne, an area built in the 1960s in Paris's southern suburbs, as "extremely serious".





The injured officers, two of whom are in a serious condition, "were in a police vehicle monitoring a surveillance camera near a traffic light. About 10 people attacked them with volleys of Molotov cocktails," shortly before 3.00 pm the source said.

The two badly injured officers "have major burns and were taken to a hospital in Paris," he added.





Other police officers who arrived in a second vehicle "were also targeted by volleys of Molotov cocktails," the source said, adding that these reinforcements were "slightly injured and very shaken and were taken to hospital."
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Amid the current tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has reiterated that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between the two South Asian nations. "...On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir," US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in the daily press briefing here on Thursday. "And generally, generally speaking, I mean, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place -- meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," he said. The State Department's comments came as India-Pakistan relations dipped to a new low in recent times with cross-border terror attacks and the Indian Army's surgical strikes at terror "launch pads" across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. Based on credible information, the Indian Army early on the intervening night of September 28-29 carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the LoC in which "significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who are trying to support them". This came after the September 18 terror attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir which left 19 soldiers dead and a similar attack in Baramulla town in north Kashmir in which a Border Security Force trooper was killed. These attacks took place amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which around 90 lives have been lost following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in a gunfight with security forces on July 8. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his address at the UN General Assembly session last month, alleged that India was causing human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. But Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj effectively finished off the Pakistani rhetoric saying in her UN speech that Islamabad should stop state sponsorship of terrorism and human rights abuses on the people of Balochistan province in Pakistan. India also pulled out of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November citing Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in the region. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan too followed suit citing the same reason. Pakistan went sabre-rattling with its Defence Minister Khwaja Asif saying that his country's "tactical devices (read nuclear) were not show pieces and would be used against India if its security was threatened". In his briefing on Thursday, Kirby said: "We're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal, and I'd let them speak to that more specifically". --IANS ab/py/ ( 452 Words) 2016-10-07-10:24:08 (IANS)
Golam Rabbabni, 22, of the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh was detained in Fatullah town on charges of murdering Hossain Ali in Kurhigram district, Bdnews24 reported.

Superintendent of Police Mohammad Tabarak Ullah was quoted as saying that Rabbani, a college student, was the 12th person to be arrested in the case.

--IANS sm/mr

( 86 Words)

2016-10-07-15:22:10 (IANS)
India has decided to completely seal its winding border with Pakistan by December 2018, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. Talking to reporters here after a meeting to review the situation on the border in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan, Rajnath Singh said the plan to seal the border will be implemented in a time-bound manner. "The Home Ministry has set up a target of fully sealing the Indo-Pakistan border by December 2018. To achieve this target, the action plan prepared is fully time bound and the implementation will be fully monitored periodically -- monthly and quarterly," Singh said. He said monitoring will be done at the level of Home Ministry as also at the level of state governments and the Border Security Force (BSF). "We have given special emphasis on monitoring, because by December 2018, we want to achieve the target of fully sealing the Indo-Pakistan border," said Singh, adding that technological help will be taken to seal off the riverine sections of the border. Rajnath Singh said a new concept, "Border Security Grid", would be put in place and the border states have given their suggestions on it. "On that basis, we will give a final shape to this Border Security Grid and the central government will issue guidelines in this regard to the respective state governments," he added. The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Gujarat Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja. Chief Secretaries of Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir were also present. The decision to seal border with Pakistan has come in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan since the September 18 terror attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri in Jammu & Kashmir and the surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) by the army. Singh also said that the states have been directed to take action on complaints by the BSF. "I have also urged the states that whenever the BSF lodges any complaints, they should be properly registered and investigated and chargesheet be filed. Whosoever found guilty should be punished, and the states have been asked to pay special attention to this aspect," he added. India shares 3,323-km (including the Line of Control) of land border with Pakistan running along the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. --IANS and/ps/nir/vt ( 412 Words) 2016-10-07-15:48:09 (IANS)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asserted that India will completely seal its border with Pakistan by December 2018. Talking to reporters here after a meeting to review the situation on the border in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan, Rajnath Singh said the plan to seal the border will be implemented in a time-bound manner with the process being periodically monitored at multiple levels. "The Home Ministry has set a target of fully sealing the Indo-Pakistan border by December 2018. To achieve this target, the action plan prepared is fully time bound and the implementation will be fully monitored periodically -- monthly and quarterly," Singh said. He said monitoring will be done at the level of Home Ministry as also at the level of state governments and the Border Security Force (BSF). "We have given special emphasis on monitoring, because by December 2018, we want to achieve the target of fully sealing the Indo-Pakistan border," said Singh, adding that technological help will be taken to seal off the riverine sections of the border. Chairing the meet where representatives of states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir were present, Rajnath Singh sought the active participation of the four bordering states to secure the international border with Pakistan by putting physical and non-physical barriers. Rajnath Singh said a new concept, "Border Security Grid", would be put in place and the border states have given their suggestions on it. "On that basis, we will give a final shape to this Border Security Grid and the central government will issue guidelines in this regard to the respective state governments," he added. The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Gujarat Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja. Chief Secretaries of Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir were also present. The decision to seal border with Pakistan has come in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan since the September 18 terror attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri in Jammu & Kashmir and the surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) by the army. Rajnath Singh also said that the states have been directed to take action on complaints by the BSF. "I have also urged the states that whenever the BSF lodges any complaints, they should be properly registered and investigated and chargesheet filed. Whosoever found guilty should be punished, and the states have been asked to pay special attention to this aspect," he added. Rajnath Singh also asked the home ministry, the BSF and the participating states for faster implementation of infrastructure projects, effective monitoring, intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation in view of the prevailing security scenario in the country. He also invited the suggestions in this regard from the participants. The home ministry also made a presentation in which the participants deliberated all the issues and gave their valuable suggestions. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju also shared his views on the management of border situation. It was resolved that the central and state governments will work together to resolve all problems at the earliest for effectively protecting the border. While Raje raised issues regarding police modernisation, security in the hinterland and the peculiar problems due to sparsely populated desert area with shifting sand dunes, Badal drew attention to the problems of farmers having land across the border and the problems created by the smuggling of arms and drugs from Pakistan. Jadeja stated that in the marshy areas of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, where fencing is not possible, there is a need for improvement in the construction of roads and use of technology for surveillance. India shares 3,323-km (including the Line of Control) of land border with Pakistan running along the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. --IANS and/rn/dg ( 655 Words) 2016-10-07-19:58:10 (IANS)
The Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 2016, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, discussed international taxation issues in view of the Panama Papers leak case, an official statement said on Friday. "Arun Jaitley chaired the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 2016 at the IMF headquarters in Washington D.C. on Thursday. During the meeting, two important issues -- 'International Taxation - a Commonwealth Conversation Around the Panama Papers' and 'Economics of Climate Change and Financing Climate Adaptation and Mitigation' -- were discussed and deliberated," the Indian Finance Ministry said in a statement. Earlier, Jaitley said that India, acting on the disclosures by the International Consortium of Journalists, detected Rs 5,000 crore of undisclosed deposits in foreign accounts. Investigations by India into what is termed "Panama Papers" case led to 250 references being made to other countries, asking for details about tax evaders. Jaitley is currently on an official visit to Washington D.C. to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. During the meeting, as part of the voluntary contributions, India pledged 1,022,100 pounds to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, the statement said. In Jaitley's presence, the Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of Baroda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Commonwealth small states trade finance facility. "This finance facility is expected to make available up to $100 million of incremental trade finance over a period of three years," it said. Jaitley also chaired the Governing Council meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Addressing the gathering, he announced that the CRA is now operational and BRICS member central banks are fully ready to carry out the transactions, according to the statement. At the meeting, Jaitley also extended invitation for the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, to be held in Goa later this month. He attended the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' working dinner, where discussions centred around the global economic outlook, key risks for the global and national economies, and the proposals made by the global forum and the Financial Action Task Force to improve implementation of the beneficial ownership standard, it added. During the course of the day, Jaitley also held a number of bilateral meetings with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Finance Minister of Bhutan Lyonpo Namgay Dorji and Japan Bank CEO for International Cooperation (JBIC) Tadashi Maeda, among others, with a focus on bilateral trade and investment ties. On the sidelines of the Fund-Bank meetings, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), also participated in a panel discussion, organised by Morgan Stanley, on the cyclical and structural progress in the emerging market economies. He spoke about the fiscal consolidation and economic reform path being undertaken in India, the statement said. Jaitley is currently on an official visit to Washington D.C. to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank and other associated meetings. He is accompanied by Reserve Bank of India Governor Urijit Patel, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and other officials. --IANS mm/nir/vt ( 514 Words) 2016-10-07-17:52:08 (IANS)
Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], Oct.7 (ANI-Newsvoir): VitrA, the leading bathroom solutions brand of Eczacibasi Building Products Division in Turkey brings to India the world famous designer- "Pentagon Design". A leading Nordic design agency from Finland that create holistic concepts that results in user-driven products, packaging, spaces, services and brand experiences that generate delight for consumers and value for their clients. VitrA associates with Pentagon Designs for the Masterpiece called Nest Collection With the mission is to reinvent the everyday, Pentagon Design has designed a new range of highly modular family bathroom furniture - Nest collection for VitrA. Inspired by the needs and desires of every member of the family their system of integrating rigorous processes and out of-the-box creativity has been awarded with awards like 'RedDot Design Award', 'Good Design Award', 'iF product Design' awards and many more. Pentagon Design presents their belief of 'versatility equals good design'in all their works. The signature is invariably associated with the finest brands and ever projects of increasing weight and prestige. From designing Hygge VRI watch series for women, Foot analysis & measurement kiosk, curating a World Design Capital year design & technology exhibition and many more. Product Details Nest series by VitrA draws inspiration from the needs and desires of every member of the family and is backed with VitrA's aesthetics and advanced technology. The Nest series by VitrA offers 'family-sized comfort' with a wealth of features right from the child step, night lights to the laundry cabinet and easy to reach storage areas. It also offers the heat gauge of the digital bathroom mixer that displays water temperature with great accuracy for extra comfort and safety. Equipped with smart functionality the Nest Series by VitrA offers the display which allows the users to keep a track of the water flow and total water used, enabling more efficient savings. The Digital display does not require an external power as it's powered by the generator. The new VitrA Nest Trendy series adds pleasure and comfort to the family bathroom experience. With a wide range of functional products designed along new generation modularity, Nest serves the needs of every member of the family. (ANI-Newsvoir)
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Patna High Court order quashing the Bihar government's ban on liquor. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit gave the respondents - Confederation of Indian Alcholic Beverage Companies and others - six weeks time to respond, and gave the Bihar government four weeks' time to file its rejoinder. The stay of the high court order came on a petition by the Bihar government which contended that it made the choice to impose prohibition in view of the prevailing social conditions. The bench directed the hearing of the matter after 10 weeks. Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Confederation, told the court not to stay the high court's order as because of the new law, the whole prohibition policy was in operation in the state. Singhvi told the court that the high court, had by its September 30 order, quashed the notification prohibiting the bottling, sale, distribution and consumption of liquor and the state government brought a new law on October 2. He also told the court that new law reinforcing the prohibition has not been challenged so far. However, the unimpressed bench stayed the operation of the high court order, which had declared ultra vires Section 19(4) of the Bihar Excise Act, 1915 and the notification prohibiting liquor in the State. It had also declared as ultra vires the provisions providing for enhanced sentence and confiscation of property of those violating the prohibition policy. The Bihar government has contended that as a consequence of the high court order, its effort to have complete prohibition in the state in pursuance to its obligations under Article 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy stood frustrated. The petition has contended that the high court had declared void Section 19(4) without taking into account the mandate of Article 47 which says that it is the duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health. The ban on liquor is a deterrent and consumption of liquor in Bihar is not in the public interest, says the petition by the state government, pointing out that the prohibition policy has been appreciated by a large number of people especially women. It says that prohibition policy has come as a succour for the families which are hit hard by the consumption of liquor as it drains family incomes, entails debts and is ruinous to health. Pointing out that prohibition policy had in no way adversely affected the manufacturing and bottling of the liquor as the same is not covered under the prohibition, the petition says that by April 18, notification, the state government had decided to provide complete exemption of the export duty on ethanol and ENA produced by the distilleries and breweries. This is besides the refund of their various license fees deposited by them except the license fees concerning the manufacturing activities. On the licensee fees paid by the bar and restaurant owners, the petition says that the state government has committed to purchase all their stocks at the same rate on which they were purchased and refund their license fees. --IANS pk/vd ( 545 Words) 2016-10-07-18:54:11 (IANS)
Looks like Akshay Kumar was waiting for the right time to speak on the controversial topic of banning Pakistani artistes in the wake of Uri attacks. After much wait, the patriotic Khiladi Kumar took to Twitter to speak his mind with the help of a video. In the video, the 49-year-old actor shared a very serious message and urged the nation to "think about people who have given their lives at the border" instead of crying over the ban artistes move. With no intention to offend anyone, the 'Rustom' star urged people not to indulge in mud-slinging and rather focus on how jawans are laying their lives for the country. "I'm not talking as a celebrity but I am speaking as the son of an army man. From past several days, I have been seeing people debating with each other, asking for proofs of surgical strike, talking about banning Pak artistes speculating about the war, in the news," he said. Akshay also requested people not to focus on banning Pakistan artistes. "Have some shame and first of all, think about people who have given their lives at the border." "19 soldiers were martyred for the sake of the country in Uri terror attack, a 24-year-old soldier, Nitin Yadav martyred at Baramulla," he continued. "Are their families or the families of thousands of other soldiers in the army concerned about whether any film will release or if any artist will be banned? No, they are solely worried about their [soldiers'] future. And we are worried about their future as well as their present," he added. The Bollywood star signed-off the video with a "Jai Hind!" note. (ANI)
The 28-year-old actress shared a windy picture that showed her staring back at the camera in the chilly weather.

The leading lady captioned the picture, "Missing the sun in cold cold #Budapest #TheRing."

The weather in Hungary's capital is touching reportedly 5 degrees and it is no wonder the stars are missing the sun and the warm weather in India.

Also starring Shah Rukh Khan, 'The Ring' is scheduled to release next year. (ANI)
"Ignorance is one of our greatest threats: the idea of being able to solve complex issues with simplistic solutions," Hanks said in the Italian city of Florence on Thursday, where the film will have its world premiere on Saturday.

"Just think about what happened in the Middle East. Or about the decision that we Americans find ourselves having to take every four years," Hanks said, calling on voters to educate themselves properly and ask the right questions before entering the polling booths.

The film, directed by Ron Howard, has been extensively shot in Florence, Venice and Turkey.

Felicity Jones plays Dr. Sienna Brooks, Langdon's partner in solving the mystery, and Ben Foster portrays Bertrand Zobrist, the villain scientist.

The film also stars Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan.

--IANS sas/rb/bg

( 172 Words)

2016-10-07-18:24:09 (IANS)
As "The Birth of a Nation" -- whose actor, director, co-writer and producer Nate Parker has been in the news for his involvement in a 1999 rape case -- is ready for release, the Fvck Rape Culture organisation teamed up with artists, filmmakers and women in Hollywood for a silent candlelight vigil here. The protesters, honouring victims of rape and sexual assault, gathered at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood on Thursday night, reports hollywoodreporter.com. The protesters gathered for a silent candlelight sit-in at the first screenings of Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation". Around 30 to 40 people joined in the protest, planning to quietly sit for around two hours, about the length of the film. The group, honouring victims of rape and sexual assault, was mostly women, but a few men also joined in, and some of the protesters brought their dogs with them. "We were approached by women in Hollywood who felt this case was so complicated, and the conversation came up about how to respond in a way that respected how important this film was for people of colour," said Remy Holwick, the founder of Fvck Rape Culture at the sit-in. Holwick added: "We came up with a silent vigil that does nothing to condemn the makers of the film or Fox Searchlight, but does work to show that there is space for this film to both hopefully do very well and show that people of colour can do very well in Hollywood -- and also honour those victims of rape and sexual assault who may have been buried in this conversation a little bit." For the past two months, Parker has been at the centre of controversy stemming from the rape case that involved Parker and his "Birth of a Nation" co-writer Jean Celestin. They were accused of raping a fellow Penn State classmate. Parker, who maintained the sex was consensual, was acquitted and the woman involved with the case committed suicide in 2012. --IANS sug/rb/bg ( 342 Words) 2016-10-07-18:44:10 (IANS)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will on Friday kick off his two-day visit to western border districts of Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan. The Union Home Minister will chair a meeting with Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir on the sealing of India-Pakistan border at the Border Security Force's Sector headquarters (North) in Jaisalmer. Later, Singh will visit Murar Border Outpost (BOP) in Jaisalmer district and interact with BSF jawans. On October 8, the Union Home Minister will visit Munabao BOP in Barmer district and also interact with jawans there. Out of 2289.66 km of Indo-Pakistan Border (IPB), 2034.96 km has been covered by physical barriers, including fencing, and the remaining 254.80 km of border is planned to be covered by physical and non-physical barriers shortly. There are stretches in which construction of physical barriers is not feasible due to geographic constraints such as riverine, low-lying, creek and marshy areas. In this stretch, it is proposed to deploy technology solutions, including deployment of cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc. The BSF is testing the available technologies through pilot projects in the Jammu region, Punjab and Gujarat. The paramilitary force is in the process of rollout of a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for this stretch of IPB, which is due to be undertaken in a year's time. The Indian side of the IPB, which is 3,323-km-long, passes through the states of Gujarat (508 km), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km). Out of the 3,323-km border with Pakistan, about 2,289.66 km of the International Border (IB) is under the operational control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Apart from the IB, there is a Line of Control (LoC), which is under the operational control of the Ministry of Defence. (ANI)
Condemning Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" diatribe directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue M.G. Vaidya on Friday said the Congress vice-president should have thought before making such "stupid" remark. "I don't like about commenting on such stupid statements. Rahul Gandhi is a vice-president of the grand old party. I condemn the statement made by Rahul Gandhi. He should have thought for a while before making such statements," Vaidya told ANI. "Who is politicising the issue? It is people like Rahul Gandhi, who are creating a political slugfest. Who gave the Indian Army the authority to carry the surgical strikes? It is the government. Everyone knows this fact. There is no need to make public as to who ordered the army to carry out surgical strikes. In every democracy, it is the government which order the military. Rahul Gandhi should understand that," he added. Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi yesterday said, "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)." Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men. "Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi. However, the Congress vice-president insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda. "I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets. A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation. The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes. (ANI)
Taking potshots at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for accusing Narendra Modi of doing politics on the sacrifices of jawans at the border, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said the former needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the country's Prime Minister. Swamy raked up the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Bofors scandal and the National Herald scam to corner the Gandhi family. "Dalal mean lobbyist. It's a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Augusta, Bofors and National Herald," Swamy said. "I think Rahul Gandhi needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India," he added. The Congress vice-president earlier insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda. "I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets. The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir. Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)." Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men. "Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi. A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation. The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes. (ANI)
During his two-day visit, he would chair a high-level meeting with the Chief Ministers and police chiefs of four states-- Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Singh would also interact with the BSF personnel deployed at the International border especially after some reports of suspicious movement across the border were noticed in Rajasthan.

Home Ministry officials said following the CCS meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi held recently, clear directions have been given from the PM side that there would be no compromise on the issue of security. Mr Modi had reportedly also asked Mr Singh to seal all the Indo-Pak borders so that no infiltration could be possible.

Officials also said that where the physical surveillance was not possible, the government was planning to install electronic surveillance. These areas include riverine, low-lying, creek, marshy etc.UNI XC SHS SB 1146

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With the first light this morning, troops resumed massive search operation in the woods near the Line of Control (LoC) in Naugam sector in the frontier district of Kupwara, where four Pakistani infiltrators were killed yesterday. The Langate operation, where three fidayeens were killed by alert troops before they could storm into 30 Rashtriya Rifle (RR) camp early yesterday morning, was over as there was no more militant in the area which has been thoroughly searched during the day, defence ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia told UNI today. He said search operation has been resumed in the woods in Naugam sector in north Kashmir district of Kupwara with the first light this morning. However, so far no fresh contact was established with any militant. The operation was stopped late last night due to darkness and dense forest to avoid any casualty. The operation was launched immediately after troops foiled infiltration bids in the sector yesterday. Four foreign militants, who refused to surrender and opened fire with automatic weapons when asked to surrender immediately after they sneaked into this side from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), were killed. Large cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the slain militants. Later, additional troops were rushed from nearby camps to the area to further tighten the cordon and foil attempt by any militant to escape. According to intelligence reports, about 100 trained militants are waiting at launch pads across the LoC to sneak into this side from PoK before infiltration routes are closed due to snowfall. However, troops are already on high alert and have intensified night and foot patrolling to foil any infiltration bid.UNI BAS SB 1100 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-968003.Xml
The visitors and tourists to Mysuru city from neighbouring taluksand districts constitute a considerable chunk of the passengers whouse KSRTC's city bus service in Mysuru and was reportedly losingRs five lakh every day.

Ever since the agitation began in the first week of September,the number of tourists and visitors has dropped substantially, KRamamurthy, Divisional Controller, KSRTC (Urban), Mysuru, told UNI.

The daily revenue of KSRTC, which operates more than 400 buses,transporting more than three lakh people each day, is Rs 28 lakh toRs 30 lakh a day. But, since the first week of September, we havebeen making only Rs 24 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, an official said.

The daily revenue by KSRTC's urban division in Mysuru should havebeen around Rs 32 lakh to Rs 33 lakh per day during Dasara. But,during the first few days of the festival so far, the revenue hasbarely crossed Rs 26 lakh to Rs 27 lakh per day, the official said.

However, KSRTC is planning to introduce about 350 buses fromMysuru and Bengaluru division for Dasara from October 7.UNI BSP MSP CS 1251

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Saradha chit fund accused Kunal Ghosh, a Rajya Sabha member and suspended Trinamool Congress leader, was today released from the Presidency Jail, two days after the Calcutta High Courtawarded him conditional interim bail. A division bench of the Calcutta High court on Wednesday last granted interim bail to Ghosh after over 34 months in jail. The journo turned politician was arrested in November 2013 by the state Special Investigation Team (SIT) under sections 420(cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 12- B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC. Later, the CBI under an order of the Supreme Court has taken up the Saradha Ponzi scam amounting several thousands of crores.The HC directed Ghosh not to leave his home area of Narkeldanga (north Kolkata) police station area and surrender his passport before leaving the Jail and meet the CBI official once a week. "I would follow what the honourable court has directed me. I would first go to my home and see my mother and then Goddess Durga in our community area, "Ghosh told reporters as he stepped out of iron gate of the Presidency Jail at Alipore. "I'm happy to be released on Mahasasthi day," Ghosh added.He also expressed his gratitude to all those who stayed with him during his crisis period. The division bench comprising Justice Ashim Kumar Roy and Justice M M Banerjee granted bail till November 11 to Ghosh, who once headed the Saradha Group's media business, on a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh and two sureties of Rs one lakh each.The matter would be heard again on November 2. The court noted that Ghosh's nonagenarian mother was suffering from cancer and terminally-ill. It also noted that the charges against Ghosh, who will be tried before a metropolitan magistrate court, could invite a maximum punishment of three years, while he had been in custody for over two years.UNI PC AD CJ ADG 1335 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-968222.Xml
An 11-year-old girl studying in the government run Ashram school at Sakhare in the neighbouring Palghar district here died due to illness. Police said that sixth class student, Kausalya Kasa Barsat resident of Shevale Awalicha Pada of Suksale Grampanchyat limits, who was studying in the government run Ashram school complained of high fever and was rushed to the Vikramgah Rural Hospital. After treatment she was returned to the Ashram school where she died last night. In another incident, Kamal Surat Chowdhari (14) studying in ninth standard, a resident of Khudeth Mahale Pada complained of vomiting and pain in abdomen and was also rushed to the Vikgramgadh hospital last night. Her condition is also stated serious. Meanwhile, Vivek Pandit, president of the Shramajivi Sanghatana has come down heavily on the Tribal Development Department for its failure to take care of the Ashram schools and the health of the tribals. Unfortunately, these incidents are occuring in the very same constituency of Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Sawra, who is under fire in the recent past for his attitude. Incidentally, the Tribal Development Department secretary has convened a meeting of the stake holders to resolve the present issue of malnutrition and child deaths and other issues related to the tribals in the state at Mantralaya. The meeting was convened following an agitation undertaken by the CPM in which the residence of Tribal Development Minsiter Sawra was encircled by more than 50,000 tribals and farmers drawnfrom all over the state. Vikramgadh is the assembly segment from where Mr Sawra got elected to the Maharashtra Assembly.UNI XR NV PS 1317 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-968139.Xml
In order to boost palm oil production through quality palm plantations and human capacity building, leading FMCG firm Ruchi Soya Industries today said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Arunachal Pradesh government.Under the MOU, the company will promote and encourage development of oil palm in 25,000 hectares in zone IV comprising of four districts that include West Siang, East Kamang, Lower Subansri and Papumpare.Commenting on the development, Talem Tapok, Agriculture Secretary, Arunachal Pradesh said, "We are pleased by the efforts put by Ruchi Soya Industries for Oil Palm Development in East Siang district through timely set up of state-of-the-art nursery."With the conclusion of this agreement, the company now has obtained permission for oil palm development in 45,000 hectares, covering five districts in the state.Dinesh Shahra, Founder and Managing Director, Ruchi Soya Industries said, "We are glad to have trust and support of state government. Ruchi Soya has always been striving towards the betterment of Indian farmers and has continually strived to help them to achieve better yields and realization by providing the right technology and assistance."Sharing his views on the occasion Poola Mallesham, Corporate Head, Oil Palm Division of Ruchi Soya Industries said, "Allotment of Zone IV will help in upbringing of more palm plantations in the near future which shall not only contribute to employment generation but go a long way in strengthening the rural economy by enriching the farmer income levels."He further said, "We would like to place on record the sincere efforts of the Agriculture Department, Government of Arunachal Pradesh in promoting Oil Palm development in the state and for the successful implementation of the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) scheme."India is heavily dependent on import of cooking oils and is all set to import record 15 million tonnes in the current 2015-16 oil year ending October. Out of the 15 million tonnes, palm oil imports alone accounts for nine million tonnes or 60 per cent. UNI ASH SHS ADG 1430 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0388-968298.Xml
The High level Central Technical Committeewhich began a two day visit of the rain starved Cauvery basin inKarnataka today assured to provide a fair assessment of the situation. Team Leader and Central Water Commission Chairman G S Jharesponding to the memorandum submitted by Minister for WaterResources M B Patil on behalf of Karnataka during the preliminarydiscussions promised a fair assessment of the situation and strike abalance between two contesting states, official sources here said. Mr Patil in a power point presentation told the members of theCommittee that Karnataka was already deficit by 20 Tmc ft this yearand would not be in a position to release further water to Tamil Nadu. The Committee was sought by the Supreme Court to assess theground reality in the area drained by the Cauvery in both Karnatakaand Tamil Nadu and submit its report by October 17. Presenting a grim situation prevailed in the Cauvery basin dueto failure of South-West monsoon this year, the Minister said ''theneighbouring Tamil Nadu was placed in a better position in view ofthe probable normal North-East monsoon''. Explaining the extreme difficult situation faced by the Statedue to poor rainfall for the second consecutive year, he said''Our farmers were put to a great hardship as they were able to gofor sowing in an area of about of only 6.15 lakh acres and thestanding crops in about 1.88 lakh acres got damaged and whateverremaining is facing severe soil moisture stress''. Stating that the total water requirement for the state till May2017 estimated for both drinking water and irrigation accounts forabout 67.18 tmc, Mr Patil feared that with the present storage ofonly about 32.05 tmc and expected inflow of another 15.17 tmc. ''Wemay fall short of about 20 tmc of water this year,'' he added. The requirement to meet the drinking water for towns, villages,cities including Bengaluru and Mysuru till May next year was about23.05 tmc of water, he said. He also pleaded with the Central team to take into account ofthe rainfall of the North-East monsoon, in Tamil Nadu, beforeworking out the distress formula to be shared by all the riparian States. The Minister also appealed the team to assess the ground realityduring its visit to the Cauvery basin in the Karnataka region. He also submitted a 30-page memorandum to Mr Jha, highlighting thepoor rainfall situation, damaged crops situation, and drinkingwater need for towns, cities and villages in the Cauvery region inthe State. Senior officials from the State, including Chief SecretarySubhash Chandra Kuntia, Principal secretary, Department of waterresources, Rakesh Singh, Maheshwar Rao, Principal SecretaryDepartment of Agriculture were also present among others on the occasion. The representatives from Kerala, Puduchery, Tamil Nadu andKarnataka who are also touring with the Central Technical team, werealso present on the occasion.UNI CNR MSP CS 1503 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-968378.Xml
Senior Congress leader and former Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur has allayed the apprehensions of the NRI community based in the United Kingdom about possible war between India and Pakistan. "Rest assured there will be no war between the two countries", she said, addressing the questions and concerns of the NRI community during an interaction in Glasgow on Wednesday night. She said the BJP government was unnecessarily creating war hysteria for political ends. She also urged the NRI community to ensure that they support the Congress as it was the question of Punjab's survival. "It is matter of social, economic, agricultural and industrial survival of Punjab which is at stake," she told the Punjabi NRI audience. The Congress leader said only the Congress party under the leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh was in a position to steer Punjab through the crisis it has been pushed into by ten years of Akali-BJP misrule. She said, while economically Punjab was destroyed, the Akalis had devastated Punjab socially by pushing an entire generation of youth into drugs. Ms Kaur warned them against the alluring promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "Beware of AAP and what it has done to Delhi," she said, urging them to cross check with the relatives and friends living in Delhi. "What Akalis did to Punjab in ten years, the AAP did to Delhi in one year", she said, while referring to the misrule of the AAP in Delhi. The former union minister also allayed the fears of the Punjabi NRI community about war between India and Pakistan. "While it was a fact that Pakistan was sending trained terrorists into Indian territory, our army had given a befitting reply to them." However, she regretted that the BJP government at the Centre was trying to take undue political advantage by creating war hysteria. "Thousands of people had been moved out of Punjab villages despite the fact that there was no sign of war which will never be," she said referring to Capt Singh's recent visit to border areas, and added, "It was quite unbecoming of a ruling party to go for chest thumping for our army's achievements."UNI DB SW AS1543 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-968426.Xml
The surgical strike on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on the night of 27th-28th September was to neutralize those bases, but the impact was far more than the death of the terrorists. The cross de-facto-border strike has done more for neutralizing Pakistan's psychological war against India than any other single event in recent times. Pakistan had been relentlessly making efforts to smear India's reputation at every international forum since the killing of the self-styled Hizbul Mujahideen commander in Jammu and Kashmir Burhan Wani on July 8 by Indian security forces. As a propaganda effort, the social media boosted his image while he was living and more so after his death. Almost on a daily basis, Pakistan's foreign office, social media warriors, jehadi leaders, politicians and even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued statements denouncing India and its human rights record. It encouraged stone pelters in the Kashmir Valley. Jehadi militants infiltrated into the funeral processions to encourage the raising of pro-Pakistan slogans. Jammu and Kashmir seemed to be sliding into the 1990's like phase. Nawaz Sharif sent emissaries to foreign capitals and International organizatons to besmirch India's reputation. But to no avail. Whether at the UN or in other country capitals, Pakistan found itself isolated. A recent article in the 'Dawn' published in Pakistan claims that in an internal meeting chaired by the Pakistan Prime Minister on the 10th of October some opposition leaders commented on the utter loneliness of being Pakistan today. Promoting Burhan Wani as a 'martyr' who fell to Indian bullets was a psy-war operation launched by the Pakistani state. This was followed by terror strikes by the cross border terror-jehadis on Indian Army camps, the worst being in Uri on 18th September that resulted in the death of 19 Indian soldiers. The Uri attack shocked India. It was a terrible blow on a nation's pride to have its soldiers killed in its own land by foreign terrorists. The attack had to be avenged in some manner that would restore the confidence of the Indian people in its armed forces, in its ability to protect its borders and the safety and security of its citizens. The political leadership of the country and the state also felt shaken by the incident. The success of the surgical strike on terror launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir ten days after Uri on September 28-29 was announced by the Director General of Military Operations, Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh. The Government of India had authorized the Director of Military Operations to brief the media soon after the surgical strike. The response was the first of its kind as has been corroborated by strategic experts and retired army generals. We suffered no casualties. The Pakistani establishment has been mired in confusion ever since Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh's briefing. Denying the attacks, then being affronted, then mobilizing troops on the border and ramping up its war rhetoric. India has been able to successfully prove its case to the world community that it can't any longer take hits on its armed forces by jehadi terrorists from across the border. In a time and era long gone, India would have been swamped by calls from world leaders criticizing the cross LoC action. Today, there is negligible support for violent secessionist movements and zero tolerance for states that support terrorism. Pakistan's psy-war efforts have failed. There is empathy towards India and annoyance at Pakistan for not being able to mend its ways. It is, however, disconcerting how some politicians in the country have added muscle to Pakistani propaganda by calling for visual proof of the cross LoC strikes. Yes, it is necessary to hold the Army accountable to action just like the police or intelligence organizations, but it is also important to understand the need for respecting the secrecy that is sometimes necessary in operational matters. Some details have to be kept secret. As a person who conducted communications for the army during the 1965 and the 1971 India-Pakistan wars, and the proxy war effort by Pakistan during the Kashmir conflict from 1989 till the elections in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996, I would like to state that not all operations against the adversary are covered visually as they take place. To recall, the government made a mistake in allowing the media to cover the police action during 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. TV channels were allowed to cover the action live. Towards the end of the operation, we got to know that the coverage was viewed across the border by the planners who were sitting in a master control room giving orders to the terrorists on how to conduct the operation . Details of the weapons that the security forces had, their positions and their numbers were available to the terrorists through the visuals telecast live by television channels. The army, the air force and naval commandos were doing their assigned tasks, but they were covered live by the media. When Indian agencies became aware that those who were directing the terrorist operation were giving direction to the terrorists after viewing the coverage, the television channels were asked to observe restraint. But the damage was already done. It is possible that the army and the government are withholding the visuals of the LoC surgical strike because it would divulge information useful to terrorists in Pakistan. Discretion is the better part of valor. It is wishful thinking that Pakistan would put an end to the proxy war effort in Jammu and Kashmir, or that it would scale down the psywar to promote militancy in the state. Pakistan has to now deal with an adversary who will not shy away from offence plus defence, and would match or even better every move. Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India. He can be reached on his e-mal raoramamohan@hotmail.com (ANI)
In a veiled dig at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on politicisation of surgical strikes, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the country should be united and people from all walks of life should exercise restraint. Responding to queries on remarks of Gandhi at a rally in Delhi in which he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing "dalali" (profiteering) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers, he said the entire country should unitedly stand behind the defence forces. Noting tensions have risen between India and Pakistan, Rajnath Singh said: "When the country is faced with a big challenge the entire country should be united in that fight. "There is no doubt that tension between India and Pakistan has risen and in such a scenario all the countrymen should united stand behind the armed forces and have faith in them. "People from all walks must exercise restraint. The country should stand united with our armed forces." Singh, had on Friday, held a high level meet with representatives of fours states - Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir - that share border with Pakistan and Border Security Force (BSF) and other security officials. Tension has heightened with Pakistan since the September 18 terror attack on an Indian Army camp at Jammu & Kashmir's Uri and consequent surgical strikes by Indian Army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC). --IANS and/ps/vd ( 248 Words) 2016-10-07-17:22:08 (IANS)
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh today accused Chief Minister Singh Badal of playing dirty and cheap politics over the surgical strikes to promote his own petty political interests. The PCC President rejected Badal's allegations against him as ridiculous. "No sane person would even think of taking these charges seriously for a minute," he said. Capt Singh was reacting to Badal's charges that he had endorsed Pakistan's stand on surgical strikes and the pre-emptive civil evacuation. "As a loyal ex-soldier of the Indian Army who has battled Pakistan at the borders, it is laughable to even think that I would ever contemplate favouring Pak stand over my own country," Captain Amarinder asserted, adding that he had stoutly defended and backed the surgical strikes and stood by the Army's decision. He challenged Badal to show even one statement in which he had either opposed the Indian army action or favored Pakistan's stand on the issue. "I was among the first to advocate army action against Pakistan in the wake of the Uri terror attack," he declared. "Either come out with some concrete evidence to support your charges or make a public apology," he demanded of Badal. Just like the unnecessary border evacuation, this is another drama enacted by Badal to divert attention from critical issues facing the state and its people, Capt Singh said and added that the people of Punjab have clearly realised that the Badal government had utterly and completely failed to meet even their basic needs. "It is people like Badal who are actually committing the unpardonable sin of dragging our armed forces into his own dirty political game for petty vested interests," the PCC chief said. However, he reiterated his view that the evacuation of poor residents from the border villages was simply a tactic to whip up war hysteria and not at all necessary. He once again asked Badal to explain the need for evacuations in this particular instance when such measures had never been taken place in the history of Indo-Pak conflict. "No evacuations were undertaken during the 1965, 1971 and Kargil wars nor during the heightened tension at the time of Operations Brasstacks and Parakaram," he said.UNI DB RSA BL1810 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0141-968961.Xml
Unidentified miscreants had stolen property worth Rs.2.5 lakh from the residence of a French citizen at thiruvalluvar Saalai here. The miscreants took away a computer and also damaged the survillance camera to ensure that they were not identified. Kanaga Michelle, the French citizen is working in France and she used to visit Puducherry and stay in their ancesterial home during holidays along with her family. During her recent visit she found that miscreants had entered her house using a duplicate key and had stolen the items.Though, a complaint was registered with the Orleanpet police, no action was taken by them and hence,the Lt.Governor would be approached seeking directions to initiate action, Kanaga told newspersons. The same miscreants also had stolen 12 motor cycles and spare parts from a workshop near the house.UNI PAB CS 1742 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-968832.Xml
A police spokesperson here said following specific information about transportation of drugs, a checkpoint was established at Pattan in Baramulla.

He said police intercepted two persons, Tariq Ahmad Sofi and Mohammad Rajab Teli, at the checkpoint and recovered 10 kg of poppy straw from them.

The accused were immediately taken into custody, he said, adding that police have registered a case and initiated investigation to nab other people involved in drug trafficking.UNI ABS RSA AS1738

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-968732.Xml
As about ten per cent of the global population already have type 2 diabetes, or are likely to develop it, and 40 per cent of adults are overweight or obese, these conditions constitute major threats to human health around the world. The heritability for obesity and type 2 diabetes is 70 and 35 per cent respectively. The western lifestyle represents a culprit with a combination of excess calories, physical inactivity, sleep deprivation, endocrine disorders and smoking. In a review in Science, Mark McCarthy, professor at the University of Oxford, UK, and Paul Franks, professor at Lund University, Sweden, examine the knowledge of the actual causes and the interplay between genetics and lifestyle factors. By studying how our genes express themselves in response to environmental factors and changes in lifestyle, we will better understand how health recommendations and treatments can be tailored to each individual. "Environmental factors that disturb cellular and physiological processes and have an effect on the individual's predisposition to diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, are likely to do so through active, and reactive, modulation of genome function," says Paul Franks. "There is a compelling rationale behind this concept, but the details about how these processes work remain poorly defined." He says that there is emerging evidence that epigenomic changes such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, which affect the ways in which genes are transcribed and translated into proteins, are important features of these processes.More UNI YSG SW ADG1620 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0059-968632.Xml
The Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has sought reply from the Guna Superintendent of Police over the murder of a teacher on Wednesday. Teacher Murarilal Shukla had submitted an application to police suspecting that some untoward incident might happen against him. An absconding criminal who had earlier attacked him was threatening to kill him since the past seven months. He was shot dead on Wednesday. According to MPHRC spokesperson LR Sisodiya, the Commission had sought a detailed report from the Superintendent of Police in this regard. The MPHRC has sought to know action taken by police after the teacher submitted his application.UNI XC-PS ADG BL1608 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-968428.Xml
Punjab BJP today said the nation is safe in the hands of the Army and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should not worry about national security. Condemning both the leaders, State party general secretary Manjit Singh Rai said, "After Kejriwal had sought proof of the surgical strikes conducted by the Army, Rahul Gandhi went a step ahead and used derogatory words like "khoon ki dalali". These remarks have exposed their political and mental bankruptcy. Both Congress and the AAP have insulted the sacrifices made by the Army and its jawans". The BJP leader said, "Vote-bank politics and national security can't be clubbed together, but it's unfortunate that Congress and the AAP have indulged in doing so. Both Rahul and Kejriwal had first praised the Army and PM for conducting surgical strikes across the LoC, but then questioned the Army action. This proves that Kejriwal and Mr Gandhi are less worried about national security and only concerned about their political future. The nation is rallying behind the Army and the PM after the strikes and even the international community has supported this action, but only Rahul and Kejriwal are the ones who refuse to accept the truth." UNI DB AE RSA AS1901 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-968933.Xml
Security forces burst teargas shells and resorted to lathichrge to disperse demonstrators after Friday prayers at various places in the Kashmir valley, where the ongoing unrest has left 85 civilians dead and over 9,500 others injured since July 9. Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), spearheading the present agitation since July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani and two other militants were killed in an encounter in Anantnag, had urged people to march to UNMOGIP office in Sonwar today and demand right to self determination besides offering Friday prayers in Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) and Polo Grounds. The separatists in a fresh calendar have also extended the strike till October 13. Shouting slogans, hundreds of protestors took to streets after Friday prayers at Hajin and adjoining areas in north Kashmir district of Bandipora, demanding right to self determination. However, when protestors were moving towards Sumbal, security forces deployed in the area swung into action and tried to stop them. As the protestors didn't back down, security forces burst teargas shells to disperse demonstrators, who were pelting stones. Several protestors were injured in the security force action. Meanwhile, scores of protestors, defying curfew restrictions, took to streets soon after Friday prayers were over at Saidepora in Eidgah in downtown Srinagar. However, security forces burst teargas shells and fired pellets to disperse the demonstrators, who were regrouping and pelting stones. Several persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured in security force action. Security forces also burst teargas shells to disperse demonstrators at the apple township of Sopore, protesting against the killing of civilians in security force action since July 9. The slogan shouting protestors took to streets outside Jamia masjid Sopore and adjoining areas soon after the Friday prayers were over against the killing of 85 civilians in security force action in the last 91 days. However, when the protestors were moving towards main market Sopore, security forces resorted to lathicharge and burst teargas shells to disperse the demonstrators, who were re-grouping and pelting stones. Reports of clashes were also coming from different areas in downtown and Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), besides uptown areas, including Barzulla, Chanapora, Natipora and Nowgam.UNI ABS YSS AE NS1827 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-968898.Xml
Punjab Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia has strongly chided Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said the AAP leader has brazenly acted as the "apologist" for Pakistan by siding with that country in seeking proof of the surgical strikes and the people would not forgive him for this destructive ideology and open love for Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion of distribution of cheques worth Rs 1 crore for carrying out developmental works in various villages, Mr Majithia said, Kejriwal is so engrossed in playing politics that he has even forgotten that he is striking at the very morale of the Indian Army but he would not be able to succeed in his designs. Further lambasting the AAP leader, he said Mr Kejriwal must know that Pakistan-sponsored terrorists attacked Dinanagar and Pathankot recently and killed many innocents. He said, "it is not justified at all to point out fingers at the Army which is defending borders with all its might for the well-being of the country." Questioning Mr Kejriwal, the Minister said whereas the whole country is standing shoulder to shoulder with the Army at this juncture, Mr Kejriwal is singing his own different tune and acting quite contrary to the demands of patriotism by demanding proofs instead of praising the Army for surgical strike. Praising the people of Punjab, Mr Majithia said the people chose to stay put and support the Indian Army in the hour of need when after the alert sounded by the Union government the state government ordered the evacuation of border villages. Cautioning Kejriwal, the Mr Minister said whereas on one side if the people of Punjab are ready to give a befitting reply to the external forces then they are also capable of identifying the enemy sitting inside the country. Castigating Congress for playing politics over the issue, Majithia said the Congress leaders are busy opposing the shifting of the people to safer places from the border by the Union and State governments whereas they should be appreciating the practical step undertaken by both the governments. He also disclosed that the state government has not only evacuated people to the safer places but also made arrangements for their stay for which every border district has been given funds. Complimenting Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he said regardless of his health the Chief Minister visited the people of border areas for 3 days and listened to their problems. Taking pot-shots at the Halqe Vich Captain programme of Captain Amarinder Singh, Mr Majithia said despite being an MP from Amritsar Captain has not bothered to visit his constituency for which the people would give him a fitting reply in the vidhan sabha polls. UNI DB AE NS1840 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0132-969231.Xml
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today called for careful, innovative and sustainable urbanisation in India as millions more people will move to cities over the next three decades. The Chief Minister was speaking at the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry.Mr Naidu substantiated his idea by giving the example of Amaravati, a new green field capital city which has leverage land pooling by farmers. This encouraged farmers to donate their land to the new city area for a financial return in the future. 'The capital is not only an administrative city, but one with economic equity, dynamism, social equity and wealth creation for the state' he said. He emphasized that urbanization is inevitable; however, it should be handled properly by concentrating on rural as well an urban development.Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said that comprehensive development of rural and urban areas is needed. India should focus on developing its agriculture sector and transform it quickly to manufacturing sector. He stressed that the planning and designing of a city with detailed engineering and embedded public transportation is the key for successful smart urbanization.He pointed out that monetization of land values is required. For example, in Gurugram and Noida, smart urbanisation took place but the gain in land value could not be reinvested. Mr. Kant also suggested that India should look for innovative ideas and examples of successful urbanization in developing cities like Singapore (known for traffic integration), Yokohama (waste management), etc.Both the panelists agreed that technology and internet of things is an important combination and the need of the hour. Automation would not lead to job loss but with the wealth generated by its implementation, parallel industries like tourism and others can be developed. It is also important to skill workers in technology.UNI ADP AE 2001 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-969259.Xml
A war of words erupted among parties a day after Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of capitalising of the sacrifices of Indian soldiers on the borders. Cross firing of words turned fierce after the sunset.The ruling BJP and Congress locked themselves in a running war of words holding a slew of press conferences and mincing no words to counter each other.At daybreak, BJP President Amit Shah strongly attacked Rahul Gandhi and said he had crossed all limits and insulted the Indian Army but Congress retaliated.Within minutes in a return fire,Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad launched a full throttled attack on Congress leadership and accused them a mindset on word " Dalali" ( profiteering ). War of words got underway days after Army conducted surgical strikes to eliminate terrorist launch pads across the LoC, The BJP president fired a barrage of salvos from Ashok Road on Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of insulting the Indian Army while the Congress fielded professional advocate Kapil Sibal, Rajya Sabha MP,at Akbar Road to counter the attack. Mr Shah attacked Mr Gandhi, asking him what did he mean by "Dalali" barb and at whom was it directed. The Congress recalled how the previous NDA government released dreaded terrorists, including Maulana Masood Azhar, who is now the kingpin of Jaish-e-Mohammad, a terror outfit responsible for the Pathankot and Uri attacks. The Congress also attacked Mr Modi saying that in his election rallies he had once described the Indian Army as weak. Both parties blamed each other for insulting the institution of Army and both asked to tender unconditional apologies for doing so. In a dramatic turn of events, BJP placed a huge screen at its hqs and played a Youtube video recording of former Army Chief Bikram Singh showering accolades on the government for taking a bold step of surgical strikes. BJP leaders ,however, did not field questions on it. MORE UNI MK-NB RP1945 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-969161.Xml
Former Union Minister Arif Mohammad Khan, who had quit the Congress over the Shah Bano episode in 1980s, today hailed the Centre's affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, opposing "triple talaq'' in one go. "Triple talaq is not only unconstitutional but also unislamic,'' said Mr Khan, who had staunchly opposed the Rajiv Gandhi government for bringing in a legislation to overturn the apex court judgement in the Shah Bano case. In the Qur'an, there is no provision for verbal triple talaq, and those clerics who were insisting on its Qur'anic sanction was betraying their religion, Mr Khan told UNI. "The triple talaq is not only unjust but inhuman, and any support for it was a shameful act,'' said the former minister, who had earned the wrath of the Muslim Personal Law Board members and other Muslims clerics over his stand on the issue. The Centre in its affidavit to the Supreme Court said gender equality and the dignity of women were not negotiable. It said that "even theocratic states" have undergone reforms in this area of law. The Government cited the instances of changes in marriage law in Muslims countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey and Tunisia. The government's affidavit was filed on the direction of the court on a bunch of petitions by some Muslim women questioning triple talaq, the practise of divorcing wife in one go by pronouncing "talaq'' thrice. The apex court had asked the Centre to give its view on whether intervening in the law would tantamount to violating the Muslim community's fundamental rights. Mr Khan said the Qur'anic provision was very clear that the process of divorcing should be extended over a certain time so as to give the estranged couple a chance to reconsider their decision. Talaq has not been considered a desirable act in Qur'an but it had to be provided because it was a fact of life that two individuals in wedlock sometime might find it impossible to carry on due to a number of reasons. To save these people from the torture of living together despite their repugnance to eachother, it was though better that they should part ways and their lives in a dignified way. Qur'an has made ample provision to protect the rights of women in the case of talaq, but they have been interpreted by a patriarchal society in a way that suits the male, Mr Khan said. Mr Khan had strongly supported the Supreme Court judgement in favour of Shah Bano, a 62-year-old Muslim mother of five children from Indore, who was divorced by her husband in one go, following which she went to the apex court which granted her relief under section 125 of the CrPC. Section 125 of the CrPC allows summary proceedings to help destitute persons, regardless of their marital status. UNI NAZ SW RSA 1939 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-969180.Xml
RJD Chief Lalu Prasad today slammed BJP for trying to exploit the surgical strike across PoK for political gains at the cost of jawans who lay their lives on the border for the country. Reacting sharply to posters showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah after the surgical strike across PoK , Mr. Prasad on his microblogging site twitter said, "Do not indulge in politics for an action by armed forces . If you have to paste photographs on hoardings, paste photographs of brave soldiers. Jawans fight on border and not a worker of any political party". Photograph of the hoarding showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a belligerent mood was posted on twitter by his son Tejaswi Prasad Yadav,also the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister,on his official handle with a message to all political parties to desist from indulging in politics over the issue. "Either ruling parties or opposition, nobody should try to take political mileage from an action by armed forces. I understand grieves and sorrows and enthusiasm of jawans. They belong to families of the poor, labourers and farmers. They can defeat anybody. Jai Jawan Jai Kisan," he further said. The RJD supremo also called for more stern action against Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism." (Sena Ko Salute Karta Hun. Pakistan ko aur kada injection dene ki jaroorat hai(I salute Armed Forces. Pakistan need heavier dose of injection), Mr. Prasad said in another tweet.UNI DH IS RN RSA BL1925 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0311-969016.Xml
Zen Robert Ch. Marak alias Rupanto Marak, the "deputy commander-in-chief" of the GNLA along with his aide Armindo B.Marak alias Rangdat, wanted by Meghalaya police for their involvement in several killings and kidnappings in Garo Hills, surrendered before Superintendent of Police in-charge East Garo Hills, Davies. N R Marak.

The militants also deposited one 9mm pistol with several rounds of live ammunition and mobile phones.

Mr Marak described the surrender of Rupanto as a major blow to the outfit which is virtually on the run in the wake of the ongoing combing operations against the outfit's cadres.

Quoting Rupanto, Mr Marak said that they took the decision to surrender after they couldn't bear the "dictatorial attitude" of Sohan D Shira, the leader of the outfit towards the cadres.

"We are hoping more of them to come overground and surrender following the surrender of Rupanto," the police officer told UNI over phone.

Mr Marak said the combing operation against the GNLA cadres will continue in Garo Hills to put pressure on the GNLA and to nab them.

The Meghalaya government has deployed the newly passed out SF-10 commandos and Special Weapons and Tactics commandos to deal with the GNLA.UNI RRK RN RSA BD1945

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Union Health & Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda issued strict instructions to HSCC (Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation Limited) to complete the validation process of DPR within 15 days by drawing members from CPWD and State PWD so that the 500-bedded hospital project in Arunachal Pradesh's Naharlagun doesn't suffer. His directives came when Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu called on him at New Delhi this afternoon. The Chief Minister informed the Union Minister that the State is committed to starting the academic session of Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences during 2017-18, as the people of Arunachal Pradesh were eyeing the institute as a status of pride. He requested the Union minister's intervention for relaxation of MCI norms for recruitment of faculties so as to enable the State government to man the faculty posts, as far as feasible, with the present specialist doctors working in Arunachal Pradesh government. While informing that 5 district hospitals in the state have been upgraded to Zonal General Hospitals, the CM requested the Ministry to consider for infrastructure development and equipment procurement for these zonal hospitals for which proposal has been prepared by the HSCC. He also sought for a direction to the Nursing Council of India fromthe Ministry to recognise Nursing College and Schools of the state sothat the diploma/degree holders from these institutes could serve in the state and also seek placements outside the state in super speciality hospitals. Mr Nadda assured all out support to the State and said he would soon visit Arunachal Pradesh to organise a day-long workshop on health related schemes, according to an official communiqu here. During the meeting, the Chief Minister was accompanied by state Health Minister Jomde Kena, Chief Secretary Shakuntala D Gamlin, Joint Director, Medical Education Dr R Doye and Dr D Bagra, the communiqua dded. UNI XC PB RN RSA BD2156 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0311-969125.Xml
They called upon the world body to prevail upon India to shun violence and initiate process for granting right to self determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"In the interests of regional peace and global justice we once again implore you (UN) to intervene and prevail upon the Indian state to shun violence and initiate processes for granting universally recognised Right to Self Determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir," the separatists alleged in a memorandum addressed to UN.

The separatists released the memorandum to the press here after security forces foiled United Nations Military Observer Group India and Pakistan "office challo call".UNI ABS AE RP BD1923

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-968954.Xml
Recognising the contribution of IAS officers in the development of Haryana during last five decades, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said the officers have made untiring efforts in building a strong Haryana which world knows today. In a meeting with the retired IAS officers of Haryana cadre held in New Delhi, Mr Khattar sought their suggestions to make the Swarna Jayanti celebrations a grand success. He said, "we aspire to have a vision for the next 50 years so that we together could take Haryana to new heights. The team of officers would keep on changing with time, but a common vision would guide the new teams to work in one common direction which would only lead towards prosperity and development." He said the year-long golden jubilee celebrations would begin with a mega function to be organised in Gurgaon on November 1, 2016. It is on this day that Haryana will complete 50 years of its existence as an entity of the Republic of India. Mr Khattar apprised the officers that the state government has constituted a Swarna Jayanti Committee constituting experts from every field. He invited their valuable suggestions so that the Golden Jubilee year could be remembered as an epitome of development and progress. He said through their experience, they could guide the state government in an efficient manner. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary D S Dhesi said, ''it is a historical move as it is for the first time in the history of the country that a Chief Minister is interacting with retired IAS officers.'' The meeting was attended by 35 retired IAS officers who gave their suggestions on various issues.UNI DB AE PM2238 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-969272.Xml
The Union government on Friday told the Supreme Court that 'triple talaq', 'nikaah halaal' and polygamy as practised by the Muslims in India were not "integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices." "The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reforms goes to establish that the practise in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices," argued the government in an affidavit filed on Friday. Referring to the changes in the personal law that have already taken place in Islamic countries, the government has cited the instances of changes in marriage laws in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. "It is noteworthy that even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of the law and therefore in a secular republic like India, there is no reason to deny women the right available under the constitution," it said in its response to top court's September 5 order asking it spell out its position on the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce and maintenance, including triple talaq. An apex court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had by their October 16, 2015 order, issued notice to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and the National Legal Service Authority as it directed the separate listing of a PIL addressing the question of the rights of Muslim women. The government said that the question of triple talaq, where husbands can summarily divorce their wives by pronouncing the word 'talaq' thrice, 'nikaah halaal' under which a divorced couple cannot remarry unless the woman marries again and becomes single again through divorce or death of the second husband, and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of the "principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality". It said that the question is whether triple talaq and polygamy was compatible with contemporary constitutional morality and the principle of gender equality enshrined in the constitution. Saying that the right of women to human dignity, social esteem and self-worth are important facets of right to life, the government said that the gender justice is important and any practice by which women are left socially and financially or emotionally vulnerable or subject to whims and caprice of men folk is against gender justice. It said that the constitutional right should be given to all irrespective of religion and pointed out that India was a signatory to international covenants which guarantees right to equality to women. Personal laws must be examined in light of gender justice and dignity of women and those inconsistent with fundamental rights are void. "The fundamental question for determination is whether in a secular democracy, religion can be reason to deny equal status and dignity, available to women under the constitution," the government said in its response affidavit. --IANS pk/vd ( 496 Words) 2016-10-07-23:16:12 (IANS)
More than 20 students of the Ashram School from Sakhre of Vikramgadh taluka of the neighbouring Palghar district were today admitted to the Jawhar Cottage hospital as they complained of high fever and body pain, sources said tonight. A girl student, Kaushalya Kusha Barsat (11), studying in class VI of the same Ashram School, died last night in the ashram school on her return from the Jawhar hospital where she was treated for severe fever. According to preliminary reports, the girl died of dengue. Today evening, around 20 students, both boys and girls, have been rushed to Jawhar hospital after they complained of fever and body pain and where they are being treated. Meanwhile, Vivek Pandit, former MLA and president of the Shramajivi Sanghatana, who visited the Ashram school, today squarely blamed the state government for the pathetic conditions in the school. He also said the Vikgramgadh RH also lagged medical staff as a result of which each and every case needs to be rushed to Jawhar. In a related development, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Radhkrishna Vikhe-Patil, has issued a statement and demanded that an offence of murder be registered against state Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Sawra, under whose department comes the Ashram schools, for their alleged apathy andmismanagement leading to the death of the inmates of the Ashram school. He blamed the rampant corruption in the department which resulted in these problems at the cost of tribals. ''It is shameful that these incidences including the child deaths and malnutrition deaths happened in his (Sawra's) constituency,'' he added and accused him of being indifferent towards the entire episode.UNI XR SS HK AE PM2305 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-969476.Xml
Police has registered a case against six people including three private security officers of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in an alleged attack on state Congress president Ashok Tanwar during Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's Kisan Yatra, police said. "We have registered a case on Friday evening under section 323 (causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code," Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal told IANS. Tanwar and several other party workers were injured after a clash broke out between the supporters of the two factions at Bhairon Singh Marg, a meeting point ahead of Rahul Gandhi's rally at Jantar Mantar as the Congress Vice President reached the capital after his nearly-month-long Kisan Yatra across poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. --IANS aks/ahm/ ( 138 Words) 2016-10-08-01:16:09 (IANS)
Using NASA's Hubble space telescope data, scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have detected superhot blobs of gas, each twice as massive as the planet Mars, being ejected near a dying star. The plasma balls are zooming so fast through space it would take only 30 minutes for them to travel from Earth to the moon, NASA said in a statement on Thursday. Astronomers have estimated that this stellar "cannon fire" has continued once every 8.5 years for at least the past 400 years. "We knew this object had a high-speed outflow from previous data, but this is the first time we are seeing this process in action," said lead author of the study Raghvendra Sahai of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The fireballs present a puzzle to astronomers, because the ejected material could not have been shot out by the host star, called V Hydrae. The star is a bloated red giant, residing 1,200 light years away and which has probably shed at least half of its mass into space during its death throes. Red giants are dying stars in the late stages of life that are exhausting their nuclear fuel that makes them shine. They have expanded in size and are shedding their outer layers into space. The current best explanation suggests the plasma balls were launched by an unseen companion star. According to this theory, the companion would have to be in an elliptical orbit that carries it close to the red giant's puffed-up atmosphere every 8.5 years. As the companion enters the bloated star's outer atmosphere, it gobbles up material. This material then settles into a disk around the companion, and serves as the launching pad for blobs of plasma, which travel at roughly a half-million miles per hour. This star system could be the archetype to explain a dazzling variety of glowing shapes uncovered by Hubble that are seen around dying stars, called planetary nebulae, the researchers said. A planetary nebula is an expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a star late in its life. "We suggest that these gaseous blobs produced during this late phase of a star's life help make the structures seen in planetary nebulae," Sahai noted. Sahai's team used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to conduct observations of V Hydrae and its surrounding region over an 11-year period, first from 2002 to 2004, and then from 2011 to 2013. The results appeared in The Astrophysical Journal. --IANS gb/dg ( 420 Words) 2016-10-07-14:14:09 (IANS)
A source told Xinhua that unknown gunmen attacked Nigerien soldiers who were guarding the camp housing Malian refugees, and killed at least 22 soldiers.

The attackers are suspected to be Islamic extremists from northern Mali, according to the source.

There is no official comment on the attack, but according to the source, the Nigerien military has launched an operation to hunt for the attackers.

Niger's national television reported Thursday night that a refugee camp in the country's western region bordering Mali was attacked by armed men. The report said there were heavy casualties but did not reveal the exact number.

--IANS ahm/

( 136 Words)

2016-10-07-07:40:10 (IANS)
After years of abandonment, the ruined Darul Aman palace in Kabul, one of the most recognizable symbols of Afghanistan's decades of war, is to be restored in a project authorities hope will come to symbolize revival instead of destruction.The aim is an ambitious one, with Afghan forces fighting the Taliban insurgency across the country, Kabul regularly hit by suicide attacks and the broken economy seemingly in no better shape than the bombed-out palace itself.The project was launched by President Ashraf Ghani in May and Urban Development Minister Sadat Mansoor Naderi said the government hoped the site, next to a new, Indian-financed parliament, can become the centre of a new government quarter as well as a tourist attraction.For the moment, such goals remain a long way off and the most visible sign of renewal is a crew working on preparing the site for the full reconstruction to come later."In the team we've built here, we've got over 100 young graduates," Naderi told Reuters during a visit to the site this week."Twenty percent of the technical engineers you see here are female," he said.In a country where opportunities for women to develop careers are severely limited, the restoration effort, which will depend heavily on support from foreign donors, is a showcase for young graduates."This is a historical site and of course it's a new experience," said Sofia Roshan, 24, a structural design engineer who graduated recently from a private university in Kabul and has been working at the site for four months.She said the fact the restoration was so unusual meant there was more freedom for younger engineers and women in particular than there would be in a standard construction project."It's different from a new building so it's a new experience for everyone. We can learn from the project but we can also share our opinions," she said."People don't put much value on women in Afghanistan but this project will show that women can do anything."'THE RESULT OF WAR'Reduced to a shattered skeleton following repeated bombardments over the years, the imposing European-style palace was built in the 1920s by former King Amanullah Khan on a low hilltop just outside the capital.The edifice was destroyed in the civil wars of the 1990s, when fighting between rival militias killed thousands in Kabul. In the years after the fall of the Taliban, the bullet-scarred wreckage was left empty as a flood of foreign cash fuelled a boom in the city around it.Its abandoned corridors, rooftops open to the sky and the faded graffiti left by passing militia fighters have a ghostly feel as dusty sunlight streams in through cracks in the walls."This is the result of war. Think about that," reads a message scrawled on a corner wall.Naderi said requests for proposals would soon be issued, inviting foreign companies to bid for work on the project, which could cost up to $20 million, and officials had already sought advice abroad.The celebrated restoration of the Reichstag in the German capital Berlin, which like the Darul Aman palace was destroyed in war and abandoned for decades and which incorporates many reminders of the destruction, was one model he had looked at."Obviously, we are looking at other countries with similar experiences to ours," he said.How long the project may take is not clear. Until engineers complete surveys, they will not know the full extent of the damage and how much work will be needed to repair it. Financing must also be worked out and Afghanistan's unpredictable politics may still create obstacles.But for Sonia Alizada, one of the young engineers working on the palace, her enthusiasm outweighs any doubts."We are a team of girls working here with joy and everyone has a huge interest," she said. "We hope for peace, stability and development in our country."REUTERS SHS RAI1145 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-968072.Xml
The Dawn quoted BBC Urdu report as saying that Afzal demanded an action against non-state actors, especially Hafiz Saeed.

During a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the PML-N lawmaker asked that which eggs was Hafiz Saeed laying for them that they are nurturing him.

"The efficacy of our foreign policy speaks for itself when we couldn't curtail Hafiz Saeed,"he said.

"India has built such a case against us about the JuD chief that during the meeting on Kashmir, foreign delegates mention him [Hafiz Saeed] as the bone of contention between Pakistan and India," he added.

The Member of Parliament further said that even though he had hardly ever heard about Hafiz Saeed, the JuD chief was considered a notorious character in international circles. He questioned whether Hafiz Saeed was good or bad for the Kashmir cause.

Asserting that the government's stance on Kashmir is correct, the lawmaker, however, said that the banned outfits are a source of embarrassment for the country. (ANI)
The implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers is still fragile, the head of the UN agency that polices Iran's side of the deal has said, warning that small mistakes could have grave consequences.Iran and six major powers, including the United States, struck the agreement last year. It restricts Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic."The implementation of the agreement is still fragile," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said in an interview with the German news agency DPA published on Friday before a trip to Germany."Small technical mistakes, small failures in implementation can become big political issues that could have a large negative influence on the agreement," he added.Amano's agency has reported that Iran so far has stayed within the terms of the agreement. Those include limits on its stockpile of enriched uranium and the number of its centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium, it has installed.Iran has also complained that the United States is not keeping its side of the deal. It wants Washington to do more to encourage banks to do business with Iran. Many are wary that doing so would run afoul of US sanctions still in place .Earlier this week, the speaker of the Iranian parliament cancelled talks with German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel intended to improve Germany's trade ties with Iran. The speaker, Ali Larijani, gave no reason, but the cancellation came after Gabriel urged Iran to pursue reforms and work for a cease fire in Syria, where Tehran supports President Bashar al-Assad .The Republican candidate for US president, Donald Trump, has strongly criticised the deal, though he has also conceded that it would be hard to tear it up as he had previously said he would.The United States says it has done everything required by the agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany."There is little trust," Amano said, referring to the United States and Iran. REUTERS SHS RK1245 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-968203.Xml
A senior South Korean government official was quoted as saying the moves in the DPRK's Tongchanr-ri missile base have remarkably increased recently, noting that strategic provocations, including a long-range missile launch, seemed to have been prepared, reports Xinhua.

South Korea's military has estimated that Pyongyang could conduct another provocation at or around October 10 to mark the 71st anniversary of the foundation day of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Seoul's military also saw a possibility for Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test at any time in its main Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

This comes as DPRK carried out an explosion test of nuclear warhead to fit on ballistic missiles on September 9 and which was seen as the most powerful nuclear detonation ever by the DPRK. (ANI)
Gunmen who killed 22 soldiers at a refugee camp in Niger did not harm any of the nearly 4,000 Malian refugees sheltering there, the United Nations refugee agency said today.Yesterday the armed men attacked soldiers stationed at the Tazalit camp in Niger's western Tahoua region, bordering Mali, the UN said in a statement. They also burned an ambulance and looted a health centre.In addition to the 22 killed, five soldiers were injured before the assailants fled with a stolen military vehicle, it said.The camp shelters Malians who have fled to Niger since Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012.A French-led military intervention pushed back the insurgents a year later but rebel fighting and Islamist attacks in Mali have led more people to flee the country. More than 60,000 Malian refugees now live in Niger.Last month, a Malian woman and child were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a security post at another refugee camp in Niger, the UN said.Niger's prime minister confirmed that an attack had taken place yesterday but gave no information about the suspected identity of the attackers. An army spokesman was not available for comment today morning.Niger's small army is battling armed groups on numerous fronts. It is fighting Boko Haram militants launching raids from Nigeria in the south, while seeking to prevent an overflow of attacks from armed groups and bandits in Mali to the west.There are also concerns that Islamic State fighters could be pushed onto its territory by a government offensive in Libya to the northeast. REUTERS AKC PM1829 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-968969.Xml
Russian Su-27 military planes conducting training flights on October 6-7 flew over the neutral waters in the Gulf of Finland and did not deviate from their course, Russian agencies quoted Russia's Defence Ministry as saying today.Finland said earlier today it suspect the planes of violating its airspace. REUTERS AKC PM1831 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-968988.Xml
Russian and Syrian actions such as bombing hospitals in Syria cry out for a war crimes investigation, US Secretary of State John Kerry said today."Last night, the (Syrian) regime attacked yet another hospital and 20 people were killed and 100 people were wounded. Russia, and the regime, owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women," Kerry told reporters before a meeting with France's foreign minister. "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions." REUTERS SDR BD2008 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-969296.Xml
South Africa's Constitutional Court has told the state prosecutor it cannot appeal a ruling to reinstate corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma, another setback for the embattled leader.The High Court in April ordered a review of a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decision to set aside hundreds of corruption charges against Zuma, calling it "irrational". That decision allowed Zuma to run for president in 2009.The High Court has already refused the NPA's attempt to appeal that ruling. After that, the NPA approached the Constitutional Court while Zuma went to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which is yet to rule on the matter."The Constitutional Court has considered this application for leave to appeal. It has concluded that it is not in the interest of justice for this court to hear the matter at this stage," the court said in an order dated September 28."The application for leave to appeal is dismissed."NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said the court was mindful of the fact that Zuma had petitioned the SCA on the same matter."The matter at the SCA is still pending, so with that in mind they cannot adjudicate on a matter that can come back to them," Mfaku said.The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said the appeals were attempts by the NPA and Zuma to delay him having his day in court."The DA has argued that there are no reasonable prospects of success nor are there any other compelling reasons why the appeal should be heard," it said in a statement.The scandals swirling around Zuma contributed to the worst election showing by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in local polls in August, intensifying calls for his resignation.The prospect of Zuma's corruption charges being reinstated follows a damning constitutional court judgment against him in March. The court said he breached the constitution by refusing to refund some of the 240 million rand (17 million dollars) of state money spent on refurbishing his private residence.Zuma has since repaid some of the money. REUTERS AKC BD1921 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-969153.Xml
A Nigerian court today dropped charges against Bukola Saraki, president of the upper house, in which he had been accused of altering Senate rules to get himself elected.Saraki, Nigeria's third-ranking official and a member of President Muhammadu Buhari's party, had been charged by the Abuja court along with his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, with "forging" the rules during the election process in June 2015.Saraki was not his party's preferred candidate, but ran unopposed for the post of senate president. He had pleaded 'not guilty' to the charges earlier this year.Saraki still faces charges of falsely declaring his assets when he was a state governor from 2003 to 2011, to which he has also pleaded 'not guilty'."We believe much time has been wasted in pursuing this needless case and we hope that the same treatment will be extended to other politically motivated cases," Saraki and Ekweremadu said in a joint statement. REUTERS AKC BD1958 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-969239.Xml
Slovakia wants the European Union to drop a proposal to distribute asylum seekers and start working on an alternative plan, Prime Minister Robert Fico said today, repeating his view that a permanent quota system was politically dead.The EU executive proposed in May to reform the so-called Dublin system of EU asylum rules based on a "fairness mechanism" under which each member state would be assigned a percentage quota of all asylum seekers in the bloc, aiming to ease the load on states like Greece and Italy.Eastern Europe's ex-communist states have strongly opposed the proposal and pushed for alternatives at a meeting of heads of state in Bratislava last month."Talks with EU leaders confirmed that mandatory quotas are becoming a politically dead issue," Fico told journalists after meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, also a staunch critic of quotas, in Bratislava.Almost all Hungarians who voted in a referendum on October 2 rejected the EU's migrant quotas though turnout was too low to make the poll valid."We want the European Commission's legislative proposals to reflect attitudes of prime ministers and presidents ... that have clearly confirmed voluntariness as a basic principle in migration matters," he said.Slovakia holds the rotating six-month EU presidency until the end of the year and is responsible for coordinating agenda of ministerial meetings.Fico said he wanted interior ministers to start working on an alternative to the Commission's proposal at their meeting on October 13.At the meeting of EU leaders in Bratislava, German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded defeat in a year-long quest to convince Berlin's EU partners to accept migrant quotas.She agreed to let eastern European states off the hook by embracing their proposal of "flexible solidarity" meaning they would be allowed to send troops or money to European borders instead of taking migrants in.Under the Commission's proposal, the quotas would reflect national population and wealth and, if a country found itself handling 50 per cent more than its due share, it could relocate people elsewhere in the bloc. States could refuse to take people for a year -- but only if they paid another country 250,000 euros per person to accommodate them.Slovakia and Hungary have also challenged at the European Court of Justice an earlier decision on a one-off relocation of 160,000 asylum seekers agreed last year, as Greece struggled to cope with the chaotic arrival of nearly a million people.REUTERS AKC BD2159 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-969258.Xml
The lower house of the Russian parliament (the State Duma) has ratified an agreement allowing the countrys Air Force to stay in Syria on an unlimited basis. Combatting terrorism was cited as one of the key goals. The ballot took place on Friday with all 446 legislators voting in favour of the agreement, which will be applied "for an unlimited period and is timely applied from the date of its signing," an RT online report said. It is expected that the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, will review the document on October 12. The deal states that the Russian Air Force is stationed at the Khmeimim airport in Latakia at the request of the Syrian government. A draft of the respective document was submitted by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the State Duma on August 9. The agreement itself was signed between Moscow and Damascus on August 26 last year, with both states emphasizing that the deployment has a strictly defensive character. According to the document, the Russian Air Force will act on the orders of its commander and in compliance with the Syrian authorities. The deal "meets the objectives of maintaining peace and stability in the region," TASS cited MP Leonid Slutskiy as saying. He added that the agreement also aimed at boosting internal Syrian dialogue as the country witnesses its sixth year of civil war. The deal envisions that the deployment of the Russian contingent will be free of charge. "Weapons, ammunition, equipment and materials necessary to perform the tasks of the Russian aviation group to ensure the safety and life of its personnel will be imported into Syria free of charge," the documents says. It adds that Russian personnel will be guaranteed immunity, as it would be the case with a diplomatic mission. Russia initially deployed its Air Force to Syria in 2015 at the request of the country's president, Bashar Assad, to help aid the fight against the Islamic State and other terrorists. Russian jets hit their first targets on September 30, with the unfolding mission allowing the Syrian Army to advance against terrorist positions across Syria. Five months later, on March 14, 2016, Vladimir Putin announced that the key goals of the mission have been accomplished and ordered the withdrawal of the majority of the Russian forces. Aside from the military presence at Khmeimim airfield, Russia is also hosting a naval supply base in the Syrian port city of Tartus. Earlier this week, Moscow confirmed the deployment of its S-300 air-defence systems to Syria to protect its ships and the naval hub. Russia insisted that the weapon is a "purely defensive system and poses no threat." Russia also has S-400 missile defence systems at Khmeimim base that were placed there after Turkey downed a Russian SU-24 jet in November 2015. --IANS ahm/ ( 479 Words) 2016-10-08-00:46:08 (IANS)
JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) on Thursday reiterated its calls for the full implementation of free education in South Africa.

The ANCYL issued the statement following an urgent meeting of ANCYL President Collen Maine and provincial chairpersons in Johannesburg to address the current issues afflicting institutions of higher learning.

The meeting was convened amid widespread student protests against fee increases across the country.

The ANCYL is particularly impatient on the implementation of free education, which is a promise made by the ruling African National Congress (ANC), ANCYL national spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize said.

At the 2007 Polokwane Conference as well as the 2012 Mangaung conference, the ANC not only called for free education but also put in place timeframes to address this issue. But the timeframes have not been adhered to.

"We believe that had the Manguang resolutions on free education and its timeframes been adhered to, the situation currently taking place could have been avoided," Mkhize said in reference to the ongoing student protests.

The protests erupted late last month after Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande announced that universities can increase fees, provided that it does not exceed eight percent.

The ANCYL wants a moratorium on fee increments until a commission on fee increases, set up by President Jacob Zuma last year, completes its mission.

The ANCYL had called for Nzimande to halt the announcement of the eight percent cap and instead continue with the zero percent arrangement until the commission concludes its work.

"We wish to reiterate our stance that we are in full support of the student's demands. We believe that the demands are genuine and must be listened to," Mkhize said.

He said ANCYL members will march alongside the students over the next few days to press the demand for zero percent fee increases.

"We continue to call for a peaceful march for free education and we condemn the destruction of property and the burning libraries as well as the violence that characterize this process," Mkhize added.
LONDON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the UK Independence Party (UKIP) who had been attacked and hospitalized is getting well, hours after he was reportedly "in serious condition" following a punch-up by a party colleague.

In a tweet sent Thursday, Steven Woolfe said that he is "sitting up, and said to be looking well."

The dramatic scene came as Woolfe collapsed and was briefly unconscious after a heated discussion and "altercation" among UKIP MEPs in the morning at the European Parliament.

He tweeted that scans had showed there was no blood clot or bleeding on his brain, but that he needed further checks.

"The only consequence at the moment is a bit of numbness on the left hand side of my face," added Woolfe.

According to the Sky TV, Woolfe and another MEP left the meeting and squared up on a bridge outside. After Woolfe was punched, he hit his head on an iron railing.

A European Parliament spokesperson told media that it had launched an investigation.

Woolfe is a contender for the leadership of UKIP whose newly elected leader Diane James quit her job surprisingly on Tuesday. Enditem
NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- An African Union (AU) official on Thursday called for African countries to partner with the private sector to try to deliver universal healthcare to their populations.

AU Commissioner for Social Services, Mustapha Kaloko, said that the governments were usually unable to meet healthcare demand due to low budgetary allocations.

"The governments must partner with the private sector to be able to meet continental and international commitments in regard to availing of medicine and medical products," Kaloko said during the Africa Health Business Symposium in Nairobi.

He revealed that an earlier attempt by the AU to see all member states contribute 15 percent of their national budgets to healthcare had been met by a few countries.

During a meeting in Abuja in 2011, African governments committed to spend 15 percent of their budgets towards health, but less than half of the African countries have met this target in any given year.

On average, between 2012 and 2014, only Malawi, Swaziland, and Ethiopia met the commitment.

"We unfortunately forgot to incorporate the private sector, and this missing link is probably reasons why most governments have not met their commitments," Kaloko said.

"We need to improve the environment of doing business for partners to set up pharmaceutical industry in the continent to accelerate realization of rights to health," Kaloko added. Enditem
CAIRO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Thursday that Turkey must respect Iraqi sovereignty without making remarks that complicate the situation.

Abul Gheit, who is following the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, said he hopes "the crisis would be solved without any further escalation."

On Wednesday, Turkey and Iraq summoned each other's ambassadors ahead of a planned operation to flush out Islamic State (IS) militants from their last major stronghold in Mosul, the second largest city of Iraq.

The row between the two neighbors centers on Turkish troops deployed near the city.

The Turkish parliament voted on Saturday to extend the mandate of Turkish forces in Syria and Iraq for one more year.

However, the Iraqi parliament decided on Tuesday to reject such extension from Turkey.

Iraq said the decision of Turkish parliament represents "incursion of Turkish troops into Iraqi territories."

On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference in Baghdad that he fears "the Turkish adventure will turn into a regional war."

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Iraq's decision was "unacceptable."

Baghdad is planning to retake Mosul from IS with the help of a U.S.-led coalition. Enditem
KHARTOUM, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese Presidency on Thursday described the report of Amnesty International, which accused Sudan's army of using chemical weapons in Darfur, as "fabricated and baseless."

"Amnesty international used fabricated photos of people from western Africa as if they are from South Kordofan with the aim of misleading," said Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, Sudanese Presidential Assistant, at a press conference in Khartoum.

"Sudan does not produce or use chemical weapons. These accusations are baseless and come from organizations that target Sudan with the aim to disturb the Sudanese national project," he added.

He went on saying that "Amnesty International is known for its blatant enmity towards Sudan,"

Hamid further challenged the organization to reveal the names of the people.

Last week, Amnesty International issued a report accusing the Sudanese army of killing dozens of civilians, including children, in attacks using chemical weapons in Sudan's Darfur, which the Sudanese government strongly refuted.

On Tuesday, the United Nations called on the Sudanese government to fully cooperate with the organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons regarding the claims on use of chemical weapons in Darfur. Enditem
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani parliament on Thursday passed a law, seeking to curb murders in the name of honour, parliamentarians said.

The legislation passed by the Joint session - the National Assembly and the Senate -- makes 25 years jail mandatory in case of honour killings even if the murderer has been pardoned by other close family members.

The bill was passed amid claims by the rights groups that some time women are killed on the name of honour. There was a growing demand in the country to make legislation against the crime.

The bill, initially moved by former Senator Sughra Imam of the Pakistan Peoples party, was passed unanimously by the Senate sometime back and subsequently moved in the Joint Sitting of the Parliament by another PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar on the expiry of Imam's term in the Senate.

Under the existing laws a close relative murdered a woman in the name of honour and was promptly pardoned by another close family member. Thus the murderer would walk away literally without any punishment.

"It cannot be the spirit of religion to condone pre-meditated murder with ulterior murders," the mover Farhatullah Babar said.

He said that the anti honour killing Bill was passed by the Senate Committee in 2014 when it was headed by a senator of an Islamic party. Subsequently it was passed by the 104 member Senate by consensus including the religious parties.

The parliament also adopted another law to punish rapists by using modern technology of DNA test in investigating rape cases.

About the Anti Rape Bill Babar said that a recent study had shown that conviction in rape cases was a mere 2% which means that 98 % rapists potentially got scot-free, adding this is largely because DNA test is not compulsory in rape case under the existing law.

The legislation passed however makes DNA test mandatory in investigations as part of the procedure. Through another amendment enhanced punishment has been provided for rape in police stations and rape of minors and mentally handicapped. The new legislation also deletes from Qanun e Shahadat the provision related to questioning the character of the victim of rape.

Thus sex workers also get protection of the law against rape.

The identity of a rape victim will also be protected under the legislation passed on Thursday. Enditem
File photo taken on April 12, 2016 shows Antonio Guterres of Portugal at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. Former Portuguese prime minister and former head of the UN refugee agency, Antonio Guterres, was unanimously selected Wednesday by the UN Security Council as the next UN secretary-general, succeeding UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1, 2017, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who is the council president for October, announced here. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday formally and unanimously recommended to the UN General Assembly Antonio Guterres, former Portuguese prime minister and former head of the UN refugee agency, be appointed the next secretary-general, to replace the retiring Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1, 2017.

The decision was made by acclamation of the 15 Security Council members, behind closed doors. On Wednesday, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, this month's president of the Council, announced that members of the panel had chosen Guterres, who had been leading in all six informal straw polls by the 15-nation council.

While the choice of Guterres was not a surprise, the announcement on Wednesday that consensus had been reached was a surprise. Just a day ago, on Tuesday, Churkin told reporters there could be consultations on making a choice next week.

Most ambassadors in the council were pushing for a selection to be made by November to give the next secretary-general enough time to prepare for the end-of-year transition.

"I was moved when I saw the Security Council able to decide in unity and consensus and to decide in a very quick way and I hope this represents a symbolic moment, a moment in which the Security Council enhance its capacity to act in unity and consensus," Guterres said in a statement issued by the Portuguese Foreign Ministry in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.

The candidate said he felt, "Gratitude but also humility when facing the dramatic problems of today's world and humility that is needed to serve and especially to serve those that are the most vulnerable, the victims of conflicts, of terrorism, the victims of violation of rights ... poverty and injustices of the world."

"And also humility that is needed to recognize the inspiration that comes from so many workers of the UN and its partners that are doing everything they can in the most dangerous areas of our world," he added.

Churkin personally delivered a copy of the recommendation resolution to President Peter Thomson of the General Assembly within minutes of its approval.

The UN Charter says only, "The secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council."

The assembly is expected to approve the recommendation, since Council members are supposed to reflect the will of General Assembly members.

There was no immediate word on when the General Assembly would act on the recommendation.

Traditionally, each term is five years with a maximum of two terms.

In attempts to reform the Council, in addition to adding permanent members to reflect changing of the world from the post World War II era, there have been recommendations to limit the secretary-general to a single seven-year term to eliminate any distraction for campaigning for a second five-year term.

The Guterres decision dashed hopes for a first-ever woman secretary-general and of Eastern Europeans hoping for a first-ever UN chief from their region.

Half of the candidates were women and seven of the remaining 10 candidates were Eastern European, including several women. There had been 13 candidates but three have dropped out.

Asked about the disappointment of woman, Churkin replied, "We've had a very fair process. We encouraged the presentation of women as candidates." Fifty percent of the candidates were women, form the outset to the last straw poll.

"But, ultimately, I think, there was general agreement among members of the Security Council and beyond that the most important thing is to have the best candidate available and as it turned out I think that the best possible candidate available was Mr. Antonio Guterres," he said.

The current secretary-general, Ban, told reporters in Rome that he knew Guterres "very well," congratulated him and said he considered him "a superb choice."

"We worked closely together during his long and outstanding service as UN High Commissioner for Refugees," Ban said. "He showed deep compassion for the millions of people who have been forced from their homes. He worked around-the-clock to mount effective operations to come to their assistance."

"His past experience as Prime Minister of Portugal, his wide knowledge of world affairs and his lively intellect will serve him well in leading the United Nations," the secretary-general said.

"I and my colleagues look forward to working closely with him and his team to ensure a smooth transition, and I wish him every success when he assumes his formidable new responsibilities."

"As the ninth man to serve as secretary-general, Mr. Guterres has a special responsibility to include, support and empower the world's women and girls," he said. "There is much work ahead, and I pledge to continue to work hard on all these fronts until the last minute of the last day of my mandate."

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, chair of The Elders, a group of senior statesmen, said in a statement issued in London that he was "delighted by the outcome of the Council's selection process."

"Antonio Guterres is a highly-qualified candidate who is well-prepared for the many daunting challenges he faces. He will need the firm support of the Security Council as well as the wider membership of the United Nations to help him fulfil his mandate in these challenging times," Annan said.
BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- General and vocational schools in Germany admitted almost 300,000 young immigrants in the past school year, according to a statement made by culture ministers from 16 federal states on Thursday.

The German education system has proved to be a viable way to integrate young refugees, and local governments have made great efforts toward that aim in recent months, said the statement released from their conference.

The statement highlighted that the goals and challenges before the educational system were quick language acquisition, the instruction of democratic values, and vocational training or academic study.

A large number of school-aged refugee children and youth still pose great challenges to the German education sector, according to the statement.

The conference of culture ministers from German federal states plays a significant role in the coordination and development of education in the country.
VIENNA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Libyan foreign minister Mohamed Taher Siyala on Thursday rejected the idea that his country would take back refugees rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, Austria Press Agency reported.

Speaking here at this year's two-day OSCE Mediterranean Conference ending Thursday, Siala said that by sending these people back to Libya, the European Union (EU) would be shirking its own responsibilities and instead "dumping them on our shoulders."

The only instance in which they would be accepted back is if they had a Libyan visa, he later noted at a joint press conference with Austrian foreign affairs minister Sebastian Kurz and UN Special Representative for the Support Mission in Libya Martin Kobler.

Siala also criticized the idea touted by many European officials of establishing EU-run asylum centres in Libya. Ongoing factional violence there makes such a proposal unrealistic for the Libyan government.

The diplomat argued that with about 235,000 refugees currently in Libya hoping to travel onward to Europe, his country was already a transit-zone for refugees, and that refugee camps had already been established for them. Adequate medical aid was also presently a problem.

He also said he hoped for European support in finalizing repatriation deals with the African countries of origin of the refugees. Relevant talks have already taken place with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, he noted, adding the EU must now put pressure on the African states in question. Enditem
ROME, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday praised Italy for its efforts in hosting and rescuing thousands of refugees and migrants, and appealed for global solidarity in tackling migrant crisis.

Ban made his remarks after meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella here.

The outgoing UN secretary general held talks also with president of the Upper House Pietro Grasso, and of the Lower House Laura Boldrini.

Such meetings focused on major international issues, including the war in Syria, the Libyan situation, and the migrant crisis, according to an official statement.

"I commend the generosity of the Italian people and government in hosting and rescuing so many human beings, who are risking their lives on the high seas in search of a better life," Ban told reporters after talks.

"Italy should not be left alone. We need global solidarity to face this unprecedented crisis," he added.

The UN chief also praised the support Italy has been providing to the UN blue-helmet peace operations around the world, in terms of both troops and logistics.

Ban is expected to be replaced by former head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR Antonio Guterres by Jan. 2017.

The Italian authorities acknowledged Ban's achievements during his visit to the country, which was likely to be the last one as UN secretary-general.

"In the last 10 years, under his guide, the UN have achieved historic results in areas key to international co-existence," Mattarella told a press conference.

Mattarella mentioned the crucial fields of development and of governance of the climate change.

"In particular, I am thinking about the adoption of the 2030 Agenda (for Sustainable Development), and the Paris agreement on climate change," he said.

The Paris Agreement just entered into force this week, triggered by the ratification of the parliament of the European Union (EU). "Yet, the list of Ban's achievements is longer than that," Mattarella added.

"I want to mention his crucial commitment on the migrants issue, as a global responsibility of the international community, on the gender equality, and on the fight against discrimination and violence," he said.
CAPE TOWN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- South African Presidency said Thursday that it was seriously concerned about the relentless public attacks on President Jacob Zuma by leaders in the gold mining sector.

"While the Presidency respects the rights of citizens and leaders to freedom of speech, the business sector has many avenues to raise whatever concerns and issues it has with government and/or its leadership," presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said in a statement.

The Presidency issued the statement after AngloGold Ashanti Chairperson Sipho Pityana called for South Africans to urge Zuma to resign.

Pityana labelled Zuma as South Africa's "sponsor-in-chief of corruption" in a speech at a mining conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Earlier, Sibanye Gold CEO Neal Froneman told Bloomberg that Zuma "has to go."

"Any solid investor, any solid company is founded on good governance, and what we have in South Africa at the moment is very poor governance," Froneman said.

In response to the attacks, Ngqulunga said Zuma values open dialogue and interaction with all sectors in the society.

"However, such dialogue is more helpful if it takes place within the bounds of human decency and decorum and upholds respect for key institutions and in our country," Ngqulunga said.

He said channels of communication between business and government are open and engagements take place continuously in a healthy and constructive manner. Enditem
ROME, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 100,000 Italians have moved abroad in the last year, marking a further increase in the brain drain affecting the country, a report said on Thursday.

A little more than 4.8 million Italians were officially living abroad up to Jan. 1, 2016, according to the report "Italians in the World" by Migrantes Foundation.

Some 107,529 people decided to settle in another country during 2015 only, marking a 6.2 percent rise compared to the previous year.

The figures unveiled by the Migrantes Foundation were based on official data drawn from the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) and the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), both not including those who move abroad but leave their residence in Italy.

People between the ages of 18 and 34 represented the largest section, or 36.7 percent, within the new expatriates in 2015, followed by those aged 35-49 that made 25.8 percent.

Over 20,000 of them left from Lombardy, and over 10,000 from Veneto, two of the most wealthy and developed regions in the north of Italy.

The "Italians in the World" report has been tracking the number of people moving abroad since 2005, showing an upward trend.

"From 2006 to 2016, the Italian mobility has increased by 54.9 percent, from a little more than 3 million people enrolled (in AIRE) to over 4.8 million," it said.

Italian men aged 30-34, and single, made the majority of all of them. Yet, a further increase in the number of young people leaving was stated in the latest report: so-called "millennials", or people aged 18-32, constituted over one-third of all Italians expatriating last year.

Their choice contributed to Italy's brain drain: their generations have in fact the highest level of education, but face the highest level of unemployment in the country.

Indeed, Italy's youth jobless rate was 38.8 percent in August, according to ISTAT. It had reached staggering record-highs in March 2014 and July 2015, with 43.7 percent and 44.2 percent respectively.

"The millennials are the first mobile generation in the country, which is undoubtedly a positive element," Migrantes Foundation observed.

"Their mobility is in progress, and may constantly change, because it is not based on a certain plan of migration but on the new opportunities they encountered."

Yet, the trend has increasingly become a necessity rather than a choice, the report warned. "If mobility is an "escape", something regarded as the only chance to build a decent future, then it becomes a constraint," the authors pointed out.

The Migrantes study recalled that some 43 percent of Italian millennials consider emigration "as the only opportunity to achieve their goals, and as the only way out of a stuck country," according to a recent survey by Milan-based Giuseppe Toniolo Institute.

"Italy seems to give little hope to young people... and millennials are the first generation for which the choice is not so much whether to leave, but whether to stay," the report concluded. Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The special representative of the UN secretary-general for Libya, Martin Kobler, on Thursday called for a humanitarian pause in Benghazi's Ganfouda neighborhood, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"Mr. Kobler said he is deeply disturbed by reports that civilians in that neighborhood continue to be caught in cross-fire and suffer from shortages of food, water and medicines," the deputy UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, said at a daily news briefing here.

"The humanitarian pause would make it possible to reach those in need and create a safe passage to allow civilians who wish to leave to do so in a safe and dignified manner," he said, adding that Kobler stressed that the protection of civilians is the No. 1 priority and that the UN Mission (UNSMIL) is ready to support the evacuation.

Meanwhile, the UN envoy also stressed that the use of civilians as human shields and the carrying out of indiscriminate attacks are prohibited by international humanitarian law, Haq said. "Such violations would constitute war crimes and perpetrators would be held accountable."

Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, has seen nearly constant fighting since 2014, when troops commanded by Khalifa Haftar in the name of the internationally recognized government have been fighting Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS).

The north African country remains divided politically between two governments and parliaments, despite a UN-brokered peace agreement signed by the country's political rivals in December 2015.
HELSINKI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Finnish court on Thursday ordered the founder of MV-lehti, an anti-immigrant fake news website, to be arrested.

The decision will allow a European arrest warrant to be issued for Ilja Janitskin, the founder and principal owner of MV-lehti.

Ilja Janitskin is suspected of committing criminal offences including instigation of hatred against an ethnic group, unlawful threats, illegal fundraising and aggravated defamation.

MV-lehti has been accused of publishing unfounded or distorted news items. Local media has also claimed the MV-lehti backs the neo-Nazi group Finnish Resistance Movement.

Police can not question Janitskin because he is believed to be living in Spain now, according to local media reports. Enditem
WARSAW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Poland's parliament on Thursday voted to reject a bill for a near-total ban on abortion.

In the vote, 352 lawmakers rejected the bill against 58 in favor, while 18 abstained, Polish Press Agency reported.

Under the rejected bill, abortion is only permitted when the mother's life was in serious danger. Women and doctors may have to face up to five years' jail term if they are involved in abortion.

Such a penalty was one of the most controversial part of the rejected bill. There was a heated debate even prior to the vote on Thursday, during which the Stop Abortion Committee, the author of the bill, proposed the removal of clauses that advocate penalties on women for abortion.

Leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose MPs were among those vetoed the bill, said the solutions proposed in the act could have an opposite effect to those intended.

Prime Minister Beata Szydlo assured that her government would do everything to protect human life.

"We will prepare a programme ... to aid families and mothers who decide to raise children born from so-called difficult pregnancies ... to support families with handicapped children", said Szydlo, adding the program could be introduced next year.

Szydlo also announced a comprehensive publicity campaign to raise people's awareness in protecting human lives.

After the bill was rejected, the Stop Abortion Committee said it planned to continue its efforts to encourage women to give up abortion as it was gaining many supporters.

According to the country's Health Ministry, 1,044 abortions were carried out in Poland in 2015.
by Cesar Marino Garcia

BOGOTA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The vote on Oct. 2 may have narrowly rejected the government's peace agreement with the FARC but the Colombians who voted in its favor do not intend to sit idle and let a chance to end 52 years of conflict dwindle.

On Wednesday night, a march wound its way to Bogota's central Plaza Bolivar, stretching across four blocks. At least 30,000 people turned out, determined that a narrow margin of just over 60,000 votes should not scuttle a peace process that has taken four years to develop.

This time, however, the march did not come accompanied with the shouts that both sides have made common in the streets of Bogota. The student organizers of the march asked participants to remain silent in order to show their indignation at the 62 percent of absenteeism in the vote and at the new panorama threatening a hard-won peace.

NO CAMP JOINS NEGOTIATIONS

On the same day, President Juan Manuel Santos met two of his predecessor, who have led the No campaign, Alvaro Uribe and Andres Pastrana in order to discuss the next steps.

The meeting with Pastrana was seen as satisfactory but did not appear to turn up any major conclusions. Santos' meeting with Uribe, however, lasted for over four hours and led to more expectations.

Speaking to the press afterwards, Uribe said that his proposals had been well received by Santos.

"We reiterated the need for the FARC to cease all their crimes and for its members to enjoy efficient protection. We expressed to the government judiciary and economic solutions, linked to the end of drug trafficking, which could be immediate for all guerrilla members not linked to crimes against humanity," outlined Uribe.

According to Uribe, he also told Santos about his supporters' preoccupations with "total immunity, political eligibility for those guilty of crimes against humanity...for the thousands of recruited children who have not returned home...and for family values."

These proposals will be studied by a joint commission made up of envoys from both sides. However, this implies a new and winding path of negotiations which the protesters in Bogota are not willing to undergo.

ACTIVISM WITHOUT SURRENDER

Jorge Eduardo Barajas began a journey of over 500km on September 14, from the city of Cali to Bogota. As he travelled, he taught the value of peace to towns along the way. He finished his journey on Oct. 2, when he voted Yes in the plebiscite.

After this trip, Barajas told Xinhua that many Colombians feel indignant at the amount of people who stayed at home and opted vote.

"A thinker once said, we are responsible of what we do and what we allow to be done. A criminal is not only the person who holds the gun and pulls the trigger. A criminal is also the person who allows the political, economic and social conditions that make others hold the gun and pull the trigger," said the activist.

Katerine Miranda, a veteran activist for peace, told Xinhua that she felt Uribe should not be part of the negotiations.

"I honestly think that a better agreement than the one we had cannot be reached," said Miranda, adding that she felt the No campaign had spread lies in order to sow fear.

"It is unfair to Colombians and to the victims of the conflict that they based their campaign on lies...so that people would not approve the agreement," concluded Miranda.

The activists said they would continue with such actions as the silent march in order to break the wall of indifference they feel many of their countrymen have toward the peace process.

After singing the national anthem of Colombia in an emotional yet solemn atmosphere, the thousands of protesters broke their silence, leaving behind the feeling described by one of the their own: "no protest comes too late."
by Matt Walsh

CANBERRA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Young Australians are increasingly choosing to abstain from drinking alcohol, while older Australians make up the largest proportion of those seeking treatment for alcohol-related issues, a new report has found.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) published the results of its ten-year study into the alcohol culture in Australia on Friday, and found that over the past decade, the rate of binge or excessive drinking in young Australians had dropped, simultaneously as the rate of abstinence had risen.

The study found that young Australians (aged 18 to 24) are still the most likely to drink at "risky" levels, but are doing so in lower numbers compared to a decade ago, while the rate of alcohol abstinence in Australia went from 10.9 percent in 2001 up to 17.2 percent in 2013.

Overall, 22 percent of Australians abstain from alcohol, while it is older Australians (aged 40 years and over) who are seeking treatment for alcohol dependency the most (49 percent of those seeking help).

The report said higher alcohol taxes and limited availability of alcohol had made a positive impact on younger drinkers.

"Research shows increasing the price of alcohol, restricting trading hours and reducing outlet density can have positive outcomes in reducing consumption and harms related to alcohol use," the report said.

It said while the production of alcoholic beverages had increased in Australia over the past decade, the population growth across the nation had offset a higher per capita consumption rate.

"Nationally, the population rate of pure alcohol available for consumption has steadily declined since 200809," the report said.

The total volume of pure alcohol available for consumption in Australia has increased from around 160 million liters of pure alcohol in 200405 to over 180 million liters in 201314, but once population growth was accounted for, apparent per capita consumption decreased from 10.8 liters per person in 200809 to 9.7 liters in 201314.

Despite the positive study results, it was a worry that older Australians were the ones seeking treatment for alcohol despite younger drinkers being the ones who still drink the most, Tim Beard from the AIHW told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"It does make you wonder whether or not those risky drinkers in their 20s in particular, should be coming into the treatment centers at a younger age," he said on Friday.

Meanwhile Professor Maree Teeson from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center said authorities should be aiming to do more to encourage young Australians who feel they are abusing alcohol, to seek help and treatment.

"Our research has shown it takes 18 years from when a person first starts to have problems with alcohol, to actually seeking treatment," Teeson told the ABC.

"We need to reduce the stigma so that when people experience problems, people can put their hand up and say 'I need help'."
CANBERRA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The nine Australian men arrested in Malaysia for indecently exposing themselves at the Formula 1 Grand Prix have been released and are set to arrive back in Australia on Friday.

Dubbed the "Budgie Nine" after the men stripped down to their tight fitting bathers - or "budgie smugglers" - following Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciard's win the Grand Prix in Sepang on Sunday, eight of the nine men boarded a plane bound for Australia after their release from Malaysian prison overnight

The ninth man, Australian government staffer Jack Walker, did not board the plane and instead stayed in Kuala Lumpur.

Following their release and after they were each handed the minor charge of being a public nuisance, the men issued a letter of apology for their actions.

"The incident was done in a moment of folly, and for that we are truly sorry that we have hurt the feelings of Malaysians in general," the letter read.

The men spent four nights in a Malaysian prison after they were arrested at the Sepang International Circuit wearing their tight-fitting swimwear featuring the Malaysian flag.

The swimwear's manufacturer Budgy Smuggler also issued a statement overnight, apologizing for the offence its product caused.

"We've produced over 50 flags without international incident and it is genuinely meant as a sign of embracing cultures and also often for people from other countries to embrace an Australian tradition," the statement read.

"No offence was intended in the production of the pairs."

Earlier in the week, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop reminded Australians to respect and understand the different laws and customs of foreign countries, while Ricciardo described the stunt as "harmless fun".
MELBOURNE, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- After 91 years, the Ford Motor Company has produced its last car in Australia on Friday.

The closure of the Ford factories in Campbellfield and Geelong in the state of Victoria, was announced by the motoring giant in 2013.

Ford is not alone in leaving Australia, with Toyota and Holden, which was founded and has its headquarters in Australia, set to leave in 2017.

The car workers' union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), said that Australia had never before experienced such a rapid closure of an entire industry especially one as important as car manufacturing - and that between 40,000 and 200,000 jobs would be lost nationally.

The decision by Ford to leave Australia came in the wake of the company posting considerable losses amounting to 450 million US dollars over five years.

In announcing the closures Bob Graziano, President of Ford Australia, said the cost of manufacturing a relatively small number of cars in Australia was four times the cost of doing so in Asia and double the cost of manufacturing in Europe.

The Ford closure in Campbellfield and Geelong has left 1200 people without jobs.

Ford and the state government have committed to placing them in new employment. Besides generous redundancy packages, they will be placed in retraining programs and job placement schemes.

Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria, said the government had committed 98 million US dollars to support the workers and the communities hit hardest by Ford's departure.

Greg Hunt, Federal Industry Minister, said that the Ford workers would be able to access the 117 million US dollar "Growth Fund" assistance package which is focused on helping automotive workers transition to new jobs.
MELBOURNE, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's energy ministers are meeting in Melbourne on Friday to discuss the issue of severe blackouts in the country.

Federal Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, called the snap meeting in response to the entire state of South Australia being left without power for up to 24 hours after a large storm swept through the state two weeks ago.

Frydenberg has held firm in his stance that the Opposition Australian Labor Party's "totally unrealistic" renewable energy targets caused instability in the grid, a sentiment echoed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"They've set these heroic renewable energy targets and rather than planning for energy security they just treat it as an assumption," Turnbull told a local radio station on Friday.

"They are essentially political statements that have been made by Labor governments without any regard to either energy security or energy affordability."

However, the notion that renewable energy is to blame for the blackout has been widely rejected by the state energy ministers.

Mark Bailey, Queensland's Energy Minister, said the states were making up for the federal government's failure to adhere to its climate change obligations.

"The states are doing the heavy lifting on climate change and they're criticising us for it," Bailey told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from Melbourne on Friday.

"Their policy at the moment is to do nothing and in that vacuum it's the states that are moving in."

Even agreeing on an energy review will prove difficult for the ministers with most of the state representatives adamant that any review should be carried out by an independent panel rather than the federal energy regulators, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC).

"I'm not sure whether it should be the AEMC, maybe it should be someone a bit more independent of the current operations of the National Energy Market," Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia's Energy Minister, said.

Frydenberg said it was the states' obligation to provide more security for the electricity grid.

"We do need to strengthen our system. We can't see a repeat of the lights going off in South Australia or in other states," he said.
HAVANA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- As Cuba on Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of an alleged U.S.-backed terrorist attack on a Cuban passenger plane, relatives of the victims said they were still awaiting justice.

"We demand justice and an end to the impunity that has marked this crime over the past 40 years," Thalia Gattorno Espinosa, whose grandfather was the copilot, said at a ceremony held at Havana's Revolution Plaza.

The bombing of Cubana de Aviacion flight 455 on Oct. 6, 1976 killed all 73 people on board after it exploded in midair and went down off the coast of Barbados.

The attack was found to have been organized by anti-Castro Cuban exiles -- Luis Posada Carriles, a known CIA operative, and Orlando Bosch -- and carried out with the help of two Venezuelans.

Family members, officials and others held a vigil at Havana's cemetery on Wednesday night, carrying photos of the 68 passengers and five crew members.

Among the dead were all the 24 members of the national Cuban fencing team that had just won all the gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean fencing tournament.

Five years ago, Cuban President Raul Castro decreed Oct. 6 to be the Day of Victims of State Terrorism.

"We have seen with pain how this injustice has lasted for 40 years, and we will continue our struggle to bring to justice the terrorists that perpetrated the attack," said Jorge de la Nuez, whose father died in the explosion.

Cuba accused Washington of having a hand in the attack. CIA documents declassified in 2005 showed the agency knew as early as June 1976 about the plot by Cuban exile terrorist groups to bomb a Cubana airliner.

"We hope the next U.S. administration doesn't forget about Cuba's victims of terrorism and finally agrees to cooperate with our government in this matter. Posada Carriles could die tomorrow, but that won't eliminate the threat of terrorism against our country," said De la Nuez.

Posada Carriles and Bosch had both worked as CIA agents in South America, taking part in numerous plots against Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and terrorist attacks on Cuban embassies and assets abroad.

They and their two Venezuelan accomplices stood trial in Venezuela for the plane attack and were imprisoned. Posada escaped in September 1985 and reportedly entered the United States. Bosch was released in 1987 and also returned to the United States, where he died in 2011.
Image provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) shows a person walking on a street after the arrival of hurricane Matthew, in Port-Au-Prince, capital of Haiti, Oct. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/UNICEF)

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Matthew left devastation in its wake, killing at least 264 people in Haiti, as it moved toward the Bahamas and the United States.

The number of death had risen to 264 in one of the worst-hit parts of the country, after Matthew tore through the country on Tuesday, the bureau of civil protection of the Sud department was quoted as saying by the Spanish news agency EFE.

Matthew, the strongest hurricane in recent years, has flooded towns, downed power lines and cut people off as it swept through the Caribbean country with wind speeds reaching up to 230 km/h.

Haiti is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and has suffered greatly in recent years. It is frequently battered by hurricanes, with Hurricane Jeanne, killing at least 3,000 people in 2004.

In 2010, the country was devastated by a powerful 7-magnitude earthquake, which left at least 200,000 dead.

"The situation is catastrophic," Haitian Interim President Jocelerme Privert said at a press conference Thursday after flying over some of the stricken areas.

"There are a lot of areas in the country that have been affected, a lot of places that are difficult to access," he said.

The situation in the towns of Jeremie, Les Cayes, Port-Salut, Petite-Riviere de Nippes and Dame Marie is considered to be particularly critical.

"It's complete destruction in Jeremie, the capital of the southern department of Grande Anse. About 80 percent of the buildings are gone. All phone lines and electricity are down. Access is completely cut off, and everyone is running out of food and money," CARE Haiti country director Jean-Michel Vigreux tweeted.

Mercy Corps, a humanitarian NGO, said that 80 percent of banana crops in the region of Arcahaie were wiped out, leaving around 20,000 families with a lack of livelihood.

Rescue teams and aid have begun arriving from around the world as the scale of the devastation becomes clear.

The government of Haiti estimates that at least 350,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday.

A UN Disaster Assessment Coordination team and the Haitian government hope to conduct a joint assessment with other humanitarian partners, Haq said. "Communication with and access to the worst affected areas remain extremely limited."

The World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund, along with NGO partners are all scaling up support for critical shelter, water, sanitation and food assistance, Haq said.

Meanwhile, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti is supporting the Haitian authorities in their assessment and reconnaissance efforts, especially in the most affected areas in the south western tip of Haiti, and the cities of Jeremie and Les Cayes, he said.

"MINUSTAH has deployed assets by air and road, while its police and military components have been helping to clear debris from the roadways," he added.

The American international development agency USAID said on Thursday that it would provide 1.5 million U.S. dollars in immediate aid, while one of its disaster assistance response teams is already on the ground.

Nine military helicopters and around 200 soldiers were set to arrive on Thursday while a U.S. aircraft carrier and two other battleships are nearby to lend assistance, said USAID.

Hurricane Matthew was still a Category 4 storm on Thursday as it pounded the northwest Bahamas, including its capital Nassau.

The Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority said in a statement that Nassau was feeling "hurricane force winds."

The power grid was switched off as a precaution in parts of the country. No casualties have been reported in the Bahamas so far.

Matthew is now moving on to the coast of the United States. The U.S. National Weather Service warned Thursday that the hurricane could be the worst storm seen in Florida for decades. Over 2 million people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas.
CANBERRA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government should consider selling famous art piece "Blue Poles" by American artist Jackson Pollock in order to reduce the national debt, a coalition Senator has said.

Controversially purchased by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1973 for a million U.S. dollars, the modern abstract art piece is now set to be worth almost 275 million U.S. dollars, and Liberal Senator James Paterson said now was the time to "cash in" on the "great investment."

Normally housed in the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) but currently on loan to the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Paterson said Blue Poles should be sold to the highest bidder in order to pay off some of the ballooning government debt.

"It's not appropriate for the federal government to own a single piece of art worth 265 million U.S dollars, particularly given that money could be much better used elsewhere," Paterson told News Corp in comments published on Friday.

"Given our gross national debt of 355 billion U.S dollars as of this month, my preference would be to use every dollar of the proceeds from selling Blue Poles to pay down debt."

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann applauded the Senator's pragmatism but said a "national treasure" such as Blue Poles should not be sold on a whim.

"It is a national art treasure and I can't see it being sold, but I don't criticize James Paterson for one moment for turning his mind to how we can get our budget into a stronger position for the future," Cormann told Sky News overnight.

"I like the fact that James Paterson is thinking about how we can strengthen our budget position, but in relation to this particular object, it's a matter for the board of the NGA to determine how they manage their portfolio."

Blue Poles is a famous, five-meter long piece of artwork painted by renowned artist Jackson Pollock in 1952.
Democrat Hillary Clinton (R) and Republican Donald Trump attend their first presidential debate in Hempstead of New York, the United States, Sept. 26, 2016. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday held their first presidential debate in Hempstead. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- With a strong sentiment of dissatisfaction with both presidential nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, voting of the 2016 general elections becomes, for many Americans, more like a campaign to stop one candidate instead of showing support for the other.

The underlying reason for the dilemma facing the U.S. society runs far beyond the harsh rhetoric of Trump or the trust issue of Clinton that continues to turn a large number of voters away, and lies in the grassroots frustration with the collaboration between political and business elites, which undermines U.S. democracy.

Despite widespread plea to curb rampant contribution in U.S. politics, little has been done and as a result, U.S. democracy and together with it Americans' confidence in politicians are corroded.

In the country, 42 percent of adults rate dealing with the money in politics a top priority for President and Congress, according to a January survey by the Pew Research Center, up from 28 percent four years ago.

The influence of the wealthy on politics, though long-standing, emerged as one of the key issues in this year's presidential campaign.

Former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, by making this a central campaign theme, gained considerable support from people who believe the system is rigged against them.

Billions of U.S. dollars from the wealthiest were already flooding the political process, said Sanders during the primary season, calling the campaign finance system "corrupt."

Trump has also criticized the influence of large campaign contributions in his run for the White House. The billionaire real estate mogul repeatedly said that traditional politicians, like his rival Clinton, can be bought.

In an apparent move to woo disgruntled liberals who adamantly supported Sanders, political veteran Clinton in her acceptance speech for Democratic presidential nomination in July vowed to overturn U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling that opened the door to unlimited donation in U.S. politics and to strengthen regulations of Wall Street banks and big corporations.

"I believe that our economy isn't working the way it should because our democracy isn't working the way it should," said Clinton, whose close ties with Wall Street has been scrutinized during the year-long campaign.

Ironically, Clinton is the one in this election cycle that benefits much from big money in U.S. politics.

After the 2010 Citizens United ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court again in 2014 loosened restrictions on campaign financing, striking down the previous limits on the total amount of donations one person could make to all federal candidates and parties in an election cycle.

With the limits gone, Clinton could ask her richest donors to contribute more than before to the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee for Clinton's campaign, and the national and state committees for Democrats.

According to The New York Times, just 250 wealthy donors gave 44 million dollars to the Hillary Victory Fund during the past year.

To defend the fact of outplaying her Republican rival in raking in big money donation, Clinton's excuse is hardly tenable.

According to the Times, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign said that in order to achieve the goal of imposing restrictions on campaign money, "the only way to achieve them was to elect more Democrats who shared her views."

Former President Jimmy Carter told a radio program last year that the United States is now an "oligarchy" in which "unlimited political bribery" has created "a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors."

It is a shame that Carter's warnings appeared to have fallen on deaf ears.
WELLINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government on Friday welcomed the adoption of an international agreement to address emissions from air travel.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges confirmed that New Zealand would voluntarily join the measure, which will come into effect in 2021.

The voluntary global measure was adopted by members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is responsible for the regulation of international aviation, including measures for emissions reduction in the sector.

"New Zealand is one of 64 states, representing more than 83.8 percent of international aviation activity, that intend to voluntarily participate in the global measure from its outset," Bridges said in a statement.

International aviation was not included in the Paris Agreement on climate change agreed last year, which was why New Zealand would join the voluntary global measure.

"It joins the government's support for the Paris Agreement, which we have ratified this week, measures to increase electric vehicle uptake, and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) the world's first major ETS to affect airlines," he said.

Last week Bridges released the New Zealand Aviation Emissions Reduction Action Plan, which outlined current and planned measures to address aviation emissions and covered four key parties: government, air traffic control, airports and airlines.

Transport accounted for around 17 percent of New Zealand's emissions.
MELBOURNE, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Experimental nesting boxes which act as "safe havens" could save a critically endangered bird species, Australian researchers have found.

Scientists have been buoyed by the discovery of eggs belonging to the swift parrot, a bird that breeds in Tasmania and migrates to New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, in nesting boxes on Bruny Island off Tasmania's southeast coast.

Dr Dejan Stojanovic, an expert on the birds and member of the team that set up the 300 breeding boxes, said the discovery was a turning point in the fight to save the bird. Fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs of the parrot remain.

Stojanovic said the boxes, which are placed high in trees provide a safe place for the parrots to lay their eggs so they won't be taken by predators, had been an overwhelming success.

"Checking nests in the last couple of days and 11 out of the 40 boxes we've checked have swift parrots in them, including a discovery that one of those boxes contained six eggs and another has four eggs," Stojanovic told the ABC on Friday.

"It's going to be a bonanza for this time of year and we're thrilled."

The Federal Government reclassified the swift parrot as "critically endangered" in May following logging of native Tasmanian forests which destroyed much of their habitat.

Henry Cook, the leader of the campaign, said the project relied heavily on crowdfunding and volunteers due to the small amount of grant money made available to the type of project.

"If you were trying to go through a grant you have got some money to do a pilot study, but not go all out like we did," Cook told the ABC on Friday.

"We had no idea whether or not they'd use the boxes, but we just hoped they would and, of course, they have."

Stojanovic said more boxes would be placed on Bruny Island - where there are no sugar gliders, the birds' main predator - but there was no guarantee the parrots would return to the area next breeding season.

"They're a nomad. They never nest in the same place twice unless there's enough food to sustain them," he said. "Unfortunately the trees they feed on flower irregularly.

"Bruny Island is especially important because there's no sugar gliders here so these boxes will always stay on Bruny because it's going to be a safe place."
Zun Than Zin waves after winning the crown during the Miss Universe Myanmar 2017 pageant in Yangon, Myanmar, Oct. 6, 2016. Myanmar on Thursday selected Zun Than Zin as a representative to compete in the Miss Universe beauty pageant. (Xinhua/U Aung)

YANGON, Oct.7 (Xinhua) -- Miss Universe Myanmar on Thursday crowned Zun Than Sin to be a contestant in the 66th Miss Universe Pageant, to be held in the Philippines in 2017.

Zun Than Sin won the Miss Universe Myanmar 2017 at an event held earlier in Yangon, beating the other four finalists.

Miss Universe Myanmar Pageant has been held in Myanmar since 2013. In 2015, the country's organization selected two winners for both 2015 and 2016.

Miss Universe Philippines won the crown of 64th 2015 competition which was held in Las Vegas, US, last year.

Miss Universe Beauty Pageant is one of the world's oldest and important beauty pageants.
HOUSTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Baylor University, based in Waco, central Texas, was temporarily locked down on Thursday afternoon after a gunman who killed a man nearby was reported heading its way.

Shortly after the shooting, which occurred about 2 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) about 1.6 km from Baylor's campus, the murderer was seen walking toward the school. The students and faculty were asked to seek immediate shelter and stay away from doors and windows, according to local TV station ABC13.

Police said that a group of people were gathering in a vacant lot for gambling when the killer approached and started shooting. One man was struck in the stomach and died later in a medical center.

Waco police said that the shooting was not random and there was no indication anyone at the university was in danger. They gave out an all-clear announcement around 3:40 p.m. local time (2040 GMT).

The suspect, believed to be a black man in early 20s with a fade haircut, a white tank top and tan shorts, is still at large.

Police found the gunman's car, a gold four-door sedan with a Texas license plate, about 0.8 km from the campus. Police are urging the public to provide information about the incident.

Statistics show that in 2015, the country saw more than 50,000 shooting incidents, which claimed over 13,000 lives and afflicted over 26,000 injuries. The country's weak policies on gun control are blamed for the large shooting casualties.
GUANAJUATO, Mexico, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Around 1,500 entrepreneurs and officials gathered for a forum Thursday in Guanajuato in central Mexico to promote investment and technological innovation in the Latin American country.

The 3rd Culture, Information Technology, Energy and Knowledge Forum, which is taking place on Oct. 6-7 in Guanajuato, focuses on aerospace, manufacturing, automobile, technology, finance, energy and services industries.

"We want to provoke an in-depth exchange between technology and innovation, energy and manufacturing as they are (the things) that move industry and impact the country's development," said Mexico's former President Vicente Fox Quesada (2000-2006) at the inauguration ceremony.

The forum will have 30 world-renowned speakers, including Mexican Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, former Economy Minister Eduardo Sojo and Chief Information Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank Nuria Simo Vila.

Over 60 exhibitors will also attend the forum.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's exports rebounded by 1.5 percent to 67.58 billion ringgit (16.3 billion U.S. dollars) in August, recording the highest figure so far this year while improving from the 5.5 percent decline in July, latest figures showed Friday.

The rebound was supported mainly by higher exports to some of Malaysia's major trading partners including India, members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

Better export performances were seen in the exports of manufactured and agricultural goods. Exports of mining goods continue to decline with a contraction of 14 percent in the month, affected mainly by the 38.9 percent drop of liquefied natural gas exports.

Malaysia's trade with China, its largest trading partner, grew by 8.5 percent to 21.72 billion ringgit (5.2 billion U.S. dollars), and accounted for 17.2 percent of Malaysia's total trade volume for the month.

Exports to China declined by 1.3 percent, but higher exports were registered for palm oil and palm-based agricultural products, chemicals and chemical products, LNG as well as rubber products. Meanwhile, Imports from China expanded by 17.2 percent.

Malaysia's imports in August increased by 4.9 percent to 59.07 billion ringgit (14.2 billion U.S. dollars), while the total trade figure was up by 3 percent to 126.65 billion ringgit (30.5 billion U.S. dollars).

For the first eight months of 2016, Malaysia's trade totaled at 948.45 billion ringgit (228.1 billion U.S. dollars) with exports and imports amounting to 500.33 billion ringgit (120.3 billion U.S. dollars) and 448.12 billion ringgit (107.8 billion U.S. dollars) respectively. All three categories recorded a 0.9 percent growth compared to the corresponding period of 2015.
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Rising moves of personnel and vehicles have been detected in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s main missile launch site, indicating preparations for a long-range missile launch in the near future, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.

A senior South Korean government official was quoted as saying the moves in the DPRK's Tongchanr-ri missile base have remarkably increased recently, noting that strategic provocations, including a long-range missile launch, seemed to have been prepared.

South Korea's military has estimated that Pyongyang could conduct another provocation at or around Oct. 10 to mark the 71st anniversary of the foundation day of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

On Sept. 20, the military said the DPRK conducted a ground test of a new rocket engine that could be used for a long-range missile. It believed that Pyongyang may have enhanced the jet capability of its high-powered rocket engine based on the DPRK's state media report.

The DPRK's official KCNA news agency reported that top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un guided the test of "a new type high-powered engine of a carrier rocket for geo-stationary satellite" at the Sohae Space Center in the country's west coast. The state media said it was a great success.

The Sohae center is dubbed in South Korea as Tongchanr-ri rocket base, where the DPRK launched a long-range rocket in February and had conducted other rocket tests.

Another South Korean government official was quoted as saying that it remained uncertain whether the DPRK would test-launch a long-range missile boosted by the new rocket unveiled on Sept. 20, but he said South Korea is closely watching the launch site's moves with all possibilities being open.
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Rising moves of personnel and vehicles have been detected in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s main rocket launch site, indicating preparations for a long-range missile launch in the near future, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.

A senior South Korean government official was quoted as saying the moves in the DPRK's Tongchanr-ri missile base have remarkably increased recently, noting that strategic provocations, including a long-range missile launch, seemed to have been prepared.

South Korea's military has estimated that Pyongyang could conduct another provocation at or around Oct. 10 to mark the 71st anniversary of the foundation day of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

On Sept. 20, the military said the DPRK conducted a ground test of a new rocket engine that could be used for a long-range missile. It believed that Pyongyang may have enhanced the jet capability of its high-powered rocket engine based on the DPRK's state media report.

The DPRK's official KCNA news agency reported that top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un guided the test of "a new-type high-powered engine of a carrier rocket for geo-stationary satellite" at the Sohae Space Center in the country's west coast. The state media said it was a great success.

The Sohae center is dubbed in South Korea as Tongchanr-ri rocket base, where the DPRK launched a long-range rocket in February and had conducted other rocket tests.

Another South Korean government official was quoted as saying that it remained uncertain whether the DPRK would test-launch a long-range missile boosted by the new rocket engine unveiled on Sept. 20, but he said South Korea is closely watching the launch site's moves with all possibilities being open.

Seoul's military also saw a possibility for Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test as intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States found that the DPRK can conduct another nuclear detonation at any time in its main Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

The DPRK has allegedly covered entrances to two tunnels with large camouflage nets at Punggye-ri, an indication which South Korea sees as preparations for a nuclear test in the near future.

The nets have been put up over the entrance to the No.2 tunnel, where Pyongyang conducted it fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, as well as over the entrance to the No.3 tunnel in which the DPRK is highly likely to carry out its next test of atomic device.

A South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap as saying that preparations have been made for a nuclear test in either the No.2 or the No.3 tunnels in Punggye-ri where Pyongyang has conducted all of its nuclear tests.

The DPRK's latest nuclear test was carried out on Sept. 9 when the country said it successfully conducted an explosion test of nuclear warhead to fit on ballistic missiles.

The fifth test was seen as the most powerful nuclear detonation ever by the DPRK as it produced an explosive yield of 10 kilotons, stronger than 6 kilotons recorded in the fourth test in January.

About a month after the fourth nuclear device test, the DPRK put a Kwangmyongsong-4 Earth observation satellite into orbit aboard a Kwangmyonsong rocket on Feb. 7.

The Kwangmyongsong rocket has been seen by Seoul's defense ministry to have extended the DPRK's ballistic missile range to about 12,000 km that may enable Pyongyang to strike the eastern part of the U.S. mainland.

It was longer than an estimated range of 10,000 km held by the three-stage Unha-3 rocket, which Pyongyang blasted off to deliver the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite into space in December 2012. Two months later, the third nuclear test of the DPRK was carried out.
WELLINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The value of investment between New Zealand and the United Kingdom has risen since the UK voted to leave the European Union and the value of UK sterling plunged, the New Zealand government statistics agency said Friday.

Britons voted for "Brexit" on June 23 a process Prime Minister Theresa May plans to complete by March 2019 and the British pound hit a 31-year low against the U.S. dollars in the immediate aftermath of the vote.

New Zealand had 32.7 billion NZ dollars (23.36 billion U.S. dollars) invested in the UK 14 percent of its total investment abroad at the end of June, according to a report from Statistics New Zealand.

At the same time, the UK held 76.6 billion NZ dollars (54.73 billion U.S. dollars) of investment in New Zealand, 20 percent of the total overseas investment in New Zealand.

Despite the exchange rate changes at the end of June, affecting the value of New Zealand's assets and liabilities, a rise in the level of investment in the UK and investment from the UK in New Zealand meant the overall value of investment was still up from the end of March.

New Zealand's assets were up 400 million NZ dollars (285.8 million U.S. dollars) and its liabilities rose by 2.3 billion NZ dollars (1.64 billion U.S. dollars).

New Zealand's investment in the UK included controlling investment in UK enterprises (direct investment), loans to the UK, and portfolio investment.

"Over a fifth of New Zealand's investment in the UK at the end of June 2016 was portfolio investment," international statistics manager Jason Attewell said in a statement.

The fall in the pound's value meant that New Zealand's portfolio investments in the UK were worth less in New Zealand dollars, and the value of portfolio investments held by the UK in New Zealand were worth more in pounds.

The value of portfolio investment increased overall as the level of portfolio assets and liabilities rose over the quarter.

The future impact of Brexit would be apparent on the value of goods and services trade with both the EU and the UK.

For the year ended June, New Zealand total exports to the UK were worth 3.1 billion NZ dollars (2.21 billion U.S. dollars), and total imports from the UK were worth 2.2 billion NZ dollars (1.57 billion U.S. dollars).

In the three months ending March, goods going to the UK accounted for 33 percent of exports to the EU, but this fell to 26 percent in the three months to June 2016.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian officials said Friday that the debris recovered in Mauritius came from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

After examining the composite debris, experts from Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) concluded that the debris originated from the missing Boeing 777 aircraft, said Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia's transport minister.

It is another debris confirmed to be from the ill-fated fight, following earlier confirmation of the debris found in La Reunion island last year and the Tanzania debris in September.

According to a part number found on a section of the debris, the piece has been identified as a trailing edge splice strap, incorporated into the rear spar assembly of a Boeing 777 left outboard flap, Liow said in a statement.

It was also consistent with the appearance and construction of the debris, he said.

Meanwhile, the flap manufacturer supplied records indicating that this work order number was incorporated into the outboard flap shipset of Boeing 777 aircraft line number 404, registered as 9M-MRO.

"As such, the experts have concluded that the debris piece originated from the aircraft 9M-MRO, also known as MH370," Liow said.

He said last month that at least 22 pieces of debris had been found so far along coasts off South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius and Tanzania. Among them, several were identified as highly likely from the missing plane.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them being Chinese nationals.

Government of Malaysia, Australia and China announced in July that search for flight MH370 would be suspended if no new evidences emerge upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area in the southern Indian Ocean, where the flight has presumably ended its journey.
SYDNEY, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- For the first time in Australian marine research, an aquatic park has performed an artificial insemination (AI) experiment on a Leopard Shark in hopes of saving another shark species from going extinct.

The experiment which was conducted by Sea Life Mooloolaba in Queensland involved taking sperms from a male Leopard Shark at an aquarium in Melbourne before artificially inseminated onto a female Leopard Shark in the Sunshine Coast Queensland.

AI is a deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's uterus or cervix for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse.

This experiment is done in hopes of saving the extremely critically endangered Grey Nurse Shark.

"While the AI of Leopard Sharks is not currently essential for their survival, it is hoped the insemination attempt will enable researchers to learn about the reproductive behaviours of Australian shark species, while using the technology to save wild populations of the Grey Nurse Shark," Sea Life Mooloolaba said in a statement on Friday.

Sea Life Mooloolaba's displays curator Aaron Sprowl said the population of wild Grey Nurse Sharks is listed as critically endangered with an estimated 1500 left.

"Grey Nurse Sharks are not prolific breeders, in that they only birth two pups every two to three years in the wild," Sprowl said.

"They're bred very poorly in an aquarium, so we hope this research project with the Leopard Shark will help us to eventually breed Grey Nurse Sharks at Sea Life Mooloolaba, with the goal of releasing them into the wild to boost their dwindling numbers," he said.

The AI process is safe and gentle, and involved bringing the female Leopard Shark to the water's surface and gently turning her over, which has a relaxing effect on the animal, followed by injecting the sperm and rolling her back over.

Researchers will know if the experiment has been successful, if any eggs laid by the shark in the next few months grow, and then hatch 60 days later, he said.

The pup or pups will then be genetically tested to ensure that they are a result of the AI, rather than self-fertilization that Leopard Sharks are sometimes capable of.

In the past Sea Life Mooloolaba has collaborated with its branch in Melbourne on a similar milestone AI project which resulted in the birth of a Brown Banded Bamboo shark in 2014 which was the first ever shark to be born via artificial insemination in Australia.

Sprowl said knowledge and experience gained from the collection and transport of sperm, and AI of female Leopard Sharks, will help advance the technology required to help other shark species such as the Grey Nurse Shark.
CANBERRA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Another piece of aircraft debris found in Mauritius has been determined to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australian authorities confirmed on Friday.

A piece of the outboard flap from a Boeing 777 jet - the same type as MH370 - washed up on the island in May this year, and was brought to Australia for inspection by authorities.

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) confirmed the piece is in fact from MH370, which went missing on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

"The item profile was consistent with the trailing edge of an aircraft wing. The item was subsequently collected by a member of the Malaysian investigation team and hand-delivered to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for identification," the JACC statement, released on Friday, said.

"A part number was identified on a section of the debris, identifying it as a trailing edge splice strap, incorporated into the rear spar assembly of a Boeing 777 left outboard flap.

"Adjacent to the part number was a part identifier, similar to those found on the right outboard flap section."

"The flap manufacturer supplied records indicating that this identifier was a unique work order number and that the referred part was incorporated into the outboard flap shipset line number 404 which corresponded to the Boeing 777 aircraft line number 404, registered 9M-MRO and operating as MH370."

In conclusion, the JACC said the part was a "trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysia Airlines aircraft."

MH370 was a scheduled passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, and is thought to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

The Australian-led ocean search for the missing jetliner is due to conclude by the end of the year.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Friday recaptured a strategic hilltop, overlooking rebel-held districts in the northern city of Aleppo, as part of a broad offensive the army waged recently to flush the rebels out of Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported.

Capturing the Sheikh Saeed hill has enabled the Syrian army to overlook the rebel-held districts of Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh in the Cement Factory in eastern Aleppo, according to the report.

The fresh advance is the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army has recently achieved in Aleppo, as part of the declared offensive to dislodge the insurgents from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

A day earlier SANA said the military forces captured areas in the rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighborhood, and al-Sakhour area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said the recent progress of the Syrian army is the first in three years against the rebels in Aleppo.

Following a last month faltering truce, President Bashar al-Assad pledged to restore all Aleppo city.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a new proposition, which basically focuses on emptying eastern Aleppo from the radical elements of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in an apparent move to reduce the Syrian military campaign on eastern Aleppo.

Ahead, and during the offensive on eastern Aleppo, the general command of the Syrian army urged the civilians to leave the rebel-held areas and reach the government-controlled ones in western Aleppo.

The army also offered amnesty for the rebels who would surrender themselves in Aleppo.

The offer was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

The situation in Aleppo has caused a rift between the U.S. and Russia, with both expressing dismay with each other's conduct regarding the situation in Aleppo.

Moscow has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to take place on Friday, with Mistura's going to give his statement about the situation in Aleppo, and possibly his new proposition.
A general view shows destruction in Aleppo's rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighbourhood on October 6, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Friday recaptured a strategic hilltop, overlooking rebel-held districts in the northern city of Aleppo, as part of a broad offensive the army waged recently to flush the rebels out of Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported.

Capturing the Sheikh Saeed hill has enabled the Syrian army to overlook the rebel-held districts of Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh in the Cement Factory in eastern Aleppo, according to the report.

The fresh advance is the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army has recently achieved in Aleppo, as part of the declared offensive to dislodge the insurgents from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

A day earlier SANA said the military forces captured areas in the rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighborhood, and al-Sakhour area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said the recent progress of the Syrian army is the first in three years against the rebels in Aleppo.

Following a last month faltering truce, President Bashar al-Assad pledged to restore all Aleppo city.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a new proposition, which basically focuses on emptying eastern Aleppo from the radical elements of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in an apparent move to reduce the Syrian military campaign on eastern Aleppo.

Ahead, and during the offensive on eastern Aleppo, the general command of the Syrian army urged the civilians to leave the rebel-held areas and reach the government-controlled ones in western Aleppo.

The army also offered amnesty for the rebels who would surrender themselves in Aleppo.

The offer was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

The situation in Aleppo has caused a rift between the U.S. and Russia, with both expressing dismay with each other's conduct regarding the situation in Aleppo.

Moscow has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to take place on Friday, with Mistura's going to give his statement about the situation in Aleppo, and possibly his new proposition.
Picture shows the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, collectively known as the Belt and Road initiative. (Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative is a new way of cooperation between China and other countries for mutual benefits, Imre Hamar, the Hungarian director of a newly-opened research center on the issue, has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Hamar, a sinologist who heads the Belt and Road research center affiliated to the Faculty of Humanities of Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, said the center was his brainchild which had won strong support from the university.

Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Liu Yunshan attended the unveiling ceremony of the center during a two-day official good-will visit to Hungary, which concluded Thursday.

The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

The Hungarian sinologist, who is also the Dean of the Chinese Department of the university, noted that the center would focus on studies on not only Chinese but also Arabic, Turkish and Mongolian languages.

"We hope experts from different aspects could gather together to do some research on the topic of 'Belt and Road'," Hamar added.

According to the sinologist, he is most keen on finding out "how different nationalities communicated with and learnt from each other on the ancient silk road. "

Hungary is the first among the European nations to join the Belt and Road Initiative since it was proposed in 2013, and a member of the "16+1" cooperation mechanism which groups 16 Central and Eastern European countries and China.

Moreover, analysts believe Hungary's Eastern Opening policy and the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative has generated plenty of pending issues and opportunities for improving bilateral ties.

According to Hamar, his university is joining hands with the University of Szeged to apply for research grant from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on a project of "Belt and Road" and the ancient silk road. Once approved, they will employ nearly ten experts, including archaeologists and linguists, to work on the program.

The Belt and Road Initiative is contemporary, while the silk road is of ancient history, both of which deserve in-depth research, the Hungarian expert on China noted.

In Hamar's words, Hungarian academics have always attached great importance to research on Central Asia, as its people hold the belief that they are originated from Asia, and many renowned experts in this field are based at his university.

The Hungarian researcher noted that they should make use of their talent advantages to make some contributions to the Belt and Road Initiative.

China and Hungary have seen sound development of bilateral ties in years. The Hungary-Serbia railway project becomes a symbolic one between the two countries as well as a landmark project for China-Europe cooperation.

In what way would China's Belt and Road Initiative affect Hungary? In the opinion of the sinologist, it would further enhance the political, economic, cultural and educational ties between Beijing and Budapest.
JAKARTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will send a delegation to China's Hangzhou city to learn how the city manages its famous tour destination Xi Hu lake, seeking more cooperation with China in tourism sector. The assignment was related to Indonesia's plan to further develop Lake Toba in North Sumatra province as one of ten new tour destinations developed by government to boost tourism sector.

The Indonesian delegation was scheduled to undergo the visit to Hangzhou from Oct. 10 to 13, consisted of officials from ministries tasked to develop Indonesia's new tour destinations and from regencies around Lake Toba.

"Indonesian government would also look forward for possibilities to establish more cooperation with China (in tourism sector). Arranging a MoU on Sister Lake between Hangzhou and regencies around Lake Toba was among them," a statement released on Friday by Indonesian tourism ministry said.

In the visit, Indonesian delegation would learn how Hangzhou develops Lake Xi Hu and has successfully made it among the most favorite tour destinations in China.

Indonesia's Lake Toba was Indonesia's largest natural lake existed in Sumatra. The 3,000 kilometer square lake was created from prehistoric volcanic eruption.

By improving the accessibility, accommodations and amenity for tourists visiting Lake Toba, Indonesia expects to see 2 million visitors to come to the landmark lake by 2019.

Besides Lake Toba, projects to develop nine other new major tour destinations have been carried out by the government in Borobudur temple, Mandalika, Labuhan Bajo, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, Kepulauan Seribu, Wakatobi, Tanjung Lesung, Morotai, and Tanjung Kelayang.

Those new tour destinations were expected to produce significant earnings at a scale of resort island of Bali which has been favored by tourists from across the world.

Indonesia has set tourism as a major earner sector, is highly expected to significantly contribute the nation's effort to propel the economy amid the ensuing downturns in large-earner sectors of oil and gas, coal and palm oil.

Tourism sector has demonstrated growing records with increasing contribution to Indonesia's GDP were also seen in the last few years.

Indonesia has set target to see 20 million visitors by 2019 from 12 million ones expected this year. With orchestrated efforts carried out by related ministries, the tourism sector was expected to earn more than 24 billion U.S. Dollars by 2019.
RABAT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Voters started Friday morning to cast their ballots in Morocco's parliamentary elections, seen as a test for the popularity of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).

The polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (1800 GMT).

The initial voting results are expected to come out late Friday night.

Protests in 2011 led to a new constitution and a parliamentary vote was held later that year, which brought Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD to power.

The PJD-led government, which has taken some unpopular policies in the last five years, particularly reforming the pension system and cutting subsidies on several products, faces strong competition from secular opposition.

The main opposition party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), has vowed to oust PJD from power and revise many decisions made by the government.

In the local and municipal elections in 2015, the PJD's popularity was not affected, and the party even widened its base in urban areas to win almost all major cities.

PAM, however, dominated elections in rural areas and won the elections nationally.

Apart from the PJD-PAM duel, some analysts expect the Istiqlal Party (PI), having the longest history in the country, to do well in this election.

Around 15.7 million Moroccans are registered to vote and over 30 parties are due to take part in the election to win seats in the 395-member Chamber of Representatives, or the lower house of parliament.

Some 4,000 national and international observers have been accredited to monitor the parliamentary elections in Morocco.
Supporters of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) gather during a party meeting in Sale on october 6 , 2016 ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election. (AFP/Xinhua)

RABAT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Voters started Friday morning to cast their ballots in Morocco's parliamentary elections, seen as a test for the popularity of the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).

The polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (1800 GMT).

The initial voting results are expected to come out late Friday night.

Protests in 2011 led to a new constitution and a parliamentary vote was held later that year, which brought Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD to power.

The PJD-led government, which has taken some unpopular policies in the last five years, particularly reforming the pension system and cutting subsidies on several products, faces strong competition from secular opposition.

The main opposition party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), has vowed to oust PJD from power and revise many decisions made by the government.

In the local and municipal elections in 2015, the PJD's popularity was not affected, and the party even widened its base in urban areas to win almost all major cities.

PAM, however, dominated elections in rural areas and won the elections nationally.

Apart from the PJD-PAM duel, some analysts expect the Istiqlal Party (PI), having the longest history in the country, to do well in this election.

Around 15.7 million Moroccans are registered to vote and over 30 parties are due to take part in the election to win seats in the 395-member Chamber of Representatives, or the lower house of parliament.

Some 4,000 national and international observers have been accredited to monitor the parliamentary elections in Morocco.
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The world's climate ambition will be turned into tangible action as the Paris Agreement on climate change is to enter into force on Nov. 4.

Having taken an indispensable part in the global efforts leading to the the milestone accord, China is set to continue its steadfast climate endeavors by providing wisdom and inspiration to the global climate campaign and the implementation of the agreement.

"Global momentum for the Paris Agreement to enter into force in 2016 has been remarkable," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on Wednesday. "What once seemed unthinkable is now unstoppable."

The Paris deal, adopted in December 2015, has been ratified by 72 countries, which together are responsible for more than 56 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

The landmark agreement is applauded by the world and considered by many as humanity's last chance to save the planet. Its entry into force marks a major step forward made by the international community in its fight against climate change.

China's climate endeavors, including its self-imposed commitments and extensive diplomatic efforts before and during the Paris climate talks, have been an integral part of global efforts leading to the making of final breakthrough at the Paris talks.

In strong signs of support for world's climate efforts, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China's pledge to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from the 2005 levels by 2030 at the Paris climate summit in late 2015.

At the summit, Xi pledged to increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent and peak its carbon emissions by the same date.

The Chinese president also called on leaders from more than 140 countries to abandon the "zero-sum" mindset on climate change and unite to tackle the common challenge.

Meanwhile, the Chinese delegation made extensive contacts with convening parties during the summit, consulting with UN chief Ban, ministers and heads of delegations from Malaysia, India, the United States and many other countries.

A seminar to share China's experience of transforming the Kubuqi Desert in North China into an oasis was organized on the sidelines of the meeting, offering valuable experience to other developing countries in this endeavor.

On Sept. 3, China and the United States demonstrated their determination and joint leadership in fighting climate change at the G20 Hangzhou summit by handing over their legal documents ratifying the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Ban praised the "outstanding leadership" by China and the United States, and described their handover of legal documents as a "historic step" as well as a major success from the Hangzhou summit encouraging the speedy entry into force of the Paris Agreement.

Standing today as an active contributor and constructive player in the global climate campaign, China, which is still a developing country, now tops the world in terms of energy conservation and utilization of new and renewable energies.

Actually, climate change efforts are already integrated into China's medium- and long-term program of economic and social development.

President Xi said that China will, on the basis of technological and institutional innovation, adopt new policy measures to improve the industrial mix, build low-carbon system, develop green building and low-carbon transportation and establish a nationwide carbon-emission trading market.

For today's China, to act on climate change is not only driven by its domestic needs for sustainable development, but also driven by its sense of responsibility to fully engage in global governance, and to forge a community of shared destiny for humankind.
Pakistani officials examine damaged railway track following twin blasts on a railway track in Mach district, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan Province, Oct. 7, 2016. At least four people were killed and 16 others injured when twin blasts hit a passenger train in Balochistan on Friday afternoon, officials said. (Xinhua/Stringer)

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed and 16 others injured when twin blasts hit a passenger train in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Friday afternoon, officials said.

Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique confirmed the train Jafar Express was hit by a remote controlled blast in Mach district, located some 50 km northeast of Balochistan's capital city Quetta.

Local Urdu TV channel Dunya said that the first blast hit two compartments of the train and as soon as the rescue teams gathered at the site, the second explosion happened.

The injured people have been shifted to a nearby hospital where at least four of them are said to be in critical condition.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but Rafique said that there is a group in Balochistan who is involved in targeting railway tracks and trains; however, he did not mention the name of the group.

The minister said that a suspect has been arrested from the blast site.

Police cordoned off the area for further investigations.
MANILA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The military has arrested three of the 10 suspects who carried out the deadly bombing of Davao night market in the southern Philippines on Sept. 2 that killed 15 people and injured 70 others, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced on Friday.

Lorenzana said the three suspects were arrested Oct. 4 in Cotabato City, also in southern Philippines. He said three were on board a motorcycle without a license plate when arrested.

"They attempted to evade the mobile checkpoint that our security forces set up along a highway in Cotabato City," he said.

"The three terrorists had direct participation in the Sept. 2 Davao City bombing," Lorenzana told a news conference.

Lorenzana presented the three suspects to the media. He said the military and the police are now doing follow up operations to arrest the remaining suspects.

"The operation recovered solid pieces of evidence showing that they are indeed the terrorists who bombed the Davao City market," he said.

Lorenzana said the police and military personnel manning the check point also seized materials for making improvised explosive devices and guns, including sub-machine guns and .45 cal pistol and cellular phones.

One of the suspects was allegedly the triggerman who made the phone call that detonated the improvised explosive device, he said.

Lorenzana said another suspect reportedly planted the IED placed inside a backpack bag, while the third suspect was the one who took the video of the incident.

He said the three were members of the Maute group, a criminal gang operating in central Mindanao. The gang has been blamed for several bomb attacks and kidnapping for ransom in the region.

The motive of the bombing was to disrupt the military offensive to crush the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu province that started in July and subsequent operations in central Mindanao that started in August, Lorenzana said.

Davao is the home city of President Rodrigo Duterte.
RABAT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Morocco has denounced a recent attack by Houthi fighters against a UAE vessel off the Yemeni coast, the Foreign Ministry said.

"The Kingdom of Morocco condemns the attack by militias fighting in Yemen against the Emirati civilian ship ''Swift'' which secured the delivery of food and medical aid as well as the evacuation of wounded Yemenis," the ministry said in a statement late Thursday.

The attack is likely to undermine efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, it added.

It stressed the need to give utmost importance to the humanitarian aspect, which is vital for civilians in Yemen and a factor to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen.

Earlier, the UAE stressed that the ship was carrying assistance, wounded Yemenis and passengers.

Morocco and the UAE's forces are involved in a Saudi-led Arab coalition, which backs the legitimate government in Yemen.
LA PAZ, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales said Thursday that his country is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in trade, investment, energy, infrastructure and public security.

In a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Morales said China and Bolivia are geopolitical partners and have similar governance ideas.

The Bolivian government and people respect China's development achievements, appreciate its commitment to global development and thank its support for Bolivia's economic and social development, he said.

Wang said that China cherishes relations with Bolivia and appreciates Bolivia's independent foreign policy. China will continue to push forward practical cooperation with Bolivia in various fields, he said.

China firmly supports Latin American integration and is ready to promote cooperation with Latin America, said Wang.

Wang also met with his Bolivian counterpart, David Choquehuanca, on Thursday and exchanged views on political mutual trust, economic cooperation as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

At a press conference in La Paz on Thursday, Wang said China is satisfied with the current development of China-Bolivia relations and has confidence in future cooperation.

The Chinese side will help Bolivia accelerate industrialization and enhance its capacity of independent development. China never attaches political conditions on cooperation and never interferes in other countries' internal affairs, he noted.

Wang said that under the guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Latin American leaders, China-Latin America overall cooperation has had a good start.

China will work with Latin American countries to further construct the forum between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and to promote the China-CELAC comprehensive cooperative partnership, he added.
SUVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific Island Forum (PIF) welcomes the swift ratification of the Paris agreement on climate change, Dame Meg Taylor, secretary general of the PIF's Suva-based secretariat said Friday.

"This is a pivotal moment for the planet and a lifeline for the most vulnerable people of the Pacific," " Taylor said in a statement, adding that Pacific countries need urgent action on climate change and the speed with which the countries of the world have responded to the call for action is inspiring.

"For years, the Pacific Islands Forum has been calling on the world to take ambitious action towards addressing the adverse effects of climate change and the provision of scaled up finance," Taylor said, adding that the momentum that has developed over the last nine months has been "truly inspiring".

At the annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting in the Federated States of Micronesia in September, Pacific leaders were united in their call to forum members, dialogue partners and other countries to ratify the agreement as soon as possible.

To date, 14 PIF member countries and eight dialogue partners have ratified the agreement, according to the PIF's secretariat.

The Paris agreement on climate change is expected to enter into force in the first week of November.
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- In China the number 60 is auspicious as it relates to a cyclic numeral system of the chronology. The past 60 years has seen China's space program develop from a concept to one success after another.

Saturday is the 60th anniversary of the beginning of China's space program. Over the past six decades, China has successfully developed its own processes and has become a space science power.

Like the United States and Russia, China's space program developed from advances in ballistic missile technology during the Cold War period. On Oct. 8, 1956, the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defense was established, with Qian Xuesen at the helm.

A world-renowned rocket scientist and one of the co-founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Qian returned to China from the United States in 1955 and would become the "father of China's aerospace."

Since then, Oct. 8, 1956 has been called the starting point of China's space program.

With the dedication of engineers and scientists like Qian and thanks to the ever increasing national strength, China has taken its place as a member of the world's exclusive "space club" by achieving a number of great breakthroughs.

On April, 24, 1970, Dongfanghong-1 was sent into orbit, the country's first space satellite. Since 2016, this day has been called China Space Day.

On Oct. 15, 2003, Shenzhou-5, a manned spacecraft, successfully carried China's first taikonaut Yang Liwei into space, and on Dec. 15, 2013, the country's first moon rover successfully soft-landed on the lunar surface.

A total of 12 taikonauts have travelled in space. China has established the Beidou navigation and positioning system, and its Long March series of carrier rockets have been launched 236 times with a success rate of 97.5 percent.

Since the very beginning, China has understood that innovation was the only path to success.

Within the past 60 years, China has mastered a number of core technologies with completely independent intellectual property rights.

China's space program is now accelerating, but it has left its military roots behind. The future is science and exploration.

Last month, China's first space lab Tiangong-2 was successfully sent into orbit. It will dock with Shenzhou-11, the manned spacecraft, later this month so that taikonauts can live in the lab.

Its heavyload Long March-5 carrier rocket will blast off later this year. It shoulders the mission of sending China's space station into orbit around 2018. Deep space exploration is also on the agenda.

How about the next 60 years? As China's space program keeps growing, not even the sky is the limit.
Passengers walk out of the Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 6, 2016. The country witnessed a travel peak on the last two days of the week-long National Day holiday as people started to return to school and work. (Xinhua/Su Yang)

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- China saw a marked increase in train trips and tourism income as millions of Chinese went on a travelling spree for the National Day holiday, known as "Golden Week", data showed Friday.

Altogether 11.39 million train trips were made around the country on Thursday, the penultimate day of the holiday, up 11.6 percent year on year, according to figures released by China Railway Corp.

From Sept. 28 to Oct. 7, it is estimated that 108 million passengers will have made train journeys, up 9.3 percent year on year, according to the company.

Train trips are expected to hit 12.57 million on Saturday alone, the last day of the National Day holiday.

China is expected to have made 478.18 billion yuan (71.58 billion U.S. dollars) from tourism income during the holiday week, a 13.5 percent increase year on year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, an online travel agent.

China's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, according to the survey.




BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese city of Shanghai is in the running to host the 2021 WorldSkills Competition, and, should its bid be successful, it promises to promote international exchanges and cooperation in vocational skills, an official statement said Friday.

China has a sound foundation for the bid given that the country organizes various vocational skill competitions every year and pays high attention to vocational training and team building of skilled talent, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security statement.

China is among three contenders bidding for the right to hold the 46th WorldSkills Competition, along with Switzerland and South Africa.

The final decision will be voted on by the WorldSkills International delegates in October 2017 at the General Assembly to be held at Abu Dhabi, capital city of United Arab Emirates.

WorldSkills dates back to 1950 when it was first held in Madrid, Spain. The biennial event seeks to increase the awareness and prestige of vocational and blue-collar professions.
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Internet regulator and the tourism administration have launched a three-month campaign to address issues related to tourism websites.

Some tourism websites feature false, misleading or vague advertising and there are privacy issues related to customers data, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said.

The campaign will focus on tourism web portals, travel agency websites, online booking service websites, tourist area websites and mobile apps.

The authorities said they will punish and shut down websites that are found to have flouted regulations, and urged websites to ensure their customers' rights.

The CAC and CNTA called on the public to inform on tourism websites through two hotlines, the numbers are 12377 and 12301.
by Xinhua writers Xia Fan, Yan Hao, Tai Beiping

HONG KONG, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and China, which have enjoyed longstanding historical ties, should cooperate in various fields such as economy, trade, energy and infrastructure despite South China Sea disputes, a senior Philippine official has said.

Martin Andanar, Philippine presidential communications operations office secretary, made the comments in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua here while on a short visit to Hong Kong.

The Philippines and China can provide each other with lots of opportunities for cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, investment, energy, infrastructure, tourism and manpower, he said.

Noting that friendly economic ties with China are "paramount" for the Philippines, Andanar especially described economic and trade cooperation with China, the world's second largest economy, as a "no-brainer," considering the fact that the two countries are just a stone's throw away.

The Philippines is also in need of infrastructure such as highways, railways, energy and Internet; China can offer valuable expertise and investments in these regards, he said.

Andanar called for more direct investments from China, which he said will be a big push for the economic development of a developing country like the Philippines.

"When you have foreign direct investment, building manufacturing companies in the Philippines, we give jobs to our people, so it becomes inclusive growth, not only hot money coming in and going out," he said.

With regard to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's possible visit to China, the Philippine presidential communications operations office secretary said trade and industry cooperation should be high on agenda.

Duterte's trip to Beijing, if coming true, will be the first visit of President Duterte to an East Asian country, Andanar said, calling the two countries "brothers more than anything else" because of the shared long "blood ties" in history between the two countries.

As for the Philippine government's anti-drug drive, Andanar said the reason why Duterte has been conducting such a campaign is because of the magnitude of the problem in the Philippines, which has virtually turned the country into a "narco-state," severely affecting law and order.

He also noted that the Philippine government is happy with China's assistance in the country's anti-drug efforts and he appealed for more intelligence sharing in the fight against illegal drugs between the two countries.
Chinese attendants take a selfie before the start of the first passenger train of the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Oct. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway has proven to the world the prowess of the Chinese railway industry, paving the way for Chinese standards to enter more overseas markets, said Li Changjin, board chairman of the China Railway Group (CREC).

The Chinese-built railway, which is Africa's first modern electrified railway, links the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the port of Djibouti in Djibouti. Constructed by CREC and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, the 752.7-km railway was officially inaugurated on Wednesday.

A new train stops at a railway station in suburban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Oct. 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

"In the process of building the railway, we paid great importance to construction quality and were determined to build it with high standards, presenting to the world state-of-the-art Chinese quality and Chinese standards," said Li in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.

Li, who was here to attend a ceremony officially launching the railway, said the successful construction of the railway will have positive exemplary effects on the African market, promoting the acceptance of Chinese standards by Africa and the world at large.

Many African countries are learning and gradually accepting the Chinese railway technology standards, he said, citing the examples of Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi railway and Angola's Benguela railway, which have all adopted Chinese standards.

While constructing the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, the Chinese contractor made adaptations and innovations according to local conditions on the basis of Chinese standards, he said.

During the construction of a railway section in Ethiopia, for example, the Chinese contractor found that filling materials for railway bed were in great shortage. Long-distance shipping cost would be exorbitantly high while supply still cannot be guaranteed.

But the abundant scoria available in the region sparked an inspiration. The Chinese builders used a combination of scoria and clay as bed fillings, a method ultimately applied to the entire project, saving construction cost and enhancing efficiency, he said.

The completion of the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway will play a major role in boosting the economic development in East Africa and that in the depth and breadth of Africa, said Li, noting that cargoes shipped from Asian countries can be transported to Ethiopia and other African countries via the railway.

In fact, even before the official launch, the railway had already played a role in facilitating humanitarian assistance. As of October 3, CREC had transported nearly 90,000 tons of disaster relief materials at the request of the Ethiopian government.

"The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway is an extension and development of China-Africa historical friendship. It also marks a good beginning of the Belt and Road initiative in Africa," he added.

The Chinese initiative refers to building a Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.
KABUL, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Some 64 militants have been killed amid military operations launched by Afghan security forces since early Thursday, the country's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"Over the past 24 hours, Afghan security forces carried out military and cleanup operations across the country, killing 64 terrorists and injuring 40 others," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement noted that out of the casualties, some 18 militants were killed and 22 wounded after joint Afghan troops backed by helicopter gunships conducted cleanup operations in and around the northern Kunduz city.

On Monday, the Taliban launched coordinated attacks and captured most parts of the city, which is capital of northern Kunduz province, 250 km north of Kabul.

A Taliban shadow governor for northern Takhar province named Qari Shamsuddin was among the killed militants, who lost their lives in Kunduz, according to statement.

The security forces also destroyed eight militants' motorcycles during the above raids.

The statement also confirmed loss of nine Afghan army personnel as a result of separate incidents across the country over the same period.
RAMALLAH, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat called Friday for questioning the Israeli government and holding it accountable for its continuation in settlement activity in the Palestinian territories.

Erekat said in a press statement following his meeting with UN Special Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov and ambassadors of the U.S., Sweden, Russia, Italy and Greece in separate meetings, and called on them to completely boycott Israeli "colonizing" settlements.

The senior PLO official said the Israeli decision to call for more tenders for settlement in the West Bank "proves that the Israeli government's strategy only aims at destroying the two states solution and replace it with an Apartheid system."

In the backdrop of those meetings, Israeli officials deplored the position of the U.S. State Department in which it strongly condemned Israel's plan to create a new settlement in the West Bank and build 300 new settlement units in the West Bank, out of which 98 are to be built in Shilo settlement erected north of the West Bank.

Israeli Foreign Ministry said the new 98 settlement units to be built in Shilo settlement are not to be considered as a new settlement and will not change the reality on the ground.

The PLO welcomed the U.S. position and called upon the Obama administration to "translate its statements into real action regarding it's position on Israeli settlement activity."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last Saturday that the Palestinian leadership is preparing to present to a draft resolution to the UN Security Council against settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli settlement construction is one of the top and most complicates issues in the Palestinian Israeli negotiations.

The peace talks between Palestine and Israel have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results.
KATHMANDU, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat left for Thailand on Friday afternoon to attend the 2nd Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit to be held from October 8 to 10 in the Thai Capital Bangkok.

Speaking to media before leaving for Thailand, the foreign minister said that as a leader of the Nepali delegation he will be stressing enhancing road connectivity in Asia.

"I will be also stressing on collective efforts among the Asian countries to tackle the daunting regional challenges including climate change, sustainable development and terrorism during the summit," the minister added.

This is the first time Nepal is attending the summit since it joined as the 34th member of the regional forum in March this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Nepali foreign minister will address the ACD summit which is going to be held under the theme "One Asia, Diverse Strengths" on October 10.

"The Summit will consider and adopt three milestone documents, namely Bangkok Declaration, ACD Vision for Asia Cooperation 2030 (ACD Vision 2030) and ACD Statement on Reigniting Growth through Partnership for Connectivity," the foreign ministry stated in a press release.

The foreign minister will also participate in the ACD Connect Business Forum 2016: Innovative Financial Connectivity for a Sustainable Asia on October 9.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tens of civilians left rebel-held areas in the country's northern city of Aleppo for government-controlled sections in the city on Friday, state news agency SANA reported.

The civilians, mostly women and children, evacuated rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo city through cleared pathways, and reached government-controlled western Aleppo city, where the army had prepared temporary shelters for them, SANA said.

On Wednesday, the Syrian army announced it was reducing the airstrikes on eastern Aleppo, to allow the civilians to leave safely.

Meanwhile, the wide-scale military offensive on eastern Aleppo by the ground troops continued, with the army making more progress, in the first progress the military forces have achieved against the rebels in eastern Aleppo in three years.

Earlier in the day, SANA said the Syrian army on Friday recaptured a strategic hilltop, the Sheikh Saeed hill, which has enabled the Syrian army to overlook the rebel-held districts of Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh in the Cement Factory in eastern Aleppo.

The fresh advance is the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army has recently achieved in Aleppo, as part of the declared offensive to dislodge the insurgents from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

A day earlier, SANA said the military forces captured areas in the rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighborhood, and al-Sakhour area.

Following a last month faltering truce, President Bashar al-Assad pledged to restore all Aleppo city.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a new proposition, which basically focuses on emptying eastern Aleppo from the radical elements of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously the al-Qaida linked al-Nusra Front, in an apparent move to reduce the Syrian military campaign on eastern Aleppo.

Ahead, and during the offensive on eastern Aleppo, the general command of the Syrian army urged the civilians to leave the rebel-held areas and reach the government-controlled ones in western Aleppo.

The army also offered amnesty for the rebels who would surrender themselves in Aleppo.

The offer was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

The situation in Aleppo has caused a rift between the U.S. and Russia, with both expressing dismay with each other's conduct regarding the situation in Aleppo.

Moscow has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to take place soon, with Mistura going to give his statement about the situation in Aleppo, and possibly his new proposition.
Chinese naval vessel Zhoushan sails to Malaysia's Pelaboham Kelang Port, Oct. 7, 2016. A Chinese naval fleet of the 23rd Escort Task Group arrived here Friday for a five-day friendship visit to Malaysia. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

PORT KLANG, Malaysia, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese naval fleet arrived at the Malaysian port of Klang on Friday to embark on a four-day visit aimed at strengthening military ties between the two countries.

The 23rd Escort Task Group, comprising Xiangtan, Zhoushan and Chaohu of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, arrived in Malaysia after the completion of its escort mission in the Gulf of Aden.

They were greeted by leaders of the Malaysian Chinese community and Chinese living in Malaysia.

Senior colonel Wang Hongli, commander of the task force, said the visit would contribute to the development of the friendly relations.

"China and Malaysia are friendly neighbours, and we have good relations and frequent exchanges between our two countries and the two militaries," he said.

During the visit, the vessels will open to the Malaysian public and the crew will interact with the local community.
GENEVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua)-- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Friday has launched an emergency appeal for 6.8 million U.S. dollars to provide medical, shelter, water and sanitation assistance to 50,000 people in the storm-ravaged southwest of Haiti.

As one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the Caribbean in recent history, Hurricane Matthew's torrential rains and winds have flooded towns and roads, destroyed homes and buildings and collapsed the main bridge to the south, making the worst affected areas extremely difficult to reach.

More than one million have been affected and hundreds of thousands are in need of humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF said an estimated 500,000 children live in the Grande Anse and Grand South departments in southern Haiti, the areas worst hit by Hurricane Matthew.

"This vulnerable nation has been hit again by a huge disaster that requires substantial international support," said Ines Brill, IFRC head of delegation in the Latin Caribbean.

"Our teams in Jeremie report massive destruction in the town. Water and electricity have been cut and the medical services are not functioning anymore. Communication is very limited. We are extremely concerned for the safety, health and well-being of the women, men and children who have been impacted, particularly those in remote towns and villages."

In the lead up to the storm, IFRC used its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to support the Haitian Red Cross in pre-positioning emergency relief supplies, including plastic sheets, blankets, kitchen sets and water purification tablets, and mobilizing over 3,000 staff and volunteers in communities in the path of the hurricane.

The emergency appeal will fund first aid and emergency health care, psychosocial support, treatment of water, sanitation assistance, cleaning and personal hygiene items, insecticide-treated mosquito nets and other disease prevention and control activities.

The funding will also be used to help people with damaged or destroyed homes, providing them with materials and tools to build emergency shelter and make basic repairs to their houses.

The Haiti Red Cross is coordinating relief efforts closely with the Haitian government and planning assessments to capture the full extent of damage and humanitarian need.
ZAGREB, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and MOST on Friday reached an agreement to form a new government, nearly a month after the parliamentary elections.

Andrej Plenkovic, president of HDZ, said he was confident that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic would give him the mandate to form the government.

He did not give more details of the agreement, but confirmed the HDZ accepted that deputy prime ministers would also be responsible for specific portfolios as MOST proposed.

The two parties agreed there would be a rotating presidency for parliament between MOST and HDZ.

HDZ won 61 seats in the 151-seat parliament in an early election which was held on Sept. 11, where MOST came third with 13 seats.

The parties formed a coalition government after the November 2015 elections, but the government stepped down five months later following a no-confidence vote.
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tourist visits and spending hit record high as millions of Chinese went on a travelling spree during the week-long National Day holiday, latest official data showed.

Altogether 593 million people visited tourist attractions around the country from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, up 12.8 percent year on year, according to figures released by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

Nationwide tourist spending rose 14.4 percent year on year to 482.2billion yuan (72.3 billion U.S. dollars) during this period, the CNTA said.

Railways carried 108 million passengers during the past ten days, up 9.3 percent year on year while airlines transported 9.96 million passengers in the past week, up 11.6 percent year on year, according to railway and civil aviation authorities.

For domestic trips, tourist attractions in provinces along the Belt and Road Initiative saw surging visits. North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region saw its tourist visits rise by 21.49 percent year on year while tourist spending in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region gained 42 percent year on year.
BERLIN, Oct.7 (Xinhua) -- German police evacuated a school in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, north Germany, on Friday, German media Focus reported by quoting local police.

All the students and teachers from the school in the county of Pinneberg have been evacuated and transferred to a vocational training center for the sake of safety, said the report.

No injury has been reported so far. The police has not revealed the reason for evacuation.
NEW DELHI, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- India said on Friday that it will seal its entire stretch of 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan by December 2018.

"This is time bound, it will be done by December 2018. We are readying an action plan," Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the media in the western state of Rajasthan, after reviewing the security in border states with Chief Ministers.

"A border security grid will be in place soon. We are also looking at technological solutions to man the border," he added.

The Home Minister's statements came in the wake of repeated ceasefire violations allegedly by Pakistan and heightened tensions with the neighboring country particularly in the aftermath of the terror attack on an Army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir's Uri sector last month.

Following the terror attack in Uri, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead, the Indian Army had claimed to have carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to eliminate multiple terror launch pads, a claim denied by Islamabad.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full and have fought at least three major wars over the disputed Himalayan region in the past 65 years.
A picture shows desruction as Syrian pro-government forces advance in Aleppo's Bustan al-Basha neighbourhood on October 6, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tens of civilians left rebel-held areas in the country's northern city of Aleppo for government-controlled sections in the city on Friday, state news agency SANA reported.

The civilians, mostly women and children, evacuated rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo city through cleared pathways, and reached government-controlled western Aleppo city, where the army had prepared temporary shelters for them, SANA said.

On Wednesday, the Syrian army announced it was reducing the airstrikes on eastern Aleppo, to allow the civilians to leave safely.

Meanwhile, the wide-scale military offensive on eastern Aleppo by the ground troops continued, with the army making more progress, in the first progress the military forces have achieved against the rebels in eastern Aleppo in three years.

Earlier in the day, SANA said the Syrian army on Friday recaptured a strategic hilltop, the Sheikh Saeed hill, which has enabled the Syrian army to overlook the rebel-held districts of Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh in the Cement Factory in eastern Aleppo.

The fresh advance is the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army has recently achieved in Aleppo, as part of the declared offensive to dislodge the insurgents from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

A day earlier, SANA said the military forces captured areas in the rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighborhood, and al-Sakhour area.

Following a last month faltering truce, President Bashar al-Assad pledged to restore all Aleppo city.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a new proposition, which basically focuses on emptying eastern Aleppo from the radical elements of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously the al-Qaida linked al-Nusra Front, in an apparent move to reduce the Syrian military campaign on eastern Aleppo.

Ahead, and during the offensive on eastern Aleppo, the general command of the Syrian army urged the civilians to leave the rebel-held areas and reach the government-controlled ones in western Aleppo.

The army also offered amnesty for the rebels who would surrender themselves in Aleppo.

The offer was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

The situation in Aleppo has caused a rift between the U.S. and Russia, with both expressing dismay with each other's conduct regarding the situation in Aleppo.

Moscow has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to take place soon, with Mistura going to give his statement about the situation in Aleppo, and possibly his new proposition.
NEW DELHI, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were injured in a cylinder explosion in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, a senior police official said.

"The incident took place when a gas cylinder used to fill balloons exploded near a temple in the state's Rewa district, where hundreds of devotees had gathered," he said on condition of anonymity.

All the injured in the explosion have been rushed to a nearby hospital by local residents, where the condition of three are said to be serious, the official said.

State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of 50,000 Indian rupees (900 U.S. dollars) for those seriously injured.

A probe has also been ordered into the incident, the official added.
Local residents suffering from drought get water sent by China Wuyi (Kenya) Company, in Isiolo, north Kenya, July 21, 2011. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Drought-ravaged Southern African countries have received pledges of help from various countries, but still need 2.1 billion U.S. dollars to feed the people and manage the effects of El Nino, an official has said.

Barbara Lopi of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat told Xinhua on Wednesday that in June 2016, SADC launched their appeal for assistance up to 2.7 billion dollars, but so far the region has just received confirmation of support to the tune of 595 million dollars.

Photo taken on Jan. 21, 2016 shows the dried up farmland in rural Gutu in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. Most communal farmers have lost their livestock due to the unusual drought brought by the El Nino affecting many parts of southern Africa this rainy season.(Xinhua)

The region has been facing the worst drought in 35 years and had poor harvest in the past two seasons.

The SADC said about 41 million people are affected by drought in the region. The El Nino induced dry conditions mostly affected Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia.

Twelve out of the 15 countries require humanitarian assistance to help 28 million people in need of emergency assistance.

Lopi said that in Botswana, for example, livestock mortality has been around 20 percent over the past two years due to the drought.

She said the region experienced a delayed onset of the 2015/2016 rainfall season, followed by erratic rains.

Analysis of rainfall performance shows that the October to December period last year, which represented the first half of the cropping season, was the driest in more than 35 years in several countries. During the same period, higher than average temperatures were consistently experienced across the region.

Lopi also said that when the situation normalizes, there is a fear that some will not afford to have money for seedlings, stocks and fertilizers.

There is also fear that the next season, which has just started, will be affected by La Nina which can cause floods, Lopi said.

"Awareness and sensitization on the effects of La Nina are part of the current humanitarian response activities. Preparing member states on the effects of the La Nina is a component in the response strategy and plans," she said.
ANKARA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkey on Friday vowed to support a planned offensive against the Islamic State (IS) group in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

"We are ready to give all kinds of support in the fight against Daesh (IS) in Mosul," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.

He said that involving Shiite militias in the operation will not bring peace. "On the contrary, it will increase problems."

However, he added that Turkey-trained Sunni forces should be involved in the offensive while the coalition forces can give consultation.

Ankara and Baghdad are in row of words over Turkish troops deployed in Bashiqa region of northern Iraq. The troops train local Sunni Arabs and Kurdish forces for fight against the IS.

The assault to retake Mosul, which has been in the hands of IS since 2014, is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
BANGKOK, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A large volume of Cambodia's fresh mangoes are being delivered to Thailand's fruit processing plants from where it is bound to be re-exported.

Hundreds of tons of Keo Romeat mangoes are exported to Thailand daily from Kampong Speu in central Cambodia and northwestern Battambang via Pong Namron border crossing in the eastern Thai province of Chantaburi, Vudhipong Ratanamon, head of Trat province's Agricultural Cooperatives for Processed Fruits and Export, said on Friday.

Most of the fresh Cambodian mangoes are processed in Thailand as a dried or sugar-coated fruit bound for export to China, South Korea and other Asian markets, Vudhipong said.

Keo Romeat mango currently sells for about 35 U.S. cents per kilogram in Thai-Cambodian border markets but can sell for as much as 2 U.S. dollars a kilo after it has been processed and re-exported as a dried or sugar-coated fruit.

Nevertheless, Thai authorities see to it that all Keo Romeat mangoes will be given phytosanitary certificates from Cambodia's National Plant Protection Organization, according to the Trat cooperatives head.
Image provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) shows people crossing a bridge over the Grise river, after the arrival of hurricane Matthew in Port-Au-Prince, capital of Haiti, Oct. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/UNICEF)

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Matthew left devastation in its wake, killing at least 264 people in Haiti, as it moved toward the Bahamas and the United States.

The number of death had risen to 264 in one of the worst-hit parts of the country, after Matthew tore through the country on Tuesday, the bureau of civil protection of the Sud department was quoted as saying by the Spanish news agency EFE.

Matthew, the strongest hurricane in recent years, has flooded towns, downed power lines and cut people off as it swept through the Caribbean country with wind speeds reaching up to 230 km/h.

Haiti is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and has suffered greatly in recent years. It is frequently battered by hurricanes, with Hurricane Jeanne, killing at least 3,000 people in 2004.

In 2010, the country was devastated by a powerful 7-magnitude earthquake, which left at least 200,000 dead.

"The situation is catastrophic," Haitian Interim President Jocelerme Privert said at a press conference Thursday after flying over some of the stricken areas.

"There are a lot of areas in the country that have been affected, a lot of places that are difficult to access," he said.

The situation in the towns of Jeremie, Les Cayes, Port-Salut, Petite-Riviere de Nippes and Dame Marie is considered to be particularly critical.

"It's complete destruction in Jeremie, the capital of the southern department of Grande Anse. About 80 percent of the buildings are gone. All phone lines and electricity are down. Access is completely cut off, and everyone is running out of food and money," CARE Haiti country director Jean-Michel Vigreux tweeted.

Mercy Corps, a humanitarian NGO, said that 80 percent of banana crops in the region of Arcahaie were wiped out, leaving around 20,000 families with a lack of livelihood.

Rescue teams and aid have begun arriving from around the world as the scale of the devastation becomes clear.

The government of Haiti estimates that at least 350,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday.

A UN Disaster Assessment Coordination team and the Haitian government hope to conduct a joint assessment with other humanitarian partners, Haq said. "Communication with and access to the worst affected areas remain extremely limited."

Image provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) taken on Oct. 4, 2016, shows a woman and her children watching the flood after the pass of hurricane "Matthew", in Los Guandules neighborhood, in Santo Domingo, capital of Dominican Republic. (Xinhua/UNICEF)

The World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund, along with NGO partners are all scaling up support for critical shelter, water, sanitation and food assistance, Haq said.

Meanwhile, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti is supporting the Haitian authorities in their assessment and reconnaissance efforts, especially in the most affected areas in the south western tip of Haiti, and the cities of Jeremie and Les Cayes, he said.

"MINUSTAH has deployed assets by air and road, while its police and military components have been helping to clear debris from the roadways," he added.

The American international development agency USAID said on Thursday that it would provide 1.5 million U.S. dollars in immediate aid, while one of its disaster assistance response teams is already on the ground.

Nine military helicopters and around 200 soldiers were set to arrive on Thursday while a U.S. aircraft carrier and two other battleships are nearby to lend assistance, said USAID.

Hurricane Matthew was still a Category 4 storm on Thursday as it pounded the northwest Bahamas, including its capital Nassau.

The Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority said in a statement that Nassau was feeling "hurricane force winds."

The power grid was switched off as a precaution in parts of the country. No casualties have been reported in the Bahamas so far.

Matthew is now moving on to the coast of the United States. The U.S. National Weather Service warned Thursday that the hurricane could be the worst storm seen in Florida for decades. Over 2 million people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas.
Peru's President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski delivers a speech during the 3rd Pacific Alliance Business Summit in Frutillar City, Chile, on June 30, 2016. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas)

LIMA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) called for better acquisition and transfer of knowledge in a globalized world.

Educational representatives of APEC's 21 members gathered in Peru's capital Lima on Oct. 5-6 for the 6th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting.

The meeting focused on how to jointly modernize education systems, create training opportunities to boost productivity and social mobility, direct policies toward improving knowledge and skills and increase employability.

Educational policies have to adapt to change and focus on properly preparing new generations, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said at the closing ceremony of the meeting.

Peru needs to increase its spending on education, which currently stands at 3.2 percent of GDP, said Kuczynski.

"The only thing we know is that change will come rapidly and, if we have an antiquated education system, we will not be able to adapt," he said.

Peruvian Minister of Education Jaime Saavedra said that real advances have been made in some parts of Latin America, but that the quality of education remains unequal.

Alan Bollard, APEC's executive director, praised group members for their positive ideas to improve education.

But he warned that the group had to act jointly to improve technical and university education to ensure their students had the skills needed for the next 20 years.

The topics raised during this meeting will be further discussed at the upcoming APEC Peru 2016 summit in Lima on November 19-20.
MANILA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told the United States on Friday not to treat the Philippines "like a doormat" as he pleaded for "a little respect."

"For as long as I am here do not treat us like a doormat because you'll be sorry," Duterte said in a speech before banana growers in his home city of Davao in southern Philippines.

He said he did not want to antagonize the United States but stressed that Washington should "give us a little of respect."

"Assess yourself," he added, "because if you don't you will lose the Philippines."

The president also told his audience that he met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Laos on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit last month.

"I said 'Send your businessmen here and we would see if we can buy the things that you have.' I'll open up the Philippines," he said.

Duterte reiterated that the ongoing PHIBLEX U.S.-Philippine joint military exercises that wrap up on Oct. 12 will be the last one during his term.

Earlier on Wednesday, Duterte told Obama "you can go to hell" in a speech, his strongest tirade against the U.S. leader so far, even threatening to "break up with America."

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Duterte dares Obama, EU to pull out their aid to Philippines

MANILA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte dared Thursday foreign governments and international bodies, which have been critical of his administration's drug war, to withdraw their aid in the Philippines.

Duterte was referring to the United Nations, United States and the European Union which have raised concern on the human rights violations in the country amid the government's war against the drug menace, and was apparently reacting to some murmurs of possible withdrawal of foreign assistance. Full Story

Duterte says upcoming Philippine-U.S. joint war games will be last

MANILA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that the joint war games between the United States and the Philippine marines in October will be the last.
gALGIERS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Algerian defense ministry said on Friday that its counter-terrorism troops killed two militants 100 km southeast of the capital Algiers, as part of the ongoing operation.

The two militants were killed in Azeffoun, on the northern part of Tizi Ouzou province, while two Kalashnikov machine guns were retrieved, the ministry said, adding that the counter-terrorism operation is still underway.

On Thursday, army troops killed a terrorist in the dense forests of Boumerdes province, near Tizi Ouzou. The terrorist was on the wanted list for joining terrorist fiefs in 1994.

A few militants affiliated to al-Qaida in the Maghreb region and Islamic State (IS) affiliate group of Caliphate Soldiers are still taking refuge in the woods of Tizi Ouzou and its adjacent provinces east of Algiers.

Located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability, Algeria faces ongoing terrorist threats. Enditem
Pakistani workers repair damaged railway track at the twin blasts site in southwest Pakistan's Mach on Oct. 7, 2016. At least eight people were killed and 19 others injured when two bombs hit a passenger train in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Friday, local media and officials said. (Xinhua/Asad)

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and 19 others injured when two bombs hit a passenger train in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Friday, local media and offcials said.

The Federal Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique said the passenger train Jafar Express was targeted by a remote-controlled device in Mach area of Balochistan, some 50 km northeast of the provincial capital of Quetta.

Railway authorities said the train was on its way to the northern Rawalpindi city from Quetta when it came under attack.

Local Urdu TV channel Dunya said the first blast hit two compartments of the train and as soon as the rescue teams gathered at the site, the second explosion happened.

The report added the killed people included two security personnel and a government official.

All the injured have been shifted to Quetta via army hellicopters, where an emergency has been declared at all state-run hospitals.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but Rafique said there is a group in Balochistan who is involved in targeting railway tracks and trains, however he did not mention the name of the group.

The minister said a suspect has been arrested at the blast site.

Police cordoned off the area for further investigations.
BRATISLAVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Parliamentary chairpersons of the European Parliament (EP) will discuss the future of the post-Brexit EU, EP President Martin Schulz said Friday.

"After the Bratislava summit of EU leaders, it's important for parliamentary chairpersons to discuss the future of the EU after Britain's decision to leave the union," stated Schulz.

National parliaments and the EP complement each other and don't stand against each other, he added.

Meanwhile, Slovak parliamentary chairman Andrej Danko said Friday's summit in its non-standard unofficial format "has paid off."

"We have found support from almost all EU countries. This meeting precedes the conference of European parliaments that Bratislava will host in April, which is expected to result in the declaration of a joint procedure of national parliaments," he added.

Danko said it was important for the EU to focus on projects such as Schengen, the eurozone and its joint defense.
GENEVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Friday that the passage of Hurricane Matthew has resulted in severe damage in southern parts of Haiti, especially in the departments of Grande Anse and South. "The government of Haiti estimates that at least 350,000 are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. It is expected that number may rise as more assessments are carried out," OCHA said in a statement.

"The authorities report that more than 1,800 homes have been flooded, hundreds more damaged or destroyed, and more than 15,600 people have been evacuated in Haiti," it added.

Matthew, the strongest hurricane in recent years, has flooded towns, downed power lines and cut people off as it swept through the small Caribbean nation with wind speeds reaching up to 230 km/h.

Haiti is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and has suffered greatly in recent years. It is frequently battered by hurricanes, with Hurricane Jeanne killing at least 3,000 people in 2004.

In 2010, the country was devastated by a powerful 7-magnitude earthquake.

Though the death toll is likely to rise, initial media reports are suggesting that some 300 people have lost their lives in the latest natural disaster to have struck the country.

In neighbouring the Dominican Republic, OCHA reported that 38,000 people were evacuated to shelters, and that over 1 million Cubans were also compelled to take refuge.

The tropical cyclone has since migrated north, moving along the southeastern U.S. coast.
GENEVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency UNHCR warmly welcomed the recommendation by the UN Security Council of its former high commissioner, Antonio Guterres, as next UN secretary-general.

The UNHCR said it was especially happy the world's most senior peacemaker would be somebody who knew the terrible human consequences of war so well.

In a statement received on Friday, UNHCR said it believed Guterres would lead the United Nations with the vision, political skills and deep sense of humanity needed to make an unprecedented push for world peace.

Faced with a surge in the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution, Guterres skillfully managed UNHCR's responses, introducing important reforms to make these more effective, the statement noted.

"During his 10 years at UNHCR, Mr. Guterres managed some of the biggest refugee crises of our times," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

He added that Guterres was a tireless advocate for refugees, the internally displaced and the stateless, defending their rights in the field and at the highest political levels.

"He placed a strong emphasis on finding innovative solutions to help them find safety and a dignified life, as well as on pushing for an end to the conflicts driving so many people from their homes," Grandi said.

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously decided to recommend Guterres to head the United Nations for the next five years, starting from Jan.1, 2017.

The 15-nation council has delivered its decision to the UN General Assembly to formally appoint Guterres as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations.
MINSK, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that Russia could count on the support of the Belarusian army in the protection of its borders.

"Together with the Russian people we will protect our shared Fatherland here, at the western sector, which is important for Russia," Lukashenko said at a meeting with parliamentarians in Minsk on Friday.

He stressed the Belarusian army has the most advanced weapons and is able to repel any aggressors.

"We can speak about the total modernization of our army. We have almost completed it. We have adjusted it for possible wars that could be unleashed against our state -- ranging from fighting in the information space to a hot war," Lukashenko said.

To sum up, the president noted that Belarus is interested in peace and security, as well as peaceful cooperation with other countries.
BEIRUT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Richard announced Friday additional aids of 36 million U.S. dollars for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, directed through UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"We have just made an additional contribution of 36 million dollars to provide for the humanitarian needs of refugees and Lebanese host communities here in Lebanon," Richard said in an interview by local media.

The aid is the latest package of assistance from the U.S. which has provided millions of dollars in recent years for Lebanon in humanitarian, development and military areas.

The money would go to "UN agencies and NGOs which are serving both refugees and the Lebanese," she said, adding that the aid would focus on health care for poor children, basic primary care and health vaccinations, as well as water and sanitation projects.

The ambassador stressed that her country supports the return of Syrian refugees to their country "when conditions permit."

"Support would continue to be provided for refugees and host communities to survive, to thrive, and to educate children," she added.

Richard took office in May this year, replacing David Hale who served between September 2013 and October 2015.
MOSCOW, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Russian State Duma, or the lower house of parliament, approved Friday a bill ratifying an agreement with Syria on the open-ended deployment of a Russian Air Force unit there.

The agreement was signed on Aug. 26, 2015 in Damascus, and was submitted to the State Duma for ratification in early August, 2016.

Under the agreement, Syria granted the Russian Air Force unit the right to use the Hmeimim air base in Latakia province with all its infrastructure.

Syria agreed to allow entry of weapons, ammunition, equipment and materials necessary for the implementation of the tasks of the Russian unit free of any duties and taxes, according to the agreement.

It also allowed the personnel of the Russian unit to freely cross the Syrian border without inspection by border and customs authorities.

To become effective, the agreement requires ratification, as it involves "issues of Russia's defense capability, as well as the maintenance of international peace and security," an explanatory note annexed to the agreement said.

The Russian Air Force has been deployed in Syria for anti-terror missions at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since September 2015.
ANKARA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey will "accelerate" the normalization process between the two countries, the office of the Turkish Presidency said in a statement on Friday.

Putin will attend the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul on Oct. 10 upon the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the office announced.

According to the statement, the two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting with the participation of relevant ministers on the sidelines of the congress.

"It is expected that this visit, which comes as a follow-up to the two leaders' earlier meetings in St. Petersburg on Aug. 9 and in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 3 on the sidelines of the G20 summit, will contribute to further improving our cooperation and accelerating normalization process between Turkey and Russia," read the statement.

The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations including energy cooperation, with a special emphasis on the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project that will transfer Russian gas to Europe via Turkey.

It will be Putin's first visit since Turkey downed a Russian jet last November, which drifted the bilateral relations to a historical low.

The 23rd World Energy Congress, a triennial event, will open on Oct. 9 and continue till Oct. 13. A large number of leaders and representatives of the energy sector from 80 countries will gather at the Istanbul Congress.
LUSAKA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Zambians on Friday took to social media to express their misgivings on plans by the country's road safety agency to ban secondhand tyres, saying it was not a solution to curb road carnages.

Early this week, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) said it had proposed a legislation banning the use of secondhand tyres on the country's roads to reduce road carnage.

The road safety agency said having a law banning the use of secondhand tyres would go a long way in improving law enforcement on conditions of motor vehicles on the country's roads.

But some motorists and other stakeholders said banning secondhand tyres will not solve the problem of road carnage in the country and have since asked the road safety agency to rescind its decision.

Some motorists felt that the road safety agency should first of all consult all stakeholders instead of rushing to introduce a law banning the use of secondhand tyres.

Others took to social media to express their concerns on the plans, with some saying it will only increase corruption on the roads.

Another stated that the government should take into consideration hundreds of young people who are earning a living through the selling of secondhand tyres.

Authorities in Zambia have in recent weeks expressed concern over the increased levels of road traffic accidents in the country and have been trying to come up with measures to arrest the situation.

According to the road safety agency, 1,100 people died from road traffic accidents in the first half of this year. Enditem
LUSAKA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Speaker of the Zambian parliament on Friday urged the main opposition political party to accept that the country had a duly elected president instead of living in denial.

Speaker Patrick Matibini said the United Party for National Development (UPND) was wasting its time by refusing to accept President Edgar Lungu as duly elected president of the country after the August 11 general elections.

Matibini was reacting to opposition lawmakers during a parliamentary session who kept on referring to the Zambian leader as Mr. Lungu instead of his official address His Excellency President Lungu.

The speaker said if there was no president in the country, parliament would not have been sitting since all the lawmakers swore allegiance to the president on their first day, adding that the opposition party needed to accept that in any election there were winners and losers and move on.

The UPND has refused to accept Lungu as winner of the polls, claiming the vote was stolen from its leader Hakainde Hichilema.

The party's plans to have the results overturned have failed after the Constitutional Court threw out its petition. It is currently pursuing the matter in the Supreme Court. Enditem
Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. (REUTERS Photo)

BEIRUT, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The recent break of understanding between Russia and the United States over the Syrian crisis in general and over the devastated city of Aleppo in particular, raised fears about serious repercussions in the Middle East as the relationship between the two great powers reached its lowest levels, and could turn the whole region into a scene of confrontation.

While the military confrontation between the Syrian regime and its allies on one side and the rebels on the other side is still heated in Aleppo, reflecting the regional and international tensions, the Syrian refugees in Lebanon expressed their concern and fear over the repercussion of this confrontation on Lebanon, the country most affected by the Syrian crisis.

About 200 Syrian families erected a refugee camp in the Qaraon plain in eastern Lebanon, about 40 km from the borders with Syria.

Some refugees were gathering around a TV watching the latest development of the military confrontation in Aleppo and the news related to the escalated debate between Russia and the United States.

"The situation is going towards a major military escalation and it is looking very dangerous," Amed Aboul Foutouh, a 60-year-old Syrian displaced from the Damascus neighborhoods told Xinhua.

Another refugee, who declined to reveal his identity, pointed to the news about the airstrikes launched by the Syrian and Russian air forces on the eastern parts of Aleppo, shouting with relief.

"Yes. Those strikes should be intensified against the terrorists who are occupying the eastern parts of the city. They are strangers who came from various countries to invade our country with the support of the United States."

Samia al-Jezzini, a 50-years-old housewife who lost her husband during the war two years ago, watched the destruction of her three-story building in Aleppo before fleeing to Lebanon.

She told Xinhua that "the total destruction is a war that was imposed on the Syrian army and its allies, and there is no other solution to liberate the city but through military means."

"What was the fault of children, women and the elderly dying in the tragedy of Aleppo?" Hassiba al-Hamdi, for her part, said with tears.

She added "the war has no mercy and all we can do is to pray to God to help those innocent people."

Adel Aboul Alam, displaced from Aleppo, told Xinhua that "the United States and the western countries are not honest in dealing with the Syrian crisis. Every time the Syrian regime forces achieve a progress on the ground, those countries search for every pretext to protect the rebels."

Abdo Alian, for his part, believes that the way the confrontation is going "shows that the destruction of our country is the aim of the United States. It is going to be a long war. We can do nothing but continue to manage our lives here, and try to go through this."

Hassan al-Zaini, on the other hand, considers that "the news broadcasted by the stations opposing the Syrian regime and those backing it during the last hours, particularly those related to the U.S.-Russian dispute, indicate that the war in Syria is entering a new serious phase that will have dangerous repercussions."

He added that "we as refugees are watching the military and political development with fear and concern, as it would not only affect our country, but also affect the neighboring countries. This is truly what we fear as our fate would be uncertain."

According to the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees, Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned an attack on a refugee camp in western Niger which killed at least 22 members of Niger's security forces.

On Thursday, unknown assailants attacked a security post at a refugee camp housing Malian refugees in the country's Tazalit, Tahoua region.

Local source said the attackers are suspected to be Islamic extremists from northern Mali.

Ban called on authorities of Niger to pursue and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told a daily briefing on Friday.

"He also urges the government of Niger to further reinforce security around refugee camps and other vulnerable targets," said Haq.
File photo taken on May 8, 2015 shows that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres (2nd L) is welcomed by Somali refugees at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.(Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

GENEVA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency UNHCR warmly welcomed the recommendation by the UN Security Council of its former high commissioner, Antonio Guterres, as next UN secretary-general.

The UNHCR said it was especially happy the world's most senior peacemaker would be somebody who knew the terrible human consequences of war so well.

In a statement received on Friday, UNHCR said it believed Guterres would lead the United Nations with the vision, political skills and deep sense of humanity needed to make an unprecedented push for world peace.

Faced with a surge in the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution, Guterres skillfully managed UNHCR's responses, introducing important reforms to make these more effective, the statement noted.

"During his 10 years at UNHCR, Mr. Guterres managed some of the biggest refugee crises of our times," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

He added that Guterres was a tireless advocate for refugees, the internally displaced and the stateless, defending their rights in the field and at the highest political levels.

"He placed a strong emphasis on finding innovative solutions to help them find safety and a dignified life, as well as on pushing for an end to the conflicts driving so many people from their homes," Grandi said.

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously decided to recommend Guterres to head the United Nations for the next five years, starting from Jan.1, 2017.

The 15-nation council has delivered its decision to the UN General Assembly to formally appoint Guterres as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic (2nd-R) holds a meeting with senior vice-president of Huawei Tang Xiaoming (2nd-L) in Belgrade, Serbia, on Oct. 5, 2016. A fixed network transformation project was launched here Wednesday between China's Huawei and Serbia's national operator Telekom Srbija, marking the start of the first large-scale cooperation in the information and communication technology between China and Serbia. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric)

BELGRADE, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A fixed network transformation project was launched here Wednesday between China's Huawei and Serbia's national operator Telekom Srbija, marking the start of the first large-scale cooperation in the information and communication technology between China and Serbia.

At the presentation held at the Palace of Serbia, Tang Xiaoming, senior vice-president of Huawei, announced the start of the three-year ALL-IP transformation project worth 150 million euros (168 million U.S. dollars).

Tang said at the press conference that after 10 years of cooperation between the two companies, Huawei planned to "bring the latest technology to Serbian people" and contribute to Serbia's development.

"The aim of this project is to modernize the existing fixed network of Telekom Serbia, that will thus improve its service and provide its users with a much faster network with various performances, high quality video, as well as introduce smart home solutions and improve quality of living and the communication of Serbian people," he said.

Tang explained that all preparations had been completed so that starting from now, Telekom and local companies would work together with Huawei on the project.

Present at the presentation were also Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, general director of Telekom Srbija Predrag Culibrk, Chinese ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang, and minister of trade, tourism and telecommunications Rasim Ljajic.

Vucic expressed satisfaction with the deal, calling it another example of a win-win cooperation between Serbia and China that would, according to him, develop even further in the near future.

"I think that it is important that Telekom becomes more successful than competitors in the country and the region. Huawei is one of the leaders in the world and with their knowledge we can take on a top position in the region," he said, adding that citizens had yet to experience the economic benefit of cooperation between China and Serbia.

Culibrk said the two sides defined all elements of the contract and signed amendments Wednesday, "opening a whole new chapter for Telekom and telecommunications in Serbia," explaining his company would purchase equipment, services and infrastructure works from Huawei.

According to Culibrk, Telekom is to invest 150 million euros in the area of fixed Internet and multimedia, which will include more than a million homes and objects in numerous cities and significantly increase Internet speed.

Meanwhile, ambassador Li said the beginning of the project was big news for Serbia and China, explaining it was the first project whose realization had started since the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in June.

"Having in mind that political conditions are very good, as an ambassador, I can say we have to invest much more effort and give our best in order to advance the bilateral relations of Serbia and China," he said, adding his hope there would be many more of such projects agreed upon in the future.

Telekom Srbija is Serbia's biggest fixed network operator with 70 percent of fixed network users.

During his state visit to Serbia in June this year, Chinese President Xi witnessed the signing of the framework agreement between Telekom and Huawei for the ALL-IP project, one of the most important achievements of the visit.
Israeli Jewish settlers pray in the settlement of the Sa-Nur in the northern West Bank, on July 30, 2015.(Xinhua/JINI/Miri Tzachi)

BRUSSELS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Friday expressed worry about Israel's continuing settlement expansion in the West Bank, a foreign affairs spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Israeli authorities have recently approved plans to construct 98 new housing units in what is effectively a new settlement in the northern West Bank, near the existing settlement of Shiloh.

"This decision continues the accelerating trend of new settlement announcements since the start of 2016 and risks further separating Ramallah from Nablus and thus further undermining the contiguity of a future Palestinian state," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson criticized Israel for continuing settlement building and expansion that "goes directly against the recommendations of the Quartet Report."

Israel's plan would "weaken rather than strengthen the prospects for a two-state solution to the Middle East peace process, and make the possibility of a viable Palestinian state more remote," the spokesperson added.

In the statement, the EU spokesperson said "settlements are illegal under international law. Continued settlement expansion also calls into question Israel's commitment towards reaching a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians."

Israeli settlement construction is one of the top and most complicated issues in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
MADRID, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, has appointed Jansen Stafford as its new CEO in Spain, the company has reported through a statement.

Stafford, who replaces Philippa Tregear, will be responsible for designing the company's policies, leading the team and strategic actions of the company in Spain within the commercial, cargo, operations and sales areas.

Stafford, the company said, will be in charge of consolidating the company's position in the Spanish market.

Stafford, who has been working for the company over the last six years, was also working in Australia between 2010 and 2013 and led the strategy and development of Cathay Pacific in Cambodia.

The company inaugurated its direct flight between Madrid and Hong Kong last June 2, which includes four direct flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The company highlighted the importance of this connection for being Spain one of the main tourist destinations in the world.

The Chinese company, whose headquarters is in Hong Kong, owns a fleet of over 140 aircraft and flies to nearly 200 destinations in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa. Enditem
PARIS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande on Friday cancelled a visit to Poland planned next week after the Polish government decided to scrap an Airbus helicopter deal worth 3.14 billion euros (about 3.52 billion U.S. dollars).

Hollande, expected to take part in Franco-Polish intergovernmental consultations scheduled for Oct. 13, decided to postpone his visit after Warsaw's decision to abandon a deal to buy Airbus-made Caracal helicopters, Le Figaro newspaper reported.

The French head of state had asked Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to go to Poland "quickly," it added citing the president's office.

In April 2015, Poland's previous centrist government agreed to buy 50 Caracal helicopters as part of a plan to modernize its military and improve security amid increasing tension in eastern Europe.

Winning the country's legislative in October last year, the eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party said it was cancelling the deal. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Enditem
MOGADISHU, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nine aid workers were killed in violence in Somalia between January and September, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday.

In its October bulletin, the OCHA says over 100 violent incidents resulted in the deaths. Eleven aid workers were injuried and three others were abducted during the nine months.

The OCHA says the volatile security situation in Somalia continues to impact on civilian lives and create a challenging environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

"Access constraints continue to impede humanitarian partners' ability to reach people in need in a timely manner. Staff safety and security remain a major concern," it says.

Somalia is trying to rebound from two decades of civil conflict but the Islamist group Al-Shabab still controls some areas in the south.

Al-Shabaab has been targeting humanitarian workers for political gain, sometimes demanding ransoms to free hostages.

In addition to security concerns, the OCHA says humanitarian groups continue to face administrative and bureaucratic impediments.

"These include demands for registration and involvement in staff recruitment processes among other activities. This has in certain cases threatened the operational independence of humanitarian partners," it says. Enditem
VIENNA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Patients taken to hospital with pneumonia are more likely to die than those suffering heart attacks and must be treated as emergency cases, experts at an Austrian conference have claimed.

The experts, attending the annual conference for the Austrian Society of Pulmonology in Vienna, said the mortality rate for patients with heart attacks is presently under five percent, while about 10 percent of persons taken to hospital with pneumonia succumb to the lung condition.

"This is partly due to the fact that lung inflammation is often grossly underestimated as a life-threatening condition," OeGP expert Holger Flick said, according to an Austria Press Agency report on Friday.

He said new findings show that even if patients admitted to hospital do not show immediate signs of being in a critical condition, they should still be subject to intense monitoring and therapy from the outset.

These people are often simply placed in normal wards, though their condition can worsen dramatically within just a few hours, he said, with those aged over 65 at particular risk.

In the case of heart attacks hospital teams are on high alert and subsequently take an immediate course of action, a level of attention the experts at the conference argue should also be applied in cases of pneumonia.

A new set of guidelines to improve the quality of this treatment has thus been developed jointly by Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei speaks at a press conference on G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the headquarters of International Monetary Fund(IMF) in Washington D.C., the United States, Oct. 7, 2016. Global economy continued to face uncertainty and rising risks, Lou Jiwei said on behalf of the G20 economies on Friday. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Global economy continued to face uncertainty and rising risks, Lou Jiwei, China's Finance Minister, said on behalf of the G20 economies on Friday.

Uncertainty and risks, including elections in major economies, uncertain fallout of Brexit, rising expectation for rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, increased geopolitical risks and terrorist attacks, could have significant repercussions for the global economy and international financial markets, said Lou at a press conference after the G20 policymakers concluded their meeting in Washington.

Lou said that G20 economies will continue to closely monitor the developments, strengthen policy coordination and delivered the commitments made at the G20 Hangzhou Summit in September in China.

When asked about the Brexit process and possible related financial turmoil, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Shauble, who will chair the G20 meetings next year, said at the press conference that EU institutions stood ready to negotiate.

He added that capital flows and volatility in currency markets are always a concern for G20 economies.

In this regard, Lou added that financial markets tend to magnify uncertainties and overreact.

When asked about China's rising credit, Lou said that China's central government debt level remained at a healthy level, with the debt to GDP ratio at around 18 percent.

China has taken measures to improve the supervision and regulation of local government debts, and strengthen budget constrains over local governments, according to Lou.

The risks related to the local governments debts are under control, said Lou.
Putin will attend the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul on Oct. 10 upon the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP photo)

ANKARA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey will "accelerate" the normalization process between the two countries, the office of the Turkish Presidency said in a statement on Friday.

Putin will attend the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul on Oct. 10 upon the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the office announced.

According to the statement, the two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting with the participation of relevant ministers on the sidelines of the congress.

"It is expected that this visit, which comes as a follow-up to the two leaders' earlier meetings in St. Petersburg on Aug. 9 and in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 3 on the sidelines of the G20 summit, will contribute to further improving our cooperation and accelerating normalization process between Turkey and Russia," read the statement.

The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations including energy cooperation, with a special emphasis on the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project that will transfer Russian gas to Europe via Turkey.

It will be Putin's first visit since Turkey downed a Russian jet last November, which drifted the bilateral relations to a historical low.

The 23rd World Energy Congress, a triennial event, will open on Oct. 9 and continue till Oct. 13. A large number of leaders and representatives of the energy sector from 80 countries will gather at the Istanbul Congress.
Photo taken on Oct. 6, 2016 shows the empty food shelves at a supermarket as Hurricane Matthew is approaching in Orlando, Florida, the United States. Local authorities in Florida on Thursday issued a mandatory evacuation order for some 1.5 million coastal residents in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, one of the most powerful storms to hit the region in a decade.(Xinhua/Huang Zhongchuan)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- About 800,000 families and businesses across the southern U.S. state of Florida on Friday were cut off power as killer hurricane Mathew continued to move up coast, posing a storm surge to coastal cities in U.S. southeast states.

According to projection by NextEra Energy Inc's FPL power company in Florida, Hurricane Matthew could knock out power to as many as 2.5 million customers in Florida.

As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), U.S. National Hurricane Center said the hurricane had downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane to a Category 3 with sustained winds up to 120 mph, adding that the hurricane was moving to northwest.

Hurricane Matthew left devastation in its wake, killing hundreds of people in Haiti, before it moved toward the Bahamas and the United States.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, Florida Governor Rick Scott warned that the "worst effects are still likely to come," referring to the possibility that hurricane could turn toward Florida's densely populated coast and cause a storm surge to coastal cities.

Meanwhile, in Georgia and South Carolina, local authorities and residents were bracing themselves for the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. southeastern region in about a decade.

Some 500,000 residents in Georgia's coastal areas had so far fled for inland areas, according to local media reports.

Speaking at a press conference, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley sternly called out residents reluctant to leave, referring to possibly deadly flooding.

"This is the last time you will hear my voice when I am asking you to evacuate. We need everybody to consider evacuating and take this very seriously."
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 7 ((Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Friday warned that most civilians living in areas of northern Nigeria recaptured from the extremist group Boko Haram face serious protection problems and lack the most basic assistance, with women particularly at risk, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"UNHCR and partners report major food shortages as well as issues related to shelter for most of the displaced populations," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

"UNHCR reports that many families are headed by women because their husbands have been killed by Boko Haram, forced to join the insurgents or disappeared," he said. "The Agency notes that many women and children remain traumatized by their time under Boko Haram rule and need counselling and livelihoods support."

Nigeria's northeast region has been a stronghold of Boko Haram. Over the past months, the Nigerian government has launched several military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A research team at a U.S. government facility has created a transistor with a working 1-nanometer gate, breaking a major barrier, or a threshold, in transistor size among conventional semiconductors.

While the 5-nanometer threshold is set by the laws of physics, high-end 20-nanometer-gate transistors are now on the market. For comparison, a strand of human hair is about 50,000 nanometers thick.

"We made the smallest transistor reported to date," said Ali Javey, lead principal investigator of the Electronic Materials program in the Materials Science Division at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). "The gate length is considered a defining dimension of the transistor. We demonstrated a 1-nanometer-gate transistor, showing that with the choice of proper materials, there is a lot more room to shrink our electronics."

The development could be key to keeping alive Intel Corp co-founder Gordon Moore' s prediction that the density of transistors on integrated circuits would double every two years, enabling the increased performance of our laptops, mobile phones, televisions, and other electronics. "The semiconductor industry has long assumed that any gate below 5 nanometers wouldn't work, so anything below that was not even considered," said Sujay Desai, a graduate student in Javey's lab and lead author of a paper published this week in the journal Science.

"This research shows that sub-5-nanometer gates should not be discounted," Desai was quoted as saying by a Berkeley Lab news release.

The key was to use carbon nanotubes and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which is part of a family of materials with immense potential for applications in LEDs, lasers, nanoscale transistors, solar cells, and more.

Transistors consist of three terminals: a source, a drain, and a gate. Current flows from the source to the drain, and that flow is controlled by the gate, which switches on and off in response to the voltage applied. Both silicon and MoS2 have a crystalline lattice structure, but electrons flowing through silicon are lighter and encounter less resistance compared with MoS2. That is a boon when the gate is 5 nanometers or longer. But below that length, a quantum mechanical phenomenon called tunneling kicks in, and the gate barrier is no longer able to keep the electrons from barging through from the source to the drain terminals.

"This means we can't turn off the transistors," explained Desai. "The electrons are out of control."

Because electrons flowing through MoS2 are heavier, their flow can be controlled with smaller gate lengths. MoS2 can also be scaled down to atomically thin sheets, about 0.65 nanometers thick, with a lower dielectric constant, a measure reflecting the ability of a material to store energy in an electric field. Both of these properties, in addition to the mass of the electron, help improve the control of the flow of current inside the transistor when the gate length is reduced to 1 nanometer.

Once the researchers settled on MoS2 as the semiconductor material, it was time to construct the gate. Making a 1-nanometer structure, it turns out, is no small feat. Conventional lithography techniques do not work well at that scale, so they turned to carbon nanotubes, hollow cylindrical tubes with diameters as small as 1 nanometer. They then measured the electrical properties of the devices to show that the MoS2 transistor with the carbon-nanotube gate effectively controlled the flow of electrons.

"This work demonstrated the shortest transistor ever," said Javey, who is also a University of California, Berkeley, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences. "However, it's a proof of concept. We have not yet packed these transistors onto a chip, and we haven't done this billions of times over. We also have not developed self-aligned fabrication schemes for reducing parasitic resistances in the device. But this work is important to show that we are no longer limited to a 5-nanometer gate for our transistors."

"Moore's Law can continue a while longer by proper engineering of the semiconductor material and device architecture," he claimed.
Wanted man shot dead

He has been identified as David Gittens also known as Sugars of Point Fortin.

Police reported that at 4.30 pm on Tuesday, officers of the South Western Division Task Force, acting on a tip-off, went to a house in Cap-de-Ville, Point Fortin where Gittens was reportedly hiding out, and called out to him.

According to reports, Gittens whose image was posted on TV6s daily crime programme Beyond The Tape, challenged the officers with a firearm which he refused to drop although ordered to do so.

Police said he proceeded to point the weapon in the direction of the officers and opened fire.

The officers responded and Gittens was shot several times.

He was taken to the Point Fortin Area Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

An autopsy was expected to be performed yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Investigations are continuing.
Primary school student reports sexual assault

The girl first reported to her mother on Tuesday afternoon that when she was left at home in the company of her step-father, he would engage in touching her private parts. The girl said she was afraid to report the matter to her mother as the man had threatened her, however, unable to cope with the stress the girl turned to her mother for protection on Tuesday prompting her mother to take the matter to the police.

The girl was later interviewed by officers of the Child Protection Unit and she gave a detailed description of the instances when she was sexually assaulted. Investigations are continuing.
Man chopped to death

Police suspect his murder was a crime of passion.

Police officers are now searching for the killer, believed to be the estranged husband of a woman from La Horquetta. Newsday understands that officers of the Northern Division responded to a report made by the woman, who said she left for work and when she returned home at about 7.10 am, she discovered the house broken into.

When officers arrived at the scene and investigated, they discovered Strakers body lying in one of the bedrooms of the house with several chop wounds about the body.

The police officers immediately called for back-up and the scene was cordoned off and processed by officers of the Northern Division and Crime Scene investigators.

A District Medical Officer ordered Strakers body removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James for autopsy.
Cops told of spitting incident

You dont spit in the face of a soldier...

you dont disrespect a soldier in that way, Newsday was told.

At 4.45 am on Wednesday, Jackson also known as Judah Bucchoon, 32, was asleep with girlfriend Renne Pixie Dorner, 32, when he was awakened by a noise. On checking, he was confronted by gunmen who shot him in the left leg. Jackson was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital but discharged himself soon after checking in for treatment. Hours later he reportedly checked himself into a private health institution. Dorner too has not returned to the house, in fear of her life.

On Wednesday night, it was reported that Jacksons relatives visited Dorners home in New Grant and removed his (Jackson) three vehicles, two vans and a car which he had parked on the premises. On the morning of the incident, the gunmen doused parts of the house and chair cushions with gasolene and left a lighted channa bomb (homemade explosive device) at the bottom of the stairs. It failed to detonate saving the old wooden house from going up in flames.

Two ex-soldiers were arrested by police who were alerted to the shooting and attempted arson while the incident was in progress. The two were intercepted in a SUV on the north bound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway near the Munroe Road Flyover in Chaguanas. Police found and seized four firearms, a quantity of assorted ammunition and several number plates including the one which was seen on the Nissan Quashqai leaving the scene in New Grant.

Up to yesterday, no charges had been laid and the two soldiers who remained in custody as investigations continue in other gun related crimes. Also in custody is woman who was held with seven rounds of ammunition when she visited the Chagauans Police Station following the arrest of the men. One of the soldiers is said to be the father of 21 children.
Guanapo man abducted, shot

Reports stated Justin Garcia boarded the car with two occupants at about 5.30 am and asked to be taken to a particular destination.

The driver instead drove to Valencia where he announced a robbery and ordered Garcia to withdraw cash from the ATM at the RBC branch. Garcia later told police he was unable to withdraw any cash, prompting the men to instead drive to Arima where he was shot once in the abdomen.

He was then released and later assisted by a passer-by who took him to the Sangre Grande Hospital.

Garcia underwent emergency surgery and is yet to give police a detailed report on the incident due to his condition. A party of officers led by WP Sgt Lopez is leading the investigation and camera footage from the bank is expected to assist the police.
Judge, ex-PNM mayor owes NIB $1.4 M

The approximately 350 employees of Classic Caterers Limited (CCL) of which Ferreira was a director, had been owing the NIB the monies and it was Ferreiras duty to ensure that it was paid in the form of national insurance deductions .

Justice Joan Charles in a written judgment handed down in the San Fernando High Court, ordered that the monies be paid to the NIB plus interest at 12 percent from since the deductions were due since 2008 .

The NIB sued Ferreira and another director, Kenneth Prescott, of CCL which was a registered food catering business which operated in La Romaine and Arima. In 2008, the NIB conducted an audit of CCL which revealed that national insurance deductions were not made on behalf of its employees for the periods __ October 2005; November 2005; June 2006; December 2007; January 2007; January 2008; February 2008. Charles, in a 15-page judgment, stated that a CCLs accounting officer had indicated to the NIB auditors, that the company had experienced cash flow problems .

The judge went on to state that the NIB demanded the payment of $1.451,637.74 representing deductions on behalf of employees, but CCL made several promises to pay, but failed to do so. Ferreira demitted office in July 2003 as Mayor of San Fernando .

The NIB eventually filed a High Court action against CCL, claiming the sum plus interest that had been accruing .

Attorney Prakash Deonarine represented the NIB while attorney Kerwyn Garcia defended the action on CCLs behalf .

In his defence, Ferreira contended that he had resigned as a CCL director in 2009, though he accepted that he was a director at the time when the debt became due and owing .

However, Charles stated in her ruling, Ferreira had further argued that Section 65 (A) (i) of the NIB Act does not state that a director is personally liable for a companys unpaid national insurance contribution, because the language in the legislation does not expressly state so, except in cases where the directors could show that they exercised due care and deligence to prevent the failure to pay .

Referring to Section 65 (A) (i), Charles stated that no director or manager shall be liable for the debt where he or she exercised the degree of care, diligence and skill, to prevent the failure to pay, which a prudent person would have exercised in comparable circumstances .

The judge in referring to the evidence in the trial, stated that Ferreira contended that between 1995 and 2008, accountant Jay Harrynarine and Operations manager/ director __ Kenneth Prescott, were the persons responsible for ensuring the NIS deductions paid on behalf of employees. But Charles in assessing the evidence, stated in her judgment that Ferreira, though an outside director of CCL, was well aware that the number of employees had increased from 150 to 300 by 2007 .

And, it was his evidence that at board meetings he never asked about statutory payments, and, that he accepted that he had unrestricted access to the companys pay records .

Further, Charles stated in her ruling that Ferreira knew that the cumulative salaries of the employees were up to $1 million per month, and, that a failure to pay national insurance contributions __ even if one month was missed __ could result in the company being in arrears of over $100,000.00 to the NIB .

Charles further stated that Ferreira had in the years which the monies were owed, repeatedly signed letters addressed to the NIB, seeking to make good on National Insurance contributions which had not been paid by the company .

The judge concluded that it was clear, that Ferreira had not met the legal standard required by Section 65 (A) (ii) of the NIB Act. He clearly knew that the company was experiencing financial difficulties since 2007, yet he took no concrete steps to ensure there was no failure to make NIS contributions, Justice Joan Charles stated .

Charles ordered Ferreira to pay the sum of $1,451,637.74 to the NIB, plaus interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from December 23, 2009. He is to pay the NIBs legal cost as well, the judge further ordered .
Murder Trial: Cop shows jury gun, ammunition

Inspector Don Gajadhar, called as the States witness yesterday, testified that he had taken the gun and ammunition, together with swabs from the back of Richardsons head for analysis at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James. Hosein, 40, of St Johns Trace, South Oropouche, is on trial before Justice Malcolm Holdip in the San Fernando High Court, for the shooting death of Richardson, 23, of Hubert Rance Street, San Fernando, on the night of October 7 in South Oropouche. The trial began on Tuesday with the State contending that Hosein had asked one of his friends if he could find him a gun and the friend replied that he would ask Richardson.

The State intends to lead evidence from that friend as the States main witness when the trial resumes hearing on Monday.

It is alleged that on that fateful day, Richardson had given Hosein the gun and they, together with another man, went out liming.

At about 11 pm they drove to South Oropouche where Hosein asked Richardson to get out the car. Hosein is alleged to have shot Richardson twice __ once to his leg and once in the head. The body was found in a canefield off the M2 Ring Road in Woodland just off La Romaine.
Funny money in Ria abduction

Sources said a bank account of one of Rias close connections is now the focus of attention by officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit who are exploring the possibility this person may be involved in the drug trade and could assist officers in their investigation. Financial records obtained by police point to this person being in possession of unexplained large sums of cash. The owner of the money was among persons interviewed following Sookdeos abduction, but at the time, was not viewed as a suspect having expressed to police an inability to understand why Ria was abducted in the first place.

With the latest information, officers believe the abduction may be linked to sinister dealings by this person who owns large sums of money. Rias relatives had suggested that she was a victim of human trafficking but the investigation has taken a new turn with the latest information. Distraught relatives are asking police to find and question one of their own in connection with Rias disappearance.

Two weeks ago, Sookdeo was snatched shortly after dropping off her children to school. A police link is one of several leads being pursued by investigators.

Find him and check him out too, said a concerned relative.

We are doing our own investigations too and have learnt that this officer, who she knew since she was going to school, was stalking her for two years now. He knew she was married but wanted to hear none of it. He would often harass her on her phone (mobile) and used to drive up and down in front her parents house when she was there. We feel he could help. One of Sookdeos best friends and a client, who relatives said often wined and dined the young hairdresser with trips abroad and fine dining, has since left the country. Four days after she was abducted, officers went to a house at Rochard Road, Penal, where they impounded a vehicle and detained three people including a police officer said to be on suspension. The three were subsequently released pending investigations and the vehicle returned to its owner.

Exploring all means to find her, relatives have resorted to spiritual leaders of different faiths who have told them Sookdeo is alive.

But as the trail grows colder as time passes, a relative said the news has not been the best lately.

Yesterday, marked 14 days since the hairdresser disappeared.

Some relatives have even told Newsday that Ria, 34, has been visiting them in their dreams but is unable to give her exact location.

We wish she could tell us exactly where they have her because all we want is for her to come home, a relative cried.
Trini relives Matthew horror in Bahamas

She said on Wednesday night they were bracing for the hurricane where she is in the capital Nassau, but at that same time the hurricane was already rough in the southern part of the Grand Bahama island.

However when at 8.04 yesterday morning the pounding began in Nassau, Davis said: Its really bad. Four hours later as the storm got stronger she said: This is TERRIBLE!!!! Asked how it was affecting her personally she said she is Scared,panicked and shocked.

We are traumatised that it is taking so long to go away and it actually strengthened to Cat 4. She then described what was happening. She said: There is plenty damage. Cars are floating all about. Endless trees and lampposts are down. Trees fell on cars. Endless floods, and this storm isnt finished with us as yet. She added:  The prison roof is gone, hotels are damaged, especially the roof tops, air conditoners have been blown away and people who went to some hotels got their cars damaged and blown away as well, and we are still getting hammered! According to the Bahamian emergency management authorities, it stated that Hurricane Matthew brought down trees and power lines in Nassau, the most populous island of New Providence in the central Bahamas, with 70 percent of the countrys 250,000 residents, after receiving the full brunt of the storm.

Davis said the local radio stations were broadcasting that massive flooding had taken place in the South and East with residents getting water up to their ceilings.

An SOS was then sent out: If you can help in The Marshal Road; Coral Harbour; Elizabeth Estates area please contact NEMA and the radio stations. People are stuck in their hot ceilings. At 1.20 pm yesterday, Davis said with resignation: The back of the eye is on us but this will be tough until tonight. And as the winds continue into the afternoon the roof of a major foodstore chain, Super Value was blown off. Looters immediately decided to risk their lives to loot the store, forcing police to get out to stop them. For the entire afternoon Davis husband was authorising American Helicopters to bring food relief and mobilising rescue operations where possible, especially for those trapped in their ceilings and some who were floating.

Hurricane Matthew has since strengthened and on its way to Florida, USA.

At least 108 people have been killed in Haiti and thousands displaced, while four people have been reportedly killed in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
Southland hit hard by flooding

Several residents were also brought to tears as they recalled watching helplessly, the flood waters invade their homes. Among the areas hit the hardest was the district of La Romaine. In tears mother, Monica Chapman, said she had returned home yesterday evening to see her premises surrounded by flood waters. I have been living here nearly 50 years and I have never seen water like this in my life. I could not believe it. Tears came to my eyes, she said. Chapman, who resides at the upstairs of her two-storey house, said that only a month ago her daughter, Tricia Chapman, 38, had moved to the downstairs of the family home. My daughter had just furnished the downstairs.

She purchased everything brand new and to see everything just floating in the water was really heartbreaking for me, the emotional woman said.

She said that the family does not know where to start to pick up the pieces of their lives. My daughter lost everything. Who is going to compensate her for all this? Please tell us, the mother wept. Nearby, mother of three Marsha Moraine, 38, said that at the time of the flooding she was at home with her two-year-old son Shermar.

There was rain, thunder and lightning and within a few seconds, I was surrounded by flood waters which kept rising so quickly I had to climb to higher ground with my baby, she said. The terrified woman said that luckily she was rescued by neighbours. Residents are blaming improper drainage in the area for the cause of the flooding.
4 firemen shocked in PBR flood rescue

During yesterdays mid- afternoon thundershowers across the country, four Fire Officers were assisting passengers from a maxi taxi on the Priority Bus Route (PBR) when they came in contact with a high tension wire.

In a telephone interview, Chief Fire Officer Roosevelt Bruce told Newsday, at about 1.15 pm the officers were injured.

While effecting rescue we had four fire fighters who received some electric shock and they are being treated at Mt Hope Hospital.

None of the injuries appears to be life threatening, but they (doctors) have them at hospital for observation.

Only one will be kept at hospital for observation, he said.

A press release from the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (TTEC) stated an investigation will be launched into the incident.

The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission is in the process of appointing a committee to conduct an investigation to determine the contributing factors related to four Fire Service Officers apparently getting shocked on the Priority Bus Route earlier this afternoon, in the vicinity of 8th Avenue and 5th Street, the release said.

The release further added that TTEC is liaising with the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service and has confirmed that the officers are being treated at the Mt Hope hospital.

The information received is that there have been no fatalities i.e.

electrocution, the release said.
Close shave for President

The incidents occurred shortly before noon. Staffers of the Office of the President, viewing the fallen tree, noted that last week they had discussed the need to cut down, for safety reasons, that tree and other aging trees that were in close proximity to the building.

They thanked their good fortunes that the tree fell in the opposite direction and not on the building, saying there could have been serious health and safety issues. Carmona viewed the scene after his guests had left.
Dispute prevents students from attending school

Yesterday, a pregnant Geeta Sambucharan, spokesperson for 11 stranded families told Newsday that one remaining neighbour has given them until weekend to stop using their concrete drain passing through her (neighbour) land to enter and leave their homes.

Sambucharan explained that the land on which they have constructed their humble homes is family-owned but bounded by other family members, private owners and State lands.

Right now we are sandwiched in here and all we need now is a home over our heads, said Sambucharan who said she is scared that when her time comes to deliver her baby she cannot get out.

We are caged in on the land. We cant get out. I dont know why we are being treated this way. When Newsday visited the area yesterday, new chain link fences and galvanize barriers were installed on property cutting off the access roads.

My own family put up barriers that we cant get out. The houses which are built close to each other do not have running water or lights - the drainage is poor and stagnant water in the muddy drains has led to a mosquito infestation.

When rain falls the area turns into mud.

Sambucharan continued: It have Zika out there and no one even coming in the back here to spray. Two days ago a disabled couple moved out until the situation changes.

Sambucharan says all the families may have to follow suit.

They say many of the families live on welfare and they cannot afford a lawyer to seek their interest. Newsday spoke to one relative who blamed Sambucharan for their own problems.

They had no right to build their houses in the middle and not sure how you going in or coming out, the relative told Newsday.

They had no plan.

We save our money and built a road to get to our homes. We dont feel sorry for them because they are not nice people. We dont have to let them pass on our land.
SWU waiting for response for proposals from PM

That proposal is a comprehensive document that outlines the way forward to start back the steel industry with investors, not one investor, but investors, Henry said.

Henry spoke yesterday with the media on the state of workers who were formerly employed with steel giant ArcelorMittal at the Office of the President, St Anns where he was a guest at the presentation of credentials of a diplomat. ArcelorMittal went into voluntary insolvency late last year and left over 2,000 workers on the breadline.

In the proposals, he said, the SWU and the investors were not only looking at the manufacture of original products, but to produce containers given the expansion of the Panama Canal, and container buildings.

Noting that some laid off workers have lost their homes, and others cannot afford the rent they now have to pay without jobs or they do not earn what they earned before, Henry said that low-cost housing using container buildings has been proposed.

Another area proposed was the production of high quality steelpans for the steelband industry, he said. With new developments taking place in Cuba, Guyana, Suriname and other Caribbean and South American countries, he said, that given opportunity for dialogue there may be markets for the steel.
Call to obey political code

Saying the code was signed by the Peoples National Movement, United National Congress, Independent Liberal Party, Movement for Social Justice and others, the statement said all signatories are still bound by it.

The statement said the code mandates parties to maintain the highest moral principles and ethical standards; promote respect, tolerance, harmony and peace; refrain from promotion of divisiveness; obey the law; uphold the integrity of the electoral process, and show conduct beyond reproach. The code also bans the offer of inducements to voters, threatening of peoples jobs, and use of language that intimidates, incites violence or fosters hatred.

The council urged all prospective candidates and their parties to reacquaint themselves with the code  available at the councils website  even as the council anticipates a responsible level of campaigning ahead.
Broke governments now want to tax streaming services  how come they never cut back on spending?

(BigGovernment.news) The Sons of Liberty would be very busy these days chucking stuff into the harbor to protest higher and higher taxes, since nowadays cities, states and the federal government are so in debt thanks to overly-generous entitlement programs they cant get enough of our money.

The next big thing on the taxmans radar: Streaming television services.

A couple of years ago this wouldnt have been any big deal  or any big new tax target  because streaming was just becoming a thing. But the convergence of much faster Internet speeds and expensive, underwhelming cable services stuffed with channels nobody watches has led to a new viewing revolution of sorts: Streaming television and movies on-demand and in real time.

Consequently, as AMI Newswire reports, such services are now being targeted by tax collectors:

Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV and online video services are being eyed as the next golden goose for tax revenues.

Dozens of California cities are deciding whether to follow the lead of Chicago, which began taxing Internet-based streaming downloads last month.

These efforts are meeting resistance. Chicagos expansion of its amusement tax is being challenged in court. News of Pasadenas finance director ruling that its 9.4 percent utility user tax could be applied to Internet services beginning Jan. 1 sparked so much backlash that city officials have since backed off that pronouncement.

City spokesman William Boyer told AMI Newswire that no decision has been made to expand or change the existing utility tax and that Pasadena is not taxing the Internet. He acknowledged that the release of the city finance directors memo was premature, though.

I think they got political blowback on that, Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, told AMI. I think the city tried to sneak in a low fastball.

As Americans have increasingly turned to the Internet for goods and services, some revenue streams flowing to states and municipalities have declined. That has led lawmakers nationwide to find ways to tax the Internet economy in order to firm up their budgets.

In most states, taxation of digital goods would only raise in the tens of millions of dollars at present, not enough to have a significant impact on state budgets that are in the billions of dollars annually, Michael Mazerov, a senior fellow at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C., told AMI Newswire. Still, broadening the sales tax base to include these goods (and related services, like Netflix streaming), could forestall some significant and harmful cuts in things like college financial aid and after-school programs. This would benefit state economies in the long run.

Netflix alone boasts 48 million U.S. subscribers to its streaming services, according to company statistics, suggesting a revenue source ripe for harvesting.

Indeed, Pennsylvania this year moved to balance its state budget, in part, by expanding the sales tax to cover online movie streaming services, e-books and digital music downloads.

As the story suggests, however, tax-happy governments are getting push back, and in no small way, from consumers fed up with elected officials and bureaucrats picking their pockets and pocketbooks. Critics say that while there has been cord-cutting  abandoning cable and other pay TV for streaming services  nearly 70 percent of American households continue to subscribe.

But that is changing, and governments are aware of it. Thats why they have their hands out  again.

And you notice which cities are the quickest to demand new taxpayer contributions  Chicago and cities in California, both with generous pension and social benefits that are perennially under-funded.

What youll also notice is that the solution these free-spending liberals always arrive at is more taxes  not cutting back on benefits that they cant afford.

Americans are going to have to decide at some point what they want  more freebies that are really only targeted at key demographics, or to keep more of their own hard-earned money. Otherwise, big city spenders and broke governments around the country are going to keep coming around with their hands out with some new, innovative way to steal your money.

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(c) 2016 USA Features Media.

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Proof retiring Sen. Harry Reid is going to be a POS until the bitter end

(Freedom.news) Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is not known for being amenable or even tolerable, for that matter. His personality is something between that of an electric eel and noisy, broken-down washing machine. He has as much compassion as a Nazi executioner and as much decorum as a skunk. And he is determined to be an obstinate so-and-so until his last moment in office.

There is no other reason than that to explain why this crusty, old, pathetic excuse of a human being would deign to block a piece of legislation that would deny terminally ill patients who have nothing to lose the opportunity to try experimental medical treatments not yet approved by the golden hand of government. As AMI Newswire reports:

Nevadas outgoing U.S. Senator Harry Reid is in a major spat about public policy affecting Americans facing apparently terminal illnesses.

Reid, the Senate Minority (Democratic) Leader, has blocked a bill by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin that would allow patients facing death to try experimental treatments not yet fully approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.



Johnson and 42 co-sponsors, including two Democrats, say the costly and arduous federal Food and Drug Administration approval process keeps drugs on the shelves for years waiting for final approval even after passing initial safety trials. Their Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act of 2016 (S. 2912) would allow patients access to such drugs  and protect manufacturers and distributors from lawsuits for such experimental uses  as long as such use is in accordance with applicable state laws.



The bill also would allow these experimental treatments to be tried without affecting the results of clinical trials.



Johnson attempted on Sept. 28 to gain unanimous consent to fast-track S. 2912 to consideration by the full Senate.



But Reid objected, saying the bill is partisan and demanding a hearing on it.

In fact, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which Johnson chairs, has held hearings  two  on the bill. And its also being co-sponsored by Democrats. Whats more, Reids home state of Nevada last year passed a state version of Johnsons federal bill. So really, as usual, this is just Reid being the nasty, ideological POS that he has always been  and always will be.

This is exactly why there should be much more medical freedom in the U.S. in the first place. Americans should not have to have permission from Washington to try medical treatments that they have voluntarily determined they want to try, especially when they have nothing else to lose. Such decisions should not be up to trouser snakes like Harry Reid or any other politician. Its not for them to decide.

And yet, here we are: A bitter, old retiring senator who has long since stopped contributing to the betterment of his state and the country in general is choosing partisan obstinance  again  to inflict further pain and suffering on untold numbers of Americans. No wonder more and more Americans support term limits.

Reid will be gone  finally  January 20, and its a day that cannot arrive soon enough.

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Kunal Ghosh released from jail

West Bengal,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Kolkata, Oct 7 (IANS) Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh, an accused in the multi-crore-rupee Saradha chit fund scam, was released from jail on Friday after being behind bars for almost three years.

The suspended Trinamool Congress MP was granted interim bail till November 11 by the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday after several of his bail appeals during the last three years were rejected.

Ghosh was visibly elated and said there could not have been a better time to get the bail.

"I can't believe that I have been released on the day of Sasthi (first day of Durga Puja). I would be able to see my mother and also Maa Durga," he said.

The bail was granted to him on the condition that Ghosh would not move out of Narkeldanga police station limits during the period and appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation once a week.

The court also ordered Ghosh to submit his passport to the CBI which, it said, could question him whenever it felt the need.

Ghosh, arrested on November 23, 2013.

"According to CrPC guidelines, an accused cannot be kept in judicial custody for more than half the term of sentence normally stipulated for the crime. Kunal Ghosh has already spent two years and two months in police custody so he is eligible for bail," Kunal's counsel said.

"The high court has also considered the factor of his mother's critical illness while granting him bail," counsel added.

On his release, Kunal thanked the high court, police and fellow inmates for their support during his imprisonment.

"I am indebted to a part of police department and jail guards and also to several of my inmates for their help and support during the tough times. I thank the media too for their time," Ghosh said.

Ghosh was group CEO of Saradha Media till his arrest and was paid a whopping monthly salary of Rs 15 lakh besides Rs 1.50 lakh as allowances.

--IANS

mgr/sgh/pgh/vt
Odisha to get Rs 76.5 cr for coastal circuit development

Orissa,National,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Bhubaneswar, Oct 7 (IANS) Odisha will get a central assistance of Rs 76.5 crore for development of its coastal circuit under "Swadesh Darshan" scheme, said an official on Friday.

The coastal circuit comprises Gopalpur, Tampara, Barakul, and Satapada. Odisha has a 480-km coast line. The Centre has released about Rs 15.3 crore as the first instalment for the purpose.

Infrastructure growth and beach development will be the priority on circuit tourism in the state, said state Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda.

Panda said that although Odisha was included in Swadesh Darshan scheme, till date no project was approved. However, the demand of state government has been considered recently for tourism development in the places which will be a major boost for state tourism.

Roads, water sports, jetty, water park, solar street lighting and floating restaurants will be developed, the minister added.

Sand art and the maritime museum will come up at Gopalpur while implementation of solid waste management and sewerage treatment plant has been mooted.

Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has been entrusted with implementation of the project.

Notably, the state government has planned to develop Talsari beach in Balasore with Udayapur-Talasari-Chandaneswar-Bichirtapur-Bhusandeswar tourist circuit.

With the number of foreign tourists to Odisha declining, the state government expects that the development of beaches as tourist hubs would increase the inflow of visitors to the state.

Odisha's share in the total number of foreign tourists visiting India was only 0.83 per cent in 2015 and 0.93 per cent in 2014.

In 2015, 80,27,133 foreign tourists visited India, but only 66,971 of them came to Odisha.

--IANS

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Rajnath takes veiled dig at Rahul, calls for restraint

Rajasthan,National,Politics,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), Oct 7 (IANS) In a veiled dig at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on politicisation of surgical strikes, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the country should be united and people from all walks of life should exercise restraint.

Responding to queries on remarks of Gandhi at a rally in Delhi in which he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing "dalali" (profiteering) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers, he said the entire country should unitedly stand behind the defence forces.

Noting tensions have risen between India and Pakistan, Rajnath Singh said: "When the country is faced with a big challenge the entire country should be united in that fight.

"There is no doubt that tension between India and Pakistan has risen and in such a scenario all the countrymen should united stand behind the armed forces and have faith in them.

"People from all walks must exercise restraint. The country should stand united with our armed forces."

Singh, had on Friday, held a high level meet with representatives of fours states - Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir - that share border with Pakistan and Border Security Force (BSF) and other security officials.

Tension has heightened with Pakistan since the September 18 terror attack on an Indian Army camp at Jammu & Kashmir's Uri and consequent surgical strikes by Indian Army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC).

--IANS

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Telangana invites investment in various sectors

Andhra Pradesh,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Hyderabad, Oct 7 (IANS) Telangana Industries Minister K. T. Rama Rao on Friday met leading industrialists in New Delhi and invited them to invest in the state.

The minister called on 15 top industrialists on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

During the meeting with Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, Rama Rao requested him to explore the possibility of investing in aerospace and defence sectors in Telangana, briefing him about the government's desire to set up an aero technology university in the state.

Kalyani agreed to cooperate with the state government in this regard. He also agreed to visit Hyderabad to meet Chief MinisterA K. Chandrasekhar Rao, according to a statement from the minister's office.

Rama Rao also met JK Tyres' Chairman and Managing Director Raghupathi Singhania and explained to him about the opportunities in setting up paper mills in the state.

The minister briefed about the government's desire to revive the Sirpur Paper Mills and requested him to invest in the plant. Singhania expressed his desire to meet the chief minister.

Rama Rao also discussed HP's expansion plans in Hyderabad and smart city solutions with the HP India Managing Director Neelam Dhawan. She agreed to develop one town in Telangana as a smart city on a pilot basis and said they would soon come out with a detailed proposal in this regard.

The minister spoke about the establishment of a dry port in the state and opportunities in the logistics sector with DHL Managing Director Vikas Anand. He also met MD of Ashok Leyland, Vinod Dasari and requested him to set up a unit in the state. Dasari assured to send a team to the state.

Rama Rao also requested the delegation from British Telecom and ZTE to set up telecom equipment plant in the state.

He also called on Accenture group chairperson Rekha Malhotra Menon and requested to expand their unit in the state. Later, he met Siemens India MD Sunil Mathur.

During his meeting with Philip Rosler of the World Economic Forum, the minister briefed him about the policies of the state government. Rosler agreed to visit the state and assured to make Telangana as a partner state in the World Economic Forum summit at Davos.

--IANS

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'Birth of a Nation' protesters hold silent vigil in Hollywood

United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

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Los Angeles, Oct 7 (IANS) As "The Birth of a Nation" -- whose actor, director, co-writer and producer Nate Parker has been in the news for his involvement in a 1999 rape case -- is ready for release, the Fvck Rape Culture organisation teamed up with artists, filmmakers and women in Hollywood for a silent candlelight vigil here.

The protesters, honouring victims of rape and sexual assault, gathered at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood on Thursday night, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The protesters gathered for a silent candlelight sit-in at the first screenings of Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation".

Around 30 to 40 people joined in the protest, planning to quietly sit for around two hours, about the length of the film. The group, honouring victims of rape and sexual assault, was mostly women, but a few men also joined in, and some of the protesters brought their dogs with them.

"We were approached by women in Hollywood who felt this case was so complicated, and the conversation came up about how to respond in a way that respected how important this film was for people of colour," said Remy Holwick, the founder of Fvck Rape Culture at the sit-in.

Holwick added: "We came up with a silent vigil that does nothing to condemn the makers of the film or Fox Searchlight, but does work to show that there is space for this film to both hopefully do very well and show that people of colour can do very well in Hollywood -- and also honour those victims of rape and sexual assault who may have been buried in this conversation a little bit."

For the past two months, Parker has been at the centre of controversy stemming from the rape case that involved Parker and his "Birth of a Nation" co-writer Jean Celestin.

They were accused of raping a fellow Penn State classmate. Parker, who maintained the sex was consensual, was acquitted and the woman involved with the case committed suicide in 2012.

--IANS

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Spectrum auction not a failure, asserts Communications Minister

Delhi,National,Technology,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Trying to brush aside criticism about the just-concluded telecom spectrum auction, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said on Friday the bidding process was not a failure.

"It is highest ever sale in the last four years of auctioning. In this year we sold around 965 MHz of spectrum," Sinha said at a press conference.

He also said this particular auction could not be compared with those in previous years where there were many licence renewal cases. "This was not an auction for survival. This auction will help companies strengthen its network."

The minister, of course, glossed over the fact that only 41 per cent of the 2,354 MHz on offer was sold. Also, compared to the total expected revenue of Rs 5.66 lakh crore ($88.5 billion), only about 11.6 per cent or Rs 65,789 crore ($9.8 billion) was raised in 31 rounds of bidding. Most industry players agree that this could hardly be called a success.

In 2012, the government auctioned 390 MHZ, out of which it sold 127.50 MHz (32.6 per cent); in 2013, of 195 MHZ on offer, it sold 30 MHz (15.4 per cent); in 2014, 431.20 MHz was put on block and 353.20 MHz (82 per cent) was picked up and in 2015, 470.75 MHz was offered, out of which 418.05 (89 per cent) MHz was sold.

The auction's failure has been attributed to the high reserve price decided by the regulator and approved by the central government.

"The auction was conducted in a smooth and transparent way and after this auction there will be no such thing like call drops," the minister said.

The auction was held for seven bands --700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz. There were no takers for 700 MHz and 900 MHz -- as experts and the industry alike had warned.

The total upfront payment due to the government from this auction is around Rs 32,000 crore.

Talking about the high price of 700 MHz band, which saw no takers, the minister said perhaps pricing was an issue an "appropriate eco-system for 700 MHz is also needed".

For the Delhi circle, the reserve price for 700 MHz was pegged at Rs 1,595 crore per MHz -- which was the highest. For pan-India, the reserve price was Rs 11,485 crore per MHz. Of the 770 MHz on offer, none was picked up.

Asked whether the government's budgeted target of Rs 98,994.93 crore from auction procedures this fiscal (till March 31, 2017) will be met, Sinha said: "Largely, it will be achieved."

--IANS

ag/hs/vm
'India open to Japanese cooperation on Chabahar port'

Delhi,National,Diplomacy,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) India is open to support from Japan in developing Chabahar port in southeastern Iran, a senior Indian diplomat said on Friday.

The Indian diplomat was responding to a senior Japanese diplomat who, while dwelling on the possibilities of Japanese collaboration with India in the development of Chabahar port, had said that Japan with its experience of developing ports with railway and road connectivity can play a significant role in the development of the port.

The event was on "Confluence" of interests of India and Japan as "Maritime Democracies". The event was held under Chatham House Rule where participants may not be identified.

In May this year, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement to develop the strategically important port.

The Japanese diplomat said that both countries have the will and ability to bring peace and prosperity and "rule of law" in the Asia-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, India is ironing out the problems faced by Japanese businesses in India and now Japanese businessmen will get business visa on arrival. "If India needs another person's money, then we will have to work for it. India is going to take more initiatives in this regard," the Indian diplomat said.

The high speed rail being considered in India from Japan was termed as the "flagship programme" for relations between the two countries. India also wants Japan to look at nuclear cooperation for its ripple effect over the Indian economy and give it more importance.

The technological ties -- existing as well as future -- between the two countries need cooperation on intangible issues like language skills, technical training and the like. To prepare the Indian workforce for Japanese investment, there is need for scaling up of the training programme for Indians in Japan.

--IANS

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BJP attacks Congress for calling Shah a "criminal"

Delhi,National,Politics, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) The BJP on Friday lambasted the Congress for defending its Vice President Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" barb, and took strong exception to its party President Amit Shah being called a "criminal".

Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Congress was busy doing Rahul Gandhi 'Bhakti' (worship) and was not bothered about the interests of the country.

"Defending Rahul Gandhi is more important for the Congress than defending the country. What message does Rahul Gandhi want to convey by his remarks and the Congress by defending those remarks?" said Prasad.

Prasad's media conference came subsequent to Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Randeep Singh Surjewala holding a media meet where they slammed BJP chief Amit Shah who earlier in the day attacked Gandhi for accusing Modi of doing "dalali" (trading) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers.

"The people who have been to jail and who have murder cases against them are pointing fingers at others," Sibal had said launching a scathing attack on Shah and the BJP.

Returning the fire, Prasad said: "BJP would also like to know from Congress how can they call Amit Shah a criminal?"

"Everybody knows he was framed in pursuance of a conspiracy. Even the court did not frame the charges and held he was framed," said Prasad referring to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounters case in which Shah was alleged to be involved.

Upping the ante, Prasad then raked up the National Herald case to hit out at Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul.

"I want to ask Sibal what does he think of the Congress President and the Vice President who have been accused in a very big cheating case. What is his opinion about them?" asked Prasad in an obvious reference to the high profile case.

Prasad also hit out at the Congress for holding BJP responsible for the creation of Pakistan based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

"It is the (Pakistan spy agency) ISI who will be the happiest people on hearing these remarks.

"Does the Congress realise the gravity of their irresponsible comments, do they realise that the principal opposition party has given a big handle to the ISI which is behind all these terrorist organisations?

"These comments are highly unfortunate and we condemn them," said Prasad.

Sibal earlier in the day said that if the then BJP government had not released militant Maulana Masood Azhar in 1999, then JeM would not have taken birth.

Azhar in 2000 founded the JeM.

"The Congress has made irresponsible, below standard and highly condemnable remarks which warranted a reply.

"We know Congress has a lot to hide in its cupboard but we will not mention about this because we don't indulge in petty politics," added Prasad.

--IANS

and/sm/bg
Police seek time to inquire into complaint against Owaisi

Delhi,National,Immigration/Law/Rights,Politics, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) The Delhi Police on Friday sought more time from a local court to inquire into a criminal complaint against AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for allegedly making seditious remarks and causing enmity between different groups.

As Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Munish Markan was on leave, the matter has now been posted for hearing on December 6.

The court had earlier asked police to report what action they have taken on a criminal complaint against the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief.

Moving a plea in the court, police said the Sub-inspector, who was earlier assigned the complaint, has been transferred and another officer has been given charge of the matter recently, so they should be given more time to file the action-taken report.

The complainant alleged that on March 13, Owaisi had said "Even if somebody puts a knife on me, I will not say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'," and that expression of Owaisi showed "disaffection and includes disloyalty and a sense of enmity".

The petitioner, Brijesh Chand Shukla of Swaraj Janata Party, had sought a direction to the Karawal Nagar police station chief to lodge an FIR against Owaisi for the alleged offences under Sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

--IANS

gt/nir/dg
AAP complains to police against Parrikar for 'defaming' Army

Delhi,National,Politics,Defence/Security, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) The AAP on Friday complained to Delhi Police against Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao for "defaming" and "politicising" the Indian armed forces through their statements on the surgical strikes.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and party's Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey gave two separate complaint letters to the station house officer (SHO) of I.P. Estate police station on Friday evening.

In his complaint letters, Pandey said that he was "deeply agonised by the fallacious and abominable statements made by Manohar Parrikar and G.V.L. Narsimha Rao against Indian armed forces and thereby committed an act of sedition and defamation".

"Statements of Parrikar and Rao on Indian armed forces has let down entire nation," Pandey wrote in his complaint letters.

He requested Delhi Police to take appropriate action against both the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

After the September 29 surgical strikes, Parrikar on October 1 compared the Indian Army with Lord Hanuman of Ramayana, saying as the deity was reminded of his strength before going to Lanka "I reminded our army of their powers and they did the job brilliantly".

According to the AAP, BJP spokesperson Rao on Wednesday had demeaned the might of the Indian Army by allegedly saying that it (army) did not have the power (to conduct such surgical strikes) for 70 years which it has now acquired (during BJP government).

The AAP on Thursday accused the BJP of "demeaning" the Indian Army's might and demanded an apology from the party over Parrikar and Rao's statements "defaming" the armed forces.

--IANS

am-vv/pgh/bg
Ban on women at Haji Ali shrine sanctum sanctorum to continue, for now

Delhi,National,Immigration/Law/Rights,Religion, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Women will continue to be barred from entering the sanctum sanctorum of Sufi saint Haji Ali's Dargah in Mumbai, as the Supreme Court on Friday continued with the interim order of the Bombay High Court.

The Bombay High Court, while ruling that women can go up to the 'mazaar' of saint Haji Ali, had put the operation of its verdict on hold, giving time to the Haji Ali Trust -- managing the shrine affairs -- to approach the Supreme Court.

Issuing notice to Noorjehan Niaz and other, a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar said that the Bombay High Court's interim that put on hold the operation of its own verdict will continue till October 17, when the matter will come up for hearing.

The court continued with the interim order as senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the Haji Ali Dargah Trust, said that it was working to find out ways to accommodate the women devotees.

He told the court that woman were not barred from entering the area around the Dargah but only the sanctum sanctorum.

The High Court had, on August 26, permitted the entry of women right up to the restricted 'mazaar' area, following a public interest litigation by Noorjehan Niaz, Zakia Soman and others.

The PIL had challenged a 2012 decision by the Trust, prohibiting women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine, built in 1431, on the grounds that "women wearing blouses with wide necks bend at the 'mazaar', thus showing their breasts", which was against Islam.

The Trust had contended before the High Court that the ban was "for the safety and security of women". It had also said that earlier, it was "not aware of the provisions of Shariat and therefore had taken steps to rectify the same".

The shrine, located on the rocks off the Worli seashore, houses the grave of Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, a Muslim saint revered by all communities.

--IANS

pk/tsb/vm
Prejudice, bias against women still exists: Diplomats

Delhi,National,Immigration/Law/Rights,Human Interest/Society, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Women around the world have achieved success by breaking stereotypes but there is still a need to end "prejudice and gender bias" against them, diplomats said here on Friday.

A day ahead of the International Day for Woman, the Canadian High Commission here organised a discussion here on the challenges women go through the routes to achieve success.

Mexican envoy Melba Pria, Finnish envoy Nina Vaskunlahti and US envoy Richard Verma were among the panelists who discussed the issues women face in leadership.

Among other diplomats were the Deputy High Commissioners of Australia and South Africa, Chris Elstsoft and Ben Joubert.

"For women who ought to achieve in life, the glass ceilings are real and powerful because they are invisible," Melba Pria told the packed hall of students, mostly girls at a management college here.

"A woman does not have to be man to be successful. She can do it her way," she said, adding: "Women and men compliment each other and we should look at it that way."

She argued, citing studies, that in India only 27 per cent of the total 48 per cent high level educated women are into workforce. "It needs to go up."

Richard Verma, US envoy here said that the possibilities of being a successful women in the present era were much higher than past, but, "It is still not enough."

Saying that many women are at senior positions in the White House, Verma insisted upon participation of women in politics.

Nina Vaskunlahti, Finland envoy here also spoke on the same lines and said, "It is very important to have women in parliament".

South African diplomat Ben Joubert also highlighted the role of a woman in politics and said: "Woman has a very important role to play in democracy."

"We need to contribute in giving equal rights to women across the world," he added.

Melba Pria and Chris Elstoft also raised the issue of child marriage in India and said: "Forcing children as small as 15-year-old is dangerous."

Verma concluded by saying: "The prejudice and unconscious bias against women needs to end."

--IANS

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Italy's anti-graft chief targets country's universities

Italy,Crime/Disaster/Accident,Education, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Rome, Oct 7 (IANS/AKI) Italy's national anti-corruption chief Raffaele Cantone on Friday vowed to wage war on nepotism, cronyism and graft in the country's universities.

"We are going to tackle this problem head-on and involve the Ministry of Education, universities and research, university rectors, faculty and students," Cantone told Italian daily La Repubblica in an interview.

While investment is also a key issue, the scourge of nepotism and a system of patronage exploited by well-connected and corrupt academics known as 'barons' must be "relegated to the past", Cantone said.

"Introducing meritocracy and transparency and wiping out nepotism and the 'barons' is surely the best way to burnish the image, credibility and prestige of Italy's universities," he said.

"And in this way we may convince the government and parliament to earmark more funds for higher education," he said.

A series of "concrete" proposals for universities will feature in the national anti-corruption authority's programme of work for 2017, Cantone told La Repubblica.

"We don't need new (anti-graft) laws but want those that already exist to be applied rigorously to ensure maximum transparency in the vital choices made by the academic community in the interests of Italy."

Only a small handful of Italian universities currently rank among the world's top higher education institutions.

--IANS/AKI

vd
Three suspected people traffickers held in Sicily

Italy,Crime/Disaster/Accident,Immigration/Law/Rights, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Ragusa (Italy), Oct 7 (IANS/AKI) Police said on Friday they arrested three people trafficking suspects who arrived at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo with 428 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.

The suspects are two 18-year-old Gambians and a 23-year-old from Guinea, police said.

The arrests brought to 160 the number of alleged people traffickers arrested this year, including 25 minors, police said.

The 428 migrants who arrived with the three suspects in Pozzallo were rescued in several operations on Thursday, police said.

Pozzallo, where many migrants arrive from Libya, has been designated a European Union 'hotspot' intended to accelerate the identification and relocation of asylum-seekers across Europe.

A total of 15,247 migrants have reached Pozzallo this year.

--IANS/AKI

vd
Six booked for assault on Haryana Congress leader

Delhi,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Police has registered a case against six people including three private security officers of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in an alleged attack on state Congress president Ashok Tanwar during Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's Kisan Yatra, police said.

"We have registered a case on Friday evening under section 323 (causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code," Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal told IANS.

Tanwar and several other party workers were injured after a clash broke out between the supporters of the two factions at Bhairon Singh Marg, a meeting point ahead of Rahul Gandhi's rally at Jantar Mantar as the Congress Vice President reached the capital after his nearly-month-long Kisan Yatra across poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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NRI banker kills wife in Britain

United Kingdom,Crime/Disaster/Accident,Diaspora, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

London, Oct 8 (IANS) An NRI banker, who stabbed his wife 124 times after she asked him for a divorce, has been found guilty of manslaughter in Britain, media reports said.

Investment banker Sanjay Nijhawan, 46, killed his wife Sonita Nijhawan, 38, with an axe and a knife in front of their four-year-old son at their $2.4 million (2 million) mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, on May 21.

Nijhawan had quit his highly-paid job for Barclays Bank but had a mortgage of 670,000, the Daily Mail reported.

He was also diagnosed with depression months before the killing.

A doctor who assessed Nijhawan said the pressures had become too much and he snapped when his wife asked for a divorce.

"We built that house like Fort Knox, with burglar alarms, fire alarms, security to keep her safe from the outside world but little did we know the danger was from the inside," the Telegraph quoted Chander Parkash, Sonita's father.

Sonita had 124 significant injuries to her body including 40 cut and blunt force injuries to her head which were all likely to be caused by an axe.

--IANS

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Indian American solving rural India's challenges wins philanthropy award

United States,Diaspora, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 7 (IANS) Dr. Suri Sehgal, an octogenarian Indian American philanthropist trying to solve the problem of rural India's disempowerment, has received the 2016 American Bazaar Philanthropy Award.

Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, on the outskirts of New Delhi, the SM Sehgal Foundation he founded in the late 1990s is active in around 550 Indian villages.

The award was presented to Sehgal, who has committed most of his wealth to philanthropy in India, at the third annual American Bazaar Philanthropy Dialogue and Dinner here last week.

An Indian American community and business portal, the Bazaar also organizes a number of signature conferences in the US and India.

Presenting the award, entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam, a recipient of the award in 2015, described Sehgal as an inspirational figure.

"Philanthropy, like business, is about solving problems," he said. And "what the SM Sehgal Foundation is doing in India is identifying some of the most pressing problems the country is facing and coming up with solutions for them."

"The Sehgal Foundation is trying to solve in its own small way one of the greatest challenges India is facing at the moment: The disempowerment of rural India."

Delivering the third American Bazaar Philanthropy Lecture, Seghal, 84, himself urged the Indian American community to donate at least a part of their income to philanthropy.

He pointed out that roughly 27 percent of the community has a median income of $140,000 and if they commit at least $1,500 a year -- which is half of what an average American household is giving annually - about $1.8 billion will be available for philanthropy.

Sehgal, who came to the US in 1959, also described his journey from the pre-partition Punjab to building a successful career in the US and giving back to the country of his birth.

Sehgal holds a PhD in Plant Genetics from Harvard University and a diploma in business management from Harvard Business School.

He and his wife, Edda, allocated most of the money they received after selling their India-based Proagro Group of companies to the foundation.

Sehgal is the former president of the Des Moines, IA, -based Pioneer Overseas Corporation and vice president Pioneer Hi-Bred International.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

--IANS

ak/vm
Time now to justify high spends on telecom spectrum: Experts

Maharashtra,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Oct 7 (IANS) A day after the conclusion of the latest round of telecom spectrum auctions, top merchant bankers and research firms said Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are best placed today in terms of airwaves holdings and that the focus must now shift to grow the industry pie.

They also said the low appetite for airwaves in the latest round -- that saw takers for just 11.6 of the spectrum on the block -- was a result of "rational behaviour" of operators.

"We note that the cumulative bids in auctions since 2010 now total $3.5 trillion. For an industry with annual revenue in the vicinity of $1.8 trillion and pre-tax earnings of around $500 billion, these are not small numbers, in our view," a report of Kotak Institutional Securities said.

"Everything has a context to it and the most critical context, now that the top four operators are hopefully mostly done building their spectrum footprint, is whether the industry pie can become large enough to justify the massive spectrum investments," it said.

"The industry has placed its bets largely on one variable --- data volumes. And a disappointment of that front could mean a long phase of sub-par industry economics," it said, referring to the state of play for Airtel, Jio, Vodafone and Idea.

The latest spectrum auction was touted as the largest given the quantum of airwaves on the block, but ended after 31 rounds over five days with a total commitment of only Rs 65,789 crore ($9.8 billion), or about 11.6 per cent of the expected Rs 5.66 lakh crore ($8.5 billion).

Stating that the net bid of $9.8 billion was 47 per cent more than its expectation, Goldman Sachs maintained that two players -- Airtel and Reliance Jio -- just bought more spectrum than what was anticipated, and will require no additional airwaves in the near-to-medium term.

As regards the other players, it said Idea's spectrum holding was still pretty much inferior to that of Airtel and Jio, while in the case of Vodafone, five circles will remain without any 4G presence, despite considerable improvement in holdings.

"With spectrum auctions done, one risk to the industry is behind us. Companies have spent Rs 658 billion -- 65 per cent more than what we estimated, thus increasing leverage. Rising competitive

intensity is the key risk and drives our cautious view on the operators," said Morgan Stanley.

"With rising competitive intensity, we believe the operators would not have the pricing power and tariffs would continue to be under pressure," said the report, adding it preferred data enablers and Reliance Communications on asset monetization.

Coming to specific bands, there was unanimity among all the research reports that 700 MHz couldn't have attracted bids given the high reserve price. Deutche Bank said it was surprised by interest in 2,300 MHz, adding this band has practically has no compatible handsets in India currently.

Credit Suisse appeared to have faulted the overall high reserve price, not just for 700 Mhz.

"Recall that prior to the auctions both operators (Airtel and Idea) had assured that their bids would only be selective: It appears to us competitive compulsions have forced more aggressive bidding," the report said.

"This also implies bigger amounts likely have been paid by Vodafone and Jio, implying nobody has been spared in the damaging 'spectrum arms race'. Such high payouts towards spectrum is a unique Indian phenomenon that damages returns immediately," it said.

"Any potential upside from this will be limited by the entry of large scale operator Jio."

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said unlike Jio, the top three telcom companies (Airtel, Vodafone and Idea) still lacked a sub-1,000 MHz 4G band, which it felt could lead to the likely purchase of this band at a later date with improved capacity utilisation and data growth.

"With 60 per cent of the spectrum unsold, we expect government to reduce prices of 700 Mhz and 900 MHz in future auctions," it said. "We now also see a faster consolidation amongst smaller telcom companies given lack of data spectrum."

--IANS

ap/vt
itel launches 'it1520' smartphone in India at Rs 8,490

Delhi,Business/Economy,Technology, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Smartphone maker itel Mobile on Friday launched its SelfiePro "it1520" smartphone in India priced at Rs 8,490.

The device comes with 13MP rear and front camera, IRIS scanner (biometric identification), 4G-VoLTE connectivity and a Reliance Jio connection.

"We have launched new it1520 for our growing users base who love capturing moments in pictures and selfies. We are confident that the increasingly tech-savvy Indian users will enjoy our latest best-in-class offering," said Sudhir Kumar, CEO, Itel Mobile India, in a statement.

The 5-inch device is equipped with 1.3 GHz MediaTek quad-core processor, along with 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM and expandable internal memory up to 32 GB. "it1520" is available across all leading retail stores.

--IANS

vc/na/vt
Trump says 70 per cent of federal regulations could go

United States,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 7 (IANS) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said that he could cut 70 per cent of federal US regulations if he is elected.

Speaking at an event in New Hampshire, Trump blamed regulations for stifling business but said rules on safety and the environment could stay, BBC reported.

Earlier, one of his advisers said 10 per cent of regulations could be eliminated.

"We are cutting the regulation at a tremendous clip," Trump said. "I would say 70 per cent of regulations can go. It's just stopping businesses from growing."

The billionaire realtor will face his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the second televised debate at St Louis in Missouri, on Sunday.

--IANS

py/vt
'Wine about heart and soul, not snobbery'

Delhi,National,Lifestyle/Fashion, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Waxing lyrical about the efficacy and virtues of wine that is handily making its way into the Indian market, the Swedish brand ambassador of a leading Indian vineyard, says the beverage is not just about snobbery, which people usually associate it with.

"Drink it the way you want to drink it... Wine is about the experience, it is about heart and the soul. I don't believe there is anything snobbish about it," Cecilia Oldne, Vice President, Marketing and Global Brand Ambassador for Sula Vineyards, told IANS.

"You can always have a glass of wine with ice in it. It's not something that you can't experiment with," she added.

"We have wines starting at Rs 200 per bottle... we are reaching out to markets to give them an opportunity to experience the beverage that triggers a sense that you wouldn't get while opening many other bottles," she explained.

Oldne was here for the launch of the "Globe in a Glass" roadshow that featured 40 different wines and 20 spirits like whisky, tequila and brandy from around the world.

Oldne came to India nine years ago and feels "like a part of the wine revolution" in the country. "It has been such a great journey to have witnessed and experienced wine making inroads into Indian culture."

She described her personal attraction to the beverage, saying: "I developed an interest in wine when I was really young as I was travelling through Europe with my parents. I felt really interested when we visited vineries and met people behind the brand. I was not given to taste it at that time."

"They would open their bottles, the smiles on their faces really intrigued me to discover what it was all about. It's so much more than a bottle of wine, it's about memories and the experience," she said.

--IANS

mg/vm/sac
Chopper service for Durga Puja revellers in Tripura

Tripura,National,Religion,Human Interest/Society, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Agartala, Oct 7 (IANS) The Tripura government will operate a helicopter service for Durga Puja revellers and sightseers to enable them to get an aerial view of tourist spots and puja celebrations in Agartala, a minister said here on Friday.

The chopper service, run by state-owned Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC), will be a 30-minute trip for each sortie in and around the state's capital city.

For sightseeing and witnessing Durga Puja, the per head fare for an adult is Rs 1,500 and for children below 12 years it is Rs 1,300, Tripura Transport Minister Manik Dey told IANS.

He said: "The joy rides would be conducted in eight-seater double-engine choppers of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. The rides would be conducted for four days from October 8."

The government has subsidised the fare.

Dey, who also holds the power portfolio, said that to maintain uninterrupted electricity supply during the puja period, Mizoram would provide 20 MW of power to Tripura.

"Despite huge demand of power (300 MW) during Durga Puja festivity, Tripura would maintain supply of 100 MW of power to Bangladesh as this is the national commitment," he added.

Director General of Tripura Police K. Nagaraj said vigil along the India-Bangladesh border and in trouble torn areas has been tightened with the deployment of additional Border Security Force and other central and state security personnel.

Paramilitary forces Assam Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), along with Tripura State Rifles, have intensified their counter-insurgency operations in the terrorist-prone and hilly areas of the northeastern state to foil any attempt at disturbing the festivities, the police chief added.

CCTVs and metal detectors have been installed near the puja pandals (marquees) and other sensitive locations while over 7,500 security personnel and quick reaction teams besides bomb and dog squads have been deployed across Tripura.

Police pickets have been set up in important and strategic locations and mobile and foot patrolling has been initiated along with intelligence networks.

"In view of the escalation of border troubles along India-Pakistan boundaries, extra alertness is set in motion during the Durga Puja festival. However,there is no specific security threat yet," Nagaraj said.

According to the DGP, maintaining last year's numbers, around 2,510 community and about 100 family Durga Pujas, including 1,495 in rural and interior areas, are being organised in Tripura.

--IANS

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Theresa May 'likely' to visit India in November

United Kingdom,Diplomacy,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

London, Oct 7 (IANS/Raymedia) British Prime Minister Theresa May's first bilateral visit outside Europe could be to India. She is aiming to be in Delhi during the India-UK Tech Summit scheduled to take place November 7-9.

While a senior official of the Indian High High Commision, when asked, said "nothing is confirmed", it didn't go unnoticed that a conspicuous attendee at High Commissioner Navtej Sarna's farewell party on Thursday evening was Jo Johnson, Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation in the British government. Johnson is directly involved with Britain's association with the Summit.

A reliable source told Raymedia May's visit, while not confirmed, was "likely".

May met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in China last month. She is keen to sign a trade agreement with India to substitute for a forthcoming exit from the European Union (EU).

An Indian diplomat said an agreement in areas of mutual interest was possible, but that this can at best be drafted after Britain leaves the EU, which may not take place until the spring of 2019. Under EU laws, the UK cannot sign a trade treaty with any country until after formally exiting from the EU.

--IANS/Raymedia

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Pierce Brosnan endorses Indian pan masala brand, virtual world abuzz

Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood,Hollywood, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Pierce Brosnan is back in his Bond avatar -- this time, for an advertisement of an Indian pan masala brand. The first visuals of the campaign, out on Friday, have sent the virtual world in India into a tizzy, with many calling him 'Pan Singh Tumor' in humour.

The Hollywood actor, best known for his stint as the legendary British spy James Bond in the popular film franchise, features in the print ad holding a box of the pan masala, Pan Bahar, with the text below reading "Class never goes out of style".

The actor's signature also found space in the ad, which is splashed across the front page of a few national dailies.

The video ad features a luxury car, a few women and action, but there is a catch. Instead of guns and ammunition which he used in the Bond films, Brosnan is fighting with a box of the pan masala.

Twitter users have taken a dig at the ad, as well as criticised it.

Sahil Shah tweeted: "Breaking News: Pierce Brosnan is also going to endorse Thumbs Up. The tagline would be 'Aaj kuchh thoo Paani karte hai'. Breaking News: Pierce Brosnan to come in a new movie 'The Adventures of Peter Paan and Captain Thook'."

Another user said, "Pierce Brosnan is Pan Singh Tumor".

Comedian Sorabh Pant remarked: "Pierce Brosnan endorses Pan Bahar. S***w you, Hugh Jackman. And, Micromax. THIS is the greatest Make in India moment."

While there was one user who wondered why Brosnan agreed to endorse Pan Bahar, Piyush Pankaj posted: "Pierce Brosnan supports StandUpToCancer on global platform but in India promotes Chewing tobacco Pierce Brosnan".

The actor has worked in films like in "GoldenEye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) and "Die Another Day" (2002).

A user shared that "Brosnan endorsing Pan Bahar. The world is coming to an end Bond."

This is Brosnan's second endorsement of an Indian product. He had earlier endorsed suiting fabric Indian brand Reid & Taylor.

--IANS

sug-dc/rb/vt
Pakistani actress hopes cross-border film spreads love

Pakistan,Cinema/Showbiz,Indo-Pak/Pakistan,Terrorism, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Islamabad, Oct 7 (IANS) "Jeewan Haathi", a film produced by an Indian conglomerate and helmed by two Pakistani directors, is set to release in Pakistan on November 4 amid India-Pakistan tensions. Pakistani actor Hina Dilpazeer, who features in it with Naseeruddin Shah, hopes it spreads love.

"Jeewan Hathi" is directed by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, the makers of "Zinda Bhaag", and is part of a Pakistan-India collaboration initiated by Zee Zindagi called Zeal for Unity, which unites 12 prolific filmmakers from both sides to together make empowering videos to showcase their zeal for unity, Dawn.com reported.

A black comedy, "Jeewan Haathi" will not be screened in Indian cinemas as of now, the producers have said. However, it has been screened at film festivals in India and has been appreciated.

Talking about how "Jeewan Hathi" can impact relations amidst the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India, Hina told Dawn.com: "All us artistes, who are related to creative works, our job isn't to change anybody, our job is to ignite light in the darkness, in hopes that it may create light... We are just doing that."

She added: "We ignite the light of our names, of our films and hope that it is enough to pave a path. We're not here to change anything. We're just here to spread love."

The actress, noted for her performance in the TV drama "Bulbulay", believes production houses around the globe should work together in joint ventures across borders.

"I've lived a long time in Dubai and we had a lot of neighbours who were Indians, but they used to welcome us with a lot of love, and we'd call them over with a lot of love. This (Pakistan-India friction) is not the common man's war, this hatred is not the work of the common man, this is the politicians' work and nothing else.

"Why would one god-fearing human hate another god-fearing human? There's no reason."

There has been increased unrest between India and Pakistan since the September 18 terror attack which killed 19 soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. India responded with surgical strikes on terrorist hubs across the Loc in Pakistani territory.

--IANS

rb/mr
IMF, World Bank call for inclusive globalisation

United States,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 7 (IANS) International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank leaders have called for measures to promote inclusive growth and resist anti-trade sentiments.

"Globalisation has worked over the years, that it has delivered great benefits to many people. We do not think that it is time to push against it," Xinhua news agency quoted IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde as saying on Thursday.

Lagarde said that, in the past decades, the growth driven by international trade has helped countries like India and China to pull them out of massive poverty.

"Trade has been in the main a great engine for growth... we need that engine in order to support and accelerate growth," said Lagarde.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim also expressed concern about the slowing global economy hit by falling commodity prices and stagnating global trade.

He said that trade and openness of the economy were the two keys for China to lift seven million people out of poverty in a rapid way.

Kim called on all developing countries to embrace trade and open economy in order to end extreme poverty.

Both Lagarde and Kim called for investments in infrastructure and human beings in order to accelerate inclusive and sustainable growth.

In regard to the inclusion of China's Renminbi in the Special Drawing Right (SDR) basket, Lagarde said it "certainly anchors the Chinese economy in the group of large, international, open economies in the world".

World Bank President also gave much credit to China's poverty reduction.

"Without China we'd have no chance to even think about ending extreme poverty," said Kim, adding that China will be a very important partner in the World Bank's effort to end extreme poverty.

--IANS

py/dg
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Today, October 7, about 16 million Moroccans head to the polls to pick their parliament representatives in a ballot that will lead to the formation of a new government.

Moroccan authorities have pledged to guarantee that these parliamentary elections would be transparent and credible to consolidate the democratic process and establish strong institutions.

Ahead of these elections, the central committee, including the Ministers of the Interior and of Justice, which is supervising the elections, held several meetings with political parties to resolve all issues and address the concerns of all stakeholders.

After an electoral campaign characterized by normalcy, the Moroccan political spectrum seems poised to usher a new era of political polarization between Islamists and liberals with a strong ascending extreme left vote base in urban areas.

There are 30 parties that compete to win seats in the 395-member House of Representatives, the lower house of the Moroccan parliament.

Out of 395 members, 305 are elected in multi-seat constituencies from electoral lists put together by the parties, while 60 seats of the remaining 90 are reserved for a national list of women and the rest 30 seats are at grab by candidates under the age of 35.

Voter turnout is an issue of concern for political parties as it has been generally poor hovering around 50%. In the 2015 local election, the turnout stood at 53.67% up from 45 % in the 2011 parliamentary vote.

Among the 30 parties vying for Parliaments seats, only 7 major parties are able to cover most of the constituencies with prospects to participate in governments coalition. These are: the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), Istiqlal Party (IP), Popular Movement (MP), The Union for Socialist Forces (USFP), the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) and the National Rally of Independents (RNI).

During the electoral campaign the Democratic Left Federation (FGD) has shown better organization and distinctiveness in political discourse breaking away with old methods in attracting votes by adopting a modernist stance and reconnecting with extreme left legacy.

The FGD, a coalition of three far left-wing parties  the Socialist Democratic Vanguard Party, the National Ittihadi Congress Party, and the Unified Socialist Party (PSU)  is building momentum to form a left-wing political force.

The Moroccan political spectrum is marked by multiparty that makes it difficult for any party to win sweeping majority pushing parties to negotiate a government coalition that may involve parties with different ideological referential as was the case in the coalition between the Islamist PJD and the socialist PPS in the outgoing cabinet.

The current election presents a test to the 2011 constitution which was adopted on the backdrop of the Arab Spring protests. It further confirms Moroccos stability and mature political system in a regional context marked by turmoil and political violence.
Moroccan city of Casablanca is hosting this October 12 an international conference to look into ways of creating Green Banking Markets in Africa, ahead of the 22nd UN conference on climate change due in Marrakech Nov.7-18.

The Casablanca green finance event is organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur (BMCE).

The gathering will bring together representatives from regulatory authorities and commercial banks, particularly those from African countries, as well as from development finance institutions and donors.

It will highlight climate initiatives by different players in the financial sector to support greener economies with a focus on Africa. It will also explore the role of regulatory authorities in facilitating an environment conducive to the growth of a green economy and the use of green financial products.

The conference will review the role of commercial financial institutions in growing green finance and how development finance institutions can support them in this work.

A number of financial institutions will highlight how they have integrated green finance into their business operations. During this conference, EBRD will share its expertise in attracting private finance to the global climate challenge with banks from across Africa.

The event will be an opportunity to demonstrate a unique EBRD climate finance model  its Sustainable Energy Financing Facilities (SEFFs) that have already been successfully introduced into 24 EBRD countries.

The EBRD invests to support the transition to market economies in 36 countries spanning three continents  from Mongolia in Central Asia to Morocco on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, from Estonia on the Baltic to Egypt on the Mediterranean.

During the Casablanca conference, the EBRD and BMCE will sign their third agreement under MorSEFF, a version of the SEFF facility specifically tailored to conditions in Morocco.

With SEFFs, the EBRD makes loans to partner banks in its countries of operations, which then on-lend funds to clients investing in efficient and renewable energy programs.

Ahead of important international climate talks in Africa next month, this is a perfect opportunity to highlight the potential to put private sector finance to work to address some of the climate challenges across the African continent, said EBRD Managing Director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, Josue Tanaka.

The EBRD invests directly in three African countries, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. However, banks from sub-Saharan Africa, interested in using the SEFF financing model in their own countries, will be able to hear from experts and practitioners.
Libyas UN-backed unity government Thursday rejected the European Union call for the creation of a migrant camp in Libya in a move to curb and control floods of migrants trying perilous trips to join countries of the 28-member block.

Since 2011, following the fall of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan coasts have been departure points for thousands of migrants helped by networks of human traffickers sending hundreds of boast on a perilous voyage to EUs coasts in Italy, Greece and Malta.

In 2011 the NATO forces spearheaded by UK, France and the US overthrew the Libyan leader opening unexpectedly the Pandoras Box.

More than 140,000 people have made the journey so far this year with over 3,500 reported drowned or uncounted for.

Speaking from Vienna at the EUs meeting on Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Mohamad Taher Siala, Minister of the foreign affairs of the UN-sponsored Government of National Accord (GNA), expressed Libyas disagreement over the proposal while calling the EU to shoulder its responsibility.

Such a project would mean that the European Union is refusing to assume its responsibilities and placing it on our shoulders, he said.

Hungarys populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently suggested that the EU should build a large refugee city on the Libyan coast to process asylum claims of migrants outside the EU, Africa news reports.

Earlier this week, in 48 hours, 11,000 additional migrants were saved in the Mediterranean by Italys coastguard after departing from Libyan coasts. 50 had been reported dead between Monday and Tuesday.

EU is facing unprecedented arrivals of migrants from Africa and the Middle East mainly from Syria. EU countries like Greece witnessing the largest arrivals have called on the bloc to react.

Tukey, following the failed military coup, has put the agreement with the EU to curb the flux of migrants on the line.
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The upcoming holiday season may be a difficult one for the Giuliani family, as Rudy and his daughter are supporting very different candidates in the upcoming presidential election. While the former mayor has gone to extraordinary lengths in stumping for fellow New York Republican Donald Trump, Caroline Giuliani tells the Daily News that she is supporting Democrat Hillary Clinton enthusiastically.

Caroline, the daughter of Giuliani and his second wife Donna Hanover (the one who found out they were separating when he announced it in a public press conference), is clearly not cut from the same political cloth as her dad; while Rudy fruitlessly sought the GOP nomination in 2008, Caroline, then 17, belonged to a Facebook group supporting Barack Obama, according to the Daily News.

Caroline, who lives in Los Angeles, recently changed her Facebook profile picture to one of herself framed by Clintons campaign logo, and her cover photo is an official Clinton-Kaine banner reading #ImWithHer.

Politico also reached out to Caroline, who expanded on her endorsement: I love Hillary, I think shes by far the most qualified candidate that weve had in a long while. She also told Politico that her father was aware of her political preferences and is fully comfortable with it and thinks I have a right to my opinion.

In fact, Politico adds, many associates of Giulianis have parted ways with him in this election: Some of his former staffers have endorsed Clinton, while others have declined to join him in supporting Trump and have expressed concern over his decision to endorse Trumps extreme positions on issues like immigration and policing.
Innocent Vladimir Putin once again smeared by the liberal media. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images



For months now, a wide and deep array of evidence surrounding hacks of the Democratic Party emails has implicated Russia: conclusions by experts in the private sector, in the U.S. government, and the pattern of behavior of Russian attempts to influence elections abroad. The Nation described the accusation that Russia had engineered the hacks as part of a campaign of neo-McCarthyism:

While the FBI has launched an investigation, as of press time, nobody has conclusively proven who hacked into the DNCs network, much less demonstrated what their motives were. But that didnt stop Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook from appearing on CNN on July 24 to allege that Russia was behind the hack. Nevertheless, liberal-media elites have joined with the Clinton campaign in promoting the narrative of a devious Russian cyber-attack.

Glenn Greenwald likewise complained, [I]t was instantly asserted that it was The Russians who gave them those emails, which he called a smear and  despite the volume of evidence supporting it  an evidence-free conspiracy theory, support for which he attributed to dishonest lackeys of the Clinton campaign. Capitalizing the entire phrase The Russians is Greenwalds way of archly signaling his belief that Russia is the constant object of undue suspicion:

Has there even been a more ubiquitous and omnipotent villain in history? pic.twitter.com/gLzvdcubBr  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 24, 2016

Today the Department of Homeland security and the director of national intelligence announced they are confident the leaks were orchestrated by Russia and were intended to influence the election:

This is not proof that Trump is working in any conscious way with Russia. (Intelligence officials are investigating whether one of Trumps foreign-policy advisers held clandestine meetings with Russian officials.) And, of course, the U.S. government, unsurprisingly for a counterintelligence operation, hasnt released proof for its conclusions. It might all be a massive conspiracy by American intelligence to fool the world into believing that a regime that constantly uses clandestine information to influence foreign elections is using clandestine information to influence a foreign election. But the conspiracy theory here is very much the one peddled by the anti-McCarthyist left.
Sunday is going to be interesting. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

In what is either another remarkable blunder or a masterful bit of lowering expectations, on Thursday night in New Hampshire Donald Trump held a public practice session for his town-hall-style debate with Hillary Clinton this Sunday. While Trump usually sticks to large rallies, he took questions from a small crowd of his supporters in Sandown, New Hampshire. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is said to be helping with debate prep, watched from the side of the room, and a clock on the floor counted down to two minutes, the length of time the candidates will have to respond to questions during their second debate.

Heres the clock Trump used tonight to time his answers at NH town hall he says wasnt debate practice pic.twitter.com/chYqVGUJI1  Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) October 7, 2016

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Trump insisted the event wasnt part of his debate prep. They were saying this is practice for Sunday. This isnt practice, Trump said. Were just here because we wanted to be here.

Republicans should hope he was telling the truth, because the following things wont  or at least shouldnt  happen during Trumps rematch with Clinton.

 The event was moderated by conservative radio host Howie Carr, a Trump supporter. He warmed up the crowd by saying, We all love Trump, right? Sundays debate will be moderated by Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz, who have a reputation for asking tough questions.

 Carr asked Trump if he wanted him to point out when his two minutes were up, but he opted not to use the clock. I tell you what, Ill make you a deal. If Im doing well, dont call me, he said. If Im answering the question poorly please call me immediately.

 After the event, Carr published an op-ed in the Boston Herald in which he praised Trump for ignoring the clock. I knew he wouldnt stop. Like Ronald Reagan in Nashua in 1980, he paid for this microphone, Mr. Green, he wrote.

 Trump said he would take 20 questions, but he only took about a dozen. The event lasted 30 minutes, while the debate will be 90 minutes with no break.

 As CNN notes, Rather than working the room, Trump remained standing in the same spot, just a few feet from Carr who read off the questions Trumps supporters had submitted.

 Carr offered Trump words of encouragement while questioning him, and some people prefaced their questions by shouting things like, Make America Great Again! I like this audience, Trump said. I like this audience.

 Trump was asked softball questions, such as What would you say to convince Hispanics who are deceived by Obama, Clinton, and the biased media to vote for you? and What is your favorite childhood memory? Go Donald.

 He frequently went off on tangents and didnt really answer the few specific policy questions he received.

 He complained that Clinton got easier questions in the first debate. She gets easy ones, he said. By the way, have you noticed the difference? Im getting boom, boom, boom. With her, What would you do to fix the economy? Of course, thats actually a much tougher question than you would understand, and she doesnt have a clue, but you see the questions I was getting.



After insisting for more than a week that he had had a bum mike at the first presidential debate, Trump clarified that it wasnt that the mike didnt work. Rather, Trump explained, the problem was that saboteurs operating the soundboard kept oscillating the microphones volume as he spoke.

 He attacked journalists John King and John Harwood, as well as Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican who does not support him.

 He attacked Clinton, claiming that she is resting rather than doing debate prep. She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night, he said.

 He kicked things off by attacking the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, saying, Give me a break. Did you see where they came from, one of them comes from the Hillary camp, the head person.



Heres the full question-and-answer session:
Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Melbourne, Florida, on September 27, 2016. Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

On top of its potentially catastrophic impact on Florida, Hurricane Matthew also stands to affect the upcoming presidential election. On Thursday, according to the Miami Herald, Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican who supports Donald Trump, rejected a request from Hillary Clintons campaign chief to extend the states voter-registration deadline past Tuesday on account of the storm.

Everybody has had a lot of time to register, Scott said. On top of that, we have lots of opportunities to vote: early voting, absentee voting, Election Day. So I dont intend to make any changes.

Liberal-leaning political groups had called off registration drives in the state in the last few days prior to the deadline, as both campaigns suspended advertising there  including an ill-advised Clinton campaign ad buy on the Weather Channel that the campaign quickly scuttled after getting called out by former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

Voter registration typically surges in the final days, the Herald adds, noting that 50,000 Floridians signed up in the five days before the deadline in 2012. The Democrats have registered more new Florida voters this year than the GOP, but admit they havent met their registration goals.

In a blog post at Slate, University of California, Irvine, law professor Rick Hasen considered the worst possible outcome of this situation, which, it turns out, is very bad. Florida law actually gives the legislature, not the governor, the power to change voter-registration deadlines or other election rules  a point that factored into the litigation over the outcome of the 2000 election.

If many Floridians are prevented from registering or voting because of the hurricane, if the vote there is close on November 8, and if Florida proves decisive in the Electoral College, Hasen conjectures, we could be looking at another presidential election decided in the courts. Worse, if the hurricane and its aftermath cause widespread voting irregularities, as Hurricane Sandy did in New York and New Jersey in 2012, Trump supporters  already primed by their candidate to expect a rigged election  may not accept the outcome.

The Clinton campaign has not yet revealed any next steps it may take (such as litigation) to push Florida to extend the deadline. Under state law, registration applications postmarked by Tuesday will still be accepted.

Meanwhile, Senator Marco Rubio is taking heat from Florida Democrats over a fundraising email his campaign sent out to donors on Thursday, Politico reports, though his campaign said it was an old email from 9 days ago that was resent by our digital vendor to part of our list. Rubio, who is running for reelection in a competitive race, has been urging Floridians to prepare for the storm and soliciting donations to the Red Cross.

And, of course, in the right-wing fever swamps of Matt Drudges imagination, the Obama administration is lying about the storms intensity altogether to con Americans into buying the vast liberal conspiracy that is climate change.
This week, Ted Cruz, who is definitely not the Zodiac Killer, sat down and made some phone calls to inspire people to get out and vote in November. A clip of Cruz leaving a voice mail, recorded by Dallas Morning News photographer G.J. McCarthy, has since started making the rounds online. In it, Cruz implores the calls unknown recipient to come out to support freedom, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. (Weirdly absent: the names Donald Trump and Mike Pence.)

And while a politician phone-banking for an impending election isnt anything earth-shattering, there is something great about the optics of Cruz, with mouth pursed and eyebrows furrowed, leaving voice mails in front of a wall covered in Trump posters. (Trump. The man he refused to endorse at the RNC and generally doesnt seem to like.)

The final humiliation https://t.co/NvSQGKRAUL  Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) October 6, 2016

So, as is the natural way of things on the internet, phone-call Cruz has transcended from passing video clip to full-on meme. As far as internet gimmicks go, the bar for this meme is pretty low. Just screenshot Cruzs little, sad face, add any caption you can think of, and tweet.

Call 911. Ted Cruz is being held hostage pic.twitter.com/GE2QMAWSiM  Marcus Wells (@MarcusWells_) October 6, 2016

911 Operator: What's your emergency?



Ted Cruz: I have no soul pic.twitter.com/jSRCzu6FY2  Irish Moxie (@lisamcguire1) October 6, 2016

"Hello this is Ted Cruz calling to--"



[other end of the phone] pic.twitter.com/3VF7MEwasH  Mark Agee (@MarkAgee) October 6, 2016

[extremely Ted Cruz voice] my conscience... pic.twitter.com/dnv1wwjnuo  Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) October 6, 2016

"Yes, the same one he called 'Lyin' Ted Cruz.' Yes, the one whose dad helped kill JFK. No, I don't know why I'm making these calls either." pic.twitter.com/cSmyIMgvhs  Unindicted Co-conspirator (@russbengtson) October 6, 2016

"I'm in a really bad place right now." pic.twitter.com/lef5VNfM0A  Mat Johnson (@mat_johnson) October 6, 2016

Fortunately for Ted, the meme news cycle has traditionally moved very quickly during this election. By tomorrow, well all be off making fun of a picture of Hillary Clinton playing Pokemon Go or Jill Steins candidacy in general. But then again, the internet never forgets.
Kendra Hatcher, pictured here with boyfriend Ricardo Paniagua, was murdered by his ex-girlfriend. Photo: WFA/WFAA

Brenda Delgado allegedly decided to kill her ex-boyfriends new girlfriend after he introduced the woman to his parents. She hired two people to kill Kendra Hatcher, fled from Texas to Mexico, and became the ninth woman ever on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. Yesterday, she was extradited back to the U.S. to await trial for murder.

It was a love triangle among Dallas physicians, or aspiring ones: Delgado, a dental-hygienist student, and dermatologist Ricardo Paniagua, a Stanford grad, reportedly broke up after dating for two years. When he started seeing Kendra Hatcher, a pediatric dentist, Delgado was apparently jealous. Authorities said she planned Hatchers murder after learning the couple flew to San Francisco to meet his parents.

Brenda Delgado. Photo: Dallas County Sheriff

In September 2015, Delgado allegedly hired a hitman to shoot Hatcher in the parking garage of her upscale Dallas apartment complex and flee the scene with a getaway driver. She apparently promised them money and drugs.

After Hatcher was found dead, Delgado spoke with investigators and then disappeared, prompting murder charges and a federal warrant for her arrest. She was on the run for six months before the FBI placed her on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. Two days later, last April, she was arrested in northern Mexico.

On Thursday, Delgado was extradited back to Dallas after five months in a Mexican prison, on the condition that U.S. prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. She is charged with murder for the alleged contract-killing.

Delgados lawyer told CBS Dallas a different story, explaining why Delgado fled at the time. She knew if she went to trial then, she would have no defense, she wouldnt have the ability to hire a lawyer, attorney George R. Milner said.

Milner said he had already negotiated Delgados surrender to Texas police before she was placed on the FBIs Most Wanted list with a $100,000 reward. Other sources also claimed authorities already knew where she was. A retired FBI agent told the TV station the money likely motivated her swift arrest in Mexico.

On Thursday, the judge set Delgados bond at $1 million. Her alleged conspirators, the hitman and getaway driver, have both been arrested and charged.
In Taylor Macs show A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, the gender-fluid artist reinterprets songs from Americas past, going all the way back to 1776. That presented costume designer Machine Dazzle with a unique challenge: creating 24 costumes, one for every decade of American history.

For the 1830s, he made a hoop skirt fashioned from gay-male erotica and potato-chip bags (inspired by Walt Whitman). For the 1990s, he created light-up labia wings (inspired by lesbians). The entire range will be on display at St. Anns Warehouse tomorrow night, when Mac closes his run with a 24-hour performance.

I prefer to queer the history or the ideas instead of accept the status quo, he said, explaining that politics, music, and inventions inspired the subversive silhouettes more than the styles of each era. Theres no queer history. Its been written out of history. Forgotten.

Mac, who goes by the pronoun judy, spent five years rewriting those forgotten American identities into a 24-hour show, with one hour of songs and one outfit dedicated to each decade. After performing the show in three-hour segments all month, Mac will do the whole thing in a row for the very first time this Saturday, a feat that will require meticulous timing from Dazzle, who will dress Mac onstage every hour.

Photo: Kevin Yatarola

The costumes are like immense sculptures, some Dazzle admitted are too heavy for Mac to wear for an entire hour. In one recent performance, Mac discarded a headdress made of three giant skulls whose eye sockets dripped tinsel (tears from the 1980s AIDS epidemic).

To me, its more important to get a good idea on stage rather than a finished product, Dazzle said. I like to say that my costumes give direction to what the performance is.

For the late 1700s, when the steam engine was invented, Dazzle paired a steam-pipe backpack with a dress covered in severed heads for the French Revolution. The dress was accented with cherries in the severed heads hair (for George Washington) and bloody fringe tassles. For the Civil War, he framed a hoop skirt with barbed wire (an invention of the era) and lined it with hot dogs to signify America eating our way through whats dividing us.

After moving to New York in the 90s, Dazzle joined the Dazzle Dancers as a drag performer and the groups costume designer. Machine Dazzle is his name, partly because friends called him Machine for his dancing in clubs, and partly because every Dazzle had a nickname (others: Cherry Dazzle, Cornflake Dazzle, Chunky Cupcake Dazzle). He and Mac began their years-long professional relationship in 2009 while working on The Lilys Revenge, a play about gay marriage.

Dazzle left his job as a costume-jewelry designer to focus on A 24-Decade History of Popular Music full time, and he said he considers this show his biggest yet. Its not just a shiny bit that Im stretching on a body, he said. Im really making these crazy sculptures that you live inside for a moment in time.

Click ahead to see costumes from the show.
Rape kit. Photo: Carolyn Cole/LA Times via Getty Images

President Obama on Friday signed a bill that gives sexual-assault victims a basic set of rights under federal law. Under the Sexual Assault Survivors Rights Act, survivors are now guaranteed access to their rape kits, and states are required to preserve the kits for the entire applicable statute of limitations.

The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate and the House of Representatives in September. It was introduced as a way to standardize how sexual-assault cases are handled across the country. The act ensures that survivors wont have to pay for rape-kit testing and that they will be notified 60 days before their kit is set to be destroyed, among other things.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a democrat from New Hampshire, sponsored the bill after meeting with Amanda Nguyen, a Washington, D.C., resident who had been sexually assaulted in Massachusetts in 2013. Even though Nguyen reported the assault and underwent rape-kit testing, she wasnt given any other information about her legal options and has not yet pressed charges, Vox reports.

In Massachusetts, not pressing charges means that the state could destroy her rape kit after six months. So, if Nguyen wanted the option to press charges later, she had to return to Massachusetts every six months to make sure her rape kit was not destroyed. Other states destroy rape kits in even shorter amounts of time, such as only 30 days after an assault in Florida, according to Vox.

Beginning today, our nations laws stand firmly on the side of survivors of sexual assault, Shaheen said.
Ahhh, I love this song so much. Always.

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this bop!

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ugh I need more music from her

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What kind of college campus is there where no one was up at 2 am?

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lmao mte especially after a drake concert i'm shocked only 'one person' met him.

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i can't imagine theres more to do in iowa tbh

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the two sorority houses he went has some of the smartest and straight laced girls that only go out thursday-saturday

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The so-called "good girls" that Drake love to rap about, I see.

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I know right like sometimes I would walk home at 2-3am if I had a late study night lol.

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the kind in mormon country

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ikr when I was in college if I didn't have an 8am class I was up until at least 3am every night.

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I think it's a millennial thing?

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Young adults these days understand the benefits of sleep.

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Wow he looks hot. 





I need someone to hit me.

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i'm ready

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Someone with taste tho.

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lmao

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2am on a college campus and only 1 person around? come on now.

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such a cornball

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Yes people are going to open their doors at 2am for a what appears to be gang through the peephole....

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They're college students, I'm sure the majority of them would recognize Drake if they were awake.

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In the video his entourage was knocking on the door and he wasn't in plain view. I'm sure a few people were spooked.

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what appears to be gang



wtf?

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has there been a post about lol at the campus being so dead.has there been a post about #aubrih being over and how drake allegedly cheated etc?

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I refuse to accept they ever were a thing tbh

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i always said that at most, they were on and off fwb...but some ppl swore they were about to get married this time, and have a bb, lmao. btw if you ever wanna laugh your ass off pls read the lsa aubrih thread...pure comedy.



anyways, whatever they had can't be that serious if he can make time for this but not her debut fashion line in paris. lol, welp!

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i don't think they're over tbh. just last night he posted a pic of his dad smiling with the caption "When she accuses you of something you didn't do and you got proof". which totally sounds to me like a subliminal about Riri and the rumors being untrue.

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I want to believe the shirt she wore a couple of days ago with "you fucking asshole" on it was a message to him

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no one was around at 2am? what kind of dead ass campus?!

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I mean, I'm surprised a po po didn't bother him and arrest him or worse tbh

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He looks so fine here. God I'm trash.





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i know! i'm ashamed but i can't help the thirst. he looks fine af.

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Look at that shoulder to waist ratio.

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I would shag the hell out of him. No shame.

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i died

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No shame I stared at his arms for a good 30 seconds before I continued to scroll.

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it's like he can't loose that layer of fat... sure, just like most people he looks good in 1 photo out of 100

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you mean lose*, troll

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daddy

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why didn't he go to drake during the day?

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he'd probably get attacked!

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true.

going at 2am no one is awake . so there's no good time to go

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right? his fan would totally attack him!! #safetyfirst

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LOL

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He and his crew wandered around campus, knocking the doorbells of sorority houses, but everyone was asleep so no one answered.

I'm cackling at how lame that campus is.

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If I had a personal security guard on payroll and ended up tied up in a bathtub while my jewels were being looted... they'd be fired before I got untied.

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Lol

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he was with kourtney and kendall.

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so he's at the club with my sisters while I'm tied up in the tub? yeah... fired.

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Kinda seems like they need more bodyguards since he can't be two places at once

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His client order him to go with her sisters. That is his job, to do what his client is paying him to do. Idg your comments.

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lbr it's not like he could've done anything against like 5 armed men anyway.

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but would you ever hire an old, portly bodyguard? I wouldn't. I'd hire Gaga's bald security detail

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Don't know why people are disagreeing with you on that.

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if you can't do your job well

you're gonna get fired

simple as that

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Look. I know people hate Kim and want her gone from the media's eye and that she ain't shit, or whatever. But the idea that she would retreat from the 'limelight' because some criminals terrorized her and made her feel unsafe somewhere she should have felt safe?



Don't sit right with me.

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god, agreed :( this is fucked up

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agreed

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Yeah same. :/

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Yeah I've never been a massive fan but there are way too many people acting gleeful about this, it's gross and really sad. I don't want anyone to feel unsafe or go through such a public trauma and then feel like the public finds it amusing. That's horrible.

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mte. nobody should feel forced into hiding like that. it's fucked up.

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MTE. I can't stand this family, but I feel terrible for Kim. People seem to forget that she's also a human being with feelings. She doesn't deserve this.

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how is this his fault if kim told him to go protect her sisters instead

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mte

but why did they only have one bodyguard to share...thats the thing that bugs me abt this

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its not like he left her on some random street corner, she was settled in for the night in her hotel room lol

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So what if Kim had told him to go, he'd insisted on staying, and something had happened to her sisters? Wouldn't you be saying the exact same thing but in reverse? That he should've been trained well enough to know that there was a threat to her sisters and to follow the orders of his client?





lose-lose

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Idk, I feel like the higher risk would be at the club. It seemed like they all thought it was a good call at the time. I'm really shocked that the sisters didn't have their own bodyguard, and that they only had ONE. I don't think he should be fired, but her security needs to be beefed up, and her sisters need to hire their own.

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mte. this is a building thats supposedly impossible to get into, it was def an inside job or the robbers just knew the ins and outs.

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he should have had the power of premonition apparently or been able to be at two places at once

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Why would he get fired for following her orders 

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all good bodyguards should have precog abilities

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I like how everyone is assuming he didn't offer something like that... he may have or didn't but ultimately there is such a thing as refusal which I think was the case since I highly doubt they only traveled with one security in tow.



Edited at 2016-10-07 12:12 am (UTC)

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that's why its gonna be tough. he was ordered to go with her sisters and she got hurt. if he had been there and she still got hurt it'd be much easier to make a decision.

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people are acting like this is a military fuck up or something.

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My guess is that they suspect (or are at least worried about the possibility that) he may have contributed to the robbery plan. Obviously if it's just a suspicion without proof, they'll have to give some other reason for letting him go.

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If she told (ordered?) him to accompany her sisters, idk how she can blame him. Even if he disagreed, she's the boss and he follows her instructions. Though I've never had a bodyguard so I have no clue what the protocol is if they think you shouldn't be alone but you insist they gtfo

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I know, but 'doesn't blame' to me is different than 'not at fault'.

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even tho it wasn't his fault i would fire him if he were my bodyguard. i wouldn't be able to look at him the same.

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LOL @ Kanye having final say. Please. I realize the need to blame someone, but it's so ridiculous b/c he was following orders. No one other than the perps are to blame for this shit.

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maybe she is actually upset at the guy and wants Kanye to do it for her so it isn't awkward? idk



it could just be Kanye being Kanye tho

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idk but I'm fed the fuck up with Kanye and I was done after she said he dresses her. I wouldn't let him lord over me like that. It should be her decision.

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It makes me uncomfortable how controlling he is but Kim seems to love it, so I never know what to think???



But then, I also don't think she's as submissive as she portrays herself lol. Kanye admits he's awful with money and defers to her on almost all financial matters. She seems to be the only person who could talk him into therapy and medication as well. I think she has just as much influence over him, but not in a way that's as noticeable to the general public.



Their dynamic isn't very appealing to me personally, but it seems to work for them.

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1 guard for 3 celebrities? They are way too rich to be so cheap.

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i'm surprised they don't have more security detail tbh

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Yup. I would've assumed there would be at least one bodyguard for each sister.

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Exactly!



She was robbed in Vienna, the mobed in Paris where she almost got crushed,

then attacked by that idiot in Paris, then this.....come on Kardashians

get smart, and get more security.

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why does Kanye get to make the decision tho?

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because she probably isn't in any state of mind to do anything rn

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id fire everyone and suspect an inside job right away tbh. paranoia to the fullest. get the best security money can buy.

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same tho and him being bankrupt is very sus

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No it's not, no ones suspecting him lmao

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she better have somebody talk to the knowles-carters so she can get a julius in her life.

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After seeing Kanye's fashion line I wouldn't want him making any important decisions for me

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Nosedive is set in kind of a crapsaccharine world in that everything looks very nice and happy on the outside (very Stepford-like), but it's like social media "likes" taken to the extreme in that even people get ratings on them as people based on their interactions with others; after an interaction, people rate each other on their mobile devices and base their self-worth and the worth of others off their ratings, so the main character played by Bryce Dallas Howard rates people higher and takes it really personally when people don't give her 5 stars back, but then she has a series of misfortunes, like accidentally knocking into someone and spilling their coffee, which makes them rate her down out of anger and it snowballs from there until her rating takes a big nosedive. The problem is that people with really high ratings get better housing and better jobs and "better" people want to associate with them and network, etc. so her taking a series of big hits on one day causes a TON of problems for her, e.g. she's trying to get to Alice Eve's wedding across the country because Alice Eve is her childhood friend she lost contact with and she's just asked BDH to be her maid of honour and BDH is like "o shit and there will be tons of highly rated people there who will improve my score and help me be able to move into my own apartment away from my brother who doesn't believe in this system, etc. but she has a bunch of run-ins with people who give her shitty ratings based on small-ish things and she ends up not being allowed on her flight because it's for people with a certain rating and above (and the airport attendant basically knocks her rating down out of spite and then onlookers pile on as BDH has a bit of a stress meltdown in public lol), then she tries renting a car, but again she gets a shitty busted up electric car with no charger for the fuel and she ends up having to hitchhike with Cherry Jones (who has a really, really low rating because she gave up on ~the system~ and doesn't care what others have to say about her at all and doesn't want to be part of it anymore because it's fucked)... It's a satire on social media use and classism, but in the end BDH explodes and says what's really on her mind and it ends with her in jail for crashing the wedding and causing a scene lol. She ends up in a cell across from another guy who starts trash talking her and they go back and forth talking all kinds of shit and you see they're both enjoying being able to be "real" without worrying about being rated down by each other for everyone else to see and judge later on. They just insult each other back and forth in this "yo mama" battle kind of way that's really funny, so it's kind of about the value of being able to express negativity and anger and frustration without it necessarily being a reflection of who you are as a person overall since it's not healthy or honest to keep every single negative feeling bottled up for the sake of appearances. idk, it was a fun episode, but it still has that dark Black Mirror underlayer to it.
that doesn't look like her at all

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right?! she looks better in her youtube videos.

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they stretched her body so weirdly -- like they tried to make her a full foot taller than she actually is?

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I feel like she's also aged a LOT in the past year or two.

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mte! Like what did they do to her face??

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still makes me lol whenever i see her name this is always the 1st thing that comes to mind - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/zoella-fails-to-recognise-picture-of-random-man-and-his-dog-is-pink-floyds-david-gilmour-a6863461.html still makes me lol

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that's hilarious!



it's funny because she's a decent photographer... she should maybe explore that more tbh.

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sorry this was for the other person



but love to you



Edited at 2016-10-07 02:56 pm (UTC)

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OMG THIS IS AMAZING

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aw lol that's something I would do, I wouldn't know who he is

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LMAO. Not a bad photograph, though. Reminds me of a friend of mine who served Alice Cooper at Starbucks and had no idea it was him until much later.

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lol i love david's wife's response to this DIDN'T KNOW WHO #RANDOMYOUNGTHINGS were. me neither.

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rise of the porn face?



fuck off

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what hell does that mean, even? thots?

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my first thought was like resting bitch face but who the fuck knows

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I posted this and how the fuck I didnt even see that? fuck off indeed.

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that is a horrific cover...



also i've come to really hate her lol.

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what's happening to our world

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I bought this magazine on my lunch break - the "porn face" article is about Instagram make-up and the writer calls the look "near to the aesthetic found on sex dolls"



messy yes.

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omg but thanx for buying it and reporting back

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i knew i was getting old when i passed by a b&n and saw a bunch of people lined up for a signing. i was curious - bc there were a LOT of excited people - and took a look inside. turns out it was for alfie's "the pointless book" or whatever it was. the book wasn't even good! just crap like, "put a picture here!" and "spray your favorite scent on this page!" i guess the title warned me though.

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his book is such a copy of wreck this journal.

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i just looked up wreck this journal and it sounds more fun than the pointless book lmao.



but the idea of doing all those things to a book just makes me cringe omg. i guess that's the point, but books are my precioussssss...



Edited at 2016-10-07 03:01 pm (UTC)

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The new trend that has all these random ass youtubers "writing" books is crazy. I was at a bookstore yesterday and the window was filled with books by brazilian youtubers I didn't even know existed. Who the fuck thought this was a good idea?? Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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I'm more interested/distracted by "The Rise of Porn Face" on the cover wtf do they mean?

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This looks so poorly photoshopped in so many ways.

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that looks nothing like her. was no actual celeb available for the cover?

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HDU Zoella is bigger than most U.K. celebs at this point.

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I will never understand her popularity

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you are very, very clearly not british.

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#GetOffMyLawn



Edited at 2016-10-07 03:13 pm (UTC) I pride myself on never having clicked on one of her videos

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Wtf is a porn face

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that cover is so bad

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Years ago I followed someone on tumblr that was obsessed with her, I don't know what happened in those few years the person lost interest in Zoe and now but Zoe looks 100% different. And not just here, I had one of her videos recommend to me on youtube last week and I didn't recognize her.

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The market for natural gas continues to grow as the U.S. currently produces and consumes more gas than ever before, according to EIAs 2015 Natural Gas Annual.

Prices for consumers continue to decline, although residential pricing for heating remains highest in the Eastern United States. Net imports also continue to decline as the country starts to export more natural gas and as LNG export facilities begin to come on line.

Production

Domestic dry natural gas production totaled 27.1 Tcf, or 74.1 billion Bcf/d in 2015, a 4.5 percent increase above 2014.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: EIA

Pennsylvanian production increased to 13.04 Bcf/d in 2015 over 11.56 Bcf/d in 2014. This is the third consecutive year that the state has recorded the largest total gain in annual production.

Ohio recorded the largest increase, percentage-wise, of any state, for the second consecutive year. Dry natural gas production in Ohio doubled from 1.31 Bcf/d in 2014 to 2.62 Bcf/d in 2015. With the exception of Louisiana and Texas, steady or continuing to increasing production is the norm across the U.S.

Consumption

Total natural gas deliveries to residential, industrial, commercial, and power generation consumers increased 2.8 percent to 25.1 Tcf, or 68.6 Bcf/d, in 2015.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: EIA

The favorable economics of gas generation continue to drive gas demand as coal plant retirements continue. Power sector consumption of natural gas increased 18.7 percent to a record level of 26.5 Bcf/d, while natural gas for vehicle fuel also increased 11.6 percent. Deliveries to the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors dropped by 9.4 percent, 7.7 percent, and 1.5 percent, respectively, from 2014 levels, offsetting the increase in power consumption.

Pricing

Natural gas residential delivery prices have continued their long-term decline from their mid-2000s highs. 2014 featured a slight increase in prices, due to price spikes brought about by extreme winter weather and transportation issues in the Northeast.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: EIA

States with the highest prices for delivery to residential consumers were primarily located in the capacity-strained Northeast and warmer Southeast. West Coast pricing was also in the upper percentile, due to a lack of regional production and dependence on Canadian imports.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: EIA

NatGas Imports and Exports

Natural gas imports rose year-to-year for the first time since 2007, increasing 0.8 percent to 2,718 Bcf. Pipeline imports from Canadas Western shale basins into the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest accounted for a large percentage of the total. LNG from Trinidad/Tobango, Norway, and Yemen to the East and Gulf Coasts provided a small share of the total.

Higher imports were offset by the first year-to-year rise in gas exports since 2012 and net imports continued their steady downward trend.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: EIA

Exports increased 17.8 percent from 1,514 to 1,783 Bcf, with 1,054 Bcf going by pipeline to Mexico, roughly 700 Bcf to Eastern Canada, and 28 Bcf by LNG tanker. Texas LNG shipments went to Brazil, Egypt, and Turkey while Alaskan loads were sent evenly to Taiwan and Japan.

By Oil & Gas 360

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
We begin with a look at the key figures in the oil market this week, which show that oil prices have held onto gains, reaching the $50 mark for the first time in months.

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

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Friday, October 7, 2016

Oil prices held onto their gains this week, adding a bit of momentum to the rally that started in late September following the OPEC deal. On Thursday, WTI broke through the $50 per barrel threshold for the first time since June on a fragile, but growing sense of optimism that oil markets are heading closer to balance. U.S. crude oil stocks fell again this week, adding to the bullish sentiment.

Another bit of positive news came at the end of the week when OPECs Secretary-General said he will meet Russias energy minister in Istanbul for talks. The consultations will take place on the sidelines of an energy conference this weekend, and while there is no guarantee that Russia will coordinate or cooperate with OPECs planned production cuts, Russia has been more open to cooperation with OPEC this year than at any point in recent memory.

Saudis to cut production anyway. The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudis powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave the greenlight to negotiators to come to a deal with OPEC countries on production cuts in Algiers last month. However, according to WSJ sources, it does not mark an about-face for the countrys oil strategy of fighting for market share. The Prince gave the space to negotiate a production cut, but only for volumes that the Kingdom had been planning to cut anyway. Production in Saudi Arabia tends to fall after peak summer demand, so the announced cuts for the OPEC deal did not involve much of a sacrifice. The distinction is important because it could offer clues into how far Saudi Arabia will be willing to go to prop up oil prices, which is to say, perhaps not that far.

Saudi Aramco to publish accounts. The worlds largest oil producer plans on publishing details of its finances for the first time ahead of a planned partial IPO in 2018, the FT reports. Aramcos finances have long been shrouded in mystery, but in order to list shares, the company will need to provide more transparency to investors. It will release data next year, for the years 2015-2017. Saudi Arabia plans on listing about 5 percent of the company, and Saudi officials believe the company will be valued at as much as $2 trillion.

A sign of oil glut. Bloomberg reports that at least 10 oil tankers are waiting in the North Sea, a sign that the oil market for Brent crude is still oversupplied. It is unusual for more than one or two tankers to be anchoring waiting to transfer their cargo. The uptick in what is essentially oil sitting in floating storage, in spite of oil field maintenance in the North Sea, suggests oil markets are still weak. Related: Can Microwave Technology Compete With Fracking?

Major Alaska oil discovery; tax changes loom. Caelus Energy LLC reported a 6 billion barrel oil discovery on the northern coast of Alaska this week. The world class discovery could be one of the largest in over a decade for Alaska, and has the potential to eventually produce 200,000 barrels per day. The project will be expensive, however, and not profitable at todays oil prices. It will take years to develop as well and wouldnt come online before 2020. Meanwhile, the state is paring back tax incentives for the industry as it sees revenues plunge. In 2014, Alaska took in $7.4 billion in oil revenues; by 2017 that will fall by 86 percent to just $1 billion. Now the state is scrapping tax credits and other incentives, but the industry is warning that it will kill off the golden goose.

UK greenlights fracking. In a surprise move, the British government gave the go-ahead to Cuadrilla Resources to drill for natural gas in northern England. The UK Secretary of State for Communities overruled local planning commissions, granting the company a win after a multiyear battle for the right to hydraulically fracture. Proponents of the drilling plan say that fracking for gas will halt the UKs more than a decade decline in natural gas production. Cuadrilla says producing gas will likely require prices at about $6 per million Btu  current gas prices trade for less than that.

Brazil opens up oil sector to international investment. Brazils Congress voted to allow international companies to invest in the countrys pre-salt oil fields. For years, only the state-owned Petrobras was allowed to be the operator on any pre-salt project, but with the company drowning in debt, Brazil is turning to international companies for investment. Bloomberg calls it the most investor-friendly change in regulation since the 1997 oil law that ended the state companys monopoly in Brazil. Related: Oil Prices Continue To Rise On Continued OPEC Rhetoric

Russian government orders Rosneft to take over Bashneft. Russias state-owned oil company Rosneft was ordered to swallow up a majority stake in Bashneft, the largest state-owned asset sale in a decade. Rosneft will buy out the governments stake for $5.3 billion, giving government coffers a cash injection. The sale of Bashneft had once been billed as a privatization effort, but now Russias oil assets will be further concentrated into its largest state-owned company.

Natural gas market tightens. Natural gas prices for 2017 rose to their highest levels in a year as demand continues to rise and supply falters. Henry Hub prices for July 2017 rose to $3.147 per MMBtu, the highest price in more than a year. U.S. natural gas markets were terribly oversupplied last winter, but production continues to fall and demand is steadily rising as new gas-fired power plants come online. The result has been a surprisingly weak injection season, setting the market up for tighter conditions this winter.

UN ratifies agreement on airline emissions. The UN ratified an agreement that calls for cuts to greenhouse gas emissions from international flights, the first international agreement to address airline emissions. The deal calls for a peak in international airline emissions in 2020, but would allow airlines to continue to increase emissions beyond that date as long as they buy carbon offsets. With few fuel alternatives for airliners, emissions are expected to continue to climb in spite of the agreement.



By Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
One week before the U.S./Russian truce agreement in Syria, the Washington Post headlined an article with, Whether or not the Syrian cease-fire sticks, Putin Wins.

Is Putin winning? Theres little doubt that Russias intervention in Syria has reversed the Assad Governments position from what looked like certain defeat to a far more commanding position in the field. For many world leaders, these impressive achievements in only nine months have also served to reverse Putins status from western pariah to a leader extolled by many.

The ripple effect from Syria has seen a sudden rush of world leaders beating a path to Moscow, with U.S. allies, Israel, Japan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, the most recent visitors to pay homage to the Russian President.

The question remains; is he winning? If so, with Russia an oil super power, what does winning mean for oil markets?

Consider recent examples of warming relationships with Russia and some of the U.S./EU closest allies, including Israel, Japan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and Russian:

At the G20 meeting in Hangzou, China, President Putin met with Deputy Crown Prince Salmon of Saudi Arabia, the eldest son of the Saudi King and his country's Defense Minister. The Russians, despite having a firm alliance with Iran in hand, are now cementing a strategic oil partnership with Saudi Arabia. They met again in Vienna, where the Saudis "agreed to narrow their differences [over output] with Iran to about 600,000 barrels per day".

For nearly 22 months, Russia and Saudi Arabia have been competing for market share, with the Saudis producing over 10 million barrels per day and the Russians over 11 million. The competition has all oil producers suffering budget crises. It seems like they've finally wrestled each other into a draw. It didn't hurt that Russia had been seriously cultivating the other Gulf Kingdoms for support.

It can hardly be a coincidence that the OPEC meeting in Algiers took place after Parliamentary elections in Russia showed Putin's party winning substantial victories, while his popularity polls continue to rise skyward. Whatever hopes the West may have had for the oil price wars crashing the Russian economy and its President's popularity, the election clearly showed his party winning and his popularity soaring.

OPEC had to find a way out, and it looks likely that the start of a consensus was found in the recent meeting in Algiers, where OPEC has agreed to a freeze in production at around 32 million barrels per day, down from over 33 million barrels. Russia and the Saudis have promised to reduce production if all OPEC members also agree. Although the negotiations are likely to be difficult, with Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria asking and likely gaining exemptions from the agreement. In reality, the oil producers have little choice but to find an agreement.

The progress is likely to be agonizing slow, with plenty of fits and starts. Even with an agreement, the exemptions with Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Nigeria are likely to add substantially to the global oil glut. To reach agreement, OPEC will have to cut much deeper. Even so, it will take at least six to nine months from the time of agreement to make a real dent in working down the glut to clear the market.

Yet oil markets are future oriented and will undoubtedly anticipate rising prices, with oil prices already rising since the Algiers meeting.

Israel and Russia:

As stated here, while frequently described as Americas best and closest ally, Israel is the only Western country that has steadfastly refused to take part in the international sanctions imposed on Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine.

Israeli-Russian relations have been improving for some time despite Russias support for Iran, Syria and the Palestinians. The improvement stems in part from the fact that both countries have a common interest in opposing Islamic terrorism. Russia has also become Israels major oil supplier, while also becoming a major trading destination for Israeli exports. [Currently,] the two countries are inprocess of finalizing a free-trade agreement.

Israeli observers who openly acknowledge the Israel-Russia rapprochement argue, basically, that the alleged retrenchment of the United States from the Middle East  especially in its unwillingness to remove Syrias Bashar Assad and its purported appeasement of Iran in the nuclear agreement  has forced Israel to come to terms with the new dominant power in the Middle East, Russia. Related: Oil Hits $50 As OPEC Suggests It Might Deepen Output Cuts

The past three years upheaval across the Arab world has for now resulted in increased Russian presence and diminishing American prestige.

Russia is especially interested in acquiring Israeli technology; Israel,  is  a world leader in advanced [military] technology. A major example is the deal signed between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the Russian government through Oboronprom, a Russian defense company, was much more than an arms sale, and involved direct military cooperation with Israel training at least 50 Russian officers on UAV operations in Tel-Aviv.

Capping off the relationship was the blockbuster announcement that Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to hold talks at the Kremlin to find solutions to their multi-decade standoff.

It can hardly be coincidence that only one week after the announcement of these talks, the Obama Administration countered with its own announcement of a $38 billion, ten-year defense aid to Israel for the explicit purchase of U.S. military equipment.



Turkey and Russia:

Prior to the coup attempt in Turkey, and following a series of terrorist attacks in his country, President Erdogan announced a reversal in policy that essentially renounced his support for the Saudi/NATO war alliance against Syria. Following fast upon the coups failure, in which Russian warnings played a key role, Erdogan flew to Russia, proclaiming Putin as his closest friend, before flying on to Syria for an attempt at rapprochement with President Assad.

As stated here, numerous announcements came from the Russian meeting, including talks for the resumption of agreements to build Turkstream, the planned natural gas pipeline from Russia, under the Black Sea to Turkey. This was a project that was fiercely opposed by the U.S. and EU. Recently, Gazprom received its first building permits from authorities in Turkey for the implementation of the Turkish Stream pipeline. Gazproms CEO stated that work is expected to begin in Oct.

The two parties also agreed to a joint venture in which Russia would build a nuclear plant in Turkey. Along with that, Russia immediately dropped all counter sanctions against Turkish imports, while also immediately lifting the ban against Russian tourism to Turkey.



Japan and Russia:

For many observers, Japan and Russia make a perfect match for trading partners in terms of their close proximity, Japans needs for energy, Russia, an energy super power, along with its need for high technology and finance. However, U.S. President Barack Obama is known to have cautioned Japanese leader Abe against pursuing a rapprochement with Russia.

At the recent Eastern Economic Forum the most active area of discussion involving delegates from Japan and Russiacentered on plans to boost Japanese investment in Russian oil and gas, as well as in renewable energy.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a state-controlled institution, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a strategic partnership [with] Russias Novatek. JBIC will provide Novatek with $400 million in financing for its Yamal LNG project, with further investment to follow in the companys Arctic LNG project. This is expected to lead to an increase in Japanese imports of Russian liquefied natural gas. There was also discussion of the possibility of JBIC taking a 10 percent stake in Rosneft, Russias state-controlled oil company.

Also within the energy sphere, discussions advanced about the Energy Ring. This is an ambitious scheme to connect the power grids of the countries of Northeast Asia, including by means of an undersea cable that would enable electricity exports from Sakhalin to Hokkaido.

A Bloomberg article notes that Russia has also offered, and Japan has welcomed, opportunities for further joint ventures in the Arctic, including plans for rebuilding and modernizing Vladivostok, along with modernization plans for the huge Northeast Russian Arctic territories.

EU and Russia:

The refugee crisis now also threatens to pull the EU apart, where rising right wing movements attempt to shut down immigration, while the Brexit may only be the beginning of countries exiting the Union. The recent election losses suffered by the Merkel government is directly linked to Merkels leadership and its open door response to the refugees plight. Last year Germany accepted more than one million refugees.

A recent editorial in Bloomberg stated that "only peace can stem the surge of refugees that is swamping the world. More than 65 million people are now displaced -- the highest number since the UN began keeping tabs. Ultimately, though, the way to solve the crisis is to end the conflicts that have created it.

Both the EU and UN are calling for an immediate resolution of the Syrian war, as the chief cause for the refugee crisis, while a growing chorus of European leaders are calling for the lifting Russian sanctions.

It should be clear that the turn in political attitudes are taking place against the backdrop of the Wests 15 years of failing military policies in the Middle East and Eurasia, where the neo-con strategy of regime change has left in its wake the wreckage of fallen states, the blow-back of global terrorism, along with an enormous EU refuges crisis. In the EU the glaring contradictions are becoming ever more clear between relying on Russias military muscle to take on ISIS, while continuing to undermine the Russian economy.

U.S. and Russia:

The Russian military actions in Syria were key to reclaiming its leaders reputation as a force to be reckoned with. Were seeing Putins image everywhere, nowadays, featured ever more prominently. Bloomberg recently hosted an exclusive 3-hour interview with the Russian ruler. Be assured, a coordinated media cleansing effort is starting up.

Even U.S. military leaders are beginning to admit to Russias effectiveness in Syria against the forces of ISIS. When old cold-war warriors start singing Russian praise, you know something important is happening. Consider the following from two renowned U.S. military leaders:

According to retired Gen. David Petraeus, former head of the CIA, and Michael OHanlon, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, Russias moves to date have been select and calibrated

Crimea, after all, was historically Russian and is populated by a majority of Russian speakers, and is home to Russias only Black Sea naval base. Whats more, when Mr. Putin moved into Syria last fall, He did so only after having determined that the Obama administration was keeping its own involvement limited, they argue. While these actions may have been cynical and reprehensible they were not completely reckless or random, nor were they particularly brutal by the standards of warfare. Related: 1.5 Trillion Barrels Of Recoverable U.S. Oil Waiting To Be Tapped

In short, they conclude, Russias actions do not likely portend a direct threat to more central NATO interests.

Even more surprising is this statement from one of the most famous of cold war warriors, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former foreign adviser to Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Bush, the elder:

Turkey was on the verge of reconsidering its foreign policy after failure in the Syria during the last five years, and the U.S. miscalculation in supporting the coup and hosting its leader (Fethullah Gulen, now in CIA-arranged exile in Pennsylvania-w.e.) was so serious that it is no longer possible to put the blame on once-U.S.-ally, Turkey, if it turns its back on U.S. and rethink(s) its policies. He continued: A potential Russia-Turkey-Iran coalition would create an opportunity to solve the Syrian crisis.

America can only be effective in dealing with the current Middle Eastern violence if it forges a coalition that involves...also Russia and China

U.S./EU Election Aids Putin's Rise:

There must be some unwritten rule that says the more bizarre the elections in the U.S., the more its adversaries gain. As much as the Russian election established that Putin was the man to deal with in Russia, his rise was also helped by German elections that saw sharp losses in the polls for Prime Minister Merkels party, due in large part to the leading support of refugee migration and Russian sanctions. Hillary Clinton's declining polls also seems to work to the Russian's advantage, as the world saw Russia's chief adversaries weaken.

Praise for the Russian President also comes from the U.S. Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, who was strongly attacked for his pro-Putin stance by President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and a host of Democratic and Republican party spokesman. Yet surprisingly, Trump seems to have suffered no real political consequences for what would have appeared, at any other time, as a deliberate act of political suicide.

The reason for that could be a major shift in Republican attitudes towards Putin, where recent polls show that an incredible 85 percent of Republicans view Putin as a strong leader, while only 18 percent hold similar views of Obama. In August, an Economist-YouGov poll found that only 27 per cent of registered Republicans have a negative view of the Russian president, compared with 66 percent two years ago.

Sticking to his guns, the Real Estate Mogul candidate at nearly every public meeting raises the issue of "...wouldn't it be nice if we had peace with Russia and China...and let them take care of ISIS." It is a question that at once focuses on ISIS as the main global threat, and as Russia and China as possible allies in the fight. At a time of very dangerous saber rattling between the two sides, with threats of imminent nuclear war carelessly tossed around, this could easily become a major issue in the campaign.

Russia and China: Russias Coming Out Party

One of the most important contributions to Russias rising influence is its deepening relationship with world power, China, as its closest ally. As stated here: What was different [about the recent G20 meeting was that it was distinctly Chinas G20. Chinamade it very plain that it was leading, and to make it clearer still, it made sure that the world should see that the guest of honor was the Russian President, not the American President. There was a deeper purpose here: to underline strategic co-ordination with Russia in the context of the display of Chinese leadership.

Much more explicitly, in his [recent] address to the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese President Xi said that relations of Russia and China should not be confined solely to economic relations, but rather, these two states should create an alternative military alliance: we are now witnessing the aggressive actions by the United States against Russia and China. I believe that Russia and China may form an alliance before which NATO will be powerless.

Conclusion:

So what exactly has Russia won? Certainly it has increased its prestige, with Russia's voice once again heard in important decision-making councils. Moreover, Putin's agreement with the Saudis has raised the Russian leader's status as a powerful arbiter in global oil markets, not as a threat but as a conciliator. Given the still essential role of oil in the global economy, that could well serve to bolster Putins influence.

The biggest news on Putin rise, however, may come from Syria, where for the first time the U.S. and Russia are coordinating battleground field intelligence and operations in Syria. Press reports have claimed that because of Hillary Clintons recent shaky election polls, the Democrat Party is putting a lot of pressure on Obama to end the war before the November elections. Unlikely as that is to happen, it has little chance without Russian mediation with its allies, Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah.

Much more tellingly, after five years of unending combat, the sudden emergence of political concerns for an ending a controversial and unpopular war clearly shows that the Democrats see that the wars weigh heavily against Clinton's election chances. Strangely enough, that means an American electorate that is famously indifferent to foreign affairs, has been roused to opposing the war, and former Secretary Clinton as one of its major proponents.

If that scenario proves true, that likely means that the U.S. has finally heard the pleas of their European allies, who are facing a massive human catastrophe as literally millions of Eurasians and African seek refuge. The message is clear and unequivocal, for Russia and the U.S. to put aside their differences and organize a worldwide coalition ready to take on ISIS as an existential threat.

It seems that there is something like a secret ongoing global election to decide which leader can best keep the world safe from attack, Obama or Putin. The answer the world seems to have settled on is to try them both as part of the same team.

Two more different leaders could hardly be chosen for the role of mission leaders attempting to coordinate their separate militaries, that until today were bitter enemies. The so called accidental bombings of Syrian troops and the UN aide mission by the U.S., occurring only days after signing new agreements to work together, show the immense difficulties in developing a unified command amongst recent adversaries.

Reportedly, many hardline U.S. State Department Officials protested to Obama against any form of military cooperation with Russia. But Syria remains the place chosen to become the test case for forming a united front against ISIS. If it works, the emerging coalition will also be broadened to include other member states in Central and East Asia.

But there remains some very good prospects for successful collaboration, based upon the two years of intensive cooperative diplomacy by both countries, working against a powerful and highly organized opposition, to achieve the spectacularly successful Iran nuclear agreement. The U.S. and Russia also successfully collaborated in eliminating the Syrian governments chemical weapons. Add to that that American oil companies will likely be helped by a Russian/Saudi oil agreement on curtailing production.

Despite their major differences, the two countries have proven that they are capable of some remarkable achievements when they seriously decide to work together. The fact is that the western alliance has finally come around to the idea that military collaboration between the two adversaries just may be the last best hope against the forces of ISIS.

The only question left is what took them so long?

By Robert Berke for Oilprice.com

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The High Court of Chad has ruled that an Exxon-led consortium must pay a fine of US$75 billion for failing to meet its tax obligations and withholding royalties worth US$819 million.

The sum is a lot higher than Chads GDP, which was US$10.8 billion last year and is estimated to reach US$13 billion this year. The chance of the country collecting what it believes are its dues is beyond remote.

According to one professor of international law, no court outside Chad will agree to uphold the original ruling, and the worst that could happen to Exxon would be that it would have to drop its Chad operations and leave. Another lawyer, who spoke to Bloomberg, said that it is unlikely that the Chadian government expects to collect the sum. Rather, Robert Amsterdam said, the courts ruling signals that the contract between NDjamena and the oil companies is about to be revised.

The company entered the central African country in 2001, and two years later struck oil. The current daily production rate is about 120,000 barrels, much of which is being exported via a pipeline through neighboring Cameroon to the West African coast. Initially, Chevron was also a partner in the consortium, but it sold its 25-percent interest for US$1.3 billion in 2014, shortly before the huge price slide in oil prices began in July.

Earlier this year, Exxon and its partners in the consortium, including Malaysian Petronas, filed a case at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris against the Chadian government, claiming their contract for oilfield development included an exemption from export taxes. NDjamena, however, seems to be of a different opinion, hence the home courts ruling.

An Exxon spokesman said, We disagree with the Chadian courts ruling and are evaluating next steps. This dispute relates to disagreement over commitments made by the government to the consortium, not the governments ability to impose taxes.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The government of Scotland on 6 October requested the revoking of six licenses to fund underground coal gasification (UCG), citing concerns from analysts over possible environmental and climate damage.

It is the Scottish governments view that UCG poses numerous and serious environmental risks and, on that basis, the Scottish government cannot support this technology, affirmed Scottish environment minister Paul Wheelhouse according to The Guardian.

Accordingly, UCG will have no place in Scotlands energy mix at this time, Wheelhouse added, saying that his decision was based on an expert report from ex-chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Prof. Campbell Gemmell.

UCG had been placed under moratorium pending the results of the independent study. The suspension of horizontal fracking in Britain, meanwhile, was lifted on 6 October, though Scottish ministers are expected to make a final decision later this year.

The UCG technique involves chemically igniting coal seams, which are abundant underground as well as the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh and Solway Firth north of Carlisle. After ignition is complete under controlled conditions, the released methane-rich gases at ground level are captured before processing the gasses.

Proponents of UCG claim that the technique is more environmentally friendly in that it leads to less carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional coal mining. Furthermore, Scottish UCG backers believe the technique can help the nation gain greater energy independence and rely less on imports.

As with fracking, underground coal has the potential to create thousands of jobs and boost the economy at a time when the North Sea oil and gas industry is in decline, said Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Alexander Burnett as described by The Daily Record.

Yet UCG technology in Scotland is nascent, very much untested, and could take many years prior to approval by British regulators. One of the two developers behind UCG in Scotland  Five Quarter  went out of business earlier this year.

Environmentalists argue that UCG is unsafe and an environmental hazard, and have cited prosecution against one developer in the Australian state of Queensland accused of contamination and leaks into the environment.

The history of UCG is littered with contamination incidents, ground subsidence and industrial accidents. [We] look forward to the Scottish government acting swiftly to ban shale gas fracking and coalbed methane drilling once it has finished its review, declared Mary Church, head of campaigns with Friends of the Earth Scotland.

By Erwin Cifuentes for Oilprice.com

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Shell has given up its plan to build an oil train unloading terminal near Anacortes, Washington, that would have received 60,000 barrels of crude daily produced in the Bakken shale of North Dakota. The facility would have been an expansion to Shells March Point refinery.

According to the company, the project is no longer economical, not least because of the price of Bakken oil, as the refinerys general manager Shirley Yap said in a statement. But there has also been vocal opposition to the plan from environmental groups and Native American tribes. According to them, its this opposition that made Shell change its mind.

Transportation of oil by rail is a sensitive issue, as statistically it has been shown to be more risky than pipelines, and even this method of oil transport is getting more than enough heat from environmentalist groups. Things got more targeted earlier this year, after a 15-car oil train carrying crude for Union Pacific went off the tracks in the Columbia River Gorge, and four cars caught fire.

Shells Washington refinery will continue to receive oil via pipeline from Canada and by tankers from Alaska.

Meanwhile, the company is working on exiting its North Sea operations, which, according to UBS, could generate around US$1 billion. The asset sale plan is part of Shells efforts to reduce the debt pile accumulated after the US$52-billion takeover of gas major BG Group. At end-June 2016, Shells total debt stood at US$79.47 billion, according to its second-quarter financial report..

UBS analysts also suggested that Shell might not stop at partial divestment: There is of course room to be even more radical, potentially exiting very significant pieces of business that have hitherto been regarded as core to the business, they said. Shell plans to divest assets worth US$30 billion between this year and 2018.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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For the 10th straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, dining guides, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as voting for your "Best of Dining 2016."

The Wauwatosa Village may have its very own cheese shop as soon as early December.

A proposal for The Village Cheese Shop for the retail space at 1430 Underwood Ave., is slated to go before the Wauwatosa Plan Commission on Monday, Oct. 10.

The shops owner, Sabina Magyar, is an accomplished traveler whose appreciation for food and wine has been honed through a variety of experiences in Europe and beyond. Her professional experience has included work as beverage and cheese manager at Glorioso's Italian Market, where she assisted in expanding the markets selection of both cheeses and wine.

Most recently, she has worked with companies in the wine industry, including Thief Wine and Rootstock Wine Co. Magyar is also an American American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional and certified by the Wine & Spirit Educational Trust.

"Having experienced cheese shops in other cities and countries, I was inspired to have my own shop where I could showcase the exceptional artisanal cheeses being produced in America and particularly the Midwest," she says, "I always planned to open my own business in Milwaukee after many years living elsewhere, and the time is right for me to do this now."

Magyar says the European inspired shop will feature a wide variety of artisanal and farmstead cheeses from Wisconsin as well as across the U.S. and Europe which will be cut to order by approachable, knowledgeable staff.

In addition to cheeses, customers will be able to purchase distinctive accompaniments including charcuterie, tinned fish, jams, crackers, nuts and sea salts along with cheese boards, tools and bottles of wine from a curated selection of value-focused offerings from small, traditional producers.

Gift boxes, catering trays and cheese education classes are also part of the plan.

And for cheese lovers who would like to linger with a glass of wine, Magyar says a cheese bar within the shop will offer a small menu of cheese and charcuterie boards, sandwiches and salads.

Magyar says she expects The Village Cheese Shop to be open Tuesday through Sunday with hours most evenings until 7 p.m.
For the seventh straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2013."

Whenever the following tweet appears  as it does roughly monthly during the traditional school year in Milwaukee ...

What's for lunch today? Mock Chicken leg, mashed potatoes & gravy, mixed vegetables, roll, grapes and milk.  Milwaukee MPS (@MilwaukeeMPS) September 12, 2013

.. a flurry of quippy replies follows. Recently, some folks on Twitter even changed their profile image to a shot of the much-maligned, but also much-beloved mock chicken leg.

Though the idea of a breaded, formed faux leg of poultry  made of pork  might seem initially shady and off-putting, Milwaukee Public Schools spokesman Tony Tagliavia confirms what Ive always suspected  based on anecdotal evidence  to be true.

"The Mock Chicken Leg continues to be the overall No. 1 favorite entree item on our menu," he told me via email recently.

The entree is served with mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit (typically grapes or apples), either a salad or mixed vegetables, a roll and milk.

When I asked my child do an informal survey of the kids at his MPS lunchroom table one day, he couldnt find any kids in his group of friends that had tried it. That perhaps backs the assertion made by former MPS media queen Roseann St. Aubin.

"It had always been popular while I was with MPS," St. Aubin wrote to me, "but more so in the memories of former students and staff."

OnMilwaukee.com's own Lindsay Garric has also weighed in on the dish.

I asked my MPS-related Facebook friends  former students, current parents, teachers and principals  for their thoughts on the mock chicken leg and the responses flew in, and ran the gamut.

"I hated it as food but love it as a memory/reference," wrote Adam Carr, a well-known media and writing freelancer, who attended a number of MPS schools, including Golda Meir, French Immersion, Morse Middle School and Rufus King.

"Loved mock chicken leg," enthused recent King grad Lauren Saindon.

"The mock chicken leg was the ultimate in school lunch deliciousness," said public relations professional Brenna Kriviskey Sadler, who attended district schools in the 1970s and 80s. "If they were serving it with the freshly baked peanut butter cake, it was a very good day at school."

And the mock chicken leg apparently has quite a long history in Milwaukees school cafeterias.

"The traditional MPS mock chicken leg was one of the favorite lunch menus from the late 60s," wrote veteran educator and principal Dan Donder. "Everyone, students, teachers and staff loved the mock chicken leg lunch. I remember my last days teaching in the 1980s and it still was the lunch everyone loved."

I was surprised  not unpleasantly so  to see at least two school leaders I highly respect express their unmitigated love for the mock chicken leg.

"Love it!!!!," said MacDowell Montessoris Andrea Corona, who was seconded, if not explicitly outdone by Tina Owen, lead teacher at The Alliance School.

"It was my favorite before I learned I had a gluten allergy," she wrote. "I would organize official Mock Chicken Leg Day celebrations and everyone would dress up and I would play The Chicken Dance in the lunch line. Happy days for sure. It's still the most popular lunch. We always have to order extra that day."

Numerous former students expressed their passion for this most curious of dishes.

Perhaps local musician Clancy Carroll summed it up best, however, when he posted, "This former student loved / hated them."

Some parents said they wouldnt permit their children to eat the hot entrees like mock chicken leg.

"I don't want my kids to eat anything with the word mock in it," said Susie Pringle. "Yuck."

"I remember loving the hell outta those things," said musician Chris Tischler, an MPS alum. "If you gave me one now, however, I'd probably hurl on sight."

The responses included no shortage of guesses about what constitutes  in a literal sense  a mock chicken leg  which, by the way, is not a uniquely Milwaukee phenomenon. I recall them in school lunch cafeterias in New York City and a Google search returns results that show the mock chicken leg is available most everywhere. Mock chicken leg is also available in many grocery stores, including Outpost Natural Foods in Milwaukee, according to one commenter.

Some were afraid to venture a guess about the dishs ingredients. Others suggested it is a mix of poultry and pork, and perhaps a filler or binder like bread crumbs. One suggested it included, without elaboration, "goop." And a couple others noted that the leg has changed over the years.

"It has changed in that it was originally produced by a company that has since gone out of business and is now made by Advance Food Company," said Tagliavia. "And our oven-baked Mock Chicken Leg made by Advance is 100 percent lean pork."

"You can identify the MPS alumni at Outpost Natural Foods Co-op. They're the ones excitedly hovering at the meat cooler when it's Mock Chicken day," said Christina Ward, who has discussed the entree with her daughter, Ruadhan Ward, who graduated a couple years ago from Reagan High.

"Our lasting horror is the suspicion that it was the EXACT same batch. Made sometime during the 1960s and residing in deep freeze for all these years," she joked.
There are people who have advocated Second Amendment protection bills at the state level to be a firewall against an invasive federal government. I'm all for protecting the Second Amendment in that way, especially when both Clinton and Trump support the de jure abolition of the Second Amendment by morphing the no fly list into a no gun buy list. However, those same people who tend to at least rhetorically defend the Second Amendment and side with the tea party and Republicans have no issue with torture, which undermines the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

My position is that it's impossible to undermine the Fifth Amendment without also undermining the Second Amendment. How is the Second Amendment safe without the Fifth Amendment and vice versa? Those two amendments mutually support one another.

Donald Trump wants to jettison the proscriptions on torture, legalizing its use. I've been saying that we need Fifth Amendment protection bills at the state level, yet not one person has said one word in support of that idea. My prediction is that Donald Trump's torture program will eventually be used domestically, which makes passing Fifth Amendment protection bills paramount. Even if torture isn't used domestically under the Trump regime, there will be regimes that come after Trump.

But let's say my belief that torture will be used domestically as a matter of policy is erroneous. Let's pretend nobody - not Donald Trump, not Joe Heck - wants to use torture domestically. Well then what would be the issue with state legislatures criminalizing the use of torture domestically? So why is not everybody - even the pro torture Republicans like Joe Heck - on board? Why is not one person giving me any kind of atta boy? Why aren't even the pro torture Republicans saying while they may support using torture against ISIS, they certainly are opposed to using torture domestically against Americans, and what a great idea that is to protect the Fifth Amendment?

My idea for Fifth Amendment protection bills at the state level is far from controversial. There are already proscriptions on torture in place. I'm saying let's reaffirm and abide by those proscriptions. It's Trump and Republicans who want to make changes by legalizing the use of torture, which is controversial.

Could it be the true intentions of the torture lobby are exposed through their lack of concern and lack of support for Fifth Amendment protection bills? The only reason to not support state legislatures criminalizing the use of torture domestically would be because a person supports using torture domestically. Therefore, I can only conclude that Joe Heck hates the Constitution, he hates the Fifth Amendment, and he wants to use torture domestically. It's why Joe Heck is not fit for office. It's why the neocons in both parties must be brought to justice.

(Article changed on October 7, 2016 at 15:14)
Now I don't know about you but I am just about tired of the constant hypocritical hyperbole that is directing the national political discourse. Much was made of Hillary Rodham Clinton referring or characterizing Donald Trump's supporters as a bunch of "deplorables." I happen to think that she was right on that score but no sooner than the media got hold of her statement, news anchors, commentators and reporters jumped all over it as if she'd just committed the worst sacrilegious act imaginable.

The fact of the matter is that Trump's supporters are a bunch of angry, tantrum-prone, whiny, crybabies afraid of everything. And for all their mouthy yelling about fairness, change and supporting "an outsider" and "non-politician," they are a set of disaffected and delusional, mostly white people, pining for a modern-day Messiah who will create their warped, racist version of a "new America." Unlike Trump who simply uses their fears and anxieties in hopes of winning the White House, they are a fragile, terrified bunch of people stubbornly fervently clinging to old and outmoded bygone social and political constructs.

I can say without fear of contradiction that Trump's supporters possess a fractured white (mostly male) ego, a confused understanding of American Democracy, with its flaws and all, and scared as hell of a rapidly changing nation, and the fact that they are powerless to stop that change. So they lash out and whine, gripe, and demonstrate a deliberate political blindness when it comes to their "champion Donald Trump" who "speaks their language" and is not a "corrupt politician."

But Democracy is something that grownups and sane people have to deal with and is not at all suited for whiney kids afraid of their shadows. It's definitely not for thumb-sucking infants that balk at every and all challenges and prefer to hunker down in tribal bunker communes, excluding all "others" who don't look or behave like them. So unable to find their place even in the Republican Party they have high jacked the 2016 United States presidential elections and turned it into a depressing political circus with clowns and all.

Buttressed and buoyed by a supine and compliant media, acting like an uneducated sex worker, Trump's voters have been treated, as parents would handle an errant child screaming and yelling during a Count Dracula movie. Trump and company, rather than try and convince the scared kid that monsters do not live under the bed, and Dracula is just a made up monster, like stupid parents they simply offer a glass of warm milk and a cookie without addressing and offering a genuine solution to the problem. Indeed, this election is more about the degree of anger percolating in the American populace and the emotionally charged climate that this has spawned. Plain and simple: it's about the long-churning emotional conflicts present in the body politick.

It is the struggle between legions of dangerous juveniles exhibiting the "Chucky Syndrome" dredged with a large dose of cowardice, unfounded, irrational fears, and political myopia, against political courage and a campaign of real, pertinent issues and concerns. Both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns demonstrated that they are comfortable with change and embrace the growing and dynamic diversity of and in American democracy. For all her faults, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she's the adult in the room who has to battle with a spoiled petulant brat and his just as spoiled supporters.

She clearly understands that America is not the world's "lone ranger" anymore and cannot go it alone but must work with other nations (partners) in a world increasingly becoming interconnected and where nations are dependent on each other. In this regard, the grownup position is that America in this century will have to function, not just as a superpower pushing the notion that its "either my way or the highway" but as a wealthy and powerful nation leading the way in constructive integration and cooperation with other nations. Hillary Clinton and her supporters get this. Trump and his supporters would close our borders, tear up contracts and agreements with other nations and thumb their noses at international law.

Trump's legions, composed primarily of white people, exist in a state of self-induced panic, made more acute by the delusional ramblings of their "champion." They are in a knotted fetal position on immigration, United States international trade arrangements, guilty of manufactured hate against Mexicans, completely ignorant about Islam and Muslims, crime in the United States, and national protest movements against police brutality. Trump's supporters and voters see changes taking place in the United States and the world and are so scared of this natural process that they hang on to the incoherent ranting of their anointed political messiah who offers imaginary and illusive solutions to manufactured problems. His solutions expose and demonstrate for all to see -- except his loyal blinkers-on supporters -- the pervasive and transparent ignorance of issues in general, and his adversarial relationship with the truth in particular.

From time to time both Democrats and some Republicans, afraid of Trump's angry legion, have summoned up the courage to point out the fact that Trump routinely gives simple, sound bite answers to complex questions. Observe: "Listen, folks"I will not only knock out ISIS but I am going to do it fast." And, "we should have taken the oil and ISIS would never have happened." Of course, these bombastic, bully-tinged statements never questioned or challenges by the children in Trump's corner who believe everything that "Daddy says." They have distilled and boiled down ALL of Trump's positions into one easily remembered catch phrase: "Make America Great Again." No wonder "their man" communicates with them via Twitter using 140 characters or less. Maybe that the extent of their attention or what their little brains can manage.

Still, this is indicative of a far deeper and worrisome problem in American politics today. The 2016 presidential elections are driven by a culture of fear and anxiety. Spearheaded by a 24/7-cable news cycle, the media has helped to entrench this crippling fear in the American society. Constant and unrelenting "Breaking News" brings daily mayhem, international chaos, and gory visual effects that perpetuate and instill fear in the American society -- right into millions of living rooms that is the domain of the gullible. Many of these crises are manufactured, packaged and presented and last for exactly 7 days. Today, the word "terrorism" has been so thoroughly, constantly and unrelentingly milked, abused, and misused, by the mainstream media so as to be the "catch all" descriptive blanket used to describe any act of violence by individuals or groups.

Trump and the Republican Party's "law and order" mantra are all about preying on these unfounded and created fears. To be sure there is crime, drugs and violence in American society but they certainly will not bring the country closer to the proverbial Armageddon, no matter how many media commentators shriek and yell about them, or how many involuntary convulsions the voters experience. The end result of these constantly publicized media embellished crises is that today in America 1 of every 9 people takes an antidepressant drug, a way too high percentage is paranoid and are anxious about everything under the sun. Since September 11, 2001, Americans now see threats around every street corner, and are suspicious of their neighbors, who do not look like them, speak a language other than English, and worship differently than "good Christians."

This is what drives the success of Donald Trump. He offers more dark prescriptions to the fears and anxieties of his followers rejecting and ignoring fundamental facts that prove the opposite. For example, nationally crime is down and illegal immigration is at a 13-year low, with the undocumented accounting for just 3.5 percent of the American population. Yet, ignoring these facts, Trump is determined to build a wall, a "yuge wall," to keep the monsters from out of his children's closets or under their little beds. Moreover, the likelihood that an American will be killed in a terrorist attack here in America is about 1 in 90 million. But for Trump and his followers "we're under attack."

The United States has had 78 consecutive months of steady job growth and nationally poverty, despite a long way to go still, is at its lowest rate since 1968. But listening to Trump and his warped logic America is a "Third World country" in dire and desperate need of "someone who can make deals" and "bring jobs back to America." Much to the delight and addictive suffering of his tone-deaf supporters Trump's America is the kind of thing that Alfred Hitchcock would love to write about. He presents America as a post-apocalyptic thriller, where cannibals and killers roam the streets, and scary Asian and Arab villains with long black beards extinguish innocent lives from far off palaces.

He's been successful with promoting this mode of thinking not because it resembles reality but because it resonates and grows in the confused fever-afflicted minds of his supporters. Trump speaks at a fifth-grade level. He seems incapable of anything more sophisticated. But his juvenile vocabulary offers stylistic enhancements to the worldview he sells, and his constituents embrace it with gusto. It is the worldview of the very petrified child. You see, facts cannot compete with feelings -- especially angry feelings. Informed, educated discourse is now utterly pointless in this presidential campaign thanks to Trump and his supporters who view America and the world in simplistic terms.

For them everything is a disaster. It's the fault of the "global elites," hiding in the shadows, hatching their diabolical schemes. In America they have "rigged" the system against those who love Trump. Like their leader, they are not responsible for themselves, their actions, or their own problems. No, it's the Mexicans, immigrants, Muslims and the Chinese to blame. When things go wrong Trump and his minions simply pick a scapegoat and fall back on the their tried and true messaging -- "it's the Washington elites, Hillary Clinton is crooked and yep, "I'm going to make America great again."

Finally, Trump did not really make an incoherent mess or complete ass of himself in his debate against the much smarter, more mature, and better prepared Hillary Clinton: Nah. Not my fault. The microphone was "defective" and the moderator's questions were "unfair." And in unison Trump's children nodded and asked with tears in their eyes: "Daddy these are the bad guys?
Reprinted from Smirking Chimp

Too much of the media is looking at this presidential race as if it were a "Dancing With the Stars" contest, a World Series or the Super Bowl. It's not.

As people well know Hillary Clinton and I had some very vigorous debates during the Democratic nominating process and we certainly do not agree on every issue. Nonetheless, there is no question in my mind that she is, far and away, the superior candidate in this election. That is why I intend to work as hard as I can to see that she is elected.

Here are four reasons why I support Clinton over Trump.

One: At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, we must not elect a president who wants to resurrect the failed trickle-down economics of the past. When the very rich are becoming much richer and there has been a 10-fold increase in the number of billionaires since the year 2000, it is economic insanity to propose, as Trump has, hundreds of billions in tax breaks to the top 1 percent. His proposal to scrap the estate tax would provide a $53 billion tax break to the wealthiest family in America, the Waltons of Wal-Mart. And guess who else would benefit? Trump's proposal would provide a $4 billion tax break to Trump's own family.

While millions of Americans work longer hours for lower wages, it is beyond belief that any serious candidate for president would support huge tax breaks for the top 1 percent while, at the same time, propose cutting services to millions of families in need. As part of Trump's trickle-down economics, he would throw 20 million Americans off of health insurance by repealing the Affordable Care Act. He also has proposed large cuts in education, housing, childcare, veterans' medical care and other domestic initiatives.

Donald Trump talks a great deal about our trade policies and the outsourcing of American jobs. Yet, his very own clothing line is manufactured in Bangladesh, Mexico and China. How can Donald Trump, with a straight face, object to corporate outsourcing while his own company exploits some of the lowest-paid labor on earth to make his ties, shirts and other products?

I also find it strange that someone who professes to be concerned about American workers packed his economic advisory council with billionaire hedge fund managers and Wall Street bank executives. His idea for Treasury secretary is Carl Icahn, who is infamous for hostile takeovers of distressed businesses, laying off workers and eliminating health insurance and retirement benefits. This is not a candidate who will represent the needs of American workers.

Unlike Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton supports raising the minimum wage to a living wage and pay equity for women. She has a very specific plan to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of decent paying jobs. She will also join me in making public colleges and universities tuition free for all families in America with incomes of less than $125,000 a year -- 83 percent of our population.

Two: Climate change is real, it is caused by human activity and it is already creating devastating problems in our country and around the world. Unbelievably, despite the virtually-unanimous consensus of the scientific community that climate change is the greatest environmental crisis our planet faces, Donald Trump believes that climate change is a "hoax" perpetrated by China.

The scientists tell us that we have got to move aggressively in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Trump's view is just the opposite. He believes that we should expand fossil fuel production. If we want to effectively combat climate change, aggressively expand the production of sustainable energy and break our dependence on fossil fuels, we must elect Hillary Clinton.

Three: Our nation has struggled for centuries to combat racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. Sadly, Trump has made bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign. We simply cannot, in the year 2016, turn back the clock by electing a president whose "birther" conspiracy was a racist attack on the legitimacy of our first African-American president, whose anti-immigrant rants have slurred Mexicans as "rapists" and "criminals" and who would ban Muslims from entering the country. Trump has been called "a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot." That's not me talking. That's Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican.

Further, we do not need a president who continuously insults women, has called them "pigs," "dogs" and "slobs" and seems obsessed about women's weight. The job of the next president is to bring us together, combat sexism and racism and not divide us up.

Four: Almost every objective observer has concluded that Donald Trump has taken lies and distortions to a whole new level. I don't often quote Mitt Romney, but the former Republican presidential candidate was right when he called Trump a "fraud" and a "phony."

Major publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post and others have noted that Trump doesn't seem to understand the difference between truth and lies. PolitiFact awarded "the many campaign misstatements of Donald Trump" as its "Lie of the Year" in 2015. The Pulitzer Prize winning website checked out 77 statements and rated more than three-quarters of them Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire. "No other politician has as many statements rated so far down on the dial," PolitiFact concluded. The New Hampshire Union Leader has called Trump "a liar, a bully, a buffoon." That's coming from a conservative newspaper that for the first time in more than a century couldn't bring itself to endorse the Republican presidential nominee.

For those reasons and many more, Donald Trump must not become the next president of the United States. On November 8, the choice is clear. Hillary Clinton for president.
Reprinted from Counterpunch

"Last Wednesday, at a Deputies Committee meeting at the White House, officials from the State Department, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed limited military strikes against the (Assad) regime ... One proposed way to get around the White House's long-standing objection to striking the Assad regime without a U.N. Security Council resolution would be to carry out the strikes covertly and without public acknowledgment." -- Washington Post

Call it stealth warfare, call it poking the bear, call it whatever you'd like. The fact is, the Syrian war has entered a new and more dangerous phase increasing the chances of a catastrophic confrontation between the US and Russia.

This new chapter of the conflict is the brainchild of Pentagon warlord, Ash Carter, whose attack on a Syrian outpost at Deir Ezzor killed 62 Syrian regulars putting a swift end to the fragile ceasefire agreement. Carter and his generals opposed the Kerry-Lavrov ceasefire deal because it would have required "military and intelligence cooperation with the Russians." In other words, the US would have had to get the greenlight from Moscow for its bombing targets, which would have undermined its ability to assist its jihadist fighters on the ground. That was a real deal-breaker for the Pentagon. But bombing Deir Ezzor fixed all that. It got the Pentagon out of the jam it was in, it torpedoed the ceasefire, and it allowed Carter to launch his own private shooting match without presidential authorization. Mission accomplished.

So what sort of escalation does Carter have in mind, after all, most analysts assume that a direct confrontation between the United States and Russia will lead to a nuclear war. Is he really willing to take that risk?

Heck no, but not everyone agrees that more violence will lead to a nuclear exchange. Carter, for example, seems to think that he can raise the stakes considerably without any real danger, which is why he intends to conduct a low-intensity, stealth war on mainly Syrian assets that will force Putin to increase Russia's military commitment. The larger Russia's military commitment, the greater probability of a quagmire, which is the primary objective of Plan C, aka--Plan Carter. Take a look at this clip from an article in Tuesday's Washington Post which helps to explain what's going on:

"U.S. military strikes against the Assad regime will be back on the table Wednesday at the White House, when top national security officials in the Obama administration are set to discuss options for the way forward in Syria... "Inside the national security agencies, meetings have been going on for weeks to consider new options to recommend to the president to address the ongoing crisis in Aleppo...A meeting of the National Security Council, which could include the president, could come as early as this weekend. "Last Wednesday, at a Deputies Committee meeting at the White House, officials from the State Department, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed limited military strikes against the regime... "The options under consideration... include bombing Syrian air force runways using cruise missiles and other long-range weapons fired from coalition planes and ships... One proposed way to get around the White House's long-standing objection to striking the Assad regime without a U.N. Security Council resolution would be to carry out the strikes covertly and without public acknowledgment, the official said." (Obama administration considering strikes on Assad, again, Washington Post)

Don't you think the Washington Post should have mentioned that Carter's sordid-little enterprise is already underway?

Consider the bombing of Deir Ezzor, for example. Doesn't that meet the Post's standard of "U.S. military strikes against the Assad regime"?

Sure, it does.

And what about the two Syrian bridges US warplanes took out over the Euphrates last week? (making it more difficult to attack ISIS strongholds in the eastern quadrant of the country) Don't they count?

Of course, they do.

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Reprinted from Our Future

This week I spoke with Rep. Mark Pocan (D, WI) about an open letter to President Obama he is circulating to fellow members of Congress this week. It's an important letter, not only for its subject matter -- it addresses our current crisis in runaway drug costs -- but because it explains how the White House can address this issue without the need to pass legislation in the Republican-controlled House.

Most of us already know we've got a problem. A Kaiser survey released last week shows that 77 percent of Americans believe that "prescription drug costs are unreasonable."

They're right. As the letter notes, Gilead Sciences recently set a price of $84,000 for its 12-week course of Hepatitis C treatment -- even though, as activist Annette Gaudino explained last August on The Zero Hour, it charges a fraction of that cost in other countries and still turns a profit. The letter also attacks the "price-gouging and anti-competitive behavior" of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which jacked up the price of an EpiPen by nearly 500 percent over a five-year period.

Rep. Pocan's letter urges President Obama to "use executive action and take concrete steps" to address the drug cost crisis, and lists three tools that the president can use. The first is the Bayh-Dole Act, which gives the National Institutes of Health the power to ensure medications that were developed at taxpayer expense are accessible to the public at affordable rates.

Next, the president can use the authority granted to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under the Medicare Drug Act of 2003, to allow the importation of lower-cost drugs from other countries under certain conditions.

Lastly, the president can direct the Federal Trade Commission to stop drug companies' monopolistic practices, especially when drug patent holders pay generic companies to delay lower-cost alternatives to market -- a practice that is sometimes called "pay for delay."

Most Americans already support strong action to rein in drug prices. The Kaiser survey showed, for example, that 82 percent of those polled support allowing the Federal government to negotiate drug prices and 71 percent support allowing Americans to purchase drugs imported for Canada.

The Pocan letter is supported by a number of activist groups, including Social Security Works, People's Action, CREDO Action, and a number of other organizations. (See complete list below.)

A number of Democratic House members have signed Rep. Pocan's letter. (No Republicans have signed it, which is telling. The Bayh-Dole Act was a bipartisan piece of legislation, which seems unimaginable today.) They are listed below.

If your Representative's name isn't on the list, they have until Friday to sign it. This would be a good time to call their office and suggest that they do.

Groups Supporting the letter: CREDO Action, Social Security Works, People Demanding Action, the Other 98%, Courage Campaign, Progressive Congress, Blue America, Public Citizen, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Daily Kos, Public Leadership Institute, People's Action, and the Universities Allied for Essential Medicine.

(Note: I am affiliated with People's Action; Social Security Works sponsors The Zero Hour radio program on We Act Radio.)

House members who have signed the letter as of this writing:

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IN 2010, ISRAEL'S then-defense minister, Ehud Barak, explicitly warned that Israel would become a permanent "apartheid" state if it failed to reach a peace agreement with Palestinians that creates their own sovereign nation and vests them with full political rights. "As long as in this territory west of the Jordan River there is only one political entity called Israel, it is going to be either non-Jewish, or non-democratic," Barak said. "If this bloc of millions of Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an apartheid state."

Honest observers on both sides of the conflict have long acknowledged that the prospects for a two-state solution are virtually non-existent: another way of saying that Israel's status as a permanent apartheid regime is inevitable. Indeed, U.S. intelligence agencies as early as 45 years ago explicitly warned that Israeli occupation would become permanent if it did not end quickly.

All relevant evidence makes clear this is what has happened. There has been no progress toward a two-state solution for many years. The composition of Israel's Jewish population -- which has become far more belligerent and right-wing than previous generations -- has increasingly moved the country further away from that goal. There are key ministers in Israel's government, including its genuinely extremist justice minister, who are openly and expressly opposed to a two-state solution. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has himself repeatedly made clear he opposes such an agreement, both in words and in deeds. In sum, Israel intends to continue to rule over and occupy Palestinians and deny them self-governance, political liberties, and voting rights indefinitely.

Whether despite this aggression and oppression, or because of it, the Obama administration has continually protected Israel with unstinting loyalty and lavished it with arms and money. This rewarding of Israeli behavior culminated in the administration's announcement just three weeks ago that it has signed a "memorandum of understanding" to significantly increase the amount of money the U.S. gives to Israel every year, even though Israel was already by far the biggest recipient of U.S. aid. Under this agreement, the U.S. will give Israel $38 billion over 10 years, by far a new record for U.S. aid commitments, even though Israeli citizens enjoy all sorts of state benefits that Americans (whose money is being given to Israel) are told are too costly for them, including universal health care coverage, and tout superior life expectancy and infant mortality rates.

Click Here to Read Whole Article
Reprinted from Alon Ben-Meir Website

Much has been written about the unfolding tragedy in Syria, but how many of these unimaginable atrocities have been etched in the consciousness of the American public? As president, Obama refuses to rise up to stop this unfathomable horror; thousands more innocent men, women, and children are butchered each week and we still play politics with the lives of so many more who will not escape death as long as we continue to sit on our hands.

I urge each of you to spare a moment and imagine the plight of the Syrian people, especially the children. This is what you will see: more than 50,000 children under the age of 15 have been killed -- if they stood shoulder to shoulder, they would form a line 80 miles long. Two and a half million children are languishing in refugee camps, including 306,000 that have been born since the civil war began in 2011. Eight million children inside and outside the country are in desperate in need of food and medical care. More than 15,000 children crossed Syria's borders by themselves; many were left to die not knowing what happened to them and why. One in three children have endured horrific violence against them and their families, and over 2.5 million children have no access to basic education.

Take another moment and imagine children being pulled from the rubble -- the dead, the severely wounded, the unconscious, and the ones who are still awake but do not know what struck them and why. The death toll of children and adults alike has been reduced to mere numbers -- "worthless" statistics -- which no longer resonate as we have become comfortably numb. As you keep imagining, you will see countless children waiting like sacrificial lambs to be slaughtered on the altar of the international community's complete and utter moral bankruptcy.

What happened to our moral responsibility? How can we watch Aleppo's systematic destruction and allow the daily massacre of hundreds of innocent women and children? I shed tears for every child, I weep for every little lifeless body who never knew what was happening around them, or why they were ever born.

Perhaps the most catastrophic result of Syria's war is that two or three generations of Syrians have now been lost. No words can describe the atrocities and savagery raging in Syria, and yet they are met with indifference and ineptitude by the international community. I wonder what happened to America -- can we afford to remain silent, and if we do not rise to stop this madness, who will?

How many more times should we attempt to establish a ceasefire with Russia only for it to be violated time and again? Putin is a ruthless and deceitful dictator with no conscience or human decency. His ambition in the Middle East trumps the lives of every Syrian citizen; he is morally corrupt at his core.

We should have long since known that no ceasefire agreement with Russia will hold as long as Putin believes that time is on his side, and that he can further consolidate his gains and exploit the vacuum we left and our unwillingness to put an end to the slaughter with the use of force.

Only recently, John Kerry expressed deep frustration about the Obama administration's approach to resolving the conflict, and he correctly pointed out that if diplomacy is not backed by the credible threat of force, it is doomed to fail.

This is precisely why Putin and Assad felt they could violate the second ceasefire with impunity. Indeed, the failure to punish Assad when he crossed Obama's red line and used chemical weapons in 2013 left him and Putin undeterred to indiscriminately kill and maim, leaving nothing but the shadows of hell lurking behind.

The question for the US is,"how much longer can we afford to watch from the sideline and allow the unforgiven slaughter of innocent men, women, and children to continue unabated? Whether or not we aim to establish another ceasefire, we must first send a clear and unambiguous message to Putin and Assad.

Obama must immediately establish a no-fly zone with the full cooperation of Turkey, which is eager to do so, authorize the bombing of Assad's runways and air force hangers to destroy much of his military planes, and provide moderate rebels such as the Free Syrian Army, which the US has been supporting from day one, with shoulder-fired rockets to down low-flying drones and helicopters to end the dropping of barrel bombs that kill indiscriminately and lay complete neighborhoods in ruin. These military measures will inhibit the Russians from attacking areas held by the rebels, as Putin would certainly not want to escalate tensions with the US.

This may seem as if we are waging a proxy war against Russia. Yes we are; we have been waging a proxy war against Russia for five years. We have been supporting the rebels against Assad while Russia has been aiding Assad militarily, and more than a year ago it openly joined the military campaign.

While the battle against ISIS is necessary and it must be defeated, it should not have been done at the expense of leaving Putin and Assad to hammer the rebels freely, and in the process kill an untold number of innocent civilians.

To be sure, Obama's unwillingness to take forceful actions in Syria in the past five years led to the disintegration of the country, which is a continuation of Bush's disastrous Iraq war only in another form.

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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,
Frank Borman hasn't forgotten the view.

How could he? Borman and his fellow astronauts were the first humans to gaze at the bright blue marble of Earth as they orbited the moon, snapping the unforgettable Earthrise photos.

"Looking back at the Earth was a profound experience. It looked so fragile from 240,000 miles," Borman, 88, recalled in a recent phone interview. "You have a hard time understanding there could be so much conflict when it looked so fragile."

Borman will be the featured guest Saturday at EAA AirVenture Museum's Space Day in Oshkosh. He'll talk about America's early space program.

Commander of Apollo 8, the first spaceflight to orbit the moon, Borman had already flown in space on Gemini 7. Both of his space flights were with James Lovell. On Gemini 7, the pair spent almost 14 days orbiting the Earth in 1965, a flight designed to test the limits of humans since doctors didn't know if humans could survive that long in zero G.

Though Borman and Lovell were stiff and their leg muscles had atrophied sitting in cramped conditions, they were back to normal in a few weeks, said Borman. He compared the conditions to "the two of us in the front seat of a Volkswagen. I was fortunate Jim had a good sense of humor and we never had a problem.

"People ask me, 'Did you get claustrophobic?' No," Borman said. "Inside the spacecraft everything was warm and comfortable, and outside everything was cold. We were quite happy to be inside."

Borman, Lovell and William Anders blasted off on Apollo 8 four days before Christmas 1968.

As the crew prepared for the historic space flight, Borman got a call from NASA's public relations chief.

"He said 'You know, on the Christmas Eve broadcast you'll have the biggest audience ever,'" said Borman.

They weren't sure what to do on the broadcast, so they asked friends for ideas and finally got a suggestion the three all thought was fitting.

That's how Lovell and Borman ended up typing the first verses of the Book of Genesis on the fire-resistant paper of their flight plans. And on Christmas Eve, in a live broadcast heard by millions of people on the pale blue dot they had left behind, the crewmates took turns reciting the first 10 verses from the Bible. Anders spoke first, then Lovell.

Borman finished:

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters he called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas - and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."

"I can't speak for Bill and Jim," Borman said, "But I was looking out on a very desolate landscape and I thought this must have been how it started at the beginning of Earth."

Borman was raised in Arizona. After graduating from West Point, he joined the Air Force, became a fighter pilot and later a test pilot, taught thermodynamics at West Point and became an instructor at the Air Force Aerospace Pilot School before being selected for NASA's second group of astronauts in 1962. His motivation? Beating the Soviets to the moon.

"The space program was essentially a battle in the Cold War. Vietnam - we lost. Korea - we tied. And the space business - we won," Borman said.

Though Borman was offered a chance to command one of the missions that landed on the moon, he decided to retire from NASA instead. He has no regrets.

"I may have been different from others. My goal wasn't to be the first man or the 10th man to step on the moon. My goal was to beat the Russians," said Borman, who later joined Eastern Airlines and eventually became the company's CEO.

Borman is a bit surprised NASA's missions to the moon ended abruptly, just four years after his Apollo flight. America's space mission is now concentrated on the International Space Station, which Borman called an engineering marvel, with plans to eventually go to Mars. Borman isn't sure whether that will happen soon.

"My opinion is we should have gone back to the moon and established a permanent base there like we have in the Antarctic," he said. "I think NASA is pointed to Mars, but when people see the cost and problems associated with Mars, I'm not sure it's feasible."

Explore further Apollo 8: Christmas on the moon

2016 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Alexander Gerst with Biolab. Credit: ESA/NASA

A miniaturised biotech unit developed for the International Space Station is improving medical diagnoses on Earth with affordable automation of small-scale diagnostics.

In vitro diagnostics, or IVDs, are tests on samples such as human blood, urine and tissue to look for diseases and infection or to help diagnose a medical condition.

They are used in diabetes, cancer, cardiology, HIV/Aids, autoimmune diseases, drug testing, infectious diseases andmore.

As healthcare needs continue to grow, the number of samples to test is rapidly increasing.

With growing demand for clean testing, labs are looking to automation to increase throughput, improve quality and solve handling problems quickly.

Many smaller laboratories that still perform IVD manually are also trying totake this step towards automation, but find that existing high-throughput units are too costly.

The answer is orbiting Earth

It wasn't until biotech company Fujirebio Europe joined with Belgium's Verhaert, involved in Europe's space programmes for many years, that the answer was found  and from a completely different direction.

The unit developed by Verhaertfor the Biolab research facility in Europe's Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station turned out to provide a solution for low-throughput IVD. It is now improving the diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancers here on Earth.

A cutaway view of Columbus, the European laboratory module of the International Space Station. Credit: ESAD. Ducros

Having to operate on the Space Station, and with the limited time available to astronauts to perform experiments, space laboratories require automated devices with long lifetimes and low maintenance and calibration needs.

Space experiments are typically done on a small scale and require a high level of accuracy. Temperature and risk of contamination must also be carefully managed.

To simplify Biolab experiments in space, Verhaert designed and built a unit for precisely controlling the application of liquid nutrients onto a sample strip.

Reusing this approach and their knowhow on precision dosing and contamination control enabled Verhaert to automate the previously manual work for low-throughput IVD.

"Many general laboratories performing low-throughput IVD have expressed their wish to move towards more automation and integration of their workflows," said Christiaan De Wilde, CEO at Fujirebio Europe.

Biolab is designed to support biological experiments on ISS. Credit: ESA - D. Ducros

"These laboratories have been looking in vain for accessible solutions to help them take the important first step towards automation."

The Verhaert space design features a completely new automatic testing mechanism that is cheaper to use, thanks to a higher processing speed, the elimination of maintenance and calibration, and a more efficient use of reagents.

Small laboratories typically perform IVDs manually, which can now be automated, reducing the time needed and the cost. The absence of maintenance and calibration result in lower operating costs.

In August 2015, Fujirebio Europe launched it into the in vitro diagnostics market to handle just 10 IVD strips at a time.

"This diagnostics device is using the same handling mechanism and volumetric dosing architecture we developed for the laboratories on Space Station," says Sam Waes from Verhaert, also the Belgium broker to ESA's Technology Transfer Programme.

"Thanks to this space technology transfer, it has a level of accuracy that is similar to the higher-throughput processors, typically of 48 strips, at a fraction of the cost."

Frank De Winne installs experiment containers in the Biolab onboard ISS. Credit: NASA

Explore further Fully automated: Thousands of blood samples every hour
Seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts, USA. Credit: Wikipedia

Scientists in California have found that earthquakes can occur much deeper below the Earth's surface than originally believed, a discovery that alters their understanding of seismic behavior and potential risks.

Seismologists have long believed that earthquakes occur less than 12 to 15 miles underground. But the new research found evidence of quakes deeper than 15 miles, below the Earth's crust and in the mantle.

Three scientists at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena studied data from state-of-the-art sensors installed in Long Beach atop the Newport-Inglewood fault, one of the most dangerous in the Los Angeles Basin and which caused the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake of 1933.

After analyzing the data collected over six months by 5,000 sensors, scientists found quakes were occurring deep into the upper mantle, an area where the rock is so hot that it is no longer brittle like it is at the surface, but creeps, moving around like an extremely hard honey.

It appeared that the Newport-Inglewood fault extended even into the mantle - past the uppermost layer of the Earth, the crust, where earthquakes long have been observed. Until now, researchers didn't think earthquakes were possible there, said Caltech seismology professor Jean Paul Ampuero, one of three authors of the study, published Thursday in the journal Science.

Ampuero said the research raised the possibility that the Newport-Inglewood and others, like the San Andreas, could see even more powerful earthquakes than expected. The earthquakes he and his colleagues studied were so deep that they were not felt at the surface by conventional seismic sensors.

The new study indicates that a quake much closer to the surface could travel much deeper into the Earth, producing a stronger, more damaging, rupture than previously believed was possible.

"That got us thinking - that if earthquakes want to get big, one way of achieving that is by penetrating deep," Ampuero said. "The big question is: If the next, larger earthquake happens, if it manages to penetrate deeper than we think, it may be bigger than we expect."

It's an idea that was first raised in 2012, also by Ampuero and several colleagues in the journal Science, when a magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck the Indian Ocean.

That was the largest quake of its kind "that has ever happened," Ampuero said. It happened on a fault known as a "strike-slip," the same kind of fault as Newport-Inglewood and California's mighty San Andreas, the state's longest fault.

But that Indian Ocean earthquake was so large, it was impossible to explain how it happened with existing science.

So answering the question of how an 8.6 earthquake occurred required a new explanation - that perhaps the quake centered on a fault that not only ruptured the crust, but went deeper into the mantle.

If deep earthquakes can occur on the Newport-Inglewood fault, then it's possible Southern Californians could see earthquakes along this fault at an even greater magnitude than what is projected. According to Caltech, the probable magnitude of a large quake on the Newport-Inglewood fault ranges from 6.0 to 7.4.

But there's a lot more study that needs to be done.

The deep quakes Caltech scientists detected were only microquakes - topping out at about a magnitude 2.

Therefore, one alternate - and more comforting - possibility is that these deep earthquakes remain small and don't help a large earthquake become stronger. With this theory, earthquakes in this deep zone occur in small pockets far away from each other and don't link in a way that forces a big earthquake to get stronger.

"This could be good news, in a way, because if they never break together, that means they can break in tiny earthquakes, but they cannot break in large ones," Ampuero said. "So several questions are still open. I wouldn't say that this is cause for alarm at this point. These are very interesting questions that we need to pursue."

Another thing to consider: The deep earthquakes were found in a 9-square-mile area underneath Long Beach, recorded over six months. When researchers looked farther northwest - over a shorter time period, only four weeks - they did not find deep earthquakes there.

So it's possible that deep earthquakes don't exist everywhere on the Newport-Inglewood fault. But it's also possible that scientists didn't record any, and could catch some if they continue monitoring the area for a longer period.

There's a possibility that Long Beach is simply peculiar, and what's found there isn't found elsewhere. In Long Beach, scientists found evidence that there are some liquids flowing from the mantle up to the surface - an observation that was not found in another location on the Newport-Inglewood fault.

The scientists obtained the data from a group who installed sensors to better understand the oil fields of the area. Once they collected it, the scientists had to design a program to process the massive amounts of data collected to understand what was going on miles underground, and invisible to conventional seismic sensing equipment.

In addition to Ampuero, the other authors of the study are Asaf Inbal and Robert Clayton.

Explore further Geologists make new discoveries about the Newport-Inglewood Fault Zone in the Los Angeles Basin

More information: "Localized seismic deformation in the upper mantle revealed by dense seismic arrays," Science science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi  1126/science.aaf1370 Journal information: Science "Localized seismic deformation in the upper mantle revealed by dense seismic arrays,"

2016 Los Angeles Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Taken by astronauts on May 16, 2016, these images show a CubeSat deployment from the International Space Station. The bottom-most CubeSat is the NASA-funded MinXSS CubeSat, built by the University of Colorado, Boulder. Credit: NASA

Along with the visible light and warmth constantly emitted by our sun comes a whole spectrum of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation that streams toward Earth. A new CubeSat  a miniature satellite that provides a low-cost platform for missions  is now in space observing a particular class of X-ray light that has rarely been studied.

On June 9, 2016, the NASA-funded, bread loaf-sized Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer, or MinXSS, CubeSat began science operations, collecting data on soft X-rays. Watch the video to see a low-intensity solar eruption  a solar flare  from July 21, 2016. The flare imagery was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory; the MinXSS data shown on the right shows the soft X-rays observed in near-Earth space by the CubeSat before and during the flare.

Each type of solar radiation conveys unique information about the physics underlying solar flares. This data reveals the temperature, density and abundance of solar flare material, all critical factors for determining how flares evolve and heat the sun's atmosphere. Ultimately, solar eruptions impact Earth's upper atmosphere: X-rays from the sun can disturb near-Earth space, interfering with GPS, radio and other communication signals. The class of X-rays that MinXSS observes are particularly important for their influence in the level of the upper atmosphere called the ionosphere.

This video shows how dynamic the solar atmosphere can become, and highlights that MinXSS has great sensitivity to observe even the weak flares. These observations exemplify the goals of the six-month mission, which began after the spacecraft was deployed from the International Space Station in May 2016 and has already met its criteria for comprehensive success. The University of Colorado, Boulder, manages MinXSS under the direction of principal investigator Tom Woods.

This video was made using MinXSS data from a low-intensity solar flare that occurred on July 21, 2016, from 1:33-2:23 UT, and imagery from NASAs SDO. On the graph, pre-flare levels are shown in red, and the yellow line is the flare spectrum in real-time. MinXSS saw energy and brightness increase during the solar flare, which is apparent in the corresponding SDO images when a loop of solar material rises from an active region on the sun and shines brightly. Scientists use these flare measurements to trace the temperature, density and abundance of solar flare material during a flare. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/LASP/MinXSS/SDO/Joy Ng, producer
This is a visible image of Major Hurricane Matthew taken from NASA's Terra satellite on Oct. 7 at 12 p.m. EDT as it continued moving along Florida's East Coast. Matthew was a Category 3 hurricane at the time of this image. Credit: NASA's Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

As Hurricane Matthew continues to crawl along the southeastern U.S. coast NASA observed the storm's winds, clouds, precipitation and more. Matthew remained a major hurricane on Friday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. EDT.

On Oct. 6, NASA's CloudSat passed over the eastern quadrant of Hurricane Matthew at 2:30 p.m. EDT. CloudSat revealed the anvil (thick cirrus cloud cover) with cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds beneath the cirrus. CloudSat found areas of higher reflectivity that included larger water and/or ice droplets throughout the clouds.

The next day, NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite observatory captured data on Matthew's winds. SMAP observations of hurricane Matthew showed winds up to 132 mph (59 meters per second/212 kph) at 7:52 a.m. EDT (11:52 UTC) on Oct. 7. "SMAP has excellent sensitivity to extreme winds, far beyond that from typical scatterometers," said Alexander Fore, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "SMAP is sensitive to these extreme winds due to the use of the L-band passive brightness temperature observation, which has the additional benefit of not being attenuated by rain giving accurate wind speeds regardless of rain conditions."

SMAP will map global soil moisture and detect whether soils are frozen or thawed. The mission will help scientists understand the links between Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles; help reduce uncertainties in predicting weather and climate; and enhance our ability to monitor and predict natural hazards such as floods and droughts.

This visible image from NOAA's GOES-East satellite shows the location of Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

At 2:30 p.m. EDT a visible image from NOAA's GOES-East satellite showed Matthew's clouds engulfing almost all of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. The image was created by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

At that time a Hurricane Warning was in effect for Cocoa Beach to Surf City. A Hurricane Watch is in effect from north of Surf City to Cape Lookout, North Carolina. A Tropical Storm Warning was in effect from Florida's Sebastian Inlet to Cocoa Beach, and north of Surf City to Duck, North Carolina, and the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, North Carolina.

At 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) on Oct. 7, Matthew remained a Category 3 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The eye of Hurricane Matthew was located near latitude 29.7 North, longitude 80.7 West. That's about 40 miles (60 km) east-southeast of St. Augustine, Florida.

NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Matthew is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north is expected tonight or Saturday, Oct. 8. On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will continue to move near or over the coast of northeast Florida and Georgia through tonight, and near or over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite observatory captured data on Matthew's winds. SMAP observations of hurricane Matthew show winds up to 59 meters per second at 7:52 a.m. EDT (11:52 UTC) on Oct. 7. Credit: NASA

Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph (185 kph) with higher gusts. Matthew is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to remain a hurricane until it begins to move away from the United States on Sunday.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km). The latest minimum central pressure reported by an Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane was 947 millibars.

A wind gust to 84 mph (135 kph) was recently reported at Ponte Vedra, and a coastal marine observing station at St. Augustine recently measured a wind gust of 85 mph (137 kph). A tidal gauge at Fernandina Beach, Florida reported a storm surge inundation of 3.11 feet above mean higher high water.

For updated forecasts, please visit the National Hurricane Center website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.

Explore further NASA sees Hurricane Matthew regain Category 4 status
Humpback whales lunge-feed in Monterey Bay, California. An emerging DNA technique is helping scientists identify scores of animals, from microbes to whales, in just a single liter of water. Credit: Chase Dekker / Shutterstock

In 2014, when Mariah Pfleger volunteered to sift through water samples from Alabama's Mobile River Basin, she wasn't expecting to solve one of biology's most frustrating missing fishes cases.

Pfleger, a graduate student at the time and now a scientist at Oceana, agreed to help a friend track down proof of a living Alabama sturgeona fish not seen since 2009. Instead of netting a live sturgeon, though, Pfleger would be hunting for its genes.

'Environmental DNA,' or eDNA, is an emerging technique that lets scientists identify aquatic animals from the minute bits of tissue they leave behind. Early adopters say that the standard trappings of field researchpricey vessels, ship crews, scuba divers and jars of specimenscould one day be replaced by a geneticist and a liter of water.

Like baking cookies

The Alabama sturgeon is a russet-colored, one kilogram (two to three pounds) fish with hard, armor-like scales. The rarest member of the sturgeon family, it's a casualty of the caviar market and the dams that slice up its river habitat.

In 2009, researchers lost contact with the only known living Alabama sturgeon when the fish, a male, broke or lost his tracking tag. Despite what Pfleger described as "extreme" search efforts, no other members of his species have been spotted since.

Pfleger's task was to find out if any unseen sturgeons might have shed even a single cellfrom scales, mucus or excrementin water sampled from sites across its historic range.

A living Alabama sturgeon has not been seen since 2009. Credit: Paul Johnson / Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

For each sample, Pfleger ran through a multi-step process that resulted in a slurry of genes from potentially thousands of species. The process was time-consuming, Pfleger said, but not hard: "If you can bake cookies, you can do genetics."

Genetic ghosts

To tell if any of those fragments belonged to an Alabama sturgeon, Pfleger then applied a 'primer'a compound that only binds to the DNA of a single species. At the beginning, it was slow going.

"I ran hundreds of samples with nothing coming up," Pfleger said. "It was sad for multiple reasons: sad for the sturgeon, and sad I that I had to work for multiple hours on end. It was morally defeating."

But defeat turned to triumph. One day, a bit of DNA turned up that tested positive for the long-lost sturgeon. A check against a database confirmed the match. After that, 17 additional results came back positiveputting to rest fears that Alabama sturgeon had gone extinct.

Since each sample is tied to a specific spot, Pfleger said, sturgeon search parties can now narrow down where to look. The ultimate goal is for officials to capture enough fish to breed them in captivityand perhaps to identify and remove the most damaging dams.

As for eDNA, Pfleger had high praise: "It's the coolest biological tool available right now."

Mariah Pfleger, a scientist at Oceana, normally studies sharks. Credit: Mariah Pfleger

The ocean in a liter

So far, eDNA has seen its biggest successes in rivers. Because ocean environments are enormous and complex, marine applications of this technique have lagged. But researchers at the Center for Ocean Solutions in Monterey, California are starting to change this.

In 2014, a team there turned to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see if eDNA could identify the species swimming in the 4.5 million liter (1 million gallon) Open Ocean tank. After sequencing the genetic material in a liter of tank water, they compared the aquarium's list of fish, sharks and turtles to the one they generated.

"It turns out we were able to successfully identify all the bony fishes," said Larry Crowder, the science director at the Center for Ocean Solutions. "The first probe we used saw almost everything in the tank."

A year later, the team put eDNA to the test in a less controlled environment: Monterey Bay. They pitted trained diversthe current best method for tallying up marine animals and their abundanceagainst samples of seawater. Environmental DNA again passed with flying colors.

"What was remarkable was that there was only one species of fish that the divers saw that the DNA did not pick up," Crowder said. "And the DNA picked up almost twice as many vertebrate organisms than the divers recorded."

The eDNA samples differed markedly by habitat typea "quite surprising" result given that some sites were separated by only 60 meters (200 feet). "It turns out that the organisms you see in the eDNA samples are organisms you'd expect to be in those habitats," Crowder said. Because DNA degrades within one or two days in the sea, Crowder added, each sample likely represents an accurate, time-bound snapshot of a location: "Given space and time, this could be a pretty high-resolution technique."

Better, faster, cheaper

Though Crowder conceded that eDNA has "a lot of kinks that need to be worked out," he forecasts big changes ahead.

Over the last 10 years, Crowder noted, the cost of eDNA sequencing has plummeted by orders of magnitude. Further declines could make eDNA a game-changer for cash-strapped government agencies and environmental groups.

And because the number of DNA strands in a sample is proportional to a species' abundance, further improvements might make eDNA an important tool for telling not just if an animal was present or absent, but how many individuals there werea big help for managers that need to keep track of endangered whales or commercially valuable fish.

"We like to think it might be disruptive," Crowder said. "This is completely different from any approach we've used before."

Explore further Ocean 'dandruff' a new tool for marine biologists

More information: Mariah O. Pfleger et al. Saving the doomed: Using eDNA to aid in detection of rare sturgeon for conservation (Acipenseridae), Global Ecology and Conservation (2016). Mariah O. Pfleger et al. Saving the doomed: Using eDNA to aid in detection of rare sturgeon for conservation (Acipenseridae),(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2016.08.008

Provided by Oceana
This is the latest in a series of posts about the 1916 presidential election between Democratic incumbent Woodrow Wilson and Republican challenger Charles Evans Hughes, a Glens Falls native.

Part 5 about Hughes campaign stop in in Plattsburgh, as reported Sept. 15, 1916 in The Plattsburgh Sentinel.

Hughes called for continued emphasis on the success of the plain people in his speech at Plattsburgh.

This is not a country for isolated success, where the few may exploit the many, he said. It is a country devoted to the principle that under the rule of reason and by organized public opinion we shall have a diffusion of prosperity, shall be elevated, and every man, however humble his occupation, will have a sense of pride because he is a citizen in a land where justice reigns.

The full Plattsburgh Sentinel report can be read at the New York State Historical Newspapers web site, a project of public libraries.

Click here to read the most recent previous post in the series.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund, an animal welfare political action committee, on Thursday endorsed U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, for re-election.

"Elise Stefanik has shown her dedication to animal welfare by supporting a number of critical bills since coming to Congress," said Sara Amundson, the group's executive director.

The group will promote Stefanik's candidacy to media outlets and encourage its members to support Stefanik's campaign, said John Cleveland, the group's spokesman.

The group praised Stefanik for supporting funding to enforce a law that prohibits slaughter of horses for meat to sell domestically, funding for programs that assists pets in natural disasters, and funding to increase veterinarians in rural and inner-city areas where there are shortages.

The group praised Stefanik for co-sponsoring the following bills:

HR 1258 -- To address animals victimized in domestic violence incidents;

HR 2293 -- To make malicious animal cruelty on federal property or in interstate commerce a federal crime;

HR 2858 -- To phase out the testing of cosmetics on live animals;

HR 3268 -- To strengthen federal law to prevent "soring," a technique to induce a high-stepping gait in show horses;

HR 1042 -- To prohibit the slaughter and export of horses for meat in other counties.

Stefanik is running in the 21st District against Democrat Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls.
QUEENSBURY  A Glens Falls man who was part of a drug ring that called itself the "Chicken Chasers" was sentenced Wednesday to 3 1/2 years in prison on a felony drug sale count.

Trevor L. Harris, 26, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance in connection with his arrest in a heroin sale case last March. Warren County Judge John Hall imposed the prison sentenced to be followed by 2 years on parole.

Police said the group dubbed itself "Chicken Chasers," with the word "chicken" slang for money made by selling heroin. Police said Harris was a mid-level dealer in the ring, and was one of three suspects who were involved in the network who had a tattoo of a chicken logo the group used.

Warren County sheriff's officers said the group of five dealers was selling "significant" amounts of heroin in Warren and Washington counties. Others involved have pleaded guilty as well.
GLENS FALLS  Producers of Radium Girls, a 1920s period movie about social justice and factory working conditions for women, began filming locally Thursday at Haviland Cove park in Glens Falls.

Filming is scheduled to continue through Oct. 26 at various locations in Warren County, including The Shirt Factory arts and healing center on Lawrence Street and Wiawaka Center for Women on Route 9L in Lake George.

The film, set in 1925, tells the story of Bessie and Jo, teenage sisters who get jobs painting dials on glow-in-the-dark watches at the American Radium Factory in New Jersey, according to Cine Mosaic, the Manhattan independent film company producing the movie.

Bessie becomes a social activist after Jo falls seriously ill of radium poisoning.

Supervisors in watch factories often advised workers to lick paint brushes as a technique to increase production efficiency.

As Jos health slips away inexplicably, Bessie falls in love with a man whose radical politics open her eyes to the dark reality of radium poisoning, wrote Kate Patterson, in a November 2015 article for Sloan New York University Partnership.

The partnership provided a $100,000 grant for the production.

Filming is scheduled at The Shirt Factory, a former garment factory building, Oct. 21-22.

The city Board of Public Safety has authorized closing the block of Lawrence Street in front of the Shirt Factory and the block of Cooper Street next to the Shirt Factory to traffic those two days to reduce ambient noise, contingent on city Common Council approval, said Mike Mender, assistant to Mayor Jack Diamond.

Filming also is planned at Wiawaka Womens Center for Women, a historic retreat center originally used for women factory workers, said Meghan Wilkins, the centers executive director.

All I know is they are filming some of the scenes in our Victorian houses, but I dont know when or what, she said.

The producers also had considered filming at the old Warren County Courthouse in Lake George, EDC Warren County President Edward Bartolomew said in June.

Emily McEvoy, the films co-producer, would not comment on the production at the Haviland Cove shoot on Thursday, citing time constraints.

Its the first shoot of our first day, she said.

McEvoy has worked on production of the Sony Classics film The Lunch Box; the Academy Award-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer; and the Disney film Queen of Katwe, according to the Cinema Mosaic website.

Director Ginny Mohler, who co-wrote the screen play with Brittany Shaw, worked on two episodes of Gun Slinger for the American Heroes Channel and on the two-hour documentary How We Built the Bomb for the Discovery Channel, according to her Linked In profile.

The producers conducted auditions for speaking roles and background roles Tuesday and Wednesday at Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls.

I saw the Glens Falls Community Theater (Facebook) group sharing it (audition information) a lot. So I think there will be a lot of people from the area, said Candice Frye, director of Lower Adirondack Arts Council.

Frye said she is curious to learn more about the movie and plot.

Its so exciting that its happening in our community, she said.
An increase in the prevalence of powerful synthetic painkillers has prompted police to change their procedures to avoid contact with potentially deadly substances that have caused illness in officers in other parts of the country.

Police agencies have halted field tests  where compounds are used to check for presence of illegal narcotics at the time of arrest  in some areas and in some situations out of concern about exposure to drugs like Fentanyl and Carfentanil, synthetic opioids that police are finding mixed in with heroin.

Exposure to small amounts of Fentanyl and Carfentanil can cause accidental overdose, which prompted the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to issue an advisory warning police and other first responders about coming in contact with it.

It (Fentanyl) is 40 to 50 times stronger than street-level heroin. A very small amount ingested, or absorbed through your skin, can kill you, Acting DEA Deputy Administrator Jack Riley said in an agency news release.

Local police agencies that often test suspected drugs in the field to determine what charges are applicable before a formal lab test is done were urged to bypass field testing, or make sure gloves and masks were used to avoid contact.

Search dogs are particularly at risk because a smaller amount could be deadly.

Washington County Undersheriff John Winchell said the Sheriffs Office has advised its officers to take extra precautions when dealing with opioids.

We have instructed our guys that, if they suspect Fentanyl is present, to not field test it, Winchell said.

Hudson Falls Police Chief Randy Diamond said handling of potential opioids requires precautions that werent viewed as necessary years ago.

We have certainly become more cautious in how we handle it. Gloves are mandatory, he said.

Glens Falls Police Detective Lt. Peter Casertino said some officers will wear double layers of gloves.

Fentanyl, a prescription painkiller, has been tied to drug overdose deaths among people who have used it mixed with heroin.

Winchell said police in Washington County have found it mixed with heroin locally after lab tests were performed on drugs that were seized locally.

Carfentanil is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine, and its legitimate use is as an elephant tranquilizer.

Sadly, Winchell said drug users typically seek out drugs that they find out have caused overdose deaths or near-deaths.

If something kills people, we avoid it. These people seek it out, Winchell said.
A Glens Falls hot air balloon pilot is taking part in the 45th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this week.

Mike Hernandez, who pilots the special shape balloon Annie the Lady Bug, also participated in the 44th annual Adirondack Balloon Festival held Sept. 22-25 in the region.

According to Associated Press reports, the weeklong event got off to a rocky start when two balloons hit power lines Sunday morning.

The first crash started a small fire and knocked out power to more than 1,200 customers. Reports said no one was injured and crews had to cut the gondola down from the balloon. The balloon experienced minor damage.

The second balloon wrapped over power lines, and one person was injured getting out of the gondola. Balloon Fiesta spokesman Tom Garrity said a female passenger suffered superficial injuries after the gondola was on the ground. She was treated and released from a hospital, he said.

The balloons were grounded on the third day following the incidents.

The New Mexico balloon festival attracts more than 500 balloons, roughly a million visitors and continues through Sunday.

 Adam Colver

Ice cream and jazz

Sprinkles Ice Cream Shoppe will host a fundraiser Sunday to raise money for the Glens Falls school music department.

The high school jazz ensemble will perform at 2 p.m. at the shop at 60 Glenwood Ave. in Queensbury. Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted.

Gary and Lorraine Mikutel, proprietors of Sprinkles, are supporters of the music at the school.

My son was a trumpet player and we realized the value of playing music, Gary Mikutel said.

Most student-musicians do well in their studies, he added.

The ice cream shop hosted a couple of concerts last summer, according to Gary Mikutel. Unfortunately, the band could not perform this summer because it lacked a drummer. Now, it has a drummer.

The Mikutels are planning to donate $500 and hope that figure can grow.

There are not too many fundraisers for music departments, so I think were one of the more unique situations, he said.

 Michael Goot

Wolf for sale

A vendor at an antiques show in Indian Lake found out recently that it is illegal to sell a mount of an endangered species, no matter how old it is.

A state conservation officer spotted a mount of a black wolf for sale from a vendor at the Adirondack Mountains Antiques Show on Sept. 18.

The mount was for sale for $2,500, but the vendor had no permits for it that would be required to possess it. So the officer ticketed him for offering an endangered species for sale without a permit, and seized the animal.

 Don Lehman

Highway dedication

U.S. Sen. Kathy Marchione and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner dedicated a portion of U.S. Route 9 from the Albany County line to the Warren County line as the United States Submarine Veterans Memorial Highway on Thursday in Saratoga Springs.

According to a news release, about a dozen veterans of the U.S. Navy were on hand for the ceremony. Saratoga County has a Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit in West Milton.

Marchione and Woerner partnered together to designate the stretch of road to recognize and honor the service of Americas submarine forces. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law Sept. 29.

 Adam Colver

Group to distribute food

The newly organized Fort Ann Helping Fort Ann community group will be distributing food for needy individuals and families from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at Cornerstone Bible Church, 59 South Bay Road in Fort Ann.

In order to have food to distribute, the group will be running a food drive all month. Daily drop-offs are encouraged at Super Stop at 11300 state Route 149.

Cornerstone Bible Church will be open for drop-offs from 6 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday through Nov. 2.

The food is available for anybody in need. For more information, contact Emily Stranahan at 681-1351 or Richie Moore 256-2877.

 Bill Toscano
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 

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An Israel official on Thursday deepened the latest dispute with the Obama administration over settlement-building by charging that disproportionate criticism from Washington over the latest construction plans is an alibi to cover plans by President Barack Obama to take anti-Israel actions in the final weeks of his presidency.





Speaking to Channel 2 news, the unnamed senior political source insisted that newly announced plans to build some 300 homes for Jews in the West Bank do not constitute a new settlement, and do not breach any commitments made by Israel to the United States.





The TV report stressed that the comments did not constitute an official response from the government, and noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not responded to the US criticism.





The White House on Wednesday accused Israel of a betrayal of trust over the new plans. We did receive public assurances from the Israeli government that contradict this announcement, said press secretary Josh Earnest. I guess when were talking about how good friends treat one another, thats a source of serious concern as well.





In a similarly strongly worded statement, the State Department said Israels recent decision to advance a plan that would create a significant new settlement deep in the West Bank. Invoking the name of Israels former president who died last week, spokesman Mark Toner added: [I]t is disheartening that while Israel and the world mourned the passing of President Shimon Peres, and leaders from the US and other nations prepared to honor one of the great champions of peace, plans were advanced that would seriously undermine the prospects for the two state solution that he so passionately supported.





The disproportionate US criticism is an alibi for one-sided actions being planned by Obama, the source was quoted saying, even though Obama pledged to Netanyahu that he wont take any one-sided actions concerning Israel in the final weeks of his presidency.





Israeli government members have been worried that Obama, before leaving office in January but after a successor is chosen in November, may seek to impose or advance a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or at least set out parameters for how it should be solved. The TV report said cabinet ministers had been taken aback by the ferocity of the US reaction.

Shaked also called the condemnation from Washington disproportionate. Shaked, from the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, said the US should focus its condemnation on Syria rather than criticizing where Israel builds houses.





The US leadership, according to the Channel 2 report, has been particularly infuriated at the announcement of new building so soon after the Obama Administration agreed a record-breaking 10-year military assistance package for Israel, and right after Obama came to Israel, in a show of respect and solidarity, for the funeral of former president Peres last Friday.





Israels Foreign Ministry earlier rejected the harsh criticism from the United States. The 98 housing units approved in Shiloh do not constitute a new settlement, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. This housing will be built on state land in the existing settlement of Shiloh and will not change its municipal boundary or geographic footprint.




























The rundown neighbourhood was the heart of British colonial rule but after years of neglect, its potential as a major tourist attraction has been untapped; making this fishing community one of the poorest in the nations capital.

However, amidst Jamestowns visible challenges, including sanitation, substance abuse and unemployment, is a group of community volunteers who are using theatre to bring social change.

Theatre with a purpose and heart

We create awareness [and] talk to community members through interactive theatre performances  says Collins Seymah Smith, director of Act for Change; which was founded five years ago.

The youth-led non-profit uses plays to advocate for societal and behavioural change on a wide range of social issues. They have previously tackled issues such as reproductive health, human rights, stereotyping, HIV and climate change.

On the day of our interview, they were preaching an end to open defecation; which has taken a shine off what could have been a pristine beachfront.

Todays project [funded by Unicef and Alliance Francaise) is about educating people on open defecation and in Jamestown, we see it on a daily basis. We want to add our voice and our creative efforts to drive home our message on open defecation and encourage community members to desist from it and encourage the households to build their own latrines, Smith said.

It is not the same, says Anett Jaeger, a volunteer from Berlin, Germany. According to her, the productions she was part of in Europe were stressful because it was all about [staging] a good production because they need this [amount of] money. Everything is about the money.

And here, it is like theatre with a purpose and heart, she adds.

The group approached local authorities who agreed to let them use an abandoned colonial warehouse which is now the Jamestown Community Theatre Centre. The centre now serves as the venue for not just their plays; but for behaviour change workshops and other seminars for community members.

Where are the mentors?

A teenage girl at the centre of a Kpodziemo (local word for naming ceremony) is commonplace in Jamestown. And so are children roaming around on a Wednesday morning. That is because in many cases, the parents of these children are teenagers, who are un(der)employed, have been abandoned by the fathers and do not have a means to see these children through school.

This and other challenges such as substance abuse, the lack of skills and opportunity are telling of the cycle of poverty as seen in the community.

But for Smith, an even greater cause of generational poverty in Jamestown is the lack of mentors.

We have people who have made it; they lived in Jamestown and [when they became successful] they moved out. So I keep saying, if everybody who has made it moves out, who is gonna (sic) put Jamestown out there?

 Not necessarily coming back to live here but at least let us feel your presence in the community. Once in a while, you come here, speak to the youth, motivate themstart a small business here. If they can see you, talk to you, you know what I mean? (sic) touch you, then they can have this feeling that [they too can make it in life]

Smith and his group of volunteers, who are indigenes, are filling this void. The centre is now the first port of call for counselling about issues affecting the youth; turning Smith into the go-to person for condoms and advice on sexually transmitted infections.

Influencing lives

I really try to let my work influence the community, says Hamid Nii Nortey, the volunteer actor cum artist, chiefly responsible for the theatre centres infectious graffiti. H. Nortey (as he is popularly called) plans to help train a new generation of artists in the community.

Related: Chale Wote review: Blitz, teenagers, selfies and the Armageddon

Art has been identified as Jamestowns gem; transforming the community to the centre of Africa during the Chale Wote Street Arts Festival.

The festival has been great in reshaping the image of Jamestown, attracting tourists to the heritage sites and much needed commercial activity albeit for one weekend every year.

Act for Change has been performing at the festival since it began five years ago.

Challenges

Characteristically of a non-profit, Act for Changes main challenge is funding. Many of the previous projects are self-funded with some of the volunteer actors chipping in to help. A situation which Smith describes as not fine.

Blown away by a performance, an audience member reached out to the Australian High Commission in Accra to help the group. The Australians sponsored the complete renovation of the colonial warehouse and the acquisition of props.

Everybody applauds what we are doing. Everybody supports us. But as to putting where their mouth is; is the issue.

Inadequate funding has also made it difficult for the group to spread their message of social change to other parts of the country.

However, the group recently positive news from the Canadian High Commission which could see that change. Through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, Act for Change will be campaigning against child, early and forced marriage in Somanya, in the Eastern Region.

The dream

For Collins Seymah Smith, the dream is to have the groups own theatre centre, a touring group that canvasses the country and growing the Jamestown Arts Festival it started earlier this year to supplement Chale Wote.

For volunteer actor David Tagoe, it is to see a reduction in teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortions in Jamestown and beyond through the plays.
Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM Programmes Manager of GII Mrs Mary Awelana Addah said the Central Bank should have gone through the tendering process since there were other watch manufacturers.

Media reports suggest that some documents making the rounds indicate that the Central Bank sent a request to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to sole source the watches from a Swiss watch Company.

But the Bank in a statement signed by its communication department argued that they went through the required process to procure the watches.

READ ALSO: BoG to renounce its ownership of two banks

The statement further justified its spending of a whopping 450,000 - an equivalent of Gh2 million on gold watches for its retiring staff.
In a tweet, the CPP Youth League described the late Eva Lokko as a very resourceful fellow, who will RIP.

The running mate for the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) during the 2012 elections, Eva Lokko, passed away on Thursday, October 6, 2016.

Reports indicate that she passed away in the United States of America where she had been flown for medical treatment.

It is not clear what ailment she had been suffering from until her death.

Biography

Ghanaian engineer and politician Eva Naa Merely Lokko was the first female engineer to be employed at the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC) in 1972.

She had her secondary education at the Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast and was appointed in 2002 as the Director-General of GBC making her the first female to serve in that capacity.

Eva has worked in more than forty countries worldwide and served as the regional programme coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme initiative for Internet development in Africa.
In a facebook post, Papa Kwesi Nduom described the late Eva Lokko as a strong and principled woman who was always reminding PPP youth to stick to our message, particularly our stand on incorruptible leadership. She was against insulting, disrespectful language and made that known to all. The PPP must be different in a positive way, she always said.

He said he will take a break from active campaigning adding The scheduled broadcast I was to make to the nation this Saturday cannot happen. I need a few days off. There is more to life than politics.

The running mate for the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) during the 2012 elections, Eva Lokko, passed away on Thursday, October 6, 2016.

Reports indicate that she passed away in the United States of America where she had been flown for medical treatment.

It is not clear what ailment she had been suffering from until her death.

The former Managing Director of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation had hopes of contesting the Klottey Korle constituency seat on the ticket of the PPP.

She, however, could not file her nomination to contest the election due to ill-health.

Below is the full facebook post from Papa Kwesi Nduom:

A PRINCIPLED WOMAN

I turned on my phone after criss crossing Upper East yesterday, from Tempane to Chiana to see a rush of text messages and phone calls with the sad, sad news that Eva Lokko had passed away. I did not have much to say during the last campaign stop of the day in Bolga. I had lost the enthusiasm and the vim.

Eva and me had promised each other not too long ago to put our health and personal lives before politics. She chose to serve the Ga people by representing them through Osu Klottey Korle in Parliament - that choice will now remain a dream deferred.

Eva took strong, principled positions and stuck to them. She was a strong voice, always reminding PPP youth to stick to our message, particularly our stand on incorruptible leadership. She was against insulting, disrespectful language and made that known to all. The PPP must be different in a positive way, she always said.
The running mate for the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) during the 2012 elections, Eva Lokko, passed away on Thursday, October 6, 2016.

Reports indicate that she passed away in the United States of America where she had been flown for medical treatment.

It is not clear what ailment she had been suffering from until her death.

The former Managing Director of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation had hopes of contesting the Klottey Korle constituency seat on the ticket of the PPP.

She, however, could not file her nomination to contest the election due to ill-health.

Read Dr Zenators facebook post below:

We are sincerely shocked by the demise of PPP candidate for Klottey Korle, Ms. Eva Lokko.

Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings on behalf of her campaign and NDC Klottey Korle join the countless friends and sympathizers around the country in expressing our deep sorrow at the passing of former GBC Director, fellow Wesley Girls High School alumna and until her demise an opponent for the Klottey Korle Parliamentary seat.

As a woman who rose to such heights in corporate Ghana and Ghanaian politics, she was an inspiration to many young women in our society and our constituency.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and with the PPP as we all mourn the loss of one of Ghanas greatest daughters.
Confirming the incident to Pulse.com.gh, the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ken Yeboah said the incident occurred on Friday morning after some 500 youth mobilized themselves and decided to set ablaze the houses of people they suspected to be witches.

He said: The complainant came to the police station to lodge the complaint that they were being attacked so when they [police] went there the people had already set the houses ablaze.

He, however, indicated that calm has been restored as the police and military were deployed to the area.

READ ALSO: Land Dispute

The incident occurred after alleged reports of sudden deaths of some youth in the community allegedly instigated by witches.

No injuries have so far been recorded as the residents of the affected houses fled upon receiving a tip-off.
The angry youth alleged that the suspected witches are responsible for the numerous deaths in the area in recent times.

The Regional Police Commander DCOP Ken Yeboah confirmed the arrest to Pulse.com.gh said the police have intensified patrol in the area to maintain calm.

Background:

Some angry youth in Nyashegu in the Tamale metropolis of the Northern region have set ablaze about three houses belonging to occupants they have identified as witches.

Confirming the incident to Pulse.com.gh, the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ken Yeboah said the incident occurred on Friday morning after some 500 youth mobilized themselves and decided to set ablaze the houses of people they suspected to be witches.

He said: The complainant came to the police station to lodge the complaint that they were being attacked so when they [police] went there the people had already set the houses ablaze.

He, however, indicated that calm has been restored as the police and military were deployed to the area.

The incident occurred after alleged reports of sudden deaths of some youth in the community allegedly instigated by witches.

No injuries have so far been recorded as the residents of the affected houses fled upon receiving a tip-off.
In a Facebook post on their timeline, Kalyppo said thank you to ALL of Ghana for the love. We love you too.

They continued by encouraging Ghanaians to patronise made in Ghana products and also a peaceful election in December.

A picture of the NPPs Presidential nominee sipping Kalypo fruit juice which was meant to possibly mock Nana Akuffo Addo has interestingly started a social media challenge.

The challenge which is named KalypoChallenge has caught on with a number of people believed to be pro-NPP.

People who are supporting the challenge take pictures of themselves while sipping Kalypo and post them on social media.

A Facebook page has been created to enhance the challenge. The page is called Kalypo Movement for Nana.

A visit to the Madina Market by Pulse.com.gh showed that vendors have run out of stock after the social media challenge started.

A vendor who gave his name as Kofi said their stock got finished the very day it was delivered to them.
According to her, the Mahama-led administration has no moral right to claim that it is changing lives transforming Ghana when it is rather the opposite.

The former first lady said this in Accra on Thursday when she unveiled her vice presidential nominee in the forthcoming polls.

The flagbearer of the NDP indicated that the party believes in the people of Ghana and will always put their interest first and wont behave like other parties.

We are not like those people who choose to politicise everything, yet they say they are transforming and changing lives. Yes, they are transforming and changing lives; their own lives, she said.

She, therefore, urged the electorates to vote massively for the party to enable them to bring the desired change for the country.

Unveiling Kojo Mensah Sosu as her running mate, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings described him as an industrious man with a lot of experience in the area of employment.
The NPP has said it will outdoor its manifesto dubbed Agenda for Change on Sunday, October 8 at Trade fair in Accra.

According to the acting Chairman, Freddy Blay the party is prepared for the launch of the manifesto slated for Sunday.

We feel its an obligation and a responsibility and Nana is fired up. Hell be going round giving snippets of what the party wants to do and we are coming together on Sunday to let the whole world know and tell the world not in many words what we want to do, he told Accra-based Kasapa FM.

The ruling NDC launched its manifesto for the 2016 elections in the Brong Ahafo regional capital Sunyani in August.

The manifesto themed Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana, touched on what the party describes as its strategic plans to move the country forward in terms of development.
The Electoral Commission office in Suhum in the Eastern Region was shut down following an attack by some thugs. It was reopened days after the incident.

The attackers ransacked the office and took away a printer which was reportedly sent to the residence of the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE).

Similar incidents have occurred in other parts of the country especially during the vote transfer period.

Despite these incidents the Police Chief is convinced there will be an incident free election on December 7.

Updating the media on the state of other violent clashes in different parts of the country during the vote transfer recently, he said the Police are currently in control of all such areas.
The PPP filed an interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from going ahead with the receipt of filing fees from presidential and parliamentary candidates a day before the date scheduled for filing.

But at the hearing in court on Friday, the trial judge, Justice Daniel Mensah denied the application for the injunction and deferred reasons to a later date.

The substantive matter as to whether the EC can receive the said amount as filing fee was also adjourned to Tuesday, October 11, 2016.

Commenting on the matter, policy advisor for the PPP, Kofi Asamoah Nsiaw said the party is not disappointed as the substantive case is not over.

We cant be disappointed in that because the court has spoken. We came to court for the matter to be determined, the court has determined it. This is part 1, part 2 will follow. So we have to wait till the end of the case, he said.

The PPP is in court over the GHC50, 000 filing fee for presidential nominees, leading to an injunction placed on some aspects of the filing process.

The party is pursuing a declaration that Regulation 45 of C.I. 94 is discriminatory, arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. That the entire C.I. 94 does not contain the appropriate relevant provisions that meet the intendment of Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
"I've noticed you have said this several times now so let me be clear-- I'm not at all ashamed of children. I try to find creative ways to incorporate them into my feed because they are the biggest part of my life, but I also work very hard to keep their identities as private as I can considering they are only children. It's my belief, and I'm not criticizing others who have different beliefs, that it's my job as their mother to protect their privacy as best I can. When they grow and they're of age and they want share their images on the internet, that will be for them to decide, not me. Feel me? Have a beautiful day."
I Go Dye received the award at the Miss United Nations World Habitat event in Abuja which held at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel to mark the United Nations World Habitat day.

He also dedicated the award to US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. The jester took to Instagram yesterday, October 6, 2016, to break the news to fans.

"Thanks to @missworldhabitat for this @unitednations World Habitat #ambassador Award giving to me, I dedicate this award to a fundamental advocate of peace,A mother in thoughts and in actions.when her husband was passing through difficulty ,she was standing there like a true friend.today she is a mentor to women all over the world,bridging the gap of gender inequality;inspiring women to self-believe and greatness.

Her continuous advocacy for peace,is a reminder to us, to sacrifice all within our reach to achieve peace;affirming the fact that without peace,humanity will be in bondage.indeed,women are the greatest victims of all conflicts,the become widows,lose their sons to wars and there are raped and traumatised for the rest of their lives.

Peace is priceless and the World's habitat can only be sustained when there is peace.I dedicate this award to @hillaryclinton."

Meanwhile, Delta State Governor, Arthur Okowa Ifeanyi, has endorsed the comedian.
According to Kim, who is currently in Los Angeles with the kids following her Paris ordeal, Kanye West splurged on the huge rock after he nabbed a huge deal with Adidas.

Speaking to Andy Cohen of Sirius XM: in Paris at The Girls' Lounge dinner on September 27, 2016, she explained

My husband was very nice. He did surprise me. Its a really cute story, So I was sleeping and he woke me up in the middle of the night and said, Babe, babe! I got you something from Adidas."And I said, OK, Ill get the shoes in the morning, babe, Im sleeping.' And then he put the Lorraine Schwartz box on my pillow and I woke up! He said, You know I just did that big Adidas deal, so I got you something from Adidas."

Kanye had 'Adidas' inscribed on the bling. According to news reports, the deal is presumably the one which involved Kanye having his own Yeezy stores and designing clothes for the sportswear brand too.

Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint on Monday, October 3, 2016, at the luxury residence she was staying in for the Paris Fashion Week.

ALSO READ: Reality star unharmed after being held at gunpoint

According to reports, Kim K was bound and gagged as armed gunmen robbed of her valuable jewels worth $11m. The reality TV star was unharmed but "badly shaken up."
Major Erasmus who was at one time the Second-in-Command at the Nigerian Army Brigade in Ibagwa, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, was posted to Maiduguri, the hotbed of the insurgents some months ago but unfortunately, he lost his life, leaving his family and friends in tears.

Late Major Erasmus on international assignment

Photo Credit: Raphael Edem

One of such friends, Raphael Edem, a media aide to Governor Udom Emmanuel, took to his Facebook wall to extol the virtues of the fallen hero.

Read what he wrote:

"Today, I am immensely sad. Today, I have lost a friend. Today, I will just let these tears flow, in the knowledge that I can't do much more.

I met Major Erasmus in January this year. We were preparing for the annual ritual of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day. He was the 2/ic at the Brigade in Ibagwa and was coordinating the activities and introducing me to the nuances of military parades and traditions.

The scene of the deadly ambush

Photo Credit: Raphael Edem

Friendly, welcoming, affable, very polite, ever-smiling and soft spoken. It was difficult to believe that this young man of about my age, with a baby face and an innocent, almost clerical demeanor was an army officer. I don't think I have ever met a more friendly and gentlemanly officer!

We struck an instant bond and kept in touch after the ceremonies. He was very intelligent, well schooled within and outside the country where he shone like a million stars and going by the testimony of his colleagues that I got to meet at different times, he was an excellent officer who was very professional and good at his job.

He invited me to the tombola night at Ibagwa, and we kept in touch despite his frequent trips to Kaduna to finalize his Masters degree program. Anybody who met him while not in uniform would be hard pressed to believe he was a military man, let alone an army officer.

He told me about his transfer to Maiduguri, but my apprehension about that posting was tempered by the government's assurances that Boko Haram had been routed in the North East. Erasmus assured me that we will get to see sometime soon."

"Alas! That is not going to happen as I woke this morning to the tragic news that he had been killed by an ambush in Maiduguri. And that is how we have lost this young, fresh-faced, bachelor officer.

Today, the enormity of the task and sacrifices made by our armed forces stare me in the face. The career path they have chosen is something everyone should respect and appreciate.

Adieu Major Erasmus, adieu my friend! Adieu officer and gentleman par excellence. The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained.
Ndam is standing trial on multiple allegations of fraud.

Justice Jude Okeke revoked the bail on Thursday, October 7, following an application and withdrawal of his surety, Mr Tijani Haruna, from rendering the services.

Okeke remanded Ndam in Kuje prison pending the time he would get a new surety.

In the light of this, all documents belonging to Haruna are to be returned to him, by this ruling, therefore, the applicant sizes to be responsible to the accuse in a manner earlier agreed, he said.

Ndam is standing trial on a 13-count charge of forgery, impersonation and obtaining N5.5 million by false pretence from unsuspecting victim.

The Counsel to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Samuel Okeleke, entered his fielded his fifth prosecution witness, Mr Olushola Adewumi.

Adewumi, a staff of the First Bank of Nigeria Plc., said he received a subpoena to produce certain documents relating to the case in court.

"One of the persons the accused allegedly cheated is a customer of the bank and he is among our customers captured in the banks database as shown in the banks mandate. This includes his picture, name and signature.

"We also produced the certificate of identification of the customer and the name of the account is Babatunde Kolawole", Adewumi said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the documents were admitted as exhibits.

ALSO READ: APC chieftain arrested by EFCC over N36m scam

Ndam allegedly obtained the money from some unsuspecting persons, claiming that he would help them acquire plots of land being sold by PHCN.

The offence is punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990.
The top trending story that went viral immediately it was published was that of a commercial sex worker, Imoleayo Bamigboye, who stole one of her customers ATM card, memorized his PIN and used it to clear his account.

She was arrested by the way!

In what is popularly called workshop where you eat from where you work, a cemetery attendant in Ogun State, Oluwatoyosi Akorede, tried to live by the code when he exhumed some corpses and cut off the head to use for money making rituals. He was nabbed before he could complete the assignment.

The protest that has rocked South African tertiary institutions over government plans to increase tuition fees in the past few weeks took a different dimension when some students stripped naked to protest police brutality on them.

Some police officers came under attack by gunmen when they invaded a police station in Benue State and in the end, two officers lost their lives while guns and ammunitions were carted away by the mindless criminals.

Morning Teaser made the list of top trending stories this week and it was about Bisi, a married woman who still maintains lesbian relationships with her female partners. She knows that what she is doing is not right and wants to stop but does not have the will power to put an end to it.

A 24-year-old commercial sex worker, popularly known as 'Ashewo', Imoleayo Bamigboye, has been arrested by operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly stealing an ATM card belonging to her customer, Musa Alli, and withdrawing the sum of N300,000 from his account.

The mother-of-one, it was gathered, was arrested at a club house in Surulere area of the state alongside another of her boyfriend, Adeyinka Ayodele, and two others who aided her in the crime.

The victim who reported the theft to the RRS operatives, said he met Bamigboye at the club on Friday, September 30, 2016, adding that she stole his ATM card before memorizing his PIN, during an online transfer of funds into his friends account.

The Ogun State Police Command have arrested a cemetery worker, Oluwatoyosi Akorede, who was found in possession of two human skulls.

Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Police Public Relations Officer for the state confirmed the arrest in a report published by the Daily Post News.

The suspect was arrested by a patrol team led by the Sagamu Divisional Police Officer, Moses Aduroja, on Sunday, October 2, 2016, at Ayepe Cemetery located at Isale Oko area.

Giving a report of the arrest, Oyeyemi said, Oluwatoyosi Akorede is suspected to have gotten the skulls by exhuming bodies of dead people.

The suspect is being interrogated to unravel the reasons for his action and has thus far confessed the items were needed to perform rituals.

Some South African students took things into their hands and protested police brutality by stripping and baring their breasts.

Three students of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa have taken it upon themselves to protest the high tuition fees imposed by the institution's authorities, by protesting naked.

The girls who have been dubbed the 'Naked Protesters' by the media, according to Times Live, reportedly stripped themselves of the blouses and bras as they confronted the police, saying they were tired of being brutalized and shot at by the officers in the protests march organized by the student body.

The ladies were seen with their hands across their heads, telling the police to stop shooting at them.

Two police officers have reportedly been killed by armed gunmen who stormed a police station in Igumale area of Ado LGA of Benue State.

According to an eyewitness, two police officers died immediately while others were left wounded as the unknown men fled the scene.

"Dear Pulse,

My name is Bisi, a 29-year-old woman who is turned between two worlds. I am married to a darling of a man, Mark, but I am what people would call bisexual. I was introduced into lesbianism in my secondary school (an all-girls' school), by my seniors who neck deep into it.

In fact, as early as 14, they had deflowered me and as I grew up, I found it difficult to let go of that lifestyle."

"In my days in the university, I had female lovers and though I was able to hide it to the outside world by also dating and sleeping with men, I was more comfortable with women. It has gotten so bad that sex with my husband is more of a boredom and I can't even enjoy it as much as I do with my lesbian partners.
According to the Daily Post, there have been disagreements concerning the vehicle to use in conveying the dead policeman to his hometown where he is to be buried.

His family had insisted on hiring a vehicle while the police preferred to take his body in an official car.

Femi Joseph, the Police Public Relations Officer of the state gave a statement confirming the incident.

He said, The deceased is to be buried at his hometown. The area of disagreement between the family and the command is the hiring of an ambulance by the police for the burial."

The family insisted on the use of a police ambulance instead of a hired one."

The command has made necessary arrangement, including the purchase of a coffin, hiring of an ambulance and the provision of vehicles to take the family and the commands delegation to the deceaseds hometown in Osun State."

The Area Commander has intervened in the matter and the family has taken the corpse back to the mortuary."

The late cop would be buried today."
Malta Guinness Herbs Lite not only gives the goodness of Malta Guinness, it also gives the benefits of Herbal extracts and gives you all of these in a low sugar preparation which is more than you would expect from a normal Malt drink.

The launch event took place on the 4th of October 2016 at the prestigious Golden Royale Hotel in Enugu and the launch was graced by Guinness Nigeria Plc top management, industry regulators and entertainers from all across Enugu state.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Peter Ndegwa explained that Guinness Nigeria Plc chose to introduce this new addition to the Malt category to give Nigerians not only a wider selection of malt drinks to choose from but also help in maintaining a healthier lifestyle by virtue of its low sugar formulation. He also stated that with the new classifications by industry regulators on sugar content for malt drinks, Malta Guinness Herbs Lite is the first truly Light sugar malt in Nigeria delivering even less sugar than most other malt drinks.

Mrs Jody Samuel Ike, Innovations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, while unveiling Malta Herbs Lite said We also are committed to ensuring that we comply with regulations, in all our activities. So in response to the recent NAFDAC/SON statute prescribing new guidelines for low, light and regular malt drinks, we are introducing a perfectly balanced Malt drink that gives you much more than you expect from a regular malt drink.

"Malta Herbs is a brand that is positioned to redefine the experience in the Malt beverage market as it is masterfully crafted with 100% natural herb and fruit extracts".

Guests were treated to hilarious jokes by Lord Ell as they savored the great tasting herbal goodness of Malta Guinness Herbs Lite.

Malta Guinness Herb Lite is another quality beverage from Guinness Nigeria Plc.
The woman was paraded at the headquarter of the police command with twenty-five other criminals, Daily Post reports.

Fatai Owoseni, the state Commissioner of Police confirmed the allegation in a statement.

According to him, the woman who lives in Lekki, Lagos paid an assassin a sum of N600,000 to have her husband killed.

One of the hired assassins has confessed to the crime and we are currently on the trail of the other assassins."

The woman was picked up after a suspect was arrested and he named her as the person who contracted him to kill her husband."
Malam Abubakar Yakubu, Secretary of the society, made the plea on Friday, October 7, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe.

Yakubu said, Sometimes, we experience shortage in the blood bank and when such incident occurs, there is need to restock to save lives.

We are appealing to the public to come forward and donate blood in hospitals across the state so that we can keep this blood for future usage, especially in case of emergency.

We do not know where and when such thing will happen; any time you know or think you are fit, please come and donate.

With the availability of blood in the bank, lots of people will benefit from it.

One day, it may be you or your relatives that will be in need of it.

He said that it was good to donate blood than to donate N100, 000 in time of emergency.

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, statistics show that voluntary/non-remunerated blood donation accounts for only 10 per cent of the total blood collection.

The ministry, in 2015, said that the estimated blood needs in Nigeria stood at between 1.4 and 1.7 million units per annum.
Jibrin made this call in a statement he made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalls that Jibrin has been accusing speaker, Deputy Speaker and some other members of the House of padding the 2016 budget.

Jibrin said that he had forwarded the statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the first list of 50 members involved in running cost fraud.

He urged the Executive Arm to stand up to any possible blackmail from the House.

According to him, Nigerians should be very vigilant because as an insider, I know how the House usually responds during period like this.

As you have started noticing, many investigative hearings and ad hoc committees are springing up like mushrooms.

The investigative hearings are intended to blackmail the executive arm, coax them not to act on the allegations.

The ad hoc committees are used to settling aggrieved members as it provides avenues to collect bribes.

You will also notice irrational grandstanding over approval of MTEF/FSP and the budget or correspondence from the President.

All these are legislative antics employed by the House to use the institution of the House to shield corrupt members."

According to Jibrin, the EFCC and the Police have severally being victims of this kind of evil tactics by the House in the past.

Finally, I wish to call on the Federal Government to make me face the harshest punishment prescribed by our laws if my allegations are found to be false.

Jibrin said that after about 10 weeks since he commenced exposing corruption in the House of Representatives, Speaker Dogara and other accused persons were yet to respond.
The charges against Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu were withdrawn on Thursday, October 6.

Atiku made his comments via a statement released by his Media Office on Friday, October 7.

All hands need to be mobilised to tackle the current economic difficulties in the country, and get the nation out of economic recession. Both the executive and legislature need to come together to find solutions to the current economic recession by eliminating all issues that promote strife and mistrust, Atiku was quoted as saying.

Political crisis does little or no good in a democracy. All individuals and political forces in the country that still have issues should come together and resolve their differences for the good of the nation and the APC, he added.
The duo was accused alongside Salisu Maikasuwa, former clerk of the National Assembly and Ben Efeturi, former Deputy Clerk, of forging the senate standing rules.

It is however curious and newsworthy that just moments after the case file against the duo was withdrawn, waiting to commend the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government for the act was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

It appeared Atiku couldn't wait to get the commendation off his chest.

"It is an indication that the government values the much-needed cordial relationship between the Executive and Legislature and would take steps to ensure that it remains harmonious in the interest of the nation, and the advancement of our democracy", Atiku said in a statement sent to Pulse.

Nigeria's former Vice President also said the withdrawal of the charges will smoothen what he regards as a frosty relationship between the Executive and the Legislature.

Said Atiku: "It is only in the situation of harmonious, cordial and cooperative relationship between the three arms of government that real progress and development can take place in the polity.

"All hands need to be mobilized to tackle the current economic difficulties in the country, and get the nation out of economic recession...both the Executive and Legislature need to come together to find solutions to the current economic recession by eliminating all issues that promote strife and mistrust.

"Political crisis does little or no good in a democracy. All individuals and political forces in the country that still have issues, should come together and resolve their differences for the good of the nation and the APC.

"President Muhammadu Buhari is a statesman and a Man of Peace. The decision by the Executive to end the disturbing allegations against the Senate leadership opens a new page in the relationship between the Executive and Legislature and was forthcoming because President Buhari has never been comfortable with actions or issues that unnecessarily heats up the polity", Atiku gushed.

A few Nigerians who spoke to , questioned the motive behind the Turakin Adamawa's hasty commendation of the President.

Said Ademola Abayomi, a Lagos based lawyer: "This shows you that the political class is one big clique. They are taking us for a ride. They know what they are doing. This is embarrassing, but I'm not in the least surprised because Atiku isn't a clean man himself. The corrupt only look out for themselves".

A businessman who simply identified himself as Ugochukwu dissolved into throaty laughter before saying: "Isn't it the same Atiku? He has just proven that he's in bed with corruption. Why won't he stand by an allegedly corrupt Saraki? My brother, abeg make I go find how to make my small money for dis recession", he said in smattering English.

Josephine Ebughe, a civil servant, however said she read nothing into Atiku's Commendation: "He has a right like everyone else to free speech. Let's cut the man some slack please".

But Sani Abubakar, a banker, was a lot more direct: "Remind me how Atiku made his money again? Why won't he defend corruption?"

The federal government has said it only withdrew its forgery case against Saraki and Ekweremadu undefinedwas already before another court of coordinate jurisdiction.
The Leader of a German delegation, Mrs Renate von Boddien, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, October 7, during a meeting of the Nigeria-Germany Consultations on Development Cooperation.

At the meeting, which was hosted by the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Boddien stated that the commitment is part of bilateral technical cooperation and special project initiative aimed at tackling the root causes of displacement of refugees and speed up their integration under the One World No Hunger Green Innovation.

She said this will also strengthen Germanys support for the Green Innovation Centre for Agriculture and Food Sector.

Breaking down the funds, Boddien explained that 22.6m is earmarked for bilateral technical cooperation and special funding lines; 19.9m for special initiatives to tackle the root causes of displacement/reintegrating of refugees; and 6m for special initiatives for the One World No Hunger project initiated to strengthen its support for the Green Innovation Centre.

ALSO READ: Reps fault use of N270m to clear grass at IDPs camp

According to her, Germany is committed to engaging the priority areas of sustainable economic growth, Nigerian energy support programme and technical cooperation.

"Technical cooperation is being implemented through the pro-poor growth and employment promotion programme in Nigeria, which was inaugurated by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and is co-financed by the European Union.

"The objective is to increase employment and income generation for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the three states of Niger, Ogun and Plateau," a statement from the Ministry of Budget quoted her as saying.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday, October 7, 2016 while receiving Sheikh Abdul-Muhsin Muhammad Al-Qassimi, Imam of the Mosque of the Holy Prophet in Medina, Saudi Arabia, Buhari said his administration would continue to promote unity and peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians by ensuring fairness and social justice to all.

He said: God knows best- a population of 180 million people comprising more than 300 ethnic groups many of them with cultural ties stronger than religion can only co-exist peacefully in an atmosphere of social justice.

I pray that God gives us the courage to be fair to the people he put in our charge so that we can enjoy his mercy, he said.

Buhari expressed further that with all he had been through in life, he had learnt an important lesson about social justice.
The court, on Tuesday, October 4, also described Dasukis detention since December 2015 as unlawful and arbitrary.

However, Professor John Paden, the writer of President Muhammadu Buharis recently released biography, has said that Dasuki might not be released anytime soon.

His comments are written in Chapter 15 of the book titled Muhammadu Buhari  The challenges of Leadership in Nigeria.

Excerpts below:

For Buhari who has said openly that he wants to be remembered for fighting corruption, it will be an unmitigated disaster for his legacy if such a gargantuan fleecing went on in his primary constituency, the military, and he failed to unearth it and punish the culprits.

Buhari knows that Task Force and Division Commanders knew of and approved these arms purchases; Service Chiefs knew too; Ministers of Defence and Finance knew; Chief of Staff knew; civil servants in the Ministries of Defence and Finance knew, Chief of Staff to the President knew; the Vice President knew; and the President knew. It is why Buhari will keep his foot on Dasukis throat until he fesses up.

Who really was Sambo Dasuki fronting for in Jonathans cabinet? That is the main question to which Buhari is also seeking answers. From Buharis perspective, if corruption in military procurement undermines the integrity of the military, that corruption must be confronted.

And if such procurement allegations weaken the military response to Boko Haram and put ordinary foot soldiers at risk, that corruption poses a double threat, endangering even the Nigeria Project itself.
Six suspects had been arrested following the kidnap which occurred last week along the Benin-Agbor Road.

It was gathered that detectives of the Inspector-General of Police Special Monitoring and Intelligence Team, are hunting for three other suspects of the 12-man gang.

"We now have nine of the gang members in custody. We are confident that we would get the remaining three suspects in a short while," Punch quoted a Police source as saying.

ALSO READ: Northern youths demand CBN Governor's sack in 21 days
He made the statement on Thursday at the graduation of Cadets of 63rd Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna.

Osinbajo, who was the special guest at the graduation, said that the failure resulted to the death of over 20, 000 people with over two million displaced and more than 75, 000 children orphaned.

He expressed regret that several billions of dollars meant for procurement of arms and ammunition to prosecute the war were cornered by few persons.

This has left the region with one of the worst humanitarian crisis, he added.

The VP commended the military for defeating the terrorists and for the sacrifices it made to defend the nation.

He said that the fastest way for Nigeria to get out of the current recession was for militant groups in the Niger Delta to stop bombing oil pipelines.

He said that the activities of the militants had adversely affected crude oil output which had dropped from 2.2 million barrels per day to below 1 million barrels per day.

Osinbajo said the destruction had also affected the revenue accruing to the country by 60 per cent.

While comparing the 2008/2009 recession in United States with Nigerias, the VP said Nigerias recession was caused by massive corruption, lack of saving and destruction of oil pipelines.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 133 cadets, including 17 female cadets, were for the first time awarded first degree certificates in various discipline at the occasion.

One hundred and twenty seven (127) cadets were awarded masters degree while 14 cadets bagged doctorate degree.
Umar told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Sokoto on Friday that the pilgrims lost their lives in Mecca,after successfully completing the pilgrimage.

He said the deceased comprised two females from Goronyo and Bodinga local government areas and a male from Sokoto North Local Government Area.

All of them had been buried according to Islamic rites in Mecca, while their families were duly informed about their demise.

Another male pilgrim from Sokoto North Local Government is currently receiving medical attention at a Mecca hospital.

He will be transported back to Nigeria through the Aminu Kano International Airport by the Saudi authorities when he gets well, Umar said.

The Director-General further said that, the ninth and last flight of 532 pilgrims from the state arrived Sokoto Airport at 2 a.m. on Friday.
Usman in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said all the arrested suspects had been handed over to Joint Investigation Committee for further action.

He added that 18 cows were recovered from them and handed over to the Cattle Market Committee for screening and identification and subsequent hand over to their rightful owners.

Usman said that while some of the suspected terrorists were arrested at cattle market, others were apprehended at check points.

He named them as Abur Modu Magaji, Ibrahim Chari, Bulama Magaji, Nde Ngude, Mustafa Fannami, Abubakakar Modu, Mohammed Merai and Abur Mustafa.
Legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola had, on behalf of his client, Mr Akin Fadeyi, written to President Muhammadu Buhari last week, claiming that the 'Change Begins With Me' campaign was a copyright version of Fadeyi's project, Not In My Country initiative.

But Mohammed, who unveiled the campaign to stakeholders in the private sector in Lagos on Thursday, October 6, explained that he and his team had conceptualised and designed the idea two months before he met Fadeyi.

He said: "I was nominated in October and the moment I was nominated, I called my team and I told them that the most important thing was to change the attitude of Nigerians. I am happy that the agencies that worked on the idea are here today.

"We started working on the initiative immediately and on 14 October 2015 when I was confirmed as a minister, I had completed work on the initiative.

"I made available to the media, incontrovertible evidence that by October 14th, 2015, I had completed work on the initiative. On 31 October 2015, I had completed the radio jingles and television commercials. After we had completed work on the programme, Mr. Akin Fadeyi came to me on December 30th, 2015.

"So, how can one accuse me of stealing an idea which was completed by October last year? The person, who claimed that I stole his idea came to me in December. Mr. Akin Fadeyi, Afe Babalola and I will meet in court."

ALSO READ: Lai Mohammed replies critics of Change Begins with Me campaign
The event which is jointly hosted by the Nigerian-American Chambers of Commerce, Kaduna State government, and the Embassy of the United States of America saw the VP saying: "I have seen an incredible variety of agro- business entrepreneurship here today and I am really excited about all these.I think that one of the key things that we have seen are some of the bottlenecks especially in financing some of these products and some of what these people are doing. And so we are looking at how to remove the bottlenecks in many of the situations that we see, so certainly we are going to be working on this."
Only a handful of those commentators went beyond the caption(s), it has to be said.

There were 'sexy' captions and understandably so. It is after all what Editors and Bloggers are paid to do in the era of the clickbait. But sometimes, captions do not tell the entire story, nor should they be relied upon to tell the entire story.

Pulse has been working the phones since the story of the withdrawal of the charge against Saraki, first found its way into cyberspace.

A litigation officer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Odubu Loveme, filed a motion to withdraw the charge of forgery and criminal conspiracy against Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

They had been accused of forging Senate Standing Rules.

The Federal Government was also only amending the charge and the said criminal conspiracy charge is still before another court. It was far from a complete withdrawal. This was also a case of avoiding the issue of coordinate jurisdiction, government officials have told Pulse.

This government respects the rule of law, and hierarchy of the judiciary. It is in the light of these two applications (filed by Saraki and Ekweremadu) and a similar case before Justice Kolawole at the Federal High Court, that we are withdrawing the charges", explained lead prosecution counsel, Aliyu Umar (SAN).

It is trite that two matters of the same subject matter cannot be before different courts of coordinate jurisdiction.Therefore, the amended charge dated October 5, 2016 and also the original dated June 10, 2016 and filed the same date, be struck out and all the four defendants be discharged, Umar added.

Even though Saraki's criminal conspiracy charge has been withdrawn before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court in Abuja, the same case is still before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Umar said.

A Presidency source who spoke to Pulse on the basis of anonymity because he had not been authorised to comment on the subject, said the Buhari anti-graft war isn't losing its way on account of the case withdrawal against Saraki.

"It would have been difficult for us to prove the forgery and criminal conspiracy case because getting witnesses from the Senate would have been doubly difficult. We had to do this in one court and hope for the best in another", said the high ranking Presidency official.

On whether Saraki was being given a soft-landing as the Number three man in Nigeria's power hierarchy, the official denied that was the case. "It's a figment of some people's imagination. What you can't take away from this administration is its single minded determination to tackle graft. Recall that Saraki's case before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for false declaration of assets and corruption is ongoing. One innocuous withdrawal doesn't mean a soft-landing", he added.

did reach out to Garba Shehu, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, for a reaction to the development. "Please speak to the Attorney General of the Federation", said Shehu.

"Sir, is this a case of a soft-landing for Saraki because of the position he wields in government?",Pulse probed further.

"I'll advise you to speak to the Attorney General of the Federation", Shehu repeated for emphasis.

A call placed to the cellphone of Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation, wasn't replied before this story made it to press.
Buhari, who spoke at the Leadership award ceremony in Abuja recalled that various predictions about the disintegration of Nigeria after the election did not come to pass because of Jonathan's patriotism and the impartial role played by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Buhari said: "I am most delighted to be part of this occasion organised by the Leadership Newspapers Group to honour Nigerians who have excelled in their chosen fields of endeavour.

"Let me hasten to congratulate my joint award winners, my predecessor, His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR and Professor Attahiru Jega, the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, as Leadership Person of the Year.

"The events of 2015, which the Leadership newspaper has chosen to bring to the fore today, marked a watershed in the political history of our country.

"Those of us who were participating actors in the elections were led by the higher ideal of the future of our great country and the well-being of our people rather than the mere desire of politicians to win elections.

"It is therefore our commitment to this ideal, the patriotic zeal of President Jonathan, the impartiality of the electoral umpire, INEC, and exemplary conduct of the political parties, foreign pressure and other actors that we collectively disappointed the prophets of doom who had predicted the disintegration of the country after the 2015 general election."
Obiano is said to be planning the move in order to strengthen his chance of re-election, Punch reports.

What we are hearing is that the governor may join the APC to realize his re-election next year. If that happens, you know what that means to our party. Obiano is the only governor we have in APGA, a source said.

Obianos media aide, Emeka Ozumba however said that the governor has no time to comment on speculations.
In a report by TheCable, Ize-Iyamu, who reportedly joined the protest against the Edo governorship election on Friday, October, 7, 2016 addressed protesters in Benin, capital of the state saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) robbed him of victory.

The Governorship candidate maintained that the alleged robbery of the Edo peoples mandate is obvious as he had been seeking Gods intervention in the past few days.

He further said his supporters had refused to be violent, saying the opposition party's victory by INEC couldn't be celebrated in Edo State.

ALSO READ:INEC presents certificates of return to Edo Gov elect
Kristal, who is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest man alive lost the opportunity to have it at the prescribed age of thirteen due to events that happened during the World Wars.

He only had a chance to start his life following the end of World War 2, where he was held as a prisoner at Auschwitz, a Nazi camp in German-occupied Poland where Jews and other innocent people who opposed the Nazi occupiers, were kept.

These innocent people include Poles, the second largest group of people killed during the holocaust.

Hundred years later, Kristal thinks it is better late than never as he holds his Bar Mitzvah among family and friends.

The ceremony is a Jewish tradition organized when a boy comes of age.

It is at this point that such a person is held accountable for his actions.

At the age of 113, the old man already has two children, nine grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
Matthew's sustained winds later dropped to 130 mph, but it was likely to remain a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as it closed in on the United States, where it could either take direct aim at Florida or tear along the state's coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.

Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew's have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts."

The U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida late on Thursday and a dangerous storm surge is expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

"What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.

Some 261 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

As the storm passed near the Bahamas capital of Nassau, howling gusts of wind brought down palms and other trees and ripped shingles off the rooftops of many houses.

The eye of the storm was located over the western end of Grand Bahama Island on Thursday evening.

It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most of its damage in the United States, but the NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website (www.wunderground.com) that Matthew's wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.

ALSO READ: Hurricane Mathew - Obama declares state of emergency in Florida

"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," Masters wrote.

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the nation's primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.

A team of 116 employees were bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

"We've had some close calls, but as far as I know it's the first time we've had the threat of a direct hit," NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker.

"AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS"

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached early on Thursday.

Florida Governor Rick Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"If you're reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people... already killed," Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast."

Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.

Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard.

President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

"Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.

Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm's path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines said.

At 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT), Matthew was about 75 miles (120 km) east of Florida's West Palm Beach, the hurricane center said. It was heading northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) and was expected to continue on this track through Thursday and early Friday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday Matthew, the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix struck Central America in 2007, whipped Cuba and Haiti with 140 mph (225 kph) winds and torrential rain, pummeling towns and destroying livestock, crops and homes.

In Florida, fuel stations on Thursday posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps ran dry on Wednesday afternoon.
According to multiple reports, Hurricane Matthew, which is fast spreading to the East of the United States of America has killed 83 more people in Haiti.

The Carribean country has been hit by the fierce storm and even seen to the postponement of the Presidential election in the country.

According to reports, several dozen of people died in one coastal town in Haiti while many others have been killed in the last two days.

Hurricane Matthew has killed at least 261 people in Haiti, local officials said, including "several dozen" in one coastal town on a part of the southwestern peninsula that authorities and rescue workers were only beginning to reach days after the storm.

Another four were killed in neighboring Dominican Republic when the storm hit on Tuesday.

Tagged the strongest storm in recent time, Hurricane Matthew is poised for U.S. landfall in more than 10 years after blasting the Bahamas on Thursday and heading for Florida.

Matthew, carrying winds of 140 mph (220 kph), was "relentlessly pounding" the northwestern part of the island chain en route to Florida's Atlantic coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Winds gusts of up to 60 miles per hour (100 kph) and heavy downpours were reported in several coastal communities in Florida as the eye of the Category 4 hurricane tracked along the east coast of the state early on Friday.

"We are just bracing and the winds are picking up," Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry told CNN early on Friday. "A great number of our residents have taken heed to our warnings and we are certainly concerned about those that have not."

More than 140,000 Florida households were without power, according to Governor Rick Scott. In West Palm Beach, once lit street lights and houses went dark and Interstate 95 was empty as the storm rolled through the community of 100,000 people.

Hurricane Matthew carried extremely dangerous winds of 130 mph (215 kph) as it pounded the northwestern part of the Bahamas en route to Florida's Atlantic coast earlier, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

While Matthew's winds had dropped on Thursday night, it remained a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as it neared Florida, where it could either plow inland or tear along the Atlantic coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.

Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew's have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts."

Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida on Friday and a dangerous storm surge was expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

"What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.

Some 339 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island.

It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most damage in the United States, but the NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website that Matthew's wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.

"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," Masters wrote.

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the nation's primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.

A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

"We've had some close calls, but as far as I know it's the first time we've had the threat of a direct hit," NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker.

'AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS'

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached early on Thursday.

Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"If you're reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people ... already killed," Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast."

Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.

Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard.

President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Late Thursday,Obama declared an emergency in Georgia and ordered federal aid to the state.

"Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.

Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm's path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines said.

At 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT), Matthew was about 90 miles (140 km) southeast of Florida's Cape Canaveral, the hurricane center said. It was heading northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) and was expected to continue on this track through Thursday and early Friday. The center said the storm is expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours.

In Florida, fuel stations on Thursday afternoon posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps had run dry on Wednesday.
The Vancouver-based miner argued that the case should be dismissed and that any lawsuit should be heard in Eritrea, not Canada, an argument the court rejected.

But the judge granted an application by Nevsun asking the court to find that the case could not continue as a representative action, similar to a class action, noting that the six workers named in the case made slightly different allegations. The Eritreans will need to file separate lawsuits, which could make the case more complex and expensive.

Joe Fiorante, one of the lawyers representing the workers, said he was not concerned about that part of the decision.

"We're reviewing that aspect of the decision but the case will certainly go forward," he said. "This is a big win for us."

Nevsun said it is studying the ruling and considering an appeal of the decision that the action can proceed at all.

If Nevsun loses at trial, the company could be forced to pay compensation for "severe physical and mental pain and suffering."

Nevsun says its mine is a model development. In legal filings, it said 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.

In affidavits filed with the court, six men, who have since left Eritrea, said they were forced to work at Bisha from 2008 to 2012 and that they endured harsh conditions at the Eritrean gold, copper and zinc mine, including hunger, illness and physical punishment at the hands of military commanders.

They said they were conscripts in the country's national service system when they worked at Bisha, working not for Nevsun directly but for government-owned construction firms subcontracted to build the mine.

Some workers backed up the company in affidavits, saying they worked at the mine voluntarily and never experienced mistreatment.
Sharon Gray, a 31-year-old postdoctoral scientist at the University of California, Davis, was riding through Addis Ababa with her co-researcher Siobahn Brady when their car was attacked by demonstrators hurling rocks.

Brady was not hurt in the incident and was returning to the United States, according to the university. The U.S. State Department was assisting in bringing Gray's body home.

"She had an infectious smile and giggle, a calm and patient nature and she was truly committed to helping people through her studies of plant biology. I and her colleagues and friends in my lab will miss her intensely," Brady said in a written statement.

"These last hours of her life and the past day have been incredibly difficult and we ask for your respect for the privacy of my lab group, our project members and her colleagues while we mourn," she said.

The two women were the lead researchers on study to understand the response of plants to climate change with the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and were in Addis Ababa for a "kick off meeting," Brady said, calling Gray a future leader in her field.

On her Twitter page Sharon Gray described herself as an "outdoor adventurer, traveler, foodie" as well as a postdoctoral fellow. A memorial page posted by the university was filled with photos of her in fields of crops, rock-climbing and hiking, surrounded by friends.

Originally from the Chicago area, Gray earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois-Champaign.

ALSO READ: Dozens killed in Ethiopia stampede after police fire warning shots at protest

State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that an American citizen had died in Ethiopia on Tuesday but declined to provide further details.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and to the loved ones. We are providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the family, we must decline further comment," he said.

Asked if the United States believed that protesters had targeted Americans, Kirby replied: "As for the situation itself, that's really for the local authorities to speak to in terms of the investigation and how they are looking into it."

The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has said that an American woman was killed on Tuesday when stones were hurled at her vehicle on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Residents there have described crowds attacking vehicles since a stampede at a weekend protest killed at least 55 people.

That stampede began when police fired teargas and shots in the air to disperse anti-government demonstrations during a festival in the Oromiya region, south of the capital, which has been a focus for demonstrations by locals who say land has been seized to build factories and housing blocks.
Ouattara promised during his re-election campaign last year to remove the constitution's requirement for presidential candidates to have parents who are both natural-born Ivorian citizens, a sore point in a country that has long attracted immigrants from neighbouring countries.

Nationality was at the heart of a crisis that began with a 1999 coup and included a 2002-2003 civil war that split the West African nation in two for eight years.

The draft constitution submitted to parliament by Ouattara softens the clause, which had been used by his opponents to bar him from elections and was a symbol of exclusion, particularly of northerners like him, whose family ties often straddle borders.

"This is the occasion to definitively turn the page on the successive crises our country has known, to write new pages in our history by proposing a new social pact," Ouattara told lawmakers at the National Assembly.

Ouattara finally won election in 2010, although his victory sparked a second war that killed more than 3,000 people after then president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat.

Gbagbo is now on trial at the International Criminal Court accused of crimes against humanity.

"Today, the time has come for us to define together what kind of nation we want to build. The time has come to decide what we want to leave behind for our children," Ouattara said.

Parliament has until Oct. 15 to approve the text in order to submit it to the public in a referendum on Oct. 30.

Other revisions include removing a maximum age of 75 for presidential candidates and making it easier to change the constitution in future.

Opposition politicians and some civil society groups have criticised the drafting process as lacking consensus and transparency.

Pascal Affi N'Guessan, the head of Gbagbo's FPI party, now the main opposition, criticised the proposed creation of the post of vice-president and a senate, a third of whose members would be appointed by the president, among other changes.

He said they would allow Ouattara to entrench the political coalition between his RDR and the other main party, the PDCI.
Fighters have accepted similar government amnesty offers in other besieged areas in recent months, notably in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus that was under siege for years until rebels surrendered it in August.

However, rebels said they had no plan to evacuate Aleppo, the last major urban area they control, and denounced the amnesty offer as a deception.

"It's impossible for the rebel groups to leave Aleppo because this would be a trick by the regime," Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official for the Fastaqim group which is present in Aleppo, told Reuters. "Aleppo is not like other areas, it's not possible for them to surrender."

Washington was also skeptical of government motives: "For them to suggest that somehow they're now looking out for the interests of civilians is outrageous," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, citing the heavy civilian toll from air strikes and bombardment.

The army announced a reduction in shelling and air strikes on Wednesday to allow people to leave. It backed that up with an ultimatum: "All those who do not take advantage of the provided opportunity to lay down their arms or to leave will face their inevitable fate."

The government also sent text messages to the mobile phones of some of those people trapped in the besieged sector, telling them to repudiate fighters in their midst. More than 250,000 people are believed to be trapped inside rebel-held eastern Aleppo, facing dire shortages of food and medicine.

Speaking to Danish television, Assad said he would "continue the fight with the rebels until they leave Aleppo. They have to. There's no other option."

He said that he wanted rebels to accept a deal to leave the city along with their families and travel to other rebel-held areas, as in Daraya. Neither Assad nor his generals gave a timeline for rebels to accept their offer.

ALSO READ: UN confirms airstrike hit aid convoy near Aleppo

Washington accuses Moscow and Damascus of war crimes for intentionally targeting civilians, aid deliveries and hospitals to break the will of those trapped in the besieged city. Russia and Syria accuse the United States of supporting terrorists by backing rebel groups.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the relentless Russian and Syrian bombardments could result in the fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo within "weeks if not days".

"Its unclear how long they will last, but considering the destruction of infrastructure that supports life, they are hanging by a thread," the U.S. official said. "There is only so much they can endure.

The war has already killed hundreds of thousands, made half of Syrians homeless, dragged in global and regional powers and left swathes of the country in the hands of jihadists from Islamic State who have carried out attacks around the globe.

The United States and Russia are both fighting against Islamic State but are on opposite sides in the wider civil war, with Moscow fighting to protect Assad and Washington supporting rebels against him.

Storming Aleppo's rebel-held zone, which includes big parts of the densely populated Old City, could take months and cause a bloodbath, the U.N. Syria envoy warned on Thursday.
Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg
Free ConCert! the JaCkson ConCert series Presents A Muscatine Reunion Recital Hannah Smith Braasch, Vocalist  Emma Smith Stammer, Pianist Sunday, October 9, at 4:00 P.M. Wesley United Methodist Church 400 Iowa Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa 563-263-1596 Emma Smith Stammer Hannah Smith Braasch Two former Muscatine musicians (who happen to be sisters) reunite to offer a varied program of sacred music and art song celebrating the beauties of the world around us and the Creator who designs it all. Come and enjoy the music of Mozart, Schubert, Britten, and more! Imani Winds Wednesday, October 19 at 11:00 a.m. Wesley United Methodist Church Come and hear this Grammy nominated quintet and experience how they have carved out a distinct presence in the classical music world. This concert is presented in conjunction with Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Series. TickeTs sa are ar re noT re n required.
Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co., a century-old family-owned company, has closed a transaction with The Coca-Cola Co. that expands the bottler's territory distribution rights across the state of Iowa, including the Quad-City region.

The Atlantic, Iowa-based company announced last week that it has assumed territories in regions surrounding six Iowa distribution centers as well as one in Rock Island that serves the Illinois and Iowa Quad-Cities.

Atlantic Bottling grows from two Iowa locations in Atlantic and Waukee to nine facilities as a result of the deal. The expansion adds these Iowa territories and facilities, which had been managed and controlled by Coca-Cola: Mason City, Ames, Spirit Lake, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Ottumwa, as well as the distribution facility in southwest Rock Island.

"We are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity," Kirk Tyler, CEO of Atlantic Coca-Cola, said in a news release. "We are proud of the work put in by our employees to position ourselves for success in the generations to come."

Tyler is the third generation in the family-owned business founded more than 100 years ago by Harry and Henry Tyler.

The expansion comes nearly almost a year after the company, owned by the Tyler family, signed a letter of intent with Coca-Cola for expanded distribution rights. With the expansion, Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co. the largest Coca-Cola distributor in Iowa. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The transaction is part of Coca-Cola Co.'s plan to refranchise all its North American territories. In February, Coca-Cola said it was accelerating the pace and scale of its bottler refranchising effort. It now expects to refranchise all of the company-owned North America bottling territories by the end of 2017.

For Atlantic Bottling, the expansion will add 500 new jobs in Iowa to service the new territories. Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling also will serve parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri. The company now employs 700.

Al Sanderson, the Quad-City general manager, said the workforce in Rock Island is expected to grow by 15 to 20 percent. The center will be hiring positions that include drivers, merchandisers, field service supervisors, service technicians. among others.

In addition, Atlantic Bottling is investing in its new facilities. In the Quad-Cities, it has purchased a new fleet of Coca-Cola trucks and installed new technology to increase efficiency. A new product monitoring and reporting systems were installed to ensure product availability and increase speed to market.
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Oct. 10-16

Details: Through Jan. 15. Putnam Museum, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport. This exhibit offers a thought-provoking analysis of worldwide food consumption based on the award-winning book by Peter Menzel and Faith DAlusio. Through photography and hand-on exhibits and activities, everything from American drive-thru fast food to open kitchens in Mali highlight a global perspective on food and environment. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission: $8 adults, $7 senior citizens (60 years and older)/college students/military with ID/youth (3-18 years), free for members/youth 2 years and younger.

Living Proof Exhibit: Cancer Survivor Art

Oct. 11-16

Details: Through Oct. 16. Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport. Presented in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Living Proof Exhibit, whose mission is to enrich the lives of those impacted by cancer through the therapeutic benefits of the arts, this exhibit is a celebration of the creative spirit of cancer survivors within a 200-mile radius of the Quad-Cities. Approximately 60 works of art that range in scope from multi-artist pieces created during group therapy sessions to highly individualized artworks will be on view. Museum hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, Thursday evenings until 9 p.m. and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission: $7 adults, $6 senior citizens, $4 children ages 3-12 years, free for museum members.

Mindfulness Meditation

Oct. 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Details: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad-Cities, 3707 Eastern Ave., Davenport. This hour will begin with a brief reading, followed by 20 minutes of silent meditation, then 10 minutes of walking through the sanctuary and end with 20 more minutes of silent meditation. Free.

Meditation and Mindfulness Class

Oct. 11, 6:45-8 p.m.

Details: Quad-City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Ave., Rock Island. This class will include an explanation of the benefits of meditation and how to meditate followed by a guided breathing meditation. Then there will be a brief instruction on how to keep a positive mind in daily life followed by another guided meditation. For beginners or advanced meditators. $10, $5 students/senior citizens/unemployed.

Lunchtime Meditation Class

Oct. 12, noon to 12:30 p.m.

Details: Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Center, 502 W. 3rd St., Davenport. Each class will include an explanation of the benefits of meditation and how to do a breathing meditation followed by a guided breathing meditation. There will be chairs and meditation cushions to sit on. No experience necessary. Tea also will be provided with participants welcome to come early or stay after and bring a lunch. $3.

Experience a Taste of Ethiopia

Oct. 12, 6-8 p.m.

Details: Quad-Cities Food Hub, 421 W. River Drive, Davenport. Three entrepreneurs Genet Moraetes, Tigist Anberber and Saba Gebresilassie, originally from Ethiopia, will host this evening featuring food and an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony during which the coffee beans will be roasted, ground and brewed. $270 table of eight, $210 table of six, $70 per couple, $40 individual.

Basic Meditation Class

Oct. 13, noon to 12:30 p.m.

Details: Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Center, 502 W. 3rd St., Davenport. Each class will include an explanation of the benefits of meditation and how to do a breathing meditation followed by a guided breathing meditation. There will be chairs and meditation cushions to sit on. No experience necessary. Tea will be provided and participants are welcome to come early or stay after and bring a lunch. $3.

Gross Anatomy

Oct. 13, 4 p.m.

Details: Davenport Public Library, 6000 Eastern Ave. Participants can learn about the human body through fun (and sometimes disgusting) experiments and demonstrations. Free.

Magical Cooking 101

Oct. 13, 6-7:45 p.m.

Details: Quad-Cities Food Hub, 421 W. River Drive, Davenport. Participants can learn to make Quad-Cities Food Hub versions of favorite Harry Potter inspired dishes. There will be different wands to choose from while baking favorite recipes with instructor Kristin Fairchild. $25.

Buddhism and Meditation Class

Oct. 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Details: Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Center, 502 W. 3rd St., Davenport. Participants can learn about the origins, beliefs and practices of Mahayana Buddhism. Suitable for beginners, no experience needed. Each class will be self-contained and will include teachings, guided meditation and Q&A. $10, $5 students/senior citizens/unemployed, free with class card.

Avoiding Hibernation: How to Stay Healthy in the Winter Season

Oct. 13, 7-8 p.m.

Details: Fresh Blends, 2307 Cumberland Square, Bettendorf. Participants can learn what to go to keep feeling helathy during the winter season. There will be samples of Fresh Blends' favorite items, chair massages and discussions of topics including nutrients, exercise and shoveling form. Free.

Dance Me a Story: Exploring Literature through Ballet

Oct. 15, 2 p.m.

Details: Davenport Public Library, 6000 Eastern Ave. Ballet Quad-Cities will present this fun interactive program for people of all ages that encourages reading through the vehicle of dance. Read the story, turn on the music, grab a costume or come in one and learn the choreography. Free.

Kids Meditation Class

Oct. 16, 11 a.m. to noon

Details: Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Center, 502 W. 3rd St., Davenport. During this class children can learn how to develop harmony, confidence and methods to calm the mind. Each class will feature a short talk, gentle meditation and discussions relevant to everyday experiences. Parents should stay with children for the first class and then can sit in on the kids' class or attend Sunday Meditation Class or relax in the tea room. This class is suitable for children 5-13 years, but children of all ages are welcome. $10 family, $5 per child.

Learn How To Meditate: Sunday Meditation Class

Oct. 16, 11 a.m. to noon

Details: Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Center, 502 W. 3rd St., Davenport. This class will include an explanation of the benefits of meditation and how to do a breathing meditation followed by a guided breathing meditation. Participants can sit in a chair during the class or on a meditation cushion. There will be tea and light snacks after class. $5.

Sitka Salmon Cooking Class

Oct. 16, 5-7 p.m.

Details: Quad-Cities Food Hub, 421 W. River Drive, Davenport. Participants can learn about sustainable seafood choices and how to cook wild Alaskan salmon with Captain Marsh Skeele. A Sitka Salmon tasting will follow the cooking demonstration. $15.
Quad-City anglers won't have to travel far next weekend if they're craving an afternoon of trout fishing.

By next Friday, Prospect Park's pond in Moline and Lake of the Hills at West Lake Park in Davenport will have been stocked with hundreds of rainbow trout.

While Illinois' fall trout season officially opens Saturday, Oct. 15, Prospect Park's two-acre pond on 30th Avenue already has been stocked by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, according to the city of Moline.

At 10:30 a.m. next Friday, the Iowa DNR will release 2,000 trout into Lake of the Hills, one of 17 sites across the state to be stocked this fall.

The program provides parents the prime opportunity to introduce their children to fishing, according to Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau.

"The fish are here, easy to catch and good to eat," he said.

The Iowa DNR suggests beginner anglers use small hooks with nightcrawlers, simple spinners or small bobbers and corn.

In Illinois, the DNR stocks 53 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state with more than 80,000 trout each fall. Anglers must have a valid fishing license and an Inland Trout Stamp, unless they are younger than 16, blind or disabled.

Anyone attempting to harvest trout in Illinois before the legal season begins at 5 a.m. on Oct. 15 will be issued a citation.

In Iowa, anglers also need a valid fishing license and must pay a trout fee to fish for or possess trout. Iowa children 15 and younger can fish with a licensed adult, but they cannot catch more than one fish per day unless they purchase their own trout fee.

Anglers in both states can catch a maximum of five trout per day.

Meanwhile, fly fishermen started catching and releasing on Oct. 1 at nine sites throughout Illinois. The closest fly fishing locations in Illinois are White Pines Forest State Park, about 80 miles northwest of town, and Apple River State Park, about 110 miles north near the Wisconsin border.

Illinois' trout program is funded entirely by those who use the program through the sale of Inland Trout Stamps, which can be purchased online at www.dnr.illinois.gov.

Iowa's trout program is supported by trout fee sales. To learn more information, visit www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Trout-Fishing.
An Eldridge man was given a deferred sentence and four years of probation for a fatal car crash in February that left his back-seat passenger dead.

Bret Matthew Schaefbauer, 19, must comply with the terms of his probation, which includes undergoing drug and alcohol testing, Judge Mary Howes ordered during a nearly 25-minute sentencing hearing in Scott County District Court.

He also must pay $150,000 in restitution to the family of Mitchell L. Hayes, 18, of Davenport.

If Schaefbauer successfully completes his probation, the conviction will not be entered on his record.

Schaefbauer entered an Alford plea in August to one count of homicide by vehicle (reckless driving), a Class C Felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes that prosecutors may have enough evidence to win a conviction.

In exchange for his plea, Assistant Scott County Attorney Patrick McElyea dismissed an additional charge of homicide by vehicle (operating under the influence), a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Around 12:52 a.m. Feb. 7, Schaefbauer was driving his 2014 Chevrolet Cruze on South Buttermilk Road about a half-mile north of Slopertown Road when he drove into the east ditch, striking a culvert, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

The car came to a rest in a field and caught fire.

Schaefbauer and the front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries. Both were wearing a seat belt.

Hayes was not wearing a seat belt, according to the state patrol. He died from his injuries later that day at University Hospitals, Iowa City.

Schaefbauer showed several signs and symptoms of drug impairment, both at the scene and at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport, according to the state patrol.

Investigators obtained a urine sample for testing. The sample tested positive for the presence of a controlled substance, according to the state patrol.

McElyea recommended a five-year term of probation and told Howes that Hayes family did not want Schaefbauer sentenced to prison.

McElyea opposed a deferred sentence, saying that a conviction on Schaefbauer's record is appropriate given the nature of the offense.

His attorney, Douglas Scovil, argued for a deferred judgement, saying that Schaefbauer had a nominal record and that a felony conviction closes a lot of doors in the lives of young people.

In a statement to the court, Schaefbauer said Hayes was his best friend who he saw nearly every day.

Mitch was always welcome in my familys house and vice versa, he said. Knocking was not required. I cant explain how much I miss him every single day, how very sad and sorry I am to Mitchs family for the pain I have caused them.

Schaefbauer said the loss of his friend changed him forever and that I will keep learning how to cope and try to improve my life every time I wake up.

This type of event will never happen again, he said. I will never put myself in this position again.

Howes ruled that a deferred sentence and four-year probation period was appropriate in the case, given Schaefbauers age, lack of criminal history and the seriousness of the case.

Howes said she believed Schaefbauer was remorseful and commended him on his maturity in his statement before the court.

The best way you can, of course, honor Mr. Hayes memory is to be a good person and do good things, she said. Im giving you the maximum opportunity to do that.
As Hurricane Matthew bore down on Floridas east coast Thursday night, two former Quad-City families experiencing their first ever hurricane prepared to weather the storm.

Josh and Mary Benhart, formerly of Moline, and their toddler sons have lived in Orlando since November 2015. They have never been through a hurricane.

The outer bands of Hurricane Matthew were expected to strike the area about 2 a.m. Friday, Mary Benhart said.

We basically prepared for a blizzard and tornado, she said Thursday night. We identified areas in our house to go if the storm gets too bad as there are no basements. We have a cement block house with hurricane steps on the roof so we didn't have to do much there. We cleared everything out of our yard so nothing can blow around. All cars are in the garage. We bought extra bottled water, put containers of water in our freezer to help if we lose power, were keeping all phones charged, charged all laptops as they can charge cellphones if we lose power, and we have a propane grill if we need to cook. We filled up one of our bathtubs in case we need water to flush the toilets.

The cars are filled with gasoline just in case they need to leave, she added. We washed all the laundry in case we need to pack.

Were in central Florida so we shouldn't get much more than an F-2 tornado, Benhart said. We don't have hurricane shutters but we have plans to safely stay away from windows if need be.

If they need to evacuate, she said, they have a cousin who lives near Tampa who will take them in. I work for Wyndham so I can reach out to colleagues if we need it, Benhart said.

Cindy and Jim Gehn have been living in Florida for 18 months. They lived in LeClaire for 12 years before moving to Florida. They moved into their house in Port St. Lucie a year ago.

Matthew was expected to make its presence known about midnight.

They didnt evacuate, but since the storm was raised to a category four storm, Cindy Gehn said, Its a little scarier. Ive been pacing.

Ive been watching the news all day, she said. It will not give us a direct hit; well get the effects. The winds are blowing and its raining.

This is the first hurricane for Cindy and Jim, also.

They picked up some supplies from the store, including more water, and canned soup, Cindy Gehn said. The bread was all gone and the shelves were getting pretty bare.

They put the hurricane shutters on their home and plan to ride out the storm. But just in case both of their vehicles are gassed up, she said.

Jim has an aunt and uncle in Ocala if we need to leave, but right now we feel safe enough to stay, Cindy Gehn said.
JOHNSTON, Iowa  Democratic senatorial candidate Patty Judge said Friday the solving the multi-state issue of water quality likely will have to include a federal regulatory role along with state and local efforts due to the size and cost of addressing the problem for the long term.

Some farm groups and political leaders, like Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, support a voluntary approach to reducing nitrates and phosphates flowing into downstream waterways from farm fields and urban systems, but Judge  a former state ag secretary  said that alone will not solve the problem of deteriorating water quality quickly enough.

The federal government does have a regulatory role and will have in the future, Judge, an Albia Democrat who also served as a state senator and lieutenant governor, said during Fridays taping of Iowa Public Televisions Iowa Press show. She is challenging Iowas six-term GOP Sen. Charles Grassley in the Nov. 8 general election.

I think the days of looking at voluntary compliance are probably very short now and we are at a point where we will have to have some standards and regulations, said Judge, whose family runs a cow-calf operation near Albia.

Our job as legislators is to make sure those are realistic, are something that farms can comply with and still farm and I believe we can do that, she added. We can write standards so that they work for family farmers. But we are going to have to be serious about cleaning up the water.

Judges remarks drew criticism from the Grassley camp.

Its clear that Patty Judge plans to sell Iowa farmers down the river on the issue of water quality, said Grassley Works state director Bob Haus. She advocates unleashing the EPA on Iowas most important industry. This shows just how far from the farm she has gone, and how out of touch she is with agricultural issues."

Judge told reporters after the taping it will require diligent elected officials in Congress to make certain there is a balanced, common sense regulatory approach by federal bureaucrats who have been accused of over-reaching in the process of implementing environmental rules.

On another water-related issue, Judge said if she were a senator, she would be pushing for federal mitigation money so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would proceed with the work needed to protect Cedar Rapids from future flooding problems that resurfaced again this fall after the 2008 disaster.

If I were in the Senate, that mitigation money would be something that I would try to be talking about every day. It is not enough to say that you wrote a letter, that you got a response back from the Corps of Engineers, said Judge, a former state homeland security adviser.

It is imperative that our federal delegation seriously pursue that funding and seriously pursue making certain that Cedar Rapids is able to put those mitigation measures into place. Climate change is real. This flood that we just had could have had devastating effects. We got lucky. We may not get lucky the next time and Cedar Rapids has got to have those measures and we have got to make certain that that happens, she noted.

Judge said problems like water quality, flood mitigation and immigration reform cant be solved with political gridlock and posturing that has gripped Washington for too long. She said she favors a comprehensive reform bill that passed the U.S. Senate two years ago that Grassley opposed before it stalled in the U.S. House.

During Fridays stop at IPTV studios, Judge lamented the fact that she had hoped to debate Grassley face-to-face at the venue but that wont happen now that the senator pulled out of event. Instead, Grassley and Judge are slated to debate Oct. 19 at Morningside College in Sioux City and on Nov. 4 in an WHO radio debate. Judge said Friday she has agreed to the debate being carried live on WHO-TV but has not heard from Grassley if he will accept that modification.
A federal judge has ruled that the owner of a Geneseo, Illinois, excavating company violated the federal Clean Water Act when he dumped thousands of tons of concrete waste into, and on the banks of, the Green River in Henry County.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Sara Darrow came in a case filed four years ago in Rock Island by two nonprofit organizations, Quad-Cities Waterkeeper Inc. and Prairie Rivers Network.

The suit names David Ballegeer, who owns the trucking and excavation company, and his father, Francis, who owns several hundred acres of land adjacent to the Green River where the concrete was placed.

While the environmental groups hailed Darrow's ruling as a great victory, David Ballegeer said the property and concrete rip-rap was inspected prior to the filing of the lawsuit by representatives of both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and both said "we're OK."

And Colona Fire Chief John Swan said it is "very important that the dike on the Ballegeer farm be maintained or even reinforced to protect the residences in the lower streets of Colona" from flooding on the Green River.

The Green River flows about 89 miles from Lee County, Illinois, southwest through Whiteside, Bureau and Henry counties before ending at the Rock River in Colona.

Both Ballegeer and Swan said they wonder whether this ruling could affect the use of concrete slabs as erosion control along streams in general, a widespread practice.

'Pollutants' not allowed without permit

The case arises because the Clean Water Acts prohibits discharge of pollutants into navigable waters without a permit. Because the definition of pollutants includes solid waste, this case came down to whether the concrete represents maintenance of a lawfully constructed levee, which is an exception that is allowed under the Clean Water Act.

Darrow ruled that it did not because the levee was built after 1972 and therefore should have gotten a permit or authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Because it did not, the levee is illegal and, by extension, so is its maintenance, she ruled.

Ballegeer said he has made no decision about a possible appeal.

His attorney, Peter Wenker, said in an email that "the result of this civil lawsuit begs the question of to whom can a local landowner turn for guidance on whether his flood control efforts are in compliance with the Clean Water Act  if not the Army Corps?"

"After 4 years of litigation and hundreds of hours of legal work and factual investigation, the Court does not agree with the findings of the specialized agencies."

A representative of the Corps confirmed that an employee did visit the Ballegeer site on numerous occasions, but could not provide specific documentation on what was found.

Kim Biggs, of the Illinois EPA, was not able to make contact with the inspector on Thursday to make confirmation.

Fire chief worries about levee, Colona

A bench trial to determine penalties in the case is scheduled for Jan. 10.

Swan, the Colona fire chief, is concerned that the penalty could include wholesale removal of the concrete, which would cause further erosion of the creek and undermine the levee that stretches about a mile long.

"I have deep, deep concerns that anything that is going to be destructive of that levee," he said. "People see a picture and it may look bad, but they don't know the good it does. Sometimes rulings aren't in the best interest of the public.

"That levee is the only protection that Colona has. In the '70s before we had the levee, we had three feet of water in Colona and we were taking people out in boats. If we lose that levee we are going to lose those streets. This is a major issue for us."

The levee on the Ballegeer property is the only thing that protects at least 100 homes in lower Colona  7th, 8th and 9th streets  from flooding if the Green River jumps its banks, Swan said.

Kim Knowles, with Prairie Rivers Network in Springfield, said she's hopeful "the ruling will deter other would-be polluters while encouraging our public agencies to uphold the Clean Water Act. We'll also be glad to see the Green River restored."

Kevin Cassidy, lead counsel on the case with Earthrise Law Center in Norwell, Massachusetts, said in a written news release that he looks "forward to the next stage of litigation."

The bench trial will "address how the defendants will have to restore this important public resource and hopefully return it to a condition the people of Illinois can be proud of," he said.

Background of the case

Francis Ballegeer owns several hundred acres of property next to the Green River and some time between 1972, when the Clean Water Act went into effect, and 1976, a previous owner built two earthen berms, or levees, on the property to protect it from flooding, according to the judge's order.

In 1976 the Green River flooded, washing out one of the levees, which the Ballegeers rebuilt, beginning in 1980 and continuing until 1984, enlarging it to the entire river length of the property, the order states.

Sometime in 1985, David Ballegeer began bringing concrete generated by his company down to the property and pushed it onto the banks of the river to shore up the levees. The concrete included was "previously used for ... driveways, garage floors and housing," Darrow wrote. It also included asphalt and rebar, according to the order.

"Over the years, the Ballegeers ... added more concrete at various points along the river and levee in response to flooding, adding brick and concrete slabs at various locations, totaling additions of hundreds of linear feet of concrete and other construction waste. Concrete and rebar ended up in the river, as well as dirt resulting from the creation and maintenance of the levee," according to the order.

The Ballegeers maintain that the concrete and other materials were structurally necessary to maintain the levee and protect property from flooding. "Everybody does this," David Ballegeer said.

Chief Swan worries that this suit "could open the door to hundreds of different lawsuits" because there are many instances throughout the state where broken concrete is used to stem stream erosion, he said.
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, is among 30 former Republican members of Congress pledging not to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The lawmakers released a statement Thursday stating in part that, Sadly, our partys nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we ought to represent in Congress.

The statement went on to say that given the enormous power of the office, every candidate for president must be judged rigorously in assessing whether he or she has the competence, intelligence, knowledge, understanding, empathy, judgement, and temperament necessary to keep America on a safe and steady course. Donald Trump fails on each of those measures, and he has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president.

The statement was circulated by former Oklahoma Rep. Mickey Edwards and former Missouri Rep. Tom Coleman.

Well, basically its our view  and I share it strongly  that Donald Trump not only doesnt have the appropriate background, Leach, a Davenport native, said Thursday from his office at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. That is, Im all for a person with a business background seeking the presidency. But not the way he runs his businesses. Its not the way Iowans run their businesses.

Leach, who served in the House of Representatives from 1977-2007, said that Trump has shown no evidence of seriously studying whats at issue. He has taken a path that Im confounded by because Ive traveled the country, visiting literally every state, giving lectures on stability. You dont pull the country together using the language hes used against minorities, women, and the handicapped. Its not statesmanship.

Leach said he is concerned about Americas role in the world. We are at a very dangerous moment, almost a crossroads, in how we lead the world.

Im not convinced that Hillary Clinton is the perfect candidate, either, and Im not endorsing her, he said.

Leach said he will vote for either a third-party candidate or write in someone.

There are people who fully support Trump, Leach said. I respect the people who support any candidate, he said.

My own view is we have an electorate that is very disheartened about the manipulation going on in American politics, and they feel let down by the political establishment, and I happen to think theyre right, he said.

I think we need to get big money out of political campaigns, he said. There needs to be a movement that might lead to a constitutional amendment that will do away with Citizens United. I think it is the second worst ruling in the history of the Supreme Court.

The reason for people to want change is totally understandable and correct, Leach said. Frankly, the money in politics has led to the principal reason were seeing huge discrepancies in how the well-to-do are doing and how the less well-off are doing. If you look at Trumps economic message it will exacerbate the problem, not narrow the gap.

Leach said what the country needs is a champion of the middle class, and a champion of statesmanship.
Niabai Zoo announced Friday that a 5-year-old male meerkat had to be euthanized this week due to what was described as a rapidly-progressing, rare and unpreventable brain tumor.

Zoo director Lee Jackson said thet animal care staff determined the meerkat was losing neurological functions. Staff had been monitoring and caring for the animal for a few weeks. However, the meerkats quality of life became too bad that the animal was put down.

Sadly, all species can fall prey to disease and systemic issues that, while rare, can take a life, Jackson said. "The meerkat is no exception. These types of tumors impact neurological function and are hereditary.

Care or environment factors are not indicated in studied diagnoses, he added.

The meerkat was part of a trio that arrived at Niabi, located in Coal Valley, in October 2015. It was born at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.

The other two meerkats will remain at the zoo and are not presenting any symptoms of a tumor.

A third meerkat will not be introduced to the group because the animals are territorial and do not accept outsiders, Jackson said.

 Thomas Geyer
"We believe you."

"Were sorry this happened to you."

"This is not your fault."

"You are not alone."

A flier announcing Family Resources Raising Up Against Sexual Violence luncheon on Friday begins with those four statements. Kelly McReynolds, a survivor herself and the events guest speaker, encourages victims to come forward and share their stories.

Sexual violence is everybodys issue, she said. Survivors have nothing to be ashamed of.

McReynolds will present Learning to Live Again: A story of rebuilding after rape. She will share her personal journey as well as perspectives on rape culture in todays society.

In 2009, McReynolds was raped at gunpoint in the middle of the night in her apartment in Clinton. She shared her story last year with the Quad-City Times.

She has since earned a masters degree and now is a sexual assault therapist for Family Resources SafePath program.

I was working on my masters degree to be therapist when I was assaulted, she said. After a few years of going through the healing process I decided to work with survivors. I dont get those triggers anymore. It actually makes me feel complete to work with other survivors.

In 2012, McReynolds began volunteering for Family Resources as a sexual assault advocate. She joined the organizations internship program in 2014 and started on staff as a therapist in 2015.

Survivors she counsels include both men and women. She rarely shares her story during therapy sessions.

Its not about me, she said. Its about them. I get so involved in their stories.

McReynolds, who now lives in Davenport, works a lot with the Scott County Jail inmate population and said the local statistics on sexual assault mirror whats happening nationwide.

She mentioned one statistic thats been widely publicized, that every two minutes in America a woman has been sexually assaulted. In Davenport, police responded to 73 incidents of rape in 2015, a 2.8 percent increase from the year before, according to city statistics.

She finds hope in reporting trends.

I would hope more people are coming forward and arent afraid to talk about it, she said. Maybe they arent feeling as much shame as they used to. I think these numbers have always existed.
For the first time, special training to hone a multi-disciplinary and caring approach to sexual assault victims took place Thursday in Rock Island.

The Illinois SANE, or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner training, was offered free of charge at Trinity Rock Island. Attending the session were emergency department nurses, victim and child advocates and members of the military.

"We are hoping to improve the response to victims," Brittney Delp said. Delp is with SafePath Survivor Resources, from Family Resources in Davenport, and is part of an outreach effort that responds to every sexual assault in the region that is reported to the agency.

"With this training, we'll have more people on board who are educated and know how to respond to victims of sexual violence," she said.

The event was provided through the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

One continuing problem in sexual assault cases is diverse reactions on the part of responders, Amy Mundisev, Trinity's SANE coordinator, said.

In some instances, the workers stay in their own space, somewhat isolated as they work with a victim. For example, Mundisev said, a nurse will focus on patient care, while a police officer wants to find the perpetrator and the judiciary, on appropriate justice.

The idea with the training is to teach each group about common responses, so the end result is a team approach. "We want them to work better together," Mundisev said.

The goal is to achieve improved outcomes for the patients. This starts, she said, with believing what the victim says has happened, and to use the Golden Rule ("do unto others as you would have them do unto you,") in the approach.

Emergency medicine nurses from Sterling, Illinois, were among those attending the training session. Jouquenia Johnson and Courtney Doty, who work in a new emergency department at CGH Medical Center in Sterling, appreciated the information they learned during the training.

"I think this is a great way to help us, in our jobs," Johnson said.

Delp, with SafePath, said some of those who respond to sexual assault victims are well trained, "others not so much."

The change to believe and to trust the word of victims is a "cultural shift," she said, and takes time and continued efforts.

In the afternoon session, attendees learned about evidence kits, and how to approach evidence collection. "Remind yourself of your role," Jaclyn Jackson said, noting that when she uses the kit, she tells herself it's a service to the patient, but not the sole purpose of her work.

Jackson is the SANE coordinator for crime victim services at the Illinois Attorney General's office in Chicago.

One in four girls, and one in six boys, can expect to be assaulted before they are 18 years old, Delp said.
Donald Trump continues to call the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) the "worst trade deal in history." Trump claims NAFTA has resulted in massive job losses from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico and blames Bill Clinton for signing NAFTA into law. Here are the facts:

The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. President George H. W. Bush, the Canadian prime minister, and the Mexican president negotiated NAFTA terms, and signed the agreement on Dec. 17, 1992. Bush worked to fast track NAFTA through Congress prior to the end of his term, but ran out of time.

The House passed NAFTA on Nov. 17, 1993, 234-200; 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats in favor. The Senate passed NAFTA on Nov. 20, 1993, 61-38; 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats in favor. Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into law on Dec. 8, 1993.

In a 2012 survey of leading economists, 95 percent supported that on average, U.S. citizens benefited from NAFTA. In 2015, the Congressional Research Service concluded the "net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest.

Trump is correct that Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into law. However, the NAFTA terms were negotiated and approved by the Bush administration, and was ratified with Congressional bipartisan support. According to economic experts, Trump is incorrect when he claims NAFTA has had an adverse impact on the U.S. economy.

I encourage everyone to vote, but check the facts before you vote.

Richard Patterson

Hampton
SPRINGFIELD  K.L. Cleeton, a 27-year-old Effingham resident who is paralyzed from the neck down due to spinal muscular atrophy, has an invitation for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Department of Human Services officials who want to cap the hours his parents are paid to provide in-home care for him.

Come down to Effingham, my hometown, and see what a day in the life is like with me, Cleeton said Thursday during a hearing in Springfield on the departments proposal to limit personal assistants paid through its home services program to working 40 hours per week.

The department implemented the policy in May in response to a U.S. Department of Labor ruling that said home care workers must earn time-and-a-half overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. But the Rauner administration put the policy on hold in August just as a union representing 25,000 home care workers was readying to file a class-action lawsuit challenging it.

The administration is now seeking to implement the policy through the General Assemblys bipartisan House and Senate committee in charge of approving such rules. The Thursday hearing in Springfield followed one held Monday in Chicago.

The departments proposed rules would require clients in the home services program to hire enough personal assistants to cover the hours of care they need each week without requiring overtime. Any personal assistant who works more than 40 hours in a week would be required to submit written justification to the department for approval, and anyone who works unapproved overtime three times would be barred from being paid through the program.

Vivian Anderson, who oversees the program for the Department of Human Services, said the proposal is about saving the state money and making sure clients are receiving high-quality care from providers who arent overworked.

Working an excessive amount of hours is not good public policy, Anderson said in an interview last week.

Cleeton, one of several clients who testified at the Springfield hearing, said he needs help around the clock with every aspect of daily life, from eating, which is difficult because he has trouble swallowing, to scratching an itch. His needs go well beyond the combined 80 hours per week that his parents, Ken and Lillie, would be allowed to work under the departments proposed rules.

But Cleeton said he and his parents have developed a system over the years that works well for them, one thats allowed him to graduate from the University of Illinois with a degree in advertising and start his own video production business. He doesnt want to have to hire a stranger to help with the intimate aspects of his care.

Really, what this comes down to is freedom of choice and independence, Cleeton said.

Clients like Cleeton and their caregivers arent the only ones raising concerns about the proposal.

Ann Ford is executive director of the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living. The 22 centers across Illinois have contracts with the state to train clients and caregivers in the home services program.

We feel that the cap thats been placed on overtime is very inflexible, Ford said before the hearing. We feel the exceptions are limited and very hard to achieve, and we feel that the consequences that are built in are pretty punitive.

Fords organization isnt alone in that assessment.

The federal Labor Department sent a letter to the state noting its significant concerns with the proposal. Among those concerns, according to the letter, is the lack of a robust exceptions policy, which could result in workers providing off-the-clock care in violation of federal law.

Without an appropriate exceptions policy, it is likely that either employees who care for vulnerable individuals will feel that they have no choice but to work uncompensated hours  or consumers will be left without adequate assistance, the letter states. Neither outcome is acceptable or necessary.

The department now has time to respond to the public comments before submitting its final proposal to the Legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for its OK.

Anderson said the department appreciates the feedback it has received and will consider tweaks to the policy because no proposal is perfect.

However, she added, I think it is pretty close to perfect.

The policy may run into another roadblock if it makes it through the rulemaking process.

The Illinois Labor Relations Board on Sept. 29 called for a hearing on whether the department violated labor law by implementing the rules without first negotiating with the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, which represents workers in the home services program.
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Being  just existing  as a woman on TV has never been easy.

After Mary Tyler Moores Mary Richards tossed her hat in the air with the glee of a happy and innocent child, she still had to convince her boss and co-workers to take her seriously on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She seemed pretty content with being single, until people badgered her about why she was still single.

Today, it should be easier, right? Weve moved beyond stereotypes about the roles women should play. Successful TV executive Liz Lemon (of 30 Rock) may have had a mess of a personal life, but she never felt as if she had to explain herself.

But the television landscape is still cluttered with single gals who just cant get it together. New Girl, Girls, 2 Broke Girls, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mom and any other show with a single female character mines the rich and endless well of pressure and expectation society holds in store. Whether its work, love, even just how they look, implicit standards are at play.

Add to the mix Insecure, a new HBO show whose title sums up how most women might feel several times a day. Insecure comes from Issa Rae, creator of the hugely popular Web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (and author of a memoir of the same name), and Larry Wilmore, host and creator of the dearly departed The Nightly Show. Raes series takes on all of the typical issues youd expect a show about a single woman, and adds to them a layer of racial awareness that is both refreshing and illuminating for a medium whose stories often skew monochromatic.

Rae plays Issa Dee, a 29-year-old woman whose life is in need of a bit more direction. At the nonprofit where she works, shes the only black person, so of course her co-workers defer to her for knowledge about the population they are serving  kids who, well, look more like her than them. At home, her long-term boyfriend has a solid relationship with the couch and the TV remote; and her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji), an attorney who seems to have no trouble with men, is fretting about a lonely, single future.

Issa is looking to be more confident when in situations where a strong voice would eliminate the awkwardness that seems to lurk in every shadow. In front of her bathroom mirror, though, she is anything but insecure, practicing rhymes and trying out witticisms to use when the moment arises. Sometimes she finds the strength to step up, sometimes she dances into the shadows, but she perseveres with grace, humor and a bawdy frankness that takes Sex and the City up a notch.

Insecure premieres at 9:30 p.m. Sunday on HBO.

Speaking of Sex and the City

Sarah Jessica Parker returns to the network she called home more than a decade ago as one-half of a couple whose marriage is dissolving in Divorce, a new comedy on HBO. Parker plays Frances and Thomas Haden Church is Robert; together they discover that splitting up, regardless of how committed they might be to making a clean break, is neither quick nor easy. The show follows as their breakup affects their children, their friends and themselves in ways they hadnt anticipated. Divorce premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.

Up, up, and away

After settling in to a chaotic but productive life on Earth, Supergirl has made another move: She joins The Flash, Arrow and other heroes of DC Comics on The CW, beginning Monday. And when her cousin, Clark Kent, aka Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), shows up to help fight the latest threat to National City, its a family affair. Supergirl returns at 7 p.m. Monday on CW.

What else is new?

In addition to the premiere of Supergirl, the week has a handful of other season kick-offs. 2 Broke Girls reboots with two new episodes at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Monday on CBS. The Middle moves to Tuesdays this week, premiering at 7 p.m., followed by new show American Housewife at 7:30 p.m., Fresh Off the Boat at 8 p.m., and The Real ONeals at 8:30 p.m., all on ABC; and Chicago Fire returns Tuesday at 9 p.m. on NBC. DCs Legends of Tomorrow premieres at 7 p.m. Thursday, followed by the premiere of Supernatural at 8 p.m., on CW.
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After nearly a decade of giving grants and heaping on praise, the National Endowment for the Arts will give another gift to the First Peoples Fund with the return this weekend of recordings of Lakota songs and speeches made in the 1890s.

The late 19th century recordings were made on wax cylinders, and the 1940s recordings were made on acetate discs. They have been archived at the American Folk Life Center at the Library of Congress, and now two sets of digital copies, as well as field notes and translations, will be returned to the Lakota people.

The materials will be handed over at a ceremony by at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center during the Lakota Dakota Nakota Language Summit, billed as "Tuseca Tiospaye." The ceremony will see recordings of Lakota songs and speech accepted by representatives from Oglala Lakota College.

Giving added weight to the return of the recordings will be the presence of Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who will be in Rapid City for the repatriation of the recordings and also to attend the First Peoples Fund's Community Spirit Awards on Saturday.

"It's meaningful because we're giving back the originals, something that was theirs," Chu said. "We've digitized the audio at no cost to the Oglala Lakota, and we're really appreciative to be able to give them back."

That sentiment was echoed by Tawa Ducheneaux, an archivist at Oglala Lakota College.

"It's very important that federal agencies have recognized the value of partnering and collaborating with tribal nations to repatriate materials that have the most meaning by being able to be accessed locally," Ducheneaux said. "We feel it's fitting that this happen with an audience of language speakers, linguists and preservationists."

Chu said she is excited to be meeting with local Native Americans and to meet people involved with the First Peoples Fund.

"I'd known about the First Peoples Fund prior to being at the NEA," Chu said. "I'm very excited about going to visit them. It's been a grantee for a number of years, so it's great to be able to see firsthand the great work they're doing."

The endowment for the arts is an independent agency of the United States government that supports and funds important artistic projects across the country. Chu is the 11th chairperson, having taken the position in June 2014, and has a background of philanthropy, business, and arts administration, and is also a trained pianist.

The organization has supported the First Peoples Fund since 2007, awarding nine grants totaling $270,000 over nine years. This year it gave $60,000 to support the Community Spirit Awards ceremony and Rolling Rez workshops. Chu's attendance will mark the first time an endowment chairperson will be present for the awards.

"We're very appreciative of being invited and being able to participate," Chu said.

Chu added that part of the NEA's mission has been to be able to honor different traditions and heritage as it relates to arts and culture.

"That's very important to us, because that's what America's all about," Chu said. "The Community Spirit Awards are about the power that arts and culture has to honor tradition and heritage. That's very critical to who we are."

The Community Spirit Awards, which take place Saturday evening at the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City, 601 Columbus St., will honor seven Native American artists from across the country who selflessly weave their talents and knowledge into their communities.

Chu said she felt the awards were an important way to honor Native American artists that also shows the importance of art in a community.

"As far as I'm concerned, arts help people understand themselves, and that's what's happening here," Chu said. "From clothing to bead work to dancers, it's part of making Native cultures tangible and visible. It means that these artists are culture bearers, and this is an opportunity to shine light on them."

Chu, the awards recipients and other endowment representatives will tour Pine Ridge on Sunday morning, with a visit to the Oglala Lakota College Historical Center planned.

Chu said she looked forward to traveling to "this beautiful part of the country" and meeting new people, and that she viewed the arts as another vocabulary, something that transcended everyday conversation.

"The arts have an ability to bring us together, to show us that we're not forced to be alike, but that we can honor the ways we're different and celebrate it," Chu said.
A Pine Ridge man was arrested after authorities say he tried to shoot another man in Rapid City on Wednesday.

Rapid City police say a witness saw Shane Bordeaux, 26, fire several rounds at a house in the 900 block of Lemmon Avenue at about 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The male subject, who was not identified, told police that Bordeaux was trying to shoot him. He was not hurt.

Police say they identified the suspect as Bordeaux, and found him walking in the area of Anamosa and Midway streets. When police ordered Bordeaux to stop, he reportedly pulled a liquor bottle from his pocket and drank what was left, before sitting down.

Police say they found a concealed .22 caliber pistol on Bordeaux. He has been charged with aggravated assault, concealed firearm without a permit, commission of a felony with a firearm, possession of a firearm by former violent offender, possession of a firearm while intoxicated, consuming in public and a probation hold.
The state Board of Regents on Thursday set its financial priorities for the upcoming year, including a call for $9 million in new aid for student tuition and about $113 million to expand research facilities at four campuses.

The priorities list will now be forwarded to Gov. Dennis Daugaard in the hope he would ask the Legislature in 2017 for the additional money.

The student affordability plan would cost a total of $9.2 million and its top priority is for nearly $4.5 million of tuition aid for South Dakota residents who attend the state universities. That would be followed by nearly $2 million of aid for non-residents, and nearly $1.5 million for students who take online courses.

The fourth component would be some $500,000 of additional aid for Northern State University in Aberdeen and Black Hills State University at Spearfish for student recruitment and retention efforts.

The four universities that have major research efforts underway received approval from the regents to move ahead on preliminary facility statements for the research buildings.

Daugaard plans to recommend the Legislature financially support the research construction plan and if necessary the work could be done in phases as plans and private money come together.

He wants the projects to have 50 percent private financial support, according to regents official Nathan Lukkes. That would mean at least $57 million in private funding.

The projects call for:

 A $20 million advanced-materials laboratory at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City;

 An $18 million cyber-security laboratory at Dakota State University in Madison;

 A $61.4 million renovation and expansion of the animal disease research and diagnostic laboratory at South Dakota State University in Brookings;

 and a $14 million expansion of a bio-technology wing at the present GEAR research building on the University Center campus operated in Sioux Falls by the University of South Dakota.

Regent Kevin Schieffer of Sioux Falls said Thursday the consensus among the regents was all four projects are good but Dakota States MadLabs cyber-security project might be the most important and take first priority because there is support clearly in place from the federal government and from private businesses.

The priority list, as approved by the regents, for the governor has Dakota States laboratory at the top, followed by the School of Mines laboratory, the SDSU animal laboratory and the USD research wing addition.

However, regents president Randy Schaefer of Madison noted the board strongly supports the Brookings animal laboratory independently of the other three and hopes it goes ahead at its own pace.

A major addition would be built to the current lab and the existing space then would be upgraded.

The governor and livestock industry representatives are working on the SDSU funding package that SDSU president Barry Dunn said wont involve any student fees.

All of these projects together would be a transformative event for South Dakota, Schieffer said. Im very hopeful that is still possible.

The Mines project would be located on a piece of recently cleared land west of the campus that formerly held the Imperial Hotel. The site, on the north side of St. Joseph Street between First and Second streets in east downtown Rapid City, was donated to the college by local businessman Ray Hillenbrand, Mines President Heather Wilson said on Wednesday.

Regent Katharine Johnson of Hill City said ideally they all could move forward. Were hoping they can all advance on their own simultaneously, Johnson said.

The regents agreed to delay a contentious decision until their December meeting on Northern State's request to add a math and science center to the regents' 10-year construction plan.

The earliest sufficient state bond capacity would become available could be 2024 or 2030. The building doesn't have a cost estimate yet. That planning work is under way.

Mines president Wilson argued against adding the project. But Regent Harvey Jewett of Aberdeen said Northern State hasn't received a new academic building in some 50 years.

Jewett pushed for the science center to be added because of a $15 million donation that has been promised and a debt-free loan is available that could be used until there is state bonding available. Jewett didn't identify the donor or donors.
SPEARFISH | In the wake of this weeks tiger attack at the Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Thursday revoked the preserves exhibitor license and agreed not to pursue further enforcement action.

Because the facilitys license has been revoked as of Oct. 5, we will no longer be looking into the incident that occurred on Oct. 3, stated USDA spokeswoman Tanya Espinosa, referring to Monday nights tiger attack that left the sanctuarys director hospitalized and the tiger dead of a sheriff's gunshot. We will issue an exemption for the facility to sell any animals that it currently has.

USDA inspectors visited the compound west of Spearfish last week and found issues that warranted removal of more than a dozen large animals.

Sanctuary director Michael Welchynski was mauled by a tiger that escaped its enclosure shortly before midnight Monday, prompting a Lawrence County Sheriffs deputy to shoot and kill the tiger. The USDA and the Ohio Department of Agriculture transferred 18 animals to a USDA-licensed facility in Colorado on Tuesday morning.

Those animals included 10 big cats, seven bears and one wolf-hybrid, according to Espinosa.

On Wednesday, the sanctuary announced it was closing for a period of restructuring. While declining to comment specifically on its settlement agreement with the USDA, the sanctuary on Thursday added further details in a prepared release.

Animals are being relocated to several other sanctuaries, but the domestic animals will remain at the Spearfish Sanctuary, where they are being cared for on their regular schedules, the release stated. Closure of the housing facility is automatic anywhere in the country when there has been an animal attack.

The sanctuary also indicated that staffing and funding challenges had led to the issues that were found by USDA inspectors, and noted that its director was on the mend.

Due to the constant arrival of new animals in need, the rural location of the Spearfish sanctuary does not provide sufficient funding for the number of staff needed, and the countrys general economic stagnation has affected many larger donors and granting organizations, the release stated. At no time, however, were any of the animals at Spirit of the Hills neglected or given insufficient food."

Sanctuary officials said Welchynski is recovering, and thanked its supporters.

"The sanctuary board is moving ahead with restructuring and is very grateful for the continuing support of many area individuals and volunteers, the group said.
Bills on status of convicted mothers in Russian prisons enter State Duma

Context Government commission approves bills on status of convicted mothers in Russian prisons

MOSCOW, October 7 (RAPSI)  Bills aimed to improve the status of convicted mothers in Russian prisons have been filed with the State Duma, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

Earlier the Government Commission for Legislative Drafting Activities has approved the bills in question.

Currently, courts may set aside a real prison sentence for expectant mothers, women who have children aged up to 14 years and single dads, until their child reaches the age of 14. Under the bills, courts would be entitled to delay service of sentence not only at the stage of its execution but at the stage of delivering judgment.

Bills would also allow transfer of convicted pregnant women only if there is a corresponding medical report and in the company of a healthcare worker if it is necessary.

Draft laws propose to accord certain convicts permission to live and work outside of a penal colony under surveillance of its administration six months before the end of the term.

Moreover, convicted women, who have a child aged up to 14 years or a disabled child, as well as single fathers would gain the right to four meetings with their children per year outside the territory of prison. This right would not apply to people convicted of crimes against minors.
The 19th Annual Report to the Community Luncheon will be held Friday, Oct. 14, at noon at Hamilton City Hall.

This years speakers include Celia Winkler, a University of Montana sociologist who will discuss the economic well-being of women in Montana. Diana Garrett, Supervising Attorney for the Montana Legal Services Associations Domestic Violence Practice Group will also speak, as well as Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman. Annual statistics and reports will be given. The 17th Annual Courage Award will be presented.
The Ravalli County Commission wants the federal agency charged with controlling predators to step up its efforts to manage those animals through both lethal and non-lethal ways.

On Thursday, the commission agreed to send a letter supporting the federal Wildlife Services preferred alternative in its Predator Damage and Conflict Management in Montana environmental assessment.

The preferred alternative supports the agencys current management of mountain lions, bears, coyotes, red fox and ravens.

The agency did a separate environmental analysis on wolves.

In its comment letter, the commission said Ravalli County has been negatively impacted by predators and would support an increase in efforts to control the animals.

Predators have been directly responsible for loss of livestock, pets and other agricultural animals and products, the commissions draft letter read. Predators also pose a threat to human health and safety.

The commission said abundant predator populations were negatively impacting ungulate populations on national forest lands and driving deer and elk onto private property on the valley floor.

The migration of wildlife off of public lands is impacting tourism dollars from hunters, damaging croplands of private landowners and causing more vehicle collisions with wildlife, the commissions letter said.

John Steuber, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service, said that agency doesnt do a lot of work in Ravalli County.

With 15,800 cows and 1,360 sheep, Steuber said Ravalli County isnt considered a big livestock county.

In Montana, Wildlife Services focuses its efforts on livestock depredations.

We are entirely focused on livestock, Steuber said. We have not been requested to protect wildlife in Montana.

In Montana, livestock producers can receive compensation for animals killed by wolves or grizzly bears. There is no compensation for animals killed by mountain lions, coyotes or black bears.

We answer any calls from livestock producers for assistance, Steuber said. If, for instance, a livestock producer thought a calf was killed by a mountain lion, our guys would do a necropsy to see if it was actually killed by a predator or just fed uponwe have to be get there fairly soon to be able to determine that.

Wildlife Services does not go into an area with the idea to simply reduce predator populations, he said.

We go out there to target individual animals killing livestock, he said.

At this point, Steuber said its not clear how the proposed I-177 to ban trapping on public lands would impact Wildlife Services if it is approved.

Wildlife Services does trap predators on state and federal lands.

We set up signs and let people know we are in the area, Steuber said. If it passes, I assume we would get together with Fish, Wildlife and Parks to get the states interpretation of what it exactly it means for us and then we would follow that law.
The Bitterroot Cares for Kids Network is starting support programming as a follow-up to their August conference on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) ACEs in the Bitterroot.

The conference was on identifying, preventing and alleviating the consequences of childhood abuse and neglect.

The first support programming is a book-club type of discussion group that meets from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays Oct. 12  Nov. 16.

The conference in August talked about a simple on-line test that helps people focus on their current mental health by asking questions about their past. The ACEs test asks 10 questions that are scored on a scale from 0 to 10.

Faylee Favara, prevention program manager for Western Montana Addictions Services, said the goal of the test is to help people live healthier, happier lives but warns that it can be life-altering.

We want people to be informed and be aware but we also want people to respect their health, Favara said. If you decide to do the ACEs test, one thing we suggest is to prepare yourself because you may learn some things that are unsettling. If you do the scale, you might want to look for outside support, research and learn more and it creates awareness, it might open some old wounds.

The book discussion group will examine a series of books about how the community can embrace protective factors. The first book the group will discuss Dr. Anthony Biglans The Nurture Effect, How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives & Our World.

The first book does not say the word ACE, Favara said. But he has remarkable things in there about what communities, schools and anybody can do to develop an environment where people are healthy and happy. It does talk about why people are unhealthy and what we can do to remedy that.

Kris Bayer, who also runs the Socrates think tank in the Bitterroot Public Library, will lead the book discussion groups.

She is a wonderful person in the community and is helping us by hosting, Favara said. We ask for a $20 donation if at all possible to cover some costs, but the discussion group is open to anyone.

The six-week series will have a variety of books and attendees will get the full list including the book Childhood Disrupted and a book by Michael Trainer who rated a zero on the ACEs scale and raised a zero family.

Favara said the ACEs test is not a new concept but a study done by Kaiser Permanente, from 1995 to 1997, where 17,000 middle-age Americans took the 10-question survey.

They discovered how high they rated on the scale and their current life conditions, Favara said. Smokers were high on the scale, as were obese, diabetes, heart troubles, lung problems, they found people high on the scale were living with these conditions. When you really look at the study, it really puts into perspective how important where we came from is to our health and well-being.

The Bitterroot Cares for Kids Network book discussion group meets from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Oct. 12  Nov. 16, at 209 N. 10th in Hamilton. The Bitterroot Cares for Kids Network is community members and non-profit organizations working together to help kids and families thrive.

For more information, contact Bitterroot Cares for Kids Network at bcaresforkids@gmail.com or 406-532-9149.
Brenda Kofoid said she knew her 3-year-old son, Merrick, struggled with speech and small movements but did not know how to help him.

He was attending Darby Little Tiger Learning Center daycare when owner Stacie Rennaker suggested she bring him to a Bitterroot Valley Early Childhood Screening.

She did.

I felt he was a little behind but I didnt understand how far, Kofoid said. He would talk but you couldnt understand half of what he said. It was all a lot of gibberish. We couldnt understand what he wanted so hed get frustrated and quit talking.

Kofoid said Merrick also struggled with playing with other children.

Bitterroot Valley Early Childhood specialists and school personnel screen 3 to 5 year olds for speech and language, motor skills, social skills and school readiness.

They tested him and found there were quite a few spots where he was a year behind, Kofoid said. That is when he started with speech therapy and the fine motor skills therapy.

BVEC staff developed a Preschool Individualized Educational Plan for Merrick. It included speech and language therapy, school readiness instruction, social skill development and fine motor skills treatment.

Kofoid said he has made great progress in the therapies.

We can understand what he says, he makes more sense now and he talks a lot more than he did, she said. His fine motor skills have improved quite a bit. He can feed himself now and he doesnt make as big of a mess when hes feeding himself.

Kofoid said a special change has been Merricks interaction with other children.

Before he didnt know how to interact with other kids and now he does, she said. He can play with other kids.

Kofoid said she is excited with the progress that her son has made and plans to have her son attend the screening again this year. Merrick will continue the therapy that is preparing him to be successful in school as he attends kindergarten next year.

We will screen him again just to make sure hes made progress, which we know he has, Kofoid said. This way they will have it on their records that he was screened again and it shows his progress from last year.

Tobie Fisher, special education teacher, said early childhood screening is important.

Young children can be identified early and supports can be put into place to better facilitate their learning, Fisher said.

BVEC Speech Therapist Terese Athman said, I firmly believe in early intervention, as students who cannot be understood will often act out in various ways.

Children will demonstrate their frustration with not being able to communicate via behaviors ranging from withdrawal to physical aggression or outbursts, Athman said. The child has information to share, wants to express and becomes confused or angry when not understood.

Athman said early intervention is an opportunity to enter the childs world and begin communication.

Often I will understand a word or two of what the child is saying from the context of the situation and will repeat those one or two words back to him; the young childs eyes light up upon being understood and our therapy and therapeutic relationship has begun, she said.

Athmans method of repeating the understandable words back to the child is shared with parents and staff. She said that once communication starts to blossom the concerning behaviors that were the childs means of coping, decrease.

The sooner we can enter the childs domain and initiate therapy, the less time the child has to suffer with the frustration and confusion of being unable to communicate, which supports the child in development of better self-esteem and self-confidence, supporting that child for a life-time, Athman said.

Tim Miller, director of the Bitterroot Valley Education Cooperative, said people can their children to an early childhood screening if they have questions about their childs development.

Children between birth and 6 years old are invited to attend a free screening.

Parents should consider the screening especially if their children have trouble making eye-contact; learning to talk or speak clearly; walking, running or climbing; learning colors, shapes or letters; playing with other children; using their hands to play, dress or feed themselves; following directions or have medical issues. Bitterroot Valley Early Childhood Screening is available in Ravalli County communities, Oct. 25  Nov. 2. Walk-ins are accepted but appointments are preferred. Screenings are available at the Florence-Carlton administration office - 3-6 p.m., Oct. 25 (call 273-6741 for an appointment); Stevensville Middle School - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 26 (777-5613); Victor School lunchroom - 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 27 (642-3221); Hamilton - Washington Elementary School - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 28 (363-2144); Pinesdale School - 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 1 (961-3055); Corvallis Primary School - 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. (961-3261); and Darby Elementary School - 9 a.m. to noon, Nov. 2 (821-3643). Families from Lone Rock are welcome at any site.

Kofoid said early childhood screening is important.

Its a good thing, she said. Its a good way to get answers especially if youre comparing your kids to other kids and are saying my kid is not doing that yet. I recommend doing it even if you dont feel that way just to make sure theyre developing the way they should be.
Its election season and the health of Montanas economy is at the forefront of debate. How our state ranks nationally in unemployment, entrepreneurship, and overall tax climate are assets in attracting opportunity to the Big Sky. However, not all of our rankings are favorable, and your local hospital is committed to improving one in particular: the health of our citizens.

Montana barely ranks in the top half of the U.S. when it comes to population health, according to Americas Health Rankings. To improve this status, the Montana Hospital Association (MHA) launched the MHA Montana Health Improvement Initiative (MMHII). Our goal is to create healthier communities and ultimately a healthier state of Montana by supporting hospitals and health systems in their efforts to transform the way care is delivered.

As a statewide membership association of hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health, hospice and other critical service providers, MHA is uniquely positioned to support the advancement of population health by strategically selecting priority areas that can be dramatically improved through state and community partnerships.

Over the past year, MHA has engaged in extensive collaboration with health experts from a variety of settings to identify the key issues that may have the greatest impact in improving the health status of our state. Taking into consideration community health needs assessments and the value of partnering with members localized efforts, the 2016 MMHII priority health focus areas have been defined as: increasing access to health care; increasing child and adolescent immunizations; decreasing the prevalence of obesity; and decreasing premature deaths linked to motor vehicle injury, suicide and other lifestyle factors.

To make meaningful improvements in the established priority areas, MHA has launched a preliminary plan that includes 2017 legislative efforts and support for new programs and best practices for health care providers and the patients they serve. The plan includes, among other actions, securing graduate medical education (GME) funding for rural residencies; advocating for full scope of practice for physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs); promoting provider adoption of federally recommended immunization schedules and statewide reporting; supporting a statewide primary seat belt law; and promoting healthy food programs, physical education and classroom behavior management methods in schools. The priorities and directives will evolve over time as the initiative advances. To stay current on our progress, visit the MHA website at www.mtha.org.

The MMHII vision is a healthier Montana by 2020. With active community support, we can make Montana a Top 10 Healthy State that supports continued economic development, business recruitment and access to quality health care.

Dick Brown, President/CEO of the

Montana Hospital Association
Comments and links to reports on science, and its applications.
America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
MAHOTTARI, Oct 7: In an unprecedented event of its kind, a Maithali woman in Dhanusha has lit the funeral pyre of her husband by discarding an age-old Hindu tradition and establishing a new precedent in a patriarchal society.

Gulebiya Devi, 65, of Laxminiwas of Mithila Municipality  8 fulfilled her husband's last wish and lit his funeral pyre while also entering into the 13-day ritual of mourning known as Kriya, which follows the cremation of the dead body.

Gulebiya Devi lit the funeral pyre of her husband, Dhaneshwor Mahato, who died at 70 years of age. They have two sons, three daughters and grandchildren. Gulebiya Devi also practiced the 'Sradha Sanskara' for liberation and easy passage to heaven for her dead husband's soul.

Dhaneshwor had been suffering from asthma for the last 15 years and before taking his last breath, he made a public appeal before his wife to perform his last rites, which is a right explicitly reserved for the eldest son in a Hindu community.

"Of my two sons, Ram Babu, the eldest is in Qatar for migrant work while Birendra, the youngest, is in Malaysia," Gulebiya said.

Gulebiya said she was compelled to take the step as her two sons were not allowed to take leave by their companies.

Local teacher, Jageshwor Mahato, said that Gulebiya Devi was given the right to perform the last rites and lit the funeral pyre after an extensive discussion in the community. RSS
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The Indian Express

Rashtra Raksha Yagna: 21 apatriotic Brahminsa to pray today for troops on border

Rajasthan govt adds spiritual line of defence with Rashtra Raksha Yagna.

Written by Mahim Pratap Singh | Jaipur | Published:October 6, 2016 4:22 am

AS THE Centre works on a roadmap after the surgical strikes, the BJP government in Rajasthan is adding a spiritual line of defence.

On instructions from Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy will organise a grand aRashtra Raksha Yagnaa at Shri Mateshwari Tanot Rai temple near the Indo-Pak border on Thursday, to aprotect troops from the enemya . It will be conducted by 21 apatriotic Brahminsa .

Raje will be attending the yagna at the temple located in Jaisalmer a the last along the India-Pakistan frontier here a and is expected to be accompanied by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Apart from the yagna, the Academy has already started special ritual chanting of hymns at 26 Ved Vidyalayas run by it across the state for the troops and for world peace, and this will continue through Navratra. The 500-plus students and staff of the Academy are participating in the chanting.

A statement issued by the Chief Ministeras Office said Raje will perform the special pooja at the temple in order to boost the morale of troops stationed along the border. aIt will also protect the people living along the border, since the longest part of Indiaas border with Pakistan (1,040 km) falls in Rajasthan.a

Confirming the aMahayagnaa , Academy Director Rajendra Tiwari told The Indian Express on the way to the temple, aThe Chief Minister will participate and, as of now, the Union Home Minister is also scheduled to attend.a

aOur ancient texts contain a treasure of hymns and rituals that have a bearing on cosmic energy. These hymns can be used to consolidate and direct this energy to achieve specific ends. So we thought of using these hymns to provide energy to our soldiers and enhance their power and protect them from the enemy,a Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy chairperson Jaya Dave said.

Asked how they chose the arashtrabhakt Brahminsa , she said, aThe Brahmins are organically associated with the Academy. They are part of several organisations or associations provided financial assistance by us. We chose these people based on their capability to hold this special Rashtra Raksha Yagna.a

Dave said Brahmins holding prayers for soldiers was part of aour Sanatan Paramparaa . aEarlier too, when Kshatriyas fought wars, Brahmins performed such ceremonies to protect them. The message that the government wants to send out is that everyone should come together in support of our country and our forces. Our military capabilities should be visible to everyone.a

The chairperson said Raje had opted for the mahayagna as well as the chanting of hymns based on advice by religious leaders. aWe teach these hymns to students as part of our five-year course. So this will allow them to practise their skills while also helping our soldiers.a

The Academy has also organised special recitations of Durga Saptashati to address the tense situation along the border.

During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the Tanot Rai temple was hit by several mortar shells fired by Pakistanis. None of those shells exploded, which has become part of the temple legend.
The Santa Maria Public Airport is working on a plan it will use to fly into the airports future -- the official master plan that will detail 
Before you decide to get your Volkswagen suspension repair in Dubai, it is important to understand what it is. There are many types of repairs to choose from. Some of Continue Reading
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The gentlemen of Dolores Park's Gay Beach can pee easy today following a San Francisco Superior Court judge's ruling that the barely controversial pissoir can remain perched atop the southwest corner of the park. Mission Local reports that Judge Harold Kahn rejected the claim of an anti-gay group suing the city, saying the pissoir didn't break any of the laws the suit alleged.

Plaintiffs have failed to allege any claim for which they would be entitled to the relief they seek, wrote the judge.

The plaintiffs, Mission Local explains, are actually the San Francisco Chinese Christian Union. However, the law firm bringing the suit on the SFCCU's behalf is the Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute. The Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed the PJI an "active anti-LGBT group," which only partially helps to explain why a law firm might get upset about men peeing outside in a designated area.

"It's a human regression of mankind," Frank Lee of the Pacific Justice Institute told the LA Times back in February when the group first threatened a lawsuit. "If this is not stopped, this will become the norm in San Francisco and spread to other cities."

The main concern seemed to be that passersby, perhaps on the J train, might accidentally see a penis  a fear which Kahn apparently found didn't merit the outside bathroom's removal. Which, considering the temperature this Saturday is predicted to hit 80 degrees  bringing hordes of Dolores Park partiers along with the sunshine  likely comes as a relief to the many sunbathers of Gay Beach.

Previously: Photo Du Jour: First Look At Dolores Park's New Pissoir

Yep, Religious Group Now Suing Over Dolores Park Pissoir
Sam Altman can see the future, and what he sees  far along the horizon, past the massive profits for the many thousands of startups in which he has a hand as president of Y Combinator  is an apocalypse caused by artificial intelligence.

Altman took over the position as head of the best-known tech incubator in 2014 from Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston. If you know all about him already, congratulations on your job in venture capital, and if you're just learning about him this week, congratulations on being up to date on your New Yorker subscription. The magazine features a lengthy profile of Altman in its October 10 issue, in which Altman appears as a slightly stilted savant.

Example:

A blogger recently asked Altman, How has having Aspergers helped and hurt you? Altman told me, I was, like, Fuck you, I dont have Aspergers! But then I thought, I can see why he thinks I do. I sit in weird wayshe folds up like a busted umbrellaI have narrow interests in technology, I have no patience for things Im not interested in: parties, most people. When someone examines a photo and says, Oh, hes feeling this and this and this, all these subtle emotions, I look on with alien intrigue.

The New Yorker got ahold of Altman's mother (not fair, mom!) who shares further that Sam does keep an awful lot tied up inside. Hell call and say he has a headacheand hell have Googled it, so theres some cyber-chondria in there, too. I have to reassure him that he doesnt have meningitis or lymphoma, that its just stress.

In taking the long view on matters, Altman sometimes seems to overlook people  and the present moment for us all  entirely. The profile explains, for instance, a belief (let us not call it a paranoia) of Altman's that he shares with Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO. Together they run the nonprofit OpenAI, whose vague mission is to prevent the artificial intelligence they're creating in their other work from destroying the world entirely. This notion of their power as so great and their responsibility so vast is a very nice backhanded compliment for them to give themselves, but never mind that.

"I like racing cars, Altman said. I have five, including two McLarens and an old Tesla. I like flying rented planes all over California. Oh, and one odd oneI prep for survival. Seeing their bewilderment, he explained, My problem is that when my friends get drunk they talk about the ways the world will end. After a Dutch lab modified the H5N1 bird-flu virus, five years ago, making it super contagious, the chance of a lethal synthetic virus being released in the next twenty years became, well, nonzero. The other most popular scenarios would be A.I. that attacks us and nations fighting with nukes over scarce resources. The Shypmates looked grave. I try not to think about it too much, Altman said. But I have guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to.

Oh, there's also another character in this escape plan: media hero and Trump apologist Peter Thiel. "If the pandemic does come, Altmans backup plan is to fly with his friend Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist, to Thiels house in New Zealand." I wouldn't worry about this possibility too much, though, given that we'll all be mercifully dead.

Related: Thiel-Funded Seasteading Institute Cutting Deal For First Floating Commune Off French Polynesia
The 55-year-old CEO of a classified listings website notorious for its robust escort section was arrested yesterday in Texas on a California warrant. State Attorney General Kamala Harris announced in a press release that Carl Ferrer, who runs Backpage.com, will be charged with felony pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping.

Hundreds of trafficking cases across the country have been linked to Backpage.com, the New York Times reports, and an affidavit for a warrant filed by a California Department of Justice special agent alleges that defendants have known that their website is the United States hub for the illegal sex trade and that many of the people advertised for commercial sex on Backpage are victims of sex trafficking, including children."

Court records show that authorities raided Backpage.com's Dallas headquarters, and the LA Times reports that Ferrer was taken into custody after he arrived on a flight to Houston from Amsterdam. His arrest is a culminating moment in a three-year investigation by the California Department of Justice that included undercover operations.

Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal, Harris stated in a release. Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the worlds top online brothel. According to the Attorney General's office, 99 percent of Backpages income from January 2013 to March 2015 was "directly attributable" to its adult section, generating $51 million in revenue during that period in California alone.

Other conspiracy to commit pimping charges have been brought against Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67, the founders and controlling shareholders of Backpage.com. A spokesperson for Harris told the LA Times that neither is in custody but that warrants have been issued for their arrests. Lacey and Larkin previously owned the Phoenix-based Village Voice Media Group, whose 13 alt-weekly publications included SF Weekly until the two sold them all off in 2012 in a move that separated Backpage.com, the duo's real cash cow, from its legit publication holdings. SF Weekly, for one, appeared relieved at the time to be separated from the sordid dealings of a website whose association with them had become a sore spot.

Theyre like the McDonalds of trafficking, Carol Robles-Roman, who is president and chief executive of a womens legal defense and education fund called Legal Momentum, characterized Backpage.com to the NYT. They made is so easy.

An anonymous 15-year-old girl identified in court documents claimed that Backpage profits off of women and men." She added that, "I mean really, coming from someone my age, there is too much access, like its too easy for people get on it and post an ad.

John Clark, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was heartened by news of the charges and arrest. "NCMEC knows that the primary way children are sold for sex in this country is through the use of online classified advertising websites, such as Backpage.com," he said according to a press release.

Related: And Now A Federal Officer Is Accused Of Trying To Pimp The Oakland Teen At Center Of OPD Scandal
An early-evening mugging on a busy stretch of Market Street left a a man injured Thursday, beaten and robbed just steps from San Francisco's Westfield Centre mall.

Police say that the 49-year-old man was on the 800 block of Market Street, which is between Fourth and Fifth Streets, at 6:44 Thursday night when the attack occurred.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, "an unseen/unknown suspect" struck the man "multiple times," then robbed the man of his wallet.

Inside the wallet, according to the SFPD, were the man's identification, his payroll check, and an undisclosed amount of cash. The thief took it all, fleeing as mysteriously as he or she arrived.

The victim was injured seriously enough that he required transport to an area hospital, where he remains in stable condition as of Friday morning.

The suspect, about whom police had no additional information as of publication time, remains at large.

Related: SF's Most Criminal Block Is [Drumroll] Market Between 4th And 5th
As the rumor of "creepy clowns" has parents and the media in a panic, local San Francisco school children are apparently echoing national fears to one another. An automated call to parents and guardians from the San Francisco Unified School District implies that the concern is real, if misplaced, and heightened by schoolyard stories and social media posts among impressionable students.

"What we know is that no actual assaults have been reported in the Bay Area," says a school social worker on the below voicemail recording. "We encourage you to speak with your child about what they are really feeling."

Meanwhile, reports of creepy clown sightings, implicitly intimidating but not explicitly threatening or violent, continue to dominate the news cycle. San Ramon Police officer Sargent Cerruti tells KRON4 that his department received calls about four creepy clown sightings Thursday night in the area of Hidden Valley Park. Another creepy clown was seen and photographed in Richmond on Wednesday, as KRON4 also reported.

Previously, a Concord woman claimed she and her one-year-old daughter were the victims of an abduction attempt: At a Denny's, a man in a clown wig engaged her in conversation  he couldn't have been that creepy, I guess, and interestingly they talked about this whole clown thing itself. Matters took a turn when he reportedly gave the woman's daughter a tug on the leg  the kidnapping attempt, for which she kicked him until he ran off.

"Its mostly about attention," a psychology professor, Guarav Suri, offered by way of explanation yesterday. "The internet also adds sort of steroids to this phenomenon because even if its not being covered on TV it's covered on someones Facebook page and that thing goes viral and all of the sudden that is more of a motivation for someone who is seeking attention to want to dress up in a clown outfit."

As evidenced by the SFUSD robocall, the unflappable adult world is leading its progeny by example. You know, by somewhat prematurely banning clown costumes this upcoming Halloween in a South Bay school district according to ABC7, for instance. TV news is busy launching investigations into clown costume sales (up 300 percent) and asking the tough questions: What effect is this having on everyday working clown performers and businesses, hmmm?) I hesitate to call this clown business a joke, but if it were, I suspect it would be on us!

Previously: Local Psychologists Try To Explain Scary Clown Epidemic As Concord Woman Claims Clown Abduction Attempt

Bizarre Scary Clown Trend Hits Fairfield, Prompts Police Response
Rev your engine, roll the windows down and join our open-road odyssey this issue as we talk to Andrea Arnold about her latest film American Honey. Here Arnold leaves behind the British landscapes of Wasp, Red Road, Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights and takes a road trip into the poverty-stricken hinterlands of the US. The films American honey is Star, a tenacious 18-year-old loner who wants more from life than playing makeshift mother to two siblings and so joins a ragtag door-to-door sales crew who party and drive their way across the Midwest. In our cover feature Simran Hans explores Arnolds ongoing exploration of class and female sexuality and talks to the director about discovering her lead and first-time actor Sasha Lane, shooting personal, intimate films in Academy ratio and why all her films have sex scenes.

Cruising alongside, Kim Morgan takes a ride through film history and finds that any assumptions that the road movie is a male genre is a dead end; the road has been a place for cinematic escape, discovery and crisis for many women on screen. What kind of dames thumb rides? asks Tom Neal in Edgar G. Ulmers Detour. It turns out all kinds, from Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night (1934) to Quentin Tarantinos feminist rebels in Death Proof (2007).

Elsewhere, we celebrate the extraordinary career of Kirk Douglas; discuss Little Men with Ira Sachs; explore Victor Erices tantalising incomplete 1983 film El sur; talk to John Carpenter about his love of Hammer and Howard Hawks; and interrogate a recent quartet of limp Hollywood war satires. Plus all the regular reviews of latest releases and more
Annual roast pork dinner is Thursday

SIOUX CITY | Immanuel Lutheran Church, 315 Hamilton Blvd., will host its annual roast pork dinner from 5-7 p.m. Thursday. The menu will include roast pork, cheesy or sweet potatoes, vegetables, coleslaw, French bread, dessert and beverages.

Adult tickets are $8.50, ages 4-10 are $4, children under 3 eat for free. Carry-out is available.

Annual mission dinner in Elk Point

ELK POINT, S.D. | Elk Point United Parish will hold its annual mission dinner from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sunday in the United Parish Fellowship Hall, 603 S. Pearl St. The menu will include pork loin, cheesy potatoes, sweet corn, various salads and desserts.

Adult tickets are $8, ages 4-12 are $4, children under 3 eat for free.

Blessing of pets service and potluck

SIOUX CITY | Mayflower United Church of Christ will host a blessing of pets and all living creatures service, along with a potluck meal, at 4 p.m. Sunday on the east lawn of the church, 1407 W. 18th St.

Bring pets, animals and fruits of your harvest for individual blessings for the service and a stew, salad or dessert for the potluck meal.

Annual authentic German dinner, music

SIOUX CITY | The public is invited to the annual authentic German dinner, bake sale and polka music festivities from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St.

The meal will include sauerbraten, brats, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, apple salad and apple crisp. Tickets are $10 and available at the church in advance or at the door. Carry-out will be available.

Visiting reverend to speak

SIOUX CITY | The Rev. John Albers, director of Resource Development of the LC-MS National Housing Support, will speak during the 7:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services on Sunday at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St. A potluck meal will follow at noon.

His presentation will provide an explanation of the LC-MC National Housing Support Corporation and how congregations can be a part of this specific ministry.

Social hour, Sunday school and bible study

SIOUX CITY | The Sunday worship time for St. John Lutheran Church, 2801 Jackson St., will be 9:30 a.m. social hour and Sunday school, followed by Bible study at 10:45 a.m.

Siouxland Women's connection dinner meeting

SIOUX CITY | Joyce Buseman will give a talk titled "Insurance for a Secure Future" during the Siouxland Women's connection dinner meeting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Morningside Assembly of God, 4310 Old Lakeport Road.

Whitfield United Methodist Women meeting

SIOUX CITY | Whitfield United Methodist Women will meet for brunch at 10 a.m. Saturday at Whitfield United Methodist Church, 1319 W. Fifth St. The program will be World Thanks Offering. The executive board will meet at 9:30 a.m.
Screenings

Free blood pressure screenings, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at Countryside Senior Living, front lobby. No appointment necessary.

Programs/Self-Help Groups

Al-Anon Information Center, call 712-255-6724.

Al-Anon and Alateen, meetings locally. For times, dates and locations of area meetings, call 712-255-6724.

Alcoholics Anonymous, beginners information, call 712-252-1333.

Arc of Woodbury County, serving the mentally challenged, 5:15 p.m. meeting, second Monday of the month at Mid-Step Services, 4303 Stone Ave. For families and interested persons.

Child Care Resource and Referral, provides resources, education and advocacy for children, parents, and child care providers. Assists in child care needs. For more information, call 712-277-1180.

Co-Dependence Anonymous, 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at First Lutheran Church, Fireside Room.

Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA), 10 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St.

Compassionate Friends, 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of each month (third Thursday in November and second Sunday December) in Mercy Medical Center's Leiter Room. For families who have lost children. Contact Nancy Webb 712-212-4032 or Don Mulder 712-541-5512.

Children of Divorce, to help children cope with the challenges of parental separation or divorce. Call 712-279-2373 for more information.

Clinics

Siouxland District Health immunization clinics, call for appointment, 712-279-6119 or 1-800-587-3005.

Information

Family and Addictive Illness series, for more information, call 234-2300.

Iowa Fathers, 6 to 8 p.m. fourth Tuesday of each month at Hope Lutheran Church, Education Building, 218 W. 18th St., South Sioux City, Neb. Support group to help single, divorcing and divorced parents residing in the state of Iowa.

Mercy Pathways Outpatient Program, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, on the third floor, Mercy's Central Medical Building, 801 Fifth St., Suite 360. Provides hope, help, opportunity to connect through group therapy for individuals experiencing personal, relationship, psychiatric issues. For more information, call 712-279-5991.

Narcotics Anonymous, meetings daily, various times, dates and locations. For more information, call 712-279-0733.

Overeaters Anonymous, 1 p.m. Tuesdays at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3700 Indian Hills Drive; 6 p.m. Tuesdays at St. John's Lutheran Church, 402 Lane Ave., Storm Lake; 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Church of the Nazarene, 226 N. Main St., Viborg, S.D.; 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays at Newman Center, 320 E. Cherry St., Vermillion, S.D.; 10:30 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. A 12-step recovery program for people who have problems with food and weight. No fees.

St. Lukes Outpatient Behavioral Health Program, 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on fifth floor of St. Luke's, located at 2720 Stone Park Blvd. Offers several levels of outpatient care including partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and group therapy. This program provides support and integrated treatment to individuals experiencing personal or relationship issues as a result of their mental illness. For more information and admission criteria, call 712-279-3906.

Sobriety By Faith, 8:30 a.m. Saturdays at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For more information, call James Mothershead at 712-577-9715.

The Link-Recovery and Freedom, at PMA Building, 6000 Gordon Drive; 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday workshop, and Christian 12-step meeting 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. For all ages. Call Dee at 389-7432.

Women in Recovery, meets monthly at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For details, call 712-255-4623.

Tarahouse Meditation Center, 8 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 6:30 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, all at 3112 Rebecca St. Three easy 10-minute sessions in small group; beginners welcome. For more information, call 490-6410.

Blood pressure and blood sugar screening, 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays in the lobby at Westwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Free to public.

Support Groups

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Hawkeye Club basement, 420 Jones St. For more information, call 277-5935.

Celebrate Recovery, Bible-based 12-step recovery group. Thursdays at 6:30 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive. Daycare provided. 712-490-3343.

PFLAG of Siouxland, (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays), 7 p.m., fourth Monday of January, March, May, July, September and November. St. Mark ELCA Church, 5200 Glenn Ave., in the upstairs meeting area. 712-258-3116.

Singles widowed and divorced, all ages, 4 p.m., Sundays. McDonald's at Sixth Street and Lewis Boulevard. 712-252-2675.

GriefShare, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Dec. 6 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814.

HIV/AIDS Support Group, meets weekly. For more information, call Darla or Teri at Siouxland Community Health Center, 712-252-2477 or 888-371-1965.

La Leche League of Siouxland, breastfeeding support group meets every third Thursday at 11 a.m. at Morningside Lutheran Church. Children are welcome. For more information, call Mary at 712-546-7280 or Jacquie at 712-255-2998.

Living Each Day Cancer Support Group, 7-8 p.m. second Thursday of the month, Floyd Valley Hospital, Conference Center Room 2, Le Mars, Iowa. Open to all cancer patients, cancer survivors and family members. No charge. Pre-register by calling 712-546-3441 or 800-642-6074, ext. 441.

Mom and Baby Support Group, 10-11 a.m. last Monday of the month at the Orange City (Iowa) Hospital, lower level. For new moms and babies. 712-737-5260.

Tri-State Sober Project, 12-step meeting, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesdays, Friendship Community Church, 305 Sergeant Square Drive, Sergeant Bluff. 6-7 p.m., Thursdays, Transitional Services of Iowa, 1221 Pierce St., Sioux City.

Doug's Donors Support Group, information for organ donors and recipients, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Fridays, 5:15-6:30 p.m. second Thursdays of the month at Mercy Cafeteria Woodbury Room. 712-277-1050.

Divorce Care, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Dec. 6 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814.

NAMI Siouxland, (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Support Group meets 6:30 p.m., second Tuesday of the month at Friendship House, 1101 Court St. For individuals and family members dealing with mental illness. 712-255-4209.

New Life Life Support Group, 3:30 p.m. every Saturday at 2929 W. Fourth St. Spiritual 12-step program. For more information, call Donald at 712-574-1744 or James at 712-255-7624.

Post Polio Support Group, 11 a.m. first Thursday of the month at Perkins Restaurant by Menards. 712-490-8213.

Relationship Support Group, 7 p.m. Fridays at Marketplace Mall. For more information, call 239-3129.

Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Individual and Support Groups. For more information, call CSADV in Sioux City at 712-258-7233; Plymouth County at 712-546-6764; Monona County at 712-423-3443. Advocacy and support available 24 hours a day at 1-800-982-7233. All services free of charge and confidential.

Sickle Cell Disease Support Group, 11 a.m. third Saturday of each month at St. Luke's Hospital, meeting room 1. For patients, their family and any concerned member. Call La'Keshia Rainey at 712-203-2019 for more information.

Single and Parenting, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Dec. 6 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814.

Sioux City Association of the Deaf, 7 p.m. third Saturday of the month at Morningside Church of Christ, 5015 Garretson Ave. Regular meeting, September-May; no meeting, June, July, August and December.

Siouxland Autism Support Group, second Thursday of the month at Northwest Area Education Agency, 1520 Morningside Ave. For more information, call Julie Case at 712-490-8939.

Siouxland Epilepsy Support Group, 5 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at Prestwick Apartment Clubhouse, 4230 Hickory Lane. For anyone diagnosed with seizures or epilepsy and family or friends. For more information, call Steve at 274-6927.

Siouxland IC support group, meets quarterly in Sioux City. For patients struggling with interstital cystitis. For more information, call Jacque Dundas 316-641-9766.

Siouxland Informational Group for the Blind, 2-5 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Northern Hills Retirement Community, 4002 Teton Trace. For more information, call 712-266-8926 or 258-8151.

Grief support group, 5:30-7:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 5 for 13 weeks (may join at any time), Crescent Park United Methodist Church, 2826 Myrtle St., Sioux City. Scott, 712-899-6315.

Siouxland Ostomy Association, 2 p.m. first Sunday of each month (except September, which will be second Sunday; and no meetings June, July, August), in Room 300 at Mercy Medical Center, 801 Fifth St. For more information, call Dick Lindblom at 251-2453.

Siouxland Parkinson Disease Support Group, 1 p.m. fourth Monday of the month at Siouxland Center for Active Generations, 313 Cook St. For more information, call Sally Reinert at 402-987-3516.

Sojourners, support group for families of persons with life-threatening illness, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Room 416. For more information, call Marjorie Jarvill at 402-241-8637.

South Sioux City Weight Support Group, 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at St. Paul United Methodist Church, South Sioux City. For more information, call 494-1401 or 494-2133.

Disabilities Resource Center of Siouxland, 520 Nebraska St., Suite 101: Women's Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Wednesday of the month; LGBT Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Friday of the month; Adult ADHD, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; Advocacy Group, 1:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month. For more information, call 712-255-1065.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly, group meetings various times, days and locations in Siouxland. For information on the chapter in your area, call 1-800-932-TOPS.

Voice Disorder Support Group, meets as needed at Mercy Medical Center, Buena Vista Room. 712-279-2686.

Women's Peer Support Group, in Wayne and South Sioux City, Neb., for those who have experienced domestic abuse. For more information, call the Wayne office at 402-375-4633 or 1-800-440-4633; in South Sioux City, call 402-494-7592. Help and support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Services free and confidential.

Woodbury County D.M.D.A., noon-2 p.m. first Saturday of the month at Country Friendship Acres, 4501 West St.; 7-8 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at 515 Court St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at 441 W. Third St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at 409 W. Third St. in the Community Room. Support group for people with disabilities and mental disorders.

Natural Mamas in Siouxland, 1 p.m., third Tuesday of each month in the Garretson room of the Morningside Public Library. All ages of children are welcome to come with moms. For sharing natural living tips, recipes, natural remedies and health, homemaking, mothering, etc. For more information, call 402-913-0038 or visit their Facebook page.

A Step Beyond support group, 3:30 p.m. second Tuesday of the month, except for August, November and December when it meets at 5:30 p.m. (no meeting in January) at the Christy-Smith Resource Center, 1819 Morningside Ave. For more information, call 712-276-7319.

Divorce care, 5 p.m., Sundays. Fireside room, Morningside Lutheran Church, 700 South Martha St.

Gamblers Anonymous meetings, 4 p.m. Thursdays at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 315 Hamilton Blvd.; 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Morningside Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave.; 7 p.m. Tuesdays, St. John Lutheran Church. 712-277-2901.

Art therapy support group, 5:30 p.m. second Thursday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. Registration required, call 252-9387.

After Breast Cancer Support Group, 5:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call Brenda, 252-9370.

After Prostate Cancer Support Group, 5:15 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call 252-9426.

Alzheimer's Association, Big Sioux Chapter Support Group, 2 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; 4 p.m. third Tuesday of the month (under age 65) at 201 Pierce St., Suite 110 (Famous Dave's building); and 6 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the Barnes and Noble Cafe. For more information, call Emily Lord at 712-279-5802.

Christy-Smith Funeral Homes of Sioux City, extensive grief library at the Morningside location. Open to the public during weekday hours. For more information, call 276-7319.

Chronic Pain/Chronic Illness Support Group, 7:30 p.m. fourth Wednesday of the month in the lower level of the Orange City Hospital. For more information, call 712-737-5260.

Connections Area Agency on Aging, and Mercy Medical Centers Older Adult Services Welcome to Medicare, 1:30-4 p.m., the first Friday of every month at Connections Area Agency on Aging, 2301 Pierce St. To pre-register, or for more information, contact Connections Area Agency on Aging at 712-279-6900.
SIOUX CITY | Four new sculptures have been added to a collection honoring some of Siouxland's most dedicated lifelong community advocates.

Community members packed the first floor of the Martin Luther King Transportation Center Thursday afternoon for the dedication of phase two of the Celebrating Community Project, which is recognizing 13 Siouxlanders advocates who have dedicated their time advocating for the marginalized in Siouxland.

Honorees recognized Thursday were Nguyen Thi Hong Cuc, George Boykin, Richard Owens and the late Tomasa Salas.

Hong Cuc came to U.S. as an immigrant from Vietnam in 1981 and counseled Asians moving into the United States. She was honored Thursday for her work.

"She is a woman who saw the good in every person that she had ever met," said George Youi Sayavong, who spoke during the ceremony. "She was born to serve."

Boykin, a South Sioux City native, is a former Woodbury County supervisor and executive director of the Sanford Center. He retired in June after 48 years. Thursday, he was honored for his work on behalf of children.

"He dedicated his life to making the lives of young people better in this community," said Fitzgerald Grant, current executive director of the Sanford Center, who presented Boykin the award.

Owens was honored for his work helping the cause of disabled Americans, worked to secure adequate funding, education and employment for the disabled in Siouxland. During the ceremony, he credited the effectiveness of teamwork.

"When people come together, great things can happen," Owens said. "As I stand here today, I'm only a symbol of a great bunch of people."

Salas was honored for her work with Latino Americans, and the long hours she translating and helping fellow Latinos overcome barriers into their communities. She died in 2013 at the age of 61.

"Her goal was to help our communities communicate with and understand each other so that there would be one less difference to divide us," said her daughter Natalie Atkins, who spoke on her mother's behalf during the ceremony.

Flora Lee, who heads the Celebrating Community Project and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the project is meant to showcase the heroism of local people.

So often we always tell our children look for a mentor, look for a hero, and we look nationally, or on a world-wide level," she said. "We forget that we have local heroes and she-roes right here in our local community."

The four sculptures, created by local artist Mark Avery, will be added to five sculptures unveiled last year during phase one of the project.

The project is funded through donations and grants. The Celebrating Community Project is a partnership between the NAACP and the Celebrating Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
SIOUX CITY | Believe, Achieve, Succeed. Those three words are the Sioux City School Districts credo, but on Friday, Superintendent Paul Gausman unveiled goals that would make the phrase a reality

The district on Friday unveiled five main goals as part of its Focus 2022 Strategic Plan. The goal include:

-- Provide relevant, rigorous and innovative academics

-- Provide safe, healthy and supportive learning environments

-- Attract and support highly effective teachers, leaders and staff

-- Practice effective, efficient and sustainable business practices

-- Strengthen school, family and community engagement

Gausman said by 2022, the plan aims to ensure all students are being reached and students are ready to learn before they walk through the doors to start a school day.

One area of emphasis the plan addresses, he said, is early childhood literacy. Since children dont have access to the districts resources until kindergarten, Gausman said the district will team up with various area agencies to make sure future students have an extensive vocabulary and can read by the time they start school.

Another aim is to reach students who frequently miss school. More than 95 percent of students in the district regularly attend classes, but the five percent that dont, Gausman said, miss frequently.

The superintendent said since students absent from classes do not allow themselves the chance to utilize district resources, the district must continue to keep a healthy partnership with community partners who offer outreach to those students.

Fitzgerald Grant, executive director with the Sanford Center, said the school district's new vision shows a dedication of administrators, staff and the community to make sure students grow in all capacities of life.

Its an opportunity to make the kids whole, he said. Its important we come together as a community and meet the needs of these kids.

Partners with the program include the Sioux City Public Library, the Sanford Center, Siouxland Human Investment Partnership and many more.

In past years, Gausman said strategic plans have helped implement programs such as the career academies in the high school, specialty elementary schools and the Junior Air Force ROTC program. But this particular plan, he said, is extremely extensive and more than can be completed in one year.

With this, we realize we are taking on some big initiatives that we cant finish in a year, he said. Its going to take a lot of resources, a lot of partners and a lot of years to rid the district of absenteeism.

Once the student walks through the doors for school, Gausman said the district can then help form a top level learner and citizen, no matter their background.

Simply put, this definitely identifies what students in our system must be able to do when they graduate, he said. This ensures all students walk through the doors of our school ready to learn.
According to court documents, on Sept. 20 Arispe assaulted another man in a Sheldon residence and took the man's computer, speakers and cellphone. Arispe then threatened the man and a woman with a gun and held them against their will for five hours, court documents said, then forced the woman to go with him to his residence. She was later able to escape unharmed. When Arispe was arrested, police found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in his possession.
SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man has been arrested on multiple sexual assault charges, after police said Friday he had assaulted residents while working as a staff member at Opportunities Unlimited in Sioux City.

Sioux City Police Department Detective Nick Thompson in a release reported the arrest of Sergio Pinedo, 21, of Sioux City. Pinedo was charged Thursday with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse.

Police were called to Opportunities Unlimited on Sept. 29, after a resident described being sexually assaulted by Pinedo. Police said the victim reported Pinedo had performed a sex act on multiple occasions.

Policed continued the investigation and said a second person reported being sexually assaulted several times by Pinedo.

Pinedo is being held in Woodbury County Jail on $25,000 bond.

Thompson said the victims will not be identified. He said Opportunities Unlimited officials responded professionally, cooperating fully with the investigation. Opportunities Unlimited provides comprehensive rehabilitation therapy and services to children and adults with special needs.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
Canada  October 7, 2016  David Camfield

No one has a crystal ball that allows them to foresee precisely whats going to happen as the new Tory government of Manitoba really gets down to business in the months ahead. But there are some things we can be pretty sure about.

The Tories will claim that its vital to curb provincial government spending to reduce Manitobas deficit and move toward balancing the budget. In reality, theres no deficit crisis. Not only was the share of provincial revenue spent on servicing the debt in the 2015-16 fiscal year low, it was lower than it had been three years prior. The Tory cure  austerity  for the non-existent crisis might not even lower the deficit.

But a balanced budget isnt the real objective (if the Tories had inherited one, theyd simply be talking about reinventing government or some other justification for their program). Although some Tory MLAs may be so naive as to believe that lowering the deficit is the governments true goal, and that doing this will somehow lead companies in Manitoba to hire more people and pay them more, theyre wrong on both counts.

Pushing Markets Further

One of the things that this governments strategic thinkers really want to do is weaken public services. Deficit reduction is a means to that end. The Tories embrace this goal because they are ardently committed to neoliberal ideology. This vision aims to make people more dependent on markets (in other words, private firms) to meet their needs. It favours the delivery of healthcare, social services and education by for-profit firms. So we should expect not just spending cuts but also moves to create new opportunities for companies to make money, through privatization, contracting-out, deregulation (coming soon: Uber?), public-private partnerships (P3s), social impact bonds, and schemes that claim to offer people more choice.

Its worth emphasizing that the Tory goal isnt getting rid of government, as some critics will say. One of the key goals of neoliberalism is to redefine the shape and functions of the state, not to destroy it, as the astute analyst Philip Mirowski has pointed out. The Tories want to use government powers to push markets deeper into society. This includes reorganizing whats left of the public sector so it operates more like the private sector. Theyre also keen on pumping up one part of the state: the already-inflated violent system of policing and prisons.

One of the other things the Tories are eager to do is weaken unions and workers rights, since these are barriers to higher corporate profits (just like environmental and other regulations on what companies can do, which they also want to take down). The fact that the public sector is highly unionized is another reason why the Tories so like the idea of restructuring it in neoliberal ways. Changing the Labour Relations Act to make it harder for workers to unionize may be just the start of an assault on unions. Watch out for changes to the Employment Standards Act too. The Tories cant even pretend that these moves have anything to do with lowering the deficit  higher profits is what theyre all about.

Potential for Protest, and More

The weakness of grassroots union activism and community organizing to demand change in Manitoba mean that few people have experience acting collectively to defend their interests (unlike in Quebec, for example). The discrediting of the NDP after its decisive election loss means that many people think theres no alternative to what the Tories propose.

For these reasons it may well be difficult to mobilize much protest until the Tories introduce big cuts or really aggressive legislation. But as the response to the Newfoundland Liberal governments attacks this year makes clear, such attacks can quickly spark opposition on a scale that most foes of austerity would have thought impossible.

Yet even if the Tories proceed cautiously their attacks will harm many people. This will create possibilities for protest and, going beyond that, real resistance that tries to stop attacks. Even small-scale short-lived mobilizations can contain seeds that may flower into ongoing organizing efforts in workplaces, on campuses, in neighbourhoods or among specific communities of people. The Tories are less popular among indigenous people than in the non-indigenous population, so indigenous mobilization may develop more quickly.

With this in mind, people who recognize what the Tories have in mind for Manitoba should set ourselves the goal of building active opposition to their attacks. Just waiting for the next election will mean not even trying to repel Tory attacks. Just waiting will also demoralize people hurt by the Tories, making them less likely to bother to vote in the next election.

Starting from where were at, we should aim to build protests that escalate to higher levels of resistance, including strike action. Whats needed is a mass social movement that can force the government from office, much as happened in Quebec in 2012. Thats a long shot, but it is what we should aspire to.

Right now, planning public protests against Tory attacks is a first step. Another is equipping more people with a clear understanding of neoliberalism and with organizing skills. 

This article first published on the Solidarity Winnipeg website.
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.
Jesse Alexander Burton-Franklin. (Booking photo, MSP)

SOLOMONS, Md.

(Oct. 7, 2016)Maryland State Police investigators arrested a Calvert County man on sexual solicitation related felony charges yesterday. The investigators are from the Maryland Computer Crimes Section, Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.The suspect is identified as Jesse Alexander Burton-Franklin, 24, of the 400 block of Dogwood Drive, Lusby. Burton-Franklin was arrested without incident. He is charged with sexual solicitation of a law enforcement officer posing as a minor. Upon conviction, Burton-Franklin faces up to ten years imprisonment and up to $25,000 in fines.On Sunday, August 7, 2016, the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted a proactive operation involving the online sexual solicitation of minors. During the covert operation Burton-Franklin communicated online with an undercover police officer posing as a minor. He made statements expressing a desire to meet the minor and engage in sexual activity.On Thursday, October 6, 2016, Burton-Franklin traveled to an undisclosed location in Calvert County for the encounter. Shortly after 3:30 p.m. during the operation, Burton-Franklin was arrested without incident and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center for processing. Investigators from the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit conducted the covert operation.The Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is organized under the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Section. The task force is comprised of police agencies from around the state and its primary mission is to protect children from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. The Task Force works cooperatively with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to provide resources to combat these crimes. Additionally, the Task Force provides community awareness campaigns helping to prevent the spread of these crimes through education.
Each year major designer companies and fashion houses come together to celebrate their respected fashion weeks. Most of the events cater to petite women, due to the recent explosion of plus size super model Ashley Graham, other companies have decided to follow suit.

The LGBT community commemorated the launch of its first ever Bear Summer Fashion Week, thanks to Bear World Magazine.

We woke up one day and thought, you know what would be cool? A fashion week for bears! No really, we did, explained Robin Gray, Editor of Bear World Magazine. Gray was very passionate about his feelings toward society and the body image stereotypes. You know for too long bigger guys have had to tolerate ill-fitting clothes to try and look semi-fashionable, or in the cases of some brands we were sized out all together, they dont want us in their clothes! The idea that only thin people are attractive is hideous and a terrible thing to promote.

This years fashion week featured a photo shoot at The Paul Hotel in New York. The shoot showcased plus sized models wearing brands that cater to the larger man. Some of the vendors included in the shoot were Tanks & Tees by The 3 Bears, underwear by BearSkn in addition to lube from Kamikaze Angel.

PlayBear Magazine provided swimwear along with a selection of unique jewelry. The photos were taken by legendary photographer InkedKenny, who is no stranger to Bear World Magazine. InkedKenny flawlessly captured the bear aesthetic, his creative eye produced shots that were sexy, rugged and masculine.

Bear World Magazine is a prestigious gay magazine geared toward the bear community. While bears can come in many shapes and sizes with varying degrees of hairiness, they typically are larger guys with at least a moderate amount of fur.

When it came to promotion for the fashion week, all media outlets were utilized. Promotion on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were used to tease the event, mainly because of the all-digital fashion week. News about the fashion week has been spread across the U.S. and worldwide.

Conducting a digital fashion week is not an easy task. It actually took a good six months to plan. Along with searching for quality products, finding models and securing an amazing backdrop, they had to deal with the availability of InkedKenny, who is very sought after.

I would like to think of us as trendsetters, explained Gray. There are already plenty of brands starting to come forward and offer their products in bigger sizes but it will take a huge shift in thinking to get these bigger sizes and bigger models on a mainstream runway any time soon. But if we have played a little part in making that shift, then I am very proud of that.

Planning has already begun for a follow-up fall fashion week. If you are a fan of plaid, woodlands, beards, wet dogs, foliage or whisky, you may want to stay tuned for the next explosive fashion week in the fall.

Visit BearWorldMagazine.com for information on the magazine.
[Editors note: Reprinted from December 2015.]

Like many progressives, liberals and Democrats I was giddy when billionaire Donald Trump entered the presidential race. He was sure to shake things up on the Republican side and thoroughly amuse us all in the process.

Well six months later he has now delivered on his promise to shake things up but month-by-month hes become less amusing. His angry rhetoric has veered from merely divisive to dangerous. And hes become a cancer, not just in the Republican race, but throughout our democracy.

Some of his outrageous and dangerous statements have been to refer to Mexicans as rapists; call for a ban on all Muslims entering the country; creating a database for Muslim Americans; comparing Syrian refugees to a Trojan horse; applauding the folks who beat up a black protestor at his rally; and even going so far to hint that President Obama is in bed with the terrorists saying there is something going on with him that we dont know about.

Trumps fear mongering reminds me of Pastor Martin Niemollers famous poem about the rise of the Nazis. Heres my slightly revised version.

First Trump came for the Mexicans, and I did not speak out  Because I was not a Mexican.

Then Trump came for the Syrian refugees, and I did not speak out  Because I was not a Syrian refugee.

Then Trump came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out  Because I was not an immigrant.

Then Trump came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out  Because I was not a Muslim.

Then they came for me  and there was no one left to speak for me.

Do we really think that Trump will stop at Muslims? What group will he use to scare people with next? The transgender community comes to mind. Right wing fanatics did it recently in Houston with ads featuring predators dressing up as women in order to come after little girls.

Will Trump use a similar attack?

Why not? He has nothing to lose. If he doesnt win the presidency he goes back to be being a bombastic billionaire reality star. But each time he comes after another group we lose  we all lose. And unlike Trump, who can simply go back to life as normal, we will have to live in the new normal hes created for us.

Its easy to dismiss Trump as (insert adjective), or his policies as not being serious, as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said. And while that may be true, his rhetoric may very well have serious consequences on the Republican Party and our democracy. Most other presidential candidates have condemned Trumps latest policy proposal of banning all Muslims from entering the U.S., but not all Republicans have done so.

Presidential candidates former Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz both stopped short of condemning Trump. Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, would only criticize Trumps tone  not his proposal. Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, refused to directly address Trumps comments.

Ann Coulter, a prominent far right pundit and author, showed her excitement for Trumps latest policy by tweeting out: Add in every other kind of immigrant and it's perfect! and My best birthday gift! Donald Trump Calls For Complete Shutdown of Muslim Entry to U.S.

Thats why its more important than ever for the LGBT community speak out on behalf of our fellow humans whether they are Mexicans, immigrants, Syrian refugees or whomever the next group Trump decides to go after. We know oppression. Weve been singled out. So while these other groups may differ from us we must stand together in the face of bigotry and hatred.

I am no longer giddy with Trump in the race. I am scared  not of Muslims and immigrants, but of what he is doing to our democracy.
Slamming changes made to foster LGBT inclusion in the U.S. military during the Obama administration, Donald Trump pledged Monday to "get away from political correctness" when asked about openly transgender military service and women serving in combat roles.

The candidate made the comments n Herndon, Va., alongside Tony Perkins, president of the anti-LGBT Family Research Council, in the same forum where he raised eyebrows for suggesting veterans who kill themselves after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder did so because they couldn't handle the pressures of war.

After an audience member asked Trump what he'd do about women in combat and openly transgender troops, comparing their inclusion in the military to political correctness, he replied, "We're going to get away from political correctness, and we are going to have to do that."

Trump compared movement toward greater inclusion in the armed forces to opposition to "the whole concept of profiling" in law enforcement. The candidate has defended the controversial practice of racial profiling, including after the terrorist acts last month in Minnesota, New Jersey and New York.

"I mentioned the other day profiling," Trump said. "Everyone goes, 'Oh, profiling, profiling!' Well, profiling, in Israel they're doing it and they're doing it well, and we may have to do that and we have to do other things. But you're right. We have a politically correct military and it's more and more politically correct every day, and a lot of the great people in this room don't even understand how it's possible to do that."

Trump asserted confusion over why the military is moving forward with greater inclusion is the result of "intelligence, not ignorance," saying the changes U.S. troops have to endure in the name of political correctness are "ridiculous."

In June, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced after a nearly year-long review the U.S. military would end its ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. armed forces "effective immediately." The announcement came months after the Pentagon announced it would begin to allow women to serve in combat roles.

While Trump stopped short of committing himself to reverse those changes, he said he'd allow senior military officials  and noting a recommendation from a lawmaker in the audience, even low ranking troops  to review the changes and take guidance on appropriate policy.

"I will say I would leave many of the decisions of some of the things you mentioned to the generals, the admirals, the people on top, and we get some  the congressman just mentioned to me, and I think it's true, 100 percent  you get your top enlisted people in that and you have discussions with top enlisted people who know it better than probably anybody. But we get our military people to come back and make recommendations to me, and I will follow those recommendations."

One of Trump's leading military advisers, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has already suggested he would advise Trump to roll back the changes. On the first night of the Republican National Convention, Flynn in apparent criticism of transgender military service criticized the preoccupation of U.S. troops with "trivial matters about what words to use, what terminology is politically correct and what bathroom door to open up."

"My God, my God, war is not about bathrooms, war is not about political correctness or words that are meaningless," Flynn said.

Trump's deference to military leaders conceivably could lead to a reinstatement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." When Congress repealed the statute, lawmakers left nothing in its place addressing gay people in the armed services, allowing the Pentagon to decide the policy. Although such a change would be extraordinary given the U.S. military has accepted gay service members in the last five years, a Trump administration could undo that.

Matthew Thorn, executive director of the LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN, said greater inclusion in the armed forces, including transgender service, isn't a matter of being politically correct but instead preserving "the foundation of our freedoms."

"Our service members and veterans have risked and continue to risk their lives for the fundamental rights that our democracy is built on, the freedoms that allow Mr. Trump to even stand before an audience and make absurdity out of our armed forces and veterans," Thorn said. "Transgender service members and veterans have earned the same respect and honor as any other soldier, airman, sailor or Marine and Mr. Trump should be mindful that the leadership of the Pentagon has agreed, everyone who is able to serve should be allowed to serve regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."

Thorn said belittling transgender military service members and veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder is consistent with his criticism of a Gold Star family as well as "disgusting and vile and unbecoming of any individual who would want to hold the highest office in our government."

"It is very difficult to imagine after today how Mr. Trump can proclaim his love and support for our military and veterans when in the same breath he can willfully admonish those who serve and protect this country with honor and their lives," Thorn said.
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New York, October 7, 2016 (SPS) - POLISARIO Front Representative to the UN, Ahmed Boukhari, indicated Thursday that the Security Council must assume its responsibilities towards the provocations of Morocco in the region of Elgaragarat, in his speech before the IV Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He stated that Morocco continues to violate the charters of the UN and the African Union and as a challenge to the international organization "expelled in March the political and civil component of MINURSO, it denigrated the UN Security Council, it refuses to resume direct negotiations between the two parties."

Bukhari affirmed that the Sahrawi people will continue its battle for freedom and independence but continues to advocate for a just and lasting peace. SPS

062/090/TRA




The man in blue and gold got his fill of Gold during Thursday evenings card of racing at Mohawk Racetrack.

Randy Waples won with heavily favoured Muscle Hustle in the first of two OSS Gold Series divisions for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, and then he came back and pulled off an upset with Dia Monde in the second division.

Muscle Hustle brushed to the front past the quarter pole and never looked back en route to a 1:54.1 score in his assignment. The Per Henriksen-trained son of Muscle Mass-Crown Laurel watched Holiday Party slice out an opening panel in :28 before sweeping past that foe and supplying middle splits of :58.1 and 1:26.3. A :27.3 closing quarter earned Muscle Hustle the win by a length over Holiday Party, with Will Take Charge grabbing the show dough.

Ecurie Bergh Inc of Norwood, Ont. owns the colt who improved his 2016 record to 7-2-1 from 12 trips postward. The eight-time winner is closing in on $250,000 in career earnings.

Dia Monde gave Waples the stakes sweep thanks to his 6-1 upset score in the second division. The gelding sat second behind Dunvegan Don through the opening quarter of :27, but he was shuffled back to third when heavily-favoured Bee In Charge took charge in the backstretch. That Per Henriksen pupil whacked out middle splits of :57.1 and 1:26.1, but he couldnt stave off late pressure from Dia Monde. The Tom Durand pupil fired home in :27.3 to win by 1-3/4 lengths over Tony Soprano in 1:54. Bee In Charge faded to finish third.

Durand and his wife, June, share ownership on the son of Deweycheatumnhowe-Lady Bar with partner Allan Smith of Oakville, Ont. The partners watched the sophomore pick up his third win of the year while boosting his lifetime bankroll to $175,512.

To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results  Mohawk Racetrack.
On Friday, October 7, the New York State Gaming Commission announced enhanced security protocols for all horses participating in the $1 million International Trot at Yonkers Raceway on October 15.

This is the first time that such additional safeguards to protect the integrity of the sport and ensure the welfare of horses have been implemented for New York harness racing. The commission already has such measures in place for Thoroughbred Grade 1 races with purses of $1 million or more.

In addition to fostering transparency and accountability in high-profile races, the measures instill consistency and clarity to ensure compliance among horsepersons and veterinarians that travel to New York from across the world to compete.

As we have demonstrated through implementation in Thoroughbred racing, these protocols are the most efficient and effective means by which to ensure the utmost integrity for New Yorks premiere racing events, and the International Trot is no exception, said the commissions executive director, Robert Williams. These measures bring unparalleled transparency to the sport and instill confidence of a level playing field for the horse, the connections and the public.

We appreciate the gaming commissions recognition that this is a world-class invitational trotting event, said Timothy J. Rooney, president and CEO of Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, and that security measures on and off track will be akin to those in Grade 1 Thoroughbred races.

Details of the enhanced protocols for the International Trot are listed below.

Horses running in the International Trot must be on the grounds by 9 a.m. October 14 and will be subject to a continuous 30-hour dedicated watch by experienced security personnel leading to post time. During a dedicated watch, a security guard or investigator who receives ongoing education from the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) and the Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) will be stationed full-time for every horse programmed.

The commission is taking out-of-competition blood samples from participating horses well in advance of the race and sending them to New York State Equine Drug Testing and Research Program at Morrisville State College for immediate testing. The commission will coordinate with other jurisdictions to obtain out-of-competition samples from horses that are not expected to be on the grounds of Yonkers by October 12 to ensure enough time for samples to be collected, sent to the lab and tested before the race.

Once arrived, horses must remain on the Yonkers facility grounds until after the running of the race. Exceptions will only be granted in the case of an emergency, as determined by the Yonkers Raceway security in consultation with the commissions presiding judge.

Commission personnel will monitor all treatments of participating horses performed by veterinarians prior to the scheduled post times of the respective races and examine all paraphernalia. No veterinarians will treat horses without first making an appointment with commission investigators. All containers for medications administered will be retained by the commission for possible testing.

A full daily veterinarians record of all medications and treatments given to horses 72 hours prior to the race will be provided to the commission. Any changes to treatment must be disclosed to the commission. If medications and treatment records are not provided to the commission in a timely manner and prior to treatment, veterinarians will not be permitted to treat the horse until this issue is resolved. The commission will post these records on its website each day.

Stall entry/exit logs will be maintained by security personnel. All persons, including grooms, veterinarians, trainers, assistant trainers, farriers, owners or other connections  upon entering the stall, engaging in contact with the horse or performing any service for the horse  must have a valid commission license or Yonkers Raceway security badge on their person. All visits will be logged in by security along with the reason for the visit. Routine stall and horse maintenance by identified grooms and staff will be monitored but will be exempt from logging.

All equipment, feed, hay bales, etc. will be subject to search and seizure, as provided by law, by both Yonkers Raceway and the commission.

As is current policy, Lasix administration will take place in the horses' own stalls by a Yonkers Raceway veterinarian administrator. Syringes will be preserved by the Commission for possible testing.

On October 15:

No treatments will be permitted (other than Lasix for specifically designated horses) unless it is for an emergency or as approved by the presiding judge and/or the commission veterinarian.

All horses participating in the International Trot must report to a designated assembly point no less than 45 minutes to the designated post time. Each individual trainer is responsible for ascertaining their designated post time. TCO2 blood sampling will be taken before the race. A fine or a scratch may be issued by the presiding judge if horses are late to the paddock.

The International Trot participants will receive priority for paddock schooling with security personnel present.

(New York State Gaming Commission)
Er is iets heel griezeligs aan de gang in Nederland. Dat wij geleidelijk aan in een totalitaire 'democratie' wegzinken wordt steeds ...
Flying Fish restaurant on Disneys Boardwalk recently underwent massive interior renovations as well as a reboot of their menu. Gone from Flying Fish is the cafe part of the name, welcoming in a new, more sophisticated setting that does justice to the quality of cuisine, focused on sustainable seafood.

Gone, too, are the golden fish and golden columns that brought a touch of boardwalk carnival feel to the old Flying Fish Cafe  the interior features an all-new silver-accented kitchen and dining room (with expanded space for private dining events) with silver, shimmering chandeliers  providing a very modern and upscale dining experience. Guests can still watch the chefs prepare dishes in the open kitchen, and sit at the kitchen counter to watch the action up close if desired.

Chef Tim Majoras, who has been with the Flying Fish culinary team since 2011, takes the over the helm in the kitchen from our friend Chef Tim Keating, bringing his take on a whole new menu to delight the palate and senses.

We were invited recently for a media dinner at Flying Fish to get the latest updates to the menu and the interior decor.

The tables bread is baked locally with little slivers of nori seaweed inside  a touch of the sea here, too  giving the bread a wonderful umami savory flavor. The bread features the telltale signature crusts from Orlandos Olde Hearth Bakery. I could not stop at just one piece, despite my better judgement.

The stacked seared yellow fin tuna with compressed watermelon is a work of art  served with thinly sliced avocado, pink radishes, and pickled daikon radish and edible flowers. It tastes even better than it looks.

Another great starter is the Kurobuta pork belly featuring the finest Berkshire pork topped with a shirred quail egg and stacked with a taste of apple slaw and bing cherry gastrique.

The newly renovated Flying Fish also now offers an expanded space for wine storage for their extensive wine list, including 80 wines available by the glass.

For my entree, I chose the Wood-fired Spanish Octopus and Chilean Seabass served with Bomba Arroz, Peruvian Sweet Peppers, and Housemade Chorizo. The octopus was cooked to perfection and paired nicely with the seabass and bomba arroz.

Bomba arroz is short-grain variety of rice commonly used in paella and other dishes in Valencian Spanish cuisine. The rice had a wonderful depth of flavor that had me licking my lips at the end of the meal.

I was able to sample my friends Lobster Nero pasta  nero pasta, or black pasta, is traditionally made from scorched or burnt kernels of wheat. It tastes wonderful.

Dessert is stunning  a work of art  The Under the Sea and Florida Reef desserts are shaped like little pieces of the ocean seafloor, and are all quite delectable. The pastry team at The Flying Fish is top rate and you can tell in their craftsmanship and in the balance of sweetness in their desserts.

Flying Fish at Disneys BoardWalk

Hours: 5-10 p.m. daily

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/boardwalk/flying-fish/
It's Election season and our editor's mailbox is overflowing. Who do your neighbors support? Read about it here.
U.S. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler is asking Southwest Washington veterans to share their stories to help commemorate Veterans Day.

Veterans stories will be highlighted on Herrara Butlers website, jhb.house.gov and her Facebook page through November.

By printing their names, sharing their photos, and telling their stories, we pay tribute to the brave men and women from Southwest Washington who defended our freedom, said Herrera Beutler in a press release. Its my duty as a Member of Congress to serve our veterans by ensuring they continue to receive necessary support and resources.

For those interested in sharing their story or know someone who might, submissions are welcome by email at share.vet.stories@gmail.com or by mail at O.O Howard House, 750 Anderson St. Ste, B Vancouver, WA 98661. Submissions should include a short description of branch, title and assignment for photos.
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Big holiday sales: According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), consumers will be out in force this holiday season  spending on gifts for family and friends. Each year the NRF makes a Christmas shopping projection, and this year they predict retail holiday sales will top $655 billion  or about 3.6 percent  more than last year. We expect retailers to be pushing great deals, early morning doorbuster sales and more very early in the holiday season.

Big Bertha update: Big Bertha, the nickname given to the tunnel boring machine digging the new Alaskan Way viaduct, has had some success of late, but remains a black hole of cost overruns.

The Alaskan Way viaduct tunnel project has been a mess with budget overruns and delays. The project was originally supposed to be completed in late 2015, but now looks like it wont be open until early in 2019. Court cases are already underway trying to figure out who will be paying for the untold millions in excess costs.

But over the past several months, Bertha has been on a roll. Just this week Bertha passed the half-way mark in terms of digging the tunnel. When finished, the tunnel will be about two miles long. So far, Bertha has dug through almost a mile. The huge machine will soon be shut down for a month to go through scheduled maintenance.

Weve been critical of this project because of the cost overruns and inability to stay on schedule. With countless roads and bridges across the state in need of repair, its hard to understand the state undertaking such a risky project, at an initial estimated cost of $3.1 billion. The project will mostly be funded through gas taxes, which are slated to pay $1.85 billion of the project.

In July, state legislators were told the project is already $223 million over budget, with more cost overruns likely. By comparison, the Oregon Way  Industrial Way project is budgeted to spend $85 million dollars, or about a third of just the overruns on the tunnel project.

State Rep. Ed Orcutt, from Kalama, was quoted in a Seattle Times story saying, The increase (in cost) is still very hard for taxpayers to accept, because they were told in 2009 there wouldnt be overruns. How are you ever going to earn the trust of the taxpayers?

Well said Ed.

Yahoo email: In a story published in The Daily News earlier this week, from the McClatchy Washington Bureau, we learned Yahoo complied with a U.S. government directive to scan emails of all its accounts. The government asked Yahoo to scan the emails for certain phrases, and Yahoo engineers complied by writing a program to do so.

The American Civil Liberties Union directed criticism at the federal government saying, The government appears to have compelled Yahoo to conduct precisely the type of general, suspicion-less search that the Fourth Amendment was intended to prohibit.

The Fourth Amendment says: 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.

Some legal experts feel the government just trampled millions of citizens Fourth Amendment rights due to a lack of probable cause. Elizabeth Groitein of New York University Law School said, If Yahoo is indeed scanning the content of all of its customers emails at the NSAs (National Security Agency) behest, that would appear to violate the Fourth Amendment.

We value freedom and appreciate all the sacrifices made by the military and others to preserve it. We also understand freedom comes at a cost, and sadly terrorists take advantage of our countrys freedoms to attack us. But over the last few years weve seen the Obama administration spy on the Associated Press, which is in total disregard for the First Amendment; we know the NSA is already tracking everyones phone calls and now is scanning emails.

Where is the transparency in government that citizens deserve? Why do citizens have to follow the law but the government doesnt?

Bear Attack x 2: Hunters and hikers who venture out into the wilderness are typically pretty wary about encounters with bears. Crossing paths with a bear, especially a sow with cubs, can lead to disaster for a hunter or hiker, and this was the case in Montana this past week. Todd Orr was scouting for an upcoming elk hunt in Montana when he spotted a grizzly bear sow with cubs across a meadow. Orr was equipped with bear spray, which is typically a cayenne pepper aerosol that stings bears senses terribly, to ward them off.

The momma grizzly spotted Orr and charged. Orr tried the bear spray to stop the charge, but the grizzly bear ran right through it and attacked him. He survived the initial attack and fled toward his vehicle some three miles away, only for the bear to return and attack Orr a second time. Miraculously, Orr survived the second attack and made it out alive.

This is an amazing story and a good reminder to all of us to be prepared: have a way to defend yourself from bears, have an emergency medical kit and tell someone where youre going and when youll return. Southwest Washington has some of the most beautiful country in the world  lets enjoy it safely.
The Daily News published an editorial (Sep. 21) endorsing my opponent  Aberdeen Republican Jim Walsh  in Novembers election to decide who will represent southwest Washingtons citizens in Olympia. Ahead of the August 2 election, TDN had previously endorsed two of my then-primary opponents  the appointed Democratic incumbent and a Republican challenger. After neither advanced to November, the editorial board now has endorsed its third candidate in three months.

With its track record of quickly shifting loyalties, the board has made it clear its highest priority is backing whichever candidate most closely aligns with its far-right conservative political agenda, rather than someone who was born and raised here, understands our issues, and would be an effective legislator for our communities. I was deeply disappointed to see my positions on two key issues misrepresented  and I want to set the record straight.

TDNS editorial concludes  ... if you dont want your taxes increased, if you support the Second Amendmentsupport Jim Walsh.

The clear implication is that my stances on an income tax and the Second Amendment differ from Mr. Walshs. They do not.

My campaign for the 19th District House seat is based on facts  not attacks. Here are the facts:

I OPPOSE A STATE INCOME TAX. PERIOD.

I SUPPORT THE SECOND AMENDMENT. PERIOD.

I have stated my opposition to a state income tax clearly both in print and on video. So clearly in fact that my opponent acknowledged our joint income tax opposition during a candidate forum. Check the video yourself at www.peopleforpurcell.com. The audience had no trouble hearing and understanding my position. And yet the TDN editorial board deliberately muddied the waters and misrepresented me.

As for the Second Amendment, the board provides no facts to back up its baseless claim that I would ...vote to diminish your gun rights. TDN got that wrong, too. I oppose Attorney General Fergusons proposal to ban assault-style weapons/high capacity magazines. I joined 19th District Democratic incumbents Rep. Brian Blake and Sen. Dean Takko in unified opposition to the Ferguson proposal during the Greater Grays Harbor candidate forum. Research does not support the AGs claim that a ban would effectively reduce gun-related deaths.

The question of extreme-risk protection orders regarding guns (I-1491) is a separate and distinct issue. Something must be done to keep us safer. Two small Washington towns have recently endured shooting tragedies and the people are asking for leadership around this issue.

Protection orders are a real-world, results-oriented action we can take together to reduce unnecessary gun-related violence. This is a law that will save lives. Families and law enforcement desperately need a tool to prevent tragedies before they happen. A common thread tying together many mass shootings is prior knowledge of a shooters dangerous mental health crisis.

In arguing against this public safety measure, the board gets its facts wrong, stating Initiative 1491 would allow a judge to permanently take away your Second Amendment Rights ... This is simply not true. Anybody seeking a protection order must present sworn evidence justifying their request to a judge. If granted, the order is in effect for 12 months. The subject of a protection order can petition a judge to suspend the order.

Prevention is the key to saving lives from shootings committed by disturbed individuals making violent threats. Initiative 1491 is written so that only those who are in the best position to spot red flags  family, household members, law enforcement  can file for a protection order. Claims that vengeful ex-girlfriends or angry coworkers can get an order are dishonest scare tactics. I urge readers to research the proven benefits of protection orders and join me in supporting I-1491.

Our District faces a number of difficult challenges; nonetheless, we have great assets, people and passion to work with. I will work to bridge the divides between the parties as well as rural and urban elected officials. I will focus on essential infrastructure investments needed to attract and retain family-wage jobs, sustain our natural resource-based industries, improve our education system, diversify our economy, and protect our quality of place.

I will honor our traditions while seeking new and innovative solutions to bring economic opportunities to our area. I am committed to running a positive, volunteer-driven campaign based on facts  not attacks. I challenge my opposition and the editorial board to do likewise.

Im ready to put my experience, networks, and problem-solving skills to work for you in Olympia.
As far back as Lenovo obtained Motorola in 2014, the company has been trying its best to get back into the trend. After acquired by Lenovo, Motorola almost had lost its identity and prominence in the market. However, toward the start of this year, the Chinese conglomerate, Lenovo declared to reintroduce the brand name Motorola with the upcoming smartphones and truly kept its promise by naming two new lineups of smartphones as Moto G and Mote Z.

However, the famous batwing logo of Motorola didnt appear on any smartphones of Lenovo yet, delivering an intense disappointment to the Moto fans. But today, Moto USA has uncovered the reports of Lenovo bringing the historic batwing logo of Motorola back. The parental company, while announcing this news said that the batwing logo is still in power and soon will be appeared in the Moot phones.

new. fresh. and full of all the things you love. say hello to the all-new moto. #hellomoto #differentisbetter pic.twitter.com/ccg0rErzaz  motorolaus (@MotorolaUS) September 29, 2016

Along with this announcement, Moto US also introduced a new marketing campaign according to which Moto smartphones and devices will be upgraded with another boot activity that incorporates the notable batwing logo with the slogan of Hi Moto. The motto Hi Moto is the same jingle used by Motorola in 2002 and in coming time, it will be utilized for the marketing campaign.

To recall, Motorola under the headship of Google used to transmit firmware that had Hello Moto Boot animation and mostly found on the line-up of Moto X smartphones. Moreover, the company also used to update the animations over time. But after obtained by Lenovo, things changed firmly, making Motorola lost its identity and its signature Hello Moto batwing logo.

But now, Lenovo considering the popularity of Motorola in the market is re-thinking about the introducing the company with the same brand name accompanied by fewer modifications. And to carry out this proposal, today, Lenovo posted a video clip on YouTube, which is based on the Hello Moto Boot animation, and declared that, it would be the power-up on new Moto phones. The video illustrated the famous and historic signature line of Motorola  Hello Moto trailed by a series of multi-coloured outlines and pictures. The video ends with the logo of Lenovo, stating that the company is aggressively working on giving Motorola back its uniqueness soon.

Till now, Lenovo hasnt yet given any final words on which Moto phone is going to get this Hello Moto batwing logo. But if we go with the buzzes, the smartphones from the line-up of Moto X will be the first model to comprise the Moto Logo again. However, yet neither Lenovo nor Motorola has confirmed any particular device and the update is expected to commence soon, by the end of this year. However, there is nothing assured about the range of Moto phone of 2015 will get Hello Moto batwing logo or not.
tech2 News Staff

Oculus Connect 3 was an important event for Oculus VR, some might say even a seminal one. The company announced a bunch of new, but necessary accessories for the platform, and also gave us a glimpse of the future of VR.

Oculus Touch: Its finally here

Oculus may have made the best quality headset on the market, but leaving out VR-ready controllers was a huge mistake. The HTC Vive offered a competitive headset, but it was the Vives controllers and room-scale VR system that stole the show.

While Facebook has teased the controllers before, they were officially announced yesterday at Oculus Connect 3. The design of the controllers hasnt really changed much since we first saw them. Both controllers feature two, feather-touch triggers and an assortment of buttons. A bunch of LEDs on the front help the Oculus Camera keep track of their position.

A controller kit will be available for pre-order worldwide on 13 October and itll ship on 6 December. The controllers are priced at $199 (around Rs 13,300).

Oculus Camera: Now there are more

The Oculus Camera is a tracking unit that comes with a Rift and it does double duty as a head tracker and controller tracker. Zuckerberg, however, added that you can add up to three cameras in a room and suddenly, room-scale VR becomes a reality!

A three-camera setup will track your position in your room in 3D and in real-time.

The camera tracking units will be available for $79 (around Rs 5,300).

Oculus Earphones: You now have an option

The Rift comes with headphones as part of the Rift package. Theyre good, but if you wanted earphones, you didnt have an option. Now you do.

These earphones will retail for $49 (Rs 3,300).

Oculus Santa Cruz: Look ma, no wires!



The Oculus Santa Cruz prototype is the most interesting announcement at Oculus Connect 3, but its not a unique concept. The headset sits between the Gear VR and Oculus Rift CV1 in terms of features, price and functionality.

This headset packs in a PC within the headset itself (Intel and AMD had demoed this many months ago at GDC 2016) and integrates multiple cameras for keeping an eye on the world around you.

This headset will have no wires since everything thats needed is within the headset itself. Since the cameras are bundled on the headset, theyll provide room-scale VR and tracking without the need for external sensors.

The Santa Cruz is never going to be as powerful as the Rift, but its a stand-alone device that might offer the right compromise between price and features. Its still a prototype, however, so it may not even develop into a fully-featured product.
hidden

The arrest of a former National Security Agency contractor for allegedly stealing classified information represents the second known case since 2013 of a government contractor being publicly accused of removing secret data from the intelligence agency. The latest case comes as the NSA has worked to reform security after the Edward Snowden disclosures, especially with regard to insider threats.

Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, was arrested by the FBI in August after federal prosecutors say he illegally removed highly classified information and stored the material in his home and car. A defence attorney said Martin did not intend to betray his country.

The arrest was not made public until Wednesday when the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint that accused Martin of having been in possession of top-secret information that could cause "exceptionally grave danger" to national security if disclosed.

It's not yet clear when the documents were removed. But the fact that Snowden and Martin - both working for Booz Allen Hamilton as contractors for the NSA - were accused of leaving the NSA with highly classified documents raises questions about the effectiveness and adequacy of the intelligence agency's internal security controls. The NSA, which put security upgrades into place following the Snowden disclosures, has declined to comment.

"One key thing we don't have visibility into now is how he was caught because that would provide some insight into whether the reforms that were put in post-Snowden were effective or not or their relative efficacy," said Rajesh De, who was the NSA's general counsel when the Snowden story broke. Snowden's 2013 theft of documents that were leaked to journalists revealed the NSA's bulk collection of millions of Americans' phone records.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that "it is painfully clear that the intelligence community still has much to do to institutionalise reforms designed to protect (U.S. government secrets) from insider threats."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the federal government has made important changes since Snowden's disclosures. He said the government has reduced the number of people who need security clearances by 17 percent and has enhanced the quality of background checks. Martin's arrest appears to illustrate the difficulty of guarding against an insider threat given that employees, by virtue of their clearance level and jobs, must be entrusted with the nation's secrets.

It's unlikely that "you're going to be able to stop every incident of somebody taking documents if they're determined to do so. But the real question is how quickly can you detect it, how quickly can you mitigate the harm of any such incident," De said.

Adm. Mike Rogers, who heads the NSA, has repeatedly spoken since 2013 about efforts the agency has taken to ensure that such a thing doesn't happen again. He has said the agency tried to strike a balance so as to not overly upset workers who are law-abiding citizens with aggressive internal security mechanisms.

Among the classified documents found with Martin, the FBI said, were six that contain sensitive intelligence - meaning they were produced through sensitive government sources or methods that are critical to national security - and date back to 2014. All the documents were marked as classified information, an FBI affidavit says.

The complaint does not specify which documents Martin is alleged to have taken. He was arrested around the same time U.S. officials acknowledged an investigation into a cyber leak of purported hacking tools used by the NSA. That toolkit consists of malicious software intended to tamper with firewalls, the electronic defences protecting computer networks. Those documents were leaked by a group calling itself the "Shadow Brokers." The complaint does not reference that group or allege a link to Martin.

The New York Times first reported the arrest of a NSA contractor who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen said in a statement that after learning of the arrest of one of its employees, it contacted law enforcement authorities to offer its cooperation and fired the worker.

At Martin's home, investigators found stolen property valued at "well in excess of $1,000," the complaint said. "Martin at first denied, and later when confronted with specific documents, admitted he took documents and digital files from his work assignment to his residence and vehicle that he knew were classified," the affidavit says. "Martin stated that he knew what he had done was wrong and that he should not have done it because he knew it was unauthorised." He has been in custody since his arrest in August. The complaint charges him with unauthorised removal and retention of classified materials and theft of government property.

"There is no evidence that Hal Martin intended to betray his country," his public defenders, James Wyda and Deborah Boardman, said in a statement. "What we do know is that Hal Martin loves his family and his country. He served honourably as a lieutenant in the United States Navy, and he has devoted his entire career to serving his country. We look forward to defending Hal Martin in court."

Dinah Winnick, director of communications at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, confirmed that Martin is a student in the university's information systems graduate program. The university has a partnership with the NSA, which gives students prospects for jobs, training and scholarship support. Martin enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1987 and left the service in 2000, the Navy said.

In 2013, journalists relying on classified documents taken by Snowden revealed the NSA's bulk collection phone records and spurred a national debate on privacy and national security. Rogers has said that since those revelations, he's repeatedly reminded the workforce of their agreement to never divulge the sensitive information they've been given access to. In prior comments, Rogers has said security isn't just about technical and insider threat preparation, but also about ensuring professional behaviour.

"At times, I have some people telling me, 'Hey, what this should show you is you can't trust contractors,' " Rogers said in a speech at Stanford University in 2014, noting that some of the biggest compromises of information came from direct U.S. employees. "This idea that you can't trust contractors, I just don't think I'm concerned about the long-term implications of that."

Associated Press
Anirudh Regidi

When Apple started selling the iPhone in China, Im sure that the last thing they expected to see was a bunch of Chinese citizens smashing iPhones to the tune of the Chinese national anthem in a fit of jingoistic frenzy.

Strangely enough, thats exactly what happened.

A number of Chinese firms, the Nanyang Yongkang Medicine company in particular, issued edicts barring their employees from purchasing the iPhone 7. The aforementioned medicine companys edict went viral on Weibo, reports the BBC.

This notice was timed to coincide with the eighty-fifth anniversary of Japans invasion of China. The company decided to commemorate the occasion by boycotting foreign products.

The story was picked up by a local news channel, went viral, and dozens of other firms decided to follow suit. These companies issued threats ranging from youll be fired for buying an iPhone 7 to youll be removed from candidacy for annual rewards of outstanding performance.

Considering that the iPhone is made in China, the move is certainly counter-productive. Some on Weibo have even complained that the edicts violate citizens rights. But the less said about that the better.

Some companies are attempting to brush off these dictatorial edicts as concern for their employees.

"I'm not against foreign brands but I don't like to see people buying expensive iPhones that they can't obviously afford, one employer told the BBC. Such concern. Much wow.

Oh, and that jingoistic frenzy we mentioned earlier? Check it out here. Its surreal.

Now if only they were doing it to the Harlem Shake. That would certainly have been something.
Nimish Sawant

Google announced its very own smartphone - the Pixel and Pixel XL - at the Made By Google event along with other hardware on 4 Oct. With the Pixel, Google has entered that premium smartphone segment which was so far the playing ground of Apple and a lot of Android, and in effect Google's, partners such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei and others. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Google phone partners must've been caught offguard after Google decided to go on its own. But is it really a bad thing?

After-effects of Pixel

"With the launch of Pixel range of smartphones, Google has embarked upon tightening its grip on the Android ecosystem. With this Google is now directly competing with its smartphone hardware partners. However, we feel in the long run there will not be any conflict with these partners," said Navkendar Singh, head of mobile devices research, India and South Asia at IDC India.

According to him this move by Google should be seen as Google making the first version of the hardware itself and integrating the software and hardware vertically with the express objective of creating the best possible Android experience. It is only a matter of time before its hardware partners start offering similar features in 2017.

Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner, says that with the Pixel, Google is trying to make a statement that it is now serious about hardware and software, and just like Apple it wants to have a control over both.

Gupta feels that Pixel won't really compete with the likes of Apple or Samsung with the first version just yet. "There will be some repercussions of this launch, but not that Google Pixel is really going to compete with the likes of Apple or Samsung. It's more about how you are going to sell the device. With the Nexus, only the online channels were used for selling. Samsung and Apple have been investing in developing their offline channels, so unless you have presence in the retail shops in India, there will be a small proportion of people who will opt for the Pixel."

Croma and Reliance Digital seem to be the only offline partners that Google announced would stock Pixel in its availability slide. But Apple and Samsung devices are sold at a lot more outlets, thanks to its years of investments in offline channels.

According to Raja Lahiri, partner Grant Thornton India LLP, it is too early to say if the Pixel launch would really shake up the market as Pixel has to prove itself in the real world. "There is no doubt that existing players will feel the heat as Google Pixel is launched, because it adds to the competition. A lot will depend on what is the differentiating factor on the phone compared to existing players." said Lahiri.

Singh also touched upon the importance of channels and relationship with carriers, while saying that the Pixel would compete with flagships from Apple and Samsung. "Since now Google is becoming a full fledged hardware player, it has to now manage inventory, build relationships with carriers, develop channels, sourcing components, making supply chain deals and managing distribution, all on its own. This can take a lot of time and effort," he said.

What about Google Home?

The other star product of the evening was clearly Google Home, Google's $129 answer to Amazon's Echo. According to Gupta, Echo and Home have different user interface approaches. "Voice initiated UI on Alexa is mature in terms of usage and also Echo uses around seven microphones, as compared to two on the Home. Lot of things are yet to be seen in real world cases," said Gupta.

Amazon Echo has just about started selling in the UK, apart from being available for the US. Conversational home assistants belong to a relatively new product category. Singh feels that there is enough scope for both Amazon and Google to exist in this space and grow and innovate. According to Gupta, the market is too nascent for these products and there will definitely be more vendors coming into this space, including Apple.

"Google Home's smaller size, more aesthetic design, high degree of customisation, powered by Google Search, ability sync to multiple devices and integration with smart home ecosystem platform, it will be interesting to see how it holds up against Alexa which has lead time of almost a year in the market and more affordable Alexa Dot," said Singh.
tech2 News Staff

Nokia has been a loved brand. Everyone who wanted a high-quality phone went for a Nokia. Be it smartphones or feature phones, the Finnish brand was the leader of making handsets. Weve also heard a lot about how solid they were built. Even today, the Nokia 3315 is hailed to be as strong as a brick.

Even after exiting the handset business Nokia is still making news. And saving lives for that matter. Peter Skillman, a Microsoft executive, recently shared a picture of a badly damaged Nokia feature phone. The phone had apparently taken a bullet, of course it isnt in a working condition but it managed to save the users life. Peter Skillmans tweet reads, A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week. The embedded bullet.

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week. The embedded bullet.... pic.twitter.com/O2zBxadkDO  peter skillman (@peterskillman) October 5, 2016

You can see in the picture how the bullet has penetrated the phone but hasnt managed to go through it. We cant quite confirm the model number but it definitely is a Nokia branded phone.

Weve heard similar miracles in the past of how Nokia phones have survived a lot of abuse, damage and taking bullets. But frankly, we didnt expect a case at a time when Nokia phones are getting extinct.
Naina Khedekar

In June earlier this year, Vitaly Kamluk, Kaspersky Labs Director of Global Research and Analysis Team in APAC, had said how India stands among the top 5 countries in the world attacked by ransomware. Now, he tells Tech2 that one-third of the ransomware incidents in APAC in Q3 2016 were in India. The India trend showed a drop in Q2 2016 compared to Q1 by 50 percent, but quickly followed by a 100 percent increase in Q3 2016. It went down during the summer and could be probably related to Indian holiday time as it started picking soon by the end of summer.

https://twitter.com/tech2eets/status/784211976083824640

Kamluk said that India requires more awareness to deal by making people prepare for such attacks so that they don't lose money. And, it will also require some initiatives from the government. Countries like Russia and Singapore have hoarding education general public around cyber crimes and precaution. In some European schools, students are thought about online protection, how to recognise scam, malware and so on. Maybe similar initiatives could help increase awareness. This way, it doesn't really matter whether you access Internet via mobile or desktop, basic awareness and essential precautions could help deal with it.

Moreover, he added that the government should promote and encourage people to report cyber crime incidents. There should be cyber police staff that is efficiently trained by experts.

At the ongoing Kaspersky Lab Cyber Security Weekend for Asia Pacific countries, he also revealed some other findings such as India stands 25th overall, and after China in APAC when it comes to online detections in Q3 2016, and 19th when it comes to malicious hosts with a figure that reads 526348.

Take a look at the two graphs below:

Taking about basic protection for phones, especially when we are using them for online banking, online transactions, govt websites, it is essential to safeguard the device. "Free solutions are better than nothing. It is good to have one if you cannot afford anything at all. But, in terms of reliability, efficient and detection statistics they certainly lack certain things. Now, data base experts, knowledge, collecting samples and so on requires human resources, time and money to run the infrastructure. If you make it free, you still have to support it, and then how you do it when nobody pays any money. So, its quite controversial model. The quality definitely wont be same," he added.

The best way is to check anti-virus test results to know which anti-virus is good, and compare all aspects. Talking about future threats, he highlights IoT, Auto and Cloud.

Talking about enterprise and cloud solutions, he said, "Kaspersky Virtualisation Solution. Its kind of light engine that may run within virtual containers. The anti-virus will be outside so that you can save computational resources. It can help not one but a number of machines with minimum impact on performance."

Disclaimer: This correspondent's tickets and accommodation at Bali were taken care of by Kaspersky
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Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co said it expects third-quarter operating profit grew 5.6 percent, beating estimates, as a pickup in chip and display earnings likely offset the impact of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone recall. In a brief regulatory filing, the world's biggest smartphone maker said on Friday July-September profit was likely 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with the 7.4 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of analysts' forecasts. A year earlier operating profit was 7.4 trillion won.

Revenue for the quarter likely fell 5.2 percent to 49 trillion won, the South Korean firm said. Samsung disclosed only overall estimates in its filing and isn't scheduled to issue full results with details of how its business lines performed until late October. The firm made no comment in the filing on how much the Galaxy Note 7 recall might cost.

The filing also made no reference to how the company plans to respond to proposals submitted earlier this week by activist investor Elliott Management for a radical corporate makeover that would split the firm into a holding vehicle for ownership purposes and an operating company. The company said on Thursday it was "carefully reviewing" the proposals.

Analysts had lowered expectations Samsung's third-quarter earnings after it announced a global recall of at least 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets, including the United States and South Korea, due to faulty batteries causing some phones to catch fire. Some brokerages said the recall would cut Samsung's mobile profits by 1 trillion won or more.

A pickup for Samsung's components businesses likely helped cushion the blow, investors said ahead of the earnings guidance. Prices for memory chips are rising due to increased demand from smartphone makers such as Apple Inc, likely leading to the semiconductor division's best-operating profit in four quarters, some analysts said.

Reuters
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State agents raided the Dallas offices of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Carl Ferrer following allegations that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site.

Ferrer, 55, was arrested on a California warrant after arriving Thursday in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. Authorities also issued warrants for the arrest of the site's controlling shareholders, Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67. "Making money off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery is not acceptable in Texas," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said that Ferrer was arrested on felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bond and will face an extradition hearing before he can be returned to California. Under California's law, felony pimping is defined as making money off of prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.

"Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal," said Harris, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate in next month's election. "Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world's top online brothel."

An attorney representing Backpage, Liz McDougall, did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages left by The Associated Press. Lacey and Larkin are former owners of the Village Voice and the Phoenix New Times. An attorney who previously represented the two men, Michael Manning, did not immediately respond to a telephone message from The AP.

Backpage advertises a wide range of services, but the California arrest warrant alleges that internal business records obtained through a search warrant show that 99 percent its revenue came from its adult services section between January 2013 and March 2015. California officials said the site collects fees from users who use coded language and nearly nude photos to offer sex for money.

Worldwide revenue from sex ads topped $3.1 million in just one week last year, according to a court affidavit. It says Ferrer expanded Backpage's share of online sex marketing by creating affiliated sites including EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com with related content.

Larkin and Lacey each received $10 million bonuses from the website in September 2014, according to the court filing. It says Backpage was created in 2004, but since 2014 has been owned by a Netherlands-based company that has Ferrer as its only named partner. California authorities said the state's three-year investigation found many of the ads include victims of sex trafficking including children under the age of 18.

One of the advertisers, identified only as 15-year-old "E.S.," ''was forced into prostitution at the age of 13 by her pimp," according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. She used other online advertising services until they were shut down, the court filing says, when she turned to Backpage.

"I mean really, coming from someone my age, there is too much access, like it's too easy for people to get on it and post an ad," she told California Special Agent Brian Fichtner, according to his affidavit. California officials said their investigation was prompted in part by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which reported 2,900 instances to California authorities since 2012 when suspected child sex trafficking occurred using Backpage.

The criminal complaint includes allegations that five minors, three of them including "E.S." under age 16, paid to post advertisements on Backpage. The charges against Ferrer could bring him nearly 22 years in prison, while Larkin and Lacey face a maximum six years. A U.S. Senate subcommittee that has investigated the company estimated its annual revenues at more than $150 million.

Associated Press
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The US Federal Communications Commission will vote on 27 Oct on a revised proposal for rules to safeguard privacy of broadband users.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's initial proposal came under harsh criticism from internet service providers such as Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Inc and Comcast Corp, because it subjected them to more stringent rules than websites like Facebook Inc, Twitter or Alphabet Inc's Google, which are overseen by Federal Trade Commission rules.

Providers had especially objected to sweeping "opt in" requirements under the initial proposal for using nearly all consumer data. Under the new proposal, providers must only get "opt in" or affirmative consent for sensitive data like health, finances, web browsing history, child data, and Social Security numbers.

But it allows other data to be used with "opt out" or implied consent for marketing purposes.

FCC officials said the new rules are more in line with FTC privacy rules for websites.

USTelecom, a trade group representing Verizon, AT&T and others, said it was concerned the FCC "is now attempting to redefine what consumers may regard as sensitive" and might not agree with the FTC's definition.

Wheeler said the FCC has long required telephone companies to protect information associated with phone calls and now must do the same with internet service.

Several consumer groups including the Consumer Federation of America backed the revised proposal, as did Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.

The FCC has authority to set broadband privacy rules after it reclassified broadband providers last year as part of new net neutrality regulations. A federal appeals court upheld that decision in June.

Wheeler is working to complete an aggressive agenda this year, including the privacy proposal, as well as rules to reform the $40 billion market for business data services, known as special access lines, and to allow consumers to ditch pay TV set top boxes.

A person briefed on the matter said Wheeler was circulating a revised proposal to reform the special access lines Thursday, but has not decided whether to bring it up for a vote on Oct. 27.

In September, the FCC said it would delay a final vote on a landmark reform of the $20 billion television set-top box market, which could reduce bills for tens of millions of subscribers.

Negotiations among the commissioners were continuing after the FCC's three Democrats in a joint statement last week expressed support for letting consumers drop set-top boxes, which route cable and broadcasting to televisions. They said they were "working to resolve the remaining technical and legal issues."

Reuters
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Yahoo's decision to scan clients' email accounts at the behest of the US authorities has prompted questions in Europe as to whether EU citizens' data had been compromised, and could help derail a new trans-Atlantic data sharing deal.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Yahoo complied with a classified US government demand to search customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by US intelligence officials.

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, the lead European regulator on privacy issues for Yahoo, said on Wednesday it was making enquiries about the matter.

European politicians called on the European Commission, the European Unions executive body, to look into the issue and lawyers said a legal challenge to the new EU-US data sharing deal agreed earlier this year was now more likely in Europe.

"Any form of mass surveillance infringing on the fundamental privacy rights of EU citizens would be viewed as a matter of considerable concern," the regulator in Dublin, where Yahoo's European headquarters is based, said in a statement.

Yahoo said in response to the original Reuters story that it was "a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States".

It declined to confirm whether it scanned users' emails or to say whether Europeans' emails were intercepted as part of the program.

Johannes Kleis a spokesman with BEUC, an umbrella group for European consumer organizations, called on other EU data protection authorities to investigate Yahoo.

Fabio de Masi, a German member of the European Parliament with the leftist Die Linke party, said he had submitted a formal request to EU High Representative for External Affairs Federica Mogherini asking her to seek clarification from US authorities about the treatment of EU data.

Privacy Shield

Ashley Winton, a data protection and privacy lawyer with Paul Hastings, said the revelations that Yahoo had helped the authorities scan user emails could prompt clients to ditch Yahoo.

In addition to retail users in Europe, Yahoo also provides email services for other companies, including UK-listed groups Sky Plc and BT Plc.

Sky did not respond to a request for comment. When asked about the matter, BT referred to Yahoos comment about being a law abiding group.

In February, the United States and Europe published a new deal -- the so-called 'Privacy Shield' -- to allow U.S. companies to move data on EU clients to the United States.

The full list of all companies which have applied to benefit from the Privacy Shield has not yet been published as a deadline for early applications passed just last week.

Yahoo declined to say whether it hoped to be able to participate in the new arrangement, which has been criticized by some European politicians as not offering enough protection to consumers against mass surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Winton said EU data regulators would probably deem the kind of scanning the sources told Reuters that Yahoo had engaged in last year -- sifting through millions of emails for those with specific characteristics -- as being not consistent with the terms of the Privacy Shield.

As part of the Privacy Shield, the United States has ruled out indiscriminate mass surveillance, a European Commission spokesman said.

"The US will be held accountable to these commitments both through review mechanisms and through redress possibilities," he added.

Yahoo could use other legal mechanisms to transfer data to the United States from Europe but these are more complicated and involve additional expense, lawyers said.

Winton added that the Yahoo news increased the chances of a legal challenge in Europe against the agreement.

Reuters
Former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Steve Linde revealed in a column on Thursday that former Israeli President Shimon Peres, who passed away this week, confided in him two years ago that he had prevented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from striking Iran.

If not for Shimon Peress intervention, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning to bomb Iran, the former president revealed confidentially to The Jerusalem Post over two years ago. [...]



During the course of the conversation (in which just the three of us sat and chatted over coffee), Brinn asked Peres what he considered the greatest achievement of his presidency. He responded by saying that he had personally intervened to stop Netanyahu from ordering a preemptive strike on Irans nuclear sites.



The following is based on my notes:



Peres: I stopped Netanyahu from attacking Iran.



Me: Can you tell us more?



Peres: I dont want to go into details, but I can tell you that he was ready to launch an attack and I stopped him. I told him the consequences would be catastrophic.



Can we report this? I asked.



When Im dead, Peres replied, with a wry smile.

I didn't post about Shimon Peres's passing last week because the man really was a galling disgrace in his latter years, and I don't see the point in saying a man who advocated validating the PLO was someone to admire. Now, there comes word that Peres made one of his last acts preventing a strike on Iran From the article itself , what's told here sounds very disgusting:I don't know if this is actually true - read the rest and you'll notice that there's at least 2 former military officials who also opposed a strike on Iran, which is alarming. But his own opposition in itself is disturbing, and just proves he was nobody admirable. Now it could be more difficult than ever to stop Iran's tyranny, and Peres is one of at least a few people who have to shoulder the blame.So Peres won't be missed. He only did everything to hurt Israel and endanger its safety. And the editor who kept this secret is just as guilty.

Labels: anti-semitism, dhimmitude, iran, islam, Israel, jihad, Moonbattery, msm foulness, political corruption, terrorism
Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy
England set 310 for Tigers

England registered a 310-run target for host Bangladesh in the opening one-day international (ODI) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Friday.

Earlier, England won the toss and decided to bat first against Bangladesh.

A shoddy fielding display from Bangladesh and a fantastic though fortuitous maiden century from England all-rounder Ben Stokes took the tourists to a formidable 309 for eight.

Bangladesh seamer Shafiul Islam has sent back Ben Duckett to end his 153-run stand with Ben Stokes which put England in a good position for a big total in the first ODI.

Duckett cracked a fine half-century on debut and took England past 200 with Ben Stokes.

His fifty came off 63 balls while some slapdash fielding from the hosts handed both the batsman extra lives.

England profited from some sloppy fielding from Bangladesh as Stokes was dropped twice in successive overs on 69 and 71 - Mahmudullah and Mosharraf Hossain.

Mosharraf then dropped Duckett another sharp chance to take out Duckett at back square leg with the batsman on 59.

Stokes and Duckett revived the England innings with a century partnership as the tourists went past 200 in the first ODI.

Stokes cracked a quickfire seventh ODI half-century off 44 balls with debutant Duckett giving good support from the other end.

Earlier, England lost three quick wickets as Bangladesh spinners struck back after a breezy start from the tourists.

Jason Roy (41) was looking good before he holed out at long off to Sabbir Rahman off Shakib Al Hasan.

Sabbir then landed another blow on the tourists when he caught Jonny Bairstow (0) short with a direct throw from midoff as England slipped to 63-3.

Opener James Vince went back for 16 after skying a length ball from Shafiul down the ground where Mashrafe Bin Mortaza took an easy catch.

Roy had given England a breezy start after England elected to bat.
Pentagon encourages Pakistani, Indian militaries to keep talking

US does not support declaring Pakistan a 'terrorist state'

US President Barack Obama shaking hands with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Washington.

Dawn.com, Washington :

The US Department of Defence, in its first reaction to the current India-Pakistan conflict, has urged both militaries to continue talking as it would help reduce tensions.

"We are aware that the Indian and Pakistani militaries have been in communication with one another and we encourage these continued discussions between India and Pakistan as a means to reduce any tensions that may be out there," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told a briefing. "We're encouraged by that and we certainly would encourage those conversations to continue," he added.

Mr Cook said that various branches of the US government - including the Pentagon - were maintaining regular contacts with both India and Pakistan.

Asked to comment on alleged threats from Islamabad to go for the nuclear option if India imposed war on Pakistan, Mr Cook said: "Again, the secretary (Ashton Carter) would hope, as the United States government would hope, that tensions between Pakistan and India would be lowered and that there would be an effort at communication here to try and address those concerns."

Diplomatic observers in Washington have noted that despite its declared policy of not interfering in India-Pakistan dispute, the US government has been continuously encouraging both neighbours to stay engaged and to reduce tensions.

This, they argue, shows the level of concern in Washington over the current situation and is a significant departure from its stated policy that it is for India and Pakistan to decide how to resolve their differences.

PTI adds: The US today said it does not support declaring Pakistan a 'terrorist state' but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India. The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions. State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a Bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state', Mr Kirby at his daily press briefing said:



"I have not seen anything specifically about the - such a bill, and obviously we don't."


Duterte wants to liberate Philippines from US shackles: FM

Manila tells Washington no joint patrols in South China Sea

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, centre, poses with a fist bump with Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana, left, during his \"Talk with the Airmen\" on the anniversary of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing, at the Philippine Air Force headquarters in subu

Reuters, Manila :

The president of the Philippines wants to liberate his country from a "shackling dependency" on the United States which can not guarantee its help when Philippine sovereignty is under threat, its foreign minister said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, in the most forceful show of accord from a top official with President Rodrigo Duterte's tough anti-American stance, said the president was "compelled to realign" Philippine foreign policy and not submit to U.S. demands and interests.

"Breaking away from the shackling dependency of the Philippines to effectively address both internal and external security threats has become imperative in putting an end to our nation's subservience to United States' interests," Yasay said in a Facebook post.

Yasay's assessment of U.S. ties follows a diplomatic storm over Duterte's declarations over the past eight days that joint U.S.-Philippines military exercises would cease, a defense agreement would be reviewed and at an undisclosed time, he might "break up" with the United States.

On Monday, Duterte said U.S. President Barack Obama should "go to hell", the latest rebuke stemming from U.S. concern about Duterte's deadly war on drugs.

On Thursday, Duterte said the United States and European Union should withdraw their assistance to the Philippines if they were unhappy with his crackdown. Asked about the ongoing criticism from Manila, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was 'mindful of the rhetoric but we believe that it is at odds with the kind of cooperation that we have right now."

Meanwhile, the Philippine defense chief said Friday that he told the U.S. military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break in defense cooperation after months of increasingly strident comments by the country's new president.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said that 107 U.S. troops involved in operating surveillance drones against Muslim militants would be asked to leave the southern part of the country once the Philippines acquires those intelligence-gathering capabilities in the near future.
Taiwan aims to build ties with Japan on maritime, regional issues

President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan will launch talks with Japan on maritime cooperation.

Reuters , Taipei :

Taiwan is to launch talks with Japan on maritime cooperation, including on fisheries and search and rescue, President Tsai Ing-wen said, part of a push to deepen ties with Asia's second-largest economy.

China regards Taiwan as a wayward province, to be taken back by force if necessary, and is likely to disapprove of it building ties with Japan, especially when China is suspicious of Japan forging closer maritime cooperation in Southeast Asia.

"In the near future, we will jointly open the Taiwan-Japan maritime affairs cooperation dialogue," Ms Tsai Ing-wen told Japan's Yomiuru Shimbun newspaper.

"We don't rule out it could take place this month," she said, according to a transcript of the interview, issued by Ms Tsai's office on Friday. Media interviews by Taiwan presidents are often used as a way for the diplomatically isolated, self-ruled island to state positions to a wider audience.

Ms Tsai, like her predecessors, is constrained from travelling to other countries, most of which have official relations with China and recognise its "one China" principle.

Ms Tsai Ing-wen leads the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party and she took power in May after an election win, raising suspicion in Beijing.

Tsai said she looked forward to cooperating with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen relations and promote regional stability.

"From Taiwan's perspective, Prime Minister Abe is someone we are quite familiar with over a long period of time. We also understand that he has goodwill toward Taiwan," she said. For Japan, building ties with Taiwan could risk its relations with Beijing, which are already strained by arguments over their wartime history and a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

China is also suspicious of Japanese moves to help the Philippines and Vietnam develop their maritime security. Both are in disputes with China over rival claims in the South China Sea.

Ms Tsai called on Beijing to talk, saying that immediately after she took power on May 20, China appeared to be "relatively rational and calm" in handling matters with Taiwan.
Taking a stand against ageism

World Health Organization estimates that by 2050 the global population of persons older than 60 years will become 2 billion. By 2020, the proportion of ageing population is set to double from the existing 12% to 22%.

Ageism, the practice of discriminating against a person based on age is widespread and can have harmful effects on their health.

'Take A Stand Against Ageism', is the 2016 WHO theme for the International Older Adults Day that falls on 1st October.

'International Older Adults Day' is celebrated every year on 1st October. The United Nations General Assembly voted in December 1990 to celebrate this day every year as the International Day of Older Adults. It aims to create global awareness on problems faced by the elderly, to applaud their contributions to society, and to improve their quality of life.

The WHO theme for the year 2016 is, 'Take a stand against ageism'. It aims to tackle and change widely held beliefs and prejudices in society that discriminate against people because of their age.

'Combat ageism and celebrate the elderly - they are our treasure for wisdom and experience.'

Ageism in Society

Ageism, the practice of discriminating against people based on their age, is rampant and is akin to racism and sexism.

Due to long-held beliefs and prejudices, all elderly are perceived as 'weak and frail', 'inefficient' and 'incapable'. Societal attitudes towards elderly, institutional policies and governmental apathy tend to perpetuate these beliefs further and the elderly are caught in a vicious cycle that may negatively impact their health and well-being.

Ageism in society also tends to unconsciously influence the way the elderly feel about themselves, as being physically weak and incapable, as economic burdens on the family and mentally deficient. Quite a few of these beliefs stem from incomplete knowledge and awareness of certain conditions such as dementia, and mistaking it to be a normal part of ageing.

Long-term health care of the elderly is commonly equated with poor working conditions, and makes it difficult to employ paid caregivers for the elderly. This in turn, makes life difficult for the elderly.

Ageism restricts broader thinking and manner of looking at problems and arriving at solutions.

In short, ageism limits the framing and creation of better policies for the elderly.

How ageism impacts the elderly

Ageism has been shown to affect the heart, cause lower levels of self-efficacy and decrease productivity of the older adults.

Studies have shown that elderly persons with negative attitudes to aging die nearly 8 years earlier than those with positive views about aging.

The society values youth more than elderly, hence tackling ageism will not be easy. However old age brings with it wisdom and experience and the elderly in the society needs to be cherished and not scorned away. One old person expressed himself eloquently when he wrote on Dreams in Thyme -

'These are not wrinkles

These are survival lines of my life

Each one holds a story, a laugh or a memory

They are like snowflakes, no two are alike'

Some actions that may aid in combating ageism include -

Educating and creating knowledge among the public, policy makers, employers and service providers about aging through concerted campaigns.

Changing existing laws against age-based discrimination.

Role of media in putting forth a balanced view on ageing

Changing and correcting widespread misconceptions about ageing will not be easy, but a beginning has to be made sooner than later.

Common health conditions among the elderly

The global aging population (people over 60 years) is set to double in the next ten years. Countries need to come up with policies and develop infrastructure to meet their requirement

Providing accessible health care will be a major challenge. The common diseases among the elderly include -

Heart disease,

Stroke

Chronic lung disease

Sensory impairments, especially visual and auditory

Depression

Neck pain

Frequent falls

Diabetes

Dementia

Osteoarthritis

The following tips may improve quality of life for the elderly -

Maintaining a healthy weight to reduce risk of lifestyle diseases

Regular physical activity to keep muscles strong, joints flexible, and for a healthy heart.

Eating healthy foods and taking regular supplements

Being in regular touch with family and friends

Fall-proofing the house

Regular medical and dental check-ups

Regular visual and hearing check-ups

Reduce stress by practising relaxation techniques Regular screenings such as mammography, bone densitometry and Pap smear in women, and prostate specific antigen (PSA) in men

It should be remembered that the elderly have nurtured us, taught us values, created and shown the path for our success and achievements. It is our duty to allow them to age with dignity and grace. As Alfred Lord Tennyson said ~ "Old age hath yet his honour and his toil."

Source: Medindia
BARISAL: Ishrat Jahan, Asssistant Commissioner (Land) is being greeted by the employees for her promotion at Banaripara in Barisal recently.
Heirs of the ex-employee entitled to full service benefits

High Court Division :

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

Hasan Foez Siddique J

Jahangir Hossain J

Honufa Begum and others.........Petitioners

vs

Secretary, Ministry of Posts Telegraph and Tele Communication and others.........

............ Respondents

Judgment

August 7th 2011

Administrative Tribunal Act, 1980 (VII of 1981)

Sections 4 and 7A

Only the servant of the republic may apply before the Tribunal or his heirs may be substituted in the case if he dies during pendency of the case filed by him against his removal or dismissal from service. But there is no such case pending in the Tribunal at the time of his death. The petitioners do not have locus standi to file an application before the tribunal as they are not servants in the republic. ..(10)

Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972

Article 102(2)

Penalty imposed by the authority concerned upon the dead man is not legal in the eye of law. It is apparent that the petitioners are admittedly heirs of the deceased-employee, having no other forum except to invoke writ jurisdiction and since the predecessor of the petitioners was acquitted from the charge brought against him by the competent court of law, there is no bar to the petitioners as heirs of the ex-employee in obtaining full service benefits as per service rules. . ..... (12)

Kazi Shamsunnahar vs Commandant RRF Khulna, 2 BLC 569 ref.

Aminul Islam, Advocate-For the Petitioners.

Bishwjit Roy, DAG-For the Respondents.

Judgment

Jahangir Hossain J : Upon an application Rule Nisi was issued calling upon the Respondents to show cause as to why the impugned order vide bw_ bs-Kg-we/Gb-02/08 dated 11-05-2008 (Annexure-H) passed by the respondent No. 3 dismissing a departmental appeal preferred by the petitioners challenging the order vide Memo No. Gd-1-1/96-97 dated No. 2-8-2007 (Annexure-E) passed by the Respondent No.4 in a department proceeding imposing penalty upon the predecessor of the petitioners by treating his suspension period as leave as due in spite of releasing him from the charge of the proceeding and also the order vide bw_ bs-we-1-1/KgPvix/Aemi/2006 dated 24-9-2006 and bw_ bs-we-1-1/KgPvix/Aemi/2006 dated 19-8-2007 (Annexure-F and F-I) sanctioning family pension and other service benefits without granting LPR should not be declared to have been made without lawful authority and are of no legal effect.

2. The facts for disposal of the Rule, in brief, are that the petitioners are the legal heirs of late Abdur Rob Chowdhury, an Ex-employee of the Postal Department, who joined the same in the year 1972. The Predecessor of the petitioners while in service, was posted at Sub Post Office, Khalifarhat, Noakhali and delivered his service at the address mentioned above from 10-4-1994 and 23-7-1996. During that time, a departmental proceeding was initiated against him upon false and baseless allegation and subsequently he was suspended from the post temporarily. Besides, a criminal case was also started against him upon the same self allegation and the appointing authority served a notice upon the predecessor of the petitioners who replied in writing in time to the same explaining the reasons thereof.

3. It has been further stated in the petition that during pendency of the criminal, proceeding, departmental proceeding was suspended, In the criminal proceeding the predecessor of the petitioners was acquitted after holding trial of the case by the competent court. Against the order of acquittal the concerned authority preferred an appeal being Govt. Appeal No. 23 of 2003 before this Court. During pendency of the said government appeal the predecessor of the petitioners died of fatal disease on 13-1-2007 and subsequently the criminal appeal was abated at the instance of the authority concerned under section 431 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

4. It is further stated that the concerned authority in respect of the family pension and other service benefit of the predecessor of the petitioners, sought allegal opinion from the learned government pleader through a latter vide Memo No. 317 dated 23-7-2007. The GP gave his opinion in favour of the petitioners. Thereafter, the respondent No. 4 issued a letter vide Memo No. Gd 1-1/96-97 dated 2-8-2007 in the caption of O`Uv`k bvgvO withdrawing the departmental proceeding against the predecessor of the petitioners but most arbitrarily granted leave as to be paid for his suspension period as penalty (Annexure-E to this writ petition). In the meantime, the predecessor of the petitioners had got 57 years age. As a result, he would have been placed on LPR (leave preparatory to retirement) but the authority through letter vide bw_ bs-we-1-1/KgPvix/Aemi/2006 dated 24-9-2006 informing that no order as required to be issued for sending him on LPR. Thereafter, the respondent No. 4 through letter vide bw_ bs-we-1-1/KgPvix/Aemi/2006 dated 19-8-2007 sanctioned family pension without granting LPR. The petitioner No. 1 being wife of the deceased preferred an appeal against the said letters dated 2-8-2007, 24-9-2006 and 19-8-2007 respectively before the respondent No. 3 stating reasons thereof and further seeking for full pay with allowances and other service benefits treating the suspension period of the predecessor as usual duty and granting LPR in due course. But the appellate authority dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the Respondent No. 4 through bw_ bs Kg-we/Gb-02/08 dated 11-5-2008 on misconception of law and non-consideration of the merit of the appeal. Thereafter, the wife (petitioner No. 1) of the predecessor made a representation before the Respondent No. 2 seeking remedy in respect of the same but the respondent informed her by issuing a letter vide bw_ bs Z`sI 6-2/96/1681 dated 15-10-2008 under signature of Respondent No. 5 that they had no jurisdiction to consider the prayer filed by her and further issued a letter by the Respondent No.4 clarifying the leave to be granted for the suspension period of the deceased employee through Memo No. bw_ bs we-306 dated 22-2-2009 wherein it has been stated that from 14-8-1996 to 22-4-1998 the 'deceased employee was granted leave with full pay and 23-4-1998 to 9-6-2000, was granted leave with half pay and from 2-6-2000 to 30-9-2006 long six years three months granted leave without pay, which appears to be penalty upon him though the departmental proceeding was withdrawn by the authority. Thus, the heirs of the predecessor-employee, being petitioners moved this court with a petition and obtained the present role.

5. Mt Aminul Islam, learned Advocate on behalf of the petitioners submits that the impugned orders (Annexures .H, E, F and FI to this writ petition) passed by the appellate authority and the appointing authority are arbitrary and malafide and not tenable in the eye of law. He submits that the allegation brought by the concerned authority against the predecessor of the petitioners was vague and baseless. In fact, no offence or misconduct of deception was committed by the predecessor of the petitioners and the amount of cash shortage was duly deposited in the office of the Respondent No.4 as the same was kept in his personal custody of being insecured inside the post office. He submits further that the predecessor of the petitioners got order of acquittal from the charge brought against him. Against which the government preferred an appeal in which he had been abated after his death. He submits farther that the departmental proceeding was also withdrawn by the concerned authority and subsequently; the concerned authority obtained the opinion as desired from the learned government pleader in respect of the service benefit of the petitioners wherein the learned pleader opined that the petitioners are entitled to get all benefits of the predecessor as per as usual course. He further submits that as per provision of Rule 247, 1st Part, Bangladesh Service Rules, if Departmental Proceeding is withdrawn after death of the person concerned, no penalty can be imposed upon a dead man who served as an employee in the republic. He finally submits that the heirs of the late employee have been passing the days with financial hardship on being deprived by the impugned orders preventing them from getting full payment of benefits and other allowances of the predecessor and the petitioners, finding no other alternative and efficacious remedy, moved this court and obtained present the rule which should be made absolute.

6. On the other hand, Mr Bishwjit Roy, the learned Deputy Attorney-General appearing on behalf of the Respondents submits that the petitioners are not government employees and they are not in any way aggrieved persons, for which they can file a writ petition before this Court invoking Article 102 of the Constitution. He further submits that the petitioners as heirs of the late employee filed application before the appellate authority which was, turned down narrating all the reasons therein. He lastly submits that the petitioners could file an application before the Administrative Tribunal if they were somehow aggrieved by the impugned letters. In fact, they did not have any right to file a writ petition before this Court. Accordingly, this rule should be discharged.

7. Heard the learned Advocates from both the parties and perused the petition along with annexures thereof, wherefrom it transpires that the predecessor of the petitioners during his service in the republic at Khalifarhat, Noakhali upon an allegation of shortage of fund in the sub-post office, a departmental proceeding was initiated against him and on the same self allegation a criminal, case was also started against him. During pendency of the criminal proceeding, the departmental proceeding was suspended, but in trial of the criminal case he got an order of acquittal from charge bought against him when he was found not guilty of the offence by the competent court of law. Subsequently a government appeal was preferred by the authority concerned. During pendency of the Govt. appeal, the predecessor of the petitioners died of cancer and therefore, the departmental proceeding was also withdrawn by the concerned authority. But the authority treating the predecessor of the petitioners unusual servant of the republic, curtailed some service benefits which the petitioners are entitled to get asusual course of his service. It appears from the submission of the learned Deputy Atterney-General that the petitioners have not been aggrieved by the impugned letters as they are not servants in the service of the republic. Therefore, they don't have locus standi to file this writ petition before the court under Article 102 of the constitution. In view of the facts above, let us see sections 4 and section 7A of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1980 which provides as under:

4. (l) An Administrative Tribunal shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear, and determine applications made by any person in the service of the Republic 1[or of any statutory public authority] in respect of the terms and conditions of his service including pension rights, or in respect of any action taken in relation to him as a person in the service of the Republic 2[or of any statutory public authority].

(2) A person in the service of the Republic 3[or of any statutory public authority] may make an application to an Administrative Tribunal under sub-section (1), if he is aggrieved by any order or decision in respect of the terms and conditions of his service including pension rights or by any action taken in relation to him as a person in the service of the Republic 4[or of any statutory public authority]:

Provided that no application in respect of an order, decision or action which can be set aside, varied or modified by a higher administrative authority under any law for the time being in force relating to the terms and conditions of the service of the Republic l [for of any statutory public authority] or the discipline of that service can be made to the Administrative Tribunal until such higher authority has taken a decision on the matter:

2[Provided further that, where no decision on an appeal or application for review in respect of an order, decision or action referred to in the preceding proviso has been taken by the higher administrative authority within a period of two months from the date on which the appeal or application was preferred or made, it shall on the expiry of such period be deemed, for the purpose of making an application to the Administrative Tribunals under this section, that such higher authority has disallowed the appeal of the application:]

(To be continued)

Provided further that no such application shall be entertained by the Administrative Tribunal unless it is made within six-months from the date of making or taking of the order, decision or action concerned or making of the Decision on the matter by the higher administrative authority, as the case, may be.

(3) In this section "person in the service of the Republic 3[or of any statutory public authority]" includes a person who is or has retired or is dismissed, removed or discharged from such service, but does not include a person in the defence services of Bangladesh 4[or of the Bangladesh Rifles].

8. It appears from the provision of section 4 of the Administrative Tribunal Act that a servant if being aggrieved by any order of the concerned authority, shall have to go to the Administrative Tribunal for his remedy first, but the present petitioners have no that scope to file any application before the Administrative Tribunal as they were not in the service of the republic.

Section 7 A says:

2[7A. (1) Where a person is dismissed or removed from service and an application is made under section 4 against such removal or dismissal and that person dies during the pendency of the ease, the right to sue of that applicant shall survive if his service had been pensionable under any law for the time being in force.

(2) Where the right to sue survives under sub-section (I), such legal representative of the deceased applicant who would have been entitled to the pensioner benefit at the event of the death or retirement of the deceased applicant may be substituted, upon an application, made to the Tribunal or, as the case may be, to the Appellate division within sixty days from the date of the earth of the applicant.

(3) The legal representative of the deceased, as referred to in sub-section (2), shall be entitled to the pensionery benefit which would have been payable to that deceased if he had been removed or dismissed:

Provided that, such pensioner benefit shall not be payable unless the Tribunal or, as the case may the Appellate Division, declares the order of the dismissal or removal, as the case may be, as illegal or void:

Provided further that, for the purpose of this section, the applicant shall be deemed to have died or retired, as the case may be, on the day on which he was removed or dismissed.

9. It has been provided in section 7A that when all application against the dismissal or removal from service is pending before the Administrative Tribunal, if the employee or servant of the republic dies, than his/her heirs can be substituted in the pending proceeding as heirs of the deceased and right to so survive. But here there was no case pending against any dismissal or removal before the administrative tribunal when the employee died of cancer. Therefore, no question of substitution can be raised for the heirs of the deceased.

10. On plain reading of these sections it appears that only the servant of the republic may apply before the Administrative Tribunal or his heirs may be substituted in the case if he dies during pendency of the case filed by him against his removed or dismissal from service. But there is no such case pending in the Administrative Tribunal at the time of his death. In such view of the fact, the petitioners do rot have locus standi to file an application before the administrative tribunal as they are not servants in the republic.

II. In such a situation, the petitioners as heirs of the predecessor, have no other forum to seek relief rather to move this court with a writ petition invoking Article 102 of the Constitution. It is pertinent here to refer the case of Kazi Shamsunnahar vs Commandant RRF Khulna reported in 2 BLC 569 where their Lordships observed that

"Admittedly, the deceased government servant was not removed from service prior to his death but he was removed from service just after his death resulting thereby the government servant died while he was still in the service of the Republic for which the petitioners as heirs of the government servant are entitled to recover the service benefits as permissible under the law and the writ petition is maintainable".

12. In the instant case there is no dispute that Abdur Rouf Chowdhury was neither convicted nor removed, nor dismissed from service before his death. So the penalty imposed by the authority concerned upon the dead man is not legal in the eye of law. It is apparent that the petitioners are admittedly heirs of the deceased employee having no other forum except to invoke writ jurisdiction under Article 102 of the Constitution and since the predecessor of the petitioners was acquitted from the charge brought against him by the competent court of law, there is no bar to the petitioners as heirs of the ex-employee in obtaining full service benefits as per service rules. Furthermore, as the departmental proceeding was withdrawn by the concerned authority the service of the predecessor of the petitioners was seemed to be treated as regular one and all service benefits of the predecessor to be recovered by the petitioners as his heirs.

13. In view of the discussion as above, we are inclined to hold that the impugned orders (Annexures-H, E, F and FI to this writ petition) are ex-facie illegal and the same have been passed without any lawful authority and are of no legal effect, therefore, the petitioners as heirs of late Abdur Rob Chowdhury are entitled to get all service benefits including pension and arrear, if any, as permissible in law.

In the result the rule is made absolute without order as to costs. The impugned orders (Annexures-H, E, F and F1 to this writ petition) have been passed without lawful authority and are of no legal effect. The respondents are directed to pay full service benefits of late Abdur Rob Chowdhury to the petitioners as permissible under the law.
Blue button to affect marine food chain

Gazi Anowarul Hoque :

The presence of Blue button at the coast in Bay of Bengal is the dangerous signal of climate change. This will largely affect marine food chain, experts say.

Blue button is the species of jelly fish (Porpita porpita). It lives on the surface and are not real jellyfish but are Chondrophores. It is the float which is like a round disc and is a golden-brown colour. It is typically 1.5 inches wide or less, and has a single mouth underneath which is used for both the intake of nutrients and the dispersal of wastes.

Blue button is found before one and a half years ago at the ST Martin's coast. Rise in sea temperature is responsible for their presence, according to the experts.

Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, Ph.D, Professor of Environmental Science, Khulna University, who involved in research work on 'Environmental threats on the biodiversity of St. Martin's Island of Bangladesh' for ten years , told The New Nation on Thursday that Blue button was found due to climate change and pollution.

There are huge wastes from oil that comes from tourist boats. For this reason, the water temperature of the Island has risen to 1.5 degree Celsius in last ten years.

"The presence of Blue button is the sign of ecological imbalance in the sea. It may affect Bangladesh's only coral reef St. Martin's and fisheries could be reduced. Overall, marine sea food may be affected," he said.

M. Shah Nawaz Chowdhury, lecturer of Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries of Chittagong University collected samples of the species and examines at its laboratory. Professors of the institute Sayedur Rahman Chowdhury, Md Rashed-Un-Nabi, M Shahadat Hossain and Associate Prof S M Sharifuzzaman assisted to it.

The research team of Chittagong University wrote an article on the species in German based Ocean Science Journal 'Springer' Volume 51(2) published in June, 2016.

The article said that the occurrence of Porpita porpita is reported, for the first time, in the coral island of St. Martin's located in the southeastern coastal region of Bangladesh.

P. porpita was found to occur in the lower littoral zone and beach rock pools, together with molluscan species, and collected during the pre-monsoon season when both water temperature (> 30C) and salinity (> 30) tend to reach a maximum, the article said.

M. Shah Nawaz Chowdhury said such animals have been found in the oceans like Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean but the presence in the Bay of Bengal make the scientists concern. It may affect marine food chain and biodiversity.


Now school children working as ambassadors

UNB, Dhaka :

The dream of 10-year-old Tasfia Sultana to sit for the primary school examination from a non-formal school in Cox's Bazar was about to be shattered after a nor'wester blew over her area in March last.

Mohseniapara Shikhon School was built in a disaster-prone area of PM Khali Union in Cox's Bazar Sadar in 2013. It was completely destroyed by a mild storm on March 22 last, forcing the future of Tasfia Sultana and 33 other disadvantaged children in trouble. However, the local community rebuilt the school and brought the dreams of these underprivileged children back on track. This time, the school children applied some techniques they were taught under the 'Learning resilience: Institutionalising school disaster management (SDM) in the education sector in Bangladesh DIPECHO VIII'.

"The community people, guardians, students were all stunned with the incident. I tried to continue their study in my own yard with the students, but scorching heat of summer under the open

sky didn't allow them to continue," school teacher Monowara Begum told UNB. Facing such a situation, she said, members of the school management committee collected donation from the community and rebuilt the school at a cost of Tk 10,000, making it a disaster-resilient one. The school children have applied the knowledge they gained from the disaster preparedness programme of DIPECHO - a programme supported by the EU's humanitarian aid and civil protection operations - to cope with the cyclone and storm. Save the Children has been working with the government to implement the programme.

These school children are now working as ambassadors of disaster preparedness in their localities. They disseminate the knowledge they gained from the school among their family members and community people as well. "We've learned a lot about what should be done before and after a cyclone. And we all disseminate the lesson of disaster preparedness we learned," said Tasfia Sultana.

Explaining the meaning of red flags that have been shown before a cyclone, she said when a red flag is hoisted, the information will have to be disseminated that a cyclone is coming. "When two red flags are hoisted, there'll be a danger signal where all should take shelters in their homes. And when three red flags are lifted, there'll be an extremely danger signal and all should take shelter in cyclone centres or other safe places," said Tasfia.

Even, the school children applied their disaster preparedness knowledge before the tropical cyclone Roanu that hit Cox's Bazar on May 21, 2016, and they contributed to minimising the losses on the aftermath of the natural disaster. "When we heard that Roanu is coming, we ran around the village and asked the villagers to take shelters at cyclone centres," said Shahabuddin, a primary school drop-out who later joined the Mohseniapara Shikhon School. Dr Abul Kalam, a community leader, said the role of the school children in disaster preparedness is commendable as they are contributing to minimise disaster aftermath.

Around 6,000 children are now well informed about cyclone as they learned lessons under the school disaster management (SDM) programme, said DIPECHO technical officer Md Helal Uddin.
Readers` Forum

Too many road blocks! :

There are too many roads blocked in Gulshan and Banani, causing immense traffic. Everyone has to take a longer route to his or her destination. It is enough to make more check posts as they have done though but blocking roads is just too inconvenient.

The roads are also blocked by other students and activist groups. It requires police intervention, who are supposed to prevent public sufferings and maintain smooth flow of traffic.

The traffic is already in an awful state due to absence of subway, which all big cities have. I request the authorities to consider building a subway as soon as possible for that is the only solution. JICA was all ready to start the construction work. What happened?



Dr. Sabrina Rashid

Bangladesh Specialized Hospital,

Dhaka

Low-cost public transport



Bangladesh's narrow roads were developed in an unplanned manner, with the construction of houses and commercial ventures leaving no space for roads - a major cause for its perpetual traffic gridlock. The 4 million middle and lower-income population of Dhaka are inconvenienced in light of the increased personal vehicles, scarce availability of CNG driven auto-rickshaws and the barring of cycle rickshaws in some areas. While taxis are unaffordable for many, public buses are not a viable option for a lot of commuting women.

A venture for CNG or electric run auto-rickshaws in Bangladesh, similar to that of Japan, would largely benefit these people. A suitable industrial unit may be engaged for the job. It would enable cheaper prices of auto-rickshaws and reduce large vehicle congestion in the streets.

Md. Ashraf Hossain

Dhaka
Drug trafficking can't stop without stopping powerful persons at its source

YABA tablets popular as sedative drug among younger generation are flooding the country as news report said in national media at least twice last week drawing attention of the government and particularly the law enforcers to effectively seal the border and run drives within the country to destroy the drug syndicates. What is alarming at this stage is that Yaba traffickers are using flagship cars to amply suggest that powerful people have their involvement directly or indirectly in the drug trafficking. It makes no secret that criminals are not only running over Tk 100 crore business per month in some estimates they are also destroying our younger generation by making drugs easily available to them.

Yaba is coming into the country mainly from Myanmar where criminals are producing the tablets in factories in the border belt and pushing it into Bangladesh through Teknaf points using their network. Similarly drug syndicates are producing phensidyl in factories on Indian side of Bangladesh border and pushing it into the country where powerful distribution network using political shelter of influential people and their local peddlers are selling it at every city corners and rural areas.

It is a matter of growing concern that they are making millions of our youths addicts that includes not only unemployed people suffering from frustration but also college and university students. The list further includes growing number of professionals like film makers, vocalists, showbiz models and children of upper class families. They are increasingly becoming habituated to the drug and their growing demoralization is spreading social violence including suicide, rape, killing and such other street crimes in the society. It is no more secret that drug has a critical role behind every crime that makes perpetrators insane before he or she commits the crime.

The seizure by DB Police a consignment of 50 thousand Yaba tablets from the city's Segunbagicha area on Sunday last also showed these tablets were carried in a Pajero Jeep with flag stand. It means the vehicle belongs to a powerful person and since the owner of the vehicle comes from Teknaf, the suspect is almost clear whom he is. His name is coming time and again with many others but the law enforcers so far proved ineffective to stop him as he is using his political shelter to run drug trafficking.

We have always laid emphasis that the government must take the issue of drug trafficking with Myanmar and India to stop it at source. Such plea made no progress so far as the drug is flooding into the country. But the question is if powerful ruling party men are involving themselves in drug trafficking, it is hard to stop. We have always said our dirty politics and criminals operating as politicians are destroying our society. Drug trafficking may only stop by stopping such criminals from politics.


BD hands over list of 1200 criminals to India

Border killings to be stopped if cattle smuggling restrained

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh has handed over a list of 1200 criminals to Indian authorities with a view to checking trans-border crimes between the two countries.

"A list of 1200 criminals has recently been prepared by different intelligence and law enforcement agencies. We've handed over the list to our Indian counterpart during the recently concluded DG-level conference of two bordering forces," said Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh [BGB] Major General Aziz Ahmed while addressing a press briefing at Pilkhana headquarters in the city on Friday.

He also revealed that Border Security Force [BSF] of India has already handed over to Bangladesh some big shots, while several

other low-profile criminals have also been returned by them in the meantime.

The BGB Chief was expressing his views on return to the country after attending the six-day DG-level conference between BGB and BSF from October 30 to September 5.

He said that border killings could be stopped if there were no cattle smuggling. "If the cattle smuggling is restrained, the border killings can also be stopped. So far as we know, the reason behind 95 per cent border killing is cattle smuggling," he said.

At the same time, he also laid emphasis on the role of BSF in this regard, as most of the cattle come from India. The BGB DG, however, mentioned drug, gold and arms smuggling as some other vital reasons that badly affect Bangladesh.

"So, if the cattle smuggling could not be stopped, it will not possible to check other cross-border crimes," he further noted. "In the conference, I've urged the BSF Chief to take initiatives inside the Indian territory to check cattle smuggling. A total of 26 Bangladeshi nationals have been killed in the border this year, of them 22 gunned down by the BSF."

The Indian government, a few years back, provided BSF 'non-lethal weapons' to cut down the rate of border killings. But the border killings did not stop, the DG said. "We've asked them to use the non-lethal weapons in the lower part of the body to reduce border killing."

Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed said: "Everybody knows who are running the cattle smuggling syndicate from inside Bangladeshi nationals We've no power except arrest. The government administration which is liable to take legal action against them is not taking proper steps. And it the main reason for not stopping smuggling."

He also urged the newsmen to come forward to unveil the criminals before the countrymen.

Expressing his annoyance over increasing smuggling of intoxicating drugs, the BGB DG said: "Some Yaba smugglers have recently caught by the bordering forces; those were bringing the intoxicating pills to Bangladesh through Indian border. Earlier, we had no idea about this. We had thought that Yaba was coming here crossing Myanmar border."

"I've also requested the BSF DG to watch over this issue and find out in which way the Yaba is smuggled into Bangladesh from Myanmar using Indian soil. Or is there any yaba factory near the Indian border? The BSF DG assured us to look after the matter."

Replying to a question, the DG said: "There are barbed wire fence in 79 per cent area near Indian border. Besides, the Bangladesh government will start erecting barbed wire fence in 282 kilometer bordering area very soon. This work will begin from Teknaf. More 950 kilometer border will be brought under barbed wire fence phase by phase."

Officials said Bangladesh raised its voice against killing of its unarmed nationals on border by BSF in the DG-level conference in New Delhi on Friday. A 22-member strong team of BGB led by its DG Major General Aziz Ahmed attended the meeting.

On the other hand, BSF DG Shri K K Sharma headed a 25-member delegation that included senior BSF officials, frontier IGs and high officials of External Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry, Joint River Commission and Survey of India.


Three out of Five Gang Members Arrested

Global Campaigns to Bust ATM fraudsters

"Operating across borders has its challenges, but overseas law enforcement has been extremely co-operative, especially in Romania," LRFT head, detective inspector Matthew Mountford said. "Working together we will continue to ensure that organised criminal gang members have nowhere to hide."

A Romanian man has been arrested and charged with conspiracy relating to his involvement in a prolific ATM malware campaign.Emanual Leahu, 30, was arrested in the western city of Bacau, Romania by the London Regional Fraud Team (LRFT) London police run by the City of London Police on Tuesday 20 September, extradited to the United Kingdom last week.Leahu is believed to be a member of a European ATM hacking gang that stole more than 1.5 Million ($2 Million) from cash machines across the UK in 2014 using ATM malware to bypass security controls.The gang physically broke into ATMs to directly load malware onto the machines, allowing it to withdrawThe malware was good enough to erase itself to hide its tracks, making it difficult to identify the culprit.Luckily, due to the gang's carelessness, one of its members was recorded by a hidden ATM surveillance camera, which allowed the police to identify and arrest him.The gang hit 51 ATMs in standalone public places across the UK, including London, Portsmouth, Bognor Regis, Brighton and Liverpool over the 2014 May Bank Holiday weekend.This is the third arrest in the case after Grigore Paladi and Teofil Bortos , who were arrested and sentenced in 2014 and 2015 to 5 and 7 years in jail for their roles in robbing vulnerable ATMs.According to the UK authorities, the gang has five members, with the other two suspects still remain at large in Romania. European arrest warrants have already been issued in their names as well.Police also ensured bank customers that they are not affected by the theft as the gang's malware only tricked the bank ATMs to release cash, not from customers' accounts.UK Police has recently risen to help international crime fighting efforts dedicated to anti-fraud and cracking down ATM hackers.Earlier this year, European police arrested eight members of an international ATM hacking gang who robbed ATMs across Europe and beyond using Tyupkin malware that made them the made millions in cash.ATM fraudsters have risen in past few years. Just over a month back, the Central Bank of Thailand (BoT) issued a warning to all commercial banks about security flaws in their ATMs that made hackers over 12.29 Million Thailand Baht (over US$346,000).A few months ago, ATM fraudsters managed to steal 1.4 Billion (approx. US$12.7 Million) from some 1,400 ATMs placed in small convenience stores across Japan.
Longtime LOGA chief fell down a stairway in North Carolina on Sept. 30.

The Daily Advertiser reported today that Louisiana Oil & Gas Association President Don Briggs sustained a brain injury from a fall down a stairway in North Carolina on Sept. 30.

According to the Advertiser, Briggs, LOGA's president since 1992, is in an Asheville hospital and doctors are waiting for his condition to stabilize.

Shortly after lunch on Friday, September 30th, while preparing the house for guests, Don slipped in the stairway sustaining a serious head injury, LOGA said in a statement issued Wednesday night.

The trade association said it would provide updates on Briggs condition.
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?

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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.
CARBONDALE  Carbondale Public Library is hosting "Indie Author Day" on Saturday, Oct. 8, featuring representatives from SIU Press, the university's book-publishing arm, and local authors.

The event is free and runs from 11 am. to 4 p.m.

The day will feature Amy Etcheson, from the SIU Press, have a digital panel presentation featuring Q&A with writers, agents and industry leaders that will bring together the larger indie community.

Southern Illinois authors Andrew Bynom, Pamela Hearon, Jon Musgrave, Lynn Cahoon, Jim Lambert and Dale Fitzpatrick will read from their books and do book-signings.

The following activities are scheduled:

 11 to 11:45 a.m.: Publishing 101

Amy Etcheson, the sales and marketing manager at SIU press, has many years of experience working at publishing companies and will discuss publishing; a Q&A follows.

 Noon to 1 p.m.: Chat & Chew

Join the library staff and guests for lunch. Interact with fellow writers.

 1 to 2 p.m.: Indie Author Day Digital Panel Presentation

Watch a live streaming video about self-publishing, featuring veterans of the literary community: Jon Fine of Amazon; Kiera Parrott of Library Journal; Robin Cutler of IngramSpark; Jim Blanton of Louisville Free Library; and Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) award-winning author L. Penelope.

 2:15 to 4 p.m.: Readings from local authors

Hear authors Andrew Bynom, Pamela Hearon, Jon Musgrave, Lynn Cahoon, Jim Lambert and Dale Fitzpatrick read excepts of their work. Q&A follows. Authors available for book signing after the event.

For more information, call the Carbondale Public Library at 618-457-0354.
The Carterville Police Department will host its first Chat with the Chief event from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in Carterville Community Center.

Police Chief Heather Reno and several members of the police department will be available to meet informally with the public.

There is no agenda for the event, and there will be no speeches. This will serve as an opportunity to sit down one-on-one with members of the police department to exchange thoughts and ideas. Residents can get feedback from officers and ask questions about the department.

Reno said she hopes this is the first of many informal meetings between the public and the department.

The chat is sponsored by Carterville Area Rotary Club. Light refreshments will be served.

 The Southern
An Anna man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday for domestic battery, according to a news release from Union County States Attorney Tyler Edmonds.

Joseph H. Silliman, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery, a Class 4 felony. He will also serve four years of mandatory supervised release.

Silliman was arrested in June after an investigation by the Anna Police Department stated that he repeatedly struck a family or household member in the head with his fists. The domestic battery charge was elevated to a felony because Silliman previously was convicted of Domestic Battery.
PINCKNEYVILLE  Police have arrested a man and woman accused of stealing a truck owned by the Village of Tamaroa, then fleeing police after an attempted traffic stop Thursday.

Perry County deputies and Pinckneyville Police responded to a call that a male and female were seen walking on White Walnut Road at approximately 9:25 a.m. Friday, according to a news release from Perry County Sheriff Steve Bareis.

The suspects, identified as Darrel L. Taylor, 24, and Lori M. Haskell-Taylor, 35, both of Tamaroa, were located at a barn hiding in a tractor cab. They were taken into custody without incident.

Both face charges of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest. Darrel Taylor also faces numerous traffic violations including reckless driving and fleeing law enforcement.

Bareis said in an earlier news release that at about 10:45 a.m. Thursday, a white Ford truck was stolen from Tamaroa Village Hall. A male and female were seen leaving the parking lot after breaking the truck's window, and fled west on Park Street Road.

Bareis attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver did not yield. Pinckneyville Police Department joined the pursuit and the vehicle fled westbound on Illinois 154 and then northbound on Illinois 13/127.

The truck turned onto Deer Run Road and crashed into a wood line before the suspects fled on foot. Police searched the area Thursday and asked the public to call with any information.

Taylor and Haskell-Taylor are being held in Perry County Jail awaiting a first appearance in court.
Police are searching for a man and woman in connection to a stolen truck owned by the Village of Tamaroa, according to Perry County Sheriff's Office.

At about 10:45 a.m., a white Ford truck was stolen from the Village Hall. A white male in his 20s and a white female were seen leaving the parking lot after breaking the truck's window and fled west on Park Street Road.

Sheriff Steve Bareis was dispatched and located the vehicle travelling south on White Walnut Road. He attempted to make a stop, but the vehicle did not yield. Pinckneyville Police Department joined the pursuit and the vehicle fled westbound on Illinois 154 and then northbound on Illinois 13/127.

The truck turned onto Deer Run Road and crashed into a wood line before the suspect or suspects fled on foot. Deputies and officers set up a perimeter and Illinois State Police were called for assistance.

The suspects were not located. Anyone with information should call the sheriff's office at 618-357-5212.
SPRINGFIELD  K.L. Cleeton, a 27-year-old Effingham resident whos paralyzed from the neck down because of spinal muscular atrophy, has an invitation for Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Department of Human Services officials who want to cap the hours his parents are paid to provide in-home care for him.

Come down to Effingham, my hometown, and see what a day in the life is like with me, Cleeton said Thursday during a hearing in Springfield on the departments proposal to limit personal assistants paid through its home services program to working 40 hours per week.

The department implemented the policy in May in response to a U.S. Department of Labor ruling that said home care workers must earn time-and-a-half overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. But the Rauner administration put the policy on hold in August just as a union representing 25,000 home care workers was readying to file a class-action lawsuit challenging it.

The administration is now seeking to implement the policy through the General Assemblys bipartisan House and Senate committee in charge of approving such rules. The Thursday hearing in Springfield followed one held Monday in Chicago.

The departments proposed rules would require clients in the home services program to hire enough personal assistants to cover the hours of care they need each week without requiring overtime. Any personal assistant who works more than 40 hours in a week would be required to submit written justification to the department for approval, and anyone who works unapproved overtime three times would be barred from being paid through the program.

Vivian Anderson, who oversees the program for the Department of Human Services, said the proposal is about saving the state money and making sure clients are receiving high-quality care from providers who arent overworked.

Working an excessive amount of hours is not good public policy, Anderson said in an interview last week.

Cleeton, one of several clients who testified at the Springfield hearing, said he needs help around the clock with every aspect of daily life, from eating, which is difficult because he has trouble swallowing, to scratching an itch. His needs go well beyond the combined 80 hours per week that his parents, Ken and Lillie, would be allowed to work under the departments proposed rules.

But Cleeton said he and his parents have developed a system over the years that works well for them, one thats allowed him to graduate from the University of Illinois with a degree in advertising and start his own video production business. He doesnt want to have to hire a stranger to help with the intimate aspects of his care.

Really, what this comes down to is freedom of choice and independence, Cleeton said.

Clients like Cleeton and their caregivers arent the only ones raising concerns about the proposal.

Ann Ford is executive director of the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living. The 22 centers across Illinois have contracts with the state to train clients and caregivers in the home services program.

We feel that the cap thats been placed on overtime is very inflexible, Ford said before the hearing. We feel the exceptions are limited and very hard to achieve, and we feel that the consequences that are built in are pretty punitive.

Fords organization isnt alone in that assessment.

The federal Labor Department sent a letter to the state Friday noting its significant concerns with the proposal. Among those concerns, according to the letter, is the lack of a robust exceptions policy, which could result in workers providing off-the-clock care in violation of federal law.

Without an appropriate exceptions policy, it is likely that either employees who care for vulnerable individuals will feel that they have no choice but to work uncompensated hours  or consumers will be left without adequate assistance, the letter states. Neither outcome is acceptable or necessary.

The department now has time to respond to the public comments before submitting its final proposal to the Legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for its OK.

Anderson said the department appreciates the feedback it has received and will consider tweaks to the policy because no proposal is perfect.

However, she added, I think it is pretty close to perfect.

The policy may run into another roadblock if it makes it through the rulemaking process.

The Illinois Labor Relations Board on Sept. 29 called for a hearing on whether the department violated labor law by implementing the rules without first negotiating with the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, which represents workers in the home services program.
A skilled care facility in Metropolis has been cited and fined for an incident the Illinois Department of Public Health says led to a patient's death.

The Metropolis Health Care Center, at 2299 Metropolis St., was cited with an "AA" violation and fined $50,000. An "AA" violation is cited when there is a condition or occurrence at the facility that proximately caused a resident's death, the department stated in a Friday news release that outlined all the third-quarter citations in the state.

The 101-bed facility was cited for failure to notify the physician, guardian and family of a change in the condition of a patient, and to provide nursing services to a patient who later died. The public health department also says the facility failed to get a pharmacy consult for a drug interaction for another resident.

The facility is scheduled for a status conference Oct. 19.

 The Southern
The first item on the ballot this fall is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that could establish a very dangerous precedent.

The Illinois Constitution lays out a vision of a society that provides for the dignity and basic needs of all to ensure that each resident of our state has a chance to reach their full potential. Though Republicans and Democrats may debate the paths we take to achieve those goals, these common values bind us together as Illinoisans.

The priorities enumerated throughout that document  free public education through high school, the elimination of poverty and inequality, and the promotion of the health, safety, and welfare of the people  are the building blocks of healthy communities. The beauty of the constitution is that none of these building blocks is given special priority  instead, the people of Illinois are called upon to set their own priorities every year through the budget process.

This November, Illinoisans will have the option to upset that balance for the first time in our state's history. The proposed lockbox Amendment we'll be voting on would extend protections to transportation funding that no other spending priority receives.

We were the four votes in the General Assembly against placing this question on the ballot. We did so not because we dont value transportation as a critical component of a strong economy. Without a doubt, there should be strong protections for investment in our road, bridges, ports, and rails.

But experience has demonstrated that unexpected events can have drastic impacts on our state budget. A major natural disaster or economic turmoil can blow huge holes in a budget, even in states in healthy financial condition- which Illinois is decidedly not.

This amendment would severely curtail the ability of the state to react to these types of events. If a school cant open because of insufficient funding, what good is the new state road that runs by? How are farmers served by new bridges if our state universities arent educating the next generation of agricultural experts? A new bus or train line wont help a young parent get to her job or class if she cant afford safe, reliable childcare.

Other states that have passed transportation funding lockboxes, such as Maryland, have release valves for emergencies. There, the governor and a supermajority of legislators can declare a fiscal emergency. In that instance, the threshold for tapping into transportation funds for general purposes can only be reached when there is broad consensus for the need to do so. The proposed Illinois amendment is missing a safety valve.

Constitutions are meant to be broad documents. State governments are intended to serve as laboratories of democracy. Enshrining this type of language in our states core legal document undermines the ability of elected officials in the future to respond to the challenges of the day. We urge Illinois citizens to reject the amendment in the fall.

Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, House Majority Leader (D-25-Chicago)

Rep. Laura Fine (D-17-Glenview)

Rep. Elaine Nekritz, Assistant House Majority Leader (D-57-Northbrook)

Rep. Pamela Reaves Harris (D-10-Chicago)
Thumbs up to the Illinois Department of Corrections and the new regulatory changes that are aimed at reducing barriers to employment for prisoners. Molly Parker wrote a story this week about Landus Jackson, an inmate at Vienna Correctional Center who was released Tuesday. As he was released, state officials handed Jackson his professional cosmetology license. Jackson is the first to leave a state prison with a professional license in hand. Its a great thing the state is doing here, helping inmates prepare for life after prison. Getting a job is hard enough. This program helps rehabilitated people gain the experience needed to land a job and succeed in society.

Thumbs down to Congress for adjourning last week without taking up legislation that would help retired miners salvage their health care and pension benefits. Its good they passed a measure that avoided a government shutdown, but the miners need help, too. Local union leadership remains hopeful that Congress will act before the end of the year. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to reconvene on Nov. 14. Weve said it before and well say it again, our miners deserve what they worked long and hard for. Funds paying health care benefits for about 16,000 people across the country  including 3,500 in Southern Illinois  will run out of money sometime in the early part of 2017. Congress needs to act now.

Thumbs up to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for its new project aimed at restoring wildlife in the Trail of Tears State Forest. This week, crews have begun removing trees on the Union County land in order to allow more sunlight to reach the forest floor. The more sunlight that gets in, the better it is for trees and wildlife, including birds that prefer grassy areas. Southern Illinois is a beautiful place, and it can only get better with intelligent resource management.

Thumbs down to the announcement that Old Illinois 13 will be closed south of Carterville beginning Oct. 17. The closure will last about two months, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Its bad enough that Illinois 13 near the Wolf Creek Road interchange is tough to navigate these days. Now, with Old Illinois 13 closing, its going to make driving though the area even more difficult. We realize the end result is going to mean much easier travel on the region's busiest highway, but for the time being, there's going to be some headaches.

Thumbs up to Tim Ryan and his presentations Wednesday in Perry County. Ryan, who created the A Man In Recovery Foundation after being released from a second stint in prison, visited Du Quoin High School as part of a Perry County multi-agency collaboration to educate the community about the impact of heroin and opiate use and abuse. Drug abuse, specifically that of opiates, is becoming more and more of a problem throughout the country. Its good to hear someone is out there educating communities  especially young people  about the things that can happen. Its even better to hear it from somebody whos been there before.

Thumbs up to Shellie Scholz and the rest of her family and friends for organizing a 5K walk benefit for her grandson, who suffers from Rett Syndrome. Zackary Morse, 6, suffers from the disease, which is a neurological disorder that mainly affects girls. It is very rare for a boy to have the disease. The benefit is Saturday at Riverside Park in Murphysboro. Its a great cause, as funds will go to medicines and travel expenses to and from St. Louis not covered by his father's insurance.
Jackie Singleton and Michelle Robinson both left Charleston and found their way to Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, escaping the path of Hurricane Matthew.

The two ladies had not known each other before meeting in the schools gymnasium, which was turned into an evacuation shelter. They quickly became acquainted.

We just started talking to each other, Robinson said.

Singleton left her home early Thursday morning with her 24-year-old son.

The two headed for Bamberg but couldnt find any available lodging.

We were just out there looking, Singleton said. We could not find any hotels.

She called the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office and they informed her of the shelter at O-W.

Robinson and her mother, Cathleen Robinson, also left Thursday after they heard Gov. Nikki Haleys evacuation announcement.

Robinsons daughter told her about O-W and they packed their bags and headed for Orangeburg.

This is the first time weve been in a shelter, Robinson said. Its pretty good. Everybody seems to be nice.

Singleton said she brought as much as she could, including a chair. But the Red Cross volunteers running the shelter provided everything they needed.

Blankets, clothes, everything, she said.

The shelter will also be serving breakfast, lunch and a hot dinner for its temporary residents.

Robinsons biggest worry back home is the amount of rain.

Im just concerned about the flooding, she said. They have a lot of low-lying areas in downtown Charleston.

Singleton said she will be praying for family members who decided to remain in Charleston.

Theyre just waiting it out, she said.

Remembering 1989s Hurricane Hugo, Singleton is concerned about the trees that surround her home.

We live in Mt. Pleasant, so theres a lot of trees, she said. Hugo was like that.  All the trees came down.

Robinson was also around for Hurricane Hugo but is a little relieved that Matthew doesnt seem as bad.

She recalled not having any lights in her home for two weeks after Hugo.

The O-W shelter had taken in around 70 to 80 evacuees by midday Friday and more were anticipated.

It is scheduled to stay open until Sunday but will remain open as long anyone is still there.

Robinson and Singleton plan to use the shelter until they are told it is clear to travel again.

In Bowman, Rawshawn Clark came to find safe shelter from North Charleston.

Clark arrived at the Bethune-Bowman High School evacuation shelter Friday morning and has been pleased by the friendly people.

Clark says she has several family members back in Charleston who didn't want to leave.

She said she will be praying that they don't get flooded too badly because they live in a low part of the city.

"This little bit of rain like this, we'd be flooded out, she said.

Clark also said she plans on staying "until they say the coast is clear."

In Bamberg County, the following shelters are open: Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, 267 Red Raider Drive, Bamberg, and Denmark-Olar High School at 197 Viking Circle, Denmark. The Ghents Branch Baptist Church facility is full.

Calhoun County High School at 150 Saints Avenue, St. Matthews is serving as a shelter.

The following shelters are open in Orangeburg County: Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School gym at 601 Bruin Parkway, Orangeburg; Bethune-Bowman High School, 4857 Charleston Highway, Rowesville; Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High School at 7066 Norway Road, Neeses; Elloree Elementary School at 200 Warrior Drive, Elloree; Lake Marion High School, 3656 Tee Vee Road, Santee; Edisto High School, 500 R.M. Foster Road, Cordova and The Technology Center, 3720 Magnolia Street, Orangeburg.
A man sought in the armed robbery of a local restaurant has been apprehended in Colorado, according to Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell.

Ravenell said Bernard Hill, 51, was taken into custody in Colorado Springs on Thursday around 6:30 p.m. by U.S. Marshals serving an OCSO warrant.

Again, I have to state that no matter how far you run, well be right behind you, the sheriff said. No distance is too far for justice.

Hill, who faces charges of armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a crime, is accused of the Sunday, Oct. 2 armed robbery of the Orangeburg IHOP.

Employees of the North Road restaurant said that Hill entered the business around 10:30 p.m. and spoke with them for a few minutes before entering an office area where he took cash from a manager at gunpoint, according to a sheriffs office incident report.

Employees said the gunman and former employee then got into a green vehicle being driven by 20-year-old Riheam Calloway Jr. Calloway was an employee of the restaurant at the time

Calloway was taken into custody that night after being spotted by OCSO deputies not far from the restaurant. He was also charged with armed robbery.

No one was physically injured in the robbery.

OCSO investigators will begin the process of bringing Hill back to the Palmetto State to face his charges.
The National Weather Service is warning T&D Region residents about high winds and flash flooding ahead of Hurricane Matthew.

Stay indoors during the main part of the storm, National Weather Service Meteorologist Tony Petrolito said. There is no reason to drive around.

Matthew is expected to stay off shore, Petrolito said Thursday afternoon.

But going into Friday night and all day on Saturday, the coastal areas and nearby inland counties are going to experience heavy rains and damaging wind gusts.

The T&D Region is expected to receive between 6 to 10 inches of rain, Petrolito said.

If Matthew comes close to the South Carolina coast, expect heavier rains over a prolonged period, he said.

The NWS has issued a flash-flood watch from Friday morning through Sunday morning. Flooding is possible, especially in low-lying and poor-drainage areas. Roads could become impassable due to high water.

In addition, a wind advisory is in effect from 8 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Sunday. The T&D Region could see sustained winds of 30 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.

Downed trees and power lines are likely.

Petrolito said the threat of severe weather, such as tornadoes, is low as long as Matthew stays offshore.

Evacuations began Thursday for some mobile home residents in Bamberg County. Evacuees went to Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, which is serving as a shelter.

Wind gusts associated with Hurricane Matthew may pose threats to mobile homes that are not secured to the ground according to building inspection standards, Bamberg County Office of Emergency Services public information officer Mallory Biering said.

Anyone who does not feel safe in their home can report to Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School at 267 Red Raider Road.

For more information about evacuations in Bamberg County, call 1-803-245-4313, extension 4 or follow updates at www.bambergcounty.sc.gov.

Orangeburg and Calhoun counties have not called for residents to evacuate.

Calhoun County Emergency Services Director Bill Minikiewicz said traffic has been light throughout the county, but he expects it to pick up as Friday progresses.

Calhoun County High School will open as a shelter at 3 p.m.

He urged residents to expect delayed responses from emergency personnel if winds reach 35 mph or greater because ambulances face risks driving in strong winds.

Emergency officials are urging residents not to call 911 when a power outage occurs. Call the utility company. Calling 911 to report power outages ties up the emergency line for life-threatening concerns.
WASHINGTON -- I know, I know, the point I'm about to make is painfully obvious. But it is not in any sense trivial: If you care who wins the election next month, get off the couch, go down to your polling place and vote.

National polls taken since last week's debate show Hillary Clinton with a solid lead over Donald Trump; a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Monday morning, for example, put the gap at 6 points. New polls in swing states, including some that once looked favorable for Trump, also report that Clinton is now ahead. There is every reason to believe that most Americans favor the former U.S. senator and secretary of state over the bigoted, clownish real estate mogul who claims he's worth billions of dollars yet apparently avoids paying federal income taxes.

If you're tempted to think this is in the bag, however, look around.

In Colombia on Sunday, voters narrowly rejected a peace deal intended to end a war against leftist guerrillas that has raged for five decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives. Supporters of the agreement were shocked because respected polls had shown it would be approved easily.

Similarly, polls showed that British voters were in favor of remaining in the European Union. Yet when ballots were counted after the June 23 referendum, the "leave" position had won a slim victory. Many Britons were stunned and dismayed -- none more so than David Cameron, who was forced to resign as prime minister.

It is tempting to look at these results -- plus the election of dangerous lunatic Rodrigo Duterte as president of the Philippines -- and conclude that some sort of vast, perhaps unstoppable, anti-elite wave is sweeping the globe. As go Medellin and Manila, in other words, so goes Milwaukee.

I think there is a simpler, less apocalyptic explanation: In both Britain and Colombia, the outcomes were determined by those who didn't bother to vote.

For the Brexit referendum, overall turnout was high, a bit over 70 percent. But turnout among voters under 40 -- those most likely to favor remaining in the EU -- was only about 65 percent, according to a London School of Economics analysis. Meanwhile, turnout among those over 65, the group most likely to favor exiting the union, was an estimated 90 percent.

Had turnout among younger voters been a few points higher, Brexit would have lost.

In Colombia, a nation of 40 million people, the peace deal was rejected by just 54,000 votes. But turnout was a paltry 37 percent. If so many Colombians who favored the agreement hadn't assumed it was safe to stay home, believing the outcome was a foregone conclusion, President Juan Manuel Santos would be taking a victory lap instead of scrambling to come up with a Plan B.

The lesson for American voters seems clear. Yes, this is a year when anti-establishment protest is finding expression at the ballot box. The Duterte case is instructive: Filipino voters knew they were choosing as president a man who believes the way to deal with illegal drugs and rampant crime is through extrajudicial summary execution. They may come to regret their choice, but they made it with open eyes.

In Britain and Colombia, however, majorities of voters sabotaged themselves with their own apathy. And the only way Trump can win is if the same thing happens here.

It is true that the white working-class voters who form the core of Trump's support do not always show up on Election Day. But given their fervor for the bombastic GOP candidate -- who claims, ridiculously, that he can hold back the tides of globalism, demography and science -- it is reasonable to assume that Trump's people will indeed vote.

But they are outnumbered, however, by voters who recognize Trump for the ignorant and dangerous charlatan that he is. Pollsters try to account for any enthusiasm gap when they screen for "likely" voters. But really there should be no gap at all.

The coalition of women, young people, African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans that twice elected President Obama has even more reason to come out in force to elect Clinton. Anyone who believes that Trump is essentially harmless, or that he is so ridiculous a figure that inevitably he will lose, is whistling past the graveyard.

The Clinton campaign is setting in motion a get-out-the-vote campaign that represents the state of the art. Ultimately, however, this is on you. There is one sure way to avoid the nastiest of surprises on Nov. 8: Vote, or you'll have no right to complain.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  The Latest on Hurricane Matthew's impacts on South Carolina (all times local):

5:30 p.m.

Authorities say the death toll from Hurricane Matthew in South Carolina is now at three people.

Two people died in Florence County. Sheriff Kenney Boone said in a news release that divers Sunday recovered the body of a man who drove his car into the water at a washed out bridge.

Authorities say the body of a second man in Florence County was found in a vehicle swept off a different bridge.

The coroner has not released the name of either victim.

The third storm death happened in Richland County. The coroner says 66-year-old David Outlaw drowned at a Columbia nursing facility when he got pinned under his electric wheelchair in water after the heavy rains.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  The Latest on Hurricane Matthew, which was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone early Sunday (all times local):

5:00 p.m.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says that Matthew's winds are diminishing along the North Carolina coast but that water levels will remain elevated.

The center said in its 5 p.m. ET Sunday update that the center of the storm was about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and had maximum sustained winds of near 75 mph (120 kpm).

The center, in what will be its last update on the remnants of Matthew, says life-threatening flooding will continue over portions of eastern North Carolina that have received record rains from Matthew.

___

President Barack Obama says his team is working to make sure that states are getting the resources they need from the federal government after Hurricane Matthew pounded the Southeast.

Speaking at a political fundraiser in Chicago, Obama said that he has been in touch with the governors of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. He tells people in those states that the government wants to make sure they know "we've got your back."

Matthew has killed at least 17 people in the U.S., nearly half of them in North Carolina. The Tar Heel state was inundated by torrential rains from the storm.

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A bomb squad is at a South Carolina beach after Hurricane Matthew apparently unearthed old Civil War cannonballs from the sand.

Charleston County Sheriff's spokesman Maj. Eric Watson said in a news release that the cannon balls were found on Folly Beach Sunday afternoon, but bomb squad members couldn't get to it immediately because of the rising tide.

Once the ocean level goes down, Watson says technicians will make it safe. He warned residents might hear a small boom.

The first shots of the Civil War were fired at nearby Fort Sumter in 1861.

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4:20 p.m.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says eight people have died after Hurricane Matthew smacked the state with torrential rains and authorities are searching for five people.

McCrory said Sunday afternoon that dangerous flooding will last into next week.

Thousands of people had to be rescued from homes and businesses when Hurricane Matthew's torrential rains triggered severe flooding in North Carolina. Some were plucked from rooftops, others were clinging to trees and one woman and her small child were standing on their car as the rising waters swallowed it.

The death toll in the U.S. climbed to at least 17  nearly half of them in North Carolina. More than 500 were killed by the storm in Haiti.

___

Corrects U.S. death toll to 17, not 16.

3:55 p.m.

The rising Tar River is forcing the evacuation of Princeville, North Carolina, a town destroyed in flooding from Hurricane Floyd 17 years ago.

Edgecombe County announced on its Facebook page that a curfew will go into effect at 7 p.m. Sunday and they are bringing in buses to help get out the town's 2,000 residents.

The National Weather Service says the Tar River at nearby Tarboro is already nearly 6 feet above flood stage. It is forecast to crest Monday at nearly 36 feet, well into major flood stage but below the record 41.5-foot mark set in Floyd in 1999.

That flood destroyed nearly every one of the more than 700 homes in Princeville, the oldest town in the nation incorporated by freed slaves back in 1865.

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1 p.m.

A second death related to Hurricane Matthew has been reported in South Carolina.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said in a news release Sunday that a man was found outside his nursing home in Columbia, pinned beneath his electric wheelchair and face-down in standing water from the rains of the storm.

Watts said 66-year-old David L. Outlaw was found shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday. Outlaw was taken to Providence Northeast Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His was the second weather-related death in South Carolina. Overall, at least 16 people have died in the U.S. from the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

Watts said an autopsy indicated that Outlaw drowned. Watts said his office and the sheriff's department are investigating.

A woman who answered the phone at the center would not comment Sunday afternoon.

12:05 p.m.

It took rescuers hours to make their way to a vehicle that was swept off a road in Florence County during massive floods caused by Hurricane Matthew

Florence County Emergency Management spokesman Andrew Golden said a witness called 911 after seeing the vehicle disappear around noon Saturday.

Golden says the vehicle was swept a ways downstream. The swift current and heavy rains hampered attempts by rescuers to get to the vehicle for about four hours.

The coroner's office has not released the name or other information about the victim.

Parts of Florence County received more than 10 inches of rain from the hurricane. Golden says numerous roads remain impassible because of flooding and downed trees and there are widespread power outages. Some first responders have said the damage is worse than Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

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10:45 a.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says one person has died in floodwaters from the heavy rains in Hurricane Matthew.

Haley said Sunday that the victim was in a car and was swept away in Florence County. More details were not immediately available.

Otherwise, the governor says the state continues to recover. Officials say all the interstates are reopened and crews are trying to cut down trees blocking about 300 other roads and highways.

Haley says nearly 750,000 customers remain without power in the state, down from the peak of about 850,000.

Haley says she is lifting evacuation orders in Berkeley, Colleton, Charleston and Dorchester counties. She says it will be up to local officials to tell her when to allow coastal residents back into other counties.

The Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge has reopened; SCDOT engineering inspection completed.

6:30 p.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says more than 825,000 homes and businesses remain without power after Hurricane Matthew raked the state.

Haley said at a Saturday evening news conference that she hopes power restoration efforts can begin Sunday as the storm moves out of the state.

Authorities say 15 miles of Interstate 95 south of the North Carolina border remain closed due to flooding.

Another section of I-95 southbound lanes are closed north of Beaufort because of flooding.

Haley says no deaths in South Carolina have been reported but she warned that people searching have not been able to get to some areas.

Haley hopes that local officials can rescind some evacuation orders Sunday.

4:30 p.m.

More than three quarters of a million people in South Carolina are now in the dark after Hurricane Matthew hit the state.

Numbers reported by utilities serving the state show that almost 755,000 electric customers have no power. That number is an increase from 485,000 late this morning.

Matthew is not done with South Carolina yet and rain bands from the storm offshore continue to spin into Horry County and the Pee Dee in the northeastern corner of the state.

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4:10 p.m.

Hurricane Matthew ate away at the beach on Folly Beach but did no major structural damage to homes on the island southwest of Charleston.

Power is out to the Charleston County community that likes to refer to itself as The Edge of America. In some places Matthew pushed waves up to the dunes.

Along oceanfront Arctic Avenue the main evidence of the storm is some water on the road and pieces of palm fronds. A fence by a rental house was blown over and there were some downed trees on the road leading to the mainland.

City police have a checkpoint at the bridge leading to the island and are keeping out sightseers. Only those who live there or who have business there are being allowed in.

And there was good news for islanders late Saturday as the sun tried to peak through the clouds left in the wake of Matthew. Two South Carolina Electric & Gas bucket trucks were driving over the bridge to the island.

3:50 p.m.

The soaring Ravenel Bridge linking Charleston and Mount Pleasant is closed in the wake of Hurricane Matthew so Department of Transportation engineers can inspect the span.

There's no timetable for the reopening, although the DOT says it intends to have the eight-lane, $500 million bridge open as soon as possible.

The bridge opened in 2005, and its design allows for some movement of bridge elements. However, Hurricane Matthew is the first time the bridge has been exposed to sustained high winds.

While the bridge can be monitored with remote sensors, department officials want a closer look after the span's brush with Matthew.

Closing the bridges means those traveling between Charleston and Mount Pleasant must take a 30-mile detour on Interstate 526.

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2:35 p.m.

Beaufort County sheriff's deputies say it may be days before vehicles can get onto some of the county's smaller islands after Hurricane Matthew passed closely by the area.

Sheriff's Capt. Bob Bromage said Saturday the state department of transportation will need to send engineers to check on the bridges to several small islands east of Beaufort. Bromage said the engineers are needed just to be on the safe side.

He also says a dusk to dawn curfew will continue Saturday night and into Sunday. Beaufort County was under an evacuation order before Matthew struck the area.

Gov. Nikki Haley said residents who evacuated should not expect to return home Saturday or Sunday.

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2:20 p.m.

About 10 sailboats were tossed together and washed ashore at the Palmetto Bay Marina on Hilton Head Island by Hurricane Matthew.

The docks at the marina appeared to have broken loose sometime early Saturday as Matthew's surge ran up the Harbor River near the bridge on the Cross Island parkway.

Residents on the island also said that docks may have also come loose at Harbour Town Golf Links, damaging boats. But that part of the island was inaccessible by vehicle Saturday afternoon.

Many of the homes on the resort island appear to have survived without major damage. But trees were down and blocked a number of roads on the island that is home to 40,000 permanent residents.

Matthew moved by the island early Saturday with heavy rains and winds of up to 88 mph.

___

12 p.m.

The homes and resorts along the Atlantic Ocean on Hilton Head Island appear to have survived Hurricane Matthew.

Hundreds of trees and limbs littered the beachside road, and a few feet of water washed up from the beach, but the area appears to be mostly unscathed.

At Coligny Beach Park, it was evident the storm surge made it well past the 50 yards of sand that are typically dry even at high tide.

Some of the seawater was left behind and a few residents were cleaning out storm drains to get rid of it.

Matthew passed by Hilton Head Island about 20 miles offshore early Saturday, with winds as high as 88 mph.

11:40 a.m.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg says the city is starting to assess the damage from Hurricane Matthew, which caused about 100 roads and streets in the city to be closed because of high water.

Tecklenburg said the all clear to return for the thousands of people who evacuated will have to come from Gov. Nikki Haley and state officials. Tecklenburg said even when Charleston is cleaned up, there could be problems with roads or flooding in other areas of the state that would prevent people from returning.

Haley said people should not expect to go home Saturday or Sunday.

The mayor spoke just minutes after the hurricane made landfall Saturday morning near McClellan Ville, about 40 miles northeast of Charleston.

Tecklenburg says there is serious street flooding in the hospital district where the Medical University of South Carolina is located.

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11:20 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew has now cut power to almost a half million electric customers in South Carolina.

The latest figures from electric utilities show that about 485,000 customers across the state have been left in the dark by the rains and winds of the hurricane which is passing along the coast, Matthew is expected to move beyond the state by late Saturday.

Most of those outages are in coastal areas, but there are about 44,000 electric customers without power in Richland and Lexington counties.

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11:05 a.m.

The Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach is all but deserted as Hurricane Matthew continues its march up the Eastern Seaboard.

But that didn't stop some of the city's residents from venturing onto the beach Saturday morning to look at the ocean ahead of the storm's arrival.

Julie Patton is riding out Matthew at her home and called the sheriff's department before venturing out. She says they said told her and her husband that it would be OK to be out at that time.

As she watched the breakers hit the pier, the Indiana transplant who recently moved to Myrtle Beach said her family will stay at home and wait it out instead of joining the thousands who evacuated to points further inland.

___

10:45 a.m.

Some residents on Hilton Head Island who rode out Hurricane Matthew called the experience "exhilarating," while others said it was the scariest thing they had done.

But residents of Hilton Head Island agreed Sunday morning they were thankful to be alive.

Ellis Clemons rode out his second hurricane on the island. Clemons was on the island for Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and said Matthew was worse. But Clemons says he wouldn't have traded the experience for anything, asking "How many times do you get to do that?"

Russ Johnson felt differently. He moved to Hilton Head Island earlier this year.

Johnson says the wind and pounding rain were frightening enough before the power went out at 4:30 a.m. "Those two hours of darkness were some of my scariest times, " Johnson said.

He said he lost part of the roof of his home but managed to save his boat, which he parked at his property instead of leaving it at the marina.

___

10:30 a.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is warning South Carolinians that Hurricane Matthew is still a danger across the state.

Haley met with reporters late Saturday morning to urge the state's residents to continue to be careful as the storm moves northeast along the coast.

The governor said no deaths have been attributed to Matthew in South Carolina.

She said those who have evacuated should not expect to go home either Saturday or Sunday while crews check to make sure areas are safe.

The governor said about 437,000 electric customers have lost service across the state.

She said nearly 7,000 people were in shelters.

The governor also said part of Interstate 95 was blocked in southern South Carolina. The state transportation department said the southbound lanes are blocked from near state Highway 462 and the South Carolina-Georgia state line. A number of trees were down in the area.

9:50 a.m.

Emergency officials in South Carolina are reminding people that all evacuation orders are still in effect as Hurricane Matthew moves up the coast.

Matthew the state early Saturday with hurricane and tropical storm force winds, heavy rains and flooding along the coast and in areas well inland.

Derrec Becker with the South Carolina Emergency Preparedness Division said in a statement that forecasters say hazardous conditions will continue to affect the state for at least the next 12 hours.

Becker says people from Hilton Head Island to North Myrtle Beach are asked to stay away from the evacuated areas until conditions improve and the danger passes.

Gov. Nikki Haley was to update the situation across South Carolina late Saturday morning.

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9:15 a.m.

Torrential rains and gusty winds have bent trees and sent broken palmetto fronds skipping along streets in Charleston's historic district as the western edge of the eyewall of Hurricane Matthew spins past the city.

But Charleston seemed to be spared any serious damage Saturday.

The storm ripped down several awnings over stores along the King Street shopping district. Streets were flooded at one end of the popular City Market, one of the favorite spots for the millions of tourists who visit the city each year.

Several cars stood in pools of water up to their bumpers.

Numerous other streets and intersections in the area had standing water.

South Battery was also flooded with water washing over the sidewalk next to the seawall. The street of palatial homes at the point of the Charleston peninsula overlooks the city's White Point Gardens.

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8:50 a.m.

Pine trees have fallen all over Hilton Head Island after the area endured a few hours of hurricane-force gusts overnight from Hurricane Matthew.

The two roads leading onto the island of 40,000 people were blocked by trees early Saturday. At least 1 foot of water covered a number of roads.

Only a few vehicles were driving around Saturday morning sightseeing. One couple was trying to get back to their home after they evacuated but were blocked by downed trees. Chandler Brunson and her fiance had evacuated earlier.

Power appeared to be off throughout the island.

Winds had died down to an occasional stiff breeze and the rains had mostly stopped by dawn. Earlier Saturday, the island reported a wind gust of 88 mph as the storm moved to the northeast.

___

8:20 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm as it lashes the South Carolina coast.

The National Hurricane Center said Matthew was 20 miles south-southeast of Charleston at 8 a.m. Saturday. Highest winds had dropped to 85 mph. The storm was moving to the northeast at 12 mph.

The storm is expected to be off the coast of North Carolina by Saturday night. The hurricane center says a wind gust of 76 mph was reported on Folly Beach on Saturday morning. Orangeburg had a wind gust of 55 mph.

Forecasters say the storm surge is ranging from 6 to 9 feet as far north as Edisto Beach. The surge is expected to range from 5 feet to 7 feet from Edisto into southeastern North Carolina.

As much as 1 foot of rain was possible east of Interstate 95.

7:45 a.m.

Charleston photographer Leigh Webber watched the torrential rains early Saturday from the porch of her home in a residential area north of the city's historic district.

Webber said things were not as bad as she expected. She said she thinks there has been less rain than fell in last October's storm. Rains in Oct. 2015 caused what officials called a 1,000-year flood which forced the closing of Charleston for several days.

Webber had no problem with the early calls to get people evacuated. She said conditions would be worse if more people were in the area.

She says she feels badly for businesses that have been closed since Wednesday. Webber said hotels are closed and some weddings have been canceled and that's causing a huge financial loss for some people.

___

6:45 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew is expected to move beyond South Carolina by late Saturday, but children in Charleston County will get another day off school Monday. Schools in many districts in the eastern half of the state have been closed since Wednesday as the storm approached.

Charleston County officials say that there will be no classes Monday because many students and teachers evacuated inland and will be returning home during the next several days. The district said that heavy rains may cause water damage in schools and several schools are being used for evacuation shelters and will need to be cleaned.

In Horry County, Monday is a teacher work day so children don't have school. The Beaufort County district website says classes are expected Monday but that families should check the site and local media in case that changes.

___

6:30 a.m.

Much of Beaufort County has lost power as the strongest winds and heaviest rains of Hurricane Matthew slam into the county as the eye of the storm passes offshore.

Streets were deserted just before dawn Saturday and nearly every traffic light was out on US 278, the main road to Hilton Head Island.

Similar conditions are reported on roads near Beaufort in the northern part of the county.

Tree limbs and other small debris littered roads and parking lots.

Authorities have told residents who evacuated that officials will need to do damage assessments before allowing people back into the communities.

___

6:05 a.m.

Emergency officials in South Carolina are urging people to stay where they are as Hurricane Matthew pounds the state.

Derrec Becker with the South Carolina Emergency Preparedness Division said Saturday morning people need to stay inside and not try to get on the roads.

Becker says roads are flooded and officials have seen "water go where it shouldn't"

More than 215,000 electric customers are without power across the state, most along the coast.

Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to give an update on the situation in South Carolina at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Rain was falling across all but the northwestern corner of the state early Saturday. Hurricane force winds gusts of 81 mph were reported at Hilton Head Island with gusts of 65 mph in the Beaufort area.

___

5:45 a.m.

Heavy rains from Hurricane Matthew are bringing some of the highest tides on record along the South Carolina coast. The National Weather Service in Charleston reports that a tide of 8.8 feet above mean low water early Saturday tied the third-highest on record.

A tide of more than 11 feet at Fort Pulaski near Savannah was the second-highest on record.

Streets and intersections in Charleston are flooded and online video shows the rains and winds buffeting the vintage aircraft atop the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum on Charleston Harbor.

Curfews expire at dawn for many communities in the Charleston area but officials are urging people to stay inside because of the flooded roads and downed power lines.

___

4:50 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew has cut power to more than 150,000 electric customers in South Carolina as the storm moves its way along the coast. Most of the outages were reported in the Beaufort and the Charleston areas.

About 4:30 a.m. the eye of the storm was near Hilton Head Island as the hurricane lashed the coast with hurricane-force winds.

The National Weather Service in Charleston reported that an 84 mph wind gust was reported on Hilton Head Island while a 94 mph gust was reported on Tybee Island, Georgia.

In the Charleston area dozens of roads and intersections were flooded by rising waters or blocked by downed trees.

___

12:55 a.m.

There are now almost 72,000 electric customers without power in South Carolina as Hurricane Matthew lashes the state.

The majority of the outages reported so far are in the Beaufort and Charleston areas, which were the first to feel the impact of the storm.

Matthew, now a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph, is expected to track along the South Carolina coast through the day on Saturday.

___

12:15 a.m.

Dozens of streets and intersections in the Charleston area are impassable because of flooding and downed trees as a result of rains and winds from Hurricane Matthew.

But the closures aren't causing traffic problems because there is no traffic. Charleston and most nearby communities have curfews in effect until daybreak.

In Charleston and North Charleston alone officials reported more than 35 streets and intersections were flooded.

The streets near the popular Charleston Market were flooded and U.S. 17, the main north-south route along the South Carolina coast, is impassable where it passes through Charleston.
Mt. Wynne  Peters Hope where some 36.1 acres of land have been sold for development by a Canadian company.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has revealed the name of the investment company that is expected to purchase 36.7 acres of land at Mount Wynne/Peters Hope for development.





Speaking on Tuesday at Cabinet Room, Gonsalves told members of the media that the name of the company is Pace Developments and is located in Toronto, Canada.





He went on to say that they had registered a local company, and that two directors were here getting things in order after bringing a proposal to the government.





"And we refined the proposal and we have agreed on two parcels of land, one of 31 acres and the other of 5.7 acres, Gonsalves said.





The lands have been sold for EC$7m.

Due diligence was conducted, according to the Prime Minister, with a number of local entities involved in the process, including Invest SVG, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), National Properties, the Surveys Department, the Ministry of Finance and the office of the Attorney General.





"I dont pick up government property and sell it just so. I have to know reasonably that we have something that we can work with, he said.
Left:Theresa T Norville, freed of gun related charges, is a well-known and respected member of the Rose Place community. Right:Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche found that the investigation process was not properly done.





A 71-year-old woman who was slapped with firearm and ammunition charges stemming from police searches conducted during Operation I Girp at Rose Place, Kingstown, July 27 this year, was cleared of those charges at the Serious Offences Court on Wednesday.





Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne dismissed the charges against Theresa T Norville, after Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche informed the Court that the prosecution would not be proceeding any further with the matter.

When the third prosecution witness, Sergeant Julians Morgan, was about midway into his testimony, the Senior Prosecutor stopped the case and informed the Court of the decision.





Norville, a resident of Rose Place, was charged with possession of a semi-automatic 9mm pistol without licence and 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition.





She had pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the trial had commenced on Wednesday.





Speaking with THE VINCENTIAN minutes after the charges against Norville were dismissed, Delpleche explained that the way the evidence unfolded, specifically in relation to Sergeant Morgan, who had found the gun loaded with the ammunition during a search of Norvilles premises at Rose Place, he concluded that the prosecution would not have been able to successfully prosecute the matter.





Delpleche told THE VINCENTIAN that Morgan, in his testimony, said Norville was sitting about 8 feet from where he found the firearm, and he had to call her to show it to her.





The Prosecutor also noted that the Sergeant told the Court that he was not certain if the defendant could have seen where he found the gun because his back was turned.





"The police officer or officers who are conducting the search have to make sure that the person/persons whose places are being searched are in a position to see what is being done.





"If they (persons) want to close their eyes, is a matter for them; but you, the investigator, ought to be able to say that they were in a position where they could have seen, the Senior Prosecutor pointed out.

"As an investigator, you cannot say if the person or persons saw because they would have to see with their eyes, but it is your duty to put them in a position where they could see. If you dont, the search would not be properly done, he further explained.

The gun, loaded with the ammunition, according to Morgans evidence, was found on top of a clothes basket in the laundry room.





"I noticed a firearm lying on top of the rectangular basket. I immediately showed it to PC Francis, and I called to Miss Norville and showed it to her. She said, Officer, I dont know anything about that, thats not mine, Sergeant Morgan said during his testimony.





When contacted, Norvilles lawyer Michaela Ambrose told THE VINCENTIAN, "I applaud Sergeant Morgan for maintaining his integrity and for upholding his oath as a police officer, in speaking the truth.

Norville is also charged with possession of ten grams of marijuana and three grams of cocaine, but those matters have been adjourned to January 30.





Operation I Girp, a continued effort by the local constabulary to take illegal guns off the streets, saw Rose Place locked down for some four hours, during which police, through a combined effort of mainly operational units, carried out searches on persons, houses and other structures.

Norville was the only one held on gun and ammunition charges.

Other persons apprehended during





the swoop were taken to Court on drug-related charges.




Three Vincentians are back home, fortified in their commitment to serve, after an attachment at the Chunghua Christian Hospital (CCH), Taiwan.





While there, July - August 2016, they were exposed to various departments, and observed the day to day operation of that institution.





The three, Sister Rosita King  Senior Nursing Officer,

Andrew Williams - Assistant Hospital Administrator, and Lisa Llewellyn-Sprott  Coordinator of the Health Information Systems, recently shared their experiences with the media.





Sister Rosita King





King said that she was afforded the opportunity to visit a number of departments, including that of Pastoral Care, the department of Safety and Quality and Information, and the Centre for Diabetes and Health Education.

She disclosed that she was particularly impressed by what she observed at the Pastoral Care Department, which provides support to staff and patients, and added that she thought that this was one of the areas in which the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital needed some assistance.





"The experience gained will help me to work towards implementing some improvement projects such as improvements in our quality department  things like improving care for our patients, Sister King explained.

She said that she was also looking to improve the conditions, not just for the patients, but for staff as well.





Andrew Williams





Williams received training in Accounting Procedures, the Procurement and Management of Supplies, Hospital Safety, Quality Improvement, Diabetic Care and Pastoral Care.





He said that he was particularly impressed to see the extent to which information and technology were being used at the Taiwanese facility.





According to Williams, the local health sector recently implemented a project to utilize IT to merge secondary health care services.





The punctuality and dedication shown by staff was another area that was particularly impressive, Williams told members of the media.





"I think our health care workers have to get on board if we need to deliver the health service that we aspire to, he said.





The assistant MCMH administrator said that he was pleased to be afforded the opportunity of such a visit, adding





that the CCH is accredited, and it will be good to adopt some of their practices, especially in Patient Care and Safety.





"From time to time, we hear about patients complaining about the service that they receive. I am not saying that we do not try our best, but of course

not try our best, but of course there are areas that we can improve to deliver the patient care that we would like to, Williams said.





Given the opening of the international airport and the expected growth in the tourism industry, the health services also needed an upgrade, he said.









Lisa Llewellyn-Sprott





Llewellyn-Sprott also spoke of the importance of embarking on a comprehensive IT system as a move in keeping with the aim of improving the health sector here.





Her exposure to the use of technology at CCH, afforded her first-hand knowledge of how effective it (technology) was applied in various departments, including the pharmaceutical, laboratory and radiology departments.





According to Llewellyn-Sprott, as Coordinator of the Health Information System, she would like to see the use of the system here in St Vincent and the Grenadines.





Towards this end, she has already made recommendations of areas the local health sector can adopt, which included mobile registration and the use of a dental module.





The existing system needed to make some changes, she admitted, adding, "This is the 21st Century, and we have to move with the times and welcome technology.





Llewellyn-Sprott identified the draft Electronic Health Act as a step in the direction the health sector needed to move.





Editors Note: Taiwans Chunghua Christian Hospital and the Ministry of Health and the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital established formal relations in 2010. Since that time, a number of health related personnel from this country have had opportunities for attachments and training at that Taiwanese institution.





In addition, medical teams, comprised of persons of diverse specialisations from CCH, have provided in country services to the MCMH and communities across the state. The most recent visit, the tenth such visit, was in May, 2016. (DD)
International Day of Peace was celebrated on September 21st, 2016, under the theme "The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.





To commemorate this day, Junior Chamber International ( JCI) St. Vincent, formerly known as St. Vincent Jaycees, visited the School for Children with Special Needs (SCSN), Georgetown, and participated in their morning assembly, during which the gathering, which feature songs and a scripture reading appropriate to the occasion.

Principal of the school, Mrs. Charles reminded students that they should be peace makers and at all times, respect each other, help each other, and be gentle.





President of JCI St. Vincent, Shevern Lewis-John explained to students that JCI is collaborating with other organizations across the world in their Peace is Possible campaign, because they believe that everlasting world peace is possible, and said, "We wanted to celebrate International Day of Peace with the students because we realize that they are the vulnerable ones in society, so we encouraged them to be open with their teachers, especially when they feel threatened. They all have a part to play in making sure that peace is possible.

The organisation also donated $200 towards the schools feeding programme, and pledged its continued support towards the development of the school.





JCI is a global non-profit, non-governmental organization with the main objective of developing and empowering young people and contributing to community growth through active involvement.
(L-R): Albert Baptiste and Nollie Henson endured the horror of the situation to assist in releasing Kenron Antoines body that was pinned between a boulder and his home.

Any thought of a possible tragedy occasioned by the passage of Tropical Storm Matthew, Wednesday 28th September, 2016, was perhaps the furthest thing from the minds of the majority of residents of the west coast town of Layou, on mainland St. Vincent.





Little wonder, therefore, that when news broke that Wednesday, that teenager Kenron Antoine  A Buccament Secondary School student - had lost his life during Matthews passage, the town fell into a state, first of disbelief and then grief.





Kenron would have turned 17 on October 1, 2016.





Reports are that Kenron lost his life when he was pinned between a boulder and the house in which he lived with his mother. He had, from reports, gone outside to clear a pathway for water that was rushing onto and into the house, when the boulder was dislodged and pinned him.





The ordeal of removing Kenrons body was no easy undertaking.





Nollie Henson and Albert Baptiste, two of the villagers involved in that undertaking, said that they were both terrified by the situation that confronted them, when they went to help with the removal of the young mans body.

Henson, who lives about 300ft below the hill on which Kenrons home is situated, said that he rushed to the house on hearing calls for help. On his way up, he saw a number of police officers making the same trip.

When he arrived on the scene, there were already two neighbours (names given as Drula and Duke) there, but they appeared so struck by what they saw, that they took no action to remove the body.

According to Henson, Kenron appeared to have already been dead, though there were no signs of blood or external injuries.





Henson said the police wanted the villagers to halt any attempt to remove the body until Thursday morning, but he advocated for the body to be removed that night.





"I say no he have to be released, said Henson. He then got a heavy hammer and began beating away the brick work of the house, in the area where Kenron was pinned.





When THE VINCENTIAN spoke with Henson the morning of Thursday 29th September, he admitted to "still feeling terrible. He had cried for the young man, moreso because he could have been his son. He said his son and Kenron were school mates.





Albert Baptiste, who lives some distance away from the scene of the tragedy, told THE VINCENTIAN that he had seen the news about Kenron on the internet, and immediately rushed to the scene.

Baptiste said that the police gave him a heavy hammer to help knock out the bricks of the house to which Kenrons body was pinned.





He described the body as "falling down when the bricks were removed.

"Its a critical situation, very unfortunate, but many persons came out to give support, said Baptiste. (KH)




A toast to Taiwan on its National Day, led by a party that included (L-R): Mrs. Ger; H.E Ambassador Baushuan Ger, H.E. Governor General Sir Frederick Ballantyne; Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves; Lady Straker and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sir Louis Straker.

Diplomatic relations between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and its benefactor the Republic of China (Taiwan) are strong.





This message was reinforced during a reception on Tuesday 4th October, to celebrate the 105th National Day of Taiwan. The activity was held at the Methodist Church Hall, Kingstown.





The National Day celebration, an annual affair, came this year on the heels of the opposition New Democratic Partys (NDP) proclamation, that if they were to form government, the country would switch ties from Taiwan to the Peoples Republic of China.





The announcement created quite a stir, given Taiwans generous and ongoing contributions to the development of this country over 35 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.





In welcoming a large and diverse gathering, which included His Excellency Governor General Sir Frederick Ballantyne, Jamali Jack, President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Taiwan Scholar Alumni Association, reminded the audience that, "We (Taiwan and SVG) speak very different languages, we write very differently.. also we are literally on opposite sides of the planet, we could not be any further apart. However, when you look beneath the surface, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Republic of China (Taiwan) share a lot of similarities, and though Taiwan is about 94.5 times bigger than St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are both islands.





Taiwans Ambassador to St. Vincent and the Grenadines H.E. Ambassador Baushuan Ger conveyed his sincere condolences to the family of the victim who was killed when Tropical Storm Matthew hit last week, and also to those who were impacted.





Ger said that this year marks a crucial time in Taiwans continued democratization and reform effort. "On January 16, the Taiwanese people elected the first female president in the history of the Republic of China. Subsequently, we witnessed on May 20 the third peaceful transfer of power. Through concrete actions, the Taiwanese people have demonstrated great pride in their nations democracy, as well as a firm adherence to democratic values and way of life.





Ger said that his country is very much honored to welcome the Prime Minister and a delegation to Taiwan. The Prime Minister left the state with his delegation last Wednesday to join in the National Day celebration.

He spoke about the close knit relationship between both countries, and while Taiwan has provided financial and technological support in various industries in SVG, the country continues to advocate for Taiwans inclusion in various international bodies and organizations.





The Prime Minister, in his address, acknowledged this close relationship, and chided the opposition for their support of China.





Acknowledging that there were already 20 years of diplomatic relationship with Taiwan when his party first formed government here, he highlighted that, "We took those relations and built them further, carried them to a higher level. So we have 35 years, and you are asking me to break, break; for what? Gonsalves asked.
This 11-foot obelisk stands in Paynes Bay, St. James, Barbados, in memory of all those who lost their lives as a result of the October 6, 1976 anti-Castro attack.

Thursday, October 6, 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of one of the biggest man-made human tragedies in the modern history of the Caribbean.





Forty years ago, long before our peaceful region got accustomed to the dreaded word "terrorism or the heinous deeds of terrorists, 68 young Caribbean citizens, mostly from Cuba (57) but also from Guyana (11), were among the 73 persons aboard a Cuban plane, CU 455, which was blown up just after it took off from Barbados.





Taking advantage of what would in todays world be considered as lax security precautions, but which were the order of the day then, anti-Cuban terrorists, armed and financed by American intelligence agents, planted a bomb on the Cubana airline on its way from Trinidad to Barbados, and got off there. The plane and all those aboard exploded in a horrific conflagration. It was an unforgettable experience in this region.





That vicious act of terrorism had its roots, not only in continued hostility to the Cuban Revolution, but was also meant to frighten Caribbean governments and citizens. It was a time when intensive battles were being waged against apartheid in South Africa and for upholding the independence of Angola. The support of major western governments for racist South Africa had spurred a world-wide solidarity campaign and had resulted in African governments boycotting the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada.





To make matters worse, Cuba had given military support to the Angolan government, and four Caribbean governments, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, had taken the courageous step to open diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1975. They had also permitted the national Cuban airline, Cubana, to break Cubas isolation in the region by flying from Cuba to those four countries.





That was the context of the bomb, planted on a Cubana airline on its way from Guyana and Trinidad, in Barbadian waters, and headed for Jamaica. It is an act as vicious as the 9/11 bombing a quarter century later. To this date, the perpetrators have never been punished, unlike the innocent citizens of Afghanistan, still engulfed in war today because of the acts of the 9/11 terrorists. The SVG/Cuba Friendship Society, in remembering this act of anti-Caribbean terrorism, reiterates its solidarity with the Cuban people and government. We also recall the brutal murder of Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara, on October 9, 1967 in Bolivia, and again call for justice in these cases, and the end to the continuing criminal embargo against Cuba.





Renwick Rose

ST VINCENT and the GRENADINES/CUBA FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY STATEMENT




Kid Companions engaging the children of the St. Benedict Day Nursery and Childrens Home in play. Left: Mr. Andrew Williams (right) accepts donation on behalf of the MCMH, from CAMSA members. Inset:AMSA handing out blankets to residients of the St. Benedict Childrens Home.

Trinity School of Medicine, since its establishment in 2008, has provided many opportunities for its students to interact with the Vincentian community, in areas which often go beyond the strict business of acquiring medical knowledge.





Today, through its student government organizations, the school continues to forge strong links with communities within St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





On Saturday 24th September, three groups of students from Trinity journeyed to the St. Benedict Day Nursery and Childrens Home in Georgetown, in an act of maintaining and fostering these relationships.





Kid Companions, a group launched in February 2016 as an initiative of medical student Diana Freeman, focuses on mentorship. Its visit, according to co-President Shirley Samuel, was to introduce the new members to the children of that facility, in a meet-and-greet session. This included activities such as outdoor games, indoor games, coloring and painting, in a joyously spent afternoon. They were divided into groups for these activities, with each child having a companion with whom to interact.





As far as their upcoming activities go, the co-President gave a layout of their plans for the remaining weeks of this term: they will be engaged in an Arts and Craft session in October, and will enjoy a Carnival in November.

Two other groups, the Trinity arms of the Canadian Medical Students Association (CAMSA), and the American Medical Students Association (AMSA), were also among the visitors to the Childrens Home.





CAMSA, for some time now, had been donating supplies of clothing, toiletries, linens, toys, books, crayons and other items as requested by the Nursery/Home, and made another such donation to the institution. AMSA also presented gifts of blankets and linens to the Home.





Prior to these donations, on Tuesday, 20th September, some faculty and other members of staff at Trinity were on hand to witness the official handover of items to officials of two institutions: the Mental Health Centre (MHC) and the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH). CaMSAs current President, Sonia Stasyszyn, outlined that the items included quantities of clothing, linens and toiletries to the MHC, and supplies that allow for safer patient care, like shoe covers and gloves, for the MCMH.





Dr. Conrad Nedd, Assistant Dean of Clinical Sciences reminded all that, "Even though we encourage students here at Trinity that, as part of their professional duties, its important to be able to make contributions to their community, even physicians practicing have a responsibility to interact with their communities and find some way of giving back, whether by knowledge or by sharing their expertise.





He expressed his delight that the physicians-in-training had come up with the initiatives of contributing to the local community.
The St. Vincent Chapter of the UWI Open Campus Guild of Students (OCGOS) held an appreciation ceremony on Friday September 23rd, 2016, at the sites new location in Frenches, Kingstown.





The ceremony was attended by Head of the Open Campus Mrs. Deborah Dalrymple, and past and present student representatives from the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 academic terms.





Addressing the gathering, Mrs. Dalrymple, inter alia, expressed gratitude to former guild executive members for their hard work in building a strong foundation, upon which the current executive can continue to represent the best interest of the students at the UWI Open Campus.





She then presented certificates of appreciation to the student representatives for their outstanding service during the 2015/2016 academic term.





Among those so awarded were: Ms. Samantha Williams  Secretary; Ms. Nellie Phillips  PRO; Mr. Martin Sheen - Vice Chair; Mr. Ricky Haynes - Treasurer (2015/2016), now serving as Vice Chair (2016/2017) term; Mr. Nick Francis who is currently serving two consecutive terms (2015/16, 2016/17).





The 2016/17 Executive reads: Mr. Nick Francis  Chairman, final year student - pursuing his Bachelor of Science Degree in Youth Development Work; Mr. Ricky Haynes - Vice Chair - currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science Degree in Banking and Finance; Ms. Maxine Matthias - Secretary - a level four student pursuing her Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Studies with a Minor in Economics; Ms. Sherika Williams  Treasurer - currently a level three student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management (International Management); Ms. Hannah Hamilton - Communications and Public Relations Officer - facilitator in the Technical and Vocational field with an Associate Degree in Education, and presently enrolled in the Bachelor in Educational Leadership and Management Programme at the Open Campus; Mr. Reynold DeFreitas - Committee Liaison Office - currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Studies (International Management); Ms. Renitta Peters -Post Graduate Representative - currently enrolled in the Master of Science programme in Management  Human Resource Management.





Upcoming activities for the Guild include: a general student body online meeting in October; a community outreach project in December; field trip to the Vermont Nature Trails in early 2017.
A blog for students in my introductory classes in government, and any interested passersby. You'll find news items and random stories that illustrate any of the topics we cover in class. Special attention will be paid to the constitutional issues associated with contemporary issues and disputes. Feel free to send me stories you find important. Please note that due to spam, I'm limiting the ability of people to comment on these pages. My apologies.
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By Trend





Azerbaijans capital will host the international business cooperation exhibition  B2B International on Deceber 2-4, the Azerbaijan Export and Investments Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) said in a message on October 6.

Exposition of companies, operating in the areas of transport, ecology, water treatment, tourism, textile and leather, furniture, education, construction, chemical industry, machine building, instrument making, metallurgy, oil and gas, geology and mining, wood processing, IT and communications, medicine and pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance, agriculture and food, will be presented during the exhibition.

The Azerbaijan-Russia business forum and bilateral meetings will also be held within the exhibition.

Investment potential of the regions of Azerbaijan and Russia, potential projects in Azerbaijan for 2016-2019 will be presented and the prospects of development of mechanical engineering and production of construction materials in Azerbaijan, prospects of development of the cluster of petrochemical production in Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as other issues will be discussed during the event.
By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

Mechanisms to support the export of Azerbaijani products will touch only goods produced in the non-oil sector of the economy.

Head of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Rufat Mammadov told reporters on October 6, adding that however, the entrepreneurs, who can benefit from these mechanisms, will face no restrictions.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on October 5 regulating the procedure for determining the state support of exporters.

The decree specifies the The rule of defining and regulating the mechanism of paying a part of the expenditures from state budget, organizing export missions to foreign countries, exploring foreign markets and marketing activities, promoting Made in Azerbaijan brand on foreign markets, issuing certificates for local companies and patents in foreign countries for export, research programs and projects for development of export.

Export process is quite difficult. First of all, entrepreneurs should have competitive products. In order to ensure the development of production of competitive goods, the state will support the research programs and development programs in this sphere, said Mammadov.

At the same time, in order to promote the goods on foreign markets, we should study their export potential. The state plans to render support in this sphere as well, he said.

Moreover, a number of mechanisms such as export missions, participation in international exhibitions and etc. are planned for advertising the products on foreign markets, Mammadov added.

A total of 3 million manats ($1.84 million) has been allocated out of the Azerbaijani Presidents Reserve Fund in the 2016 State Budget in order to finance the support measures envisaged in the above-mentioned rule.

Azerbaijan is keen to penetrate widely in the international commodity markets with its products branded "Made in Azerbaijan". Today Azerbaijan outputs more than 250 kinds of home-made products in food, light, heavy and construction industries.
By Azernews





By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan and Turkey, the two neighboring countries and strategic partners, enjoy opportunities to strengthen their cooperation in the sphere of satellite industry.

Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications Ahmet Arslan told Trend that Turkey is ready to produce low-orbit (LEO) and gestational (GEO) satellites for Azerbaijan, as soon as the operating time of Azersky and Azerspace-1 spacecrafts expires.

Arslan said that the Center of Testing and Integration of Space-Based Systems (USET) operates under the state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI). The centre, which is considered as the first satellite test facility of Turkey and one of the worlds outstanding facilities, allows to assemble and test various types of satellites.

Work on the creation of the first indigenous satellite is currently underway in the centre. In this regard, USET experts can assemble communication satellites and spacecrafts for exploring the Earth for Azerbaijan, he said.

Turkey's first indigenous satellite Turksat 6A, manufactured in USET, is slated for completion by 2019. Turksat is one of the world's top 20 satellite operators and its goal is to become one of the world's top-10 countries with implementation of 10 satellites by 2023.

Moreover, the minister added that Turkey is also ready to provide Azerbaijan with resources of its Gokturk-2, which is Turkey's first high-resolution remote sensing earth observation satellite.

He mentioned that it is also possible to exchange resources and expand the coverage of the Turkish satellite geolocation system on the territory of Azerbaijan.

Arslan also suggested cooperation between universities of the two countries on designing of CanSat mini satellites.

Azercosmos, Science Development Fund under the President of Azerbaijan and TUBITAK UZAY (Space Technologies Research Institute) of Turkey signed a memorandum of mutual understanding on cooperation in the space industry in 2015.

The document envisages exchange experience in the sphere of space technologies, conduction of joint research, use benefits of satellite telecommunication systems, as well as study of the Earth's surface and the construction of new generation telecommunication systems.

Azerbaijan entered the space club with the launch of its first satellite Azerspace-1 in February 2013. By now, the country has three satellites, a telecommunication and two low orbit satellites, and it plans to launch a second telecommunication satellite in 2017.

Azerspace-1, the first-ever satellite of Azerbaijan, as well as AzerSky high-resolution low-orbit Earth observation satellite are at disposal of Azercosmos, the only satellite operator in the Caucasus.
By Trend





Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva has visited a nursing home for the war and labor disabled in Bilgah, Baku.

Leyla Aliyeva met with the people living in the nursing home, and talked with them.

The nursing home for the war and labor disabled was commissioned in 1960s.

National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited the nursing home in 1998. President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening of a new block of the nursing home in 2013. Some 207 people live here.

Leyla Aliyeva regularly visits the home to meet with the people living here.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

The continuation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the biggest obstacle to peace and development in the region.

This was stated by Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department at the conference Azerbaijans role on global and regional arena: Realities and Prospects in Baku on October 7.



He added that the legal basis for the conflicts settlement is reflected in the decisions and resolutions adopted by the UN and other international organizations.



Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity are supported and recognized in all of these documents. But unfortunately, the international law has remained only as a document over the last ten years, Mammadov stressed.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

The top official pointed out that the current tension within the international community is a result of incompliance with the international law.

John Kerry, the state secretary of the worlds superpower US, sends a message to the world that allegedly, the leaders are not ready for the conflicts settlement, he said. Which logical option the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have proposed [for the conflicts settlement] that Azerbaijan hasnt agreed to?

Why Azerbaijans seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh are not liberated? Which steps were taken by these major states to liberate these seven regions, which were populated by hundreds of thousands of people? asked Mammadov.

Over the past years, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have found the following solution: Azerbaijan and Armenia should come to an agreement by themselves, added the top official.

This is a proof of the unfair and double standard attitude towards Azerbaijan. Armenia states that Azerbaijan is not ready for compromises. Yerevan means that Nagorno-Karabakh should be fully given to Armenia. Kerrys statement is more similar to this position of Armenia, said Mammadov.

He pointed out that the relevant bodies of the U.S. should provide an explanation on Kerrys statements, adding that Armenia tries to protract the conflicts settlement and such statements give ground to this.

Mammadov added that Khojaly genocide shouldnt be put aside when talking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenia tries to present the fictitious genocide as real in the world, while the Khojaly massacre is the last genocide committed in the past century and many countries, as well as several US states have recognized this genocide, said the top official.

Economic development

Novruz Mammadov also spoke about the achievements of Azerbaijan since the country regained its independence.

Currently, an evident progress is observed in Azerbaijans social, political and economic spheres and this progress was achieved in the countrys development process, said Mammadov.

Azerbaijan presents its own development model to the world, said the top official, adding that international organizations also praise the countrys development.

Currently, Azerbaijan is moving on the path of turning the black gold into human capital, he said.

The top official emphasized the increasing investments in education and modern technologies, as well as the steps taken for diversification of economy.

He pointed out that Azerbaijan has launched its satellite into orbit.

Further, the top official said that Azerbaijan pursues domestic and foreign policy based on national interests.

As President Ilham Aliyev pointed out, Azerbaijan is among few countries that are members of both the Council of Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he said.

Azerbaijans temporary presidency of the UN Security Council was an important event. This trust in Azerbaijan showed that the country enjoys respect both in the region and on the international arena for its policy, said Mammadov.

Although Azerbaijan is not a big country, it actively participates in the international anti-terrorism coalitions for ensuring peace and stability in the whole world, added the top official.
By Trend





Ten people were injured as a result of the explosion near a police station in Yenibosna district of Turkeys Istanbul city, the governor of Istanbul Vasip Sahin told reporters, the Anadolu Agency reported on October 6.

Presumably, a car bomb caused the explosion. The blast was so strong that it was heard in Ataturk Airport, according to witnesses.

Bomb squads, policemen and ambulances have been sent to the scene.
By Trend





President Hassan Rouhani underlined Iran's readiness to supply Vietnam with its energy and steel needs, IRNA reported.

President Rouhani, who is on a state visit to Hanoi, made the remarks in a meeting with Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday.

President Rouhani emphasized that the expansion of relations with Southeast Asian countries, especially Vietnam, has always been Iran's top priority.

He said that lifting anti-Iran sanctions have already paved the grounds for the two countries to enhance their economic ties, adding, 'Tehran and Hanoi need to strengthen their banking relations first in order to facilitate any step toward the expansion of commercial relations.
Dubai Design District (d3) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children to collaborate together in projects promoting Art and Design to the younger creative generation in the UAE.



The memorandum was signed at hai d3 itself, by Mohammad Saeed Al-Shehhi, chief operating officer of d3 and Dr. Mona Al Bahar, CEO and member of the Board of Trustees at Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children.



The agreement will facilitate a number of initiatives that will provide the children of Dubai with a creative platform that educates, inspires, and nurtures their creativity in the different fields of art, science, and culture. According to the agreement, the two entities will work together to support and promote cultural events in UAE, and collaborate in conducting joint researches and studies in various cultural, artistic and media fields related to children.



Al-Shehhi said: "Our collaboration with Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children is in line with d3s vision to help foster creativity and innovation in the younger talent, whilst helping to drive and develop the design education sector for the benefit of the wider economy. The recent Mena Design Education Report, which d3 supported, highlights a need for a nine-fold increase in young designers to achieve sustainable growth of the design sector in the region. At d3, we are committed to helping the UAE meet this target and ensuring a prosperous future for the younger creative generation.



Dr. Al Bahar said: Al Jalila Cultural Centre For Children is always looking to secure partnerships that foster creative, secure and safe environments for children to learn and develop their all-round innovation and artistic skills. These learning environments align to our vision of instilling national values in the young people of the nation."



She added: "We are keen to cooperate with all concerned parties and innovation within the state as well as anywhere in the world. The d3 model is a living testimony to the potential of the sons and daughters of the nation and the world at large. It embodies the vision of Dubai taking big steps towards becoming a smart city in every way. Our collaboration with d3 will enable our young members to interact and engage with the smart city concept at a physical level and grow more opportunities to open young minds to a wider range of artistic, creative and innovative inspirations. Together with d3 we will strengthen our goals of growing the next generation of leaders of this nation  who will be groomed in modern and contemporary ways as well as traditional and national values." - TradeArabia News Service
Iran's industrial sector will see an increase in investments from Turkish companies, said president of Istanbul Chamber of Industry in a report.



Erdal Bahcivan, in a meeting with Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi, pointed to the capacities of Istanbul Chamber of Industry noting that the chamber produces about 40 per cent of industrial products of Turkey, added the Iran Daily News report, citing Irna reported.



Expressing satisfaction with his meeting with Vaezi, the Turkish official added that Iran-Turkey relations is useful to ensure stability in the Muslim world.



Vaezi insisted on the importance of his country's relations with Turkey adding that Turkish companies have priority in cooperation with Iran.



Following the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Turkish firms can have greater participation in Iran's projects.



Vaezi arrived in Istanbul on Monday to take part in the 26th Universal Postal Congress.
Hurricane Matthew, recorded as the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, has claimed the lives of over 300 people in Haiti, on Friday, a report said.



Initially categorised as a Category 4 storm, the hurricane downgraded to a Category 3 storm as it approached the US mainland, heading towards the US state of Florida with sustained winds of 120mph (193km/h), BBC reported.



At 03:00 local time (07:00 GMT) Matthew was still off the Florida coast, centred about 37 miles (60km) east of Vero Beach and was moving north-west at about 14mph (22km/h), the National Hurricane Center said.



Hurricane Matthew has pounded the Bahamas after slicing through Haiti and Cuba.



Trees and power lines were reportedly down in the Bahamas but no fatalities were reported.



Most of the deaths in Haiti were in towns and fishing villages around the southern coast, with many killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers.



Many have lost their homes and are facing scarcity of food and water. The country is one of the world's poorest, with many residents living in flimsy housing in flood-prone areas.



Meanwhile in the US, evacuation orders have been issued for areas covering some three million inhabitants.



In Florida, heavy rains and high winds lashed the Miami area overnight. Some 200,000 homes and businesses have been left without power in the state already.



Sustained winds could reach 130mph, with gusts of up to 160mph, with rainfall of up to 15in (38cm).
Last week, international hydroponic experts Pegasus Agriculture attended the 13th edition of South China's leading luxury property show LPS Guangzhou 2016 as an exhibitor.



The show was held from September 23 to 25 in Guangzhou city, China, and drew more than 100 exhibitors from around the world, as well as over 6,000 VIP buyers.



As an exhibitor, Pegasus Agriculture was able to close deals and network with several potential partners within the country that could help drive indoor agriculture development in China, as well as generate a significate amount of interest in the company's investment model. Pegasus Agriculture representative, Ricardo Schenke, who attended the exhibition, referred to the show as being "an outstanding experience and an important step for Pegasus Agriculture towards developing contacts and probing markets in China."



Pegasus Agriculture has been interested in expanding their international operations into China for quite some time now, having identified the country as holding significant potential for the indoor agriculture industry. This is because, recently, China has been orienting itself towards a more eco-centric focus, one of the latest developments of which is its recently-announced $450 billion farm plan. - TradeArabia News Service
Oil prices settled above $50 in early Asia trade Friday, owing to declining US inventories and reports that key members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia will meet next week to discuss Russias participation in the joint cut production, said a report.



On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at $50.47 a barrel, up $0.03 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude on Londons ICE Futures exchange was flat at $52.51 a barrel, said a report in MarketWatch.



Last week, the 14-member group agreed to cut between 200,000 barrels a day and 700,000 barrels a day of their output to alleviate the global oil glut that has weakened prices for more than two years. The group, which controls more than one third of the worlds oil production said it also wants the participation of non-Opec producers in a concerted efforts to curb production. it said.



Opec secretary-general Mohammad Senusi Barkindo is planning to meet Russias energy minister Alexander Novak for consultations on the sidelines of an energy summit in Istanbul next week, a person familiar with the meeting said.



The news boosted sentiment, as market watchers take this as a sign that oil producers are finally moving toward the same direction.



If there are clear signs Russia is full on broad with the program, the bulls will be running hard as upside targets are eyed, said Stuart Ive, a client manager at OM Financial.



The possible collaboration among Opec and Russia, combined with continual decline in U.S. crude inventories buoyed US-trade oil prices to close above for the first time in the overnight New York session since June.
GTA, Kuonis global travel distribution arm, is celebrating its 41st anniversary this year. To mark this momentous milestone, the company has unveiled a new Festive Rewards campaign that gives travel agents the chance to win thousands of dollars in cash, G-Shop points and prizes.



Running globally from October 7 to December 31, 2016, the Festive Rewards campaign will see hundreds of GTAs top-selling travel agent partners rewarded with cash, G-Shop points and high-value gifts. Over 500 hand-picked/specially-selected hotels and resorts from around the world have confirmed their participation.



Minor International, which operates six hotel brands including Anantara, Avani and Per Aquum, has already signed up as the campaigns Gold Partner. This follows the recent partnership agreement signed between GTA and Minor, reflecting the deepening level of collaboration between the two companies. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has also been announced as the campaign's Silver Partner.



At the end of the 12-week promotional period, 20 top-performing agents, based on their total transaction value during the campaign, will each receive a cash prize of $2,000.



All other qualifying agents will go into GTAs 2017 New Year Draw and each stand a chance to win a brand new iPhone 7. In total, GTA will give away $100,000 worth in cash, prizes and reward points!



GTA is constantly looking for new ways to engage, incentivise and reward our trade partners. With this year marking our companys 41st anniversary, we wanted to create an extra special campaign to reflect the magnitude of this milestone, said Andrew Hughes, GTAs Vice President of Sourcing for Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA).



Together with the support of all our hotel partners, GTA will be giving away a staggering $100,000 worth in cash, G-Shop points and prizes to reward our loyal agents. We see this as a great way of celebrating our anniversary, the festive season and 41 years of outstanding client relationships, he added.



The winning agents will be revealed in the first week of January 2017. - 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.
Unemployment claims in Wyoming dropped last month for the first time since December 2014, a sign that layoffs are slowing as the energy sector stabilizes.

The largest decrease in claims came from the mining industry, where they were down 64.2 percent from this point last year, according to a report from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

A significant decrease in mining industry layoffs helped bring the total number of unemployment claims in September down 4.3 percent, even as claims were up in the construction and tourism sectors.

We see some signs that the layoffs are slowing down, said Sherry Wen, DWS principal economist. Thats a good sign.

Wen said the drop in unemployment claims may be more encouraging than the August unemployment numbers, which showed the first drop in unemployment in 18 months. She said that drop was attributed in part to Wyomingites leaving the labor force and thus not being categorized as unemployed.

In contrast, every unemployment claim represents an individual who was recently laid off. Fewer claims directly translates to fewer layoffs, Wen said.

With oil pushing $50 per barrel last week for the first time since June, Wen said the energy industry appears to be stabilizing if not recovering.

At least they are holding, and they are trying to see when they can come back to make profits, Wen said of oil companies in the state.

Oil prices closed at $49.83 Wednesday.

Wens suggestion that energy sector bleeding has at least been stanched mirrors comments made in September by Charlene Murdock, executive director of the Campbell County Chamber of Commerce.

Were five months past the most visible layoffs, Murdock, who works with Gillette-area businesses, said. Since then we havent really seen any additional [major] layoffs.

Still, when broken down by location most of drop in new unemployment claims came from out of state. There was an approximately 20 percent drop in the number of unemployment claims being filed by people living outside Wyoming from this time last year, suggesting fewer people are leaving the state after losing work.

Campbell, Natrona and Fremont counties saw increases in new unemployment claims while Carbon, Johnson and Laramie saw decreases.

Wen said that while month-to-month numbers may vary going forward, she expected the overall trend will show layoffs and unemployment claims continuing to slow through the remainder of the year.

I expect it will flatten or continue down, Wen said of new claims. However, she said, job growth numbers remain weak and that an end to layoffs is only the start of a recovery for the Cowboy State.

We [havent] seen that expansion of hiring, Wen said. All i can see is more toward stabilizing.
Jennifer Smuin woke at 5 a.m. on Sept. 14 to warm a bottle for her 10-month-old daughter, Caroline, and saw a police officer driving back and forth in front of her Kemmerer home.

Her husband, Michael, was working the night shift at the Williams Opal natural gas processing plant.

She had opened the front door as she always does when the weather is fine, to signal to her neighbors that they are welcome. A closed door meant privacy.

Jennifers home wasnt the first stop for the police.

They had already notified Michaels grandparents, who live nearby. In Las Vegas, Michaels mother, Trudy Smuin, had been woken by a call.

Of the family, Jennifer, standing in the dark, her door open to friends and neighbors, was the last to find out that her husband, a volunteer firefighter and plant worker, had died doing routine maintenance at the Williams Opal natural gas processing plant.

Its not yet clear what lead to Michaels death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. The final report will take weeks to complete.

Early reporting revealed that Michael sustained a deadly head injury after a pipe burst in his vicinity, likely knocking him off his feet.

Wyoming is home to a large number of workers in high-risk jobs, from oil rigs to coal mines. However, Jennifer didnt think of the plant as a dangerous place. Michael had worked there for eight years, and she knew the plant had safety guidelines in place, rules to follow to keep workers safe.

It was never really a worry when he went to work, she said. I mean, going hunting, we worried. Going on a fire call, we worried, but never really going to work.

Michael was an everyday man. He hated gossip. He loved country music. He was a 15-year veteran of the volunteer fire department, and though he had lived in Nevada as a teenager, he always considered Kemmerer home. He returned every summer to stay with his grandparents. As soon as he was old enough, he came back to Wyoming and worked in the oil services industries before getting a job at the Williams plant.

Five years ago, he met Jennifer at a pool hall. Hed marry the blonde girl with the Southern accent two years later.

Family was what Michael cared most about, his mother said.

She was 19 when Michael was born. Michael wanted to be the father he never had, she said.

I raised him by myself. My whole life, its just been me and Michael, just the two of us, she said.

Early on, doctors told Michael and Jennifer that they wouldnt be able to have children. They were looking into adoption when to their surprise, Jennifer became pregnant with Caroline.

All he wanted was a family, and he finally got it, she said. A wonderful wife, a beautiful daughter. This makes no sense at all.

The night Michael died, Trudy had called her son before going to bed. They got carried away and spoke for over an hour. It wasnt unusual for them to speak multiple times a day.

Every morning since her sons death, Trudy pulls up his picture on her phone. She talks to him as she always has. She asks him to send her a sign that he exists somewhere. She believes hes answered her. The other night all the toys in Carolines room started blinking and whirring, she remembered.

Its Michael, Trudy told her daughter-in-law.

Jennifer isnt sure what comes next. She still speaks of Michael in the present tense, as if he were just away for a while and returning soon, she said.

She remembers how they would dance in their game room to Justin Moores country songs, and she would bury her face in his chest.

One thing she is sure of: Jennifer wants to keep the plans she and Michael had made for their daughter.

Caroline has a little over $36 in nickels and dimes in a piggy bank shaped like a baby bottle. She doesnt know it yet, but the money is for a trip to Disney World when she turns 6. She may get a horse someday. She will learn how to fish and how to hunt, just as her mom and dad planned.

She will grow up in the small town where her father was born, where her great-grandparents still live, and where the neighbors, the teachers, the local shop owners will all remember her father.
A multi-billion-dollar natural gas project could add some 9,000 new wells in southwest Wyoming and put sage grouse conservation plans to the test.

The Continental Divide-Creston Natural Gas Project, by BP American Production, would bring about $1.8 billion to Wyoming coffers over its 30- to 40-year lifespan, according to the Bureau of Land Management, which recently approved the project, which would span 1.1 million acres of mostly federal lands. Analysis of the impact to the environment used a potential 9,000 wells, or 600 per year for 15 years, to be drilled in the area.

The entire project area is sage grouse general habitat, where there are a number of restrictions on development. In about 15 percent of the area, located in the north and west corners of the site, there are additional sage grouse protections in place because of the importance of those regions as established sage grouse breeding grounds.

Until the company begins applying for individual wells to be drilled, the location and numbers are uncertain.

That delay is of concern to some, who want assurances that sage grouse conservation will be upheld in the project area. Others view the project with cautious optimism, a study of the collaborative efforts across Wyoming to develop protections for the bird in industry areas.

[The project] is a test, said Bob Budd, chairman of the Sage Grouse Implementation Team  a Wyoming conservation and management team. Its a chance to look and see how things work  a chance to do all of the things that we would like to do as far as making sure that we can have development and protect the birds habitat.

The western bird with the comical mating dance has caused considerable consternation in Wyoming, home to 40 percent of the birds population. As the birds numbers dwindled across the west, Wyoming spearheaded years of efforts to conserve the grouse while maintaining energy development key to the states economy.

In recent years, the pressure to save the grouse peaked, as its numbers showed significant decline and states wanted to avoid an endangered species listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Such a listing would have led to serious restrictions on industry development.

The Department of the Interior chose not to list the grouse in a decision made in September 2015, largely because of the conservation plans developed by states like Wyoming. Recently the Bureau of Land Management released final conservation and development plans, which mirror the state plans, for the grouse on public lands. Those include a 5 percent cap on new disturbance, like roads and well pads in priority areas, and a one-well pad per 640 acres limit in those areas. In general habitat, restrictions require no net loss of habitat.

However, embedded in the agencys restrictions are allowances to compensate for conservation loss when it is unavoidable. The possibility for exceptions has some concerned that the natural gas project has the potential to turn back the clock on some of the work done thus far.

The issue is not with the conservation plans, which are strong and should be effective, but the potential allowances, said Dan Heilig of the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

Federal and state regulators are not shy about the issue of exceptions. However, any exception must be made up for, whether on site or nearby, said Dennis Carpenter, field manager for the BLMs Rawlins office.

Its a new concept that weve put into play, he said. In order to achieve the no net loss or the net conservation gain standard, if you cant follow all the rules, we allow for somebody to do extra work either on site or off site to be able to meet that standard.

State officials are confident in the compensatory plan as well.

There are a number of safeguards built into (the Continental Divide-Creston Natural Gas Project) that address sage grouse, Budd said. I think its all exciting. It causes your heart to skip a little every now and then. But I think it is a good test for where we are trying to go.

Question of scale

However, there is also a question of scale. Though 9,000 wells was a figure used for analysis and not a firm proposal, it is high enough that environmentalists are concerned.

It raises the question of whether the BLM has the capacity to deal adequately with environmental reviews for that number of wells, Heilig said. The same issue is presented to the public. How can the public meaningfully participate due to the sheer magnitude?

The strategy BLM appears to be using is piecemeal when it should be project-wide, he said.

Instead of well by well, each operator or group of operators (should) submit their drilling plans and those plans are analyzed as a whole, he said. I think BLM would be more likely to have an opportunity to look at a landscape scale through that process.

Bruce Pendry, an energy and climate specialist for the Wilderness Society, said he is more concerned over the issue of valid existing rights, in which companies can argue their right to drill over conservation guidelines.

BLM clearly has authority to restrict drilling to comply with the conservation plans, he said. The question is whether the agency will exercise its power.

It is not the first time that environmentalists have questioned whether state and federal regulators are standing up to industry. But regulators disagree.

The beauty is we can do [conservation] in the context of our ability to say No, said Budd. That is something that no one ever wants to talk aboutWe say No a lot more than people realize.

A spokesman for BP said the company will follow the conservation plans.

BP is committed to working with the U.S. Interior Department, Wyoming Game & Fish Department (WGFD) and the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) in a coordinated and collaborative way to protect and preserve the Sage Grouse and its habitat within the Wamsutter Development Area, he said in an email.

The companys leaders are hopeful for the project, despite the price of natural gas dipping to concerning lows recently, creating havoc in the industry and sending a number of natural gas companies into bankruptcy.

Despite the difficult commodity price environment, the project remains important to BP, to the economic future of Wyoming and to the energy security of the United States, the spokesman said.

As the natural gas project progresses, the local BLM office will create a team that includes local and state government representatives. Budd and his team are also closely involved with how mitigation and compensatory mitigation will play out.

I certainly think that everyone who has worked in this area is going to watch closely, as we should, he said. There will be a lot of scrutiny, and there will probably be a lot of finger pointing, but that is pretty much the way things go.

For those concerned about the impacts of the natural gas project, there is still a desire for collaboration when it comes to the grouse.

We are going to be there, Heilig said. Participating in a constructive way, working with BLM, and industry and other stakeholders in developing mitigation plans that can achieve conservation gains for sage grouse.
The most pressing issues facing my constituents are jobs, education and protecting our constitutional rights and freedoms.

Jobs-Minerals, agriculture and tourism are Wyomings biggest employers. With the mineral industry in decline, many oilfield workers-on and off the reservation-need jobs. We must make Wyoming oil and gas competitive again to preserve these jobs. With rebounding energy production, affiliated vendor jobs also come back. Minerals pay 50% of the states taxes, lessening citizens tax burden.

Agricultures future depends on water and I have consistently voted to build more water storage. I am a rancher and understand the importance of irrigation.

Tourism is a renewable resource and adds to our long term economic picture.

Education-Education is the key to a bright future. This means efficiently funding academic and vocational education. Wyoming is resource rich and we need skilled workers for the trades, mining, agriculture and tourism industries. Federal coal lease bonus payments funded $3.2 Billion dollars of new schools in the last decade. But president Obama declared a 3 year moratorium on coal leases, so Wyoming has lost billions of dollars that would have built new Wyoming schools.

Constitutional rights/freedoms- I am a strong supporter of our rights, especially our right to bear arms. I am an NRA member and hunter. I am also strong supporter of property rights. These rights are the bedrock of freedom and I will continue to support them.

#2 Yes, I will continue to work with members of both parties to pass good legislation.

#3 The answers above outline my philosophies.

I have served House District 33 for 3 years and have the experience to continue working hard for my constituents. Please vote for me in November.
1. Like most people in Wyoming, folks in House District 11 are concerned about our economy, their jobs, the state budget cuts, and how we will continue to fund our education system.

We must work to grow our economy. In order to create more and higher paying jobs, I will work with others in the Legislature, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders around the state, to incentivize new and diverse businesses, while protecting small businesses and the way of life we all hold so dear in Wyoming. We all know that to attract new businesses and opportunities to our state, we must work to keep taxes low, whether we are talking about taxes on people or industry. Better jobs and fairer taxes will help set our families on the path to a bright fiscal future.

State budget cuts have impacted all of us. The question is not whether we cut spending; its how and when we cut. We must work harder than ever before to eliminate waste, make the cuts that are fair for large and small agencies, and encourage and reward agencies who underspend. In doing all of this, we must prioritize people over projects. I will fight for our public employees and seek to protect jobs, not eliminate them. Getting our economy and budget back on track will involve making tough cuts  but, these cuts cant come at the expense of our families.

The funding model of our education system is at serious risk; with the decline in Federal Mineral Royalties, the future of our education system is uncertain. We should look to strengthen and harness sources that currently fund the School Foundation Program, including the states investment income. I will fight for our schools, making sure they receive the funding and resources necessary to provide our children with the best start possible. My daughter attends public school in Cheyenne, so Im just as invested as any parent in the success of our public schools. Education will always be a top priority!

2. This election is not about political ideologies, its about people. Its about you! Its about our families and our future. I will always put people before ideology, politics, or party. My priority is the people I represent. This means working with everyone to accomplish what is good and best for our state. I am a consensus builder, not a divider. Only together will we restore Wyoming jobs and our economy. Only together will we restore confidence and values in our government.

3. Im an average person, with a family, kids to feed, and bills to worry about  just like you. Im not a career politician and I have never held public office. Maybe these are my strongest attributes because Im just a dedicated husband and father who wants to see my children, our children, inherit an even greater Wyoming than the one I was fortunate enough to be born into. I work hard, believe in Wyoming, and Im always willing to listen.
1) Water issues always seem to rise to the top as far as importance. With that said, without water the state has no revenue. Water affects out energy industry, our agriculture industry, tourism and recreation. Our state budget is based on our ability to raise revenue and we cant build schools, roads or keep our economy stable without water. Water issues are complicated and legislators need to be judicious on how Wyoming protects our natural resources.

2) A good idea is a good idea no matter who the legislator is that is sponsoring the legislation. A legislators ability to be able to distinguish between the person presenting the legislation and what the legislation actually does, is what makes good legislation advance towards becoming a good law. We dont necessarily need more laws, we need better laws.

3) Philosophically, I am a moderate democrat with a wide swath of libertarianism in me. I have a ten year record in the Wyoming State Legislature. I would hope that voters would take the time to research my record and see all the successes that I have been able to achieve in my tenure. The perceptive that I bring to the legislature is certainly different than most. I understand the concept of living paycheck to paycheck and I dont think most legislators have any understanding of someone being in that type of situation.
CHEYENNE  Southeast Wyoming law enforcement agencies are investigating a string of events Thursday in which three men are believed to have car-jacked a womans SUV in Wheatland before coming to Cheyenne and opening fire in an attempted robbery at the Medicap Pharmacy on Bluegrass Circle.

A pharmacy employee was shot, but not fatally, around 10:50 a.m. after the three men entered the store and started shooting, CPD spokesman Officer Dan Long said.

The employee shot back at the three suspects, who then fled the scene in a white Ford SUV, Long said.

Police later located an unoccupied white Ford Edge with Platte County license plates about one-fifth of a mile from the shooting scene and discovered it had been carjacked from Platte County earlier that morning.

The SUV was towed from the Spring Court cul-de-sac around 1 p.m.

Cheyenne Police are still searching for the three suspects, who have been described as dark-skinned men.

Long said Thursday afternoon that one of the men was last seen wearing all-black clothing, and two of the men were dressed in green.

They are said to have entered the pharmacy wearing ski masks in an attempted robbery.

Long said the injured pharmacy employee was transported to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center by ambulance.

The spouse of an employee who was inside the pharmacy when the shooting happened identified the injured worker as Jackson Quick.

Truman Kenedy said Quick was shot in the leg.

A CRMC spokeswoman said late Thursday afternoon that Quick was treated at the hospital and released.

Quick is the same man who shot at an attempted robber at the Medicap Pharmacy in December 2014.

In that incident, then-30-year-old Nathan D. Mundt entered the pharmacy, brandished a gun that turned out to be fake and demanded prescription drugs.

Quick, who spoke with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle after that shooting, said he grabbed a gun kept in the store for protection and shot at Mundt.

Mundt suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for treatment. He recovered and was sentenced in October 2015 to spend eight to 16 years in prison for aggravated robbery.

Kenedy said his wife, Penney, was working at the pharmacy during that incident as well, and she was the person from whom Mundt initially demanded pills.

This time, she was doing her back work, and one of the ladies went out, smoked a cigarette, and the next moment my wife heard, pop, pop, pop. Her and another manager ran out the back door, he said.

They dont know if any of the guys got hit, but theres bullet holes in the store this time.

Earlier Thursday morning, a Platte County woman also suffered a traumatizing experience at the hands of the same suspects, authorities believe.

Wheatland Police Chief Randy Chesser said a Platte County resident was the victim of a carjacking in Wheatland around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

At some point, there were three men involved, he said.

Police scanner traffic suggested the carjacking was carried out at gunpoint.

Chesser said the men took a woman and her car to a remote location in Platte County and abandoned her there. She was not injured.

At that point, the victims vehicle was stolen, he said, adding that its believed that the suspects then traveled to Cheyenne and used that vehicle in connection with the Medicap Pharmacy shooting.

Chesser said the carjacking victim indentified a second vehicle, a white four-door, as being involved with that incident.

As a result, Cheyenne Police think the suspects might now be driving a white Chevy Lumina.

Unlike the Ford SUV, that vehicle has not yet been located.

Its believed to be the suspects in that are the same ones that did the robbery here, Long said.

From what it sounds like, they were in the Lumina, they did the carjacking of the Ford, they brought both vehicles down here  possibly  (and) the Ford ended up down here, matched the description here, and was found just down off of Spring Court.

They could possibly be in that Lumina, or they could be out on foot, or they could be in another vehicle.

Police are asking anyone who sees someone matching the suspects description to call 911 immediately.
Three Republican state lawmakers from Cheyenne could be censured by their county party for supporting a write-in candidate in her state Senate race against the winner of the GOP primary.

Reps. Dan Zwonitzer and Dave Zwonitzer and Sen. Wayne Johnson supported the write-in petition that landed Kym Zwonitzer on the November ballot as an independent in the race for Senate District 6. The motion to censure them says that they have enjoyed Republican support in the past and shouldnt back an independent when the party has its own candidate in the race.

The move to censure the Zwonitzers and Johnson hearkens to the recent past when the right flank of the GOP tried censuring Gov. Matt Mead and Republican legislative leaders over the removal of then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill from the Wyoming Department of Education.

Kym Zwonitzer is the mother of Dan and the wife of Dave. She said shes a lifelong Republican. She entered the race after a successful petition drive as an independent in September, when it was too late to run as a Republican. Dave Zwonitzer is vacating his House seat and hoped to win the Senate seat in a three-way primary race that he ultimately lost to Anthony Bouchard, executive director of Wyoming Gun Owners.

Bouchard is a firebrand who has said the National Rifle Association is too soft on the Second Amendment and has created an assortment of memes for his organization that have incensed lawmakers over the years. One suggested a male legislator was poorly endowed. Another showed an image of a Republican lawmaker next to one of President Barack Obama and the text suggested the legislator agreed with the presidents gun views.

Zwonitzers entry into the race was unpalatable to some Republicans. Bouchard obtained a list of people who signed the petition from the Wyoming Secretary of States office, said office spokesman Will Dinneen. Other party members are apparently pushing for the censure.

Bouchard did not reply to telephone and email messages for this story.

In the days following the (primary) election, I talked to a lot to Laramie County Republicans, obviously Lindi Kirkbride (who also lost the three-way race) and Dave Zwonitzer, Kym Zwonitzer said. There was just this discussion that Lindi and Dave split the vote among the regular Republicans. And the person who won, Anthony Bouchard, won by five votes. There was a feeling he did not represent the regular Republican viewpoints.

There is no Democratic candidate in the race, so voters in SD6 will choose between Zwonitzer and Bouchard at the polls.

Conservative activists in the GOP have used censure as a tool to try to keep elected officials in check, although Dan Zwonitzer said there is less Republican infighting today than two years ago.

In 2014, Republicans in Natrona and Park considered but ultimately rejected censoring members of the Legislature who voted for the bill that removed Superintendent Hill from office until the Wyoming Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional. The Platte County GOP censored the governor for his support of the action. Leaders in the state party briefly debated asking some lawmakers to quit. And at the Wyoming Republican Party State Convention that year in Evanston, Republicans throughout the state voted publicly over censoring the governor. Mead ultimately avoided censure.

Its an attempt to use the party as a political tool to get votes, and its a struggle for control over the political party, said Tom Lubnau, who was House speaker in 2014 when hardliners wanted him to resign from the party. In the end, I think that name-calling and censures and use of process over use of ideas detracts from the whole process of representing the people of the state of Wyoming.

In addition to three lawmakers, the motion under consideration by Laramie County Republican leadership includes censuring three Laramie County commissioners and other Republican leaders.

The motion was discussed for at least 90 minutes at the Laramie County GOPs Sept. 20 meeting, said M. Lee Hasenauer, a former county commissioner who was in attendance and is running again for commission.

I would say the votes were there that night for censure, he said. It was drug on by a lot of folks who were running for office because they dont want this before the election.

Laramie County GOP Chairman Jared Olsen and other party leaders declined to talk to the Star-Tribune about the partys meeting.

Olsen  who is running for House District 11 against Democrat Rep. Mary Throne  persuaded the committee to delay voting on censure until after the election, according to an account of the meeting published in a Wyoming Tribune Eagle opinion piece by Cheyenne resident Bradley Harrington, who said he attended the meeting.

Olsen didnt want any action to influence the elections, Harrington wrote.

Hasenauer said that Republicans who are supporting Zwonitzer arent conforming to the partys platforms but lean on GOP support when its convenient.

Theyve taken Republican funding for their campaigns, and theyve had Republican support in the past, he said.

But Kym Zwonitzer disagrees with the characterization. She believes her candidacy is about offering voters a choice between two Republicans  herself, a moderate, and Bouchard, whom she called an extremist.

Its an intimidation tactic to warn other Republicans in this county that if they publicly endorse me, they will be censured, she said.

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer said he circulated the petition because he wants to support his mother.

Ill take a censure if the country party deems it suitable, as long as theyve heard my side of the story and the rationale for why I did what I did, he said. However, I feel I was exercising my First Amendment rights.

Kirkbride, the third candidate in the primary, also faces censure. She said censure isnt about principles. Its about Bouchard, and people behind the censure want him to win.

She said the process of censure is pointless.

What does it mean? It means nothing, she said. Theres no legal thing. Other than shake their finger at us, Oh, you naughty, bad Republican. We get it. We get there are people who are not happy about the way this has happened. In the end, they should be OK because theyre electing another Republican if she gets in What do I do, go around with a big C on my forehead?
The final draft of a statewide plan promoting the use of digital technology in education has been released by the Wyoming Department of Education.

The 2017 Digital Learning Plan is a voluntary guide to assist school districts in the digital age.

Wyoming is in position to be a leader in the use of educational technology, and currently ranks first in the nation in broadband connectivity.

At the Wyoming Broadband Summit in Cheyenne on Tuesday, Gov. Matt Mead noted that as part of the Wyoming Classroom Connectivity Initiative, every school in the state now has double the Federal Communications Commissions per-student bandwidth goal for digital learning.

Improving Wi-Fi connections in our schools will improve the digital learning experience for Wyoming students and ensure that they can access the educational tools they need from any device, Mead told attendees.

The Advisory Panel overseeing the effort has adopted the federal Future Ready Framework as the foundation for the plan. The framework identifies seven broad categories for schools to consider as they expand the use of digital resources in the classroom.

A survey cited in the plan found 62 percent of Wyomings schools currently have a moderate digital learning environment, 15 percent have an environment where each student has a computer, and 23 percent have a media-rich environment. Some teachers reported a lack of devices, and administrators spoke of the need for more technical staff.

One of the main aspects of the Future Ready Framework is providing the infrastructure and technology schools need to accommodate intensified access to the internet.

While no costs were given in the plan, the Advisory Panel thought it could be implemented within a school districts current budget.

One factor that could drive up costs, however, is most Wyoming schools are of brick or cinder block construction that interferes with Wi-Fi signals, creating a need for expensive additional wiring. Meanwhile, some school districts are struggling just to maintain their current buildings and digital infrastructure.

Some 22 percent of school administrators indicated to the Advisory Panel they did not have the money to accomplish the goals for digital learning, while another 40 percent only had some of the necessary financial resources.

Another key area identified in the plan was curriculum and instruction, with a need to find digital programs and resources that align with a districts courses and school plans.

One of the advantages to using digital and online courses, however, is they can be tailored to match an individual students educational interests and goals. It was noted that online instruction can also speed up improvement. For example, a student can know immediately how he or she has done on a test or exercise, rather than waiting for a teacher to grade the paper.

In a panel survey, two-thirds of district staff said there are also distance education programs available that would benefit their students. The majority cited gifted and talented programs, advance placement, foreign language and technical training.

Digital learning was also seen as a way to re-engage students at risk of dropping out and change the nature of the classroom.

However, some educators said governmental red tape was hampering the use of digital education.

Why do we have to have x number of minutes of seat time for a kid to get a credit? one participant at a Panel listening session said. And again, thats back to the regulations that tell us that we have to have certain things that we (have) to do in order for a kid to get a credit.

Another part of the plan calls for professional training for instructors and staff on how to best use the technology. The panel found that 98 percent of the teachers felt their computer skills were intermediate or better.

The plan has been in development for the past six years under a directive from the state Legislature, which also requires annual reports on its progress.
Wild horse advocates filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management this week, seeking to block a horse roundup this month in the 2 million-acre checkerboard region east of Rock Springs.

The BLM has announced plans to remove all wild horses from about half the land in three designated herd-management areas in south-central Wyoming starting Oct. 18.

Horses will be removed from a checkerboard block of land where ownership is evenly split into alternating blocks of public land.

Mondays lawsuit is largely identical to similar to the 2014 lawsuit seeking to block that year's roundup stemming from a consent decree with the Rock Springs Grazing Association.

The private land in the checkerboard is owned by the grazing association and the 2013 decree requires the BLM to keep horses off the checkerboard entirely to ensure they do not cross onto the private blocks of land.

Wild horse advocates, including several organizations and two wildlife photographers, argued that it was illegal for the BLM to completely remove horses from any portion of public land within regulated herd-management areas without proper consultation. The management areas in question are Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek and Adobe Town.

Under the Wild Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the BLM is tasked with overseeing horses on public lands and keeping them off of private lands. The act specifies procedures the BLM must use to manage horses on public lands -- which include a lengthy environmental review process -- and a much simpler process for removing horses from private land.

The advocates argue that the BLM is exclusively using the procedures intended to remove horses from private land in order to round up horses on all of the checkerboard, including the public lands, and thus violating the Wild Horses Act.

The BLM has said it is impossible to leave horses in any part of the unfenced checkerboard while ensuring they stay off private lands.

The RSGA had previously allowed horses on its land holdings within the checkerboard, but in 2011 the group revoked its consent and sued to force the BLM to keep wild horses off their grazing areas.

A federal district court judge largely sided with the BLM and allowed the 2014 roundup to take place. The wild horse groups appealed and arguments were held before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver last month.

The new lawsuit filed Monday in federal court comes after the advocates say the BLM declined to postpone the roundup until the 10th Circuit issued its ruling in the case. The ruling could be released anytime in the next several months.

Were just trying to get the court to maintain the status quo until the Circuit [court] rules, said Bill Eubanks, an attorney representing the horse groups. Eubanks said the last roundup cost over $500,000 and that it would be imprudent for the BLM to move ahead with the roundup before the 10th Circuit determines its legality.

It really would be reckless and unnecessary for BLM to expend that money when the 10th Circuit could tell them its unlawful in a few days, Eubanks said.

BLMs Wyoming spokesman Brad Purdy said the agency could not comment on pending litigation.

In a September interview, BLM Rock Springs field manager Kimberlee Foster said the agency had identified the need to remove horses from the checkerboard last May. The removal was scheduled for October because that is when the funding for the new fiscal year became available to federal agencies.

We may get a decision quickly from the 10th Circuit, [or] it could take six months, Foster said.

Last, U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal, who sided with the BLM in 2014, ordered the federal government to respond to the request for an injunction by Tuesday.
PHOENIX  Banner Healths admission this summer that a large-scale cyberattack may have compromised the records of 3.7 million people has been followed by a flurry of civil lawsuits from a doctor and patients who allege harm from the data breach.

Plaintiffs have filed 10 civil lawsuits in Maricopa County Superior Court or U.S. District Court in Phoenix naming Banner Health as a defendant since the Phoenix-based health system disclosed the data breach Aug. 3.

The lawsuits blame Banner Health for everything from failing to protect personal information to fraudulent credit-card accounts created in patients names since the data breach. One lawsuit referred to Banner Healths previous data breach in 2014, when it mailed magazines with address labels that included patients Social Security numbers.

Banner Health has not publicly discussed the data breach since it notified patients, food-service customers, medical providers, health-plan members and others that may have been affected by the data breach. The lawsuits have been too recent to allow Banner Health a chance to answer them under the case schedules established in U.S. District Court. Most individual lawsuits have been consolidated into a single case before U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton.

In addition to disclosing the data breach to media outlets and regulatory agencies, Banner Health has mailed notices to people who may have been affected by the data breach and offered one year of free credit- and fraud-monitoring services through a vendor, Kroll.

We have completed our notification process to affected individuals who have been sent letters regarding the cyberattack on Banner Health and free supportive services we are providing, said Bill Byron, Banner Healths vice president of public relations. With respect to the lawsuits, we will not comment on pending litigation matters.

Health-care industry target of cyberattacks

The Banner Health cyberattack is the largest data breach of a U.S. health provider reported so far this year, according to a list maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights.

Less than two weeks after Banner Health disclosed its data breach, another metro Phoenix health provider, Valley Anesthesiology and Pain Consultants, disclosed a data hack that compromised the records of up to 882,590 individuals.

Valley Anesthesiology learned that a third party may have gained access to the health providers computer system. When Valley Anesthesiology learned about the data hack, it hired a forensics company to investigate the breach and contacted law enforcement.

Although two major metro Phoenix health providers were hacked this year, there were five data breaches last year that potentially affected more people than Banner Healths cyberattack. The largest: A data breach of insurer Anthem Blue Cross that potentially exposed records of nearly 80 million customers and employees.

Cyber-security experts and lawyers who specialize in data-breach cases say the health-care industry overall has been slow to respond to the threat. Hackers see hospital and health-care records as an easy target that can retrieve a lucrative return when sold on the dark web.

I really think that health-care institutions are behind, said Paul Stoller, an attorney with the Phoenix law firm Gallagher and Kennedy. They havent recognized the target that is on their back and responded accordingly.

Banner first learned the hackers had accessed the hospital systems point-of-sale system for food service locations.

Flurry of lawsuits

Stollers law firm represents Douglas Bell, a Maricopa County resident whose lawsuit claims that Banner Health failed to safeguard patients and health plan members information because hackers were allowed to access that information by first accessing the point-of-sale system.

Unbelievably for this day and age, Banner failed to separate and segregate its systems and servers containing the (personal identifying information) and (personal health information) of patients, health care plan members, and providers from its POS systems, the lawsuit stated

In another civil lawsuit, Waddell residents Tracy and Joseph Weedman alleged that the data breach affected the security of their personal information.

After Banner Health disclosed the data breach, the lawsuit stated, the financial services company Capital One informed Joseph Weedman that a credit card was opened in his name by an unauthorized person.

He also learned that an unauthorized person used his personal information to fill out an online application for an American Express credit card, according to the lawsuit.

Sun City West resident Mark Fairall didnt think much of the form letter he received from Banner Health last month detailing the elaborate data hack that may have compromised sensitive financial and medical data of nearly 3.7 million individuals.

Two weeks later, Fairall received a statement from his health-insurance company that detailed a new charge for a doctors visit seven years ago.

One week later, he learned his Facebook profile had been hacked. Fairall said the culprit had set up a duplicate Facebook profile and began reaching out to people connected to him on the social-media network.

Fairall believes the activity is a result of hackers securing his sensitive records from a Banner Health hospital years ago. And he wonders how many others of the 3.7 million individuals are experiencing similar online transgressions.

Fairall also said he received a statement from his Medicare insurance company about new charges from a doctors visit in 2009. He filed a complaint with the insurance company claiming fraud, and the insurance company is investigating the charges. Hes convinced its the work of hackers attempting to slip through a bill using his records.

Fairall urged others to scrutinize their personal and medical information, and social media accounts.
The Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd fighter wing at Tucson International Airport through the years.

The unit had its origins in 1956 after the Korean War. They flew F-86A Sabres, made famous in air-to-air battles with Russian-made Mig fighters.

The 162nd Wing lists these fighter jets in wing history:

1956-1957: F-86A Sabre

1957-1958: F-84F Thunderstreak

1958-1966: F-100A Super Sabre

1966-1969: F-102A Delta Dagger

1969-1976: F-100CD Super Sabre

1975-1987: A-7D Corsair II

1985-Present: F-16 Fighting Falcon
It provokes complicated feelings when a school district takes out an ad in your own newspaper to try to counter your own reporting.

Should I be unhappy the Star ran information from TUSD attempting to contradict my column last Friday? Or happy that my reporting provoked such a response? Or unhappy that the school district spent public money on such an ad? Or happy that the money went to my employer?

Confusing. Still, the ad in Thursdays Star was just the latest twist in what is turning into a remarkable race for TUSD board.

Last Fridays column argued that Tucson Unified School District had used Prop. 301 sales-tax money intended for teachers to balance its budget. It was bolstered by comments from the districts chief financial officer, Karla Soto, at the Sept. 27 board meeting and an interview with her.

In the interview, Soto  joined by Renee Weatherless, a former Star employee who is now director of financial services at TUSD  explained they had discovered that unwise accounting of the performance-pay money had occurred as late as the 2014-2015 school year. But, they said, they have been taking care of the problem of accumulating performance-pay money by increasing payouts to teachers in a sustainable way.

The ad, which cost the district $1,614, seems to focus on whose administration is responsible  specifying that it was not current Superintendent H.T. Sanchez and his staff.

Under Dr. Sanchez, the ad said, no 301 funds have been used to balance the districts budget.

It quotes Sanchez saying, Questionable practices related to the management of 301 monies did not begin on my watch, but my administration has ended them.

The effort seems to be to place blame for the accumulation of performance-pay money intended for teachers on the previous administration. But Sanchez was hired in June 2013, three months after the district had 10 special compliance audits concluded, clearing up many pre-existing financial issues.

Then-deputy superintendent for operations Yousef Awwad, the man hailed as a savior then but being blamed now, oversaw finances until leaving for Portland, Oregon, in late 2014. It wasnt until January 2015 that Soto really took over the districts finances.

In any case, the districts comprehensive annual financial review for the 2014-2015 school year shows that the district used $12 million of Prop. 301 money for other district purposes. That doesnt mean the money disappeared, just that it was used to shore up other maintenance and operations expenses.

I didnt figure this out myself. It was pointed out to me by a certified public accountant, Jimmy Lovelace, who is spearheading a campaign against two board incumbents. Discard his insight if you want, but he also noted that the Prop. 301 money used by the district this way has increased year after year, from $6 million in 2012-2013 to $10 million in 2013-2014.

Maybe rather than calling it balancing the budget with 301 money, youd prefer to call it keeping a positive balance in the districts maintenance and operations budget. Fine by me.

Most important, the district has continued to have a growing balance in the performance-pay category of Prop. 301 money up to now. What was a $6 million balance when John Pedicone left as superintendent in mid-2013 has become about a $20 million balance today.

While keeping a small balance is sensible, most of that money should have been paid out to TUSD teachers, not used to maintain a cash balance in the districts accounts or saved to create sustainable payouts for future teachers.

In 2015-2016, TUSD paid out about $5 million of this performance-pay money despite having a $12.7 million surplus from the previous year and bringing in more millions from the state that year.

I understand that the district wants to pay the money out at a sustainable rate until the tax sunsets at the end of 2020. It makes some sense to try to provide a dependable $3,000-per-year payout from now on. But its the teachers in the district when the money comes in that really deserve it.

What TUSD has been doing up till now I consider to be hoarding money that rightfully belongs to current-year teachers and, at least through the 2014-2015 school year, using it to ensure the districts maintenance and operations budget remains positive.

The current administration argues that theyre solving the problem by increasing payouts sustainably, but the problem occurred and grew under their watch.

Controversial campaigning

For weeks, supporters of TUSD board incumbents Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster have puzzled over why an unprecedented independent-expenditure campaign formed this year.

Their conclusion: Its a business move. The founders of TUSD Kids First want to push the district to close more schools and sell off more properties that business interests  perhaps co-chair Kathy Campbells own homebuilding business  can purchase and develop.

As evidence,Juarez and Foster supporters point to the fact that Campbells business bid in 2011 on properties TUSD had offloaded but the district picked other winners.

At Tuesday nights candidate forum, Foster accused the group of trying to turn the board into a business board.

On Thursday, she told me, Im concerned that a homebuilder who has already considered buying TUSD property has put in so much money.

She noted how much money the effort has raised, adding, If theres $40,000 being invested into changing this board, that has to be an investment in something.

I met with Jimmy Lovelace and Campbell, the co-chairs of the group, Thursday morning, and of course they explained their motives quite differently. Campbell is a TUSD parent who has at times been upset with the way the district handled discipline of a student who bullied her daughter, she said.

The restorative circle approach used by the school did not work, she said.

But, she added, We kept both of our kids in TUSD. We refused to say, We give up. 

Lovelace, a CPA, does not live in the district but has served on its internal audit committee and helped campaigns for bond elections and budget overrides on behalf of the district. He was ousted from the audit committee when the board decided to impose a residency requirement, meaning he could not serve because he lives outside the districts boundaries.

They didnt like the questions I was asking, he said.

He says hes simply motivated by wanting to improve the board, which he considers dysfunctional, and thereby improve the district.

Radiation in Tucson!!!

On Thursday, Sept. 29, host Sean Hannity was pondering terrorist catastrophe when he casually said this on his nationally broadcast radio show:

A friend of mine in law enforcement told me that there were some type of radiation detection going on in Tucson, Arizona, in the last number of days. Its somebody that I trust and somebody I believe.

He went on to describe radiation detectors used in New York, then said, How is it all of a sudden going off in Tucson? Thats a scary scenario.

Well, I checked with the Tucson Police Department, Pima County Sheriffs Department and U.S. Border Patrol, an agency that uses radiation detectors, and they didnt know what he was referring to.

Its old fashioned, I know, but I find that kind of casual fearmongering despicable. If its verifiably happening, say it. Otherwise, no way. Thankfully, not enough people listen to the show for it to have caused a panic.
If you encounter a group of clowns on Fourth Avenue on Oct. 15 don't be alarmed: It's part of a rally that organizers say is designed to show that clowns aren't "psycho killers."

'Clown Lives Matter,' a peaceful walk, is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Maloney's parking lot, 213 N. 4th Avenue, according to a flyer on organizer Nikki Sinn's Facebook page.

"We want the public to feel safe, and not be afraid, so come out, bring the family, meet a clown and get a hug," the event's flyer says.

Sinn wasn't immediately available for comment on Thursday.

The rally was planned in response to numerous scary clown sightings reported across the United States, including at the University of Arizona.

On Monday night, dozens of UA students and their parents called campus police to report an alert sent out regarding a clown or clowns on campus, said Chief Brian Seastone.

"We want to set the UA campus and community at ease regarding the clown hoax that occurred last night," Seastone wrote in an email to students, adding that no one has actually seen any clowns.

"UA received 20-30 calls from concerned students and parents regarding this hoax, tying up police officers and dispatch, and compromising campus safety by distracting police respondents and dispatchers," he wrote.

Coincidentally, a trailer for a 2016 horror film called 'Clown' has began circulating around the internet. The movie, directed by Eli Roth, is about a man who turns into a demonic clown after dressing up for his son's birthday party.
Those who have experienced the Tucson Film & Music Festival know how awesome it can be.

Now in its twelfth year, the fest has screened more than 300 films and has seen more than 5,000 filmgoers attend, according to the weekend event's Facebook page.

Some of the featured films at this year's screenings include "We've Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew," a survival story set in a hostile wilderness, and "Gary Numan: Android in La La Land," a biopic based on electronic artist Gary Numan.

Films will be shown at The Loft and The Screening Room. Find out more about the festival here.
Help India!

By Kulsum Mustafa,

Lucknow: Renowned Shia cleric and Imam-e Juma Syed Kalbe Jawwad chose Muharram majlises podium to condemn Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who had in his public address in Mumbai in 2009 praised Yezid in context of Karbala tragedy.

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Through his speech Naik invited the wrath of Muslims in general and Shia community in particular. Naik had said that Karbala was a mere political battle. He even went as far as to address Yezid, the ruler of Shaam, as rehmatullah. Yezid is regarded by Muslims as the main perpeterator of violence and unprecedented torture and trauma on the family of Prophet Muhammeds grandson Hazrat Husian, his relatives and supporters in Karbala. Rehmatulah, means one on whom Allahas blessings are invited. Muslims condemned this act and demanded unconditional apology. There were demonstrations and protests, fatwa was passed against Zaik in Lucknow and and he was not allowed to attend an Islamic conference that he was slated to address in Lucknowand Allahabad.

Asserting that the killer of Prophets grandson and 72 others in the battle of Karbala cannot be worthy of Gods blessing, Kalbe Jawwad said that the Holy Prophet had prayed to God to Grant mercy and blessings on the friends of Imam Husain and curse on his enemy.

The Prophets prayer cannot go unanswered so it is more than proved that Yezid being the enemy of Imam Husain is not worthy of salutation.

The scholar thus stands exposed and his anti-Islamic outburst deserved to be condemned in the sternest of terms.

The maulana was addressing a mammonth crowd in the morning majlis held on the ninth day of Muharramn at the historic Ghufraan ma ab at Chowk in Lucknow.

The cleric through various illustrations and hadees explained that a section of Muslims who condemn the Shia community for giving more importance to Hazrat Ali than Prophet must stand corrected. Ali was the husband of Prophets only issue Bibi Fatima Zehra and Shias

respect him as the first caliph and the rightful owner of Prophets Islamic legacy.

When we praise the leaves, branches, fruits of a tree we are in fact praising the tree itself, said Syed Jawwad. Adding that without understanding Ahleyhbaith one cannot understand the true personality of Hazrat Muhammed Mustafa.

Urging Muslims not to indulge in mudslinging and allegations against the different Muslim sects and communities, the cleric said thatMuslims must realize that there is a deep-rooted controversy among the non-Believers to keep Muslims divided so they do not become powerful.
Help India!

By IANS,

Mumbai : Indian equities markets were in a slump Friday with most traders still preferring to sell, resulting in a benchmark index trading 353 points in the red, about two hours after the opening bell.

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Around 11.00 a.m., the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,222.56 points, soon fell below the 16,000-mark and around 11 a.m., was trading at 15,871.27 points, down 353.68 points or 2.18 percent from its previous close at 16,224.95 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was at 4,727.55 points, against the previous close at 4,845.35 points, a loss of 2.43 percent or 117.8 points.

The selling pressure spread to broader markets as well with the BSE midcap index down 2.77 percent and the BSE small cap index trading 2.99 percent lower.

All 13 BSE sectoral indices were in the red, with realty, metal, banking and consumer durables scrips losing the most.

Rising sovereign debt in Europe and poor job data from the US spooked other major Asian markets with most investors doubting the potential of an economic recovery in the developed world.

The benchmark Japanese index, Nikkei, was ruling 2.77 percent lower at 10,069.59 points, and the Hang Seng of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was down 2.91 percent at 19,749.33 points.

The Chinese Shanghai composite index too was in the negative territory, at 2,937.82 points, 1.92 percent down, while the Korean Kospi was ruling 3.16 percent lower at 1,565.28 points.


Help India!

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net

Srinagar: In the past three months, the state government in Jammu and Kashmir has pretty much tried everything possible to curb the flow of information and news in the state regarding the Kashmir protests. It banned mobile internet, it even temporarily banned mobile services, and also gagged local news channels, all to ensure that somehow, the tide of protests subsides. And as we can see, these steps have yielded little in terms of results.

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(Photo Courtesy: Kashmir Life)



So, this time the government went a step ahead and banned the publication of Kashmir Reader, a Valley-based newspaper.

It is not the first time when the newly formed PDP-BJP coalition government has taken such a harsh measure on freedom of press. Earlier this year in July, the government had cracked down on papers and stopped them from publishing, albeit it was later rejected by the government and its blame put on the local administration.

As the question of who took call on crackdown of newspapers was still echoing in Srinagars press colony, four to five Jammu and Kashmir police officials on Sunday, Oct 2 paid a visit to the office of Kashmir Reader in Srinagar along with an order issued of District Magistrate Srinagar which called for immediate ban on publishing the newspaper.

The newspaper, as per the government order, contains such material and content which tends to incite acts of violence and disturb public peace and tranquility in whole J&K particularly in Srinagar district.







The DM further threatened Kashmir Reader with forfeiting the printing press and other properties, in case o violation of the said order.

The banning of newspaper has already created furor in Kashmir as well as all among the press freedom watchdogs who have condemned governments unprecedented move.

Few people from J&K with whom TwoCircles.net spoke expressed their displeasure at such move which they consider as putting a knife in the throat so that people cant speak up the atrocities.

If you need to know the ground report and about the acts of oppression by forces then everybody used should switch to Reader. How can reporting reality amount to inciting violence? Is this the so-called Jamhooriyat of Modi government which it usually boast over Kashmir problem. It is simply putting a knife on the throat of a person who is speaking the truth, said Aijaz lone from Baramullah district who is currently studying in Delhi.

During the 2010 unrest in the valley, then CM Omar Abdullah had also followed the similar pattern as adopted by Mehbooba government and banned telecast of local channels who were alleged of inciting violence.

It is like shooting down the messenger. The newspaper was reporting from the ground zero. It is the most unbiased newspaper in the current uprising, said Aamir Muzafar from Gonipora, Rafiabad in Kashmir.

A north Kashmir based government officer who wished to stay anonymous spoke on the newspaper ban and said, Banning a newspaper indicates something is terribly wrong with the establishment and government wants to conceal the truth. This is not something new in Kashmir, as we have seen government gagging the print and electronic media in the past. Even internet has been gagged so that people may not know whats happening around

When asked why this particular newspaper was banned, he said, The said newspaper is being targeted as it was reporting the harsh reality and sufferings of the people which government didnt want people to know.

The journalists in Kashmir are taking out solidarity marches in Srinagar to protest against the banning of the newspaper.

Hilal Mir, editor, Kashmir Reader spoke to TwoCircles.net and was visibly very upset about the ban on his newspaper.

When asked as to why only Kashmir Reader was banned when other newspapers in valley are also covering unrest similarly to his paper, he said, They (government) said that our stories incited violence. We are yet to understand which content on our newspaper incited violence.

On future course of action, Mir said, We have a newspaper editors guild here in Kashmir. They are meeting the government officials. We are trying to solve it amicably.

Amnesty International and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJH) have condemned the ban on newspaper and have called for immediately revoking the same.

The media plays a crucial role in reporting human rights abuses. The government has a duty to respect the freedom of the press, and the right of people to receive information. It cannot shut down a newspaper simply for being critical of the government, said Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International India.

Censoring the press will not put an end to the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir Reader should be allowed to resume publication without delay, said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler.

Earlier last month, the J&K government had asked local cable TV operators in the Valley to stop broadcasting five news channels in Kashmir as the government alleges them of transmitting various programmes which has created law and order problem in the Valley in general and Srinagar in particular.
Help India!

By TCN News

Delhi: The management of Haj pilgrimage, including administration of the Haj Committee Act, 1959 (51 of 1959) and the rules made thereunder will now come under the purview of the Minority Affairs Ministry instead of Ministry of External Affairs, as per the new rules issued by the Cabinet Secretariat.

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As per the decision, which received a nod from the President Pranab Mukherjee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has taken over the work of Haj Division of MEA with effect from 1st October, 2016.

Hajj is one of the most complex organizational tasks undertaken by Government of India outside Indian borders. Indian pilgrims constitute the third largest national group performing the Hajj. Since the year 2013 about 136,000 pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia every year for performing Haj. Given its complexity and geographical spread, Haj Management requires meticulous planning and close coordination with various ministries and agencies. Thus it is a year long managerial exercise, the press release said.

With the transfer of Haj-related works from MEA, the Ministry of Minority Affairs will be the nodal Ministry for all matters related to Haj pilgrimage.

It is important to point out that a number of Muslims, including Zafar Sareshwala had opposed the transfer of Hajj affairs to the MoMA from MEA. A few weeks ago, speaking in Saudi Arabia, Sareshwala, who was the the leader of Indias Haj goodwill delegation, had strongly opposed the governments decision to transfer the management of Haj affairs from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA).

Responding to a question from Arab News at a press conference in Jeddah on September 15, Zafar Sareshwala had said: Haj affairs should remain with the Ministry of External Affairs. The ministry has competent diplomats and capable officers, plus it has the benefit of institutional wisdom acquired over many decades of successfully managing Indian Haj affairs.

Sareshwala said he did not see any reason for the decision. Initially, even I was of the view that since Haj was primarily a minority affair, it should come under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. On hindsight and after having seen with my own eyes the excellent management of the annual pilgrimage by the Ministry of External Affairs, I feel the (transfer) decision is not wise. It ought to remain the way it is now, he had said.

The MEA will continue to look after pilgrimages to places outside India and the Indian Pilgrim Ships Rules, 1933, and pilgrim parties from India to shrines in Pakistan and vice versa excluding the administration of the Haj Committee Act, the new rules said.
Nigel Farage, the new interim leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip), is accusing Prime Minister Theresa May of "stealing" his party's policies. Mr Farage was speaking to Channel 4 News, according to The Independent. While saying that the new policies announced by the Prime Minister are based on what himself and the Ukip have been preaching for the last years, Mr Farage praised what he considered to be "a major shift in British politics", thanks to the role Ukip played in the Brexit referendum of June 23.

Arron Banks, the well known Ukip donor, supported these views.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Mr Banks added that Theresa May's speech is now very alike to what Nigel Farage has been saying, and which brought him condemnation from other parties, the Conservative included. Arron Banks also said that it looks like the Conservative Party is "rebranding" itself as the new Ukip.

Steven Woolfe almost defected to the Tories

The Independent also reveals that Steven Woolfe, who is being poised to become the next Ukip leader after Diane James' quitting, pondered to defect to the Conservative Party. The newspaper cites a statement where Mr Woolfe, himself, claims that he felt some enthusiasm at the beginning, immediately after Mrs May replaced David Cameron, but later he considered that "stick to the Ukip" would be the best option to tackle the challenges that, in his view, Britain is facing regarding Brexit.

Mr Woolfe pointed May' positions about new grammar schools, social mobility and the need of a "clean Brexit" as good motives to stick with his party. He also added that the party is defending a "full delivered Brexit", advocating that Britain must take a strong stance in the Brexit negotations that lay, and that it's the only way to protect "the communities of the Midlands and the North.

Last Sunday (October 2), Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March 2017. A maximum period of two years of negotiations will follow, meaning that in March 2019 the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the European Union.
With only $6.5/month for two years and with no down payment, Rwandan consumers have the possibility to acquire high quality certified solar home system worth over $150 with four lights, a phone charger and a radio.

Energy opportunity

As a result of customer-centric project design, in collaboration with Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL) that uses large scale operations and a unique delivery model in collaboration with local and international partners, Ignite Power, a solar company operating in Rwanda, is offering the systems at a cost that is significantly less than similar offering in Kenya for instance.The systems are set to increase Rwanda's electricity coverage, as consumers can afford them.

Since 2012 Rwanda's GDP per capita reached $670-700. Although half of rural households are considered poor they are likely to earn well to afford this sum.

Solar at home

According to a new Bloomberg New Energy Finance consumer survey from a solar home system program authored by Itamar Orlandi, Rwandaearly this year recognised that solar home systems will provide almost a quarter of its population with basic electricity.

The government is seeking to rapidly ramp up the share of its population with access to basic electricity, from 21% in 2014 towards 70% by 2018.

Rwanda earmarked that 22% of the population will be served by solar home systems, implying a market for about half a million units.

To achieve its objective, the Rwandan government in September 2014 contracted Ignite Power to pilot a solar home system national program with the idea of extending the agreement if the pilot is successful.

In 2016 the government of Rwanda and Ignite Power agreed on the roll-out plan and arranged financing for a project to roll out 250,000 systems by 2018, implying at least $38m of consumer financing, the largest solar project in Rwanda to date.Itamar Orlandi argues that this would cover about half of the total market earmarked for solar home systems in Rwanda.

The Bloomberg New Energy Finance survey author notes that several other companies also positioned themselves to sell into the market including BBOXX, Mobisol and Azuri.

The vast majority of users in Rwanda are farmers living in a 3-4 room accommodation and that the average family has 5.2 members.

Positive effects

The systems in Rwanda are also likely to increase mobile phone users as consumers from rural areas will have access to electricity to recharge their handsets.

The Bloomberg survey points out that customers buy the systems almost exclusively to light their homes, but its phone charging capability becomes more popular once installed.

Previously consumers did not have a convenient means of charging their phones as 21% of those surveyed reported having to travel at least 2Km and pay $0.32 per recharge.

To reiterate Rwanda commitment to increase electricity generation in Rwanda and across Africa, President Paul Kagame endorsed the "New Deal on Energy for Africa" of the African Development Bank Group President (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina during the 51st Annual Meeting of the regional multilateral development bank in Lusaka, Zambia.

Africa on the grid

Speaking on a CNBC televised panel "path to universal access to energy in Africa" in May this year alongside President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and AfDB president, Kagame supported a deal that will add 160 GW and connect 130 million across the African continent to the grid in five years.

The solar home systems program in Rwanda follows the same vision to particularly boost electricity generation in Rwanda and better the livelihoods of citizens.
In less than two months, Americans will head to the polls and cast their vote for the 45th President of the United States. With many voters still undecided about who they will support on Election Day, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took part in a special town-hall event to help appeal to those Americans.

Trumpon ISIS

Ever since announcing his candidacy for president last June, Trump has often found himself involved in a wide range of controversy. One issue that many potential voters have with the billionaire real estate mogul is his apparent arrogance in how quick he believes he could rid the world of Islamic terrorist groups like the Islamic State (ISIS).

This was just one issue that was highlighted when Trump sat down with moderator Matt Lauer during the September 7 "Commander in Chief forum" on NBC.

Donald Trump: ISIS would not have formed "if we would've taken the oil"#NBCNewsForum https://t.co/06DTRDCz6T  MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 8, 2016

Right off the bat, Lauer read a previous comment from Trump which was quoted, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me." When asked if he still believes that, Trump elaborated. "The generals under the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the generals have not been successful," Trump said. When Lauer once again attempted to get a straight answer, Trump responded with a similar answer, saying that the generals under Obama and Clinton "have been reduced to rubble." The billionaire real estate mogul then went back into the past, claiming that former General Patton is "spinning in his grave" because of the rise of ISIS.

Trump: Under the leadership of Obama and Clinton, "the generals have been reduced to rubble" #NBCNewsForum https://t.co/62cah3Fp0M  NBC News (@NBCNews) September 8, 2016

When Trump was asked by a member of the audience to elaborate on his plan to take out ISIS, the former host of "The Apprentice" continued his previous policy proposal to "bomb the hell out of the oil fields" that ISIS controls.

"If we would've taken the oil, you wouldn't have ISIS," Trump said, explaining "You just leave a certain group behind and you would take various sections where they take the oil." In an odd turn of events, Trump would then go on to praise controversial Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who he referred to as a "great leader."

Election impact

Trump's lack of detail when it comes to foreign policy appear to be in line with much of his rhetoric from the campaign trail.

Though Trump's style worked during the GOP primary, he's failed to be as successful in the general election. According to the latest rolling average from Real Clear Politics, Trump is trailing Clinton by just under five points on a national level.
The CEO of what Californias attorney general is calling the worlds top online brothel has beenarrested at Houstons international airport on a warrant issued out of California.Texas and California authorities say Carl Ferrer was taken into custody as he walked off a jet that had just arrived from Amsterdam at Houstons George Bush International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

Ferrer, 55, is the head of Backpage.com, an online advertising website that posts ads for a number of items and services, but California Attorney General Kamala Harris says the site makes millions of dollars operating as an online brothel.

Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal, Harris said in a statement announcing Ferrers arrest. Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the worlds top online brothel."

Dallas headquarters of Backpage.com searched

As Ferrer was being taken into custody by members of the Texas Attorney Generals Law Enforcement Unit, other members of the unit served search warrants on the Dallas headquarters of the company.

Making money off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery is not acceptable in Texas, Attorney General Paxton said in a separate statement.

I intend to use every resource my office has to make sure those who profit from the exploitation and trafficking of persons are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Prosecutors: 99 percent of Backpage's income from 'adult' ads

Since its inception in 2010, Backpage has expanded across the country and throughout the world, including sites for more than 30 cities in California.

With its gross income now at $2.5 million per month, prosecutors say 99 percent of that income comes from ads in its adult section, where ads using coded words and nearly nude photos offer sex for money. Some of the postings, according to investigators, advertise victims of sex trafficking and children under the age of 18.

Ferrer was arrested on a warrant alleging the pimping of a minor, pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping. Two controlling shareholders of Backpage, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, are also facing similar charges.
Chinese banker advocates free trade at debate Updated: 2016-10-07 10:49 By Chen Weihua(China Daily USA)

From left: People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Yi Gang; Bank of England Governor Mark Carney; IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde; and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble speak at the CNN Global Economy Debate at the IMF Headquarters in Washington on Thursday. The talk was moderated by CNN anchor Richard Quest. Chen Weihua / China Daily

A senior Chinese banker championed free trade and globalization in Washington on Thursday while anti-trade and anti-globalization sentiment permeates major economies from the United States to United Kingdom.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said that people need to look at a longer time frame in history, saying the anti-trade sentiment can last for only two years.

Anti-trade sentiment has run strong on the US presidential campaign trail, with both candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Anti-globalization feeling also was a major force behind the Brexit - UK's vote in June to exit the European Union.

Yi said that maybe three years or five years later, people will again have the consensus for free trade and globalization. "And that is the correct direction to go," he said at the CNN Global Economy Debate.

Other panelists at the talk, held at the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, included Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director; Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and chairman of the G20's Financial Stability Board, and Wolfgang Schauble, finance minister of Germany.

"Because if you look (at history longer), if you look at the Great Depression history, if you look at the competitive devaluation history, if you look at the currency war history, and isolation history, none of them are working," Yi told a packed audience of financial leaders from around the world attending the 2017 IMF/World Bank annual meeting.

Yi believes that if people look deeper into history and into the future, they will have more confidence to improve the system and make the world better.

"I am a believer of free trade. I think free trade will promote the welfare of mankind," he said.

Yi emphasized that people need to pay serious attention to inclusive growth, address the problems of uneven growth and uneven income distribution, as well as the concerns of small and medium enterprises, Africa and emerging markets and developing economies.

"That's why this year at G20, we added the inclusive growth into the agenda," he said of the G20 Summit held in East China's city of Hangzhou in early September.

He expressed China's hope to help improve the current global system, such as making developing countries more representative in international governance and getting their voices heard.

Lagarde cited the fact that four emerging economies are now among IMF's top 10 shareholders as a major achievement of her organization in the past years.

Yi assured the audience that China's economic transition is well under way, saying the Chinese economy is more stable now than before, citing that consumption contributed to 70 percent of economic growth in the past two years while employment is robust.

He said the domestic consumption market will continue to expand, and the imports from the rest of the world will also continue to grow. "That is a significant contribution to the global growth," he said.

An IMF report on the Asian economy released on Thursday said that consumption growth in China remains particularly strong, consistent with the ongoing rebalancing toward a consumer- and services-sector-oriented economy.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Tourism with a lesson in history Updated: 2016-10-07 09:07 By Yang Yang(China Daily)

When you hear the words "Red Tourism", the first things that come into your mind may be "boring and political". But, if you drive along the route of the Long March through the provinces and autonomous regions, most of which have been well connected by highways that snake through the endless mountains in Southwest China, you will find splendid mountains, great rivers, green views, clear blue skies dotted with clouds and diverse ethnic cultures.

Additionally, this year is special because it marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Long March.

On a sticky summer day recently, Zhou, a 69-year-old demobilized soldier from Yunnan province, was visiting a memorial to the Red Army at the Maotai Ferry on the Chishui River in Zunyi, Guizhou province.

Eighty-one years ago, the Red Army crossed the river four times to evade encirclement by the Kuomintang army.

His wife, who accompanied him, then told their 8-year-old granddaughter to carefully read the plaque on a wall of the monument which gave details about the crossing.

Revealing why his wife made their granddaughter read the plaque, Zhou says: "When we were young, we learned a lot about the Long March at school, but our granddaughter knows very little about that historical period. It's important for her to learn history, so we hope she will learn something through visits to these memorials."

The couple's visit to the memorial was part a trip they undertook with family members from Yunnan to visit Zhou's hometown in Sichuan province.

On their way back, they visited major cities along the route such as Chengdu, Dujiangyan and Leshan in Sichuan, and Zunyi, to see not only scenic spots, but also historic sites, especially those related to the Long March.

One of these was the more-than-300-year-old Luding Bridge in Sichuan province, which people crossed using wood boards laid on nine thick iron chains that stretched 103 meters across the rapidly flowing Dadu River below.

In May 1935, 22 Red Army soldiers crossed the river using the bare chains and captured it, braving bullets rain from the opposite shore, one of the most critical moments of the Long March.

"Had the Red Army failed then, it is quite possible that it would have been decimated (by the Kuomintang army)," Edgar Snow wrote in his bookRed Star Over China.

Meanwhile, among the other historical places you can visit is the Ruoergai Wetland on the Tibet Plateau.

Although the area has been facing desertification in recent years, it is still a nice place to visit.

In August 1935, the Red Army walked through this swamp-ridden wetland without food supplies, and within a week many soldiers and animals had died.

But on the sunny day at the end of August when I visited the area, herds of sheep and yak were grazing on the grassland as white clouds floated low and cast shadows on the hillsides.
Martha Stewart eyes China Updated: 2016-10-07 10:39 By Amy He in New York(China Daily USA)

When someone mentions Martha Stewart and China in the same breath, most people think they're talking about sets of dinnerware.

But as Alibaba tweeted recently, "Martha Stewart - the queen of all things #Home - is coming to China!"

Is China ready for America's superstar home-lifestyle maven?

Experts say the key to Martha Stewart's potential expansion of her brand into China will be her strong local partnership with Alibaba's Tmall platform.

Stewart made a strong showing when she headlined Alibaba's inaugural Tmall Super Kitchen event in Shanghai at the end of September, an event that brought together 1,200 of Alibaba's houseware partners to showcase to consumers.

Stewart, known in the US for her cooking and decorating television show, gave a keynote address at the event, which served as an introduction of her brand to Chinese customers.

Her talk was live-streamed on Tmall's mobile app and on Youku.com, which is also owned by Alibaba.

"In this dynamic time there is an expanding wealth, and that is in turn creating a growing, young middle class with unprecedented purchasing power," Stewart said.

"They have the opportunity to focus on quality of life within their homes, using all the wonderful new products that you can get a glimpse of here at this show today," she added.

Her product line will face stiff competition in the Chinese consumer market, where scores of both domestic and international brands have long established a presence, experts said.

"When I heard that she was looking at the China market, one assumes she sees the growing middle class and growing opportunity to help the Chinese population learn about entertaining and home designing, as opposed to the more developed markets," said Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL Strategic Retail.

"Obviously she's thinking - which is maybe presumptuous of her - that the Chinese consumer will look to an American icon to help them think about how they should live their lives," Liebmann said.

"Under the auspices of Alibaba with their huge position in the marketplace - both as a retailer and a brand licensing giant - one assumes that if they're partnered with Alibaba, there is some good due diligence that's been done," she added.

Stewart did not go into specifics about which products will be offered in China or how they will be tailored to the market, and Alibaba declined to disclose further details.

But as John Talbott, associate director of the Center for Education and Research in Retailing at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, put it, brand expansion into China will require a local partner who can "translate" the Martha Stewart aesthetic for the Chinese market.

"It may not be one individual company, it may be several companies that have capabilities in several categories," he said. "That partner is going to be an expert in the Chinese market place. They're going to combine forces - Martha is going to ensure the integrity of the brand as she envisions it stays true."

Peng Liu, a professor at Cornell University who researches the retail industry, said that Alibaba is a suitable partner because of its extensive experience in the hospitality sector and its partnerships with other home goods brands.

"I think there's a lot of potential," he said. "Even though there may be competition, on the other side of the coin, the Chinese middle class still feels they're not satisfied.

"They need more, because the population, even if a small percentage of the population likes the brand or like the designs, [Stewart could] still have a huge market," he said.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com
Deadly hurricane Matthew bearing down on Florida, Georgia Updated: 2016-10-07 10:49 By Reuters(China Daily USA)

Matthew, the first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years, blasted the Bahamas on Thursday as it headed for Florida after killing at least 265 people in the Caribbean, mostly in Haiti.

Carrying extremely dangerous winds of 140 mph (220 kph), the storm pounded the northwestern part of the Bahamas en route to Florida's Atlantic coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida as Matthew strengthened, the White House said on Thursday.

The action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts necessitated by the storm, a Category 4 hurricane packing winds of 140 mph (220 kph).

"Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.

Matthew's sustained winds later dropped to 130 mph, but it was likely to remain a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as it closed in on the United States, where it could either take direct aim at Florida or tear along the state's coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.

Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew's have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts". The US National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida late on Thursday and a dangerous storm surge is expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

"What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.

Some 260 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

As the storm passed near the Bahamas capital of Nassau, howling gusts of wind brought down palms and other trees and ripped shingles off the rooftops of many houses. The eye of the storm was located over the western end of Grand Bahama Island on Thursday evening.

It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most of its damage in the United States, but the NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph, to make landfall on US shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Florida Governor Rick Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state, and he urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"If you're reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people ... already killed," Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast."

Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.
Across America Updated: 2016-10-07 10:34 (China Daily USA)

Forging a partnership with Massachusetts - Boston

Zhang Qiyue (left), Chinese consul general in New York, and Patricia Haddad, speaker pro tempore of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, call for closer ties between China and Massachusetts during the state's fi rst China Day event, co-hosted by the consulate and the Asian Caucus of the Massachusetts Legislature, on Thursday at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Zhang discussed China's shift to a consumption- and innovation-driven economy. "There is so much that we can partner with you on," said Haddad. "From biotech to energy ... all of these things are important for the betterment of both of our worlds." Hezi Jiang / China Daily
Chinese arts festival aims to encourage better understanding Updated: 2016-10-07 23:56 By Fu Jing in Brussels(chinadaily.com.cn)

Zhou Bo, counselor in the Chinese Mission to the EU, addressed the the opening of a three-month Chinese arts festival in the EU on Thursday in Brussels. [Photo by Yao Yueyang/For chinadaily.com.cn]

A three-month Chinese arts festival kicked off on Thursday in Brussels, aimed at bringing about a better understanding of a variety of Chinese cultures.

This is the second time such a tightly-scheduled package of film screenings, exhibitions of paintings, photography and calligraphy, and cultural industry dialogues has been staged.

As part of the festival, a group of young Chinese film directors, actors and actresses will interact with movie-goers in Brussels this month.

Zhou Bo, counselor at the Chinese Mission to the EU, said a film on Tibet will also be on show this time, which will give Europeans a chance to see how Tibetans live harmoniously with nature.

She said the eight-day film part of the festival will help show "how far China has come in the film industry in recent years".

Zhou Bo, counselor in the Chinese Mission to the EU, addressed the the opening of a three-month Chinese arts festival in the EU on Thursday in Brussels. [Photo by Yao Yueyang/For chinadaily.com.cn]

According to the organizer, 13 short films produced by Belgian and Chinese university students will be screened.

Built on the success of the bilateral cultural exchange between EU and China last year, the Chinese Arts Festival in the EU has been turned into a non-profit platform supported by Chinese Mission to the EU and European Parliament.

"As a new platform, we cannot dream for a better partner like Chinese Mission to the EU. They help us to build connection with many Chinese high-level artists and cultural projects." said Julie Patterson, co-president of the Chinese Arts Festival in the EU.

She said more diverse cultural-oriented projects are in the pipeline, and the Chinese Arts Festival in the EU also intends to involve more EU member states in the future.

To inaugurate the festival, an EU-funded octet was invited to make its debut.

Eight musicians from France, Slovenia, Bulgaria and China jointly performed three musical classics, including the Chinese masterpiece Moons Reflection ErQuan.

"It is an innovative and interesting attempt, and it also shows the music is without borders," said Wang Taiping, the first violist.

Istvan Ujhelyi, Vice-President of the Committee on Transport and Tourism at the European Parliament said: "I surely believe that this years festival will provide a good example on how we could achieve concrete cultural cooperation to enhance dialogues. It also shows our desire to learn from each other."

Yao Yueyang contributed to the story

To contact the reporter: fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Hurricane bears down on Florida Updated: 2016-10-08 01:57 By AGENCIES(China Daily)

People leave a hotel where they sheltered during Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday. [ Photo/Agencies ]

Hurricane Matthew edged ever closer to Florida on Friday with torrential rains and up to 190 kilometer-per-hour winds after a blast through the Caribbean that left more than 300 people dead in Haiti.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category Three storm early in the day by the National Hurricane Center, as its wind speed dropped slightly. But Florida still faced its most dangerous hurricane in living memory.

It was not clear if it would be a direct hit or more of a sideswiping blow, which could still be catastrophic.

Only a handful of hurricanes of this strength have ever made landfall in Florida, and none since 1898 has threatened to scythe its way north along the low-lying, densely populated coast into Georgia and beyond.

Evacuation orders were issued for areas covering about 3 million residents.

Daytona Beach imposed a curfew that was to last until dawn on Saturday, and President Barack Obama declared emergencies in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, promising federal aid.

Matthew has already battered Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, and US officials were taking no chances, warning that loss of life was a virtual certainty.

The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate relief to 50,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is seeking $6.92 million to help provide medical relief, shelter, water and sanitation over the next year to people affected by Hurricane Matthew in southwestern Haiti.
More than 800 killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, Florida hit Updated: 2016-10-08 02:24 (Agencies)

Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti earlier this week before it lashed Florida on Friday with howling winds and rolled northward up the US Atlantic coast.

A view of trees damaged by the wind during Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 842 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials.

Matthew, potentially the first major hurricane to hit the United States head on in more than a decade, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

Southern Florida escaped the brunt of the storm overnight, but US President Barack Obama urged people not to be complacent in the face of a storm that could be the most severe to strike northeast Florida in more than 100 years.

"I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists," Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials. "People continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the next 24, 48, 72 hours."

Matthew had smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted.

At least three towns reported dozens of people killed in the hills and coast of Haiti's fertile western tip, including the farming village of Chantal where the mayor said 86 people died, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing.

"A tree fell on the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldn't get out," said driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald, 27, who had been married for only a year.

"People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying "Mommy."

With cellphone networks down and roads flooded by sea and river water, aid has been slow to reach hard-hit areas in Haiti.

The USS Mesa Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was heading for Haiti to support relief efforts. A Navy spokesman said the ship would take heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers and fresh water delivery vehicles. The ship has a surgical team and two operating rooms on board.

FLORIDA POWER CUTS

Matthew skirted Florida on Friday with winds of up to 120 miles per hour (195 kph), but did not make landfall.

The city of Jacksonville in the northeast of the state could face significant flooding, Florida Governor Rick Scott said. The storm had cut power to some 827,000 households in Florida, he said.

At 2 p.m. (1800 GMT), Matthew's eye, or center, was brushing the northeast Florida coast, the US National Hurricane Center said. Its winds had weakened slightly to 115 mph (185 kph) and it was moving at around 12 mph (19 kph) on a path that would likely take it near or over the coast of northeast Florida and Georgia through Friday night and near or over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

No significant damage or injuries were reported in cities and towns in south Florida where the storm brought down trees and power lines, CNN and local media reported.

Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he was concerned that relatively light damage in the south of Florida so far could give people farther up the coast a false sense of security.

"People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. People should also be aware the hurricane carried more than just ferocious winds, he said.

"The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s," Fugate said.

In Cape Canaveral, Florida, home to the country's main space launch site, the storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards.

Matthew lessened in intensity on Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said, but was still a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Category 5 is the strongest.

The US National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years. The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on US shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear after Matthew passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then moved out over Grand Bahama Island.

The NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from central Florida through Georgia and into North Carolina.

In St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville, about half of the 14,000 residents have refused to heed evacuation orders despite warnings of an eight-foot (2.4- meter) storm surge that could sink entire neighborhoods, Mayor Nancy Shaver said in a telephone interview from the area's emergency operations center.

Even as power started to dim and water to the city was shut off in St. Augustine, the oldest US city and a major tourism attraction, residents, especially elderly and the working poor, refused to budge, she said.

"There's that whole inability to suspend disbelief that I think really affects people in a time like this," Shaver said.

In addition to those who simply did not believe the storm was a major threat, some of the city's residents lacked vehicles or other means to evacuate, said Shaver.

Lack of means to move was one reason some people stayed in New Orleans before it was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm killed more than 1,800 people there and along the US Gulf Coast.

About 22,000 people were in Florida shelters and more had moved inland or to the state's west coast, Scott said. Georgia and South Carolina had also opened dozens of shelters for evacuees.

South Carolina officials warned residents of potentially damaging flooding and storm surge once Matthew arrives there.

"There is nothing safe about what's getting ready to happen," South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and a senior FEMA official called both candidates for the US presidential election on Nov. 8, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, to brief them on Friday them about Hurricane Matthew.
Durham, North Carolina is a vibrant city that offers couples and families an array of things to see and do. Dont miss a visit to the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Gardens, the The Nasher Museum of Art and the Durham Performing Arts Center. Best things to do in Durham, NC with kids include the Museum of Life + Science, the Duke Lemur Center and Eno River State Park.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. Sarah P. Duke Gardens  Courtesy of Nicola - Fotolia.com

Located on Anderson Street on the campus of Duke University, Sarah P. Duke Gardens is a 55-acre public garden that features both wooded and landscaped areas. The garden is a memorial to Sarah Pearson Duke who was the wife of Benjamin N. Duke, a benefactor of Duke University. There are five miles of trails and walks that wind their way through the garden, which is divided into four main areas. The garden offers tours and programs such as Nature Adventures Camp, Japanese Tea Gatherings, Summer Internships, and many more. Sarah P. Duke Gardens is one of the best romantic places to visit in Durham, North Carolina. Duke University, 420 Anderson Street, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-684-3698

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2. Museum of Life and Science  Museum of Life and Science

Located on West Murray Avenue north of downtown Durham, the Museum of Life + Science is a natural science museum that features many hands-on exhibits. Formerly known as the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, the museum sits on 80 acres of land and consists of several buildings and attractions. Some examples are the main building, a butterfly house, dinosaur trail, farmyard, and a train, and there are both indoor and outdoor exhibits. One of the best things to do in Durham, North Carolina, the museum is known for its Aerospace exhibit that displays many early NASA space program artifacts on loan from the National Air and Space Museum. The three-story glass Magic Wings Butterfly House is one of the museums most popular exhibits. Browse weekend getaways in NC 433 West Murray Avenue, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-220-5429

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3. Duke Lemur Center, Durham, North Carolina  Courtesy of Marcella Miriello - Fotolia.com

Sitting on 80 acres of land, the Duke Lemur Center is the worlds largest sanctuary for rare and endangered prosimian primates. It is located on Erwin Road close to Duke University, and it is open to the public. One-hour tours are offered but require advance reservations. The Center had its beginnings in 1966 when 90 primates were relocated from Yale University to Duke University. Since then, the Center has housed and taken care of almost 4,000 primates including lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers. Currently, there are approximately 250 primates representing 21 species. The Center hosts events such as Lemurpalooza, when visitors bring blankets and picnics and are introduced to some of the primates. If you are wondering what to see in Durham with kids, this is a fun place to visit with the whole family. 3705 Erwin Road, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-489-3364



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4. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University  Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University



Located on Campus Drive, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is an art museum that contains more than 13,000 works ranging from antiquity to contemporary art. The museums collection includes 3,300 Pre-Columbian art objects, works on paper, medieval art, and much more. Opened in 2005, the museum is housed in a building designed by architect Rafael Vinoly. In addition to the museums permanent collection, the Nasher Museum of Art hosts temporary exhibits and events such as music concerts and Free Family Day. The Nasher Museum of Art is one of the must-see Durham attractions for art lovers. Public tours are held on Thursday and Sunday, and private group tours are also available. The museum can be rented for corporate events, parties, and weddings. 2001 Campus Drive, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-684-5135

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5. DPAC - Durham Performing Arts Center  Courtesy of maxcam - Fotolia.com



With a capacity of 2,700, the Durham Performing Arts Center is the largest performing arts center in North and South Carolina. The Center is located on Vivian Street and hosts over 200 performances per year. It is a highly praised establishment that serves as the venue for touring Broadway shows, comedy events, music concerts, the American Dance Festival, family shows, and many other kinds of performances. The Center opened in 2008 with a sold out concert by B.B. King. If you are looking for date night ideas in Durham, watch a performance at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Owned by the City of Durham, the Center has proved to be a great success for the city, as evidenced by the new business it has generated; several new restaurants have opened in the vicinity of the Center. Public tours of the Center are held once a month. 123 Vivian Street, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-680-2787

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6. Stagville State Historic Site, Durham, North Carolina  Stagville State Historic Site



Stagville State Historic Site is a historic house museum made up of buildings from the Stagville Plantation, one of the largest plantations in the American South. The Bennehan-Cameron family originally owned the plantation, and the buildings date from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century. The Bennehan House, built in 1878, and Horton Grove, an area that holds slave houses built in 1850, are both listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Located on Old Oxford Highway, the historic site offers guided tours three times a day. There are summer programs for school children and special events like the Harvest Festival Pie Auction. 5828 Old Oxford Highway, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-620-0120

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7. Things to Do in Durham: American Tobacco Historic District  Courtesy of Sean Pavone Photo - Fotolia.com

Located on Blackwell Street, the American Tobacco Historic District is a tobacco factory area consisting of 17 historic structures. Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2000, the structures were built between 1874 and the 1950s. Some of the most noteworthy buildings include the Italianate style W.T. Blackwell and Company Building, the Hill Warehouse built in the Romanesque Revival style, and several structures in the Art Moderne style including the Crowe, the Fowler, and the Strickland buildings. The district was formerly the home of the American Tobacco Company, and the redevelopment of this historic area was a part of a large urban renewal plan to revitalize downtown Durham. Today, the district is known for its many restaurants and shops. 318 Blackwell Street, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-433-1566



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8. Metro 8 Steakhouse, Durham, North Carolina  Metro 8 Steakhouse

How can you make a classic American steakhouse even better? You add an Argentinean touch to it. At Metro 8 Steakhouse, the Argentinean touch is the chef and owner Francisco Pirillo. He mixes elements like shrimp and simple filet mignon stuffed with crabs or turns your steak into a churrasco and serves it with chimichurri. For dessert, try the souffle or the decadent crepes filled with dulce de leche. With such amazing food, the menu does not have to be extensive and complicated. The restaurant is also as simple as it is perfect, and features soft colors, clean lines, rich hardwood floors, and a large inviting bar. There is also a nice outdoor patio if you want to enjoy the fresh air while you dine. 1116 Broad St, Durham, NC 27705, 919-416-1700



9. Durham Central Park  Durham Central Park

Theres a lot to see and do in Durham, and a great number of those things can be found at Durham Central Park. A hub for recreation, special events, and even great eats, Durham Central Park is a five-acre green space that is beloved for regularly hosting farmers' markets, movie screenings, food truck rodeos, and concerts at their 9,000-square-foot pavilion. The park is also home to an interactive play area for children called Mount Merrill, and a gorgeous grove of trees filled with species from other countries like a Japanese Higan Cherry Tree, and a Russian Red Maple. Recreational activities at the Great Lawn are absolutely enjoyable, while other features include the 10,000-square-foot skate park, the free-pick public garden, Garden of Eatin, and several other manicured gardens to rest in. 501 Foster Street, Durham, North Carolina 27701, Phone: 919-794-8194

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10. Things to Do in Durham: Eno River State Park  Courtesy of Irina Silayeva - Fotolia.com

Eno River State Park consists of 4,200 acres of land and, along with the West Point on the Eno City Park, preserves more than nine miles of the Eno River. Located northwest of downtown Durham, the park is a popular place for outdoor activities such as camping, canoeing, and fishing, and there are also 24 miles of hiking trails. If you are wondering what to do in Durham with kids, this is a great park to explore. The area was home to several Native American tribes. Once the settlers arrived, they built over 30 gristmills on the river. The park was created in 1972 to protect the area from development. The park is known for its natural beauty including its springtime wildflowers and its animals such as beavers, birds, deer, fish, and turtles, among others.



11. Guglhupf Bakery, Cafe & Restaurant  Guglhupf

You do not have to be able to pronounce its name to fall in love with Guglhupf. This exciting cafe, patisserie, and bakery located on a commercial strip of the Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd will take you by surprise: it features modern touches with exposed beams, lots of steel, a waterfall feature, at the entrance and yet the dining room and patio areas are incredibly cozy. The wonderful aromas are perhaps reminiscent of a different era. Youll be struck by the smell of homemade hot bread, fresh brewed coffee, and vanilla cake cooling on the windowsill. This incredibly popular German-influenced eatery offers Central European delights like pork schnitzel and house-smoked sausages, but most people come for the cakes and breads. Once you try their guglhupf, you will find the word much easier to pronounce because youll never forget the wonderful taste. 2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. Suite #1, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-401-2600

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12. Only Burger, Durham, North Carolina  Only Burger

We often want life to be simple. For example, sometimes all we want is a burger, but at the same time, we want that burger to be absolutely perfect. This intense desire for the perfect burger drove the owners of OnlyBurger to come up with such a tasty burger that they had to open two more shops to satisfy their happy customers. OnlyBurger started as a food truck serving burgers made of Certified Piedmontese beef free of hormones, antibiotic, and steroids; they are freshly ground every day and served on a toasted bun. Add fried green tomatoes and pimiento cheese and you end up with the burger that tops all burgers. When the customers got tired of chasing the truck all over Durham, the company opened two restaurants downtown. They also offer turkey and veggie burgers for those who prefer lighter fare. 3710 Shannon Rd., Suite 118, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-937-9377



13. Brightleaf Square, Durham, North Carolina  Courtesy of realstock1 - Fotolia.com

Housed in two historic tobacco warehouses in downtown Durham, Brightleaf Square is a bustling area full of restaurants, shops, and a venue for special events. The two historic brick warehouses, the Watts and the Yuille tobacco warehouses, were built in the early 20th century and are located at 905 West Main Street in the American Tobacco Historic District. Opened in 1981, Brightleaf Square has been a part of the urban renewal plan to revitalize downtown Durham. The restaurants offer a variety of cuisine including Italian, Japanese, Mexican, and many more. Shops sell items such as antiques, books, and clothing. Events include music concerts including performances by the Durham Symphony Orchestra String Ensemble. 905 West Main Street, Durham, North Carolina, Phone: 919-682-9229



14. Museum of Durham History  Museum of Durham History

Come to the Museum of Durham History to hear incredible tales and learn the interesting histories of the citys people, places, and simple things that create and foster curiosity. After all, the museum is dedicated to helping the community and visitors alike understand the history of Durham and its community, while promoting an understanding of the citys diversity. The museum proudly displays an exhibit on Durhams historic timeline, a gallery on Durham stories, and it also has plenty of information on Durhams historical sites. The museum is also the host of 150 Faces of Durham, a traveling exhibit that features the familiar and perhaps lesser-known personalities of Durhams past. Admission is free. 500 W. Main Street, Downtown Durham, North Carolina 27702, Phone: 919-246-9993



15. Forest Hills Park  Alinsa/stock.adobe.com



Built by James O. Cob and Fuller Glass in the 1920s, the 45.8-acre Forest Hills Park and its surrounding neighborhood stands on what used to be farmland. Today, it is a picture of rest and recreation with its towering trees, beautiful curving streets, and spacious spaces to relax and just enjoy the sun and air. At the Forest Hills Park, guests can tee off on its nine-hole golf course, splash around the pool, or spend some time at the parks colonial revival-style clubhouse. Forest Hills Park is also home to a sprayground  the water park equivalent of a playground, a picnic shelter, several athletic rentals, and four tennis courts. 1639 University Drive, Durham, North Carolina 27707, Phone: 919-560-4355

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16. Things to Do in Durham, NC: West Point on the Eno  Courtesy of SeanPavonePhoto - Fotolia.com



Located on North Roxboro Street north of downtown Durham, West Point on the Eno is a 404-acre city park on the Eno River. The park is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is home to several preserved buildings, including the 1850s McCown-Mangum farmhouse, West Point Mill, which is a museum housed in a reproduction of a colonial mill, and the Hugh Mangum Museum of Photography, a museum with historic 19th and 20th photos in a restored tobacco pack house. In addition to these historic buildings, the park features a childrens play area called Natural Play Space, five miles of hiking trails, and an amphitheater. Popular activities include canoeing, hiking, and kayaking.



17. Honeygirl Meadery and Tasting Room  Honeygirl Meadery and Tasting Room



Sip on award-winning, tummy-warming mead at the Honeygirl Meadery located at the center of Durhams downtown area. Specializing in small-batch and seasonal meads, Honeygirl Meadery primarily uses ingredients related to the hardworking honeybee to make their meads such as flowers, seasonal fruits, herbs, and of course, honey. The meaderys tasting room is open every weekend and welcomes craft beverage enthusiasts and mead aficionados to come by and sample their uniquely made and flavorful offerings. Guests can also get an insider's look at how fermenting with honey is done at Honeygirl. Be sure to try their signature meads like the Blueberry Mead, the Farmhouse Wildflower Mead, the Orange Blossom Mead, as well as the Spiced Apple Cyser. 105 Hood Street, Durham, North Carolina 27701, Phone: 919-399-3056

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18. Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, NC  Durham Bulls Athletic Park



The home to the Durham Bulls, Durham Bulls Athletic Park opened in 1995 in downtown Durham. It was expanded to fit 10,000 seats in 1998, when the Bulls started playing in the Triple-A International League. The stadium was designed so that all fans can have a great view of the field in total comfort. A roof covers about 2,500 seats. All seats are extra wide with extra legroom, and most have cup holders. The ballpark, called the Blue Monster, has many similarities to Fenway Park  the Green Monster. The structures characteristics follow architecture of todays Durhams downtown and those of many old-time athletic parks. The park's most famous feature is the Snorting Bull sculpture that stands above the park, and it was featured in the popular movie Bull Durham. 409 Blackwell St, Durham, NC 27701, 919-687-6500



19. Duke University Chapel, Durham, NC  Courtesy of sframe - Fotolia.com



Located on Duke Universitys West Campus, Duke Chapel is a magnificent example of neo-Gothic architecture. Built in 1930 and designed by Julian Abele, the structure features huge stone piers, ribbed vaults, pointed arches, and flying buttresses that create a vast interior open space without the need for columns. The result is an awe-inspiring structure that inspires reverence and a sense of wonder. The chapel is built with volcanic stone the University bought for its West Campus. The stone, called Hillsborough bluestone, was brought from a Hillsborough quarry and plays a big part in the beauty of the building with its range of colors, from rust to gray, in 17 different shades. Duke Chapel is a Christian church of interdenominational purpose and character. It welcomes people of all faiths and any circumstance with its music and worship. It is a symbol of the Universitys goal of bridging learning and faith. 401 Chapel Dr, Durham, NC, Phone: 919-681-9488

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20. Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina  Courtesy of Sergey Ryzhov - Fotolia.com



Cameron Indoor Stadium is a 9,314-seat indoor arena located on the West Campus of Durham, North Carolinas Duke University. It is the home of the Duke women's volleyball team and women's and men's basketball teams. It is also the main indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils. It was named Cameroon Indoor Stadium from 1940 when it opened until 1972, when it was renamed Duke Indoor Stadium in honor of Eddie Cameron, the legendary coach of Dukes men's basketball team. Cameron is considered the crown jewel of classic college basketball's venues. It was renovated in 1980 when its seating capacity was increased to 9,314, and in 2009 with the installation of the new video scoreboard. The Blue Devils won 817 games in Cameron and the Duke womens team won 411. Many of these victories have been attributed to the special atmosphere of the Cameron halls. 115 Whitford Dr, Durham, NC, Phone: 919-684-2633



21. Carolina Theater, Durham, NC  Courtesy of dechevm - Fotolia.com



Located in the Carolina Theatre complex of downtown Durham, Carolina Theatre has been the citys most popular and most loved art institutions for more than 20 years. The theatre presents Durhams art lovers with more than 60 concerts every year, new and classic films daily and several annual film festivals. The Carolina produces the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, as well as the Nevermore and Escapism film festivals. The theatres popular Arts Discovery educational program serves 15,000 of Durhams school children. The facility is frequently used by a number of not-for-profits and other organizations for their events. The Carolina Theatre historic building was constructed in 1923 in the Beaux-Arts style. 309 West Morgan St., Durham, NC, Phone: 919-560-3030



22. Bennett Place Historic Site, Durham, North Carolina  Bennett Place Historic Site



Bennett Place or Bennett Farm in Durham, North Carolina, is a small, simple farmhouse where Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston and Union General William T. Sherman met in April 1865 to sign the surrender of Southern states armies in Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia. It was the biggest surrender of the American Civil War troops. The original Bennett family farmhouse was carefully reconstructed in the 1960s using original sketches and photos in order to show the farmer and his familys way of life during this tragic period of the nation's history. This historic site has a well-organized Visitor Center and the extensive Everett-Thissen Research Library, which contains over 1,000 books and documents relating to the Bennett family and Civil War. Visitors can also see the short very informative film Dawn of Peace. The farmland has many scenic trails visitors can enjoy during their visit. 4409 Bennett Memorial Rd, Durham, NC, Phone: 919-383-4345

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23. Duke Homestead State Historic Site  Duke Homestead State Historic Site Duke Homestead is the site of the early farm and 1852 home of the Duke family and factories where Washington Duke started growing and processing tobacco. Duke's sons founded The American Tobacco Company, the worlds largest tobacco company. The tour of the homestead includes a visit to the Duke family's home with four furnished and restored rooms, two tobacco factories, a tobacco packhouse, and a curing barn. The Tobacco Museum, which is part of the Homestead, contains 5,500 square feet of historic exhibits that tell the story of tobacco, ranging from the times of Native Americans to today. The museum also shows a short film Legacy of the Golden Leaf on the history of tobacco and the Duke family. 2828 Duke Homestead Rd, Durham, NC, Phone: 919-4775498



24. Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC  Courtesy of moomsabuy - Fotolia.com Duke Stadium is a football stadium that opened its doors on October 5, 1929. The stadium is designed in a horseshoe shape and is surrounded by the towering green pines of the Duke forest. The stadium changed its name in 1967 in honor of the legendary Duke coach Wallace Wade, who led the Blue Devils to two appearances at the Rose Bowl and a 110-36-7 record. The stadium was upgraded in 1984 when a new lighting system was added, making nighttime football games possible. There are 64 lights on four 110-foot-high poles, providing great illumination not only for the stadium but also for walkways and parking. A video board was added in 1998, and the Wallace Wade Stadium was the first North Carolina football stadium to have this feature. 110 Frank Basset Dr, Durham, NC, Phone: 919-684-4112



25. Urban Axes Durham  Urban Axes Durham Test your arm strength and your aim at Urban Axes Durham, a fun and exciting activity to participate in for a great night out with friends, co-workers, or family. Open to legal adults, Urban Axes Durham is a refreshing break from the monotony and stress of everyday city life. Visitors can enjoy the oddly and deeply satisfying act of hurling an axe at a wooden target and hearing it stick to the board with a delightful thunk. At the same time, guests can grab their preferred beverage to sip and chat with companions as each person takes their turn at throwing the axe. First-time visitors need not worry as trained specialists will be there to help you get a hang of things. 619 Foster Street, Durham, North Carolina 27701, Phone: 948-377-3697



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HCM CITY  Gia Phu of HCM City decided to buy a condominium in Singapore after attending an event in HCM City held to launch three Singapore projects.

He explained why he did so: My daughter will study in Singapore next year, so I want to buy a condo for her. Education in Singapore is as good as in the US or Australia. It has a similar culture to Viet Nams and is easy to access with many flights every day.

Phu is just one of many such buyers. In fact, a new investment trend has begun with Vietnamese pouring money to buy condos in neighbouring countries including Singapore and Malaysia.

Buying housing in foreign countries is not new per se in Viet Nam, especially since many people have become richer thanks to a stock market boom in previous years.

But hitherto most of the buying was done in the US, Australia and Canada. Recently the focus has shifted to the neighbourhood, especially Singapore and Malaysia.

In September, Anpha Holdings announced it would be the distributor for three housing projects in Singapore -- Wallich Residence, Leedon Residence and Sims Urban Oasis.

Introductory events it held in HCM City and Ha Noi attracted many prospective buyers and the results seem to have exceeded expectations.

Many Vietnamese are interested in the projects, Pham Thanh Mai, PR manager of Anpha Holdings, told Viet Nam News.

So far 12 customers have made firm requests to visit the projects.

But the number of people who want to buy condos in Singapore is much higher, she said, explaining that the number asking to visit does not indicate the real demand because of the large and non-refundable deposit people have to pay.

Her company had earlier introduced a project in Malaysia and five people had bought so far, she said.

Michael ang, chairman of Anpha Holdings, said there was a move by real estate investors from the domestic to regional markets.

"This is significant since it means Vietnamese investors are choosing to make stable long-term investments instead of speculating in the domestic market," he said.

"Most of the buyers are people whose children plan to study in Singapore or who plan to expand their business abroad," he said.

According to Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association, said Singapore is chosen by many Vietnamese since it has a very good living environment including a modern healthcare system and education.

Furthermore, it is only a short flight from Viet Nam to Singapore and Malaysia with plenty of flights every day, which would help buyers easily manage their properties.

ang, who has experience of the Singapore real estate market, said it was a lucrative market.

Easy to sell and easy to lease and the demand keeps increasing while land is limited.

"Investors from many Middle Eastern countries and Indonesia have invested in the market for a long time and made big profits, and the time is now suitable for Vietnamese to do so," he said.

Investors should choose a country with political and economic stability to buy housing, he said.

"It is good to diversify ones investments and so people should put their money in other markets too instead of investing only in Viet Nam," he added.  VNS
Foreign investors are eager to buy stakes in Government-owned enterprises in Viet Nam, but have come up against a lack of transparency in the firms information disclosure, as well as red tape.  Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

HA NOI  Foreign investors are eager to buy stakes in Government-owned enterprises in Viet Nam, but have come up against a lack of transparency in the firms information disclosure, as well as red tape, CEOs from financial firms said.

Foreign investors have the best opportunity of buying into the State-owned enterprises (SOEs) from which the Government wants to divest as not many local buyers can afford to buy them from the State. Most Vietnamese private companies would be unable to compete against foreign investors in purchasing assets worth VN149 trillion (more than US$6.62 billion), HCM Securities Corporation CEO Johan Nyvene said to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent.

Large-cap companies such as Vinamilk are valued at billions of dollars and most domestic buyers seem to lack financial capabilities to purchase stakes in those companies, he said.

The Vietnamese Government plans to sell its stake in 12 large SOEs, including Viet Nam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk), information technology FPT Corporation (FPT), Bao Minh Insurance Corporation, Tien Phong Plastic JSC, Binh Minh Plastic JSC, and the two largest brewers Sai Gon Beer Alcohol Beverage JSC (Sabeco) and Ha Noi Beer Alcohol Beverage JSC (Habeco).

The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), the representative of the States holdings in the large-cap SOEs, plans to sell an entire 9 per cent stake in Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) by the end of this year.

Sabeco and Habeco have been recently told to get listed on the stock market before they begin selling the States stakes to private investors. Sabeco is planning a listing by the end of this year while Habeco is expecting to be traded by early next year.

Next year, SCIC will offload its shares in nine other SOEs, including Viet Nam National Reinsurance Corporation (Vinare), Ha Giang Mineral Mechanics Joint Stock Company, Viet Nam Infrastructure Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (VIID), and Sa Giang Import Export Corporation.

However, the sales of those SOEs has been delayed as private investors are not satisfied with the firms information disclosure process. Some investors are also wary of the fact that the bidding process is not transparent as the Government prefers selecting a strategic investor, who later owns a large part of the companys capital, to bringing the deal to the public so that all investors can compete equally.

On Wednesday, Sabeco CEO Le Hong Xanh told Reuters that The listing could be in late November, early December, according to the consulting contract and agreement, but how fast it is depends on many other factors, like transparency in management and other conditions like tax.

Complicated procedures are also delaying the States divestment from those SOEs. "There are many interested investors but we havent started talking specifically with anyone, we are waiting for the Government," Reuters cited Xanh as saying.

Dominic Scriven, CEO of the England-based asset management firm Dragon Capital, said the Vietnamese Government needs to act more seriously in speeding up divestment from those large-cap SOEs as a lot of international funds and companies are targeting Viet Nam as a top market in their investment portfolios.  VNS
Agencies of the southern province of Tay Ninh will move all wild monkeys living around the Cao ai Great Temple to ensure safety for local people and visitors.  Photo baotayninh.vn

TAY NINH  Agencies of the southern province of Tay Ninh will move all wild monkeys living around the Cao ai Great Temple to ensure safety for local people and visitors.

Many local residents and visitors to the Cao ai Holy See have reported being bitten or injured by wild monkeys. The provincial Forest Management Department confirmed 13 such cases involving students and teachers from local schools, as well as tourists.

From September 25 to 27, with the support of the Wildlife at Risk organisation, the Forest Management Department captured seven wild monkeys and released them into Lo Go-Xa Mat National Park in Tan Bien District, Tay Ninh Province.

According to the department, the monkeys were originally kept by local households, which then abandoned them and stealthily released them into the forest around the Cao ai Great Temple.

About 100 monkeys are living in the area. They have become violent because of food shortage and visitors disturbance, the forest management agency said.  VNS
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) receives Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung

HA NOI  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he wants to enhance the friendship and co-operation between Iran and Viet Nam in the coming time for mutual benefit as well as for regional and global peace and development.

The visiting State leader expressed his wish while meeting with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong yesterday.

He confirmed Irans determination to implement effectively the co-operation agreements reached by the two countries during his visit to Viet Nam from October 5-7, including active preparation for the upcoming 9th Inter-governmental Committee meeting.

The President highly valued Viet Nams accomplishments in the oi moi (renewal) process and its external policy of independence and self-reliance, hailing the countrys active role in regional and global arenas, and wishing Vietnamese people to gain more immense achievements in the nation-building process.

For his part, Party General Secretary Trong congratulated Iran on breaking foreign embargoes to stabilise politics, develop the economy and increase its position in the region and the globe.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State always pay heed to developing the friendship and collaboration with traditional friends in the Middle Eastern region, including Iran.

To promote the co-operative achievements over the past 40 years, the Party chief suggested the two countries increase all-level delegation exchanges, especially among businesses, to seek concrete measures to boost two-way trade and investment.

He also recommended promoting people-to-people exchanges and affiliation in culture, sports, education training and tourism to deepen mutual understanding and reinforce long-standing co-operative ties.

Joint statement

In a joint statement between Viet Nam and Iran on the State visit to Viet Nam from October 5-7 by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the two sides agreed to consolidate mutual consultation and support within regional and international fora.

The two leaders agreed to enhance bilateral co-operation in trade and investment and pledged to provide favourable conditions for businesses of both countries to increase access to each others markets to achieve a targeted bilateral trade turnover of US$2 billion in the coming time. Both sides shared the idea of co-operating in rice plantation in Viet Nam for export to Iran.

The two Presidents affirmed the importance of further co-operation in information and telecommunications, science and technology, engineering services, agriculture, energy and security, among other areas.

The Vietnamese side took note of the Iranian sides proposals regarding the establishment of joint committees on investment and banking.

The two sides agreed to strengthen further consultation and the exchange of views in fighting against the illegal trafficking of goods, drugs and drug-related materials, transnational and cyber crimes, and to consolidate relevant co-operation mechanisms.

They agreed to boost co-operation in higher education, the exchange of professors and students, tourism, health, youth, and sports. In order to boost people-to-people exchanges, the two sides agreed to support and provide necessary facilitation to citizens of Viet Nam and Iran in visiting each others countries.  VNS
Vietcombank plans to set up a 100 per cent owned subsidiary bank in Laos.  Photo thoibaonganhang.vn

HA NOI  The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) has proposed to its shareholders the establishment of a Lao subsidiary.

The subsidiary would be named Viet Nam Foreign Trade Bank Limited in Laos, headquartered in the Lao capital of Vientiane with an initial chartered capital of US$80 million.

Vietcombanks leader board said that the establishment of the new subsidiary would meet the banks expansion policies toward emerging markets.

If the proposal is approved, Vietcombank would increase its total foreign subsidiaries to three. At the end of June, Vietcombank had two overseas sub-units, including the finance company Vinafico Hong Kong located in Hong Kong and Vietcombank Money Inc located in the US.  VNS
A seminar calling on investment from Thailand in Viet Nam's parts supply industry was held yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand, according to the Trade Office of Viet Nam in Thailand.  VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HA NOI  A seminar calling on investment from Thailand to Viet Nams parts supply industry was held yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand, according to the Trade Office of Viet Nam in Thailand.

The seminar was held by the Viet Nam Trade Office, the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) and the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). It attracted experts from Viet Nams Ministry of Investment and Planning, the Ministry of Industry and Trades Industrial Policy and Strategy Institute, BOI, FTI, as well as Thai and foreign enterprises in Thailand.

The experts provided the seminars participants with valuable information about the potential for investment and trade in Viet Nam during the process of international integration. The seminar was also a chance to release Viet Nams policies on attracting investment in the parts supply industry in the country, reported Vietnam News Agencys correspondent in Bangkok.

Chokdee Kaewsang, BOI deputy general secretary, said Thailand has had experience in developing the industry for 20 years. It was the basis for developing main industries in Thailand, including the production of autos, electronic equipment and machines, and was the prerequisite to improving the competitiveness of industrial manufacturing products.

According to the experience of Thailand, a developed parts supply industry would attract great foreign investment, he said.

Important factors in developing the industry have included marketing, skilled human resources, tax policies and support from the State, he said. Of these he suggested, Viet Nam should focus on developing skilled human resources with reasonable support from the State.

Regarding investment opportunities in Viet Nams parts industry, Kaewsang said Viet Nam was a potential market with favourable conditions in geography, stable and high growth in the economy and open investment incentives.

Viet Nams increasingly strong integration in regional and global economies through the signing of many free trade agreements would be another favourable condition in calling on foreign investors, particularly Thai enterprises and production industries, including the parts supply industry, he said.

Vietnamese Government has directed industries and businesses to focus on the development of the local parts supply industry with many preferential policies and specific plans to develop this particular sector.

Meanwhile, Thailand was a country having much experience in developing the industry with investment from groups and companies from industrially developed countries such as Japan, the US, the UK and France. Those groups and enterprises in Thailand would be potential investors for Viet Nams industries.

According to Viet Nams Ministry of Planning and Investment, by June 2016, Thailands investors had investment in 466 projects with a total capital of US$9.44 billion in Viet Nam. - VNS
After free trade agreements (FTAs) are implemented, there is room for the Government of Viet Nam to make policies to support domestic industries and enterprises, enabling them to cope with challenges arising from rapid international integration.  Photo taichinhdientu.vn

HA NOI  After free trade agreements (FTAs) are implemented, there is room for the Government of Viet Nam to make policies to support domestic industries and enterprises, enabling them to cope with challenges arising from rapid international integration.

Vietnamese policy space is limited by pre-existing mutual commitments. But the Government could still take advantage of remaining options after implementing the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other FTAs, to provide domestic enterprises with supports in line with international commitments, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the Centre for WTO and Economic and Integration, said at a conference yesterday.

At the conference hosted by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Ha Noi, Trang said support policies were necessary to ensure that socio-economic development was on track.

Citing the wood processing and retail industries, Trang said local firms faced a number of potential risks, not only at home but also in foreign markets.

The deeper the integration, the stricter the commitments, especially in environmental protection and product quality, Nguyen Manh Dung, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, adding that supports were necessary.

Most importantly, local firms must be aware of FTAs and active in both improving their competitiveness and preparing for integration, Dung said.

Retail and wood processing

Experts at the conference discussed measures to help the retail and wood processing industries deal with obstacles and enable them to grasp opportunities from FTAs. The experts also said there was a lot of room for government policy initiatives serving these two Vietnamese important industries.

According to Trang, more than 50 per cent of local businesses are involved in retailing, plus, there are more than two million household businesses and about 1,750 foreign-invested firms, with an estimated total workforce of three million labourers.

Meanwhile, risks appear to be more transparent in the retail industry, due to massive foreign direct investment in modern retail channels against which traditional channels are unable to compete. This can push domestic production into difficulties in selling products, Trang said.

inh Thi My Loan, President of the Viet Nam Retailers Association, said the circulation of goods, shortage of qualified labour and difficulties in raising capital also presented obstacles.

It is important to improve the source of goods for local retailers, which requires producers and distributors to connect better with each other, Loan said.

She said policies to encourage the training of workers for the retail industry were also recommended, along with policies on investment and tax incentives.

For the wood processing industry, which provides 300,000 jobs, there are risks related to the legality of wood origins, control over the supply chain, labour use, and shortages of import market information, To Xuan Phuc, the WTO Centres project specialist said.

Support should enable firms to avoid these risks and to grasp opportunities to boost exports, Phuc said.

He said it was important to establish an inspection mechanism to ensure the legality of wood origins, follow the demands of each import market, and create effective control over the value chain.

According to Tran Huu Huynh, president of the VCCI Committee on International Trade Policies, the feasibility of proposed policies must be carefully considered with regard to State resources. The impact of policies changes on related parties in the value chains must also be evaluated, Huynh said. - VNS
Wood production for export to Russian market at the Hiep Long Company in southern Binh Duong Province.  VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu

HCM CITY  The Viet Nam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) free trade agreement, which took effect on Wednesday, is expected to expand trade between Viet Nam and Russia from the current US$4 billion to $10 billion in the next five to seven years, a Russian official said.

Speaking to the media early this week in HCM City, the Russian consul Alexey Popov, said bilateral trade has been on the rise in recent years.

With this trend and the co-operation between Russia and Viet Nam in the Viet Nam-EAEU FTA, it is quite possible to grow bilateral trade by two to three times and even more, he said.

Ivan Gumnikov of the Russian Trade Office in Viet Nam said after the agreement takes effect, two-thirds of all tariff lines on goods traded between Viet Nam and Russia would be reduced to zero per cent.

The tariffs on the remaining goods would gradually be reduced to zero in the next five to 10 years, he said.

Russia is strong in products like meat, milk, wheat flour, fertilisers, oil and gas, oil-based products, automobiles, steel, and machinery.

Russian automobile manufacturers are actively working to set up joint ventures with Vietnamese firms.

The FTA offers Vietnamese firms the opportunity to boost exports of farm produce, foodstuff, seafood, garment and textile, and footwear to Russia.

According to the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, the FTA will increase Viet Nams garment and textile, footwear, and seafood exports to Russia by 30-50 per cent thanks to tariffs falling from 35 per cent (seafood) and 10-18 per cent (garment and textile and footwear) to zero per cent.

Popov said countries involved in the FTA have rapidly simplified their customs clearance processes to facilitate trade.

The EAEU consists of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan

Viet Nam and Russia are discussing making payment in their own currencies to better promote investment and trade ties, Popov said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trades import and export department, 938 Vietnamese firms export goods to the EAEU, with the main items being seafood, coffee, tea, rice, cashew, pepper, garment and textile, timber, and confectionary.

The trade deal was signed in Kazakhstan in May last year following eight rounds of negotiations.

HCM City firms at Russia expo

Nguyen Phuong ong, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said 41 local firms, mostly from the garment and textile, footwear, handicrafts, wood products, and food and foodstuff industries, are taking part in the Sai Gon Expo to be held at the Ha Noii-Moscow Culture-Trade Complex (Incentra) from October 6 to 14.

The event would be a good chance for them to acquaint Russian consumers with their goods and explore investment opportunities in that market, he said.  VNS
HA NOI  All polluting businesses or businesses that deliberately fail or delay to implement environmental remediation measures will be publicised and penalised, Ha Nois leaders ordered.

Nguyen The Hung, vice chairman of Ha Noi Peoples Committee, issued Official Dispatch No. 5714/UBND-T, dated October 5, regarding the management of industrial pollution in Ha Noi.

According to the dispatch, Ha Nois Department of Natural Resource & Environment (DoNRE) is tasked with providing a list of polluting businesses in the city in 2015. DoNRE also needs to collaborate with other departments and peoples committees to supervise the progress of the implementation of environmental remediation measures and to ensure businesses do not violate environmental laws. Businesses that fail to do follow regulations will be publicly condemned and penalised.

Hung also announced that in line with DoNREs proposal on the construction of a water treatment system for 12 industrial clusters in the 2016-2020 period, the citys Department of Trade and Industry, in conjunction with the Department of Investment and Planning, will provide businesses in the industrial clusters guidance on the implementation of the project.  VNS
HCM CITY  Customs authorities intercepted and inspected a shipment from Dieu Tien company on October 6 and found hundreds of tusks, suspected to be elephant tusks, weighing two tonnes in total.

Yesterday, the customs branch of Saigon sea ports first zone, in collaboration with the Customs Control Unit, under HCM Citys customs department, and the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department (C74), under the Ministry of Public Security, carried out inspection of two containers of Sapele timber imported into Viet Nam via the Cat Lai port (District 2, HCM City). They discovered 12 timber logs had been tampered with.

After dismantling the first four timber logs, customs officials found 115 tusks, suspected to be elephants tusks, weighing over 500kg.

By the end of the inspection, completed by midnight, of all 12 logs, several hundred tusks were recovered, weighing some 2052kg.

The customs branch has requested the Institute of Ecology, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to examine the entire shipment, identifying the type and size in accordance with Viet Nams regulations and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

On October 5, Dieu Tien Trading Limited Company (Tan Binh District) declared at customs that they were importing 100 per cent new timber originating from Mozambique that was packed in two containers.

After receiving the customs declaration, officers reported the case and were instructed to conduct an inventory and screening of the shipment.

It is then discovered that the timber logs were hollow to hide the tusks inside. Sand and sawdust were used to fill the empty spaces. The teak logs were transformed into tools for international tusks smuggling.

Lieutenant General ong ai Loc, deputy general of the Department of Police, under the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), acknowledged and praised the excellent achievement of involved authorities.

If the tusks prove to be real elephants tusks, the MoPS will prosecute and investigate the case further.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh also lauded the find and requested all involved authorities to urgently investigate and bust the smuggling chain, as prescribed under law.

The find is significant, not only because of the large number of tusks, but also due to the alarmingly sophisticated method that the smugglers used to bypass law enforcement.

Elephants are an endangered species and the international trade of tusks requires permission from the CITES  a global treaty to which Viet Nam is a signatory  formulated to protect threatened plants and animals.

Earlier, in a directive issued on September 17, 2016, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc instructed the Ministry of Public Security and other concerned ministries to organise campaigns to destroy trans-border organised crime groups, which are involved in trading, storing, trafficking and importing/exporting illegal specimens of wildlife species, especially ivory and rhino horns.

A real elephant tusk can easily fetch a billion ong at market price.  VNS
DUBAI  Arab Fashion Week opened yesterday with hopes of establishing Dubai as a top destination for the "ready couture" genre and as a major fashion capital.

It is the first time that a fashion week has been dedicated to the form, described by organisers as a blend of haute couture and ready-to-wear or pret-a-porter.

"In Milan, we celebrate high-end ready-to-wear. In Paris, we celebrate high-end haute couture," said Jacob Abrian, the head of the Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council (AFC).

In Dubai and the Arab world, "we want to be innovative," he said, with off-the-rack clothing that is tailored to haute couture standards and can be customised.

For the first time in the region, the five-day show will also present a unisex collection signed by Rad Hourani, a Canadian-Jordanian designer known for his genderless creations.

The fashion week will open with "ready couture" for women from Emirati designer Lamya Abedin in the first of more than 20 Spring-Summer 2017 collections from more than 10 countries.

Now in its third edition, Arab Fashion Week aims to attract women from the Gulf who tend to dress up every day, as well as luxury-orientated buyers from Russia and China.

The AFC, founded in 2014 to represent the fashion industry in the 22 countries of the Arab League, introduced "ready couture" after an in-depth study of the market, Abrian said.

The form follows in the footsteps of limited ready-to-wear collections that can be customised, from famous fashion houses Roberto Cavalli and Dolce&Gabbana, he said.

Peace through fashion

AFC spokeswoman Daline Eluar said the group "aims to strengthen the role of the UAE, through Dubai, to become the fifth international fashion capital alongside New York, London, Paris and Milan."

The fashion week seeks to show the world that the Arab region is not just "war and conflicts" but also "creativity, art and beauty," she said.

The Gulf city state is a growing tourist destination, a magnet for investors and home to one of the worlds largest shopping malls.

It has been spared the wave of unrest that has rocked other Arab countries since 2011.

Abrian said the AFC wants to "tailor peace through fashion" by promoting Arab designers and attracting Western brands to manufacture in the region.

At the fashion show, the council will promote a Jordan-based initiative to set up the Arab worlds first factory able to manufacture garments to international standards, he said.

The initiative is part of a drive towards setting up a creative economy based on the regions art and culture within 10 years, he added.

But much remains to be done, Abrian said, as customers still trust Western designers over their Arab peers.

"Everything that comes from Paris, from Milan is more appreciated," he said.

The AFC hopes to counter this by promoting brands that are "made in Arabia". Islamic fashion will be on display throughout the event with brands from Malaysia and Indonesia, at a time of growing controversy in the West over Muslim womens clothing.

"We believe that Islamic wear is very important and international brands are targeting" it, said Abrian, adding that Muslim spending on fashion could reach US$500 billion by 2019.  AFP
According a recent joint survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, Viet Nam is currently the second biggest consumer of beer and liquor in Southeast Asiaonly after Thailandthe 10th largest in Asia and the 29th largest in the world.

The survey shows that 77 per cent of Vietnamese men drink liquor and beer, nearly half at hazardous levels.

The ministry is considering a ban on sales of liquor and beer after 10pm, aiming to reduce the negative impacts of drinking.

The proposal has been welcomed by some, while others have disagreed and expressed concerns.

What do you think of the proposal? Do you think it will be strong enough to limit the negative impacts of drinking?

How do you think the ban would affect nightlife in Viet Nam?

Do you think the ministry should add more accompanying measures?

Please reply by email to: opinion@vnsmail.com, or by fax to (84-4) 3 933 2311. Letters can be sent to The Editor, Viet Nam News, 79 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Ha Noi. Replies to questions must be received by Thursday morning, October 13, 2016. -- VNS
Legislators yesterday urged the Government to ensure the draft Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) doesn't clash with other laws.  Photo baocongthuong.vn

HA NOI  Legislators yesterday provided the Government with feedback on the draft Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), urging the drafter to ensure it was consistent with other relevant legislation.

With six chapters and 47 articles, the bill aims to enhance the efficiency of support for SMEs in line with market principles, while ensuring that it does not violate the countrys international commitments. It is also designed to create a legal framework to rally public support for the effort, the law drafting board said.

During their fourth working session in Ha Noi, the National Assembly Standing Committee focused discussion on the necessity of the law. NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan was concerned about the compatibility between the bill and other laws, one of them being the Enterprise Law 2015.

She asked the drafting board to clarify the relationship between support measures stipulated in the draft law and other laws, the compatibility between regulations in the bill and international conventions to which Viet Nam is a signatory, and the draft laws impact on the countrys economic and financial landscape.

Apart from analysing conflicts between the draft law and other specialised laws, Chairman of the NAs Law Committee Nguyen Khac inh suggested the bill should also ensure harmony with the laws on Corporate Income Tax, Investment, Land, Credit Organisations, Science-Technology, Bidding and Competition.

Concluding the discussions, NA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien said the NA Standing Committee wanted the law to be feasible and consistent with existing laws. He asked the compiling board to prepare a report assessing the bills impact.

In the afternoon session, National Assembly deputies discussed the draft law on planning, focusing on planning systems, types of planning and authority to approve planning.

Many deputies said planning was a big issue and asked the compiling board to clarify the types of planning and clearly review other related laws to prevent overlapping.

Regarding the authority to approve planning, some deputies said more study was needed. They pointed out that while the Land Law stipulates that the Government must submit the national land planning to the NA for approval, the draft law on planning says the Government would approve the land planning itself.

The deputies also discussed preparation for the 2nd session of the 14th National Assembly, which is expected to take place within 24 days with the last day on November 19.

NA Secretary General Nguyen Hanh Phuc proposed the committee allow the supplementation of contents relating to the economic restructuring plan in 2016-2020 and the withdrawl of the bill on commune policemen and the revised law on corruption prevention and combat for perfection .

Several contents pertaining to lessons and solutions to protect the environment in the report on works to fix consequences of the Formosa-caused environmental incident; solutions to ensure food hygiene and safety, and climate change-caused socio-economic damage and solutions in the report on socio-economic performance; and management and use of ODA in 2011-2015 in the report on goals and orientations to mobilise and use loans and public debts need to be clearer before submitting to the NA, he said.  VNS




HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani reached agreement yesterday on tightening political links between their two countries and expanding their collaboration on economic, cultural and scientific-technological affairs.

The Vietnamese leader told the media after his talks with President Rouhani that the two sides agreed to support each other in pursuing development for their peoples prosperity, and for peace and stability in the region and the world. He praised the UN General Assemblys resolution on a world against violence and extremism, initiated by Rouhani.

President Quang added that he and his Iranian counterpart also discussed the security situation in the region and reiterated their pledge to contribute to peace and resolve conflicts on the basis of internationally-recognised universal principles.

Rouhani, for his part, told reporters that Iran is ready to create better conditions for Vietnamese oil and gas firms to expand their presence in his country by implementing existing contracts and seeking new business opportunities. He also underlined Irans willingness to work with Viet Nams high-tech industry and to co-operate with Viet Nam in the areas of construction materials, transport infrastructure and thermoelectricity, as well as in agricultural production.

The two agreed that despite many opportunities for economic, trade and investment affiliation between their countries, the scale of co-operation and trade exchange has remained modest. They therefore set a target of boosting bilateral trade to over US$2 billion and creating optimal conditions for their companies to co-operate in such areas as energy, information and communications, agriculture, fisheries, science-technology and banking.

Viet Nam and Iran will also expand co-operation in culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, President Tran ai Quang said, adding that Viet Nam will facilitate the access of Iranian goods to the Vietnamese market. He applauded Rouhanis support for the import of Vietnamese goods into Iran in order to balance bilateral trade.

The two Presidents also witnessed the signing of two co-operation documents, one on visa exemption for official passport holders and another being a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operation in information and communications.

President Hassan Rouhani is paying a State-level visit to Viet Nam from October 5-7. He was welcomed at a State ceremony yesterday.

The Iranian President invited his Vietnamese counterpart to visit Iran. VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday in Ha Noi.  VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the removal of the international sanctions and the nuclear deal secured with world powers, saying the developments opened up great co-operation opportunities for Viet Nam and Iran.

He expressed his hope that President Rouhanis visit this week would open up a new chapter in the two countries relations.

Phuc lauded the outcome of talks earlier in the day between the two Presidents and the agreements reached during the visit so far, and pledged to lead the Government in implementing them with the goal of lifting bilateral trade turnover to US$2 billion annually.

Specifically, the PM suggested the sides focus on facilitating trade activities, particularly the export of tea, seafood, rice, cashew, coffee, peppercorns, apparel and rubber from Viet Nam - as well as the shipments of plastic materials, metal, chemicals, ores, machinery, dried fruit and carpets from Iran .

He proposed elevating rice trade to the State level to stabilise the market in the long term, adding that he supports a joint project between Iran and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on the cultivation of Iranian long-grain rice in Viet Nam for export to Iran .

The PM urged stronger co-operation in information and telecommunications, asking the Iranian Government to facilitate the operation of Vietnamese telecom companies in Iran .

He also requested further support from the Iranian side for PetroVietnam in resuming oil exploration at the Danan oil block in Iran .

PM Phuc noted that Viet Nams participation in a range of free trade agreements would provide opportunities for foreign investors and businesses, including those from Iran .

Concerning the East Sea issue, the PM urged Iran to continue supporting the principle of maintaining peace, stability, security, freedom and safety of navigation and aviation; the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC) and efforts to achieve a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) within 2017.

For his part, Hassan Rouhani said Iran wants to work together with Viet Nam in realising agreements secured by the two countries inter-governmental committee, particularly in the fields of energy, oil and gas, IT and agriculture.

He agreed with his host about the need to facilitate ties between Vietnamese and Iranian businesses, adding that Iran was willing to supply Viet Nam with construction materials and join co-operation projects in building thermo-power plants, water supply systems, and roads and bridges.

He thanked Viet Nam for supporting his country in becoming a member of the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia .

Rouhani said he hoped the two countries accelerate negotiations to sign a bilateral free trade pact and suggested the establishment of a maritime route between the two countries.

He described PetroVietnams oil exploration project in the Danan oil block as a symbol of bilateral co-operation, adding that the two sides should work together to resume the project.

Rouhani also promised more scholarships for Vietnamese students.  VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Swedish Trade Minister Ann Linde in Ha Noi yesterday.  Photo VGP

HA NOI  Viet Nam attaches great importance to developing broad relations with Sweden, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told Swedish Trade Minister Ann Linde and a delegation of Swedish businesses in Ha Noi yesterday.

Phuc said the Vietnamese Government has sped up the improvement of the business and investment environment to attract investors, including those from Sweden.

He said the up-coming signing of the Viet Nam-EU free trade agreement would open up more co-operation opportunities for business communities of the two countries.

The Government leader noted that relations between Viet Nam and Sweden are developed in all fields, but the economic co-operation remains modest. Two-way trade between the two countries is still failing to meet its potential, reaching just US$1.2 billion a year, he said, urging the two sides to continue speeding up co-operation in order to significantly boost that figure.

Swedish Minister Linde affirmed that Sweden would further strengthen co-operation with Viet Nam, particularly in the fields of health, education, science and technology, economy, trade, and investment.

She said she was accompanied by the delegation with the biggest ever number of businesses seeking investment and co-operation opportunities in Viet Nam.  VNS
HCM CITY  The a Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex has asked municipal authorities to suspend receipt of an additional 2,000 tonnes of garbage per day in response to residents complaints about a foul odour coming from the plant.

The additional rubbish, which has been received since late 2014, will no longer be received beginning next week until the expansion of the wastewater plant at the complex will be completed, slated for February, according to the Viet Nam Waste Solutions (VWS), the investor of the complex.

VWS, which was in charge of designing, building and operating the waste treatment complex at a cost of over US$100 million, sent its request to the citys Party Committee, Peoples Council, Peoples Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The a Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex, which has been receiving and treating more than 5,000 tonnes of waste a day, is the source of a foul odour affecting residents in southern HCM City.  VNS Photo

In May 2014, VWS began receiving an additional 2,000 tonnes of garbage from the HCM City Urban Environment Company as requested by the city government.

With the additional amount, the complex was treating around 5,400 tonnes of garbage a day.

To accommodate the extra rubbish, VWS has invested in new equipment and hired more workers. They are also expanding the plant, which will have a treatment capacity of 2,000 cubic metres a day when completed.

According to a VWS document sent to the city, the company said it had encountered a number of challenges, including public prejudice and misunderstanding of the issue, causing hurdles for the complexs operation, affecting the reputation of the city and the company, especially during the past month.

The investor said the decision to stop taking additional rubbish was taken in response to public pressure as well as a desire to reduce the volume of storm water mixed with leachate, which rose dramatically after recent downpours.

Beginning next week, if approved by municipal authorities, the company will only receive and treat 3,400 tonnes a day, from 6pm to 6am daily, until the plant expansion is completed.

The a Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex, which has been receiving and treating more than 5,000 tonnes of waste a day, is the source of a foul odour affecting residents in southern HCM City.  VNS Photo

On Wednesday, a city official confirmed receipt of the VWS petition, but had no further information.

Nguyen Toan Thang, director of the citys Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the city had always signed contracts with relevant parties, including VWS, on waste treatment services.

The contract will be used to deal with any arising matter, Thang said. Of course, the resolution will be reviewed thoroughly to ensure that environmental protection will be our top priority.

In late 2014, HCM City closed the Phuoc Hiep Waste Treatment Complex in the outlying district of Cu Chi because of pollution.

The 2,000 tonnes of garbage treated by the complex at the time was transferred to the a Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex.

The Hiep Phuoc Waste Treatment plant then stopped operation and was converted into a reserve garbage complex.

At the end of August, people living in the southern part of the city, mostly in District 7 and Nha Be and Binh Chanh districts, had filed complaints with the citys Department of Natural Resources and Environment about a foul odour that they said originated from the a Phuoc complex.

On September 29, Vo Van Hoan, head of the citys Peoples Committee, confirmed that the odour was coming from the a Phuoc complex in Binh Chanh District.

The complex covers an area of hundreds of hectares wide and 25 metres high. The pile of rubbish is expected to reach 40 metres in height soon.

Hoan said the city would soon clear 100 hectares of land to plant trees to reduce the unpleasant odour.

In addition, to improve waste treatment citywide, local authorities said that households and businesses would begin to categorise waste at the source, but they did not specify a date.

The plants investor VWS, which provides waste treatment services in Viet Nam, is a subsidiary of California Waste Solutions (CWS) headquartered in California.

The a Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex, which has been receiving and treating more than 5,000 tonnes of waste a day, is the source of a foul odour affecting residents in southern HCM City.  Photo courtesy of techgel.com



a Phuoc Complex was built on a soft wet land plot in a Phuoc Commune in Binh Chanh District.

In the first phase of the project, a dumping ground covering an area of 30.6 hectares was set up. It was designed to have a capacity of 10,000 tonnes of waste a day.

Recently, however, more and more doubts about the complexs capabilities have been raised, especially after the citys management agencies discovered problems there.

Under the waste treatment contract signed with city authorities, VWS, after receiving solid domestic waste, would classify the waste, recycle it, make compost fertiliser and reuse plastic waste. The rest would be dumped.

HCM City inspectors, however, said earlier this year that VWS had dumped all of its waste it had received and had not treated it properly.

The huge volume of waste carried to a Phuoc over the last 10 years has piled up, creating mountains of garbage.  VNS
HA NOI  Marine ecosystems play a very important role in mitigating the impact of natural disasters but unsustainable socio-economic development has contributed to their further deterioration, experts have warned.

Viet Nam is well-known for its diversified marine ecosystems with abundant and endemic varieties and genes of creatures. Its marine ecosystems includes 155,000 hectares of mangroves, 1,300 square kilometres of coral reefs, 500 sq.km of lagoons, 16,000ha of seaweed and algae ecosystems, intertidal areas and estuaries.

The Institute of Oceanography under the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology said the mangrove forest system plays an important role in protecting seashore, preventing winds and storms, reducing landslide and erosion. It also provides valuable wood products and is home to many kinds of valuable and rare bird species and animals.

However, the marine ecosystems have been diminishing remarkably and deteriorated over the past decades.

In the past five decades, Viet Nam lost 67 per cent of total area of mangrove forest in comparison with 1943. During 1943-1990, the rate of forest lost was 3.266ha per year and the figure increased to 5.613ha per year by 2012.

The seagrass beds and coral reefs have also been diminishing over the last few decades.

According to a survey released by the Natural Resources and Maritime Environment Institute in 2014, only 1 per cent of the 1,300 sq. km of coral reefs along the coastline is in good condition. The coral coverage fell sharply by 30 per cent in 1993-2004.

The survey also found that the aquatic creature volume caught on every hectare of lagoon fell by 50 per cent in comparison with the last decade. The seaweed cover in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa has shrunk by 80ha per annum.

Associate professor Nguyen Chu Hoi from the Ha Noi National University said about 15-20 per cent of area of coral reefs were lost in the past 15 years, mostly areas inhabited by people such as Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh Province and central coastal provinces.

It would lead to the reduction of the biodiversity and quality of sea environment, he said.

The recent seawater pollution off the four central coastal provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, which was caused by toxic wastewater released by a Taiwanese-owned steel company, had certain impact on the marine ecosystems, he said, adding that it took time for recovery.

The institute said increasing human population, which leads to a higher demand for ecosystem services, has put pressure on the maritime ecosystems.

Human production activities, including natural resource overexploitation, unsustainable aquaculture and industrial production, and climate change have also been damaging maritime ecosystems.

Human production activities, including natural resource overexploitation, unsustainable aquaculture and industrial production, and climate change have also been damaging maritime ecosystems.

Viet Nam lies to the west of the East Sea and touches the sea in three directions, with a long coastline of over 3,200km and territorial sea of more than 1 million square kilometres, which is triple the area of its mainland.

The Prime Minister in 2010 approved the maritime protection area (MPA) development program, under which Viet Nam would have 16 MPAs with the total area of 169,617 ha by 2020 and at least 0.24 per cent of territorial waters belonging to MPAs, while 30 per cent of every MPA area would be put under strict control.

The Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment, which was passed by the National Assembly last year, takes effective from July this year. It is expected to provide a new method of managing marine and island resources in order to promote effective and sustainable exploitation and use of these resources and protect the marine environment. - VNS
People who have been affected by the mineral exploitation activities of the Trai Cau iron mine have received assistance.  Photo dantocmiennui.vn

THAI NGUYEN  People who have been affected by the mineral exploitation activities of the Trai Cau iron mine have received assistance, according to the northern Thai Nguyen Provinces Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation (TISCO) has advanced VN4 billion (US$180,000) to compensate and support the relocation of 11 affected households who live in Trai Cau Town.

The same amount of money has been allocated by the ong Hy District Peoples Committee to support those who had to relocate to stabilise their lives.

Nguyen Ba Chinh, deputy director of the department, said the department has invited experts from the Viet Nam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources to identify the reason for house subsidence and the clean water shortages of households at Trai Cau Town and Cay Thi Commune.

Thai Nguyen Provinces authorities would clarify the compensation responsibilities of relevant agencies for those affected after they received the results of the investigation.

Many households living near the Trai Cau iron mine belonging to TISCO have complained to local authorities about their houses subsiding and the deficiency of clean water since the beginning of this year.

Five years ago, mining exploitation at the Trai Cau iron mine was blamed for causing house subsidence and water shortages for local households and the corporation had to pay dozens of billions of ong in compensation to affected households.  VNS
A group blog to promote discussion, debate and insight into the history, particularly religious, of America's founding. Any observations, questions, or comments relating to the blog's theme are welcomed.
Albanese pressed over lack of appearances with Andrews ahead of election campaign Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has deflected questions about why he has not appeared alongside Premier Daniel Andrews ahead of the official Victorian election campaign while in Melbourne.

Liberals call for school mobile phone ban after shock NAPLAN results The Coalition has repeated calls for a "back to basics" focus on education and a nation-wide ban of mobile phones in schools following the shock results from NAPLAN.

Whos suggesting Im not?: Andrews grilled over Peoples Forum appearance Daniel Andrews has faced questions over whether he will appear at the Sky News/Herald Sun People's Forum ahead of the Victoria state election after Matthew Guy agreed to take part in the debate.

Sydney woman identified as Australian killed in Halloween stampede A 23-year-old production assistant from Sydney has been revealed as the Australian woman who died after being crushed at a Halloween party in South Korea.
RAYMOND  Gwen Timmermans dream was always to be a mom.

I loved kids, she said. I said to myself, if Im not in a committed relationship by the time Im X years old, Im going to take matters into my own hands.

I wanted to show someone what life is all about, that I can spoil them, love them. I always had that motherly instinct.

So she became a foster parent. Now, more than eight years later, she is the mom of three adopted children  two sons, ages 12 and 9, and a daughter, 4. She also is licensed to foster up to two children at a time.

Timmerman herself was adopted as an infant.

I (have) the most amazing parents, she said. They probably should have had more kids they were so good. (Lutheran) Social Services told them they had a baby girl (available).

My dad sold his Harley-Davidson to pay the fees to get me. ... So I am worth at least a Harley, Timmerman joked.

While in high school, a close friend of hers was in foster care and wasnt happy in her placement. Timmerman asked her parents if they could become her friends foster parents. They earned their foster license and the friend became a sister.

And shes still my sister, Timmerman said. Shes just as much my moms daughter as I am. Shes married now and has a son, who is my pride and joy. Hes a grown man with his own kids.

Timmermans uncle has adopted two children and a cousin has adopted two girls from China.

Family is who you say it is. There is something to say about biology. Its wonderful but I dont think its everything.

Timmerman didnt jump into adoption. She fostered one boy for a couple of years before adopting, the other boy just about nine months and her daughter about a year-and-a-half. She has fostered children ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years.

She is an Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parent Association peer liaison, helping other foster and adoptive families through challenging and rewarding experiences.

(IFAPA) offers a lot of support and training and resources for foster and adoptive parents, Timmerman said. When I talk to these parents, I know what they are going through. Ive been through it. They can hopefully trust me a little better because I walk the walk.

According to Iowa KidsNet, the state especially needs foster families who are willing to care for teens, sibling groups of three or more, LGBT youth and children with special needs or behaviors. It also has a need for more African-American, Latino and Native American foster families.

In 2015, the Northern Service Area, which includes Waterloo and Cedar Falls, had more than 460 children referred to foster care, and there were only 370 licensed foster families in the region. Only 30 percent of these families were willing to take teenagers and only 7 percent identified as nonwhite.

Black Hawk County last year had 64 foster families and 95 children referred to foster care. There were twice as many teenagers referred as there were willing families, and almost five times as many African-American children referred as there were accepting foster families.

Timmerman said she is very content with her life now but if one or two special children came along, I would be open to more adoption.

It is hard and a lot of work. I wouldnt be able to do this without my supports. I have to give credit to my mom, Donna. She is more than just a mother. Shes my registered daycare. She goes above and beyond for me. She went through the foster training. She provides respite. When I need a break or I need to go someplace overnight, the kids stay with her.

The teachers in the schools are invaluable to me. My sibling. My nephew is wonderful, hell come over and mow my lawn out of the blue.

It truly does take a village to bring up a proper child.
Feel-good marketing

One branch of the James Harper funeral homes, in Bromley, England, announced its latest promotion via a sign in a front window: Wow! Free Childs Battery Powered Vehicle With Every Pre-Paid Funeral Arranged This Month. A Harper spokesperson said the purpose was to encourage residents to think ahead about funerals.

Ultra productive Diego the giant tortoise, believed to be more than 100 years old, now lives in semi-retirement on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos, but from 1976 to 2010, Diego brought an almost-extinct species back to life by fathering about 800 babies in the captive breeding program on Espanola, another of the Galapagos Islands. Biologists did not realize Diegos prowess until 2010 when DNA tests identified him as the father of 40 percent of all tortoises on the island. Even on Santa Cruz Island, Diego keeps busy with six females. Another Galapagos tortoise species did die out in 2012 when the last male, the centenarian Lonesome George, maintained his celibacy until death.

Compelling explanation

The New York City Council, grilling police officials in September about their practice of freely seizing money from detainees under suspicion, asked for a thorough accounting of that money (suspecting innocent victims rarely get it back unless aided by high-powered lawyers). Though (in crime-fighting hyperbole) NYPD routinely boasts of its half-million annual seizures, an NYPD official told the council it would be impossible to account for everything  that keeping track of it all would cause its computers to crash.

Leading by example

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is bureaucratically at the epicenter of the states drought crisis, but in September KCBS-TV aired video of the department actually using sprinklers to water the artificial lawn at a substation in South Los Angeles. A DWP spokesperson said such watering is routine at substations to clean the plastic and wash off any dog urine, for example.

French fry caper

A woman was arrested Sept. 7 at the Italian Pizza Kitchen restaurant in Washington, D.C. She was chatting up a police officer she did not know, then playfully took a french fry from his plate. He asked her to stop, but she took another, and when the exasperated officer issued an ultimatum, she took yet another. The arrest report for second-degree theft, cited by WUSA-TV, included property stolen as three French fried potato(es).
NEW HAMPTON -- A New Hampton arrested in Minnesota man faces a felony theft charge and extradition to Iowa.

Chickasaw County Sheriff's Office issued a warrants in August for Dustin DeVries for first-degree theft and probation violation.

DeVries was arrested Thursday by the Mower County Sheriff's office in Minnesota on separate charges. He will be extradited to Iowa after the Minnesota warrant is resolved, according to Deputy Reed Palo, of the Chickasaw County Sheriff's office.

First-degree theft is a Class C felony that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
CEDAR FALLS -- University of Northern Iowa Student Government will host a forum for state House and Senate candidates seeking to represent Cedar Falls and other portions of the Cedar Valley.

The UNI student forum will include the candidates for Iowa House Districts 59 and 60 and Iowa Senate District 30.

The forum will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Maucker Union Ballroom on the UNI campus in Cedar Falls. The doors will open at 6 p.m. for students and 6:30 p.m. for the general public.

Northern Iowa Student Government will also be at the entrance of the ballroom to help register voters.

The candidates for District 59 are Democratic incumbent Bob Kressig, Independent Nick Taiber and Republican Drew Speer. The candidates for District 60 are Republican incumbent Walt Rogers and Democrat Gary Kroeger. The candidates for Senate District 30 are Democratic incumbent Jeff Danielson and Republican Bonnie Sadler.
WATERLOO  Longtime Waterloo attorney Bob Braun and his wife, Kathy, were about to leave their Florida home for a cruise up the Danube River in Europe for their 55th wedding anniversary.

Instead, they had to leave for Hurricane Matthew.

They headed west to stay with friends in Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast of the Florida peninsula.

Were just fine here, Kathy Braun said from Fort Myers, but the bridges arent opened. Our condo is on a barrier island on the ocean. Were near Vero Beach and Fort Pierce. We had a mandatory evacuation.

They originally thought Orlando would be safe, but the Orlando airport and Walt Disney World also shut down.

Theyll stay at Fort Myers until powers restored and bridges are open.

And then well see if we have a condo, Kathy said. When Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne hit within weeks of each other in 2004, it took at least two years for the area to recover.

However, significant building improvements have been made since then, Bob Braun said.

The important thing is were safe, our families are safe, Kathy Braun said.

Jeff Kurtz, former Main Street Waterloo director, now heads a similar program in Fernandina Beach, Fla., on Amelia Island northeast of Jacksonville. He heeded an evacuation notice. He and his girlfriend found lodging near Mobile, Ala. Its normally a six-hour drive, but it took about 7 1/2 due to hurricane evacuation traffic.

While some people obeyed the evacuation notice, others are staying with their homes or business properties, Kurtz said.

We have the Atlantic Ocean on one side and St. Marys River on the other. Theres a very high risk from a storm surge, flooding, Kurtz said. Its a waiting game to see when its safe to return and assess damage. Hes monitoring the situation via social media.

Retired longtime Waterloo consulting engineer Fedon Petrides and his wife, Pat, had planned to drive to their residence in Jupiter, Fla., south of the Brauns condo, but delayed their trip because of Matthew.

We were to get 140 mph winds, Petrides said in an email. As an engineer I knew we probably wouldnt have much of a house left if this happened. I got up at 3 a.m. to check the status and learned there was no landfall and the winds were only about 70 mph. We still have a house to return to but are very concerned about the storm surge as we live on a bay of the intracoastal. This is a concern every year, but we love having the experience of living in Florida during the winter months.

We are thankful and very concerned and sorry for the poor people of Haiti, Petrides added.

Longtime Waterloo-Cedar Falls auto dealer Dick Witham, who also lives in Jupiter, rode out the storm with no significant damage in the area, where he owns properties with Waterloo developer Rick Young.

I had a big tree down at an office building, Witham said, but no visible significant structural damage.

Witham indicated preparing for the worst is the key.

When you strap on for 100-mph winds, youre happy when theyre only 70, he quipped.
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 []
Area firefighters, law enforcement officers and other emergency responders have proven their mettle time and again handling any number of crisis situations. They do their jobs so well, we often take for granted their heroic actions and endless hours of past and ongoing training.

All of that comes in the name of public safety. So, when they are recognized for something extra special, we want everyone to take notice.

This week, four Cedar Falls firefighters were recognized with the Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Des Moines.

Cedar Falls Fire Capt. Derek Brown and firefighters Shane Farmer, Todd Taylor and Troy Purdy were honored for their actions in a February mobile home fire at 2508 S. Union Road, where Ashley Calfee and her two children, Avery Hundley, then 5, and Mason Hundley, then 3, were rescued from the burning home.

Those firefighters and fire Capt. Josh Lux, who assisted at the scene and helped nominate the firefighters for the award, also received medals from the city at an April City Council meeting.

At that meeting, an explanation written by then-fire chief John Schilling was read.

Without the protection of a hose line, Captains Brown and Lux, along with Firefighters Farmer, Taylor and Purdy, were able to enter the structure with high heat and near zero visibility, find and rescue the mother and her two young children, Schilling wrote. Their heroic actions will always be remembered.

Certainly, those actions will be forever remembered by Calfee, whose children were in grave danger during the fire. She was at the April award ceremony. And all of us need to remember these are the situations these professionals are trained for in order to keep us safe.

Were also grateful for state officials who saw fit to implement such an award to recognize these public servants.

The award is named for five Waterloo brothers who died together during World War II. We hope this award, named for these area heroes, brings some extra special significance to these firefighters.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has information about the award, including the following statement:

The Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor shall be awarded to peace officers and firefighters who, while serving in an official capacity, distinguished themselves by the performance of a heroic act in excess of normal demands of police or fire service where the person was fully aware of the threat to his/her personal safety.

The criteria for eligibility include:

The situation was extremely hazardous.

A strong possibility existed at the time the officer/firefighter acted that he/she could have suffered serious injury or death.

The act was not foolhardy.

The officer/firefighter did not use poor judgment, thus creating the necessity for his/her acts.

We must never take for granted the daily risk our public safety personnel can face at any time. As always, we are grateful for their presence and their service.
Author to speak at public library

CLARKSVILLE  Author Peladija Woodson-Diers will be at the Clarksville Public Library, 103 W. Greene St., at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to present a program on her book, Triumph Over Destiny.

The Oelwein author will share the true story of her familys fight for survival in Nazi-run Austria during World War II. Her parents endured brutal challenges and hardships before they immigrated to Oelwein in 1951.

Books will be available for purchase. Refreshments also will be served following the program.

Audubon Society to meet Tuesday

CEDAR FALLS  The Prairie Rapids Audubon Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church.

Bill Witt, a premier nature photographer, and Brian Fankhauser of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation will present a program on Ensuring the Riches of Heritage Valley.

Encompassing 3 miles of the Upper Iowa River in Allamakee County, Heritage Valley includes 1,237 acres of hill prairies, savannas, old-growth woodlands, and riparian bottom lands. Witt began photographing Heritage Valley after it was first acquired nearly a decade ago.
The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that three men were arrested on charges of illegally exporting military technology to Russia.



The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that three men were arrested on charges of illegally exporting military technology to Russia.

Those arrested include Alexey Barysheff of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a naturalized citizen of the United States, and two Russian nationals, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Alexey Krutilin in Denver, Colo. Federal agents also carried out search warrants at two Brooklyn locations that were allegedly used by Barysheff as front companies  BKLN Spectra and UIP Techno Corp.

The complaints allege that Barysheff, Karpenko Krutilin, and others were involved in a conspiracy to obtain microelectronics from various U.S. manufacturers and suppliers and export those products to Russia, while evading the U.S. government licensing system set up to control such exports.

To induce U.S.-based manufacturers and suppliers to sell them high-tech, export-controlled microelectronics and to evade applicable controls, the defendants and their co-conspirators purported to be employees and representatives of Spectra and UIP Techno and provided false end-user information in connection with the purchase of the items, concealed the fact that they were exporters and falsely classified the goods they exported on records submitted to the Department of Commerce, the Justice Department said. To conceal the true destination of the controlled microelectronics from the U.S. suppliers, the defendants and their co-conspirators shipped the items first to Finland and subsequently to Russia.

If convicted of the charges, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
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.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 07, 2016 | FRANKFORT, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 07, 2016 | 11:33 AM | FRANKFORT, KY

Linemen from Kentuckys Electric Cooperatives are heading south to help with damage inflicted by Hurricane Matthew.



The Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives says nine Kentucky electric co-ops are sending workers to provide manpower and assistance for an area of the country that is expected to be hit by the hurricane today, after requests were made ahead of the storm by co-ops in Florida and South Carolina.



More than 80 co-op linemen reportedly left Friday morning, traveling toward South Carolina and the area between Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida as part of a staging effort by co-ops there.



KAEC meets several times a year with other states across the south  including Florida and South Carolina  to get together the contingency plans and action plans that we are exercising now, said Robert Thornton, a member of KAECs Safety and Loss Prevention Team. Georgia has not pre-staged crews at this time, but if something happens on that coast, other Kentucky crews could potentially be dispatched as well.



The Kentucky crews are working with co-ops further inland than some of the areas already experiencing severe storms on the coast. Clay Electric Co-op in Florida and Berkley Electric Co-op in South Carolina are likely to receive the bulk of Kentucky workers.



As of Friday morning, more than 500,000 homes and businesses have been reported without power in Florida. Governor Rick Scott of Florida has urged evacuations and President Barack Obama declared an emergency for the state. Kentucky co-ops heading to the area include employees from South Kentucky RECC, Cumberland Valley RECC, Jackson Energy, Nolin RECC, Owen Electric, Blue Grass Energy, Salt River Electric, Shelby Energy, and Pennyrile RECC.



Representatives from Jackson Purchase Energy and Paducah Power said Friday morning that they have not yet had requests for any of their linemen to help. Dennis Cannon, CEO of JPEC said the KAEC typically begins asking for help from cooperatives that are geographically closer to the area of need.
We have news:

Timo Miller was "deported" from Nicaragua (which I'm sure he, in a sense, didn't mind, having been arrested there and kept in a foul prison for several weeks) and "arrested" when he arrived on U.S. soil. In other words, an extradition by another name. The Department of Justice states that he "is due to appear in the Western District of New York at a later date." At least in the U.S. he can't be held indefinitely without trial.

It's a horribly depressing thought that we have come to such a pass in the United States that this is good news. It's good news that a kindly, gentle, harmless Mennonite missionary has been arrested and is going to be tried and (in all probability) sent to federal prison merely for helping a woman who fled to Nicaragua to save her child from being given over to her former lesbian lover. All of his "crimes" were committed on Nicaraguan soil (you know, giving Lisa and Isabella a place to stay and introducing them to the Mennonite community), but apparently the U.S. Congress asserts jurisdiction over such acts committed abroad by U.S. citizens in so-called "international kidnapping" cases. It is a grave injustice that this is a crime at all. Yet I admit to being relieved (as I'm sure his family is) that he is not being held indefinitely without trial in Nicaragua, as seemed a real possibility at one time.

This reminds me of something once said over lunch to me and some others by someone who had lived as a child under Communism in Poland. He said something like this (paraphrased): "We had due process in Poland at that time. There were many crimes that shouldn't have been crimes, but they still had to get evidence to convict you of them."

That's pretty much where we're getting to in the U.S. now.
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15 years my friends! Fifteen years and counting.and they did nothing to us! We lied and started a war

It is not over and looks to be going to continue for a long time at this rate. Just like Iraq is still going on, Libya is still going on and everyday people, innocent people die in these countries due to our hand in their affairs

I am watching western media praise the war in Afghanistan. Talking heads are dancing the good dance for the war complex.Bobble heads are bouncing in agreement

Fifteen Years!

I want it to end! Do you?

WtR
Russia withdraws from US nuclear cooperation

07 October 2016

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The Russian government has "suspended" a 2013 agreement with the USA on nuclear energy research and development and "terminated" another, signed in 2010, on cooperation in the conversion of Russian research reactors to low-enriched uranium fuel. The decisions were issued in separate documents signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and published on the government's website on 5 October.

The decisions follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's order earlier this week to suspend a 2000 agreement with the USA on the disposal of plutonium from their respective nuclear weapons programs.

The 2013 agreement defines areas of scientific and technical cooperation in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including nuclear security, nuclear power station design, innovative kinds of reactor fuel, the use of nuclear and radiation technologies in medicine and industry, and handling radioactive waste, according to the Russian government statement. It also envisions implementation of joint projects with US specialists that would "further mutually beneficial cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere and help save time and resources in conducting fundamental and applied research in this sphere," it added.

The statement continued: "The actions taken by the United States related to the introduction of sanctions against Russia have directly affected the areas of cooperation under the Agreement. In April 2014, the Rosatom State Corporation received a letter from the US Department of Energy Bureau at the US Embassy in Moscow citing directives from Washington and announcing the suspension of nuclear energy cooperation in connection with the events in Ukraine.

"This step by the US is a substantial violation of the terms of the Agreement that is designed to expand cooperation in nuclear energy research and development and provide a stable, reliable and predictable foundation for this cooperation."

This "declaration of US policy" was followed by the cancellation of bilateral meetings and events related to nuclear energy, "which can qualify", the Russian government said, "as violation of the agreement".

A Russian law passed in June 1994 on international treaties permits suspension of the agreement, it added.

But the international legal framework of cooperation with the USA "will be preserved", it said. "Russia will preserve the possibility of resuming cooperation under the Agreement when that is justified by the general context of relations with the United States."

The agreement signed in December 2010 between Rosatom and the US Department of Energy "provided for the possibility of technical research into the conversion of six Russian research reactors", the government noted.

"As of February 2016 the Agreement had essentially been met, with work on research reactor conversion capabilities having been completed. The signing of new research contracts is not planned and there have been no meetings of the Russian-American working group set up to coordinate activities under the Agreement since 2014."

The USA's role in the introduction of sanctions against Russia, "directly affected" areas of cooperation envisaged in the agreement, according to the statement. "In particular, the United States imposed restrictions on cooperation with Russia in advanced technologies," it added.

In April 2014 Rosatom "received a letter from the Office of the US Department of Energy at the US Embassy in Moscow, in which, referring to instructions from Washington, reported the suspension of nuclear energy cooperation in connection with the events in Ukraine," it said.

"In these circumstances, further cooperation with the American side, meaning tolerance of American citizens at Russian nuclear facilities, direct cooperation between Russian and American institutions, and the exchange of information and documentation between them, is impractical," it said.

The agreement may be terminated by either party within 90 days after the other party provides written notice, it said.

According to a 5 October statement by Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding Russia's decision to terminate the 2010 "implementing agreement" between Rosatom and the DOE, the 2014 suspension by the USA of nuclear cooperation and "other hostile steps and statements", mean that Russia "can no longer trust Washington in a sphere as sensitive as the modernization and safety of Russian nuclear power plants".

It added: "If Russia makes the decision to convert particular research reactors to low-enriched nuclear fuel, we will conduct this work independently."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.
End walls in place for Chernobyl cover

07 October 2016

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Construction has been completed of the dividing walls between units 3 and 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, against which the New Safe Confinement (NSC) over unit 4 will be placed. Completion of the new cover is scheduled for November 2017.

Construction of the NSC end wall (Image: ChNPP)

Some 9600 cubic meters of concrete and 1500 tonnes of reinforcing steel rebar were used in the construction of the end walls, deputy project and program manager Viktor Popovskyi said in a 5 October statement.

The scope of work included the reinforcement and sealing of existing structures of units 3 and 4  upon which the arch end walls will be abutted  as well as the design and construction of new dividing walls within existing structures. Preparation work of the existing surfaces has been carried out for installation and attachment of sealing anchors.

The Chernobyl plant said before construction of the dividing walls could begin, "tens of tonnes of technological equipment and metal structures were dismantled, as well as hundreds of cubic meters of concrete". It noted that the project to build the walls was complicated by the actual conditions at the site varying from the initial design solutions, as well as by the "severe radiation situation and high dose rates" for workers. However, construction of the end walls has been completed ahead of schedule.

An artist's impression of how the new shelter will look

The work has been carried out by Ukrainian companies JSC Kievmetrostroy, PJSC Ukrenergomontazh, Ukrainian State Building Corporation "Ukrbud" and OOO SK Ukrstroymontazh under a $40 million contract awarded in December 2014.

Dismantling of the heavy lift crane used in the construction of the walls and the runways on which it moves will be completed by 28 October, the plant said. The site will then be handed over in full to the Novarka consortium - led by the French construction companies Bouygues and Vinci - building the NSC.

Installation of the arch started in February 2012. The NSC will eventually rise to a height of 110 metres, will be 165 metres long, have a span of 260 metres and a lifetime of a minimum of 100 years. The arch-shaped structure will weigh more than 30,000 tonnes. It has been built in two halves, which were joined together in July 2015.

When completed, the NSC will prevent the release of contaminated material from the present shelter and at the same time protect the structure from external impacts such as extreme weather.

Construction of the NSC is being financed via the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as mandated by the G7 and on behalf of the contributors to the fund.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
reSITE has released new exclusive videos within the scope of reSITE Small Talks Series with new speakers! Martin Rein-Cano, Director of Topotek 1, Berlin, Germany and Joana Dabaj & Riccardo Conti, Co-founders of Catalytic Action, London, are the new guests of reSITE Exclusive Interview Series this week. reSITE released 'Small Talks' series earlier last month and started with Michael Kimmelman and Martin Barry interviews. This exclusive small talk series feature global thought leaders and architects on architecture, culture and cities.

reSITE hosted a prestigious event in June with the theme of 'Cities in Migration' and hosted dozens of experts and keynote speakers through its diverse conference program as well as a variety of side events for the general public  salon discussions, workshops, a bike ride, and a party. All took place alongside a 2-day international conference. World Architecture Community was Media Partner for the event and tested the pulse of the reSITE throughout the event as LIVE, which was featured on World Architecture Community's Urban Development page.

reSITE, in collaboration with Canal 180, introduces very short interviews packed with inspiration and good vibe and reSITE shares global experts network knowledge, ideas and stories with all city lovers and city makers.

Video by Canal 180

Martin Rein-Cano was born in Buenos Aires in 1967 and currently lives in Germany. He studied Art History at Frankfurt University and Landscape Architecture at the Technical Universities of Hannover and Karlsruhe. He trained in the office of Peter Walker and Martha Schwartz in San Francisco. In 1996 he founded TOPOTEK 1, which partakes in a wide variety of international projects and has been awarded the first prize in various competitions. Several professional books and articles have been published exclusively on his work, which has been honored with many awards.

Most recently, Rein-Cano has won the 2016 Aga Khan Award For Architecture with Superkilen project in collaboration with BIG and Superflex. Rein-Cano presented Superkilen project in reSITE in details and the fascinating design process behind the Superkilen park.

Additionally, Rein-Cano was given the 1st Prize in the German Landscape Architecture Award in 2015 for the project on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Abbey Lorsch. Martin Rein-Cano has been appointed as a guest professor in different academic institutions in Europe and North America including the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. Currently he is teaching at the Dessau Institute for Architecture. He frequently lectures at internationally renowned universities and cultural institutions and regularly serves on competition juries.

Video by Canal 180

Joana Dabaj is the co-founder and principal coordinator at Catalytic Action, a not-for-profit design studio based in London. She holds a BSc degree in Architecture from the American University of Beirut and a MSc degree in Building and Urban Design in Development from the University College of London (UCL). She has developed her experience around architecture, sustainable development, cultural heritage, migration and human rights in several countries including Lebanon, United Kingdom, Syria, Iraq, Greece, Cambodia, Brazil, Colombia and Thailand. Her recent projects involves working closely with communities following a bottom up design approach tackling specifically the refugee crisis and migration in the Middle East and Europe.



Riccardo is an architect and urban designer, director and co-founder of the not-for-profit design studio Catalytic Action (www.catalyticaction.org). His recent work focuses on tackling the refugee crisis in the Middle East and in Europe through spatial interventions. He has experience in research, design and planning in various countries such as Kenya, Cambodia, Italy, Germany, Poland and the UK. He holds an MSc from University College London (UCL) in Building and Urban Design in Development. In 2012 he co-founded the project Mathare River in Nairobi where he also worked as a researcher and field project manager for an international NGO. His design approach has always investigated various people-centered design approaches.

> via reSITE
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We produce contents across various categories including Politics, People, Love and Romance, Nature, Entertainment, Technology and pretty much everything else that Africans may find relevant.

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Top 3 Female CNN News Anchors You Didnt Know Were Africans CNN is one of the leading news agencies in the world. The satellite and cable news network was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and has been one of the best sources of news for a number of years. It also boasts of the best journalists and presenters all around in media broadcasting. The company is a ...

Channels That Aided Katie Pavlichs Growth as a Journalist and All About Her Marriage To Friedson If you have ever come across any Fast and Furious featuring Barack Obama, it is the handiwork of Katie Pavlich. The book which claims to have exposed Obamas bloodiest scandal and the shameless cover-up thereof, has been earning Pavlich much praise and fame ever since it was published in 2012. Nonetheless, Pavlich is more famed ...

Is Oprah Winfrey Married? Husband, Children, Biography, House, Facts Oprah Winfrey is a billionaire philanthropist, talk show icon, producer, actress, and writer. The media icon famously dubbed The Queen Of All Media owns and hosts the highest-rated television program in the media circle. Read more about the powerful television star below. Oprah Winfrey Biography Oprah was born as Orpah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954, to a ...

Who Is Arsenio Hall, What Happened To His Talk Show and Why Do Fans Think He Is Gay? He is one of the funniest beings to have graced the comedy constituent of the American entertainment industry. Arsenio Hall has a reputation for the rib-cracking disposition always portrayed in his comedy roles. He is not just a comedian; he is also an actor and a former talk show host for his popular show, The ...

What Is Woah Vicky Famous For and Who Are Her Family Members? Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Woah Vicky is one of those stars that have utilized the internet as a powerful tool to propel themselves to instant fame. The social media space, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc., offers lots of people the right opportunities and potentials to become superstars overnight. Not everyone achieves ...

Where Is Michael Strahan Since His Retirement From The NFL and Who Is His Partner? Michael Strahan is a retired American football player turned media personality. He played the defensive lineman position and holds the record for most sacks in a single NFL season. He also only played for the New York Giants throughout the entire 15-year professional career that saw him win a Super Bowl ring. In February 2014, ...

How Wendy Williams Went From Being a College DJ to Having Her Own Talk Show and More About Her Divorce Wendy Williams is a former radio personality, now talk show host, who is known for her outspokenness and brash no-nonsense attitude. She gained fame and notoriety for her on-air clashes with celebrities before moving on to host her own talk show. Since 2008, Williams has hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. ...

Who is Sunny Hostin? Her Husband, Family & Net Worth Sunny Hostin is no ordinary Latina  American lawyer but also a successful columnist, multi-platform journalist, and social commentator. A happily married woman and mother of two, Hostin is the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News and co-host of ABCs popular morning talk show, The View. She is a legal expert popularly known as a former ...

Who Is Robert Costa and Is He Married, Who Is His Wife? Robert Costa is a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC who is regarded as being part of Americas next generation of journalists. The University of Notre Dame graduate, who is of Italian/Portuguese descent, has been lauded for his fresh political perspectives in an industry full of old heads. In addition to his work listed above, Costa ...

Team Valor Pokemon Go  7 Key Facts You Need To Know Team Valor Pokemon Go  The craze of the new game Pokemon Go is one that took the gaming world by storm sending teenagers and adults alike into a frenzy and one of its teams Team Valor, has proven to be instrumental in making it so. Before the game was created, Pokemon was a cartoon ...

Sheryl Underwood  Husband, Family & Net Worth She is known for her trademark smile which can be described as the brightest and broadest smile ever seen on planet earth. She is none other than Sheryl Underwood the comedian, actress, and TV host whose funny wits has left America in great awe. Although Sheryl has risen to become an important personality in the industry, ...

Team Mystic Pokemon Go: 7 Facts You Need To Know And Signs You Are One Team Mystic of the break out game Pokemon Go is a team that is full of sass and chivalry. With an enchanting monicker, Team Mystic stands out from the rest of its counterparts and deserves to take the crown as champion in the Pokemon gaming-verse. To be a member of this exceptional team of Pokemon battle ...

Exploring Guy Beahms Dr Disrespect Persona, Wife and Why He was Banned Permanently From Twitch Guy Beahm who is popularly known by his online alias  Dr DisRespect, is an award-winning Twitch.tv streamer. He has leveraged on the Twitch platform to become an internet personality that is quite widely known. His online success is just more proof that anyone who is good at what they do can attain celebrity status ...

Critical Facts About Lee Ann McAdoo  The Infowars Anchor Lee Ann Mcadoo is a conservative journalist and television host whose interests in conspiracies and astrology has established her as a famous American reporter. Often referred to as Wonder Woman, McAdoo is a reporter who works for InfoWars.com, a controversial right-wing website run by radio show host, Alex Jones. Who Is Lee Ann McAdoo? Lee Ann McAdoo was born on 7 ...

Millie Weaver  Age, Husband & Infowars Career Millie Weaver is an American model, journalist, political activist, and social commentator. The young and beautiful journalist rose to fame working as a reporter for a controversial right-wing website InfoWars.com. Also known as Millennial Millie, Weaver is a social media influencer with over 100,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 35,000 followers on Twitter. Who Is Millie Weaver and What Is ...

Is Jessica Tarlov Married? What Are Her Height & Weight? Jessica Tarlov is an American political consultant, strategist, and analyst whose influential and regular TV presence has made a popular figure. A good example of beauty with brains, Tarlov has appeared on various TV networks, mostly the FOX News Network where she is known for her liberal views on political analysis and insights. She is also the senior director ...

Who Is Kelly Rebecca Nichols  Alex Jones Ex-Wife? Kelly Rebecca Nichols is the ex-wife of controversial American radio show host, Alex Jones. She got nationwide attention following her divorce and subsequent custody battle with her estranged husband. Nichols, who worked with PETAs public relations department, was herself no stranger to controversies as she was involved in several publicity stunts of the non-profit animal rights ...

Who Is Bree Morgan  Cole Sprouse Ex-Girlfriend And What Is She Up To Now? Although Bree Morgan became famous through the Instagram, she also sapped some dose of popularity from Disneys sweetheart, Cole Sprouse of the Sprouse brothers. She is not only an Instagram star but also a YouTube vlogger whose popularity has long exceeded the ordinary level. Bree is conspicuously prominent on the internet and has her digital savviness ...

Does Vanna White Have Husband or Children, What Is Her Net Worth / Salary? For over three decades, Vanna White has been a household name, famous as the co-host and letter turner of the iconic NBC game show Wheel of Fortune. The talented and beautiful television personality is also an actress with several TV series and films to her credit. Since making her Wheel of Fortune debut in 1982, she has become one ...

Liz Wheeler  Biography, Husband & Net Worth Liz Wheeler is the kind of girl who sets the room on fire whenever she comes around. In this situation, however, she sets our screens on fire each time she appears as the host of One America News Tipping Point. She is, therefore, a presenter, publisher, consultant and a member of the Board of Zoning ...

Betty White  Net Worth, Children & Husband The entertainment industry will remain indebted to personalities like Betty White who brought something extra to the table and kept the world entertained for donkey years. The comedienne, actress, and writer graced the big screens in the early 50s as a show host and has been a delight since then. She is the queen of ...

Is Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Dead or Alive, What Are His Net Worth & Education? Everyone will always remember Bill Nye as the Science Guy. Besides his TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, he is well-known for his Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World which started airing in 2017 as well as his appearances in many famous media projects as a science educator. The star studied mechanical engineering ...

Is Cesar Millan Dead, Who Is The Wife & What Is His Net Worth? Cesar Millan is the famous dog whisperer who often stirs up mixed emotions. The Mexican-American is precisely speaking, a dog behaviorist; he has been in the game for over 25 years. His Emmy-nominated television series, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan further pushed his method and tactics into the limelight. The series was produced from 2004 ...

Is Thomas Sanders Gay and Does He Have A Boyfriend? By the time Vine was shut down in January 2017, Thomas Sanders was already popular within and beyond the internet community for his heavy involvements on the online video hosting platform. After the tragic shutdown of Vine impacted on the growing career of the multi-talented personality, he immediately switched over to YouTube where he continued to upload ...

Is Shepard Smith Gay, Who Is The Boyfriend & What Is His Net Worth? There are only a few media personalities who are as bold and confident as Shepard Smith. Apart from his impressive stint at Fox News Channel which includes but not limited to his classic news delivery, upfront stance on virtually every issue and much more; he loves his job as much as he loves his personality. Smith ...

Is Milo Yiannopoulos Gay? His Husband and Net Worth Milo Yiannopoulos is a popular writer, journalist, polemicist, public speaker, and political commentator who is also known as the founder of The Kernel, an online blog. He has been said to be among the list of 100 weird and influential people in the United Kingdom. He appeared on this list as a result of personal beliefs and ...

Does Ryan Seacrest Have A Wife Or Girlfriend, What Is His Net Worth? From radio to television, Ryan Seacrest is a household name and a force to be reckoned with in showbiz. The radio personality, television host, and producer is best recognized as the host of the popular TV talent search contest American Idol. Heres how the media personality who always knew what his lifes ambition was and diligently pursued ...

Is Anderson Cooper Gay, Who is The Boyfriend or Husband? For many, the thought of becoming a millionaire by writing and talking about other people appears unachievable but this is the reality of the prominent American journalist Anderson Cooper who gathered millions of dollars for conducting accurate political analysis and other vital reports on TV. He is the main anchor of the CNN news show Anderson ...

Is David Muir Gay or Does He Have A Wife, What Is His Salary? David Muir is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for the ABC broadcast-television network and anchors the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir program while also co-anchoring the magazine program 20/20. The Ithaca College graduate, whose show has become the most-watched newscast in America, has covered stories from all across America and the world; reporting ...

Joel Osteen  Divorce Rumors, Net Worth & Family Members Joel Osteen is an American Televangelist, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church based in Houston, Texas, a husband and a father of two. He is an author of many books, seven of which are New York Times Best Sellers and his televised sermons capture more than 7 million viewers per week and 20 million every month ...

Who Is Todd Chrisley? What To Know About His Children, Gay Rumors & Net Worth Premiered on the USA network in 2014, Chrisley Knows Best is one of the most watched family reality TV shows in the U.S. The series which is currently in its sixth season is centered around U.S real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his family. The show reveals Todd the patriarch of the Chrisley family as a strict dad who rules ...

Who Is Shannon Bream Of Fox News? Her Husband, Children & Net Worth Shannon Bream who hosts the iconic primetime program started her journalism career in the late 1990s debuting as the evening and late-night news reporter for the CBS affiliate, WBTV. The beauty from America currently works for the Fox News Channel and she is best known for anchoring the primetime program. She also hosts Americas News ...

Is Troye Sivan Gay, Who Is His Boyfriend and What Is His Net Worth? Troye Sivan is an Australian singer and songwriter best known for songs like Happy Little Pill, Youth, Heaven (with Betty Who) and The Boyfriend Tag (with Tyler Oakley) which have all garnered him different awards and ranked on the Billboard Charts. Sivan, who was born in South Africa but now resides in the United States, is ...

Did iDubbbz Have Cancer, Is He Gay and Who Is His Girlfriend Now? iDubbbz is one YouTuber who has made a career out of courting controversy. Renowned for his absurdist channels and comedy video series, the Los Angeles based personality is the owner of two channels, iDubbzTV, and iDubbzTV2, as well as the brains behind comedy video series such as Content Cop, Kickstarter Crap, Gaming News Crap, and ...

Inside Greg Gutfelds Love Story With Wife Elena Moussa and Why Fans Thought He Was Gay Greg Gutfeld is a seasoned American television producer whose career in the media industry has spanned over a decade. He is a man of many talents who makes extra income through comedy, journalism, and editorial works. Gutfeld regularly appears on Fox News Channel as a panellist and co-host of the political talk show The Five ...

Works That Made Bo Burnham A Household Name and How Much He Is Worth Now One of YouTubes first viral stars and the worlds most exciting young comedian, Bo Burnham, has always amazed critics and comedy aficionados alike. Often regarded as the Justin Bieber of comedy, thanks to his fresh looks, floppy blond hair and hoodies, he has a multi-faceted career bigger than many comedians twice his age. It wouldnt ...

Is Louie Anderson Gay And What Is His Net Worth? Louie Anderson has one of the most abstract faces in the industry and equally knows how to use it to his advantage. He is not only a stand-up comedian but also an actor and television host who is known for his distinctive comic wits. Some of his notable projects include Family Feud, where he was ...

Is Don Lemon of CNN Gay, Who is His Partner and What Is His Salary? Don Lemon has risen to become one of the most recognizable faces on CNN over the past few years. The fiery journalist, who anchors CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, is liked and somewhat disliked for his strong and candid opinions on a variety of matters that do not just include politics but also race, significantly, matters that ...

Is Rachel Maddow Gay, Who is the Wife and How Much Does She Earn in Salary? Rachel Maddow is an award-winning American journalist, political commentator, and television news anchor. She is best known for hosting the popular nightly TV show The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Prior to this, she hosted a talk radio program on Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. As of now, the TV sensation co-anchors MSNBCs ...

Demystifying Pokimane  Her Real Name, Ethnicity & Boyfriend Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Pokimane Thicc is one of those stars who took advantage of the internet to make a name for herself. Given the unlimited potentials which the social media space offers, many people have been instantly propelled to fame just by posting creative online contents. Not only has ...

A Breakdown of Kris Jenners Net Worth, Sources Of Income and Relationships Over The Years Standing outside and looking in, Kris Jenner looks like the oil that greases the wheels of the entire Kardashian/Jenner machine. She has been dubbed a momager and rightfully so because she seems to have had a part to play in the trajectory of each and every one of her daughters individually and the Kardashian brand ...

Pursuits That Brought Liza Koshys Fame To its Zenith and Her Love Life Since David Dobrik Liza Koshy is an American actress who has leveraged YouTube as a platform to promote her comedy while also serving as a television host on occasions. She is talented and funny and has gathered a lot of fans from around the world. Koshy started on Vine in high school and was able to get millions of ...

Alex Aiono Biography  Inside The Life Of The American Singer Not everyone who started from the streets has attained the heights where Alex Aiono is currently. His story could be referred to as the perfect definition of rising from Grass to Grace. He came into the limelight after he started out as a YouTuber, singer, and producer. One fascinating thing about the young YouTuber is ...

Virginia Vallejo Biography And Her Love Story With Pablo Escobar Virginia Vallejo can be referred to as one of the oldest whistleblowers in history after her involvement with Pablo Escobar which made her famous. Over the years, many questions have been raised about her relationship with the drug lord and why she endangered her life to be with him despite his notorious acts. The death ...

Princess Love Bio  Ethnicity, Real Name & Parents For many people, Princess Love is simply Ray Js wife but there is so much more to this feisty lady than meets the eye. She is a star in her own right and has many feathers on her cap. Princess Love is a reality TV star, a model, video vixen, and fashion designer. She and her ...

Who is Papa Franku Also Known As Filthy Frank or Joji, Where is He Now? The social media as we all know today has given people the opportunity to be creative and innovative and at the same time, make something of themselves. YouTube is one of the known social platforms we have today that makes it possible for people to express their God-given talents and post videos they created to ...

Who Is Molly Qerim, How Did She Become a Famous Sports Anchor and Who Is Her Husband? Molly Qerim is an American sports anchor popularly known for moderating First Take, a highly rated sports talk show, on ESPN. Prior to joining ESPN, Qerim hosted Fantasy Live and NFL AM on NFL Network. It is quite obvious that the widely acclaimed television personality is in a class of her own when it comes ...

Safiya Nygaard  Height, Parents & Net Worth Safiya Nygaard is an American YouTuber, writer, content producer, and director who is popular for posting makeup, beauty and fashion videos on YouTube. Her videos regularly top at least one million views, thanks to her lively character as well as her willingness to experiment with outrageous outfits and different beauty products. Here are the things to ...

The Rigors of Sunlen Serfatys Career Journey Until CNN and Fun Facts About Her Personal Life CNN correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty is an Emmy Award-winning journalist known for covering a broad range of breaking news stories, national news, and Washington politics. She has been able to garner widespread recognition for herself which even goes beyond the sphere of her work. Her profile also increased with the extensive work she did in covering ...

Demystifying Jazz Jennings Real Name, Boyfriend & Family Of One The Youngest Transgenders Jazz Jennings is an unusual personality who became famous as a transgender activist and was recorded as the youngest documented public figure to be seen as transgender. She is also a YouTube personality and spokesmodel for brands, her fans, and other transgenders. She fought for acceptance in her high school with her super supportive family for over ...

Inside Fred Armisens Life  Ethnicity, Romantic Relationships and Gay Rumors Fred Armisen is an award-winning American comedian, he is also a writer, an actor as well as a musician. He was a cast member of the legendary comedy show, Saturday Night Live for 13 years and also one of the brains behind the successful satirical show Portlandia. Find out more about this incredibly talented guy ...

Ed and Lorraine Warren Biography: Cases, Kids, and Family Life Have you ever woken up with fear you could not explain, or felt a strange presence that made the hair at your nape rise or even experienced strange occurrences around you? Well, these were some of the promptings that made the well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren delve into trying to explain the ideas ...

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 ...

Who is Brittany Venti, The Controversial Game Streamer and YouTuber? In recent times, many people live stream themselves playing video games. This has become a popular pastime on the internet and many highly skilled gamers have become internet celebrities through this means. However, some of them rather than becoming renowned for their gaming skills and great commentary, have become controversial and infamous. A good example ...

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 ...

Everything You Should Know About the Rise of Insta Star Claire Abbott and Why She Gave It All Up A lot of young Americans have shot into the limelight for uploading different kinds of videos on YouTube. Some of these young stars include Connor Franta, Desi Perkins, Emma Chamberlain, the Dolan Twins (Ethan and Grayson), and Claire Abbott. The latter became a social media celebrity for uploading sexy bikini pictures of herself on social media. Apart from ...

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 ...

Lilypichu Bio  Height, Brother and Love Story With Albert SleightlyMusical Chang Like most popular internet celebrities, Lilypichu is one of those Twitch streamers who spend their lives on camera. From daydreaming about the possibility of becoming a full-time professional streamer, she grew to live out her dreams on the popular live streaming platform where people play games, make crafts, and showcase their day-to-day activities. Given the rise of ...

KSI  What To Know About His Girlfriend, Brother  Deji Olatunji & Net Worth Assuredly, when Internet inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Khan created the technological masterpiece, they probably did not know how massive the creation will be harnessed by many for different purposes including as a platform for earning money through content creation. One of such person who smiles to the bank regularly today for spending time creating ...

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 ...

What Is Timmy Thick Best Known For and How Successful Is The Star? Thanks to the internet, many people whose talents would have ordinarily gone unnoticed have become famous. A very good example of this modern-day internet celebrity is Timmy Thick, an American social media star. He became popular on Instagram due to his penchant for posting raunchy pictures of himself. He also often posted videos of himself ...

What Does Heather Storm Do For a Living and Who Is She Dating? Reality Television is a great way to make a name for oneself as well as amass a fortune. Heather Storm can attest to this as she is one of those who have made a name and earned a lot from reality TV. She made her name appearing on shows like Car Fanatics, Awesome Autos, and, ...

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 ...

Who is Gillian Turner of Fox News? Her Fiance or Husband and Net Worth Gillian Turner is well-known as a news correspondent for Fox News Channel but before she became a TV personality, she built an intimidating resume working for different institutions, including the American government. She served in different capacities at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US Presidents  George W. Bush and Barack Obama. ...

Gloria Govan Bio  Age, Ethnicity & Height Even as Gloria Govan is famous as an American actress, author, a TV host, and reality television star, shes more popular as the wife of the former NBA player, Matt Barnes. She became known after appearing on the Florida version of the reality television series, Basketball Wives and later, Basketball Wives: LA  after Matt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, ...

Michael Fishmans Interesting Start as an Actor and Why He Divorced His Wife of Many Years When one door closes, another one opens. As silly as that axiom may seem, it is the story of the resurgence of Michael Fishman, who plays D.J Conner on the popular show, Roseanne. Having played the character for several years as a child actor into his teenage years; when the show originally ended, Michael did ...

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 ...

Who Is Tony Berlin  Harris Faulkners Husband: His Children and Family Facts Tony Berlin is a popular American media guru. He has variously worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer for some of the biggest TV networks in America. They include CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC (where he hosted the popular Good Morning America). Berlin has now diversified into public relations and owns his own PR firm. ...

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 ...

Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornells Wifes Bio, Children and Family The world of showbiz is made up of different people who serve different roles, and function in a variety of capacities, and one of the most important people are those in the background. Publicists are undoubtedly one of these background people yet they are vital to the life and fame of most of our favorite ...

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 ...

Josh Gates and Wife Hallie Gnatovich Have 2 Kids But Who Has the Higher Net Worth? Best known for his explorations and adventures, Josh Gates, is a television presenter with a voracious appetite for seeing the world and the beauties in it. Some of that beauty, however, is in his home, in the form of two children he shares with his wife, Hallie Gnatovich. Not excluded is their marriage which has lasted ...

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 ...

Kay Adams Biography  Does The Sportscaster Have A Husband or Boyfriend? When you hear the phrase sports enthusiast, women are hardly the first group that comes to mind. Well, thats changing pretty fast. Especially with the rise of female sports analysts and broadcasters like Kay Adams who is famed for knowing more about sports than most men do. And why not, shes paid handsomely for it ...

Ben Shapiros Family  Meet His Wife, Kids and Sister Who is Popular for the Wrong Reasons A multi-talented man, Ben Shapiro is a man of controversial nature, an attribute that has made him an unusual public figure. An intellectual whose career path was clearly defined even before he became a man, the Jewish conservative commentator has always had his way with words. He became popular by sharing his critical and often ...

QVC Shawn Killinger Bio  Husband, Net Worth & Facts To Know Shawn Killinger is a prominent TV personality who has worked her way to the top. Though not initially a journalist by training, she defied the odds and today has established herself as a household name, as well as, worked alongside some industry legends. More than just being a reporter, newscaster, and anchor, heres all you ...

Liv Lo  Dissecting the Ethnicity, Parents and Personal Life of Henry Goldings Wife While many are aware that Liv Lo is the better half to Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding, only a few understand why his beautiful wife appears increasingly endearing to fans. A former model turned TV personality, and fitness star, Liv has an impressive resume which when combined with that of her statuesque spouse is considered a perfect ...

Stpeach Age, Husband and Other Facts About The Twitch Streamer Lisa Vannatta, famously known by her online alias, STPeach is a Canadian video game streamer cum vlogger who has garnered fame through her appearances on different video-sharing/social networking platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Twitch, Reddit, and Twitter. The beautiful lady got her career to a start in August 2015 when she joined the live streaming video platform, Twitch. She rose to ...

Insights into Seth Meyers Wife, Family and What His Net Worth Is Celebrities are mostly remembered and known for the work they do. For Seth Meyers, his career as a comedian, writer, actor, TV host, and producer is his biggest identifier. He was on Saturday Night Live SNL show as a head writer and cast member for more than ten years during which he built a reputation ...

Who Is Jessica Gadsden  Age, Net Worth & All About Charlamagne tha Gods Wife Jessica Gadsden is an American fitness coach as well as a personal trainer. She is better known as the spouse of popular American media personality, Charlamagne Tha God. Charlamange Tha God is a well-known TV and radio personality in the U.S. He has featured in several shows (both on the radio and TV) and is ...

Who Is Collins Tuohy  Michael Ohers sister ? Her Wedding, Husband & Net Worth Collins Tuohy is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, blogger, and social media personality. She is also better known as the adoptive sister of NFL player, Michael Oher, whose life story inspired the Hollywood blockbuster The Blind Side. The Blind Side tells the true life story of Oher who grew up in an impoverished background consisting of a ...

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ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Evan McMullin, the long-shot independent presidential candidate, has chosen his running mate -- veteran political and digital strategist Mindy Finn.



Finn, 35, has worked for former President George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Twitter and Google. This cycle, she was a senior digital strategist for the RNC and oversaw digital programs for the NRSCs targeted races in 2014.



In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Finn explained why she wanted to join the unlikely never-Trump ticket.



Ive been part of the group opposing Donald Trump in the Republican Party really since he announced last summer and as he continued to alienate and vilify people in this country and while she has encouraged others to run for office, this is now an opportunity to walk the walk.



In 2012, she worked for Twitter, leading their politics and advocacy sector. A Republican activist who has worked to encouraged female Republicans to run for office, she also founded the non-profit Empowered Women, a network to connect center-right and independent women.



She described seeing Republicans coming around to Trump as pretty discouraging, but now she is thrilled to be on the ticket and she is all in for the right reasons.



This is how it should feel to participate in a democracy, she said. "Ive also been incredibly impressed by the amount of traction they have in such a short amount of time and I am thrilled to be part of continuing to build a new movement."



The McMullin campaign acknowledges what an uphill climb they have up against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Most polling does not include McMullin, who announced his bid in August. Their strategy is dependent on attempting to block Trump and Clinton from obtaining 270 electoral votes and sending the election to the House of Representatives. An election hasnt been decided by the House of Representatives since 1824.



The path is difficult, but not as unlikely as people think, McMullin strategist Rick Wilson told ABC News. "This is all about giving Americans a sense they can vote for people they can be proud of and have a more affirmative version of leadership in this country.



Still, Finn has an even smaller chance than McMullin for taking office. McMullins strategy is to win enough electoral votes to throw the election into the U.S. House of Representatives, where Congress will consider the top three candidates. But the vice presidential election would get thrown into the U.S. Senate, where only the top two vice presidential candidates can vie for the spot  almost certainly Pence and Kaine only.



Wilson said if McMullin were to win in this way, Wilson said McMullin would ask for Kaine or Pences resignation after inauguration.It would be the least unusual thing to happen this election cycle, Wilson quipped.



Finn said she is ready for the heat she is going to take for taking on Trump in the party and is ready for what could be a nasty assault online especially.



I dont think the threat of hearing nasty things should keep people out of the public eye, you have to be tough, she said. I kind of have to put on my teflon armor and take it.



Its also possible that the placeholder name the campaign used to gain ballot access, a man named Nathan Johnson, would also be stuck on the ballot instead of Finn. Wilson said they have a legal plan to fight that and called Finn a person who can help "reshape the conservative movement in this country."



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Oct 6, 2016 | By Nick

A new personal fabrication kit means you can design and 3D print what you need, wherever you are, thanks to a mobile phone app and an extruder pen.

Thijs Roumen, a graduate student at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, recognized that 3D printing was ready to take over the world of manufacturing. He spotted a gap in the market, though, as 3D printers are deskbound, bulky and you simply cannot take them with you.

Roumen argues that computers started out exactly the same way. They started out as huge items that filled a room and eventually turned into the smartphones and tablets that have largely rendered even laptops redundant. He also saw a real need to design and print on the go and even cited examples like 3D printing a karabiner to fix a broken strap on a bag or more random delights like 3D printing earplugs to block out the person next to you on the bus.

Of course, this takes far more than an app, it needs a mobile 3D printer. The likes of the iBoxNano and Olo are rising up to meet this challenge, but even they dont offer the immediacy and true portability that Roumen was looking for.

This was a complex engineering challenge, but Roumen settled on a 3Doodler extruder pen fitted with rechargeable batteries. It isnt a perfect system, because you have to trace a pattern on top of the phone. That means this is time consuming and the finished print simply cant be perfect, but its a step towards mobile 3D printing.

In an emergency, if you need a hex key to fix a loose nut on your bike, or if you need a button for a shirt in a hurry, then the functionality is the most important part of the whole equation and the looks simply arent important. If they are, then you can spend more time and you can also produce much larger items, using several different templates and fusing them together with the 3Doodler. Roumens produced a passable pair of flip-flops as part of this research.

As you control the pen then the 3D printing process is faster. A traditional desktop 3D printer can take hours to make a complicated shape, but you can sketch out the design in minutes and you dictate the compromise of quality vs speed.

They needed to be quick, too, as the 3Doodlers batteries only allowed for 20 minutes of print time. In a production version, though, it may well be possible to switch out the batteries and continue printing.

Daniel Ashbrook, of the Rochester Insitute of Technology in New York, said: I like this idea of moving entirely from the mechanised and automatic 3D printer to using a pen. This kind of hybrid approach, where the human is doing some stuff and the machine is doing some stuff, can get a better result  especially when youre not trying to be perfect, youre just trying to get something done.

To prove this wasnt simply a case of one man having exceptional skills with the 3Doodler, Roumens recruited 12 strangers on a train and asked them to produce a button for a shirt, a replacement shoelace for a boot and a device to remove a hex screw. They managed, but it highlighted the need for an online library of basic designs that could be accessed for quick printing.

Roumens has targeted a series of other improvements for the app, including a simple measuring system based on the camera that will help create more accurate hex screws and other items that just have to fit. With a measurement, the user could simply pull a design from the online library and 3D print their device within minutes.

He also recognizes that theres a lot of work to do on using existing objects as molds. Everything from coins to existing nuts can be used as a mold, or for scanning, which can help make this job far easier and quicker. The 3Doodler pen can also create improvised tools on the go simply by manipulating the filament.

He proved this by creating a solid alternative to a needle and thread by stretching the filament quickly, to breaking point, to create a sharp needle and flexible thread. It can also be used to fuse a piece of filament together to produce a repair, a quick patch and more.

So the basic takeaway is that although this system looks rough and ready, it could actually be an exceptionally useful addition to any basic toolkit. Medics could use this, fisherman could use this and one day we could all carry a mobile 3D printer to cover our basic, urgent needs.

This is never going to replace the 3D printer on your desktop, but it could be a lifesaver when you really need it and it could change the way we look at 3D printing.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Thijs Roumen (author of paper) wrote at 10/15/2016 1:31:54 PM:thanks for reading our paper Moe ;) you are right, the image of the hex key basically shows how it should _not_ be done. If you just take an STL file and turn it into printable lines you end up failing to make something that makes sense with mobile fab. The reason is the STL file and original model are simply a result of the used fabrication technique, what the model should really contain is: "a fitting tip", "a lever", "something that mounts them together". With hose three properties you would end up making a hex key that looks somewhat like the one shown in the video. This is because we use the qualities of our handheld fab technique and aim for reproducing _functionality_ instead of shape. I believe we should find ways to describe 3D models way more by their functionality rather than by their shape. This would make for a versatile description of the models which could work for all kinds of fab machines. Depending on the used technique a model could look very different but achieve the same goals.Moe wrote at 10/12/2016 10:09:04 AM:Read the paper and see the hex key figure in context before you assume this is a result of their technique. Just copying the figure from the paper unfortunately doesn't make for very good journalism.bverde84 wrote at 10/7/2016 6:19:32 PM:would make more sense to put a battery pack on a modified OLO and call THAT mobile printer with a phone... given the quality of the hex key, this barely qualifies.




Oct 7, 2016 | By Alec

Is U.S. manufacturing heading towards a new renaissance? It certainly seems that way, as global CEOs have named the United States as the best place to invest in manufacturing for four years in a row, and more than 800,000 new jobs have been created since the end of the recession came in sight back in 2010. This is partly the result of a very conscious and active approach by the Obama administration, which has strongly been pushing for innovation, investment and education to keep manufacturing viable for subsequent generations. As is apparent on Manufacturing Day 2016, held today, 3D printing strongly features in that vision of future manufacturing.

To be sure, 3D printing hasnt exactly pulled the U.S. out of a recession single handedly; active government policies and a strong flow of capital investments have done a lot more to create all those new jobs. But as President Obama said in a statement yesterday, this isnt just about todays manufacturing sector: Let us continue working to strengthen and expand the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow and ensure that opportunity for all is something we can keep making in America for generations to come, the president said.

That statement was made for the occasion of the fifth annual Manufacturing Day, which is today. Its a day thats all about innovation, manufacturing and development, and celebrates Made in America manufacturing. Its also a day on which numerous announcements about new manufacturing initiatives from governmental and private sector supporters are made, while many institutes and companies are hosting factory tours, hackathons, career exploration panels and more. 500,000 students and local organizations will be active, with the goal of convincing as many people as possible about the merits of American manufacturing (careers).

While a fantastic and very diverse event packed with variety, we couldnt help but notice that 3D printing is playing an increasingly prominent role  both in government policy, in local events and in new innovation announcements. But above all, the Obama administration sees 3D printing as a key educational tool. This is reflected in a special panel that Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will be chairing in Portland, featuring recent graduates seeking careers in manufacturing. Among others, Pritzker will take them on a tour of 3D printers and robots at the Portland Center for Advanced Learning.

But as was revealed for Manufacturing Day, the Obama administration is also setting up numerous 3D printing initiatives with an educational purpose. Among others, NASAs second phase of the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge kicks off today (with $2.5 million in funding). Phase 3 will open the summer of 2017, targeting the autonomous manufacturing of the habitats using 3D Printed technology. Meanwhile the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation, America makes and 3D Veterans are setting up the 3D Veterans Bootcamp. Through this program, 400 veterans will be trained in 3D printing and design skills every year, preparing them for advanced manufacturing careers. This transitional initiative will also provide startup support for veterans. 3D Veterans Bootcamp will be kicking off in Los Angeles, Carson, San Francisco, Philadelphia and El Paso.

More generally speaking, the administrations call to action also resulted in various other 3D printing programs. For instance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and others are committing to educating the next generation of (3D printing) manufacturers through more focused courses and resources that promote very useful hands-on experiences.

This is best reflected by a new introductory making course at MIT, which will be ready for the freshman class of 2020. As part of the class, all 1,100 freshmen will be educated in 3D printing, laser cutting and hand tools, and will even be provided with material and machine time funds. 10 unique freshman maker communities will also be set up. And next week, MIT is expanding the availability of manufacturing education for students around the world with the worlds first manufacturing-oriented MOOC (massive open online course) called Fundamentals of Manufacturing Processes. Through it, anyone can study a wide range of manufacturing opportunities, including 3D printing.

The same can be seen on a local level, where organizations from across the US are announcing educational programs for students and adults  encouraging everyone to manufacture their ideas at a realistic scale. Perhaps most remarkable is Branch Technology and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce are planning to 3D print a 1,000 sq. ft. house through a competition  the first 3D printed house in the US, and the first freeform 3D printed house in the world.

Even established 3D printing companies are seeing Manufacturing Day as an educational opportunity. Formlabs, for instance, has just announced the Innovate & Educate Challenge  which will award a Form 2 3D printer to the most inspiring submitted 3D printing lesson plan. They will also be launching a custom STEM and Arts education program with Scholastic with the purpose of promoting access to 3D printing and the inclusion of the technology in school curricula. Finally, they will be donating another Form 2 3D printer to the Smithsonians Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, where young people can work with it as part of the Spark! Labs hands-on invention workshop. If theres one thing to be taken away from this years Manufacturing Day, its that 3D printing is reaching a fantastic educational position.

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Oct 7, 2016 | By Alec

Every demographic expert says the same thing: western European populations are slowly aging. While that brings a host of economic and social challenges to the table, the medical sector will also need to increasingly adapt to efficiently provide medical procedures for typical old age problems, such as hip replacements. While many of those procedures are costly and time-consuming, 3D printing could provide an answer. Led by Dutch university Maastricht UMC+, medical experts from five universities are joining forces in the PRosPERoS research project to develop the next generation of joint-replacing implants through 3D printing.

That next generation is desperately needed, as the demand for joint-replacing implants is skyrocketing. Joints in the hip, back, and knees all become vulnerable in old age, while cartilage implants are particularly necessary for obese patients. While these are all challenges that can already be tackled, currently-used implants have a limited lifespan and necessitate multiple surgeries over longer periods of time. Over time, worn-out implants can even cause other bone defects. At the same time, the classic titanium or carbon fiber implants come in a few standard sizes, meaning that every patient receives the same treatment  regardless of whether or not it perfectly suits their specific condition.

As a result, a demand is growing for custom-made implants that perfectly align with the patients body  and 3D printing could play a vital role in their development. This new PRosPERoS project (PRinting PERsonalized orthopaedic implantS) is working on 3D printed smart implants that facilitate natural regrowth of bone cells. The research is aimed at the development of biologically active implants, made especially for each and every patient. If successful, it could pave the way for quicker rehabilitation and a reduction of necessary follow-up surgeries.

Under current plans, these implants will be 3D printed in titanium, though they will also be designed to stimulate the growth and adherence of bone cells. The implants will be based on 3D scans, made for each and every patient. Every patient is different and has special needs, says chief researcher dr. Chris Arts. Age, weight, bone density and individual regenerative capacity will all affect the joint and the required treatment method. The 3D printed implants will also feature a web-like lattice interior, creating a microscopic network that optimally accommodates bone cells and their growth. A special antibacterial coating will prevent joint infections.

Over time, the same principles could even be applied to biodegradable implants, that are slowly replaced with regrown tissue. That would greatly increase rehabilitation speeds, reduce the likelihood of infections and minimize implant erosion, Arts said. Professor dr. Lodewijk van Rhijn, who heads the Orthopedics department in the Maastricht University Hospital, argued that this project shows just how new knowledge of biomaterials can benefit the patient, and hopes that the first clinical results can be presented within four year from now.

But of course, these plans are very ambitious and costly. To realize PRosPERoS, the European investment fund Interreg Nederland-Vlaanderen recently announced that they will invest 2.3 million euros into the project, covering half of the costs (4.6 million euros, or $5.1 USD). The Dutch Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg and Flemish-Brabant provided another grant of 1.1 million euros.

PRosPERoS will involve a wide range of Dutch and Belgian 3D printing and biomedical experts. Aside from Maastricht UMC+, four other universities are involved: KU Leuven, UMC Utrecht, Delft University of Technology and Uniklinik RWTH Aachen. 3D printing and orthopedic expertise will be provided by specialists from 3D Systems, Medanex Clinic BVBA, 2Move Implants BV, Xilloc Medical BV, 4WEB EU. B.V , PCOTech, and Antleron BVBA.

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Oct 7, 2016 | By Alec

Even though ISIS has been losing on all fronts for the last few months, the sad truth is that we cannot undo the damage they have done. Thousands upon thousands of people have lost their lives, whole societies have been destroyed while countless ancient artefacts from Iraq and Syria have been pulverized for being un-Islamic. But at least on that last front, we can make a difference. Even though the originals have been torn away from humanitys grasp, a team of Italian artists have used 3D printing to breathe new life into several irreplaceable artefacts from Iraq and Syria, including the Bull of Nimrod  an icon of the Assyrian empire.

This fantastic initiative was set up by Emmanuele Emanuele of the foundation Terzo Pilastro-Italia, which has just opened a new exhibition in Romes Colosseum. Titled Rising From the Ashes: Ebla, Nimrud, Palmyra, it was enabled by Unesco and presents recreations of three key monuments destroyed by ISIS. Also on display are several remains from destroyed artefacts, and the exhibition is open to the public until early December. Its not a form of revenge. Rebuilding is simply a human duty, the organizers say.

Perhaps most iconic is the androcefalo bull, the Bull of Nimrod, from the Assyrian palace in Nimrud, Iraq. The original was built thirty-three centuries ago, but the entire palace was brought to the ground using bulldozers and explosives back in March 2015. A crime against history, as the North-West Palace (as it is called) was considered to be the Versailles of the Assyrian world.

The other two recreated monuments, the Hall of Archives from Ebla and the Temple of Bel from Palmyra, both in Syria, are of comparable importance. Of the latter, only a few fragments still exist in the world after ISIS brought explosives to the site back in August 2015. The sixteen square meter archive room from the Palace of Elba, which once was home to 17,000 cuneiform tablets, is in a state of serious neglect and could be lost forever as well. Like the Nimrud palace, they have been consciously targeted by ISIS in an attempt to not just destroy world heritage, but to eradicate a peoples culture and identity.

But this crucial Italian project is fighting back, with the help of archeologist Paolo Matthiae and Francesco Rutelli, the president of the meeting of civilizations. They are fighting to combat the deliberate destruction of archeological sites and historical monuments, and came into contact through Professor Emmanuele Emanuele through that focus. With this exhibition, they hope to create awareness about the importance of safeguarding the heritage of humanity, and even find new ways to restore those precious artefacts that still remain.

The authorities governing the colosseum and Romes archeological treasures were also involved. The exhibition was opened by Italian president Sergio Mattarella, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni and the Minister of Heritage and Cultural Activities and Tourism Dario Franceschini were also present. The results have already, the organizers argued, underlined the deep cultural relationship shared by all nations surrounding the Mediterranean.

To actually recreate these three monuments of Elba, Nimrud and Palmyra at a 1:1 scale, three Italian companies were brought in. Under the guidance of a scientific committee of archaeologists and historians, they used robotic 3D printers, 3D scanners and digital data to create very accurate replicas of the monuments.

Palmira

Visitors are first greeted by the towering bull that used to guard the Nimrud throne room, before continuing on into the archive room in Elba  which was only discovered back in 1964. Afterwards, visitors can walk into the center of the Temple of Bel of Palmyra, including a ceiling reconstruction. The exhibition is completed with a video installation that brings visitors to the iconic locations in Syria and Iraq where the monuments once stood. Two high-reliefs from the National Museum of Palmyra, also scarred by ISIS barbarism, are also on display alongside various other damaged artefacts.

As the developers explain, the key message of their exhibition is that no civilization is immune from destruction. At the same time, rebuilding is a form of reconciliation. When we think back of Europe battered by the Second World War, we choose to think of the time of reconstruction. The city center of Dresden was returned to its original splendor, as a way of permanently overcoming the horrors of the past, they argued. But now new awareness is rising, that we have to actively protect heritage and prosecute those who seek to destroy it  as can be seen in the recent trial of those guilty of the destruction of Timbuktu, the first time the International Criminal Court worked on such a case.

But the Italian team is planning to go even further. In the near future it will become possible to rebuild destroyed artefacts on site. That is the future that we, as peaceful people, want to create and rebuild, Emanuele says. Another application in which construction 3D printers could play a key role. Right now, they are hoping to transport the recreations to Syria and Iraq through the Italian Foreign Ministry, with the hope that they can be set up in National Museums in those countries.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Oct 7, 2016 | By Tess

Dubai is quickly becoming one of the most ambitious cities in the world for 3D printing. As weve written about extensively, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has laid out a 3D Printing Strategy which will seek to make Dubai one of the most forward thinking 3D printing cities in the world by 2030. Included in the strategy are three main areas of focus: medical, consumer products, and construction, and so far it seems that DEWA has been making some real strides with the strategys progress.

After having announced that it plans to 3D print 25% of its buildings by 2030, and after having unveiled the first 3D printed office building, as well as plans to build the first 3D printed laboratory, Dubai has just announced that it will also soon build its first fully residential structure. The building, as Saif Al Aleeli, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Future Foundation, explains is a big step in realizing the aim to have 25% of all new buildings 3D printed.

Dubai's 3D printed office building

As of yet, not many details have been released about the upcoming projectsuch as where the 3D printed residential building will be located (though it is possible it will be built at Dubai Industrial City), how big it will be, or how much it will cost. Saif Al Aleeli said of the upcoming project, Dubai Holding has a major contribution in the strategy and we have announced that an area will be dedicated for this technology in Dubai Industrial City.

The news of the 3D printed residential building in Dubai comes just after the United Arab Emirates city officially launched its Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) program, a program that is bringing together various businesses and government agencies in order to create contemporary solutions in the health, security, infrastructure, transportation, energy and finance sectors. With the official launch of the programme, the 30 selected businesses will work in tandem with government bodies over the next three months to devise and present prototypes and business plans for said solutions.

As part of the accelerator program, eight government branches will be participating, including the Dubai Police, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the Dubai Health Authority, the Dubai Municipality, Dubai Holding, the Roads and Transport Authority, DEWA, and Emirates NBD. In terms of 3D printing, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), DEWA, and Dubai Holding will have the largest part to play. Specifically, one entry working with the DHA will be working on the development of 3D printed organs, which will seek to revolutionize the medical field; and one project with Dubai Holding will be focused on further developing learning and education through interactive 3D models. A number of other DFA projects will also utilize 3D printing, even though they may not focus specifically on the technology.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President and Prime Minister of the UAE, said of the endeavor: A few days ago, we launched the UAE Strategy for the Future, and here we are today putting it into practice with an innovative system that connects our government departments with the worlds most innovative companies and turns government spending into an investment in the future. Our goal is to redefine the governments role, whereby government entities are no longer mere operational units, but rather centers for planning the future and catalyzing global innovation.

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Oct 7, 2016 | By Benedict

Cyclone Racing, an automotive racing team from Iowa State University (ISU), has used 3D printing to build an open-wheel race car for Formula SAE, an international car design competition.

For students looking to design, build, and test their own race car before pitting their machine against other collegiate teams, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International Formula car competition is the perfect event. Far more than just a race, the competition encourages undergraduate and graduate students to build a prototype race car, whose potential as a production item is then evaluated by a team of industry experts. Each team builds a prototype based on a series of rules, with each vehicle inspected by judges to ensure that certain criteria has been met, and then gets to take their car out on the track for a series of performance-based tests. The largest SAE event takes place in Michigan.

Cyclone Racing, a student team from Iowa State University, has competed in a few SAE competitions, and this year took its CR-21 Cyclone Racing Car up a gear with the help of 3D printing technology. After a long and arduous planning process, the team decided it could 3D print the cars intake, dashboard, and heel cups in order to save time, money, and weight. By 3D printing the intake, the students could create an internal geometry for the part which consisted of a smooth and gradually sloping inner wall, making the airflow smooth and allowing the engine to create more horsepower. Previous Cyclone intakes were made from several aluminum parts that had to be turned, milled, cut and welded together.

3D printed intake

While designing the 3D printed intake, the Cyclone team used FEA (Finite Element Analysis) to simulate the forces and stresses to which the part would be subjected during normal operation. Using this method, they could see exactly where the part needed most reinforcement and where it required less material. They were then able to optimize the 3D design based on this information, making areas of high stress denser than other areas, before printing the final part in Stratasys ULTEM 1010 3D printing material on a Fortus 450mc 3D printer.

After designing the 3D printed intake, the Cyclone team had a vastly improved part at their disposal. However, the students returned to the 3D printing process to create a 3D printed dashboard and heel cups. By using a 3D printer, the Fortus 450mc, and ABS filament, the team were able to adjust every element of the design cheaply and efficiently. While these parts did not need to be optimized in terms of density, as was the case with the intake, 3D printing them helped the team save time and money.

3D printed heel cups

Cyclone Racing, ISUs automotive development team, is divided into four groups: Baja, focused on designs for extreme off-road performance; Clean Snowmobile, a specialist in efficient trail performance; Formula, designing parts for extreme on-road performance; and Supermileage, which is focused on fuel efficiency.

Overall, use of 3D printing has enabled Cyclone Racing to create a lighter, faster, and less complex vehicle, one with thinner walls, fewer components, and increased performance.

3D printed dashboard

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Jonathan Jones in The Guardian:

Two women are holding a man down on a bed. One presses her fist against his head, so he cant raise it from the mattress, while her companion pins his torso in place. They are well-built with powerful arms but even so it takes their combined strength to keep their victim immobilised as one of them cuts through his throat with a gleaming sword. Blood spurts from deep red geysers as she saws. She wont stop until his head is fully severed. Her victims eyes are wide open. He knows exactly what is happening to him.

The dying man is Holofernes, an enemy of the Israelites in the Old Testament, and the young woman beheading him is Judith, his divinely appointed assassin. Yet at the same time he is also an Italian painter called Agostino Tassi, while the woman with the sword is Artemisia Gentileschi, who painted this. It is, effectively, a self-portrait.

Two big, blood-drenched paintings of Judith and Holofernes by Gentileschi survive, one in the Capodimonte in Naples, the other in the Uffizi in Florence. They are almost identical except for small details  in Naples Judiths dress is blue, in Florence yellow  as if this image was a nightmare she kept having, the final act to a tragedy endlessly replaying in her head.

This is the ring you gave me and these are your promises! yelled Gentileschi as she was tortured in a Rome courtroom in 1612. Ropes were wrapped around her fingers and pulled tight. The judge had advised moderate use of the sibille, as this torture was called, for she was after all 18. Across the court sat the man who had raped her. No one thought of torturing him. Defiantly, Gentileschi told him her thumbscrews were the wedding ring hed promised. Again and again, she repeated that her testimony about the rape was reliable: It is true, it is true, it is true, it is true.

Gentileschi was the greatest female artist of the baroque age and one of the most brilliant followers of the incendiary artist Caravaggio, whose terrifying painting of Judith and Holofernes influenced hers.

More here.
Nathan Jefferson at The LA Review of Books:

Born in Cleveland to two teachers, Chester Himes had one of the fascinatingly varied backgrounds seemingly required for early 20th-century writers. Expelled from Ohio State for taking students to a speakeasy/brothel, he later served seven years in prison for his role in a jewel theft. While imprisoned, he began to write, eventually publishing several short stories in Esquire. After his release, he moved to Los Angeles and held 23 jobs in the three years he spent there  one of them was a screenwriting gig for Warner Brothers. Himes later said that under the mental corrosion of race prejudice in Los Angeles I became bitter and saturated with hate, and the fiction he wrote during this time reflects this attitude. He eventually became famous and financially comfortable thanks to the more conventional Harlem Detective novels he wrote as an expat in Paris, but his Los Angeles novels stand alone as singularly harsh examples of noir.

Himes well understood that the rhythms and motions of the detective novel are every bit as important as its plot. Indeed, its more accurate to say that motion drives plot; for the detective, locomotion matches and propels thought and reasoning. No one setting or state of consciousness has all the answers; its only through the continued movement from location to location that a full and complete image begins to emerge. Its a tradition that has its roots in narrative ease  the first detective stories were serials, and a sequential, compartmentalized structure lends itself well to weekly installments  but soon became a cornerstone of the genre, even more so than first-person narration or femme fatales.

more here.
Cynthia Haven at The Book Haven:

Vladimir Mayakovsky was the celebrated hero poet of the Russian Revolution. His suicide in 1930, at the age of 37, rocked the Soviet world. What had happened? Had he become disillusioned with the new order he had championed? Or was it foul play? The Soviets put forth a different story  romantic disappointment. But the truth, as always, is more complicated.

Enter his biographer Bengt Jangfeldt, perhaps the foremost Mayakovsky expert in the world. I had the good fortune to visit Bengt in Stockholm this summer. He is one of the foremost authors in Sweden, and undoubtedly one of Scandinavias most generous spirits. He was not well that day, however, so we had to postpone a whirlwind tour of Stockholm for another visit and chat over coffee at his apartment in the old part of the city.

here and here). According to Stanfords Marjorie Perloff, this biography is essential reading not only for students of modernist poetry but also for anyone interested in the relationship of literature to life in the former Soviet Union. Before I left, he pressed the English translation of his Mayakovsky: A Biography (Chicago) into my hands. It hadnt been published at the time of Bengts short visit to Stanford three years ago (I wrote about his lecturesand). According to Stanfordsthis biography is essential reading not only for students of modernist poetry but also for anyone interested in the relationship of literature to life in the former Soviet Union.

more here.
Despite having included scenes of extreme violence, utter degradation and grisly revenge, Parker  directing his first feature film  labors mightily to keep his movie eminently watchable. And he succeeds in a way that makes the tragic story of a failed attempt at liberty feel ultimately triumphant.

Parker, who also wrote the script, stars as Turner, a Virginia slave whose masters allowed him to learn how to read, so long as he stuck exclusively to the Bible. Treated as something of a novelty by his owner, Turner was pressed into service to travel to nearby plantations and preach a twisted gospel of black subjugation to his fellow slaves.

But Turner's voracious reading of Scripture led him to believe he had been chosen to lead a rebellion. The resulting 48-hour bloodbath killed scores of white slave owners and their families, while the immediate reprisals by whites spelled death for hundreds of blacks  many of whom played no part in the uprising.

On that historical canvas Parker has painted a portrait of a conflicted hero whose worldview is both expanded by the majesty of Scripture and limited by his institutionalized naivete.
No one knows the bayou better than 73-year-old Pauline Dillie. For over two decades, shes traversed the landscape after raging storms and disasters to help people in need.



See Also: Find a Volunteer Opportunity Near You



Shes a familiar face behind the wheel of the red and white American Red Cross http://www.arcno.org/ emergency response vehicle delivering meals to folks who are stranded by high flood waters after storms. After Hurricane Isaac she opened the Raceland shelter and managed everything from bedding to food and volunteers.



Desperate situations are her forte. Service is in her blood.



Pauline was just a young girl when her two brothers left home to serve in World War II. Sadly, only one brother returned home alive.



Her mother sought the assistance of the American Red Cross in having her sons body returned to the United States, friend and fellow AARP member Kathleen Cuneo writes. Pauline remembered her mothers gratitude and enduring respect for this organization. The seeds of service implanted by this event eventually blossomed into Paulines own desire to assist others through the American Red Cross.



Fires. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Floods. Pauline responds to people in need in desperate situations.



I love helping people and after retiring, Im free to be able to do this, said Pauline. Its great satisfaction to serve. It means a lot to me. I enjoy connecting people in need to organizations that serve.



AARP Louisiana has awarded Pauline as the 2012 winner of the AARP State Andrus Award for Community Service, the associations most prestigious and visible volunteer award for community service.



The award symbolizes an individuals power and ability to make a difference in the lives of others.



Pauline is a woman of many gifts who readily shares her time, expertise and presence with whoever is in need and, in turn, enhances the quality of their life, Kathleen wrote in the award application. To serve, not to be served  the motto of Dr. Ethyl Percy Andrus is a hallmark of Pauline Dillies life.



A life-long Houma resident, Pauline raised five children and enjoys her 10 grandchildren. She serves in various community organizations including the Terrebonne food bank, Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana, St. Bernadette Soubirous Catholic Church, and AARP Chapters in Terrebonne Parish and Morgan City.



In 2011, she gave 682 hours of volunteer service and so far this year shes given 977 service hours.



Pauline is a thoughtful and committed person who, in her own quiet way and strengthened by a courageous heart and spirit, is contributing to a changing world, said Kathleen.



Pauline describes herself as being an organizer who likes to stay busy. After a career in retail and at Terrebonne General Hospital, its no wonder she understands service. She also cares for her 91-year old brother and his wife.



Pauline has the heart of a volunteer and community servant  someone who is willing to give without anything in return, someone who is willing to lead. AARP is honored to give her the Andrus award, said Dr. Brenda Hatfield, AARP Louisiana State President.
En espanol | Americans contributed more than $471 billion to charity in 2020, according to the Giving USA Foundations annual report on U.S. philanthropy. That generosity supports many amazing organizations that put those billions to work for health care, education, environmental protection, the arts and numerous other causes.

Unfortunately, it also opens a door for scammers, who capitalize on donors goodwill to line their pockets.

Many such frauds involve faux fundraising for veterans and disaster relief. Scammers know how readily we open our hearts and wallets to those who served and those rebuilding their lives after hurricanes, earthquakes or wildfires. Charity scammers are especially active during the holidays, the biggest giving season of the year.

They also follow the headlines: The coronavirus pandemic brought a bevy of phony appeals to donate to victims or emergency response efforts, as has the war in Ukraine.
Business roundup: Dunn Bros. to open in November, E Glass's big pitch

In business news, an Aberdeen entrepreneur is making a nationwide pitch, car wash coverts to Tunnel of Terror, Dunn Brothers to open in November.
Baku, Azerbaijan/Toronto, Canada  AZCAN, a joint Azerbaijani-Canadian manufacturer of armored vehicles, together with INKAS, a leading armored vehicle manufacturer, will display its line of armored vehicles at the second Azerbaijan International Defence Industry Exhibition (ADEX 2016) in Baku. The new product line has been specifically engineered for manufacturing within AZCANs Azerbaijani plant for global deployment.

The comprehensive design process involved the extensive work of INKASs top engineers with additional support by the Canadian government. The armored vehicles will arrive to the exhibition by charter flight in mid-September and are slated to be presented on one of the most prominent booths within the exhibition; fabricated from glass panels representing the colors of both the Azerbaijani and Canadian flags. The AZCAN Huron APC will be officially unveiled and attendants will be able to witness the vehicles special features firsthand as well as inspect its efficient interior design configuration.

AZCAN was established in Azerbaijan in order to commence local production of armored multipurpose vehicles utilizing Canadian expertise and regional resources with most vehicles intended for export. The company aims to become a leading manufacturer and exporter that positively contributes to the industry as well as the countrys economy. AZCAN primarily focuses on the design and production of special purpose military vehicles including but not limited to the Sentry APC, the Huron APC, Riot Control Vehicles and other law enforcement vehicles. The product line also consists of a wide range of other armored vehicles, such as executive SUVs, luxury sedans, cash-in-transit vehicles, and others.

As a leading global manufacturer of armored vehicles, INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing delivers vehicles to heads of state, military and law enforcement agencies, embassies around the world, global corporations and international organizations, including the UN and NATO. Producing armored vehicles for more than twenty years, the company has amassed the necessary experience allowing the newly-founded joint venture to instantly deliver high quality-engineered armored vehicles and comprehensive innovative technologies for civilian, special purpose or military use.

In order to provide the highest levels of protection, INKAS provides a full assortment of advanced defensive technologies. INKAS implements special applications and tactical equipment including, but not limited to, chemical protection, drone and fire detection devices, bomb signal jamming and a wide range of riot control and crowd dispersal solutions. To address the threats that customers face all over the world, INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing implements the best practices in technological innovation, design and quality management. INKAS armored vehicles are engineered to provide the utmost level of protection to their operators and passengers as well as meet the highest international standards as a result of their first-class assembly, certified armor and modern electronic components.

With multiple facilities across the world, INKAS aims to please every customer through its maximal efficiency, organized deployment and superior technical abilities. INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing is one of the largest armored vehicle manufacturers in North America, with a production capacity of 40-50 vehicles per month and turnaround time at the very top of the industry. Security and safety are the key guiding principles of the company and all materials are certified by third party organizations as well as tested at INKAS own testing facility in Toronto, Canada.

At INKAS, we take great pride in manufacturing products that save lives on a daily basis. Thankfully, only a small percentage of our civilian vehicles are ever fired upon, but when they were, we are proud to share that they have fulfilled their purpose with a 100% success rate.

Media Contact

Company Name: INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing

Contact Person: Roman Shimonov

Email: nachoua72@yahoo.com

Phone: (416) 645-8725

Address:3605 Weston Rd

City: North York

State: ON

Country: Canada

Website: https://inkasarmored.com
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)(Goldman Sachs) is a bank holding company and global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides services worldwide to a corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Its activities are divided into three segments: Investment Banking, Trading and Principal Investments, and Asset Management and Securities Services. On December 11, 2007, Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, a sub-prime mortgage investor, completed the sale of its Litton Loan Servicing business to Goldman Sachs. In May 2008, MBF Healthcare Partners, LP and Goldman Sachs announced the acquisition of OMNI Home Care (OMNI), a provider of skilled nursing and therapy home healthcare services. MBF Healthcare Partners, LP and Goldman Sachs will share joint ownership of OMNI. In June 2008, its division, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, and Cordova, Smart & Williams, LLC announced the acquisition of H2O Plus, LLC.
Rocket Internet builds and invests in Internet companies that take proven online business models to new, fast-growing markets. Rocket Internet focuses on five industry sectors of online and mobile retail services that make up a significant share of consumer spending: Food and Groceries, Fashion, General Merchandise, Home and Living and Travel. Its network of companies operates a variety of business models in a large number of countries around the globe with more than 36,000 employees at the end of 2015.We help people use their smartphones to get what they need, any place, any time, offering the same world-class user experience in all markets.
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The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) announced this week that over 1,200 CPAs across the state donated their time to local communities during the Institutes second annual Week of Service this past September.

Dwarfing last years volunteer group of approximately 800 volunteers, this years Week of Service saw 60 firm and PICPA-sponsored events held across Pennsylvania from Sept. 19  25.

PICPA worked with organizations including, but not limited to, the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, the Ronald McDonald House, food banks, and various other organizations.

PICPAs 2016 Week of Service was an even bigger success than our first initiative in 2015, stated Lisa Myers, PICPA president. CPAs across the state served many people of all ages during the week, and really enjoyed giving back to so many worthy causes. Its nice that PICPA members are always on board when it comes to giving back to their local communities.

The Week of Service represents just one of PICPA's charitable initiatives. Through their CPA Voice platform, CPAs provide services throughout the year, such as presenting financial literacy programs to schools and businesses, and accounting/tax advice via blogs and media.

For more information about PICPAs Week of Service, head to the Institutes site here.
Police in India have raided nine call centers in Mumbai and arrested 70 people who were calling phone numbers in the United States pretending to be Internal Revenue Service demanding payment for taxes.

A police official said that another 630 people were also under investigation in the scam after Wednesday's raid.

They would give an American name and a batch number and tell the [US] citizen that they owed the authorities $4,000, $5,000 or $10,000, Paramvir Singh, police commissioner in the Mumbai suburb of Thane, India, told The Guardian. They were instructed to stay on the phone and told that their homes would be raided by police within 30 minutes if they hung up. They made threats, they said: You have to pay, otherwise you will lose your job, your money, your house.

Victims were instructed to go to a nearby department store and buy a prepaid debt card that they would deposit the money on and then transfer it to a bank account in the U.S. The scam netted the operation approximately $150,000 a day, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Internal Revenue Service added new data elements last tax season to its computer system filters to catch suspected cases of identity theft-related tax fraud totaling $4.1 billion, according to a new report, but it posted information about the secret data elements on its public website IRS.gov before removing it.

The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, said the IRS tested 23 new federal tax return related data elements during the 2016 filing season in accordance with procedures in the Internal Revenue Manual. All 23 of the data elements became part of the IRSs Return Review Program system, although the IRS ended up using only three of the elements to systemically filter returns and help identify potential instances of identity theft tax refund fraud during the 2016 filing season.

As of March 25, 2016, the IRS identified approximately $4.1 billion in suspected identity theft tax refund fraud, of which $72 million (from 21,000 tax returns) could be attributed to the three new data elements. The IRS also attributed the prevention of 24,000 taxpayer returns from being incorrectly selected as potential identity theft tax refund fraud returns to one of the three data elements.

For the other 20 data elements, there was not enough historical data to create business rules that would allow the IRS to use them systematically during the 2016 filing season. The IRSs Applications Development division plans to decide in future filing seasons on potentially using the data elements.

The IRS wants to keep the data elements confidential and be kept a secret from the public. TIGTA said it agrees with the IRSs position and did not reveal them in the report to protect them from public exposure.

Nevertheless, TIGTAs audit team did a search of the IRSs public website and found schemas that included several of the new data elements. It notified the IRS about this finding and the IRS responded by removing the schemas containing the data elements from IRS.gov. TIGTA also identified two other documents on the IRSs public website containing information related to the data elements. One of the documents included specific information about one of the new data elements.

TIGTA recommended the IRS permanently remove the data elements from public access to ensure that inappropriate use cannot occur. The IRS should also do a thorough inspection of its public websites and publications to determine if other data element information is available to the public and ensure it is removed, TIGTA suggested, and the agency should put in place a secure process to provide the data elements to valid parties who have a need to access them, such as tax software developers.

The IRS agreed with one recommendation and plans to implement a secure process to provide the data elements to valid parties. The IRS partially agreed with two other recommendations and removed the schema information from its website. TIGTA maintains that data element exposure on the IRS public website and in publications increases the risk of fraud, and stands by its recommendation to remove data element information from the IRSs public website and in publications to minimize potential misuse.

In response to the report, Debra Holland, commissioner of the IRSs Wage and Investment Division, noted that the IRS convened a Security Summit in March 2015 with CEOs of the leading tax preparation firms, software developers, payroll and tax financial product processors and state tax administrators to discuss ways to leverage their collective resources to combat identity theft refund fraud. One of the outcomes was that software providers shared approximately 20 data elements from tax returns with the IRS and the states that could identify possible fraud. The IRS held subsequent meetings of the Security Summit last year and this year.

As a result of the Security Summit, from January to April 2016, the IRS stopped $1.1 billion in fraudulent refunds claimed by identity thieves on more than 171,000 tax returns, compared to $754 million in fraudulent refunds claimed on 141,000 returns for the same period in 2015, Holland noted. Better data from returns and information about schemes resulted in better internal processing filters that identify fraudulent tax returns, she noted.

She agreed that the processes and procedures used by the IRS to spot identity theft should not be made public, but she pointed out that the IRS publishes the schemas necessary for filing tax returns because software developers need to use them to develop their tax prep applications.

New data elements, resulting from the Security Summit, were added to the schemas to assist in fraud detection, Holland wrote. While it was preferable to provide some form of secure access to the schemas, a workable solution could not be implemented in time for the 2016 filing season. The IRS made an informed decision to accept the business risk of making the schemas public but not to include any information about the elements in Modernized e-File publications to provide them as much protection as possible. While knowledge about the existence of data elements in the header schemas might be helpful to fraudsters, those data elements by themselves do not necessarily increase the risk of fraud. The IRS removed the schema information from IRS.gov in March 2016, shortly after the audit team brought their concern to our attention.
(Bloomberg View) The details of Donald Trumps taxes are a bit of a mystery, even with the unauthorized release of a single tax return from 1995. Still, the evidence suggests that the real-estate magnate and presidential candidate may have used a staggering loss of $916 million to avoid paying income taxes for many years afterward.

As plenty of tax authorities have pointed out, this gambit is perfectly legal. The Internal Revenue Service calls it a net operating loss carry-forward, which can run as long as 20 years. (That includes a carry-backward provision that allows deductions of losses over two previous years.)

Trumps use of this provision is certainly worth discussing. But its also worth contemplating where the idea of carrying losses came from in the first place. Its a tangled tale indeed.

The U.S. didnt get a modern income tax until the passage of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution gave Congress the power to tax incomes from whatever source derived. This paved the way for the Revenue Act of 1913, which hit select citizens and corporations with the new income tax.

Under the original Revenue Act, taxpayers who sustained a loss could use it to offset profits made in other ventures the same year. But they could not carry these losses forward or backward to offset taxes in more profitable years.

Then came World War I. The U.S. entered the conflict in 1917, and taxes went up to pay for the war effort. Congress instituted an excess-profits tax, which aimed to prevent profiteering from a national emergency. It remained in place when the war ended just a year later.

In the fall of 1918, Congress sought to reform the tax code to address simmering complaints about inequities inherited from the war. It was from these deliberations that the idea of time-traveling losses was born.

Heres how a Senate Committee drafting the legislation framed the matter: Taxes which can easily be borne amid the feverish activity and patriotic fervor of war times, are neither so welcome nor so easily sustained amid the uncertainties, the depreciating inventories, and the falling markets which are apt to mark the approach of peace.

In testimony before Congress, business leaders echoed this assessment, claiming that the aggressive taxes on profits reported in 1917 and 1918 were unfair, given that the end of hostilities would saddle them with losses on inventories no longer needed for the war effort.

Reformers in Congress agreed. In a House of Representatives report drafted to accompany a new revenue bill, the legislations sponsors admitted that one of the most important provisions inserted by the committee is quite new to our tax laws. At that time, the committee noted, no recognition is given to net losses. Taxpayers who took a huge profit one year and a huge loss the next could not use the one to offset the other. This, the committee believed, does not adequately recognize the exigencies of business, and, under our present high rates of taxation, may result in grave injustice.

The end result was a bill that enabled individual and corporate taxpayers to carry losses backward or forward by one year. This aroused intense opposition from both Republicans and Democrats who argued that it subsidized bad business practices.

Republican Senator Irvine Lenroot of Wisconsin was especially vocal, arguing that it was unfair to demand of a business which is properly run that it pay into the Treasury, while other businesses, mismanaged, are allowed to make up their losses and deprive the government of a just tax in doing it. Lenroot suggested that the provision would benefit businesses built on ill-advised speculation.

In the end, these and other arguments failed and Congress instituted the first net-loss provision in the tax code. It was meant to deal with the aftermath of the war, but like many additions to the tax code, it proved difficult to dislodge.

In 1920, as the expiration of the net-loss carryover provision drew near, Congress enlarged it and made it permanent, enabling businesses to spread losses over three years. This was done against the backdrop of a painful recession. Robert Reed, president of the Investment Bankers Association of America, testified before Congress that carryover of net losses would prevent the gross injustices that have resulted from the accidents of business and inventory profits and taxable periods.

Congress agreed, and in 1921 a law permitting carryovers over a three-year period went into effect.

Its worth noting that the ostensible reason for allowing the original carryoversthe excess-profits tax instituted during wartime was repealed at this time as well. Rather imperceptibly, the rationale for carryovers had shifted. What had begun as a wartime exigency now became the basis for a new philosophy of taxation.

In 1932, Congress contemplated repealing the net-loss carryover provision, but resistance to the idea was strong. A congressional report on a revenue bill that year noted that this mechanism offered business essential protection against excessive hardships inherent in a tax based on arbitrary annual accounting. Nonetheless, Congress rolled back the carryover to a single year.

Then, in June 1933, Congress summoned J.P. Morgan Jr., son of U.S. historys most famous financier, to testify before a Senate committee investigating causes of the 1929 stock market crash. While Wall Street was the focus, much of the inquiry focused on the banking scions taxes: Neither Morgan nor his partners had paid income taxes in 1931 and 1932, thanks to their ability to spread losses across multiple years.

The outrage was immediate, and in the fall of 1933, Congress eliminated loss carryovers as part of the New Deals signature legislation, the National Industrial Recovery Act. For the next five years, neither individual nor corporate taxpayers could offset profits with losses unless they were incurred in the same year.

As the New Deal lost its more radical edge, the carryover provisions crept back. Beginning in 1938 and then in subsequent revisions, individuals and businesses regained their ability to spread out losses over ever-greater lengths of time. By the time Trump took his alleged $916 million loss, he could offset his profits two years in the past and 18 years into the future.

Revelations of this entirely legal tactic has sparked the same kind of outrage that greeted Morgan back in 1933. Perhaps Congress, once the election is over, will once again revisit this little-understood bit of the tax code. Stranger things have happened.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners, or of Accounting Today.
As a part of its overseas expansion plan, leading Animation studio, Green Gold Animation is pleased to announce the start of its US operations in Los Angles, California. Committed to develop international quality animation and content, the new location allows the much needed creative expansion, efficient design and advanced technological infrastructure. It also opens the doors to work with a wider client base of existing and upcoming studios.

US is home to path breaking animation with infinite creativity and we are exhilarated about our new venture. Our expansion plan indicates the growth of our creative endeavors, and most importantly, the confidence of reaching out to newer markets said Rajiv Chilaka founder of Green Gold Animation and creator of Chhota Bheem.

The new Green Gold Animation studio in Los Angeles will be headed by Marc Lumer, an animator, writer and childrens book illustrator. Marc brings in rich creative experience, having previously worked with Warner Bros and Dreamworks. He has lent his hand to a variety of projects at Disney TV Animation, Turner Feature Animation, Sony TV animation and Film Roman. Marc Joins Green Gold Animation Corporation - Los Angles, California as VP & Head of US Operations. He will be working closely with Rajiv Chilaka, Founder & CEO of Green Gold.

We are making good progress and we will continue to evolve our animation to ensure that they are in-sync with innovation; with Marc joining us, we see a huge scale up of exciting content and path breaking animation. We have carefully created a strategy to boost our services in US and increase our bouquet of offerings, added Chilaka.

The new facility will now oversee western markets after recruiting talent from the region. Chhota Bheems success story makes Green Gold a formidable player not just at home but now in the world wide hub of animation. With a 500 strong staff strength and an optimally operational facility in India, Green Gold will now take giant strides to expand the brand globally.
Media powerhouse, Aidem Ventures has recently roped in Sanjay Hemady & Sandeep Singh thereby constructing a robust management team along with Alok Rakshit and Joydeep Ghosh.

Sanjay and Sandeep come with over 2 decades of rich media experience. Both have been appointed as the Senior Vice Presidents at Aidem Ventures.

On the development, Alok Rakshit, President, Aidem Ventures said, I am delighted to welcome Sanjay & Sandeep to the Aidem family and wish them success in their new roles. I am confident that their rich experience & leadership assets will definitely be valuable for Aidem in the long run.

Sanjay Hemady joins the company from Clear Media India Pvt. Ltd. He has donned senior managerial roles across organizations like Clear Media India Pvt Ltd & CNBC TV18. He has been actively involved in driving the business at media companies like MTV, Indya.com, BBC World, IndusInd Media & Communications, Mid-Day and Indian Express. He will be heading Broadcast Sales for Aidem.

Speaking on his new responsibility, Sanjay Hemady said, Aidem Ventures is one well-poised media organization backed with zealous personnel. I am excited to be a part of such an environment and lead the high-spirited sales teams in their challenging yet fascinating responsibilities. I look forward to identify and scale up Aidems growth opportunities in the coming years.

On the other hand, Sandeep Singh who has served across esteemed organizations like R. K. Swamy, HTA [WPP], A.C. Nielsen, Sab TV and Sahara TV will be spearheading Strategy and Business Development for Aidem.

Sandeep Singh added, Aidems repertoire, strong presence, network, work-culture and passionate team of employees enticed me to consider this role. With a strong vision and strategy, I look forward to lead a committed squad in exploring new methods of functioning. I am determined to usher in fresh development tactics so as to further unleash Aidems potential to the fullest.

Since 2010, Aidem has been handling the foremost channel partners of crucial markets such as Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal spanning various genres such as GECs, movies, news and music. Aidem also enjoys a strategic partnership with Pixel Party - a filmmaking and motion design studio providing a larger spectrum of services to the broadcasters & advertisers.
Puneet Kapoor moves to McCann Bangalore as Executive Creative Director and would be responsible for creative output of McCann Bangalore. He has based at McCann Mumbai.

Kapoor started his career with Saatchi & Saatchi Delhi in 1997. In his career spanning 19 years, he has worked with agencies like Leo Burnett, Enterprise Nexus, Ogilvy, McCann, ElevenBrandworks and BBH before joining McCann.

He has worked on accounts like Marico, Skoda Motors, Vaseline, Movies Now, Jonnie Walker, VAT 69, RedBull, Acer, TVS, Google India, Western Union, NDTV Good Times, Perfetti Van Melle, General Motors, and Coca-Cola, to name a few.

Announcing Kapoors movement, Prasoon Joshi, Chairman APAC and CEO & Chief Creative Officer, McCann Worldgroup India, said, Puneet is from a rare breed of creative directors who though professionally trained as an art director also has great flair for writing. Puneet is truly an intricate craftsman. He also carries an immense sense of responsibility. I am sure, with Dileep Ashoka leading our operations from the front, this will be a formidable team that will further add value to our clients business.

Commenting on this movement, DileepAshoka  Head of McCann South India operations, said, We are delighted to have Puneet on board here. He has the rare combination of cross pollinating client business issues with creative solutions. Our clients can look forward to greater business success with his coming on board.

Kapoor added here, In a career spanning nearly two decades, Ive spent the maximum time at McCann and do feel a strong connect with the culture. Especially the last few years at Mumbai McCann, where I have loved working on brands like Parachute, Saffola, Complan, Glucon-D, Asian Paints, Piramali Range, IDFC Bank, Park Avenue and Fanta (South-east Asia region), to name a few. We have some solid brand portfolios at McCann Bangalore under ITC Aashirwaad, TVS and Britannia as mother brands, and I am really excited to partner and do some exciting and efficacious work to add more thump to these brands.
James Bond has added another cool accessory to his arsenal. Pan Bahars latest ad campaign featuring Pierce Brosnan has been the topic of conversation across social media throughout the day today. The ad has been trolled heavily on Twitter, with reactions ranging from amusement to incredulity to downright caustic.

Most were questioning the brand fit between Brosnan, the star of Bond films like Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day and The World Is Not Enough, and the pan masala brand. There were some who wondered whether Brosnan even knew what the product actually was that he was endorsing. It may be recalled that the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) slammed pan masala and tobacco ads that feature celebrities, calling them a violation of the self-regulation ad code.

Thus is not the first time that Pan Bahar has roped in a celebrity to endorse the brand. Pan Bahar earlier had Feroz and Fardeen Khan and Saif Ali Khan as its brand ambassadors. With this latest ad, conceptualised by DDB Mudra, the brand aims to up its game and position itself as the bond of all pan masalas.





Punning on the 007 Bond legend, the TVC has been shot in Austin, USA, and links the brand to the symbols of success like fast cars, VIP red carpets, macho men and stylish women. The TVC, shows Brosnan in his Bond avatar, only instead of using a gun to demolish the bad guys, he uses a box of his favourite Pan Bahar. After beating the goons to a pulp, Bond Brosnan settles down, saying Class never goes out of style.



On his association with Pan Bahar, Pierce Brosnan said, I am very excited to be chosen as the brand ambassador of a brand like Pan Bahar. Pan Bahar, like Bond, has stood the test of time and is a winner in its own right. It has got class. Thats something that never goes out of style.

The campaign has been launched across television, print and outdoor on October 7, 2016.

However, what has made the campaigns release all the more interesting are the conversations around it in social media. It may not be the virality that the makers of this ad might have been hoping for, but Bond and Pan Bahar will be etched on peoples minds for a long time, after all you cannot unsee what you will see in the TVC below:

Click here to view the Ad: https://youtu.be/VxqYzXCM21U

Commenting on bringing on board Brosnan for the brand campaign, Akhil Jain, CEO, Ashok & Co Pan Bahar, added here, For us, the decision to bring Pierce Brosnan on board as Pan Bahars brand ambassador speaks volumes about our vision and ambition. His class, look, style, sophistication, facial expression and body language, etc., tells a lot about the mastery, maturity and perfection. He is like a master of various talent. Pan Bahar, a master blend, stands for class, success and sophistication, etc. Hence, we see our association with Brosnan as a natural fit.

Sambit Mohanty, Creative Head, DDB Mudra North, added here, We live in a world where Indians are globally successful thanks to their creativity, audacity and entrepreneurial attitude. Thats why, when it came to assigning a new brand ambassador for Pan Bahar, Pierce Brosnan was a great choice. Hes the quintessential Bond  an epitome of suavity, style and success  all the attributes that Pan Bahar symbolises. And as an international star, he epitomises Pehchan Kamyabi Ki like nobody else.

Few reactionsfrom the web:
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner considered tragedy the suspension of cooperation with Russia on nuclear field, RIA Novosti reports.

Thats a real tragedy, because these are areas that we had successfully cooperated in the past. And again, its in the interest of our both our countries to continue those efforts, Toner said at a daily press briefing. Toner said the US regrets Russias such decision.

In his turn White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the US administration hopes to continue cooperation with Russia on nuclear security provision sector, despite the difficulties in bilateral relations.

The Russian Government on October 5 ordered to suspend the deal signed with US in 2013 in Vienna.
On the occasion of the 2016 AeroCongress which took place yesterday in Kiev and in the margins of a meeting with Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister, Vladimir Kistion, ACI EUROPE denounced the damaging impact that the territorial dispute between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar is having on European aviation, economic growth and job creation.





The European airport trade body expressed frustration over the fact that this bilateral dispute has resulted in a political deadlock for a number of important aviation policy issues at EU level. The EU-Ukraine aviation agreement is one of the victims of this ongoing saga.



Following a successful negotiation, this agreement was initialled almost 3 years ago at the Eastern European Partnership Summit*. However, ever since then, the Gibraltar deadlock has prevented its signature and activation by EU Transport Ministers. As a result, a closer integration of the Ukrainian aviation market into the EU Single aviation market remains blocked. This means that airports and airlines on both sides are unable to take advantage of the air route development and traffic growth opportunities afforded by the agreement  with consumers and businesses ultimately being deprived of the benefits of increased and more affordable connectivity.



Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE said Down the line - and alongside other external policy considerations - the Gibraltar deadlock means we are missing out on opportunities for growth and job creation that Europe so badly needs. This is the case today with the EU-Ukraine aviation agreement which cannot be activated, but also with the Single European Sky  where legislative proposals are also stalled. Next in line might be the EU-Brazil aviation agreement currently being finalised, which might well be blocked for the same reason.



He added With its Aviation Strategy adopted last December, the European Commission has put our sector in the spotlight as part of its focus on growth, investment & jobs  recognising the tremendous value of air connectivity for the economy**. In the past, the Gibraltar dispute did not stand in the way and should not now. We need a swift, responsive and responsible solution.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American workers who faced competition from abroad for their jobs took on larger levels of debt during the lead-up to the Great Recession, according to a study led by Jean-Noel Barrot and Erik Loualiche, finance professors at the MIT Sloan School of Management. The study's findings come at a time when the impact of China on the U.S. economy and the costs and benefits of international trade agreements are hotly debated.

"Past research has shown that import competition from China, which surged after 2000, was a major driver in the dramatic reduction in U.S. manufacturing employment," says Loualiche. "Our research shows that those displaced workersmainly blue-collar laborers without a college degreecoped with their job losses and wage drops by taking high levels of debt during that time." These groundbreaking results suggest that competition by China might have fueled the credit bubble that led to the Great Recession.

Using individual-level data on leverage and defaults in parallel with cross-regional variation in exposure to foreign import competition, the researchers and their colleaguesMatthew Plosser of The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Julien Sauvagnat of Bocconi Universityfound that household debt levels increased significantly in counties where American manufacturing jobs had shifted overseas. The team found that on average those regions' household debt grew by 30% more than elsewhere in the country.

The researchers also found that the rise in household debt was strongest in areas where house prices had appreciated the most. Put simply, the more readily available home equity loans were, the easier it was for unemployed workers to lever up. "It's not unreasonable for people who've lost their jobs to borrow against their homesparticularly when the value of the houses has gone up," he says. "Besides, most of those workers probably thought their job loss was temporary and they did not realize just how badly house prices would crash."

Free trade has emerged as a major issue in the current presidential campaign. Candidates on both sides of the aisle have criticized NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership claiming that these agreements have hurt average Americans by shipping their jobs abroad. Proponents, meanwhile, say these trade practices open markets and lead to broader economic development that more than offsets the lost jobs.

"It wasn't very long ago economists thought that trade was uniformly good and that we needed to promote it at all costs," says Loualiche. "But we are beginning to gain a deeper understanding that there are both winners and losers of globalization."

Import Competition and Household Debt by Jean-Noel Barrot, Erik Loualiche, Matthew Plosser, and Julien Sauvagnat

CONTACT: Paul Denning, denning@mit.edu, 1-617-253-0576

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160526/372755LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/international-trade-and-household-debt-mit-sloan-researchers-show-how-import-competition-from-china-fueled-the-credit-bubble-of-the-2000s-300341190.html

SOURCE MIT Sloan School of Management
Prof. Myat Thandar, Rector of University of Nursing, Yangon, Myanmar, led a delegation to visit National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, facilitating the collaboration in nursing education with the university, on August 17.

NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su extended her warm welcome to the delegation and shared her personal sentiments and experience of precious visit to Yangon University in July. She said, We should continue our efforts to further develop and deepen the partnership.

Thandar and Su exchanged their opinions on higher education and the current trends in nursing education.

Thandar raised her concern about the nursing shortage in Myanmar and looked for further assistance and collaborative efforts from NCKU.

She said, I think the nursing program here in NCKU is very interesting, especially the specialty programs. There are a lot of similarity between yours and the ones we have, so I can see theres great potential for us to collaborate in nursing education.

Su said, Our students from different levels and backgrounds could probably best participate in your bottom-up training need.

For instance, we have wonderful master level graduate students who have already gone through solid four-year college level of nursing education, in addition they have been trained with proper methodology and further specialties of any specific fields at different levels, according to Su.

Because of the closeness of our regions, ethnic linkages and probably some of our cultural values, they can be considered a nice supporting group to join your education for the nursing training sectors throughout the country, she added.

Thandar said, In my opinion, every country should have a pool of competent trainers.

She noted that the nursing organizations in Myanmar are in need of specialist nurses from abroad who can train their trainers and educators in the universities.

We need professionals like specialist nurses from abroad to come to us and train like 10 to 15 nurses and then preparation for education, this is very important, she said.

The Myanmar delegation includes Thandar, Prof. Theingi Myint, Pro-rector and Prof. Khin Mar Myint, Head of Training and Research from the University of Medicine, and Daw Sein Yaw May from the Community Health Nursing Department in the University of Nursing.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006006574/en/

National Cheng Kung University

Sonia Chuang, +886-6-275-7575 Ext. 50042

News Center

sonia20@mail.ncku.edu.tw
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The departments of Human Services and Education and The Arc of Pennsylvania today released the following joint statement on the 45th anniversary of the Right to Education in Pennsylvania:

"Pennsylvania has long been a leader in recognizing and serving the needs of individuals with disabilities. Our commonwealth is the birthplace of the right to education for students with disabilities, and Pennsylvania's standards paved the way for national changes.

Forty-five years ago today the commonwealth and The Arc of Pennsylvania (then called Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children) signed an agreement requiring that all children 6 to 21 years old with disabilities receive a free public education by September 1, 1972.

Each child was to be offered an education appropriate to his or her learning capacities with a clear preference for educating children in regular public school classrooms.

In 1975, the "right to a full and appropriate education" was codified and extended to all children in the nation by the U.S. Congress as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Pennsylvania led the way in what may be the most significant step in history for children with disabilities. Since this landmark agreement, every child has had the right to attend public school with their brothers, sisters, and friends, setting the stage for a life of full participation in their communities as co-workers, neighbors, and citizens of the commonwealth.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Rachel Kostelac, DHS, 717.425.7606

Nicole Reigelman, PDE, 717.783.9802

Maureen Cronin, The Arc of Pennsylvania, 717.234.2621

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-celebrates-the-45th-anniversary-of-the-right-to-education-for-all-children-300341274.html

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Human Services; Pennsylvania Department of Education
Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recent global sheet metal equipment market report. This research report also lists 13 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

5-axis Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machining had already made a significant difference in the metal processing industry by reducing the cycle time, increasing efficiency, and decreasing the wastage of material. With an ever-increasing demand from end-user industries, the 6-axis CNC machine has been introduced. This innovation is expected to redefine machining operations.

Reduced CAPEX spending by manufacturers has compelled industries to scout for low-cost options. This trend has contributed to the easy reach of refurbished machines for consumers. In addition, the rising demand for these machines is attributed to their cost differential of 50%-75%. This, coupled with the highly fragmented industry scenario, has provided a threat to established players with a possibility of subdued sales.

Competitive vendor landscape

The global sheet metal equipment market is fragmented with the presence of numerous players. There is a tough competition among major vendors in the market. Apart from top vendors, several regional and local vendors have started manufacturing customized and energy-efficient equipment, which provide a tough competition for their international counterparts in terms of the cost. Although the market seems unsaturated with several new vendors, it is quite difficult for them to compete with international vendors in terms of quality, features, functionalities, and services. With the introduction of products with new features and technologies, competition will become more aggressive.

For sheet metal equipment, manufacturers' growth opportunities in the short term will likely be realized in smaller but highly developed European manufacturing nations, such as Belgium and the UK, along with the Asian market such as Singapore, says Gaurav Mohindru, a lead tools and components analyst from Technavio.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=53064

Technavios sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Top five sheet metal equipment market vendors

Amada

Amada offers a range of down-acting precision press brakes. The HD NT series is an electric/hydraulic and down-acting system that delivers high accuracy. This series features a hybrid drive system, engineered for low-energy consumption, and require less hydraulic fluid than the conventional machines. The company offers various solutions under this market.

The EG 6013 is a high precision and speed compact bending solution, featuring an advanced and precise dual servo power drive system. Some of its key features include dual servo power drive, AMNC 3i, and L-shift back gauge.

TRUMPF

The TruBend series 3000 allows production even at lower use rates, which is profitable. It helps customers enter the field of TRUMPF bending technology and also expand the existing machinery. Some of its key features include cost-efficiency (even when operated at low capacity), high productivity, high part accuracy, simple operation (well thought-through control), and others.

DMTG

DMTG manufactures and sells products such as flexible production lines, bridge type machining centers, CNC milling and boring centers, machining centers, CNC milling machines, CNC lathes, conventional lathes, and drilling machines. These products are offered in a range of series to various industries, such as automation, automobile, shipbuilding, engine, and general engineering.

It offers automobile cylinder blocks, transfer line of crank, and transfer line of drilling and tapping centers. These cater to industrial sectors, such as internal combustion engine, automotive, general machinery, light industry machinery, electric generator, agricultural machinery, and civil machinery and diesel locomotives.

DMG Mori

DMG Mori established its presence in the machine tools market with its range of offerings. It continues to develop and promote the software solution CELOS, which is a control and technology-independent system that supports interaction between machine and its operators. Its new app was introduced in April 2015.

U.S. Industrial Machinery

The company offers various hydraulic press brake models, ranging in sizes from 22 tons to 440 tons, 4 feet length to 13 feet length. Its color graphic CNC press brakes can deal with projects that require precision, speed, and volume. The control has a 6 feet LCD touchscreen, controls both the bend angle and back gauge position, and allows 10 bend per program/cross section. This features a tool library, auto back gauge retract, auto bend sequence, spread length, calculated bend allowance, interference bend chart, programmable ram dwell, and others. It can be used with a removable USB drive for infinite program storage.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Metal Fabrication Equipment Market 2016-2020

Global Friction Stir Welding Equipment Market 2016-2020

Global Waterjet Cutting Machine Market 2016-2020

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but cant find what youre looking for? Dont worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005307/en/

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on the initiative of Russia on the situation in Aleppo, to discuss the proposal of UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on the withdrawal of the militants of the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra from the eastern part of the city, TASS reported.

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations told TASS, the meeting is scheduled for 10:00 New York time.



"The meeting will be held at 10:00," the Missions press service told TASS.

The meeting, which will be held behind closed doors, was included in the Council's work program for Friday.

Staffan de Mistura on Thursday proposed to hold consultations on withdrawal of organization Jabhat al-Nusra militants from eastern Aleppo to Idlib. This, according to him, might end armed confrontation in this part of town, and its residents will have access to humanitarian aid. According to him, there are about 900 organization Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in eastern Aleppo.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the initiative "deserves careful consideration." "We focus on always looking for constructive steps," Lavrov added.
621st heads to Haiti for Matthew relief

More than 30 members of the 621st Contingency Response Wing aboard a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., wait for equipment to be loaded on before takeoff on their way to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in response to Hurricane Matthew Oct. 6, 2016. The 621st CRW is supporting the government of Haiti's request for humanitarian assistance. Once on the ground, the CRW will provide assistance by facilitating the movement of humanitarian aid and cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Martyn)
E-4Bs realign under 8th Air Force, 595th CACG stands up

The 8th Air Force has another aircraft in its inventory, and its not a bomber.



The E-4B, which serves as the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) and is a key component of the National Military Command System for the president, the secretary of defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently transferred from Air Combat Command to Air Force Global Strike Command.



The Air Forces four E-4Bs, which are based out of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, were commemorated during a transfer ceremony Oct. 7.



The Air Force is continuing on a path to improve how its nuclear forces are organized, trained and equipped, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the 8th Air Force commander and officiator of the ceremony. The E-4B may not function in the same capacity as our bomber force, but it certainly has a role to play within the nuclear enterprise and seems only fitting that it resides within the command responsible for nuclear operations.



The aircraft realignment is a part of a larger effort to centrally manage the Air Forces nuclear enterprise and supporting systems.



To improve central management of the nuclear enterprise, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh directed that the Air Force create an organization with a clear line of communication between the president and members of the nuclear task forces. Air Force Global Strike Command was designated as the Air Force lead for nuclear command, control and communications (C3).



As a key component of the National Military Command System, which keeps the president connected to nuclear and conventional forces around the world, the E-4B fell within the restructuring initiative.



Also acknowledged during the transfer ceremony was the activation of the 595th Command and Control Group, the 8th Air Force unit responsible for the E-4B.



The realignment helps us better advocate for nuclear (command and control) and simplifies the chain of command, said Col. Robert Billings, the 595th CACG commander. "One of my first steps as commander will be to address manpower needs and develop the group."



The 595th CACG is comprised of four squadrons: the 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron, which operates the aircraft; the 595th Strategic Communication Squadron, which provides real-time, secure, nuclear survivable missile warning and C3 capabilities; the 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, responsible for sustainment and upkeep of the E-4B as well as the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron.



Ultimately, the realignment of the E-4B and activation of the 595th CACG marks another step in our journey to strengthen the enterprise as our nuclear deterrent forces remain at the forefront of our nations security, Bussiere said.
NNSA and Air Force conduct two successful joint flight tests

In collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, NNSA conducted successful surveillance flight tests using joint test assemblies (JTA) of the B61-7 and B61-11 earlier this month. Analysis and flight recorder data from the tests indicate that both were successful.



JTAs are mock weapons containing sensors and instrumentation that allow scientists and engineers from national laboratories to assess their performance. The assemblies contain no nuclear materials and are not capable of nuclear yield. These assemblies also include a flight recorder that stores bomb performance data for each test.



The primary objective of flight testing is to obtain reliability, accuracy, and performance data under operationally representative conditions. Such testing is part of the qualification process of current alterations and life extension programs for weapon systems. NNSA scientists and engineers use data from these tests in computer simulations developed by Sandia National Laboratories to evaluate the weapon systems reliability and to verify that they are functioning as designed.



The B61 is a critical element of the U.S. nuclear triad and the extended deterrent, said Brig. Gen. Michael Lutton, NNSAs Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application. The recent surveillance flight tests demonstrate NNSAs commitment to ensure all weapon systems are safe, secure, and effective.



Flight testing is performed jointly by the applicable Department of Defense military service and NNSA. The B61-7 and B61-11 test assemblies were released from two separate B-2A Spirit stealth bombers from the 509th Bomber Wing of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The tests were conducted at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.



The B61 assemblies are jointly designed by Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. Their components are manufactured at the Kansas City National Security Campus and assembled at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.



Learn more about flight testing and NNSAs mission to maintain the stockpile without explosive underground nuclear testing.


[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n August 11, the apex court had denied interim bail to Asaram in a rape case and directed AIIMS to set up a medical board to ascertain his health condition before taking up his regular bail plea. All India Institute of Medical Sciences told the Supreme Court that the health condition of self-styled religious figure Asaram Bapu was stable. Asaram, accused of rape, had refused to undergo several tests, the seven-member board also said in its report filed before the bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on October 17. Asaram was arrested by Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then. On August 9, the High Court had rejected his bail application in the rape case. A teenage girl had accused Asaram of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur.

In January last year, a witness in a rape case against spiritual guru Asaram Bapu was shot dead in Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar. Police said Akhil Gupta, 35, was shot by unknown persons on his way to home. He is the second witness to be killed in the case after Amrut Prajapati, a former Asaram aide who was shot dead in June last year in Gujarat. Gupta was a cook and personal aide of Asaram Bapu, who has been in jail since August, 2013, for allegedly sexually assaulting a schoolgirl. Since then, he has been booked, along with his son, for the alleged rape of two sisters in Surat, Gujarat. Gupta had been questioned by the Gujarat Police in 2013 and had reportedly given a statement against the self-styled godman who runs over 400 ashrams across India.

The women had filed a police complaint and accused Asaram Bapu of sexual assault between 1997 and 2006 when she was staying in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in 2013. Her younger sister had filed a separate complaint against 76-year-old Asarams son Narayan Sai, accusing him of repeated sexual assault between 2002 and 2005 when she was living in his Surat ashram. One of the women had approached the court for permission to change her earlier statement, raising speculation that there was pressure on the complainants and witnesses. The court rejected her request.

The Surat-based sisters have accused Asaram and his son Narayan Sai of raping them when they stayed at his ashrams in Ahmedabad and Surat between 1997 and 2006. Asaram and his son would have been convicted months ago. Obviously, these types of incidents will continue till the case becomes weak and afterwards these alleged criminals will be set free. Justice delayed is justice denied. If two witnesses are shot dead, one does not need rocket science to know who is behind these killings and this cannot be termed as mere rivalry with someone else because two things cant be a co-incidence. Alas! The court needs proof because its eyes are blind-folded. God only knows how this maniac would be controlled.

Narayan Sai was earlier accused by a married woman of trying to sexually assault her. There are thousands of woman followers these father-son duo have. It is really surprising that suddenly cases were rained against father-son and then stopped. Why these cases were not reported earlier? Is it that the ex-employees (female) those were thrown out from Ashram for their misconduct are framing this son and father with the intention of revenge or is it a way to bargain for some settlement? I dont want to go harsh making all irrelevant comments as other media houses are doing, waiting for judiciary to decide the duos fates.

Today, the great heritage of Indian Sadhvis, Sadhus and saffron cult are in question. Their integrity is under suspension. Their involvement in terror, economic offences, sex scandals, murders, crime is on the rise. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are witnesses to an unusual sight: scores of saffron-clad swamis exhorting people. People are attending them believing that they will wash away their sins by being a follower of one of these spiritual leaders. They think they will be purified and the path to salvation will be cleared. Hindus have been made to believe this nonsense by the so-called swamis, sadhus and other religious leaders.

Saffron is lured in perversion and scandals. Being spiritual guru is nothing but a commercial gain. Hinduism can be proud that, though there has been so much perversion and distortion, there is always room for reform. We have a history of powerful reform movements happening in this country. Unfortunately, such movements last for some period. Also, the way the international media glamorised the Saffron Sadhus and Sadhvis in recent time, made the situation awkward for us Indians. All this is very embarrassing and I felt we needed to challenge it. Indian society needs to change; it needs to inculcate the values of doubt and dissent. There must be debate and society should question the authority of religious leaders. Nowhere in the world would you find the kind of abominable caste system that still persists in India, and the indignities that are heaped on humanity. Yet, such issues are very cleverly skirted by organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. VHP even tried to hijack and politicise these issues. Actually, these Sadhus are very obscurant; they have no role whatsoever. A large number of naked Naga Sadhus are criminals on the run. They chose to become sadhu to protect themselves from the law. If you visit their camps, youll find pitchers full of alcohol and lots of narcotics. Its all a part of their religious rituals. The naga sadhus are discrediting the great spiritual traditions of this country. They should be totally disowned by the so-called mainstream religious leaders. They should be told to change their ways and not go naked. Because of all this, Hinduism is facing a crisis today. The basic crisis is one of social injustice that emanates from the caste system, from gender inequality and so on. The majorities are going to these Sadhus with the idea of personal salvation or to get rid of their poverty.

In the past, Asaram had come under sharp criticism when he made controversial remarks about the December 16 gangrape case, when he said that the girl would have escaped the ordeal had she called her attackers brothers and pleaded them for mercy. Then he ran in trouble with the Serious Fraud Investigating Office (SFIO) seeking his prosecution in a Rs. 700-crore land grab case in Madhya Pradesh. The case pertains to 200 acres of land in Ratlam and the SFIO, which wants to prosecute Asaram and his son under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and Companies Act 1956. For spreading water on the occasion of Holi, he was targeted by many politicians in Maharashtra. Bapu is always in news for all the wrong reasons. There are many controversies revolving against him. However, none has been proven yet.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
Our government is finally realising that corporate support is needed for enhancing agricultural production and development of the rural society. In most of the villages, the land holding is small and fragmented (not at one place inspite of consolidation) so the farmers need support of the government and corporates. Government can support by ensuring that district and tahsil authorities actively align themselves to gram sabha and gram panchayats. Corporates can assist by adopting a cluster of villages for economic and moral support. They will derive profits by setting up cold storages, food processing units, sale and maintenance of agricultural implements etc. Then, it should not be considered as corporate social responsibility. Look at actor Nana Patekar who is not thinking about earning profits but is working for social causes like providing assistance to drought hit farmers.

Corporates, on their own may not be willing to adopt villages, it is the duty of the government to persuade them. The government can ask organisations to adopt a village and provide them tax incentives. It is through these efforts that equitable growth will be ensured. Primary schools, health centres should be established. Milk production and processing can be undertaken so that rural society finds self-sustenance. Medium and small industries can be established such as hand looms and power looms. We have to shun this mentality that industry can only be established in big cities and not in semi-urban and rural areas. Corporates must take responsibility to develop villages to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas.

If gram panchayats are strengthened then pressure on High Court and Supreme Court will be reduced drastically. We already see educated lady sarpanch in many villages and its the governments job to encourage, facilitate and empower them. There is a need to impart training to a good workforce for electrifying the villages and ensure effective maintenance of power distribution system. The government can glorify such effort by holding official meetings in village once a while and not remain attached with mantralaya. The subject of equitable distribution of wealth can thus be addressed. Hitherto, our efforts have not been directed along these lines and hence population and pollution is rising in metropolitan cities. Money will come from corporates, BCCI, rich temples, super rich spiritual leaders. It will not come easily. The government must follow the Carrot and stick policy and offer incentive those organisations who indulge in corporate social responsibility activities. Appreciation and awards should be reserved mostly for those engaged in rural, agricultural, horticultural and animal husbandry development.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday that the India-Pakistan border will be sealed completely by December 2018.

The minister said the situation on the border would be continuously monitored. Rajnath Singh said a new concept, Border Security Grid, would be put in place after taking inputs from all border states. Tension between India and Pakistan has increased, countrymen should trust security forces and stand by them, said Singh.

We will start a new concept called the Border Security Grid, inputs from all border states will be taken, said Singh.

He was speaking after meeting the chief minister and home ministers of states that border Pakistan  Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat  to take stock of security arrangements.

The nations security will never be compromised.

It was, however, not clear which border Rajnath was speaking about. If the sealing happens along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan, it would leave out Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which Indians would construe as a defeat. If the border includes PoK, Pakistan could see it as an act of aggression.

Noting that tensions between India and Pakistan have increased, Singh said that the countrymen should trust security forces and stand by them.

He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the states which share border with Pakistan.

It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders, Singh said.

The Home Minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added this project will be periodically monitored by Home Secretary at the central level, BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level.

He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border.

The surgical strikes have also ignited a political fight back home with opposition parties demanding proof and the BJP accusing them of dishonouring the army.

Tension between India and Pakistan has increased, so we should be united and believe in our army, Singh said, an apparent rebuke to opposition parties.
Monika Ghurde, a well-known perfumer, was found dead at her residence in Goas Sangolda village on Friday.

There were no clothes on her body and her hand and legs were tied to a bed, said the police, who suspect that the 39-year-old was raped and murdered. There are marks on the neck that could indicate that she was strangled, said JG Dalvi, police inspector at Porvorim, who is probing the case.

A murder case was registered and the body was sent for forensic analysis, police said.

Her body has been sent for autopsy and officials have started questioning Ghurdes neighbours. Ghurde, the famed perfume specialist, was living in a rented three-bedroom flat in Sangolda village, since July after shifting from the adjoining Porvorim village.

The building watchman has allegedly told the police that he had no information on anyone entering the apartment. The police have rounded up several people from the village, which is 5 km away from Goas famous Calangute beach.

Before being a perfume designer, Monika Ghurde was a successful photographer. She later pursued perfumery and started off her first lab in Chennai. She also co-founded Graf Publishing, design and publishing company.

She was known for conducting smell workshops in various part of the world and was involved in collaboration projects in Europe, India and New York.

Monika believed ones choice of fragrance reveals a great deal about their personality and mood. Nobody knows what the nose knows, despite the fact that for centuries human beings have used fragrant materials to pray, to heal, to make love and war. It has always been a part of our legacy. We recognise that our sense of smell plays an important role in the formation and expression of human consciousness, reads her website.
For the first time, Pakistan has linked peace in war-torn Afghanistan to the resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying a solution to both is required for peace and they cannot be compartmentalized.

Road to peace in Kabul lies in Kashmir in the sense that when you talk of peace, you cannot compartmentalise peace, you cant segregate a section ok you can have peace in Kabul and let Kashmir burn. That is not going to happen, Pakistan Prime Ministers special envoy on Kashmir Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said.

So you (US) talk of a comprehensive peace settlement, so let the people of South Asia not be hostage to the hostility of the past. Let them move forward, said Syed, Chairman of the Pakistan Senates Defence and Defence Production Committee said during an interaction at Washington-based think-tank Stimson Centre.

He is accompanied by Shezra Mansab, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, as Special Envoys of Pakistan Prime Minister on Kashmir.

Our core issue this time is Kashmir and no peace can prevail in the region, if this issue is not solved. It is an international dispute. It is not an internal problem. The stakes are very high now, we are nuclear neighbours so we need to have peace on the issue of Kashmir and then rest of the things can be solved, Mansab said.

She added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has offered peace talks without any preconditions but it has been consistently rejected by India.

The way to move forward is negotiations. We are ready to talk on any subject. It is India which says that it is willing to talk about only one subject. We are ready to talk on that subject as well as other subjects, she said.

Referring to the lackluster response that they received during their visit to Washington DC, Michael Krepon of the Stimson Centre asked as to why the US should interfere in this.

Why, when it is so hard for the US to my embarrassment to get involved in more helpful way in Syria, why should the US listen to the argument to be more involvement in Kashmir, Krepon said, adding that the situation in Kashmir is much better than many other conflict prone areas of the world, including Syria.

The two Pakistani envoys had no clear explanation to it.

We request the US to intervene, because it has leverage with India to allow negotiations to start, to end human rights violations in Kashmir, to make sure that the UN resolutions are implemented, Syed said.

Pakistan, which has been hosting several million refugees for the past three decades, does not push people in war zone, he said.

We are facing the consequences of bad decisions made in London, Brussels or Washington, he said.

Responding to a question, Syed said Pakistan is willing to do anything what India asks for confidence building measure so as to start negotiations.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016  A USDA review of the American Egg Boards activities found instances of inappropriate conduct on the part of AEB officials, but stops short of accusing them of violating the law governing the checkoff.

The investigation was triggered in October 2015 after complaints of AEB misconduct relating to an eggless mayonnaise made by Hampton Creek Inc. called Just Mayo. The investigation looked into nine separate allegations raised by Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick, but in a memo, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service said the report did not find evidence to substantiate all nine allegations against AEB. The results of the investigation were first reported by Politicos Morning Agriculture.

One of the allegations involved AEB employees and an alternate board member exchanging emails specifically about Tetrick, including references to potentially pooling money to put a hit on him and having old buddies from Brooklyn pay him a visit. The AEB officials admitted the comments were made in jest but were nonetheless inappropriate and have apologized to Tetrick.

AMS also found that inappropriate discussions about attempting to block sales of Just Mayo never led to corresponding action. AMS could find no documentation to show AEB paid bloggers to discredit Hampton Creek, another of the allegations, or that AEB had lobbied the Food and Drug Administration to go after Tetrick for product-labeling issues.

The review did find pop-up ads developed by AEB to be outside of AMS guidelines. AMS staff had approved the content of the advertising  a common practice for checkoff marketing  but AEB did not disclose that the messages were going to be targeted at terms related to Hampton Creek products and search terms. The ads were removed from the internet prior to the initiation of the AMS review.

In a statement, AEB Chairman Blair Van Zetten said that AEB has received the USDA report addressing allegations made by Hampton Creek against AEB. There were no findings of violation of (the law that created the egg checkoff). AEB has cooperated fully and has no further comment at this time."

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In addition to Just Mayo, Hampton Creek, based in San Francisco, also produces Just Cookie Dough and Just Cookies. Its website boasts that Hampton Creek is the fastest-growing food company on earth based on the philosophy that the right thing, for our bodies and for the world should be affordable and unthinkably, mouthwateringly delicious.

A spokesperson for Hampton Creek did not respond to an Agri-Pulse request for comment.

Hampton Creek apparently has its own ethical challenges. In September, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that the company secretly sent out squads of so-called Creekers to purchase large quantities of Just Mayo from Whole Foods and Safeway stores, ostensibly to make the brand look popular with consumers  and to investors. Hampton Creek said the buybacks were for quality control.

AEB works to increase demand for eggs and egg products through research and promotion. It is funded by an assessment, or checkoff, on egg production from companies with more than 75,000 hens.

(This story was updated at 1:45 p.m. to add reference to Bloomberg Businessweek story.)

#30

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh told Armenpress the Defense Army soldier was wounded by the Azerbaijani shooting in one of the military units located in the southern direction of the NKR Defense Army.

The Ministrys announcement reads: On October 7 at 08:30, soldier Hayk L. Hambardzumyan (born in 1996) sustained gunshot wound by the Azerbaijani shooting in one of the military units located in the souther direction of the Defense Army.

Investigation is underway to clarify the details of the case.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016  U.S. and EU negotiators say they spent a good chunk of time during Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks this week seeking agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues, some of which are keeping some U.S. beef, pork and poultry out of Europe.

We spent about three days on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, Dan Mullaney, the chief U.S. negotiator, told reporters today in a teleconference during the 15th round of T-TIP talks in New York.

Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, chief EU negotiator, agreed, saying a lot of time was spent on regulatory coherence on animal and plant SPS issues.

Mullaney also said the two sides also devoted more than a day on agriculture tariffs with the aim of eliminating as many as possible.

Reducing tariffs will be key to a successful treaty, David Salmonsen, a senior director for congressional relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in a recent interview, but he said non-tariff barriers must be removed first.

SPS issues like Europes effective ban on U.S. poultry are key to getting a good T-TIP deal for American agriculture, Salmonsen said. The EU has virtually halted U.S. chicken imports because European countries ban the type of antimicrobial rinses used by most U.S. producers to prevent salmonella contamination.

Other non-tariff barriers to U.S. agriculture include an EU prohibition on ractopamine, a drug commonly used by U.S. ranchers to promote the production of lean meat, and the EU ban on beef raised with artificial growth hormones.

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Mullaney and Garcia-Bercero also said they have been trying to iron out their differences on Europes demands for Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs). Mullaney said negotiators will be spending much of today working on PGIs.

PGIs are scorned by much of the U.S. agricultural sector. Dairy producers are particularly upset over European attempts to protect what many in the U.S. consider common names for food products like Asiago cheese.

There is growing doubt that the two sides will be able to complete T-TIP during the last months of the Obama administration, but the chief negotiators said they wont let up on their efforts.

Looking ahead, we plan to keep working to make progress in the coming months to deliver real, near-term benefits to our people, Mullaney said in a statement released today. Our EU colleagues share that goal. In the remaining time of the current U.S. administration, there is still much that we can accomplish together.
Former U.S. Army program manager for the UH-72A Lakota helicopter program, LTC David R. Cheney, sits down with Airbus Helicopters to talk about the aircraft that will train every Army pilot for at least the next two decades, and explains the keys to a successful collaboration between company and customer.

LTC David R. Cheney, the U.S. Armys former program manager for the services UH-72A Lakota helicopter, with Ryan Lee, AHI Lead Aircraft Technician LUH, during a visit to the company's production site in Columbus, Mississippi





My predecessor said, Look, this is going to be the easiest job youve ever had, recalls Cheney. Nevertheless budget challenges intervened and we had to make some very difficult decisions.



In 2013, neither Cheney nor anyone at Airbus could have predicted where the program stands now: The Lakota is one of just four rotorcraft that the Army will fly in coming years, and it has been selected as the initial entry rotary wing trainer for the service, which is the largest single operator of rotorcraft in the world.



A week before turning over the reins of the program to his successor, and moving on to his next assignment, Cheney sat down with Airbus Helicopters to talk about the aircraft that will train every Army pilot for at least the next two decades, and explain the keys to a successful collaboration between company and customer.



AH: What are your personal impressions of the Lakota, from a military pilots perspective?

DC: Its a great aircraft to fly. The Lakota provides exceptional performance and agility. The rigid rotor makes it extremely responsive to pilot inputs. Its relatively easy to fly, yet nimble and maneuverable, and it is also a fun aircraft to fly. I enjoy it, and as an IFR [instrument flight rules] aircraft in the national airspace, there is no other aircraft that Id rather fly than the Lakota.



AH: Over the last ten years, the Lakota has been used in a wide range of roles including general utility, search and rescue, medical evacuation, VIP transport, disaster response, border security and of course training. Why so many roles for a single helicopter?

DC: I think the Lakota is a uniquely versatile aircraft, and the Army has very diverse missions. And the decision to use it as our training aircraft is an example of how the Army is finding new and better ways to use it. When LTC (promotable) David R. Cheney became the U.S. Armys program manager for the services UH-72A Lakota helicopter in July 2012, Airbus had delivered 229 of the H145-based utility helicopters, and the future looked bright. Every aircraft had been delivered on time and on cost since the contract had been awarded in 2006, and the Army, Army National Guard, and even the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School were using the Lakota extensively for a wide variety of missions.My predecessor said, Look, this is going to be the easiest job youve ever had, recalls Cheney. Nevertheless budget challenges intervened and we had to make some very difficult decisions.In 2013, neither Cheney nor anyone at Airbus could have predicted where the program stands now: The Lakota is one of just four rotorcraft that the Army will fly in coming years, and it has been selected as the initial entry rotary wing trainer for the service, which is the largest single operator of rotorcraft in the world.A week before turning over the reins of the program to his successor, and moving on to his next assignment, Cheney sat down with Airbus Helicopters to talk about the aircraft that will train every Army pilot for at least the next two decades, and explain the keys to a successful collaboration between company and customer.: What are your personal impressions of the Lakota, from a military pilots perspective?Its a great aircraft to fly. The Lakota provides exceptional performance and agility. The rigid rotor makes it extremely responsive to pilot inputs. Its relatively easy to fly, yet nimble and maneuverable, and it is also a fun aircraft to fly. I enjoy it, and as an IFR [instrument flight rules] aircraft in the national airspace, there is no other aircraft that Id rather fly than the Lakota.Over the last ten years, the Lakota has been used in a wide range of roles including general utility, search and rescue, medical evacuation, VIP transport, disaster response, border security and of course training. Why so many roles for a single helicopter?I think the Lakota is a uniquely versatile aircraft, and the Army has very diverse missions. And the decision to use it as our training aircraft is an example of how the Army is finding new and better ways to use it.

AH: When the Army selected a new light utility helicopter in 2006, what attributes favored a civil aviation platform?

DC: When the Army decided to buy a commercial aircraft, the impetus of that was affordability, and it was certainly an outside-the-box approach that the Army had never done before in this magnitude. The affordability and viability of the [H145] aircraft as a commercial platform makes it affordable for us, and thats huge for the missions the Lakota was intended for.



AH: Why do you think the Army decided to make the Lakota its newest initial entry rotary wing trainer?

DC: I think the main reason is that the Lakota replicates our tactical fleet with twin engines and a glass cockpit. Moreover, the Lakota is a great instrument trainer and student pilots can now learn RNAV [helicopter area navigation routes] and precision RNAV approaches that werent an option in the legacy fleet. Also, the Lakota is a much cheaper platform to operate than other aircraft in the Army inventory.



AH: What kind of feedback have you received from the Armys training command since the first classes began training on the Lakota last year?

DC: Its been very positive. The reason they now like it is because of the ease with which it allows them to do their mission. They dont have to worry about logistics; they dont have to worry about maintenance. The Lakota is a capability that they go out and operate, and for a unit like theirs thats focused on training, thats the mission. The Lakota is really the best solution. Its an enabler.



AH: How have students reacted to the aircraft? Has learning to fly in a complex glass cockpit environment proven to be difficult for students as compared to legacy, analog platforms?

DC: I have received feedback that our student pilots like the Lakotas technology.



AH: What have been the benefits or the challenges of moving to a twin-engine trainer instead of a simpler single-engine platform? Is it harder for the students?

DC: Two engines is always safer than one, and were allowing our student pilots to learn from day one how to trouble-shoot the loss of a single engine and rely on the other engine to keep the rotor blades turning.



As far as the difficulty, the feedback were getting is that because its a more stable aircraft, the students are actually able to more quickly pick up the tasks. We can focus on operating the helicopter as a system of systems in a combat environment, and less about the mechanics of flying a helicopter.



Hovering, for example, used to take twice as long in some cases as it does now in the Lakota, just because of the stability that comes with the Lakota. If you pick a Lakota up to a hover and take your hands off the controls, it will generally hold its position. Its really not about the helicopter per se. The helicopter is a tool, and piece of equipment.

AH: Speaking of the people, do you have any parting words for the workforce in Columbus, Mississippi, where the Lakota is manufactured?

DC: I go to Columbus regularly, Ive met the employees that build the aircraft on the line, and when I spoke earlier about never having to worry about the production of the aircraft or the quality of the aircraft coming off the line, I know why that is. I know those employees, Ive met them, and Ive looked them in the eye. This has been a hard business to be in the last couple years, and I really appreciate the dedication of that workforce. They do a great job and I thank them for their service and the capability they deliver to the Army every month. To revolutionize our training and to bring our training into the 21st century, that was important. And it will continue to be important for years to come.



AH: What has been the best thing about your tenure as the Armys UH-72A program manager?

DC: The best thing for me personally is just the complexity of the challenges weve been faced with the last four years. From the vast changes in requirements and all the problem solving and creativity between the Army team and the Airbus team to respond to those challenges, and adapt ourselves to be quicker and react to change, and work together to solve very, very complex problems.



Almost every week in my spare time I deliver aircraft down to Fort Rucker, and it is amazing to see what a hundred Lakotas down there looks like. And I take a lot of pride in that, because its been a huge amount of work on both the Army and Airbus team to make that happen.



AH: Any parting words as you move on to your next challenges?

DC: If history holds true, the last Lakota flight student has not even been born yet. Thats a pretty amazing thing to think about. And I think we can all take a lot of pride in that. Im just one small piece of a giant effort that produces capability for the Army.



Its easy to be passionate about this program. The Army has been through a very challenging time, and it takes all of us to be able to continue to deliver something as important as the Lakota is to the Army. Thats why I do this. This is a hard business to be in and I wouldnt trade it for anything. Someone has to keep the rotor blades turning, and thats us. Thats the Army, and thats Airbus.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The information spread by the Azerbaijani side which said the Armenian side fired 60mm mortars at the frontline, doesnt correspond to reality, press service of the NKR Defense Ministry told Armenpress.

The Ministry issued the following announcement: Judging from the recent developments taking place in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, there is such an impression that the Azerbaijani side has chosen a tactic to gradually and intentionally escalate the situation in the frontline. The evidence of these are the increase of the number of ceasefire violation cases, as well as the qualitative features of weapons used by them.

It is important to state that the Azerbaijani side, which unleashed the April four-day war, and then to avoid the imminent defeat had to reaffirm the 1994 trilateral ceasefire agreement upon its request and through the mediation of the third side, again takes provocative actions not only in the line of contact, but also in the field of propaganda.

In recent days the Azerbaijani side fired various caliber weapons, including DShK heavy machine gun, Black Arrow and Istiglal long-range anti-materiel rifles, and AGS-17 grenade launcher, today they spread an information that the Armenian side fired 60mm mortars in the frontline.

The NKR Defense Ministry announces with full responsibility that the disinformation spread by the Azerbaijani side is nothing more than a simple propaganda trick aimed at destabilizing the situation.








With one of Europes major air hubs within its borders, the Netherlands is getting increasingly exercised by the problem of illegally-operated drones.

The unmanned aircraft are a hooligan  or even a terrorists  dream and the Netherlands Police have been racking their collective brains on how best to combat this threat from the sky. Shooting them down could be a bit risky in such a crowded piece of airspace. Nor is chasing them with a butterfly net likely to work, given the heights these machines can fly at.

No, the best way to combat an illegal flying machine is to use another flying object  but one supplied by Mother Nature, the Police concluded.

With a wingspan of up to 2.3 metres and fearsome talons, Eagles could in fact have been purpose-designed to bring down the pesky flying machines. Four juveniles have been trained up for their hunter-killer mission at an airbase and they have already notched up an 80% success rate.

There is the question of motivation. The eagles have little use for an inedible drone, even one with a price tag of thousands of euros, but they are rewarded with a piece of meat after each successful capture.

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October 6, 2016

The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced Oct. 4 that a committee of representatives from Palestinian universities has been formed to develop a higher education law to resolve problems plaguing Palestinian universities, particularly financial ones.

The announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the 22nd Muwatin Annual Conference, Are Palestinian universities in crisis?" held by Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights in Birzeit University on Sept. 30.

Birzeit University had been forced to close its doors by the student council protesting a tuition hike by the administration of the nongovernmental institution. Beginning Aug. 25, the university was closed for 28 days until the administration and the student council reached an agreement Sept. 22.

The university, facing a financial crunch, had decided to increase the fee per hour by two Jordanian dinars (around $3) for existing students and four dinars (around $6) for new students.

Following the agreement, the university reopened its gates and students suspended a hunger strike they began Sept. 19. Although the council had asserted since the beginning of the protest that it would not drop its demands that the fee hike be canceled, it ended up agreeing to an increase of two dinars per hour for new students. The university agreed not to raise the fees again for four years.

According to the head of the council, Ahmad al-Ayesh, the agreement meets 80% of the students' demands. He told Al-Monitor, For several years now, the university administration has been increasing tuition for students to meet its financial deficit. It must now come up with creative solutions to resolve its financial crisis without dipping into the pockets of students.

The students had closed and chained the university gate. Ayesh explained that the move was part of the students peaceful protest to obtain their rights and is a method used by many student movements in Arab and foreign universities.

The Birzeit University administration had issued a statement Sept. 19 insinuating that it might resort to the force of law to open the doors. In another statement Sept. 4, the administration described the protest as unbefitting Birzeit students. The statements, however, only encouraged the student council to keep pressing for its demands.

Ayesh said the crisis stems from a lack of government subsidies for higher education institutions in Palestine.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education once allocated part of its budget to public universities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But after the internal division in 2007, financial subsidies were halted for universities in the Gaza Strip and reduced for those in the West Bank. An official source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the change may have been due to a shortage in the governments budget.

He said, Most universities in the world are subsidized by the government and a university student would pay only 20% of his tuition fees. In Palestine, students pay 60% of their tuition fees. This is in addition to the universitys lack of investment projects, which could possibly produce sufficient revenue to resolve the crisis.

He clarified that Birzeit University is not suffering an extreme financial crisis and is still paying its staffs full salaries on time, unlike other universities in Palestine where the staff is receiving partial salaries.

This means that the financial crisis is not likely to lead the university to close its doors and stop its services to students, at least in the near term, he said.

Dean of Student Affairs Mohammad al-Ahmad told Al-Monitor, The student councils protest against the decision to raise the tuition fees by using force and violence is uncivilized. When we said we would resort to the force of law against those closing the university gate, we were not making a threat but rather speaking of a legitimate right guaranteed by the law.

He added, The agreement reached is satisfactory for both parties to some extent. A committee is discussing ways to compensate for the 28 days of shutdown.

He stressed that the financial crisis is not limited to Birzeit University as all public Palestinian universities are affected by Israel's blockade and the lack of government subsidies and foreign resources, all which have drained university budgets.

Ahmad said the crisis is a product of the universities' high operating costs and low incomes. He said, For example, Birzeit University fixed the exchange rate of the Jordanian dinar in light of the depreciation of its value against the shekel in recent years, which increased the value of the losses incurred by the university in terms of operational requirements and staff salaries.

He recalled that last year, the employees of the public Palestinian universities went on strike demanding higher salaries. The ensuing negotiations with the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions and the Palestinian Higher Education Council led to an agreement to increase their pay by 15%. The salary hike created a financial burden for Palestinian public universities of 2 million Jordanian dinars per year.

Ghassan Khatib, the university's vice president for development and communications, also noted that the governments subsidies for the university dropped this year, standing at 1% down from 5% in 2015, allegedly as a result of the shrinking of the Palestinian government's budget approved by the legislative council.

Khatib told Al-Monitor that the government has only disbursed 33% of the budget allocated for higher education. He indicated that all public universities were affected by the dwindling government subsidies, each to a different extent depending on their number of students and staff. He said Birzeit's budget is 30 million dinars per year.

He denied a drop in foreign support, saying, Foreign support is often limited and conditional, either extended for the construction of new school buildings or as grants for needy students. This support does not help to resolve the financial crisis of the university.

Al-Monitor reached out to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for comment, but received no statement.

Ahmad said Birzeit University partially or fully covers the tuition fees of 4,000 students through grants it receives. He said Birzeit students are only liable for 60% of their tuition, which means that they benefit from a 40% educational subsidy.

He stressed Birzeit's keenness to avoid increasing tuition unless necessary, pointing that the students must contribute to solving the universitys financial deficit amounting to 14 million dinars. He said that in addition to increasing fees for new students, the university is trying to meet the deficit with foreign financial aid as well as from local donors.

As Khatib sees it, the solution to the financial crisis is an increase in donations and a reduction of expenses through austerity measures that include refraining from hiring new staff unless absolutely necessary. He said, These solutions are not sufficient by themselves and cannot be an alternative to an increase in tuition fees, which remain the main revenue of public universities.

He said that the strike by the student council, which is affiliated with Hamas Islamist parliamentary bloc, falls within the scope of campaigning for the upcoming elections and aims to garner support and gain popularity.

He said that Shabiba, the former student council headed by Fatah's youth movement, had pulled the same stunt three years ago, protesting for three months following which an agreement was reached to cancel the decision forcing students to pay their fees according to a high dinar-shekel exchange rate that would have inflated the financial burden of the students. The agreement, however, did provide for an increase in tuition for all students by an agreed-upon percentage.

The student council, whatever its ideological inclination, will likely continue to use strikes to protest fee hikes to show students that the organization is the best body to fight for their rights.

Birzeit University did not take any legal action to prevent the closing of its doors, which obstructed the educational process and provided no solutions to its financial hardship. Will the new ministerial committee solve this crisis and make changes that will prevent similar actions in the future?
October 6, 2016

One of the top human rights champions on Capitol Hill brought prominent activists together Oct. 6 to urge the United States and Iraq to protect civilians in the coming assault on Mosul.

Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., the co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, pulled the briefing together just weeks ahead of the expected battle to retake Iraqs second-largest city from the Islamic State (IS). The briefing served as an urgent appeal to the Barack Obama administration to keep human rights and humanitarian needs top of mind as officials prepare for a conflagration that could displace a million people  and lay the groundwork for future conflict.

I get it: Everyones all gung-ho about sending more American forces there, more military assistance, but heres where theres a shortfall, McGovern told Al-Monitor after the hearing. These are the people that we should be concerned about.

The panel featured witnesses from Human Rights Watch, the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Center for Civilians in Conflict. McGovern said he agreed with all of their recommendations, and would pass them on to the Obama administration in a letter or memo.

I dont want anybody to say, 'Nobody raised these issues to us,' McGovern said. This panel has raised some serious issues, and were going to make sure that everything that was said here today is passed on to the administration  the State Department, the White House and the Pentagon.

Among those issues is the lack of preparation to receive civilians who are expected to flee Mosul en masse when the attack comes. The attack could trigger one of the largest man-made disasters in years, the UN refugee agencys Iraq head, Bruno Geddo, said this week.

The United Nations made an emergency appeal this summer for $284 million to deal with the crisis but has received less than half so far, with the United States pledging $130 million. McGovern didnt rule out Congress' having to pass an emergency supplemental when it returns from its monthlong recess after the election.

If the funding is not there, if the resources are not there  not just from the United States, but from the international community  then a lot of people are going to be in even worse shape, he said. It makes a disastrous situation even more of a disaster.

Activists also urged Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to drastically improve their screening of potential IS militants' hiding out among the fleeing population. Iraqi forces and their allies, especially the Shiite militias close to Iran, have been accused of wanton discrimination against Sunnis based on flimsy evidence.

The standards by which they have been doing screening thus far have been horrific, said Sarah Margon, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, and have led to preventative and abusive detention, have led to abuse, have led to deaths.

Elisabeth Koek, an advocacy and information adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council based in Iraq, said she was told Iraqis were checked against five different databases  but theres no way to ascertain their reliability.

Human Rights Watch released a letter to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi shortly before the briefing. It urges him, among other things, to require that only Iraqi security forces or KRG forces conduct screenings, not the mainly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

The letter says that because previous operations involving the PMU indicate that revenge attacks could occur in the planned Mosul operation, Iraqi security forces or the Kurdish peshmerga "should restrict the movement of abusive armed forces and militias in areas civilians will be fleeing to and provide heightened security to protect individuals in the camps.

The panel also agreed on the right for Mosul residents to flee in search of shelter rather than stay in place. When an Iraqi Christian from Mosul asked what message the panelists would have him share with people back home, they recommended residents ignore Baghdads exhortation to paint white crosses on their homes; they all agreed that doing so doesnt protect them from government shelling but only makes them targets for IS militants seeking human shields, as happened in Fallujah.

McGovern said he agreed with the witnesses assessment, even if it means the United States butting heads with Baghdad over tactics in the fight against IS.

The focus of this commission is human rights, McGovern said. Im not sure Baghdads main concern is the people were concerned about here today.
October 6, 2016

CAIRO  A controversial bill in Egypt that would make the penalties for adultery the same for men and women faces many hurdles. Proposed by Margaret Azer, a Copt and leader of the Support Egypt coalition, the bill has aroused strong opposition among members of the parliament's Legislation and Religion committees.

The Egyptian penal code states that a wife who is shown to have committed adultery must serve two years in prison. An adulterous husband, however, receives only six months, and then only if he commits adultery in the house he shares with his wife. Otherwise, there is no punishment for him.

According to Qanun Nashaz (Unfair Law), a campaign by Nazra for Feminist Studies, the code also states that a husband who kills his wife and her partner in flagrante delicto, in the act of sex, shall receive a lenient sentence of only 24 hours in detention. A wife who commits the same offense faces a charge of willful murder, which means she would most likely receive a sentence of hard labor or life.

Members of the Legislation and Religion committees have rejected the bill on various grounds. Omar Hamroush, the secretary of the religion committee, described the proposed legislation as contradicting Sharia.

Amena Nosair, a member of the Legislation Committee and a religion professor at Al-Azhar University, called for voting down the bill because, she believes, the penalty for women should be more severe. Her rationale is that the woman's crime could extend beyond adultery to include intermixing lineages, that is, possibly obscuring the paternity of a child from an affair.

Ilhami Agina, an independent and a member of the Human Rights Committee, rejects the bill but alternatively wants to increase sentences for women, he claims, to preserve timidity. The woman is the main reason behind adultery, not the man, he said.

In early September, Agina had also asserted that female genital mutilation (FGM), in which girls external sex organs are cut off, is necessary to keep womens sex drive under control and equal to that of Egyptian men, who allegedly suffer from sexual weakness, by which he meant physical stamina, not an inability to resist temptation. After virtually being castrated on social media, Agina tried to backtrack, saying he was only joking and that he objects to laws against FGM because they are difficult to enforce.

In a related matter, on Oct. 4, Agina was referred to the parliaments Ethics Committee after he said women who want to attend college should first be required to have their virginity certified. Some 200 parliament members signed an official complaint against him for his history of offensive statements.

The adultery bill also aroused criticism from Religion Committee Secretary Omar Hamroush who told Al-Monitor that the solution to adultery is increased awareness, via the media, about the social issues and health risks involved. Hamroush said his committee will debate the bill and then determine whether it is consistent with Sharia.

Azer pointed out that the bills objective has nothing to do with the prevalence of adultery in Egypt  there are no statistics indicating its occurrence is on the rise  or with increasing the penalty for men. Rather, she said, The bill is intended to eliminate the discrimination based on gender.

Azer added, Neither Sharia nor any of the [other] Abrahamic religions prescribe a penalty for adultery that discriminates based on gender. Hence, the penalty for adultery contradicts Egypts constitution, which relies on Sharia as a source of legislation. Surat al-Nur in the Holy Quran calls for the same penalty for a man or a woman who commits adultery.

Azer said she is fully prepared to fight for the bills passage and does not care about some opposed to it playing the Coptic card. She emphasized, I am a representative of the whole nation, including the Muslim nation and the Coptic one. I am ready to apply Sharia according to Egypts constitution.

Zainab Kheir, the executive director of the Egyptian Association for Economic and Social Rights, told Al-Monitor, Continuing to [enforce] penal code articles related to the crime of adultery contradicts Egypts constitution and the international treaties ratified by Egypt on human rights and on nondiscrimination.

The code not only calls for different penalties for men and women, it gives the husband the right to abolish the wifes sentence if she agrees to live with him to preserve the family. The law does not, however, grant the wife the right to prevent her husbands (already lenient) sentence from being carried out.

According to Suzy al-Nashed, a member of the Legislation Committee from Support Egypt, objections to the bill are expected to continue if it makes it to the parliament floor by one path or another.

Equality is necessary in the law, she told Al-Monitor. However, the religious aspect should be taken into consideration when tackling such issues. Sharia permits polygamy by men. Therefore, the legislator [should] not make the penalty lenient for a wife who murders her husband when she catches him in the marital home with another woman, as [the other woman] could be a new wife that the older one does not know.

Nashed said she will call on enlightened and nonextremist voices in the Legislation Committee to develop wording that will put an end to the gender discrimination while still acknowledging the principles of Sharia.

Ahmed Khalil, the head of Nour Party's parliamentary bloc, said that members of his bloc are waiting for an opinion from Al-Azhar Universitys fatwa committee. When a Sharia-related bill is in question, Al-Azhar is the one to decide, Khalil told Al-Monitor.

Azer's bill does have some support. Sharia-wise, nothing is wrong with making equivalent the [penalty for] men and women who are involved in the crime of adultery, in my opinion, Gamal Qutb, a former head of Al-Azhar's fatwa committee, told Al-Monitor. Equality is a general Islamic principle. If the crime is the same, the penalty shall be the same.

Qutb in addition noted, The penal code does not apply the penalty stated in the Quran for adultery, which is flogging for the nonmarried and stoning to death for the married.

The fight to amend the penal code concerning adultery is not new in Egypt. Many voices have called for its amendment for years. The 1985 film Afwan Ayuhal Qanoon ("Dear Law Excuse Me") looks at the injustice experienced by an Egyptian woman who catches her husband committing adultery as well as the societal discrimination and shaming she suffers from her husband cheating on her.

There were a number of initiatives introduced during former President Hosni Mubaraks time in office (1981-2011) to amend the law. The National Council for Women backed them, but they failed to pass.
October 7, 2016

BAGHDAD  Severe drought is affecting agricultural lands across Iraq because of the low levels of river water. Iraqi officials have raised the alarm on the negative impact of the Turkish Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016.

Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Hassan al-Janabi and other politicians have been vocal on this matter. In a Sept. 17 media statement, Janabi said, Iraq will be teetering on the edge of a disaster when the new dam starts operating. The Iraqi government hopes to reach a satisfactory solution with the Turkish government in this regard.

Rasul al-Tai, a parliamentarian for the al-Ahrar bloc, requested the government in a media statement Sept. 25 to exercise the necessary economic leverage on Turkey to stop the dam construction and take the necessary measures to activate water agreements with Turkey.

Such agreements are of paramount importance given the fact that the headwaters of the Euphrates and Tigris are controlled by Turkey and Iran.

In the same vein, parliamentarian Aziz al-Ugaili also sounded the alarm on the Ilisu Dam in a media statement Sept. 24. The Turkish dam will affect the sustainability of the Iraqi marshlands, which were inscribed on the World Heritage list on July 17, 2016, Ugaili said.

Of note, Turkey has cut off water on more than one occasion in the past, and it caused a major humanitarian crisis every time, prompting dozens of families to flee their residences in the Ramadi area in Anbar province, where the Euphrates River flows.

In further evidence of Ugailis statements, Furat al-Tamimi, the head of the parliamentary Water and Agriculture Committee, told Al-Monitor, Turkey will escalate its systematic water ban into Iraqi territories, which would take a heavy toll on agriculture, following the completion of the dams final stages.

He added, Iraq has been objecting to the dam project, but to no avail. Upon completion, Iraq will lose about 50% of the Tigris River.

Tamimi talked about an anticipated meeting between parliament and the minister of water resources scheduled for October to discuss plans and procedures to address the risks of the dam construction and the negative effects on irrigation and agriculture. He added, Parliament will also host officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look into diplomatic efforts for international lobbying against the dam project.

An October 2015 study by the World Resources Institute revealed that Iraq ranks 21th on the list of countries that are threatened by water crisis, despite having two rivers flowing in its territories.

Civil engineer Qahtan Khayal al-Sultani, who worked on irrigation projects in the center and south of the country, told Al-Monitor, The Islamic State and other armed groups controlled dams and water projects in the countrys west and east. Iraqs dry climate and high temperatures increase the evaporation of water, which prompts farmers to leave their lands. This is especially true since large quantities of water are being wasted due to the rudimentary irrigation techniques and the lack of water storage projects. Most of the water is channeled to Shatt al-Arab and then the Gulf without being tapped into.

With the growing danger of receding water levels in irrigation canals, there have been increasing calls to address the threats to the water security. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office had said in a media statement on June 17, 2015, The water issue is of paramount importance in Iraqs foreign policy with Syria and Turkey, and Iraq is trying to find solutions and settlements with these countries to increase its shares of water.

One of these solutions, parliamentarian Ali al-Badri told Al-Monitor, "is to exercise economic leverage on Turkey so as to coordinate the construction of dams and reservoirs it intends to set up and ensure a fair water distribution between the upstream countries [Turkey and Iran] and the downstream countries [Iraq and Syria]. Badri also suggested using the oil that is being transported through Turkish territory as a way to lure Turkey since it is in dire need of it.

One ought not to forget the political purpose of Turkeys dams. In this regard, Badri said, Turkey is following water policies to influence regional crises in neighboring countries. This is clearly demonstrated in its quest to influence the situation in Syria and Iraq through water leverage.

Another solution was suggested by Mahdi Rashid, the director of the Public Authority for Dams and Reservoirs at the Ministry of Water Resources, who told Al-Monitor, Iraq must have understandings with Turkey. In fact, Iraq is scheduled to launch official talks through the Ministry of Water Resources in October to find ways to prevent the bad impact of the dam on Iraqs amount of water.

Rashid added, The Ilisu Dam is likely to reduce the water supply of the Tigris River to 8 billion cubic meters per year, which would come to the detriment of the agricultural sector, increasing desertification areas in Iraq by a large margin. This would also affect power generation in the hydraulic facilities on the Mosul Dam and the Samarra Barrage.

Amer Habib, a specialist in agriculture and irrigation at the Mussayib Institute in Babil, told Al-Monitor, In 1990, Turkey completed the Ataturk Dam on the Euphrates River, which is one of the largest dams in the world. The dam has caused shortage in the irrigation water in the areas through which the river cuts, including in Babil governorate.

He said, Iraqs decreasing water shares from Turkey has led to social and environmental shifts because of the resulting high level of salinity and desertification, which prevented farmers from cultivating the lands.

To overcome these water crises, Iraq has to implement international treaties, guaranteed by international law, that regulate water shares between upstream and downstream countries. Iraq has also to start using modern irrigation and storage techniques so as not to waste water and to irrigate larger areas with the minimum amount of water possible.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Parties which havent passed the 6% barrier in the local elections in Gyumri and Vanadzor have addressed the Armenian Revival party with a proposal of uniting, Secretary of Rule of Law faction Mher Shahgeldyan told reporters in the Parliament.

I wont name the parties now, because the process is still ongoing. But there are parties which expressed wish to unite, in order to show that the opposition can change a situation in case of being united, he said.

He added that the Rule of Law, and now the Armenian Revival have always been in favor of the oppositions consolidation.
October 7, 2016

TEHRAN, Iran  Prominent Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohsen Rafiqdoost went into unprecedented detail in a Sept. 26 interview about his time as minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, the IRGC had its own ministry within the administration that took care of its logistical affairs. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense was responsible for the logistics of the army.

In an interview with the Reformist Shargh Daily, Rafiqdoost said, Although at the beginning of the revolution and during the early days of the war, the East and the West were coordinated [against Iran], we still built the defense capabilities of the IRGC with Eastern weapons. My first time buying weapons, I bought 2,000 Kalashnikovs and 500 RPG-7s. Later, I would get weapons from Syria and Libya and eventually I connected with North Korea.

Rafiqdoost spoke about the deep collaboration between Iran and the Eastern Bloc countries during the Iran-Iraq War, explaining, After North Korea, I also connected with Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia and the Eastern bloc, in that order.  Of course, we would buy ammunition for Western-manufactured cannons from Switzerland.  We needed surface-to-air missiles, which were more tactical, and therefore we went and negotiated and brought them to Tehran. In exchange, we gave them a Hague system. That is all. The goods we received from Libya, for free, were worth more than $800 million.

Rafiqdoost finally spoke about the IRGCs connections with Beijing and Moscow. At a certain point we connected ourselves to Communist China, and when that happened, we were connected to the source. We halted our relations with other [weapons] suppliers almost completely. China sold weapons to us directly and did it in high volume. Gradually, it started selling us strategic weapons such as coast-to-sea missiles and other types of strategic missiles as well. Gradually, and because of our connection to China, the Russians started to sell us weapons too.

Rafiqdoosts comments break the tradition of the past three decades, when Iranian commanders claimed that Iran did not receive military backing from any country during its war with Iraq. Emphasizing their commitment to the Islamic Revolution, these commanders had always reiterated the revolutionary slogan of Neither West nor East.

The reality is that after the Cold War, the relationship between the IRGC and the Eastern bloc, which had began near the end of the Iran-Iraq War, had grown so much that almost all weapons used by the IRGC today are either produced by countries such as Russia, China, Ukraine, North Korea and Belarus, or are the result of reverse engineering those products or produced under license from one of these countries.

After the end of the Cold War, the IRGC bought hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers from Russia. It also purchased Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground support aircraft and other items such as speed boats, cruise and ballistic missiles  from China and North Korea  increasingly steering its defense organization toward that of Eastern countries.

However, while the weapons system of the IRGC is based on the Eastern model, the IRGC has adopted the US model pursued by the General Staff of the Armed Forces since before the revolution as far as defense strategy and deployment are concerned. Here, it is important to bear in mind the criticism leveled at the army during the Iran-Iraq War, when IRGC commanders constantly accused it of being incapable of holding territory seized from Iraqi forces. But what is the real story behind this criticism?

The Iraqi deployment during the Iran-Iraq War was completely Eastern: The front line had limited combat capabilities while the main military power was behind. In Iran, on the other hand, the deployment was Western: The massive volume of human resources and equipment at the IRGCs disposal was deployed on the front lines. Therefore, the IRGC could successfully break Iraqs relatively weak defense lines and then hand over the conquered territories to the army. Due to the counterattacks initiated by Saddams powerful army, Iran's  which suffered from a shortage of motivated and organized forces as well as inadequate supplies of equipment and spare parts  would quickly lose ground. As a result, the perception was that the IRGC was better at fighting the war than the army. The reality, however, was different.

Rafiqdoosts comments are important as they clarify the reasons the army was ineffective compared to the IRGC during the war.

After the revolution, the modernization of Iran's army was halted by the obstruction of foreign governments and Western arms suppliers. As a result, suspicion of Western powers continues to dominate the policies of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, while it is an unwritten rule that the Ministry of Defense will not pursue imports of Western-manufactured weapons.

The unilateral suspension of deliveries of Western-manufactured weapons to Irans army has left the regular navy, ground forces and the air force with worn-out, inefficient and old weapons and facilities. The IRGC, however, has had the option of buying weapons from the Eastern bloc countries and thus has continuously upgraded its defense systems with the latest missile systems, armor, personnel equipment, marine capabilities and signal systems. Therefore, although the combat organization of the IRGC is much smaller compared to that of the army, the combat power of the IRGC has in practice advanced much further.

Lastly, it should be noted that although the UN Security Council arms embargo imposed on Iran will be lifted in eight years, according to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran will for legal and political reasons continue to expand its military relations with the Eastern bloc. Naturally, the bulk of these military purchases will go to the IRGC. Considering the growing needs of the IRGC and the fact that the budget allocated to it is much greater than the funds allocated to the army, in the future the IRGC will be able to purchase the newest Russian, Chinese and North Korean equipment. This resource will push the defense policies of the IRGC more toward alignment with Eastern interests in the region, as military trade relations are a strong motivation for deepening security and diplomatic relations between the buyer and the seller.
October 6, 2016

What brought US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande to the funeral of a former president of a tiny state in the Middle East? Why did former US President Bill Clinton, Britains Prince Charles, prime ministers and ministers from around the world and the region trouble themselves to Jerusalems Mount Herzl cemetery? What was the reason late President Shimon Peres, who passed away Sept. 28 at the age of 93, drew such an outpouring of respect and adulation? And this begs a more important question: What of all this remained once Air Force One took off from Ben Gurion Airport?

They didnt come to Jerusalem to eulogize the ninth president of the State of Israel and one of its shortest-serving prime ministers. It appears that no foreign dignitaries attended the funerals of the fifth president, Yitzhak Navon, and of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. (Late Prime Minister Menachem Begin wanted a private ceremony.) The worlds busiest leaders do not cross oceans to bid a final farewell to friend Peres, nor to friend Yitzhak Rabin, as Clinton fondly called (using the Hebrew word haver) the assassinated leader at his funeral in 1995.

They came here first and foremost to convey a message to the Israeli public: This is how the world treats Israeli leaders who decide in their final years to exchange the dangers of war for the risks of peace. Do not believe politicians who tell you that the whole world is against you (Israelis). As you can see, VIPs and barons have come from the ends of the earth to stand beside you in your grief and envelop you with love. You can rely on us that we will stand by you through all your trials and tribulations.

We feel the weight of responsibility that Shimon seemed to wear.  For Shimon, let us choose life, as he always did. Let us make his work our own, Obama said at Peres graveside. In 1995, Clinton had said at Rabins graveside, His spirit lives on.  Now it falls to all of us who love peace and all of us who loved him to carry on the struggle.  As you stay the course of peace, I make this pledge: neither will America forsake you.

Nonetheless, an evil spirit of terror and fear has overcome Rabins spirit of peace, assassinated almost 21 years ago. Despite the trauma that shook Israeli society to its core, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the man who led the incitement against Rabin and the Oslo Accord, removed Peres from power after winning the 1996 elections.

A conversation I had with a cab driver shortly after the Peres funeral on Mount Herzl illustrates the limited impact of funeral diplomacy. No wonder all these goys [non-Jews] pay their respects to Peres, said the driver, who described himself as right wing. If it were up to him, he would have given the Arabs everything they want, including Jerusalem. Were lucky to have Netanyahu, he said on condition of anonymity.

And what do you think about the fact that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended the funeral? I asked. Well, really, the driver scorned, why should he miss a photo opportunity with world leaders? I thought to myself that if Abbas had stayed away from the funeral  as many of his aides advised  the driver would have probably repeated the worn mantra that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Politicians image depends on the opinions of the beholder. This image, like this opinion, does not change upon their death. To an outsider  and to many Israelis who identify themselves as centrists  Peres was a man of peace who understood that peace was more important than territories. In the eyes of the Israeli right, Peres was and remained an incorrigible man of compromise, who in his great naivete, or wickedness, was willing to uproot Jews from their land. In the eyes of those on the left, Peres was viewed as one of the founders of the West Bank settlements, an accomplice to the criminal wrongdoings of late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and of Netanyahu.

In the eyes of most world leaders, Netanyahu is a leader lacking vision and who prefers the risks of war to the chance of peace. In the eyes of most Israelis, Netanyahu is a Jewish patriot, one who doesnt kowtow to outsiders. He protects our homestead even as genocide swirls around us and the world, including Obamas United States, stands aloof.

A poll conducted last June for the monthly Peace Index issued by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University indicates that one-fourth of Israeli Jews (23%) prefer the status quo (vis-a-vis the Palestinians); about one-third (32%) support the annexation of the West Bank without granting equal rights to the Palestinians; and 19% ticked off the option of annexation with equal rights for all. Some 12% would rather the international community force Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borderlines, and very few support a binational state.

Peres death, like the assassination of Rabin, will in no way bring an end to the occupation and to the conflict with the Palestinians. Our salvation will not be found in flowery eulogies and fiery speeches. After all, in a 2009 speech at Cairo University several months after taking office, Obama said the only solution to the aspirations of both sides is in having two states in which Israelis and Palestinians can each live in peace and security. In that same speech, described as historic, Obama pledged to personally pursue the vision of two states with all the patience and dedication that the task requires. In the eulogy he delivered at Peres grave more than seven lean years later, Obama urged Israels next generation and its friends to complete the labor of peace begun by their ninth president.

The findings of the Peace Index indicate that without a lot of help from friends, the task of peace will last for endless Israeli generations. On Nov. 8, the American people choose another man or woman to be their next president. On Jan. 20, Obama will move out of the White House. The outgoing presidents true test of friendship will take place in the interim period: the vote on accepting Palestine to the United Nations. Then we will know if he is a true friend of Israel, or yet another American politician who has learned to pronounce the world friend (haver) in Hebrew.
October 6, 2016

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Fatahs Central Committee held a meeting Sept. 27 headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, during which it announced that the movements seventh general conference will be held before the end of 2016.

Fatah, which has been leading the PLO since it was established in 1964 and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since its establishment in 1993, held its first general conference in Kuwait in 1962. The general conference is considered one of Fatahs most important internal events, during which the movements internal situation is discussed and changes in its institutions and amendments to its political program are made in accordance with local, regional and international conditions. In addition, the movements internal elections are held during this conference in order to choose its new leader and the members of its Central Committee and Revolutionary Council.

Fatah held its sixth conference in 2009, and its seventh conference should have been held two years ago, in 2014. Article 43 of Fatahs statutes stipulates, The Central Committee calls for a regular session [of the general conference] once every five years. This session can be postponed by force majeure, following a decision by the Revolutionary Council [which represents the movements legislative committee].

The Central Committee has finally decided to hold the conference, only a few month after a document was leaked in June. This document was said to have been addressed to the secretary-general of Fatahs Revolutionary Council, Amin Maqboul, bearing the signatures of 47 out of the 81 members of the council. These called for holding an emergency meeting and specifying a date for Fatahs seventh conference in order to settle the movements internal issues, while threatening to take action in the future should their request be left unanswered.

In this context, Maqboul told Al-Monitor, The Central Committee decided to hold the conference on Nov. 29, but the date has not been officially set yet. This matter is left to the committee in charge of preparing for the conference, which is scheduled to meet on Oct. 29.

He added, The seventh conference was initially supposed to be held in August 2014, but it was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, such as the latest Israeli war on Gaza in 2014 and the movements failure to hold Fatahs provincial elections in the Gaza Strip over the past years [during which Fatah leaders are elected in all provinces]. These elections were not held as a result of the conflict between Abbas supporters and sympathizers of dismissed leader Mohammed Dahlan. The provincial elections must be held in order to prepare for Fatahs general conference.

Maqboul explained that holding provincial elections is an important prerequisite to prepare for the conference, according to the movements statute, as the provinces representatives are the ones who will elect the movements new leader and the members of the Revolutionary Council and the Central Committee during the general conference.

A Central Committee member who attended the Sept. 27 meeting told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Most Fatah leaders believe that holding the conference has become an urgent requirement that can no longer be delayed, to unite the movement in preparation for any public elections [legislative or presidential] that could take place during the next stage, against Fatahs strong rival, Hamas.

Political analyst Talal Okal also believes that the purpose of this conference is to unite the ranks within Fatah and solve its internal problems to confront Hamas in any future elections.

He told Al-Monitor, The announcement to hold the conference was the result of Arab pressure, led by Egypt, to unify Fatahs ranks and achieve reconciliation with Dahlan, to confront Hamas in any future elections.

Okal also believes that Fatah has to assume major responsibilities during this conference  most importantly, regaining the movements position as the leader of the Palestinian national project. This requires settling its internal situation, pushing the younger generations toward leading positions and adopting a new national strategy to confront Israel.

However, Okal does not think all these problems can be solved through the conference. The sixth conference did not improve Fatahs situation back in 2009 when the Palestinian street lost its trust in Fatah after negotiations with Israel flunked and corruption prevailed within the movement as it failed to push young figures to leading positions. This proves that the movement is unable to solve its internal problems. This is why I believe internal conflicts would remain the same or even deepen, especially the Abbas-Dahlan conflict, Okal said.

For his part, political science professor Mukhaimer Abu Sada at Al-Azhar University in the Gaza Strip told Al-Monitor, I think President Abbas does not want reconciliation with Dahlan and such a conference is intended to emphasize the exclusion of Dahlans current from Fatah.

He added, Fatahs announcement to hold the seventh conference before achieving reconciliation with Dahlan shows how the movement is trying to avoid this internal issue in particular. This is why holding the conference before reconciliation would deepen the division within the movement.

In this vein, Maqboul said, Solving Fatahs problems is linked to holding the provincial elections and unifying the movements ranks, as well as renewing the leadership by pushing forward young faces to take the lead. This would most definitely reflect on the movements performance in any future Palestinian election. However, reconciliation between Abbas and Dahlan will not be part of the seventh conferences discussions or results, because he [Dahlan] was dismissed from the movement and he is wanted by the Palestinian judiciary for taking part in the murder of civilians and being involved in financial corruption.

In this regard, Abu Sada believes that the ongoing estrangement between Abbas and Dahlan would negatively affect the movement in any future election, which would bode well for Hamas.

It seems that Abbas does not want to face Hamas in any new election before Fatah holds its seventh conference and tries to resolve its internal issues by pumping new blood into leading positions and rearranging the movements situation. This was made clear when the Palestinian government in Ramallah issued a decision on Oct. 4 to postpone the local elections for four months, after they were initially scheduled to be held this month.
October 6, 2016

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Palestinian Authority's postponement of its submittal of a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlement activities until after the US presidential elections has annoyed Palestinians.

Some believe that now is the best time to present such a draft resolution, which was supposed to be submitted at the end of September, in light of an international condemnation of Israeli settlement activity, which expanded by 40% during the first half of 2016 compared with the second half of 2015.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had announced in his speech at the UN headquarters Sept. 22 that the PA will submit to the Security Council a draft resolution condemning Israel's settlement activities and settler terror against the Palestinians, saying that such practices obstructed international efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

Abbas said, "Despite the Security Council's adoption of 12 resolutions condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, none of these resolutions has been implemented, encouraging Israel to continue pursuing its plans for the seizure of more Palestinian land in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with impunity." He said he hoped no one would cast a veto and called on the United Nations to protect the Palestinian people.

In its 146th session held Sept. 8 in Cairo, the Ministerial Council of the Arab League had called on the Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Israel's settlement policy in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, describing such policy as a major obstacle to peace and to the two-state solution.

Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organizations Executive Committee, told Al-Monitor, "The Arab Group and some friendly countries in the Security Council proposed the postponement of the submittal of the draft resolution until after the US elections, although the PA is not convinced about this," noting that consultations with those countries are underway in order to finalize the draft resolution and submit it to the Security Council before the end of this year.

It should be noted that, based on a Palestinian request, an Arab quartet committee meeting was held in Cairo on Oct. 3 at Arab League headquarters to discuss the submittal of the draft resolution to the Security Council.

Majdalani said the Arab Group and friendly countries focused on the draft resolution's need for a sufficient number of votes in order not to be blocked.

He added, "The draft resolution will [necessarily] face one of the following three possibilities: It will pass and the United States will abstain from voting on it; the United States will use its veto right and the draft resolution will be nixed, which is most likely; or the United States will vote in favor of the resolution, which is unlikely."

The United States used its veto  much feared by the Palestinians  33 times from 1979 until 2014 to turn down resolutions concerning the Palestinian cause, most recently in December 2014, when it vetoed a draft resolution submitted by the Arab Group in the Security Council calling for the declaration of a Palestinian state and ending the Israeli occupation by 2017.

The PA's postponement decision has not convinced the majority of Palestinian factions. Mariam Abu Daqqa, a political bureau member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, decried the postponement decision and called on the PA to proceed with the submittal of the draft, despite the Palestinians' entrenched conviction that the Security Council has always sided with the executioner (Israel) and not the victim (the Palestinian people).

Abu Daqqa told Al-Monitor, "The United States will likely block the resolution by casting its veto. This will not be the first time that the Unites States uses its veto power to thwart Arab draft resolutions in favor of the Palestinian cause," calling on the PA and the Arab Group to exert vital pressures and use all possible means to dissuade the United States from using its veto.

Yahya Moussa, a Hamas leader, told Al-Monitor, "I think that the PA's postponement of the submittal of the draft resolution stems from its fear of being subject to Israeli and US sanctions, as was the case following the PA's application for membership in the United Nations on Nov. 30, 2012, despite US and Israeli opposition.  The postponement decision further consecrates the Palestinian street's conviction that the PA lacks any future vision or plan to give the Palestinians [their due] rights, calling on the PA to achieve national unity and political partnership with all factions, which could strengthen its position against Israel during peace talks.

Moussa was surprised about the pressure exerted since April by the Arab quartet committee, including Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, on the PA to postpone the submission of the draft resolution to the Security Council until after the US elections  allegedly to give more time for French efforts to make progress on the peace process. "The Arab Group seeks to normalize relations with Israel, whether secretly or openly, and is not backing the Palestinian people," he said.

In turn, Abdul Sattar Qassem, a political science professor at An-Najah University in Nablus, told Al-Monitor, "The PA's decision is absurd and reflects the PA's lack of seriousness about bringing the Palestinian cause before the international community, which has given the Palestinians more than what has been accorded by the Oslo agreement."

Indeed, it should be recalled that the UN Security Council had issued several resolution in favor of Palestinians, such as Resolution 242 on the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the Arab territories occupied in 1967 as well as Resolution 194 on the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes from which they were displaced in 1948 and their due compensation.

Qassem called on the PA not to restrict the discussion of Palestinians rights to bilateral negotiations with Israel and to involve the international community, wondering why the submittal of the draft resolution has been linked to the US elections, which he believed will not affect any US veto decision.

Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in the Gaza Strip, told Al-Monitor, "The PA's postponement of the submittal of its draft resolution aims to avoid repeating the failed experience of December 2014, when a Palestinian draft resolution for ending Israeli occupation and condemning settlements was not passed, getting only eight of 15 votes, while it required 9 votes to pass; without that the United States uses its veto right."

He added, "The days immediately following the US presidential elections on Nov. 8 are the [best] opportunity that the PA has been waiting for. The PA believes that Obama  who will remain in office for two months after the elections  will be liberated during this period from the pressure of the Jewish lobby in the United States, as the Jewish vote is deemed the swing vote in any US elections. Consequently, the US representative in the [Security Council] may abstain from voting on the resolution, despite the convictions entrenched among the Palestinians that the United States will inevitably veto the draft resolution."

However, the Palestinians seem to be convinced that even if a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories was issued, Israel will not abide by it and will retaliate by building more settlement units in the territories.
October 6, 2016

Salim al-Jabouri is the fifth Sunni Arab figure to become speaker of the parliament during the three post-2003 parliamentary terms. Jabouri belongs to the Islamic Party, which is said to be the Iraqi wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. He hails from Diyala province, which is witnessing political and demographic conflicts between Shiites, Sunnis and the Kurds.

Jabouri became parliament speaker in July 2014, succeeding his former ally and current rival, Osama al-Nujaifi. He has become one of the key players in Iraqi politics.

Al-Monitor interviewed him at his private office in central Baghdad's protected Green Zone. The text of the interview follows:

Al-Monitor: Where do the Sunnis stand in the [future] post-Islamic State [IS] phase? What are your plans as Sunni leader for this phase?

Jabouri: We have had a great deal of suffering and displacement, and our main goal now is to have the displaced return to their homes and to rebuild the mindset of many of them, especially those who had to drop out of schools and universities. There was a clear political imbalance. On the one hand, there were policies that led to breeding extremism, joining terrorist groups, promoting extremist slogans and clashing with the state. On the other hand, there was another approach whereby state-building requires stability and security, which, in turn, require the state to believe in stability, justice and freedom.

Moving forward, the parties representing Sunni provinces should find political consensus either as a single entity or as several entities. We are in favor of decentralization within the framework of the provinces, whereby each province turns into a region and an understanding is found with the political parties and the other components within a single state.

Al-Monitor: Do you mean consensus among the Sunni blocs or between Sunni blocs and other parties?

Jabouri: We will first seek internal consensus among the Sunni parties, and then we will look for a partner we can reach an understanding with within the same state.

Al-Monitor: Will the Sunni internal agreement feature the same figures who existed before IS?

Jabouri: Some failed to prove their worth and promote their theory, and the time is ripe for these to step aside and allow new figures to take the lead within the framework of the provinces. These figures should garner more support from the public. The new political Sunni figures should have political power and credibility.

Al-Monitor: Do you fear a Sunni-Sunni clash following the IS conflict?

Jabouri: The most important point in the post-IS phase that should be focused on is community relations and the fear of revenge and blood feuds. The state has to develop a plan parallel to the military plan, one with humanitarian, social, administrative, political and military aspects. These things can guarantee the restoration of stability, security and the previous life.

Al-Monitor: Will Diyala province, which you represent, witness a conflict in the post-IS phase? Are there any efforts to change the demography there?

Jabouri: The problem occurred when they thought  wrongly, I must add  that it would be ideal to use weapons to frighten partners. The outcome of that belief has been made obvious in the conflict plaguing the different components, but people have realized that no weapons should be allowed outside the framework of the state. I am convinced that Diyala is capable of returning to the coexistence phase.

There may be political conflict in Diyala, but at the community level, people will be keen to show a united stance and live [peacefully] together.

Al-Monitor: What about the armed groups in Diyala? What is your take on them?

Jabouri: If we are to respect and build the state, we have to put an end to the presence of militias in Diyala, strengthen the presence of the state and its potential, and banish all armed aspects outside the framework of the state.

Al-Monitor: Have you tackled Diyala during your recent visit to Tehran? Is Iran a major player in the fate of the province?

Jabouri: We talked about Diyala and the political situation there during my recent visit. Diyala borders Iran, and it is an important and influential party for several parties in Diyala.

Al-Monitor: Has the parliament turned into a space dedicated for interrogations?

Jabouri: The parliament has played its role naturally and in accordance with the constitution and the law, and each person or group has to carry out the hosting and interrogation operations so long as these are constitutional. It is normal for differences to occur in parliament.

The parliament was more effective in [taking] the supervisory role in investigative committees, the interrogations and the hosting operations. Thus, assessments may be diverse, but I feel that this is a natural role played by any parliament in the world, and all the parliaments of the world have their differences.

Al-Monitor: Do you think there is something stirring under what is currently known as the reform front in the parliament?

Jabouri: The reform front is not a solid organizational group. It is based on the action of a group of [parliament] members from different parties. It would be wrong to believe that the reform front could play a destructive role to undermine the state or the government, or even convey political messages. [While the front] could have certain political considerations, in the end it has a supervisory role within a legal framework.

Al-Monitor: Do you think the reform front is a prelude to a cross-sectarian bloc or one that could answer to the desires of bloc leaders?

Jabouri: It seems that the political parties were unable to clearly interpret [the idea of] leaving sectarianism aside within the context of their work. The reform front represents solidarity among parliamentary groups, aiming to push them toward taking action within the framework of parliamentary work.

Al-Monitor: Do you think the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) with its new leadership will create a new relationship with the Sunni parties other than the one that was built when Nouri al-Maliki headed the government?

Jabouri: The new head of the [INA], Ammar al-Hakim, is a good and acceptable figure able to crystallize the [INA] as an institution. But the [INA] is still asking itself who its partner should be, and we are also asking them: Who do you favor as a partner? Will it have a tendency toward the old close alliance with the Kurds, or is it looking for a Sunni partner? If the Sunnis do not agree, which party will achieve understandings with the [INA]? The Sunni blocs are required to have a common vision, not necessarily as a single entity  but they should present a united front over which they could negotiate with other parties in the Iraqi state.

Al-Monitor: Do the Sunni blocs need to reconcile with one another, especially since there are significant divisions between them?

Jabouri: The United Nations has a reconciliation project that it intends to present, and it is important that everyone accept it. There is a semifinished project to achieve community reconciliation, and it stems from comprehensive national foundations. The majority of this projects items are still being discussed, and if they are agreed upon, the project will provide an important model for the next stage in Iraq. I have unofficially overseen these items, and they will be shared with all political parties.

Al-Monitor: There are calls to divide Mosul. How does a Sunni leader like yourself feel about them?

Jabouri: The parliament believes the situation in Mosul should be determined by its own people. Personally, I'm against the division. I am for maintaining the administrative borders of Ninevah and against any outside interference in its affairs.

Al-Monitor: What about the [alleged] abuses committed by the Popular Mobilization Units? Have you filed lawsuits? Do you have evidence and proof?

Jabouri: We have filed lawsuits regarding some incidents, and we spoke to international organizations about such violations. We have filed a lawsuit regarding the Saqlawiyah incidents; those who killed, kidnapped and pointed their weapons at the wrong people have clearly abused the state.

Al-Monitor: How possible is it for the conflict in Anbar between the Islamic Party and the Sunni Waqf [Religious Endowment] to result in new conflicts?

Jabouri: If we do not learn from our previous experiences, new political disagreements could arise and thus harm the community. The Sunni Waqf must not be involved in politics. There are personal conflicts that should be settled.

Al-Monitor: What is the nature of the current relationship between you and Maliki?

Jabouri: It is a normal relationship, like any other relationship with any prominent figure. The only difference is that it is at a stage of understanding, but there is no alliance or agreement. There is understanding in terms of managing crises within the parliament and the political process. There is no denying that there is joint coordination with the head of the [INA], [Hakim], and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. I think this is a normal relationship that is limited to discussions and dialogues, but no alliances.

Al-Monitor: What is the nature of your personal relationship with Iran? It is said to be stronger than the relationship between the Shiite leaders and officials there.

Jabouri: I do not know the nature of the relationship between Shiite leaders and Iran. I have a formal relationship with Iran; there is nothing special about it. Some wanted to criticize the relationships I build by claiming that I am relying on Iran [for political backup], but that is not true. I have a good relationship with Iran, just like I have good relationships with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US. However, considering my official title, I sometimes succeed in convincing these parties with our demands, but fail at others.
October 6, 2016

Despite official statements to the contrary, Ankara and Washington are not cooperating in Syria. There's a lot of friction. Ankara acquiesces much more to its former adversary Russia than to its traditional ally, the United States.

Turkey has been conspicuously silent on Aleppo's worsening plight brought about by the Syrian regime in Damascus, with Russia's backing. Until recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consistently called attention to Aleppo, Syria's largest city, which is perceived as essential to Turkey's interests in, and influence over, Syria. Turkey's silence during the darkest days of Aleppo's very long history is appalling.

A big question mark also hangs over the strategic town al-Bab, which lies only 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from Turkey's border. Erdogan once said Syrian rebels should liberate the town with the help of the Turkish army.

Al-Bab is the last remaining Islamic State (IS) stronghold in northern Syria, and it holds strategic importance for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, Syrian opposition groups supported by Turkey and the Syrian army supported by Russia. Erdogan implied that Turkey is committed to liberating al-Bab from IS. If that objective is achieved, the Kurdish aim of linking the Kurdish cantons along the border with Turkey will be thwarted, perhaps, once and for all.

But as we have not been hearing anything from Ankara on Aleppo or al-Bab, speculation is rife that Turkey has taken a step back to align its Syrian policy with Russia's.

After Turkey downed a Russian fighter jet on Nov. 24, Moscow blocked Ankara from playing any significant role in northern Syria. It was the improvement of relations with Russia that enabled Turkeys military incursion into Syria on Aug. 24, rather than US endorsement.

It appears the limits of Turkey's engagement in northern Syria are dictated more by Russia than the United States. And as it looks like Turkey's influence is somewhat circumscribed in northern Syria, Ankara has turned to northern Iraq, toward Mosul.

Speaking to Dubai-based Rotana TV last weekend, Erdogan said, "Mosul is for the people of Mosul, Tal Afar is for the people of Tal Afar. After the liberation of Mosul from IS, no one has the right to enter and settle in these towns. Only Sunni Arabs, Turkmens and Sunni Kurds should stay there."

As preparations to retake Mosul are underway, Erdogan's warning on the sectarian consequences of the Mosul operation sparked strong reactions from the predominantly Shiite government of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Erdogan clearly was objecting to the use of the Shiite militiamen that Baghdad will rely on for the "liberation" of Mosul.

What further exacerbates the tension is the presence of Turkish troops in Bashiqa, a few miles north of Mosul. It is a facility provided to Turkey by the former governor of Ninevah province Atheel al-Nujaifi, the brother of the Sunni vice president of Iraq. The Nujaifi brothers are notables of Mosul, belonging to a family known as "Turkey's arm" in Iraq's third-largest city.

The unspecified number of Turkish military personnel in Bashiqa are involved in  among other activities  training Iraqi Sunni supporters of Nujaifi. Following the ultimate recapture of Mosul from IS, the Turkish plan is to hand over the city to Sunni control, preferably to those Sunnis who are pro-Turkey.

Erdogan expressed Turkey's willingness to join the imminent battle for Mosul.

All of these events led the Iraqi parliament to adopt a resolution Tuesday denouncing the Turkish troop presence in Bashiqa and asking the Baghdad government to consider them "occupation forces." Abadi, following the resolution, told reporters that the presence of Turkish troops "is one of the challenges" ahead of the Mosul operation. He warned that Ankaras insistence could lead to "regional warfare."

Relations between Ankara and Baghdad are so soured that each one's Foreign Ministry summoned the other's diplomatic envoy to exchange protest notes.

Baghdad has demanded the immediate withdrawal of forces that it said Turkey "illegally" sent into Iraq.

An extremely strong-worded response came Oct. 5 from Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who said, "Whatever the Iraqi government says, the Turkish military presence will continue to remain in order to fight against [IS] and to prevent the change of the structure of the region by force."

Yildirim apparently meant "to keep the region from falling under the influence of the Shiite-led Baghdad government," and to keep Kurdish elements from having military dominance in the nearby town of Sinjar, which is adjacent to Syria's Kurdish territories under the control of the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party and the YPG.

The Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil and the United States and its allies in Baghdad are preparing for the offensive to oust IS from its "crown jewel" of Mosul. But meanwhile, the Mosul issue is turning into a potential geopolitical confrontation with strong sectarian overtones.

Turkey seemingly relies on playing the card of Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani  if not the full deck of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)  when it comes to Mosul. Numan Kurtulmus, the Turkish deputy prime minister and government spokesman, said, "About the Bashiqa issue, it is obvious that the [Kurdish] regional administration in northern Iraq and the Barzani administration had asked for [Turkey's] support and sought help from Turkish troops, especially for training their local forces to rescue Mosul. This is not disputable. Turkey will not let the Bashiqa issue become a matter of debate," stressing that Turkey's presence in Bashiqa is "not an occupation."

The wild card is Washington.

Col. John Dorrian, the American spokesman for the International Coalition Force in Iraq, said in reference to the Iraqi parliament's resolution, "The Turkish military force in the Iraqi territory [Bashiqa] is not a part of the coalition force and it has not been there with the invitation and the permission of the Iraqi government, therefore it is illegal."

If this is interpreted as a boost to the Baghdad government's stand, it will embolden Barzani's opposition in the KRG  opposition that mainly consists of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Movement for Change Party, both of which enjoy Tehran's support.

The shift of Turkish attention from Aleppo and al-Bab to Mosul not only complicates regional alliances that are already dangerously tangled over Syria, but also complicates the operation for Mosul.

Washington may need to recalibrate its regional military cooperation with Ankara, not only in northern Syria but also in northern Iraq.
October 6, 2016

A binational meeting was held in Moscow Oct. 2, bringing together Ahmet Tunc  an adviser of Melih Gokcek, the mayor of Ankara and a strong supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  and Aleksandr Dugin, a special representative of President Vladimir Putin. In the meeting, Dugin made the sensational claim that he himself helped save Turkey from the military coup by informing Turkish authorities about some unusual activity in the military July 14, a day before the coup attempt. He also claimed that the coup plot took place because Erdogan had begun to turn toward Russia.

Dugin also urged his Turkish guests to reconsider the orientation of their country. You know, they are not welcoming Turks to Europe, he said, in reference to Turkeys unpromising bid to join the European Union. Yet while Europe's doors are closed to you, Russian ones are open.

If Dugin were an ordinary Russian political scientist, these words would not mean much. But he is widely acknowledged as a major ideologue of the Putin regime. Western media outlets have dubbed him Putins brain and the prophet of the new Russian Empire. He is known for promoting Eurasianism, which seems to be a scheme for uniting all the global enemies of liberalism under Russian leadership.

Since the failed coup attempt, Dugins call to Turkey has been played up in the Russian media as well. Pro-Kremlin websites fabricated two fake news stories in September showing that the United States was behind the plot. One of them was a phony article supposedly written by a retired US ambassador depicting the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul  a theological rival to the Russian church  as a CIA Trojan horse that helped organize the coup. The other was another phony article supposedly written by Zbigniew Brzezinski blaming the CIA for the grave mistake of organizing an unsuccessful putsch in Turkey.

This Russian propaganda found strong echoes in Turkey, which is now more obsessed than ever with conspiracy theories. Both fake stories about CIA involvement in the coup made headlines in the pro-government media, apparently without any fact-checking and certainly with no corrections later on. Meanwhile, Metin Kulunk, a politician in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and a rising confidant of Erdogan, declared in mid-September that while the first aim of the July 15 scheme was to topple Erdogan, its second goal was to topple Putin. Similar arguments have been made by Erdogans new allies, the secular nationalists spearheaded by the Homeland Party of Dogu Perincek, whose worldview is quite close to that of Dugins.

A key element in this new Turko-Russian rapprochement is the common contempt for the followers of cleric Fethullah Gulen, the leader of the Islamic cult widely held responsible for the coup attempt. Erdogan and his supporters think that Western powers, out of either naivete or malice, do not comprehend the threat the Gulenists pose for Turkey. In contrast, the Russians have long designated the Gulenists as a perilous group, closing all their schools and even banning the religious movement that identifies with it. That is why Ankara and Russia, even back in 2014, have long been in full agreement on the Gulenists. Now Russians are only adding that Ankara should see the powers behind the Gulenists, as Dugin urged in the Moscow meeting.

The common enmity for Gulenists also gave the two countries a chance to explain away the major rift they had in November 2015, when a Russian warplane was downed by the Turkish air force on the Syrian border. This incident initiated a cold war between Ankara and Moscow, which ended only last June, when Erdogan reached out to the Russians with an apology. Soon, the pro-government media in Turkey also came up with the theory that the pilot of the Turkish jet that downed the Russian plane was a Gulenist, which may well have been the case, and acted with the sinister intention to break Turkish-Russian ties, which may well be a fantasy. But it seems to be a convenient fantasy on which both Dugin and his Turkish guests in Moscow agreed.

Now what is the significance of this new Turko-Russian rapprochement, which is significant enough to lead the AKP government to eschew its reaction to Russian military operations in Syria, including the bombing of Aleppo?

On one hand, it was only wise for Turkey to end the cold war with Russia, which had serious costs for Turkeys economy, hitting both trade and tourism. Russia is also a powerful political actor  not just in the Middle East but also the Balkans  and dialogue between Ankara and Moscow will be in the interests of both capitals. On the other hand, preferring Russia as an alternative to the West would be a disastrous strategic choice. It would not only have major economic and security costs, but would also place Turkey firmly in the club of authoritarian nations.

Al-Monitor's sources in Ankara say there is really no intention at this point for a major break with the West, such as leaving NATO. Despite the current honeymoon, they say, Ankara has seen how Moscow reacts when it senses a crisis. It should also be noted that Numan Kurtulmus, a spokesman for the Turkish government, dismissed Dugins claim that Russia helped avert Turkeys coup.

However, the Gulenist affair is quite serious, and it can keep creating resentment among the Turks against the West, in particular the United States, while deepening the ideological affinity between Turkey and Russia. Erdogan and Putin already have similar personalities and visions, and Putin  who will visit Turkey next week  was also the first world leader to call Erdogan after the coup, a gesture that meant a lot psychologically to Erdogan.

That is why Western capitals, especially Washington, should be aware of this Russian effort to drag Turkey away from the West. And they should balance it by reaching out to Ankara on its key concerns while offering constructive criticism on growing human rights problems rather than watching Turkey slip to the dark side.
October 7, 2016

SANAA, Yemen  Prior to July 2013, al-Fateh school provided primary education in the rural area of Manasseh in al-Bayda governorate to the east of the capital Sanaa. But since then, the school has turned into a mere landmark of the already stumbling educational sector in Yemen.

In early July 2013, al-Qaeda gunmen occupied the school and turned it into a security center for the management of the inhabitants affairs. By then, al-Qaeda had been in control of large parts of al-Bayda governorate.

On May 2, 2015, the school was taken over by another armed group after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa on Sept. 21, 2014, and sent their gunmen to al-Bayda to fight al-Qaeda members and anti-Houthi tribesmen. Houthi militants seized control of the school and turned it into a security station and military headquarters. Until now, the Houthis have maintained control of the school.

A schoolteacher, speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said, "I was shocked when a 7-year-old student approached me as I was standing in front of the school one day this year, grabbed my hand, and asked: 'Can you kick the militants out, I want to go back to school.' In that moment I felt helpless and sad more than ever.

This school is only one of many schools in Yemen that have been transformed in military centers.

Taher al-Shalafi, the director of the Studies and Educational Media Center (SEMC) in Sanaa, told Al-Monitor that more than 2,000 schools out of the 16,000 schools in Yemen are no longer suitable to receive students for several reasons. The main reason being the destruction of school buildings following airstrikes by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, and the internal war between Houthi militants who are backed by military forces affiliated with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on one hand, and armed groups backed by a popular resistance force affiliated with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemens internationally recognized president, on the other.

Based on a SEMC field report, 1.3 million out of 6 million Yemeni students have been prevented from pursuing their education during the 2015-16 academic year, representing 22% of the total number of students in Yemen  one out of five Yemeni students  while only 40% of schoolteachers were able to perform their jobs.

Muammar al-Fahd, one of the teachers at al-Shahid al-Hinduana school in Sanaa, told Al-Monitor, Education has hit rock bottom during the last two years and slipped to indescribable levels. This is the worst phase in the history of modern Yemen.

He said, The parents now buy notebooks from vendors on the streets at prices up to 400 Yemeni riyals [about $1.50 per book] while the Ministry of Education is supposed to provide these books for free to all public school students. The economic hardship and tough living conditions affect the teachers and educational workers performance. A teacher attends his class but his mind is preoccupied with his own family and their needs. In light of the state's inability to pay salaries things have gotten even worse.

The economic crisis and the decision to move the headquarters of the Yemeni Central Bank from Sanaa to Aden  the temporary base of Hadi's government  has mainly affected state employees, who are now facing a blurry legitimacy and a de-facto authority unable to pay salaries.

The Central Bank, controlled by the Houthis in Sanaa, provided the necessary financial allocations for the payment of the salaries of state employees and military staff, but after the relocation decision in September these salaries were not disbursed, despite the promise of the prime minister who is affiliated with Hadi. Although the Houthis criticized the relocation decision, they remained silent regarding state employees salary demands.

Saleh Salami, a father of seven children enrolled in a school in a rural town in Rayma governorate in northern Yemen, told Al-Monitor that the future does not bode well in light of the prevailing chaos.

He said, In the past, my children attended three classes per day, but currently schools are neglected, especially in rural areas. Some schools are occupied by President Hadis resistance forces while others have fallen in the hands of the Houthis. Some students dropped out of school to find a job while others joined armed groups. Those who stayed in school are wondering whether they should continue their education or search for a job now that their parents have lost theirs.

The ongoing war and the deteriorating economy also took their toll on private education, as private schools registered a substantial number of dropouts during the previous academic year.

A source at the private education department with the Ministry of Education told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that in the 2015-16 academic year 60,000 students left private schools to enroll in public schools, out of the 300,000 private school students.

Nearly 200 private schools were closed, out of 1,050 schools, the source said.

The source predicted further deterioration of private education in the current academic year, saying, This year, the number of students who will leave private schools to enroll in public schools is expected to be higher than in previous years in light of the deterioration of the economic situation. Only students of affluent families will stay in private schools.

Education was mostly affected in the governorates of Taiz and Hajjah, as education was completely halted in the towns of Abes and Hard near the border with Saudi Arabia. The source said, The coalition aircraft bombed all public and private schools and education there has stopped completely since last year.

In this regard, Shalafi said, The armed conflict in Taiz caused the closure of 468 schools out of a total number of 1,642 schools, depriving 250,000 students from education, out of a total of 800,000 students.

In addition to the plunging status of the educational process in Yemen, parents fear for the safety of their children as warplanes continue to fly. On the morning of the first day of school, on Oct. 1, a large number of coalition warplanes flew over Sanaa at low altitude, sparking panic among the students.

This war seems to be an extra nail in the coffin of education in Yemen, which is already battling significant obstacles, most importantly school dropouts as a result of extreme poverty that forces students to join the labor market. A 2015 UNESCO study ranked Yemen second among Arab countries in terms of illiteracy rate, which had then reached 30%.

Add to this the phenomenon of overcrowded classrooms and the destruction of the already weakened infrastructure, which has dashed all efforts by the government to improve education. Most schools in urban areas lack adequate laboratories and libraries, while in rural areas many students are exposed to extreme heat in outdoor classrooms.
Rabbi Jonathan Miller has written a book that includes 70 eulogies of members of Temple Emanu-El, along with Miller's reflections on life and death.

(ourtemple.org)

Less than a year ago, Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Miller dealt with the death of his mother, Anita Miller.

For a man who had officiated more than 1,000 funerals, it still wasn't easy facing that grief.

He channeled his thoughts into a book that would focus on grieving, on eulogies and on living a good life.

"It became my therapy to focus my own energy and sadness," said Miller, who has been at Temple Emanu-El since 1991.

"I've been here over a quarter of a century; that's a long time to be in one community, and I've buried generations of family members, and celebrated their joys with them," Miller said. "These people really lived through historic times - the Holocaust, the birth of Israel, the civil rights movement."

The book, now published, is called, "Legacy: A Rabbi and a Community Remember Their Loved Ones."

It includes 70 eulogies of members of Temple Emanu-El, along with Miller's reflections on life and death.

"I don't know that anybody's ever done this: eulogies of not-famous people," Miller said. "It's about life and death. It's about how you respond to tragedy, how you deal with death. It's a snapshot of people's lives."

It's being released during the Jewish High Holy days, which began Sunday.

On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Miller will distribute 500 to 600 books to temple members on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.

"Yom Kippur is our Day of Atonement, the most serious day of the year, when we do a 24-hour fast, refrain from normal joys of life, focus on the spiritual tasks of life, focus on living a life that God would have us live."

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur includes a service of remembrance.

"We read the names of temple members who have died in the past year," Miller said. "It's a somber reading. There's a time of silence. We dwell on the losses, then we get up and we move forward. It's a powerful time. Judaism has a lot of wisdom when it comes to helping people deal with their grief, then ultimately to leave it. You can't just leave your sorrow and grief, you have to experience it, go into it."

Miller will read his mother's name, and grieve again.

"We're thankfully aware of our loved ones who have passed," Miller said. "During the course of the holiday as we focus on repentance, we move forward ready to start the new year. We are aware of what we've lost. We dwell on the sadness we feel and it's appropriate."

Judaism does not deny the sadness of death, he said.

"We loved these people," Miller said. "We miss them. There's a sense of profound loss. You have to go into the grief in order to emerge from it."

For the Living

Miller hopes that his reflections on dying, and lives well-lived, will help the living.

"So often when we think of ourselves, we are bound up in the minutiae of life and the things that are not important in terms of our own spiritual welfare and legacy," Miller said.

"When you go to a cemetery, you look at what ways they were successful, how are they remembered. I never leave the cemetery not appreciative of my own life, the people I love, the blessings I have. I always some sense of appreciation with how blessed we are to be alive."

A funeral and a eulogy are not just for the dead. They are lessons for the living.

"It refocuses us on life, the importance of lives well-lived," Miller said. "That becomes obscured through struggles and challenges until you take one or two steps back and you can see that person's life in a much broader context. They gave gifts that weren't always apparent. You don't miss their cars, their lake houses. What you miss is the love and the spirit, the ability to face challenges, their ability to lift themselves up after they've been defeated."

Miller said he has come to embrace the role of a counselor in times of grief and death.

"I find myself enriched when I help people through their grief and sadness," Miller said.

The congregation lays a heavy responsibility when it calls on clergy to bury its dead.

"Weddings are when they want you," Miller recalls being told by a mentor. "Funerals are when they need you. To bury people with love and comfort them when they're mourning is the highest calling."

The book is available online for $25, with $5 for shipping.
The city of Birmingham will begin collecting donations for residents in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and the Islands of the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Matthew.

"While it may be a week or so before needs are assessed, we can get ahead of the needs and collect now," Birmingham Mayor William Bell said in a Thursday evening statement.

Donations will be collected Tuesday, Oct. 11 through Thursday, Oct. 13 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Boutwell Auditorium.

The following items will be collected: dried beans, rice, canned goods, batteries ( AA / AAA / D), bottled water, work gloves, cleaning supplies, tarps, flathead shovels for sand removal, flashlights and large heavy duty trash bags.

"We are in contact with (Alabama Emergency Management Agency) AEMA, (Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency) JEFFCO EMA and the American Red Cross, and are reviving hourly updates. Will will pass that information on to our citizens as we receive it," Bell said.

Christian Service Mission is partnering with the Mayor's Office to gather the items and get them distributed as quickly as possible.

"As always, we appreciate the generosity of our citizens. Residents always step up to help their neighbors in need and we know they will again this time," Bell said.

Volunteer groups are needed. Interested groups are asked to call Don Lupo at 205-335-4573.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- It was arguably Hillary Clinton's stickiest gaffe.



She was speaking at an LGBT gala in New York City. Barbra Streisand performed earlier.



"To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call 'the basket of deplorables.' Right?" the Democratic presidential nominee told donors at the event in September.



"Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that, and he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million."



The reaction was swift, and condemnation was widespread, but nowhere did her comments reverberate more powerfully than at rallies for the main target of her criticism, Donald Trump.



Scattered throughout his subsequent rallies were signs declaring "Deplorable lives matter." Shirts emblazoned with a Minion, characters in the animated movie "Despicable Me," bore the tag "Deplorable me."



More #deplorable paraphernalia here at Trump's rally in Clive, IA pic.twitter.com/tbsTEJXWpq  Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) September 13, 2016

PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ-- Frank Meeker shows off his flag at the @realDonaldTrump rally. pic.twitter.com/oJyi4O8R68  Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) October 4, 2016

Amid the scrutiny, Clinton stood, at least partially, behind her comments. She said she regretted using the word "half," while condemning Trump for being a "champion" of white supremacists.Meanwhile, some have applauded Clinton's attack, saying many Trump supporters are indeed xenophobic, racist and Islamophobic.Clinton has also criticized Trump for perpetuating birtherism, the "racist lie" she said some of his supporters buy into. So, in interviews with over a dozen Trump supporters across the country in the past month, ABC News has sought to divine the values of these Americans on the topics of Islam, illegal immigration, same-sex marriage and the birther controversy.Here's what some of them said they believe.Margie Burr, a retired bookkeeper with a wide smile who lives on Merritt Island, Florida, proudly showed off her Trump-Pence sign at his rally in Melbourne, Florida. Asked whether she agreed with Trump's talk of barring foreign Muslims from entering the U.S., she said, "Well, you know, I think we should try it. If it happens, I'm behind it."She didn't think it was an infringement of anyone's religious liberties."I don't want to take away anyone else's religion, but we have the freedom of religion, and I want to keep that freedom and worship the way I worship, and you know, we're good people with Christian values," she said. "They can be what they want, but leave us alone."Ethyn Rad, an 18-year-old Nebraskan who is training to be a barber, went to see Trump across the border in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He said his father is Muslim and is also voting for Trump, but Rad said he thinks a ban on Muslims plays into stereotypes."I think it's false, think it's more of an American stereotype about other people," he said. "Because if you go to other countries, they're pretty nice. I've been to Iran. I've been there. It's not too bad. I think it's just an American stereotype that all Islams [sic] are out to blow up America."But he believes in mosque surveillance and said that America shouldn't accept Syrian refugees."By having so much Islams come into America that are kind of like, I don't know, refugees, it's going to make America not as good. We'd be better off if we didn't accept them."Jason Wallace, 34, served in the Army for 12 years, spending four deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He thinks the problem with Islam is the religion itself. "They're just filled with hate," said Wallace, who saw Trump in Prescott Valley, Arizona. "They hate everything about Western civilization. They hate the way we do things. They majorly hate us."He added, "I don't think by saying there's a problem with Islam, it's infringing on their religion. I think this is us voicing our rights and our concerns with them. Some of my best friends are from the Middle East."He went on to say that not all Muslims are bad. "The radicalists? Yes. Definitely issues there," he added.Cindy and John Stout are self-employed and own a sales company. At Trump's rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado, they were jovial, outfitted in their "Deplorables" gear. They noted that Colorado legalized the use of marijuana. "We're kind of lenient here," Cindy Stout joked."What happens in folks' bedrooms, that's their own business. We got lots of friends that are gay and lesbian. That's wonderful," she said."Having been in the military, you grow up with that, and you don't have a prejudiced bone in your body. You have friends that you serve with."Her husband, who also served in the Army, interjected, "In the Army, there's don't ask, don't tell.' People don't care about that. I don't think people care about that, and the older generation that are opposed to it, looking from a biblical standpoint, I think they're starting to say, 'OK, we can have different religions and things like that, and it's OK.'"But Burr wasn't quite as open. "They got freedom of choice, and that's their prerogative," she said. "More power to them if that's the way they want to live. As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord."Jeff Ratkosky and his wife (who declined to give her name) live in Cleveland and traveled to Canton, Ohio, to see Trump. When informed that Trump said he would be a friend to the gay community, she turned up her nose. "I don't want to comment on that," she said.Frank Meeker, a 54-year-old fire technician, traveled from Chino Valley, Arizona, to Prescott Valley to see Trump. Meeker said he doesn't support same-sex marriage but thinks people should be allowed to do what they want in the bedroom. His only qualm was that he feels same-sex marriage and the gay community are being pushed on him and the younger generation."They're trying to say if you don't agree with it, you're intolerant or you're a bigot, racist, which I'm not. Like I said ... this whole political correct thing has gotten way out of hand," he said.Meeker, who said his maternal grandparents are of Spanish descent, declared emphatically that he can't be racist because he is a product of immigrants. But undocumented immigrants pose a threat to this country, he said, when asked about illegal immigration from Mexico."We don't know who they are. They've not been vetted, they could be ISIS," he said.He continued, "Yeah, they could come up through Mexico, Canada and anything else. Since 9/11, they've been coming through here. It's a known fact that they've been coming through the airport. I'm not saying ISIS itself but questionable people."William Benner, a self-described "laborer" from Manheim, Pennsylvania, similarly is worried about ISIS infiltrating and the flow of undocumented immigrants he said are coming into this country."I think having an open border and just letting anybody come in is an issue," he said. "It's not necessarily just Mexicans. My wife is Spanish. I have no problem with Spanish people at all."He added, "The terrorists have said that they're going to infiltrate, fit in with them. They're going to come in."Rad said he mostly agrees with Trump's infamous characterization of some undocumented immigrants as rapists and criminals."I would say the majority of them are, but I wouldn't say all of them are," he said. "It's unnecessary for them to be here."The Stouts were playfully fighting. John Stout believed that Trump ended the birther controversy  the false claim that Barack Obama was born abroad  and said it shouldn't be an issue.But Cindy Stout countered, "I think that should've been proven years ago, which I'm still not convinced it was."Asked whether she believes Obama was born in this country, she responded, "No, I do not. Flat out  There's a lot of things that are amiss in that history there. His college records. People that don't know him. We can't find anybody.""She's a wacko," her husband joked. "Don't listen to her."As they continue to argue, he concluded, with a smile, "You're walking home tonight."In Ohio, Ratkosky and his wife also have their doubts about Obama's birth. "Sure is kind of suspicious. There's a lot of suspicion following that," his wife said.He said, "There's still a lot of unanswered stuff with that too, but he'll be out soon, so we won't have to worry about that."When asked about the president's long-form birth certificate, which was released publicly, his wife said, "Like I said, we don't work for the government, and neither do you. Like we said, you never really know what's going on behind the scenes, so just because they tell you something or produce a birth certificate doesn't make it's factual. I mean, they have to have some secrecy. I don't know."In Florida, Burr would say only, "Well, I think it's a little late to discuss that. He's at the end of his term, so really at this point it really doesn't matter, and that's all I can say about that."Meeker in Arizona, clad in his "Hillary for prison" shirt, similarly had questions. When asked whether he believes the president was born in the U.S., he said, "That's really in question. I don't know. I kind of doubt it, but I don't know for sure. Like I said, it's not been put to rest, and nobody's really even said something."Why is the media trying to cover it up? They keep trying to throw it in Trump's face. It's like, what do you call it? Smoke and mirrors."After the interview was over, he gamely posed for a picture and unfurled a large flag he had under his seat.It was a variation of the Gadsden flag, the yellow banner depicting a coiled rattlesnake with the words "Don't tread on me," the emblem of states' rights advocacy. But instead of the traditional yellow background or U.S. flag, the images on Meeker's version are emblazoned over the Confederate flag. The camera snapped, and Meeker flashed a toothy grin.Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Prosperous Armenia party is not hurrying to evaluate the newly formed Governments activities. MP of the Prosperous Armenia faction Lyova Khachatryan told reporters at a briefing they havent yet seen a real result of the Governments activities.

When we see the result we will give our evaluation. We havent yet seen any real step besides changes of individuals. Perhaps its due to the fact that we havent discussed and approved the Governments program, he said.

We want to see the process of solving all present problems. Id like to see the Governments roadmap, which specifies exact problems and their exact solutions, he said.
A federal lawsuit has been filed in the 2014 death of a 47-year-old Pleasant Grove man who died in the Jefferson County Jail after being Tased while in lockup.

Birmingham attorney Anthony Piazza filed the suit on behalf of the estate of Ricky DeAngelo Hinkle, claiming jail employees and medical staff at the jail were deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of Hinkle. The attorney says Hinkle was an inmate with known medical problems including a heart condition, depression and alcoholism. The 29-page lawsuit names Jefferson County, Sheriff Mike Hale and nearly a dozen others as defendants.

Hinkle died Sept. 13, 2014 after a sheriff's deputy used a Taser on him when he became combative with officers, according to a statement from the sheriff's office that evening. The statement said Hinkle fell to the floor and was unresponsive after the deputy used the Taser on him. Efforts were unsuccessful by the jail's on-duty medical personnel and paramedics to revive him.

Hinkle was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. As is standard operating procedure, the county called in the State Bureau of Investigation to take over the probe.

Hinkle had been jailed for parole violation on a previous assault charge. Authorities at the time said deputies decided to separate Hinkle from other inmates at about 11:30 a.m. that day when he threatened other inmates and created a disruption during the lunchtime meal service. "While in the process of moving, the inmate threatened to harm himself. At that point it was determined the inmate should be placed in a cell that allowed twenty-four-hour monitoring to prevent any possible suicide attempt," sheriff's officials said in 2014. "When they arrived at the cell the inmate became combative, refused to enter and began scuffling with one of the deputies. A second deputy deployed a Taser to bring the inmate under control. After engagement the inmate fell to the floor and became unresponsive."

Piazza says Hinkle was arrested on Sept. 8, 2014 by U.S. Marshals when they "found him in a stupor next to an empty vodka bottle." He was taken to the county jail in Bessemer and then transferred to the Birmingham lockup the following day where Piazza says he was denied his prescribed medications "including his hypertension and anti-depression medication, and was not treated for alcoholism."

The attorney's announcement of the suit says Hinkle went into alcohol withdrawal five days later, when he began not making any sense in his conversations with inmates and jail staff, and began displaying paranoid-delusional symptoms. "While jailers were transferring him to a padded cell, he began making suicidal statements such as telling jailers he wanted to die, and became non-compliant to the verbal commands,'' according Piazza's statement. "Rather than notify jail medical staff on duty, jailers used their Taser on Hinkle, who fell to the floor upon being Tased. Hinkle lay unconscious on the floor and unresponsive to the jailers' demands to turn over so they could place handcuffs on him. The jailers then used their Taser on Hinkle again who remained motionless and unresponsive."

The lawsuit claims it was at that time the jailers called in medical staff, "but the medical staff could not use their portable defibrillator or AED because they didn't have pads for it,'' Piazza wrote. "Hinkle continued to lay motionless while CPR was performed on him. Approximately 20 minutes later, the medical staff contacted EMS to the scene." Piazza says EMS arrived 10 minutes later and worked on Hinkle for about 20 minutes but were unable to revive him."

The suit seeks punitive damages, attorney fees, expenses and costs and seeks to have the medical services contract between the county jail and the jail health care provider declared null and void. Piazza noted that the Jefferson County Coroner's Office ruled Hinkle's death a homicide. A homicide by definition is a deliberate act by one person that results in the death of another. Authorities emphasize, however, that not all homicides are criminal.

"People die in jail just like anywhere else,'' Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian told AL.com today. "This wasn't due to anything other than poor health and habits but, as you would expect, there is always an ambulance chaser with a dream of winning the lottery at taxpayers' expense. God bless him."
MAX buses will begin rolling from its new central hub in downtown Birmingham in December, officials say.

The Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) bus station, located between 17th and 18th streets, will be the first phase of the $32 million three-block Birmingham Intermodal Facility along Morris Avenue to open.

Construction started in early 2014.

The new facility is touted as a new front door to Magic City that will bring the city and regional public transit systems together at one location.

The second phase of the building, located between 18th and 19th streets and includes new facilities for Amtrak and Greyhound, is scheduled to open in March 2017, said senior manager Robert White, of Hoar Program Management, which manages the construction of the project for the city of Birmingham.

"Finally, there is a new parking lot located between 16th and 17th streets, scheduled to open in April of 2017," he said.

Megabus will also pick up and drop off passengers at the MAX bus terminal facility. Taxis and Ubers will be able to wait along Morris Avenue and pick up passengers. A Zyp bike share rack will also be placed off Morris Avenue.

"For the first time in a long time we will have a modern Amtrak facility instead of a hole in the ground (at 19th Street) that we currently have now for our terminal," Birmingham Mayor William Bell added.

Intermodal facility amenities

By this spring, the MAX bus terminal facility will feature an eatery, which could be anything from a pizza place or a deli, said Andre Bittas, director of the city's planning engineering and permits department.

"They haven't really decided who will be the vendor," he said, adding that is still under negotiation.

A newsstand, similar to Hudson News at airports, will be located in the Amtrak and interstate bus station, Bittas said. That contract is also under negotiation.

Morris Avenue along the three-block intermodal facility is designed to be very walkable for passengers and to promote economic development, he said.

"We are doing full street improvements (on Morris Avenue)," Bittas said, including new lighting, brick-paver sidewalks (similar to Railroad Park), landscaping, security cameras and emergency phones. The walkway from the parking lot to the bus and train stations will be under a canopy.

The parking lot will have nearly 300 parking spaces and charging stations for electric vehicles.

Status of bus rapid transit

Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin said the intermodal facility is a "great project for the city," but he hopes the new facility will reinvigorate the city's efforts to launch bus rapid transit.

About a year ago, the city was awarded a $20 million federal grant for a 15-mile bus rapid transit project to connect 25 communities on the west and east sides to the city center.

A north to south route, which would run along 18th Street, will connect UAB and the southside to the civic center area to the north. An east to west route would run from the Woodlawn area to the Birmingham Crossplex area on Bessemer Road.

The federal grant was part of a long-term plan to support the World Games set to come to Birmingham in 2021, and city officials hoped it would be the first of much more financial assistance needed to improve facilities.

"Bus rapid transit is desperately needed to connect people to jobs and much-needed resources that seem to be out of reach for the majority of residents," Austin said.

A faster and more reliable bus service is needed, though, before ridership will grow, he said.

"What we are doing (now) is not working," he said. "You still see buses riding through the city empty.

"We have to change our views and opinions on mass transit," Austin added. "Mass transit is for everyone. It is for the ones that need it, and those who don't think they need it."

Bell told AL.com on Thursday that the city is in the process of submitting one of the last required documents to the U.S. Department of Transportation before construction on dedicated bus rapid transit lanes can begin.

Bittas said he expects construction and/or marking of dedicated lanes to begin in 2017.

"What we will probably do is institute a bus route that would foreshadow what that route would look like (first) and get people used to riding that," Bell said.
Shirley Pritchett helped raise 22-year-old Byron Ulrick Pritchett Jr. for longer than she can remember, and his death has been a hard hit to the Birmingham grandmother.

"It's stressful,'' she said. "Without him here, it's just not the same. They took him too early."

More than 100 family and friends gathered Thursday night to remember the young father of three who they say was killed one week ago in a robbery. His watch, Michael Jordan shoes, and $5 were taken in the holdup.

"They were targeting him, I guess because they thought he had something,'' said his mother, Latanya King. "It's just senseless."

The vigil was held one week to the minute of the shooting that killed Pritchett. At 6 p.m. on Sept. 29, Pritchett was visiting relatives in Birmingham's Collegeville community when family members say three men - one of them wielding an assault-type rifle - jumped out from behind a dumpster, robbed him and then shot him. After they fled, King said, Pritchett used his cell phone to call his father and then his mother. "He was just calling my name,'' she said. "I said, 'I'm on my way to the hospital.''

Because he was alert enough to call, King assumed her wounded son would survive. When she got to UAB Hospital, however, the news was dire. Doctors already had resuscitated him once and taken him into surgery. That's when his heart stopped again and, despite their attempts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at 7:59 p.m.

"It hurt,'' King said. "He took a piece of my heart with him."

Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards has previously said the preliminary investigation showed Pritchett was walking when he was approached by a black male. "It is unclear at this point why the suspect approached him but during the verbal exchange the suspect shot the victim,'' he said. Edwards said Thursday afternoon that investigators are actively pursuing a suspect.

Pritchett was one of at least six people shot in Birmingham in just over five hours that day. His funeral is set for Saturday at Mount Hebron Baptist Church.

Family members on Thursday said Pritchett was just a couple of months away from finishing his GED. He worked odd jobs as a laborer, and spent a lot of time with his three children - ages 5, 3 and 1 - as well as his nine brothers and sisters, some of who are the same age as his own children. "He loved to make you laugh,'' his mother said. "He wanted to be a comedian."

His uncle, Rufus Collins, said he married into the family in 2000 and spent time with Pritchett almost every weekend since then. "He was just somebody that kept you laughing,'' Collins said. "He was just somebody you always wanted to have around."

Neighborhood leaders at the vigil challenged those in attendance, especially the youth, to stop the "don't snitch" practice that's long been in existence. They lit candles and vowed to bring more of a sense of community back to their neighborhood.

Pastor Wanda Erskine of Mothers Who Want the Violence to Stop led Thursday's vigil. It's something she's being doing since her son, George Powell, and his friend Ryant Smith, were killed on Aug. 7, 2006. The slayings of Powell and Smith have never been solved.

"We're always saying black lives matter but all of our lives matter,'' Erskine said. "I have gotten on Black Lives Matter myself and let them know they always holler when the police kill, but what about when our children kill each other.

"My son was killed by another black person. We can't stop hollering about black lives matter. All lives matter, especially when your child is killed by another person of the same color that he is. Especially when that happens,'' she said.

Erskine said she will continue on with her anti-violence message. "I keep doing it over and over and over and over because until some justice is served, I'm going to keep doing it,'' she said. "But I keep putting prayers out there also, because we can't stop this, only God can. That's who can do it."
Chassidy Renae Garner-James

A Mississippi truck driver is now charged in the 2015 crash that killed a Shelby County mother and injured her infant son.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted Chassidy Renae Garner-James, 40, on a charge of criminally negligent homicide. The indictment was issued Sept. 20, and made public today.

She is charged in the Oct. 20, 2015 collision that killed 25-year-old Jordan Mays Matson. Her 8-month-old son was injured, but survived.

The crash happened at 8:17 a.m. that day on U.S. 280 at the intersection of Shelby County 280. Matson was driving a 2008 Honda CR-V when she was struck by a 2000 International tractor trailer driven by Garner-James. Nearby residents have complained about the frequent number of crash in that area.

According to the indictment, Garner-James was "operating a semi-truck with a defective brake system which was known to the defendant." No additional information was available.

Josh Wright, the attorney who represented Matson's family in a civil suit, said that suit has been settled, but a confidentiality agreement prohibits him from discussing the case and settlement.

Garner-James was arrested Thursday in Mississippi, where she waived extradition to Alabama. She is now being held in the Shelby County Jail with bond set at $15,000. Her first court date is set for early November.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said they couldn't discuss the case since it is pending.
An Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group wants Alabama and federal authorities to investigate "anti-Muslim bigotry expressed" on social media posts allegedly made by the Gurley Police chief last month.

Chief Barry Pendergraft

The Alabama chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement on Friday about Chief Barry Pendergraft's Facebook posts regarding bacon grease covered bullets.

On Sept. 23, Pendergraft posted a video of himself loading the bullets with the text, "100 more bacon grease covered bullets in the box! This relaxes me so!!"

On Sept. 27, Pendergraft uploaded a picture of a box filled with the ammunition. He posted, "Happiness is a couple thousand rounds in the ammo box! Bacon grease dipped of course!!"

As of Saturday morning, Pendergraft switched his Facebook page from public to private.

CAIR Executive Director Khaula Hadeed said the chief's posts support a false belief that Muslims cannot go to heaven if they are shot by the bullets. The Quran forbids Muslims from eating pork because pigs are considered unclean.

"We call on state and federal authorities to investigate whether the evident anti-Muslim bigotry expressed by Chief Pendergraft is acceptable for someone in his position, who is obligated to provide all citizens, regardless of faith or ethnicity, equal and fair treatment," Hadeed said

Gurley Mayor Robert Sentell was unaware about the situation until AL.com called him Friday afternoon. He said he will investigate the chief's posts.
Naked man Matthew Baker

Matthew Baker

A "highly intoxicated" north Alabama man, who didn't have on any clothes, was arrested while trying to break into a Limestone County home today, a lawman said.

When deputies were responding to a report of a naked man running around a Poff Lane neighborhood in Athens, 911 dispatchers got a call about the suspect trying to enter the home through a window, sheriff's spokesman Stephen Young said.

Matthew Dale Baker, 32, of Athens, was taken into custody after authorities found him lying naked under a nearby porch, Young said.

"A deputy saw him standing naked by a tree in a yard near the house he tried breaking in, but the guy ran away," Young said.

The screen on a window of the home was torn, and the gate to enter the yard's chain-link fence was broken, Young said.

"He was highly intoxicated, and taken to the jail after a paramedic cleared him medically," Young said.

Baker is being held in Limestone County Jail with bail set at $5,250. The charges against him are public lewdness, public intoxication, attempting to elude a police officer, attempted burglary and criminal mischief.
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Law enforcement and other emergency personnel remain on the scene of an active hostage situation with an armed suspect at the Super 8 motel on U.S. 72 in Killen.

Eddie Collins book photo

A Florida man and woman who were barricaded in the Super 8 Motel in Killen are both dead following a 32-hour standoff with law enforcement.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Eddie Collins, 42, of Lee County, Florida, died as a result of injuries he sustained when Florence police SWAT officers returned gunfire at the man when the standoff ended.

Singleton said investigators have a lot of information left to gather, including whether the woman, identified as Venita Keen, was shot by police gunfire or by Collins.

"There's a strong possibility he shot her," Singleton said. "It was one of those situations where we were concerned about a homicide-suicide."

Singleton said Keen and Collins were in some type of relationship, although the extent of it hasn't been determined. It's also unclear whether Keen was a willing participant or hostage in the standoff.

The officers who fired will be placed on administrative leave, as is protocol in any shooting. At 7:41 p.m. on Friday, the State Bureau of Investigation announced that it's opening an investigation into the officer-involved shooting. Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler and the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office requested the investigation, ALEA said.

Tyler earlier told AL.com's news partner WHNT-19 both the man and a woman, who also was inside the room, were alive despite their injuries sustained when the standoff ended before 2 p.m.

"We will be here as long as it takes," Florence police Chief Ron Tyler told reporters during a media conference this morning. "The Florence Police Department has one purpose here, and that is to bring about a swift and peaceful resolution of this incident." AL.com's news partner WHNT-19 posted online video of the press conference.

Tyler said this morning that Collins was "in control of when this ends and how it ends," and police were encouraging him to quickly and peacefully walk out and surrender.

But, this afternoon, when SWAT officer tried unsuccessfully to enter the room, they ended up using tear gas to draw Collins and Keen out, Singleton said.

"He fired shortly after they came out," Singleton said.

Collins was going to be charged with two counts of attempted murder for shooting at Lauderdale County deputies through the door of Room 116 in the motel on Thursday.

The standoff began around 6 a.m. Thursday when deputies were at the motel along with members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force to arrest Collins on five felony warrants, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Collins was wanted in Lee County, Florida for failing to appear in court on four charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and one count of firing a missile or weapon into a vehicle or dwelling.

Two Lauderdale deputies are on administrative leave pending an internal investigation because they fired their guns at Collins when he tried to escape through a back door of the motel room and raised his weapon toward them on Thursday, Chief Deputy Richard Richey said.

Law enforcement from Huntsville and Madison County, Hoover, Rogersville, Muscle Shoals, Killen, Marshall County and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency also have assisted at the scene.

"We're all still here," Singleton told AL.com this morning. "We're just waiting until it ends peacefully."

Power had been cut off at the motel, which authorities evacuated on Thursday.

The motel is located on U.S. 72 next to Shoal Creek.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of Kuwait to Armenia Nawaf Abdul Aziz Al-Enezi presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan on October 7, press service of the Presidential administration told Armenpress.

President Sargsyan congratulated the Ambassador on his appointment and wished him success on carrying out his diplomatic mission in Armenia. The President stated that the relations between Armenia and Kuwait are developing in a normal way and the bilateral cooperation agenda is expanding year by year. He attached importance to the continuous development of interstate dialogue for which all prerequisites exist.

The President remembered warmly his visit to Kuwait in 2009 and the agreements reached at the high level meetings as a result of which Embassies were opened in both countries, the contacts were intensified.

Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia is interested in further strengthening and deepening the relations with Kuwait, and Armenias and Kuwaits diplomatic representations play a key role in this regard.

Ambassador of Kuwait to Armenia Nawaf Abdul Aziz Al-Enezi said he is ready to implement the agreements, the signed documents reached at the highest level between the two states, and introduced the President his views over the development of Armenian-Kuwaiti cooperation in a number of mutually beneficial sectors.
While New Mexico thinks about reinstatement, public support for capital punishment across the US is on the decline.

New Mexico has taken a first step towards reinstating capital punishment in the US state, a move which, if successful, would defy a national trend that has seen support for capital punishment wane in recent years.

During a state budget battle in the early hours of Thursday morning, the House of Representatives on a 36-30 vote along party lines agreed to bring back the death penalty.

The motion was put on hold, however, after the Democratic-controlled New Mexico Senate refused to take it up in a session that was primarily concerned with budget deficits. It may have to wait until a new session early next year.

In the aftermath of the murder of two New Mexico police officers in August, and the shocking sexual assault, murder, and mutilation of a 10-year old girl the same month, Republican Governor Susana Martinez and her legislative allies have been pushing to enact harsher criminal justice punishment.

The new policy would bring back capital punishment by lethal injection for individuals convicted of murdering police officers, corrections officers, or children.

Backwards and retrogressive

Anti-death penalty groups reacted swiftly to the decision.

Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU of New Mexico, called the decision a backwards and retrogressive bill to reinstate the death penalty in New Mexico.

With the overwhelming support of New Mexico voters, the legislature abolished the outdated, costly, and ineffective practice of capital punishment in our state nearly eight years ago, he said.

In 2009, New Mexico abolished capital punishment under then Democratic Governor Bill Richardson.

But even if the state legislators in New Mexico were able to take up the measure again and pass it, it would be a departure from a national mood that is slowly turning against the practice.

READ MORE: My life after 44 years in prison

Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware all banned capital punishment after New Mexico did, while even Nebraska, a Republican stronghold, saw capital punishment abolished in 2015 after the legislature overrode a veto from Republican Governor Pete Ricketts.

Next month, voters in California could make it the next state to drop the death penalty in a scheduled ballot initiative vote.

All told, there remain 30 states that allow capital punishment.

But the declining national support of the policy was made clear in a study released last week by the Pew Research Center.

It found that support for death penalty in the US was at its lowest level in four decades, dipping just below 50 percent. The 42 percent of Americans now opposed to the practice is the highest total since 1972.

While many states have long allowed the death penalty as a form of punishment, the practice became especially common in the 1990s, a decade which saw a bipartisan consensus on the need to get more stringent on criminal sentencing.

In 1994, according to Pews numbers, 80 percent of Americans said they supported the practice.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 1999 saw the highest number of executions nationwide, at 99, since 1976.

But in recent years, the number of executions and the number of people sentenced to death has dropped rapidly, partly a result of changing social mores but also the effect of many pharmaceutical companies refusal to sell execution drugs to states.

Political support

While capital punishment has not figured too much in the 2016 presidential race, both Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump support the policy, although they have discussed it infrequently.

Clintons support of the policy is at odds with the Democratic Party  which officially made abolishment of the death penalty a part of its platform during a July vote  as well as progressive opinion, as only 34 percent of Democrats polled by Pew support it.

Still, her public support has been rare and even then lukewarm at best.

When asked about her policy in March during a CNN Town Hall meeting by a man who had been exonerated from death row, Clinton hedged.

She suggested that she would be glad if the states or the US Supreme Court outlawed the practice, but that she thought in extreme cases, like terrorism-related murder convictions, it could be justified.

For Trump, his support of capital punishment can be seen in the broader context of his self-declared law-and-order candidacy. He has largely discussed his support for the death penalty in relation to police killings.

During a speech last December, Trump said as president he would sign an executive order mandating the death penalty for someone convicted of killing a police officer.

Although that would be of dubious legality according to the US Supreme Court, which has prohibited mandatory death sentences, his overall stance may not harm him with Republican voters.

According to Pew, a large majority of Republicans, at 72 percent, still support the death penalty.

National elections aside, the overall trend, as the Pew study indicates, is still one of scepticism towards executions, and where it is debated it is likely to remain at the state level.

Whether New Mexico becomes the first state in more than 40 years to reinstate capital punishment after outlawing it, remains to be seen.
Tbilisi, Georgia  The bomb that destroyed a politicians car in the heart of Georgias capital this week also ignited fears that Saturdays parliamentary election could spark violence and destabilise this strategic  and often turbulent  Black Sea state.

Opposition deputy Givi Targamadze was not hurt when the explosion tore open the rear of his car near Tbilisis Freedom Square, but several passers-by were injured in an attack that some blamed on political forces and others saw as the likely work of Russia, the vast neighbour that crushed Georgias military forces in a brief 2008 war.

The blast highlighted the high stakes being played for in a nation whose pro-Western stance infuriates the Kremlin, and where the two biggest political beasts are now fighting the latest round in a bitter battle for power.

The election pits the ruling Georgian Dream party founded by eccentric billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili against allies of the countrys former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, who vows to return victorious in the coming days from exile in Ukraine.





Having made his fortune in Russia, Ivanishvili plunged into politics in 2012 with the aim of ousting Saakashvili and his United National Movement (UNM), and he achieved his ambition with astonishing speed at elections that same year.

Ivanishvili, 60, is Georgias richest man. He has a lavish collection of modern art, keeps a private zoo and was criticised by environmentalists this year for having a rare, 650-tonne tulip tree dug up and floated down the Black Sea coast to one of his estates.

The billionaire accused his one-time ally Saakashvili of committing gross abuses of power during a period of dominance that began with the 2003 Rose Revolution. After seeing several of his former officials jailed, Saakashvili fled the country.

His departure and Ivanishvilis resignation after just a year as prime minister robbed Georgias political stage of its dominant characters  but they continue to shape events from the wings, with Saakashvili still the star of the UNM and Ivanishvili pulling the governments strings without the ties of political responsibility.

OPINION: The creeping Russian border in Georgia

From the wings

But now Saakashvili vows to return  and opponents say he will go to any lengths to secure a glorious homecoming.

Three days are left before I cross this sea. We are three days away from the victory  see you in victorious Georgia, Saakashvili told supporters on Wednesday by video link from the Black Sea port of Odessa in Ukraine, where he is regional governor.

People are tired of the country being in pause mode; people are missing drive, rebuilding and progress, he told thousands of people at a final UNM campaign rally, where they waved Georgian and EU flags, blew vuvuzelas and beat drums.

We are nearing the historic moment. The moment of truth arrives in three days, Saakashvili said.

Most polls suggest the UNM is trailing Georgian Dream, but the two are far ahead of other parties and many voters are still undecided  leaving all to play for in the final days of an increasingly heated campaign.

Despite Georgian Dreams vow to end the dirty tricks that marred previous elections, the countrys highly polarised media continue to publish what they call secretly recorded conversations by key political figures.

On one such tape, a UNM deputy allegedly tells Saakashvili that our task is to hold elections in a revolutionary atmosphere  This means stirring up the public.

Saakashvili called the material a fabrication by an Ivanishvili camp desperate to avoid defeat, but Georgias security services are investigating  further complicating the potential return of a former leader who already faces abuse-of-power charges.

In 2003, the UNM and Saakashvili challenged election results and started street protests that ended with a revolutionary change in power. There are messages coming that hes planning to play the same trick  but now the situation is very different, said Tamar Chugoshvili, head of international relations for Georgian Dream.

You cant artificially create a revolution when there is no revolutionary spirit or demand for such change  Maybe hes using it to motivate his supporters but it is absolutely unrealistic, and he is under investigation so if he comes back he will be arrested, she added.

We dont expect him to show up  its a hysterical show prior to the election, and were having fun watching him.

Political violence

Georgian Dream says it has boosted the countrys democracy, human rights, rule of law and social spending, while opponents accuse it of stifling the economy with bureaucracy and entrenching the informal rule of the oligarch Ivanishvili.

They are also responsible for jailing top political leaders and for campaign violence, said Giga Bokeria, a senior UNM member who during local elections in May was beaten up with several colleagues by thugs allegedly linked to Georgian Dream.

READ MORE: Georgia  Corridor of power

Bokeria, who was secretary of Georgias national security council under Saakashvili, said such attacks  along with a shooting at another opposition partys event this week  showed that political violence was still a reality here.

What we need is [Georgian Dream] to move into opposition, along with the billionaire (Ivanishvili) if he wants. We want Georgia to be a normal democracy  they are the ones talking about a coup detat, bloodshed and retribution, Bokeria said.

I dont want to see people [protesting] in the street  Only the government can force them to do that by doing something outrageous. I hope the billionaire understands and has been told by his political puppets that Georgia is not like 2003, and no one should risk cancelling election results that they dont like, said Bokeria.

Ivanishvili claims Georgian Dream will win by a landslide, while UNM insists it will at least match the ruling party on Saturday and then take most of the single mandate constituencies that are likely to be decided in a run-off a fortnight later.

We need a big turnout and we will win, Bokeria declared.

And then I hope Misha [Saakashvili] and all other politically prosecuted people will be able to come back.

Election goals

Shaken by Tuesdays bombing, most Georgians hope above all for a peaceful election.

The five-day war with Russia in 2008 over South Ossetia, a region of Georgia run by Moscow-backed separatists, damaged the 3.7 million-strong countrys economy and hopes of joining the EU and Nato.

Georgia is still under pressure from Russia, which has thousands of troops in South Ossetia and another rebel region called Abkhazia, and sees western-aligned states in its backyard as a threat to its national interests and security.

With the EU close to granting visa-free travel to Georgians, some in Tbilisi saw the bombing as a possible Russian effort to destabilise its neighbour and tarnish its image in western eyes.

Georgia has so many challenges and Russia is the greatest. Its regrettable that the two main parties dont co-operate on key issues, said Eka Gigauri, executive director in Georgia for the anti-corruption group Transparency International.

And unfortunately, she added of possible election unrest, the main parties might not act in the interests of the country and might make mistakes.

Irakli Alasania knows better than most what is at stake for Georgia  and what its two dominant politicians will do to secure power  having served as Georgias envoy to the United Nations under Saakashvili and defence minister under Ivanishvili.

When people are shooting and bombs are exploding it scares a lot of people. And it raises the question of whether the state is capable of preventing this, said Alasania, who now leads the opposition Free Democrats.

The informal rule of Bidzina Ivanishvili is eroding institutions. People see that but they dont want to go back to the brutality of the Saakashvili regime. Georgia doesnt need either of them. They are both history, but they need each other to provoke conflict, he added.

I do see danger, he added of the possibility of election violence.

But even if there are provocations, I dont think they will cause major confrontation. For that to happen, they would have to ignite the public mood  and that mood is just not there today.
Trumps policy proposals will make things worse  hes taking the policies that created the problem and doubling them.

Larry Beinhart is a novelist, best known for Wag the Dog.

The economy, and especially the anaemic recovery, has been a disappointment to all but the top 1 percent, and only the top 0.1 percent have really done well.

When Bill Clinton ran for president he had a note hanging from the wall beside his desk. It said, Its About the Economy, Stupid.

So, too, is this election.

Sort of.

Bernie Sanders made it his issue. In America, socialism is a dirty word. The softcore version of the still dreaded communism. In spite of being a self-declared socialist, having the Democratic Party establishment lined up against him, and being the most ethical fundraiser in the history of American politics, Bernie seriously challenged Hillary Clinton.





Trump made it his issue. If he had been able to keep focus on it, it would be The Issue.

It remains an important part of his appeal. It is certainly the most valid, reality-based reason for his appeal.

Bad Trade Deals

According to Trump the reason that Americans are not doing well is the loss of manufacturing.

This is due to Bad Trade Deals. Especially NAFTA. And especially our Bad Deals with China, which, he says, is cheating.

It is also due to Illegal Immigrants. They take away jobs and lower the rates of pay for people who work.

OPINION: Trump for dummies

It is also because of the Washington Establishment. They have done nothing to help working people. They only help rich people, who have bought them. Trump knows, because hes one of the rich guys whos bought them.

Trump points out, as did Bernie Sanders, that Hillary Clinton is part of that Establishment.

Her husband, Bill Clinton, passed the worst trade deal of all, NAFTA, the free trade deal with Mexico and Canada. She was for the Trans-Pacific-Partnership, NAFTA with Asia, which would be even worse. She is against it now. Trump takes the credit for that.

Hillary doesnt have real policies to fix the problems of the American economy.

What of this is true?

The illegal immigrant issue is flat-out false.

But it probably signals issues of relative deprivation.

Everyone has lost out in relation to the people in the cream on top.

White Men are not only doing less well, flat-out, they have also lost their economic and social superiority over the people who used to be reliably below them -ethnic and racial minorities and women. by

However, Women, Blacks, Latinos are doing better than they were 50 years ago. Much better.

Thus White Men are not only doing less well, flat-out, they have also lost their economic and social superiority over the people who used to be reliably below them  ethnic and racial minorities and women.

Manufacturing was where the well-paying jobs with good benefits were. Back in the Golden Age that Trump is referring to when he promises to Make America Great Again. Most people seem to agree that the loss of manufacturing jobs is the reason wages have gone down. Especially for men without college educations.

But now, entry-level car workers are now getting $14 an hour. As a point of reference, the movement to raise the minimum wage has been aiming at $15 an hour.

Therefore, there must be other factors that make for high and low pay than being in manufacturing. Even if Trump were to bring jobs back from China, Mexico, Japan, Vietnam, why would they pay more than the minimum wage? Which Trump thinks should not be raised.

It is also worth noting that every new car plant in America has, in fact, been bought with subsidies from the states and localities where they are located. So not only are the wages unimpressive, other people are being taxed to support them. Almost all large enterprises, including retailers such as Walmart, have learned to play this game.

OPINION: The garden of Americanly delights

Free trade, the ability to pit workers in different nations against each other, the ability to close a facility and move it to a develpoing country rather than pay decent wages and maintain decent health and safety standards, is one of the most powerful weapons that capital has in modern class warfare.

Class warfare

Is there class warfare in America? Take it from Warren Buffett, ranked in 2015 as the third wealthiest person in the world.

Theres class warfare, all right, but its my class, the rich class, thats making war, and were winning.

Trump is right about the Establishment. There once was a part of the political establishment that was very concerned about the wellbeing of the middle class, the working class, and even the poor. That no longer seems to be the case.

The Clintons have been part of that change and they have benefited from it. Both politically and financially.

Under Roosevelt, the government had rescued America. It had rescued capitalism. Hell, it had rescued the world.

In 1980, along came Ronald Reagan, who said: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, Im from the government and Im here to help.'

Ideologically, Reagan swept all before him. Government was bad. Taxes were bad. Regulations were bad. The response from the Left was feeble. The response from the Democratic Party was fear. The response from economists was to buy into it.

Bill Clinton ran for president in the wake of Reagans triumphs.

He adopted a tactic called triangulation. He kept some of his partys ideals, but he also championed ideas that appealed to people on the Right. Most of all, he found ways to embrace Big Money, and for Big Money to embrace Democrats. The Republicans had older money. The Democrats had hipper, new money. But it was still a marriage based on the dowry.

There once was a part of the political establishment that was very concerned about the wellbeing of the middle class, the working class, and even the poor. That no longer seems to be the case. by

Clinton won two terms with triangulation.

There are now two parties in America, one that proudly represents the interests of money and one that sells out to money.

Hatred welcome

Long ago, Franklin Roosevelt said, We know now that government by organised money is just as dangerous as government by organised mob  They are unanimous in their hate for me  and I welcome their hatred.

Barack Obama had record contributions from Wall Street for his campaign. When he came into office, his financial advisers were part of the Wall Street, Federal Reserve, Clinton administration, and even Bush administration, revolving door. He told the bankers, in stern tones: Only my administration stands between you and the pitchforks.

The thing is, it did. No one was prosecuted. The Federal Reserve quietly  one might say secretly  gave the banks trillions of dollars. Most Democrats stood with him. The Republicans moved even further to the right.

Nobody screamed out against income inequality.

OPINION: An Introduction to Trumpology

Until Donald Trump. And Bernie Sanders.

The sad part is that Trumps actual policy proposals will make things worse. He is taking the policies that created the problem and doubling them.

The good part is that Bernie Sanders  and Donald Trump  have pushed Hillary Clinton to actually look at the problem, to reconsider her married-to-the-money positions, and to come up with some solutions.

There are important ideological issues here. What makes a sound economy? Can we have the benefits of trade without the harm? What is the role of government? How does income inequality come to be? How dangerous is it? How can it be dealt with? In this new form of class warfare, is there anyone on our side?

Sadly, in this election, the answers are largely a con mans come on and bombast on one side, and, except by accident, the establishments weary conventional wisdom on the other. They deserve deeper thought and greater insight. Not just in America. In different permutations and combinations these conflicts exist in every country. This is how the argument is playing out in the United States, but these are world issues.

Larry Beinhart is a novelist, best known for Wag the Dog. Hes also been a journalist, political consultant, a commercial producer and director.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Today millions of Moroccans will head to the ballot box to vote in parliamentary elections to select politicians for 395 seats in the House of Representatives. In the run-up to election day, the war of words between the main rival parties  the incumbent PJD (Party of Justice and Development) and the Party for Authenticity and Modernity (PAM)  has escalated, with the Islamist PJD claiming that their main rival, the PAM, is favoured by the state, and the latter stating that the PJD has been spreading extremist ideology throughout the kingdom.

Thirty parties have fielded candidates in what will be the second legislative elections since the protests of 2011. Yet only four or five parties have a strong electoral base and are expected to win a sizeable number of seats  namely, the incumbent PJD, the rising PAM, the Istiqlal Party (founded in 1944), the Popular Movement, and the Party of Progress and Socialism.





Following the elections, the winning party will have to build a coalition as Moroccan electoral laws prohibit any one party from achieving an absolute majority. Thus after the voting there will be weeks of political wrangling as a new government is formed.

Democratic and modern

The PAM party was founded in 2008 by Fouad El Himma, a close adviser to King Mohammed VI. The PAM does not have a clear ideological stance  it claims to be democratic and modern  and is supported by prominent business leaders.

By most accounts, the PAM was established to counter the growing influence of the Islamist PJD, which has been making electoral gains since it won eight seats in the parliamentary elections of 1997.

READ MORE: Test time for Islamic PJD Party

The Islamist party went on to win 42 seats in September 2002, and 107 seats in November 2011, after which Abdelilah Benkirane, the party leader, was named prime minister of Morocco.

Since its founding, the PAM has also been building support, particularly among liberals and economic elites, winning roughly the same amount of votes as the PJD in the municipal elections of 2015.

Moroccos new constitution, passed by referendum in 2011, whittled down some of the kings powers  granting the prime minister the right to appoint new officials and to dissolve parliament, powers previously held by the palace.

A constitutional amendment also states that the king must choose a prime minister from the party that receives the most votes.

Yet the monarch still enjoys vast power, chairing the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Security Council, and the Council of Ministers (excluding the Minister of Justice), which must approve all legislation.

The king also reserves the right to play the role of a powerbroker in party politics. The PJD is seen as challenging the political and religious authority of the palace. For months Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane has denounced the palaces attempts to steer the PJD through remote-control politics (attahakum).

Long-standing tensions between the PJD and the palace have now erupted into full view. by

Long-standing tensions between the PJD and the palace have now erupted into full view. Last month, Omar Ramid  the minister of justice and a PJD member, wrote: Three weeks before October 7 elections, weird and strange things are happening.

Islamisation of Moroccan society

PJD supporters accuse the ministry of interior of organising a protest in Casablanca on September 25, where protesters denounced the PJDs Islamisation of Moroccan society.

And then an Islamist candidate allied to the PJD was barred from running for office in Marrakesh because of his alleged hate speech (while a dozen or so Salafi candidates who had been banned from political office also because of hate speeches are now permitted by the ministry of interior to stand for office.)

READ MORE: The fall and the rise of Moroccos left

In recent weeks, several PJD members have also been caught in highly publicised scandals involving drugs and land-grabbing. The ministry of interior disavows any ties to the anti-PJD gathering in Casablanca, and to exposing recent scandals.

The PAMs candidate and secretary general Ilyas El Omari has likewise denied any unsavoury links between the palace and his party, claiming that the kings advisers are associated with various parties and not just the PAM.

He has also accused the PJD-led government of allowing for the radicalisation of youth, particularly in northern Morocco, and called for an investigation of the state-accredited associations that spread such ideology.

Benkirane, in turn, rebuffed Omaris accusation (Can he name any of these associations?), adding that he does not consider the PAM a political party because it is manipulated.

Public opinion polls before elections are banned in Morocco for fear of swaying voters towards one party or another, yet the PJD is favoured to win, largely because of its support base in urban centres and in lower-income areas.

This is ironic given that the PJDs policies of subsidy cuts and pension system reform, and its freeze on government jobs, has disproportionately affected the urban poor.

Across the country, unemployment remains high (20 percent for youths between 15-24), and corruption is still rampant (Morocco fell from 80th to 88th place in Transparency Internationals index of 175 countries).

PAM leaders are also quick to point that the PJD promised 7 percent growth and delivered a growth rate of 1.5 percent  claiming that, if elected, the PAM will create 150,000 jobs per year. They may soon have a chance to deliver on this promise.

Hisham Aidi is a Harlem-based writer. He teaches at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
A government task force focuses on deporting activists with the movement, and preventing them from entering Israel.

Ramah Kudaimi expected to be questioned when trying to cross the Israeli-Jordanian border this July. She wears the hijab and her parents were born in Syria  factors bound to attract the attention of Israeli border authorities.

Kudaimi hoped to cross into the occupied West Bank to join an interfaith delegation of people of colour and indigenous people who wanted to witness life on the ground in Palestine.

Instead, Kudaimi said she was interrogated for two hours by Israeli border guards in an office on the Israeli side of the Allenby Bridge, which connects the West Bank to Jordan. She told Al Jazeera that she was accused of being a liar, of being a terrorist, and of wanting to bomb Israel.

Israeli guards searched the web for information on Kudaimi and found out that she worked for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. According to Kudaimi, one interrogator wanted details about who the organisation worked with in the occupied Palestinian territories.

OPINION: On its 11th birthday, BDS leads nonviolent resistance

Eventually, border officials said that she was being denied entry to Israel, which controls all crossing points into the occupied territories. Four other delegation members  those who had Muslim names or were perceived to be Muslim  were also denied entry and deported from Israels Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Kudaimi said.

The Muslims were targeted, claimed Kudaimi. Israel wants to make it more difficult for people to come and witness whats happening and connect with people.

Kudaimi said she fell victim to Israels crackdown on foreigners who support Palestinian rights and the BDS  boycott, divestment and sanctions  movement, which calls for boycotts of Israeli products, divestment from firms that do business with Israel, and government sanctions on the country because of Israeli human rights abuses.

Hundreds of Americans have been denied entry by Israel, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, though not all of them are activists. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor told Al Jazeera that Israeli deportations of aid workers trying to reach the occupied territories have increased this year.

In 2015, only 1 percent of 384 incidents  encounters with Israeli or Palestinian authorities that include searches, delays or deportations  resulted in humanitarian workers being deported by Israel, according to the groups analysis of data compiled by the access coordination unit of the UNs Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.

But in 2016, more than 9 percent of incidents  including only humanitarian aid workers and not activists  resulted in deportations by Israel.

Israel by Emily

because its so unlikely that these decisions will be challenged.]

In recent months, Israel has stepped up measures to prevent activists entering Israel and the occupied territories. On August 7, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan announced the formation of a committee to prevent BDS activists from entering the country, and to deport those already in Israel/Palestine.

In a Facebook post that day, Erdan also called on Israelis who have information on boycott activists in the country to tell us about it so they can deport them.

In a statement, Erdan said the formation of the committee against BDS advocates was a necessary step, given the evil intentions of the delegitimisation activists working to spread lies and distortions about the reality in our region.

Israeli officials have called the Palestinian-led movement anti-Semitic. At a Jewish National Fund conference in New York this month, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called the BDS movement the new face of terrorism.

The Israeli government did not respond to repeated inquiries from Al Jazeera about the committee and the plan to deport BDS activists.

READ MORE: Is the BDS movement facing new challenges in the US?

Campaigners for BDS criticised the August announcement of the plan to deport and deny entry to BDS activists.

Deporting BDS activists in order to silence them and undermine their principled support for Palestinian human rights is not only anti-democratic; it is yet another incident of Israel shooting itself in the foot, Abdulrahman Abunahel, a spokesman for the Palestinian BDS National Committee, said in a statement.

If anything, we expect such acts of heightened repression to boost support for boycotting Israel back in these activists home countries.

In addition to foreign activists, Israeli officials have targeted Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the BDS movement. In April, the Israeli government refused to renew Barghoutis travel document so he could leave the country on the grounds that Barghoutis centre of life was not in Israel  a charge Barghouti disputes. Barghouti is a permanent resident of Israel, so he needs official permission to travel.

Deri, the interior minister, has previously said that he was thinking about revoking Barghoutis resident status. In July, the Israeli government temporarily lifted the effective travel ban for two months. But the suspension expired in September, placing Barghouti under a travel ban again.





We cannot predict what may happen next. In the meanwhile, the official Israeli vitriol against BDS activists has reached a new low, and an atmosphere of sheer intimidation and McCarthyite repression prevails, Barghouti told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli governments anti-BDS task force may lead to an increase in denials of entry and deportations of BDS activists. Israel has used such tactics in the past against activists, foreigners with a Palestinian background, or those who have a connection to Palestine or the Arab world. In 2011 and 2012, for instance, pro-Palestinian activists flew into Israel as part of a flytilla campaign meant to bring people to the West Bank. Hundreds were denied entry to the country.

Last July, Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian-American activist from New York, was denied entry at the Israeli-Jordanian border. She told Al Jazeera that she was held at the border for 16 hours, interrogated about her activism  she was the president of a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. She was called a liar by Israeli border officials when she told them, in response to a question, that Jews were part of SJP. (Jewish students across the US are members of SJP chapters).

Kiswani said she was singled out because she is visibly Arab and wears a hijab  a charge of racial profiling that has been echoed by the US State Department.

OPINION: BDS is a war Israel cant win

I feel on par with all the Palestinian refugees living in camps that can never go back to Palestine, said Kiswani. I feel like Ive just been sent back to the position I was supposed to be in anyway, that I was able to evade because of my American citizenship. It granted me access to my homeland. So now I get that taken away.

Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, senior counsel at the Michael Sfard Law Office in Tel Aviv, has represented many foreigners who challenge their denials of entry in legal hearings. She said that Israel has virtual carte blanche [to deny people entry] because its so unlikely that these decisions will be challenged, often because they lack money to hire a lawyer.

Every country has the right to deny visitors who it believes would pose harm to their citizens, to the security and safety of their country, she said. But a persons political views alone are not an indicator of a threat to safety and security.

Schaeffer Omer-Man added that the Israeli governments anti-BDS task force is part of a whole series of anti-democratic measures that are either trying to be passed or have been passed  including the 2011 law that authorises lawsuits against those who call for boycotts of Israel or West Bank settlements.

All of these are efforts to keep dissent down, she said, both from within and from without.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Four programs worth 2.2 million Euros are currently in process in Armenia within the framework of the 2015-2017 program cooperation of Eastern Partnership countries implemented by the cooperation of Council of Europe and European Union.

Four key programs include improvement of electoral processes in the country, fight against impunity and abuse, strengthening of human rights protection and healthcare in Armenian correctional facilities and fight against corruption in higher educational institutions.

Deputy Minister of Justice Suren Krmoyan noted positive changes in the Justice area were documented within the framework of the cooperation.

We meet every year within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. This is a platform where we try to present the work which has been done, evaluate results, and outline further steps. Our numerous international reports state those issues and solutions, which are being implemented and have been implemented in the fields of criminal justice, correctional facility healthcare, and fight against corruption. During this program, global documents such as criminal judiciary, criminal code have been discussed and elaborated. We were able to achieve results with the assistance of our partners in the solution of healthcare in correctional facilities, which were raised for many years, he said.

Head of the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gagik Ghalachyan said a number of programs were implemented and will continue within the framework of the CoE-Armenia cooperation.

The 2015-2018 CoE Action Plan for Armenia was officially initiated in May of 2016, during which dozens of events will be carried out in Armenia aimed at strengthening of democracy and improvement of human rights protection, he said.
Children stuck in prison are being kept in life-threatening conditions, UN report says, as it urges immediate transfers.

A United Nations report into the Nauru prison camp has raised profound concern over the inhuman and degrading treatment of refugee children there, which it says is having an impact on their physical wellbeing.

About 500 people, including 50 children, are stuck in a prison on the tiny Pacific Island nation as they seek asylum in Australia.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Children said in its report that the refugees face persistent discrimination, and are living in cramped, humid and life-threatening conditions.

The Committee is concerned at the lack of a comprehensive policy to specifically promote and protect the rights of children, the report said. It also notes with concern reports indicating that the Child Protection Directorate staff lack training or formal experience in child protection/child welfare.

WATCH: Nauru  Australias Guantanamo Bay?

The report added that such conditions could exacerbate mental health issues, and that the agreement between the governments of Australia and Nauru failed to take into account the best interests of children.

UN workers are also seriously concerned that NGOs and journalists have been restricted in their ability to conduct research relating to childrens rights at the prison.

Nauru, the report said, should prioritise the immediate transfer of children and their families into a permanent resettlement option.





Al Jazeeras Andrew Thomas, reporting from Sydney, said: In 17 pages of this report, the committee says how concerned it is 35 times  Will this change anything? There have been lots of previous reports about abuse on Nauru. Former workers there have told Al Jazeera how bad conditions there are, but Australias government dismisses those claims.

Government officials say allegations are not evidence and that its policies are useful in controlling immigration, added Thomas.

The governments of Nauru and Australia did not respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera by the time of publication.

The real solution [to the refugee crisis] is to return refugees to whence they came, said Jim Saleam, president of the far-right Australia First Party. The claims of persecution that are generally made, we regard as massively exaggerated.

Nauru is a tiny 29sq kilometre island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Naurus prison camp first opened in 2001, under a policy brought in by Australias conservative Liberal Party  the so-called Pacific Solution.
Number of dead in Caribbean nation rises sharply as Hurricane Matthew leaves behind trail of destruction.

The number of people killed in Haiti by Hurricane Matthew has risen sharply, with coastal villages and towns beginning to make contact with the outside world, three days after being hit by the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade.

A Reuters news agency tally of deaths reported by civil protection officials at a local level on Friday showed the storm killed at least 877 people.

Rural clinics overflowed with patients whose wounds including broken bones had not been treated since the storm hit on Tuesday.

Food was scarce, and at least seven people died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage.

Bodies started to appear late on Thursday as waters receded in some places after Matthews 235km per hour (kph) winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

IN PICTURES: Hurricane Matthew  Scenes of destruction in Haiti

With casualty numbers quickly increasing, different government agencies and committees gave contrasting death tolls on Friday as the storm hit the US state of Florida and began rolling up the east coast.





Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in Haitis southwest, with many victims killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers.

At least 50 people were reported to have died in coastal Roche-a-Bateau, which local officials described as devastated.

Ive never seen anything like this, Louis Paul Raphael, a central government representative in Roche-a-Bateau, told Reuters.

Inland in Chantal, the toll rose to 90 late on Thursday evening, the towns mayor said.

Everyone is a victim

In the Sous-Roche district of Les Cayes, Haitis third city on its exposed southern coast, residents tried to help their neighbours.

Ive been on my feet for two days without sleep. We need to help each other, Dominique Osny told AFP news agency amid the debris and destruction left when the storm passed through on Tuesday.

Everyone is a victim here, houses have been washed away, we lost all the roofing. I lost everything, right up to my birth certificate, he said, citing a vital document hard to replace in Haiti.

I thought I was going to die. I looked death in the face, said 36-year-old Yolette Cazenor, standing in front of a house smashed in two by a fallen coconut palm.

Along with the human devastation, the storm killed livestock and destroyed crops in parts of the impoverished nation.

We have nothing left to survive on. All the crops have gone, all fruit trees are down. I dont have a clue how this is going to be fixed, Marc Soniel Noel, the deputy mayor of Chantal, told Reuters.

Matthew is the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix in 2007 and was closing in on Florida as a Category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Four people were killed over the weekend in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

Cholera fears

The devastation in Haiti prompted authorities to postpone a presidential election scheduled for Sunday.

Poverty, weak government and precarious living conditions for many of its citizens make Haiti particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.

In 2010, a magnitude 7 earthquake wrecked the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing more than 200,000 people.

Following the earthquake, UN peacekeepers inadvertently introduced cholera to the country, killing at least 9,000 and infecting hundreds of thousands more.

The Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday it was preparing for a possible cholera surge in Haiti after the hurricane because the flooding was likely to contaminate water supplies.
Turnout seen as reflection of dissastisfaction with governments performance and politicians disconnect from reality.

Rabat, Morocco  Polls have closed in Moroccos legislative elections marked by low turnout despite widespread awareness campaigns educating citizens on the importance of voting.

The latest figures from the interior ministry put the turnout on Friday in 95 electoral districts at 43 percent.

Results are expected in the early hours of Saturday.

The phenomenon is widely considered a message of disappointment to political parties, which remain unable to motivate the citizens, especially the countrys youth.

Many citizens have expressed their resentments to Al Jazeera on the poor performance of the previous governments and the countrys politicians, who remain unable to touch on the citizens daily problems.

Al Jazeera visited a polling centre at Al Massira Avenue in Yaacoub El Mansour district in the capital Rabat, where the voting process was progressing smoothly.

INTERACTIVE: Morocco elections  The voice of the people

Mohamed Belayachi, 65, a lorry driver, was among the first to vote in the early hours.

I voted today on PJD [the Islamic Justice and Development Party] because I believe in the work they have done and that they have shown enough effort and change. I dont think that other parties may have better solutions.

Majda Lakhal, 21, a student, decided to cast a blank vote.

I did vote today but I havent chosen any party. I have read their programmes and their promises but they didnt seem to be convincing enough to me.

We could clearly see redundancy in what they were saying.

Al Jazeera also talked to Mohamed Yassir Taki, 27, a geologist who boycotted the elections.

I voted before but I wasnt convinced with the governments work, so I decided to boycott this year.

Many following the elections agree that Moroccan political parties are archaic and out of touch and that they are in need of new faces, ideas and programmes to attract the citizens.

No decisive victory is predicted from these elections as the multi-party system in the kingdom makes it impossible for any political party to win an absolute majority, forcing any winning party to work with other parties to form a coalition government.

Voters talking to Al Jazeera generally agreed on their expectations from the elections.

READ MORE: Morocco election  everything you need to know

Many expect from the next government to alleviate the situation of health care, education and find new mechanism to generate employment, which remain major social challenges that previous governments failed to handle.

People have lost confidence in politicians and political parties, and I dont think the turnout will be high, Jamal Ben Issa, an analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Most of the leading parties in Morocco have been tested before, but failed to translate their promises in the electoral campaigns into achievements on the ground.

Maha Naami contributed reporting to this piece
Prime Minister says death toll expected to rise after unknown assailants attack camp for refugees who fled Mali unrest.

At least 22 soldiers have been killed in Niger after unknown assailants attacked security forces guarding a camp for Malian refugees, according to Prime Minister Brigi Rafini.

The attack on Thursday targeted a camp in the village of Tassalit in Nigers Tahoua region, around 525km northeast of the capital, Niamey.

We received information of an attack on the camp in Tassalit. For the moment we are told there are 22 dead, but that is not a total death toll, Rafini said in comments broadcast on state-run television TeleSahel.

The death toll could increase.

READ MORE: Boko Haram refugees in Niger find safety, but lack aid

The prime minister gave no further information concerning the identities of the attackers, or whether any civilians had been killed or wounded.

The camps residents are Malians who fled to neighbouring Niger after armed groups, some with links to al-Qaeda, seized Malis desert north in 2012.

A French-led military intervention has largely driven back the fighters, but violent attacks have continued across the regions Sahel band.

Nigers army is currently battling Boko Haram fighters who launch raids across its southern border from Nigeria while seeking to prevent an overflow of attacks from Mali.
Separatist group said to claim responsibility for explosions that targeted train as it passed through restive province.

At least six people have been killed and 19 wounded after two explosions targeted a passenger train in Pakistans southwestern Balochistan province, according to officials.

Fridays blasts hit the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express as it passed near the village of Mach, about 65km southeast of the provincial capital of Quetta.

The explosions damaged two passenger carriages and killed six people besides wounding 19 others, Imtiaz Ahmad, a senior local Pakistan Railways official, told AFP news agency, updating an earlier toll of three deaths.

The attack was claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), said the AFP report.

A spokesman for BLA said the bombing targeted military personnel who travel to Rawalpindi by this train.

Kashif Akhtar, a senior railways official, told Reuters news agency that security forces foiled a similar attack on Thursday after an attacker laid explosives on a railway track near Quetta.

An act of terrorism

Khawaja Saad Rafique, Pakistans railway minister, denounced the bombing as an act of terrorism and said authorities were still trying to determine how the bomb was planted on the train.

For more than a decade, Balochistan has been the scene of low-intensity attacks by separatist groups who want autonomy or outright independence.

Attacks on infrastructure in Balochistan are a cause of concern for Pakistans neighbour and all-weather friend China.

READ MORE: BLF chief Baloch says Indian help welcome

China is investing $46bn in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which aims to link western China to Pakistans Arabia Sea with a network of road, rail and energy pipelines. Many of the routes pass through Balochistan.

Last week Allah Nazar Baloch, head of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), appealed for international help in his groups fight against the state, including from India.

Baloch, speaking to Reuters from an undisclosed location, called the CPEC a Chinese imperialistic scheme, and pledged to attack roads, security personnel and construction crews associated with it.

Chinese fears

Frontier Works Organisation, the Pakistan army-run company building most of the CPEC roads in dangerous areas, says 44 workers have been killed and about 100 wounded in attacks on its CPEC sites over the past two years.

Government officials say security has improved and point to freshly paved CPEC roads, built at breakneck speed despite Balochistans rugged terrain, as proof of success.

To allay Chinese fears, Pakistan is also raising a force of 15,000 personnel, mainly serving army soldiers, to secure the corridor.

However, the separatists fear that indigenous Baluch people, who are estimated to number about seven million people out of Pakistans 190 million population, will become an ethnic minority in their ancestral lands if other groups flock to the region to work on exploiting its natural resources.
Call by US secretary of state comes as the number of Iran-backed Shia militias battling Sunni rebels in Aleppo swells.

Syrian government troops are advancing gradually against opposition fighters inside Aleppo, even as the US secretary of state calls for Russia and Syria to face a war-crimes investigation for alleged attacks on Syrian civilians.

John Kerry spoke on Friday in advance of discussions on a draft UN Security Council resolution that would call for an end to the Russian-backed onslaught on Syrias second city.

The two-week assault by Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces has led to a global outcry after air strikes on hospitals and a UN aid convoy.

These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes, and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions, Kerry said in Washington, DC.





They are beyond the accidental now  way beyond  years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorise civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives.

The assault on rebel-held districts of Aleppo has elicited a warning from Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy, that eastern Aleppo could be totally destroyed by the years end.

Fierce fighting on Friday rocked several districts of the city, which has been divided between government control in the west and rebel control in the east since 2012.

Government forces captured a hilltop in the Sheikh Saeed district in the south of Aleppo, but the rebels retook other parts of the neighbourhood previously captured by the government, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and rescue workers on the ground.

The UK-based monitoring group also reported clashes in the Salaheddin, Bustan al-Basha and Suleiman al-Halabi neighbourhoods on the citys frontline.

This morning regime forces tried to take over several points in the Skeikh Saeed area, but rebel forces managed to push them out, taking more than 10 fighters prisoners, all of them from Iraqi Shia militias, Ibrahim Abu Leith, spokesman for the Syria Civil Defence in Aleppo, told Al Jazeera.

Also known as the White Helmets, the volunteer rescue group operates in rebel-held areas across Syria.

Iraqi militia presence

For their part, rebels in Aleppo said on Friday that they had killed at least 23 pro-government fighters, injured dozens and captured at least six Iraqi Shia militia members deployed on behalf of the Assad government.

Thousands of Iraqi Shia militia members and members of Lebanons Hezbollah are fighting alongside government forces in Aleppo against primarily Sunni rebel forces.

More than 1,000 Iraqi Shia fighters have travelled to Aleppo from Iraq since early September, joining the ranks of another 4,000 already on the ground in the area, militia leaders and Syrian rebels told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.

Late last month, Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militia of Harakat al-Nujaba released a video showing its leader Akram al-Kaabi arriving in Aleppo via the airport, and then meeting his militia members fighting alongside Assad forces and Lebanons Hezbollah.

The militia members receive the leader with poetry before a song begins over the video in which Aleppo is described as Shia and is compared with the Iraqi city of Karbala, a holy site for Shia Muslims.

The vast majority of Iraqi militias fighting in Syria are Shia, but the Muslim sect is believed to make up only 1 percent of Syrias population.

Phillip Smyth, a researcher at the University of Maryland on Shia armed groups, told Al Jazeera that there was a major effort now by Iranian-backed forces operating in Aleppo to show that they are leading the show and to demonstrate that they are a massive presence on the ground.

Iraqi Shia militias have been operating on the ground since 2013, but Harakat al-Nujuba was the first to announce that it was operating in Aleppo. They were quite open and and quite glib about their presence there  which is in contrast to the often repeated rhetoric that they are in Syria to protect the Sayyidah Zaynab site in Damascus.

Sayyida Zeinab is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Shia Muslims.

OPINION: Syria  Do people really care?

Once Syrias economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been hit hard by the war, which has killed more than 300,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

More than 275,000 people remain in the citys rebel-held eastern part, which has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July and has been targeted relentlessly since the government launched its offensive on September 22.

The rebels have responded by intensifying their rocket fire on western Aleppo, where four people were killed in the Midan neighbourhood on Friday, Syrian state television reported.

On Thursday, rebel fire killed at least 11 people in the Al-Jamaliyeh neighbourhood, the Syrian Observatory said.

Assads ultimatum

The Syrian army said earlier this week that it would rein in its bombardment of the east, and the observatory said that there had been a reduction of the bombing that has killed hundreds and destroyed the largest hospital in the rebel-held sector.

But the army has pressed on with its ground offensive, with Assad saying his forces had no option but to expel rebels from the city unless they agreed a deal with the government.

In an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2 aired on Thursday, Assad said Aleppos best option would be a reconciliation deal like those the government has negotiated with rebels elsewhere.

Opposition forces say those deals have been forced upon them by a government strategy of surrender or starve.





Assad said that without an agreement, he would continue the fight with the rebels till they leave Aleppo  Theres no other option.

State television reported on Friday that people were leaving east Aleppo through humanitarian corridors, but gave no further details and showed no images.

Rescue workers with the White Helmets told Al Jazeera that they saw no sign of people leaving, and residents have previously said they feared entering government-controlled territory.

The assault on Aleppo, which began after the collapse of a truce deal negotiated by Russia and the United States, has prompted international condemnation.

On Thursday, de Mistura warned of the operations consequences.

In maximum two months, two and a half months, the city of eastern Aleppo may be totally destroyed, he said.

He urged fighters from the former al-Nusra Front  now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham after splitting with al-Qaeda  to leave the city under a deal to halt the governments assault.

If you decide to leave with dignity  I am personally ready to physically accompany you, de Mistura said.

Just hours after his proposal, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham said on Twitter that it would not withdraw its fighters from eastern Aleppo.

OPINION: The Aleppo moment  Sanctioned ignorance in the US

Hossam al-Shafai said the group is determined to break the siege on the citys rebel-neighbourhoods.

The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting later on Friday at the request of Russia to receive a briefing from de Mistura.

Council members are also discussing a French-drafted resolution calling for a ceasefire in Aleppo.

After holding talks in Moscow on the proposal, Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frances foreign minister, is to visit Washington later on Friday to discuss the text, which also calls for a halt to all flights over the city.

Francois Delattre, Frances UN ambassador, said on Thursday we have a strong determination to go to a vote on the draft.

With reporting by Dylan Collins @collinsdyl
Colombias president on the progress of his countrys transition and the risks of going back to the days of conflict.

Colombia had long been considered Latin Americas most troubled country, a place where there has been violence for 50 years.

We are not paradise, we have security problems, but we have improved dramatically. by Juan Manuel Santos, Colombian president

There have been wars against Marxist guerillas: In the governments conflict with the FARC, an estimated 200,000 people died, and hundreds more were taken hostage.

Then there were wars against drugs barons: Colombia is the worlds biggest source of cocaine. The country has received billion of dollars of support from the US, as well as hardware and plenty of military advisers.

Central in fighting these wars is President Juan Manuel Santos. He was first the countrys defence minister, and then got elected to office in 2010.

But he surprised everyone, including his precedessor and mentor, former president Alvaro Uribe, when he began opening peace talks with the FARC.

We dont make war for the sake of war. I had to make war and I did it very effectively. But you fight for an objective and any soldier and any statesman should have peace as the ultimate objective, the highest value of your society. Especially a country that has been at war for 50 years, peace should be the objective of everybody. But many times you have to make war before you reach the conditions to allow peace to prevail, says Santos.

Colombia is certainly now a much more peaceful place, and earlier this year, Santos was rewarded when the electorate voted him in to a second term. But the peace talks have dragged on and some believe a final peace deal will still be difficult to achieve.

I am cautious but optimistic about the future of the peace process. We are not paradise, we have security problems, but we have improved dramatically . We have no more big drug cartels in Colombia  they dont exist anymore. All of the big drug lords are either dead or in jail. But the business still continues, because as long as there is demand, there is going to be supply. But we are hitting them very hard, says Santos.

On Talk to Al Jazeera, we speak to Colombias president about whether he can complete the countrys transition. Is there a risk of returning to the days of kidnappings, drug cartels and conflict? And how does he intend to deal with the countrys underlying problem, the huge gap between rich and poor?
In December, UF students will say farewell to the Institute of Black Culture building of the past 44 years.

The IBC, which opened in 1972, is being torn down and rebuilt at a new location, said Khyra Keeley, the social justice and advocacy chair for UF Black Affairs. The new structure, located on West University Avenue, is expected to be finished in Spring 2018.

The project will be completed using a budget of $3.3 million, which will also be used to rebuild La Casita, which is next door to the IBC, Keeley said. The current IBC will be torn down before the end of the year.

Keeley said the rebuild is sad but necessary. With mold and mildew present, the house is unsafe for students to be in. Some windows are boarded, and it is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, making it inaccessible to some.

The house is pretty much decrepit, the 20-year-old UF political science and African-American studies junior said.

The IBC opened Feb. 11, 1972 after protests at Tigert Hall demanded UF to be more inclusive of black students, she said.

People have fought for us to have this space, she said. Its a space for black students to come and know they are supported, valued and welcomed.

Kalimah Ujaama, 20, said she is excited for the new house but hopes it keeps the same feeling of home as the original building.

Its definitely going to be a good change, the UF political science sophomore said. It needs to have some modern updates.

Faculty want students to give their ideas of what should be included in the design of the new space.

Ujaama said she wants there to be a large room for people to gather and host events, a big television, a memory room honoring accomplishments of black students at UF and a place to nap.

Its a good ending, she said. Everyone still has time to be a part before it closes.

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At 1 p.m. Friday, James Smith walked outside to find the top of his mailbox missing.

The 20-year-old UF finance junior found the white mailbox top about 10 feet away from his home at the corner of West University Avenue and Southwest 30th Street. It one of many minor damages residents of Alachua County saw in the early hours of Hurricane Matthew.

I didnt realize itd break that easily, Smith said before his roommate came out to help him fix the mailbox.

Mark Sexton, Alachua County communications and legislative affairs director, said the hurricane brought winds between 10 and 15 mph to Gainesville, with gusts between 20 and 25 mph reported by noon. Peak winds up to 48 mph are still expected in Alachua County on Friday afternoon.

At the Gainesville Emergency Operations Center, officials from different city agencies, including Gainesville Police, monitored traffic signals for power outages and roads for fallen debris.

By noon, GPD spokesman Ben Tobias said a signal at Northeast 53rd Avenue and Waldo Road had gone out but was repaired.

Power outages were also reported near Tower Road and Southwest 24th Avenue, caused by trees that fell onto power lines, said David Warm, a marketing and communications specialist with Gainesville Regional Utilities. The outages were quickly repaired, he said.

About 2,500 homes in Alachua County are currently without power, according to a county press release.

At UF Health Shands Hospital, 35 adult patients were admitted from two coastal-area hospitals in Florida and southern Georgia, wrote Rossana Passaniti, UF Health media relations manager, in an email.

As many as 300 additional staff members were called in to work during the storm, she said.

GPD also called more staff in for Hurricane Matthew, with three times as many officers on duty as on a normal day, Tobias said. GPD is receiving briefings from the National Weather Service every six hours.

Those at the operations center are preparing for the worst, he said.

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Sexton said the county is also keeping an eye on the storm, and though Matthews impact in Gainesville was less than in other cities, people should still stay inside.

I think its a great night for binge watching, if you still have power, he said.

A tree fell near Northwest 26th Street and West University Ave. during Hurricane Matthew. Gusts up to 25 mph had been reported by noon Friday.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. By the order of the Chairperson of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Commonwealth Independent States (IPA CIS) Valentina Matvienko the Armenian National Assembly Speakers Assistant Artur Tovmasyan and the Head of the External Relations Department of the National Assembly Staff Victor Biyagov were awarded with the IPA CIS diplomas for their participation in the activities of the IPA CIS and its bodies and for contribution to the strengthening of the friendship between the nations of the member states, and by Mrs. Matvienko's order the Chancellor of the Armenian Institute of Tourism Robert Minasyan and the Honourable Figure of the Physical Training and Sport of Armenia Vazgen Badalyan were awarded with the IPA CIS Badge of Honour for their contribution to the development of physical training, sport and tourism.

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Galust Sahakyan handed over the awards. Congratulating those awarded the Head of the parliament noted that all of them enjoyed appreciation for the important work done in their sphere. The Speaker of the National Assembly wished those awarded new achievements and successes in their work.
When "Equity" arrived in theaters in late July, Barbara Byrne had her name in the credits.

Byrne was a producer for the movie, which tells the story of Naomi Bishop, an investment banker intent on climbing up the corporate ladder. The movie won praise for depicting the biases faced by women who enjoy the power that comes with earning money.

The project is just one of the distinctive ways that Byrne has promoted gender diversity throughout her career. Before producing the movie, for instance, she oversaw the launch of a market index that tracks the performance of women-led companies. She also recently launched an internship program at Barclays for midcareer bankers who want to return to the industry after taking time off  whether to raise children or care for elderly parents, for instance.

When it comes to supporting women in banking, she wants to do more than the usual basics  such as mentoring.

"I try to choose things that have a bigger impact  kind of a puffer effect," Byrne said. "Like a puffer fish, it looks bigger than it really is."

Her work on "Equity" veers outside of the comfort zone of most investment bankers. It relies on the power of storytelling to show the subtle but deeply embedded stereotypes that hold women back in the industry.

In her role as a producer, Byrne helped finance the film. She also offered insight to the actress Anna Gunn, who plays the role of Bishop, about how the investment banking industry works.

Byrne discussed what it's like to run an initial public offering. In the movie, Bishop is faced with the setback of having an IPO go poorly.

She also discussed the social environment on Wall Street. For instance, banks often reward men for their ambition  or their "commanding presence"  but criticize women for appearing pushy, she said.

In one of the scenes, Bishop is told that she's too aggressive and rubs people the wrong way. Instead of getting angry  and validating the criticism against her  Bishop holds back and absorbs the blow.

That's how women navigate the banking business, Byrne said.

"How can you soften your edge, but still have presence so that you can be heard?" Byrne said, acknowledging that women can't "boil the ocean" and change everything at once.

One of the reasons "Equity" is effective is that it doesn't sugarcoat the way women treat each other. It's a thriller that puts women in the same cutthroat roles that are typically reserved for men.

"This is not a sisterhood movie," Byrne said.

Still, if you ask Byrne about her own career path, it's clear that her love of acting and movies is about more than show business.

Early in her career, one of her mentors gave her advice to use "method acting" as a way to build courage and confidence in meetings.

Byrne  known for her outspoken style  was shy in her mid-20s, when she took her first job at Lehman. She describes herself back then as much better suited for a library than a major investment bank.

"I am a forceful personality, but I did not spring from the womb that way," she said.

She credits Harvey Krueger, a longtime executive at Lehman, with bringing her out of her shell.

One interaction, in particular, left a lasting impact. Byrne had prepared a presentation for Krueger to give to the board of a major company.

Krueger turned to Byrne, and asked her if she thought he was capable of giving the presentation. She, of course, said yes.

"So he said, 'Well, why don't you get up there and just pretend you're me?'" Byrne said.

She did  and it worked. Over the next few years, she continued to imitate him, and in the process developed her own sense of confidence and her own characteristic style.

Byrne now offers the same advice to her employees. During big meetings, she sometimes spontaneously hands over control to young bankers  but only when she knows they are absolutely ready. "It's great fun" she said.

Byrne said she often tells young women that they shouldn't worry so much about being liked by their peers, and that the way you get ahead and gain respect in banking is by raising your hand for new opportunities, not fully knowing how they will turn out or whether you're fully prepared.

Women in banking build courage when they encounter rejection without taking it personally or ask critical questions in big meetings. And those experiences develop over time.

"It's important for young women to know this: each day is another page, and it becomes another chapter," Byrne said.
Like it or not, women at the highest ranks of banking and finance are always being watched to see if they can handle the pressure.

That's particularly true "when there is a crisis or significant threat for us to manage," BNY Mellon President Karen Peetz said in a speech at American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance awards dinner in New York Thursday. "People still wonder if we will break."

Nandita Bakhshi, the president and chief executive at Bank of the West, shared that view, saying she has gained a more keen sense of how closely people watch her as she has risen through the ranks.

Not "in the Orwellian sense, although I am sure there probably is some of that too," she joked in her speech at the awards dinner. But "for the grace, the dignity, the poise, and above all, for the professionalism and the thoughtfulness, with which you conduct yourself" on a daily basis, she said.

Peetz and Bakhshi were among 75 women honored at Thursday's 14th annual awards gala.

Peetz, who is retiring later this year, was honored as the Most Powerful Women in Banking for the second time, and Bakhshi, who took the helm at San Francisco-based Bank of the West in June, was named the No. 1 Woman to Watch. Mary Callahan Erdoes, the CEO at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, was honored as the Most Powerful Woman in Finance for the fourth straight year.

A key theme of the night's speeches was how far women have come in recent decades  and how far they still need to go to achieve parity with men.

Peetz said that the banking industry was such a boys' club when she began her career in the early 1980s that she used to wear a bow tie to appear more masculine. Today, women hold nearly half of all jobs in banking and the number in senior roles continues to climb.

The conversation is far different today that in the past, said Diane D'Erasmo, the former vice chair of corporate banking at HSBC Bank USA. There's now data showing that diversity enhances corporate performance, innovation and return on investment, said D'Erasmo, who retired in June and took the stage to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award honoring her 40-year career.

Still, "the numbers haven't moved fast enough and the future forecasts for gender parity are downright bleak," D'Erasmo said. "None of us wants to wait 20 years before we can stand here and say, 'We've come a long way, baby.' "

There's no simple solution to accelerating women's progress; the answer lies in a multitude of cultural changes, D'Erasmo said. For many, that has meant implementing programs within organizations to help advance women's careers. D'Erasmo herself helped found a women's networking group at HSBC in 2001, made its International Women's Day celebration an annual event and sat on an advisory board promoting a gender-balanced workforce.

"Our lifetimes, chock full of achievements and misadventures, can shape not only our decisions today but the questions we ask tomorrow," she said. "It's important then, to look back before looking forward."

Bakhshi also acknowledged the importance of mentorship.

"If I have learned to navigate the corporate landscape with any degree of effectiveness, it is because I have had excellent guides and mentors," she said, citing Beth Mooney, the chairman and CEO at KeyCorp, as one of her current mentors. Mooney was the Most Powerful Woman in Banking in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and this year was the inaugural inductee in American Banker's Hall of Fame, for being a three-peat winner of the Most Powerful Woman in Banking award.

Bakhshi left TD Bank earlier this year as North American head of direct channels to become president and CEO of Bank of the West. She began her career in banking as a teller, soon after moving to Albany, N.Y., from Calcutta, India. It wasn't what she had imagined for herself, but "you play the hand you're dealt," she said.

Bakhshi said that while she knew she was being watched as she took on more responsibilities, she never really minded. Sometimes that just means others were watching to see if she was a "role model worth emulating."

"As 'they' watch you strive and stretch, they are more inclined to bet on you, by awarding you positions of greater responsibility  sometimes when even you may not believe that you are ready," she said.

That's why it's important for women to step toward tough situations, not away from them; and to learn how it feels to lose, as well as win, individually and as a team at the highest levels of a company, Peetz said. Similarly, Bakhshi talked about the importance of pushing boundaries.

"Always seek positions that draw you out of your comfort zone," Bakhshi said, sharing a rule she lives by, and calls the Rule of the Thirds. "Always seek a position that is one-third comfortable, one-third a stretch and one-third, pure white-knuckle terror. The kite, after all, only rises against the wind."

Peetz imparted perhaps the most important lesson of the night as she paid tribute to her late mother and the example she set: It's not all about a person's career, but the lives she touches. Peetz said spending more time with family and friends was at the heart of her decision to retire later this year.

"As I reflect on the past 30-plus years, the most important lesson that I have learned on my journey has been the importance of work-life balance," she said.

"I mean work-life balance as a long-term definition of who we really are and what really matters to us during our time on this earth; work-life balance as a definition of what matters to us beyond the titles, beyond the compensation and beyond all the heady ego experiences in the C-suite."

More than 800 men and women attended the awards dinner held at Cipriani on E. 42nd Street, a stately 1920s-era building that once housed the headquarters of Bowery Savings Bank. One of the evening's speakers and winners, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank's Dorothy Savarese, said that while she was honored to share the stage with so many accomplished women, she looks forward to the day when women are not in the minority in the C-suite and won't need a special dinner to acknowledge their achievements.

But, she quickly added, "When that day comes, let's all agree to still meet."
A recent American Thinker article made a strong case for amending the U.S. Constitution to restore federalism and re-establish constitutional authority. Unfortunately, the author erred in calling the amendment proposal process a "constitutional convention" (con-con). There is no active effort to call a con-con. There is a very active effort for state legislatures to call an Article V Convention of states. The difference between a con-con and a convention of states is more than semantic.

There is no provision for a con-con in the Constitution. A con-con starts with a blank sheet of paper to create a wholly new constitution. Throwing out our current Constitution  easily the most effective constitution in the world for guaranteeing liberty under a representative republic  is a non-starter. Our Constitution is not broken and should not be replaced.

The founders understood that as the challenges facing the republic changed, tweaks to the Constitution would be necessary to maintain the balance of power among the branches of government and among the federal and state governments and to counter new threats to our liberty. In Article V of the Constitution, the authors included two methods for proposing amendments. The 27 amendments ratified to date were proposed by Congress. The founders, recognizing that a runaway or corrupt Congress would refuse to limit their own power, included a second method of proposing amendments to bypass Congress: a convention for proposing amendments called by two thirds of the state legislatures.

The language used is important because one of the arguments made against a convention of states is the fear of a "runaway convention" proposing repeals to amendments in the Bill of Rights or granting the federal government more authority. Opponents of an Article V Convention raise legitimate concerns and point to real risks. Those concerns need to be addressed, and the risks need to be mitigated or accepted.

Unlike a con-con, a convention of states for proposing amendments comes from within the Constitution  this is an amendment process the founders envisioned. The convention can only propose amendments, so legislators build upon what we have today. Proposed amendments still have to follow the same ratification process.

Of course, the same risk exists today in a running convention called the U.S. Congress. At any time, Congress can propose an amendment. Just recently, in 2014, Democrats in the Senate proposed an amendment to effectively repeal much of the freedom of speech protection in the First Amendment. The "runaway" risk exists with the U.S. Congress every day.

Fortunately, there are several protections in place to protect civil liberties. An amendment must be ratified by three fourths of the state legislatures  38 states. That means any 13 chambers from different states could block an amendment. The bar for ratification is very high.

A failsafe unique to the convention of states approach lies in the limited application calling for an Article V Convention. The current application under consideration authorizes proposing only amendments that "impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and to limit the terms of office of federal officials and members of Congress."

Yet another firewall rests within the authorizations nominating commissioners to the convention. State legislatures can narrowly define the authority of commissioners so they are restricted to voting on a limited range of amendments. At any time, a state legislature can also recall its commissioners and replace them.

Other concerns are primarily related to political strategy and effectiveness. For example, why will the president, Congress, and the courts respect the new amendments if the constitutional crisis was triggered by the myriad of unconstitutional presidential actions, unconstitutional laws passed by Congress, and blatantly dishonest misinterpretations by the judiciary? There are no guarantees, but decisions like D.C. v. Heller and Citizens United v. FEC offer counter-examples where the political establishment abided by constitutional restraints they opposed. The most egregious examples of constitutional excesses usually involve tortured interpretations using questionable "terms of art" to achieve a desired outcome.

Proponents, wise to the modern tricks of activist judges, will draft amendments in such a way as to minimize the opportunity for misinterpretation, deliberate or otherwise. Opponents will further be hampered in redefining the language by the presence of the living authors, deliberation notes, and ratification debates.

Another argument some advance is the limited effectiveness of a convention of states to "fix" the culture of corruption in the federal government. Proponents of a convention of states do not claim that new amendments will address every failure of government or compel voters to educate themselves. The amendments represent just one arrow in a quiver of solutions required to restore constitutional governance. Still, some of the proposed amendments can help.

Texas governor Greg Abbott proposed the Texas Plan to "restore the rule of law." The Texas Plan includes amendment proposals to prohibit Congress from regulating activity wholly within one state, require a balanced federal budget, prohibit administrative agencies from creating federal law or pre-empting state law, allow a super-majority of state legislatures to nullify Supreme Court decisions and federal laws or regulations, require a Supreme Court super-majority to overturn a democratically enacted law, restore the balance of power between the state and federal governments, and permit state officials to sue federal officials who overstep their authority.

By decentralizing and dispersing power, the Texas Plan limits the ability of corrupt federal politicians and bureaucrats to engage in nefarious or unauthorized activities. When they do, state legislatures will possess the authority to check their power.

In 2013, Mark Levin (an attorney, former official in the Reagan Justice Department, and radio host) published The Liberty Amendments detailing the constitutional and historical basis for a convention of states. The book also discusses some potential amendments, including amendments discussed by the founders but never formally offered. Proposed amendments establish term limits for members of Congress, term limits for Supreme Court justices, super-majority congressional nullification of Supreme Court decisions, returning to selection of senators by state legislatures, restraints on the federal budget process, and requiring Congress to vote on federal regulations.

The Convention of States Project concluded a simulated convention of states at Colonial Williamsburg on September 23, 2016. The final day of deliberations is available on video with state legislators from all 50 states debating proposed amendments. Their final report included amendments to narrow the scope of the commerce clause to limit the jurisdiction of the federal government, establish term limits for members of congress, allow for nullification of federal laws by a super-majority of state legislatures, repeal of the income tax, and compel Congress to vote on federal regulations.

All of the proposed amendments are examples of what a convention of states might produce that enjoys broad popular support. While none of them is a silver bullet or a cure-all for the serious constitutional challenges facing the Republic, many are good ideas that can help restore the proper balance between federal and state authority.

A Congress bent on hoarding power will never consider amendments limiting its control. That is why an Article V Convention of states is a very good idea, and a con-con is not.
At Tuesday nights debate we were treated to Tim Kaines fidgets, twitches, squirms, and water sipping. He did all of that more often than interrupt Mike Pence with slanders. He looked off-kilter. There was, well, something faintly creepy about Kaine, confirmed when he had no good retort to Pences outing of Hillarys and his pro-partial birth abortion stand. Something creepy, particularly -- and morally appalling -- about taking a babys life near birth. Creepy that Kaine claims Catholicism as his faith -- Catholicism, which sees abortion as an intrinsic sin.

Then theres Hillary, whos creeped us out for decades. The cold, dark, withering stares. The explosive, cackling laughs. Theres the video for a union audience where Hillary spouts in a weird bobble-headed way about why shes not leading Donald Trump by 50 points. Heres a woman who looks like shes wound tighter than a drum, only to pop up at the most inappropriate times like a creepy jack-in-the-box, waggling and grimacing enough to give kids nightmares.

Lately, creepy clowns have been showing up in the East and South, mostly. Clowns standing under streetlights late nights, staring at lone passing motorists. Or lurking at the edge of woods. Unnerving, if not downright scary.

Entering the world of Hillary, Bill, Tim, the left, and the Democratic Party nowadays is on par with entering a Halloween scare house. Its an upside-down affair of chilling stuff. But the scares arent for fun. The scares come with consequences, which can be detrimental to U.S. interests and American lives, abroad and at home.

The Middle East is in ruins, thanks to the handiwork of Barack and Hillary (honorable mention, John Kerry). Syria is a hellhole. Due to the vacuum left by the president in Syria, Putin has staked a big claim. Libyas a mess. The U.S. has lost valuable ground gained by American blood in Afghanistan and Iraq. An appeasement deal gives the Iranians safe passage toward nuclear weapons, which will one day menace not just Israel and U.S. allied Arab states, but Europe and, in time, with ballistic missiles or other means of delivery, America. An arms race has started in the Middle East and that makes a dangerous neighborhood increasingly so.

ISIS has risen up and been emboldened by the Obama-Hillary-Kerry axis. Promising a global caliphate built on the bodies of us infidels, ISIS and like forces slaughter Christians and apostate Muslims. But were told dismissively by Obama that ISIS is just a collection of misfits and thugs that, sooner or later, will be brushed away.

ISIS oppresses, abuses, and sometimes kills its own women, gays, and children. Its irregulars are routinely committing acts of terror in Western Europe and the U.S., with much more death and carnage in store -- if not countered quickly enough.

But wheres the thumping condemnation by Hillary and Kaine of ISIS as a Muslim-inspired politico-religious movement? They wont even acknowledge that the terror is Muslim-inspired (or do so only grudgingly when pressed). Doing so is verboten in the crazy world of liberaldom. When do these compassionate liberals stand tall to chastise Islam in general for said oppressions and abuses of women, gays, and children, populations Hillary and Kaine swear they exist to protect? Maybe the pledge to protect the vulnerable is all feel-good and rationalizes bigger government that benefits Hills and Tims cronies and supporting constituencies?

When the debate topic of permitting Syrian refugees into the U.S. came up, Kaine spoke inanely. U.S. security agencies fret -- with good cause -- that among this refugee mass will be ISIS agents and irregulars (aka, terrorists), who arent coming for fresh starts in the New World.

In accommodating these Syrians (few Christians among them), Kaine sputtered that constitutional rights take precedent. If so, they do so over the welfare and safety of us citizens. Imagine that, infers Kaine for Hillary, ours is a constitution that fails to have as its paramount responsibility the protection of the homeland and its citizens. Which Founding Father rolls over first in his grave?

Imagine this: President Hillary and Vice President Kaine visiting the families of innocents slaughtered at a mall food court by a rogue refugee to explain how noble the sacrifice: their loved ones died for a perverted interpretation of constitutional rights.

Imagine the pained expressions on Hillarys and Tims faces as they emerge from meetings with aggrieved families. Before rows of cameras and mikes, the president and her right-hand person offer reassurances. This dastardly act of, well, not terrorism but murder will not be allowed to stand. The perpetrator blew himself sky-high to make the slaughter possible, but the coconspirators (if any; the killer may have been just a humanphobe) will be brought to justice -- tracked down, arrested, lawyered up, and tried. If found guilty, parole is only a maybe.

Scary stuff, but not the last. And there seems no exit out.

Scary that Hillary maintained a private email server while Secretary of State that contained highly classified national security information, guaranteed to have been mined by our nations enemies. How greatly at risk are we thanks to all the compromised classified information? How susceptible to blackmail would a President Hillary be? And for more than national security breaches, but Clinton Foundation emails?

How scary is it to you that the FBI director, James Comey, was either pressured into a cover-up of Hillarys criminality or simply, frighteningly, complicit?

Scary that to Hillary, Kaine, and Democrats -- or any globalist -- that our borders are no longer inviolate. Our borders are hindrances to the movement of cheap labor and new constituencies for Democrats to harvest. Scary that tuberculosis is seen again in our nation among illegals -- TB and other illnesses not known previously to our country are here.

Scary that after nearly eight years of Barack Obama, millions of American are un- or underemployed. Economic growth is anemic. Wages are practically stagnant. Working class Americans struggle and suffer greatly to make ends meet. The coal industry is being virtually shut down. Scary that the mainstream media acts as propagandists to hide the truth. Scarier that Hillary and Kaine are promising to double down on Obamas failed economic policies.

Scary that Bills bride and her Democrats, in a blatant pander to Black Lives Matter, indiscriminately indict police in communities across the land, stating that cops, regardless of race or color, are latent racists. Scary that diminished and hamstrung by Democrats and the left, the men and women who make up our police forces are put at greater risk, not to mention our communities. The creepy and dangerous among us are surely less fearful of the police, and much less inhibited. Why wont the oppression of the police result in more crime and suffering by innocents, in at-risk poor communities, especially?

Theres much, much more, but enough.

Creepy clowns loitering under streetlights or lurking near woods worry less about them than those heading the Democratic ticket.
Political correctness isn't just about changing the nursery rhyme 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' to 'Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep'; or changing the word 'history' to 'herstory'. It's also about affirmative action, revising curricula (i.e. canon busting), police actions and sometimes imprisonments, no whites allowed university meetings, censorship, numerous bannings, the no platform policy, professors losing their tenure, and so on. (Now add two new kids on the block, 'safe spaces' and 'cultural appropriation'.) In other words, PC has gone way beyond simply changing the words we use.

George W. Bush neatly expressed both the pros and cons of political correctness when, in a 1991 speech, he said that "[t]he notion of political correctness has ignited controversy across the land. Bush went on to say that although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred, it replaces old prejudice with new ones. He finished off by saying that PC declares certain topics off-limits, certain expressions off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits.

So Bush (above) said that the PC movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred. And, of course, it's laudable to want to get rid of racism, sexism, etc. Yet it all depends on how these isms are taken. It also depends, in a sense, on where they're taken. The problem with PC is that it's often too extreme, pious and pure. In other words, the things which the vast majority of people don't see as racist/sexist/etc. are seen that way by the High Priests of Political Correctness. Accusations of, say, racism or fascism are simply used as very effective political power-tools to destroy one's detractors.

Thus political correctness is a serious problem. It sustains an overwhelming and omnipresent hegemony of Leftist political/social power and it has done so for at least three decades. So much so that Paul Weyrich (the President of the Free Congress Foundation) claimed that today, if you say the 'wrong thing', you suddenly have legal problems, political problems, you might even lose your job or be expelled from college. What's more:

Certain topics are forbidden. You can't approach the truth about a lot of different subjects. If you do, you are immediately branded as 'racist', 'sexist', 'homophobic', 'intensive', or 'judgemental'.

I say 'hegemony' because political correctness, according to Anthony Browne, occurs [i]n workplaces across the country, from companies to army bases, from hospitals to TV stations. More particularly, people are being subjected to 'diversity training' to re-educate them and make them more politically correct.

Peter Coleman (a former government minister in Australia) got to the heart of the political nature of political correctness when he wrote the following:

Its first and pre-eminent characteristic is that it calls for the politicisation -- one might say the transformation -- of life. It wants political direction of all departments from, say, children's fiction to judicial judgements. No profession is exempt. All must meet a political test -- of correct thinking and progress. Lawyers, accountants, doctors, scientists, novelists, journalists and businessmen must all pass it.

And the most powerful way of changing the way we think is to legislate/act on the words we use.

Controlling Words to Control Thoughts

The putative political and social consequences of politically-incorrect words (therefore politically-incorrect thoughts) are made clear by academics Jessica Pinta and Joy Yakubu. They tell us that "linguistic constructs influence our way of thinking negatively, peaceful coexistence is threatened and social stability is jeopardized. These examples are all "the effect of politically incorrect use of language". What's more, politically-incorrect words are said to result in a "climate of repression".

So what's to be done about all this?

Firstly, Jessica Pinta and Joy Yakubu believe that the imposition of a moral agenda on a community is justified". PC also "requires less emphasis on individual rights and more on assuring 'historically oppressed' persons the means of achieving equal rights.

Thus PC-ers don't just want to be in control of the words we use, they also want to control our thoughts. After all, if the words change, though the thoughts 'underneath' them remain the same, then the PC policy of word-control loses its purpose.

Don't take my word for any of this, take the words of Professor Edna Andrews.

In the article 'Cultural Sensitivity and Political Correctness: The Linguistic Problem of Naming' (1996), Professor Edna Andrews says that "language represents thought, and may even control thought". Philosophically this is largely correct on two fronts. One, language is a determinant of thought and even of consciousness itself. Two, political correctness would serve little purpose if, after changing ours words, people still subvocalised (or carried out internal dialogues) with words which remained sinfully politically incorrect.

This way of thinking was originally based on, amongst other things, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, which argued that language -- or even grammar itself -- determines the way we see the world. Thus the language-to-thought (rather than thought-to-language) idea was given a political spin; if not by Sapir and Whorf themselves, then by those who accepted their hypothesis.

Edna Andrews is explicit about the language-to-thought idea being a political tool when she states that it's a "reasonable deduction... [to accept] cultural change via linguistic change". Thus changing our words is but a means to changing both what we think and, subsequently, what we do.

Defenders of PC

The well-known British journalist Polly Toynbee said that "the phrase [politically correct] is an empty, right-wing smear, designed only to elevate its user". It can hardly be said to be empty. It may well be, at times, a disguise for racism or intrinsically right-wing/conservative views; though having a (big) problem with political correctness is hardly an empty stance.

What Toynbee is doing here is tapping into view (held by political-correctors) that those who commit politically-incorrect sins are not only wrong, they are also evil/bad. The Wall Street Journal expressed (31st December, 1993) this perfectly in the following statement:

Political correctness, for all its awfulness, is an effort to save souls through language.

Toynbee refuses to make any distinctions between puritanical and extreme political correctness and the type of political correctness that people often make jokes about.

When Toynbee goes on to say that people who criticise the words political correctness are people who still want to say Paki, spastic, or queer. As a typical left-winger, Toynbee has a strong dislike of the majority of people who have a problem with political correctness. (Or at least with extreme and puritanical political correctness.) The thing is, even in the 1970s many people had a problem with some politically-incorrect words -- long before political correctness had gained total control. Again, it's extreme and puritanical political correctness that's the problem; along with the political-correctors never-ending desire to fundamentally change all aspects of society (from head to toe).

What else would explain the following vicious tirade from Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (a British Muslim journalist and anti-white racist). These words are aimed at a critic of political correctness:

Here, in his own words, are the fearful fantasies of an anti-PC chap gone quite mad, but who is nevertheless taken as a brave prophet by other paranoids.

She then states his positions on various subjects and, well, that's it! It's as if the very stating of negative facts or truths about political correctness is enough to render the speaker morally evil -- at least according to Alibhai-Brown's Islington Set.

Context

The economist and Labourite Will Hutton was a little more subtle (than Alibhai-Brown) when he wrote the following:

Political correctness is one of the brilliant tools that the American Right developed in the mid-1980s, as part of its demolition of American liberalism.... What the sharpest thinkers on the American Right saw quickly was that by declaring war on the cultural manifestations of liberalism -- by levelling the charge of 'political correctness' against its exponents -- they could discredit the whole political project.

Will Hutton is factually incorrect on one thing. It wasn't the American Right that coined and developed the words/concept political correctness: it was originally an ironic self-description used by American liberals in order to stop them getting too pious or extreme about what is and what isn't, well, politically correct.

Finally, yes, it would indeed be a good thing to discredit the whole political project of political correctness; if not also to, as Will Hutton puts it, discredit American liberalism itself.
Liberal Catholic candidates for public office such as Democratic nominee for vice president Tim Kaine often proclaim their Catholic identity to curry favor with this constituency, but when it comes to practicing the doctrines of their faith often are what are called cafeteria Catholics. They pick and chooses from what they might call the Ten Suggestions, particularly when it comes to a womans right to choose.

Unfortunately for Tim Kaine and fellow cafeteria devotees, there is no right to choose on what are called doctrines of the church, even if he seems to think so. On the issue of same-sex marriage, Kaine said in a recent speech to the 20th National Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C. that he thought the Catholic Church would soon follow his lead on this issue:

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, a practicing Catholic, on Saturday described his evolution on same-sex marriage and predicted that his church would change its views as well. My full, complete, unconditional support for marriage equality is at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend, Kaine said at a dinner celebrating gay rights. But I think thats going to change, too.

Representatives of the Catholic Church responded by saying, er, we dont think so, suggesting this practicing Catholic needs a little more practice:

In a Facebook post titled VP Pick, Tim Kaine, a Catholic? Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence noted that Kaine has been widely identified as a Roman Catholic while at the same time he publicly supports freedom of choice for abortion, same-sex marriage, gay adoptions, and the ordination of women as priests. All of these positions are clearly contrary to well-established Catholic teachings; all of them have been opposed by Pope Francis as well, Tobin wrote, dashing the lefts spurious claim that Kaine is some kind of Pope Francis Catholic. Senator Kaine has said, My faith is central to everything I do. But apparently, and unfortunately, his faith isnt central to his public, political life, Bishop Tobin concluded. Similarly, in a recent column, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput also took issue with Kaine, as well as with the sitting Vice President, Joe Biden, the two most visible Catholics in American politics. These two prominent Catholics, the Archbishop said, both seem to publicly ignore or invent the content of their Catholic faith as they go along.

Many in the Catholic hierarchy were not amused, reminding Kaine that Catholic Church doctrine on the issues of gay marriage and abortion are etched in the same stone as Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai:

I think he has a very superficial and incomplete reading of the sections of Genesis that hes referring to, Bishop Tobin said. Its important to emphasize that we refer to the teachings of the Church, and thats certainly true, but the teachings of the Church are not some arbitrary subjective formulation. The teachings of the Church are based on the revealed word of God. When it comes to something essential like marriage, we are not free to change our teachings because we didnt make them up. They came to us from God. Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Richmond, Virginia, said in a Sept. 13 statement, More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling on marriage, and despite recent statements from the campaign trail, the Catholic Churchs 2,000-year-old teaching to the truth about what constitutes marriage remains unchanged and resolute. Kaine is a parishioner at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in the Diocese of Richmond. In a Sept. 14 joint statement through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, and Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, reaffirmed the Churchs authoritative teachings on marriage as it comes to us from God as the author of creation and of revelation. Said the bishops, The Catholic Churchs teaching on marriage as exclusively the permanent, faithful and fruitful union of one man and one woman cannot change. They also said an attempt to redefine the essential meaning of marriage is acting against the Creator. It cannot be morally justified.

On the issue of abortion, Kaine may have jumped the political shark in the VP debate, suggesting that a womens right to chooses extends almost to the moment of birth, embracing partial-birth abortion.

We support Roe v. Wade. We support the constitutional right of American women to consult their own conscience and make their own decision about pregnancy, he said. People of faith should be convincing each other, dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day, he added, but on fundamental issues of morality, we should let women make their own decisions.

He made no exceptions, despite Catholic Church doctrine that life begins at conception and ends at natural death, another position that has not changed in 2,000 years. Kaine, a supporter of ObamaCare, was not asked, nor did he volunteer any comments on the Obama-Clinton administrations lawsuit against the Little Sisters of the Poor to force them to provide insurance that includes contraceptive in violation of their religious liberty and conscience. For Kaine, it seems to depend on whose conscience is being gored.

The Little Sisters of the Poor hold the view that the religious liberty guaranteed by the First Amendment is not limited to one hour on a weekend but includes acting on faith in our daily lives. That was the motive behind the suit by the owners of Hobby Lobby, lost by the Obama administration. As Investors Business Daily editorialized:

The Little Sisters contend ObamaCare not only violates the First Amendment's religious guarantees, but also the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That requires the government to implement its policies in ways that do not impose an unnecessary burden on the free exercise of religion If the Little Sisters lose their case, they'll either have to violate their religious conscience or face fines of around $2.5 million a year, or about 40% of what they beg for annually to care for the dying poor. Their ministry would be severely crippled, as would the First Amendment's guarantee of religious liberty.

The Obama administrations hostility to the free exercise of region was seen in the Hobby Lobby case in which the government argued that acting on your religious beliefs in your personal and business life was illegal. The courts ruled otherwise and that in the Hobby Lobby case agreed that this was an attempted infringement of the free exercise of religion:

So do scores of Catholic and non-Catholic institutions and businesses who argue either that the way they run their private businesses is an extension of their faith or that a church, something the federal government seeks to redefine, is not something that happens one hour a week on a Sunday but 24/7 through the hospitals, schools, soup kitchens and charities they may operate. They argue that acting out their faith through their works should not be illegal.

Kaine has said he is personally opposed to abortion, as if one can be personally opposed to any moral evil. How could one be personally opposed to slavery, for another example? Pence noted that Kaine, for political expediency, has checked his moral conscience at the door:

And then Pence took Kaine to task for his -- and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons -- support for abortion. Kaine has earned a 100 percent rating by the abortion rights group NARAL in his time in the Senate. The very idea that a child that is almost born into the world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me. And I cant conscience about a party that supports that, Pence said.

Despite what he has claimed publicly, Kaine supports repeal of the Hyde Amendment restricting public funding of abortions:

Democratic vice-presidential pick Tim Kaine has privately told nominee Hillary Clinton he will support repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 1976 provision that bans the use of federal dollars for abortion services, Clinton spokesman Jesse Ferguson and Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said Tuesday

If Tim Kaine wants to advertise his Catholic faith, it might be wise to follow its teachings.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
I am a Conservationist. I am not an Environmentalist. What? Arent the two the same thing? No, they are not. In fact the two movements are diametrically opposed.

John Muir was a Conservationist, not an Environmentalist. He saw the wilderness as a primary source for understanding God: The Book of Nature. Muir did not worship Nature, as modern environmentalists do. Muir worshiped God, the Judeo-Christian God. So, here is the difference: Conservation derives from the Hebrew Bible. Mankind is to be Stewards of the Land. We are charged to husband Gods creation.

Environmentalists, for the most part, believe that the Earths biosphere is God. And, that human beings are destructive parasites, eating away at the life of their deity. In effect, most environmentalists are atheists searching for something larger than themselves to worship. But environmentalists see themselves as not being the riff-raff parasites that the rest of mankind are. Environmentalists believe they are the elect, the knowing, the superior beings, the priests, the Gnostics.

This notion that people are parasites really got started in the 1960s. A couple of highly promoted bad actors started this environmental heresy. The first was Rachel Carson with her hysterical polemic about DDT and its purported harm to birds and other wild life. Her ideas proved to be, at best, problematic, but millions of people have died as a consequence of the resulting international banning of DDT. The second, and even more dangerous, problem child was Paul Ehrlich. This curmudgeon has even greater responsibility by amplifying environmental hysteria. Ehrlich should have known better. After all, he is a biology professional. But his mistakes suggest that he may not be all that professionally gifted.

Ehrlich predicted the death of the oceans due to insecticides and other chemicals washing into the sea. He did not account, as he ought to have, for the rapid evolution of plankton to adapt to these foreign substances. (The smaller the organism the faster its evolution  witness antibiotic resistance.) It was a bonehead mistake that no competent evolutionary biologist should make. More famously, Ehrlich predicted mass famine and hundreds of millions of deaths within a few years because of the so-called population bomb. He completely ignored the 1960s technological Green Revolution which today has China and India exporting food. And, he completely missed the natural reduction in birth rates, and the consequent leveling of population, as the standard of living of Third World countries increased. Again, that process was something that population experts already knew and understood.

And then came James Lovelock with his Gaia Hypothesis. This is the notion that the biosphere is an environment-regulating ensemble of living organisms. In the large, the biosphere, together with its non-organic matrix, could be considered an organism, itself. The idea is interesting. Indeed, it has proven to be scientifically fruitful.

But other people latched onto the biosphere and made Gaia a god. And, with it, made environmentalism a religion. A religion, which Lovelock himself rejects as misinformed  if not dangerous. Lovelock went through his hysteric period in the early years of the ecology mania, but he has since moderated his outlook now that his predictions of imminent environmental doom have proved unfounded.

Why do people do it? Why do they fall into these overblown quasi-religious enthusiasms? I speculate that there are three complementary reasons: Ignorance, Insecurity and Hubris.

Ignorance: Back in the 60s I was a graduate student in physics at one of the University of California campuses. One day I had the opportunity to sit and chat, at length, with one of our leading ecologists. Naturally, I was curious about some aspects of the so-called ecology movement that Rachel Carson had engendered. Much to my surprise, in response I received a long rant about this movement. This eminent scientist was scathing in his comments -- particularly about the sheer ignorance of the movements devoted followers. Not one of them, he said, has even heard of a logistic equation, much less predator-prey relationships. He concluded that harangue by dismissing the movement as nothing but political manipulation of less than astute people. Nothing much has changed since then. The true believers still believe without understanding. Environmentalism is a religion after all.

Insecurity: Most everyone is insecure about something  about many things, perhaps. Long established religions have traditionally provided a framework for ordering ones life and for reducing this natural sense of insecurity. As we have discovered, there is something about the post World War Two world that has, at least in the West, broken these traditional religious frameworks. Something happened during the war to cause people to no longer trust religious authority. Perhaps it was the sheer evil that was manifest and undeniable during those years of horror. The Cold War amplified that developing sense of insecurity. People started looking for something new to believe in  something that, once again, would provide spiritual tranquility.

The environmental movement seemed to provide the needed solace. Emotional peace may be given through participation in something larger than oneself. But, I note that few of the true believers, being mostly city dwellers, have any real experience of the wilderness.

For those who have experienced it, the gift of wild nature can induce spiritual grace. John Muir felt it. I have felt it. I have felt it in many lonely places around the world. I have been changed by it. I have felt this spiritual tranquility on remote white water rivers, on mountain glaciers, while hiking across Muirs Sierras, when diving to narcosis depths of the sea, while surfing imposing waves. But Nature didnt care what I was experiencing, what I was feeling. Nature is utterly indifferent. Nature is dangerous. A momentary lapse in the wilderness and Nature will likely kill you. There is no empathy in Nature. No intelligence. No awareness. Nature is not a caring god. Nature is not even a god. Nature just is. Gaia just is. My companions on these many excursions were savvy, alert, and extremely cautious. Despite some very close calls, we survived. That said, we always sacrificed to the River God before putting in!

Hubris: In the early years of Christianity there were Gnostics. These were Christians who claimed special knowledge about Jesus and what he really taught. Gnosticism eventually was suppressed. Its followers were rejected from the Christian community, in part because of their smug, arrogant, airs of intellectual superiority. While Christian Gnosticism may have died out, the type of people who adopt Gnostic superciliousness remain all too common. In the first half of the twentieth century Marxism was their fashion, and still remains so with a Globalist twist. In the second half, the Gnostics adopted Environmentalism. Doing so made them into superior beings, dont you know.

Unfortunately, Gnostics are easy marks for the con. A skilled confidence man knows that the best way to hook a victim is through the victims vanity. The environmental movement is a con. Its leadership preys on the ignorance, insecurity, and hubris of its followers.

The environmental con takes many forms. In recent decades man-caused global warming is the con game. That scare was deliberately manufactured in the 1980s. Its purpose was, and is, to cripple the US economy, foremost, and the economy of Western Europe secondarily. This program has had considerable success. Many have bought into the con and the economy is hurting. In particular, some who have knowingly promoted the con are politicians who seek to accumulate power and wealth. Using the scare tactic of climate runaway, stupendous resources have been wasted on misguided attempts to reduce carbon dioxide: solar power, wind power, alcohol fuels, suppression of coal, gas, oil and nuclear energy production. Millions of jobs have been lost through unneeded environmental regulations. Fortunately, Nature did not cooperate with the conmen and politicians. The world did not heat up, as predicted. Belief in global warming is rapidly diminishing, as it should.

But there is always another con, and each new con means further loss of freedom. For half a century the environmental movement has been the primary tool of those leaders who wish to suppress individual freedom and individual initiative. The erosion has been slow, but it has been steady. Most adults, today, have never experienced the freedom that I, and others of my cohort, once enjoyed. Not having that experience they simply dont know what they are missing. Consequently, they are easily preyed upon by those who would impose further restrictions  for the benefit of mankind, of course. Its a con: Trade your freedom for a better environment. Trade your freedom for a sense of security. Trade your freedom for a belief that you are doing good by protecting the environment. Trade your freedom for a sense of moral superiority. Trade your freedom and then live in poverty. Thats all right, say the Gnostics, people are parasites, they get what they deserve.

Poverty: There is the source of real irony. True care for the environment, true care for nature, is a rich mans game. Only the prosperous have the resources to protect the natural world. Only those living in comfort believe that it matters. Only those with wealth  the middle class and more - can be stewards of the land. Impoverish America and the land will be despoiled.

Poor people care little for Nature. Poor people struggle just to live. They dont have time for environmental diversions. The environmentalist con takes away freedom and replaces it with diminished prosperity. Carried far enough, political environmentalism ultimately will drive people into impoverished serfdom and, with the greatest irony of all, it will wreck the environment.
Despite Secretary of State John Kerry's best efforts to broker a ceasefire, America's worst enemies are continuing to slaughter each other in Syria by the thousands. Here are some of the groups involved:

Hezb'allah: Hezb'allah is a radical Shi'ite militia that controls much of Lebanon. Before the war, they launched rockets and terrorist kidnapping raids against Israel; before that, they were responsible for the murder of 241 American soldiers in Lebanon. But they have no time for that now that they are engaged in the war in Syria. Tragically for them, about a third of the soldiers Hezb'allah has sent into Syria to fight for Assad are said to have been killed (about 1,500), and even more (5,000) wounded.

Iraqi Shi'ite militias: Iraq has sent radical Shi'ite militias in to Syria, also to fight for Assad. Allied with radical Iran, their specialty is the beheading of opponents, mutilation of bodies, and torture and rape of their opponents.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards: The Revolutionary Guards are the most radicalized soldiers in the Iranian armed forces, and they fight for Assad. These are the guys who captured and humiliated American sailors in the Persian Gulf and the same guys who regularly stage mock attacks on our warships. Tragically, nearly 700 Revolutionary Guards have been killed in Syria, some of them quite senior:

In June, at least a dozen members of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps  some of them high-ranking  died in battles near Aleppo, and around that time some regular Iranian Army troops headed for Syria.

Syrian soldiers: The Syrian soldiers are, of course, also fighting on behalf of Assad. Before Syria was distracted by the war, it was busy building a nuclear power plant, presumably to make nuclear weapons (until Israel destroyed it), and arming Hezb'allah in Lebanon to make attacks on Israel. With the war, Syria has been severely weakened and hasn't had any resources to commit externally. More than 100,000 Syrian soldiers have been killed thus far.

Russia: After officially withdrawing from Syria last spring, Russia's forces that were no longer there stepped up their bombing attacks, trying to turn the city of Aleppo into one big parking lot. Before the war, Russia could be counted on to supply Syria with weapons, which could in turn be supplied to Hezb'allah in Lebanon to attack Israel or commit acts of terrorism against the West, but with the war going on, those efforts have been diverted. Sadly, dozens of Russian soldiers have been killed in Syria.

Afghan Shi'ites: Iran is said to have sponsored up to 20,000 Afghan Shi'ites to fight in Syria. Sadly, more than 300 have died in the conflict. If not for the conflict, they would be at home in Afghanistan, perhaps fighting Americans or growing poppies for opium.

Palestinians: Palestinians have come to Syria to fight for Assad and against him. So far, at least 800 Palestinians fighting against Assad have been killed and 635 Palestinians fighting for Assad have been killed. Without the war, the Palestinians would undoubtedly be focused on making terrorist attacks against Israel.

Moderate rebels: Moderate rebels are called "moderate" because they are moderate in number. Mostly they have "boots on the ground" on CNN and BBC interviews, less so in Syria. The U.S. spent $500 million to train 50 of them; 45 deserted.

Al Nusra Front: Al Nusra is the radical Sunni group that recently renounced its affiliation with al-Qaeda. There is no word on whether they have also renounced their policy of kidnappings and executions of civilians.

ISIS: Then there is the Islamic State, or, as Obama calls it, "Daesh," or "Definitely not the Islamic State." ISIS is like a vacuum cleaner, drawing radicals from all over the Muslim world to come and fight in Syria and Iraq. So far, more than 50,000 of them have been killed for their efforts. If not for keeping busy in Syria and Iraq, there is no doubt they would turn their attention abroad to other efforts.

It's very sad that this cycle of violence is continuing, in violation of international law. The conflict between Sunnis and Shias is undoubtedly the root cause of violence in the Middle East. We can only hope that someday this conflict ends, so the combatants can resume their lives of peace and interfaith tolerance.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Russian and German Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the settlement in Syria and the implementation of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine during a telephone conversation on October 7, Armenpress reports, citing TASS, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

"The two ministers exchanged views on the Syrian settlement," the ministry said. "The Russian side noted the need to fully eradicate the terrorist threat on Syrian territory with simultaneous efforts to consolidate the cessation of hostilities, solve humanitarian problems and promote the political settlement of the Syrian conflict."

Lavrov and Steinmeier expressed the two sides' readiness to consider proposals of UN Secretary Generals envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on alleviating the situation in Aleppo relying on the existing UN Security Council resolutions and decisions of the International Syria Support Group.

"(The two top diplomats) also discussed the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures to defuse the Ukrainian crisis and some issues related to the bilateral relations," the ministry added.






The supposedly wonderful work that the Clinton Foundation does for the worlds poor has had a massive focus on Haiti. Yet, for all the billions of dollars raised to help that beleaguered nation recover from a devastating earthquake in 2010, Haiti has suffered hundreds of deaths from Hurricane Matthew. The BBC reports:

The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew - the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade - has soared to more than 300, officials say. Some 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone. The nearby city of Jeremie saw 80% of its buildings levelled. In Sud province 30,000 homes were destroyed. (snip) The collapse of an important bridge on Tuesday had left the south-west largely cut off. Non-governmental organisations said phone coverage and electricity were down and people were running out of food and water. The BBC's Tony Brown in south-western Haiti said he had seen people trying to cope with the mass destruction on their own, trying to rebuild from the rubble but without the help of the army or police.

The failure of the Clinton Foundation to provide meaningful help to Haiti over the past years has been noticed by the Haitian diaspora in the United States. Politically, they are a crucial group, with large numbers in Florida, a critical swing state. They have already shown concern:

The Clinton familys charitable work in Haiti has been a mix of success, disappointment and controversy, The Washington Post concluded when it looked into charges GOP nominee Donald Trumps campaign had made. (Read reporter Jonathan Katzs in-depth article on the roles of the Clintons and their foundation in Haiti here.) That history mixes with former President Bill Clintons mixed record in Haiti, which included his destruction of domestic rice growing in the pursuit of free trade and a new market for American rice farmers. He apologized for the policy in 2010. It may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not worked. It was a mistake. It was a mistake that I was a party to, he said in retrospect. I am not pointing the finger at anybody. I did that. I have to live every day with the consequences of the lost capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people, because of what I did. Nobody else. (snip) The bigger fear is that people will instead stay home, activists and leaders of the Haitian-American community say. While vocal, the population of Haitians in Florida isnt overwhelming. The Census bureau puts the number at slightly under half a million, and only about half of those have the citizenship required to vote. More than half of those who are citizens are under 18, meaning that Trump and Clinton are fighting over a voting pool that could be as low as 100,000 people. Haitian attitudes, though, can influence perceptions among other Caribbean-Americans. There are around 1.5 million non-Cuban Caribbean-Americans in Florida. (Cuban-Americans are far more likely to vote Republican than other Caribbean-Americans.)

In a remarkable interview about the Clinton Foundation in Haiti, financial analyst Charles Ortel, who has reviewed more public documents on the charity than anyone else, offers some astounding figures on the scale of funds raised versus the funds expended on actual charitable work in Haiti: (read the whole thing!)

Goodman: What is the Clinton Foundation controversy in Haiti about? Ortel: The simple answer is that billions of dollars in aid supposedly were raised to help the desperately poor people of Haiti, yet Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation refuse to account, in granular and verified fashion, for any of this aid. If Haiti (before the latest storm) had obviously been better off, perhaps this controversy would not now be swirling with hurricane force winds. But accounts from multiple parties suggest that Haiti has little to show in the parts of the nation that were devastated in January 2010. (snip) The books of the Clinton Foundation and of Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund suggest that around $100 million or so may have been raisedbut the truth is that no one really knows. One major warning sign is that the Clinton Fondation 990 for 2010 (and the amended return for 2010 filed in November 2015) show the largest single expenditure as being a $37 million grant to the CBHFthe trouble is that both declarations list a PO Box address in Baltimore, MD as that of the CBHF, whereas other declarations made under penalties of perjury state that the CBHF had one office only and that was in Washington, DC. Another problem is that the CBHF claims in its 990s to the IRS that it had no foreign bank accounts How did they manage millions of dollars inside Haiti? All told, high end estimates of how much money may have been sent towards Haiti exceed $10 billion and this amount is about equal to the total incomes earned by all Haitians during 2010, so it is a mammoth sum, considered in the context of Haiti. Most of these funds were raised, not through the Clinton Foundation and CBHF, which are estimated to have raised $0.130 billion altogether, but through Clintons Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), which, according to Dady Chery, ran Haiti during a declared state of emergency from April 2010 to October 2011. Very little, trifling amounts, seem to have actually helped. So where did all these missing billions go?

Dont expect the media to raise a peep about this massive amount of money raised versus the trifles actually spent to help Haiti.
The Democratic Party has a hideous record of immorality in the light of history.

The Democratic Party was the party of slavery and Jim Crow. That is a matter of historical record, which explains why Abraham Lincoln's name was not even allowed on the ballot in many slave states in the 1860 election. Slick Willie kept the Confederate Flag flying in Little Rock during his long tenure as governor of Arkansas. Senate Democrats chose Ku Klux Klan leader Robert Byrd to be their Senate floor leader, and Democrat presidents chose Klansmen to be attorney general and Supreme Court members.

The Democratic Party was the party of treason during the Cold War. Teddy Kennedy actually flew to Moscow before the 1984 election to find ways to defeat Ronald Reagan's re-election. Virtually every Soviet spy aligned with one of the two major parties was a Democrat, as America learned when the Venona decryptions and Soviet archives became public after Reagan won the Cold War.

The Democratic Party was the chosen vehicle of virtually every horribly criminal big-city machine. From Tweed and Daley and Hague onward, these entities have been organs of the Democratic Party. Harry Truman was a protege of the corrupt Pendergast Machine in Kansas City just as the Kennedy gang was the protege of gangsters and Joe Kennedy was himself the boss of a political machine.

The Democratic Party is also the party of that ghastly practice of prenatal infanticide known as abortion. This is, of course, simply designed to win votes and hold constituencies. That Roe v. Wade granted women the "right to choose" is pure hokum. Roe v. Wade made the regulation of prenatal medicine in this area ruled by federal judges rather than state legislatures. Prior to that modern Dred Scott decision, states could, and did, allow abortion in cases like rape or when the life of the mother was in danger.

Whatever one thinks of Roe v. Wade, however, the wickedness and hypocrisy of Democrats regarding abortion is much deeper and more putrid. Consider how Democrats, Republicans, and nearly all Americans respond to other areas of life in which people have a legal right to choose.

Smoking cigarettes is legal, but no Democrat urges that government and politicians say nothing about smoking on account of an individual's "right to choose." Americans have the right to eat too much sugar and fat and exercise too little, but that does not keep Democrats from lecturing us about what we ought to eat and how much we ought to exercise. Dropping out of high school is exercising a "right to choose." Drinking too much is exercising a "right to choose."

In all of these areas (and many others), Democrats strongly urge Americans to avoid certain types of behavior and certain types of actions even if the behavior or actions are legal. Republicans and other Americans, generally speaking, hold the same consistent opinions: smoking, overeating, drinking to excess, leaving school, hating people because of their race, and so on are legal but bad choices.

Politicians feel compelled to urge Americans to exercise their rights morally and wisely. Yet the leaders of the Democratic Party have no problem with abortion at all. They have no problem with sexual promiscuity at all. They have no problem with self-destructive and soul-destroying behavior.

"Smoking? Bad! Murdering the baby in your womb? Don't give it a second thought, because we sure won't."
Shin Godzilla, the new movie opening today is amazing for two reasons: one good, one bad. The bad first: It skips entirely 60 years of continually advancing plotting, script writing, special effects and subtitling from the Japanese. As if none of these had advanced at all in six decades. It is beyond execrable, such that you cannot figure out what lost segment of audience could possibly be interested in wasting 2 hours of their life to sit through this spectacle of blow-up "dragon" with untenable dentition, little stupid front vestigial limbs with dopey fragile clawed hands at the ends that look powerfully like Obama's when he bounces down airplane steps and his hands are up in supplicatory and feminine rabbit pose.

The new incarnation of Godzilla never changes expression, even when the entire Japanese air assault team tosses artillery, missiles, Scud batteries and bombs, and the US Air Force explodes bunker buster bombs.

Sure, he emits radiation and fire, but all that requires is him opening his cavernous mouth and the magic effects guys send out a ridiculous laser river of roiling flames. His eyes are gimlets. His demeanor is unperturbed, overall. He jes' keeps grimacing as he sashays slowly over the landscape.

Full disclosure: They bribed us at the critics screening with drinks and flavored popcorn, mighty Gojira T-shirts, and a poster for our sitting room walls. And an after-party at the nearby swanky Hilton, where you hit the lobby on floor 15.

The best thing about the film, the only thing that gives one pause, is the metaphorical heft of adult Japanese pleading with the prime minister replacement to toss the works, including a megaton bomb, at this radiation menace from the sea. There's something vaguely creepy about the Duma desperate to destroy Gojira (pronouncing it with a Japanese accent) by replicating the single most destructive event of recent Japanese history.

Now for the good reason Shin Godzilla is amazing. In their terror at the wavy-tailed big bruiser messing with the municipal infrastructure, the muckamucks advise bringing in the United States and their might to conquer this scaly-skinned radiator, and agree to be sort of a vassal state to the eradicator of the yuuge lizard with the unreliable smile. Here's one country that mistakenly still considers us the master of the skies and the dominant military of the globe. Nice to think someone still does, after these past dispiriting eight years.
Banana Republics around the world are being invited to send representatives to the US to monitor polling places on election day.

Just think how much about voter fraud we can learn from them!

President Obama has invited the foreigners ostensibly to make sure that all the illegal aliens, non citizens, felons, and dead people who want to vote, will get to cast their ballot.

Daily Caller:

With the help of President Barack Obama, the Organization of American States (OAS) will send roughly 30 to 40 spectators to polling locations across the country for the first time ever, according to The Washington Post. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been consigning a small contingent of bystanders to U.S. elections since 2002, but this time it plans to send extra reinforcements. The OAS is an intercontinental association that includes nations and sovereign states from North, Central and South America. Like the OAS, the OSCE is an international bureaucracy, but with mainly European members, including Russia.

For the record, no nation tops Russia when it comes to voter fraud. And Vladimor Putin won't allow foreign monitors to observe Russian elections - at least on the scale that President Obama is allowing.

We are not policeman, Audrey Glover, an ambassador from Britain who is heading the OSCE mission in America, told The Post. We would not interfere. We would not intervene. We would observe, and record if we see anything untoward happening. This sort of international probing can be interpreted as a shot to American sovereignty, or at least a sign of distrust in the overarching democratic principles and practices the country cherishes and exercises. Both member states and even Obama seem to want to reestablish confidence they feel may be diminished. Before the elections in 2012, the state of Texas and Obamas Department of State (DoS) got into a battle over the same issue. The United Nations-backed OSCE sent observers to monitor the elections in the state, and Victoria Nuland, a representative for DoS, said that these onlookers would be immune from state law, according to the Inquisitr. The OSCE is under the misimpression that the State Department can somehow help its representatives circumvent the Texas Election Code. Texas law prohibits unauthorized persons from entering a polling place  or loitering within 100 feet of a polling places entrance  on Election Day. OSCE monitors are expected to follow that law like everyone else, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott warned then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration. Francisco Javier Guerrero, the OAS secretary for the strengthening of democracy told The Post that the latest invitation from the Obama administration is a sign that it is willing to be the inspected and not just the inspector. The United States has never done it before, Guerrero said. But of course, this is a unique election.

The only thing "unique" about this election is that we have a president who believes the US is a banana republic and can't be trusted to conduct a fair election.

Obama has convinced the rest of the world that voter ID laws are designed to limit the participation of minorities and other Democratic voters. I guess the Indiana state police who are investigating fraud by a liberal Democratic voter registration organization in 57 counties are just playing around.

This is a slap in the face to American sovereignty. But when you have a president who doesn't think there is any such concept, it's easy to embarass the American people and allow foreigners to pass judgment on something that is none of their business.




Following a leak of a few pages of Donald Trumps 1995 tax return, which under post-Watergate reforms to the tax code may be a criminal act if the leak were made by a federal or state government employee, the left is hyperventilating that Trump may not have paid federal income taxes for some years because of a legal deduction called a Net Operating Loss carry-forward (NOL).

The NOL is just as appropriate and perfectly legal as the tax-exempt status given the two billion dollars collected by the Clinton Foundation, which funds the high-living travel and hotels of Bill Clinton and others in the Clinton inner circle. Unofficially, of course, Foundation money also funded access to Secretary of State Clinton. The Clintons have gun-toting Secret Service protection paid by federal taxpayer dollars. Even Hillarys illegal Internet server was apparently paid by taxpayer dollars.

The Clintons are masters at escaping taxes (Wealthy Clintons Use Trusts to Limit Estate Tax They Back), or living off government. They made their millions being of the government. Unlike private sector entrepreneurs for whom the NOL was created to encourage investment in job-creating ventures, the Clintons are actual examples of Barack Obamas famous quote, You didnt build that.

Just with his real estate holdings Trump may have paid more in real estate taxes than what the Clintons have paid in all taxes combined. Add to that the government fees for building permits and such.

Trump also pays FICA taxes on the salaries of tens of thousands of employees. He pays an unemployment insurance tax, which is needed under the Obama-Clinton job-killing policies. The jobs created by Trump result in more people paying taxes. Hillary berates this as trickle-down economics. Tell that to the people who got the jobs. They are far better off than the record number of people receiving food stamps under Obama.

Add up the taxes paid by Trump at the state and local levels, then lump in the fees he paid to government and the taxes paid by or on behalf of his employees. Lets see Bill and Hillary match that.

The website of the Rose Law Firm where Hillary once worked say they focus[] on complex commercial business transactions and litigation, state and federal administrative law, estate and trust planning and administration, and state and federal tax planning and disputes. We represent clients in major business matters regionally, nationally, and internationally. The needs of business are our primary concern. Certainly they would advise Trump to use his NOL.

Loudmouth Trump TV rival Mark Cuban said to the effect that its unpatriotic not to pay taxes. Cuban may release his tax returns to show how patriotic he is under that presupposition.

What Cuban is suggesting is not that Trumps NOL under the tax code wasnt appropriate, but that Trump should voluntarily pay the federal government -- with all its graft, fraud, waste, and abuse. That wouldnt be patriotic; it would be foolish.
Once upon a time, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Why? First, he was not President Bush. And second, the silly Norwegians behind the prize fell for "hope and change" as bad as anybody.

It's a little different today, as we see in this post from Kathleen Hennessey:

Seven years ago this week, when a young American president learned he'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize barely nine months into his first term  arguably before he'd made any peace -- a somewhat embarrassed Barack Obama asked his aides to write an acceptance speech that addressed the awkwardness of the award. But by the time his speechwriters delivered a draft, Obama's focus had shifted to another source of tension in his upcoming moment in Oslo: He would deliver this speech about peace just days after he planned to order 30,000 more American troops into battle in Afghanistan. The president all-but scrapped the draft and wrote his own version. The speech Obama delivered -- a Nobel Peace Prize lecture about the necessity of waging war -- now looks like an early sign that the American president would not be the sort of peacemaker the European intellectuals of the Nobel committee had anticipated.

I remember a Canadian friend, who did not support President Bush, sending me an email after the Nobel announcement. He said in so many words: this is silly and it certainly proves the Messiah thing that you've talking about.

Well said, Canadian friend.

Obama, the so called man of peace, has actually set the table for more conflicts and wars than any recent U.S. president. The Russians are flying MiGs over our aircraft carriers. Iranian boats bully U.S. warships. President Obama is not welcomed by Raul Castro in Havana and then has to go out what the Chinese called the "you know what" hole of the airplane. And let's not talk about Iraq, Syria, etc.

In a real way, it is these silly Norwegians that Mr. Trump is talking about when he speaks of NATO.

It is these Europeans who have been protected by the U.S. since World War II. They are also the ones who don't appreciate our effort or pay whatever the contract they signed calls for. It's time to hire a collector and get paid.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
How much are Democrats in denial about the Obamacare meltdown? Virginia Democratic congressional candidate LuAnn Bennett, who is running against incumbent GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock, told the audience at a debate that Obamacare has made health insurance "more affordable."

The reaction of the audience was priceless.

Washington Free Beacon.

For the last 50 years, both parties have agreed that we have a health care crisis, Bennett said. By 2005, we had 47 million uninsured Americans, and health care costs had grown to 16 percent of our GDP. The Affordable Care Act has made health care more affordable She spoke a bit haltingly as the crowd chuckled. And its created access, she said. According to the Daily Press, rate requests filed by Virginias five largest insurers show average increases ranging up to 37.1 percent. Nationally, prices for medicine, doctor appointments and health insurance rose the most in August since 1984.

Then there's the case of Obamacare architect Ezekial Emanuel, who blamed the meltdown on Republicans.

Fox News:

ObamaCare architect Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel sought Wednesday to defend the embattled health care law he helped design, in a contentious interview with Fox News where he tried to pin the blame for rising premiums on Republican lawmakers. Speaking with "The Kelly File," Emanuel acknowledged premium hikes in some markets are a "problem" that needs to be addressed. But he also accused critics of "cherry-picking" the worst-case scenarios. "Some have gone up higher than others, but the premium hikes are because they came in, they did re-calibrate the market. They were trying to get market share, and it is a correction. It is a problem that we do need to address. But it is not across the board," he said. "And it is going to be a one-time increase. Emanuel also argued that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and other GOP lawmakers were to blame because of their push to prevent tax dollars from being used to cover insurance company losses. "Republicans bear some of the responsibility for this," Emanuel said. "Remember: Marco Rubio eliminated some of the risk adjustment that actually buffered and helped the insurance companies in this situation. He took it out of the budget. And that is a serious problem. Host Megyn Kelly pushed back  reminding Emanuel that he was a principal player in the creation of the health care overhaul. "You are the architect of the law, sir," Kelly noted. "Let's start with you. When I get Marco Rubio here, we'll talk to him. You're the architect. You said it was going to be stable, and what we're hearing today from the chief executive of the National Association of Health Underwriters is: In many states, the individual market is 'in a shamble.'"

First, Ms. Bennett's contention that in 2005, there were "47 million uninsured Americans" is a flat out lie. We know this because since Obamacare began, about 18 million Americans who didn't have insurance before have it now. But the government informs us that there are still about 15 million Americans without insurance.

Math was not one of my strong suits in high school, but 18 million plus 15 million equals 33 million - not 47 million. And that number doesn't take into consideration the millions of Americans who leave their jobs, lose their health insurance, and a few months later find another job with another health care plan. The actual number of uninsured Americans was always many millions fewer than Democrats were claiming.

As for Mr. Emanuel's paranoid fantasy about Obamacare's rate increases, the average premium increase for 2017 will be a whopping 24% with numerous states reporting increases over 50%. That reality is why people laughed at Ms. Bennett for saying Obamacare was making health insurance more "affordable."

But blaming Republicans for the debacle? The programs to bribe insurance companies to remain on the state exchanges are set to expire this year anyway. Republicans did the taxpayer a favor by not throwing more money at a failing system.

Will someone ask Hillary Clinton about her husband's contention that Obamacare is a "crazy system" at the debate Sunday night? Don't count on it, but Trump would be smart to bring it up.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Official Ankara again responded to the Iraqi leaderships calls on withdrawing the Turkish troops from Iraq, reports Hurriyet.

Responding to claims of Iraqi Prime Minister who said Turkish soldiers should not think they are having picnic, the Turkish PM Binali Yildirim said: The soldiers are not having a picnic but carrying out a duty.

The Turkish PM said they are fighting against Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq. He announced that official Baghdads such statements are dangerous and provocative.

Reuters reported Turkey's parliament voted last week to extend the deployment of an estimated 2,000 troops across northern Iraq by a year to combat "terrorist organizations" - a likely reference to Kurdish rebels as well as Islamic State.

Iraq condemned the vote, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey risked triggering a regional war. On Wednesday, Ankara and Baghdad summoned the other's ambassadors in protest at remarks from the other's camp.

In a statement cited by state television on Thursday, Iraqi foreign ministry called the troops' presence a "violation".

Turkey says its military is in Iraq at the invitation of Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish regional government, with which Ankara maintains solid ties. Baghdad says no such invitation was ever issued.

Most of the Turkish troops are at a base in Bashiqa, north of Mosul and close to Turkey's border, where they are helping to train Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga and Sunni fighters.
So, it has been a busy week for all things Google. Well, that is all things Google except Android TV. Although the availability of the Xiaomi Mi box was announced just before Googles October 4 event kicked off, the actual event itself did not bring anything Android TV-related. Which is somewhat surprising when you consider that this event was very much hardware-focused.

However, that is not to say that there was not anything for Android TV folk to get their teeth into. One of the products which did see its launch as part of the event was Google Home and this is one which while not being an Android TV device does certainly have a knock-on effect for Android TV. In fact, if you were ever wondering as to where Google sees the future of Android TV, Google Home seems to be providing part of the answer.

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This is thanks to Google Homes ability to connect to all of your other home devices and especially those which are Google-related, like Android TV. One of the key benefits of Google Home is that it has the power to be able to add another level of functionality to your Google devices and both Android TV boxes and TV sets (as well as Chromecasts) fall under that remit. Google Home will be able to connect to those devices and offer an easier level of control. While your Android TV box already makes use of voice commands, the one downside is that you have to typically speak into the remote or your phone. Google Home will not only offer you a totally hands-free approach to controlling aspects of your Android TV, but it can really do all the legwork for you.

While the main announcement spoke almost primarily about Chromecast, the same support will naturally be available to Android TV. So whether you own a Chromecast or an Android TV device, Google Home will offer a new way to engage with your device at home. The use of what Google refers to as voice casting means that controlling an Android TV device or Chromecast has never been easier. Simply ask Google Home to play something on your Android TV device and it will. In fact, as Google Home makes use of Google Assistant, contextual questions can also be asked. If you dont know the name of a song, you can still ask Google Home to play a song based on the information you do know about it and Google Home will comply.

However, where the use of Google Home with Android TV gets even more interesting is that this is only the beginning. At the moment the support for voice casting is a little limited and largely reserved for Googles own services like YouTube. But that will change in due course. In fact, during the event Google also made the announcement that Netflix has already signed up to include support for voice casting with their app.

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So being able to load up and watch content on Netflix will soon be accessible from Google Home. Just tell Google Home to start playing Narcos on your NVIDIA SHIELD or your Mi Box and it will. Tell Google Home to adjust the volume, skip forward, play pause or turn off and it will. All without using the remote control or the app. True voice control.

Not to mention with the likes of Netflix now part of the clan, it does only feel a matter of time before other apps from content providers also follow suit. After all, this is just the beginning and already YouTube and Netflix are included. So the likes of Hulu, CBS and so on, can only be so far behind. Especially if they want Google to be able to redirect to their content. As one of the other specific features about Google Home is that it looks to make use of your preferences. So if you are a CBS or HBO app subscriber then including support for voice casting with their Android TV apps, does mean that their customers will get access to their content, quicker, easier and more often. Otherwise, Google Home is likely to be redirecting those same customers elsewhere. So support will come when the user base for Google Home starts building and the content providers really start to understand the added benefits, if they have not already.

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From the cord-cutter perspective, this is even more pertinent as the features being touted are unlikely to be ones which are compatible with traditional forms of TV. So it is clear that from Googles perspective, the momentum will come from the standalone app TV consumption market. Which in reality, seems to be a common belief from many within the Android TV community anyway. So as well as Google Home providing Android TV customers with an easier way to consume content on their Android TV devices, it does also seem to be a product which will likely help fuel the move further away from traditional TV content. At least, traditional forms of consuming content on your TV.
Every year, it seems, that Google has trouble with keeping their smartphones in stock. It was something that was very popular with the Nexus smartphones (anyone remember trying to order a Nexus 4 when it went on sale?) and it appears to be carrying over to the new Pixel lineup. Although it did take a few days for these devices to sell out, but the Pixel XL does appear to be completely sold out in all colors and storage sizes right now, on the Google Play Store. Its not a huge surprise, given the fact that the Pixel XL is the larger smartphone, and it has been proven that the majority of users want larger smartphones over smaller ones.

As far as the standard Pixel goes, that one is still available, but only in 32GB of storage. The 128GB model is sold out in all three colors. The Really Blue color is also sold out, in both the 32GB and 128GB models. The Very Silver 32GB model is showing delayed shipping of about 5-6 weeks, and the Quite Black 32GB is still in stock, for now. So it appears that the Pixel and Pixel XL are going fast, and this shouldnt be a surprise at all.

Now Google isnt the only one selling the Pixel and Pixel XL, Verizon and Best Buy still have them available for pre-order, however the ones at Best Buy are reportedly the Verizon variants. Its unclear right now if those are completely locked down to Verizon (complete with locked bootloader) or not. They shouldnt be, since the Verizon models sold by Verizon are unlocked and will work on other networks, they just sport a locked bootloader. Best Buy does have the two devices a bit cheaper right now, and offering a $100 gift card as well as a free Chromecast. Definitely making the Pixel or Pixel XL purchase from Best Buy a good looking deal.

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The Pixel and Pixel XL are slated to ship on October 20th. So for the majority of those that got their pre-orders in, you should be seeing your device in just a couple of weeks. Those that havent gotten in their order yet, it may be a while, but Google will be restocking, so dont worry.
HTC is not exactly one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world anymore. This Taiwan-based company was once the third-largest smartphone manufacturer on this planet, but things havent been going in the right direction for HTC for a long time now. The company has been trying to appeal to consumers by releasing a number of smartphones in the last couple of years, but that didnt exactly go as planned, despite the fact HTC had released some really compelling phones in that time period, and their 2016 flagship (the HTC 10) definitely belong in that category.

That being said, the company has just released their financial results for September 2016, and it turns out these are the companys best results in the last 15 months, which is certainly a relief for HTC. The company has reported that their revenues grew 41.8% on month, and 31.3% on year, were looking at a figure of NT$9.33 billion ($297.12 million). This might not seem like a lot of money for such a company, but considering HTCs results in the last couple of years (especially the last year and a half), these results are certainly encouraging. Now, according to industry sources, HTCs sales of HTC Desire 10 and Google Pixel phones definitely managed to contribute to such results, and their HTC Vive VR headsets did the same thing. Google had introduced the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL handsets a couple of days ago, and considering HTC is manufacturing these devices, they certainly get a piece of that pie, which will help the company in the coming months, that for sure, because the Pixel devices have been available for pre-order for a couple of days, and if they sell well once they go on sale, that will definitely reflect on HTCs finances.

Now, if we take a look at the companys quarterly results, well be able to see that HTCs revenue in Q3 was NT$22 billion ($698,81 million), which is an 18% increase compared to the second quarter of this year. The company is expected to ship 6.5-7 million units in the second half of the year, and Pixel shipments are actually expected to account for 40-50% of HTCs total shipments, according to the source. If we compare that to the first half of this year, then well see that Pixels are supposed to help increase HTCs profits, as the company had managed to sell only 5.8-6.1 million devices in H1 2016.
As the Galaxy Note 7 battery drama is somewhat winding down and Samsungs latest phablet is slowly returning to stores worldwide, the consequences of the entire ordeal are finally coming to light. According to results of an online survey conducted by the e-commerce technology company Branding Brand, more than a third of all Galaxy Note 7 buyers have vowed to never purchase another Samsung phone again, following the revelations that their new flagship has a faulty battery which makes it potentially dangerous. Out of the 34% of Galaxy Note 7 owners whove stated that theyre leaving the brand, 51% said they will switch to another Android OEM while 34% said theyre getting an iPhone next. The rest were still unsure about their next smartphone.

Even though these numbers are certainly alarming for Samsung, its worth noting that the survey was only conducted on a sample of 1,000 US-based Galaxy Note 7 owners. While the sample was representative, its still way too small to draw any definitive conclusions, especially in light of Samsungs recent revelation that 90% of all Note 7 customers worldwide whove already returned their faulty devices decided to give the phablet another chance. Of course, that percentage may be significantly lower once the remaining Note 7 owners return their phones but for now, the jurys still out on how much damage Samsung will have to endure because of the Galaxy Note 7 situation.

The South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer did provide some information some time ago on the cause of the issue with much of the blame seemingly pointed towards its battery-making division, Samsung SDI. Although with newer cases now starting to hit the headlines again, it is unclear if there is a more wide-spread and underlying issue at play. In any case, we should have more information on the subject as time goes on. For now, if you still own one of the recalled devices, then make sure to return your Galaxy Note 7 if you havent already and see whether your replacement unit features a green battery icon on the status bar, lock screen, and the restart screen  as that green piece of artwork confirms that your unit is one of the newer and therefore, safer units.
Yahoo hasnt exactly been doing great in recent years but after numerous troubling financial results and the discovery of an enormous data breach from 2014 that affected 500 million users, it seemed that the US Internet giant will finally catch a break. Namely, Verizon has been on the verge of acquiring Yahoos core business for $4.8 billion for a few months now but the situation just got a lot more complicated. Not surprisingly, the largest wireless carrier in the country is now looking to renegotiate the terms of its potential purchase, New York Post reports.

The reasons for Verizons hesitance arent difficult to grasp. Yahoos stocks and brand value have been steadily declining ever since the company admitted to the aforementioned data breach and it was only a few days later that it came to light Yahoo was scanning emails of its customers while under orders of either the NSA or the FBI. Sources close to Verizon are now claiming that Tim Armstrong, the CEO of the carriers subsidiary AOL has recently been pushing for a new round of negotiations with Yahoo amidst all of the brand damage that Yahoo has suffered in recent weeks.

If youre wondering why the CEO of AOL has a say in the matter, its been widely reported that Verizon has been primarily interested in purchasing Yahoo in order to merge it with AOL and create a new Internet giant which would be competing in the online advertising business. Namely, Verizon and all of the other wireless carriers in the country have been looking into alternative revenue streams for quite a while now and most of them concluded that theres still money to be made in the online advertising business. More information on the deal is expected to follow soon as New York Post reports that Armstrong has already been in Yahoos headquarters in Sunnyvale, California for a few days now. Its now expected that Armstrong will try to use recent developments and Yahoos situation in order to strong-arm the companys executives into giving Verizon a significant discount on its core assets. An update is expected in two weeks at most as thats when Yahoos board is scheduled to officially meet next.
Earlier this week, the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange announced that he will soon start leaking sensitive documents which will expose various shady practices Google is allegedly involved in. That information was supposed to be published in several larger document dumps and according to latest reports, the leaks were supposed to start coming out yesterday. They were supposed to, but didnt.

In fact, the only thing we got yesterday was another announcement from Assange who has now revealed the schedule for these leaks. Namely, the Australian national revealed that sensitive documents will be published on a weekly basis all the way until the US presidential elections which are slated for November 8th. Granted, a lot of the upcoming documents are supposed to be uncovering corrupt practices in the oil and weapons industry, as well as the Democratic National Committee in the US but during his announcement, Assange still found time to mention Google specifically when talking about corrupt entities that WikiLeaks will now supposedly expose.

Assanges beef with Google isnt purely ideological, but ideology certainly plays a big part in his dislike for the Mountain View-based tech giant. The Australian national whos currently living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London has been supporting the idea of a decentralized Internet for quite a while now so it isnt hard to see why he would be opposed to the very idea of an omnipresent Internet company like Google. Furthermore, he specifically details his dealings with Google in his 2014 book When Google Met WikiLeaks and specifically accuses the company of being too close to the US government. Speaking of the US government, Assange is also rather distrustful of Googles chairman Eric Schmidt because of his connections to the State Department during Hillary Clintons tenure as Secretary of State. In Assanges eyes, the problem doesnt solely lie in the fact that Google has been closely cooperating with a government agency but that it has closely cooperated with a government agency which accused WikiLeaks of attacking the US foreign relations in an attempt to destabilize the country. Dramatic or not, this accusation was made by Clinton herself back in 2010.

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Last but not least, Assange is also keen to hurt Googles public image due to the fact that the company has allegedly violated the privacy of three of WikiLeaks staffers by giving their private information to the US government as a part of an undisclosed investigation into WikiLeaks in 2012 and then took three whole years to notify them that their privacy has been violated. Its worth noting that the upcoming leaks wont be the first batch of sensitive documents concerning Google that Assange has released so far. However, his attempts to hurt the tech giant have been relatively unsuccessful as nothing WikiLeaks published until today has really incriminated Google.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on October 7 the USD exchange rate was 474.59 AMD which is an increase of 0.10 drams compared to the previous day.

Armenpress reports that the Euro decreased by 2.59 drams forming 527.84 drams. British pound dropped by 19.76 drams forming 583.65 drams, Russian ruble decreased by 0.01 drams reaching to 7.60 drams on October 7.

The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 270.99 AMD, gold-19.141.69 AMD, and platinum-14.846.44 AMD.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations Security Council has convened a meeting at the initiative of Russia on the situation in Aleppo, to discuss the proposal of UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on the withdrawal of the militants of the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra from the eastern part of the city, Armenpress reports, citing TASS.

Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations Ambassador Francois Delattre said before the session that the proposal can be brought into life if bombing ends in Aleppo and truce is established at least for a while.

Permanent Representative of Britain to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft hoped that in the near future the UNSC will adopt a resolution on the issue. According to him, the draft document proposes to immediately cease air bombings in Aleppos eastern section. I hope, everyone will sign it, since it is our fundamental obligation according to the international law, he mentioned.

Staffan de Mistura on October 6 proposed to hold consultations on the withdrawal of the organization Jabhat al-Nusra militants from eastern Aleppo to Idlib. This, according to him, might end armed confrontation in this part of town, and its residents will have access to humanitarian aid. According to him, there are about 900 organization Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in eastern Aleppo. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the initiative "deserves careful consideration." "We focus on always looking for constructive steps," Lavrov added.
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: Mayor Hancocks celebration of the Armenian homeland and recognition of Artsakhs ongoing struggle against aggression is a testament to the firm dedication of Armenian American grassroots in the Mile High City and the State of Colorado to raise awareness about human rights issues, including Azerbaijans April 2016 anti-Armenian war crimes, remarked ANCA-WR Executive Director Elen Asatryan. We thank the Hancock administration for their unwavering support of universal human rights, including recognizing Artsakhs independence and ongoing struggle to preserve its ancient Christian heritage and protect its freedom-loving indigenous Armenian population against an army that wipes out medieval monuments and tortures civilians and soldiers alike, continued Asatryan.

The proclamation notes that the Denver Metro Area is home to thousands of productive and patriotic Armenian Americans who have enriched our city for many decades, and that Artsakh continues the monumental struggle to maintain its indigenous Armenian identity, preserve medieval monuments and secure its borders against war crimes. Mayor Hancocks Proclamation notes ANCA-WRs commit[ment] to advancing issues of concern to the Armenian community, and congratulates the Armenian community on their commitment to their heritage, their engagement in their new homeland and their ability to survive and thrive despite the challenges.

The Washington, D.C.-based and US Office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic also thanked the City and County of Denver, as well as the areas vibrant Armenian American community for celebrating the Armenian homelands 25th independence anniversary. We are grateful to Mayor Hancock and to the people of Denver for marking and celebrating this important anniversary. For over a quarter of a century Artsakh has been living as a sovereign democracy and remains resolute to continue protecting its choice for freedom. We are grateful for this support and look forward to continued cooperation. I also want to thank the ANCA-WR for their steadfast efforts towards raising awareness about our nations common struggle for the security and prosperity of independent Artsakh remarked Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of Artsakh to the United States.

Mr. Avetisyan also thanked ANCA-Colorado and the ANCA-WR Regional Office in Denver for their ongoing support of Artsakh that builds on community-wide successes such as the April 24, 2015 unveiling of the Armenians of Colorado-sponsored Colorado State Capitol Armenian Genocide Monument  a replica of one of the 2,000 medieval Djulfa khachkars demolished by the Azerbaijani army.
Azerbaijan does not agree with US Secretary of State John Kerrys recent statement with respect to the Karabakh conflict.

October 7, 2016, 12:33 Baku does not agree with Kerry statement on Karabakh conflict

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: The statement made by US Secretary of State John Kerry about unreadiness of the leaders [of Armenia and Azerbaijan] to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict surprises and upsets us, said Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration and chief of the administrations foreign relations department, reported APA news agency of Azerbaijan.

Mammadov noted that such a statement by the Secretary of State Kerry, whose respective tenure is nearing its end ahead of the forthcoming US presidential election, causes a surprise.

We would like for the US to clarify John Kerrys statement, so that everyone would understand it, he added.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had stated that the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are not ready for a resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: President Sargsyan congratulated the Ambassador on his appointment and wished him success on carrying out his diplomatic mission in Armenia. The President stated that the relations between Armenia and Kuwait are developing in a normal way and the bilateral cooperation agenda is expanding year by year. He attached importance to the continuous development of interstate dialogue for which all prerequisites exist.

The President remembered warmly his visit to Kuwait in 2009 and the agreements reached at the high level meetings as a result of which Embassies were opened in both countries, the contacts were intensified.

Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia is interested in further strengthening and deepening the relations with Kuwait, and Armenias and Kuwaits diplomatic representations play a key role in this regard.

Ambassador of Kuwait to Armenia Nawaf Abdul Aziz Al-Enezi said he is ready to implement the agreements, the signed documents reached at the highest level between the two states, and introduced the President his views over the development of Armenian-Kuwaiti cooperation in a number of mutually beneficial sectors.
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: The only Labor prime minister to win three general elections, Blair was hugely popular during the start of his 10 years in power but his support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq severely tarnished his reputation.

In an interview with Esquire Magazine, Blair said it was a "tragedy" that Britons were left with a choice between a Conservative Party intent on a hard Brexit and a Labor Party that he described as "ultra-left" and stuck in the 1960s.

"I don't know if there's a role for me," he said. "There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment.

"All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question."

Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union in June propelled May to power and the former interior minister has indicated that she sees the vote as a demand for wide-ranging change in the way Britain is run.

May's approach has spooked investors who believe Britain is heading for a "hard Brexit", meaning it will give up trying to remain in the EU's single market in order to impose controls on immigration from the other 27 member states.

The vote, which has triggered the deepest political and financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two, has also rocked Blair's Labor Party, with leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn accused of failing to campaign hard enough to keep Britain in the bloc.

First elected last year on a wave of enthusiasm for a new type of politics, Corbyn was forced to compete again for his job. Although he was returned as leader with a higher mandate than before, he still lacks the backing of the centrist members of his party.

Blair said Corbyn offered a "mixture of fantasy and error". As a result, he said Britain was a "one-party state".

"The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left, or because they're too principled. It's because they're too wrong," he said.

"Frankly, it's a tragedy for British politics if the choice before the country is a Conservative government going for a hard Brexit and an ultra-left Labor Party that believes in a set of policies that takes us back to the Sixties."

Blair's chances of forging a new major role might be limited after a seven-year inquiry delivered a scathing verdict in July on his handling and justification for the Iraq War, with many Britons believing he should face criminal action.
Chinese company takes over Tirana airport management 100% to China Everbrght Ltd. Oil field to another Chinese group

(ANSAmed) - TIRANA, OCTOBER 7 - Hong Kong-based China Everbright Limited company has taken over the management of Tirana's only international airport, named in honor of Mother Theresa.



The Chinese company has acquired 100% of the shares of the Tirana International Airport (TIR), the company that bought management of the airport for 30 years in 2005. TIA is a consortium of the German AviAlliance GmbH group, the main investor holding 47% of the shares, the German DEG Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, which holds 31.7% and an enterprise fund consisting of Albanian and US companies holding 21.3%. Last week another Chinese company acquired management rights for the largest oil field in Albania from the Canadian company Bankers Petroleum for 575 million dollars. Additional details on the TIA management rights acquisition have not been released. (ANSAmed).




(NEW YORK - US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday asked that Russia and Syria be investigated for war crimes in relation to recent massacres of civilians in Aleppo.

Kerry noted that Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100. ''Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children,'' Kerry told reporters alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Kerry said such acts ''beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.'' ''They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond,'' Kerry said in some of his toughest criticism to date. He accused Russia and Syria of undertaking a targeted strategy to "terrorize civilians'' and said that those who commit such acts must be held to account.

French Ambassador to the UN Francois Delattre compared the situation in Aleppo to that of Guernica in Spain, calling it ''a human tragedy and a black hole that destroys everything in which we believe and harbinger of many other disasters yet to come.'' His statements came on the sidelines of a Security Council meeting on Friday held to discuss the conflict in Syria. Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni said that Italy supports a proposal made on Thursday by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura to take approximately 900 fighters of the Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al-Nusra out of the city, which he claims would lead to an end to bombing by the Syrian regime and Russia.
(ANSA) - ROME - A new book out this week gives a rare insight into the Vatican Museums, which house the world-famous Sistine Chapel among their countless artistic treasures.



Titled 'The Vatican Museums - Art, History, Curiosities', the book by curator and art critic Sandro Barbagallo recounts little-known anecdotes and features previously unpublished photos of the Vatican's priceless art collection of paintings, sculptures, tapestries and more.



Founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century and enlarged by successive pontiffs, the Vatican Museums are housed in the lavishly decorated halls and galleries of the Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano, a vast 5.5-hectare complex made up of two palaces - the Vatican Palace and the Belvedere Palace - joined by two long galleries. Barbagallo's book takes an in-depth look at the Vatican Museums restoration lab, which is located under the four Raphael Rooms and was opened to the public on an exceptional basis for Wednesday night's book launch. This is where the works on display in the Museums' seven-kilometer galleries - which are visited by six million people every year - as well as masterpieces housed in the Vatican's other palaces, churches and embassies come to get repaired or refurbished.
376 killed in Aleppo in 10 days, including 120 children 'Prevent another Srebrenica or Rwanda', De Mistura

(ANSAmed) - NEW YORK, OCTOBER 7 - UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura said Friday that 376 people had been killed in the opposition-held eastern part of Aleppo, a third of whom were children. Another 1,266 civilians were injured, he added in a videoconference during a UN Security Council meeting. He stressed that action must be taken immediately to prevent another massacre at the level of the well-known ones in Srebrenica and Rwanda. Deputy Defense Minister Anatoli Antonov said Friday that Russian forces had killed a total of ''around 35,000 terrorists, including over 2,700 from Russia and other countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CSI)'' since it entered the Syrian conflict just over a year ago. (ANSAmed).




Migrants: new arrivals in Sardinia, 29 Algerians overnight 40 North Africans arrived yesterday, today on small boats

(ANSAmed) - CARBONIA, OCTOBER 7 - More immigrants have landed on the coasts of Sulcis, in south-west Sardinia. After the 11 arrivals yesterday morning, another 15 Algerians last night arrived in Teulada, in the area of Is Arenas Bancas neighboring with a military firing range.



Soldiers apprehended the North African migrants, who were visited, identified and then transferred to Assemini.



Meanwhile, last night 14 Algerians landed on the beach of Porto Pino in Sant'Anna Arresi, where Carabinieri police intervened. (ANSAmed).




Warning: May contain traces of soy, wheat, lecithin and tree nuts. That you are here

strongly suggests that you are either omnivorous, or a glutton.

And that you might like cheese-doodles.

Please form a caseophilic line to the right. Thank you.
GENEVA - Some 314,003 migrants and refugees entered Europe via sea since the beginning of 2016.



Most landed either in Greece (167,446) or Italy (142,725). In the same period, about 3,610 people drowned or disappeared at sea, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.



The total number of arrivals was well under the number seen the previous year (518,181), but the number of deaths was higher: 3,610 compared with 3,029. At least 3,673 people died trying to reach Europe last year.






ANSAmed - Weekly diary from October 10 to October 16

(ANSAmed) - ROME, OCTOBER 7 - The following are some of the main events scheduled in the Euro-Mediterranean area between October 10 and October 16.



MONDAY, OCTOBER 10.



BARCELONA - Union for the Mediterranean conference ''Women for the Mediterranean: Driving Force for Development and Stability'' (until 11/10).



VARIOUS CITIES - World Day Against the Death Penalty.



BRUSSELS - EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn will be meeting with Ozturk Yalmaz, vice chairman of the Turkish People's Republican Party (CHP).



BRUSSELS - European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen will be receiving Gille de Kerchove, EU anti-terrorism coordinator. LUXEMBOURG - EU agriculture and fisheries ministers meeting (also 11/10). ZAGREB - Second round of talks for the formation of the new government.



TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11.



BARCELONA - Union for the Mediterranean conference "Women for the Mediterranean: Driving Force for Development and Stability" ends.



BRUSSELS - European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva will be meeting with Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt.



BRUSSELS - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will b receiving Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorius III, Patriarch John X (primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch) and Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, pariarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church.



BRUSSELS - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will be taking part in the inauguration of the photo exhibition ''The Missing Lives of Cyprus''.



LUXEMBOURG - EU agriculture and fisheries ministers meeting ends ISTANBUL - visit by European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who will be meeting with the BP Group Chief Executive and Adnan Amin, the general director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).



CAIRO - Visit by European Commissioner Johannes Hahn (also 12/10) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 TUNIS - Yacht Med Festival Blue Tunisia Lazio International (also 16/10) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13.



VARIOUS CITIES - International Day for Disaster Reduction BRUSSELS - EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will be receiving Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.



FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14 ROME - Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will be taking part in the NATO Defense College conference "Nato cooperation with partners in the Mediterranean and Middle East" with Kuwaiti sheikh Thamer Al-Sabah and Jordanian prince Rashid bin al-Hasan.



COSENZA - Awards ceremony for the 10th edition of the Mediterranean Culture Prize.



SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15.



VARIOUS CITIES - International Day of Rural Women.



SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16.



VARIOUS CITIES - World Food Day. (ANSAmed).




(by Franco Quintano)

PODGORICA - NATO adhesion, EU integration perspectives, the situation in the turbulent Balkan region and relations with Italy were among the topics discussed by Premier Milo Djukanovic in an interview with ANSA, 10 days ahead of political elections in Montenegro.



The prime minister spoke about a wide range of issues, tracing a very positive analysis of his country's first decade of independence.



''We have turned one of the least developed republics of former Yugoslavia into one of the most developed economies of the western Balkans'', Djukanovic said, stressing how Montenegro is today ''a relevant destination for tourism and investments'' and a ''country that represents a stability factor in the region, as well as leadership in integration processes''.



The premier, who has been an undisputed protagonist of Montenegro's political scenario for the past 25 years, said the vote on October 16 is of great importance, the most significant political event after the 2006 referendum'' with which Podgorica peacefully separated from the Union with Serbia.



The election, Djukanovic said, will ''not only decide on the European and Euro-Atlantic future of Montenegro but also the direction'' of other processes in the region. ''We are presenting ourselves (to voters) with a guarantee of stability and the safeguard of multiethnic harmony'', together with a ''series of meaningful projects in the sectors of road infrastructures, tourism and energy worth billions of euros''.



Djukanovic, who is the leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists, pointed his finger against political rivals, saying that they are ''the same who were loyal to the regime of Slobodan Milosevic''.



''All those who opposed Montenegro's independence are together again'', they have the same objectives and interests that are ''on the same pace with Russia's no to NAtO's enlargement'', he said. Djukanovic said that, with adhesion to the Alliance, which could occur ''already in the first half of next year'', in Montenegro ''everything will change for the best'', starting with security. Stability will be guaranteed in the country as well as the fact that borders won't change, he said, and ''the stability of the Mediterranean region'' will be extended, thus boosting security in Europe.



Milo Djukanovic thus called for further European support to the integration process of Montenegro and the entire region in the EU. ''Only a united Europe can offer adequate responses to the many challenges it confronts'', starting with the migrant crisis and the fight against terrorism and radicalism.



Criticizing the excesses of nationalism that have recently emerged in some Balkan countries, Djukanovic said relations with Italy are ''excellent'', both from a political and economic perspective, and stressed the great importance of the Italian presidency in the Berlin Process on Western Balkans.
UN Security Council to vote on draft resolution tomorrow Syrian fighters refuse UN plan to leave Aleppo

(ANSAmed) - ROME, OCTOBER 7 - The UN Security Council will on Saturday vote on a draft resolution for a ceasefire in Aleppo, French Ambassador to the UN Francois Delattre announced on Friday, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that the ''moment of truth'' had come. The French draft resolution for a ceasefire in Aleppo, which includes an end to airstrikes, ''was created to cause Russia o veto it'', Russian Ambassador to the UN VItaly Churkin said, threatening to block the document if it is voted on.



Meawhile, the jihadist militants of Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham (formerly Jabhat Al-Nusra) on Friday rejected a proposal by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura to leave Aleppo in exchange for an agreement by Russia and the Syrian regime to end their bombing of the city. The group's spokesman wrote on Twitter that the approximately 900 men under him were determined to break the siege on opposition-held eastern Aleppo. (ANSAmed).




AUBURN  David Cates and Eddie Jones are traveling across the state to raise awareness about school aid funding shortfalls.

But they aren't driving in a car or heading down the Thruway in a bus. They're riding their bikes.

The duo, both of whom live in Buffalo and have children in the city's public schools, stopped in Auburn Friday and met with members of the Auburn Teachers Association and local education leaders, including Auburn Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo.

Cates and Jones are bringing attention to the 10th anniversary of the final Campaign for Fiscal Equity trial. The legal challenge focused on the levels of funding provided to New York's public schools.

A decade after that final trial, advocates say schools are still underfunded. They point to central New York schools, which are owed more than $204 million in foundation aid.

Foundation aid is the main source of state support for school districts.

The Auburn Enlarged City School District is owed more than $5.1 million in foundation aid. Port Byron Central School District is owed more than $1.3 million.

Cheryl Miskell, president of the Auburn Teachers Association, said the shortfall hurts educators and students.

"Like anything, if it's not funded properly it's not done properly," she said. "They are giving us little crumbs of what they owe us."

Port Byron Teachers' Association President Angie Hitchcock added, "We know the money is owed, it's been owed, it's been years that it's been owed and nobody is holding them accountable to pay that money to the schools."

That's the message Cates and Jones hope to spread along their 350-mile journey. At the same time they're biking across upstate, a group is walking 150 miles from New York City to Albany to bring attention to the school funding gap.

Cates, who's had children and grandchildren attend Buffalo schools, urged the state to deliver foundation aid to the schools in need, particularly Auburn and others in smaller communities that tend to not get the same attention as bigger districts.

"It needs to be done," he said.

The state has taken action to address the funding shortfall in recent years. In the most recent budget, the state got rid of the controversial gap elimination adjustment, a mechanism that was used to cut aid to school districts to help erase a large budget deficit.

With the gap elimination adjustment gone, educators are now focused on getting their fair share of foundation aid.

Pirozzolo said last year, Auburn lost $4.5 million in foundation aid because of how the formula is written.

They just really need to go in and look at that and bring some equity to some of the smaller districts that have a high poverty level," he said.

He also lauded Cates and Jones for their bike ride, which is bringing more attention to the situation.

"What these two gentlemen are doing is fantastic," Pirozzolo said. "What they're doing in New York City, walking to Albany. Everybody is here for children. We've got to get it right because every kid deserves a fair, equitable education."
The President of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, has urged governments in the Pacific Rim to move forward with education reforms vital to preparing their people to cope with rapid but unpredictable changes unfolding in the global economy.

President Kuczynski underscored the importance of modernizing education systems on the heels of a key meeting of Education Ministers from APEC member economies in Lima. He set the tone for implementation of newly unveiled collaborative measures for achieving this objective, cushioning against the unintended effects of technological and socio-economic transition.

Peru and economies at its income level face a huge challenge today which is that our educational systems were organized years ago based on the idea of learning what and education today is about learning how, President Kuczynski explained. Were evolving so fast at the moment with 4G, 5G and everything else that it is no longer enough to know something.

Change is going to come and it is going to come very fast, he continued. If we have the old system of learning with books and brick and mortar schools, and teachers who were taught under that system  they learned their trade 25-30 years ago  theyre probably not adapted to this modern world.

President Kuczynski, who will chair the 2016 APEC Economic Leaders Meeting here next month to improve growth and living standards in the region, went on to describe the direction that education systems must go to support these ends.

He detailed his administrations plan to increase funding for public education, which enrolls most of Perus 8 million students, as well as to bridge gaps in quality and ensure access to people in remote areas. He also offered support for Education Ministers complementary efforts to boost the knowledge and skills, innovation capacity and employability of workforces.

Education really has to focus on preparing people of all ages to adapt to change, President Kuczynski concluded. The one thing you can be sure of is that until your last day on earth, you have to learn. If you stop learning, youre dead. Thats the challenge. Well certainly talk about that in November.

# # #

For additional information, please contact:

David Hendrickson (in Lima) +65 9137 3886 at [email protected]

Michael Chapnick +65 9647 4847 at [email protected]

More on APEC meetings, events, projects and publications can be found on www.apec.org. You can also follow APEC on Twitter and join us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Democratic candidate Diane Dwire is challenging Assemblyman Gary Finch to take a stand against proposed pay hikes for state legislators.

Finch, R-Springport, said in a recent interview with The Citizen that he opposes a proposal under consideration by a commission to give state legislators a 47 percent raise.

The commission, which is examining whether to give the governor, state agency commissioners and state legislators a pay hike, will issue its final recommendations in mid-November.

Legislators last received a raise in 1999.

While Finch opposes the 47 percent proposal, which would raise legislator salaries to $116,900 a year, he did say that going without a raise since 1999 "is not a good thing, particularly for those who absolutely depend on it."

Dwire, D-Camillus, claims that comment means Finch is implying that there should be some sort of pay raise for legislators. She opposes any pay hike and said she wouldn't accept it if elected to the Assembly.

She plans on keeping her $79,500 base salary and donating her pension  she worked for the state Department of Health for nearly three decades  to local charities.

"The current pay for state lawmakers is more than adequate, and when so many central New York families struggle to get by, it's difficult to justify hiking that pay even higher," Dwire said. "The needs of our families and communities should always come first, not raises for lawmakers."

Dwire and Finch are squaring off for the second time in the 126th Assembly District race. The pair faced each other in 2014. Finch won the race by 10 percentage points.

The 126th Assembly District is comprised of portions of Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland and Onondaga counties.
Unshackle Upstate is supporting more than 30 candidates in state legislative races throughout New York, including a few in Cayuga County.

The group, through its political action committee, endorsed 11 state Senate candidates and 22 candidates for state Assembly.

On the Senate side, Unshackle Upstate backed state Senate Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco, who is running unopposed this year. He represents the 50th Senate District, which includes most of Auburn and a handful of towns in Cayuga County.

The organization also supported Assemblyman Gary Finch, a Republican who represents the 126th Assembly District. He's running for re-election against Democratic challenger Diane Dwire.

Assemblyman Bob Oaks, who's running unopposed, also received the group's endorsement.

Greg Biryla, Unshackle Upstate's executive director, said voters across upstate New York have concerns about the economy.

"The 33 candidates that we've endorsed today will fight for a pro-growth agenda that includes tax relief, sensible regulatory reforms, a better business climate and a brighter future for upstate New York," Biryla said. "We're proud to support these candidates and encourage upstate voters to support them with us on Election Day."

Unshackle Upstate didn't issue an endorsement in two of Cayuga County's state Senate districts. The group didn't back state Sen. Jim Seward, a Republican, or Democratic challenger Jermaine Bagnall-Graham in the 51st Senate District.

In the 54th Senate District, Unshackle Upstate previously supported Floyd Rayburn. But Rayburn lost the Republican primary to Canandaigua Supervisor Pam Helming.

Rayburn will appear on the Reform Party line, but he hasn't announced whether he'll actively campaign for the seat.

Unshackle Upstate used legislative scorecard grades, responses to questionnaires and feedback from business leaders during its endorsement process.

The group said it will continue to monitor races and may make more endorsements leading up to Election Day.


The initial stage of their cooperation, Air Europa will place its marketing code on Istanbul-Madrid route operated by Turkish Airlines while Turkish Airlines will place its marketing code on Madrid-Las Palmas/Ibiza/Palma de Mallorca and Madrid-Havana/Santo Domingo/Lima flights operated by Air Europa.

Such an expansion of the codeshare agreement will allow passengers to benefit from better connectivity and increased travel flexibility between Spain and Turkey, and beyond the carriers respective networks.

Air Europas CEO, Maria Jose Hidalgo, praised the agreement. It allows both companies to continue its growth and expansion and gives us the opportunity to offer our passengers a wide and varied range of connections with all the advantages and comfort of a codeshare agreement,  he said.

We are extremely pleased to sign this codeshare agreement with Air Europa. It provides access to six offline destinations in our network flights and aims to improve our partnership in line with our growth plans in Latin America as Turkish Airlines. Moreover, we believe this partnership with Air Europa will not only maximise the travel opportunities offered to our passengers through the networks of both airlines, but also bring enormous benefit from a commercial perspective, said Temel Kotil deputy chairman and CEO of Turkish Airlines.




The agreement  strongly backed by IATA and its member airlines - was reached by states attending the 39th ICAO Assembly which ended yesterday in Montreal, Canada.

ICAOs 191 member states agreed to implement a Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

"The historic significance of this agreement cannot be overestimated. CORSIA is the first global scheme covering an entire industrial sector. The CORSIA agreement has turned years of preparation into an effective solution for airlines to manage their carbon footprint. Aviation is a catalytic driver of social development and economic prosperityit is the business of freedom making our world a better place. This agreement ensures that the aviation industrys economic and social contributions are matched with cutting-edge efforts on sustainability. With CORSIA, aviation remains at the forefront of industries in combatting climate change," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs director general and CEO.

CORSIA is set to commence with a voluntary period (2021-2026) after which it will become mandatory. "The enthusiasm and commitment of states in the voluntary period is impressive. Even states that would normally not be required to participatesmall island nations and developing economieshave shown their commitment by signing up. The list of states volunteering for the first phase now numbers 65, giving CORSIA which we estimate will cover more than 80% of growth post 2020. And we continue to encourage more states to join," said de Juniac.


IGA Havaliman Isletmesi AS  the company building Turkeys new airport to the north of Istanbul  has its work cut out.

With a capacity to accommodate 90 million passengers per year at its opening in the first half of 2018, Istanbul New Airport will be one of the largest in the world.

The facility will be built over an area of 76.5 million square metres and the construction will be carried out in four phases, of which the first will be finalised in two years time.

The project is the biggest public-private partnership ever undertaken in Turkey, with a 25-year concession period. IGA is committed to pay the state 22.1 billion ($24 billion), plus taxes, over 25 years starting in 2017. Private and state banks are financing the first stage of the project, worth a total of 4.5 billion.

As a result of the strong and consistent development of countries such as China, India, Russia, Indonesia, and Turkey, the growth axis of the world has shifted from the west towards the east. This development has also caused a shift in the dynamics of the aviation industry on the same axis.

Each year, approximately 40 million tourists visit Turkey; around 70% of them travel by aircraft, declared IGAs CEO, Yusuf Akcayoglu.

Turkey has a population of 76.6 million and half of those are under 30, generating 150 million passengers in 2013, which is a five-fold increase in the last decade, according to data provided by IGA. Flagship carrier Turkish Airlines has also been expanding rapidly in recent years.

The importance of the Istanbul New Airport is now evident, said Akcayoglu, adding that, with this mega project, Turkey had taken an enormous step towards meeting the challenges that the world aviation industry will face in the coming years. The current airports are also unfit to serve the latest-generation wide-body aircraft, he said.

John Grant, senior analyst at air travel intelligence company, OAG, said there was an absence of capacity, especially in the peak hours, at the countrys existing airports  particularly in Istanbul.

Our schedules data at OAG reveals that Istanbul Ataturk Airport is running in excess of 25 arrivals and departures every hour across the whole day and Sabiha Gokcen is not far behind; which indicates that future growth in the peak hours may already be constrained and for any emergent market, that is clearly something that needs to be addressed, he said.

In the last decade, Istanbul has grown into a major hub, with Turkish Airlines now serving more countries than any airline in the world. Combine that with a really strong low-cost market sector and healthy domestic market, then Turkey, specifically Istanbul, remains one of the few hub airports that will be able to challenge the likes of Dubai in the next decade, said Grant.

OAG data shows that, in 2006, Turkish Airlines scheduled some 64,482 flights from the two Istanbul airports; in 2016 the planned schedule reflects 193,564  three times as many in a 10-year period.

Phase I of the project is expected to be completed in 2018 and Akcayoglu reported that the installation of the terminal steel roof started in January this year. He added that the roof covering works started at the end of June and the construction of the air traffic control (ATC) tower would also start soon.

This summer construction works on third-party company buildings, such as catering, cargo, ground services and aircraft maintenance buildings, will start, the CEO confirmed, adding that runway construction had already begun.

This airport project has many standout features. Along with the largest terminal under one roof, the facility will feature Europes largest car park, with 18,000 spaces.

Unifree Duty Free will build the largest duty-free shopping area in the world, across 53,000sqm of space. The 20,000sqm express cargo area will be established by DHL and the airport will be operational on a 24-hour basis.

It is one of the biggest projects ever in Turkey, with an investment worth 10.3 billion, but new airport projects of this scale are complex and typically face a number of technical challenges.

There are many challenges but, at the same time, many opportunities, Grant observed. He said it began with having available land resources and then building the subsequent supporting infrastructure. In the UK, we are struggling to find a solution to the capacity issues in London and yet in Istanbul a new multi-runway airport is being built in record time.

Once the infrastructure plan is well advanced, it then becomes a major logistical project, moving airlines, reallocating slots, adjusting schedules and undertaking all of the necessary marketing and communications around the new airport  how to get there, minimum check-in times and so on.

Its also, of course, a challenge in terms of the work forces and migrating the current staff to a new airport, many of whom will live close to one of the existing two facilities; factoring that into working hours and terms, and having to recruit new staff for the expanded airport. These are all positive challenges for such a facility, Grant stated.

Todays fast-growing airports are implementing a number of smart technologies to meet the growing number of tech-savvy travellers.

Akcayoglu is certain that the new airport will be a hub for passengers and a centre of IT innovation. IGA will offer a comprehensive set of IT solutions to enhance the passenger experience, such as self-service equipment with biometric features, he said.

He mentioned a number of technologies, including smart kiosks, social media-enabled services, airport gaming, loyalty services, queue management, airport mobile applications and a seamless internet of things (IoT) framework to communicate with smart infrastructure in order to deliver a more efficient and effective user experience.

Also, so-called beacon technology will be established for indoor navigation  small gadgets, the size of a matchbox, localise passengers inside the terminal. Airlines can easily provide passengers with indoor directions, walking times to gates, lounge access, and boarding alerts. Visually impaired or handicapped people will be able to use the indoor voice navigation. In another innovation, passengers who possess biometric chipped passports will be able to use automated e-passport gates, avoiding long lines to get through passport control more quickly.

The new airport will make use of airport collaborative decision-making (A-CDM). Akcayoglu explained: The A-CDM concept aims at improving air traffic flows and capacity management by reducing delays, improving the predictability of events and optimising the utilisation of resources, which will be implemented to allow each partner (airlines, ground handlers, ATC, security, caterers etc) to optimise their decisions in collaboration with other A-CDM partners, knowing their preferences and constraints and the actual and predicted situation.

To enhance the passenger experience, Akcayoglu is especially happy with the new bag drop solution. It enables passengers to check-in their luggage quickly and easily. The system is simple. Having checked in online, or at the airport kiosk, passengers will be able to weigh their bags and use their boarding pass at the self-bag-tag kiosk to generate a label for their bag. They will then be directed to the designated bag drop zone, where they can transfer the luggage themselves, he explained.

The new airport will be fitted with around 3,000 monitors to keep passengers informed. These will be located in different zones, like check-in counters, gates and baggage claim carousels. By providing cutting-edge technology with both hardware and software, the accuracy of flight information will be improved and the aesthetics of the terminal environment will be enriched, Akcayoglu added.

Istanbul New Airports ATC tower is being developed by AECOM, a company that provides engineering, consulting and project management services for infrastructure projects, in conjunction with Pininfarina, which won an international design concept competition.

In design, Pininfarinas aerodynamic and organic formations meet the shape of a tulip, which is well known as Istanbuls symbol, said Akcayoglu.

The tower is 90 metres high and is built on a 5,100sqm construction area. As the air traffic will be controlled from two floors at the top, the technical management will be handled in the first two floors and in the basement, he continued.

IGA is planning a next-generation ATC system with DHMI  which is Turkeys general directorate of state airports authority.

Integrated controller working position (ICWP) will be in place covering advanced surface movement guidance and control systems (A-SMGCS), electronic flight strips, departure clearance, weather and equipment status information.

The A-SMGCS implementation, which is the main element of ICWP, will be the one of the biggest in the world.

A-SMGCS surveillance functions allow for the identification of aircraft on the movement area and transponder-equipped vehicles in the manoeuvring area. It provides for enhanced safety and protection of the runway as one means for avoiding runway incursions. One of its best benefits is to allow for enhanced low-visibility operations, said Akcayoglu.

The airport will utilise an electronic flight strip and departure clearance (EFS&DCL) system in place of the paper strips in order to manage departure clearance demands coming from the aircraft.

Akcayoglu acknowledged that traditional paper strips have several limitations. They are time-consuming to print and update, the information on the strips stays with the controller, and the possibilities for integration with safety nets are limited, he explained. At a modern commercial airport, where traffic and safety demands are continuously increasing, an EFS&DCL system is a highly customisable solution to support the specific needs of the controllers.

In June, Boeing announced a new technical assistance agreement with IGA. Through the agreement, Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen, will provide its total airport and airspace modeller (TAAM) solution to assist IGA and DHMI. This group will support the development of Istanbul New Airport airspace design, the airport operation optimisation programme and an operational readiness plan.

We look forward to working with IGA and DHMI to find the most effective operational concepts for the Istanbul area, as part of the overall investment in the infrastructure of Turkish aerospace, said Aysem Sargin, managing director of Boeing Turkey. Using our TAAM tool, we will be able to show the impacts of all operational concepts and assist the Istanbul New Airport team to make the most informed decisions possible for the new airport.

Grant recalled having briefly worked on some air service development activity at Sabiha Gokcen when the new terminal had been developed and the low-cost sector was beginning to emerge. Even then you could see that, over time, the two airports would be challenged for capacity and people were already discussing the new airport location and planning was at an early stage.

In the UK, we were in our 10th year of discussion around the need for a third runway at Heathrow, which just shows how quickly the authorities have moved in Turkey to make the new airport a reality, said Grant.

He believes that Turkey is, in many ways, a unique market, which gives it the strength that is seen today.

In Istanbul it has a very well-placed geographic hub, supported by a major airline, which, in turn, is part of the worlds largest airline alliance. It also has a considerable range of domestic destinations, which all connect in Istanbul and provide a healthy balance of local market demand and connectivity to the rest of the world.

All of this surly places Turkish airports at a competitive advantage relative to their neighbouring markets. The most immediate challengers are Dubai and Doha, and to a lesser degree Frankfurt, but Istanbul really does suck the traffic up from around the region and is the key hub for many neighbouring markets, purely because of the size of the local market and the services that it can support, Grant summed up.




AUBURN  Dario D'Angelo takes a lot of pride in his homemade Italian cuisine.

It's the staple of Bistro Gusto Italiano, Dario's new restaurant that opens Friday on Genesee Street in Auburn. Bistro Gusto is both a restaurant and a bakery that deals in authentic Italian food made from scratch.

While most restaurants order certain products already prepared for a variety of reasons, Dario shrugs at the idea. "That's too easy," he said in his thick Italian accent.

For Bistro Gusto, Dario said everything  from the pasta and sauce he uses for the restaurant menu to the cookies and cakes baked by his wife, Lucia  is homemade.

"We didn't want to make an American bakery. We wanted to make an Italian bakery," he said.

Bistro Gusto is the first eatery Dario has owned in the United States. The 41-year-old was born and raised in Sicily, which is where he went to culinary school and worked as a chef. Dario said he and his father, Vincenzo, cooked alongside each other for a period of time in their home country.

Dario's uncle, Angelo, came to the United States and opened Angelo's Pizza on Genesee Street in 1960. Dario said his father also came to Auburn at that time to help start the pizza shop. After travelling back and forth from Sicily with his father for some time, Dario said Vincenzo eventually suggested he move to the U.S. with his family.

At that, Dario, Lucia and their children  Ilaria, 3, Diego, 6, and Mia, 11  moved to Auburn about two years ago. For Dario, opening his own place was always something they wanted to accomplish.

"We came from Italy with the idea," he said.

They found a spot to pursue that goal at 105 Genesee St., the location of the former Bambino's Bistro. Bambino's owner Guillermo Salinas vacated the space in March to make a move around the corner next to his Osteria Salina restaurant on State Street.

Dario said he and his family put several months of work into renovating the location with new floors, repainted walls, a new counter and more. He said the family is also helped by his father and one of the family's best friends, Giuseppe Casamassa.

Walk-in customers are immediately met by a display case filled with Lucia's confections. Dario said his wife also bakes custom cakes upon request.

"These cookies that you see here  you can never find them in New York state," Dario said. "They are Sicilian cookies."

Beyond the desserts, Bistro Gusto will have weekly specials. The restaurant menu includes several pasta dishes, deep-fried rice balls (arancini), seafood pizza and what Dario described as authentic Italian lasagna. Delivery, catering and takeout options are all available.

Dario and Lucia celebrated the restaurant's opening with a small party Thursday at the Genesee Street spot, enjoying the moment with family and friends a day ahead of the big opening.

"We wanted to try it with our bakery, with our pasta, with our everything," he said before adding, "I think that we can do it."
Every Friday, The Citizen features a pet available for adoption from the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York.

This week, we spotlight Buster.

Q. Who is your best friend?

A. All of my shelter people are my very BFFs. They are out there promoting me like crazy, telling everyone what an awesomely wonderful, extremely intelligent, extraordinarily handsome and otherwise superior dog I am. I cannot disagree with them.

Q. What has been your worst experience?

A. Nope, not talking about worst experiences! I'm a positive kind of guy and it's only going to be the very best things for me. Please change this question.

Q. If you could have a job, what would that be?

A. Really, I would like to be the dog that finally changes the world's perceptions of "pit bull-type" dogs. I want to be the poster dog for my breed and I am working on a job description right now! Please check back later for details.

Q. If you could visit any place in the world, where would that be?

A. Please let me tell you where I do not want to visit! I do not want to visit the beautiful city of Montreal, which now has an international black eye for passing legislation against my breed! Yes, my breed is now banned in Montreal and the fate of the those wonderful pit bulls currently living there is in jeopardy. It was a sad day when this happened. Hoping the powers that be have a change of heart.

Q. If you could meet someone famous, who would that be?

A. Well, let me begin by saying that "bully breeds" are quite often employed as therapy dogs. We are loyal and intelligent beyond words and these traits make us very well-suited to the rigors of being there for our human at all times. So, to finish my theme here, I would have liked to have met Miss Helen Keller. She loved "pit bulls" and one or perhaps several of her therapy companions were pit bull-type dogs. She did a lot to promote our breed and we are very grateful to her.

Q. Do you have an interesting fact to share?

A. I do, and I would like to do away with what many take as gospel truth! Pit bull-type dogs do not have any special physical mechanism that allows us to lock our jaws. If you compare my skull to a skull of any other dog breed, you can see with the naked eye that both skulls share the same characteristics and general bone structure. However, one personality trait of my breed is sheer determination. Whatever we do, we do it with a great deal of gusto, and it is this trait that can make it seem like we have a locking jaw when we bite down on something and are determined not to release it. So this is a fact that really isn't a fact!

Q. Do you have any advice for our good Citizen readers?

A. I do! Please join my good shelter people and the wonderful people from the Auburn United Methodist Church for the annual Blessing of the Animals. This will be held this Sunday, Oct. 9 at Hoopes Park in Auburn at 3 p.m. All creatures are invited to attend. Please leash your dogs. If your fur-friends cannot attend, please bring a picture or a relic of them. And, finally, let's ask for blessings for our pit bull friends in Montreal  they need our help! Thank you and love, Buster and friends.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. On October 5, the Second Internet Governance Forum ArmIGF 2016 commenced, which was organized by the interagency group Armenian Internet Governance Forum with the support of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and IT Industry, as well as the Internet Society NGO, press service of the National Defense Research University informed Armenpress.

The topics on the agenda included internet governance for sustainable and inclusive development, challenges in IT labor market, social networking as a business tool, cybersecurity as the imperative of the day, development of internet governance skills, as well as many other issues concerning the field.

At the Conferences discussion titled Cybersecurity  the imperative of the day participants addressed the challenges and solutions related to cybersecurity. Questions such as the definitions of cybersecurity, special critical information infrastructure, electronic signature, encryption systems, etc. were also discussed.

The Discussion Cyber security  the imperative of the day was attended by the Head of the National Defense Research University (NDRU), MoD, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, LTG Hayk Kotanjian and the Head of the Center for Information-Communication Technologies and National Security Policy (NDRU, Institute for National Strategic Studies) Arman Grigoryan. They expressed their professional assessments on the topics under discussion at the conference.

During the discussion, Dr. Kotanjian noted that the NDRU devotes considerable attention to cybersecurity and information resources management. The establishment of the Universitys Center for Information-Communication Technologies and National Security Policy and, on the basis of its development, the creation of the Institute for Cybersecurity and Information Resources Development Strategy are targeted to the abovementioned areas.

The young research fellows of the NDRU, cybersecurity experts, in close cooperation with international partners from prestigious research universities, learning their experience and adapting it to Armenia, strive to develop and improve the level of security studies, for the benefit of the enhancement of the states security.






YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh has released images of a damaged vehicle of the ministry, which came under fire when Azerbaijani forces fired AGS-17 type grenade launchers overnight October 6-7 in the northern direction of the line of contact.

Earlier the NKR Defense Ministry told ARMENPRESS intense ceasefire violations took place in the northern and northeastern directions of the line of contact. Azerbaijani forces fired DShk heavy machine guns (155 shots) and Istiglal anti-materiel rifles (109 shots) in the abovementioned locations.

Azerbaijani forces also used AGS 17 grenade launchers in the northern direction.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on the occasion of his birthday on October 7, press service of the Presidential administration informed Armenpress.

The Presidents message reads:

Distinguished Mr. President,

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of your birthday.

I sincerely wish you great health and new success in your policies aimed at the increase of the well-being of the citizens of Russia, prosperity of the country and strengthening of its role on the international arena.

There is no doubt that joint and consistent deepening and enrichment of the potential of our countries allied cooperation, based on the centuries-long brotherly and friendly relations of our countries, allows to register significant results in all areas of the Armenian-Russian cooperation. Thanks to your personal input, important interstate strategic agreements, including economic, military-technical, investment, humanitarian and other, are being called to life.

I am confident that the intensive and efficient political dialogue and our regular meetings will continue to play an important role in the active development of the entire complex of the Armenian-Russian cooperation on the bilateral level as well as in the framework of international and regional unions.

Joint steps aimed at the productive functioning of the Eurasian Economic Union, adaptation of the Commonwealth of Independent States and further development of the Collective Security Treaty Organizations structure create qualitatively new conditions for the future development of the allied relations for the benefit of our peoples, stability and security in the region.

I am glad for the upcoming opportunity to welcome you at the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Armenia.

I cordially wish you, Distinguished Mr. President, all the best and success in all your undertakings.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Justice carries out works aimed at improving the conditions of people convicted to life in prison, Deputy Minister of Justice Suren Krmoyan told Armenpress.

The works continue both in terms of living conditions and visits. According to the new Criminal Code it is planned to certainly increase the age for life imprisonment in order to avoid problems within teenagers, the Deputy Minister said.

Suren Krmoyan also said experts will arrive in Armenia from US in near future in order to jointly work on this issue.

The revision of cases is another big problem and it requires a serious discussion. It is still in the research stage. I can say there are existing mechanisms which can serve the basis for the revision of cases. Maybe we will find examples from the international experience which will be presented to the Criminal proceedings and the working group dealing with Criminal Codes. We dont reject the cooperation proposals made by NGOs as well, Suren Krmoyan said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. South African students protesting against high tuition fees have demanded that all universities be shut until the government provides free education, Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) said on October 7, Reuters reported.

Student leaders, whose protests have forced Wits and Cape Town universities to suspend classes twice in less than a month, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Wits was aiming to reopen on Monday after police clashed earlier this week with student demonstrators on the campus in scenes that recalled apartheid-era skirmishes.

Wits said in a statement that it had "no agreement from the protesting students that the academic program will continue on Monday" and that it had suspended a general assembly scheduled for midday Friday to thrash out differences.

"One of the latest demands of the protesting students is that Wits and all other universities should be shut down until government agrees to free education," Wits said.

The cost of university education, prohibitive for many black students, has become a symbol of the inequalities that endure in South Africa more than two decades after the end of apartheid.

Wits' vice-chancellor Adam Habib told a media briefing that the university was striving to save the current academic year, which in the southern hemisphere ends in December.

"The struggle for free education is a noble cause. But it is not a cause that requires the sacrifice of the 2016 academic year," Habib said.

The government, grappling with a budget deficit of nearly 4 percent of GDP, has capped 2017 fee increases for next year at 8 percent, but warns that education subsidies should not come at the expense of other sectors like health and housing.

The National Treasury allocated nearly 300 billion rand ($21.5 billion) towards education in its 1.46 trillion rand 2016/17 budget, compared with 168 billion rand for health.

Undergraduate tuition fees at Wits, which is one of South Africa's most expensive universities, range between 29,620 rand to 58,580 rand a year depending on the course, beyond the means of many black students.

Protests first erupted last year, then eased off as the government froze fee increases and set up a commission to look into the education funding system.
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Oct. 7, 1936

The fourth annual Southern and Central Cayuga County 4-H Clubs exhibition and judging competition was held Saturday in King Ferry High School. The event was conducted solely by the 4-H clubbers with the following units participating: Merrifield Merriworkers, Barber's Corners, King Ferry Record Breakers, King Ferry Club, Owasco Faithful Farmers, Fleming 4-H Stickers, Owasco Wide Awakes.

The winners were as follows: Poultry: Ralph Quick, blue ribbon; Robert Body and Kenneth Myers, red ribbon; Charles Mitchell and Harold Blakely, white ribbon. Potato: Harold Alexander and Kenneth Martin, blue ribbon; Byron Wilbur, Bradley Mitchell, Thomas Denman and Keith Bowman, red ribbons.

Oct. 7, 1961

Mrs. Mertie Aldrich LeClair of Green Cove Springs, Fla., formerly of Port Byron, has received a World Health Organization Fellowship and will leave for Europe later this month. A graduate of Weedsport High School, Mrs. LeClair studied nursing at Rochester General Hospital and received her bachelor of science degree at Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn.

Under this fellowship, Mrs. LeClair will be in United Kingdom from Oct. 23 to Nov. 4, in Denmark from Nov. 6 to 18; Sweden Nov. 20 to Dec. 2; Finland from Dec. 4 to 16 to study opportunities in health methods. Mrs. LeClair has a sister in Port Byron, Mrs. Milton Hildebrant.

Oct. 7, 2006

Oct. 7, 2011
A wanted man captured by the U.S. Marshals Service in Rochester this summer was sentenced Thursday for committing two felonies in Cayuga County.

Walter C. O'Conner, also known as "Bobby Fingers," was turned over to the Auburn Police Department in June, two months after police issued warrants for his arrest.

The 42-year-old was charged with three felonies  second-degree assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree grand larceny  in addition to misusing food stamps and welfare fraud.

However, in August, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann agreed to amend the original charge of felony second-degree assault and dismiss the weapons charge in exchange for O'Conner's plea.

First, O'Conner, of 52 Loderdale Road, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted assault for hitting a man in the head with a curtain rod in April 2015. Then, he said he committed third-degree grand larceny when he stole more than $7,000 from a residence two months later.

"I did work for someone and they tried to stiff me so I took money from their house," O'Conner said at the time of his plea.

Judge Thomas Leone sentenced O'Conner to 1 1/2 to 3 years in prison for the assault and 3 to 6 years in prison for grand larceny, for which he will also have to pay restitution. Both sentences will run concurrently with one another.

In addition, Leone and Budelmann said they will submit recommendations for protective custody as O'Conner feels he is in danger for assisting the District Attorney's Office on a high-profile case in the past.

"I just want to apologize to the court," O'Conner said. "I'm disgusted with myself, and I shouldn't be sitting here."

Also in court:

 An Auburn man will spend the next few years in prison for three separate crimes in Cayuga County.

Jack Ferrin, of 229 W. Genesee St., pleaded guilty to three felonies in August: third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, first-degree identity theft and third-degree burglary.

In the first case, the 29-year-old admitted to selling heroin in August 2015. Then, Ferrin said he illegally entered a residence on Maple Street in April and used a stolen credit card at the Wal-Mart on Grant Avenue in June.

"I was a victim to heroin," Ferrin said at his sentencing Thursday. "But I think incarceration actually saved me."

"Heroin is an incredible problem in our community and I think prison is appropriate in this case," Budelmann added. " Whether we lose our young people to overdose or prison, it's a tragedy... and I hope Mr. Ferrin takes advantage of the programs available for his addiction."

Leone sentenced Ferrin to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison for the burglary, 1 to 3 years in prison for identity theft and 3 years in prison plus 2 years post-release supervision for selling narcotics. All sentences will run concurrently to one another in addition to a shock camp recommendation.

 A 20-year-old Cayuga man with an extensive criminal history has been sentenced to prison.

This summer, Noah Attaway, of 6166 Lake St., pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny for stealing a vehicle from a residence in Cato in November.

A second felony offender, Attaway has a long out-of-state criminal history, Budelmann said, including 30 arrests, 12 convictions and four prison sentences. He was most recently convicted of felony vandalism in 2013 in Shasta County, California.

Attaway was sentenced Thursday to two to four years in prison.

 And a Port Byron teenager was remanded to Cayuga County Jail Thursday after being arraigned on five charges.

Harold Chism, of 701 Carner Rd., pleaded not guilty to two counts of third-degree burglary  a class "D" felony  two counts of petit larceny and one count of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property  all class A misdemeanors.

According to Leone, he sentenced the 19-year-old to five years probation last year for grand larceny. At the time, Leone also granted Chism youthful offender status and ordered him to complete felony drug court for alcohol and substance abuse.

However, since then Chism has appeared in multiple courts for several violations of probation, the Cayuga County Probation Department said, so Leone chose to remand him until his next court appearance Dec. 8.
by Kamran Chaudhry

Yesterday, the National Assembly passed legislation that had been pending for two years. It abolishes a loophole that gave killers impunity through forgiveness from a family member of the victim. Since most cases involve relatives, culprits would usually get off scot-free. "Both government and advocacy groups now have an even bigger responsibility to ensure the implementation of the bill.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Christian and Muslim activists in Pakistan have welcomed a new law that punishes crimes of honour against women.

Yesterday, after two years stuck in the National Assembly, the bill was approved. It eliminates the so-called loophole that allowed killers to enjoy impunity due to a legal provision under which a relative of the victim could forgive the perpetrator.

It is good news and a step in right direction, Sister Genevieve Ram Lal, national director of the Catholic Women Organization, told AsiaNews. The old law was a license to kill and people were using this excuse to settle personal grudges,

The Anti-Honour Killing Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015 and the Anti-Rape Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015 were both passed by joint sitting of both houses of parliament yesterday.

The legislation imposes life on honour killers even if victims family forgives them. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty.

Honour killings are a widespread scourge in Pakistan as men often kill women over alleged offences to the familys good name. Forgiveness, whereby a family member forgives the murderer, is the cause of the high number of crimes.

The murder of Qandeel Baloch, a famous model strangled by her brother for being too free, sped up the laws approval.

News of her death went viral around the world and triggered a wave of indignation. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs own daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, spoke out openly on womens rights and pushed for the laws quick adoption.

According to the latest figures, 94 cases of honour killings were recorded in the first seven months of this year in the province of Punjab alone.

According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), nearly 1,100 women were killed by relatives in Pakistan last year for this reason, and at least 800 tried to kill themselves.

In addition, the Aurat (women) Foundation noted that 432 women were reportedly killed in the name of honour in Pakistan in 2012, 705 in 2011, 557 in 2010, 604 in 2009 and 475 in 2008.

These figures do not include unreported cases or, indeed, the number of men who are often killed alongside women in the name of honour, said Sumera Saleem, Senior Program Manager at the Aurat Foundation in Lahore.

Despite the new law, many doubt that real change can be implemented in Pakistani society in the short term.

For Saleem, Both government and advocacy groups now have an even bigger responsibility to ensure the implementation of the bill. A strong strategy is needed against serial killing of women which has become a tradition.
The Pew Research Center shows that 75 per cent of Chinese fear Western powers. About 77 per cent want the government to protect their lifestyle and take care of domestic problems.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Most Chinese feel threatened by pressures from foreign countries, this according to a recent survey by the US-based Pew Research Center.

Some 75 per cent of respondents believes that China is playing a more important role in the world compared to 10 years ago but, at the same time, there is great suspicion of Western powers. Only 10 per cent think the opposite.

For 77 per cent, the Chinese way of life must be protected against foreign interference.

Similarly, there is great concern over territorial disputes with neighbouring countries which is leading to an alarming escalation of tension.

Some 56 per cent of respondents thinks that the government should take care of domestic problems and reduce its involvement in the affairs of other countries.

Fear of American power in the region is still present among Chinese. About 45 per cent of respondents in fact regard the US as the greatest threat to China compared to 39 per cent in 2013.

These percentage fit well with the Chinese regime's policy centred on nationalism and security. This policy is even stronger following the slowdown in the countrys economic growth that once seemed unstoppable.

According to Hong Kong-based scholar Willy Wo-Lap Lam, the threat perceived by Beijing is very strong and results in an aggressive policy.
Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At the request of Russia, the United Nations Security Council meets today, in New York, to discuss the Syrian conflict. A meeting called for by the Kremlin after the alarming news reported by UN Special Envoy for Syria. According to Staffan de Mistura, the east of Aleppo risks "total destruction" in the coming months if the joint Moscow and Damascus air campaign in continues. De Mistura, linked by videoconference from Geneva (Switzerland), will outline the situation on the ground.



Yesterday, the UN special envoy to Syria described the situation in Aleppo, the former economic and commercial capital that today is divided into two areas: the eastern one in the hands of the rebels and jihadis, home to 275 thousand people; and the West, with over one million inhabitants, controlled by the government in Damascus.

The eastern sector is cause for particular concern, in recent weeks the subject of a massive campaign of aerial bombardment unleashed by Russian and Syrian jets, while on the ground the Damascus advances army in rebel areas. According to de Mistura within two months the area could suffer a "total destruction" and thousands of people - mostly civilians - will be killed.



So he has appealed to the leaders of Syria and Russia, not to destroy the city in their search to eliminate the rebel militias and jihadist groups. This has led to Moscow's decision to call an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.



"Thousands of Syrian civilians, not terrorists - added the top United Nations diplomat - will be killed and many others wounded." This is what "the world will see, as we prepare to celebrate the Christmas holidays, or year-end, if [the violence] continue with this magnitude."



He finally added that the United Nations will not remain "passive, resigned" in witnessing another genocide, as happened in the past in Srebrenica or Rwanda.



The UN and international diplomatic efforts - so far without great results with the exception of brief periods of truce - aims to stem a five-year conflict that has caused, according to the latest estimates, more than 300 thousand deaths (of which 87 thousand civilians) and millions of refugees. In Aleppo alone in the last two weeks 376 people have died and 1,266 others were injured.



The Syrian Emergency has also given rise to an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, which has involved the nations of the region touching the shores of the Mediterranean.



In response to the UN Special Envoys words, Russia and Syria stipulate that their military effort is aimed at eradicating the presence of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militiamen from Aleppo, known in the past as the Nusra Front, the local offshoot of al Qaeda . But as reported by de Mistura of 8 thousand fighters present in the northern metropolis, only 900 are part of the Nusra Front.



The diplomat has also offered to "accompany them physically" and "in person" outside the city, if that can serve to alleviate the plight of the population. Speaking directly to the militants, he said: "If you decide to leave with dignity ... I am ready to accompany you physically in person", to put an end to the bombing and allow the entry of humanitarian aid to be delivered to an exhausted population.



Finally, de Mistura addressed a personal warning to Syria and Russia. History will judge you, he concluded, if you continue to use the presence of jihadists in Aleppo "as an excuse to destroy an entire city."
The liberation of Mosul and the future of the city pits Iraq against Turkey. Ankara wants a leading role in operations against Daesh and to entrust the city to Sunnis and Turkmen. Yonadam Kanna: this interference is likely to cause a "popular uprising" supported by Iran. We must preserve the multicultural soul of Mosul and the country.

Baghdad (AsiaNews)  Turkeys interference in "Iraq's internal affairs poses a serious risks", because it could give way to a "popular uprising" of the Shiite population "supported by Iran" with fears it could set the scene for a regional conflict", the Christian MP Yonadam Kanna, tells AsiaNews, commenting on the ongoing tensions between Baghdad and Ankara. Kanna is the leader of the Assyrian Democratic Movement and a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Labour and Social Affairs. For the Christian politician it is "a problem that not only involves Iraq, but the entre international community.

In recent days the confrontation between Turkey and Iraq has been rekindled. Baghdad summoned the Turkish ambassador and Ankara summoned the Iraqi one. The was crisis sparked by President Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogans announcing the Turkish participation in the offensive against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul, outlining a series of ethnic and political scenarios for the city at the end of military operations.

According to Erdogan only "Sunni Arabs and Kurds, along with the Turkmen should remain in Mosul - in what is the second most important city in Iraq. This is in sharp contrast to the calls for unity and multiculturalism of many political and religious leaders of Iraq, including Chaldean Patriarch Mar Raphael Louis Sako. Moreover it would erase the Shiite Muslim and Christian presence from the northern metropolis.

Erdogan's words have sparked the protest of government leaders in Baghdad and the wrath of the Iraqi Shiite community which accounts for over 60% of the population. After a fiery meeting, the Iraqi Parliament told Erdogan to "immediately withdraw" his troops in northern Iraq, a few dozen kilometers from Mosul.

The replica of the Turkish authorities, through Prime Minister Binali Yildirim mouth, was that Ankaras troops will remain in Iraqi territory, "regardless of what the government in Baghdad says".

For months hundreds of Turkish trainers, advisers and soldiers operate in the area - as is the case in Syria - on the pretext of "fighting terrorism." Speaking on the issue, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed that the presence of a Turkish military contingent in north of the country paves the way for the outbreak of a "regional conflict". This is why Iraq has asked for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and does not exclude the possibility of "revising" its financial and economic relations with Turkey.

Interviewed by AsiaNews Yonadam Kanna said that there has been a "presence" of Turkish troops on Iraqi territory "for years", especially in Kurdistan, "with US approval. Thus far for mainly peacekeeping, but of late this presence has taken a more aggressive connotation, particularly in the unhidden aim of preventing a strong Kurdish reality from gaining strength.

"They passed the Iraqi border - confirms the Christian politician - with personnel and equipment, and are now a few dozen kilometers from Mosul, claiming a leading role in the liberation". However, their presence "complicates" operations against the Islamic Republic and the work of re-conquest of the city. This is why, he adds, "we voted in parliament to request that Ankara does not interfere in our internal affairs."

The hope is that "Turkish diplomacy" can "understand" how delicate the situation is, said Yonadam Kanna, and "put pressure on government leaders" to reconsider their choice and abandon "their sectarian aims" for the city. "Their words, their allocation plans along sectarian lines in Mosul  he warns- make the offensive against Daesh" even more complicated.

The politician also recalled that the Islamic State jihadists "have been present " in Mosul and the Nineveh Plain for two years, and "so far Turkey had done nothing to solve the problem." Now Ankara's action is dictated "by economic, political, strategic interests", but remains unacceptable for Iraq and its people. "We reject the sectarian vision of Mosul - adds the MP - because the history of the city is characterized by a multicultural and inter-religious expression that embraces Christians, Shiites, Yazidis, and other minorities. Unity in diversity, as pointed out by the Patriarch Sako, is a value for us.

Finally, he does not hide the fears of an escalation of the confrontation between Ankara and Baghdad to a regional conflict. "The risk is Iran's intervention, which would make the situation even more difficult. The liberation of Mosul is a task of the international community but, later, the journey of reconciliation between Iraq's souls is a matter for the local authorities and those in Baghdad, not neighboring countries. " I hope, he concludes that this dispute is resolved in a peaceful manner with diplomacy, not through the use of force and tanks".
Oslo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. This was announced by the Norwegian Commission, which has decided to reward the politician for "his determined efforts in ending the civil war in his country, lasting more than 50 years, a war that cost the lives of at least 220 thousand Colombians and caused six million displaced persons. " The award also "is also a tribute to the people of Colombia, who has not given up a just peace, and all parties who contributed to the peace process."



Juan Manuel Santos, 65, is president of Colombia since 2010, having held the positions of Minister of Trade, Finance and Defense.



The war between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Bogota began in 1964, after the military suppression of a peasant revolt. Manuel Marulanda (died 2008) led a group of farmers trained in Marxism and decided to start an armed struggle to establish an independent state. After more than 40 years of guerrilla war, in 2010 Juan Manuel Santos began secret negotiations with the FARC.



On June 22, the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas announced an historic agreement for a permanent ceasefire and signed a peace treaty in Havana. On 3 October, however, a referendum - wanted by Santos - rejected the agreement. 51.3% of Colombians voted "No", believing that the agreement gave too many concessions to FARC. The agreement in fact included a draft amnesty for guerrillas who have not completed crimes against humanity and reduced penalties for those who confess their crimes.



This result, writes the Oslo press release, " result has created great uncertainty as to the future of Colombia. There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again". The referendum, the message continues, " referendum was not a vote for or against peace [] the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasizes the importance of the fact that President Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process".
by Cedric Prakash sj

Today is the anniversary of the foundation of the Missionaries of Charity. After he met Mother Teresa, Fr Cedric Prakash SJ found the courage to admit what he dared not confess, namely that he wanted to become a priest and join the Jesuit order. This calls for courage to challenge the mighty and timeliness in responding to crisis situations.

Beirut (AsiaNews)  As we celebrate this great legend, let us try to live the rich legacy she has left us: of being open and caring; of reaching out to those who need us the most; and above all, of being courageous enough to speak truth to power, said Fr Cedric Prakash, an Indian Jesuit and a well-known activist who is currently working in Lebanon with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) for the Middle East.

Speaking to AsiaNews, he said that today, the day that marks the feast day of the Holy Rosary, is a special occasion for the Missionaries of Charity because it is the day in which their order was founded.

On 7 October 1950, Fr Prakash said, Pope Pius XII authorised the saint of Calcutta to found a congregation, which was recognised at the pontifical level in 1965 by Pope Paul VI. This gave Mother Teresa and her sisters an opportunity to have an impact on the world, in a way which few other non-political groups have done. They have not only reached out to the unwanted, unloved, uncared ones in the far corners of the world, but they have inspired thousands of others to do likewise.

October 7th (the Feast of the Holy Rosary), is a very special day for the Missionaries of Charity (the sisters of Mother Teresa). They call it their Foundation Day. On that day in 1950, Mother Teresa and a small group of twelve companions were given the approval from the Vatican to be a religious congregation. In the words of Mother Teresa, the primary mission of the Congregation, was to care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone. It took full four years, from September 10th 1946, when on a train journey to Darjeeling, Mother Teresa first received the inspiration, the call to get out of the Congregation to which she belonged and to do something more tangible for Jesus- in serving the poorest of the poor.

From that Inspiration Day till today, seventy years later, Mother Teresa and her sisters have impacted on the world, in a way which few other non-political groups have done. They have not only reached out to the unwanted, unloved, uncared ones in the far corners of the world, but they have inspired thousands of others to do likewise. This was blatantly evident when Mother Teresa was canonized a Saint, on September 4th 2016; people across the globe, irrespective of their religious or national identity, celebrated not only a SAINT, but also the rich legacy which she has left us: the courage to live it in the small, simple, ordinary dimensions of our daily lives.

So how do I try to live this legacy which this legend has bequeathed to me? I do so, by reliving the personal encounters, I had with the Saint, spanning almost twenty-five years. Those deeply profound experiences, which touches the core of ones being; those precious encounters which will forever be etched in ones memory, ones heart!

My first meeting with Mother Teresa was a chance meeting. In 1972, as a youth, I was working with the All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF) based in Madras. I had to go to Calcutta in October- November that year for a meeting. The AICUF Chaplain of Calcutta, Fr Babu Beckers, a Jesuit, took me with him one morning, to the Missionaries of Charity (Mother House). I knew practically nothing about Mother Teresa or the MC Sisters at that time. When I was introduced to Mother Teresa  there were the usual questions, where do you come from, what do you do etc. Suddenly she asked me Young man, what do you want to do in life? I was a bit shell-shocked. I really did not know what to say! I muttered, maybe a lawyer! She smiled and responded, young man, you must follow Jesus! You must follow Jesus! I really felt embarrassed. I did not dare tell her that I had always nurtured the desire of becoming a Priest. In fact, I wanted to join the Jesuits on graduation in June 1972; but I kind of opted out. The AICUF involvement made me question, very much- including if the Church was true to Christ and his message. Somehow, at that time, I was no longer enthusiastic of becoming a priest; that desire had waned. In fact, though I did my best not to miss my daily mass  I was not sure if I believed or not. Mother Teresa was direct: her challenge left me thinking profoundly.

The next day, I was visiting a basti (a slum in which poor people live) teeming with Bangladeshi refugees. In the height of the war between West and East Pakistan, more than ten million refugees from the erstwhile East Pakistan (now known as Bangla Desh) had entered Bengal and especially in areas in and around Calcutta. Though the war was over a year earlier (December 1971), there were still thousands of them living in pathetic conditions in several of the slums of the city. Whilst walking through that basti, suddenly there was a kind of a stampede. Hundreds of them were rushing towards a vehicle (I think it was a kind of a taxi) which had just arrived. Mother Teresa and a couple of her sisters had come. It was unimaginable to see how these poor people fell at her feet calling her MA (Mother). She and her sisters seemed to be their lifeline- bringing food, clothes and medicine- a loving, healing touch. I saw them tending to the sick. That scene in that dirty, stinking part of the City- left a deep and lasting impression on me! Something which I will never forget! Mother Teresa cared unconditionally; the poor, the refugees found a refuge in her.

On October 31st 1984, Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India was assassinated! Delhi and other parts of North India were reeling in violence, with the brutalisation, the killing of Sikhs! (one of her body-guards who was a Sikh, had gunned her down) Some cities like Delhi were on fire. Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister, who succeeded his dead mother, requested Mother Teresa to come in. She did so immediately and contributed a great deal to help bringing peace back to the city. We were theology students of Vidya Jyoti Delhi at that time. We organised a Peace Rally and Mother was there for it. Being one of the coordinators of the Jesuit response for relief, rehabilitation and reconciliation, I had to spend a lot of time with Mother Teresa. She told the Lt Governor of Delhi at that time that I (Cedric Prakash) would be in charge of the Ludlow Castle Relief Camp where hundreds of Sikhs had taken shelter. The Governor had no choice but to listen to her. She wrote an Identity Card for me, naming me a Missionary of Charity. Mother Teresa responded immediately in situations of crisis; she did what she thought best.

In March 1996, I had the privilege of inviting Mother Teresa to Ahmedabad and organizing her programme there! The then Municipal Commissioner of the city Mr. Keshav Varma helped in making her visit a very memorable one. He also wrote a letter requesting the then Mayor of Ahmedabad, a woman, Bhavna Dave to accord a civic reception to Mother. Dave, who belonged to the right-wing Hindu political party the BJP flatly denied his request. Not to be outdone, Varma then hosted a tea party in his official bungalow for Mother inviting several eminent citizens of the city to interact with her. Mayor Dave also dropped in. Her husband who accompanied her tried to needle Mother, in full glare of the media, with a question, why do you convert other people to Christianity? Very humbly and gently, Mother replied, I have no power to convert anybody; but if you wish to be converted, I will certainly pray to Jesus for you and he will touch your life. Of course, the man was simply dumb-founded! Mother Teresa certainly did not lack the courage to take a stand on sensitive issues.

So as we celebrate this great legend, let us try to live the rich legacy she has left us: of being open and caring; of reaching out to those who need us the most; and above all, of being courageous enough to speak truth to power!
Macallan Double Cask Whisky Launch

Meet The New Macallan Whisky That Was Introduced Via Helicopter

Were pleased you can join us for the launch of Macallan Double Cask single malt whisky (but it at Drizly.com), read the publicists email. Do you want to travel by helicopter, or would you prefer an alternate form of transportation?

Unless that alternate form is a dragon, then hell yes I want to arrive by helicopter!

Very often  particularly when unveiling new upscale products  brands will throw mega-events to attract editors, writers and influencers in the hopes well write about the Big New Thing. Sometimes it makes sense: You may recall Bill Murray bartending at his sons new Brooklyn spot 21 Greenpoint (I was there, it was fun, so Ive got that going for me).

Other times it seems a bit... out of proportion. I once attended the launch of a $3 body spray that rivaled Oscar afterparties in opulence, featuring a performance by an emerging (now red-hot) rapper. It seemed like a lot of work for something that *might* make it onto a Holiday Grooming listicle. Our own Jonno Hill attended the luxe launch of a 50-year-old expression of Glenlivet single malt.

This thing? This was already off the hook, and we hadnt even gotten to the party.

Our flight took off at 9 A.M. from Manhattans Blade Lounge East heliport  the sort of place where one watches A-listers and Wall Street hedge funders hop off to their Hamptons homes. The lounge is a proper lounge, with retro seating, Blade Babe hostesses in sexy wrap dresses, a full bar and lobster rolls before takeoff.

We flew about a half-hour to the Cedar Lakes Estates, a posh collection of cabins, forested lakes and grounds along the Delaware River near the town of Port Jervis. The campground began life in the 1920s offering inner-city kids the chance to breathe some fresh air (and probably hook up for the summer), but now plays host to destination weddings (packages start at $100K, were told), thanks to socialite sisters Lisa and Stephanie Karvellas, who grew up camping here.

Macallan had taken over the entire 500-acre estate, planning activities throughout the day. The Speyside-based whisky producer wanted to bring some of Scotland to New York, but absolutely perfect fall weather and colorful foliage (two days before Hurricane Matthew threatened to soak the city) betrayed organizers. Planned activities ranged from mindless fun (drone selfies! chair massages by the lake!) to the educational (and still fun). A pairing menu by Lisa Karvellas (also Cedar Lakes in-house chef), for example, brought together small samples of Fine Oak 15-year and the brands traditional 12-year whisky, along with an Oloroso Sherry and bites of dark chocolate, pickles, buttery local mushrooms and the best blue cheese ever made, all to see how food and drink interacted. A VR tour of oak forests and cooperages went deeper into the aging process (you can view the 360 video at Macallans Facebook page).

A fairly in-depth (and hands on) look at barrel making segued into discussions about how Macallan selects the European and American oak trees for the barrels it ships off to Spain. There, sherry is stored for a year or more to season the barrels and impart distinctive flavors. Casks are then emptied and sent to northern Scotland to store whisky for 10, 12, 25 or more years. Macallan says it uses something like 95% of all the first-fill sherry casks in the Scotch whisky industry (most brands emphasize ex-bourbon barrels in their aging).

Theres a reason for all this effort: Whereas barrels initially used to age American bourbon impart notes of caramel, honey, toast and cigar to Scotch whisky, ex-sherry casks tend to give more dried fruit, nutmeg and Christmas cake flavors. Its not just this seasoning that affects the smell and taste of the whisky: American oak barrels add notes of vanilla, cream, dill and coconut. French and Spanish oak give off butterscotch and caramel notes, as well as more tannins and various spices.

And herein lies the goal of the new Double Cask expression, according to Stuart MacPherson, Macallans Master of Woods (best job title ever): To flip the tables on the regular 12-year by introducing a different combination of barrels to the aging process. Its really attributed to the amount of American oak casks that were using, he told us. Macallan spends more than any other Scotch company on casks, and it shows in the finished product.

Whereas most of the brands expressions rely heavily on Sherry-seasoned European oak, this is the first time the company has leaned on American oak for most of the heavy lifting. Even though bourbon doesnt come into play at any point, brand ambassador Kieron Elliot says theres a bit of bourbon character to this new expression thanks to the wood, a trend that Scotch producers have been exploring of late. We needed to take care of the bourbon drinkers.

Finally we got to sample the new whisky. On the nose you find notes of warm vanilla, coconut, a soft orange flower note and slight hints of candied fruit, nutmeg and fruitcake. On the mouth it is round and full-bodied, with flavors of banana, caramel, vanilla, nutmeg, spices, cinnamon and coconut, with a light orange candy finish. Its savory, creamy and chewy (seriously: while taking your first sip or two of any whisky, try chewing it before you swallow  its an intriguing experience).

Compared with Macallans traditional Sherry Oak 12-Year, this expression trends more on the earth-warm, fresh fruit-and-spice side of things, and away from the sweeter baking spices (think cinnamon, nutmeg and clove), candied fruits and tannic bite. For longtime Macallan devotees, the sherry cask notes and all-natural coloring keep the new expression well inside their comfort zone. For bourbon drinkers and fans of lighter, citrus-driven Speyside single malts, it may offer up another way into the brand.

Pro tasting tip for spirits: According to Elliot, you dont need to swirl a whisky in the glass, the way you do wine. A good Scotch is like a good Scotsman: its agitated enough, thank you very much.

Was all this pomp worth it? I mean, this is a $65 variation on the brands core product.

Its not like the $35,000, 65-year-old single malt the company released this summer, or even the $300 Macallan Rare Cask that launched a couple years ago. A splashy entrance makes sense there. In contrast, youll find Double Cask on most store shelves soon. Wouldnt a nice get-together in a Tribeca loft and a goodie bag have done the trick? Is it going to sway us to favorably review what amounts to another 12-year-old whisky, incorporating more of what most other Scotch brands already sort of do (American oak)? In fact, it kinda sorta did, right? Im writing about it right now.

A group of us booze writers and editors discussed these issues at length, and at least one person insisted it was nice to see the special treatment being devoted to a product that most people could actually get their hands on, rather than reserving it for something youll only ever read about (thanks, Bill Murray). I guess that makes sense.

Or as Elliot put it, We dont do things by halves in Scotland.

Buy Macallan Double Cask Whisky at Drizly.com.
6 October 2016  The Security Council today formally chose the former Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres, as its nominee to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations for a five-year term when incumbent Ban Ki-moon steps down on 31 December.





The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted in a private meeting by acclamation, now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for formal approval.





On an official visit to Italy, Mr. Ban

in Rome this morning that Mr. Guterres is an excellent choice," noting that the two had worked closely during Mr. Guterres long and outstanding tenure as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.





He showed deep compassion for the millions of people who were forced to leave their homes, Mr. Ban said, adding: His past experience as Prime Minister of Portugal, his extensive knowledge of world affairs and his keen intelligence will serve him to lead the United Nations at a crucial period.




ITHACA  Cornell University has been granted $1 million in new federal funding to support agricultural research, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced Thursday.

The funding came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which provides programs and financial support to help specialty crop growers achieve long-term viability, high yield and labor efficient production of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

According to a press release from Senator Gillibrand, Cornell University plans to use the funding to "advance research in double cropping and diverse forage crop mixtures to build resilience in the Northeast." In addition, the university will work with researchers in Vermont and New Hampshire to increase yield stability and reduce the negative impact of variable weather.

"(This investment) will give Cornell the tools to continue its groundbreaking advanced research to strengthen the nations food and agricultural industries, Gillibrand said.

"This grant builds on two of New York's great strengths, world class education and robust local agriculture, Schumer added. Federal funding through NIFA will ensure research opportunities for our students, better yields for our farms and give New Yorkers access to fruits and vegetables grown in their own backyards."

The USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative was created in 2014 to strengthen local food systems and support farmers and, according to the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell, Kathryn Boor, the university will take advantage of the program to help organic farmers in the area.

"This funding advances work in developing 'ecological insurance' techniques... that will allow the Empire State's organic feed and forage producers to reliably and sustainably supply the state's growing organic milk sector," she said.
SKANEATELES  Small businesses drive the New York state economy.

That's what Skaneateles Town Supervisor Jim Lanning told Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul when she visited the village Friday afternoon, but the lieutenant governor  who hails originally from the Erie County village of Hamburg  already knew that.

After putting the focus on manufacturing by addressing central New York students during the seventh annual Manufacturing Careers at Welch Allyn's Skaneateles Falls headquarters, Hochul turned her attention to small business by taking a tour through downtown Skaneateles.

Led by Lanning, Hochul first visited Clift Park  where Lanning pointed out the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce's community docks and the docks where Mid-Lakes Navigation hosts its two boats that cruise Skaneateles Lake  before heading over to the 209-year-old Sherwood Inn.

From there, she stopped at cate & sally clothing store, Roland's clothing store, Imagine art gallery, Vermont Green Mountain Special Co. food store and, lastly, Doug's Fish Fry restaurant. At each place, she took time to chat with the business owners and learn more about the particular shop.

"One important part of our upstate economy is small businesses. We know how critically important they are to the livelihood of little villages and towns all over the state," said Hochul, who serves as the chairwoman of the state Regional Economic Development Council in her capacity as lieutenant governor. "This community is an example of how to do it right. It has a vibrant downtown. There's a lot of synergy among the business owners. There's a lot of cooperation between the government and the local businesses. ... You can see it. You can see the positive impact."

Hochul said she travels the entire state, picking up best practices and talking to elected officials and business leaders about why their community is thriving  or, perhaps, why it isn't.

"That's important for me to gather some information but also thank the business owners for doing what they do in the state of New York," she said. "We know it's tough sometimes, but they're out there every day creating the character and charm that constitute these great areas."

During her visit to Welch Allyn, she spoke to 300 students and their teachers, commending them for coming out to expand their horizons and telling the students in particular that just by being there they are well poised to seize their own futures.

"There's a lot of young people who don't even understand what opportunities are there, the opportunity to work at a very meaningful job in advanced manufacturing and use your hands and your mind to create products that are life saving as they do at Welch Allyn every single day," Hochul said.

She noted the median salary in central New York is $46,000, while that amount increases to $67,000 in advanced manufacturing  and, with 320,000 positions open in the region, there is high demand for workers.

"If you continue with your education, you go into fields that'll lead you to a position like here or the other manufacturers, you're really set," she said. "I just wanted to get them excited about that."

Supporting small businesses is one of the reasons Hochul said she ran for local office in Hamburg. At the time, the community had lost its manufacturing base when Bethlehem Steel left and impact the local stores.

"There were a lot of boarded-up shops," she said. "The men's store closed, the women's store closed, the bookstore closed and the shoe store closed. Competition from the neighboring malls was very tough on them."

She would attend town and village board meetings to urge the leaders to fight for their business owners, but when her efforts fell on deaf ears, she decide to run for office.
King & Wood Mallesons has announced that Tim Bednall , Joint Global Co-ordinator of KWMs Corporate, M&A and Securities practice, has been appointed as its new managing partner for the EUME region.Bednall joined the legacy Mallesons in 2004 and was chairman of the Australian practice from 2010 to 2012, overseeing the combination with King & Wood. He then became managing partner of the firms M&A and tax practices from 2013 to 2014 before relocating to London.He has advised a number of leading companies in major M&A transactions (including Medibank Private, Brambles, BG Group, Telstra, Alinta Energy, Challenger, ING Real Estate, Glencore / Xstrata, ASX, Stockland and Westpac).The alliance between Ince & Co Singapore and Incisive Law has made a number of key appointments to broaden the experience of its city-state team.With immediate effect, Edgar Chin becomes joint managing director with Bill Ricquier, having been with Incisive Law since 2014. Felicia Tan also joins the board as a director; she was previously with Allen & Gledhill.Moses Lin joins the litigation team from Hill Dickinson and there are two junior associate appointments; Justin Seet and Samantha Chng.Law firm combinations in the US have slowed in the third quarter of 2016 following a highly active first half of the year.Data from Altman Weil shows that there were 12 mergers announced between July and September with the largest deals involving US global firms acquisitions of Canadian firms. Norton Rose Fulbright s combination with Vancouver firm Bull Housser and DLA Piper s acquisition of Dimock Stratton are currently underway but most of the US combinations involve firms with fewer than 20 lawyers.Altman Weil principal Tom Clay says that the slowdown may be due to the finite number of desirable acquisitions.A team from Shearman & Sterling has joined international firm Goodwin in Paris. Partners Arnaud Fromion and Frederic Guilloux together with several other lawyers will make the move in mid-October.The Paris office opened in July 2016 as part of a burgeoning international practice for the US-based firm which includes a Hong Kong office.
Judges in South Australia have a new $1000 per year allowance to beef up home security after the homes of two peers were targeted by criminals.



According to recent reports in the media, the allowance will be given to the Supreme Courts Chief Justice and judges; the District Courts Chief Judge, judges and masters; the Chief Magistrate and magistrates; the Coroner and Deputy Coroner; the Environment, Resources and Development Court commissioners; and the President, Deputy President and Commissioners of the Industrial Relations Commission.



The Remuneration Tribunal, an independent body which granted the allowance that started July 1, said there is a substantive level of risk to the personal safety of judicial officers.



The Judicial Remuneration Coordinating Committee supported by Premier Jay Wheatherill applied for the grant for judicial officials.



In February, Cecil Spencer Wilson was sentenced to serve a previously-suspended 17-month prison term in addition to a total head sentence of two years, eight months and three weeks, with a non-parole period of 17 months.



Wilson broke in through the front door of the North Adelaide home of District Court judge Rauf Soulio in June 2015 and stole jewellery, electronics and documents.



Meanwhile, two prisoners were acquitted in August last year for plotting to murder married District Court judges Paul Rice and Rosemary Davey.



It was alleged that Frederick Bernard Walkuski and Hendrik Gysbertus Van Schaik planned to kill the judges by firebombing their home. Judge Rice had sentenced Walkuski to 17 years in prison in 2009.



In its decision to grant the stipend, the Tribunal said that judicial officials work not only from their offices now.



In the early 21st Century, what might comprise the place of employment has attracted a broader perception than simply a workshop, office, construction site or other similar geographically defined location, it said.



With growth of the service economy and contemporary employment practices, such as working from home and more mobile employment activity, the law has grown to accommodate a more expansive conception of where work is performed, it added.



Prevalent use of information technology and remote access has become a feature of judicial officers employment, the Tribunal continued. Judicial officers frequently, if not consistently, perform their duties not only at the court buildings and their chambers, but are commonly required to work from home.


McCann FitzGerald will be deploying Kira Systems artificial intelligence software in an effort to make transactions more efficient, accurate and more affordable.Kiras software  which uses machine learning to improve the speed, efficiency and quality of processing of transactional work  will be used for McCann FitzGeralds M&A, corporate finance and capital markets needs.The market for legal services is evolving at a considerable pace and McCann FitzGerald is continuously seeking to develop our services to be at the forefront of this progress, said the firms Barry Devereux.Our investment in Kira Systems innovative software is the latest milestone in our digital strategy. Our in-house expertise combined with the latest cutting-edge technology enables us to process complex data and deliver exceptional value to clients, the managing partner added.The move by the Dublin-headquartered law firm to be the first to deploy the Canadian software companys technology in Ireland follows similar announcements by three London-headquartered major law firms in the past five months.Just last week, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer announced a partnership with Kira Systems to use the latters artificial intelligence software in the law firms Legal Services Centre. DLA Piper and Clifford Chance also announced deals to use Kira in June and July, respectively.McCann FitzGerald announced the establishment of its Data Investigations Group, a pioneering model for the management of high-volume document review and reporting, earlier this year.By combining the latest data review software and techniques with specialist legal project management, the Data Investigations Group can save clients up to 40% in cost over traditional review and research methods, the law firm said.Karyn Harty, a McCann FitzGerald partner, highlighted the law firms knowledge that uniquely qualifies them to fully utilise Kira.McCann FitzGerald has world-class experience in using artificial intelligence for data review and investigations. We have worked on some of the leading AI projects in Ireland across various disciplines including corporate, M&A, real estate and litigation, Harty said.The knowledge, experience and know-how within our team of specialists uniquely places us to get the best out of Kira software and, crucially, avoid the pitfalls. This know-how is unique in the market and is complemented by our Data Investigation Groups tailored approach to project-management, she added.Meanwhile, Grainne Bryan, Director of Data Investigations & Project Services at McCann FitzGerald, was positive of Kira after the law firms trial of the technology.Kira has enabled us to deliver a cost effective, fast, accurate and comprehensive contract review service. Kira is a great piece of software but it is the combination of this software with the expertise of our lawyers that delivers the greatest benefits to clients, he said.
It may be a good time to look for a job in Australia as employers are finding it harder to find skilled professionals than they were a year ago, particularly in IT and engineering.The latest global skills index from recruiters Hays says that there is a talent mismatch in Australia, which means that those applying for skilled positions don't have the experience and qualifications sought. The report, published in collaboration with Oxford Economics, shows that despite an existing pool of labour, employers in high skill industries can still find it difficult to fill jobs that require highly skilled professionals.'Employers in industries such as engineering, IT, life sciences, financial services and professional services have higher demand for talent than those in low skill industries,' said Nick Deligiannis, managing director of Hays in Australia and New Zealand.'As it takes time to undertake the training necessary to work in these industries, it makes them more vulnerable to skill shortages since the number of people qualified to start work cannot be changed quickly. This is creating a talent mismatch,' he added.He pointed out that Australia's increase from 5.0 to 5.1 on the overall index shows increased pressure in the job market which means that it is slightly harder to secure the right talent now than it was a year ago.A score of 8.0 for wage pressure in high skill industries, unchanged since 2014, also suggests that Australia faces a shortage of highly skilled talent in high skill industries since wages in high skill industries are rising much quicker than those in low skill industries.'As our economy successfully transitions from the mining to the services sectors headcounts are growing, market buoyancy is evident and employers report increased business activity,' Deligiannis explained.'Given sentiment you'd expect commensurate salary pressure, however employers instead remain cost conscious. It remains to be seen how long this anomaly will last. Already turnover is rising and the shortage of highly skilled candidates in high skill industries is leading to wage pressure from candidates,' he added.
Kawasaki announces a limited-edition, updated ZX-10R for 2017, with an extra R in its name and go-even-faster upgrades. Theres also an India-bound, updated Ninja 650.

With Kawasaki already having a brilliant line-up, its decided to put an update to that with a special edition ZX-10RR and an updated Ninja 650 for 2017. And while we can expect to see the new Ninja 650 in India sometime next year, the RR version of the ZX-10R keeps things a little more complicated.

ZX-10RR

Like Honda with its SP2 version of the CBR1000RR, Kawasaki also plans to release a new race-ready version of the ZX-10R, called the ZX-10RR in 2017. As of now, it is limited to just 500 units in Europe; this is to meet the current homologation requirements for WSBK racing. There will also be race-kits available for the ZX-10RR, quite similar to what Honda has done with its SP2 version of the CBR1000RR.

Kawasaki has created a modified cylinder head for the ZX-10RR to accommodate higher-lift camshafts from a new RR race kit (sold separately) and new reinforced crankcases to improve durability. Meanwhile, the tappets have been given a diamond-like coating to reduce friction and improve efficiency. Power figures however, remain the same, with 197hp at 13,000rpm (207hp with ram-air) and torque has a peak of 113.5 at 11,500 rpm.

The ZX-10RR will come with forged aluminium Marchesini wheels to reduce un-sprung weight for lighter handling. These wheels can also fit on the ZX-10R. So owners of the standard version can also take advantage of the weight savings, though they will also need to buy accessory kits to fit the brake-discs and speed-sensor ring. The RR will come shod with Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tyres as standard.

Aside from the mostly-black, winter-edition paint-job and a couple of RR logos, the ZX-10RR appears to be visually almost the same as the ZX-10R it is derived from. However, the ZX-10RR is equipped with a quick shifter that allows clutchless upshifts and downshifts (the standard model could only handle clutchless downshifts with the help of a race-kit ECU upgrade).

Ninja 650

The Ninja 650 has been one of the more popular mid-segment sports-tourers available in the country and it gets even better for 2017. It is based on the Kawasaki ER-6f but has received a fair amount of changes.Already being a rather sporty and versatile machine, the 2017 Ninja 650 will see an all-new trellis-frame and swing-arm, a slipper-clutch, and ZX-10R-inspired styling. And Kawasaki has managed all this while reducing the weight of the motorcycle by a whopping 19kg.

The biggest difference between the new and old Ninja 650 is the steel trellis frame. The previous-generation Ninja 650 came equipped with a steel double-tube perimeter frame with a matching twin-tube swing-arm. This all-new trellis frame is said to weigh just 15kg, and combined with the new aluminium gull-wing swing-arm, the new chassis is supposed to have much lighter-handling than the previous model.

The engine remains a 649cc twin, which has been tweaked for better mid-range performance from 3,000-6,000 rpm; with a peak output of 68hp. This has been accomplished with the incorporation of longer header-pipes, 36mm throttle-bodies, and a new air-box along with a new intake and exhaust cams. The engine comes mated to a six-speed gearbox along with a slipper clutch. Kawasaki claims a 6.8 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.The new Ninja 650 also gets new suspension, with 41mm telescopic forks at the front and four-piston Nissin calipers. The rear suspension uses a horizontal linkless system which is similar to the configuration seen on the ZX-10R.

This new Ninja 650 is expected to launch sometime next year in India, with no major pricing increase expected from the older models price-tag.
Automotive industry body also calls for lower GST rate for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has made rate recommendations to the government as regards the upcoming Goods & Services Tax (GST).

The industry body has recommended a standard tax rate for small cars and multi-utility vehicles and an additional 8 percent for other cars. Moreover, it also suggested that for electric, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles, the rate should be at least 8 percent less than the standard rate.

SIAM says that while earlier there were only two rates of excise duties on passenger cars, in recent years the excise duties on bigger cars have fragmented. Currently, the industry sees four rates for passenger cars excluding electric vehicles and hybrid electrics for which lower rates are applicable. Therefore, SIAM argues, there is a need to take a closer look at the GST rate for automobiles.

The Indian auto industry has four different slabs of excise duty based on dimensions and engine capacity ranging from 12.5 percent for small cars, CVs, two- and three-wheelers to 30 percent for luxury cars and SUVs. In addition, the government imposed an infrastructure cess ranging from 1-4 percent. Under the GST regime, SIAM expects these rates to be converged to a maximum of two rates, thereby making the tax structure on automotive industry more simple and structured.

The industry body says it has studied the draft GST law in detail and given detailed feedback to the government for its consideration. It adds that while some of the transition issues may have serious short-term implications for the economy, if not addressed swiftly, in the longer run the GST framework currently contemplated will be best for the economy.

Indian automakers have been awaiting GST for long, since in its present manufacturing process, the industry accumulates a lot of embedded taxes and duties which make manufacturing in India less competitive. A GST regime will help bring in transparency and predictability, and also help streamline sourcing and logistics operations.

Many SIAM members, who have made huge investments in locations falling under the Area Based Exemption scheme in places like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, say that the duration of the scheme is still not over and there is a need to protect the benefits to those units under the GST regime till the end of the scheme.

SIAM also says that road tax and registration tax, which add to overall vehicle costs, still remain outside the GST framework. Therefore, road taxes need to be subsumed in GST.
Our collaborators from CarPix snapped the first images of the prototype of the upcoming Corsa, and they reveal a car that sits on a different platform, and with dramatic design changes.Unlike the ongoing model, which was launched two years ago , the next Corsa has changed its side profile, and the first version of the road-going prototype seems to wear production headlamps.We believe the headlights to be production ready considering the presence of the integrated daytime running lights, which are shaped similarly to those used by other Opel cars. We also spot a set of lenses inside the headlamps, possibly for Bi-Xenon lights. Opel is developing the next Corsa at about the same time that Ford is preparing the upcoming Fiesta, which is a direct competitor of the Corsa, and also the best-selling car in the segment.The next Fiesta is expected to come to market ahead of its German rival, because its prototype has been spotted many times during testing through Germany and Europe.Meanwhile, the Germans at Volkswagen are also developing the next Polo, which would bring the battle in this segment to a new level by late 2018. The date mentioned should have all three models on the market.The French at Citroen have just launched the all-new C3, while their partners at Peugeot have enriched the 208 range with a facelift that was applied in 2015.Their competitors at Renault have also renewed the Clio through a facelift, which was launched this year. We would not be surprised to see the Mk 5 Clio in 2019, ready to battle it out with the 2018 Fiesta, Polo, and Corsa.Just like its big brothers, the Opel Corsa is expected to shed some weight and get more economical engines. The German supermini is set to receive an infusion of technology, along with a new design, which is expected to change dramatically from the lines of its predecessors.
Treated drinking water for the town of Owasco and the city of Auburn showed detectable levels of blue-green algae toxins in the latest round of tests  Owasco seeing the highest levels to date.

The Cayuga County Health Department said Owasco's water, which is distributed to the town of Owasco and the Fleming Water District, detected levels of .21 and .17 micrograms of toxins per liter from samples collected Wednesday.

Auburn's treated drinking water showed .16 micrograms of toxins from Wednesday's samples. Auburn provides drinking water to residents in the city of Auburn and the towns of Aurelius, Fleming Water District 6, Throop, Mentz, Brutus, Montezuma, Sennett, Springport Water District 2 and the villages of Port Byron, Weedsport and Cayuga.

The health department said it collected additional samples from both public water systems Thursday and results are expected back Friday afternoon. Though Owasco's levels have increased, the department said the levels are still below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Health Advisory of .3 micrograms per liter for children under 6.

Meanwhile, three area groups are calling for more investment in eliminating blue-green algae blooms. The Owasco Watershed Lake Association, the Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency and the Finger Lakes Land Trust have called on New York state to increase funding and resources towards efforts to decrease nutrient runoff and restore watersheds.

During OWLA's monthly meeting Wednesday night, dozens gathered to express their concern about toxins found in the treated drinking water. Eileen O'Connor, the county's director of environmental health, stood in front of the group at the Owasco Yacht Club.

"I'm really sorry to have to be here," she said into the microphone. "I only seem to come when bad things happen."

It was particularly tense in the room Wednesday night, after test results showed toxins in Auburn's treated water after days of below detectable levels. The lowest level of toxins the state Department of Health's laboratory can detect is .15 micrograms per liter.

O'Connor said there could be more detectable levels in the future, as water treatment operators for Auburn and Owasco had spotted more algae in the raw, or untreated, water entering the plant. That suggestion became true Thursday evening when the latest test results came back positive for both plants.

Several people asked what the county and state are doing to treat the water and decrease blue-green algae blooms in Owasco Lake. O'Connor said the treatment plants are increasing use of powder activated carbon and disinfectants, in addition to meeting with the plants' design professionals to see what else might be done.

Similar discussions were had at Thursday morning's Water Quality Management Agency meeting, where O'Connor again presented the last couple of week's trials and what is being done to remedy the problem.

As far as the long-term situation of blue-green algae blooms, O'Connor said the problem still lies with nutrient runoff into the lake. While the state Department of Environmental Conservation has reported that the lake's phosphorous levels are low, Tim Schneider, Owasco Lake watershed inspector, said he has noticed increased levels of nitrogen in the lake. O'Connor also pointed out that a 2015 study of the lake done by John Halfman, a professor of environmental studies at the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, showed phosphorous levels tend to fluctuate with levels reaching as high as 23.7 parts per billion and as low as 8.7.

A resolution to accelerate efforts to remove toxins from the treated water and to accelerate efforts to "further reduce nutrient loading from any and all known sources, including stream bank erosion, shoreline erosion, lawn fertilizers, septic systems, roadside ditches and the runoff from agricultural fields," was passed at the meeting.

Similarly the Finger Lakes Land Trust called on the state to invest $100 million over the next decade to address the threat of toxic algae. In a release, the land trust highlights several ways to invest those funds.

"The region truly stands at a crossroads," said Andrew Zepp, executive director of the trust, in a release. "While this may seem like an extraordinary investment to some people, there will be a greater public cost in the long run if we fail to act now."

For more information on blue-green algae visit cayugacounty.us/health. Those with questions may call the health department for assistance at (315) 252-1560.
If you're a fast reader, then maybe you could manage to save one of them, but the statistics are still worrying. The good news, though, is that there are a lot of cars in the USA, so the probability for yours to get nicked is still rather low. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't pay attention to this little study put together by Cheap Car Insurance with data provided by the FBI and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.The second good news is that the overall number of grand theft autos is on a steady decline, so if you were reading this four years ago, not only would you have been a time traveler, but the number of cars stolen while you did it would have probably risen to three. But let's cut the chit-chat: you want to know just how likely is your car to get stolen?Well, it turns out the most GTA -happy state isn't actually a state at all: it's the District of Columbia. There are 17.5 car thefts for every 1,000 registered vehicles, a number that's way over the national average. At the other end is Vermont with just one vehicle in one thousand switching owners without the previous one's blessing.As far as cities go, you're better off staying away from Modesto, California , and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there are 756 vehicles stolen for every 100,000 residents, and 734 respectively. Other nefarious places for car ownership include Bakersfield (CA), San Francisco (CA), Stockton-Lodi (CA) - you get the point: it may be sunny in California, but it's also quite dangerous for your car.Especially if it's a Honda . The two most stolen cars in the USA are both made by the Japanese manufacturer: the first is the Accord with 52,244 cases, followed shortly by the Civic with 49,430. Next are two pickup trucks, one from Ford and one from Chevrolet, but they are trailing by more than 20,000 units.It turns out American thieves aren't very picky when it comes to the model year of the stolen car. Instead of going for the newer, more valuable vehicles, the most cars reported stolen were of 1998 model year (17.7 percent) followed by 1996 with 15 percent.
The special edition of the Caterham Seven is available exclusively in the establishment, and it comes with many features that are only offered to those that apply to the Signature program The collaboration between the two brands was made because both are British icons, so their leaders felt the partnership is more than suited. The Caterham Seven Harrods Special Edition costs 59,999 GBP, and it is based on the 420S version of the Seven.Evidently, the British brand chose its signature shade of green, Harrods Green, for the paint of the Signature model. Its exterior also comes with a white stripe and a gold pinstripe. The changes have not ended here, as the chassis has been powder-coated gold, which is not something you see every day.On the inside, the two occupants of the Caterham Seven Signature Harrods Special Edition will enjoy the butterscotch leather upholstery, which also reflects the department stores signature color scheme. The seat backs bear the name of the London store, while the wood gear knob bears the H of the Harrods name.The British automaker has not gone into specifics regarding the items that can be ordered, but it promises that clients can select an almost infinite list of combinations.These include stitching the customers name into the seat, and usually go along the lines of bespoke exterior colors and interior trim options.David Ridley, the Chief Commercial Officer of Caterham, has explained that the Seven has always been one of the easiest cars to customize, since every unit is hand-built to order.Furthermore, he reminded everyone that the Seven is not a car that you need to buy, but is a car that is purchased because you want it. Because of that reason, Caterham feels that every customer should customize their Seven according to personal preference.
Even though manufacturing is over, Ford Australia wont disappear per se. Instead of giving up the ghost, Broadmeadows will be the place where the automaker will open its Asia Pacific Product Development Center. In the companys words, We'll continue to remain in Australia for the long haul.By that, Ford Australia means that the design, engineering, dealership, and servicing arms will continue operations. With no direct replacement in sight for the Falcon FG X, the Mondeo and Mustang will have to suffice. In the Territorys case, the pickup truck-based Everest is an indirect replacement, at least until the Edge mid-size crossover arrives in Australia sometime in 2018.If, however, youre not enticed by the Mondeo, Mustang, and Edge, Ford Australia offers you the chance to own one of the last four vehicles made by the Blue Oval in The Land Down Under. The silver-painted Territory and blue-painted Falcon XR6 will be joined by the final Ute (XR6 Turbo finished in Smoke and equipped with a 6-speed manual) and the final Falcon XR6 Turbo Sprint (finished in Winter White and matched with an automatic transmission). Registrations for the auction can be made on Fords website As Broadmeadows and Geelong shut down, 600 manufacturing workers have lost their jobs. Both manufacturing sites are slated for sale after the decommissioning process comes to a closure, but Ford Australia hasnt commented on their future use. October 7, 2016, will be remembered as a sad day for Australia and Ford alike, but life moves on and us, the people, should make the best of it, with or without locally produced Ford vehicles.
SUV

EV

No, you also must have a go at the current segment leader, Tesla. Even though Maserati suggested its first car to use battery power isn't going to be a sedan or an, so it won't be a direct competitor for Tesla, that doesn't mean it still isn't a good idea to announce your presence by attacking straight at the top.Surprisingly, the man doing the honors is not the FCA Group's CEO, Mr. Sergio Marchionne - a well-known opposer of electric cars - but Roberto Fedeli, the brand's new head of engineering. Fedeli has joined the Italian luxury brand earlier this year, having left BMW's "i" division, so you could say he knows a thing or two about electric vehicles.Well, he knows enough to identify the current brand to beat, something made clear by his statement during an interview in Paris with Car and Driver : I dont think that Tesla is the best product in the market but they are doing 50,000 cars a year. The execution and quality of the products of Tesla are the same as a German OEM in the 1970s. Their solutions are not the best.Considering Maserati won't show itssooner than 2019, Fedeli can say whatever he wants as it will all be forgotten by then anyway. Besides, he has a full plate on his hands: it's one thing for regular, mainstream brands to make an EV, and a completely different one for a manufacturer that prides itself, among other things, with the sound its engines produce.Sound is not the most important characteristic of electric cars, he said. The EV is something different and we have to [give] the car [Maserati character] without having one of our most important parameters. Judging by his statements, you could suspect he's actually upset with the task at hand. [In an EV], you feel a lot of weight, more than anything else. Torque and power are interesting for a very few seconds but then the weight does not let you enjoy the car on a normal road, Fedeli said. Thats inconsistent with the brand we are representing and needs to be solved.Well, the good news for the Maserati head of engineering is that he has plenty of time until 2020, when the electric Grand Tourer is expected to enter production.
Everybody knows how much effort goes into making a Rolls-Royce grille. It's probably one of the most iconic car parts ever made in Britain. But how has it become a stepping stool for a cuddly bear.Paddington Bear has been around since 1958 and since then he's appeared in numerous book and made guest television appearances. Now that he has his own movie, Mr. Bear needed to bring his wardrobe to the next level and that's why he shook hands with Rolls-Royce for a new look.The company enjoys a deep connection to the world of aviation which continues to today's state-of-the art airliner jets. They've built tanks and fighter engines, throughout the years, but we'd like to remember them for the record-setting V12 hydroplanes of the 20s that led to the Supermarine Spitfire.The theme was inspired by the automaker's founder and features a very clear retro aviation theme. Paddington is wearing a 3-button leather coat, sporty goggles and a travel case.The makeover isn't just for show though, as this silver and brown statue is one of 50 that have been "sprinkled" throughout London to raise awareness and funds for the NSPCC under the name "Paddington Trail".The NSPCC, or National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the leading UK children's charity fighting to end abuse and Paddington is also their mascot.
SUV

MQB

Volkswagen has not confirmed this information, but the news comes from German publication Automobilwoche, the sister publication of Automotive News According to their sources, the executives in Wolfsburg have approved the Atlas name for the upcomingfrom VW, which is reportedly already trademarked in the USA.As we previously explained, the SUV from Volkswagen will be inspired by the CrossBlue Concept, which was uncovered at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show The new SUV by Volkswagen will be produced at the automakers facility in Chattanooga, and the production version will be revealed at the end of this month. A media event organized in Santa Monica, California, will mark the first presentation of this model for people outside of Volkswagen.The idea of selling the same model under two names is not new in the automotive industry, and Volkswagens strategy does make sense if you think it over.First of all, if the American division will be let to choose the name of the new model , the company will be sure that its customers in the U.S. will get a "catchy and easy to pronounce, American-style" appellation.Secondly, the rest of the world will use a different nameplate, which could be decided in Volkswagens traditional fashion that implies something starting with the letter T.Think about Touareg and Tiguan, which could be followed in the range by something called Teramont . The latter is reportedly the name that will be given to the global version of this model from Volkswagen.The new crossover from the German brand will be built on themodular platform. Production is expected to begin late this year, while the first units will reach customers next spring.Volkswagen has declined to comment on the speculations regarding the name of its new product. This is no surprise, as the reaction is standard practice in the industry.
Police said the woman behind the wheel in a July boating accident on Skaneateles Lake that severely injured her step-daughter was not intoxicated at the time but has been ticketed for several boating infractions.

The Onondaga County Sheriffs Office said Friday that the investigation into the accident showed that Jamie Wheeler, 33, of Homer, was operating a 17-foot Bayliner July 6 when the boats propeller struck her husband, Christopher Driscoll, 32, and her step-daughter, Kaelynne Driscoll, 8.

The two had been riding on an inner tube that was being towed by Wheeler when the inner tube struck a wake, throwing the riders into the water. As Wheeler circled back around, the boat's propeller struck the two. Christopher Driscoll sustained a head injury and Kaelynne Driscoll suffered injuries that resulted in the loss of her left arm and leg.

Police said that Wheeler and Christopher Driscolls 2-year-old son was on the boat at the time of the incident as well Driscolls brother Andrew Driscoll, 24, and his girlfriend Chelsea Greene, 21, both of Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Field sobriety tests performed at the scene and a blood test later showed that Wheeler was not intoxicated under state law, police said. Deputies charged Wheeler under navigation law with unsafe towing of a person, no or insufficient visual distress signals, no required ventilation for the boat, no type IV throw able device, and littering into the water.

She is scheduled to appear at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19 the Town of Skaneateles Court.

Since the crash, Kaelynne has undergone several surgeries and received therapy at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Boston. Her father also underwent surgery and was released three days after the crash.
The Honda Civic Type R Prototype was successfully launched at the Paris Motor Show and instantly become the talk of the town with its impressive look and a promise of 400hp performance.

However, recent interview with Carbuzz, Civic's head engineer Mitsuru Kariya suggested that the Type R will have lesser power than expected. It will probably have a 320hp and will surely be a front-wheel drive.

Is this enough for the Honda Civic Type-R to satisfy its awaiting customers? Kariya thinks so.

A Design That Impressed

The Honda Civic Type R Prototype was finally unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. The prototype made the Type R one of the most anticipated vehicles with its impressive design. As we see, the Honda Civic Type R Prototype takes the basis of the new 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback 5 - door. It is very sporty with a lowered body and a really radical personality. Its accessories are to provide better downforce, highlighting the radical new bumper design, air inlet hood and spoiler.

We can also point out other areas of the vehicle have been redesigned and offer us a new face. The typical red H models of the company is surrounded by a new design. The lights of the Civic Type R also have a darkened finish and feature LED technology. The side skirts are made of carbon fiber and a huge 20 - inch wheels is truly impressive. Finally, in the rear, a visible three tailpipes have been placed and Honda told us that these are not just props as the three tailpipes all have uses.

Power Not Known, Might Be Lesser Than Expected

As it is only a prototype shown at the Paris Motor Show, a lot of information are still missing for the Honda Civic Type-R such as what engine will be use, what will its performance be and even the interior can't be seen on the prototype. Honda has kept quiet about it and people just rely on rumors until now.

In an interview with Kariya, he revealed that the Type-R will definitely be a front wheel drive which with the right smart technology application can achieve a high level of performance.

"It's easy to apply 4WD. It's easy to apply a bigger engine, but that distorts the total balance. If a car gets heavy that's in contradiction to what we believe is dynamic performance. It's a balance of all, and therefore we still insist on a FWD system," Kariya said.

When asked about the engine, although Kariya doesn't directly confirmed, everything points that the Type-R will be have the same block VTEC 2.0 - liter turbo that will output 320hp and 0-100 km/h in just over 5 seconds. This is less power than the rumored numbers that the Type-R can achieve.

"We believe it is more important to have a good controllability at low revs rather than top speed. It is vital to have an effective and fun driving," Kariya concluded.

Fear Not, Type R Still A Beast

Fear not as Honda is doing their best to make the Type R really special. Unlike past versions of the Type-R where Honda decides and develops in the latter half of the life cycle of the base Civic, the 2017 Type-R has been planned from the start. This allowed Honda a lot of time and their engineers can focus heavily to create a solution that will make the 2017 Honda Civic Type-R more powerful than ever.

We all just have to wait to know the true power output as well as the final pricing. The production version of the model will begin next year and from the looks of it, it will be launched in Europe in mid-2017 and might be late 2017 or early 2018 in the US.
World leading brand consultancy, Interbrand unveils its annual list of the Best Global Brands in the world. This year, the list is dominated by automotive and technology giants such as Apple, Google, and Toyota. Others like Coca-cola and Dior also made it to the list and we saw Tesla for the first time entered the top 100.

We filtered Interbrand's report out to find out the Top car brands of 2016 and the results are in. Like last year, the ranking of the 100 most valuable brands according to Interbrand includes 14 automakers, with the arrival of a new manufacturer, Tesla (# 100 ), and the disappearance of Chevrolet. Here are the top car brands as of today.

1. Toyota (# 5 overall)

2. Mercedes-Benz (# 9)

3. BMW (# 11)

4. Honda (# 21)

5. Ford (# 33)

6. Hyundai (# 35)

7. Audi (# 38)

8. Volkswagen (# 40)

9. Nissan (# 43)

10. Porsche (# 50)

11. Kia (# 69)

12. Land Rover (# 78)

13. Mini (# 88)

14. Tesla (# 100)

Ever wonder what makes a car brand the best in the world? Interbrand, consulting strategy and brand image, analyzes the value of each manufacturer depending on different factors such as the financial strength of its products, the competitiveness of the brand in its business and the role played by their products in the purchase decision of customers.

Toyota Still Dominates

As expected, Toyota is still the best car brand in the world. It is at #5 in overall ranking just behind Tech giants, Apple, Google, Microsoft and the most famous drink brand Coca-Cola. This is no surprise as Toyota continuously produce great cars such as what has been unveiled at the last Paris Motor Show, the Toyota Prius Prime, said to be the most economical hybrid ever and the awesome Toyota CH-R. Plus the concept car hydrogen powered vehicle is nothing but excellent.

It is also worth noting that Mercedes-Benz climbed up three spots from last year and surpasses BMW to be able to place at the Top 10 Best Global Brands.

Nissan Grows Higher Than Ever

Nissan is at its best year making it one of the fastest growing brands in the world, to be exact, 22% growth. It is joined by Facebook with 48 percent growth, Amazon with 33 percent and LEGO with 25 percent. Nissan has been working really hard on coming up with awesome cars this year and its Nissan leaf continues to be popular in the automotive world.

Meanwhile, as Nissan grows, Volkswagen drops from #35 overall last year to #40 which is majorly a result of the diesel scandal in the United States. Luckily, Audi was not affected by the scandal and continues to climb positions.

Tesla As A Newcomer

Tesla hit the 100th mark and was included on Interbrand's list for the first time. This is no surprise as Tesla has been making headlines and selling like pancakes. Other car brands should watch out because the 2017 model is said to be Tesla's year as its long-awaited Tesla Model 3 will be released and Tesla will be a major shaker in the automotive industry.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd arranges to launch eight new car models in India by the year 2021, a senior organization official said on Thursday, under a new item strategy that could uplift Nissan's market in the ever uplifting market of India.

The launches will incorporate cars from Nissan's worldwide portfolio and new Datsun-brand cars created in India - a shift in a system for Nissan where it has to a great extent sold cars imparted to its global cooperation accomplice, Renault SA.

"Maybe we have not differentiated enough in the past," Christian Mardrus, Nissan's chairman for Africa, Middle East, and India, told in an interview in New Delhi.

"The strategy now is more common platforms, common modules, common technology ... No more cross-badging now as we may have done in the past," he said.

The organization has been dealing with tweaking its procedure as found in Nissan's and Renault's latest launches. The Datsun little car Redi-Go andA Renault's small-scale SUV Kwid had more than 50 percent of parts in like manner, keeping costs low, but the car outline and a portion of the components were different.

Sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and hybrids - a blend between a car and SUV - are liable to command the new launches in India, said Guillaume Sicard, president, Nissan India, including that the emphasis will be on car configuration, innovation, and expense.

The push to launch items from its worldwide portfolio and differentiate comes when Nissan's piece of the pie in India, anticipated that would be the world's third-biggest car market by 2020, is only 2 percent.

Indeed, even that offer could be under danger since Nissan is liable to face more rivalry from new contestants later on.

Nissan also plans to manufacture more cars in India for the purpose of export to African and Middle East countries.
Honda has hit upon a novel method of producing cars that are not only faster than the conventional process but is also cheaper as well. It's 3D printing technique that the Japanese car maker has adopted under technical collaboration with the domestic firm Kabuku to produce a car as small and quirky as the Renault Twiz, AutoCar reported.

However, unlike the Renault offering, Honda's yet to be named 3D printed car is designed as a small utility vehicle, one that can transport cargo over short distances. This will make it suited for courier duties and is essentially a single seater car. For instance, the car built for Toshimaya cookie company has lots of bird engraved on the body panel to match the bird-shaped cookies.

That said, the car is also extremely customizable, which means its interiors can be altered easily to fit it in any other intended roles. Further, the altered components can be produced quickly as well using 3D printing technique.

Power comes from an electric motor and battery combo though Honda has skipped on providing the specs here. So there is no word yet on what the power rating of the car though it will likely have a range of 50 miles or 80 km. Further, there are three battery packs included, with the largest fitted underneath the body. The other two are user removable and are fitted along either side of the driver's seat and can be pulled out to charge from any domestic outlet.

A lightweight framework is used to keep weight under check, which again draws its inspiration from Honda's motorcycle division. Most of the external body panels are 3D printed, which Toyota and Kabuku claimed leads to faster turnaround time. How fast? According to CNET, it took a Stratsys printer an entire month to produce the body panels printing 24/7. Add to that the two months that Honda engineers spent designing the car.

3D printing also turned out to be cheaper as well, which makes the process just right for mass production. More details are expected during the Japanese tech exhibition, CEATEC 2016 which is where the car will be making its debut.
As aviation technology goes, nothing is quite so enduring as the steel cable or torque tube as a means of manipulating flight controls. Add hydraulics for big airplanes, but the basic idea has sustained for more than a century.

Is it time to revisit the idea? Thats being done commonly in the automotive world, with drive by wire, shift by wire and throttle by wire. Even ahead of that, fly by wire for military and commercial aircraft is more or less standard. As you may have seen in this video I shot at the University of Stuttgart last spring,the idea of fly by wire for light aircraft is on the horizon experimentally, if not commercially.

Is there a good reason to do it? Right now, Id say no. As the video shows, the systems are too complex and too heavy and they dont provide significant benefit over cable-driven controls manipulated by the pilots muscles and grey matter. Theres a halfway point here and were already there. The high-end digital autopilots that have become standard for new airplanes almost universally have envelope protection, to include bank, pitch and airspeed exceedance protection for the pilot who might be dozing or overwhelmed. There arent enough such systems out there to even hazard a guess if they have improved safety or prevented an accident. It may never be possible to have meaningful data on that, even if the idea of envelope protection itself is sound.

In the video, Rolf-Rekke Riebeling explained that one idea the university is exploring is what he called the easy-to-fly airplane. Think of it as an airplane with fly-by-wire controls that the pilot manipulates but which the underlying software is capable of overriding if the pilot gets into trouble, is about to run out of fuel or wanders into restricted airspace. From there, its easy to see an aircraft that could be flown by anyone, with very little training or knowledge of aeronautics. This is essentially what a remotely operated quadcopter drone is. Its fundamentally self-stabilized; with minimal control input, the pilot can direct it where he wants it to go, where it will again park itself, awaiting the next command.

Is this a good thing? Good or not, its coming. Personally, I dont get too wrapped around the axle about lost airmanship skills or the end of the romance of flight. When the internal combustion engine was struggling to replace horse-drawn transportation, Im sure the hardcore Luddites decried the erosion of equestrian skills  before they bought their first automobiles. Progress has both benefits and a price, but in modern industrial economies, we have firmly decided progress is worth the price.

The larger challenge, in my view, is economic, not technical. As much as we like to whine about the death of general aviation, small airplanes powered by some means or another will always be with us. There may be fewer of them, but theyll still be out there. If theyre to be some version of fly by wire, the systems will have to be orders of magnitude smaller, lighter and cheaper than they are now; otherwise, they simply wont have the economic imperative to replace what works: cables and tubes. Its questionable whether manufacturing volume can ever again support the R&D needed to bring such a system to market unless its costs are dramatically less than what we can envision now. Could be it will be driven by the mass market automation that will transform surface transportation. To a degree, youve already seen that. Automotive and consumer electronics volume has driven down the cost of MEMS devices used in GA glass cockpits. Without that volume, they would be either non-existent or unaffordable.
Citing the need to boost its budgetary revenues, the Armenian government has decided to auction off a historic building in central Yerevan that houses its Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetians cabinet gave the green light for the sale of the 7,800 square-meter property at its weekly meeting on Thursday. It set the asking price at an equivalent of roughly $28 million.

It was not immediately clear where the newly restructured ministry will be relocated if the sale goes ahead.

An explanatory note posted on the government website says that the privatization is needed for bringing additional revenue to the state budget.

Armenian tax authorities are on course to fail to fully meet the revenue target set in the 2016 budget. Finance Minister Vartan Aramian said earlier this week that the shortfall will likely total about 80 billion drams ($168 million).

This seems to be the main reason why the government plans to cut budgetary spending next year.

The imposing building is located in Yerevans main Republic Square, just a few dozen meters the Prime Ministers Office. It was built in the late 1940s and was for decades occupied by Soviet Armenias state-controlled trade unions.

The government made clear that the prospective buyer would need its permission to alter the building.

Another, even bigger government building located at the sprawling square was sold for $52 million in 2013. It housed the Armenian ministries of foreign affairs, energy and agriculture. The buyer, a private firm reportedly owned by the Argentine-Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian, plans to turn the structure into a luxury hotel.
7 October 2016 10:51 (UTC+04:00)

The Armenian armed units shattered ceasefire with Azerbaijan a total of 20 times throughout the day, Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry reported on October 7.

The Armenian armed forces, stationed in Armenia`s Barekamavan and Dovekh villages in Noyemberyan region subjected to fire the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces located in Kamarli and Gaymagli villages in Gazakh region.

The ceasefire was also violated in Chilaburt village in Tartar region, Kuropatkino village in Khojavand region, Mehdili village in Jabrayil region, as well as nameless hills in Tartar and Goranboy regions.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

Due to the ethnic cleansing policy carried out by Armenia and the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons hit more than 1.2 million.

With a population of over 9.6 million, Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 October 2016 10:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Ngaire Woods

The United Nations is seeking a new secretary-general. The World Bank presidency is up for grabs. The World Health Organization needs a new head. The same goes for several other international organizations. At a time when conflicts of interest among the United States and its allies, together with the rise of China and Russia, are undermining global cooperation, the question of who fills these vacancies could not be more important.

In the past, the process of selecting the right candidate has reflected rivalries among countries and popularity contests played out among governments, NGOs, and the media. This was clearly never the best approach. But, with a hegemonic United States willing and able to hold international institutions together, cooperation remained viable.

Today, the unpredictable statements of US presidential candidate Donald Trump and the more isolationist vision that he is encouraging among his supporters has the rest of the world nervous about the changing nature of Americas role in the world. And Americas allies in Europe are not exactly at their most stable, owing to a combination of deep-rooted economic challenges, the United Kingdoms looming exit from the European Union, and surging support for populist political forces in many countries.

Moreover, the US and its allies are not only unwilling to underpin global cooperation, they lack the capacity even to try. The International Monetary Funds recent World Economic Outlook reports that the US and its allies will account for just 39% of global output in 2020, down sharply from 64% today, with the US share falling from 22% to 15%.

For the international institutions, this means that communication, compromise, and consensus are more important than ever  and not just among countries. Given strong anti-establishment and even nationalist sentiment in many countries, international institutions must also be more open with  and responsive to  the global public that they are supposed to serve.

All of this demands a more meritocratic and unbiased approach to filling the top positions at the international institutions. To assess the candidates fairly and effectively, five key criteria should be used.

First, candidates should have a proven ability not just to define a mission, but also to take on the more challenging task of mobilizing a broad coalition of stakeholders to achieve it. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for example, had little trouble identifying critical issues, from specific humanitarian crises in countries like Haiti, Myanmar, and Pakistan to broader challenges like climate change and global poverty. But his success in spurring countries to work together to address those issues is dubious.

Second, leaders must be able to persuade countries to fund their organizations. Former African Development Bank President Donald P. Kaberuka convinced countries to double their contributions during his tenure; during the same cycle, the World Banks resources were increased by just one-third.

But it is not just a matter of getting more money. Organizations need to focus on expanding their core resources, which are not tied to any specific task, rather than drawing more discretionary or earmarked resources. Otherwise, they risk becoming hired hands for a few pet projects, rather than critical platforms for broad cooperation.

Unfortunately, in recent years, discretionary funding has largely taken over, and now accounts for more than 90% of resources in several agencies. The International Organization for Migration, the importance of which has been underscored by the ongoing refugee crisis, relies entirely on discretionary funding. To change this, international organizations need leaders who are convincing salespeople, which means that they must be widely perceived as genuine and trustworthy.

The third criterion for effective leadership of an international institution is strong, results-oriented management. Successful candidates should already have experience leading an organization that performed well, achieving the results they set out to achieve. There should be evidence that the candidate can translate a vision into a plan, with clear benchmarks against which progress can be measured. The current slates of candidates is wanting in this regard.

This can have far-reaching consequences. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has faced substantial criticism for his handling of his flagship initiative: an internal restructuring. That process has dragged on for four years, and many staff members claim that it is undermining the efficiency of lending operations. While it is difficult to assess these claims reliably, a leaked internal survey of the organizations employees indicates, at the very least, that the management culture needs improvement.

This is closely related to the fourth criterion: hiring (and retaining) the right staff. No leader can do everything alone, so choosing a high-quality team is crucial. If those working at the organization are unhappy, recruiting the most talented and motivated people will be nearly impossible.

Beyond creating an open, challenging, and supportive culture  reflected in internal surveys that are shared publicly (not leaked)  the leaders of international organizations must resist pressure from member countries to hire particular senior officials, who are not necessarily the highest-performing candidates. Moreover, they must be willing and able to identify and remove inherited senior managers who are not up to standard. The key words must be meritocracy and morale.

The final criterion for effective leadership of an international organization concerns accountability. In the last couple of decades, heads of the IMF, the World Bank, and the UNHCR Refugee Agency have left office under a cloud of suspicion. Some leaders have lately established far stricter codes of conduct; it is up to the new ones to ensure that they are being enforced. Welcoming independent evaluation  and disclosing the results  is essential.

The world needs strong international institutions more than ever. And strong institutions need outstanding leaders who can build consensus among increasingly bad-tempered governments, while attracting sufficient resources and mobilizing talented people to get the job done. This is no time to compromise for short-term political expediency.

Copyright: Project Syndicate: Who Should Lead International Institutions?

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7 October 2016 12:41 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan and Turkey, the two neighboring countries and strategic partners, enjoy opportunities to strengthen their cooperation in the sphere of satellite industry.

Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications Ahmet Arslan told Trend that Turkey is ready to produce low-orbit (LEO) and gestational (GEO) satellites for Azerbaijan, as soon as the operating time of Azersky and Azerspace-1 spacecrafts expires.

Arslan said that the Center of Testing and Integration of Space-Based Systems (USET) operates under the state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI). The centre, which is considered as the first satellite test facility of Turkey and one of the worlds outstanding facilities, allows to assemble and test various types of satellites.

Work on the creation of the first indigenous satellite is currently underway in the centre. In this regard, USET experts can assemble communication satellites and spacecrafts for exploring the Earth for Azerbaijan, he said.

Turkey's first indigenous satellite Turksat 6A, manufactured in USET, is slated for completion by 2019. Turksat is one of the world's top 20 satellite operators and its goal is to become one of the world's top-10 countries with implementation of 10 satellites by 2023.

Moreover, the minister added that Turkey is also ready to provide Azerbaijan with resources of its Gokturk-2, which is Turkey's first high-resolution remote sensing earth observation satellite.

He mentioned that it is also possible to exchange resources and expand the coverage of the Turkish satellite geolocation system on the territory of Azerbaijan.

Arslan also suggested cooperation between universities of the two countries on designing of CanSat mini satellites.

Azercosmos, Science Development Fund under the President of Azerbaijan and TUBITAK UZAY (Space Technologies Research Institute) of Turkey signed a memorandum of mutual understanding on cooperation in the space industry in 2015.

The document envisages exchange experience in the sphere of space technologies, conduction of joint research, use benefits of satellite telecommunication systems, as well as study of the Earth's surface and the construction of new generation telecommunication systems.

Azerbaijan entered the space club with the launch of its first satellite Azerspace-1 in February 2013. By now, the country has three satellites, a telecommunication and two low orbit satellites, and it plans to launch a second telecommunication satellite in 2017.

Azerspace-1, the first-ever satellite of Azerbaijan, as well as AzerSky high-resolution low-orbit Earth observation satellite are at disposal of Azercosmos, the only satellite operator in the Caucasus.

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When it comes to national chains people want in the Auburn area, Target is near, if not at the top.

Rumors of the big-box retailer opening a Cayuga County location have percolated in the community for years. On Facebook, commenters say as though they'd been in the room that Target offered to move into Fingerlakes Mall's former Sears space, only to be rejected by the Aurelius shopping center.

But the parties that would have actually been in said room say no such offer was made. And they paint a less juicy picture of current attempts to court Target by Fingerlakes Mall in particular, and the Auburn area in general.

Mall Marketing Manager Vin Gleason, who posted a Facebook poll in December 2014 gauging community interest in Target coming to Auburn, said Tuesday that he recently talked to someone who works in new business development there. Gleason declined comment about the subject of their talk, but said he brought up both the 1,000-like poll and the opening of del Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County.

However, Target has yet to offer to move into the mall, said both Gleason and the mall's leasing agent, John Bouck.

"It never happened," Bouck said. "I'd be the one who would know. If Target had been the least bit interested in coming there, I would have taken them out to lunch and dinner."

Andrew Fish, former executive director of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce and Cayuga Economic Development Agency, said the latter has talked to Target annually about opening an Auburn-area location. However, it was told that the market's demographics aren't right, and that Target is currently focused on multistory urban locations.

Bouck said he remains in touch with Target. But like most retailers, he continued, it has little interest in adding locations anywhere in upstate New York, not just Auburn.

A public relations representative from Target corroborated Bouck and Fish, saying: "Our teams continuously explore locations for new stores. At this time, Target does not have plans for a new store in Auburn." The representative also declined comment about the subject of Target's talk with Gleason.

Bouck said Target's not alone in its reluctance to open new stores. He said he's reached out to 80 or 90 developers and commercial brokers about the mall's former Sears space, and "gotten nowhere."

The mall has also offered to divide the anchor space into smaller, 20,000-40,000-square-foot units, Bouck said. That proposition brought one retailer to the bargaining table, to the point the mall commissioned build-out renderings for it. Though the retailer backed out at the last minute, Bouck said it still remains a possibility for Fingerlakes Mall.

"The national retail scene is not really conducive to a lot of these companies opening new stores," he said. "The majority are closing them."
7 October 2016 11:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates will be in spotlight in Baku, as a joint business forum is scheduled for October 20.

The UAE companies specializing in agriculture, food industry, construction, pharmaceutical industry, logistics, tourism, security, production of fire alarm systems, and beauty industry will attend the forum, according to AZPROMO,

Azerbaijan and UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.

The trade turnover between the UAE and Azerbaijan in January-August amounted to $55.66 million, and this is 35.4 percent more than during the eight months of 2015, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.

Almost the entire volume of the turnover accounted for import of products from the UAE.

Earlier speaking about the Azerbaijani-UAE relations, Economy Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev said that for seven months of 2016 the trade turnover with the UAE has grown by more than 40 percent.



This is a very good result, considering that the processes occurring in the world do not contribute to the development of trade between the countries, Mustafayev said, emphasizing that Azerbaijan and the UAE are working to improve these indicators.

Recently, the two countries agreed to establish a joint investment fund to facilitate the implementation of joint investment in mutually beneficial projects. It is important to carry out investments in the areas that stimulate the growth of mutual investments and increase trade, particularly in agriculture, food processing, logistics and transport systems.

Starting November 10, 2015, citizens of the UAE has visited Azerbaijan on a simplified procedure. They can obtain entry visa, valid for 30 days stay, at any international airport in Azerbaijan. Now, Azerbaijan is holding negotiations to introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of both the UAE and Azerbaijan.

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7 October 2016 13:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The development of agriculture, which is a meaningful component of Azerbaijans non-oil economy, remains among the areas of utmost importance for the World Bank, as the financial institution sees the sector as one of the most powerful keys to end poverty and boost prosperity.

Azerbaijans Agriculture Minister Heydar Asadov, addressing the meeting with the Banks delegation, emphasized that projects implemented by the WB in Azerbaijan have positive results for the sector of agriculture.

The minister also noted the urgency of realizing new projects to provide technical assistance in the further improvement of the sphere.

The sides hailed the results of WBs Agricultural Competitiveness Improvement Project (ACIP), the objective of which is to facilitate the access of agricultural producers to markets by strengthening sanitary and phytosantiary services, enhancing selected value chains, and providing financial services to agribusiness enterprises.

WBs Senior Agriculture Economist, Risk Assessment Team leader Sandra Broka informed the minister about the future measures that will be taken within the framework of the Assessment of risks in the national agricultural sector of Azerbaijan project, which is expected to be useful for farmers.

The sides also considered a number of priority issues to render technical support to develop a new concept for the development of agriculture in the country.

Being one of the profitable and attractive sectors for Azerbaijans economy agriculture has pivotal importance and significant potential for boosting export revenues of the country.

In the 1st half of 2016 it was expected production growth of 7% and because of 25-day heavy rains this years sowing began 15 days later. Due to this, the growth of production for the past half-year made up only 3.1%, but covered all the main types of agricultural products.

By the end of 2016 the growth in production in the agricultural sector will be at least 6%, the minister said earlier.

The World Bank predicts growth of Azerbaijan's agricultural sector at 4 percent in 2016-2018. This figure is the highest in the South Caucasus region and one of the highest among the Eastern and Central European countries.

The Bank's experts believe that the only viable and sustainable response to the decline in oil revenues is shift of employment in tradable sectors of the economy.

Along with financing several developmental projects, the Bank also provides the country with analytical and advisory services. Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992.

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7 October 2016 17:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Polands rail operator PKP that manages the infrastructure of the LHS line (the longest broad gauge railway line at the territory of Poland) has become a member of the Coordination Committee of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCITR).

The Polish company became the member in accordance with the decision, which was taken unanimously during the meeting of the project's Coordination Committee in Astana.

The meeting, organized by Kazakhstan Railways mainly focused on the creation of a union of legal entities of the Coordination Committee, approval of the charter of the legal entities union, its registration in the state structures.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.

The agreement to create the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Consortium was signed in April in Baku by the railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijani companies ADY Express and ACSC Logistics, Kazakhstan's KTZ Express and Georgia's Trans Caucasus Terminals LLC are the members of the consortium .

The project enjoys an opportunity to become one of the most attractive and profitable for consignors from European countries, while approximately 300,000-400,000 containers are expected to be transported via the Trans-Caspian international transport route by 2020, bringing huge financial profits to Azerbaijan.

New competitive tariffs have been introduced for the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route since June 1, 2016, putting the route among the cheapest and most profitable corridors for freight traffic.

The first test container train from China arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port on August 3, 2015.

Azerbaijan, which is located in the center of the route, is keen to create more favorable conditions to increase the importance of the route, while growing global interest in the transport projects passing through Azerbaijan's territory is expected to allow the country to succeed in its bid to turn into a major transport hub in the region.

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7 October 2016 17:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Lithuania and Azerbaijan always find new goals and interests for the development of cooperation in all areas.

Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Valdas Lastauskas said there are a lot of projects and initiatives, which have to be implemented in the trade and economic, transport and humanitarian spheres.

"The government of Lithuania, in the first place, intends to revitalize the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation with Azerbaijan,"he told Trend.

The ambassador said that the intergovernmental commissions meeting was delayed several times for objective reasons, in particular, due to the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan in autumn 2015, the economic crisis in early 2016, and the current election to the Seimas (unicameral parliament) of Lithuania.

Lithuania hopes to hold the meeting before late 2016 or in early 2017 to discuss concrete projects and initiatives for cooperation, said Lastauskas.

Lithuania and Azerbaijan highly appreciate close cooperation between the two countries, so the range of the issues to be discussed during the meetings is quite broad and will include the further development of trade and economic cooperation, collaboration in the fields of energy, he said.

The transport sector is one of the priority directions of cooperation between the two countries, he noted.

"Projects of the Trans-Caspian international transportation route and the combined transport train Viking open vast opportunities for Azerbaijan and Lithuania in the transport sector," Lastauskas said, adding that the connection of these two routes will allow unhindered transportation of goods from China to Northern and Western Europe.

The Trans-Caspian international transportation route runs from China to Europe through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine. The first test container train from China arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port on Aug. 3, 2015.

The combined transport train Viking started to run on Ilyichevsk (Ukraine) - Minsk (Belarus) - Draugyste (Lithuania) route with the total length of 1,766 kilometers in 2003. The project participants are Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia. Later, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey joined the project.

Azerbaijan signed a protocol in May 2016 on participation of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC in the 'Viking' international container train.

In general, there are no barriers for the further development of relations between Lithuania and Azerbaijan, Lastauskas said.

The Lithuanian Embassys task is to find ways and opportunities for those who wish to establish business relations with Azerbaijan, the diplomat said.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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7 October 2016 15:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

An interesting meeting with People's Artist Munis Sharifov was held in the House-museum of Niyazi on October 5, Trend Life reported.

Director of the State Museum of Musical Culture of Azerbaijan, doctor of philosophy, honored cultural worker Alla Bayramova, Chief of Museum's department Hanim Abdinova , secretary of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, Honored Art Worker Zemfira Gafarova and People's Artist of Azerbaijan Mohlet Muslim took part in the event.

Speakers told about life and creativity of Munis, the only chagane performer.

Munis Sharifov is the artistic director and concertmaster of the Azerbaijani national ensemble of ancient musical instruments. Sharifov is known as a skillful performer on kamancha, chagane, ney and other musical instruments.

Chagane- the four-stringed bowed musical instrument - was mentioned in the works of many classical poets, including Gatran Tabrizi, Nasimi, Seyid Azim Shirvani and many others. Its reconstructed model was presented at a scientific symposium on the history of stringed instruments in Edinburgh, Scotland. The musical instrument made a great impression on symposium participants.

The event then featured marvelous performances by Ensemble of Old Musical Instruments, honored artist of Azerbaijan, soloist of the ensemble Teyyub Aslanov, honored artist Zakir Aliyev and Taxmiraz Shirinova.

All performances were accompanied by a slide show about the life and artistic path of the talented musician.

The event ended with a virtuoso solo performance by Munis Sharifov.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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7 October 2016 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenia should prepare its population for withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories and elimination of the major consequence of the conflict that will create conditions for considering other political issues, said Azerbaijans Permanent Mission to the OSCE at the OSCE Permanent Councils meeting on October 4.

The mission noted in its statement that Armenia is far from engaging in the constructive search for peace and conflict resolution in the region, Trend reported.

It is curious that the representative of Armenia  a country that bears full responsibility for unleashing the war, perpetrating aggression against Azerbaijan, carrying out ethnic cleansing on a massive scale, committing other heinous crimes, including massacres in Khojaly, advocating undisguised racist ideology  attempts to lecture here on such notions as human rights, says the statement.

The Azerbaijani mission called on the Armenian ambassador to reconsider his perceptions of the April events which were results of constant provocation of the Armenian side against civilian population of Azerbaijan residing along the line of contact of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

As for the technical questions related to the expansion of the office of Special Representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Azerbaijan presented its position on this issue on a number of occasions and has submitted its proposal to the German Chairmanship and the OSCE Minsk Groups co-chair countries that reflect the understanding reached in the recent high level meetings, says the statement.

The Azerbaijani mission noted that Armenia is the only country in the OSCE, which thinks that under the Helsinki Final Act, self-determination means unilateral cessation and violation of human rights of hundreds of thousands of people.

Azerbaijans Permanent Mission to the OSCE also expressed its concern over the large-scale illegal economic activities that are carried out with support and direction of Armenia that are not aimed at providing so-called humanitarian assistance, but pursue the goal of illegally exploiting resources in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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7 October 2016 15:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The recent acquisition of Iskander missile systems by Armenia caused new wave of debates around the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. A number of experts condemned this purchase, noting that it escalates already fragile situation in the region. Some of them doubted the efficiency of the purchased weapon.

Possession of Iskander missiles by Armenia creates a dangerous situation in the South Caucasus, the President of Jamestown Foundation Glen Howard believes.

The acquisition of Iskander missiles by Armenia could become the impetus for even greater arms race in the region, he noted at the conference Azerbaijans role on global and regional arena: Realities and Prospects in Baku on October 7.

It is obvious that Azerbaijan needs to protect itself, and the country will probablytake a step in this regard, the president of the foundation assumed.

Howard mentioned that the dynamically developing Azerbaijan closely cooperates in the defense sector with many countries, and therefore could resort to various options.

Azerbaijan continues to develop, the country managed to build a strong army, Howard said, adding that the strength of the Azerbaijani army was evidently demonstrated in the April clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The topic of Iskander missiles was also addressed by Russian military expert Oleg Kuznetsov. Missile systems Iskander-E demonstrated at the military parade in Yerevan constitute a modification with a reduced missile range, he said to journalists in Baku on October 6.

The expert noted that the Iskander complexes acquired by Armenia cannot damage oil infrastructure in the territory of Azerbaijan, as well as cannot reach the deep rear of the country.

The military potential of Azerbaijan at least five times exceeds the capabilities of Armenia, said Kuznetsov, stressing that the use of Russian-made Iskander by Armenia will inevitably result in its defeat in case of full-scale hostilities.

Furthermore, the use of such a serious weapon by Armenia will be regarded as an obvious act of declaring war, that may trigger Azerbaijan, leading to the collapse of Armenia, Kuznetsov assumed.

As for the prospects of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the expert noted that Azerbaijan through political reforms creates the preconditions for the return of the occupied territories. In the meantime, Armenia is going through another political transformation, moving from the Western influence to Russia.

Some details of Armenian armament were also mentioned by the coordinator of programs "The Union of informed citizens" Daniel Ioannisyan. He noted that a considerable part of weapons Armenia purchased is older than 30 years. There are weapons from the 60s, he said in an interview to Aravot.am.

As for the considerably new armament purchased by Armenia, it turns out that its significant part cannot be used in Nagorno-Karabakh. Ioannisyan cited the example that during the April escalation Armenia did not use Tornado systems because there was no threat against the Armenian borders, and the conflict was only on the line of contact.

He also considered unfounded the enthusiasm about the Iskanders in the Armenian society. I am pretty sure that the Iskanders are not designed for use in Karabakh, because in order to hit Baku with Iskander, they need to deliver it in Khankendi or Askeran cities."

Thus, new weapons of Armenia seem not to bring much strength into the countrys poor armament.

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7 October 2016 10:08 (UTC+04:00)

A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on October, 7

Made in Azerbaijan brand to be promoted on foreign markets; Promotion of local entrepreneurship in focus; Real estate prices decrease in capital; Russian Cinema Days due in Baku; etc

AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az.
7 October 2016 10:31 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Vice-President of the International Academy of Engineering, President of the Azerbaijan Engineering Academy, Academician Arif Pashayev was awarded Golden Medal of Honor, a badge and diploma of distinction of the International Academy of Engineering.

Academician Pashayev was awarded by the Council of Presidents of the International Academy of Engineering for his special contribution to the work of the Academy and to the strengthening of its international relations.

The medal was presented by Vice-President of the Engineering Academy Ahad Janahmadov at a joint meeting of Azerbaijan Engineering Academy and National Aviation Academy held in Baku, Azertac reported.

Azerbaijan Engineering Academy headed by Arif Pashayev was active enough in many areas of engineering participating in many giant and small projects with its important discoveries.

The Engineering Academy has had big contribution in transport projects such as TANAP, connecting South Caucasus Pipeline in Azerbaijan with multiple pipelines in the European Union and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which aims to become a major connector for Eurasia.

The academys scientists and engineers have also succeeded in petrochemical technologies, developing corrosion inhibitors to protect metal in layer waters of oil wells containing hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

During the event, Academician Arif Pashayev also informed the participants about the Academy's decision.

Under the decision of the Board of the Azerbaijan Engineering Academy, prominent scientist, academician Roald Sagdeyev was elected as a foreign member (academician) of the Academy.

Sagdeyev was honored with the title for his beneficial cooperation with the country in the field of space industry and his contributions to strengthening and developing international relations between Azerbaijan and the United States.

Professor Pashayev then presented a diploma, certificate and badge of the Academy to Sagdeyev.

Sagdeyev was also presented with a Diploma of Honorary Professor of the National Aviation Academy and Diploma of Honorary Pilot of AZAL.

Addressing the event, Sagdeyev said he was honored to cooperate with Azerbaijan and expressed his gratitude for the honorary titles.

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7 October 2016 11:44 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

The prestigious Lithuanian universities will present their education opportunities within the 10th International Exhibition "Education and Career" to be held in Baku on October 7-9.

Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Valdas Lastauskas said that his country will be represented by eight leading universities, which will familiarize the Azerbaijani youth with their education opportunities.

Azerbaijan is considered as one of the most promising markets for the Lithuanian higher education institutions, wishing to attract foreign students, the ambassador said at a reception organized in honor of representatives of Lithuanian universities and Education Exchanges Support Foundation on October 6.

The exhibition will put on display Lithuanian prestigious universities such as Vilnius University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University , Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuanian Pedagogical University, Academy of Music and Theatre, and others.



Representatives of the Lithuanian universities will present visitors undergraduate, graduate, MBA, doctorate, second education, as well as foreign language courses for business communication program, practice and training programs.

The diplomat said that the number of young Azerbaijanis, who chose Lithuanian universities as their alma mater, is growing annually.

If in 2011/12 academic year some 53 Azerbaijani students enrolled in Lithuania, then in 2012/13 their number reached 102, while their number exceeded 300 in 2015, he said.

Lastauskas noted that a considerable part of Azerbaijani students took advantage of the state grants offered by the Lithuanian government.

In recent years the Azerbaijani youth also began to show interest in learning in Lithuania and their number gets bigger every year, according to him.

In total, 118 educational institutions from 14 countries will participate in the three-day exhibition to be held in the capital city.

The educational exhibition will feature universities and colleges from Azerbaijan, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Jordan that will acquaint visitors with the education programs in the institutions they represent.

National stands at the exhibition will be presented by Poland (Go Poland), Lithuania (Study in Lithuania) and Turkey (Study in Turkey).

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Over the years, as a journalist working in many societies, I have often found hints about where people are going  or not going  in the most unusual places.

So it was that when Ukraine's promising President Petro Poroshenko, the besieged country's impressive former chocolate king, came to the U.S. in September, his visit quietly revealed trends that could change the future.

It was not only his thoughts about Ukraine's younger generations  he told journalists here that only 47 percent of the older generations support NATO, but 84 percent of the younger ones do  that was so hopeful and interesting.

What gripped my attention were his amazing words expressed earlier at home. The president actually issued a decree in late summer calling for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in order to reaffirm "the enormous contribution of Protestant churches and religious organizations ... and to express respect for their role in Ukrainian history."

PROTESTANTS? Yes, of course, now that someone mentions it, 2017 will indeed be the 500th anniversary of that fateful day, Oct. 31, 1517, when the angry German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church of Wittenberg in Germany, thus challenging an increasingly corrupt Roman Catholic Church.

But, today? Frankly, if I were not a Protestant, I might say in sad jest that I was wondering where the Protestants were anymore. I read five newspapers a day, plus dozens of magazines and journals from all over. Yet, the word "Protestant" is barely to be found in that public arena.

Where ARE they? Where, the weathered old wisdom of the Reinhold Niebuhrs? Where, the unique ability of Presbyterians, Congregationalists or Methodists to help form humane economic organizations that are exactly what the world is calling for today? Where, when the world began to collapse in unending wars in the Middle East, was their voice? I know there are brilliant men and women in the Protestant seminaries and pulpits, but there is no Protestant sensibility evident in the public square.

While Christians are being persecuted, burned to death and murdered all over the Middle East, Christians here seem to be consumed by a hopeless debate over the unanswerable question of whether Islam is a religion of peace.

But back to Ukraine: President Poroshenko described as "one of the huge achievements of Ukrainians the creation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches," which allows the government to ensure cooperation in promoting peace and harmony between different faiths.

Before an international group of Protestant leaders in Ukraine, many of them foreign Baptists, the president stressed the importance of introducing chaplains into the Ukrainian armed forces and called Protestant work in caring for the wounded in the on-and-off war with Russia in Eastern Ukraine "a very important function, which Ukraine needs today."

It was at this point that I became aware of yet another piece of religious/political/historical news that had somehow eluded me: Pope Francis will travel this month to Lund, Sweden, seat of the bishop of Lund of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, and meet with Lutherans to kick off a year of events to mark that 500th anniversary. Germany itself, meanwhile, is planning a decade of commemorations honoring the events of 1517.

This news should suitably embarrass American Christians, and especially Protestants, that their once-strong voice in the public square has been so tragically stilled at this new "time of troubles."

But also, it shows that there are at least ideas brewing and historic memories being held close somewhere.

What Ukraine needs  and what most of the world needs  is the kind of "Protestant ethic" that the great German sociologist Max Weber wrote about in the 19th century. As he studied the formation of a morally based capitalism that was rescuing northern Europeans from poverty and indignity, he kept finding ties with Protestant religions  Calvinists, but also others. Why?

The Reformation, he found, had greatly changed the view of work; it dignified the day's work of even the farmer and the mason. Protestants were also looking for signs of God's grace, and what better sign than worldly goods? These were the fathers of the English and Dutch Protestants who founded the United States and wrote that "all men are created equal."

After the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches split in 1054 in the Great Schism that continues to this day, both East and West were left without access to the Protestant ethic later created, which helped to build up resourceful and productive capitalism in its age. Russia today still suffers from this lack and goes ever down, glorying in its hopelessness.

It is that Protestant attitude toward the world, toward work and toward creation, that Poroshenko is wisely seeking for his country and his people. In Ukraine, with its longing for the West and its hatred of Russia, this may be the path to a prosperous future. God bless them.
7 October 2016 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Protecting children's rights is a top priority of Azerbaijan's social policy, while the country ratified over 30 international conventions, adopted several relevant laws, and cooperates closely with international organizations to tackle problems in this sphere.

Gender issues and children's rights were in focus of the laws adopted over the past ten years in Azerbaijan.

Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Bahar Muradova made the remark as she met with Edward Carwardine, the newly-appointed representative of UNICEF to Azerbaijan.

Muradova emphasized that the children's rights have always been taken into the account while preparing legislative acts by the Azerbaijani Parliament.

Children's rights will be widely considered when we will discuss the next-year budget, she said.

Carwardine, in turn, spoke of the plans to be realized as he will lead the UNICEF office in the country.

The UNICEF representative also mentioned that Azerbaijan achieved successes in ensuring childrens rights.

Child mortality rate decreased by 50 percent in Azerbaijan. Moreover, significant successes have been achieved in attracting children to school and reduction of poverty, he said.

Azerbaijan has recorded a dramatic and accelerating progress in reducing mortality among children. The child mortality rate, especially among infants, has decreased threefold in Azerbaijan over the past 24 years.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed the rights of children, who became refugee and IDP due to the Armenian Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The UNICEF Country Programme for 2016-2020 will support Azerbaijan in its efforts to accelerate the realization of childrens rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to contribute to the results related to child and adolescent rights stipulated in the Azerbaijan 2020: Look in the Future Concept of Development, as well as other sectoral policies and strategies.

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child around the world. The organization works in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children.

The organization came to Azerbaijan in 1993, facing an army of refugees and internally displaced people in the wake of the Karabakh conflict, caused by Armenias illegal territorial claims, and the collapsed economy of the transition period.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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7 October 2016 13:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev made a phone call to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on October 7.



During the phone conversation, President Aliyev congratulated Putin on his birthday and wished him robust health and success in his activities.



Azerbaijans president extended congratulations on the great victory of the United Russia party in the parliamentary election held in Russia and noted that thereby, Russian people once again showed their support to the policy pursued by Vladimir Putin.



Then, President Aliyev expressed gratitude for the letter sent by Russian president to the fifth Baku International Humanitarian Forum and for the high-level representation of Russia in the forum.



Putin, for his part, expressed gratitude to Ilham Aliyev for the attention, congratulations and kind words.



He extended congratulations on the results of the referendum held in Azerbaijan and noted that by voting in this referendum, Azerbaijani people expressed support to the policy pursued by President Aliyev.



During the phone conversation, the presidents expressed satisfaction with the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia and expressed confidence that the cooperation between the two countries will further continue successfully.

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7 October 2016 15:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

A National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development, which will focus on the definition of national priorities till 2030, was established in Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a relevant decree on October 6.

Main objective of the newly-created institute is to work out national priorities in accordance with global targets, which possess importance for Azerbaijan, ensure the compliance of state programs and strategies covering the socio-economic spheres with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Ali Ahmadov has been appointed as the chairman, while Economy Minister Shahin Mustafavev as the deputy chairman of the newly created institute.

The council has a right to involve local and foreign experts, specialists, international organizations and scientific institutions, as well as create Working Groups on separate directions.

United Nations recommended the countries of the world to prepare Sustainable Development Programs by 2030. SDG's adopted by world leaders officially came into force on January 1, 2016. Azerbaijan has also moved on to a new development framework, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to implement the 17 global goals, embracing the three dimensions of sustainability, including economic, social and environmental.

The goals that universally apply to all countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, promote social welfare, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. Global goals are based on the Millennium Development Goals, anti-poverty targets that the world was committed to achieve by 2015.

Azerbaijan has already met many of the MDGs, including halving extreme poverty and hunger (reached in 2008), achieving universal primary education (attained in 2008), eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education and reducing the spread of certain deceases.

Over the past 10 years, Azerbaijans economy has grown by 300 percent. Poverty and unemployment have been sharply diminished, with measures of both now standing at 5 percent.

--

Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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7 October 2016 17:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Pakistan wishes to strengthen its relations with Azerbaijan in various fields, and translate the friendly bilateral relations into strong economic partnership, said Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

The Prime Minister made the remark as he received Azerbaijani Ambassador Ali Alizade on October 7.

The PM assured the ambassador of his governments fullest cooperation and expressed the confidence that his service tenure in Pakistan would be successful and fruitful.

Our government focuses on regional connectivity through economic cooperation to help people of the region realize their true potential. Enhancement of trade and business relations between Azerbaijan, Pakistan and amongst other countries of the region is our topmost priority, further said the Prime Minister.

The envoy, in turn, thanked the Prime Minister and expressed the confidence that bilateral relations between the two countries will improve with joint efforts of both the countries.

Pakistan became the second country after Turkey which recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991. The diplomatic relations between two countries were established on June 9, 1992. Both countries have always supported each other in the international arena.

Pakistan supported Azerbaijan during and after the Nagorno-Karabakh War and it is the only country that does not recognize Armenia. Pakistan also adopted a resolution strongly condemning the genocide against the civilian population of Khojaly, which was committed by Armenian armed forces.

Trade and cooperation have steadily grown between the two nations in recent years, with several summits being held on how to improve trade between the two nations.

Although the countries enjoy very close friendly relations at a diplomatic level, these close ties have not been translated into significant commercial gains.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan amounted to $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2016, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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7 October 2016 17:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

The working group of the EU Council continues discussions on a mandate for a new agreement with Azerbaijan.

This was stated in a statement of EU representative regarding the issuance of a mandate for negotiations on the signing of EU-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership Agreement.

The statement reads that discussions are underway on the mandate, agreed by the European Commission in early 2016, with a view to start negotiations on the new agreement, which provides for the replacement of the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation signed with Azerbaijan in 1996.

This brings to the fore the policy of individual approach, discussed recently within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. Azerbaijan is an important partner of the EU, and we hope to begin negotiations on a new agreement with Azerbaijan soon, the statement said.

The EU and Azerbaijan are maintaining relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999.

Since then the PCA has provided the legal framework for EU-Azerbaijan bilateral relations in the areas of political dialogue, trade, investment, economic, legislative and cultural cooperation.

Azerbaijan is also included in the EU program on "Eastern Partnership" adopted on the initiative of Poland and Sweden and approved at the EU summit in Brussels in 2008.

Azerbaijan has become a country of direct priority to the EUs strategy in its wider neighborhood since the last enlargement of the European Union in 2007. Although over the past year and a half, the bilateral relations between the two sides saw tense period, still Azerbaijan affects Europes interests, mainly in a regional energy strategy.

Baku, relying on its economic and diplomatic policy, seeks a strategic partnership with the EU and introduced a draft EU-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership Agreement in Riga Eastern Partnership Summit.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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7 October 2016 14:03 (UTC+04:00)

The Southern Gas Corridor is an excellent example to a new source of energy for Europe.

Vice-President of EU Commission in charge of Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic announced about this as he adressed the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting of the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES).

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor project. Other sources can also join this project at a later stage.

As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and TAP.

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7 October 2016 16:52 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijans Energy Minister Natig Aliyev will visit Turkey by the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak to take part in the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul, the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry reported on October 7.

During the congress, 60 meetings will be held with the participation of 266 participants from 80 countries.

Minister Aliyev is expected to meet the energy ministers of Balkan countries, said the ministry.

The ministers meeting with his counterparts from Turkey, Italy, Greece and Albania, during which the implementation process of the Southern Gas Corridor project and issues related to the projects timely completion, is also planned, according to the ministry.

The 23rd World Energy Congress will be held October 9-13 in Istanbul.

Co-hosted by Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the World Energy Council, the event will welcome 10,000 delegates from across the energy spectrum to address critical developments in the energy sector.

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7 October 2016 13:24 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council over the Syrian conflict, RIA Novosti reported.

The UN Security Council agreed to hold the emergency meeting on October 7, where a UN envoy will brief the council via video conference from Geneva over the situation in Aleppo.

Reportedly, the envoy urged fighters from the former Al-Nusra Front - which renamed itself Fateh al-Sham Front after breaking with Al-Qaeda - to leave Aleppo under a deal to halt the regime's attacks on the city.

"If you decide to leave with dignity ... I am personally ready to physically accompany you, Mistura said.

The situation in Syria mostly remains hard around the city of Aleppo. Militants continue shelling of residential areas, keep the civilian population of the eastern regions as hostages, and prevent the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The World Health Organization informed that more than 300 people were killed and nearly one thousand injured in recent weeks in the city.

Recently, the Security Council members were discussing a French-drafted UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Aleppo.

Following the talks in Moscow on the proposal, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will visit Washington to discuss the measure, which calls for ending all flights over Aleppo.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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7 October 2016 16:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Iran, enjoying about 160 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, is seeking to reach pre-sanctions level of production and diversify the map of its oil supplies.

Currently, the Islamic Republic is in talks with Belarus over the oil supplies.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said his country is negotiating with Tehran on Iranian oil supply due to difficulties in talks with Russia on oil and gas, TASS reported.

We are conducting negotiations with Iran, which is looking to supply its oil and which will reduce the price for us, he said.

The Belarusian leader also said new suggestions have appeared in discussions with Russia, adding that Belarus is ready for a compromise.

Iran enjoys the fourth largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest exporter within OPEC. The Iranian government is heavily reliant on oil and gas revenues.

One of the country's primary aims after restrictions on oil sales were eased after the nuclear deal was to regain its markets in Europe. Before the latest sanctions were imposed in 2012, Iran was exporting about 0.6 million barrels a day of crude to countries in the European Union.

Meanwhile, China, India, Japan and South Korea are still Iran's most important customers.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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7 October 2016 15:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijans beautiful Guba and the Kyrgyz town of Kant have signed a protocol of intent to become sister cities

The document was undersigned by Kant Mayor Erkin Abdrakhmanov and Guba Region Executive Authority head Yashar Mammadov, Azertac reported.

The memorandum provides for the establishment of relations in cultural, political and other spheres between the two cities. The sides also hailed friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Yashar Mammadov spoke about Gubas rich nature and traditions of local people.

Gub, located 168 km from Baku and 600 m above sea level, has always been a favorite place of local and foreign tourists. The city enjoys favorable geographic location, mild climate, fruitful soil and natural resource.

One of Gubas most visited natural features is its unique waterfall in Pirbanovsha, where the flowing water creates graceful natural sculptures. Guba is also known for its hydrogen sulfide sources, located near the Khashichay. Here, in the narrow gorge, hot water with healing properties flows from the rocks.

History enthusiasts will also find enticing places to visit, like settlements dating to the 12-13th centuries, a temple dating back to the 9th century and several 19th-century buildings.

Guba is also famous for its apple orchards. It's most famous kind of apple is the White Apple (Ag alma). One cannot satisfy his/her hunger trying this yellow, fragrant and red cheeked fruit. Azerbaijanis are so proud of this kind of apple that they wrote a song for it called Gubas White Apple.

There are about 70 natural monuments here, inclduing Gelin qayasi, Qizil qaya, Guljahan dashy, Khatadara, Jafar valley, Nana-Huy valley, Khan spring, Stone brides, Tree House, Ateshgah Khaltan water, Khasi hot water, Sona spring, Qrkhbulag, Khan plane, Road guard, Pyrite depression, Oak Forest, Forests, Gyzylagaj forests are truly a natural paradise! The white-haired eagles living there were included in the Red Book of Azerbaijan.

There is a unique mountainous Khinalig village at the territory of this district. The population of the village is a separate ethnographic group with its only language.

Not far from Khinalig is located one of the fascinating villages of the Azerbaijan-Griz. The famous village Krasnaya Sloboda which is a home to one of the largest communities of Mountain Jews is also located in Guba.

Kant is the Kyrgyz town in the Chuy Valley, some 20 kilometres east of Bishkek. The Kyrgyz word for sugar is "kant". So, the city received its name when a sugar plant was built there in the 1930s.

Kant is an industrial and service center. The notable local enterprises include the Abdysh Ata Brewery, whose products are well known throughout Kyrgyzstan.

During the Soviet era, the city was home to a large number of ethnic Germans who had been forcibly relocated to Central Asia in 1941.

Several other nearby settlements, such as Luxemburg and Bergtal, still carry their German names.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - According to Great Walls most recent fiscal report, the Hebei-based manufacturer sold a total of 73,079 vehicles in August, representing year-on-year growth of 25.41%. The majority of Great Walls sales came from its SUV models: SUV sales totaled 63,983 units, representing year-on-year growth of 29.92%. A total of 592,307 Great Wall vehicles have been sold over the first eight months of the year, up 13.67% year-on-year.

The Haval H6 continues to be Great Walls flagship model, with 40,629 units sold in August, making the H6 a leader in its segment. Great Walls Haval H2 also put forward a strong performance, with a total of 11,875 units sold. The newly-released Haval H7 also performed strongly, with its sales increasing rapidly. 4,482 Haval H7s were sold in August. Sales of the Haval H1, Haval H8 and Haval H9 were in line with previous months. Meanwhile sales of Great Walls sedans and pickup trucks continue their ongoing downwards trend.

According to the report, 3,884 Haval H1 compact SUVs (pictured above) have been sold in August. A total of 44,724 units have been sold since the beginning of this year. The compact SUV segment which the Haval H1 is competing in has been becoming more and more saturated, with dozens of new models from various manufacturers being introduced. While the Haval H1 was able to maintain very minor growth, many of its competitors, including the JAC Refine S3, Chery Tiggo and Changan CS35, have all seen their sales decrease as new models like the Changan CS15 and Changhe Q35 come and take more and more market share. The fact that the Haval H1 has been able to sustain its current performance is an achievement in itself.

Monthly sales of the Haval H2 (pictured above) totaled 11,875 units, falling 6% year-on-year. This is the 23rd consecutive month that sales of the H2 surpassed the 10,000 mark. Earlier in August the 2017 model year H2 made its official market debut, priced at between 86,800 RMB and 111,800 RMB. With its more affordable price point and upgraded amenities, the new revision has been very positively received. The premium Blue Label model, priced at between 95,800 RMB and 118,800 RMB, debuted at the Chengdu Auto Show later that month. Sales of the H2 look to increase even further when the market picks up in September and October.

The Haval H5s (pictured above) August sales totaled 1,552 units, while its combined sales for the first eight months of the year totaled 15,116 units. These figures are in line with the models status as being relatively unknown. While failing to attain massive popularity, the Haval H5 still has its loyal share of customers in the country.

Ever since its launch, the Haval H6 (pictured above) has proven to be a huge cash cow for Great Wall, leading its segment by a large margin. Sales of the Haval H6 broke the 40,000 mark, and with commendable year-on-year growth of 49.36%, there seems to be no sign of stopping this models popularity as the Chinese auto market enters the peak sales months of September and October. The Haval H6 may very likely be the only Chinese SUV model to achieve a monthly sales volume of over 50,000 units. A diesel-powered version of the vehicle was released in August to further expand its market coverage. The Haval H6 has been the most popular Chinese passenger automobile on the global market, ranking in international top ten lists. So far 319,961 H6s have been sold this year, with hopes that the vehicles total annual sales will surpass the 450,000 mark.

The Haval H7 (pictured above) has also achieved steady sales growth since its launch, with its total sales for August 4,482 units. A total of 16,620 H7s have been sold over the first eight months of the year. Despite its solid performance, the fact remains that Chinese buyers shopping in the 140,000 RMB range which the Haval H7 is priced at prefer to select foreign brand models. Domestic own brands still need to catch up with Sino-foreign joint ventures in this regard.

Only 651 Haval H8s (pictured above) were sold this month, leaving little impact on the market. The full-size SUV market is already full of more popular models, such as the Trumpchi GS8, that the Haval H8 has not been able to leave much of an impact of its own.

The Haval H9 (pictured above), despite achieving seemingly strong monthly sales growth of 36.23%, has had its market potential severely limited, as it has been unable to compete with offerings from foreign brands.

Great Walls C30 sedan (pictured above) is beginning to disappear from the Chinese market, as it has failed to win the admiration of Chinese sedan buyers. Even with the introduction of an electric vehicle variant, there doesnt seem to be a lot of hope for the C30. Only 18,367 C30s have been sold in the first eight months of the year, failing to generate a great deal of profits for Great Wall.

A total of 7,674 Wingle brand pickup trucks (pictured above) have been sold in August, down slightly from last year. The brands January to August sales totaled 67,812 units, which makes it a leader in the pickup segment. However the limited scope of the Chinese pickup market as a whole has severely limited the brands potential.
7 October 2016 12:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The Iranian airline Mahan Air will launch regular flights between Tehran and Baku from October 31, the press service of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport reported on October 7.

The relevant permission was issued by the Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Administration after receiving a request from Mahan Air.

Flights are scheduled three times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays with liner Airbus A310.

Flights to Tehran are also carried out by Azerbaijan Airlines and Iranian ATA Airlines.

Mahan Air was established as the first Iranian private airline in 1992. Currently, it carries out about 40,000 flights a year to the Far East, Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, and inside the country.

The airlines main home bases are Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport. Its fleet consists of two Boeing 747-300, 35 different-type Airbuses, and 17 BAE 146-300 aircraft.

In general, Azerbaijan is annualy visited by a large number of Iranians. About 150,000 tourists came to the country from Iran in 2015.

A significant part of the tourists visiting Azerbaijan during this years Novruz celebrations were also citizens of Iran. The number of tourists was significantly more this year compared to 2015. A great flow of Iranian tourists was also felt during summer months.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 76F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Cloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Low 54F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Dongguang Group, a large-size state-owned enterprise affiliated to the China North Industries Group Corporation (CNGC), now has seven subsidiaries, with one engaged in the manufacturing of military products and the other six in making civilian products. Five of the six civilian companies are related to the auto industry: Changchun Yidong Clutch Co., Ltd, a listed company that makes clutches; Jilin Auto Brake Company that makes brake vacuum boosters, brake master cylinders, air-vacuum proportional valves, coolant reservoirs, and brake calipers; Jilin Dahua Machine MFG Co., Ltd. that makes flywheels and gear rings; Jilin Dongguang Rainbow Auto Lamp Co., Ltd. that makes auto lamps; Jilin FAW Service Industries Dongguang Auto Mirror Co., Ltd. that makes auto mirrors.

The auto-parts business of Guangguang Group has explored a way of its own. Its clutches, flywheels and gear rings have achieved the biggest production capacities and sales figures in mainland China, and the assembly products of gear rings have 30% market share. Guangguang Group also exports its lots of its products and has OEM businesses for GM, German VW, Brazil VW, Caterpillar, Cummins, PSA (Peugeot Citroen), Valeo and other global carmakers. Dahua Machine MFG exports one third of its products globally and this year the company are expected to make 4.5 million gear rings and 2.5 assemblies of flywheel gear rings, surely the biggest output of its kind in China.

Gasgoo.com: Can you describe the growth history of Guangguang Group?

Wan Weiting: As an auto-parts manufacturer, Dongguang Group has a very clear strategy of its development. In the early stage of China's auto-parts development in the 1980s, we transformed our production from military products to the auto industry. At that time we had neither experience nor market, and then we targeted at the making of clutches. CNGC and FAW cooperated in building a joint venture to make auto clutches, a company that has now developed into the current Changchun Yidong Clutch Co., Ltd.

In the second stage, Dongguang Group increased its product series by low-cost expansion. In 2005, the group merged and acquired Jilin Rainbow and Jilin Duahua.

The sales value of Dongguang Group is expected to reach 1.5 billion yuan ($215 million) this year (compared with 1.3 billion yuan of last year), with 10% of the value generated by export.

Gasgoo.com: Domestic suppliers seldom successfully get bigger through merger or reorganization because it not only requires huge fund support but a harmonious fusion following the merger. How did you manage this problem in your development history?

Wang Weiting: One thing I would like to say is that originally I was general manager of Dahua, but now I am also deputy general manager of marketing at Dongguang Group, thus I know exactly how our incorporation works. When Dongguang first acquired Dahua in January 6 2006, Dongguang just kept Dahua as what it was and never interfere with its internal affairs. Dahua is free to change their own development route whenever they want. So the most important factor for a successful merger is that you must take a positive attitude and have confidence in the leadership of the company you choose.

With this awareness, Dahua has had tremendous success since it joined Dongguang Group. In 2005 Dahua achieved sales revenue of 80 million yuan, and this figure has rocketed to 130 million yuan in 2006 and 230 million yuan in 2007. It is expecting sales revenue of 300 million this year.

Gasgoo.com: Some say the merger in the auto part industry is an inevitable trend in the market. If you cant beat them, then join them. In this case, can your experience of merger be copied by others?

Wang Weiting: It would be very hard to do it. Two counterparts in a market, just like two pieces of leaves, appear the same but in fact are different.

Gasgoo.com: How much will you spend in improving R&D capabilities each year?

Wang Weiting: Around 3.5% to 5.5% of our sales revenue, though there will be a slight difference depending on various development stages.

Gasgoo.com: Two challenges facing China's auto parts enterprises right now is management and technology, according to a recent report. In your view, what's the main cause of China's problematic auto parts industry?

Wang Weiting: Impetuous attitude and low level of management.

More often than not both the managers and technical engineers have an impetuous attitude, which often results in them using incorrect methods of attempting to copy others and gaining a quick success whenever possible.

In terms of management, we lack high level management talents to get everything planned in a rewarding way. Foreign companies usually take a prolonged procedure to trial a product before they start massive production. We just don't have such engineers and managers to get this started.

Gasgoo.com: Problems exist among many domestic enterprises when they get in touch with sourcing companies. Some fail to meet the specifications of global sourcing companies. Some can meet the specifications but the International global sourcing company gives up due to the labyrinthine procedures. Some high-quality suppliers lack production capabilities of doing international business because of relatively fast growing domestic business. Can you describe how to do business with global sourcing companies according to the OEM experience of Jilin Dongguang Group?

Wang Weiting: That is only a short-term phenomenon for suppliers lacking production capability of doing international business or having no interest in the international business. I'm sure these two kinds of enterprises have no future in the long run if they continue like this.


Seyed Kazem Hojjat

General Manager

Iran Khodro China



Gasgoo.com: It's rumored that the tie-up between Iran Khodro Industrial Group (IKCO) and Jinhua Youngman Auto may be on the verge of breaking down, while the cooperation with Chery Auto could be deepened. Is it true? Tell us more details on the two partners.

S. K. Hojjat : The cooperation between Iran Khodro and Jinhua Youngman is still going well, not ended, not suspended. Iran Khodro signed a joint venture agreement with Jinhua Youngman, and the JV was established in April 2006, in which Iran Khodro controls 30 percent and the left stake goes to Youngman. The registered capital was $60 million. At first we planed to produced Iran Khodro's own-branded car-Samand in the TaiAn factory in Shandong province (the construction work is now almost finished and manufacturing facilities and equipments are going to be established.)

In October 2007, both presidents from Iran Khodro and Youngman had a meeting in TaiAn city. They later decided to change the target: rather than to produce the Samand, the JV will produce a new model--X12. The X12 is not the final name of the new car; later we'll find a good name for the car to launch onto both the Iranian market and Chinese market. It's designed and developed by Iran Khodro.

For this project, we aimed a 70 percent localization-to source 70 percent of the components from the Chinese suppliers, though it could stand at 40 percent at the first stage. We're now trying to look for OEM suppliers in China; for those parts that we can't find qualified suppliers, then we must import the parts from Iran.

Gasgoo.com: When will the X12 go to the market?

S. K. Hojjat : It's scheduled to be marketed in early 2009. We're trying our best to put the car into production.

I've found that the manufacturing cost in China is lower than in Iran, but the main problem is quality. As you know, the Chinese suppliers' quality level is sometimes lower than in Iran where the standards are similar to European standards. It could be a problem to find Chinese suppliers that can produce components for X12 based on the Iran Khodro's standards. It is about three months that we are looking to find suppliers, especially for interior parts in the car, and fortunately we found some potential suppliers.

In the future as localization goes on to keep competitive price of the car, we will probably export some of the parts to Iran.

Gasgoo.com: What kind of car the X12 could be?

S. K. Hojjat : The sedan would be priced lower than RMB 100,000 for the basic model and a little higher than RMB 100,000 for new models with options, and it could be used as a family car. The exact price will be declared later as the designing process is still carrying on, the supplying contract is still unfinished and we have to calculate the total cost.

Gasgoo.com: IKCO showcased its Samand Soren at the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show. But it didn't receive much praise from the media. I wonder whether it's because that the car is not to the Chinese consumers' taste so you drop the production plan.

S. K. Hojjat : We did a market survey for the car SAMAND LX in 2005 and the result showed the Chinese consumers did accept the car, but later as the joint venture company has to be more feasible so we decided to put another car into production.

Exporting plan of Samand to China has not been canceled yet. As Iran Khodro engineers add new models to the Samand Soren, we may export or produce the car in China with another partner in the future. Also at the moment we're still talking with Chinese importers and dealers to sell the car in some inland provinces like Sichuan and Xinjiang.

Gasgoo.com: Iran Khodro also has cooperation with another Chinese automaker-Chery Automobile Co. Could you give a brief introduction on that?

S. K. Hojjat : Iran Khodro and Chery Auto have signed two contracts. According to the contract signed three years ago, 60,000 units of Chery cars-A15, a passenger car model-are to be exported to Iran as complete knocked-down (CKD) kits. We finally move the project to the Mashhad plant and the production will start very soon.

Another contract is a three way tie-up. Iran Khodro (49 percent shares), Chery Auto (30 percent shares) and a private company (21 percent shares) agreed to form a joint venture to produce the S21-a low-price car model from Chery in the form of CKD kits. The capacity of the production line is more than 100,000 units per year. Now we're still looking for the proper location for the new plant and solving the technical problems. Also there's possibility to export these Chery cars to the neighboring countries.

Gasgoo.com: As the biggest automotive manufacturer throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Iran Khodro has just showcased its first self-developed engine at the 2008 Engine Expo at Stuttgart this month. What are the benefits for those Chinese partners with Iran Khodro and what's your development plan in China in the coming years?

S. K. Hojjat : First of all, it's good for the Chinese companies (such as Youngman) to work with Iran Khodro. If they reach the Iranian standards then it'll be easier for them to export cars to the Middle East markets. It's win-win. You know we have some plans to introduce Chinese cars as CBU (completely build-up unit) to the Iranian market; of course they should at least meet the Euro III standard. The Iranian auto market is a large market, with around 1 million units being produced every year. The government has issued new policies on replacement of the decrepit vehicles with new cars, so the demand for new cars is a good chance for the Iranian automakers and also the foreigners, especially for Chinese manufacturers. What's more, Iran can be a good exporting hub of cars into the market of the Middle East.

IKCO Diesel, the commercial vehicle arm of the group has already signed a contract with China National Heavy Truck Company (CNHTC), importing HOWO trucks from China. The two sides are set to renew their contract, but so far Iran Khodro has no plan to start commercial vehicle production in China.
Q1. Who is the governor of Karnataka?

(a) V.P. Singh Badnore

(b) Vajubhai Vala

(c) Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao

(d) S. C. Jamir

(e) V. Shanmuganthan

Q2. Who is current Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister in Narendra Modi government?

(a) Ananthkumar

(b) Kalraj Mishra

(c) Anant Geete

(d) Ravi Shankar Prasad

(e) Ramvilas Paswan

Q3. Capital of Denmark is?

(a) Tbilisi

(b) Copenhagen

(c) Conakry

(d) Djibouti

(e) Roseau

Q4. Bandipur National Park is situated in which of the following Indian state?

(a) Karnataka

(b) Kerala

(c) West Bengal

(d) Uttar Pradesh

(e) Madhya Pradesh

Q5. World Heritage Day is observed on which of the following date?

(a) April 18

(b) April 7

(c) April 27

(d) April 28

(e) April 21

Q6. Which city is served by Swami Vivekananda Airport?

(a) Tirupati

(b) Tezu

(c) Raipur

(d) Gangtok

(e) Agra

Q7. Which Indian city is also known as Financial Capital of India?

(a) Mumbai

(b) Banglore

(c) Chennai

(d) New Delhi

(e) Kolkata





Q8. Name of the parliament of Vietnam is

(a) National Assembly

(b) Congress

(c) Federal Assembly

(d) House of Assembly

(e) National Parliament





Q9. Kodasalli Dam is in which of the following state?

(a) Madhya Pradesh

(b) Uttar Pradesh

(c) Himachal Pradesh

(d) Jammu and kashmir

(e) Karnataka

Q10. Headquarter of New Development Bank(NDB) is in which of the following city?

(a) New Delhi

(b) Beijing

(c) Johannesburg

(d) Shanghai

(e) Rio de Janeiro

Q11. What is the Currency of Argentina?

(a) Litas

(b) Euro

(c) Dram

(d) Peso

(e) Tenge

Q12. Mahatama Gandhi Marine National Park is situated in which of the following Indian state/UT?

(a) Lakshadweep islands

(b) Daman and Diu

(c) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(d) Goa

(e) Kerala

Q13. Matki Dance is the folk dance of which of the following state?

(a) Odisha

(b) Madhya Pradesh

(c) West Bengal

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Gujarat

Q14. Mullaperiyar Dam is in which of the following state?

(a) Karnataka

(b) Andhra Pradesh

(c) Kerala

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Odisha

Q15. Who is the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh?

(a) Pema Khandu

(b) Vajubhai Vala

(c) Pawan Kumar Chamling

(d) Manik Sarkar

(e) Nara Chandrababu Naidu

Solutions

S1. Ans.(b)

Sol. Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala is an Indian politician and the incumbent Governor of Karnataka, a state of India, since September 2014. He served as the Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2014. He served as a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Gujarat, holding various portfolios, such as Finance, Labour and Employment, from 1997 to 2012.

S2. Ans.(e)

Sol. Ram Vilas Paswan is an Indian politician, from Bihar and the current Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution. Paswan is also the president of the Lok Janshakti Party, eight time Lok Sabha member and former Rajya Sabha MP.

S3. Ans.(b)

Sol. Denmark is a Scandinavian country comprising the Jutland Peninsula and numerous islands. Copenhagen, Denmarks capital, sits on the coastal islands of Zealand and Amager. Its linked to Malmo in southern Sweden by the Oresund Bridge. Currency of Denmark is Krone.

S4. Ans.(a)

Sol. Bandipur National Park, an 874-sq.-km forested reserve in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, is known for its small population of tigers. Once the private hunting ground of the Maharajas of Mysore, the park also harbors Indian elephants, spotted deer, gaurs (bison), antelopes and numerous other native species.

S5. Ans.(a)

Sol. Every year World Heritage Day (WHD) is celebrated on 18th April to appreciate that Heritage is the shared wealth of humankind and of societies. Our monuments and sites can only be protected with the collective efforts of the international community.

S6. Ans.(c)

Sol. Swami Vivekananda Airport is the primary airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The airport is centrally located at Mana, 15 km south of Raipur between the old city and the new seat of the state government Naya Raipur. It is the 28th busiest airport in India.

S7. Ans.(a)

Sol. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra state of India. Located on the west coast of India , it is having a great natural harbor. Being the Financial capital it is the richest city of India with the Highest GDP. Mumbai is among the worlds top 10 centers of commerce if we talk about the financial Flow.

S8. Ans.(a)

Sol. The National Assembly is Vietnams legislative body. The Constitution of Vietnam recognizes the assembly as the highest organ of state power. The National Assembly, a 498-member unicameral body elected to a five-year term, meets twice a year. The assembly appoints the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court of Vietnam, the Head of the Supreme Peoples Procuracy of Vietnam, and the 21-member Government.

S9. Ans.(e)

Sol. Kodasalli Dam is built across the Kali River in Yellapura taluk of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state, India. This dam was built by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited.

S10. Ans.(d)

Sol. The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).The bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China. The first regional office of the NDB will be opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.

S11. Ans.(d)

Sol. The peso is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. Capital of Argentina is Buenos.

S12.Ans.(c)

Sol. Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park is a national park of India in Wandoor on the Andaman Islands. Situated 29 km. from Port Blair, the park covers 281.5 km made up of 15 islands and the open sea creeks running through the area.

S13. Ans.(b)

Sol. Matki Dance is mostly performed in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is a solo dance performed by ladies on special occasions like weddings, birthdays, or any other special occasion.

S14. Ans.(c)

Sol. The Mullaperiyar Dam or Mullaiperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala It is located 881 m above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India.

S15. Ans.(e)

Sol. Nara Chandrababu Naidu is an Indian politician who has been Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh since 2014. Previously he served as Chief Minister from 1995 to 2004. He is also the President of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.






Tourists gather at a Disney store in east China's Shanghai, Oct 3, 2016, the third day of the Chinese National Day holidays. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China saw a marked increase in train trips and tourism income as millions of Chinese went on a travelling spree for the National Day holiday, known as "Golden Week", data showed Friday.

Altogether 11.39 million train trips were made around the country on Thursday, the penultimate day of the holiday, up 11.6 percent year on year, according to figures released by China Railway Corp.

From Sept 28 to Oct 7, it is estimated that 108 million passengers will have made train journeys, up 9.3 percent year on year, according to the company.

Train trips are expected to hit 12.57 million on Saturday alone, the last day of the National Day holiday.

China is expected to have made 478.18 billion yuan (71.58 billion US dollars) from tourism income during the holiday week, a 13.5 percent increase year on year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, an online travel agent.

China's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, according to the survey.
Many of the people evacuating Florida's east coast landed in Polk County Thursday.

Gas stations in Polk County running out of fuel

Only a few hotel rooms were still available Thursday night

Category 4 storm bearing down on Florida



Check for remaining Polk County hotels



Early in the morning, many of the gas stations in the eastern portion of the county had sold out of gasoline.



Its no gas anywhere. Ive been checking here and all around Auburndale and its nothing, said Lisandra Nader.

Murphy USA in Auburndale was one of the few that still had fuel left. As people lined up there throughout the day, it was left with only premium fuel after 3 p.m.

Related Story: Polk County residents prepare for Matthew

Workers at one station said they had no idea when more fuel would arrive because all of the gas stations in the area were requesting it, and they had no idea who would get more fuel first.

Be prepared

Stay with Bay News 9 online and on mobile for the latest updates on Hurricane Matthew. If you lose power, count on us to get you the information you need to stay safe.

Bread and water were also hard to come by. The Publix in Lakeland near I-4 sold out of bottled water Wednesday evening. A worker said they had ordered two shipments, but had no idea when theyd arrive.



Around noon, at the Walmart in Auburndale, palettes of bottled water arrived and workers were filling the shelves. But bread and canned meat were all gone.

"I think it's a crazy situation that all of these shelves could be so empty, said Steve Brodie.

People looking for a place to stay in Polk County also had a tough time. Many of the hotels had a sold out sign posted at the entrance, including the Days Inn and Suites in Lakeland.

"We've been sold out since (Thursday) morning and people are steady calling and coming and thinking we're lying. I guess that's why they put the sold out sign on the door, said Angelia Haugbrook, a housekeeper there.

According to Visit Central Florida, only 11 places in the entire county had rooms or rental homes available Thursday night, and those rooms were going fast.

Other shelter information

HILLSBOROUGH:

TEMPORARY HURRICAN SHELTER

OPEN FOR ALL PEOPLE

ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF TAMPA BAY AREA

OUR MOSQUE IS YOUR HOME

WE HAVE BLANKETS, PILLOWS, FOOD

YOUR SAFETY COMES FIRST

7326 E. SLIGH AVE., TAMPA, FL 33610

http://hcflgov.net/en/newsroom/2016/10/06/hillsborough-county-opens-emergency-shelters

MANATEE:

Three public shelters will open today at 4 p.m., including:

Manatee High School, 902 33rd St. Ct. W., Bradenton (pet friendly)

Virgil Mills Elementary School, 7200 69th St. E., Palmetto (pet friendly)

Myakka Elementary 37205 Manatee Ave., Myakka City

Nolan Middle School (special needs shelter, pet-friendly)  6615 Greenbrook Boulevard, Lakewood Ranch

CITRUS:

Lecanto Primary School

3790 W. Educational Path

Lecanto, FL

General Population Shelter

Pet Friendly Shelter (bring crate if possible, food, leash, baggies and scooper)

Renaissance Center

3630 W. Educational Path

Lecanto, FL

Special Needs Shelter

Bring all necessary medications and medical supplies (for up to 3 days) If you do not have transportation, Citrus County Transit can provide free transportation to the special needs shelter until 9 PM tonight (Thursday).

Call 527-7630 if you need transportation.

HERNANDO:

The shelter will open at 3 p.m. on 10-06-16 at The Mining Association Enrichment Center, located at 800 John Gary Grubbs Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34601.

The shelter will serve:

General population.

Special needs residents

Special needs residents should bring all needed supplies with them.

Pets (dogs and cats only)

Pet owners should bring all pet supplies with them including food, crates, leashes, and bowls.



PASCO:

PASCO COUNTY, FL ---- Pasco County is opening a hurricane shelter for residents who would like to leave their home ahead of Hurricane Matthew. Wiregrass Ranch High School will open today, Thursday October 6 at 7 p.m. giving residents a place to ride out the storm.
St. Petersburg Police arrested a 68-year-old woman on Friday, and charged her with stealing more than $125,000 from the living trust of a 94-year-old man.

Jane E. Vatelot, 68, a licensed professional guardian

Vatelot contacted about assisting victim with finances

Vatelot used funds for own personal expenses

Officials said St. Pete Police Department of Economic Crimes detectives arrested Jane E. Vatelot, 68, on a warrant of Exploitation of the Elderly, a felony offense.



According to detectives, Vatelot is a licensed professional guardian. Vatelot reportedly was contacted about assisting the victim with his finances, and was granted Power of Attorney by the victim, who lacked the capacity to consent at the time.



Detectives said Vatelot then used her access to the victim's living trust account to obtain funds for her own personal expenses. Those expenses reportedly included mortgage, credit card, and car insurance payments.



Detectives currently calculate the loss at approximately $126,000.
Here's the latest on power outages in the Central Florida area due to Hurricane Matthew.



Tuesday, Oct. 11

The latest power outages:

Duke Energy power outages as of 5:31 a.m.

Orange County: 5

Polk County: 10

Florida Power and Light customers without power as of 5 a.m.

Brevard County: 300

Flagler County: 1,650

Putnam County: 130

Seminole County: 1,350

St. Johns County: 1,130

Volusia County: 10,270



Utilities Commission City of New Smyrna Beach outages as of Monday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m.

"Less than 72 hours after Category 3 Hurricane Matthew visited us here in beautiful New Smyrna Beach, our public power electric crews have restored service to approximately 85% of our customers. ... Again, please do not make repetitive calls as it slows down response time."

Monday, Oct. 10

As of 11:30 a.m.

Kissimmee Utility Authority

West Kissimmee area: 1,132



as of 10 a.m.

Florida Power & Light

Flagler: 17,410

Volusia: 23,120

Brevard: 5,730

Seminole: 1,980

Duke Energy

Seminole County: 36

Orange: 158

Lake: 12

Sunday, Oct. 9

The latest power outages (as of 3:55 p.m.):

FPL outages

Brevard County: 25,390

Flagler County: 36,490

Seminole County: 4,270

Volusia County: 63,100

Duke Energy outages

Flagler County: 16

Lake County: 228

Marion County: 0

Orange County: 3,064

Seminole County: 2,859

Volusia County: 37,324

Saturday, Oct. 8

The latest power outages:

Duke Energy power outages as of 4:17 p.m.

Orange County: 10,582

Flagler County: 0

Lake County: 2,202

Marion County: 908

Osceola County: 18

Polk County: 34

Seminole County: 14,644

Sumter County: 1

Volusia County: 0

Florida Power and Light customers without power as of 4 p.m.

Brevard County: 101,540

Flagler County: 50,280

Orange County: 0

Osceola County: 0

Putnam County: 4,620

Seminole County: 7,940

St. Johns County: 41,040

Volusia County: 115,970



Orlando Utilities Commission outages as of 2 p.m.

"OUC is conducting a final sweep of the system and will have any open outages caused by the storm closed by 6 p.m."

7:25 p.m., Friday, Oct. 07

Utilities Commission New Smyrna Beach (UCNSB) says all customers are without power.

The main transmission line to the main power station is down.

In addition, the phone number to get information is down.

Customers are being asked to turn off the main breaker panel to their home so once power is restored they will not experience a damaging surge.

Crews are starting priority restoration today and assessing infrastructure. Crews from several power companies will help restore power Saturday.

If you see a power crew in your area and you have a generator hooked up to a breaker panel, UCNSB is asking that you shut it off.

More information.

Live Blog Matthew EOC

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;

Duke Energy Power Outage Map

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;



Florida Power and Light Power Outage Map

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;



Ocala Electric Utility Power Outage Map

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Orlando Utilities Commission Power Outage Map
Near Record Season for Oregon Coast Whale Sightings Continues

Published 10/07/2016 at 6:51 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Depoe Bay, Oregon)  Some are calling it a record season for whale watching on the central Oregon coast, with so many gray whales spotted and encountered on the tours and on the shoreline that it's off the charts for some who are keeping track. Meanwhile, on the north Oregon coast, in the Astoria area, the Humpback whales are still putting on a show.

The fun looks like it will continue through the end of October and into the beginning of November, say experts.

The big concentration is in the Depoe Bay area. It's there that some witnesses say it's not uncommon to encounter five or six whales in a two-hour period  and that's just from shore. Whale watch tour boats are getting an even bigger eyeful. But whale tours in the Newport area are also seeing great numbers, and the Yachats area is having quite a few encounters as well.

Luke Parsons is park ranger with Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) and the spokesman for the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay. He said it's a combination of great summer weather conditions and something about the food sources in the area.

It's been a really, really good summer for whale watching, Parsons said. We suspect ocean conditions have been really good for food for these animals. And at the same time we've had a really nice summer. Haven't had too many extremely windy days, and that's provided lots of excellent viewing in the area.

Right now is still technically the second summer on the Oregon coast, normally providing the warmest time of the year through mid October. While it's been plenty windy and soggy lately, better weather is expected to return.

Pleasant conditions not only make it easier for the whales to be seen, but wilder waves can keep them from coming in close.

Winds and waves create a challenge to see them, Parsons said. It's hard to see a whale behind a 20-foot wave.

Parsons said the Whale Watch Center has reported about 10 to 20 whale sightings a day. Others, including some followers on the Oregon Coast Beach Connection Facebook page have said they've encountered more.

The best part is it's expected to continue. Parsons said the great numbers of gray whales should be around even into early November. That's when the resident whales start to join the migration south (which then brings in more whales in mid December through late January).

Parsons said the majority are being seen from about Otter Rock up to Gleneden Beach (just north of Newport to just south of Lincoln City). That's where the rocky terrain allows the kelp forests to live, and that's where the whales' favorite food  mysid shrimp  hide out.

The biggest hotspots for sighting them will be places like Rocky Creek, Otter Crest Loop, Boiler Bay and the seawall at Depoe Bay. But Parsons said great numbers are being reported by the whale tours out of Newport and by the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center just south of Yachats.

Even Lincoln City is seeing a fair amount, but they can't get in very close like they do in those rockier areas.

Parsons said no one really knows exactly what is creating ideal conditions for the whales' food sources. But since that entire area around Depoe Bay is part of a marine reserve, it's a section that is normally teeming with all kinds of life.

Up in the Astoria area, the reports of the Humpbacks are quite dramatic. These are being seen up the Columbia River for the second year in a row now. Although last year there were more of them and they sometimes loitered around Cannon Beach.

Tiffany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium said the Humpbacks are getting seen at least two or three times a day, with as many as six or so being reported.

These probably won't stick around as long the grays on the central coast, however.

Those guys are chasing schools of bait fish, like anchovies, herring and so on, Parsons said. They're following them up the Columbia and putting on quite a show.

Boothe said they've been primarily seen in about three places in Astoria: by the Cannery Pier Hotel, the Hammond marina and along the bayfront just shy of the bridge. Oregon Coast Hotels for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours





Photos below of Humpbacks in Astoria, courtesy Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium







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Former Beaumont ISD contract electrician Calvin Walker is asking a federal judge to give him more time to hire an attorney for his federal conspiracy and defamation lawsuit after the court allowed his previous counsel to withdraw from the case.

In a motion filed on Tuesday, Walker says he respects Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin's Sept. 22 ruling to allow his former attorney, Maria-Vittoria Carminati, to move on, calling her departure "a gift."

Walker is asking for a 60-day extension from the Oct. 26 deadline set by Giblin to hire a new attorney.

Carminati wrote in an Aug. 29 motion requesting to withdraw as counsel that there was "a total breakdown" in the relationship with her clients, Walker and former district employee

Jessie Haynes.

In that same motion, Carminati, who said she was moving to Colorado, said Walker had an outstanding balance of $71,000 that he owed to her Houston law firm.

Walker disputes the claim and said Carminati actually owes him an $8,500 retainer refund.

In a Sept. 12 objection to Carminati's motion, Walker said he never received invoices "even close" to $71,000.

"(Carminati) clearly misrepresented to the courts that she received nothing," Walker wrote in his motion filed on Tuesday.

The financial dispute likely will be settled through arbitration, according to Carminati, though no hearing date has been set.

Haynes, who Walker claims Carminati added as a plaintiff to his suit without his consent, filed a formal objection to Carminati's withdrawal from the case one week after Giblin had already granted the attorney's motion.

"My objection is focused on the fact that it was Mrs. Carminati's reiteration to me that she would see this case through until the end," Haynes wrote in her motion.

Both Walker and Haynes claim it was Carminati's ambitious pursuit that led to them to file suit against more than 30 people and institutions in Beaumont.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2015, alleges a scheme to maintain "white dominion" in local politics and prevent African-Americans from gaining power.

Walker was accused of stealing millions of dollars from the Beaumont school district and was indicted in May 2011 on 37 federal counts of fraud and money laundering. His federal criminal case resulted in a mistrial that same year and Walker later pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of failing to pay his taxes in a timely manner.

A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Walker in July 2014 on four counts of fraud and two counts of money-laundering, all first-degree felonies that carry a possible punishment of life in prison. The indictments accuse Walker of theft of $4.7 million from BISD and the city of Port Arthur.

Walker, who has told The Enterprise he is innocent, is appealing the state's criminal case to the United States Supreme Court, citing his Constitutional projection against double jeopardy.

Walker said in a previous interview that the initial targets of his federal civil lawsuit were Beaumont ISD, U.S. Attorney Malcolm Bales and then-Jefferson County District Attorney Cory Crenshaw. He said he wanted to sue the two federal and state prosecutors for denying his double-jeopardy protection.

Most of the defendants, including BISD, Bales and Crenshaw, have been dismissed from the lawsuit.

Walker has said he plans to appeal the dismissals with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/BrandonKScott
After meeting opposition in several Southeast Texas communities, Riceland Farms has put plans for a meat processing facility on hold until the beginning of next year, according to a project leader.

"There has been no progress," said Hani Tohme, an engineer on the project. "We are not even looking for an area right now."

Nick Lampson, a spokesman for the company and former U.S. congressman, said he had not discussed the plans with that part of the Riceland company "for some time," but said "it is still a viable project."

"Everything is still on the table," as far as a location, he said.

In June, Lampson said that Riceland Farms was considering locations in Silsbee, Newton, Lumberton and Kountze. Officials in those cities said that they had not been contacted recently about any plans.

"They just kind of went silent as far as the city of Kountze," said city manager Roderick Hutto.

Hutto said that the city had suggested a few properties outside the city limits.

Lumberton was likely eliminated because of

insufficient utilities, according to Roger Fussell, the city's Municipal Utility District Manager, who said he met with a representative from Riceland "several months ago."

"We talked about the utility needs they would be expecting," he said, and "based on what he had told me, we don't have the capacity to serve that."

Locating the slaughterhouse in Lumberton would require a substantial expansion on both the company's and city's part, Fussell said. Since that meeting, he has not been contacted by the company again, he said.

Newton city administrator Donald Meek also said discussions about locating the facility there never made it past an initial conversation, while Silsbee's city manager DeAnn Zimmerman said that "as far as I know, it's dead, it's not happening."

A Facebook group called "Hardin County United Against Riceland Halal Meat Packing Plant" was formed in June and attracted more than 3,000 members, many of whom voiced opposition to the plant for both environmental and religious reasons. Some in the group commented that they were worried about smells and waste disposal from the facility. others objected to the company's plan to butcher animals according to halal requirements set by Islamic law.

Another group called "Buna Residents United Against Riceland Halal Meat Processing Plant" started in July and has more than 1,000 members.

Tohme said that the project was not stalled by opposition but that the negative response has affected their a decision about where to locate.

The project, backed by the Javed family, who own the Beaumont-based Starco Implex national distribution network, faltered earlier this year amid high infrastructure costs in Chambers County. It was formally rejected in Port Arthur, where residents said they were concerned about a possible smell and impacts to water and sewer systems.

The company could legally obtain permits even in places where citizens objected, but "we don't want to be in a place where the people don't want that project," Tohme said. "It's going to bring too much value to the community, we don't want to bring that value to a community that doesn't want it there."

Riceland officials said this spring that the $7.6 million project would employ up to 200 people.

The company was considering locations near Dallas, Lampson said in June. He said on Thursday that Southeast Texas is still an option.

Tohme said that the company would "definitely like it to be in this area because the owner's main businesses are in this area," but that neither he nor the company are concentrating on the project now.

Tohme said he anticipates the project will be revisited in 2017.

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/LizTeitz
A 25-year-old truck driver was electrocuted in Liberty County on Thursday morning when the bed of his dump truck struck a power line, authorities said.

The truck driver was identified as Thomas Mendoza, Jr. of Baytown, according to a news release from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office.
Dirty surfaces, foods stored at improper temperatures and grease build-up that resulted in a potential fire hazard were among the health code violations found at restaurants by the Hardin County health inspector in the month of September.

It was a less-than-dazzling month for Chinese buffets, which were recipients of the complaints above, with one restaurant in Lumberton getting shut down until they could get the restaurant in order.
Utah father Ryan Grassley posted a photo of a hospital bill on Reddit showing a $39.95 charge that he characterized as a fee "to hold my baby after he was born."

The itemized bill for the delivery of a baby by caesarean section on Sept. 4 contains a $39.95 charge for an item listed as "skin to skin after C-sec." Mr. Grassley initially redacted any information identifying the hospital, but has since told The New York Times their child was born at UtahValleyHospital in Provo.

Mr. Grassley clarified he and his wife were amused, rather than outraged, over the charge. But the Reddit post published Monday touched a nerve nationally because it seemed to underscore a growing frustration with unexpected hospital fees and arcane medical billing. The post garnered more than 11,800 votes as of Wednesday.

"The nurse let me hold the baby on my wife's neck/chest. Even borrowed my camera to take a few pictures of us," the user wrote. "Everyone involved in [delivery] process was great, and we had a positive experience. We just got a chuckle out of seeing [the charge] on the bill."

UtahValleyHospital issued a statement in response to the post, explaining the skin-to-skin contact in the operating room following a C-section requires the presence of an additional nurse for supervision.

"Only in the case of a C-section birth is an additional nurse brought into the operating room. This is to ensure both mom and baby remain safe, as the mother has been medicated for the procedure," a hospital spokesperson said in the statement.

"I [have since] sent an email to the hospital and the subject line said, 'I think I may have ruined your day,'" Mr. Grassley said, noting he has no plans to contest the fee.
The August cyberattack on Gahanna-based Central Ohio Urology Group affected 300,000 patients, according to new information from the physician practice submitted to HHS.

Central Ohio Urology Group was the victim of a cyberattack in which an unauthorized person posted online files and documents from the practice's internal file server containing personal information. Original reports said the hackers stole more than 105,000 internal documents.

HHS' Office for Civil Rights' breach notification portal indicates the breach affects 300,000 patients, making it the eighth largest healthcare breach so far this year, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The breach affects patients, employees and, in some cases, people that paid for medical services. The extent and type of information exposed varies by individual, but could include names, addresses, telephone numbers, emails, birthdates, Social Security numbers, driver's license and state identification numbers, patient identification numbers, medical and health plan information, account information, diagnosis and treatment information, health insurance information and employment-related information.

More articles on data breaches:

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Organizations largely unconfident in data breach response plans: 7 key findings from Ponemon Institute
Here are 25 things to know about hospital emergency departments across the country.

1. Number of ED visits in the United States annually: 136.3 million1

2. Number of injury-related ED visits annually: 40.2 million

3. Number of ED visits resulting in a hospital admission annually: 16.2 million

4. Number of ED visits that result in admission to critical care each year: 2.1 million

5. Percentage of patients seen within fewer than 15 minutes in the ED: 27 percent

6. Average time spent waiting in the ED before seeing a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant: 24 minutes2

7. Average time spent in the ED before being sent home: 135 minutes

8. Average time patients with broken bones wait for pain medication after arriving in the ED: 54 minutes

9. Average time patients admitted to the hospital from the ED spend before being taken to their room: 96 minutes

10. In the U.S. overall, there are 42 ED visits per 100 persons.3

11. The emergency department visits per 100 persons in the top five most populous states are:

 California: 38

 Florida: 44

 Illinois: 41

 New York: 37

 Texas: 49

12. Nationwide ED visits by age group:

 Under 18 years old: 21 percent

 18 years old to 64 years old: 63 percent

 65 years and older: 16 percent

13. ED visits that result in admissions to the same hospitals: 11 percent

14. Percentage of visits made to EDs in metropolitan areas nationwide: 85 percent

15. Percentage of ED visits to high-volume metropolitan areas (50,000 annual visits or more): 43 percent

16. Nationwide ED visits by insurance:

 Private insurance as the expected payment source: 29 percent

 Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program: 35 percent

 Medicare: 18 percent

 No insurance: 14 percent

 Unknown insurance: 13 percent

17. Percentage of emergency physicians considering leaving medicine due to reductions in emergency care reimbursement: 34 percent4

18. Percentage of emergency physicians report their community or state is making efforts to reduce emergency patient visits: 38 percent

19. The concerns emergency physicians have about efforts to reduce emergency visits:

 Patients might go to a less skilled site even though they have medical emergencies: 44 percent

 It won't reduce patient volume: 44 percent

 Healthcare spending won't be reduced: 41 percent

 Patients might not get the care they need: 38 percent

20. How eliminating federal subsidies could affect ED visits based on the American College of Emergency Physicians "2015 ACEP Poll Affordable Care Act Research Results" survey respondents' estimation:

 ED visits would increase: 42 percent

 ED visits would stay the same: 31 percent

 ED visits would decrease: 10 percent

 ED would be at risk of closing: 2 percent

 Not sure: 16 percent

21. The ACA requirement for health coverage took effect Jan. 1, 2014; here is how volume changed between then and March 2015, according to emergency medicine physicians:

 Greatly increased: 28 percent

 Slightly increased: 47 percent

 Remained the same: 17 percent

 Slightly decreased: 5 percent

 Greatly decreased: 0 percent

 Not sure: 3 percent

22. The number of Medicaid patients in the ED since Jan. 1, 2014:

 Greatly increased: 24 percent

 Slightly increased: 32 percent

 Remained the same: 19 percent

 Slightly decreased: 1 percent

 Greatly decreased: 0 percent

 Not sure: 24 percent

23. Acuity of ED patients' illness or injuries since Jan. 1, 2014:

 Greatly increased: 14 percent

 Slightly increased: 30 percent

 Remained the same: 42 percent

 Slightly decreased: 10 percent

 Greatly decreased: 2 percent

 Not sure: 3 percent

24. The volume of less severe illnesses in the ED changed due to urgent care centers:

 Greatly increased: 7 percent

 Slightly increased: 16 percent

 Remained the same: 43 percent

 Slightly decreased: 17 percent

 Greatly decreased: 5 percent

 Not sure: 11 percent

25. The five hospitals with the most ED visits are5:

 Florida Hospital Orlando

 Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Medical Center

 Yale-New Have (Conn.) Hospital

 Genesys Regional Medical Center (Grand Blanc, Mich.)

 Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital (Houston)

References

1. Data for points 1 to 5 are from the CDC "National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2011 Emergency Department Summary Tables 1, 4, 14, 24." http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm

2. Data for points 6 to 9 is from ProPublica's "ER Wait Watcher" updated May 27, 2015.

https://projects.propublica.org/emergency/

3. Data for points 10 to 16 is based on the CDC "Emergency Department Use in the Country's Five Most Populous States and the Total United States, 2012" released in June 2016.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db252.pdf

4. Data for points 17 to 24 is from the American College of Emergency Physicians "2015 ACEP Poll Affordable Care Act Research Results" released in March 2015.

https://www.scribd.com/document/264530627/2015-ACEP-Poll-Affordable-Care-Act-Research-Results

5. Data for point 25 is from Becker's Hospital Review "50 hospitals with the most ED visits 2016" https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/lists/50-hospitals-with-the-most-er-visits-2016.html
A deputy shot and wounded an inmate receiving care in Houston's Ben Taub Hospital Thursday morning after the patient obtained an "edged weapon" and held it to a medical student's throat, according to a Houston Chronicle report.

Inmate Ricky Lynn Hall was taken to Ben Taub for an evaluation after having seizures, and had been at the hospital since Saturday. Just before 10 a.m., a deputy working overtime as a security guard on the hospital's fifth floor heard a scream. Upon entering the Mr. Hall's room, the deputy allegedly found him with his arm wrapped around a medical student's neck and a sharp object pressed against her throat. The Chronicle reports the sharp object was a metal band from headphones.

Mr. Hall allegedly told the deputy he would kill the female medical student unless the deputy shot him, according to the report.

As the medical student struggled and Mr. Hall intensified pressure against her neck, the deputy fired two shots and wounded Mr. Hall. It was not specified how many shots hit Mr. Hall or where he was wounded. He was taken into surgery for treatment of the wounds, which was completed before 2 p.m. His condition is unknown.

The medical student was not wounded in the attack.

Three separate investigations into the incident are currently underway at the hospital. Those are led by the Houston Police Department's homicide unit, the Harris County District Attorney's office and by the sheriff's office internal affairs division, according to the Chronicle.
With Hurricane Matthew fast approaching the eastern coast, Miami-based Jackson Health System and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health are aiming to proactively assist pregnant women through the duration of the storm, according to ABC10 News.

Physicians at both hospitals are advising pregnant women to report to the hospital only if deemed necessary by their acting physicians. When authorities issue a hurricane warning, physicians typically recommend that women expecting twins or triplets, women who have history with preterm labor, women who have been diagnosed with placental abnormalities or those 34 weeks into term should be admitted to a hospital prior to the storm, according to the article.

Jennifer Piedra, a spokesperson for Jackson Health System, said pregnant women who meet the criteria should register at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Medical Center's Holtz Children's Hospital. Patients may also contact the maternity hurricane information hotline at 305-585-2229.

Broward Health advises admitted women and their one allowed companion to bring enough bedding, water, food, clothing, medication and toiletries for four days. For more information, Broward Health maternity patients can call the emergency hotline at 954-355-5111.
Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services established a community health center as part of its commitment to enhancing the health of New Mexico residents.

The Presbyterian Center for Community Health's three-point focus includes healthy eating, active living and avoiding unhealthy substances.

"Caring for our community extends beyond the walls of [Presbyterian's] hospitals and clinics. Focusing on community health lets us partner with respected local groups that are working to improve underlying factors that impact health, such as access to healthy food, social support and opportunities for exercise," Leigh Caswell, director of Presbyterian Center for Community Health, said.

Presbyterian has leveraged more than $3.5 million external funds toward New Mexico community health projects since 2012. Other community partnerships include a referral center that providers can refer patients to for wellness activities, mobile farmers' markets, free healthy meals for children at hospital facilities and community-supported agriculture.

More articles about population health:

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Risk of opioid addiction among young adults increasing, study finds

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Bala Hota, MD, an associate professor at Rush University School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues have identified incongruities in U.S. News & World Report's patient safety ratings among high-transfer and high-volume hospitals, according to a new study published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

The authors of the study began their research after Rush University Medical Center received the lowest ranking possible for patient safety in the 201516 U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" rankings. Examination revealed data from U.S. News & World Report displayed many more patient safety events like pressure ulcers than the hospital had tracked. Dr. Hota and his colleagues discovered U.S. News & World Report data had included patient health issues in their tally for RUMC even when they were present prior to admission.

When Dr. Hota and his team investigated further, they found false accounting for safety events by U.S. News & World Report was common for hospitals with high volumes of patients and high transfer rates. Since the findings, U.S. News & World Report has made changes to its methodology and data sources.

In a companion editorial, David M. Shahian, MD, from Massachusetts General in Boston, Elizabeth Mort, MD, from Women's Health Associates in Boston and Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, reflected on the study.

The editorial authors concluded, "Just as healthcare providers have ethical and moral responsibilities to the public they serve, rating organizations and journalists that grade providers have similar obligations  in their case, to ensure measure validity and methodological transparency."

More articles on quality:

Heart attack patients treated at high-performing hospitals have longer life expectancy, study finds

Identifying frailty in elderly patients prior to surgery may improve outcomes

Brigham and Women's performs double arm transplant on retired marine
Here are 11 key notes on orthopedic and spine device companies over the past week.

Alphatec CFO Michael O'Neill resigned, and the company cut its workforce by about 20 percent.

Stryker's spine division unveiled its LITe BIO Delivery System.

An HSS Inspector report found Medicare spent nearly $1.5 billion on seven types of defective heart devices.

Xtant Medical named Carl O'Connell its new president.

The FDA cleared K2M's CASCADIA Lateral Interbody System line expansion.

ChoiceSpine hired Christy Cote as vice president of biologics.

NuVasive appointed Joan Stafslien executive vice president, general counsel.

The global neuromodulation market, led by Medtronic and Boston Scientific, is anticipated to hit more than $5 billion by 2020.

The San Diego-based medical device company Nasseo was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Science Foundation.

Capital Regional Orthopaedic Associates performed New York state's first meniscus replacement using the investigational NUsurface Meniscus Implant, developed by the biotechnology company Active Implants.

Nativis, a clinical-stage bio-electronics company, named orthopedic surgeon Charles Cobbs, MD, chairman of the scientific and medical advisory board.
Here are eight spine surgeons and neurosurgeons who recently received awards or promotions.

Johnson City, Tenn.-based nonprofit Spine Health Foundation awarded Ken Smith, MD, the 2016 Hope Award, which recognizes physicians who support the Spine Health Foundation's mission to help disadvantaged individuals gain access to spinal care.

Board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon Robert Hart, MD, will serve as Seattle-based Swedish Neuroscience Institute's new director of spinal deformities.

The International Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery appointed S. Rajasekaran, MS, DNB, PhD, the new president.

Spine surgeon Safdar N. Khan, MD, joined the International Association of HealthCare Professionals.

Cleveland Clinic named Michael Steinmetz, MD, chairman of the neurosurgery department.

New York City-based Maimonides Medical Center appointed John K. Houten, MD, the new director of spinal neurosurgery and neurotrauma.

Seattle Metropolitan magazine highlighted Solomon Kamson, MD, PhD, as a "Top Doc" in the Seattle area.

Kimon Bekelis, MD, received the 2016-2017 CNS Innovation Fellowship award and the Sam Hassenbusch Young Neurosurgeon's Award at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Diego.
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The commission said the move was a 'swift reaction' to unfair competition, an issue which has badly hit the UK steel industry

The European Commission (EC) is to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of two steel products from China.

The commission said the move was a "swift reaction" to unfair competition, an issue which has badly hit the UK steel industry, threatening job losses.

The measures affect hot-rolled flat steel and heavy plates of steel, and follow an investigation by the EC.

A statement said: "The Commission's investigations confirmed that the Chinese products had been sold in Europe at heavily dumped prices.

"To provide EU companies with necessary breathing space, the Commission imposed duties ranging between 65.1% and 73.7% for heavy plates and 13.2% and 22.6% for hot-rolled steel.

"This should restore the profitability of the European heavy plates' producers and prevent damage to the companies involved in the production of hot-rolled steel products."

The announcement came as steelworkers' union Community spoke out against "further delays and uncertainty" over the sale of Tata's Speciality Steels business in South Yorkshire.

The company has announced that the division, which employs more than 2,000 workers in Rotherham and Stocksbridge, will be sold separately from its other business.

Community said workers did not know if their jobs were safe after months of rumours.

General secretary Roy Rickhuss said: "While so much focus is on the sale of Tata's strip business and the uncertainty surrounding the pension scheme, Community will not allow Speciality Steels to become the forgotten part of the steel crisis.

"With over 2,000 direct employees and many thousands more in the local supply chain, this business is of huge importance to the South Yorkshire region.

"When Tata announced that they wanted to sell the business, we called on them to act as a responsible seller. The continued lack of information about that process and the worry this has caused amongst their loyal workforce is highly irresponsible."

A Tata Steel spokesman said: "Whenever we have significant news we always seek to tell our employees first. We also communicate regularly with our employees about issues which could affect them, including through briefings and newsletters.

"We strive to maintain strong relationships with all our key stakeholders, including trade unions and local MPs around our UK sites.

"Discussions have been ongoing with a number of interested parties regarding the sales process of our Speciality Steels business since our announcement in July. Bidders have been given the opportunity to meet with management and conduct site visits, as well as having access to information to assist in performing due diligence.

"The process is ongoing and we will provide a further update at the appropriate point."

Dominic King, head of policy at trade group UK Steel, said: "The speed at which tariffs have been imposed on dumped steel from China by the EU today is welcomed; however, the duty levels are still inadequate, especially when compared with the firm action taken by the US.

"Steel producers in the UK have experienced first-hand what happens when trade is not free and fair and the UK Government will soon have the ability to match words with actions to ensure dumping of steel doesn't take place on our shores."

Newly appointed shadow business secretary Clive Lewis said: " This is a small step in the right direction but it's no thanks to Tory ministers, who have consistently failed to take action to defend our steel industry, whether in Europe or in Britain.

"Months after Labour proposed a four-point plan for steel, workers are still waiting for answers on the future of their jobs, communities and industry, and we have already lost thousands of jobs. Instead of leaving it to others, the Government needs to step in and take action to secure the future of a critical sector for our economy."

Unite national officer Harish Patel said: "It has taken time coming, but this move by Europe against the dumping of cheap Chinese steel will be a welcome relief for UK steelworkers battling to keep the industry afloat.

"It will only be temporary relief though, unless the Government commits to similar anti-dumping measures post-Brexit as part of an active industrial strategy which protects and promotes UK steel and British manufacturing."

Mr Rickhuss, of the Community union, said of the EC announcement: "We welcome this move but this sort of action must be taken quicker against unfairly traded steel from China or anywhere else.

"In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, the UK Government must commit to ensuring Britain has robust trade defences against Chinese dumping after we leave the EU."

A Government spokesman said: "We have been pressing for greater urgency from the Commission, so it's encouraging to see these tariffs being imposed more rapidly.

"As well as supporting our steel industry by tackling unfair steel dumping, we have also been encouraging greater use of British steel in public infrastructure projects, and we have taken action on energy costs.

"We are focused on working with the industry and partners on safeguarding the long-term sustainable future of the steel industry in the UK."
The FTSE 100 Index was down 29.1 points to 7,004.29

Budget airline easyJet dragged the London market lower after spate of terror attacks and the plunging pound inflicted a hefty blow to profits.

The FTSE 100 Index was down 33.29 points to 6,999.96, following a dismal update from the airline, stating that a series of "extraordinary events" had left it nursing 125 million in lost profit.

EasyJet has been grappling the fallout of terror attacks across Europe, Egypt and Tunisia, air traffic control strikes in France and political turmoil in Turkey, while it said the post-Brexit vote plunge in the pound will also cost it 90 million.

Shares were down nearly 7% or 69.5p to 933.5p, with negative sentiment spreading to British Airway's owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), which dropped 15.5p to 381.3p.

George Salmon, equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said easyJet should also be concerned about rivals encroaching on its territory.

"The group say that weaker sterling is making going abroad less affordable for the average Brit, while the rising threat of terrorism is putting customers off too.

"These are industry-wide factors, however the competition is hotting up too. Other airlines are looking covetously at easyJet's market share, with pressure coming from both the budget players Wizz and Ryanair, and 'premium economy' offerings like Vueling."

While the London market paused for breath after coming close to an all-time high on Tuesday, the pound continued to struggle on the currency markets.

Sterling plumbed new depths against the greenback, falling 0.7% to hit a fresh 31-year low of 1.264 US dollars.

The pound was also well down against the euro, dropping 0.3% to reach a five-year low of 1.134 euro.

Concerns that the Government will opt for "hard Brexit" by breaking away from the single market to tighten controls on immigration have taken its toll on the pound in recent sessions.

However, Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said a Brexit warning from German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also causing problems for sterling.

"It seems that we are firmly back in Brexit-dominating territory - even the mildest squawkings from the news wire are causing pain for the pound.

"Today it was the turn of Angela Merkel to make sterling's life even more difficult, the German leader resolute in her claim that freedom of movement is a must if Britain wants to stand any chance of remaining in the single market."

The price of oil rose 1% to 52.39 US dollars a barrel following reports on Wednesday that US crude inventories fell for a fifth consecutive week.

Brent crude prices were also buoyed by growing hopes of an output cut, with Opec oil ministers and Russia's energy minister set to meet at a conference in Istanbul, Turkey.

In UK stocks, Aviva was down 10.1p to 443.3p, Kingfisher was off 5.2p to 375.2p and British Land Company dropped 19.5p to 596p as a number of companies went ex-dividend.

Away from the top tier, homewares retailer Dunelm was the biggest faller on the FTSE 250 after "unusually warm weather" took its toll on sales.

Like-for-like sales at stores plummeted 5.1% in the 13 weeks to October 1, dragging down revenue by 1.8% to 198.7 million.

Shares were down more than 4% or 34.5p to 823p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Croda International up 53p to 3,611p, TUI up 15p to 1,129p, Carnival up 46p to 3,831p, Barclays up 1.8p to 174.3p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were easyJet down 69.5p to 933.5p, IAG down 15.5p to 381.3p, Fresnillo down 61p to 1,614p, Capita down 23p to 632.5p.
Companies in Northern Ireland are putting off decisions on investment until there is further clarity on how Brexit will be implemented, it has been claimed.

Danske Bank said that maintaining access to skilled labour had become the biggest fear for Northern Ireland business leaders since the vote to leave the EU.

The company added that access to talent was a concern after it held a series of events with firms over the last month.

According to the bank, businesspeople were fearful over the "unknowns" for the economy here - and one of the most vexing was a fear of future restrictions on access to the labour market and skills.

Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated she is prepared to sacrifice access to the single market in order to free the UK from the obligation of freedom of movement.

But freedom of movement has enabled firms - particularly big players in food manufacturing such as Moy Park - to fill posts with workers form overseas.

Shaun McAnee, managing director of corporate banking at Danske Bank, said: "There has been a lot of debate and discussion with our customers over the last few week,s and we have listened intently to what business owners have been telling us. Among the most pressing issues that came to the fore were access to skills beyond Brexit, the need for migrant workers in our economy, the state of local apprenticeships and the impact of the living wage on Northern Ireland companies."

Danske Bank said that businesses relied on skilled and non-skilled workers alike and needed clarity on whether staff would be allowed to remain.

It also warned that without workers being permitted to remain, firms in Northern Ireland were concerned over whether they would be able to recruit Northern Ireland people to replace them.

At this week's Conservative Party Conference, Home Secretary Amber Rudd indicated the Government could require firms to make public information on numbers of overseas workers and demonstrate that they had tried to fill posts with people from the UK before employing people from overseas.

But Mr McAnee said: "Business owners around the table told us that if migrant workers leave, people coming out of college are often not work-ready enough to fill the gaps. Where jobs are unskilled they don't believe there are enough local people who will want to do them."

In addition, firms were worried about the impact of the Government's apprenticeship levy. Mr McAnee explained: "The general consensus in all of the meetings is that, while we wait to see what Brexit means, ambitious companies are pressing on and trying to win new business.

"But we also got feedback that suggests customers are holding off on major strategic investment decisions until there is greater clarity, which is concerning.

"One thing all the leaders at our meetings agreed on is that over the coming months, we will require strong leadership from our politicians, both at Westminster and at Stormont."
SDC Trailers to supply its products to Saudi Arabia

A trailer that recently landed a 480,000 deal in the Middle East has said it could be the first of many in the region.

Toome-based SDC Trailers is to supply its products to the Kanoo Group in Saudi Arabia.

SDC has landed a growing number of export orders over the last decade, and opened an office in Dubai in 2015.

Chief executive Mark Cuskeran said: "We're delighted to have won this significant contract with the Kanoo Group as we continue to build customer relationships and develop our presence in the Middle East.

"This has been a momentous year for SDC, following the company's acquisition by CIMC Vehicles - the world's largest trailer manufacturer with a presence in continental Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Africa.

"I am continuing our focus on product innovation and bespoke trailer manufacturing, and SDC will have further success in the export market."

SDC was bought by CIMC Vehicles earlier this year. The deal was for Retlan Manufacturing Limited, which included SDC.

The existing management team will remain in their current posts, the company has confirmed.

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, who is visiting the Middle East this week, said: "This contract is the result of SDC's dynamic approach to innovation and exporting.

"SDC has availed of a range of Invest NI advice and support to help it identify and develop export markets.

"In 2010, SDC secured a partnership with a local company in Saudi Arabia following a trade mission in the region and more recently Invest NI's trade advisory service and agency office in Jeddah enabled them to identify new customers and secure a 480,000 contract with the prestigious Kanoo Group."

SDC saw its profits rise to more than 150m in its last set of accounts. Pre-tax profits at the firm were also up, rising to 7m for the year to March 2015.

In August, it secured a 6.8m deal with the road haulage giant Eddie Stobart.

SDC Trailers will supply 240 trailers to the company.

The deal will include 50 gooseneck skeletal trailers and 25 skeletal trailers for Eddie Stobart's port logistics.

It was the latest order from the haulage firm, which ordered 650 trailers from SDC earlier this year.

SDC employs more than 900 staff across its sites here and in Nottinghamshire.

The business has plants in Belfast and Newry, as well as its headquarters in Toomebridge.
The hot September sent fashion sales plummeting as retailers failed to sell racks full of autumn and winter clothing, figures show.

Despite the buzz around London Fashion Week, the unexpected heat wave caused chaos for clothing stores.

They recorded a year-on-year drop of 5.9%, beaten only by April's fall of 9.2%, according to the BDO High Street Sales Tracker.

Every week in September saw negative year-on-year sales for fashion, beginning with a drop of 5.5%.

As temperatures topped 34C, fashion sales dropped 8.4% in the third week of the month on the same period in 2015, and 8.1% in the last week.

However, sales of lifestyle goods edged up 0.9% year-on-year and the homewares sector saw growth of 12.6%.

Neither gain was enough to pull the high street up into positive growth, with the month's like-for-like figures dropping by 2.8% - the eighth month in a row with no sign of growth.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO LLP, said retailers needed to take the erratic weather as a lesson in the importance of flexibility.

She said: "When you look at individual performances, it doesn't take long to spot who has innovated and adapted their supply chains to be able to cope with unseasonal weather.

"And it's not just the temperature that is in flux. In order to maintain a strong performance, retailers should ensure that they are attuned to the changing demands of consumers and navigating future challenges presented by Brexit.

"Those that can remain flexible, and adapt quickly, will not only stand the best chance of success but will also be well placed to grab the opportunities that will no doubt present themselves in these uncertain times."
EasyJet has slashed fares by around 9% year-on-year to boost demand

Low-cost airline easyJet has revealed it will take a hit of more than 200m from the plunging pound and a series of "extraordinary events" after terrorist attacks and air traffic control strikes take their toll.

The carrier, which flies on 10 international routes and 10 domestic routes from Belfast International, warned it will be left nursing at least 125m in lost profit after a combination of terror attacks across Europe, Egypt and Tunisia, as well as air traffic control strikes in France and political turmoil in Turkey.

EasyJet added that the tumbling value of the pound since the Brexit vote - hitting fresh 31-year lows against the US dollar this week - would cost it 90m.The group said it was expecting profits for the year to September 30 to nosedive by nearly a third, to between 490m and 495m.

It has slashed fares by around 9% year-on-year to boost demand as it has also battled a price war with Ryanair.

EasyJet boss Carolyn McCall said: "We have been disproportionately affected by extraordinary events this year.

"The current environment is tough for all airlines, but history shows that at times like this the strongest airlines become stronger.

"That is why we will continue to invest for the long-term success of the business."

EasyJet insisted it had "performed strongly in a difficult operating environment for all European airlines".

The travel industry has been knocked hard by a string of terrorist attacks in Belgium and France as well as Tunisia, while airlines are still not flying to Egyptian resort Sharm el Sheikh after a Russian aircraft crashed soon after take-off.

Tour operators and airlines have also had to switch away from once popular sun-seeker destination Turkey after an attempted coup earlier this year.

There have been fears over the future of UK airline Monarch as it rushes to secure investment.
The figures showed that imports rose by 2.6 billion, while exports only grew by 100 million

Britain's trade gap widened in August, despite hopes that a weaker pound had been boosting exports in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK's deficit on trade in goods and services hit 4.7 billion in August, missing economist forecasts for 4 billion, widening by 2.5 billion from July.

The figures showed that imports rose by 2.6 billion, while exports only grew by 100 million.

It comes despite hopes that the post-referendum slump in sterling would help support Britain's export industry.

Sterling has fallen to fresh three-decade lows this week to trade near 1.242 against the US dollar and 1.117 against the euro in Friday morning trade.

Theoretically, a weaker pound should make British goods less expensive and more competitive on the international stage.

"But in general, a close long-run relationship between export and import prices is to be expected, as other factors such as raw material and labour prices are also significant price drivers and tend to move in the same direction over a long time period," the ONS said.

The statistics noted that, while export prices grew at a faster rate than imports in August - up 0.7% and 0.1% respectively - it could be chalked up to a delayed reaction from July's import price rise, adding it was still "unclear" whether sterling depreciation had an impact.

Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Markit, said: "After a recent stream of resilient, reassuring data and surveys on the UK economy, the August trade and industrial production data are somewhat disappointing."

Mr Archer said the data has "diluted hopes" that net trade would have made a positive contribution to third quarter gross domestic product (GDP), which he expects to grow by 0.4% from the previous quarter.

Britain's powerhouse service sector saw its trade surplus grow by 100 million to 7.4 billion in August, with exports estimated to have hit 19.3 billion.

But the sector-by-sector breakdown in goods trade paints a bleaker picture for Britain's widening trade deficit.

Good exports were supported by a 300 million rise in material manufacturers, a 100 million jump in chemicals, and a 200 million increase in aircraft exports.

However, that total was dragged down by a 300 million drop in ship exports and a 200 million fall in oil exports in August.

Meanwhile, machinery and transport equipment made up the bulk of August imports, rising 1.8 billion, while chemical and miscellaneous manufactures each rose by 300 million. Food , beverage and tobacco imports rose by 200 million and material manufactures grew by 100 million.

Goods exports to the EU dropped 0.6%, or 100 million, to 12.4 billion, thanks in part to a drop in exports to the Netherlands.

UK imports from the bloc rose 5.1%, or 1 billion, to 20.8 billion, as Britain bought more goods from Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Slovakia in August.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said: "While some sectors continue to perform well, there is still some way to go to ensure that we are exporting as much as we could and should do, so the Government will continue to encourage and support the wider range of exporting we require to boost our national prosperity."

Mr Fox earlier this week said that the immigration status of EU nationals living in Britain would be "one of our main cards" in the country's Brexit negotiations.

He also claimed that the UK would be able to secure international free trade deals after Article 50 is triggered simply by an "exchange of letters" with countries that already have agreements with the EU and would like to continue trading on similar terms.

Commenting on Friday's trade figures, he said: "We are working hard to ensure the UK remains an attractive place with which to trade and to help UK companies take advantage of the global demand for British goods and services."
Veteran actor Brian Blessed revealed he asked doctors treating him after a dramatic on-stage collapse to make him "Terminator 4" so he could realise his ambition to go to the bottom of the sea.

The 79-year-old, known for his booming voice, fainted as he began to deliver his opening lines of a production of the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear early last year and was later forced to withdraw on medical advice.

But he now feels "completely new" and has ambitions to carry on working and tackling extreme challenges.

Having already climbed Everest, Blessed described himself as "50% actor, 50% explorer" and said he wants to go "on and on".

Yorkshire-born Blessed, best known for his roles as Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon and Augustus Caesar in TV's I, Claudius, said he was "cock-a-hoop" at being awarded an OBE for his services to art and charity.

Speaking at Windsor Castle moments after collecting his honour from the Queen, he revealed how space training he did in Russia had caused a fibrillation, or irregularity, in his heartbeat.

Blessed said: "What it is if you do climb Everest three times without oxygen, if you do go to the North Pole, the South Pole and all the other big mountain ranges and you do do space training, all this started for me at the age of 57, 58 and I never used oxygen, and there is a price to pay.

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"It will have a tremendous effect on your body. Gradually I recovered and I shall continue doing adventures. I think the greatest danger in life is not taking adventure.

"But I had, I think it was the training in Moscow that I did at the space centre in the giant centrifuge, it affected my fibrillation.

"(Russian president Vladimir) Putin was watching this and they were amazed at my age. I was doing this at 70 years of age, training with Nasa and with them.

"It gave me fibrillation, so the heart was slightly malfunctioning on the left."

Doctors fitted him with a pacemaker after he told them "I want you to make me Terminator 4, I want to be going on adventures".

He also said medics told him: "You're very fit and powerful and your lungs are twice the normal size".

"I am now completely new. I do 10 miles running a day and bench press between 200 and 300lbs. Not out of vanity but in preparation for the adventures I want to do," he said.

"I actually feel like a 30-year-old."

Blessed added he still wanted to go to the bottom of the sea, climb the five highest peaks in Russia in order to win the Snow Leopard award, and "fight like hell" for the British space programme.
Sigourney Weaver attends the A Monster Calls premiere during the 60th BFI London Film Festival at the Odeon Leicester Square

Alien star Sigourney Weaver has said Donald Trump is far more scary than any monster in her action films.

The actress (66) shot to fame as Ripley in Ridley Scott's sci-fi franchise but said she is far more alarmed by the current Republican presidential candidate.

Arriving at the premiere of her new fantasy movie, A Monster Calls, at the BFI London Film Festival, she said: "There are so many things I wish were a fantasy, like Donald Trump, but unfortunately they are real."

Asked if Hillary Clinton's opponent was more frightening than anything on screen, the American star said, "Unfortunately, yes", and urged people to go to the polls.

Ballymena actor Liam Neeson stars as an ancient tree monster in A Monster Calls, which will be released in UK cinemas on January 6. However, he was a no-show for last night's premiere.
Former Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell has revealed she is battling terminal lung cancer.

The ex-soap actress, who played Zoe Tate in the Yorkshire Dales ITV series for 16 years from 1989 to 2005, and her partner Jez Hughes are raising money to send her for treatment in Germany.

They wrote about their devastating news on a page they set up on donations website gofundme.com.

The mother-of-two, known to her family as Ali, has been working as a yoga instructor in recent years but is well-known for her Emmerdale storylines.

These included raising awareness of LGBT issues after her character was cast as a lesbian and later her portrayal of suffering a schizophrenic breakdown.

In her fundraising appeal, Bracknell wrote: "Just over 5 weeks ago, I was feeling perfectly well, fit and healthy. Teaching yoga classes and workshops, it was a time of new beginnings: preparing to move house, youngest child fleeing the nest, and excited to be starting rehearsals for a comedy play, being back onstage, going on tour.

"But, it turns out that the universe had other plans. Life was about to be unexpectedly turned on its head.

"I began to feel breathless climbing stairs ... I just put it down to a bit of stress. My abdomen suddenly ballooned - and within a matter of a few days I looked heavily pregnant. I could barely walk or breathe. Then, one Saturday night at the beginning of September I ended up in A&E."

The actress said that she had had an emergency procedure to remove excess fluid from around her heart.

She went on: "However, the bad news is that I have been diagnosed with lung cancer, stage 4. In their opinion, that means it's terminal, not curable, not operable.

"A fairly brutal and bleak diagnosis but one I am determined to challenge and see from the perspective of "a glass half full", going against a lifetime of pessimism, negativity and fear!!!!

"By the way, please imagine me writing this and speaking in quite an upbeat and cheerful voice. Do NOT imagine me sitting here writing through a veil of tears. I am not. Or feeling sorry for myself. I am not (yet)."

She wrote: "My priority is getting well and strong, so that I can continue to endeavour to be a good, mother, daughter, wife, or at least the best I can be.

"My priority is to defy expectation. My priority is to love, to laugh, and, as Bob (Dylan) said, to 'keep on keepin' on'."

Bracknell's partner Hughes explained more about what the funds were for.

He wrote: "Having done a lot of research, we have found there are incredible breakthroughs being made in the field of immunotherapy and integrative medicine, which are seeing previously 'incurable' cancers going into complete remission.

"A clinic in Germany called the Hallwang clinic is leading the way in this. The downside is that these cutting edge treatments aren't yet available on the NHS outside of clinical trials and are very expensive.

"Due to difficult personal circumstances, Ali/Leah has been unable to work in her chosen profession of acting for a number of years which has seen a big drain on her resources. Understandably, she is unable to continue acting or teaching right now. This is why we are fundraising here."

The gofundme appeal has currently raised 3,875 of its 50,000 target.
Dame Jenni Murray became the regular presenter of Woman's Hour in 1987

Radio 4 show Woman's Hour is celebrating its 70th birthday - and much has changed since the debut episode discussed "putting your best face forward".

The first presenter of the show, now fronted by Dame Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey, was a man - ex-RAF intelligence officer Alan Ivimey.

Ivimey, who specialised in "writing for and talking to women", lasted just three months and was replaced by Joan Griffiths.

The first edition of Woman's Hour was broadcast on October 7 1946.

The guests were Elsie Crump, a butcher's wife, Hollywood star Deborah Kerr and Labour politician and feminist Margaret Bondfield.

The then-afternoon programme was commissioned by Norman Collins, who said in 1967: "I always visualised the poor, wretched housewife, her morale probably at the lowest, at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when she had the washing up and lunch to do."

He said he did not want an "endless succession of light music" but "speakers talking on topics that would be of interest to the intelligent woman" and that there were too many "programmes in which the intelligence of the woman is underrated".

The first programme, broadcast in postwar Britain, discussed topics such as "mother's midday meal" - herrings, kippers or a baked potato - and "putting your best face forward" - wear lipstick, put on powder and don a headscarf.

Some listeners complained that the advice given to housewives was patronising and assumed that they were ignorant, and they asked why the presenter was a man.

Shortly afterwards, there would be programmes on equal pay and the menopause, causing some consternation for BBC bosses.

When what was then known as "the change" was discussed on air, it was seen as deeply shocking, with a listener stating they were "embarrassed to hear hot flushes, diseases of the ovaries and the possibility of the removal of the womb discussed at 2 o'clock in the afternoon".

The programme broadcast the recording of a birth in the 1950s.

In the 1990s, Woman's Hour moved from 2pm to the morning, when it is still broadcast today.

There were also plans to attract more male listeners by changing its name, but there was a revolt at Radio 4 and the title Woman's Hour stayed.

Today, around 40% of the magazine show's listeners are male.

On New Year's Eve in 2004, the programme became Man's Hour for one episode, presented by Jon Snow.

Dame Jenni became the regular presenter of Woman's Hour - which today commands a weekly audience of 3.7 million listeners - in 1987.

She told listeners that she had breast cancer at the end of a programme in 2006, before she underwent treatment.

Violet Carson, who played Ena Sharples in Coronation Street, presented Woman's Hour for five years in the 1950s.

Guest editors on the programme have included Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Doreen Lawrence, the campaigner and mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Woman's Hour is also a hit with younger listeners - it is the second most popular daily podcast across all BBC radio after The Archers.

Late Night Woman's Hour, hosted by Lauren Laverne, became a permanent fixture earlier this year following a trial run.

Recent topics have included "women and masturbation" - asking "is it still a taboo?"

Asked about the show's success, presenter Dame Jenni told the Press Association : "Woman's Hour survives because it's endlessly interesting (anything from the prime minister to cooking the perfect artichoke salad to George Clooney to urinary incontinence), completely trustworthy and always up to date on the often neglected interests and concerns of 52% of the population."

Garvey, talking on today's show, said: "The gender pay gap featured in the first couple of weeks and unfortunately we are still going on about it."
The Rolling Stones have announced their first studio album in more than a decade - Blue & Lonesome - recorded in just three days.

The record will take the band "back to their roots and the passion for blues music which has always been at the heart and soul" of the group, a statement said.

It was recorded at British Grove Studios in west London in December last year, near Richmond and the tiny Eel Pie Island where the Stones started out, playing the blues in pubs and clubs.

Eric Clapton, who happened to be in the studio next door making his own album, ended up playing guitar on two of the 12 tracks.

The band - who previously teased an announcement on Twitter with a video clip of Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts playing a blues song - have not released a studio album since A Bigger Bang in 2005.

A statement said the group had a "spontaneous" approach to the album and "played live in the studio without overdubs".

Don Was, the record's co-producer, said: "This album is manifest testament to the purity of their love for making music, and the blues is, for the Stones, the fountainhead of everything they do."

London landmarks, including Marble Arch and Centre Point, were lit up in blue to celebrate the news.

The tracks on the album, which features Sir Mick on vocals and harmonica, include covers of Little Walter, Eddie Taylor and Otis Rush songs.

Songs include Just Your Fool, Commit A Crime, Blue And Lonesome, All Of Your Love, I Gotta Go, Everybody Knows About My Good Thing, Ride 'Em On Down, Hate To See You Go, Hoo Doo Blues, Little Rain, Just Like I Treat You and I Can't Quit You Baby.

A statement said that Blue & Lonesome sees the group "tipping their hats to their early days as a blues band".

On Friday, the Stones will play at Desert Trip, a new festival in California also featuring Sir Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd star Roger Waters.

:: Blue & Lonesome will be released on December 2 and is available for pre-order from today.
Arlene Arkinson vanished after a night out across the Irish border in Co Donegal

Delays in progressing an inquest for missing teenager Arlene Arkinson are beyond frustrating, a lawyer for the schoolgirl's family has said.

Henry Toner QC levied his criticism towards the authorities in the Republic who have yet to provide material to the long-running inquiry.

He said: "This delay is beyond frustrating.

"We are four months since the last substantive hearing and still there is no timescale from Dublin."

Arlene, 15, from Castlederg in Co Tyrone, vanished after a night out across the Irish border in Co Donegal.

She was last seen being driven down a country road by convicted paedophile and child killer Robert Howard.

He was acquitted of her murder in 2005 by a jury not told of his lengthy criminal past which included the murder of South London teenager Hannah Williams several years earlier.

At a preliminary hearing at Belfast's Laganside Court complex, it emerged that representatives from An Garda Siochana, the Republic's Chief State Solicitors' Office and Department of Justice and Equality had met with counsel for the coroner Judge Brian Sherrard last week.

But, despite almost daily correspondence a timescale for delivery of any documentation has still not been confirmed.

Barrister Fiona Doherty QC said: "The various authorities in Dublin are very keen to co-operate with this inquest and are keen to facilitate whatever requests you (coroner) may have.

"We had hoped and were told at the meeting that a timescale for that documents procedure would be available for the court but unfortunately we do not have that."

The court was told that the material would have to be considered for potential relevance before being presented as evidence at the inquest which opened in February.

During a previous court hearing Judge Sherrard slammed the the level of red tape hampering cross border co-operation.

However, Irish Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has since authorised legislatives changes which paved the way for the sharing of information.

Adjourning the inquest until later this month, Judge Sherrard said: "I still feel this is worthwhile, particularly for us to go forward.

"This is one part of the inquest where the process is really important to everybody.

"This is an opportunity to open this matter up, not just for the family, but for the community as a whole.

"This is one particular area that light needs to be shone on, and we are in a process that will allow us to do that in due course."

The inquest will resume on October 28.
Brighton bomber Patrick Magee - who came close to killing Margaret Thatcher and members of her Cabinet - has pulled out of a London conference because the organisers insisted on describing him as a terrorist.

Magee was due to address the Wired 2016 technology conference next month along with Jo Berry, the daughter of Conservative MP Sir Anthony Berry, who was one of five people killed in the 1984 attack on the Grand Hotel.

Ms Berry and Magee have formed an unlikely friendship and have previously shared public platforms. Magee was to speak at the Wired conference about his years in the IRA, the ceasefire and the peace process, while Ms Berry was to discuss the role of forgiveness in resolving conflict.

Technology magazine Wired had invited a range of speakers outside the tech world to address the conference, at which it said guests could "discover some of the world's most disruptive minds and explore the trends of tomorrow".

However, in a statement to Business Insider UK, Wired UK editor David Rowan said that Mr Magee would not now be appearing at the event after he objected to being described as a former terrorist.

Mr Rowan said: "World affairs are as much part of Wired's two-day festival as technology and design, and we've previously explored creative approaches to resolving conflict in Colombia and Northern Ireland.

"This year we were interested in exploring the limits and opportunities of reconciliation in a conversation between Jo Berry, whose father was killed in the Brighton bombing, and Patrick Magee, who served time for the bombing.

"Alas, in our discussions with Magee we encountered unresolvable conflicts of our own, not least his insistence that Wired use very specific words to describe him, which must not include terms such as 'former terrorist'. We removed the session from our draft schedule in July."

Magee was given eight life sentences at the Old Bailey in 1986, with a recommendation that he spend at least 35 years in jail. He was released under the Good Friday Agreement in 1999. He has defended his role in the conflict and joining the IRA. "I regret the deaths at Brighton,'' he said. "I deeply regret that anybody had to lose their lives, but at the time did the Tory ruling class expect to remain immune from what their frontline troops were doing to us?"

Ms Berry met the man who killed her father a year after he was released from jail and now considers him a friend. "He knows that my dad was a wonderful human being and he knows that some of the qualities I have came from my father and that weighs heavily on him," she said.

Magee stayed at the Grand Hotel a month before the conference, using the name Roy Walsh, and planted the bomb under a bath in room 629. The device, which had been fitted with a long-delay timer, detonated at 2.54am on October 12. Mrs Thatcher was still awake, working on her conference speech, but she escaped uninjured. The five people killed were Sir Anthony Berry, Lady Jeanne Shattock, Eric Taylor, Lady Muriel Maclean, and Roberta Wakeham. Norman Tebitt's wife Margaret was left paralyzed from the neck-down by the blast.

Lord Tebbit has said that he cannot forgive the Brighton bomber. "I'm often asked if I can find it in my heart to forgive the creature, Patrick Magee. That is not possible, for he has never repented," he added.

In a statement claiming responsibility for the bomb, the IRA expressed regret that it had not killed leading Tories. "Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once," it said.
File photo taken on October 21, 2013 shows, Halloween masks on a wall at Spirit Halloween costume store in Easton, Maryland. AFP/Getty Images

The PSNI has declared the Lower Shankill area of west Belfast to be clown free at the end of a day marked by an international clown epidemic.

People dressed as clowns were involved in a spate of incidents across the UK prompting police forces to issue warnings about the so-called 'clown craze' trend.

There have been a number of incidents reported in England involving clowns, including children who were targeted on their way to school.

Earlier this week, Northumbria Police issued an appeal and warning after a series of incidents in Newcastle involving people dressed as clowns jumping out and scaring schoolchildren.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested in the Blakelaw area of the city on Tuesday following reports of someone dressed as a clown attempting to scare passers-by.

In Essex, two Clacton County High School schoolgirls were approached by two people dressed as clowns who asked them if they wanted to attend a birthday party at 9.20am on Tuesday.

#Hammer park and #LowerShankill checked and all Q at present #NPTtweetonthebeat for the kid who asked, no-we saw no clowns SgtW pic.twitter.com/mwKgjqDXXP  PSNI North Belfast (@PSNIBelfastN) October 7, 2016

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People on social media also reported clown sightings on Friday in Cheshire, North Wales, Dundee, Norwich, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

However Northern Ireland appears to be clown free so far.
A judgment for more than 600,000 (522,000) has been secured against a convicted IRA man who was suspected of laundering money from the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast.

Don Bullman, a chef from Wilton in Cork, was found with more than 94,000 in a Daz washing powder box when he was arrested by gardai in Dublin in 2005  and he was subsequently jailed for IRA membership.

The High Court in Dublin has now granted a judgment to the Republic's Criminal Assets Bureau for more than 600,000 for what was described as Revenue debts following an investigation into his financial affairs.

The court heard that bureau officers probed Bullman's tax assessments from 1999 to 2004. Their assessment of Bullman's financial position was subsequently affirmed on appeal. The High Court was told that the bureau had collected some money but significant debts were still outstanding.

Bullman was arrested in 2005 by gardai acting on intelligence that members of the Provisional IRA from the Cork region were involved in the movement of money that was part of the proceeds from the Northern Bank robbery in December 2004 when 26.5m was stolen.
Liam Neeson carrying the cross in Gangs of New York

The Dead Rabbit pub in New York

Sean Muldoon, one of the Irish owners of the Dead Rabbit bar in New York with Liam Neeson and the Celtic cross he carried in the movie Gangs of New York

A pub in New York city owned by two Belfast men has been crowned the best in the world.

The Dead Rabbit, owned by Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon, has earned one of the highest accolades in the bar industry, having been crowned Worlds Best Bar 2016 and the Best Bar in North America.

The bar has come second on the prestigious list organised by Drinks International for the past two years.

McGarry and Muldoon previously worked at The Merchant Hotel in Belfast.

And the pair are no stranger to accolades as last year it picked up the world's best title at the annual Spirited Awards.

But now they have reached the top spot on both coveted lists.

The three-storey pub, which was opened in 2013 in New York's Financial District, is a fusion of Lower Manhattan and Irish heritage, serving up everything from luxury cocktails to Irish breakfasts.

The Dead Rabbit is named after the infamous Irish-American street gang that controlled much of Lower Manhattan during the 1850s.

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Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close 1.The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in New York 2. American Bar in London at The Savoy Hotel 3. Dandelyan in London 4. Connaught Bar in London 5. Attaboy in New York 6. The Gibson, London 7. Employees Only in New York 8. Nomad Bar in New York 9. The Clumsies in Athens 10. Happiness Forgets in London 11. Manhattan Bar in Singapore 12. The Baxter Inn in Sydney 13. Licoreria Limantour in Mexico City 14. 28 Hong Kong Street 15. Speak Low, Shanghai 16. The Broken Shaker in Miami Beach, Florida 17. Candelaria in Paris 18. Tales & Spirits in Amsterdam 19. Nightjar in London 20. Maison Premiere in New York / Facebook

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The Artesian in London held the top spot on the list for the past four years.

London and New York took nine of the top ten places.

The Dead Rabbit posted on their Facebook: "Raise a glass, Belfast. This one is for you. This is for every bartender, in every town, who thinks he can't play with the big boys, just by virtue of where he or she is from.

"This is for the outcasts, the underdogs and the no-hopers. This is for The Dead Rabbits.

"WORLD'S NUMBER ONE."

Raise a glass, #Belfast. This one is for you.



WORLD'S NUMBER ONE!! pic.twitter.com/JH1Ejwi7jq  The Dead Rabbit NYC (@deadrabbitnyc) October 7, 2016

In the summer the renowned bar had a visit from the Ballymena-born Hollywood star Liam Neeson.

He arrived and handed over a famous item from one of his best-known films Gangs of New York as the pub is inspired by the film's real-life story.

Neeson starred as the leader of the gang in the 2002 film Gangs of New York, alongside actors Leonardo Dicaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz and John C Reilly.

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The Secretary of State has insisted that he will not be party to the rewriting of the past in Northern Ireland.

In his first major in-depth interview since taking up office in the summer, James Brokenshire told the Belfast Telegraph he would be a champion for the "incredible sacrifice and utter dedication" of the police and army during the Troubles.

But he also pledged to ensure that security force members suspected of collusion were pursued through the courts.

"I will not be a party to the rewriting of history when we know that the vast majority of people killed during the Troubles were killed by terrorists," Mr Brokenshire told this newspaper.

"But the rule of law means that if there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing, that should be pursued without fear or favour. It's that balanced approach that we rightly take.

"We'll pursue criminality wherever it may be, but the vast majority of those working with the RUC and armed forces did so with distinction and bravery to ensure that we have the stability that we enjoy today."

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Mr Brokenshire has spent the past few months meeting victims and survivors of the conflict, along with campaign groups and politicians, in an effort to break the deadlock on dealing with the legacy of the past.

"I've been very struck by the real pain, the raw emotion that continues to exist today and that sense of frustration that we've not seen progress," said the MP.

He added that he was optimistic about finding a way of implementing the Stormont House Agreement - still not in place after almost two years - which proposes a number of legacy bodies, including a new Historical Investigations Unit (HIU). But he appeared to play down victims' expectations.

"There's a profound sense that you have a generation starting to pass away and they are looking for answers," Mr Brokenshire said. "Those striving for the perfect? Well, if we can create something that is good, that's able to make some progress (maybe we can) give some answers.

"Whatever we achieve will not do everything for everybody. There are so many groups, so many aspirations. We have a chance to do some good, to give some of those answers. I'm determined to make progress for those families."

The British Government has drawn sharp criticism from some groups on the issue of disclosure of security force and intelligence files to the HIU and to victims' families.

"We're very clear that we would make full disclosure to HIU," said Mr Brokenshire.

"It's the onward public disclosure that I, as Secretary of State, have a duty under national security to protect life. It's not some way of trying to hide embarrassment. It's a genuine sense of trying to ensure the safety of people, that we don't see loss of life as a result of disclosures that might be made more publicly."

The Secretary of State revealed that he wanted to meet the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP. It follows recent claims by the UVF-linked party that loyalists were being excluded from the crucial round of talks to reach agreement on the new legacy institutions. He declared: "I stand ready to meet and talk to them (the PUP). I've been largely focused on meeting victims and survivors and community groups, but I know there are others I need to meet."

Loyalist sources have told the Belfast Telegraph that there have been a number of "background" discussions with officials from the Northern Ireland Office in recent months, but no formal talks regarding efforts to implement the Stormont House Agreement. Mr Brokenshire gave no timeline on a deal, but insisted that he could bring a fresh approach to resolving the legacy issues that have frustrated his predecessors at the Northern Ireland Office.

And he also referred to his experience as a Home Office minister when he dealt with the victims of the London bombings in July 2007. "On counter-terrorism, I remember some very powerful sessions we had with the 7/7 victims," he recalled. "That sense of duty that I felt very intently to do something for them.

"We've been progressing this carefully over a number of months. Whilst I want to make progress as quickly as we can, I know that if we rush this we may make a false step. I'm being careful and thoughtful to see that we make progress on this, and on legacy inquests."

The Secretary of State added that he would not be deterred by the difficulties of reaching agreement, and cited his experience in securing the deportation to Jordan in 2013 of the radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada.

"I was told it was impossible, but with sheer resolve, focus and determination we saw that man on a plane out of the country," Mr Brokenshire said.

"Politics is not about position, it's about the difference you can make to people. That's the thing that drives me."
James Brokenshire's appointment as Secretary of State was seen as a positive sign

The Secretary of State has insisted he will have a "loud voice at Westminster" in speaking up for Northern Ireland in the Brexit talks.

James Brokenshire restated the Government's position that it does not want to see a return to a hard border with the Republic, featuring security and customs checks.

And he pledged that any move to limit the number of foreign workers employed by local firms would be "careful, thoughtful and measured".

Mr Brokenshire has been touring Northern Ireland since his appointment in July, meeting business owners, farmers and lobby groups.

He conceded that they have expressed deep concerns about how the border will look after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union and how their employees will be affected.

"I hear that anxiety, that sense of the importance of not seeing a return to hard borders, borders of the past," he said. "There will be challenges ahead, but I have a sense of optimism for the best outcome.

"There's a really strong political will between ourselves, as the UK Government, the Executive and the Irish Government.

"None of us want to see a return to hard land borders and the benefit we get from the common travel area."

Earlier this week, at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, the Home secretary Amber Rudd caused controversy when she suggested that employers may be compelled to disclose how many foreign workers they employ, with business leaders describing it as divisive and damaging.

Some Northern Ireland firms, like Moy Park, employ significant numbers of migrant workers. And many companies have staff who are resident in the Republic.

"There's a need for greater control on immigration because the levels we've seen since 1998 are not sustainable in the long term," said Mr Brokenshire, who previously dealt with immigration policy as a Home Office Minister.

"Free movement as it exists now in relation to EU citizens can't continue. It's about looking at this thoughtfully, but equally recognising the huge contribution that EU citizens make to our economy, culture and society."
A father has spoken of the terrifying moment he thought his son had died during a desperate phone call to him as the teenager fought to escape a gorse fire.

Calum McNeill (19) - an apprentice car mechanic from Ballymena - was walking his dog along a cliff path in Cushendall after 7pm on Wednesday when he became trapped by the blaze.

Police believe it was the latest in a series of deliberately started gorse fires in Co Antrim.

"I was listening to my son on the phone telling me, 'I'm going to die dad.'

"It was the most horrific moment of my life," said Calum's father Gordon (47).

"I had my son on the phone in the middle of a live fire and screaming, 'Dad, I can't breathe, the flames are so close to me, I can't get away'.

"Then he said he had to hang the phone up and I was begging him not to, and then all of a sudden the phone went dead in the middle of it. I was in Ballymena at my sister's house. I nearly passed out because I thought my son was dead."

Gordon immediately drove 20 miles to Cushendall, where he was greeted by thick smoke and the blue flashing lights of fire engines.

"I got out of my car and my son just came over and threw his arms around me and there were tears in his eyes. I was so glad to see him," he said. "I was in a state of shock. There were fire officers everywhere, it was like a scene from a Hollywood film."

Calum managed to escape injury free, but was still in a state of shock last night.

"It's all I think about," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "I keep having visions of the flames and trying to get over this fence and all the smoke around everywhere, it was dramatic. My worst nightmare."

Calum was on a walk to the ruins of historical Layd Church with his dog Beau, a Japanese Shar Pei, when two separate fires trapped him.

"I saw all this smoke and a couple of flames. I went closer and thought I could get through, but then I saw the whole cliff face was on fire," he said.

"By the time I turned round I couldn't see from the smoke and there was a fire on the other side of me.

"I couldn't get past either side. There was a cliff on one side and an eight feet barbed wire fence into a field with cows on the other," he added.

As the flames came in closer, Calum was unable to scale the fence and rang his dad.

"I needed someone to talk to, to calm me down. I was getting pretty panicky at that stage. It sounds dramatic but I literally thought that was it. I was on the phone with my dad, trying to get over the fence with my dog and I could hardly breathe with all the smoke."

He had no choice but to throw Beau over the fence to safety.

"I didn't want anything happening to him, he's the family pet and very loved. By that stage I knew it was fight or flight. Luckily I caught the edge of the post on the fence and hauled myself up into the field with the cows."

After finally reaching safety, Calum said: "First thing I did when I saw my dad, I just hugged him."

Firefighters were also called to a separate gorse fire at 10.30pm that evening between Ballycastle and Cushendall.

"I want the people who did this prosecuted, they're going to kill somebody," said Mr McNeill.

"I'm angry that someone endangered my son, even if it was supposed to be high jinks."

Calum added: "It angers me someone thinks it's funny to put someone's life in such danger."
A Romanian delivery driver who pocketed his trafficking victims' wages and kept them in conditions suitable for rats has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Ioan Lacatus, a 33-year-old from Hanover Street in Portadown, Co Armagh, called himself the Minister and used his considerable bulk to intimidate the vulnerable.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of trafficking people into the UK for exploitation and similar offences.

A dozen trafficked migrants from Romania and a number of others shared a three-bedroom house in Portadown and were sent to work at local factories, a judge at Craigavon Crown Court said.

Lacatus, who has a string of previous fraud convictions in Europe, pocketed around 3,500 a week in wages from his uneducated prey.

Judge Patrick Lynch QC said: "The nature of your offending revealed you to be a greedy, ruthless and manipulative individual, relying on your physical size and aggressive personality to try to intimidate your victims."

They had been encouraged to come to Northern Ireland for well-paid jobs and a new life and hoped to send money home to their impoverished families.

Instead they were forced to work up to 70 hours a week at local factories for weeks on end and lived in degrading conditions in one three bedroom house, sharing one bathroom with no toilet paper and little food.

One woman was told to eat stones when the food ran out, police said.

Mattresses were on the floor of every room and migrants were told not to talk to other workers or leave the house.

Judge Lynch added: "It seems there was also an element of stupidity in your offending in that you could have made a good living by treating your victims with some degree of decency rather than subjecting them to degrading and humiliating treatment."

A total of 12 people were rescued after they contacted police in August 2014.

The judge said: "The living conditions were characterised by one of the victims as living like rats."

The migrants were collected from Dublin Airport by Lacatus and his brother-in-law Samuil Covaci, who police believe acted as a minder. Their passports were taken.

Lacatus watched the house on Charles Street in Portadown from his car wash business across the street.

The victims were transported to and from work by Lacatus and Samuil Covaci.

They claimed they never received any wages and had to beg Lacatus for pocket money.

The paperwork they had unwittingly filled in gave permission for their wages to be paid directly into the bank accounts of Lacatus and his wife Christina Nicoleta Covaci.

Christina Covaci, 31, was given a suspended 12-month prison sentence.

Samuil Covaci, 25, from Tandragee Road in Portadown, was handed a conditional discharge.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Detective Superintendent John McVea, the senior officer investigating human trafficking, said: "The harrowing accounts of these Romanian victims should serve as an alarm call to everyone in our society that human trafficking is happening right under our noses.

"These victims lived in an ordinary street and worked in an ordinary factory. But they had to endure extraordinary deprivation."

A police spokesperson said: "The current occupants of 241 Charles Street, Portadown and the owner are not connected to this case."
The 26-year-old is further accused of motoring and drugs offences.

A man was remanded in custody today accused of carrying out four burglaries in a 24-hour crime spree.

Thomas Stokes allegedly broke into properties in east Belfast and Holywood, Co Down on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old is further accused of motoring and drugs offences.

Stokes, of Jamaica Court in Belfast, appeared before the city's Magistrates' Court to face a total of 14 charges.

The alleged offences included stealing cash and a watch during a burglary on the Upper Newtownards Road.

Three other burglaries with intent to steal related to a nearby address and two other properties on Holywood's High Street.

The other charges included handling stolen goods, possession of cannabis, dangerous driving on Belfast's Cliftonville Road and failing to stop, report or remain at the scene of an accident.

Stokes was remanded into custody to appear again by video-link in four weeks time
A comedian is under fire from QUB students for making jokes about rape at a gig at Queen's Students' Union.

Tom Stade, a Canadian who now lives in Edinburgh, played at Queen's Comedy Club on Wednesday evening.

Stade, who has appeared on British comedy shows such as Mock the Week and Live at The Apollo, begins a UK tour next week.

Among those to hit out was Sarah Wright (27), a final year politics student who attended the gig.

As a victim of rape, she felt uncomfortable with some of his jokes.

"He talked about prison rape in a skit about TripAdvisor recommendations for places to visit - Crumlin Road Gaol. Then he talked about two male guinea pigs having sex - one raping the other," said Sarah.

Sarah believes the jokes "perpetuate rape culture."

"For a Students' Union which prides itself on being accessible to everyone, it certainly wasn't accessible for rape survivors, and particularly male rape survivors who already face huge societal stigma when reporting or experiencing a sexual assault," she added.

"Having a room full of people somehow find amusement in how you have been sexually, physically and mentally violated isn't funny. Many around me were visibly uncomfortable."

Sarah-Jane McCloskey (21), who studies international politics, was due to go to the gig but cancelled at the last minute. She has just moved back to Belfast, after a leave of absence which was taken due to being a victim of rape.

"I really can't believe it. I'm so grateful I didn't go. Just as I was going, I received a phone call from home - a family emergency," she explained. "When I heard today I was upset because I assumed the SU wouldn't allow something like this.

"Life is hard enough post-rape - I don't need to be in a supposedly safe space to listen to horrific jokes."

In a statement, Tom Stade apologised for any offence caused but defended freedom of speech.

"I'm a stand-up comedian, and my intention is to make people laugh," he said. "I am sorry if someone in the audience didn't like some of my jokes and I totally respect everyone's individual opinion.

"The majority of the audience enjoyed the show, and the material in question was a very small segment of the show.

"It has been taken entirely out of context - it was a piece about what happens in prison - and another joke about two guinea pigs.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course, and I am entitled to have mine.

"Being offended is entirely subjective and if every time I walked on stage I had a list of taboo subjects that I couldn't speak about then there would be absolutely nothing to say.

"Talking about a situation isn't necessarily glorifying or advocating it and I firmly believe in freedom of speech."
The devastation caused by the UVF bombing of Dublins Talbot Street in 1974

The devastation caused by the UVF bombing of Monaghan town

A top RUC officer raised the issue of paramilitary collusion personally with Margaret Thatcher but his concerns were ignored, an explosive new documentary will claim.

Former head of Special Branch Raymond White said that the message he received from the then Government on the use of agents in the dirty war was "carry on - just don't get caught".

The British Government's attitude to running agents and the extent of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and the security forces over three decades will be examined next week in a special RTE documentary, Collusion.

The documentary also features:

An interview with former British Security Minister Michael Mates who conceded that the scale of collusion was much greater than he imagined when in power.

Claims from a member of the gang responsible for the Dublin/Monaghan bombings that the intention was to foment a civil war.

An interview with former PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde who said a former head of the Army's secret Force Research Unit (FRU), Gordon Kerr, should have been put on trial.

Claims from former Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan that senior British Government officials attempted to pressure her into halting her investigation into new murders involving collusion.

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The documentary features interviews with most of the major players in policing and security over the last three decades.

Former Special Branch head Mr White told journalist John Ware that he personally asked the Thatcher administration for a legal framework for the handling of agents within paramilitary groups.

"Senior officials and senior ministers, as it were, did not give us the support or the guidance that I felt we were entitled to anyway," he told the programme.

Mr Ware then asked him: "The non-response as it were by Prime Ministers and officials to your request for a legal framework was 'carry on, but don't get caught'. Is that fair comment?"

To which Mr White replied: "Yes. I think that captures it in a nutshell."

The programme claims that the British Army decided early on that it could not fight a war on two fronts and concentrated its efforts on "destroying" the Provisional IRA, at the same time as publicly stating that it was dealing with the conflict in an even-handed way.

Such was the extent of collusion in the 1980s the programme claims that an RUC Special Branch officer tipped off a UDA brigadier about an informer - placing the man's life at risk. PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton told journalist Brian Rowan that a police officer could potentially face serious charges in relation to the allegations.

Covert Army squad FRU recruited and ran agents within paramilitary organisations during the Troubles. Former PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde, told the programme he believed that justice would have been better served if Gordon Kerr, FRU commander from 1986 to 1991, had faced a public trial.

In 1987 Kerr recruited former soldier Brian Nelson as an agent. Nelson's job was to infiltrate the UDA.

Kerr regarded Nelson as his jewel in the crown.

For the next three years Nelson colluded with murder gangs to shoot IRA suspects and innocent nationalists. Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was one of those murdered.

In a prison journal Nelson claimed that Kerr had suggested that the UDA should carry out a bomb attack on an oil refinery in Co Cork to put pressure on the Irish Government at a time when it was resisting efforts to extradite republican suspects back to the north.

Even as late as 2003, six years after the Good Friday Agreement, the British Government was still attempting to hide levels of collusion, according to former Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan.

Baroness O'Loan told the programme that when she began to investigate new murders involving collusion, senior British Government officials tried to put pressure on her not to continue.

Her investigation eventually uncovered shocking levels of collusion between police officers and what she described as serial killers. Her report found that Special Branch officers gave the killers immunity and officers ensured the murderers were not caught.

According to the RTE documentary, a new collusion investigation has been launched into 19 other linked killings.

Collusion, a NewRed TV production in association with the RTE Investigation Unit, will be broadcast on Monday on RTE One at 9.35pm

Read more
The probe into allegations of corruption and financial irregularities around Northern Ireland's biggest ever property sale has seen six people placed under criminal investigation as suspects, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said

The probe into allegations of corruption and financial irregularities around Northern Ireland's biggest ever property sale has seen six people placed under criminal investigation as suspects, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

In the first agency's public statement since launching Operation Pumpless in July 2015, NCA director general Lynne Owens told the Policing Board that 40 witnesses have also been interviewed.

In addition, eight properties have been searched and a number of court orders have been obtained to gather material from members of the public and private institutions.

Ms Owens said: "The investigation is one of our highest priority operations in our serious and organised crime grid."

So far seven people have been interviewed under criminal caution by NCA officers examining the purchase of the National Asset Management Agency's (Nama) northern loan book.

Six people remain under criminal investigation and are deemed suspects, Ms Owens said.

In May, two people were arrested and interviewed under caution, but were subsequently released on bail.

"No inference should be drawn on the decision to release these people on bail," added Ms Owens.

Ms Owens said the NCA could not rule out further arrests, searches, interviews or court orders.

She also said they had not and would not be naming any of those arrested or interviewed.

The NCA took over the Nama inquiry from the PSNI last July and is working with other law enforcement agencies in Ireland, the Isle of Man and the USA.

Investigators are focused on four main areas - the Nama loan book purchase and dispersal of fees offshore, the relationships of those involved in the huge sale including allegations of corruption, the broader sale process including previous purchase attempts, and any offences suspected of having been committed under UK law.

Meanwhile, the Republic's Finance Minister Michael Noonan has insisted there was no political pressure from Stormont over the controversial property portfolio sale known as Project Eagle.

Anyone looking for evidence of interference in the sell-off by the Republic's bad bank Nama to US investment fund Cerberus two years ago was going down a cul-de-sac, he added.

"No one ever attempted to put political pressure on me," Mr Noonan told a parliamentary watchdog in Dublin that is investigating the sale.

Last week, Nama chairman Frank Daly suggested cross-border diplomatic concerns had played a part in the sale.

The toxic assets agency was influenced chiefly by commercial gain but also the political sensitivities involved at the time and "reconciled the two", he said.

Mr Daly also claimed that removing prominent Belfast businessman Frank Cushnahan from his role as a Nama advisor - on the appointment of the DUP - would have provoked cross-border tensions.

But before Dublin's Public Accounts Committee, Mr Noonan said there were legitimate and obvious concerns in Belfast that a fire sale of the properties could have damaged Northern Ireland's economy.

But he insisted Stormont leaders were "perfectly in order" to express fears about the impact of a sell-off on the construction sector and never sought to influence him.
A Co Fermanagh man who stabbed his brother to death says he is now "at peace" after finding God.

Father-of-two Raymond Johnston was charged with manslaughter and jailed for two and a half years following the fatal incident close to Killesher Chapel on the outskirts of Florencecourt, a small village about eight miles west of Enniskillen.

David Johnston (32) died as a result of stab wounds in the early hours of July 13 2012.

Now free from prison, Mr Johnston says he is on a journey, determined not to be defined by that "life changing" night.

"The impact that 2012 had has been life-changing, totally life-changing," he said.

"I am a far cry from the man I was before but the Lord is still changing me, still making me, still moulding me.

"I am far from the man that I need to be, that God wants me to be. But I am on that journey.

"I find that I am at peace, I am at peace with what happened, with my life, and what happened in the past.

"I have turned a corner in my life, in what has probably been the hardest time of my life," he said, in an interview with his local newspaper, The Impartial Reporter.

"Turning to God," said the 37-year-old, "has allowed me to be free from that burden of sin, from the burden of what happened.

"That condemnation has been lifted off me, I feel free.

"I can live my life without fear now of that condemnation from society, from the outside world, from within. It has allowed me to live a life for God, not for self anymore."

It was during a journey from Enniskillen to Laganside Courthouse in Belfast, where he was attending a remand hearing, when Mr Johnston found his faith.

Driving back to Enniskillen he asked God to forgive him, around six months later he was sentenced for manslaughter.

"I brought with me my Bible, sermons, recordings of testimonies and the whole journey up the road I listened to those testimonies of how God had changed the lives of so many people, people who had similar lifestyles to myself," he added.

"I came to Christ listening to the recordings, thinking how I had made such a mess of my life up to this point, how I was in such a need for God.

"I was at a stage where I could see no way out. It was trying to live with what I had done."

Once an avid drug user, Mr Johnston regularly smoked cannabis and drank copious amounts of alcohol and "didn't realise it was full of sin.

"Before what happened (to his brother) I was taking a lot of drugs, drinking a lot of alcohol. I was smoking cannabis daily and drinking as often as possible," he added.

"I had a good job, I had all the things society told me I needed: my own house, all the money I needed, fancy clothes, holidays, but I was never happy.

"I found myself drawn to the party lifestyle, the drink, the drugs, the chase. I was just living life for the chase. I have no desire to return to that, I have seen the years I have wasted."

He admits to experiencing "very deep lows" but believes he is now "coming out of that tunnel."

"I see the light, there is hope for my future, for my family's future, hope that I have never had before," Raymond added.

"I live my life for God, for my community, to show love to that community and give back the love that has been shown to me and my family."

And it is his family who he says have helped him "to accept what happened and move on."

"I love my family and to know they love me is really reassuring," he added.

This Sunday Mr Johnston will share his story at Elim Pentecostal Church in Enniskillen at 7pm where he hopes to tell people about "the dangers" of life.

"I had never set out or planned for anything of that to happen, what did happen in 2012," he added.

"I want to tell people that alcohol and drugs can be dangerous to life, how you can get in and addicted very quickly.

"I want to tell people about God."

Pastor Nigel Elliott said he has had "the privilege" of "walking part of this journey with Raymond and his family."

"I can see the change, it's very evident in many ways," Mr Elliott said.

"It's not about a man but the change that God can make in a man.

"He's not the perfect man, but he's not the man I first met in 2012.

"I believe in this community there are more people like Raymond Johnston who may not have been where he has been but nevertheless their life is empty and lacks purpose.

"I want to offer those people a reassurance, a hope for the future.

"If you come along on Sunday you will hear for yourself a man who walked a journey that was desperate, low, right through his whole life.

"I hope the community will grasp not just a story but the message behind that story."
Another former senior Orange leader has backed calls for the Order to review its ban on members attending Catholic Mass - and confessed to having attended three in the past.

David McNarry, the Ukip leader in Northern Ireland, also said he believed the institution's chaplains could initiate a discussion about changing the traditional rule.

The past Assistant Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland also admitted he had been present at Requiem Mass at the funerals of friends.

Mr McNarry argued that Orange Order members did not break the ban if they did not participate in a Mass. He was referring to the instruction in the Order's rule book that "you should not countenance by your presence or otherwise any act or ceremony of Popish worship".

His comments came after senior Orange figure the Rev Mervyn Gibson said that he would support the lifting of the ban - although he would decline to initiate the policy change himself.

Mr McNarry, who remains an Orange Order member and walked in the last Twelfth parade in Comber, said: "I am in agreement with Mervyn. In its own time the institution should promote a discussion.

"It may come about from the Grand chaplains perhaps preparing a review if they so wish, and it is a worthy subject for a discussion.

"All Orangemen are aware of the rule. I don't know how anyone breaks that rule if they enter a Roman Catholic chapel and Mass is going on and you don't participate in it.

"In fact, most Orangemen would not know how to participate in it.

"If, as occasions have arisen, and you are doing it as part of your civic duties, or it is the close relation of a son or daughter or a friend, or someone serving in the Armed Forces, or someone you have known for a long time, you do the natural thing and go to pay your respects."

The ex-Strangford MLA, who was a senior Ulster Unionist for many years, added: "I have always felt this way.

"I have gone on three occasions when I felt that I wanted to pay my respects by going to a friend's funeral."

His former UUP colleagues Tom Elliott MP and Danny Kennedy MLA faced the threat of disciplinary action in 2011 when they attended the funeral Mass of murdered police officer Ronan Kerr. They were subject to a complaint by a Belfast lodge, but were later cleared.

Both men said they had no regrets about attending Constable Kerr's funeral and believe there is a growing demand to change the rule. Mr Kennedy said the Order often turned a blind eye to the rule anyway, particularly in rural areas.

Mr Gibson, who is now Assistant Grand Master, said he had attended homes and wakes of "Roman Catholics and republicans" and prayed for the families "and with them".

"That rule harks back to a day when people said, 'Don't go into the chapel' and I accept that, but equally it can be changed and it may be changed," he added.
A car has burst into flames in a Co Down village.

There are no reports of any injuries.

It happened on Ballynahinch Street which was closed for a short time due to the incident.

The Fire Service attended just before 11.30am to the report of a car well alight.

A spokesman said: "One Fire Appliance from Lisburn Fire Station was deployed to the scene. Firefighters using a hosereel jet and breathing apparatus dealt with the car on fire in the area.

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service finished at the scene at 12:04pm and the fire is being treated as accidental.
One of David Cameron's close allies, Sir Oliver Letwin, said his knighthood was "bitter- sweet" as he defended the former prime minister against accusations of cronyism.

The former Number 10 policy chief was awarded the title in Mr Cameron's resignation honours list, which included gongs for a string of political supporters, Conservative Party donors and Downing Street staff.

He made the comments after being formally knighted by the Queen in a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Friday.

Sir Oliver served in the Cabinet Office and then as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster until he was axed by Theresa May in a Cabinet shake-up when she replaced Mr Cameron as Prime Minister following the EU referendum.

Sir Oliver, who was accompanied by his wife, Isabel, and daughter, Laura, said receiving the honour had been a "surreal experience" but the ceremony was "rather fun".

He said: "Of course, in my case, it arose in combination with leaving government so it was an interesting, bitter-sweet experience. But I'm very grateful to David Cameron for nominating me.

"I think it's inevitable when an outgoing prime minister has an honours list there will be critics of it - I can't remember an occasion when there weren't such criticisms made.

"I think, in the end, having a system in which the people who serve a prime minister receive some recognition - not people like me, politicians, but the people who are working invisibly in very high-pressured environment of Number 10 - I think it's right that they should be recognised in some way."

Sir Oliver added that he understood why Mrs May sacked him and he backed the Government's post-Brexit vote plan.

The 60-year-old said: "Theresa was gracious, we've worked together for 17 or 18 years. She had a very clear and understandable plan to create her own Government in a different shape and that I completely understand.

"I think, actually, she's been doing a fine job in very difficult circumstances."

The West Dorset MP, who also once served as an adviser in Margaret Thatcher's Number 10 policy unit, plans to retire as an MP in 2020 and said he is looking forward to writing books and forming a new think-tank.

Sir Oliver was joined at the investiture ceremony by actor Brian Blessed, who collected an OBE for services to art and charity.

The 79-year-old has enjoyed a long career on stage and screen stretching back six decades, and is best known for his roles as Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon and Augustus Caesar in I, Claudius.

Speaking after collecting his award from the monarch, he praised her as "the finest Queen we've ever produced".

He added: "I find her always an enchanting professional, she's utterly professional.

"She does have something special. She does have an extraordinary inner beauty and grace and that's what I felt just now."

He revealed he spoke to her about her son Charles, who he works with as an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, and said he made the Queen "beam with pride".

He has also raised money and supported animal welfare charities, including the Born Free Foundation.

Blessed, who was among a host of celebrities to sign a letter urging the UK to stay in the EU, said his reason for doing so was for "artistic" reasons rather than economic.

He said: "My attitude wasn't even political, it's quite simply that we are Romans, we are Anglo-Saxons, we're Celts, we're Gauls... We're European.

"I just feel a huge affinity, they're very much our heart and soul."

He also hit out at US presidential candidate Donald Trump, calling him an "idiot".
Ryanair confirmed that Spanish officials were waiting for the plane when it landed

A ten-year-old boy was hit on the head with a wine bottle on a Ryanair flight after a "crazy" brawl erupted mid-air.

Frightened families watched as a stag party clashed with passengers on the three-hour trip to from Edinburgh to Alicante, Spain.

It's believed the brawl erupted after a member of the stag party repeatedly shouted 'topknot' at another passenger, before a female "snapped and jumped at the group", according to The Sun.

Conor Cockburn (27) who was on the flight said that he had never been on a flight quite like it.

According to reports, police were waiting at the Spanish airport ready to escort the brawlers from the plane.

Ryanair confirmed that Spanish officials were waiting for the plane when it landed  and escorted four people off.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "The crew of this flight from Edinburgh to Alicante requested police assistance upon landing in Alicante, after four passengers became disruptive in-flight.

"The aircraft landed normally and the individuals were removed and detained by police in Alicante.

"We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."
Skyfall star Naomie Harris has begged her co-star Daniel Craig to return to the role of James Bond.

Speculation is rife about whether Craig will be back on the big screen as 007 and Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hughes and James Norton are among the actors touted as his replacement.

However, Harris, who plays Moneypenny, has said she is desperate for Craig to make a fifth outing as the spy with the licence to kill.

She told the Press Association: "Of course I want to be back with Daniel, I started with Daniel. When I was nervous on my first day it was Daniel who calmed my nerves.

"He's an extraordinary actor and I think he's the best modern Bond that we have had and I desperately want him back. Come back Daniel!"

While Harris, 40, has enjoyed huge success in British films, she said she had to go to America to take her career further.

Speaking at the premiere of her new movie Moonlight at the BFI London Film Festival, she said: "I definitely think that for my career to have continued I definitely had to go to America and I'm really glad that I did, there is just a lot more material.

"But I live here, I never left London and I'm able to work here as well as there and I couldn't ask for more."

Harris said there is still a lack of parts for black actors and she is not surprised by the BFI's recent findings that almost 60% of films in the past 10 years had no black actors in them.

She said: "It's not surprising because that's what we see, we see a lack of diversity.

"But what I think is really positive is that is changing and I think this year in particular shows that. We have got to be aware that there is room to grow but also celebrate that there has been real change."

Moonlight, which chronicles the life of a young gay man from childhood to adulthood and has an entirely black cast, was a story she hadn't come across before, she said.

"It sheds light on an area we don't usually see, it sheds light on a love story we don't usually see and it was such a beautiful script," Harris added.

Moonlight will be released in UK cinemas on October 21.
Non-UK academics have been told they cannot give advice on Brexit

One of the country's top universities has insisted it will stand by its foreign academics after it said the Government had banned them from advising ministers on Brexit because they are not UK nationals.

A bar on foreign experts at the London School of Economics (LSE) has been branded "utterly baffling" by former Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg.

LSE interim director Prof Julia Black said in an internal school update memo on the matter that the world-renowned university stood by its academic principles of independence.

"You may have seen reports in the media that the Foreign Office have advised us that they will be issuing tenders to contract for advisory work, but that only UK nationals will be eligible to apply.

"Whilst the Foreign Office has long had a rule restricting the nationality of employees or secondees, the extension of the bar to advisory work seems to be new.

"However, it is for the Foreign Office to determine what its national security arrangements are, and their legality, not for us.

"We are standing firm to our principles of academic independence and valuing our truly international community of scholars.

"We will continue to stand by our colleagues and we strongly value the work that you all do," she said in the memo, which was posted on Twitter by Jakub Krupa.

Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at LSE's Europe Institute, said Government representatives told her they will no longer take advice from her or her non-UK colleagues.

A Foreign Office spokesman insisted nothing had changed since the pro-Brexit referendum result.

"The FCO regularly works with academic institutions to assist in its policy research, and nothing has changed as a result of the referendum.

"It has always been the case that anyone working in the FCO may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work.

"Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds, regardless of nationality."

Mr Clegg, now the Lib Dems European Union spokesman, said: "It is utterly baffling the Government is turning down expert, independent advice on Brexit simply because someone is from another country.

"This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policy making."

Steve Peers, a professor of EU law at the University of Essex, said: "What kind of know-nothing nativist Government rejects the expertise of all non-citizens?"

The move is reportedly due to concerns over sensitive data being exposed during Brexit negotiations.

Ms Hagemann tweeted: "UK govt previously sought work & advice from best experts. Just told I & many colleagues no longer qualify as not UKcitizens #Brexit"

A spokesman for LSE said: "The UK Government regularly calls upon LSE's world-class academics for their advice on a range of issues.

"We believe our academics, including non-UK nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the UK's relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.

"Any changes to security measures are a matter for the UK Government."

It comes just days after Home Secretary Amber Rudd outlined proposals to make British firms publish lists of their foreign workers, a move which has prompted criticism from businesses and her own brother.
The proportion of British nurses joining hospitals dropped from roughly 78% to 70% over the same period

Nursing leaders have warned that the NHS "would not cope" without staff from abroad, as new figures suggest the number of EU nationals joining NHS hospitals has soared.

Around one in five nurses recruited in England 2015/16 were non-British EU nationals - up from one in 14 in 2011/12.

Over the same period the proportion of British nurses joining hospitals dropped from roughly 78% to 70%.

The Royal College of Nursing said the figures showed nurses trained abroad made a "critical contribution" to the health service, while the British Medical Association said the NHS could only benefit from widening its overseas "talent pool".

New analysis by the Press Association has revealed the extent to which the NHS in England is increasingly dependent on EU workers to meet demand for new staff.

Of the 33,000 nurses recorded as joining hospitals in 2015/16, just over 6,000 held an EU nationality other than British. Some 1,750 were Spanish, 1,300 Italian and nearly 1,000 Portuguese.

The findings, based on data published by NHS Digital, also suggested that in 2015/16:

:: Around one in 10 midwives joining hospitals were non-British EU nationals, up from one in 20 in 2012/13

:: Some 20% of newly-recruited speciality doctors were EU nationals, along with 17% of speciality registrars and 7% of foundation year doctors

:: Just over 10% of the total staff joining NHS hospitals held EU nationality. In 2012/13 the proportion was 6%.

The rights of EU citizens to continue to work in the UK is likely to be one of the key areas of the Brexit negotiations. The Government has yet to clarify the future status of the 2.2 million non-UK nationals employed in this country.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt this week told the Conservative party conference that he wanted EU nationals working in the NHS "to be able to stay post-Brexit".

Responding to the PA's analysis, Donna Kinnair, director of nursing, policy and practice at the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Nurses trained in other countries have contributed to the NHS since its inception.

"The health service would not cope without their contribution, and with the future supply of nurses looking uncertain this situation will not change any time soon.

"Allowing the ambiguity about the future of health care staff from the EU to continue is completely unfair.

"The Government must act now and develop a coherent and sustainable workforce strategy, which recognises the critical contribution of overseas nurses as well as the pressing need to educate, recruit and retain a domestic nursing workforce in the UK."

Dr Mark Porter, British Medical Association council chair, said: "The UK has grown to rely on health care workers from the EU who play a vital role in the effective functioning of our NHS.

"By widening our talent pool, the NHS can only benefit from the wealth of knowledge and expertise that is gained from recruiting doctors from overseas.

"With unprecedented staff shortages and a recent BMA study revealing that almost half of doctors were planning to move abroad to work, the Government should be focusing on creating a health service that supports and nurtures both those wishing to apply to work in the UK and those already here."

The proportion of EU nationals recruited as nurses in 2015/16 may be even higher than one in five, as the data from NHS Digital includes 1,674 nurses whose nationality was recorded as "unknown".

NHS Digital also noted that data on nationality was based on self-reported information from individual employees. As this may reflect cultural heritage rather than country of birth, the figures do not necessarily equate to migrants from other countries.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "As the Secretary of State has repeatedly made clear, overseas workers form a crucial part of our NHS and we value their contribution immensely.

"We want to see the outstanding work of nurses who are already trained overseas continue, but at the same time we are already delivering our plan to train more home-grown nurses - there are over 10,700 additional nurses on our wards since May 2010 and 50,000 in training, and our changes to student nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals funding will also create thousands more training places by the end of this parliament."
At one point the pound plunged past the 1.20-dollar level

Sterling endured a torrid day on the currency markets after an overnight "flash crash" triggered by a suspected "rogue algorithm" sent it plummeting to a fresh 31-year low against the US dollar.

The value of the pound dived during Asian trading session to 1.18 US dollars, before mounting a lacklustre recovery to trade 1.6% lower at 1.241 US dollars - well below levels of 1.26 recorded before the fall.

The UK currency also failed to mount a full recovery against the euro, down 1.7% at a five-year low of 1.113 euro.

Sterling had come under sustained pressure during the week after investors became increasingly alarmed that Prime Minister Theresa May was opting for a so-called "hard Brexit", whereby Britain would leave the European single market so the Government could tighten its grip on immigration.

However, market-watchers said the "flash crash" was probably caused by an algorithm reacting to a news story stating that French president Francois Hollande was taking a tough stance on Brexit negotiations .

The Bank of England said it was looking into the cause of the "flash crash", while some analysts warned that the pound was now on course to reach parity with the euro.

In a follow-up statement, the Bank said governor Mark Carney had asked the BIS markets committee to investigate the events surrounding the flash crash.

It added: "With input from the Bank, the committee will review the lessons from this, and other recent episodes of flash events in FX markets at its next meeting."

Such has been the severity of the currency fall in recent days that it forced retailer Sports Direct to issue a profit warning on Friday.

It said the "extreme movements" in the pound would cause full year earnings to hit 285 million, compared with the 300 million it had originally pencilled in.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at spreadbetter City Index, said: "Apparently it was a rogue algorithm that triggered the sell-off after it picked up comments made by the French president, Francois Hollande, who said if Theresa May and co want hard Brexit, they will get hard Brexit.

"These days some algos trade on the back of news sites, and even what is trending on social media sites such as Twitter, so a deluge of negative Brexit headlines could have led to an algo taking that as a major sell signal for GBP.

"Once the pound started moving lower, then more technical algos could have followed suit, compounding the short, sharp selling pressure."

The "flash crash" capped a tumultuous week for the pound, which saw it drop more than 4% against the US dollar since Friday September 30.

The UK currency plumbed new depths on Thursday after German chancellor Angela Merkel took a tough stance on Brexit, saying Britain would not get access to the European single market if it did not accept free movement of people.

Any hopes that an economic update from the manufacturing sector on Friday would provide some relief for sterling were quickly dashed.

Output could only muster a slight rebound to 0.2% in August, while industrial production posted a worse-than-expected fall of 0.4% over the period.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: "If the pound was a prize fighter, the referee would have already rung the bell, the currency bloodied and bruised beyond belief."

He said that the pound seemed to recreate Thursday night's "flash crash" in slow motion on Friday, as it remained heavily down against the euro and the dollar.

In contrast, sterling's slide has dished out a hefty boost to the FTSE 100 Index in recent sessions, with the London market coming within a whisker of recording an all-time high on Tuesday.

Foreign companies listed in London have seen their shares rocket amid the pound's tumble as it boosts their earnings when they are translated back into sterling.

The FTSE 100 Index closed up 0.6% to 7044.39 on Friday.
The death toll in Haiti is set to rise 'significantly higher' than the 300 already recorded, officials warned, after the impoverished country was devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

The central government's official death toll stood at nearly 300, but an official said that figure did not include at least 80 more people and authorities doing the on-ground assessment in remote corners of the south-western peninsula said it would likely be significantly higher.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said 82 bodies found by his team had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of poor communications. Most appeared to have died from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145 mph (235 kph) on Tuesday.

"We don't have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still haven't reached," Mr Jeune said, as he and a team of Civil Protection agents in orange vests combed through the area.

The storm left signs of devastation all around the south-western peninsula. Outside the coastal town of Jeremie, home after home was in ruins. Drew Garrison, a Haiti-based missionary who flew in Friday, said several fishing villages along the coast were submerged and he could see bodies floating in the water.

"Anything that wasn't concrete was flattened," said Mr Garrison, whose organisation, Mission of Hope Haiti, based in Austin, Texas, was bringing in a barge loaded with emergency supplies on Saturday. "There were several little fishing villages that just looked desolate, no life."

Solette Phelicin, a mother of five who lost her home and her small fruit and vegetable plot, watched from her yard as UN peacekeepers patrolled the small air strip. She said they were hungry and desperately in need of food. "Jeremie might get rebuilt after I'm dead, maybe, but I doubt it."

As Haitians mourned their losses, they tried to recover what they could of their belongings. Homes throughout the area were piles of rubble, the roofs mangled or stripped away.

Workers from the International Organisation of Migration and other groups were going through the area to assess the damage and provide assistance, though their efforts were hampered by damaged roads, rough terrain and other factors.

"Devastation is everywhere," said Pilus Enor, mayor of Camp Perrin, a town near the port city of Les Cayes on the peninsula's south shore. "Every house has lost its roof."

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest.

Emmanuel Pierre, an Interior Ministry coordinator in Les Cayes, said that authorities had counted 283 people dead in one part of Haiti's hard-hit south-west, but that did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear on Thursday as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145 mph (235 kph) winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her six-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

"On the way to the church, the wind took them," Mr Ais said.

Officials said that food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been levelled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

Officials with the Pan American Health Organisation warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In the coming days, the US military expects to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas via helicopter.

AP
The woman claims a taxi driver who picked her up at the City Airport ripped up her return flight ticket and took her to work at a brothel in the Republic.

A Taiwanese holidaymaker was allegedly forced in prostitution after arriving in Belfast for a guided tour of Ireland, the High Court heard today.

She claims a taxi driver who picked her up at the City Airport ripped up her return flight ticket and took her to work at a brothel in the Republic, prosecutors said.

Details emerged as Dublin-based Chee Seng Chan was granted bail on a charge of trafficking the woman in May this year.

The 51-year-old Malaysian national was arrested last month as he collected another two Asian females from the same airport.

Chan, of Greenlawn in Dublin, is accused of arranging and facilitating travel into the UK for sexual exploitation.

His alleged victim said she flew to Belfast after seeing an advert in the Taiwanese press for guided tours around Ireland, the court heard.

She told of being picked up in a taxi after immigration officials at the airport phoned a contact number she provided.

Stephanie Boyd, prosecuting, alleged: "The tour guide took her passport and return ticket and tore it up."

The woman, who had booked into a south Belfast hotel, was instead taken to a flat in Waterford, told to have sex with customers and report to a "boss lady", it was claimed.

Varying accounts were given about payment, with the woman saying she got a 50% cut and then claiming to have received no money.

According to her account she escaped from the flat and boarded a bus back to Belfast four days later, allegedly while Chan was out at a shop.

Police were alerted when she arrived back at the airport in a distressed state on May 15.

Gardai searches of the vacant Waterford address confirmed it had been used as a brothel, the court heard.

With the alleged victim now back in Taiwan, Interpol have been contacted in a bid to secure a formal statement from her.

Chan was detained on September 21 after two more Taiwanese women arriving at Belfast City Airport said they were to be collected by a Dublin taxi driver.

A vehicle registration he had provided them matched the car allegedly used in the earlier incident.

During police interviews he confirmed being a taxi driver who also showed tourists around.

"He was unable to name any of the major hotels or clarify the cost for his tour guide service," Mrs Boyd said.

"He confirmed he only picked up females of Asian origin."

The barrister said police have established Chan's address is legitimate and were not opposing bail due to the anticipated lengthy investigation.

Granting the application, Mrs Justice Keegan ordered the defendant to provide a 2,000 cash surety.

Banning him from collecting any fares at the City Airport, she also directed: "He will not operate as a tour guide in Northern Ireland."
The US has called for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria over the two countries' joint offensive in Aleppo.

The move by US secretary of state John Kerry ramps up the rhetoric against Moscow for its part in the conflict, while potentially making it harder to resume diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.

Mr Kerry said Syrian forces had hit a hospital outside Damascus overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100.

Human rights group also accused the two countries of killing thousands in their assault on Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

Mr Kerry said: "Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, and children and women.

"These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.

"They're beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorise civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."

The Russian foreign ministry said Mr Kerry was trying to divert attention from America's failure to uphold a ceasefire in Syria.

"Kerry used these words from the point of view of fanning tensions," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"As long as war crimes are at question, the Americans should start with Iraq. And then look at Libya and Yemen to see what is going on there."

The US has little chance of being able to initiate a war crimes probe of either Russia or Syria. Russia has veto power at the UN Security Council and has blocked repeated attempts over the last five and a half years to put pressure on Syrian president Bashar Assad's government or hold it accountable for the widespread allegations of indiscriminate killing, torture and chemical weapons attacks.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke of a new French effort for a ceasefire in Syria that would include a UN Security Council vote on Saturday. But it is unclear what advantages his plan would have over the US-Russian led process that collapsed last month.

Mr Kerry's September 9 agreement with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counter-terrorism alliance in Syria, had fighting stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas. Neither condition was ever met.

The truce then shattered completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo. Mr Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Russia on the military partnership earlier this week.

Mr Ayrault called Syria a "human tragedy" that demands every effort to restart a peace negotiation.

He said Saturday would be a "moment of truth" at the Security Council. He said the question that will be posed to everyone, but particularly to Russia, is: "Do you, yes or no, want a ceasefire in Aleppo?"

Such a ceasefire would be "open to discussion", but Mr Ayrault said two demands were absolute.

"The first one is the ceasefire and no-fly zone over Aleppo," he said.

"And the second pillar is access for humanitarian aid. We're not giving up."

At the current rate of fighting, Mr Ayrault claimed, "Aleppo will be totally destroyed by Christmas".

Russia will almost surely veto the French measure.

"I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

The war has killed as many as half a million people since 2011, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Second World War and allowed the Islamic State group (IS) to carve out territory for itself and emerge as a global terror threat.

Given the range of militant groups, extremists and outside powers now fighting in Syria, the original contest between Mr Assad's government and so-called "moderate" opposition forces has proven stubbornly difficult to quell.

Russia launched its air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Mr Assad's forces make significant territorial gains. Washington responded by engaging Moscow in a multinational process aimed at getting all of Syria's fighting parties, except IS and al-Qaida, to buy into a ceasefire and eventual unity government.

The US also wanted Russia to join in the campaign against extremist groups like IS.

For that reason, Mr Kerry and other US officials have tempered their criticism of Russia even as the death toll from its air campaign has risen. Syrian human rights observers claim Moscow has killed as many as 9,400 people, crushing hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure in rebel-held areas along the way.

AP
Zhou Bo, counselor in the Chinese Mission to the EU, addressed the the opening of a three-month Chinese arts festival in the EU on Thursday in Brussels. [Photo by Yao Yueyang/For chinadaily.com.cn]

A three-month Chinese arts festival kicked off on Thursday in Brussels, aimed at bringing about a better understanding of a variety of Chinese cultures.

This is the second time such a tightly-scheduled package of film screenings, exhibitions of paintings, photography and calligraphy, and cultural industry dialogues has been staged.

As part of the festival, a group of young Chinese film directors, actors and actresses will interact with movie-goers in Brussels this month.

Zhou Bo, counselor at the Chinese Mission to the EU, said a film on Tibet will also be on show this time, which will give Europeans a chance to see how Tibetans live harmoniously with nature.

She said the eight-day film part of the festival will help show "how far China has come in the film industry in recent years".

Zhou Bo, counselor in the Chinese Mission to the EU, addressed the the opening of a three-month Chinese arts festival in the EU on Thursday in Brussels. [Photo by Yao Yueyang/For chinadaily.com.cn]

According to the organizer, 13 short films produced by Belgian and Chinese university students will be screened.

Built on the success of the bilateral cultural exchange between EU and China last year, the Chinese Arts Festival in the EU has been turned into a non-profit platform supported by Chinese Mission to the EU and European Parliament.

"As a new platform, we cannot dream for a better partner like Chinese Mission to the EU. They help us to build connection with many Chinese high-level artists and cultural projects." said Julie Patterson, co-president of the Chinese Arts Festival in the EU.

She said more diverse cultural-oriented projects are in the pipeline, and the Chinese Arts Festival in the EU also intends to involve more EU member states in the future.

To inaugurate the festival, an EU-funded octet was invited to make its debut.

Eight musicians from France, Slovenia, Bulgaria and China jointly performed three musical classics, including the Chinese masterpiece Moons Reflection ErQuan.

"It is an innovative and interesting attempt, and it also shows the music is without borders," said Wang Taiping, the first violist.

Istvan Ujhelyi, Vice-President of the Committee on Transport and Tourism at the European Parliament said: "I surely believe that this years festival will provide a good example on how we could achieve concrete cultural cooperation to enhance dialogues. It also shows our desire to learn from each other."

Yao Yueyang contributed to the story

To contact the reporter: fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
The crew of survey ship HMS Echo help in the underwater search for the flight recorder from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (MoD/PA)

A piece of an aircraft wing found on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has been identified as part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, authorities have said.

The piece of wing flap, found in May, was analysed by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading the search for the plane in a remote stretch of ocean off Australia's west coast.

Investigators used a part number found on the debris to link it to the missing Boeing 777, the agency said. Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai also confirmed the identification.

Several pieces of wreckage from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

So far, none of the debris has helped narrow down the precise location of the main underwater wreckage. Investigators need to find that in order to locate the flight data recorders that could help explain why the plane veered so far off-course.

Search crews are expected to finish their sweep of the 46,000-square mile search zone in the Indian Ocean by December.

Oceanographers have been analysing wing flaps found in Tanzania and on the French island of La Reunion to see if they might be able to identify a potential new search area through drift modelling.

But any new search would require more funding. Malaysia, Australia and China said in July that the 127 million hunt will be suspended once the current stretch of ocean was exhausted unless new evidence emerged that would pinpoint a specific location of the aircraft.

AP
Experts believe flowing liquid water is almost certainly responsible for mysterious features on Mars that change with the seasons

A European spacecraft nearing the end of its journey to Mars is ready to send a lander to the surface of the Red Planet.

Time-saved command signals for the landing on October 19 were uploaded into ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter's computers on October 3 and October 7.

The European Space Agency (Esa) probe, part of an ambitious mission to search for evidence of life on Mars, was launched on March 14 and has almost completed a 310 million mile (500 million km) voyage across the solar system.

It is due to deploy the small Schiaparelli lander on October 16.

Three days later, Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will brake into an elliptical orbit around Mars while Schiaparelli enters the Martian atmosphere and parachutes down to the surface.

The 8ft (2.4m) wide disc-shaped craft will aim for Meridiani Planum, a flat region near the equator.

Its main mission is to pave the way for ExoMars Rover, a hi-tech six-wheeled laboratory equipped with life-seeking instruments to be launched in 2020.

Schiaparelli will test the rover's Russian-designed descent and landing system - which employs a heat shield, parachute, and retro rockets.

It also carries a small instrument package that will record wind speed, humidity, pressure and temperature at the landing site - and take electric field measurements that may shed light on how Martian dust storms are triggered.

Orbiter flight director Michel Denis said: "Uploading the command sequences is a milestone that was achieved following a great deal of intense cooperation between the mission control team and industry specialists."

The spacecraft is being controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (Esoc) in Darmstadt, Germany. However many of its systems are automatic and not dependent on direct commands from Earth.

Schiaparelli's command sequences are time-saved to ensure the lander can carry out its mission even when out of contact.

During the landing, the command signals will eject the front and back aeroshells, operate descent sensors, deploy the braking parachute, and activate three groups of hydrazine retro rockets.

At around two metres (6.5ft) above the surface, Schiaparelli will hover briefly before cutting its retro thrusters and dropping to the ground.

Once down, it is programmed to keep its science instruments running for at least two days.

TGO will play a key role in the ExoMars mission from orbit as it looks for rare gases in the planet's atmosphere including methane, which can only come from an active source.

The probe will tell scientists whether Martian methane is most likely to have a geological or biological origin.

On Earth, the gas is chiefly generated by billions of bacteria, many of which live in the guts of animals such as cows. But it can also be released by the breakdown of organic molecules deep underground or volcanic activity.

The two-stage 1 billion (1.2 billion euro) joint European and Russian ExoMars mission is equipped to uncover the first clear evidence of past or present life on Mars, if it exists.

The British-designed rover, built by Airbus Defence and Space at its UK headquarters in Stevenage, will drill samples from the Martian soil and analyse them for biochemical signatures of either long-dead or still living organisms.

Scientists have not ruled out the possibility that bugs may survive beneath the planet's radiation-baked surface.

TGO will not begin its science mission until the end of 2017, after a year of complex manoeuvres to circularise its orbit.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

John 8:3-9

In this election season, we have a lot to learn from the teachings of Jesus. One of the biggest lessons is about throwing stones. Both our political parties are very good at throwing stones. They are good at judging and criticizing, while ignoring their own sin.

This week, weve heard about Donald Trumps taxes, or rather his failure to pay income taxes. Hes presumably done so within the law, but Ill admit that his failure to pay his fair share of taxes annoys me. Ive always paid my taxes. And when I was a single mother and working hard to make ends meet, paying my taxes was burdensome. However, paying taxes is the price we pay for necessary things like roads, police, courts, schools, etc. So I dont mind paying my fair share of taxes. I do mind when others fail to do the same.

The problem with news stories, like the ones about Trumps taxes or Hillary Clintons email server, is that they encourage us to judge. Now there is nothing wrong with analyzing someone elses behavior. We do that all the time. We assess the past behavior of others so we can predict their future behavior. It allows us to know if someone is trustworthy or kind. We then can decide whether if someone will be a good candidate for a job, or whether that person would make a good friend, spouse, or babysitter for our children.

Where we fall into a trap is when we judge. Judging allows us to start throwing stones because when we judge, we conveniently forget about our own sin. The reality is that not one of us is in a position to throw that first stone. Like the scribes and Pharisees, we too would be walking away from the woman who had committed adultery.

Of course, as human beings, we are prone to judge. We all like to cast aspersions and name call. But Jesus stops us dead in our tracks. Interestingly, he doesnt tell us not to judge because it is bad. He instead asks us to first look at our own sin. And then he wisely says, if you have no sin, feel free to throw stones. The point being that we should be paying closer attention to our own sin than to the sins of others.

So while Ive paid my taxes, I cant throw stones at Donald Trump. Ive sinned in other ways. So I can use the information about Trumps tax returns to assess whether he would be a good president, but I cant use it to judge or condemn him.

This week, when you read the news or watch the political coverage, try to remember that we are all imperfect. We all come before God burdened with sin. Dont waste your time judging our political candidates or even your family members or friends. Dont spend your time name calling or thinking that you are better than anyone else. Instead focus on this: In spite of your imperfection, in spite of your sin, God loves you. So instead of judging, work at being more God-like in your attitude toward others.
Thai Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Udomdej Sitabutr, who chairs the governments new special delegation to the Deep South, talks to reporters in Bangkok ahead of the bodys first meeting, Oct. 6, 2016.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha has appointed a special government delegation for his countrys Deep South, which met Thursday for the first time in Bangkok and will report directly to the junta chief on matters pertaining to the strife-torn region.

Prayuth earlier this week announced the formation of a 13-member special delegation for the Deep South, or so-called forward government. Consisting mostly of former military, police and civilians who are familiar with the region, the delegation would act as a bridge between the regions administration, the regional military command and Prayuths cabinet in Bangkok, according to officials.

The new panel, headed by Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Udomdej Sitabutr, will also take over some duties of the National Security Council (NSC) in an effort to curb violence in the Deep South, Udomdej told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday.

More than 6,000 people have been killed during the past 12 years in violence associated with a separatist insurgency in Thailands predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking southern border region. Since last year, the military government in Bangkok has tried to re-open formal peace talks with rebel groups through a series of informal meetings facilitated by Malaysia.

The new delegation met for the first time on Thursday to discuss the scope of its authority, Udomdej said. It will be based at Fort Suriyothai, a military base in Pattani, one of the provinces in the Deep South.

The new body is assigned to oversee (the ISOC Region 4 in the Deep South and Southern Border Province Administration Center) to the best effect, Udomdej told reporters at the Defense Ministry, referring to the regions internal security operations command branch and an agency that administers the Deep South.

Whatever they have done well, we will bolster. Whatever jobs are going at a slow pace, we will see what glitches they have and we will fix them, he added.

Udomdej said he would report back to Prayuth and to Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan.

The delegation includes four ex-army commanders in the 4th Army Region, which covers the Deep South, Deputy Education Minister Surachet Chaiwong and Gen. Aksara Kerdpol, who heads the Thai delegation in peace negotiations with southern rebels, the Bangkok Post reported.

Air Vice Marshal Rungsan Yaowarat, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said the government had approved 12.5 billion baht (U.S. $358 million) for peace efforts in the Deep South in fiscal year 2017, which began Oct. 1.

Mixed reactions

With a population of 1.7 million people, the Thai Deep South encompasses Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces and four districts of Songkhla province.

Following a military coup in May 2014 that toppled a civilian-led government and installed a junta  formally known as the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO)  Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO) and other insurgent groups set up an umbrella group called MARA Patani to negotiate with the new regime in an effort to re-open peace talks for the first time since they stalled in December 2013.

In September, both sides agreed to discuss a limited ceasefire at future meetings.

Commentators and observers of the Deep South expressed a range of views about the formation of the new special delegation.

The establishment of the forward government to coordinate field units in Deep South with the prime minister will fix the slow chain of command, a security official in Pattani told BenarNews om condition of anonymity.

Madari Tohlala, a resident of Narathiwat, said the appointment of Udomdej as the delegations chairman gave him hope that things might get better in the violence-wracked region.

The chief of the forward government is straight-forward and thoughtful. I think this body is interesting and will improve the situation, he told BenarNews, adding that locals would also welcome at least two other members of the delegation, whom they view favorably.

But a former Thai parliamentarian suggested that the delegation lacks diversity and is limited in scope.

Its short-coming is a lack of representatives from the private sector, either Buddhist or Muslims, Najnudin Uma, who served as an MP under deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, told Benar News.

These people know the circumstances of violence well and they should be invited as advisers or as part of a special committee, he said.
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First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

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For Immediate Release, October 7, 2016 Contact: Catherine Kilduff, Center for Biological Diversity, (202) 780-8862, ckilduff@biologicaldiversity.org Pacific Bluefin Tuna One Step Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection Overfishing Continues as International Negotiations Over Reducing Catch Stall SAN FRANCISCO In the face of staggering declines, Endangered Species Act protection may be warranted for Pacific bluefin tuna, the National Marine Fisheries Service said today. The announcement, in response to a petition from conservation groups earlier this year, means the agency will now conduct an in-depth status review of the species. Under pressure from overfishing, bluefin tuna populations have reached dangerously low levels, declining more than 97 percent since fishing began. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons/aes256. This photo is available for media use. Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the United States and other countries have failed to reduce fishing enough to protect the iconic species, a luxury item on sushi menus. One recent study found bluefin and other large marine organisms are particularly vulnerable to the current mass extinction event; their loss would disrupt the ocean food web in unprecedented ways, and they need more protection to survive. This is good news for bluefin tuna, which are headed for extinction without more protection. The Endangered Species Act is a powerful tool for bringing vulnerable species back from the brink, and we hope the Fisheries Service gives these magnificent fish the help they need, said Catherine Kilduff of the Center for Biological Diversity. We have to find ways to limit overfishing and protect important habitat or we may see the last Pacific bluefin tuna sold off and lost to extinction. In June 2016 petitioners requested that the Fisheries Service protect Pacific bluefin tuna as endangered. The coalition includes the Center for Biological Diversity, The Ocean Foundation, Earthjustice, Center for Food Safety, Defenders of Wildlife, Greenpeace, Mission Blue, Recirculating Farms Coalition, The Safina Center, SandyHook SeaLife Foundation, Sierra Club, Turtle Island Restoration Network and WildEarth Guardians, as well as sustainable-seafood purveyor Jim Chambers. This beautiful, high-performance migratory predator is critical to ecosystem balance in the ocean, said Mark Spalding, president of The Ocean Foundation. Unfortunately, these fish have no place to hide from mankinds high-tech, long-distance, big-net fishing fleets. It is not a fair fight, and so the Pacific bluefin tuna is losing. Almost all Pacific bluefin tuna harvested today are caught before reproducing, putting in doubt their future as a species. Just a few adult age classes of Pacific bluefin tuna exist, and these will soon disappear due to old age. Without young fish to mature into the spawning stock to replace the aging adults, the future is grim for Pacific bluefin unless immediate steps are taken to halt this decline. Consider this: Bluefin tuna takes up to a decade to mature and reproduce, but many are caught and sold as juveniles, compromising the repopulation and viability of the species. In the last 50 years, technological acumen has enabled us to kill over 90 percent of tuna and other species, said Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic explorer-in-residence and founder of Mission Blue. When one species is fished out, we move on to the next, which is not good for the ocean and not good for us. Meetings of the international commissions that set catch levels for Pacific bluefin tuna have failed to result in the cuts necessary to put Pacific bluefin tuna on a path to recovery. In mid-October the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission will meet again to discuss Pacific bluefin, and all signs point to the commission opting to maintain the status quo, which is insufficient to end overfishing, let alone promote a recovery to healthy levels. Pacific bluefin are endangered because the people responsible for fisheries management acted irresponsibly, said Carl Safina, founding president of The Safina Center. Their irresponsibility means that others must now step in and fix the problem. 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.


For Immediate Release, October 7, 2016 Contact: Jaclyn Lopez, (727) 490-9190, jlopez@biologicaldiversity.org Four Florida Plants Proposed for Protection Under Endangered Species Act ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. As a result of a 2011 agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity expediting protection decisions for 757 species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed Endangered Species Act protection for four imperiled plants found only in South Florida  Florida pineland crabgrass, Florida prairie clover, pinelands sandmat, and Everglades bully. The plants are part of the irreplaceable landscape of South Florida and are threatened by sea-level rise, urban sprawl and loss of frequent natural fires. They join a growing number of endangered species that occur in pine rocklands, which despite being one of the rarest habitats in the United States is imminently threatened by the planned development of a shopping mall and theme park in south Miami. The incredibly unique plants and animals of South Florida are slipping away before our very eyes, said Jaclyn Lopez, a Florida director with the Center. Its a relief to know that at least these four plants are finally getting the protection they need to survive and recover. Florida pineland crabgrass is also known as Everglades grass or twospike crabgrass, and only occurs in the Everglades in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The Florida pineland crabgrass was first identified as needing endangered species protection in 1975. The Center petitioned the Service to protect the crabgrass in 2004. The Florida prairie clover has been waiting on the agencys candidate list for federal protection since 1999. The Florida prairie clover is a member of the pea family and grows to six feet tall in pine rocklands and coastal uplands. The pinelands sandmat has been a candidate for listing since 1999. It is also known as the pineland deltoid spurge, rockland spurge, and wedge sandmat. It is a beautiful perennial herd with a red stem and delicate yellow flowers. The Everglades bully has been a candidate for protection since 2004. It is a shrub that is native to Miami-Dade County and is only found in pine rocklands. To date 176 plants and animals have received protection as a result of the Centers 2011 agreement, and another 20 are proposed for protection. Read more about the Centers 757 agreement and the Centers sea-level rise campaign. 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.


For Immediate Release, October 7, 2016 Contact: Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 484-7495, ngreenwald@biologicaldiveristy.org

Jim Scheff, Kentucky Heartwood, (859) 334-0602, jim@kyheartwood.org Kentucky Flower Becomes Latest Endangered Species Act Success Recovery, Delisting of White-haired Goldenrod Shows Tourism,

Endangered Species Can Coexist in Daniel Boone National Forest LEXINGTON, Ky. In the latest Endangered Species Act success story, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today declared that Kentuckys white-haired goldenrod has recovered, and has removed it from the endangered species list. The flower, found only in the Red River Gorge area of Wolfe, Powell and Menifee counties in Kentucky, was federally protected in 1988 due to trampling from recreationists. Once it was protected by the Endangered Species Act, the plants few remaining populations were fenced off and signs were erected to educate visitors about the vulnerable plant. This is a great day for the Endangered Species Act and Kentuckys unique natural heritage, said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The survival of this beautiful little wildflower is a reminder that we can save even our most imperiled plants and animals when were willing to use the remarkable tools provided by the Act, which has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of protected species. The Service will continue to monitor the ongoing recovery of the plant, which remains threatened by recreation, global climate change and invasive plants. Most of the plants range is on the Daniel Boone National Forest, so recreational impacts remain a concern. Conservation groups like Kentucky Heartwood are encouraging the U.S. Forest Service to develop more recreation areas in the national forest for recreation to lessen visitor impacts to the Red River Gorge. The recovery of this flower from the brink of extinction is great news, but the work isnt done, said Jim Scheff, director of Kentucky Heartwood. For the recovery to continue, the Forest Service and the state must continue to develop new trails and campgrounds that allow our growing number of eco-tourists to appreciate Kentuckys natural beauty without harming it. Nationally the outdoor recreation industry accounts for $646 billion in spending annually, supports more than 6 million direct jobs, and generates $80 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues. The Daniel Boone National Forests recreation budget has dropped four years in a row to only $1.2 million, or just 33 percent of the recreational-funding levels assumed in the 2004 forest management plan. The Forest Service has reported a $4 million maintenance backlog at existing recreational sites, and has insufficient resources to manage existing trail systems and other recreational use. Meanwhile the Daniel Boones timber program remains fully funded but continues to lose an average of $840,000 annually selling federal timber, according to an analysis of Forest Service data by Kentucky Heartwood. Those data show that from 2005 through 2013, the Forest Service spent $9.7 million on timber management, but received only $3.8 million in revenue from timber sold. While we all celebrate the success in protecting the white-haired goldenrod, we must recognize the ongoing need to do a better job of funding conservation efforts, said Scheff. Otherwise the funding crisis will continue to threaten at-risk species and the growing sustainable economic development provided by outdoor recreation. 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. Kentucky Heartwood seeks to protect and restore the integrity, stability, and beauty of Kentuckys native forests and biotic communities through research, education, advocacy, and non-violent intervention.
Mewing is a TikTok trend that has blown up in the last few months. It is claimed that it can help shape your jawline as well as cure other ailments by actively pressing your tongue to the roof
The good news is South Africans are living longer than they were 10 years ago, but on the flipside, more and more people are facing long-term health challenges from both infectious and non-communicable diseases.

These and other significant health findings are being published in a dedicated issue of The Lancet as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). The study draws on the work of more than 1,800 collaborators in nearly 130 countries and territories.

HIV/Aids turnaround

The evolving burden of disease in South Africa illustrates the importance of political commitment and evidence-informed policies. Life expectancy plummeted by about nine years to below 52 years in 2005, during an era of AIDS denialism, says Dr Charles Shey Wiysonge, a GBD collaborator from South Africa who serves as a professor of clinical epidemiology at the faculty of medicine and health sciences, Stellenbosch University.

However, with greater political commitment and expanding access to antiretroviral therapy, this trend has reversed and life expectancy is close to where it was in 1990, Wiysonge adds. Policymakers need to build on the current momentum and use GBD findings and other available evidence to increase access to quality health care for all South Africans.

In South Africa, HIV/Aids was the leading killer, resulting in 112,243 deaths in 2015. The second and third top causes of death were ischaemic heart disease and tuberculosis related to HIV/Aids, killing 45,119 and 42,943, respectively.

But the conditions that kill are not typically those that make people sick in South Africa. In 2015, while the top nonfatal cause of health loss was also HIV/Aids, the second and third causes were diabetes and lower back pain.

Globally, life expectancy increased from about 62 years to nearly 72 from 1980 to 2015, with several nations in sub-Saharan Africa  including South Africa  rebounding from high death rates due to HIV/Aids.

Child mortality

Child deaths are falling fast, as are illnesses related to infectious diseases. But each country has its own specific challenges and improvements, from fewer suicides in France, to lower death rates on Nigerian roadways, to a reduction in asthma-related deaths in Indonesia.

Findings for South Africa include:

A child born in South Africa in 2015 can expect to live to the age of 61, while a child born 10 years earlier in 2005 had a life expectancy of 55.

While the world has made great progress in reducing deaths of young children, globally 5,8m children under the age of five died in 2015.

Of that global figure, 42,540 of those children were in South Africa. The number of under-age-five deaths in South Africa in 1990 was 81,794.

The study was established in 1990 with support from the World Bank. This year, researchers analysed each country using a socio-demographic index, examining rates of education, fertility, and income. This new categorisation goes beyond the historical developed versus developing or economic divisions based on income alone.
If you had to puff up a word cloud of the SABC board's Wednesday presentation to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications it would read something like this: "fraudster, disrespect, dysfunction, institutional genocide, Verwoerd, cowboy conferences, a dog show, remove Hlaudi Motsoeneng, dissolve the board". And just like that, the Madness of King Hlaudi was called, finally exposed, and dealt with. Game over. It was a roast of note. Oh, and some ANC members found their spines.

You know that pavement gambling con? The one where you bet on a pea or a small ball under one of three cups. The conman then swiftly shuffles them around while you try to keep your eye on the hidden ball. That is more or less what the SABC board, led by its chairman Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe, tried to accomplish with its amateurish presentation to Parliaments Portfolio Committee on Communications on Wednesday, justifying its reappointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Yes, it's intentionally upside down... Hlaudi Motsoeneng, chief operating officer of the SABC, holds the corporations first quarterly media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 28 January 2015. Picture: SAPA stringer.  Daily Maverick

The board had been urgently summoned to Parliament (which is currently in recess) by ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu when it unlawfully reappointed Hlaudi Motsoeneng as group executive of corporate affairs after his previous appointment as COO had been set aside by the courts. Mthembu described the reappointment as the last straw that breaks the camels back.

But no one was falling for the con trick on Wednesday. It in fact exploded in their faces. At the end of the session the board had been dissolved. Game over. Hlaudi, however, is still in denial.

Motsoeneng himself made a surprise appearance at Wednesdays presentation, ushered in by the ever-reliable rent-a-crowd song and dance of the Seskhona Peoples Rights Movement who dusted off their Hands off Hlaudi banner and protested outside Parliament. King Hlaudi sat behind his political human shield, Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi, fresh from a work matter in Mauritius.

About three-quarters of the way into the dog show, as the Democratic Alliances James Selfe termed the presentation  during which SABC board chairman Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe shuffled the cups trying to convince everyone that Motsoeneng was legally still an employee  two board members, Krish Naidoo and then later Vusi Mavuso, resigned from the board on the spot.

A surprised Naidoo said that it was the first time he was hearing the boards presentation on Wednesday and moved quickly to distance himself from it.

If I was party to it I would have made the following contribution to some of issues that are pertinent. I would have informed you about three issues from a legal perspective because that is what I am, a lawyer. The first thing very simply is the Western Cape judgment. You had a judge say this appointment was irrational. Full stop. That means at that point had you taken further legal recourse, it would have still meant that the incumbent was no longer an employee of the organisation. By going on appeal to the SCA what you in effect do is stay that judgment, you stay an employee until the SCA makes a decision. That decision was made a few weeks ago where the SCA said there were no prospects of appeal. Now at that point, that is the final door. You are no longer an employee of this organisation. As simple as that, Naidoo told committee chairman Humphrey Maxegwana.

Naidoo added that the SCA decision had had nothing to do with Motsoeneng as an employee.

Whoever gave the SABC that advice should be shot, was the free practical legal advice he offered.

Naidoo added that the board was dealing with issues of compliance in a very superficial manner and reiterated that the Public Protectors 2014 report was binding. The long process the board had embarked on undermined this, he said.

I want to say that I am not satisfied. This presentation was amateurish. What are we doing here? Some of us have come through some serious struggles where we have come to the point where we would like to give a better life for everyone. And here we are sitting and discussing and spending valuable time discussing mundane issues. I have come to the conclusion that this board is dysfunctional, it should be scrapped. And personally I will be resigning today as a board member.

Minutes later board member Vusi Mavuso also resigned, saying he too had not been party to the presentation. Mavuso added that at least eleven SABC executives had been offered severance packages which amounted to a form of institutional genocide.

You have people with institutional memory who are taken out of the institution...What is going to remain now that they are gone? There will be a game of musical chairs where executives will be appointed from people within... we are not following due process. I cannot afford to be party to that. Similarly, my contribution to this board is not adding value. I am tendering my resignation today, said Mavuso.

The board faced a grilling of note from all the members of the portfolio committee, including those from the ruling party.

ANC MP Mondli Gungubele, former Mayor of Ekhuruleni (against whom the DA has laid charges relating to the irregular awarding of 285 tenders worth R7-billion), and who was deployed to the committee a day ago, queried whether the board was indeed fit.

Gungubele said Motsoeneng faced serious allegations and the fact that he had promised local artists that the SABC would broadcast 90% local content was more of a bribe for them to keep quiet and so that they could eat.

You say he [Motsoeneng] has unique skills. Every time I hear this question, let me tell you this. If Verwoerd [dramatic pause as the name sank in before he repeated it], yes, Verwoerd offered artists of South Africa in the 1980s [Verwoerd was assassinated in 1966 but why let the facts stand in the way of a good argument], 90 percent and said I am giving you 90% but apartheid continues... there is no way you would have accepted that.

At this point the parliamentary camera panned on Motsoeneng, who looked puzzled.

Because Verwoerd at that time would be addressing material issues. If you have a COO who implements rules that undermine the founding principles of our democracy because he is giving 90% because there will be food at night. So is that what defines us? We dont need democratic principles. What we need is food. It is only Verwoerd who would have spoken to us like that. We would have told him we reject that, Gungubele ended with a flourish.

At the end of about five hours the committee resolved that the current board should be dissolved and face a parliamentary commission of inquiry. Committee members spent the last part of the afternoon deliberating correct procedures so that no door was left open for Hlaudi to sneak back in.

What remains now is for the National Assembly to accept the committees recommendation for the dissolution of the board. The decision will then make it to the desk of No 1, the man who has been backing Motsoeneng all along, who must then appoint an interim board in consultation with the NA.

Increasingly, those who could be viewed as being blindly loyal to President Zuma are being hung out to dry even if they are in a state of denial.

A defiant Motsoeneng left the venue after the grilling going completely rogue and reportedly telling journalists that those who thought he was burnt toast had better think again.

IPF MP Liezl van der Merwe warned:

This is just the beginning so I just wanted to say to you, Mr Motsoeneng remains defiant.

After their thorough arse-whipping on Wednesday the SABC board called a press conference for 14:30 on Thursday.

*Note that Bizcommunity staff and management do not necessarily share the views of its contributors - the opinions and statements expressed herein are solely those of the author.*
SAN JOSE: Facebook on Thursday worked to ramp up enthusiasm for its virtual reality line, unveiling new gear including a lower-end wireless headset prototype.

The company's Oculus virtual reality division is set to release in coming months a new "Touch" controller and a more affordable computer for powering virtual experiences using Rift headsets.

"We are here to make virtual reality the next major computing platform," Facebook cofounder and chief Mark Zuckerberg said at the third annual Oculus Connect developers conference in San Jose, California.

Oculus has been dealing with a series of setbacks in the rollout of its VR headgear, including shipping mishaps and a higher-than-anticipated price.

Pixabay

To boost excitement for the headsets Zuckerberg donned one while on stage, virtually travelling with a pair of colleagues to the bottom of a sea and the surface of Mars, pausing in the middle to take a Messenger video call from his wife Priscilla.

The CEO snapped a "selfie" with his wife in the virtual world and posted it in real time to his page at the social network. Zuckerberg said that Oculus VR -- which Facebook snapped up in 2014 for $2bn -- has a prototype of a wireless version of Rift that would not need to be plugged into a computer, though he said it was far from consumer-ready.

The mobile VR market currently offers headsets that act as frames into which smartphones can be mounted to serve as screens, available for less than $100. Rift headgear meanwhile sells for $599, a price that does not include the cost of a computer that can handle the processing and graphics demands of the technology.

Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe did demonstrate an AMD-powered desktop from Cyberpower that can run Rift for $499, half the price of the other high-powered computers needed to handle virtual reality. But according to Max Cohen, Oculus's head of mobile, wireless is the future. He told AFP that the company sees developing a lower-end wireless headset as integral to expanding virtual reality's availability.

"In the long run, we are bullish on stand-alone," Cohen said.

"There are limitations to mobile, and there will be some people who don't want to buy a PC for virtual reality, no matter how cheap."

Other companies have also announced the development of more affordable headsets that are compatible with smartphones, including Daydream View from Alphabet Inc's Google division.

Oculus announced the long-anticipated Oculus Touch controllers -- which will give users "hands" to use in virtual worlds -- will ship worldwide on December 6, going for $199. The VR company also said it will invest millions of dollars to fund education content, promote diversity in its developer community, and broaden virtual reality content far beyond games.

Zuckerberg said Facebook would invest $250m in developing content for Oculus VR gear, on top of the $250m the company has already spent. Noticeably absent from the OC3 keynote was Oculus cofounder Palmer Luckey, who has played a starring role at company events in the past.

Luckey came under fire after he said he donated $10,000 to a political group backing Republican candidate Donald Trump. The organisation had claimed responsibility for creating negative social media posts about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

After word spread, some high-profile video game studios went on record saying that they would not create content for Oculus over the rift.

Source: AFP
Stretched consumers with reduced disposable income are not unique to SA's retail sector, says Raam Ratnam, S&P Global Rating's senior director for corporate ratings for retail companies. But pressure on credit spend is a significant local risk.

Ratnam said on Tuesday that despite the drawbacks in the sector, there were still plenty of opportunities for retail in SA.

"There has been an influx of foreign competitors coming to SA, especially in apparel, but there is scope for more penetration. A market such as the US is one we would consider to be extremely competitive, with certain segments perhaps even over-retailed," Ratnam said.

S&P publicly rates more than 50 retailers across Europe, Russia and Africa. Edcon is the only retailer publicly rated in SA.

Ratnam said ratings significantly increased the level of transparency and comparability. Some investors had mandates to invest only into assets with certain rating thresholds, such as investment grade.

"Ratings are also constantly surveilled to reflect developments in a company. The analysts who look at the companies are often in frequent contact with them," Ratnam said.

Global trends in the retail sector included the migration from physical stores to online and a renewed focus on managing space efficiently.

Competition levels were also rising, Ratnam said, as the line between premium and discount retailers blurred.

"Retail can be a bellwether sector," he added. "It can inform us on the bigger picture in a country. We can start by asking what's happening in retail? It's such a good barometer for the economy." he said.
WASHINGTON - US online giant Amazon on Wednesday launched a new "Prime Reading" programme for US members of its subscription programme, allowing unlimited reading of a rotating selection of e-books.

Amazon said the "Prime Reading" program would include "over a thousand popular books" ( AFP Photo/Stephen Brashear

"Prime members can now enjoy unlimited reading from a rotating selection of books, magazines, comics and more -- at no additional cost," the online retail giant said in a statement.

The move ramps up Amazon's effort to win over more Prime subscribers -- which costs $99 for US customers -- with free shipping, access to its video service, music and more.

Amazon said the program would include "over a thousand popular books" as well as "rotating selection of fresh, full issues of top magazines covering sports, technology, cooking and home improvement, current affairs, notable people and more".

It will also offer "short-form reads" from its "Kindle Singles".

The service will be available on a variety of devices including Kindle tablets as well as Apple or Android-powered gadgets.

"Prime is the best deal in the history of shopping and today it got even better," said Amazon vice president Greg Greeley.

"Prime members can now enjoy an awesome selection of books including 'The Hobbit,' 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' 'The Man in the High Castle,' plus magazines and more."
Clover recently launched the second Manhattan Ice Tea Shop Like a New Yorker (#SLNY2) competition.

Anele Mdoda, official brand ambassador and host took local fashionistas and celebrities through an exclusive New York shopping experience at the event.

Celebrities included fashion trendsetter Jerry Mokgofe; fashion forward radio personality, Leroy Marc; TV presenter and actress, Thembisa Mdoda; TV presenter 2016 SAFTA nominee, Chanley Wong; and lifestyle editor and radio presenter, Edward Chamberlain-Bell.

Back by popular demand, #SLNY2 brings fans the ultimate shopping experience where you can stand a chance to shop New Yorks latest trends at the online store using Manhattan dollars  a virtual currency. You also stand a chance to win the ultimate shopping spree for two to the city that never sleeps worth R120,000 by entering into our grand prize draw, said Anele Mdoda.

How the competition works
The Competition Commission is closely watching businesses in the food sector whose prices may have risen as a result of the drought. That's the message from Commissioner of the Competition Commission Tembinkosi Bonakele.

stevepb via pixabay

He was speaking to the media during the annual competition law, economics and policy conference in Cape Town on Wednesday, where he outlined the role the commission played to combat cartels and unfair business practice. "Food prices are a very big problem, especially after the drought that is still persisting in some parts of the country," he explained.

"We are monitoring the price of staple foods and all indications are that they have been rising," he said.

"We have had to import maize, which is quite unusual because we are a net exporter of maize. This is going to have a huge impact on consumers."

Vegetable prices increased by 23% year-on-year in April, when the full effects of the drought were evident, according to data from Stats SA. Bread prices increased by almost 15% in the same period, while fruit prices increased by nearly 6%.

Concern businesses will abuse drought to hike prices

Bonakele said the commission is concerned businesses are going to abuse the rising prices and will observe whether those prices come down when the drought fully abates.

"When you have these crisis spirals, we are also worried that some people start abusing that," he said. "We are not saying prices should not go up, as it is a free-enterprise country.

"But we have learned lessons that sometimes people can deliberately short the market," he said. "Sometimes people can form cartels in situations like this. So we are keeping a watchful eye.

"At the same time, we are also collating information, because information is power," he said. "We know that the drought is going to end and it is going to be interesting to watch if those prices start coming down. So it is important data that we are collating."

In April, Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana warned businesses suspected of profiteering from the drought that the commission would take them on. "I agree we need to find formulas that make sure nobody misuses the drought and suddenly, before there are shortages, begins to hike prices. We cannot rule out the Competition Commission coming on board," Reuters quoted Zokwana as saying.

Commission has started inquiry into overall retail sector

The added caution comes as the retail sector is in the full glare of the commission after it launched an inquiry in the grocery retail sector this year. The inquiry is attempting to determine whether there are features of the grocery retail sector that undermine competition.

In a paper explaining the inquiry, the commission quotes the 2016 Barclays Equity Research report, which states that "37% of people cannot afford to purchase both adequate food items and non-food items such as transport and cellphone airtime. This group has historically been the core customer base for most small and independent retailers in townships, peri-urban and rural areas."

The retail inquiry is one of several sector-specific inquiries being conducted by the commission. However, multinational mergers such as the SABMiller and AB InBev deal and over 200 other smaller domestic mergers per year hamper these efforts due to tight resources.

"We have so many problems in our economy," said Bonakele. "We need more resources. We are talking to government about this. We have submitted a new structure to government to adequately increase the resources to the competition authorities."

Source: Fin24

Read this report on News24Wire.com.
Discount supermarket Aldi has reported record sales in the UK and Ireland for 2015 and said it will invest 300m in revamping its stores, but profits have been hit by the supermarket price war.

Sales rose 12% year-on-year to 7.7bn for the year to 31 December 2015.

But operating profits fell 1.8% to 255.6m which it attributed to "continued investment in prices".

Aldi said it would invest more in fresh produce, alcoholic drinks and ready meals, and refurbish 100 stores.

Chief executive Matthew Barnes said the move was the result of a "listening exercise" involving more than 50,000 shoppers.

Expansion plans

The German-owned firm added that it would open 70 new stores in the UK next year as part of plans to increase the number of its outlets from 659 to 1,000 by 2022.

Aldi said it had doubled revenue in just three years and attracted 761,000 new customers in the UK. Its share of the UK grocery market now stands at 6.2%.

In August Aldi was the stand-out winner in all four categories at the 2016 British Baker Christmas Star awards, with Nevis Bakery and Bakkavor Bread winning the highly recommended accolades.
The City of Johannesburg's water management company, Johannesburg Water (JW), has proven the business case for alternative energy solutions with the commissioning of a second municipal wastewater biogas-to-energy plant in Diepsloot. At the plant, more than 405ML of sewage is treated per day and it has been in full operation since August 2012.

JW since commissioned a second biogas-to-energy project at its Driefontein waste water treatment works (WWTW) with operations expected to commence in October 2016.

Biogas-to-energy technology has the potential to reduce a WWTWs reliance on conventional energy, but for some municipal plants, opportunities may be secondary to water treatment challenges, including sludge quality and plant management.

Read the full article on www.earthworksmagazine.co.za.
Marking World Architecture Month this October, the theme announced by the International Union of Architects (IUA) is 'Design a better World'.

Representatives attending the Voluntary Association Forum of the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) in Johannesburg on 30 September 2016.

At the start of this important month for the built environment, the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) has renewed and enhanced the collaborative relationship it fosters with its forum of 12 voluntary associations (VAs) who are collectively pursuing the realisation of people-centred architecture in the country.

At a recent specially convened forum in Johannesburg, two representatives from each VA met to raise issues of importance for their member base with SACAPs president Yashaen Luckan and registrar/CEO Marella OReilly. The last such forum and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) took place in 2010.

Luckan, an architect himself, reiterated that it is a legal requirement that any person who undertakes architectural work, whether within their individual capacity or within a practice, must be registered with SACAP. He stressed that VAs have a duty to explain to their members that while historic misinterpretations of the Architectural Act have muddied understanding of this, each registered person must be educated on the significant benefit of being registered for their own professional development and long-term prosperity.

Regulation and guidance

SACAP is mandated by the Department of Public Works to regulate and guide the architectural profession. VAs are validated by SACAP, though they are autonomous. Each signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that sets out their tasks to promote, grow and develop at regional levels the various disciplines of architecture and the profession at large. Each VA abides by a Code of Conduct and formally reports to SACAP on an annual basis.

The largest of these VAs is the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) which has seven large regional affiliates comprising of members who are architectural professionals. The other recognised VAs are the SA Institute of Architectural Technologists (SAIAT), the SA Institute of Building Designers (SAIBD) and the SA Institute of Draughting (SAID). SACAP is proud to have recognised a new VA, Freedom Architecture Consulting Empowerment (FACE).

Through its VAs, SACAP promotes collaborative relationships of mutual co-operation and the maintenance of a sustainable skills base of high quality architectural professionals. It also relies on its VAs to grow the information and knowledge hub and embrace indigenous knowledge systems.

SACAP meanwhile continues in its duty and obligation to register all architectural professionals and liaise with the VAs to ensure that through the MOU, their member base is in alignment with the objectives of SACAP.

SACAP programmes

The strong growth and development of the architectural profession is facilitated by SACAPs Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programmes. VAs play the important role of providing, promoting, organising and validating CPD courses. CPD credits are a requirement for all registered professionals in order to be eligible for renewal of registration with SACAP. The VAs charge a fee for validating CPD Category one activities and ensure broader access and participation of the whole profession.

The RPL programme, which will soon be facilitated through an online system, is currently undergoing a BETA testing phase and expected to make huge strides in redressing past imbalances and giving people with architectural skills the possibility of articulation within the profession, with its related benefits. RPL is SACAPs key transformation driver.

Following the forum meeting, SAID vice president Megum Reyneke remarked that her associations member base is finding that even the most difficult banks are now trusting that SACAP registered persons are able to carry out claims and documentation with regards to draws against building work complete.

Concludes Luckan, We look forward to our continued successful working relationship with the VAs, and the vital role they play in inspiring transformation, growth and development of the profession through institutional excellence.
President Jacob Zuma has appointed Advocate Busisiwe Joyce Mkhwebane as the next Public Protector.

President Zuma has in terms of section 193(4) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and on the recommendation of the National Assembly, appointed Advocate Busisiwe Joyce Mkhwebane as the Public Protector of the Republic of South Africa for a period of seven years with effect from 15 October 2016, the Presidency said on Thursday.

The President has thanked outgoing Public Protector Advocate Thulisile Madonsela for her services and wished Advocate Mkhwebane all the best in the execution of her new responsibilities.
It's all systems go for the upcoming 2016 matric examinations, with preparations having started in earnest, said Umalusi on Thursday, 6 October 2016.

The Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training said all assessment bodies have presented their plans to it.

Umalusi, which quality assures all exit point examinations in general and further education (NQF levels 1-4), says approximately 668,612 full-time and 146,997 part-time candidates will sit for the 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

These examinations will take place at more than 7,000 centres across the country and will be marked by over 38,000 markers across the provinces.

The Independent Examinations Board has registered 11,821 full-time candidates across the country and 34 part-time candidates in 230 examination centres.

Paper leaks

Umalusi expressed regret at last years final NSC examinations, which were marred by incidents of paper leaks in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

The safety and security of examination materials has obviously become one of our focal points in the preparations for the 2016 examinations. As we did in the past two years, drastic measures will be taken against all learners, educators and departmental officials, who are found guilty of copying, paper leakages and other forms of cheating.

Umalusi, however, said it is satisfied with preparations for the exams and is confident that the general education system is adequately prepared to run the assessments successfully.

Umalusi is also pleased to report that most provinces have improved their systems based on the concerns raised by Umalusi previously. However, this does not mean that Umalusi does not have some outstanding concerns regarding the upcoming national examinations.

Concerns raised

Among the concerns raised by Umalusi is the status of storage facilities in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, especially at nodal distribution points.

The provinces still need to address the issue of staff shortages.

Subsequently, Umalusi has recommended to the Department of Basic Education that intensive monitoring of these provinces needs to be instituted to mitigate possible unintended consequences of this situation. For its part, Umalusi will also intensify its monitoring where it deems it necessary to do so.

Umalusi said while it is aware of new efforts by people to try to cheat the system, it strives to improve its systems so that gaps where such incidents could occur can be closed.

At every stage during the conduct and administration of exit point examinations, Umalusi applies rigorous quality assurance methods to gauge the readiness of assessment bodies to administer fair and credible examinations without systemic irregularities.

All examination papers are moderated and approved by Umalusi before they can be written by the learners. The internal assessments that take place in schools also fall within Umalusi's mandate, and these assessments are monitored, learners' tasks are moderated, and the final marks that contribute to the overall results are also statistically moderated to ensure consistency and reliability.

As the quality assurer for this important sector of the South African education system, Umalusi's role is to monitor the public assessment bodies - Department of Basic Education and Department of Higher Education and Training - the accredited private assessment bodies, Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI).
Continuing its robust expansion across Africa, Marriott International announced the signing of new properties in Cape Town, Nairobi, Cairo, and Mauritius - this after the announcement of the completed acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts

The past couple of weeks have seen an incredible transformation for our company, and I am proud to say that we are continuing the momentum with our expansion and development plans across the African continent, said Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. We officially opened the Kigali Marriott Hotel, under the patronage of His Excellency, The Honourable Prime Minister Murekezi, and today we announce six new deals across Africa, which when open, are expected to bring our total African property and room count to 205 and 37,000 respectively.

Cape Town

These new signings comprise over 1,100 rooms and include AC by Marriotts brand entry into Africa. The Cape Town deals are in partnership with the Amdec Group, Marriotts long-term partner and owners of the new Marriott Hotel and Marriott Executive Apartments Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, announced last year and currently under development. The Amdec Group has been instrumental in bringing in Marriott Internationals global brands into South Africa, as they were the first to announce Marriott Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments and now AC by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott into the market.

The AC Hotel Cape Town Waterfront will be located at the gateway to Cape Towns waterfront, while Harbour Arch will be the site of the 200-room Cape Town Marriott Hotel Foreshore and the 150-room Residence Inn by Marriott Cape Town Foreshore.

Mauritius

The first deal to be signed since Marriotts completed acquisition, and further consolidating Marriott Internationals presence on Mauritius, the globally renowned Sheraton brand will make a landmark debut on the island with Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort and The Residences at Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort. Owned by Clear Ocean Hotel Resorts Limited, the resort will be a part of a mixed-use development with a boutique retail mall and branded residences. Scheduled to open in early 2020, the resort will feature 152 well-appointed guestrooms and suites and 37 branded apartments and villas.

Cairo

The first Element Hotels property signed in Egypt will be the largest Element Hotel in the Middle East and Africa. Situated in Cairos upscale Heliopolis district and scheduled to open in 2019, Element Cairo is developed by Abraj Misr Urban Development and owned by Middle East Real Estate for Development (MERED). A part of the iconic new smart and eco-friendly development, The Gate Project, the largest housing, administrative, commercial, project in Egypt and the Middle East, Element Cairo will feature 344 light-filled rooms and an atmosphere designed to fuel a life in balance and on the move.

Nairobi

Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi, Hurlingham, is the brands second hotel in the city, strategically located in the upmarket suburb close to the city center and within easy access from the surrounding business areas of Westlands, Kilimani, and Nairobi Central. Owned by Kamcan Properties Ltd, the 96 room hotel is a conversion from an existing hotel, will be operated under a franchise arrangement and is expected to open in 2017.

These news deals are testament to our combined development efforts going forward, as there are significant growth synergies between the brands and our newly combined company, with a focus on expanding brands across the region, and looking for opportunities in new markets, concluded Kyriakidis.

Continuing to capitalise on opportunities within the region, Marriott International has set a clear objective to be represented in all major gateway cities, commercial centers and established resort destinations while catering to a wide variety of market segments. Each of Marriott Internationals brands, including those in the pipeline, target a specific segment and support the increased inflow of visitors within that segment.
Carlson Rezidor is on track to achieve its target of more than 23,000 rooms open or under development in Africa by the end of 2020. Wolfgang M. Neumann, Rezidor's president and CEO who is a speaker at the Africa Hotel Investment Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, says "Africa has always been close to our hearts. We were the early movers on the continent in 2000 when we established our dedicated business development base in Cape Town." The hotel group launched its accelerated African growth strategy in 2014 with ambitions to double its portfolio in Africa by the end of 2020.

Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi Upper Hill

Today, Africa is our biggest growth market with a fully functional Area Support Office in Cape Town since 2016. We also converted our joint venture company with the four Nordic Government Development agencies, AfriNord, from a mezzanine debt funding facility to a minority equity investment vehicle to support our strategy and owners.

Rezidor first entered Africa in 2000 when it opened its first Radisson Blu in Cape Town. Today Carlson Rezidors footprint in Africa has grown to include 69 hotels open and under development in 28 countries, incorporating more than 15,000 rooms.

Delivering the pipeline

Neumann says in the past 24 months Carlson Rezidor has signed a new hotel deal in Africa every 37 days. Of course, we are aware that it is not just about signing. Its really about delivering the pipeline. We have opened a new hotel in Africa every 60 days over the past two years. This year, we have already opened six Radisson Blu hotels and expect to open a Park Inn by Radisson in South Africa in the next six months. We intend to keep up this momentum of signings followed by successful openings.

The six hotels opened in 2016 include Radisson Blu hotels in Nairobi, Kenya; Marrakech, Morocco; Maputo, Mozambique (first residence in Africa); Abidjan, Ivory Coast (first airport hotel), Lome, Togo; and the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, East Africas largest convention centre and host to the 2016 Africa Hotel Investment Forum.

Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Centre, Kigali

Radisson Blu leads the way

Carlson Rezidor senior vice president, business development Africa and Indian Ocean, Andrew McLachlan, says Radisson Blu leads the way with more hotel rooms under development than any of the other 85-plus hotel brands active in Africa today, according to the W-Hospitality Report. Our ambition is to be the leading player in the travel and tourism sector across the continent.

Exciting new developments on the cards for Carlson Rezidor in Africa include the signing of the first Radisson RED, which is expected to open in Cape Town in the course of 2017, as well as the signing of the first Quorvus Collection to be built in Lagos, Nigeria, expected to open in 2019.

Carlson Rezidor aims to open 15 or more hotels in South Africa and Nigeria alone by the end of 2020, incorporating its full brand portfolio, ranging from the Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, and Park Inn by Radisson.

McLachlan says Africa presents an opportunity for Carlson Rezidor to grow its resort portfolio under Radisson Blu and Quorvus Collection in locations such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Zanzibar, East Coast of Kenya and Tanzania and the Cape Verde Islands.

Challenges in emerging markets

He adds that the challenges experienced in Africa are no different to those experienced in other emerging markets. Generally speaking, the owner class in Africa today is typically a local, first-time owner and local professional team with limited or no hotel development experience. This means the learning curve is high and expensive. In addition, there is a high demand for imported products and equipment in many of the markets. To mitigate these risks, we offer hotel turnkey design and build contractors to ensure the owners and their teams have significant support when it comes to delivering each hotel.

Water and electricity are the two most expensive running costs in African hotels today and we are constantly looking at ways to design and operate our hotels with a view to saving costs and improving results, as part of our responsible business strategy, says McLachlan.

Green and sustainable hotels

Notably, 77% of Carlson Rezidors hotels worldwide have been eco-labelled and the hotel group has recorded a 22% energy saving since 2011 and a 29% water saving since 2007 across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The hotel group is particularly focused on conserving the planets scarce water resources and its Blu Planet initiative is aimed at providing safe drinking water for children in disadvantaged areas in partnership with international water aid charity, Just a Drop.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group also partners with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group that focuses on private sector development, to promote the design and construction of green buildings in emerging markets. Through the partnership, Carlson Rezidor will use the EDGE eco-analysis software for all of its future hotel projects in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As 40% of the world's carbon emissions are generated through the construction and operation of buildings, designing green hotels supports the industry's responsibility to meet COP21 targets.

Expanding its footprint into Africa also means creating employment for the local population in each country, with an emphasis on developing women to leadership positions. Many hotel jobs do not require tertiary education and present opportunities for locals to be trained and upskilled to fulfil particular roles, says McLachlan.
If I were a politician who wanted to be favourably remembered forever, not like Cecil John Rhodes whose legacy has fallen, but rather a more contemporary one like Jacob or Cyril, I would dig deep into my travel budgets and open the biggest dance school in the Southern Hemisphere - one which would stand as a symbol of pride in the art form that arguably is South Africa's biggest and potentially most marketable resource.

A school with facilities which would be unique in the world and to which dancers from Africa and around the world would dream of applying - where traditional dance such as Pantsula, the Shamanic dances of the San, gumboot and hip hop could be mashed up with classic scores such as Ravels Bolero or Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters guitar arias.

Dustin Jannetjies, Adelaide Majoor, Byron Klassen - pic by Oscar O'Ryan

This is what the spellbound, verging on ecstatic audience witnessed last night at the double bill opening of the 12th Baxter Dance Festival.

I am rushing this review off to let you know that if you are a dance lover in Cape Town, you only have tonight to catch last nights programme consisting of the 25th anniversary of the mini-ballet, The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, set to Roger Waters epic score performed by the Garage Dance Company from Namaqualand, with choreography by John Linden - himself deserving of a statue outside a tertiary institution - AND the 40-year revival of Alfred Hinkels Bolero, set to everybodys favourite piece of classical by Ravel and demonstrating the glory years of Cape Towns Jazzart Dance Theatre.

Farroll Coetzee, Dustin Jannetjies - pic by Oscar O'Ryan

The Garage company, consisting of three girls and three guys, danced both pieces - each dancer bringing their unique personality and presence to the work. Special mention goes to Byron Klassen who is really a bit of a phenomenon. Danceophiles may nitpick about timing and what have you, but you have to be there to feel the privilege of such talent and joy being imparted at 110% energy for a whole hour. Its like sport, only more flowing with fabulous music and lighting by Benever Arendse, which nails all the required ambience and evocative moods. It was worth going just for this I thought.

Byron Klassen, Adelaide Majoor - pic by Oscar O'Ryan

As someone commented during an aftershow chat on the stairs with Baxter marketing manager Fahiem Stellenboom, Something happened in there tonight!

Something did happen, part shamanism, alchemy and the manifestation of pure energy grown from the mother continent  truly powerful stuff that left the audience whooping, cheering and ovating spontaneously; not just jumping up at the end.

They may not yet have funded a dance school, but big thanks to The National Arts Council, Tsogo Sun and Stellar Wines for funding this event.

After tonight you will have just over a week to catch SAs young and seasoned dancers and choreographers doing what they love, to music that they love - celebrating the power and beauty of the human form in motion. #dance

Dustin Jannetjies, Byron Klassen, Ciara Barron, Ferell Coetzee, Adelaide Majoor, Levern Botha -pic by Oscar O'Ryan

Booking for the 2016 Baxter Dance Festival is through Computicket on 0861 915 8000, online at www.computicket.co.za or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet. For discounted school or group block bookings, fundraisers or charities contact Sharon Ward on 021 680 3962 or email az.ca.tcu@draw.norahs or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993 or email her at az.ca.tcu@snraek.nemrac.

The full programme may be viewed online at www.baxter.co.za or on www.facebook.com/baxtertheatre.
It is time we bid farewell to the social media landscape as we know it. Snapchat is revolutionising the environment in leaps and bounds. The golden nugget insight on which all of Snapchat's success has been built, stems solely on the complex understanding of the market - Millennials - and the ever-changing society around them.

In an age where instant gratification is the norm, Snapchat has employed a no holds barred approach. If there was one phrase to describe Snapchat, it would be YOLO (You only live once). Heres why - while Instagram captures perfect, filtered moments that live online forever, Snapchat embraces raw, real moments which allow us to live vicariously through our friends and even strangers. This content only lives for 24 hours and as a result, an addiction has been formed. Content is generated every second, Snapchatters are forced to constantly engage with the app in order to maintain their presence and remain relevant.

One can only admire their dedication to the cause and their ability to generate interesting content frequently, this can be a direct result of the free time this market has accumulated by using phrases such as bae, tbh and simply the letter V. It is both exhausting and fascinating for those of us who, in all honesty, just dont fit in on the app.

Snapchat is a rising threat to the likes of Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. Due to Snapchats recently released ad technology and inventory, the powerful engagement that happens every second of the day and the subsequent growing user base - all of which stems from and leads to the thorough understanding of the target market.

Not only has Snapchat created a loyal user base and consequently overtaken some of its competitors, it is also whispering sweet nothings in the ears of advertisers. Data is collected through Stories, Live Stories watched, Discover channels browsed and any other in-app activity. This data is used in defining the new targeting metrics which range from Snap Audience Matching and Look-alike audiences to Snapchat Lifestyle Categories. On top of these exciting targeting opportunities, Snapchat is improving the measurement capabilities.

While Snapchats original stance was to veer away from creepy advertising, it has now opened up a whole new world of possibilities aimed at making Snapchatters feel understood and serving ads that are relevant to them in a native environment. The advertising options are limited only by ones creativity. While the platform lends itself to vertical-video, there are opportunities to collaborate with the platform to create innovative, interesting ads to capture the fleeting attention of this market.

Speaking to Snapchatters requires a slightly different approach to the usual Facebook and Twitter banners we have come to know. Creativity is essential to making any kind of impact on this very particular market. It is about using influencers and ambassadors to inspire this aspirational market and assist them on their journey to greatness.

The future is bright for this innovative platform with a rebrand on the horizon. Chief Strategy Office for Snapchat, Imran Khan stated in an interview with Adweek that the company is more than just one app. It is a camera company that is paving the way for cutting-edge technology. Snap Inc., as it will soon be known, will be releasing Spectacles, a breakthrough in wearable face-tech. These trendy looking glasses operate by tapping the frames to record 10 seconds of raw, action video at a time, supporting the rough-edge environment that Snapchat has created.

It seems that Snapchat has found a niche that we can all enjoy and the taste of success is no doubt sweet for them as well. The platform is expected to turnover $366m in advertising revenue and is forecasted to hit nearly $1bn by the end of 2017. Snapchat is certainly a force to be reckoned with.




The 21st Pendoring awards evening will be held at the Vodacom World, Midrand on Friday 28 October 2016, celebrating the best of South Africa's indigenous language advertising.

"We are proud that in its 21st year, Pendoring has once again moved the goal posts by judging all indigenous language advertising on an equal footing - this will be celebrated with gusto at the gala event. And hopefully the need for and impact of mother tongue advertising will convince marketers that this is the best and most effective way to reach consumers' hearts, encouraging them to open their wallets," says Pendoring GM, Franette Klerck.
Several members of staff from Addo Food Groups Spalding Bakery hiked up to the top of Snowdon to raise 3,659 for Cancer Research UK and Smile charity.

The baking staff battled through a heavy storm to reach the 7km Rhyd Ddu path that took them around three-and-a-half hours.

The walk was in aid of raising funds for Cancer Research UK and Smile charity, which was set up in memory of a local boy who died from a form of cancer at the age of 14 in January 2013.

Spaldings Bakery operations director George Dickson told local newspaper Spalding Today: Winds near the summit were gusting at 60mph and the train and cafe at the summit were closed due to the weather. We asked people to choose which charity they wished to support and we were extremely pleased and grateful to all our colleagues and friends who donated to two very worthwhile causes.

As a local business we feel it is very important that we give something back to the local community and we have plans to do further fundraising events over the coming months.

The bakery was established by Albert Pacey in 1909 when it was based in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. It was then moved to Spalding four years later, initially on New Road, before moving again to Red Lion Street in 1916.
Islington-based business, Romeos Sugar Free Bakery has been placed with a court fine of 8,000 over a host of offences, including using sugar in its products.

Islington Council inspectors visited the bakery back in July last year, where they found mouse droppings and poor standards of cleaning.

However, later on, the bakery was also criticised for false advertising on its business title, after it was revealed the company was sweetening its products with sugar from fruit and using a banned sweetener  stevia.

Owner Romeo Dalh admitted seven charges at Highbury Corner Magistrates and agreed to make significant improvements to his bakery.

The council has offered businesses like Romeos Sugar Free Bakery help on food hygiene, but stressed it would take action when necessary.

Councillor Andy Hull, Islington Councils executive member for finance, performance and community safety, told the Evening Standard: Our residents and visitors expect and deserve good standards from food businesses in Islington.

We offer businesses help and advice on food hygiene and standards issues, and will help businesses address issues. However, when serious problems are found and standards are not met, as in this case, we will take action.

The bakery claims to be Londons first sugar-free and gluten-free business, and provides a range of artisan cakes, pastries, quiches and breads, including dairy-free and vegan options.
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People leave a hotel where they sheltered during Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday. [ Photo/Agencies ]

Hurricane Matthew edged ever closer to Florida on Friday with torrential rains and up to 190 kilometer-per-hour winds after a blast through the Caribbean that left more than 300 people dead in Haiti.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category Three storm early in the day by the National Hurricane Center, as its wind speed dropped slightly. But Florida still faced its most dangerous hurricane in living memory.

It was not clear if it would be a direct hit or more of a sideswiping blow, which could still be catastrophic.

Only a handful of hurricanes of this strength have ever made landfall in Florida, and none since 1898 has threatened to scythe its way north along the low-lying, densely populated coast into Georgia and beyond.

Evacuation orders were issued for areas covering about 3 million residents.

Daytona Beach imposed a curfew that was to last until dawn on Saturday, and President Barack Obama declared emergencies in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, promising federal aid.

Matthew has already battered Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, and US officials were taking no chances, warning that loss of life was a virtual certainty.

The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate relief to 50,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is seeking $6.92 million to help provide medical relief, shelter, water and sanitation over the next year to people affected by Hurricane Matthew in southwestern Haiti.
National Amalgamated Local Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union says Section 4 of the Court of Appeal Act, which gives President Ian Khama powers to appoint judges of the Court of Appeal, is unconstitutional.

In the case before Lobatse High Court Judge, Abednico Tafa the union is challenging President Khamas powers to appoint judges. Attorney Mboki Chilisa, representing the union argued on Wednesday that, Section 4 of the Act is on its face, quite clearly not compatible with section 99 (2)(b) of the Constitution.

Section 4 of the Act provides that, The court of Appeal shall, in addition to the judges provided for under the Constitution, consist of such number of Justices of Appeal as the President of Botswana may consider necessary to appoint.

The union further argues that, Section 99 (2)(b) expressly and unambiguously requires that the number, if any, of Justices of Appeal (in addition to the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice and other judges of the High Court) is to be prescribed by Parliament.





In his founding affidavit, the Organising Secretary of the Union, Johnson Motswarakgole said Section 4 is constitutionally invalid and that the current practice of appointing justices of appeal is unlawful and as consequential relief seeks declaratory relief against all the judges of appeal except for the judge president whose office is created by the constitution.

According to Section 99 (2) of the Constitution, the Judges of Court of Appeal shall be (a) the President of the Court of Appeal, (b) such number, if any, of Justices of Appeal as may be prescribed by Parliament and, (c) the Chief Justice and other judges of the High Court.

The state responded that the union does not have a locus standi in the case, adding that the power conferred on Parliament by Section 99 is a legislative power. The union also argues that it is unconstitutional for reappointment of Justices of Appeal to be a further three years. They say such discretion would be incompatible with the constitutional principle of judicial independence.

Judicial independence and impartiality are deeply held values entrenched in section 10 (9) of the Constitution. A discretion vesting in the President to decide whether or not to re-appoint a Justice of Appeal whose three year fixed term period of office has expired would be incompatible with these entrenched values, states the union.
When Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited floated shares at the domestic bourse some six months ago, we all punched the air with great excitement.

There were many feats worth celebrating. BTCL was the first government-owned company to go public. The company achieved this after successfully passing all the stringent regulatory processes subjected to listing corporations as well as privatisation hurdles, that entities such as Air Botswana had earlier failed to beat. Months down the line, we cannot raise Champagne glasses to celebrate the company, especially those who have spent their hard earned pennies on its shares.

A month or so after it joined the Ivy League of Botswanas companies, there were concerns coming from staff that, part of shares that were rightfully theirs somewhat ended in the wrong hands during the listing process. That was not what staff at Megaleng House (BTCL headquarters) wanted. They felt wronged during the listing process, whose objective in part is to empower them (staff) and indeed the larger public who grabbed the companys shares during the Initial Public Offer (IPO). In between public spat between staff and the listed company, a very interested party in the form of an investor, was keenly watching the events as they unfolded.





Technically speaking, or at least in the capital market language, off the market activities of listed companies normally affect share price in one-way or the other. This depends on whether they (activities) are negative or positive. Some will say it doesnt always happen that way. However, history has proved otherwise in most cases. Soon as the standoff between BTCL staff and management started boiling over, its share price took a drastic fall, much to the chagrin of investors. We cannot entirely blame BTCL for the falling share price. Government, in this case PEEPA, which is the privatising agency, should have ensured that all knots are tied before the listing happens.

The soft-spoken PEEPA Chief Executive, Kgotla Ramaphane, it will seem, forgot to tighten some of the knots which are necessary prior to listing. Whichever way one looks at it, this is one event that should have been avoided at all costs. Any sound-minded investor does not like to be associated with a company, or institution that cheats its employees, the biggest asset any company can have at any point in time. Put more bluntly, bitter employees cannot be productive if they feel short-changed by the powers that be. If they dont perform to expectations, profit will fall and so is dividend declared to shareholders. It is as simple as that.

This explains why BTCL shares are now trading 15thebe lower at 85thebe. This means, if you bought shares at P1 when the corporation was listed back in April, you now own only P0, 85. This is not good news to share at all, especially in these harsh economic times.

Then there is this other interesting event. For the year ended March 2016, the company, which is owned by more than 50, 000 shareholders of various types and sizes, reported a massive loss of P371million. Reason? In a sugar coated statement, the company said the loss was due to an impairment exercise. We cannot understand how PEEPA, BTCL board, advisors and management did not foresee this impairment exercise even before the listing prospectus could be made public. The fact that they have disclosed it in the prospectus is not a good justification for shareholders who bought the company shares for the first time.

No one in his right-mind would want to have any association with a company which posts a massive loss right from the start. This makes investors jittery and they start selling off shares, as they are not guaranteed of any positive return on investment, at least in the short to medium term. This kind of developments impact the share price of any quoted entity. This explains why the company share price is on a free fall. Soon after the results were made known, shareholders were told that the man who has turned the corner at BTLC, Paul Taylor, was leaving! This left investors at wits-end. We are told the Brits contract has expired. Taylor was appointed when BTCL was a parastatal, 100 percent owned by government. Contracts for CEOs at government companies last ten years at most. We cannot understand why the board, led by an exceptional lawyer, Daphne Matlakala, could not extend his contract, based on his experience and past performance.

It would have been good for Taylor to stay for some time to see the performance of the now listed entity. At a media briefing to announce the results at the plush Masa Centre, one journalist posed the question, why Taylor could not be allowed to stay a little longer. Matlakala answered that he has done his job, which he came here for, which was to transform the company. Obviously, shareholders were left wondering, how a Managing Director of a company was stepping aside three months after he prevailed on its historic listing. It does not happen that way. Under such circumstances, the market started losing confidence on its listed securities.

As if that was not enough, we read recently a company notice for an upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) that BTCL board chairperson, Matlakala will also be leaving this month. She is not seeking re-election as the BTCL Act and corporate governance permits. Matlakala has the right to leave. However, stockholders are dearly concerned about the timing of her departure. Matlakala, a well sought-after lawyer, is leaving the company at a time when it needs her most. She is quitting at a time when the entire company leadership is trying to adapt to life after listing. As the board chair, her voice of convincing shareholders to stay carries more weight.

At BTCL, the honeymoon has just ended. It is time to face reality and assure investors all will be well. Picture this: in a space of three months both the Chairman and Managing Director of the newly listed firm are stepping down. This leaves no one else but the investors in the lurch. They (investors) dont know whether to stay or leave. Meantime, the share price is on a downward trajectory. In a related matter, Stockbrokers Botswana, which acted as a stockbroker for the companys listing process, is under suspension from BSE after regulators questioned the fitness of its boss to hold office. This is a firm that played a role in the determination of BTCL shares pricing! We are now starting to wonder if BTCL share price was not overpriced? We are allowed to think so.

Just the other day, BTCL launched an integrated brand that seeks to integrate its mobile telecommunication company, beMOBILE and the mother company. The process to launch a single brand has been ongoing. We understand the value of integration as it saves resources. However, this begs the question, How will beMOBILE compete pound for pound with giants like Orange and Mascom which all have well-established brands under the current setup? Was it not better to leave beMOBILE, which boasts a customer base of over half million, to stand on its own without being swallowed by BTCL? The brand was now becoming familiar with local customers. This is just a thought to ponder.

That aside, the fact is that BTCL, a company better known for ultra-profits prior to listing, is going under several developments which are not in anyway good for its share price. It will be great for shareholders to ask inquisitive questions at the AGM slated for later this month on the direction that BTCL is taking. In turn, we expect the leadership to openly talk about the strategy the company is undertaking to reassure shareholders of the once revered telecoms giant. At BTCL, business is not as usual. At an event to launch the one BTCL brand, former Transport and Communications Minister, Tshenolo Mabeo assured attendants that the company share price would bounce back. However, at the rate at which events are unfolding at the Gaborone based company, we think otherwise.

*Koobonye Ramokopelwa is a Business Editor for Botswana Guardian
Moshupa tribal authorities have called for a gathering of the whole village on October 10th to discuss the tide of terror that has engulfed students of Moshupa and Thamaga Secondary Schools.

Kgosi Oscar Mosielele will address his subjects. He told Botswana Guardian this week that the Monday meeting is intended to solicit the communitys input to try and find a common solution to the problem. We have talked about this here and there but we thought it was time we addressed the issue holistically with the community who are in any case the parents of these children, Kgosi Mosielele said.

The whole village, including all government officers in the sub-district and the school heads are expected to attend the gathering to discuss and map a way forward in an attempt to deal with the violence that has engulfed Moshupa and Thamaga secondary school students.





Just recently some Moshupa secondary school students were admitted in the village hospital following a brutal attack at the hands of Thamaga students. This behaviour has shocked villagers and authorities alike since Moshupa and Thamaga are basically one ethnic people.

Thamaga village in the Kweneng district was only founded in 1935 when the tribe split into two from Moshupa in the Ngwaketse district. That was when the BaNgwaketse sovereign, Bathoen II instructed his subjects to immediately set up a buffer between the two groups at a place that is today known as Goo- Kodisa, which in addition to Pitseng and Tshwaane, was officially recognised as a settlement by president Ian Khama a few years ago.

A native of Moshupa, Naledi Victor Mosiga insists that the social upheavals in the village are symptomatic of a bigger problem, whose origins can be traced to the improper leadership of the BaKgatla baga Mmanaana. Until government restores the legitimate royal lineage and does away with regency these upheavals will never cease, he told this publication in Moshupa recently.

Mosiga believes that todays youth are yearning for a new type of tribal leadership, one that is responsive to the adversities they struggle with daily and not a judgemental leadership that singles them out for blame for the villages crises, when they (leadership) are the real problem.

Mosiga has addressed both president Festus Mogae during a Kgotla meeting in Moshupa in 2006 as well as president Ian Khama at Goo-Kodisa. In both occasions he presented the two leaders with a petition concerning the chieftainship of the BaKgatla baga Mmanaana in Moshiupa and Thamaga in which he called for the restoration of the legitimate royal line, for which he says he sits at the apex.

He told Botswana Guardian that the October 10th meeting will not produce any meaningful results because the leaders know what the real problems are but are deliberately avoiding them. They know that the real problem is their presence at the Kgotla; even religious leaders and diviners have made this manifest to them, but they ignore the calls because they are looking after their self-interests, he said.

But Kgosi Mosielele dismissed Mosigas assertions as hallucinations and rantings of a mad man. Kgosi percent is baffled by Mosigas claim to royalty because in his opinion the man is just a commoner. Kgosi Mosielele said he had once admonished Mosiga when he publicly declared himself a Kgosi during President Khamas meeting at Goo-Kodisa.

He promised to also address Mosigas claims to chieftaincy during the Monday meeting in order to put the matter to rest. Mosiga traces his royal lineage to Kgatla, the younger brother of Mosetlha and elder brother of Kgafela, Mocha and Kau, the progenitors of the branches of BaKgatla that are settled throughout South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. He says his mission is to bring these groups together into a cohesive unit and return the tribe its honour.
Botswanas second president and leading African statesman, Sir Ketumile Masire who sits on the Board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation says that strongmen are Africas biggest problem.

Sir Ketumile Masire was speaking to Botswana Guardian on Monday from London, UK, immediately after the release of the 2016 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) report. The IIAG is the most comprehensive analysis of African governance that assesses each of Africas 54 countries against 95 indicators drawn from 34 independent sources.

As a Board member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Masire provides strategic guidance and brings a wealth of experience to the Board as a former head of state. He was president of Botswana from 1980 to 1998 during which he presided over one of the worlds fastest growing economies. He also acquitted himself diligently in the management of the political transition following the death of founding president, Sir Seretse Khama, in the process humbling the cynical sections of the population. When he stepped down as president in 1998, the country boasted a strong currency, healthy economy with stacks of foreign reserves and a population with a disposable income.





Asked whether Africa needs strongmen or strong institutions, Sir Ketumile Masire, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1991, reiterated that resilient democracies are built on strong institutions and not strong men. In fact, he said strong institutions were responsible for Frances credibility during the Age of Enlightenment that preceded the Revolution.However, Sir Ketumile Masire did not mince his words regarding Africas weak leadership, which he attributed to strongmen some of whom act like Kings or unilaterally alter their countries national constitutions to cling to power or overstay their term office. Africa, including the southern region, which has generally fared well under the IIAG report since its inception in 2006  has its fair share of such leaders, such as Angolas Eduardo Dos Santos and Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe.

Masire said the Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established precisely to discourage people of that nature. He said such leaders must be avoided at all costs and urged African people not to give any leader with inclination towards such tendency an excuse to manifest it. This notwithstanding, southern Africa has generally fared well in leadership. Three of the four laureates of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership  Joacquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique (2007); Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana (2008) and Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014)- all came from the same region.

The only recipient from outside the region was Pedro De Verona Rodrigues Pires of Cape Verde in 2011. The icing on the cake for southern Africa was when South Africas first black president and liberation hero, Nelson Mandela was named honorary laureate of the same prize in 2007. On other issues, Sir Ketumile Masire warned African leaders against leaning to tribalism to enforce their rule, saying such conduct could breed disastrous ramifications as evidenced by the 1994 genocide that left over half a million Rwandans dead. A president must connect people as a nation builder and not a divider, he counselled. This years IIAG report shows that Africas governance over the last decade has been held back by a deterioration in safety and rule of law.

Turning to international issues, Masire intimated that although the commitment by the United Nations to have countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) set aside 0, 7 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) towards Africas development was a desirable pursuit, it was nonetheless outside the mandate of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. The Botswana Guardian had asked the African statesman what the Foundation could do to help Africa enforce this commitment. Masire believes such pursuits fall in the realm of altruism and can be attained by leaders that are no longer working for self-pride.

But at the same time he cautioned Africa against overreliance on outsiders. He reckons that Africa ought to start using her own domestic resources to finance her development. Our future lies in our working together for the collective good, he said. And he should know better as the first vice chairman of the African Unions predecessor  Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1991 and a Co-Chairperson of the Global Coalition for Africa. He is also a member of the Africa Forum and was the longest serving chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Gaborone City Council chambers turned chaotic on Wednesday morning this week when a full council meeting resumed without notice motions of some councillors.

According to a memo to councillors the full council meeting was to reconvene on Wednesday following the adjournment of the September full council meeting. Councillors were fuming after discovering that their motions were not in the notice paper without their knowledge. The councils Special Executive Committee made the removals. Intervention by Gaborone Mayor Kagiso Thutlwe with the advice of the council attorney did not bear any fruits resulting in the council meeting being adjourned.

The meeting is expected to reconvene within 14 days. The mayor indicated that the committee is empowered by the Local Government Act to take such a decision (removal of motion from notice paper). The councillors however stated that this contradicts the Council Standing Orders and the Botswana Councils Handbook, which clearly state that Full Council is the Supreme decision taking body.A Special Executive Committee of the council chaired by the mayor held a meeting on Monday this week whereat some alleged unlawful decisions were taken. The committee comprises some councillors and some of the executive council staff members. The meeting is said to have taken a decision to remove several motions, which had been noticed by councillors and were due for debate during the full council meeting which was to start on Wednesday this week.





Councillor for Phase 4 Sergeant Kgosietsile had on Tuesday prior to the full council meeting instructed his lawyers - J.J Matomela - to order the reinstatement of his motions and those of other councillors. The lawyers wrote the GCC that the removal of the motions was done without any legally acceptable reasons advanced. We advise that the Special Executive Committee has no powers whatsoever to deny a councillor the right to table a motion before the full council meeting. There is nothing either in the Township Act or in the Standing Orders, which suggests that it has such powers.

The decision of the Special Executive Committee is unlawful as it seeks to take away the right of the councillors to represent their electorates by way of tabling motions for debate before the full council. The correct position is that only the full council has the powers to reject a motion, not a committee comprising of few individuals and whose power in that regard is not provided for, reads the letter. In an interview with Botswana Guardian after the adjournment of the meeting Kgosietsile said he would not proceed with the legal course if indeed the motions would be reinstated. The councillor who sits in the committee as Chairman of Physical Planning said he warned during the meeting that the decision was wrong.

I told them when they were busy removing some of the motions, mine included, that what they were doing was wrong. They advised me that the committee was empowered now to their surprise the councillors told them the same thing in the chamber. We bring these motions and questions here because people who voted us want us to present such issues. The full council as the supreme body should either reject, adopt or defer the motion and not the committee, he explained.
The National Petroleum Fund (NPF) is currently hovering at around P600million, Botswana Guardian has learnt. The NPF is used by government to pay petroleum retailers the difference between the administered and prevailing fuel prices. The Fund collects 13,5thebe per litre every time motorists fill up at pump stations.

Responding to an inquiry at a media brief this Tuesday, Principal Energy Officer in the Department of Energy, Merapelo Tautona said the fund is audited every year. We have approximately P600million. Last year we used about P100million. With this amount we believe it is enough to sustain us into the next couple of months. We have never really run out and we see its balance indicating that the regulation can take us to the next months, he says. Principal Energy Engineer, Baruti Regoeng concurred, adding that the cumulative state is also balanced. The only challenge he said is the Tshele Hill project, a large storage facility which consumes more of the funds. However, we try to make sure that the project expenditure doesnt overshadow the funds objectives, he said.

Meanwhile, Regoeng hinted that reviewing of the current price structure is under consideration. Currently the pricing structure is based on South Africas Durban route where the Durban facilities serve as storage facilities. The costs structure covers the transportation fees from Durban to Gaborone, laboratory, letters of credit, surveyors, and 25 days of stockholding amongst other components. Regoeng indicated that, the review of the pricing will take into consideration other alternative routes, such as the Maputo in Mozambique. Consumers have always wondered why fuel prices cannot be subsidised as in other countries. In addition, prices take long to be adjusted in Botswana immediately they are reduced numerously in other countries like South Africa when fuel prices plunge.





Botswana is a net importer of oil which constitutes over 60 percent of the total imports. Surely the falling prices are a plus for the country as it reduces the import bill thereby improving the countrys current account. In Botswanas case, petroleum prices are not subsidised but rather the Fund is used to cushion the prices. In this case, Tautona explains that in South Africa prices are administered through an autonomous body unlike in Botswana where there are a lot of approval processes. This takes a longer time than would happen in SA. Also, because the Fund helps cushion such situations, the price adjustment is likely to delay when the cumulative is healthy.
Political pundits within and outside the ruling Botswana Democratic Party were this week speculating that Bank of Botswanas outgoing Governor, Linah Mohohlo is headed for a political career.

She has been hinted as one of the possible candidates that could be nominated for the Specially Elected Member of Parliament seat, Botswana Guardian can today reveal. Last week, the central bank ended speculation about the retirement of Mohohlo who has been at the helm of the bank for more than 15 years. However, just a week after the announcement, news reaching this publication is that her name is making rounds within the ruling party for a possible nomination to parliament in the coming weeks.

However, she is not the only one, as several names have also been bandied. Parliament has since approved the Bill calling for the increase of MPs and Ministries and President Ian Khama has signed the Bill into law, which in effect means two specially elected MPs will be added to the current crop.

Names have been thrown around but sources within the BDP have revealed that during BDP Parliamentary caucus meeting the President has stood firm that among the two who will be nominated by the party he would settle for a female.

The current Specially Elected MPs include only one female being Dr. Unity Dow, who is Minister of Basic Education. Mohohlo is believed to possess special skills needed for a Specially Elected MP. It is also said that with a well-decorated CV Mohohlo could also be taken on board to deputise Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Kenneth Matambo. Mohohlo was not available for comment.





Matambo, also a specially elected MP, has been without an assistant since 2008, when then Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Guma Moyo, was pushed out of cabinet amidst fears that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was about to haul him before court to answer allegations of corruption. Sources have revealed that should Mohohlo accept the nomination, she would likely take over the finance ministry post 2019 election when Matambos second term as specially-elected MP comes to an end, should BDP retain governance. Matambo did not contest the 2014 general election and President Khama brought him back on special nomination to handle the finance ministry.

It is not yet clear if Matambo would seek to return to Parliament by contesting for election but insiders say the minister is done with politics. BDP will hold primary elections starting next year August. Efforts to confirm if Matambo was interested in contesting elections were futile as he was not answering his mobile phone.Former President Festus Mogae appointed Mohohlo Governor in 1999, following a 23-year career during which she rose through the ranks from secretary in 1976 to senior levels in economic research, human resources and financial markets, where she was responsible for monetary operations and investment of the countrys foreign exchange reserve.

Matambo joined politics after retiring from Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) as its Managing Director. For close to ten years, Matambo headed BDC, which he helped to turn around from a money losing entity. Indications are that the BDP might decide on names of the additional two specially-elected MPs during its caucus meeting expected to be held next week Tuesday. It is said that names of nominees will be presented during the October Parliament session expected to start eitheron the 17th or the 24th of this month. The session will consider the National Development Plan 11 before the State of the Nation Address starts next month.

Government Chief Whip Liakat Kably could not confirm or deny that BDP Parliamentary caucus meeting would be held next week. He said even if the issue of especially-elected MPs could be part of the agenda it is not for media consumption. It would be communicated in the appropriate time when names of nominees are announced. We will announce our nominees as well our colleagues from the opposition would nominate their preferred candidates. As for now we do not have any names and Speaker of Parliament has not yet communicated when Parliament would sit, said Kably who is also MP for Letlhakeng-Lephephe.
A new Beatrice event will take over Chautauqua Park Saturday, Oct. 8, as the Beatrice Chamber of Commerce prepares to host the city's first Oktoberfest in Chautauqua Park at the Tabernacle.

Cities and communities across the globe celebrate Oktoberfest each fall, so officials hope the Beatrice version is a welcome addition to the fall event calendar.

Weve had a lot of discussion about bringing an adult event to the city in the fall and this just seemed like it would be the perfect fit, said Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lora Young.

Chamber staff and board members were the main contributors to bringing the event to Beatrice on Saturday, and Beatrice Chamber Board Chairman Pat Ratigan was the driving force behind the idea.

Pat wanted us to do it and we are all very excited, Young said. Were hoping for great crowd and great turnout.

The event will feature a variety of craft beers for guests to try. The event will feature German-inspired food, a Masskugstemmen Stein Holding Contest, as well as polka and live music,.

Julies Hotdogs will be catering Oktoberfest with a variety of bratwursts, German potato salad, Laugen Bavarian pretzels and other German-inspired recipes.

The beer tasting will be from 4-6 p.m. followed by polka music. A womens Stein Holding Contest starts at 7:30 p.m. with the mens beginning at 9:30 p.m. Oktoberfest live music will last until around 11:30 p.m. with music by 35th and Taylor and Judd Hoos.

VIP tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the gate and include one flight of beer, two drink tickets and a mug. Admission is $20 until 9 p.m. and $15 after 9 p.m. No one under 18 is allowed entry.

Get up off the couch and enjoy this, Young added. There will be great music and all sorts of great and different kinds of beers.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A high school student from Strathclair ditched her textbooks and course readings this school year in order to set sail on a ship thousands of kilometers away.

Dont worry, though  Emma-Jean Koscielnys absence was excused.

The 17-year-old got a hands-on look at the work of scientists aboard the massive Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen on an eight-day journey through the Northwest Passage in late September.

Submitted Emma-Jean Koscielny set sail on board a research ship and got to visit communities like Pond Inlet, pictured, as part of a two-week voyage to Canada's north to research the effects of climate change with a team of scientists. She was one of only nine students nationwide accepted into the program.

Not a bad field trip for the Grade 12 student, one of only nine selected for the expedition.

The trip was really great, marveled Koscielny, now back to the routine of being a student at Strathclair Community School. The crew was always eager to share what they knew with us, so it was a good experience.

Koscielny rubbed shoulders with scientists tasked with research projects related to climate change. It was up to the students, taking part in the Schools on Board outreach program developed in partnership with University of Manitoba, to ask the scientists whether they needed help  and they often did. Koscielny said she helped sort zooplankton, tested nutrient levels and released a weather balloon.

Any time during the day or night, something was going on, said Koscielny, who returned home last Thursday following a two-week trip.

During the trip, the nine high school students and two teachers explored the Canadian north. They began in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, where they toured the community, went hiking and experienced the sticker-shock of northern grocery prices.

A tray of vegetables costs $38.58, according to Koscielny.

This really blew my mind because I live on a farm and we grow all our vegetables.

Aboard the ship Koscielny got a first-hand look at the effects of climate change.

A scientist whose expertise is in meteorology and sea ice explained there will always be ice in the countrys northern reaches in the winter months, but whether that continues into the summer is questionable.

Theres an urgency on the ship, Koscielny said. They know that the clock is ticking, and they really need to figure out whats going on so we can adapt and change what were doing.

Though the research the scientists do is imperative, it didnt prevent the crew from having fun, she said. It helped change Koscielnys perception that scientists are all work and no play.

Submitted Emma-Jean Koscielny releases a weather balloon on board the research ship she was on for eight days on a trip with scientists. The weather balloon measures temperature humidity and wind speed through a small computer device attached to a string on the balloon. The Strathclair teenager was one of only nine students nationwide accepted into the program.

The students found they were also greeted warmly by the locals.

The scenery is beautiful and the people are extremely friendly. It is pretty isolated up north, but people make the best of it, she said, referencing that Kugluktuk and the other community they visited, Pond Inlet, Nunavut, left the doors of their schools open late into the night to give the kids something to do.

It was really interesting to see how everyone works together up there.

Koscielny was invited for the expedition after visiting an Arctic Science Day event in Winnipeg, where she learned she could join scientists up north aboard a ship, provided she made an appealing pitch. It must have left an impression, for her application was one of nine accepted nationwide.

Koscielny said she would take many lessons from her voyage, including a commitment to experience life to the fullest.

It taught me not to be afraid of asking questions, she said. And just enjoy the moment, celebrate what youre doing.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last week, Torque Brewings canned beer made its very first appearance in Brandon. Torques not distributing to Westman yet, but it is hoping to be available on tap and in cans throughout Westman in the near future.

Instead, a Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries rep brought several dozen Torque beers to Brandon to be sold at the 10th Street and Victoria Avenue Liquor Mart to give local beer geeks another sample of the brewerys beer for those who missed out on the partial tap takeover a few weeks back.

Torques The Witty Belgian witbier, Witching Hour Dark Pumpkin Ale and Diesel Fitter American Stout all made it to Brandon. Witching Hour is already out of stock and Diesel Fitter and Witty Belgian are the only remaining beers at the downtown Liquor Mart until Torque starts distributing to Brandon in the near future, which hopefully is sooner rather than later.

Submitted Torque Brewings Diesel Fitter made its first appearance in Brandon last week. The stout tops out at a modest 6.3 per cent ABV and a surprising 65 IBU which makes it more bitter than many India pale ales out there.

The days are getting shorter and colder so its the perfect time to review Torques Diesel Fitter. The stout tops out at a modest 6.5 per cent ABV and a surprising 65 IBU which makes it more bitter than many India pale ales out there. It pours a rich, dark-as-night black thats heavy with a nice full cookie dough beige head that just screams winter is coming! The aroma is roasted malt-forward, giving off notes of coffee, chocolate/cocoa powder, vanilla and a surprisingly liberal amount of earthy hops. The flavour profile starts off with a rich roasted maltiness that, like the aroma gives off a good coffee and chocolate flavour to it  just like a mocha, rich and creamy. Theres a great deal of earthy hops popping up giving off a taste that I can only describe as what reminds me of dead grass and leaves right before the first snowfall of the year  yeah, it sounds weird but it just has a flavour profile that forces you to accept that winter will be here in a few weeks. It is quite a bit more bitter than your typical stout.

The only complaint Ive heard about it was that this stout is too bitter, which is a valid comment, but Torque is going a different direction than most of the other stouts you can get in Manitoba.

The stout still has that rich, creamy, roasted malt and chocolate profile that you see in just about every stout, but with the incredible 65 IBU (bitterness rating), its going to intrigue some people and likely annoy others.

For some reason, whenever I savour this beer, it reminds me a lot of another beer. Then, I realized it, Diesel Fitter reminded me of a mashup of Fort Garrys Kona Stout and Half Pints Stir Stick Stout, which shouldnt be much of a surprise as two of Torques brew technicians created and worked on Fort Garrys Kona Stout for many years.

I was lucky enough to try Diesel Fitter at Flatlanders Beer Festival in Winnipeg back in June and I have to say that the beer has come a long way since then  to the point where you probably wont be able to buy any Diesel Fitter this weekend because I liked this beer a bit too much that I bought six cans over the past week.

In coming weeks youll find Diesel Fitter, Witty Belgian, What the Helles Lager and others become permanent fixtures at Liquor Marts, beer vendors and bars throughout Brandon and Westman so this is a sneak peak of what to expect. For now, you can find this on-tap at many of Winnipegs pubs including Barley Brothers, Peg Beer Co. and in can at Liquor Marts throughout Winnipeg and at beer vendors such as the Quality Inn Beer Store off Grant Avenue and Pembina Highway for $3.71 per 473 ml can.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I like turkey.

Im not a fanatic about it, but I really do enjoy it.

There is, however, one caveat: I dont like it nearly as much if I have to clean up the mess thats left behind after the bird is carved and the meal is over. The process of salvaging the (usually) massive amount of meat that still clings to the carcass is often a lengthy and finicky one, and I detest it.

Consequently, I never roast a turkey. Well, check that: Ive roasted two turkeys in my life and have vowed never to do so again. Case closed.

If, however, someone invites me over for a turkey dinner, Im in! Ill bring the cranberry sauce and a bunch of wine and be all set to indulge in this most delectable of meats, as long as I can have dark meat (I guess thats a second caveat). And Ill happily take home leftovers if theyre offered.

All that said, I, like many other folks who have a very small family with whom to share it and thus find the remains of the monster fowl too much to cope with, have instead opted for the commercially produced, deboned and vastly more convenient turkeys that are available especially during the holiday seasons. The only downside I see is that I cant control the sodium content in them, but thats something I can deal with, at least in this instance.

But on to the important stuff: If youre a traditionalist (and my family is often anti-tradition  not to be obnoxious, but just because we dont let whats usually served on occasions such as Thanksgiving or Christmas dictate what were going to have as a main course), and youre planning to serve turkey this weekend, here are some wine suggestions to go with that classic selection.

Note that in many cases, including the afore-mentioned cranberry, its the sauce that determines what wine might go well with your dish. And even this can get tricky, because not everybody around the table is going to have the cranberry sauce. Some might choose gravy, while others might have both cranberry and gravy. Theres nothing like bubbly wine to cut through things like greasy food (and lets face it  while health-wise, its not a good thing, the skin is practically the best-tasting part of the big bird), as well as cleanse the palate with each sip. So if youre into sparklers, a great bet is the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava from Spain ($14.95), which is fresh, fruity and elegant, and should go beautifully with turkey and ham, if you happen to opt for the latter.

For the white wine fans (and this one has a tinge of sweetness, but its a gorgeous wine), the Thirty Bench Riesling ($24) from Niagara is crisp and bright with essences of lemon drops, pear, peach, apple, a touch of citrus and a delightful minerality thats truly refreshing. If you want a slightly oaky, full-bodied, smooth and silky dry white, the William Hill North Coast Chardonnay ($18.99) from Californias Napa Valley with its aromas and flavours of tree and tropical fruit, spice and the faintest whiff of citrus, should pair beautifully with turkey and stuffing.

In addition to the Thirty Bench, which I intend to have with turkey next week when my family celebrates for a belated Thanksgiving  were just thankful were able to be together  Im also going to open a lovely red. The Red Rooster Cabernet Merlot ($18.99) from the Okanagan boasts blackcurrant and blackberry with hints of tobacco, spice and oak. And its hefty enough but not heavy, if that makes any sense. Its got a spine, but its not pushy. Anyway, I think itll go beautifully with turkey (and ham, too, for that matter). I guess Ill find out!
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I attended a S.P.A.A.D.S. (Sabre Pilots Association of the Air Division Squadrons) reunion in Ottawa on Sept. 16-18. Members had flown the Sabre in England, France or Germany during the period 1951-63 when the Royal Canadian Air Force had 300 Sabres in 12 squadrons as its contribution to NATO during the Cold War.

The Canadian Army and Navy also contributed significant forces to NATO during the same period. A highlight of the reunion was a briefing by Bill Flynn, a test pilot and former CF-18 squadron commander, outlining the outstanding qualities of the F-35.

The Sabre was replaced by the CF- 104 followed by the CF-18 which came into service in the early 1980s. Since 1997 the federal government has been engaged in a process to replace its tactical fighter fleet of 122 CF-18s. Much of that process has focused on a single aircraft  the Lockheed Martin F-35.

The public discourse has largely been dominated by criticism of the selection process, as well as the aircrafts capabilities, cost and attendant industrial benefits. However, in 2010 the federal bureaucracy concluded that the F-35 was the best option for Canada. Despite all the recommendation supporting the F-35, fallacious political debate continues unabated. The situation is a replay of the Sea King helicopter replacement programme which took 36 years to resolve.

Failing to learn from past mistakes will only ensure a continued incoherence in policy today and a growing irrelevance of the armed forces in the future.

The situation supports a remark made decades ago by Sidney Camm the designer of the Hawker Hurricane and the Harrier: All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height and politics.

While space does not allow me to detail the machinations that have taken place at the political level, I would recommend you read an article by David J. Bercuson in the latest issue of the Legion magazine for a detailed analysis. I will repeat his conclusion: Our procurement system is a joke. Our political leaders  Tory and Liberal  are the joke writers of this ongoing comedy of errors. I agree.

G. BRENNAND (Col. Retd)

Virden
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Language changes.

The Canadian Press stylebook, the ultimate manual for any copy editor plying their trade in a newsroom, has had many different iterations outlining stylistic changes. It advises against using the term Mrs. as an automatic honorific when writing about a woman. It admonishes reporters to be sensitive when talking about disability suggesting it only be mentioned when its integral to the story.

As for questions of race, well, the policy is quite clear. Race should not be pointed out unless its required for context  for example, a victim of hate mail can be identified as an Arab.

Going over the different editions of the stylebook provides an interesting overview of the history of language and its evolution.

In 2011, there was great debate when Mark Twains The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn was amended, replacing racial epithets with the words slave and Indian. The changes were made because American schools were reluctant to keep the classic on school curriculums because of the offensive wording.

However, the book dealt with the disgraceful treatment of black people in the south and is seen as an important work. It was published in 1876.

Tintins adventures, whether they be in the Congo or elsewhere, have also been considered racist, with stereotypical portrayals of Jews, Soviets and Africans. The more problematic books were written in the 1930s and 40s. There have been attempts to have some of them moved from the childrens sections of book stores to the adult sections. There were also discussions about shrink-wrapping them with warning labels.

Obviously, such books would not likely be published now, because the terms used are unacceptable in our society.

Most recently, a small book titled How Spider Saved Thanksgiving is on the radar for those easily offended. Published in 1991 by American writer Robert Krause, the book focuses on the first Thanksgiving with the meeting between the pilgrims and Indians. Winnipeg mother Cara McDougall was upset when her son  who is in Grade 2  came home with the book. Ms. McDougall said the use of the word Indian amounted to name-calling.

Except Indian is actually not name-calling. It may indeed be antiquated, but it still has legal implications in this country. There are still status Indians. In 2011, there was still a department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. In the United States and Canada, the word Indian is acceptable.

Theres more to it than that, however. Ms. McDougall says that she was one of the parents put in charge of culling her sons school library of books that were inappropriate. I got rid of ones that are religious and stuff like this, she said in reference to the spider book. Well, apparently not well; she couldnt explain how this one stayed on the shelf.

But more to the point, who gets to say what is considered inappropriate? A parent, a teacher or a student?

We cant pretend that in the past we didnt use words that are racist or stereotypical and we shouldnt try to ban the books that used them. Instead, they should be used to teach moments about our history and why words matter.

 Winnipeg Free Press
A former High Court judge will investigate an alleged smear campaign against a Garda whistleblower, Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed.

In the latest in a string of controversies to rock the force, the Tanaiste and Justice Minister said Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill will report back on his findings within six weeks.

"On conclusion of the review I will consider what further steps may be necessary," she added.

The judge has been charged with probing claims that senior gardai targeted an officer in a widespread character assassination.

It is understood two senior gardai have made statements to justice chiefs that false and damaging allegations were made against the whistleblower and that one has said they were following orders.

Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan was forced into publicly denying earlier this week that she knew anything about the alleged conspiracy.

The police chief said she would condemn any smear campaign against an officer.

Ms Fitzgerald has confirmed she received correspondence under the Protected Disclosures Act from two members of the force on Monday.

But she said she legally is prevented from making any remarks that could identify those who have made the disclosures.

"Having consulted with the Attorney General, I am now in a position to announce a first step in the process to ensure that these protected disclosures are addressed properly," she said.

Ms Fitzgerald said the judge-led investigation would review allegations of wrongdoing contained in the disclosures, including interviewing anyone or any group he considers appropriate.

His report, due before the end of November, will include recommendations on any further action needed to address the allegations.

Earlier this week, Clare Daly, TD with the Independents4Change group, demanded Commissioner O'Sullivan resign and claimed the smear campaign was "systematic, organised and orchestrated" and had the "full involvement of the present and former commissioner".

She said it was designed to "not just discredit a whistleblower but to annihilate him".

The commissioner said it would be inappropriate to comment on specific allegations made under protected disclosure rules, which were introduced in 2014 to support whistleblowers.

The police chief urged a comprehensive investigation into the alleged smear campaign, which may date back as far as 2013.

It is claimed hundreds of text messages were disseminated among a large group of officers with instructions to attack the whistleblower's character, and an intelligence file was opened on the whistleblower and movements were monitored.

Journalists and some politicians were also briefed by senior garda concerning allegations about the whistleblower.

Several whistleblowers in the Garda have been identified in recent years, some of whom have spoken out about their treatment after raising concerns about corruption or bad policing.

Among them are Sergeant Maurice McCabe who was vindicated over the vast majority of his concerns about policing standards in parts of the Cavan-Monaghan division and abuse of the penalty point system.

Others are Nick Keogh and Keith Harrison both of whom have been named in the Dail as being victims of harassment after raising concerns about policing.
A new poll out today shows the majority of people are in favour of repealing our abortion laws.

However they think terminations should only be allowed in limited circumstances.

Today's Irish Times carries the latest Ipsos/MRBI survey.

It finds that 55% of people here believe the 8th Amendment should be repealed, giving us abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and rape.

Only 19% think we should go further with terminations on demand, as in the UK.

There is still 18% that don't want to repeal the 8th Amendment and just 8% had no opinion.

Overall there was no major difference between men and women, despite women being marginally more in favour of retaining a blanket ban.

In age terms those who are younger are more inclined to want to repeal the 8th.

And there's an urban country divide with Connaught-Ulster the biggest opponents of abortion, while Dublin is most open to it.

A citizens Assembly will meet for the first time later this month to consider the future of the 8th Amendment, with discussions starting in earnest in November.
University College Cork is the Sunday Times University of the year for the second year running.

The newspaper's rankings placed DIT in top spot in the Institutes of Technology category.

It is the fifth time UCC has been selected as top university and the first time the same university has been selected for two consecutive years in the 15-year history of the award.

Dublin's Trinity College came in second in this year's rankings.

According to the Sunday Times, UCCs success is underpinned by making teaching as much of a priority as research. The University has seen a 15% growth in research funding over the past five years, generating the second highest amount of research income in Ireland per head of academic staff (around 128,000).

UCC also has the highest number of academic staff (70%) with a qualification in teaching and learning, and is the first in Ireland to develop an online programme in teaching and learning for staff in higher education.

Dr Michael Murphy, President of University College Cork said: "We are delighted to be acknowledged as Sunday Times University of the Year 2017 and particularly by becoming the first institution to retain the distinction.

"It is recognition, in my view, that UCC is confident in its understanding of the role of a university, and is clearly committed to discharging that role to very high standards."

Alastair McCall, Editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: "UCC has enjoyed unparalleled success in our annual University of the Year award: a winner on five occasions and now the first to win the award in two successive years.

"It is not hard to see why. The institution prioritises teaching excellence alongside an undoubted research pedigree. At UCC, teaching and research excellence are not either/or options. Students benefit from this on a daily basis, enjoying high-class teaching, graduating with high-class degrees and going on to get excellent jobs, the name of their University standing them in excellent stead with prospective employers."

The Sunday Times Good University Guide will be published this Sunday.
Lets just say after an eventful return to our TV screens last week, Graham Norton is back in the swing of things with another star-studded line up planned for tonights episode.

Not only will acting legend Danny DeVito be taking a spot on the famous red sofa, hell be sharing it with heartthrob Ewan McGregor.
People across south-west Haiti are digging through the wreckage of their homes, salvaging what they can from a deadly and devastating encounter with Hurricane Matthew.

The central government's official death toll stood at nearly 300, but authorities working on the ground in the remote corners of the south-western peninsula said it will probably be significantly higher when the full accounting is complete.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said his team had found 82 bodies that had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of patchy communications.

Most appeared to have died from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145mph on Tuesday.

"We don't have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still haven't reached," Mr Jeune said, as he and a team of Civil Protection agents in orange vests combed the area.

As Haitians mourned their losses, they tried to recover what they could of their meagre possessions. Homes throughout the area were piles of rubble, the roofs stripped away, fruit gone from the trees.

Workers from the International Organisation of Migration and other groups are going through the area to assess the damage and provide assistance, although their efforts are being hampered by damaged roads, rough terrain and other factors.

"Devastation is everywhere," said Pilus Enor, mayor of Camp Perrin, a town near the port city of Les Cayes on the peninsula's south shore. "Every house has lost its roof."

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. The 283 deaths reported so far did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145mph winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands to flee.

Officials said that food and water are urgently needed, noting that crops had been levelled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

Officials with the Pan American Health Organisation warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding. Haiti's cholera outbreak has killed about 10,000 people since 2010, when it was introduced into the country's biggest river from a UN base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In the coming days, the US military expects to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas by helicopter.

After passing over Haiti, Matthew hit Cuba's lightly populated eastern tip on Tuesday night, damaging hundreds of homes in the eastern-most city of Baracoa but there were no reports of deaths.

Nearly 380,000 people were evacuated and measures were taken to protect infrastructure.

Matthew advanced up the length of the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, tearing roofs away, toppling trees and causing flooding that trapped some people in their homes.

There have been no reports of casualties as the storm heads past Florida's coast.

Before hitting Haiti, the storm was blamed for four deaths in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

In Florida, St Austine's mayor Nancy Shaver said the city is experiencing widespread flooding from Hurricane Matthew. The Category 3 storm battered the city much of Friday with waves and a storm surge that topped eight feet.

In #Haiti @WFP working with government in areas most affected by #HurricaneMatthew to assess food security needs caused by severe flooding pic.twitter.com/NxRs2CqXpK  Alexis Masciarelli (@amasciarelli) October 7, 2016

She said roughly half of St Augustine's 14,000 residents had chosen to stay in their homes. No injuries or deaths had been reported but the mayor said it will be several hours before authorities can get out and begin damage assessments.

In Georgia, despite a mandatory evacuation order for the 3,000 people who live on Tybee Island, about 100 people decided to ride out the storm.

Elsewhere in the state, prison officials announced that they had moved more than 1,500 inmates from facilities in coastal counties to other lock ups further inland.
Barack Obama has lifted US economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Burma.

The White House said the US president signed an executive order lifting the sanctions on Friday.
Russia has announced it will veto a French-drafted UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the Security Council should instead rally around the proposal made by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura for an al Qaida-linked militant faction to leave Aleppo in exchange for a halt to Russian and Syrian government bombardment.

He told reporters after Mr de Mistura briefed the council on Friday behind closed doors that "the French proposal is very hastily put together, and I frankly believe that this is designed not to make progress" in ending the current stalemate "but to cause a Russian veto".

Mr Churkin said it was "unprecedented" that the 15-member council would ask one of the five permanent members to limit its activities, in this case requiring the Russian military to stop flights.

Asked if Russia will veto the French draft, Mr Churkin said he never uses the word until he gets instructions from Moscow, but "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass".

France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre insisted that a vote on its resolution, co-sponsored by Spain, will go ahead on Saturday.

Earlier US secretary of state John Kerry said Russia and Syria should face a war crimes investigation for their attacks on Syrian civilians.

Mr Kerry said Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100, in what would be the latest strike by Moscow or its ally in Damascus on a civilian target.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children," Mr Kerry told reporters alongside French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who arrived in Washington directly from meeting Russian officials in Moscow.

Mr Kerry said such acts "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes".

"They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond," he added in some of his toughest criticism to date. He accused Russia and Syria of undertaking a targeted strategy to "terrorise civilians".

Mr Kerry's September 9 agreement with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counter-terrorism alliance in Syria, if fighting had stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas.

Neither condition was met.

The truce then broke completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo.

Mr Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Moscow on the military partnership earlier this week.

The war has killed as many as half a million people since 2011, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Second World War and allowed Islamic State to carve out territory for itself and emerge as a global terror threat.

As Mr Kerry and Mr Ayrault spoke, Russia's lower house of parliament ratified a treaty with Syria that allows the Russian military to stay indefinitely in the Middle Eastern country.

The move comes as a show of support for embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad, and allows Russia to use the base free of charge and for as long as it requires.
LONDON: Oil rose on Thursday, extending a rally of nearly 3% in the previous session, as optimism over record U.S....
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."
Egypt enlists Chinas support for $20 billion administrative capital

A $20 billion administrative new capital is in the offing which will include homes and offices and all relevant infrastructure supported by China Fortune Land Development Co. Ltd. (CFLD).

The development will sit on 14,000 acres and will take place in the second phase of construction of the new capital east of Cairo.

The new capital is one of a series of mega-projects announced by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi designed to attract foreign investment and create jobs in a country with a booming population of 91 million. Heralding a new era of closer political and economic ties, China in January signed 21 investment and aid deals worth billions of dollars with Egypt during a visit by President Xi Jinping.

Among the development and infrastructure investments was a deal to build the new capitals first phase, which Egypt has said will cost some $45 billion. The new capital, planned to be the size of Singapore, is due to have an airport larger than Londons Heathrow, a building taller than Pariss Eiffel Tower, and more than 10,000 km (6,200 miles) of streets and avenues.

en.cfldcn.com
Many (including myself) have often accused the Democrats of buying votes by giving away money. But if you examine the political landscape closely you will see that both Democrats and Republicans do the same thing in an effort to influence voters.

Magicians will often use diversion to keep your attention away from their tricks. Politicians have honed this skill to a finer point by keeping the public involved in minor point of concern or trying to focus the discussion on the other party while doing the very same thing they accuse others of doing.

Here are several examples of buying votes:

Welfare

Tax Breaks for home interest mortgage

Property tax breaks for senior citizens

Depreciation incentives for Capital goods.

Food Stamp subsidies

Rent subsidies

Free Cell Phones

Free internet connection

Free college tuition

Special tax holidays for school supplies

Tax deductions for Charitable contributions

Low Income Credit

VA benefits for non service connected medical conditions.

Tax Complexity is a tax subsidy to those smart enough to take advantage of it.



Lastly my favorite entitlement: Social Security retirement income ( I know you paid into the system but the money is not waiting for you to take out, it has already been spent on the items above and more and there is nothing more than non-negotiable IOU's from the government in the fictitious trust fund. Think of like there was a giant spending fire and all the money paid in burnt up. See here for a complete description of how much you paid in versus how much you may get back on Social Security. How much will I get back?)

How crazy is it that the government pays you Social Security from money it does not have and then makes you pay taxes on the money it paid you. Why not just pay you less.



If I have not hit your hot button yet, it is because I am too lazy to read the IRS tax code which has ballooned to an unmanageable document.

"As they rush to file their taxes by April 18 next year, Americans are rightfully frustrated with the complexity of the 74,608-page-long federal tax code. Size of IRS Tax Code

NOW, LET US GET SERIOUS! JUST HOW IN THE HELL DID WE EVER GET INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE LET THE FEDERAL OR STATE GOVERNMENT SAY HOW WE SPEND OUR OWN MONEY?

WHAT PRICE DO YOU PUT ON YOUR VOTE?

Maybe it is because they offer everybody some FREE STUFF and always point to the other guy who is getting a break.

Is it a safety net or a government tit?

Are you laughing or crying or did you even get this far?

Considering that Hillary Clinton, from the recently concluded email investigation, is charged with gross negligence, dereliction of duty, was recommended that she lose her security clearance, while pathologically lying to congress, the press and the American People; and even though she was not referred for indictment because she is a Clinton: Will you? 11.84% Vote for Hillary 78.78% Vote for The Donald 9.39% Vote for none of the above 245 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!

And now for your additional voting pleasure:

What should be the priority of the Federal Government after the "Pulse" massacre: Should we turn our attention toward destroying, earadicating ISIS as Candidate Trump suggests, or, as Democrats' President Obama suggests, broaden our efforts to effect stricter Gun Control laws to limit "Gun Violence?" 88.24% After many years of trying to degrade and contain the murderous ISIS, we should make it the nation's policy to destroy ISIS immediately. 3.68% Gun Violence in America can be eliminated by limiting access to guns for all American citizens. 8.09% I don't care either way; I just live here. 136 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!
LAHORE: Medical professionals in Pakistan need to pay more attention towards mother and child health for which our...
LAGOS: More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to...
Canberrans are invited to meet the adorable stars of the ACT Rescue and Foster 2017 calendar on Sunday.

Best Friends will feature rescue dogs cared for by the organisation while fur-ever homes were found.

Eddie is the cover star of the 2017 Animal Rescue and Foster pet calendar. Credit:Tracy Hebden

ACT Rescue and Foster has rescued and re-homed more than 2600 dogs since it was founded in 2001.

Best Friends calendar models were photographed around the Canberra region. Many will attend the calendar launch alongside a number of current foster dogs.
Mark Brown reckons being a blood donor saved his life.

"I had some pain in my abdomen [in April 2013] and I went off to the GP, and they sent me for an ultrasound and it came back with nothing there so I went on with my life," the Canberra public servant said.

Mark Brown managed to survive a type of cancer that has killed so many Canberrans. Credit:Rohan Thomson

"Then in about June I went to give blood and my iron count was way down and they wouldn't take the blood off me, so I went back to a different GP and they sent me for a CT scan and in that process they found a 10-centimetre mass in my stomach."

Mr Brown counts himself as one of the lucky ones.
He disagrees with the amount of power vested in the DPP over applications for dismissal of criminal charges on mental health grounds. If the charge is serious, he says, the DPP has to consent to its disposal by means other than criminal penalty. "The DPP's not required to give a reason for not consenting, not required to justify the decision, yet it impacts on the ultimate determination of the matter by the court," Dingwall says. Similarly, recent changes to bail law give the DPP power to effectively overrule a court's decision, by providing for prosecutors to flag a "review" of a court's decision to grant bail. When they do this, defendants yet to be tried, let alone found guilty, must remain in custody even though a court has said they should be released. Dingwall considers this as the "reverse of the case of a sentenced prisoner, whose sentence is stayed pending any appeal". Dingwall is adamant that the fear of being caught is the real deterrent: more and better policing, not stiffer and stiffer penalties.

Much of the problem comes from the legislators' approach. "So often changes are made without real consultation with us [judicial officers] in terms of how it might work, and then problems arise ... I've never thought it appropriate that we should express views on policy," he says, despite often being asked. "But we can comment on how it might affect our operations or how it might work in practice." That should be done only upon cabinet submissions, not in public, he adds. Dingwall worked with many attorneys-general, including Bernard Collaery, Terry Connolly, Gary Humphries, Bill Stefaniak, Jon Stanhope and Simon Corbell, from at least three parties, and expresses a clear preference for those with a legal background. "I don't think we've been well served by having an attorney who's not even a lawyer," Dingwall says. Collaery, a prominent national and Canberra practitioner for decades, who held the job in the Alliance government of Liberal and Residents Rally (1989-91) had been "most supportive of the judiciary".

Dingwall's sentences were often widely reported, generally welcomed by defence practitioners and subject to appeal from prosecutors. The retiring magistrate is unfazed, railing against the "encroachment" of mandatory sentencing, especially in relation to drink-driving, the most prevalent offence on the criminal calendar. The ACT has four levels of drink-driving, each with its own driving disqualification, where an "automatic" period is imposed unless the court can find a substantial reason in relation to a defendant's reliance on his or her licence to depart from it. The gap between the "automatic" and mandatory minimum disqualifications can be wide; a repeat, high-range drink-driver faces a minimum of 12 months but an "automatic" five years). Dingwall says the legislators should have set a maximum  not automatic  and a minimum, and left the disqualification period to the discretion of individual magistrates looking at each case on its own facts and circumstances. Instead, the present "cumbersome" approach was "basically following NSW", where a guideline judgment from the Court of Criminal Appeal says the automatic disqualification should generally follow conviction in high-range matters, a practice endorsed by some recent ACT Supreme Court authorities. The reason for the unbending approach is said to be general deterrence, but Dingwall is adamant that the fear of being caught is the real deterrent, and that there was more and better policing, not stiffer and stiffer penalties.

"Deterrence has become this sort of god that we've got to keep throwing people at," he says. "I'm not convinced that people go about their day ... being concerned about how people were being sentenced the week before or the week before that. "Knowing that it's against the law, knowing that you might lose your licence and knowing there's a very strong chance of being detected is more likely to deter people than giving someone, say, a five-year disqualification." The need to tailor justice to the individual case is most important, he says, citing the example of a truck driver losing his licence for six months and therefore his  and his family's  livelihood as opposed to a public servant who could continue to catch the bus. The drug-driving regime is another bugbear, operating unjustly, where police direct people not to drive for 12 hours if an oral test shows the presence of a drug in their system, and courts impose disqualifications regardless of whether a driver was affected by a drug at the time. "It's not clear why they give that direction, but it's presumably because they think that in that 12 hours you will have eliminated all the drug that you have in your system," Dingwall says. "So, if a person has used marijuana two days before, it clearly has no consequence or effect on his capacity to drive, yet we impose a mandatory six months, for someone whose capacity to drive is not in any way affected as opposed to a person with alcohol on board whose capacity is affected.

"Again, there should be greater scope for judicial discretion there." Former chief magistrate Ron Cahill notes Dingwall's overarching thoroughness; he was never hurried in the "busy magistrates' court lists" so often referred to in all jurisdictions' appellate courts when correcting what they had found to be an oversight in a magistrate's judgment or sentence. Cahill says Dingwall's attention to detail had, on occasion, been taken wrongly by some to be hesitation, when it was an example of the "perfect temperament". "People would look at him and say that's how a magistrate should be," Cahill says. While some in police and prosecutorial circles derided what they saw as Dingwall's creative sentencing, Cahill says his long-time colleague was "very attuned to procedures and process". (Indeed, with Justice Richard Refshauge, Dingwall compiled and revised the territory's court procedure rules). Cahill said Dingwall was "one of the best qualified people you could ever think of to appoint as a magistrate", and had shown "great loyalty to the court, and to me as chief magistrate". Dingwall says he was influenced by those he had worked under in his earlier career in the law, including Supreme Court judges Xavier Connor (for whom he was associate), John Kelly, Richard Blackburn and Russell Fox.

Refshauge notes these influences, saying: "Peter Dingwall has been an important part of the ACT justice system. He was for many years the face of the courts, as district registrar of the Federal Court and then Supreme Court registrar. "He facilitated the interaction of practitioners with the court in a very helpful, respectful way, but mindful of the constitutional position of the court. These were traits he had learnt from the judge to whom he was an associate, the kindly but very impressive Justice Xavier Connor. "As a magistrate, he has been thoughtful, careful and just. He lives by the advice he received soon after his appointment: do not rush into sending people to jail; think about it first and only do it if necessary. "His sentencing has never been hairy-chested, designed to show how tough or important he is. He is acutely aware of the paradox that reform comes in part from avoiding anti-social peers, but when imprisoning people, courts mandate that offenders associate with anti-social peers. "He has been helpful and supportive of his fellow judicial officers. His absence from the court will leave a big gap."

Cahill notes Dingwall's particular efforts in his role as Children's Court magistrate. Dingwall summed up his approach: "They're children.We know children do silly things. It shouldn't tarnish them for the rest of their lives. The whole aim of the thing is rehabilitation. My view is you've really lost the cause if you're sending them to juvenile detention." Even the term "detention" has been lost, with the legislation now talking of children being "imprisoned", a term Dingwall obviously bristles against. He looked often to employ restorative justice  where perpetrators must front their victims  but notes the strictures placed upon this by the DPP. "Just look at the stats ..." he says. "The vast majority are referred by the police and the court. Very, very rarely do the DPP refer any matter. There has to be some incentive for a child to go to RJ. It's a pretty confronting thing. "But the DPP never withdraws charges."

NSW does not record convictions for children up to the age of 16, except in exceptional circumstances. While critical of the DPP on many fronts, Dingwall is quick to note the office needs to be resourced properly. In 2014, during a Saturday morning bail hearing, he warned of the potential for a "tragedy" if magistrates were continually forced to make bail decisions without access to the criminal histories of those appearing. "I might take it up with the commissioner of police," he said to the prosecutor that day. "The community pays for you to be here, me to be here ... yet they cannot pay for someone to go into the records office." Dingwall was elevated to the bench in April 1990, the first year after self-government. Elevated on the same day was John Burns, now a Supreme Court judge, who served with Dingwall as magistrate for 21 years (the last two as chief).

Burns says Dingwall "really enjoyed" his work with young defendants. "The work of the Children's Court is some of the most important work that is done in the Magistrates Court and he made a real contribution in that area," Burns says. "There have been a number of people over the years who have perceived the Children's Court as not being very important. But it's where you can make a real difference in people's lives." It was hard to make change when an offender was in his late 20s or 30s but there was a lot of opportunity with someone between the ages of 10 and 18, and "[Dingwall] was very keenly aware of that", Burns says. His role as coroner was another of real interest. Burns says: "He would bend over backwards to try to ensure that proceedings dealt with the issues that the families [of the deceased] wanted dealt with and, indeed, sometimes I felt to the extent that he went too far. That was part of his recognition of the importance of the family to the coronial process." Burns remembers Dingwall's great ability to communicate, especially with self-represented defendants. "Peter, I think, was an excellent magistrate," he says. "He had a very strong sense of fairness and justice. He was a very good lawyer."

Outspoken? "He certainly had strong personal views and he wasn't afraid to speak those views where he thought that there was an issue that needed to be addressed by government or by some other body which would make life better for other people or make the system fairer." Burns notes the fairly repetitive nature of a magistrate's work as he praises Dingwall. "The real achievement of a magistrate is to do that work  day in and day out  and maintain high standards and a real interest in the people who are appearing in front of you, and Peter always did that," he says. That interest was paramount when it came to the liberty of the citizen. Dingwall is concerned about the increasing number of Canberrans being sent to prison. "We keep doing the same old things," he says. "Instead of looking for other sentencing options or, when we find them, discarding them. For years, we had home detention, which I thought was a very good option, but we discarded it for lack of sufficient resources. "Periodic detention, I thought, was a very good sentence, but we discarded that."
Brough, a former minister in the Howard and Turnbull governments, does not disguise his bitterness at how long the investigation has taken.

James Ashby set the whole saga in motion. Credit:Wolter Peeters

He was forced to stand aside from the ministry last December over claims  and a seeming admission in 2014  that he'd encouraged Ashby to disclose Slipper's diary excerpts. With the police probe dragging on, Brough then had to withdraw from recontesting his Queensland seat in this year's federal election. "It's over, I paid the price for trying to do the right thing," he told Fairfax Media this week. "There was absolutely nothing inappropriate on my part, nor criminal. I just think it's a sad indictment on our political process, our judicial system and our media [that this dragged on]. I was a political scalp to be had at the time to hurt the government of the day" .

The genesis of Ashbygate  as some dubbed it  lay with the embattled Gillard government's injudicious decision to appoint Slipper as speaker in November 2011.

At the time Labor was worried about the possible loss of disgraced MP Craig Thomson and the increasing unreliability of support from independent Andrew Wilkie. The recruitment of Slipper to the speakership tilted the finely balanced numbers in the 43rd parliament slightly more in Labor's favour, as Slipper had until then been sitting as a member of the LNP. He became an independent upon accepting the speakership.
As a result, mainly former federal employees will be disadvantaged compared with state government, Reserve Bank, university and company employees, whose funded defined benefit pensions are tax-free. How professional actuaries could recommend a one-size-fits-all approach defies explanation when defined benefit pensions vary significantly and retired recipients are in different age groups.

The draft legislation, apparently based on actuarial advice, values all defined benefit pensions by multiplying the annual pension by 16. Using this one figure makes no allowance for differing surviving spouse benefits, the age of the pension recipient or whether the pension is taxable or not.

These valuations determine how much additional private superannuation defined benefit fund retirees can have in separate pension accounts within the new $1.6 million cap.

In stark contrast to the generous treatment of higher income contributing defined benefit fund members, the draft legislation contains tough and in some cases unrealistic valuations of the non-commutable defined benefit pensions received by retirees.

Applying the 16 multiple to an annual pension of $100,000 puts a $1.6 million valuation on all pensions, even though a $100,000 taxable pensioner receives an annual income of only $83,000. A valuation based on actual income received would in this case value an unfunded taxable pension at $272,000, less than a funded tax-free pension.

Apart from this glaring inequity, a fixed 16 valuation factor favours younger defined benefit pension recipients over their older colleagues. It would be impossible to purchase a CPI-indexed lifetime annuity between 55 and 65 at a valuation factor of 16. But at older ages, such as 75, 80 and 85, the story is completely different 

This is why, if the government sticks with its present approach, the valuations of existing defined benefit pensions should err on the generous side. The 16 valuation factor also creates a public relations problem with retired public servants who were members of the PSS and MSBS schemes.

These funds allow retiring members to convert lump sum benefits into lifetime indexed pensions using valuation factors of 12 at 55 and 10 at 65. The proposed 16 valuation factor for existing pensions demonstrates the actuarial bargain of the pensions offered by these funds. Nevertheless, explaining why the new super rules values pensions at more than the lump sum available from their fund will be a problem.

Even if the government opts to use the 16 valuation factor when defined benefit members commence their pension, the arguments for making adjustments for any tax payable on the pension and for the age of recipient are overwhelming. As one upset reader argued, existing defined benefit pensioners don't have the option of converting their pension to a lump sum if the valuation methodology places too high a value on their pension.
One of Australia's largest private colleges has gone into voluntary administration leaving up to 16,000 students in limbo, just two days after the federal government announced it would put an end to the scandal-ridden VET-FEE HELP scheme.

The Australian Institute of Professional Education took in $110 million in public funding in 2014, enrolling 8000 students that year while graduating only 117 of them  at a cost of close to $1 million per diploma.

On Friday, AIPE announced it had appointed insolvency firm Ferrier Hodgson as administrators, becoming the first college to go into liquidation in the wake of the government's crackdown on the industry this week.

Former students said they were not surprised by the company's demise after being frustrated by the lack of communication for months.
At least one person has died after a vehicle crashed into a house where a large crowd of people had gathered for a funeral viewing in Queensland's far north.

Police received reports of a vehicle driving into a residence in Kowanyama, near the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria, about 10.30am.

Acting Inspector Michael Gooiker said a 48-year-old woman died and 12 people had been seriously injured after the car crashed into the house on Kowanyama Street.

"Police attended the scene and, as a result, there is a 55-year-old male in custody, who is assisting police with their inquiries," he said.
Queensland may market itself as the "Sunshine State", but it is counting on Rain to attract Korean visitors.

And, according to Tourism and Events Queensland's annual report, which was tabled in State Parliament last week, the "Q-pop" campaign yielded extraordinary results.

Korean K-Pop star Rain filmed his latest music video in Brisbane.

"Results show almost 20,000 travel bookings were made through 16 trade partners since the campaign commenced, largely a direct result of the Q-pop campaign and the complementary in-market activity of Korean Airlines and Tourism Australia," the report says.

The Q-pop campaign saw Korean pop star Rain visit Brisbane and record the film clip for his song, Marilyn Monroe, at city landmarks.
Two women have been rescued after their kayak capsized in the Yarra River at Warrandyte.

The women, said to be aged in their 40s, had come prepared to brave the waters  with helmets and life jackets  Constable Chris Hill, of the Warrandyte Station, told Fairfax Media. "But the water was too strong for them."

Two women stranded in the Yarra River at Warrandyte after their kayak capsized. Credit:Courtesy Channel 7

As they made their way down the river, their kayak snagged on something, he said. They flipped out of the boat and caught hold of a tree, as the kayak made its way another 20 or 30 metres downstream.

They held tight as two friends who had decided not to enter the water sought help.
University labs have become the new battleground for animal rights activists, as a fresh analysis reveals close to 80 greyhounds were used in published Australian research over the past two years.

And analysts believe the total number of dogs used in all research (published or otherwise) is likely to be much higher.

Veterinarian Belinda Oppenheimer rescued her greyhound Till from Melbourne University's now defunct greyhound blood-bank program. Credit:Arsineh Houspian

As the Victorian government introduces reforms in the controversial greyhound racing industry, with Racing Minister Martin Pakula this week signalling new races for "older, slower dogs", animal rights activists are calling on policymakers to investigate the welfare of animals in university labs.

According to Humane Research Australia, 78 greyhounds were used in Australian experiments published in 2015 and 2016. However, the total number of dogs (including greyhounds) used in laboratories would be much higher, with government figures for 2014 revealing 6613 dogs were used in experiments and testing. (Figures for 2015-16 are not available.)
Helsinki: Estonia said a Russian jet violated its airspace on Friday, hours after neighbouring Finland said two similar planes passed over its territory as it prepared to sign a defence pact with the United States.

Moscow denied sending planes across anyone's borders, but one analyst said the flights could have been staged as a reminder of Russia's influence, as countries in the region looked to strengthen ties with the West.

Estonia's defence ministry said a Russian fighter jet entered its airspace for less than a minute with its transponder turned off at 2.38am local time.

Helsinki said two different SU-27 planes crossed into its airspace over the Gulf of Finland  the body of water that separates it from Estonia  on Thursday.
Most brokers can get a loan, but young professionals and first home buyers want more than that.Dealing with Gen Y is about building relationships, removing the stuffiness, explaining the process, and utilising smart, cutting-edge technology to make transactions quicker and easier.This advice comes from the director of Divitis Finance and Mortgage Broking, Dylan Salotti, an industry young gun who just over 18 months ago launched the first mortgage brokerage in Sydney to set its sights on young professionals.Salotti was prompted to start his own brand because his experience as a novice property investor using a mortgage broker was left seriously lacking.The broker was very professional and he got me the money, but there was a real disconnect.Id worked my whole life trying to get the deposit together and he didnt understand my needs and how nervous I was about the process, Salotti said.He didnt attempt to educate me. So although he got me the finance I didnt feel any connection or relationship, or have any intention of relying on him moving forward.Salotti aims to challenge the stereotypical perception of a mortgage broker. This entails taking the client relationship beyond simply a business transaction and speaking todays language, which he says means staying across the most up-to-date technology and explaining to borrowers how electronic processes benefit them.At Divitis were young, fresh and enthusiastic, and we use a lot more technology with cloud-based supporting documents and online applications, he said.I use ApplyOnline on my back end because I want every step I take to get me closer to paperless transactions. Thats my ideal for my business. One of the things I hate is having unnecessary paper applications on my desk. The technology is there and NextGen .Net is doing great things to push that along, but the industry is still catching up.Recently Salotti attended a NextGen.Net Efficiency Training Course and was so impressed that he wrote to Divitis Finances aggregator, Connective , heaping praise on the content of the course and urging Connective to alert brokers to its advantages.In a one-hour session we went through ApplyOnline and I was shown three or four golden nuggets to speed up the process. The training was extremely beneficial, and I think its a must for everyone, especially new brokers. If I had done this training within the first three months, it would have saved me so much time on submissions and answered a lot of questions around the process.Its a big push to encourage brokers to become more digital and tech-savvy, Salotti says.If brokers want Gen Y clients, they need to make it easier and quicker for them to transact.I want to encourage everyone to keep supporting organisations like NextGen.Net, who facilitate valuable change and help educate the industry to make it as tech-savvy as possible.NextGen.Net sales director Tony Carn admits his frustration at brokers who are resistant to change and still email supporting documentation  essentially because of the security issue.Its high time the industry addressed the lack of security when emailing documents, Carn says. Some brokers dont realise that emailing a customers documentation is an unsafe practice, and a growing number of applicants, especially the younger generation who are tech-savvy, would be horrified if they knew their payslips and bank statements and tax assessment notices were being emailed and unsecured.The NextGen.Net ApplyOnline Supporting Documents service is a thoroughly secure method.Thats one of the reasons were refreshing the user interface for the Supporting Docs upload to make it even easier for brokers, says Carn.A lot of talk about digitisation focuses on mobile applications and the sexy bits at the front end. But in reality, the more pertinent technology advances happen behind the scenes.I wonder how many people know that incorporated into ApplyOnline is a function that allows the identity of an applicant to be verified electronically at the point of sale using a service provided by the federal government?Many brokers dont realise that theyre sitting on one of the most advanced technology platforms in the world. That piece of information would certainly go down well with Gen Y.
latest news

October 3, 2022

Dee Gambit

Hundreds  if not thousands  of new and returning TV shows and movies are released every month  your options of what to watch are endless. Variety, they say is ...
UB conference to celebrate the relevance of Shakespeare and Cervantes

BUFFALO, N.Y.  A two-day commemoration of William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes examining their works and enduring influence will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 13-14 in the Center for the Arts Screening Room on the University at Buffalo North Campus.

Object and Adaptation: The Worlds of Shakespeare and Cervantes, Act 3 is the final installment of a three-part conference sponsored by UBs Humanities Institute that began in March with a discussion of the cultural, historical and literary significance of Shakespeares First Folio.

A Shakespeare Jubilee also will take place from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Central Branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square.

The Jubilee, hosted by Andrew Stott, dean of UBs Honors College and vice provost for undergraduate education, will celebrate the unprecedented Wedding of the Folios held Oct. 4, which brought together all eight of Buffalos exceedingly rare Shakespeare Folios.

Stott is a theater historian whose forthcoming biography of David Garrick looks at the 18th-century actor and producer who turned Shakespeare into the celebrity of the British Empire.

There will be tours of the Folios and sample performance as part of the Shakespeare Jubilee.

Oct. 13-14sObject and Adaptation has developed as a three-act play under the rubric Buffalo Bard 2016: 400 Years Since Shakespeare.

Act 1 was a visit this past spring from Emma Smith, a professor of Shakespeare studies at Hertford College, Oxford, and one of the worlds leading authorities on Shakespeares First Folio. Act 2 featured the University of Pennsylvanias Roger Chartier and Peter Stallybrass, specialists in the history of the book. Act 3 is the combined conference and Jubilee that uncouples Shakespeare and Cervantes from a tradition of identification with their national cultures to look broadly at the striking relevance their works have today.

There are certain things one needs to know about Shakespeares and Cervantes historical setting, such as how their works were written and preserved in order to understand the cultural moment in which they were conceived. Thats the object part of the conference, says Barbara Bono, conference organizer and an associate professor of English at UB. The adaptation part is the enduring tradition  the force, the vector of these works.

Around the world, 2016 is a tribute year marking the 400th anniversary of the deaths of these two renowned authors, iconic in the tradition of drama and poetry in the case of Shakespeare and narrative in the case of Cervantes.

The conference will feature leading scholars from around the country, including UBs David Castillo, an expert on the Spanish Baroque, who is director of the Humanities Institute and a professor of Romance languages and literatures.

There is a lot of generic and chronological range to our speakers, says Bono. Were presenting this for non-specialists. Attendees will be astonished and enthralled by these superb and accessible scholars.

A complete list of participants is available online. Both the conference and Jubilee are free and open to the public.

The ability of todays digital technologies to shape perceptions and influence mass audiences is not unlike the cultural context of Shakespeare and Cervantes. That a contemporary thread runs so prominently through the conference schedule is an indication of the relevance of these authors, according to Bono and Castillo.

The early modern period (late 15th- to late 18th-century Europe) had its own Internet and both Shakespeare and Cervantes were profoundly aware of their days new media, developments that included advancements in empirical science, the mass theater, the emergence of the novel and contemporary fiction, and new perspectives in the arts.

Fueled by the invention of the printing press a century earlier, which disseminated information rapidly and in often inflammatory ways, Shakespeare and Cervantes unmoored the days cosmology and religious sensibilities.

They possessed a cultural dynamism that was characteristic of Europes early modern period. Like the telescope, their works were among the new instruments of observation that moved humanity from a closed world to an infinite universe by recognizing how the materials of religion, history and culture could alter perception and forward a particular agenda.

This new self-consciousness that arrived was both thrilling and instrumental, but the downside was that it could be used against others as propaganda, says Bono.

What was happening then is happening today. The propaganda wars were enabled by the emergence of new media, according to Castillo.

Today, digital technologies are the channels of observation, all of which ferry the same potential as the new media of the early modern period.

Broadening digital technologies create a reality entitlement, says Castillo. There is a sense that everything is up for grabs. That we can create our own reality.

Bono quotes Richard III from Shakespeares Henry VI, Part III, to reinforce Castillos point:

I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,

And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart,

And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,

And frame my face to all occasions.

With Cervantes, everything he writes can be described as experimental ways of engaging with the media of his time, says Castillo. But his work is also an attempt to construct critical readers or more active spectators who are resistant to manipulation.

There is no time in history that I can identify where its more urgent to develop a sense of critical perspective with regards to cultural consumption, he adds.

These two authors continue to serve as that clarifying lens.

They teach us to examine, rather than assume, says Bono.
UB Food Lab, UN FAO to lead training session at United Nations conference in Ecuador

BUFFALO, N.Y.  The University at Buffalo Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (Food Lab) has partnered with a United Nations agency to lead a training session on food systems planning and policy as part of an upcoming UN conference that happens once every 20 years.

The session will be conducted Oct. 16, which is World Food Day, one day prior to the official start of the Habitat III Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development.

The four-day conference is expected to draw 40,000 world leaders, city mayors, academics and grassroots activists, among other participants, to Quito, Ecuador.

Among its goals are to secure renewed commitment from global leaders for sustainable urban development, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging challenges. The urbanization stakes are high: Conference organizers estimate that by mid-century, 4 out of every 5 people in the world might be living in cities and towns.

UN member states attending the conference will ratify a document called the New Urban Agenda, which conference organizers describe as an action-oriented document which will set global standards of achievement in sustainable urban development, rethinking the way we build, manage and live in cities through drawing together cooperation with committed partners, relevant stakeholders and urban actors at all levels of government as well as the private sector.

The training session being conducted by UBs Food Lab and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will provide participants with information on community-led food systems planning techniques that have been used successfully in North America, particularly in Buffalo and Seattle.

Space is limited, and seats are being apportioned to ensure equitable access to participants from across the Global South and Global North; attendees are encouraged to RSVP at https://goo.gl/forms/qDxSiqeqP0l94Ab03.

The training will focus on planning tools that strengthen the capacity of local governments in supporting food security and agricultural viability, as well as information and strategies for how the New Urban Agenda can be implemented.

Samina Raja, principal investigator of the Food Lab, believes that Buffalo as a case study can offer workshop participants plenty of examples on the importance of food systems planning in local government, particularly in poorer communities.

Buffalos experience shows how community-led efforts can inform policy change. Buffalo is especially important as a case from the U.S. because, unlike more affluent communities, Buffalo is strengthening the food system with very few economic resources, says Raja, who recently wrote about a group of Rust Belt radicals who transformed Buffalo into an urban agriculture leader.

The training will be geared toward representatives of poorer Global South countries. The UB team recognizes that like many local governments in the U.S., planning and development departments in the Global South have limited information on how to use planning tools to strengthen communities food systems, explains Raja.

The workshop is expected to attract policy makers, representatives from the Global Parliament of Mayors, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, grassroots organization members and non-governmental organizations.

Presenters from the UB team include Raja; Alexandra Judelsohn, a UB master of urban planning graduate and Food Lab research associate; Food Lab research assistant Danielle Vazquez, who is also an MBA/masters in public health student at UB; and Food Lab research collaborators Kimberly Hodgson and Jennifer Whittaker. Hodgson is founder and principal consultant for Cultivating Healthy Places. FAO representatives include the head of the delegation as well as staff members.

The idea for the workshop stems from Rajas participation on an FAO-organized expert panel organized by Jorge Fonseca and Cecilia Marocchino that prepared a response to a draft of the New Urban Agenda. After the group met in New York in May, Raja asked FAO staff if they would be interested in partnering on a training at the conference and Habitat III organizers accepted their proposal.

In addition to Food Lab staff, Camile Brown, an environmental design student in UBs School of Architecture and Planning, will attend the conference. She received an award from UBs Community for Global Health Equity to attend Habitat III.

Headquartered in Rome, FAO aims to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and poverty, while advancing sustainable management and utilization of natural resources. The Food Lab is housed in UBs School of Architecture and Planning.

Habitat II took place in 1996 in Istanbul. Habitat I was held in 1976 in Vancouver.
One Pot Pork Chile Verde

Pork tenderloin, simmered in delicious homemade roasted tomatillo salsa verde. Make your new favorite Mexican dish right in your own kitchen.

Do you remember the salsa verde-ish recipe I shared last month? Roasted tomatillos and cherry tomatoes, along with some garlic, onions, and jalapenos?

Well, in one short month, its already one of the most popular posts from this year on Bunsen Burner Bakery. Its certainly for good reason  its the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and tangy and has become my new favorite salsa.

The first time I made it, I ate the entire batch with a spoon. Thats right  with a spoon. I couldnt even wait long enough to go to the store for some tortilla chips. Must. Eat. Now.

Fortunately, I was able to show some self restraint for future batches, and today Im going to share my favorite way to use the salsa verde. Just in case you made a big batch and are looking for something to do with it, other than eating with a spoon. Just in case.

I still recommend the spoon, though.

Pork Chile Verde. Or pork chile verde rojizo, as this salsa is really more of a reddish-green color, thanks to the tomatoes.

Its really as simple as it sounds  pork tenderloin seared with a little cornstarch and cumin, smothered in roasted tomatillo salsa verde. Seeing as how I ate the first batch of salsa verde with a spoon, you can see why pork chile verde  literally smothered in salsa verde  is basically the most delicious thing Ive had in a while.

Its a slightly more socially acceptable way to consume salsa than basically drinking it. Come on over, were having a glass of salsa verde for dinner! is a weird invitation, right? But Want to come over for pork chile verde? So much better!

Speaking of inviting friends over, this is a great dinner party dish. Although we are not a gluten free household (hi, have you seen my baking recipes?), this is perfect to serve to gluten-intolerant friends.

I used to toss meat in flour before searing until I once ran out of flour. I grabbed cornstarch instead, and it worked so well I do it by default now. Its such an easy way to eliminate gluten from otherwise gluten-free meat dishes.

This pork chile verde is dairy free  sometimes a challenge when it comes to cheese-heavy Mexican food. Its also one of those amazing dishes that somehow tastes even better after it sits.

Dont get me wrong, its still delicious fresh. But you can also make this ahead of time and eliminate the pre-dinner party rush. (Also perfect for busy weeknights, even if your dinner party only consists of you, your husband, and small toddler who gleefully shoves fistfuls of pork chile verde into his mouth with his fingers.)

Serve it with some Mexican-style rice and beans and some cumin-dusted roasted broccoli. Or maybe some sauteed corn and poblano. A side of homemade refried beans would be delicious. A big bowl of guacamole and chips? Definitely guacamole and chips.

Whatever sides you choose, you cant go wrong with this simple homemade pork chile verde. So long, neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Make your new favorite Mexican dish right in your own kitchen.

More Pork Recipes:
Give a Christmas project seeks donors and applications to aid the needy

The Burlington County Times and NJ 211 partner for the 54th year of Give a Christmas. Donors wanted to aid families in need.
Chennai 2 Singapore aka Chennai Singapore

Chennai 2 Singapore aka Chennai Singapore is a Tamil movie with production by Media Development Authority Of Singapore, direction by Abbas Akbar, cinematography by Karthick Nallamuthu, editing by Praveen K. L. The cast of Chennai 2 Singapore aka Chennai Singapore includes Anju Kurian, Gokul Anand, Rajesh Balachandiran, Shiva Keshav.
In a major reshuffle in its management team, budget carrier India on Friday announced a series of appointments, including that of heads of flight operations, legal and strategy and planning.
Opening yet another battle front against the Tatas, Japanese telecom major NTT has sued Tata Sons, the group holding firm, in an American court, seeking $1.2 billion in damages that it had won in the London Court of Arbitration in June this year for exiting the loss-making joint venture  Tata Teleservices.
Public sector giant Limited (OIL), an upstream oil and gas company, has entered into an understanding with Houston University of the United States. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), said OIL, had been signed with the intent to augment the companys reserve base and maximize recovery from its ageing oilfields.
and Engineering Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, on Friday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ALLRIG USA for services in the oil and gas sector in India and the south-east region.
Belgium-headquartered Group set up its first manufacturing unit in the country at Sri City on October 7 with an investment of Rs 40 crore to produce wheelchairs and hospital beds.

The factory, located around 120 km away from Chennai, is spread over an area of 75,000 square feet.

Construction began in April 2015 for the factory which would produce 14,000 units initially. The company plans to increase production to one lakh wheelchairs and 25,000 hospital beds by 2020.

The company currently employs about 75 people, of which 15 per cent comprise women. It expects the number of employees to go up to 300 by 2020.

"We are glad to announce the launch of our first manufacturing facility in India," Group NV Managing Director and CEO, Patrick Vermeiren, said.

He added that the commencement of the facility will further strengthen Vermeiren's position in the medical devices and rehabilitation care market.
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modis advisory to his ministerial colleagues and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders that they refrain from chest-thumping about the Indian Armys on terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, these strikes were again celebrated at party meeting in Uttar Pradesh.
Darshan Singh, an octogenarian, who lives a km from the border at Dhanoe Kalan village, has experienced the wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1999, and a military standoff between the two countries during 2001.
Medha Mishra, a student from Jaipur, will be Canada's High Commissioner for a day on Friday, October 7.

She was selected from among several young women across India, who participated in a video competition on the theme "Why girls' rights are important and what can be done to achieve greater gender equality".

The competition was conducted by the High Commission of Canada as part of activities to mark the October 11 International Day of the Girl.

Mishra will hold meetings with senior diplomats at the High Commission and participate in public events being organised to create awareness about the importance of girls' rights.

Staff from several foreign missions in Delhi will join students and enthusiastic volunteers for a run along Shanti Path at 12 noon.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy High Commissioner for Canada to India Jess Dutton said, "We are proud to collaborate with diplomats from several nations and with officials and the people of India to promote the importance of girls' rights. In Canada, we strongly feel that gender equality is not only a human rights issue, but an essential component of sustainable development, social justice, peace and security."

Later in the day, Mishra and Dutton will be joined by the Mexican Ambassador Melba Pria; Ambassador of Finland Nina Vaskunlahti; Ambassador of the United States of America Richard Verma; Deputy High Commissioner of South Africa Ben Joubert and Deputy High Commissioner of Australia Chris Elstoft at IILM Institute for Higher Education for a 'chat with diplomats' session. Diplomats will interact with management students will discuss the issue of women in leadership.
Days after India decided to revisit the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan said that its neighbour cannot unilaterally revoke or make changes to the water-sharing treaty, which has been in force since 1960.



The Dawn quoted Nafeez Zakria, the neighbouring country's Foreign Office spokesperson, saying, "The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is not time-barred and was never intended to be time or event-specific. It is binding on both India and Pakistan and has no exit provision."



Zakria's made these comments during a weekly media briefing on October 6 where he called upon the international community to take note of India's claims as it would entail a violation of New Delhi's obligations and commitments under the existing treaty.



According to the sub-provisions (3) and (4) of Article XII of the IWT, the treaty cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally, he pointed out.

"Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation and would respond accordingly," he added.

The Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has also asked the Foreign Ministry to launch 'water diplomacy', responding to India's threat of revoking the .

The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was earlier heard saying, "Blood and water can't flow together." Modi made these remarks during a meeting last month, wherein India decided to revisit the 56-year-old river water sharing treaty and apportion more water to itself.



"There are differences on the treaty. For any such treaty to work, it is important there must be mutual trust and cooperation. It can't be a one-sided affair," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Vikas Swarup, said last month following the September 18 Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 17 Indian soldiers.



Two more soldiers died later and India held Pakistan-based militants responsible for the killings.
India will completely seal the border with Pakistan by December 2018 by using all effective means including technological solutions, Home Minister said on Friday.

Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four states, Singh said India is planning to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place at the central and state government levels for it.

He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the states which share border with Pakistan.

"It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders," Singh said.

The Home Minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added, "This project will be periodically monitored by Home Secretary at the central level, BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level."

He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. "Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border."

Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthan's Home Ministers Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Gulab Chand Kataria respectively and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.

Senior BSF officials were present at the meeting which reviewed security arrangements on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Parliament passed a resolution on October 7, stating that Jammu and Kashmir was not an integral part of India.

The resolution, tabled by Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs, was passed on the third day of the joint session of parliament. It also refuted India's claims regarding the September 18 attack on an army camp at Uri, saying that placing such allegations against was condemnable.

It also condemned "false Indian claims of carrying out a surgical strike" in and added that Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jhadav, was involved in spreading terrorism in Balochistan.

The resolution also urged the international community to carry out an independent investigation into "gross human rights violations" in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

It condemned the use of force by the Indian Army and called for the world community to take notice of the "plight of innocent Kashmiris", Geo News reported.

It said that Pakistan is ready for talks with India over the Kashmir issue provided that it be solved according to the United Nations resolution and plebiscite be held in the state.

After passing the resolution, the opposition Pakistan People's Party leaders asked the government some tough question about its handling of the Kashmir issue.

PPP Senator, Sherry Rehman, slammed Pakistan's foreign policy, asking the as to why they were not able to mount a serious, sustained and protracted defence of the country.



"Kashmir is one of the most important issues for us regarding our foreign policy. You cannot build your foreign policy through one speech," Rehman said, referring to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's UNGA speech.

Senior PPP leader, Khursheed Shah, said that it would have been better if the Prime Minister was also present during the session.

The joint session was eventually adjourned for an undeclared period.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had earlier told that the Kashmir "liberation struggle" has taken a new turn after the "martyrdom" of militant commander Burhan Wani.
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Tamil Nadu Governor Vidya Sagar Rao on Friday held discussions with senior state ministers and the chief secretary to ask about the health of Chief Minister and take stock of administrative affairs in the state.
The Thane seems to be getting murkier with police investigations revealing a part of the money was transferred from the US to India through the hawala route and some through wire transfer.
Country superstar Dierks Bentley is coming to Billings for an April 22 show in the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.

Bentley is touring with Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi, according to several websites, including Rollingstone.com and Radio.com. Pardi drew more than 1,000 fans last August when he headlined a show at ZooMontana.

The Billings show appears to be his only Montana stop on this tour. He continues from Billings to Rapid City, S.D.

Theres a song on my album called What The Hell Did I Say and it seemed like an appropriate title for a tour with Cole and Pardi, Bentley said in a statement published by Radio.com.

I have a feeling Ill be asking myself that question the morning after many of our shows and late night hangs because you really dont know what will happen when the three of us get together. There has been a lot of drunk calls and texts between all of us over the last year trying to make this tour happen, and Im excited we were able to pull it off.
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has reiterated that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between the two South Asian nations.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir," US State Department spokesperson, John Kirby, said in the daily press briefing here on October 6.

The State Department's comments came as have ebbed to a new low with multiple cross-border attacks and the Indian Army engineered surgical strikes at terror "launch pads" across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Indian Army carried out the surgical strikes during the intervening night of September 28 and 29, causing "significant casualties" to the terrorists and "those who are trying to support them".

This came after the September 18 attack on an army camp at Uri town in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 19 soldiers dead and a similar attack in Baramulla town in north Kashmir in which a Border Security Force trooper was killed.

These attacks took place amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which around 90 lives have been lost following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in a gunfight with security forces on July 8.

Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in his address at the UN General Assembly session last month, alleged that India was causing human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

But Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, effectively finished off the Pakistani rhetoric saying in her UN speech that Islamabad should stop state sponsored terrorism. Pakistan was called into question for human rights violations by its security forces in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

India also pulled out of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled to be held at Islamabad in November.

Pakistan went sabre-rattling with its Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif, saying that his country's "tactical devices (read nuclear) were not showpieces and would be used against India if its security was threatened".

Kirby, however, said yesterday that the US is confident that Pakistan has all its security controls in place as far as the country's arsenal is concerned, adding that he would look forward to discussing the matter specifically with them.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday called on Prime Minister in New Delhi and had a detailed discussion on the developmental and economic aspects of the state.

The Prime Minister hailed Arunachal Pradesh as "one of the most peaceful states of the country" and commended the simplicity of its people, an official release said here.

Acknowledging the potential of the state in agri-horticulture and tourism sectors, Modi assured Khandu of all support.

Khandu informed the Prime Minister that his government had inherited huge liabilities of previous years.

He said the situation had further been aggravated as several Central schemes were "delinked" and the burden of implementation of them had fallen upon his government.

"I can assure you that we are committed to providing a transparent and clean governance which would ensure that public money is judiciously spent," Khandu told Modi.

The chief minister submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, drawing his attention to various aspects of the state and the support required from the Centre regarding the same.

This is Khandu's first meeting with the Prime Minister after his PPA government joined the North-East Democratic Alliance.
With Japanese Encephalitis claiming at least 36 lives in Odisha's Malkangiri district, the Centre today said it was ready to provide the necessary help to tackle the situation even as the disease spread to new areas.

"While at least 36 persons have died due to Japanese Encephalitis in the district, 46 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital here at present," Malkangiri District Collector K Sudarshan Chakravarthy told reporters.

As many as 33 villages, spread over six blocks in the district, have so far been affected by the disease which broke out nearly a month ago, he said, adding that at least 14 mobile health teams were engaged to tackle the situation.

The death toll due to the disease, which stood at 32, mounted to 36, following four more children perishing since yesterday, health officials said. Unofficial sources, however, put the toll at 38.

Voicing concern over the disease spreading "alarmingly", Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today met Union Health Minister JP Nadda to discuss the issue and said the Centre was ready to provide "all the necessary help" to to check the spread of Japanese Encephalitis.

"The Union Health Secretary is in touch with the state government over the issue," he said, adding that the Union Health Minister had assured of "all forms of support" and a team to Odisha, if necessary.

Meanwhile, the Malkangiri Collector has cancelled Dussehra holidays of government officials in the district in view of the situation and has asked them to keep a vigil on the situation.

Steps were being taken to construct enclosures away from the affected villages in order to isolate the infected pigs to check the disease, according to state Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.

"It is necessary to isolate the pigs as the disease spreads from them through mosquitoes, affecting the children in particular," he said.

The enclosures are being constructed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the villagers would be engaged in guarding them and wages would be given to them, district officials said.

Meanwhile, two cases of the disease were reported from Balasore and Puri districts.

While a 14-year-old boy from Neelgiri area of Balasore district was undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, another boy was stated to be suffering from the disease in Brahmagiri area of Puri district, officials said.
Aiming to double farmers' income by 2022, Agriculture Minister on Friday said the government will promote the idea of 'yogic' farming to increase the country's farm production.


Top fund managers and start-up veterans pushed for increasing the domestic capital pool by removing investment restrictions on insurance companies and pension funds. They felt even a fraction of investible funds from these behemoths could bring in a lot more funds than what the government is directly planning to invest through its Fund of Funds.
The government is working on ways to transfer leased land into freehold, which would enable it to generate revenue by way of selling these plots that are currently registered under the Lease Act.

A committee, headed by state Revenue department Principal Secretary Manukamar Srivastava, has been set up to finalise a formula for the transfer.

Mumbai city collector has also appealed to the owners of land whose lease has expired to renew their agreement or else their properties would be taken back by the government.

The state government had approved the amendment in Section 29 of Land Revenue Code-1966 on February 17, 2016, and the bill was passed in the previous Budget session of the state Legislature.

According to the amendment, the state has obtained the power to transfer lease land into freehold after imposing certain penalty charges on the lessee.

A revenue department official said there are 1,291 properties in the island city that are given on lease for 33, 66, 99 or 999 years, out of which the lease of 691 properties has expired.

"Mumbai collector has appealed to these lessees to renew (the agreement) or the government will take their properties back. We will either make these lessees permanent owners or take possession if they are not interested in the properties," the official said.

The government will first decide which lease properties should be transferred as freehold, he said.

"There are some hospitals to which the state has given land for a social purpose. If we transfer the land of these hospitals to freehold, we will loose our 20 per cent free beds quota that is meant for poor patients," he further said.

The state's former revenue minister Eknath Khadse, who took the decision on amending the Revenue Code-1966, claimed that this reform will help the government garner revenue of about Rs 50,000 crore.

"I took several decisions during my tenure that will change the scenario of the department. However, the Government Resolution (GR) of many decisions that had been taken is yet to be published," Khadse said.
The government will have to raise Rs 32,000 crore more to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2016-17, as it will get just half of the Rs 64,000-crore it had budgeted for 2016-17 from . This prompted economists to say the fiscal deficit target for the current financial year was too stiff.
Amid a contentious debate over the clearance given to GM mustard, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed his reservations over the issue. The Bihar CM also sought intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overrule the technical approval given by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) considering its ill effects on human health.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Kumar expressed apprehension that approval to would open a gate to several genetically modified food crops such as GM rice, maize, brinjal, wheat, tomato, being developed by public as well private research bodies. These crops are at various stages of the approval process. Therefore, he sought PMO's intervention to immediately overrule the clearance to seeds given by a technical panel of the GEAC.
A day after the ended amid tepid response by telcos, the government on Friday said it would consider re-auctioning spectrum that remained unsold. The government raised Rs 65,789 crore from spectrum, but there were no takers for the most-efficient and priciest 700-megahertz band and only 40 per cent of the total airwaves on offer were sold.
Few people would know that grizzly bear numbers are gradually increasing northeast of Spokane, Wash.

In southwestern Montana, an expanding population of grizzlies gained notoriety this fall for multiple attacks on humans, mostly hunters calling elk.

But the 80 or so grizzlies of northeastern Washington, North Idaho and northwestern Montana have not launched a serious attack on a human in this region in decades, according to Wayne Kasworm, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional grizzly bear biologist based in Libby.

"The exception," he said, "involves a hunter along the Idaho-Montana border in 2011 who mistook a grizzly bear for a black bear and shot it but only wounded the animal."

The hunter and a companion were tracking the bear into thick cover when the wounded grizzly attacked the companion. The hunter killed the attacking bear, but in doing so also shot and killed his partner.

The area's largest concentration of grizzlies is in Montana's Cabinet Mountains-Yaak recovery zone, where about 50 grizzlies roam. Grizzlies have been brought in from other regions and released over the years through federal threatened-species programs, researchers say.

About 75 grizzlies are in the Selkirk Mountains of Idaho and British Columbia with 20-25 hanging out south of the border, said Kasworm, who oversees researchers. Teams of wildlife biologists are out all summer capturing and putting GPS collars on grizzlies or monitoring, he said.

Fewer than 10 grizzlies roam in northeastern Washington, but researchers got lucky this summer. On June 29, for the first time in more than 30 years, a grizzly bear was captured for radio-collaring and released.

The young male grizzly weighing about 365 pounds was captured by a multiagency team southeast of Sullivan Lake in Pend Oreille County.

The bear has traveled north and south of the capture site in a range of about 25 miles through September, coexisting with hikers and hunters who frequent the area.

Researchers monitor collared bears by satellite. Other bears are traced by trail camera images and hundreds of remote bait stations that collect hair for DNA analysis. More than 600 bait stations are in the Cabinet-Yaak area alone, Kasworm said.

"We get reports of bears," he said. "Sometimes people report being bluff charged, but I've not heard of anything in this region in the category of an encounter that resulted in an injury."

A Bozeman man drew national attention last weekend by releasing a video recording that showed him badly wounded and bleeding after being attacked twice by a sow grizzly with cubs in the Madison Range near Ennis. At least four attacks on hunters have occurred this season in southwestern Montana.

In the Inland Northwest, there are fewer elk, fewer bears and fewer hunters blowing elk cow calls that make them sound like bear prey.

Humans are more likely to be a threat to the bears in this region, statistics show. Several bears a year are killed in the Inland Northwest by cars, trains, poachers or hunters mistaking them for black bears, Kasworm said.

Grizzlies in this region are classified as a threatened species and are protected from hunting, but a young male grizzly was killed by a train on Aug. 27 south of the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge near Bonners Ferry.

Priest Lake residents regularly see grizzlies in the lowlands as they emerge from dens in spring. And fall is another likely time for people in lowlands to see grizzlies.

As they forage to put on fat for winter denning, the bears can be lured to rural residences and cabins by fruit trees, garbage, pet food and bird seed, Kasworm said.

Montana wildlife staff captured a grizzly on Sept. 29 after it came into a rural yard and killed a pig. The bear was taken 25 miles away and released.

Grizzlies are euthanized only when they have displayed unusually threatening behavior or been involved in multiple conflicts, Kasworm said.

Researchers from states, tribes and federal agencies continue to study and monitor bears in this area. About four grizzlies are collared with active GPS units in the Idaho Selkirks this season, Kasworm said, noting more bears are collared with units that have stopped working.
Supreme Court on Friday stayed the operation of the Patna High Court judgement quashing the Bihar government's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor in the state.

A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and U. U. Lalit, issued notices to all respondents including some liquor manufacturers on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional the Nitish Kumar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, the Nitish Kumar government came out with a new law banning the sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on October 2.
The Retailers Association of India (RAI), an organization of retail companies in the country, has said that it has urged the Union finance ministry to take action against the companies which are flouting various laws in the country to offer discounts.
Life Corporation of India (LIC) is coming to the aid of the public-sector firms looking to shore up their capital position. The country's largest insurer, which invested nearly Rs 3,000 crore in state-owned banks in the last financial year, is taking part in preference share issuances by banks in the current year as well.
Importance of Organic Farming has Increased Manifolds While Keeping in View the Immediate Menace of Climate Change: Shri Radha Mohan Singh Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna & Organic Value Added Development Schemes to Promote Organic Farming in the Country: Shri Radha Mohan Singh

The importance of organic farming has increased manifolds while keeping in view the immediate menace of climate change. That is why, the Government of India has launched a Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) and Organic Value Added Development (OVCDNER) schemes under National Sustained Agriculture Mission to promote organic farming in the country. This was stated by Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister in a workshop organized on organic farming at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi today. Speaking on this occasion Shri Radha Mohan Singh briefed the participants about Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Unnat Krihsi Siksha Yojna.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister added that Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) is the first extensive scheme which has been initiated in the form of Centre Sponsored Programme (CSP). The implementation of this scheme is carried out by the State Governments based on the cluster for every 20 hectare land. Under clusters the farmers are granted financial assistance for maximum one hectare land and Government of India has earmarked Rs. 50,000 for every hectare land during the period of transformation of three year ceiling. The objective in this regard has been chalked out for 10,000 of clusters while covering area of 2 lakh hectare land.

Shri Radha Mohan Singh further added that the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched a scheme as Central Regional Scheme Organic Value Added Mode Development Mission for North-Eastern regions for implementation in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim as well as Tripura during 2015-16 to 2017-18 while keeping in view the potentiality of farming in North-Eastern region. This scheme aims at to develop authentic organic products in value added mode so that the consumers might be linked with consumers and from input, seed certification to unification, processing, marketing as well as grant formation initiative. Assistance might be extended for the entire value added development. He said that the scheme has been approved with Rs. 400 crore for a span of three years.

Union Minister briefed that Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry has launched a new scheme named as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Unnat Krihsi Khiksha Yojna to fish out the talent of Indian youths and all over development of rural India has launched.

This scheme is being implemented by Agriculture Education Division related to Indian Council of Agricultural Research Council (ICAR). Shri Singh further briefed that under this course of action the trainers will be selected on village level so as to establish training centre, to impart knowledge about natural/organic/sustainable farming/rural economy. Various training programmes will be conducted in different regions in these centers. Almost 100 training centers will be set up throughout the country for the participation of teachers in various activities for the Advanced India Campaign conducted by Agriculture Research Council/Human Resource Development Ministry under this scheme alongwith.

Shri Singh mentioned about the agreement carried out between Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare so as to promote the organic farming along the banks of river Ganga. Under this scheme an organic farming system will be developed under 1657 clusters in the perspective of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna with Namami Gange project in 1657 village panchayats from Uttarakhand to West Bengal along the bank of Ganga.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed people present there about Yogic farming. Shri Singh said that the farmers first of all process seeds based on yoga proceedings that is to say that the seeds are recharged by dint of divine powers resulting in the escalation of their sprouting powers. Thereafter the five elements are made conducive through yoga proceedings before the seeds are sown. Raj yoga shoots out the fertilizing strength of the soil along with the increased activation of micro metabolism thereof. It strengthens the plants and their roots. The farmers through the modus operendi of vibration conveys to the plants about peace, love as well as purity which leads the resistance power of crops and its growth along with the increasement of production. Consequent upon the enhancement in proteins like elements the nutritious, purity and quality based the crops is also enhanced.
United Nations Secretary General on Thursday praised Italy for its efforts in hosting and rescuing thousands of refugees and migrants, and appealed for global solidarity in tackling migrant crisis.

Ban made his remarks after meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella here.

The outgoing UN secretary general held talks also with president of the Upper House Pietro Grasso, and of the Lower House Laura Boldrini.

Such meetings focused on major issues, including the war in Syria, the Libyan situation, and the migrant crisis, according to an official statement.

"I commend the generosity of the Italian people and government in hosting and rescuing so many human beings, who are risking their lives on the high seas in search of a better life," Ban told reporters after talks.

"Italy should not be left alone. We need global solidarity to face this unprecedented crisis," he added.

The UN chief also praised the support Italy has been providing to the UN blue-helmet peace operations around the world, in terms of both troops and logistics.

Ban is expected to be replaced by former head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR Antonio Guterres by Jan 2017.

The Italian authorities acknowledged Ban's achievements during his visit to the country, which was likely to be the last one as UN secretary-general.

"In the last 10 years, under his guide, the UN have achieved historic results in areas key to co-existence," Mattarella told a press conference.

Mattarella mentioned the crucial fields of development and of governance of the climate change.

"In particular, I am thinking about the adoption of the 2030 Agenda (for Sustainable Development), and the Paris agreement on climate change," he said.

The Paris Agreement just entered into force this week, triggered by the ratification of the parliament of the European Union (EU). "Yet, the list of Ban's achievements is longer than that," Mattarella added.

"I want to mention his crucial commitment on the migrants issue, as a global responsibility of the community, on the gender equality, and on the fight against discrimination and violence," he said.
Colombian President won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a 52-year-old war with Marxist rebels, a surprise choice and a show of support after Colombians rejected a peace accord last Sunday.
US held above $50 per barrel on Friday as the entire crude forward curve pushed above that level in a sign that financial have increasing confidence in the sector.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $50.44 per barrel on Thursday - the first settlement above $50 since June 24 - and were trading on Friday up three cents at $50.47 per barrel at 0123 GMT.

Brent crude futures already moved over $50 at the start of this week, and were trading at $52.51 per barrel at 0123 GMT on Friday, flat with their last settlement.

With both front-month contracts above $50 per barrel and each forward curve in contango, in which contracts for future delivery are more expensive than those for immediate sale, the entire crude futures complex has moved back over $50 per barrel. (Chart: http://tmsnrt.rs/2dz0bQH)

"There is still no end in sight for the current bullish run. Speculators have been buying every short-term dip, a strategy that has evidently been working very well so far," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com.

"This trend could well continue for some yet as after all crude oil's fundamental outlook continues to improve: as well as the planned OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil output cut, we have seen surprise inventory destocking in the US for five straight weeks now. Consequently, US oil stocks have now fallen below 500 million barrels for the first time since January," he added.

The OPEC plans to agree on a coordinated production cut when it next meets in late November, in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang that has dogged prices for the last two years.

"OPEC kept the heat on oil prices overnight. The Algerian energy minister saying that OPEC could cut by more than the 0.5 million barrels per day initial agreement," said Jeffrey Halley of brokerage OANDA in Singapore.

"More significantly representatives of both OPEC and non-OPEC producers will meet for a tete-a-tete on the sidelines of yet another energy conference next week," added Halley.

Despite the increasing confidence by financial oil traders in higher prices, the physical market remains relatively weak.

In a sign of ongoing oversupply and price competition between producers, top exporter Saudi Arabia cut its benchmark crude prices to Asia this week, and analysts at JBC Energy warned that there was "a growing disconnect between the physical and the financial (oil) market" which would eventually have to converge.
Challenging the gaining perception that is "facing diplomatic isolation", Prime Minister's envoys claimed on Thursday that Islamabad is committed to rooting out terrorism in all forms and shapes.

"Campaign against terrorism has to be comprehensive, clear and has to be all out," Mushahid Hussain, one of the two special Kashmir envoy of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told a Washington audience at an interaction organised by the Stimson's Center, a US think-tank.

"Pakistan has waged one of the most difficult and successful against inland terrorists inside the country," he said and acknowledged that "there are remnants" of terrorists inside the country and they would soon be taken care of.

"There is no two view about that. We are going against the largest war against terrorism inside the country. There is a certain consensus inside the country. We are against terrorism. We would go against remnants," he said in response to a question.

"We consider terrorism and extremism as the number one security threat in Pakistan. There is a consensus on this," Hussain said.

However, he appeared to be in denial mode that Pakistan is increasingly facing isolation as mentioned by moderator Michael Krepon from the Stimson Center.

"Right now, Pakistan is not isolated," he said asserting that countries like China, Russia, Iran, Turkey are with Pakistan, so does the Organisation of Islamic Countries and Human Rights Council.

While Russia is holding its first ever joint military exercise with Pakistan, even NATO he said has supported the Pakistani stand.

Iranian Navy is anchored in the Karachi port, he noted.

However, Shazra Mansab, another special envoy on Kashmir said that people of Pakistan are against militancy, against terrorism.

"We have this feeling that the huge sacrifices that Pakistan has not been recognised by the US and other countries. No other country in the world has taken so much step as we have done," she said.

"We are against militancy. But we do not fear isolation," Mansab said.

The Pakistani leader suggested three issues for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the India-Pakistan issues.

"First, resume the back channel. Second have confidence building measures in Kashmir and finally give nod to Sharif for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Pakistan. Let 2017 be the year of decision and year of peace," he said.
has hit a record high of Rs 1,260, up 4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade after the company said it has signed technology License and assistance agreement with Japanese companies Aisan Industry Co and Toyota Tsusho Corporation for manufacturing Canister.
ended lower on caution ahead of US jobs data, due for release later today, could raise the prospects of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.
The public needs to better understand what law enforcement officers see, think and feel when they fire a weapon during a confrontation, Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Conner Smith said Thursday.

Smith spoke during the Montana Board of Crime Control Crime Prevention Conference being held at the Radisson in Billings this week. Smith is a training instructor with MHP.

Officers in Montana are being affected by the increased scrutiny of officer-involved shootings, Smith said. What the officers see when confronted with the possibility of being shot is very different than what might be caught on a bystander's video, Smith said. The stress in those situations can be overwhelming to an officer, he said.

Montana had 22 officer-involved shootings between 2012 and July 2016, Montana Division of Criminal Investigations Administrator Bryan Lockerby said. In one of those, a suspect was shot while an officer attempted to put him into handcuffs while still holding his gun, Lockerby said.

Out of 22 suspects, 14 died as a result of the encounter.

"We are the only member of the government authorized to make this type of decision," Lockerby said.

This is why Smith's training is important for officers. During his three-day course, Smith takes officers through a series of scenarios involving potentially lethal force. This includes attacks from weapons like knives, de-escalation techniques and gun attacks using "simunition," a non-lethal form of ammunition sometimes made of soap or paint. Simunition can leave welts or break the skin of a person who is hit, adding real stress to a training scenario, Smith said.

This will help officers react in a more educated way, Smith said. During training, he has seen officers try to reload their gun with a canister of pepper spray, Smith said. By recreating the fear and stress of a deadly scenario, officers are going to have a better chance of reverting to their training when they meet the situation in real life, Smith said.

A little under half of those 22 shootings happened in Montana cities, but 27 percent happened in rural communities, Lockerby said.

"It's going to happen to your agency," Lockerby said.

Montana Highway Patrol Col. Tom Butler recommended getting officers away from the scene of the shooting as soon as possible. When the officer is placed on administrative leave, supervisors must be careful to make it clear it is for the benefit of the investigation.

Everyone has known an officer who has had trouble during their career, Butler said. Those people need to be dealt with, because the whole agency will be scrutinized when something happens, Butler said.

When it comes to mental health after an officer-involved shooting, Butler said young recruits coming in are different than officers in the past.

"I'm not saying they're wrong and we're right," Butler said.

They have different mental health support than officers in the past, Butler said.

Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito encouraged officers to communicate with local community leaders and with the public after an officer-involved shooting. Law mandates a county attorney get involved after anybody dies while in custody, Twito said. Get on the same page with the attorney, and make sure all departments involved stay in good communication, Twito said.

Of the 22 officer-involved shootings in Montana since 2012, several were in Yellowstone County. Some of those include:

In January 2013, Billings Police Department Officer Dave Punt fatally shot Daniel Brawley as he tried to flee in Punt's patrol car.

Jason James Shaw, 32, was shot dead in February 2013 by Billings Police officer Grant Morrison.

In May 2013, two Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies fatally shot Thomas Hilger.

In July 2013, a Yellowstone County Sheriff's sergeant shot and killed Dean Randolph Jess, a Montana State Prison escapee, near a busy West End shopping area.

In April 2014, BPD officer Morrison shot and killed 38-year-old Richard Ramirez.

John Barry Marshall, 48, was shot dead by six officers outside of Billings Clinic in January 2015.

Two Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies shot and killed 28-year-old Loren Simpson in January 2015.

Separate coroner's inquests into the seven shootings declared the officers involved were justified in using deadly force.
has become a classic case of how not to handle a distressed asset. The largest private sector shipbuilder with a debt burden of nearly Rs 16,397 crore defaulted on its loan payment and has already gone through a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process. As part of the process, its lenders were allocated compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) in March 2014.
Anushka Sharma, who is currently shooting for Imtiaz Ali's 'The Ring', is missing the sun in Budapest's cold weather.

The 28-year-old actress shared a windy picture that showed her staring back at the camera in the chilly weather.

The leading lady captioned the picture, "Missing the sun in cold cold #Budapest #TheRing."

The weather in Hungary's capital is touching reportedly 5 degrees and it is no wonder the stars are missing the sun and the warm weather in India.

Also starring Shah Rukh Khan, 'The Ring' is scheduled to release next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the wake of the escalating tension at the border, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that his ministry has a target to completely seal the India-Pakistan boundary by December 2018.

Singh, who chaired a high-level meeting here on border security, said that the government has also come up with a new concept called Border Security Grid to ensure the nation's safety.

"We called this meeting in the wake of a target set by the Union Home Ministry to completely seal India-Pakistan border by December 2018. The action plan in this regard is time bound. Proper monitoring will be done periodically, monthly and quarterly," said Singh

"Monitoring will be done at MHA level, BSF level and chief secretary level. We will start a new concept called Border Security Grid. Nation's security will never be compromised," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Downplaying the furore created after Congress party vice-president attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for politicising the surgical strike issue; the grand old party on Thursday said that the former just voiced his opinion against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is trying to encash political benefits from cross border incidents.

Congress leader P.C. Chacko said that on one hand the Prime Minister has asked his ministers and party inmates to speak less of the surgical strikes, the saffron leaders on the contrary are taking too much credit for the military operation against Pakistan.

"The Prime Minister few days ago ordered his ministers to not reveal much about the surgical strikes. The background was that his party, his ministers, his colleagues were taking too much credit for the surgical strikes. Rahul ji and Sonia ji supported the surgical strikes. Rahul ji even congratulated the Prime Minister," said Chacko.

"We want that the compliment should be given to the soldiers. But later on we found out that they are making it a political campaign point. Rahul ji has only said that one should not politicize the issue," he added.

Speaking in similar tune party leader Sandeep Dikshit said Prime Minister Modi had "cheaply" tried to claim himself to be a great hero, whereas the army has conducted similar strikes in the past as well.

"We should never drag army in any sort of controversy. No one needs proof. The government should not uselessly get in to this controversy," Dikshit told ANI.

"Narendra Modi has cheaply tried to claim himself to be a great hero, whereas the army was doing the same thing for the last 20-30 years," he added.

The Congress vice-president earlier today insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda.

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets.

Gandhi yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amidst the ongoing political tussle within the Samajwadi Party, the Congress Party on Friday urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav to clarify their stand on the party's merger with the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) ahead of next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

"The internal struggle in the Samajwadi Party for power is at pinnacle. At one end Akhilesh Yadav says that he will not include a criminal in their party and on other end Shivpal Singh announces the merger with Quami Ekta Dal," Congress spokesperson Surender Rajput told ANI.

"What is their parliamentary board doing as earlier their parliamentary board declined the merger. Now, where is their parliamentary board? Shivpal and Akhilesh need to make their stand clear," he added.

The Congress leader also alleged that the general public of Uttar Pradesh are suffering because of the ongoing friction within the ruling Samajwadi Party.

Shivpal yesterday announced the merger of Mukhtar Ansari's QED merger with his party. This came barely three months after Akhilesh Yadav raised objection that he did not want people like Ansari in his party.

Shivpal, who announced the merger at a press conference in Lucknow yesterday, said he had the blessings of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Ansari, an MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Mau district, is presently in jail in connection with a murder case.

The Samajwadi Party hopes that the merger will help it tap the Muslim vote bank in eastern Uttar Pradesh, especially in Ghazipur, Mau and Varanasi ahead of the next year's assembly elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the entire nation is engrossed is celebrating the auspicious festival of Durga Puja, praising Goddess Durga,Hindus from all walks of life have gathered at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to see Ramleela or the story of Lord Ram, the King of Ayodhya and the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

The story of Lord Ram comes to life here. There was one episode where the Goddess Kali appears to slay all devils coming in the way of Lord Ram and attempting to cause him harm.

It is believed that Sita, Lord Ram's wife, takes on the guise of Goddess Kali to protect her husband.

In the streets of Allahabad,people witness the Goddess Kali's skill with arms and dance, as also to take her blessings and deliver offerings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 300 people have been killed by hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

Matthew has made the situation worst for Haiti, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, as it is still dealing with the effects of an earthquake last year and a cholera outbreak, reports the Independent.

According to the United Nations, thousands of people have been displaced.

The United States has sent around $400,000 aid to Haiti and Jamaica.

The death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers have struggled to reach the hardest-hit areas of the country.

The hurricane moved to the Bahamas on Thursday, mauling the capital of Nassau, and is now very close to the coast of Florida.

Mathew is expected to be upgraded to a category five storm and winds of around 140 miles per hour and 11 foot waves will hammer the US coastline.

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida and South Carolina by President Barack Obama.

Before changing its direction into the Atlantic Ocean by Sunday night, the storm is expected to travel through Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina.

Emergency has been declared by the Governors of all the above mentioned states.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of hiding behind the blood of soldiers and doing "dalali" (cashing in) on their sacrifices, on Thursday insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda.

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets.

The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men.

"Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi.

A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawaa (JUD), an Islamic charity linked to outlawed militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was among one of the top trends on Twitter in Pakistan last night.

Social media users in Pakistan showered praise on him and within hours, #IAmHafizSaeed listed among the top trends on the social networking site.

The JuD's chief supporters, in a series of tweets, praised and lauded his efforts and works that he is doing in Pakistan.

"?#IAmHafizSaeed yes a great man, great humanitarian, may live long #IAmHafizSaeed," said one of the tweets.

"The man who declared Suicide attacks HARAM, and vowed to protect minorities #IAmHafizSaeed," said another.

"#HafizSaeed is a name of Charity, not Terrorism," tweeted one of Saeed's followers.

"Hafiz Saeed & Pak Army both on same page nd fighting for same cause. Hafiz Saeed is jst like an Army Official without uniform #IAmHafizSaeed," said one of the tweets.

"#IAmHafizSaeed Because #HafizSaeed Always Teach Lesson Of Humanity And Help," said another user.

"Well if IAmModi can be trending in India then why not #IAmHafizSaeed," said one of the users.

"The man who made water Wells for Hindus in Tharparkar #IAmHafizSaeed," said another.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a new television ad and an interview, Republican Greg Gianforte continued to criticize Gov. Steve Bullock for not defending Montanans by seeking to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Montana.

Im not playing this game with you, he told a reporter and members of the Missoulian editorial board on Thursday, pounding the table in response to persistent questioning about the details of his position. Ive been very clear. Montanans' safety is at risk, and I will protect it and my opponent will not.

Starting Monday, stations across the state began airing an advertisement paid for by Gianforte's campaign that shows Bullock's face, a map of Syria and images of thousands of fleeing refugees then a clip of apparent street violence in the nation torn by civil war and then the arrival of the Islamic State.

Democrats and some letter writers have criticized Gianfortes stance against Syrian resettlement as uncompassionate or a departure from an American responsibility to provide aid, particularly after two print mailers critical of refugee resettlement arrived in Missoula the same week as African refugees. On Thursday, a group of Montana clergy went a step further with a letter sent to media outlets titled, Faith leaders oppose racism in Gianfortes TV ad.

The group of Christian leaders from Missoula, Billings, Great Falls and Bozeman argued that faith demanded believers to not isolate ourselves with judgment or misguided fear and to welcome them to our communities with open arms.

The safety and security of all Montanans is not something we take for granted. We never will. And we trust our governor to keep us safe, the letter read. But we will never overcome the tragedies of war and persecution and violence by hawking fear designed only to win votes. Especially on an issue over which a governor has no jurisdiction.

Campaign spokesman Aaron Flint responded to the letter, which arrived after Gianfortes meeting with the Missoulian.

"Whether it is efforts to shut down Colstrip, or support illegal immigration, Hillary Clinton and Steve Bullock will always trot out some astroturf letter like this to support their position, Flint wrote. Most Montanans agree with Greg: Don't bring the war here. Instead, help the refugees over there."

The letter, only the latest of several on both sides of the issue, reflects growing tensions in some Montana communities. The resettlement of Syrian refugees in America became a hot political debate last November and has spilled over into campaign attacks across the country. The concerns grew out of the announcement of a federal goal to bring 10,000 of the millions of displaced Syrians here in 2016 and upon the heels of terror attacks in Paris linked to ISIS, including at least one man who had traveled that far as a refugee.

On Thursday, Gianforte referenced June testimony to Congress by CIA Director John Brennan that terrorists might try to sneak into the United States as refugees. Brennan's comments have fueled anxiety, particularly among some in Missoula County.

There, images of a dead Syrian boy on a Greek beach inspired some residents to aid those fleeing violence and to reopen the states only resettlement office. All the families settled in Missoula have been from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most of whom have said they are from a region where Christians are the target of deadly attacks by a rebel faction identified by the United Nations as an Islamist terror group.

Several recent attacks by ISIS-radicalized Muslims, including those in Minnesota and New Jersey, have further stoked fears in Montana, spreading on social media and in stump speeches.

"This is the hot-button issue in so many communities. They are scared," Gianforte said, sometimes cutting off follow-up questions as he continued. I get scared when I hear about knifings and bombings.

Last week, the nations top immigration official told a congressional security committee reviewing the resettlement program that he is proud of the work they do to vet refugees.

The fact is that since Sept. 11, not a single act of actual terrorist violence has been committed by a refugee who has undergone our screening procedures. There have been individuals who came to the U.S. as children, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez said, according to a video and transcript of the hearing. There are individuals who came a long time ago before our modern procedures, but since Sept. 11, all we have had is conspiracies  not only by refugees, but in fact by U.S.-born persons, other kinds of immigrants. Its really an equal-opportunity world.

Rodriguez did not downplay the risk, noting that the number of Syrian refugee applicants who were ultimately denied entry for security or credibility reasons was twice as large as those who had been initially flagged as questionable. He pointed to that figure and the arrests of terrorist plotters in recent years as proof that the country has improved its ability to identify threats and prevent attacks before they happen.

Gianforte, like many Republicans, disagrees that the current vetting process is strong enough to guarantee the safety of Americans. He said he is fine with resettlement in Montana so long as refugees can be fully vetted, something he called impossible with Syrians because there are no databases.

He has repeatedly demanded that Bullock join 31 other governors who have pledged to stop settlement of Syrians in their states even though immigration is solely a federal power.

Gianforte also said resettlement from other terrorist nations should be halted. He did not answer repeated questions asking him which countries should be on that list, suggesting a reporter was trying to "put words in his mouth" and he "did not appreciate it."

Gianforte did say in his answer that national security is primarily a national issue. A campaign mailer sent earlier this fall said he would "ban refugees from countries known to harbor terrorists like Iran and Syria."

Bullock has largely avoided detailed responses to questions about why he did not join other governors in trying to halt resettlement. Speaking mostly through spokesmen, he has instead said that the state has no power to intervene in a federal matter, but that his Number One priority is the safety of Montanans.

A Thursday request for comment from Bullock was forwarded to Montana Democratic Party Spokesman Jason Pitt, who sent an emailed statement but did not answer why the governor did not join those opposing resettlement.

As he's pointed out, there are 40 states that are home to Syrian refugees, but Montana is not one of them, Pitt said. He will never support letting unvetted refugees in Montana. Montanans have already called out New Jersey millionaire Greg Gianforte for misleading voters on this issue.

Missoula's resettlement plan includes refugees from Syria, Iran and Iraq, though none have yet arrived.
World number five Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from this week's Shanghai Rolex Masters due to an injury to his left gluteal muscle.

The 26-year-old sustained the injury during his second round clash against Portugal's Joao Sousa at the ongoing Japan Open and was eventually ruled out of the tournament.

While confirming the news, a disappointed Nishikori said that he needs at least 10 days rest and heavy rehabilitation to recover fully from his buttock muscle injury.

"I am so disappointed to have to pull out of the Shanghai Masters.The doctor is recommending at least 10 days rest and heavy rehab. It's disappointing for me to miss Shanghai as playing in Asia is a huge honour and pleasure for me," the Japanese sensation was quoted as saying by Sport24.

Nishikori, who clinched his only title this year at Memphis Open in February, will now return to his training base in Florida to undergo rehabilitation ahead of the next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As exclusive real estate partners to the World Economic Forum - the renowned International Institution for public-private cooperation -International Property Consultancy JLL is an active participant at WEF meetings across the world. Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, JLL India has been a regular delegate at the annual WEF winter meeting in Davos, Switzerland over the past three years. China and India have also hosted WEF meetings since 2000, and the India edition is a highly popular annual event.

Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, JLL India, "JLL India's top leadership attended the India Economic Summit 2016 on 6-7 October 2016 in New Delhi, and got an inside view of a number of key discussions. Of high interest were the sessions on India's Fourth Industrial Revolution and its dividends, and key debates on howPM Modi's policy reforms have helped revitalized the world's fastest growing large economy."

Anuj Puri, a veteran Indian real estate thought leader and industry influencer, is also a keen observer and analyst of macro and micro- economic dynamics and trends that impact global and India-specific. His comments on Day 1 of the Summit:

"I attended the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit with my eyes trained on discussions by high-level leaders from business, government, civil society and academia that explore how we can collectively shape policies for inclusive growth and harness the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I was richly rewarded on this front."

The world economy today is a matrix of divergent growth patterns, where different economies are growing at different paces. The 'two-speed' economic growth theory that was followed for at least two decades before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008-09 has, over the last five years, given way to divergent growth paths in both the advanced and emerging economies. It has become difficult to cull optimum investment opportunities globally, and BREXIT fears as well as the slowdown in China have further dimmed the global investment outlook.

In the words of previous RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, India remained an 'island of calm in a turbulent ocean'. It is for good reason that this South-Asian major not only ranks favourably among all other BRICS' economies but also with reputed credit rating agencies like S&P, Fitch and Moody's.

China, the much-touted 'growth engine of the world', has been seeing a significant and consistent slowdown in activity. From a peak growth rate of around 14% y-o-y in 2007, it went to an average growth rate of around 9% during and immediately post-GFC. Currently, it is below 7%, and the Chinese economy has become a cause for real concern. In fact, global policymakers, economic analysts and investors waiting to see when and to what extent China will bottom out.

China's exports, which accounted for 40% of its pre-crisis GDP, have been under considerable stress as world demand slows down. Mineral ore imports by China have also fallen to adversely impact economies of several developed and developing nations. The export component of its GDP is currently down to one-fourth, comparable to that of India. For consumption-driven economies such as India, falling commodity prices are favourable because their imports get cheaper and trade deficits narrow down.

India's states are comparable to some major economies across the globe. However, the opportunity is way bigger for India as a country and an emerging superpower. Finance minister Arun Jaitley aptly states at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year that "India's GDP can potentially grow to 9%, and that the 'I' in BRICS now represents hope for the world.

The time is right for India to strengthen its economy and cities further, so that it can gear up for the oncoming Fourth Industrial Revolution. In manufacturing, we need to be innovation-driven as well as mass-product supply-driven under the government's 'Make in India' program. The demographic dividend must be capitalized on through other initiatives like 'Skill India' and 'Digital India', and we must meet the Digital Age heads-on with appropriate skills and talent development.

Likewise, the country can lose no further time in improving its 'ease of doing business' quotient. The start-up ecosystem can deliver a rich harvest in India, and we must work towards attracting more businesses from the mature economies to serve our billion-plus consumers and provide gainful employment to our aspirational youth.

Initiatives like the Smart Cities program will help usher in the next phase of urbanisation, but such initiatives need to be sustained for years to come so that the changes start happening organically at the grassroots level.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan is presently facing a challenging situation with its neighbours.

Zardari, who addressed the packed 'Dining Room' of the British Parliament here on Friday, was apparently referring to the current tussle Pakistan is facing with India as well as Afghanistan.

"Pakistan is young country and is surrounded by a difficult situation and issues with the neighbours. We ensure that we shall face these challenges, will tackle them no matter what come what may," the Nation quoted him as saying.

"Democracy is ultimate goal for which Ms. Benazir Bhutto, her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Pakistan People's Party struggled continuously. In fact, the struggle is second name of democracy and we are struggling for democracy", he added.

Zardari went on to say, "Revolution is a continuous process, neither you can stop it nor turned down mere saying we have done enough".

He also called upon Pakistanis living across the globe to remain united for the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking potshots at Congress Vice-President for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing on the sacrifices of jawans at the border, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said the former needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the country's Prime Minister.

Swamy raked up the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Bofors scandal and the Herald scam to corner the Gandhi family.

"Dalal mean lobbyist. It's a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Agusta, Bofors and Herald," Swamy said.

"I think needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India," he added.

Gandhi earlier insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda.

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets.

Gandhi had on Thursday accused Modi of playing over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said, "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men.

"Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi.

A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Patna High Court's order quashing the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in Bihar.

The apex court admitted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Government's plea and also issued notice to Confederation of Alcoholic Beverage Companies.

The apex court will now hear the matter post 10 weeks.

The Bihar Government had moved the apex court on October 3 challenging the Patna High Court's order.

On September 30, the Patna High Court had struck down the Bihar Prohibition of Liquor Act, calling it illegal.

Following the Patna High Court judgement, the Bihar Government had instituted an even more stringent law banning liquor consumption in the state and had approached the Supreme Court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], Oct.7 (ANI): The surgical strike on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on the night of 27th-28th September was to neutralize those bases, but the impact was far more than the death of the terrorists.

The cross de-facto-border strike has done more for neutralizing Pakistan's psychological war against India than any other single event in recent times.

Pakistan had been relentlessly making efforts to smear India's reputation at every international forum since the killing of the self-styled Hizbul Mujahideen commander in Jammu and Kashmir Burhan Wani on July 8 by Indian security forces.

As a propaganda effort, the social media boosted his image while he was living and more so after his death.

Almost on a daily basis, Pakistan's foreign office, social media warriors, jehadi leaders, politicians and even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued statements denouncing India and its human rights record.

It encouraged stone pelters in the Kashmir Valley. Jehadi militants infiltrated into the funeral processions to encourage the raising of pro-Pakistan slogans. Jammu and Kashmir seemed to be sliding into the 1990's like phase.

Nawaz Sharif sent emissaries to foreign capitals and International organizatons to besmirch India's reputation. But to no avail. Whether at the UN or in other country capitals, Pakistan found itself isolated. A recent article in the 'Dawn' published in Pakistan claims that in an internal meeting chaired by the Pakistan Prime Minister on the 10th of October some opposition leaders commented on the utter loneliness of being Pakistan today.

Promoting Burhan Wani as a 'martyr' who fell to Indian bullets was a psy-war operation launched by the Pakistani state. This was followed by terror strikes by the cross border terror-jehadis on Indian Army camps, the worst being in Uri on 18th September that resulted in the death of 19 Indian soldiers.

The Uri attack shocked India. It was a terrible blow on a nation's pride to have its soldiers killed in its own land by foreign terrorists. The attack had to be avenged in some manner that would restore the confidence of the Indian people in its armed forces, in its ability to protect its borders and the safety and security of its citizens. The political leadership of the country and the state also felt shaken by the incident.

The success of the surgical strike on terror launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir ten days after Uri on September 28-29 was announced by the Director General of Military Operations, Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh. The Government of India had authorized the Director of Military Operations to brief the media soon after the surgical strike. The response was the first of its kind as has been corroborated by strategic experts and retired army generals. We suffered no casualties. The Pakistani establishment has been mired in confusion ever since Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh's briefing. Denying the attacks, then being affronted, then mobilizing troops on the border and ramping up its war rhetoric.

India has been able to successfully prove its case to the world community that it can't any longer take hits on its armed forces by jehadi terrorists from across the border. In a time and era long gone, India would have been swamped by calls from world leaders criticizing the cross LoC action. Today, there is negligible support for violent secessionist movements and zero tolerance for states that support terrorism.

Pakistan's psy-war efforts have failed. There is empathy towards India and annoyance at Pakistan for not being able to mend its ways.

It is, however, disconcerting how some politicians in the country have added muscle to Pakistani propaganda by calling for visual proof of the cross LoC strikes. Yes, it is necessary to hold the Army accountable to action just like the police or intelligence organizations, but it is also important to understand the need for respecting the secrecy that is sometimes necessary in operational matters. Some details have to be kept secret.

As a person who conducted communications for the army during the 1965 and the 1971 India-Pakistan wars, and the proxy war effort by Pakistan during the Kashmir conflict from 1989 till the elections in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996, I would like to state that not all operations against the adversary are covered visually as they take place.

To recall, the government made a mistake in allowing the media to cover the police action during 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. TV channels were allowed to cover the action live. Towards the end of the operation, we got to know that the coverage was viewed across the border by the planners who were sitting in a master control room giving orders to the terrorists on how to conduct the operation .

Details of the weapons that the security forces had, their positions and their numbers were available to the terrorists through the visuals telecast live by television channels. The army, the air force and naval commandos were doing their assigned tasks, but they were covered live by the media.

When Indian agencies became aware that those who were directing the terrorist operation were giving direction to the terrorists after viewing the coverage, the television channels were asked to observe restraint. But the damage was already done. It is possible that the army and the government are withholding the visuals of the LoC surgical strike because it would divulge information useful to terrorists in Pakistan. Discretion is the better part of valor.

It is wishful thinking that Pakistan would put an end to the proxy war effort in Jammu and Kashmir, or that it would scale down the psywar to promote militancy in the state. Pakistan has to now deal with an adversary who will not shy away from offence plus defence, and would match or even better every move.

Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India. He can be reached on his e-mal raoramamohan@hotmail.

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The British Government has barred leading foreign academics acting as expert advisers to the government from contributing to any government analysis and reports on Brexit as they are not British nationals.

"It is utterly baffling that the government is turning down expert, independent advice on Brexit simply because someone is from another country. This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives' alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policymaking," the Guardian reported Liberal Democrats' EU spokesman Nick Clegg as saying.

Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), who specialises in European Union policymaking processes, EU treaty matters, the role of national parliaments and the consequences of EU enlargements, said she had been told her services would not be required.

Hagemann tweeted on Thursday, "UK govt previously sought work& advice from best experts. Just told I & many colleagues no longer qualify as not UKcitizens #Brexit @LSEnews".

Hagemann, who is Danish, said she had been informed specifically that she would not be contributing to any further government Brexit work.

A number of LSE academics specialising in EU affairs have been briefing the Foreign Office on Brexit issues, but the school has received an email informing it that submissions from non-UK citizens would no longer be accepted.

The Foreign Office was said to be concerned about the risk of sensitive material being exposed as article 50 negotiations over Britain's exit from the EU, and subsequent talks on its future trade and other relations with the bloc, got under way.

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Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh announced successful completion of e-NAM first phase and launched e-NAM Mobile App.

Radha Mohan Singh announced that most of the implementation issues faced in pilot phase have been addressed and e-NAM platform is connected to 250 markets across 10 States as of now (Andhra Pradesh (12), Chhattisgarh (05), Gujarat (40), Haryana (36), Himachal Pradesh (07), Jharkhand (08), Madhya Pradesh (20), Rajasthan (11), Telangana (44), Uttar Pradesh (67). Union Minister informed that so far, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for integrating 399 mandis with e-NAM has been received from 14 states and all of them have been approved.

Singh said that the active involvement of all stakeholders, and in particular mandi and marketing board officials; the NAM programme is a success and is going ahead of schedule. Minister is sure that e-NAM will significantly contribute towards enhancing the farmers income. Agriculture Minister informed that so far, 1,53,992.7 MT of agriculture produce worth Rs. 421 crore has been transacted on e-NAM platform and 1,60,229 Farmers, 46,688 Traders and 25,970 Commission Agents have been registered on the e-NAM platform.

Union Minister said that quality parameters for 69 agricultural and horticultural commodities including cereals, Pulses, Oil seeds, Spices, Fruits and Vegetables have been notified for trading on e-NAM platorm. States have been asked to set up the quality assaying facilities to ensure quality assessment of the farmers produce in a scientific and professional manner.

Singh said that provision of online payment of the sale proceeds to the farmers is made available in the e-NAM portal and States are requested to encourage direct transfer of sales proceeds to the farmers bank account. A total number of 585 markets are targeted to be integrated in first phase with e-NAM by March 2018, out of which 400 markets will be integrated by March 2017.

Agriculture Minister said that the issues in hardware and software during implementation of the project have been resolved and a new version of software has been released whereby trading is going on in a stable manner. He informed that the newer versions of software will be released in future as per actual requirements.

Radha Mohan Singh informed that the status of APMC Act reforms regarding e-NAM, carried out by various States/UTs is as under:

17 States and 1 UT have fully / partially modified their APMC Acts. Their names are : Andhra Pradesh, Gurajat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Haryana and Chandigarh (UT).

03 States and 1 UT have APMC Act and they have consented to bring changes in the act which is under process.

Their names are: Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam and Puducherry.

06 States have APMC Act but no change has been made as yet. Their names are: Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi. Out of them, West Bengal has demanded the e-NAM software for online trading.

01 state Sikkim does have APMC Act but is not implemented.

03 States and 04 UTs do not have any APMC Act. Their names are: Bihar, Kerala, Manipur, Andman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshwadeep Islands, Dadar & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. These states have been requested to frame Act/Regulations to enable trading through e-NAM. A meeting with Bihar and Kerala has been scheduled on 14/10/2016 in this regard.

Singh appealed to those states whose APMC Act require complete or partial changes, to join the scheme by reforming their Acts on priority. Union Minister also appealed to those states where APMC Act does not exist, to join the e-NAM scheme by framing necessary act/regulation so that farmers could benefit by way of enhanced income.

Agriculture Minister said that e-NAM will bring forth more profit to farmers, availability of trade at lesser cost to the buyers and development of permanent mandis. It will enable the farmers to have access to the National Market having wide choice.

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Bharat Forge rose 1.36% to Rs 942.60 at 11:18 IST on BSE on reports that a foreign brokerage has upgraded the stock to buy from sell.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 61.20 points or 0.22% at 28,045.01.

On BSE, so far 65,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 1.40 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 954 and a low of Rs 938.95 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 969.50 on 23 September 2016. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 686.80 on 24 June 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 6 October 2016, surging 6.71% compared with 3.01% fall in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 21.05% as against Sensex's 3.46% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 46.56 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The foreign brokerage reportedly sees likelihood of a cyclical recovery for Bharat Forge. New business' contribution could increase post FY 2018, it said. The brokerage expects Bharat Forge stock to deliver 70% return in next two and half years.

Bharat Forge's net profit fell 37.7% to Rs 122.06 crore on 20.2% decline in net sales to Rs 888.76 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

Bharat Forge is the flagship company of Kalyani Group. It is a global provider of high performance, innovative, safety & critical components and solutions to various industrial sectors including automotive, oil & gas, power, construction & mining, aerospace and rail & marine.

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The 18% gas price reduction by the Government of India to lower revenues for domestic gas producers by around INR20bn during 2HFY17, estimates India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Domestic natural gas price is cut by around 18%, to USD2.50/mmbtu for the period of 01 October 2016-31 March 2017 from the previous price of USD3.06/mmbtu. The price cut by the government is in line with the fall in Henry Hub gas prices over the reference period (July 2015 to June 2016). Prior to this reduction the government had reduced domestic gas prices by 20% in April 2016.

This is the fourth consecutive domestic gas price reduction since the implementation of the domestic gas pricing formula in October 2014. The present gas prices are about 50% lower since the implementation of the gas pricing formula. The average Henry Hub gas prices declined by 15% to USD2.24/mmbtu for the current reference period of July 2015- June 2016 period compared to USD2.62/mmbtu for previous reference period of January 2015-December 2015.

The public sector units, namely Oil India (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) which contribute around 75% of the total domestic gas production will be impacted the most. Despite the decline in sale price, lower costs in terms of rig and vessel rentals will provide some relief to margins in this segment.

However, the expected fall in margins is likely to result in a lower investment surplus for future exploration. In the mid-stream segment, Gail's (India) ('IND AAA'/Stable) marketing segment can witness around INR9bn-INR10bn lower trading revenue from the sale of domestic gas during 2HFY17 on account of lower per unit realisation. Given that the current price of domestic gas will be close to the marginal cost of production for most players, a further fall in natural gas prices can lead to losses for these players. Ind-Ra notes there is a possibility for a formula revision or setting up of a floor price by the government to protect the domestic producers.

On the positive side, the end-consumers of compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG domestic) can benefit from the downward price revision, provided the benefit of lower domestic gas prices are passed on to the consumers. The revised price will translate into City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities lower costs of around INR1.4-INR1.5 per Standard Cubic Metre (SCM) on gas procurement. The PNG prices have been reduced by INR1/scm and CNG by INR1.4/kg in Delhi, post this gas price revision.

During April 2016-September 2016, the price of alternate fuel - diesel - increased by 8%, thus increasing the fuel competitiveness of CNG. Considering that the pricing power lies with the CGD entities, the quantum of benefit passed on to the consumers can vary across CGD entities, depending on their capex plans and investments surplus targeted by them. Analysing the historical price trends, Ind-Ra expects CGD entities to pass on between 40%-70% of the benefit to the end consumers, which is a price cut of around INR0.5/scm-INR1.0/scm in PNG prices and around INR0.7/kg-INR1.4/kg in CNG prices across CGDs.

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October is domestic violence awareness month, and the YWCA is asking the Billings community to take a stand for the one in three Montana women whose life will be affected by domestic violence, stalking or harassment.

The YWCA's new "Take a Stand" social media campaign is meant to address the question of why women stay in violent relationships. YWCA's Director of Programs Erin Lambert asks that people take a moment to consider the hardships these women experience that many in the community will never face.

The responsibility lies with the community, our businesses, friends and neighbors to address the isolation these women feel, Lambert said.

Since the turn of the millennium, 162 Montanans have died because of violence from intimate partners, according to the YWCA.

First Interstate Bank, EideBailly, MSUB Phoenix Center and Western Security Bank are among some of the businesses with employees wearing purple to show support for victims. In addition, the YWCA will be sending out photos of survivors quoting, "Why I stayed."

To see some of the photos and stories the YWCA is posting, check out its Facebook and Twitter accounts.

From 2015 to 2016, the YWCA provided 7,857 nights of safe shelter to 143 women and 116 children. In addition, 405 adults and 132 children were provided resources through the YWCA. It is continuing to expand the services it offers including on-site legal support and clinical services.

YWCA is waiting to hear from the Montana Board of Housing on whether it will be given $3.8 million in federal tax credits to construct Gateway Vista. The $4.6 million project is aimed at providing affordable housing to families that have lost their homes because of domestic violence.

This would mean people who had used YWCA services or were provided shelter would be able to begin to rebuild their lives while still having access to YWCA support.

The YWCA will be notified of the Montana Board of Housing's decision in January 2017.

To learn more about YWCA support services, call 245-4472 or text 406-702-0229 24 hours a day. In Big Horn County, call 679-5145 Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. People can also check out YWCABillings.org.
Fiem Industries rose 3.03% to Rs 1,239 at 9:43 IST on BSE after the company said it signed echnology license and assistance agreement with Aisan Industry Co and Toyota Tsusho Corp to make 'Canister'.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 2.26points, or 0.01%, to 28,108.47.

On BSE, so far 1,128 shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 7,051 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,257 so far during the day, which is also a record high for the counter. The stock hit a low of Rs 1,223.85 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 533.50 on 8 October 2015. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 6 October 2016, rising 12.48% compared with 2.84% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 21.47% as against Sensex's 3.61% rise.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 13.16 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Fiem Industries announced that it has signed a technology license and assistance agreement (TAA) with Aisan Industry Co., Ltd., Japan and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan for manufacturing of 'Canister'. Fiem Industries see this as a big opportunity of diversification into new product line. The company aims to supply the Canister to all its existing original equipment manufacturers (OEM) as well as target new customers. Canister is an emission control system product which will have huge market in India due to implementation of stricter emission norms for two-wheelers and three-wheelers as it will become mandatory from 1 April 2017. The Canister will be manufactured by Fiem Industries with the technical support of Aisan Industry Co., Ltd for two-wheelers and three-wheelers in Indian market.

Fiem Industries' net profit rose 20.4% to Rs 11.46 crore on 19.6% growth in net sales to Rs 241.53 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

Fiem Industries is one of the leading manufacturers of automotive lighting & signaling equipment and rear view mirror.

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India's engagement with LAC (Latin American Countries) has gained further momentum with recent developments that have taken place. India signed an agreement on the expansion of India-Chile PTA in New Delhi on 6th September, 2016. The expanded PTA will have far greater trade coverage in comparison to the agreement signed earlier in March, 2006 as both sides have offered tariff concessions on a number of lines.

In recent years, Trade between India and Peru has been growing. India's trade with Peru stood at US$ 1,523.35 million during 2015-16. Among the top ten commodities of India's export to Peru are Motor Vehicle/Cars, Products of Iron and Steel, Cotton Yarn/ Manmade yarn/Fabrics. Drugs Formulations, Iron and Steel, Two and three wheelers, Auto Tyres and Tubes, Bulk Drugs and RMG Cotton including Accessories. The top ten commodities of India's import from Peru are Bulk Minerals and Ores (under this copper ore is the top most import commodity), Gold (wrought gold), Fertilizers Crude (under this natural calcium phosphate is the topmost import commodity), Zinc and products made of Zinc, Fresh Fruits, Inorganic chemicals, Cocoa Products Finished Leather and Aluminum & Aluminum products.

In order to explore the possibility of a trade agreement with Peru, India has concluded a Joint Study Group report on the feasibility of such a trade agreement during the recent visit of a delegation to Lima, Peru on 26-28 September, 2016. Both sides have agreed to a time frame to carry forward the discussions for negotiating a trade agreement. With the finalization of the report, India will now seek internal approvals of the Government of India for going ahead with the negotiations on a trade agreement which would include trade in goods, trade in services and investment. There is keen interest on the part of Peru also for negotiating a trade agreement at the earliest.

India is also aggressively engaged in the expansion of its Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with MERCOSUR (a Six Country trade bloc with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay as its original members). During the third meeting of the Joint Administrative Committee (JAC) on the expansion of the India-MERCOSUR PTA held on 29th September, 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil, there was expansive discussions on the 'wish lists' which had been exchanged by both sides in July, 2016.

Both sides are expected to hold the next round of negotiations early next year. The existing India MERCOSUR agreement was signed in New Delhi on January 25, 2004 which came into effect from 1st June, 2009. This agreement has a limited coverage and contains only 450 tariff lines. Both sides have now agreed to expand to cover up to 2500 tariff lines.

India's bilateral trade with MERCOSUR was US$ 10081.42 million in 2015-16 as compared to US$ 14,240.46 million in 2014-15 which constitute 37.01% and 39.96% of LAC trade during 2014-15 & 2015-16 respectively. With the expansion of the existing PTA, the bilateral trade is expected to be doubled.

India has held bilateral discussions with Brazil under the institutional mechanism i.e India-Brazil Trade Monitoring mechanism, the 4th meeting of which was held in Brasilia on 30th September, 2016 after a hiatus of more than four years. Both sides have discussed an array of bilateral issues which impede trade between both the countries. During the meeting India highlighted its concerns on issues relating to market access in agriculture, textiles, pharma and services including high tax on import of services to Brazil. Brazil has responded favorably and has assured to address these issues. Collaboration in areas such as auto, food processing, leather and civil aviation were also discussed. Both sides have agreed for discussions on an agreement on social security.

Both sides discussed setting up of the India-Brazil Business Leaders Forum for facilitating interaction and cooperation amongst the private sector.

Brazil is currently the leading trading partner of India in Latin America region. Total Bilateral trade with Brazil stood at US$ 6,690.33 million during 2015-16 and both sides agreed endeavor is to meet a trade target of US$ 15 billion by 2020.

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Kotak Mahindra Bank announced that it has revised its base rate downwards by 10 basis points (bps) to 9.4% per annum with effect from 7 October 2016. All categories of loans (other than the exceptions permitted by RBI) will be priced with reference to the revised base rate. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016.

Canara Bank announced that the bank has effected downward revision in the base rate by 5 basis points (bps) from 9.65% to 9.6% effective from 11 October 2016. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016.

Reliance Industries (RIL) before market hours today, 7 October 2016 said that Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has successfully acquired the right to use 269.2 MHz (UL+DL) spectrum across all 22 service areas in India in the recently concluded spectrum auction conducted by DOT, Government of India. Through this acquisition, RJIL's total spectrum footprint has increased to 1,108 MHz (UL+DL) with an average life of over 16 years, further strengthening its leadership position in liberalized spectrum holdings. RJIL's spectrum footprint ensures availability of spectrum in all the three bands across the country and enhances its network capacity at negligible incremental capital and operating expenditure.

Bharti Airtel before market hours today, 7 October 2016 announced that it has acquired 173.8 Mhz spectrum across 1800/2100/2300 MHz bands for a total consideration of Rs 14244 crore in the latest spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. Airtel said it has further strengthened its pan-India spectrum portfolio and secured its spectrum requirements for the next 20 years. The company now has 4G and 3G spectrum in all circles, giving it the widest mobile broadband footprint across the country.

Idea Cellular announced before market hours today, 7 October 2016 that the company has successfully completed its pan-India mobile broadband footprint and significantly boosted its capacity spectrum portfolio in the recently concluded spectrum auction conducted by DOT, Government of India. Idea is now well equipped to offer 4G services on its own spectrum across 20 service areas including 9 new service areas. It has also procured 3G spectrum in Bihar & Rajasthan extending its capability to offer 3G services to 15 service areas.

Tata Steel announced that its hot metal production rose 17% to 3.12 million tonnes in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. Crude steel production rose 13% to 2.82 million tonnes in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. Saleable steel production increased by 11% to 2.71 million tonnes in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. The company's sales rose 12.44% to 2.62 million tonnes in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016.

Fiem Industries announced that it has signed a technology license and assistance agreement (TAA) with Aisan Industry Co., Ltd., Japan and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan for manufacturing of 'Canister'. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016. Fiem Industries see this as a big opportunity of diversification into new product line. The company aims to supply the Canister to all its existing original equipment manufacturers (OEM) as well as target new customers. Canister is an emission control system product which will have huge market in India due to implementation of stricter emission norms for two-wheelers and three-wheelers as it will become mandatory from 1 April 2017. The Canister will be manufactured by Fiem Industries with the technical support of Aisan Industry Co., Ltd for two-wheelers and three-wheelers in Indian market.

SREI Infrastructure Finance announced that the company has allotted 29.33 lakh non convertible debentures (NCDs), aggregating to Rs 293.36 crore on 6 October 2016. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016.

Jaiprakash Associates announced that the board of directors of Jaiprakash Power Ventures (JPVL), a subsidiary of the company, in a meeting held on 6 October 2016 approved the sale of Nigrie Cement Grinding Unit located in Madhya Pradesh to Orient Cement for an enterprise value of Rs 500 crore on slump sale basis. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 October 2016. The 2 million tonne per annum unit clocked turnover of Rs 90.70 crore in financial year ended 31 March 2016 and contributed 2.33% to turnover of JPVL. The definitive agreement is yet to be executed. The expected date of completion of sale is 6 months.

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Held on 07 October 2016

Prism Medico & Pharmacy announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on 07 October 2016 transacted the following -

Increase in Authorised Share Capital of the Company Rs 2 crore to Rs 10 crore and thereby to alter the Memorandum of Association of the Company.

Approved convening of EGM of shareholders of the Company on 04 November 2016 for the shareholders for issuance and allotment of 40,71,428 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to the proposed allottees on preferential basis at a price of Rs 28 (including a premium of Rs 18 per equity shares) to the tune of Rs 11.39 crore.

Relevant date for determination of the issue price is 05 October 2016.

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For stricter law on celebrities endorsing misleading advertisements, a proposal to ban is being considered by consumer affairs Ministry, said Ram Vilas Paswan minister for Consumer Affairs at an ASSOCHAM event.

The government will soon bring in stringent laws to curb misleading advertisements and adulteration to guard the consumer's interest. New Consumer Protection bill will be passed in coming session of the parliament which will strengthen the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and to check spurious products said Paswan at an ASSOCHAM National Summit & Awards on 'FMCG'.

Paswan also expressed worry over cheap Chinese goods flooding the market and said measures would be taken to check their rampant flow in the country.

He further mentioned that BIS has taken various initiatives under 'Make in India' for standard formulation which includes items which is substandard would be banned.

Chairing the ASSOCHAM meeting, the minister said BIS new Act is being amended comprehensively for the first ever after it being enacted in the year 1986. These amendments will empower the government to bring more products under mandatory certification and these products should have the ISI mark on it.

While addressing the meeting, Paswan said, Abroad, I have noticed even Indians do not wish to buy 'Made in India' products. There is an opinion set in the minds that developing countries do not manufacture good quality products.

To change this attitude, our industry should comply with quality standards," said Paswan.

Paswan further said that due to poor standards followed while making products; India is lagging behind in the international market despite availability of talented people and cheap labour.

He said, the new consumer protection bill will be passed in coming session of the parliament. He further said that the standing committee has already examined the provisions relating to punishment for endorsing misleading advertisements and those involved in adulteration.

Abroad and in the western world, people cannot imagine that there can be food adulteration. Here in India, we cannot imagine food without adulteration," Paswan said.

"Industry should come forward and actively promote consumer awareness about food safety," Paswan said.

On the issue of safe drinking water, He said, nobody can drink tap water in Delhi. Delhi's water is not safe for drinking, though there are quality standards in place".

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Bangladesh wants smuggling of Indian cattle to end as it leads to most killings on the India-Bangladesh border, the head of Dhaka's border guards has said.

"Bangladesh does not want Indian cattle to be smuggled into our country," Major General Aziz Ahmed, the Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said in an interview here.

"We want to get rid of cattle smuggling as most of the border killings take place because of this menace. Both the BGB and BSF (Border Security Force) want to stop it," Ahmed told IANS.

Ahmed was here to take part in the 43rd Director General-level border dialogue between India and Bangladesh from September 30 to October 4.

The BGB chief said the cattle smuggling was masterminded by individuals who lured poor people to commit the crime for monetary considerations.

In the process, 92-95 per cent of all killings on the winding India-Bangladesh border took place during clashes between the smugglers and the BSF, he said.

According to Indian government data, three BSF troops were killed between January 2015 and October 4 this year while trying to stop cattle smuggling from India to Bangladesh.

This year alone, 25 smugglers -- all Bangladeshis -- were killed.

Ahmed explained the problems on the ground that allowed the smuggling to go on and on.

"Only 79 per cent of our border with India is covered by barbed fencing. The remaining is in the riverine belt where there is no fencing. So, it is very difficult to stop cattle smuggling," Ahmed told IANS.

India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km often porous border. Official data show that some 1,000 km of the border is a riverine belt while 148 villages lie in a narrow strip between the border fence and the international border. Another 137 villages are partially in Bangladesh.

Asked how the cattle is smuggled despite the fencing and deployment of border guards, Ahmed said: "The smuggling is done in groups of several animals through the many rivers Bangladesh shares with India where there is no fencing. It is very difficult to stop it.

"Both BGB and BSF do regular patrolling in such areas but it is still our weak point. Violence occurs when the smugglers take on the BSF."

Ahmed added: "Cattle smuggling is a big issue but the killing of our people is more serious. Despite good relations between BSF and BGB, such incidents create differences."

The Bangladesh border guards chief said the killings had come down in recent years but the numbers were still very high.

Asked whether terrorist groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) could take advantage of the border disguised as cattle smugglers, the BGB chief said: "No such incidents have been seen."

He added that both the BSF and BGB were working with mutual understanding, trust and confidence to solve border issues.

"All the complexities on the border possibly may not be resolved but we have all the good intention to sort out all these things and help each other."

Citing the Mexico-US border, Ahmed said: "It is the most protected border in the world, but there is still an infiltration problem. We (BSF and BGB) are making sincere efforts to stop infiltration and trans-border crime."

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)

--IANS

rak/mr/sac

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday appointed Swati Singh, wife of its expelled leader Daya Shankar Singh, as the chief of its Uttar Pradesh unit's women wing.

Party spokesman Chandra Mohan told the media that state party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya had appointed Swati Singh to the post while naming Kaushal Kishore, the MP from Mohanlalganj, as the chief of the SC/ST Morcha and Haider Abbad Chand as the minority wing head.

Swati Singh's appointment however came as a surprise as she is not a political person and only shot to limelight after her husband was expelled from the party some months back after he made objectionable remarks of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati.

Later when during a protest rally by BSP workers in Lucknow, when some senior leaders made some uncharitable remarks about their minor daughter, she took Mayawati on and castigated her for allowing apartment go unpunished even when they used the most foul language for a child, who had nothing to do with the ongoing spat.

She got wide support from the people. Swati Singh also filed a complaint with the police against the Dalit leader and her party men, after which a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences was slapped on BSP state chief Ram Achal Rajbhar and some others.

The BJP is likely to use her as a potent ammunition against the BSP chief in the forthcoming state assembly polls, scheduled for early next year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Friday accused the BJP of insulting the Indian Army by claiming that it didn't display courage on the LoC for the last nearly seven decades, and demanded an apology.

"BJP President Amit Shah today (Friday) insulted the Indian Army in front of the nation by saying that for 68 years, Indian Army didn't have the courage to control the Line of Control (LoC)," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.

"If the army didn't try to control the LoC for 68 years, then is former Army chief Gen. Bikram Singh and other former Army Chiefs lying to the nation? Or do you want to perform final rites to the sacrifices and valour of army?" he asked.

Asking the BJP if it had forgotten the 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars, Surjewala charged the ruling party with "politicising" the Army's cross-border surgical strikes and trying to "colour the valour and sacrifice of Indian Army into its doctrine".

"Our soldiers have laid down their lives for the country, as they live and die for the tricolour," he added.

The Congress leader's remarks came after the BJP on Friday held two press conferences to criticise the Congress for defending its Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his 'Khoon Ki Dalali' remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Congress is busy doing 'Rahul Gandhi Bhakti' (worship) and was not bothered about the interests of the country.Earlier in the day, Amit Shah attacked the Congress for its remarks about Modi.

Accusing the BJP of "white lies", Surjewala also said the BJP was "playing over the sacrifice of martyrs".

The Congress also played a video of Gen. Bikram Singh's interview to a news channel in which he claimed that Indian Army had carried out such surgical strikes earlier also.

"Under General Bikram Singh and the Congress government, there were multiple surgical strikes which were conducted, but we never politicised that," said Surjewala.

Hitting out at BJP leaders for holding two press conferences, he said: "BJP has proved that they are doing politics, they are using surgical strikes for political gain."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Authorities were on alert on Friday morning after a sound resembling a blast or a gunshot was heard near a naval base at Porbandar in Gujarat's Saurashtra, but it turned out to be a bursting firecracker, officials said.

According to police, the sound was heard by a guard deployed at the naval base, following which a search operation was launched.

"The sound heard at Porbandar was from a firecracker," Navy spokesperson Captain D.K. Sharma said.

Defence bases across the country have been put on alert since the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab in January.

An army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir was attacked by terrorists on September 18, in which 19 soldiers were killed. It was followed by surgical strikes by the Indian Army along the Line of Control on the intervening night of September 28-29.

On Wednesday, the Border Security Force seized a boat with nine Pakistanis on board in the Sir Creek area adjoining Gujarat's Kutch district close to the Pakistan maritime border.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Legal border trade between India and Myanmar resumed on Friday at Moreh in Manipur, after it was stopped on Monday in the wake of some violent incidents.

The international gate at the border was closed on Monday morning and the Myanmarese officials at Namphalong did not permit any Indian to enter the marketing complex there.

The step was taken as a precautionary measure as one person, hailing from Manipur, was shot and seriously injured in Namphalong on October 2, while on the same night, a powerful bomb exploded near Muslim Nagar in Manipur.

Myanmar protested against these acts and decided to seal the international border till the persons responsible for the attacks were arrested, official sources at Moreh told IANS.

Police at Moreh registered an FIR but no arrest has been made so far. There has also been no claim from any insurgent group.

From Friday morning, dozens of trucks, buses and private vehicles have been coming to Moreh from different parts of the northeast for a shopping binge.

Meanwhile, the legal border trade is likely to be shifted from Moreh to some other place in states like Nagaland or Mizoram, according to sources.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Every election I am asked by numerous people who to vote for and which initiatives to support. Although I recognize I may be stepping on some toes, I am also cognizant we are blessed to be part of a democracy where spirited discussion is the foundation of governance. My hope is we can disagree, without being disagreeable. Thus, I am setting forth my recommendations on judicial races and those initiatives that intersect with the justice system. I will only say positive things about people, but will be critical on the issues as needed.

I am prohibited by the Canon of Judicial Conduct to endorse in partisan races, though some case law suggests a judge does not give up his freedom of expression rights just because he is a judge. To be safe, however, I not will push that boundary and will only address judicial races and those issues affecting the justice system.

Starting with the Supreme Court races, I wholeheartedly endorse Chief Justice Mike McGrath and Justice Jim Shea to be retained for this important office. Neither has an opponent, so this is easy. However, I am impressed with both. The absolute best thing the chief justice has done is speed up the time frame when decisions are rendered. This is a huge benefit, both for the parties, and for the justice system generally. I have been so impressed with the chief that I nominated him for the Lifetime Achievement award through the Crime Board several years ago. I was pleased he received this award. Shea is an awfully nice fellow who has done a fine job on the court.

A contested race for the Supreme Court pits Kristen Juras versus Dirk Sandefur. I am supporting Juras in this race. While both are good people, I am convinced she has the right temperament, background, and legal expertise to make an excellent Supreme Court Justice. Juras has been in private practice and has an extensive background in business, agricultural law and property/water rights. She received an AV preeminent rating from her peers, which considers both legal knowledge and ethical standards. She is also an esteemed law school professor who has taught taxation, contracts, business law, property law, agricultural law, and estate planning  all subjects that will be of immeasurable benefit on the Supreme Court.

Here in the 13th Judicial District, we have two very fine choices for District Court judge. I wholeheartedly support keeping both Judge Mike Moses and Judge Mary Jane Knisely. Both are doing a fine job, and warrant another term. Neither is opposed, so again this is an easy pick. Still, though, you can feel good about keeping them on the job.

Constitutional Initiative 116, called Marsys law, was the subject of my column March 6. I support CI-116, which establishes specific crime victims rights. These include the right of a victim to be heard at court, notification of hearings and case developments, and input on prosecutorial decisions. While these benefits currently exist in the 13th Judicial District, I am not sure that is the case statewide. Having these rights enumerated is a worthwhile idea, though provision 1(f) will probably be struck down as unconstitutional. This provision allows a victim the right to refuse an interview with the defendant, which I suspect is in conflict with our constitutional right to confrontation.

Last, I oppose Initiative 182, regarding marijuana. I-182 expands medical marijuana rights in Montana. I discussed medical marijuana in a Dec. 4 article. Although I voted for the legalization of medical marijuana in 2004, it soon became apparent that was an ill-disguised ruse to essentially legalize marijuana. Doctors were writing prescriptions for patients they saw for three minutes.

I-182 scraps the limit of three patients for each provider and scraps the requirement that doctors who provide certification for more than 25 patients be referred to the Board of Medical Examiners  both requirements were part of the legislative fix of this issue. Bottom line: marijuana is up to seven times more potent than it was in the 1970s, according to the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Institute, and negatively impairs the brain, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Our society has enough problems with drugs, lets not add to those problems.
The European Union said it has provided $13.4 million to support the efforts of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to reconstruct the Nahr el-Bared Camp (NBC) in Lebanon.

"These funds come in addition to the 24 million euros ($267 million) previously donated by the European Union to contribute to rebuilding the NBC," Xinhua news agency quoted a statement by the bloc on Thursday.

"We hope that this support will contribute to settling grievances surrounding the 2007 conflict and to provide better protection, shelter and dignity to the lives of many Palestinian refugees in this country," said Christina Lassen, EU's ambassador to Lebanon.

From the funding the camp has so far received, it is estimated that 11,062 people, accounting for 72 per cent of those originally displaced, will return to their homes by mid-2017.

The UNRWA, a relief and human development agency established in 1949, has a specific mandate to assist and protect some 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The expert team, deputed by the Union government to assess the ground realities across the Cauvery river basin, on Friday favoured judicious sharing of the scarce resource by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu following deficit monsoon rains this year.

"Our aim is to ensure judicious distribution of the river water between the two states," said Central Water Commission (CWC) Chairman G.S. Jha, heading the central team, which is on a two-day visit to the two states.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Union Water Resources Ministry to depute an expert team for assessing the availability of water in the reservoirs of both the neighbouring states submit a report to it on October 17.

The three-member team, comprising Jha, CWC member S Masood Hussain and Krishna and Godavari basin organisation Chief Engineer R.K. Gupta, visited the command area in the Karnataka's southern region spanning Hassan, Mysuru and Kodagu districts where its four reservoirs are located.

One representative each of the four riparian states also accompanied the team in two helicopters on an aerial survey of the Hemavathy, KRS, Kabini and Harangi dams and met the affected people, including farmers.

The 765-km-long Cauvery originates at Talakaveri in Karnataka's Kodagu district and flows through Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry before draining into the Bay of Bengal.

The team will visit the reservoirs in the delta region of Tamil Nadu on Saturday.

"We will submit a report to the Supreme Court with data on the live storage levels, inflows and outflows of water in the reservoirs in both the states for fair distribution," Jha told reporters here.

Earlier, state Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil made a presentation on the distress situation in the river basin to the team at meeting in the state's secretariat, where representatives of the other three states were also present.

"In view of the distress situation, the state is not in a position to release more water to Tamil Nadu for irrigation as the same is required for drinking purpose in the region till the onset of next monsoon in June 2017," Patil said.

Jha said that the minister submitted a memo with information on the rainfall, damage to standing crops, drought-like situation and the drinking water needs of the cities, towns and villages in the region.

In a related development, the state resumed releasing 2,000 cusecs of the river water per day from Friday to October 17 to Tamil Nadu as directed by the top court on October 4 after releasing 6,000 cusecs per day from October 3-6.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least four workers were killed and one injured in a blast in a chimney at the state-run National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) power station here on Friday morning, police said.

According to police officer Saheblal Attar, the explosion occurred around noon in the chimney of the 1,320 MW plant, on the outskirts of the city.

"As per preliminary information, four workers have perished in the blast and at least one is injured," Attar told IANS. "Rescue teams and fire brigade have been rushed to the disaster site."

This is Maharashtra's first ultra-thermal power generation plant deploying super-critical technology, making it eco-friendly and is being built at a cost of around Rs.10,000 crore investment by NTPC.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the European Union (EU) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Water Partnership to clean Indian rivers with European assistance.

"I have seen in Europe how beautifully water is flowing there. I hope our country would learn from it," Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said at an MoU signing ceremony at World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here.

The MoU was signed by Bharti and Karmenu Vella, Commissioner Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission.

"This MoU will not solve everything (water related issues) in India but it is a step forward for solving those problems," Vella said, adding that EU would lend technical and resources support to India for river protection and water management.

Pointing out the sixth goal of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -- Clean Water and Sanitation -- Uma Bharti spoke of a pan-India river protection plan.

"The holy rivers of India are getting exhausted of their existence... making out country under water stressed... participatory approach with several stakeholders is required," Bharti said.

Citing the central government's National Mission for Clean Ganga, Uma Bharti said that focus on other rivers is also required.

"Water pollution must stop and Centre will take strict actions to assure that," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India is getting noticed by investors globally as it is opting for liberal reforms at a time when major economies are turning protectionist, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said adding that it also has the best growth rate in the world.

"India stands out for two factors. Major economies are becoming protectionist like Britain which resulted in Brexit. India, on he contrary, is reforming step by step... And because India's growth rate is best in the world," Jaitley told NDTV in an interview here on Friday.

"We are getting noticed by all possible investors. Everyone does well when global economy is doing well. But the buzz is around India because it is doing well even during a global slowdown. That's what makes India stand out," he added.

The global situation still appears to be extremely challenging because of low oil price regime.

"Economies at 1-2 per cent GDP are at their best growth rate. It is Asian economies that are pulling up the global growth rate. Smaller economies like Bangladesh are doing well," he said.

The Finance Minister said he has met up with British Ministers and post-Brexit they are trying to do well with other countries.

He said that the growth in India has become possible because of constant reforms.

"Reforms are not that difficult in India now. There is a Monetary Policy Committee for monetary policy, bankruptcy law, major steps on black money from benami law to Income Declaration Scheme," he said.

"Goods and Services Tax bill got passed. The high point was it got passed unanimously," he added.

Jaitley is on an official visit to the US to attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank .

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing "dalali" (profiteering) over the blood shed by Indian soldiers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday condemned the party's vice-president for his remarks.

"We strongly condemn Rahul Gandhi's terming our soldiers' sacrifices and their valour as 'khoon ki dalaali'," Kejriwal said in a video posted on his twitter account.

"I have said this earlier in assembly as well as in a video message that at a time when there's grave tension at the border, we all must allay our differences and stand together with our army," he said.

Kejriwal also asked all political parties to support the Prime Minister in all the steps he is taking to strengthen the defence of the country.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader's condemnation comes as Rahul Gandhi during his Kisan Yatra through Uttar Pradesh accused the Modi government of cashing in on the sacrifices of Indian soldiers.

"This is totally wrong... The Indian Army did its job for India, you do your work," the Congress leader said, addressing a rally at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday, with which he concluded his month-long Kisan Yatra.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Myanmar on Friday affirmed its preparedness against any terror attack in the country.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Maj. Gen. Aung Soe told parliament that the country's readiness included surveillance of suspected terrorists and specially-trained anti-terror combatants, Xinhua news agency reported.

Collaborating with local, regional and international organisations in the fight against terrorism, the government has been working to respond speedily to destructive elements by carrying out tasks which include organising operation missions, deploying specially-trained anti-terrorism combat groups in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay, and guarding dignitaries under a special security programme, Aung Soe said.

Besides, exchange and collection of terrorist attack information and linking with Interpol, Aseanpol, neighbouring countries and allied organisations and other sources are to be carried out.

Moreover, establishing an administration centre for national-level emergency cases here, equipped with advanced technology for use on the central, state and regional levels are also to be conducted.

According to Aung Soe, the ministry has also made efforts to eradicate money laundering in the country to prevent the funding of terrorist groups.

He said up-to-date equipment and database have been installed at international border gates for security, surveillance and linking with Interpol, and added that any terrorist attack will be fought jointly with the armed forces.

--IANS

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday registered a case and started probe into the unsuccessful terrorist attack on Rashtriya Rifles (RR) camp in north Kashmir's Kupwara district in which three separatist militants were killed on Thursday.

"We have registered a case in the terrorist attack on Rashtriya Rifles camp in Langate after taking inputs from Indian Army," an NIA officer told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Three heavily armed terrorists dressed in army fatigues were killed in an encounter when they attacked the 30 RR camp situated in Langate town in Kupwara district on Thursday morning.

Army had on Thursday said the alert guards at the 30 RR camp in Langate located close to a civilian facility foiled the terrorists' attempt to enter the camp by breaching its security periphery.

The NIA team inspected the bodies of the slain terrorists and took over the evidences, including three AK-47 rifles, three under barrel grenade launchers, a number of magazines, significant rounds of bullets, four walkie-talkie sets, dry fruits and medicines, recovered from the spot by the army.

The NIA would be also securing DNA samples of the three terrorists killed after nearly a five-hour long gunbattle with the RR troops.

The central probe agency has been handed over three Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, mobile phones, map and matrix sheets (used for sending coded messages) recovered from the killed terrorists and would be sending it for technological evaluation.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Army on Friday morning resorted to heavy shelling and gunfire at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu region.

"Heavy shelling and firing started in Malta area in Poonch district today (Friday) morning after Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate mortar shelling and firing at Indian military and civilian positions," a police official told IANS here.

According to sources, Indian Army retaliated effectively using same calibre weapons after unprovoked shelling by the Pakistani side.

Pakistan has been violating with impunity the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed with India in November 2003.

The violation of the ceasefire agreement by Pakistani side has become a rule rather than an exception after the Indian Army on September 28 night carried out surgical strikes against terrorist "launch pads" across the Line of Control in Pakistan administered Kashmir.

--IANS

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Professors are not just employees of the institutions they serve, they are ambassadors. Rightly or wrongly, their conduct reflects on our Montana universities as a whole.

According to the American Association of College Professors Statement of Professional Ethics: "Professors must give due regard to their paramount responsibilities within their institution in determining the amount and character of work done outside it. Professors need to stay away from employment outside the university that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest or otherwise negatively affects the university. In other words, professors shouldnt moonlight in a way that hurts the reputation of the university.

Bresnan 'study'

In 2012, University of Montana law professor Kristen Juras presented a study to the Montana Legislature regarding property taxes. The study was actually commissioned and paid for by Bresnan, which was seeking to lower its own property taxes to the detriment of Montana taxpayers. Juras used university resources in putting the study together. Her study prominently noted that it was prepared by her as Associate Professor, University of Montana School of Law. She failed to note anywhere in her study that it was paid for by Bresnan. Juras was rightly criticized for her misconduct. Then-Gov. Brian Schweitzer wrote to University President Royce Engstrom about it, concerned that Juras, as a law professor, was advancing a position for Bresnan that would limit Bresnans own taxes and leave a gaping hole in Montanas budget.

Engstrom responded by acknowledging that Juras had apparently violated university policy by using the University of Montana name in her report, failing to note that the study was not affiliated with the university, and by using university resources (and not reimbursing the university for them). The larger problem, however, is that Juras sold the University of Montanas inherent institutional credibility to a Delaware corporation looking to pay less taxes in Montana. Juras has never disclosed how much she was paid by Bresnan for this study.

Tidyman's pension case

Perhaps most troubling, Juras learned nothing from the Bresnan scandal. Tidymans was a grocery chain founded in Billings in 1961 and owned by its 1,300 employees. Facing competition from larger chains, the employee-owners were misled in a corporate merger. Over the objection of Tidymans own bankers, the corporate officers failed to disclose critical information to the employee-owners and pushed through the merger to save their own high-paying jobs. Not long after, Tidymans shut its doors and the Montana employee-owners were told  for the first time  that their retirement accounts were worth zero.

Faced with massive liability for corporate fraud that cost the retirements of more than 1,300 employees, the insurance company turned to Professor Kristen Juras for help. Juras was hired as an expert and has worked to prevent the 1,300 Montana employees and retirees from receiving any compensation. Some had worked for the company more than 20 years and counted on those retirement funds. Some, at over 50 years old, had to start completely over. Eight have died since the case was filed. Juras has never disclosed how much she has been paid by the insurance company to advocate against honest, hard-working Montanans.

Juras apparently hasnt been satisfied with her university salary. She has moonlighted on behalf of corporations whose interests are directly opposed to the people of Montana. Now, as she seeks a position on the Montana Supreme Court, corporations and out-of-state special interests are lining up to fill her campaign coffers. There can be no doubt why. She has a track record of selling out Montanans.
"Jeewan Haathi", a film produced by an Indian conglomerate and helmed by two Pakistani directors, is set to release in Pakistan on November 4 amid India-Pakistan tensions. Pakistani actor Hina Dilpazeer, who features in it with Naseeruddin Shah, hopes it spreads love.

"Jeewan Hathi" is directed by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, the makers of "Zinda Bhaag", and is part of a Pakistan-India collaboration initiated by Zee Zindagi called Zeal for Unity, which unites 12 prolific filmmakers from both sides to together make empowering videos to showcase their zeal for unity, Dawn.com reported.

A black comedy, "Jeewan Haathi" will not be screened in Indian cinemas as of now, the producers have said. However, it has been screened at film festivals in India and has been appreciated.

Talking about how "Jeewan Hathi" can impact relations amidst the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India, Hina told Dawn.com: "All us artistes, who are related to creative works, our job isn't to change anybody, our job is to ignite light in the darkness, in hopes that it may create light... We are just doing that."

She added: "We ignite the light of our names, of our films and hope that it is enough to pave a path. We're not here to change anything. We're just here to spread love."

The actress, noted for her performance in the TV drama "Bulbulay", believes production houses around the globe should work together in joint ventures across borders.

"I've lived a long time in Dubai and we had a lot of neighbours who were Indians, but they used to welcome us with a lot of love, and we'd call them over with a lot of love. This (Pakistan-India friction) is not the common man's war, this hatred is not the work of the common man, this is the politicians' work and nothing else.

"Why would one god-fearing human hate another god-fearing human? There's no reason."

There has been increased unrest between India and Pakistan since the September 18 terror attack which killed 19 soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. India responded with surgical strikes on terrorist hubs across the Loc in Pakistani territory.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Police on Friday sought more time from a local court to inquire into a criminal complaint against AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for allegedly making seditious remarks and causing enmity between different groups.

As Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Munish Markan was on leave, the matter has now been posted for hearing on December 6.

The court had earlier asked police to report what action they have taken on a criminal complaint against the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief.

Moving a plea in the court, police said the Sub-inspector, who was earlier assigned the complaint, has been transferred and another officer has been given charge of the matter recently, so they should be given more time to file the action-taken report.

The complainant alleged that on March 13, Owaisi had said "Even if somebody puts a knife on me, I will not say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'," and that expression of Owaisi showed "disaffection and includes disloyalty and a sense of enmity".

The petitioner, Brijesh Chand Shukla of Swaraj Janata Party, had sought a direction to the Karawal Nagar police station chief to lodge an FIR against Owaisi for the alleged offences under Sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP and the Congress indulged in a bitter war of words on Friday over the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir with latter accusing the ruling party of using the military operation for political propaganda.

A day after Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing "dalali" (profiteering) over the sacrifices of Indian soldiers, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah called a press conference and said Gandhi "crossed his limit".

The Congress, in turn, accused the ruling party of politicising the strike, and the BJP called a second press conference in the day to rebut Congress charges.

Not staying behind, the Congress too called second press conference and accused the BJP of insulting the army by saying that the Indian Army didn't have the courage to control the Line of Control (LoC) for 68 years.

On Friday morning, Shah demanded a clarification from Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" remark.

"By saying 'dalali' over soldiers' blood, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. The remark reflects the Congress' mentality," Shah said.

"I want to ask Gandhi: Does he perceive our soldiers' blood to be a thing to do 'dalali' (trade) with. His words are an insult to the armed forces and the country as a whole. I want to ask what dalali is he talking about," asked Shah.

Shah also asked Rahul Gandhi to focus on issues pertaining to "Alu ki factory" (potato factory) instead of making statements on such sensitive issues.

Shah also targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"It was Kejriwal who started the trend of doubting the surgical strikes and casting aspersions on the bravery of our armed forces," he said.

Soon after, Congress called a press conference, where party leader Kapil Sibal blamed the BJP for formation of the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Sibal also came down heavily on Shah for his attack on the Congress Vice President.

"The people who have been to jail and who have murder cases against them are pointing fingers at others. We never imagined the Bharatiya Janata Party will stoop so low," Sibal said.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Sibal said, "Today these attacks happened as they (BJP) released Jaish-e-Mohammad militant Maulana Masood Azhar."

"If BJP hadn't released Maulana Masood Azhar then the JeM wouldn't have taken birth," Sibal alleged.

The BJP responded soon after with union Minister Ravishankar Prasad holding a press conference.

"For them (Congress), defending Rahul Gandhi is more important than defending the country," Prasad said.

"Yesterday (Thursday), it was very embarrassing (for the Congress). I know some Congress leaders who are disturbed because of what he had said," said the minister.

He also slammed Congress for saying the BJP was responsible for creation of JeM.

"What does Congress mean by saying that the BJP created Jaish-e-Mohammed It is the ISI which will be the most happiest people on hearing the remarks," he said.

The Congress then hurriedly called its second press meet and accused the BJP of insulting the army.

"BJP President Amit Shah today (Friday) insulted the Indian Army in front of the nation by saying that for 68 years, Indian Army didn't have the courage to control the Line of Control (LoC)," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.

"If the army didn't try to control the LoC for 68 years, then is former Army chief Gen. Bikram Singh and other former Army Chiefs lying to the nation? Or do you want to perform final rites to the sacrifices and valour of army?" he asked.

Asking the BJP if it had forgotten the 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars, Surjewala charged the ruling party with "politicising" the Army's cross-border surgical strikes and trying to "colour the valour and sacrifice of Indian Army into its doctrine".

"Our soldiers have laid down their lives for the country, as they live and die for the tricolour," he added.

Similarly, Amit Shah was attacked by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia for criticizing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the surgical strikes.

Sisodia said in a tweet: "So now Amit Shah will issue certificates of patriotism?"

Saying Amit Shah was not even qualified to take Kejriwal's name, Sisodia described the BJP President as a "black spot" on issues of political probity.

Sisodia went on: "The army is ours. It belongs to the people. The soldiers belong to the people. Who has made Amit Shah a spokesperson for the army?"

Indian commandos raided terrorist launch pads across the LoC in Pakistani territory on the intervening night of September 28-29, killing an unspecified number of terrorists. Pakistan denies this happened.

The strike was carried out after the terror attack on an Army camp in Uri, where 17 soldiers were killed and two succumbed to injuries later.

While certain political leaders have sought a proof of the attack, the central government has not so far spoken about sharing any evidence.

According to Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the video has been handed over to the Prime Minister's Office.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday greeted the Indian Air Force (IAF) on its 84th anniversary and said the nation is proud of its capability.

"The nation is proud of the capability and competency of the IAF. Over the last eight decades, the IAF has emerged as an immensely professional and combat-ready force," Mukherjee said in a statement released here.

"It has achieved distinction in defending our skies and delivering vital humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The brave men and women in blue have displayed incredible courage and determination in the discharge of their duties, acquitting themselves with great elan," he added.

Greeting the personnel of the IAF, their families and civilians, Mukherjee said, "I am confident that the ongoing process of modernisation will transform the IAF into an even more potent and strategic force that can take on all future challenges."

The IAF celebrates its 84th anniversary on October 8, 2016.

--IANS

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday left here for Jaisalmer to take stock of the security in the areas along the International Boundary with Pakistan to and meet the Border Security Force (BSF) troopers posted there.

"Leaving for Jaisalmer on a two-day visit to Rajasthan. Shall visit forward areas near the international border and interact with BSF jawans," Singh said in a tweet.

Reviewing the security situation would be Singh's main concern as his visit comes amidst relentless ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army in Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control.

Following India's surgical strikes at the terrorist launch pads across the LoC on September 29, as many as 23 ceasefire violations have been reported.

The minister is expected to return on Monday.

--IANS

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The next time you visit a hospital, do not be surprised if you find robots as your new nursing assistants.

Robots can imitate human motions as well as effectively coordinate their actions with humans even with surgeries, a research has found.

It can lead to improvements in safety during surgeries because unlike their human counterparts, robots do not tire and can complete an endless series of precise movements.

However, the goal of the use of technology is not to remove human expertise from the operating room, but to complement it with a robot's particular skills and benefits, the researchers said.

"Although robotic (co)workers and collaborators will definitely change the work market, but they won't steal job opportunities. They will just allow us to decrease workload and achieve better performances in several tasks, from medicine to industrial applications," said Elena De Momi from the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy.

In the study, the team trained a robot to imitate natural human actions.

The researchers first photographed a human being conducting numerous reaching motions, in a way similar to handing instruments to a surgeon.

These photographs were input into the neural network of the robotic arm, which is crucial to controlling movements.

Next a human operator guided the robotic arm in imitating the reaching motions that the human subject had initially performed.

Nearly 70 per cent of the time the actions of the robotic arms were "biologically inspired," which indicated that their neural networks had effectively learned to imitate human behaviour, the researchers observed.

If robotic arms can indeed imitate human behaviour, it would be necessary to build conditions in which humans and robots can cooperate effectively in high stress environments like operating rooms, the study concluded, in the paper published in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence).

--IANS

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The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to a Bihar legislator on the state's petition seeking cancellation of his bail granted by the Patna High Court in the alleged rape of a minor girl.

The bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice N.V. Ramana, however, declined to stay, the Patna High Court's order saying it could not do so without hearing the accused -- Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA, Rajballav Yadav.

Issuing notice returnable on October 17, the court permitted the Bihar government to serve notice to the accused in person.

While issuing the notice, Justice Sikri, however, observed, "Chief Justice (of Patna High Court) hearing bail matters."

Rajballav Yadav, the MLA from Nawada, was accused of raping a schoolgoing girl at his residence in Bihar Sharif in February this year.

He was suspended from the party after the incident surfaced. However, he continues to be an RJD lawmaker in the state assembly.

--IANS

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AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Friday denounced BJP President Amit Shah for criticizing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the army's surgical strikes.

"So now Amit Shah will issue certificates of patriotism?" the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister asked in a tweet.

Saying Amit Shah was not even qualified to take Kejriwal's name, Sisodia described the BJP President as a "black spot" on issues of political probity.

Sisodia went on: "The army is ours. It belongs to the people. The soldiers belong to the people. Who has made Amit Shah a spokesperson for the army?"

Earlier in the day, the BJP leader accused Kejriwal of "doubting" the surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) and "casting aspersions on the bravery of our armed forces".

Both Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have repeatedly denied the charge.

Indian commandos raided terrorist launch pads across the LoC in Pakistani territory on the night of September 28-29, killing an unspecified number of terrorists. Pakistan denies this happened.

Sisodia also targeted the media.

"Did anyone from the media at the press conference ask Amit Shah about the Bansal suicide?"

In his suicide note, senior bureaucrat B.K. Bansal named CBI officer Sanjeev Gautam of bragging that he was "Amit Shah's man".

Bansal alleged in his suicide note that CBI officers tortured his wife and daughter on Gautam's orders, first driving the two women to kill themselves and then Bansal and his son to also commit suicide.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Industries Minister, K T Rama Rao, met leading industrialists in New Delhi on October 7and invited them to invest in the state.

The minister called on 15 top industrialists on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

During the meeting with Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, Rama Rao requested him to explore the possibility of investing in aerospace and defence sectors in Telangana, briefing him about the government's desire to set up an aero technology university in the state.

Kalyani agreed to cooperate with the state government in this regard. He also agreed to visit Hyderabad to meet Chief Minister, A K. Chandrasekhar Rao, according to a statement from the minister's office.

Rama Rao also met JK Tyres' Chairman and Managing Director, Raghupathi Singhania, and explained to him about the opportunities in setting up paper mills in the state.

The minister briefed about the government's desire to revive the Sirpur Paper Mills and requested him to invest in the plant. Singhania expressed his desire to meet the chief minister.

Rama Rao also discussed HP's expansion plans in Hyderabad and smart city solutions with the HP India Managing Director Neelam Dhawan. She agreed to develop one town in as a smart city on a pilot basis and said they would soon come out with a detailed proposal in this regard.

The minister spoke about the establishment of a dry port in the state and opportunities in the logistics sector with DHL Managing Director Vikas Anand. He also met MD of Ashok Leyland, Vinod Dasari and requested him to set up a unit in the state. Dasari assured to send a team to the state.

Rama Rao also requested the delegation from British Telecom and ZTE to set up telecom equipment plants in the state.

He also called on Accenture group chairperson Rekha Malhotra Menon and requested to expand their unit in the state. Later, he met Siemens India MD Sunil Mathur.

During his meeting with Philip Rosler of the World Economic Forum, the minister briefed him about the policies of the state government. Rosler agreed to visit the state and assured to make a partner state in the World Economic Forum summit at Davos.
The police on Friday filed a chargesheet in a district court here against three prime accused in the case of gang rape and murder of a school student in Kopardi village on July 13.

Accused Pappu alias Jitendra Shinde, Santosh G. Bhaval and Nitin G. Bhailume were arrested within hours of the crime and charged under Sections 376 (A) and 302 of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to rape and murder, besides other sections of relevant laws.

It marked the end of the 86-day police investigation into the rape and murder of the 15-year-old girl.

Criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been appointed the Special Public Prosecutor in the case to be tried before a fast-track court.

The chargesheet running into around 350 pages named around 70 witnesses, including family members and other villagers.

The crime, which was equated with the Nirbhaya case of Delhi in view of the grisly brutality involved, happened on July 13 evening at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district.

The girl went missing for a few hours, after which her mutilated, blood-splattered body was found under a tree in a field.

The crime sent shock waves through social and political circles and led to a ruckus in the Maharashtra legislature for two days during its monsoon session in July.

The opposition Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party targeted the state's Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government both within the legislature and outside.

Hundreds of villagers put up roadblocks in Kopardi and surrounding villages and took out processions to demand justice for the victim and her family.

The state government had announced a compensation of Rs 500,000 to the victim's family under the Manodhairya Scheme.

--IANS

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9 a.m. update: Cold temperatures overnight slowed things down on the flooding front, Tanja Fransen said Saturday morning. Fransen talked on her cell phone from Sullivan Park, the home of the town's American Legion baseball team, where she was helping to relocate equipment.

"It will be underwater probably later tonight or tomorrow morning," Fransen said.

Flood stage for the Milk River in Glasgow is 25 feet, and the level was 27 feet as of Saturday morning. Major flooding is 31 feet, "and that's what we're anticipating we're going to hit" in the next couple of days, she said.

She thinks water could be flowing over the Sixth Street Bridge southwest of town by Sunday morning.

"There are quite a few farms and ranches down there," Fransen said.

Roads in Phillips County are underwater due to flooding on the Milk River, and as the river drains in that area, water is expected to cover Valley County bridges and roads.

Content Road, Sun Prairie Road and Beaverton Road were all under water Friday, said National Weather Services Glasgow meteorologist in charge, Tanja Fransen. Regina Road south of Malta was also underwater after a culvert on Alkali Creek washed away, causing the creek to spill over onto the road. The culvert was located about 13 miles southwest of Malta.

Phillips County got anywhere from four to eight inches of rain over the past few days, with some isolated areas getting as much as 10 inches, Fransen said. For Phillips County, that is almost a years worth of rain in only a couple days, she said.

A flood warning was issued at about 12:45 a.m. Friday in Phillips County after heavy rain in Malta and the surrounding area caused the Milk River and Beaver Creek to overflow.

The majority of the flooding in the county was focused in the Malta and Saco areas.

The three gravel Phillips County roads that are under water led to the cancellations of feed deliveries to area ranches Friday, said R and G Quality Feeds Owner Rick Lamb. The feed store located in Malta made one delivery to a rancher about 18 miles down the road from the store, but the delivery truck couldnt get out again, he said. Lamb said he was not sure when the store will be able to resume deliveries.

Phillips County Department of Emergency Services Coordinator Greg Speer said he wouldn't know anything about road damage until the water recedes. The first concern DES identified Friday was whether the water would wash away the gravel roads, he said. Some roads that were underwater Friday could still be in good shape after the water recedes.

In Valley County, the Milk River caused flooding in Nashua, Tampico and Glasgow. Beaver Creek near Hinsdale was also flooding.

Water was receding in Malta, Tampico and Hinsdale, but rising in Saco, Glasgow and Nashua.

In Tampico, water was just rising over the bank of the river Friday night, Fransen said. At least one road was closed, and the community could expect longer drive times in and out of town, Fransen said.

Whatley Road in Nashua was also expected to go underwater, Fransen said.

Downstream

Fransen said the greater concern was in Glasgow, where water was expected to rise to at least 31 feet and not recede for eight to 10 days.

The National Weather Service expected water to cover the Sixth Avenue Bridge, which crosses the Milk River. That would block direct access to Glasgow for the farmers and residents southwest of the town, Fransen said. Flooding could cover driveways and reach the foundations of homes in the area of where Montana Highway 24 crosses the Milk River.

Sullivan Park, home of the American Legion baseball team the Glasgow Reds, was expected to be flooded by Sunday, Fransen said. The team will move its new scoreboard, mats and uniforms out of the area Saturday in preparation, Fransen said.

Valley County DES and Todd Young from the Valley County Road Department were preparing for the rising floodwater in Glasgow. A farmer south of Glasgow told Young he watched the Milk River rise almost six inches throughout the morning Friday.

The Valley County Sheriff's Office, Glasgow Police Department and the Army Corps of Engineers were all preparing the area for the next week.

Montana State University Extension Office Agent Roubie Youkin, who is in charge of 4-H and Family Consumer Science, said most farmers should have finished their harvest last week. Most wheat farmers dont live close enough to the river for their crop to be effected, Youkin said. Hay farmers, who plant near the river, may have to reseed their plots, Youkin said.

The region received more than an inch of rain in late September, which saturated the soil. That rain has made it difficult for the land to absorb the recent rain.

Over four days in late August 2014, storms dropped as much as eight inches of rain between Malta and Glasgow, swelling streams and rivers while causing severe flooding that damaged roadways and bridges. Water washed through agricultural fields and prompted Gov. Steve Bullock to declare a state of emergency for the area.
A day after the conclusion of the latest round of telecom spectrum auctions, top merchant bankers and research firms said Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are best placed today in terms of airwaves holdings and that the focus must now shift to grow the industry pie.

They also said the low appetite for airwaves in the latest round -- that saw takers for just 11.6 of the spectrum on the block -- was a result of "rational behaviour" of operators.

"We note that the cumulative bids in auctions since 2010 now total $3.5 trillion. For an industry with annual revenue in the vicinity of $1.8 trillion and pre-tax earnings of around $500 billion, these are not small numbers, in our view," a report of Kotak Institutional Securities said.

"Everything has a context to it and the most critical context, now that the top four operators are hopefully mostly done building their spectrum footprint, is whether the industry pie can become large enough to justify the massive spectrum investments," it said.

"The industry has placed its bets largely on one variable --- data volumes. And a disappointment of that front could mean a long phase of sub-par industry economics," it said, referring to the state of play for Airtel, Jio, Vodafone and Idea.

The latest spectrum auction was touted as the largest given the quantum of airwaves on the block, but ended after 31 rounds over five days with a total commitment of only Rs 65,789 crore ($9.8 billion), or about 11.6 per cent of the expected Rs 5.66 lakh crore ($8.5 billion).

Stating that the net bid of $9.8 billion was 47 per cent more than its expectation, Goldman Sachs maintained that two players -- Airtel and Reliance Jio -- just bought more spectrum than what was anticipated, and will require no additional airwaves in the near-to-medium term.

As regards the other players, it said Idea's spectrum holding was still pretty much inferior to that of Airtel and Jio, while in the case of Vodafone, five circles will remain without any 4G presence, despite considerable improvement in holdings.

"With spectrum auctions done, one risk to the industry is behind us. Companies have spent Rs 658 billion -- 65 per cent more than what we estimated, thus increasing leverage. Rising competitive

intensity is the key risk and drives our cautious view on the operators," said Morgan Stanley.

"With rising competitive intensity, we believe the operators would not have the pricing power and tariffs would continue to be under pressure," said the report, adding it preferred data enablers and Reliance Communications on asset monetization.

Coming to specific bands, there was unanimity among all the research reports that 700 MHz couldn't have attracted bids given the high reserve price. Deutche Bank said it was surprised by interest in 2,300 MHz, adding this band has practically has no compatible handsets in India currently.

Credit Suisse appeared to have faulted the overall high reserve price, not just for 700 Mhz.

"Recall that prior to the auctions both operators (Airtel and Idea) had assured that their bids would only be selective: It appears to us competitive compulsions have forced more aggressive bidding," the report said.

"This also implies bigger amounts likely have been paid by Vodafone and Jio, implying nobody has been spared in the damaging 'spectrum arms race'. Such high payouts towards spectrum is a unique Indian phenomenon that damages returns immediately," it said.

"Any potential upside from this will be limited by the entry of large scale operator Jio."

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said unlike Jio, the top three telcom companies (Airtel, Vodafone and Idea) still lacked a sub-1,000 MHz 4G band, which it felt could lead to the likely purchase of this band at a later date with improved capacity utilisation and data growth.

"With 60 per cent of the spectrum unsold, we expect government to reduce prices of 700 Mhz and 900 MHz in future auctions," it said. "We now also see a faster consolidation amongst smaller telcom companies given lack of data spectrum."

--IANS

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The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) suffered a major setback to the leadership in Meghalaya after the number two man in the outlawed outfit surrendered on Friday.

Zen Robert Ch. Marak alias Rupanto Marak, deputy commander-in-chief of the GNLA, along with his aide Armindo B. Marak alias Rangdat surrendered to Davies Marak, the police chief of East Garo Hills district.

"It is a huge setback for the GNLA leadership (Sohan D. Shira). We are expecting more of them to surrender," Marak told IANS.

The surrendered terrorists deposited one 9 mm pistol with nine live rounds of ammunition besides mobile handsets.

"Rupanto told us that he decided to give up the GNLA due to the growing dictatorial attitude of Sohan towards the cadres besides the unwanted killings," Marak said.

The officer said both terrorists came overground in the wake of the intensified combing operation launched by Meghalaya police in Garo Hills against the outfit.

"They have been under intense pressure and the only option for them was to surrender. We are hopeful more of them will follow suit," Marak said.

The GNLA, which claims to be fighting for a separate Garoland in western Meghalaya, is headed by police officer-turned-rebel Champion R. Sangma, who is now in the Shillong jail after being arrested from near the India-Bangladesh border in 2012.

It has forged an alliance with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent.

--IANS

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The Union government told the Supreme Court on October 7 that 'triple talaq', 'nikaah halaal' and polygamy, as practised by the Muslims in India, were not "integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices."

"The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reforms goes to establish that the practice in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices," argued the government in an affidavit filed on October 7.

Referring to the changes in the personal law that have already taken place in Islamic countries, the government has cited the instances of changes in marriage laws in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

"It is noteworthy that even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of the law and therefore in a secular republic like India, there is no reason to deny women the right available under the constitution," stated the affidavit.



The response comes in the wake of an order issued by the apex court on September 5, wherein the court had asked the government to spell out its position on the rights of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce and maintenance, including .

An apex court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had by their October 16, 2015 order, issued notice to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and the Legal Service Authority as it directed the separate listing of a PIL addressing the question of the rights of Muslim women.

The government said that the question of triple talaq, where husbands can summarily divorce their wives by pronouncing the word 'talaq' thrice, 'nikaah halaal' under which a divorced couple cannot remarry unless the woman marries again and becomes single again through divorce or death of the second husband, and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of the "principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality".
Waxing lyrical about the efficacy and virtues of wine that is handily making its way into the Indian market, the Swedish brand ambassador of a leading Indian vineyard, says the beverage is not just about snobbery, which people usually associate it with.

"Drink it the way you want to drink it... Wine is about the experience, it is about heart and the soul. I don't believe there is anything snobbish about it," Cecilia Oldne, Vice President, Marketing and Global Brand Ambassador for Sula Vineyards, told IANS.

"You can always have a glass of wine with ice in it. It's not something that you can't experiment with," she added.

"We have wines starting at Rs 200 per bottle... we are reaching out to markets to give them an opportunity to experience the beverage that triggers a sense that you wouldn't get while opening many other bottles," she explained.

Oldne was here for the launch of the "Globe in a Glass" roadshow that featured 40 different wines and 20 spirits like whisky, tequila and brandy from around the world.

Oldne came to India nine years ago and feels "like a part of the wine revolution" in the country. "It has been such a great journey to have witnessed and experienced wine making inroads into Indian culture."

She described her personal attraction to the beverage, saying: "I developed an interest in wine when I was really young as I was travelling through Europe with my parents. I felt really interested when we visited vineries and met people behind the brand. I was not given to taste it at that time."

"They would open their bottles, the smiles on their faces really intrigued me to discover what it was all about. It's so much more than a bottle of wine, it's about memories and the experience," she said.

--IANS

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All it took was the threat of a $14 billion fine against for the word contagion to rear its ugly head.

Global markets have been shaken up in recent weeks over fears that Deutsche Bank, a symbol of German financial might and Europes fourth-largest biggest bank by assets, cannot absorb a fine of that magnitude. The German government said flatly that it would not bail out the bank, leading to what some called market panic that could face a messy Lehman Brothers-style collapse and set off a global financial crisis.

Among investor concerns are the high amount of borrowing the bank uses to support its asset base, the difficulty in valuing many of the assets that make up its capital cushion, and the high-risk trading strategies embraced by some of its clients.

Those fears seem wildly overblown. The bottom line is, I think the issues will be resolved and there wont be any contagion episode, said Hal S. Scott, a professor at Harvard Law School and the author of the recent book Connectedness and Contagion. But its a wake-up call. Are we prepared if this ever happens again? The answer is no.



Professor Scott defines contagion as an indiscriminate run by short-term creditors of financial institutions that can render otherwise solvent institutions insolvent because of the fire sale of assets that are necessary to fund withdrawals and the resulting decline in asset prices triggered by such sales. He calls such contagion the most virulent and systemic risk still facing the financial system today.



The latest spasm in global markets began last month when The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department was demanding $14 billion to resolve accusations of fraud in Deutsche Banks packaging and sale of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis.

Deutsche Bank issued a statement confirming the $14 billion figure but stated it had no intention of paying such a large sum. Renee Calabro, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, declined to comment further.

But the unexpectedly large number, coupled with other outstanding potential liabilities and what many investors view as a weak balance sheet, set off a chain reaction that brought back memories of the dark days before Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008.

Deutsche Bank shares dropped over 8 percent the day the news broke, and shares in other European banks, many with even more fragile balance sheets, also plunged.

Deutsche Bank shares were trading in New York at over $30 a year ago. By the end of September, they had dropped below $12 before recovering slightly. In an ominous reminder of the loss of confidence that plagued Lehman Brothers before its demise, some hedge funds pulled billions in assets from the bank and moved their trading activities to rivals. (The bank noted that this represented a tiny fraction of its more than 20 million clients.)



John Cryan, Deutsche Banks chief executive, issued one of his dear colleagues letters  never a good sign  warning that the bank was the victim of rampant speculation. Trust is the foundation of banking, he wrote. Some forces in the markets are currently trying to damage this trust.



It didnt help that widespread investor skepticism remained about the health of the European banking system, where many banks are still exposed to high concentrations of sovereign debt from Europes weakest economies, or that Deutsche Bank is just the first of several large European banks facing a day of reckoning with the Justice Department.

Barclays, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and HSBC are all awaiting their turn.

For United States banks, the problems are largely behind them: They have paid over $56 billion since 2010 to settle similar suits.

In his letter, Mr. Cryan emphasized that the banks balance sheet was more stable than it had been in decades, and pointed to the banks liquidity reserves of 215 billion euros, about $241 billion. Deutsche Bank has already set aside 5.5 billion for potential settlements and is expected to add a billion or more from the proceeds of sales of the British insurer Abbey Life and its stake in a large Chinese bank.

JPMorgan Chase analysts issued a report concluding that Deutsche Bank could absorb a fine of up to $4 billion without raising concerns about its capital position. Despite the departments tough opening offer, a fine of under $4 billion doesnt seem all that outlandish. Citibank paid a fine of $4 billion to settle similar accusations by the Justice Department, and Morgan Stanley paid just $2.6 billion. Citibank and Deutsche Bank had similar market shares in the mortgage-backed securities market, while Morgan Stanleys was nearly twice as large. Other factors in setting a fine include how much Deutsche Bank has cooperated in the investigation, and how egregious the conduct may have been, facts known only by the bank and the government.

Even if the Justice Department has an exceptionally strong case, it would surely pause before demanding a fine that imperils the viability of Deutsche Bank, let alone the fragile European banking system, which would surely spill over into global markets and the United States economy. Deutsche Bank is far larger and more systemically important than Lehman Brothers was.

The goal really shouldnt be to destroy financial institutions, said Brandon L. Garrett, a law professor at the University of Virginia and author of Too Big to Jail. It should be to reform them. The proper way to punish corporations is to hold the individuals and executives responsible. Huge fines just punish the shareholders even more and wont stop the recidivism weve seen at Deutsche Bank.



(Deutsche Bank has already paid more than $9 billion in fines since the onset of the financial crisis.)



The Justice Department has not said whether it is looking at potential individual defendants at Deutsche Bank in connection with the mortgage-backed securities cases, but it did charge two former traders at the bank with manipulating the benchmark London interbank offered rate, or Libor. Another former Deutsche Bank executive pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.

I think the Justice Department could afford to be a little more lenient with the fine as long as individuals are held accountable, Mr. Garrett said.

A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

Even if the United States maintains an aggressive posture, few think the German government would allow Deutsche Bank to fail, even though it has ruled out any bailout.

I agree it may be too fragile to withstand a huge fine, Professor Scott said. Does the Justice Department understand the risk of contagion? It reminds me of Arthur Andersen, the defunct accounting firm. No one thought an enforcement action would force it into bankruptcy.



Should Deutsche Bank precipitate a financial crisis, its not clear how it would be resolved. Its a European bank, so the Federal Reserves powers would be limited.

I hope theres a global game plan, Professor Scott said, because thats what it would take. If Deutsche Bank set off contagion, it would start in Europe. Who would be next? This would require global coordination.



Should such a crisis spread to American nonbank institutions, like money market funds, the government has even fewer tools at its disposal than it did after Lehman Brothers failed, thanks to congressional efforts to limit future bailouts. In his book, Professor Scott argues that Congress should give the Fed and other regulators more  not less  power to stop runs at banks and nonbanks alike by coming to their assistance and extending deposit guarantees, if necessary, as they did after Lehman Brothers.

Despite widespread nervousness about Deutsche Banks ultimate fate, nothing so dire seems imminent  yet.

I dont think this will develop into anything serious, Professor Scott said, but we need a deal for Deutsche Bank thats $5 billion or less and not $14 billion, and we need this to happen within a short time frame. The longer this goes on, the more uncertainty there is, and the more nervous the markets get.



2016 The New York Times News Service
Asserting that BJP will go to the people over the issue of surgical strikes, BJP President on Friday lashed out at Rahul Gandhi over his 'dalali' barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "crossing all limits" and "insulting" the army's bravery.

He said Congress was expressing Pakistan's despair instead of joining people's enthusiasm over surgical strikes.

Even as he insisted that the strikes should not be politicised, he made it clear that BJP will go to people over the issue to "boost the army's morale" and that the strikes underline the Modi government's zero tolerance policy against terrorism as well as its strong political will to take hard decisions.

With assembly elections due in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, the issue can come handy for the party.

Addressing a press conference, Shah also took potshots at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was the first one to cast doubts over the occurrence of surgical strikes and was trending on Twitter in Pakistan.

"#PakStandsWithKejriwal was a top trend in Pakistan. It itself shows who are benefiting from his efforts," he said.

He then went on to launch a blistering attack on the Congress vice president. "By making 'khoon ki dalali' remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. It was an extreme. By choosing such words, he insulted the bravery of our soldiers and 125 crore people of India."



Raking up a number of alleged scams under the UPA government, he said wryly that 'dalali' word is on Gandhi's mind as his party's government did 'dalali' in Bofors, Embraer, 2G and coal block allocation deals but the strikes were not an occasion for using such a term.

Suggesting that those casting doubts on the authenticity of surgical strikes are "anti-India" leaders, he said, "The whole country, BJP and its government are standing firmly behind the army. We do not believe in the comments of anti-India leaders. We believe in the army's bullets."



Rejecting the charge that BJP was using these strikes for political benefits, he said none of the top party leaders made any statement and it was the DGMO and not the Defence Minister who addressed a press conference to announce the army's cross- border attacks.

If a local level politician says or does something, it should not be seen as the party's stand, he said, adding that the whole country is happy and enthused by the development and so are BJP workers.

"The question is why you (Congress) are not happy, enthusiastic and proud of this. It shows there is some fundamental flaw in you.... Instead of joining people in their happiness, Congress party is expressing Pakistan's despair."



Asked if his party will make it an issue in the state elections, Shah treaded cautiously saying, "We do not want to politicise it but we will definitely take it to the people because boosting the army's morale is the duty of every responsible political party.

"These surgical strikes announce the Modi government's zero tolerance policy against terrorism... The achievement is of the army. The strong political will is of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."



Gandhi's comments have angered the people, he said.
The likelihood of India-Pakistan tensions escalating to a war-like situation might have receded, but the war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress rose to a crescendo on Friday. It might escalate further in the coming days as Assembly polls to five states, particularly to the key state of Uttar Pradesh, draw nearer.
A day after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing khoon ki dalali, exploiting the sacrifices of Indian soldiers for politics, the Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) war of words escalated to name calling and digging up the past of their respective party chiefs.
Congress Vice-President addressing people during his kisan yatra. The Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were up in arms against Congress Vice-President over his 'dalali' remarks for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul hit out at Modi saying, "Jo hamare jawan hainjinhoneapnakhoondiya hai, Jammu and Kashmir meinkhoondiya hai, jinhone Hindustan keliye surgical strikes kiyehain, unkekhoonkepeecheaapchhupehain. Unki aapdalalikarraheho. Yeh bilkulgalathai. (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

As an exception, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal backed Modi and criticised Gandhi for his remarks.

Here is who said what:

Rajnath Singh, Home Minister: People, working in any field, must show restraint at the time of escalated tensions.

Amit Shah, BJP Chief: There should be no on the action of our security forces. has crossed all limits by his 'khoon ki dalali' remarks. His words insult the bravery of army.
Two alleged drug peddlers were today arrested along with 10 kg of poppy straw in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, police said.

Mohammad Rajab Teli and Tariq Ahmad, both residents of Pattan, were arrested during vehicle checking at Baba Teng, 35 kms from here on Srinagar-Baramulla national highway, a police spokesman said.

The official said 10 kg of poppy straw was seized from the possession of the two accused.

A case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against them, the spokesman said.

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A 20-year-old engineering student from Jaipur today donned the hat of Canadian High Commissioner to India for a day, holding parleys with top diplomats from other countries on gender equality.

Medha Mishra, who won a video competition conducted by the High Commission of Canada to win the "once in a lifetime opportunity", chaired a delegation on girls rights and flagged off a run for 'gender equality' as part of the mission's activities to mark 'International Day of the Girl Child' on October 11.

As the day drew to an end, Medha, who usually spends her day flipping through pages of coding and geometrical lines, was revelling in what she described was a "tough job".

"It was basically emulating what a High Commissioner's day is like and honestly, it is quite a tough job. I got to attend a session with a few diplomats that included the Mexican Ambassador and Deputy Ambassadors from Canada, South Africa and Australia. I am glad that I got a chance to do this, given my current skills," she said.

The contest she won required women from across the country to explain in a video, "Why girls' rights are important and what can be done to achieve greater gender equality."



Medha participated in several public events to create awareness about the importance of girls' rights including the run along Shanti Path with staff from several foreign missions in the city and students and volunteers.

"I learnt that it does not take as much effort as it seems to raise awareness," she said.

A "staunch feminist", Medha has very strong views on the issue of gender equality.

According to her, with half the population of the world being women, it is an issue that should be taken up globally.

"I think it should bother us that we are okay with the metaphor of 'a glass ceiling and a sticky floor'. That is something that globally as a society we should be working to tackle," she said.

Medha was joined by Jess Dutton, Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to India, for a 'chat with diplomats' session at IILM Institute for Higher Education to discuss the issue of women in leadership with management students.

Mexican Ambassador Melba Pria; Ambassador of Finland Nina



Vaskunlahti; Ambassador of the United States Richard Verma; Deputy High Commissioner of South Africa Ben Joubert and Australian Deputy High Commissioner Chris Elstoft were also part of the event.

"We are proud to collaborate with diplomats from several nations and with officials and the people of India to promote the importance of girls' rights.

"In Canada, we strongly feel that gender equality is not only a human rights issue, but an essential component of sustainable development, social justice, peace and security," Dutton said.

Medha, who came across the post for the contest on the High Commission's Facebook page, participated without expecting to win, but after her experience she says she would not mind helming the post of a top diplomat.

"If I am fortunate and skilled enough to clear the Indian Civil Services or the Foreign Services, for sure yes, I would want to be the High Commissioner some day," she said.
A Durga Puja, introduced by the erstwhile King of Tripura Krishna Kishore Manikya Bahadur in early 19th century, continues to be the major attraction for the people of the state.

The Goddess has two arms at the Durgabari Temple here where the 200-year-old puja is currently organised and funded by the state's Communist government. The district magistrate of West Tripura is the main sevayat of the puja.

When Tripura signed the instrument of accession with the Government of India on October 15, 1949, it was agreed that the daily work at the Durgabari temple, Tripureswari Kali Temple at Udaipur in Gomati district and some other temples would be funded and looked after by the state government.

History has it that the queen of Krishna Kishore fainted after seeing the Goddess with ten arms, Panna Lal Roy, who studied history and heritage of the state, said.

Thereafter, on the advice of priests, Goddess Durga has only two hands visible while the remaining eight are hidden at her back at the Durgabari temple which stands before the 114-year-old Ujjayanta Palace, considered to be the eastern India's largest one.

The octogenarian Chief Priest of the Durgabari temple, Dulal Bhattacharya, who is paid an honorarium of Rs 6,000 per month by the government and is engaged in performing the puja for the last 60 years, said, "The idols of Durgabari that lead the Dashami procession are the first to be immersed at Dashamighat here with the state police band playing the national song.

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The AAP government will showcase its digital works, including launch of several apps by its departments, during Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan starting from November 14.

A senior government official said the theme of the Delhi Pavilion will be 'Digital India'. Last year, the theme was 'Make in India'.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and PWD Minister Satyendra Jain today held a meeting with concerned officials to take stock of the preparations for the Trade Fair.

The official said the purpose of this year's theme is to showcase the government's digital works which have made the functioning of various departments easier.

"At Delhi pavilion, the government will showcase its works of installation of CCTV cameras in DTC buses. Besides, VAT department and education department have also launched mobile applications which are giving a good response," the official said.

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Afghan forces battled to flush out Taliban insurgents from Kunduz for a fifth day today, as a humanitarian crisis deepened with civilians in the northern city reporting a crippling shortage of food and medicines.

The Taliban launched an all-out assault on Kunduz Monday, triggering fierce fighting and sending residents fleeing, a year after the militants briefly overran the city in a stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces.

The government said it was seeking to push insurgents out of residential neighbourhoods as they took up positions inside homes.

"Government forces have made advances in the last couple of days and have cleared a lot of areas, killing dozens of Taliban fighters," Kunduz deputy police chief Mohammad Masoom Hashimi told AFP.

"Our clearance operation is still ongoing in the city."



Hashimi did not offer information about civilian casualties. More than 200 are estimated to be wounded, according to local medical officials cited by Amnesty International, which warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.

"Civilians in Kunduz are once again at a precipice, and time is running out," Amnesty said in a statement on Thursday.

"Unless all parties to the conflict permit a humanitarian corridor to allow vital aid in and people to flee, we could soon be looking at a devastating humanitarian crisis."



Ghulam Rabbani Rabbani, a Kunduz provincial council member, warned of a dire shortage of essential supplies.

"People are dying of hunger," he told AFP.

"There is a shortage of food, water and medicines. The price of food has skyrocketed - a simple loaf of bread is beyond the means of ordinary people."



The fighting in Kunduz comes as the Taliban have sought to storm into other provincial capitals, including that of neighbouring Baghlan province, but government troops managed to repel the attacks.

US forces are supporting Afghan troops in clearance operations inside Kunduz, with at least six air strikes against Taliban positions since yesterday.

Up to 10,000 civilians have fled Kunduz, the UN said yesterday, as rocket attacks continued in the streets of the city.

Afghanistan today marked 15 years since the US invasion of the country which toppled the Taliban from power.

Afghanistan has become Washington's longest military intervention since Vietnam - and the most costly, now crossing USD 100 billion.

The Taliban said it was a "black day in the history of Afghanistan", as the insurgents vowed to press ahead with their offensive against the Western-backed local forces.

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Air India is set to become the first Indian airline to fly around the world when it cruises over the pacific route with the launch of its direct services to San Francisco from here on October 16.

Flying over Pacific route would help the national carrier reduce travel time by up to one-and-half hours while significantly saving on fuel costs as the aircraft would receive tail winds in both directions of the journey, a senior DGCA official said today.

Weather conditions and speed of winds while flying over the Pacific region route helps the aircraft reach faster than flying over Atlantic route.

The official said Air India would start the direct flight from New Delhi to San Francisco from October 16 and November onwards it would double the frequency these flights to six per week.

"The aircraft will receive tail winds (which will help push the flight faster to its destination) in both directions. This will help the aircraft reach San Francisco and Delhi in the return direction 90 minutes earlier than what it does at present," the official said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had approved the flight route in August.

Charting the new route, Air India planes would fly eastwards to reach San Francisco by crossing the vast Pacific Ocean. Even though the route would be almost 1,400 km longer compared to the current trajectory where the flight flies over the Atlantic, there would be a significant saving on fuel and journey time due to powerful tail winds.

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To promote his upcoming project "Shivaay" actor-director Ajay Devgn is planning to launch a comic book series inspired by the film.

The comic book is an adventure of a mountaineer named Shivaay who uses his wit, skill and expertise to overcome odds.

It (book) will be launched by Ajay and the cast of "Shivaay" on October 23 in Mumbai, a press release said.

The book is being scripted and designed by TBS Planet, a comics studio from Bangalore.

"'Shivaay' the comic is totally different from the film but it has the flavour of adventure and the characteristics of the mountaineer.

"Usually the comic inspires the film, here our film has inspired a comic book series. We are happy to partner with Rajeev from TBS Planet to bring the spirit of Shivaay to comic book readers," Ajay told PTI.

According to the press release, the story is based on a mission that Shivaay undertakes on the request of India Meteorological Department(IMD).

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All communication channels with the Indian military including the hotline are open, the Pakistan army has said, even as it accused India of escalating tensions.

"The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false," Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said.

"What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements" by the Indian side, Bajwa told China's state-run Xinhua agency yesterday.

At least two Pakistani soldiers have been killed while nine injured in the Indian firing over the past week, the general said.

However, the army spokesman emphasised on the importance of resolving the current tension through dialogue.

He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the "start of the cross LoC firing".

"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitors the situation and reports to its headquarters.

India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, with the Army saying it had inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

The strike came just days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.

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The Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) today signed an agreement with three China-based entities for development of minerals and industrial park in the state entailing investment of about USD 1.5 billion.

Power China Guizhou Engineering Corporation, Aluminium Corporation of China Limited, and Guizhou Maritime Silk Road International Investment Corporation would jointly develop the mines and industrial park in Andhra Pradesh, a statement said.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the fourth annual India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue here.

The project would provide direct and indirect employment to 40,000 persons. The release further said that the proposed year of commencement of the part is end-2018.

The agreement is a follow up of the visit of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to China in June.

Meanwhile, speaking at the the India Economic Summit, Naidu talked about the vision and planning to develop Amaravati in to a new megacity.

Naidu said that Amaravati, which is his ambitious project, will eventually become a major economic engine for the state and he aims to develop the new capital city into a "Happy City".

He said that principles like walk-to- work, urban spaces geared towards social interaction and availability of essential services and outlets within five minutes walk from home are the central pillars of planning of the city.

The Chief Minister further said that Andhra Pradesh will be amongst the top three states of the country by 2022 with "high Happiness Index by 2029" and will emerge as the most preferred destination by 2050.

Elaborating the framework to develop upcoming capital of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said that he is committed to transform the state into a happy, inclusive, responsible, globally competitive and innovation-driven society.

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Alleging that BJP was trying to take "political mileage" out of the surgical strikes across the LoC, BSP chief Mayawati today said only the Army should be felicitated for its action and not the Defence Minister or the Prime Minister.

"BJP's attempt to take political mileage out of the surgical strikes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls should be condemned. Only the Army should be felicitated and hailed for it not any leader, the Defence Minister or the Prime Minister," Mayawati said.

She said the BJP leadership's reported directive to its leaders and ministers not to issue statements on the surgical strikes seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

"Against the instruction, hoardings, posters and statments of BJP leaders are being used to take political gain out the of force's action. This is happening when the situation on the border is tense and terrorists are continuing their attacks. The Centre and BJP should avoid such propaganda for political gains," the BSP supremo said.

"People's apprehensions that the BJP government headed by Narendra Modi will promote hatred, orchestrate communal riots and rake up the India-Pakistan issue ahead of the UP Assembly polls to turn the tide in its favour are proving true. It did the same before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls," she alleged.

Mayawati said the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government have gone on an "inauguration spree, which is an attempt to divert voters' attention and confuse them".

Mayawati alleged that BJP had started Parivartan Yatras



to hide the shortcomings of the central government and its failure to fulfil even one-third of its poll promises. They are going about saying that no development took place during BSP rule which is baseless, she claimed.

BSP, during all its four times in power, did not help capitalists like BJP but worked for 'Sarv Samaj' (all the society), she said, citing various projects undertaken by her government.

Mayawati said the works started by her government were either stopped altogether by the present SP government or renamed but they did not have the same momentum.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, she said, "The head of the SP government should find some time out of his family oneupmanship and fight for survival and mend the dismal law and order of the state as well as the bad state of environment in the districts adjoining national capital..."



To questions, she said any move by SP to enter into a grand alliance proved that it had already accepted defeat.

"In these elections, the camps of Akhilesh and Shivpal will ensure the defeat of each other. Everyone, especially Muslims, have come to know about it and the amount of drama," she said, adding that had SP really worked and taken care of the law and order, they would not have to rely on others.

Mayawati exuded confidence that her party will get absolute majority in the coming polls and ruled out any alliance, saying, "Only the weak look for support.
MISSOULA  The Missoula Police Department is trying to track down a person who claimed on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon that the "clown threat" against local high schools was a prank.

Missoula Police public information officer Travis Welsh said Thursday morning that a detective assigned to the case had tried making contact with the person through Facebook on Wednesday night. Welsh did not know if contact had been made yet.

"We have somebody who has posted a Facebook message claiming responsibility, saying it was a stupid prank, but of course we're not taking anything for granted," Welsh said. "We're trying to follow up on that ... to find out if it's true or not."

On Wednesday, Missoula County Public Schools superintendent Mark Thane said in a letter to parents that the district had been made aware of a Facebook threat against high school students. Missoula County Public Schools has been working with the Missoula Police Department.

The threat was in line with a wave of clown sightings and clown threats nationwide.

School resource officers are patrolling the schools as usual, and talking to students to learn more about the origin of the threat.

Police have reminded the public to call 911 if they notice anything suspicious, and to not hurt anyone due to what they're wearing. They have also advised people to not "exploit this craze" by dressing as a clown in public or threatening violence.
Actress Hina Dilpazeer, who will be seen with Naseeruddin Shah in Indo-Pak collaboration "Jeewan Hathi", says artistes can be peace messengers at a time when tension is high between India and Pakistan.

The 47-year-old Pakistani actress believes artistes may not be able to change the current political scenario, but they can spread love, reported Dawn.

"All us artistes, who are related to creative works, our job is not to change anybody, our job is to ignite light in the darkness, in hopes that it may create light... We are just doing that.

"We ignite the light of our names, of our films and hope that it is enough to pave a path. We're not here to change anything. We're just here to spread love," she said.

The film is the part of a Pak-India collaboration initiated by Zee Zindagi called Zeal for Unity. The effort brought 12 filmmakers from both the countries.

Hina says the war is only between politicians, not the common people.

"I've lived a long time in Dubai and we had a lot of neighbours who were Indians, but they used to welcome us with a lot of love, and we'd call them over with a lot of love.

"This (Pak-India friction) is not the common man's war, this hatred is not the work of the common man, this is the politicians' work and nothing else. Why would one God-fearing human hate another God-fearing human? There's no reason," she said.

"Jeewan Hathi," written by Fasih Bari Khan and directed by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, is set to release in Pakistan on November 4. However, the project will not be screened in Indian cinemas as of now.

Pakistani artistes have faced a lot of backlash in India following the Uri attack. The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) has banned artistes like Fawad and Mahira Khan till Indo-Pak relations are normalised.

Cinema owners in Pakistan have retaliated by vowing not to screen Indian movies.

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An 11-year-old girl studying at a government-run ashram school in tribal-dominated Vikramgadh taluka of the neighbouring Palghar district died following an illness, police said today.

The VI standard student, Kausalya Kasa Barsat, a resident of Shevale Awalicha Pada at Sakhare of Suksale grampanchyat in Palghar, was suffering from high fever following which she was rushed to Vikramgadh rural hospital.

After treatment, she returned to her residential school where she died last night, an officer at Vikramgadh police station said.

The school authorities have informed the girl's parents about her death, he said.

Besides, another 14-year-old girl of the same school studying in class IX complained of vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain last night following which she was also rushed to Vikramgadh rural hospital.

As her condition worsened, she was shifted to a hospital in Jawhar where her condition was stated to be serious, police said.

Reacting to the death of the girl and illness of another student, former MLA and Shramajeevi Sanghatana president Vivek Pandit criticised the state Tribal Development Department for failing to take care of students of the ashram schools and health of the tribals.

He lamented that such incidents were taking place in the constituency of Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savra.

Notably, thousands of tribals had recently gheraoed Savra's house at Wada in the district in support of their demands, including effective steps to deal with rampant malnutrition and death of children.

The tribals had demanded effective implementation of Forest Rights Act, improvement in the condition of ashram schools (government-run institutes for tribal children), work for the tribals under the Employment Guarantee Scheme and timely payment of salaries of anganwadi workers, among others.

They have also sought effective steps to deal with rampant malnutrition and death of children in the tribal- dominated areas of the state.

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Maharashtra ATS today submitted a charge sheet against four persons arrested from Parbhani in the state for links to terror group ISIS and for plotting terrorist strikes in the country.

The charge sheet was filed in a court at Nanded, an ATS officer said here.

Naserbin Yafai Chaus (34), Mohd Shahed Khan (24), Akbal Ahamad Kabir Ahamad (28) and Mohd Raisoddin Siddiqui (37) were arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in July this year.

According to the investigators, the accused were planning terror attacks in India during the holy month of Ramadan and had collected material for making bombs.

Naserbin was in contact with Faruque, an ISIS sympathiser based in Syria, through social media, ATS said. After tracking Naserbin's online activities, ATS arrested him from Parbhani and subsequently nabbed the other three.

The accused were planning to travel to Syria to join ISIS, ATS charge sheet said.

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The far-right candidate in Austria's upcoming presidential election won 1,000 euros (USD 1,120) in damages today from a man who posted a fake image of him with a Hitler moustache on social media.

A post on Facebook had said that Norbert Hofer "wishes all those mentally disturbed compatriots who vote for him good morning. Heil Hofer!"



The 42-year-old man, who was not named, was also fined 320 euros by a court in Innsbruck, western Austria, for defamation, local media reported.

The defendant had removed the posting several days afterwards and apologised to Hofer's Freedom Party (FPOe) but not to Hofer himself, who launched a civil action against him.

The anti-immigration FPOe is one of several parties to have gained in support in Europe in the past year on the back of the continent's worst migration crisis since 1945.

The party strenuously denies being racist and having links to neo-Nazis and this is not the first time that Hofer, 45, has launched legal proceedings for being called a Nazi.

In May Hofer narrowly failed to be elected president in a runoff election after being beaten by independent ecologist Alexander Van der Bellen, 72, by just 31,000 votes.

The FPOe managed to have the election annulled in July however because of procedural irregularities.

Initially scheduled for October 2, the re-run of the vote was postponed in September to December 2 because of glue on postal votes failing to stick properly.

Hofer and Van der Bellen are running neck-and-neck in opinion polls.

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Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today criticised his Delhi counter-part Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh for their statements on the recent surgical strikes.

"Amarinder and Kejriwal should realise that it is not for politicos to adjudicate on strategic security matters," Badal said in a statement here today.

"Amarinder and Arvind Kejriwal have tried to make the Indian army's capabilities and intent look suspect in the eyes of the world at a most critical hour. The entire nation is stunned, angered and dismayed over their statements. It is mysterious why they are trying to hurt the entire nation at this critical hour," he said.

He also lashed out against those who are criticising the decisions taken jointly by the Government of India and the security forces.

He said whether or not to reveal evidence on surgical strikes and when to execute "pre-emptive civilian relocation" are issues to be decided on highly professional grounds.

The Punjab Government, he stated, had fully implemented the directive of the Centre on the security-driven issue of "pre-emptive civilian evacuation and relocation on border areas."



He emphasised that it was not for the state governments to decide on whether or not or when to execute pre-emptive relocation.

Meanwhile, Badal in a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh referred to Amarinder and Kejriwal's "duplicitous and deliberately mischievous statements on sensitive issues of border security."



The Chief Minister in his letter said, "This is an unpardonable sin as the Congress and the AAP leaders are treating our soldiers' heroic deeds to mere fodder for their petty politicking."



Badal said it was absurd and ironical that "only three voices in the entire world have treated the border evacuation and the surgical strikes with suspicion. One of these three voices belonged understandably to Pakistan and the other two belong to Kejriwal and Amarinder."



He accused the AAP and the Congress leaders of "trying to create confusion in the people's minds about temporary civilian relocation in border areas as well as on the crucial decision of the armed forces about the release of evidence on strikes across the LoC in and Jammu and Kashmir. No country can ever allow such suicidal statements."



"... Such issues are handled all over the world through a broad national consensus on strategic considerations," the letter added.

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BJP today stepped up attack on Rahul Gandhi for his 'dalali' barb on cross-LoC surgical strike, alleging that he has "crossed all limits" with his remarks which "undermine" the armed forces and are an "insult" to their bravery.

Urging parties not to politicise the issue of surgical strikes, BJP President Amit Shah also lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was the first among the "anti-India" leaders to raise questions on the army's action.

Terming as "very unfortunate" the Congress leader's use of word "dalali for soldiers", he alleged it depicted the Congress' mindset as as the word is synonymous with the opposition party whose leaders were "embroiled in several scams worth thousands of crores of rupees".

"With his 'khoon ki dalali' remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. I feel his use of words are an insult to the bravery of the armed forces...I agree that the word 'dalali' is part of their mindset as several scams took place during their rule," he said.

Shah said "Gandhi's remarks depict the Congress party's mindset. There is a flaw in the thought process of the Congress leadership. I strongly criticise his remarks. The word dalali should be restricted to Congress party only."



He said the remarks have "angered" the people and have "demoralised" the forces.

In a jibe at the Congress vice-president, Shah said he should concentrate on the "potato factory" for farmers instead as his understanding of the problems of agriculture sector is limited to that only.

Shah was referring to Gandhi's remarks made during his Delhi to Deoria march in Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to a poser on some BJP leaders creating a hype on the strikes, he said some workers were only exhibiting their excitement and questioned why there is was no such excitement in the Congress leadership.

The BJP chief urged all parties not to politicise the issue but said the BJP would take the issue to the masses to build up the confidence of the armed forces.

"We have not claimed the surgical strikes. The army did it. Army and not the politicians should claim credit," he said.

He said by questioning the strikes, Congress is associating itself with the dejection in Pakistan. He asked it to stand with the army and the enthused people of India instead.

Gandhi had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was selling off their sacrifices for political benefit.

"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Gandhi had said.

Targeting Kejriwal, Shah said he has made headlines in Pakistan and supported the neighbouring country which has denied that any strikes took place in its territory.

"We do not believe in the questions raised by some parties, but we believe in the army's actions... It (remarks on strikes) is a very condemnable act and all political parties should desist from doing so," he said.

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The upcoming second installment of "Blade Runner" to be directed by Denis Villeneuve finally has a title "Blade Runner 2049".

The plot is still kept under tight wraps, behind-the -scenes picture has been released to give a look at the main stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling joined by director Villeneuve and producer Ridley Scott, reported Aceshowbiz.

The movie is scheduled to hit theaters across the country starting October 6, 2017.

While Ford reprises his role as Rick Deckard. Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Dave Bautista and Jared Leto are also part of the cast.

The movie takes place several decades after the events of the first film that revolved around a retired member of a police officer corps called blade runners, who hunted down replicants on Earth.

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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is in the process of introducing a 'know-it-yourself' online module to help companies assess themselves on competitiveness and compliance, Chairman D K Sikri said today.

"We are going to have a know-it-yourself online module for companies to assess their level of competitiveness and compliance. We are working with law firms to bring out the first draft after which we will take forward," Sikri told a meet on competition law organised by CII here.

The fair trade regulator said there has been a steady increase in M&A filings with CCI over the past few years. "As of September, there have been 436 M&A filings, which are robust and this is expected to continue... We are conscious of the need and significance of inorganic growth to attain size and scale to succeed in global markets," he added.

CCI is following a policy of quick approval of M&As, in line with government initiatives on ease of doing business.

"Following a policy of quick approval of M&As in 30 working days, we have so far approved a filing in an average of 22 working days. Only three cases have so far gone into the phase II of approvals," he said.

CCI has disposed of about 80 per cent of the 700-odd anti-trust cases referred to it. "Over 600 of the 700 anti-trust cases handled by us till now have seen closure," Sikri said, adding that out of the information filed, 80 per cent are not subject to any investigation now.

"Only 20 per cent cases go through an investigation stage," he disclosed. CCI is also working on steps to revisit the rule of 30-day limit to make a filing.

Clarifying the regulator's stand on heavy penalty for cartelisation, he said, "We are a firm believer in, and would prefer, competition advocacy to create competitive culture in our economy. We want enterprises to imbibe competition compliance in their functioning. And if there is a violation, there will be penalties."



CCI held 66 events in the last six months to promote awareness among stakeholders and help them understand the scope of competition laws. It is also working on various aspects of competition laws to remove any ambiguity.

"We are working to develop a system to improve settlements in the next few years and provide clarity through guidelines on certain issues like penalties and non-compete, among others," he explained.

Urging companies to conduct a competitive audit and due diligence before becoming members of trade bodies, he said: "The members must be made aware of competition laws and should also support this through advocacy. With more awareness, we have seen small firms taking on established players to thwart unfair competition.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Expressing concern over poor linkage of Aadhaar cards with ration cards in Bihar, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today asked the state government to complete the process by December-January in order to check corruption in the public distribution system.

The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, also asked the Nitish Kumar government to install Point of Sale (POS) machines in all the PDS centres in the state by December.

"There is no doubt that we (Bihar) are lagging behind other states vis-a-vis linking of Aadhaar to ration cards and installation of POS machines. But Deepak ji (Bihar government Food and Consumer Protection Department Principal Secretary) has given assurance that both work would be completed at the earliest. The efforts would help in checking corruption in PDS," Paswan said.

Paswan was talking to mediapersons after reviewing FCI Bihar region with the state government officials here. The minister was accompanied by his ministry's Joint Secretary Prashant Trivedi, Bihar's Food and Consumer Protection Department Principal Secretary Deepak Prasad, FCI, Bihar GM Lokendra Singh and others.

"The principal secretary must set a target of linking 70 to 80 per cent of Aadhaar to ration cards by December besides installing POS machines at the PDS centres within the same time limit. If we are able to link Aadhaar to ration cards, at least 25 per cent of ration cards would be detected as fake ones," he told reporters.

Out of 1.54 crore ration cards in Bihar, only 20,000 cards have been linked with Aadhaar so far which constitutes 0.13 per cent, Paswan said, adding that the national percentage of Aadhaar linkage with ration cards stands at 66.

There are states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and union territory Chandigarh, which have achieved cent per cent linking of Aadhaar to ration cards, he added.

(Reopens CAL 3)



Stating that all the 5.35 lakh PDS shops across the



country would have POS facility by the end of next year, the minister said that Bihar does not have a single PDS shop equipped with POS machine. The state has 51,000 PDS shops.

Bihar's Food and Consumer Protection Department's Principal Secretary, however, exuded confidence that the state government would be able to achieve cent per cent linking of Aadhaar to ration cards by the end of January as the process for both enrollment under Aadhaar and distribution of Aadhaar cards have been expedited for which a meeting with UIDAI Director General was held last month for the purpose.

"In Bihar, there is 66 per cent enrollment under Aadhaar while 40 per cent of people have been given Aaadhar cards. We need to expedite both enrollment under Aadhaar and distribution of cards so that we can link Aadhaar number with ration cards. We need a photo copy of Aadhaar card for linking in order to avoid any discrepancies," Prasad told
The Centre today gave its in- principle approval to the proposed alignment of Katra-Amritsar -Delhi national highway via Jind-Barnala-Moga and Amritsar, a Punjab government statement claimed.

The decision was taken by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in a meeting here which was attended among others by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Punjab's official spokesman said the project is estimated to cost Rs 70,000 crores and reduce the distance between Delhi and Amritsar by more than 100 kms.

With the completion of this project the distance between Delhi and Amritsar will be covered in less than three hours, a Punjab government statement claimed.

The Union minister while finalizing the alignment and other details also told the two leaders soon all the alignment and project details would be shared with both their sates so that work on acquisition could begin within a time span of two months.

Granting another gift to Punjab, Gadkari gave in- principle go ahead to Jalandhar-Ajmer Expressway and its proposed alignment via Jalandhar-Moga-Bathinda and Ajmer.

Hailing this expressway as a "very big boost" and a "game-changer" to the national as well as the Punjab's economy, Badal said it will cut Jammu-Kandla distance by more than 600 kms.

This Expressway would approximately cost Rs 80000 crores.

A Haryana government release later said Gadkari directed the officers of the Ministry to coordinate with officers of the states concerned for conducting survey and study of possibilities for these projects.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar informed that the state would have a total length of 250 kilometres of both expressways passing through it.

The construction of the proposed Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway would not only reduce the distance between Delhi and Katra from 727 km to 572 km, but would also serve as a new corridor of development in Haryana, he said.

He said work on Kundli-Manesar stretch of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway had also begun.

Discussion was also held regarding the Delhi-Jaipur via Pataudi-Rewari new expressway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CHEYENNE, Wyo.  A pipeline company plans to replace portions of a northeast Wyoming natural gas pipeline that has had two recent leaks, including one that shut down a highway for more than two hours, though what caused the problems might not become publicly known.

None of the government agencies that oversee oil and gas pipelines  the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Wyoming Public Service Commission or Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission  has been following up on what happened because they lack jurisdiction over the 60-mile stretch where the leaks occurred.

The 16-inch pipeline is too far removed from where the natural gas came out of the ground for the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to have oversight. PHMSA only regulates pipelines that cross state lines.

The section of pipeline isn't under Wyoming Public Service Commission purview because it is upstream of a gas-processing plant and not close to a populated area, commission attorney Chris Petrie said Wednesday.

"If it went through a cluster of houses or other structures meant for human occupation, then it would be," Petrie said.

The much bigger of the two leaks happened 14 miles north of Douglas on Sept. 6 and prompted law enforcement to shut down Wyoming Highway 59 for more than two hours while workers shut off the flow. The leaking natural gas didn't ignite, but could have.

Operating at about two-thirds capacity, the buried pipeline was carrying 40 million cubic feet of gas per day to the Tallgrass natural gas processing plant outside Douglas, said Rosslyn Elliott, spokeswoman for Denver-based DCP Midstream.

"It was pretty quickly restored," Elliott said. "It wasn't out of service for very long."

On Aug. 30, an inspection with a device called a smart pig that detects leaks, dents and other problems as it travels through a pipeline found a pinhole leak about 40 miles to the north, in Campbell County, Elliott said by email.

The company is still investigating the leaks and has been planning to replace portions of the pipeline based on previous inspections, she said.

DCP Midstream isn't required to release its investigation to the public.

The company did notify the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality of the leaks because they caused air pollution. The Sept. 6 leak vented gas for 3  hours and likely discharged more than 5 tons of volatile organic compounds, according to written notification the company provided to the department.

The Department of Environmental Quality isn't among the agencies in charge of pipeline safety.

PHMSA in March proposed new regulations to expand its inspection and repair rules to include lines in some rural areas and those near oil and gas fields. PHMSA spokespeople declined to comment on the record, saying the pipeline was outside their jurisdiction.

Northeast Wyoming is a major gas-producing area but the DCP Midstream pipeline leaked well downstream of any gas fields. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission only regulates in-field flowlines and gathering systems, according to spokeswoman Kimberly Mazza.

"Once the oil or gas reaches the sales point and custody of the oil or gas transfers from the oil and gas operator to someone else we typically no longer have authority," Mazza said by email.
Police today filed a charge sheet against three accused in the Kopardi gangrape and murder case, which had rocked the Maharashtra Assembly and triggered silent protests by the Maratha community across the state.

Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police Saurabh Tripathi filed the charge sheet before a sessions court in Ahmednagar district.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the charge sheet has come well before the statutory period of 90 days, which ends on October 11.

The charge sheet, which runs into over 350 pages was filed against Jitendra Babulal Shinde, Santosh Gorakh Bhawal and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume under section 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and relevant sections of protection of children from sexual offenses act (POCSO).

The 15-year-old victim was raped on July 13 at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district, allegedly by the three men who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before throttling her.

The incident had sparked public outrage and political slugfest across the state with the Congress demanding Devendra Fadnavis' resignation on "moral grounds" during the monsoon session of the State Assembly in July.

The chief minister had announced Rs 5 lakh financial help to the victim's family and assured that the matter will be heard in a fast track court after the Opposition in both houses of the Legislature created a ruckus over the case.

It also triggered "silent" marches (muk morchas) by the Marathas across the state as the victim belongs to their community, while the culprits are Dalits.

More than 20 such rallies have already taken place across the state over the last one-and-a-half months. The final rally or the 'maha morcha' will be organised in Mumbai, and is likely to be held after Diwali.

Their main demands included filing of the charge sheet in time and speedy trial in a fast track court to ensure justice to the victim besides reservation for Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For a few thousand dollars, Chinese companies offer to export a powerful chemical that has been killing unsuspecting drug users and is so lethal that it presents a potential terrorism threat, an investigation has found.

The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export the chemical a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil to the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as USD 2,750 a kilogram (2.2 pounds), no questions asked.

Carfentanil burst into view this summer, the latest scourge in an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed tens of thousands of people in the United States alone.

Dealers have been cutting carfentanil and its weaker cousin, fentanyl, into heroin and other illicit drugs to boost profit margins.

Despite the dangers, carfentanil is not a controlled substance in China, where it is manufactured legally and sold openly online.

The US government is pressing China to blacklist carfentanil, but Beijing has yet to act, leaving a substance whose lethal qualities have been compared with nerve gas to flow into foreign markets unabated.

"We can supply carfentanil . For sure," a saleswoman from Jilin Tely Import and Export Co. Wrote in broken English in a September email. "And it's one of our hot sales product." China's Ministry of Public Security declined multiple requests for comment from the AP.

Before being discovered by drug dealers, carfentanil and substances like it were viewed as chemical weapons. One of the most powerful opioids in circulation, carfentanil is so deadly that an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person.

Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin; carfentanil is chemically similar, but 100 times stronger than fentanyl itself.

"It's a weapon," said Andrew Weber, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs from 2009 to 2014. "Companies shouldn't be just sending it to anybody."



The AP did not actually order any drugs so could not conduct tests to determine whether the products on offer were genuine. But a kilogram of carfentanil shipped from China was recently seized in Canada.

Carfentanil was first developed in the 1970s, and its only routine use is as an anesthetic for elephants and other large animals. Governments quickly targeted it as a potential chemical weapon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's biggest ice cave, formed some three million years ago, in the northern Shanxi province continues to accumulate ice.

The cave, in the Luya mountain in Ningwu County, Xinzhou City, is connected with Fenhe River, which is believed to provide water for the cave, said Du Erping with the management office of Luya scenic area.

At an altitude of 2,300 meters, the cave is more than 100 meters deep.

The stunning natural spectacle is the largest ice cave to be discovered so far in China and is believed to date back three million years.

"Some villagers say their great-great-grandfathers had known about the cave," Du said. During World War II, war horses that were killed during fighting were stored in the cave, as the sub-zero temperature ensured the meat would keep and it could be eaten at a later time.

The wooden ladders in the cave are cleaned twice a day, otherwise they would collect layers up layers of ice.

"Because the ice continues to form, the ice cave changes all the time," he said.

Scientists are still researching how the cave formed.

"Such caves are normally found in extremely cold areas such as Antarctica or Siberia, but Luya mountain is at a similar latitude to Lisbon in Portugal," Du said.

Once, as an experiment, a haystack was placed at the bottom of the cave and it disappeared, only to be found the next day in the river.

The cave also has several gaps where wind enters. Workers block them during the day for the sake of tourists, and unblock them at night, Du said.

The cave is open for visitors from April to October each year, when a maximum of 3,000 people are allowed to enter daily.

In the past, villagers used the ice from the cave for medicinal purposes. However, to protect the cave, such behaviour is now banned.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's Internet regulator and the tourism administration have launched a three-month campaign to crackdown on misleading advertisements on tourism websites.

Some tourism websites feature false, misleading or vague advertising and there are privacy issues related to customers data, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said.

The campaign will focus on tourism web portals, travel agency websites, online booking service websites, tourist area websites and mobile apps.

The authorities said they will punish and shut down websites that are found to have flouted regulations, and urged websites to ensure their customers' rights.

The CAC and CNTA called on the public to inform on tourism websites.

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Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan today alleged that the BJP-led government was not serious about the quota issue and said his party will take to the streets in support of reservation for Muslims and Marathas.

"The present BJP government is against reservation since it takes orders from the RSS. BJP state chief Raosaheb Danve has made it clear that his party is against reservation on the basis of religion," Chavan claimed.

"The previous government had given five per cent reservation to Muslims not on the basis of religion, but their backwardness. The BJP-Sena government deliberately allowed the Ordinance to lapse. In the last one-and-half years, they have just assured that a new law will be brought, but their assurance is only on paper. This shows they are not serious," he said, referring to BJP's support to Maratha reservation.

A resolution seeking to provide reservation to the Maratha community was adopted yesterday at BJP's state executive meeting here. However, asked about reservation for Muslims, Danve had said there was no provision for quota on the basis of religion.

Chavan said although Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeals that Muslims should not be considered as a votebank and should be treated equally, the state government denies their rightful reservation to the community.

The government is not serious in providing reservation to Marathas and this has been evident in last two years. The government did not take cognisance of the Maratha morchas organised all over the state, he claimed.

"Anger against the state government was seen during the silent morchas. The resolution on Maratha reservation was passed in the BJP state executive fearing backlash in the ensuing elections. Had the government been serious, the decision would have been taken long ago as the same party is in power in Maharashtra and Centre," he said.

The resolution in the state executive was "all drama", the former Maharashtra Chief Minister alleged.

"The governments in the state and the Centre function on RSS ideology, which is against reservation. "The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has made his views known on the issue. Just like it has denied Muslims their reservation, they are doing the same with the Marathas," he charged.

The Congress leader said his party will implement the reservations for Marathas and Muslims if it comes to power.

"But the party will take to the streets to demand that the reservations be implemented immediately. If the government does not budge, people will teach them a lesson," he charged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Women and Child Development minister Maneka Gandhi today asked HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar to consider providing free education to the children of martyrs of Uri attack.

She told PTI that she would also be writing to state governments on the issue.

"Have written to HRD Minister Sh @PrakashJavadekar ji to consider the plea to provide free education to children of #Uri Martyrs," she tweeted.

The move comes after she received a petition signed by over 50,000 citizens on Change.Org on behalf of the children of Uri Martyrs.

"I received a petition signed by over 50,000 citizens on Change.Org on behalf of the children of #Uri Martyrs (sic)," she said in a series of tweets.

"Our soldiers have made supreme sacrifices. Taking care of the cost of educating their children will be a small part of our gratitude," she tweeted.

The petition titled "Free education for children of India's martyrs" was initiated on Change.Org by a management student last month.

It has been endorsed by as many as 70,000 people online.

According to the petition: "Their (martyrs') sacrifice is priceless. These kids have no one to support their dreams, they've lost their fathers so that India could be safe."



"Providing a one time compensation is not enough, rather it is insulting their sacrifice. These children deserve constant support in order to give wings to their dreams."



19 soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri on September 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi police constable today managed to nab two alleged chain snatchers who fired at him when he intervened in Karawal Nagar area of northeast Delhi, police said today.

Police said constable Shyamveer, who is posted at Karawal Nagar police station, apprehended both the men trying to snatch the chain from a girl near Shiv Vihar pulia on Joharipur road.

When he tried to nab Shabir and Hashmuddin, they took out a pistol and fired at him, said a police officer.

Police said Shyamveer had a narrow escape.

He fired in retaliation but no one was injured in the incident.

The accused tried to flee leaving behind their motorcycle but were caught by people who thrashed them, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Curfew was imposed in seven police station areas of the city today due to apprehensions of violence after Friday prayers.

After increased movement of private vehicles for six days, the roads across Srinagar city today wore a deserted look.

"Curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure in seven police station areas of Srinagar city," a police official said here.

The police station areas where curfew has been imposed are Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma and Batamaloo.

"Restrictions on assembly of people are in force in rest of Kashmir Valley while security forces have been deployed in strength to maintain law and order," the official said.

Normal life remains affected in Kashmir since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.

The unrest has claimed as many as 83 lives and left thousands of others injured in clashes between protestors and security forces.

The separatists had called for a march to the local UN office here today.

Some of the top separatist leaders and youths accused of inciting violence have been arrested by police over the past three months. Over 300 persons have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Devotion to Rahul Gandhi is overriding Congress's devotion to the country, BJP today said, targeting it over its reference to a now-closed criminal case involving the party's chief Amit Shah and accusing it of stooping to a low to defend its vice president.

The party also played TV interviews of former army chief Gen Bikram Singh and former DGMO Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia to support its claim that surgical strikes like the one carried out by the army recently were never done earlier as Congress had claimed that these happened during the UPA rule as well.

It fielded Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to launch a counterattack on the Congress and he raked up National Herald case in which its president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are accused, noting that both are on bail in the "case of cheating".

Congress leader and former Union minister Kapil Sibal's attack on Shah was "shameful, regrettable and full of venom", he said, claiming that the more leaders like Sibal and Digvijay Singh speak the more votes BJP gets.

"We had hoped that Congress will correct itself after falling to 44 seats (in 2014 Lok Sabha polls)... It's good. They should make Sibal talk more more so that Congress could fall to 24 seats.

"Devotion to Rahul Gandhi is overriding devotion to the country for Congress. Otherwise, a party that has ruled the country for over 50 years would not have held such a press conference. Defending Rahul Gandhi is more important that defending country for it," he said.

Earlier, Sibal had hit out at Shah, saying "Now will leaders who have spent time in jails and are murder-accused tell us that our foundations are faulty and are questioning Rahul Gandhi's lineage."



Shah was an accused in a fake encounter case and was later discharged by the court.

The court had termed the case against him "a frame-up due to conspiracy", Prasad said. BJP had then blamed the UPA government for fixing Shah in the case for political reasons.

"What is this arrogance that our president is being called a criminal? The case was lodged due to prejudice and even charges were not framed by court which said it was a frame-up due to conspiracy," he said.

Taking exception to Congress' charge that Pakistan-based terrorist outfit JeM was a product of BJP, Prasad said Pakistan spy agency ISI will be most happy with these comments which have provided JeM a big handle.

"We had never thought that the Congress will fall to such a low to defend its leader," he said claiming he had credible information that Congress leaders too are upset over Rahul's comments.

The top brass of the saffron party had decided that its leaders will not do any "thumping" over the strikes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Communist Party of India has termed the TRS government's move to substantially increase the number of districts in Telangana as "unscientific and wasteful expenditure".

"We actually wanted some new districts to be formed. There could have been one district for each Parliamentary constituency (total 17) or a maximum of 20. But 31 (proposed) is too many," CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said.

Telangana at present has 10 districts and the government initially proposed to add 17 more and subsequently weighed the option of another four (Gadwal, Asifabad, Jangaon and Sircilla).

"I think its done unscientifically. Some (new districts) are justified, some to satisfy TRS leadership," Reddy said. "Administratively, more wasteful expenditure", he told PTI, adding, the Government should have a struck a "balance" (on district reorganisation exercise).

The new districts are proposed to come into existence from Dussehra on October 11.

The government is slated to discuss the final shape of the new districts at today's cabinet meeting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a bid to mount pressure on the AIADMK government on the Cauvery issue, M K Stalin today said DMK would convene an all party meeting on the matter if the ruling party failed to do so.

The Leader of Opposition said DMK would lead the all party delegation, apparently barring the AIADMK, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, if needed, also meet President Pranab Mukherjee on the Cauvery issue.

DMK has been batting for an all party meeting and a "cohesive action" by political parties involving both ruling and Opposition whenever the Cauvery row cropped up. However, AIADMK government has not favoured such an idea and was perusing legal action.

The DMK treasurer said a meeting of all political parties will only be appropriate if it was called by the ruling party. "We waited patiently for it. However, they (AIADMK) did not take such a step."



Addressing a hunger strike demonstration held by his party here against the Centre on Cauvery issue, Stalin said "after seeing today's fast, if the government decides to call for an all party meeting, we will fully cooperate and there is no doubt."



However, he said if the government delayed in taking a decision, "I say it for sure, we will convene the meeting ourselves after getting the permission of our party chief (Karunandihi) and (then) lead a delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi."



The DMK leader said if needed, the delegation will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee on Cauvery issue, adding "we are prepared for it."



Referring to all party meetings and special session of State Assemblies of Karnataka and Kerala on river water disputes like Mullaperiyar and Cauvery, he asked if any such initiative had been taken by the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.

He said during the DMK tenure all party meetings had been convened on such key issues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japanese telecom firm NTT DoCoMo today said it has moved a US court to force its estranged Indian partner Tata Group to pay USD 1.2 billion awarded as damages by an international arbitration for breach of contract.

Tata Sons said it will resist enforcement of the arbitration award in India as also other jurisdictions as it has been barred by Indian law and public policy for paying damages awarded for breaching a contract to buyback DoCoMo shares in their joint venture at a pre-agreed price.

"DoCoMo has taken a further step to enforce the London Court of Arbitration (LCIA) award against Tata by commencing action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York," Japan's largest telecom firm said in a statement.

It believed that the decision of LCIA that Tata has breached its commercial agreement and owes DoCoMo USD 1.2 billion in damages is enforceable in any country which is a signatory to the New York Convention, including the United States.

"Until, DoCoMo receives the full amount due, it will continue to seek enforcement globally," the statement said.

Tata Sons in a statement said it has from outset emphasised its "commitment to honoring its contractual obligations to DoCoMo in accordance with the applicable law."



"Tata Sons maintains the same position with respect to the award. However, performance of the award requires the approval of the Reserve Bank of India, which to date has been denied on the basis of pre-existing regulations that are fully in the knowledge of DoCoMo.

"Until it has been authorised to proceed with payment by the relevant Indian legal authority, Tata Sons has been advised that enforcement of the award would be contrary to Indian law and public policy," the statement said.

Tata Sons said on that basis it is "resisting enforcement in India and will resist enforcement in any other jurisdiction DoCoMo files for enforcement".

It further said it has already placed the full amount awarded to DoCoMo in the arbitration - USD 1.17 billion, in cash - with the High Court of Delhi, where DoCoMo has previously filed for enforcement of the arbitral award and the entire issue is pending adjudication.

DoCoMo had in November 2009 acquired 26.5 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices for about Rs 12,740 crore (at Rs 117 per share). This was as per a 2008 understanding that in case it exits the venture within five years, it will be paid a minimum 50 per cent of the acquisition price.

The Tata-DoCoMo buyback contract was signed despite



Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules barring pre-set buyback pricing.

DoCoMo in April 2014 decided to exit the joint venture that struggled to grow subscribers quickly. It sought Rs 58 per share or Rs 7,200 crore from Tatas.

But the Indian Group offered Rs 23.34 a share in line with RBI guidelines that states that an international firm can only exit its investment at a valuation "not exceeding that arrived at on the basis of return on equity".

The Japanese firm dragged Tatas to international arbitration where it won a USD 1.17 billion award. To honour that award, an application was made to the RBI seeking exemption from the foreign exchange act.

The Reserve Bank in turn wrote to the Finance Ministry seeking exemption from the rules as such a measure would boost investor confidence. But the Finance Ministry turned down the plea as it would set a precedence for other such cases.

(REOPENS DCM84)



Meanwhile, Tata Sons today said it has filed evidence with English High Court supporting application to set aside ex-parte order obtained by NTT Docomo.

"Tata Sons has today filed evidence in support of its September 5th, 2016 application before the English High Court of Justice," Tata Sons said in a statement.

The application seeks to set aside the court's ex-parte order dated July 25, 2016 that granted NTT Docomo Inc leave to enforce the LCIA arbitral award, the statement added.

Tata Sons' evidence outlines the grounds on which it will resist enforcement of the award, including the argument that performance of the award without approval by Reserve Bank of India would be illegal under Indian law and contrary to public policy.

Another ground cited in the evidence is that "Docomo has not validly tendered its shares in Tata Teleservices Limited to Tata Sons, which is a necessary condition precedent to payment by Tata of the sum awarded by the arbitral tribunal".

Tata Sons clarified that by pursuing the application before the English High Court, it is "following the path laid down by the arbitral tribunal in the award".

"The arbitral tribunal, with Docomo's encouragement, expressly left open the issue of whether performance of the award would require approval from the Reserve Bank of India. Tata sought such approval and was refused. Accordingly, Tata Sons' actions do not, in any manner, detract from its stated commitment to discharge its obligations to the fullest extent permitted under law," Tatas claimed.
The Enforcement Directorate today informed the Bombay High Court it has started investigation into complaints of alleged fraud and misappropriation of funds of an Osho Rajneesh trust even as Pune police faced the court's ire for its "casual" approach in its probe.

A division bench of justices N H Patil and P D Naik was hearing a petition filed by Yogesh Thakker alleging that Osho's signature was forged in his will by the trustees of the Osho International Foundation.

According to Thakker, the trustees allegedly transferred money from the trust to private companies owned by them. In 2012, Thakker wrote a letter to Pune Police Commissioner following which an FIR was lodged against the trustees in 2013, but so far there has been no progress.

Following this, Thakker approached the high court seeking transfer of the case to CBI.

Osho Rajneesh passed away in 1990 and his will was prepared in 1989.

Thakker alleged the will was forged and supported his claim with a report of a private handwriting expert. He sought CBI probe in the matter.

Meanwhile, Pune police today informed the court that it had written to the central government seeking permission to issue Letters Rogatory to foreign countries seeking certain documents pertaining to the case.

"We are still awaiting reply from the central government. Meanwhile the government handwriting expert has said that he will not be in a position to give his opinion on the veracity of the Osho guru's signature based on the photocopy of the will. The original will is not available," additional public prosecutor Sangeeta Shinde told the court.

Irked with this, the court said, "You (police) are taking this case very casually. On the last hearing itself we had said a senior police officer should remain present when the matter is heard... But today some junior level officer has come. You are just wasting our time. Since last four to five years you are investigating."



Meanwhile, advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for the ED, informed the court that the central agency has also started its probe in the matter after receiving complaints.

"We are looking into the allegations and have called for case related documents," he said.

The court posted the petition for further hearing on October 25 and directed for a senior police officer to remain present in court.

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Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair today hinted at a possible return to frontline politics as he asserted that the UK at present seemed a "one-party state".

The former Labour party leader described it as a "tragedy" that the onlytwo choicesfacing the British electorate were the Conservative party pursuing a hard Brexit and "an ultra-leftLabour Party".

"I don't know if there's a role for me...There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment. All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question," he told the 'Esquire' magazine.

Blair, who is unpopular with a section of the party and electorate for his decision to lead Britain into war in Iraq in 2003, had recently announced a scale back of his consultancy business to focus more on charity work.

"It's a tragedy for British politics if the choice before thecountry is a Conservative government going for a hard Brexit and an ultra-leftLabour Party, that believes in a set of policies that takes us back to the sixties. In the UK at the moment you've got a one-party state," he said.

Blair said Labour under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn had shifted from a party of government to an "ultra-left" culture "which believes that the action on the street is as important as the action in Parliament".

"It's a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, veryremote from the way that broad mass of people really think. The reason their policies shouldn't be supported isn't because they're wildlyradical, it's because they're not," Blair said.

"They don't work. They're actually a form of conservatism. This is the pointabout them. What they are offering is a mixture of fantasy and error," he said.

In the decade since leaving office in 2007, the former Labour MP has focused on business ventures and on his role as the Middle East envoy, which he left in 2015.

"The centre ground is in retreat. This is our challenge. We've got to rise to that challenge," he said.

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Fortis Healthcare has agreed to provide corporate guarantee for a term loan of SGD 165 million (over Rs 800 crore) that its subsidiary Fortis Healthcare International is taking from a consortium of bankers.

"One of the company's wholly owned subsidiary... Fortis Healthcare International Ltd, incorporated in Mauritius on October 7, 2016 has agreed to accept a term loan of SGD 165 million from Consortium of Bankers (Singapore)," Fortis Healthcare today said in a BSE filing.

Fortis Healthcare Ltd being the holding company has agreed to provide corporate guarantee for the said credit facility, it added.

Shares of Fortis Healthcare closed 0.52 per cent higher at Rs 172.40 per scrip on BSE.

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French President Francois Hollande has sent one of the strongest warnings yet that Britain will have to pay a heavy price for leaving the European Union (EU), adding to deep concern in financial markets.

He called for "firmness" by the EU powers in negotiations to avoid the risk that other countries might seek to follow Britain's lead and leave the bloc.

The comments added to jitters on financial markets, where on Friday morning the pound suffered its biggest drop since Britain voted in a June referendum to leave the EU.

"There must be a threat; there must be a risk; there must be a price, otherwise we will be in negotiations that will not end well and, inevitably, will have economic and human consequences," he said in a speech on Thursday.

"Britain has decided on a Brexit, I believe even a hard . Well, we must go all the way with Britain's will to leave the EU. We have to have this firmness otherwise the principles of the EU will be questioned. Other countries or other parties will be minded to leave the EU in order to have the supposed benefits and no downsides or rules," he said.

Hollande made the speech to mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Institut Jacques Delors, a think tank founded by the former president of the European Commission.

He said Delors had also faced crises provoked by the United Kingdom, noting that the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s obtained a rebate on its EU contributions worth billions of pounds every year.

"Thatcher wanted to remain in Europe, but receive a cheque in return," he said.

"Today, Britain wants to leave, but does not want to pay anything. That is not possible," he added.

British Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Sunday that her government will trigger negotiations by the end of March, putting the country on course to leave the EU by early 2019.

European powers keen to dampen rising euroscepticism in their own backyards have taken a hard line with Britain, warning that informal negotiations cannot start before the two-year notification process is triggered.

May's government and party is divided over whether to go for a "hard" or "soft" withdrawal from the EU.

"Hard" Brexit would mean quickly severing all links with EU institutions and pulling out of the single market, relying instead on World Trade Organization rules to trade overseas.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault today warned that an upcoming vote at the UN Security Council on imposing a ceasefire in Syria would test Russia's willingness to halt the slaughter.

"Tomorrow will be a moment of truth, a moment of truth for all the members of the Security Council," Ayrault said, standing by his US colleague Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Do you want a ceasefire in Aleppo, yes or no? And the question is in particular for our Russian partner."



France has drafted a resolution for the Security Council demanding a ceasefire in Syria and an end to Russia and the regime's bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

Ayrault said that this would include a ban on flights over the city by warplanes, adding: "We will not accept Aleppo being razed to the ground."



Russia, as a permanent member of the council, wields a veto and Ayrault admitted that there was work to do on the resolution and it was far from clear whether Moscow would accept it.

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Police has arrested five members of a gang and recovered huge quantity of illicit liquor from their possession in central Delhi.

The gang members Anshuman Bhardwaj, Birjesh Chaudhary, Prakash, Balram and Durga Prasad, who were allegedly involved in smuggling of illicit liquor, were arrested from Nabi Karim area yesterday, said DCP (central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa.

"123 cartons containing 2,460 bottles of Korean Soju brand illicit liquor were recovered from their possession and two vans which were used for smuggling the liquor seized," he said.

The raid was conducted on specific input regarding the packing of cartons to be smuggled to Chennai.

During interrogation, the accused said that Anshuman's company Classic Business Advisory used to import foreign liquor from Korea and thereafter sell it in Chennai at a high price.

Brijesh told police that he was directed by Anshuman to book a cargo for Chennai.

"After collecting the consignment from Custom House, Gurgaon, he brought the illicit liquor to Delhi. The accused were packing the liquor in packets after breaking the seal of Custom office when the police raid took place and they were caught," the officer said.

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Against the backdrop of a murder and a suicide attempt by two women inmates in Sada sub jail recently, a Goa-based NGO Savera today said they had cautioned the state government over the state of affairs inside the prison.

"We had visited the jail last month and had noticed the situation there. The living conditions and treatment meted out to inmates is horrible. We had submitted our report to State Chief Minister and Inspector General of Prisons," Tara Kerkar, President, Savera told reporters here today.

She said that the conditions "inside the jail are horrible" with gang rivalries flourishing which has even left the jail guards feeling insecure.

"There is acute scarcity of staff at this sub jail. Moreover, the jail guards are feeling unsafe to work there due to the indiscipline and violence inside," Kerkar claimed.

Sada Sub Jail is located in Vasco town and is amongst the two jail facilities existing in the coastal state, where undertrials and even convicts are lodged.

In an ugly incident this week, Sanjay Chauvan, who was arrested in a theft case was fatally assaulted by a fellow jail inmate.

Chauvan died while being treated at Goa Medical College near here. Similarly, two women undertrials had tried to commit suicide in the jail, who were lodged in the same cell.

Kerkar said the jail authorities should isolate the violent inmates from others.

"There is no monitoring of movements of the inmates. The recommendation to install CCTV camera in the jail has gone unheard," she said.

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Air intelligence unit officials today seized a purse containing nine "gold bar cut pieces", valued at about Rs 31 lakh, from an Air Indian Express flight, which arrived from Sharjah at Nedumbassery International Airport here.

The officials noticed a purse containing some heavy items under a seat of the aircraft and when they searched it, found the gold bar cut pieces, weighing 1035.350 gm, a release said.

Further investigation is in progress, it added.

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Montanas Supreme Court candidates sparred over experience Thursday during a Billings forum.

District Judge Dirk Sandefur accused Kristen Juras, a University of Montana law professor, of lacking the judicial chops to sit on the states high court. Juras said she brings expertise in business and agriculture that the high court currently lacks.

What this really boils down to is relevant experience, and what you need to understand is that the cases that get to the Montana Supreme Court come from, with very few exceptions, Montanas district courts, Sandefur said. Theyre litigated cases. They dont come from the practitioners desk or office.

Spectator John Gibson, one of a roughly 50 people at the noon League of Women Voters forum, asked Juras whether electing a non-judge to the Supreme Court was like hiring a non-doctor to treat a patient.

There arent many former District Court judges on the high court now, Juras said.

Patricia Cotter, whose seat I am running for, was never a judge. Chief Justice (Mike) McGrath was never a judge. Justice Beth Baker was never a judge, Juras said. The two sitting judges who have judicial experience are Justice Laurie McKinnon and Jim Shea, an administrative law judge.

Juras said she does have courtroom experience as an attorney, most recently as late August in Pondera County. She has done charitable work representing the mother with mentally disabilities in a child visitation case. She represented a veteran, destitute, who lived in Juras home for five weeks, the candidate said.

As I said, I donate 100 hours a year, and more significant than that, on a wide variety of issues, Juras said. Those include collection issues, landlord tenant issues. My clients are people who cannot afford an attorney.

Though she has never been a judge, Juras said she has been a mediator, settling civil matters.

Sandefur stressed to the audience that the charitable work Juras referred to is actually something required of all attorneys. Judges are not allowed to practice law, so Sandefur, a Cascade County District Court judge for 14 years, couldnt point to his own charitable services.

Public stream access, a recurring theme for Democrats this election cycle, was raised during the discussion among the non-partisan Supreme Court candidates. An audience member asked Juras whether the courts had created Constitutional rights that previously didnt exist.

Juras replied saying the U.S. Supreme Court had created a constitutional right when it nationalized same-sex marriage. Marriage terms were previously a state issue Juras said. She then pivoted to the Montana Supreme Court expanding public stream access laws in 1984. The state high court ruled that the people had the right to walk streambeds below the high water mark.

I would not have been in the majority in that decision, but the Montana Legislature came back in 1985 and affirmed and codified that decision, Juras said. So the law is settled now. You do have the right if you enter the stream from a public access.

Sandefur said the steam access law was not settled for Juras, as she suggested.

Shes selling you a bill of goods. Her previous writing on this is that she thinks that Montana streambed access laws, in particular parts, are in her words a monumental erosion of private property rights. Thats what she said before she was wanting to run for the court. Dont think for a minute that if shes on the court shes not going to attempt to chip away at that if the opportunity presents itself.

Juras had earlier said she would uphold established law.
All central government departments have been asked not to post the personal details of RTI applicants while publishing the copies of their applications and their responses on their websites on October 7.

Authorities gave directions barring offices from posting applicants' personal details saying, "they do not serve any public interest".

According to existing norms, all public authorities shall proactively disclose RTI applications and appeals received and their responses on their official websites. The web portals are to be maintained by the respective authorities and would have keywords-enabled search facility.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued clear directions to ensure anonymity of applicants notifying that

personal details would include name, designation, address, e-mail id and contact numbers.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, which was enacted by the UPA government, empowers a citizen to seek a time-bound reply on information related to governance.
The government has come out with draft norms for registration of insolvency professionals and agencies under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

While the Code is in the process of being implemented, the government has already set up the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), chaired by M S Sahoo.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry has issued the draft regulations, which would be finalised after taking into consideration views of stakeholders.

The draft regulations pertain to registration of insolvency professionals, agencies and model bye-laws. It has been drafted by a working group of experts set up by the ministry.

The panel was constituted as part of the process for implementing the Code, the Ministry said in a notice.

Notified by the government in May, the Code seeks to consolidate and amend laws relating to reorganisation as well as insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time-bound manner.

Under the new law, employees, creditors and shareholders would have powers to initiate winding up process at the first sign of financial stress such as serious default in repayment of bank loan.

The draft norms have been put up for public comments till October 28.

IBBI would have 10 members. Apart from the chairman, four nominees have been appointed by the government while the process is on for appointing three whole time members. There would also be two members from outside.

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Government may soon announce launch of two expressway projects - Delhi-Amritsar-Katra and Delhi-Jaipur that will significantly reduce the travel time to Katra and Jaipur from the national capital.

"In principle approval was granted for launch of two greenfield projects - Delhi-Amritsar-Katra and Delhi-Jaipur was taken in a meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which among others was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Punjab, Sukhbir Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal and Union Steel Minister Birendra Singh," an official told PTI.

The Delhi-Katra distance will reduce to 572 km from the present 727 km after completion of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra project which will pass via Jind in Haryana, the official said.

Also another greenfield project Delhi-Jaipur via Pataudi was also discussed in the meeting and it was that both the projects will result in new avenues of development in the concerned states.

Last month, Gadkari had said that government would soon launch three expressway projects -- Delhi-Amritsar-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai -- at a cost of about Rs 1,32,000 crore.

As per the plan, after completion of the Rs 60,000-crore Amritsar-Delhi expressway, travel time will reduce by over two hours.

Also on the anvil is a project connecting Jalandhar to Ajmer that will bring down the travel time to five hours.

Meetings in this regard are also scheduled with chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.

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The Madras High Court today directed police to expedite investigation into various complaints against a man who appeared in TV programmes claiming to be a doctor and having extraordinary powers to cure all diseases.

Vijayakumar had filed a Criminal Original Petition seeking quashing of some complaints against him before the central Crime Branch police.

While hearing the petition, the court rejected the contention of the counsel for Vijayakumar that he had returned amounts received by him to some of the patients.

"In the considered opinion of this court, return of money cannot efface the offence of fraud and cheating committed by quacks," the court said.

"The issue as to whether a native doctor can practice Allopathic treatment or any other system of medicine came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in Private Medical Practitioners Association vs. State of Tamil Nadu and others [(S.L.P. (Civil) Nos.1162 of 2004) which made it clear that these doctors cannot be permitted to practice either modern medicine or any other system of medicine."



The court, which dismissed the prayer of Vijayakumar to quash the complaints, directed police to expedite investigation on all the complaints.

According to the prosecution, each of the victims had approached Vijayakumar with serious ailments to whom he promised that he got divine powers to cure their illness and then took huge sums of money.

"Since each of the FIRs discloses commission of fraud and cheating, the same cannot be quashed in the light of the law laid by the Supreme Court in State of Haryana vs. Bhajan Lal [1992 Supp (1) SCC 335]," the court said.

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The Allahabad High Court today sought to know from the Uttar Pradesh government why did it return Rs 24.98 crore, given to it by the Centre in 2013-14 for putting in place a proper infrastructure for prevention of dengue and other such diseases.

Asking the state about the amount of money it received from the Centre in 2015-16 and how much of it was utilised, the Lucknow bench of the court directed the Principal Secretary (medical health) to furnish the details by way of an affidavit on October 17, the next date of hearing.

A bench of justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Vijay Laxmi gave this direction on four PILs filed with a prayer for proper arrangements for prevention of dengue and other such diseases in the state.

The petitioners' counsel claimed that the Centre had provided Rs 24.98 crore to the state in 2013-14 for ensuring proper arrangements for prevention of these diseases, but it was returned.

The state government's counsel told the court that "proper action" was taken in this regard.

The court had today summoned the Principal Secretary (medical health) and the Secretary (urban development) of Uttar Pradesh to inform it about the action taken in pursuance of its earlier orders regarding prevention of these diseases.

Both the officers, along with Chief Medical Officer, Lucknow, appeared before the court and filed affidavits on the action taken by the government in this regard.

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The Madras High Court has dismissed a criminal original petition filed by an accused arrested in connection with sale of fake lottery tickets in the Union Territory of Puducherry, challenging the order of cancellation of bail to them.

It also directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice to decide the desirability of ordering Vigilance Inquiry into the manner in which two accused in the case were granted bail by the incharge Magistrate which was later on cancelled by the Principal District Judge.

The court said: "The nature of allegations against the accused is that of manufacturing other States' lottery tickets illegally and selling them in Puducherry."



"It is not a case of genuine lottery tickets of other states being sold in Puducherry. But, the accused have arrogated to them, the power of the state and manufactured bogus lottery tickets for sale to gullible persons. Under such circumstances, the order passed by the Principal Sessions Judge, Puducherry, cancelling the bail is perfectly justified."



"When the Union Territory has initiated inquiry in the conduct of the Assistant Public Prosecutor, the High Court should not lag behind, but, conduct an inquiry on the conduct of the Judicial Magistrate, Puducherry, who granted bail to the accused en masse on 30.08.2010 in the absence of the regular Magistrate," the court said.

According to prosecution, two persons were arrested on July 7 in Puducherry after they were found in possession of lottery tickets of other states. During investigations, it was found that they were selling forged lottery tickets.

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Expressing regret over the violence in Barkagaon in which four persons were killed, Union Minister Jayant Sinha today said a high-level committee was probing the matter and the guilty would be punished.

The Minister of State for Civil Aviation also expressed sadness over reports that Congress MP Pradip Balmuchu has alleged that he had a partnership with a mining company and said he would file a defamation case against Balmachu.

The local MP appealed to the people of Barkagaon in Hazaribagh district to maintain peace and not get into trap of any individual or political party as they were trying to politicise the incident.

Solution to issues is found only through talks, he said adding, the BJP was committed to take along everyone on the path of development.

Demand of everyone would be listened to and solution would be brought through dialogue, he said, appealing to (the agitators to desist from taking an objectionable stand.

Solution to acquisition of land by NTPC would happen only after listening to the people of Barkagaon and it would be ensured that no land is taken forcibly, Sinha said here.

Accusing the opposition, particularly Congress, of being anti-development, the union minister said he was in favour of a judicial inquiry into the October 1 incident though it was the state government's decision.

The way people were being misguided at Barkagaon in Hazaribagh was anti-development and all the opposition parties were involved in this anti-development activities.

Sinha also accused Congress MLA Nirmala Devi and his husband Yogendra Sao, a former minister, of instigating the common people for their own selfish reason.

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French President Francois Hollande has postponed a visit to Poland next week after Warsaw pulled out of a major deal to buy Airbus military helicopters, his office announced today.

On Tuesday, Poland halted talks with Airbus to buy 50 of its Caracal helicopters, a deal that would have been worth an estimated 3.14 billion euros (USD 3.51 billion).

Hollande had been due to visit Poland next Thursday but his office said the visit had been put back. Instead, he was sending Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault for talks, said a statement.

A source close to the talks said a visit to Poland by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian set for next Monday had also been called off.

Poland's development ministry announced late on Tuesday that the differences between the two sides had made a compromise impossible and that there was no point in continuing the talks.

"Poland considers the talks for a deal to be over," it added.

The deal on the table had involved an "offset" element, a commitment for the French to invest in Poland to offset the money spent buying the helicopters.

But the Polish statement said that part of the deal had failed to meet their economic and security needs.

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Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, Union Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the security situation with Home Ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat's Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.

Senior BSF officials were present at the meeting here which reviewed security arrangements on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union Home Minister will also tour border areas of Rajasthan and visit outposts to assess the situation along the Indo-Pak border.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made, Barmer Collector Matadeen Sharma said.

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Reacting for the first time on the controversy surrounding the demand for a ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood, Actor Fawad Khan today said that as a father of two children, he prays and wishes for a "more peaceful world".

The 34-year-old actor said he left India in July not because of any threat but to be with his wife, Sadaf, who was expecting their second child.

"I've received numerous requests from the media and from well wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks.

"As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow," Fawad wrote on his Facebook.

The actor dismissed reports of his alleged anti-India comments, saying he is speaking on the matter for the first time.

"This is the first time I have spoken on the matter. Please disregard any other words attributed to me during this time because I have not said them.

"I thank all my fans and fellow artists from Pakistan, India and people in general all over the world who have shown continued support for their belief in love and understanding to unite a divisive world," he wrote.

There is a growing demand for a ban on artistes from Pakistan by certain sections in India in the wake of Uri terror attack.

Fawad, one of the most popular Pakistani actors in India, will next be seen in Karan Johar's upcoming film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".

He and other Pakistani actors like Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar and Atif Aslam were targetted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS, which had issued an ultimatum to them to leave India within 48 hours or be forced out.

The party has also threatened to stall the releases of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and "Raees", starring Mahira.

Subsequently, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) passed a motion to ban artistes from across the border from working in the industry till Indo-Pak relations are normalised.

Fawad's comments come a day after Shafqat Amanat Ali condemned the Uri attack.

Bollywood is divided on the issue. While Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Hansal Mehta and Anurag Kashyap have criticised it, many in the industry such as Randeep Hooda, Sonali Bendre and Nana Patekar have supported the ban on artistes from Pakistan.

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GRAND FORKS  On Nov. 8, North Dakota voters will cast ballots on five measures, and a former state attorney general is urging people to say no to one that proponents say is for a boost to victims rights.

Robert Wefald, a former North Dakota Attorney General and South Central Judicial District Court Judge, is the chair of the No On 3 committee, a group that says Measure 3 does not create more rights for victims, but rather violates constitutional rights and adds unnecessary cost burdens to the state.

Wefald visited Grand Forks on Thursday to discuss what he calls a poorly drafted proposed addition to the North Dakota Constitution.

Measure 3, also known as Marsys Law, is a victims advocacy law that is based on the work of Henry Nicholas, a wealthy California businessman whose sister, Marsalee Marsy Nicholas, was murdered in 1982. Some years later, Nicholas mother ran into her daughters killer, prompting him to pour millions of dollars into creating new laws for victims and their families. He has donated $1,052,66 to the North Dakota Marsys Law campaign, which has paid for staff to gather 34,000 signatures, more than needed to make a ballot measure, and a statewide campaign advocating for the law.

The measure would add a new section to the state Constitution that would establish that all victims be treated with dignity and respect, give the right for victims to refuse interview depositions from defense attorneys and the right to be informed of the status of the case and offender within the criminal justice system. The full text of the amendment is 1,125 words, which is condensed to 172 words on the ballot voters will mark Nov 8.

Wefald said that creates too many words for lawyers to argue about, and that many of those words are redundant.

If the amendment is passed, it will be seven years until voters can make any move to change it, per state law.

It doesnt matter if you like something in it, because all the bad things are then in the Constitution, Wefald said.

In Grand Forks, the Community Violence Intervention Center says it is opposed to Measure 3.

Kristi Hall-Jiran, executive director of the center and a longtime victims advocate, said the constitutional amendment sounds good on the surface, but could have side-effects that hurt victims in the long term.

We always want to improve victims rights, but we dont think this is the right vehicle, Hall-Jiran said.

For example, she said the amendment does not clearly define what a victim is, which she fears could lead to massive backups in the court. She said the law could allow victims of property crimes to be given the same resources as a victim of rape.

Hall-Jiran said North Dakota already has strong victim advocacy laws. Wefald and Hall-Jiran both referenced the North Dakota Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification (SAVIN) program, which allows victims and their families to track particular offenders through the criminal justice system and receive updates on their parole and probation status.

Theyre saying that this law, Measure 3, has been enacted in 32 states - that is absolutely false, Wefald said.

California was the first state to adopt Marsys Law in 2008, when voters there approved Proposition 9 after Nicholas led a campaign there. In Illinois, a similar measure named the Illinois Crime Victims Bill of Rights passed with 78 percent of the vote. Neither of these laws have the right of the victim to refuse deposition in trials as the North Dakota measure does. Thirty other states have victims rights laws that have been enacted since 1982.

The only poll on Measure 3, conducted in July by a Portland, Ore., company called Moore Information, had Measure 3 passing 72 percent to 16 percent, with 12 percent undecided. That poll had a 500-person sample size.
The 20 'world class educational institutions' that the Modi government plans to create should be multi-disciplinary, have a mix of foreign and Indian students with a faculty-student ratio of not more than 1:10 after three years of being chosen.

These institutes, 10 from public and 10 from the private sector, should also have a student enrollment of at least 20,000 students in a period of 15 years, as per a draft regulatory framework prepared by the Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry, which has sought suggestions from the public for these institutes.

The draft states that these should also figure in top 500 of any of the world renowned ranking frameworks such as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings or QS or Shanghai's Jiao Tong University in the first 10 years of setting up or being declared as 'World Class Institution' and come in the top hundred eventually over time.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech had announced that the government would work to create 20 world class institutions.

According to these drafts, one for the government institutions and another for deemed universities, these learning places should admit students on merit and not turn them away because of their lack of finances.

The draft guidelines for government institutions also lay down that financial assistance would be provided to government institutions which have been declared world class.

The assistance would be up to an amount of Rs 500 crore to each institution in a span of five years from 2016-17 to 2020-21.

The annual release would be dependent on the institution achieving the financial and physical outcomes laid down in its implementation plan.

In the case of world class institutions deemed to be universities not owned or controlled by the government, a corpus fund of Rs 200 crore shall be created and maintained permanently.

The interest accrued on the corpus fund may be used only for the purpose of development of the world class institution deemed to be university, as per the draft released by HRD for comments.

These institutions shall implement the reservation policy



in admissions and recruitment in accordance with any Act of Parliament for the time being in force, the draft states.

The draft guidelines provide a lot of flexibility to these institutions in terms of designing there course and fee structure and in terms of regulation etc.

For government institutes, the draft states that they would be free to admit additionally foreign students on merit, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the strength of admitted domestic students.

The world class institutions would be free to fix and charge fees from foreign students without restriction, the draft adds. They will also have the freedom to determine the domestic student fees, subject to the condition that no student who gains admission should be turned away for lack of finance.
At least 400 people died as Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of Haiti's south, it emerged today, as the still dangerous storm hugged the southeast US coast threatening lethal flooding.

Florida hunkered down while the hurricane unleashed torrential rain, potentially devastating surges and 195 kmph winds, leaving one person dead and 600,000 homes without power.

Fears of a potentially catastrophic impact - which triggered mass evacuations up and down the coast - did not materialize as Matthew brushed Florida's coast overnight, lashing Cape Canaveral, home to the Kennedy Space Center.

But Florida Governor Rick Scott warned at a morning conference, "the worst effects are still likely to come," as the storm churns up the coastline as far as North Carolina.

Low-lying areas around Jacksonville, northern Florida were seen as especially at risk, with the St. Johns river expected to see flooding of up to 2.7 metres.

"I emphasise this is still a really dangerous hurricane," warned President Barack Obama, who declared a federal emergency for Florida and South Carolina as the storm barreled in from the Caribbean.

"The bigger concern at this point is not just hurricane force winds, but storm surge," Obama said.

As Americans battened down, the full scope of the disaster in impoverished Haiti was becoming clearer.

Herve Fourcand, a senator for the Sud department which felt the full force of Matthew's impact, said he had recorded 400 deaths with several localities still inaccessible.

Aerial footage by journalists who made it to the hardest hit towns showed a ruined landscape of metal shanties with roofs blown away and downed trees everywhere. Brown mud from overflowing rivers covered the ground.

In Jeremie, a town of 30,000 people, 80 per cent of buildings were knocked down, said non-governmental organisation Care.

Further south, the town of Les Cayes, Haiti's third largest, was battered.

"I thought I was going to die. I looked death in the face," said 36-year-old Yolette Cazenor, standing in front of a house smashed in two by a fallen coconut palm.

"Everyone is a victim here, houses have been washed away, we lost all the roofing. I lost everything," added Dominique Osny.

For 10 hours on Tuesday, hurricane-force winds and heavy rain leveled all the crops in the community's fields, promising lean months ahead even by Haiti's impoverished standards.

The storm was only the latest natural disaster to ravage the Caribbean nation, which in January 2010 was hit by a devastating earthquake that demolished much of the capital and left more than 250,000 dead.

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India can become a $10 trillion economy in the next 15 years, from the existing $2 trillion, like China did in last one and a half decade, said NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman on Friday.

"India started off to rapid growth a little later than China, but now it has the potential to accomplish in the next 15 years what China did in the last 15 years. Today, India's GDP stands at about $2 trillion and it has good prospects of rising to $10 trillion in the next 15 years," Panagariya said addressing the India China Investment Conclave at Ficci.

"What China has accomplished in last 15 years is very impressive. It (China's economy) has gone from $2 trillion 15 years ago to $10 trillion today."

NITI Aayog is preparing a 15-year vision blueprint which will provide a roadmap for developing India into a big economic powerhouse with inclusive growth.

Analysts say Indian economy will have to grow at over 10 per cent in the next 15 years to hit the $10 trillion level.

On bilateral co-operation, Panagariya said, "With China promoting outbound investment and India seeking foreign capital and technology, it should enable us to take advantage of the synergies and put in place a vigorous framework to strengthen bilateral investment relationships."

He was of the view that there is much scope for India to benefit from Chinese experience in the manufacturing sector and transform the country into a modern urban economy.

Panagariya termed India and China as "two rare bright spots" in an otherwise sluggish world economy. "Despite a decline in growth rate, China contributes a handsome $500 billion or more to annual growth of the global economy," he said.

His Chinese counterpart Xu Shaoshi, Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission (China) (NDRC), said: "China and India are two important forces. They are powerhouse of Asia and the world. There is a need for the two countries to go beyond bilateral relationships."

Shaoshi was clear that the two countries have the potential to build the world's most attractive and competitive places.

Shaoshi is leading a team of businessmen and government officials to participate in the two-day India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue on October 6-7, 2016.

"We need to have more consensus on co-operation in the region. India has some active promotion policies like Make in India and Startup India while China has initiatives, including smart manufacturing," he added.

Emphasising on investment as the key to rebalancing bilateral trade, Ficci's former president Jyotsna Suri spoke about a proposal for a partnership with NDRC to set up a task force to identify potential projects for companies in respective countries.

Ficci also proposed a Joint China-India SMEs GVC Initiative in collaboration with NITI Aayog, Ficci and NDRC.

For realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of China, India and neighbouring Asian countries and NITI Aayog's Vision 2022, Ficci also proposed setting up a forum to identify and facilitate bankable projects in energy, infrastructure, and other sectors.
The US has said it wants India and Pakistan to "work through" their differences as it called for a "meaningful dialogue" between the two countries to bring down the tensions.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir," State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

"And generally speaking, I mean, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place -- meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said when asked about the current situation in South Asia.

The United States, he said, wants India and Pakistan to work through their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences," he said.

"We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them...That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting for leaders in India and Pakistan to do as well," he added.

The US does not believe "for a minute" that the two countries do not take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children, Kirby said.

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India will strongly push at the BRICS Summit for joint efforts to tackle terrorism including action against countries providing safe havens and arms to terrorists while it will also make efforts to revive the seven-nation regional bloc BIMSTEC next week in Goa.

Apart from the heads of governments of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa to attend BRICS Summit on October 16, India has also received consent of Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar (State Counsellor) for the outreach meet of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Briefing reporters, Secretary (Economic Relations) in External Affairs Ministry Amar Sinha said, "Agenda is drawn in a broad-brush manner. We will be looking at global economic and political situation. Obviously terrorism is very important part of that."



Though he said the issue of China blocking ban of Jaish- e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar by the UN will not be taken up at BRICS because it was a bilateral issue with China and India does not want to bring such issues to the multilateral fora, he asserted that general principles pertaining to terrorism will be forcefully taken up.

And that will include "terrorism which is a global problem. It cannot be tackled individually and has to be tackled collectively. We cannot have a differential policy towards terrorism. There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist. So, these are the issues on which there will reiteration of national positions," Sinha said.

He added that "there would be very strong paragraphs (in the BRICS outcome document) on terrorism including how to deal with countries that provide sanctuaries and safe havens. How to cut down the financing.

"At NSA-level meet, we have also actually shifted the goalpost a little by talking about not only sources of finances but also sources from where they (terrorists) get arms and ammunition. These will be reflected in the BRICS discussions."



India will also make efforts to revive BIMSTEC which assumes significance with the collapse of recent SAARC Summit after four countries apart from India pulled out of the meet to be hosted by Pakistan over the issue of cross-border terrorism, maintaining that environment was not conducive to hold such an event.

Three MoUs including those on cooperation in the area of environment and customs have been agreed upon by the BRICS countries, Sinha said, adding the pact pertaining to customs will help in breaking the trade barriers between these countries.

The other key issues to be taken up during these significant diplomatic outreach events include cooperation areas of economy, tourism, connectivity, cultural, education and sports.

The main BRICS Summit on October 16 will begin with a



photo opportunity followed by restricted talks between the leaders and later a meeting of business captains from the member-countries. In the second half, after the speech of the leaders, there will be BRICS and BIMSTEC retreat.

On BIMSTEC, Secretary (East) in MEA said Preeti Saran said the directions by the leaders will be followed to "reinvigorate and rejuvenate" the grouping while noting that since the regional bloc was celebrating 20 years it was the best time to do so.

There are no differences between the BIMSTEC countries whether it is an issue of terrorism or connectivity, the bloc has "positive agenda" which will be discussed and taken forward, Saran said.

Security situation in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan is also expected to be discussed when the BRICS leaders take up important regional and international issues.

The sherpas of BRICS countries will be finalising the draft outcome document in next few days and India is also expected to propose a BRICS fund for Syria.

Noting that in the absence of global legal regime or Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), Sinha said there was a view among the BRICS countries that they should cooperate in the area of counter-terrorism even if there was no agreement on the definition of it.

India-initiated CCIT is stuck at the UN as there is no agreement among the UN members on the definition of terrorism.

Asked if there will be any expansion of BRICS, Sinha said there was no thought of expansion and in fact, the grouping was in the consolidation stage.

Since assuming Presidency of BRICS in February, India scheduled 115 events to mark the Summit which included two BRICS parliamentarian meets, 15 ministerial interactions and meeting of 56 working groups.
A 47-year-old Indian-origin human rights lawyer has been appointed the Shadow Attorney General by UK's Opposition Labour party which will see her holding the government's chief legal advisor to account for their actions.

ShamiChakrabarti, who recently became a Labour member of the House of Lords and also chaired the party's anti-Semitism inquiry,was confirmed in the new role yesterday in a reshuffle of his top team by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The Attorney General is UK government's chief legal advisor and is drawn from the legislature; their shadow holds them to account and develops alternative policies.

"It is an enormous privilege to take up the post of Shadow Attorney General in Jeremy Corbyn's new team. I hope to follow in a great tradition of law officers on both sides of the aisle who have defended rights, freedoms and the Rule of Law," the baroness said.

Corbyn, re-elected as Labour party leader after over-coming an attempted coup by some members of his party, also promoted long-time ally Dianne Abbot to the post of shadow home secretary.

Corbyn's reshuffle of his frontbench team comes after a mass walk-out of shadow Cabinet members opposed to him in the aftermath of the Brexit vote in June.

"I am delighted to confirm the appointments of extremely talented women to our shadow cabinet. These appointments mean, for the first time ever, two out of the three traditional 'great offices of state' will be shadowed by women," Corbyn said.

However, the Jewish Board of Deputies reacted with "disappointment" to the and linked it to Chakrabarti's anti-semitism review within the Labour party.

The board's vice-president, Marie van der Zyl, said: "We are disappointed, but sadly unsurprised, that once again Shami Chakrabarti and Jeremy Corbyn have spectacularly undermined her so-called 'independent' report.

"We hoped her report would be a potent weapon in the fight against antisemitism. It now looks increasingly like the whitewash was a job application. She has sold out the Jewish community.

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Indian-origin South African Olympian is among 13 other women leaders from various countries were briefly arrested by Israeli authorities while they were attempting to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip in Palestine.

According to a spokesperson for the group on Women's Boat to Gaza (WBG), Zeenat Adam, the Israeli navy intercepted the Women's Boat to Gaza (WBG) in international waters outside Israeli territory.

Leigh-Ann Naidoo had been a part of a group trying to oppose the blockade on Gaza. She is a political activist and an academic at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

The women include, former Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland, Malaysian doctor Fauziah Hasan and retired US army colonel Ann Wright, all of whom have allegedly not been allowed access to either lawyers or their consulates.

Naidoo's family told media here yesterday that they were deeply concerned for her safety as diplomatic staff from the South African missions in Ramallah and Tel Aviv attempted to gain access.

South African foreign ministry official Nelson Kgwete said his department was aware of the matter and the consulate in Tel Aviv had requested access to Naidoo.

Naidoo has received support from the African National Congress (ANC), which has decried her arrest as "unlawful" and called for her immediate release.

"This arrest is yet another insult to South Africans and an act of hostility, we therefore request, in line with ANC policy and the position stated by president Jacob Zuma in a recent address, that government review its diplomatic relations with Israel," the ANC's Western Cape branch, where Naidoo hails from, said in a statement.

"We repeat our ANC2014 statement on Gaza: "Gaza is the world's largest open air prison with over 1.5 million Palestinians caged inand cut off from the rest of the world," it said.

"The Gaza Strip isthe world's most densely populated piece of land on this earth making theIsraeli bombing of the Palestinian Gaza Strip all the more horrendous. The collectivepunishment and illegal siege of the Palestinian people of Gaza mustimmediately end," the statement said.

According to media reports, the Department of International Relations (Dirco) has confirmed that Leigh-Ann Naidoo has been released by Israeli authorities.

It is believed the activist is currently on her way home.

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With Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa hospitalised for the past two weeks, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao today called two senior ministers and Chief Secretary P Ramamohana Rao and discussed the day-to-day administration and affairs of the government.

The Governor enquired "about the general administration of the affairs of the government," a Raj Bhavan release said.

"The Chief Secretary to Government briefed Honourable Governor about the administrative affairs that are being carried out on a day-to-day basis and also other general matters," it said.

Jayalalithaa's trusted lieutenant and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam and his cabinet colleague Edappadi K Palaniswami also met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan where he enquired with them about the health condition of the Chief Minister, it said.

Although the Governor had visited Apollo Hospital, where Jayalalithaa was admitted on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, on October 1, this was the first time he has held consultations with the senior ministers and the Chief Secretary since she was hospitalised.

The Ministers and Chief Secretary met Rao "on the request of the Governor," it added.

With the ministers, the top two in Jayalalithaa's Cabinet after her, the Governor "enquired about the health condition" of the AIADMK supremo, it added.

Further, he also enquired about the arrangements made for the visit and information to be presented to the High Level Technical Committee on Cauvery issue constituted by the Centre "to protect the welfare of farmers of Tamil Nadu", it added.

Palaniswami, the Public Works Minister, explained in detail the arrangements made and related matters, it added.

The Apollo Hospital had said yesterday that the 68-year- old AIADMK leader's health condition "continues to improve" but requires a longer stay at the hospital.

"The consensus of opinions of all the experts is that the line of treatment given to the Chief Minister should be continued as she will require a longer stay at the hospital," a release from the hospital had said.

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Rocker Jon Bon Jovi stunned fans in a karaoke bar by showing up in disguise and belting out "Livin' On a Prayer."



The 54-year-old Bon Jovi frontman made the surprise appearance for a company that had partnered with his charity, The Soul Foundation, based in his native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reported Contactmusic.

"I went undercover, deep cover," he said, revealing he wore a dark wig, beard, mustache, hat, and glasses.

And when he pulled off his disguise, a female fan screamed.

"I think she was looking for security," he joked. "It was all in good fun.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet families of the youths who were killed during the Patidar (Patel) quota agitation in Ahmedabad and Mehsana when he visits Gujarat next week.

The state would having Assembly elections next year.

Kejriwal, whose party is making efforts to make inroads in Gujarat, will also hold a rally in Surat on October 16.

"Arvind Kejriwal will come to Gujarat on October 15 and will head for Mehsana where he will meet family members of youths who were martyred during Patidar quota agitation. He will also visit family members of deceased youths in Ahmedabad," Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi MLA and Gujarat in-charge Gulab Singh Yadav said today.

"Kejriwal will meet Patidar leaders at Mehsana circuit house," Yadav said, adding that the AAP's national convener will also visit Umiya Mata temple at Unjha in Mehsana. Umiya Mata is a revered deity of the Patidar community.

On October 16, Kejriwal will hold a public rally at Yogi Chowk in Surat's Varachha area, Yadav said.

Before the rally, Kejriwal will meet business leaders and people from various communities.

Yadav alleged that BJP workers and Surat Municipal Corporation were tearing down the hoardings put up by AAP ahead of the rally.

"In the last two days our hoardings were torn by BJP supporters and the municipal corporation," he said.

"BJP supporters are trying to spread a rumour that Kejriwal supports Pakistan. But people are not affected by this, they are looking forward to his visit. The kind of fear visible in BJP camp due to the planned rally shows that the party is somewhere apprehensive about defeat in the 2017 Assembly elections," he said.

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Dear Annie: I have gotten to the point that I no longer like to go out to eat, especially if it is a restaurant that my wife and I have not gone to before. Here's why.

You have a great meal in a nice restaurant. The service was friendly and excellent. When the check comes and I put my money down for the waitress, she says as she picks it up, "Do you need change?"

This ticks me off to no end. I have, in the past, gone through the trouble to try to educate the servers, in the hope of breaking them of the habit. So I explain to them that you never, ever put the customer on the defensive by insinuating that he is cheap for wanting change from the bills he put down. The servers I explain this to sometimes understand, but most of the time, they do not. They just think I am some senior citizen who complains a lot.

I usually retaliate by leaving a small tip instead of the 20 to 25 percent that I would do otherwise. (I try to tip big because I know how little they make hourly.) Depending on how you and your readers look at it, I think I will leave a copy of my letter and your response along with the tip in the future.  Frustrated in Maine

Dear Frustrated: True, it's not the best etiquette on a server's part to ask whether you want change. But I think you're looking at this in the wrong light.

You're assuming that servers are insinuating you're cheap when they pose this question. I highly doubt that. Sure, there may be some servers out there who would use such tactics to try to shame a big tip out of customers. But most servers are more polite than that  and more intelligent. (Why risk offending someone precisely at the moment you want him to feel happiest with your service?) I find it more likely they're oblivious and just trying to save themselves a 30-second trip back to your table. In either scenario, a smile and a "yes, please" are the appropriate response.

But if I hear a convincing case against this, I'll print it here for you to clip and keep at the ready in your wallet.

Private ceremony

Dear Annie: I have a friend who is planning to have her wedding at a lake next year in a state where neither she nor her fiance lives or has relatives.

Her plan is to hold a very small (with about 10 people) private ceremony, to be followed by a reception with about 150 people.

My question is: Is this proper? All the guests are coming from out of state. Shouldn't all the guests be invited to the ceremony? I don't feel it's my place to tell the bride-to-be what I think, but I'm disappointed. I always look forward to the actual wedding ceremony more than the reception. Is that just me?  Confused Guest-to-Be

Dear Confused: Yes, you're right that typically, everyone would be invited to the ceremony. If anything, I've seen more weddings where the reverse is done  where more people are free to come to the ceremony than the reception because of budget constraints. (How generous of this couple to want to include everyone in the free dinner and drinks part!)

For whatever reason, the bride and groom want to keep the ceremony private. It might not be the traditional choice, but it's their choice.

Don't take this as your being excluded. It's still important to them that you all share in this day. It sounds as if they're looking at the party not merely as a reception but as a celebration of their love in its own right. That's special. Have fun.
A novel 'kite-driven' power station is set to come up in Scotland in what could be a major step towards finding the "magic solution" to humanity's energy problems.

While kites have until now largely been flights of fancy that have entranced generations of children, Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci and poets like Robert Louis Stevenson and Joyce Carol Oates, their practical uses have seemed limited.

Kite Power Systems plans to build a 500-kilowatt system at the Ministry of Defence's West Freugh Range near the southern Scottish town of Stranraer after securing planning permission.

This will be the first of a significant scale in the UK and only the second in the world after a research project in Italy, The Independent reported.

Those behind the new power station believe their system could cut the price of offshore wind energy in half.

It is so cheap, they say, that there will be no need for any government subsidy -- something currently required to build any new kind of power generation, renewable or fossil fuel.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is investing billions in green technology, has said he believes there is a 10 per cent chance that kite power is the "magic solution" to the world's energy problems.

Other companies are also investigating the potential of "kytoons" -- kite/balloon hybrids -- or even flying turbines that can capture the energy of the jet stream at altitudes of 20,000 ft, where the wind is constant.

The firm behind the Stranraer project, Kite Power Systems has already demonstrated a small kite-driven power station in Essex.

The kites fly to heights of up to 450 metres in a figure-of-eight pattern, pulling a tether as they rise which turns a turbine that produces electricity.

By having two kites working in tandem, one going up as the other floats back down, electricity can be generated continuously.

David Ainsworth, business development director at Kite Power Solutions, told the daily that the system was mainly designed to be used offshore with the West Freugh power station designed to demonstrate its capabilities.

"Our systems basically float and the cost of the mooring is much lower than a wind turbine," he said.

"It will be tariff-free, we just don't need government to support it. Our potential investors believe it's going to take off in a big way," Ainsworth said.

According to the Met Office, Scotland is home to eight of the top 10 windiest places in the UK.

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Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) is for the first time organising a two-day conference in the national capital starting tomorrow to discuss the problems being faced by Karnataka people staying outside the state.

The conference, to be inaugurated by Union Minister Ananth Kumar, will deliberate on promoting Kannada language in government schools in bordering states, inter-state water disputes, Kannada literature and culture among other topics.

"We are organising this event for the first time here. We want to bring to the notice of the Central government the concerns and problems of Kannadigas staying outside the state," KSP President Manu Baligar told reporters here.

Literary people and eminent personalities from different states are expected to participate in the event, which is being organised along with Delhi Karnataka Sangha and Indira Gandhi National Tribal University of Madhya Pradesh.

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A radical Kurdish group with ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) today claimed responsibility for a motorbike bombing near an Istanbul police station.

The claim by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) for yesterday's bombing came after Turkish police detained a suspected female militant from the PKK, who is believed to have perpetrated the bombing.

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb which authorities said was attached to a motorbike exploded in the Yenibosna district of Istanbul, close to the city's main international airport.

Television pictures showed several cars wrecked and glass scattered across the ground after the blast.

In a statement on its website, TAK -- seen as a splinter group of the PKK -- claimed the bombing but did not give any information about the individual responsible.

"Our action was done against ... The oppression and persecution of the Kurdistan people," it said, referring to the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.

The group warned that Turkey was "not a safe country" and threatened expansion of its actions in big cities against the "fascist" Turkish government.

"We make it known that we are able to act everywhere in Turkey," the group said, adding that its militants were ready to act "creatively" across the country.

The group has already claimed three attacks in Turkey this year including a June 7 car bombing in the centre of Istanbul which left 11 people dead. TAK had then warned tourists to stay away from Turkey.

A suicide car bomb attack in March in the capital Ankara left 34 dead.

Police have captured the female suspect, along with two other people in Aksaray province in central Turkey, state-run Anadolu agency reported today.

The latest capture brings the total number of arrests over the bombing up to six.

Although Turkish officials say TAK is linked to the PKK and used for attacks on civilians, the PKK says it has no control over the group and claims it acts on its own.

The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, has resumed deadly attacks since the collapse of a fragile truce in 2015.

Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK first took up arms in 1984.

Yesterday's strike was the first bomb attack in Istanbul since the failed July 15 coup seeking to oust the government from power.

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today counselled that leaders must exercise restraint in their comments on security challenges before the country at a time when tension between India and Pakistan has increased.

Singh said this without giving a directly reply to a volley of questions by reporters on the controversial remarks made by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi yesterday on the sacrifice of soldiers. Gandhi had accused Centre of doing politics on the bodies of soldiers.

"I do not wish to comment on that but when there is a big challenge before the nation, we should stand by our forces. At a time when tension between India and Pakistan is increasing, countrymen should trust the security and armed forces and stand by them.

"People from all walks must exercise restraint. The country should support the forces," he said.

The Home Minister was briefing reporters on the meeting he held in this desert town in Rajasthan with chief ministers of five states sharing border with Pakistan.

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Life Insurance Corporation of India and other pension funds "must step in" to fund start-ups, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said today.

"LIC and other pension funds must step in... Definitely that money needs to be leveraged," Abhishek said here at the India Economic Summit, jointly organised by CII and WEF.

Speaking at a session on start-ups, founder of Pinstorm and Seedfund Mahesh Murthy stated that big companies like LIC and cigarette firms are found wanting as far as funding of start-ups is concerned.

"I am taking note (of this suggestion)," Abhishek said, adding that the government is engaging with start-ups to resolve issues to give a push to budding entrepreneurs.

On the Rs 10,000-crore Fund of Funds, the secretary said it would mobilise about Rs 50,000 crore private investments in start-ups over a period of time. SIDBI is implementing the Fund of Funds.

"It has started implementation, we want to fast-track it, processes are rather slow, we are figuring it out," he added.

About e-pharmacy firms, Abhishek felt that they are not flouting any law, contrary to the police's claims.

"Police inspectors are not very trained in such matters. Now, we are trying to take up this matter with states and... make sure it does not happen," he said.

Citing an example, Abhishek said, the number of taxis in one city has been capped at 32,000 because of "some vested interest" as one can cap the prices through this.

"So, we need to free up all these things... Our laws and regulations are completely out of sync in most cases. With these new technologies and innovations coming in, we need to change that and we are working with regulators," he added.

DIPP has identified some 25 problems of start-ups and is sensitising departments and ministries on these.

Founder of Paytm Vijay Shekhar Sharma pointed to the need of large Indian companies to fund start-ups.

"We do not have that inspiration. We have to have Indian investors. Why are we not playing a big bet? We do not get support from local companies," he said.

Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, felt that capital is not a big issue, but there are constraints at local levels.

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LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan today said his party was not opposed to prohibition in Bihar, but disapproves penal provisions that violate the fundamental right and right to privacy of a citizen.

The Union minister, however, refused to comment on Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi citing the instruction of the PM to avoid making statement in public over the surgical strike across the LoC.

"Army is working efficiently and public is watching everything," he told reporters.

Asked about Supreme Court's order today staying the Patna High Court judgement setting aside Bihar liquor law, he said, "Our party's stand is clear from day one that we are in favour of prohibition and not opposed to it. But we disapprove of harsher penal provisions under new liquor law that violates citizen's fundamental right and right to privacy."



The party is of the view that a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police be allowed to carry out search/inspection of any premises without warrant as it would be against "natural justice", he said.

Taking a potshots at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Paswan said, "Kumar is trying to propagate liquor law in order to become Mahatma Gandhi and is trying to send to jail all adult members of a family if a liquor bottle is found in a house besides imposing fine."



"If all adult members of a family can be jailed in the event of recovery of a liquor bottle, then the Chief Minister should also go to jail for heading the government in the state over recovery of bottle in the state," he said.

"The stay granted by the Supreme Court does not mean that the matter has been decided. The apex court is examining the matter and hearing of the case is yet to start," he said on today's order.

The Patna high court had on September 30 held the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act 2016 as per which the state government had notified on March 31, 2016 bringing the state under "prohibition" regime.

Without much lapse of time, the Bihar government notified new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti incorporating stringent penal provisions such as sending all adult members of a family to jail if a liquor bottle is found from his/her premises.

Within a few days, the state government filed an appeal in the apex court against the high court judgement in order to protect its (government's) actions such as arrests, search and seizures made under the said Act.

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In a major reshuffle in its management team, budget carrier India on Friday announced a series of appointments, including that of heads of flight operations, legal and strategy and planning.

As part of the restructuring process, Manish Uppal has been elevated to the position of director of flight operations while Praveen Sharma has been made the chief pilot (operations), India said in a release.

In his new role, Manish, who moved from the position of head of training and standards in the airline, will head the flight operations with improved communication, implement processes to streamline services, it said.

A team of experienced and capable pilots has been identified to support the flight operations chief in ensuring smooth operations in this expansion phase, Air Asia India said, adding these positions are in line with its philosophy of promoting internal talent and meeting regulatory requirements.

The airline also announced the appointment Vikram Raymund as the technical pilot, Nagesh Muniswamy as the recruitment pilot and Sambasivam Srinivasan as the chief pilot (training and standards).

The airline also made appointments to some other key positions. Anurag Jain has been appointed as the head of strategy and planning, while I R Srinivas has been brought to the position of head of the People Department.

Vinay Thakur will be the head of legal and Mahalakshmi S the new Company Secretary for the airline, said.

"I am extremely pleased to welcome these veterans on board. I am confident that the newly recruited all stars will take our company to greater heights and work towards our promise of enabling every Indian to fly. The AirAsia team in India is ready to sculpt its growth story and is channeling all our energy towards further expansion," AirAsia India Chief Executive Officer Amar Abrol said.

AirAsia India, which started operations in June 2014, is co-owned by Tata Sons (49 per cent stake) and AirAsia Berhad (49 per cent). The rest of two per cent is held by the airline's board members S Ramadorai and R Venkataramanan.

AirAsia India at present flies to 11 destinations with its two hubs in Bengaluru and New Delhi, covering Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Pune, Goa, Vizag, Kochi, and Hyderabad.
Police have arrested a suspected criminal who was involved in looting valuables from parked cars in south Delhi and claimed to have solved 16 cases of theft.

Parvez Alam (33) was arrested on October 4, DCP (South) Ishwar Singh said, adding a stolen motorcycle, four stolen mobile phones, ATM cards and driving licence were seized from him.

Police said members of the 'gulel' gang used to break window glasses of vehicles using 'gulel' (slingshot) and then loot valuables.

Following several complaints, a team was formed to nab the gang members, the officer said.

During checking of vehicles, Alam and his associate Deepak, who were returning after robbing valuables from a car, were stopped near the fire station in Vivekanand Marg, the officer said.

While Alam was nabbed, Deepak managed to give police the slip.

During interrogation, Alam confessed to looting valuables from at least 16 vehicles, the officer said.

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A local court today awarded 10-year rigourous jail term to a 45-year-old man for raping his pregnant daughter-in-law, observing such offences are a threat to social fabric.

The convict, a resident of Dinkarpada village in Bhiwandi taluka, was pronounced guilty by District Judge Mridula Bhatia, who sentenced him to ten-year rigourous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 500.

"The accused has breached the social trust imposed upon him by not only the victim but also society. If such offences are committed by family members, social fabric would not remain intact," the Judge noted in her order.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Buleshwar Hinge said the incident took place on August 27, 2015 when most family members were out and the survivor and the convict were at home.

The man asked his daughter-in-law to accompany him to their agriculture field. The woman, aged around 20, followed her father-in-law. On reaching the farm, he raped her, Hinge said, adding the survivor was pregnant at the time of the incident.

The survivor went to her mother's house and narrated the incident after which a complaint of rape was filed at Padga Police Station and the accused arrested.

The Judge dismissed the defence's contention that a false case had been registered against the accused.

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Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Mirzya" got a thumbs up from the audience at the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

Marking Bollywood debut of Anil Kapoor's son Harshvardhan and actress Saiyami Kher, the movie is inspired by the story of the star-crossed lovers Mirza-Sahiban, a popular folklore from Punjab.

The film set in Rajasthan has been shot by cinematographer Pawel Dyllus.

The story revolves around Munish and Suchi, who are confidants since childhood, but an untoward incident separates them. Years later, their paths cross.But this time around Suchitra is on the verge of getting married.

The musical, which has a melodious score by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with additional tracks by Daler Mehndi, unfolds languidly in a Broadway-style format.

Interspersing the present-day track with a period folklore, Mehra and Gulzar (credited with screenplay and lyrics) give viewers an engaging and lavish big-screen experience.

After the premiere, Rohit Khattar, Chairman, Cinestaan Film Company, one of the producers of the film hosted a Celebration Party at Chor Bizarre, which was attended by actor Anil Kapoor, his actress daughter Sonam, Harshvardhan, Saiyam and a host of dignitaries.

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The sky fills this time of year with ever-larger flocks of geese flying to feed in grain fields. Their little pea-sized brains must be thankful for the farmers who provide this bounty every year so they can fatten and gain the strength needed for migration to Texas and Mexico. I like to watch them in flight, thinking those birds pay no attention to any boundaries weve established. State lines, what are they?

Recently, as we drove eastward on I-94, we spotted a lanky antlered moose ambling in a field two or three miles west of Steele. Whether he was looking to expand his territory or was simply lost, I dont know, but it seemed like he didnt belong there. Shouldnt he be in Canada or Alaska or Wyoming? Like the geese, he freely crossed over any of my preconceived notions of a boundary.

Our lives are defined with boundaries, such as Mom says you cant climb that tree, or Your cows got into my oats field, or The halfback stepped out-of-bounds. Some of the forbidden crossings result in unpleasant confrontations. Who hasnt ignored a no-trespassing sign at least once?

One hundred years ago, Pancho Villa led a raiding party across the Rio Grande boundary and attacked the town of Columbus, N.M., where they killed 19 U. S. citizens and set the town on fire. President Woodrow Wilson reacted by ordering Gen. John Pershing to lead 6,000 American troops into Mexico and capture Villa. Pershing chased him on horseback, with automobiles and airplanes, and fought several bloody skirmishes with the rebels, never capturing Villa. However, the armys efforts did convince him never again to attack American citizens or territory.

That decision to cross a boundary, first by Villa, then Pershing, bore unintended fruit. President Wilson went on to appoint Pershing to command the United States military in World War I. In turn, he mentored several men who went on to cross boundaries  George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur.

After the war, Germany was divided into sectors under Allied and Soviet control. Berlin sat deep inside eastern Germany, where the Soviets tried to choke off support for it. Marshall, after rising to general and now secretary of state, devised what became known as the Marshall Plan, which included a European Recovery Plan. To break Soviet resolve in blockade of the city, he provided for a huge fleet of DC-3 airplanes to cross the line and deliver food and fuel to the beleaguered city.

Eisenhower went on to the presidency, where he famously crossed one particular boundary. Residents of Little Rock, Ark., refused to obey the Brown v. Topeka court ruling that ordered integration of schools. Governor Orval Faubus supported segregation and called out the National Guard to prevent black students from attending the all-white school. Eisenhower enforced the court ruling and called in the 101st Airborne to assure nine black students that they could cross the boundary and enroll.

After the Battle of the Bulge, the British started pressuring Eisenhower to return Field Marshall Montgomery to his former position as commander of the ground forces. General Omar Bradley told Ike he refused to serve under Montgomery and did just fine without him; they crossed the Rhine at Remagen, headed to the heart of Germany, and took 325,000 prisoners.

Patton trained as a cavalryman early in his career, and went on to help with the development of tanks in World War I as a necessary component in a battle. Combat zones were criss-crossed with barbed wire, trenches and fields of fire established for German machine guns. These almost impenetrable boundaries caused stalemates, but the new tanks could finally roll over and past some of the obstacles.

MacArthur became well-known in World War II and the Korean War. One event from his early career shows him crossing a boundary, harshly though it was. The economy was reeling in 1932, and WWI veterans wanted the money promised as a bonus for service. However, the certificates werent due to be issued until 1945. This Bonus Army wanted their payments immediately and confronted the federal government. President Herbert Hoover ordered the Army under MacArthur to clear the veterans' campsite and he commanded infantry, cavalry and tanks to drive them away, then burned their shelters and other belongings.

These military men and their rise to prominence came about at least in part because Pancho Villa decided to cross the Rio Grande River 100 years ago. As a bit of humor well finish with an image of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who sit visiting with each other. Jobs wears a halo because he passed away a couple of years ago. Gates asks, Hows Heaven, Steve? Perfect, Bill, it doesnt have any walls or fences. Bill quizzes him, So? Jobs responds with a smile on his face, We dont need Windows and Gates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold detailed bilateral discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week on a range of issues including cooperation in the areas of defence, security, trade and investment, a day ahead of the BRICS summit in Goa to be held on October 16.

The meeting between the two comes in the backdrop of the the first ever joint Russia-Pakistan military exercise recently.

It also comes at a time when India is undertaking large-scale defence modernisation programme involving replacing old Russian equipment with modern ones from the country itself and from other nations.

Defence, security, regional issues, besides trade and investment cooperation will be discussed during the bilateral meeting, official sources said.

Some of the most important defence deals currently under discussion are purchase of 5 S-400 'Triumf' long-range air defence missile systems, Kamov-28 helicopters and upgradation of the Sukhoi 30-MKIs.

Another project under focus would be the long pending joint development of the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA).

India is also looking at leasing an Akula-class nuclear submarine from Russia.

(Reopens DEL 55)



Modi will also have bilateral meetings with leaders of other BRICS countries.

While he will hold talks with Brazilian President Michel Temer on October 17 on important bilateral and regional issues, the "slot" for his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was still being worked out.

During Modi-Xi meeting, issues such as India's NSG membership bid and China blocking the banning of JeM chief Masood Azhar are likely to be discussed by the Indian side.

The two leaders had last met on the sidelines of G-20 in Hangzhou in September.
Shiv Sena on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to celebrate Dussehra in Lucknow will not yield the Bharatiya Janata Party any political benefits in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, which may go on to repeat a Bihar for them.

Breaking from tradition, Modi will attend the historic Aishbagh Ramlila at Lucknow on Dussehra next week. Usually, Prime Ministers have celebrated this festival in the capital.

"The Opposition is scared that if Modi visits UP, there will be a political atmosphere created there. But Modi should visit Lucknow and announce that he has not come there to reap any political gains but to announce the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"During the polls, the BJP in Bihar had put at stake Modi's image and had got the entire Council of ministers at the Centre to campaign for the party. Yet, the party was decimated. If this fact is taken into consideration, there will be no reason to believe the party will reap any political benefits out of Modi's Lucknow event," the Sena said.

Suppose the BJP wins some seats in UP at a time when the Congress is already crippled, Mayawati's BSP does not have a future and the SP is busy with its family feud, will such a victory be called a (real) win, the Sena questioned.

It added that after the surgical strikes, Modi's next target would be to get hold of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Balochistan.

"We would not be surprised if he celebrates the next Diwali in Balochistan," the Sena said.
In a bid to avenge the recent killing of a relative, two miscreants shot dead a murder accused in the premises of a government health centre here, police said today.

Damodar Sharma, 30, was arrested today in connection with the murder of one Mahipal who was killed three months back in Kadipur village.

Sharma was visiting the hospital for a medical examination prior to a court hearing when two of Mahipal's relatives, Kunwarpal and his son Mohit, came and shot him dead, police said.

Following the incident, the security has been stepped up in the area.

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Muslim women in Islamic countries enjoy more equality than in India, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said today reacting to the Centre's reply in Supreme Court on triple talaq where it favoured a relook on the law on constitutional grounds.

"The Centre's stand on triple talaq is right. We should be thinking about rights of women. The practice is not prevalent in other Muslim countries where they have more equality," she said.

The Ministry of Law and Justice, in its affidavit in the Supreme Court, referred to constitutional principles like gender equality and secularism.

"The issue of validity of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of principles of gender justice and the overriding principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality," it said.

The Centre said that religion could not be the reason to deny equal status to women.

"The fundamental question for determination by this court is whether, in a secular democracy, religion can be a reason to deny equal status and dignity available to women under the Constitution of India," it said.

The government also underlined the need to examine personal laws in the light of gender justice.

"Personal law must be examined in the light of overarching goal of gender justice of women ... The question arises as to whether the preservation of such diverse identities can be a pretext for denying to women the status and gender equality they are entitled to," it said, adding that personal law is a "law" within the meaning of the Constitution and "any such law which is inconsistent with fundamental rights is void".

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A strict law for carrying a punishment of life imprisonment needs to be drafted, Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla said in an appeal to Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.

Heptulla cited the example of Bangladesh, which has a punishment of 25 years in jail for acid attacks, while emphasising on the need for severe punishment in cases of .

"Bangladesh has a punishment of 25 years in jail. We should also have it too. Why 25, it should be 50 or even life imprisonment.

"I appeal to Maneka Gandhi to demand in Parliament that there should be life imprisonment not only in cases of that are fatal but also in cases where it leads to deformities as those victims die a death every minute," Heptulla told Gandhi.

Both Gandhi and Heptulla were attending the book launch of "Acid Wali Ladki" authored by Pratibha Jyoti.

Gandhi, who had spoken before Heptulla at the event, said she desires a "death penalty for acid attackers".

She said, "I have a feeling of outrage and I would like to help in whichever way I can."

The author of the book, Pratibha Jyoti, while giving her opening address spoke about the need to curb acts of violence against both women and children.

"This book isn't just about acid but about acts of violence against women and children," she said.

Plastic surgeon Dr Ashok Gupta, who has dealt with acid attack cases throughout his career, proposed including acid attack survivors in the below-poverty-line category to provide them easy access to medical treatment across hospitals.
Civil society activists and journalists will be roped in to suggest ways for improving transparency and accountability in governance through effective implementation of the Right to Information Act.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), nodal authority for implementation of the RTI Act, has decided to give short-term fellowship to researchers from the field of media, journalism and civil society organisations associated with the transparency law to assess voluntary disclosures by various central government ministries.

The objective is to contribute towards better understanding of the success of RTI and constraints in its implementation.

"The primary goal of the scheme is to contribute towards more accountable and transparent government and it has several components including programmes for awareness generation, training and e-governance initiatives for RTI to achieve the purpose," the DoPT said in an order.

The proposal should clearly indicate the output that will be delivered at the end of the fellowship.

It could be in the nature of a monograph of say 10,000 words which is ready for publication or features, or investigative stories that could be printed or published as a journalistic piece in national and international media or in the case of professionals from the field of audio-video media, it could even be short video films or stories.

The copyright of the research output will vest in the Government of India which may publish the research output and may use it in any other way for the purpose of strengthening the working of the RTI regime in the country.

Each selected fellow will receive a stipend of Rs 2 lakh including a grant of upto Rs 50,000 for books, research material, travel, printing, production of creatives etc.

The RTI Act, 2005, which was enacted by the UPA government, empowers a citizen to seek a time-bound reply on information related to governance.

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Amid reports of clearance given to by a government panel, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overrule the approval considering its ill effects on human health.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Kumar has sought Modi's intervention to immediately overrule the clearance to seeds given by a technical panel of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee.

He expressed apprehension that approval to would open a gate to several genetically modified food crops being developed by the public as well private-research bodies like GM rice, maize, rice, brinjal, wheat, tomato among others which are at various stages of the approval process.

Kumar said GM mustard was an herbicide tolerant (HT) crop. Any gene making the plant resistant to an herbicide locks farmers into using select brands of agro-chemicals. The full adverse implications of HT crops are apparent world over.

"It is unclear why this herbicide tolerant (HT) GM mustard, which seeks to promote itself as a hybridization technology, is even being considered by the Government of India when we already have non-GM hybrids available?" he wondered.

He said, "I had already writtent to Union forest minister in January, 2016 pointing out that when the interested parties have failed to win the confidence of the farmers of the country, they are pushing the technology through public institutions. It is surprising that this so called public sector GM mustard came into being a year after a MNC's GM mustard was rejected by the Indian regulators in 2002."



Strongly opposing genetic modification of crops, the Bihar Chief Minister Bihar told the Prime Minister that Bt cotton, which had been cultivated in the country for 15 years now demonstrated amply that GM was a failed technology.

"Bollworm, a cotton pest for which GM technology was brought in for pest control has developed resistance against the Bt cotton and is able to survive and wreak havoc on Bt cotton crop. Thousands of farmers have incurred losses in the country due to this," he told the Prime Minister in the letter.

Reminding Modi about stress given by him on cooperative federalism and need to uphold federal policy, he said, "This issue of GM crops is an important area where this has to be demonstrated urgently."



"If the Government of India approves GM crops such as GM mustard which is an important crop for states like Bihar, the state will not be able to escape the consequences of the technology as we are also the leading producer of honey in India and honey production depends on the mustard crop," he said.

Kumar urged the Prime Minister to see that no decision on GM crops should be taken in haste, which can harm the interest of farmers and the people of India at large.

"The interested parties are trying to push in an unproven technology. The states must have a decisive say in the use of the technology and any dubious technology should not be thrust on the farmers," he said.

"The government of India should mandatorily consult and seek no objection from the state government before conducting field trials of any GM crop," Kumar urged Modi.

He also sought the Prime Minister's intervention to see that the attempt to commercially release genetically modified mustard variety in the country should not proceed any further without prior consultation and consent of the state government.
US President Barack Obama said southern Florida's population centers had dodged the worst of Hurricane Matthew today, although it remained "dangerous" with storm surges further up the coast a real concern.

"The bigger concern at this point is not just hurricane force winds, but storm surge," Obama said in the Oval Office, stressing the threat to the Jacksonville area in northern Florida, up as far as Georgia.

"I emphasise this is still a really dangerous hurricane," Obama said after receiving a briefing from aides including Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Category 3 storm has so far caused limited damage in the United States, but has killed at least 400 people in Haiti.

But Obama warned that residents of America's southeastern states should not let down their guard.

"Pay attention to what your local officials are telling you," he said. "We can always replace property. We cannot replace lives."



He recalled the lessons of Hurricane Sandy, which slammed into New Jersey and New York City in 2012, leaving 200 dead and causing tens of billions of dollars in damages.

"Initially people thought 'this doesn't look as bad as we thought,' and then suddenly you get a massive storm surge and a lot of people were severely affected."



Today he warned that "the potential for storm surge, flooding, loss of life and severe property damage continues to exist."



"People continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the course of the next 24, 48, 72 hours."



Obama said he was also tracking the damage done in Haiti, "one of the poorest countries in the world.

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Over 50 activists of



opposition Congress, BJP and Navnirman Krushak Sangh (NKS) were taken into police custody at different areas of Odisha's Jajpur for allegedly showing black flags to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during visit to the district today.

Protesting Patnaik's visit at Panikoili, more than 30 women Congress activists were proceeding to the venue of his programme to show him black flags.

However, as the slogan-shouting activists moved close to the venue, they all were intercepted by police enroute and detained in the police station, a police official said.

Likewise, around 15 BJP workers were taken into custody from Jajpur Road and Barachana areas, while at least five NKS activists were detained at Jajpur Road, Korei and Bari police station areas as they tried to show black flags to Patnaik, they said.

Activists and local leaders of the opposition leaders to custody apprehending disturbance during the Chief Minister's visit to the district.

Over 50 activists of Congress, BJP and NKS were detained as a preventive measure, said the police officer adding they were released as soon as the Chief Minister left the district.

The Chief Minister inaugurated a slew of projects during his whirlwind tour of Barachana, Bari and Korei areas of the district.

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Top Pakistani and Afghan officials today discussed the safe and honourable repatriation of about 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Pakistan's minister for the frontier regions Abdul Quadir Baloch met with Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah in Geneva.

"They discussed the return of Afghan refugees, both registered and unregistered, in dignity and honour to Afghanistan," Foreign office (FO) said in a statement.

Abdullah appreciated Pakistan's generous hosting of Afghan refugees for the past four decades.

He added that there was a clear decision by Afghanistan, that the Afghan refugees should return to their country and all efforts were being made for their sustainable resettlement in Afghanistan.

He also appreciated Pakistan's announcement of USD 500 million for Afghanistan at the recently concluded Brussels Conference.

Minister Abdul Quadir Baloch, while referring to the decisions taken by the last Tripartite meeting on Refugees held in Pakistan, pointed out that Pakistan was faithfully implementing these decisions.

"The Afghan refugees were our brothers and sisters and therefore we had a particular interest in their return to Afghanistan with dignity. We shall follow this principle in the return of Afghan refugees currently taking place," he said.

Both leaders stressed the importance of close coordination between the two governments regarding the return of Afghan refugees.

There are 1.5 million registered and a same number of unregistered refugees from Afghanistan in Pakistan.

They have been living for years since fleeing the country in 1980 during Afghan war.

Pakistan in coordination with the UNHCR and Afghan government is pushing refuges to go back and has set March 31, 2017 as the deadline for their return.

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Some of the people living in the Dakota Access Pipeline protest camps are hoping to cast their votes in Morton County on Nov. 8, weighing in on state and local issues.

Any U.S. citizen living in the state for 30 days prior to Election Day is eligible to vote in the state, but determining who is indeed eligible is a concern that has been raised, North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger said, as a portion of those living in the camps have come from out of state.

There may also be people from other parts of the state who choose to vote in Morton County rather than in the county where they resided prior to the start of protests.

"I would love to leave a positive legacy for Morton County," said Joye Braun, a protest organizer, who is originally from South Dakota.

Incumbents Bruce Strinden, Ron Leingang and Cody Schulz are unchallenged in their bid for a return to the Morton County Commission, leaving only state races in question.

Braun said 200 to 300 people have asked her about voting in the county, and she expects over 1,500 could be voting. Many consider North Dakota to be their home now, she said.

"These are people that are smart, intelligent and informed," she said. "This could potentially be a large voter bloc."

Under recently passed state law, voters would have needed a North Dakota drivers license or non-driver ID, tribal ID, long-term care certificate, passport or military ID showing North Dakota as their place of residence.

As a failsafe, Jaeger said the state is reverting to voting laws that allow residents without in-state identification to cast their vote by signing voter affidavits listing their name and place of residence, legally swearing to their 30-day residency. Prior to voter-ID law changes, North Dakota faced a similar situation with pop-up man camps in western North Dakota during the height of the oil boom.

The voter affidavit option applies statewide to anyone who comes to the polls, Jaeger said.

Jaeger said his office will be following up after elections to make sure all affidavit voters were qualified. Fraudulently claiming residency in order to vote in the state is a Class A misdemeanor.

They are going to be signing something that they are saying is true so they should know  if it isnt true, there is possibility for some kind of action, Jaeger said.

Jaeger said, for those protest camps or any site across the state where there is no residential address associated with the property, people will have to come up with a method to identify where they live. He said the local states attorneys will have to decide what residential site identification is legally acceptable.

All of this is a challenge, he said.
Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire over 25 times along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir since the September 29 surgical strikes by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to destroy terror launch pads.

"There have been over 25 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after the surgical strikes," a senior Army officer said on Friday.

The major ceasefire violations took place on 3, 4 and 5 October along the LoC in the Jammu region.

On October 5, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire thrice and resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling to target several Indian posts and civilian areas in three sectors in Poonch and Rajouri districts of J-K, provoking retaliation by the Indian Army.

Three soldiers had suffered minor injuries, while nine Pakistani army men were injured in the retaliatory action by India.

On October 4, Pakistani troops targeted 10 forward areas with mortar shelling and firing with five ceasefire violations on Indian posts and civilian areas along the LoC in four areas of Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts.

They shelled mortar bombs and opened small and automatic weapons in Jhangar, Kalsian, Makri in the Noushera sector of Rajouri district and Gigriyal, Platan, Damanu, Channi and Palanwala areas of Pallanwala sector of the Jammu district and Balnoi, Krishnagati in the Poonch district. One jawan had sustained injuries in the action.

On October 3, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire four times and restored to heavy firing and mortar shelling in Saujian, Shahpur-Kerni, Mandi and KG sectors in Poonch district, where five civilians were injured and several shops set ablaze after a shell triggered a fire in oil containers in a security force camp.

On October 2, Pakistan resorted to firing and shelling from 19:15 hours along the LoC in forward areas in Pallanwala belt of the Jammu district.

On October 1, Indian posts and civilian areas were shelled with mortar bombs, RPGS and HMGS amid small arms firing along LoC in Jammu sector.

On September 30, Pakistani troops had opened fire from small arms along the LoC in Pallanwala, Chaprial and Samnam areas of Akhnoor sector of the Jammu district.

Last year, 16 civilians were killed and 71 others injured in 405 incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistan.
A complaint was today received by police of gun shots heard at a Naval base in Gujarat's Porbandar, but later it turned out to be a hoax after the security men conducted a thorough search in the entire area.

"We received a complaint this morning from one of the guards at the communication room of the Naval base which said that he had heard two-three gun shots being fired," Porbandar Superintendent of Police Tarunkumar Duggal told PTI.

"We carried out search operation in the entire area, in and around the Naval base, for about three hours," he said.

"However, after a thorough search operation, nothing was found. The alarm raised seems to be a hoax," Duggal further said.

He also denied that there were any reports of explosion at the Naval base.

The Porbandar city located on Gujarat coast is on a high alert following the surgical strikes recently carried out across the Line of Control by the Army.

The Indian Coast Guard, Navy and the Gujarat coastal police have increased vigil on the coast.

Security has been enhanced on the Gujarat coast, which have vital installations like ports, oil refineries and famous temples at Dwarka and Somnath, following inputs from intelligence agencies about possible infiltration bids by terrorists through the sea route, police had said yesterday.

The alert has been issued for coastal districts of Gujarat based on an input received from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) recently, they had said.

Gujarat, having 1,600 km-long coastline, shares border with Pakistan.

During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, terrorists had hijacked a fishing trawler from the mid-sea in Gujarat to travel to Mumbai shores.

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A day after Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar was injured in a clash between two factions of state Congress, his supporters lodged a police complaint against workers of the rival group led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

"On a complaint by Tanwar's supporters, a caseunder sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 34 IPC (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) has been registered at the Tilak Marg police station," said a senior police officer.

Tanwar's supporters protested outside the police station and called for an FIR to be registered.

In a written complaint, Navdeep Singh Dalal, one of Tanwar's supporters, alleged that Satish Rathi, Kala and Wazir, PSOs of Hooda, Satyawan, Ramkishan and former MLA Dharampal attacked them with lathis yesterday.

The incident occurred yesterday around 5.30 pm before Gandhi's 'Deoria to Delhi Kisan yatra' was supposed to reach Bhairon Mandir.

Meanwhile, security at the RML Hospital where Tanwar is till admitted, has been increased.

"There was an argument between his supporters and hospital authorities, following which number of bouncers deployed there has been increased," sources said.

"Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar late tonight also visited Tanwar who was been admitted in the ECS unit of the hospital," a senior official of RML said.

Supporters ofHooda and Tanwar allegedly attacked each other with sticks over mounting of posters and banners of their respective leaders and Tanwar sustained injuries in his head and other parts of the body.

Tanwar's other supporters were also injured and were administered first-aid at the hospital.

The incident brought to the fore the differences between different factions of the party and is likely to have political repercussions.

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Punjab government today directed deputy commissioners of districts bordering Pakistan to ensure "smooth" return of people who were evacuated from their villages after the surgical strikes in PoK.

The decision was taken after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a meeting today at Jaisalmer reviewed the security situation with home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

"The Centre had recently asked residents in districts that border Pakistan, including Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Amritsar, to move back by about 10 km after the surgical strikes on terror launch pads in PoK," an official release said.

"Deputy Chief Minister Sukbhir Singh Badal, who was at the meeting, informed Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal about the decision," it said.

"The CS asked DCs of all the districts concerned to take immediate steps to ensure smooth return of the affected people back to their villages," it added.

Meanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh welcomed the government's decision saying it only vindicates his stand on the issue.

"It was not required in the first place. The evacuations had been ordered by the Akali (SAD)-BJP alliance to create war hysteria for their political interests," he alleged, adding the decision boomeranged and they eventually withdrew it.

"While their bluff has been called, who will compensate villagers for losses and the harassment they faced after they were forced out of their homes. They homeless for all these days without any rhyme or reason," he said, demanding compensation for villagers.

Although the government has withdrawn the orders, Amarinder will still tour villages on the Indo-Pak border and will spend a few days in some of them from October 10.

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Image via Shutterstock

has agreed to purchase as many as 100 Boeing airplanes for up to US $18.6 billion, the jointly announced on Friday.

Qatar will buy 30 of the new-generation Boeing 787 and 10 Boeing 777, both widebody aircraft, for US $11.7 billion. also signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 60 of the narrow-body Boeing 737 valued at about US $6.9 billion.

chief executive Akbar Al-Baker said that the order was one of the largest in the country's history and would help meet growing demand for air travel.

Al-Baker acknowledged the decision to go with Boeing also was due to "ongoing issues" with Boeing rival Airbus.

Al-Baker in April publicly blasted Airbus over delays in deliveries of the single-aisle Airbus A320neo due to problems with its engine. In June, Qatar Airways cancelled an order for one of the planes.

"Boeing has started building airplanes before everybody else," Al-Baker told a news conference in Washington attended by government officials from the US and Qatar.

"They make the best airplanes, even if their competitors will not like me saying this."

The contract for the 737 marks the first time Qatar Airways has ordered single-aisle planes from Boeing in more than 15 years, the said.

"Our partnership with Qatar Airways has grown and strengthened tremendously over the years and I look forward to the time when its fleet will feature an increasing number of both our single and twin-aisle airplanes," said Ray Conner, chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplane division.

The did not release a time-frame for deliveries.
Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar today defended party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" barb, saying it should not be seen "out of context".

"All Congressmen have immense faith in the army whether it is me, Rahul Gandhi or party president Sonia Gandhi. We salute the army personnel and are with them...But, we are against political propaganda," Congress general secretary (in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh) Azad told reporters here.

"It was a way of expressing and it should not be seen out of context. We support the army and there is no question on that...We are against politicisation of the army action," said Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Babbar, while flaying the BJP for "attempting to cook up a controversy over the remark for political gains".

The duo also took on BJP president Amit Shah for his remarks on Gandhi earlier in the day and alleged that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was yesterday felicitated in Uttar Pradesh for the army's recent surgical strikes in PoK, did not utter a word about the five army jawans from the state who were killed in the Uri terror attack.

"Rahul Gandhi has proved that his politics is for the poor and the deprived and he will continue to raise his voice for them," actor-turned-politician Babbar said.

The two leaders flagged off the 'Rahul Sandesh Yatra' which will spread the message on the issues raised by the Congress vice-president during his 26-day 'Deoria to Dilli Kisan Yatra' across the state.

As a follow up to the yatra which concluded at Delhi yesterday, Uttar Pradesh Congress will take 'Rahul Sandesh Yatra' to all the 75 districts of the state from October 13-27 in the run-up to the Assembly election due early next year.

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today visited the Apollo Hospital here to enquire about the condition of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who was hospitalised recently for fever and dehydration and said "she is improving and going to be alright."



In brief remarks after visiting the hospital, Rahul said, "I wanted to give my support and Congress president's support to the Chief Minister".

"The Chief Minister is improving and she is going to be alright," he said.

"I want to give maximum energy to Jayalalithaaji, so that she gets well soon," Rahul said while replying to a question, adding, he wishes for her speedy recovery.

The Congress vice president straight to the after arriving at the airport here and visited the unit where Jayalalithaa is being treated.

He was briefed by doctors about the treatment being given to the AIADMK supremo. State Congress chief Su Thirunavukkarasar accompanied him.

Rahul's visit to Chennai lasted barely a little over an hour and half. He arrived around 11.20 AM and boarded a flight to Delhi around 1 PM.

The Apollo hospital had said yesterday that the treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supporting therapy.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration.

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Russia's parliament ratified a treaty with Syria today that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country, a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The development comes against the backdrop of a Syrian army onslaught on the rebel-held eastern part of the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, which has been backed by Russian warplanes. Since the collapse of a US-Russia-brokered cease-fire last month, ties between Moscow and Washington have grown even more strained.

The two powers support opposite sides in the war - Moscow has been a staunch Assad ally and the United States backs Syrian rebels trying to oust him.

Russia's air campaign in Syria, launched a year ago, has reversed the tide of war and helped Assad's forces regain some key ground. Moscow says the goal of its military operation is to assist the Syrian army in the fight against terrorism. It rejects accusations of targeting civilians.

Lawmakers in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously to approve the deal, which allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, for as long as it wants. The deal was signed in August 2015 in Damascus, a month before the Russian air campaign began.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus, the only such outpost outside the former Soviet Union. That base is not covered by the treaty, and some lawmakers say it could be the subject of a separate deal.

Yesterday, the Russian military warned the US against striking the Syrian army, stressing that Russian air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said any US strikes on areas controlled by Assad's government could jeopardise the lives of Russian servicemen, and noted that the range of Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems would "surprise" any country operating its aircraft over Syria.

During today's debates, Russian lawmakers said that Russia should demonstrate its military muscle to deter the US Leonid Kalashnikov, a Communist lawmaker, said Moscow must "seriously defend our interests in Syria" in a resolute response to what he and other lawmakers described as Washington's anti-Russian policies.

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The Russian parliament today debated ratifying a treaty with Syria that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country, with lawmakers strongly backing the deal in a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The development comes against the backdrop of a Syrian army onslaught, backed by Russian warplanes, on the rebel-held eastern part of the city of Aleppo in northern Syria. Since the collapse of a US-Russia-brokered cease-fire last month, ties between Moscow and Washington have grown even more strained.

The two powers support opposite sides in the war - Moscow has been a staunch Assad ally and the United States backs Syrian rebels trying to oust him.

Russia's air campaign in Syria, launched a year ago, has reversed the tide of war and helped Assad's forces regain some key ground. Moscow says the goal of its military operation is to assist the Syrian army in the fight against terrorism and rejects accusations of targeting civilians in relentless airstrikes.

Lawmakers in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma are to vote on the deal later in the day.

The treaty allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, as long as it wants. The deal was signed in August 2015 in Damascus, a month before the Russian air campaign began.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus, the only such outpost outside the former Soviet Union. That base is not covered by the treaty, and some lawmakers said it could be subject of a separate deal.

Yesterday, the Russian military warned the US against striking the Syrian army, underlining that its air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said any US strikes on areas controlled by Assad's government could jeopardize the lives of Russian servicemen and noted that the Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems have a range that would be a "surprise" to any country operating its aircraft over Syria.

Today, Russian lawmakers suggested Russia should demonstrate its military muscles to deter the US Leonid Kalashnikov, a Communist lawmaker, said Russia must "seriously defend our interests in Syria.

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Russia today threatened to use its veto to block a French-drafted UN resolution calling for an end to the bombing of Aleppo and the grounding of all warplanes over the Syrian city.

"I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters when asked whether he would resort to the veto.

Following a closed-door Security Council meeting on Syria, Churkin said the French measure was "hastily put together," adding, "I believe this is not designed to make progress, but to cause a Russian veto."



Council members have been holding negotiations for the past week over the draft resolution, which calls for an end to the bombing of Aleppo, access for aid deliveries and a halt to all military flights over the city.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the resolution has "very strong support" within the 15-member council and that "there was no time to waste" for addressing the unfolding disaster in Aleppo.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the vote on Saturday would be a "moment of truth for all the Security Council members," following talks in Washington with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Russian and Syrian bombing campaigns in Aleppo have triggered global outrage, with the United States demanding a war crimes investigation.

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The Russian military says it is considering the possibility of regaining its Soviet-era bases on Cuba and in Vietnam, a statement that comes amid growing US-Russia tensions over Syria.

Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told lawmakers Friday that the ministry is considering the possibility of establishing footholds far away from Russia's borders.

In response to a lawmaker's question if the military could return to Cuba and Vietnam, Pankov said the military is "reviewing" a decision to withdraw from them, but didn't offer any specifics.

In 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to pull back from Cuba and Vietnam as he sought to bolster ties with the United States.

The US-Russian relations now have plunged to the lowest point since the Cold War times amid strain over Syria and Ukraine.

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The Delhi government today sought the intervention of Centre and Rajasthan government into alleged sacking of several employees by a private two-wheeler company.

In a letter to the Centre and the Rajasthan government, Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai has said 102 regular and 3,000 contractual employees of the company's Rajasthan's plant have been sacked through "wrong means".

The letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and state Labour Minister Surender Pal Singh seeks their immediate intervention.

He said the sacked employees, who have got diploma and are qualified from ITI, have been on an indefinite hunger strike for the last 18 days at Jantar Mantar.

The move comes after a delegation of protesting employees of the company met the Delhi Labour Minister and apprised him of their problems.

"In view of their serious problems, there is need to take immediate action in the matter. I request you to issue instructions to officers concerned so that they could get justice," the Minister said.

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Supreme Court today dismissed a plea by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging the two-year ban imposed on IPL franchisee Chennai Super Kings (CSK) over the 2013 betting scam involving its top official Gurunath Meiyappan.

A bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur rejected the plea in which Swamy had alleged that there were no allegations against either former BCCI President N Srinivasan or against any members of CSK and hence the ban imposed by the Justice R M Lodha panel was "illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable".

The Lodha panel had banned CSK and Rajasthan Royals after holding that its top officials like Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan were found involved in betting.

The BJP leader had said he had nothing against the Lodha panel and was confining himself to the ban on CSK which has become victim of "conspiracy".

The apex court had reserved its order on Swamy's plea on October 4.

During the hearing on the plea, the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, had observed that the Lodha panel findings and its recommendation to ban CSK and Rajasthan Royals has "become final".

Star-studded CSK, then led by M S Dhoni, and Rajasthan Royals were on July 14 last year suspended for two years from the Indian Premier League in a clean-up exercise following the 2013 betting scam involving their top officials Meiyappan and Raj Kundra.

Meiyappan, son-in-law of then BCCI chief N Srinivasan and a former Team Principal of CSK, and Kundra, co-owner of Jaipur IPL that runs Rajasthan Royals (RR), were suspended for life from any match conducted by BCCI.

The punishments were handed down by a three-member panel headed by former CJI R M Lodha which was asked by the Supreme Court to decide the quantum of punishment after finding them guilty of betting.

The Madras High Cout had also dismissed a similar petition by the owner of CSK challenging Justice Lodha panel's order.

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The Supreme Court today stayed the commercial release of Genetically Modified (GM) Mustard crop for ten days and asked the Centre to take public opinion on such seeds before releasing it for cultivation purpose.

A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar said the Centre will not commercially release the Genetically Modified (GM) Mustard crop till October 17 when it will hear the matter in detail.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed that no commercial release of the seeds will be done till October 17 and views and suggestions of the public should be taken and put up before the appraisal committee before releasing them.

Mustard is one of India's most important winter crops which is sown between mid-October and late November.

Mehta said the Centre needs to file reply to the petition and refuted the allegation that sowing of the seeds was being done without relevant tests.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Aruna Rodrigues, alleged that Centre is sowing the seeds in various fields and said the bio-safety dossier has to be put on website but this has not been done yet.

He alleged that without doing relevant tests, they were carrying out field trials of the crop and sought a 10-year moratorium on them.

Bhushan said a Technical Expert Committee (TEC) report has said that the entire regulatory system was in shambles and 10-year moratorium should be given.

Rodrigues had filed the plea yesterday seeking a stay on the commercial release of Genetically Modified (GM) Mustard crop and prohibition of its open field trials.

The plea had also urged the court to prohibit open field trials and commercial release of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) crops including HT Mustard DMH 11 and its parent lines/variants as recommended by the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) report.

"Since the claimed yield superiority of HT DMH 11 through the B&B system over Non-GMO varieties and hybrids is quite simply not true, in fact a hoax, as will be amply demonstrated, there is no purpose to this GMO HT mustard for India," the petition said.

The plea also said that the contamination caused by the mustard HT DMH 11 and its HT parents would be "irremediable and irreversible".

"The contamination of our seed stock and germ plasm as will happen with mustard HT DMH 11 and its HT parents will be irremediable and irreversible making our food toxic at the molecular level without recourse," it said.

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In a relief to the Nitish Kumar government, Supreme Court today stayed the operation of Patna High Court judgement quashing the state's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor, saying liquor and fundamental rights "do not go together".

A bench of justices Dipak Misra and U U lalit also issued notices to all the respondents including some liquor manufacturers, on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional Bihar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

"Liquor and fundamental rights do not go together," was how the apex court observed before passing the interim order on the appeal against the high court's verdict.

"As an interim measure, it is directed that there shall be stay of operation of the judgement and order passed by the division bench of the Patna high court," the bench said.

Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, the Grand Secular Alliance government came out with a new law banning sale and consumption of liquor, which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on October 2.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, assisted by advocates Gopal Singh and Keshav Mohan, told the bench on behalf of the state government that after high court's order, Bihar has notified a new law on October 2 which repealed the old legislation.

"The new law is not under challenge. The high court judgement was in relation to the old law," he said.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for one of the liquor manufacturers, said "this judgement (which is under challenge) is not operational. It is supplanted by a new law. Today, there is nothing to be stayed."



He was opposing the appeal of the state government by submitting that a new law has been notified on October 2.

There were a battery of senior lawyers, including C S Vaidyanathan, Rajeev Dhawan and Balbir Singh, who appeared to oppose the Bihar government's appeal raising the issue of fundamental right of equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.

The state government in its petition had urged the apex



court to stay the high court order quashing the April 5 notification to ban liquor.

It had notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 to ensure that the ban on sale and consumption of alcohol including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well spiced and domestic liquor, continued in the state.

While assailing the September 30 high court verdict, Bihar government urged the apex court to decide whether State can impose absolute prohibition on distribution and consumption of liquor and whether an individual can claim the right to consume liquor as his or her fundamental right under the Constitution.

It claimed that as a consequence of the high court order, the state government's effort to bring in complete prohibition on liquor, in performance of its constitutional obligations, has been frustrated.

The high court had on September 30 quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of alcohol in the state, saying it was ultra vires to the Constitution.

The order was passed on a batch of petitions filed by the Liquor Trade Association and others, challenging the liquor law, brought in with stringent penal provisions.

Soon thereafter, Bihar government brought in the new law banning liquor, including harsher provisions like arrest of all adults in a house where contraband was found.

The Grand Secular Alliance government in Bihar had first banned manufacture, trade, sale and consumption of country- made liquor since April 1, but later imposed a blanket ban on all types of liquor, including foreign liquor, in the state.
Shiv Sena district chief Mukesh Sharma and 19 others were today booked on charges of promoting enmity and public mischief for opposing Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in taking part in a Ramleela at his native place in Budhana, a senior police official said today.

Yesterday, Siddiqui had pulled out of the Ramleela programme due to opposition by the right-wing activists following which it was cancelled.

"Police has registered a case against 20 Shiv Sena activists, including district chief Mukesh Sharma, for opposing the film star today," Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said.

They have been booked under IPC sections 153(a)--promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and 505(2)-- statements conducing to public mischief.

Sharma is absconding, he added.

The actor was to play Maarich, a rakshasa (demon), because the demon wanted to be killed by the arrows of Ram.

But, the organisers had to cancel the programme after the activists approached them and expressed their displeasure over Nawazuddin's participation.

The District authorities had said police would provide security to Nawazuddin but he decided to pull out of Ramleela.

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Shiv Sena today filed a police complaint against Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam demanding that he be booked for sedition over his remarks on surgical strikes by Army in PoK.

"Nirupam had questioned veracity of the Army operation and demanded evidence of the strike. He should be booked under sedition charges," Sena district unit chief Bhaskar Ambekar stated in his complaint filed with local police.

Police have not registered any FIR so far.

Nirupam, who heads Mumbai unit of Congress, had caused a furore earlier this week when he demanded proof for the surgical strikes while terming them as "fake". Congress had disassociated itself from Nirupam's comments, saying the party had full faith in armed forces.

Meanwhile, Ambekar accused BJP of "trying to derive political mileage out of the national security issue in view of the upcoming elections.

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Congress today demanded an apology from BJP chief Amit Shah accusing him of taking support of lies in gaining political mileage out of the sacrifices of armed forces and also questioned the Prime Minister if he agreed with his remarks.

The day saw a series of press conferences by Congress and BJP leaders, who traded charges over the surgical strikes accusing each other of insulting the bravery of armed forces.

In seeking to negate BJP's claims that such cross-LoC surgical strikes have been carried out for the first time ever, Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala played a video of an interview of former Army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who claimed that Indian Army had not once but many times conducted such strikes by crossing the LoC.

"Amit Shah has tried to mislead the country, spoke lies to the country, has insulted our armed forces and conspired to run down the sacrifices of the soldiers. The Congress party demands that Amit Shah apologises to the 125 crore people of the country as well as the Indian Army for trying to mislead the country before the media.

"In case he does not do so, we would like to ask the Prime Minister if he agrees with Amit Shah and Ravi Shankar Prasad, both of whom have done the act of grave insult to the Army's bravery and valour," he said.

Surjewala said the Congress wishes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and Manohar Parrikar had not sought to make political gains out of the bravery of soldiers and instead should have apologised to the country for the conduct of some of their party leaders and workers who have committed the mistake of doing so.

"But instead of apologising, Amit Shah went a step ahead," he said, adding he should apologise for this.

Surjewala said BJP has done "the crime of colouring the bravery and valour of armed forces in BJP's political colour".

"Amit Shah has insulted and humiliated the Indian Army before the entire country by speaking a lie that it has done surgical strikes across LoC for the first time ever in these 68 years," he said.

"Is former Army chief Gen Bikram Singh speaking a lie? Gen Singh has said that not once but many times, India has conducted surgical strikes after crossing the LoC but never politicised the issue. We have never tried to exploit the brave actions of the Army for votes," the Congress leader said.

Earlier, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the devotion to Rahul Gandhi is overriding Congress's devotion to the country, targeting it over its reference to a now-closed criminal case involving Shah and accusing it of stooping to a low to defend its vice president.

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Noted industrialist M Rafeeque Ahmed has been elected as the President of South India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the 106th Annual General Meeting held here.

Ahmed, Chairman of the Farida Group of Companies, was honoured with Padma Shri for his achievements in trade and commerce in 2011, a press statement said.

He, currently is the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Tamil Nadu unit.

Besides, he also heads the Council for Leather Exports and also the All India Skin and Hide Tanners and Merchants Association as President.

City-based Trigyn Technologies Chairman R Ganapathi and Valingro Group Chairman Rm Arun were elected Vice Presidents, the release said.

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Demanding a "peace bonus", Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling today appealed to the Centre to undertake more development initiatives in the Northeast, saying his state is yet to be connected by air and rail networks and condition of roads are pathetic.

Chamling sought "peace bonus" from the central government for remaining the most peaceful state in the country.

"There is no insurgency, no militancy, no violence in Sikkim. Our state is the most peaceful in the country. We should be given a peace bonus by the Central government," he told reporters here.

In 2000, the Central government had given a "peace bonus" of Rs 182.45 crore to Mizoram for being the most peaceful state in the Northeast after decades of insurgency.

The Chief Minister said construction of an airport in Sikkim has been going on for years while no progress has been made in implementing the plans for connecting the Himalayan state with trains.

"Our only lifeline is road. But condition of roads are very pathetic. We urge the Central government to take more development initiatives in Sikkim as well as other Northeastern states," he said.

The Chief Minister said Sikkim has tremendous potential to be the "Switzerland of India" and a "Ram Rajya" as it is blessed with tremendous beauty and natural resources but it needs help from the Central government.

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The North Dakota Jump$tart Coalition is offering two scholarship opportunities for North Dakota educators to attend the National Educator Conference sponsored by the National Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, to be held Nov. 5-7 in Dallas.

This is an opportunity to learn about new tools, resources and information for teaching personal finance in the classroom. Other benefits include nationally recognized speakers, a variety of workshops, networking opportunities and 15 professional development hours for teachers.

For an application or more information go to http://ndjumpstart.org/national-educator-conference or email Lance Hill at lrhill@nd.gov. The deadline is Oct. 7. For more information, contact Lance at 701-328-5855.
At least six fighters were killed and nine others wounded in clashes between forces from two neighbouring administrations in northern Somalia today, officials and witnesses said.

Tensions between Puntland and Galmudug soared last month after Galmudug said a US strike aimed at Shabaab jihadists had in fact killed 13 of its soldiers.

Galmudug authorities accused neighbouring Puntland of feeding the US false information that led to the air strike.

Fighters from the two regions exchanged machine gun fire and fired anti-aircraft weapons today in the town of Galkayo, which is divided between the two administrations and historically rival clans.

Puntland authorities in a statement accused Galmudug forces of attacking them "to retaliate" for the US strike.

"The state of Puntland notes that it will defend its people and territories from the invasion engaged by Al-Shabaab terrorists and their Galmudug allies."



Mohamed Hassan Sahal, a spokesman for the Galmudug administration, told AFP the fighting broke out in an argument over land.

"Puntland administration deployed forces at a disputed construction site last night and the fighting erupted this morning. It stopped now but six people from the two sides were killed during the clashes", he said.

The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed carrying out a "self-defense" strike near the town of Galkayo on September 28, when Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab fighters attacked a Somali force and their US advisors.

"Since that incident, Puntland was getting threats from Al-Shabaab and Galmudug... To retaliate for the death of the terrorists killed in the attack," read a statement from the Puntland president's office.

Witnesses said the fighting today continued for several hours.

"The fighting stopped but it can resume anytime because no one is mediating between the two sides so far, people will start fleeing for their lives if it resumes," resident Abdikarim Ali told AFP.

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Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has greeted people on the occasion of Durga Puja stating it will foster peace and tranquility among all.

In a message today, the Chief Minister said, "On this joyous occasion of Durga Puja, I extend my greetings and good wishes to everybody.

Durga Puja represents the triumph of truth over untruth, good over evil, justice over injustice".

He also called upon the people of Assam to take a pledge to make Assam 'foreigners' free, corruption free, terrorism free and pollution free' on the occasion of Durga Puja.

He also said that Durga Puja will foster peace and tranquility among all besides strengthening the age old bond of amity and unity in the state.

Moreover, celebration of Durga Puja will instill cordiality and camaraderie among the cross section of people living in Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys, Hills and Plains.

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Accusing Justice Roopanwal panel, which went into Rohith Vemula's suicide, of not performing the task in accordance with its terms of reference but those set by BJP and RSS, a group of students today held a protest against the "atrocious" report submitted by it.

Scores of students of different organisations, who came together under the banner of 'Justice For Rohit Vemula', staged the protest at University of Hyderabad (UoH) this evening, alleging the report was a tool to save BJP's Ministers in the Modi government--Bandaru Dattatreya and Smriti Irani-- and UoH Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile.

Raising slogans, the students took out a rally from the shopping complex on the campus to varsity's main gate and burnt an effigy of Roopanwal.

"The Roopanwal Commission constituted by the MHRD came out with an atrocious report by discounting the discrimination and humiliation suffered by Rohit Vemula and his mother Radhika for being Dalits, and by concluding that they obtained SC certificate in order to avail the benefits of the Scheduled Caste category," the students said.

Raising questions about Vemula's Dalit status, the Commission constituted by the HRD Ministry after the Hyderabad university research scholar's death, has said the material on record did not establish it and attributed his suicide to personal reasons.

The Commission, in its report to the HRD ministry, is learnt to have given a clean chit to Irani and Dattatreya.

"The Commission performed the task not in accordance with its terms of reference but in accordance with the terms set by BJP/RSS to save their ministers, Appa Rao and ABVP leaders and attacking/maligning Radhika Vemula, who has been fighting to seek justice for her son," the protesters alleged.

The protesters also alleged that the Commission's report



was aimed at shielding the accused.

"The Commission has stooped to attacking the mother of Rohith Vemula at the personal level as she has been openly declaring solidarity with all emerging Dalit movements across the country and is taking head-on BJP and RSS.

"Legally speaking, the Commission does not have any jurisdiction and mandate over enquiry/investigation of the caste of Rohith Vemula and the appropriate body to investigate and certify the caste is the (Guntur) District Magistrate," they said.

The Commission, in fact, defended the decision of the University authorities of suspending five research scholars from hostels, they claimed.

Vemula's suicide on January 17 had sparked massive protests at UoH, popularly known as Hyderabad Central University (HCU), and triggered a nation-wide outrage. A political slugfest had erupted in its wake, with a string of parties and Dalit organisations siding with students and accusing the BJP and varsity administration of being anti-Dalit.

UoH has been witnessing sporadic protests since Vemula's death, with students demanding removal of Appa Rao from the Vice Chancellor's post. Rao and others have been booked under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for abetment of Vemula's suicide.
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, who triggered a row by calling Army's surgical strikes a "fake", today claimed to have received a "threat call" from alleged gangster Ravi Pujari asking him to tender a public apology over his remarks



As Nirupam and his family face a backlash on social media, his wife Geeta has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ensuring safety of her family since she is feeling "very unsafe" in India in the wake of the online trolling.

Nirupam told reporters here that Pujari called on his residence landline on October 5 around 11.15 AM from a foreign number and he had filed a police complaint at the Versova police station.

According to Nirupam, he and his family members were threatened with dire consequences if he failed to tender a public apology over his remarks on the cross-LoC army action on terror camps in Pakistan-occuped Kashmir(PoK).

"I have filed a complaint with Versova police about the threat," he said, adding that so far neither Mumbai Police Commissioner nor any other authority has sought information from him in this connection.

Nirupam, whose recent comments questioning veracity of surgical strikes by Army in PoK had evoked critical reactions from across political spectrum, sought to blame the BJP government on the alleged threat he received.

"Will Opposition leaders be now threatened through goondas (criminals and hooligans). I am a leader who is from the masses. Why am I being threatened?," Nirupam asked.

Unfazed by the attack over the issue, Nirupam said "earlier too such strikes have taken place. But now it has been politicised. Why should evidence not be demanded on the strikes? If Pakistan is campaigning against us, evidence should be placed. We are proud of our Army."



Targeting the BJP, he said the ruling party is indulging in politics over the blood of soldiers. "We will definitely ask questions. This has never happened before."



In her letter, Geeta claimed that she was being abused openly and accused in "most vulgar and demeaning manner possible not only on social media but even via phone calls."



Expressing concern about security of her family, Geeta has appealed to Modi to "check the vulgar comments of the random social media activists and keep politics aside from the personal and familial life."



Referring to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's statement last year that his wife Kiran Rao was feeling "unsafe" in India when a debate raged on the issue of intolerance, Geeta said that she too was feeling very "unsafe" in her own country.

"I am sadly disappointed and waiting for you to press the



stop button and at least make sure that there is some censorship that monitors language on mass media. Politics is not a family game, so, can we stop dragging families into it? I want answers to my questions.

"Yes, my husband said something that was clearly political in nature, which could have easily been discussed/debated intellectually amongst political rivals and even commoners; just like any other Indian," Geeta stated in her letter which she has also shared on Facebook.

She said, "He (Nirupam) was talking about the nation and politics, not about his personal life and family. So, why is this so-called culture- and family-oriented nation -- that otherwise worships 'the Devi' -- dragging his 80-year-old mother into this political drama and abusing her by using the most vulgar language possible on social media?"



"If a girl is raped or molested, activists organise candle marches to restore modesty, but not one person is ashamed of using social media to abuse, emotionally torture and verbally 'rape' the women in my family by threatening to burn my husband alive or killing him in broad daylight, just because he expressed his opinion," Geeta said.
Around two tonnes of ivory hidden in a timber shipment from Mozambique has been seized in Vietnam, customs authorities said today, the second large haul of the illegally-trafficked product in a week.

Although ivory trade is banned in Vietnam, the country remains a top market for ivory products prized locally for decorative and medicinal purposes.

It is also a busy thoroughfare for tusks trafficked from Africa destined for other parts of Asia.

Officials initially said they found 500 kilogrammes of ivory in two crates of timber from Mozambique at a Ho Chi Minh City port, but later updated the figure after a more thorough search.

A statement from the official newspaper of the Vietnamese Customs Department confirmed more than 2,000 kilogrammes of elephant tusks were seized in total.

"This shipment would not have been discovered without professionalism and vigilance," the newspaper quoted the deputy head of the customs department, Hoang Viet Cuong, as saying.

The latest catch follows last week's discovery of 300 kilogrammes of elephant ivory in Hanoi's airport, where officials found tusks from Nigeria falsely labelled as glass.

Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992, but shops still sell ivory dating from before the ban and weak law enforcement has allowed its illegal trade to persist.

A two-week long survey last year found more than 16,000 ivory products available in Hanoi, according to The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Meanwhile, conservation group Save Vietnam's Wildlife said today they received 61 rescued pangolins that were being trafficked, three of them dead, from police in the northern Thai Binh province.

The reclusive creatures, often called scaly anteaters, are the world's most heavily trafficked mammal, sought after in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia for their meat and scales used in traditional medicine.

Vietnam is hosting an international conference on illegal wildlife trade from November 17 to 18, which will be attended by Britain's Prince William, who has repeatedly spoken out against wildlife trafficking.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UK Independence Party (UKIP) leadership hopeful Steven Woolfe was today moved to the neurological unit of a hospital in France after a clash at a party meet resulted in a brain scare.

Woolfe, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), suffered two seizures hours after what the party described as an "altercation" with fellow UKIP members.

The 49-year-old party leadership candidate was rushed to hospital in Strasbourg yesterday after allegedly being hit by fellow UKIP MEP Mike Hookem - something the latter denies.

He is expected to be kept in hospital for a further 48 hours.

UKIP has launched an inquiry into the incident in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, soon after which Woolfe collapsed.

Nathan Gill, the MEP for Wales, told reporters today: "I have just been to seen my good friend Steven Woolfe. He is in extremely good form. He told me that his family are fully aware of his situation and his health. He is in good form.

"He has been observed during the night. He was quite tired and and groggy. The hospital has asked to keep him in hospital.

The incident, understood to be between Woolfe and Hookem, took place during a heated UKIP meeting in the European Parliament.

UKIP sources said "a rumbustious argument" had taken place following claims Woolfe had been considering defecting to the Conservative Party.

Party chairman Paul Oakden has said there would be a full investigation and "appropriate action" if necessary.

(Reopens FES 59)



Hookem told BBC: "He (Woolfe) came at me, I defended



myself, there was no punches thrown, there was no face slapping, there was no digs, there was nothing. It was as people in Hull would term as handbags at dawn. A bit of a scuffle.

"The other door that he'd come through opened up. I at that point was not holding him, I didn't push him, he fell back into that room onto an MEP that was stood just inside that room.
Russia's government lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top UN official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, diplomats told, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin.

There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal "demarche" to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Septmber 13, according to three diplomats familiar with the conversation. Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced "demagogues" and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Islamic State propaganda.

In a speech in Cleveland three months before Republicans gathered there to nominate Trump, Zeid said: "Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture."



"In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack disguised as courageous taboo-busting on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society," he said.

Demarches, or formal, diplomatic communications, are everyday occurrences. At the United Nations, they're generally used to question broader foreign policy questions and sometimes used to complain. But they rarely center on specific individuals, let alone involve a Russian complaint about how the UN is treating an American politician.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to several requests for comment.

Churkin's personal intervention could add to questions about the relationship between Trump and Russia.

Trump has praised Putin's strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on November 8. He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated; wrongly suggested Russia hasn't entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east; and he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state.

The diplomatic complaint could revive charges that Moscow is interfering in the presidential election, following accusations by the US government that Russia sponsored cyber-intrusions like the hack of the Democratic National Committee's emails.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US is disappointed with the way Russia and to some extent China have been exercising their veto power in the UN Security Council to blunt global efforts for peace in Syria, the White House has said as it underscored the need to reform the powerful wing of the world body.

"We have been deeply concerned by the way Russia has used its veto power on the UN Security Council to prevent as much action from the UN as we would like to see," White House Press Secretary Josh earnest said.

"I know there has been a broader and, in some ways, more esoteric discussion about proposed reforms of the UN Security Council and the way that it works. I know there have been some proposals to enlarge it. Our friends in India are certainly interested in benefitting from reforms like that," Earnest told reporters at his daily conference yesterday.

India has been strongly pushing for reform of the UN Security Council and getting its permanent membership.

He said as it relates to the situation in Syria, the US' most urgent concern is with the way Russia has used their veto authority on the Security Council at the UN.

"The United States has been disappointed at the way in which Russia and to a certain extent China have wielded their veto authority on the UN Security Council to blunt international efforts to limit the violence inside of Syria," the White House spokesman said.

"We have been disappointed that they have used that veto to protect (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad. There have also been movements at the United Nations Security Council to raise concerns about the conduct of individuals in that conflict and to ensure that they are met with some accountability. Those accountability measures have been blocked by the Russians," Earnest said.

There are other examples of the US being able to work effectively outside the auspices of the UN to implement sanctions in a coordinated fashion to maximise the impact of those sanctions, he said.

The situation in Ukraine is the best example where the US has been able to work effectively with its European allies to impose tough sanctions against Russia, Earnest said.

"I would be among the first to point out that the



sanctions that we have imposed on Russia, in concert with our European allies, as a result of Russia's actions in Ukraine have not yet achieved the desired result.

"We have not seen the change in strategy on the part of the Russians that we would like to see in Ukraine. We have not seen them indicate their clear respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Earnest said.

"We do know that those sanctions have had an impact on Russia's economy. Russia is paying the price for their actions inside of Ukraine. That price is one that they have to pay because of the ability of the US to work effectively with our European partners to impose those costs. That is something that we did not do through the UN obviously because Russia has a veto on the UN Security Council.

"Our preference is always to work through the UN when it comes to implementing these sanctions because it means that even more countries are able to coordinate their actions with the US which essentially has a multiplier effect in terms of the strength of the sanctions and the size of the cost," the White House Press Secretary said.

He said the US does have options and has demonstrated an ability to work outside of the UN to achieve a similar result.

"So I guess the point is in this case I would not rule out multilateral efforts outside of the UN to impose costs on Syria or Russia or others with regard to the situation inside of Syria. We have done that in the past. I would not take that off the table in terms of the options that the President may consider in this situation," Earnest added.

The 15-member UN Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
The US on Friday said it does not support declaring a 'terrorist state' but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.

The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state', Kirby at his daily press briefing said: "I have not seen anything specifically about the - such a bill, and obviously we don't."

He, however, said he would not comment on "whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard". "What we - what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously, it's a threat to the Indian people as well.

"So we're going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we've always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that's - we're going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end," Kirby said.

He said the US' position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place - meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said.

He added that the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them," Kirby said.

"That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we don't believe for a minute that they don't take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children," he said.

Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistan's nuclear security.

"I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal," he said.
Vigilance sleuths today arrested a Circle Officer on graft charge from Bihar's Nawada district, a Vigilance department release said.

A Vigilance Investigation Bureau caught one Shambhu Sharan, a Circle officer with Kauwakol block in Nawada district, red handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 for mutation work.

One Dharmendra Kumar, a resident of Sokhodevra village under Kauwakol block of Nawada district, had lodged a complaint with the Vigilance department that the Circle Officer Shambhu Sharan was demanding a bribe of Rs 20,000 from him for completing mutation work in connection with land deal, the release said.

The allegations were found to be correct during the verification carried out by the Bureau, it said adding that the Circle Officer agreed to do mutation work in Rs 10,000.

A flying squad team was constituted under Deputy Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar Singh who raided and caught Shambhu Sharan, the Circle officer, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from his official residence at Sokhodevra village under Kauwakol block of Nawada district.

The accused would be produced before a Special Vigilance Court (I)at Patna after interrogation, the release said.

Altogether 88 persons have been arrested in 81 trap cases laid by the Bureau so far in 2016.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A fire Thursday night at a duplex in Bismarck has left its residents displaced.

At 8:22 p.m., the Bismarck Fire Department responded to a report of fire in a duplex unit at 2021 Koch Drive. When firefighters arrived, the rear of the residence was engulfed in flames on the upper and lower levels.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the majority of the fire within 20 to 30 minutes, according to Battalion Chief Kurt Leben. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Bismarck Police also responded to the scene. The residents -- who were renting the unit, according to police -- were not at home when the fire started, but five children had been there.

No injuries were reported. Preliminary fire loss estimate to the building and its contents is $250,000.

That unit was pretty severely damaged. I dont know that theyll have to tear it down, but itll need some major work," Leben said.

A chaplain for the Crisis Care Chaplaincy Program provided support for the occupants. The Red Cross has provided temporary housing assistance to the displaced family.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today dismissed as irrelevant a call by the chief minister of the Tamil-majority northern province for a federal solution to issues of the ethnic minority community.

C V Wigneswaran two weeks ago had demanded a federal solution to meet the political aspirations of the Tamil minority.

The opposition in parliament demanded government response to Wigneswaran's demand.

"Anyone is free to air their views but the Constitution making process is the work of parliament," Wickremesinghe said, terming Wigneswaran's demands irrelevant.

He said the all party steering committee report would be the basis for constitutional change.

"All of us in this House can express our views to the committee," Wickremesinghe said.

Wigneswaran during his demonstration in Jaffna had said the Sinhalese fear federalism through ignorance and a federal solution would not mean a division of the island into ethnicity-based provinces.

Wigneswaran has been accused of trying to fan communal flames and has also come under fire for organising the demonstration from his own Tamil National Alliance party.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a bid to assuage the ruffled feathers of farmers' groups in Tamil Nadu, BJP today said it will not act against their interests in the state, hoping the Centre forms a strong Cauvery Management Board soon.

"BJP will not act against the interests of farmers in Tamil Nadu and hopes that the Centre would soon form a strong, statutory and fair Cauvery Management Board (CMB)," BJP national secretary H Raja said.

Political parties had recently accused the Centre of "betraying" the state by seeking modification of a Supreme Court order asking it to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB).

The ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK had alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre made the move with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly polls, scheduled in 2018.

Speaking to reporters at Thirukkadaiyur in the district, Raja alleged the DMK-Congress combine was responsible for all the problems in the Cauvery dispute.

"In 1974, DMK failed to renew the 1924 Cauvery River Pact. The DMK, instead of pressurising the Congress government in Karnataka now to release water, is staging a drama at Thanjavur today, blaming the Union Government," he said.

Referring to the health condition of Jayalalithaa, he said it was improper to ask for release of photographs of the hospitalised Chief Minister.

"The hospital is issuing regular bulletins. Let us pray and hope for her speedy recovery," he said.

On the local body polls, which Madras High Court had declared as null and void, the BJP leader said when the state Election Commission issues a fresh notification, candidates who had filed their nominations earlier should be allowed to contest without the need to file nominations again.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Malaysian and Australian officials say a piece of an aircraft wing found on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The piece of wing flap was found in May and subsequently analysed by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane in a remote stretch of ocean off Australia's west coast.

On Friday, the agency said investigators had used a part number found on the debris to link it to the missing Boeing 777.

Several pieces of wreckage from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
India's concept note for a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services evoked good response during a meeting of a WTO members' panel here earlier this week.

On the lines of TFA in goods, India is pitching for a similar pact in services with a view to reduce transaction costs by doing away with unnecessary regulatory and administrative burden on trade in services.

"WTO members debated new proposals to ease global flow of services. Brazil described the proposal as interesting and thought-provoking while Chinese Taipei said it was very interesting and creative," a Geneva-based trade official said.

WTO members discussed the Indian proposal for an agreement to ease global services trade aiming at reducing bottlenecks that services suppliers face abroad.

These include high visa application fees, lack of transparency and lack of access to social security.

The proposal builds upon the TFA in goods, which aims to streamline customs procedures to cut the time and cost involved in moving goods across borders.

While members are still reviewing the paper, the official said several delegations questioned India on the implications on members' domestic regulations and the expected benefits for developing and developed members alike, which for the TFA for goods were manifest and well-documented.

However, Canada and the US stated that the proposal touched upon sensitive issues, which for Canada were public education and health services.

India's new concept paper assumes significance as the services sector contributes significantly to the economies of developing nations.

Services sector contributes about 60 per cent to India's economy and 28 per cent to the total employment.

With the growing importance of the sector, India has time and again pitched for liberalisation and streamlining of norms for the sector in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Food & Beverages (F&B) franchise management company Yellow Tie Hospitality is planning to introduce 8-10 brands, both international and Indian, in the next two years, a senior company executive has said.

"We formed the company last year and introduced US-brand Genuine Broaster Chicken (GBC) this year. We will introduce three Indian brands - Biwi Jaan, Taste of Tadka and Dhadoom - this financial year," Yellow Tie Hospitality Founder and CEO Karan Tanna told PTI.

"We are also in talks with two UK-based quick service desert and Mexican brands. Overall we are planning to introduce 8-10 brands in two years," Tanna said.

The company, he said, has set a capex of Rs 50 crore for this purpose.

Yellow Tie Hospitality has already introduced three outlets of GBC, which is popular in 36 countries.

"We are planning to open 200 GBC across the country by 2018-19, which will be in both quick service and casual dining formats. We have a capex of about USD 3 million (Rs 20 crore) for the expansion of GBC," he said.

Going forward, Yellow Tie Hospitality is also mulling entering the club and hospitality business.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG is in informal talks with securities firms to explore options including raising capital should mounting legal bills require it, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Senior advisers at top Wall Street firms are speaking to representatives of Deutsche Bank about ideas including a share sale and asset disposals, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. (http://bloom.bg/2dyvmuW)

The banks are offering to help underwrite a stock sale to raise about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion), the maximum amount in discounted shares Deutsche Bank can sell without needing shareholder approval, Bloomberg said.

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank in New York declined to comment.

Bloomberg said Deutsche Bank could also go to shareholders to request approval for more funds.

The German lender is deliberating whether to sell the shares once it reaches a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on a probe tied to residential mortgage-backed securities, Bloomberg said.

No final decisions have been made and the bank could decide against a capital increase, Bloomberg reported.

Deutsche is fighting a fine of up to $14 billion from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The chief executives of several German blue-chip companies have discussed Deutsche Bank's problems and are ready to offer a capital injection if needed to shore up Germany's largest lender, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported earlier on Thursday, citing sources.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Grant McCool and Lisa Shumaker)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Rajendra Jadhav and Syed Raza Hassan

MUMBAI/KARACHI (Reuters) - Rising hostilities between India and Pakistan have brought their $822 million-a-year trade in cotton to a juddering halt, as traders who are worried about uncertainty over supplies and driven by patriotism hold off signing new deals.

The nuclear-armed rivals have seen tensions ratchet up in the past few months over the disputed territory of Kashmir, and cotton traders in both countries said they were watching developments along the de facto border with alarm.

Pakistan, the world's third-largest cotton consumer, usually starts importing from September, but three Indian exporters said the number of inquiries had slowed to a trickle in the last two weeks.

In the clearest sign yet of souring relations affecting commerce, Pakistan-based importers also said they were not buying.

"At the moment there is no cotton trade. It's at standstill. There is uncertainty that, God forbid, if war breaks out, what will happen?" said Ihsanul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.

Pakistan Cotton Commissioner Khalid Abdullah said a "low quantum of trade activity is still taking place."

He said the Pakistan government had not directed traders to stop buying Indian cotton and expected trade to normalize when tensions eased.

Indian government officials said they had not yet noticed trading had stopped.

But some Indian officials said last week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was considering whether it should choke trade with Pakistan to put pressure on its neighbour, even though the trade balance is in India's favour.

INDIA'S BIGGEST COTTON BUYER

Trade between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, is small.

In the 2015/16 fiscal year ending on March 31, official trade between the two was $2.6 billion. Cotton is the largest component of that total.

It is not clear whether other goods and commodities traded between the two, such as jewellery and dry fruits, have been hit by the escalation in hostilities as well, but the disruption to cotton shipments is potentially significant.

In the crop year ended Sept. 30, Pakistan was India's biggest cotton buyer after its own crop was hit by drought and whitefly pest.

It imported 2.5 million bales from India, and supported Indian cotton prices at a time when China was cutting imports, traders said.

Lower purchases by Pakistan this year could hurt exports from the world's biggest producer of the fibre and put pressure on Indian prices, but could also help rival cotton suppliers like Brazil, the United States and some African countries.

Chirag Patel, chief executive officer of Indian exporter Jaydeep Cotton Fibers, said the country could export 5 million bales in the 2016/17 crop year, but exports could plunge to 3 million bales without Pakistani imports.

An exporter based in Mumbai estimated that Pakistan will need to import at least 3 million bales in 2016/17, and India will have a surplus of around 8 million bales.

"As soon as the (political) situation improves, cotton trade will definitely resume between the two countries," said Haq of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.

But for now, traders on both sides of the border said the environment was not conducive to doing business.

"Many cotton exporters are not interested in selling cotton to Pakistan. They are trying to find other markets," said Pradeep Jain, a ginner based in Jalgaon in the western state of Maharashtra.

Shahzad Ali Khan, chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, referred to a move by the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), a small filmmakers' body, last week, banning their members from hiring Pakistani actors.

"India is banning Pakistani artists, so how can it expect us to buy cotton from India?" Khan said.

"In various forums Pakistani traders are saying they will not buy cotton from India this year. Even if they need to pay extra, they will pay and buy it from other suppliers."

(Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Mike Collett-White)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DRIVEN

THE STORY

Author: Vijay Lokapally

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 221

Price: Rs 399



Among the several things that worry me about a sportsperson's biography or autobiography is its timing. England all-rounder Ben Stokes decided to pen his story relatively early: he is just 25, has played a mere 44 one-day internationals and 25 Test matches, and is best remembered for getting clobbered by a beastly Barbadian bloke for four consecutive sixes in a T20 World Cup final.
Fawad Khan wasn't producer Karan Johar's first choice for the character that he played in Shakun Batra's Kapoor & Sons. He was the seventh. "Six actors rejected the role because they were scared to play gay," Johar told an audience of subcontinental expatriates in Toronto on September 10.
stocks fell significantly after Google and Walt Disney reportedly ruled out to acquire the struggling micro-blogging platform - leaving only Salesforce in the bidding race.

According to a Re/Code report, Twitter's shares dropped 17 per cent in pre-market trading on Thursday after "deep-pocketed companies Google, Apple and Walt Disney" were reported to be out from the buyout race.

is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings on October 27.

According to earlier reports, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is "building a case to Salesforce.com Inc. investors and others that his company should be the buyer."

The acquisition of Twitter - struggling to add new users amid stalled growth - may cost over $20 billion. It currently has 313 million monthly active users.

Salesforce is vying for a social networking platform in its kitty for long.

The company, "which reached $6 billion in annual revenue faster than any other enterprise software company", offers customer service software, market research tools, email marketing systems and other products and several of them already use social media.
A Mandan woman was arrested and charged after allegedly grabbing a 23-month-old child from her grandmother on Thursday at CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck.

Nicole Koch, 27, has been charged with attempted felonious restraint, possession of drug paraphernalia, giving false information to officers and ingestion of a controlled substance. She also had a warrant out for her arrest from the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Police, who responded to a call involving an attempted kidnapping at the hospital, reported that the grandmother had been sitting with her granddaughter near Koch in the hospital's waiting room. When the child stepped away from her grandmother, Koch allegedly grabbed the girl's hand, said "Come with me," and walked into another room with her.

The grandmother followed and confronted Koch, who picked up the girl and said, "This is my child," according to police.

The grandmother was able to get the child free, police reported.

When police arrived at CHI St. Alexius, Koch was standing outside with hospital security. She allegedly gave officers a false name.

Officers also said Koch had "exaggerated body movements" and was rambling incoherently, as though she may have been on meth.

Koch made her initial court appearance Friday. South Central District Judge Gail Hagerty set bond for Koch at $20,000 cash.
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Emphasising on the importance of accountability of regulatory institutions, Sebi chairman UK Sinha today called for a stronger Parliamentary oversight for regulators.

Delivering the JRD Tata Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, the Sebi chief also said that making regulators accountable to the government would impinge upon their independence.

In the Indian context, a further strengthening of the mechanism of Parliamentary oversight is required, Sinha said. He said it is doubtful whether the hundreds of regulations are ever scrutinised by the parliamentary committee or whether the activities are sufficiently under the radar of Parliament. Parliamentary committees should be empowered to have a sufficient number of experts to aid and advise them for a structured working of the regulators, he added.

Generally, Parliament laws deal with basic principles and leave specific details to regulators for them to frame subordinate legislation. The global financial crisis has further reinforced the need for scrutiny of the financial regulators about their perceived inactions and failures, the Sebi chief said.

Noting that demand for a structured assessment of regulatory institutions has been growing, Sinha said what is a sound and workable mechanism is still evolving. In the episodes of ponzi schemes and unauthorised money collection schemes which grew in this decade in certain parts of the country, the need was felt to further empower the regulator, he said.

Touching upon the need to have clarity about a regulator's role and episodes of mass misconduct, Sinha said there is a hesitation in delegating state powers to an arm's length independent agency. To what extent protection of public interest can be delegated to FSSAI or to anti-competition or telecom regulatory authority are often matters of intense debate where requirements of interest of individuals have to be matched with the interests of letting firms function..., he noted.


Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the Indian economy needs to overcome global challenges if it has to realise the full potential.

"There are global challenges and one of the lessons for India to learn, therefore, is to build such firewalls around its own economy that the impact of these global developments can be minimised," Jaitley said in an interview to ET Now.

Jaitley's statement comes few days after the IMF said India would see a 7.6 per cent growth for the year 2016-17.

The IMF said that India's GDP will expand so long it continues to reform its tax system and eliminate subsidies to provide more resources for investments in infrastructure, education and healthcare.

Arun Jaitley highlighted major issues facing the Indian economy, including ability for banks to lend for growth, low demand and need for robust private sector.

The Finance Minister said India will have to face the non-performing assets (NPA) crisis and work on re-structuring the banking sector.

Yet, a growth rate of 7-8 per cent that was recorded by India is comendable taking into account the darwbacks.

"We are growing much faster than any other economy in the world, but it does not really reflect our real potential, which is helping us grow amidst several adversities," Jaitley said.

Meanwhile, Jaitley outlined that the Chinese economy is slowing down after a good run of three decades.

Last year, the India's GDP grew at 7.6 per cent as compared to China whose GDP was 6.9 per cent.

"The Chinese themselves are conceding that the growth now would be relatively slower than what it was in the past. Fortunately, for us in India, we are not a part of the Chinese supply chain and therefore we are not so intrinsically linked but when the world gets impacted, India cannot remain isolated," explained Jaitley.

The Finance Minister also discussed other challenges India faces in the global front, including the uncertainty in international markets after the Brexit vote and the upcoming US presidential elections.

The US presidential elections according to Jaitley is fearsome because there is a possibility of the world's most powerful economy to turn protectionist.

If this happens it will have a trickle down effect on other economies, especially India.
In line with discounted fare announced by its rivals for the festive season, IndiGo has announced sale of tickets at Rs 888 before October 9 for travel till April 13 2017.

Under the offer, the date of travel should be 8 days or more from the date of booking during the offer period. The offer is valid on the airline's domestic network. Sale fares can by identified by a "sale" tag on the flight select page and are applicable for one-way fares only.

These fares are non-refundable. In case of cancellation, only statutory taxes will be refunded, the airline said.

The carriers are already engaged in price wars. Jet Airways has announced special offers that include base fares starting as low as Rs 396 (excluding taxes and fuel surcharge) on select domestic routes while rival low-cost airline Spicejet has come out with discounted fares for both domestic and international routes.

Jet Airways said tickets for the special fare offer can be booked between October 4 and October 7 for the travel period from November 8, 2016 onwards on select domestic routes.

Gurgaon-based SpiceJet has announced airfares as low as Rs 888 for its domestic flights and Rs 3,699 for overseas flights under its festival sale offer.

The flights under the offer can be booked from October 4 till October 7 while the journey can be undertaken between November 8, 2016 and April 13, 2017, SpiceJet said in a release. The seats available under the special festival sale are limited and on a first-come-first-served basis, it added.

Another no-frills carrier, AirAsia India, which has only domestic operations, has also launched a discounted ticket schemes as part of its year-end sale, in which it is offering fares starting at Rs 999 for a limited period.

However, its parent company AirAsia is offering discounted fares on international routes as well.

An industry insider said the slashed fares are being offered to fill seats in advance which otherwise may have gone empty.
It was announced today that Europes largest institutional investors and asset managers are attending the Mercer Global Investment Forum today at Dublins Intercontinental Hotel.

It is estimated that the investors at the event are worth over 20 trillion.

The Forum entitled Long-term Investing in a Short-term World is addressing the question of how institutional investors can overcome short-term pressures and constraints to stay focused on their longer term objectives.



Delegates heard that investors should build strategies that have a high probability of delivering their long-term return requirements whilst managing risk as effectively as possible.

Navigating the ongoing low return environment is a significant challenge for investors and asset managers, according to the Mercer Global Investment Forum.

Delegates heard that part of the answer to building long-term sustainable portfolios will include consideration of the major long-term risks and opportunities that may have an impact over a multi-decade time horizon.



The Forum also addressed the potential long-term impact of the UK Brexit referendum results.



Head of Mercer Investments in Ireland, Brian Griffin said, "Whilst the British Prime Minister has now given some indication of when she plans to fire the starting gun, Brexit is unchartered territory and there is massive uncertainty as to how it will play out, and how it will impact Ireland, the UK and Europe."

He added, "The consensus appears to be that Brexit will serve to reduce Irish economic growth over the short to medium-term, but it will be many years before the hugely complicated web of issues that Brexit brings unfolds, and the impact on the Irish economy is fully understood."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Muslim Persecution of Christians, June 2016

At the height of one of the worst months for Christians under Islam, June, 2016, both the U.S. government and "mainstream" media continued to ignore the plight of Christians. Despite the U.S. government acknowledging that ISIS is committing genocide against Christians in Iraq and Syria, statistics showed the number of refugees the Obama administration has welcomed since the start of 2015:

From Syria: 5,435 Muslims; 28 Christians

From Iraq: 11,086 Muslims; 433 Christians

As for the mainstream media, the death of a gorilla was covered six times more than the Muslim slaughter of Christians for their faith, according to a report . June's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Muslim Slaughter of Christians Egypt: A Coptic Christian priest, Fr. Raphael Moussa, 46, was shot dead in "a hail of bullets" by an unidentified gunman outside the Church of the Martyr of St George, in Arish (Sinai). No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamic terrorists affiliated with ISIS have targeted Christians in Arish before. In 2013, another Coptic Christian priest, Mina Cheroubim, was also shot dead as he left his church in Arish. Syria: Non-ISIS rebel fighters considered "moderate" by establishment counterterror analysts slit the throat of a Christian man in front of his wife. The murderer told her: "Your Jesus did not come to save him from us." The murder took place in the ancient Christian town of Maalula, where Jesus' language Aramaic was still spoken. The town had been invaded by militants few days earlier. According to a resident: "They arrived in our town at dawn and shouted 'We are from the Al-Nusra Front and have come to make lives miserable for the Crusaders.'" Separately, a suicide bomber disguised as a priest attempted to enter an event commemorating the genocide of Christian Assyrians, but was stopped by Assyrian forces. The bomber detonated his bomb outside the hall, killing himself and three members of the Christian Assyrian Sutoro security forces, and wounding five. It is believed the bomber was targeting Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who led the commemoration. Pakistan: Three Muslim men slaughtered a 15-year-old Christian student, Wajaesh Shono, on June 14. One of the murderers was the boy's schoolteacher. According to local sources,

"Because of Shono's success in school, a local group of Muslims often pressured Shono to convert to Islam.... Shono's Muslim classmates never allowed him to use their study table or chairs. They always avoided playing with him because of his Christianity, and hated when he drank water from the school tap."

When the boy continued to insist on rejecting Islam, two men grabbed him while the third, possibly his teacher, stabbed him 15 times.: On Sunday, June 5, Muslims associated with ISIS slaughtered Sunil Gomez, a 65-year-old Christian shopkeeper in his store. According to local priest Father Rebeiro, the victim "attended Sunday prayers at my church and then went to his grocery store. The next thing we know he was hacked to death. I can't imagine how anyone can kill such an innocent man." That same afternoon, local Christians held a protest rally demanding the immediate arrest of the murderers and accusing police of being indifferent to such attacks on Christian minorities. They cited the previous murder of Christian resident Gabriel Costa, whose killer is still at large, as evidence of police complicity. Eight suicide bombers launched two separate attacks on the Christian town of Al Qaa on June 27. At least five people were killed. One of the attacks was near a church, and witnesses heard the attacker shouting, " Allahu Akbar " before blowing himself up. According to the town's priest: "People are stuck in their houses, not daring to go out and fearing more suicide bombers... We're living in terror in this town." No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, although both al-Qaeda's Nusra Front and the Islamic State are active on the Syrian side of the border. Lebanon has also taken in approximately 1.5 million refugees from Syria, an act that has raised fears that militants are hiding among them.

Muslim Slaughter of Christians in Nigeria On June 2, a Muslim mob murdered and beheaded a Christian pastor's wife, based on a false accusation of "blasphemy." Bridget Agbahime, a kitchen utensil vendor, had politely asked Alhaji Dauda, a Muslim engaged in Islamic ritual cleaning, to move away from her shopfront because customers were still coming and going. He left angrily. According to the report:

Agbahime and her husband, pastor Mike Agbahime of Deeper Life Bible Church in Kano, were later meeting with the market landlord about the persistent problem when Dauda and other Muslims returned and began chanting that she must die for blasphemy. The landlord pleaded for them to return later to talk about it, but they began stoning him, and he fled. Shouting the jihadist chant "Allahu Akbar," Dauda and the mob accused Agbahime of blasphemy against Muhammad, the prophet of Islam... Pastor Agbahime tried in vain to protect her. The assailants overpowered the few policemen present, and Agbahime knelt and began to pray before she was beaten and clubbed to death....

"The incident began with Facebook chats between a Muslim and Christian youth in the town. The Muslim youth mobilized other Muslims in the town on claims that the Christian youth had blasphemed the prophet Muhammad. The Muslims went to Fellowship Baptist Church along Alllawa Road, Pandogari, and burned down the church."

On June 22, the partially decayed corpse of Rev. John Adeyi was found in some bushes. The Catholic priest was kidnapped at gunpoint while traveling for pastoral duties two months earlier. His abductors later contacted church officials and demanded 25 million naira (USD $121,224) as ransom. According to one unconfirmed press report, some two million naira (USD $9,700) had been paid. It was reported on June 1 that, after hearing that a Christian had committed " blasphemy " against Muhammad, a Muslim mob in Niger State rampaged and killed the accused, Methodus Chimaije Emmanuel, age 24. According to a Baptist pastor:He said that two Christians were shot and injured on Sunday, May 29 in one area of town, and that there could be others wounded. It was reported on June 2 that Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed three Christians on May 31, while they slept in their homes in the early hours and burned a pastor's home. Days earlier in the same area, Muslim herdsmen attacked another Christian with machetes.

Muslim Slaughter of Christians in Uganda On June 17, the Muslim in-laws of a 24-year-old Christian mother, Angel Nabirye, poisoned and killed her infant daughter, sources said. Nabirye's in-laws did this because they were angry to see the young woman eating during the daytime fast of Ramadan. "My mother-in-law questioned me for eating food with my baby during Ramadan, and I told her that the baby was unwell and needs breast-feeding." The following day, "She [mother-in-law] brought some herbs for my baby, Saidha Namwase, which I gave her. After three hours, the condition of the baby worsened, and I rushed her to Iganga Hospital, but she was pronounced dead on arrival at 4 p.m." Hospital tests reveal the baby was poisoned. Her husband and Muslim family were eager to bury the body immediately, according to Islamic custom, and when the mother protested because she wanted her family to be present for a funeral, they started abusing her, and calling her an infidel and pagan. Her family came and were also clandestinely drugged by the Muslim in laws and beaten; when they regained consciousness the baby's corpse had disappeared. On June 23, Muslims murdered a Christian woman because she refused to donate part of her land to a mosque. A number of Muslims had been pressuring Efranse Kadondo, a 50-year-old Catholic. At one point she told a Muslim relative, among those pressuring her, that "if I have to surrender part of my land, then I will give it to the Catholic Church." This angered the Muslim relative, who, with some imams who had accompanied him, forcibly chased her off her property. Kadondo took refuge at a relative's home in a nearby village, and reported the Muslim seizure of her land to police. Six days later, after returning from an all-night prayer meeting, the Christian woman was found lying dead in a pool of blood; her hands were broken and there were bruises around her neck. The autopsy confirmed that she was murdered during a struggle. Neighbors saw local Muslims lingering around her house that night, some of whom were subsequently arrested. Her Muslim relative had fled earlier. On June 4, a Christian widower and father of two daughters was murdered by Muslims, who were apparently angered by his evangelistic work. According to the report,

The body of Yokannah Zirinkuma ... was found in a pool of blood in nearby Kadama village, near the home of the primary suspect... Well known in the area for evangelistic preaching in a marketplace by which several Muslims came to faith in Christ, Zirinkuma two weeks prior had engaged Muslims in Kasasira village in open debate that became heated. He later received a threatening letter from unknown Muslims. "You should stop misleading Muslims, and if you fail to adhere to this, then you will face the judgment sword from Allah," a letter in Arabic warned him.

Soon thereafter, the pastor was led to a house through a ruse and murdered.

Muslim Attacks on Christian Apostates, Blasphemers, and Preachers Uganda: A Muslim man burned his 9-year-old son for accepting Christ. On June 5, after attending church with a Christian friend, Nassif Malagara "requested that he wanted to receive Jesus as his personal savior," said that church's pastor: "I was a bit hesitant, but after his continuous press, I then prayed with him, and he left." Afterwards, the boy refused to engage in Islamic activities. His father, Abubakar Malagara, and his stepmother became furious when they learned of the boy's conversion. They began abusing him, including by starving him, in keeping with Islamic law recommendations for apostate women and children. Two days later, his father caught him eating food the boy had smuggled from a neighbor. According to the boy:

"He started beating me up with sticks, but I managed to escape to a nearby bush. My father then followed me and got hold of me back to the homestead, where he tied me up to a banana tree. He went into the house and came back with a hot piece of wood. The banana tree had dry leaves, which caught fire and caused serious burns on my body."

"I saw them outside the church gate and sensed danger for the new converts. I told the church guard not to open the gate, and after two hours they left. Early the next day, I sent her and her children to some church members."

Sonu tried to persuade his [Christian] cousins to convert to Islam as well, but when they refused, their discussion quickly turned into a dispute. Sonu threatened Salamat and the others, saying that he was going to "give them a good lesson." On June 10, Sonu went to the nearest mosque and claimed that Salamat and his friends had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. Without waiting to verify Sonu's report, more than a dozen men from a nearby Islamic seminary came and attacked Masih's house. The men beat the three teenagers and knocked over household items. As the men carried out the attack, they chanted abusive slogans at the Christians. After the attack, the men went to the police to register a complaint [blasphemy accusation] against the three boys. Since the attack, the teenagers have been forced into hiding.

Neighbors heard the child screaming for help. They rescued and took him to a nearby hospital. The neighbor who introduced the boy to church fears for his life, especially after receiving a text message: "We know that you are behind the conversion of Nassif to Christianity. You will soon reap what you have sown, which will be a lesson to others. Islam is against such conversion.": Three Christians (pastor Stephan, pastor Samuel and evangelist James) who worked for a missionary organization that delivers Bibles to several nations of the Middle East, suffered from "a brutal attack by Islamic extremists" on the evening of June 12, said Paul Ciniraj, the organization's spokesman: Shouting "Allahu Akbar!" the Muslims "jumped out on the pastors from a dark corner and brutally [beat] them with iron pipes." While hospitalized, the three men suspected they were being stalked inside the health-care facility and, despite their serious injuries, asked to be discharged early. Upon their release from the hospital, they disappeared. Their organization suspects "terrorists" abducted them.: An Islamic cleric beat his wife with a blunt instrument after their 6-year-old daughter told him how she was healed at a church service, where the woman and their seven children all became Christian. According to a neighbor: "There was loud screaming, and we rushed to Siraji's house and found his wife bleeding. Her husband left for a nearby mosque." The neighbor took the woman and her children to the church site before her irate husband returned, but the sheikh and five other angry Muslims arrived looking for them, the pastor said.The mother and children are now hiding in another village, living in a tattered house with a thatched roof that leaks. The children are unable to return to school.: A Christian man who converted to Islam two years ago taught his Christian relatives a " good lesson ":

Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches Sweden: On June 27, around 3 a.m., a man broke into St. Paul's Church in central Malm
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship & Church will host a teach-in this evening about the Dakota Access Pipeline and the movement to stop its construction.

Winona LaDuke, an environmentalist and executive director of Honor the Earth, is expected to speak. A short film will be shown, and there will be a question-and-answer session.

Sarah Stockholm, of South Dakota, who is helping publicize the event, said the goal is to "broaden the scope of whose involved in thinking about the pipeline and the fossil fuel industry and the impact it's had in North Dakota."

The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Bismarck-Mandan Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 818 E. Divide Ave. in Bismarck. There will be light refreshments.
Commercial property consultants, CBRE Ireland have released statistics on the volume and value of development land sales in the Irish market in the first nine months of 2016.

The figures show that a total of 75 development land transactions (totalling almost 640 million between them), completed in Ireland in the year to the end of September.

In the last three months alone, there were 22 development land sales completed, totalling more than 151 million between them.



Senior Surveyor of Development Land at CBRE, Peter Garrigan said, "As we can see from our research on the value and volume of land deals concluded in the year to Q3, there has been strong activity in the development land market in 2016 following a bumper year in 2015 when more than 770 million of transactions completed in the Irish market (excluding the Project Clear portfolio which traded as a loan portfolio)."

He added, "Against a backdrop of severe undersupply in the residential sector and continued strong demand in the commercial property sector, it is perhaps not surprising that the demand for development land has continued unabated in 2016. However, most of the land being traded is in relatively small lot sizes, which is frustrating."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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Food and Drink Industry Ireland today warned that the economic fall-out for the sector would far exceed that of previous currency crises unless remedial measures are urgently introduced.

The group says Tuesday's budget should put in place a 25 million fund to support companies diversifying into new markets and reintroduce the Employment Subsidy Scheme and the Enterprise Stabilisation measures last applied in 2009-2011.

They also warn that nothing should be done that would add to business costs at this time of acute commercial pressure.



An analysis carried out by Ibec's Economic Unit for FDII estimated that a weakening of euro/sterling from the 73p average in 2015 to a sustained period near the 90p mark would translate to a loss of 700 million in food exports and 7,500 Irish jobs.



FDII Director, Paul Kelly said, "The current change in currency value is structural, not cyclical, and has occurred following fundamental changes to the economic and business environment domestically and in the UK."

He added, "This makes it next to impossible to pass through currency changes to export customers or absorb them within businesses. The likely damage is potentially enormous in terms of reduced export volumes and job losses."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The Association for Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Ireland is calling upon the Irish Government to take urgent steps in next weeks budget to ensure Dublin is prepared to benefit from Londons precarious status as a Global Financial Centre.

Ireland this year jumped to 7th (from 16th) in the IMDs World Competitiveness Yearbook but falls down on office accommodation and the availability of residential accommodation for the staff relocating from London.

The National Competitiveness Council estimates that Ireland has the sixth highest commercial rents in the Eurozone with residential rents already soaring back to 2007 levels.

The ACCA have warned that Ireland has six months to persuade firms in the City of London that we will be ready for their relocation to Ireland within 30 months.

According to the Dublin Office Market Overview, 2.1 million sq ft of available office stock is under construction to be delivered over the next 3 years, however, it is expected that 2.5 million sq ft will be acquired in 2016, which doesnt even meet one years demand.

Liz Hughes, ACCA Head of Mainland Europe and Ireland says that Ireland faces a golden six months to ready Dublin for competition with other European capitals if London loses crucial access to bank passporting rights in Europe,

"Targeted office accommodation tax incentives, time limited to 30 months should be brought in as a matter of urgency. An office block only available in 31 months will not support the post-Brexit need as business cant stop for a month, especially when other alternative country relocation options have a surplus of property available now. A concerted effort also needs to be made to attract some of the companies to regional locations," she said.

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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The Irish Pro-Share Association (IPSA) have today warned that an enormous gap exists between the tax treatment of start-ups in Ireland compared to the UK.

They have warned that this will lead Irish entrepreneurs to register their companies in the UK.



The IPSA claim a small change in next weeks budget that would simply match the tax treatment of start-ups in Ireland with those of the UK would stop companies, particularly tech companies, eyeing up the UK over Ireland.



The IPSA say even a small tech company sold at 10m could cost 4m (adjusted for Sterling/Euro) more in Ireland as opposed to the UK.



As an example, they say a UK owner of a start-up who sells will pay only 10% CGT on the first 10m while an Irish start-up owner will pay 20% CGT on the first 1m and 33% on the balance.



The IPSA commented, "Our tax system is forcing our most creative entrepreneurs into exile. This is ironic as it is generally accepted that our lower corporation rate has attracted FDI into Ireland and transformed the economy but the tax code for start-ups, as now constructed, is sending Irish companies and jobs abroad."



The Irish ProShare Association (ISPA) is a not-for-profit, independent, voluntary organisation representing organisations which are employee owned or transitioning to employee ownership across Ireland.

Its ambition is to create and develop a broader awareness of employee financial involvement and ownership as a business model in its own right.



Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
The Government should focus on measures to increase housing supply for all housing sectors rather than handing out grants to first time buyers for new homes according to The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland.



The President of the SCSI, Claire Solon said the cause of the current house crisis was on the supply side due to the extremely low levels of housing construction.

She said the Government should be looking to initiatives like reducing VAT on affordable housing, making public land suitable for housing available and providing finance to builders.



"Grants to first time buyers will have very little impact on the housing crisis because supply is the problem, not demand. Reducing or even eliminating VAT on affordable housing and establishing a Development Finance Agency with expertise in construction lending would have a much greater impact and offer a much better return for the taxpayer, she said.

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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Netwatch have announced plans to create 85 jobs within the business over the next 12 months.



This is part of a 20 million investment by the Carlow company who will seek to recruit talent in areas such as Software and Hardware engineering, marketing, digital marketing and sales engineering solutions.



Sixty of these new positions will be based at their Irish headquarters in Carlow while the remaining 25 will be based at Netwatchs offices in the US and UK. This will see Netwatch grow to over 250 employees.



This job creation drive follows Netwatchs latest funding round which saw an investment of close to 20 million in the business to support its international growth strategy.

It was the largest funding round in Netwatch to date, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Irelands investment in the BDO Development Capital Fund.



Netwatch has grown by 35% in the past year and has further plans for expansion both Ireland and in the US and new markets in the UK.

Speaking at yesterday's event, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said, "Netwatch is an example of a homegrown Irish Company that is competing on a global scale. From Netwatchs beginnings in Carlow to working across four continents this Irish success story is providing employment to over 150 people."

He added, "The announcement today of 85 new jobs shows that Ireland is to the forefront of research and development in the software sector. This Government will continue to manage the economy in a careful and prudent manner and we will do everything we can to continue to encourage job growth."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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A wave of pranks involving clowns and social media threats has swept across the country in the last few weeks and has even kept police officers and school officials busy investigating the threats locally. Just this week <a href=http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_221aaa46-8b50-11e6-b745-f3573a14ec08.html target=_blank>a student at Mount Logan Middle School is facing charges</a> for threats that were made on social media.

Police officers have investigated several other clown sitings at other schools, including at Utah State University. Thursday, Logan City School District Superintendent Frank Schofield issued a statement to parents in his district addressing the issue.

In spite of the fact that these threats have not been real, they have still caused a significant amount of concerns among our students, Schofield says in the statement. He went to say that his own children, who attend school in the district, have been afraid of the potential of seeing a threatening clown at school.

Schofield stresses that the schools are safe and that students need not worry about these threats that are becoming more and more popular around the country. He also asked parents and guardians to do three things this weekend.

1. Assure your students that there is nothing more important to our teachers and principals than the safety of our students. We will always do all we can to keep students safe, and this recent prank has not endangered any students.

2. Remind your children that these pranks are not funny. They have caused concern and fear among many of our students, and no child in the district should think these prank threats are acceptable in any way.

3. Tell your children that because of the fear these pranks cause, any students who are identified as having made threats of violence toward other students will be disciplined by the school and potentially face legal charges. We will take any threats toward student or staff very seriously, and will respond quickly to address them. The fact that the threat may be a prank will not minimize the seriousness of the action, nor our response.

Schofield states that he not only hopes the national fad passes quickly, but that parents and teachers also use it as an opportunity to teach students about good judgement, proper citizenship and appropriate behavior.
Measure 2 will raid the K-12 education savings account (Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund), a constitutional fund established by the citizens of North Dakota in 1994 to be used exclusively for K-12 education. Its purpose is to offset any reductions to K-12 education when the state experiences a revenue shortfall. Only the governor was given the authority to transfer money from this fund to the states general fund. Now, legislators want access to raid this savings account.

Measure 2 will do the following: reduce the K-12 savings account to all but 15 percent of the money it takes to finance K-12 education, allow the governor to access the remaining 15 percent, and allow the legislative assembly to spend dollars in the savings account for any education-related purpose. That could include anything related to higher education and/or any creative or imaginative idea the legislative assembly could possibly tie to education  even a road through a community that just happens to end up at the school parking lot.

Due to North Dakotas revenue shortfall this year, the governor twice made across-the-board budget cuts to state agencies. School districts did not suffer a cut because over $116 million was transferred from this savings account to the state general fund. The fund is working exactly as the people had intended, i.e., as a safety net for K-12 education during a state budget cut.

In addition to providing the legislative assembly access to this savings account, there are two other major flaws in Measure 2. First, the legislative assembly can spend the fund down to 15 percent of the money necessary to finance K-12 education. As a result, this measure will transform a savings account used as a safety net for tough times to a permanent source of funding. Its a shortsighted measure with the sole purpose of allowing legislators an opportunity to raid this fund to help them balance the 2017-19 biennial budget and future budgets as well.

A second flaw of the measure is that it allows the legislative assembly to spend dollars for any education-related purpose. This vague, undefined term would become part of the states constitution.

Supporters of the measure say they merely want to loosen up money in the savings account, but providing access to over half the savings account ($300 million) is actually raiding the account. Supporters also use a scare tactic by claiming if Measure 2 fails, taxes will increase. That red herring is used to mislead the public because this measure has nothing to do with taxes.

Supporters of the measure believe if the measure passes, there will be enough money remaining in the savings account to handle future budget shortfalls. First, how do they know? And second, legislators plan for the next two years. School boards think five, 10 and 20 years out. Once K-12s savings account is gone, except for the remaining 15 percent, its gone for good; and this ballot measure provides the means, motive and opportunity for that to happen.

Vote no on Measure 2.
A former government official of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks from a construction contractor has pleaded guilty to federal charges in North Dakota. Randall Phelan was an elected representative of the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the end of 2012 to the middle of 2020. Investigators say Phelan used his official position to help the contractors business by awarding contracts, fabricating bids and managing fraudulent invoices. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday. Phelan and two others were originally charged with receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme on the oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The contractor has pleaded guilty to bribery.
Paula Beer: the star of "Frantz" is taking Europe by storm

Published on October 7, 2016

Story by Katha Kloss Translation by: Ella Hicks

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The German actress Paula Beer has already worked with some of the greatest European directors in the history of contemporary cinema. Now shes won the award for Best Young Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role in Frantz, the latest film by Francois Ozon.

Paula Beer saunters confidently from a black limousine towards the red carpet at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. With one leg elegantly placed before the other she smiles naturally, reminiscent of a young Laetitia Casta, while the hordes of international photographers cry out: "Paula, one more time!" Her French co-star Pierre Niney follows right behind her with a blonde companion in tow. Later on, Paula was left almost speechless as she took to the stage to accept her award. Visibly moved, she thanked the jury and her co-stars, but above all her "Mama." The 21-year-old German won this years Best Young Actress award for her role as Anna in Frantz (Francois Ozon).

This isnt Beers first award: has long since been a star in the constellation of actors in Germany, and has already won a Bavarian Film Award. But now her talent is being discovered well beyond Germanys borders. She stood as an award-winner on the stage this year in Venice beside her peer Emma Stone (currently starring in La La Land). Previous winners of the prestigious Best Young Actress award include Jennifer Lawrence and Mila Kunis. Paula is the third German to have been honoured at the Venice Film Festival.

The new Romy Schneider?

The native of Mainz did not just impress in Italy: she also received the highest praise at the French premiere of Frantz at the beginning of the month. The French press had no reservations in comparing her to Romy Schneider in her early years. "The most beautiful eyes since Romy," tweeted one fan. Beer, who by now has a good command of the French language after spending several months filming in France, is not intimidated by this parallel: "Romy Schneider is a great actress  to be compared to her is very flattering  a huge compliment."

In the black-and-white film, which lasts almost four hours, Beer plays a young woman living in a small German town of Quedlinburg after the First World War. Anna visits the grave of her fallen fiancee Frantz every day, until one day the young Frenchman Adrien (Pierre Niney) appears and Annas emotions and life are overturned, and the black-and white visual effects are replaced with temporal colour film. Then, all of a sudden, he vanishes. "It isnt your son that haunts my thoughts, but Frantz," says Anna to Adriens mother, who she visits in Paris after his disappearance, reflecting the tribulations of the film in one sentence.

Beer did not agonize too much over the casting process in Frantz, as in Germany you only get one to two weeks to prepare. She only had one day with Ozon  "so my focus was mainly on learning the text" she explains. But acting in a foreign language was new and different for the young actress. "You cannot show emotional reactions so freely and easily in a foreign language. At first it was unfamiliar. But in the end it gave me a great sense of freedom, which seems like a paradox. Performing in an foreign language gives the benefit of being able to experience everything freshly and for the first time, without worrying, for example, about particular words or the 'old sound' of the language used in 1919."

From the classroom to the big screen

Beer impressed the jury of the Marcello Mastroianni Award with her delicately reserved and subtle performance, without sacrificing her characters strength. Beer has previously played an orphan (The Poll Diaries, 2010), a princess (Ludwig II, 2012), the daughter of an Austrian widow (The Dark Valley, 2014) and a mentally ill teenager (4 Kings, 2015). She is influenced by dark works, and often Nordic role models: "Tilda Swinton impresses me greatly. But so do Bjork, Mads Mikkelsen, Nick Cave, Jim Jarmusch. They are just a few people who I like."

The artists daughter first started acting at a young age in a theatre course at her Montessori school: "I took to the stage for the first time at 8 years old. I was so nervous with stage fright that I did not want to go on at all. But when I got in front of the audience I didnt want to leave," she recalls. At 14 she was contacted at school by an acting agency to ask whether she would like to attend a casting. This was for Chris Kraus historical drama The Poll Diaries (2010)  then came her big breakthrough.

Beer has already finished shooting for the 2017 film Werk ohne Autor by the Academy Award-winning director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others). In this psychological thriller about East-West German history, Beer plays Ellie, the sweetheart of the young artist Kurt Barnert, who escapes from East to West Germany and tries to come to terms with his past.

Director Volker Schlondorff must be kicking himself now for cutting the original scenes featuring Paula in his historical drama Diplomacy (2014). However, Paula Beer seems quietly assured that she has finally made her way onto the big screens of Europe.

Story by Katha Kloss

Translated from 'Frantz' - Paula Beer auf Europakurs
This is a key distressed market to follow since Las Vegas has seen the largest price decline of any of the Case-Shiller composite 20 cities.



The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Southern Nevada Housing Supply Shrinks as Sales Rise and Prices Stabilize, GLVAR Housing Statistics for September 2016



The Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS (GLVAR) reported Friday that the local housing supply is shrinking as Southern Nevada home sales increase and prices stabilize.

...

According to GLVAR, the total number of existing local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in September was 3,541, up from 3,285 total sales in September 2015. Compared to the same month one year ago, 7.6 percent more homes, and 8.9 percent more condos and townhomes sold in September.

...

The total number of single-family homes listed for sale on GLVARs Multiple Listing Service in September was 12,794, down 4.4 percent from one year ago. GLVAR tracked a total of 2,241 condos, high-rise condos and townhomes listed for sale on its MLS in September, down 34.8 percent from one year ago.



By the end of September, GLVAR reported 7,427 single-family homes listed without any sort of offer. Thats down 8.7 percent from one year ago. For condos and townhomes, the 1,161 properties listed without offers in September represented a 49.8 percent decrease from one year ago.



GLVAR continues to track fewer distressed sales and more traditional home sales, where lenders are not controlling the transaction. In September, 4.6 percent of all local sales were short sales  when lenders allow borrowers to sell a home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. Thats down from 6.8 percent of all sales one year ago. Another 6.0 percent of all September sales were bank-owned, down from 7.1 percent one year ago.

emphasis added

1) Overall sales were up 7.8% year-over-year.2) Total active inventory (single-family and condos) is down 18% from a year ago (A very sharp decline in condo inventory).3) Distressed sales are down from 13.9% of sales in September 2015, to 10.6% of sales in September 2016.
When is hurricane season? Here's what you need to know in South Texas
FARGO  In an impassioned speech before the Diversion Authority board, Moorhead City Council member Nancy Otto pleaded with her governor and his regulators to change their minds about the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project.

In Fargo-Moorhead we are one community, she said at a board meeting Wednesday. The overwhelming majority of Moorhead (Minn.) residents are employed in Fargo. Your decision places Moorhead residents' lives, Minnesota homes, Minnesota jobs, Minnesota businesses at risk. Your decision places our medical care at risk because we get our medical care in Fargo.

Her voice shaking, it was the most powerful denunciation yet from a Moorhead official of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources decision to block construction of a dam thats key to the F-M diversion. The DNRs argument against the project reflected those made by upstream opponents.

Gov. Mark Dayton weighed in by saying that the dam flooded more land in Minnesota than in North Dakota, but provided more protection in North Dakota.

Ottos recorded statement was the centerpiece of a Diversion Authority news conference on Thursday to discuss the next steps. She wasnt at the event.

Because its been years since the last big flood, officials piled sandbags on the podium and Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney donned the yellow safety vest he wore during the desperate 2009 flood fight as a visual reminder.

The DNRs position is that new dikes and emergency measures such as sandbags and temporary clay levees used in 2009 should be good enough for any future flood fight.

Mahoney has called the idea ridiculous and, on Thursday, he said again that sandbags are not a good way to fight a flood.

We don't want to evacuate our hospitals, our nursing homes ever again, Otto said in the video. We don't want to have to build and haul and lay millions of sandbags ever again. Put your politics aside. We feel abandoned by you. Please, reconsider your decision on behalf of Minnesota residents.

We need to work together on this. This is not a Minnesota versus North Dakota thing, Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams said Thursday.

She was more conciliatory in her remarks, saying shes proud of Daytons administration and its general support of Moorhead, explaining later she meant funding that hes tried to set aside for city projects, such as a downtown railroad underpass. But she doesnt understand why the DNR believes Moorhead is adequately protected. Moorhead has built dikes to increase protection from flooding, but thats based on older flood-risk calculations, she said, and new ones from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show at least 800 homes in the city will be at risk.

Williams, who admitted she has been sympathetic to concerns from upstream opponents, said its important for Minnesota to work with the corps because the state will have a voice in how the project will reduce harm to those upstream interests. The corps will push through with the project regardless of what the DNR does, she said.

The Diversion Authority hasnt decided whether to appeal the DNR decision, but Mahoney said construction of project components in Minnesota isnt scheduled to start until 2019, allowing time for negotiations.

Those negotiations would likely only involve the extent of mitigation needed, not the location of the dam. The DNR argued the dam is too far south and removes too much sparsely-developed land from the flood plain, which forces that water elsewhere. Because the agency believes emergency measures can do the job, it concluded this means the main beneficiary of the project are developers and landowners who want to expand the city southward. But the corps, which decided the dam location is the best after many years of study, is not budging.

Aaron Snyder, the corps project manager, said it plans to issue a contract on the dam inlet structure in North Dakota later this month. That would fix the location of the dam.

Asked what would happen if the DNR refuses to change its mind, Snyder said, We have the authorization and funding from Congress to move forward, so we will implement the project based on that authorization.
A McHenry County social worker avoided jail time but must resign and surrender her social work license after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor stemming from a drowning-related investigation that also led to charges against several state Department of Human Services officials.

Cheryl Johnsons sentencing last week concluded a far-reaching case that has spurred ongoing efforts to reform how child care facilities are licensed and regulated in North Dakota.

In a plea agreement with the prosecution, Johnson pleaded guilty to refusing to perform her duty as a public servant, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and $3,000 fine.

She admitted that she allowed the KidQuarters child care center in Velva, N.D., to operate after its license expired June 1, 2015. A week later, 5-year-old Gracelyn Aschenbrenner was found unresponsive in the Velva city pool while under KidQuarters care. The girl remained on life support until she died about three weeks later at a Fargo hospital.

Johnson, 60, of Towner, N.D., also entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor charge related to allegedly false statements she made to a state crime bureau agent about KidQuarters staff-to-child ratios and licensure status. Under the Alford plea, Johnson maintained her innocence but acknowledged there was enough evidence for a jury to convict her.

Gracelyns mother and her attorney objected to the Alford plea. In explaining why the state agreed to it, Assistant McHenry County States Attorney Kathleen Murray wrote that while there was sufficient evidence to convict Johnson, the State is also aware of the problems associated with the DHS policies and procedures relating to day care licenses that might be used as a defense.

Johnson stated in her written plea that when she made the statements, I did not subjectively believe them to be false, based on unwritten policies and informal practices of DHS.

Department officials have since acknowledged that providers were allowed to operate with a lapsed license as long as they filed their completed paperwork with their county licensing office by midnight of the expiration date.

Its pretty clear that there was a historical practice of this, and that was relied upon by staff at multiple levels of the licensing process, said Johnsons attorney, Lloyd Suhr of Bismarck.

Johnson was sentenced to 360 days of unsupervised probation and $325 in fees. She received a deferred imposition of sentence, meaning the convictions will be cleared from her public record 61 days after she completes probation. She also must resign her position with McHenry County and surrender her license on Oct. 14.

Felony charges of tampering with public records and criminal conspiracy were dismissed with prejudice and cannot be refiled later.

Suhr said the yearlong case was a very stressful time for Johnson and took longer than it should have, and she wanted some closure in her life.

Obviously this was a tragedy from the outset, and I think the blame was cast in a lot of places that it didnt belong, he said.

Johnson also agreed to testify against any DHS employees who might be charged in the future related to the death of Aschenbrenner and licensing issues by Heather Tudor, the KidQuarters operator.

Tudor pleaded guilty in March to felony child neglect and operating an unlicensed child care facility. Shes serving three years of probation and is banned from operating or working in a child care center.

Former McHenry County States Attorney Cassey Breyer brought charges in February against five current and former DHS officials, including Executive Director Maggie Anderson, accusing them of impeding the investigation and allowing KidQuarters to operate unlicensed. But charges against Anderson and three others were dismissed, and the fifth person resolved her case through a pretrial diversion agreement without having to enter a guilty plea.

An advisory group formed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple began working in April on ways to improve the child care licensing process, including no longer allowing the backdating of licenses.

The state auditors office released a highly critical audit of DHS in August, finding the department didnt properly monitor or suspend child care providers and notify parents after confirmed knowledge of activities that jeopardize the health and safety of children.

State Rep. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, who serves on the advisory group, said it plans to meet after the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee goes through the DHS audit on Thursday, in case lawmakers have additional recommendations for the group to consider.

I think theres still just a lot of issues on the table, she said.
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An actor starring as a heartthrob from the world of Jane Austen returned to his old school today to speak to pupils about life on the stage.

Ben Dilloway is currently playing Mr Darcy in an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which is running at the Cambridge Corn Exchange until Saturday.

However today the actor took time out of his busy schedule to meet with drama enrichment pupils to share his stories and encourage their love of acting.

Kaye Allen, head of drama at St Faiths, said: It was fantastic to have Ben come back to St Faiths to encourage and chat to our drama students.

(Image: Harry Hubbard)

We saw him on stage earlier in the week and thought he was incredible, so for him to then come and give our pupils some tips and advice on acting, was very exciting and inspiring.

After leaving St Faiths, Ben completed courses at the London Academy of Music and Drama, Academy of Live and Recorded Arts and finally graduated from LAMDA with a BA in acting.

He has also been earning numerous accolades through the different roles he has played, most notably Lennie in Of Mice and Men at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

More recently Ben has also starred in hit movie Kingsman: The Secret Service and BBC crime drama New Blood.

(Image: Harry Hubbard)

Adapted by Simon Reade, the Pride and Prejudice production comes to Cambridge following sell-out performances at Regents Park Theatre in London.

Produced by the team which brought To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord Of The Flies to the stage, it also boats Olivier award winner Matthew Kelly and Felicity Montagu among its cast members.

It comes just months before Austen fans will mark 200 years since the writers death in July next year.
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Teachers at a school for young people who self-exclude from lessons because of bullying fear the City Deal road access restrictions could make the journey to school more difficult for students.

Staff from the Red Balloon Learner Centre in Cambridge - which caters for young people who don't go to school because of bullying or other trauma - attended yesterday's city centre protest.

Centre teacher Heather Boyd said: "I'm really worried about the implications. I commute to school and I'm worried about kids coming to school."

Sarah Phelps, another teacher at the school, said: "There are 15 students at the school. A lot of them can't use public transport because of issues with other teens. If there are issues with coming in, they won't come anymore.

"Some parents send their kids to school in taxis. The kids have emotional difficulties and difficulty being in crowds."
Vendors called upon to respect sanitary norms WMN

School authorities in Eseka, a locality in Nyong and Kelle division in Centre region have warned traders against the selling of germ-infested foodstuff on campus. They say defaulters will not be allowed on campus.

Some students who have had to be hospitalized after the consuming poorly cooked food have been told to abstain and watch out for foodstuff of doubtful quality which has inundated schools. Some traders do not wear aprons and some distribute food with their bare hands without using gloves

According to the principal of Government High school Esseka, Mr. PEK says at his level dispositions have been put in place to make sure that all foodstuff brought to the school are wrapped in plastic bags or are firmly closed in buckets .

Directors of Certain schools have decided to call vendors to order, asking them to respect prescriptions by the ministry of secondary education.

A 2012 research carried out by a team headed by Dr Nobert Tohnain LENGHA revealed that most students and pupils suffer from stomach disorder because of poorly cooked food.
| BY Ricki Green |

Coca-Cola South Pacific has today announced the launch of a new campaign which demonstrates Coca-Colas ongoing commitment to providing Australians with more choice when selecting the perfect size refreshment to suit their lifestyle and occasion.

The campaign forms part of Coca-Colas strategy to make it easier for consumers to choose the drinks that make the most sense for them.

To support the launch, the brand has rolled out a TVC originally created by Mercado McCann that focuses on the message that Coca-Cola products, like all things in life, are best enjoyed in the right amount for you. As part of the multi-million dollar campaign, the TVC will run nationwide for three weeks through October.

The campaign celebrates the introduction of Coca-Colas new 250ml bottle into the Australian market, which has increased availability of small packs in more than 2,500 retail outlets. The launch of the new bottle follows the brands continued success of its smaller pack offerings, which were introduced in response to consumer demand for smaller package sizes and have proved popular with retailers and consumers.

Sales of single serve small packs (i.e. those under 300ml) grew by 88% between 2013 and 2015. Today Coca-Cola offers small packs in 89% of our grocery stores, and 69% in convenience stores and petrol stations. That number continues to grow.

Says Lisa Winn, marketing director, Coca-Cola South Pacific: At Coca-Cola, we have a legacy of offering choice and innovation to customers. The launch of our In the Right Amount campaign showcases our commitment to making sure smaller packs are available when consumers want to purchase them. The campaign has a powerful but sensible message that we hope will resonate with our customers.

Our smaller packs have proved extremely popular in the past two years and we expect that popularity will increase further with the launch of our new 250ml bottles.

Mercado McCann  Lead Creative Agency

Universal McCann Sydney  Media Agency

Landia  Production
| BY Lynchy |

John Varvatos has released via agency Holman + Hunt, the latest stop on the JV on TOUR series with a video short exploring Londons revolutionary 70s music scene with seminal rock & roll photographer, Mick Rock. The documentary, shot in high contrast b&w and directed by Benjie Croce and produced by Aussie expat Lucy Hunt, follows Mick and John on a journey to the locations of some of Micks most iconic, personal photographs.

They hit Blakes Hotel where Mick shot Lou Reed, Wetherby Mansions where he photographed Syd Barrett for his Madcap Laughs album cover, and The Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane where his iconic pic of the Terrible Trio  Bowie, Iggy & Lou Reed, was snapped just before Davids first ever U.S. Ziggy Stardust tour. There were stops at the Hotel Cafe Royal where Mick captured amazing images of David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Lou Reed together after Bowies last ever performance as Ziggy Stardust and Portobello Road, where he often went as a child and later as an adult, when he lived nearby.

This revealing film shows the up close and personal access Mick had in order to capture such intimate moments in time. Moments based on trust that wouldnt be possible in todays commercial world that pays tribute to a very different dynamic between celebrities and photographers.

We also follow Mick, to Shoreditch in Londons historic East End, as he photographs emerging artist Willow Robinson, demonstrating that he still produces fantastic and arresting images that people will continue to remember.

What a great time I had in London, re-visiting locations where I had shot some of my iconic images in my earlier years. Delighted to be able to share these magic sessions with my very good friend John Varvatos, and also to shoot the very photogenic Willow Robinson in some classic London locations, said Mick Rock.

Mick has created emotional and powerful images that transcend time, while defining pop culture history. I loved going behind the scenes with him in London to discover the stories that gave rise to these moments, said John Varvatos.

JV on Tour explores the world in the signature style of John Varvatos. From popular destinations to creative underground havens, the designer experiences various cities with friends and legends of the music industry, noting the coolest and most interesting places to eat, drink, create, rock, record and stay.

Benjie Croce is an independent director and cinematographer specializing in documentary film and branded content. He began his career in feature film production and aims to bring a cinematic sensibility to every new project. His work has taken him all over the world, working for clients such as VICE Media, Al Jazeera, Sky and the BBC.

Aussie expat Lucy Hunt (left, with Rock) and has produced high profile brand campaigns, multichannel identity projects and 360 campaigns in Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific. She s executive producer and co-founder of creative agency Holman + Hunt. Her portfolio includes clients such as National Geographic, AMC, CANAL+, the BBC and luxury brands around the globe.

Director / DP  Benjie Croc

Producer  Lucy Hunt

Camera 2  Adrian Choa

Sound  Tom Sedwick

Stills  Simon Lewis

Edit  Oliver Baker
| BY Ricki Green |

Director Gemma Lee is now available for freelance representation with SO Productions.

Known for creating evocative films with striking imagery, Lees work is memorable and diverse. The established, multi-talented director has worked with agencies such as McCann, GPY&R, BMF, Oglivy, Euro, Havas Worldwide and OMD, and on brands including HTC, Tourism Tasmania, Pandora, Holden, Palmolive, Colgate, Weight Watchers and Yalumba .

Lees background in fine art has influenced her filmmaking. With her finely trained eye she works very closely with her cinematographers. Whilst she works beautifully with light and nature, Lee doesnt shy away from examining the darker side to humanity. Her short film The Wake starred Angus Sampson and was selected to screen at Tribeca, and her feature film Blackwood a coming of age sci-fi thriller is currently in development with Screen Australia.

Says Andrew Coyle, executive director, SO Productions: Gemma is an exceptional talent and a true professional. Her attention to visual composition is extraordinary. We cant wait to begin work with her.

Says Lee: I have a natural affinity with nature and in my professional career the majority of projects Ive directed have been shot outdoors. I feel growing up in the Scottish countryside has greatly influenced the kind of stories I want to tell, creating images that are rich in detail, evocative and iconic. Its an exciting time for filmmaking, and I look forward to working with the team at SO.
| BY Lynchy |

The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has been in existence for close to 70 years, and it has built a brand synonymous with disaster management, blood donor recruitment and first aid. However, SRCs local community services receive far less attention, and fundraising has been challenging as a result.

SRCs suite of local community services include Transport Aid  providing the elderly or disabled with transport for their aid for critical needs for those who are elderly or disabled to have access to medical appointments and treatments; Food Aid  providing nutritious food for needy families; Red Cross Home for the Disabled  providing residential service and a day activity centre for the disabled; and Community-Led Action for REsilience (C.L.A.R.E)  a programme that trains and mobilises volunteers to be citizen first responders to provide first aid, eldercare and befriending in their neighbourhood.

In order to harvest the much needed support for these local community services, SRC decided to develop a marketing campaign for these services to be better known.

MullenLowe Singapore was briefed to create an on-offline campaign to raise awareness on the beneficiaries of SRCs local community services, and how these services are making a positive difference in their lives.

The campaign by MullenLowe Singapore aims to engage people in the stories of some of the beneficiaries and show how their donations and support are needed for SRC to continue supporting its beneficiaries. The communication effort works towards addressing a misnomer that Singaporeans dont need humanitarian help.

Sharing his views on the intent behind the communication exercise, Benjamin William, Secretary General/CEO of the Singapore Red Cross said, The campaign tells the stories of those who have fallen through the cracks. By showing how our local community services help make life better for our beneficiaries, we hope more people will come forward to donate and support us in providing much needed aid for vulnerable individuals and families in our midst.

Commenting on the partnership with MullenLowe Singapore William said, MullenLowe Singapore understood the intent of the campaign very well, and adopted an empathic and collaborative approach when producing the campaign. It was a complex project and the team was gracious and generous with their support. They really put their heart into this project, and this is evident in the moving storylines and visuals.

As a part of the communications exercise, there will be a core TVC that will be launched along with four films meant for digital mediums. These films capture the real life situations of people who are disabled, needy or aged, and highlight SRCs role in helping them get on with life.

Commenting on the on and offline communications approach being undertaken, Erick Rosa, Executive Creative Director of MullenLowe Singapore said: This is a beautiful campaign. With real people. Real stories. A campaign that moves you to make a difference precisely because of that. It is real and its happening right now. Hopefully more people agree with this opinion and love the films as much as we do. So the donations can pour in and the engagement with the Red Cross in Singapore can increase as well.

Srija Chatterjee, Global Business Director of MullenLowe Singapore said, It was an absolute pleasure working with the Singapore Red Cross team. Their relentless pursuit to do good for the country and passion for true collaboration pushed us to give them work that we are all proud of.

Apart from huge bursts on digital platforms and also on television, SRC would also be tapping Outdoor mediums to promote its message to the citizens of Singapore.

Credits 

Creatives: Erick Rosa, Loh Seow Khian, Joy Chen, Joscelyn Heng, Issa Mauricio,

Integrated Producer: Jonathan Gerard,

Print Producer: Jacqueline Wong,

Account Management: Srija Chatterjee, Cara Foong, Ong Ee Von

Planning: Joanne Kasala

Video Production House: Electric Lime Productions

Print Production House: Teo Studios

Video Director: Pabz Alexander
| BY Lynchy |

CB Exclusive  CB can reveal that Y&R CCO, Ben Coulson will depart the agency at the end of the year, after six years heading up the group in Australia and New Zealand. Coulson also lead GPY&R Melbourne for 4 years prior to his promotion as regional CCO and served on the Y&R global board. Replacing Coulson is Y&R NZ CEO Josh Moore.

Says Coulson: Its been a good run as CCO of Y&R ANZ. 67 Cannes lions. 21 D&AD pencils. Three times most awarded ANZ network at Cannes and Spikes. This years most awarded at D&AD, Cannes, Andy, One Show and New York festivals. Multiple Grande Prix and Best of Shows. Agency of the year titles at Campaign Brief, Adnews, B&T, Award and Effies. Top 5 ECDs in the world at Cannes and currently top 10 CCOs in the world, won report. All our offices are now up and about creatively, and business is in good shape.

Ive worked with some amazing people, made some great stuff and had a lot of laughs. Im now bloody excited by whats next.

Says Tony Granger, chief creative officer, Y&R: I want to thank Ben, who leaves a legacy here of innovative and outstanding work. I am positive his next chapter will be worthy of his tremendous talent and we wish him well.

Josh Moore (right), current CEO of Y&R New Zealand and the creative leader behind this past years hugely successful McWhopper campaign, will replace Coulson. He takes on this role in addition to his role as CEO of Y&R New Zealand.

Moore took over the helm of the media and creative agency Y&R NZ in 2011. It was the #7 agency in the NZ market. This year the agency ranked No.1 in APAC at the Cannes Lions and No.4 in the world. On top of that Y&R NZ won The Grandy at the Andys, 6 Yellow Pencils and most awarded agency at D&AD, Best In Show at NYF and a highly coveted Webby. Prior to Y&R he was the founder of Us Sydney, now known as JOY Agency.

Says Tony Granger, chief creative officer of Y&R: Josh has tremendous creative courage. It goes without saying that he is wildly imaginative, but he is also extraordinarily smart about what will make consumers pay attention and what will motivate them to take action. Thats what makes him so effective and extraordinary.

Says Phil McDonald (above, left), CEO, Y&R Group Australia & NZ: Josh has been a driving force in the growth and global reputation of our Y&R New Zealand agency. Im excited to have him turn his creative attention to the entire region, and know that he will bring his energy and enthusiasm to our clients and our people alike.
Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 10:33PM

Sony has new powerful cameras for both  and RX fans. The new  camera is the 6500, which comes with the same 4D FOCUS system of the 6300. Like the 6300, this new interchangeable lens camera has 425 phase detection AF points and can shoot up to 11 frames per second with continuous autofocus and exposure tracking and up to 8fps in a live-view shooting mode. This model can shoot at high speeds for up to 307 frames. The 6500 also has an in-camera 5-axis optical image stabilization, touchscreen AF, and 4K movie recording capabilities. The 6500 has an APS-C-sized 24.2-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor with a BIONZ X image processor. This camera also comes with Wi-Fi, QR, and NFC compatibility and retails for $1,750.

Theres also now a new RX camera in the form of the RX100 V. It packs in a Fast Hybrid AF system and can shoot continuously at speeds of up 24fps at full 20.1MP resolution with AF/AE tracking for up to 150 continuous shots. The RX100 V has a 1.0-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor with a DRAM chip, ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-70mm F1.8  2.8 large aperture lens. Just like the 6500, the RX100 V has a new front-end LSI chip that maximizes processing speed, expands memory buffer, and optimizes image quality. The RX100 V also has 4K video recording, a high-contrast 2.35 million dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder display, and Wi-Fi and NFC compatibility. The RX100 V retails for $1,250.
He thought periodic detention, which had been phased out, was "a very good sentence" and said while the ACT's new intensive correction order scheme had "much to recommend it", great care needed to be taken "about where the line will be drawn on suitability".
Alarmingly for the ACT, the emerging consensus among conservatives seems to be that "the problem" with Australia's electricity market stems from the fact that some individual jurisdictions have sought to augment the national renewable energy target with their own state-based schemes. Leaving aside the fact that the South Australians are not among those jurisdictions, and leaving aside the fact that all of the wind turbines built in South Australia to date have been funded by the Commonwealth's renewable energy target, it looks like the ACT's ambitious target may be next in the political firing line.
The Fiber Carrier Association (FCA), the industry group for fibre operators in the Netherlands, has admitted NDIX as its newest member. NDIX manages an open Ethernet network and internet exchange in the east of the Netherlands, on the border with Germany and brings together its own fibre as well as a number of other regional fibre networks.

A digital marketplace provides access to approximately 85 service providers.The NDIX-network is comprised of NDIX fibre and a large number of linked fibre-optic third party networks. NDIX links diverse businesses, industrial and data centre complexes in the Netherlands and Germany via fiber. NDIX does not offer ICT services.

NDIX director Jeroen van de Lagemaat said: "The FCA is an interesting initiative, inter alia in order to share our knowledge of Dutch and German networks with other fiber carriers. Connecting as a participant offers NDIX good opportunities."

Rick Fucht , FCA president, and Andrew van der Haar, director FCA, are pleased NDIX want to make its expertise available to the FCA: "It is very positive and encouraging that NDIX intends to support in this way. We consider it as a great complement to the expertise of the FCA. "

The FCA currently has as members Relined, Broadband Tilburg, Rekam, Broadband Eindhoven Region Vitrumnet , Trent Fiberglass, Fore Freedom and NDIX. The trade association is open to all independent carriers in the Netherlands.

The FCA was founded in March 2016.








The EU-facilitated action plan for telecoms was one of the agreements on key issues reach between the two countries in August 2015, but a dispute has broken out over infrastructure in Kosovo that was formerly owned by Telekom Srbija.

The deal proposes that telecoms infrastructure, which is located in Kosovo capital city Pristina, is handed over to the Kosovo government. The two countries are also negotiation conditions under which Kosovo will be given an international dialling code,

On 5 October, the director of the office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko uric said Belgrade has been given until Sunday (9 October) to make a decision about the grotesque draft agreement on telecommunications.

uric told reporters in the country that in his view, the ultimatum was unacceptable as Serbia cannot forgo its property. He threatened to step down from his post as chief negotiator with Pristina if the government did not back his stance.

We are asked to give up our property when it comes to telecommunications, and also much worse than that  to agree by foregoing Telekom Srbijas assets that all of our assets in Kosovo and Metohija are not ours anymore and that they belong to the institutions of the self-proclaimed, illegal, fictitious country in Pristina, says uric.

Intervening in the dispute, EC spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic tried to defuse tensions, saying the dialogue is not about ultimatums.

It is about implementation of the 2013 telecommunications agreement, followed by the 2015 Action Plan, whose implementation is still underway, Kocijancic told Tanjug's Brussels correspondent when asked to confirm if Belgrade had until October 9 to accept or reject a deal on telecoms in the dialogue with Pristina.

The dispute stems from 2008, when Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Pristina is the largest city and capital of Kosovo.
Huntsville, Ala.-- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville (CEHNC) awarded Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC) the High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) Integrated Technical Services (HITS) task order to provide program management and technical support necessary to advance the services, capabilities, infrastructure, and technologies in the HPCMP supercomputing centers.

The single-award, hybrid firm-fixed-priced, cost -reimbursable, cost-plus-incentive- fee task order has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a total contract value of $575 million, if all options are exercised. Work will be performed at centers in Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, and Ohio. The task order was awarded under the U.S. General Services Administration Alliant Governmentwide Acquisition Contract vehicle.

"We are excited to expand our customer base by providing leading services and solutions to CEHNC," said Jim Scanlon, SAIC senior vice president and general manager of the Army Customer Group. "These world class services will address some of the most challenging problems that face our nation from oceanography and meteorology to nanotechnology and advanced weapon systems. We are proud to continue our commitment to the warfighter and to developing the technologies that shape tomorrow."

CEHNC provides specialized technical expertise, global engineering solutions, and cutting edge innovations through centrally managed programs in support of national interests. It supports specialized missions that require unique technical expertise in programs with national or broad scope.

Under the HITS task order, SAIC will plan, deliver, execute, analyze, and report on high performance computing projects, services and activities.

SAIC will also provide systems engineering and technical support for defining, planning, managing, and executing projects/programs to repair, modernize, improve, and acquire HPCMP and Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Center assets and capabilities.

About SAIC

SAIC is a premier technology integrator providing full life cycle services and solutions in the technical, engineering, intelligence, and enterprise information technology markets. SAIC is Redefining Ingenuity through its deep customer and domain knowledge, talented people, effective processes, and innovation to enable the delivery of systems engineering and integration offerings for large, complex projects. SAIC's approximately 15,000 employees are driven by integrity and mission focus to serve customers in the U.S. federal government and related markets. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of about $4.3 billion. For more information, visit http://www.saic.com/.
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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.
Gabon, officially known as the Gabonese Republic, is a beautiful country on the western coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it shares borders to the northwest with Equatorial Guinea, to the north with Cameroon, on the east and south with the Republic of the Congo, and to the west with the Gulf of Guinea.

This blog will cover brief, but important facts for anyone currently doing business in Gabon, elsewhere in Africa or are planning to do so.

Gabonese Demographics

The capital is Libreville, and is the largest city in the country.

The government is classified as a Presidential Republic.

Gabons president is Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The currency is the Central African CFA franc (XAF).

Their independence from France is 1960 is celebrated on August 17 th .

. The national symbol is the black panther and national colors are green, yellow and blue.

Gabonese Languages

The official language in Gabon is French. There are also other languages, including: Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, and Bandjabi. The local national language is Fang, and it is spoken by 32% of the Gabonese people as a mother tongue.

It is worth mentioning that Gabon has more than 10,000 expats from France living and working there, therefore, French culture is influential in Gabon.

Gabonese Culture

Since its independence in 1960, Gabon has been led by only three presidents. The first president was El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba. He was one of the longest-serving presidents of a state in the world. He dominated the Gabonese political scene for four decades (1967-2009). President Bongo introduced a multiparty system in addition to a new constitution by the early 1990s.

The name of the country Gabon originates from the word gabao, which is a Portuguese word meaning cloak. It is roughly the shape of the firth of the River Komo by Libreville.

The Gabonese Republic was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.

Gabonese Consumers

Gabon has a per capita income four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations, however due to the high income inequality, a large portion of the Gabonese population remains poor. Gabon has relied on manganese and timber exports until offshore oil was discovered in the early 1970s. In the period from 2010 to 2014, oil accounted for approximately 80% of Gabons exports, which represents 45% of Gabons GDP, and 60% of the revenues of its state budget.

However, poor fiscal management and an over-reliance on oil has suffocated the economy. There are frequent power cuts and shortages of water. President Bongo has exerted efforts to increase transparency so that Gabon will be a more attractive investment destination in order to diversify the economy. Bongo has attempted to increase the growth through raising the governmental investment in infrastructure and human resources.

The government in the 1990s embarked on a program that was focused on the privatization of its state-owned companies in addition to administrative reform that included reducing employment in the public sector and salary growth, the new government has expressed a great commitment for working towards an economic transformation of the country.

Summary

The small population in Gabon, plentiful natural resources, and considerable support from the foreign countries have helped make it a more stable country in Africa. The oil and energy fields represent opportunities for companies to benefit from Gabons rich natural resources.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13376333
mary chestnut.jpg

Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, Civil War diarist

(history.com)

War has been a major factor in changing the roles of women in society. None was more true than the American Civil War when so many served in many ways.

Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut (1823-1886), for example, was known for her record of history, "A Diary from Dixie," an insightful view of Southern life and leadership during the Civil War.

In 1840 she married James Chesnut Jr., who later served as a U.S. senator from South Carolina until he resigned to take an important role in the secession movement and the Confederacy.

Mary Miller was the daughter of a prominent South Carolina politician and grew up in an atmosphere of public service. She attended private schools in Camden and Charleston. Her husband was a staff officer, an aide to General P.G.T. Beauregard, and commanding general of the South Carolina reserves.

According to history.com, Chesnut accompanied him on his military missions during the Civil War and began recording her views and observations on Feb. 15, 1861, and closed her diary on Aug. 2, 1865. After the war she reworked her manuscript many times in anticipation of publication. But "A Diary from Dixie: was not published until 1905, long after her death.

Although not a day-by-day account, "A Diary" is regarded highly by historians for its perceptive views of Confederate military and political leaders and for its insight into Southern society during the Civil War. An annotated edition with a biographical essay, "Mary Chesnut's Civil War," edited by C. Vann Woodward (1981), was awarded the 1982 Pulitzer Prize in U.S. history.

Women, of course, served in the North and South.

Nearly 20,000 women worked more directly for the Union war effort. Working-class white women and free and enslaved African-American women worked as laundresses, cooks and matrons, and some 3,000 middle-class white women worked as nurses. The activist Dorothea Dix, the superintendent of Army nurses, put out a call for responsible, maternal volunteers who would not distract the troops or behave in unseemly or unfeminine ways: Dix insisted that her nurses be "past 30 years of age, healthy, plain almost to repulsion in dress and devoid of personal attractions." (One of the most famous of these Union nurses was the writer Louisa May Alcott.)

Army nurses traveled from hospital to hospital, providing compassionate and efficient care for wounded, sick and dying soldiers. They also acted as mothers and housekeepers for the soldiers under their care.

White women in the South threw themselves into the war effort with the same zeal as their Northern counterparts. The Confederacy had less money and fewer resources than did the Union, however, so they did much of their work on their own or through local auxiliaries and relief societies. They, too, cooked and sewed for their boys. They provided uniforms, blankets, sandbags and other supplies for entire regiments. They wrote letters to soldiers and worked as untrained nurses in makeshift hospitals. They even cared for wounded soldiers in their homes.

Many women did more.

More than 400 women disguised themselves as men and fought in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.

Pauline Cushman (circa 1855-1865) Union spy

Some had more dangerous roles like Pauline Cushman who spied on the South for the North. When caught by the Confederates, she was actually sentenced to death, but subsequently rescued by the Union army when it invaded Shelbyville, Tenn.

According to civilwarsaga.com, despite her brush with death, Cushman continued to spy for the Union army and was awarded the honorary rank of Brevet-Major by President Abraham Lincoln, eventually earning the nickname "The Spy of Cumberland."

In 1864, Cushman published a memoir, titled "The Romance of the Great Rebellion," and began touring the country giving lectures about her time as a spy, gaining so much fame and notoriety that she was even featured in P.T. Barnum's circus.

Columnist Joanne Anderson may be reached at joandy42@yahoo.com.
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
A 7-speed manual was introduced with the 991 generation in order to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy, but with the all-new, more powerful and efficient turbocharged six-pots ushered in with the 991.2, is Weissach actually thinking about cutting the cog count?



The current gearbox sparked a lot of controversies when it was first announced, but it turned out to be less overwhelming, more precise and improve fuel consumption. However, the new six-speeder in the 911 R has already been declared a peach. So, what gives?

When Car and Driver asked Michael Steiner, Porsches R&D chief, if the 911 Rs six-speeder success convinced the German car manufacturer to build more, he responded:

From my point of view, it shouldnt be the last. Technically, it is possible to have a six-speed manual gearbox. There are good reasons to have such a car, emotion-wise and for driver enjoyment and things like that, but if you look to the mix we have with the Carrera and Carrera S, its different.

Thats because the majority of customers opt for the PDK, even those with track-day hobbies, as Steiner was quick to point out.

On the other hand, if you look to the next cars we have in the more normal model line or a more conventional model line, year-by-year more and more customers are buying PDK. Within the next years, there will be definitely room for manual gearboxes, and we will have at least derivatives with manual gearboxes. But the general trend, also for car guys who would like to go on the racetrack, is shifting more and more in the direction of PDK.

The writings on the wall, then: six or seven, enjoy it while you still can, ladies and gentlemen. Maybe the next 911 is safe, but at some point even Porsche will bow to this trend and the stick shift and third pedal will be no more.

PHOTO GALLERY
Ford has ended Australian production 91 years after the companys first models were produced down under.



The automaker announced it would stop production at its last remaining factory in Broadmeadows, Victoria, back in 2013. The move doesnt just mean the end of local production but also marks the farewell of the Falcon, a car built and sold locally for over 50 years.

While Ford will no longer produce cars in Australia, it isnt leaving the country entirely and will continue to employ about 1,500 employees in its engineering and design departments.

The first Ford built in Australia was the legendary Model T, initially constructed at the Geelong facility in July 1925. The following year, plants were constructed in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide and in 1930, in Fremantle as well.

Prior to the arrival of Holden, Ford dominated the local market and in 1959, opened the doors to its Broadmeadows Car Assembly Plant. Since the first vehicle rolled out of this factory on August 20, 1959, precisely 4,356,628 vehicles have been built there.

The final Ford produced in Australia was a bright blue Falcon XR6.

PHOTO GALLERY
This isnt Hondas first experiment with 3D-printing, but its one of its biggest weve seen thus far.



The automakers accessories department, called Honda Access, has been using 3D-printers in its product development cycle since 2006. Thats why together with Kabuku inc.  a Japanese tech company  Honda created an automobile that utilizes 3D-printing technology in order to further develop its Variable Design platform.

The Variable Design platform is Hondas vision of offering a small, modular architecture that can underpin inexpensive vehicles suited for each individuals needs

So, unsurprisingly, this car (which is unnamed yet) was constructed on the companys Variable Design platform. It also features a compact electric powertrain, and it was unveiled at the at CEATEC Japan 2016. Described as a jointly developed mass customized vehicle that reflected individual needs, the automobile was tailor-made as a low-cost, economical delivery van for Toshimaya Corps local business.

Its development process was shortened to about two months by taking advantage of rapid 3D design, mold-less development and a digital manufacturing factory network.

Under the skin, the micro-van features a pipe-based framework which supports various, inexpensive 3D-printed body panels.

Honda announced its plans to offer an inexpensive vehicle that can be customized according to the drivers need a while back, and this machine could be the first step towards that direction.

PHOTO GALLERY
The Skoda Octavia is the only car in the brands current lineup to add the vRS suffix, as the automaker has focused instead on developing its Monte Carlo, Laurent & Klement and Sportsline packs.



The latter three have proved to be both popular with buyers and profitable as well, which cannot be said on the vRS ones. Subsequently, the Czech manufacturers new chief, Bernhard Maier, is now looking to see whether the fast vRS cars are profitable enough to justify their development costs, as Autocar reports.

Theoretically, there are no barriers to any kinds of derivatives, but it is a question of demand. We have had a wonderful experience with trim upgrades, so I expect to do them again, Maier said.

When it comes to the recently launched Kodiaq, its clear that a more powerful variant over the current 187 horsepower diesel is in the pipeline, but its unknown whether a true vRS derivative will be made. I can say now that it will have many emotional directions and we will leverage it in every way possible, so as to leave as few people as possible out, Maier added.

Theres no official info on possible Superb and Kodiaq vRS, but the Brits state that these two remain the most likely candidates to gain such variants, as due to their size and pricing range, buyers are more willing to spend a little extra for the additional muscle.

However, contradictory reports state that Skodas chief is more willing to spend the R&Ds money on upcoming hybrid and electric powertrains, rather than projects that add low profit or sales volume.

PHOTO GALLERY
The court order delays implementation of Montreal's pit bull ban, and allows advocates of dogs an opportunity to press their case and have local lawmakers rethink their rash and reactionary policy. Photo by iStockphoto

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In a judicial act that counts as both a reprieve for pet owners and a stay of execution for dogs, Quebecs Superior Court has temporarily suspended Montreals widely condemned pit bull ban, in response to a request for injunction filed by our friends at the Montreal SPCA. The suspension will continue until a full hearing occurs, perhaps in several months. Pit bull dogs are by no means safe for good in Montreal, but it delays implementation and allows advocates of dogs and fair play an opportunity to press their case and have local lawmakers rethink their rash and reactionary policy.

In his ruling, the judge noted that the legislation appeared to have been written in a hurry and would be difficult to enforce. This is not surprising, given Mayor Denis Coderre refused to even meet with the Montreal SPCA (the main animal management provider in the city) prior to drafting this nonsensical ban. If he had, perhaps he would understand that his policy is ill conceived, will do nothing to make his community safer, and will result in the destruction or relocation of hundreds of perfectly adoptable dogs every year.

Montreal dog owners are not the only ones celebrating this temporary stay. A coalition of humane organizations in New England have already said that they would be among the first in line to deal with the influx of relocated pit-bull-type dogs from Montreal.

City officials should look at the data, and the difficulty of enforcement, and revamp their plans. But even as animal protection groups campaign towards this goal, the provincial government is looking to put forward its own legislation on how to regulate dangerous dogs, and it is likely to include some breed specific provisions.

Quebec would be well advised to take note of the fierce backlash that has occurred in the wake of the Montreal ban, and embrace that the vast majority of thought leaders in pet-related policy oppose breed-specific legislation. Twenty U.S. states have enacted prohibitions on BSL because it doesnt make communities safer, is cost prohibitive and difficult to enforce, causes tremendous hardship to dog owners, and results in needless euthanasia of adoptable dogs. Hundreds of North American municipalities  including many in Canada  have rescinded breed specific legislation for the same reasons.

The Quebec government now has an important opportunity to advance an effective, breed-neutral dog management policy that includes effective measures to improve community safety, with a focus on public education and responsible pet ownership. Furthermore, by making a meaningful investment in enforcement of provincial animal welfare laws, Quebec can help its badly underfunded SPCAs deal with animal welfare holistically, which would be a meaningful step forward in addressing the issue of dangerous dogs. Humane Society International/Canada, our affiliate in the country, is making the case at the local and provincial level.
Lionsgate has acquired the Chinese/American co-production Rock Dog for release through its Summit Premiere label. The film will debut in American theaters on February 24, 2017.

Rock Dog is notable for being the most expensive 100% Chinese-financed animated production of all-time, with reports of up to a $60 million production cost. In one of the first examples of reverse-outsourcing in American feature animation, the Chinese backers farmed out the entire production to Dallas-based Reel FX, the company that produced Free Birds and The Book of Life.

Rock Dog was conceived by Chinese rockstar Zheng Jun who wrote and illustrated a popular graphic novel upon which the film is based. The film follows the story of Bodi (Luke Wilson), a Tibetan Mastiff, who dreams of following in the footsteps of Angus Scattergood, a British cat musician.
TVPaint is proud to reveal the secrets behind the making of its short film Journey through Creativity, which premiered on Cartoon Brew in June.

The in-depth 25-minute making-of follows the production of the short from the initial steps of pre-production through animation production and post-production. Tracking the whole creation process, you can see how the project evolved based on the artistic and technical decisions that were made, and discover every characterreal and digitalbehind this animated adventure:

As an added bonus, some of the TVPaints files for the short are now available for free online download, offering a unique insight into how young director Tevy Dubray created the film.

Both young animators and renowned artists throughout the animation industry have already tried out and enjoyed the TVPaint experience: Tomm Moore, Michael Dudok de Wit, Joanna Quinn, Aaron Blaise, Paul Fierlinger, Peter Dodd, to name but a few. And now, add to the list numerous studios around the world that are using TVPaint to craft their latest features.

This fall, London-based studio Lupus Films will release its new feature film Ethel & Ernest, based on Raymond Briggs illustrated book. Initially planned as a film that would be animated on paper, the film transitioned to TVPaint during production. TVPaint has become more and more the industry standard for hand drawn animated films, the films director Roger Mainwood wrote in a recent blog post. Using a [tablet] to draw on, the animators can reproduce a line quality that is virtually indistinguishable from a line drawn with a graphite pencil on paper.

Mainwood went on to say that despite the fact that many crew members on the production were new to TVPaint, they were able to quickly get on board with the use of in-house tutorials and the excellent tech support of TVPaint itself.

On the other side of the globe, TVPaint opened a new office of its company in Tokyo, Japan. With more and more Japanese studios converting to digital technology, it was crucial to have its people on-site permanently in order to meet the day-by-day needs of productions.

In addition to this office, a new TVPaint user forum dedicated to Japanese studios will help the TVPaint team to receive feedback from and engage with their Japanese users.

A Japanese studio that has already started using TVPaint is Signal MD, subsidiary of I.G Port, which is currently in production on the feature film, Hirune Hime. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit), Hirune Hime is set to be distributed by Warner Bros. in March 2017.

Behind TVPaint Animation, there are passionate animation specialists. Always asking how they can improve their flagship product, TVPaints team adapts to every project by creating a custom work tool, with personalized brushes, options, and scripts.

This team, composed of employees of TVPaint Developpement, is backed up by a group of experienced beta-testers, some of them users of TVPaint Animation for more than a decade. Their role is essential: their comments and critiques of the features still in development, combined with their sharp knowledge of the animation world, are vital to the continued evolution of the software.

But apart from this group of committed users, every single person, with their thoughts, questions and suggestions, takes part in the process. Join us today for the next 25 years of TVPaints growth!

To learn more, visit TVPaint.com or the TVPaint forumsand now for the Japanese community, visit our Japanese TVPaint forum.
When you visit LuckyLand casino, you would always want to search their 'Games' library to play the best slots available on the platform. But this is not an easy task to do, especially if there is a huge collection of games without any...

2022-07-12
Photo: Contributed

A local RCMP officer and his wife will be featured in a soon to be released documentary.

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk says they became a part of the cast of the feature-length movie, Eating You Alive  which focuses on why North Americans are so so sick and what can be done about it  as a result of reaching out to the producers on Facebook in February.

"Eating You Alive resumes the story of whole food plant-based nutrition in similar fashion as Forks Over Knives, but in a much bigger production," said Moskaluk. "I simply asked when the movie was coming out, explaining that we were big advocates of whole food plant-based nutrition.

"I gave a brief description of our situation with Sheanne's weight loss, 297 to 160 pounds, and my recovery from stage IV kidney cancer. Within 20 minutes Merilee Jacobs, the co-producer, called me and we talked."

Moskaluk learned they had finished production, but were considering adding them.

They asked that he send a video clip, and a few days later, they were flying to Atlanta, Ga., and Chattanooga Tenn.

"We are the only Canadians in the production, which includes celebs such as Samuel L. Jackson, James Cameron and his wife Suzie, and Penn Jillette, along with a slew of the top U.S. physicians," he said. "Plus a cast of many people, such as Sheanne and I, with incredible stories."

The movie is now in pre-release stages across the U.S, and there will be a screening Oct. 26 at the Shatford Centre in Penticton.

The official premieres are in Los Angeles and New York City in December.
Photo: CTV

The former owner of a $31-million waterfront mansion in Vancouver says butt out of the new owner's business.

Peter Brown contacted CTV News about the sale of a posh home in the Point Grey neighbourhood, which is now owned by a student.

Brown, an investor and Order of BC recipient, said the student's Chinese parents bought the property from him, adding listing ownership to your kids is a common "estate planning" strategy to avoid estate duties.

"I sold the house to a Chinese couple who are going to live here. Sum total story period, he told CTV News. "You think people buy a $31-million house just to leave it empty?

They bought it and put it in his name, to suit themselves. Thats their business. Its not mine, its not yours, its their business. But I can tell you theyre going to live there, said Brown.

The purchase was the most expensive sale recorded this year in Vancouver.

NDP Housing Critic David Eby said a group of 50 students and homemakers own $100 million of real estate in a single neighbourhood in Vancouver.

This is concerning, wed like to look into this, and wed like to know what happened in the housing market, Eby said.

Brown was highly critical of B.C.'s foreign property tax.

Now when you do a real estate deal you have to write FN. Foreign national. Its like Donald Trump. When have we as Canadians ever branded people FN? Brown said.

When the dust settles a year from now the Asians will keep coming and theyll pay the 15 per cent. The guy who wont pay is the skilled worker we desperately need, he said.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: vernon.ca

Vernon residents have one week left to give their two cents on the city's budget.

An interactive budget simulator takes about 10 minutes to complete and will help council and administration understand the publics priorities on various services, according to staff.

The survey closes on October 14.

The 'Vernon Citizen Budget' includes charts, links and background information on various services to help guide participants.

Public input will be reviewed by the mayor and council as part of budget discussions.

And for an incentive, every completed survey with a valid email address is automatically entered into a prize draw. Participants could win one of five Vernon Recreation Centre passes or one of 10 gift cards.

Vernon residents will also be able to have a say on the draft budget at public meetings in December.
Photo: Getty Images

The long weekend is just around the corner  and unfortunately, it's going to be a wet one.

Environment Canada is predicting cool, rainy weather for most of the weekend in the Okanagan and torrential downpours and wind on the coast.

We have a fairly vigorous short-wave system slamming into the South Coast, explained Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan.

It will cruise through the Central and Southern Interior of B.C. so there will definitely be wet conditions and a fairly unsettled pattern.

Castellan said Okanagan residents can expect to see a mix of showers throughout the weekend, finally clearing for Thanksgiving Monday.

Typically in Kelowna this time of year, it is fairly dry with maximum temperatures of 15 degrees, whereas this weekend we are down to 11-12 C, said Castellan. With a bit of a dryer pattern luckily on Monday, the nicest day of the long weekend.

Residents on the coast are preparing for far wetter and stormy conditions.

Environment Canada has even issued wind warnings for the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Those areas are going to see winds hit 80 km/h, near damaging intensities, said Castellan.

Environment Canada said strong winds will also develop over the Lower Mainland this evening, especially near the water.

Because this is the first storm of this magnitude this year, we urge residents to remember to be cautious. In early October, a lot of trees still have leaves and so on, so when you do have a wind event it can be dangerous. We're anticipating more damage with this storm because of the foliage still being up," said Castellan.

For up to date details on highway conditions and road closures check DriveBC.

You can also monitor Environment Canada for alerts, warnings and updated forecasts.

For your local weather forecast click here.
Photo: vernon.ca

Vernon Fire Rescue is reminding residents to check those smoke alarms.

"Almost 70 per cent of houses that caught fire in B.C. last year didn't have a functioning smoke alarm, said Fire Chief Keith Green. Children and the elderly face the highest risk of dying in a residential fire. We want to do our part to eliminate that risk."

In order to do so, Vernon firefighters will be visiting homes in the Holiday Park Mobile Home Park and Swanbrook Estates on Oct. 15 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Firefighters will be going door-to-door to encourage residents to test their smoke alarms and replace their batteries. VFRS will also replace old smoke alarms or install a new one if the resident doesnt have one.

The smoke alarms have been donated by Silver Star Rotary Club, Okanagan Restoration and Johnston Meier Insurance.

The smoke alarm program in Vernon was launched in 2012 when the fire service checked 140 smoke alarms and replaced over a dozen expired or non-functioning smoke alarms in the Big Chief Mobile Home Park.

The campaign is an initiative of the Fire Chiefs Association of British Columbia, and has a goal of a working smoke alarm in every home.

According to figures supplied, working smoke alarms could reduce annual fire deaths in B.C. by as much as 32 per cent. As well, fire damage was reduced by 19 per cent when a working smoke alarm was present.
Photo: Getty Images

Police in Prince George have arrested two people at a high school believed to be responsible for non-credible threats made online against several schools in the area.

On Wednesday evening, RCMP were made aware of a social media page with a cartoon banner depicting firearms and several Prince George schools, along with many comments of a threatening nature.

While investigators don't believe any of the threats were credible, they are taking the page and the many comments on it seriously.

Police asked all schools in the area to keep students inside and lock external doors Thursday morning. As of 2:20 p.m., police recommended the safety precautions be lifted.

Rest assured, the safety of all children in the community, including many of our own, was the priority and all necessary steps would have been taken to protect them, Cpl. Craig Douglas said in a press release.

Of the two young men who were arrested, a 17 year old was released without charge, while a 16 year old will be held in custody overnight, making his first appearance in court Friday. Charges will be determined by Crown counsel.

While the investigation continues, police are confident there is no threat to the public.
Photo: Jasmine Aantjes

Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce members came together Wednesday evening to celebrate nominees in the upcoming awards ceremony.

The chamber's executive director Brandy Maslowski said while the awards ceremony on Oct. 15 will celebrate the winners, the chamber wanted to celebrate those who got nominated.

"You don't want to have a huge award with 400 people attending and 15 awards, and you have 150 nominees, and all you celebrate is one business per category," she said.

"We also want to put a big focus on the fact that people are nominated because nomination is so important. It means you're doing something amazing in the community, even if you don't win."

Wednesday night's event, the Mayor's Nominee Reception, brought 125 people to Play Winery.

"We were hoping for 100, and we did really well," she said. "That was awesome for an event that size."

The big event itself is just over a week away, which Maslowski said is coming with some new activities and awards, including the new Aboriginal Community & Business Excellence award, which celebrates First Nations businesses as well as those who have had a strong impact on the local Aboriginal community.

Nominees for that award are Coyote Cruises, Iron Indian Steelworks, Snow Mountain Markets, Super Save Gas, and Westhills Aggregates. While other awards have up to 17 nominees, Maslowski said the award is sure to be a competitive one.

The chamber will be doing a 50/50 draw, which will go towards the Okanagan College Scholarship Fund.

The event had sold out, but after reshuffling the layout, organizers found more space, and tickets are once again available for $75.

The event starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 11 p.m.
Photo: nvgym.com

A local gymnastics club is hoping its latest verbal acrobatics might win some support from local politicians for a purpose built facility in Vernon.

We were created 23 years ago with the purpose of building a facililty, said Pam Hargreaves of the North Valley Gymnastics Society.

The group is still waiting.

Hargreaves told the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee Thursday that the gymnastics club is at capacity with over 600 individuals, from toddlers to adults, taking part in classes and activities. One hundred more are on a waiting list.

The non-profit society is once again asking for a public partnership deal in which it could borrow some of the funds needed in order to build a gymnastics facility. A 2009 estimate put the cost at just over $3 million.

Hargreaves said that over the years the group had used almost every suitable location in Vernon for gymnastics and that the sport just kept growing.

The current lease runs out next year.
Photo: CTV

Police say a man has been charged following a double homicide on Vancouver Island earlier this week.

A man and woman were found dead by police in home in Courtenay early Wednesday morning.

RCMP say a 42-year-old man who was arrested at the scene has been charged with two counts of murder.

Const. Rob Gardner says police are consulting the Crown on whether the man will face first- or second-degree murder charges.

The Mounties say the man had been sent to hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot injury at the time of his arrest but is expected to appear in court on Oct. 11.

Police say another man who was arrested at the scene was released without being charged.

The names of the man who has been charged and the deceased have not been released by police.
Photo: CTV - File photo

A farming accident in the Lower Mainland has left one man dead.

Police were called to a southwest Surrey farm in the 15600-block of 40th Avenue, at approximately 2:45 p.m.

WorkSafe B.C. spokeswoman Trish Knight Chernecki says a serious incident occurred between a man and a tractor at a farm in southwest Surrey Thursday.

Police says it appears the man was injured as he was working on the tractor, became stuck, and died from his injuries.

Cpl. Scotty Schumann said the man is believed to be in his 20s.

Chernecki says the workplace safety agency, police and the coroner's service are investigating.

- With files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: DriveBC

UPDATE: 5:45 a.m.

DriveBC reports the highway was reopened at 1:20 a.m.

Unconfirmed reports on Twitter by ScanBC are that a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Dragon Lake Hill.

ORIGINAL: 10:30 p.m.

Highway 97 is closed in both directions, after a 'major' incident.

DriveBC says there was a vehicle incident just north of the Interior city, between Quesnel Hydraulic Road and Cedar Avenue.

There is a detour in place via Juniper Drive.

No estimate has been given for reopening.
Photo: CTV

UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.

BC Hydro crews across Vancouver Island and British Columbia's south coast are working hard to restore power to thousands of customers following the region's first autumn wind storm.

Gusts of nearly 90 kilometres per hour were recorded during the height of the storm.

It hit Thursday evening, knocking out electricity to more than 34,000 customers, with hardest hit areas including Greater Victoria, Greater Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast.

By daylight Friday, about 13,000 customers were still in the dark.

Hydro warned it could be most of the day before all the lights are back on.

Wind warnings issued by Environment Canada overnight were dropped within hours, but gusty winds were still buffeting the region in advance of another round of heavy rain due Friday night.

ORIGINAL: Oct. 6, 10:50 p.m.

A strong storm hitting southern British Columbia has cut power to more than 34,000 BC Hydro customers.

BC Hydro says the bulk of the outages, about 16,500, are on the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, with the remainder scattered around Vancouver island.

Environment Canada had issued wind warnings for the region, saying wind gusts were likely to reach 90 km/h.

BC Hydro said repair crews would be working through the night to restore electricity to affected homes and businesses.

In addition to the wind, Environment Canada said the Vancouver region could expect between 30 and 50 millimetres of rain overnight.

The rainfall prompted officials on the North Shore to warn residents of potential for flooding and asked them to clear drains of fallen leaves and debris.

Rough seas kicked up by the wind forced BC Ferries to cancel and delay a number of sailings, including those between Tsawassen and Duke Point and Comox and Powell River.
Photo: Northern Miner

Foreign workers who have accused a Vancouver-based company of human rights abuses at an African mine will have their case heard in the Canadian legal system.

In a judgment released Thursday, the Supreme Court of British Columbia gave the go-ahead for three refugees to proceed with a civil lawsuit against Nevsun Resources, which owns a controlling interest in the Bisha gold mine in the tiny East African country of Eritrea.

Joe Fiorante, one of the lawyers representing the group, said this is the first time foreign claimants have been able to file a lawsuit in Canada against a Canadian company over allegations of human rights abuses that took place abroad.

"For us, this is a green light to proceed with the case on the merits, and this will give our clients the chance to pursue the allegations in court and a chance to vindicate their rights."

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Nevsun did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier in the day, the company issued a statement saying it's studying the decision and is considering filing an appeal.

The company said it is confident that its subsidiary operates the mine according to international standards of governance, workplace conditions, health, safety and human rights.

The judgment dismissed the workers' application to have their allegations heard as a single case, and instructed them instead to file three separate claims.

Fiorante called that element of the ruling "surmountable," adding that his legal team plans on filing dozens more claims from other former mine employees.

aThe original notice of claim alleges the plaintiffs were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, forced confinement and the threat of "physical punishment, torture and imprisonment."
Photo: Twitter

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end Latin America's longest-running armed conflict, an honour that came just five days after voters dealt him a stunning blow by rejecting a peace deal with leftist rebels.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Santos for his "resolute" attempts to stop a civil war that has killed more than 200,000 Colombians and displaced millions since the 1960s. But in a departure from its tradition of honouring both sides of a peace process, the five-member committee conspicuously left out Santos' counterpart, rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, from the honour.

Santos, 65, dedicated the prize to his fellow Colombians, especially victims of the bloody conflict, and said it redoubles his commitment to ending hostilities, something he said he would work toward for the rest of his life.

"I invite everyone to bring together our strength, our minds and our hearts in this great national endeavour so that we can win the most important prize of all: peace in Colombia," Santos said alongside his wife in his first public appearance since winning the Nobel.

Santos and Londono  leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known by its Spanish acronym FARC  signed a peace deal last month to end the conflict after more than four years of negotiations in Cuba.

But on Sunday, voters rejected the deal by the narrowest of margins  less than half a percentage point  over concerns that the rebels, who are widely loathed by Colombians for committing scores of atrocities, were getting a sweetheart deal.

Under the accord, rebels who turn over their weapons and confess their crimes would be spared jail, and the group would be reserved seats in congress to help smooth its transition to a political movement.

"The referendum was not a vote for or against peace," the Nobel committee said Friday, insisting the peace process wasn't dead. "What the 'No' side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement."

Santos, the Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombia's wealthiest families, is an unlikely peacemaker. As defence minister a decade ago, he was responsible for some of the biggest military setbacks for the rebels. Those included a 2008 cross-border raid into Ecuador that took out a top rebel commander and the stealth rescue of three Americans held captive by the rebels for more than five years.

A record 376 candidates were nominated for this year's award, which carries a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor (about $930,000).
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

The huge crane that has appeared on the construction site at Penticton Regional Hospital in recent days is a sign of the progress being made there.

The tall machine will be used in the months ahead for work on the new patient care tower at the hospital.

"We are thrilled having our crane go up covering the skyline in Penticton, saying we are ready to build the tower," said Maureen Thomson, acute health service director at the hospital, speaking to a group of dignitaries, hospital staff and construction representatives on Friday at the location.

EllisDon construction manager Ezio Del Fatti provided further details on the crane itself, saying it is 55 metres high, with a hook radius of 69 metres.

Sitting on a large pad at the bottom, it is well secured. It would, however, shut down in high winds of 70 km/h and if the temperature dropped to -20 C.

The crane is expected to be up until next year. There will then be another crane on site to the south of the current location for the construction of the parkade.

"We are starting with the patient tower and then will build the parkade," Del Fatti said. "It's like a chess game here. We have to have parking spots at all times, so we have phased the work."

He added there is a great team on site with a lot of experience and that they are trying to use as many local labourers as possible."

MLA Dan Ashton, who played a large role in getting the much-needed patient tower built, said the crane going up is a good sign.

"Now people can see with the crane the scale of this addition to the hospital," he said. "It is massive and exciting to see this finally underway."

The 26,170-square-metre tower will bring together outpatient care services into one building, provide five modern operating rooms, expand the medical device reprocessing/sterilization unit to nearly triple its current size and provide three floors of single-occupancy inpatient rooms with private washrooms.
Photo: Contributed

If you're missing your boat, we may have located it.

A pleasure boat has been spotted run aground along a rocky shoreline in Peachland.

The boat drifted to its current resting spot sometime late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

It is located by the cliffs between Princeton Avenue and Antlers Beach.


Photo: Contributed

Motorists are now enjoying a safer and smoother drive on Highway 3 following the completion of a $16-million realignment and widening project about 25 kilometres west of Princeton.

"The now-completed Highway 3 Saturday Creek project has improved the flow of traffic and goods, meeting our B.C. on the Move commitment to expand the capacity and reliability of our transportation network," said Todd Stone, transportation and infrastructure minister.

"The realigned and expanded section of highway is making the drive safer for all motorists, including local traffic, commercial trucks and tourists visiting the region."

The project saw 1.8 kilometres of highway widened from two to three lanes, making passing opportunities easier and safer.

Crews also realigned the section of highway to straighten out curves and to improve driver sight lines.

Forestry road accesses have been relocated to a safer location with widened shoulders to allow for vehicle deceleration and acceleration.

Other safety improvements include additional roadside barrier and rumble strips.

The contractor for this project was Hoban Construction Ltd.

Work started in July 2014 and was completed this summer, ahead of schedule.
Photo: Getty Images

Six high schools in Prince George were put on lockdown Friday morning after the RCMP received reports of more online threats.

However, the lockdowns ended shortly after police determined the threats were not credible.

School District 57 opted to place the six area high schools into lockdown in order to better protect our children and teachers, said Cpl. Craig Douglass, RCMP spokesperson. RCMP investigators have determined that the threats are non-credible and in some cases, outdated.

As a result, police are recommending that the lockdown be lifted at all schools and regular school activity resume.

Douglass said officers will continue to investigate these threats and will have an increased presence around schools.

Any and all threats will be taken seriously, he said.

The lockdowns follow the arrests of two young men, 16 and 17, in Prince George on Wednesday on suspicion of making non-credible online threats against several schools.

Police complained that the investigations have tied up resources that could have been better used responding to incidents where they were truly needed.
Photo: Contributed

Miss Peregrines School for Peculiar Children  X-Men Light

Miss Peregrines School For Peculiar Children is awful and it didnt have to be.

Tim Burton has been in the film business for almost 40 years and his name has become synonymous with clever, creative and whimsical films.

He is the genius who wrote Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas in the early 1990s, but appears to be losing his edge.

Burton has not produced anything noteworthy since his daring 2007 Sweeney Todd and this latest offering, Miss Peregrines School For Peculiar Children, appears to be nothing more than moldy meat for Hollywoods sausage grinder.

The story, based on the young adult novel by Ransom Riggs revolves around hapless 16 year-old Jacob (Asa Butterfield  Hugo) who discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time.

When his beloved, but senile grandfather, Abe (Terence Stamp), is mysteriously murdered, Jacob travels from his home in Florida to an island in Wales in search of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children as his grandfather had requested.

The mystery deepens once he meets the unusual children who live there and learns of the constant danger they live in. Jacob comes to realize his gifts and his purpose as he mounts an attack on the monsters who threaten the survival of his friends.

The children are a motley crew of X-Men Light: a girl who requires lead shoes to walk lest she float away, a boy who can animate objects, a girl who can start fires with her fingertips and a boy who is filled with bees to name a few.

Their guardian and sworn protector is Miss Peregrine (Eva Green  Casino Royale). Miss Peregrine smokes a pipe, can change into a bird and has the ability to create time loops, which is where they reside.

Eva Green is a competent actress who plays the role with a mischievous smirk. She is a bad-ass Mary Poppins with a cross bow. Her character is a master of control and a great role model for girls with the exception of the pipe smoking.

The villain responsible for their misery is a shape-shifting ghoul named Barron (Samuel L. Jackson) who has sworn to hunt down peculiars. Jackson plays this character with his usual enthusiasm, but we never learn anything more about him than the fact that hes a bad guy.

Asa Butterfield is likeable and bland as the unlikely hero, but Ella Purnell is hauntingly memorable and I predict we will see more from this young actress.

There is ample material here for Burton to explore his penchant for the macabre and when his imagination runs wild, the film is at its most interesting.

It is, however, disappointing that the only actor of colour in this film pays the villain, which just comes off as racist. Burton had an opportunity to create an interesting and diverse group of children and he chose not to. It is 2016, Tim, and we expect better.

Special effects and lush cinematography combine with a beautiful set and creative art design which could have resulted in an entertaining movie if the characters werent one-dimensional and the story wasnt so confusing.

The monsters after the children gain their power feeding on the eyeballs of peculiars, especially children and are actually quite terrifying.

This film was made for adolescents so if you have any children younger than ten, I would recommend that you miss this one as there are a few scenes that are the stuff nightmares are made of.

I give this film 2 out of 5 stars.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Renee Geraghty

A Vancouver cabbie has been suspended for watching movies while driving passengers.

The taxi driver was sanctioned after Renee Geraghty recorded him playing a full-length movie on his cellphone, propped up on the dashboard.

Geraghty hopped into the taxi last weekend in downtown Vancouver.

"I thought oh, he's going to turn it off, obviously, when he starts driving. And then he just didn't," she told CTV. "We got from point A to point B with him watching a movie half the time."

Geraghty recorded what was happening and complained to Black Top & Checker Cabs, but did not receive a response.

Manager Saif Ullah told CTV the driver has been suspended for a month.

"That's not acceptable," Ullah said. "Watching a video while driving, not acceptable at all."

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: The Canadian Press Michael Crowley of Bradford University says fentanyl is a weapon.

For a few thousand dollars, Chinese companies offer to export a powerful chemical that has been killing unsuspecting drug users and is so lethal that it presents a potential terrorism threat, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export the chemical  a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil  to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as $2,750 a kilogram (2.2 pounds), no questions asked.

Carfentanil burst into view this summer, the latest scourge in an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed tens of thousands of people in the United States alone. Dealers have been cutting carfentanil and its weaker cousin, fentanyl, into heroin and other illicit drugs to boost profit margins.

Despite the dangers, carfentanil is not a controlled substance in China, where it is manufactured legally and sold openly online. The U.S. government is pressing China to blacklist carfentanil, but Beijing has yet to act, leaving a substance whose lethal qualities have been compared with nerve gas to flow into foreign markets unabated.

"We can supply carfentanil ... for sure," a saleswoman from Jilin Tely Import and Export Co. wrote in broken English in a September email. "And it's one of our hot sales product."

Before being discovered by drug dealers, carfentanil and substances like it were viewed as chemical weapons. One of the most powerful opioids in circulation, carfentanil is so deadly that an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin; carfentanil is chemically similar, but 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

"It's a weapon," said Andrew Weber, assistant secretary of defence for nuclear, chemical and biological defence programs from 2009 to 2014. "Companies shouldn't be just sending it to anybody."

Carfentanil was first developed in the 1970s, and its only routine use is as an anesthetic for elephants and other large animals. Governments quickly targeted it as a potential chemical weapon. Forms of fentanyl are suspected in at least one known assassination attempt, and were used by Russian forces against Chechen separatists who took hundreds of hostages at a Moscow theatre in 2002.

The chemicals are banned from the battlefield under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In fiscal year 2014, U.S. authorities seized just 3.7 kilograms (8.1 pounds) of fentanyl. This fiscal year, through just mid-July, they have seized 134.1 kilograms (295 pounds), according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the AP. Fentanyl is the most frequently seized synthetic opioid, U.S. Customs reports.

Users are dying of accidental respiratory arrest, and overdose rates have soared.

The U.S., Russia, China, Israel, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and India are among the countries that have assessed carfentanil and related compounds for offensive or defensive applications, according to publicly available documents and academic studies.

"Countries that we are concerned about were interested in using it for offensive purposes," Weber said. "We are also concerned that groups like ISIS could order it commercially."

The U.S. began researching fentanyl as an incapacitating agent in the 1960s and, by the 1980s, government scientists were experimenting with aerosolized carfentanil on primates, according to Neil Davison, the author of "'Non-Lethal' Weapons" who now works at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The U.S. says it is no longer developing such chemical agents. But two state-owned companies in China have marketed "narcosis" dart guns, according to Michael Crowley, author of "Chemical Control" and project co-ordinator at the University of Bradford's Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project. He said the ammunition "might very well be fentanyl or an analog of fentanyl," adding that in the 1990s, the U.S. explored similar guns loaded with a form of fentanyl.
Consolidation continues in the VoIP space.

Velis4 has been acquired by a company called Globalgig. Ernest Cunningham will be the CEO of the combined company, while Anthony Jett, Velis4's current CEO, becomes the COO. Globalgig brings a global vision to Velis4, who will be expanding into Europe and Australia soon.

"The one global product of interest to Globalgig is the multi-IMSI SIM, a revolutionary technology enabling Globalgig subscribers to use their own local SIM card anywhere for low rates. Traveling employees just need to turn their device on and the Globalgig system will automatically select the available IMSI having the most optimal rate and service. Customers enjoy seamless worldwide coverage."

Speaking of mergers, CB Insights has the list of the 27 worst mergers (or failed M&A).

Andy Abramson hints that Vonage is selling off its consumer business.

T-Mobile has an MVNO named Walmart Family Mobile that it sold to TracFone.

Reports say that Verizon is close to selling off its data centers for $3.5B, which is a good return on the Terremark acquisition in 2011 for $1.4B. There are 18 facilities and it looks like Equinix is the likely buyer.

Rumors at Dreamforce are swirling about Salesforce buying twitter -- for its customer service functionality.

The big news this week is Yahoo! Verizon is buying them for $4B but they just let folks know that 500M accounts were hacked 2 years ago!!! - and now it seems that they were scanning emails for the feds (3 letter agencies). Rich Tehrani does make a good point that in an Age of Cloud, US providers are now at a disadvantage globally because the feds are so ingrained in cloud providers.

A little something from Salesforce: a customer service survey infographic.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
To get to the nearest high school, 15-year-old Max Kakakegumick needs to get on an airplane.

School only goes to Grade 9 in his home of Eabametoong (Fort Hope) First Nation, 350 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. A combination of insufficient government funding and relatively few students means teens must move hundreds of kilometres away to pursue a high school diploma.

Theres a quaver in Kakakegumicks voice as he waits to get on small 9-seater plane that will take him away from his grandmother, uncles, aunties and cousins all gathered at the airport to say goodbye.

You get to meet more people while youre out over there, he says, bravely listing off the positives of city life. And they treat you like youre older.

Theres also high speed internet and Tim Hortons, both unavailable in the isolated community of about 1300, and both big draws to a teenager.

Its scary [in the city]. You have to be more focussed on your surroundings.

Tims will be his first stop when he lands in the city.

His family hopes his next stop will be a self-defense class.

Seven students from remote First Nations, like Eabametoong, have died in Thunder Bay since 2000. The cause of four of the deaths remains a mystery, despite a coroners inquest that wrapped up in June.

Much of the testimony at the inquest dealt with the racism faced by First Nations students when they move to the city for school.

They do worry, Kakakegumick says of his family. Its scary [in the city]. You have to be more focussed on your surroundings.

At home in Eabametoong, Kakakegumick is surrounded by nature. The community is located on a lake and its calm waters have a soothing effect on a late summer evening when fall changes are in the air.

Just looking at the lake, it makes me think: this is Aboriginal land, that we have freedom here, the freedom to hunt and fish, Kakakegumick said, sitting at the waters edge on the evening before he left.

The teen loves fishing. He loves just being out in a boat. Hes never tried hunting and is sorry to miss the opportunity this fall while hes away at school in the city.

While in Thunder Bay, Kakakegumick will live with his older sister, a student at Lakehead University, who also left Eabametoong as a teen for high school.

More than a decade later, Ardelle Sagutcheway is happy to play host to her brother. She knows how hard it is to be away from everything familiar and she thinks its unjust.

Students in the north have always gotten less than other youth in Ontario, based alone on the fact that they are born First Nations, Sagutcheway says.

The French-Catholic school board in Thunder Bay received a little more than $27,000 per student (excluding capital costs) for the 2015/16 school year, according to evidence presented at the First Nations student deaths inquest. Students in federally-funded First Nations schools in the area receive approximately $13,000 per student

No one wants to talk about this issue, because then that means looking straight at the reason why it has become normalized this way for First Nations people, Sagutcheway says.

Neither Sagutcheway nor Kakakegumick are planning a life in the city. The sister dreams of returning to Eabametoong as a nurse. The brother, as a welder.

I want to come back here and watch the community grow, Kakakegumick says taking a deep breath by the lake before he leaves. Clean air is better than Tims.
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!)
Our resident Aussie shares why you should get further off the beaten track and see New Zealand with STRAY TRAVEL New Zealands South Island is one of the
Pakistan: cement sales rise by 3.6% in September

ICR Newsroom By 07 October 2016

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has announced that cement sales in the month of September rose by 3.55 per cent, reports the Tribune Newspaper.

While domestic demand was relatively stable  accounting for around two per cent of the growth  exports, particularly to India, played a key role in sales growth.

The APCMA recorded domestic dispatches rose two per cent YoY to 2.54Mt, while exports grew by 11.8 per cent to 0.52Mt. The Association said that a new property valuation policy was partly to blame for the subdued rise in domestic demand.

For the quarter from July-September, local dispatches rose by 9.5 per cent, to stand at 8.98Mt.

Pakistans reliance on Indian exports to fuel growth might be jeopardised by rising tensions between the two neighbours. This week the leader of Indias ruling BJP party called for a ban on cement imports from Pakistan.

Published under
China: Anhui Conch most shorted stock amid economic concerns

ICR Newsroom By 07 October 2016

Shares in Anhui Conch have become the most shorted on the Hong Kong stock exchange as doubts grow over the sustainability of Chinas property boom, Bloomberg reports.

Disagreements over the future path of the Chinese property sector have led to Anhuis shares being shorted at a level five times higher than was the case earlier in the year. While some investors are betting that a cooling property market will bring down the cement firms share price, other analysts think the companys prospects are better than ever.

"It really boils down to how Chinas property market will perform in the face of stricter curbs. Theres strong Chinese demand for cement, driving up Anhui Conchs share price and prompting brokerage houses to upgrade their recommendations. This view collides with the central governments recent restrictions imposed on the housing market which are worrying investors," said Castor Pang, head of research at Core-Pacific Yamaichi Hong Kong.

Of the 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, 19 were recommending that investors buy Anhuis Hong Kong-listed shares.

As long as property prices remain where they are now, developers will continue to sell as much as they can. Fourth-quarter demand especially for cement will remain definitely strong. I am pretty confident until the first half of 2017 that the property market will still grow. Beyond that, it really depends on how hard the government will crack down, said Po Wei, a Hong Kong-based equity analyst.

Published under
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By Benjamin Herold. This story originally appeared on the Digital Education blog.

The Ohio education department could seek repayment of more than $80 million from nine full-time online charter schools it believes inflated student attendance records, reports the Columbus Dispatch.

Among the cyber charters under scrutiny: Ohios largest cyber, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, which state officials contend was paid for 9,000 students who did not complete enough work to be considered full-time, as well as two cybers that state officials said did not have any full-time students.

ECOT officials have called the audit a sham and argued the state changed its attendance-reporting rules midstream, then tried to apply them to schools retroactively. The school had been seeking a court order blocking the state from using log-in records as a means of verifying student attendance. An Ohio judge denied that request late last month.

Leaders from several of the audited Ohio cybers told the Dispatch they believe the states approach is unreasonable.

We really feel like we were misled, Jeff Nelson, the superintendent of the Virtual Community School, told the paper.

State officials said they could verify the attendance of what amounted to 280 full-time students at Virtual Community, far fewer than the 835 the school reported, according to the Dispatch.

California, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania have also seen recent controversies related to the reporting of student attendance at full-time online charters.

Related stories:
Should a states content standards specifically list every bit of information to be taught in a history class?

In Tennessee, new proposed social studies standards that would go into effect in 2019 drop specific details about religion and the states history that are present in the current standards. The omissions have drawn fire during a review period that is going on until late October.

The first set of changes that drew media attention involves how Islam is taught in 7th grade. The new proposed standards replace some references to the Islamic world with Africa, and a section of standards that had been called The Islamic World is now called Southwest Asia and North Africa: 400s-1500s CE [Common Era].

A group of parents had argued publicly last year that the 7th grade standards on the Islamic world were part of an attempt to indoctrinate students .

The proposed 7th grade standards specify that students need to learn about Islams founder, sacred texts, and basic beliefs. They drop several other standards that are present in the current set, including one that asked teachers to teach about the Quran and Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic beliefs, practices, and law and their influence in Muslims daily life.

News media initially reported that middle schoolers in the state would be learning less about Islam. The Huffington Post ran a piece on the changes with the headline Students May Soon Learn Even Less About Islam in Tennessee Public Schools. 

But the authors of the states standards say that students will still be learning about Islam and the history of South Asia and Africa, and that revisions were made in favor of conciseness and geographic precision. The revised standards have 67 standards for 7th grade history, while the current set has 79.

The proposed standards also include fewer specific events in state history . For instance, students arent asked specifically to learn about several Civil War battles or the significant votes of Tennessee congressmen on the issue of womens suffrage.

Again, authors of the states standards say that the changes were made in order to keep the standards manageable for teachers and to leave curriculum in the hands of local districts.

A teacher could still teach about the Battle of Chickamauga or about how state Representative Harry Burns mother convinced him to be the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment, even though those facts are not specifically listed in the standards. (Check out the Chattanooga Times Free Presss story for more fun facts of Tennessee history that are in the current standards.)

But Tennessee lawmakers are decrying the changes, saying that students need to learn about their state.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam told reporters that he had heard concerns about the new standards but hadnt looked into them yet.

Also new in the proposed social studies standards: A set of social studies practices, such as analyzing primary and secondary sources. Thats in line with the College, Career, and Civic Life Framework, also called the C3 framework, that was developed by a group of social studies associations to help guide the development of state standards. The social studies practices section may be a clue as to why the standards authors focused less on listing every detail a teacher should cover: The framework emphasizes inquiry skills rather than content, leaving the details to districts and teachers. (Read more on the C3 framework .)

The content of history standards is perhaps more fraught than any other subject, and not just in the United States. The New York Times recently spotlighted a dispute in France over the way that countrys history is taught. Frances history curriculum for elementary schools was recently shifted to include more information about French history and less about global history.

Related:


The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $480,000 grant to the Flint, Mich., school system as it students and residents are still grappling with the fallout of a lead-contaminated water crisis.

Last fall, investigators discovered that hundreds of children in the financially strapped city have high levels of lead in their blood, in part because of the states decision to switch the source of Flints water supply.

U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. is scheduled to visit the district to formally announce the Project School Emergency Response to Violence grant. Kings visit comes on the heels of Congress approving $170 million in aid to help Flint rebuild its water system.

President Obama visited the city in May .

Flints water supply was contaminated after water from the Flint River wasnt treated to reduce corrosiveness.

Lead contamination has been linked to learning disabilities and other problems in children , as we wrote in January:

The lead poisoning could have lifelong consequences. Research has tied high levels of lead in blood to learning disabilities, poor classroom performance, impaired growth, and even hearing loss.

Numerous studies detail the significant negative effects of lead toxicity on learning and educational attainment, and the associated costs, including the rise in special education services for developmentally delayed students.

The funding announced Friday is designed to deal with attendance, discipline, and mental health problems among students. The money is meant to be used to hire attendance specialists, counselors, and psychologists to help deal with problems and complications that may occur because students were exposed to toxic tap water.

More than a year after the discovery of lead-tainted water, the 5,500-student district is still supplying students and staff members with bottled water in an effort to reduce their exposure to lead.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will spend $3.6 million in emergency funds to expand Head Start and Early Head Start services for young children affected by the crisis.

Related Stories

Flint Superintendent Asks Congress for Aid, Understanding

President Obama to Visit Flint to Learn More About Water Contamination Crisis

Feds Spend $3.6 Million to Help Children Affected by Flint Water Crisis

Photo Credit: The Flint River runs through Flint, Mich. Located northwest of Detroit, the city was home to sprawling General Motors automotive plants, earning the nickname Vehicle City.

--Carlos Osorio/AP-File
Poverty plays a part in many schools. This is not a shocker. Some schools have a low poverty rate, but that doesnt always mean that it isnt an issue. There are times that those students who come from poverty, as small as that number may be for more affluent schools, suffer from the low expectations of those adults around them. This is the he has so much working against him attitude.

Poverty for schools is not a new issue. Jonathon Kozol wrote about this in Savage Inequalities , and Richard Rothstein wrote about it in Class and Schools , as have many writers and researchers. Although many have researched and written about it doesnt mean its less of an issue, because poverty still negatively impacts schools.

For most of my eleven years as a teacher I worked in two schools (consecutively) that had a high level of poverty. I was consumed by reading Rethinking Schools and making sure my classroom accurately reflected the students who entered into the classroom. As a guy who struggled in school and did not grow up in a family with a lot of money, I thought I understood poverty. I didnt. What I did start to understand is how tough some of our students have it, but I never wanted that to mean they werent going to do great things in life.

The SES Impact

John Hattie, someone I work with as a Visible Learning trainer, wrote about the effects of poverty in his best selling book Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement (Routledge). Hatties research, which he wrote about in the book, collected meta-analysis from developed countries from around the world. In the original research he found 138 influences on learning, and each influence came with an effect size (.40 represents a years worth of growth for a years input), which stemmed from the meta-analysis he collected.

In Visible Learning, Hattie writes that socioeconomic status has .57 effect on learning, which means it can have a profound impact on learning - students clearly do not leave poverty or rich home resources outside the school gate. What the .57 potentially tells us is that the wealthier the students, the more of a positive effect it has on their learning. We know that in most cases those wealthier students have more resources available to them, their parents are typically well-educated and understand the language of school, and their schools are usually better equipped to help meet their needs.

Hattie also found that the higher the poverty rate, the harder it is to adequately meet the needs of students. What Hattie writes though, is that a lower socioeconomic status alone does not have a negative impact on students. It has a much more negative effect on their schools and parents...and then on them.

Socioeconomic Status and Schools

Most parents begin with positive aspirations when their children enter kindergarten, but Hattie writes that by the time the children living in poverty leave elementary school, their parents aspirations for them have lowered. Why is this? Hattie writes, Many parents struggle to comprehend the language of learning and thus are disadvantaged in the methods they use to encourage their children to attain their expectations (p.61).

As the years of elementary school progress, impoverished parents feel less and less engaged in school, which is harmful because their children are entering school with a lower level of vocabulary than their wealthier peers. Hattie wrote, Hart and Risley (1995) showed when students from lower SES groups start school, they have on average, spoken about 2.5 million words, whereas from higher groups have spoken 4.5 million words (p.62). And the higher are exposed to 30 million words more than lower by the time they start school.

But why is this more impactful to schools and parents than their children?

Hattie goes on to write,

SES is more important at the school than at the individual level, and for parents more than for their children. This raises the question of the notion of adequacy of funding at the school level-that is, the sufficiency of resources for optimal academic achievement rather than equity, which usually means smoothing the differential resources at the student or family level but not acknowledging the increased level of problems and issues faced by schools teaching students from poorer backgrounds (p.63)."

Issues like social-emotional learning, school climate, and curriculum that addresses the needs of minoritized populations. School climate is not just about how students feel when they enter school but how parents feel as well.

Hattie writes,

One of the ways this influence is manifested is that schooling introduces a language and set of cultural norms with which many parents, particularly those from lower SES families, are not familiar (p. 63). Clinton, Hattie and Dixon (2007) "found major consequences when teaching parents the language of schooling."

Hattie is referring to the Flaxmere Project , which was a five year, five school study completed in New Zealand that included the lowest SES schools in the country. According to Hattie, The Flaxmere Project involved a series of innovations related to improving home-school relations within and between these five schools. One of the innovations was to hire former teachers as home-school liaisons, and those liaisons taught parents:



The language of schooling

How to assist their children to attend and engage in learning

Learn how to speak with teachers and school personnel

According to Hattie,

The Flaxmere study found that, when children started school 98% of the parents considered that education was very or extremely important to their children's future. Two-thirds of these parents expected their children to attain diplomas and degrees. By the time they left elementary school, these aspirations had been dowsed and parents mainly wanted their children to get a job (Clinton et al., 2007)."

So, as we already know, if we want to reach the students we also have to make an effort to reach parents. Perhaps this means getting a home-school liaison to help engage parents, but it also means addressing the way we talk with parents. It means that we have to:

Drop the Education Lingo - We need to either teach the parents what the words or acronyms mean (every profession has acronyms) or we have to drop the educational lingo and acronyms to better engage the parents.

Adjust expectations - I never really liked the High expectations movement because it got too political. However, we do need to focus on helping students exceed the expectations they or their parents have for themselves, which means that we do have to have higher expectations for them, regardless of what family they come from. This happens in rural, urban and suburban settings.

Provide adequate resources - Make sure that schools have adequate resources to add at least a years growth for a years input NO matter where the child starts, and ensure that teachers, parents and students know how to use them.

Respect the contributions from home - Hatties research found that the home environment has a .57 effect size, which means that we have to engage all parents, regardless of whether they live in poverty or not, and that parental involvement has an effect size of .51, so we should make sure that we are talking with them about learning instead of talking at them about behavior. Sometimes we need to teach the parents the language of learning so we are all working together to encourage and help students exceed what they think is their potential.

Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. is the author of several books including Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most (September, 2016. Corwin Press). Connect with Peter on Twitter .
Rumors of scary clowns waiting to harm children are anything but funny business to many school officials who have responded to floods of communication from parents concerned about the issue that has swept the nation in recent weeks.

Schools in more than a dozen states have responded to such rumors over the last two weeks, with some even deciding to close in response.

School leaders say much of the hysteria is fueled by hoax threats spread on social media, and few have reported actual clown sightings.

In some cases, those reporting clown sightings to police or school officials are sincere but mistaken in what theyve seen. And, in others, mischievous youths have contributed to the hysteria by dressing up themselves.

Schools in areas including Puyallup, Wash ., and Flomaton, Ala. , were recently placed on lockdown as leaders investigated threats of violence that included mentions of clowns. Those threats were later determined to be unsubstantiated.

The apparent social media contagion in many ways mimics a spread of hoax cyber threats made against schools in 2015 that led to the Los Angeles Unified School Districts unusual decision to close for a day.

Many schools responded to the scary clown rumors by issuing statements meant to calm fears and squelch the spread of clown threats online.

We believe it is very important for you to monitor your childs social media accounts to make sure that they do not forward messages that have the effect of causing disruption and undue concern, the Moore, Okla. district wrote in a message to parents.

And some districts, like New Haven, Conn., have responded to childrens fears by banning students from wearing clown costumes on Halloween.

Unfortunately, clown-themed posturing has been a growing trend throughout the country, particularly on social media ... " the district wrote in a statement to parents. Until additional information is available, New Haven Public Schools Director of Security Thaddeus Reddish asks that principals and building leaders prohibit clown costumes and any symbols of terror during this Halloween season.

Photo: A not-so-scary clown --Getty Images

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Instead of casting their mock ballots for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, gifted and talented students across Floyd County in Georgia will be voting for historical candidatesor even fictional ones.

We thought this election was a little too intense for the elementary and primary students, teacher Judy Roebuck told the Rome News-Tribune . The gifted teachers in the county do usually let the kids vote like they are participating in the real election, but it seemed best this year to choose some other candidates.

Roebuck chose to frame the mock election around former presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in her school. Another school in the county put childrens book characters, Duck (from Duck for President ) and Grace (from Grace for President ), on the ballot.

As I reported last month , teachers across the country have been hesitant to have their students participate in a mock election this year due to the divisive nature of this presidential campaign. Educators are particularly worried about their students impersonating Trump, whose campaign rhetoric is often inflammatory and targeted at specific groups of people.

Whether or not abandoning mock elections is the solution, more and more educational organizations are calling for increased civility in the campaign with a new sense of urgency. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers launched a campaign this week that blames Trumps rhetoric for an increase in bullying in schools (although my colleague Evie Blad spoke to a bullying researcher who said there is not enough data to say definitively that there has been an increase).

A survey released today by Highlights for Children found that 80 percent of kids are talking about the election at home, and theyre picking up on what adults in their lives are saying. In an election season marked by accusations of deceit, 44 percent of kids surveyed said that honesty is the most important quality for a president to possessfollowed by kindness, which 19 percent picked. The report, conducted by a market-research firm, surveyed 2,000 children aged 6 to 12 in April and May.

Teaching Tolerance, an education group of the Southern Poverty Law Center, has created a Speak Up for Civility contract for adultsteachers, school staff members, and parentsto sign, promising to model good citizenship for students. And the organization Facing History and Ourselves has created a guide for educators to foster civil discourse in the classroom.

Those two groups are hosting a Twitter chat tonight at 7 pm to discuss how educators can create constructive and civil classroom environments this election season. The hashtag for the chat is #Civility2016 .

Photo: Campaign signs and posters in a 9th grade U.S. government class at Valley View Middle School in Edina, Minn. Ackerman + Gruber for Education Week.

More on Teaching Election 2016:

Follow @madeline_will and @EdWeekTeacher on Twitter.

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This fall, Finland rolled out a new national curriculum that emphasizes interdisciplinary and student-centered learning.

This is a significant education reform for the Nordic country that has become internationally known for its strong school system after its students have scored at or near the top of international exams for years (although in the last two Program for International Student Assessment cycles, Finnish scores have slipped ).

The new national curriculum , which went into effect in August, moves away from isolating subjects in silos and towards multidisciplinary learning modules. While education in Finland is decentralized and local school systems decide exactly what will be taught, the new curriculum requires schools to have at least one extended period of multidisciplinary, phenomenon-based teaching and learning, where students will study a traditional subject in a holistic manner. Students must be involved in planning these periods and must be able to assess what they learned from it.

Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, the Finnish minister of education and culture, was in Washington for two days in late September to meet with U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. and other education officials.

The education minister sat down with me to discuss the rollout of the curriculum, Finlands investment in teacher education, and the upcoming release of the latest round of PISA scores.

The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

Q. The new Finnish core curriculum is being implemented this fall. What does that look like in classrooms, and what was the motivation behind the shift?

A. Its very exciting; its a big change for us. We emphasize, of course, a very strong base of knowledge, but we also want to see our children to learn new skills and competencies like critical thinking, learning-to-learn skills, more like multiliteracy, as we call it, social skills, [Information and Communication Technologies ] competencies and so on. Many new skills are in a very strong position in the national core curriculum.

Some international newspapers wrote that Finland is giving up subjects. Thats not exactly how it is, but we want to see more cooperation between teachers in different subjects, and more multi-disciplinary learning models. Schools can choose a theme like climate change and you can look at it from very different perspectives, from very different subjects like mathematics. Its cultureits everything. Its giving our children skills to think about subjects like climate change from different perspectives. We call it phenomenon-based learning , but I know thats a bad translation. We havent found a better one yet.

Q. The new curriculum requires that students be involved in the planning and assessment of these phenomenon-based lessons. Why is that?

A. We want to see our children to take more active roles in learning. We want every child to succeed in their studies. Different students learn in different ways.

In Finland, we dont believe in standardized testingwe dont have any. We dont choose the materials, the teachers can choose themselves. They have had a high-quality education, and theyre strong professionals, and they know whats best for just those students that they have in their classroom.

Q. How were teachers prepared for the new curriculum?

A. Our teachers have had a very active role in this new curriculum process for four years now. The national curriculum was made by the National Board of Education, which is a center for experts in education, and it has been made together with teachers all around Finland. It has been a very interactive process.

Then after that, all communities, all municipalities, and all schools get their own local core curricula. And [teachers] have a very active role with that work and then all the teachers can choosethey have a strong autonomy in choosing materials and choosing how they teach and where they teach. We want to see our children to learn not only in the classroom, but also outside, in our society. You can learn anywhere.

Q. According to the last PISA results, over a quarter of Finnish students said they are not happy at school and felt like they didnt belong. Will this be addressed within the new curriculum?

A. I think its very important that the teachers are motivating learning and [students] feel that it is fun to be at school. This is a challenge in Finland. We hope that this new curriculum will help in making learning more fun. We see that in research and in everyday life, when you are motivated, when you see the reason for learning, then you will learn better and then the good learning outcomes will follow.

Q. Finlands PISA scores in reading, math, and science have declined since 2006. Is the Ministry of Education taking any measures to improve the scores?

A. Finland is one of the top countries in the world in PISA and weve been very successful in that, but we see that in all Western countries, the results in learning outcomes are going down. And thats a problem, of course. We want to constantly improve our excellent education system. And now we have a national core curriculum. Were very much investing in teacher education. We want to provide our teachers with more education, for example, in digital learning, new pedagogy, new learning environments, and so on. Theres always room for improvement.

Q. The next round of PISA scores will be released in December. How are you expecting Finland to fare?

A. It was kind of a surprise that we did so well in PISA studies. We know that we have an excellent education system in Finland, but were not doing it to be good in PISA. Were doing it because we want all our children to learn and we want our small countryonly 5.5 million peopleto be a good society to all our children. We dont have standardized testing in Finland, we dont do school rankings or anything. We just want to give all our children a very high-quality education and we want to build our education system based on values like equality and equity.

We want to provide all our children with equal opportunities, irrespective of their family background, gender, or anything like that. You can just go to the nearest school to your house and its a promise from our society: Your child will get the best, world-class education, irrespective of where you live in Finland.

Q. Many U.S. educators look to Finland for insight on building a strong education system. Is there any area in education that you look to the United States for insight?

A. Its very important that we cooperate with different countries, that we learn the best practices from different countries. You cannot copy an education system, it is unique, and has a long history and so on. But its very interesting to see what the United States is doing in digitalization and digital learning, for example. Were very interested in that. And we wish to cooperate even more with you.

Q. You mentioned that Finland is emphasizing digital learning in teacher education programs. How is educational technology currently integrated in Finnish classrooms, and how are you working on improving this going forward?

A. In Finland, we have several reforms going on in our government in the field of digitalization. We want to see our schools use computers, laptops, and smartphones for learning more than they do now. We are giving our teachers education in that field. We think its important for teachers to be capable of using new learning technologies and new learning solutions in everyday life. As we know, our children use all these devices, tablets, and smartphones in everyday life, so I think its very important that schools also see that as an opportunity for learning.

We all have almost all information in our hands, all the time, and I think its important to feed the curiosity of our children to take the best out of it, to solve very complex problems in the world, and to see the opportunities they have in life.

Q. I recently spoke with some U.S. State Teachers of the Year who traveled to Finland over the summer. They said that some educators told them they were concerned about adjusting to teaching an influx of refugees. Is the ministry preparing for this change in demographics?



A. In Europe and in Finland also, we have more and more children from different backgrounds. They dont speak Finnish or Swedish. Its a very difficult situation for us because we dont have the background in multicultural teaching. We now focus very much on teacher education to give them tools to help the children be integrated in society. Id like to see in the future that we have more teachers who have immigrant backgrounds so they could be role models and help the other teachers to [teach] a classroom with children of different backgrounds and countries.

Children, they learn languages very easily so the first step is [for them] to learn the language and then [schools will] integrate children to normal classrooms as fast as possible so they will get friends, they will learn from them, and they will get the same opportunities as all the other children have in Finland.

Q. Finlands teacher education programs are able to have a very low selection rate because there are so many applicants. What makes the teaching profession so popular?

A. Teachers are so respected in our society. I think it comes from the fact that they have this high-quality masters degree education, and also the fact that teachers have such a strong autonomy. Theyre not just implementing some curricula, but they have a very active role. They can choose materials, they can choose how they teach, where they teach, when they teach. They are professionals. Our society trusts in our teachers.

Q. As Finland rolls out the new national curriculum this fall, what are the next steps on the horizon?

A. Were trying to help the teachers implement it and take the best out of it, and were continuing investing in teacher education. We have this new model in Finland where we will educate tutor teachers. Every school has a tutor teacher who helps the other teachers implement the new national curriculum and helps the other teachers with new digital learning methods and technologies. We have good experiences in some municipalities from this model, and now were trying to spread it to the whole country, so teachers can learn from other teachers.

Our teachers have many opportunities to get more teacher education during their career, but we wish to have even more of that. This new tutor teacher model is an answer to that. Its sometimes very difficult for teachers to take two days off and go to some courses. Thats why were trying to bring the learning to everyday life. Its a collaborative learning. We wish our teachers to cooperate even more, to teach together, in small groups. Thats one of the ideas of our new curriculum.

This post originally appeared on the Curriculum Matters blog.

More on Finnish Education:

Follow @madeline_will and @EdWeekTeacher on Twitter.
Dakota Access Oil Pipeline Fight Goes Before D.C. Circuit

In 2015, years of intense grass roots opposition succeeded in shutting down the Key Stone XL Pipeline, a massive pipeline that would run from the intensely polluting Alberta tar sands to the Gulf Coast. Since then, pipeline fights have remained at the forefront of environmental fights. One of the most recent battles is over the Dakota Access pipeline, a $3.8 billion project that would transfer crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken oil fields to Illinois, and through the sacred lands of many Native American groups.

Now, the Standing Rock Sioux are suing. The tribe turned to the D.C. Circuit yesterday, asking it to impose a temporary injunction on further pipeline work while the tribe litigates whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers properly consulted with it before approving the project.

Pipelines and Tribal Consultation

The Dakota Access pipeline runs near to Standing Rock Sioux land and across what the tribe views as sacred lands and potentially threatening the tribe's water supply. Last month, a district court refused to stop construction despite the Tribe's claims that the government did not sufficiently consult with the Tribe before approving the project.

As the district court noted, while massive development projects usually require extensive federal review, that's not the case with pipelines such as the Dakota Access. Domestic oil pipelines, unlike natural gas pipelines, "require no general approval from the federal government" and the Dakota Access pipeline needed almost no federal permitting.

There is one exception though. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must approve such projects under the Clean Water Act or the Rivers and Harbors Act, and it did so here through a general permit. That permit, the Tribe argues, triggered consultation requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act. The NHPA requires government agencies to consult with tribes when projects may impact property with historic or cultural significance.

Arguing It Out Before the D.C. Circuit

At oral arguments on Tuesday, attorneys from Earthjustice, representing the tribe, argued that the Army Corp had engaged on only perfunctory consultation. In court documents, the tribe has alleged that the Army Corp did not give them sufficient time to respond and relied on a generic form letter to initiate consultation, according to Inside Energy. The tribe's "hope and their sense is that they're not being consulted just to have a box checked," University of Colorado professor and Indian Law specialist Sarah Krakoff says. "Consultation, check."

But the government argued that the Corps had made "an extended effort to consult with the tribe," according to the Courthouse News Service. The Department of Justice's lawyer, James Maysonett, argued that only one consultation was required, but seemed unprepared to offer a clear answer when pressed on the NHPA's two-consultation requirement, according to CNS.

Construction of the pipeline in sensitive areas has been stopped by a D.C. Circuit injunction until the case is decided. But the pipeline's developers were prepared to build right up to the border of that injunction while the case is decided, Dakota Access's attorney told the court.

Related Resources:
Enjoy a reading, talk and hang-out featuring Taleen Kali, Ebony Isis Booth, Kateri Lopez, Liza Baley and Marya Errin Jones.

ABQ Zine Fest is proud to present:

ZINE READING with

Taleen Kali - Editor-in-Chief of Dum Dum Zine

w/ EBONY ISIS BOOTH

KATERI LOPEZ

LIZA BLEY

MARYA ERRIN JONES

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016

EIGHT O'CLOCK

$5 - $8

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TALEEN KALI, Founder, Editor-in-Chief of Dum Dum Zine comes to ABQ Zine Fest! TONIGHT, we'll kick off zine fest weekend with a reading, talk and hang-out featuring Taleen Kali, a few readers, music, sound and visions. Taleen's zines and other creations, with be available for purchase tonight! She also tables on Saturday, and look for an invite to her PUNK ROCK YOGA class on Sunday morning!

Taleen is joined by:

EBONY ISIS BOOTH

KATERI LOPEZ

LIZA BLEY

MARYA ERRIN JONES

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

((((((((ABOUT TALEEN KALI)))))))

Taleen Kali is a writer, musician and L.A. native.

She is Editor-in-Chief of DUM DUM Zine, and frontwoman of the DIY noise pop band TULIPS. She believes in community building and healing, and teaches punk rock yoga at Bootleg Theater, as well as private lessons, as Kali Yoga.

Writings about art, music, feminism, wellness, and subculture have been published in The Onion A.V. Club, SPIN, Yahoo! Music, FILTER, LA Record, Flavorwire, Blender, and more.

Poetry has appeared in Entropy Magazine, The Bushwick Review, Whole Beast Rag, The NewerYork, and zines all over the city.

((((((((ABOUT DUM DUM))))))))

DUM DUM Zine publishes experimental art-lit zines, changing format with each issue.

In addition to releasing a yearly print issue, we publish regular web features such as text message interviews, flash fiction, photo essays, and even serialized radio plays. Our latest print project is Issue No. 5: POST & Present which is still available for sale online in our DUMShop!

DUM DUM accepts rolling submissions and publishes them on the web, and is printed yearly according to theme, changing format accordingly. Submit here.

For more information, or to bring DUM DUM to your neighborhood, email info [at] dumdumzine [dot] com.

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ABQ Zine Fest is supported by the Fulcrum Fund, a granting division of the Andy Warhol Foundation of the Visual Arts, administered by 516 Arts
Gym-aholics Be Warned: LA Fitness Wins Injury Lawsuit With Liability Waiver

All too frequently people sign contracts or agreements without bothering to read them. They just sign each blank that's highlighted, or every line marked with a X. For plaintiff Patricia Evans from Pennsylvania, this proved to be the error that ended her injury case against the gym chain LA Fitness.

In November 2014, while working out under a personal trainer's direction, the 63 year old was doing suicide runs when she fell and fractured her wrist. She alleged that her trainer was pushing her to go faster when the fall and fracture occurred. The fitness company prevailed on summary judgment, meaning that a trial never happened and a jury never heard the case, because Ms. Evans signed a release of liability form.

Releases and Waivers Can End Your Case

Most gyms or facilities that permit the public to come in and partake in physical activity will ask all participants to sign a release or waiver of liability before starting any activity. Because people are faced with only two options, sign and participate, or don't sign and don't participate, these waivers and releases get signed without even being read. Even if the waiver is read, there is no negotiation available. These waivers are routinely upheld by courts.

Ms. Evans was faced with this exact situation: either sign the waiver or don't use the facility. When she was injured, her attorney filed suit and attempted to challenge the waiver on the grounds that it is a contract of adhesion and thus void as per public policy. Unfortunately for Ms. Evans, the court did not believe that she had no option but to sign the agreement. The Court found that she could have not signed, and not used the services or facility; that by signing the release, she was assuming the risk that she could be injured while exercising.

Common Sense Does Not Always Control

Some might consider it fair that Ms. Evans did not win her case, and that she was prevented from even trying her case to a jury, because she fell. Many take the opinion that suing a gym when you caused your own injury is not right. However, consider the recent case of Jonas Barrish against CrossFit Inc.. In that case, a release was not signed and the gym was held liable for the independent action of Mr. Barrish that caused his injury. His instructor even told him not to do what he did, yet he was still successful in winning a verdict because gym instructors have a duty to keep their participants safe.

Releases and waivers will not always be upheld, however courts tend to enforce the releases in the absence of gross misconduct, especially if the releases or waivers are narrowly tailored.

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Medical Malpractice: Suing for Pulmonary Embolism Misdiagnosis

Doctors are only human, and like us they can make mistakes. The hope is that medical errors will be benign, correctable, and won't permanently harm patients. But not all mistakes are created equal, and some can have catastrophic consequences.

Take pulmonary embolisms, or PE for example, where a blood clot or other substance blocks the pulmonary arteries in the lungs. If misdiagnosed or untreated a pulmonary embolism can be fatal. And if a doctor misdiagnoses PE, she might be liable for medical malpractice.

Pulmonary Embolism Dangers

There are around 300,000 to 600,000 cases of PE every year in the United States, and result in an estimated 200,000 deaths. Not all embolisms are the same: some are blood clots in the legs that break off and travel to the heart; others may be an embolization of air, fat, or amniotic fluid; and in some cases a blood clot could occur in the pulmonary artery itself, not originating from the leg. Blocking blood flow to the lungs can results in a variety of injuries included passing out, dangerously low blood pressure, and even sudden death in about 15 percent of cases.

If diagnosed early, a pulmonary embolism can be treated with anticoagulant or blood thinners. Sometimes, patients may need to receive oxygen or analgesic treatments as well.

PE Liability

As with any other ailment, you can sue a doctor for misdiagnosis of a pulmonary embolism. And, like other medical malpractice claims, you would need to prove that your doctor failed to meet her duty to act as a reasonably competent medical professional and this failure led to your injuries. Proving doctor negligence can be complicated and require extensive expert testimony.

If the misdiagnosis results in death, you may also have a wrongful death claim against the doctor. Wrongful death claims are similar to negligence claims, but require you to prove that the death was caused by the doctor's negligence and that you, as a surviving spouse or family member, have suffered harm as the result of the death.

Medical malpractice cases are best left to the experts -- an experienced personal injury attorney will be able to assess your medical malpractice claim.

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AVA hosts a traveling exhibit to celebrate Tennessee Watercolor Society's 45th Anniversary during October and the opening reception will be Friday from 5:30-8 p.m.

The Tennessee Watercolor Society rotates its Biennial Exhibition around the state at respected galleries. The 35th Juried Exhibition was hosted by the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville at The Emporium Center this year. Upon its closing on June 24, 30 of the 55 paintings selected by juror John Salminen began a seven-month tour of the state. The Traveling Exhibit will be installed at the Association for Visual Arts at 30 Frazier Ave.

The highlight of this exhibition is 14 of the 16 award-winning paintings are included - the best of the best, receiving from $1,200 to $250 each, donated by sponsors. The 14 are: Old Soul, Dear Heart by Kate Aubrey, In the Spotlight by Judy Lavoie, Untitled by Lana Wilson, War Path by Joan Clark, The Proposal by John Wilkison, Rue Royale by Angela Broyles, Cafe du Monde Waiters by Sandra Carpenter, Death of Innocence by Claudia Balthrop, Alma Sue and J.O. by Susan Miller, Dandelion Fun by Tim Hacker, White Lily by Noriko Register, On the Boardwalk by Barbara Jake Wilson, Shards by Sandra Washburn and Musing by Pam Francis.

Two of the award winners, Clark and Washburn, are from Chattanooga. Other local artists are Sandy Boone, Helen Burton, Harriet Chipley and Jennie Kirkpatrick.



Featured artists are: Kate Aubrey, Judy Lavole, Lana Wilson, Joan Clark, John Wilkison, Angela Broyles, Sandra Carpenter, Claudia Balthrop, Susan Miller, Tim Hacker, Noriko Register, Barbara Jake Wilson, Sandra Washburn, Pam Francis, Sandy Boone, Helen Burton, Harriet Chipley, Glenna Cook, Kay Coop, Lee Edge, Robert Eoff, Susan Hyback, Linda Johnson, Jennie Kirkpatrick, Frank Lott, Mary Spellings, Jim Stagner, Laurie Szilvagyi, Ulla Veiro and Thomas White.

AVA hours are Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m.-5p.m. and the first Saturday of the month from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Pucketts Gro. & Restaurant donated a portion of its proceeds from the Sept. 14 Eat Green for Tennessee campaign to The Land Trust for Tennessee on Tuesday.

Pucketts general manager, Max Stephenson, presented a check for $280.91 to Sarah ORear, Stewardship manager and Chelsea Wilson, Conservation assistant for The Land Trust for Tennessee, respectively, at the restaurant in the citys Riverfront District.



In addition to several restaurants and breweries in Nashville and Chattanooga, Pucketts Gro. joined in The Land Trust for Tennessees efforts to raise money to protect the states farmland and natural landscapes through its annual Eat Green for Tennessee fundraiser last month. Each participating restaurant pledged to donate 10% of its proceeds collected that day to the organization.



Pucketts Gro. and its parent company, A. Marshall Family Foods Inc., are supporters of community organizations and have a vested interest in preserving local agriculture; Homestead Manor, the restaurant groups multi-layer property in Thompsons Station, Tn. that includes a 50-acre farm from which many of its on-site restaurants ingredients are sourced, is on a land trust.


The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Tennessee Craft on Friday launched Tennessee Craft Week with Diamond Rios Gene Johnson as honorary chairman. Tennessee Craft Week is Oct. 7-16 at all 14 Tennessee Welcome Centers across the state as well as more than 50 additional venues.

Having built my career in the music industry, I can attest to the positive impact that the music and the arts bring to our state," said Gene Johnson, honorary Tennessee Craft Week chairman. "I also have a deep appreciation for handcrafted wood and what it takes to create a beautiful work of art. I am honored to be participating in this years initiative, and look forward to visiting the Nashville International Airport Craft demonstrations on Wednesday and the Pink Palace Craft Fair in Memphis, one week from today.

Diane Sulg, CRAFT president and founder of American Craft Week; Bob Doak, president and CEO of Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau; Teri Alea, executive director of Tennessee Craft; and Cindy Dupree, public relations director for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development made remarks.

No place has fulfilled the promise of American Craft Week better than Tennessee," said Diane Sulg, CRAFT President and American Craft Week Founder. "With the leadership of Tennessee Craft, the state has created a vibrant celebration of its artists, designers, and small creative businesses. What has emerged is a wonderful, statewide showcase of handcrafted art that attracts the attention and admiration of both residents and visitors to Tennessee.

Craft artists Marjorie Langston, glass artist; Mary Hamby, fiber artist; Kacey Lynn, fiber farm artist; Lolly Durant, mixed media artist; and Jerry Bowman, wood-carving artist conducted demonstrations for attendees.

Tennessee Craft Week is a collection of craft events and happenings highlighting demonstrations of fiber, painting, metal and wood designed to connect and celebrate craft artists, the work they create and the businesses that support them.

The event shines a spotlight on the collective impact craft has on the states culture, community and economy. Tennessee Craft Week aligns with American Craft Week, which promotes the recognition of craft annually in October across the United States.

Providing authentic cultural experiences for residents and visitors each October, Tennessee Craft Week creates a stimulating environment for buyers of craft to connect on a deeper level with artists. It connects Tennessee artists to each other and their communities while expanding the reputation of artistry in the state. The economic and creative impact artists create in both urban and rural areas is also celebrated.

Partners of Tennessee Craft Week include Tennessee Craft Chapters, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Arts at the Airport, Nashville International Airport, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation, and Memphis Convention & Visitors Center.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.tennesseecraft.org.
Fitbit executive Amy McDonough visited Chicago from San Francisco this week for human resources conference HR Technology. She wanted to talk. We wanted to walk.

We found our comfiest work flats and hit the pavement with her, logging about 1,800 steps from the JW Marriott to the Art Institute and back again, with horns blaring and trains overhead.

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By the end, McDonough had more than 6,000 steps on her Fitbit Charge 2 bracelet  but, to be fair, she'd already gotten in a morning power walk.

A study in a medical journal this week found that volunteers who wore the devices didn't lose weight, improve their blood pressure or achieve other fitness markers during a year of use. But Fitbit cites its own and other research saying its corporate wellness programs are driving cost savings and health improvements for customers.

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McDonough is vice president and general manager of Fitbit Group Health, which works with employers, insurers, researchers and other organizations. We asked her how corporate wellness programs are shaping up.

Amy McDonough (Keri Wiginton / Blue Sky)

With corporate programs, what health data can employees and their employers see?

First, they have access to their own personal dashboard. So they can see steps, distance, active minutes, their sleep, heart rate and resting heart rate if they're wearing a device that measures it. They can also log food.

The employee participant has to say, yes, I agree to share a subset to that data with my employer, and then the employer can see a limited subset. They can see steps, distance, active minutes and they can see sleep, but only in aggregate. So they can't see when you went to sleep. They can see across the board, our employees are getting an average of seven hours of sleep.

In terms of sharing it with a physician, that's also something they can opt into. We do connect with a number of health plans. In fact, we have 2.6 million folks that are connected to some type of population health management program.

What are some technological advancements that will help what you're doing?



I'm really excited about things that are really personalized, and then providing personalized insights. One of the things on this new device is the Breathe app. It has two- or five-minute meditations. It's personalized, meaning that it's looking at my heart rate and does the breathe in and out based on my heart rate.

The other thing is sensors are getting smaller, faster and cheaper. Our new device, the Flex 2, it is tiny. It is the size of a piece of gum. And so that there's just a fluidity in where you wear it that really helps you engage in it. I think that ability to have smarter sensors, smarter technology to get more personalized insights, is really where the industry is going, and then the ability to connect that with your practitioner, physicians, whoever is helping you with your journey to health.

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How are employers helping workers build more movement into their day?

One is walking meetings. That's a great one.

We have a lot of people who have opened up stairwells. We built a staircase in between our two floors at Fitbit so that people could take the stairs instead of the elevators, and they actually put little prizes in there. So if you choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator, you might stumble upon a yoga mat or a gym bag.

Kimberly-Clark had a program which I thought was brilliant: They have a corporate parking lot, and they award the person who parks in the furthest spot in the parking lot. People have gotten really creative.

What incentives companies encourage employees to get involved?

Health-care premium discounts has been one. BP America launched a program with Fitbit trackers, and if an employee walked a million steps over the course of a year, which sounds like a lot but is actually 6,000-something steps a day, they could then qualify for a lower deductible health care cost plan in the following year.

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It really does range from financial all the way to bragging rights. There's a company we work with who has a 5-foot-high gold trophy. If the team wins, they ship it to that office and they all take a big photo with it. That works for them and probably cost them $50.

Q-and-As are edited for clarity and length.

mgraham@tribpub.com

Twitter @megancgraham
Can My Employer Revoke an Approved I-140?

When an employer files an I-140 form on an immigrant employee's behalf, the last thing that employee may be concerned about is having the I-140 petition revoked by that employer. However, it is important to know that the employer does have the ability to revoke the petition. Generally, an employer will only seek to revoke the petition in a few limited circumstances, including but not limited to:

Misrepresentation by the employee

Fraud by the employee

The employee quits or is terminated

The circumstances that prompt the revocation are significant for the petitioning employee. If the revocation is for misrepresentation or fraud, then the employee will not be able to retain their priority date unless they are successful in appealing that determination. However, if the revocation occurs for any other reason, then the priority date can potentially be retained for a subsequent I-140 petition.

Revocation for Misrepresentation or Fraud

A revocation of an I-140 for misrepresentation or fraud on the part of the employee will be difficult to overcome. This type of revocation comes from the government rather than the employer. While the revocation may come from the government, it is important to note that the employer may have provided the information that led to the revocation, and the employer may actually be at fault for the misrepresentation or fraud.

If an I-140 is revoked for any reason, petitioners and employers have the right to file an appeal.

Revocations Not Involving Misrepresentation or Fraud

Most frequently employers will revoke an approved I-140 because an employee, who they have sponsored, quit in order to accept another job. Employers that sponsor immigrant employees do so at their own expense. Once an employee leaves, an employer will not want to continue sponsoring a former employee because the rules limit how many employees any one company can sponsor based on the company's finances. It is not a good business decision for an employer to commit any resources to a former employee, unless the employer is considering re-hiring.

The good news is that an employee with an approved I-140 who has quit or been let go may be able to retain the priority date of the first I-140 petition if the new employer submits an I-140 on their behalf. While the rules on priority date retention seem to be ever changing, as there is little to no guidance in the written regulations, generally, USCIS will look to whether the subsequent job is substantially similar to the prior job and whether the new I-140 is a bona fide job offer.

It is generally advisable for an employee to wait until the new job's I-140 is approved before leaving the prior job, as there is no guarantee that the priority date will be retained if the prior I-140 is revoked before the subsequent one if approved.

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Boeing landed an $18.6 billion deal with Qatar Airways, one of the largest commercial aircraft transactions of the year, providing a sales boost to the U.S. planemaker's upgraded 737 jetliner.

The Doha-based carrier made good on a threat to buy Boeing's 737 Max after rejecting initial A320neo deliveries from Airbus Group because of engine issues. Qatar Airways is also taking 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft in an order flurry that could add 100 Boeing planes to its fleet, Akbar Al Baker, the airline's chief executive officer, and Ray Conner, CEO of Boeing's commercial airplane division, said Friday in Washington.

The deal is a vote of confidence in Boeing's revamped 737 Max, which was announced after Airbus unveiled its upgraded A320neo family and has struggled to close the sales gap. Qatar Airways pledged to buy as many as 60 Max 8 models, valued at $6.9 billion at list prices, marking the carrier's first narrow-body order from Boeing since 1979.

The order is a boost to Chicago-based Boeing, which, like Airbus, has been contending with sales slowed by economic uncertainty in Europe and Asia and a commodities downturn in Russia and Brazil. Meanwhile, relatively low fuel prices have damped demand for new, fuel-efficient wide-body jets such as the 777 and 787 and contributed to a glut of second-hand models.

Boeing fell 0.7 percent to $133.39 at 12:29 p.m. in New York, paring a drop of as much as 1.4 percent. Airbus declined 1.1 percent to 53.83 euros at the close in Paris.

Qatar Airways intends to follow through on a 2011 order for 50 Airbus A320neo and A321neo planes, which have a combined value of $6.4 billion at list prices, Al Baker said. But he also took a swipe over issues with the aircraft's geared turbofan engine, which is made by United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit, saying the delays left him with "no alternative" but to order the "reliable" Boeing narrow-body planes.

"We never renege on contracts that we sign," Al Baker said. "The aircraft that we are ordering today will serve this ever-expanding network."

Qatar is also ordering 30 of Boeing's 787-9 model and 10 777-300ER jets, valued at a combined $11.7 billion at list prices before discounts that are customary for large aircraft purchases It is Boeing's largest twin-aisle sale this year, providing a little more visibility into plans for the 777, the planemaker's largest twin-engine aircraft, as well as for the Dreamliner, the company's marquee carbon-fiber jet.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said last month that current sales campaigns could determine whether Boeing boosts Dreamliner output -- and whether a dearth of orders will force it again to slow assembly of current-generation 777 models before an upgraded version debuts in 2020.

Al Baker has signaled his growing frustration with Airbus in recent months, threatening to switch a Qatar Airways order for planes in the A320neo family to Boeing 737 Max jets. He has declined to take delivery of the first Airbus narrow-bodies because of an engine cooling issue.

Airbus has also drawn Al Baker's ire for its struggles to meet delivery deadlines of the A350, the European company's most advanced jetliner, which competes with the 777 and 787 Dreamliner. The state-owned airline was the first buyer of the new Airbus wide-body.

Boeing's deal with Qatar Airways was forged after the U.S. approved sales by Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. to Persian Gulf allies, including as many as 72 Boeing F-15 jets to Qatar. The fighter-jet sale is subject to approval by the U.S. Congress.

Henri Gendreau contributed
A banner for Camping World Holdings is draped on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. The country's largest RV retailer raised $250 million for its IPO. (Mark Lennihan / AP)

Let other businesses obsess over millennials.

Being a Gen Xer, even a baby boomer, is OK in the book of one of the Chicago area's newest publicly traded companies.

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Lincolnshire-based recreational vehicle retailer Camping World Holdings, headed by CNBC reality-show entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis, just raised about $250 million in an initial public offering of its stock. Most of the IPO's net proceeds will be used to repay debt.

Its multibillion-dollar business model is benefiting from an aging population, namely members of both the baby boomer set and also the younger Generation X who are retiring, downsizing or making use of their more ample disposable income.

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Camping World, the biggest RV retailer in the country, is growing and profitable. Since 2011, it has opened 13 new locations and, in a highly fragmented industry with many independent RV dealers, it also has acquired and integrated more than 30 locations in that time frame.

Last year, annual revenues were $3.3 billion, more than double what they were in 2011. Sales at locations open at least a year were up about 13 percent.

The typical RV customer has, on average, a household income of approximately $75,000, exceeding the median household income of the broader United States, the company said.

Lemonis, Camping World's chairman and chief executive, is host of CNBC's "The Profit." He has a major stake in the company, which has about 120 retail locations, including in Wauconda, and more than 7,100 full-time workers.

Other Camping World owners include New York-based private equity firm Crestview.

The newly public stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CWH.

Camping World said it sold nearly 11.4 million shares at $22 apiece, the midpoint of where it expected to price them. Friday the stock closed at $22.50.

Lincolnshire is home to Camping World's corporate and dealership headquarters, which occupy about 26,000 square feet of space with a lease that expires in 2024, assuming renewal options are exercised. Besides vehicles, Camping World also offers parts, services and financing.

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In August, Lemonis sold his five-bedroom, 8,225-square-foot mansion in Lake Forest for $2.7 million. He paid $4.936 million for the mansion in 2005. He continues to own property in Lake Forest, the Tribune reported in August.

byerak@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @beckyyerak
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, speaks at an event in San Francisco last year. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

By Thursday, Theranos had scrubbed its website of its list of blood-testing "wellness centers" and the glowing reviews by patients praising its minimally invasive method.

Also gone is nearly all mention of "Edison"  the technology that the startup's 32-year-old founder, Elizabeth Holmes, had promised would revolutionize blood testing around the world.

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The revised website  and the company's announcement Wednesday that is was shutting its labs and blood-testing centers  is part of Holmes' strategy to remake her devastated startup, which only two years ago had been valued at $9 billion.

Rather than selling low-priced lab tests to consumers, Theranos is now focusing its "undivided attention" on developing a portable blood-testing device it calls the miniLab, Holmes wrote in a letter.

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In the process, 340 employees, or 43% of Theranos' workforce, will lose their jobs.

It's a stark retreat for Holmes, who Forbes last year hailed as the youngest self-made female billionaire.

And Holmes' new business plan does not appear to be nearly as lucrative. Before, Holmes had been aiming to be a blood-testing giant like LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics. Now if Holmes' current plans succeed, Theranos would be just another Silicon Valley company selling medical hardware.

"Will this be a blockbuster moneymaker?" said Stephen Master, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "No, it sounds like it's on a fundamentally smaller scale."

And it's far from clear whether her new technology will work better than Edison.

"There is a lot of skepticism," said Patricia Jones, president of the American Assn. of Clinical Chemistry. "The verdict is still out."

On Aug. 1, Holmes unveiled the miniLab at the association's annual meeting in Philadelphia.

The microwave-sized black box includes a robot inside that performs a variety of tests using a small sample of blood. The boxes would serve as remote medical testing stations, perhaps set up in doctor's offices, and be controlled from a central lab.

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Holmes had little choice but to leave the business of operating blood testing labs. In July, after finding a number of violations at the company's Northern California lab in Newark, federal regulators banned Holmes from owning or running a medical lab for two years.

The ban had followed news in May that Theranos was retracting the results of tens of thousands of blood tests that doctors had depended on to care for patients over the last two years.

And Walgreens said in June that it was ending its lucrative deal with Theranos to add blood testing sites to its chain of drugstores  a plan that had begun with 40 stores in Arizona.

Theranos now faces lawsuits brought by patients and a number of investigations.

Scrutiny of the accuracy of Holmes' Edison device  which she said could perform multiple tests with just a few drops of blood  had begun a year ago when The Wall Street Journal raised questions in a series of stories.

This time, Holmes is promising to do what she didn't do before: gain approval for her device from the Food and Drug Administration and publish scientific data to show it works.

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"We have a new executive team leading our work toward obtaining FDA clearances, building commercial partnerships, and pursuing publications in scientific journals," Holmes wrote in Wednesday's letter.

"We are fortunate to have supporters and investors who believe deeply in our mission of affordable, less invasive lab testing, and to have the runway to realize our vision," she added.

She has work to do before others are on board.

"Does it appear to have some nice engineering in it? Yes," said Master of the miniLab. "But there are key pieces we haven't yet seen."

Warned Jones: "She has to absolutely understand the regulatory environment. When it comes to patient safety you can't be too careful."

melody.petersen@latimes.com

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A 16-year-old Hammond High School student was arrested Wednesday morning for intimidation in connection with clown threats over social media against several School City of Hammond schools.

School City of Hammond IT personnel and Hammond Police investigators were able to trace posts made from a Hammond High-issued laptop that threatened other students at Hammond High and Clearfield High School in Clearfield, Utah, Hammond Police spokesperson Lt. Richard Hoyda said in an email Wednesday. This was after several parents and concerned residents sent the police screenshots of a person or people representing themselves as a clown named "Izzy Woods" Tuesday.

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Once investigators triangulated the posts to the student's laptop, the student was summoned to the principal's office and asked to surrender it, Hoyda said. Investigators then confirmed the threats were issued from the laptop.

The student was taken into custody at the school around 10:39 a.m., and the case will be referred to the Lake County Juvenile Court in Crown Point, Hoyda said.

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The department doesn't have any specific, credible information that any School City of Hammond student is in danger from any known social media clown threats, Hoyda said, but all Hammond officers are watching for any sort of suspicious behavior.

"Since we can't control Facebook, there may still be other clowns out there," Hoyda said via email. "We are however, hopeful that news of this arrest may curb anyone from considering additional related activity."

Anyone with further information may call the Hammond Police Department at 219-852-6326.

The Griffith Police Department also issued a news release Wednesday asking residents to "use discretion when discerning fact from hype" with regard to clown sightings.

"Much of the hype has been fueled by erroneous posts and stories as to the criminal activities of these individuals," Griffith Police spokesman Cmdr. Keith Martin said in the release. "As of this date, we have received few calls for service regarding these individuals dressed as clowns, and no credible or substantiated calls with regards to any individuals dressed as clowns being spotted in Griffith."

The department, however, is aware of social media threats to Griffith students and others by wannabe clowns, and they are investigating the source.

"The Griffith Police Department takes any and all threats against anyone seriously, especially when they are against our students and the schools," Martin said in the release. "Anyone causing any disturbance or threats, while dressed as a clown or otherwise, will be addressed and prosecuted if the situation is warranted."

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
A Jacksonville, Fla., man who police say was high on cocaine has been brought up on five felony and four misdemeanor charges after leading police Monday morning on a bistate, multimunicipal chase in a semitrailer.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Willie Lee Jackson Jr., 44, has been charged with resisting law enforcement; four counts of felony criminal recklessness for driving at or into several law enforcement vehicles; operating a vehicle while intoxicated; criminal mischief; leaving the scene of an accident; and operating a vehicle with a controlled substance for the chase, which lasted 51 minutes and ended in the 3300 block of Orchard Avenue in Hammond's Hessville section.

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The chase began at 10:44 a.m, when a Whiting Police lieutenant tried to stop the semitrailer at Front and 119th Streets because it was off the truck route. The truck then traveled south on Indianapolis Boulevard through East Chicago, then got on Interstate 80/94 and got off at 159th Street in Calumet City, Ill., and started heading back east toward Hammond again via 165th Street.

Officers first deployed stop sticks at 165th Street and Indianapolis Boulevard to puncture the truck's tires. But once the chase got to 174th Street, it picked up speed significantly.

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Once the semitrailer reached the 3300 block of Orchard Drive in Hammond's Hessville section, three Hammond officers fired shots at the semitrailer to disable its remaining tires. A witness at the scene said two officers hopped on the semitrailer's cab, and one grabbed Lee while the other shot him with a stun gun.

An evidence technician at the scene found a crack pipe broken in two on the ground directly outside the driver's side of the cab after the semitrailer had been disabled, according to the affidavit. A second officer conducted a subsequent search of the cab and found copper wire typically used when smoking crack.

Lee was arrested at the scene and taken to an area hospital for treatment of the stun gun injuries, the affidavit reads; officers obtained a search warrant for his blood test, which revealed the presence of cocaine in Lee's system.

One Hammond officer fired nine rounds into the semitrailer's tires, according to the affidavit. That officer and a second had pursued Lee from the start of the chase.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
World Bioethics Day event

A day of discussion and exploration in celebration of World Bioethics Day will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 19 in the Bruce W. Berglund Auditorium, 3400 Broadway in Gary. Registration starts at 8:45 a.m. and the day's lectures addressing Bioethical Decision Making in the Healthcare Setting will begin at 9:15. The event will conclude with a screening of the documentary "No Mas Bebes." More information is at eventbrite.com.

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Alzheimer's Association to offer programs

The Alzheimer's Association is offering free education programs throughout the month. Effective Communication Strategies, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hobart Public Library, 100 Main St. in Hobart, will focus on decoding the verbal and behavioral message of someone with dementia. Dementia Conservation: Driving, Doctors Visits, Legal and Financial Planning, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the Westchester Public Library, 200 W. Indiana Ave. in Chesterton, will address common concerns for caregivers. Health Living for Your Brain and Body: Tips from the Latest Research, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Jasper County Library, 350 S. Bierma St. in Wheatfield, will address lifestyle choices for healthy aging. Registration is required at 800-272-3900. A full list of programs is at alz.org/indiana.

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Fire prevention open house

The Crown Point Volunteer Fire Department will host its annual Fire Prevention Open House from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the station, 126 N. East St. in Crown Point. This year's theme is "Don't Wait: Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years." Learn how to protect your family in the Exit Drills in the Home trailer, or participate in the Junior Firefighter obstacle course. Kids will be able to explore the fire trucks and ambulances and participate in hands-on activities. Hot dogs, chips, popcorn, beverages and desserts will be served. More information is at 219-662-3248.

Driving efficiency workshop

South Shore Clean Cities will host the Green Fleet Educational Workshop on Trucking Efficiency from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Newton Ballroom at Fair Oaks Farms, 856 N. 600E in Fair Oaks. The workshop will address idle reduction, fuel efficiency, and the technologies and alternative fuel options available to truck drivers. Reservations are required at www.southshorecleancities.org, or with Catherine Yoder at 219-644-3690.

Amateur Radio Club to meet

The Lake County Amateur Radio Club will host Surviving an Active Shooter Event at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 at the Lake County Government EMA Center, 2900 W. 93rd Ave. in Crown Point. Speaker Gary McKay is the emergency preparedness director for Community Hospitals. He also is associated with Lake County Homeland Security and Lake County Emergency Management Agency. McKay will discuss what you need to know, do and be prepared for if an active shooter event should occur. More information is with Tim McGillen at 219-769-0673.

Alzheimer's Caregiver Symposium

The Alzheimer's Association will host a one-day Caregiver Symposium from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Avalon Manor Banquet Center, 3550 U.S. 30 in Merrillville. There is a $35 registration fee for caregivers who are family members and a $65 fee for professionals. Registration is required at alz.org/indiana or 800-272-3900.
What's Quickly? It's where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com.

Is it just me, or does 2016 feel like some kind of bizarre fever dream?

If you say you're a conservative but you say you can't vote for Trump, you're not really a conservative. A true conservative would never vote for Hillary Clinton.

Trump asks his non-supporters: What do you have to lose? Answer: Everything!

If it were up to me, we would live in a world that did not have credit cards. Cash is king.

As soon as this election is over, can we please start to get dark money and religion removed from politics and government?

Nobody likes President Obama? His last approval rating was 58% positive.

Trump's supporters won't care that he possibly hasn't paid any federal income tax for the past eighteen years. Al Capone also had his admirers.

One of the questions you are asked when sitting as a prospective juror is "Can you follow the law regardless of your personal beliefs?" Many of our politicians are attorneys, yet they can't follow these simple instructions.

Brian Hoyer showed Jay Cutler that the Bears can start to look for trade possibilities.

Transparency has become the most overused word of the year. Everyone wants to use the word, but nobody wants to actually use it in its meaning.

The question is not if we can risk another four years of climate denial and inaction at the highest levels of our government but are we willing to risk it for future generations?

If the U.S. suffered a terrorist attack on the same day Rosie O'Donnell tweeted that "President Trump looks like a yam wearing a corset," which momentous event would command the president's full attention?

Mike Pence is always talking about praying for this and that and asking God for guidance. What does God have to say about Pence's stubborn refusal to grant a pardon to a man who has been found innocent of the crime for which he was convicted and imprisoned?

How do you consider yourself a fantastic businessman when you lost a billion bucks? In my book that qualifies as a big loser.

Those people that are steadfast in denying equal rights for women or people of color do that because of their own insecurities. Normal, fair-minded, secure adults want everyone to be treated equally.

It's pretty messed up that Indiana is more interested in enshrining the rights of hunters to hunt than the rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies, or for people to marry who they love. That said, I hope you all vote pro-hunting and fishing this election.

Mr. Trump, you feel your qualifications for being president are you are rich and you are smart. So yes, your tax returns are very useful to us voters. This voter has already decided on one of your claims.

Read more at www.post-trib.com/quickly.
Ava DuVernay's full-to-bursting documentary "13th" recently opened the New York Film Festival (the first documentary to do so) and it's now streaming on Netflix. You cannot find a more vital account, at home or in theaters, of where and why we've landed in this precise moment of American history.

DuVernay's first full-length project since "Selma" is a damning but cogent argument for wholesale reconsideration of the so-called prison industrial complex. This nagging imperative toward "hyper-incarceration," in the words of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., afflicts the nation while making privatized billions for those in the economic catbird seat. DuVernay's historical essay covers an astonishing array of provocations, without making hash or generalities of its points.

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She mapped out the script with her editor, Spencer Averick. He and DuVernay draw a clear, convincing line from the enslavement the 13th Amendment was designed to abolish; to the Jim Crow era; the specter of barbarous black male violence, as fomented by D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation"; and the shape-shifting institutional racism in late 20th and early 21st centuries America, despite and, in part, reaction to the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.

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It's a crazy amount of ground to cover, but only rarely does "13th" sacrifice clarity for cinematic energy. The 1865 constitutional amendment of the title, in the words of University of Connecticut professor Jelani Cobb, created "a loophole that was immediately exploited." Four million were freed from slavery by the amendment, but as long as they broke whatever laws (vagrancy, loitering, etc.) that remained on the books for decades and decades, they could be branded as criminals.

Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a featured on-camera subject in "13th," Ava DuVernay's documentary about the so-called prison industrial complex. (Netflix)

Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of dozens of on-camera subjects, speaks to the post-Civil War necessity of "providing labor to rebuild the economy of the south." Today, prison labor and the rates of black male incarceration contribute to the economy in myriad ways, suspect at best, morally berserk at worst. The figures are painful: One in 17 white males will do prison time of some sort, compared with 1 in 3 male African-Americans.

"13th" is especially good at detailing the role of ALEC, short for the reactionary nonprofit American Legislative Exchange Council, credited and uncredited authors of an astonishing number of legislative initiatives we'll be living down for a long time. ALEC was behind Florida's "stand your ground" law that helped acquit assailant George Zimmerman after shooting and killing Trayvon Martin in 2012. That wasn't so long ago.

DuVernay does not spare our current presidential nominees from her spotlight. In 1994 then-President Bill Clinton signed an omnibus crime bill that amped up the incarceration of African-Americans to unprecedented levels. Later, both Bill and Hillary Clinton regretted that bill. Late in "13th," inevitably, Donald Trump's rally cries of returning to the "good old days" when protesters were carried out on stretchers are heard in shrill voice-over, while DuVernay shows us archival footage of civil rights-era news footage: water hoses, attack dogs, beatings, one era calling out to another.

The musical score works nonstop, sometimes overworking its ominous atmosphere. This lessens its overall impact. Also, there's a cliche-in-the-making aspect to the way DuVernay shoots and cuts her interview subjects, always with the semi-circling camera, always with the abrupt, slightly untrustworthy change of shot early in an interview snippet. These are small matters. "13th" encompasses a very large one, successfully.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

Mjphillips @chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

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Coldplay is set to return to Soldier Field in August as an extension of the band's "A Head Full of Dreams Tour," Live Nation announced Friday.

The British rockers are scheduled to play Chicago Aug. 17, with tickets set to go on sale 10 a.m. Oct. 15 on livenation.com.

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The tour, in support of the band's 2015 album "A Head Full of Dreams," began in March. This new tour leg is scheduled to kick off at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in August 2017 and wrap up at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in October 2017.

Coldplay played two shows at Soldier Field in July.

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The 2018 Green Card Lottery Is Now Open

If you or a loved one has been trying to get a green card, there's a program that started way back in 1990 that you may have never heard of: The Green Card Lottery, also know as a Diversity Visa. This program awards green cards to 50,000 immigrants from countries that have low immigration rates to the United States. The Department of State has begun taking entries for the 2018 lottery drawings, and will continue accepting entries until 12:00 p.m. November 7, 2016.

The Diversity Visa program is intended to diversify the immigrant population within the United States by only awarding the visas to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration. While a prospective immigrant's country of origin is among the most important factor considered, there is an additional requirement that applicants must have a high school education or the equivalent, or two years of specialized job training within the last five years.

What Countries Qualify?

The list of countries that qualify change from year to year. A country is disqualified if in the past five years, more than 50,000 individuals from that country immigrated to the United States. For the 2018 lottery, citizens of the following countries may not apply:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Note that there is an exception for people from Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan that allows them to apply.

Additionally, there is one more way to qualify. If your spouse or one of your parents were born in an eligible country, you may also qualify to apply.

Many Will Enter, 50,000 Will Win

Thanks to the modern times we live in, entry can be done online at dvlottery.state.gov. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible because the system becomes much busier as the deadline to apply approaches. Also, the Department of State warns that individuals who attempt to enter the lottery more than once will be disqualified.

If you need assistance applying for a green card, or with keeping your green card, contact an experienced immigration lawyer.

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It would be nice to be able to report that the first piece of new music played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this season was a truly distinguished entry in the long list of world premieres the orchestra has given over the years. But such was not the case Thursday night at Orchestra Hall where the orchestra under guest conductor James Gaffigan gave the first performance of Carl Vine's "Five Hallucinations" for Trombone and Orchestra (2016).

Vine, one of Australia's leading composers, wrote this quasi-trombone concerto for his countryman (and friend of 30 years) Michael Mulcahy, a valued member of the CSO's trombone section since 1989. The score was inspired by "Hallucinations," a book by the late British-American neurologist Oliver Sacks that outlines various hallucinatory states of mind as reported by his patients.

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Vine drew on five such reported hallucinations to create imaginary musical representations that form a chain of five interconnected movements, each bearing one of Sachs' designations. ("Mama wants some cookies" is my favorite title.) The piece is a co-commission by the Edward F. Schmidt family commissioning fund for the CSO, and patrons of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

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Most of the patients' hallucinations are said to have been comparatively benign, and the music that evokes them is itself relatively benign. Vine employs traditional tonal functions and terse, germinal ideas to create a kind of aural journey from uncertain darkness to affirmative light. Dramatic and lyrical gestures vie for supremacy, over a mostly gray, if extremely active, orchestral canvas. There are no surprising expressive turns, and few risks are taken. The confidence with which the ideas are developed does not make them feel any less drab.

Mulcahy, to whom "Five Hallucinations" is dedicated, seized on every opportunity to display his virtuoso mettle, from mini-cadenzas that had him dashing from top to bottom of his range, to sometimes jokey exchanges with brass colleagues, who, at one moment, hurled musical raspberries at him. Dialogues with piccolo and percussion suggested Vine is familiar with those musicians' particular gifts as well. The soloist drew a warm reception from the audience and his supportive orchestra colleagues. Vine was present to share in the applause.

Gaffigan, the rising young American chief conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland, was taking care of subscription series business for a week while Riccardo Muti was taking a scheduled break from his fall residency to study scores at his home in Ravenna, Italy. Gaffigan's fine showing made him much more than a glorified placeholder.

He surrounded the Vine piece with two works of literary inspiration, both absent from the CSO repertory since 2004: Cesar Franck's "Le chasseur maudit" ("The Accursed Huntsman") and an extended suite from Prokofiev's ballet "Cinderella." Both drew assured accounts that supported his growing reputation as one of the more gifted American conductors of his generation.

Now that French podium masters such as Charles Munch no longer walk the Earth, a great deal of French repertory has fallen into neglect, including Franck's colorful tone poem. A CSO specialty in the early decades of the last century, the score still can exert a thrilling effect, as Thursday's performance, undergirded by plangent hunting calls from the horn choir, made clear.

Prokofiev's "Cinderella" has been unfairly eclipsed in popularity by that of the Soviet Russian composer's other great ballet score, "Romeo and Juliet." Strange, since the musical beauties are many, the inspiration consistently high, the silvery sound world that it creates enchanting.

Gaffigan offered his own 45-minute suite of 14 selections from the ballet, gathering the best music into a satisfying narrative sequence. He deftly balanced the lyric and dramatic elements, bringing balletic lift and impetus to the rhythms, fine degrees of symphonic weight where called for. I wish he had reined in the brasses more  they rather overpowered the strings at times  but, overall, the orchestra came through solidly for him in challenging music that requires an orchestra and first-chair players of CSO caliber to do it justice.

John von Rhein is a Tribune critic.

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jvonrhein@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jvonrhein

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.

Tickets: $30-$218; 312-294-3000, www.cso.org

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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)
When Nancy Fendley Novosel's twin boys were born prematurely, at just 26 weeks, she tried to negotiate the timing of her maternity leave: Could she take her six weeks of paid leave a few months down the line, when the boys were expected to come home from the hospital?

The answer, she learned, was no. At the Chicago real estate company where she was a vice president, maternity leave was funded by short-term disability insurance and could only be used when the mother was physically recovering from childbirth.

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"It was shocking  and I had to figure this out postpartum," said Novosel, whose babies were both born dangerously tiny, weighing in at less than 2 pounds each.

"(My husband and I) were focused on, literally, whether my children gained grams. My son coughed up a teaspoon of blood, and we thought he was going to die, and we had the chaplain perform a baptism, and I woke up the next morning contemplating, what are we going to do?"

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At a time when paid maternity leave is an increasingly high profile issue, with a Fortune-Morning Consult poll showing 74 percent of registered voters support paid leave for new parents, public discussion still tends to focus on the extremes: Netflix employees, who can get up to a year of paid leave, and minimum-wage employees, who often get none.

But what about a surprisingly sizable group of women who are caught in the middle?

About 10 percent of working first-time moms use disability insurance to fund their maternity leaves, according to a 2011 U.S. Census Bureau report that's widely considered the best source on the topic. That suggests that of the women who get any kind of paid maternity leave at all, including vacation days, roughly 1 in 5 are using disability insurance.

Cheree Moore enjoys an afternoon with twin daughters Auri, 3, left, and Camille last month at Longfellow Park in Oak Park. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

In a half-dozen interviews with Chicago-area mothers who have taken disability-insurance funded maternity leave, most said they deeply valued the paid time off and that they give their employers high marks for doing more than most. But the mothers also complained of paperwork hassles, Catch-22s, partial pay and inflexible timing. One mother said she had to run out to have medical documents scanned at a time when she was caring for newborn twins, and several said that the pay  often 60 percent of a woman's salary  was too low, or that they had to return to work too soon.

"It was better than nothing, but that's not saying a lot," said Molly Allen, a Chicago-based sales executive who burned through all her sick time and vacation time to supplement six weeks of disability pay at 60 percent of salary. She emerged from a 12-week leave, including three weeks unpaid, with a new baby, a full-time job and zero accumulated days off.

"You have your own doctor's appointments  and the baby's," said Allen, 36, who relied on flexible scheduling as she accumulated new vacation days. "It was brutal."

Cheree Moore, 33, of Oak Park, said that she felt very fortunate to get paid maternity leave when she worked in the development office at a local university, and her employer was remarkably supportive and accommodating. The problem lay with the insurance company, which required a lot of paperwork at a time when she was caring for newborn twins.

"You got all these letters, and you had to reply by a certain time, and I was like, 'I can barely remember to take a shower, let alone call you at a certain time on a certain day,'" said Moore, who was breast-feeding and had a toddler son. "I know, for a lot of women, that could be very discouraging because you're just like, 'What if I forget? I don't want to owe any money.' It wasn't very straightforward."

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Moore said she trusted her employer, but if she hadn't, she would have been reluctant to even use the benefit.

She also points out that men don't get paternity leave under a disability-based system.

"You kind of feel like a single mom," she said of caring for her babies while her husband was at work. Her husband was able to take off maybe two days after the girls were born, she said; that was it.

Some of the Chicago moms' key complaints are addressed by the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which is now before Congress. The bill provides 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, people caring for seriously ill family members and workers with serious illnesses. Employers and employees would each pay 0.2 percent of wages (or 2 cents for every $10) to fund the program, according to Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. The self-employed would pay 0.4 percent.

New parents would get 66 percent of their salaries under the plan, they'd be able to preserve some of their sick time, and leave would not have to be taken immediately after the child's birth, Shabo said. Congress is unlikely to act on the bill this year, she said, but it has more support than ever before.

Novosel, the mom with premature twins, said that she went back to work when her boys were about 6 weeks old. Then, when both boys were home from the hospital after 17 weeks, she simply didn't go to the office.

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"I just stopped. I knew I had to take care of my kids," said Novosel, now 48, of Wilmette.

Novosel's story has a happy ending. She got an extra six weeks or so of time off to care for her twins (now 14 and "miraculously, totally fine"), and she returned to work only when she was ready to do so.

But, in the interim, she says, there was a lot of stress and uncertainty.

"It's a terrible feeling to have no idea  no idea  whether you're employed, not employed, have benefits, are getting paid," she said. "There should be some maternity leave. You should have some period of time to take care of the needs of your family."

nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @nschoenberg

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Traditional signifiers of a Shabbat dinner, like challah bread, candles and wine, are ready before guests arrive for Shabbat at Adam Kouba's apartment in Lakeview. (Taylor Glascock / Chicago Tribune)

As the sun began to set on a recent Friday evening, more than 25 millennial-age guests gathered at the Lakeview apartment of brothers Adam, 25, and Andrew Kouba, 27, to partake in a communal welcoming-in of the Jewish Sabbath.

The group greeted guests with hugs and kisses and "Happy Shabbat's." At sundown, they moved into the dining area to read Hebrew prayers for light, wine and bread (challah).

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Raised in a reformed Jewish household in Illinois' Western Springs before attending college in Pennsylvania and moving to Chicago, Adam Kouba recounted how friends helped rekindle his interest in the religion.

"I consider myself more culturally Jewish than religious, but because I appreciate the social aspect of Judaism, I look for opportunities to connect and build community."

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Following the "formalized" part of the evening, folks descended on the kitchen for a buffet-style pasta bar dinner featuring gluten-free noodles and a variety of toppings. A departure from the more standard Shabbat fare of roasted chicken, brisket and noodle kugel, the Koubas' offering paid homage to the hosts' individuality while reflecting a modern version of a centuries-old religious practice.

In a second break from tradition, whereby no work or physical exertion is supposed to occur on the Sabbath, and following the evening's theme  Shabbat, Wine and Canvas  Adam Kouba's after-dinner activity featured painting on canvases.

Adam Koubas partnered with two national nonprofit organizations: One Table, helped with food, and Moishe House, donated art supplies.

Since the New York-based nonprofit organization's official launch in 2014, One Table, has helped raise young Jewish people's awareness of and participation in Shabbat rituals with more than 2,400 unique dinners. With chapters in four cities: New York, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco, the organization plans to add two more cities per year. Among those being considered for the next installment are Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C.

"We're religious about Friday, but beyond that, Shabbat can be whatever you want it to be," said Marissa Freeman, One Table's Chicago city manager. "We're trying to help young, post-college, pre-family Jewish people create a personally meaningful Shabbat. ... We are all about ending the week with intention."

One Table provides approved hosts with gift cards to purchase food, allotting $15 per guest, with a maximum amount of $150.

"We want to help create a space where young people can test what they may want their lifelong Shabbat practices to look like," Freeman said. "Though it may change over time, they may use our resources to make those decisions."

One Table is helping to usher in a new era of Shabbat that is more about meaningful connection than prescribed traditions.

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"Younger Jews have mixed feelings about religion," said Hannah Litvin, 27, a One Table host in Philadelphia who has hosted four Shabbat dinners. "We only learn one narrative, and that can be very alienating."

Post-college and living on her own, Litvin sought out a like-minded community of people with shared similar life experiences and values.

"No room in my life for Orthodox practices," she said, "but Shabbat is beautiful and way more liberal."

Like Litvin, many millennials relocate to new cities and are eager to build a social network.

Stefanie Adler, a 23-year-old nanny living in San Francisco, believes that Shabbat helps create a sense of community. Having also lived in Israel for a year, she developed a fondness for the ritual of Friday night Shabbat dinners, she said.

"Everyone there does dinner on Friday night. It is a time when people get together," said Adler.

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Aliza Kline, One Table's New York-based executive director, said the organization conducted extensive research and held focus groups to better understand Jewish millennials' practices and ideas. After determining that the level of engagement was based on the individual's life stage, the group tailored its approach to be social and communal.

"In all, it really is about finding joy and connection. ... The idea behind Shabbat is fulfillment, renewal and replenishment," Kline said.

Nancy A. Simon is a freelancer.

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A federal court invalidated the East Chicago Housing Authority's ability to do warrantless searches of residents' apartments or have drug dogs check the hallways.

Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday against the East Chicago Housing Authority's policy allowing staff to enter residents' apartment without their consent or a warrant, and barring the authority's practice of having K9 units from the East Chicago Police Department check residents' doors for possible drug activity.

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The injunction is a part of a class action lawsuit filed by Mary Guitierrez and Shawn Polk, who are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, against the city and East Chicago Housing Authority.

"Far too often, we are treated like prisoners in our own homes," Shawn Polk, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "This decision sends a message to management that they need to respect tenant rights and treat us like any other citizen who wants basic privacy when they come home and close their door."

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East Chicago Corporation Council Carla Morgan said the city will abide by the court's decision. Attorney Jewell Harris Jr., who is representing the housing authority was unavailable for comment Friday.

The ruling sets guidance for the housing authority that it does need consent to enter apartments, said Jan Mensz, an attorney with the ACLU of Indiana.

"It gives those residents some clarity on what their rights are," Mensz said.

When tenants at housing authority signed their leases, they also had to initial a series of rules, one of which allowed staff and police officers to enter the units, according to court documents.

During her deposition, Housing Director Tia Cauley said that police officers conduct searches of the buildings by walking K9 units down through the hallways and go into any units where a dog alerts.

"ECHA does not require that the officers have a warrant," Cauley testified during a deposition.

The lawsuit was filed to address the East Chicago Housing Authority's entry into residents' apartments, for a variety of reasons, without consent or a warrant, Mensz said.

The judge ruled that if the housing authority wants to enter an apartment, it must either have the consent of the tenant or a warrant, Mensz said. The injunction also blocked the practice of using drug-sniffing dogs to sweep the hallways, he said.

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Gutierrez, in the court complaint, said she was subjected to a series of six searches or inspections in four months, including on incident where police entered her apartment after a sweep for possible drug activity.

The court found that a constitutional violation occurred when the drug-sniffing dog went to the resident's door and the dog's check at the entrance is subject to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirements.

In the eyes of the court, a drug-sniffing dog is the equivalent of a piece of sophisticated equipment that can peer into someone's home, Mensz said.

"An unconstitutional search occurs when they bring the dog to the door," Mensz said.

clyons@post-trib.com

Twitter: @craigalyons
Steve Kamp, of Cretes Evil Horse Brewing, captured the highest honor at the Pints & Pork Challenge at St. Joseph Church in Manhattan last week. His Charging Bull Weizenbock won the Judges Choice Best Brew. (Erin Gallagher / Daily Southtown)

One does not have to be a sommelier to pair beverages with pork dishes. Beer will do just fine.

That natural affinity was the basis for the Pints and Pork Challenge last week in Manhattan. The competition included some of the Southland's finest craft brews as well as innovative pork dishes.

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In the event, restaurants were paired with area craft breweries. Competition categories included best brew, best pork dish and best pairing. Industry experts served as judges for the events, and people in attendance had a vote as well. WJOL's Scott Slocum was the guest celebrity judge.

"The competition was very tough because there were so many great foods and brews to chose from," said Steve Smolinske, event organizer.

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But in the end, Arrowhead Ales Brewing Co. of New Lenox swept both pork and brew categories, taking home seven trophies

Because Arrowhead, which opened in April, is both a restaurant and a brewery, it entered both categories.

"Throughout the four-hour event, people raved about Arrowhead's spicy pork egg roll and Jive Turkey Sweet Potato Ale, so it is no surprise they emerged a clear winner," Smolinske said.

Crete's Evil Horse Brewing Co. won the highest honor, the Judge's Choice Best Brew for its Charging Bull Weizenbock.

Manhattan's Roadhouse 52, located on U.S. 52 on the south end of Manhattan, entered two pork dishes, each winning a trophy.

The Pints & Pork Challenge teamed up restaurants with craft breweries.

Arrowhead owner Mike Bacon competed against veteran brewers, including Evil Horse's Steve Kamp, who has been a member of the American Homebrewers Association since 1984 and earned the elite rank of Beer Judge after passing a lengthy exam administered by the Beer Judge Certification Program. He has also served as president of the Chicago Beer Society.

Both of Kamp's entries from Evil Horse Brewing earned high marks from both the people's choice and judge's choice categories.

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"That (Paxon the Ponyless) Porter was outstanding, and worth the drive to Crete to have again," said Muggsy Gallagher, who helped organize the event.

Roadhouse 52's general manager Brian Eberle and newly-hired executive chef Joel Harris entered two pork dishes, each winning a trophy. Harris has "completely revamped the menu" at the restaurant, according to statement released in August. Their entries included a butternut squash puree topped with smoked pork and apricot thyme BBQ sauce; and pumpkin cornbread with maple glaze topped with smoked pork and crunchy jicama green onion slaw.

The pumpkin cornbread dish was paired with a Guava Gose Smack from Lombard's Noon Whistle Brewing, earning the team the gold trophy for pairings. Noon Whistle's Guava Gose Smack also won the highest people's choice award for best brew.

Competition was very strong, with most of the categories having two or three different competitors within a single vote of each other, Smolinske said.

"Everyone who entered had a very strong showing of votes," he said. "Clearly, everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed what was offered, because the votes were all over the board."

The other competitors were Granite City of Orland Park, 350 Brewing of Tinley Park, Irish Pig BBQ of New Lenox, All Rise Brewing of Chicago, Oak Park Brewing of Oak Park and Blue Nose Brewery of Hodgekins.

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The Pints and Pork Challenge was hosted by St. Joseph Church in Manhattan as a fundraiser supporting the church and school, organizers said. A few hundred people attended the inaugural event, which was moved into a gymnasium due to rain.

"Afterwords, we received so many compliments from people raving about how much fun they had," Smolinske said. "We got emails, texts, messages from people saying they loved all the food and beer, didn't have to wait in line, and really enjoyed themselves."

Organizers are already planning next year's event, he said.

More information about the event as well as links to the brewers and restaurants is at www.pintsandpork.com.
A former Round Lake woman has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $6,000 in veterinary bills after she was found guilty of leaving 11 dogs in an overheated van last year, leading to the deaths of two of the animals.

Griselda Martinez, 42, also was sentenced to 24 months of probation Thursday after a Cook County judge found her guilty of violating an owner's duties to a companion animal, a misdemeanor.

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Judge Marc Martin ordered Martinez to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and forbid her from owning companion animals during her probation.

Palatine police officers testified at Martinez's trial that they found the caged dogs stacked in the back of a minivan on a day in August 2015 when temperatures were in the 90s. The dogs appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion and the officers began removing them from the van to cool them off, spraying them with water.

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One of the dogs died at the scene and another at a veterinary hospital, where the animals, including French and English bulldogs and a Pomeranian, were taken for treatment.

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Martinez testified that she had been transporting the dogs to her new residence in Streator when the air conditioning in the van failed. She and a friend who was driving stopped at an auto parts store along Rand Road in Palatine and were trying to recharge the unit when police arrived.

Martinez had said when she took the witness stand that police prevented her from taking the dogs to a hospital. She continued to blame police for the death of her two dogs in remarks to the court Thursday.

"I feel bad for what happened, but the police officers were lying," Martinez said through an interpreter. She said she was trying to take the dogs to an animal hospital.

In handing down the sentence, Martin said Martinez tried "to pull the wool" over his eyes and that her testimony was not credible.

Martinez was originally charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals, but her defense attorney, Lawrence Wade, argued that she did not intend to harm the animals. Martin found her guilty of the misdemeanor instead, saying prosecutors did not prove the felony case against her.

Martinez was taken into custody after the trial.

George Houde is a freelance reporter.
President Barack Obama boards Air Force One before taking off from O'Hare International Airport on Oct. 9, 2016, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

President Barack Obama returned home Friday to cast an early ballot during a fundraising weekend aimed at urging "cheerful givers" to help retain Democratic control of the White House and retake control of the Congress and his former Senate seat.

"Hello, everybody, good to see you," he told about a dozen poll workers at the Chicago Board of Election's early-voting site in an unadvertised midafternoon stop to the basement of 69 W. Washington St.

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"What's my date of birth? 8/4/81?" he asked one worker who promptly replied, "Nice try."

"I was just shaving a couple of decades off," he said. When asked by reporters whom he was voting for, Obama just smiled.

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The early-voting stop was an interlude between fundraising stops in Chicago on Friday that launched a homecoming weekend for the president. He has no scheduled events Saturday and has a fundraising event for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth on Sunday before returning to Washington.

During a high-dollar fundraising event held at the North Side home of Democratic megadonor Fred Eychaner and featuring Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi, Obama told the approximately 50 people attending that a Democratic takeover of the Republican-controlled House on Nov. 8 might be achievable.

"It's an uphill battle, Nancy is the first to acknowledge it, because of gerrymandering, because of population distribution, because during midterms we tend to have really depressed voter turnout," Obama said.

"But despite all that, we have incredible candidates, competitive races and if we are able and willing to really bear down in this last month  if we are, as we say in church, cheerful givers  then I think we've got a real shot. And that will make all the difference in the world in terms of our ability to advance those elements of my agenda that we haven't been able to get done," he said.

Obama later attended a closed-door fundraiser at the Near North Side home of longtime Democratic donor and businessman J.B. Pritzker to benefit the Democratic National Committee and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

At the earlier fundraiser at Eychaner's home, Obama spoke in confident tones about a Clinton victory and, despite showing no hesitation to do so in the past, did not disparage the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

"I'm not going to spend a lot of time on Trump," Obama said, acknowledging that "to some degree, I'm preaching to the choir, here. But in case you hadn't noticed, the stakes in this election are extraordinary."

Instead, Obama said, "I'm confident that we will have an incredibly capable Democratic successor in the White House by the name of Hillary Rodham Clinton. And when I say I'm confident, I'm not overconfident. So we've still got a lot of work to do and nobody knows that more than she does."

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Even with a Clinton win, Obama said, "The ability to build on the legacy that we've established these past eight years is going to depend on, ultimately, what happens in the House as well as our ability to take back the Senate."

That is one of the aims of Obama's trip home, lending a hand to help Duckworth, a two-term congresswoman from Hoffman Estates, who is challenging first-term Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk.

Kirk won the seat in 2010, defeating Obama protege Alexi Giannoulias in a close race for the president's former Senate seat.

This year, however, Kirk faces a traditional Democratic vote push in Illinois' presidential elections, which is partly why he is seen as the most vulnerable Republican seeking re-election nationally.

Democrats need to pick up four seats from Republicans to take control of the Senate if Clinton wins the White House, and five seats if Trump becomes president.

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Obama's fundraising help for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also could help in Illinois. The president cited Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is seeking to replace Duckworth in the northwest and west suburban 8th Congressional District, as an "incredibly smart" volunteer who did policy work on the president's Senate campaign.

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Also attending was former Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Deerfield, who is trying to win his seat back against Republican Rep. Bob Dold of Kenilworth. Other Democratic House members at the event included Reps. Janice Schakowsky of Evanston, Bill Foster of Naperville, Robin Kelly of Matteson and Cheri Bustos of East Moline.

Also attending was Kim Foxx, the Democratic nominee for Cook County state's attorney.

"Across the board, whatever your issue, the stakes could not be higher and I hope that all of you feel that same sense of urgency," Obama said.

After Obama landed at O'Hare International Airport, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's first chief of staff, shared a lift with the president aboard Marine One to the helicopter landing zone in a Soldier Field parking lot. Also along for the ride was North Side and near west suburban Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley.

Late Friday, Obama met with supporters of the foundation that is building his library and museum on the South Side.

rpearson@chicagotribune.com
A Chicago police officer did not use her gun to defend herself for fear of backlash, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. Oct. 6, 2016. (Photo: Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune; CBS Chicago)

The man who's accused of severely beating two Chicago police officers Wednesday had appeared in court earlier that same day on strikingly similar charges involving an attack on a suburban cop earlier this year, the Tribune has learned.

The latest alleged attack by Parta Huff drew added attention after police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said a female officer who was severely injured told him she didn't use her gun to defend herself for fear of public backlash.

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Huff, 28, of Maywood, was ordered held without bail Friday after Cook County prosecutors detailed how he left two officers with concussions and other injuries. The second officer had twice used a Taser on Huff, prosecutors said.

Court records show that Huff was out on bail Wednesday after appearing in court for an alleged attack in April on a Forest Park officer who had stopped him for running a stop sign. Huff allegedly drove off, crashed into a car and tried to flee on foot. When the officer caught him, Huff pushed him to the ground, injuring the officer's shoulder and right knee, said Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas.

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In court Friday for the latest alleged attack, prosecutors said Huff repeatedly slammed the female officer's head onto concrete pavement until she lost consciousness and pulled chunks of hair from her head. The officer, a 17-year veteran, also suffered bone chips to the shoulder and wrist, a neck injury, and bruises and abrasions, prosecutors said.

The second officer also suffered a concussion, a broken right thumb, a torn quadriceps muscle, cuts and bruises, according to prosecutors.

Huff's face appeared swollen and his right eye was black and nearly swollen shut. His arrest records indicate he is a reputed Gangster Disciples gang member, but his attorney said he graduated from cosmetology school and worked full time as a janitor and overnight at a chocolate factory.

"This conduct cannot be tolerated," Judge Donald Panarese Jr. said in ordering no bail for Huff on charges of attempted murder of a police officer and multiple counts of aggravated battery to a police officer. Authorities said he tested positive for PCP.

Prosecutors gave this account of what happened:

The two uniformed officers were flagged down and alerted to the crash of a car into the front doors of Roosevelt Liquors at Cicero Avenue and Roosevelt Road. Huff, the lone occupant of the car, was walking from the scene but ignored the officers' commands to stop.

As the female officer tried to place a second cuff on Huff's wrist, he pulled away and punched the male officer in the face. That officer then deployed his Taser, striking Huff, but he pulled the prongs from his body and continued to struggle with the female officer, knocking her to the street. Huff then fell on her, injuring her shoulder.

Huff repeatedly struck the female officer in the face before grabbing her by the hair and slamming her head onto the concrete until she lost consciousness.

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The male officer then deployed his Taser a second time, but Huff continued to pull chunks of hair from the female officer's head and strike her head on the pavement.

Additional officers arrived and tried to pull Huff by his legs, but he continued to resist. Another officer deployed a Taser for the third time.

At a public ceremony honoring heroic officers and firefighters Thursday, Johnson spoke of what the female officer had told him at the hospital.

"She looked at me and said she thought she was gonna die, and she knew that she should shoot this guy, but she chose not to because she didn't want her family or the department to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news," he said.

A day earlier, the Chicago City Council approved the first part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to revamp a police accountability system that critics say has long been ineffective. For months, the U.S. Justice Department has been investigating the Police Department after video showed an officer shoot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times as he walked away with a knife.

sschmadeke@chicagotribune.com

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jgorner@chicagotribune.com
Election judge Cynthia Greene readies wristbands that read, "I voted! Did you?" for handing out to voters in lieu of stickers Oct. 7, 2016, during early voting at the Dunne Cook County Office Building in Chicago. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago voters won't be leaving polling places empty-handed this presidential election.

No, the "I voted" stickers aren't coming back. But the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners is distributing wristbands  the kind handed out at street festivals  that read, "I voted! Did you?" Officials hope to appease those who complained about not being able to show their pride about casting a ballot.

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"There were a few voters over the years who said they really want a sticker, actually a large number of voters who said they want a sticker, so we tried to balance what the voters wanted and what our polling place owners wanted," said Jim Allen, spokesman for the election board.

Businesses including car dealerships, beauty salons and even bars serve as polling places in Chicago in addition to libraries, schools and churches. In the past, when stickers were handed out, some ended up on the businesses' doorways and windows and owners complained about having to scrape them off, Allen said. The city did away with the stickers.

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Bracelets, Allen said, "don't have that issue, and we think they're going to have big play on social media with selfies."

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During the primary election, some disappointed city voters tweeted about the absence of stickers, which are offered in suburban Cook County. The Cook County clerk's office said it has distributed stickers since the early 2000s and hasn't received complaints. Last year, the clerk's office spent $8,900 for an order of 2.5 million stickers expected to last five elections and considered the stickers to be a voter outreach tool, reminding people to vote and helping build excitement for the election.

Allen said the wristbands  enough for 1.5 million registered voters  are expected to have a similar effect. The election board paid $28,000, which came out to be less than 2 cents per wristband, using a combination of city and county funds, he said.

"We think the more chances you have for people to express their enthusiasm for voting and having participated, the better chances that image will go viral and encourage more people to participate," he said.

Scott Hamilton of the Uptown neighborhood votes Oct. 7, 2016, during early voting at the Dunne Cook County Office Building in Chicago. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)

The wristbands have been available since Sunday at the Chicago's only early voting site at 69 W. Washington St. That site shifts its operations on Monday to what's billed as a "Loop Super Site," a former Walgreens store at 15 W. Washington St. where there will be 150 touch-screen voting machines to handle the crush of voters expected in the week leading up to Election Day on Nov. 8.

Voters can get wristbands at any of the early voting sites in the wards beginning Oct. 24 and at any polling place on Election Day.

lvivanco@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lvivanco
Liberal Politics from the Heart of Bluegrass Country
MILWAUKEE  The FBI says authorities have arrested 28 people linked with a violent gang that operated in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Authorities announced Thursday that the members and associates of the Maniac Latin Disciples face federal and state charges ranging from narcotics trafficking to armed robbery.

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Dozens of local and federal law enforcement agencies participated in an operation Thursday morning that the FBI says "aimed to dismantle the MLD's violent grip over southeastern Wisconsin. They seized vehicles, weapons, body armor, ammunition, more than 40 pounds of marijuana and cocaine and over $80,000 in cash from over 20 locations in southeast Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Besides the 28 arrests, the FBI is still seeking two fugitives suspected of having strong ties to the gang.

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A new Illinois Supreme Court ruling that goes into effect on Nov. 1, 2016, prohibits the use of shackles on young people going through the court system. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

Juvenile justice advocates are celebrating a new Illinois Supreme Court ruling issued this week that will prohibit the use of shackles on young people going through the court system.

"It definitely makes all the hard work and effort over the last year and a half worth it," said Era Laudermilk, deputy director for the Illinois Justice Project. She has argued the use of ankle, wrist and other restraints in courtrooms is an arcane practice that deprives young people of a fair trial by creating a bias, while traumatizing them and their families.

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The rule, which was adopted by the highest state court Thursday and will go into effect Nov. 1, mandates that handcuffs, leg shackles, leg irons, belly belts, and other restraint devices cannot be used on a minor during court proceedings unless the court finds reason to do so in a separate hearing.

According to the new Rule 943, restraints may be used only if they are necessary to prevent physical harm to the minor or others, or if the minor has a history of disruptive behavior or presents substantial risk of hurting himself or others. The rule also allows the use of shackles if there's a well-founded belief that the minor would flee from the courtroom and if there are no less restrictive restraints that could be use.

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Prior to the new ruling, shackling has been a common but unevenly used practice in courtrooms throughout Illinois, according to the Illinois Justice Project.

In Cook County, shackles are not used on youth. In Kane County courtrooms, where juveniles come from Kane and DuPage counties, the shackles are used for some youths and not others at the discretion of each judge. The restraints range in style  some go around the wrists, others include ankle shackles connected by a band around the waist. The shackles can weigh up to 25 pounds, Laudermilk said.

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Twenty-five states already have taken steps to eliminate juvenile shackling  some through legislation fully banning it, others through rules or court opinions that restrict shackle use, Laudermilk said.

Elizabeth Clarke, president of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, a statewide advocacy group, contended that shackles were being used during preliminary hearings and other simple court appearances in addition to trials, and that the practice was unnecessary and extreme given that less than one-quarter of charges brought against juveniles are for violent crimes.

Advocates also pointed to what they called a troubling bias to the use of shackles: With 97 percent of the state's juvenile defendants being African-American and Latino, the practice affected a disproportionate number of minorities, Clarke said.

"For the court to do harm to these children that are brought in, really, for sometimes minor acts, it's incalculable," Clarke said. "And it tends to fall even more disparately on children who are poor and whose families are outside the political power structure."

Advocates said while they will rely on the state Supreme Court to pass along word of the rule change, they are prepared to step in and assist courtrooms making the change permanent.

"Even if there is one kid who would've been shackled before who will not have to experience the trauma, the humiliation, the shame ... that's a huge win and a huge benefit," Laudermilk said.

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vortiz@chicagotribune.com
Updated Oct. 12, 2016  A 20-year-old man was killed and a passenger on a CTA bus was seriously wounded when someone opened fire on a street corner in the North Austin neighborhood on the West Side on Friday afternoon, police said.



The shooting occurred around 12:35 p.m. at Leclaire and North avenues, according to police and fire officials. The 20-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and the other victim, a man about 57, was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, according to police and a Chicago Fire Department spokesman.



Police at the scene said the 20-year-old was the intended target. He was shot on the southwest corner of Leclaire and North in front of a carry-out restaurant.

He was identified as Jacory Jones of the 1800 block of North Luna Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. His death was ruled a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.



A No. 72/North Avenue bus traveling east was at North and Lawler avenues when the shots were fired, a CTA spokeswoman said. One bullet came through the windshield and struck the male passenger, who was standing, in the back, she said.



Bullets shattered two windows on the bus, which was carrying numerous passengers, police said. The bus operator apparently was injured by flying glass and was taken to a hospital. No information on the driver's condition or sex was available.



Police say the shooting was "definitely gang-related," and believe one gunman did the shooting. Bullet casings were found on both sides of North Avenue.



While police believe one gunman was responsible, a worker at a local business said he heard two guns being fired. "I know guns," said the man who works along North Avenue. "One gun sounded like a Mac-10, and the other sounded like a 9 mm."



The worker and at least one area homeowner said gang tensions have flared in the neighborhood in recent weeks, with groups gathering at nearby LaFollette Park and at a McDonald's at Laramie.



After the shooting, the bus was surrounded by crime tape at the corner of Leclaire and North. As of about 3:30 p.m., the bus remained stopped in front of Horizon Science Academy, the old St. Peter Canisius Church school.



Autumn Byrd, 33, said she was getting her hair braided at a salon on North Avenue when she and several stylists heard a flurry of loud pops.



"People just started running everywhere," Byrd said Friday afternoon as a stylist worked on her hair.



Unsure whether they were fireworks or gunshots, she ventured out on North Avenue and saw a young man lying on a street corner at Leclaire and North.



Byrd, mother of a 15-year-old son, said she couldn't imagine why violence spilled out on a major street, saying the neighborhood she's known growing up had become more dangerous.



"It's a really sad time right now. There really is no reason for all of this violence," she said. "I've never seen this much violence before growing up as a teen."



The owner of a restaurant near the scene said he heard numerous shots but was too busy with preparing food orders to get involved.



"We heard 'pop, pop, pop' and that was it," said the man, who asked not to be identified. "I don't pay no attention to what's going on out on the street."
Robert Samar, 60, (inset) has been charged with defacing the front doors of a church a block from his house after the vandalism was caught on surveillance video, police said. (Chicago police, surveillance video)

A 60-year-old Heart of Chicago West Side man has been charged with defacing the front doors of a church a block from his house after the vandalism was caught on surveillance video, police said.

Robert Samar, of the 2300 block of South Seeley Avenue, was arrested in connection with the vandalism that happened about 4:45 a.m. Sunday in the 2200 block of South Damen Avenue, according to a news release. He's charged with felony criminal defacement of a church.

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The Rev. Emma Lozano, pastor of Lincoln United Methodist Church, 2242 S. Damen Ave., posted on her Facebook page that Samar "was arrested for painting the door of the Latin church with threats of burning and killing" as well as a swastika. The defacement is at least the sixth at the church this year.

"Samar was seen on video surveillance writing offensive words and drawing an offensive symbol on the front doors of the church," according to a police news release.

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Samar was arrested Wednesday at his home, according to police.

Samar, who was sentenced to two years in prison after he pled guilty in two driving under the influence cases in 1998, was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 bail in a hearing Friday before Cook County Judge Laura Marie Sullivan, according to court records.
Julius Burke, 20, is accused of bringing a gun to a school in the 500 block of Noth Sacramento Boulevard. (Chicago Police Department)

A 20-year-old man was arrested after police found a gun in a school locker and ammunition in his sock, Chicago police said.

Authorities on Thursday temporarily locked down West Town Academy after police responded to a "man with a gun call." Police were alerted to the man about 1:40 p.m. The school is in the 500 block of North Sacramento Boulevard in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side.

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Julius Burke was arrested after he was identified as the person who had been seen with the gun inside the school, according to a news release. Officers searched his locker and found the gun inside, and they also found ammunition inside his sock.

Burke faces a charge of unlawful use of a weapon at a school. He was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail in a hearing Friday before Cook County Judge Laura Marie Sullivan, according to court records.
Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.

Topspin

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner took to Facebook for a second time Thursday, hosting a live video Q&A that has become part of his strategy for getting around the news media and delivering his pro-business economic message straight to voters.



It's also an attempt to make the governor more relatable to voters, and this time, the Rauner family dog figured into that effort.



Much like his last attempt at a Facebook Live event, Rauner fielded a number of friendly questions on the topics that he likes to promote: reducing workers' compensation costs and property taxes while creating term limits on elected officials and reducing government operating costs.



Unlike his first attempt, Rauner had help this time from Jim Schultz, former director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, who is now heading a not-for-profit economic development agency created earlier this year by Rauner to get around the "bureaucracy" of state government.

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Schultz and Rauner stood against the backdrop of a Downers Grove manufacturing plant as Schultz told viewers about a new initiative to "partner more effectively with other economic development organizations in Illinois" and use "data analytics technology  to help enhance the customer experience."



Schultz directed viewers to a web page that shows that this new organization, Creating Opportunity for Retention & Expansion, has a management committee with representation from major Illinois businesses -- Ameren, ComEd and Nicor -- as well as local economic development groups and Intersect Illinois, the recently renamed not-for-profit created by Rauner. Among the organization's listed goals is to "create a unified, coordinated, statewide process to address the growth and development needs of existing businesses in Illinois."



Probably not coincidentally, the Rauner-Schultz duo fielded a question from a viewer who asked, "What's the state doing to work with local economic development professionals to assist Illinois businesses?"



Rauner passed the question to Schultz.



"I think the simple way to put it is, I'm going to do an analogy," Schultz said. "We're the concierge service to Illinois businesses and to the economic development locals. So consider Intersect Illinois to be your one-stop resource  we want to be your red carpet state and not be a red tape state."



Schultz proceeded to offer his analogy, which centered on Stella, the Rauner family's yellow Labrador retriever.



"Let's say that you come to us and say, 'We have a problem with Stella, she's sick, what do we do?' Well, we try to anticipate that before she gets sick so we can help make sure that we have people to bring to the table if the owner has to find a vet in Springfield. That's our job. We're the concierge to you in business."



The analogy drew a chuckle from Rauner, who joked that he'd "keep that in mind." Stella, the governor said, "she finds stuff, she gets sick all the time." (Kim Geiger)



What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public schedule.

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*Gov. Bruce Rauner's public schedule was not available.

*President Barack Obama is scheduled to be in Chicago to raise campaign cash for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee featuring House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. He's also got a fundraiser on tap for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who is not attending.

What we're writing

*Duckworth raises $4.1 million in third quarter for bid against Kirk (includes details on more possible DSCC ad pulling).

*Munger says state might have to delay making pension contribution once again, defends campaign contribution moves.

*City ethics chief warns aldermen about fine print on Cubs face value playoff ticket offer.

*Charter school teachers join CTU brothers/sisters, set strike date.

*Illinois police torture claims no longer limited to Burge cases.

*CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson says cops second-guessing themselves in current climate.

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What we're reading

*Trump dumps on Kirk at New Hampshire rally.

*How Cubs' Aroldis Chapman helped Castro regime before Cuban defection.

*U.S. spent more than $300 million on gun database few police departments use.

*Insider secrets for the ultimate Cubs playoff experience at Wrigley.

From the notebook :

*Madigan ally could get Cook County Board seat: Democratic Party officials plan to meet Saturday morning to select a replacement for Joan Murphy, the Cook County commissioner who died Sept. 18 from complications of breast cancer.

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Whomever is picked by the eight Cook County Democratic committeemen whose townships are in Murphy's south suburban district would serve out the term, which lasts until December 2018.

One candidate sources say has a good shot at getting the post is Edward Moody, the Worth Township highway commissioner, an ally of Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, chairman of the state Democratic Party. Steve Brown, Madigan's spokesman, said he's "not aware of any involvement by the speaker" in the appointment process. The "not aware" answer is fairly standard Brown-speak.

Another potential replacement would be Murphy's daughter, Tricia, who gave up a business to care for her mother when she was ailing.

Rich Township Committeeman Tim Bradford offered a list of other potential candidates: John Daly, vice chairman of South Suburban College; Donna Miller, wife of former state Rep. David Miller and a 2012 Democratic primary candidate for state senator who placed second in a three-way race; Terry Matthews, Bloom Township Democratic committeeman; Antoine Bass, president of Rich Township High School District 227; Lou Presta, mayor of Crestwood; and Edward Paesel, retiring executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association.

Brian Bernardoni, senior director of government affairs and public policy for the Chicago Association of Realtors, also applied but said Thursday he plans to drop out of consideration.

The eight committeemen each get a weighted vote based on the turnout in their township in Murphy's district during the November 2014 general election. Because Bradford had the most votes, with 14,508, he will lead the meeting, but four other committeemen each had more than 10,000  giving them a strong say in who gets picked. (Hal Dardick)

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*Mautino case update: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has weighed in on Auditor General Frank Mautino's effort to halt a State Board of Elections probe of his campaign spending, telling an appeals court that Mautino might be in a "less-than-ideal situation" as a result of the probe, but that state authorities should be allowed to proceed with it anyway.



The elections board, responding to a months-old complaint filed by a Streator resident who asked the board to look into questionable expenses on Mautino's campaign finance reports from when he was a state lawmaker, has been trying to proceed with a public hearing of the issue. But Mautino's lawyers, citing a parallel federal investigation of the spending, have argued that the state hearing should be put off until after the federal matter has been resolved.



Madigan, in a brief filed with the Appellate Court of Illinois, argued that Mautino "will not suffer irreparable harm should the proceedings continue," because he "will be able to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege in those proceedings."



Madigan contends that the state elections board has an interest in pursuing the case "because of its interest in regulating the election process and ensuring that political campaign committees observe the rules governing campaign finances and expenditures."



"These rules are in place to protect the public, and the public has an interest in the enforcement of those rules," Madigan wrote.



At issue is more than $200,000 in spending on gas and repair expenses and payments to a local bank that were disclosed on Mautino's campaign finance reports and have since been questioned for their legitimacy.



In August, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Lisa Madigan's father, threw his support behind Mautino, saying he expects the auditor general to be "fully vindicated," once the state and federal probes are complete. All three are Democrats, and some Republicans have tried to make political hay out of the issue. (Kim Geiger)

*Two ex-suburban GOP congressmen not backing Trump: Former U.S. Reps. John Porter and Harris Fawell are among 30 former Republican congressmen who released a statement saying they won't vote for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Porter served as a Republican congressman from the North Shore from 1980 to 2001 and was succeeded by Mark Kirk, now the first-term re-election seeking U.S. senator who has unendorsed Trump for the White House.

Fawell served from 1985 to 1999 in the then-west suburban 13th Congressional District. In 2008, Fawell notably endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president over the Republican candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

In the statement, Porter, Fawell and the others say, "Sadly, our party's nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we sought to represent in Congress.

"Every candidate for president must be judged rigorously in assessing whether he or she has the competence, intelligence, knowledge, understanding, empathy, judgment, and temperament necessary to keep America on a safe and steady course," the statement said. "Donald Trump fails on each of those measures, and he has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president." (Rick Pearson)

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*The Sunday Spin: On this week's show, Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson's guests are Riverside police Chief Tom Weitzel; Michael Gelatka, president of the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association; and Christine Dudley, director of the Illinois Film Office. The "Sunday Spin" airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN-720 AM.

Follow the money

*The House Republicans are doling out more money after getting another $1 million from the Illinois Republican Party (which got $3 million from Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, who got $5 million from a couple of wealthy allies of Gov. Rauner), spending $124,000 on Northwest Side Republican Rep. Michael McAuliffe, who is being challenged by Democrat Merry Marwig; $118,000 on Republican Rod Drobinski, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Sam Yingling of Grayslake; $130,000 on Rep. Dwight Kay of Glen Carbon, who is being challenged by Democrat Katie Stuart; and nearly $53,000 on Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez of Leland Grove near Springfield, who is being challenged by Democrat Anthony DelGiorno.

*Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here.

Beyond Chicago

*NYT looks at whether Trump's ventures lived up to his hype.

*Trump's use of debt and tax laws spurs concerns about his methods, says WaPo.

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*Hurricane Matthew hammers Florida.

*Aleppo rebels fighting on many fronts.
The head of the city ethics agency has warned Chicago aldermen and other elected officials that if they accept the Cubs' offer to buy coveted playoff tickets at face value, they must attend personally and have their presence announced publicly.

The warning came in an advisory memo this week from Steven Berlin, executive director of the Chicago Board of Ethics, as news stories revealed about 70 percent of the city's 50 aldermen, 85 percent of Chicago state and federal officials, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner had taken advantage.

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As a result, some aldermen who were planning to give the tickets away have contacted the team to say they won't be purchasing them, said team spokesman Julian Green, without providing specifics. In addition, the Cubs will display the names of public officials who did accept the offer on a digital board at the park, he said.

Green said the team had asked the ethics board for an opinion on offering the tickets to public officials, as it has for more than a decade, before extending the offer.

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In the ethics chief's memo, obtained by the Chicago Tribune, Berlin noted that city officials are not allowed to accept gifts worth more than $50 unless they come from a friend or family member. The difference between Cubs face-value prices and "understood 'fair market value'  clearly exceeds $50," Berlin wrote.

But the city ethics ordinance does allow officials to attend events "in their official capacity," he added. So, officials can take the offer, provided they go in person and are "publicly acknowledged at each game you attend in some public way." Depending on when that announcement is made, aldermen and others risk some loud boos.

Aldermen who buy tickets and don't attend personally with a public announcement of some kind could be subject to fines, Berlin added. According to the city's ethics ordinance, those fines range from $1,000 to $5,000 for each violation.

But imposing fines would be another matter. Each case would have to be investigated and the board would have to make a determination of an ethics violation.

"On behalf of the Board of Ethics, I appreciate in advance your cooperation in this complex (but also joyous and exciting) matter," Berlin wrote, adding this: "GO CUBS!"

The memo was first reported by the Sun-Times.

hdardick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ReporterHal
Same-day voter registration will be available in Illinois for the Nov. 8 election after a federal appeals court Friday denied an attempt to expedite a case challenging the law.

Earlier this week, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a lower court ruling from September that found the same-day registration option benefited Democratic strongholds such as Chicago while diluting the vote in rural regions that may favor Republican candidates. The lower court ruling had blocked implementation of the same-day registration option for the upcoming election.

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The appeals court Tuesday stayed the lower court order after Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office appealed, clearing the way for election officials to implement the same-day registration law again. The lawyers who were challenging the law then asked the appeals court to expedite its review of the case, but the appeals court Friday declined to do so, instead setting a Nov. 10 deadline for the first round of briefs.

That means same-day voter registration will be in effect on Election Day.

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Under the law, counties with populations of 100,000 or more must provide voters with the same-day registration option at polling places on Election Day. Smaller counties must also do so, if they keep voter records electronically. Smaller counties that don't keep electronic poll books must offer same-day registration at their main election office or at polling places in the county's larger municipalities.

The law was challenged by a Republican candidate for Congress in northwestern Illinois who was represented by the legal arm of the GOP-aligned Illinois Policy Institute. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has been a donor to the institute.

kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimgeiger
Police tape blocks of the location of a fire on Oct. 5, 2016 in Kerrville, Texas, where police say a 10-year-old boy was burned. (Zeke MacCormack / AP)

Ten-year-old Kayden Culp, a special-needs child who has a hearing impairment and speaks with a lisp, had been bullied in the past, relatives said.

Other boys he considered his friends "would make fun of him and pick on him and tease him," his mother, Tristyn Hatchett, told the San Antonio Express-News.

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"He was usually the brunt of that kind of joke," she said, "but he kept playing with them."

On Sunday afternoon in central Texas, Kayden hopped on his bike and headed out to play with some of those boys in an abandoned field, relatives said.

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Not long after, his parents received some alarming news: There had been a fire in Kerrville, where the kids were playing.

Relatives rushed to the scene.

"We went out there not knowing it was Kayden on fire," his aunt, Tanya Kasper, told The Washington Post.

When first responders arrived, they found Kayden "severely burned," and he was air-lifted to a hospital, police and fire officials said in a joint statement.

Family members said the boy was placed in a drug-induced coma while his medical team tended to his first- and second-degree burns, which covered 20 percent of his body, from his bottom lip to his belly button.

On the way to the hospital, Kayden told his parents that another boy "did this to me - he set me on fire," his aunt said.

"We haven't heard his voice since Sunday," Kasper said.

The Kerrville fire marshal's office, which is investigating the incident, said in a statement that a "juvenile has been identified as the individual responsible for causing the victim's severe burns. That juvenile has been taken into custody and has been charged with First Degree Arson. The identity of this juvenile is not being released as the individual is under the age of 18."

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Kasper said family members cannot comprehend "somebody being so young having an intention to hurt another child."

Ashley White, a family friend, told the Express-News that she had seen the boys playing in the field near her home.

Later, she heard sirens and saw smoke spilling from a shed.

She phoned Kayden's parents.

"They later said a lady up the street had helped put the fire on Kayden out," she told the newspaper.

"I'm praying it was an accident," she said. "But if it wasn't an accident, justice needs to be served, because no child deserves to go through what he's going through."

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But Kayden's mother, Hatchett, said on Facebook: "This was no accident!"

"I need the police to arrest the 2 boys involved with the premeditated attempted murder of my 10 yr old son Kayden Culp!" she wrote.

"There's no reason they should not already be incarcerated," she added to the Express-News. "The other boys who were there [have] been telling kids at school that it was not an accident, that it was intentional."

Family members allege that one of the boys doused Kayden with gasoline and then another set him on fire, though authorities have not confirmed that account.

Kayden's mother said Thursday morning that Kayden's condition is improving.

"They have taken him off the epinephrine," Hatchett wrote on Facebook. "He was able to stabilize his heart rate and blood pressure on his own all night. Still on feeding and breathing machines. He is going in for his second dressing change soon. We will know more about the severity of his burns and lung damage afterwards. His swelling seems to be reducing now. The last dressing change caused him to plummet."

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She added: "We want to thank everyone, everywhere for all of the thoughts, prayers and support. I can't express how grateful we are. Truly amazing. We need the good to outweigh the evil."

Relatives called Kayden a loving child who struggles to fit in.

He has shown signs of autism, they said, but the disorder has not been diagnosed.

"Life has been a challenge from the get-go," said Kasper, his aunt.

A GoFundMe page set up for Kayden Culp, a Texas boy who was severely burned. (GoFundMe)

Kasper has set up a GoFundMe page, raising more than $10,000 for Kayden's medical bills.

It states:

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First I want to open in a prayer and give Thanks to the Lord above that we can still be, beside your dear child as he goes through this new chapter in life. Kayden just turned 10 and is now facing a life change. He needs prayers and lots of support. We ask for help providing for financial assistance for our family. Money is something that will not fix everything, but it will give the parents a chance to stay beside him and his other siblings. Kayden is going to change the world and he is now a voice for other children that are dealing with a "bully". Let's do our part for Kayden. We love u sweet boy. #TEAMKAYDEN

A YouCaring site, which has raised $80,000, says: "He's going to be in the hospital for quite a while enduring something no person, let alone a child, should ever have to go through."
"Try to keep a little distance. Or this case will destroy you."

Monsters will always be fascinating characters. Dracula versus Professor Van Helsing, Michael Myers versus Doctor Loomis, every monster has an antagonist, that human counterpoint to root for. But sometimes the monster is as human as you or I. Sometimes the antagonist is a simple police investigator obsessed with cracking the case he's been handed. Such is the case involving the real-life rapist and murderer Guy George and the young inspector Franck Magne who would for nearly ten years sift through hundreds of case files, go through all of the evidence and break through the outdated stone walls of traditional police inspection in order to bring a killer to justice. During the trial of Guy George, a lawyer will make the bold defense of humanizing her client, to show the world he isn't a monster, but a flesh and blood man. These parallel stories run alongside each other throughout Frederic Tellier's 'Serial Killer 1' creating an evocative and engrossing thriller.

Franck Magne (Raphael Personnaz) has a lot to prove. It's October 1991, he's just been assigned to the legendary crime squad 36, a group of inspectors dedicated to solving the worst crimes in Paris. As the youngest investigator on the 36 team, he's eager to show what he can do and make a good impression. But when one of his partners hands him their most cherished unsolved case file, the brutal rape, torture, and murder of a beautiful young woman, Franck can't let it go. Before long, finding this woman's killer becomes an obsession and as Franck digs deeper, he starts to uncover other unsolved crimes that have striking similarities. When new murders occur under similar circumstances, Franck must push through the thick muck of ego and bureaucracy to force the Paris police department to adopt state of the art detection methods. As they're now able to uncover and identify DNA, a single suspect emerges as the perpetrator of seven grizzly murders. Without any name, this mystery man is designated "Serial Killer 1" in the police DNA database.

On March 19th, 2001, it is the first day of the trial of Guy George (Adama Niane), the man known to all of France as The Beast of Bastille. Maitre Frederique Pons (Nathalie Baye) has agreed to defend Guy George alongside his assigned advocate (William Nadylam). Pons must set aside what she feels and believes about the case and focus on the flimsy evidence against her client. With a new DNA test looming, Pons must take apart the evidence, including a confession in order to prove that her client is potentially innocent. She must tear off this mask the police and the press have created that Guy is a monster. He's not a monster. He's a man. If she succeeds, Guy George will go free, but that doesn't sit well with her instincts as a woman that the man she's defending is very likely a brutal killer with a documented past of armed assault and rape.

Frederic Tellier's 'Serial Killer 1' is a thrilling and effective docudrama thriller. It pulls apart the pieces of a historical event, provides a look into a past world that is well known but just as captivating. In a world where DNA is a common piece of evidence in murder trials, it's still amazing to think that hardly 20 years ago it was something that would be disputed or something people believed was a fallible inaccurate piece of evidence that couldn't be trusted. At the same time, the film's unique approach of covering two different sides of the story from two different time periods proves to be incredibly effective at telling this story. As any Google search would reveal, the Beast of Bastille has a face and his name is Guy George. Because there is little mystery left of who the killer is, the film decides to show how he was caught and brought to justice.

Perhaps the best way to describe my reaction to 'Serial Killer 1' is with a couple of qualifier examples. If you're going to draw any sort of comparisons, this film is a shorter version of 'Zodiac' meets 'The People V. O.J. Simpson.' Those aren't exactly the best examples, but it's the only way that I can illustrate the fractured timeline approach to the story. On one side we're hooked into Franck's obsession with the case and how at every turn internal red tape and ego is keeping people from realizing the obvious that the cases are connected. At the same time, we watch an experienced female lawyer juggle her own internal feelings about defending an indefensible client of horrible crimes against other women. She clearly doesn't believe her client's innocence, but she believes in the rule of law and if there is a chance that he is actually innocent, that evidence must be heard in a court of law.

Through it all, we're treated to a series of incredible performances. Raphael Personnaz's Franck is a quiet brooding and driven character. It's his actions that bring the character to light, not his words. He's like watching a windup clock. You know it's working, every now and again it chimes the hour of the day, but we don't see its internal workings. We're given brief insights into what this case is doing to himself as well as the strain it's causing his family, but we're kept at a distance. At the same time, we're watching Nathalie Baye's Frederique Pons face her client. She knows in her gut the man is guilty. But she must defend him. She has to do it not only because of the flimsy evidence but also because she knows Guy George is a human being. He's not a monster, he isn't a freak, he's the product of a series of terrible situations that culminated in his horrific actions. Caught in between these two is an impressive turn from Adama Niane as Guy George. Niane does an incredible job of humanizing the man. You don't ever quite relate to him, his actions make that a bit difficult, but you do end up feeling an ounce of sympathy for him.

If there is one thing that I would have liked from 'Serial Killer 1' is more of it. At two hours, the film flies by in a flash and actually feels a bit too short by about ten or twenty minutes. I wanted that extra time. I didn't need to see more grizzly details of the crimes, the film is perfectly frank enough, nor did I need to see any reenactments of those crimes. I wanted to spend more time with these characters. While the dual stories from two different time periods work beautifully, it, unfortunately, does shortchange inspector Franck Magne and Maitre Frederique Pons. Not in the way that we don't get to know who they are, I just would have liked to have spent an extra few minutes with their lives away from the case. Going back to 'Zodiac' as an example, I loved how that movie showed the detrimental effects the case had on those involved and how their obsessions or their drive tore apart relationships. If 'Serial Killer 1' had a few more moments like that, I feel that this would have been a perfect procedural thriller. As it stands, it's an engrossing thriller from start to finish that rests just on the edge of cinematic glory. As I watched the film I realized how I started sitting on my couch, suddenly I was sitting on my coffee table, and then I was standing right in front of my television set by the time the film came to a close. I pulled me in from minute one and didn't let go.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Serial Killer 1' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. Pressed onto a Region A locked BD50 disc, the disc is housed in a standard Blu-ray case. The disc opens directly to a static image main menu with traditional navigation options.
SANDOWN, N.H.  Donald Trump lashed out against a broad array of people, including Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, at a town hall-style event staged before a friendly audience here Thursday night.

He attacked Hillary Clinton, alleging with no evidence that when the Democratic nominee says she is preparing for debates, she is actually "resting." He knocked journalists John Harwood and John King, as well as the media in general and even the Commission on Presidential Debates.

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Trump also denied that he was using the event to prepare for Sunday night's debate in St. Louis, which will operate under a similar format.

At one point, Trump said that Kirk, who does not support Trump, is "not doing so well" in his re-election bid. He added, dismissively: "That's his problem."

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The gathering was hardly a preview of the spontaneous questions Trump and Clinton are expected to face from voters and moderators Sunday night. It was closed to the public; the campaign invited people to attend and submit written questions in advance. Some added words of encouragement for Trump to their questions.

Trump was not pressed on his taxes, or his comments about women's physical appearances, which have stoked widespread controversy in recent weeks.

Conservative radio host Howie Carr moderated the event. Asked by Carr whether he wanted to be told when his two minutes allotted for answering each question were up, Trump quipped: "If I'm doing well, don't call me."

Carr said at the outset that Trump would field about 20 questions. He took only about a dozen, on issues from foreign policy to domestic issues to Trump's outreach to Hispanics and whether he was annoyed that running mate Mike Pence didn't defend his positions in this week's vice-presidential debate.

"This isn't practice. This has nothing to do with Sunday," Trump said. Without any substantiation, he said that what Clinton does is "not debate prep - she's resting."

Later, he said: "She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night."

At one point, Trump told the crowd about his recent trip to Las Vegas, where he said Hispanics "like to be called" Latinos.

In a stark departure from his usual rallies, which draw thousands to arenas, conventions centers and sprawling fairgrounds, Trump addressed an intimate group of about a couple hundred people packed into the Sandown Town Hall building, in a state that has made town halls famous in presidential politics.

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The event came at a critical moment for Trump, who has tumbled in the polls in the week and a half after his first debate with Clinton. He trails her in most key battleground states.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a Trump supporter whose town hall-style meetings in New Jersey catapulted him to national fame, stood and watched the candidate from the side of the room. Christie is reported to be helping Trump prepare for Sunday's debate.

Trump brushed off suggestions that he may have been irked by Pence's well-received debate performance, knocking Harwood - a CNBC and New York Times journalist - and King, from CNN, for reporting that Trump may have been bothered that Pence didn't defend him.

"John Harwood was the worst moderator at all the debates we had," Trump said, speaking of the Republican primary campaign.

He said that at his first debate with Clinton, he "did hold back" from lobbing "inappropriate" personal attacks.

The Republican nominee repeatedly mentioned the heroin epidemic that has hit New Hampshire especially hard and emphasized his hard-line approach to border security as a means for fighting the flow of drugs.

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"I promise the people of New Hampshire we are going to stop this crap from coming into your state," he said.

Trump spoke with a handheld microphone, as is the custom at town hall-style events. At the start, he referred to the audio problems he experienced at the first debate, a line he has used often. He then slammed the commission that organizes the debates, saying sarcastically, "Some commission that is."
Elaine Wong was a volunteer with the Chinese American Service League for more than two decades. (Family photo)

As a Chinese-American teenager growing up in Hawaii in the early 1940s, Elaine Wong had dreams of attending Stanford University and becoming a doctor.

But the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor and racism against Asian-Americans  particularly along the West Coast and in Hawaii  was rampant.

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"Once the war broke out, everything changed," said her daughter, Melissa Wong Aagesen. "But she held onto her dreams and her ambitions remained big and bold."

On the advice of a friend, Wong enrolled at Indiana University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. After earning a medical degree from the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, she completed residencies in pediatrics and psychiatry in the Midwest before entering private practice as a child psychiatrist in Chicago in the mid-1950s.

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Wong, 91, who maintained a limited practice in her Hyde Park home office until the age of 90, died of natural causes Sept. 2 at The Clare Chicago, a North Side senior living community.

For more than two decades, Wong was a volunteer with the Chinese American Service League, a Chinatown-based nonprofit agency aimed at meeting the needs of Chinese-Americans of all ages with programs that include English language instruction, job training and child care.

As a volunteer consultant at CASL's Childhood Development Center, Wong helped train staff members by leading monthly case study meetings and teaching preschool teachers how to ferret out the reasons behind children's behavior.

Former CASL colleagues praised Wong for her dedication at getting to the heart of children's issues and the family dynamics that surround them.

"Elaine was passionate and knowledgeable, with an approach so open and warm that she won our teachers over immediately," said CASL's executive director, Esther Wong, who is no relation. "She was a mentor to so many of us, both personally and professionally."

Born and raised Elaine Chong in Honolulu, Wong was one of seven children whose father worked as a farmhand. Her mother baked puff rice cookies that were sold to workers at a nearby pineapple packing plant.

"Her family was pretty poor, but growing up in a house with so many kids, there was always someone to talk to and lots of commotion," her daughter said.

Wong met her future husband, Arthur Wong, on a blind date. The two were married in 1964 and settled in Hyde Park.

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In 2014, Wong and her husband, who for many years served on the board of directors at CASL, were honored for their contributions and given the group's Golden Lion Award.

"My mother loved her work as a child psychiatrist, but it was equally important to her as a Chinese-American to always give back," her daughter said.

Other survivors include her husband; a son, David; two brothers, Robert Chong and Lemuel Chong; and three grandchildren.

Services were held.

Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
Sharon Fairley, leader of the Chicago Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), speaks during a news conference with Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, on Dec. 7, 2015. IPRA will be replaced with what is called the Civilian Office on Police Accountability (COPA). (Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)

A funny thing happened when Sharon Fairley took over as chief of Chicago's toothless police oversight agency: It started to do its job.

In eight years, the Independent Police Review Authority  charged with investigating the most serious complaints against police officers  had almost never found an officer guilty of wrongdoing. More than half the complaints made by citizens went straight in the wastebasket for lack of a signed affidavit. Hundreds of others were routed into mediation, short-circuiting investigations in the name of expediency. The disciplinary process took years and rarely resulted in meaningful punishment.

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IPRA's failures were front and center after the world watched the recording of Officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots at 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Despite 20 citizen complaints, Van Dyke had never been disciplined. He'd never even been flagged as a potential problem. Now he's charged with first-degree murder.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired IPRA chief Scott Ando and put Fairley in the job, then went to work to overhaul the police oversight system. He made significant progress on Wednesday, when the City Council approved his plan to replace IPRA with a stronger, more independent agency overseen by a deputy inspector general for public safety.

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In the months the mayor spent writing and rewriting his ordinance, Fairley has given Chicago a glimpse at what IPRA could have done if it hadn't lost its way.

She exercised her authority to override that affidavit requirement when appropriate. She ordered an audit of past investigations to explore why so many of them came up empty. She reopened cases. She decreed that mediation would be used more sparingly going forward. She lit a fire, basically, and we've seen results. No excuses. No interference from City Hall.

No, we're not suggesting IPRA could have been salvaged. Its track record was beyond redemption. We're glad Emanuel decided to blow it up and start over.

The agency he's created to replace it  the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA  is better equipped to do the job. It will investigate a broader scope of complaints, and the process will be streamlined, with tighter deadlines and fewer detours. COPA will have the authority to examine patterns of complaints, recommend changes in policies and training, and weigh in on lawsuits involving police officers. The process is designed to get results, without stacking the deck for or against police officers.

COPA's performance will be audited by the deputy IG for public safety, a new layer of oversight.

The ordinance guarantees more money to go with all this new responsibility. Is it enough? Time will tell. But it's a floor, not a ceiling. The funding can't be cut to starve the agency or the IG for doing their jobs too well. And the money can't be shifted to other needs when the current crisis blows over.

Count us among those who have reservations about COPA's independence. It's still tethered to a City Hall that until recently was in denial about the scope of police-on-citizen abuse and the code of silence that enabled it. Taxpayers have shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle lawsuits alleging police brutality while those same officers were routinely found blameless by the oversight system. It was all in plain sight. But damage control took priority over police accountability until it all came crashing down.

The mayor and aldermen deserve much credit for working to put the oversight system back together. So do the citizens and criminal justice activists who continue to challenge them to get it right.

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The new disciplinary framework isn't perfect, but we believe it can succeed  if the politicians stand back and let it work.
Choosing a new Cook County state's attorney in normal times, you might vote for a candidate who's had a hand in thousands of criminal prosecutions. Someone who knows the intricacies of felony statutes, what the precise burdens of proof will be, which arguments a jury is likely to embrace or discard.

That's the case Republican Christopher Pfannkuche (pronounced fon-COOK) makes for electing him chief prosecutor. His depth of experience does qualify him to charge and prosecute outlaws, to put the guilty behind bars. We'll again note that while taking criminals off the streets and standing up for crime victims aren't the entirety of this job, those are the reasons this job exists.

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But 2016 isn't a normal time here. Democratic voters so disapproved of how the current state's attorney, Anita Alvarez, handled the Laquan McDonald case that they rejected her primary election bid for a third four-year term.

From policing to prosecution to trial to incarceration to parole, citizens are demanding better of their criminal justice system. There's heightened public scrutiny of street stops, arrests, charging decisions, judges who slow-walk cases, and insufficient state penalties for repeat gun offenders  the list goes on.

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But as violent crime rates rise, citizens, too, will have to do more  especially to help police and prosecutors find perpetrators and put them away. That will mean building connections and trust between people in law enforcement and the impoverished communities where criminals prey on innocents.

When we wrote about this case before the March primary, we said that if we could choose one of the three Democrats in that race to prosecute a murder case, we'd choose Alvarez for her courtroom experience. But the top job of state's attorney involves many other skills: judgment about law enforcement priorities and conduct; frank and comfortable communication with the public; administration of a big and vital office that, like all of county government, will have to get smaller as pension costs crush budgets.

In that primary race we endorsed Democrat Kim Foxx, who had spent 12 years as an assistant state's attorney, mostly in juvenile court. And she had worked as chief of staff to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, helping administer a $4 billion budget.

Today we endorse Kim Foxx for the same good reasons, and with the same two concerns, as we did before the primary.

Democratic Cook County state's attorney candidate Kim Foxx meets with the Tribune Editorial Board on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. (Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune)

Foxx has strong communications skills. She worked well with a politically diverse County Board, and we think she can be a bridge to the bloodied communities that are most alienated from the criminal justice system. Foxx understands that disconnect; wanting to heal it is her most compelling rationale for seeking the office. She's given plenty of thought to the suspicions and hostilities that have animated metropolitan Chicago since the McDonald case erupted in the public consciousness a year ago.

And those misgivings? Foxx got where she is with strong help from Preckwinkle and the county Democratic organization. As we've written, beyond a polite hello in the elevator, prosecutors should be fiercely independent of politicians, especially those who sign off on their budget. Coziness invites intrusion from above in matters of patronage, policy and principle. You don't think that could happen? Ask anyone who's ever worked near the top of the state's attorney's office.

During a debate at the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Democratic candidate for Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx and Republican candidate Christopher Pfannkuche address how the Laquan McDonald case degraded the integrity of the office. The candidates also discuss whether police misconduct is systemic or the result of a few bad apples. Sept. 13, 2016. (Chicago Tribune)

Our second concern has been whether Foxx wants to be a crime-buster or public defender (actually an appointed post). When she debated Pfannkuche before the Tribune Editorial Board, Foxx appeared more focused than she was in her primary campaign on the horrific killings by the hundreds in poor Chicago neighborhoods each year. We want a state's attorney who'll focus on police misconduct, fairness to defendants and incarceration rates of the guilty. But if Foxx is elected, her chief challenge will be persuading crime-ravaged communities to cooperate with law enforcement and curtail the slaughter of so many youths.

Watching Foxx and Pfannkuche debate, we were struck by what a good team they would make. Pfannkuche would need a No. 2 who could emphasize the hurt in poor neighborhoods. And Foxx would need a deputy who has the gritty experience with criminal law that she lacks.

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In the end, it was Pfannkuche who persuaded us to endorse Foxx. "The state's attorney should be the voice of the community," he said in their debate. At this time in this county, Foxx is best suited to be that voice.

Read candidate questionnaires and see other endorsements at chicagotribune.com/candidates.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
If it's election season, it must be time for Bob and Brad.

We're talking about Republican Rep. Robert Dold of the 10th Congressional District, who is trying to fend off challenger Brad Schneider in their third consecutive U.S. House contest. Schneider, a Democrat, took the North Shore seat from Dold in 2012, but Dold won a rematch in 2014. You don't see best-of-three sets like this very often. Will they go best of five?

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There are other major match-ups on Election Day for seats in Illinois' D.C. delegation. One of those, which we'll cover on Day 2, is the 8th District race between Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi and Republican Peter DiCianni. They're competing for the seat vacated by Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk.

Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Dold and Brad Schneider meet with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Wednesday, August 31, 2016, in Chicago. (John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

10th District: We begin today with the race between incumbent Robert Dold, from Kenilworth, and Brad Schneider, from Deerfield. Both have business backgrounds, including MBAs from Northwestern, and they are more similar than different in outlook, reflecting the North Shore's centrist views. Dold is that rare creature these days, a moderate Republican, while Schneider runs more in lockstep with his party.

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This is not a proxy for the presidential contest. While Schneider supports Hillary Clinton, Dold was one of the first Republicans in Congress to disavow Donald Trump. When Dold and Schneider get together, as they did for a joint interview with the Tribune Editorial Board, they spar mightily to distinguish themselves. And we did hear some differences.

Both candidates offer paeans to small business and talk about the need to reform a wildly complex tax code to spur economic growth. Both would lower corporate tax rates and eliminate loopholes, but Schneider sounds more willing to raise rates on wealthier individuals. Both say they worry about the national debt (now approaching $19 trillion) and out-of-control federal spending. To avert insolvency of Social Security, Dold said he'd consider raising the minimum retirement age for younger workers and the cap on taxable income. Schneider would raise the cap but not the retirement age.

On gun control, Schneider would ban semi-automatic weapons and larger magazines. Dold held back, saying all options should be on the table, but he's also one of the few Republicans willing to cross the aisle to stand with Democrats on this hot-button issue. We like these two, but we're closer to Dold on economic policy and value his independent approach  he's one of the few Republicans who has been willing to cross the aisle when he thinks it's in the best interests of the country and his district. Dold is endorsed.

1st District

Rep. Bobby Rush has been in Congress since 1993. In all the years since, could his greatest achievement be that time way back in 2000 when he fended off a Democratic primary challenge from a young Barack Obama? Rush, whose 1st District reaches from the South and West sides of Chicago to rural Will County, isn't seen or heard much in the Chicago area. He misses lots of votes in Washington, too.

Due to the travesty of gerrymandering, this district would be an enormous challenge for even the most creative and energetic politician to manage: Not many local interests link urban Marquette Park and rural Manhattan. One place for an effective House member to focus would be taking on the crisis of gun violence and gangs in the district's ravaged city neighborhoods. Last year Rush went on a misbegotten trip to the federal supermax prison in Colorado to visit two long locked up gang leaders, as if they would hold some key to stop the killing.

We've hoped for a while that Rush would face a motivated, talented Republican challenger. We'll have to keep waiting. Rush's Nov. 8 opponent, August (O'Neill) Deuser of Mokena, a retired special education teacher, has some, um, unrealistic ideas on governance. He'd balance the federal budget by slashing all discretionary spending in half. You can't save a heart patient by lopping off a leg and an arm. No endorsement.

2nd District

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Three years into her U.S. House tenure, Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of the south suburban 2nd District is the effective, passionate legislator we hoped for when we endorsed her in 2013 to finish the term of Jesse Jackson Jr., who had resigned.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-2nd District, mingles with guests before giving a speech at a luncheon put on by The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform at The Standard Club in Chicago on Tuesday, June 7, 2016. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

We disagree on some major issues (Kelly is a lot less worried than we are about Social Security's eventual insolvency), but she's solid on the issues of her district, producing job fairs and being a voice of empowerment for black women and girls. Pushing gun control legislation, Kelly was a leader of an overnight sit-in on the House floor. Her point was to remind Congress and the country that individual Chicagoans were dying on the streets at an alarming rate. "A lot of the conversation was about mass shootings, and I know I changed that conversation."

Running on the Republican side is businessman John Morrow of Country Club Hills. He would combat gun violence by detaining gang members outside the criminal justice system, making pre-emptive arrests under a rare public safety exemption to the Miranda warning process. Most people would say his approach violates the Constitution on numerous grounds. Kelly is endorsed.

5th District

When the debate over President Barack Obama's Pacific trade deal heated up, we looked  high and low  for Illinois Democrats ready to back their president. Then we talked to Rep. Mike Quigley, of Chicago's 5th District, who's smart on trade: Globalization is the reality, and Illinois' factories and farms are major exporters. "If the U.S. fails to set the rules for global trade, then other countries with records of environmental and labor abuses like China will step in to fill the void," he responded to a Tribune survey question.

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, shown at a Pulaski Day event in 2015, wants the city to shut down streets around Wrigley Field, citing security concerns. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

We find Quigley energetic, thoughtful, nimble and not doctrinaire. He has national responsibilities as the only Illinois member of the House Appropriations Committee, but he also pays keen attention to local issues like the modernization of O'Hare International Airport.

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Quigley's Republican opponent, as in 2014, is Vince Kolber of Chicago, founder and CEO of a transportation equipment company. Kolber also understands what it takes to compete in the global economy. He's a moderate Republican whose views sync with ours in many ways. But we don't see a reason to unseat an effective legislator. Quigley is endorsed. Also on the ballot is Green Party candidate Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove.

6th District

Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton is a rock-ribbed Republican particularly strong in the role of congressional watchdog. He chairs the oversight subcommittee on the House Ways and Means Committee and is an aggressive thorn in the side of the highly imperfect Internal Revenue Service. Roskam, a prominent Obamacare critic, is just as tough on Medicare fraud, having co-written a measure signed into law last year that will make it easier for the government to identify improper payments.

Rep. Peter Roskam speaks in Barrington, Ill., on March 11, 2015. (Brian O'Mahoney, Pioneer Press)

Roskam also was in the zone as a fierce opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, which he thinks is an "unmitigated disaster" for American national security. We listened closely to the objections from Roskam and others but ultimately supported the deal as the better of bad options. Roskam, representing the 6th District, faces Democrat Amanda Howland, a Lake Zurich attorney and College of Lake County trustee. Roskam is endorsed.

7th District

Rep. Danny Davis, whose 7th District includes Chicago's West Side, has been in Congress for nearly 20 years, winning each election in a landslide. By this point, voters know exactly what to expect: support for issues crucial to minority communities, the poor and vulnerable children. Oh, and Davis will spend serious time with constituents. His typical weekend home from Washington involves four or five church services, his call-in radio show and more. "Any weekend I will do 12 to 15 events of some kind," he tells us.

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Congressman Danny K. Davis talks about the high prison populations that exist in this country during a town hall meeting in Chicago on Nov. 12, 2015. (Jon Langham, Chicago Tribune)

In Washington, Davis' signature legislation  reauthorized repeatedly  provides funding to help ex-offenders re-enter the community after completing their prison sentences. Given this year's gun violence in Chicago, Davis says there is no single answer, but he sees a need to create more government-funded jobs programs to give hope to young men without education or job prospects who otherwise might be drawn to gangs. "We continue to be a breeding ground for some of the violence we are experiencing," he tells us.

Voters in the 7th District have an intriguing alternative to consider: Jeffrey Leef, a University of Chicago radiologist from River Forest, may be the feel-good candidate of the year in Illinois. He entered the race after primary season because he was disheartened that local Republicans put up so few candidates. Leef outlasted a Democratic ballot challenge by winning a federal court case and mastered the issues, too. We're enamored with his enthusiasm and civic-mindedness and hope he stays involved in politics. Our endorsement goes to Davis for his own dedication to the community he represents.

Read candidate questionnaires and see other endorsements at chicagotribune.com/candidates.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
A young man gestures as he and others participate in a protest at Marshall Park on Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. Protests erupted in the city in response to the fatal shooting by police officers of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott at an apartment complex near UNC Charlotte. (Sean Rayford / Getty Images)

In case you missed the vice presidential debate  and who didn't?  the most memorable moment came when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence sounded shocked, shocked, at the very idea that a black police officer could be biased against black people.

I've got news for you, governor. A lot of black people don't like black people all that much.

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I know. I'm one of them.

I don't dislike all black people. Most of us are fine.

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When people tell me they are surprised to hear that I don't like all black people, I remind them of how little African-Americans were exposed  until recent decades  to positive images of themselves in media and elsewhere.

I think my condition began at age 4. My parents broke the news that I could not go to the amusement park near our southern Ohio home because it did not admit "colored people."

I didn't know it at the time, but it was the beginning of my re-education in being part of an underprivileged class of Americans. Almost everywhere I looked, I saw images of white people achieving things and black people singing, dancing or getting arrested.

The world has changed a lot since then, thanks largely to the hard-won victories of the civil rights revolution. But black self-hatred is not dead, even in this era of a half-black president; it has merely diversified.

That's why I was disappointed to hear Indiana's Republican governor, Donald Trump's running mate, take offense with Democrat Hillary Clinton's suggestion during her first debate with Trump that everyone has "implicit bias," including black police officers.

The "bad-mouthing" of police by people who "use a broad brush to accuse law enforcement of implicit bias or institutional racism really has got to stop," Pence said in his debate with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Clinton's running mate.

Pence cited the recent fatal shooting in Charlotte, N.C., of a black man, Keith Lamont Scott, that involved a black Charlotte police officer, Brentley Vinson, and touched off several days of riots.

Pence expressed dismay that "Hillary Clinton actually referred to that moment as an example of implicit bias in the police force," as if a black officer could not be biased against black people. I am not prejudging Vinson's guilt or innocence when I say that black officers not only can have  but in some communities actually have  long histories of bias against black people.

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A 2014 ProPublica analysis of deadly force killings, for example, found young black men were 21 times as likely as their white peers to be killed by police. Black officers account for a little more than 10 percent of all fatal police shootings, the investigative journalism organization found, but of those whom they killed, 78 percent were black.

How many of those victims had it coming? That's hard to say, since blacks made up 77 percent of the cases in which the circumstances were listed as "undetermined."

Project Implicit, a nonprofit research group, found that most white respondents tended to associate blackness with criminality. Responses from blacks were more evenly mixed, "approximately even numbers of black respondents showing a pro-white bias as show a pro-black bias."

Well, what can we expect, considering how much black Americans have been exposed to negative images and perceptions of black life in media and elsewhere?

That's why, in answering a debate question, Clinton responded to moderator Lester Holt this way: "Lester, I think implicit bias is a problem for everyone, not just police."

As the Rev. Jesse Jackson admitted back in the 1980s, "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps . . . then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved."

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That's not self-hatred, that's just being careful. We don't hate police when we call for less brutality. We're just looking for help.

At least, Pence and Kaine agree on the value of community policing. Bias shrinks on both sides of the blue line when police and the people they are sworn to protect get to know each other  and beat back biases.

Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime
The KNO in a press release on October 4 called on the UN to step in and protect innocent civilians and prevent further destruction.

According to the KNO, the Myanmar Army has been indiscriminately shelling and attacking Kachin positions since before the so-called 21st Century Panglong Conference was held in Nay Pyi Taw.

This was contrary to the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when he recently hailed the Myanmar governments peace process.

Such unprovoked attacks could have jeopardised the peace process and have been terrorising innocent civilians in IDP camps and villages surrounding areas. Several shells have exploded near IDP camps and villages, causing injury among civilians,including children.

The KNO called for the Myanmar Army to completely from our Kachinland before any political negotiations take place to achieve lasting peace.

We strongly condemn the brutal killing of Mangshang Zung Myaw (2 years old), and the serious injuries caused to Lagwi Bawm Lang (6 years old) and Lagwi Ting Kyang (5 years old) from Puwang village, Hpawng Seng village tract in Muse Township, the press release says.

We have also learnt that vital humanitarian aid being delivered to Man Win Gyi IDP Camp, including food and medicines, was confiscated by troops, the organization says.

They said Head of State President U Htin Kyaw, Commander in Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi must be held accountable for such crimes and must refer to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity under international criminal law.
This file photo taken on October 21, 2013, shows Halloween masks on a wall at Spirit Halloween costume store in Easton, Md. A series of creepy clown sightings across the United States has caused a wave of hysteria, forcing police and schools to scramble to contain spreading jitters. Arlington Heights police say recent creepy clown sightings there pose no threat to residents. (JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images)

Arlington Heights police said Friday that despite four so-called "creepy clowns" incidents reported in recent days, officials do not believe that the alleged sightings in town pose a danger to residents.

The first incident reported involved a male seen riding a bicycle and wearing a clown mask near Northwest Highway and Dunton Avenue at around 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, according to Arlington Heights Crime Prevention Officer Brandi Romag.

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A second incident was reported at 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5, near Carefree Park at 1231 S. Belmont Ave., Romag said, with the caller reporting a suspicious person and vehicle involving a male in a white jumpsuit heading into the wooded area near the park.

A third caller reported seeing a person wearing a clown mask exiting Westgate Park at 211 N. Reuter Drive at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, Romag said, with a fourth caller reporting seeing a person wearing a clown mask in the neighborhood near the 1500 block of West Vine Street later that evening, at 8:10 p.m.

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A police search of all four areas following each report did not locate any of the people described by the callers, Romag said.

The incidents reported in Arlington Heights are similar to those reported in other Chicago suburbs this week, in the wake of the recent "creepy clowns" contagion sweeping the U.S., which has led to school lockdowns and arrests in several states.

"We haven't been able to substantiate the reports from the callers, but we do take these reports seriously, and if we get a 911 call from a citizen, we will absolutely come out and check the area," Romag said.

"We advise people seeing clowns that give them cause for alarm to call 911 immediately," Romag said. "But we are also advising parents to talk to their children and teenagers, and tell them if they are thinking about doing a clown prank, it may seem funny, but they should be aware they could be potentially charged with a crime. It's also dangerous, because they could potentially find themselves in harm's way."

kcullotta@tribpub.com

Twitter @kcullotta
Grace Community Christian Church in Aurora will host a community-wide event called "Keeping Our Kids Safe," from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 15.

The event will be at the church, 2770 Montgomery Road.

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Church leaders have organized the event through a grant they received to make a positive impact on the community.

The morning session will include information from the Aurora Police Department Special Operations Unit on drug and alcohol awareness, bullying, and gang awareness.

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This will be followed by a free lunch for all attendees.

The afternoon session will include a discussion on human trafficking by WAR International and a discussion on social media safety and awareness.

Also, Walgreens will be on hand all day to process flu shots.

Child fingerprinting will also be available for $8.

To register for this free event or for more information, call Peggy Grosrenaud at the church, 630-898-7990.

The presentations are geared toward fifth-graders through high school students and their parents.

Free child care will be offered for younger children during the seminar.

slord@tribpub.com
A Kane County jury Thursday night convicted 22-year-old Stephawn Johnson of sexually assaulting an Aurora woman in 2015.

Johnson, of Chicago, was found guilty of criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse to conclude his trial, which began Monday before Kane County Judge Linda Abrahamson. Johnson is scheduled to return to court Oct. 19, when a sentencing date will be set.

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Johnson and a second man, Andres Fonseca, were charged in March, nearly a year after the attack. Johnson made a speedy trial demand, which put his case before a jury only seven months after his arrest.

Authorities said the 19-year-old Aurora woman met Johnson and Fonseca and two others before attending a party at an apartment on South Lincoln. While there, Johnson offered the woman what he described to be Xanax, which she took and said made her feel drowsy and weak, police previously explained. When an acquaintance of the woman and a second man left the apartment to buy alcohol, Johnson and Fonseca assaulted the woman and took her cell phone, according to police and prosecutors.

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Johnson remains in Kane County Jail until his sentencing. Fonseca, held on $1 million bail, is scheduled for trial in November in the sex assault case. He was recently indicted on attempted murder and attempted robbery charges in connection to an unrelated November 2014 shooting.

Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
On the day Richard Gregoire died, he went with his wife, Catherine Smith, and their 9-year-old son on a round-trip drive from their Kane County home to meet a drug dealer in Chicago, according to charging documents in the case.

Smith is accused of arranging the purchase of heroin from Aaron Moore of Chicago.

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Later that day, Kane County sheriff's deputies found Gregoire, 34, unconscious and not breathing in the family's home on the 46W500 block of Main Street in an unincorporated area of Kaneville Township. He was taken to Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva, where he was later pronounced dead.

Gregoire's official cause of death was heroin and fentanyl intoxication, said Kane County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Patrick Gengler.

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Smith and their 9-year-old son were there when Gregoire overdosed, Gengler said.

The Kane County State's Attorney's Office has authorized single counts of drug-induced homicide, a class X felony, against Smith, 29, now of the 2000 block of Ottawa Avenue in Ottawa, and against Moore, 28, of the 1800 block of North Mayfield Avenue, Chicago.

Smith was also charged with causing a child to be endangered, a class A misdemeanor.

"According to our investigation, it looks like she played a pretty vital role in the purchase of the drugs that ultimately led to (her husband's) overdose death," Gengler said.

Charging documents state that Smith called Moore, who arranged the transaction, Gengler said.

Charging documents also state the deal was for 14 small bags of heroin, but don't give their weight or how much was paid, Gengler said.

Moore and Smith were taken into custody Wednesday without incident and transported to the Kane County Adult Justice Center. Although bail for Smith and Moore was initially set at $150,000, both were released on personal recognizance bonds after bond hearings Thursday. Smith's next court date is Nov. 3 and Moore's is Oct. 19, both in Room 313 at the Kane County Courthouse in St. Charles.

hleone@tribpub.com

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Oswego has adopted new fees and rules for food trucks operating in the village.

Village trustees approved a mobile food vendor ordinance that restricts locations where food trucks can operate and requires truck owners to pay licensing fees, as well as register with the village.

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Village Clerk Tina Touchette said the measure was drafted after researching what other municipalities have done, including the city of Chicago.

Food truck owners will be required to pay a $200 licensing fee for the first unit and $100 for any additional vehicle parked on village streets or parkways. Those that are on private property will incur a $25 fee.

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Vendors that want to do business on public property will be required to submit a variety of information. They will be required to reimburse the village $40 for a criminal background check and show proof of Kendall County Health Department permits as well as provide valid identification as an applicant and for all employees. The village will also require the applicant and operator to submit a photo, show proof of liability and auto insurance as well as provide proof of a retailers' occupation tax number.

Vendors parked on private property will have to submit similar credentials and county health department permits.

Food trucks will be prohibited on Main Street from Jefferson to Tyler streets and on Washington Street from Parkers Mill to Route 71. They will also not be allowed to park within 200 feet of school property from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. or when school is in session unless the vendor has written permission from the school district. Those that park on Oswegoland Park District property will be required to have written permission from the park district.

Mobile food vendors will be allowed to do business from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., including holidays, unless the unit is parked on private property. The ordinance restricts vendors to 90 minutes at any one location.

The ordinance was approved in a 5 to 1 vote with Trustee Joe West voting the other way. West said food trucks create direct competition with established restaurants.

"We see food truck vendors park in front of restaurants and the restaurants are not happy. It hurts the brick-and-mortar establishments," West said.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
More than four decades after a young bride from Hoffman Estates was said to have died in a car accident, police arrested her husband  a disbarred former Chicago attorney  on charges he killed her with a blow to the head, authorities said.

Police arrested Donnie Rudd, 73, on Thursday in Sugar Land, Texas, on charges he killed 19-year-old Noreen Kumeta Rudd by hitting her on the head in September 1973 in Barrington Hills, authorities said. Sources with knowledge of the case said the woman was thought to have died in a car crash but authorities now believe her husband staged her death.

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Rudd is being held in Texas on $1 million bond as of Friday, but local authorities expect him Monday in Cook County court. He'll be returning to the state where he was once a well-known lawyer but left the profession after disciplinary officials accused him of dishonesty. Before he was disbarred, Rudd pleaded the Fifth Amendment in a disciplinary investigation into legal work he did for a woman before she was shot dead in 1991 in her Arlington Heights home, according to state records.

Local police and prosecutors shared almost no information Friday on the investigation, which involved Arlington Heights police and the Cook County state's attorney cold case unit, officials said. A news conference is planned for Monday after his expected court appearance.

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Though authorities didn't say what jump-started the investigation, Kumeta Rudd's body was exhumed in 2013 from Dundee Township East Cemetery . She died at Elgin's Sherman Hospital, and officials initially determined the death was the result of a fracture to the cervical spine and other trauma related to the crash, authorities said.

Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said the pathologist who conducted the 2013 autopsy reached a different conclusion. He declined to provide further details until Monday.

"There have been a lot of scientific advances since 1973," Russell said. "This would not have been missed now."

Rudd's daughter described her father as the intelligent but troubled son of a Baptist minister. The daughter, who asked not to be named, said he was once a "very successful" attorney, though recently he'd said on social media that he was a stem cell researcher. A website set up under his name describes him as a well-educated and accomplished scientist responsible for a host of scientific innovations.

The woman said she is now estranged from her father. But she remembered spending time with Noreen Kumeta Rudd, whom her father married after he divorced the woman's mother.

"Noreen was really young and pretty. She would knit our Barbies' clothes. She was really sweet," the daughter said.

Kumeta Rudd's family members could not be reached for comment.

Donnie Rudd was licensed in 1969 to practice law in Illinois, but he ended his legal career in disrepute a quarter-century later. He was facing several accusations of misconduct before Illinois' attorney discipline authority when he agreed to be disbarred in 1994, state records show.

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In 1986, a group of people who'd paid for condominiums in an unfinished development hired him, and he accepted a $5,000 retainer to represent them, according to state records. He falsely told them he'd sued the developers and won a favorable judgment, state records indicate.

He later did file the lawsuit, according to state records, and said a judge had handed him a judgment of $8 million. He told his clients repeatedly they would have the money soon, state records indicate. But there was no judgment, according to state records.

In 1988, Rudd created a bogus receipt suggesting to his clients from a condo association that he'd filed a document that he had not, state records allege.

In 1989, Rudd took on Loretta Tabak-Bodtke as a client in a dispute with a business partner, state records show. Rudd filed a lawsuit on her behalf and falsely claimed he'd won and secured money, according to state records. Tabak-Bodtke, 59, was shot to death in her Arlington Heights home in 1991 and, because there was no sign of forced entry or a struggle, police concluded she must have let her killer in, according to news archives.

At the disciplinary investigation into Rudd's legal work for the woman, Rudd invoked his right against self-incrimination "based upon an ongoing criminal investigation concerning certain facts and events related to Tabak-Bodtke," according to state records.

Tabak-Bodtke's family members could not be reached for comment.

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While he had heart problems in the past, his family told CTVNews.ca he died peacefully in his sleep at home in Innisfail, Alta.

Hso Khan Pha, also known as Tiger Yawnghwe, was the son of Sao Shwe Thaike,the prince of Yawnghwe, a Shan State in what is now Burma.

In Beijing in 1957 with Mao Zedong. Tiger Yawnghwe in the back row, second from the left. Brother Harn Yawnghwe in the Chinese coat in the back row, first from left. Father Sao Shwe Thaik and mother Sao Nang Hearn Khamare stand left of Mao in the centre.(Harn Yawnghwe)

In 1948, when Burma won independence from British colonial rule, Yawnghwes father became the first president of Burma and speaker of its upper house in 1952. During the 1962 military takeover, one of Yawnghwes five siblings, 15-year-old Hso Hom Fa, was shot dead. Following that his father was arrested and forcibly removed from office. He died in imprisonment the following November.

Yawnghwe Palace, where Tiger Yawnghwe grew up. It was confiscated by the military in 1962. It is now a Cultural Museum in Myanmar. (Harn Yawnghwe)

At the time of his fathers death, Yawnghwe was studying in England. He graduated from the University of Keele in 1964 with a bachelors degree in geology and political institutions and began working as a geologist. His work took him to Ivory Coast and then to Canada in 1966.

In 1976, Yawnghwe married and had four children.

He spent the rest of his life in Canada and helped bring the family over, Kham Serk Yawnghwe, 34, Yawnghwes youngest child, told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday. He always tried to help the people of Shan State.

Left to right: Tiger Yawnghwe, a friend, brother Harn Yawnghwe. (Harn Yawnghwe)

Despite settling in Canada, Shan State was never far from Yawnghwes mind, his son said. While he never had the opportunity to return to Burma since 1962, striving to make Shan State an independent country and helping its displaced citizens was a major part of his lifes work. In 2007, he attended an international peace conference in Los Angeles to speak out against the government of Burma.

Since the military coup in 1962, there have been countless atrocities in Shan, Burmas largest state. Attacks on civilians and infrastructure and forced displacements have uprooted thousands of people in Shan State. Recent reports of military atrocities led the United States to call for an independent and credible investigation by Myanmars government in December 2015.

Because of the political nature of our family, we were never able to travel to Shan State, his son said. He was advocating for Shan State to become independent.

Yawnghwe had lived in Innisfail since 2000. His body will be cremated and his family will hold a memorial in Edmonton.
South Holland Deputy Chief Shawn Staples discusses juvenile detention with South Holland resident Linda Winfrey during her tour of the lockup. (Dennis Sullivan / Daily Southtown)

South Holland Police Chief Greg Baker said Tuesday the inability to upgrade security at the city's former police station was the primary reason for moving two blocks away, but his growing department also needed more room.

South Holland residents got an inside look Monday at their new $4 million police station at 16340 South Park Ave. during the department's open house.

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More than 150 people attended the event, peppering staff, sworn officers and citizen police academy graduates with questions, comments and congratulations. The department has operated out of its new location since July.

Visitors entering the single-level south wing breezed past the records department to learn about the lockup portion, which includes a secure entryway to the male, female and juvenile detention cells, as well as interview, holding and bonding rooms.

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In the lockup portion of the facility, Sgt. Todd Koster told visitors how a motorist suspected of drunken driving is brought into the area to have blood-alcohol concentration checked on a machine and to walk a straight line on the floor.

He added that many motorists have no problem taking the test.

"Drunks have a lot of confidence," he said. Visitors also learned computers have turned fingerprinting into an inkless process.

The three-level north wing houses administrative offices, conference rooms, and a kitchen on the main and upper levels, while evidence collection and storage, locker rooms and a fitness area are in the lower level.

Former Deputy Chief Robert Stegenga, one of the dozens of individuals gathering in the upper level of the north wing, praised the "beautiful" facility as "a wonderful way to repurpose a building."

Stegenga, who retired after a more than 35-year career, said relocating the department was inevitable given the gradual increase in sworn officers from 21 in 1974 to 48 now.

"We just outgrew the old building," he said.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Baker said the formerly vacant former MB Financial building, purchased in 2013, was a logical choice.

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"It's a secure building with the advantage of being a former bank," he said.

The 33,854-square-foot facility also provides more room for the department.

Baker said he's "very happy" with the new quarters, noting it's "85 to 90 percent how it was as a bank."

The emphasis on renovating much of the facility instead of rebuilding helped keep the price tag around $4 million, he said, adding that drug-asset forfeiture money covered most of the cost.

Plans call for eventually adding a large community room, administrative courtroom and command van garage at the facility, Baker said.

Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
With warnings to clean up old vehicles and other refuse being ignored by some residents, Burlington officials are considering amending an ordinance to allow action other than going to court.

Village Attorney Steve Andersson said at a recent village board meeting that court is the only recourse in the junk ordinance as written. He suggested amending it to allow the village to tow abandoned vehicles if the owners do not comply with clean-up requests.

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The village board has issued warnings over the last few months to a number of residents.

Andersson will draft a new ordinance to allow the village to enforce junk regulations without resorting to court action.

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The proposal may be ready for a vote as soon as the next board meeting.

Jeanie Mayer is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Evanston Police released surveillance photos Oct. 8, 2016, showing the three offenders involved in the robbery incidents the day before near Northwestern University. (Evanston Police)

Evanston police released photos Saturday taken from security video that showed three suspects in a pair of reported robbery incidents involving Northwestern students, including one on a CTA train.

In one case, a Northwestern University student was forced to withdraw $400 from an ATM; the other was an attempted robbery of a student, authorities said.

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"They definitely seem to be related incidents," Cmdr. Joseph Dugan said Friday. "It appears to be the same (suspects)."

The attempted robbery occurred shortly after midnight Friday on a northbound CTA Purple Line train near the Main Street stop in Evanston, police said. A 21-year-old Northwestern student told investigators he was on the northbound train with about five other passengers when he was approached by a man who demanded his wallet and cellphone. When the student refused, a second man approached and demanded $20, which again the student refused, police said.

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They said when the train arrived at the Noyes Street station, the student exited the train and the suspects also exited the train, fleeing east on foot. The student said the suspects did not display a weapon, but one of the suspects did have his hand in his pocket possibly implying that he had a weapon, police said.

A little while later, another 21-year-old Northwestern student was approached by three men near the corner of Sheridan Road and Noyes Street as he was talking on his cellphone, police said. They said one of the suspects asked to use the student's phone. When the student refused, the suspect took the phone and also took his wallet, which contained $20 and a debit card, police said. They said the suspects then demanded the student provide them with the personal identification number and accompany them to an ATM in order to make a withdrawal.

The student walked with the men to the ATM located near the Noyes Street CTA station, where he withdrew $400 and gave it to the suspects, police said. They said the suspects then returned the student's phone and wallet, and returned to the platform at the Noyes station.

"It's probably smart to give the guy back his cell with today's phone-tracking capabilities," Dugan said. "I guess it's not that out of line, but it does seem kind of strange."

The suspects in both incidents are described as being black males, 16 to 19 years old, 5-foot-7 to 6 feet tall, all wearing hooded sweatshirts (one white, one gray and one blue). Also, one of the suspects was reported by both victims to be wearing headphones.

Evanston detectives are investigating the incidents and are canvassing the area for witnesses and video footage.

Additionally, extra patrol units from both Evanston and Northwestern University police have been deployed in the area, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call the Evanston Police Department at 847-866-5000 or utilize Text-A-Tip at CRIMES (274637) and entering EPDTIP in the message line with the tip information.

Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.
Speaking to Shan Herald on Wednesday, an NDAA official who asked to remain anonymous said, Around 150 additional UWSA soldiers arrived in our area by army truck on the evening of October 4.

Based in eastern Shan States Mongla Township (officially known as Shan State Special Region 4), the NDAA has traditionally maintained close relations with the Wa army, which is considered the largest ethnic militia force in Burma with a troop strength estimated at 20,000. Commonly referred to as the Mongla Group, the NDAA has around 3,000 soldiers, according to data from the Myanmar Peace Monitor.

On September 28, the UWSA sent in its Battalion 468  some 600 troops pulled into NDAA territory in about 60 trucks. The Wa forces seized three NDAA bases: two mountain bases, Loi Kiusai and Loi Hsarm Hsoom, and a checkpoint at Parng Mark Fai. More than 150 NDAA guards were captured in the raids.

On September 30, they released 17 soldiers, said the same Mongla official. On October 2, they released another 138 soldiers, so all the detained soldiers have now been released.

He added that Parng Mark Fai checkpoint, which lies 100 kilometers from Kengtung Township, was handed back to the NDAA. However, he said that Pao Aik Pang, the commander of UWSA Battalion 468, had informed NDAA officials that the two mountain outposts would not be returned to them.

These two outposts are very high and are good for planning military strategy, said the Mongla official. We can see Kengtung Township from these two mountains.

UWSA commander Pao Aik Pang was charged with involvement in a massive heroin haul seized in eastern Shan States Mong Peng Township in 2005. He was pardoned and released from prison during the tenure of President Thein Sein.

Khuensai Jaiyen, the director of the Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue, suggested two possible reasons for the new conflict between these former allies; first, because the UWSA had requested the NDAA send a low-ranking delegation to attend the 21st Century Panglong Conference, the national peace talks led by Burmas State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the NDAA leader Sai Luen himself joined the conference.

Secondly, the Mongla has demanded a self-administered zone for the Akha ethnic minority, while the UWSA had itself proposed setting up a self-administered Wa state at the Panglong Conference.

By Shan Herald Agency for News
An environmental assesssment released Oct. 6 proposed two options for building a two-mile holding track from Glenview to Northbrook. Jodi and Gary Dubofsky, whose yard is shown here, live behind the exisiting train tracks where freight trains often stop. Gary Dubofsky said they are concerned that the additional holding track will increase rail traffic and noise. (Jodi Dubofsky / Handout)

An environmental assessment released Thursday on the possible impact of adding three more round trips on the Amtrak Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago proposes two options for building a two-mile holding track from Glenview to Northbrook.

The first is building an 11,000-foot holding track on the west side of the two existing Metra train tracks, and the second is building a 10,000-foot holding track on the east side of the existing tracks, according to the assessment. In both options, the holding track would extend from West Lake Avenue to Techny Road, and would require building a new bridge over Shermer Road next to the existing bridge, it said.

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The 210-page document was released by the Illinois and Wisconsin departments of transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration.

The assessment said four other options were considered to handle the extra rail traffic in the area but were rejected for "not meeting the purpose and need" of the project. They were: building a holding track along the train tracks between West Lake Avenue and Interstate 294, or between Shermer Road and Cherry Lane; a freight train bypass from the Illinois and Wisconsin border to the area; and the village's proposal of moving the additional round trips to the Metra tracks, according to the assessment.

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"They eliminated the alternatives for certain flaws, so that left these two as the most feasible," said Michael Johnsen, an FRA supervisory environmental protection specialist. "It was a process of elimination."

In January 2015, Amtrak proposed increasing Hiawatha line service from seven to 10 round trips because of an increase in ridership, Deputy Village Manager Donald Owen said.

Some village officials and residents have expressed concern about building the holding track because of noise and possible pollution from freight trains idling on the track. The village is also concerned about the holding track running through an area where a freight train derailed on the bridge above Shermer Road in July 2012, killing a Glenview couple, Owen said.

Jeff Brady, Glenview's director of planning, said village officials are still reviewing the assessment, but have concerns and questions about how certain conclusions were reached  such as why the potential noise and vibration impact from a holding track were deemed "moderate."

Johnsen said there will be minimal noise impacts in the area because the three round-trips on the Amtrak Hiawatha line will be "lost in the noise" with existing trains that run through the area. He added that the freight trains would not be standing on the holding track for long periods of time.

Gary Dubofsky lives in The Willows subdivision with two freight train tracks about 50 feet from his property line, and said he's concerned that the project would bring a holding track even closer to his house.

"I was disappointed to see that the two most feasible options they found was to build a holding track through my backyard, and that they discredited everything else," Dubofsky said. "I don't feel that they explored all the available options."

Glenview residents can attend a Nov. 2 meeting at Park Center, 2400 Chestnut Avenue, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., to discuss the environmental assessment.

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akukulka@tribpub.com
St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein shows hues of yellows and reds along the lake. (Sheryl DeVore / Lake County News-Sun)

Buckeye leaves are turning the color of pumpkins. Linden leaves have taken on a golden cast.

Soon the sugar maples will reveal shades of red, orange and yellow as native crab apple leaves glow red. Following that will be the tamaracks turning golden as oaks reveal subtle browns and reds.

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If you look in the right places in Lake County, you can find stunning fall color among many native plants from now until middle or even late November, according to naturalists and horticulturists.

"Autumn is the perfect time to get outside with your family. You can talk about the different kinds of leaves and colors," said Rory Klick, horticulture department chair at College of Lake County in Grayslake.

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"I love that autumn gets people out observing nature. It's such a pleasant time to be outdoors and take a hike."

Klick, a Lake Villa resident, said her daughter enjoys collecting leaves and making what she calls "leaf people" of different hues. Autumn can be magical for children, even adults, but there's also a science behind the changing palette of leaf colors.

The science

"People probably know that there's chlorophyll in leaves that makes them green. It's the magic substance that allows the plants to photosynthesize," said Klick, describing the process in which trees use sunlight through their leaves to create the food they need to grow.

In spring and summer, chlorophyll dominates other color pigments in the leaves. "When the days get shorter and temperatures get cooler, those two changes trigger the chlorophyll to start shutting down," Klick said.

That's when the carotenoid pigments become visible. "Those are the yellows, the golds and the oranges you see," she said.

Another color pigment, anthocyanin, which is red, becomes more concentrated in the leaves this time of year, Klick said.

According to the USDA Forest Service, a succession of warm, sunny days and cool but not freezing nights produces the most spectacular color displays.

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Other variables include the amount of sunlight plants receive, said Jen Berlinghof, environmental educator for the Lake County Forest Preserves. For example, sugar maples near the cabins at Ryerson Woods in Deerfield are the first to start changing because they are in direct sunlight, she said. "Deeper in the woods, maple colors will change later and maybe not be as bright."

Oak trees typically turn brown and russet, but some of the oak leaves at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein were particularly bright in 2015. (Sheryl DeVore / Lake County News-Sun)

Cool springs followed by a not-too-dry summer can foreshadow good fall color, Klick said. Berlinghof said in 2012, the leaves started changing in late August, about three weeks earlier than usual, due to a summer drought. "It was the fourth driest on Illinois record," she said.

But overall, she considers the week beginning on Columbus Day as the start of peak color time in Lake County  that's when the most trees are at their prime colors.

This year in Racine, just over the Lake County border, the peak of color is predicted to be the fourth week of October, and west of Racine, the third week of October, according to travelwisconsin.com, which publishes an annual fall color report for the state of Wisconsin.

Succession of color

Leaves turning yellow now include those on basswood and honey locust, with cottonwood and Kentucky coffee tree soon to follow.

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Next will come the sugar maples, which turn hues of red, orange and yellow. Other maples, such as silver maples, only turn yellow. Shagbark hickories turn golden yellow.

Klick said various native shrubs, including serviceberry and dogwoods, turn color in October, and Berlinghof said Virginia creeper, a vine that crawls up tree barks, turns scarlet red in mid-October.

New England asters dot the Lake County landscape in fall adding soft purple petals and yellow centers to the color mix. (Sheryl DeVore / Lake County News-Sun)

"People forget about all the different hues of blooming wildflowers this time of year," Berlinghof added. At the Rollins Savanna in Grayslake, "you have the beautiful oak trees and the goldenrods and all the different hues of asters that are blooming along with the native grasses. That landscape is really open and sweeping there, and it can be really gorgeous in fall."

Right around Halloween, the tamarack trees, "turn the most exquisite golden color," at Volo Bog in Ingleside, said Stacy Iwanicki, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources naturalist. The tamarack, a state-endangered tree, grows only a few places in Illinois, and Volo Bog is one of them.

"The needles will drift down and carpet the moss and make for a most splendid autumnal display," Iwanicki said. Plus, if the timing is right, the golden tamaracks make a nice backdrop to the red berries on the winterberry holly shrubs.

Oak tree leaves turn colors the latest  and some of them keep their brownish to russet leaves all winter, Klick said.

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Though leaves changing colors signal a time of dormancy for plants, signs exist now that life will return in spring, according to Berlinghof.

"When the leaves fall to the forest floor, they provide phosphorous and nitrogen to the soil and an insulating layer to protect the trees' roots," she said. "And the buds for next year's green leaves are already on the branches."

Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Waukegan Harbor boater Mike Luxem took this photo after his sixth effort to cover up graffiti splashed on the light tower at the harbor's entrance. (Lake County News-Sun)

If you take a stroll on the reinforced-concrete breakwall that extends a quarter-mile out toward Lake Michigan from Waukegan Harbor, you'll find a cast-iron light tower that has kept boaters safe since Grover Cleveland gave way to Benjamin Harrison.

Unfortunately for those who enjoy the simple pleasure of watching boats slip into the harbor or spotting the distant Chicago skyline or simply breathing in the ambience of a Great Lake, you will also, all too often, find graffiti, splashed on the tower by either craven vandals or rogue artists. Take your pick.

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Mike Luxem, a Glenview native who docks a boat in the harbor, said this week that the random tagging of what is known as the Waukegan lighthouse (even though it apparently isn't exactly that anymore) has taken on a disturbing regularity.

"It's always been there, but I noticed it got worse this summer, probably around July," he said. A fan of historic preservation, Luxem added that he decided to take matters into his own hands  along with a bucket of paint and a roller.

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"I've repainted it six times," he said. "The fishermen know me by now. They see me heading out there, and they say, 'You're at it again?' They think I'm getting paid for it."

But Luxem is donating, as he described it, "$20 and thirty minutes of my time" when he spreads white paint over the graffiti. He's not the first volunteer to battle the vandals, but listening to his determination, he might stay at it until time and the elements take down the tower entirely.

"I just saw 'The Blues Brothers' the other night," he said. "Now I'm on 'a mission from God.'"

According to city spokesman David Motley, the mission of keeping the tower graffiti-free has been tackled by everyone from Waukegan Public Works employees to neighborhood-patrol officers from the Waukegan Police Department, donating their time to clean up the local landmark.

"Many people have a reverence for that location. (It's) a destination, and not just for people from Waukegan," Motley said of the serene spot with unobstructed views of the Big Lake. "But it seems that some people are inspired to leave more than memories out there."

Motley added that he's taken a paint roller out to the end of the pier, "at least three or four times myself," since 2010 or so, and he recalled volunteers from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Waukegan Port District also performing the restoration duty.

The only permanent solution, he said, would be throwing up a fence to block access to the tower and the last leg of the pier.

""It would take it away from people who use that space in a positive way," Motley said, confirming that a fence has been discussed. "Whether or not that happens remains to be seen."

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For those who have enjoyed the solitude offered by the far end of the pier, where the only sound might be waves slapping against the rocks and the next stop is South Haven, Mich., it would be a shame to have the path scarred by a Soviet Bloc barrier.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Debate at the Friends of Waukegan Beach Facebook page has lobbied for everything from no longer giving the vandals, "a blank canvas," of fresh paint to creation of, "permission walls," which invite graffiti artists to legally post their work.

While the argument over a larger solution continues, both Motley and Luxem pointed out that the threat of prosecution only goes so far.

"There's a sign on the tower that says something about it being U.S. government property and it's a crime to vandalize it," Luxem said. "That's the only part they never touch."

He added that he believes the current rash of graffiti appears to by limited to "one or two guys" returning every time it gets covered up. Luxem said he will keep plugging away using discounted cans of paint from at least one local business, and he plans to set up an online fundraising campaign, dubbed Waukegan Lighthouse Graffiti Gone, to cover future supplies.

"It's basically him against me at this point," he said, "and it's down to who wants to spend the most money on paint."

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Hurricane Matthew looks like it may become the first major hurricane to directly hit the United States in more than 10 years. The powerful storm has killed 339 people in Haiti, according to updated figures from local officials Thursday night. As Matthew spiraled north through the Caribbean toward the southeastern U.S. coastline, it grew into even more of a monster.

At the New York Times there's a superb Q&A on Hurricane Matthew with veteran reporter John Schwartz, who covered Katrina extensively for the paper, and grew up in Galveston, TX where he experienced his first hurricane at age 4.

The storm hit Haiti on Tuesday. The death toll there is still rising. Reuters:

Hurricane Matthew has killed at least 283 people in Haiti, including dozens in one coastal town that authorities and rescue workers were only beginning to reach days after the powerful storm, officials said on Thursday. The number was given by a meeting of emergency workers including representatives from the government, the United Nations and international aid agencies, which Reuters attended. Many victims were killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers when Matthew hit with 145-mph (230-kph) winds on Tuesday.

There are fears of 11-foot storm surges in Florida Thursday night, where the storm is now bearing down.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Matthew is carrying winds of up to 140 mph (220 kph). The storm hit the northwestern Bahamas before aiming toward Florida's Atlantic coast.

The storm could damage important aerospace, NASA, and U.S. military sites including Kennedy Space Center, in the region known as the "Space Coast."

Jeff Masters of Weather Underground says Matthew's wind threat is gravely serious at Cape Canaveral, which sticks out into the Atlantic off the coast of central Florida.

From Reuters, on the threat to the U.S. and the damage already done in Haiti:
A Indiana man is accused of using a Morton Grove public works employee's information on fake Craigslist ads, soliciting sexual requests and a buyer for a vehicle that was never actually for sale, in retaliation for losing work, police said.

Ryan Haseman, 39, of the 12000 block of Parke Court South in Crown Point, Ind., was charged Sept. 23 with three counts of harassment by electronic means, according to Morton Grove police.

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Haseman is accused of publishing at least six Craigslist ads between July and September that included the work phone number and other identifying information of an employee of the public works department, police said.

Haseman worked as a foreman for Franklin Park-based Galaxy Underground, a water main and sewer installation company that was contracted to complete a project for the public works department. The company was fired from the project for undisclosed reasons and Haseman was banned from working on any future projects for Morton Grove, police said.

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A public works employee started receiving calls in July on his work phone from people inquiring about a vehicle that was listed for sale on Craigslist.

The vehicle matched the description of the employee's work vehicle. His village-issued cell phone number also appeared in the ad, according to police.

The employee told the public works department about the calls and had his work cell phone number changed. Calls and texts started again on Sept. 2 when personal ads soliciting sexual requests, including the employee's phone number, started appearing on Craigslist.

Police said four such ads were found in the Craigslist "personals" section that request photos of male genitalia along with a headshot-style photo. At least one of the ads included a photo taken from Facebook of the victim and his girlfriend, police said.

A search warrant executed by police connected Haseman's IP address to the postings, police said.

A message left for a supervisor at Galaxy Underground was not returned.

The digital age has changed the nature of harassment cases, which used to happen through the phone or in person before the internet, police said.

"There have always been people out there who were doing these crimes, but I do think there are more of these crimes happening on the internet now than before," said Morton Grove police officer Gina Lietz. "There are so many programs and applications that people use now versus before, and technology is a big part of people lives now where before it really wasn't."

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Victims of online harassment should call police before attempting to make any unwanted online postings disappear, Lietz said.

"They should come to the police and we can guide them from there," she said. "From an evidence perspective, we would like to and need to see (the posting) before it gets taken down."

Haseman has been released from Cook County Jail on bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 11 at the Skokie courthouse, police said.

Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
The Celtic Woman troupe performs Home for Christmas: The Symphony Tour on Dec. 17 and 18 at North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall. (celticwoman.com / HANDOUT)

A fresh take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," a revue featuring TV stars of the '60s and '70s and a jazzy evening with the school's musical faculty are on the schedule for the holiday season at North Central College in Naperville.

Chicago's Organic Theater Co. returns Dec. 8 to 11 for three evening and two matinee performances of "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" in the theater at Meiley-Swallow Hall, 31 S. Ellsworth St. A college release called the take on "A Christmas Carol" a "funny and heartwarming production" dealing with the redemption and renewal of Dickens' characters.

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The fourth annual Jazz Faculty Christmas concert is set for Dec. 9 in the Madden Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Seasonal songs "with a jazz twist" will be performed by members of the college's jazz studies program.

Chicago-based Child's Play Touring Theatre will present morning and afternoon performances Dec. 10 of "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't" at Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave. The play, written by children, provides "a special, behind-the-scenes peek at the hustle and bustle and near disasters of Christmas preparation at the North Pole," according to the release.

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Members of the DuPage Symphony Orchestra on Dec. 11 will offer two matinee performances of the family-oriented "Holiday Sweets & Musical Treats" show. The concerts are set for the Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave.

Later that evening, the college will welcome "The Andy Williams Christmas Extravaganza," featuring the Osmond Brothers and the Lennon Sisters. Its creators promise "all the variety that made "The Andy Williams Show" so spectacular, including the Moon River Band, husband-and-wife variety dance team Pasha and Aliona, and the Andy Williams Ballroom Champions." It will be presented in Pfeiffer Hall.

On Dec. 17 and 18, the Celtic Woman troupe from PBS will offer two performances of "Home for Christmas: The Symphony Tour" in Pfeiffer Hall. It will feature selections from the group's best-selling "Home For Christmas" album and other seasonal favorites.

Ticket prices vary. Performance times and other information is available at 630-637-7469 and northcentralcollege.edu/show.
Pastor Jose S. Landaverde announces an Elgin family's decision to seek sanctuary to avoid deportation Thursday. Lorenzo Soloranzo Morales, appeared with wife Margarita and 7-year-old Kimberly. He faces deportation for a domestic battery arrest in November 2011 in South Elgin. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

Defying federal immigration officials, the pastor of a West Chicago church said Thursday he is offering refuge to a Northwest suburban man facing deportation who has lived for three decades in the United States as an undocumented resident.

At a news conference flanked by supporters, the Rev. Jose Landaverde said he has offered religious sanctuary to Lorenzo Solorzano Morales at Faith, Life, and Hope and St. Peter the Apostle Mission. The Elgin man, his wife and 7-year-old daughter will live there.

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Solorzano faces deportation for a domestic battery arrest in November 2011 in South Elgin. He pleaded guilty months later to the misdemeanor offense, in which he was accused of pulling a woman's hair during an argument, according to Kane County court and police records.

Margarita Solorzano sits at a table inside the Faith Life and Hope and St Peter the Apostle Mission in West Chicago where her husband, Lorenzo Solorzano, is seeking sanctuary while legal efforts are made to stop his deportation. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

Landaverde urged lawmakers to intervene. He said Solorzano, 54, has lived in the United States for 30 years and is a longtime landscaper in DuPage and Kane suburbs. He has three children, including a 7-year-old girl and two adult daughters from a previous marriage, and his wife is battling cancer, Landaverde said.

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"He came to us when he learned that (the U.S. Department of) Homeland Security was looking to deport him immediately, following the order of an immigration judge," Landaverde told reporters Thursday. "(Solarzano) has contributed to the community, and we feel it is our Christian duty to protect him and stop his deportation while his lawyer works to keep him here."

Though the offering of religious sanctuary dates back to ancient times, a church cannot offer actual legal protection from federal immigration officials. But, federal immigration officials said they follow a 2011 policy to avoid entering schools, hospitals, churches, synagogues, mosques or other religious-based institutions to apprehend people who are in the country illegally.

Pastor Jose S. Landaverde, from left, attorney Juan Soliz, and the family of Lorenzo Solorzano Morales review documents before a press conference in West Chicago Thursday. Lorenzo, Margarita and 7-year old daughter Kimberly are at St. Peter the Apostle Mission in West Chicago in an attempt to stop his deportation. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

An exception to the rule includes a national security or terrorism threat.

In response, federal officials confirmed Solorzano was placed into deportation proceedings after his January 2012 misdemeanor conviction in Kane County. A federal immigration judge ordered his voluntary departure about two years ago, and Solorzano's appeal was dismissed in mid-February.

"He failed to depart as required, which created for him a final order of removal," said Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in an email to the Tribune. "As an alien convicted of a significant misdemeanor and who has been issued a final order of removal ... (he) is an ICE enforcement priority."

But the man's supporters pleaded for compassion at Thursday's news conference. His youngest daughter, Kimberly, 7, who attends school in Bartlett, said she was sad "because they want to deport my dad."

Attorney Juan Soliz, left, and the family of Lorenzo Solorzano Morales review documents before a press conference in West Chicago Thursday. Lorenzo, Margarita and 7-year old daughter Kimberly are staying at St. Peter the Apostle Mission in West Chicago in an attempt to avoid deportation. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

"My dad has nowhere to stay in Mexico, and I'm scared, but he says it's fine and not to worry," she said. "I don't want to leave my school or my friends either."

The man's attorney, Juan Soliz, said Solorzano faces tough challenges "as he has exhausted all of his appeals." Soliz said he has put federal immigration officials on notice of his client's location and that he has been "relegated to this desperate position of seeking refuge in the church."

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"Basically, he could be picked up and arrested at any time and deported immediately," Soliz said. "We're asking for prosecutorial discretion that will allow for temporary status, but the laws and policies are rigid."

He said Solorzano has made mistakes, but "he's a Christian and part of a church, and everyone is entitled to forgiveness."

Solorzano is a longtime member of the La Luz De Cristo Mission United Methodist Church in Elgin. The church's minister also spoke Thursday on the man's behalf.

"We often don't open up our eyes until something happens to one of our own," the Rev. Ruben Rivera said. "The laws in this country have made people like this into criminals and they are not."
A Chicago woman has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the February death of a 35-year-old man as he crossed Lawrence Avenue in Norridge. Irena Biskup, 69, of the 8500 block of Rascher Avenue, Chicago, was charged with failure to report an accident involving death in connection with the Feb. 20 death of Norridge resident Tomasz W. Radke.

Police said Radke was crossing the street near the 7800 block of West Lawrence Avenue when he was struck and killed by a vehicle being driven by Biskup. Police said her car was seen on a surveillance video stopping near the location around the time Radke was hit at approximately 11:15 p.m.

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The video, according to police, shows the vehicle continuing east on Lawrence after stopping. Police said Biskup admitted to being the driver of the dark-colored vehicle captured near the scene on surveillance footage.

Officers responded after police received several calls from motorists who saw a man lying in the road, Norridge police said. More than a week passed before Biskup turned herself in at the Norridge Police Department, police said.

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She told police she was driving home from work that night along Lawrence Avenue when she thought she hit something, according to Detective Brian Loughran of the Norridge Police Department. When she looked back in her rearview mirror, she didn't see anything and continued driving, according to a statement she made to police.

Biskup, who was released from jail in March, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, was arraigned on the charges in April. She was in court on Oct. 5, and a judge scheduled her next appearance for Nov. 28 at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.

A trial date has not yet been scheduled, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Left, Anne Marie Grehke of Norwood Park Township, a crossing guard on staff with the Norridge Police Department, talks to first-graders from Union Ridge School at Safety Town at Harlem Irving Plaza. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

An estimated 1,100 first-graders from the greater Norridge area were practicing safety strategies, such as stop, drop and roll and more, at Safety Town, an event in its 54th year hosted by Harlem Irving Plaza. Events took place inside the shopping mall and its covered parking lot.

"Safety Town empowers them (children) to keep them out of harm's way," said Barbara Rudel, a first-grade teacher at Union Ridge School in Harwood Heights who escorted students on a field trip to the HIP on Oct. 5. The HIP has a Safety Town partnership with the Norridge Police Department.

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"These children are taught countless life-changing tools," said Mara Russiaky, corporate marketing director of Harlem Irving Companies. "We want to thank the Norridge Police, Norridge crossing guards, Norwood Fire Department and Ridgewood High School for their expertise and dedication as these children learn valuable information that will last a lifetime. We also wish to thank Target, who is our annual sponsor for our Safety Town program."

Safety Town, a two-week program, ran through Oct. 7.

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"They're in a safe environment, where they get to commingle with first responders," said Bob Crimmins, Safety Town coordinator with the Norridge Police Department. "What better place to learn from the people (first responders) who are out there every day."

Participating schools included Pennoyer School in Norridge, St. Eugene School of Chicago, John V. Leigh School in Norridge and other faith-based and public local schools.

"It's generous that Harlem Irving Plaza allows us to do this," Crimmins said.

Among Safety Town stations around the mall, children could experience a trailer that offered a smoke demonstration. First-graders were told to remain calm in real emergencies and to not be afraid to seek safe exits.

"I liked getting out of the window," said Jason Kocol of Harwood Heights, a first-grader who was assisted out of the simulation smoke environment.

Home fire drills were part of the discussion, as well as looking out for strangers..

"I remember stranger danger," said Mike Ribaudo, a crossing guard who staffs the crossing corner of Cumberland and Lawrence avenues.

Ribaudo, a retired Norridge police officer and Safety Town assistant coordinator, attended Safety Town as a child in the late 1960s at Harlem Irving Plaza when he was a Chicago parochial school student.

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"I remember a strange man used to pull up in a Ford Falcon and would offer lollipops," said Ribaudo recalling a Safety Town lesson from his youth.

"I got in trouble for taking the lollipop!" Ribaudo added, with a laugh.

Rudel has also enjoyed good-natured humor and memories that have accompanied friendships reinforced over her 30-plus years of attending the mall's Safety Town. But there's a serious message from Officer Friendly, too.

"The takeaway is to make safe, good choices," Rudel said.

Karie Angell Luc is a freelance photographer and reporter for Pioneer Press.

This article was updated on Nov. 3, 2016, to correct the spelling of Bob Crimmins' name.
Piergiorgio George Uslenghi is hoping to start a conversation about gun control by seeking support to abolish the second amendment. (University of Illinois-Chicago)

A longtime Oak Park resident and college professor is hoping to start a conversation about gun control by seeking support to abolish the Second Amendment.

A non-binding referendum appearing on Oak Park Township ballots in November will ask voters if the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution should be repealed, with future gun licensing and regulation to be taken up by Congress.

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The referendum question will read: "Shall the Constitution of the United States be amended as follows? The second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is repealed. The United States Congress shall regulate the licensing and use of arms."

The man behind the referendum, Oak Park resident and UIC professor Piergiorgio "George" Uslenghi, said the pursuit of the referendum began while thinking of his family and his students.

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"I became very concerned over the last few years at the rate of murders that have been going on because of handguns and firearms," Uslenghi said. "The original intent of the Second Amendment was really to protect ourselves from tyranny. That was 200 years ago. No civilized nation allows citizens to carry loaded pistols in their pockets."

Born in Italy, Uslenghi moved to the United States in 1961. After living in Michigan and Chicago, he and his wife Shelly settled into Oak Park, where they still live today. In 1982, he became a United States citizen, and he and wife raised four children and six grandchildren.

Uslenghi said he would prefer the amendment be abolished and have Congress take up a discussion on the future of responsible gun ownership, even if that means the Second Amendment were ultimately decided to remain as-is.

"I'm not against the reasonable use of firearms," Uslenghi said. "I don't object to hunters having firearms. I'm also not against people having a pistol by the side of their bed. I object to people walking around with a loaded gun in their pocket."

Uslenghi, who holds degrees in physics and engineering, also voiced his opposition to a recent ruling in Texas which allows college students to carry concealed weapons on campus. It is the fear of handguns, he feels, which has led to an increase in the types of violence that have made recent headlines.

"If people were not allowed to carry loaded guns, I think the police would be much less defensive," Uslenghi said. "People are scared. If they knew the person they are pursuing doesn't have a weapon, they would be much less likely to fire. I think the murder rate, even by police, would go down drastically."

According to Oak Park Township officials, a citizen seeking a referendum question on the November ballot was required to gather 15 signatures of registered voters who live within the township and submit it to the township clerk by March 1. Township Clerk Greg White confirmed he received the signatures required for the question to appear on the April 12 township meeting agenda, where it was approved to be placed on the ballot by those in attendance.

A local group, Gun Responsibility Advocates, whose mission is responsible gun ownership, said it would take no official position on the referendum. Uslenghi said he is not affiliated with any citizens' groups and acted as an individual when pursuing the proposal.

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Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said Uslenghi's quest to "make a radical change to the Constitution of the United States" would not be successful. He said his group would "obviously oppose this referendum." He said many of those who use guns to commit crimes, including gang members, "don't care about the Second Amendment or any laws."

"Somehow, they think doing away with the Second Amendment will make everybody civil," Pearson said. "But it would do quite the opposite."

When collecting signatures, Uslenghi said he hadn't encountered any criticism for his proposal, just skepticism that it can actually work.

"The only criticism I've gotten is that it may take 200 years to change," Uslenghi said. "But remember, a big sequoia tree starts from the smallest seed. Oak Park is a very enlightened community, and I think it is a reasonable place to start this civilized conversation about limiting the use of firearms."

Should the measure fail, Uslenghi said he would accept the fact that the people have spoken. Should it pass, he hopes it will lead to a larger discussion.

"I hope maybe in the next election, we could go to the entirety of Cook County for an advisory referendum and maybe it will snowball a little bit," Uslenghi said. "People think just because you abolish the Second Amendment, all the guns would be forbidden and that's just not true. It's about being sensible and educating people."

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sschering@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: @steveschering
Enrollment is going up in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64.

In a presentation to the board of education last month, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Joel Martin reported that six-day enrollment figures show the student population at 4,429 children, which is 57 more students than last year's six-day enrollment totals and 49 more students than end of last year's totals.

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Martin said the numbers show enrollment is trending between the middle and high point projections that were provided to the district in 2013 by an outside consultant.

The school with the greatest increase in enrollment is Washington School, which gained 21 students since the end of the 2015-16 school year, data provided by the district shows.

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"Washington is going up  we have seen that for awhile," Martin said.

Growing enrollment at Washington will have an impact on Lincoln Middle School, he added, since Washington students move on to Lincoln after fifth grade. Lincoln, the data shows, experienced a growth of 19 more students since last year, while Emerson Middle school, located on the northeast side of the district, gained 10 students.

"Washington remains a concern for us," Martin said. "There's limited space there."

Field School is also a concern, as the building is close to its maximum capacity, he said.

"We've been keeping an eye on Field because of some of the new construction  those town homes that are popping up  to see what impact that might have," Martin said.

In addition to the 29 new townhouses at Northwest Highway and Washington Avenue and 23 townhouses under construction near Hinkley Park, a 115-unit luxury apartment building, Park 205, was recently built at 205 W. Touhy. According to a District 64 attendance map, all three housing developments are located within the Field School and Emerson Middle School attendance boundaries.

"We're a couple of classrooms away from a real problem," Martin said of Field.

Farther south, Roosevelt School experienced a decline in enrollment, Martin said, adding that this "typically doesn't happen" at the school. According to the district data, there are 16 fewer students enrolled at Roosevelt this year compared to the end of the 2015-16 school year.

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And while enrollment overall is up, the number of school staff, including all classroom teachers, is down slightly, Martin said. Staffing is determined based on where the enrollment growth is occurring and whether new class sections must be added because top class size numbers have been reached, he said.

School Board President Anthony Borrelli explained that enrollment figures are used to determine staffing, budgets and how much space is needed.

"Buildings have a limited space to them, and we have to know what the maximum capacity would be," he said.

Martin said the district will be looking at the enrollment numbers "in greater detail" as the school year moves on. Updated projections will be shared with the board this winter, he added.

jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
Six weeks after Nat Turner led a bloody slave revolt that left approximately 60 whites dead in 1831, he was hanged and decapitated.

History is not entirely clear on what happened to Turner's remains.

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But a skull thought to be Turner's mysteriously appeared in 2002 when a local civil rights activist gave it to Richard Hatcher, the former Gary mayor, for his proposed National Civil Rights museum in Gary.

Now, after having the skull for 13 years, Hatcher will be presenting the skull to two of Turner's descendants on Friday at a private National Civil Rights Hall of Fame luncheon at the Majestic Star Hotel in Gary.

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"Since I received it, we've been trying to find some members of his family and we've not been able to do so until about a week-and-a-half ago," Hatcher said in an interview with the Post-Tribune.

The emergence of Turner's skull brought with it not only controversy but two pressing questions:

How did the skull of a controversial freedom fighter that led a rebellion in the 19th century in Southampton County, Va., turn up in Indiana? And, is it actually Turner's skull?

Turner was born into slavery in 1800 on a Southampton County, Va., plantation. On Aug. 21, 1831, Turner and his supporters launched a violent revolt, rampaging from house to house, slaying white families, including women and children. After two days, Turner went into hiding. He was captured on Oct. 30, 1831, then tried and hanged.

The skull was rumored to make it to Chicago in a university laboratory where it "miraculously" survived a fire, Rick Francis, Southampton County Clerk said in a telephone interview. What happened to the skull afterward is unclear.

The Rev. Franklin Breckenridge, and his wife Cora, of Elkhart, gave the skull to Hatcher in 2002 to be used as an exhibit in the civil rights museum he was seeking to build in Northwest Indiana. Breckenridge received the skull in 2002 from Robert Franklin, a former Elkhart school administrator. Breckenridge said he then made the donation to Hatcher with the intent of having the skull displayed in the proposed Hall of Fame.

"He knew that my wife and I were active in civil rights and NAACP activities," Breckenridge, who served as the Indiana NAACP's state president for 25 years, said.

Franklin said the skull had been passed down in his family for over three generations. At the turn of the 20th Century, Army Capt. Albert Franklin received the skull from one of his patients, Franklin said. The woman who was from Virginia claimed that her father was a doctor who treated Turner after his death. In the 1930s, Franklin's grandfather, retired Army Col. E.C. Franklin, received the skull from his mother Martha Franklin, who was the wife of Army Capt. Albert Gallatin Franklin.

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"That's how it got into my family," Franklin said. "The skull has no lower jaw and the top of it has been cut off but it's still important form an historical standpoint."

Franklin said he understands it's difficult to verify the skull's provenance, but he's confident it's Turner's.

"We had no proof of any of this and we still don't have any proof," Franklin said. "All we have is this story that was passed down in the family."

While it may be difficult to determine if the skull in question is Turner's, Francis said he would gladly assist anyone who's looking to properly authenticate it.

"I've got some DNA from a gentleman I am confident is a descendant of Nat Turner and we have some artifacts, particularly the rope that will serve for further study if DNA can be taken off of that," Francis said.

Amrita Myers, Associate Professor of History at Indiana University, said the story of Turner's skull is peculiar because there isn't historical precedent of African-American body parts being passed down during slavery.

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"Black men and women being used in that fashion was a very common phenomenon after the (Civil) War during the rise of lynching, but I've been a slavery scholar for the better part of two decades, and I've never heard of black men and women body parts under slavery being used for sale or for relics," Myers said.

Now that Turner's alleged skull has reappeared, Francis said he would like to have the skull back in Southampton County where Turner launched the insurrection.

Francis said he hopes that the two women receiving the skull on Friday can "historically establish" their lineage to Turner and that the skull is finally inspected.

"I hope that before it is interred it gets proper scientific examination so that any questions could be put to rest," Francis said. "But I'm glad it's not going to be sitting in some hat box on a shelf. It needs to be studied and given a proper burial at some point after the study has been done."

Francis said Turner is an integral part of history but it's not his decision to judge the morality of Turner's insurrection.

"God has not given me the eyes to determine whether Nat's a saint or a sinner," Francis said. "But he should be interred here with a gravestone that says: 'Nat Turner: leader of 1831 Southampton Insurrection: 1800-1831.' It wouldn't have a whole lot of commentary but it would hopefully give Nat his due in a proper place."

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jaanderson@tribpub.com

Twitter @Javontea
After the scandal concerning our last N.M. Secretary of State, you should definitely be interested in who is going to take the post in the next election. To decide who you are going to vote for, head to Congregation Albert on Sunday, Oct. 16 , at 11am to see the two candidates , Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver (Dem.) and State Representative Nora Espinoza (Rep), debate about the topics that are most important to them. The moderator of the debate will be Kent Walz, editor of the Albuquerque Journal. If you'd like to get to know the candidates on a more personal level, make reservations and show up early at 9:30am for a $12 brunch with Toulouse Oliver and Espinoza. (Renee Chavez)

Kent Walz, Editor of the Albuquerque Journal, moderates the only scheduled debate between candidates Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Nora Espinoza.

Congregation Albert Brotherhood is hosting the only scheduled candidate debate for NM Secretary of State. On Sunday, October 16th Maggie Toulouse Oliver (Dem) and Nora Espinoza (Rep) will face of at 11:00am. The moderator for the debate is Kent Walz, Editor of the Albuquerque Journal. There will be a delicious brunch with the candidates at 9:30am. Both the brunch and the debate are open to the public. The Brunch is $12 and the debate is FREE.

Reservations are required for the brunch only and can be made by calling 883-1818, ext. 3203 or emailbrotherhood@congregationalbert.org No reservations are needed for the debate.

9:30am - Brunch

10:45am - Doors open to the public for the debate

11:00am - Debate begins

All proceeds from the brunch benefit the community service projects of the Congregation Brotherhood.

For more information, contact Jeff at 259-3190
An outstanding post on the EFF's Deeplinks blog by my colleague Ernesto Falcon explains the negligent chain of events that led us into the Stingray disaster, where whole cities are being blanketed in continuous location surveillance, without warrants, public consultation, or due process, thanks to the prevalence of "IMSI catchers" ("Stingrays," "Dirtboxes," "cell-site simulators," etc) that spy indiscriminately on anyone carrying a cellular phone  something the FCC had a duty to prevent.

EFF and the ACLU have petitioned the FCC in support of a complaint against the Baltimore police department. The FCC approved this class of devices, after a decade of secret lobbying by their manufacturers, and then failed to undertake any oversight of their use in the field, allowing police to repeatedly, dramatically break their promises about Stingray surveillance.



Police today violate these basic statutory protections when using cell site simulators and thereby disrupting the cellular service of many innocent people. Based on publicly available information, it appears that some cell site simulators utilized today by law enforcement are jamming LTE and 3G services in order to force phones to downgrade to 2G services where they are easily exploited due to legacy vulnerabilities. A study by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police also found that 911 call access can be blocked 50 percent of the time when a phone interacts with a cell site simulator. Testing these devices requires technical analysis but cell site simulators are only legally sold to and owned by law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the FCC is the best suited agency with the legal authority and technical expertise to determine what is happening in Baltimore and potentially across the entire country as wireless surveillance by law enforcement continues to proliferate. In the past, the FCC faced a similar issue when dealing with cell phone signal boosters. Third parties developed mini-towers that would augment wireless signals in areas with poor coverage. Carriers complained that these devices were operating in their exclusive space and disrupting their service. That was the same problem we see today: signal boosters, like cell site simulators, were interfering with communication services and 911 access. The FCC's response should be the same now as it was then: the agency studied the problem and took steps to resolve it in a public forum.

FCC Helped Create the Stingray Problem, Now it Needs to Fix It

[Ernesto Falcon/EFF]
Jorge and Erika Gutierrez own and operate two child care centers and an insurance agency. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

Jorge Gutierrez had a degree in business and a passion to own a company. His wife, Erika Gutierrez, had a degree and after working her way to the top position at an early child learning company was at a crossroads  continue as director or open her own school.

The Schererville couple chose the entrepreneurial route, joining a growing number of Hispanics in Indiana and across the country in owning their own businesses. While the number is unknown in Northwest Indiana, cities such as East Chicago and Hammond are seeing an increase.

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Jorge Gutierrez, 41, owns and operates an Allstate Insurance office in Munster, and Erika Gutierrez, 40, owns Wonder Years Learning Centers in Munster and Dyer, which serve children from 6 weeks to age 12.

"I've always been passionate about business. The business model and plan really attracted me," said Jorge Gutierrez, who has a business degree from Robert Morris College in Chicago and was traveling to a job at Kraft Foods in Northfield, Ill. when he decided to take the plunge.

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Today he has six employees.

He said his wife employs about 16 people and serves about 400 children at the two locations.

By the numbers

According to the final 2012 Survey of Business Owners Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 3.3 million Hispanic-owned firms in 2012, a 48.3 percent increase from the 2.3 million firms in 2007. The 2007 number reflected a 43.6 percent hike in Hispanic-owned businesses from 2002, according to the census bureau.

Those 3.3 million businesses will contribute a minimum of $468 billion to the U.S. economy this year, according to the National Institute of Latino Policy.

With the 2012 survey the most recent data, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Northwest Indiana hasn't been pinpointed, but Debra Bolanos, owner of Galaxy Travel in East Chicago for 22 years, said she's seen the number grow in the last two decades, especially in cities like East Chicago and Hammond.

"There have been a lot of open doors. You just have to convince people to go through them," Bolanos said.

A tough start

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Jorge Gutierrez believes being a minority made it tougher to get started in business.

"We didn't come from a legacy of business owners. We just had our education and degrees," he said. "We got looked at a second or third time."

When Erika Gutierrez decided to open her first child learning center in 2008, the economy was in trouble. Businesses were laying off employees and the housing market went bust.

It was a difficult time to get a loan, but she and her husband had the business plan he had put together.

"The banker really liked our plan," Erika Gutierrez said. "This was one of my dreams and my husband definitely made it happen with his business background."

Being a Hispanic business owner in a mostly Caucasian community hasn't been a problem, she said.

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"I don't feel that because you're Hispanic, you won't have the opportunity to succeed in whatever business you want to have," she said.

Bolanos believes it's become easier for Hispanics, with banks reaching out to minorities and both banks and nonprofit agencies offering more programs for potential small business owners. Bolanos also offered workshops that brought small business owners together.

Future growth

Jorge Gutierrez is looking to expand both his Allstate office and Erika's childcare centers. He said the Munster center has a waiting list for some age groups. He's optimistic about the Dyer location because of the amount of new construction.

"There are unlimited opportunities out there," he said. "If at the end of the day, you're sincere, honest and have integrity, the customers may choose you."

Bolanos is looking forward to her daughter, an executive chef, opening her own business, hopefully in Northwest Indiana.

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"We're starting to plan for her future. She's a double minority -- a Hispanic and a woman -- and she know her business," Bolanos said.

It's important for people to contribute to their communities, she said, adding that Hispanics are natural entrepreneurs.

"They're very courageous people. They're proud of their heritage and product," she said of those operating mom-and-pop stores.

Erika Gutierrez's advice for other Hispanics thinking of owning a business?

"Don't be afraid. Go for it," she said.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
With the proclamation that they provide "incredible jobs" on the screen, members of a workforce panel discuss working in manufacturing in the region Friday during the Northwest Indiana Manufacturing Summit. (Karen Caffarini / Post-Tribune)

Manufacturing supports 40 percent of the jobs in Northwest Indiana and generates about $100 billion in economic output in the state, but convincing students to consider the industry as a career goal has been difficult, speakers at the Northwest Indiana Manufacturing Summit said Friday.

The summit, which showcases local workforce and innovation, was held at Alcoa Howmet in LaPorte.

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"Machining is in high demand yet it's the hardest to recruit students to," said Jon Groth, with Porter County Career & Technical Education.

Groth said there are about 40 students enrolled in his manufacturing program, but he needs at least 80 to 120 students to satisfy the needs of area manufacturers.

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Some speakers said there is still a misconception that manufacturing facilities are dirty and unsafe. Others pointed to parents and high school programs, both of which, some said, steer children into four-year colleges rather than vocational programs.

"Parents need to open their children's eyes to different career paths. Don't push them, but guide them," said Bradley Atwood, who is employed at CustomCrimp in Valparaiso.

Alexa Rodriguez, a graduate of Griffith High School who works at Alcoa, said manufacturing is much safer and cleaner than in the past. She also finds it interesting.

"I'm still amazed that we take raw materials and they end up in engines and in the sky," Rodriguez said.

Atwood said he's been working at CustomCrimp for almost two years. Not only is the facility clean; he has suffered no more than a cut, which he said was his own fault.

Keith Harpenau, with Rockwell Automation, said robotics have helped to increase safety at manufacturing firms, but added they will never replace humans.

Bill Schott, with Urschel Manufacturing in Chesterton, said automation allows the company to do more with less, but it also creates the need for another engineer and research and development person, both of which net higher salaries.

Steel, long the manufacturing giant in Northwest Indiana, is still strong in the region, said R. D. Parpartt II, team leader for the Steelworker for the Future program at ArcelorMittal.

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Parpartt said the industry is working on unfair trade issues with China and other countries, but steel is "here to stay" in Indiana. He said the companies are in need of quality employees.

Heather Ennis, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, said it's critical to keep manufacturing growing to maintain a robust economy in the region.

"Local manufacturers are saying they need people. Driving that talent is critical," Ennis said.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Cora Breckenridge and her husband Franklin discuss how they came to possess the skull of Nat Turner. (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune)

Shanna Batten held back tears as she reflected on the legacy of Nat Turner, a descendant and anti-slavery freedom fighter who spearheaded a violent revolt in 1831.

"Today has been very emotional," Batten said. "Thank you for recognizing the courageous and impassioned life of our great- great-great-great-grandfather."

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Cousins Batten and Shelly Wood cousins were honored by Richard Hatcher, the former Gary mayor, Friday afternoon at a private luncheon at the Majestic Star Hotel. The skull of Nat Turner was purportedly presented to Batten and Wood privately but was not shown to the public.

"When I first heard from the descendant, Shanna, I cannot tell you how it made me feel," Hatcher, who's had the skull in his possession since 2002, said. "To hear this little voice on the telephone that is somehow connected to Turner was almost overwhelming."

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Wood said it's surreal for her to be in Gary receiving her ancestor's skull on the same day as "Birth of a Nation," the film based on the story of Turner and the Southampton County, Va., rebellion.

"It's a huge deal for us to be here because today is also the release of 'Birth of a Nation'," Wood said. "This is no coincidence. This was God."

Batten said she didn't realize Hatcher had Turner's skull until she stumbled across an old newspaper article three years ago.

"We're really just happy to have it back with family," she said.

Wood said when she was growing up in Southampton County in the 1960s, her family was not allowed to talk about Turner.

"We never talked about it as a family," she said. "But now when we get together we can celebrate the occasion."

Despite celebrating the reception of Turner's skull, Wood and Batten said Turner's insurrection is a sensitive issue in Southampton County.

"It's still a delicate conversation in Southampton so I'm not sure how the community will respond," Wood said. "Being there with the descendants of those that were killed during the rebellion is a sore subject."

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Nevertheless, Batten said is important for her family to sustain Turner's legacy.

"In so many ways having this small fragment of our great-grandfather is symbolic because it draws attention to the humanness of black people, to our humanity and to our significance to the history of this country," Batten said. "His legacy was to ignite what we all have seen evolve into a civil rights movement, into the election of our first African-American president and into a movement that continues to evolve."

Wood said the skull will return to Southampton County and the family will then make a decision on what to do with it.

"We want to give him his just do," Wood said. "He's never had a proper burial so he definitely needs a resting place."

Batten said they will be working with the Smithsonian to scientifically verify that the skull belongs to Turner.

"During his life, Rev. Turner didn't really have a home of his own," Batten said. "But he always had a family and now with the return of his remains to us he will have a home."

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jaanderson@tribpub.com

Twitter @Javontea
A lone tree stands on the top of Mount Baldy Dune in the national lakeshore. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune file photo)

The superintendent of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore had a quick answer when asked what becoming a "park" rather than a "lakeshore" could mean.

"It makes our name shorter, so we pay less for signs by the letter," said Paul Labovitz, jokingly.

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In late September, U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, proposed designating the lakeshore as a national park. The change won't bring the destination more federal money or programs, but it will up its status to a group that includes the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. That could mean drawing a greater number of visitors who are inclined to stop for a national park.

"It's all about perception. There are 413 units of the National Park Service system. Fifty-nine of them are called parks and there are 20 or 30 other names for national parks, including 'national lakeshore.' All these places are national parks," Labovitz said.

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The switch does not change any of the lakeshore's regulatory authority or budget, he said, but more visitors spend more money.

The topic first was raised when the park director had a meeting in 1916 to talk about Indiana Sand Dunes National Park, Labovitz said, but with the the onset of World War I, state officials decided to industrialize the coast. It took another 50 years to get the lakeshore designated, he said.

The park service celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and the lakeshore commemorates its 50th year.

"I think Pete (Visclosky) is just looking at what a great year it is to do this with the two anniversaries, and it doesn't cost anything," Labovitz said.

The designation would create the 60th national park in the nation and the first in Indiana, according to a press release from Visclosky's office. The intent is to capture all the tourism benefits and recognition of being a national park.

The measure was introduced with the support of the entire Indiana delegation to the House of Representatives. It is pending in the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Though Labovitz said he can't advocate for the change, he said, "I think we deserve it. It appears to mean a recognition of how unique and amazing this place is."

The lakeshore attracts an average of 2 million visitors a year, making it the No. 1 attraction in the state, said Lorelei Weimer, executive director of Indiana Dunes Tourism, adding 60 percent of visitors are from out of state.

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The lakeshore accounts for $76 million in new revenue to the region each year, as well as 947 jobs and $9.9 million in labor income.

"We strongly anticipate the number of visitors and the national impact will increase if the new name of Indiana Dunes National Park is adopted," she said. "People love to visit our national parks and many travelers include visiting all of the national parks on their bucket list."

Cathy Martin, interim director at Save the Dunes, agreed.

"For a lot of people, especially who live outside Northwest Indiana, this thing called the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore doesn't register as a national park," she said, adding people tend to think of its beaches but not the hiking paths and biodiversity.

Having the lakeshore be a national park could mean the difference between a vehicle whizzing by on Interstate 94 or stopping.

"I think someone passing a sign that says 'national lakeshore' might not look twice, but if they see 'national park,' they will stop," she said.

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Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
A South Shore commuter train, approaching the East Chicago station, is expected to have a positive train control system in two years. (Joe Puchek / Post-Tribune)

In about two years, South Shore trains are expected to be operating with positive train control, a way to stop a train exceeding a safe speed or ignoring a signal, such as caused a nearly head-on collision in Gary more than 20 years ago or the more recent Hoboken, N.J., fatal crash into a station.

The worst accident in the South Shore Line's recent history happened on a January morning in 1993 at a narrow bridge on Gary's west side. Seven people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed, and 155 were injured.

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The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency that investigates major transportation crashes, blamed both trains' motormen. By the time its report came out in December 1993, both had been fired by the railroad.

The NTSB also called for installing an automatic braking system on the train cars to prevent similar crashes.

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Other crashes have prompted calls for such braking, including the Sept. 29 accident in which a commuter train plowed onto a New Jersey station platform, killing one person and injuring 114, and the May 12, 2015 incident when an Amtrak train entered a curve in Philadelphia about 50 mph over the speed limit, derailing the train and killing eight passengers, injuring 200

Railroads have been trying out positive train control systems off and on since the early 1990s, but the movement got a decisive push after a head-on crash between a commuter train and a freight train in Los Angeles killed 25 people in September 2008. The commuter train's engineer had failed to stop at a red light and wound up on the same track as the freight.

Congress passed a law mandating positive train control on passenger railroads and on freight railroads carrying hazardous materials by December 2015. Lawmakers did not include funding to carry out the mandate.

Most railroads, including the South Shore and Chicago-area's Metra, couldn't meet that deadline, which was pushed back to Dec. 31, 2018. The Federal Railroad Administration has said that target won't be pushed back again.

"Our intention is to meet that deadline," South Shore President Michael Noland said recently.

The South Shore has borrowed $100 million for the positive train control system and will be paying that off for 20 years, he said. About $80 million of that bond issue is for a contract with Parsons Transportation Group, which also will be installing PTC on Metra trains.

The South Shore is building an addition to a maintenance building in Michigan City which is expected to be completed in about six weeks, at which time the South Shore will begin installing positive train control systems on two rail cars at a time, Noland said.

After the control system is installed on all of the South Shore's 72 powered cars, it will undergo tests to make sure it's operating properly.

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Positive train control includes a global positioning satellite system that pinpoints where the car is at any time and wayside signals along the tracks to send additional information.

Noland expects to hire about 10 employees just for implementing and operating the system, which he figures will add $1 million to the South Shore's operating costs.

Positive train control could have prevented the 1993 crash, Noland said, since the NTSB report said one train's engineer ignored a signal to stop.

The NTSB has said PTC also could have prevented a Jan. 6, 2012, collision involving three freight trains on CSX tracks in Porter County's Jackson Township.

But, Noland said, it wouldn't have prevented the June 18, 1998, crash in Portage that killed three South Shore passengers. In that incident, a truck had stopped for a passing freight train on a track adjoining the South Shore's. The truck's trailer, carrying steel coils, hung over the South Shore tracks, and the train's motorman didn't have time to stop.

As a result of that crash, and numerous other near-collisions at the same crossing, a $10 million bridge was built over the tracks and U.S. 12.

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Accidents at railroad crossings are far more frequent than the type of crash that positive train control can prevent, Noland said.

"If a truck pulls out onto a crossing at the last minute  that (positive train control) is not going to stop that kind of accident," he said. "The engineer is still going to have to be vigilant."

"I tell people," Noland said, "that if I was in charge of the world, I'd eliminate all railroad grade crossings (by building overpasses and underpasses). But that's not going to happen."

Tim Zorn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Indiana Superintendent of Schools Glenda Ritz visits with supporters recently during a NWI Supporting Women fundraiser at The Market in Valparaiso. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz is seeking re-election to her post in November, but she is facing a stiff challenge from Republican candidate and Yorktown Community Schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick.

Ritz rode a wave of voter discontent over controversial education policy changes in Indiana to victory over then-State Superintendent Tony Bennett in 2012, and in the process, she drew more votes than Gov. Mike Pence. Bennett had encouraged rapidly expanding charter schools, limiting teacher collective bargaining, and establishing a voucher program for private schools.

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Almost immediately, Ritz encountered challenges. Republican legislators spoke about changing the position to one that is appointed, and Ritz was frequently at odds with members of the State Board of Education, who are appointed by the governor. Pence even created a shadow DOE  Center for Education and Career Innovation  to trying and shift some power away from Ritz and the DOE to his office, but he eventually folded CECI. Legislators eventually passed a bill allowing the board to appoint its own chair starting in 2017.

McCormick said she's been disappointed in the working relationship between the DOE and local districts during Ritz's tenure.

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"The only reason that I'm running is our Department of Education should be the best in the nation," McCormick said. "Right now there is a lack of leadership and a lack of guidance from the Department of Education. It's disorganized and disconnected from all of us. There's really a lack of communication with local districts."

Ritz countered that under her leadership 193 low-performing schools  serving more than 108,000 students  have transformed into high-performing schools through DOE assistance. Ritz said the department's Division of Outreach links coordinators with principals to break down barriers and provide resources to succeed.

"I promised a presence in schools, and I'm extremely pleased that we have 193 schools that have become high-performing schools," Ritz said. "We're breaking down barriers in schools and providing wraparound schools for kids."

The future of ISTEP

Years of issues with the ISTEP exam came to a head this spring when the Indiana General Assembly voted to throw out the test by next summer. Computer glitches, scoring delays, increased testing time and accuracy questions persuaded many that an overhaul was needed.

Ritz originally ran for office because she thought that the I-READ3 test was discouraging kids from developing a love for reading.

"I have a vision for student-centered assessment," Ritz said. "It's where all students don't take same questions. If students get questions right or wrong, it takes you to different questions. It's computer adapted and it provides educators more information."

Ritz is part of a state panel responsible for recommending a new student standardized test, but it's currently divided between Ritz's favored option and a pass/fail exam. State Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, has recommended sticking with a traditional pass/fail exam while the new test designs would be piloted.

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From her vantage point, McCormick said that the situation has been a "mess."

"We need to make sure that regardless if it's a new, state-developed test or a test off the shelf that it is not requiring not anymore instructional time," McCormick said. "I think that it should stay down to less than 1 percent of instructional time."

McCormick said that schools use a lot of assessments, but they all have some key goals.

"We need to make sure that districts are clear on the purpose of the test," McCormick said. "It's important that we're making sure students are on target for graduation, and we've got to preserve instructional time."

School funding formula

Districts across the state have faced real financial issues since the implementation of state-mandated property tax caps in 2009. As a result, state funding formula inequities between even neighboring districts has been on the forefront of the education debate.

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"As the state is revising the funding formula, we need to look at changes to complexity index, per course funding, look at special education and ESL funding  a lot of areas," McCormick said. "And we cannot get the full picture of the situation without taking property taxes into account."

McCormick is hopeful that the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which succeeded No Child Left Behind, will allow flexibility in how states can repurpose more dollars toward the classroom.

Ritz said the state needs to kick in more toward K-12 funding and re-examine how the funding formula works.

"I would like us to progress the funding formula toward looking at programmatic needs," Ritz said. "Under every dollar following the child, if they lose a children in a district, they sometimes have to cut programs in schools. So it is actually causing greater inequities in our schools.

School choice

The candidates' stances on charter schools and the state's voucher program are reflected in who is funding their campaigns. Ritz has received much of her campaign donations from the Indiana's State Teachers Association's political action committee, while McCormick is backed by some of the same donors who supported Bennett's campaigns, like charter school founder Christel DeHaan and Hoosiers for Quality Education PAC.

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Ritz had about $536,000 in cash on hand at the end of June, which was the last quarterly filing available, while McCormick had around $68,000.

McCormick has said she is in favor of school choice, saying it's important for parents to choose where their kids go school. But said state policy makers must be smart about its impact on K-12 dollars by analyzing how it is allotted to schools.

Ritz has opposed the expansion of the voucher program since 2011 and said too many charter schools are underperforming.

In the 2015-2016 school year, 32,686 students to were awarded $52.8 million to spend on private school tuition.

Pre-K

The state launched a pilot program to help provide high-quality preschool for 4-year-olds in spring 2015, launching in five counties including Lake County. The 2,000 enrollment slots have been in high demand, and there have been moves by state lawmakers, like State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, to expand the program. But Gov. Mike Pence and others have taken a wait-and-see-approach due to concerns about costs.

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Ritz said it is possible to make high quality pre-K programs in every school corporation by establishing a public/private coalition and leveraging federal dollars. Ritz has estimated that the program would cost around $150 million in its first year and it could see cost savings quickly as the state spends around $32 million annually to educate students who are repeating kindergarten.

McCormick said that she talked with preschool teachers and they said they're concerned about how expanding the program would done, including making sure teachers have appropriate credentials.

"We need to do it right instead of just rolling it out too fast," McCormick said. "We're serving the most at risk and we need to target the children who need our services most. But we will be keeping our eye on universal pre-K as a long-term goal."

cnance@post-trib.com
Construction continues for the expansion of Cooks Corners Elementary School Friday. Because of work there and at other Valparaiso schools, the schools will be closed for Election Day on Nov. 8 so the buildings are accessible to voters. (Amy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

The convergence of an election and multiple building projects mean Valparaiso schoolchildren will get the day off Nov. 8.

Without classes being in session, voters will be able to park their cars and have better access to buildings where major construction is eating up parking spots.

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"We were going to have to move five precincts so we reached out to the schools and they got with the school board," said Sundae Schoon, Republican director in Porter County's Voter Registration Office. "That way we didn't have to move any locations. They were very accommodating."

The Valparaiso Community School Corp. started building projects at three schools, as well as construction of a new elementary school off of Indiana 2 south of U.S. 30, a few months ago.

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In the meantime, some accommodations had to be made for the general election, hence the day off. School officials are still working on when the make-up day will be, said Julie Lauck, an assistant superintendent.

While five of the district's schools are polling places, three of them are under construction. Cooks Corners and Memorial Elementary schools host voters from one precinct each, and Valparaiso High School serves as a polling place for three precincts.

The construction work limits parking at those schools, Lauck said.

"It's actually way easier for us to close that day for (voters) to utilize the site" than it is to change polling places, she said. "In the spirit of cooperation we are closing to give them a good polling site."

The Valparaiso Teachers Association agreed with the decision, Lauck said, adding the district's calendar committee is discussing how to handle future elections while the schools are under construction. School officials hope the work wraps up by August 2018, so construction could impact the primary that year.

Valparaiso is the only district closed on Election Day but Schoon said it's something other school districts should consider.

"It's a safety issue so we're hoping other schools follow suit and use this for an in-service day," she said.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
This video is the first in an occasional series shadowing Andrew Cody through his first year of teaching. (Chicago Tribune)

Today's column is the first in an occasional series profiling Andrew Cody, a new teacher at Flint Lake Elementary School in Valparaiso, capturing the highs, lows and surprises in his fourth-grade classroom.

Andrew Cody strolled confidently through his classroom, looked around at his chatty fourth-grade pupils and quickly got their attention.

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"Class! Class!" he said firmly.

"Yes! Yes!" his students replied in unison.

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"Classity, class!" he said playfully.

"Yesity, yes!" they replied back.

It was impossible not to notice Cody's physical and psychological transformation from just a few minutes earlier while chatting with him in the principal's office. The 24-year-old first-time teacher turned into a superhero, of sorts, called "Mr. Cody," in total control of his class of 26 fourth graders, comprised of 9- and 10-year-olds.

It's no easy task, as any cat-herding teacher could tell you.

"You should be reading at a whisper level," he told students during their 90-minute morning reading block. "There should be no talking. Just the sound of pages flipping."

On that day, Cody taught his students about "sequence of events" and words that describe it, such as "first," "then" and "finally." They did so by reading the biography of Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor known for contributions to the design of the modern alternating electrical supply system.

"Mr. Tesla was born in Croatia," Cody told his students. "Who can say Croatia? Say it out loud."

"Cro-a-tia," his students replied in unison.

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This moment may have been the first time those kids ever said that word, as it is for many words, phrases and thoughts in that classroom. While watching Cody in action from a desk in the corner, I learned that his workplace is filled with countless firsts for his young pupils.

First words, first ideas, first learning exchanges. What a gift he gives these kids on a daily basis. And what a gift he receives from them when the light bulb above their head gets turned on so brightly.

"I'm loving some of the annotations on your papers that I'm seeing," Cody told them while pacing around the room.

I thought to myself, annotations? How do mere fourth graders know what the heck the word annotation means? The kids, however, didn't blink. They just smiled and kept writing. (Watch a video of Cody in action and view more photos at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/chi-jerry-davich-staff.html)

One blond-haired, doe-eyed boy confessed to Cody that he didn't have his homework from the previous night.

"I lost it," the boy said sheepishly. "Sorry Mr. Cody."

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Cody hesitated for a second and then replied somewhat curtly, "Well, OK."

Without saying it, Cody showed disappointment in the boy. The boy picked up on it and slipped back to his seat.

Teaching a classroom of kids this age isn't child's play, I learned.

"It's an intense job, especially for a first-time teacher over an entire school year," Erin Hawkins, Flint Lake Elementary School principal, said. "But fortunately, the fourth grade offers teachers a noticeable transition in a child's life."

Flint Lake, located on the north end of the city, houses 560 students, boasting the largest  and busiest  elementary school in Valparaiso. A few students within the district attend school here under a program called Positive Approach for Student Success, or PASS, a comprehensive, multilevel program providing educational services within mainstream settings to students with behavioral issues.

While walking down a hallway with Cody, I saw a student from another class wailing loudly while a teacher consoled him. Such is life in any elementary school where behavioral issues are part of the educational process.

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Cody, a graduate of Purdue University North Central, has wanted to be an elementary school teacher since his high school days.

"I knew I didn't want to teach at a high school level, and I didn't like the rotation of students and their classes at the middle school level," Cody said, a Purdue lanyard dangling around his neck.

Cody lives in Portage, where he completed student teaching at Jones Elementary School. He's married with no children, only a new puppy at this point, getting him out of bed earlier than he's used to.

On this day, Cody arrived to school at 7:15 a.m., though the school day officially begins at 8:45 a.m. each day except for "late start" Wednesdays. Most days, he leaves school sometime between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

"But like with all teachers, he always takes work home, works in the evenings and also on the weekends," Hawkins told me during Cody's morning break from class.

His daily schedule appears to me as rigid as a ruler: Reading block from 9:45 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.; lunch and recess from 11:20 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.; math from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; writing, science or social studies from 1:45 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.; and computer work from 2:40 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

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I looked forward to experiencing my first mass-exodus of the school at 3:15 p.m. which looked like a well-choreographed dance of 500-plus pint-sized youngsters eager to go home.

"It's something to see," Cody told me when his students were at "specials," such as music or art or physical education.

Inside Cody's classroom, motivational posters plaster the walls, among other kid-themed decorations. Each poster offers a message or takeaway for all the young minds: RESPECT, HONESTY, RESPONSIBILITY, among others. The first sign I noticed in the school's main lobby stressed: "SPEAK KIND WORDS."

This is a familiar mantra at the school, and all part of the kids' educational development. In addition to endless lesson plans, state-mandated testing, and hourly behavior management. Cody wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Still, it was impossible to be in his classroom without his ever-curious students noticing me. Cody quickly did the introductions.

"Classity, class!" he said.

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"Yesity, yes!" they replied.

"This is Mr. Jerry. He's here to observe us every once in a while," Cody told them.

The kids instantly seemed more relaxed. Except for one girl who made a beeline toward me.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Jerry," she told me politely.

Nice to meet you, too, I replied, and I'm looking forward to future visits for upcoming columns.

jdavich@post-trib.com

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Indiana University Northwest's Criminal Justice Club members and its advisers strike a pose after sharing a banquet dinner with former President Jimmy Carter in Americus, Ga. (Post-Tribune / IUN Criminal Justice Club)

Everyone called him Jimmy. Simply and fondly.

"It didn't matter that he was our 39th president and a world leader who has done so much with his life after his presidency," said Joseph Molchan, 27, president of the Criminal Justice Club at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.

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"They just called him Jimmy," he said.

Late last month, Molchan and four other club members traveled to Plains, Ga., to attend a special banquet in honor of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The group timed their visit to also attend the 20th Annual Plains Peanut Festival that weekend.

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The students' expectations were reverential when they finally shared air space with Carter, the former Georgia State Senator who served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize before having his name become synonymous with Habitat for Humanity and other humanitarian efforts.

"I wanted to hear every word he said," Molchan told me while showing a photo slide show of the group's visit.

They stayed in Americus, Ga., located about 20 minutes from Plains, which remains a time capsule to a previous era. No big chain stores, no ATMs, no major industry besides peanut farms, which Carter himself once worked.

The townsfolk didn't talk much politics, the students noticed, in sharp contrast to Northwest Indiana and, for that matter, most of the country. With presidential politics in everyone's minds these days, the students enjoyed the laid-back sincerity of Carter.

"How did a mild-mannered peanut farmer rise to be president of the United States?" Molchan asked rhetorically. "It seems that these days you need be a Donald Trump kind of person to do that."

This obvious dichotomy is what attracted me to the students' visit with Carter, who couldn't be more radically different than current Republican and Democratic candidates. .

"That realization is kind of depressing, actually," said Lauren Vafiadis, 27, the IUN club's treasurer.

"I really enjoyed seeing President Carter's childhood home and getting more in touch with his roots to understand how he became the outstanding man he is," she said.

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Unlike many of his presidential contemporaries, Carter turned out to be a better human being than a U.S. president, I believe. And I say this as a sincere compliment.

"It was like he wasn't a former U.S. president," Vafiadis said. "He acted just like one of the locals there. Nothing more. That quality really stayed with me."

Carter, who last week turned 92, bounced back somewhat miraculously from cancer after being diagnosed in 2015. He was nonstop "Jimmy" during the group's visit, they said.

"President Carter was busy all day with duties and activities," said John Tsolakos, an IUN faculty member who accompanied the students. "He's amazing, and so is his wife, Rosalynn. He showed the excitement of a child while opening a gift he received at the banquet dinner. It was exciting to be in his presence."

The students joined the 29th Annual Convention Banquet of the Carter Political Items Collectors, celebrating its 40th anniversary. The unpretentious event aptly highlighted Carter's down home charm and genuine humility, the students agreed.

"Jimmy remembered so many people's names from previous years," said Molchan, who took a selfie with Carter in the background.

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"We were the most overdressed group there," Vafiadis joked.

"We wanted to represent our club and school as best we could," Molchan explained.

Also making the first-of-its kind trip were club members Nikki Garcia, Donna Messer and Jackie Helton, as well as Karl Besel, assistant dean and director of IUN's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, which oversees the Criminal Justice Club.

"President Carter is a living, breathing role model," Besel said.

For 12 years, Besel worked at Indiana University's campus in Kokomo. While there, he worked with the late Randy Hainlen, a judge who worked on Carter's presidential campaign in the late 1970s. Before his death, Hainlen helped Besel arrange for the IUN students to join Carter's activities last month.

"Visiting with President Carter was always one of the best experiences students had at the Kokomo campus," Besel said. "I hope these students at IUN feel the same way."

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The students do, everyone agreed.

Carter has been alive longer since leaving the White House than any other president in history. This gives Americans precious time with the soft-spoken former peanut farmer who's still accompanied by Secret Service agents.

"There are only five living U.S. presidents, so it's a rare opportunity to spend such time with one of them," Besel noted.

Molchan said, "Students here may not expect to make such a memorable trip from a commuter college like IUN, but we're proud of what we did. Seeing what President Carter has done in his hometown has motivated us to see what we can do for our club and for our school."

"We learned a new appreciation for him, as a president and as a person," Vafiadis said.

Joseph Gomeztagle, professor of public policy and environmental affairs at IUN, said Carter never lost his virtues through his presidency, nor over the course of his life.

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"It's not too often in today's world of politics that university students get a chance to visit a world icon who's consistent and committed to his virtues of justice, prudence and benevolence," Gomeztagle said while watching the students' photo slide show.

"This is something that our students, and more Americans, need to witness, especially during the current presidential campaign," he added.

Unlike today's candidates, I always thought that Carter was too nice to deal with the harsh political realities that came with being a U.S. president.

"He seems just as nice," Molchan said.

To hear more about the IUN students' visit with Carter, listen to a recording of my latest Casual Fridays radio show, here: http://lakeshorepublicmedia.org/local-programs/casual-fridays/.

jdavich@post-trib.com

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What's Quickly? It's where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com.

Well, there is one upside to this election circus. The Quickly gas price complainers now have something else to complain about. Gas prices just jumped 30 cents and nary a word. Thanks, Don and Hill.

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The GOP should be very proud of their Scampaign and their faux candidate.

The anti-job attitude in Northwest Indiana amazes me. We have a long history of turning down ventures that would bring prosperity and good paying jobs to the area. The ones I recollect are: Porter county casinos, trash to ethanol plant, factory hog farm, Illiana tollway, several intermodal facilities, and just recently, a modern railroad. I am certain that I missed a few. Besides the lost jobs, there would have been a few millionaires created from land developments. Other parts of the country are not so job shy as us, and they have picked up some of these opportunities while others just died from our lack of interest.

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Donald Trump "games" the system and he is a genius, while normal poor people "game" welfare and they are criminals. And this is your choice for President. It's Ok when the big guys do it, but heaven forbid someone does it to feed their family or send a child to school.

The "deplorables" are starting to wonder if government has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew's intensity to make exaggerated points on climate change. Thanks Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh for influencing your sheeple.

They finished the road work on Taft Street or Indiana 55 between Crown Point and U.S. 30. I just wonder why the speed limit going south is 35 mph and going north is 45 mph?

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Leaders need to understand the wars they fight. Trump does not understand the true value of the conflict in which he is presently engaged. In other words, you have to pick your battles.

Hillary Clinton needs to stop being a centrist/establishment candidate and incorporate some of Bernie Sanders' progressive platform policies and Don Trump's stances on issues if she wants to win their supporters. She needs to support fair trade and renegotiate the free trade agreements, $15/hour minimum wage, single-payer government health care system, secure our borders, build a border wall, stop supporting illegal alien amnesty and foreign guest worker and visa programs and implement work place verification at all employers using everify. And make NATO members pay their fair share for defense spending and do more of the fighting.

Lake County taxes are so high, rumor has it that they have been seen on radar by the air traffic controllers at Midway and O'Hare.

Todd Young sends out mailers declaring how he's going to protect Medicare. But his idea of protecting it is to privatize it and give you vouchers that might not even come close to covering you for the care you need.

When talking Politics, it seems that a lot of older women actually do not like Hillary.They say they will vote for Hilliary around other women because it is the thing to say. They say they will vote for Trump but do not really want that known.

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After listening to these CEOs testifying in the last few weeks, it's business as usual  fire the lower level employees and let upper management leave with millions of dollars in severance packages. No upper management is ever held accountable.

Read more at www.post-trib.com/quickly.
In September 2014, Iranian authorities ransacked Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee's house and found an unpublished fictional story about stoning to death. She has been sentenced to five years in prison for insulting Islamic sanctities and another year for spreading propaganda against the ruling system.

From The Guardian:

"The charges against Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee are ludicrous," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's research director for its Middle East and North Africa programme.

"She is facing years behind bars simply for writing a story, and one which was not even published  she is effectively being punished for using her imagination."

Stoning to death is one of Iran's most controversial punishments, often used against women accused of having an illicit relationship outside marriage. It sparked an unprecedented global outrage in 2010 in reaction to the high-profile case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank leaders on Thursday called for measures to promote inclusive growth and resist anti-trade sentiments.

"Globalization has worked over the years, that it has delivered great benefits to many people. We do not think that it is time to push against it," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a press conference on Thursday.

Lagarde said that, in the past decades, the growth driven by international trade has helped countries like China and India to pull them out of massive poverty. "Trade has been in the main a great engine for growth,... we need that engine in order to support and accelerate growth," said Lagarde.

At the press conference, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim also expressed his concern about the slowing global economy hit by falling commodity prices and stagnating global trade.

He said that trade and openness of the economy were the two keys for China to lift seven million people out of poverty in a rapid way. Kim called on all developing countries to embrace trade and open economy in order to end extreme poverty.

Both Lagarde and Kim called for investments in infrastructure and human beings in order to accelerate inclusive and sustainable growth.

In regard to the inclusion of China's Renminbi in the Special Drawing Right (SDR) basket, Lagarde said that it "certainly anchors the Chinese economy in the group of large, international, open economies in the world." She expected China will continue its reforms.

World Bank President also gave much credit to China's poverty reduction. "Without China we'd have no chance to even think about ending extreme poverty," said Kim, adding that China will be a very important partner in the World Bank's effort to end extreme poverty.
Algerian Energy Minister, Noureddine Bouterfa, announced Thursday that Turkey is due to host an informal meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers on Oct. 8, to discuss ways of putting into effect the recommendations of the Algiers meeting last month.

Oil prices are still not stable at global markets, despite the "historic" agreement reached in September in Algiers between members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"An informal meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC is scheduled on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress in Turkey's Istanbul from Oct. 9 to 13," Bouterfa told Ennahar TV.

The official added that Istanbul's meeting would precede the full summit in Vienna due on Nov. 12, where the cartel's members will aim to reach an agreement to stabilize the market.

He further assumed that "The Algiers meeting has eliminated hurdles as OPEC members agreed to cap outputs, and there is common will to move towards stabilizing the market."

Bouterfa forecast a larger output decline, given that the cut of 700,000 barrels a day would not be enough to stabilize oil prices between 50 and 55 dollars a barrel.

On Sept. 28, the 14 members of OPEC reached an agreement to cap oil output from 33.4 million barrels a day to 32.5 or 33 million barrels a day.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers believe that oil prices at 50 or 60 USD would be favorable for both consumers and producers, as it would help producers to maintain investments and exploration of new fields, and therefore assure the availability of this key energy product in the long term.

However, some experts believe that oil prices would not rise immediately after OPEC members' agreement. Abderrahmane Mebtoul, an expert, said oil prices also depend on other factors, including the global growth rate as well as supply and demand.
After 91 years, the Ford Motor Company has produced its last car in Australia on Friday.

The closure of the Ford factories in Campbellfield and Geelong in the state of Victoria, was announced by the motoring giant in 2013.

Ford is not alone in leaving Australia, with Toyota and Holden, which was founded and has its headquarters in Australia, set to leave in 2017.

The car workers' union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), said that Australia had never before experienced such a rapid closure of an entire industry especially one as important as car manufacturing - and that between 40,000 and 200,000 jobs would be lost nationally.

The decision by Ford to leave Australia came in the wake of the company posting considerable losses amounting to 450 million US dollars over five years.

In announcing the closures Bob Graziano, President of Ford Australia, said the cost of manufacturing a relatively small number of cars in Australia was four times the cost of doing so in Asia and double the cost of manufacturing in Europe.

The Ford closure in Campbellfield and Geelong has left 1200 people without jobs.

Ford and the state government have committed to placing them in new employment. Besides generous redundancy packages, they will be placed in retraining programs and job placement schemes.

Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria, said the government had committed 98 million US dollars to support the workers and the communities hit hardest by Ford's departure.

Greg Hunt, Federal Industry Minister, said that the Ford workers would be able to access the 117 million US dollar "Growth Fund" assistance package which is focused on helping automotive workers transition to new jobs.
 Flash

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Thursday said that the Obama administration will continue pushing forward negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with China so that it would be as close to done as possible before President Barack Obama leaves office.

"We had extensive discussions at our Strategic and Economic Dialogue and on the margins of the G20 meetings. There're ongoing negotiations, there're exchanges of offers," Lew said of BIT talks at an event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

"Fundamentally, it has to be a high quality agreement, there're offers of (market) access at both directions in a meaningful way if it's going to come to closure," Lew said.

A total of 28 rounds of BIT talks have been held since China and the United States started negotiations in 2008 to increase mutual investment, which only accounted for a tiny share of their respective overseas investment.

The two sides have recently exchanged the third revised and significantly improved negative list offers of sectors that remain closed to foreign investment, and they committed to further intensify the negotiation with a view to concluding a mutually beneficial and high-standard investment treaty.

Rory MacFarquhar, a visiting fellow at the PIIE and a former special assistant to President Obama for international economics, told Xinhua that there might be "more than one more round" of BIT negotiations before Obama steps down in January 2017.

"I think there's interest on both sides to come as very close as possible to conclude a real agreement that could then at least be considered by the Senate," he said, adding the Chinese side will have to "make a lot of important decisions" to reach a very good treaty with the U.S. and get the U.S. Senate's approval.

"We're obviously looking at the counter. It's getting shorter and shorter. So the time to really put the shoulder into it is now," Lew argued, noting "this is the best time" to continue moving forward the BIT negotiations.

"We're going to continue through the duration of our tenure trying to get it queued up so it's as close to done, if not done, as possible," he said.

The world's two largest economies have become more closely connected over the past few years, as China has become a huge and growing market for U.S. businesses and Chinese investment in the United States has rapidly accelerated.

The investment treaty is expected to continue to expand two-way trade and investment and cement the foundation of China-U.S. economic ties.
Ex-Yahoo employees have spoken anonymously to Motherboard about the news that Yahoo had built an "email scanner" for a US security agency, likely the FBI or the NSA. These sources  at least one of whom worked on the security team  say that in actuality, the NSA or FBI had secretly installed a "rootkit" on Yahoo's mail servers and that this was discovered by the Yahoo security team (who had not been apprised of it), who, believing the company had been hacked, sounded the alarm, only to have the company executives tell them that the US government had installed the tool.

The sources in the article say that the "rootkit" was "buggy" and "poorly designed."

In the security world, a rootkit is a program that changes the operating system to create administrative ("root") access that is invisible to the system's actual administrator. For example, in 2005, Sony-BMG put a covert rootkit installer on more than six million audio CDs; when inserted into Windows computers, these CDs silently updated the Windows kernel so that it would not report the existence of files or processes whose names started with "$sys$". Then the CDs installed an anti-ripping program that started with $sys$ and tried to shut down any attempt to rip an audio CD  because the program started with $sys$, users and their anti-virus software couldn't see the programs' files on their drives, nor would the programs appear in the computers' process list.

It's not clear what a "rootkit" is in the context of a complex system of servers like those that run Yahoo Mail. Perhaps it means that the US government wanted to be able to run programs on these servers that Yahoo's administrators couldn't monitor or discover. That would allow the government agencies to spy on Yahoo's users without revealing their search parameters to Yahoo employees.





Also unclear is how interconnected Yahoo's other services are with its Mail product. Like other platforms, Yahoo offers a variety of integrated services  financial products, personal organizers, photo sharing, etc  and depending on how those products were integrated, it's possible that having administrative access to the mail servers would have given government agencies access to more of Yahoo's platform.

Sony's rootkit exposed users to opportunistic infections from other malicious software; the authors of this software were quick to realize that machines that had been compromised by Sony could not detect their own viruses if they, too, were packaged in files that began with "$sys".

The sources in the Motherboard story called the rootkit "buggy" and "poorly designed," suggesting that, as with Sony, other people could have exploited the rootkit to gain access to Yahoo users' data and Yahoo's network, and that these attacks would be virtually undetectable by either the US government or Yahoo's team (because, by design, administrators can't see what programs are being run under a rootkit's cloak).

The picture that's emerging is pretty bizarre. Some top Yahoo executive(s) gave the US government the go-ahead to install a rootkit on the mail-processing servers. The Yahoo security team were not consulted on this (Alex Stamos, former Yahoo CSO, quit the company to become Facebook's CSO around then, and the initial Reuters report by Joseph Menn says that he left over this issue). The security team discovered the software independently, raised the alarm, and were told not to meddle with it. The NSA (or FBI), and anyone who figured out how to exploit the rootkit, had potentially unlimited, undetectable access to all Yahoo users' data.

Last year, the US government served Yahoo with a secret order, asking the company to search within its users' emails for some targeted information, as first reported by Reuters this week. It's still unclear what was the information sought, but The New York Times, citing an anonymous official source, later reported that the government was looking for a specific digital "signature" of a "communications method used by a state-sponsored, foreign terrorist organization." Anonymous sources told The Times that the tool was nothing more than a modified version of Yahoo's existing scanning system, which searches all email for malware, spam and images of child pornography. But two sources familiar with the matter told Motherboard that this description is wrong, and that the tool was actually more like a "rootkit," a powerful type of malware that lives deep inside an infected system and gives hackers essentially unfettered access.

Yahoo's Government Email Scanner Was Actually a Secret Hacking Tool [Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai/Motherboard]
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Latvian lawmakers on Thursday endorsed Montenegro's admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by passing a bill on the ratification of the accession protocol, Latvia's public media website lsm.lv reported.

NATO foreign ministers decided to invite Montenegro to start accession talks with the alliance in December 2015, while the accession protocol was inked in May 2016. To complete its ratification, the accession protocol has to be approved by each NATO member country.

Montenegro will become a NATO member after the ratification document is submitted to the U.S. Department of State, which is depositary of the North Atlantic Treaty.

During a meeting with Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic, State Secretary for European Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro, last month, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said that the accession protocol's ratification by the Latvian parliament was expected to go smoothly.

The Latvian foreign minister also urged Montenegro to carry through with its reforms and work to ensure greater public support for the country's membership in the alliance both before and after the accession.
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At least 22 Nigerien soldiers were killed Thursday in an attack on a refugee camp in the country's western region of Tassara.

A source told Xinhua that unknown gunmen attacked Nigerien soldiers who were guarding the camp housing Malian refugees, and killed at least 22 soldiers.

The attackers are suspected to be Islamic extremists from northern Mali, according to the source.

There is no official comment on the attack, but according to the source, the Nigerien military has launched an operation to hunt for the attackers.

Niger's national television reported Thursday night that a refugee camp in the country's western region bordering Mali was attacked by armed men. The report said there were heavy casualties but did not reveal the exact number.
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Poland's parliament on Thursday voted to reject a bill for a near-total ban on abortion.

In the vote, 352 lawmakers rejected the bill against 58 in favor, while 18 abstained, Polish Press Agency reported.

Under the rejected bill, abortion is only permitted when the mother's life was in serious danger. Women and doctors may have to face up to five years' jail term if they are involved in abortion.

Such a penalty was one of the most controversial part of the rejected bill. There was a heated debate even prior to the vote on Thursday, during which the Stop Abortion Committee, the author of the bill, proposed the removal of clauses that advocate penalties on women for abortion.

Leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose MPs were among those vetoed the bill, said the solutions proposed in the act could have an opposite effect to those intended.

Prime Minister Beata Szydlo assured that her government would do everything to protect human life.

"We will prepare a programme ... to aid families and mothers who decide to raise children born from so-called difficult pregnancies ... to support families with handicapped children", said Szydlo, adding the program could be introduced next year.

Szydlo also announced a comprehensive publicity campaign to raise people's awareness in protecting human lives.

After the bill was rejected, the Stop Abortion Committee said it planned to continue its efforts to encourage women to give up abortion as it was gaining many supporters.

According to the country's Health Ministry, 1,044 abortions were carried out in Poland in 2015.
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The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously decided to recommend Antonio Guterres to head the United Nations for the next five years, starting from Jan.1, 2017.

The 15-nation council has delivered its decision to the UN General Assembly to formally appoint Guterres as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations.

Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

In practice, the Security Council will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

After the Security Council's formal announcement, Guterres expressed his gratitude by making a statement at Portugal's capital Lisbon, while saying he felt humility "to serve those most vulnerable" suffering from conflicts, poverty and injustices.

PROFILE OF ANTONIO GUTERRES

Guterres, a 67-year-old politician, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.

During his tenure as head of UN refugee agency, known as UNHCR, he has tackled some of the largest displacement crises across the world in decades, particularly conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Before joining UNHCR, Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during which time he was heavily involved in international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor.

Guterres was active in Socialist International, a worldwide organization of social democratic political parties. He served as the group's vice-president from 1992 to 1999.

Born in Lisbon in 1949, Guterres graduated from the Instituto Superior Tecnico of Portugal with a degree in electrical engineering. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.

Guterres is married.

VISION TO GUIDE THE UNITED NATIONS

Guterres has presented his vision statement on the United Nations in April this year, in which he called the UN as "the institutional expression of the international community," "the cornerstone of the international system" and "the key actor of effective multilateralism."

On addressing conflicts worldwide, Guterres noted that the UN must uphold a commitment to a "culture of prevention" and need a "surge in diplomacy for peace" to ease tensions and facilitate peaceful solutions.

According to the statement, he has proposed that the UN shall increase cooperation and engagement with regional organizations, international financial institutions as well as the civil society and the private sector.

On reform of the UN system, Guterres noted reform is not a one-time action; it is a permanent attitude to make the UN less bureaucratic and more efficient, to simplify processes and avoid extra costs.

EXPECTATIONS FROM THE WORLD

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said Guterres would be an excellent choice for the position of next UN secretary-general.

"He has a large experience as Portuguese prime minister, and a wide knowledge of world affairs, which would serve him well in leading the UN in a crucial period," said Ban.

Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who is the Security Council president for October, said the council's unanimous decision shows that Guterres would "rely on strong support of the Security Council" in the next five years.

Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, also one of the secretary-general candidates, congratulated Guterres for being selected as next UN secretary-general.

"I wish him all the best in his position at the head of our UN," she said via her official Twitter account.
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The former head of the Komi Republic of Russia Vladimir Torlopov was accused of creating a criminal organization and a fraud amounting to at least 2.5 billion rubles (about 40 million U.S. dollars).

Torlopov pleaded guilty on Thursday. He was confined to his flat, TASS reported.

Torlopov's case was connected with his successor Vyacheslav Gayzer's criminal case. Gayzer was accused of creating a criminal organization, fraud, money laundering and bribery. He was arrested in September 2015.

Vladimir Torlopov was the Head of the Komi Republic in the 2002-2010.
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The vote on Oct. 2 may have narrowly rejected the government's peace agreement with the FARC but the Colombians who voted in its favor do not intend to sit idle and let a chance to end 52 years of conflict dwindle.

On Wednesday night, a march wound its way to Bogota's central Plaza Bolivar, stretching across four blocks. At least 30,000 people turned out, determined that a narrow margin of just over 60,000 votes should not scuttle a peace process that has taken four years to develop.

This time, however, the march did not come accompanied with the shouts that both sides have made common in the streets of Bogota. The student organizers of the march asked participants to remain silent in order to show their indignation at the 62 percent of absenteeism in the vote and at the new panorama threatening a hard-won peace.

NO CAMP JOINS NEGOTIATIONS

On the same day, President Juan Manuel Santos met two of his predecessor, who have led the No campaign, Alvaro Uribe and Andres Pastrana in order to discuss the next steps.

The meeting with Pastrana was seen as satisfactory but did not appear to turn up any major conclusions. Santos' meeting with Uribe, however, lasted for over four hours and led to more expectations.

Speaking to the press afterwards, Uribe said that his proposals had been well received by Santos.

"We reiterated the need for the FARC to cease all their crimes and for its members to enjoy efficient protection. We expressed to the government judiciary and economic solutions, linked to the end of drug trafficking, which could be immediate for all guerrilla members not linked to crimes against humanity," outlined Uribe.

According to Uribe, he also told Santos about his supporters' preoccupations with "total immunity, political eligibility for those guilty of crimes against humanity...for the thousands of recruited children who have not returned home...and for family values."

These proposals will be studied by a joint commission made up of envoys from both sides. However, this implies a new and winding path of negotiations which the protesters in Bogota are not willing to undergo.

ACTIVISM WITHOUT SURRENDER

Jorge Eduardo Barajas began a journey of over 500km on September 14, from the city of Cali to Bogota. As he travelled, he taught the value of peace to towns along the way. He finished his journey on Oct. 2, when he voted Yes in the plebiscite.

After this trip, Barajas told Xinhua that many Colombians feel indignant at the amount of people who stayed at home and opted vote.

"A thinker once said, we are responsible of what we do and what we allow to be done. A criminal is not only the person who holds the gun and pulls the trigger. A criminal is also the person who allows the political, economic and social conditions that make others hold the gun and pull the trigger," said the activist.

Katerine Miranda, a veteran activist for peace, told Xinhua that she felt Uribe should not be part of the negotiations.

"I honestly think that a better agreement than the one we had cannot be reached," said Miranda, adding that she felt the No campaign had spread lies in order to sow fear.

"It is unfair to Colombians and to the victims of the conflict that they based their campaign on lies...so that people would not approve the agreement," concluded Miranda.

The activists said they would continue with such actions as the silent march in order to break the wall of indifference they feel many of their countrymen have toward the peace process.

After singing the national anthem of Colombia in an emotional yet solemn atmosphere, the thousands of protesters broke their silence, leaving behind the feeling described by one of the their own: "no protest comes too late."
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The Indian army Thursday said it killed seven militants in separate gunfights in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir.

While it said three militants were gunned down attempting to storm an army camp at Langate-Handwara in frontier Kupwara district, about 75 Km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, four others were killed near Line of Control (LoC), a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.

"Today at around 5:00 a.m. (local time) three militants tried to storm an army camp at Langate in Handwara. However, our alert personnel deployed there immediately retaliated to repulse their attempt and gunned them just outside the camp," Indian military spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia told Xinhua. "During another counter insurgency operation, our troopers successfully foiled three infiltration attempts in Nowgam and Rampura sector, killing four infiltrators."

The identity of slain militants according to officials was being ascertained. However, preliminary reports suggest they seem to be foreigners.

Kalia said Indian army personnel have not suffered any damage in the stand-off and search operation was underway.

No independent confirmation could be made about the incidents owing to their occurrence in remote areas.

The gunfights have come amid heightened tensions between troops of India and Pakistan along LoC. The LoC confrontation has forced thousands of villagers close to LoC on Indian side to migrate to safer places.

On Monday, a border guard belonging to India's Border Security Force (BSF) was killed and another wounded in a similar attack on army camp in neighbouring Baramulla town. However, militants escaped following the attack.

Militant groups are engaged in a guerrilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently.

Last month, four militants entered an army base in frontier Uri, killing 19 troopers and wounding over 20 others. The four attackers were also killed.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated because of the ongoing civilian protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir that saw around 90 civilians dead and over 12,000 others injured. However the situation worsened between New Delhi and Islamabad following Uri attack and subsequent claims of Indian military that it carried out "surgical strikes" inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir inflicting significant casualties on infiltrators and their supporters.

Pakistan, however, rejected Indian claims about "surgical strikes".

Since then, the situation on Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir has worsened with troops from both countries indulging in ceasefire violations and targeting each others' positions.

New Delhi blames Islamabad for fanning Kashmir protests and accuses it of sending armed militants into Indian-controlled Kashmir, an accusation Islamabad strongly rejects.

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.
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The Syrian army on Friday recaptured a strategic hilltop, overlooking rebel-held districts in the northern city of Aleppo, as part of a broad offensive the army waged recently to flush the rebels out of Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported.

Capturing the Sheikh Saeed hill has enabled the Syrian army to overlook the rebel-held districts of Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh in the Cement Factory in eastern Aleppo, according to the report.

The fresh advance is the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army has recently achieved in Aleppo, as part of the declared offensive to dislodge the insurgents from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

A day earlier SANA said the military forces captured areas in the rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighborhood, and al-Sakhour area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said the recent progress of the Syrian army is the first in three years against the rebels in Aleppo.

Following a last month faltering truce, President Bashar al-Assad pledged to restore all Aleppo city.

On Thursday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a new proposition, which basically focuses on emptying eastern Aleppo from the radical elements of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in an apparent move to reduce the Syrian military campaign on eastern Aleppo.

Ahead, and during the offensive on eastern Aleppo, the general command of the Syrian army urged the civilians to leave the rebel-held areas and reach the government-controlled ones in western Aleppo.

The army also offered amnesty for the rebels who would surrender themselves in Aleppo.

The offer was repeated several times over the past few weeks.

The situation in Aleppo has caused a rift between the U.S. and Russia, with both expressing dismay with each other's conduct regarding the situation in Aleppo.

Moscow has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to take place on Friday, with Mistura's going to give his statement about the situation in Aleppo, and possibly his new proposition.
China Aid

By Brynne Lawrence





Editors note: The following is an executive summary of Christian persecution in China in 2015-2016 that was presented to the European Union Parliament.

(StrasbourgOct. 5, 2016) As China regresses into a more Maoist regime, the Communist Party continues to place restrictive measures on religious freedom and executes its control over all forms of dissent by arresting or otherwise harassing those who oppose the strictures.

According to current president Xi Jinping, religion must conform to and benefit a socialist society. At a national conference on religion held in April of this year, he urged his administration to ensure that religions merge religious doctrines with Chinese culture, abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and devote themselves to Chinas reform and opening up drive and socialist modernization in order to contribute to the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, and argued that the role of the Party was to guide and educate the religious circle and their followers with the socialist core values.

His words reinforced a pre-existing nationwide crackdown on religious institutions, including an ongoing cross demolition campaign, arbitrary arrests of pastors and lawyers, and the suppression of Tibetan Buddhists and Uyghur Muslims. Because China Aid receives reports on Christian persecution, this summary will spotlight their cases as examples indicative of a much wider repression of belief.

In its 2015 Annual Report, Chinese Government Persecution of Christians and Churches in China, China Aid noted a 4.74 percent overall increase in persecution, based on how statistics gathered in 2015 compared to those collected the previous year. The various categories accounted for include: number of religious persecution cases (up 10.84 percent), number of persecuted individuals (up 8.62 percent), number of unjustly detained persons (up 6.14 percent), number of abuse cases (up 174.65 percent) and number of abused people (up 91.32 percent).

Persecution campaigns made 2016 one of the most tyrannical years since the Cultural Revolution. As imprisoned human rights lawyers still fight for the right to defend their clients without legal repercussions, officials in Zhejiang province carry out the third consecutive year of a beautification movement that targets church crosses for demolition, Henan province launched a movement focusing on forcing illegal Catholic and Protestant churches to conform to socialist ideals, and authorities arrested and detained church members.

Trials for lawyers rounded up in the 709 incident, the nationwide crackdown on human rights defenders named for the day it started, July 9, 2015, commenced on Aug. 2 with the sentencing of Zhai Yanmin, a rights activist who received a three-year suspended prison term for coordinating protests against government rule. A day later, a Tianjin court condemned Beijing church elder Hu Shigen to seven-and-a-half-years incarceration and five years deprivation of political rights for allegedly subverting state power by using Christianity to spread subversive thoughts and ideas. The tribunal presented photos of his baptism as evidence of his guilt, and Hu was forced to confess to his crimes, after which he accepted his sentence and did not appeal.

Hu, a Beijing University alumnus and former instructor at the Beijing Language Institute, formerly served 16 years of a 20 year prison sentence for founding an organization that opposed the Communist Party.

Bob Fu (right) with Amity News Editor Katrin Fiedler (left) at the EU

Parliament. (Photo: China Aid)

On Aug. 4, Zhou Shifeng was coerced into confessing to his crimes. Zhou, a Christian attorney, was arrested on suspicion of subverting state power on Jan. 8, 2016. In an attempt to publicly authenticate their charges against him, authorities pressured Zhang Kai, a human rights lawyer known for his defense of more than 100 churches affected by the cross demolition campaign, to travel from his home in Inner Mongolia, attend the trial and conduct an interview in which he denounced Zhou and the other imprisoned human rights lawyers. Zhang later recanted his statements, saying he had been too frightened to stand up to the authorities. Consequentially, officials barred him from social media and attempted to arrest him again.

On the night of Aug. 25, 2015, government personnel broke into a church in Wenzhou, Zhejiang and took Zhang and his two legal assistants into police custody. After holding him incommunicado for six months at an unofficial prison known as a black jail, China forced Zhang to confess on television on Feb. 25, 2016. A few days later, he was taken into criminal detention and released on bail on March 23. Since then, he has lived with his parents in Inner Mongolia.

Another Christian lawyer, Li Heping, vanished into police custody on July 10, 2015, followed by his brother, attorney Li Chunfu, on Aug. 1 of that year. Li Heping was formally arrested on Jan. 8, 2016, on suspicion of subverting state power. Since their disappearance, family members have not been able to contact either of the men.

The cross demolition movement, which began in 2014 as part of a beautification campaign known as Three Rectifications and One Demolition, continued in Zhejiang province during 2016. Although official rhetoric claims the operation intends to address illegal structures, it specifically discriminated against Christian churches and imposed strictures on the crosses that adorned the exterior of their buildings. In 2016, the number of crosses demolished surpassed 1,800.

In addition to previous restrictions on religious activity, Henan province published a work plan devising to bring illegal Catholic and Protestant churches in line with the Partys ideologies. According to the official document, the authorities plan to manage church meetings and force the congregations to eradicate all religious symbols and become more socialist. The timeline outlined by the official document stated the plan was to be implemented on Sept. 4 and run until Oct. 15. The government mandated that the village and sub-district government branches investigate churches, submit reports to their superiors, assist the religious affairs bureau in distributing a notice about the expected changes to the churches, shut down non-compliant congregations, and record how satisfactorily they were able to complete the job as part of their year-end assessment.

Prompted by this decision, the BoAi County Religious Affairs Bureau issued a notice to a house church. Claiming that the church was unauthorized, the bureau ordered it to immediately disband and remove any religious materials within three days. They urged the attendees to conduct religious activities at the local official churches, with which many of them have deep, theological disagreements. Failure to comply with these measures will result in further government interference.

This campaign echoes the new political trend set out in a proposed revision of the Regulations on Religious Affairs, which was introduced by the State Council earlier this month. The revision introduces tighter control on peaceful religious activities, such as punishing house church meetings by imprisoning Christians or heavily fining the church leaders, forbidding religious adherents from attending conferences or trainings abroad, and barring minors from receiving religious education. These measures violate Chinas own Constitution, which guarantees religious liberty and condemns discriminating against religious and non-religious citizens and breaches the countrys pledges to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Bob Fu at the EU Parliament. (Photo: China Aid)

In 2015, a major developing case emerged as authorities increased pressure on Huoshi Church, the largest house church in Guiyang, Guizhou province. Though preluded by a police presence when the church moved into a new building in 2014 and the arrest of Zhang Xiuhong, an accountant and chairwoman at the church who was apprehended when she withdrew church funds at her beauty shop, the situation escalated when Pastor Su Tianfu received an administrative penalty notice on Oct. 21, 2015. Indicting himself, Zhang and a church member named Liang Xuewu for changing usage plans of the office space the church rents for its services and ordered them to stop holding religious activities there, despite the church continually reporting its services to the government. Originally, the building was approved for business operations. When they neglected to heed the orders, officials imposed a fine that accumulated 12,960 Yuan (U.S. $2,030) daily.

Su, who is currently released on bail, has been under constant surveillance since Dec. 19 and must use government-arranged transportation for all outings. He is expected to stand trial soon.

Additionally, administrative offices dispatched uniformed and plainclothes personnel to raid the church on several occasions. On Dec. 9, 2015, Pastor Li Guozhi, better known by his alias, Yang Hua, was taken into police custody and sentenced to two consecutive, five-day administrative detention terms a day later for the crime of obstructing justice and gathering a crowd to disturb public order after he attempted to prevent officials from confiscating a church hard drive. When his wife came to collect him on Dec. 20, she witnessed him donning a black hood and being herded into an unlicensed vehicle. Upon further inquiry, she learned that her husband had been charged with illegally possessing state secrets and was being transferred to another facility for criminal detention. She was not allowed to contact him. On Jan. 22, she received a notice announcing his formal arrest and changing his charge to divulging state secrets.

Even with his impending trial, which is expected to take place this month, authorities only permitted Yang to convene with his lawyers beginning in March. During one meeting, lawyer Chen Jiangang and his co-counsel, Zhao Yonglin, noted that he appeared fearful and began to suspect that he had been tortured. On their next visit, Zhao transcribed an interview with Yang in which he described how the prosecutors had stepped on his toes and threatened to kill him and harm his family in order to extract a confession from him. After hearing this, Chen and Zhao filed a lawsuit against the prosecution team and asked that they be criminally punished for using torture to extort a confession.

In the highest profile case of Christian persecution since the Cultural Revolution, China ousted Gu Yuese, chairman of the Hangzhou branch of the China Christian Council, from his position as the head pastor of Chinas largest Three-Self Church on January 18. Later that month, Gu was arrested on a falsified embezzling 10 million Yuan (U.S. $1.6 million) in funds, although many Christians believe authorities incarcerated him for his opposition to the cross demolition campaign. On April 1, he was released and placed under residential surveillance. His case demonstrates the rampant spread of religious persecution as China clamps down on both house and state-run churches.

In conclusion, China continuously violates its own laws and international statutes safeguarding religious freedom in favor of promoting a socialist agenda, forcing religious devotees to choose between certain persecution and disregarding their deeply-held beliefs. Additionally, it prosecutes lawyers who attempt to defend the rights of religious practitioners, completely disregarding the rule of law. International governments must persuade China to free those it unjustly holds behind bars.

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

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Lawyers will compile guidebooks to reduce risks in trade, investment

Chinese lawyers will seek to collaborate with their counterparts in all the countries along the ancient Silk Road to boost business and investment ties.

They will seek partnership with law firms from the 65 countries to jointly compile and release books of guidance to reduce risks in cross-border business and investment, said a senior official at the All China Lawyers' Association.

The books will help Chinese investors understand legal practices in those countries related to investment, trade, labor, intellectual property, environmental protection and settlement of disputes, according to He Yong, the ACLA's secretary-general.

Since 2013, China has been promoting trade and business relations with countries on the ancient Silk Road as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The Ministry of Justice has allocated 1.1 million yuan ($165,100) for compiling the guidebooks, He said.

"They will ... list the top-tier local law firms and lawyers of the Belt and Road countries ... to help potential investors seek professional services when they encounter cross-border legal problems," he added.

More Chinese investors have expanded their business in recent years in the Belt and Road countries or plan to do so, but many of their investments have failed due to a lack of knowledge about foreign laws and cultural differences, according to the ACLA.

As a result, the number of disputes has been rising sharply, it said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce indicate that in the first eight months of the year, China's overseas investment was valued at $118.06 billion, an increase of 53.3 percent year-on-year, ranking third in the world.

More than 18,500 Chinese enterprises have established 29,700 companies in foreign countries, with total assets of $3 trillion.

Jiang Junlu, the ACLA's deputy director for the international business committee, said the association has established a database of 92 Chinese lawyers who are proficient at handling cross-border lawsuits.

The lawyers will first help Chinese enterprises communicate with the leading law firms in 46 Belt and Road countries. He said the first guidebook of investment-related laws involving the 46 countries will be published in March, and the second one, including the other 19 countries, will be published before the end of next year.

Shen Lin, a senior official at the Department of Directing Lawyers and Notarization at the Ministry of Justice, said most of the Belt and Road countries are developing countries with underdeveloped economies and an unsound legal environment, and they are in urgent need of Chinese financial and technical support.

"Over the past few years, cases of failure in foreign investment involving Chinese enterprises have been increasing, and it's more than necessary to improve professional legal services to help Chinese investors," she said.

Lin Cuizhu, a senior lawyer at Guangdong Hengfu Law Firm, said lawyers can play an essential role in guaranteeing enterprises' investment success overseas.

She said the priority for Chinese lawyers is to "get more familiar with the laws and regulations in relevant countries".
Motorcyclists wear gloves and other thick clothing to keep themselves warm amid the cold weather in Shenyang, capital of North-eastern China's Liaoning province. Shen Yang / For China Daily

Temperatures in northern China are set to plummet as a new round of cold air sweeps across the region, according to the China Central Meteorological Observatory.

The observatory said that due to this round of cold air, there will be light to moderate wind and rain in central and northern areas of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, most parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and other central and eastern parts of northwestern China, as well as northern and northeast China. Meanwhile, the temperature in these areas will drop by 8C at most.

Prior to that, the cold weather hit Shaanxi and Gansu provinces on Tuesday, bringing down the temperatures there.

Residents of Yan'an, a city in Shaanxi, and the Gansu city of Pingliang felt the chill as temperatures there dropped by an average of 15C.

Meteorological monitoring by the observatory showed that on Wednesday, the temperature in the northeastern part of Northwest China, the northern part of North China, most parts of Northeast China and Inner Mongolia was no more than 10C, a sharp drop from Tuesday.

Apart from strong wind and low temperature, some places in these areas, including Beijing, Tianjin and the northern part of Hebei province, also encountered light to moderate rain on Wednesday.

Beijing had a temperature drop of 10C, while some places in southeastern Inner Mongolia even had sleet or snowfall.

As the National Day holiday is drawing to a close and people will soon return home, the observatory warned that people in northern China should pay close attention to the changes in weather and temperature, in order to avoid catching a cold.

By contrast, people in southern China may envy the north, as the temperatures there are still high, the observatory said, adding that many will seek to cool themselves to avoid sunstroke.
Temperatures in northern China are set to plummet as a new round of cold air sweeps across the region, according to the China Central Meteorological Observatory.

The observatory said that due to this round of cold air, there will be light to moderate wind and rain in central and northern areas of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, most parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and other central and eastern parts of northwestern China, as well as northern and northeast China. Meanwhile, the temperature in these areas will drop by 8C at most.

Prior to that, the cold weather hit Shaanxi and Gansu provinces on Tuesday, bringing down the temperatures there.
Jiang Chengbo at his bookstore in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Xu Lijuan/China Daily]

Jiang Chengbo is 90. He is running a 117-year-old antique bookstore inherited from his grandfather, and that has made him an internet celebrity.

Jiang, the third-generation owner of the store, said that after visitors began talking about it on the internet, book lovers from across the country have come to look for books and take photos with him.

Located in the Gusu district of Suzhou, in East China's Jiangsu province, the store covers about 20 square meters and is filled with shelves on three sides with books categorized as literature, history and philosophy.

Known as Wenxueshanfang, or "house of mountain of literature", the store was founded with a loan in 1899. After more than two decades of diligent management by Jiang's grandfather and father, the store paid back the debt and bought a large number of antique books, some of which were rare books, becoming one of the most famous antique bookstores in eastern China.

In 1931, when the store was relocated, Xu Shichang (1855-1939), president of the Republic of China between 1918 and 1922 and a patron, honored the store by inscribing the plaque for it.

Many renowned literary figures of the time were the store's frequent visitors.

"At the age of 16, I helped at the bookstore and saw Zhang Yuanji (president of the Commercial Press), (historian) Gu Jiegang and (writer and translator) Zheng Zhenduo visit it," Jiang recalled.

"My hospitable grandfather liked to invite them to a little restaurant. They, all learned scholars, exchanged ideas at the dinner table."

In 1956, the store was merged with State-owned Suzhou antique bookstore and its name was not used anymore. Jiang also became an employee of the bookstore where he was responsible for collecting antique books.
Deer, Li Yun (China) [Photo provided to China Daily]

The International Cartoon Competition on Community of Common Destiny for All is co-hosted by China Daily and the China Journalistic Caricature Society, and organized by China Daily Website (www.chinadaily.com.cn) and News Cartoon Website (www.newscartoon.com.cn).

The theme of the competition is "the community of common destiny for all". The community of common destiny is a concept proposed by President Xi Jinping, emphasizing that a country should take into consideration other countries' concerns while seeking its own interests and should promote the common development of all. This is because there is only one earth and one world for mankind, and hence we should promote awareness of the community of common destiny for all.

The concept also stems from the idea that we are all descended from the same common ancestors. Although countries have different or even contradictory national interests, religious beliefs, ideologies and social systems, we all live in and share the same world and should try our best to coexist peacefully. In the face of crisis, we should choose cooperation over confrontation and common interest over conflicts, for a better future for humanity.

The organizing committee of the competition received more than 2,000 cartoons from more than 20 countries, including China, the United States, India, Denmark, Turkey, Bulgaria and Cote d'Ivoire.

The judges selected one First Prize winner, two Second Prize winners, three Third Prize winners and 80 Runner Up Prize winners.
[Song Chen/China Daily]

As consumer demand for more sophisticated services rises along with disposable incomes, the Chinese middle class is paying much more attention to dental care.

So, the private dentistry market in China is booming, with a growth rate of about 30 percent per year. But, problems in quality assurance, patient finances and insurance, and market fragmentation are keeping many potential customers away.

According to the World Health Organization, China has the lowest density of dentists per capita of any G20 countryonly half that of India and less than a quarter of the United States.

Until recently, Chinese use of dentistry was one of the lowest in the world. But, that's changing fast. A study by Zhong An Insurance Co estimates that China's total dental revenue will reach 120 billion yuan ($18 billion) this year, and will exceed 200 billion yuan by 2019.

Many Chinese are reluctant to go to private healthcare, believing that the large public hospitals are better regulated and more qualified than the private sector.

Zhang Liang, an orthodontist at the Shanxi Medical University summed up the dilemma: "I've seen so many patients coming here to get further treatments, as they've been wrongly diagnosed or treated in those private clinics. ... I'm not saying they are all bad since they at least make up for the insufficient medical resources and save people the trouble of waiting and getting registered. The industry is indeed heading better, but through mistakes and troubles. ... The patients should carefully distinguish the bad ones from the good ones and related regulations must follow up."

Many investors believe that Chinese healthcare offers great long-term opportunities, but they have not yet found profitable business models.

According to the report from Zhong An, about half the dental revenue goes to public hospitals and the other half to the private sector.

Dentistry is less regulated than other healthcare and competition from State-owned hospitals is weaker since the basic social medical insurance covers little dental care.

So, Chinese dentistry is attracting big investments. For example, Legend Holdings Co Ltd, the parent company of Lenovo Group, invested 1 billion yuan in the BYBO Dental Group in 2014. The US-based private equity firm KPCB and Chinese firm Qiming Venture Partners are major investors in the high-end Arrail Dental International Group. And, the private equity fund of famed investor Wang Yawei is funding the dental benefits management company, Qiezzi.com. The B round of investment of Malo Clinic China chain, which is a joint venture with Europe's largest center for implants and cosmetic dentistry, was led by the world's largest venture capital firm, Shanghai-based GGV Capital.

The larger chains, which receive about one-fourth of total dental revenue, are trying various strategies to grow and, especially, to assure patients about their quality.

Arrail, which has the largest number of clinics, around 75, and is growing about 40 percent per year, aims for wealthier clients and charges higher prices, according to its founder and CEO Robert Zou. This gives the company resources to hire dentists from the top 5 dental universities, give them training, and do frequent peer-to-peer evaluations.

On the other hand, Hangzhou-based TC Medical Corp has grown largely through acquisitions and focuses on hospitals in its native Zhejiang province rather than stand-alone clinics. It has also partnered with the Temple University medical school in Philadelphia. It bought Hangzhou Dental Hospital, now the world's largest, and just acquired Kunming Dental Hospital through a joint venture with the Kunming municipal government. Its 2014 annual report argues that "bringing in a top overseas partner can solve the problem of the public's mistrust toward non-State-owned facilities."

Many patients would like to have dental insurance and more expensive procedures often need to be financed. But, today, the dental insurance and lending markets are almost nonexistent. The lack of information on costs and on patients limits the abilities of insurers, banks and other financial services firms to participate in this market.

Cloud-based business-to-business-to-consumer, or B2B2C, capabilities could change that. For example, Beijing-based startup Qiezzi.com seeks to close the gap through its software-as-a-service, or SAAS, practice management platform for dentists and their patients. According to CEO Wayne Cui, it was founded in 2015 and already is used by 20,000 smaller dental clinics. The company will link the dentists to insurers and lenders for online finance and will allow the small clinics to deal more directly with suppliers, cutting out expensive middlemen.

Despite rapid growth and high demand, dental care in China is still lacking. Dental schools and companies need to focus on training more dentists, and those must be highly qualified. Insurance and financial companies need to be able to support the market. Ironically, more government regulation might boost companies by reassuring customers and weeding out the less competent.

In many ways, the issues and opportunities of the dental care market are harbingers of the coming much larger general healthcare reform.

Gao Songya, in Beijing, contributed to this story.
Kids learn about dentistry during a "children's day" at Malo Dental Clinic in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Convenience, service and easier access are drawing people to private dentistry.

Maggie Shao, a 24-year-old working in a PR agency in Beijing, just had her first teeth cleaning at Chi Kang Dental Clinic.

"I booked their service on dianping.com as it's within a 10-minute ride, much closer than any good public hospitals," said Shao, who lives close to Tong Zhou district.

"The phone appointment saved me from registration and waiting."

The Liu family spent 60,000 yuan ($9,000), almost four months' family income, on the orthodontic treatment for their university-age son at the private Jinsong Dental Hospital after having consulted with a top-class dental department in the public Peking University Third Hospital, which charges nearly 10,000 yuan less.

Carl Liu, the patient, concluded: "PUTH is too far away from home and the doctors there always look superior to their patients. So we chose Jinsong for the convenience and friendly service."

Private dental hospitals and clinics also pay more attention to children.

Jiamei Dental Group opened China's first dental clinic targeting children only, in Beijing's Sanlitun area in 2014. Four dentists there are always fully occupied every weekend, receiving about 15 visits per day, according to the manager.

"Dental treatments can easily terrify children, provoking resistance in them. Our nurses and dentists are specially trained to gently communicate with children and we have a playroom here just to ease their nerves," he said.

Growth in private dental care for children results partially from parents' growing awareness of their children's dental health.

"Twelve years ago, when I just started working, the hospital often encouraged us to promote our orthodontic service in communities in Taiyuan," said Zhang Liang, an orthodontist with the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University.

"Most parents back then tended to refuse us, as it is an expensive and optional treatment not covered by the basic health insurance."

Zhang now has parents come to him all the time.

An took her 10-year-old daughter to Zhang months ago. Talking about her choice of the public hospital, she shared her concerns about private dentists: "I hear many people around are taking their children to the private places, but I'm still not sure about the skills and technology there, and they don't give standard prices either. So I didn't even consider trying."

Though growing rapidly, private dentistry faces a major trust issue.

Even as someone who enjoyed a private dental clinic once, Maggie Shao didn't give a firm "yes" when asked if she can entirely trust it.
Choosing a healthcare provider is one of the most important decisions in life. Yet, it is often one of the least informed. Most people can get little information about the quality or even the price of medical treatment.

The Beijing subsidiary of California-based MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc has created a WeChat application, Meideyi, designed to address the information problem for a part of the marketprivate dental clinics in four major cities.

About half of China's 120 billion yuan ($18 billion) dental-care market is provided by large State-owned hospitals, but lots of people, especially busy professionals with children, prefer the scheduling convenience and friendly service of a small private clinic. But, the 65,000 such clinics in China vary widely in price and quality. There's no evidence that the most expensive ones actually provide better treatment. So, how is a customer to choose?

Sally Yang, general manager of MedImpact Beijing, said that the company's employees visited thousands of clinics in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and rated each on the basis of observable factors, including use of proper equipment, professional qualifications of the dentists, the implementation of processes to protect patients, and whether the sources of materials are reputable. These standards were based on the metrics of the United States-based Joint Commission Hospital Standards and Accreditation Process. The 200 dental clinics that were judged acceptable are listed on the WeChat application, along with list prices of all provided dental procedures. Patient reviews of each clinic are also included on the application.

The large German insurance and reinsurance group Munich Re, in a report issued on Tuesday, predicted fast growth in the private healthcare insurance market in China.

Looking specifically at dental clinics, Bill Bossany, deputy chief executive of Munich Re, Beijing (health branch), said: "The dental insurance market in China has been underserved in recent years and is still in its early development. An enhancement like this offering, especially if combined with dental care and insurance plus claims processing, dental networks, and the related management, is a step in the right direction".

Robert Zou, chairman and chief executive officer of Arrail Dental International Group, said in an interview with China Daily that Medimpact's dental information application could be very good for customers if handled the right way. However, Medimpact needs to be careful to stay within regulatory guidelines that limit claims that one medical service is better than others. Furthermore, the app needs to avoid the kinds of conflicts of interest that we have seen at Baidu.

According to Yang, Meideyi will have a business model based on (1) working with insurance companies to process claims, (2) advertising, and (3) arranging with the clinics to offer customer discounts, of which MedImpact would receive a portion.

Medimpact's primary business in the US is as a pharmaceutical benefits manager, or PBM, meaning that it contracts with health insurance companies to monitor drug use at the point of sale. The pharmacist uses the company's software and systems to ensure that the drug is covered under the patient's plan. Plus, MedImpact will warn the pharmacist if there are dangerous drug interactions or other problems that could harm the patient. The company also negotiates with pharmaceutical manufacturers on behalf of insurance companies for lower drug prices. According to analysis by Health Strategies Group, it is the fourth largest PBM in the US.

The company got into the China market in 2011 and started by providing a rational drug use software to large public hospitals.

"This is only part of the functionality of a PBM, but we have to be flexible in customizing our solution to fit the China market", Yang said.

The company sees its 70-person office in Beijing as a long-term investment. Its primary business goal is to position itself to grow as China's ongoing healthcare reform leads to growing private healthcare and health insurance sectors.

"China is our No. 1 and No. 2 priority internationally," Yang said.

"We are long-term focused and are willing to build innovative solutions that fit the local needsthe dental platform is an example."
The Crystal building at Royal Victoria Dock, London, is providing exhibition space for the design fair. [Photo/China Daily]

A design fair marking Chinese and British architecture links is being staged at London's Royal Victoria Dock to showcase collaborative works by 11 British and Chinese companies.

The China Britain International Design Week, for the second year running, opens at a time of booming bilateral collaboration in architecture. This is supported by China's rapid urbanization and Chinese investment in the UK infrastructure and construction.

"China and the UK have a long history of mutual architectural influence, and this is growing fast," said Max Farrells, a partner at British architecture firm Farrells.

He said British architectural companies that understand China's city landscape are well positioned to help their Chinese clients expand into the UK.

Examples include Chinese property companies Dalian Wanda and ABP's London investment, which relies on working with local architects.

British architects are also taking Chinese experiences to their home market, Farrells said. For example, his own team's experience in designing high-speed rail terminals at Guangzhou South Railway Station and Beijing South Station will become useful for the design of some stations on the UK's High Speed 2 project.

Roger Howie, an associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, said bilateral collaboration on architecture also includes talent cultivation, technical and engineering collaboration, and supply of materials. Howie's company has completed six projects in China, including the New Century City Art Centre in Chengdu, one of the country's largest cultural buildings.

Howie said the company is increasingly employing Chinese architects in its London office. "Each time we visit China, we feel the enthusiasm, ambition, and energy of the upcoming generation, who have embraced the future with confidenceyet not forgotten the past."

Chun Qing Li, founder of the design fair, said the two-day event, on Monday and Tuesday, aims to attract about 1,500-2,000 visitors, including industry practitioners and the public.

He said the fair's key aim is to showcase strong and innovative designs in China to the British public, and he hopes this will secure more bilateral design deals.

This year's fair includes a conference exploring how British and Chinese companies can collaborate on smart citiesa concept that has grown in recent years and which focuses on using technology and automation to make city living more sustainable.

A milestone in bilateral collaboration was achieved in 2007when the government-backed UK-China Sustainable Cities Initiative was launched. UK firms have already secured contracts worth more than 40 million pounds ($61 million) to support China's sustainable urbanization programs, according to British government figures last year.

Mark Jenkinson, London city director of Siemens, said the UK and China are well suited for smart cities collaboration as both governments have the requisite policies, and significant population growth in the two countries is highlighting issues that require smart cities technology.
Antonio Guterres

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously backed Antonio Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal who was the UN's refugee chief for a decade, to be the next secretary-general.

During a closed-door meeting, the 15 council members adopted a resolution formally presenting Guterres as their choice to be the world's diplomat-in-chief to the General Assembly, diplomats at the session told AFP.

Guterres said he wants to be "an honest broker, a bridge-builder and someone who tries to create conditions for consensus".

In an interview with various news media during his campaign for the position, he said that if he got the job his aim would be to work with all countries to help solve myriad problems on the global agenda.

The result disappointed campaigners for a woman or someone from Eastern Europe to be the world's top diplomat for the first time.

Guterres will almost certainly select a woman as deputy secretary-general and he said in the interview that one of the things that is "crucial" at the male-dominated United Nations is "to have gender parity".

He said his 10 years as the UN high commissioner for refugeesa post he left in Decemberprovided "excellent preparation" for a secretary-general who needs to be an honest broker and be seen by countries as independent in order to promote consensus and overcome crises.

"I think we are living in a world where we see a multiplication of new conflicts, and you see an enormous difficulty in solving the conflicts," Guterres said. "There is a clear lack of capacity in the international community to prevent and to solve conflicts."

What's needed, he said, is a new "diplomacy for peace" which requires discreet diplomatic contacts and shuttling among key players in conflicts and disputes. The secretary-general should also engage as much as possible and "act with humility to try to create the conditions for member states that are the crucial actors in any process to be able to come together and overcome their differences", he said.

Guterres said the simple answer to why he wants to be secretary-general can be found in the parable of the talents in the Bible's New Testament, which he said was the central element of his life.

"I think that one in life receives a lot of gifts, one has the responsibility to pay back, and to multiply the gifts that were received," he said.

Guterres said he received a good education and dreamed of being a researcher in physics. He became an assistant professor of physics. He said he thought the place where he could contribute the most was the United Nations, which led to his decision to seek the post of secretary-general.

"If I get it," Guterres said earlier, "I will do my best to be useful and to pay back the talents that I received."
George Jackson, 85, swings on monkey bars during a parkour class for elderly people in a park in South London in 2014. [Photo/AP]

Researchers from universities in Britain, France and China are studying their national cultures and comparing them to see if lessons can be learned about the best ways to cope with an aging population and care for old people in their homes.

Professor YangZan, the principal Chinese investigator in the collaborative project between the University of Central Lancashire, Tsinghua University and Universite Paris Dauphine, hopes they will find cost-effective ways to allow seniors to stay in familiar surroundings as they age, something that should benefit their mental health.

"It is a research project aimed at optimizing care delivery models to support and promote aging-in-place," said Yang, who teaches at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

"The project is focused on meeting older people's needs, in terms of health and quality of life, by exploring the relationships between living arrangements, the living environment of older people, and the design of care delivery from technological, financial, political and social considerations."

The project is called Optimizing Care Delivery Models to Support Aging-in-Place: Toward Autonomy, Affordability and Financial Sustainability, which is abbreviated to Odessa.

The Odessa project began in March 2015 and will continue until March 2018. Five researchers in China are taking part, along with three in England and four in France. In addition, 10 students studying for their PhDs and master's degrees are supporting the work.

It is being funded by the national natural science foundations of China, the UK and France.

The challenge of how best to offer care and support to elderly people has been a major issue for decades in Europe, where the population has been steadily aging and where the number of working-age people supporting retired older people has been getting slowly smaller. The transformation has happened much more quickly and recently in China.

By 2050, more than one-fourth of China's population will be older than 65,meaning younger generations will face an unprecedented burden of care. This is because Chinese women have been having fewer children for a range of reasons, and because older people are living for longer.

By 2050, it is likely that there will be 45 seniors for every 100 people of working age. Today, a group of 100 working people supports 15 seniors.

"Due to cultural and economic differences, older people in China, the UK and France might see care delivery from different perspectives and may have various preferences," said Yang. "With scenario building and in-depth comparative analyses, this project aims to build a common framework that will enable a thorough study of care delivery mechanisms and options available to older people."
PORT KLANG, Malaysia - A Chinese naval fleet arrived at the Malaysian port of Klang on Friday to embark on a four-day visit aimed at strengthening military ties between the two countries.

The 23rd Escort Task Group, comprising Xiangtan, Zhoushan and Chaohu of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, arrived in Malaysia after the completion of its escort mission in the Gulf of Aden.

They were greeted by leaders of the Malaysian Chinese community and Chinese living in Malaysia.

Senior colonel Wang Hongli, commander of the task force, said the visit would contribute to the development of the friendly relations.

"China and Malaysia are friendly neighbours, and we have good relations and frequent exchanges between our two countries and the two militaries," he said.

During the visit, the vessels will open to the Malaysian public and the crew will interact with the local community.




China's Global Newspaper





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(Photo : getty images.) A China's top industrial representative has said that Chinese investors prefer Pakistan over other countries when it comes to investment.

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Chinese investors prefer Pakistan over Bangladesh or Vietnam, when it comes to risking their investment in the region, Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (PCJCCI) president Wang Zihai revealed.



"Pakistan has some advantages, especially for textiles, chemicals and shoe manufacturing sectors," Wang told a group of journalists on Tuesday. "We have contacted Pakistan's top textile lobbies and they have expressed an interest in such joint ventures."



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Wang laid a special emphasis on Pakistan's textile sector, which is the core sector of the country's economy. He said both countries can stand to benefit immensely from cooperation in textile sector.



According to him, Pakistan's textile industry can alleviate its outdated technology and China can get access to lucrative European markets through Islamabad's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status.



Wang also spoke about the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), claiming that investment due to CPEC project could push the foreign investment in the country to $100 billion "in the future."



He further disclosed that there is a strong desire among Chinese investors to shift their manufacturing base in Pakistan and export back products to China, a scenario that may help Pakistan in improving the current imbalance in the trade.



China is Pakistan's closest ally and their deep economic cooperation is a reflection of the proximity shared between the two countries.



Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars in Pakistan, with CPEC project being one of the largest investments that China has made in the country.



Although the neighbouring country India has repeatedly expressed security concerns over CPEC, the controversial project is steadily making progress.



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(Photo : Getty Images) While India is yet to begin work on the Chabahar project, China is racing ahead with its work on the Gwandar port.

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When India sealed the Chabahar port deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Iran in May, officials in New Delhi could not have been happier. They described the agreement as a historic deal that will give India a much-needed trade access to Central Asia, bypassing its arch rival Pakistan. More importantly, the deal was considered crucial to break away from China's encirclement or its much talked about "string of pearls" strategy.



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Given its sheer importance, analysts expected that India would quickly jump the bandwagon and start the construction work for the ambitious project. However, several months after signing the deal, the port of Chabahar continues to remain a sleepy outpost. Heavy construction activities are yet to be seen near the port.



"What you're seeing is the problem with many of the Indian commitments abroad," said Sameer Patil, an analyst at Gateway House, a research organization in Mumbai. "Once a prime minister makes that commitment, the parties find it difficult to move the process forward. The Indian bureaucracy takes its sweet time."



With India not enjoying a very good reputation in the completion of international projects, many have started worrying about the fate of the Chabahar project. Especially as China is racing ahead to complete the Gwadar port project and the much talked about China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.



"With China and Pakistan developing Gwadar just a few kilometers away, India cannot afford either delay or inattention to this vital port," said Shashi Tharoor, a prominent politician from India's main opposition party Congress.



China and India are currently engaged in a geopolitical race to increase influence in each other's neighborhood. China's overwhelming presence in Pakistan through several infrastructure projects has been keeping New Delhi on its toes. Beijing's port projects in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have equally made leaders in New Delhi wary.



India, on the other hand, has been making efforts to warm its relationship with China's rival nations like Vietnam and Philippines. These countries have shared a tense relationship with Beijing over the South China Sea dispute.



China's relations with India has been marked with decades of hostility over festering border issues. Beijing's military and economic support for India's main rival Pakistan have added further tension to their bilateral relationship.



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TagsIndia, china, Chabahar Project Deal, India and Iran
(Photo : General Dynamics) US Army light tank technology demonstrator from General Dynamics.

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Building a new light tank for the U.S. Army took a step up with General Dynamics Land Systems revealing a life-size technology demonstrator of its concept for this future fighting vehicle. This company makes the M1 Abrams tank.



The Army has taken to calling its idea for a light tank as "mobile protected firepower," with the phrase defining this vehicle's main virtues: speed first, firepower second and armored protection third.



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This requisite harkens back to the failed light tank concepts in World War II where these tanks, epitomized by the frail U.S. M3 Stuart, were intended as reconnaissance machines with the capability to take on light armored vehicles.



General Dynamics' vehicle called the "Griffin Technology Demonstrator" stands out because of its massive and outsized turret that's almost as long as the tank's hull. The vehicle's hull front is well-sloped to better deflect shells and missiles while its bogies receive protection from an armored skirt.



"Five months ago, after listening to the Army for a year trying to talk about mobile protected firepower, we said 'we really can't wait any longer,'" said Michael Peck, director of business development for General Dynamics Land Systems said at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting.



To build the Griffin, GD Land Systems took an Abrams turret and reduced the weight of the tank from 22 tons to eight tons. The turret used is an Abrams Improved System Enhancement Package (SEP V2). This version includes improved displays, sights, power and a tank-infantry phone. It represents the most technologically advanced Abrams tank turret.



As for the gun, GD Land Systems used the lightweight 120 mm gun originally designed for the Army's defunct Future Combat Systems. This gun weighs about half as much as the two ton 120 mm Abrams cannon.



Peck said the interior of the Griffin "looks exactly like an Abrams -- the gunner, the loader, everybody is in the same place."



"Same fire controls, same electronic packages, the same monitors, the same spare parts -- you name it; it's all the same."



The demonstrator's chassis comes from the AJAX program GD built for the United Kingdom to use as a recon vehicle. The demonstrator weighs 27 tons but can still be made lighter. In contrast, the Abrams weighs 65 tons.



"This is a true tech demonstrator," Peck said. "We took mature technology that we either owned or could borrow and in five months put it together."



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TagsLight Tank, U.S. Army, General Dynamics Land Systems, M1 Abrams tank, mobile protected firepower, M3 Stuart, Future Combat Systems
(Photo : Getty Images) A U.S. visa is shown by a tourist as the first group of Chinese tourists set out to visit US at the Beijing Capital International Airport on June 17, 2008 in Beijing, China.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is prepared to offer visa-free travel for Chinese tourists on his three-day state visit to China on Oct. 18-21, the Philippine Star reported.



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The president stressed that granting visa waiver will allow the Philippines to get a huge slice of China's flourishing tourism economy.



Between January and July this year, more than 422,000 Chinese tourists arrived in the country, grabbing the third spot with 11.95 percent of the market share.



Duterte, on the other hand, acknowledged concerns over the possible adverse implications especially on China-based criminals such as alleged drug lords who might take advantage of the visa-free privilege.



For this reason, Duterte said he confronted Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua about the concern, asking "Are you trying to destabilize my country with these drugs?"



China responded to the concern offering the Philippines to help on the drug campaign and build rehabilitation centers for the thousand of drug users and pushers who surrendered.



"We stand ready to have anti-drug cooperation with the Philippines and formulate a common action plan for it," Geng Shuang, a spokesperson from Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a press briefing in China on Sept. 29.



The Philippine government currently offers visa-free privileges to tourists from nearly 50 countries including member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and island states around the world.



Waived visas allow visitors to stay in the county for 14 days to a maximum of 150 days. However, visa waiver must be on a reciprocal basis, which means, Beijing should also offer the same privilege to Filipino tourists heading to China.



The Philippines landed on the 11th spot as China's top source travel markets. It welcomed more than a million arrivals, up 3.7 percent from 2014. Top three go-to destinations are Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.



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TagsPhilippines, visa free travel, china, tourism, Beijing, President Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte, Duterte's Drug War, Chinese Tourists
(Photo : Sujay Desai/UC Berkeley) Schematic of a transistor with a molybdenum disulfide channel and 1 nanometer carbon nanotube gate.

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Research led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory or Berkeley Lab in California has broken a major barrier in transistor size -- and made history -- by creating a semiconductor gate only one nanometer long.



The laws of physics had set a five nanometer threshold on the size of transistor gates among conventional semiconductors, or some one-quarter the size of high-end 20 nanometer-gate transistors now on the market.



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Engineers have been trying for over a decade to decrease the size of this gate and those at Berkeley Lab at last succeeded.



A research team led by faculty scientist Ali Javey at Berkeley Lab has done just that by creating a transistor with a working one nanometer gate. For comparison, a strand of human hair is 50,000 nanometers thick. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter.



"We made the smallest transistor reported to date," said Javey, lead principal investigator of the Electronic Materials program in Berkeley Lab's Materials Science Division.



"The gate length is considered a defining dimension of the transistor. We demonstrated a one nanometer-gate transistor, showing that with the choice of proper materials, there is a lot more room to shrink our electronics."



The key was to use carbon nanotubes and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), an engine lubricant commonly sold in auto parts shops. MoS2 is part of a family of materials with immense potential for applications in LEDs, lasers, nanoscale transistors, solar cells and more.



The findings were published Oct. 6 in the journal Science. Other investigators on this paper include Jeff Bokor, a faculty senior scientist at Berkeley Lab and a professor at UC Berkeley; Chenming Hu, a professor at UC Berkeley; Moon Kim, a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and H.S. Philip Wong, a professor at Stanford University.



The development could be key to keeping alive Intel co-founder Gordon Moore's prediction that the density of transistors on integrated circuits doubles every two years (Moore's Law), enabling the increased performance of laptops, mobile phones, televisions and other electronics.



"The semiconductor industry has long assumed that any gate below five nanometers wouldn't work, so anything below that was not even considered," said study lead author Sujay Desai, a graduate student in Javey's lab.



"This research shows that sub-5-nanometer gates should not be discounted. Industry has been squeezing every last bit of capability out of silicon. By changing the material from silicon to MoS2, we can make a transistor with a gate that is just one nanometer in length, and operate it like a switch."



Transistors consist of three terminals: a source, a drain, and a gate. Current flows from the source to the drain, and that flow is controlled by the gate, which switches on and off in response to the voltage applied.



Once the researchers settled on MoS2 as the semiconductor material, it was time to construct the gate.



Making a one nanometer structure is no small feat. Conventional lithography techniques don't work well at that scale, so researchers turned to carbon nanotubes or hollow cylindrical tubes with diameters as small as one nanometer.



They then measured the electrical properties of the devices to show the MoS2 transistor with the carbon-nanotube gate effectively controlled the flow of electrons.



"This work demonstrated the shortest transistor ever," said Javey, who is also a UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences.



"However, it's a proof of concept. We have not yet packed these transistors onto a chip, and we haven't done this billions of times over. We also have not developed self-aligned fabrication schemes for reducing parasitic resistances in the device.



"But this work is important to show that we are no longer limited to a 5-nanometer gate for our transistors. Moore's Law can continue a while longer by proper engineering of the semiconductor material and device architecture."



The work at Berkeley Lab was primarily funded by the Department of Energy's Basic Energy Sciences program.



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TagsBerkeley Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, transistor, semiconductor gate, one nanometer, Ali Javey, Carbon nanotubes, Molybdenum disulfide
(Photo : Getty Images) China has lifted its ban on Philippine bananas.

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China has lifted its ban on the import of bananas from the Philippines.



Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua said during his courtesy call at the Department of Agriculture that the country is now accepting bananas and pineapples from Philippine-based exporters.



"We very much appreciate the action of the Chinese government as this will relieve our banana farmers from the serious problem during the suspension considering that China is a huge market for our banana industry," Emmanuel Pinol told the Philippine Star.



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Last March, China destroyed at least 35 tons of bananas worth $33,000 from the Philippines, after China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine issued the notification of non-compliance.



The exported products shipped by NKM Import/Export Inc. to Dalian Kawoo Import and Export Co. Ltd. were reportedly infected with the pest Dysmicoccus neobrevipes. And Sumifru's shipment to Shenzhen Everglory Trading Co. allegedly has a carbendazim level of 0.199 mg/kg, in excess of the maximum residue level of 0.1 mg/kg.



The ban was lifted after an inspection team from China arrived in the Philippines last month to assess the corrective measures done. The regulator suspended 27 exporters and 10 had taken corrective actions.



Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture revealed that Zhao also expressed an interest to "increase Philippine exports to China" and for produce to be sold in major cities, the Business World Online reported.



China is interested in commercial crops like bananas, pineapples, mangoes, coconuts, dragon fruits, to name a few and high-end fishery products such as grouper, crab, shrimp, prawn and tuna.



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Tagschina, Philippines, import, export, agricultural products, Philippine Bananas
(Photo : Getty Images) Philippine President Duterte has said that his upcoming visit to China is not about strengthening the military ties between both nations.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said that he is eyeing the enhancement of trade relations and other aspects of Manila's relationship with China during his first official state visit to Beijing between October 19-21.



Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, Jr. said Duterte's trip is part of confidence-building measures to warm Manila's ties with China.



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Yasay said Duterte would not focus on the Philippines' military alliance with Beijing during his trip, adding that it was not on his agenda.



Restore ties



The Philippine foreign secretary said that although Manila hopes to restore the ties between the two countries, this does not mean that the Philippines would break its military alliance with the US.



"While we would like to foster closer relationship with China, we will certainly not engage in any military alliance with Beijing because that has never been the intention of the President," Yasay said in an interview at the foreign affairs office.



Yasay said Duterte would discuss economic cooperation with Beijing and will "strengthen and promote" other aspects of Sino-Philippine relations during his trip to China.



Businessmen



High-ranking diplomats and business officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Duterte would be accompanied by at least two dozen businessmen who are expected to forge several economic deals with China during his upcoming three-day visit.



Duterte had earlier announced that he would negotiate with China over the plight of the Filipino fishermen who have been deprived of their livelihood after China seized control of the Scarborough Shoal in 2013.



The Philippine President has said that the condition of the Filipino fishermen will be on top of his agenda during his bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.



Duterte said he would convince China to give the Filipino fishermen access to the Scarborough Shoal despite the July 12 ruling that said no country has any legal claim over the shoal since it is a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Philippine, and Vietnamese fishermen.



Implementation



Duterte said that although he will not stand on the arbitration court ruling, which rejected China's claims over the disputed maritime territory, he will negotiate with and convince President Xi to help out Filipino fishermen.



In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Beijing has no legal basis to stake territorial claims in the South China Sea. The court stated that Manila had violated international law and the Philippines' rights to explore resources within its exclusive economic zone.



China dismissed the ruling as "illegal" and "null and void," and vowed not to recognize the jurisdiction of the court despite condemnation from the international community.



President Xi has said that Beijing will not accept any future talks, actions, and propositions by any state based on the ruling.



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TagsPresident Rodrigo Duterte, Sino-Philippine alliance, confidence-building measures, South China Sea, economic cooperation, China visit, President Xi Jinping, Philippines, china
(Photo : Getty Images ) India has criticized Beijng for blocking of its bid to blacklist Masood Azhar at the United Nations.

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India has strongly reacted to Beijing's blocking of its bid to ban Pakistani terrorist chief Masood Azhar at the United Nations. An upset New Delhi lashed out at China for blocking its bid to designate the head of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed as a global terrorist.



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In an indirect reference to China, India's ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that 14 countries were in favor of ban but only one country oppose the move. Last week, China extended its technical hold on banning Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee. It was the second time that Beijing had stopped the UN panel from putting Azhar on the proscribed list of global terrorists.



India also slammed United Nations for its continuous failure to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. "The committee has already pondered over our submission for the last six months. It will get a further three months to ponder, but that will in no way change the extreme situation," Swarup said. "We have the committee designating terrorist organization, but failing to or ignoring the need to designate the organizations' most active and dangerous terrorist."



He stated that the UN Sanctions Committee should to designate Azhar as a global terrorist to send a "strong signal" to all terror groups that international community will not pursue a selective approach to terrorism. India has accused Azhar and his terror organization being involved in 2001 parliament attack and the recent attack on the Pathankot airbase.



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Tagschina, India, Pakistanm, Masood Azhar., Jaish-e-Mohammad
Pan Bahar pan masala has pulled off a major coup by signing Hollywood actor Pierce Brosnan, who was once the lead actor in James Bond films, as its brand ambassador.

Almost all the major dailies of Friday have the advertisement of Brosnan holding a pan bahar tin on the front page. A TV ad has also been shot and it will be telecast soon. Bond, who generally uses high technology gadgets as weapons to fight bad guys in films, uses Pan Bahar tin to beat the baddies and woo women in this unintentionally humorous advertisement.

Even though the govt. is trying to bring awareness about the resulting health issues with consumption of pan malala, the big market players in this segment continue to sign stars to attract attention.

Since this morning, Brosnan is tending on twitter after this news has seen light.
Chris and I had a wonderful weekend getaway. We just drove down to Salt Lake, stayed downtown and shopped, ate, slept in, swam! It was bliss. We headed a little farther south to hit up Ikea to pick up wardrobes for the girls room and ate at Cubbys (above)a place we always have to eat at when in Utah. For the tri-tip salad and those floors. The rest of the week has been kind of low-key, too. Every year, at the beginning of October, the schools in our area are out for 1-2 weeks for potato harvestreally! A lot of the students work the family farms (or farms of friends) to harvest all those Idaho potatoes you hear about. Those students that dont work the harvest, like Greta and our family, still have school off. So its been a nice week around here to spend as a family and Greta has had a lot of input on her room were working on for the One Room Challenge. Like, she really wants a picture of a horse in it (she approved this print that I really love, too!) and shes already claimed the top bunk. Well be building the bunks this weeks so check out the chrislovesjulia Instagram story over the next few days for live updates.

Other fun things this week!

Im continually amazed at the talent on Etsy. These framed paper doll portraits are my favorite find over there this week. I want to order some for my family and then for everyone I know, too.

A strong case for yellow kitchen cabinets.

I want to cozy up our deck for fall, especially since well likely extend our Halloween party to the outdoors. Im eyeing this Pottery Barn buffalo check throw thats just $39! (Of course well use it indoors, too.)

Speaking of Buffalo Check, did you see Kate Arends (of Wit and Delight) mudroom floor? She shared a sneak peek on instagram. She created it herself using FLOR squares! How genius is that!?

The sweetest DIY yarn pumpkin garland.

The only thing Ive ordered for the girls room so far are these sconces from West Elm that well use as lamps in each of their bunks. But were trying to figure out where the switch(es) will go. On one hand, it would be nice for each of them to have access to a lamp that they can turn on or off if they are reading, but is Faye ready for the responsibility that comes with a light switch!? (haha)

This infographic about the updated FTC endorsement guidelines (something every blogger/influencer has to abide by) was so thorough, clear and easy to follow and understand.

This commercial made me cry:

Man Not Sure Why Girlfriend Having Him Hang Cluster Of Empty Picture Frames But Willing To Go With It. (Hahaha!)

This pillow covered with yellow pom poms has to find a way into the girls room.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Hope to see you over on Instagram to follow great bunk build weekend!
(Photo : Christianity Daily) John Shin (left), pastor at Saddleback Church, interviewed Dave Ferguson (right) at the 'Thirty Network' gathering at Exponential West.

For the first time, a separate gathering for Asian American leaders convened at the Exponential West Conference that began on October 3 at Mariners Church.

The gathering was a pre-conference hosted by the 'Thirty Network,' a group that launched in February this year that aims to resource and cultivate Asian American ministry leaders.

"We want to advance Asian American leaders for them to be able to influence the whole church world," said Kevin Nguyen, campus pastor of Saddleback Church Irvine South, and one of the leaders of the Thirty Network. "We want to provide access points like the space we had today to keep leaders inspired."

Bigger conferences like this one are helpful for leaders, but may lack contextualized information, said DJ Chuang, a strategy consultant who is also one of the leaders of the Thirty Network. He said it's important to "have an intimate space to have conversations like this among Asian Americans."

The session, which was split into three parts, featured brief talks with Daniel Im of LifeWay Christian Resources, president of the Exponential Conference Dave Ferguson, and DJ Chuang.

Daniel Im encouraged the pastors to persevere, especially when the realization of a vision seems far away.

"The time between the initiative towards and the realization of a dream is the time when God is going to shape you," Im said. "God is less concerned with our destination, than he is in the journey and in the day to day."

Dave Ferguson shared about his journey of becoming the president of the Exponential Conference, as well as his thoughts on current trends of ministry, among other topics. A generation ago, Ferguson said, many ministry leaders pursued building large congregations. Today, he said the trend is that more people are looking to "be a part of a reproducing or multiplying church," rather than simply a large one.

Ferguson added that he believes much of the leadership of churches and ministries in the future will become more diverse.

"The face of the future looks more like you," he said.

"Being Asian American is not about being a second-class citizen; it's not less, but it's actually more," said DJ Chuang, adding that Asian Americans have unique aspects to offer to the larger community. "The treasure that we have is that inherently, we have the experience of navigating multiple cultures."

Meanwhile, this is the second formal gathering of Asian American leaders hosted by the Thirty Network, following its first official gathering in February. The group plans to host two types of major gatherings on a regular basis: 'access point' gatherings at major conferences such as Exponential, and 'signature gatherings' during which 30 ministry leaders in their 30s will gather for a 30-hour retreat, to prepare for the next 30 years of ministry.

    press@cdaily.co.kr



- Copyright ,    

#ExponentialConference
Opinion writer: Jesus 'not a role model,' was bitter, jealous, angry and petty 06 October, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

NEW YORK (Christian Examiner)  New York Daily News opinion writer Gersh Kuntzman earlier this year earned scorn from scores of readers for claiming he suffered from "a form of PTSD" after firing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

He's also likely to earn a fair amount of criticism for a new column in which he alleges Jesus Christ  described in the Bible as the Son of God, "God with us," and the Prince of Peace  is a very poor role model for people to follow. Jesus, he claims, was like all other politicians.

Kuntzman was opining about Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence's recent post-debate appearance on NBC's Today Show, in which he said both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton had "many admirable qualities that young people can look up to today."

Whatever you believe, Jesus was anything but perfect. In fact, isn't that the whole point: that this imperfect human became an inspiration to millions (OK, OK, billions) in spite of his petty flaws, jealousies, anger and bitterness.

Trump, Pence said, was a strong business leader who had overcome obstacles and financial bankruptcy to turn his company around. He also said Clinton is the first female nominee for president from either party.

Kuntzman said the governor went too far after he claimed neither candidate was perfect.

"I can only think of one person in human history that's perfect," Pence said. The editorial writer found the statement incredulous.

"Given Pence's religious convictions," Kuntzman wrote, "it's clear he was talking about Jesus of Nazareth, whom many believe is the son of what many believe is God. Whatever you believe, Jesus was anything but perfect. In fact, isn't that the whole point: that this imperfect human became an inspiration to millions (OK, OK, billions) in spite of his petty flaws, jealousies, anger and bitterness."

For Christians over the span of 2,000 years, Kuntzman's interpretation is the opposite of the point of Scripture, which declares Jesus the divine, co-eternal Son of God who paid for the sins of humanity on the cross and who offers forgiveness and grace to those who seek it.

There are some people, however, Kuntzman believes could serve as role models today. Those include Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, but not the most influential person to ever walk the face of the earth.

"This whole 'role model' question reveals one of the limitations of democracy. Because our leaders can only rule by our consent, we ignore their obvious flaws  their egos, their vanities, their ignorance  because not doing so would make it impossible for us to vote for anyone," Kuntzman writes.

"Then, once we elect these fairly average human beings, we expect them to transcend our petty differences and solve the intractable problems that make our lives difficult. But that's not humanly possible. So we should stop even debating whether they are role models. They are not."

"There's no such thing as role models among our politicians  and that includes Jesus Christ, Mike Pence," Kuntzman concludes.
Youth from across the US will be celebrating "Bring Your Bible to School Day" on October 6.

Over 300,000 students have planned to take their Bibles to school on Thursday to exercise their faith openly.

The annual event was started by a Colorado-based Focus on the Family group founded by Dr. James Dobson in 2014.

The first year, about 8,000 students took their Bibles to school, while during the second year, 155,000 participated in the national event.

"The event is designed to empower you as a student to express your belief in the truth of God's Word-and to do so in a respectful way that demonstrates the love of Christ," the event website says.

"Participation is voluntary and student-directed-meaning it's completely up to students, Christian clubs and youth groups to sign up online and then lead the activities in their school."

"We are sponsoring this event for students (kindergarten through college) to provide a fun, celebratory way to empower them to understand what their religious freedom rights are at school-and also how they can put those rights into practice in everyday situations and conversations," Candi Cushman, an education analyst for Focus on the Family, told The Daily Signal.

Organizers and participants are viewing this as an amazing opportunity to give the love they know to other people.

"Unfortunately, too many schools are sending the message that Christian kids need to hide their faith. So I think the exponential response among youth has do to with the fact that it's something positive, redemptive, and tangible that Christian students can easily do in their schools to celebrate their faith - and to visibly see that they are joined by thousands nationwide," Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, told The Christian Post.

One student who brought the Bible to school last year shared in the BringYourBible official video: "It is a matter of them [other students] being someone I can show love to because I received such love.. why would I not give it away, why would I not show it to other people?"
Pastors of English ministries (EM) in the Full Gospel North America Missions, which is affiliated with Yoido Full Gospel Church, gathered in Los Angeles from October 3 to 5 for the denominations first conference exclusively for English-speaking pastors in North America.

The conference, which took place at LA Full Gospel Church, featured sessions with Dr. Robeck Cecil, professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary; Rev. Paul Kim, founder and lead pastor of Aboriginal Church in Toronto; Rev. Kevin Haah, founder and pastor of New City Church; and Rev. Yoon Lee, assistant director of the World Mission Department at Yoido Full Gospel Church. A panel presentation with four EM pastors was also featured during the second night of the event, during which the presenters shared their faith and ministry journeys.

The conference also included a 'mini-concert' with worship leader and musician Brian Kim, and attendees joined first generation Korean members in worship at LA Full Gospel Church's Wednesday night service.

In particular, Robeck Cecil, who is ordained with the Assemblies of God, spoke on what it means for pastors to be pentecostal in the 21st century, and Yoon Lee explained the spiritual and organizational background of Yoido Full Gospel Church, and the EM pastors connection with the church.

We wanted this conference to be a space where the pastors could get to know each other and see each others faces, and form connections in that way, said Rev. Jacob Joo, the EM director of Full Gospel World Missions, explaining the choice of Connextion as the theme of the conference. We also wanted them to form deeper spiritual connections with God, and also to learn more about their own connection with Yoido Full Gospel Church.

This is the first time the denomination had hosted such a gathering, and is a sign of increasing openness from the denominations leaders, who are first-generation Koreans, said Rev. Yoon Lee.

Thus far, EM pastors in the denomination had not had much of a platform to voice their opinions or be an active part of the denominations activities, according to Joo. The denominations leaders were supportive of hosting this conference in hopes that this would be a launching point for the English-speaking pastors to become more involved in denominational matters in the future.

I think God is in the works of something, Yoon Lee said to the group of about 30 English-speaking Korean pastors from the U.S. and Canada. This [conference] is now on the radar of the leaders. Were much more open than we were in the past.

I think something great is on the horizon and I want us to get there together, he added.

Organizers are hoping to make the conference an annual occurrence.
Members of the extremist group al-Shabab killed six people in an attack on a residential compound in the northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera which borders Somalia.

About 27 people were rescued by the security forces who acted quickly to thwart the assailants.

"If not for the quick response by our security forces, we would be talking of many more casualties now," Mandera County governor Ali Roba told Reuters.

The fundamentalist group said they were targeting Christians when they attacked the building complex which housed non-ethnic Somalis and non-Muslims.

The Associated Press quoted an anonymous al-Shabab militant saying on Andulus radio station: "It was a well-planned attack which targeted Christian members in Mandera."

The terrorists attacked the building around 2 AM when people were sleeping. They used a grenade to gain entry into the complex, before firing indiscriminately at the building.

The BBC reported that the group wanted Christians to abandon the region which it claims as a Muslim area.

Government spokesperson Erick Kiraithe said that it is not yet confirmed how many terrorists were involved in the attack, as they had escaped across the border.

"We had intelligence that al-Shabab terrorists were targeting government agencies and civilians, but it was not enough to go by," Kiraithe told Daily Nation.

"An attack on one Kenyan is an attack on all Kenyans; those agents of Lucifer will not succeed here. The government takes this opportunity to send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this heinous attack," he added.

Security personnel Mohamud Ali Saleh said that the militants were taking revenge of the defeat they suffered in Somalia.

"These criminal gangs are desperate to hurt innocent Kenyans since they were defeated badly and routed out of all their hideouts in the neighbouring country," he said.

Al-Shabab has carried out attacks on the Somali border on many occasions to compel Kenyan government to withdraw its troops from African Union force in Somalia.

The militant organization rebelled to dislodge the internationally-recognized government in Somalia in 2007.

By August 2011, the African Union Mission had taken control of the capital city Mogadishu, and a federal government of Somalia was established by August 2012.

In the aftermath of the losses, al-Shabab directed its focus on Kenya and increased insurgency to coastal areas which are popular with the tourists. The group also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Westgate shopping mall in capital city Nairobi in 2013, and on Garissa University College in April 2015.
This issue celebrates the 60th anniversary of this magazine. That is no small accomplishment in our media environment. Our continued success is in large part due to the fact that you, gentle reader of the print magazine, have subscribed to receive it.

But you, O Subscriber, are becoming an endangered species. And that is a serious problem not only for our livelihood, but for our nation and the church.

While watching the movie Spotlight, I couldnt help marveling at the team of journalists doing the painstaking reportingphone calls, interviews, research, and so forthrequired to uncover something as entrenched as child sexual abuse. Of the newspapers left standing amid todays digital revolution, few can afford to give a team of journalists the time and budget to report a story that took years to unfold.

And there are fewer outlets that can do this. Metro dailies that have closed in the past few years include the Baltimore Examiner, The Cincinnati Post, and The Albuquerque Tribune. According to Columbia Journalism Review, reporters covering state capitals, for example, fell from 524 in 2003 to 355 in 2009. As that report put it, What is under threat is independent reporting that provides information, investigation, analysis, and community knowledge, particularly in the coverage of local affairs. One only has to remember Nixons Watergate or Clintons emailgate to realize that if journalists arent watching our leaders, their power often becomes more absoluteand more corrupt.

No one questions the value of journalism. Social media, blogs, and aggregators gobble up others expensive reporting and summarize it or riff on it, getting our eager clicks ...

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World Evangelist to Visit Athena, OR



ATHENA, Ore., Oct. 6, 2016 /



The event will include demonstrations from professional BMX athletes followed by a message from Palau, who is known for speaking in such iconic places as Times Square in New York City and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., among others.



The festival is part of a larger effort this summer to share the Good News throughout the Pacific Northwest. Palau and his son Andrew, also an international evangelist, travelled to such Oregon towns as Lakeview and Culver, Oregon as well as Nampa, Idaho. The Luis Palau Association headquarters are located in Portland, Oregon.



The Palau Association is coming to Athena at the invitation of local churches, who are helping put on the event.



The next major festival in the United States will take place in Fresno, California, April 1-2, 2017. Andrew Palau will also travel to China this winter to lead outreaches in several cities across the country.



About Luis Palau: Dr. Luis Palau is considered one of the leading world evangelists of our time, having spent the last 50 years leading evangelistic campaigns in hundreds of cities and dozens of nations. He has authored close to 50 books, contributed articles on issues of faith to countless publications, and counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world.

Share Tweet Contact: Jay Fordice, Luis Palau Association , 503-614-1500ATHENA, Ore., Oct. 6, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- World renowned evangelist Luis Palau will visit Athena on October 15 to share a message of hope at the Weston McEwen High School gym. The event will take place at 2:00 P.M and is free for all to attend.The event will include demonstrations from professional BMX athletes followed by a message from Palau, who is known for speaking in such iconic places as Times Square in New York City and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., among others.The festival is part of a larger effort this summer to share the Good News throughout the Pacific Northwest. Palau and his son Andrew, also an international evangelist, travelled to such Oregon towns as Lakeview and Culver, Oregon as well as Nampa, Idaho. The Luis Palau Association headquarters are located in Portland, Oregon.The Palau Association is coming to Athena at the invitation of local churches, who are helping put on the event.The next major festival in the United States will take place in Fresno, California, April 1-2, 2017. Andrew Palau will also travel to China this winter to lead outreaches in several cities across the country.About Luis Palau: Dr. Luis Palau is considered one of the leading world evangelists of our time, having spent the last 50 years leading evangelistic campaigns in hundreds of cities and dozens of nations. He has authored close to 50 books, contributed articles on issues of faith to countless publications, and counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world.
home World Al-Shabaab admits killing 6 Christians in Kenya

The militant group Al-Shabaab admitted killing six Christians in Mandera town in Northeastern Kenya in an attempt to push them out of the predominantly Muslim region.

According to the BBC, the radio station run by the militant group reported that the attack was planned and that it specifically targeted Christians. A spokesperson for the group said they wanted non-Muslims to leave what they considered to be Muslim areas.

Police reported that the grenade and gun attack took place in a residential area when people were already sleeping. Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shiswa stated that a telecommunications site was also targeted but only to divert attention from the attack at the residential area.

"This must have been planned over a long period... It was executed with a lot efficiency," Shiswa told the BBC.

A survivor named Sadiq Sharif noted that the militants were able to raid the compound despite the fact that it was near a police station.

"However, I would like to thank the four local police reservists who rescued us. If it were not for them, no one would have survived," Sharif told the BBC.

Ali Roba, the governor of Mandera county, told Reuters that the town could have suffered more casualties if it had not been for the quick response of security forces.

"From the nature and style of the attack, it will obviously be al-Shabaab," said Roba.

Mandera has been targeted repeatedly by the Somali-based militants because it is situated at the border of Somalia. The Kenyan government stated in 2015 that it would erect a wall along the border to keep out militants but Somalia's government and the border communities resisted the plan.

Al-Shabaab 's attacks in Kenya are aimed mainly at non-Muslims. In December 2014, 38 non-Muslim quarry workers were killed by Al-Shabaab after they were separated from the Muslim workers. In April 2015, the group targeted Christians in an assault that killed 148 people in Kenya's Garissa University College.
home US Hurricane Matthew path & track update news 2016 (Map): Hurricane Matthew works way up South Carolina, North Carolina

Hurricane Matthew, carrying winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph), lashed Florida on Friday and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes as it hugged the state's Atlantic coast on a northward track after killing hundreds of people in Haiti.

Matthew, the first major hurricane to threaten a direct hit on the United States in more than a decade, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

At 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), Matthew's eye, or centre, was 35 miles (55 km) east of Cape Canaveral, home to the country's main space launch site.

"The winds are ferocious right now," said Jeff Piotrowski, a 40-year-old storm chaser from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was near Cape Canaveral early on Friday. "It's fierce."

The storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards in Cape Canaveral, he said.

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the Cape Canaveral launch site, had taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment. A team of 116 employees was bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.

No significant damage or injuries were reported in West Palm Beach and other communities in south Florida where the storm had brought down trees and power lines earlier in the night, CNN and local media reported.

But Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told media he was concerned that relatively light damage in southern parts of the state could give people further north a false sense of security.

"People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. Fugate also said people should be aware the hurricane carried more than just ferocious winds.

"The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s."

Speaking on NBC's "Today" programme, Fugate said few people were really prepared for the storm's effects and that while it was too late for some to move to safer ground, those who could still evacuate now should do so, unless they were in areas affected by hurricane-force winds.

"It's still a very dangerous situation."

About 300,000 Florida households were without power, local media reported. In West Palm Beach, street lights and houses went dark and Interstate 95 was empty as the storm rolled through the community of 100,000 people.

Matthew lessened in intensity on Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. From being an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, it became a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, but was still a major storm.

It could either plow inland or tear along the Atlantic coast through Friday night, the Miami-based centre said.

The National Hurricane Center warned of "potentially disastrous impacts" and the U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.

Some 339 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighbourhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbours Haiti.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear as the storm passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then moved out over the western end of Grand Bahama Island.

The NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.

The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

'AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS'

Governor Rick Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state, and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate.

"You still have time to evacuate. There's no reason to be taking risks," Scott told NBC's "Today" programme on Friday.

"The most important thing to me is that we don't lose one life."

As of Friday morning, about 22,000 people were in Florida shelters and more moved inland or to the state's west coast, Scott said.

Georgia and South Carolina have also opened dozens of shelters for evacuees.

Those states, as well as North Carolina, declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilise the National Guard.

President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared states of emergency in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
Christian Relief Workers And Volunteers Stand By To Help Victims Of Hurricane Matthew

Christian groups are at the fore of early relief efforts as Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful hurricane to hit the United States in a decade, brings storm surges and lashings of rain to Florida after killing at least 339 people in Haiti.

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leaders in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas and the North American Mission Board (NAMB), which reported the Christian relief effort on its website, are aiming to help in any way they can.

Southern Baptists have 65,000 trained volunteers and 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud clearance, child care, power supplies and other essential services.

"We've been in close contact with our state partners and are preparing to help in any way we can," said Mickey Caison, one of the team. "The potential for harm to people and massive property damage is certainly a major concern. We began our first Matthew planning meeting, as we do all of our state partner meetings, in prayer."

The Christian relief workers are in talks with the American Red Cross to ensure the best way of helping. Ensuring clean water, food, clean-up and then recovery are their priorities.

President Obama has declared states of emergency in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia and million of people have left voluntarily or been evacuated from the three states.

The hurricane is "as serious as it gets", the President tweeted.

Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other. https://t.co/Vaf8Xubs0s  President Obama (@POTUS) October 6, 2016

The Billy Graham Rapid Response units also have teams ready to move in and help, all while continuing their response to south Louisiana flooding and other disasters.

And today, Christian Aid launched an appeal, saying: "Hurricane Matthew has swept through Haiti, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Thousands have lost their homes, corn and banana crops have been flattened, and livestock have been swept away. The death toll is rising as emergency workers slowly start to gain access to remote areas that have been cut off by the storm.

"We've been working in Haiti for nearly 20 years. Our partners helped evacuate people to shelters as Hurricane Matthew approached, and made sure that the shelters were stocked with food over the weekend. Now they're assessing the damage the storm has caused and working out how best to help people.

"Please give whatever you can today to our Hurricane Matthew Appeal so that our partners can support communities to get back on their feet sooner rather than later."

National Hurricane Centre said the hurricane was bringing winds of 100 miles per hour and potential storm surges of up to 10 feet as heavy rain hit Florida, leaving 300,000 homes without power.

Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry told CNN: "We are just bracing and the winds are picking up. A great number of our residents have taken heed to our warnings and we are certainly concerned about those that have not.".

Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm's path.

Also in Florida, fuel stations on Thursday afternoon posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps had run dry on Wednesday.

The shop was a stopping point for coastal residents seeking shelter inland. Among them was Jonas Sylvan, 44, of Melbourne, Florida, who planned to hole up in a hotel with his wife, two daughters and dog. "We're just trying to get away from the coast," he said. "It's safer here."

Additional reporting by Reuters
Death Toll Soars In Haiti After Hurricane Matthew, More Than 300 Killed

The death toll in Haiti has escalated to more than 300, officials have said, following Hurricane Matthew's destructive campaign across the Caribbean.

A senator from the south of Haiti told AFP that more than 300 had died. A Reuters estimate using figures reported by local civil protection officials put the death toll even higher, at at least 478.

The majority of those killed were in towns and fishing villages along the southern coast of Haiti, and access to the south-west of the country was restricted after the collapse of a major bridge.

The Category Four storm headed for the southeastern coast of America and today hit Florida, carrying winds of 120 miles per hour and causing 600,000 homes to lose power.

Matthew is the first major hurricane to threaten a direct hit on the US in more than a decade. It has now been downgraded to Category Three but still poses a major threat.

In Haiti  the poorest country in the western hemisphere  thousands of people have been displaced and aid organisations are already on the ground helping those worst hit.

Samaritan's Purse, which is headed by evangelist Billy Graham's son Franklin, has sent a disaster assistance team to join its Haiti staff in an emergency response. It has also sent a plane loaded with emergency supplies including clean water, sanitary items and plastic sheeting for emergency shelter.

"Hurricane Matthew has wreaked havoc on Haiti," said Graham. "Our teams are on the ground helping in Jesus' Name. They're going to do all they can to meet the needs of the suffering people there. Please pray for the people of Haiti as they recover from this deadly storm."

On US soil, Samaritan's Purse said it is contacting church partners in Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina to help mobilise volunteers.

Christian charity World Vision also has a team on the ground in Haiti, and has launched an appeal for 8 million to help children and families affected by the disaster.

John Hasse, national director of World Vision's programmes in Haiti, said the situation was "desperate".

Another World Vision staff member said banana fields  the livelihood of many Haitians  had been destroyed.

Our Guy Vital-Herne's been to see #haiti damage. He says banana fields are devastated, trees broken like matches and fields under water. pic.twitter.com/JMtG4LqIvZ  World Vision UK (@WorldVisionUK) October 7, 2016

David Bell, UK humanitarian operations manager at World Vision, said: "Hundreds of thousands of children are in desperate need of relief aid in the areas worst hit by Hurricane Matthew in southern Haiti. Our teams together with other aid agencies are on the ground trying to reach all of them. However, three days after the storm, we are not sure how many of them need urgent assistance. This is because the damage to road infrastructure and transport networks continues to hamper our assessment and relief efforts."

The immediate needa are water, shelter, sanitarian assistance and medical help, Bell said.

"Many families are now exposed to the elements because of the sheer number of houses damaged and destroyed. 80 per cent of homes in the south of Haiti are reportedly damaged and nearly 16,000 people are staying in temporary shelters. This puts children at risk because we now have to help protect them while their parents are restoring their livelihoods.

"We would like to urge the British and international public to support our appeal. This appeal will ensure that World Vision can help meet the needs of the most vulnerable especially children."
God Creates Giant Dust Storm To Save Christian Converts From Attacking Islamist Militants

God truly works in mysterious ways. Recalling a recent incident, the Christian organisation Bibles for Mideast says in a report that God whipped up a massive dust storm to protect a group of newly-converted Christians from a mob of Islamist militants attacking them.

One of the new believers named Rizwan said the group was about to conclude a mass baptism for 50 Islamic converts to Christianity when Islamist militants surrounded their bus and began firing shots.

"About 50 people including baptism candidates were attending the service. We all went by a bus. After the baptism service and prayers, we all entered the bus to return back in our house church for the worship service and the Lord's Supper. The bus was moved. Suddenly some militants reached behind us by three or more cars and started shooting with guns toward us," Rizwan said.

He said they were terrified and were already bracing themselves for the worst when divine intervention took place. As their bus was speeding away pursued by the militants, the new converts and their leaders were surprised to see wind picking up and dust suddenly began to swirl around them.

"Suddenly we saw a giant dust storm formed behind our bus. At first we all afraid of seeing the dust storm. We thought we may not be able to go beyond and will be held by the militants. But praise the Lord! Praise the Lord again and again! We all felt that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared upon the dust storm as a Mighty and Wonderful Man showing His protecting and lovely hands toward us with a sweet smile," Rizwan said. "Jesus saved us. He Himself blocked the road [to stop the] militants in the form of a dust storm."

The new believers say their baptism was held secretly, and they do not know how the Islamist militants learned about it. But whatever the case, they are grateful that God protected them from the attack and showed them just how powerful He can be.
Hurricane Matthew track, path update latest 2016 (Map): South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina path update

Hurricane Matthew, which is being touted as the strongest Caribbean storm in almost a decade, has been tracked powering towards the Bahamas and Florida early on Wednesday. Hurricane Matthew's path saw the storm batter Haiti and Cuba with torrential rains, killing at least 10 people on Tuesday.

The United Nations has reported that Hurricane Matthew has created the worst humanitarian crisis in Haiti since the devastating 2010 earthquake. The hurricane hit Cuba and Haiti with 140 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds on Tuesday, devastating towns and resorts.

Severe flooding was reported to have killed at least four people in the Dominican Republic, as well as another six people in Haiti, and thousands others have been evacuated from the storm.

It has been confirmed that Hurricane Matthew was downgraded from a Category Four to Category Three early on Wednesday, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The eye of the storm was about 115 miles (185 km) south of Long Island in the Bahamas on Wednesday morning and it was expected to be very near the east coast of Florida by Thursday evening, the NHC said.

Maximum sustained winds eased to around 115 mph (185 kph) by Wednesday morning but the NHC said it was likely to strengthen again slightly in the coming days.

It was difficult to assess the severity of the impact on Haiti because Matthew knocked out communications in many of the worst-affected areas, including the main bridge that links much of the country to the southwest peninsula.

There was particular concern about Haiti as tens of thousands of people are still living in tents and makeshift dwellings due to the 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 200,000 people.

Authorities said on Wednesday two people in Haiti were crushed by trees and two were swept away by swollen rivers.

Mourad Wahba, the U.N. secretary-general's deputy special representative for Haiti, said much of the population had been displaced by Matthew and at least 10,000 were in shelter.

"Haiti is facing the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago," he said.

Heifer International, a nonprofit organization working with farming families in Haiti, said farmland and businesses caught in Matthew's path had been devastated.

The U.S. government said it was ready to help the afflicted and about 300 U.S. Marines set off on the USS Mesa Verde to provide disaster relief in Haiti, the Marines said in a tweet.

There were no immediate reports in Cuba of deaths, casualties or major damage.

Cuba's government has traditionally made extensive efforts to cope with hurricanes and authorities spent days organising volunteers to get residents to safety and secure property.

Matthew thrashed the tourist town of Baracoa in the province of Guantanamo, passing close to the disputed U.S. Naval base and military prison. It was on track to mow over the central and northwestern Bahamas, the NHC forecasts showed.

Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city, which lies in the southeast of Cuba, was not badly hit, state media said.

Officials in the Bahamas urged residents to evacuate to higher ground and the Ministry for Grand Bahama said on Facebook that government offices in New Providence and Grand Bahama had been closed until further notice.

Hurricane and tropical storm warnings were extended along the east coast of Florida as the storm moved north.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, and ordered the evacuation of more than 1 million people from Wednesday afternoon.

Tropical storm or hurricane conditions could affect parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina later this week, even if the centre of Matthew remained offshore, the NHC said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Justin Welby: Brutal Conflict In Aleppo Is 'Demonic'

The bombardment of Aleppo in Syria is "demonic" and shows "absolute contempt for the human spirit," Justin Welby has said.

Speaking during his visit to the Rome this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury added that the Syrian conflict is "as bad as anything we've seen in the last century  and there have been terrible atrocities".

In an interview with ITV News, Welby said: "What is being done is evil, it is demonic, it is the absolute contempt for the human spirit, for the dignity of the human being. It is the brushing aside of the poor and the weak and the fragile, in a way that is as bad as anything we've seen in the last century."

Asked whether the UN had failed to bring peace to Syria, Welby said that it had and stressed the organisation's limitations. He said: "One has to ask: what could they have done? The UN has no army. The UN has done what it could do. The UN is a fallible and weak institution. Of course it is, it's human. The UN is where you bring the worst hatreds in the world, and you put them in a room and see if you can make some progress. Sometimes it does  on this occasion it hasn't."

Welby added: "Has it failed? Yes, of course it's failed but we've all failed."

The Archbishop called on the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to take the "heroic" step of standing down.

"His stepping aside would be the most heroic thing he could do in his life and the best decision he'd ever taken," Welby said.

The UN estimates that 275,000 people are currently trapped in a siege in Aleppo, with Syrian pro-government forces attacking the city from the south.

Assad's government, with Russian air support and Iranian ground forces, launched the assault on Aleppo last month, a week into a ceasefire agreed by Washington and Moscow.

The US and other Western countries say Moscow and Damascus are guilty of war crimes for deliberately targeting civilians, hospitals and aid deliveries to crush the will of the people trapped under siege. The Syrian and Russian governments claim that they target only militants.

The collapse of the ceasefire last month left US policy on Syria in tatters and was a blow for US Secretary of State John Kerry, who negotiated the truce over months of intense diplomacy with Moscow despite scepticism in Washington, including from other senior figures in the Barack Obama administration.

Last month the Republican Senator John McCain called Kerry "intrepid but deluded" for relying on Moscow.

Kerry suspended talks with Russia on Monday, accusing Moscow of failing to live up to its commitments to halt fighting and assure aid reached besieged communities.

"We are not giving up on the Syrian people and we are not abandoning the pursuit of peace," Kerry said on Tuesday in a speech in Brussels.

He accused Moscow of turning a blind eye to Syria's use of poison gas and "barrel bombs"  oil drums packed with explosives  to kill civilians.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Longest Marriage Ends: 103-Year-Old Wife Calls Death of Her 110-Year-Old Husband a 'Blessing'

Truly, all good things must come to an endeven the world's longest marriage.

Just a month before his 111th birthday, Karam Chand, a retired mill worker from Bradford, England, died on Friday more than nine months after he and his 103-year-old wife Kartari Chand celebrated their 90th wedding anniversary in December last year, the BBC reports.

Originally from India, the couple tied the knot in 1925 when the subcontinent was still ruled by Britain. They moved to England in 1965.

They were blessed with eight children, 27 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren, according to The Indian Express.

"I'm proud of my dad and all the family is proud. With the grace of God he went peacefully," Chand's son Paul told the BBC. "It's one of those things nobody can stop, everybody has to go."

Paul said his mother was a "bit shocked" when she learned that the love of her life was gone. Paul said it was "very difficult" for her mother "to cope" with her husband's death.

She said it was a "blessing" to have been married to Karam for so many years, adding that all she can do is pray for his peaceful rest.

In an earlier interview with the Daily Mail as his parents were celebrating their 89th wedding anniversary, Paul said one of the things his parents did to keep their children healthy was to give them a "stress-free life."

Family members told the Indian Express that the couple never argued in their 90 years of togetherness and were very supportive of each other.

Harbhajan Das, another of Karam Chand's son, recalled his father's words of wisdom: "Happiness and contentment is what keeps me going through such a long and beautiful life."

Harbhajan told something remarkable about his father: Despite his very advanced age, his sight never failed him and he would read Punjabi books daily without the help of spectacles.

"He was not educated but used to read Punjabi," he said. "Being the oldest living couple, even the queen of Britain had invited them for dinner," he revealed.
Muslim Cleric in U.S. Who Openly Backs ISIS and Praises Beheadings, Terror Attacks Remains a Free Man

He openly praises ISIS, their terror attacks and even beheadingsall the things that the civilised world abhors.

And yet this 59-year-old Muslim cleric named Suleiman Anwar Bengharsa is a free man living in Maryland, U.S.A., free to spread the Islamist radicals' message of hate to Muslims living in America, the New York Times reports.

He has posted on social media atrocious videos showing Islamic State fighters beheading and burning alive their captives. He has also praised terrorist attacks overseas.

Bengharsa  an imam at mosques in Annapolis and outside Baltimore who also serves as a prison chaplain  was even found to have given money to at least one Muslim convert who was arrested for buying illegal explosives.

And yet he has not been charged or arrested because, according to authoritiesincredulous as it may soundhe hasn't broken any law.

The FBI filed an affidavit in federal court saying Bengharsa gave $1,300 to a 29-year-old Muslim covert, identified as Sebastian Gregerson, in Detroit in June 2015.

The FBI said Gregerson used the money to buy firearms and grenades. He was subsequently arrested in July and indicted on explosives charges, according to The Times.

In the court filing, FBI agents said they believe the two suspects were plotting to commit an act of terror. "Based on the totality of the aforementioned information and evidence, there is reason to believe that Bengharsa and Gregerson are engaged in discussions and preparations for some violent act on behalf" of the ISIS, an agent wrote.

Bengharsa claimed that the money he gave to Gregerson was for "zakat" or for Islamic charity. ISIS militants frequently use the term "zakat" to secure extortion payments from residents of areas it controls in Iraq and Syria, according to the Daily Caller.

Court documents seen by The New York Times show that Bengharsa has plenty of money, receiving a sum of nearly a million dollars in a recent wire transfer. The bank transfer was sent around the time when Bengharsa started preaching in support of ISIS.

"It feels like McCarthyism," Bengharsa told The Detroit News in 2015. He continued, "I am an advocate of the United States and the West getting the hell out of the Middle East and the Muslim world."

On Sept. 17, New York City and New Jersey were rocked almost simultaneously by bomb explosions while a stabbing incident was reported at a Minnesota mall. Twenty-nine people were injured in the New York explosion while nine were wounded in the Minnesota stabbing spree. The knife-wielding assailant, who called himself a "soldier of the Islamic State," was shot dead by a police officer.

Neither Bengharsa nor Gregerson has been linked yet to these acts of terror.
Mystery Over 'Suicide' Of Priest Who Campaigned Against Drugs Trafficking

Bishops in Argentina are calling for "clarification" over the death of a priest found hanged in a room at his parish church.

Father Juan Heraldo Viroche, parish priest in Tucuman, was active in the fight against drugs. He had spoken of being threatened by drugs mafias.

In a statement, the Argentine bishops' conference said: "We join the request of the local Archbishop to clarify what happened as soon as possible and we are close to Viroche's family, to the faithful of the parish and the Church of Tucuman.

Accorcing to Agenzia Fides, Fr Viroche was found dead in his home in Tucuman which is about 70 km from the capital.

He was found by a cleaner in the song room used for choir rehearsals. Jewellery and cash were undisturbed in a bag nearby, ruling out robbery as a motive.

"The priest was well known in the area for his fight against drug trafficking. He was a very positive and dynamic person say those who knew him in his parish, where he was also very busy with families in the area," Fides said.

The episcopal commission for the pastoral care of addicts said: "Father Juan was known because he spent his life against drug trafficking, and defended those whose lives were in danger."

Fr Viroche had expressed to his closest collaborators his distress at threats he had received from drug mafias.

There were no signs of external violence on his body and the room where he was found was locked from the inside. But Fides reported that local people are reluctant to believe it was a suicide and staged a demonstration in front of the church demanding clarification.

La Nacion reported that the death had all the appearances of suicide. The autopsy report found no signs of violence or other features that indicate a homicide found.

However, earlier this week Fr Viroche confided to relatives that he was receiving threats and had requested a transfer to another parish.
Rub elbows with local, national and international artists doing big things in the art world at the reception for 516 Arts DECADE opening reception . The show revisits the work of some of the thousands of artists who have exhibited at 516 in the last 10 years including Jessica Angel from Colombia whose immersive large-scale works disorient and amaze, Chip Thomas, whose wheat paste murals add a different texture to the landscapes of the Navajo Nation, and Santa Fe artist Tom Joyce, whose large-scale works are studies of both process and form. The openingwith music from Le Chat Lunatique and food from Slate Street Caferuns from 6-8pm on Saturday, Oct. 15 , and is totally free . (Maggie Grimason)

A group exhibition that draws from the diverse local, national and international artists that have been featured at the renowned gallery since their original opening.

October 15, 2016  January 7, 2017

DECADE

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of 516 ARTS

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 15, 6-8pm

Music by Le Chat Lunatique

Food provided by Slate Street Cafe

Member Preview & Artist Talks, 5-6pm

In celebration of our 10th anniversary, 516 ARTS presents DECADE, a group exhibition and series of off-site projects that draw from the diverse local, national and international artists we have worked with since we opened. 516 ARTS is a hub for world-class contemporary art in Albuquerque and New Mexico as well as a beacon for the arts in the Downtown revitalization process. This exhibition explores a wide variety of themes and practices that 516 ARTS has explored since its inception including environmental/land-based art, street art, new media art that intersects with science and technology, public art and socially engaged projects.

The site-specific projects around the city are points of access to contemporary art that connect back to the exhibition at 516 ARTS and Downtown. By bringing 516 ARTS out to other parts of the city, this exhibition spreads awareness about the urban core and its connectivity to the rest of the city.

In her catalog essay for the inaugural 2006 exhibition at 516 ARTS titled GREEN, writer Sharyn R. Udall wrote,Even as 516 ARTS helps to raise the presence of the arts in Downtown Albuquerque, it will be judged ultimately not on where it lives, but what it does.as it comes of age, it promises to access and interpret New Mexicos artistic riches in unprecedented ways, functioning as a portal, right in our midst, to the extraordinary. The old neighborhood will never be the same.

Reflecting back on the decade involving over 1,000 artists presented in over 150 exhibitions and public programs, 516 ARTS has become synonymous with a fertile and inspiring source for cutting edge, contemporary art discourse that bridges the local, national and global spheres.

Artists:

Jessica Angel (Colombia) David Leigh (New Mexico)

Leticia Bajuyo (Indiana) Eliza Naranjo Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo/Espanola, New Mexico)

BioCultura (New Mexico) Aaron Noble (California)

Michael Berman (New Mexico) Patrick Nagatani (New Mexico)

Erika Blumenfeld (Texas) Lisa Nevada (New Mexico)

Adrian Esparza (Texas) Chip Thomas (Navajo Nation)

Tom Joyce (New Mexico) Floyd Tunson (Colorado)

Catalog essay by Lucy Lippard, renowned author, curator, activist and critic.

OFF-SITE PROJECTS:

In addition to the exhibition featuring the above artists in the gallery, 516 ARTS presents the following off-site projects spanning all quadrants of the city:

 jetsonorama Mural & Dance Tours

Visual and performing arts come together with the environment and climate change issues in this collaboration between photographic wheatpaste muralist by Chip Thomas (aka jetsonorama) and choreographer/dancer Lisa Nevada at the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, 7851 2nd St. SW (South Valley).

 The T House by Biocultura

Biocultura (Andrea Polli and collaborator John Donalds) are creating The T House, an interactive, environmental art and technology installation inspired by a traditional teahouse on the grounds of Farm & Table Restaurant, 8917 4th St. NW (North Valley).

 Amplitude II by Leticia Bajuyo

Guest artist Leticia Bajuyo is building a monumental horn sculpture made from recycled CDs in the glass atrium in the lobby of the Tony Hillerman Public Library, 8205 Apache Ave. NE (Northeast Heights).

 Mural by Aaron Noble

Guest muralist Aaron Noble is creating a mural in his unique style blending comic, collage and abstraction on the prominent, glassed in wall of Tamarind Institute, 2500 Central Ave. SE (Southeast/UNM).

 Imperial Building Mural

While the above projects are all temporary projects for DECADE, a new, long-term public art mural will be created this fall by a past 516 ARTS artist to be selected from call for proposals in partnership with the City of Albuquerque Public Art Program. The site is the new Downtown grocery store, 205 Silver Ave. SW (Downtown).
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
Pete Greig Interview: 'You Can't Care More About Brangelina Than Aleppo And Be A Christian'

Sitting with Pete Greig on the fifth floor of his publisher Hodder Faith's offices inside Carmelite House at Victoria Embankment in London, you could be forgiven for being distracted by the view.

For appropriately enough given that Greig is the founder of the massively successful 24-7 prayer movement, St Paul's Cathedral looms large out the window, just along the river, its imposing dome still dominant in the autumnal City skyline.

But with a magnetic presence, Greig has a way of transfixing you as he talks passionately over coffee about the revival of prayer in this land and beyond.

Like his new book Dirty Glory, Greig is gripping, gritty and optimistic.

We start by discussing how the 24-7 prayer movement went beyond a passing fashion to sustain itself as one of the most exciting evangelical movements on earth.

"If you'd said to me, here's a good idea I'd have told you it was a bad idea," Greig says. "But it just happened. We started one prayer room because we figured that that is the heart not just of the Christian faith but actually of humanity, and amazing things began to happen as we set time apart for prayer, and it began to spread, and we're now...working with everyone from the Salvation Army through to the Catholic Church...So it's a truly viral movement. Obviously we have had to try and get organised without becoming a sort of organisation in the classic sense of that word. But I think it would be true to say we are still surfing waves rather than making them, which is more fun and easier."

After clearing his diary following a spiritual drought and a deep hunger for a true connection to Jesus in the summer of 1999, this theology graduate and church planter launched the 24-7 prayer community which now operates out of over half the nations of the world. Dirty Glory, which has been praised by Justin Welby and Bear Grylls among others, is a collection of personal stories from the past 15 years interwoven with verses from the Bible and insights from saints and other Christian thinkers.

There are many elements that make the book stand apart from your standard 'happy clappy' evangelical book. It honestly deals with pain, not least Greig's wife Sammy's struggles with life-threatening illness, which made the couple question some of their decisions to follow Jesus' call wherever it took them around the world.

As Greig writes, "...if this is a glory story it is a peculiar kind of glory, mostly touching down in broken places and messed up people who rarely feel as spiritual as the story makes them sound."

Something else that makes Dirty Glory stand out is Greig's commitment to social justice, on which an entire section of this lengthy book is devoted.

The author pauses and is thoughtful when asked what social justice means for Christians in this world today. "Dostoevsky says that without God there is no morality. If we are all just highly evolved animals then it's survival of the fittest. And the weak  in Aleppo [in Syria], or in a local cancer ward  on Darwinian theory they should be wiped out of the gene pool: I consider that an outrageous world view," he says.

"To believe in justice is to believe in the morality of God, to believe that the weak and the marginalised and the oppressed, that their suffering matters. We have a coherent rationale for that passion, and that is why the church is the biggest provider of Aids care on earth. That is why the church in this country runs more schools and youth clubs and toddler clubs and networks of debt counsellors and feeds more families than any other voluntary agency. This is what Christians have always done. It's a deeply biblical theme. When Jesus came and said 'this is my mission statement' he chose Isaiah 61 which says 'The spirit of the Lord is on me, bring good news to the poor.' So you cannot be a Christian and be unconcerned about the refugee crisis. You cannot be a Christian and be more interested in Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's divorce than what's happening in Aleppo. To be a Christian is to be concerned about the brokenness in our world and to do something about it."

Greig's journey with 24-7, as outlined in his earlier book Red Moon Rising, began with a vision when he was travelling in Cape St Vincent in Portugal, where he saw an army of thousands of young people rising up. He would return to the same spot and find himself there, perhaps providentially, on September 11, 2001, when his mission would be recharged.

In Dirty Glory, Greig writes that his "thinking" about the movement and about prayer has moved on since Red Moon Rising. How so?

"We've been praying non-stop for 17 years. We've been in a fairly constant state of bewilderment for much of that time, and we've also gone through some very painful things, for me personally  I've been very open about my own wife's chronic illness  and inevitable that shapes your theology and your outlook on life," he says.

"I would say that we've broadened our understanding of prayer, from seeing it as some switch that we have to flick to make stuff happen, to understanding a more contemplative dimension of becoming the prayer, not just prayer as a verb but as a noun. We are probably more comfortable with paradox than we used to be, but that might just be getting older. And I think as well we've had to learn just to get a little more organised."

Greig found himself caught by surprise over the movement's success, and he is surprisingly honest about how he and his team had to improvise. "I mean, I never wanted or knew how to lead an international organisation. It was never a desire or a drive in my life. Finding myself doing it, we've just had to work out as we go along, how do we do that, how do you have charitable status in that many countries, how does it fit together, how do we stay true to our values, how do we make sure that our structure is shaped by our vision but our vision is driven by our values? Institutions are all about structure. That's clearly not the way we want to go. Then the more progressive organisations tend to say it's all about the vision, but the problem with vision is it comes and goes and the world moves on, so what we're really interested in is how do you build something that is rooted in shared values, and out of that we can work out what we live and die for, what we sense is important to do this year or next year, and then we say how do we structure around the vision.

"So for us that's been a very important conversation, and the fruit of it is that we're not nearly as effective or as an impressive as we would like to be, but we haven't had one major relational fall out in 17 years: we are truly still friends on a journey together, and for me that's worth a bit of inefficiency, some slightly lower standards. If you worship efficiency, then you have to make some sacrifices that you might not want to."

In the book, Greig talks about the need to turn the tide "back" to Jesus in our time. Asked why he uses that formula, Greig strikes a characteristically optimistic note.

"The reason I say we need to turn the tide back to Jesus is that Europe and certainly the British Isles were founded, forged by the gospel of Jesus Christ," he says. "It is actually impossible to understand why we exist or what our identity is without understanding our Christian heritage...Whether it is rock bands recording hit records at Abbey Road studios, or me ordering a pint of Abbott ale, or the fact that Big Ben broadcasts a chime that is actually a prayer every single hour to the nation, or whether it's that every single place in Ireland with the suffix 'Kil' was once a hermits' prayer cell  this is in our history and our psychology. Europe will not rediscover who we are and where we're going until we dare to be reconnected with our past and at the psychological and geographical heart of every single capital city in Europe stands a house of prayer. That is probably the key not just to where we've come from to where we're going."

Just as he was in 1999, Greig says that in his experience, "people are clearly hungry for spiritual reality." He goes on: "We find that even people who don't want to be preached at still want to be prayed for. All the surveys tell us that most people pray, whether or not they go to church. So we're in an interesting post-Christian era in which people's preferred spirituality is actually still Christian. And people's preferred humanity is still spiritual. Then within the church, there is clearly an uprising of prayer. The Archbishop of Canterbury's number one aim is the renewal of prayer and religious life in the UK. He says  and I've heard him say it often  that without a renewal of prayer there will be no renewal in the church and without a renewal in the church there's no hope for our nation.

"And we are seeing empirical evidence that people are responding to that message not least with the fact that we packed out four cathedrals and one very large church last Pentecost Sunday and there were so many at Winchester Cathedral that there were hundreds outside watching on screens, and this was not for show  it was to pray. We tracked almost 3,000 prayer initiatives in the build-up to Pentecost last year, from tiny little rural churches praying all night that would never have dreamed of doing it a few years ago, through to big prayer meetings. The Redeemed Church of God here in London has 40,000 people praying all night regularly. There's a different story out there that the press is not reflecting...There is a different story out there of renewal, because human beings are spiritual. And the vast majority of people still believe. And what we have to do is articulate that in a way that is as colourful and compelling and relevant as Jesus Christ."

Greig and Welby are clearly like-minded. What of Pope Francis, who is close to the evangelical movement? What hopes for cross-demoninational Christian unity in our time?

"I believe one of the things that God is building reconciliation between different types of Christians," Greig says. "We are sitting here now on the eve of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and I think one of the things that we are trying to learn is how to look at other types of Christians  not ask what's wrong with them but what's right with them. How can we be enriched by our differences rather than divided by our disagreements? And the truth is that we've got far more in common than what divides us. My background is in Free Church, but I spend a lot of my time now working particularly with Anglicans and Catholics, and I find that enormously enriching."

A crucial pillar of that unity, for Greig, is the Nicene Creed of 325 AD. "All Christians of every tradition agree with that statement of faith," he says.

Like many church leaders and, indeed, perhaps the quiet majority of lay believers, Greig is keen that Christians do not get too distracted by "secondary issues".

He says: "There are all sorts of things that people get terribly passionate about  ranging from gay marriage through to women in leadership through to the role of Israel through to the gifts of the Holy Spirit  these things are all vitally important but they are secondary to the primary issues, the essentials, as articulated in the Nicene Creed. And if the church of Jesus is to be united, we must prioritise the vocabulary given to us by that ancient agreement, and not allow secondary issues to divide us."

Above all, Greig says: "There's a desperate need for us to slow down".

Finally, asked what he would say to those who struggle with prayer, who fail to achieve that personal relationship which Greig talks about in his book, one which involves discussing the "trivial" as well as the fundamental, Greig is concise.

"My advice on prayer is keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up."
Support For Death Penalty In US At Lowest Level In Four Decades

The proportion of Americans who back the death penalty is now at its lowest level for more than 40 years.

Fewer than half of Americans, 49 per cent, now support capital punishment for people convicted of murder, compared to 56 per cent only last year.

More than four in ten people oppose it - compared to just two in ten who opposed it in the mid-1990s. In 1994, eight in ten Americans backed the death penalty. Opposition to the death penalty is at its highest level since 1972.

White evangelical Protestants continue to back the use of the death penalty with nearly seven in ten in favour and just a quarter opposed.

White mainline Protestants are also more likely to support than oppose the death penalty.

However just over four in ten Catholics back capital punishment, while nearly half oppose it.

The Catholic Church and US Episcopal Church have campaigned against the death penalty for decades.

Last year the National Latino Evangelical Coalition became the first National Association of Evangelicals congregations formally to join the fight for repeal. The coalition urged its 3,000 member congregations to support efforts to end capital punishment across the country.

Earlier this year the US Supreme Court agreed to hear two appeals that concern the roles race and intellectual disability might play when the death sentence is passed. One of the cases involved testimony that black defendants were more dangerous than white ones.

The issue runs along political divides. Most Republicans still support it while most Democrats oppose it in cases of murder. Support for ending capital punishment has also grown among independents, according to the survey by Pew Research.

Men are also more likely to back the use of the death penalty than women. White Americans are more supportive than blacks and Hispanics.
The Bible's Most Despised Group? What We Can Learn From Jesus' Dealings With The Samaritans

Across denominations, cultures and traditions of the Church, the Bible remains one of our central guides to faith. As Christians, we believe it speaks to us today and guides us on how to live our lives.

Yet there are many parts of Scripture where we need some help interpreting the context of the story being told, the meaning of a particularly difficult word or even the point of the whole story.

It's why interpretation, discussion, reading around and good preaching are all so important. It's also why books such as Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes have become so popular. The Bible was written and compiled across hundreds of years in the ancient near east. Not only is the culture alien to us as contemporary western readers, but unless we are able to read Hebrew and Greek, we will always be reliant on others to help us fully understand and digest it.

One theme that comes up repeatedly in Jesus' ministry is His interaction with Samaritans. Arguably His most famous parable, the Good Samaritan, hinges on the idea that two highly esteemed religious figures did the wrong thing, while an outsider (the Samaritan) did the right thing.

William Barclay describes the significance of the Samaritan being the 'hero' of Jesus' story. "The listeners would obviously expect that with his arrival the villain had arrived," he says. "The name [Samaritan] was sometimes used to describe a man who was a heretic and a breaker of the ceremonial law. Perhaps this man was a Samaritan in the sense of being one whom all orthodox good people despised."

When we begin to understand just how radical this story would have been to Jesus' audience, we begin to realise the radical implications for those of us who hear this story today. Jesus not only breaks the taboo by speaking positively about a Samaritan. He actually tells the story of the Good Samaritan in response to the question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" He is suggesting that the servant-hearted attitude and actions of the Samaritan brought him closer to God than the pious, technically 'correct' decision of he priest and the Levite who chose to walk by on the other side. This is a drastic challenge to the received wisdom of Jesus' culture.

We can see the shocking way in which Jesus chooses to address Samaritans, not just in the parable of the Good Samaritan, but in His actual interactions with Samaritans as well.

In Luke 17, when Jesus heals 10 lepers, we read that, "One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him  and he was a Samaritan."

In John 4, he has a life-changing interaction with a Samaritan woman. Not only was her ethnicity and religion supposed to be a barrier to Jesus  a Rabbi  talking with her, but her gender, and the fact she was alone at the well made it even more surprising that He would speak to her. In fact, when His disciples arrive on the scene we read that they, "were surprised to find him talking with a woman".

Having accepted a drink of water from her, He talks to her with compassion but also a note of challenge. He takes her idea of what religion should look like and shows her His true path. "I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming," she tells Him. Jesus responds, "I, the one speaking to you - I am he."

Having commended a Samaritan in the parable, Jesus now shows in real life that we can learn much from unexpected places and people. He challenges us to think about who the equivalent of Samaritans might be in our own culture  Muslims? Trump supporters? Young people? Whoever it is that we are ignoring and thinking God doesn't care about, may be exactly the kind of people through whom God will teach us.

God speaks to surprising people in surprising places. We may look for God to speak to us from the pulpit, through the pastor, preacher, prophet or priest. We may expect to meet God at a Christian festival, in a Christian book or on Christian TV. We may think God will make Himself known through years of patient theological study. None of those thing or people are wrong, of course, but Jesus shows us to look for God among the Samaritans - the unexpected people and places.

Once we've realised that, we are able to turn, with them, to look at Jesus and respond as the woman at the well did. We read that, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'"

The significance of Jesus accepting Samaritans into His Kingdom was profound. The Jews' sworn enemies could have access to God through Jesus  in spite of their heretical past. This is the example for us to follow. Unexpected people have access to God through Jesus. It's not for us to put preconditions on them. In fact  we should expect to be surprised about the people Jesus speaks to and who respond to Him.
Trump 'Risks Damaging Our Witness To The Gospel' Say Evangelical Christian Leaders

Nearly 80 evangelical Christian leaders in the United States have joined in condemnation of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

In a letter, published as a petition on change.org, they say the "meaning and integrity" of the Christian faith in the US hangs in the balance.

"We believe that racism strikes at the heart of the gospel; we believe that racial justice and reconciliation is at the core of the message of Jesus," they say. "We believe the candidacy of Donald J. Trump has given voice to a movement that affirms racist elements in white culture - both explicit and implicit."

The Christian leaders distance themselves from any definition of "evangelical" as associated with mostly white, politically conservative, older men.

"We are not those evangelicals," they say. "We are Americans of African and European descent, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American. We are women and men, as well as younger and older evangelical Christians. We come from a wide range of denominations, churches, and political orientations."

They include the best-selling Christian author Tony Campolo, Lisa Sharon Harper of Jim Wallis' Sojourners and Simple Way founder Shane Claiborne.

"We believe in the unity of the body of Christ, but we acknowledge the diverse nature of a community whose faith is biblical and evangelical," they say.

"We recognise that despite our unity in Christ, we will inevitably disagree about which political stances come closest to the heart of God for our nation."

They say they believe they "must respond" when evangelicalism becomes dangerously identified with one particular candidate whose statements, practice, personal morality, and ideology "risk damaging our witness to the gospel before the watching world."

They go on to attack Trump for using fear "to demonise and degrade immigrants, foreigners, and people from different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds."

He launched his presidential campaign by demonising Mexicans, immigrants, and Muslims, and has repeatedly spoken against migrants and refugees coming to this country - those whom Jesus calls "the stranger" in Matthew 25, they add.

"Trump has steadily refused to clearly and aggressively confront extremist voices and movements of white supremacy, some of whom now call him their 'champion', and has therefore helped to take the dangerous fringes of white nationalism in America to the mainstream of politics."

In addition, he mocks women and the sanctity of marriage vows, disregards facts and the accountability to truth, and worships wealth and shameful materialism, they say.

"Because we believe that racial bigotry has been a cornerstone of this campaign, it is a foundational matter of the gospel for us in this election, and not just another issue. This is not just a social problem, but a fundamental wrong. Racism is America's original sin. Its brazen use to win elections threatens to reverse real progress on racial equity and set America back."

They say they "simply will not tolerate the racial, religious, and gender bigotry that Donald Trump has consistently and deliberately fuelled."

Other signatories include Rev William Barber, President of Repairers of the Breach, the writer Austin Channing Brown, Dr Rich Cizik of the New Evangelical Partnership, President Obama's "Pastor in Chief" Joshua DuBois of Values Partnerships, Rev Cynthia Hale of Ray of Hope Christian Church, Rev Daniel Hill of River City Community Church, Rev Greg Thompson of Trinity Presbyterian Church, and Sojourners President Jim Wallisal Action.

More than 3,600 other supporters have also signed the petition,

Thing Progress commented: "Although 69 percent of white evangelicals now back Trump according to a new PRRI poll, several influential leaders of the Religious Right have been actively hostile to the business mogul's candidacy. Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's political arm, has been an especially vocal opponent of Trump's, arguing he is against 'everything [evangelicals] believe'.

"Meanwhile, the conservative-leaning Christian Post published a scathing criticism of Trump in Februarythe first time the publication has ever taken a stand on a political candidateand a Liberty University board member resigned in protest when the school's president endorsed the Donald."

Former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm tweeted:

Author Tsh Oxenreider tweeted:
Tutu Says Christians Should Support Assisted Suicide

One of the most well-known Christian leaders in the world has restated his support for assisted suicide.

Desmond Tutu, the South African anti-apartheid campaigner and Anglican Bishop has written an op-ed in the Washington Post which outlines his stance.

He says he had previously supported assisted suicide for others, but now comes closer to saying that he may choose an assisted death for himself.

"Today, I myself am even closer to the departures hall than arrivals, so to speak," Tutu says, "and my thoughts turn to how I would like to be treated when the time comes. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to lend my voice to this cause."

Tutu has been well known during his retirement for supporting progressive political causes worldwide. He has spoken up about his support for gay rights, among other issues. Yet his support for assisted suicide places him against traditional Christian teaching on the issue  as well as many Church leaders.

Tutu says other Christians should join him in the campaign. "I welcome anyone," he writes, "who has the courage to say, as a Christian, that we should give dying people the right to leave this world with dignity... In refusing dying people the right to die with dignity, we fail to demonstrate the compassion that lies at the heart of Christian values."
UN Tells Saudi Arabia: Stop Flogging And Executing Children

A UN human rights watchdog has called on Saudi Arabia to end "severe" discrimination against girls and to repeal laws that allow the stoning, amputation, flogging and execution of children.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child also condemned the Saudi-led coalition's air strikes in Yemen, which it said had killed and maimed hundreds of children, and its "use of starvation" as a tactic in that war against Iran-backed Houthis.

The committee's 18 independent experts examined the kingdom's record of compliance with a UN treaty protecting the rights of people under the age of 18.

Bandar Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, chairman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, who led a Saudi delegation to the committee's review, told the body that sharia, Islamic law, was above all laws and treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But the kingdom had the political will to protect children's rights, he said.

However, the UN experts voiced deep concern that Riyadh "still does not recognise girls as full subjects of rights and continues to severely discriminate [against] them in law and practice and to impose on them a system of male guardianship".

Traditional, religious or cultural attitudes should not be used to justify violations of their right to equality, they said.

Children of Shi'ite Muslim families and other religious minorities are persistently discriminated against in their access to schools and justice in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, they said.

Children over 15 years are tried as adults and can be executed, "after trials falling short of guarantees of due process and a fair trial", the report said.

A mass execution of 47 people took place on January 2 this year in which at least four of the victims were under 18 when they were sentenced.

Referring to Islamic provisions for a relative to exact retribution for murder and to breaches of the strict Islamic behavioural code, Saudi Arabia had previously said in its submission to the UN: "Children who have reached the age of 15 and commit a 'qisas' or 'hudud' offence face 'qisas' or 'hudud' penalties depending upon their offence although the penalty is not enforced until they reach the age of 18."

Hudud penalties include execution, amputations, flogging and stoning to death.

The UN experts urged Saudi authorities to "repeal all provisions contained in legislation which authorise the stoning, amputation and flogging of children".

Saudi Arabia should "unambiguously prohibit the use of solitary confinement, life sentences on children and child attendance of public execution" their report said.

All forms of sexual abuse against children should be a crime and perpetrators prosecuted, the experts said.

They cited the case of Muslim preacher Fayhan al-Ghamdi, saying his charges were reduced and he was released from jail "after having raped, tortured and killed his five-year-old daughter" in 2012. His daughter Lama died having spent 10 months in hospital after doctors were unable to treat her injuries. After a public outcry al-Ghamdi was later jailed for eight years and sentenced to 600 lashes.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
Worrying Is Not a Normal Way of Thinking for Christians, Says Joyce Meyer

Popular Christian speaker and author Joyce Meyer says worry has no place in a Christian's life. Once people accept Jesus Christ into their lives, they have to learn how to channel their worries the right way.

"The first thing we need to understand is that when we become new creations in Christ, what is normal for the world is no longer normal for us. There's a way we're supposed to live that reflects the image of Christ in the world," she writes on her website.

The world might deem it normal to worry, but Meyer says it's not normal for Christians to do so. "This doesn't mean we won't ever feel worried, but when we do, we can pray and give it to God so we can have His peace while we go through a hard time," she says.

Whatever circumstances Christians might be facing, they have to feel emboldened because they have God's wisdom, discernment and peace to guide them through their decisions. When they make the decision to accomplish something, Meyer says Christians have the Holy Spirit on their side so they are free to stop overthinking their decisions.

It's also important for Christians to develop a humble mind, according to Meyer, because it will give them a sense of peace. "A person with a humble mind is peaceful because they can wait on God's timing and follow His direction; they don't constantly struggle with wondering why or when. And a humble mind isn't judgmental or critical of others," she says.

The author of "Battlefield of the Mind" says Christians have the power to choose their thoughts, so they should always choose good things. "So make the decision to spend time each day reading and meditating on the Word. Pray and ask God to help you understand how to apply the wisdom you discover to your everyday life. As you do your part to renew your mind, God will do His," she assures.
Target has announced its holiday seasonal hiring plans, with about 6,600 workers needed across Texas and hundreds needed in its Houston-area stores, the retailer said.

Hiring will begin Oct. 14-15 with in-store job fairs nationwide between noon and 6 p.m. both days. Store officials will do pre-scheduled interviews with applicants, who can apply in advance at Target.com/Careers.
In 2013, ConocoPhillips signed a lease for two gleaming new office towers under construction on Eldridge, just across Intestate 10 from the company's sweeping 1980s headquarters campus.

The Houston-based independent oil exploration and production company made a $9.2 billion profit that year amid the shale boom and skyrocketing oil prices -- a 10 percent bump from the year earlier.
The California attorney general has announced the arrest of Carl Ferrer, the chief executive officer of Backpage.com, an online classified website similar to craigslist.

Ferrer was arrested Thursday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on "charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping," according to a California Department of Justice statement.
TANNEN MAURY/EFE

British rock act Coldplay is returning to Houston in 2017, performing at one of the citys largest venues.

The band will play NRG Stadium on Aug. 25, according to a release Friday morning from Live Nation.
The one constant to this road map of Houston's homegrown restaurant groups is that it's always changing. Expansion, contraction, splits, new alliances, rebrandings: they're all part of the recipe that makes the Houston dining scene strong and distinctive.

Since we last checked in, the F.E.E.D. TX group and one of its principals, Lee Ellis, have parted company, and Ellis has gone on to form Cherry Pie Hospitality, with four concepts (including two new ones, Pi Pizza and State Fare) and more on the way. Clumsy Butcher, once the umbrella under which such enterprises as Underbelly, Anvil and more were gathered in, has dissolved itself as an administrative entity.
The Coast Guard rescued two people whose boat was sinking in the Kemah area, authorities said on Thursday.

About 8:30 p.m., the Coast Guard was notified about a 17-foot Boston Whaler boat that was taking on water about 100 yards off Kemah. The boat had two people who were aboard, officials said.
More details have been released after a 42-year-old man died late Thursday night when he slammed into a disabled car along Interstate 45 in southeast Houston.

The two-vehicle wreck happened about 11:50 p.m. on the inbound Gulf Freeway near Monroe, said Sgt. James Roque of the Houston Police Department.
President Obama has commuted the prison sentences for 102 federal inmates, including two from Houston, officials said on Thursday.

The majority of those on the list were sentenced for their roles in narcotics trafficking cases. The commutations mean their sentences will either be drastically reduced or eliminated altogether.
Police homicide detectives are investigating a fatal shooting in southwest Houston.

Houston police said one person was fatally shot about 3 p.m. Thursday along the 16100 block of Bowridge.

HPD investigators have not identified the victim or the suspect. A motive has not been determined yet.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Former Houston school board member Larry Marshall made a last-ditch appeal Thursday to the U.S Supreme Court, seeking to stop an Oct. 24 trial concerning allegations he was involved in a bribery scheme.

Marshall's emergency petition to the high court comes six years after he was sued by a Houston construction company, the Gil Ramirez Group. The lawsuit alleged Marshall, who sat on the school board from 1998-2013, received kickbacks to steer Houston Independent School District contracts to certain vendors.

Marshall has denied the allegations, saying the payments he received through his political campaign treasurer were for legitimate consulting work.

Federal court Judge Keith Ellison ruled against the Gil Ramirez Group in 2013, arguing that even if bribery did occur, the construction company could not prove it was harmed. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, revived the case, and Ellison scheduled trial for later this month. Marshall then asked the appellate court to reconsider but was denied.

A trial could land several high-profile officials on the witness stand. The Gil Ramirez Group has issued subpoenas to appear in court to at least 22 people, including current and former HISD board members and school district employees and ex-Superintendents Abelardo Saavedra and Rod Paige. Officials affiliated with Houston Community College also were issued subpoenas.

The school board and Marshall still could decide to settle the case, avoiding an extended public trial that could vindicate or shame the former school board member.

The Houston school district was dismissed from the case as a governmental entity. Marshall claimed in his petition to the Supreme Court that he also should get governmental immunity as a public official at the time of the allegations.

Marshall's attorney, Rick Morris, could not immediately be reached for comment. Chad Dunn, an attorney for the Gil Ramirez Group, declined comment.
GALVESTON  A Harris County woman has accused a Galveston police officer of breaking her leg by hurling her to the floor and then leaving her there without summoning medical assistance.

The accusation is contained in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Kaylie Gentry, 27, a 5-foot-3-inch nurse at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

The Galveston Police Department has a long history of serious excessive force violations which cause an atmosphere of allowing excessive force which allowed the injury of Ms. Gentry,  said her attorney, Randall Kallinen.

Police spokesman Michael Gray said he was unable to respond to Kallinen because of the lawsuit. The pertinent details to rebut that are under investigation, Gray said.

The lawsuit gave the following account of the allegation:

A police officer identified only as Officer Lopez confronted Gentry at about 1:50 a.m. on Feb. 6 at Tsunamis, a Galveston bar, and asked Gentry to leave the bar. Kallinen believes Lopez was off-duty working a security job although he was in uniform.

Gentry explained to the officer that she was waiting for a friend, who would arrive shortly. The officer loudly asked Gentry to leave, then grabbed her right arm and threw her to the floor.

Gentry began screaming and was unable to move her leg or ankle because of the pain. The officer left Gentry as she lay screaming, and the bar staff came to her assistance.

Her friends carried Gentry out of the bar and took her to Clear Lake Regional Hospital, where she was diagnosed as having a broken leg, requiring a metal plate and a permanent metal connection to reposition the bones. Gentry underwent two surgeries and three months of physical therapy and missed six months of work.

The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified award for damages, alleges a history of abuse by the Galveston Police Department and lists a series of incidents involving use of force, including the swarming of a wedding party in 2008 by about 30 officers. Former Astros pitcher Brandon Backe and several others who were injured filed a federal lawsuit, and a jury awarded the plaintiffs $48,900.

The police chief at the time of the lawsuit, Henry Porretto, had been disciplined for misuse of force while a police officer and had been sued for misuse of force in a separate instance. Porretto retired last year after allegations of sexual discrimination by several police employees, city officials have said. He has since been replaced by Police Chief Richard Rick Boyle.

Police spokesman Michael Gray said an attorney employed by Gentry before she hired Kallinen made a complaint after the incident but was unable to provide the officers name. Police investigated and found several discrepancies, Gray said.

Kallinen said the attorney filed a written complaint soon after the incident and followed up with a letter to police seeking the status of the investigation.

Police contacted the attorney with the results of their investigation but never heard from him, Gray said. The woman hired Kallinen, who filed the lawsuit containing the name Officer Lopez.

Now (that) we have a name its being reinvestigated, Gray said. At this point we dont know if there was contact with the officer.
More than 700,000 Americans are released from prison each year. We expect them to re-enter society and be law-abiding, but we make it extremely difficult for anyone who has served time to ever become gainfully employed, even though they have paid their debt to society. A barrier that needs to be removed is that box on standard job applications that asks, Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor?

If you check yes, you will likely never to hear from the potential employer again. It wont matter how qualified or motivated you are. And with extremely limited legitimate earning options, the formerly incarcerated often re-offend and are re-incarcerated within a few years.

This destructive cycle not only devastates individuals, families and communities, its a recurring, ever-growing expense for taxpayers. The cost of keeping and guarding inmates now averages $31,286 per inmate per year. Each inmate represents tax money that could otherwise be spent on programs to grow the economy, and each inmate is one less employee whose consumer spending would spur growth for all kinds of companies. The U.S. incarcerates more individuals than any other nation, and 70 million Americans have some sort of criminal record  almost one in three Americans of working age. This revolving door system is unsustainable. One simple step can be a solution.

More than 100 cities, 20 states and the federal government have passed laws that ban the box. Ban the Box simply defers the question about a candidates criminal history until such time that a conditional job offer is made. And for certain jobs, such as those working with children, employers may still ask about relevant criminal history.

Ban the Box ensures that potential hires are evaluated based on experience, skills and future potential, not past mistakes for which theyve already paid and that dont relate to their current efforts to make a fresh start.

This change is small but the potential value is enormous, especially to candidates in chronically disadvantaged communities. To break the cycle of poverty caused by lack of job opportunities, individuals need and deserve a chance to start fresh. And we need farsighted companies to implement inclusive hiring models.

I recently joined 18 other business leaders at the White House to launch the Fair Chance Business Pledge. This pledge calls on all businesses to improve our communities by creating a path to a second chance for people with a criminal record. Companies signing the pledge included big names like American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Georgia Pacific, Google, Koch Industries, and Xerox. So this isnt something the business community is that scared of.

For more than 30 years, Greyston Bakery has been giving anyone willing to work hard a chance at employment. Our Open Hiring model focuses on a job candidates potential by providing employment opportunities, regardless of background or work history, while facilitating services and support to help employees succeed in the workplace and thrive in the community. Some of our productive and dedicated team members were formerly incarcerated, spent months or years searching for legitimate work, and were rejected by almost all other companies.

Weve been practicing Open Hiring since 1982 because it works. Our employees are successful, hardworking and loyal, and we make high quality brownies for discerning customers like Ben & Jerrys and Whole Foods Market. Its safe to say it hasnt hurt us.

Our society needs more companies to adopt more inclusive hiring policies. We all want to hire the best person for each job, and Ban the Box will ensure that potential hires are evaluated on skills, experience and potential rather than a mistake for which they have already paid.

A job is obviously essential for supporting oneself and ones family, but it also provides confidence, dignity and self-worth, which has an encouraging ripple effect throughout any community. Lets ban the box nationwide so hardworking individuals, ready to work, have a real chance to be a contributing member of society.

Mike Brady is President of Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, NY.
WACO  Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday expressed caution about high-speed rail in Texas, warning that any investment in transportation must not be a money-losing proposition.

It was one of several notable topics that came up during a wide-ranging Q-and-A with the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, where Abbott also vouched for the continuation of the Texas Enterprise Fund and provided a brief preview of the next legislative session.

Because of the price of oil, were dealing with a little bit tighter budget, and so we just need to be responsible budget-wise, Abbott said. Even though we are at a tighter budget ... we still want to work on cutting the margins tax even more. We need to find ways to reduce property taxes, about weve heard plenty of complaints.

Last week, Comptroller Glenn Hegar projected that lawmakers would have $1 billon less to work with next session because of the faltering oil and gas industry. State leaders, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus, have also promised to look at providing tax reliefdespite the uncertain outlook.

The margins tax for businesses, meanwhile, was a target of lawmakers during the 2015 session, when they cut it by 25 percent.

Abbott had previously expressed hesitation about high-speed rail, a perennial flashpoint in Texas that sparks debate over how to pay for it and its impact on property rights. He was again somewhat skeptical-sounding Thursday at the luncheon for the Chamber of Commerce, which supports high-speed rail.Waco is along a potential routebeing studiedfor a high-speed rail alternative to Interstate 35 that would go from Oklahoma City to Laredo.

It is important to be able to invest in anything that works, but when you invest, you dont want to lose money, Abbott said, bringing up a high-speed rail project in California that ended up costing much more than originally projected. Youve got to proceed with caution.

Abbott instead pointed to the freight shuttle system recently unveiled at Texas A&M; University, which would move containers on elevated highways using automated transporters. Abbott noted that the system does not rely on taxpayer dollars and would not involve taking anyones property.

You have to look at certain issues so that it works for all the different pieces of all the different constituencies, but most importantly look at at the bottom for the taxpayers in Texas, which is the thing that we have to be the greatest guardian of, Abbott said.

In the Q-and-A, Abbott also weighed in on the states economic incentive programs, opposed by some conservatives as corporate welfare. Abbott touted how he led the charge to eliminate the Emerging Technology Fund last year  using half the leftover money to set up a university research initiative  but argued that Texas still needs the Texas Enterprise Fund, which the state uses to seal the deal with businesses interested in relocating to Texas.

We do need it refunded, Abbott said, turning to state Sen. Brian Birdwell in the audience. Senator, Im asking for help. This is important to the people of Waco. Lets hear a big round of applause if we want the Enterprise Fund refunded the next legislative session!

This is our deal-closing fund, Abbott later said. While Texas has a pro-business climate, there are some times when the state of Texas is kind of on par in that regard with some other states. And so a business will say, Listen, it comes down to you and some other state. If you can provide this incentive, it will be Texas. And we provide that incentive, and it becomes Texas.

Asked what he would like to see the Legislature accomplish in 2017, Abbott cited not only tax relief but also progress on early education and higher education. He also said lawmakers should focus on the states troubled foster care system, whose current state he called completely unacceptable.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org/2016/09/15/abbott-expresses-caution-high-speed-rail.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, Boy Scout Troop 55 is hosting an information and new year kick-off meeting for new and existing parents and boys on Sunday, Aug. 28, from 1 to 3 p.m. at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 2450 River Oaks Blvd. Houston, Texas 77019.

The event is open to all those interested in scouting, with a special invitation to boys in 6th-10th grade. Interested peope can meet the troop and hear about some of the activities from the past year, including recent summer trips and campouts.

Boy Scouts is a game with a purpose, where boys learn and grow into being honorable citizens and servant-leaders.

With a focus on fun, leadership, and adventure, Troop 55 sponsors a variety of outings each year that offer scouts opportunities to learn about the outdoors, participate in community service, build self-confidence, and develop lifelong friendships.

One of the most beneficial aspects of scouting is that it exposes boys to new experiences that allow them to stretch their wings.

For many boys, scouting provides a bridge from their family life to the wider world. The younger scouts learn from the more experienced ones  and the older scouts learn how to be mentors. Troop 55 is scout-led and all activities and meetings are planned and run by the scouts.

Were there to provide structure and a safe environment for the boys, but the troop belongs to them, said Scoutmaster Robert Lombardi.

From earning badges to achieving the Eagle rank, the troop offers plenty of opportunities for personal development. The road to Eagle Scout is a long one, but whether or not a scout chooses to pursue the rank of Eagle, the values, skills and experiences gained by participating in scouting stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Founded in 1933 and sponsored by St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, Troop 55 is the largest Boy Scout Troop in the U.S. with 256 registered scouts and 166 registered adults. During the recent school year, Troop 55 celebrated 12 eagle scouts, performed more than 2,200 service hours in the Houston community, awarded 801 merit badges and supported local new troops through donations of time and money. To date, Troop 55 has honored 537 eagle scouts.

For more information, contact Troop 55 Committee Chair Larry Lawyer at tcc@troop55.org or visit www.troop55.org.
Bellaires council unanimously voted to call a $53.98 million bond in November at its council meeting Monday, adding about $13.38 million to what was proposed.

The additional $13.38 million came after council rejected an ordinance calling for $16.45 million in certificates of obligation moments earlier that night. The bond proposal has been in the works since February.

The bond will include $24 million for street, drainage and sidewalk improvements and $5.6 million for the citys ongoing municipal facilities project. That $5.6 million will add to the to the $13 million in bonds approved by voters in 2013 for the municipal facilities project.

A third category for water and waste water improvements is set to cost $24.38 million. The total includes a $12.8 million contract with Siemens Industry, Inc. as well as $11.58 million for a water and waste water line replacement program.

Voters will not vote on the bond package as a whole but rather will vote on each of the three categories separately, according to City Manager Paul Hofmann.

Certificates of Obligation

Council members were initially set to vote on issuing certificates of obligation for the Seimens contract and water and waste water line replacement program. Certificates of obligation allow cities like Bellaire to sell bonds without a voter referendum, curtailing more cumbersome procedures, according to the Texas Local Government Code.

But some city council members wanted to avoid issuing certificates of obligation, with Mayor Andrew Friedberg saying he preferred the option with the better possible outcome for residents. With a certificate of obligation, residents are able to sign a petition that would eventually force the issuance of the certificate of obligation bond to a vote.

Which potential outcome is actually worse? If we were to go the CO route and have it kicked back, now we find ourselves past deadlines to call an election, Friedberg said. If we go the general obligation route, and the voters reject that  the rejection of a bond on the 2016 November ballot would not prohibit us from putting it on the ballot for November 2017.

But other city council members were adamant about passing the certificates of obligation, including Mayor Pro Tem Roman Reed. He contended water and waste water line replacements were a public safety issue and should be left up to council to decide.

I am not going to go to the voters on this issue and have it go down on us, Reed said. Im not.

Bond Projects

The projects will bolster infrastructure needs in the city, Hofmann said in previous Examiner articles.

Hofmann said he would not speculate about the outcome of the bond election come November but feels the number of dollars in the bond is an appropriate amount.

Of the total bond package, Hofmann said only a portion of the water line replacement, street and drainage, and sidewalk will be used in FY 2017.

If all goes well in November for the bond, council would sell its first bonds in January 2017 for the municipal facilities project. Hofmann said that project is set to begin construction in the spring 2017.

The city now has a total of $77 million in outstanding debt as a result of bonds, according to Hofmann, not including the proposed $53.98 million.

Election Day is Nov. 8.
Special Olympics of Texas will be taking this years Five-O 5K Run and Law Enforcement Torch Run to honor fallen Bellaire officer Anthony Marco Zarate.

The annual event, slated for 9 a.m. Oct. 29 at Houstons Stude Park, will commemorate Zarate, who died in July following a short police chase near Bellaire.

He really touched the lives of athletes who are involved with us, the runs development director Laila Zaka said. His work ethic and making sure he was able to help out with anything and everything from fundraising events that ranged from a three-hour event to a five-hour event, he really made himself available both for athletes and volunteer services. We felt like it was something that we needed to do.

Zarate had completed a routine traffic stop near Meyerland Plaza when employees of the Target in the shopping center flagged him down and reported a theft, police said. Zarate tried to pull over the suspects in the plaza parking lot, but they two took off.

Zarate pursued the vehicle. He turned onto the 8500 block of Ferris Drive toward Beechnut Street and crashed into the parked trailer.

When officers arrived, Zarate was unconscious and not breathing. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

Zarate was dedicated to helping Special Olympics of Texas with events, Zaka said. Upon Zarates death, Special Olympics of Texas released a statement saying Zarate helped with events that helped contribute more than $1 million to the organization.

He truly loved our athletes, the statement said, and felt honored to be a tiny part of their successes, accomplishments and celebrations.

The event is open to the public. To register, visit www.sotx.org.
The floodwaters that inundated the region this past April and May caused an incredible amound of damage.

With flooded homes and cars and at least eight deaths, Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director Mike Talbott focused on the April Day flood while speaking to the assembled members of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce last week.

Floods are not something new, he said. Its not global warming.

Talbott provided a bit of historical context for what Harris County has done over the years to address flooding.

When first catalogued, Harris County had 800 miles of channels which helped flood waters flow through the area.

Now we have 2,500 miles of channels, Talbott said.

In 1908, it was recommended that channels be made that were four feet wide and four feet deep. In 1940, the Buffalo Bayou Texas Definite Project Plan led to the creation of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs.

Harris County Flood Control was created in 1937 to address growth and flooding in the region.

In 1957, Talbott said, it was declared that within five years, the County will have control of floods.

Recent floods show that statement never met fruition.

In the Tax Day flood, areas of Harris County received more than 16 inches of rain in a 12-hour period. Waller County was hit much harder, with at least one area getting a reported 23.5 inches of rain in 14 hours.

Talbott reported that it took 80 days to empty the Addicks and Barker reservoirs. He said there were more than 40,000 cars flooded, 9,840 homes flooded and 44 counties had declared disasters.

Sixty percent of the homes flooded were outside the 100-year flood plain, Talbott said.

What the Flood Control District is doing now to help fight future floods is buying homes that face repeated flooding and channelizing bayous to help them further assist with getting water to flow out of the region.

There are about 2,800 homes bought out in the watersheds since 1989, Talbott said.

He also said about $310 million has been spent to improve flow through Brays Bayou, with another $90 projected to be spent.

For more information on the Harris County Flood Control District, go to www.hcfcd.org.

The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerces next scheduled luncheon is Thursday, Sept. 8, at Raveneux Country Club. The guest speaker is scheduled to be Texas Railroad Commission Commissioner Ryan Sitton. For more information, go to www.houstonnwchamber.org.
There are more than two dozen alleged child sex predators offline right now thanks to the efforts of the Texas Attorney General's Office and the Harris County Sheriff's Office High Tech Crime Unit.

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced today the arrest of 25 suspected child predators following a joint operation led by the Harris County Sheriffs Office High Tech Crime Unit (HTCU) and assisted by the attorney generals Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU).
With the long Labor Day weekend quickly approaching, the Harris County Precinct 1 Constables Office will once again conducting a special initiative to get drunk drivers off the streets.

More than two dozen deputies, working in concert with personnel from other agencies, will be on a special lookout for signs of driving under the influence in neighborhoods across the region.
Senior State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-District 133, is pushing for criminal justice reform in the upcoming legislative session.

Murphy highlighted his desire to revive bills that died in the 84th Legislature, including the ability for small cities to regulate where registered sex offenders are allowed to live.

Currently, only home-rule cities are allowed to do that - bigger cities like Houston. But general-rule cities, like the Memorial Villages, are not allowed to keep registered sex offenders away from certain areas like playgrounds or youth centers.

Large cities have that ability, Murphy said. Small cities dont, so we want to make that fair.

Murphy authored House Bill 1872 in 2015 which he said would have made it legal for the smaller cities to pass ordinances regulating where sex offenders live, but that bill died before House members could vote on it.

Habitual Criminals Bill

In a more contentious fight, Murphy said he wants to also re-address a career criminals bill that targets those convicted of multiple misdemeanors.

Murphys 2015 bill, HB 191, would have increased the punishment range for someone charged with a Class A or Class B misdemeanor - who was also previously convicted of two or more Class A or Class B misdemeanors - up to one year in jail but no less than 180 days. The bill would have also increased the fine for such offense up to $4,000 but no less than $2,000.

Current, a person facing a Class A misdemeanor who was previously convicted of a Class A misdemeanor faces 90 days to one year in jail and a possible fine not to exceed $4,000. A person facing a Class B misdemeanor who was previously convicted of either a Class A or Class B misdemeanor faces 90 to 180 days in jail and a possible fine not to exceed $2,000.

Murphys HB 191 died in committee.

It is possible for someone who is facing a state-jail felony drug possession charge to plead guilty to a Class A misdemeanor. If that person was convicted of the state-jail felony three times, and was charged with any other felony again, the punishment range would jump to 25 years to life in prison.

But Murphy said because criminals are able to plead felonies down to misdemeanors, their punishment range does not exceed one year in jail.

You have people commit multiple misdemeanors, because they learn that if you commit three felonies, you get (up to) a life sentence, Murphy said. If you keep pleading them down and taking deals, theyll never cross that threshold.

Murphy contended there was opposition to the bill in 2015 on multiple fronts, and he expects to face that same opposition again in 2017.

Thats not real popular in the sense that some people dont want to punish people more, and some people dont want to increase our cost, Murphy said.

If we could make it a rifle shot, very specific criterion for a specific number of people that are preying on society, I think well be successful.

Re-entry Help

During the interim, Murphys corrections committee, which he chairs, has been looking into how different states handle re-entering convicts into society, and whether or not the way Texas handles a criminals re-entry is adequate and economically sound.

In the past, weve been very good about punishing people, Murphy said. We send them to their confinement, and they do their X years. Then they get paroled, or they serve their time and get out. How different are you now, other than being older? Did we get your education finished while you were in there? Did we give you some career training? Did we help you with your drug addiction or alcohol problems or anger management?

Murphys not planning on filing a bill on this, but he hopes a fellow House member would after his committee on corrections files its interim report on re-entry.

Were trying to figure out whats the best way to help these people get back into society, Murphy said. Do we just take our hands off and just say see ya, or are we to keep you under the thumb of the state and make you check in every now and then?

There could be opposition to a more intensive re-entry program for criminals, Murphy said. But he believes the fiscal impact of more re-entry programs, rather than more confinement for criminals, could pay off in more ways than one.

Think about the societal savings. No more crime victims, Murphy said, claiming community supervision costs about $50 less per day than confinement. If I can now take that six months where you would have been confined and turn it into a year of supervision with programs, its actually cheaper.

Committee Assignments

Most representatives and senators will receive their 85th Legislature committee assignments later this fall or into the winter.

Murphy, a representative for West Houston since 2006, said he feels comfortable on the Houses Ways and Means committee but would accept any assignment thrown his way, especially as a chair of one of the Houses more than 60 committees.

Ive enjoyed the work Ive done, Murphy said. Ive been on a lot of different committees over the years. I see myself as a utility infielder to where (Speaker of the House Joe Straus) will put me where he thinks Ill best be able to help Texas.

Murphy will join his colleagues in the 85th Legislature in January 2017.
The school bell is about to ring for more than 30,000 of Spring Branch ISD students, and the districts superintendent is hoping this year will be one like no other.

Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri spoke with The Examiner Aug. 9 and said outlined his vision for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year and talked about the districts District of Innovation classification.

The questions and answers have been edited for clarity.

EX: How do you feel about this upcoming school year?

SM: Im incredibly excited about the new year. We spent last year, the 2015-2016 school year, really doing a lot of internal reflection. Who are we? What are as a district? How can we improve? We put together a pretty powerful strategic plan, leveraged a new opportunity called the District of Innovation at the state level. We have the right ingredients in place to do some amazing work for kids. Im incredibly excited about not only what the coming year has in store but the coming years. Im looking forward to a really good journey for our kids.

EX: How are District of Innovation policies going to be implemented this year? What sort of changes are you hoping to make, if any?

SM: The first thing that our board did was put together a pretty transparent policy development process. That piece is now in place for our board. They were excited about that, and I think thats really powerful for our community. As we begin our work, its really to find as we do good work for kids, what are the barriers that stand in our way from a policy or legal perspective that allow us to do really good work for kids. When we find those barriers, the District of Innovation process simply allows us to remove those barriers to do good work for kids. Thats really our pathway forward as we continue to create better academic environments for all the students that we serve. When we find something thats stopping us or preventing us in moving forward, we have the District of Innovation process that can simply remove whatever piece might be in the way. Thats how well use it, not only this year but in the many years to come.

EX: Is this year going to be an observation year for the District of Innovation policy?

SM: Well begin to implement this year. We spent last year observing and certainly discovered the great things that are happening in our district. We also discovered some areas for improvement, so this year well begin working on those areas of improvement. Again, as we find something thats standing in the way for the improvement that we want to make, thats the point at which we would pull out our District of Innovation opportunity and then use that to remove the law or policy. This is a year of implementation.

EX: SBISD School Board President Karen Peck was recently appointed as director of Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards. Is there anything you would like to say about her accomplishment?

SM: Karen is a great individual filled with integrity. Shell be a wonderful representative for not only our school district but our entire community as she takes on this new role. Im excited for her, because other people get to experience her leadership and her wisdom. Its a win for Karen but also a win for the district and our entire community. Its a great opportunity for her. A really, really powerful opportunity.

EX: Your district is a District of Innovation this year and Mrs. Peck was appointed to the Association. Are there any other accolades SBISD is opening up the 2016-17 school year with?

SM: One of our elementary teachers of the year for the coming year, she was one of the top five finalists for our regional teacher of the year. Spring Branch hasnt had somebody make the finals position in several years, so thats a real big plus. It speaks well to the quality and caliber of teachers we have in our system. With the whole strategic planning process, we put together last year a very powerful and dynamic strategic plan. Were excited about that and the role of that. As our teachers and principals and community begins to really work on that strategic plan to make a positive impact upon our kids, Im excited about that opportunity.

EX: The Board of Trustees had a retreat recently with the Center for Reform of School Systems (CRSS). How was that?

SM: Good. CRSS is an organization that provides school board training on the reform governance process. Im actually familiar with their work from my time in Charlotte as well as in Fulton. Both school boards in Charlotte, North Carolina and then the Fulton County Schools were trained with the reform governance practices from CRSS. It was nice to come into a system that follows that same line of thinking. It was a really great retreat. Its a wonderful opportunity for a brand new school board member to really understand the role of governance that a board plays. There are lots of misconceptions about what the purpose of the school board member within a role of the board actually is in a large organization such as ours. This retreat really helps brand new board members understand their role as an individual board member but also their role collectively as a full board. It was a very healthy experience for our board members.

EX: Is there anything else you want to add?

SM: I want to make sure that new parents in the community, make sure you register your children for the first day of school. Some folks wait till the last minute. I just encourage people to stop by their schools and make sure you get your registration complete so that on the first day of school, on Aug. 22, that all of our kids are ready to go. Were prepared for them. To leverage the word preparedness, I think its important for our community to know that we are ready for the 35,700 kids that we anticipate serving on Aug. 22. We as a school district are excited about what the year has in store. Were anxious to welcome everybody back and look forward to an amazing 2016-2017 school year.
Theres a big question hanging out there.

Its being discussed over coffee and pastries in chamber of commerce meeting rooms. Its being explored in small-town city council offices and in suburban office parks. Its weighing on the minds of political, business and civic leaders from Conroe to Clear Lake, from Pasadena to Pearland.

What do millennials want?

Do they want coffee shops with bike racks out front? Cheap ethnic restaurants within walking distance of their apartments? Running trails winding along streams? Workplaces where they can wear T-shirts and play Foosball during breaks?

Or, as more of them shift from their 20s to their 30s and start thinking about having kids, do they want a lifestyle that resembles that of their parents  an affordable single-family home in a safe suburb with good schools?

In Fort Bend County earlier this month, more than 250 business and community leaders and citizens discussed this topic during a conference organized by the Houston Business Journal. The paper reported that Jeff Wiley, head of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, had expressed concern about the fast-growing countys rising median age (its now 35, a bit below the national median).

Were always looking for millennial attraction points, Wiley said.

Its not hard to see why. Millennials, aged 19-34 this year, recently surpassed baby boomers as the nations largest living generation, 75 million strong. Most of their productive lives  economically, creatively, culturally  still lie ahead of them. They are essential to keeping communities vital and flourishing.

Their dominance in the workplace is already evident and set to become more so as boomers exit the job market, said Brian Bondy, the president of the Conroe-Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce.

As suburban communities compete with cities and with one another for this coveted demographic, any discussion of strategy inevitably becomes entangled with a broader debate: Is the great American suburban migration giving way to a new urban ascendancy? Or are suburbs and exurbs retaining their primacy?

Rejecting the narrative

Joel Kotkin, a writer who often praises the Houston area growth model, consistently pushes back against the narrative of Americans fleeing suburbs and flocking to urban cores. In a piece for the Los Angeles Daily News last April, Kotkin noted that the millennial population expanded by 61 percent in a suburban area known as the Inland Empire between 2000 and 2014, compared to 14 percent in Los Angeles County.

Others argue that millennials often live in the suburbs because thats where their jobs or families happen to be, or where they can find affordable homes, rather than because the suburbs offer the lifestyle they prefer. While it is a statistical fact that more Americans are still moving to the suburbs than to inner cities, it is a mistake to assume that means they all want to do so, Ben Adler wrote at Grist.org last March.

Ali Hasanali, a 27-year-old attorney, was born and raised in Sugar Land, where he still lives. His law office is in Stafford, but he doesnt hang out in Fort Bend County during his leisure hours.

The biggest problem in the suburban counties is there are not a lot of good options for young adults to gather and meet each other, Hasanali told me. Theres not really a walking culture. Even though I live and work out here, Ill go into the city after work to meet friends.

Hasanali says friends who are a bit older, and starting families, may be looking for starter homes in Fort Bend County, but they struggle to find affordable houses that dont require long commutes to their jobs.

Some friends who recently married, he said, intend to live in a townhouse in Midtown in Houston until their children are school age, then move back out to the suburbs and buy a single-family house.

No magic bullet

So, whats the magic bullet for attracting and retaining millenials? There probably isnt one, says Kyle Shelton, a program manager and fellow at Rice Universitys Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

I think you can overprioritize millennials, says Shelton. A strategy to develop neighborhoods with a broad mix of uses and amenities will appeal to young people and others, he says, and ultimately will be more sustainable than a single-minded focus on the 34-and-younger cohort.

In other words, a little something for everyone. Its a reassuring idea for those of us who havent seen 34 in quite a while but arent quite ready for the rocking chair.
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Four men, including a 10-year veteran with the Sugar Land Police Department, are facing charges of Engaging in Organized Crime. They were arrested Wednesday, Aug. 31, in Fort Bend and Brazoria counties and are accused of stealing cattle, farm equipment and other items.

The men  Sugar Land Police Officer William Allen, Myles Wallace, Justin Sessums and Leon Washington, Jr.  were booked into the Fort Bend County Jail. As of Thursday, Allen had been released on $50,000 bail. Washington and Sessums remain in jail with their bail set at $50,000 each while Wallaces bail is set at $75,000.

Last year, the investigation into the men took a path through Liberty County.

Deputy Paul Young with the Liberty County Sheriffs Criminal Interdiction Unit recalls conducting a traffic stop involving the men on US 59.

We stopped four guys on the freeway. One guy was driving a tractor trailer and the others were following in a rental car. They got off the highway when I got behind them, said Young, adding that this made him very suspicious.

After the vehicles were stopped alongside the road, Young approached the rental car. He said he detected the scent of marijuana from inside the car, so a further search was initiated. During the search, he claims he found a stolen handgun and four large key rings fitting every imaginable make and model of tractor, lawnmower and farm equipment.

At that point, we ran the plates on the 18-wheeler and found it was stolen out of Harris County the night before. We also found their stories werent matching up about where they were going and where they had been, he said.

After learning that the men were the subject of an investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safetys Auto Theft Division, the four men were released, but the alleged stolen items were seized, according to Young.

The investigators with DPS knew these guys. They had been investigating them for a year and thought they might be part of a bigger operation, he said. Once we got with DPS, we found out that a Sugar Land police officer was accused of running the information about the stolen equipment through police computers ... Everything in these computers leaves a trail.

According to Doug Adolth, spokesperson for the Sugar Land Police Department, Allen is currently on leave pending the outcome of criminal proceedings and the departments own internal affairs investigation.

The sheriffs offices from Liberty, Fort Bend and Brazoria counties, and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Rangers assisted DPS with its investigation.

Calls were made to the Fort Bend County District Attorneys Office for more information, but those calls were unreturned as of Thursday afternoon.
WASHINGTON  As U.S. House Republicans were involved in one of their most notable faceoffs of the summer, something felt amiss to U.S. Rep. Pete Olson.

During the July House committee hearing, Attorney General Loretta Lynch faced the wrath of Republicans over the Justice Departments decision to not prosecute Democratic presidential nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton amid her email scandal.

Olson, R-Sugar Land, noticed that one key Republican voice was missing: fellow Texan Ted Poe.

Attorney General Lynch has come before this committee and the whole scandal with Mrs. Clinton not being indicted, Olson said of his thinking at the time. This is his bread and butter. He was a judge. Youd think hed be here. If hes not here, something bads happened.

Olsons instincts were right. A day later, Poe, R-Humble, announced he was fighting leukemia  a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

When I found out he had cancer, that hit me in my heart, Olson said.

When Poe announced his diagnosis, he said had every intention of defeating cancer and continuing to serve in Congress. And after a summer of treatment, Poe is back in Washington for the September round of legislating.

I feel real good, Poe said on Wednesday, in his most extensive interview since his diagnosis. I do. The treatments are going well. Everything is right where its supposed to be.

While his hair is thinner from chemotherapy these days, his spirits are high. In an interview with The Texas Tribune,he sported the tie color of leukemia awareness  orange  and talked about his battle and the support system he has enjoyed over the last couple of months.

After Poe was diagnosed with leukemia, his Washington physicians promptly directed him to return to Texas and the worlds most renowned cancer treatment center.

The doctors, of course, said, You need to go back to the best place in the world, he recounted. Its Houston, Texas, MD Anderson.

Oncologists treated him with inpatient chemotherapy intravenously, and hes currently taking the treatment in the form of a pill.

I take a chemo pill everyday, he said. I will forever.

But Poes focus is not just on his own personal battle. He talks about how that its possible to find a cure for cancer, and that access to centers like MD Anderson is key.

I do think we can do it, he said. [MD Anderson is] determined to cure cancer. What members of Congress can do is be supportive, especially [with] research. Its all about research.

Your attitude is as important as the treatment, he added, quoting his oncologists.

Eventually, Poe said, he will take aim at the disease legislatively.

I will get to that when I figure out what the right angle is, he said.

Not every member of Congress opts to fight cancer so publicly. Many choose to tell the world only after he or she is in remission, like Poes Houston colleague, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee,a breast cancer survivor.

But Poe did go public, and the man from Humble said the reaction from colleagues was, well, humbling.

I mean really. I was overwhelmed. Shocked, he said. And humbled by it all because so many people reached out.

It was a bipartisan onslaught of support. Gov. Greg Abbott, former President George W. Bush, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, Olson, U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, and U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif., all reached out, among many other officials.

Jackson Lee put in her call early one morning.

She was just hilarious on the phone, and we had a good time, Poe said.

The pair shares more than just battling cancer: Jackson Lee is an MD Anderson alumna.

I just wanted to hear his voice, make sure he knows he has many friends, she said of her call. If youve experienced chemo, its a certain brotherhood and sisterhood, and you need to know youre going to get through it.

Asked about how the toxic partisan divide of Washington is set aside when cancer comes into play, Jackson Lee responded: We are human. ... As a family from Texas, meaning the members of Congress, I would hope that we could count on each other if we needed each other in times like these.

Olson spent much of his summer taking photos of landmarks in Poes Houston-area district, and in Europe with supportive signs and an orange #TeamPoe wristband.

In an interview Wednesday off the House chamber floor, Olson brandished his bracelet and an orange leukemia pin he wore just below his member pin.

Poes staff created the hashtag and the wristbands. Soon, members of Congress, state politicians, Texas Capitol Hill staffers and constituents of the Texas 2nd Congressional District posted photos on social media with the wristbands.

Elected officials, Texas delegation staffers, and constituents show support for U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, as he battles leukemia. Photos courtesy of Pete Olson and Instagram.

As for Poe, even amid chemotherapy, hes mostly back to business.

Recently, he presided over the House from the speakers chair, and hesback to delivering early morning speecheson the House floor and declaring, Thats just the way it is.

And cancer is not keeping him away from his favorite issue: victims rights.

During his career as a judge, Poe doled out what was known as Poetic Justice, unorthodox punishments intended to shame predators.

Just before Congress returned to Washington, Poe was his old self. He took to Twitter to savage Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer who served three months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

Martha Stewart served 5 mo.for lying to Fed investigators about a stock sale. Brock Turner served 3 #StanfordRapist, Poe wrote, among many other tweets.

Asked about the tweets, he laughed.

Were not done with him yet, and that judge, too.

Disclosure: M.D. Anderson has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune.A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewedhere.

Read related coverage from the Tribune:

Texansfind friendshipsacross the aisle in Washington.

Poeannounced in Julyhe has leukemia.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org/2016/09/16/congressman-ted-poe-and-his-friends-unleash-leukem.
HOUSTON - A total of five Houston-area drug traffickers are in custody on allegations they were involved in the large-scale distribution of methamphetamine in the Tomball and Pinehurst areas, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

A federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment Aug. 18 against Tomball resident German Rodriguez, 24; Mexican national Bernabe Lopez-Olmos, 28, residing in Tomball; Carlos Garcia-Luna, 51, and Julia Cerna-Compean, 50, both legal permanent residents from Mexico residing in Magnolia; and Cristobal Martinez-Chavez, 43, a Mexican national residing in Houston.

The indictment was unsealed as to each defendant upon their arrest.

Garcia-Luna and Cerna-Compean were taken into custody Friday and are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Wm. Smith at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities arrested Rodriguez and Martinez-Chavez on Thursday. They appeared in court today, at which time they were ordered into custody pending a detention hearing on Sept. 7 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson.

Lopez-Olmos was already in custody on related charges.

All are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine as well as with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that between October 2014 and December 2015 the defendants distributed more than seven kilograms of actual methamphetamine.

If convicted, each faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million fine.

The Drug Enforcement Administration-High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area drug squad conducted the investigation along with the Texas Department of Public Safety-Methamphetamine Initiative Group, police departments in Tomball and Houston and the Montgomery County Pct. 5 Constables Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anibal J. Alaniz is prosecuting the case.
U.S. Rep. John Culberson (Texas District 7) visited the Johnson Space Center on Tuesday and participated in a roundtable conversation with aerospace executives at the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP) to discuss future NASA missions and commercial crew, his Space Leadership Preservation Act, and NASA funding in the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill.

Culberson also met with Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa and received updates on the International Space Station, the Orion program and proving ground missions.

It was great to have Congressman Culberson meet with our aerospace executives. His influence as chairman of the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee is vital to the future of the NASA Johnson Space Center. The congressmans continued efforts to increase NASAs overall budget brings stability and continuity to NASA and human space exploration, said Bob Mitchell, president of BAHEP.

The Johnson Space Center has been a Houston icon for more than fifty years and Im extremely proud of the work they do. The work being done at JSC today will continue to push the boundaries of space, Culberson said.

"We appreciate Congressman Culbersons continued strong support and enthusiasm for human space exploration. During his visit to the Johnson Space Center, we discussed the progress in all of our human space flight programs, and also visited the unique extraterrestrial materials curation facility, said Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Director of Johnson Space Center.

Culberson stressed the importance of the Texas Congressional Space Caucus, which he recently co-founded with Rep. Brian Babin.

The Texas delegation has always been proud of Texas role in space exploration. As we face uncertainty with a new administration, this caucus will help the Texas delegation support JSC and Texas robust space industry, NASAs Johnson Space Center and Texas Members, Culberson said. I look forward to Dr. Ochoas speech to the caucus in D.C. next week.

Culberson appropriated a record $19.5 billion for NASA in his fiscal year 2017 Commerce, Justice and Science bill, which passed out of full committee in June of this year.
Two people were arrested on drug charges Thursday afternoon in Cleveland after an anonymous tip led police to a home.

According to Sgt. James Slack, spokesman for the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, the tipster advised that traffic had been coming and going from the property, in the 11600 block of Warner Road, at all hours of the day and night.
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A Baytown man was electrocuted when his dump truck hit overhead power lines Thursday morning in Liberty County. The incident happened around 9:45 a.m. near the intersection of CR 2108 and SH 105 near Moss Hill.

The driver is identified as Thomas Mendoza Jr., 25, of Baytown. He was electrocuted when he touched a portion of the truck.

Other persons were seen pulling Mendoza's badly burned body away from the truck as its tires began to explode. A short distance away, they began to perform CPR on Mendoza until paramedics with Liberty County EMS arrived to take over.

Mendoza was taken to Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

Jesse Gutierrez, another truck driver who was on the scene, said Mendoza was en route to the Liberty Materials facility on CR 2107. Sand from the facility is trucked to places all over the Houston area. Mendoza was picking up a load that was destined for a concrete facility in Houston.

Gutierrez, who has been a truck driver for 20 years, says it is important for truck drivers to pay attention to what is overhead.

"You always have to pay attention to what is about you," he said.

At the time of the accident, Mendoza's dump truck was raised in the unloading position.

Firefighters from Hardin Volunteer Fire Department worked to extinguish the blaze. Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Stephen Hebert conducted an inquest and has ordered an autopsy.
San Jacinto College recently hosted the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) annual conference, attracting automotive technology educators from America, Canada, Australia and several European nations.

The weeklong conference featured 144 sessions that covered teaching methods designed to train students to perform virtually every type of automotive diagnostics and repair work, changing tires, electronic trouble shooting, working on brakes, transmissions, hydraulics, exhaust systems, etc.

Educators at the conference learned about emerging technology in the automotive industry. Incorporated in 1977, NACAT provides resources for improving automotive education among high schools, colleges and technical schools.

Presenter Jack Rosebro, a veteran automotive educator and author from Los Angeles, talked about autonomous, or self-driving vehicle technology. His presentation chronicled the evolution of self-driving cars from their early beginnings up to the recent ramp-up in development, including the development of Googles Self-Driving Car. All major vehicle manufacturers are working on self-driving cars or commercial vehicles, with 2020 being the most common target date for Level 4 (fully autonomous) self-driving car commercialization. The presentation covered 360-degree 3-D camera imaging, software, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, cloud-based data and other developments that indicate deep shifts within the automotive industry.

Longtime Canadian automotive educator Alan Nagel talked about new developments in electric vehicle technology, with a focus on the Chevrolet Volt, an extended range electric/hybrid vehicle that runs on an electric charge and generates additional energy through a gas-powered generator when the battery runs out. GM made significant improvements from the first Volt model, introduced in 2011, to the newest 2016 Gen 2 model. Thanks to innovations in battery technology and other developments, the Gen 2 Volt has a greater all-electric range, improved gas mileage, more seating capacity and cargo space, a lighter weight, quieter ride and improved acceleration. Nagel also talked about the Chevrolet Bolt, a new all-electric vehicle that will be available in late 2016. A highlight of the Bolt will be new battery technology that extends the range to over 200 miles between charges.

San Jacinto College automotive technology instructors attended the conference, benefitting from expertise shared by industry experts. Our automotive technology instructors are all skilled, veteran educators who also have plenty of experience in the industry, commented Jeffrey Parks, San Jacinto College Central Campus dean of business and technology. Yet, it greatly benefits our students for our instructors to attend such a prestigious event like the NACAT conference so the instructors can keep up with the latest trends and developments in the ever-changing automotive field, and pass along their knowledge to our students.

At the conferences concluding ceremony, San Jacinto College automotive technology student Cesar Hernandez received a $1,000 scholarship based on his performance in the Colleges GM training program. Hernandez is on track to earn an automotive technology associate degree from San Jacinto College next spring, with plans to transfer to Texas A&M University to pursue a bachelors degree in engineering.

Hernandez enjoys automotive technology because it requires both mental and manual skills. I love anything mechanical, he commented. Working on cars is not a walk in the park. It is not only challenging, it also requires a lot of intuition.

San Jacinto College offers automotive technology courses and degree plans at the Central Campus transportation center. To learn more, please visit sanjac.edu/career/automotive-technology
Some local community colleges are urging their students to beware of scammers attempting to swindle them out of hard-earned cash.

The IRS recently issued a warning to taxpayers about reports of phone calls from scammers pretending to be agents of the revenue service. The callers demand payment for a nonexistent tax, the Federal Student Tax.

Although area community colleges arent aware of any of their students being victims of the scam, several are joining the IRS in trying to get the word out about the issue. At least two local colleges have distributed notices warning students of the scam.

College of the Mainland has taken steps to notify students through all college media/social media outlets, said Rodney Allbright, the colleges president. Another notification will be sent as a follow-up reminder.

On June 8, San Jacinto Colleges financial aid department emailed students enrolled in the colleges summer term about the scam. The U.S. Department of Education had notified the college about the IRS warning, said Amanda Fenwick, vice president of marketing and public relations at San Jacinto College, which has campuses in South Belt and Pasadena.

Neither of the community colleges was aware if scammers have attempted sucker any of their students into paying the fake tax.

As of Sept. 15, officials at the University of Houston-Clear Lake had not heard reports from residents concerning the scam. A representative with Pasadena City College was not familiar with the scam and didnt have knowledge if any of the colleges students have been contacted by phone scammers. Attempts to reach representatives with Alvin Community College were unsuccessful.

The IRS says the agency has received reports of the scam from students nationwide. If the targets do not fall for the scheme, the scammers threaten to report the students to law enforcement, according to a news release issued by the IRS.

This isnt the first time this year scammers have attempted to coerce money out of taxpayers. According to the IRS, scam artists often pretend to be revenue service agents, a tax company and sometimes a state revenue department. Scammers regularly use threats to bully people into paying a tax bill.

And scammers use varied tactics. Some of the schemes used this year, according to the IRS, include scammers demanding immediate tax payment for taxes owed on iTunes gift cards, soliciting W-2 information from payroll and human resources professionals, asking taxpayers to verify tax return information over the phone and pretending to be from the tax preparation industry.

These scams and schemes continue to evolve nationwide, and now theyre trying to trick students, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a press release.

The IRS offers guidelines to help prevent taxpayers from becoming victims of telephone scammers. First and foremost, taxpayers should know that the revenue service will never call to demand immediate payment over the phone. Before the IRS makes any phone calls, the agency will mail out bills to taxpayers.

Also, the IRS will not threaten to involve local police or other law-enforcement groups to make arrests for nonpayment. Neither will the agency demand anyone pay taxes without giving persons the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed, nor will it require anyone to use a particular payment method, such as a prepaid debit card for owed taxes or ask for credit or debit card number over the phone.

If students or anyone else receive a phone call claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, according to the IRS, the first thing they should do is hang up without giving out any information.

Anyone who suspects being contacted by a scammer should report it to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration by calling 800-366-4484 or by filling out an IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting form at www.treasury.gov.

Scams also may be reported to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting www.ftc.gov and clicking on File a Consumer Complaint. Those filing a complaint through the FTC website should be sure and add IRS Telephone Scam in the forms notes section.

Those who think they may actually owe taxes are advised to check with the IRS first. The IRS can be reached at 800-829-1040.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today toured the Port of Houston and participated in a roundtable discussion with Port of Houston Authority (PHA) officials, in which he discussed the ports remarkable job creation and its powerful economic role in Texas and in the nation.

Following his tour and roundtable with the PHA, Sen. Cruz met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers for a briefing on security measures and border patrol operations within the port.

Sen. Cruz also took an aerial tour of the Houston Ship Channel with U.S. Coast Guard officers and discussed their critical role in both port security and economic growth.

Houston continues to be the epicenter of good paying jobs and economic prosperity, and a vibrant and thriving Port of Houston is a critical engine for that economic growth, Sen. Cruz said. Not only is the port a catalyst for Texas robust economy, it is also central to our national security and the safety of every American. Im grateful for the hard work of each and every person at the port, and Im proud to continue working with the Port of Houston Authority, CBP officers, and the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure this port remains a strong economic driver for our state and for the country.

The Port of Houston is home to the largest petrochemical complex in the United States. The port provides over 2 million jobs to hardworking Americans and contributes nearly $620 billion in economic activity. In Texas alone, the port is responsible for over 1 million jobs and has a statewide economic impact of nearly $265 billion.
NORFOLK, Va. - A 2013 Deerpark South Campus High School graduate and Pasadena, Texas native is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Gunston Hall.

Midshipman 1st Class Jacob Woolman is a midshipman aboard the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship operating out of Norfolk, Virginia.

A Navy midshipman is responsible for developing Navy knowledge and experience while home from college during the summer.

I've been following the auxiliary officer, and I've been following a division officer around, said Woolman. It is good to observe the interaction between enlisted and officers. It has been helpful to observe a ship that is pier side working up to get underway. It is a side of the Navy life that we don't hear as much about.

Commissioned in 1989, USS Gunston Hall is 610 feet long. The ship can travel at speed in excess of 20 nautical miles per-hour.

Gunston Hall is one of eight Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships currently in service. The ships primary purpose is to launch equipment and personnel for amphibious missions.

I am intensely proud of the accomplishments of this crew and our maintenance team, said Cmdr. Eric Lull, commanding officer, USS Gunston Hall. Over the last 20 months, they have made improvements to the ship from stem to stern, and over the last few months specifically, they have brought her back to life. Thanks to their hard work, we are ready to return to sea, and bring Gunston Hall back in to the operational ranks of the fleet.

Approximately 22 officers and 390 enlisted men and women make up the ship's company. Their jobs are highly specialized and keep each part of the ship running smoothly. The jobs range from washing dishes and preparing meals to maintaining engines and handling weaponry.

This is a smaller ship than the carrier I was previously on, said Woolman. It is easier to make connections with this smaller crew and you get more of a feel of the intimate relationship between the junior officers and the rest of the crew.

Although it is difficult for most people to imagine living on a ship, the challenging living conditions build strong fellowship among the crew. The crew is highly motivated, and quickly adapt to changing conditions. It is a busy life of specialized work, watches, and drills.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navys most relied upon assets, Woolman and other Gunston Hall sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.

I think the biggest thing I get from my service in the Navy is that through this role I have the opportunity to help the most people, said Woolman. I've always wanted to be able to teach others and help them and this puts me in a place where I can not only help others directly but on a larger scale as well.
A Deer Park teacher was selected to attend From Colonists to Revolutionaries, a professional development institute sponsored by Humanities Texas and The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Justin Kouba, who teaches U.S. History at Bonnette Junior High School, was among the fifty-two Texas public school teachers invited to the San Antonio institute, which took place from June 12-15.

The program consisted of three days of dynamic presentations and small-group seminars, studying topics such as European exploration and colonization of North America, the economic life of the British Colonies, the development of representative government and political institutions, the situation of American Indians during the colonial and revolutionary periods and the history of Texas during the Mexican national and revolutionary periods.

Alan Taylor, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the University of Virginia, delivered the institutes keynote presentation, surveying the history of North America in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Other program faculty included Jesus F. de la Teja of Texas State University; Alex Hidalgo, Bill Meier, Gene Smith and Ken Stevens of Texas Christian University; Woody Holton of the University of South Carolina; Virginia Lunsford of the U.S. Naval Academy; James Kirby Martin of the University of Houston; Steven Boyd, Pat Kelly, and Omar Valerio-Jimenez of The University of Texas at San Antonio, David Narrett of The University of Texas at Arlington; Cynthia Kierner of George Mason University and Alan Tully of The University of Texas at Austin.

I was reminded that students need to look at history in context, said Kouba. A great way to do so is looking at primary resources. Students need to look at the actual documents themselves and pull out truths and observations as they investigate.

Humanities Texas was pleased to cosponsor From Colonists to Revolutionaries, said Executive Director Michael L. Gillette. Giving talented teachers the opportunity to interact with their peers and leading scholars will enable them to engage students with exciting new perspectives on our nations history.

From Colonists to Revolutionaries was made possible with support from the State of Texas and the National Endowment for the Humanities and in part with a generous grant from the Pulitzer Centennial Campfire Initiatives.

Humanities Texas is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its mission is to advance education through programs that improve the quality of classroom teaching, support libraries and museums and create opportunities for lifelong learning for all Texans.

For more information about Humanities Texas, visit www.humanitiestexas.org. For information about The University of Texas at San Antonio, visit www.utsa.edu.
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A planned 40-acre retail development in Deer Park is expected to created 250 jobs and generate nearly $40 million in property and sales tax revenue over 15 years, and city officials hope it will become a mecca for shoppers in the region including La Porte and Pasadena.

The deal became official on Sept. 6 when the Deer Park City Council approved an agreement with Cencor, a Dallas-based company, regarding a proposed 300,000-square-foot, mixed-use development named Junction at Deer Park that expands on an H-E-B store at Spencer Highway and East Boulevard and will include retail businesses adjacent to the grocery.

The arrangement with Deer Park is a Chapter 380 Economic Development Program Agreement, which authorizes cities to create a development program in which a municipality uses public funds for grants to promote economic development and create jobs.

Per the agreement, the city will pay an estimated $4.2 million in grant reimbursements to Cencor for water, sewer, sanitation and traffic improvements dependent on completion of public infrastructure improvements, the number of jobs created and an increase in sales and property tax resulting from the project.

The project will be constructed in phases over several years. The first phase was launched when the grocery opened in November.

The 83,000-square-foot store shifted the citys retail landscape, said Debbie Westbeld, Deer Parks economic development administrator.

Someone told me yesterday that the H-E-B at Center at Pasadena used to be the heart of Deer Park, the main intersection, she said. That heart is moving east of Spencer; so youre just seeing the main focus of town move a little east.

It will create so many more options for people to shop and not having to into and spend their tax dollars in another city anymore, Westbeld said. We know our sales tax revenue is going to grow and makes for a better quality of life for everybody.

City officials hope the Junction development will attract several big box retail tenants similar to Pasadenas Fairway Plaza on Fairmont in Pasadena.

For nearly 20 years, Fairway Plaza at 5680 West Fairmont Parkway has been the most centrally located, go-to multiretail development for shoppers in Pasadena, Deer Park and La Porte.

Construction on the Junction will shift the citys retail and economic landscape.

When Walmart opened 15 years ago, it was a boost for Deer Park shoppers, and The Junction, encompassing H-E-B, will be an even greater benefit to area consumers and the citys economic base, said Tim Culp, president and CEO of the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce, who credited the city and its economic development department for their role in the Junction plan.

Its going to keep residents from Deer Park from having to drive outside of Deer Park, he said. Its just going to be more convenient and more centrally located for residents of Deer Park and La Porte. Where people would pass through our city to go shop somewhere else to get the items they were looking for, now theyre going to be able to stop and spend their dollars here in Deer Park. Thats a huge economic impact.

The approval of this agreement will have a huge impact on our citys future, stimulating job creation and commercial activity, Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. said.

According to Westbeld, Cencor approached the city about investing in the undeveloped land, which is across the street from Walmart. The possibility for developing the land had been limited unless a developer was willing to invest in infrastructure, Westbeld said.

Our charter allows us to partner with a developer in that way and help them with the public infrastructure cost, she said.

The city cannot assist with anything that isnt related to public infrastructure.

The Junction is not the first Deer Park retail project developed by Cencor, which develops similar retail centers in communities throughout Texas and recently bought property near Katy for a planned development and opened a store near the Galleria.

The company played a role about 10 years ago in establishing Deer Park Station, a strip of retail and food chains anchored by Walmart at the Spencer Highway-East Boulevard intersection.

Junction will be in a prime spot, said JoBeth Prochaska, Cencors Houstons senior vice president of development and asset management.

This strong location offers Cencor and H-E-B the benefit of a fast-growing market with strong incomes and job and population growth, she said.
Sunny Mohammed was recalling a customer who recently came into his store with a cell phone he said he bought from him in 2004.

I didnt believe him, Mohammed said.

Looking at the phone, it was clear that the customers phone really was from 2004 and purchased at AB Wireless, just one of Mohammeds several thriving businesses in Pasadena, which includes additional cell phone stores and a car wash.

In those 12 years, Mohammed has not only become a successful entrepreneur, he has become a fixture in his community.

This Wednesday, that community is invited to his second annual Back to School Giveaway, which distributes back packs filled with school supplies to area elementary-school-age students who cannot afford them.

Mohammed collects, pays for and supplies the backpacks and supplies and encourages other area businesses to participate. By generating his own word of mouth on social media, he gives his fellow business owners an opportunity to be a partner in community outreach. Mohammeds business philosophy is simple: good business can be more than monetary.

My concept is to bring everybody together, he said. The only reason I do this on social media is for someone to say Hey, my business is slow, thats a good idea - and at the end of the day, they are helping someone. We spend so much money in advertising because we need customer awareness. So I use that money and do something good with it. That will bring you positive attention.

But as good a businessman as he is, Mohammed wants to be a productive member of his neighborhood, and always tries to do the right thing for those less fortunate.

We have kids in our community that are in need of basic things and so I like to take baby steps and request all my friends in businesses to come together and help me with this event, he said.

With the participation of more than 20 sponsors, consisting of other businesses, Wednesdays event will feature live music, food and fun for families while backpacks are distributed.

This isnt the first giving-back event Mohammed has organized. Last November, he organized the first Thanksgiving Banquet and invited hundreds of area residents for a free meal and to listen to the Latin group, Alazzan.

Before that, he had organized his first back-pack giveaway, and he wanted this year to be bigger - personally ordering a huge surplus of backpacks - Alazzan is back, and the event is more organized.

Mohammed wants to be a positive reinforce of good will. It comes down to priorities, he said.

He recalls last December how one of his customers, a single mother, had no gas due to a leak. It was winter, and she had no running hot water.

Here we are buying these stupid gifts for each other and we dont need it, he said. Mohammed helped find the woman a plumber through social media and helped foot the bill.

We went in there and we found out they hadnt been eating at home, so that was more money out of their limited income, he said.

Originally from Dubai, Mohammed is saddened by what he sees as a sentiment of distrust toward immigrants like himself. That kind of negativity, he said, only profits politicians.

I think people make money off of it, I really do, he said. Lately it has been so much hate, violence and racism in the air but here, in Pasadena, it's not the case. Religion, color has nothing to do with anything.

Ashley Martinez has only been a regular customer at AB Wireless for a few months, but she can already see how Mohammed is causing a ripple-effect of giving back.

Some people are just not as fortunate and I think this is good what hes doing, she said. He has other businesses and he tries to get other people to give back as much as he does.

When some in his family suggested he send money back to his homeland, where peoples needs are just as essential, he tells them that charity begins at home.

That cell phone from 2004 didnt simply make him feel older, it gave him a sense of belonging.

Seeing that phone, I realized that Ive been here that long, he said. This is home and I want to reach out to my family and neighbors here.

The Back to School Giveaway will begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at 137 W. Southmore.
The rapid unraveling of health insurance options for Texans continued last week as three more insurers said they are leaving or considering leaving the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange in the state next year.

This comes less than three days after Aetna, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, announced its exit from the exchange in 11 states, including Texas.

UnitedHealthcare's previous announcement it would not participate in the exchange in 2017 brings the total to at least five.

Last Thursday, the insurance giant Cigna said in an email to the Chronicle it "is in discussions with the Texas Department of Insurance to not participate on the 2017 Texas public marketplace exchange."

Also on Thursday the state insurance department confirmed Humana, another of the nation's largest insurers, had signaled plans to pull out of some Texas counties, including Harris County, next year.

Humana declined to comment, saying it would not "publicly disclose details of its plan offerings for the coming year while they are still under review by regulatory agencies."

Meanwhile, Scott & White, a major regional insurer in Texas, announced on its website Wednesday it, too, is pulling out of the exchange next year.

All of the insurers have cited heavy losses in the plans as the primary reason for leaving the federal exchange, which for 2016 signed up a record 1.3 million Texans. By comparison, roughly 12.6 million Texans were insured through an employer-sponsored plan, according to 2014 figures compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The insurance industry for months has telegraphed its unhappiness with how the Affordable Care Act has unfolded, threatening to abandon the exchanges or significantly raise rates to compensate for the financial hits taken from covering people sicker or using more health care than first anticipated.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, the only carrier in all Texas counties, has asked for a nearly 60 percent rate increase in some of its exchange plans for 2017. A Texas Department of Insurance spokeswoman said that request is still pending.

There appears little doubt that the coming year is shaping up to be a painful one for insurance consumers.

Jason Bohmann, a Houston insurance broker, on Thursday cautioned that "2017 is the year that it completely blows up."

"It might not have been a surprise to see a random national carrier leave, but it is a surprise to see so many departing at once," agreed Michael Morrisey, a professor and head of the health policy and management department at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health.

He speculated there could be the domino effect of adverse selection, where, as one insurer no longer covers heavy users of health care, other insurers fear they will be saddled with picking up the risk, so they leave, too.

The exchange opens for enrollment Nov. 1. Insurance companies have until Sept. 23 to inform the federal government if they will participate.

Scott & White, which does not offer plans in Houston but has a large presence in the smaller towns and rural areas of the state, will continue to offer some individual and family bronze health maintenance organization, or HMO, plans off the exchange, the company said last week.

That means customers can buy the plans either directly from the insurer or through a broker. The company will also offer a bronze preferred provider organization, or PPO, plan option also off-exchange.

"Scott & White Health Plan is committed to offering affordable, quality health insurance options in Texas," Scott & White Health Plan CEO Jeff Ingrum said by email. "We regret that in 2017, we will be unable to offer plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace. We will continue to assess our ability to participate in the future, as this is a changing environment."

By not participating in the exchange, customers will not be eligible for the federal subsidies that lower premium prices.

Cigna, too, in its email last Thursday said it intends to "continue to offer individual and family plans off-exchange, and to be a leading provider of employer-sponsored health plans in the state of Texas."

The Texas Department of Insurance said it is unclear what plans Humana will offer. Humana submitted rate requests for its ACA plans, but it didn't include rates for Harris or several other counties where it currently offers coverage through the exchange. While the company could still submit rates for those counties, it appears Humana intends to narrow its offerings, the insurance department said.

Some policy watchers are especially concerned about the lack of competition taking shape in Texas. Consumer choice and competition were pillars of the Affordable Care Act to keep prices down.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield already is the only insurer on the exchange in roughly 1 in 5 of Texas counties. That number should rise as other carriers drop out.

"In many places in Texas people have one insurance choice and it's an expensive one," said Gary Claxton, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

As other insurers leave the exchange, Morrisey said, consumers could be left with only three choices: pay the high premiums, become uninsured and pay the mandatory penalty, or buy short-term policies that might cover treatments but are not eligible under the health care law so those people would also have to pay the penalty.

Morrisey is especially troubled by the exit of Scott & White.

"This is an organization that understands HMOs in Texas," he said. "The fact that they are saying they can't make money on the exchange says something about the nature of who is enrolling in the exchange plans."

Still, during these turbulent times all may not be as it seems.

Aetna said Monday night it was leaving the exchange because of losses, but the Huffington Post reported soon after that the company's CEO had previously threatened to leave the exchange if the U.S. Department of Justice tried to thwart its controversial merger with Humana.

Opponents of the health care law say the departure of major insurers from the exchange is proof the ACA is failing. Yet at the same time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services points to the success of enrolling nearly 20 million people in health insurance in the past three years and reducing the uninsured rate.
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The Texas Attorney Generals Office is tightening the grip on parents who are late in child-support payments.

Starting next month, parents who are at least six months behind in meeting child-support payment requirements will receive notification warning that they wont be able to renew vehicle registrations that expire beginning in December.

There are all sorts of the things the (attorney generals office) can do when somebody doesnt pay child support, Galveston County Tax Assessor Cheryl E. Johnson said. This is just one more tool available to them, and they finally decided to avail themselves of it.

Johnson cites several tools the attorney generals office has already used in an ongoing campaign, such as garnishing wages, filing liens against property and suspending drivers licenses.

In compliance with the new policy, the Galveston County Tax Office will not be able to process motor vehicle registration renewals that have a block in place until the attorney generals office discontinues it.

The way that the process works, Johnson said, is if somebody doesnt pay fines and fees owed locally, the state is contacted to have that individuals motor vehicle registration renewal flagged, called a scofflaw flag.

When people receive a motor vehicle renewal, it will say that they need to pay in person, that they have an unpaid fee, in this case child support, and that they would need to make contact with the (state agency), she said.

Johnson said that the policy created tentativeness among county tax offices because of potentially tense encounters.

County tax offices across the state were up in arms saying (state agency was) going to put our people at risk with irate spouses coming in and we would be in a terrible position, she said.

But Johnsons position is that the policy is needed to crack down on parents who are late or inactive in paying child support.

The tool gives the attorney generals office authority to refuse renewal of licenses, registrations and permits held by those late in payments.

The letter sent to these parents will provide additional information on how to contact the attorney generals office to arrange a payment plan and release of the block to their vehicle registration renewal.

One argument against initiatives such as blocking vehicle registration renewal has been that it could have an adverse effect on those who struggle to pay child support because of financial limitations or employment instability.

Leonard M. Roth, a Houston attorney who has practiced family law for more than 40 years, said he can see both sides of the issue.

The main problem for the state of Texas with regard to fathers who are ordered to pay child support and do not, he said, is that the state winds up supporting these children through services like Medicaid and food stamps.

On the other hand, he said, fathers blocked from renewing vehicle registration could be hampered from making a living.

It will certainly have a major impact, and the effect I think will be very bad, he said, because people need their cars to go to work, even if you dont have a commercial license, and this might make things even worse.

But like Johnson, Roth sees the initiative as a strong move to keep children from losing out.

The bottom line is, people should pay their child support and not require the state of Texas to use our money to support their children, he said.

The Texas Attorney Generals Office can be contacted at 866-646-5611, or for more information, visit www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cs/welcome-to-the-child-support-division and www.txdmv.gov
NOLA PoBoys is open at 3709 Center Street in the former location of Bullritos, which closed Aug. 1. This is the first NOLA PoBoy franchise to open in the region. The menu consists of traditional New Orleans poboy sandwiches including cold, hot, seafood and specialty options such as Chesesi ham, da-bris pot roast and fried Louisiana shrimp. In addition, NOLA Poboys also serves starters and sides, including red beans and rice, gumbo and jambalaya.

Pho Central Vietnamese noodle restaurant is coming soon to 8011 Spencer Highway (corner of Spencer and Academy, next to Phillys R Us and across the street from San Jacinto College).

Deer Park Sushi is coming soon to 3811 Center Street (in the former location of Lucky Paws and next door to Lone Star Taco).

The Gun Cleaners is open at 2816 Center Street (former location of Barbie Bowtique and next door to Deer Park Animal Hospital). Owner and Deer Park graduate Ben Whitfield recently retired from a long, successful Army career and is embarking on his new business, The Gun Cleaners franchise. Heoffers concealed-permit classes, training, home security, firearms sales, servicing and custom engraving. Follow him on Facebook at Texas Concealed Handguns or call 832-414-9739.

1000 Degrees Pizza is open at 8035 Spencer Highway (in the new retail center next door to Smashburger), serving "create your own" Neapolitan pizzas baked in less than 2 minutes.

First in Rescue, Safety & Training, LLC (F.I.R.S.T.) originally opened in Deer Park at 1010 Center Street in 2008 but has recently expanded across the street into the former Deer Park Muffler building at 1013 Center St. The new building will be used for training and is undergoing some major renovations, including a new electronic sign. The original location at 1010 Center St. serves as corporate headquarters and also will get a face-lift in coming months. The companys success will be celebrated this month with a community barbecue; so stay tuned for details or go to www.firstcallfirst.com.

Happy fifth anniversary to Mooyah restaurant at 3717 Center Street. Their concept is Just Burgers, Just Fries, Just Better. They feature 100% American beef burgers, potatoes that are freshly cut in-house daily, custom-baked buns and shakes made with 100 percent ice cream.

If you like the Battleship Texas, swing by and check out the new lobby decor at Deer Park's La Quinta Inn & Suites, 1400 East Blvd. near the intersection of 13th Street. An entire lobby wall is covered in Battleship Texas photo wallpaper. The staff has information on the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and special programs available on the battleship. The innis even making plans to display some Battleship Texas artifacts in the lobby.

24-Hour Safetys corporate office is now located at 200 Georgia Avenue. Its original Deer Park district office caught fire due to an electrical problem in October 2014, and the building was a total loss. The building, located at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Railroad Avenue, has since been rebuilt and employees have just recently moved back in. 24-Hour Safety has 80 employees in Deer Park and is hiring.

Did you know that the Port of Houston offers a free 90-minute cruise and tour of the ship channel aboard its 95-foot vessel M/V Sam Houston? For more information, go to www.portofhouston.com and click on Community Outreach. The Sam Houston Boat tour requires reservations in advance.

Fun Fact: The total area of Houston could contain San Francisco, New York City and Boston at the same time. If the Houston region was a country, it would be the 31st largest in the world based on GDP.

Debbie Westbeld is the Economic Development Administrator for the City of Deer Park, and can be reached at dwestbeld@deerparktx.org or (281) 478-2042. Visit www.deerparktx.gov/ed for more business information.
Acting on a tip of possible drug activity, street crimes investigators with the La Porte Police Dept. cleared a dealer case with the arrest of three people in four days.

According to LPPD, the tip pointed to the sale of methamphetamines being conducted at a residence in the 2800 block of East B. Street last week.
In a special meeting Wednesday the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority approved a $1,500,000 increase in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintenance dredging of a portion of the Bayport Ship Channel. This contribution is a part of the local/federal effort to improve the safety and efficiency of the Bayport flare area. The Commission also authorized the Executive Director to designate staff to represent and act on behalf of the Port Authority in state and federal disaster assistance matters. These were the only two action items on the agenda.

The next regular Port Commission meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m.

Port Commission meetings take place in the fourth floor boardroom of the Port Authority Executive Building, 111 East Loop North (Exit 29 off Loop 610) in Houston.

Meeting agendas are available on the Port of Houston Authority website: http://www.portofhouston.com/the-port-commission/public-meetings/agendas.
DEER PARK - The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) Executive Director Roger Guenthers keynote presentation kicks off a new two-day format of the Economic Alliance Gulf Coast Industry Forum (GCIF) Wednesday, August 24 at 1:00 p.m. Guenther is expected to discuss recent Port Authority projects and activities as well as outline strategies for future growth, including plans to handle increased capacity from shipments through the expanded Panama Canal.

The PHA will once again be the presenting sponsor of the Gulf Coast Industry Forum (GCIF). PHA has played this role since the 2010 inception of the forum, formerly known as the Petrochemical & Maritime Outlook Conference (PMOC). The PHAs leadership along with maritime and industry expansion has allowed the industry forum to shift to a two-day format for the first time. The event begins Wednesday, August 24 at 1 p.m. with Guenthers opening keynote and concludes with an afternoon closing keynote by General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush on Thursday, August 25.

I am very excited to have the Port of Houston Authority and Roger Guenther back in 2016. Roger and the Port Authority play a central role in much of the regions economic activity, said Chad Burke, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region. I cannot think of a better way to kick off the forum than with Roger Guenther giving an update on the Port Authority. There is no shortage of great things going on in the maritime, logistics and petrochemical industries.

The Port of Houston Authority is a vibrant organization for economic development and an ideal presenting sponsor for the Gulf Coast Industry Forum, added Burke.

Following Guenthers keynote on Wednesday, a panel of experts continues the dialogue by highlighting the areas role in energy exports. Serving on that panel will be Lawrence Waldron (Jefferson Energy Companies), Mark Mallett (Freeport LNG), Anatol Feygin (Cheniere LNG), and Bill Ordemann (Enterprise Products).

The maritime discussion continues on Thursday as a shipping and logistics panel takes the stage. Eric Chance with Hanjin Shipping and Andy Powell with Grieg Star Shipping, Inc. will examine and forecast the state of the shipping and logistics industry.

The Port Authority of Houston is in their seventh year as presenting sponsor of the Gulf Coast Industry Forum. JV Driver is a platinum sponsor, while Shell, ExxonMobil, Infinity Group, Rail Logix, Lee College, San Jacinto College, Houston Business Journal, and Bay Group Media are gold sponsors. More than 30 companies have already committed to being silver and bronze sponsors. People wanting to attend or sponsor the conference can contact Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, www.allianceportregion.com
The Deer Park Chamber wishes to welcome PV Rentals. PV Rentals is a premier fleet rental, leasing and sales company serving the small- and medium-size fleet market. By combining highly personalized customer service and continually assessing and investing in fleet and customers' need, they have grown to become an industry leader.

In September of 1987 PV Rentals began its vehicle rental operation in Houston. With leasing and sales operations following, PV has grown into a full service destination for a variety of businesses. PV Rentals understands that what sets companies apart is the value they provide. They pride themselves in offering the best overall quality experience in the industry and consistently give back to their community. In fact, Mr. Otis Peavy is one of Houston's largest philanthropists. His giving has been recognized by the Major Giving Society who has awarded Mr. Peavy with the Founders Gold Circle award among others.
On September 1st, 2016 at 1:05 pm, Raymond Michael Zottarelle, 71, passed away peacefully while sleeping in his own home next door to his son in the Houston Heights from a sudden heart failure. He was born on Nov. 15th, 1944 in St. Louis, Mo. Ray was 3rd of 4 boys and a long time Deer Park resident, moving with his family to Deer Park in the late 40's until 2005. He graduated from Deer Park H. S. class of 1966 then joined the Army serving in Vietnam til 1968. Ray married Linda Lou Scarbrough in 1969, worked at United Texas Transmission for nearly 30yrs and was a long time member of D.P. United Methodist. He was preceded in death by his wife Linda, as well as 2 brothers Jim and Bob. Ray is survived by his son Tyler Zottarelle of the Heights & brother Todd of Pasadena. He will be laid to rest with military honors at Grand View Memorial Park, 8501 Spencer Hwy on Monday, September 12th with a funeral service at Pasadena Funeral Chapel, 2203 Pasadena Blvd before from 1-3 pm.
Over the course of 22 years in the U.S. Army, Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Stauffer has sailed on every U.S. Army ship and assisted in the reopening of Port-au-Prince following Haitis disastrous 2010 earthquake. His next mission will be to move more military veterans into a maritime career as the new associate vice chancellor and superintendent of maritime at San Jacinto College.

Chief Stauffer will begin his position on Sept. 12, 2016. He will oversee both the credit and non credit maritime programs and head the San Jacinto College Maritime Technology and Training Center on the Maritime Campus.

Im an advocate for the mariner, said Chief Stauffer, who currently serves as director of the Maritime Operations Branch with the U.S. Army Transportation School at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. The maritime industry is already at the point of a shortage; the perfect storm is brewing. The United States Maritime Administration estimates that 70,000 seafarers will be needed by 2022, and universities will not be able to produce this amount by that time. This is why the San Jacinto College maritime program is so important.

Chief Stauffer plans to help more military veterans transition into maritime careers by earning maritime transportation associate degrees. He also plans to grow the maritime pipeline from high school to college.

Theres a necessity for more education when it comes to the maritime workforce, said Stauffer. You have to be able to communicate when entering foreign ports. Youve got to have an understanding of math, know the basics of geometry, and as you progress, know basic trigonometry.

Chief Stauffer enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1994 and soon experienced his first maritime voyage as a deckhand. Over the next five years, he became a captain and was deployed three times to the Persian Gulf from 2001-2012, serving as Commander of the U.S. Army's largest ship from 2011-2012. Following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, Chief Stauffer assisted in humanitarian efforts and the reopening of Port-au-Prince as Commander of the U.S. Armys Harbor Master Team. He served as director of the U.S. Armys Europe Sea Section in Germany from 2012-2015 before transitioning into his current position with the Maritime Operations Branch in Virginia, where he oversees 32 U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)-approved courses.

Chief Stauffers awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, a Navy Commendation Medal and four Army Achievement Medals. He holds a bachelors degree in business administration from Saint Leo University and a masters degree in business administration from Liberty University. His licenses and certifications include a Master 200 GRT Upon Oceans, Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels Upon Oceans, USCG Qualified Assessor and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Chief Stauffer brings a host of sterling leadership qualities to the San Jacinto College maritime program, said Dr. Allatia Harris, San Jacinto College vice chancellor for strategic initiatives. He gets to the heart of matters and can form those types of partnerships that are vital to the growth and success of our program, our graduates and our regions maritime industry. He understands that while maritime companies look for more mariners, they want those who meet the increasing educational demands of the U.S. Coast Guard. While hes passionate about meeting this industry need, he also aims to recruit and train so that more people can gain the benefit of having lucrative and rewarding maritime careers and bring home great wages for themselves and their families.

Chief Stauffer and his wife, Melissa, will move to the Houston region in early September. They have two daughters, 2nd Lt. Alli Stauffer, 22, a graduate of Slippery Rock University with a bachelors degree in safety management; and Ashley Stauffer, 19, a student at Coastal Carolina University pursuing her bachelors degree in biology.

For more information about the San Jacinto College maritime program, visit sanjac.edu/maritime.
Its back-to-school time and that usually means backpacks, school supplies and new dress codes.

It also means up-to-date vaccinations for students in grades K through 12th.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, an opportunity for healthcare professionals to remind the public of the role vaccines play in public health.

The Pasadena Independent School District just sent out a circular to parents containing all the shot information required to have as well as locations.

Its very important that parents know that not only do they need school supplies, they need to be aware that there are health requirements mandated by the state as well, said Art Del Barrio, communications specialist for Pasadena ISD.

Melanie Turner, a family nurse practitioner and the Regional Manager for MinuteClinic locations inside select CVS Pharmacy stores throughout the Houston area, urges parents to be educated on the importance of getting their children immunized.

There is always that possibility going to school that you will be exposed to someone who has not been immunized, but its important to get the vaccines not only for yourself and your family, but for others in the community, she said.

In early childhood, vaccines immunize against 14 potentially life-threatening diseases and as they move into their teens, vaccinations provide protection from diseases like Tdap, meningococcal conjugate.

The meningitis is very important because this is the age where kids are sharing lipstick, chapstick, water bottles, and any kind of oral secretions such as kissing, Turner said.

College-bound students should update their meningitis vaccination.

To even get housing they are required to show proof of that, said Turner.

Turner encourages parents to research a new vaccine for meningitis B, recommended for young adults aged 16-23.

Only three states currently require the series of three vaccinations needed for the HPV virus, a virus which has been linked to cancers in women and men.

Its not required (in Texas) but the thing is to reduce its spread and raise awareness and reduce the chances of cancer in both girls and boys, she said.

Flu vaccines are also not required but recommended.

Dont wait until its running around and spreading, I would get it as quick as possible, Turner said.

While the Texas Department of State Health Services and most school district websites have a list of what, when and where - listing all the vaccine requirements as well as locations and schedules before students enter into the school year - its important for parents to understand the why, said Turner.

Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, varicella (chickenpox), measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A and B - its a common list of terms, but its often taken for granted that they no longer pose a real threat.

Although wide-spread outbreaks of these vaccine-preventable diseases are rare today, cases have been recorded.

According to the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), between January and July 2016, 48 reports of measles throughout 13 states were recorded. The previous year, 189 people from 24 states were reported to have contracted measles. In 2014, The U.S. recorded 667 cases of measles from 27 states, the highest number recorded since 2002, according to the NCIRD.

In addition, in the majority of those cases, the people who contracted measles were not vaccinated.

There are always outbreaks, Turner said. In my generation, it wasnt because people didnt immunize, it was because we didnt realize that our immunity had dropped.

In the last decade, a vocal anti-vaccination movement has emerged and Turner urges the public to be educated on the consequences of not immunizing their children and the impact that can have on the community at large.

Turner said she hears it every year from people, that there is a conspiracy with this vaccine or that vaccine.

There are definitely some different ideas and when people choose not to immunize, I just point out specific cases of this-is-what-happened, she said.

Turner also shares a more personal experience and how a simple vaccination can make a big difference.

I lost a brother to flu at the age of 32 in the first year of H1N1, so I always tell personal stories to encourage immunization, she said. There are always going to be those that are worried (about the effect of vaccines), but there is a lot more risk to not immunize.

For a list of state-required vaccinations: www.dshs.texas.gov
Fifteen years ago, life changed in America.

Before Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans were unaware that the world was a dangerous place.

On Sept. 11, 2001, I remember watching the towers fall. I watched it on TV, not really sure of what I had witnessed. Working at a daily newspaper in southern New Mexico at the time, I was fairly removed from what was going on. But as the morning dragged on, a planned special edition dragged me into the office. For weeks, I was immersed in it. Every day, new stories came out. Television focused on it.

My escape was my then-3-year-old son, who played in the newsroom and was the distraction everyone turned to when the news got to be too much.

This Sunday is Patriot Day in the United States, a day where Americans remember those who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, some 15 years ago now.

Sept. 11 is not a national holiday but a day of remembrance. By presidential decree, the American flag is lowered to half staff at the White House and all government buildings and facilities worldwide. Americans are encouraged to fly flags. If it were not on a Sunday, schools would be open. Businesses conduct business and people go on with their days as normal.

At 7:46 a.m. (CDT) Sunday, a moment of silence will be observed in many communities to correspond with the time the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center.

Even with the lowered flags and moment of silence, it really doesnt appear that enough reverence is given to Patriot Day. What is being remembered that day?

Well, most importantly, it is the 2,977 people who lost their lives that day. For comparison sake, 2,403 people died in the attacks on Pearl Harbor which brought the United States into World War II.

The biggest difference between the two events is that those who died on Sept. 11 were normal people working jobs and living their lives. At Pearl Harbor, the bulk of the victims were members of the military. That is not to diminish those who died, but there is an expectation of danger associated with the military that most office workers do not share.

Perhaps a reason why Patriot Day does not get its due is the aftermath.

It led - either directly or indirectly, depending on whom you ask - to a two-front war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, about 6,895 members of the military and American contractors have died during the war on terror, according to Department of Defense figures on www.defense.gov. More than 53,400 have been wounded in action.

Is America safer because of the military actions? There really is no way to quantify that.

Closer to home, are the people of the greater Houston region safer?

Without a major military presence, how long would it take to respond to terrorist attack along the Houston Ship Channel? Remember, that is home to the largest petro-chemical center in the United States. Over the years, I have heard congressmen say if an attack were made against one of the industrial complexes, an Air Force response would come from the 149th Fighter Wing in San Antonio or one of the air bases in Oklahoma. Kind of a long way from Houston, right?

Anyone who thinks this area is safe needs to realize that a major airport - like Bush Intercontinental Airport - can be the jumping off point for a terrorist attack. A well-planned attack on the Port of Houston with its industrial complexes would be a major hit to the United States.

But what this is about is Patriot Day and remembering those people who died on Sept. 11. Truly reflect this Sunday. You may not know the name of a single person who died that day but remember where you were and the uncertainty that accompanied everything.

It doesnt matter if youve never set foot in New York, Washington D.C. or Pennsylvania, you have been affected and you should reflect on the events of that day.
The smells reminiscent of a school cafeteria wafted through the Humble Civic Center Oct. 6 as kids from the Crosby and Huffman school districts, along with other Houston-area schools, tasted samples of food that could soon be on their campuses.

Vendors filled the center with healthy versions of such options as pizza, burritos, tacos and chicken nuggets.

As a part of the Harris County Department of Education and Choice Partners' annual 2016 School Nutrition Expo, students had the opportunity to let the school district nutrition directors know which foods they preferred.

"Every year, we invite school districts such as ISDs, charter and private schools to come to the food show and bring students so they have the chance to walk around, sample different kinds of foods and rate them on a form we provide for them," Trisha Jensen, food contracts director and assistant director of Choice Partners, said. "At the end, the students will give us their rating forms, tally the results and then give them back to school districts for them to use, which comes in handy when they are going out for bids for different companies to provide food in their school's cafeteria."

What was exciting for a few of the Crosby High School students was the opportunity to make a real decision that will affect them and their peers about what kinds of food they enjoy.

"This is our first year to have the culinary arts program at Crosby High School and our first time to attend the expo," Ean Lasseigne said. "The great thing about attending an event like this is we get to make the decisions that affect us; we get to bring something to our school that a lot of people will enjoy eating for lunch."

Crosby High School has a state-of-the-art kitchen with convection ovens, a dishwashing station and prep area which has allowed students to have a place to learn more about culinary arts.

High school culinary arts student Andrea Turman echoed Lasseigne's comments by adding, "The food has been really good. The pork at one of the booths was my favorite. This is a great opportunity because we get to try what new dishes they could offer at our school for the following year. For us, we get to choose what we like for the entire school."

For Crobsy ISDNewport Elementary students in Crosby ISD, Savannah McKinnerney and Lainey Marek, they were looking forward to sampling Mexican food and seafood options, respectively.

"This is a lot of fun," McKinnerney said.

As school nutrition directors evaluate quality, nutritional value and student tastes; Choice Partners gather information needed to plan for future food contract purchases for school districts.

"I know some of the vendors have had great one-on-one conversations with the various school district nutrition directors about the different kinds of food options they have and how they can bring it into their schools," Jensen said. "This year, we had a few more vendors offering vegetarian options and 'clean' foods with no chemicals or additives included in the food items. Every year it is something different."

According to information provided by HCDE, "Food is purchased annually by school districts in the Harris County area for more than 85 million student lunches through contracts available through HCDE Choice Partners cooperative."

For more information, visit www.hcde-texas.org.
Shoring up the Houston areas defenses against the scourge, the inevitability, of flooding in a city built on a swamp has been Mike Talbotts one and only career.

As a young engineer, a project manager, the director of operations and, finally, the executive director of the Harris County Flood Control district, he has borne witness to some of the worst flood-related disasters to hit the area in modern history.

He recalls Hurricane Alicia in 1983, when the districts old Main Street office stopped shaking long enough for him and a few other engineers to briefly leave their Radio Shack TRS-80 computers and step out to watch the eye pass overhead. And the scene in 2001, when he surveyed the devastation from Tropical Storm Allison from a helicopter that had to refuel twice because the floods were so widespread.

There were the epic floods of 2015 and 2016 when, as the agencys executive director, he fielded countless calls from the press and the public, demanding to know why thousands of Houston homes were underwater.

The answer was always longer than anyone had time for. And there was always one thing he wished he could say, but held back out of sympathy for the families whod lost their homes: It could have been so much worse.

On Wednesday, Talbott, 60, will step down as executive director of the district and its 2,500 miles of managed waterways, still convinced of that hard, but incontrovertible, truth.

The clearest clue to Talbotts mission in his 35 years with the district lies in one word in its title  control. He leaves behind a system greatly enhanced for doing that, with better drainage and more flood plains converted to green space. But he also leaves a district without sufficient money to fully address the flooding problem and with federally-sponsored county projects, the largest efforts to expand local drainage, continuing to crawl along, almost 30 years after they were authorized.

There will always be critics, said city of Houston flood czar Stephen Costello, whom the mayor appointed this year in response to the floods of 2015 and 2016. The flood control district has continued to focus on its primary mission, to mitigate and control flooding. They wont prevent flooding. Thats up to Mother Nature.

District gets to work

It was 1979, when a spate of vicious floods, including Tropical Storm Claudette, moved the county to accelerate efforts to address its flooding problem.

It was a year like 2015-2016, Talbott said. When you go for long periods without big floods, people think there isnt a problem anymore. Big floods remind people there is more work to do.

So the district got to work.

Then-executive director Jim Green conceived a plan to modernize engineering, which began with growing the staff of engineers from two to eight (it now has 40). That effort in 1981 swept up Talbott, a New Braunfels native then a few years out of engineering school at Texas A&M University and business school at the University of Houston.

The first order of business was to make a digital map of the drainage system  a tall task in the 1980s. As a project manager, Talbott helped coordinate contractors who surveyed the bayous and canals, measuring each width, slope and turn and the features of the surrounding landscape.

Flood engineers complied that data into a computer model that proved revolutionary for local efforts. It seems simple in the age of laptop computers, but the model was a spectacular achievement.

It could simulate rainfall in any part of the county and show approximately how much runoff would end up where. They could also model potential projects to see how they would affect flooding.

Before that model, the district would do projects in areas of recent flooding. Then in the next storm another spot would flood.

But after the model, the district could run simulations to identify the most problematic areas of the system. So for the first time, they began to compile a long prioritized list of cost estimates for repairs needed through the decades to come. That, Talbott said, helped authorities like the commissioners court understand how much work remained to be done.

Then at least we knew what had to be done, and we got to prioritize based on available funding, Talbott said.

Also, as part of the effort in the mid-1980s, the district wrote the first drainage rules for private development. Talbott helped draft standards for a several-hundred-page manual of drainage criteria. It set requirements for size and geometry of private ditches and reservoirs, and developed a design style where streets could flood without swamping homes.

It really worked, said Wayne Klotz, a veteran Houston hydraulic engineer and past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, who has worked with the HCFCD as a contractor since the 1970s. Anything that was developed since the mid-80s just really doesnt flood, unless its in the statutory flood plain.

The development criteria have grown several times since. Critics contend that they should be more stringent, that new development should pick up more than its fair share of drainage to relieve vulnerable homeowners and set the region on a promising long-term path.

That, they contend, could happen by mandating more green space and on-site detention ponds, as is done in parts of Fort Bend County.

Greenway concepts

Throughout his tenure, Talbott said, he helped drainage design trend towards green aesthetics. Waterways and reservoirs used to be rigid concrete features, often built out of sight when possible. But through the end of the 20th century, drainage facilities have become parks, like Buffalo Bayou Park or Art Storey Park on Brays. When they are dry, joggers cross trails on the bottoms of the basins, or along the tree-lined banks of bayous.

Mike was instrumental in implementing those types of concepts that we didnt talk about in years past, said Costello. Integrating environmental and recreational features while still providing flood protection.

In the later years of his career, the district revamped its modeling of the drainage system, using high-tech airborne radar to precisely survey the region, which in turn, was used to draw up a master plan that could push Houston to its next generation of flood control.

Unfortunately, the price tag on a total upgrade came out to $25 billion, which means it is unlikely to happen soon.

One thing Mike doesnt get credit for is (the notion that) flood control is underfunded, said Klotz.

And its how Talbott answers the main qualm with his record  that major construction projects have lagged years behind schedule. Between 1986 and 1990, the county got approval to split the tab on five bayou expansion efforts. Work on 20 miles of Sims Bayou finished in 2015, but its the only one. Work on one basin and four miles of Greens Bayou is five percent complete.

Brays Bayou project delayed

The largest project  21 miles and four basins for $500 million on Brays Bayou  was initially scheduled for completion in 2014 and is now delayed to 2021.

Talbott said the schedules were based on optimistic projections of federal spending rates that never fully materialized, then plummeted when Congress in 2011 banned earmark funding, which had supplied a reliable money stream to the projects. Houston Congressman Al Green said he plans to introduce legislation in 2017 that would return steady funding to the bayou projects and pick up progress.

The district currently spends about $60 million per year on improvements; Talbott said his successor will need three to five times that to make a serious difference. No such funding increase appears now on the horizon.

Talbott hands the baton to Russ Poppe, the districts current director of operations. An Aggie born in Freeport, Poppe spent 11 years at various county engineering posts, including as manager for engineers designing roadways, parks and county buildings.

Mike is a solid leader, Poppe said. Hes a great mentor and hes given me a lot of responsibility to learn what it takes to be executive director of the HCFCD.

His first priority, he said, will be to fortify and build on the legacy of the directors before him.

Talbott, meanwhile, said his first priorities in retirement include hunting, fishing and visiting New Orleans.

I do plan on being fully retired, he said. My wife-shes ready for me to come home now.
The man accused of killing Harris County sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth has been found competent to stand trial by psychologists at the state mental health hospital where he has been held.

A state district judge signed an order Wednesday to bring Shannon Miles, 31, back to Houston where he could be cleared to go to trial in the August 2015 slaying of Goforth.

"We're waiting to meet with our client on his return," said Miles' defense attorney Anthony Osso. "This is not a court finding. This is the hospital advising the court that they feel they have restored his competence."

Ossa said Miles is likely to appear in court for a status hearing next week.

Miles was arrested shortly after the veteran lawman was gunned down in uniform at a gas station in northwest Harris County.

Miles is accused of ambushing Goforth, then standing over him and unloading his pistol.

He is charged with capital murder, though Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson has not yet said whether her office will seek the death penalty.

Osso has said his client has a history of mental health problems, including schizophrenia and episodes of psychotic behavior.

Earlier this year, Miles was found to be incompetent to stand trial and sent to the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon for treatment.

State District Judge Susan Brown committed him for 120 days so mental health professionals could medicate him and work with him to restore competency.

To stand trial, Miles must be found to be competent to aid in his own defense.

Mental competency is a different legal issue than insanity, which requires a determination that the person did not understand the difference between right and wrong at the time of the crime.

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers

st.john.smith@chron.com

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Miles
When it comes to dealing with the dead, Texans have lots of leeway.

The easiest option is to hire a funeral director, but there are the do-it-yourself options as well.

A suite of statutes regulates the funeral industry, with licensure and quality requirements for funeral homes, embalmers, crematories and cemeteries, mostly under the jurisdiction of the Texas Funeral Service Commission.

Kyle Smith, staff attorney at the commission, said, We do not in any way form or fashion regulate the Texans individually when they take over and dont want a funeral director involved.

That, he said, is up to law enforcement. There are very few laws regulating family-run burials, and those on the books are hard to enforce.

For example, the Texas Administrative code says, No human body may be held in any place or be in transit more than 24 hours after death and pending final disposition unless either maintained at a temperature within the range of 24 - 40 degrees Fahrenheit, or is embalmed by a licensed embalmer.

State law requires a death certificate be obtained within 10 days of the death. That is typically the responsibility of the funeral director who is hired to take charge of the body. A family who wishes not to use a funeral director should obtain their own death certificate, but Smith acknowledged that non-compliance is hard to detect.

There is one requirement for burial that no one can sidestep: land.

Even if the state posits few laws, whoever controls the intended burial site will have their own rules. Public parks dont generally allow on-site grave digging.

But according to the Texas health and safety code, a family or individual can declare their own cemetery on private land. So long as the land stays under 10 acres, it remains unregulated by the complex licensing rules of the funeral service commission.

Folks can also organize an unincorporated association of plot owners to form a cemetery exempt from those requirements.

Texas law requires such small unregulated cemeteries to be a certain distance outside municipal boundaries. The required distance depends on the size of the city, and ranges from one mile outside a town of 5,000 to five miles outside a city of 200,000 or more.

That means you cant bury a loved one in your backyard in you live in the city, but it may be fair game in unincorporated areas.

The locations of family or other unregulated cemeteries may also be restricted by local rules regarding flood plains, drainage, underground cabling or deed restrictions.

Once the land is procured, restrictions are slim. A body must be buried at least two feet below the surface.

There is no statutory requirement for a person to be buried in a certain kind of container, Smith said.

Actually, that is true for all Texas burial sites. Its up to the cemetery, not the state, how the dead should be interred.

In todays society, most cemeteries require a minimum of a concrete grave liner, but that doesnt mean that all [cemeteries] do, said Charlotte Waldrum, spokeswoman for the Texas Funeral Directors Association.

The graver liners are concrete boxes for the casket. Some people may opt for the fancier burial vault.

Those boxes have become necessary since heavy machinery started digging graves, putting lots of weight on the ground below, collapsing caskets and creating depressions in the earth.

Some cemeteries set aside space where grave liners arent required, indulging the trend of green burials, where the dead are interred in a simple wooden box or merely wrapped in cloth.

There is one way to sidestep the need for land: cremation. A death certificate must specify the means of final disposition for the body, and there is no option for home cremation. However, no law prohibits home cremation, although local fire codes limit the size of open fires permitted.

There is also a Swedish company that will turn a corpse into compost by freezing it with liquid nitrogen, then shattering it into dust.
The Harris County Sheriffs Office Homicide unit have arrested and charged a 34-year-old man with the murder.

On Thursday, Sept. 8, District 1 patrol deputies responded to the Champion Lodge Motel in the 4700 block of FM 1960.

Deputies learned that a male subject, later identified as Eric Pleasant, was seen exiting a room pushing a container with the remains of a male victim.

Pleasant and the male victim were in a physical altercation earlier, and he allegedly produced a handgun before shooting the victim inside the motel room.

Deputies located him not far from the crime scene and detained him for homicide investigators.

Pleasant has an extensive record with numerous arrests for assault, theft and burglary dating back to 1999.

He is being held on a $60,000 bond at the Harris County Sheriffs Office Detention Center.
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Katy has become a significant force in Houstons healthcare industry because of its fast growth and favorable economy, which for years has attracted hospital establishments to the area.

And while that healthcare presence is still expanding, some hospital leaders in Katy have acknowledged that their businesses have not been invulnerable to the regions oil downturn these past two years.

That industry outlook seems to be supported by a recent business report from the Institute for Supply Management Houston branch, which combines data such as hiring figures and sales into a number that rates whether an industry is growing or shrinking.

The current figure shows a sign of slowdown in Houstons healthcare sector, as a recent Chronicle article pointed out (http://bit.ly/ChronHealth).

That hasnt gone unnoticed in Katy.

While healthcare is driven by patients, healthcare is not immune to economic swings, said Matthew Shaefer, vice president at Texas Childrens Hospital West Campus in Katy. So, with Houston having ties to the oil business, it certainly brings to it people that have less coverage or no coverage.

When Texas Childrens west campus opened five years ago, it began growing by 30 to 40 percent more patients each year, Shaefer said. Now, that growth has slowed down to about 15 percent growth in patients per year.

But like other hospitals in the area, Texas Childrens has still undergone recent expansions. It added 18 beds to its acute care unit and added rooms to its preoperative, postoperative and operative units, and it has also built out shelf space on its fourth floor to expand its intensive care unit.

Similarly, Memorial Hermann Katy at the interchange of Interstate 10 and Texas 99 added dozens of beds to its hospital as it opened a new, six-story patient tower in January, according to Jim Parisi, CEO of the hospital.

The recent expansions also includes improvements to the hospitals surgical suites, labor and delivery department, diagnostic imaging areas, intensive and intermediate care units and womens services, along with other departments.

In the past three years, the hospital has invested more than $120 million into expansions.

West Houston Methodist Hospital, also in Katy, is spending $570 million to add six new floors and expand its capacity in emergency, surgical and diagnostic care. A second parking garage will also be built by 2017.

The developments mirror the population growth Katy is promised to keep encountering. By 2020, the areas population is expected to expand by roughly 47,000 people to 356,422, according to the Katy Area Economic Development Council.

Still, the areas healthcare scene isnt exactly what it used to be.

The problems in the nearby Energy Corridor have caused a dent in an otherwise strong industry, said Gregory Chronowski, associate professor of radiation oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Centers Katy branch.

Katy is so oil dependent - lots of folks have lost their job, Chronowski said. A pace like Methodist thats really concerned with baby deliveries, or a general hospital - those places are going to see a downturn to some degree when people lose jobs or get relocated.

Chronowski said his building on Kingsland Boulevard isnt as affected as other healthcare facilities because most of the patients there are over the age of 55, which he says are not as impacted by job cuts and lost healthcare coverage.

Chronowski is involved with the cancer centers next Katy venture: a 180,000-square-foot facility that is projected to open in 2019. The current MD Anderson center in Katy occupies 20,000 square feet.

Unlike the oil industry, healthcare doesnt need a quick turnaround during a soft spot, according to Shaefer. Since more people will continue to arrive, hospitals have to continue thinking long term, he added.

Shaefers staff of more than 1,000, including about 100 medical personnel, is still growing, even if its at a slower rate, he said. And more patients continue to arrive, even if that pace is slower, too. The hospital experienced 300,000 to 400,000 patient encounters last year.Shaefer said hes paying close attention to the energy industry, which isnt projected to rebound anytime soon. But he also said hes not worried about the future of healthcare in Houston. Neither does Parisi seem to be, asying Memorial Hermann will continue investing into its Katy branch. As a natural ripple effect of the oil & gas downturn, I think all industries have been impacted in some way, Parisi said in an emailed statement. However, at Memorial Hermann (Katy), we continue to grow, he added. There are approximately more than 6 million people in the Greater Houston region and our responsibility to the community is to continue to meet their healthcare needs.

Follow Sebastian Herrera on Twitter at twitter.com/SebasAHerrera.
Since 1997, the Katy Prairie Conservancy has invested into safeguarding thousands of acres of grasslands in Houston's western region.

Its passion for land preservation has led the organization to acquire 20,000 acres of prairie that it has fiercely defended.

Last week, its mission received a boost when it was announced that the organization has been accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, which recognizes significant land trusts across the country that operate at high standards and can be trusted with fair and valuable land preservation.

In being recognized, the KPC has improved its legacy and legitimacy  both important factors as it continuous to battle major development proposals on its land, said Conservancy Executive Director Mary Anne Piacentini.

"It helps us raise our level substantially," Piacentini said. "When funders and federal agencies are looking at us, it separates us out. It makes people understand that when we do fight (developments), that we truly believe those things are a threat to our prairie conservancy because we're doing work that is ethical and good."

The conservancy constantly watches for development threats. Its largest worry now involves a planned major thoroughfare that could slice through its land.

The project is called Highway 36A, and as it stands, the large road would run from Freeport north to Interstate 10 before extending north again and possibly passing through the prairie to end at U.S. 290.

For some time now, Piacentini and the conservancy's board of directors have been pushing back on the project idea.

"It is the main threat we face," Piacentini said of the proposed project.

The Texas Department of Transportation recently received $2 million from the Houston-Galveston Area Council to conduct a 15-18 month engineering study on the potential environmental and economic impact of the road. The study could reveal alternate routes that avoid the prairie, according to Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, who is a leader in the project.

The Waller County Major Thoroughfare Development Plan in 1985 established the possibility of a major road through the area where the conservancy is now. The plan was formed years before the conservancy purchased that segment of land.

"I think one of the things that I believe that the conservancy continues to omit is the fact that, for the last 20 years, there's been that major thoroughfare plan," Meyers said. "That plan was pubic knowledge. Anybody buying the property had knowledge that the road would go through there."

There's also developers around the same area that do not wish for the highway to pass through their future or current communities, Meyers said. So, he has to adhere to them as well.

Piacentini's response?

"Just because something was put in place in 1985 doesn't mean it should stay the same for 2016," she said. "When we bought the land, we knew roads can move. Nature can't. There's always an alternative."

Earlier this year, the Houston Endowment awarded $400,000 to Piacentini's organization to conduct an economic impact analysis that will explore the value of the prairie in factors such as flood reduction, agricultural production and nature tourism.

The study is meant to demonstrate the good that saving prairie land does for the region, as well as what alternatives can be found for the placement of significant developments in the prairie's area.

The city of Houston's Planning Department also developed a major highway plan in the 1940s for its greater area that has since been revised several times. The plan has included ideas for major roads that would run through parts of the prairie.

Conservancy officials met with city leaders in July to discuss potential changes to the plan that would avoid prairie land. The proposed changes are supposed to be reviewed at an upcoming city council meeting.

The conservancy is also interested in meeting with Waller County leaders to discuss changes for its plan, Piacentini said.

After the initial engineering study is finished, a full environmental review would need to happen before construction ever begins on Highway 36A, Meyers said. He added that the thoroughfare will take years to develop and would likely be built in two phases, the first from Freeport to I-10 and the second from there to U.S. 290.

Until then, Piacenti said her group will keep fighting. As a now accredited organization, their voices will be heard even louder, she added.

"We will be taken that much more seriously," Piacenti said. "We want to show what we do is important to the broader region."
Storms that came through the area Wednesday night left some apartment residents homeless but safe after a fire swept through their complex.

About 7:11 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, Harris County Fire Marshals investigators were called to assist CyFair Volunteer Fire Department with a threealarm fire at the Yorktown Crossing Apartments in the 15000 block of Yorktown Crossing Parkway.
A 15-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital Wednesday morning after a vehicle hit him as he rode his bicycle near Cinco Ranch High School in Fort Bend County.

The incident happened about 6 a.m on the Grand Parkway near Cinco Ranch Boulevard, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.
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The Periwinkle Foundation presents Making A Mark, an exhibition of art and creative writing by children touched by cancer and blood disorders at Texas Childrens Cancer and Hematology Centers.

Making A Mark enables these children and their siblings to celebrate self-expression and empowerment through creativity as a vital part of the healing process.
As classes start, public schools across the country are staring down crisis-level teacher shortages.

Rapid City, S.D., schools have 50 unfilled teaching positions. Georgia's Houston County has 90. San Francisco has over 100. Florida's Orange County: a whopping 300.

As older educators steadily retire, there's a desperate need for new blood in America's teacher corps. Worse still, too many young teachers lack the knowledge required to educate effectively. And the teacher corps remains remarkably homogenous, failing to reflect this nation's diversity.

Online teacher certification is the silver-bullet solution to all these challenges. E-learning portals empower people from less traditional career tracks to join the teaching profession, bringing unique perspectives, skills, and backgrounds into the classroom. More universities should offer online teacher training. And public school systems should value these degrees and recruit from these new pools.

E-learning represents the best way to improve our teaching corps.

Consider Arlene Steenkolk, a former computer engineer in Beaverton, Oregon. After a successful career, she became passionate about fostering the next generation of computer scientists. So she began teaching, working as a technology assistant at a local elementary school. "I want to encourage (the students) to look ahead for their future," she explained.

There are countless Arlenes across the country. This vast talent pool, though, has gone mostly untapped due to prohibitively high transition costs. Many professionals can't afford to quit their jobs and spend years in full-time teaching programs. With kids to support, mortgages to pay, and retirements to plan for, many can't forgo years of wages.

Enter e-learning. Online teacher training programs allow working professionals to get highly specialized degrees at their own pace before switching careers.

The University of Massachusetts, for instance, offers online courses for over 20 teaching degrees.

Ideal models include online instruction, regular trainings and visits to K-12 classrooms with real students. My university, New York Institute of Technology, offers online graduate programs and a blended program that incorporates classes and instruction on campus.

This hybrid model has continually proven effective. A study by the former president of Princeton University examined over 600 college students and found that those who completed both online and in-class courses outperformed traditional students.

Empowering mid-career professionals to join the teaching corps would also address the serious knowledge deficit plaguing public schools. Research shows that many middle and high school instructors lack the necessary knowledge about math to effectively teach it.

When mid-career professionals migrate into education, they bring their knowledge and professional skills, too. Students can learn, say, about computer science from a Google engineer or about writing from a Fortune 500 advertising executive. Young minds deserve access to such elite knowledge.

There's also a serious lack of diversity among educators. While over 40 percent of public school students are students of color, more than 80 percent of teachers are white. Teachers from non-traditional paths are more likely to come from diverse demographic backgrounds, helping the teaching corps become more reflective of the students.

We can't afford to let these problems continue. Lack of qualified, diverse instructors causes lower quality instruction and poor outcomes. Today, the United States isn't even among the top 20 performing countries in international student achievement assessments.

Empowering adult professionals to become teachers through online learning technologies will inject fresh talent into a school system that desperately needs it.

Hui-Yin Hsu is the chair of the Teacher Education Program in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Education at New York Institute of Technology.
SHERMAN, Texas  The Securities and Exchange Commissions fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could be dismissed within the next 30 days, after a federal judge subjected the commissions attorneys to harsh questioning Friday morning.

You're basically asking me to create a new general rule requiring disclosure of compensation, Federal District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III told SEC attorney Matt Gulde.

The SECs lawsuit against Paxton is based on its contention such a requirement already exists somewhere in federal law, but the commission had a hard time pointing out to Mazzant just where that might be.

The SEC argues Paxton had a duty to disclose to potential investors in a company called Servergy he would receive a commission if they bought stock. The basic argument is that omitting that information amounts to fraud because it misleads investors, who might make another decision if they knew.

That is the major issue here, Gulde told the court. The bottom line is when youre selling a stock, youve got to disclose youre making a commission.

However, registered securities brokers face no such requirement, all sides agreed, and rarely disclose commissions. The question is whether theres anything in statutory or case law that would impose such a requirement on Paxton, who is an attorney and politician, not a stockbroker by trade.

The best case the SEC could cite for support was from a New York district court in 1938, which clearly underwhelmed Mazzant.

Paxtons attorney Matt Martens cited a host of cases involving brokers from the Supreme Court on down that established a general rule there is no positive duty to disclose ones compensation.

But neither side had a case directly on point matching Paxtons situation.

Martens argued that demonstrated nobody has ever considered this conduct illegal before.

That didnt seem to sway Mazzant, but he did wonder aloud if the SEC wasnt trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Are we stretching the securities law to cover something it wasnt meant to? Mazzant asked.

Despite the rule explained by Martens that there is no general duty to disclose sales commissions, there are specific circumstances where such a duty could exist.

A fiduciary relationship is one; you cant profit off somebody whose affairs have been entrusted to you.

But Mazzant was unimpressed by Guldes argument that Paxton was a fiduciary for any of the people hed told about Servergy.

The only thing that even comes close is the investment club Paxton had formed with Byron Cook, a politician and former friend who is now Paxtons accuser, along with others. Im not sure even that creates a fiduciary duty.

The SEC doesnt allege at all that Paxton ever said anything untrue. The commission is basing its case on a prohibition in securities law on telling half-truths. The law in this area requires one to clear up any misleading half-true statements one has made by speaking completely on the subject.

But the SEC doesnt identify any specific half-true statements.

Its arguing that Paxton not disclosing a compensation agreement made everything else he said half-true. For example, when he told people Servergy was a great company, that statement is somehow rendered half-true.

Mazzant recognized that such an interpretation amounted to a new general rule with vast reach.

That would apply to anybody who receives compensation, Mazzant said.

Gulde argued it was somehow specific to Paxtons circumstances, and the fact he knew the potential investors personally.

I cant conceive of where thered be an exception to that, because everyone youd go to is somebody you know, Mazzant said.

Afterwards, Martens said he was pleased the judge asked all the right questions.

Mazzant promised a ruling within 30 days. A dismissal at this stage would be extraordinary.

Mazzant noted at the outset he typically denies this sort of preliminary request to dismiss.

So do most judges. Thats because it requires the defendant to concede every single fact to the prosecution, and argue that even if he did everything the plaintiff says he did, none of the accusations amount to anything illegal.

Success on this sort of motion would mean the SEC screwed up royally. It could also influence the proceedings against Paxton in state court, as state and federal securities law follow similar contours.

Contact Jon Cassidy at jon@watchdog.org or @jpcassidy000.
We received word yesterday that Harris County Public Health has confirmed the first Zika-related death in the State of Texas. After receiving a positive Zika test result on a female infant who was born with birth defects, including microcephaly, HCPH confirmed the child died shortly after birth.

While the infant was born in Harris County, the mother is believed to have contracted Zika while traveling in Latin America. HCPH still has no reason to believe that any Harris County citizens have been infected locally.

It is important to remain aware of the symptoms of Zika and practice all precautions to guard against infection. Zika symptoms are usually mild and include fever, rash and conjunctivitis (red eyes), and joint pain, lasting several days to a week. Zika can also be transmitted sexually. While severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon and death is rare, the CDC has linked Zika to severe birth defects and there is currently no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika Virus Infection.

The CDC recommends that all people who are traveling to areas where Zika virus is found, should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites to reduce their risk of infection with Zika virus as well as other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue and chikungunya. CDC recommends that pregnant women should avoid traveling to Zika affected areas.

State health officials urge everyone to follow precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites:

Apply EPA-approved insect repellent.

Wear pants and long-sleeve shirts that cover exposed skin. In warmer weather, wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that

covers exposed skin.

covers exposed skin. Use screens or close windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out of your home.

Remove standing water in and around the home. This includes

water in cans, toys, tires, plant saucers, and any container that can hold water.

water in cans, toys, tires, plant saucers, and any container that can hold water. Cover trash cans or containers where water can collect.

For more information about Zika prevention for Texas go to www.TexasZika.org.

Thank you again for allowing me the honor of representing you. Please let me know if there's anything that my office can do to be of service to you.

God bless Texas!

Mike Schofield is the state representative for House District 132, representing Katy & Cypress.
In case you missed it, last week the Texas Attorney Generals Office announced that thanks to a multi-agency investigation, 25 suspected child predators in the greater Houston area were arrested.

You can view the story and see the photos of those arrested by going to http://tinyurl.com/j6cvy24.

It is a good thing to see anyone who goes online in search of a minor to get arrested. It is distressing to realize that children are not safe in their own homes in this Internet age.

Those arrested last week were charged with online solicitation of a minor, a felony. All who were arrested were men with most did not have any previous felonies on their records. That is where the similarities disappear.

The men ran the gamut of age and race.

The cases were investigated by likely agencies like the Harris County Sheriffs Office and Houston Police Department, and relatively small agencies like Deer Park Police Department and the Waller County District Attorneys Office.

It all goes to show that when it comes to keeping children safe online, there is no one thing to look for. There is no such thing as a look with regards to a child predator.

Thankfully, there are law enforcement agencies out there taking aim at these individuals. All too often, it simply takes someone way too eager to meet a child to set their own trap.

What parents need to do is monitor what their children are doing online.

There are so many opportunities for strangers to reach out to children online it is pretty daunting keeping track of them all. Snapchat, Kik, Instagram and Google Hangouts are just a few of the places where predators can track down vulnerable children. It is more than just Facebook, although that should not be discounted.

Internet-savvy children can be a few steps ahead of their parents as well.

Internet-savvy predators will educate children on how to cover their tracks, seemingly under the guise that they want to keep talking with them. It does not have to be child with a bad home life that is vulnerable. A bad person can convince an otherwise good kid in a good home to do something wrong.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a newer trend for online predators is sextortion. This is where non-physical forms of coercion are utilized, such as blackmail, to acquire sexual content (photos/videos) of the child, obtain money from the child or engage in sex with the child.

Children are being blackmailed into doing something online that they otherwise would not do.

The NCMEC reports that the average age at the time of the incident was approximately 15 years old, despite a wider age-range for female children (9-17 years old) compared to male children (12-17 years old).

An Internet-savvy predator will most likely know how to manipulate a teen into doing something wrong. That should be scary for most parents.

For more information or to report a crime, go to the NCMEC site at www.netsmartz411.org.

In the meantime, thank local law enforcement for its efforts in getting potential child predators off the streets and behind bars.
As an Army Brat, we moved around a lot when I was a child. From North Carolina to Texas, there were stops in Michigan and two in Germany.

After the first stop in Germany, we arrived in South Carolina, got off the plane and straight to a bus. At night, the sight of billboards on the side of the road was rather interesting. There were no billboards along highways in Germany.

Lighting up the night sky, the billboards were entertaining to a young kid. As I got older, they became intrusive. They were the pop-up ads in the pre-Internet world.

Around Houston, it is hard to drive anywhere without seeing the sky-high billboards hawking this or selling that. Some are clever while others are just factual. But there they are, dominating the highway skylines.

Scenic Houston, meanwhile, is working diligently to stop any new billboard from going up and bringing those already there down to the ground.

Last week, Scenic Houston applauded the efforts of the city of Houston. According to a news release, the City Council recently passed an ordinance approving a contract agreement with outdoor billboard company JGI to reduce the number of its billboards in Houston. JGI, a major billboard company with inventory in Houston, has agreed to remove 13 billboards around the city, according to a news release.

With the JGI agreement final, the total number of billboards to be removed across the City and its ETJ is now 68, a 4 percent reduction in the citys total inventory.

This a good thing and a good start. Anything that can lower the number of billboards on the highways  which also contributes to light pollution, by the way  is a good thing.

It is already against the law to erect new billboards to any that are taken out of circulation will not be replaced.

Anne Culver, president of Scenic Houston, recently spoke a chamber of commerce meeting in northwest Harris County. At that meeting, she said there wasnt a sign ordinance in the city of Houston until 1980.

There were about 15,000 billboards in the city of Houston. By 1985 there was a complete prohibition on new billboards, Culver said. No business had to shut down. It simply said there were enough billboards. Were now at about 1,500-1,600 billboards. That is because of community pressure.

In New Mexico, cities have taken on the battle of light pollution, which billboards is a major contributor. There is a push to bring back the night sky free of light bleeding from billboards, lamp posts and anything else that lets light escape into the sky.

In Houston, it is totally believable that many people may have never seen a constellation. Its simply too bright out there.

There will be no new billboards posted in the greater Houston area, Culver said. In fact, billboards are being brought down on a near-daily basis. It is illegal to erect new billboards.

That statement was made before the latest reduction. Lets bring even more down.

For more information on Scenic Houston, go to www.scenichouston.org.
Security officers are hard-working, highly trained men and women who deter crime, lead evacuations, provide information, work closely with local law enforcement, and are vigilant in their efforts to keep us safe. Security professionals help maintain safe and secure workplaces, schools, shopping malls and communities, and are our countrys first responders.

The need for a strong security presence in our public spaces and in many private facilities is no longer just understood, it is the expectation. As we see and interact with security officers nearly everywhere we go, it can become easy to take their critical role for granted. It is important, however, to take another look...

These professionals have a range of skills - from the sensitivity to deal with lost children to the ability to respond to and effectively address criminal activity. Security officers are often put in high-risk situations as they confront and detain criminals engaged in theft, trespassing, gang activity and every other manner of unlawful behavior that occurs where many people congregate on a daily basis. Security professionals initiate emergency response plans, assist in medical emergencies and are our go-to source for everything from a missing wallet to suspicious packages.

Security officer training is extensive, and aligns with both the positions duties and the facility and industry where officers provide services. State-of-the-art training is crucial in keeping the flourishing physical security workforce ready and able to take on the daily challenges they face. Technology now plays a large role in security services and todays security officers are trained to work with integrated technological security solutions including robots, cameras and X-ray screening systems. These systems help safeguard the public; protect buildings and transportation systems, and screen everything from a ticket to a truck.

Security officers must also be knowledgeable about the regulatory requirements in the industry where they provide services. Those assigned to colleges and universities must adhere to crime reporting requirements; ports have strict federals laws regarding access control; and security officers at hospitals need to be aware of patient privacy laws.

The complexity of these requirements, combined with the need to be ever vigilant, yet customer service oriented, creates a challenging role.

How can we honor these often unsung heroes? The second annual National Security Officer Appreciation Week September 18 - 24, 2016. This is an opportunity to say thank you, and recognize security officers many contributions to our daily lives. Join in the celebration by stopping a security officer where you live or work and say thank you; sharing your thanks on social media using #ThankYouSecurity; or recognizing a security officer you appreciate at AUS.com/ThankYouSecurity.

Your kind words - during National Security Officer Appreciation Week and always - will be greatly appreciated by those who strive every day to help keep us safe and secure.

Steve Jones is CEO of Allied Universal, www.aus.com, a leading facility services company and the largest security force in North America with over 140,000 employees.
The Katy ISD board of trustees on Monday unanimously approved the charter for a committee that will examine and discuss district legislative priorities before the board drafts a legislative agenda about a month from now.

The district's legislative agenda will ultimately serve as a lobbying tool from the district to local legislatures regarding KISD's desires for the 85th Texas Legislative Session, which will convene in January 2017 and potentially serve as a crucial session for the state's public education system in factors such as finance and accountability.

"We want to hear what the committee wants to say," said Henry Dibrell, a trustee and the appointed chair of the committee. "We're going to prioritize those items (from the committee) and present them back to the board."

The committee will be formed by 16 district residents that will meet publicly to gather and discuss the community's input on the agenda.

Dibrell and trustee George Scott, whose background is in public policy, will be the only trustees on the committee, though trustee and KISD graduate Charles Griffin will also give some input to the group. All seven of the board trustees will each choose two community members to fill in the rest of the spots.

The committee will serve to "identify and recommend legislative priorities that address the needs of Katy ISD students, families and community for the Board of Trustees consideration," according to the charter approved on Monday.

Katy ISD officials presented the district's legislative priorities to the board last week to begin discussion on what should be included in the board's drafted legislative agenda. Officials addressed state public school issues in governance, accountability, assessment and finance.

The issues, according to the district, include school districts like Katy being limited in matters such as setting the school calendar, as well as teachers having too many Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) points to cover. District officials also spoke about the importance from the state to address the competency of high stakes testing, as well as its funding.

Other points covered by the district included items such as eliminating the state's A-F rating system for districts and for the state not to pass any legislation if there is not adequate funding for it.

"I personally have enormous problems with (the state's) accountability system and assessment program that I hope gets addressed," Scott said. "All kinds of people have all kinds of problems with what legislature is doing for all kids of reasons."

Finance will be a topic many districts in Texas will watch for during the legislative session after the Texas Supreme Court in May ruled that the state's public school finance system, while deeply flawed, is constitutional.

The ruling came years after more than half of the state's school districts, including KISD, sued the state contending that the funding system is unconstitutional based on factors such as the unequal distribution of funds.

Katy ISD, like many districts across Texas, faces a tighter budget year. The district is operating with $3.5 million less in bottom line funds than it did last year.

High stakes testing is also expected to be a key topic in the legislative session after major glitches in this year's State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) forced the state to not count test scores for several grades.

"This will be a crucial session in the state of Texas," Dibrell said.

KISD will have a survey available on its website until Sept. 30 for community members to give input to the district's legislative priorities.

District officials revealed preliminary results of the survey on Monday. About 1,700 people had participated, and they had expressed interest in seeing more control from school districts and less from the state, as well as the streamlining of the TEKS.

The district is expected to draft a legislative agenda by the beginning of November.

Other items discussed in Monday's meeting:

Trustees also approved a district tax rate of $1.5166 per $100 of property valuation for the 2016-17 school year.

Though the rate remains the same from the 2015-2016 school year, the average KISD resident will pay $78 more in taxes than they did last year because property values again increased throughout the district.

For more context on this year's tax rate, click here.
Northwest Houston residents will receive their orders from Amazon a little faster next year.

The company has announced it will build a new fulfillment center in Spring.

The 855,000-square-foot facility will be located at the Pinto Business Park, off Interstate 45 and Beltway 8.

The warehouse will bring 1,000 full-time jobs to the region, according to a report provided to the Harris County Commissioners Court.

The new facility is a tremendous boost to our local economy as 1,000 people will be employed, will need housing, recreation and other resources that north Houston is all too happy to provide, said Barbara Thomason, president of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce.

Construction of the new warehouse is expected to begin in the fall.

Construction costs for the warehouse and distribution center are estimated to be $136 million, according to the report, and will create approximately 582 jobs in the region.

To help secure the project, Amazon received a tax break from the county, approved unanimously by commissioners, that will save the company $179,073 annually for 10 years.

The overall increase in the tax base coupled with 1,000 or even more full time jobs makes the match of a tax abatement a good one for Harris County, said Precinct 4 Communications Director Mark Seegers.

Amazon builds distribution centers throughout the world to ship its products to customers in a timely manner. The new center would not ship Amazon Prime deliveries, which are shipped from a different Houston location. With Houstons legacy as a pioneer in innovation and exploration, we are proud to become a member of the community with the announcement of a new fulfillment center in the region, Akash Chauhan, Amazons vice president of North American operations said in a statement. We are excited to create more than 1,000 full-time jobs and to become a member of the business community.

Many of the jobs will be associates, who make between $23,000 to $33,000 a year. And some of the positions will be managers making $70,000 or more, according to the report provided to the county.

The new Spring center will be Amazons eighth fulfillment center in Texas. The other centers are in Humble, Coppell, Haslet, Dallas, Fort Worth, Schertz and one under construction in San Marcos.

The Spring fulfillment center will pack and ship small items, such as books, toys and electronics, the company said.

The northwest Houston location is desirable for Amazon, as it is close to major freeways, including I-45, Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway, and the location provides easy airport access.
If you shop regularly at the Randall's store on San Felipe, north of the Galleria, you might have noticed a handmade sign by the self-checkout machines. As of Oct. 3, the piece of printer paper declares, the self-checkouts will be gone.

What? Why this step back from progress? Weren't robots like these supposed to take over our most menial occupations, until no humans were needed at all?

Dawne Proffitt, a spokeswoman for Randall's and its parent company Albertson's, explained that the removing human element had actually backfired.

"The installation of self-checkouts was in response to a growing trend years ago for retail stores to be even more 'self-service' than ever before," Proffitt says. "Through customer feedback, we learned many people are yearning for a return to a personal, customer service experience. We know engaging one-on-one with customers, making that connection, is important to our business and to those that we serve."

The machines were installed only in about half of Randall's 30 Houston-area locations, and they'll all be removed, a sign of the unexpected wrinkles that will slow our slide toward a fully automated future.

Of course, Randall's isn't the first grocer to junk self-checkouts. Albertson's and Big Y got rid of them in 2011, and Costco and Jewel-Osco a few years later. With the technology now decades old, most chains have a mix of stores with them and without them. H-E-B, for example, has self-checkout at only 15 of its Houston-area stores.

Self-checkout is still growing, but it likely won't become as ubiquitous as other labor-saving retail innovations like the barcode and the price scanner. Although the research firm RBR reported 26 percent U.S. sales growth in self-checkout machines in 2015, many of those were replacements for old machines that have now been in stores long enough to wear out.

Humans continue to work the checkout line. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of cashiers to grow by 2 percent from 2014 to 2024 - slower than overall employment, for sure, but by no means a mass layoff.

So why isn't self-checkout taking over the world? Randall's preference for a "personal, customer service experience" might be part of it. Some jobs whose core functions could technically be automated are still performed better by humans, who are able to react to unpredictable situations and provide a degree of emotional comfort, according to a study by the global consultancy McKinsey.

But also, recent research has shown that self-checkout machines allow for a substantially higher amount of shoplifting. Although employee theft is a big part of what retailers call "shrink," a study by British academics found that losses were twice as large with self-service lanes than traditional cashiers, as shoppers were able to slip items by a machine more easily than they might a watchful cashier's gaze.

Proffitt denied that shoplifting was part of the reason Randall's is turning away from self-checkout.

That's another big reason why automation doesn't move as quickly as it might, according to McKinsey researchers. When you add on costs such as the need to constantly upgrade software and fix broken machines, actual humans may still be cheaper, especially in low-wage Texas. The national average hourly wage for cashiers is a paltry $9.40 an hour.

This may all change as technology continues to improve. The largest producer of self-service machines, Atlanta-based NCR, says it's piloting a system called "Scan watch," which takes pictures of each item and raises the alarm if the fancy steak you put on the scale doesn't match the product code you keyed in.

Monica Hachem, who sells such systems for NCR, denies that grocers are cutting self-checkout because of theft. "The simplest way to look at it is that people are going to steal from you no matter what you do, no matter how many security systems you have in place," she says.

But if more staff help solve that problem even a little bit, it may be that more cashiers keep their jobs than the robot evangelists anticipated.

n this Sept. 23, 2011 photo, a row of self checkout lines are available at a Big Y supermarket in Manchester, Conn. A growing number of supermarket chains are bagging their self-serve checkout lanes, saying they can offer better customer service when clerks help shoppers directly. Big Y Foods, which has more than 60 southern New England locations, recently became the latest to announce it's phasing them out. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

-- photo

Staff photo by Jessica HillAssociated Press

In this Sept. 23, 2011 photo, a row of self checkout lines are available at a Big Y supermarket in Manchester, Conn. A growing number of supermarket chains are bagging their self-serve checkout lanes, saying they can offer better customer service when clerks help shoppers directly. Big Y Foods, which has more than 60 southern New England locations, recently became the latest to announce it's phasing them out.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Mbare magistrates' court has reportedly issued Lynda Masarira with a warrant of arrest for failing to appear in court as she was hospitalised.Masarira, who is being tried for alleged public violence for taking part in a demonstration in July and spent some two months in remand prison, fell ill on Tuesday and was admitted at the Avenues Clinic in Harare.Colleagues reported that she had a fever and also suffered from a chest infection and excessive vomiting, with some suspecting that her long stay in prison was taking its toll on the mother of five.She is the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women in Politics (ZWIPA) outfit and has since June been demonstrating against President Robert Mugabe's government.However, reports indicated that the Mbare magistrates' court where she has repeatedly appeared for trial issued a warrant of arrest when Masarira failed to appear in court.This is the second time Masarira has been issued with a warrant of arrest while seriously ill.In the first case, a Mutare magistrate ordered her arrest when she could not appear as scheduled due to poor health.The courts have given that as a reason why she has endured a lengthy stay at the Chikurubi Maximum Prison.Patson Dzamara, a civil rights activist whose brother, Itai, a journalist, was abducted by suspected State security agents in March 2015 for leading protests against President Robert Mugabe through his Occupy Africa Unity Square campaign, visited Masarira in hospital on Tuesday.He said in a message that he had asked the doctor who attended her to write a letter confirming that Masarira was admitted at the Avenues Clinic, but it could not be immediately established if that happened.
A middle school student at Alvin ISD was arrested on Friday afternoon, accused of making terroristic threats after he allegedly posed as a clown on social media and made threats to the school district.

Alvin ISD spokesman Daniel Combs said district administrators and police responded to numerous posts on social media this week that involve threatening messages to Alvin schools and the district.
The CEO of Backpage.com appeared before a Houston judge on Friday morning to face charges related to hosting sex trade advertisements on the online website.

Carl Ferrer, 55, was arrested Thursday afternoon at Bush Intercontinental Airport when his flight from Amsterdam landed. Ferrer was taken into custody on a California arrest warrant connected to a 10-count criminal complaint accusing him of participating in a pimping conspiracy and pimping minors.

He appeared in Harris County Criminal Court on Friday and agreed to be extradited immediately to California.

"He's looking forward to his day in court, where he gets to battle back on these charges," defense attorney Philip Hilder said.

The lawyer declined to comment on why Ferrer was in Houston or what ties he may have to the city. Hilder said his client was "tired" after spending a night in the Harris County jail and from being on an overseas flight.

Texas authorities are investigating Ferrer for potentially violating state money laundering laws.

Search warrants were executed in Dallas County for "all business and financial records pertaining or relating to Backpage.com" related to Ferrer as well as Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey, who are listed in court papers as the founders of Backpage.com. Larkin and Lacey were also the founders and former owners of a company that started or acquired various weekly alternative newspapers across the country including the Houston Press.

Ferrer signed an extradition waiver agreeing to leave Texas as soon as possible. His passport also was confiscated.

Brian Rose, a prosecutor in the case, said that Ferrer could be flown back to California as early as 2 p.m. Friday.

Backpage.com posts ads for escort services. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described the site as the largest advertiser of adult escort services in the United States.

During a news conference Thursday, Paxton said the investigation was part of his office's crackdown on human trafficking.

A news release issued Thursday by the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris described the site as "an online brothel" that generated "millions of dollars off the illegal sex trade."
The Dallas Police Department has arrested a 53-year-old Dallas kindergarten teacher who is now charged with the continuous sexual abuse of at least two children.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Assistant Chief Christina Smith announced the arrest of Jorge Ruiz, a teacher at Kramer Elementary in Dallas.
A Houston doctor was sentenced Friday to more than five years in prison for conspiring to defraud Medicare of more than $6.6 million.

Dr. Leonard Kibert, 65, and his medical clinic administrator, Tsolak Gevorgyan, 30, were convicted by a federal jury in February of 41 and 44 counts, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said. Gevorgyan, who was involved in recruiting patients, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8.
Houston police officers may soon roll out to work with a new tool to protect themselves while on patrol: rifle-resistant body armor.

Officials with the Houston Police Officers' Union and the Houston Police Foundation are raising funds to purchase "level 4" vests capable of withstanding high-velocity rifle rounds.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Mutsadyanga has taken over as Officer Commanding 1.2 Infantry Battalion in Hwange following the redeployment of his predecessor Lieutenant Colonel Simon Gwasha to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces headquarters in Harare.The handover-takeover ceremony was held at 1.2 Infantry Battalion in Hwange with the Commander of 1 Infantry Brigade Brigadier General Augustine Chipwere presiding.Lieutenant Colonel Gwasha expressed gratitude to the 1.2 Infantry Battalion staff for the support they rendered him during his tenure and urged them to support the incoming Commander."I am also grateful that I am handing over the command of 1.2 Infantry Battalion to a capable senior officer. The incoming commanding officer has indeed done all the qualifying courses reminiscent of a senior officer that include Battalion Group Commanders Course and a Masters Degree in Developmental Studies," he said.Incoming Officer Commanding 1.2 Infantry Battalion Lieutenant Colonel Mutsadyanga pledged his commitment in ensuring that the battalion surpasses the professional standards set by his predecessors, adding he will abide by the provisions of the Defence Act and orders from his superiors."I will endeavour to maintain a battalion that is well trained, disciplined and fit for role as done by my predecessor. I will also ensure that the battalion remains the envy of the brigade and the ZNA by thinking outside the box but not losing sight of the box," said Lieutenant Colonel Mutsadyanga.The handover-takeover ceremony of the leadership of 1.2 Infantry Battalion was attended by provincial members of the joint operating command, traditional leaders as well as the business community.
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A former Harris County jail inmate has sued the county in federal court, one month after a surveillance video captured three jailers breaking his nose and fracturing the bone around his eye socket on Sept. 4.

Jerome Bartee Jr., a 28-year-old Houston father of three, had been locked up only a day after being arrested on a felony drug and a felony gun possession charge when the lawsuit claims he requested treatment for a "severe" toothache and instead received a pummeling.

The jail's newly installed, $5 million high-definition video cameras captured the incident, but the Harris County sheriff's department has refused to release its video to the public.

The lawsuit claims the video shows three people beating Bartee, and another seven Harris County employees "engaging in, encouraging or supporting the county-sponsored mob violence." The lawsuit adds that at the end of the beating, one employee looked up at the surveillance camera and attempted to have another employee turn it off.

After the beating, Bartee lay in a "pool of his own blood" and suffered nasal bone fractures, a left orbital floor blowout fracture, cuts and bruises and a head injury, the lawsuit alleges. Bartee later underwent surgery to repair the fractures on both sides of his nose and have a metal plate implanted to repair his eye socket, the lawsuit said. He is seeking damages for his injuries and for the county's failure to protect him from excessive force.

Harris County sheriff's officials did not immediately comment on the federal civil lawsuit. But in a press conference in September, Sheriff Ron Hickman publicly addressed concerns raised by Bartee's family and announced that he had suspended three detention officers with pay in connection with the beating.

"We feel that that part of it was not done properly," Hickman said at that time. "We feel there was punching involved that was not necessary."

Hickman also confirmed that the jail's camera equipment provided him with the information he needed to find that "unnecessary" force was used.

The Harris County sheriff's office so far also has refused to provide a copy of the video even to Bartee's civil attorneys.

"We would like the county to release the video so that everyone can see ... just what happened to Mr. Bartee. He's entitled to have that. There's no reason to keep secret the video," said Don Kidd, Bartee's civil attorney.

Harris County Court records show that Bartee also was criminally charged with assault of a public servant for causing bodily injury to a guard on Sept. 4 - the day of the videotaped beating - by striking a county employee "with his hand"during medical screening. But that charge was dropped Sept. 8 because of "insufficient evidence," records show. Bartee's criminal defense attorney did receive a copy of the video, but under a protective order.

The lawsuit claimed that the violent incident began when one guard pushed Bartee into a door in the clinic hallway. After Bartee reacted verbally, that guard and two others "began to inflict an unnecessary and excessive physical beat-down of Bartee in the hallway of the jail's clinic."

Bartee v. Harris County Lawsuit by Lise Olsen on Scribd

Hickman has been sheriff since May 2015.

The Harris County jail has been under Department of Justice monitoring since 2009 because of continuing reports of excessive use of force and deaths in one of the nation's largest local jails.

Bartee also separately filed a complaint to the civil rights division of the Harris County District Attorney's office and that complaint remains under investigation, his attorney said.

Read more: Problems in the Harris County jail were the subject of a 2015 series called Jailhouse Jeopardy
A reported gas leak at a Lone Star College campus may be behind digital message alerts that were sent to students at several colleges throughout Texas and other states.

The vague message were sent out about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and told students they needed to evacuate the buildings. The alert apparently did not offer many details about the reason for the evacuation.
A leading Harris County judge said Thursday he will change course and accept involuntary psychiatric commitment requests signed by doctors of osteopathic medicine while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reviews the matter.

Paxton's legal opinion about who can sign such paperwork was solicited Thursday by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, chairman of the health and human services committee. He wrote Paxton a letter asking him to issue an opinion "affirming the right of doctors of osteopathy to practice medicine in Texas."

The request followed Harris County probate court Judge Rory Olsen's ruling last month rejecting an application signed by a DO because of his interpretation that "ambiguous" language in a provision of state law suggests only MDs can certify that an individual is mentally ill, dangerous and in need of commitment. He subsequently instructed staff to reject such applications before they get to him or the county's other mental health probate court judge.

"The simple fact is, Judge Olsen doesn't have the authority to decide which physicians he does or does not want to listen to," wrote Schwertner, an MD. "Regardless of this man's opinion, the law governing the practice of medicine is exceedingly clear: DOs -- just like MDs -- are fully-trained, licensed, and accredited physicians with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. Period."

Upset about the ruling, leaders of numerous professional societies and Texas' medical licensing board last month wrote Olsen urging him to reconsider, stressing the threat to an already undermanned mental health community. He responded that he was open to persuasion, but it would take the citation of an appellate court or an opinion from Paxton's office. He suggested the best solution would be for the Legislature to clarify the law.

But Olsen Thursday called the involvement of Paxton a good compromise and said he will accept DO-signed paperwork that comes before the mental health court docket Friday.
In 2016, two major gun law changes came into effect in Texas, shifting where the state stands on the spectrum of gun regulations.

Until Jan. 1, 2016, Texas was one of the few remaining states that prohibited the open carry of handguns. And in August, college students with permits returned to school with the ability to carry concealed handguns on campus.

With both laws in full swing, many are wondering how Texas stacks up against the other 49 states when it comes to the loosening of gun laws.

RELATED: What Texas' Open Carry gun law actually says

"Texas is in the middle," said Melissa Hamilton, a criminal law scholar at the University of Houston Law Center. "It is both less and more strict than about a dozen states on each side."

Texas is one of roughly 15 states that require a permit or license to openly carry a handgun, while nearly twice that many states require no license at all.

On the other hand, Texas is very loose with other areas of gun regulation.

"Unlike about a dozen other states, Texas law does not ban high capacity magazines, does not place restrictions on gun shows, does not extend background checks to private transfers, does not require weapons be safely stored when possessed or transferred, and does not require waiting periods," Hamilton said.

READ MORE: Texas professors sue over guns on campus before class begins

But, not all of it is about government regulation.

"The reason people typically do not see others carrying long arms in public is simply cultural," Hamilton said. "Individuals generally do not carry long arms unless hunting or fishing because of the negative social reaction they attract."

In addition, even citizens can enact some of their own "gun laws," something that Hamilton explains is often forgotten.

"Private business and homeowners may prohibit individuals from carrying openly carried or concealed firearms from entering or remaining on their premises," Hamilton said. "Even if the individuals have a license."

Click through above to see a timeline of Texas' gun law changes through the years.
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Gary C. Ligon, the Kerrville man declared not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in the grisly death of his wife, was transferred Friday to the states maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Vernon after walking away from the San Antonio State Hospital this week.

Thank God, said Judy Clark, whose sister, Rebecca Becky Ligon was slain in 1990 at the house where she and her husband lived outside Kerrville.

Ligon originally was ordered sent to the Vernon facility in 2007, when he was declared insane. He was transferred to the San Antonio State Hospital in 2013.

Clark was among those alarmed to learn this week that Ligon, 62, was not housed at the secure Vernon campus of the North Texas State Hospital  and that he had walked away from the San Antonio hospital, where staffers are not authorized to stop such departures., three times in the past 13 months.

He said he would kill the rest of our family if he ever got out and had the chance, Clark, 52, said by phone Tuesday. .

State District Judge Rex Emerson cited Ligons three unauthorized departures from the New Braunfels Avenue facility, and the dangers he poses to others, in a transfer order he issued Wednesday.

Ligons behavior has recently become increasingly more agitated and unpredictable, said Robert Arizpe, the superintendent of the San Antonio hospital, in an email Thursday endorsing the court-ordered transfer, which triggered a brief argument over who should move him.

Given his recent unauthorized departures and threatening behavior, we feel that it is in societys best interest and safety that law enforcement transport Mr. Ligon, Arizpe told Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer in requesting local deputies conduct the transfer.

If your deputies are not able to transport Mr. Ligon to Vernon tomorrow (Friday), well have to proceed with transporting him ourselves, Arizpe wrote.

Hierholzer rejected the request, saying the 15-hour round trip by two deputies would compromise his departments ability to protect Kerr County. He also accused the Texas Department of State Health Services of violating the trial courts commitment order when it moved Ligon to the San Antonio facility, where Ligon reportedly was allowed to smoke cigarettes outside the area where forensic patients like himself are kept.

Hierholzer told Arizpe that Ligon walked off Sunday morning while on such a smoke break. He was located early Tuesday by San Antonio Police and returned to the facility.

Christine Mann, a spokeswoman for the state agency, on Friday declined to address Hierholzers contention that the agency had violated the courts commitment order. Shed earlier confirmed agency staff does not try to physically detain patients who walk away from its hospitals.

When there are patients who leave our campus grounds, we typically notify local law enforcement and it's in their hands, she said .

Authorities say Becky Ligon was killed after picking up her husband at the Kerrville State Hospital, where they both worked. He also had been a patient at the hospital who had checked out about one week earlier.

They say evidence proved Ligon killed his wife, dismembered her body with a circular saw, left her torso in a field near their home and then burned her head in a washtub on their back porch. At his trial, a court-appointed psychiatrist said Ligon was undergoing schizophrenic delusions during the crime.

zeke@express-news.net
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Police in North Texas found dozens of men living in "barbaric" conditions, where they were allegedly beaten daily, forcefully restrained and given inadequate amounts of food, Tuesday in a faux rehabilitation facility that led to the arrest of 10 men, The Dallas Morning News reported.

RELATED: Sister of teen in brutal forced abortion testifies under immunity in Dallas

Both the Fort Worth and Irving Police Departments were involved in the case, which began with a call to authorities Tuesday. The caller reported that three men were chasing a man in the 1100 block of Union Bower Road in Irving, a suburb of Dallas.

When responding to the call, police were led to a house in the 2400 block of Penn Street where they found 37 men inside, the Morning News reported. Police learned the 37 inhabitants of the house were beaten daily, tied to chairs and the only food they were allowed to eat was one package of ramen noodles each day. The only time they were allowed more food is if they were "good." Then, they would get five minutes to eat rice, beans and potatoes one day each week, police said.

They also slept on beds made out of two-by-fours inside the house that had an Alcoholics Anonymous sign sitting in the front yard, according to the newspaper.

The conditions inside of the facilities and the treatment of the patients can only be described as medieval and barbaric, a statement from the Fort Worth Police Department obtained by the newspaper said.

RELATED: 15 women arrested, 8 brothels shut down in Dallas prostitution sting

The following people were arrested Oct. 4 and charged with aggravated kidnapping with bodily injury:

Carlos Diaz, 20

Leonel Omar Fernandez, 39

Bryan Gutierrez, 21

Jonathan Ortiz, 21

Jorge Ramirez, 30

Jose Pascual Hernandez, 29, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and unlawful restraint. Jose Saul Reyes Hernandez, 31, was charged with unlawful restraint, according to an affidavit obtained by the Morning News.

RELATED: South Texas officials nab 15 in prostitution sting

Ortiz and Ramirez are currently being held on an immigration detainer, which is an official request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to another law enforcement agency (LEA)such as a state or local jail that the LEA notify ICE prior to releasing an individual from local custody so that ICE can arrange to take over custody, according to the American Immigration Council.

Additionally, Fort Worth police arrested the following people Oct. 4 who were charged with aggravated kidnapping and kidnapping:

Rodrigo Soto Gonzalez, 23

Ricardo Rodriguez Taylor, 21

Adolfo Tello, 60

Jesus Dorado was the man who was being chased Tuesday that prompted police to come to the area. He told police he was running from the supposed Penn Street rehab house because he feared assault and being forced back into the home, the Morning News reported.

Police interviewed most of the 37 men found in the house and 11 were brought into jail for questioning and six others were detained due to immigration holds.

One of the men, Danillo Maldonado, told police he was kidnapped in Irving Sept. 26 after escaping another supposed rehab facility in Fort Worth. That day, six men threw him into their truck, and took him to the house on Penn Street, according to an affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News. There, Maldonado told police he was beat up and told he would be killed if he left the house.

MORE: Police: Kerrville boy's horrific burns caused by accidental gasoline splash, 1 juvenile arrested

Police arrested Diaz, Fernandez, Gutierrez, Ortiz, Ramirez, Jose Pascual Hernandez, and Jose Saul Reyes Hernandez at the Penn Street house.

Maldonado then led investigators to the supposed rehab facility in Fort Worth where police found eight men and three women who were taken there by family for drug or alcohol rehabilitation, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Police arrested Gonzales, Taylor and Tello Oct. 4 at the Fort Worth house in the 5000 block of Brentwood Stair Road, the Star-Telegram reported.

Fort Worth Sgt. Marc Povero told the Star-Telegram there were assaults involved in keeping the 11 people found in the house by force.

Police remain unsure if the facilities were used for human trafficking, Medicaid fraud or as a safe house for undocumented immigrants, the Morning News reported.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
AUSTIN -- A federal judge has dismissed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil case against Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying he had no obligation to tell potential investors he would make a commission from their sales.

"I appreciate the judge's thorough review and I am gratified by his dismissal of the entire case," Paxton said in a statement late Friday.

The dismissal marks another win forthe embattled attorney general who maintains he did nothing wrong while encouraging friends and colleagues to invest in Servergy, a north Texas tech company.

"This case is not about whether Paxton had a moral obligation to disclose his financial arrangement with Servergy to potential investors. This case is also not about whether Paxton had some general obligation to disclose his financial arrangement to his investor group," said U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant in a 29-page ruling filed late Friday.

"The only issue before the court is to determine whether the facts as pleaded give rise to a plausible claim under federal securities laws. With that limitation in mind, the court has determined that under the facts pleaded by the commission, Paxton did not have a legal obligation to disclose his

financial arrangement," said the ruling.

The SEC has argued Paxton had a duty to disclose to investors in 2011 that he would make a commission when convincing them to invest in Servergy Inc., a McKinney company purporting to make a revolutionary new computer network server. According to the SEC, Paxton, then a Collin County state representative, received 100,000 shares in Servergy stock for recruiting investors for the company.

The dismissal of the federal charges leave Paxton left to fight criminal charges. He was indicted last year on two counts of first-degree felony securities fraud and one count of failing to register as an investment adviser with the state, a third-degree felony. Those charges are on appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Paxton could face five to 99 years in prison and fiscal penalties if found guilty.
News / National

by Staff reporter

President Robert Mugabe is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on a working visit.The President, who is accompanied by the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe, was met by Zimbabwe's ambassador to Malaysia Cuthbert Zhakata and embassy staff.Meanwhile, Mugabe has held bilateral talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Mr Najib Razak in Putrajaya in Malaysia this Friday.The two leaders discussed issues relating to bilateral cooperation between the two countries.As developing countries, the two share similar views on the reform of the United Nations and the need for fair trade on the global arena.Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo who is in President Mugabe's delegation said he is on the second leg of scouting for partners for the national airline Air Zimbabwe which has been facing many challenges and a huge debt.Dr Gumbo said he is in Malaysia to learn some of the best business practices that the Asian country is renowned for.He said Zimbabwe can also draw some lessons on how the Asian country has managed to cope following the some mishaps that include the disappearance of flight MH370 on the 8th of March 2014.
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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- T. S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide."
Back in 2008, Daniel Day-Lewis won the best-actor Oscar for his role in There Will Be Blood, a movie about the early days of the oil industry in the United States. Eight years later, theres plenty of blood being shed in the oil and gas sector. Oil prices are down about 50 percent since June 2014, and huge job losses have followed. Last year, the global oil and gas sector lost about 250,000 jobs. In Texas alone, about 100,000 oil and gas jobs have been lost since 2014. For comparison, thats more jobs than the entire domestic wind industry claims (88,000). Since early 2015, more than 40 Texas oil and gas companies have filed for bankruptcy, and some 75 others are on what consulting firm Deloitte calls its danger list.

Of course, no one in Washington is calling for subsidies to the oil and gas sector or worried about saving oil-patch jobs. By contrast, in December, Congress made sure to protect the wind industry by passing a five-year extension of the production-tax credit, a lucrative subsidy that pays wind-energy firms $23 for each megawatt-hour of electricity that they produce. For some easterners, hard times in Texas are cause for celebration. In mid-2015, when oil prices dropped under $60 per barrel amid layoffs in the oil and gas sector, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman crowed about news that the states employment growth had fallen below the national average. The explanation, he said, was all about hydrocarbons.

Krugman and others may delight in the misfortune of Texass oil and gas producers, but they forget that the main reason oil prices have fallen so far, so fast, is due to good old ingenuitymuch of it developed in Houston, Dallas, and Midland. Technological innovation in everything from drill bits and mud pumps to seismic analysis and digitally controlled drilling rigs has unlocked galaxies of energy that have helped transform America into an energy superpower. The U.S. now has an energy-price advantage on commodities like natural gas, propane, ethane, and even electricity over nearly every other country. That advantage is a direct result of the dynamism of the domestic oil and gas business, the epicenter of which remains in Texas.

Indeed, 11 decades after the gusher at Spindletop ushered in the Texas oil boom, and eight decades after the discovery of the supergiant East Texas field, Texas has reemerged as the global oil markets key producer. Since 2009, the margin of increase in Texass oil output has matched the combined total oil production of four OPEC members: Ecuador, Indonesia, Libya, and Qatar. Between 2009 and 2015, U.S. oil production grew by about 3.9 million barrels per day, and nearly 60 percent of that increasesome 2.3 million barrels per daycame from Texas.

Of course, Texas has long been Americas most important oil and gas province. With some 3.4 million barrels of output per day, the state now accounts for about 37 percent of daily U.S. oil production. North Dakota, which has also seen a big increase in oil output over the past few years, is the nations second-largest oil producer, producing about 1.1 million barrels per day. California (550,000 barrels per day) ranks a distant third. Texas also dominates in natural-gas production, accounting for about 27 percent of all domestic output.

Texas has not only retaken a leadership role in global production; in an echo of its storied past, the Lone Star State is once again exerting outsize influence on global prices. The recent collapse in oil prices recalls what happened after a Bible-quoting promoter named Dad Joiner discovered the East Texas Field in 1930. Within a year of Joiners discovery, oil flooded the market, and prices plummeted. Todays oil-price plunge is largely due to the shale revolution, which started in Texas and has made the U.S. the worlds biggest oil and natural-gas producerleading to record levels of oil in storage. Just as it did in the 1930s, oversupply has sent prices falling. But this time around, and contrary to the wishes of Krugman and other critics, the pace of development of new technologies suggests that we may be headed into a new era of higher oil production and lower priceswith Texas leading the way.

By early 1930, Columbus Marion Dad Joiner had been drilling for oil in East Texas for three years, and all he had to show for it were some good stories and a lot of heartache. But the rotund, loquacious, 60-something promoter from Alabama kept drilling. He knew that there was oil in Rusk County, and he believed that if he could get his drill bit below 3,500 feetmore than three times the depth of the states first great oil well, drilled at Spindletop three decades earlierhed have success. A geological formation known as the Woodbine, he believed, was where hed find treasure.

Joiners first well, the Daisy Bradford No. 1, failed when his drill bit jammed at 1,098 feet. The Daisy Bradford No. 2 was halted at 2,000 feet, when the drill pipe got hung up in the hole. By that time, Joiner was broke again. In May 1929, he started work in the Daisy Bradford No. 3, though he was often restricted to drilling on Sundays, the only day of the week that he could scrounge together a volunteer crew. One scout for a major oil company reportedly visited the site 20 times and never found it operating. Joiners progress was slow, and his money was gone. But the locals kept the faith: his was the only oil well for miles around. As the Depression summer of 1930 passed and winter loomed, historian Lawrence Goodwyn explained, Dads well was about the only thing people had to look forward to. It was a favorite place for people to gather after church on Sundays.

In September 1930, 16 months after the Daisy Bradford No. 3 got under way, Joiners ragged drill rig passed the 3,500-foot mark; the core samples showed oil. Some 8,000 people crowded around as Joiners men worked night and day, bailing mud out of the well. In the late afternoon of October 3, 1930, a gusher of sweet Texas crude blew out over the top of the wooden derrick and onto the nearby pine trees and red clay soil.

Joiner had discovered a gargantuan deposit. The East Texas Field measured 45 miles north to south, from five to 12 miles east to west, and covered 140,000 acresdwarfing anything that had come before. It contained over 5.5 billion barrels of oil, about a third as much as all the crude produced in the United States up to that time. And the mineral rights to the East Texas Field were highly diffused, with hundreds of individuals and companies owning parts of the land. Within a few months of Joiners gusher, wells in East Texas were producing more than 1 million barrels of light-as-kerosene crude oil per dayhalf of Americas total consumption.

The flood of oil had a predictable result: prices plummeted. In early 1930, before Joiners well came roaring in, a barrel of crude oil sold for about $1.30. By mid-1931, the price had come down to 13 cents, and in parts of East Texas, it was selling for as little as 3 cents. Despite the low prices, Texas producers didnt want to reduce production. All were relying on an old English common law known as the right of capture. On the surface, the wells were owned by different people. Below the surface, all were sucking oil out of the same reservoir. If they stopped drilling and producing, their neighbors could simply pump the oil out from beneath their land. So they kept pumping, reducing the oil fields long-term viability. In its earliest days, the massive field pushed oil out of the ground under its own pressure. But as more wells tapped the field, that pressure was being bled out, like the air from a balloon.

In theory, the Texas Railroad Commission, an agency originally set up to regulate railroads, had the authority to limit the amount of oil that each producer took from his well. The best solution for all producers was for the commission to limit production so that it simply met demanda system known as prorationing. The commission set quotas several times, but producers in the East Texas Field ignored the directives. On July 31, 1931, a federal court in Houston sided with a group of independent oil producers and ruled that the commission had no right to impose prorationing. A few days later, the Texas Senateits gallery packed with East Texas producersagreed with the court and rejected a bill that would have given the commission authority to limit production.

Texas governor Ross Sterling decided that hed make his own rules. On August 16, 1931, Sterling declared martial law in the East Texas Field, and he dispatched the Texas National Guard with instructions, without delay, to shut down each and every producing crude oil well and/or producing well of natural gas. Sterlings move stabilized prices, but it also spawned years of legal and political wrangling. Finally, in 1935, another powerful Texan, U.S. senator Tom Connally, helped pass a federal law that gave the Railroad Commission the authority to proration oil. Every month, the commissioners met at the agencys office in Austin and set allowables, which determined the amount of oil that each operator could produce from his wells. The commissioners adjusted the allowables so that Texas production met demand, and not a barrel more. The system worked: by managing the flow of oil from Americas most important oil fields, the Railroad Commission effectively determined world prices for the next four decades.

That control ended in October 1973, when the Arab members of OPEC, along with Egypt and Syria, began an oil embargo. While the embargo didnt cause any actual shortages of oil, OPEC forced up prices. By March 1974, global oil prices had risen from about $3 per barrel to about $12 per barrel. OPEC was able to affect prices by restricting supply, and it did so by copying the Railroad Commissions system of allowables. OPEC had roots in Texas: Abdullah Tariki, the first Saudi educated at the University of Texas in Austin, did an internship at the Texas Railroad Commission. As Saudi Arabias first oil minister, Tariki arranged a meeting at a yacht club in Cairo with ministers from Venezuela, Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq that resulted in the formation of OPEC. Years later, when Jim Tanner, a longtime energy reporter for the Wall Street Journal, asked Tariki what he had studied in Austin, Tariki replied, the Texas Railroad Commission.

But just as OPEC replaced the Railroad Commission, technology has disrupted OPECs ability to regulate the global supply of oil. And the key technologies needed to produce oil and gas from shale depositshydraulic fracturing and horizontal drillingwere perfected in Texas. In fact, the shale revolution got under way in the Barnett Shale, a huge deposit located south and west of Fort Worth. Just as Dad Joiner deserves credit for finding the East Texas Field, George Mitchell, who died in 2013, played the key role in discovering how to produce oil and gas from shale.

Mitchell, founder of Mitchell Energy (bought by Devon Energy in 2001 for $3.5 billion), owned multiple leases in the Barnett Shale region. During the 1990s, he spent millions testing techniques to wring oil and gas from shale. In 1997, Mitchells crews finally discovered that water injected under extremely high pressure, along with lots of sand and a dash of surfactant and biocide, was the winning formula. That technique, which became known as a slick water frac, combined with horizontal drilling, vaulted the Barnett Shale from obscurity into one of the ten most prolific gas fields on the planet, ranking on par with Irans giant South Pars field. The lessons that Mitchell Energy learned there have since been applied in shale formations throughout the U.S., including the Eagle Ford Shale in south Texas, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota, the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana, the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, and the Utica Shale in Ohio. U.S. oil production also soared, reversing a four-decade downward slide. Between 1997the year that Mitchell cracked the shale code with the slick water fracand 2014, U.S. oil production jumped by about 35 percent.

OPEC was watching the surge in U.S. shale oil production and what it was doing to oil prices. From mid-2010 through early 2014, prices mostly stayed over $80 per barrel. But by mid-2014, surging U.S. production was eroding OPECs market share. By the time OPEC ministers met in Vienna that November, the world was oversupplied with oil. Prices had fallen to the mid-$70s and were headed further downward. At the meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal, an official from one Persian Gulf oil producer declared: The cause of oversupply is not OPEC. Its shale oil.

The late 2014 OPEC meeting exposed the cartels innate weakness. Some members cheated on their allowables to gain additional revenue at the expense of others. Many oil traders were betting that OPEC would agree to cut production to help stabilize prices. Instead, Saudi Arabia, producer of about a third of all OPEC oil and the cartels most powerful member, made clear that it would protect its market shareeven if that meant lower prices. The Saudis rationale was simple: they knew that if they cut production, the result would be higher prices, which, in turn, would stimulate more shale oil production in the U.S. (and probably more cheating by cartel members).

After OPEC decided that it would keep the oil taps open, prices dropped 7 percent and have kept dropping. Sovereign producers like Russia, Kuwait, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and others hope that lower prices will shut down U.S. shale oil production and reduce supply, but thats unlikely to happen soon, thanks to American entrepreneurialism and ingenuity. Drillers in Texas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere are making drilling faster and cheaper, resulting in more oil and gas production from fewer rigs. Domestic oil producers, particularly the ones in Texas, can survive even amid drastically lower prices.

The Energy Information Administration charts oil production in the Permian Basin in West Texas. From 2007 until about 2013, the amount of oil produced from a new well by an average drilling rig stayed flat, at about 100 barrels per day. But between 2013 and 2016, that figure quintupled, to over 500 barrels per day. Even more remarkable: the productivity boost occurred at the same time that the rig count in the region fell by two-thirds. Similar gains have occurred on drilling rigs targeting natural gas. In February, the EIA published productivity data on gas-well drilling in the Marcellus Shale. Between 2013 and 2016, the amount of natural gas from new wells in the Marcellus doubled, going from about 4.5 million cubic feet per day to about 9 million. That increase occurred at the same time that the rig count in the region fell by more than half. A decade ago, gas production from the Marcellus was negligible. Today, that formation is producing about 16 billion cubic feet of gas per day, a volume nearly equal to the production of Iran, which has the worlds largest gas reserves.

In February 2016, London-based energy giant BP took note of American energy-productivity gains, predicting that U.S. shale oil production would double over the next two decades. Technological innovation and productivity gains have unlocked vast resources of tight oil and shale gas, the company wrote in its Energy Outlook 2035, causing us to revise the outlook for U.S. production successively higher.

It would, of course, be foolish to claim that oil prices are destined to remain at low or moderate levels indefinitely. A major conflict in the Persian Gulf or the sabotage of Saudi Arabias oil fields could send oil prices upward. Furthermore, there are signs that low prices have forced oil producers in the U.S., Latin America, and the North Sea to curtail their drilling programs. That, in turn, will likely reduce this years non-OPEC production by about 700,000 barrels per day, according to a recent estimate by London-based research consultancy Energy Aspects. But a case can be made that we have entered a new era. The technologies that were perfected in shale formations in Texashorizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturingcan now be applied in shale deposits around the world. That matters, because shale is the most abundant form of sedimentary rock on the planet. Further, those technologies can also be used to stimulate production from conventional oil reservoirs in non-OPEC countries like Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. Those two realities, according to The Price of Oil, a recent book by Roberto Aguilera and Marian Radetzki, will have an overwhelming impact on global oil supply. Aguilera and Radetzki predict that as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing tap conventional reservoirs, global oil production could rise by nearly 20 million barrels per day by 2035. They further expect that moderate oil pricesthey predict $40 oil in 2035will mean that efforts to develop renewables for the purpose of climate stabilization will become more costly [and] require greater subsidies.

These forecasts dont surprise Bud Brigham, a longtime Texas-based driller who helped pioneer the development of the Bakken Shale in North Dakota. Two years ago, Brighamwho sold the company he founded, Brigham Exploration, to Statoil in 2011 for $4.4 billionhad three rigs running in the Permian Basin, and his new company was producing 3,000 barrels of oil per day. By February 2016, his new outfit was utilizing just one rig that produced twice that volume. Brigham said that he was squeezing out a tiny profit, even with oil at $30 to $40. Texas is setting the cost of the marginal barrel, he explained. Were in the early innings of innovating with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. We are driving up yields and driving down costs.

Texas drillers, along with their colleagues in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Colorado, and elsewhere, remain among the most efficient energy extractors on the planet. The economic and geopolitical ramifications are potentially enormous. If prices rally to, say, $60 or $70 per barrel, U.S. drillers could produce even more oiland in doing so, undermine efforts by OPEC to limit production.

Todays oil market, then, looks remarkably like it did in 1931, before Governor Sterling declared martial law in East Texas. A flood of Texas oil has overwhelmed the market. There are no brakes on supply, prices are weak, and producers are acting on their own, hoping to sell as much oil as they can. Whats old is new againand Texas oil is, once again, in the spotlight.

Top Photo: For nearly 100 years, oil has been central to Texass economy. (Granger, NYC  All rights reserved.)
Sunday nights second presidential debate will look very different from the last showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on September 26. Following a format first used in 1992, the candidates will answer questions posed not by a journalist moderator, but by voters in the auditorium and online.

If past town halls are any guide, Sundays debate will bring focus not just to what the candidates say, but to how they present themselves while engaging with the audience. It will also provide the opportunity for individual voters to bring their experiences and priorities to a national stagea format that has, at times, resulted in unusual questions.

In 1992s inaugural town hall debate, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot shared the stage. That year, and for the next three election cycles, moderators served as little more than traffic cops, keeping time and instructing candidates when it was their turn to respond. In 2008, however, the Commission on Presidential Debates granted the moderators more leeway, allowing them to follow up on audience questions or redirect the discussion toward a related issue.

Often in town hall debates, personal character takes center stage. Voters want to know if candidates can relate to issues facing the American people. Even questions centered on hot campaign topics are often framed to elicit how candidates feel about an issue on a personal level. Instead of simply asking about a candidates policies or legislation they want to enact, questions are more likely to touch on understanding why the candidates hold certain beliefs.

This years town hall seems likely to follow much the same pattern. As noted in our first analysis of debate questions through history, voters are particularly uneasy about Trumps and Clintons character. A September Gallup poll showed that only 33 percent of Americans felt good or great about a Clinton win, while that percentage dipped to 25 for a Trump win. In a separate Gallup poll, 64 percent of Americans viewed Trump unfavorably, while 54 percent viewed Clinton unfavorably.

Viewers of this Sundays debate, moderated by CNNs Anderson Cooper and ABC Newss Martha Raddatz, can expect questions that will zero in on this lack of trust. The voters in the auditorium Sunday night, selected by Gallup, are all undecided.

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CJR analyzed questions from the six previous town hall style debates to identify what makes them different from the other debate formats. Heres what we found:

Town halls are unique

While the town hall format has, in the past, resulted in standard questions about the economy, military intervention, and healthcare, it has also allowed voters to touch on issues more specific to their personal priorities. Journalists may think they have their fingers on the pulse of the country, but town hall questions let Americans address concerns that may not be focal points of the news cycle. The death penalty, climate change, voter engagement, and womens rights are all issues that have appeared in past town halls.

The unique format has resulted in some memorable moments. In the first town hall in 1992, a woman asked the three candidates how national debt had affected them personally. Bush and Perot struggled with the question before Clinton, perhaps the most naturally adept politician of the past 30 years, knocked it out of the park with the following exchange:

The way Clinton approached the question highlighted another distinction of the town hall format. Instead of standing behind a podium or sitting at a desk, candidates are free to roam. In his answer, Clinton walked right to the edge of the stage and spoke softly and directly to the woman who had asked the question. Minutes before, as the woman began her question, Bush infamously glanced at his watch, a gesture interpreted as a lack of interest in her concerns, and more broadly, the views of ordinary voters.

Body language also played a role in 2000, when Al Gore decided to walk bizarrely close to George W. Bush as Bush answered a question, as if trying to physically intimidate him. Bush paused, looked over at Gore, and smiled. The audience laughed, giving Bush points for appearing calm and relatable.

Following her first debate with Trump, Clinton was credited with maintaining a calm and collected demeanor. This made her seem more genuine and relatable, especially in contrast to Trumps clear and growing irritability throughout the debate. That said, Trump has demonstrated his ability to excite voters on the trail and engage with them directly in a compelling way, which could benefit him in a debate of this kind.

Some town hall debate questions are downright strange

Although questions are vetted and selected by debate organizers, a few oddballs have managed to slip through the cracks over the years. Voters have occasionally stumbled through their time in the spotlight, or asked muddled questions. Sometimes, the queries seem to come out of left field.

From 2000:

Im very concerned about the morality of our country now. TV, movies, the music that our children are, you know, barraged with every day. And I want to know if theres anything that can be worked out with theHollywood, or whoever, to help get rid of some of this bad language and whatever, you know. Its just bringing the country down. And our children are very important to us and were concerned about their education at school. We should be concerned about their education at home, also. Thank you.

From 1992:

Could we cross our hearts? It sounds silly here, but could we make a commitment? You know, were not under oath at this point, but could you make a commitment to the citizens of the US to meet our needsand we have manyand not yours again?

New ways to ask a question

One new wrinkle on Sunday will come in the form of questions submitted online. Although past debates have included online questions, the Commission on Presidential Debates has this year embraced a proposal put forth by the bipartisan Open Debate Coalition under which anyone can submit a question at PresidentialOpenQuestions.com. The questions will then be submitted to the public for voting. While candidates could conceivably prepare for all the most popular online questions, the moderators are under no obligation to ask any of them. Advocates of the system feel that by allowing a public vote on the questions, the debate will touch on subjects most pertinent to a broad swath of the population. Cooper and Raddatz have agreed to consider asking the 30 most popular queries.

According to the site, more than two million votes have been cast for almost 13,000 questions so far. The most popular question to date, with over 49,000 votes: Would you support requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales?

While voter questions may lack the polish of those posed by a professional journalist, they can occasionally cut through policy and personality to get to the heart of an important issue. In the 2000 presidential town hall debate, a young teacher stood and said, to appreciative laughter from the crowd: My sixth-grade class at St. Claires School wanted to ask, of all these promises you guys are making and all the pledges, will you keep them when youre in office?

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Carlett Spike and Pete Vernon are the authors of this piece. Spike is a CJR contributor and Vernon is a CJR Delacorte Fellow.
Federal investigators estimate a commuter train was traveling two to three times the 10 mph speed limit when it slammed into a New Jersey rail terminal last week, a U.S. official told The Associated Press Tuesday.

The official, who was briefed on the investigation, said investigators estimated the train was moving between 20 and 30 mph when it crashed into Hoboken Terminal last Thursday.

The official was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The speed estimate is based on the extent of damage, not on data from the trains instruments.

Federal safety investigators said Tuesday afternoon that they had recovered a data recorder, a video recorder and the engineers cellphone from the front car of the train. National Transportation Safety Board investigator James Southworth says they dont yet know if the recorders contain any useful information. The instruments have been sent to an agency lab for analysis.

A second data recorder, which was in the locomotive at the rear of the train, wasnt functioning on the day of the crash and didnt record speed, braking or other information about the trip, the NTSB has said.

The cellphone was found in a backpack in the cab of the front train car.

At a briefing Tuesday, NTSB investigator James Southworth declined to address the trains speed. Were not prepared to make that statement right now, he said.

One woman standing on a platform was killed by debris as the train smashed through a concrete-and-steel bumper and knocked out pillars, causing a section of the stations outdoor roof to collapse.

More than 100 people were injured.

The trains engineer, Thomas Gallagher, told investigators that he had no memory of the crash but said he was operating at 10 mph as he approached the station, said T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Gallagher, 48, said he only remembered waking up on the floor of the engineers cab, Dinh-Zarr said Sunday during the most recent public briefing on the investigation.

Federal regulations require commuter trains to have working recorders. The regulations require they be inspected every 92 days. It was unclear when the nonworking recorder, which officials said was installed in 1995, had been last inspected.

The commuter rail service has not responded to requests for comment.

(Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in Philadelphia contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A longtime employee of the Washington Attorney Generals Office has been let go after it came to light that he knew the states expert witnesses in litigation over the deadly Oso landslide were deleting emails that should have been preserved.

Mark Jobson, a special assistant attorney general, parted ways with the office by mutual agreement when his contract expired Sept. 30, Peter Lavallee, a spokesman for the office, said Tuesday. Jobson did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The announcement came hours after King County Superior Court Judge Roger Rogoff announced he would sanction the state over the deletion of the emails. Rogoff did not set a dollar figure on the amount of the sanctions, but said they would include costs that lawyers for slide victims incurred because of the deletions, along with a significant punitive amount.

The judge also said the jury in the case, which is scheduled for opening statements next Monday, will be allowed to infer that the experts deleted the emails because they would have hurt the states case.

The states behavior in this case was willful, Rogoff wrote. They knew they were deleting emails that contained potentially relevant evidence.

In an emailed statement, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he respected the judges decision and that his office has already begun developing new training programs to prevent such problems from recurring. The office continues trying to recover and turn over the deleted emails, he said.

All attorneys have a duty to comply with the rules of evidence and the courts, Ferguson said. That duty is especially important for the approximately 570 lawyers of the Attorney Generals Office, because the office serves as the law firm for the people and the State. The court found that we fell short of that duty in this case, and I am committed to preventing that from happening again.

Victims of the slide, which killed 43 people in March 2014, argue that the state and a timber company should be held liable, based on the notion that their actions  including the construction of a sediment retention wall and logging  made the hillside more dangerous and that they failed to warn residents of the danger. Their attorneys say damages could top $100 million.

The plaintiffs said they were outraged to discover in August  just before trial  that the experts had been deleting emails among themselves for the past year and a half and that at least one state lawyer knew of it. They argued that the experts tailored their findings to suit the states case and that deleting the emails helped them cover their tracks; accused the state of fraud; and asked the judge to punish the state by finding it liable even without a trial.

The state denied any bad intent, saying Jobson and the experts sincerely believed the emails did not need to be preserved so that they could be turned over to the plaintiffs.

In a 35-page ruling Tuesday, the judge called it more than an innocent, bumbling mistake, but less than the conspiratorial cabal described by Plaintiffs. Despite a sworn declaration Jobson provided the court in which he said he never directed the experts to destroy records, in emails he appeared to encourage the experts to do just that, Rogoff said. Others in the office knew and should have disclosed what was happening months before the plaintiffs discovered it.

Jobson worked as an assistant attorney general from 1992 until he retired in 2015. He was then hired as a special assistant attorney general on a $200,000 yearlong contract to defend the state against claims related to the landslide, according to a copy of the contract provided by the attorney general.
Matt Drudge Suggests Hurricane Matthew Is A Government Conspiracy

Trending News: Matt Drudge Has A Breathlessly Dumb Hurricane Conspiracy Theory

Why Is This Important?

Because this is nuts even for Drudge.

Long Story Short

In an election cycle that has never been short of astonishingly dumb things said, Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report blows them all out of the water by openly speculating whether Hurricane Matthews intensity has been inflated to make an exaggerated point on climate.

Long Story

Despite desperate urgings from all levels of government, including Republican governor Rick Scotts pretty unequivocal This storm will kill you warning, Trump-supporting news clown Matt Drudge thinks the danger posed by Hurricane Matthew is overblown, and a ploy to make people think a little bit about climate change.

The deplorablesaka hard-core Trump supporters, and you pretty much know what that means by nowarent gonna fall for it, according to Drudge.

The deplorables are starting to wonder if govt has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew intensity to make exaggerated point on climate  MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) October 6, 2016

The utter stupidity of the above tweet is just mind-boggling, of course. But Drudge was on one of his paranoid rolls. An hour after his first tweet came the second. This one was even crazier.

Hurricane Center has monopoly on data. No way of verifying claims. Nassau ground observations DID NOT match statements! 165mph gusts? WHERE?  MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) October 6, 2016

And then came the inevitable swipe at Trumps opponent hours after that.

Don't Blame Mother Nature. Blame Mankind...https://t.co/jhkGRMkmD8 pic.twitter.com/l7Skvj9fuH  MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) October 7, 2016

On Drudges home page, the Man in Mankind is in italics, suggesting that Hillary is a lunatic feminist who will blame men for all the worlds problems, even the ones that are hoaxes planted by the Chinese, as Donald Trump has asserted in the past.

Reaction to the tweets were swift and uncharitable.

@DRUDGE hey asshat, if even one of your followers reads this, decides not to leave, and dies... that death is on your soul.  Aaron Morgan (@Aaron_Morgan) October 6, 2016

@DRUDGE Are you a real person? Is this a parody account? This storm has already killed 300 people. NHC does not have a monopoly.  Greg Johnson (@TornadoGreg) October 7, 2016

@DRUDGE please get on the next flight to Palm Beach and collect some data, for science.  1st Amendment Person (@psychic_twin) October 6, 2016

.@DRUDGE These images may be helpful to you & your followers. pic.twitter.com/ihV2oJa0yh  Bill McKenna (@wmckdc) October 6, 2016

Even Donald Trump himself is urging people to get out of Matthews path (although if you watch the video, he still shamelessly finds a way to plug his businesses there):

Thoughts & prayers with the millions of people in the path of Hurricane Matthew. Look out for neighbors, and listen to your local officials. pic.twitter.com/6MoZdcmYmT  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2016

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

What is Drudges end game here? What is he trying to accomplish?

Disrupt Your Feed

If anyone believes Drudge and stays, and dies, will that come back to haunt Trump's campaign?

Drop This Fact

Matthew, which may be the biggest hurricane to make landfall in the US in a decade, has already killed over 400 people in Haiti alone.
AKRON, Ohio -- The Akron Society of Artists will celebrate 85 years of creating art with an exhibit by its members Oct. 14 to Nov. 19 at Summit Artspace, 140 E. Market St. in Akron.

The show opens with a free reception at which attendees can meet the artists, to be held from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 14.

Founded in 1931, ASA was one of Akron's earliest art organizations. It has had a lasting effect on the progress of art in Summit County. The founding members helped in the establishment of the Akron Art Institute that later became the Akron Art Museum.

ASA has a long history of providing art scholarships and has impacted the careers of several well-known American artists who were members.

All through its history, the ASA, which created the popular Boston Mills Art Festival, has provided opportunities for members to practice and advance the craft of visual art and to exhibit their works.

The ASA began, and remained for more than five decades, as an all-male art society comprised of many of the artists who worked as illustrators or graphic designers in the advertising departments of the city's rubber companies and other local businesses. The members would get together to critique each others' work, a tradition that continues today.

There are currently 124 ASA members who paint together.

"Members talk about your work and how you can improve," said ASA Vice President and retired Goodyear engineer Dan Lindner. "This has been the biggest influence on me and has changed me for the better as an artist."

Also included is an anniversary juried art show. According to ASA President and retired art educator Larry Walker, the juried show will feature 60 pieces.

Judges are Ben Bassham, a retired emeritus professor of art history at Kent State University, and John Smolko, a former art teacher at Aurora High School.

Winners will be announced at the opening reception.
AKRON, Ohio -- Downtown Akron Partnership Emerging Leaders is working to bring more color and vibrancy to Akron's downtown with its new Akron Art Box campaign.

Emerging Leaders' goal is to decorate 10 utility boxes on Main Street with vinyl-wrap art representing each ward in Akron.

A Kickstarter campaign was recently launched to raise $11,150 needed to do the work. The group has 21 days to raise the money and invites the community to donate to make the project a reality.

To select the art, Emerging Leaders asked area artists to submit designs for the ward they live in. The chosen artists received a $100 stipend and will have their signature on their utility box.

Artists include:

Ward 1: Shane Wynn

Ward 2: Thomas Skala

Ward 3: Bill Lynn

Ward 4: Don Peoples

Ward 5: Joe Karlovec

Ward 6: Julie Hogarth

Ward 7: Alison Kulick

Ward 8: Brian Bean

Ward 9: Molly Judge

Ward 10: Miller South Visual Art Students

"While gathering art for Akron Art Box it was awesome to see how incredibly passionate community members are about their neighborhoods," Emerging Leaders President Jaclyn Flossie said in a news release.

Julie Hogarth, Akron Public Schools art teacher and artist for Ward 6, developed her design to represent the Ellet neighborhood as an active place that cares about its children and education, and is grounded in local aviation history.

"Most everyone in Akron has a story about a blimp, the Soap Box Derby or watching air traffic at the municipal airport," Hogarth said in a release. "All these memories are rooted in Ellet."

Other areas, including University Circle in Cleveland, have decorated utility boxes to create an enlivened and inspired environment. Emerging Leaders hopes to enhance the vibrancy of downtown Akron, build value for the arts community and strengthen civic pride by commissioning neighborhood-inspired public art projects.

Downtown Akron Partnership Emerging Leaders was established in 2010 to help Akron retain young professionals. Members are 35 or younger. The group works to increase the number of people investing socially and economically in downtown Akron to make it a more appealing place to live, work and play.
zook-hall-uakron-2016

The public is invited to attend an open house on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., at the University of Akron's LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education in Zook Hall. The university will showcase the facility's $18 million renovation, which includes state-of-the-art technology and a modern design.

(The University of Akron)

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron's Zook Hall, home of the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education, will be unveiled Saturday, after two years of construction.

At an open house during Homecoming Saturday, the university will showcase the facility's $18 million renovation, which includes state-of-the-art technology and modern design meant to flow from classrooms to open spaces, with seating in hallways.

Demonstrations will include the creation of 3D objects using CAD software and a 3D printer, along with a virtual wind tunnel. The distance-learning classrooms will also be showcased via a live connection.

The renovated Zook Hall features:

Lots of light - Hallways, classrooms and offices feature floor-to-ceiling windows facing north and south on every floor for natural lighting.

A three-story addition - A glass addition on the north side of the building facing Buchtel Common increases the building's footprint by more than 5,000 square feet and offers a window into two of the specialized teaching labs.

Teaching labs - The new teaching laboratories feature white boards, smartboards and projectors in the ceiling. New desks and chairs on wheels enable furniture to be easily moved for student collaboration.

Dedicated labs - Designed for future math and science teachers, a computer lab features software and research management programs while a science lab provides students with equipment to practice the instructional strategies they'll be using in their own classrooms.

Enhanced technology - The classrooms are equipped with data ports and electrical outlets at each seat. Each classroom can accommodate up to 100 wireless devices, in addition to the smartboards and other equipment. Hallways are technology-enhanced as well with data ports and charging stations built into the steel support columns near seating areas.

Distance learning - The facility's distance learning classroom features three large screens enabling students on the main campus to see classmates at other sites across Ohio.

Offices and conference areas - Suites located on each floor hold large and small conference rooms and faculty offices, including dedicated spaces for part-time faculty and graduate assistants. T administrative suite is located on the fourth floor with the Center for Literacy.

Outdoor space - An outdoor terrace, accessible from the third floor, is open to everyone on campus.

The new facility was originally planned to open in February, but an ongoing dispute between the university and building contractor Mid-American Construction delayed the opening. Legal proceedings continue; the university declined comment.

Zook Hall is located at 310 Buchtel Commons on the university's campus. The open house runs 12:30-2 p.m.
Andria Hickey

Andria Hickey, the new senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, sees global possibilities for the institution.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - MOCA Cleveland's new senior curator, Andria Hickey, sees the museum as ready for the next stage in its evolution after having completed an iconic building, designed by architect Farshid Moussavi, as its new permanent home in 2012.

Hickey wants to help push the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland to a higher level of global visibility and collaboration.

And she sees her new museum as poised for greater global attention.

"This institution is really poised to engage at that level," Hickey said in a recent interview, just weeks after assuming her full time responsibilities. "And the artists who are here are really ready to take that step."

But vaulting MOCA and regional artists to higher levels of achievement is not all that drew Hickey to Northeast Ohio.

NEO's allure

After having worked since 2011 as curator of New York City's nonprofit Public Art Fund, where she organized numerous public art installations, she said she was also attracted by the cultural and recreational amenities that are boosting the city's brain gain among millennials.

"It doesn't take two hours to get out of the city on the weekend," Hickey said of Cleveland. "In New York, it's a lot harder to put your kayak on your car and be on the water in an hour."

A native of St. John's, Newfoundland, Hickey said she's looking forward to kayaking and sailing on Lake Erie, and exploring the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

She developed an affinity for those activities as a child, boating with her family to ghost towns in Newfoundland, from which the government had resettled residents.

As a curatorial fellow at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Hickey explored of the city's lakes and Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Hickey completed a master's degree in art history at Concordia University in Montreal in 2009, and saw a one-year fellowship at the Walker grow into a three-year curatorial stint.

In the public realm



In New York, at the Public Art Fund, Hickey said she enjoyed creating art experiences outside traditionally museum and gallery contexts.

"I was really able to see how the uninitiated art viewer would engage with something unexpected," she said. "It really put artworks to the test of relevancy and forced them to speak outside the insider art discourse."

In Cleveland, Hickey is looking forward to collaborating with other institutions on upcoming projects including FRONT, a three-month global art festival conceived by collector and philanthropist Fred Bidwell, and planned for the summer of 2018.

"Fred Bidwell's vision for the creation of an exhibition that not only involves the city's cultural institutions but invites audiences locally, nationally and internationally to explore the city is unprecedented here," she said.

Hickey is also already using her extensive art world connections to bring new programming to MOCA.

Examples include two upcoming events involving the non-partisan artists' Super PAC "For Freedoms," conceived by New York artist Hank Willis Thomas.

The PAC will hold a voter registration drive at MOCA on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. And on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 3-5 p.m., Thomas will host a town hall-style discussion about "political agency and activism."

Other upcoming projects organized by Hickey include exhibitions on the works of Adam Pendleton, whose work fuses abstraction and an exploration of black identity; and Lisa Oppenheim, whose jumping off point is early 20th century photos of young female factory workers taken by Lewis Hine.

Those shows, opening Friday, Jan. 27, coincide with the first solo museum show on the pop culture and autobiographical paintings of Keith Mayerson, organized by MOCA's deputy director, Megan Lykins Reich.

Hickey said she's had a busy first month on the job, having arrived just before MOCA opened is current fall shows, including "Wall to Wall: Carpets by Artists," and a powerful installation by Detroit based Anders Ruhwald.

"I have to say the welcome from our board and patrons, and also the general community, has been incredibly warm and exciting and encouraging," she said. "That is something that influences the landscape of how you arrive, and I'm very thankful for that."
FirstEnergy trucks line up as they prepare to leave for Florida. About 390 crew members will help restore power to storm-damaged areas this weekend.

(Courtesy of FirstEnergy)

AKRON, Ohio -- As Hurricane Matthew works his way up the southern East Coast, FirstEnergy Corp. has sent 390 linemen, damage assessors, forestry crews and support personnel to Lake City, Florida, to help Florida Power & Light with restoration efforts.

Crews began leaving for Florida on Thursday, with all expected to arrive at the Lake City staging area by Saturday. As of Friday morning, Dominion East Ohio gas company said they had not deployed any crews.

"FirstEnergy employees are committed to assisting what is likely to be a massive power restoration effort in Florida," said Steven Strah, senior vice president and president of FirstEnergy Utilities. "While it's not expected that Hurricane Matthew will impact any FirstEnergy service territories, we have carefully assessed conditions and are confident we have the personnel in place to maintain reliable operations for our customers."

Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Florida today and is forecast to move up the coast through Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of customers have already lost power, and personnel will be dispatched to the most damaged areas when it's safe to do so.

Nine of FirstEnergy's utilities are part of the mutual assistance effort, which includes crews from Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company (CEI) and Toledo Edison in Ohio; Penelec, West Penn Power and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania; Mon Power in West Virginia; Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland; and Jersey Central Power & Light in New Jersey. Support personnel from FirstEnergy's corporate offices also are included in the company's contingent.

FirstEnergy is a member of multiple electric utility mutual-assistance groups that work cooperatively to restore service to customers when a natural disaster causes large-scale power outages. Mutual assistance allows utilities to pool their resources to help restore power to customers faster.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A survivor of a massacre at a Warrensville Heights barbershop that left three dead last year testified this week in the trial of a suspected Heartless Felon gang member.

Douglas Shine, 32, is charged in the triple-homicide and could face the death penalty if convicted. Friday marked the end of the first week of testimony in the trial that is expected to last weeks.

Prosecutors have not mentioned Tevaughn "Big Baby" Darling during Shine's trial. Court filings in Darling's drug conspiracy case say the heroin kingpin ordered Shine to carry out the Harvard Road barbershop shooting after Walter Barfield, the target of the massacre, robbed him at a card game.

Among survivors of the mass-shooting was Alvin Wright, a barber who was cutting hair at Chalk Linez the night of Feb. 5, 2015.

It was a full house that night, with several people getting their hair cut as the Cavs pregame show played on TV. Barfield sat on a bench in the middle of the shop next to his friend, Brandon White.

Wright was giving a haircut to a customer when something grabbed his attention. A man walked in with a black hooded sweatshirt, with the the hood pulled over his face and his hands in the pockets.

"I'm thinking, you're inside. Why aren't you taking your hood off? Why don't you get your hands out of your pockets?" Wright testified.

The man pulled out a handgun from each pocket, and Wright said he dove to the ground.

"There were a lot of shots, too many shots, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang," Wright said. "I thought they would never stop. Life is going past my face, not just my life, but my son's life. I'm seeing him when he's older."

When the shooting ended, Wright said he ran for his life. He tripped and fell several times in knee-deep snow. It wasn't until he heard screeching tires that he realized that he was needed at the barbershop.

"Instead of helping my friends, I left them," Wright told the jury.

So he went back.

"There were just holes everywhere. It smelled like the Fourth of July, and I remember seeing feathers. For some reason, I don't know where they were coming from, there were feathers everywhere," Wright said.

Barfield was dead on the ground, in a pool of blood next to White who was also dead.

Barfield's body was shot 19 times, Forensic Pathologist Dr. Joseph Felo told the jury. Felo, who performed the autopsy on Barfield, traced the path of numerous bullets, including eight penetrating shots that became lodged inside, and portrayed how Barfield turned and dove away in an attempt to escape his assailant.

After he was shot to the ground, the shooter delivered two execution-style shots to Barfield's skull.

In the front of the shop, next to his barber's chair, William Gonzalez lay in a pool of blood. He did not survive.

The Gonzalez family wanted to make their Harvard Road barbershop the best in the city, Wright said. They created a place that had a fun atmosphere, and stalled a nail salon and a separate salon for women in the rear of he shop.

Chalk Linez never reopened after the shootings.

Jurors visited the site of the shooting which is now home to a Metro PCS retail store.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

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..Pundicity/JPost..06 October '16..Barely a week has passed since the start of October, but this month is already shaping up to be a disaster of epic proportions for the architects of the European Union.Over the course of just a few hours this past Sunday, the continent's supranational superstructure suffered two damaging body-blows  one in the UK, the other in Hungary  which have further eroded its already shaky foundations.Like a tower of blocks teetering on the brink of collapse, the 28-nation alliance appears doomed to have a past that is far sturdier than its future, and this is great news as far as Israel is concerned.The first setback for the EU occurred at the Tory Party conference in Birmingham, England, where UK Prime Minister Theresa May ended months of speculation by announcing that her government will begin the formal Brexit negotiating process by the end of March 2017.Ever since British voters stunned the world on June 23 by choosing to leave the EU, a growing chorus of voices across Europe had been calling on Downing Street to ignore the outcome of the referendum or perhaps hold a second vote in the hopes of overturning the results of the first.But in her remarks, May was unambiguous and decisive, stating that the British people had spoken at the ballot box "with emphatic clarity," and pointedly declaring that, "It is up to the government not to question, quibble or backslide on what we have been instructed to do, but to get on with the job."Once Britain formally invokes Article 50 of the EU's 2009 Lisbon Treaty, it will trigger a negotiating process that could see the UK exiting the union possibly as soon as the summer of 2019.While May was delivering her speech in England, voters in Hungary were taking part in a referendum of their own.Asked about the EU's idea to compel member states to take in a minimum number of the hundreds of thousands of migrants flooding the continent, a massive 98 percent of Hungarians who took part voted against the measure, thereby backing the stance taken by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.While the plebiscite fell short of the turnout required for it to be legally valid, Orban insisted that he would not capitulate to outside dictates. "Brussels cannot impose its will on Hungary," he said.Instead of accepting the basic principle that a country has the right to make its own decisions, the bumbling bureaucrats of Brussels proceeded to take the low road, smugly attacking Orban and further inflaming the row between Hungary and the EU.Indeed, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the vice president of the European Parliament, went so far as to summon up a rather strange gastronomic metaphor, saying that "Europe will not work if everyone cooks their own national soup."Frankly, the EU has already come to resemble a deteriorating culinary project, as it marches forward in cooking its own goose.And from a diplomatic standpoint, Israel stands to benefit from this turn of events, for two main reasons.First, although it is Israel's largest trading partner, the EU as an institution has become increasingly hostile to Israel.Examples abound, ranging from the endorsement by European countries of a UN report that accused the Jewish state of having committed possible war crimes in the 2014 Gaza conflict, to the EU decision singling out Jewish- owned companies in Judea and Samaria and requiring that special labels be applied to the goods they produce.Speaking as it does for all 28 members, the EU's unified voice on the international stage is far louder and more influential than a cacophony of individual states, each with their own different policies, which will often conflict.The fact is that countries such as the Czech Republic are far more sympathetic to Israel than France, but currently they are bound by the consensus position of the EU, which is decidedly less friendly to Jerusalem.Second, the demise of the EU will mean a return to the idea of the nation-state, which has served as the basis of modern Western civilization. Drunk with the idea of a United Europe with a continental identity, many Europeans openly disdained Israel as a relic of the past because it had been established based on the "archaic" notion that the Jewish people required a country of their own.But as the British, the Hungarians and possibly others go their separate ways, and reassert their own independence, the nation-state will be restored to its proper place in the international system, hopefully divesting some haughty Europeans of their self-righteousness vis-a-vis Israel.October 2016 may well be remembered as a pivotal month, a further milestone in the downfall of the Tower of Babel that is the EU.When and if the EU topples, it will free up individual states to pursue policies more to Israel's liking, and weaken the relative power of those European nations that are hostile to our interests. And that will give us all reason to rejoice.
cleveland police car.jpg

A Cleveland police sergeant was injured in an early Friday morning cruiser crash, police said.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cleveland police sergeant was injured early Friday when a minivan crashed into a police cruiser.

The crash happened about 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of East 140th Street and St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

The sergeant was driving a marked police cruiser west on St. Clair Avenue when Dujuan Abner, 43, turned his minivan in front of police car, Ciaccia said. The minivan struck the cruiser's front left side.

The injured sergeant was taken to St. Vincent Charity Hospital for treatment, Ciaccia said. He has since been released.

Abner failed a field sobriety test and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, Ciaccia said.

Abner is scheduled to appear for arraignment 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Cleveland Municipal Court, according to court records.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A transgender Cleveland woman whose body was found in August with scrapes and bruises on her face died of a cocaine overdose, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office.

The office ruled the death of 26-year-old Skye Mockabee an accident.

The owner of Ecclesiastic Granite Fab on West 130th Street found Mockabee's body about 8 a.m. Aug. 1 lying face-down in a parking space, bleeding from her eyes, nose and mouth.

Mockabee had a bruise near her right eyebrow, a small cut and bruise on her nose and a bruise in the middle of her forehead, the records show. She also had a scrapes on her left forearm and on each of her heels.

She wasn't wearing shoes and had only one sock. The bottoms of both her feet were dirty, according to medical examiner's office records.

Toxicology reports show that Mockabee took a lethal dose of cocaine the night before her body was discovered, the medical examiner said. The trauma, above her left eye, was described as "minor" in the autopsy report.

Police are not investigating Mockabee's death as a homicide, but a department spokeswoman said the investigation into her death remains ongoing.

Her family said the day after her death that they believe the 2009 graduate of Lincoln-West High School was killed because of her identity as a transgender woman.

Mockabee's live-in boyfriend told cleveland.com that she had gone out with a man she had met online July 31, and stopped responding to text messages about 1:30 a.m. the next morning.

Mockabee's mother, Phyllis Carlock said Mockabee texted her abut 3:30 a.m. and said that she loved her and the two would always be together.

She was found dead about five hours later.

Carlock and Philpott were not available for comment on the medical examiner's ruling.

Mockabee was the fourth transgender woman to die a suspicious death in Cuyahoga County in as many years, sparking concern in the local LGBTQ community.

Brittany Stergis, 22, was shot dead in December 2013 inside her car at the Lakeview Estates apartments on West 25th Street. Delshawn Carroll is serving 18 years to life in prison after he admitted to the killing.

Betty Skinner, a 52-year-old disabled resident of a senior apartment complex in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood, was found dead in her bed of an apparent homicide. She had head injuries.

Those deaths happened less than a year after 20-year-old Cemia "Ce Ce" Dove was killed in an apartment in Olmsted Township. Cuyahoga County prosecutors said Andrey Bridges thought he had arranged a date with a woman when Dove arrived.

Prosecutors said Bridges became enraged when he discovered Dove was transgender. He stabbed her 40 times, then threw her body into a pond.

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AKRON, Ohio - LaShawn Terrell has a stack of printouts several inches high on her desk at Akron Digital Academy, each page showing entry after entry of work her students did online every day.

The school's superintendent can show what lessons students work on from home, what time and what day. And they show how each student scored on online quizzes connected to that lesson.

But they don't show how long students were logged on, which puts 80 percent of her school's $2.9 million in state funding at risk.

Akron Digital Academy is one of nine online charter schools recently slammed by Ohio Department of Education audits of their attendance and funding. The most notable was the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), the largest charter school in the state, which could lose more than $60 million in funding because it could not document work for 9,000 of its 15,000 students to the department's satisfaction.

But eight smaller schools, like Akron Digital Academy the Buckeye Online School for Success (BOSS), the Virtual Community School and Quaker Digital Academy, were also found on Sept. 30 to lack records justifying their funding. It's all part of a push by the department to make sure that students are participating in classes and learning, in return for the $267 million in state tax dollars that e-schools are paid each year.

Virtual Community School could lose 66% of its $6.3 million in funding. BOSS and Quaker Digital Academy could have to pay back all of their $6.7 and $4.3 million in state funding, after the department could not verify class participation for 100% of their students.

More online schools, like the large Ohio Virtual Academy and Ohio Connections Academy, will face similar audits in the future.

School Students claimed Students documented Reduction Akron Digital Academy 371.5 72.75 80.40% Buckeye Online School for Success 905.99 0 100% Findlay Digital Academy 155.69 21.19 86.40% Massillon Digital Academy 67.08 53.39 20.40% Southwest Licking Digital Academy 32.3 13.05 59.60% TRECA Digital Academy 1964.04 1213.72 38.20% Quaker Digital Academy 666.31 0 100% Virtual Community School 835.03 280.34 66.40%

"This final determination was based on the failure of BOSS to provide any records to the department that documented durational time for internet- and/or computer-based learning opportunities as well as non-classroom, non-computer-based learning opportunities," the department wrote in a letter to BOSS.

But several of the schools contacted by The Plain Dealer say they intend to appeal the findings and will challenge any attempt to recover money. Their main complaint is that the department did not tell them before the 2015-16 school year how they had to document student work.

In the past, the state has only required schools to show that they offer students at least 920 hours each year of learning "opportunities" and that students log on to the school's websites periodically to avoid being declared truant.

That changed this year and was the focus on the court battle between ECOT and the state.

The schools also say that state officials misled them his spring by telling them that the state would not require records of students logging-in and logging out until spring of 2017 - a claim that ECOT has also made in a court challenge of the department.

"We were repeatedly told we would not be held to log-in, log-out until the 2016-17 school year," Terrell said. "We believed them."

"This is improper, unilateral and retroactive implementation of guidelines," she said.

Jeff Nelson, superintendent of the Virtual Community School, which is overseen by the Reynoldsburg school district, also said that state investigators told him in February that he would not be required to track how much time kids spend online until this ongoing school year.

"They told us to begin to plan to do it," Nelson said.

Whether the schools can be successful in their appeals is unclear. The Ohio Department of Education issued its challenges to the schools' enrollments and funding hours after winning a major battle in its ongoing legal war with ECOT.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer French rejected claims by ECOT that the state had changed rules and was applying them retroactively. She found that the state has told online schools for years that how long students spend online could be part of any attendance and payment review, even if that had never been required before.

French also was not sympathetic to ECOT's claims that state law does not say how long students must spend online or working on coursework.

"The duration of participation matters in determining whether a student has been offered (i.e., supplied) 920 hours of learning opportunities to a given student," she ruled.

The mechanism for tracking online time is also an issue for the schools. With computer systems set up to see just when students log on and when lessons

are finished, some schools don't have a way to show that time.

Nelson said the Virtual Community School computer system tracks when students log on and tracks time spent on three of 41 different ways kids can learn.

"We can't show durational data of the other 38," he said.

Recording time students spend offline also poses issues, he said. If students work on a paper or other project, they or their parents can sign a paper verifying those hours. But short of traveling to each student's house to watch, that will always be an honor system.

In Akron Digital Academy's case, the system only tracked completion of work, not hours spent, so Terrell said ODE would not credit the school for any online time. The school, she said, received credit just for hours when students came in to the school for enrichment.

"We have boxes of logs to show them the work," she said. "But they are giving the impression that we had nothing, which is inaccurate."

See an example below of the records.

After being told in the spring that they will need to start tracking, Terrell said the school changed systems and how has a log of the exact time students spend online by day, by week and for the year.

The schools, she said, just want guidance from the state on exactly what they want and in what form.

"How do we want to communicate this in the form the state wants - with fidelity?" she asked. "I don't want to make it up."

"I don't want to fight," she said. "I don't want to spend my days interpreting these sheets of papers and cutting down tress. I want to spend my time helping kids."

Here's an example of the logs of student online work that Akron Digital Academy kept, but which the state does not consider adequate:
Barack Obama

President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016.

(Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, D. C. - As part of a campaign to release non-violent drug offenders serving long terms under outdated mandatory minimum sentencing laws, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced commutations for 102 prisoners, including two crack offenders from Northeast Ohio.

Alan Jerome Spears, a 44-year-old Clevelander, and 57-year-old Arthur Clinkscale of Youngstown were both serving 20-year prison terms in unrelated 2002 drug cases. Both will be released on Feb. 3, 2017, instead of 2019, when they were originally scheduled for release.

Spears lawyer - Randall Bray - said his client was "stunned" to get the commutation news this afternoon. He said Spears - who was arrested with 146 grams of crack cocaine - did not have a long criminal record, wasn't violent or involved in organized crime, and "wasn't a major player by any means."

"He made a mistake and he understands why what he did was wrong," said Bray. "Everyone on this list has been properly vetted and justice has been served."

Clinkscale burst into tears upon learning of his upcoming release, said his lawyer, Jon Oebker, adding that Clinkscale is extremely "excited to be reunited with his family."

Oebker said Clinkscale - who pleaded guilty to intending to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine - has health issues and would not have received such a harsh sentence under today's laws.

"It seems that all these individuals getting grants of clemency are well-deserving," said Oebker.

Since taking office, Obama has commuted the sentences of 774 prisoners, which is more than the past 11 presidents combined, according to a White House statement.

BREAKING: @POTUS just commuted the sentences of 102 people, bringing the total to more than the past 11 presidents combined. pic.twitter.com/734VSwYzsS  White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) October 6, 2016

Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates released the following statement after President Obama granted commutation of sentence to 102 individuals:

"The department has made great progress reviewing applications under the President's clemency initiative to correct unduly harsh and outdated drug sentences. President Obama has commuted 774 sentences, which is more than were commuted in the prior 66 years preceding his administration combined and we expect to continue to make history with additional commutations in the months ahead."

The Justice Department has pledged to review and make recommendations to Obama on every single clemency petition that has already been submitted by people with drug convictions, "many of whom face disproportionately long sentences due to outdated laws," the head of its civil rights division, Vanita Gupta, said in a recent speech.

White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said Obama will continue to grant commutations through the end of his administration, but hopes Congress will pass bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation that addresses excessive mandatory minimum sentences.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said the Justice Department has "made great progress reviewing applications under the President's clemency initiative to correct unduly harsh and outdated drug sentences."

"We expect to continue to make history with additional commutations in the months ahead," she said.
Cleveland police tape 3

Cleveland police are investigating after a retired police officer fatally shot a dog that was attacking his dog.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A retired Cleveland police officer shot and killed a dog Wednesday after it attacked his dog, according to a police report.

The 52-year-old former officer is not charged with any crimes. cleveland.com does not name uncharged suspects. Police are still investigating to see if he will be charged with a crime.

The retired officer was walking his dog about 11 a.m. Wednesday in the 4000 block of Bader Avenue when another dog jumped a fence and attacked his dog.

The neighbor's dog bit his dog in the neck and shook it, according to police reports. He tried to pull the other dog off, but the dog started attacking him, according to police reports.

The retired officer was "fearing for his safety" when he pulled out his semi-automatic handgun and fired five shots at the dog. The dog stopped its attack, walked a short distance and died, police reports say.

The dead dog's owner told police he was in the backyard with his dog when he went inside to answer a phone call. A short time later, he heard shots fired and found his dog in the front yard with several gunshot wounds.

The retired officer stayed at the scene and spoke with officers. He has a concealed carry license and his gun was registered to him, police reports say. The city's dog kennel took the dead dog's remains, according to police reports.

Police found three bullet casings at the scene.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man accused of fatally shooting two men in a Warehouse District apartment pleaded guilty Friday to trying to elude arrest in Michigan.

James Johnson, 29, of Shaker Heights, pleaded guilty Friday in Muskegon County District Court to attempted resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer.

Muskegon County Judge Raymond Kostrzewea sentenced him to 27 days served since the Sept. 10 arrest and ordered him extradited back to Cleveland.

In the Muskegon case, police said they stopped a car in which Johnson was a passenger because it didn't have proper plates. Johnson, a passenger in the car, gave several fake names and birthdates to the officers.

While officers were checking on the information, Johnson ran from the car and hid in a nearby cemetery where he was later arrested, police said.

Johnson was initially arrested and charged with obstructing justice and resisting arrest. He refused to give his real name. Police ran his fingerprints though a national database and saw that Johnson had a warrant for his arrest from a Cleveland homicides.

Johnson shot Brandon Lamar James, 27, and Rasheed Bandy, 35, Jan. 21 on the ninth floor of the Archer apartment building in the 1200 block of West 9th Street, according to Cleveland police.

Johnson and another man barged into the apartment and robbed Bandy, James and two others. Johnson and the other man then opened fire on the group, police said.

James was shot in the lower back and died at the scene. Bandy was shot in the head and died hours later at MetroHealth. The other two inside the apartment were not injured.

Police had been searching for Johnson since they obtained a warrant for his arrest the day after the shooting.
Barack Obama

President Barack Obama's approval rating is at 55 percent as he continues his final months in office.

(Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A poll released Thursday shows 55 percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing, a high for his second term.

The CNN/ORC International poll interviewed 1,501 people at the end of September and beginning of October and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

Not surprisingly there was a wide gap between the two major parties regarding Obama, with 89 percent of Democrats and only 13 percent of Republicans approving of the job he's doing. Independents came in at 56 percent.

Obama's approval rating had dipped as low as 38 percent during his second term.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Obama's rating is similar to Ronald Reagan's, who had 60 percent approval when he left office in January 1989. George W. Bush struggled in his final months, with his rating dipping to 27 percent.

Reed Welch, who leads the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at West Texas A&M University, tells the Monitor that the unpopularity of both GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton might be providing a bump for Obama.

"This isn't any election year," Welch said. "Clinton and [Donald] Trump are historically low in their favorability ratings. I think people look at President Obama and he looks pretty good compared to these two."

USA Today reports Clinton is hoping Obama's growing popularity will help her in the final weeks of the campaign. Obama is expected to visit the Cleveland area next Friday, although details have not been released.

"Let me just say that I think the president views himself as a cleanup hitter," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday, according to USA Today. "He's got the biggest bat in the lineup. He's the guy with the high approval rating. He's the guy with the enormous influence among young people and African Americans and Hispanics and women who are likely to play an important role in determining the outcome of this race."
Hillary Clinton campaigns in Akron

Hillary Clinton shakes hands with supporters during a campaign stop at Goodyear Hall and Theater on Oct. 3. Clinton is coming back to Ohio on Monday.

(Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)

Hillary Clinton will return to Ohio again on Monday, fresh off the second presidential debate and on the day before the state's voter registration deadline.

Clinton will hold a public event on the South Oval at Ohio State University, according to her campaign. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm. Doors open to the public at 4:30 p.m.

The Democratic presidential nominee will urge Ohioans to register and vote early, and "will also lay out her plans to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top." No other details were released.

The visit will come one week to the day after Clinton's last visit, when she made stops in Toledo and Akron. Before that, she had been absent from the state for nearly a month, leading to speculation that she might be looking past Ohio and focusing on other battleground states.

Recent polls had shown Clinton trailing Republican nominee Donald Trump in the Buckeye State, but a poll from Monmouth University released Wednesday put her ahead by 2 percentage points.

Those who want to attend the Columbus event can RSVP here.
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Tech giant Samsung Electronics said it expects third-quarter operating profit grew 5.6 percent, beating estimates, as a pickup in chip and display earnings likely offset the impact of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone recall. In a brief regulatory filing, the world's biggest smartphone maker said on Friday July-September profit was likely 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with the 7.4 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of analysts' forecasts. A year earlier operating profit was 7.4 trillion won.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Revenue for the quarter likely fell 5.2 percent to 49 trillion won, the South Korean firm said. Samsung disclosed only overall estimates in its filing, and isn't scheduled to issue full results with details of how its business lines performed until late October. The firm made no comment in the filing on how much the Galaxy Note 7 recall might cost. The filing also made no reference to how the company plans to respond to proposals submitted earlier this week by activist investor Elliott Management for a radical corporate makeover that would split the firm into a holding vehicle for ownership purposes and an operating company. The company said on Thursday it was "carefully reviewing" the proposals.

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Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, founders of Soul Cycle David Grogan | CNBC

Customers of the popular and profitable SoulCycle fitness centers pay up to $40 per class to bike to music, and many of them gush that the exercise community has changed their lives. That is exactly what SoulCycle founders Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler intended. Riders, who often pay $148 for a SoulCycle sweatshirt and $66 for a SoulCycle T-shirt, identify strongly with the brand because they report feeling transformed since the first time they "clipped in," or had their feet locked into the pedals. They say SoulCycle has ignited their self-confidence and overhauled their bodies. Riders responded to a recent Instagram post asking what SoulCycle means to them, enthusing that the exercise class signified everything from "strength" to "therapy," "escape" to "community."

Devotees, it seems clear, feel like "warriors" who are part of a "tribe." "We always say it's like yoga for people with ADD," Rice told CNBC at the Iconic conference in Boston at the end of September. "The music is blaring, everyone's on the same pedal, the lights are low, the candles are going and just at the moment that you think you can't make it any further your instructor, who is the spiritual guru of sorts, they give you one sort of line of encouragement: 'You can do it, you can be better than you thought you could be.'"





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Turning your customers into ambassadors who profess to get their life energy from your product is advertising that nobody can buy. Cutler and Rice struck gold when they opened the first SoulCycle location in New York City in 2005. They wanted to create a workout that they couldn't find, one that they wouldn't dread going to. 11 years later, the fitness franchise has 66 locations across the country and annual revenues topping nine figures, and SoulCycle has filed the paperwork to go public.

SoulCycle had revenues of $112 million, up from $36.2 million in 2012. Profit in 2014 was $26.5 million, up from $7.8 million two years ago. (Since the co-founders won't disclose more current company financials, these figures come from a financial document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of the company's impending IPO.)

We always say that a cult can be looked at as a positive thing. A cult is just something that people are really obsessed with because it makes them feel a certain way. Julie Rice Co-founder, SoulCycle

"We always say that a cult can be looked at as a positive thing. A cult is just something that people are really obsessed with because it makes them feel a certain way," says Rice. "Part of the addiction is that people feel they really matter in these communities." Part of what gets SoulCycle customers amped is the chemical biological response of the body to endorphins that come with sweating, but it also feels good to be part of a community of like-minded people trying to improve their bodies and lives. "Their cardio health is improving, or seeing their bodies improve, their physical life is improving," says Rice, "but what really has transcended this experience is the emotional reaction that people have had to it." So while some of the appeal of SoulCycle is unique to the experience of sweating in low lighting to loud dance music, there are lessons that can be learned from what Rice and Cutler built that can be applied to other businesses.

1. Keep your customers happy

The first step to building a community is catering to your customers and really getting to know each one. Customer relations means much more than processing payments. The SoulCycle founders, from the very beginning, were always "really listening to our customers, what they liked, especially what they didn't like and figuring out a way to turn any kind of negative experience into a positive. You can always find a yes in anything," says Cutler. The co-founders would make sure that every time a rider came into their studio, that person left happy.

2. Turn your customers into a community

In addition to careful listening, the SoulCycle founders introduced customers to each other, sparking friendships and building a network within the customer base. "For example, when we were at the front desk  in the early days Julie and I worked at the front desk  and we would know you have a 5 year old and you're having trouble getting them to sleep in their own bed, maybe this person just did that and they came up with some solutions for that and just thinking about people's own personal experiences and how to connect those," says Cutler. "What happened in a lot of the studios is that if I rode on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays, I would see my friends, people who became my friends."

Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, founders of Soul Cycle David Grogan | CNBC

SoulCycle started in New York City, and its founders knew that a common lament of Big Apple residents is that a city teeming with people can feel lonely. "People in big cities really want to be a part of something, and so when we were working at the front desk, we made every effort to really connect our customers to each other and to us so that they became a part of something," says Rice. "Between accountability and the relationships that they formed, it became something that really was a founding pillar of our business."

3. Be super savvy about social media

People in big cities really want to be a part of something. Julie Rice Co-founder, SoulCycle

SoulCycle trainers are rock stars in their own right. Their classes are sought after and customers elevate them to a near guru status. That's facilitated in large part by the way that Soul Cycle uses social media. "In any business that sort of showcases personalities, like the trainers at SoulCycle, I think giving individual people a chance to really showcase their personalities and make that personal connection with the audience is very interesting," says Rice. It also gives riders a way to get to know the trainers. "Especially as the business grows, it really allows our riders to make one-on-one connections rather than feel like sort of this big company is emailing you or Instagramming you, or you know, sending you a Snapchat."

In addition to featuring the trainers, SoulCycle features the stories of both famous riders and riders who have had transformative experiences. For example, in Beth Heller's SOUL story, she talks about how SoulCycle helped her learn to love herself again after her father's untimely death. "For me, I had to deal with death at a young age and I struggled with confidence and body image. SOUL has helped me to acknowledge my self-worth and not define myself by a number on the scale," Heller writes. "Every time I get on my bike, I am reminded that I am in control and even when I do get off track, I bounce right back."

4. As you expand, keep your focus, and don't lose sight of the details
This December, Italians will head to the polls to vote on the country's referendum on constitutional reform. Yet if the public votes against it, it will be seen as a "missed opportunity", Italy's finance minister told CNBC.



"If there is a 'No' vote  which I hope will not be the case  it will be basically a missed opportunity for the country," Pier Carlo Padoan, Italy's Finance Minister told CNBC Friday.

At present, any Italian law needs to be approved by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, often resulting in delays in effecting new laws and reforms. However on December 4, the Italian public will get to decide whether they want to stick with the old or shake things up, by restructuring the legislative process by effectively reducing the second chamber's power.

If the country sticks to the existing system, the country will be stuck with the system's "many flaws", Padoan added, saying that the constitutional reform will be about making the system "more efficient, more stable and more long-term determined."
Jim Koch, co-founder and chairman of the Boston Beer Company Source: The Boston Beer Company

When Jim Koch walked out of a job that most people would kill for to start brewing beer in his kitchen, everybody, including his father, said he had lost his mind. "When I started Sam Adams, I had a very good job. It was a really nice office on the 33rd floor of a skyscraper here in Boston. It was a world famous management consulting firm, making good money, flying first class, all that stuff," says Koch. "I left that to start brewing beer in my kitchen in an industry that didn't exist, that everybody thought was crazy." Koch, pronounced "Cook," is a sixth generation brewmaster. But in 1984, when Koch started The Boston Beer Company in his home, small, regional breweries were losing market share fast. Even his father doubted him.

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"My dad told me this was about the dumbest f--ing idea he'd ever heard," says Koch. "When he was a brewer, you know, the big brewers were grinding up all the small and regional breweries that used to exist in this country and he thought that they would do that to me." He explained to his father that he was not attempting to compete with the giant brewers. "I thought my dad would like put his arms around me, 'Jim I'm so excited, so gratified that you're continuing what was the the oldest brewing tradition, the most generations of brewers in America, and I'm glad it didn't end with me, Jim,'" says Koch, now 67. "But, no, because he was very excited that you know I'd gotten a good education and I was able to go to Harvard, he was very, very proud of all of that. This crazy idea of starting a small-scale brewery was not his idea of success."

My dad told me this was about the dumbest f--ing idea he'd ever heard. Jim Koch CEO of the Boston Beer Company
The mission at Bank of America starts with getting consumers to open up checking accounts, and then providing services  such as robust mobile banking  to keep them engaged, Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC on Friday.

Responding to a question about the fake account scandal at Wells Fargo , Moynihan said, "Instead of trying to sell an additional account, we drive ... the core account."

"Get the basic checking account for a mass-market consumer and do it well," he told "Squawk Alley."

Last month, Wells Fargo agreed to pay regulators $185 million in fines to settle charges that employees looking to meet sales targets and boost their bonuses opened up fee-generating accounts for customers who never asked for them.

The fallout has been swift  with Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO John Stumpf being grilled before two committees on Capitol Hill, while forfeiting $41 million in unvested equity and forgoing his salary during an independent investigation by the board.

Shares of Wells Fargo were changing hands near $45 in late trading Friday, compared with a 52-week high just north of $56.

Moynihan told "Squawk Alley" that he knows what it's like to be in the hot seat, because of what he went through with the Countrywide Financial debacle after the U.S. mortgage crisis.

BofA ended up reaching a $16.65 billion settlement over that situation with regulators in 2014.

Coming out of the 2008 financial crisis, Moynihan said it was imperative for the bank to "drive responsible growth," doing it the right way and making it sustainable.
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The U.K. should expect a fight in its negotiations to secure a Brexit from the European Union, the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, told CNBC. European and Asia markets were shaken up on Friday, after sterling briefly dived 6 percent, with traders struggling to find out whether it was a "fat finger error" or related to fears over Brexit.

While no official reason has yet been given for the pound's sharp fall, one suggestion is linked to comments made by French President Francois Hollande, who said that the EU had to remain firm with the U.K..

Dijsselbloem said the reactions seen across the continent in recent days were more related to some "quite stern comments (which) were given, sounding like a hard Brexit" during the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham by Prime Minister Theresa May and her cabinet on subjects including immigration and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

"I think the effects of Brexit have yet to sort of trickle down. We really are still in the process of trying to understand it," said Dijsselbloem, telling CNBC that "we need a good deal. We need it sooner rather than later, however complex it may be."



Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup. Jasper Juinen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"I think our trade relations will also be strong in the future, but the Brits have to realize that we will of course protect the four freedoms, the integrity of the internal market, so you know it's going to be a tough deal." "I think there is a very strong feeling among the EU-27 that if the Brits cannot accept the four freedoms  in particular of course on the migration issue this is crucial  that it will be a tough trade deal as well. There is a strong connection here and the British government seems to think that they can take the goodies and leave the bad elements which they don't like." "But there will have to be a deal and the freedoms that have built the EU, including the free movements of people are crucial to this." However, Poul Thomsen, Director of the IMF's European Department, told CNBC that he expected both parties in the Brexit talks to move beyond the rhetoric and "start focusing on what is in the mutual interest; to maintain an open system. I am hopeful that we get a solution eventually." However, Thomsen did stress that Europe and the U.K. needed to keep trade channels open as much as possible and eliminate any grey areas. "Clearly this where the potential negative growth impact is if there are excessive disruptions in trade in goods and services. And it's too early to say that but we need to eliminate uncertainty as soon as possible."

Brexit punishment would be a mistake

Ever since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union back in June, strong words have been exchanged from both sides of the English Channel, with several influential European leaders stressing that the country could not cherry-pick its way through the negotiations. The Eurogroup president echoed these comments saying that there'd be "no cherry-picking possible" within the negotiations. Yet he emphasized that it would be "a very huge mistake" to punish the Brits or anyone on the continent who was thinking of stepping out of the union.

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Industrials were rallying ahead of quarterly reports, but that changed on Friday, with banks and retailers helping the market rebound. With this in mind, Cramer shared the stocks and events he will be watching next week.

"We have a busy week ahead of us that might just define how the rest of the year goes," the " Mad Money " host said.

After Friday's jarring news of slashed estimates for Honeywell and PPG Industries , Jim Cramer fears that many portfolio managers will not be prepared for next week.

Tuesday: Alcoa, Yum Brands analyst meeting

Cramer expects this to be a confusing quarter for Alcoa , as the impending break-up of the company could bring different types of investors into each segment. However, the concerns raised by Honeywell about aerospace demand could impact Alcoa, Cramer said. He viewed any weakness as a buying opportunity.

Wednesday: CSX Corp

With the stock on the rise since the end of June, Cramer also wondered if CSX could be affected by Honeywell. He bet that CSX will head back down unless coal picks up.

Thursday: Delta, Ulta Beauty analyst meeting

Delta : The airlines have performed hideously this year, with Delta down 23 percent this year. If the company says anything about it stabilizing, Cramer thinks it could be an opportunity to make money.

Friday: Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo

"Citigroup has gone from being a regulatory nightmare to a bank examiner's darling," Cramer said.

Cramer's charitable trust owns Citigroup because they think it's too cheap versus the book value; he expects any weakness to bring in buyers.

Wells Fargo : As the most controversial company out there right now, Cramer will be waiting to see if heads will roll or the CEO will step down.

"We have been stuck in this stock for my charitable trust and have no conviction that things can bounce back without multiple rate hikes, and there is nothing in the cards that suggests the Fed will be that aggressive," Cramer said.
Deutsche Bank will have enough capital to cover its looming settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The agency on Friday reaffirmed its low-end investment-grade rating on Deutsche Bank credit, but more importantly addressed the most critical question for the German lender's future  whether it will be able to handle a payment it will have to make regarding its past practices related to mortgage-backed securities.

Various reports have said the starting figure for the settlement is $14 billion, a number likely to cripple Germany's biggest bank. There was speculation last week  shot down quickly  that that number would be close to the $5.4 billion the bank has set aside.

S&P figures the final number will be somewhere above that $5.4-billion figure, but "materially smaller" than the $14-billion figure.
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The bank has repeatedly defended itself over recent weeks, however, telling CNBC that there is "no reason to worry" and that the bank had a "comfortable cushion."

Deutsche Bank's stock has slid over 46 percent so far this year and the cost of insuring exposure to its debt has risen sharply. It has come under pressure from aggressive short-selling, notably from some large hedge funds. But a report by Reuters on Friday showed a slight reprieve with the news agency saying two large hedge funds are now reducing their "short positions" on the German bank. Shares were modestly higher on Friday morning, up 1.3 percent by around 11 a.m. London time.

The bank announced a further 1,000 job cuts in Germany on Thursday, adding to a strategy that will lead to a total of 9,000 job losses across the world. The Financial Times, meanwhile, said Friday the bank was working on spinning off its asset management business, citing people familiar with the business. Deutsche declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

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One persistent question is just how much a president actually affects the U.S. economy. The adage is that "it's the economy" upon which voters base their decisions  and recent data still backs that up  but there's considerable evidence that a president is relatively powerless on that front.

Yet some questions are more relevant than others. The president of the United States is given appellations like the leader of the free world, but his or her authority is hardly absolute. If Barack Obama's time in the White House has proven anything it's that a president's power to shape the world is stymied not just by Congress, but also by the realities of a complex and multi-polar international system.

With two more presidential debates and one all-important month to go, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are likely to face a battery of questions during the debate on Sunday night about their policies and their fitness for leadership.

Patrons fill the Capitol Lounge two blocks from the U.S. Captiol to watch the first presidential debate between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton September 26, 2016 in Washington, DC.

President Barack Obama obviously disagrees with that contention, writing for The Economist this week about his economic accomplishments and advice for the next president.

"I enacted a larger and more front-loaded fiscal stimulus than even President Roosevelt's New Deal and oversaw the most comprehensive rewriting of the rules of the financial system since the 1930s, as well as reforming health care and introducing new rules cutting emissions from vehicles and power plants," Obama wrote.

"The results are clear: a more durable, growing economy; 15m new private-sector jobs since early 2010; rising wages, falling poverty, and the beginnings of a reversal in inequality; 20m more Americans with health insurance, while health-care costs grow at the slowest rate in 50 years; annual deficits cut by nearly three-quarters; and declining carbon emissions," he added.

Experts will dispute just how much credit the Obama White House deserves for those data points, but despite the many formulations of "The President of the United States Does Not Control the Economy," economists still say presidential candidates' economic stances matter for a handful of reasons.

Understanding the candidates' "general orientation toward general economic issues" is important to weighing how their White Houses would handle a crisis the likes of which Obama faced at the beginning of his tenure, according to American Enterprise Institute economist Michael Strain.

"I agree that presidents have less influence than is popularly perceived," Strain said. "But there are times when they do have a significant influence, and we should be evaluating that."

One of the most obvious ways the White House can affect the U.S. economy is in its selection of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, but different presidents take different roles in this process, so economists will be carefully watching how this year's nominees posture about the Fed.

Since Bill Clinton, presidents have exercised relatively little overt influence over Fed policy, never openly second-guessing decisions. But that has not always been the case, so Brookings economist Gary Burtless said he would want candidates to answer whether they planned to direct economic spokespersons to take a more active role in publicly criticizing the central bank.

"Fed policy is the only part of the government economic policy making that seems to be working," Burtless said. "So that's a sensible question because not too many years ago we had presidents who were quarreling with the Fed."

But big nationwide initiatives will also impact the economy, and so economists will be listening closely for any hints on those moves.

"A president is going to be able to do some things that will have an impact on the economy," Strain said, pointing to the examples of Obama's Affordable Care Act, Medicare Part D under George W. Bush, and welfare reform signed by Bill Clinton. "The president is going to get a couple swings at the plate, and knowing what the president wants those swings to be is important when evaluating the candidates."

A president's commitment to infrastructure investment, in general, is a key point for economists. Both Trump and candidate Clinton have proposed new infrastructure programs, but Burtless said he will be keying into how they hope to politically accomplish those goals: will they be open to strategies for private financing and what will they do to make sure the public has confidence these projects will be useful and completed.

The candidates' plans for trade policy and social security can also directly impact the long-term economic trajectory of the country.

But beyond specific goals, a president's general economic worldview is also important because it can set the tenor of discussion for years to come, experts said.



Strain theorized what ideological ripples could be felt throughout the country if either major party candidate won: "If we had four years of a Trump administration, would that significantly affect public attitudes toward trade and immigration for a longer period of time? It's not obvious the answer to that question is no. And if we had four years of a Clinton administration, would that affect the way the public thinks about a federal role in issues about family life like paid leave and childcare? It's not obvious the answer to that is no."
The second presidential debate, coming up on Sunday night, will be town-hall style and that could be kryptonite for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

What Trumps supporters often say they love about him is his brash, often politically incorrect, and even boastful speaking style that resonates. A lot of Clinton's truest supporters say they love the way she speaks with the authority and self-assured tone of a long-serving and knowledgeable politician.

Those characteristics may work well in a forum full of supporters but they could easily derail the candidates at Sunday night's upcoming town hall format debate. In fact, if they both don't noticeably deviate from their signature styles at this forum, they could both easily face instant disaster in the polls.

Of course, it's important to note that the decidedly anti-democratic and barely accountable Commission on Presidential Debates keeps these town-hall affairs from being a real exchange between random voters and the candidates. Follow-up questions were banned in 1996 and the commission pre-selects the audience and pre-screens the questions. This is what you get when the establishment in both major parties takes control of the process. Only in Washington would a commission stacked with an equal number of highly partisan Democrats and Republicans get away with call itself "non-partisan."

But in this era of canned rallies and campaigning via Twitter, this is about as organic as it gets.



And there's the danger for both Trump and Clinton.

In front of those raucous Trump rallies, the Republican nominee thrives with his boasts and tough talk. He speaks provocatively about his political opponents, the media, and even the protesters spread out through the crowd. For a candidate looking to project strength and connect with angrier and long-ignored white working class male voters, this is a formula that works. But transfer these ingredients to the town hall format with a crowd that can't applaud, can't holler approvals, and instead is looking for some personal attention from him.

If Trump is asked a challenging question by a voter Sunday night and he answers with an angry brushoff, his supporters watching at home may like it, but it will kill him in the room and among lots of supposedly undecided voters. At the same time, if he totally changes his persona to an inauthentic-sounding sensitive guy that might turn everyone off. Trump has to thread the needle by sounding concerned and/or angry about the economy, terrorism, and immigration without sounding angry at the person asking him the question. This will be particularly difficult if an immigrant or Muslim voter is one of his questioners, something that's a good possibility.

The good news for Trump is that, while he's not a politician, he's very used to this general kind of format. He reportedly hasn't done much prep for this debate, but he's done live studio audience interviews and shows for more than 30 years from the Oprah Winfrey Show to numerous sparring sessions with Howard Stern and his callers on Stern's radio program. Still, this won't be an easy transition from his combative style on the campaign trail and in the first debate. He might want to reconsider just "winging it" again if those reports are true.

Meawhile, for all Hillary Clinton's supposed advantages, she is the one who may have a steeper hill to climb in order to strike just the right tone in this second debate. Anyone who saw her performance at the quasi-town hall format during NBC's Commander-in-Chief forum last month knows it. When asked about her email scandal, another question that seems extremely likely to be asked again Sunday night, Clinton seemed more than a little perturbed. The self-satisfied smiling little shimmy she did after Trump went on one of his longer rants at the first debate would also be a poisonous gesture for her at any time in this different forum. Her campaign staff is going to have to work on getting her to change that tone and her facial expressions this time.

On other issues and questions, Clinton has to make sure she doesn't sound too superior while trying to explain complex policy positions to the real, live voter in front of her. That kind of impatience or annoyance was something many voters saw in President George H.W. Bush in his town hall debate performance against Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in 1992. Considering how much the news media and the other pundits pounded Bush's inability to connect personally with a voter who asked about the human effects of the national debt and his supposedly fatal decision to check his watch during another moment in that debate, Hillary Clinton should be the last person to forget just how damaging a disconnected comment or even brief look could be.

And Clinton's made those looks and used the wrong tone a number of times over the past two years. Her recent angry-toned, "why aren't I up by 50 points you might ask?!?" comment has already been turned into an instant campaign ad by the Trump team. Her frustrated, "what difference does it make?!?" response at the congressional hearing on the Benghazi attacks would be another example of something she absolutely cannot do in this debate. That's even though her supporters cheered that response from afar as an example of Clinton's toughness in the face of what they continue to see as a partisan witch hunt. Remember, what works for the base can really fall flat in a more neutral setting.

Is there an antidote for the debate kryptonite for both these candidates? There is when you remember exactly how Bill Clinton out-shined Bush and Perot in that 1992 town hall. Instead of just trying to personally connect with the national debt questioner with his own words, Clinton is the one who asked a follow up question to her. Nothing shows people that you're willing to listen or try to connect with someone more than letting them speak more. It's a good trick used by the most persuasive candidates and salespeople, and it's one Bill Clinton had in abundance. Hillary Clinton hasn't shown that she does so far and we don't really know if Trump can do it either. Watch closely to see if any of the candidates solicits more information from the voters at the town hall, and how often and well they pull it off.

If Trump can't find some way to connect with at least some of his questioners Sunday night in a likeable way, he's going to have a long night. But if he can, it could be a transformative moment just over four weeks before Election Day. For Clinton, this is the time when her more polished and professional campaign could hit a serious snag. If she can't respond to questioners in a way that doesn't seem scripted or too rehearsed, she risks losing the momentum she gained from winning the first debate and could also lose it all. And as Mitt Romney found out the hard way in 2012, you want to win the second debate, not so much the first.

The stage is set, and so are the traps. Which candidate will be able to tip-toe around them or even take a serious new advantage right during the election's home stretch?
Anyone who has ever looked at an image of a hurricane knows it spins.

Part of this is due to the center of low pressure  the "eye"  at the center of the storm. But it also has to do with physics.

In fact, tropical cyclones  the general name for the storms called typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones in different parts of the world  always spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and spin in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere.

The reason is something called the Coriolis effect, or Coriolis force, named for the French mathematician Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, who published work on the effect in the 19th century.

It works this way: Like a record on a turntable, the earth spins at a different speed at the equator than it does at the North Pole.

The same is true of anything that spins or rotates  the outside edge of something (in this case, the equator) always spins faster than the inside edge.

If you placed a marble in the center of a flat plate and then tried to push that marble to the edge of the plate, the marble would move in a straight line, as long as the plate was still. But if the plate was spinning, the marble would follow a curved pattern as it traveled from the center to the edge.

Winds passing to and from the North and South Poles and the equator are subject to this effect.

Imagine if a person were to stand at the North Pole and throw a ball far enough to reach the equator  say, to a person standing in Quito, Ecuador  the ball would not actually reach that person because it would not travel in a straight line. Since the equatorial region is moving faster than the North Pole, the ball would end up to the west of its target  somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, probably.

The same thing would happen in the Northern Hemisphere if someone were to throw a ball from south to north, only the ball would end up east of its intended target.

This is what happens to the winds that travel to and from the poles. In the Northern Hemisphere, winds moving north are diverted eastward, and winds moving south are diverted westward. In the Southern Hemisphere, winds traveling toward the equator will move eastward, and winds traveling toward the South Pole will curve west.

When these winds collide, they will swirl clockwise in the south, and counterclockwise in the north.

A variety of factors influence how hurricanes form. First they require warm water and warm, moist air  abundant in the mid and southern Atlantic Ocean regions.

Warm water evaporates and rises, forming clouds and releasing heat into the air. As the air rises, it leaves an area of low pressure near the surface of the water. If the clouds continue to build up a thunderstorm will form, and that low pressure area can become more intense, drawing more moist air toward it and continuing to intensify the storm.

This is where the Coriolis effect comes in. If there were no Coriolis effect, air would simply rush into the low pressure center, "since nature abhors a vacuum, and a low pressure area is a partial vacuum," said Chris Landsea, a Science and Operations Officer at the National Hurricane Center.



"But because the Coriolis is acting on it, as winds start moving toward the low-pressure area, they are diverted around, and they start spiraling into the center, so it takes much longer for the low pressure area to fill," Landsea said. "At the same time, that is drawing more moist air, and that causes more thunderstorms, and you get a big feedback process going on."

Interestingly, scientists have never seen a hurricane form or track exactly on the equator because the area does not feel the Coriolis effect.

"The farthest south we have seen a hurricane or tropical storm form in the Atlantic is about 7 or 8 degrees north of the equator," Landsea said. "Right on the equator, the winds and low pressure areas don't feel the force of the Coriolis itself," Landsea said. "So one of the safest places from hurricanes in the tropics is right on the equator, because hurricanes never form there or track there."
A paddleboarder is pictured on the water near Leasowe at Liverpool Bay in the Irish Sea at sunset on August 15, 2016.

Here, CNBC speaks to energy experts about what the planet's energy mix might look like in 2050.

Fossil fuels remain key to powering the planet, however, and as concerns over climate change and energy security mount, the question of what our planet's energy mix will look like in 2050 is becoming increasingly pressing.

The WEC added that in the last 10 years, wind and solar power had seen "explosive average annual growth" of 23 percent and 50 percent.

A recent report from the World Energy Council found that renewable sources of power now represent around 30 percent of the world's total capacity and 23 percent of total global electricity production.

There does appear to be an appetite for a change, evidenced by last year's historic agreement at the COP21 summit in Paris.



There, world leaders agreed to make sure global warming stayed "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and to "pursue efforts" to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"If the world is serious about tackling climate change, the world's energy mix in 2050 will have to look fundamentally different from the one we have today," Gunnar Luderer, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), told CNBC via email.

"Limiting global warming to well below 2C, as agreed by the international community at the climate summit in Paris last year, requires close to carbon-free electricity supply and a drastic reduction of fossil fuel use in the industry, transportation and buildings sectors," Luderer added.

Bearing all of the above in mind, solar looks set to have a very big role to play in the world's energy mix.

In 2014, the International Energy Agency stated that the sun could be the planet's biggest source of electricity by 2050.

"With the emergence of renewable energy technologies as the top sources of new power for the United States, we've entered a new paradigm that's here to stay," Tom Kimbis, interim president of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), told CNBC via email. "Solar is at the heart of this revolution," he added.

"Innovative, high-tech and inexpensive, solar is a disruptive force whose growth (has) been highly unsettling (to) entrenched energy producers. It's not a question of if solar will power our economy -- nor a question of when -- but how quickly."

Other renewables are also pushing hard for a bigger slice of the energy pie. Wind energy is one such source. According to WindEurope, the offshore wind industry in Europe saw 14 billion euros ($15.67 billion) in new investments in the first six months of 2016.

"With the great leaps that wind energy has made in cost reduction in recent years, there is no reason why it should not be the centerpiece of energy systems around the world, particularly Europe," Oliver Joy, spokesperson for WindEurope, told CNBC via email. "Wind keeps getting cheaper," Joy added.

"Costs for onshore wind are expected to fall by 41 percent by 2040 as larger turbines with higher energy capture make the economics even more attractive. Offshore wind is also rapidly moving down the cost curve."

Joy went on to add that wind energy was able to meet 12 percent of Europe's electricity demand, with WindEurope seeing that figure rising to 28 percent of demand by 2030, provided the right policy decisions were made.

For the PIK's Gunnar Lederer, "the resource potential for solar and wind is vast."
Heavy waves caused by Hurricane Matthew pounds the boat docks at the Sunset Bar and Grill, October 7, 2016 on Cocoa Beach, Florida. Mark Wilson | Getty Images

Hurricane Matthew thrashed the coast of Florida Friday with ferocious winds and rain, kicking off what was expected to be a devastating march up the Southeast after a deadly spree across the Caribbean. The storm weakened to a Category 3 hurricane overnight after decimating Haiti, where the death toll rose Friday to more than 800, according to Reuters. NBC News could not immediately confirm that number. Despite weakening, Matthew still packed dangerous wind gusts of up to 120 mph Friday morning, hammering the Florida shoreline and cutting off power to more than 800,000 residents. Instead of following the worst-case-scenario path that meteorologists had feared, Matthew stayed some 100 miles away from South Florida, sparing the 4.4 million people in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas from its havoc.

Tweet 1 It was not clear when and where Matthew would make landfall, but Florida Gov. Rick Scott has warned a direct hit would be "catastrophic." "But just remember: It could be the worst part of this is still to come," he said Friday. "We still have potential for a direct hit and we're seeing 100-mile-per-hour winds." While Matthew's path shifted slightly, its storm surge still looked set to be historic, according to NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins. Storm surges of 7 to 11 feet were forecast near Daytona Beach, and were expected to move up into Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday morning. There were concerns about flash flooding and river flooding in coastal Georgia and South Carolina, Karins said. In Daytona Beach, forecasters were keeping an eye on the waves. More from NBC News:

Fearing worst of Hurricane Matthew, Florida residents evacuate, take refuge

Hurricane Matthew pounds Florida coast

Hurricane Matthew inflicts more pain on impoverished Haiti

"We are at low tide right now. We are going to be at high tide just after lunchtime and it's going to cause problems," The Weather Channel's Jen Carfagno said from Daytona Beach, where 8 to 12 inches of rain are forecast. The storm was about 35 miles east-northeast of Daytona Beach and about 95 miles southeast of Jacksonville of Daytona Beach as of 11 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said. Hurricane warnings were issued from Sebastian Inlet, Florida, and were extended up to Surf City, North Carolina, late Friday morning. That swath of land includes Jacksonville, which hasn't had a hurricane warning for 17 years, according to The Weather Channel.

The projected path of the storm:

watch now

Friday morning: Central Florida takes a beating

Friday afternoon and evening: Matthew barrels to central and northern coastal Florida

Friday evening through Saturday morning: The storm takes aim at the Georgia coast

Saturday afternoon and evening: South Carolina comes into the crosshairs



A woman in her 50s died in St. Lucie County, Florida, after suffering a cardiac arrest overnight after emergency personnel stopped operations due to wind gusts, the St. Lucie County Fire District told NBC News. There were no other reports of casualties as of Friday morning. "This is still a major hurricane and it's a very large one," said The Weather Channel's Bonnie Schneider. "Please don't let your guard down just because it's not a Category 4." Heavy rain fell relentlessly overnight. In Palm Beach, live power lines were knocked to the ground, sending sparks flying. Elsewhere, transformers exploded, illuminating the dark sky. "This storm's a monster," Scott warned as the hurricane began pummeling his state. "I'm going to pray for everybody's safety."

Two million people up and down Florida had been ordered to evacuate, and some 3,500 members of the National Guard  half of the state's contingent  had been activated. "This is the most I've ever had to activate," Scott said. Evacuations were also under way in Georgia and South Carolina. "There is nothing safe about what's getting ready to happen," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said of the storm surges, which could top 8 feet in her state. Obama on Friday warned those in the storm's path to listen to local authorities. "Do what they say. Do not be a holdout, because we can always replace property, but we can't replace lives," he said.



Other key updates:
watch now

Nigeria is already starting to see the dividends of its push to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil, according to Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun. Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund conference in Washington, the Minister pointed to a gyrating oil price as a key issue for recent economic productivity. "One of the problems we've faced until now is that the oil price was so volatile that our revenues were volatile. We need predictability so that we can plan." "With all those factors in place, I'm very confident that we can get back to growth," she added.

Motorists queue to buy petrol at a fuel station in Ahaoda in Nigeria's oil state in the Delta region. Akintunde Akinleye | Reuters

Nigeria's long-term reliance on oil has caused economic pain in recent years as internal problems meant the country was unable to match its historic production levels. This was a key factor in Nigeria securing an exemption from the upcoming OPEC deal,with the country allowed to produce up to and beyond its quota, given the its inability to have reached these levels recently. Asked about the potential for the OPEC deal to succeed, the Minister told CNBC, "I'm quite confident...there is a commitment towards stability and I think it will hold." Nigeria has historically funded its oil joint ventures with Treasury financing but Ms Adeosun says going forward the private oil majors will be partners, a development which she sees as critical. "Going forwardI think there's no reason why we wouldn't be able to meet our quota." The Finance Minister also pointed to oil as a key contributory factor in the troubles with its currency, saying as oil has accounted for 90 percent of Nigeria's revenues, its volatility has led to difficulty on the foreign exchange markets.

Nigeria Getty Images

Adeosun told CNBC she remained optimistic about growth, emphasizing a lot of resources have already been put to work in reorienting the economy, with around $720 billion channeled sincethe budget was passed in May. She emphasized the attention currently focused on fixing power and transport to boost manufacturing, agribusiness and the export sector. "The money we've released has gone to the major projects,it's roads, it's rail, it's airports, it's the infrastructure that's needed really to unlock the economy."
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer led a secret campaign to purge the company of male employees, according to a lawsuit filed in San Jose District Court this week.

Scott Ard, a media executive who worked for Yahoo for about three and a half years until he was fired in January 2015, alleged in the lawsuit that "Mayer encouraged and fostered the use of [an employee performance-rating system] to accommodate management's subjective biases and personal opinions, to the detriment of Yahoo's male employees."

Yahoo spokesperson Carolyn Clark told CNBC on Friday the lawsuit has no merit, saying, "fairness is a guiding principal of [the company's] annual review and reward process."

"With the unwavering support of our CEO we are focused on hiring employees with broad and varied backgrounds, and perspectives," she said. "As we have stated in the past, the quarterly performance review process is not only fair, but has improved our overall performance."

The complaint said quarterly performance reviews were implemented by Mayer in August 2012, shortly after becoming president and CEO of the company. Managers would assign each of their employees a quarterly rating on a scale of zero to five points, based on their performance.

The lawsuit argued that during a second step of the review process, called "calibration," higher-level management would modify employee ratings, despite having little to no actual contact with the employee. The suit further alleged that employees were never told their actual numeric rating, or how it had been determined.

Two other executives, Kathy Savitt, Yahoo's chief marketing officer at the time, and Megan Liberman, current editor-in-chief of Yahoo News (identified as vice president of news for Yahoo at the time), are mentioned in the lawsuit.

Ard alleged that 14 of the 16 senior-level editorial employees hired or promoted by Savitt in about an 18-month period were female. He also alleged Savitt has publicly expressed support for increasing the number of women in media and has intentionally hired and promoted women, while firing and demoting men because of their gender.

The suit also alleged that in November 2014, Liberman applied the review process and subsequently terminated another employee, Gregory Anderson, while he was on approved leave for the prestigious Knight-Wallace fellowship at the University of Michigan. Anderson reported directly to Ard at the time, but Liberman only allegedly shared her termination plan with him right before she carried it out.

Anderson filed a lawsuit against Yahoo in February 2016, alleging he was fired because of his gender. His attorney, Jon Parsons, declined to comment.

Parsons also represents Ard, making this the second case he has filed against Yahoo alleging anti-male discrimination.
President Barack Obama contemplates the State of the Union in the Oval Office.

In a piece published by "The Economist," President Barack Obama writes that the current political climate is tense, but there is "a hope for the future" when it comes to economic growth.

Obama shared his thoughts on the current state of the economy in the United States in light of growing concerns.

The piece in "The Economist" highlights the complexities of capitalism in today's society  what Obama describes as a "paradox of progress and peril that has been decades in the making."

This article comes only days before the much anticipated second presidential debate between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Read more about Obama's opinion on the economy in this report in "The Economist."
PPG Industries shares fell sharply Friday after the company warned it expects to post a third-quarter loss, its first in 30 quarters, due to charges related to a pension settlement.

Shares slid 9 percent to a more than seven-month low, wiping out more than $2.2 billion of market value in early trading Friday. The stock was on track for its worst day since December 2008.

For the third quarter ended September, PPG expects to post a per-share loss between 74 cents and 77 cents, hurt by previously-disclosed pension settlement charges totaling $2.31 a share. Adjusting for the charges, the company expects per-share earnings between $1.54 and $1.57, compared with $1.54 a year ago.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.71 a share, according to Thomson Reuters. The company is slated to report full results later this month.

In a June SEC filing, PPG said it would transfer pension benefits and annuity administration to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance and Metropolitan Life Insurance, and expected to take non-cash settlement charges of about $500 million-$600 million after-tax in the third quarter.



CEO Michael McGarry said PPG is "disappointed with this quarter's EPS-growth rate as we continue to operate in a sluggish economic environment with no clear near-term catalyst for improving global GDP growth."



The company, which sells paints, coatings and materials, is considering additional cost-cutting through global operating improvements and " targeted regional actions where economic conditions are weakest." The company said volumes grew more than 1.5 percent in the latest period, hurt in part by slower-than-expected growth in Europe.



PPG also said its board approved a $2 billion share buyback program. This is in addition to about $520 million remaining under an existing program.



Jim Sheehan, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey maintains his "buy" rating and $125 price target on the stock. In a note to investors, he said "While sluggish global GDP and soft European coatings demand are constraining EPS, we note two positives: 1.5 percent volume growth in third quarter accelerated from 0 percent in the second quarter validating the early success of PPG's growth initiatives; Aggressive cash deployment continues, with PPG's board authorizing a new $2 billion buyback."

The company has been cutting costs following its acquisition of REVOCOAT, a global supplier of sealants, adhesives and damper products for the automotive industry, in April 2015.

PPG has since cut about 1,700 jobs and has also sold its flat glass unit to Mexican glass manufacturer Vitro for about $750 million.

PPG shares are down 6 percent so far this year.

PPG year to date

Source: FactSet

Reuters contributed to this report.


Last month Moody's said the likelihood of a downgrade for South Africa was around a third. "We would likely downgrade the rating in the absence of a growth recovery that we are anticipating," Moody's analyst Kristin Lindow told a conference in Johannesburg, Reuters reported.

"We think that we have been addressing the concerns that the ratings agencies have raised," South African Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said. "And with the Ministry of Finance we've been working hard to avoid such a situation (a downgrade) occurring."

Moody's credit ratings agency has warned that it could downgrade South Africa's credit rating to junk in its November review, but the country's central bank governor has told CNBC that it's financial system could withstand such a move.

But speaking to CNBC on the side-lines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting in Washington, Kganyago said that while he was not "relaxed" about the prospect of a potential downgrade, stress testing of South African banks earlier in the year had shown them to be resilient to such a scenario.

"I would not say I'm relaxed  there is no room for complacency. But what we're saying is that should (a downgrade) happen, we have resilient institutions that are able to deal with that. South African banks have been subjected to a stress test of a very adverse scenario should a downgrade actually take place and they were found to be able to weather that storm," he said.

Kganyago added that banks were stress tested on additional scenarios including Brexit, the collapse of the euro and a recession in South Africa etc, and passed.

"They were found to be resilient and part of the reason is that South African banks are actually holding more capital than they are required to hold," he said.

There are no plans to impose capital controls in the eventuality of a downgrade to junk status, according to Kganyago. "Let's jog our memory back  South Africa was once sub-investment grade and during that time we didn't have to impose capital controlsand we are not going back in the opposite direction," he said.

Despite Kganyago's confidence in the country's financial system, a potential downgrade by a major ratings agency would be a blow for South Africa at an already tricky time for both its economy and political sphere.

At present, Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings rate South Africa at BBB-, one notch above sub-investment grade. Meanwhile, Moody's has South Africa's sovereign rating at BAA2 (a moderate credit risk), two notches above sub-investment grade.

Fears that South Africa's debt could be downgraded to sub-investment  or "junk"  grade by one of the big-three credit ratings agencies by the end of the year are not new.

Fitch's Head of Middle East and Africa Sovereigns Jan Friederich said recently that the ruling ANC party was in "panic mode" after suffering its worst local electoral results in August since the end of Apartheid, the system of racial segregation that ended in the country in the early 1990s.

Speaking at a Fitch conference, Friederich warned that this panic could spur "clearly populist measures" like the proposed national minimum wage, which if set too high could cause long-term problems with economic growth.

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Two of the technology world's most powerful billionaires are concerned we are living in a Matrix-style simulated world and are working with scientists to break us out.

In an article in The New Yorker, writer Ted Friend explains that the idea of the "simulation hypothesis" has been on the rise among tech's elite.

"Many people in Silicon Valley have become obsessed with the simulation hypothesis, the argument that what we experience as reality is in fact fabricated in a computer; two tech billionaires have gone so far as to secretly engage scientists to work on breaking us out of the simulation," Friend claimed.

Neither of the billionaires were named in the piece.

The idea has gained traction in recent years with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
Prominent economists who predict the fall of the euro are not concentrating on the facts, according to Klaus Regling, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism, who told CNBC that the European Union and the single currency were a success.



"The crisis is behind us," he said on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington D.C. on Thursday.



The European Stability Mechanism, or ESM, is a crisis resolution mechanism set up for euro area countries and generates money by selling bonds in the global financial markets. Regling said that officials in the region had taken many steps to make the euro area function better and dismissed the views of economists such as Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz.



Nobel prizewinning Stiglitz, who has written a book about his gloomy predictions, told CNBC in August that the structure of the euro zone had "doomed" the euro currency to "failure."



Krugman, meanwhile, has used his New York Times column on several occasions to voice his distaste for the currency, saying in July 2015 that "the euro has turned into a Roach Motel, a trap that's hard to escape."



However, Regling told CNBC that he had grown used to these sorts of predictions over the years but stressed that they had usually been proven wrong.
Apple did not have the first MP3 player. Or the first smartphone. Or the first tablet. At a recent public appearance at the Utah Tech Tour, in a conversation moderated by Utah's Senator Orrin Hatch, Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed out that Microsoft had tablets on the market decades before Apple. Cook emphasized his company's timing coming to market with new products to underscore the idea that it's nearly impossible for a company to be the best, the first and to make the most of a given product.

Entrepreneurs when they are just launching a company need to pick one of those three goals, says Cook. "You should never, ever base success or failure on hitting all three of those, in my view. So as an entrepreneur, I would encourage you to pick one. And then go for it. Whatever it is." For example, Apple isn't concerned with being first. Cook has a different goal.
Tradeshift, a social network for connecting supply chains, sees serious potential in India's small business sector, CEO Christian Lanng told CNBC.

The start-up, which connects businesses to simplify their expense systems, told CNBC's "Street Signs" that India was Tradeshift's fastest growing market, with 15,000 small companies signed up to its platform.

"Very early on, we connected a lot of companies in India [that] were in the long tail of the supply chain," Lanng said, "We are definitely big here on the supply chain side, we're just not as big on the buyer side yet."

India's new Goods and Services Tax (GST) policy made Tradeshift even more optimistic about tapping into India's growth. Part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reform agenda, the milestone approval of the GST is expected to strengthen investor confidence in India by simplifying its current tax system that consists of 15 types of taxes.

"We're very positive about the evolution of the economy and how we can help connect larger companies," Lanng said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum in New Delhi.
NASA, Richard Branson and Elon Musk are trying to figure out new ways to reach uncharted terrain in space, but a new movie is trying to give humans a new appreciation for the universe without leaving Earth.

"Voyage of Time," which opens on Friday, explores the Big Bang billions of years ago. In what the movie's makers call a "sensual cinema of science," the film takes viewers on an evolution of the entire cosmos, using scientific discovery to build a visually captivating story.

Unlike the big budget, computer generated sci-fi movies, "Voyage of Time" is very much grounded in history. It bills itself as a scientific endeavor that balances cinematography with targeted special effects. That combination, along with Brad Pitt's narration, paints a rich story of how the Earth came into being.

Directed by Terrence Malick, the visually stunning 45 minute IMAX film endeavors to "share nature's story in a way that doesn't numb the mind, but awakens within it a true sense of euphoria and awe," producer Nicholas Gonda told CNBC in a recent interview.

Malick is known for his work as writer and director of films including "Badlands" and "The Tree of Life." "Voyage of Time" is his first foray into the documentary genre.
What is more emblematic of the divisiveness of the presidential election than the market's fascination with the auction process of one mid-cap, poorly functioning company, Twitter , that can perhaps even be taken to task for its showcasing of vitriolic behavior? The acrimony has even spilled over into the currency markets with the body shaming of an algo trader as the media refers to the instantaneous 13 percent collapse in the pound as the result of a "fat-finger" mistake. Sovereigns were the story this week and with the backup in yields, surprising to some but not to those who read last week's weekly, was the continued slaughter in yield-bearing equities. The mini taper tantrum in Europe, which began as rumors circulated about a reduction in the ECB's bond buying program (later clarified in the dated minutes of their last meeting), pressured prices. The yield on German bunds crossed into unfamiliar positive territory while the U.S. 10-year consolidated at 1.73 percent. Equity markets tried awfully hard to trade lower all week but always seemed to rally back, although, as Marines they would have failed, leaving behind the wounded, those yield plays whose valuations had been too far extended as investors sought to replace what central bankers had callously removed in the name of QE. Ultimately, on Friday, the sellers, abetted by a just strong enough jobs number and perhaps unsure about the impact of Sunday night's presidential debate, won the battle and equity markets closed ever so marginally lower on the week. With all the negative news, it was a win. The Philadelphia Utility Sector Index, a proxy for dividend seekers, traded down 10 straight days before bouncing into the weekend, likely as short sellers uncharacteristically for this cycle booked profits. The yang was the monstrous rally in financials with Citi hitting a 52-week high and taking with it Wells Fargo in a soft rebuke to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the market casting doubt on the supposition that all their 250,000 employees are part of a criminal enterprise. Financial markets have mirrored a poker game of high-low. Sovereign yields have declared: high; sterling has declared: low; the dollar: high and equities: both. The problem is that there is always another hand to be dealt in the form of a Fed that is much too reliant on short-term data reports and addicted to the media spotlight as if auditioning for a future as paid public speakers where one appearance fee is greater than their current annual income. As such, the long list of initiatives that have caused unintended consequences  QE, the Volker Rule, Dodd-Frank, Affordable Care Act  can now include Fed transparency as it has had the adverse effect of boosting short-termism and eroding the base of the high pedestal of reverence upon which it once sat. The good news in this is that the much maligned hedge fund industry, specifically long/short equities, has made a stealth comeback. From our lens, the performance trend over the last few months has been very strong as the Fed's unabated call to pile into risk assets has met with some resistance with investors taking the position that the Fed is behind the curve of a tightening cycle thereby breaking down correlations between and within asset classes. Investors remain somewhat complacent, and let's face it, equity valuations are not high enough to unnerve anyone but the most miserly of value players; any dips have been bought, the economic data has been trending positively and there is nowhere else to go. Oh, how I loathe that last justification as an investment case, but money does have to find a home. Sunday's debate starts the week rolling and it will be interesting to see if Trump is more prepared and Clinton less rehearsed. As you recall, equity futures were instantly responsive to the candidates' performance at the first cage match, clearly enamored with Clinton's victory, or perhaps Trump's defeat (nuance intended). Earnings season starts in earnest next Friday with Wells Fargo, Citi and JPMorgan all reporting. FactSet notes that the bar is set unusually high for this quarter with the smallest downward adjustment prior to earnings reporting versus the one, five and 10-year average. Guidance, particularly with a strengthening dollar and uncertainty about the next administration, will be more important. However, with elections merely a month away, earnings will share the spotlight with politics and any thought of a November rate hike is pure folly. Perhaps it doesn't matter because history shows that it is the first rate hike that momentarily derails equities, not the ensuing, measured tightening until monetary policy becomes restrictive. (Mr. Weiss is the managing partner of Short Hills Capital Partners, a hedge fund advisory firm and asset manager primarily established to invest on behalf of one of the industry's most successful hedge fund managers. He has held senior management positions at SAC Capital, Salomon Brothers, Lehman Brothers and MSW Asset Management. He is the author of two investment books and a novel, is a visiting teaching fellow at UNC's graduate business school, Kenan-Flagler, and a CNBC contributor appearing regularly on "The Halftime Report.")

Week in review
Trump on Sunday will once again seek to assure the tens of millions of viewers that he can control his bombastic tendencies and effectively discuss policy. Clinton will likely look to keep Trump off balance and avoid any major gaffes that could reverse the recent polling shift in her favor.

The event at Washington University in St. Louis follows a first debate late last month in which Trump seemed at times agitated and unprepared. His ensuing public spat with a former Miss Universe whom Clinton brought up at the debate, including an overnight insult-ridden tweet storm, compounded what turned into a rough stretch for the Republican candidate.

Donald Trump gets one of his last major chances to gain ground on Hillary Clinton as the pair square off in the second presidential debate Sunday.

Clinton's average lead in recent national polls featuring third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein has grown to 3.5 points, up from 1.6 points on the day of the first debate. She leads in an average of recent polls in swing states Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, at least one of which Trump would have to win to take the White House. Trump has a recent advantage in Iowa and Ohio.



A strong showing in the debate could certainly give Trump a boost. A record of more than 80 million people watched the first debate at Hofstra University, and Sunday's could also draw a huge audience.



It will feature a town hall format, different from the first in which the candidates fielded questions on stage from NBC News anchor Lester Holt.



It remains to be seen whether Trump comes into Sunday more prepared or looks more comfortable in the town hall format. He held a town hall event in New Hampshire on Thursday night, which he insisted was not preparation despite it featuring a timer on his answers. He fielded relatively easy questions from conservative radio host Howie Carr.



Sunday's debate also follows a vice presidential debate in which most commentators said Trump's running mate Mike Pence got the better of Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine. Pence deflected consistent attacks on Trump from Kaine, though he denied Trump said some statements he made in the past and avoided defending some of Trump's most outrageous remarks and policies.



However, multiple reports indicated that Trump felt upstaged by Pence's debate success after his own struggles.



Focus on Friday has shifted away from politics, as a potentially devastating hurricane bears down on Florida.



Watch the full debate and CNBC's analysis at CNBC.com starting at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday.
SYRACUSE, N.Y.  Syracuse will host the 2017 World Canals Conference (WCC), an event that organizers say could have a more than $2 million indirect economic impact for the city.

New York State Canal Corporation, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and Visit Syracuse will host the event from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, according to a news release about the WCC issued Oct. 3.

I Love NY and National Grid (NYSE: NGG), along with many other businesses and foundations, will sponsor the WCC.

Organizers expect the 2017 WCC to draw hundreds of international delegates and draw thousands of local and regional residents to waterfront events. Theyll hold the conference as the Erie Canal commemorates its bicentennial.

For more information on the event and to view a program schedule, visit www.wcc2017syracuse.com.

The region has so much to celebrate, David Holder, president of Visit Syracuse, said in the news release.

The World Canals Conference will not only allow us to show off our canal system and waterways, but also our museums, shops, restaurants and neighborhoods. I am proud of our region and am looking forward to celebrating with the entire community, said Holder.

The Canal Corporation commissioned a recent study that found New Yorks canal system supports $6.2 billion in non-tourism-related economic activity, in addition to its $380 million tourism-based economic impact, according to the WCC news release.

In addition, the study also determined that the canals support 26,472 jobs; $1.6 billion in personal income; and $702 million in tax revenue, both directly and indirectly.

We are thrilled to have the 2017 World Canals Conference take place right here in Central New York, Brian Stratton, director of the New York State Canal Corporation, said in the news release. I applaud Gov. Cuomo and New York State for their support in bringing this international spotlight to our storied Erie Canal in the bicentennial year of its groundbreaking.

The Erie Canal broke ground in Rome on July 4, 1817, and opened on October 26, 1825. It quickly became the most vital trade route in the young nation, and helped make New York City one of the worlds most important ports and commercial centers.

Cornelius B. "Neil" Murphy Jr., honorary chair of the WCC, said he is elated to see the event come to Syracuse.

The event will bring a new visibility to our canals, inland waterways and the Syracuse region as whole, said Murphy, who is also past president of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

Each year, the WCC brings hundreds of canal enthusiasts, professionals and scholars from around the world together to discuss canals and inland waterways as a means to promote tourism, spur economic and community development, improve environmental quality and exchange best practices on protection strategies for these historic sites.

Our canals and waterways are essential to our regions economic strength and the social well-being of our communities, Melanie Littlejohn, executive director of National Grid Upstate New York, said in the news release. For that reason, National Grid is proud to take part in the 2017 conference and help support the growth and sustainability of these sites.

Inverness, Scotland hosted this years event in September, and Ghent Belgium did the same in 2015, according to the website of the American Canal Society. Rochester hosted the World Canals Conference in 2010, the website says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
October 7, 2016

 A new documentary short looks back at the last time humanity ventured beyond low-Earth orbit.



"The Last Steps," which premieres on Saturday (Oct. 8) at the Hamptons International Film Festival in East Hampton, New York, chronicles the journey of Apollo 17, the United States' sixth and last moon landing in December 1972.



"The theme of our mission is that this isn't the end," says Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan in a rarely-seen pre- flight interview that is playing as "The Last Steps" begins. "We've just begin [sic] to crawl with the Apollo program as mankind. We're just now hoping that we can learn to walk and then press onto the future."



Produced by CNN Films and Great Big Story, CNN's video network, "The Last Steps" relies solely on original NASA footage  most of it having been shot by Cernan and his Apollo 17 crew mates, Harrison Schmitt and Ron Evans.







Apollo 17 lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt works at the Lunar Roving Vehicle in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the moon. (NASA)

"Unlike other films that have blended archival footage with interviews or narration from today, our film is unique in that we use only archival material, in other words transmission audio, original still photography and original film captured by the astronauts," said Todd Miller, "Last Steps" director, in an interview with collectSPACE, "thus giving the viewer a truly direct cinema experience of our last trip to the lunar surface."



Launched from Earth on Dec. 7, 1972, Cernan and Schmitt spent three days on the moon, exploring the Taurus-Littrow valley over the course of three moonwalks. They were the last to drive a lunar rover and collected 741 rock and soil samples. Evans made the last deep space extra-vehicular activity (EVA or spacewalk) on the way home.



"The Last Steps" follows the Apollo 17 mission from just before liftoff through to its safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 14, 1972. The footage includes scenes that will be familiar to space enthusiasts, but also material that has not been widely-viewed beyond the NASA archives.



"We came across some rare archival footage of the Apollo 17 mission while working on our next feature-length film," said Miller, who produced and directed "Dinosaur 13," the 2014 Emmy Award-winning documentary about the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil. "While the footage really didn't fit in the context of the feature-length movie, I thought it would be perfect for a short that utilized only archival materials."



These rarely-viewed segments include film from inside the geology support room at Mission Control in Houston.



"Here's the shadow  you see that shadow coming right down here," says Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, as he works with scientists in the room as they watch the Apollo 17 astronauts work on the moon.







Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan stands on the moon. (NASA)

All of the footage underwent a digital intermediate process that color-corrected and graded the footage for theatrical presentation.



"Select shots that were deemed too low quality, such as the 'suiting-up' shots and launch shots, were scanned from 16mm negative source from the film vaults at the National Archives in Washington," Miller described. "We also did a complete sound design and 5.1 mix that cleaned up all of the digitized transmission audio, flight control room audio, and any other original audio source."



Following its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival, "The Last Steps" is set to debut on Great Big Story later this fall, in time for the 44th anniversary of the mission.



"My hope [for 'Last Steps'] is that the accomplishments of Apollo 17 and the Apollo program are appreciated by a new, younger audience who maybe aren't aware of how amazing a feat it was," said Miller. "And at the same time, I hope that the film reminds all of us that when we come together for what seems to be an impossible goal we can achieve great things."



collectSPACE editor Robert Pearlman served as historical consultant on "The Last Steps."
Types of obituaries

The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries  family obituaries and life stories.

A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries

A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Family starts over after losing home, pets in Wooldridge fire

The McComb family called Wooldridge home before losing everything material to wildfire. What hurt the most was the loss of their pet dog Olaf.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut.
The question on the mind of many voting security experts is not whether hackers could disrupt a U.S. election. Instead, they wonder how likely an election hack might be and how it might happen.

The good news is a hack that changes the outcome of a U.S. presidential election would be difficult, although not impossible. First of all, there are technology challenges -- more than 20 voting technologies are used across the country, including a half dozen electronic voting machine models and several optical scanners, in addition to hand-counted paper ballots.

[ For more, see Hacking the Election: Myths and Realities ]

But the major difficulty of hacking an election is less a technological challenge than an organizational one, with hackers needing to marshal and manage the resources needed to pull it off, election security experts say. And a handful of conditions would need to fall into place for an election hack to work.

Many U.S. voting systems still have vulnerabilities, and many states use statistically unsound election auditing practices, said Joe Kiniry, a long-time election security researcher.

"With enough money and resources, I don't think [hacking the election] is actually a technical challenge," said Kiniry, now CEO and chief scientist at Free and Fair, an election technology developer. "Its a social, a political, and an infrastructural challenge because you'd have a medium-sized conspiracy to achieve such a goal. Technically, its not rocket science."

Kiniry, in an interview earlier this year, called the U.S. voting system "ripe for manipulation," fueled by a divided nation. "The state of the infrastructure is terrible, and we have a terrible political climate and a lot of money sloshing around," he said.

Still, a couple of conditions would need to be in place for hackers to change the outcome of a U.S. presidential election.

First, hackers would need a tight national election where hacking the results of one or two swing states could change the results.

Remember, the U.S. president isn't elected by the national popular vote, but through the Electoral College, where each state gets a number of votes based on its population.

The bad news is the current presidential campaign is shaping up to be a tight race, with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton running neck-in-neck in more than a dozen states as of late September.

This year's race may mirror the razor-thin 2000 and 2004 victories by Republican George W. Bush. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won Floridas 29 Electoral College votes in a squeaker, leading to an Electoral College victory of 271 to 267.

In 2004, had Democrat John Kerry won Florida or Ohio, he would've been elected president instead of Bush.

The good news is that there's still time for one candidate to pull away and allay fears of a hacked election. And many recent elections haven't been close enough to raise concerns.

President Barack Obama won in the Electoral College by healthy margins in 2008 and 2012. The 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996 presidential elections were also relative blowouts in the Electoral College.

A second condition needed for a hacked election is an available attack vector. Unfortunately, most election security experts dont have a hard time imagining one.

Fifteen states still use outdated electronic voting machines without attached printers, which can be used to audit their internal vote counts. More than half of the states are still using these direct-recording electronic machines or DREs, with or without attached printers, and many voting security experts say both types of DREs have vulnerabilities.

Among the states using DREs without paper trails are potential swing states Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. Those states don't use DREs statewide, so hackers would have to research the jurisdictions where DREs are still being used.

Potential swing states using DREs with attached printers in some or all jurisdictions: Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

The U.S. has more than 5,000 voting jurisdictions, noted Douglas Jones, a computer science professor at the University of Iowa. "Some run very tight ships, but some are sloppy," he said by email. "Because they're all at least a bit different, you'll need to pick a jurisdiction that is vulnerable and where the number of votes you can steal is enough to make a difference."

Finally, hackers would need the resources to pull off a major election system breach. They would probably need a small to medium-size team, significant funding, and the organizational discipline to keep the hack secret. A leak of a hacked election could lead to criminal charges and would almost certainly turn public opinion against the winning presidential candidate. News of a hacked election could damage the winning candidates political party for decades.

"A medium-sized conspiracy might be able to hack one or two swing states," said Jones, who has researched voting-machine security. "To swing a close state, it might be sufficient to swing just one medium or large-sized county."

With the number of voting jurisdictions in the U.S., "it is quite likely that you'll need a small team to hack each jurisdiction you select even if they run the same voting machines, because of the differences in election administration," he added. "So the size of your conspiracy -- and your risk of exposure -- grows with the number of counties you attack."

Still, theres been evidence this year of outside hackers, like Russian teams, trying to raise doubts about the U.S. election. "If you're a state-level player with national-scale resources, you can set up multiple teams," Jones said.

If those conditions are all in place, here are three hacking scenarios:

1. An attack on DREs that depends on physical access in the weeks leading up to the election.

This attack would involve hackers actually infiltrating election teams or depending on poor physical security surrounding voting machines. In the years of the DRE rush following the 2000 election, many voting security experts showed a host of vulnerabilities that depended largely on physical access to the machines.

This is a potential attack vector that would likely involve a fairly large number of sneaky conspirators who dont get caught.

Given all those potential problems, this attack is probably unlikely. Its an "unsophisticated version" of an election hack, said Free and Fair's Kiniry.

2. An attack on DREs during software updates. This is a more likely scenario than No. 1. While DREs arent supposed to be connected to the internet during an election, many DRE models get software updates through network connections.

A lack of an internet connection on Election Day does not make DREs "immune to internet hacking," because of their election management systems [EMSes], Jones said. A "clever hacker" could inject malware into DREs during the process used to load ballots and other election configuration information, he said.

The basic pre-election checks in many states might not find the malware, he added. "Malware can be made that triggers only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in an even-numbered year," he said. "Malware can be made to trigger only if the polls are open for longer than six hours. Malware can be made to trigger only if the machine is used by more than 25 voters."

Unplugging DREs from the internet is a "red herring," Kiniry added. "The threat vectors on DREs and similar equipment -- as shown many times by security researchers -- are manifold," he said. "Installing malware in an EMS over the 'Net and then having that EMS infect a ballot definition file written on a USB stick or DVD is totally a thing."

3. Finally, the goal of some hackers may be to raise doubts about the election results, instead of swinging the election for one candidate. This is is the scariest potential attack because the hackers would need to compromise just one election system in one jurisdiction, and it wouldn't need to be in a swing state or affect the outcome of the election.

With recent attacks on the Democratic National Committee, some U.S. law enforcement authorities have accused Russian hackers of trying to influence the election. Republican Trump has suggested that if he loses in November, the election will be "rigged."

A close election is needed for hackers "only if you are looking to actually change the outcome," Kiniry said. "If all you want to do is cast doubt on the outcome, it doesn't matter if it is a landslide for Clinton or a squeaker for Trump, you just do a hack or two and reveal it to the media after-the-fact."

Hackers could also tamper with election registration lists to raise questions, Jones added. Or they could release forged emails that make it appear the election was hacked.

"If I were Vladimir Putin or the kind folks in North Korea, I wouldn't really care who won the election, what I'd want to do is delegitimize the election," he added. "To do that, you don't need to successfully hack it, you just need to create the widespread impression that it has been hacked."
Verizon may be getting cold feet with its acquisition of Yahoo. Reportedly, it's asking for a $1 billion discount on the original $4.8 billion deal for the Internet company.

Recent news about Yahoo's massive data breach and its alleged secret email scanning program has diminished the company's value in the eyes of Verizon, according to a Thursday report by the New York Post.

Tim Armstrong, the head of AOL, which Verizon acquired in 2015, reportedly has met with Yahoo executives about reducing the acquisition price.

"Hes pretty upset about the lack of disclosure and hes saying can we get out of this or can we reduce the price?" the report said, quoting what it called a source familiar with Verizon's thinking.

Verizon declined to comment on the report.

Experts have also said that Verizon may choose to back out of the deal after Yahoo revealed last month it had been hacked in 2014. That massive data breach may have stolen information from at least 500 milllion user accounts.

At the time, Verizon said it had only learned about the breach two days before Yahoo disclosed it publicly.

The negative press about Yahoo ramped up again earlier this week when a Reuters report claimed that the company had been secretly scanning the incoming emails of all its customers for U.S. intelligence purposes.

Yahoo has called the Reuters report misleading. Privacy advocates said the spying may have been so broad that it was unconstitutional.

Yahoo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the New York Post story.
Facebook wants to connect the world, but it has been neglecting one very underserved country -- the U.S.

Ok, the U.S. isn't exactly underserved, but parts of it are less connected than others. And to those parts, Facebook wants to bring its Free Basics service. Though the service sounds great on the outside, there are some definite concerns about it.

In IT Blogwatch, we watch our news feed.

So what exactly is going on? Steven Musil has the background:

Facebook may have a new country in its sights for its controversial free-internet plan...The social media giant is in talks with U.S. government officials and wireless carriers about bringing its Free Basics service to millions of people in the U.S....The company is reportedly moving cautiously on the initiative to avoid the regulatory scrutiny that derailed the project in India earlier this year.

OK, great. And what precisely is Free Basics? And what happened in India? Jon Brodkin has some more details:

Free Basics...provides access to a variety of websites -- including Facebook and Facebook Messenger -- without counting against customers' data caps.

...

Free Basics is already available...in more than 40 countries, most of which are in Africa...Facebook says it has connected more than 25 million people. The service includes a mix of general Web browsing and more crucial services like job listings and access to medical information...Free Basics was available in India until that country banned it in its new neutrality rules.

Ah, now I think I am starting to understand why it is controversial. What are the net neutrality concerns? Saqib Shah fills us in:

Free Basics...allows users to access specific sites...via a free mobile app without draining their data...[Facebook's] aim is to target low-income Americans and those located in rural areas that do not have access to high-speed internet.

...

Facebook wants to divert the attention from its zero-rating app and focus on the benefits of the program for Americans in underserved locations. The company likely fears the ire of consumer advocates who argue that zero-rating...goes against net neutrality principles...In June, around 100,000 internet advocates sent letters to the...FCC urging it to cover zero-rating under its net neutrality guidelines. The agency has not yet decided on whether it will take action.

Are there any other concerns with this program? Shawn Knight outlines another:

Others are concerned about long-term implications...For example, what would happen if Facebook down the road decides to charge carriers for...participation? It could also give participating...carriers an advantage as theyre likely to have a better shot at converting Free Basics users into paying customers versus a provider that isnt participating in the program.

So what do people think about all this? Aral Balkan, for one, has a very strong opinion:

I wouldnt call it philanthropy, I would call it colonialism. -- yours truly on Facebooks Free Basics.
A Japanese company has developed an electrical cable that can be stretched. Asahi Kasei says the cable, called Roboden, will expand by up to 40 percent of its length before hitting its limit.

It was originally developed for use in robotics, where cables sometimes need to snake around joints that pivot or extend. Typically, spare cable has to be built into the wiring to accommodate this movement, and that can get snagged. Roboden can closely follow the robots body and stretch as needed.

Asahi Kasei is demonstrating the cable at this weeks Ceatec electronics show in Japan, where it is looking for additional uses for Roboden.

It works like this: The inside of the Roboden cable has an elastic core and wire is wound around the core in a spiral. A second stretchy sheath covers the entire thing. The spiralled wire means there is enough inside the cable to allow it to be stetched without incident.

One potential use is in gadget cables. Anyone who has pulled a cable by accident and sent a gadget crashing to the floor will attest that current USB cables dont stretch at all.

It could also have a use in portable gadget cabling for devices like power adapters and headphones. No matter how well the cables are coiled on devices, a day inside a backpack always manages to unravel the wire and leave a mess of digital sphaghetti. With Roboden, the cable will remain coiled up if a little stretch is put in when winding it tidily.
Alumni law panel encourages students to be creative and open-minded

Patricia McGowan Wald '48 (left), Valerie Bataille Marshall '83 (center) and Peggy Stavros Reeves '74 were part of the Sundays with Alumni panel discussion on law.

Patricia McGowan Wald 48 graduated from Connecticut College, she said, at a time when women were more likely to marry servicemen than get a job.

But she was ready for something different.

Wald earned admittance to Yale University Law Schoolshe was one of only 10 women in her classand went on to an illustrious legal career, eventually becoming the first woman appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Her contributions to the field of law earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, the nations highest civilian honor.

When you see opportunities, go for them, Wald told students at a recent Sundays with Alumni discussion series held on campus.

Wald and other alumni in the field of law took part in the popular College program that allows current Conn students to learn about specific career fields and network with alumni.

The alumni panel also included Jay Levin 73, counsel at Suisman Shapiro Attorneys-at-Law in New London, Connecticut; Peggy Stavros Reeves 74, director of elections for the State of Connecticut; and Valerie Bataille Marshall 83, program management analyst with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Representing different legal fields, the panelist provided unique perspectivesbut with several common themes. One main theme was to be creative and keep an open mind.

Reeves related that she didnt attend law school immediately after graduating from the College. Instead, she got involved in politics later in her career.

You never know where life takes you, so dont hesitate to look for a different path, said Reeves, emphasizing that going to law school or becoming a lawyer isnt the only way to break into the field.

Following the traditional route may not always get you where you want to go, added Levin. Panel members also encouraged the nearly 30 students in attendance to take advantage of opportunities and to always be networking.

Sabina Flandrick 17 is interested in a career in law but isnt sure if she wants to attend law school right away. Attending the panel discussion, she said, reassured her that taking a different route could still lead to a successful career in law.

The speakers made me realize that taking time between Conn and law school is all right, said Flandrick. Their advice was helpful and applicable to any career path.

- Ciara Healey 17

October 7, 2016
Syed Kamall is Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and is an MEP for London.

I have always enjoyed Conservative Party Conference  from meeting friends old and new to taking part in fringe debates. This years was no exception, with a huge amount of discussion about where we need to go next to make the most out of Brexit. As I said in my speech in the main conference hall, Labours conference was about the future of their party, but our conference was about the future of our country.

As well as my main speech, I hosted a fringe meeting with allies from the ECR Group on where the EU  without the UK  should go from here. The panel featured Timo Soini, Finlands Foreign Minister, along with Sander Loones MEP, vice-chairman of Flanders biggest party, the NVA, and conference stalwart Jan Zahradil MEP from the Czech ODS. Two things struck me about what they were saying: first, that the UK must not be punished for Brexit, and that it is in the interests of both the UK and EU to seek a deal that is as close and open as possible; and, second, that our referendum (alongside EU referendum results in the Netherlands, Denmark and Hungary in recent months) needs to be seen as a real wake-up call for the EU to change.

Sadly, it seems that this message of change is still not getting through the insulated walls of the European institutions. Whether in last months set-piece State of the Union debate, or in more recent debates, there has been no sense that anything had changed. The EU elite tell us that the UK was clearly in the wrong to vote to leave. They blame us for the fact that Le Pen and Wilders are knocking at the door of power, and that the rise of Euroscepticism is the fault of populists and demagogues, not that of mainstream political parties which have failed to address the genuine concerns of their voters.

The EPP Christian Democrat group believes it has now come up with a real winner to get us to love the EU: to give a free interrail pass to every 18 year old as a birthday present. Thats right: it seems that the EU can reconnect to people by giving richer middle class kids free summer holidays backpacking around the Dordogne at enormous cost to the European taxpayer. For a group that lambasts populism at every turn, it fails to see the irony, or why unemployed youth in some EU countries might have higher priorities, such as getting a job.

The EUs response offers the ECR Group a great opportunity. Yes, it will eventually lose British MEPs who make up one of its larger delegations when we leave, but it very clearly still has a great purpose  to offer people an alternative to the status quo, and to push for deeper reform of the EU. We are currently working on the ECRs platform for the second half of the parliamentary term, and it will be a clear rallying call for all of those people and all of those parties across the EU that share our belief that  after Brexit  the EU really has to change to decentralise, and to be more flexible whilst treating all of its Member States equally and fairly.

As well as working on this new purpose for the ECR Group, I have also been doing what I can to act as an interlocutor between the EU and the new government. The EU now has its key negotiators in place, and Michel Barnier of the Commission and Guy Verhofstadt of the Parliament have caused waves in London. I know both pretty well and whilst we dont generally share the same vision for the EU (and I was very unhappy at the way in which Verhofstadt was appointed), I actually find both of them to be generally quite pragmatic behind the scenes. We can do business with them both. If you want more information on Brexit and the options available to us, download my newly-launched Pocket Guide to Brexit.

In the Brussels bubble, MEPs are starting to turn their thoughts to who will be the next President of the European Parliament. The incumbent Martin Schulz is looking at an unprecedented third term. My colleague Ashley Fox has suggested that the Parliaments rules be changed to prevent this, and the ECR Group has this week nominated Helga Stevens, a Flemish MP, to be our candidate. Last week, Helga hosted a massive event in the main parliament chamber bringing together over a thousand deaf people from across Europe. It was the first time that all of the EUs spoken and sign languages were together in one room. She is liked and respected across the entire Parliament, and I truly believe she would be an excellent and much fairer President.

Finally, I learned a new bit of Eurospeak this week. While EU politicians keep telling me that there can be no pre-negotiations before Article 50 is invoked, one influential individual told me that we are still able to communicate before then. So, thats clear then. I shall be communicating, not pre-negotiating with them (and you) as we approach the date of Article 50 being triggered.
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Founder Of A Top Microsoft Cloud Partner, New Signature, Steps Down

Michael Novinson

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New Signature Founder Chris Hertz is departing after helping the rising star capture two Microsoft U.S. Partner of the Year awards and obtaining a massive private equity investment.

Hertz told CRN he plans to spend the next couple of months with his three-year-old daughter before either starting a company or joining a firm in the ISV software space. The Washington D.C.-based systems integrator Hertz leaves behind has grown by 240 percent over the past three years, and has made five key acquisitions over the past 18 months to get into new technology areas and geographies.

"The company is doing really, really well. It's on a really good course," Hertz said. "If I didn't take advantage of the timing, I would be kicking myself in a decade."

[RELATED: Super Microsoft SI New Signature Gets $35M, Names New CEO]

Hertz served as New Signature's CEO for 12 years before obtaining $35 million in funding from Columbia Capital in April 2015. As part of that deal, Hertz shifted over to the role of president, while Jeff Tench - who ran cloud video managed services company Teliris, until it was sold to Dimension Data in May 2014 - joined as New Signature's new CEO.

Hertz was ran New Signature's sales and operations teams in North America in his new role, and Tench said that Hertz brought a tremendous amount of energy around technology, customer experience, business outcomes and Microsoft to the table.

"Chris has a very engaging personality driving his passion," Tench said. "He's leaving the business in great shape and with a tremendous amount of momentum."

At the same time, Tench said New Signature is the "same in name only" as the company Hertz ran for 12 years, with the company at least quadrupling its headcount over the past 18 months to 300 employees as New Signature for the first time established a foothold in the Southeastern U.S. and the United Kingdom.

"We'll miss him, but we're in a large enough position now that no one person's departure impacts the company fundamentally," Tench said. "The entire company has evolved dramatically over a short period of time.

Over the past three years, Hertz said New Signature has doubled down around cloud services, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, the securing of mobile devices and data, and Microsoft Azure's Platform-as-a-Service capabilities. During that time, New Signature beat out 20,000 competitors and became the first and only Microsoft partner to twice be awarded its highest honor - U.S. Partner of the Year.

"There's a lot of cool transformation we've done with Office 365," Hertz said.

Hertz's direct reports will begin reporting to Tench, and New Signature has no immediate plans to name a replacement in the role of president, Tench said. All of the founders and key executives from the other companies New Signature has acquired over the past 18 months remain with the company, Tench said.

The news of Hertz's departure was shared with New Signature staff Monday and with Microsoft and other key partners Tuesday, Tench said. Hertz transitioned to an advisory role Friday, and his last official day as a New Signature employee is at the end of the month.

There wasn't a plan in place for Hertz to transition out of New Signature as part of Columbia Capital's investment last year, but Tench acknowledged that executive departures can sometimes be a byproduct of bringing several companies together.

"It's inevitable that certain folks will leave along the way," Tench said.

Hertz said the decision to leave crystallized fairly rapidly for him based on the impressive state of New Signature's business and confidence that he could step away and things would continue to go well. Hertz said New Signature has fully integrated its five recent acquisitions  four of which took place in 2015  and the company is firing on all cylinders.

"This wasn't something that was in the works for a long time," Hertz said.

Going forward, New Signature plans to carry out additional mergers and acquisitions in the U.K. to build upon the capabilities of its May purchase of Dot Net Solutions, Tench said. In North America, Tench said New Signature plans to organically grow its sales operations and technical support teams as it continues to develop a consistent approach for the internal operations of the companies it recently acquired.

For now, Hertz said he plans to spend more time with family. On Friday, Hertz took his three-year-old daughter to the pumpkin patch, something Hertz said he never would have been able to do on a normal weekday.

Hertz plans to spend the next two or three months thinking about what he wants to do in the future, and has already set up several conversations with people he considers to be thought leaders in the industry.

"My wife is betting on when I'll get bored," Hertz said. "I don't think I'm going to be out of the game very long."
Data center News

Channel Veteran Frey Is Out As Lenovo Head Of Commercial Sales

Steven Burke and Matt Brown

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Chris Frey, Lenovo's commercial sales leader and a 10-year Lenovo veteran, is leaving the China-based PC giant, vacating his role just as Dell Technologies turns up the heat in the hotly contested mobile and server markets, CRN has learned.

Frey's departure comes just 18 months after he took an expanded role as vice president and general manager of commercial sales overseeing all North America sales with a charter to significantly expand Lenovo's footprint in large commercial accounts. He led Lenovo's North American commecial channel.

[Related: Lenovo Channel Chief Frey Gets Expanded Role, Will Oversee North American Commercial Business]

"After devoting 22 years to IBM and Lenovo, Chris Frey has decided to leave the company to spend more time with his family," said a Lenovo spokesperson in an email to CRN. "We are grateful for his dedication and commitment to Lenovo and leadership of our channel and commercial sales organizations over the years."

In the wake of Frey's departure, Emilio Ghilardi, president of Lenovo North America, will add to his duties as the acting commercial PC general manager, while the commercial data center team will report to Cliff Gumkowski, vice president, North America Data Center Group Sales.

Frey's sudden exit comes two years after Lenovo acquired IBM's low-end server business in a blockbuster $2.3 billion cash and stock deal.

Lenovo's worldwide server share has remained relatively flat over the last year, finishing the second quarter, ended June 30, with $969 million in server revenue compared with $949 million in server revenue in the same period one year ago, according to market researcher IDC. Dell finished the most recent quarter with $2.6 billion in server revenue, a year-over-year increase of about 10 percent, according to IDC.

Lenovo remains in fourth place in worldwide server revenue behind Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell and IBM.

Future Tech CEO Bob Venero, who has known Frey for 20 years, said he will be missed greatly. "I have nothing but respect and admiration for Chris and what he has done in the channel," Venero said. "I wish nothing but the best for Chris and his family."

Michael Goldstein, CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based LAN Infotech, a Lenovo partner for the last five years, said he also is sorry to see Frey leave the company. "Chris was the face of the Lenovo channel," he said. "Chris was a big motivator for channel partners and a vocal proponent of partners within Lenovo."

LAN Infotech, like a number of Lenovo partners, has continued to team with Lenovo on notebooks, but never aggressively got behind the Lenovo server line after the Lenovo acquisition of IBM's low end x86 servers.

"We have always been a big Dell server partner," said Goldstein. "We really didn't see any server advances from Lenovo that would lead us to bring on the Lenovo server line. Our engineers and customers are very happy with the Dell server line."

Goldstein said the executive that replaces Frey is going to have to big shoes to fill. "Chris was the one executive at Lenovo that we knew and trusted," he said. "Whoever replaces him is going to have build new relationships with the channel."

Frey admitted that Lenovo had badly missed the mark in a candid presentation on the Lenovo server business last June at the Tech Data Channel Link conference.

Partners still don't know what Lenovo intends to do in the server market, Frey told Tech Data conference attendees at the time, saying management had mistakenly approached the server business like the PC business, giving partners marching orders to push boxes rather than data center solutions.

"We told you to sell one- and two-unit towers. We forgot, or we didn't know or we were ignorant that you sell solutions in the data center, not just a piece of hardware," Frey told conference attendees, according to a report.

Frey's departure comes just a little more than a year after Jay Parker, a vice president in Lenovo's Enterprise Business Group, resigned to take a job as vice president and general manager of North America enterprise solutions at Dell. As part of the Dell-EMC merger, Parker was made head of global server and networking sales.

Douglas Grosfield, the founder and CEO of Five Nines IT Solutions, a Kitchener, Ontario-based strategic service provider, praised Frey as a "friend to the channel," but agreed that Lenovo had badly missed the server mark.

"Lenovo tried to forklift all the partner programs from IBM to Lenovo and it didn't work," he said. "They expressed a desire to change that and modify the program but we never saw it happen. Most of those programs that Frey played a big role in supporting made a lot of sense five years ago but today are outdated. The server industry is changing rapidly right now. Hyper-convergence is making a big bang in the market and the server business is starting to see some of the same fall off we have seen in the PC market. While Lenovo the Red Dragon has awoken they are big beast and there is a lot of inertia."

Grosfield's calls to action for Frey's replacement: "This is an opportunity for Lenovo to put someone in place that puts his ear to the ground. As a strategic service provider leading the next evolution of managed services we own the last mile to the customer to a degree we have never seen before. Vendors like Lenovo need to hear our voice and not try to keep making us drink the same Kool-Aid they have been serving us for the last five years."


Storage News

Data Storage, Safety Are Top Of Mind As Solution Providers Brace For Hurricane Matthew

Phil Harvey

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As the East Coast braces for the impact of Hurricane Matthew, solution providers say they are concerned about cloud data storage and disaster recovery.

Hurricane Matthew will hit landfall in the U.S. this evening and around 1.5 million people are under orders from Florida Governor Rick Scott to evacuate. "This is deadly," Gov. Scott said in a media alert issued today. "If you chose to stay and try to ride the storm out, your life is at risk.

The hurricane hit Haiti two days ago and more than 140 deaths have been attributed to the storm so far. Around 350,000 Haitian citizens will require public assistance of some kind, the Haitian government reported today.

For U.S. businesses in the storm's path, their offices, stores and physical locations might be wrecked but their core intellectual property  customer and financial records, sales data, etc.  can be saved with the right preparation.

"It's the ultimate insurance policy," said Sam Heard, president of Data Integrity Services, Inc. in Lakeland, Fla., between Tampa and Orlando. "It is an additional expense, but for every hour you're down, what's that going to cost you? And what does it cost if you're down for several days or a week?"

Heard's company uses cloud-based backup services from Norwalk, Conn.-based Datto. He recalls years ago when Central Florida was hit with a succession of tornadoes. The key issue during that recovery was the inability to get back to business without utilities.

"The biggest issue that we had, other than the destruction, was the lack of power and internet service," Heard said. "We'd go to offices and visit with clients  their doors were open, generators were on and fans were blowing  but there was no [main] power and no internet."

Meanwhile, in Datto's Norwalk headquarters, a team of 12 people on a "Code Red" team will be handling calls and trouble tickets from technology partners as the storm hits. "It's hard to anticipate what exactly will happen so we prepare for the worst and hope for the best," said Zac Shannon, manager of support operations at Datto.

Shannon estimates that nearly 500 businesses  end user customers of Datto  are in Hurricane Matthew's direct path. Around 124 technology channel partners are going to be called to action to help those businesses should any experience damage to the on-premises devices involved.

In the last few days, Shannon said, technology partners have been testing off-site access and making sure they can spin up virtual machines to access their customers' data from remote locations. "Some businesses are even taking the devices with them and running them elsewhere," he said.

Either way, he wants to ensure the Code Red team has enough publicly available IP addresses so Datto can help its partners remotely configure networks to get companies returning to business as usual as soon as possible.

"Tonight will be the test of DR [disaster recovery] for many of our clients," wrote David Mendenhall, CTO of Giganetworks, based in Miami, in an email to CRN.

A number of cloud storage providers are offering help to Florida businesses impacted by Hurricane Matthew.

Axcient, a Mountain View, Calif.-based providers of disaster recovery-as-a-service, said on Thursday that it is offering free, no-commitment disaster recovery services to businesses potentially affected by Hurricane Matthew. A company spokesperson said that setting up the service takes less than 15 minutes, and that Axcient has staff on high alert to get such businesses up and running when needed.

Similarly, StorageCraft Technology, a Draper, Utah-based provider of disaster recovery and data protection solutions, said Thursday that businesses and non-profits in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina can back up their data for free with the StorageCraft ShadowProtect SPX software. A company spokesperson said organizations who back up data by Oct. 14 will be provided the ability to recover the data free of charge.

Additional reporting by Joseph F. Kovar
Costa Crociere and Princess Cruises will carry about one million Chinese passengers this year, up from 500,000 in 2015, according to Alan Buckelew, COO of Carnival Corporation, who also has oversight of Carnival Asia. He added that he expects to see a significant percentage increase in 2017 as well, and that the growth will continue (with more Carnival Corp. brand ships being introduced into the market).

The potential in China is huge, Buckelew said in an exclusive interview with Cruise Industry News. They have the largest outbound travel market in the world with some 130 million Chinese travelling internationally, compared to about 90 million Americans. By 2025, the forecasts call for some 300 million Chinese travelling internationally. They are our target audience.

Carnival Corporation had the first brand in China when Costa first entered service there in 2006. Next year, Carnival will have nine ships in China, up from six this year.

Today, Carnivals China operation is profitable, but it was not always so. It is challenging to build up a new market, particularly when the (market) language is so different from the brand, Buckelew said. One of our biggest challenges have been to adapt the brands to the Chinese market, while retaining their brand identity, which is the heart and soul of who they are.

Now, we are very excited about introducing more capacity and Princess (which launched China service in 2014) has been profitable from the start, primarily because it was able to benefit from the infrastructure and market already built up by Costa.

Having several brands allows us to offer different options to consumers in this large and mostly untapped market.

While North Asia has huge potential as a whole, Buckelew described China as being the anchor of Carnivals Asia strategy. In addition to mainland China, ships are also deployed out of Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, while calling in South Korea. He noted Princess seasonal deployment in Japan and that Costa is sourcing passengers in both Japan and South Korea as well.

Being the first and largest brand in China, Costa has created a mostly, if not completely, self-sufficient organization in China, Buckelew explained, handling procurement, HR, hotel and maritime operations. Other brands moving into China, rather than duplicating what Costa has created, are encouraged to use the Costa Groups back-office service organization.

For ships based here we try to procure whatever we can locally, he continued. In addition we have more than 90 other ships that require supplies made in China, that we dont buy here. Now that we are creating a supply chain in China our goal is to purchase more products directly rather than through distributors. We are in the early stages of creating a sourcing chain not just for the local organization but for Carnival Corporation as a whole.

The company is continuing to work on its joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Investment Corporation (CIC) that will eventually see the creation of a multi-ship domestic brand to operate ships to be acquired as well as new ships to be built in China. The joint venture is a 25-year agreement and calls for a $4 billion investment. In addition, Fincantieri has entered into a joint venture with the CSSC to facilitate the building of new ships in China for Carnivals joint venture.

Meanwhile, Costa and Princess have generated hundreds of thousands of happy passengers, according to Buckelew, who said their satisfaction level is higher than anywhere else. And he is convinced that China can become the single largest cruise market in the world and still have a relatively modest penetration rate.

Keeping our (global) market share (about 45 percent) and tapping into the Chinese market with the brand portfolio we have, will be our growth story for the next decade and beyond, Buckelew said.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Fall 2016
Roma Cruise Terminal has announced that it has signed an agreement with the consortium Itinera/Zambonini for the construction of the cruise passenger terminal in the port of Civitavecchia.

Work on the terminal is now scheduled to start in November and thenew 10,000-square-meter building is expected to be completed in 2018.

The ground floor will feature passenger and luggage screening areas as well as the luggage hall. The first floor includes a 60 check-in counter facility, a VIP area with separate check-in counters, a bar and restaurant and ample seating space. Offices for terminal users are located both on the ground floor and the first floor.



Two passenger bridges and a 200 metre passenger walkway will facilitate the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers. The bridge will also serve to separate passengers from the vehicle flow on the quays.

John Portelli, general manager, Roma Cruise Terminal, said: We are looking forward to the start of the construction of the new terminal. The new terminal will further consolidate the primary role of Civitavecchia, the port of Rome at the forefront of the cruise industry."

The terminal, designed by Studio Vicini of Genoa, is designed to maximise the transit and turnaround experience in Civitavecchia. With this in mind, during the design phase, cruise lines were asked to submit their suggestions. These suggestions were subsequently incorporated in the final design of the terminal.

At a cost of 20 million, Roma Cruise Terminals new passenger terminal will be one of the largest cruise terminals to be built in Europe.
BRIDGEPORT  The 20-year-old who swiped a Chevy Tahoe used by the mayor and his staff and then drove to Kentucky said he was homeless and got lucky when he discovered the keys in the unlocked vehicle, according to a police source.

Meanwhile the Sport Utility Vehicle is back in town after Mayor Joe Ganims driver, Detective Ramon Garcia, traveled to Kentucky to pick it up.

A police source said Derrick Johnson accessed the downtown government center rooftop parking lot from the adjacent RBS parking garage to get the black 2015 Tahoe.

The Oak Grove, Ky., police department, which found Johnson and the vehicle and first alerted City Hall to the fact the SUV was missing, has referred questions about the case back to their Bridgeport counterparts.

On Friday a source within the Bridgeport police department said Johnson, who is still being held in Kentucky, claimed he was homeless and stumbled upon the Tahoe while on the hunt for unlocked vehicles.

He was going to (parking) lots in the city, trying cars, the source said. If the door was open he would go in, steal what he could take  anything of value.

The SUV was a pool vehicle used by some of Mayor Joe Ganims staff and advisers, and sometimes to transport Ganim as well.

Ganims spokesman Av Harris has previously confirmed that the vehicle was left unlocked with the keys inside, though no individual city staffer has been blamed.

The police source said Johnson wound up in Kentucky because he had been spending time with a girl from that state who wanted to return home.

Theyre homeless, hungry, the source said. All of a sudden boom, they hit the jackpot. ... He just got lucky, thats all.

Oak Grove police gave Hearst Media an East End address for Johnson. A reporter visited the run down home and an older gentleman there said he did not know anything about Johnson or his arrest.

Johnson also appears to be in trouble in Waterbury. Waterbury police arrested a Derrick Johnson, also 20 with an address in Bridgeport s East End, in early September for skipping out on a $35 restaurant check. He was released on a promise to appear in court, then failed to show up.

Johnson remains in Kentucky, but the Tahoe is back in town, confirmed Ganim spokesman Av Harris.

Detective Garcia went to Kentucky to retrieve the city SUV, Harris said. The vehicle is now secure in possession of the city.

Police Chief Armando A.J. Perez had recently ruled out dispatching officers to Kentucky because his department is struggling with overtime.

No overtime was used in retrieving the vehicle, Harris said.
This week in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first human-made object into space and started a race that has continued for nearly six decades, although in changing forms.

On Oct. 4, 1957, Sputnik, which is Russian for "traveler," was launched through Earth's atmosphere, according to Today in History. The main competitors in the Space Race were the Soviet Union and the United States of America.
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Plenty of Republicans have announced their support for Donald Trump after saying nasty things about him. Marco Rubio called Trump a "con man." Chris Christie dismissed him as the "entertainer in chief." Both are now on board.

But nobody's support for Trump seemed as unlikely as Ted Cruz's. Cruz even clashed with Trump during the Republican National Convention two months ago, causing a scene that many thought presaged a potential Cruz 2020 presidential bid  even against an incumbent President Trump.

For whatever reason, Cruz has now decided he will support Trump. But it's worth recapping how unlikely that sentence I just wrote once seemed.

RELATED: Why Cruz is now supporting Trump

Behold: Nine truly awful things Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have done to or said about one another:

1. Trump re-tweeted an unflattering photo of Cruz's wife, Heidi, juxtaposed with his wife, Melania.

2. Trump threatened to "spill the beans" on Heidi Cruz.

We're not entirely sure what this meant. But it was certainly a threat.

3. Trump suggested that Cruz's father may have been involved in the Kennedy assassination.

Among the bizarre events in this campaign, this surely ranked toward the top:

"His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald being, you know, shot," Trump said during a telephone interview. "I mean the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this? Right? Prior to his being shot. And nobody even brings it up. I mean, they don't even talk about that  that was reported. And nobody talks about it."

Trump seemed to be talking about a photo published last month by the National Enquirer that shows Oswald and another man distributing pro-Castro leaflets in New Orleans in 1963. The tabloid claims that the second man is Rafael Cruz, the Republican presidential candidate's Cuban-born father, an explosive accusation that has not been corroborated, according to the Miami Herald. At the time, the Cruz campaign told the Miami Herald: "The story is false; that is not Rafael in the picture."

Trump's timeline of this explosive accusation was rather unclear; he seemed to refer to an alleged meeting that happened before Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, and Oswald's death two days later. Trump later added: "I mean, what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death, before the shooting? It's horrible."

The day after the Republican National Convention ended, Trump brought it up again.

4. Cruz said Trump "slandered" his wife. And that he's not a "servile puppy dog."

Part of the reason Trump revived the Rafael Cruz-Kennedy-assassination conspiracy theory after the convention is that Cruz had just snubbed him in a big way.

After delivering a speech to the Republican National Convention in which he conspicuously didn't urge people to vote for Trump  and was booed for it  Cruz doubled down the next morning.

"I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father," Cruz said. "That pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander my wife that I am going to come like a servile puppy dog for maligning my wife and maligning my father."

5. Cruz called Trump a "sniveling coward."

After the "spill the beans" attack, Cruz had this rejoinder:

"It's not easy to tick me off," Cruz said. "I don't get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that'll do it every time. Donald, you're a sniveling coward. Leave Heidi the hell alone."



6. Cruz said Trump is a "pathological liar," "utterly amoral" and a "serial philanderer."

In a news conference after the initial Rafael Cruz allegation was made and as Cruz was about to absorb a damaging loss in the Indiana primary, Cruz unloaded on Trump for really the first time, calling him "a narcissist at a level I don't think this country's ever seen."

"He is proud of being a serial philanderer," Cruz said.

"This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies," Cruz added. "In a pattern that is straight out of a psychology text book, he accuses everyone of lying."

And: "Whatever lie he's telling, at that minute he believes it."

And: "The man is utterly amoral."

And: "Donald is a bully. Bullies don't come from strength; they come from weakness."

7. Trump breathed life into the Cruz's "birther" conspiracy.

Trump suggested strongly early in the primary season that Cruz might not be eligible to serve as president, given his birth in Canada to an American citizen.

"Republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: 'Do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years?' That'd be a big problem," Trump said. "It'd be a very precarious one for Republicans because he'd be running and the courts may take a long time to make a decision. You don't want to be running and have that kind of thing over your head."

8. Trump said he wouldn't even accept Cruz's endorsement.

"I don't want his endorsement," he added. "Just, Ted, stay home, relax, enjoy yourself."

9. Trump attacked Cruz's faith.

More than once.
The Swedish Association for Sexuality, a nonprofit sexual education organization, recently released a light-hearted video urging NASA to send condoms into space. The Swedish group argues that NASA has previously sent objects into space in the hope that they reach extraterrestrials, but that they've forgotten to "inform the little green people about one super-important object, the condom."

According to the video, the organization is committed to educating everyone, even aliens, about the importance of the only available male contraceptive.
West Haven Police via Facebook

A registered sex offender is being bars after allegedly exposing himself to children outside a day-care care center in West Haven on Thursday.

Lawrence Kelly, 46, of Bristol Street, was charged with public indeceny, risk of injury to a child and breach of peace. Police said Kelly lives behind the day-care center.
Authorities of Cuba and the US State of Louisiana sign memorandums

Authorities of Cuba and of the US State of Louisiana signed on Havana on Tuesday, for the first time, memorandums of understanding in the agricultural and port sectors.

One of them was signed at the Iberostar Central Park Hotel between Cubas National Port Administration (APNC) and the Association of Ports of North American territory and includes facilities of Louisiana, New Orleans and Lake Charles.

The second was agreed between the Cuban Agricultural Business Group and the Department of Agriculture and Forests of the aforementioned US institution.

John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana, and his accompanying delegation of 57 people, began on Monday a visit to Cuba that will end on Friday, and the documents were signed after the carrying out of a forum on business opportunities and foreign investment on the Island.

We are interested in mutual commercial exchanges, he said during the meeting, and in that regard he announced that his government's legislature approved a resolution to propose the executive the reestablishment and strengthening of the association with Cuba in order to take advantage of the new opportunities of its market.

Bel Edwards expressed his solidarity with Cubans for the consequences of the imminent crossing of Hurricane Matthew through the eastern side of the island.

Maria de la Luz B Hamel, director for Commercial Policy with North America of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment, coincided with the US governor with respect to commercial exchanges and the strengthening of economic bonds.

However, she warned about the persistence of the negative impact of the economic, financial and commercial blockade of the United States for more than 50 years now.

According to the program, the visitors will meet with representatives of the ministries of Agriculture and Public Health, as will visit the Exclusive Development Area of Mariel (ZEDM) and the Fructuoso Rodriguez Agrarian University in the neighboring province of Mayabeque.
Jill Biden, wife of US Vice President to arrive in Cuba

Submitted by: Juana

Havana

United States

Personalities

10 / 06 / 2016



Doctor Jill Biden, wife of the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, will arrive in Havana on Thursday to know more about Cuban education, health and culture, confirmed Josefina Vidal, director general of the United States Office of the islands Foreign Ministry.

Thorough her account on Twitter, @JosefinaVidalF, the Cuban official said that Doctor Biden will stay in Cuba for an official visit for several days.

Known in her country as the Second Lady, the distinguished visitor has been an English language university professor for three decades and has a PhD in Pedagogy.

According to a press release by the Vice Presidents office, accompanying Biden in Cuba will be Catherine Russell, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Womens Issues and Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

During her stay on the island, Biden and her accompanying delegation will meet with representatives of the government to hold exchanges related to culture, education and health, and will tour places of historic interest and educational centers.

Biden collaborates with U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama in various initiatives, among them the one that seeks to improve the living conditions of war veterans and their families.

While answering a question by ACN recently, Gustavo Machin, deputy general director for the United States Office of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, considered as positive the stay of Doctor Biden, in the context of the process towards the normalization of relations between the two countries after the reestablishment of diplomatic ties.

It will be a good opportunity to know Cuban reality, pointed out Machin. Doctor Biden will have the opportunity to see the development achieved by the Caribbean island in the spheres of education and health, in spite of restrictions imposed by the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.

As a proof of the fact that the U.S. economic sanctions maintain their extraterritorial essence, this year it was known that purchases, exchanges and donations of texts, scientific articles and educational documents have been notably reduced due to restrictions to publishing houses and institutions in third countries. (acn)
These real PA creatures could become cryptids if we don't save them
Will Charles get his way and get two thrones on the big day? And if not, why not?

Everyone seems to agree that last weeks royal tour to Canada was a roaring success. Not only did William and Kate conduct themselves impeccably, with good humour and warmth, but their two children became an instant hit on the global stage.

Prince George and his sister Charlotte produced enchanting images as they blew bubbles and tottered around at social gatherings, underscoring the fact that  as the Queen enters her tenth decade, the future of the Royal Family is in good hands.

But if the Windsors are in rude health, there is one cloud on the horizon  and it is the highly sensitive subject of Prince Charless coronation.

Operating under the codename Golden Orb, a group of Establishment grandees is secretly planning what will be one of the trickiest State occasions for decades.

Of course, while his mother, the Queen, remains in good health, it is insensitive to discuss such forward planning for what will be a major landmark in British history. But, nevertheless, it is imperative that detailed preparation is done well in advance.

Inevitably, on the agenda for members of this committee are niggling details such as whether Charles III should be described as defender of faith (something that, in todays multi-faith UK, Charles himself would prefer) rather than defender of the faith, and who will be on the guest list.

On the agenda for members of this committee are niggling details such as whether Charles III should be described as defender of faith

But theres another  more intriguing issue: one throne, or two?

For, unlike any previous coronation in British royaltys 1,000-year history, there are awkward questions about whether the sovereigns wife will sit next to him when he is crowned  and whether she herself will have a crown placed upon her head, too.

Because from the day Charles is proclaimed king, there may be a forceful public challenge to the legality of his marriage to Camilla and which could involve calls for her not to be crowned queen.

Interestingly, Im told Charles himself has no say in the organisation of his coronation, even though he appointed a former private secretary, Sir Stephen Lamport, to oversee plans for it. So will he get his way and get two thrones on the big day? And if not, why not?

In simple terms, the argument goes that if Charles and Camilla are constitutionally not married, she cannot be queen. And there remain strong indications that the marriage does not fulfil the requirements laid down by law for the spouse of the future king  for the simple reason that they did not marry in a church.

The day Charles is proclaimed king, there may be a forceful public challenge to the legality of his marriage to Camilla and which could involve calls for her not to be crowned queen

The official position remains that the Duchess of Cornwall will not be crowned queen.

At the time of the couples wedding in 2005, Clarence House stated: It is intended that Mrs Parker Bowles should use the title HRH the Princess Consort when the Prince of Wales accedes to the Throne. In other words, she will not become Her Majesty.

On the face of it, nothing has occurred since that statement to alter things  except that its now widely known that Charles wants Camilla to wear the crown.

He has a point. If Camilla were to style herself Princess Consort, it might open her to criticism that she is not an equal partner in the union and that their marriage is, in fact, morganatic (marriage between two people of different rank)  the cursed word which dogged Charless predecessor as Prince of Wales, the Duke of Windsor, who chose to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson rather than become king.

But despite having met regularly for the past ten years, the Golden Orb committee still does not know the answer to the one-throne-or-two conundrum. Nor does it know whether a serious legal challenge will be raised to disrupt its plans.

The royal couple are unquestionably man and wife in the eyes of the law. But, as royals, they are also subject to other laws which do not pertain to lesser mortals  and the question of whether they are constitutionally married depends on interpretations of the Marriage Act of 1949, the Marriage Act of 1836 and the Human Rights Act of 1998.

Despite having met regularly for the past ten years, the Golden Orb committee still does not know the answer to the one-throne-or-two conundrum

The first two Acts offer differing views on the legality of high-end royals marrying civilly  while the 1998 Act is meant to override the first two. But does it, when the unwritten British constitution is involved?

This is the question lawyers have been wrestling over for a decade without a conclusion. But while there is still doubt, worries will remain about Camilla being crowned queen if she is not entitled.

Indeed, in 2005  before Charles and Camilla were wed  the distinguished QC Lord Pannick warned: The problem is that there was in 1949 a custom . . . of members of the Royal Family only marrying in church. It is very doubtful that this custom has ceased to exist, and so Section 79(5) of the 1949 Act still prevents a civil ceremony.

To avoid a royal flush of embarrassment, the Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles need to find an archbishop, or a vicar, who is available at short notice.

In the event, this did not happen. They were married by registrar Clair Williams in the Guildhall at Windsor, and in choosing this route to marital harmony, Charles stored up a series of problems for the future.

At the time, the former Tory Attorney General Sir Nicholas Lyell expressed grave doubts as to whether Camilla could be Charless legal wife. His words came as a shock to many. But the then Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, said all was in order. Goldsmiths conclusions about Camilla allowed the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, to give the couple the go-ahead to get married.

But subsequent Freedom of Information requests to find out the precise advice and how Falconer came to his decision have been denied.

At the time, Palace officials were quick to say that they had sought advice from four legal experts  who gave the nod to the marriage  though they refused to reveal their lawyers identities.

And in 2010, the then Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, ordered that the legal advice  which some eminent lawyers claim is dubious would be kept secret until after Charless death. Of course, there were widespread suspicions of an Establishment cover-up.

If Camilla were to style herself Princess Consort, it might open her to criticism that she is not an equal partner in the union and that their marriage is, in fact, morganatic (marriage between two people of different rank)

For its part, the Royal Family is, as ever, not keen to expose divisions within its ranks. But one clue towards the Queens position may be discerned from her behaviour at the time of her eldest sons second wedding, in a register office. Though she gave a party for the Charles and Camilla at Windsor Castle after the nuptials, she refused to attend the civil ceremony.

Although being head of the Church of England would not have meant she could not be present, as Monarch endorsing a ceremony that some of her subjects deemed of dubious legality and which could possibly damage the Crowns reputation may have led to some courtiers advising her to stay away.

According to some MPs, and various pressure groups, a major challenge could be launched after the Queens death which would question the right of Camilla to sit on a throne at her husbands side in Westminster Abbey, and to be crowned alongside him.

Even if Charles gets his wish and has Camilla crowned his queen, the issue risks a major controversy in the run-up to his coronation.

So who are the men and women in charge of providing the nation with the biggest spectacle since the Queens Coronation 63 years ago?

The committee is shrouded in mystery it is not known how many members there are, where they meet or how often. However, we do know of a few key players.

Even if Charles gets his wish and has Camilla crowned his queen, the issue risks a major controversy in the run-up to his coronation

Heading the team is the 59-year old Duke of Norfolk, whose family have held the job of Earl Marshal, organising major State occasions, since 1386.

Staunchly Roman Catholic, he is known to oversee events such as the State Opening of Parliament with absolute precision, flair and indeed good humour, to ensure that everything runs like clockwork.

He was in the news recently after he reunited with his wife, who had lived for the past five years apart from him at their stately home, Arundel Castle.

Secondly, there is 65-year-old Eton-educated barrister Thomas Woodcock who, as Garter King of Arms, has last word on ceremonial affairs.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, chief of the defence staff, has the task of assembling military personnel to line the coronation route. In 1953, when the Queen was crowned, Britain had nearly a million soldiers, sailors and airmen.

Today, there is less than a fifth of that number and it could be a struggle to muster the 10,000 service personnel it took to fill a procession in 1953 that was two miles long, not to mention the 15,800 who lined the route.

Overseeing the Westminster Abbey element of the ceremonial is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and other heavy-hitters on the committee include the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood and a representative of the National Security Secretariat, whose unenviable responsibility is to make a risk assessment of all potential security threats. Others represented include Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom.

Some observers will be relieved to learn theres been some suggestion that Charless personal wishes are not central to the organisers plans.

Some years ago, there was an almighty row after the Duke of Norfolk was told that Charles would like his coronation  historically a Church of England affair held within Westminster Abbey  to be followed by a multi-faith ceremony inside Parliament.

It was Clarence House throwing their weight around, said a source at the time, trying to take over the arrangements. It is constitutionally improper. The idea was duly dropped.

For the moment, however, the biggest headache for the Golden Orb committee is the question of whether to order one throne, or two, for Coronation Day.
First, a shocking confession  and people of a sensitive disposition should turn the page now. At the age of perhaps nine or ten, I performed in a school production of Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves.

Reader, I shudder to admit that we were an all-white cast and some of us wore brown make-up.

I know, I know. This was a classic, unforgivable example of 'cultural appropriation', the latest vogue crime against political correctness.

I see nothing at all wrong about actors of one race, creed or nationality appearing in dramatic productions as members of another. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra? Didn't bother me a bit (and I'd be very surprised if many Egyptians were offended)

I expect at any moment to be dragged off by Bristol University students to face charges before an historical offences tribunal. Goodness knows, I deserve it.

All right, I'll drop the heavy sarcasm and admit that I see nothing at all wrong about actors of one race, creed or nationality appearing in dramatic productions as members of another.

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra? Didn't bother me a bit (and I'd be very surprised if many Egyptians were offended). Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi? Superb. Laurence Olivier as Othello? A transformative two hours and 45 minutes of my life, which made me realise for the first time, aged 12, that Shakespeare is all he's cracked up to be and more.

I will go further and say that those Bristol students who this week forced a university theatre to cancel all performances of Aida (not the Verdi opera, but the Tim Rice/Elton John musical), apparently on the grounds that white actors might be cast as ancient Egyptians and Ethiopian slaves, are suffering from a strange and severe form of madness.

Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi? Superb. Laurence Olivier as Othello? A transformative two hours and 45 minutes of my life, which made me realise for the first time, aged 12, that Shakespeare is all he's cracked up to be and more

If so, they are far from alone. Students in Britain and abroad are fizzing with fury against perpetrators of cultural appropriation.

In Cambridge, undergraduates ranted over an African-themed dinner, while others forced the cancellation of parties themed on Havana Nights and Jules Verne's Around The World In 80 Days. The latter was deemed 'erasing and gross' with 'toxic connotations of commodification and enjoyment of white people at the expense of others'. (Come again?)

In Ottawa, Canada, student leaders had yoga classes for the disabled stopped, on the grounds that yoga is rooted in Indian religion and teaching it amounted to theft. Elsewhere, white celebrities such as David Beckham, Heidi Klum and Paris Hilton have been castigated by nutcases for adopting black hairstyles.

In words beyond parody, a Time magazine writer accuses them of 'stealing cherished icons of identity from the subjugated black culture  kind of like wearing the teeth of your pillaged enemy as a necklace'.

I wish I could say what has caused this outbreak of insanity among the supposedly intelligent young, making them ferret around for new reasons to take offence.

Perhaps wifi, computer games, smartphones or social media have fried their impressionable brains, driving them to 'no-platform' speakers who hold different views from their own, making them yearn for 'safe spaces' in which nobody is allowed to challenge their prejudices and generally spurring them to censor or silence anything they don't want to see or hear.

Whatever the explanation of this strange affliction, this week the broadcasting watchdog has produced a handy guide for everyone hunting for excuses to be offended.

Helpfully, it even suggests how much offence we should take at words, phrases and gestures seen and heard on TV and radio, ranking them on a scale from 'mild' to 'strongest: highly unacceptable'.

I must say that I found some of its findings, based on a survey of only 248 people, a little surprising. We should be only mildly offended, apparently, to hear a woman described as a 'cow' or a 'minger'. Calling her a 'ho', however, is 'strong language and generally unacceptable pre-watershed'. Why the distinction, I wonder? (No, I'm not going to quote examples of abuse rated 'highly unacceptable', since most of them are just that.)

Why, too, is it deemed 'medium language, potentially unacceptable' to describe a Welshman as a 'Taff', while calling a Scotsman a 'Jock' is said to be only 'mild language, generally of little concern'? Are Welsh people offended to be called Taffs, which I've always thought an affectionate term? I'd be interested to know.

Not mentioned in Ofcom's list  perhaps because it was thought to be off the top of the scale of offensiveness  was the remark for which former England player Paul Gascoigne was fined 1,000 by a judge last month, with an order to pay another 1,000 compensation.

Yes, it was crass of this alcoholic wreck to say to his black security guard, in the hope of getting a laugh at his An Evening With Gazza show: 'Can you smile please, because I can't see you?'

But for heaven's sake, this feeble non-joke was clearly not maliciously meant  unlike, say, Frankie Boyle's notoriously offensive remark about the Queen on Mock The Week (which I won't repeat), for which he was exonerated by the BBC Trust.

Not mentioned in Ofcom's list was the remark for which former England player Paul Gascoigne was fined 1,000 by a judge last month, with an order to pay another 1,000 compensation

I am surely not alone  and certainly not among my generation  in finding it creepy and even a little frightening to live in a country where an ill-judged attempt to amuse can land a man in court with a conviction for hate crime.

Stick Gascoigne in the pillory of public opinion, by all means. But what sort of nation are we becoming, if we get the police and the Crown Prosecution Service involved over something he said  and then punish him more severely than many who are convicted of serious physical assault? This is the stuff of totalitarianism.

Of course, there must be laws and safeguards against incitement to violence (though nobody is claiming Gascoigne's remark fell into that category). But if the free speech on which we have prided ourselves for so long is to mean anything, it must include the freedom to be offensive.

Crucially, it must also embrace the right to exchange ideas  no matter how unfashionable they may be among the student generation and metropolitan chattering classes, steeped to their bones in the marinade of political correctness.

It was their refusal to listen or allow free debate that led to the massive demographic change which has distressed so many who have to compete for housing, homes, jobs, school places and hospital beds with unprecedented numbers of migrants.

It was their ruthless censorship of global-warming sceptics that persuaded all but a brave handful of MPs to approve Ed Miliband's Climate Change Act, the most expensive measure in peacetime history.

It is their systematic suppression of opponents of abortion  monotonously portrayed as unhinged fanatics  that has led us to a point at which 550 pregnancies are terminated in the UK every day.

A typically unfair and one-sided example was a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary on Wednesday night. Entitled Undercover: Britain's Abortion Extremists  and complete with wobbly camera shots and fuzzy recordings with subtitles  it claimed to have 'infiltrated' a group terrorising abortion-seekers.

You might have been forgiven for concluding that The Good Counsel Network was as dangerous as a Colombian drug cartel or the Russian mafia.

In fact, it is a group of kind and well-meaning Christians  supported, among others, by my dear wife  which seeks to offer women practical support and advice on alternatives to abortion.

Leave aside that there are two sides to this debate  so why should one be labelled 'extremist', while the other is not? The GCN doesn't hide what it does, meaning there was no need for subterfuge.

As for the rare occasions on which it succeeds in dissuading pregnant women from having abortions, the mothers concerned almost always bless the group ever afterwards for talking them out of it.

But none of this came out in the documentary  which ended, almost inevitably, with Labour MP Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Political Correctness himself, saying pro-Life campaigners should be banned from going anywhere near abortion clinics.
My 88-year-old mother, who lives in America, paid a state visit to England recently. Like most women of her World War II generation, she is determined, in the words of Winston Churchill, to KBO (Keep Buggering On) and tries to remain as active as she can.

Even so, whenever she flies we request a wheelchair at the airport to spare her having to walk too far. In the U.S, the system usually works like a dream.

On departure, theres always one at the kerbside waiting to whisk her through security. On arrival, shes picked up as she leaves the plane and transported to the car.

So naturally she expected the same level of service flying between Detroit and Heathrow. No such luck. When she got off the plane in London there was no wheelchair, even though one had been requested.

Instead of waiting on the kerbside like she experienced in America Littlejohns' 88-year-old mother's wheelchair was no where to be seen when she arrived at Heathrow Airport

My sister, who was travelling with Mum, managed to hitch a ride on an electric buggy, which took them to a holding area, where there were dozens of passengers in the same predicament, many of them elderly. She was told there wouldnt be a wheelchair available for an hour.

Mum, being Mum, decided to walk. But others with serious disabilities were stranded in limbo, at the mercy of the company paid to provide assistance.

Many of these unfortunate folk were visiting England for the first time. The Americans, in particular, were horrified at the inefficiency and indifference which greeted them.

Welcome to Britain. Have a nice day.

Obviously, to make sure there wasnt a repeat performance, we double-checked that there would be a wheelchair for her return journey this week. But when she turned up at Heathrows Terminal Three on Tuesday morning, it was the same story.

Mum managed to walk through security and made her way to the Virgin lounge. The staff there couldnt have been more sympathetic, but had no luck in locating a wheelchair.

'My sister, who was travelling with Mum, managed to hitch a ride on an electric buggy, which took them to a holding area, where there were dozens of passengers in the same predicament, many of them elderly'

With half an hour to go before the flight, she was informed there wouldnt be one available for another hour. Fortunately, a Virgin representative managed to arrange a buggy. But that didnt make the experience any less distressing.

Lest you think this is special pleading, I should emphasise that my mother wasnt the only passenger requiring special assistance left to fend for herself.

The last thing anyone needs after a tiring long-haul flight is being kept sheep-like in a holding area for another hour. Similarly, catching a flight can be stressful enough for those with mobility problems, without the ordeal of discovering there is no wheelchair to take you to the departure gate.

None of this was the airlines fault. Heathrow is owned by the Spanish multi-national Ferrovial, which outsources services to an American company called Omniserv, itself part of a much larger group.

On its website, Omniserv describes itself as a People Company  always a bad sign. In the first six months of this year, it made a profit of $11.8 million (9.4 million at the current rate of exchange). Its chief executive has a salary package worth $2,131,686 (1.7 million).

As part of its service agreement with Heathrow, Omniserv promises that 96 per cent of passengers who have booked a wheelchair will be attended to within five minutes of arrival and no one will have to wait for more than 20 minutes.

'My mother wasnt the only passenger requiring special assistance left to fend for herself'

On departure, it claims 97 per cent of those with reduced mobility will not be kept waiting for longer than ten minutes, and everyone will reach the gate in time for their flight.

Clearly, those guarantees are worthless. Ultimate responsibility lies with the airports foreign owners. Last year, Heathrow posted pre-tax profits of 223 million. Like every other major British airport, Heathrows terminals have been converted into giant shopping malls, with a few departure gates tacked on as an afterthought.

No opportunity is missed to milk passengers, from rip-off charges for parking  and even dropping off at the kerb  to duty-free shops which are no cheaper than those in the high street.

As I have written before, flying anywhere these days is an ordeal, compounded by the greed of the airport operators and the stupendously ridiculous rules at security.

I dont blame the staff, I blame those in charge. Renationalising the airports wouldnt make any difference, either.

Look at the chaos at Stansted this week, where 5,000 arriving passengers were stranded for hours because the Home Office hadnt bothered to lay on enough Border Control staff to inspect passports. As a result, many of them missed the last train and had to fork out for hefty cab fares.

Passengers at Stansted missed flights this week because of a lack of staffing at Border Control

Even the shortage of immigration officers has been turned into another opportunity to fleece captive travellers, who are now being offered a fast-track service in exchange for a charge of 17.50. Why should we have to pay extra to make a smooth exit?

In her speech to the Tory conference, Theresa May talked this week of tackling company bosses who pay themselves vast salaries and dividends while simultaneously neglecting their social responsibilities. She should start with those who run this countrys airports.

And while shes at it, Mother Theresa should order her new Home Secretary Amber Rudd to sort out the routine delays at passport control. Sharpish.

From the lack of wheelchair provision to the long queues at immigration, our airports are a hell on earth. What sort of a first impression of Britain do Stansted and Heathrow offer to visitors from overseas?

Oh, and it almost goes without saying that when Mum arrived at Detroit, a wheelchair was waiting for her and she was out of the airport and on her way home in 15 minutes.

This column loves daft animal stories. And theres been a veritable menagerie of them this week, including a claim that cod speak with regional accents, pet lamb.

Ive reported before on the 190,000 bridge built to allow dormice to cross over a by-pass near Pontypridd. You may remember it fell down earlier this year during Storm Imogen.

Then councillors in Cornwall voted to spend money on another bridge, this time for bats. And in Newcastle theyre putting up purpose-built bat roosts as part of a new student accommodation development.

To the bat cave! Da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da . . .

Now we also learn that a campaign is under way to build a network of tunnels to protect toads. Cant they use the empty cycle lanes? According to an outfit called Roads For Toads, the toad population has fallen by 70 per cent over the past 30 years, many of them killed by cars.

Frankly, if they all drive like Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows, Im not surprised.

Parp, parp!

Despite resigning in the wake of his EU referendum victory, Nigel Farage finds himself back in charge of Ukip following the departure of his successor Diane James after just 18 days.

And with the front-runner, Steven Woolfe, being rushed to hospital following an altercation in Strasbourg, Farage could be at the helm for some time yet.

Watching Nige being interviewed on TV, I was reminded of that famous scene in The Godfather, in which Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, laments: Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

UKIP's Steven Woolfe in his hospital bed in Strasbourg: He says he is ok apart from some numbness in his face

Remainers are living on Dead End Street

Highlight of the week in Birmingham was the Welsh Tory who vowed to make a success of breakfast when he meant to say Brexit.

Theres a song by Ray Davies, the former Kinks frontman, called Is There Life After Breakfast? To which the answer is a resounding yes and its full of possibilities.

In a verse which could have been written especially for all those sulking Remainers, he says: Drag your emotions out of the gutter, Dont wallow in self-pity.

Curiously enough, I ran into Ray at an awards ceremony in London this week. He was being honoured for his outstanding lifetime contribution to music.

Ive no idea where he stood on the referendum question, but I should have suggested that he updates the song and calls it Life After Brexit.

It would go straight to Number One.

Lenny Henry: Comedian Jan Ravens has been accused of racism

The comedian Jan Ravens has been accused of racism for doing an impersonation of Diane Abbott on the wireless.

Oh, for heavens sake.

If its a hate crime to impersonate someone of a different race, it can only be a matter of time before Scotland Yard sets up an inquiry into historic comedy offences and arrests Lenny Henry for doing an impression of Frank Spencer in the Seventies. Ooooh, Betty!

Too many Cookes...

If she said it once, she must have said it a dozen times. Did Mother Theresa base her conference speech on Sam Cookes A Change Is Gonna Come?

I wonder what a modern May version of the soulful civil rights anthem would sound like.

I was born down in Eastbourne,

In a semi-detached,

And as a young woman,

I dreamed of being Mrs Thatch,

Its been a long, a long time coming,

But I know,

A change is gonna come

Oh, yes it has . . .
The Mail is instinctively uneasy about yesterday's ruling by Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid giving the go-ahead to a fracking site in Fylde, Lancashire. In overturning the wishes of elected councillors, he gives the impression objections can be steamrollered.

Fracking  the high pressure extraction of gas from shale rock  is a highly emotive subject, and the Mail has huge sympathy with communities which fear their quality of life may be hit by noise, air pollution and traffic from shale wells.

Their concerns must be listened to  but arguably must also be balanced with the wider national interest. Which is why a proposal by the Prime Minister for residents to receive financial compensation from fracking firms is so interesting.

The Mail is instinctively uneasy about yesterday's ruling by Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid giving the go-ahead to a fracking site in Fylde, Lancashire

The case against fracking is strong. Unlike the vast US, which pioneered the technology, Britain is a small island and must preserve its cherished landscapes.

There are also legitimate environmental concerns  not least the two minor earthquakes near Blackpool in 2011 linked to fracking  and of course ministers must put in place the most rigorous safeguards and monitoring.

But if they do, there are powerful arguments for embracing the shale revolution. This newspaper has long highlighted the scandalous failure of politicians from both parties to provide Britain with a long term energy strategy desperately needed to ensure the lights stay on.

North Sea oil and gas production is in sharp decline, and relying on imports leaves Britain dangerously dependent on unpalatable Middle Eastern regimes and Russia, where thuggish Vladimir Putin could turn off the tap at any point.

Fracking could also create thousands of jobs and transform parts of Britain blighted by industrial decline, as it has in Pittsburgh in the US. (And isn't it typical that out-of-touch Labour under Jeremy Corbyn wants to ban all fracking, when it is Labour areas with most to gain?)

For consumers, there is the prospect of seeing their gas bills  which have been artificially inflated for years by green taxes to pay for unreliable and expensive energy from wind farms  actually fall.

There are no easy answers here. But the fact is we have vast shale reserves that could fulfil our gas needs for decades. To reject fracking out of hand would seem to be crazy.

George Osborne is still desperately unaware it was his disastrous Project Fear campaign that almost certainly won the referendum for Leave

Deluded Remainers

Can there be two politicians more deluded than George Osborne and Tony Blair? Both suffer from an utter lack of self-knowledge.

Mr Osborne is still desperately unaware it was his disastrous Project Fear campaign that almost certainly won the referendum for Leave.

Announcing a new book, he sneers at 'populist nationalism' and blames what he calls 'unreason' for the result, with exactly the kind of out-of-touch arrogance that so alienated the public when he was in office.

Meanwhile Mr Blair hints he is considering a return to front-line politics, just a few months after his reputation  already deeply tarnished by his monstrous greed and tax avoidance  was savaged by the Chilcot report.

Having accused Mr Corbyn of being so useless he is turning Britain into a one party state, doesn't Mr Blair realise he's arguably hated more by Labour than the Tories?

Using 'soft' Brexit and 'hard' Brexit to describe how Britain should go about leaving the EU is the worst kind of Orwellian Newspeak.
They're the fabric masks that promise to instantly transform even the sorriest skin.

Indeed, the moisturiser-infused fabric face masks - known as cheat sheets because they let you cheat your way to a brighter, clearer complexion in minutes - have suddenly become the thing to be seen wearing on social media.

The quirky masks, which have been seen on every A-lister, have become so popular that brands have started creating them for every part of your body - including the most intimate.

Sheet masks for the breast area that promise to give you better assets in under half an hour were born in Korea and are making their way over to the UK

Brands have started rolling out the sheet masks for breasts - and social media can't get enough of them.

The breast masks, which gained pace in Korea and are trickling their way onto the British high street, promise to make the chest area appear firmer and more toned and lifted.

Blogger Erica Fong shared a snap of the quirky sheets on social media and it has since gone viral with ladies desperate to get their hands on the product.

There's plenty of breast masks for sale on Amazon - and Bioxidea Paris sells the Mirage24 Breast Mask for 55.44 at Selfridges.

The brand says its 'luxe breast mask' that revitalises your skin by giving it an instant lifting effect, which leaves you visibly younger looking.

'From first use, skin in the delicate bust and decollete area appears firmer, more toned and lifted. Results are visible within 15-30 minutes and start to peak after five hours. Results can last for up to 24 hours. Continued usage leaves skin with more gradual improvement,' they claim.

The company even sells a mask for a woman's intimate area.

Blogger Erica Fong shared a snap of the quirky sheets on a mannequin in Korea on social media and it has since gone viral with ladies desperate to get their hands on the product

Bioxidea Paris sells the Mirage24 Breast Mask for 55.44 at Selfridges, which promises to give visible results in under 30 minutes

There's also a Wrinkles Schminkles Chest Wrinkles & Decolletage Smoothing Kit on sale at VictoriaHealth.com, which promises to help relieve chest and decolletage wrinkles.

The 21 silicone pads apparently treat chest wrinkles and decollete and decolletage wrinkles caused by sleeping on your side, ageing and sun damage.

The sheet mask trend shows no sign of abating. In fact, Nails Inc has debuted sheet masks as part of Face inc - its new fast-acting skincare range.

The 5 masks aren't your bog standard Hannibal Lecter-esque masks; they come emblazoned with kitty faces and Snapchat-style flower girl filters.

Nails Inc has just launched Face Inc and sells 5 sheet masks, which come emblazoned with kitty faces and Snapchat-style flower girl filters

Rodial, meanwhile, has branched out into eye masks and neck masks, and a plethora of other brands - such as Delceor, When, and Estee Lauder - are debuting sheet masks.

So what's all the fuss about? 'The best element of Biocellulose sheet masks is that they have a tighter structure that provides an improved absorption of actives on the skin, meaning quicker and better results,' explained Maria Hatzistefanis, founder of Rodial and Nip + Fab.

'What I love about these masks is that easy and mess-free to apply and take off, I often apply them at the office or during a flight.'
Looking after cute and cuddly wombats is a tough job but somebody has to do it.

For three decades Roz Holmes has cared for wombats in Cessnock, NSW, nursing them back to health after they have been hit by cars or attacked by dogs.

Mrs Holmes opened Cedar Creek Wombat Rescue because, while everyone loved the adorable marsupials, nobody wanted to care for them when they were injured.

Cuddly: Roz Holmes runs the Cedar Creek Wombat Rescue Hospital in Cessnock, NSW

Troublesome: The adorable marsupials can be a handful to care for, Mrs Holmes said

More than 35 years ago Mrs Holmes, 55, opened the veterinary hospital with her husband Kev.

'We've been doing it for well over 35 years. Everyone likes the cute babies but not many people wanted to care for the adults,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'So we decided that was what we were going to do.

'Nobody wanted to touch the adults. Especially when they've been attacked and ripped open or have mange.

'But if we start letting them all die and the vets euthanise them, there's going to be none left one day.'

'Best thing we ever did': Mrs Holmes found nursing the wombats a tough but rewarding experience

Neglected: She said although people love cuddly baby wombats, nobody want to care for them when they were sick or injured

Lovely temperament: Most wombats were lovely to look after, although Mrs Holmes warned they did not make good pets because they chewed the furniture

Most wombats had a 'lovely temperament', Mrs Holmes said, but they could get cranky and the job did not come without its occupational hazards.

'The little ones are cute and cuddly and want to play. It's the adult ones that can be quite nasty,' she said.

'We've had wombats come to the hospital that are sweet as pie until we fix them.

'Although I never really push their temperament to others, and I don't push them as a pet because they chew up the furniture.'

'There'll be none left': If there was nobody dedicated to caring for wombats there would soon be none left, Mrs Holmes said

Worth it: Mrs Holmes said the expense of running the hospital was worth it to see the creatures return to full health

The Holmes's have sunk their life savings into the hospital, which is fully kitted out with equipment for sedating and X-raying the injured animals.

Mrs Holmes said: 'It was the best thing we ever did. It was hard to organise and get the equipment. We even had to go into debt for the X-ray machine. But the debt was worth it.

'We are forever building their pens as well. They always trash the pens. I think I am probably Bunnings' biggest customer by now.

'Our accountant always asks us why we are doing it, he says we could've bought a mansion by now.'

Despite the cost and the occasional scratch, Mrs Holmes said there was nothing she would rather do.

'Our main aim is to have them free and back in the wild.
Kmart Australia has once again broken the mould, this time with their new television ad.

The typically upbeat 30 second advert contains a number of subtle messages about acceptance, diversity and gender stereotypes.

From a little boy playing with a Barbie doll to a little girl with Down Syndrome modelling a pink swan costume, the ad has been praised for spreading a message of inclusion far and wide.

Scroll down for video

Breaking the mould: Kmart Australia's new 30 second TV advert contains a number of subtle messages about acceptance and gender stereotypes

The 'Play Your Way' commercial first sees a number of little girls dressed in pink and playing with Barbie dolls... before a little boy appears and poses proudly with his own.

Happy to ditch the stereotypical trucks and transformers for his doll, the boy is then seen smiling and dancing as he joins the girls in play.

Gender stereotypes are challenged again seconds later, when a number of young girls are seen building trucks and helicopters out of Lego blocks.

Not just for girls: The 'Play Your Way' commercial first sees a number of little girls dressed in pink and playing with Barbie dolls... before a little boy appears and poses proudly with his own

For everyone: Happy to ditch the stereotypical trucks and transformers for his doll, the boy is then seen smiling and dancing as he joins the girls in play

Towards the end of the ad, a little girl with Down Syndrome is seen playing with a little boy as she runs around in a pink swan costume.

Joelle Kelly, whose daughter Josee has Down Syndrome and won the 2015 Bonds Baby Search competition, told Daily Mail Australia that it's important for children of all abilities to be included in mainstream advertising.

'We live in a diverse world, so why should our media only advertise a small portion of the wonderful, natural diversity found in our society?' She said.

'When I was pregnant with Josee I found it very lonely from the start; no advertising materials or merchandise ever had a child with diverse needs on their products.

Not just for boys: Gender stereotypes are challenged again seconds later, when a number of young girls are seen building trucks and helicopters out of Lego blocks

'It was a HUGE eye opener for me, I realised just how shallow our media industry was! I wrote to a few companies after she was born addressing my concerns, but nothing ever happened, apart from a few boxes of nappies and wipes sent my way!'

Until we push through that to total acceptance we have to make a big deal when it happens. Joelle Kelly

Ms Kelly wants Josee to grow up seeing herself as the beautiful girl she is, not a person to be 'hidden away.'

'How can this happen when children with diverse needs are excluded in all forms of media and advertising? What sort of message does this send to her peers if they never see another child with the same diversity as Josee in advertising materials?' She questioned.

'We are thrilled that Kmart, in particular, as well as Oobi, have been highly supportive of inclusive advertising. The best part is they do it without making a big fuss.'

For everyone: 'We want to reflect every person who walks into our stores  whether they are a team member, a customer, a contractor or supplier,' a spokesperson for Kmart said

Ms Kelly doesn't want people to have to make a 'big fuss' when it comes to these advertisements.

'We want it to be a natural part of advertising. At the moment Australia is in an "infancy" stage of awareness and until we push through that to total acceptance we have to make a big deal when it happens,' she explained.

'Well done Kmart, every catalogue since Easter has included a child with diverse needs, and every catalogue has made us smile. This TV ad is the icing on the cake!'

A spokesperson from Kmart Australia told Daily Mail Australia that 'inclusion' is important to them.

Important: Joelle Kelly (right), whose daughter Josee has Down Syndrome, told Daily Mail Australia that it's important for children of all abilities to be included in mainstream advertising

Overjoyed: 'We are thrilled that Kmart, in particular, have been highly supportive of inclusive advertising. The best part is they do it without making a big fuss,' she said

'We want to reflect every person who walks into our stores  whether they are a team member, a customer, a contractor or supplier,' they said.

'Inclusion is important to us at Kmart no matter a persons race, gender, ethnicity, age, ability, appearance or attitude and we are focused on continuing to improve on this commitment.

'This is not a new focus for Kmart Australia, but an extension of our broader and very important focus on improving diversity within our business and truly representing our team, customers and communities that we operate in and are part of.'

The ad has been praised by hundreds on social media, with many saying the inclusion of all children should be a standard practice in advertising.

Make it the norm: At the moment Australia is in an "infancy" stage of awareness and until we push past through to total acceptance we have to make a big deal when it happens'

'So much to be celebrated with the new Kmart Australia Ad which features a model with Down Syndrome and a boy playing with a Barbie doll. Congratulations Kmart Australia on a job well done!' One woman wrote.

'Hey Kmart, your quiet inclusion of kids with Down Syndrome in your catalogues is great to see. Seeing more diversity represented is brilliant. Can't wait to see more in the future,' another said.

'Kudos to the people who thought to, decided and approved to put a model with Down Syndrome in the latest Kmart catalogue and to the corporation for not shouting from the rooftops about it.'

Others have expressed concerns that it could be seen as a 'fad,' rather than simply including children with diverse needs in a commercial.

'Inclusion is important to us at Kmart': 'No matter a persons race, gender, ethnicity, age, ability, appearance or attitude and we are focused on continuing to improve on this commitment,' they said

Not the first time: In April, Kmart Australia also included children with disabilities in their Easter catalogue

In April, Kmart Australia also included children with disabilities in their Easter catalogue.

They chose to do so after Starting With Julius, an organisation committed to promoting the inclusion of people with disability, reached out to the brand.

One of the models featured in the campaign was 11-year-old Cooper Smith, from Melbourne, who has Cerebral Palsy.

Cooper's mother, Bron Leeks, told Daily Mail Australia at the time that it was a positive thing for children with a disability to be represented in mainstream media.

Inclusion: Kmart Australia included models with a disability as part of their Easter campaign, including 11-year-old Cooper Smith (pictured) from Melbourne who has Cerebral Palsy

Showing diversity: The catalogue came after Starting With Julius, an organisation committed to promoting the inclusion of people with disability, reached out to Kmart

'It was not highlighting the disability. It was just a kid with some chocolate who happened to have a disability,' Ms Leeks said of her son's catalogue image.

'It's a big deal as in lots of countries and cultures disability is hidden.

'But people are talking about it more in a positive way and seeing it as normal.'

Ms Leeks said her son's brain was 'damaged' during birth, and while it has impacted on Cooper's mobility and speech, it has not affected his intellectual ability.

All smiles: Six-year-old Matilda McKirdy, who has Down Syndrome, also featured in the catalogue

Modelling is something Cooper, who is also an avid foodie, has always wanted to do.

When Kmart put a call out for models with a disability in Melbourne, Cooper auditioned, and went on to get the job.

'He had an absolute blast, it was so much fun,' Ms Leeks said.

'He really responds well to going on adventures and doing things outside the norm.'

Changing perceptions: Cooper 'had an absolute blast' modelling for the catalogue that his mother said did not highlight his disability

Positive difference: Cooper's cerebral palsy impacts his mobility and speech, but has not affected his intellectual ability

Starting With Julius founder, Catia Malaquias, told Daily Mail Australia she reached out to Kmart CEO Guy Russo last year about including models with a disability in Kmart's marketing.

Inclusion in advertising is about representing people with disability incidentally in mainstream advertising images and messages. Catia Malaquias, Starting With Julius

'Last week I couldn't have been more pleased when Kmart released their Easter catalogue and their first that includes several models with disability,' she said.

'People with disability represent one in five of Australians, the largest minority group in our community.
Don't leave your children alone in the bath, not even for a second.

This is the message a Sydney mother-of-two has shared after finding her young daughter flailing under water.

Upon re-entering the bathroom blogger Siobhan Rennie quickly grabbed her daughter Aoife coughing and screaming from the bath.

Aoife was okay, but she could not have been, prompting Ms Rennie to issue a dire warning.

Mummy blogger Siobhan Rennie spoke about the moment her daughter Aoife could have drowned while left in the bath with her brother Harry

When she came back in the bathroom little Aoife was flailing under the water

She detailed the traumatic experience on her blog MeOhMy in a post titled: 'My baby could have drowned because of me'.

'I put Harry and Aoife in the bath together, played with them for a bit, then remembered I had washing to put away,' Ms Rennie, 36, wrote.

'So I went around the corner just a few metres to hang up one of my husband's shirts.

She left her children in the bath to quickly hang up one of her husband's shirts

'What I did was completely unacceptable': Ms Rennie is sharing her story to warn other parents to never leave their children unattended

'I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, just a tiny bit of splashing.

'I went back to the bathroom maybe 15-30 seconds later (I really have no idea, it was very quick) and Aoife was under water flailing around.

'I grabbed her so fast out of that bath and held her to me...she was coughing and screaming.

'It could have been so much worse. Aoife is fine. She coughed briefly, cried for a little bit while I held her and cried myself, then was back to her usual smiling self a few minutes later. She fed as normal and went off to sleep happy.

'But still...what I did was completely unacceptable.'

Ms Rennie said what she did was 'completely unacceptable' and she had a momentary lapse in concentration

'The only reason I'm writing this is because I want to warn you - do not ever think that your baby, no matter how old, is safe in the bath by themselves,' she said

Ms Rennie said she should never have left her children in the bath alone together, and wrongly thought Harry at two and a half would be able to look after his younger sister.

She went on to say she suffers from severe anxiety, is a perfectionist and is unable to relax until things are sorted, and it was that side of her that 'dominated' when she went to put the shirt away.

Sharing her story was the hardest post she has ever written.

'Many of you out there will be thinking I'm a bad mum. You'd never do it, right?,' she wrote.

'Well, I thought that too. But I had a momentary lapse in concentration.

'The only reason I'm writing this is because I want to warn you - do not ever think that your baby, no matter how old, is safe in the bath by themselves or with a sibling, even for a couple of seconds.'

The mummy blogger shared her story on Instagram where other mothers thanked her for the reminder

Ms Rennie shared the blog post on her Instagram page where she has more than 30,000 followers.

Her dire warning had other mothers thanking her for the reminder to never leave their children alone in the bath.

'Oh how bath time scares me for this reason. It's so easy to get distracted,' one woman wrote.

'My husband doesn't understand that you can't leave a 2yr old in charge of a 1yr old - especially when neither have a fear of water and are crazy [sic].'
She may be ringing in her 40th birthday but Lady Victoria Hervey doesn't look a day older than she did back in 2001.

The daughter of the late 6th Marquess of Bristol slipped into a glitzy little dress to celebrate her coming of age at Salmontini on Pont Street in London on Thursday night.

The socialite looked glamorous and youthful in a glittering silver crystal embellished dress as she joined her friends and family on her happy day.

Lady Victoria Hervey looked extremely youthful as she slipped into a glitzy little dress to celebrate her 40th birthday in style in London on Thursday night

The birthday girl posed for pictures with her brother, Frederick Hervey, 8th Marquess of Bristol, as she tucked into a birthday pudding created especially for her by the restaurant.

She was also joined by Roger Sanchez at the glittering affair.

Lady Victoria, who is known for her glamorous sense of style, recently told the Daily Mail's Sebastian Shakespeare that English women struggle to be sexy.

Women in London are too conservative and dont have the courage to wear sexy outfits.

'Its an English thing, she said.

I grew up in the South of France so I have a much more international approach.

The daughter of the late 6th Marquess of Bristol celebrated her coming of age at Salmontini on Pont Street in London on Thursday night

She may be ringing in her 40th birthday but Lady Victoria Hervey doesn't look a day older than she did back in 2001, right

The socialite looked glamorous and youthful in a glittering silver crystal embellished dress as she joined her friends and family

She tucked into a birthday pudding created especially for her by the restaurant

The birthday girl posed for pictures with her brother, Frederick Hervey, 8th Marquess of Bristol

Her brother looked dapper in a suit as he posed with his big sister at the party

Lady Victoria Hervey at the premiere of Blow in London in 2001, left, and modelling for designer Scott Henshall during his autumn/winter 2003 show at London Fashion Week, right

Despite turning 40, the daughter of the late 6th Marquess of Bristol still leads by example, sporting an array of sheer ensembles at parties recently.

Its empowering to dress provocatively, she says.

Meanwhile, last year Victoria revealed that she is considering freezing her eggs to ensure she can have children in the future.

'I would love to have children,' she told HELLO! magazine.

'I need to step on it, you know, but I feel like I'm mentally and physically ready to have kids, and I think I was definitely not ready, even a year ago.

'I've definitely thought about having my eggs frozen just to have them there.'

The blonde blew out her sparkling pudding created for her by the venue

Despite turning 40, the daughter of the late 6th Marquess of Bristol still leads by example, sporting an array of sheer ensembles at parties recently

Lady Victoria, who is known for her glamorous sense of style, recently told the Daily Mail's Sebastian Shakespeare that English women struggle to be sexy

Last year Victoria revealed that she is considering freezing her eggs to ensure she can have children in the future

The aristocrat also admitted that her younger sister Isabella's wedding in 2014 was part of the catalyst for her decision.

'It put me in motion to get my life together, because she's five years younger than me.

'When that happens, you're like, 'Oh, okay, maybe I need to make some changes because whatever I'm doing isn't working'.'
Once you have kids, your life changes forever.

And that doesn't just mean your finances and priorities, but also your social life.

Rather than spending your time partying with friends and sleeping in the next day, you're lost in a world of nappies, bottles and pureed carrot.

Constance Hall, 32-year-old artist and blogger from Perth, Australia, has penned an open letter on Instagram and Facebook to thank her childless friends for caring for her children and for putting up with her

Dear friends without childrenthanks for giving a f*** about my kids, she writes. You come to my kids parties, not because your kids have dragged you there but because you actually want to come'

In order to keep some sort of handle on the outside world, it's important that your friends are there to support you through the times when you feel like you'll never leave the house again.

Constance Hall, 32-year-old artist and blogger from Perth, Australia, has penned an open letter on Instagram and Facebook to thank her childless friends for caring for her children and for putting up with her.

Dear friends without childrenthanks for giving a f*** about my kids, she writes.

You come to my kids parties, not because your kids have dragged you there but because you actually want to come.

You laugh at stories about the kids with such authenticity  not just because you can relate but because you are actually interested.

She continues: 'You come to kid friendly restaurants and eat curly f****** chips while my a******* children play on your phone and knock your drink over, when you could be at some opening of some cool place with the millions of cool people who invite you out.

'You come to my house with interesting stories and give me a fresh inspiration when you speak about your upcoming opportunities.

In order to keep some sort of handle on the outside world, it's important that your friends are there to support you through the times when you feel like you'll never leave the house again

'And you offer me advise that always seems to put a fresh spin on things.

She doesn't judge her friends at all for not having children, and supports their life decisions.

'Some of you chose not to have kids, I admire that so much.

'Some of you desperately wanted them and instead of being jealous or bitter towards me for having so many you relish in mine and love them with your whole soul.

The post has been liked over 7,000 times on Instagram and shared over 17,000 times on Facebook - and it's clearly resonating with them

'I never remember a time before I had kids that I was that gracious and cool enough to sacrifice a Saturday night at the pub so that I could sit on the kitchen floor playing twister with a friends kid.'

She ends the message: 'So thanks for being true Queens'.

The post has been liked over 7,000 times on Instagram and shared over 17,000 times on Facebook - and it's clearly resonating with them.

One commenter wrote: 'Love this post! My husband and I are child free by choice, but we love our friends with kids and love their kids!'

One commenter wrote: 'Love this post! My husband and I are child free by choice, but we love our friends with kids and love their kids!'

Another follower said: When I first read the line Dear friends without children I have to admit I thought oh here we go again, telling us how much we dont know and will never understand, and how we arent allowed to have opinions because we havent given birth.
When it comes to fashion, we are all inspired by what we see; whether it be a well dressed celebrity, a blow-your-mind catwalk presentation or even a super stylish every-day passerby.

As fashion editors, we're moved by all of the above, and then some. We're exposed to under the radar labels; we get a first hand look at collections months before they hit stores; we're tapped into brands with chic-yet-cheap offerings and we shop a lot.

To share our knowledge, FEMAIL brings you Style Swoon, an insider's view of the latest, greatest and on the verge. We hope this weekly Friday series will serve as a buying guide and point of inspiration for the clotheshorses and fashion fanatics alike.

BEYONCE'S QUIRKY GRAPHIC SWEATER

Gucci girl: Beyonce, 35, stepped out in New York City this week in a head-to-toe Gucci look

Beyonce, 35, was pretty in pink as she stepped out in New York City this week in a head-to-toe Gucci look.

Her eclectic mismatched mix of a striped pleated skirt, velvet heels and GG emblazoned accessories may be too fashion-forward for the average person, but anyone can pull off her quirky yet chic graphic sweater.

While Queen Bey's exact butterfly sweater may retail for over a $1,000, Miami-based clothing brand Lisa Todd makes adorable graphic sweaters for a fraction of the price! Get the look for less below.

Animal instincts: Left: Lisa Todd 'Fifi' sweater, $147, larrimors.com. Right: Lisa Todd 'Hunter Dog' sweater, $235, larrimors.com

Fun sayings: Lisa Todd 'Wow' sweater, $230, larrimors.com

ASOS MADE IN KENYA

This week, ASOS launched it's latest charity collaboration with The SOKO Kenya initiative.

The charity organization, which ASOS has partnered with since 2010, provides fair and safe employment for some of Africa's poorest communities.

Local primary school children were asked to illustrate 'what they see outside their window'.

The brand then took those sketches (think giraffes, elephants and Kenyan landscapes) and had them embroidered onto jersey sweats, structured short-suits and sweatshirts with matching track pants.

Prices range from $40.31 - $153.17.

Adorable artwork: Left: All Over Printed sweatshirt, $61.27, asos.com. Right: Giraffe Print sweatshirt, $61.27, asos.com

Kid friendly: In Print shorts, $72.55, asos.com

KARLIE KLOSS'S CHIC AND AFFORDABLE HAIR ACCESSORY

Poised and polished: Karlie Kloss, 24, was tailored to perfection at the Christian Dior spring/summer 2017 show this week

Karlie Kloss, 24, was the epitome of Parisian chic as she attended the Christian Dior spring/summer 2017 show this week.

The design house outfitted the supermodel with a ladylike ensemble using pieces from their fall/winter 2016 collection. Karlie then finished off her fashion-forward look with a sophisticated chignon.

While her designer duds may be out of your price range, you can shop her sleek hair cuff from celeb-favored hairstylist Jen Atkin's collaboration with Chloe + Isabel, for a cool $45.

Get the look: Jen Atkin x Chloe + Isabel bun cuff, $45, chloeandisabel.com

RAVEN & CROW'S BREAST CANCER INITIATIVE

Shopping for a cause has never been easier (or more comfortable).

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, LA-based sleepwear brand Raven & Crow announced this week that they will be donating 50% of their entire sales for the month of October to Bright Pink.

The charity is the nations only non-profit organization focused on prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer in young women.

It's feel good fashion at it's finest!

Good cause: Left: Pajama top, $79, shopravenandcrow.com. Right: Pajama short, $59, shopravenandcrow.com
Queen Maxima is well known for her enthusiastic approaches to her engagements, but today the Dutch royal seemed to be in particularly high spirits as she was joined by her husband.

He may have been absent during her last few engagements but King Willem-Alexander was all smiles as he joined his wife for a trip to Bagota, Columbia.

The royal spouses were seen flirting up a storm as they met with Columbian president Juan Manuel Santos during their visit today.

Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands were pictured flirting up a storm this afternoon after arriving in Bogota, Columbia

A cheerful King Willem, 49, addressed his well wishers with a speech upon their arrival but he wasn't without a little help.

A mischievous Maxima, 45, was on hand to hold his microphone for him laughing all the way as she did so.

The Argentinian born queen is rarely seen without a beloved hat and today she proved that old habits die hard as she stepped out in a wide brimmed creation.

Rarely seen without her beloved hat Queen Maxima displayed her usual wide-brimmed Millinary this afternoon

A mischievous Maxima was on hand to hold her husband's microphone for him as he delivered a speech at the presidential palace

The couple met with president Juan Manuel Santos and his wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez Munera (pictured together, right) at the Casa de Narino this afternoon

She paired her blush pink millinary with a flurry of nude accessories and her eye for detail even saw the queen match her pearl earrings to her hat pin.

Always with an eye for coordination she complemented her white lace top with a baby pink pencil skirt for her engagement today.

The king looked dapper in his navy suit and silk blue tie as he accompanied his wife to the Casa de Narino this afternoon.

Her eye for detail even saw the queen match her pearl earrings to her hat pin and brooch

As usual the Dutch royals were greeted by dozens of well wishers during their engagement, who they were happy to wave to

Maxima enjoyed a stroll through the grounds of the historic building with the president's wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez Munera.

Today marks Maxima's third engagement this week having stepped out solo twice this week.

On Wednesday the queen of the Netherlands attended the opening of the Anna Pavlovna exhibit in Apeldoorn.

The friendly royal greeted the president with a handshake and a smile upon their arrival

Maxima enjoyed a strole through the grounds of the historic building with the president's wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez Munera

On Tuesday the mother-of-four stepped out in Rotterdam for the opening of the Fifth European Nursing Congress.

Maxima appeared her usual vivacious self as she laughed and beamed as she arrived at the conference that addresses scientific research and innovations in elderly care.

Her presence shines a light on the hot-button issues for older people including prevention of illness, homecare, hospital care, long-term care mental health, rehabilitation and transitional care.

Today marks Maxima's third engagement this week as on wednesday she visited the opening of the Anna Pavlovna exhibit in Apeldoorn
In the second video, Erika is lying on the floor of another room, banging her hands on the ground and crying because her hair still isn't done

The first clip sees the four-year-old girl standing in front of a bathroom mirror yelling and crying and her mother, demanding that she 'fix my hair'

Marianne Duke, 35, from Layton, Utah, posted two videos of her daughter Erika throwing a fit over her hair on YouTube

Bad hair days aren't fun for anyone - but for one little girl, the prospect of going to school with a less-than-perfect 'do was just too much to handle.

In fact, when her mother Marianne informed four-year-old Erika Duke, from Layton, Utah, that she was too busy to fix her daughter's hair, the young girl threw such an over-the-top tantrum that her mom immediately whipped out her phone to film it, posting not one, but two videos of the hilarious episode on YouTube.

The first clip sees Erika standing in front of a bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection and screaming at her mother to 'fix my hair', before breaking down into tears when she is told that she'll have to wait before her 'do can be sorted.

Livid: Erika Duke, four, from Layton, Utah, threw quite the temper tantrum when her mother said she was too busy to fix her daughter's hair

What a change! According to her 35-year-old mother's Facebook pictures, Erika is usually a very happy little girl - with lovely hair to boot

'I'm getting ready for the day,' mother-of-four Marianne, 35, explains to her furious daughter.

'When I'm done I will fix your hair.'

But Erika resolutely refuses to allow anything else to take priority over her 'messy hair', and begins screaming 'fix my hair' over and over while banging a cupboard door for added effect.

Reaching a screechy pitch that is only achievable by irate toddlers, Erika continues to scream at her mother - who suggests to the youngster that she puts on a headband to keep her hair out of her face until it can be styled.

Trying - and failing - to hold back the giggles as her daughter informs Marianne that she is unable to put a headband on herself, the entertained mom keeps the camera rolling, prompting her daughter to try and smack her in frustration.

The face of upset: Erika screams and shrieks at her mother throughout two videos, but nothing she days or says seems to have any effect

Moving on: In a second video of the tantrum, which Marianne posted to YouTube, Erika can be seen crawling along the floor, crying about her hair

Devastated: At the end of the second video, Marianne zooms in on her daughter's face for added effect - prompting the little girl to cry even harder

In the second clip of the two-part instalment, Erika has changed location - however her outrage and upset at the situation remain just as ferocious.

Lying on the floor of another room in her family home, the little girl continues cry, while still pleading with her mother to do something with her messy locks.

Clearly growing tired of her child's temper tantrum, Marianne informs the devastated little girl that she doesn't have time because she is busy getting ready for the day herself - prompting even more sobs and upset from Erika.

The second clip ends with Marianne zooming in on her daughter's devastated face, while she continues to scream and beg for help, all the while dragging herself along the floor in protest at how she is being treated.
The streets of Moscow shivered under a coating of ice the October day in 1946 when Boris Pasternak met his soulmate. He was introduced to Olga Ivinskaya in the offices of the prestigious literary journal, Novy Mir, situated in a former ballroom where the great poet Alexander Pushkin once danced.

Pasternak, who was my great-uncle, was at the time the most famous writer in Russia  it was said his poetry could provide a cure for tuberculosis. He enjoyed rock-star status, and he was handsome, too.

No wonder Olga, blonde and cherubically pretty, was stunned when this god appeared before her. The attraction between the 56-year-old poet and the 34-year-old beauty was mutual and instant.

Omar Sharif and Julie Christie in the 1965 romantic-drama film Doctor Zhivago

Olga later wrote: And now there he was at my desk by the window, the most unstinting man in the world, to whom it had been given to speak in the name of the clouds, the stars and the wind, who had found eternal words to say about mans passion and womans weakness. People say that he summons the stars to his table and the whole world to the carpet at his bedside.

So began the great romantic passion which was to be immortalised in the pages of the Nobel Prize-winning novel Doctor Zhivago.

I first became interested in the story behind Doctor Zhivago in 1990, when I asked my 90-year-old grandmother Josephine about her brother and she vividly brought their Moscow childhood and life alive.

Fifteen years later, after reading copious biographies of my great-uncle and finally persuading Olgas daughter to speak to me, I knew that I wanted to write about Olga and Boriss affair. And it is that relationship which is at the heart of my new book, Lara. I felt I needed to right an ancestral wrong. My family belittled Olgas role in Boriss life, as they couldnt accept her as his mistress.

Although Boris had already started his magnum opus in 1935  a love story set between the Russian Revolution and World War II  when he met Olga, his heroine Lara flowered to completely embody her.

Boris Pasternak, the Russian writer photographed with his muse and life companion Olga Ivinskaya and their daughter Irina in the late 1950s

Central to the novel is the passionate love affair shared by Yury Zhivago, a doctor and poet, and Lara Guichard, a nurse. Like Boris Pasternak, who was married to his second wife Zinaida, Dr Zhivago is married to a dutiful spouse.

He is torn between his loyalty to his wife and his yearning for his lover. (Yury and Lara were, of course, immortalised in David Leans Academy Award-winning film of Doctor Zhivago by a brooding Omar Sharif and a breathtaking Julie Christie.)

Yury Zhivagos first impressions of Lara are based on Boriss early meetings with Olga, who worked as an editorial assistant. In Doctor Zhivago, he writes: She has no coquetry . . . she does not wish to please or look beautiful.

She despises all that side of a womans life, its as though she were punishing herself for being lovely.

But this proud hostility to herself makes her more attractive than ever.

Despite his second marriage, Boriss courtship with Olga proceeded at a furious pace.

Olga, who lived with her mother, was already twice-widowed with a son and daughter. Boris also had two children  a son from each marriage. By April 1947, Olga and Boris had consummated their relationship and were inseparable.

Boris, who lived with his second wife in a writers countryside colony called Peredelkino outside Moscow, would come to Olgas Moscow apartment every morning at dawn. The couple were completely in love, able to exist on little sleep, fuelled by the adrenaline of desire.

Boris wrote a poem, Summer In Town, about this heady period. It became one of Yury Zhivagos poems in the famous novel. As the affair intensified, Boris was torn between his fervent longing to be with Olga, and his guilty self-disgust at deceiving his wife.

Omar Sharif and Julie Christie played the lead roles in Doctor Zhivago which is one of the highest grossing films of its time

It was a struggle he poured straight into the pages of his novel, which was still a decade away from publication.

But while he was absorbed in writing it, it was increasingly difficult for Boris to earn an income.

He was Russias premier translator of Shakespeare, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize six times for his translations of the Bard, yet that was not a lucrative trade. And besides, Boris was running into trouble with the authorities for his anti-Soviet views.

A political resolution was passed against him, denouncing him as an author lacking in ideology, and remote from Soviet reality.

His paid translation work dried up, and the journal Novy Mir rejected some of his poems.

He poured his anger and frustration into Zhivago, courageously portraying the truth about the appalling living conditions for so many citizens in Russia after the Revolution.

Yet this was foolishly naive or wantonly brazen, given the authorities surveillance of him. He even chose to give regular readings from his work as it progressed.

As word spread of these readings, his literary fans began to covet an invitation.

In retrospect, it seems miraculous that Boris survived under Stalin, given his controversial views, when nearly 1,500 writers in the Soviet Union were executed or died in labour camps after 1917 for alleged infractions. But what he didnt know was that he had special protection from Stalin.

The tyrant, who was from Georgia, was particularly moved by Pasternaks translations of Georgian poetry. Unbeknown to the rebellious writer, on Pasternaks KGB file the immortal words were stamped: Leave the cloud-dweller alone.

Omar Sharif and Julie Christie in Doctor Zhivago which was shot largely in Spain

And so the authorities did just that, leaving him to write his controversial novel. But the cruelty of the state apparatus knew no bounds, and even Stalins edict had its limits.

The Soviet thought-police hatched a plan to send his beloved mistress Olga to a prison camp and torture her instead. So it was that on the evening of October 6, 1949, 12 of Stalins state security men burst into Olgas apartment and arrested her.

She was taken to the terrifying Moscow Lubyanka, where for nine months she was interrogated nightly over the book her lover was writing.

The transcripts from these interrogations reveal Olgas quick wit, loyalty and devotion to Boris.

When asked: How do you explain your relationship with Pasternak? He is, after all, a lot older than you?, she shot back: Love.

Boris, who knew that Olga was in the Lubyanka, was possessed by guilt. He wrote to a friend that his suffering would make his work deeper.

What the writer did not yet know, as he poured his torment on to the page, was that reality was exceeding even his reaches for fiction.

Olga was pregnant with Boriss child. When she revealed this, her treatment improved somewhat. The blinding lights designed to cause sleep deprivation ceased, and she was granted extra buckwheat porridge.

Olga Ivinskaya aged 25 in Moscow taken from Anna Pasternak's new book which is out now

But her captors were not above psychological cruelty. When she was six months pregnant, she was told she was to be granted a meeting with her lover.

Giddy with happiness she was taken in a prison van to another government building, where she was left alone in a freezing morgue. Terrified, she initially thought that Boriss corpse was lying on the zinc-topped tables beneath a tarpaulin.

That was not the case, but the meeting with Pasternak was a hoax. Olga returned to her cell in the Lubyanka, where, soon after, she miscarried. She was then sentenced to five years in a labour camp in the region of Mordovia, in the west of the Soviet Union, for close contact with persons suspected of espionage.

Olga spent three-and-a-half years in the camp, tilling the soil in the baking summers, and managing to survive the bitter winters.

Years later, Boris wrote to a fellow poet: Olga was put in jail on my account, as the person considered by the secret police to be closest to me, and they hoped that by means of a gruelling interrogation and threats they could extract enough evidence from her to put me on trial. I owe my life and the fact that they did not touch me in those years to her heroism and endurance.

In 1953, when Stalin died, Olga was freed under an amnesty. Boris declared of the dictator: A terrible man died, a man who drenched Russia in blood.

While Olga had been in the labour camp, the guilt and strain on Boris caused him to have two heart attacks. His wife nursed him back to health, which meant that when Olga was released, he was further torn because he felt he now owed both women his life.

He promised his wife he would break off the affair, yet the moment Olga returned to Moscow, the lovers were seized by a kind of desperate tenderness and a resolve to stay together for the rest of their lives. He simply could not stay away from her.

Julie Christie in a scene from the film Doctor Zhivago which won five Academy Awards

Olga moved into The Little House, a cottage across a lake from The Big House in the writers commune where Boris still lived. By now, her place in his life was non-negotiable. Every day, Boris would write in The Big House in the morning, then cross a bridge over the lake to the Little House in the afternoon, where Olga would type his manuscript for him.

Olgas reappearance into his life inspired Boris, and lifted his spirits. He would say to visitors: Lara exists, go and meet her, sometimes handing them Olgas phone number.

He threw himself into writing Doctor Zhivago with a gusto he had not experienced since the traumatic first few months of Olgas incarceration. Of the doctors reunion with his lover Lara, Boris wrote: To them  and this made them unusual  the moments when passion visited their doomed human existence like a breath of timelessness were moments of revelation, of greater understanding of life and of themselves.

In 1957, when it became clear that the Soviets would never publish his novel because of its anti-Soviet content, Boris smuggled it out to the Italian Communist publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. Doctor Zhivago was published in Italy on November 10, 1957.

The Soviets were furious. They expelled Boris from the Writers Union, dashing his chances of earning a living from writing. The irony was that while the publisher made millions from the novel, selling the film rights to MGM for $450,000, Boris was virtually penniless.

In 1958, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, which the authorities forced him to denounce if he wanted to stay in his adored Mother Russia.

During the last few years of Boriss life, when he continued to fight ideological battles with the state, Olga bought fun and tenderness into his life.

Olga Ivinskaya with daughter Irina as a baby in 1939 featured in the book: Lara, The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago by Anna Pasternak

She was unwaveringly supportive in helping him complete his novel, which took him 20 years to write, twice typing the entire manuscript.

She loved him wholeheartedly, but unlike his two wives, more crucially, she understood him.

For his part, Boris did his best for Olga, supporting her family financially and loving her daughter Irina (from an earlier marriage) as the girl he never had. But he never did the one thing that could have protected her from the vengeful authorities: he never divorced Zinaida in order to marry Olga.

If Olga had had the security of the Pasternak surname, she would have been safe.

As it was, just three months after Boris died, aged 70, in 1960, a grieving Olga was arrested again.

Both Olga and her daughter were sent to a gulag in Eastern Siberia on trumped-up charges of smuggling royalties from Doctor Zhivago. Olga served a three-and-a-half year sentence.

Thankfully, she survived, and published her memoirs in the late Seventies. Her daughter Irina also lived through her time in the gulag and in 1985 emigrated to France. Her mother died ten years later.

How bitterly ironic that in Doctor Zhivago, Boris had grimly prophesied the Soviet states treatment of Olga: One day Lara went out and did not come back.

She must have been arrested in the street, as so often happened in those days, and she died or vanished somewhere, forgotten as a nameless number on a list which later was mislaid, in one of the innumerable mixed or womens concentration camps in the north.

Olga may have been immortalised for ever as Lara, one of the most romantic characters in all literature, but she paid a terrible price.
Diners revealed other odd combos, such as chicken nuggets in milkshake

But others said the combination sounded 'disgusting' and 'vile'

Would you ever dunk your French fries in a milkshake?

This is the bizarre question taking the web by storm after McDonald's UK advised its fans to try the odd combination on its Facebook page.

The post, which asks customers for their favourite milkshake dunking flavours, has racked up more than 36,000 likes and thousands of comments as fast food fans debate whether the quirky practice is disgusting or genius.

Hundreds wrote of their relief at realising they are not the only ones to dip their salty chips into a creamy vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or banana milkshake.

But not everyone was lovin' it, with others finding the idea stomach-churning.

McDonald's asked fast food fans what flavour milkshake they like to dunk their fries in, and fans were divided about whether the practice was genius or disgusting

Donna Spooner wrote on the post, which has been shared more than 3,500 times: 'Nearly threw up a little, no just no, can't ruin a good milkshake or fries hahaha.'

Oli Milton added: 'People who think it's acceptable to dip fries in milkshake and then actually consume them, need to be banned from McDonald's.'

Bower Adam agreed and said: 'I find this revolting, I just cant understand why people would do such things.

Donna Spooner, Oli Milton, Kerri Bell, Rachel McNicholas and Bower Adam all commented to declare the combination 'digusting'

'Milkshake is for drinking not for dipping your fried potatoes in, can we please not forget that?'

Kerri Bell wrote: 'People dunk their fries in their drink... really?

'Besides, even if I wanted to do this, I wouldn't be able to - my fries are gone in seconds!

'BUT REALLY THOUGH?'

Dannii Marie Dennis said: ' Dunk fries in milkshake? Who does that? Unless pregnant 'n have weird cravings then yeah, but 'part from that.'

Dan Pantony found the idea revolting but had an understanding approach.

Dan Pantony, Karne Dominic Adcock, Bradley Ralph New and Dannii Marie Dennis also found the idea of dipping fries in a milkshake disgusting

He commented: 'None of them, the whole thing sounds pretty disgusting to me, but then again people think I'm disgusting for dunking biscuits in my coffee so each to their own I guess.'

Rachel McNicholas added: 'Ewww... I couldn't dream of dunking my fries in a milkshake!

'Everyone to their own but ewww! Doesn't help that I don't like McDonald's milkshakes but even if I did that's a big no-no dunking fries.'

Karne Dominic Adcock added: 'Errrr, sorry to those who do it, but this is something I will never ever do!

'I rather dunk my fries in ketchup or BBQ sauce or eat plain with salt.

'And milkshakes just drink it normally or dunk chocolate biscuits or a Flake and Twirl, but that's it.'

The post by McDonald's UK received more than 36,000 likes as people took to Facebook to discuss whether they dip their chips, or would never even consider trying the combination

Bradley Ralph New joked: 'I'm not dipping my chips in my drink, that's vile, if you want to go to another level put them in a blender - that may be better, depending if your stomach can handle it.'

But others were happy to share that they dunk their fries after years of presuming that they were the only one to dip their chips.

Many proclaimed the bizarre food combination tastes 'amazing'.

Sarah MacKinnon wrote: 'I am so glad I have found others that do this. Chocolate everytime.'

Steffy Louise Cox commented: 'I love dunking my fries into a strawberry milkshake, I've done it for years and it tastes amazing.'

Steffy Louise Cox, Nina Sweet-f, Melissa Coyne Mel, and Sarah MacKinnon defended their love of fries dipped in milkshake, expressing relief that they weren't the only ones to do it

Melissa Coyne Mel said: 'Omg knew I wasn't crazy, thought I was the only person to do this. I like a bit of strawberry 'n' fries.'

Nina Sweet-f agreed and wrote: 'OMG I've been doing this for the past 20 years and everyone thought I was really weird. So happy there are other weird people out there. And it's strawberry for me.'

Dunker Charlotte Barnes claimed she was thrown out of a McDonald's restaurant once for 'disturbing customers' by dipping her fries in a milkshake.

She said: 'I always get weird looks when I do this with my milkshake. I even had a staff member ask me to leave a McDonald's once because I was supposedly disturbing other customers!

'Seeing this post has made me so glad others do it!'

Harry Clayton, Charlotte Barnes and Amanda Cook all love dipping their fries in a strawberry or any other flavour of milkshake

Harry Clayton, who says he works at a McDonald's, wrote: 'When I went on my break, they asked if I wanted sauce with my fries, and I said, "No, I have my chocolate milkshake." Then they all stared at me and said "It's weird".'

Amanda Cook also said: 'Glad I'm not the only milkshake chip dunker cos my hubby thinks I'm disgusting!! Lol.'

The debate revealed some fast food fans' most peculiar habits, including dunking chips in ice cream McFlurries, and dipping chicken nuggets in milkshakes.

Jordan Louise Saxon said: 'My wife finds it satisfying to dunk her fries in an original Mcflurry... I look at her as if she is possessed when she does this!

Jordan Louise Saxon revealed that her wife likes to dip her fries in a McFlurry, while Calum Gardner said he once saw someone dip a chip in the ice cream treat too

'Just wrong on so many levels lol.'

Calum Gardner said he also knew someone who favoured this strange combination.

He commented: 'Ok I know they're both a popular combination at diners and other fast food places, but to me they're not made to be actually mixed in with each other.

'I once saw a kid from school dunk his fries into a McFlurry, literally one of the most disgusting things I ever witnessed.'

Stephen John Stenton declared fries and milkshake as 'so wrong' - but found no qualms in tucking into chips and McFlurry.

The debate revealed some fast food fans' most peculiar habits, including dipping chips in McFlurries, and dunking chicken nuggets in milkshake

He wrote: 'This is so wrong! It's all about fries and Mcflurry!

'That's literally what I order when I go to Maccers! They give me the weirdest looks when they see me eating it haha!'

Catherine Sherratt recalled an ex-boyfriend who liked to dunk chicken nuggets into his strawberry milkshake.

She said: 'He would then drink the milkshake and then eat the nuggets. Disgusting as far as I am concerned.'

Emily Jo Blakemore also liked to dip her chicken nuggets, and wrote: 'I feel that dunking chips in chocolate milkshake is not as good as chicken nuggets in it.'

McDonald's has been selling its classic fries and milkshakes ever since it opened its first UK restaurant in Woolwich, London, in 1974.

Nowadays, there are 1,200 branches across the country.
Despite the old adage, the customer is not always right - as these stories of particularly foolish diners and shoppers prove.

Restaurant workers, baristas and supermarket workers have shared some of the stupidest questions they've ever been asked on Reddit - and some may make you lose faith in humanity.

More than 3,800 people have responded to the question: 'What is the dumbest question a customer has ever asked you?' posted on Reddit today - and some of the replies are priceless.

Scroll down for video

Restaurant, supermarket and cafe workers (posed by a model) have shared the most moronic questions and requests they have ever been asked on Reddit

Long suffering baristas kicked things off by sharing some of the most moronic questions they've ever been asked.

Lovecraft112 commented: 'My favorite is still a lady who asked me to make sure the ice was cold.'

Another barista remembered: '"Why are you watering down my coffee?" - Guy who ordered an Iced Americano.'

JeaMarch supplied this hilarious anecdote: '"Do you sell coffee here?" They don't call it a coffee shop for nothing I guess.'

Baristas shared the stupidest things they'd ever been asked, including if a coffee shop sold coffee and a request to make sure the 'ice was cold'

And NoDoThis remembered: 'Working at a small coffee shop that roasted their own beans/had their own brand. "Do you sell Starbucks here?"

'"No ma'am we roast our own coffee." "Well that's just bad business!" ...okay.'T

Theoutlet said: 'Used to work at a Coffee Bean &a Tea Leaf. One early morning I had a customer order a frappucino.

'I responded with: "I'm sorry, we don't serve those here."'

Startled, the customer looks at me incredulously, then looks around themself like they're actually seeing where they are for the first time, then looks back at me and says: "This isn't a Starbucks?!"

Coffee chains seem to be a particularly popular spot for stupid questions

One barista, becauseusoft, said she was baffled when a customer asked her to 'aerate' his juice - by which he meant stirring it.

She recalled: ' "Can you aerate that for me?"

'He wanted me to stir his apple juice. Technically his word choice was applicable, I guess, but wtf, dude?

'He had a straw ready in his hand and he could damn well have aerated that juice himself.

'I admit it took me two seconds of staring at his serious face before I reached for a straw, unwrapped it, and stirred his drink.

'I did it all without breaking eye contact with him, and he was satisfied.

'Also I think about him now every time I stir or shake my chocolate milk to make it frothy.'

Peregrinousduramater recounted an anecdote from when they worked at Starbucks.

Becauseusoft and Mandierose12 recounted two moronic incidents, when someone asked for their hot drink to be served in a cup, and when a man wanted a barista to 'aerate' his drink for him

'Patron is a pleasant mid-thirties businessman, has ordered two beverages and is waiting for them patiently.

'I finish up, hand him his hot chocolate and ice tea, and then he asks me which is which....'

Another Starbucks worker recalled this hilarious episode. '"And can I get that in a cup, please?" I work at Starbucks.'

Restaurant workers also shared some of their most memorable idiotic requests and questions.

Trebuchetfight said he often gets questions about the food where he works because it's an Italian restaurant.

But recently one diner tested his patience after repeatedly failing to understand that pollo meant chicken.

He said: 'I work at an Italian place right now. We call our Italian menu items by Italian names with English descriptions.

'I get a lot of questions, but I don't mind a hair because I get paid to talk about food.

'Not too long ago though it sort of went slapstick. It's not that they asked a dumb question, but they kept asking it.

Restaurant workers (posed by model) have shared the idiotic questions they have ever been asked in a viral thread that has attracted more than 3,800 comments

Denisedenephew and Trebuchetfight both shared stories from working in restaurants

'"Pollo e penne?" "Oh, that's chicken and pasta with..." "Does it have meat in it?"

'"The chicken pasta? Yes, pollo is Italian for chicken."

'"Can I get the chicken but not the pollo?"

'"Pollo is just Italian for chicken, if you want chicken, it's really good..."

'"No, I like chicken but I don't want pollo."

'I kind of lost it for a split second.'

DeniseDeNephew remembered: 'I went to dinner once at a Chinese restaurant in Missouri and a woman at the table next to ours yelled at the waiter, "Where is the other sauce?

'"We are supposed to get Sweet and Sour Sauce and we only got one sauce!"

Battle-Squid remembered when a customer asked if the BLT came with bacon, while JaineLaine said she had a request for 'free wine refills' at a restaurant

HelloYouAreCool recounted: 'I was at a drive-thru and the person in front of me asked if he can have his food to go.'

DoubleB481 verified the story by replying with: 'Happens a few times a week. Source: my 10 years in restaurant management.'

And almightySapling added: 'What? I worked at McDonald's for a few years, primarily taking orders in drive-thru. I heard this a few times an hour.

'Saying "to go" at the beginning or end of your order is sort of a reflex for some people.'

One customer was deceived when whoever taught them what sweetcorn was .

Poochymane and literalmirmaid were among Reddit users who shared stories about customer having 'blonde' moments

Literalmirmaid shared: 'Customer: Where's the sugar? Me: What? Customer: I ordered sweet corn, this is just corn.'

Poochymane said this question was the stupidest they had ever been asked: 'Are these donuts sugar free? B****, they're deep fried and glazed.'

Battle-Squid shared an incident where the customer had clearly forgotten what the 'B' in BLT stands for.

'"Does the BLT come with bacon?' they asked.

JaineLaine remembered: 'When I waited tables, this lady asked me in all seriousness if the wine had free refills.'

Slowbro_ shared two stories where customers had failed to use their brains

Another restaurant worker came up with: 'I've worked in restaurants for a few years so it's hard to say, but it'd probably be when people what goes into a rum and coke.'

Slowbro_ shared two stories where customers had failed to use their brains.

'Fast food restaurant 1: Customer: "How fresh is your soda?"

'Me: "Um it comes out of a box...". Customer: "I guess I'll get water".

'2. Customer: "Can I get a cheeseburger, no cheese".

'Me: "So, a regular hamburger".

'Customer: "No a CHEESEBURGER, NO CHEESE".

'Gave them a regular hamburger in a cheeseburger wrapper.'

Whoisthedizzle83, HelloYouAreCool, reminisced about the hilarious times when customers had asked them seemingly obvious questions

Whoisthedizzle83 remembered: '"Is this the toast?" Seriously. She wasn't joking.

'She was literally asking if the small plate with four triangles of crispy golden-brown bread and a ramekin of butter was "the toast."'

But while the majority of responses were showing up customers, one recounted by Dun_bar was about a staff member's 'blonde' moment.

'Asks for ingredients in sandwich. Me: ham, salami, cheese, tomatoes, onions....

'"Okay so is it vegetarian?" ... Yes. In fact, it's vegan.'
Broken biscuits and Oreos without fillings, were also among complaints

Several found no jelly in their Jaffa Cakes, or wafer in their KitKats

Photos of frustrating food moments have been shared on social media

If you're craving a naughty treat, it can be oh-so-satisfying to just give in and indulge.

But if you find your guilty pleasure isn't quite as advertised, it can be a crushing disappointment.

FEMAIL has rounded up the most frustrating moments in food, from Oreo cookies without any creme filling, to finding a plain digestive in a packet of chocolate ones.

Louisthelouis was left disappointed when he found no orange jelly in his Jaffa Cake

Chloe also tweeted a picture of her friend's jelly-less cakes, one of several people to suffer such a tragedy

Fatima also uploaded a photo, and tweeted: 'What is this? I got no jelly in my Jaffa Cake? I'm so disappointed, this is not okay.'

Louisthelouis was left disappointed when he found no orange jelly in his Jaffa Cake.

He wrote on Twitter: 'There there was no orange jelly in the centre of this official jaffa cake - I'm disappointed.'

He wasn't the only one to suffer the tragedy.

Chloe also tweeted a picture of her friend's jelly-less cakes, writing: 'Okay my friend had a Jaffa Cake today with no jelly in it and it caused outrage.'

Fatima also uploaded a photo, and tweeted: 'What is this? I got no jelly in my Jaffa Cake? I'm so disappointed, this is not okay.'

Rasha had a shock when she bit into her Chunky KiKat, expecting the crunch of delicious wafer, instead finding just a solid block of chocolate

Kathie was tucking into a packet of chocolate-covered McVitie's digstives when she found a dull plain one with no chocolate inside

Meanwhile, Rasha had a shock when she bit into her Chunky KiKat, expecting the crunch of delicious wafer.

But instead she was met with a solid block of chocolate.

She wrote on Twitter: 'Just bit into a Kit Kat bar that has NO WAFER. Whaaaatttt?! What's up, @KITKAT?!?!?'

She wasn't the only one.

Billy, and several others on Twitter, were left frustrated when the same problem occurred.

Billy took to Twitter to complain, and wrote: 'When you have a @KITKAT after waiting all week I get a kit Kat with NO WAFER.'

Kathie was tucking into a packet of chocolate-covered McVitie's digstives when she found a dull plain one with no chocolate inside.

She complained on Twitter: 'Just found a milk chocolate digestive with no chocolate on it??! What's going on??'

Luke Cozens had a trauma when he found that every single biscuit in a packet of mini-Oreos came without any of its famous white 'stuf' creme filling

Rae Boocock suffered a biscuit-related shock when she discovered the entire pack of Party Rings that she had bought for her sister were smashed and shattered

Luke Cozens had a trauma when he found that every single biscuit in a packet of mini-Oreos came without any of its famous white 'stuf' creme filling.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Just had a snack pack of minis and was shocked to find the whole bag had no middle! thankyou @kraftfoods.'

Rae Boocock suffered a similar biscuit-related shock when she discovered the entire pack of Party Rings that she had bought for her sister were smashed and shattered.

She angrily wrote on Twitter: ' When you buy your sister #PartyRings for her birthday and not one is actually intact. Thanks #foxs_biscuits.'

Boyd Miller and several others were left baffled when they found half of a whole potato in their bag of crisps

James Adam Walker found a black wizened potato in a packet of Kettle Chips

Moving onto savoury snacks, Boyd Miller and several others were left baffled when they found half of a whole potato in their bag of crisps.

Boyd found a lump of potato in his packet of salt and vinegar crisps from Lidl and dramatically wrote on Twitter: 'Found half a potato in a bag of crisps! Coulda choked and died.'

Meanwhile James Adam Walker found a black wizened potato in a packet of Kettle Chips, and wrote on Twitter: 'Casually eating a bag of Kettle crisps and find half a potato??'

Everyone loves a tub of Quality Street - though the brand has been slammed recently for removing its famous Double Toffee sweet in favour of a new Honeycomb Crunch.

Eager to try the new Quality Street Honeycomb Crunch chocolate, Bethany bought a box of the famous assorted chocolate collection - only to find that two of the new sweet wrappers contained nothing within

Halley Perisian was left crushed when she bought a laclustre tub of Ben&Jerry's Karamel Surtra Core which is supposed to be a 50-50 mix of chocolate chip and caramel ice creams with a core of caramel sauce

Eager to try the new chocolate, Bethany bought a box - only to find that two of the new sweet wrappers contained nothing within.

She tweeted: 'I bought a box of quality street so I could try the new honey comb crunch. I opened it to find two wrappers and no chocolate.'

Meanwhile, Halley Perisian was left crushed when she bought a tub of Ben&Jerry's Karamel Surtra Core which is supposed to be a 50-50 mix of chocolate chip and caramel ice creams with a core of caramel sauce.

But instead, she received a tub of mostly caramel ice cream with no caramel sauce filling, while the chocolate ice cream that was present didn't contain any chips.

She tweeted: 'My Karamel Sutra Core is like 80% vanilla with no chocolate chips and no caramel filling.'

Adele was perturbed to see that one of the Jelly Babies in her packet looked much more phallic than she was expecting

Adele was perturbed to see that one of the Jelly Babies in her packet looked much more phallic than she was expecting.

Though she polished off the bag, she couldn't quite bring herself to eat the 'deformed' sweet.

She wrote on Twitter: 'Please see pic of GROSSLY deformed Asda jelly baby. Caused much joviality but still cant bring myself to eat...'

Josie Perkins was disappointed to find that there was far less cereal than expected in her packet.

She wrote on Sainsbury's Facebook wall: 'Open my porridge this morning to find a nearly empty pot... ermmmmmm??????'

Samantha simply wrote 'hmmmmmm' after finding just 16 chicken nuggets in what was supposed to be a bag of 20

Helen Millard also had a supermarket fail when she bought a loaf of Tiger Bread from Tesco - only to discover that only half the loaf had the bread's signature stripes.

Meanwhile, Samantha simply wrote 'hmmmmmm' after finding just 16 chicken nuggets in what was supposed to be a Sainsbury's bag of 20.
A World Health Organization cancer agency is under scrutiny for allegedly causing too many public health scares.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) publishes research that shapes global lifestyle trends.

Their reports have branded coffee, mobile phones, processed meat and the weed killer glyphosate - among other things - as dangerous products that cause cancer.

However, US government officials have now called for an official review, questioning how much evidence there is to categorize these items as carcinogens.

Scrutiny: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says coffee contains carcinogens - but US government officials want to question how they came to this conclusion

An aide to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform told Reuters that National Institutes of Health officials have agreed to give an in-person briefing to the committee.

It comes after questions were raised by lawmakers over its grants to the IARC, a semi-autonomous part of the WHO based in Lyon, France.

The hearing will be in private, with NIH officials answering questions from committee investigators, the aide said.

The committee is working with the NIH to schedule the briefing soon, the aide said, but no date has yet been set.

The briefing comes after the committee's chairman added his voice to growing concerns among some senior US lawmakers about the way IARC reviews and classifies substances.

Its critics, including in industry, say it is sometimes too quick to conclude that substances might cause cancer, causing unnecessary health scares. It defends its methods as scientifically sound.

In a September 26 letter to NIH director Francis Collins, Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz describes IARC as having 'a record of controversy, retractions, and inconsistencies' and asks why the NIH, which has a $33 billion annual budget, continues to fund it.

'IARC's standards and determinations for classifying substances as carcinogenic, and therefore cancer-causing, appear inconsistent with other scientific research, and have generated much controversy and alarm,' Chaffetz wrote.

Bacon and processed meat also appeared on the IARC's carcinogen list

The NIH confirmed in an email to Reuters that it had received Chaffetz's letter and 'will respond directly to the committee'.

The WHO referred Reuters to IARC for comment. A spokeswoman for IARC told Reuters that Chaffetz's letter contained 'misconceptions' which IARC's director, Chris Wild, has sought to address in a letter of his own to the NIH director.

Wild's letter, dated Oct. 5 and copied via email to Reuters on Thursday, rejects Chaffetz's criticisms and says IARC's classifications, known as 'monographs', are 'widely respected for their scientific rigour, standardised and transparent process and ... freedom from conflicts of interest'.

Wild also defends IARC's evaluation of coffee and disputed Chaffetz's description of it as a 'retraction'. IARC's previous assessment of coffee as 'possibly carcinogenic' was updated in June this year, when IARC said it had found 'no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect'.

'The (coffee) report in 2016 was not a 'retraction' but a re-evaluation based on an additional 25 years of scientific evidence,' Wild said.

Chaffetz, however, asks the NIH to detail its standards for awarding grants and the vetting and oversight of grantees.

It also asks for full disclosure of NIH funds to IARC or money spent in relation to IARC's activities.

Questions over grants awarded by NIH to IARC could put a significant portion of IARC's funding at risk.

IARC's resources are relatively modest. Its 2014 revenue was about 30 million euros ($33 million).

In his letter, Chaffetz's cites the NIH's grant database as showing that it has given IARC more than $1.2 million so far this year. The database also shows that since 1992, NIH grants to IARC have totalled some $40 million.

Questions were raised by lawmakers over its grants to the IARC, a semi-autonomous part of the WHO based in Lyon, France. Pictured: The WHO headquarters in Switzerland

The American Chemistry Council also joined those voicing concern, issuing a statement following Chaffetz's letter accusing IARC of 'a long history of passing judgment on substances through a fundamentally-flawed process that yields questionable results'.

'We welcome the interest of the House Committee ... and hope it will shed light on the close and somewhat opaque relationship between IARC and NIH, including the use of taxpayer dollars and resources to support IARC's activities,' it said.

IARC is also in dispute with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and United Nations and United States regulators over glyphosate, a widely-used weedkiller developed by Monsanto.

IARC says glyphosate is 'probably carcinogenic', while EFSA and several other regulators say it isn't.

This dispute prompted Robert Aderholt, chairman of the U.S. congressional Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, to write in June to NIH's Collins questioning funding of IARC.

In that letter, Aderholt says IARC's conclusions 'appear to be the result of a significantly flawed process' and adds that 'some in academia have raised questions about the quality of the science and the transparency of the process'.
Avoid discolouration by using a straw because liquid bypasses the teeth

Teeth whitening is one of the fastest growing cosmetic procedures in the UK.

Almost two million people in Britain - 3 per cent of the population - have transformed their smiles in this way, copying celebrities like Simon Cowell and Joey Essex.

We now spend almost 2 billion a year improving our teeth - a rise of 27 per cent in the last five years.

But the easiest way to keep your teeth pearly white is by not staining them in the first place.

But now a leading dentist lists 10 of the more surprising food and drinks to avoid if you want to keep you teeth pearly white.

Here Tariq Idrees, owner of Carisbrook Dental in Manchester, reveals the ways you probably never knew were wrecking your gleaming smile.

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Tariq Idrees, owner of Carisbrook Dental in Manchester, reveals the 10 food and drinks you probably never knew were wrecking your gleaming smile

Dr Idrees says: 'The basic rule I follow when advising patients on which foods to avoid to minimise teeth staining is to steer clear of foods which you would not want to spill on your clothing.

'If food leaves a stain on a white T-shirt, it will also stain your teeth. So avoid acidic foods which are rich in colour.

'These tends to be rich in tannins which leave a layer of stain on your teeth.

'You can minimise the damage by cleaning your teeth straight after eating these foods - but this will only remove between 50-60 per cent of the staining.'

But he says it doesn't matter how hard you brush - there will always be some staining.

And whitening toothpastes can do more harm than good because they destroy the natural protection which teeth have.

To avoid discolouration when drinking, Dr Idrees advises using a straw - because the liquid bypasses the teeth.

Tomato ketchup is acidic and rich in colour - not good for maintaing white teeth, Dr Idrees says

TOMATO KETCHUP

Ketchup is acidic and rich in colour - not good for teeth staining, Dr Idrees says.

He adds: 'Just think how tough it is to get a ketchup stain of a T-shirt - it's the same with your teeth.'

White wine is more acidic than its red counterpart, which may cause more damage and discolouration to the teeth

WHITE WINE

White wine is more acidic than its red counterpart, which may cause more damage and discolouration to the teeth, he says.

Its acid and tannins make your teeth fair game for other types of stains.

Dr Idrees adds: 'Cutting down will definitely help to keep your teeth white.'

SOY SAUCE/BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Soy sauce and balsamic vinegar are a nightmare to get off your clothes if you spill them while eating a Chinese takeaway or a salad.

Dr Idrees says you should avoid them completely if you want to keep your smile bright.

All Indian food which is rich in colour is bad for your teeth. It tends to be made with lots of artificial colouring which can badly stain your teeth, he says

INDIAN TAKEAWAYS

Britain's most popular dish - chicken tikka masala - may not be as good for your teeth as you think.

He says: 'All Indian food which is rich in colour is bad for your teeth.

'It tends to be made with lots of artificial colouring which can badly stain your teeth.'

Dr Idrees advises people to go easy on turmeric when making a curry at home because it's rich in colour and can easily stain teeth.

All types of tea stain your teeth, particularly fruit based teas: green tea and strawberry and raspberry tees

FRUIT TEAS

We all know that tea and coffee can stain our teeth but this is not just confined to regular teas and coffee.

All types of tea stain your teeth, particularly fruit based teas: green tea and strawberry and raspberry tees, Dr Idrees says.

He adds: 'They are rich in colour and rich in tannins which leave surface staining on your teeth.'

PASTA SAUCE

Tomatoes in pasta sauce cause can leave your teeth vulnerable to staining because of their acidity, bright red colour and tendency to cling to the teeth.

But you can protect your teeth beforehand by dining on some dark green vegetables - broccoli, kale, rocket or spinach - to create a protective film over the teeth.

Dr Idrees says: 'The film will ward off tomatoes' staining effect, so opt for a green salad as a starter.'

Lollies contain colourants that will transfer to the teeth and embed in the porous enamel

ICE LOLLIES

They may be one the perfect treats for a warm afternoon - but refreshing ice lollies can wreck your smile.

Dr Idrees says: 'Lollies contain colourants that will transfer to the teeth and embed in the porous enamel.'

PICKLES

Some of us go out of our way to avoid them, but they'll always be found in our burgers.

They may seem innocent, but pickles have a high acidic level which is dangerous for your smile.

Dr Idrees adds: 'Again it is the acid - which makes your teeth vulnerable to staining.'

Any type of cola is highly acidic and rich in colour - which is an easy way to stain teeth, he says

ANY TYPE OF COLA

No-one can deny how refreshing a cold glass of cola can be after a long day - regardless of how bad it can be for the body.

The caffeine kick it provides keeps our mind awake but the browny colour is bound to cause problems for the teeth.

He says: 'They are highly acidic and rich in colour - very bad for staining.'

ANY TYPE OF BERRY

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries - all berries rich in colour should be avoided if you want a bright smile.

Dr Idrees says: 'The acid and the strong colours easily stain your teeth.'
Doig-Collins is now suing Dr Ann Raffo, her obgyn of 10 years in California

Doctors said infection from the tool could have killed her if left there

X-ray in ER revealed she had the metal tip of a uterine cannula inside her

A woman is suing her gynecologist after discovering a two-inch-long metal tool inside her body 11 weeks after a simple operation.

Michelle Doig-Collins had a routine uterus exam three months ago with Dr Ann Raffo, her ob-gyn of 10 years at Orange Coast Women's Medical Group in Laguna Hills, California.

But when she got home she had excruciating cramps and nausea.

Despite going back to the clinic three times as her condition worsened, Michelle was repeatedly told she had a minor infection, and was sent home with antibiotics.

Finally, 11 weeks into her ordeal, she was in the bathroom when she felt something catch on the toilet paper. Checking with her finger she could feel a metal probe.

Her husband rushed her to ER - where an x-ray revealed she had a two-inch-long metal stick inside her - the tip of a uterine cannula.

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Outraged: Michelle Doig-Collins (pictured with her husband) is suing her ob-gyn of 10 years after finding a metal tool inside her 11 weeks after a routine uterus examination

Horrific: This is Michelle's x-ray, which clearly shows the two-inch-long tool

Missed: Michelle went back to the clinic three times with cramps - but was sent away with antibiotics as her ob-gyn told her she simply had an infection, even after a pelvic exam

It is likely her symptoms were an infection from caused by a reaction to the metal.

An acorn is the metal tip that attaches to the end of a uterine cannula, the long metal contraption gynecologists use to reach inside a woman's uterus.

'The infection could have killed me. This should not be happening. And especially the fact that I did go back - three times,' Doig-Collins told KTLA.

'It's 2016,' she added. 'How did you leave a tool that size in somebody?'

Her attorney Jeffrey Greenman added: 'When the probe was removed, the end of it was not there. How did this facility miss that? They did another surgery within the week!'

Doig-Collins had spent years visiting Dr Raffo, who even delivered her youngest son without any complications.

So, she says, she felt no reason to question her diagnosis.

The first two visits were observational. In the third visit, Dr Raffo even performed a pelvic exam - before concluding, again, that it was an infection.

It is likely the device was sat in her uterus for weeks before finally slipping down to the point where Doig-Collins could feel it.

An acorn is the metal tip that attaches to the end of a uterine cannula (pictured), the long metal contraption gynecologists use to reach inside a woman's uterus

The couple is now suing Dr Raffo and her employer for damages

Before that, the alien metal object was causing her body to convulse in an attempt to reject it.

'I was just feeling horrible. I was nauseous, I had major cramping. It was just the most excruciating pain,' she told KTLA.

She said when she felt the metal probe inside her she screamed for her husband.

The couple is now suing Dr Raffo and her employer for damages.

Her husband told the station: 'For someone to be that negligent and not be able to do their job correctly... I understand everyone makes mistakes but not when it's really couting on your life.'

Compared to other kinds of civil suits in California, the maximum amount they can get - $250,000 - is relatively modest.
A prescription painkiller is killing more people than heroin and cocaine, a leading pathologist warns.

Tramadol is 'claiming more lives than any other drug' and should be upgraded to the Class A category, an expert claims.

Taken by thousands of people each day to rid them of pain, it can be deadly when mixed with other medication or alcohol.

Tramadol is 'claiming more lives than any other drug' and should be upgraded to the Class A category, Professor Jack Crane, state pathologist for Northern Ireland, says

Currently a Class C - deemed among the least harmful - the opiate-based drug is used to treat both moderate and severe pain.

However, its last reclassification in 2014 made it illegal to use the drug without a prescription.

But experts say the painkiller doesn't cause any harm so long as it is taken correctly.

Professor Jack Crane, state pathologist for Northern Ireland, told ITV News : 'I dont think that people realise how potentially risky taking Tramadol is.

Currently a Class C - the opiate-based drug is only available through prescription in the UK

'I think its because its a prescription drug  people assume its safe.'

Anti-drug campaigners believe an increasing amount of people are looking towards the black market for the drug.

And Professor Crane believes more people will die unless action is taken to crackdown on illegal sales.

This comes after a report concluded that cannabis should be legalised for medicinal use in the UK.

The controversial document, published by a cross-party group of MPs and peers, calls on the Government to allow sick people to grow their own cannabis under licence.
Sushma Swaraj, Minister for External Affairs, delivered a well crafted speech at UNGA on 26 September 2016.

Partially, it was a response to Nawaz Sharifs speech at the same forum a few days prior.

The emphasis on state sponsored terrorism in general and the involvement of Pakistan in particular was discernible.

India has enough proof that Pakistan is a sponsor of terrorism. How do we counter their nefarious activity?

The intent was obviously to raise international opinion against Pakistan and recognize the country as an exporter of terrorism.

Policy

The larger question is whether international pressure will induce Pakistan to stop abetting, aiding, training, providing weapons and financing terrorist groups.

International pressure after 26/11, 2001 Parliament attack, Pathankot air base intrusion did not change Pakistans line of supporting the JEM, LET, Harkat terrorist organisations against India.

India has enough proof that Pakistan is a sponsor of terrorism. How do we counter their nefarious activity?

I believe that India must first recognize that the Pakistan Army has the final say in any policy pertaining to India and J&K.

This is because the Pakistan Army has strategic reasons to keep the fires burning between our two countries.

India must first recognize that the Pakistan Army has the final say in any policy pertaining to India and J&K.

Their very existence and power flows from keeping the J&K issue alive and advocating a confrontational policy against India.

Pakistan military personnel are the favoured few in terms of prosperity and wealth at the cost of the ordinary people of Pakistan.

The military has kept the political leadership under their control. The corrupt, fragmented and weak political parties in Pakistan only support the Armys cause.

The Pakistan military has at least 50 commercial enterprises that own businesses worth between 20-25 billion USD.

The Army is not going to let go this most favoured treatment. Although, the Indian policy is to deal with only democratically elected governments, it needs a re-visit.

BSF soldiers patrol along a border fence at an outpost along the Line of Control

Whether we wish to or not, India has to deal with the deep state of Pakistan consisting of Pak Army, ISI and the jihadists.

Engagement with the civilian political leadership must continue in parallel. That is my first premise.

My next premise is that we would have to deal with Pakistan directly. No other country or group of countries would come forth in our support.

That is truly wishful thinking. There may be verbal support but there wont be any tangible actionable support.

How do we propose to have the major powers (read US and allies) declare Pakistan a terrorist sponsor state and impose sanctions?

Harbouring of Osama in Pakistan, did not force the US to declare them a sponsor of state terror or to have any sanctions imposed.

Only Sudan and Syria are in the list of unilateral sanctions worldwide at present.

Cuba, Libya and North Korea are off that list. UN has not identified any state as sponsors of terrorism and invoked suitable measures.

India should convince US, Canada, UK, China, Columbia to withdraw UN Resolution 47 of 1948 which calls for a free and impartial plebiscite in Kashmir.

Even if China feels otherwise the others sponsors can informally announce their position.

This one act would deny Pakistan their so called right to support perceived freedom movement in Kashmir.

Retaliation

The third premise is that the best option against cross-border strike is to protect ourselves.

Striking at will against our military installations must be prevented.

Our cities, public institutions and people must be defended. Civilian populated areas can be protected through hard actionable intelligence.

Our intelligence gathering agencies have come a long way from the 90s, but we still have some distance to cover.

Terrorist strikes, when successful, have a tremendous effect on the military morale, and also the civilian population.

Over 70% of the population, as per numerous polls, demanded an immediate retribution for Uri terrorist strike. In such circumstances the Government has to include the public sentiments in their decision making matrix.

The culmination of a phased retaliation through the surgical strikes by our Special Forces, on the launch pads across the LOC, conveyed a clear and firm message to Pakistan of our intent and political will.

Solutions

The fourth premise is that it is necessary to find solutions to internal issues.

Whatever it takes, it is most essential to have the population having complete allegiance to the Union of India, whether it is J&K, NE or Naxal areas.

There cannot be a military solution, the population in these insurgency prone areas must genuinely believe in the idea of India.

This is only possible through constructive dialogue with all the stake holders.

The fifth premise is that India must use its economic strength to maintain substantial conventional military superiority.

The defence budget must be stepped up to the 3% of GDP to ensure this superiority.

However, military superiority alone is not enough and political will to use it is imperative.

India has always shied from using its military might. From agreeing to mild terms of the Shimla Agreement after having 84,000 Pakistani Prisoners Of Wars, having a million troops deployed on the border after Parliament Attack during 2001 to not crossing the LOC during Kargil operations and no retaliation after 26/11 are some examples of this passivity.

Pakistan must be made to believe that there is space for conventional warfare and India will not hesitate to engage in a conventional war if the situation demands.

Similarly, Pakistans nuclear blackmail must be exposed. My last premise is that diplomatic, political and economic assault must continue parallely.

Indus water, MFN, isolation internationally and regionally, must be pursued vigorously, to ensure that they feel the pain of being an international pariah.
Ethical or green funds have earned a terrible reputation. Performance on some of them has been diabolical as savers have missed out on some of the stellar returns from companies which the funds aren't allowed to invest in, such as tobacco stocks and banks.

Its forced investors to make a choice: have a decent return or a clean conscience. But in recent years the performance on some ethical investments has driven buyers into a rethink, to such an extent that a recent analysis by TD Direct Investing discovered that of the of 25 best-performing British funds over the past five years, three were ethical.

Michelle McGrade, chief investment officer at TD Direct Investing, says: 'In the past the people running firms trying to make the world a better place tended to wear socks and sandals, and had beards.

Turnaround: in recent years the performance on some ethical investments has forced investors to have a rethink

'But now these people are businessmen, meaning firms and investors are making more money.'

Ethical funds were introduced in the 1980s to allow those with religious beliefs to invest their money without worrying it was being put into 'sin stocks' such as alcohol, tobacco, pornography or weapons.

While some still adopt this approach, others will happily invest in, say, oil companies if they can demonstrate they have a good record on the environment or human rights.

Historically, though, they have not proved popular with investors, who have just 11billion invested in ethical funds compared to 989billion invested in total.

Experts suggest this could be because investors believe the returns will be lower if they rule out big multi-national corporations.

The highest ranking fund on TD's list, at number 12, is the Royal London Sustainable Leaders fund, which has turned 10,000 into 21,880 in five years.

Mike Fox, the fund's manager, says: 'We're really looking for businesses that have good environmental, social and governance policies.'

One of its stock picks is property developer St Modwen, which redevelops run-down urban areas. A recent project is the new 450million, 65-acre campus for Swansea University on disused BP sites.

Kames Ethical Equity was the 14th best-performing British fund on TD's list. It has turned 10,000 into 18,870 in five years. The fund's manager, Audrey Ryan, says: 'We're very strict about what we invest in. We won't touch alcohol, tobacco, armaments, pornography and our fund is strong on animal welfare as it is important to many ethical investors.'

But 56 per cent of the fund is in FTSE 100 firms, she adds.

Standard Life Investments UK Ethical was the 23rd best-performing fund over the past ten years.

It takes a more unusual approach to the screening of companies in that it polls its investors each year. It then uses this to decide which firms it will invest in and which firms it will avoid.

Its approach means its definition of what is ethical can change depending on how clients feel. This is why investing in ethical funds requires you to do more homework.

Off limits: Ethical funds were introduced to allow those with religious beliefs to invest without worrying if it was being put into 'sin stocks' such as alcohol, tobacco, pornography or weapons

As an example, the SLI fund can invest in banks, much like Royal London Sustainable Leaders. One of its picks is Virgin Money, the challenger bank born after the collapse of Northern Rock.

SLI's manager Lesley Duncan says: 'Our investors have been relaxed about us investing in banks. But we make sure we get complete access to the loan books of banks before we invest.'

While ethical funds may seem like a niche, there are 64 on offer. Darius McDermott, of research firm Fund Calibre, picks EdenTree Amity UK, which launched in the 1980s to manage money for the Church of England.

It has turned 10,000 into 17,790 in the past five years.

McDermott says: 'Not having big firms in your fund can hurt you if the banks and oil companies are doing well, but it can also help you if they aren't.
Billions of pounds are pouring into fledgeling tech firms

Walk round the streets of many of Britain's biggest towns and cities in the evening and you'll see queues of young people waiting outside curry houses and pizzerias.

But they are not waiting to eat. Instead, these are couriers for the firm Deliveroo  the takeaway delivery service.

Its bikes and mopeds toting black boxes with a picture of a kangaroo have become a regular sight as the firm has soared in popularity.

The most successful restaurants are building mobile kitchens in car parks and yards to cope with demand.

At its most recent valuation, Deliveroo was worth close to 786million  more than pub chain JD Wetherspoon  making it the UK's second-biggest food business after McDonald's.

Yet Deliveroo doesn't make any food. Its success is all down to the technology developed by its founder William Shu. Deliveroo is essentially a mobile phone app that connects customers with local eateries.

Aside from tech staff, its only employees are the delivery people who pick up food from restaurants and take it to the customer's door.

Trendy technology firms such as Deliveroo are commanding vast sums of money from investors hoping to cash in on the latest start-up success.

They're looking for the success of firms such as Facebook, which was worth more than 275billion at the last estimate  leaving founder Mark Zuckerberg 43.3billion richer.

But tech stocks can be incredibly volatile. Yesterday Twitter sunk 20 per cent after Disney and Google pulled out of a potential takeover bid.

Billions of pounds are pouring into fledgeling tech firms. But with entrepreneurs promising vast returns to venture capitalists and investors, it begs the question  are we in another tech bubble?

Before the millennium the internet prompted a rapid rise in website businesses. But then in 2000 investors saw millions wiped off the value of their stock almost overnight.

Fortunes were lost, companies folded and the economy stepped into a mudslide that eventually led to a recession.

With so many tech firms starting up, there are some similarities. Investors have been keen to pump money into technology businesses and the number of tech unicorns  start-ups with a valuation of at least $1billion (790million)  has reached more than 150.

Even Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has warned investors to be more discriminating when investing in technology start-ups. He said he would bet on the number of unicorns falling over the next two years.

Gates said: 'It never should be a case of closing your eyes and saying 'Oh, it's a tech company, just throw money at it'. That strategy worked for about two years, now you actually have to open your eyes and look at the company.'

In 2015, Shazam, which allows users to discover the name of any song by playing it to a mobile phone app  raised more than 32million.

At its most recent valuation, Deliveroo - the takeaway delivery service- was worth close to 786m

That was on top of more than 75m in a previous round  and before the UK-based company had even made a profit

Its latest accounts reveal the company made a loss of 16.7million for the year ending December 2015.

And its is not alone in struggling to turn a profit. When Twitter launched onto the stock market in 2013, shares ended their first day trading at $44.95.

The stock initially flew. But it has struggled to achieve financial success, shares are now around $20 and it is likely to be taken back into private ownership.

Since the last bubble, technology has moved on. Most people now have a smart phone, internet speeds are faster than ever and computer technology has become essential for everyday life. And start-ups have moved in to take advantage of this.

In its latest fundraising, taxi app Uber raised 2.8billion from a Saudi investor, valuing the company at 49.2billion. Every person with a smartphone can use the app from wherever they are.

In its latest fundraising, taxi app Uber raised 2.75bn from a Saudi investor

Paraag Amin, technology analyst at Peel Hunt, said: 'Fifteen years ago the world wasn't ready for technology.

'We didn't have the devices and hardware we have today. Internet was reserved for rich people and it was still a closed network. People still used dial-up or low-speed connections.

'We are in a different place from a technology standpoint. The world is ready for it.'

Success stories in the UK are not hard to find. Micro Focus, which helps companies with computer servers and makes 154.6million profit on revenues of 984.8million, recently leapt into the FTSE 100.

Cambridge-based ARM Holdings is another. Once the jewel in Britain's technology crown, it was sold to Japan's SoftBank for 24billion earlier this year.

And Premier Farnell, which makes the Raspberry Pi experimental computer, is in the process of being sold to a US firm for 792million.

Jeremy Podger, portfolio manager of Fidelity Global Special Situations Fund, said: 'If we are in a bubble, it is far less pronounced than the tech bubble of 2000.

'I well remember the puzzling valuations of technology stocks back then. We all knew that the internet was just taking off and that this would cause amazing things to happen, but we weren't sure exactly what or who would succeed.'

If the bubble does burst, it is unlikely to be anywhere near as serious as the dot-com crash of 2000.
Deutsche Bank is slashing another 1,000 jobs in Germany

Deutsche Bank is slashing another 1,000 jobs in Germany as the beleaguered lender battles to convince investors it has a solid future.

The reduction is on top of 3,000 German job losses announced in June.

Almost half of the latest cuts will hit the companys head operating office and the rest will be spread over several other departments.

It follows wild swings in Deutsches share price due to market angst over a 10.8billion bill demanded by US authorities.

Bosses have insisted this charge, for selling toxic mortgage debt in the run-up to the financial crisis, will be negotiated down in talks.

But since the bank is worth just 14.9billion, there are fears over its ability to pay.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly ruled out a taxpayer rescue if Deutsche gets into serious difficulties.
Goldman Sachs and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have launched a 1.1bn joint bid to buy SVG

The chief executive of private equity firm SVG Capital is set to pocket up to 8.1million following a fierce bidding war to take over the business.

Goldman Sachs and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have launched a 1.1billion joint bid to buy SVG.

Their proposal is supported by the board and is likely to beat a rival 1billion offer from US competitor HarbourVest.

Goldman and the Canadian fund will pay 680p per share if investors give their approval.

It would mean a 3.6million windfall for boss Lynn Fordham, who owns 531,024 shares outright.

Company accounts suggest the 53-year-old could pocket another 666,870 shares under various bonus schemes if targets are met. These would be worth 4.5million.
Energy firms caught traders' attention yesterday as the Government threw its weight behind the British shale revolution.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid gave Cuadrilla approval to frack at its site in Preston New Road, Lancashire. The controversial technique might not be loved by campaigners, who fear it can cause earthquakes, but it was music to the ears of investors.

Although Cuadrilla is a private company without a stock market listing, dealers saw the approval as a licence to drill down into the sector themselves.

Their enthusiasm pushed shares in onshore exploration firm IGas Energy up 14.6 per cent, or 1.75p to 13.75p. Listed on the AIM junior stock market, the firm is one of a relatively small number that give traders exposure to onshore drilling.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid gave Cuadrilla approval to frack at its site in Preston New Road, Lancashire

IGas has 55 licences at locations across Britain, but like many rivals, its progress has so far been impeded by protests.

There was good news too in the wider sector, as Tullow Oil pumped up 4.6 per cent, or 11.9p to 273.7p after a positive note from Barclays.

Analysts hiked their target price from 310p to 340p, saying Tullow's South Lokichar discoveries in Kenya were worth more than they previously thought.

The firm would benefit from steadily improving oil prices, they said, with Brent Crude hovering above $50 a barrel after a sustained recovery.

Fossil fuel big beast BP was also buoyed by the positive mood, climbing 0.3 per cent, or 1.5p to 473.5p.

But not all firms were lifted by the tide of good will.

STOCK WATCH - FIRESTONE DIAMONDS Firestone Diamonds has said it is close to commissioning a mine in the South African province of Lesotho. The prospector said its site at Liqhobong was one of the best undeveloped plots in the world and will give it the ability to challenge more established rivals as their resources run out. Firestone acquired digging rights in 2010 and is seeking to begin production by the end of the year. Yesterday it said all major work had been finished. The glittering AIM-listed stock caught investors' eye, rising 6.1 per cent, or 3p to 52p.

AIM-listed President Energy crashed 34.4 per cent, or 3.96p to 7.54p after being forced to suspend operations in Salta Province, Argentina, following a catalogue of failings.

The firm said it was 'extremely unusual to encounter such a combination of issues in the course of a single well' and promised an investigation.

With a lacklustre day for the blue chip FTSE 100 index, traders were looking elsewhere for opportunities.

The Footsie struggled to gain direction, eventually closing down 0.47 per cent, or 33.29 points at 6999.96.

One of the few to do well was travel firm TUI, helped by the weak pound. Shares rose 1.35 per cent, or 15p to 1129p.

But there was plenty of activity at the smaller end of the market with two pharmaceutical firms facing different fortunes.

FTSE 250 firm BTG rose 5.7 per cent, or 37p to 684p after announcing double-digit turnover growth in the six months to September 30.

The firm, which works on critical care, cancer and varicose vein products, said revenue would be ahead of its previous guidance of 510million to 540million.

It also reached a 28.5million settlement with the US authorities over the marketing of cancer drug LC Bead. BTG said the probe dated from before it owned the product.

Summit Therapeutics suffered a sharp sell-off as investors' enthusiasm for the drug maker waned.

Summit's share price almost doubled in a single day earlier this week after it revealed it was teaming up with US rival Sarepta Therapeutics to develop and market a specialist drug in Europe.

The licence allows the AIM-listed company to sell an experimental treatment for muscle wasting disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

But shares dropped 14.7 per cent, or 34p to 197.5p yesterday, suggesting traders felt their initial enthusiasm might have been overdone.

In the financial sector, fund manager Liontrust unveiled a 19 per cent increase in assets under management to 5.7billion.

The firm said it had 92million of net inflows in the six months to September 30. Its update met a muted response and shares closed flat at 330p.

Games Workshop had more luck after issuing a 3pm trading update, which gave shares a late boost.

The tabletop gaming business said sales and profits in the last four months were ahead of expectations  helped in part by the weaker pound.
Cardboard jungle: The Amazon warehouse in Hemel Hempstead

ONLINE STORE Online retail giant Amazon is hiring another 300 staff for a warehouse set to open next year in Daventry.

The centre will help boost its 150million-strong product range and support a 40 per cent hike in the number of independent sellers on Amazon Marketplace. It already has 12 warehouses across Britain.

BANK BUY-UP Royal Bank of Scotland is ready to buy rivals to expand its Irish business.

Chief executive Ross McEwan said the focus for the next 12 months would be cleaning up the operation, but he would then be happy to consider acquisitions.

PUBLIC OFFERING New lender Atom Bank is making its app available to the public.

The mobile phone-focused bank previously restricted its service to people who had already registered an interest online. It is offering a fixed saver account paying 1.4 per cent interest.

TRUST SALE Barclays is selling its UK Trust business to global operator ZEDRA as part of a long-running strategy to get rid of non-essential assets.

The bank would not reveal how much it made from the deal, but said the impact on its accounts would be minimal.

Barclays has a 19.9 per cent stake in ZEDRA. Shares in Barclays rose 1 per cent, or 1.8p to 174.25p.

CLOUDING OVER BT has teamed up with human resources services provider Randstad Group to build a new IT cloud service for more than 3,500 sites across the world.

It will see BT launch its infrastructure in Europe, and the Americas, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

Bernardo Payet, general manager of Randstad Global IT Solutions, said the deal would help accelerate its digital transformation.

PREMIUM INFO The UK insurance sector is affected by 80 separate pieces of European Union law, new analysis has found.
FAMILIES are sticking to a classic bowl of Weetabix despite the rise of bargain brand knock-offs.

The breakfast favourite, which is made in Northamptonshire but is owned by Chinese firm Bright Food, continued to be the best-selling brand in the whole grain wheat cereal market and saw its market share rise to 9.9 per cent from 9.5 per cent.

It comes despite more shoppers turning to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl, which sell cheaper alternatives.

Bright Food's overall market share of UK cereal rose from 14.5 per cent to 14.8 per cent and its flavoured Weetabix and Weetabix Minis ranges also continued to do well.

Sales of the Chinese food and beverage company's other UK brands, Alpen and Ready Brek, rose 1.7 per cent but the company was hurt by a 12 per cent crash in private-label sales, which it makes for various retailers, due to a price war in the sector.

Giles Turrell, chief executive of Weetabix, said: 'Against the challenge we have succeeded in increasing our sales of our brands such as Weetabix and Alpen, with consumers trusting us to deliver best in class nutrition and taste.'
Business confidence across the UK bounced back strongly last month after suffering a post-Brexit vote lull.

An index representing optimism among UK firms rose to 112.4 in September, after dropping to 105.0 in July and 109.7 in August - with a reading above 100 indicating positive business sentiment.

The survey of more than 500 business leaders by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research also showed that 44 per cent of businesses were now optimistic about the UK's economic prospects over the next 12 months, compared with 35 per cent in August.

Sunny outlook: The YouGov/CEBR business confidence index rose to 112.4 in September, after dropping to 105.0 in July and 109.7 in August.

That left only 35 per cent of businesses pessimistic about the British economy, compared with 45 per cent a month earlier.

Scott Corfe, a director at the CEBR, said: 'The panic that gripped businesses in the aftermath of the referendum has subsided and they are now much more level-headed and optimistic about the future of both their own organisations and the UK's economy in general.'

The figures echo positive data in the latest Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers' indices released this week, which largely showed a better than expected recovery after the Brexit vote.

YouGov and CEBR figures released last week also showed a continued recovery in consumer confidence, rising to 111.1, up one point from August. Consumer confidence is still two points shy of the pre-referendum reading.

But Mr Corfe cautioned that recent comments from the Conservative Party could have a notable impact on business sentiment.

He said: 'It should be noted that this research was carried out before the Conservative Party conference and all the talk of "hard Brexit" implying that the UK would prioritise immigration restrictions over access to the European single market.
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Two days after Hurricane Matthew rampaged across Haiti's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.

But new aerial footage has illustrated some of the mass devastation, showing villages that have been leveled by 145 mph winds, with wreckage and misery everywhere.

At least 340 people have been killed by the storm across the Caribbean, but predominantly in Haiti, local officials said today. The interior ministry confirmed 108 had been killed by Thursday afternoon, with that number expected to rise. Four more have been killed in the Dominican Republic.

In ruins: Villages were leveled by 145 mph winds as the Category four storm brought floods, wreckage and misery to Haiti on Tuesday and Wednesday

Amidst the rubble: People walk around near destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti

Destroyed: Homes lay in ruins after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday

Devastating toll: At least 300 people have been killed in Haiti alone by the Category Four storm, officials have said; a further four people were killed in the Dominican Republic

In southern peninsula towns where Matthew arrived around daybreak Tuesday with 145 mph winds, there was wreckage, destruction and misery everywhere

Haiti's interior ministry put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 108 dead with the number expected to rise; Many were killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers; the toll will likely rise

No way across: People gather next to a collapsed bridge after Hurricane Matthew passed Petit Goave, Haiti

Matthew is the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix struck in 2007, a Category Five hurricane which resulted in at least 133 deaths across the Caribbean and Central America

Matthew was headed northward on Thursday, battering the Bahamas en route to Florida.

In southern peninsula towns where Matthew arrived around daybreak Tuesday there was major ground damage.

'The floodwater took all the food we have in the house. Now we are starving and don't have anything to cook,' said farmer Antoine Louis as he stood in brown water up to his thighs in the doorway of his deluged concrete shack.

In Aquin, a coastal town outside the battered city of Les Cayes, people trudged through mud around the wreckage of clapboard houses and tiny shops.

Strong: This NASA satellite data from Wednesday shows Hurricane Matthew over Cuba. It is the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean in almost a quarter of a century

Cenita Leconte was one of many who initially ignored calls to evacuate vulnerable shacks before Matthew roared ashore. The 75-year-old was thankful she finally complied and made it through the terrifying ordeal with her life.

'We've lost everything we own. But it would have been our fault if we stayed here and died,' she told The Associated Press as neighbors poked through wreckage hoping to find at least some of their meager possessions.

Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, head of the civil protection agency, said the storm also made roads impassable and knocked out communications in the Grand Anse department, on the opposite side of the narrow peninsula from where Matthew first hit.

'We do know there's a lot of damage in the Grand Anse, and we also know human life has been lost there,' Jean-Baptiste said, though the official death toll did not yet include reports from there.

Men push a motorbike through a street flooded by a river that overflowed from heavy rains caused by Hurricane Matthew in Leogane, Haiti, on Wednesday

Civil aviation authorities reported counting 3,214 destroyed homes along the southern peninsula, where many families live in shacks with sheet metal roofs and don't always have the resources to escape harm's way.

The government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance after the disaster, which U.N. Deputy Special Representative for Haiti Mourad Wahba has called the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In coming days, U.S. military personnel equipped with nine helicopters were expected to start arriving in the capital to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas.

A man sits inside of what is left of his home with his cousin after it was damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Saint-Louis, Haiti, on Wednesday

Jean-Michel Vigreux, the country director in Haiti for the nonprofit group CARE, his group hadn't yet been able to communicate with its team in Grande Anse. 'It is very scary,' he said.

With answers slow to come, some Haitians in the crowded capital were convinced their homeland had been largely spared the kind of suffering that severe weather has wrought in the past.

'The news on the radio doesn't seem nearly as bad as it could have been,' upholsterer Daniel Wesley said as he walked down a rain-slicked street in downtown Port-au-Prince which was largely spared from the storm.

The last Category 4 storm to pound Haiti was Hurricane Flora in 1963, which killed as many as 8,000 people.

In nearby Cuba, Matthew blew across that island's sparsely populated eastern tip, destroying dozens of homes and damaging hundreds in the island's easternmost city, Baracoa. But the government oversaw the evacuation of nearly 380,000 people and strong measures were taken to protect communities and infrastructure, U.N. officials said.
The Russian military has warned the United States against striking the Syrian army, saying that its air defence weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack from US planes.

The statement underlined high tensions between Moscow and Washington after the collapse of a US-Russia-brokered Syria truce and the Syrian army's offensive on Aleppo backed by Russian warplanes.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said any US strikes on areas controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad's government could jeopardise the lives of Russian servicemen.

Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them.

Members of the Army of Mujahedeen attack the Assad regime forces' headquarters during an operation at Rashideen neighborhood

He said Moscow was worried by media reports saying that Washington was considering the possibility of striking Syrian army positions.

'I would recommend our colleagues in Washington to carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans,' Konashenkov said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said 'We're looking at the full range of options here and those comments notwithstanding, we still have a responsibility as a government to consider all those options.'

'I don't find them (comments like the warning) helpful to moving forward, to reach some sort of diplomatic solution here. But the Russians should speak for themselves and why they're saying that kind of thing,' he said.

Syrians inspect the damage caused by an artillery attack in the al-Jamiliyeh neighbourhood yesterday

Workers from the White Helmets carry a body as they walk through the rubble of a destroyed building after airstrikes hit the Bustan al-Basha neighborhood in Aleppo

Russia said it was unhappy with the US-led coalition's air raid on Syrian army positions near Deir el-Zour that killed 60 Syrian soldiers on September 17, rejecting the explanation from the American side that the attack was a mistake.

Konashenkov said 'we have taken all the necessary measures to prevent any such 'mistakes' with regard to Russian servicemen and military facilities in Syria.'

He said the range of Russia's S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems deployed to Syria would be a 'surprise' to any country operating its aircraft over the country.

Konashenkov added that the Syrian army also has various Soviet- and Russian-built air defense missile systems, which have undergone modernization over the past year.

Fighting broke out in the government-controlled side of the northern city of Aleppo between regime forces and rebels

A photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defence group known as the White Helmets, shows a body under the ruble of a destroyed building following an airstrike, at Bustan al-Basha neighborhood in Aleppo

Since Russia has launched its air campaign in Syria in support of Assad's forces a year ago, the Russia and the U.S. militaries have maintained contacts to prevent any midair incidents between Russian warplanes and the aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition in the skies over Syria.

Konashenkov warned, however, that the Russian military won't have time to use the hotline if it sees missiles on their way to targets in Syria.

'It must be understood that Russian air defense missile crews will unlikely have time to clarify via the hotline the exact flight program of the missiles or the ownership of their carriers,' he added.

Workers from the White Helmets dig through rubble to remove bodies and look for survivors, after airstrikes hit the Bustan al-Basha neighborhood in Aleppo

Members of the opposition attack the Assad regime forces' headquarters during an operation in the Rashideen neighborhood of Aleppo

In an apparent hint at the U.S. stealth aircraft, he added that any 'dilettante illusions about stealth planes could collide with disappointing realities.'

The Russian military announced Tuesday that a battery of the S-300 air defense missile systems had been sent to Syria to protect a Russian facility in the Syrian port of Tartus and Russian navy ships off the Mediterranean coast.

Tartus is the only naval supply facility Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.

The deployment has added more punch to the Russian military force in Syria, which already includes long-range S-400 missile defense systems and an array of other surface-to-air missiles at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.
Sharn Campbell has lost three friends and his step father to the drug ice

A man who lost his stepfather and three friends to drug addiction claims the small town they live in is ravaged by a methamphetamine epidemic.

Sharn Campbell, 20, has called for more rehabilitation facilities in Western Australian towns after seeing his loved ones, who were addicted to the drug ice, 'get trapped down here' in the south coast town of Esperance.

Mr Campbell said a lack of support in the town of 10,000 people meant the only option for help was more than 700km away in Perth.

Sharn Campbell, pictured, has lost three friends and his stepfather to the drug ice

He has started a petition to get better rehabilitation services for addicts in country areas

For people without the means to make the trip for help, Mr Campbell said: 'Like my friends, they kill themselves.'

'I can't change anything that's happened already, but it's a wake-up call to other people,' Mr Campbell told Daily Mail Australia.

His stepfather died a week after he had a stroke in June this year from an increase in his blood pressure, brought on by his ice use, Mr Campbell said.

'I've also lost two, three friends to suicides that were drug related,' Mr Campbell said.

Mr Campbell said the rehab facilities in Esperance were 'sub-par'.

'The hospital isn't properly equipped for drug psychosis and withdrawals.

'There have been people in the emergency department suffering drug withdrawals and they're around small kids.'

Many parents have been 'selling up and leaving Esperance to try and get a better life' for their drug-addicted children.

'If you want to go to rehab  you've got to relocate, there's no other option.

'That in itself is very hard for families, to just drop everything and move.'

He said he was devastated by the effect ice had on his small town in south west Western Australia

But that isn't an option for everyone, with a lot of people 'getting trapped down here because of the distance'.

However, even the rehabilitation facilities elsewhere are overbooked, while private centres 'can charge whatever they like', Mr Campbell said.

The mental health services are also not adequate enough to keep up with the town, according to the concerned man.

'There are no psychiatrist facilities in town. There's one that comes down once a month. One person, once a month, for a town of 10-15,000. That's not suitable, that's for sure and there's not a lot of support outside of the hospital.'

Mr Campbell said mental health and drug support systems need to be proactive rather than reactive.

'It's not just people from a low socio economic background either. There's a whole range of people succumbing to drug addiction.

The last photo Sharn has with his grandmother who was forced to travel 800km to Perth for renal therapy more than 150 times before her death

His mother moved away a couple of months ago

'She doesn't want to be put back in that scene.

'She hasn't touched drugs in quite a while now, it's been a real positive for her to get away from Esperance and start a new life for herself.'

'She's remarkably better. She has a lot more positive outlook now that she's off the drugs.

'She's one of the lucky ones that has been able to get away. There's a lot of people that can't and are stuck here and are offered very little support.

She is 'fully supportive' of sharing their story and his petition.

'We've been through as much suffering as anyone else.

His post has been met with support by locals who agree more help is needed

'There are people she's close with that are still struggling.'

'I started the petition to get better resources for country WA  in the major regional hubs such as Kalgoorlie, Esperance, just to minimise distance,' he said.

He revealed his grandmother had recently passed away with renal failure - and had to travel to Perth 150 times while she was sick because the appropriate medical care was not available locally.

'We only just got a CT scanner here,' he said.

Since starting the petition many other people from Western Australia have come forward to share their own stories.

'Tomorrow my mum, daughter and i are moving to Perth so i can get my life back together. Over the past 3 years that I've been back in albany, my life has gone pretty rapidly down hill as a result of drugs and the people that surround them (sic),' Aimee Thompson wrote.

The petition can be found here.
IIM- Kozhikode ties up with TSW to offer Executive Post Graduate Program to working professionals

Press Release, Mumbai | Published : 7th October, 2016

HIGHLIGHTS:

An exclusive partnership between IIM- Kozhikode and TSW in 21 cities across India

The AMBA (Association of MBAs) accredited course has benefitted over 3000 working professionals

n intensive 'Interactive Learning' mode over a period of two years

Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K), one of the leading Indian B-schools, announces its "Executive Post Graduate Programme" for working professionals in 21 cities across India, through an exclusive partnership with TCLL's executive education brand, TSW (a part of TCLL). It is a first of its kind two-year part time programme with 700 credits that includes management foundation courses, specialisation electives, capstone courses, functional workshop and simulations. With this programme, working professionals will have a direct access to IIM-K's experienced faculty, robust curriculum and excellent teaching methodology through a Live Virtual Interactive Learning platform. Graduates who have appeared for CAT or GMAT in the past are eligible to apply for the programme.

Having benefitted over 3,000 working professionals so far, today IIM-K has introduced one of India's most rigorous programmes in various cities, with an aim to create high-impact learning experience including a brilliant mix of theory and practical knowledge. Designed specially for working professionals who are looking at gaining competency and leadership skills to move to the next level in their organisations, this programme is offered to executives with at least three years of working experience. The EPGP course offers significant exposure to key business concepts and strategies in an intensive format to its candidates without having to leave their jobs, and learn through 'Interactive Learning' mode.

With the AMBA (Association of MBAs) accredited programme, the participants will get a golden opportunity to become a part of IIM-K's two decade old alumni network. It also offers three week in-campus module within IIM-K's picturesque campus equipped with world class infrastructure facilities, to provide an on-campus learning experience. The programme, which has been designed for capable executives, who need an enhanced understanding of business nuances in order to shine amongst their peers, is now open for enrolment to executives in various fields.

Speaking about the association, Prof. Kulbhushan Balooni, Director (In-charge), IIM-Kozhikode said, "Amidst the efforts to withstand today's competitive environment, young working professionals are always on the search of quality management education. In order to fulfil this requirement and maximise the reach, IIM-K in association with TSW has introduced a robust management programme. We are confident that thousands of working professionals will be benefited from this programme, who cannot attend our institute in Kozhikode. It will certainly help them develop and refine necessary skill sets to achieve success in their respective career."

"India is at the cusp of becoming a business power house and this process will demand excellent leadership capabilities across all spectrums and as Indian businesses look to grow in this environment, competency and agility become imperative for success. TSW comes to the aid of its learners. For the EPGP programme, TSW will partner IIM-K and bring to the learners the benefit of TSW's' virtual delivery and state-of-the-art pan India presence. The charm of a prestigious two year IIM Programme, flexibility of access to working professionals alongside enhancing one's management skills with one of India's best institutes makes this a unique career enhancement proposition.," says Anish Srikrishna, President, TCLL, adding, "Apart from the brilliant guidance provided by the professors at IIM-K, students will learn as much from their peers who will represent the strength of Indian industry. The knowledge exchange between professionals in multiple fields will expand their horizons and students will gain from the brand as well as from the alumni network thus, delivering some key benefits of a full time IIM course."

Times Centre for Learning Ltd (TCLL) has been the harbinger of learning for professional education with its undying focus on providing the best quality training that help build professionals from ground up. TSW, a part of TCLL, focuses on helping its participants gain leadership competency, develop their personal brand, and move to the next level.

To know more visit - http://iimk.ac.in/ or http://timestsw.com/ or call - 1800- 102 -2326

About Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K):

Started in 1997 with its Postgraduate Programme (PGP), the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K) is on a high growth trajectory today, offering widest range of academic programmes in the field of management education. These include Fellow Program in Management, Executive PG Programs, Management Development Programs and Faculty Development Programs. IIM-K has set up a Satellite campus at Infopark, Kochi, in 2013 dedicated to Executive Education.

About The Second Wind (TSW):

Times Centre for Learning (TCLL), the professional education initiative of The Times of India Group, is focused on fulfilling career aspirations of millions of learners through learner centric innovation and strategic collaborations. The TCLL journey began with TimesPro, a brand focused on delivering employability programmes across sectors. Over time, TCLLs breadth of offerings has grown to include executive education via state-of-the-art edu-tech solutions to working professionals under a new brand TSW (The Second Wind).



TSW has a vision to make world-class education accessible to aspiring business leaders through strategic collaborations. By partnering with global and Indian educational institutions of excellence, TSW creates offerings for working executives that will hone their skills and help them build a more rewarding career. Besides building leadership and management competencies, TSW programmes help the learners to enhance their professional network and embellish personal brand value.

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A former hot dog seller who served almost a decade in jail is now a multi-billionaire who runs 'troll factories' pumping out anti-West propaganda at Vladimir's Putin behest, it has been claimed.

In the early 1990s, restaurateur Yevgeny Prigozhin, 55, was making mustard in his own home and bribing gangsters to allow him to sell his wares in kiosks around St Petersburg.

He now owns a palatial 7.5m estate in the same city, a private jet, a 121ft-long yacht worth 4.4m - and his glamorous daughter's lavish wedding was held in a palace built by the Romanov royal family.

His rise from convicted criminal in the Soviet era with seemingly no experience in the food trade to be awarded 2.5billion-worth of government contracts to cater for the army, Moscow schools and major state events is the subject of a new investigation.

Former hot dog seller Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured) has acquired unfathomable wealth after becoming Vladimir Putin's 'state chef' and 'court jester', a new investigation claims

The ex-convict boasts a 121ft-long yacht called the St Vitamin, worth an estimated 4.4million, and a private jet costing upwards of 10milion

His glamorous daughter Polina (pictured) held her wedding at the Konstantinovsky Palace, an official residence of the president in St Petersburg built by the Romanovs

'The most difficult thing was to get millions of natural flowers,' his daughter Polina said while describing her wedding on Instagram, explaining how they cascaded from the palace's ceilings

'The reason is simple... He is Putin's chef,' claims opposition leader, Yale-educated lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, in an online video where he claims to lay bare his wealth and lifestyle.

'He became something like the court jester,' he added.

Putin's 'clown' is said to be in charge of two massive office blocks where it is claimed professional trolls churn out a deluge of pro-Putin propaganda onto social media.

Many fiercely pro-Kremlin messages on the Internet - both in English and Russian - can allegedly be traced back to this army of trolls who are paid around 440 a month.

A new investigation run by Navalny and his so-called Corruption Fighting Fund has shed some light on the extent of Prigozhin's business empire and his murky criminal past in the Soviet era.

He was convicted for robbery in 1979, violent robbery a year later and has also been found guilty of fraud.

'This guy came from nowhere.' Navalny said. 'It was probably not the best beginning of a successful life story.

'But when the Soviet Union collapsed, capitalism was installed and our Prigozhin went into business.'

His family openly flaunts their wealth, often sharing pictures from inside their 12m Hawker 800 jet or sipping champagne on board their luxury yacht.

Prigozhin (left) served nine years in prison for robbery and fraud, according to anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny (right), who exposed his wealth and fortune in an online video

The family home - a St Petersburg estate which includes a home for Prigozhin and his daughter - comes with its own helipad. Pictured: Prigozhin's Cadillac

He also owns a cliff-top estate in Gelenzhik on the Black Sea, where Putin is also rumoured to have a palace. Pictured: His daughter posted a picture of his 12m Hawker 800 jet online

Prigozhin's entire family, including his son Pavel (pictured), use the jet often to fly off to luxurious holiday destinations around the world

Prigozhin also owns a palatial 7.5m estate in St Petersburg, the same city he once had to bribe gangsters to allow him to run his hot dog stalls, claims Navalny

Navalny claimed Prigozhin was gifted a 1.6billion contract to supply food for the Russian army. Pictured: The lavish dining room on his yacht, the St Vitamin

Prigozhin is also believed to have been given a 45million contract to feed the Emergency Ministry. Pictured: One of six bedrooms on board his yacht

His daughter Polina boasted how the vessel, called St Vitamin, had six bedrooms, a dining room, a terrace, a kitchen, rooms for the staff, two decks and a terrace.

Her wedding was held at the Konstantinovsky Palace, nicknamed Putin's Palace, an official residence of the president in St Petersburg built by the Romanovs themselves.

'The most difficult thing was to get millions of natural flowers,' she said, explaining how they cascaded from the palace's ceilings.

The family home - a St Petersburg estate which includes a home for Prigozhin and his daughter - comes with its own helipad.

He also owns a cliff-top estate in Gelenzhik on the Black Sea, where Putin is also rumoured to have a palace.

The ten-acre retreat, complete with hill-top swimming pool and views of the sea, lies on a 'forest nature reserve where building is strictly forbidden', claims Navalny.

He added: 'It is probably only forbidden for ordinary people - but not for Putin's chef.'

Prigozhin's family openly flaunts their wealth, sharing pictures from inside their 12m Hawker 800 jet or sipping champagne on board their luxury yacht, a new investigation claims

His daughter Polina boasted how the family yacht, called St Vitamin, had six bedrooms, a dining room, a terrace, two decks and a terrace. Pictured: Prigozhin's mother Violetta on board

Prigozhin once admitted his first business venture involved hot dogs, saying: 'We made mustard right in my home. We paid gangsters $100 per kiosk.' Pictured: St Vitamin

Prigozhin once admitted his first business venture involved hot dogs, saying: 'We made mustard right in my home. We paid gangsters $100 per kiosk.'

He became the director of a grocery store and then, in 2001, opened a restaurant in St Petersburg.

His rise to unfathomable riches and status was born the day Putin, a year into his first term as president, popped into his eatery.

'At first he made friends with Putin's driver, then with Putin's guard and finally he became something like the court jester,' Navalny said, describing Prigozhin as 'a great story teller' and a 'charming man'.

Ex-convict Prigozhin once mused: 'Putin saw that I don't mind personally serving royal people. They are my guests after all.'

Two years later he was organising the Russian president's birthday parties and by 2008, he was put in charge of Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration as president.

Navalny claimed he was gifted a 1.6billion contract to supply food for the Russian army, one worth 45million to feed the Emergency Ministry and also caters for every school in Moscow.

'If your child goes to school in Moscow, you should know that Prigozhin makes money on every lunch of your child,' said Navalny who has called on the security service to investigate his wealth.

Two years after Putin stopped for something to eat at Progzhin's restaurant, he was organising the Russian president's birthday parties. Pictured: With his wife and daughter

The family home - a St Petersburg estate which includes a home for Prigozhin and his daughter - comes with its own helipad. Pictured: Polina's wedding at the Konstantinovsky Palace

As well as the sprawling estate in St Petersburg, Prigozhin also owns a cliff-top retreat (pictured) in Gelenzhik on the Black Sea, where Putin is also rumoured to have a palace

'He is in charge of supplying all army unit towns in the country. There are hundreds of these towns, maybe a thousand. I lived in one of them for many years.'

Prigozhin is also in charge of the housing, repairs and maintenance in these towns - as well as building new facilities, notably on the border with Ukraine.

'One important detail: in this same period, he also becomes a Putin's troll.

'He is exactly the one who owns two famous troll factories in St Petersburg, located in Olgino and on Savushkina Street.

'All those numerous pro-Putin comments are organised by Prigozhin's company.'

Navalny said he expected to be trolled for his revelations.

'I am sure that there will be their numerous dislikes to this video.

'This is the method, to make money on schoolchildren and soldiers and to spend it on pro-Putin comments.'

Navalny - who has voiced his ambition to one day succeed Putin as president - alleged: 'We have shown you just a small part, what the Corruption Fighting Fund could find in open sources.

'Probably this is enough to understand what it means - a success story in Putin's Russia.

'He is exactly the one who owns two famous troll factories in St Petersburg, located in Olgino and on Savushkina Street,' Navalny claims. Pictured: Offices on Savushkina Street

'Unfortunately, almost always it means a story of robbing the budget, of making profits on people - schoolchildren and soldiers.

'And it is a story of haughty wealth, thrown into the faces of all Russian citizens.'

A spokesman for Concord Management and Consulting - the company linked to Progoshin said aspects of the Navalny report were 'not consistent with reality', and that the campaigner had misinterpreted the facts.

In particular, the company disputed without giving the correct figure the amount it had received in state contracts.

'Lawyers who represent the interests of Yevgeny Prigozhin are now working at legal evaluation of the declarations made by Alexei Navalny and further legal moves are not excluded,' said the spokesman.
Perched on a throne adorned with cattle horns, the voodoo priest warns the housewife knelt in front of him of the deadly consequences of defying his powers.

'If you cheat on your husband, you will suffer for it, both you and the man you cheat with,' he says, wagging a gnarled finger. 'Defy the shrine and it will come and kill you.'

Just in case she has any doubts, High Priest Godspower Ojoduma shows her an photo album full of corpses, their limbs twisted and stomachs grotesquely bloated.

'You see them?' he says. 'That one was a witch, that one a thief, that one a liar. All sinners. All dead.'

This bloodthirsty ceremony, witnessed by MailOnline, is an oath-taking ritual for the ancient slave god Ayelala, one of the most feared of all Nigeria's voodoo or 'ju-ju' deities.

Rituals: Nigerian women tricked into sex work in Europe are subjected to black magic rituals by voodoo shaman who say the gods will come to kill them if they try to escape Pictured: A voodoo priest in Benin City, Nigeria. He is not suspected of being involved in trafficking

Black magic: Some voodoo priests force women to swear an oath to ancient slave god Ayelala, a feared Nigerian 'ju-ju' deity. Some wives are given a spell to stop them from being unfaithful Pictured: A shaman cuts a chicken's head during a ritual. He is not involved in trafficking

For hundreds of years, potent magic has been used to enforce everything from debt collection and land disputes through to marital infidelity. Pictured: A priest drains slits a chicken's throat

For hundreds of years, her potent magic has been used to enforce everything from debt collection and land disputes through to marital infidelity.

But in the 21st century, she has acquired a chilling new role in a very modern social problem - the trafficking of sex slaves to Britain and Europe.

As the ruthless trade has escalated in the past decade, Nigerian trafficking gangs have begun evoking Ayelala's powers to terrify local women into doing their bidding.

The gangs bring thousands of young Nigerians into Europe every year, luring them promises of jobs in shops or hair salons, then forcing them into prostitution when they arrive.

To ensure they do not run away, they make them swear oaths to Ayelala before they leave Nigeria, often forcing them to provide clippings from their pubic hair as an 'offering'.

Such is the fear that voodoo inspires that many of the victims prefer to remain in sex slavery rather than disobey.

To see the sex trade's sinister alliance with black magic first hand, MailOnline travelled to poverty-stricken Benin City in southern Nigeria, home to an ancient African kingdom where voodoo priests are still widely revered.

Sex trafficked: A woman told how she was lured to Italy by a 'madam' who paid the 1,000 fee for a smuggler to take her across the Sahara and the Mediterranean Before she went the madam took her to a shrine dedicated to 'Shango', a Thunder God. Pictured: A shrine in Nigeria

She told MailOnline: 'A lady trafficker made us cut clippings from our fingernails and hair and put them on top of the shrine, and we lay down in front of it.' Pictured: Blood drained from a chicken and poured onto an 'offering'

When she arrived in Italy, she was taken to the northern city of San Torino, made to wear skimpy clothing and ordered to work in a brothel. Disgusted, she escaped and was reassured by a local priest the black magic spell was fake. Pictured: Bowl of water and chicken's blood

West Africa was once also the major market for transatlantic slaves and today, in a chilling echo of that role, Benin City has become the main hub for trafficking African prostitutes to the streets of London, Rome and Paris.

Such is the scale of the problem that local anti-trafficking charities believe that most young women will be approached at some point by a trafficker.

While most end up in Italy, because of its proximity to the Mediterranean smuggling routes, hundreds also find their way every year to Britain - home to Europe's largest Nigerian diaspora.

At Mr Ojoduma's temple in Benin City last week, MailOnline watched him perform a fidelity ritual on a housewife whose husband had taken her there on suspicion of having an affair.

Despite the gory threats he issued, Mr Ojoduma insists that Ayelala's oaths are never used for evil purposes.

But a victim, 27, told MailOnline how she was lured to Italy by a Benin City 'madam' who paid the 1,000 fee for a people-smuggler to take her across the Sahara and the Mediterranean.

To see the sex trade's sinister alliance with black magic, MailOnline travelled to poverty-stricken Benin City, southern Nigeria, where voodoo priests (pictured) are still widely revered. The priest in this picture is not involved in trafficking

Benin City has become the main hub for trafficking African prostitutes to the streets of London, Rome and Paris. Madams pay traffickers to take the girls, but put a spell on them to prevent them from escaping when they arrive. Pictured: A voodoo shrine in Benin City

Before she went, however, the madam took her to a shrine dedicated to 'Shango', a voodoo Thunder God.

'Before I went on the journey I was taken to a shrine with three other women,' sjhe said.

'A lady trafficker made us cut clippings from our fingernails and hair and put them on top of the shrine, and we lay down in front of it.

we had to swear at the shrine before Shango. We were told that if we didn't pay back the money we owed the madam, Shango would come and kill us by sickness Trafficking victim

'We were also made to drink a glass of schnapps and rub white powder in our faces, so that nothing bad would happen to us before we reached Italy.

'Then we had to swear at the shrine before Shango. We were told that if we didn't pay back the money we owed the madam, Shango would come and kill us by sickness.'

She travelled across the Sahara to Libya and then by boat to Sicily, where she spent a month in a refugee camp before henchmen of the trafficking gang smuggled her out.

They took her to the northern city of San Torino, where she said the madam had promised her a job in a shop. Instead, she was handed skimpy clothing to wear and ordered to work in a brothel.

'When I arrived in Torino they told me to buy body cream to freshen up and look good and made me wear a short skirt,' she said.

'Then they took me to what looked like a hotel and I saw other women dressed in little clothing. It was only then that I realised I was there for prostitution. I was forced to sleep with a man twice, and felt very, very bad, so I ran away.

Around 30,000 women are believed to have been trafficked to Europe in the last two decades, more than 90 per cent of them from Benin City and surrounding Edo State. Pictured: A woman uses a headless chicken to perform a ritual. She is not involved in trafficking

One woman trafficked to the UK told how she was bathed in goat's blood and warned that if she ever spoke of the ritual, she would be struck dead by a thunderbolt. Pictured: A dead chicken used as a sacrifice

Another victim Joan was trafficked at 17 and deported from Italy at 22 after being the subject of a ritual at the hands of a ju-ju priest like the one, pictured above, cutting a goat's head off

'I was terrified that Shango would come and get me, but I met a local pastor who reassured me and brought me home.'

Joan, a Nigerian woman who was trafficked at 17 and deported from Italy at 22, told of her ritual at the hands of a ju-ju priest.

'He cut off my hair, my armpit, my private parts, my nose...then he took my picture,' she said.

Another woman anonymously revealed how she was tricked into sex slavery.

Only when I got to Europe, the madam introduced me to prostitution. I had to work for her until I had paid her back. Trafficking victim

'Only when I got to Europe, the madam introduced me to prostitution. I had to work for her until I had paid her back,' she said

Nigeria's National Agency for the Prevention of Trafficking in People (NAPTIP) claims that many curses used for sex trafficking in Benin City are done in Ayelala's name.

Shango is another one of hundreds of deities found in Benin City, which is home to hundreds of voodoo shrines, most of them in makeshift temples in the city's shantytown sprawl.

Traditionally, they have been used for benign purposes such as healing and resolving domestic disputes. But because of their all-seeing reputation, their powers are also now sought by traffickers seeking to control people from a distance.

Voodoo influence has already surfaced in a number of reported trafficking cases in Britain, including one in 2013 where a girl from Benin City ended up in a brothel in Birmingham. Before her journey, she was bathed in goat's blood, and was warned that if she ever spoke of the ritual, a thunderbolt would strike her dead wherever she was in the world.

In another case in Cardiff in 2014, Lizzy Idahosa, 26, was jailed for eight years after being found guilty of running a brothel ring where Nigerian women had eaten snails and snakes in pre-trafficking rituals.

While no single deity dominates the trafficking trade, locals in Benin City and NAPTIP itself frequently cite Ayelala, whose red-coated followers are regarded with particular fear.

In a demonstration of how traditional beliefs blend with Christianity here, Ayelala devotees wear scarlet gowns decorated with white Christian crucifixes, and hold their ceremonies in a temple complete with church-style pews. But that is where the similarities end.

Outside Mr Ojoduma's temple, goats and chickens are kept ready for sacrifice in a slaughter room at the back of the priest's throne, while a sign bans menstruating women from entering.

The temples' front wall, meanwhile, is decorated with hundreds more photographs of victims of Ayelala's wrath - from alleged 'witches' and 'wizards' through fraudsters, adulterers and car thieves.

Such is the dread she inspires that even the sight of an Ayelala hat or cloak is enough to frighten people.

Joan, pictured, revealed: 'He cut off my hair, my armpit, my private parts, my nose...then he took my picture.'

Another victim, pictured, said she was tricked into slavery. 'Only when I got to Europe, the madam introduced me to prostitution. I had to work for her until I had paid her back,' she said

'There is one old woman who regularly right down the middle of the main road through town with an Ayelala hat on,' said one Benin City resident. 'Normally she would get run over, but all the cars choose to drive round her instead.'

Ten years ago, when the local market was looted after accidentally being set ablaze, a local Ayelala priest also decreed that anyone who has stolen goods should return them immediately. Overnight, large numbers of missing items returned.

Mr Ojoduma holds court along with his wife most mornings, sat beneath a gallery of framed certificates declaring him to be both a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Nigeria chapter of the 'World Successful Herbal and Medical Practitioners'.

He claims to have recently cured a Nigerian woman from London who had come to him with sickness.

Bizarrely, those who take oaths before him must bring a 'communion' to drink in the form of a bottle of strong liquor, either Johnnie Walker whisky or Seamen's Schnapps, a popular local spirit.

Asked about Ayelala's role in trafficking, he added: 'Sometimes people do come and ask, but I always turn them down. There are plenty who bring Ayelala's name into disrepute, but I have nothing to do with them.'

In another case in Cardiff in 2014, Lizzy Idahosa, 26, was jailed for eight years after being found guilty of running a brothel ring where Nigerian women had eaten snails and snakes in pre-trafficking rituals. Pictured: A hut in Benin City used for such ceremonies

Sister Bibiania Emenaha runs a local Catholic order that looks after trafficked women who have been returned to Benin City.

She said that frequently, women went to Europe knowing full well that they would be involved in prostitution, but that the voodoo rituals were still used to ensure that they repaid their debts to the traffickers.

A trafficker who paid 1,000 (900) for a woman to be smuggled to Europe could often expect up to 30,000 (27,000) in repayment.

The women are afraid not only for themselves, but for their families and friends... They think that if they disobey what they swore in front of that juju, no matter whether it is Shango or Ayelala or another, it will start manifesting itself Sister Bibiania Emenaha

'The women are afraid not only for themselves, but for their families and friends,' she said. 'They think that if they disobey what they swore in front of that juju, no matter whether it is Shango or Ayelala or another, it will start manifesting itself.'

'The older people here will tell you that prostitution is an abomination in their culture, but unfortunately, every family struggles to send their daughters abroad to work. Most are poor and are interested only in the money, not how they earn it.'

Last month at the UN annual summit in New York, Theresa May called for greater international efforts to fight sex slavery. She has also announced that 35m from the UK aid budget would be spent on tackling the trade, with 5m earmarked for Nigeria.

According to figures from the National Crime Agency, some 244 of the 2,340 possible trafficking victims by British officials in 2014 were from Nigeria - a 31 per cent increase on the previous year.

Figures from the National Crime Agency show 244 of the 2,340 possible trafficking victims by British officials in 2014 were from Nigeria - a 31 per cent increase on the previous year. Pictured: Nigeria's National Agency for the Prevention of Trafficking in People (NAPTIP) HQ

But Kevin Hyland, a former head of the Met Police's Human Trafficking Unit, who is now Britain's independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said the true figure could be much higher than that.

Mr Hyland told the MailOnline: 'Sadly, there is a now cultural acceptance in places like Benin City and Edo State that a daughter will be trafficked to Europe to earn money.

'We think there could be anything up to 1,000 women being trafficked into the UK every year now, some ending up in prostitution, others in forced labour, and I put that down partly to the impunity the trade has had.
Dozens of people have been rescued from 'medieval' homes where captors allegedly beat victims, tied them to chairs and fed them only one meal a day after convincing their families they were staying in rehabilitation centers.

Police in Fort Worth, Texas, stormed two properties where the victims, most of whom could not speak English, were found.

They visited another where none of the 'patients' made complaints.

At one property where 37 people were found, officers said a Spanish Alcoholics Anonymous sign had been put up, Dallas News reported.

It's believed the victims were lured to the houses on the pretense they would be given rehabilitation treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

Dozens of patients were rescued from houses in Irving and Fort Worth in Texas where they were being held against their will by a gang of kidnappers posing as rehabilitation workers. Above, one of the houses in Irving where Fort Worth officers found the victims

(From L-R, top to bottom): Carlos Diaz, Leonel Omar Fernandez, Bryan Gutierrez, Jonathan Ortiz and Jorge Ramirez, Jose Pascual Hernandez, Jose Saul Reyes Hernandez, Rodrigo Soto Gonzalez, Ricardo Rodriguez Taylor and Adolfo Tello, were all arrested in connection with the raids

In most cases their families had dropped them off. Others told police they had been kidnapped.

It's not clear whether the victims or their families paid their alleged kidnappers or if the houses were certified rehabilitation centers. Their ages range from 22 to 66, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported.

Fort Worth Police arrested several men in connection with the houses, some of whom were detained on immigration offences.

They have not released the name of the apparent organisation. Some of those arrested were done so on pre-existing warrants. At least six have been charged with aggravated kidnapping offences.

They found him running down the street, away from some of the men believed to be in charge of the operation. Officers discovered the houses after being called to one in Irving when a man, allegedly trying to flee, was chased by his captors.

They were then alerted to others in the Fort Worth area where more victims were discovered.

Police described conditions at the homes as 'medieval' and 'barbaric'. In one, 'good' patients were allowed five minutes to eat beans, rice and potatoes one day a week.

'All the victims are Hispanic, and most spoke little or no English,' said Fort Worth Sgt. Marc Povero said.

'After interviewing the victims, it was discovered that some of them had been taken to this facility by family members. They were taken for alcohol and/or drug rehabilitation.'

Police visited three separate addresses in Fort Worth and Irving. The house in North Union Bower Road was housing patients however none complained

Others were given one packet of Ramen noodles to survive on each day. Exactly how long the centers have been operating or holding 'patients' is not clear.

One woman claimed to have rescued a boy from the property after seeing him wandering the streets with no shoes on earlier this year.

The youngster apparently told her treatment in the facility was dire, claiming a man once suffering a seizure had a spoon forced into his mouth to stop him swallowing his tongue.

There was a guy having seizures and when he passed out, they shoved an onion in his face to keep him awake Stephanie Cervantez who previously rescued a teenage victim from the home

'He was walking down the street bare foot asking to use someones phone. We gave him food water and let him use the phone,' Stephanie Ann Cervantez, who works in the area, told DailyMail.com.

She pointed to two men whose mug shots were released by police, alleging that they came chasing after the boy and demanding he return with them.

'He said he had just turned 18. You could tell he was scared. He was shaking with fear.

'They showed up and kept grabbing on him tell him he had to go with them. He held on to the chair so tight his knuckles were white.

'They shoved him and told him he would die in the streets like the dog he was.'

The teenager had been sent to the center by his father for smoking marijuana, she said.

'He said they would beat him mentally physically, starve him.

'He said there was another guy there that was having seizures and passed out they shoved an onion in his face to keep him awake and tied a spoon to his mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue.'

Carlos Diaz, Leonel Omar Fernandez, Bryan Gutierrez, Jonathan Ortiz and Jorge Ramirez, Jose Pascual Hernandez, Jose Saul Reyes Hernandez, Rodrigo Soto Gonzalez, Ricardo Rodriguez Taylor and Adolfo Tello, were all arrested.
Jesse Osborne may be tried as an adult on two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and five charges of possessing a weapon during a violent crime

A fourteen-year-old accused of murdering his father before opening fire on a school playground and killing a six-year-old boy may be tried as an adult in court.

Jesse Osborne faces two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and five counts of possessing a weapon during a violent crime.

Prosecutors say he murdered his father Jeffrey at their home in Townville, South Carolina, before driving a pick-up truck to the nearby Townville Elementary School where he opened fire on the playground on September 28.

He shot six-year-old Jacob Hall who died in hospital on Saturday after spending three days on life support.

Solicitor Chrissy Adams revealed on Thursday she is seeking to have the fourteen-year-old's case moved from family court to circuit court.

A decision will be made on whether the teenager will stand trial as an adult at a hearing that is yet to be scheduled.

Osborne's mother Tiffney wept as she attended court last week to watch her son face a judge.

The teenager, who is said to have been bullied in the past, did not speak at the hearing.

Prosecutors say Osborne opened fire on his father at their home then phoned his grandmother to tell her what he had done.

He is said to have then driven to Townville Elementary School, where he was not a student, and opened fire, shouting: 'I hate my life'.

Bullets struck six-year-old Jacob, another student of the same age and a first grade teacher.

Six-year-old Jacob Hall (left) died in hospital on Saturday after being shot in the leg. Jesse's father Jeffrey (right) died at their home

The teenager's mother Tiffney sobbed (centre) as she attended court in Anderson, South Carolina, on September 30 to watch her son face a judge

Renae Hall (seen at her son's superhero-themed funeral) said he had already 'forgiven' his killer

Jacob suffered severe brain damage after losing 75 per cent of his blood. His bereaved family took him off life support on Saturday.

A superhero-themed funeral was held for the schoolboy on Wednesday.

South Carolina solicitor Chrissy Adams requested the teenager's case be transferred to circuit court

There, mourners spoke of forgiveness and how Jacob would have cried 'tears of joy' at seeing so many of his loved ones dressed in costume.

His mother Renae previously told reporters he had 'already forgiven his killer'.

'Jacob was an angel that was brought to this earth to show love, to show kindness, and to show forgiveness. Jacob never had a bad intention ever in his body.

'Jacob was forgiving. What happened to Jacob, Jacob forgives already. He's in heaven smiling down on us and he's asking his mommy to be strong to forgive just like he would have,' she told WSPA.

Prosecutors have yet to suggest a potential motive for Osborne's alleged shooting spree.

His father, Jeffrey, had filed for bankruptcy in the past and had convictions for drug possession and domestic violence.
LinkedIn has launched a feature allowing users to secretly hunt for a new job on social media - without accidentally notifying their boss.

The employment-oriented social networking site introduced 'Open Candidates' two weeks ago and over 50,000 Australian job-hunters have indicated they are ready for a career change, by switching their light to green in preferences.

Recruiters who hold a 'licence' can see the potential employees in their search and LinkedIn have ensured the organisation listed as their current employer cannot see the 'green light'.

'Once upon a time employers were in the driver's sear, but now it's employees having the opportunity to showcase themselves,' Jason Laufer, Director for Talent Solutions at LinkedIn, told Daily Mail Australia.

LinkedIn has launched a feature allowing users to secretly hunt for a new job on social media - without accidentally notifying their boss

While a user's current employer might have a talent licence, they will be hidden from their employees' profile, allowing users to keep their search private

Users who use the social networking site to privately search for jobs will be seen as 'open to new opportunities' by employers in a section just for open candidates.

Mr Laufer said recruiters are twice as likely to be successful in hiring new talent if they reach out to potential employees.

'If you don't have Open Candidate versus when you do, the candidate is twice as likely to respond to the employer,' he said.

Once switching the tab to green, users can add a location they are interested in as well as an experience level, from training to executive.

They can also add an industry and even the size of the company they are looking to join.

Only recruiters with a LinkedIn licence can search and approach candidates. The licence is obtained through the site's Talent Solutions section.

LinkedIn introduced 'Open Candidates' two weeks ago and 50,000 Australian job-hunters have indicated they are ready for a career change, by switching light to green in preferences

They can add an industry and even the size of the company they are looking to join

Jason Laufer (pictured), Director for Talent Solutions at LinkedIn, said recruiters are twice as likely to be successful in hiring new talent if they reach out to potential employees first

While a user's current employer might have a talent licence, they will be hidden from their employees' profile, allowing users to keep their search private.

HOW TO USE OPEN CANDIDATES Click the preferences tab on either mobile or website LinkedIn profile Switch the 'Let recruiters know you're open' tab to 'on'. Users can then tailor the profile to add the kinds of job they are considering, location, hours and experience level. Advertisement

'You can put out a signal to recruiters everywhere that you want to hear from them without your boss knowing,' Mr Laufer said.

Mr Laufer said the new feature also allows employees to be put in the 'driver's seat' for the first time as employers are expected to 'raise the bar' and make their profile appealing.

'On LinkedIn, you can see what it's like to work for this organisation and see text and videos about what everyday life there is like,' he said.

The idea for Open Candidates was coined after a Work Satisfaction Survey found only 49 per cent of employees were fulfilled in their current job.

Once switching the tab to green, users can add a location they are interested in as well as an experience level, from training to executive

Open Candiates has been launched in Australia, the US, UK and Canada on both mobile and computer applications

The survey of 10,000 professionals and 3,500 employers also found 61 per cent of HR staffers believed their employees were happy at work.

'The research shows that there is still work to be done for companies to use their best asset - their people - to build their business and talent brand,' Mr Laufer said.

'Fulfilled employees are the best ambassadors to attract potential candidates and showcase work culture'.

Open Candiates has been launched in Australia, the US, UK and Canada on both mobile and computer applications.
Students are campaigning to open Australia's first McDonald's on a university campus.

Left-wing students usually oppose big multinational corporations being anywhere near the lecture halls but one group says they just need more choice and cheaper eating options.

Elections are being held next week for the University of Queensland Union, which runs student services.

Thrive campaigners, seen here on campus with a pooch, want McDonald's at university

Thrive campaign manager Conor Ruane, a 22-year-old commerce-law student, said the group had held talks with McDonald's about opening an outlet at the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus in Brisbane.

'Our idea is to introduce McDonald's to give students more options, more choice, more late-night trading hours during exams and also some cheaper alternatives,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'We have had preliminary negotiations - obviously I can't go into them due to confidentiality agreements but the space at UQ here is one of the highest traffic areas in Queensland.

'We will be beginning formal negotiations if we are successful in winning these elections.'

However, a McDonald's spokeswoman Skye Oxenham later told Daily Mail Australia Thrive had not contacted the fast food giant.

'Our development team in Queensland has not been contacted by Thrive,' she said.

Thrive has a five-point plan which includes McDonald's and puppies to relieve stress

Thrive's campaign to deliver a McDonald's on campus features prominently on their Facebook page.

Mr Ruane said they also wanted the RSPCA to bring puppies to the campus during exam weeks.

'It's just a bit of a stress reliever for students who are obviously going through a pretty stressful time,' he said.

'Multiple forms of research show puppies help people chill out a bit.'

A-frames around campus highlight Thrive's policies of making puppies, pancakes and trampolines available during exam preparation week, known in some parts of Australia as "swotvac".

Thriveuq.com page of student group is registered at same address as Liberal National Party

The Thrive ticket is campaigning to wrest control of the Union from the incumbent Labor-linked Reform group.

They deny any affiliation with Queensland's conservative Liberal National Party.

However, a search of their web domain thriveuq.com showed they were registered to the same Brisbane address as the LNP.

Thrive campaign manager Conor Ruane (left) with Brisbane's LNP Lord Mayor Graham Quirk

Conor Ruane, a former University of Queensland Liberal National Club president, was pictured this year campaigning for Brisbane's LNP Lord Mayor Graham Quirk in a 'Team Quirk' T-shirt.

He insists Thrive is not connected with the LNP.

'Thrive has no connections with any political parties,' he said.

'Thrive does not have a postal address.'

Labor MPs Murray Watt (left), Jenny McAllister, Milton Dick and the LNP's Ted O'Brien (right)

Three former candidates for the University of Queensland Union were elected to federal parliament in 2016.

Senator Murray Watt, fellow Queensland Labor MP Milton Dick and the LNP's Ted O'Brien posed for a picture outside Parliament House in August with incumbent NSW Labor senator Jenny McAllister.

Senator Watt, a former University of Queensland Union president, tweeted: 'In 1993 this lot were duking it out in student elections for@uq_union. 23 yrs later, we take our seats in Canberra.'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was also active in student politics at the University of Sydney

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Liberal predecessor Tony Abbott were also active in student politics, with both serving on the University of Sydney Student Representative Council during the 1970s.

Senior federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, a former party leadership contender, was elected to the same SRC in the 1980s.

Elections for the University of Queensland Union are being held next week, from October 10 to 14.
The ex-wife of Kim Kardashian's bodyguard accused of him beating her up in front of their children so badly she passed out, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Pascal Duvier is said to have battered Glenda Duvier so badly that she got a temporary restraining order against him.

Mrs Duvier claimed that the assault happened in front of their daughters, eight, and 10 and Duvier's step daughter, 15, caused her to pass out and left her with a swollen cheek.

Duvier, with is 6ft 4in and was recorded as 240lbs in court papers, wrote a five-page response in which he admitted that he 'swiped' her with his hand.

But he pleaded with a judge to dismiss the restraining order because it would mean potential clients would not hire him if they saw it on his record.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

'Swiped' my wife: Pascal Duvier was accused of beating Glenda, his then wife, so badly that she passed out. He denied her version of events but admitted to physical contact

'Victim': Glenda Duvier obtained a restraining order against her then husband after testifying that he beat her at the home they shared in front of their children

'Unfaithful': In his response to his then-wife's allegations, Duvier claimed she had been unfaithful, drinking and depressed and wanted him kept away from his children in an attempt to hurt him. She declined to comment on the disclosures.

New life: Gelnda Duvier has a new partner, heavyweight boxer Dakota Walker, with whom she is now expecting her fourth child, a son

Anti-abuse: Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner both took part in a provocative campaign against domestic abuse in 2015. Duvier usually guards Kim but was with Kendall when the robbery happened.

Those potential clients included Kim Kardashian who is thought to have hired him around the same time Glenda Duvier got the restraining order.

The disclosure raises further issus about Duvier's suitability to be her bodyguard as DailyMail.com has already revealed how he recently filed for bankruptcy in Germany, where he is originally from.

Kim is still recovering from the robbery, which happened at her apartment in Paris.

She was tied up and gagged as thieves stole $11m worth of jewelry after holding a gun to her head, sources have said.

The haul reportedly included the $4.5 million ring given to her by her husband Kanye West.

Questions have been raised over Duvier's role that night as he was not by Kim's side. Instead he was at a club with her sisters her sisters Kourtney and Kendall Jenner, though Kim has said she does not blame him.

Court documents from the Los Angeles Superior Court obtained by DailyMail.com reveal that Miss Duvier, now 38, applied for a TRO, or temporary restraining order against Duvier.

She suggested there was more than one episode of abuse and wrote that the 'latest instance' happened on September 19 2013 when her three children and two friends were home.

The court document states: 'He hit me in the face. I fell to the floor and passed out. The kids saw and one of my friends'.

Under injuries she wrote: 'Left cheek is swollen, headache persists.' The police were called to the incident.

Key allegation: The court document containing the allegation that Pascal Duvier beat his then wife so badly she fell to the floor and passed out

Admission: How Pascal Duvier told the court he had 'swiped' at his then wife during the altercation at the center of the application for a restraining order

Restrained; The court order against Pascal Duvier issued after his wife applied for the restraint. It would have shown up on any employer's background check

No guns: The court document which made clear the bodyguard was banned from carrying firearms under Californian law.

The documents show that Miss Duvier demanded that Duvier stay 100 yards away from the two family dogs, Tango and Charlie - and requested that she be given possession of the BMW X6 car they owned.

Duvier filed a five-page response in which he claimed that Miss Duvier was telling lies and that their marriage had collapsed because she had cheated on him.

He also said that her excessive drinking and depression had led them to break up.

Duvier wrote that he moved to America from Germany so that they could make a 'fresh start' but it did not work out.

He wrote: 'Through her false allegations (she) hopes to destroy the two things that are important to me - my relationship with my children and my career'.

Duvier said that if potential clients were able to see the TRO on his record it would make them less likely to hire him and harm his reputation.

He complained that Miss Duvier is 'using our children to get back at me' and since the order was put into effect he was not able to talk to them via Facetime when he was away for work.

On the incident itself he wrote that Miss Duvier had been drinking when he got home from a job overseas and he discovered she had been sending 'messages of love' to another man.

Duvier wrote that Miss Duvier tried to grab an envelope of spare cash he kept in the desk but he got it first and she began to scratch and push him to try and get it.

According to the court filing, Duvier said: 'When I got to the back door, she pulled at my shirt and scratched me. In doing so got scratches on my neck and hands.

'I swiped her away from me as I was looking away and her hand was on my neck. I opened the back door.

No sign: Kim Kardashian landed back in Los Angeles on Thursday with her two children and mother Kris Jenner - but it was not clear if Duvier was with her on the plane

At her side: Pascal Duvier started working with Kim around the time of the altercation with his wife in which he admitted to having 'swiped' her while she accused him of beating her unconscious

Prominent presence: Duvier has boasted of his work on social media and highlighted pictures showing him protecting Kim and her family

'I then heard my daughter crying as I was about to walk out. When I looked back, I saw (her) on the floor. I believe (she) feigned being passed out. I carried her to the bed. Within seconds she was back up on her feet trying to stop me from leaving'

Duvier claimed that 'I was not the aggressor' and that he 'instinctively brushed away an assault on my body'

The restraining order appears to have been lifted and under a custody agreement the children were to live with Miss Duvier.

The divorce was finalized in October 2013, which appears to be around the time that Duvier started working for Kim.

It is not clear what background checks Kim ran on Duvier before hiring him but the disclosure of his allegedly violent past will no doubt cause her concern.

As a mother to two young children, the fact that he allegedly hit his wife in front of their own children will in particular give her pause for thought.

Kim took part in a campaign highlighting violent abuse of women at the end of last year, along with her sister Kendall Jenner - who Duvier was guarding at the time of the robbery in Paris.

Like Duvier, Miss Duvier was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany and the couple relocated to Los Angeles in 2011.

In a post on a modeling website Miss Duvier poses in a white fur coat and lists herself as having blonde hair and brown eyes.

She appears to have worked for his ProtectSecurity at the time of the split, using an email address at its domain in court papers.

Miss Duvier is currently working for a wealth management company outside Los Angeles, California. She declined to comment to DailyMail.com.

Old home: This was the registered address of the Duvier family in Hiedelberg. Court documents show Pascal said they left for a 'fresh start' in the United States

Mounting debts: An insolvency lawyer appointed by the administrative court to handle his security company's bankruptcy proceedings told MailOnline: 'There is so much debt.'

Bankruptcy: Official documents revealed that Duvier filed for insolvency for his ProtectSecurity firm on July 22 in his German hometown of Heidelberg.

Shabby: Today the blinds at the company premises on a shabby mini-industrial estate at Eppelheim near Heidelberg, south east Germany, remained down

On her Twitter account she writes: 'You're not able to write your beginning or your ending,but you're able to write a beautiful story in between.'

She is also expecting her fourth child, a son, with her new partner, professional boxer Dakota Walker, 29. She was not available for comment.

On Wednesday it was revealed that Duvier's security firm German ProtectSecurity firm, which has run security for Kim and Kanye since 2012, has racked up debts totalling 1,093,518 - $1,217,265.

He lodged a claim for company insolvency at Heidelberg administrative court on July 22 this year.

The insolvency lawyer appointed by the administrative court to handle his security company's bankruptcy proceedings said : 'There is so much debt. There are many claimants. I cannot say the exact number. Lots.'

The lawyer added that the firm had been failing 'for quite some time.'

The last available accounts from 2014 show the firm, that Duvier had run for 19 years, had a turnover of just over 760,000 euros - $846,000.

One of the company's creditors is the German tax office.

The blinds at the company premises on a shabby mini-industrial estate at Eppelheim near Heidelberg, south east Germany, remained down.

Duvier is registered to an address two miles from his business, but none of the residents of the low-rise block recall ever seeing him.

Around town he drove a top-of-the-range S-Class limousine, those who remember him claimed.

But they added he has not been seen since the summer when neighboring tenants reported him turning up to his business premises to remove boxes and files.
When you think of police cadets in training, you might imagine officers taking on assault courses, self-defence and firearms training.

But back in 1982, some junior officers were more interested in skipping, as this brilliant footage reveals.

Cadets from Victoria Police appeared on the Don Lane Show to showcase their very aerobic rope-jumping skills.

Cadets from Victoria Police appeared on the Don Lane Show in 1982 to showcase their very aerobic rope-jumping skills.

Others kneel and use their core strength to launch themselves off a mat and over the rope as they swing it

Another supple officer is seen lying on his back as he uses his shoulders to life his body into the air and over the skipping rope

Strength! One recruit adopts a press-up position to propel himself over a swinging rope

The hilarious clip shows a dozen or so officers skipping to the beat of a very jazzy version of Physical by Olivia Newton-John, as well as taking on some more complex exercises.

The men, wearing light blue shirts and some very tight shorts, appear to be in impeccable shape, with one recruit adopting a press-up position to propel himself over a swinging rope.

Others kneel and use their core strength to launch themselves off a mat and over the rope as they swing it.

And another supple officer is seen lying on his back as he uses his shoulders to life his body into the air and over the skipping rope.

The hilarious clip shows a dozen or so officers skipping to the beat of a very jazzy version of Physical by Olivia Newton-John

The male officers, wearing light blue shirts and some very tight shorts, appear to be in impeccable shape

The short clip has been online less than a day but has already been viewed more than a quarter of a million times

When you think of police cadets in training, you might imagine officers taking on assault courses, self-defence and firearms training - not skipping

The short clip has been online less than a day but has already been viewed more than a quarter of a million times.

'Skip into your Friday with this fantastic 80s throwback of the Victoria Police Cadets skipping team performing on the Don Lane Show back in 1982. #throwbackthursday #madskills #squadlife,' Victoria Police posted on their Facebook page.

Thousands of people have commented on the video, including Faye Tippett who said: 'Love the tiny short shorts.'

Jayne Gaunt joked: 'Would be considered an OH&S risk these days. The guy jumping on his knees on the mat has probably retired early on workcover.'
They are Worongary tree snakes, the only local breed to share females

Eight snakes were breeding at the bottom of a dis-used swimming pool

Snake catchers were called to interrupt a snake orgie on the Gold Coast

Snake catchers were called to interrupt an orgy in a backyard swimming pool on Wednesday after a concerned family found the entangled reptiles having sex.

The Worongary snakes were found in Nerang, on the Gold Coast, and were collected by Sam Howard and Katie Eales who told Daily Mail Australia to see an orgy with so many snakes was incredible.

'There were eight snakes involved, two females and two males were mating, another female and male lying there and two other males waiting until after the boys had finished,' Mr Howard said.

Eight Worongary tree snakes were caught mid-orgy by snake hunters after they were spotted in a swimming pool

The snakes were found entangled on a step of a back yard swimming pool in Nerang

Sam Howard, pictured, said he had never seen such a large 'orgy' of snakes before

The snake catcher sat and watched the snakes pro-create for thirty minutes before he caught them and said the eight snake orgy was a record for his company.

'We have spoken to other snake breeders and they have never seen this many snakes breeding either, so it is pretty rare.'

The snake catchers are called out two or three times a day to move breeding snakes at this time of the year.

'Usually male snakes will fight each other and the winner will then breed with the female, but these snakes are quite happy to share.'

Each female snake will lay between 15 and 25 eggs per season, but only one of those will make it to adult hood, according to Mr Howard.

The Jeffery family who found the snake orgy were concerned by the sight of so many snakes lurking in their dis-used swimming pool, with one woman packing her bags to leave.

The tree snakes are non-venomous. Three females and five males were caught on the night

'There was this mangled medusa of snakes  just a big tangle,' Mr Jeffery told The Gold Coast Bulletin.

'My wife is very squeamish about snakes and she started packing her bags to leave immediately.'

Mr Howard said snakes are found in most homes and properties on the gold coast and do not discriminate between country homes or sky rises.

The snakes were released back into the wild after they were caught mating

'They were probably all living in this pool because it had some very dirty water in it and had become a thriving habitat for frogs.

'They are a social snake and don't mind living near each other  so when it came time for mating season they were all nearby and that is how they all became involved in the orgy.'

Worongary tree snakes are not venomous. They were released away from houses on Thursday.
Alternative therapies can be dangerous  or even deadly  for children, doctors have warned.

The caution was triggered by the case of a four-year-old boy with autism who was admitted to hospital in London after he became seriously ill.

His parents later revealed they had been giving their only child 12 supplements on the recommendation of a naturopath they consulted for help with his autism.

Doctors said there had been several cases of severe illness and even deaths from so-called 'natural' therapies and warned that it was dangerous to use alternative treatments without proper medical supervision.

The boy's parents later revealed they had been giving their only child 12 supplements on the recommendation of a naturopath they consulted for help with his autism (stock image)

Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, medics from St Bartholomew's Hospital said the boy had been taken into A&E suffering from acute vomiting, rapid weight loss, a loss of appetite and extreme thirst.

Tests revealed he had toxic levels of calcium and high levels of vitamin D in his body but doctors could find no health conditions which might be causing his symptoms.

After several days his parents admitted they had been giving the boy holistic supplements recommended by a naturopath  and doctors quickly realised these were to blame.

They said his parents 'were devastated that something they had given to their son with good intent had made him so unwell'.

The concoction of 12 supplements, which had been given to the boy for several months, included calcium, vitamin D, cod liver oil, camel milk, silver, zinc and epsom bath salts.

He was treated with medication and large volumes of water to return his levels back to normal and made a full recovery within two weeks.

In the report, doctors said: 'Many families view these therapies as safer 'natural' options.

'But as this case demonstrates, there can be significant adverse effects which may go unrecognised due to lack of monitoring, recognition and experience with these therapies.

'There are many reported cases of complications, including fatalities, and probably many others which are not reported to medical practitioners or recognised as being attributable to these.'

Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, medics from St Bartholomew's Hospital (pictured) said the boy had been taken into A&E suffering from symptoms including acute vomiting

Parents whose children have chronic conditions, including autism, often choose to use alternative therapies because they believe they may be safer and more natural.

Often they do not disclose them to doctors when a problem arises as they do not want to admit using non-conventional medication or because they fail to realise it could be relevant.

'Although families may report benefits with these treatments, there is no regulation of their use and, as our case demonstrates, there can be significant adverse effects,' the doctors said.

They added: 'Nutritional supplements are not regulated as drugs, so there is little oversight regarding quality control.'

Police have been investigating the naturopath who had advised the therapy.

Earlier this week, one of the three remaining NHS authorities in England providing homeopathic treatments dropped funding for it.

The Wirral clinical commissioning group said its decision to end funding for homeopathy had 'overwhelming support from the public', with 95 per cent of patients wanting it to be removed.

Only Bristol and London NHS trusts, as well as some in Scotland, now provide homeopathy on the NHS.
Kerala CM for expansion of online examination system

UNI, Kozhikode | Published : 6th October, 2016

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today called for expansion of online examination system targetting vast army of employed youth in the state.

Inaugurating an online examination centre launched by the government-run employment provider Public Service Commission (PSC) here, he said this would help to speed up functioning of the PSC in the state.

Strengthening and expansion of the system should be helpful to tribals and marginalized section of the people, he said and urged to make software hassle free to make it accessible to common man and weaker sections as well. Many government departments were avoiding Malayalam, he said steps should be taken to make use of the language for online examinations system.

Recollecting that earlier there was no system in the state to provide jobs on eligibility and merit, he said the situation has changed with the launching of the PSC, which he said was functioning very effectively.

Launching of a series of agitations by different organizations during the last few decades also helped changed the scenario in the state.

Earlier addressing the gathering PSC Chairman Dr K S Radhakrishnan said job aspirants from five districts in Malabar region would be benefited with the launch.

He said the PSC, which spent Rs 200 for a candidate for conducting examination, would be able to curtail to a mere Rs 10 for the purpose and added the system would be further expanded to all districts in the state as streamlined by the Union Public Service Commission.

The Centre proposed to conduct first online examination on October 17, he added.

Similar system was launched by Thiruvanthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam districts earlier.

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The ex-wife of a former All Blacks says temptation is rampant for players following revelations rugby star Aaron Smith was caught having sex with a woman in an airport bathroom.

Brooke Daji was married to former All Blacks Luke McAlister but separated from him in 2007 after discovering he had cheated on her.

She revealed to New Zealand's Story that being the wife of a rugby player was not as glamorous as it seemed given female fans often threw themselves at players.

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Brooke Daji, the ex-wife of former All Blacksplayer Luke McAlister, says temptation is rampant for players following revelations Aaron Smith had sex with a woman in a bathroom

Brooke Daji was married to former All Blacks Luke McAlister but said they separated in 2007 after discovering he had cheated on her

Ms Daji suggested it would be difficult for a player to not succumb to temptation after Smith's airport bathroom tryst with a woman last month became public.

'There's temptation out there for everybody, but for those boys it's so much more heightened,' she told the program.

'People say you shouldn't cheat on your partner anyway, but they are not faced with the temptations those boys are faced and I've seen it first-hand...it's a slippery slope.'

Ms Daji said it was 's**t' how women would throw themselves at her ex-husband knowing he was married and suggest indecent acts while she was there.

Ms Daji said being the wife of a rugby player was not as glamorous as it seemed given female fans often threw themselves at players

Ms Daji said it was 's**t' how women would throw themselves at her ex-husband knowing he was married and suggest indecent acts while she was there

All Blacks star Aaron Smith has offered a tearful apology saying he made an 'error in judgement' after a couple heard him having sex in a disabled airport bathroom

'So much so, probably should have started charging for it. Girls act crazy when it comes to famous boys,' she said.

It comes after Smith offered a tearful apology to his girlfriend Teagan Voykovich, his family, his team and fans.

A couple heard Smith having sex with a woman in a disabled airport bathroom and filmed them coming out of the cubicle.

The 27-year-old held a short media conference in South Africa on Friday, apologising for his 'error in judgement'.

'My behaviour is unacceptable and if you could respect me and my partner in this situation,' a tearful Smith said.

'I'm just trying to get home to deal with this.

'I've made a huge mistake, a huge error in judgement.'

The 27-year-old held a short media conference in South Africa on Friday, apologising to his partner Teagan Voykovich (both pictured), his family, his team and fans
An Australian woman has pleaded for help in a chilling video released after her boat, carrying pro-Palestine women activists, was captured in international waters.

Hobart woman Madeleine Habib was captaining the Zaytouna-Oliva flotilla when it was surrounded by Israeli Military and forced off course in a terrifying act of piracy on Thursday.

The boat was carrying 13 pro-Palestine female activists from 13 different countries, on their way to Gaza to campaign for Israel to end its decade long blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Hobart woman Madeleine Habib (pictured) was captaining the Zaytouna-Oliva flotilla when it was surrounded by Israeli Military on Thursday

The Women's Boat to Gaza mission described what happened as a 'kidnapping' and called for people to urgently contact world leaders to ensure their freedom.

'If you're seeing this video it's because I've been captured in international waters by Israeli forces,' Ms Habib said.

'I urge you to contact the Australian Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and request my immediate release.'

Women's Boat to Gaza (pictured) planned to reach the Gaza Strip, but were forced off-course by Israeli military on Thursday

The 13 women were en route to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break Israel's naval blockade of the territory when they were captured

Ms Habbib said her desperation to help the people of Palestine started more than two decades ago.

'I first visited Palestine in 1989 and was struck by the disparities that existed there,' she said.

'Now it is my opportunity to speak up for the people of Palestine and to demand an end to the blockade.'

Ms Habbib was joined by 12 other women en route to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break Israel's naval blockade of the territory.

Among the women was retired US army colonel Ann Wright, Nobel Peace prize winner Mairead Maguire and Malaysian doctor Fauziah Mohd Hasan.

Among the women was retired US army colonel Ann Wright (pictured), Nobel Peace prize winner Mairead Maguire and Malaysian doctor Fauziah Mohd Hasan

'Young people of Gaza are waiting with joy the arrival of Zaytouna Boat. Our prayers for their safe arrival' one person posted to twitter alongside this photo

Dr Fauziah Mohd Hasan also released a distressing video pleading for help after the boat was captured on Thursday.

'If you're seeing this it means the Israeli occupation forces have kidnapped me in international waters and taken me against my will to Israel.

The Israeli military said their navy cautioned the boat off-course and towards Ashdod port when it was surrounded on Thursday, according to the ABC.

'If you're seeing this it means the Israeli occupation forces have kidnapped me in international waters and taken me against my will to Israel,' Dr Fauziah Mohd Hasan (pictured) said in her own plea for help

'Brave innocent women against Zionist terrorism. Why are Zionists afraid of these civilian women?' one person posted to twitter

Self-confessed 'peaceful protestors', the women released a video on twitter, conveying their message through song.

'We are 13 women here to sail with peace in our heart, towards our sisters in this foreign land,' it said.

'We will sail for your freedom our sisters in Palestine, we will never be silenced until you are free.'

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) released a statement following the alleged kidnapping, in which it said reports were still unconfirmed.

'(DFAT is) 'seeking to confirm reports that an Australian woman has been detained by Israeli authorities,' a spokesperson said.
The heartbroken family of a disabled man has spoken out after he fell out of his wheelchair and suffocated when his carer failed to show up at his house.

Leslie Troy Ovens, 32, was living independently in a purpose-built house with his care provided by Cam Can and Associates when he died from asphyxiation in his Ellenbrook home July 2013.

A carer failed to visit a wheelchair-bound man to assist him with his usual nightly routine due to a 'mix up' with the rosters and he was found dead the next day, a Perth inquest heard.

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Leslie Troy Ovens, 32, was alone when he slipped out of his wheelchair and suffocated in his Ellenbrook home in Western Australia July 2013

A carer failed to visit a wheelchair-bound man to assist him with his usual nightly routine due to a 'mix up' with the rosters and he was found dead the next day

'It's been an horrific three years trying to find out why', Mr Oven's stepfather Phil Townsend told reporters outside court.

But Mr Ovens' mother, Marilyn Townsend, acknowledged that even a carer may not have been able to save his son.

'What's happened has happened but I still think a carer should have rocked up,' Ms Townsend said outside court.

'That's all I want, I don't want miracles.

'Someone could have come along.

'My boy was laying there for eight hours or so like that.'

The court said Cam Can had not conducted a proper and thorough investigation into its failure on the night he died

The court said Cam Can had not conducted a proper and thorough investigation into its failure on the night he died.

'I would like other people that have got disabilities to employ carers to make sure they have policies and procedures and everything in place properly,' Mr Townsend told 9 News.

The West Australian Coroner's Court heard in September that carers routinely visited Mr Ovens twice a day - in the morning and night.

At 5pm on July 24, carer Tony McCabe visited the house and made Mr Ovens dinner, even though he wasn't on shift.

Mr McCabe testified Mr Ovens told him he was unsure who was coming to assist him that night.

'I said "somebody will be coming, don't worry",' he told the court.

But no one did.

Mr McCabe said usually if there was a problem, Mr Ovens would text him.

Asked what he had been told about why no one came that night, Mr McCabe replied: 'Just that there had been a mix up with the rosters'.

Carer Natasha Walsh, who had assisted Mr Ovens the previous morning, returned to the house the next day and testified she found Mr Ovens dead in an odd and twisted position.

'He would have been pretty much helpless in that position,' she said.

A post mortem examination concluded Mr Ovens had died from asphyxiation and Ms Walsh believed he may have been trying to reach for his phone when he fell.

'It's been an horrific three years trying to find out why', Mr Oven's stepfather Phil Townsend told reporters outside court, warning other families with disabilities

Ms Walsh said service co-ordinator Clare Allen was shocked to learn no one had been there the night before.

Counsel assisting the coroner Toby Bishop said Mr Ovens was aged nine when he was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia, which is a disease that causes progressive damage to the nerves, often leading to strength and co-ordination loss.

By the time he was 15, Mr Ovens lost mobility and required an electric wheelchair, Mr Bishop said.

The court heard Ms Allen was responsible for arranging the carers' schedule, but about two weeks before Mr Ovens' death, she went on leave and returned just a couple of days before he died. Anthony Coufos filled in during her absence.

'As a result of the temporary change in service co-ordinators, it is not clear who, if anyone, was arranging the schedule of carers for Leslie for the week commencing Monday, 22 July,' Mr Bishop said.

Deputy state coroner Evelyn Vicker is investigating the quality of care provided to Mr Ovens, including why no carer attended on the night of July 24 and whether such an attendance would have made any difference.

Ms Vicker will find Mr Ovens' manner of death was accidental when she hands down her findings later this year.
A senior judge has questioned whether taxpayers' money should be used to stop young people travelling to Syria to become a jihadist.

Mr Justice Hayden said there had been an 'extraordinary level' of state intervention to stop a 17-year-old boy fleeing the UK amid fears he would join a terror group.

He said that huge resources had been deployed in the case and revealed that he had wondered whether the measures were justifiable.

A senior judge has questioned whether taxpayers' money should be used to stop young people travelling to Syria to become a jihadist. File picture

He told the High Court in London that people often asked why 'time, money and effort' were spent preventing young extremists from joining terror groups in the Middle East such as Islamic State.

Members of the public often said 'Why not just let them go?' to face the risks of waging jihad, said the judge.

But he concluded that in the case of the teenager, who had already had two older brothers killed in Syria, a council's action had saved the young man's life.

Mr Justice Hayden made the teenager, who has joint British and Libyan nationality, a ward of court in March 2015, when he was 16.

He acted after staff at Brighton and Hove Council had learned that family members were making plans for the teenager to go on a trip to Dubai.

He banned the teenager from travelling abroad last year after a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court that police and social workers were concerned he would head to Syria.

The court heard that the young man, who cannot be named, had an uncle who had been held at the US military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

And three of his brothers had travelled to fight for a jihadist group then known as the Al Nusra Front  which had links to Al Qaeda  in Syria. Two died in their teens and a third was wounded.

The court heard that the young man, who cannot be named, had an uncle who had been held at the US military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. File image

Reviewing the case this week, Mr Justice Hayden said: 'There has been an extraordinary level of intervention. It has kept him alive.

'The thing that one hears most is "why is so much time, money and effort spent in these cases? Why not just let them go?"

'There is no doubt huge resources have been deployed in this case. And I myself have wondered whether that was proportionate. But at the end of the day... they have saved a human life.'

The judge said the travel ban was proportionate because he was concerned to 'keep this lad alive'.

He said the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had grown up in an 'extraordinary family  a family where the male members are patently committed to waging jihad in war-torn Syria.'

Mr Justice Hayden is expected to review the case again in the near future.
Elizabeth Hawk, 33, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child for reportedly only feeding her 11-month-old son berries and nuts

A mother who 'wanted to live on water and sunlight' in Pennsylvania is accused of starving her infant son by only feeding him berries and nuts.

Elizabeth Hawk, 33, is charged in Fayette County with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly denying her 11-month-old son enough food.

Police and relatives say Hawk had extreme views on nutrition and only fed the boy berries and nuts, KDKA reported.

'She was going to live on water and sunlight,' said Brandy Hawk, the boy's aunt, to KDKDA.

The infant, whose parents are separated, was showing a number of developmental issues  but Elizabeth reportedly said it was allergies.

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Elizabeth Hawk, 33, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly denying her 11-month-old son enough food while caring for him in her Fayette County home (pictured)

'He had a severe rash,' Brandy told KDKA.

'It was his motor skills  he couldn't use his hands at all.'

The boy was taken to the hospital, where his doctor said failure to treat his rash was 'inhumane' and risked putting the boy into septic shock, KDKA reported.

The boy's aunt, Brandy Hawk (pictured), said the mom had extreme views on nutrition and wanted to 'live on water and sunlight'

Doctors said he was malnourished when he arrived, Philly.com reported.

The boy and his two siblings are now living with their father, Jerry Hawk.

'He's doing great,' Brandy told KDKA. 'He's turned completely around.'
Hundreds of guards on Southern Rail will be fired on New Years Eve if they refuse to sign up to new working conditions.

Union bosses failed to reach an agreement with the firm over changes to the roles of guards by yesterdays midday deadline.

It means a three-day strike is set to go ahead from Tuesday next week, causing more chaos for hundreds of thousands of commuters across the South East.

Hundreds of guards on Southern Rail will be fired on New Years Eve if they refuse to sign up to new working conditions

Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs the Southern franchise, will today send letters to about 400 train guards warning them they will be fired on December 31 if they refuse to sign up to the contract.

During a three hour meeting, the RMT general secretary Mick Cash yesterday rejected an eight point offer made to members, as well as a one off 2000 cash bonus after Christmas if they accepted the terms.

The offer included guarantees that the job of train guards would be safe until at least 2021, and that there will be no compulsory redundancies and pay cuts.

In an effort to bring the dispute to an end rail bosses imposed a deadline of midday yesterday to sign up to the deal.

The RMT general secretary Mick Cash yesterday rejected an eight point offer made to members, as well as a one off 2000 cash bonus after Christmas if they accepted the terms

But the RMT has refused to budge and has insisted that no train should ever be able to run without a conductor on board.

It has claimed that giving the driver responsibility for opening and closing the train doors is unsafe, although this has been rejected by independent safety experts.

Charles Horton, chief executive of Govia said he was deeply disappointed that the offer has been rejected.

He added: What the RMT want to do is retain their power and control by insisting that our trains cannot run in any circumstances without a conductor on board, leading to more delays and cancellations. I am incredibly sorry about the months of misery our passengers have suffered.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: The union is angry and disappointed that a fresh set of proposals put forward today, that address both our issues and the company agenda, have been rejected out of hand with barely a cursory glance.The travelling public will be rightly angry that the company have kicked back in our faces a chance to resolve this long-running dispute.

The union has announced a total of 14 days of strikes, starting with a three day walk out next Tuesday. The last strike is schedule to finish on December 8.

Commuters have continued to endure delays and cancellations since the first strike in April.

The union has announced a total of 14 days of strikes, starting with a three day walk out next Tuesday. The last strike is schedule to finish on December 8

But Southern has experienced strong criticism this week after a social media campaign backfired.

The company took out newspaper adverts and put posters at stations asking commuters to message the RMT on Twitter.

It has now ordered the posters to be taken down, after furious commuters blamed rail bosses for the disruption.
Cosmetic surgery patients are putting themselves at risk, warns the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons

Cosmetic surgery patients are risking their lives being treated by fly in, fly out European practitioners, British medics warn.

Surgeons from abroad regularly visit the UK to offer cut-price treatments before jetting home.

The availability of foreign doctors supplied by private medical groups has largely been responsible for the rise in affordable cosmetic surgery in Britain.

But the distance makes it hard for British patients to track down doctors should they suffer botched surgery or complications.

Many European doctors do not have adequate indemnity insurance and patients may have to sue them in their native countries, a British surgeons group warned.

And many European doctors are not as experienced as their British counterparts, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) said.

5,000 TO CORRECT EVERY BOTCHED OP Correcting botched plastic surgery carried out abroad costs the NHS at least 5,000 per patient, doctors suggest. Figures from a London trust show that the health service treated 18 patients who suffered complications following foreign procedures. The actual cost is likely to be far higher as this figure does not include the price of medication, scans and follow-up appointments. The data, if representative of all the trusts in the UK, means the total cost of correcting cosmetic surgery tourism could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The study, by Kings College Hospital, found that seven of the patients required surgery to correct mistakes. Operations took place in countries including Tunisia, Turkey, Spain and Poland for buttock lifting, liposuction and breast implants. This leads to a huge cost to the NHS, financially and in resources, the authors wrote. Advertisement

The group is now calling for a change in the law to protect patients who they say are putting their lives at risk.

Michael Cadier, BAAPS president, said: The issue is that you could have insurance in a country where you cant make a claim unless you are in that country. So if your doctor is Greek, youd need to go to Greece to sue him. Weve had a lot of patients whove had botched surgery but they cant do anything about it.

He added that there was no system in place to routinely check that European doctors practising in the UK had any indemnity insurance.

There is also no requirement for them to have insurance equivalent to the level needed by their British counterparts, who are required to have 10million indemnity cover. So European doctors can in theory operate without insurance, BAAPS warns.

Many European surgeons also have the amount of compensation they pay capped in their native countries and some can only be sued in the place they live, rather than through the British courts. Fly-in, fly-out surgeons are usually employed by commercial chains who fly them to Britain for a short period.

It costs around 5,000 to correct every botched operation, medics have claimed

They cost less than British surgeons and, although they are qualified, BAAPS warn that they are often less experienced.

Incoming president Simon Withers explained: EU surgeons can be just as good as British surgeons, but the trouble is that they are often signed off without being fully trained.

BAAPS, which represents most NHS-trained UK surgeons, says that fly-in, fly-out doctors represent about 15 per cent of those working in Britain. They are often employed as they do not charge as much as their British counterparts.
A woman suspected of plotting to have her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend killed has been extradited to the US after fleeing to Mexico.

Brenda Delgado, 34, has been charged with the murder of Kendra Hatcher - who was shot dead by Kristopher Love in a Dallas garage on September 2, 2015, police say.

Delgado, who is both a US and Mexican citizen, is accused of hiring Love to commit the deadly act because she was jealous her former partner had started dating Hatcher.

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Brenda Delgado (second from right) has been extradited to the US from Mexico over the murder of Kendra Hatcher in 2015

Delgado (left and middle of right), 34, has been charged with the murder of Kendra Hatcher - who was shot dead by Kristopher Love in a Dallas garage on September 2, 2015, police say

Police also say the 34-year-old also convinced another friend, Chrystal Cortes, to drive the getaway car.

The Dallas Morning News revealed Delgado, who was arrested by Mexican authorities in April, is due to arrive back in the US on Thursday evening.

The newspaper reports the 34-year-old will likely be escorted by marshals on the flight, before she is taken straight to the Dallas County Jail.

Delgado went on the run by fleeing the country before police had a chance to follow up initial interviews with her after the death of Hatcher.

She is unlikely to face the death penalty as a condition of her extradition, because Mexico is opposed to capital punishment.

Kendra Hatcher (left) was shot dead on September 2, 2015. Police say Delgado planned the murder out of jealously
Carl Ferrer, 55, is the CEO of Backpage.com, one of the most popular classified ads websites in the United States

The chief executive of a popular classifieds website has been arrested by US authorities for alleged sex trafficking of minors.

Carl Ferrer, the CEO of the Dallas-based website Backpage.com, was arrested at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Thursday after returning to the US from Amsterdam.

The website is considered popular for its classified ads of escort services.

Authorities in California have been investigating Ferrer, 55, for three years, according to WFAA.

Several months ago, Texas officials received information from their colleagues in California alleging that Ferrer was profiting from the illegal 'pimping' of underage girls.

'A lengthy joint investigation by the offices of the Texas and California attorneys general uncovered evidence that adult and child sex trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads that appeared repeatedly on Backpage,' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement released from his office on Thursday.

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Ferrer will be tried in California, though Texas officials plan to pursue their own investigation.

'Backpage is the single largest advertiser of adult escort services' in the country, Paxton said.

Ferrer (left) was arrested at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston after flying back to the US from Amsterdam, where his company, Backpage.com, has an office

Federal and state agents are seen raiding Ferrer's company office near Dallas, Texas, on Thursday

Authorities in Texas are continuing an investigation against Ferrer that was initiated by law enforcement in California

A screenshot of Backpage.com shows the various escort services offered to the site's users

Ferrer's company 'advertises sex acts for money,' and generates millions of dollars in ad revenues each year, the attorney general said.
This video shows the moment a feisty cat took on a kangaroo that had strayed too close to his home.

The footage, shot in Canberra, shows the protective moggy dashing after the kangaroo on a suburban street.

Bailey the cat is known for acting like a dog, and even growls at the postman when he delivers the mail.

This video shows the moment a feisty cat called Bailey took on a kangaroo that had strayed too close to his home

And it seems his canine capabilities go even further than that, with the cat unafraid of the kangaroo despite it being more than three times his size.

The startled kangaroo had to bounce away with its tail between its legs after the cat turned on it and chased it off the road.

Bailey's owner Ann Connell told 9 News that her pet was raised with her 'fairly aggressive' German shepherd and has taken on many of the dog's traits.

'He does patrol the neighbourhood, he goes around the houses,' she said.

'When someone rings the doorbell, he gets up and runs to the door and growls,' she said.

'There's a guy who delivers community papers, Bailey follows him around every house, and when he gets to my letterbox he stands in front of him and growls.'

The footage, shot in Canberra, shows the protective moggy dashing after the kangaroo on a suburban street

Bailey the cat is known for acting like a dog and even growls at the postman when he delivers the mail

Ms Connell added that her cat is protective around her grandchildren and another pet dog.

Despite his feisty demeanour, Ms Connell insists that Bailey is popular with the neighbours.

Just last month, a dog was filmed squaring up to a kangaroo in Melbourne - but this time the hopping animal was not backing down.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. MICKEL SHEPHERD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STAN WILSON, et al., Defendants-Appellees. No. 16-10416 Decided: October 06, 2016

Before TJOFLAT, JILL PRYOR, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

Plaintiff-Appellant Mickel Shepherd appeals from a final order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama's granting Defendants-Appellees Stan Wilson, Richard Stringer, Aaron Carpenter, and Clarke-Washington Electric Cooperative's motion to dismiss as to Shepherd's federal claims and denying Shepherd's motion for leave to amend the complaint and motion for an extension of time to file objections to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (R&R). After careful review of the briefs and the record, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Shepherd's complaint alleges in relevant part that Shepherd was beaten and falsely arrested at the annual meeting of the Clarke-Washington Electric Cooperative (the Cooperative) on September 13, 2011 in Chatom, Alabama for simply desiring to speak and contest the minutes. DE 1:1. Shepherd further alleged that criminal prosecution was subsequently initiated against him by the town of Chatom in Alabama state court at the urging of Defendants. Based on these events, Shepherd alleged various causes of action arising under 42 U.S.C.  1983 for deprivation of federal constitutional rights as well as rights established under Alabama state law and local law.

Upon Defendants-Appellees' motion to dismiss, the Magistrate Judge issued a R&R on December 21, 2015 making the following recommendations: dismissal of Shepherd's claims against Carpenter because the complaint failed to present any factual allegations plausibly suggesting that Carpenter is liable for any of Shepherd's  1983 claims; dismissal of Shepherd's claims against Carpenter and Stringer as time-barred under Alabama's two-year statute of limitations for torts; and dismissal of Shepherd's claims against Wilson and the Cooperative for failure to allege sufficient facts plausibly suggesting that either the Cooperative or Wilson, the Executive Director of the Cooperative, is a state actor subject to liability under  1983. The R&R also recommended: denial of Shepherd's motion for leave to amend the complaint as futile; denial of Shepherd's request to engage in discovery prior to dismissal of his claims as futile; and dismissal without prejudice of Shepherd's remaining state and local claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Shepherd failed to timely file any effective objections to the R&R. Rather, Shepherd filed a motion for an extension of time to file objections, which the district court denied. The district court then adopted the R&R and entered judgment for Defendants-Appellees. This appeal timely followed.

II. Standard of Review

We review a district court's ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss de novo. La Grasta v. First Union Sec., Inc., 358 F.3d 840, 845 (11th Cir. 2004). When evaluating a motion to dismiss, we look to see whether the complaint contains sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. Surtain v. Hamlin Terrace Found., 789 F.3d 1239, 1245 (11th Cir. 2015).

A magistrate judge must promptly conduct the required proceedings when assigned, without the parties' consent, to hear a pretrial matter dispositive of a claim or defense. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(1). Within 14 days after being served with a copy of the recommended disposition, a party may serve and file specific written objections to the proposed findings and recommendations. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2). When a party fails to object to a magistrate judge's report, we review only for plain error and only if necessary in the interests of justice. 11th Cir. R. 31. Under plain error review, we can correct an error only when (1) an error has occurred, (2) the error was plain, (3) the error affected substantial rights, and (4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Farley v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 197 F.3d 1322, 1329 (11th Cir. 1999).

We review a district court's denial of leave to amend a complaint for abuse of discretion. Jennings v. BIC Corp., 181 F.3d 1250, 1258 (11th Cir. 1999).

We review a district court's denial of a motion for an extension of time pursuant to Rule 6(b) for abuse of discretion. Advanced Estimating Sys., Inc. v. Riney, 130 F.3d 996, 997 (11th Cir. 1997); see also Lujan v. Nat'l Wildlife Fed'n, 497 U.S. 871, 89598 (1990).

III. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Shepherd advances three arguments. First, he argues that the district court erred in dismissing his claims against Carpenter and Stringer on statute of limitations grounds. Second, he argues that the district court erred in denying his request for an extension of time to object to the R&R. Finally, he argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for leave to amend his original complaint.

Shepherd's appellate briefing does not challenge the district court's dismissal of his  1983 claims against the Cooperative and Wilson. Nor does Shepherd challenge the district court's dismissal of his  1983 claims against Carpenter. Therefore, the only federal claims that remain on appeal are Shepherd's  1983 claims against Stringer.

1. Dismissal of Shepherd's  1983 Claims Against Stringer

Shepherd first argues on appeal that the district court erred in dismissing his claims against Stringer. The Magistrate Judge recommended dismissing Shepherd's  1983 claims against Stringer because they were barred by the statute of limitations. As noted above, Shepherd failed to file any objections to the R&R and the district court adopted the R&R without modification. Therefore, we review the district court's dismissal of Shepherd's claims against Stringer for plain error.

Section 1983 provides a federal cause of action for persons subjected to the deprivation of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws by persons acting under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia. 42 U.S.C.  1983.[I]n several respects relevant here [,] federal law looks to the law of the State in which the cause of action arose. Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 387 (2007). This is so for the length of the statute of limitations: It is that which the State provides for personal-injury torts. Id.

While the length of the statute of limitations is determined by reference to State law, the accrual date of a  1983 cause of action is a question of federal law that is not resolved by reference to state law. Id. at 388. Aspects of  1983 which are not governed by reference to state law are governed by federal rules conforming in general to common-law tort principles. Id. Under those principles, it is the standard rule that accrual occurs when the plaintiff has a complete and present cause of action, that is, when the plaintiff can file suit and obtain relief. Id. (citations and internal marks omitted).

The statute of limitations for a  1983 claim seeking damages for a false arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment begins to run at the time the claimant becomes detained pursuant to legal process. Id. at 397.

In the instant case, the parties agree that the cause of action arose in Alabama, that the length of the relevant statute of limitations is provided by Alabama law, and that Alabama law provides that the length of the statute of limitations for personal injury actions is two years. Moore v. Liberty Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 267 F.3d 1209, 1219 (11th Cir. 2001) (citing ALA. CODE  6-2-38). Thus, in the instant case, both parties agree that the statute of limitations runs for two years from the time Shepherd was detained pursuant to legal process.

Shepherd claims on appeal that his  1983 claims are timely because the statute of limitations did not accrue until after September 2, 2014 when the Washington County Circuit Court dismissed the charges against Mr. Shepherd and ruled in his favor after an appeal. Appellant Br. at 16. Shepherd offers no argument to explain how the Washington County Circuit Court's dismissal of criminal charges against Shepherd amounts to detention pursuant to legal process for the purposes of running the statute of limitations. Nor does he explain why the district court erred in concluding that the statute of limitations began to run when Shepherd was arrested.

We conclude that the district court did not err in determining that Shepherd's  1983 claims against Stringer are barred by the two-year Alabama statute of limitations. Shepherd was detained pursuant to legal process when he was arrested on September 13, 2011. Therefore, the two-year Alabama statute of limitations for any  1983 claims alleging a violation of the Fourth Amendment arising out of that arrest expired on September 13, 2013. Shepherd's complaint was filed well after that date on July 27, 2015.

2. Denial of Shepherd's Motion for Extension of Time

Next, Shepherd argues that the district court erred in denying his request for an extension of time to object to the R&R.

Rule 6(b)(1)(B) provides in relevant part that [w]hen an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time  with or without motion or notice if the court acts, or if a request is made, before the original time or its extension expires. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(A).

In the instant case, the R&R was electronically docketed and notice served to parties on December 22, 2015. Pursuant to Rule 72(b)(2), objections were due within 14 days on January 5, 2016. Shepherd filed his motion for an extension on January 5 at 7:04 p.m., the night of the deadline. Counsel indicated in the motion that she had had difficulty accessing the R&R due to electronic technical problems. DE 50:1.

On review of the motion, the district court noted that it is obvious that Shepherd's counsel had access at some point to the R&R because the motion briefly addressed the merits of the R&R and because counsel was aware of the deadline for filing objections. The district court also noted that Shepherd's counsel was able to electronically file the motion to extend without any difficulties. The district court further noted that counsel's motion for an extension came only five hours prior to the deadline. In consideration of all of these factors, the district court determined that Shepherd had failed to show good cause sufficient to warrant an extension of time under Rule 6(b).

On appeal, Shepherd argues that the district court denied his motion in haste and without any proper consideration of Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b). Appellant's Br. at 28. Shepherd further claims that the motion should have been granted because it would not be [have been] unduly prejudicial to Defendants. Appellant's Br. at 27.

We disagree. The district court gave adequate consideration to Shepherd's motion for an extension and the relevant circumstances and denied the motion because Shepherd failed to show good cause. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Shepherd's motion for an extension of time.

3. Denial of Shepherd's Motion for Leave to Amend

Finally, Shepherd argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for leave to amend. The Magistrate Judge recommended dismissal of Shepherd's motion for leave to amend on grounds of futility. As noted above, Shepherd failed to file any objections to the Magistrate's R&R and the district court adopted the R&R without modification. Therefore, we review the district court's denial of Shepherd's motion for leave to amend for plain error.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) provides that a district court should freely give leave to a party to amend its pleadings when justice so requires. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). However, a district court need not allow an amendment where it would be futile. Cockrell v. Sparks, 510 F.3d 1307, 1310 (11th Cir. 2007). Leave to amend a complaint is futile when the complaint as amended would still be properly dismissed or be immediately subject to summary judgment for the defendant. Id.

In the instant case, the Magistrate Judge recommended that Shepherd's motion for leave to amend be denied because the proposed amended complaint did not materially differ from the original complaint. Specifically, the Magistrate Judge concluded that the federal claims in the proposed amended complaint, no less than those in the original complaint, would be subject to dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) because [t]he Cooperative and Wilson would still not be considered state actors subject to liability under  1983; the Complaint would still fail to set forth any reasonably specific facts plausibly indicting how Carpenter was involved in any of the events underlying Shepherd's federal claims, or how Stringer was involved in Shepherd's criminal prosecution following his arrest; [and] Shepherd's federal claims against Stringer and Carpenter would still be time-barred under Alabama's two-year statute of limitations. DE 48:18.

On appeal, Shepherd claims that the district court erred in denying his motion to amend because his proposed amended complaint would have stated a claim. Shepherd's briefing recites the basic factual allegations underlying the complaint but fails to explain how the proposed amended complaint would overcome the fatal deficiencies identified by the Magistrate Judge.

We conclude that the district court did not err in denying Shepherd's motion for leave to amend his complaint.

IV. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. Shepherd's motion requested additional time to respond to the R&R and asserted what Shepherd termed a blanket objection to the R&R. DE 49. Specifically, after moving to allow the Plaintiff more time to OBJECT more specifically to the December, 2015- Report & Recommendation- Document #48 in the file and requesting a mailed copy of said R & R document which due to electronic technical problems the undersigned legal counsel was unable to retrieve, Shepherd filed in the alternative a BLANKET objection. DE 49:1. The total substance of this perfunctory blanket objection was the following two sentences: The Plaintiff's case is not Time Barred due to the fact that the mistreatment by the Defendants existed up until the date this legal action was filed. The Amended Complaint should not be Denied because there are many legal theories which support the Plaintiff's Complaint as Amended against all Defendants. DE 49:1. The district court, relying on Marsden v. Moore, 847 F.2d 1536, 1148 (11th Cir. 1988), declined to consider these would-be objections on grounds that [f]rivolous, conclusive, or general objections need not be considered. DE 51:1 n.1. We agree with the district court that this blanket objection was not an effective objection to the R&R.

. These arguments have been re-ordered for clarity and logical flow.

. Shepherd's appellate briefing also argues that the district court erred in dismissing his  1983 claims against defendant Carpenter on statute of limitations grounds. However, Shepherd does not challenge the district court's conclusion that Carpenter is not a state actor subject to liability under  1983. Because Shepherd has abandoned any argument that he can recover against Carpenter under  1983, we do not consider his argument that the district court erred in dismissing Shepherd's  1983 claims against Carpenter on statute of limitations grounds.

PER CURIAM:
Creepy clowns have been terrorising schoolchildren across America in recent months, and now it seems they have arrived in Australia.

The haunting figures have been spotted loitering at parks, near railway tracks and in woodlands in a spate of incidents across the U.S sparking widespread fear.

This week some were even apparently caught on camera in Sydney, and Victoria Police were forced to issue a statement warning people about the creepy characters.

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Creepy clowns have been terrorising people in Sydney's west - this one was apparently spotted outside a fast food joint in Campbelltown on Thursday night

Another photo shows a clown laying flat on his back after being 'knocked out' by a passerby, however it is unclear whether this is actually what took place

However the spooky sightings have been laughed off by some as nothing more than a stunt.

A number of Facebook pages dedicated to hunting clowns across Australia have emerged as the hysteria over sightings continues.

Photos posted to social media apparently show one clown lurking near a fast-food joint in Campbelltown in Sydney's west.

Another shows a clown laying flat on his back after being 'knocked out' by a passerby, however it is unclear whether this is actually what took place.

One more image shows a woman confronting a clown, hitting him in the face with a long object.

The sightings have not been limited to Sydney, and on Friday Victoria Police issued a warning about clowns frightening people in Melbourne.

'Victoria Police are aware of people who are parading in the public wearing clown masks,' they said.

'The clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the USA recently.

This image shows a woman confronting a clown, hitting him in the face with a long object

This clown was apparently sitting by the side of the road in Narellan, in Sydney's south west

'Any intimidating and threatening as well as anti-social behaviours will not be tolerated and will be investigated by Police.

These latest Australian sightings come off the back of mass 'clown hysteria' in the States, after spooky suspects were caught creeping around children.

There has also been widespread speculation that the appearance of the horrifying characters are related to the release of Stephen King's new movie, It.

It features Pennywise the clown, and King responded to the frenzy this week tweeting: 'Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria--most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.'
A vegan travel blogger has broken down in tears after seeing a crate of sheep being trafficked on a ferry while trying to capture 'beautiful video footage'.

Kristin Lajeunesse, originally from the U.S., was on a ferry from Picton to Wellington in New Zealand on Monday when she smelt 'animal faeces' at the rear of the boat and decided to investigate.

Ms Lajeunesse became emotional after seeing dozens of sheep packed into a crate, describing the scene as 'cruelty set against beauty'.

'I just feel so helpless and I feel so bad for them,' she said in the video while wiping tears from her face.

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Kristin Lajeunesse, originally from the US, was on a ferry from Picton to Wellington in New Zealand on Monday when she smelt 'animal faeces'

Ms Lajeunesse became emotional after seeing dozens of sheep packed into a crate, describing the scene as 'cruelty set against beauty'

She then panned the video to the mountains behind her, saying the scenery was 'meaningless now'.

Ms Lajeunesse travelled to New Zealand on a trip funded by Vegan Travel to visit different vegan restaurants across the country.

She did a similar trip across the US in a chevy van in 2011 after quitting her job at Vegan Weddings HQ.

She has more than 105,000 Facebook followers on her page Will Travel for Vegan Food.

Ms Lajeunesse travelled to New Zealand on a trip funded by Vegan Travel to visit different vegan restaurants across the country

She uploaded the video to the page on Monday and it has since been viewed more than 350,000 times

Ms Lajeunesse did a similar vegan trip across the US in a chevy van in 2011 after quitting her job at Vegan Weddings HQ

She uploaded the video to the page on Monday and it has since been viewed more than 350,000 times.

While she had many supporters saying how devastating her experience on the ferry was, Ms Lajeunesse was also heavily criticised.

Some viewers posted pictures of freshly sliced lamb, saying the young woman needed to 'harden up'.

While she had many supporters saying how devastating her experience on the ferry was, Ms Lajeunesse was also heavily criticised

Some viewers posted pictures of freshly sliced lamb, saying the young woman needed to 'harden up'
The Chancellor suggested ministers were prepared to compromise on free movement

Access to the single market will be as important as controlling immigration in the Brexit negotiations, Philip Hammond said last night.

In a surprise intervention, the Chancellor suggested ministers were prepared to compromise on free movement to retain access to the single market.

Mr Hammond said immigration controls would focus on limiting the number of low-skilled migrants arriving from Eastern Europe.

But he suggested that higher-skilled migrants from the EU may still be free to come to Britain, saying voters were not concerned how many well-paid people arrive each year.

In an interview with Bloomberg in New York, he said: Part of the mood in the UK that drove the referendum decision was  is  a mood about the pressure on wages at the lowest end, the entry level jobs in the economy from large-scale migration, largely from Eastern Europe. And we have to address that issue.

The problem is not highly skilled and highly paid bankers, brain surgeons, software engineers.

You will not find, if you walk around towns in Britain and ask people how they feel about migration, that they have a problem with people with high skills and high earnings coming to the UK, because they recognise that those people are a positive contribution to the UK economy.

Mr Hammond also suggested that some low-skilled economic migrants would still be able to come to the EU following Brexit.

Asked if the desire to end free movement would trump access to the single market during the negotiations, he said: No, I dont accept that.

Pro-Brexit ministers such as Liam Fox and Priti Patel are pushing for a more rapid exit

He said: We dont delude ourselves that our European partners owe us any favours, but added: There will be a discussion, and a solution, as the Prime Minister said, will have to involve give and take on both sides, because you cant have a negotiated solution otherwise.

The intervention will add to a growing Cabinet split over the right balance to strike between immigration controls and trade links.

The Treasury is even said to be interested in the UK having a transitional exit.

Under this idea, the UK would keep EU laws and pay into the Brussels budget in return for full access to the single market while negotiations on a long-term trade deal take place.

But pro-Brexit ministers such as Liam Fox and Priti Patel are pushing for a more rapid exit. It came as Home Secretary Amber Rudd faced criticism of her tough rhetoric on immigration from her own brother.

Millionaire PR supremo Roland Rudd yesterday attacked his sisters divisive government, accusing it of stigmatising migrants.
Donald Trump injected a new word into his ceaseless but repetitive criticism of Hillary Clinton during a New Hampshire town hall even Thursday night, painting her deletion of 33,000 subpoenaed emails in terms an Old West sheriff would recognize.

'You send emails, and they send a subpoena, and they want all your emails,' he explained.

'And if you're in private business and you do what she did? It's called  the hoosegow, okay?'

'The United States Congress  Congress!  sends a subpoena wanting emails, and she gets the subpoena and she deletes 33,000 emails. and did many other things, including lying all over the place.'

'The lies she told the Congress! The lies she told to the people!' he boomed.

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LOCK HER UP? Donald Trump said Thursday that Hillary Clinton's deletion of 33,000 emails would have sent a businessman to 'the hoosegow' if his records were similarly subpoenaed

THE HITS KEEP COMING: Trump hammered Clinton over her classified email scandal, her foreign policy experience, and her physical ailments, saying she would be sleeping to prepare for Sunday's debate

BRING YOUR SIX-SHOOTERS: Old jailhouses like this restored one in the town of Tombstone, Arizona, were sometimes known as 'hoosegows'  a word they adapted from the Spanish 'juzgado,' meaning 'courtroom'

Clinton has claimed she handed over to the State Department all of the work-related emails on a private server that she operated while she was America's top diplomat.

But the FBI has uncovered thousands of previously unknown messages  including hundreds containing classified material  suggesting that when Congress ordered her not to destroy evidence, her legal team may have disobeyed.

FBI director James Comey ultimately decided not to recommend any criminal charges  reportedly after Attorney General Loretta Lynch promised former President Bill Clinton that there would be no indictment.

Trump spoke Thursday in the kind of intimate town hall that he hasn't seen since the days of the new Hampshire primary, answering about a dozen questions over 50 minutes from an invite-only audience.

Boston conservative talk-radio host Howie Carr,who has interviewed Trump and some of his senior staff in the past, moderated the discussion and chose questions from a stack of white cards attendees filled out ahead of time.

Most of the queries were softballs whose answers flowed easily into Trump's boilerplate campaign rhetoric.

Only one was a challenge  a request to define 'middle class' in terms of annual income.

Trump dodged, talking only more generally about 'saving' America's middle class through tax cuts.

A LITTLE OVER THE TOP: Charles St. Aubin of Derry, N.H. held a worshipful sign of approval for Trump before Thursday's town hall event in the town of Sandown

WELCOME BACK TO NEW ENGLAND: Trump and his advisers were greeted by fife-playing Scott Sturgeon of Plaistow, N.H. when they rolled into Sandown

The Republican nominee took time to give Clinton the back of his hand before the Q&A, however, just three days before the pair's second head-to-head debate.

'We wanted to keep this small,' he said of the tiny space inside the Sandown Town Hall.

Commentators on CNN and CNBC have openly speculated that the Trump campaign organized Thursday's event as a facsimile of the town-hall format he will face Sunday in St. Louis.

'This isn't debate practice,' he insisted. 'This has nothing to do with Sunday. We just wanted to be here.'

'Do you really think that Hillary Clinton is debate prepping for 3 or 4 days?' Trump snarked later. 'Hillary Clinton is resting, okay? She's resting! She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night. And, you know, that's fine.'

'The narrative is so foolish,' he said. 'I'm here for one reason: I love the people of New Hampshire. I said I'm going to be here, and I am here. Very simple.'

The hits kept coming against his Democratic rival, with a claim that the Commission on Presidential Debates is aligned against him because 'one of them comes from the Hillary camp.'

Asked if he planned to be more aggressive with her on Sunday, he acknowledged his choice not to re-air Bill Clinton's sexual dirty laundry on an international stage.

'I just thought it was inappropriate to say what I was thinking I would say,' Trump said.

'I didn't like getting into the gutter so I did hold back.'

DEJA VU: Chris Christie held his very first New Hampshire primary campaign event in the Sandown Town Hall last year, but on Thursday he was present in the role of adviser to Trump

Q&A TIME: Jeff Odhner of Amherst, N.H. was one of dozens of attendees who filled out question cards for radio host Howie Carr, who served as moderator

By not raising the issue at the Hofstra University debate, and drawing attention to that conscious omission, Trump ultimately guaranteed more coverage for the issue  and denied his opponent a chance to defend her husband on stage.

He lashed out at her Thursday night for endorsing an 'open borders' policy that he claims has fueled an influx of illegal drugs into the U.S.  particularly New Hampshire, whose epidemic of opioid addiction Trump highlighted on his way to a Granite State primary victory.

'They're poisoning our youth,' Trump said of drug cartels. 'It's tough enough out there. Our youth doesn't have a chance.'

And he took a moment to criticize her stewardship of the U.S. State Department at a time when the groundwork for a nuclear deal with Iran was being laid.

Asked to name some of the Obama administration's biggest foreign policy failures, Trump deadpanned: 'Do we have 24 hours to talk about it?'

FRISKY: Trump read off a list of recent poll results and then tossed it into the crowd, urging them to pass it back to reporters so they would know he hadn't made them up

TUNE-UP? Trump insisted that Thursday's event wasn't part of his preparation for Sunday's town hall-style debate in St. Louis, but it's the first such event he's held in months

He also addressed the threat from Hurricane Matthew, a screaming behemoth of a storm that he said 'looks like it's a big one and it looks like it's going to be a bad one.'

'Hopefully it takes that right turn,' he said solemnly.

Speaking into a TV camera, he said his investments, friends and employees in southeast Florida could be in for a devastating hit.

'Please know that we are praying for you and everyone in the path,' he said. 'You've got to take care of yourself, you've got to get out of the area. You've got to listen. You've got a great governor ... it could be a really bad one.'

Trump also pledged that people in the devastated country of Haiti wouldn't be left to recover on their own following the deaths of more than 260 people there.
A dentist who was allowed to work in Australia was accused of sexually harassing two female colleagues years after he was convicted in America of fondling four young girls he treated.

Dr Arvin Bartolazo was banned for just two years from working as a dentist in NSW after his sordid criminal history was discovered.

It was also revealed he had been treating patients in Australia for two years without a registered license.

Dr Bartolazo had been working as a dentist at two separate practices in Sydney for seven years before he was eventually banned in 2013 for professional misconduct.

Dr Arvin Bartolazo was banned for just two years from working as a dentist in NSW after he kept secret that he was jailed for fondling four of his young patients in America in the 1990s

But as of August last year, Dr Bartolazo was allowed to reapply for registration in NSW.

Dr Bartolazo's criminal history overseas was only discovered after two of his female coworkers in Sydney made allegations of sexual harassment against him in 2010.

His charges were eventually dismissed in court, but it brought to light his prior convictions and jail time in the United States 20 years earlier.

Dr Bartolazo had fondled four patients, two of whom were under the age of 16, while he was treating them in Pennsylvania in 1990.

Dr Arvin Bartolazo had also been treating patients in Australia for two years without a registered license

He served six months in jail and was banned from working as a dentist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for a period of time. He did practice again in Washington before migrating to Australia in 2002.

His registration to practice dentistry in NSW was approved in 2005 and he renewed the license each year until 2007, despite his prior criminal convictions.

For two years from December 2007 to September 2009, Dr Bartolazo was unregistered but still working as a dentist.

He registered again in 2009 until the Dental Tribunal of New South Wales banned him in 2013 following complaints from the Health Care Complaints Commission.

The Tribunal found him guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct given he lied about his past and was working while unregistered.
Ford enthusiasts gathered outside the car manufacturer's Melbourne plant on Friday to mark the end of its Australian assembly line.

A procession of limited edition Ford models drove onto the the grounds of the Broadmeadows Assembly Plant and parked on the grass in front of the factory.

About 600 workers have lost their jobs with the closure of the Broadmeadows and Geelong sites, many of whom have spent their entire working lives with the company.

Ford enthusiasts drove their classic models to the Broadmeadows Assembly Plant on Friday

Paddy Boylan pictured with his Falcon 1962 XK (the first Falcon model) outside the plant

The closure brings to an end 91 years of Australian built cars.

Ford spokesman Wesley Sherwood blamed a number of factors, but he said ultimately the need to stay profitable led to the tough decision.

Ford Australia has faced mounting pressure as a result of the strong Australian dollar, which has made imported cars cheaper and increased production costs.

Low import tariffs and high wages also undermined the company's ability to compete with foreign-made vehicles.

Ford's Broadmeadows Assembly Plant (pictured) and its plant in Geelong have been closed

About 600 workers lost their jobs with the closure of the Broadmeadows and Geelong sites

The appetite for Australian made cars has also waned - of 1,144,408 new cars bought in 2015 only 97,443 were built locally, AAP reported.

More cars are available in Australia than ever before with 60 brands and more than 500 models.

The last Australian made Ford came off the production line at Broadmeadows about 10am.

Former Ford employee Nick Doria displays the company flag in Melbourne
Advertisement

A newlywed couple on their dream honeymoon in the Bahamas has captured shocking footage showing the power of Hurricane Matthew, which started battering the islands on Thursday.

Dave and Amanda Jenkins were holidaying at the Riu Palace Paradise Island when the Category 4 storm hit.

A dramatic video the couple shot in its hotel room shows the moment the walls were ripped off the side of the building by the devastating winds that have reached speeds of 145 mph.

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A recently married couple on the dream honeymoon in the Bahamas has captured shocking footage showing the power of Hurricane Matthew as it wrecked their hotel room

Dave and Amanda Jenkins were holidaying at the Riu Palace Paradise Island when the Category 4 storm hit on Thursday

The Jenkins left their room for a few moments when the storm hit, before returning a few minutes later to collect their personal belongings

The Jenkins left their room for a few moments when the storm hit, before returning a few minutes later to collect their personal belongings, FOX10 reports.

When they got back, the entire wall was missing and items, such as sheets and curtains, were being hurled around the room in the wind.

The Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority said on Thursday that Nassau, the most populated island of New Providence in the central Bahamas, is copping the worst of the storm.

'We are experiencing the brunt of the hurricane force winds now so we just have to wait and see how we fare over the next five of six hours,' an official said, according to the Weather Channel.

The Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority said on Thursday that Nassau, the most populated island of New Providence in the central Bahamas, is getting the worst of the storm. Pictured are downed trees in Nassau

'We are experiencing the brunt of the hurricane force winds now so we just have to wait and see how we fare over the next five of six hours,' a Bahamas official said on Thursday

Electricity was shut off as a precaution ahead of the storm's arrival, and the nation's Prime Minister, Perry Christie, urged residents to prepare for a 'worst case scenario'. Pictured is a power pole that was almost topped in the wind

Dramatic pictures showed trees that had been uprooted in the winds and a gas station that toppled over.

Electricity was shut off as a precaution ahead of the storm's arrival, and the nation's Prime Minister, Perry Christie, urged residents to prepare for a 'worst case scenario'.

There were no deaths reported in the Bahamas on Thursday, but terrified locals still said it was like nothing they had ever seen.

'This is the most intense hurricane I have ever been through,' Jose Ageed, a 43-year-old Nassau resident said. 'And I have been through many.'

Marco Beckford rakes up debris from a storm drain as he begins cleanup near a damaged gas station in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas

The roof of a garage was blown off by Hurricane Matthew when it hit Nassau, the Bahamas, on Thursday

Two residents standing in the street have water almost up to their knees in the aftermath of the massive Category 4 storm

The storm has already torn through Haiti and caused at least 340 deaths on the country's southwest peninsula and in the Dominican Republic, with the number expected to rise in coming days.

Hurricane Matthew is the first Category 4 storm to hit Haiti in more than a half century.

Bodies of the storm's victims started to appear as waters receded in some areas two days after 145 mph winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her six-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

There were no deaths reported in the Bahamas on Thursday, but terrified locals still said it was like nothing they had ever seen

A damaged gas station is seen in Nassau, New Providence island in the Bahamas, on October 6, 2016, after Hurricane Matthew tore through the islands

The storm has already torn through Haiti and caused at least 299 deaths on the country's southwest peninsula and in the Dominican Republic, with the number expected to rise in coming days. Pictured are what remains of some trees in Les Cayes, Haiti

'On the way to the church, the wind took them,' Ais told The Associated Press.

'Devastation is everywhere,' said Pilus Enor, mayor of the town of Camp Perrin.

'Every house has lost its roof. All the plantations have been destroyed... This is the first time we see something like this.'

In the nearby seaport of Les Cayes, many people searched for clean water as they lugged mattresses and other belongings they were able to salvage.

A group of locals carry a coffin as they try to cross the river La Digue after the only bridge over the water collapsed when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti

Some of the damaged caused to trees outside a church, which was also hit by the storm, is seen in Les Cayes, Haiti

Victor Farah and her daughter sit in the ruins of their home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes on Thursday after the storm passed through

'Nothing is going well,' said Jardine Laguerre, a teacher. 'The water took what little money we had. We are hungry.'

Authorities and aid workers were just beginning to get a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.

Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph said food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been leveled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

Officials with the Pan American Health Organization also warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew.

People are seen standing near a church in Haiti that had its roof torn off by Hurricane Matthew on Tuesday and Wednesday

In ruins: Villages were leveled by 145 mph winds as the Category four storm brought floods, wreckage and misery to Haiti on Tuesday and Wednesday

Haiti's cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced into the country's biggest river from a UN base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

Destroyed: Homes lay in ruins after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday

Devastating toll: At least 65 people have been killed in Haiti alone by the Category Four storm, officials have said; a further four people were killed in the Dominican Republic

Haiti's interior ministry put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 108 dead with the number expected to rise; Many were killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers; the toll will likely rise

In the coming days, U.S. military personnel equipped with nine helicopters were expected to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas.

Aerial footage also illustrated some of the mass devastation caused by the storm, showing villages leveled by the 145 mph winds, with wreckage and misery everywhere.

Civil aviation authorities reported counting 3,214 destroyed homes along the southern peninsula, where many families live in shacks with sheet metal roofs and don't always have the resources to escape harm's way.

Jean-Michel Vigreux, the country director in Haiti for the nonprofit group CARE, his group hadn't yet been able to communicate with its team in Grande Anse. 'It is very scary,' he said.

No way across: People gather next to a collapsed bridge after Hurricane Matthew passed Petit Goave, Haiti

Matthew is the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix struck in 2007, a Category Five hurrican which resulted in at least 133 deaths across the Caribbean and Central America

Strong: This NASA satellite data from Wednesday shows Hurricane Matthew over Cuba. It is the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean in almost a quarter of a century

With answers slow to come, some Haitians in the crowded capital were convinced their homeland had been largely spared the kind of suffering that severe weather has wrought in the past.

'The news on the radio doesn't seem nearly as bad as it could have been,' upholsterer Daniel Wesley said as he walked down a rain-slicked street in downtown Port-au-Prince which was largely spared from the storm.

In nearby Cuba, Matthew blew across that island's sparsely populated eastern tip, destroying dozens of homes and damaging hundreds in the island's easternmost city, Baracoa. But the government oversaw the evacuation of nearly 380,000 people and strong measures were taken to protect communities and infrastructure.

The storm made landfall in the US in the early hours of Friday morning, with a State of Emergency declared in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

Men push a motorbike through a street flooded by a river that overflowed from heavy rains caused by Hurricane Matthew in Leogane, Haiti, on Wednesday
It was overruled by a governor whose decision was upheld on Thursday

In April, a state board ruled the murderess would be eligible for parole

After the abolition of the death penalty and two retrials, she remains in jail

Van Houten was sentenced to death with other 'Family' members in 1969

She was 19 when she and other Manson followers murdered Rosemary and Leno LaBianca at their home in Los Angeles by stabbing them repeatedly

Leslie Van Houten is now 67 and has been in jail in California since 1969

One of the key members of Charles Manson's murderous 'family' has been denied parole for the 20th time 47 years after being jailed for stabbing a couple to death in their home.

Leslie Van Houten, who is now 67, had her request for freedom turned down by a Los Angeles judge on Thursday after pleading to be released for good behavior.

She was jailed upon her arrest in 1969 for the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca who she stabbed to death with other key cult members, who referred to themselves as 'the Family', at their home in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.

In April a state board declared Van Houten would be eligible for parole but the decision was overturned by Governor Jerry Brown earlier this year.

Gov. Brown's decision was upheld on Thursday by a judge who said the woman still posed 'unreasonable danger' to society.

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Leslie Van Houten (above at a 2004 parole hearing) has had her request for release turned down again

It was the 20th time Van Houten has been turned down for parole since being taken into custody upon her arrest in 1969.

Judge William Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan said there was still 'some evidence' Van Houten posed a threat to society, The L.A. Times reported.

'Even two years after the murders, when interviewed by a psychologist, Van Houten admitted that, although she had no present desire to kill anyone, she would have no difficulty doing it again,' he said.

He added that the 'shocking nature of the crimes left an indelible mark on society'.

Van Houten was just 19 when she, along with other members of the Manson cult, murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca at their home.

She stabbed Mrs LaBianca in the lower back and buttocks repeatedly. Post-mortem examinations revealed some of the wounds were inflicted after her death.

Van Houten (right) was just 19 when she took part in the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles. She is seen above with fellow Manson Family members Patricia Krenwinkle (centre) and Susan Atkins (left) who were also jailed

The women were sentenced to death alongside their leader (above in 1969 after being arrested). Their sentences were changed to life imprisonment following the abolition of the death penalty in California on 1972

It came a night after the murders of Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski's wife who was pregnant at the time, and her friends.

Van Houten, who joined the cult in 1968, was sentenced to death in 1971 along with other key members of the 'Family' for her role in the second set of murders.

She admitted to participating in the LaBianca killings and tried to keep the cult's leader out of jail by claiming he had not ordered their deaths.

Fellow members Susan Denise Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel were tried at the same time as Van Houten and Manson. All four were convicted and sentenced to death, with Van Houten becoming the youngest woman in California to have ever received the sentence.

The following year, all four had their sentences changed to life imprisonment after the abolition of the death penalty in California.

During the trial Van Houten was seen smirking, giggling and laughing with her female co-defendants as they recounted their crimes.

The women were at the centre of the Manson cult, living in communes with the murderous leader who had them forego hygiene and commit brutal killings in the hope of sparking a racial war

In a show of support for their twisted leader, they cut their hair and carved x's on to their forehead. Above, the women leave court grinning in 1971 after being sentenced to death

Van Houten later changed her testimony at a 1977 retrial (right). She claimed she had been brainwashed by the cult and could not be expected to take responsibility for her crimes. It was left with a hung jury

The women's behaviour throughout their trial was sinister - they joked, laughed and giggled their way through recounts of their brutality and acted up for photographers while being shuttled between the court and prison

Van Houten applied for parole numerous of times but has always been turned down. She is seen above (left) in a 1999 mug shot and (right) at a 2002 parole hearing

The murderous trio carved x's into their foreheads and shaved their hair off in a show of continued support for Manson.

In 1977, six years after her conviction, Van Houten won the right to a retrial. She argued her right to it on the grounds that a mistrial was not declared in 1971 when, in the midst of the case, her lawyer, Ronald Hughes, died.

Hughes had tried to convince the then teenager to argue she had been coerced by Manson into the murders. He died during a ten-day recess while on a camping trip.

Manson (above in 1986) remains in a Californian prison

His cause of death was never determined, though it was speculated he may have been killed as an act of retaliation by family members who were angry he tried to turn his client against their leader.

At her 1977 retrial, Van Houten's legal team said she could not be held responsible for her actions after years of intense drug-taking. They also argued she had been brainwashed by Manson.

The jury could not reach a decision over whether to reduce her conviction to manslaughter. A second retrial the following year added a felony robbery charge .

This threw out her intention to argue she was of diminished responsibility in the killing.

After being convicted of first degree murder for a second time, Van Houten was sentenced to life imprisonment again.

Susan Atkins died in prison in 2009 at the age of 61. Patricia Krenwinkel, who is now 68, has been denied parole 13 times.

She remains in California Institution for Women in Chino, California, and is next eligible to apply for parole in 2018.

Charles Manson remains in the Corcoran State Prison in Corcoran, California. He is now 81.
Lauren Spierer, then 20, went missing in 2011 after what friends said was a night of hard partying at the University of Indiana campus in Bloomington

The family of a missing Indiana University student is hitting back at the New York residents who used posters of people who have disappeared as Halloween decorations.

Hiker James Rankin was walking through Berkeley Jackson County Park, in Huntington, when he discovered a number of trees with posted signs featuring a number of missing people. A local resident told police they were Halloween decorations.

One of the posters was of Lauren Spierer, the Indiana University student who went missing in 2011.

'We have seen the video comprised of many missing persons' posters, including Lauren's, placed in the woods,' her family said in a Facebook post.

'I cannot comprehend what would compel someone to find this amusing or entertaining. Clearly they are not a family member of a missing person.'

Spierer, then 20, vanished after what friends called a night of hard-partying in Bloomington.

Her disappearance led to massive searches in the city and made national headlines.

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Hiker James Rankin was walking through Berkeley Jackson County Park, in Huntington, when he discovered a number of trees with posted signs featuring a number of missing people

One of the posters was of Lauren Spierer, the Indiana University student who went missing in 2011

Rankin posted footage of his bizarre discovery on his Facebook page.

Several of the trunks have sheets of white A4 paper attached to them, each with details of a real missing person's case.

The clip also shows a pile of twigs built into a shape of what appears to be a ritualistic altar.

Initially, Rankin thought he may have stumbled across the dump site of a particularly active serial killer.

Rankin asks on the video: 'Who the f*** does something like this?'

In total, there were more than a dozen posters featuring both missing women and a handful of men.

Initially, the hiker thought he may have stumbled across the dump site of a particularly active serial killer

In total, there were more than a dozen posters featuring both missing women and a handful of men

After 12 minutes inspecting the site he said: 'We've got to get out of here. We've got to get as far away as possible.'

After returning to civilization, Rankin contacted Suffolk County deputies to report his suspicions.

Two days after posting the original video, Rankin updated his followers.

Spierer, then 20, vanished after what friends called a night of hard-partying in Bloomington

Her family, including mom Charlene and dad Robert (pictured), says there is nothing ' amusing or entertaining' about the display, which one resident told cops was for a Halloween event

'The police have told me that the homeowner of the adjacent property is claiming this was set up for a "Halloween party," and that it would be taken down after Halloween,' he wrote. 'They are not investigating further.

'What I wanna know is, if these were "Halloween party" decorations, why have they been hanging there for weeks or months?

'Because it was plainly obvious that the stuff had been there for quite a while, and not set up recently. That's clearly the case as seen in the videos. Seems to me they're just using the time of year as an excuse (just my opinion).'
A policy that prevents gay men from donating blood if they've had sex in the last 12 months could soon be overturned.

Victorian health minister Jill Hennessy has called for a review on the controversial ban.

Under existing rules men who've had sex with men in the preceding 12 months cannot donate blood.

A current policy that prevents gay men from donating blood has been labelled 'discriminatory' (stock image)

Victorian health minister Jill Hennessy has called for a review on the controversial ban

Ms Hennessy will on Friday tell a meeting of the country's health ministers in Canberra that the 'discriminatory policy' should be reviewed in 2017.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service says the deferral period could be safely reduced to six months but the Therapeutic Goods Administration is opposed to any change.

A review is scheduled for 2018 but Ms Hennessy wants that brought forward by 12 months.

'This policy doesn't align with what we now know about how HIV is transmitted - it's discriminatory and it's outdated,' she said in a statement on Friday.

'This ban stops a particular group of people from doing something that could save lives.'

Ms Hennessy wants the deferral period 'reduced or removed'.

The blood service says in the general population men who have sex with men accounted for 90 per cent of newly-acquired HIV cases in Australia in 2014.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service says the deferral period could be safely reduced to six months (stock image)

While the Red Cross tests every donation it's unable to detect the early presence of infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

'The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has visited this issue and agrees that the blood service is not being discriminatory with our deferral policy for men who have sex with men,' the organisation states on its website.
United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. COREY LEA, Plaintiff-Appellant v. UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee 2016-2108 Decided: October 06, 2016

Before NEWMAN, LOURIE, and CLEVENGER, Circuit Judges. COREY LEA, Arrington, TN, pro se. JESSICA COLE, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for defendant-appellee. Also represented by BENJAMIN C. MIZER, ROBERT E. KIRSCHMAN, JR., REGINALD T. BLADES, JR.

Corey Lea (Lea) appeals from the decision of the United States Court of Federal Claims (the Claims Court) dismissing his complaint for lack of jurisdiction and denying his motion for reconsideration. See Lea v. United States, 126 Fed. Cl. 203 (2016) (Order); Lea v. United States, No. 15-292C, 2016 WL 2854257 (Fed. Cl. May 10, 2016). Because the Claims Court did not err in dismissing the complaint, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Lea was a farmer in Kentucky. Appellant's Informal Br. 1. Acting through his company, Corey Lea, Inc., he applied for a loan from Farmers National Bank, guaranteed by the Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. Id. at 1. The loan guarantee agreement lists the borrower's name as Corey Lea, Inc. and is signed by a Farm Service Agency official. Appellee's App. 58. Farmers National Bank held the first mortgage, and the Farm Service Agency held the second mortgage. After Lea defaulted by failing to make payments, the bank foreclosed on the farm property. Appellant's Informal Br. 2.

Lea first filed multiple complaints against the government and Farmers National Bank in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, alleging discrimination and seeking an injunction against the foreclosure. The district court dismissed the claims in favor of the defendants, and on appeal from one of the dismissals, this court issued an order holding that we lacked jurisdiction and transferring that appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Lea v. Dep't of Agric., 562 F. App'x 969 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

Lea next filed a complaint against the government in the Claims Court in January 2014, alleging fraud, breach of contract, conspiracy to commit fraud and breach of contract, and tortious interference. The Claims Court dismissed his appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding that it lacked jurisdiction (1) over any claims against defendants other than the United States, (2) to grant any requested injunctive or declaratory relief, and (3) to hear his tort claims. Lea v. United States, No. 14-44C, 2014 WL 2101367, at *2 (Fed. Cl. May 19, 2014) (Lea I). The Claims Court also dismissed his claims for breach of contract for failure to state a claim because Lea failed to show that he was either a party or a third-party beneficiary to the contracts involving the government. Id. at *3.

Lea appealed from that decision to this court, and we vacated and remanded the dismissal of his contract claims, but affirmed the dismissal of all other claims. See Lea v. United States, 592 F. App'x 930 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (Lea II). We held that Lea lacked standing unless he were a third-party beneficiary, and we vacated and remanded for the Claims Court to determine whether to grant discovery on that issue. Id. at 93334.

However, before our opinion issued, Lea filed another complaint against the government in the Claims Court, again asserting the breach of contract claims, along with various claims of constitutional violations such as takings. See Lea v. United States, 120 Fed. Cl. 440, 443 (2015) (Lea III); Order, 126 Fed. Cl. at 20910 (summarizing the procedural posture of Lea III). Because Lea was pursuing the same breach of contract claims in Lea I on remand, the contract claims in Lea III were dismissed as duplicative and the noncontractual claims were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Shortly afterwards, Lea filed another complaint against the government in the Claims Court in March 2015, which became the instant case (Lea IV), and he voluntarily dismissed Lea I without prejudice. Order, 126 Fed. Cl. at 209. In this complaint, he alleged, inter alia, a taking, unjust enrichment, breach of an implied-in-fact contract by violating federal foreclosure regulations, breach of the loan guarantee agreement, and breach of the second mortgage agreement. Id. at 20910. The Claims Court observed that Lea had filed at least eleven separate actions in federal courts based on the same set of facts. Id. at 207.

The Claims Court first found that Lea failed to cure the jurisdictional defects that led to the dismissal of the same claims of a taking, unjust enrichment, and breach of an implied-in-fact contract in Lea III, and thus was precluded from reasserting those claims. Order, 126 Fed. Cl. at 21415. The court then analyzed the remaining breach of contract claims. Id. at 21518. The court noted that the borrower identified in the loan guarantee agreement and the mortgagor identified in the second mortgage agreement were both the corporate entity, not the individual. The court concluded that Corey Lea, Inc. was the only entity eligible to pursue contractual claims against the United States based on third-party beneficiary status. Id. at 217. Because a corporation must be represented by an attorney, the court dismissed the remaining contract claims. Id. at 21718.

Lea moved for reconsideration, which was denied by the Claims Court. Lea timely appealed to this court from the Claims Court's decisions. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  1295(a)(3).

DISCUSSION

We review the Claims Court's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction de novo. FloorPro, Inc. v. United States, 680 F.3d 1377, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Tucker Act provides the Claims Court with jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim against the United States founded  upon any express or implied contract with the United States. 28 U.S.C.  1491(a)(1). However, in contract cases [t]he government consents to be sued only by those with whom it has privity of contract. Erickson Air Crane Co. of Wash. v. United States, 731 F.2d 810, 813 (Fed. Cir. 1984); see also id. (holding that subcontractors lack privity with the government and thus lack standing to bring a direct suit for breach of contract against the government).

Lea argues that the Claims Court did not consider that Corey Lea, Inc. is a dissolved corporation with Lea as a sole shareholder winding up its affairs. Lea asserts that the court also incorrectly cited case law applying Texas law rather than Kentucky law with regard to a corporation's ability to continue litigation after it has been dissolved. Lea also insists that the government waived the argument of standing to sue on behalf of the corporation. Lea further asserts that as a debtor listed on the first mortgage, he has standing as an individual to sue for breach of contract. Moreover, Lea contends, the courts in Lea I and Lea II found that he had standing, and therefore under the law of the case doctrine and the mandate rule, the Claims Court erred in finding that it lacked jurisdiction over his contract claims. Lea also disputes that collateral estoppel applies, particularly as to the takings claim, which he denies was previously addressed in Lea III.

The government responds that the Claims Court considered all of the facts alleged in the complaint and acknowledged that Lea was winding up Corey Lea, Inc.'s affairs. However, the government maintains, Lea was not a party to the contracts with the government, and any injury to him was not separate and distinct from the corporation's injury. The government asserts that Lea's claims were therefore derivative of the corporation's, and emphasizes that shareholder-derivative actions require counsel. Additionally, the government responds, the court may sua sponte challenge its own subject matter jurisdiction at any time, whether the defendant raises the issue or not. As for the other claims, the government contends that the court correctly applied collateral estoppel because the claims were almost verbatim identical to the claims in Lea III that were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and Lea failed to cure the jurisdictional defects.

We agree with the government that the Claims Court did not err in dismissing Lea's complaint for lack of jurisdiction. We understand Lea's desire to pursue claims relating to the company that he was the sole shareholder of and that bears his name. Lea's role in managing the affairs of the dissolved corporation, however, is insufficient to vest the Claims Court with jurisdiction to adjudicate his claims.

Lea focuses on the fact that Corey Lea, Inc. has been dissolved and that he is the sole shareholder winding up the affairs of the corporation. Appellant's Informal Br. 59. Although Kentucky law provides that dissolution of a corporation does not bar or exempt the corporation from litigation in its own name, the law does not create privity between Lea and the government merely because of such dissolution, such that he as an individual may sue for breach of contract. As Lea is not an attorney, and a corporation may not be represented by a non-attorney, the Claims Court correctly concluded that he may not pursue the claims on behalf of Corey Lea, Inc.

The only way Lea could have had standing to sue the government for breach of contract with regard to the loan guarantee agreement and the second mortgage agreement would have been, as we noted previously, if he were a third-party beneficiary to the contracts. See Lea II, 592 F. App'x at 933. But Lea did not expressly argue that he was a third-party beneficiary until he made an oblique reference to such in his reply. Appellant's Reply Br. 6. Nonetheless, the government addressed that point in its response brief by asserting that the Claims Court properly determined that Lea was not a party to the contracts and that Corey Lea, Inc. was the intended beneficiary instead. Appellee's Br. 10. We will accordingly address it briefly.

To prove third-party beneficiary status, a plaintiff must show that the contract not only reflects the express or implied intention to benefit the party, but that it reflects an intention to benefit the party directly. Glass v. United States, 258 F.3d 1349, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2001). And we have previously held that shareholders are not necessarily third-party beneficiaries eligible to enforce a contract between a corporation and the government. Id. at 135455; First Hartford Corp. Pension Plan & Tr. v. United States, 194 F.3d 1279, 1289 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (noting that one of the principal motivations behind utilizing the corporate form is often the desire to limit the risk of ownership to the amount of capital invested and thus avoid the obligations, contractual or otherwise, of the corporation and finding the shareholders in that case were not third-party beneficiaries and thus could not bring breach of contract claims on their own behalf).

Although a third-party beneficiary need not be explicitly identified in a contract, here the contracts were clearly not intended to benefit Lea as an individual. The loan guarantee and second mortgage agreements were clearly intended to assist Corey Lea, Inc. in obtaining a loan to purchase and operate farm property. Even though Lea was the president and sole shareholder of Corey Lea, Inc., the company was and is still a separate legal entity.

More is required to confer intended third-party beneficiary status than knowledge that he as an individual would indirectly benefit from the agreements. Lea made the conscious choice to apply for the loan in his company's name rather than his own. Whatever his reasons might have been, he cannot now claim that the contract was intended to directly benefit him as an individual. Moreover, whether he was listed as an individual on the first mortgage, a contract with a private bank, is irrelevant to privity with the government. Because Lea has not alleged facts sufficient to establish his status as a third-party beneficiary, the Claims Court correctly found that it lacked jurisdiction over the breach of contract claims filed in his name.

Accordingly, Lea did not provide the Claims Court with evidence supporting his alleged status as a third-party beneficiary of the loan guarantee and second mortgage agreements. The court therefore did not err in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate Lea's breach of contract claims.

Lea furthermore did not present any new, previously unavailable facts that would support the Claims Court's jurisdiction over claims previously found to be not within the purview of the Tucker Act. The court therefore did not err in finding that Lea did not cure the original jurisdictional defects and thus did not justify a new analysis of jurisdiction over those claims.

CONCLUSION

We have considered Lea's remaining arguments and conclude that they are without merit. For the foregoing reasons, the decision of the Claims Court is affirmed.

AFFIRMED

PER CURIAM.
the members of the Budgie Nine has asked media for privacy

The 'Budgie Nine' have arrived back in Sydney asking for privacy after they were released from Malaysian custody with just a slap on the wrist and a fine.

Footage showed eight of the nine men touching down in Sydney airport at around midday, asking for privacy, still remaining tight-lipped on their four nights in 'awful' conditions in a Malaysian jail.

One of the nine men embroiled in the Budgie incident, Nick Kelly, has asked for privacy in front of a scrum of media at Sydney Airport.

'We would like to take this opportunity to ask you to please be respectful of our families' privacy at this time,' Nick Kelly told reporters.

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Eight of the Budgie Nine have arrived back in Sydney and remain tight-lipped on their time in awful conditions in custody

Nick Kelly and seven other members of the Budgie Nine arrived back in Sydney Airport on Friday

Nick Kelly and seven other members of the Budgie Nine arrived back in Sydney Airport on Friday

One of the nine men embroiled in the Budgie incident, Nick Kelly, has asked for privacy in front of a scrum of media at Sydney Airport

'We would like to thank our family for all they've done for us over the last couple of days,' he said.

'We would like to urge all Australians travelling overseas in the future to be very aware of the cultural differences and sensitivities that exist in other nations.'

Jake Walker, staffer to Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne, remained behind in Kuala Lumpar when his friends left.

Malcolm Turnbull told Adelaide radio the Malaysian authorities had been lenient and the men were 'very repentant', but said Mr Walker would have consider his future in government carefully.

'He needs to have a very hard look at himself and I'm sure will be considering his future carefully,' Mr Turnbull said.

Earlier, the Budgie Nine arrived at the Kuala Lumpur international airport just hours after they were released from prison and vowed to head home after stripping down to their speedos.

At least three of the Budgie Nine, including Thomas Whitworth and Nick Kelly, have checked into flights on Thursday night

The men made no comment as they made their way to immigration to board a flight to Singapore

They made no comment as they made their way to immigration to board a flight to Singapore.

The trio arrived at the airport just hours after they were released from prison without a conviction recorded following four nights in a 'horrendous' cell.

It is not clear if they will get connecting flights to Australia or when the remaining Budgie Nine crew will leave Malaysia.

The Australians pleaded guilty to public nuisance at the Sepang Court on Thursday after delivering an apology to the court and country.

One of the men, Thomas Whitworth, read a letter to the court claiming they have realised the respect the Malaysian people have for their flag and apologised for offending them.

The apology letter read out by Thomas Whitworth at the Sepang Magistrates Court

'We therefore, without reservation, apologise and express our deepest regret over our conduct,' Mr Whitworth said

'We too have similar fondness and respect to our own Australian national flag, but due to our cultural differences our display of respect and reverence is perhaps quite different,' Mr Whitworth said, handcuffed to another member of the Budgie Nine.

'But this is no excuse for us to not understand our neighbours' sensitivities.'

Mr Whitworth collapsed as he read out the apology, and took down the friend he was handcuffed to. He was then propped up to drink water.

The men, all aged between 25 and 29, were arrested on Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix when they stripped down to their speedos with the Malaysian flag, chanted 'Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi' and drank from their shoes.

The nine Australian men were freed on Thursday. They are pictured leaving Sepang court

The Budgie Nine are pictured walking free after escaping conviction

The men, all aged between 25 and 29, are Timothy Yates, Edward Leaney, Nicholas Kelly, Thomas Laslett, Thomas Whitforth, Brendan Stobs, James Paver, Adam Pasfield and Jack Walker.

They were discharged with a fine and caution.

Their nine budgie smugglers had been laid out in front of the judge by a court official wearing black rubber gloves.

The fathers of the three men were reportedly at the court in a show of support as the accused stood in one line ahead of their release.

They could have faced up to two years in jail.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Walker's father John Walker said the men all planned to head back to Australia as soon as possible.

Nick Kelly and other members of the Budgie Nine are pictured leaving court

Thomas Laslett, one of the Australian men arrested in Malaysia on Sunday, is pictured leaving court after his release

Jack Walker, one of the Budgie Nine and an adviser to minister Christopher Pyne, is pictured leaving court on Thursday

Nick Kelly and Thomas Whitworth are pictured arriving at court on Thursday

The nine Australian men are pictured arriving at court handcuffed in pairs

The nine Australian men step out of a van to arrive at court on Thursday

The nine Australians arrested at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday arrive at court

The men spent four nights in prison but were released without a conviction recorded

The Australian men are pictured arriving at court on Thursday

The nine men arrived at court on Thursday handcuffed in pairs

The nine Australians arrested at the Malaysian Grand Prix arrive at court

The nine Australians stripped down to their budgie smugglers on Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix
A Texas boy is in custody on an arson charge after he allegedly set fire to a 10-year-old boy he knew while playing in a park, putting him into a coma.

Kayden Culp, of Kerrville, was playing in a field with two boys when a third allegedly poured gasoline over him and another set him on fire on Sunday.

One of the boys, who is not named because he is a juvenile, has now been taken into custody and charged with first-degree arson,KSDK reported.

'He hurt me. He set me on fire. He needs to go to jail,' Kayden managed to tell his mom about his attackers, aged 9, 10 and 11, Fox News reported.

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Kayden Culp, of Texas, is fighting for life in the hospital after suffering horrific burns while playing in a park. One boy has been taken into custody and charged with arson

Kayden (pictured) is suffering from infections and is currently on medications to stabilize his heart, after receiving burns to about 20 per cent of his body on Sunday

Video courtesy of WOAI/KABB

Kayden has reportedly been 'suffering from infections and is currently on medications to stabilize his heart,' his mother Trysten Hatchett has said.

He also has burns to about 20 per cent of his body, has a feeding tube and is being kept sedated, according to a fundraising page set up to help the family.

He has been put in a medically-induced coma.

Kayden's family says the incident was premeditated  and hope there will be further charges.

'All the kids are talking, saying, "Hey, they set out to do it on purpose,"' aunt Tanya Kasper told Fox News. said.

Kayden's mother, Trysten Hatchett, has spoken to local police about pressing charges against the boys who she claims set her son of fire deliberately

Kasper said Kayden's family worried about him because of bullying.

'He wore a hearing aid, talked with a lisp,' aunt Tanya Casper told KSDK. 'I mean, he was challenged from the get-go.

'And for him to face this new challenge, its going to be overwhelming.

The first- and second-degree burns stretch from near his belly button to his ears.

Kayden's mother has also spoken to local police about pressing charges against the boys she claims set her son of fire deliberately.

'My son is a special guy. He was rowdy and he liked to have fun,' she told the Houston Chronicle.

'He considered these guys his friends, but they would make fun of him and pick on him and tease him.

'He was usually the brunt of that kind of joke, but he kept playing with them.'

City spokeswoman Kaitlin Berry said she had heard 'rumors' the young boy was set alight deliberately, but could not confirm whether it was the case because fire marshals are still investigating.

The fundraising page set up to help the family has raised just under $8,000.
Merritt allegedly said he wanted to burn her family alive in front of her

A New Zealand cleaner accused of murdering his boss allegedly told his colleague he wanted to burn her family alive.

Alexander James William Merritt, 21, is facing the High Court at Dunedin for the alleged murder of his supervisor Karin Ann Ross on December 2, 2015.

The 51-year-old was discovered in the car park of Spotless Cleaning Services at 2am with her face down in a pool of blood, the Otago Daily Times reported.

Alexander James WIlliam Merritt, 21, is accused of killing his supervisor Karin Ann Ross

Merritt's colleague Aiden Kelsall told the court that the pair had a tumultuous relationship.

A few weeks before the alleged murder Merritt allegedly refused to dispose of rubbish from an area he was cleaning, sparking a dispute between the two.

'I saw him that night and he was pretty livid about that. I believe on that occasion he said he'd like to burn her family alive in front of her,' Mr Kelsall told the court.

'I told him I thought it was an overreaction. He told me that it wasn't and she would deserve it . . . he was very very angry.'

Ms Ross allegedly spoke in a condescending tone towards Merritt but not with other employees.

Merritt also allegedly said Ms Ross was a 'lazy b***h' and 'it would be fine if she died'.

He allegedly made other regular comments about her work ethic.

When colleagues asked Merritt why he had a black eye and scratches on his face just hours after Ms Ross' death, he claimed he had scratched himself in his sleep.

The court heard that Mr Kelsall struck a conversation with Merritt and asked him his thoughts on Ms Ross' death.

He allegedly responded: 'I don't care. You know how I felt about her.'

The trial continues.
It divided the country under Gough Whitlam and now, 43 years on, a Liberal senator is proposing to sell off the famous painting Blue Poles.

The controversial Jackson Pollock artwork, now worth an estimated $350 million, has been a great investment, but it's time to 'cash in', James Paterson believes.

'It's not appropriate for the federal government to own a single piece of art worth $350 million, particularly given that money could be much better used elsewhere,' he told the Herald-Sun on Friday.

Liberal senator James Paterson wants the government to sell the famous 'Blue Poles' painting (pictured), which is worth an estimated $350 million, to pay off debt

'Given our gross national debt of $470 billion as of this month, my preference would be to use every dollar of the proceeds from selling Blue Poles to pay down debt.'

His view differs to Mathias Cormann, but the finance minister does like his colleague's creative thinking.

'It is a national art treasure and I can't see it being sold, but I don't criticise James Paterson for one moment for turning his mind to how we can get our budget into a stronger position for the future,' he told Sky News .

'In relation to this particular object, it's a matter for the board of the National Gallery to determine how they manage their portfolio.'

Paterson's proposal was unpopular with many people on social media.

Paterson said it was inappropriate for the government to own the painting and the money could be better used elsewhere

'I'd rather keep Blue Poles and sell James Paterson,' Steve Boyd wrote on Twitter.

David Scott Aubrey said: 'Sure, sell Blue Poles to reduce the national debt. But how about selling Parliament House! Some inside have already been bought! [sic]'

Blue Poles was sold to the Australian Government in 1973 for $1.3 million, dividing public opinion. It is now the most valuable artwork at the National Gallery of Australia.

The work was painted by Pollock in 1952 and is currently on loan at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Paterson's suggestion was unpopular with many people on social media
A stunning cliff lookout that stands 40 metres above a rocky ocean is proving to be a drawcard for people who are risking their lives for the perfect Instagram photo.

The Gap and the Natural Bridge in Albany in Western Australia is a tourist hotspot given that its $6.1 million purpose-built viewing platform extends 10 metres from the cliff top, allowing people to stand over the ocean.

But a number of people have taken to ignoring the warning signs so they can pose for photos closer to the lookout's dangerous edge.

The Gap and the Natural Bridge in Albany in Western Australia stands 40 metres above a rocky ocean and is proving to be a drawcard for people risking their lives for the perfect photo

Photos posted on social media show people with their legs dangling over the 40 metre drop and others leaning dangerously far over steel barricades.

The daring photos are still being posted despite the brand new viewing platform opening up in April.

Kevin Parsons from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services told the Albany Advertiser the dangerous behaviour was straining resources.

Photos posted on social media show people with their legs dangling over the 40 metre drop and others leaning dangerously far over steel barricades

A number of people have taken to ignoring the warning signs so they can pose for photos closer to the lookout's dangerous edge

The daring photos are still being posted despite the brand new viewing platform opening up in April

He warned that selfie takers needed to be careful with changing weather conditions.

'People who are conducting that type of activity really need to consider (their) own safety in (a) coastal environment,' he said.

'There have been many stories over the years of exceptionally large swells swamping boats or catching people unawares on rocks. The fact that it is a fine day and low swell doesn't guarantee safety if in a precarious location.'

The Gap and the Natural Bridge in Albany in Western Australia is a tourist hotspot given that its $6.1 million purpose-built viewing platform extends 10 metres from the cliff top
As anxious Americans sought more information about Matthew that was making its way towards the US mainland, the official government-run website responsible for tracking the fierce storm crashed.

The National Hurricane Centers site crashed at around midnight eastern standard time late Thursday, even as Hurricane Matthew barrels toward the eastern seaboard.

The site, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suffered an apparent technical glitch, according to the National Weather Service.

Internet users who tried to log on to the National Hurricane Center's website late Thursday were given an error message like the one above

The southeastern US is being pelted with heavy rains while the deadly Category Four storm steamed ever closer to the coast with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the website, tweeted that it is trying to fix the glitch that caused it to crash

The National Hurricane Center's Atlantic Ops Twitter feed is working and is providing up-to-date information on the latest developments

The site could not have shut down at a worse time, as a state of emergency has been declared in the Florida panhandle and the Carolinas.

The southeastern US is being pelted with heavy rains while the deadly Category Four storm steamed ever closer to the coast with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph.

Two million people across the Southeast were warned to flee inland as tens of millions along 500 miles of coastline battened down the hatches.

The 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm is the most powerful hurricane to threaten the US Atlantic coast in more than a decade and could be the most most catastrophic to hit the north and east of Florida in 118 years.

The NHC's Twitter account and the Atlantic Ops Twitter account are still releasing information.

The site, however, has been off since around 11p.m. eastern time.
A young boy who never knew his father gave the best gift a son could ever give.

Brandon Bakke, an 11-year-old boy from Fargo, North Dakota, used all of the money that he earned mowing lawns and selling lemonade in order to buy a gravestone for his dad after discovering that there was nothing to mark his burial plot.

The heart-warming story was first reported by WDAY-TV.

Bakke, who is adopted, spent months saving up close to $400 that he initially wanted to use for a hoverboard.

But when he looked deeper into his family history, he discovered that his biological father was buried in Chicago.

Brandon Bakke (right) never knew his biological father (left). That didn't stop him from using all of the money he earned from mowing lawns to buy his late dad a tombstone

So instead of buying a hoverboard, he used the money to purchase a gravestone for his dead 'because I don't think anybody should go unknown,' he told the New York Daily News.

Bakke's story was so inspiring that Dakota Monument Company decided to donate the tombstone, the Daily News reported.

The story even had well-wishers from around the country call the company to tell them that 'they are still wiping the tears from their eyes.'

Bakke will be in Chicago later this month as part of a family road trip. During the trip, he will place the tombstone.

Bakke will be in Chicago later this month as part of a family road trip, during which he will place the tombstone which was donated by Dakota Monument Company

A worker at the cemetery where his father is buried said that he knew him personally, and that he would not charge Bakke the fee required to place the tombstone, the Daily News reported.

In concert with Dakota Monument Company, Bakke said he will raise money this winter by snowblowing the front of people's homes in order to raise funds for those who do not have tombstones.
A Los Angeles-area couple is charged with murder after trying to cross into Mexico with the body of a two-year-old girl in a duffel bag.

Mercy Mary Becerra, 43, and Johnny Lewis Hartley, 39, also are charged with torture and assault on a child causing death and sex trafficking of the girl's mother.

The couple, who were charged last week, remained jailed in Los Angeles County on Thursday and could face life sentences if convicted.

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Mercy Mary Becerra, 43, (right) and Johnny Lewis Hartley, 39, (left) are charged with murder after trying to cross into Mexico with the body of a two-year-old girl in a duffel bag

In the felony complaint filed on September 27, the girl is identified as Angelina W while her mother is identified as Amanda Z, according to KTLA.

The couple trafficked a woman between November 2012 and this August, seized her daughter, brutally abused the child and killed the girl two months ago in Whittier, prosecutors said.

Mexican officials stopped Hartley and Becerra on August 9 while they were trying to cross into Tijuana on foot from San Diego at the San Ysidro port of entry.

Becerra and Hartley also are charged with torture and assault on a child causing death and sex trafficking of the girl's mother. They are pictured together in a Facebook photo here

As Hartley was being detained at the Tijuana crossing (seen here), Becerra tried to flee

They were then arrested at the San Ysidro border station after Mexican authorities X-rayed the duffel bag and discovered the girl's body, authorities said.

As Hartley was being handed over to US Customs and Border Protection, his companion, Becerra tried to flee, but she was caught a short time later and also transferred into American custody.

In August, officials said the toddler had drowned at a home in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier, a city which lies just southeast of Los Angeles, before her body was discovered by authorities in the duffel bag.

The couple (pictured in a Facebook photo), who were charged last week, remained jailed in Los Angeles County on Thursday and could face life sentences if convicted

Prosecutors said she also suffered from malnutrition and dehydration.

However the criminal complaint filed last week stated assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury resulted in her death.

The couple are expected to be arraigned on Friday and it is unclear whether they have attorneys.
A piece of wing debris found in Mauritius is from MH370, Australian investigators said on Friday.

It is the latest fragment discovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines that has been linked to the missing passenger jet.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed the piece of aircraft wing found in May 'was a trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO (MH370)'.

By examining a part number on a section of the wing known as a splice strap investigators were able to trace it back to the doomed aircraft, the ATSB said.

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Australian air crash investigators confirmed this piece of aircraft wing (pictured) was from Flight MH370

Experts examined a part number on a section of the wing known as a splice strap after the debris washed up in May

The jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said the find affirmed the focus of search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean.

'It does not, however, provide information that can be used to determine a specific location of the aircraft,' he said.

Ministers from Malaysia, China and Australia decided in July to call off the search for the aircraft if it was not found in the current search area and no new credible evidence emerges.

The section of plane wing was one of three pieces of debris washed up on Indian Ocean beaches in May.

Two pieces of plane debris have already been confirmed as being from the missing jet.

The first was recovered from the French island of Reunion in July 2015, while the second was found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania.

Investigators are still no closer to solving the aviation mystery.

Identification numbers (pictured) enabled experts to confirm the piece was from Flight MH370

The report came two weeks after the ATSB said officials had yet to link debris recovered from Madagascar by US amateur investigator Blaine Gibson to MH370 or a Boeing 777.

Officials also said that the debris found in Madagascar was not exposed to fire, quashing earlier speculation.

No trace of MH370 has been recovered from the current 120,000-square-kilometre (46,000-square-mile) search zone, fuelling speculation it may have crashed outside the area.

But several pieces of debris linked to the flight have been discovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines - in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius.

The first piece found was a two-metre (six-foot) wing part known as a flaperon that washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July 2015.

More than 110,000 square kilometres of the search area has been scoured so far, Australia said last month, adding that the hunt was set to be completed in December.

Flight MH370 dissappeared shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing

The jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board

Police and gendarmes carry piece of aircraft wing found on La Renuion island in July, 2015 - 16 months after MH370 disappeared

French officials watch over debris found in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island on July 29, 2015
He allegedly broke into the home but stole nothing before leaving

The man, dressed in business attire was pictured on September 26

Police are hunting for a man accused of breaking into a property

Police are hunting for a man accused of breaking into a home before wandering around inside and leaving empty handed.

The man allegedly broke into the property on Lindsay Street, in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, on Monday, September 26, between 9am and 3pm.

Police are looking for a man who allegedly broke into a Queensland home to wander around before leaving with nothing

The man is believed to be of Caucasian appearance with black hair and wears glasses.

He was last seen wearing a blue business shirt, black pants and white shoes.

Anyone who recognises the man pictured or noticed any suspicious activity is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
In Torchbearer , Duck Dynastys Phil Robertson makes a convincing argument on the absurdity of life without God. He begins the hour long documentary by narrating the story of creation, defining God as the Creator of all things and human beings as image-bearers of God. After the fall of our first parents, death entered into human history, which resulted in loneliness, depression, betrayal, hatred, and war. It was no longer God who determined mans worth in this world, but the man with the biggest stick.From there, Robertson takes us on a journey throughout history of various world events in which man tried to live without God and the appalling, morally decadent results. He begins with the world-famous Scopes Trial -- the State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes  an American legal case in 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it illegal to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. The trial was staged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Scopes was uncertain whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he purposely implicated himself so that the case could have a defendant. The ACLU asked Scopes to admit to teaching the theory of evolution to pit science and religion against one another, when in reality no opposition existed between the two. During this trial, defense Attorney Clarence Darrow, an atheist, called William Jennings Bryan, counsel for the prosecution, to the stand as a witness in an effort to demonstrate the belief that the Bible was absurd, while journalist H. L. Mencken called Christians morons and ignoramuses. Its no coincidence that many of our government leaders and our mainstream media do the same thing today. Evil and deception in our atheistic and relativistic world continue to be alive and well.Other stops on the tour include: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Plymouth Rock, and France during the French Revolution. We see film footage of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "Father of the Atomic Bomb", and learn about Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas of a master race and atheism. Robertson then takes us on a live tour of Auschwitz, where the Nazis murdered ten thousand people per day. He moves on to Normandy, France for D-Day on June 6, 1944, and then travels to Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 for the race riots and the bombing of a Baptist Church by the Ku Klux Klan, where three little girls are killed. He moves to the present day genocide the brutal persecution of Christians by ISIS.Throughout all his travels, Robertson demonstrates that without God, life makes no sense. When people make pleasure their god, they end up feeling empty and lost, and turn to war. The world becomes self-absorbed and self-destructive. In the absence of God, man becomes the sole determiner of human worth and it is always the man with the biggest stick who rules.Religious freedom, human dignity, and the sanctity of human life are all prominent themes in this great film. Robertson is a true evangelist and sharer of the Good News in this impressive film.is a must-see movie. It opens in selected theaters on October 7. See http://torchbearermovie.com/ to learn more.
Donald Trump told a raucous Nevada crowd on Wednesday that he wants their vote if it's the last thing they do on this earth.

In a comic bit that he's refined since the Republican primary season, the presidential nominee said that he hoped Nevadans would cast their votes for him even if they're on their deathbeds.

'I say kiddingly, but I mean it,' he said. 'I don't care how sick you are. I don't care if you just came back from the doctor and he gave you the worst possible prognosis, meaning it's over  you won't be around in two weeks.'

'Doesn't matter. Hang out 'til November 8, get out and vote. And then all we're going to say is, "We love you. And we'll remember you always." Get out and vote.'

The audience of about 7,000 in a Las Vegas suburb laughed and cheered.

'I don't care how sick you are!' Donald Trump blared Wednesday in a now-standard speaking riff. 'Get out and vote'

Trump, the Republican nominee for president, told 7,000 people that even if their doctor they've got only a few weeks to live, they should survive until Nov. 8 to vote for him

Trump began in January to jokingly urge sick voters to ignore their doctors' advice and support him with their votes.

In a Clinton, Iowa middle school gym on the day before the February 1 Iowa Caucuses, he rolled out an early version of the now-standard plea.

'Get out and vote! Get out and caucus! And don't stay back!' he boomed then.

'I don't care if you're feeling horrible  you have a 104 temperature  the doctor says, "You cannot leave! It'll be the end of you if you leave bed! You cannot leave! You will not be able to make it!"'

'Get out of bed and caucus, okay? I love you!' he beamed.

The shtick has persisted into the general election season, making appearances in at least 11 states.

'On November 8, you have to get out and vote  or do some balloting. I don't care,' Trump ad-libbed August 12 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

'Look, here's the story: if you're not feeling well, if you're so sick, if you go to your doctor and he goes, "I'm sorry sir, but you've only get a few weeks left," and it's November 1 and he gives you the ultimate word  "Not looking good! You haven't got long left!  I don't care! And nobody else in this room cares!'

'You have to, on November 8, get out of bed and get out and vote, right? Get out and vote.'

EARLY DRAFT: Trump said last January in Iowa that too-sick-to-stand voters should still show up to help him on Caucus day

Last week in Novi, Michigan, he personalized the routine  giving his imaginary deathbed voter a few potential names.

'Show up and vote, folks. Show up and vote,' he said.

'If you are so sick, if you get the worst report you can possibly get from the doctor, if the doctor says, "I'm sorry, Jim." "I'm sorry, Alice." "I'm sorry, whoever it is. You're not gonna make it. You're not gonna make it. You'll be gone by the end of November.'

'I don't give a damn,' he said to loud cheers. 'Show up and vote on November 8.'

'No, we don't want that to happen,' he reassured a few fans with after making eye contact just seconds later.
visited the Pope in the Vatican this week

The Archbishop of Canterbury had the Pope in stitches during a visit to the Vatican, it was reported.

The Pope is said to have been doubled over with laughter following Justin Welby's comedy turn in St Peter's Basilica yesterday.

It is perhaps of little surprise the joke that tickled the Pope's funny bone was one about religion.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, right, reportedly had Pope Francis, left, in stitches

Justin Welby had the Pope laughing when he told jokes during a visit to the Vatican

Pope Francis, centre, poses for a group photo, during a meeting with the head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, centre, at the Vatican yesterday

According to the Times, he asked: 'What's the difference between a terrorist and a liturgist? You can negotiate with a terrorist'.

Mr Welby is said to have cracked another joke at the British ambassador's palace, saying: 'You wait years for an archbishop to come along and then you get 14 at once'.

On Wednesday Pope Francis and Justin Welby attended a vespers, or evening prayer service, in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of theological talks between the two churches in 1966.

The heads of the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches said they would work together to help the poor and protect the environment despite their differing views on some issues.

On Wednesday Pope Francis and Justin Welby attended a vespers in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of theological talks between the two churches

The leaders said they could do much together despite the 'imperfect union they already share'

In a joint statement, they said: 'While, like our predecessors, we ourselves do not yet see solutions to the obstacles before us, we are undeterred,' specifically mentioning the ordination of women and 'more recent questions regarding human sexuality'.

The vespers were held in the same Rome church from where Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine to convert the English in 597, nearly 1,000 years before King Henry VIII broke from Rome in 1534 to start the Church of England.

After 1534, there had been no meeting between an Archbishop of Canterbury and a pope until 1966 when Michael Ramsey met Pope Paul VI.
Emmaleigh Barringer (pictured) was brutally raped and murdered in the basement of her home in West Virginia

A new petition is now calling for the hanging death of the West Virginia man who allegedly raped and beat to death his girlfriend's 10-month-old baby girl.

Benjamin R. Taylor, 32 of Cottageville, faces life in prison on charges of murder and sexual assault of 10-month-old Emmaleigh Barringer.

But while West Virginia abolished the death penalty more than 50 years ago, thousands of Americans are calling on the White House to help make an exception for Taylor.

'Prison is too good for child rapists and their ilk,' says the petition on We The People, which will result in a official response from the Obama Administration if it gets 100,000 signatures in 30 days.

The girl's mother, Amanda Leigh Adkins, who has four children, reportedly woke up about 5am Monday and found her baby girl naked and bleeding on her basement floor.

Emmaleigh suffered extensive bleeding indicating a brutal sexual assault, according to a criminal complaint. She also showed signs of having been shaken and struck in the face.

The little girl was later declared brain dead at the hospital. Adkins held Emmaleigh tightly as the infant took her last breath Wednesday.

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Benjamin R. Taylor, 32 of Cottageville, faces life in prison on charges of murder and sexual assault of 10-month-old Emmaleigh Barringer

He was arraigned Thursday via a video conference and is being held without bond at South Central Regional jail

Emmaleigh suffered extensive bleeding indicating a brutal sexual assault, also showing signs of having been shaken and struck in the face

The petition, which had nearly 32,000 signatures as or Friday morning, asks the White House to enact to Congress to do something about Taylor.

'When it's an open and shut case such as this, let us hang these creatures publicly,' wrote J.R., who started the petition on Wednesday.

'Let us make examples of them, and allow the American people to attend these hangings so that the accused may be ridiculed, as they should be.'

Emmaleigh, above in her hospital bed after the attack, was 10 months old when she was found beaten and bloodied in the basement of her home, say police

Amanda Leigh Adkins is seen kissing Taylor in a Facebook photo. Taylor had captioned it 'I'm so happy I met this girl!'

Emmaleigh's grief-stricken relatives say Taylor appeared a 'Prince Charming' who swept the baby's mom off her feet.

'She was so lit up inside  he wanted to do things with her, he hung out with the kids,' said Danielle Adkins, a cousin to Emmaleigh's mother, to WSAZ.

Relatives are holding a candlelight vigil in Emmaleigh's memory Friday as they prepare for her funeral this weekend.

Relatives are holding a candlelight vigil in Emmaleigh's memory Friday as they prepare for her funeral this weekend

Neighbors have put up a picture of Emmaleigh at her home's front steps with a number of candles and notes of support for her mother

Neighbors have put up a picture of Emmaleigh at her home's front steps with a number of candles and notes of support for her mother.

'She's never going to go home with her brothers and sister again,' Danielle Adkins told WSAZ.

'She's never going to be in a family event. We're never going to know what her kids would look like or get to see her graduate high school  any of these normal life things because of this monster.'

Emmaleigh's grief-stricken relatives say Taylor appeared a 'Prince Charming' who swept the baby's mom off her feet. Danielle Adkins, a cousin to the mother, now calls him a monster

Police said that when they arrived at the house In Ripley, they found Taylor trying to 'wipe something' off his groin area, which police later determined to be the baby's blood, according to WSAZ.

Blankets and clothes covered with blood were near where police said Taylor had been with the baby in the basement.

Benjamin Taylor is being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault in the death of 10-month-old Emmaleigh

Adkins was holding the baby and had blood on her. She told cops she'd found the baby naked on the basement floor.

Police said Taylor originally told them he did not know how the baby was injured, but later said he 'blacked out' while doing laundry with the baby. Taylor is not the girl's father.

Even the most hardened police were horrified by what they found in the house.

'I've not encountered anything of this nature as long as I've been here,' Jackson County Sheriff Tony Boggs said.

Emmaleigh later died in the intensive care unit of Charleston Area Medical Center.

Three other children were in the house at the time, according to police.

Rick Grunes, who appears to be Emmaleigh's grandfather, shared the Go Fund Me link on Facebook on Thursday and wrote: 'At this time, we regret to say that the injuries sustained from the attack on our child, Emmaleigh Elizabeth Barringer, have resulted in her death.

Taylor, above, had a criminal record, and was once convicted for burglary and twice violated his probation, according to WSAZ. His Facebook cover photo, seen right, bears the words 'I will never apologize for being a sex freak'

Amanda Leigh Adkins is seen above with Emmaleigh and her other three children in this Facebook photo

Amanda Leigh Adkins shared a sweet snap of her with her daughter of Facebook with Snapchat filters

'First, we would like to thank the Jackson County police for their thorough investigation. We believe that it points directly to Benjamin Taylor as the person responsible for this heinous act.

'Second, we want to thank the hospital and staff at CAMC for their efforts in attempting to save and sustain the life of our child.

'Finally, we would like to assure anyone with any doubt that this crime against an innocent child was solely perpetrated by a monster who had disguised himself as a caring and supporting friend.

Taylor is seen above in some shirtless selfies on Facebook. Baby Emmaleigh was reportedly violently shaken and suffered head trauma as well as being sexually assaulted

'Emmaleigh's mother and surviving siblings were victims in this and are guilty only of placing trust in the hands of a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'.'

He later wrote a post '#Childlivesmatter #JusticeforEmmaleigh'.

Emmaleigh was reportedly violently shaken and suffered head trauma as well as being sexually assaulted.

According to the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Danielle Adkins, Amanda Leigh Adkins' cousin, said that Amanda had to sign the papers to take Emmaleigh off life support.

Adkins, seen above, was holding the baby and had blood on her. She told police she'd found the baby naked on the basement floor

Adkins is seen above in a Facebook photo with her three older children. Emma was her youngest

Speaking before Emmaleigh died, Danielle said: 'Amanda's main concern was that there was going to be some miraculous event and that [the baby] is going to open her eyes.

'I just think reality just hasn't hit her yet.'

She said that Taylor had been dating her cousin for a short time and that most of the family had not met him.

Amanda had met him when she moved to West Virginia from Maryland with her four children over the summer.

'She went down there to start over,' Danielle said.

In a Facebook photo posted on August 25, Amanda Leigh Adkins is seen kissing Taylor. He had captioned it 'I'm so happy I met this girl!'

The baby girl was found beaten and blooded inside the basement of their home in Ripley (above)

Emmaleigh is seen above in a Facebook photo shortly after she was born. As of Thursday a Go Fund Me page has raised $20,000 for her funeral and medical expenses

Emmaleigh was reportedly violently shaken and suffered head trauma as well as being sexually assaulted. Facebook photos of the little girl are seen above

Family posted heartbreaking photos of the little girl online. A GoFundMe page to help with medical and funeral expenses has raised nearly $27,000 by Friday morning.

According to WSAZ, Taylor's Facebook account once had a banner photo announcing, 'I will never apologize for being a sex freak.'

Taylor is being held without bond at South Central Regional jail.
As thousands of people across Florida seek shelter from Hurricane Matthew, some brave - or stupid - residents have opted to party and even surf as the deadly storm hit US shores.

People across the state held 'Hurricane Parties' at home, while others hit the beach in bikinis or took their dogs for a walk just feet from the wild waves.

Pictures taken on Thursday and Friday showed some Floridians packed into bars on the beach, seemingly more committed to Happy Hour than evacuating the under-threat area.

On Friday, one adventurous soul took to Daytona Beach, beer in hand, to take a video of the effects of the hurricane.

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'Hurricane Matthew can suck my a**,' a young woman was filmed shouting before she downed multiple beers

Great time for a beer and a selfie: Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of the hurricane in Daytona Beach

Florida residents were seen in bikinis at the beach just hours before Hurricane Matthew hit in the early hours of Friday morning

Two people dressed in dinosaur suits were spotted having a blast by the beach in Stuart

One bar in Fort Lauderdale was particularly busy, with dozens of people crowding into the Elbo Room.

The crowd happily tossed back beers and sang along with a guitar player while a smaller group of revelers partied at another bar one block over.

Although Fort Lauderdale was initially in Matthew's crosshairs, forecasters said the hurricane didn't move inland as far south as first expected.

So rather than hunkering down with their bottled water and bread, many residents took to the beach and the bars to celebrate instead.

Michael Levi and his friend went swimming in the ocean, bobbing down the beach in foamy white spray kicked up by Matthew.

'It's not the brightest idea in the world, but it's fun,' said Levi of Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Kayleigh Black, 14, and her friend Amber Olsen were photographed running from wild seas at Cocoa Beach Pier

Charleston visitors were pictured getting soaked by waves and lashed by high winds as they explored the waterfront

Families seemed to have no fear as they took young children to look at the wild water created by Hurricane Matthew in South Carolina

Some brave surfers even headed out into the wild waves to take advantage of the swells created by Hurricane Matthew

Dozens were seen packed into a beach-front bar in Florida on Thursday afternoon despite warnings to evacuate

Smile! One man on Deerfield Beach in south Florida decided to take his shirt off and snap a selfie as the storm approached

Others had massive 'Hurricane Parties' throughout the night just before the Category 4 storm hit about 1am on Friday

'A lot of people are afraid to look at this, and actually it's quite beautiful. It's quite amazing. It's a one-in-a-lifetime type thing.'

Two Floridians dressed as dinosaurs were spotted having a blast as they danced and frolicked through the strong winds on the beach in Stuart on Thursday.

Images from the 'Hurricane Parties' were posted to social media throughout the night.

'I tried to hold off....time for a hurricane beer,' one person tweeted, along with a photo of a fully-stocked fridge.

'Hurricane Party tonight! Because who else is in the hot tub during a cat 4 hurricane,' another person said on Instagram, while also sharing a picture of the packed hot tub.

'It's a hurricane party,' another captioned a pair of pictures.

A video posted as the storm made its way towards the coast showed a young woman in what looks like a college dorm room partying.

'Hurricane Matthew can suck my a**,' she said, before downing multiple beers at once.

Record waves attracted many surfers in South Carolina who hit the water despite evacuation orders

Daredevil surfers were still braving the water in South Carolina despite safety warnings

People posted pictures of their parties on Thursday night as the storm got nearer, with many using the hashtag, '#HurricaneParty'

One person could not wait to crack open their first beer on Thursday night as they waited for the storm to arrive

Another Floridian to stay at home and try to ride out the Category 4 storm was rapper Vanilla Ice, who live tweeted his experience.

'Riders on the storm. I am right on the ocean in Palm Beach looking at evil darkness sky coming with the hurricane,' he wrote at 4:11pm.

'It's starting to get nasty here in Palm Beach,' Ice added at 8:25pm.

Then shortly before 10:30pm his tone took a turn for the worse.

A swimmer does a front flip as he jumps into the very choppy waters at Jupiter in Florida - on the northern tip of Palm Beach

A young boy and his dog play in the water at a beach in Jupiter as the wild weather whipped waves into a frenzy

Rapper Vanilla Ice was live-tweeting from his Palm Beach home as he waited for the storm to arrive

Handled well: He got back in touch with his followers on Friday morning to say that Palm Beach looks a mess but overall handled it well

'This is crazy - riding the storm here in Palm Beach... #HurricaneMatthew is pounding Palm Beach right now. Flooding and debris flying everywhere.'

Fortunately he survived to tell the tale, posting this morning: 'It looks like a mess with debris and some flooding here but overall Palm Beach handled it very well.'

On Thursday, Weather Channel hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross urged people to flee the storm, which he said was, 'like no storm in the record books'.

'We are concerned about reports of people deciding to stay in areas under mandatory evacuation orders. This is a mistake,' Norcross said.

'This is not hype. This is not hyperbole, and I am not kidding. I cannot overstate the danger of this storm.'

Some people on social media also made comments about looting once the storm hit, but it is unclear how serious the tweets were.

'As soon as this hurricane hit, it's looting season,' one person wrote.

'Who tryna (sic) carpool to Jacksonville after this hurricane for when the looting starts?' another said.

'If I was in Florida during a hurricane I'd be looting,' another added.

Another local man shouted, 'D***s out for Harambe! D***s out for Harambe!' during a local news broadcast. The interruption was in reference to the gorilla that was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo in May.

He was quickly ushered away from the camera.
A Melbourne man who told a 14-year-old girl her age did not matter to him and had sex with her to 'christen his new car' has been jailed for child sex offences.

Aaron Ford, 36, was on Friday jailed for at least 18 months after earlier pleading guilty to charges of persistent sexual abuse of a child under 16, and possessing and producing child pornography.

Ford was 32 when he met the girl through one of her relatives, County Court of Victoria Judge Wendy Wilmoth said.

A Melbourne man, 36, has been jailed for at least 18 months after pleading guilty to charges of persistent sexual abuse, and possessing and producing child pornography of a 14-year-old girl (stock image)

He began spending a lot of time with her and her family, and took the girl to and from school.

'You told her you loved her and asked her out, and bought her flowers,' the judge said.

The girl told him it was wrong because of the age difference.

'But you told her age didn't matter to you,' Judge Wilmoth said.

While driving the girl home from an excursion to a theme park on the Mornington Peninsula, Ford asked her to have sex with him.

'You suggested having sex to christen the new car,'Judge Wilmoth said.

When the girl was 15, she stayed over at Ford's home and offered to sleep on the floor.

Ford asked her to have sex and the girl said no, but relented when Ford continued to ask her, the court was told.

The man had sex with the young girl in his new car to 'christen it'. He told her that age didn't matter to him (The County Court of Victoria pictured)

A month later she told her mother what had been happening and the abuse was reported to police.

About the same time, Ford sent emails to the girl's school email address saying he was hurt by her avoidance and begged her to tell him directly that she no longer wanted to see him.

When interviewed by police, Ford denied there had been any sexual activity with the underage girl.

Police later found hundreds of photos of the girl on Ford's computer, including images of her in sexual positions.

Victorian County Court judge Wendy Wilmoth: 'you knew the complainant was a vulnerable girl and you exploited her vulnerability and immaturity'

Ford pleaded guilty to the three charges against him one day before his trial was due to start.

'You knew the complainant was a vulnerable girl and you exploited her vulnerability and immaturity,' Judge Wilmoth said.

'Not only did you manipulate this girl's will, you also abused the trust placed in you by her mother and others.'
A Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant was the victim of 'a calculated execution' by a parolee with a long history of arrests who pumped bullets into his body as he lay wounded, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said on Thursday.

Sgt. Steven Owen, 53, was shot while responding to a report of a burglary in progress on Wednesday at an apartment building in Lancaster.

He went behind the building, where the gunman shot him with a stolen gun then stood over his body and fired four more times, McDonnell said at a news conference.

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Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt Steven Owen, 53, (left) was the victim of 'a calculated execution' by Trenton Trevon Lovell, 27, (right) a parolee with a long history of arrests who shot Owen several times as he lay wounded, officials said

In this still frame from video provided by KABC-TV, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies take Lovell into custody

'He then unsuccessfully searched the body for the sergeant's weapon, with the intent to use it to murder the first responding deputy,' the sheriff said.

He allegedly pointed a gun at a deputy who responded. Lovell was shot in the shoulder before stealing Owens' patrol car, backing up and ramming another patrol car with it, authorities said.

He then ran into a house where two teenagers were cowering before SWAT team members rescued them and forced Lovell to run out the back, McDonnell said.

Trenton Trevon Lovell, 27, of Lancaster, was arrested in the killing.

Lovell was treated for his wound and remained jailed without bail. It was not clear if he has an attorney.

Lovell is seen with his hands up in the backyard of a home, after first looking over the gate behind him and seeing law enforcement vehicles searching for a shooter

Lovell (pictured on ground), was cuffed in front of a home more than an hour after Wednesday's attack in Lancaster, north of Los Angeles

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's patrol car is shown after the burglary suspect commandeered it

McDonnell was asked whether the sergeant, a 29-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, may have tried to avoid shooting the suspect, possibly deciding not to use his own gun.

'There was only the two of them there initially, so I don't know that we'll ever be able to answer what happened in that split-second,' McDonnell said.

However, he said the killer may have been able to draw a gun surreptitiously while the sergeant had his own gun out and was requesting backup.

'This was a calculated execution,' McDonnell said.

McDonnell rejected any suggestion that Lovell, who is black, may have shot in self-defense  a question apparently prompted by controversy over recent shootings of young black men in police confrontations.

'This is an individual that was certainly the aggressor, somebody who is truly a predator, and not somebody who was defending himself in any manner,' McDonnell said.

Lovell has been arrested a dozen times, including once on suspicion of selling marijuana when he was a juvenile.

He has also served two state prison sentences, McDonnell said.

Lovell was on parole following a 2009 conviction and six-year prison sentence for robbing a USC community safety officer at gunpoint, The Los Angeles Times reported.

McDonnell said he had been classified as a 'moderate risk.'

Lovell had been staying with his sister in the apartment complex where the burglary was reported and neighbors said he had a hot temper, the Times reported.

Sheriff's deputies embrace in the parking lot of the Antelope Valley Medical Center after the fatal shooting of Sgt. Owen

Sheriff's department and medical personnel comfort each other outside the medical center

On Thursday at the apartment where Lovell had been staying, a woman who identified herself as his mother told the Times that the shooting had devastated her family and she was praying for the sergeant's family.

'He's still my son, and I love him regardless,' she added.

The news conference was held as Owen's body was escorted from a morgue in Los Angeles back to Lancaster, where hundreds of people stood on an overpass draped with U.S. flags to watch as the hearse passed.

At the news briefing, the sheriff said Owen was a model peace officer who was well-liked by local residents who had met him.

'They are saying that on their worst day, he helped them believe that tomorrow would be a better one,' McDonnell said.

In 2014, Owen was one of several deputies from the Lancaster station who received Sheriff's Department medals for meritorious conduct after they captured a gunman in a bulletproof vest who had taken a driver hostage and used him as a human shield after a police chase.

Los Angeles County sheriff's department officers place a wreath at a memorial outside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department office in Lancaster on Thursday

A man adjusts the wreath display at the memorial for Sgt Owen, a 29-year veteran of the department
Safety fears as Hurricane Matthew hits TWO nuclear reactors: Storm also sweeps past heads Cape Canaveral and Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort

Experts say there is very little risk of a repeat of the Fukushima accident in Japan in 2011

Hurricane Matthew has passed over Cape Canaveral and is heading north, with winds battering two nuclear power stations and Donald Trump's luxurious Mar-a-Lago resort.

Cape Canaveral was last hit by a major storm in 2005 when it was battered by Hurricane Wilma.

But since then the Space Shuttle program has shut down and the Kennedy Space Center is nowadays leased out by Nasa to private users like Elon Musk's SpaceX company and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

Hurricane Matthew is expected to pass close to Port St Lucie nuclear power station (pictured) but safety experts say it will not suffer a meltdown like Fukushima in Japan in 2011

The storm arrived on shore on Friday north of Palm Beach County, which has a population of 1.4 million people, and the National Hurricane Center predicted it would push along the Interstate 95 corridor towards Jacksonville.

The St Lucie nuclear reactor was right in the storm's path while Turkey Point in southern Florida was also affected by high winds.

The Department of Energy said: 'Some reactors were shut as a precaution to protect equipment from the storm; others were forced to shut down or reduce power output due to damage to plant facilities or transmission infrastructure serving the plant.'

Hurricane Matthew has traveled across the Bahamas and is now heading up Florida's east coast

Weather conditions around Cape Canaveral are rapidly deteriorating

The calm before the storm: This was Cape Canaveral earlier this week. Now it is being battered by winds of 74mph

But nuclear experts say there is no danger of a disaster of the sort seen in Japan in 2011 when the Fukushima nuclear power station went into meltdown after being hit by a tsunami.

Hurricane Matthew also passed close to the Mar-a-Lago Club resort, owned by Trump.

After the 2004 Hurricane Frances, Trump told the Palm Beach Post: 'We lost a lot of the vegetation that gave Mar-a-Lago its character. I've been told by my people there that it re-landscaped the place.'

Amtrak has suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea.

Billy Conley lifts a piece of plywood to place over a window at a business near Cape Canaveral in Florida as Hurricane Matthew approaches

Donald Trump owns the Mar-a-Lago Club (pictured), which is directly in the path of Hurricane Matthew

The 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm is the most powerful hurricane to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade and could be the most catastrophic to hit the north and east of Florida in 118 years.

The strongest winds of 120 mph were just offshore, but Matthew's wrath still menaced more than 500 miles of coastline and 26 million Americans.

Government officials declared a state of emergency in several states in an effort to plan ahead since the deadly Category Three storm is expected to wreak havoc with its 120mph winds.

Two million people across the Southeast have been warned to flee inland as tens of millions along 500 miles of coastline battened down the hatches.

The powerful storm is expected to move up the coast and it will gradually lose speed but the winds will still be as high as 105mph on Saturday morning

As of 2am on Friday, tropical storm-force winds had already been impacting Florida's east coast. The storm was 45 miles east of Vero Beach, Florida at 2am with winds of 120mph moving northwest at 14mph
A massive brawl on a Ryanair flight reportedly broke out after a boozed-up stag do mocked a male passenger's manbun - and his female friend saw red.

The woman lost it and 'jumped' at the drunk revellers after they continuously shouted 'topknot' at her friend, The Sun reports.

A ten-year-old child was hit on the head by a flying wine bottle during the brawl, as families were left cowering behind their seats.

Eyewitness Conor Cockburn, 27, told The Sun the member of the stag group who threw the bottle came and sat next to him after the fight was over.

The louts were 'absolutely hammered' according to fellow passengers on the Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Alicante (file photo)

The reveller reportedly said: 'I didnt mean any harm, it was just for banter.'

The louts were 'absolutely hammered' according to fellow passengers on the Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Alicante.

Spanish police were waiting to remove the men from the plane when the 11.15am flight landed.

Some of the brawlers had allegedly swapped clothes in an attempt to confuse airline staff.

Spanish police were waiting to make arrests when the 11.15am flight landed, but some of the brawlers - understood to be on two separate stag dos - had swapped clothes in an attempt to confuse airline staff

A mother travelling with her two children said how another child was hit on the head after a wine bottle was launched inside the plan

Video footage obtained by MailOnline shows Spanish police - guardia civil - boarding the plane.

An air stewardess points out the perpetrators as other passengers laugh.

A mother travelling with her two children said how another child was hit on the head after a wine bottle was launched inside the plane.

Fights then broke out between two groups.

'Everyone I spoke to said they'd never experienced anything like it,' the mother told the Daily Record, who said many of them were 'absolutely hammered'.

The brawlers were detained in Spain overnight and Ryanair confirmed their crew had requested police assistance in removing four passengers.

'We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority,' a spokesman told the Daily Record.
Flights between the UK and Florida have been cancelled or delayed as Hurricane Matthew hits the Sunshine State.

The most powerful storm to threaten the US Atlantic coast in more than a decade has already left hundreds dead across the Caribbean.

Flights to popular holiday destination Orlando have been affected, while the UK Foreign Office is urging people in the area to monitor weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities.

Ominous: Storm clouds rolled in around 4pm on the Siesta Key Beach; Matthew was supposed to touch down on the mainland later this evening or early Friday morning

Flights between the UK and Florida have been cancelled or delayed as Hurricane Matthew hits the Sunshine State

Florida governor Rick Scott described the hurricane as a 'monster', adding: 'I'm going to pray for everybody's safety.'

The powerful hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, has already killed at least 136 people in Haiti and four in the Dominican Republic. At its height, the hurricane was a Category Five with wind speeds of more than 157 mph.

The National Weather Service has advised that 'loss of life' and 'immense human suffering' is possible for those who don't take precautions. It could also potentially leave approximately seven million people without power.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Florida and millions of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were told to evacuate their homes.

Around 1.5 million people were advised to leave Florida as interstate highways were turned into one-way routes to speed up the exodus.

A Virgin Atlantic flight to Orlando from Manchester due to take off on Friday afternoon has been cancelled.

People fleeing Merritt Island in Florida using an evacuation route over 520 bridge heading west as Hurricane Matthew approaches

On its website, the airline is warning passengers of overnight delays affecting a number of flights on Friday and Saturday from Manchester, Glasgow and Gatwick.

The airline is telling people to check the status of their flight before going to the airport, while passengers delayed away from home are asked to remain at their hotels where possible.

Thomas Cook Airlines has delayed Glasgow and Manchester flights to and from Orlando on Friday by 24 hours due to the weather.

The airline is also telling passengers that there may be congestion at the airport in Orlando with 'many flights currently being rescheduled by other airlines at this time'.

In a note on its website, Orlando International Airport said flight activity was expected to stop at 8pm local time on Thursday, adding that flights were expected to resume on Saturday.

Holidaymakers leaving Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park, in heavy rain, after it closed in Orlando, Florida

Orlando International Airport said flight activity was expected to stop at 8pm local time on Thursday

In updated travel advice, the Foreign Office said: 'Hurricane Matthew is forecast to bring hazardous sea and weather conditions to parts of the east coast of the US from 6 October 2016. Strong winds, heavy rain, flooding, and storm surge in coastal areas is expected.

'Sporadic tornadoes are possible. Hurricane warnings and watches have been issued, triggering evacuation orders in several areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

'You should monitor weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities, including if you're ordered to evacuate. For more information and advice visit the websites of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state emergency management authorities in: Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

'If you're in an affected area, you should call family members and friends in the UK to let them know your plans before and after the hurricane.'

The hurricane was expected to blow ashore early on Friday north of West Palm Beach, and then slowly push north for the next 12 hours along the Interstate 95 corridor, through Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
A border patrol union walked back comments from its vice president on Friday, clarifying that the Obama administration is not relaxing immigration enforcement and fast-tracking citizenship for immigrants so more of them can vote in November.

Donald Trump heard from National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto during an immigration roundtable earlier in the day that agents have been told to allow immigrants into the United States illegally 'so they can vote in the election.'

Trump agreed with Cueto , who said officials are being directed to ignore criminal histories of immigrants and instead speed up citizenship applications from a long backlogged waiting list.

'That's a massive story,' Trump responded at the time, saying it would be ignored by the media. 'They are letting people pour into the country so they can go ahead and vote.'

But 'a mistake was made,' the union's spokesman said hours later. 'It hasn't gotten that bad yet.'

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke with Art Del Cueto during a meeting with members of the National Border Patrol Council at Trump Tower

The talk about border security involved leaders of the National Border Patrol Council, a union that represents Border Patrol agents who are on the front lines in America's immigration fight

U.S. Border Patrol agents work on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico, apprehending illegal immigrants and trying to stem the flow of drugs and other contraband

The White House pushed back on Cueto's claim and Trump's agreement, with Deputy White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz telling reporters: 'I haven't seen those comments, and I have no idea what he would use to back those up.'

The Department of Homeland Security, too, denied the Obama administration is undertaking any efforts to speed up citizenship applications in order to boost voter rolls.

'As Secretary Johnson has stated repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration,' DHS spokeswoman Marsha Catron said in a statement. 'We must and we will enforce the law in accordance with our enforcement priorities. Our actions reflect that commitment.'

'Under federal law, an individual must be a U.S. citizen either by birth or naturalization to vote in a federal election in the United States. If a foreign national seeks to naturalize, he or she would need to meet many requirements before doing so, generally including residing in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for at least 5 years,' she added.

Cueto is also president of his union local, #2544, in Tucson, Arizona, which endorsed Trump in March  long before he became his party's nominee.

'Mr. Trump is the only candidate that has publicly expressed his support of our mission and our agents,' Cueto said at the time. 'He has been an outspoken candidate on the need for a secure border and for this we are grateful.'

Union spokesman Shawn Moran, who was in New York with Del Cueto on Friday, told Associated Press that several issues were conflated during the exchange with Trump.

Border Patrol agents have indeed seen an increase in attempts to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, Moran said.

But he did not claim any agents had been ordered to let those immigrants in so they could vote in November.

THE CONVERSATION: DONALD TRUMP TALKS WITH BORDER PATROL UNION OFFICIAL AT TRUMP TOWER National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto: 'I spoke to several agents in my sector who are in charge of processing. And the problem that we're seeing reflected through us as a voice is that some of these individuals that were apprehended with criminal records, they're not  they're checking their records, they're noticing that they have criminal records  but they're setting them aside because at this point they are saying immigration is so tied up with trying to get the people that are on the waiting list  hurry up and get them their immigration status corrected. Make them citizens.' Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump: 'Why? Why does it ?' Del Cueto: 'So they can go ahead and vote before the election. And for us to do that' Trump (to reporters): 'Big statement, fellas. I mean, I'm sure you're not going to write it. To me that's  Del Cueto: 'That's huge.' Trump: 'They're letting people pour into the country so they can go and vote.' Del Cueto: 'They want to hurry up and fast track them so they can go ahead and be able to vote for the election.' Trump: 'And these are the professionals. These are the people who are on the border. You hear a thing like that, and it's a disgrace. Well, it will be a lot different if I get elected.' Advertisement

The two issues are sometimes linked in a misleading fashion, and the brief exchange between Del Cueto and Trump underscored that.

At the same time, a previously secret internal report from the Department of Homeland Security, leaked to reporters on Friday, shows that the U.S. only apprehends about 54 per cent of illegal border-jumpers.

That's a far lower figure than the 81 per cent that DHS claims on its website, a number generated by data-skewing and creating counting.

Newly admitted immigrants are not permitted to vote, a right that is reserved for citizens. The process of achieving citizenship takes years. Citizenship applications are handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, not the Border Patrol.

There is also no evidence that USCIS officials have been directed to quickly approve citizenship applications, though some lawmakers have asked the agency to address such reports.

Trump has repeatedly said he fears the election will be rigged and has made a hard-line stance on immigration a centerpiece of his campaign.

His latest provocative claim comes as Trump and Clinton are preparing for their second debate, a town-hall style confrontation Sunday night.

An election cutout of Trump hangs in an freight elevator inside Trump Tower in New York City, where Friday's meetings were held on the 25th floor

U.S. immigration authorities caught barely half the people who illegally entered the country from Mexico last year, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report

It's a critical moment for Trump, who after a rough performance in last week's debate is tasked with showing he can stick to his campaign message and steer clear of comments likely to alienate moderate voters.

Trump and Clinton have been treading somewhat lightly on the campaign trail in recent days, as Hurricane Matthew barreled down on swing state Florida.

The pause was a reminder of the possibilities and perils of campaigning during a crisis.

Plenty of presidents and presidential hopefuls before them have used similar natural disasters to showcase their leadership  or their shortcomings  in ways that can change the trajectory of the race. Both Clinton and Trump appeared to be moving carefully, for now.

The campaigns spent Thursday moving staff and volunteers, closing offices and canceling events in the path of the storm, as many Floridians heeded calls to evacuate. In Florida, the Clinton campaign pulled its ads from the Weather Channel, amid criticism about insensitivity, and the Trump team pulled its negative TV ads.

Trump, who is trying to recapture momentum lost in a rocky first debate, practiced his skills in public Thursday night at a town hall in Sandown, New Hampshire. Although his aides called the event a dry run for Sunday, Trump dismissed the notion.
Mischievous Apprentice fans have made unflattering comparisons between a fired candidate and EastEnders' character Michelle Fowler.

Michelle Niziol was the first candidate to be sacked by Alan Sugar and his aides as the first episode of the Apprentice aired on BBC1 last night.

The 35-year-old property consultancy boss was given her marching orders from the boardroom after under-performing as project manager in the series' opening task.

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Mischievous Apprentice fans took to Twitter to compare candidate Michelle Niziol (left) and former EastEnders favourite Michelle Fowler

Michelle Niziol was the first candidate to be fired by Alan Sugar and his aides as the first episode of the Apprentice aired on BBC1 last night

However, it seemed viewers were more concerned by her resemblance to Albert Square favourite Michelle - rather than her performance on the talent show.

Many took to Twitter to make jokes, post memes and videos about the similarity between the two.

Nick Hughes wrote: Michelle should have done better. All that experience from Walford market after all#TheApprentice.

Andrew Sheen posted: What Michelle Fowler did next #Apprentice

Greg Howes: First impressions how spooky is it that Michelle looks like Michelle Fowler off Eastenders

Andy Walkling wrote: F*** I thought theyd killed Michelle Fowler aff[sic] in Eastenders! Surely the BBC aint that tight with funding #TheApprentice'

On the episode, Michelle's all-female team - also featuring contestants Aleksandra, Frances, Grainne, Jessica, Natalie and Trishna - made only 959 sales, compared to their competitors' 1,428 sum.

The groups were tasked with taking a load of collectibles to a Wimbledon car-boot sale, where their aim is to spot the treasure within the trash and sell their goods for as much money as possible.

A hectic day of work saw them racing round London's antique shops trying to make as many sales as possible.

Competitors: In the end, it was Team Nebula who were behind on sales numbers

Lord Sugar, once again flanked by advisors Karren Brady and Claude Littner, and after deliberating he decided to give Eastenders lookalike Michelle the boot.

He concluded: 'Michelle, you claim to be a business woman and I do see you as responsible for not laying down the rules to your team.'
Chinese policy-makers are in talks about how to remove Kim Jong-un as leader of North Korea as new satellite images reveal preparations are underway for a sixth nuclear test.

They are also discussing supporting surgical strikes on the rogue state, said the China initiative director of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

According to the Korea Times, Professor Zhe Sun told a security forum in Washington that the Chinese were debating how best to deal with the North Korean leader.

'Some Chinese scholars and policy makers began to talk about supporting "surgical strikes" and "decapitation" by the U.S. and South Korea as one policy option,' he said.

Satellite images of North Korea's nuclear test site shows activity at all three of its tunnel complexes, fuelling speculation of another test ahead of a key political anniversary next week

Professor Zhe Sun told a security forum in Washington that the Chinese were debating how best to deal with the North Korean leader

'More radical proposals indicate that China should change the leader, send troops across borders and station in DPRK, force DPRK into giving up nuclear and beginning opening up and reforming.'

Analysis of recent satellite images of North Korea's nuclear test site shows activity at all three of its tunnel complexes, fuelling speculation of another test ahead of a key political anniversary next week.

North Korea has already conducted two nuclear tests this year - in January and September - and experts say it is capable of carrying out a third as soon as the order is given. This would be the sixth nuclear experiment since the country started testing in 2006.

Past nuclear tests, and missile launches, have often coincided with special political dates.

Chinese scholars and policy makers are said to be discussing supporting 'surgical strikes' against the North Korean leader (pictured)

North Korea has already conducted two nuclear tests this year - in January and September - and experts say it is capable of carrying out a third as soon as the order is given

The September test took place on the anniversary of North Korea's founding as a state, and the country will celebrate a similar milestone on Monday with the 71st anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party.

In a posting on its closely-watched 38 North website Friday, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said satellite images dated October 1 showed continuing activity across the Punggye-ri test site in the northeast of the country.

'Activity at the North Portal where the September 9 test occurred, may be for a number of purposes including collecting post-test data, sealing the portal or preparing for another test,' the post said.

It also highlighted movement around the West Portal, as well as the South Portal where excavation stopped in 2012.

'The purpose of this activity is also unclear, although the (South) portal is assumed to be capable of supporting a nuclear test once a decision is made to move forward,' it said.

The yield from September's test was estimated at 10 kilotons - the largest so far and almost twice as much as the device detonated in January

North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006, but has insisted it will continue.

The yield from September's test was estimated at 10 kilotons - the largest so far and almost twice as much as the device detonated in January.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Friday quoted an unidentified foreign ministry official who raised the prospect of another test to mark the Workers' Party anniversary next week.
Monica Lewinsky tends to avoid politics these days, after becoming instantly famous nearly 20 years ago as the White House intern who had an affair with President Bill Clinton.

Unfortunately for Lewinsky, the 2016 presidential race keeps getting stuck in the past.

In the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the thrice-married Republican hinted at the Clintons' marital problems and brought up Bill Clinton's infidelities directly soon after.

For now, Trump says he won't discuss the subject at Sunday's debate. But he has been known to change his mind.

Encounter: Bill Clinton's infidelity with Monica Lewinsky was the affair which led to his impeachment but one in a long line of rumored infidelities and alleged assaults

Notorious affair: Bill Clinton's lies over Monica Lewinsky brought about his impeachment trial, which overshadowed the second term of his presidency

Won't go away: A woman interrupted Bill Clinton's speech in Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday to accuse him of sexual misconduct

The way they were: Bill and Hillary CLinton in 1992, the year that she was said to have reacted to another 'bimbo eruption' by saying: 'We have to destroy her story.'

'Let's see what happens,' Trump said at a town-hall event Thursday in New Hampshire, referring to whether he will hold off on the topic. 'I think we're all better off if we can do that because it is about issues, it is about policies.'

Hillary Clinton may not want to relive this period. But Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said any attack by Trump on the topic would backfire, showing Trump to be 'combustible and erratic.'

Some political analysts said Trump risks showing Clinton in a sympathetic light as the wronged wife - hardly helpful as he struggles to draw support from women.

Yet it's a fraught subject for both candidates. Bill Clinton aides moved aggressively to discredit women who alleged sexual contact with him, while Hillary Clinton stood by her husband publicly in much of that era and cast his accusers as part of a 'vast right-wing conspiracy.'

Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, said the Lewinsky episode humanized the Clintons for many Americans. 'People felt sorry for her,' she said.

Campaigning for his wife this week in Ohio, Bill Clinton dismissed Trump's threats to bring up his infidelity.

'He's been making those attacks from the beginning of this campaign, so I don't think there's anything new,' Clinton told reporters.

Lewinsky declined to be interviewed for this story. After staying out of the public eye for many years, she recently re-emerged as an anti-bullying advocate.

She has talked about the public shaming she experienced in a well-received 2014 Vanity Fair essay and a TED Talk.

'I've decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past,' Lewinsky wrote in Vanity Fair.

In June of that year, Hillary Clinton told ABC's 'Nightline' that she wishes Lewinsky well, adding: 'I hope that she is able to think about her future and construct a life that she finds meaning and satisfaction in.'

The end? No.

Trump in 2016 threatened to bring up Bill Clinton's infidelities and congratulated himself for refraining in the first of three presidential debates.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Thursday he does not plan to talk about the Lewinsky relationship or others during Sunday's showdown.

Will he or won't he? Donald Trump, who was at a roundtable on national security in Trump Tower on Friday, says he won't raise Bill Clinton's scandals on Sunday - but previously suggested he could

Accuser: Paul Jones claimed that he tried to have sex with in 1991. He eventually settled without admitting guilt

Most serious claim: Juanita Broadrick a nurse, in 1999 claimed she was raped by then-state Attorney General Clinton at a Little Rock hotel in 1978. It is one of a number of sexual assault claims he faces.

Bill Clinton has long been dogged by allegations of womanizing, extramarital affairs and abuse. During his 1992 campaign, Betsey Wright, a longtime aide to the Clinton, dubbed the problems 'bimbo eruptions,' a label that appeared aimed at discrediting them.

But the most damaging episode was his relationship with Lewinsky. The two met in 1995 when she was a 22-year-old intern and she later revealed they had a series of sexual encounters over a roughly 18-month period.

Clinton initially denied the relationship, but eventually admitted it and said he 'misled people, including even my wife.'

The president was impeached over the episode, accused of obstruction and perjury, and acquitted by the Senate.

In her book 'Living History,' Hillary Clinton described the moment in August 1998 when he told her that he had lied. She said she could hardly breathe, and screamed in rage.

'I was dumbfounded, heartbroken and outraged that I'd believed him at all,' she wrote.

Lewinsky is not the only relationship baggage for Clinton. In 1998, he agreed to an $850,000 settlement with Paula Jones, an Arkansas state worker who had accused Clinton of exposing himself and making indecent propositions when Clinton was governor. The settlement included no apology or admission of guilt.

Juanita Broaddrick, a nurse, in 1999 claimed she was raped by then-state Attorney General Clinton at a Little Rock hotel in 1978.

Clinton's attorney denied the claim at the time and Clinton was never charged. Kathleen Willey, a White House volunteer, claimed Clinton fondled her when she met privately with him at the White House in 1993 to seek a job. Clinton has denied the allegations by both women.

Disclosure: George Stephanopoulos, then a Clinton aide, now the GMA anchor, revealed in his memoir Hillary's attitude towards a woman who claimed Bill propositioned her

Hillary Clinton's involvement in efforts to undermine the credibility of her husband's accusers remains the subject of speculation; What's known is that people close to her or Bill Clinton spared little effort on that front.

Writings about the Clinton White House years suggest she was active behind the scenes, helping to drive political and legal strategy to defend her husband during the Lewinsky investigation.

Her friend Diane Blair wrote in her diary that Hillary Clinton had called Lewinsky a 'narcissistic loony tune.'

Former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos, in his 1999 memoir, recalled Hillary Clinton in 1992 saying of one woman who claimed to have been propositioned by her husband, 'We have to destroy her story.'

After the first debate, Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor, raised the Lewinsky affair, arguing that Hillary Clinton attacked Lewinsky after the revelations and saying that 'if you didn't know the moment Monica Lewinsky said that Bill Clinton violated her that she was telling the truth, then you're too stupid to be president.'

Clinton has stayed above the fray, but in her efforts to connect with women she has highlighted Trump's long history of derogatory comments about women and used the first debate to revive the story of a former Miss Universe who says Trump shamed her for gaining weight.
Landlords are offering 'free' accommodation in London to women on a home rental website - but only in return for sexual favours.

Adverts on popular classified site Craigslist boast of 'free rent for attractive girl' and 'free roomshare for female in Zone 1, central London'.

The former, a modern apartment overlooking the River Thames, demands ' an intimate relationship with this woman once a week'.

Landlords are offering 'free' accommodation in London to women on a home rental website - but only in return for sexual favours

One advert specifies that the female occupant must be open to 'an easy adult arrangement' of a '15-minute adult cuddle once a week'

While there is no law against advertising for sexual services on classified sites, the items are being posted in the 'rooms and shares' section and not the 'adult' category

Another post claims the room is 'absolutely free' in exchange for 'once/twice a week massage'

While there is no law against advertising for sexual services on classified sites, the items are being posted in the 'rooms and shares' section and not the 'adult' category.

Posing as a 26-year-old student new to London, journalist Helen Croydon responded to several postings to discover more about the propositions.

She told MailOnline: 'First, I chatted with 'John', a health club owner who lives alone in a three-bed house near Stratford in east London.

'Never married, he divulged he did not want a 'typical girlfriend' but wants 'a companion and someone to go out with occasionally'.

Posing as a 26-year-old student new to London, Helen Croydon (pictured) responded to several postings to discover more about the propositions

'He asked for my clothes size immediately. His advert implied his tenant would have her own room but it transpired that she would in fact be sharing his bed with him.'

Helen's second subject, a part-time music DJ and mechanic from Jamaica called 'Terry', who was offering a shared bedroom in a small Brixton flat.

Helen added: 'Coyly, I asked how much of a physical relationship he expected and he replied he was 'easy going'.

'He told me: 'I have a high sex drive but at the same time it doesn't devour me. I don't like to put people in awkward positions so it doesn't have to be every night.''

Another man offered a double room in a shared house near Bloomsbury with two other tenants, on the condition that he could visit occasionally for sex.

'Ali', originally from Pakistan, admitted he is married. He said: 'I've been a gentleman my whole life and had no time for ladies  do you understand?

'But now I do contract work, I work less, so it is time I can treat myself.'

This advert specifies free rent for a 'caring, trusty, single female' and offers to buy a car for the woman or even pay for driving lessons

Helen's final subject was 'Doug', a retired IT consultant in his sixties offering a shared bed at his home in north west London.

'All I ask for is your love, honesty and trustworthiness,' he said. 'I will give you everything you need. I'll shop and buy all the foods you like.

'I love to spoil a loving woman in my life. My one fault is my generosity.'

Doug even asked Helen if she had a jewellery box because he regularly likes to buy gifts for 'a woman in his life.'

'HE SAID I COULD STAY FOR FREE IF I HAD SEX WITH HIM' One woman contacted MailOnline to reveal her experiences while trying to find a flat to share in London. On both occasions she contact male landlords through the website Spare Room, and after swapping contact details, was bombarded with offers of free rent in return for sexual favours. She said: 'The first asked for my number and then messaged me saying he had a bad week and asked if I wanted to go out with him. 'The next morning he sent a message apologising and explaining he sent it to the wrong person. He then kept calling me and asking me out but I declined. 'He then said he would send me a video of the house but when I got it through it wasn't the property but a video of him performing a sex act on himself. 'He kept asking me to move in and said I could live there for free so long as I had sex with him whenever he wanted.' The second man contacted her on Whatsapp and quickly asked her out on a date. She added: ' After about a month he messaged me and said I could have the room for free so I asked what the catch was and he said he wanted to have sex with me and couldnt think of any other way to get me to say yes so I could have the flat for free so long as I slept with him. 'He was even prepared to draw up a contract so that I had security. 'My personal view is that a lot of men are incapable of chatting women up and this is an option to get someone without much effort.' Advertisement

Weary of marriage after being burned badly, he insisted he just wanted 'a woman's touch in his home', but that he understood she would have her own life.

However after our phone call, he called and text almost hourly asking for 'a chat'.

He had a similar arrangement with a student for 11 months, who recently left because she had finished her studies.

Asked if he missed her, he said: 'Very much. I will have no one to cook for, no one to share with, no one to look after.'

Helen said: 'The rental market is at an all-time high in London. Last month the lettings agent Your Move found that the average annual London rent hit 15,276.

'The cost of higher education is also rising so it is easy to see how struggling students or young women on the minimum wage may be drawn in by these adverts.'

One woman revealed how she had been through a similar experience while looking for properties on flat-sharing site Spare Room.

She told the MailOnline: 'One asked for my number and then messaged me saying he had a bad week and asked if I wanted to go out with him.

'The next morning he sent a message apologising and explaining he sent it to the wrong person. He then kept calling me and asking me out but I declined.

'He then said he would send me a video of the house but when I got it through it wasn't the property but a video of him performing a sex act on himself.

'He kept asking me to move in and said I could live there for free so long as I had sex with him whenever he wanted.'

Psychologist and relationship expert Dr Pam Spurr warned of the dangers of accepting free accommodation for sexual favours.

She said: 'It poses all sorts of psychological challenges for a woman: She might wonder if she's a bad person or feel she no longer has control of her life, her sexual self and her body.

'Perhaps transferring the resentment she feels towards her landlord to other men that she relates to.

'Many men find it easy to compartmentalise aspects of life. Such landlords might think this will be an uncomplicated way to get no-strings sex.

'However some might develop feelings for the woman they've targeted. Not the best way to try to start a potential relationship. Especially if she bitterly resents him.'
A dashcam video has been released which shows 'proof of teleportation', it has been claimed.

The clip shows a lorry travelling at speed along a rural highway in Russia.

The vehicle can then be seen dramatically swerving out of the path of a pedestrian standing in the middle of the road.

The man, wearing a long white coat with a black hat, then continues walking and out of the view of the camera.

The video uploader wrote: 'This video has been hailed as proof of teleportation.'

The uploader added: 'Some people think the photos depict an instance in which time travel or teleportation was caught on tape.'

Unconvinced viewers have suggested that rather than 'teleportation' the video instead shows an attempted suicide.

A strange dashcam video has been released which shows 'proof of teleportation,' it has been claimed

The heart-stopping clip, filmed in 2012, shows a lorry travelling at speed along a rural highway in Russia

YouTube user Finstar1000 said: 'A sad case of attempt[ed] suicide. You can see the person on the side of the road step out in front of the truck. No teleportation there.'

Others have suggested that the video was digitally altered.

One user wrote: 'Looks like someone took a normal camera view from a car of a large truck that swerved for whatever reason (driver fell asleep etc.) and carefully edited in a man walking across the road.'

The vehicle can then be seen dramatically swerving out of the path of a pedestrian standing in the middle of the road

The walker, wearing a long white coat with a black hat, then ambles onto the side of the road and out of the view of the camera

This latest clip comes just days after another shocking video involving a lorry emerged.

Earlier this week footage was released showing a Lithuanian lorry driver smashing into the back of a stationary car sending its motorist feet first through the windscreen.

Vygantas Stanulis, 55, claimed to have suffered a 'momentary lapse of concentration' when he ploughed his articulated lorry into a line of cars near Kent.

His vehicle, fully laden with steel, collided with a black Ford Fiesta which in turn hit a Iveco flatbed lorry carrying wooden pallets, during the crash on the coast-bound carriageway of the A2 at Harbledown, near Canterbury, at rush-hour on January 19.

He suffered serious injuries in the crash despite the fact he was wearing a seatbelt.

Stanulis has now been jailed for a year after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving after he appeared at the Old Bailey, central London.
More than 50 teenagers trashed a couple's home when their son held a secret 18th birthday party while they were on holiday in Portugal.

The boys and girls were caught red-handed on CCTV as they ruthlessly rifled through bedroom drawers and stole 1,000 cash, a laptop and jewellery - high-fiving when they found the high-value goods.

Nicola Kerrison, 41, and her husband Dean Windsor flew back from an idyllic 10-day break in Portugal to find their immaculate home had been turned into the house from hell.

Nicola Kerrison and her husband Dean Windsor returned from holiday in Portugal to find their home ransacked

Devastated: Nicola Kerrison and husband Dean Windsor were on holiday when their home was trashed by gatecrashers

Beer cans, cigarette butts and laughing gas canisters littered the house in Upminster, London, and the furniture and carpets were stained.

Birthday boy Kieren was nowhere to be seen, but he had left a letter of apology.

The whole incident was filmed after Mr Windsor, who runs a security business, fitted special surveillance cameras all over the house as well as outside.

The chaos was recorded on CCTV, as the couple have special surveillance cameras set up all over the house

Mrs Kerrison can't bring herself to watch all of the footage, but Mr Windsor has seen it from start to finish.

The 44-year-old said: "There were some antics in our bedroom that I didn't want to tell the wife about.

'Three guys slept in our bed. I was absolutely fuming.'

Mrs Kerrison's son had a secret 18th birthday party and gatecrashers decided to go through the couple's possessions and take some for themselves

His wife said: 'We threw all our bedding away and we've taken our mattress to the dry cleaners.'

Some of the hi-tech kit was even ripped out by the gatecrashers during the booze-fuelled streak of crime and destruction.

Devastated Mrs Kerrison, who lives in Upminster, Essex, said: 'I couldn't even watch all of the CCTV.

The couple returned home to find their home had been trashed, and this laughing gas canister was left behind

'I found it far too traumatic that these boys came into my bedroom and went through my own drawers and possessions.'

And she added: 'There was rubbish everywhere. I've got beautiful cream sofas and there are black stains on them - I don't know what the stains are.

'It was the smell that was the worst thing from where they'd been smoking in the house. I can still smell it.

'There were cigarette burns on our bed. We couldn't sleep. It was quite traumatic.'

Shocking footage shows the boys and girls going through the couple's bedroom furniture and Mrs Kerrison said she couldn't bear to watch it all

Mr Windsor runs a security company and had installed hi-tech cameras in the couple's home

She added: 'The first night we were back we didn't sleep because it was so horrific.

'There was mess everywhere but it was the smell that really got to me.'

The thugs were captured bursting into her bedroom and stealing about 1,000, which included Mr Windsor's birthday money and their Christmas savings.

Mrs Kerrison said all of her jewellery was also swiped.

The couple returned home from Portugal to discover their home had been trashed by a group of youths who had gatecrashed their son's 18th birthday party

After watching the CCTV, Mr Windsor said: 'They high-five and hug when they find the money. I was very shocked.'

The couple set up the cameras to keep an eye on Kieren, who has since fled to a friend's house, when they went away.

His mother, an NHS worker, said: 'He left me a really long note saying he was really sorry and stupid and that the party had got out of hand.

Mrs Kerrison said she is going to give her son a lecture, and said she is now 'less angry and more upset'

'It got a bit too much for him I think. I don't think the boys who took our stuff were his friends. There were 40 to 50 young people here.

'I'm surprised my neighbours didn't ring the police.'

She is hopeful the culprits will be caught. She stated: 'I don't see how they can't be.

'I don't know why they did it. Maybe it's something they've done before and got away with but this time they're not going to get away with it.'

The CCTV camera in the corner of Nicola Kerrison and Dean Windsor's bedroom filmed teenagers helping themselves to goods and cash after turning up uninvited at the party

And she plans to sit down with her son and talk through what happened. Mrs Kerrison said: 'I imagine he feels quite stupid and guilty. I think that's the reason he's staying away.

'He can't see to face me. I don't think he knows how I'm going to react. He's probably giving me a little bit of space - he knows me well.

'I will give him a lecture. I like to think we can sit down and talk about it. I know my mum and dad are in contact with him. I was really angry at first but now I'm less angry and more upset.'

They were horrified to come home and discover cigarette burn on their furniture after a group of teens ran amok in their home while they were away

The couple found cigarette burns on their carpet and bed when they got back from holiday

Their haul included a pair of beloved Pandora earrings which her parents had given her for her 40th birthday last year.

'Our house is so secure, I didn't feel it would be a problem if we kept money in pots,' said Mrs Kerrison.

'Obviously if I had known my son was going to have a party, I would not have left them there.

'The money pots had been smashed on the floor.

'There were cigarettes burns on the bed and the carpet, stains and chewing gum everywhere.'

They said they used to leave money in pots around the house because it had felt so secure

Mrs Kerrison said she knows she is unlikely to get her jewellery or money back but she would like an apology from the thugs

Mrs Kerrison said she knows there's little chance of getting her money or jewellery back but hopes to get an apology from the intruders.

'Morally, that would be the right thing to do,' she said.

'It's about being responsible for their actions and I hope that they would want to apologise to us.'

Mrs Kerrison said her mortified son left them a long note making a grovelling apology for the shocking mini-riot.

'As a parent I was very angry', said Mrs Kerrison after receiving a grovelling apology from son Kiren after the party

The party quickly spiralled out of control, the ashamed teenager admitted, and police are investigating

The ashamed teenager said his secret bash on Saturday, September 24 quickly spiralled totally out of control when the the gatecrashers turned up and stormed in.

'He was very sorry about it, but as a parent I was very angry,' his mother said.

The Met Police said they are investigating the incident.

A spokesman said: 'Officers from Havering borough are investigating an allegation of theft in a dwelling. The offence was reported to police on Sunday, October 2.
Jordan Page, 25, died from a drink and drug overdose, an inquest heard

A young woman who struggled with alcohol addiction after being sexually assaulted died of an overdose the day after she mistakenly thought she was being refused psychiatric help, an inquest heard.

Jordan Page, 25, had also been abused when she was 13 years old, and had later turned to drink to cope with her problems.

The sales administrator took an overdose just 24 hours after she mistakenly believed the psychiatric help she sought was unavailable.

Miss Page had feared that unless she got help, she could end up in prison because she was on the brink of being prosecuted for wasting police time.

Her father Nigel Page told Birmingham Coroner's Court that Jordan had been a 'fun-loving young girl' who had turned to drink after being sexually assaulted when she was a teenager, and then again when she was 23.

She struggled to cope after the incidents and began drinking heavily and her father said that his daughter eventually became a 'functioning alcoholic'.

Despite her problems, she held down jobs and at one point moved to London to be with a boyfriend.

The sales administrator took an overdose the day after she mistakenly believed the psychiatric help she sought was unavailable

However, earlier this year she came back home to live with her parents in Links Drive, Solihull, West Midlands, after the relationship ended.

Her drinking became worse and she started to get in trouble, her father said.

She became worried about ending up in prison and the police advised her that she would be less likely to be jailed if she could prove to the court that she was getting help for her drinking and mental health problems.

Jordan approached Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust, and an alcohol advisory service just so she could 'tick those boxes' and avoid jail.

But then came a fatal misunderstanding that, the inquest heard, may have led to tragedy.

In the weeks before her death, Jordan was being assessed by the Trust to see what kind of treatment was best for her.

Mr Page said she had got the 'wrong end of the stick' when she saw a psychologist the day before her death, and mistakenly thought she was would not get any therapy at all.

Jordan came home and told her parents that she was not going to be recommended for further treatment.

She feared that meant 'a box would remain unticked'.

On the day she died, June 8 this year, Mr Page had a phone call from Jordan at 6pm, asking him to pick her up from Solihull town centre where she had been drinking.

She came home and they had an argument - 'which was not unusual,' said her dad - and she went up to her room.

He then had a phone call from the NHS's 111 service just before 8pm, telling him that Jordan had taken some tablets and had rung them, asking for help.

Her father said that her drinking became worse and she started to get in trouble

Miss Page feared that unless she got help, she could end up in prison because she was on the brink of being prosecuted for wasting police time

She was found very ill, but still conscious and when the ambulance arrived initially refused to go to hospital.

But after an hour she relented, and was taken to Solihull Hospital. Over the course of the night her condition deteriorated, and she died at 11.30pm.

A post-mortem examination found that she was nearly three times the legal limit for driving.

The cause of death was an overdose and alcohol intoxication. Mr Page said he did not believe Jordan meant to kill herself.

The grieving father said the family was angry that the mental health trust had not informed them of what was happening with Jordan and her treatment due to 'patient confidentiality' because they could have prevented her taking the fatal overdose.

Diane Miles, from the mental health trust, said a review had been carried out into the care Jordan received and one of the recommendations was that in the future, there would be scope for patients' relatives to be more involved in their care.

Assistant Birmingham Coroner Emma Brown recorded a conclusion that Jordan had died as a result of drugs and alcohol.

She said she was certain Jordan had not intended to kill herself and that taking the overdose was an impulsive act after mistakenly thinking she was being dropped by the mental health team, and could subsequently end up in prison.
Florida's Governor has sparked fury after refusing to extend the voting registration deadline despite the killer Hurricane Matthew slamming the state.

Republican Governor Rick Scott, who has endorsed Donald Trump, was labelled 'disgusting, shameless and opportunistic' for refusing the extension, which many feel could benefit his party.

Hillary Clinton had requested an extension as the storm hit in the final few days for registration, at a time when the Democrats are starting to edge ahead in the key swing state.

Hurricane Matthew could have a huge impact on the national election, with fears that thousands will be unable to register to vote in the key swing state

Suzanne Kelleherwrote on Twitter: 'This is disgusting. @FLGovScott runs a Super PAC for Trump and this is a conflict of interest. Voter suppression is unAmerican.'

Another user, Shauna, wrote: 'You're a real prince, @FLGovScott. But with an approval rating of 34%, I guess the only way you can help Trump win is to suppress the vote.'

Republican Governor Rick Scott has been slammed for refusing to extend the voter registration deadline

Parker Molloy wrote: 'Rick Scott is a disgusting, shameless, opportunistic human being.'

The voting registration deadline is set for Tuesday, which may make it difficult for thousands being forced to evacuate their homes ahead of the storm, which Governor Scott himself described as 'a monster'.

Although he justified his decision not to extend the deadline - in a state considered a must-win by the candidate he back, Donald Trump - at a press conference yesterday.

'Everybodys had a lot of time to register. On top of that, we have lots of opportunities to vote, early voting and absentee voting, so I dont intend to make any changes,' he said.

Commentators believe the decision is likely to be challenged by Clinton's lawyers, however, previous rulings show that the Governor does not even have the power to extend the deadline.

The ruling was made when Al Gore famously called for a deadline extension for a recount of the close vote in 2000 but George W Bush's lawyers successfully claimed only the legislature had the authority to allow one.

Rick Scott was labelled a 'disgusting, shameless, opportunistic human being' after refusing the voting registration deadline extension

Another Twitter user accused the governor, who has endorsed Donald Trump, of trying to 'suppress the vote' in the vital swing state to benefit the Republicans

Hillary Clinton has already applied for an extension but Republican Governor Scott has refused amid concerns that only the Florida legislature has the power to do so

The result meant an end to the recount and handed the victory to Bush in the controversial election, which proves the importance of Florida as a key battleground in the election.

A study into Hurricane Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey just before the 2012 election, showed the storm could lead to a drop in turnout and complaints of unfairness as different areas vary in their approach to voters who didn't make it to the ballot box.

With Republican candidate Donald Trump already claiming that the vote could be rigged, it seems likely that any decision by government or the courts on the election will spark litigation, claims Richard L Hasen, a professor of law at the University of California.

He said: 'Litigation may begin even before the storm ends, with Democrats pushing to extend registration deadlines in Florida since Governor Scott has said he will not extend them on his own.

'Even if Scott gives in and does extend those deadlines, he could be sued on the basis that such an extension is illegal, because it usurps the power of the Florida legislature to set the rules for presidential elections.'

Al Gore famously called for a deadline extension for a recount in Florida but it was refused, hanging Bush the victory in 200

Florida law gives the governor the power to delay an election, but apparently not to extend registration dates or make other election changes.

'Any changes in election rules by election administrators, the governor, or courts could be found to be illegal if not passed by the Florida legislature,' reports Slate.

Along the Southeast coast, Matthew was expected to bring dangerous conditions to Georgia, South Carolina and, possibly, North Carolina.

But it was the impact on vote-rich Florida, a must-win state for Trump, that had the campaigns on high alert, just as both sides ramped up their early-vote push.

Vote-by-mail ballots are being sent to voters across the state this week, leaving the potential for ballots to arrive just as voters temporarily abandon their homes.

So far, a record 2.5million people - nearly one-third of those who voted in 2012 - have made requests for the early ballots.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are steering clear of the state. The campaigns rushed Thursday to move staff and volunteers, close offices and cancel events in the path of the storm.

Hurricane Matthew, due to hit Florida today, has already caused devastation in Nassau, New Providence Island (pictured)

And as many Floridians heeded calls to evacuate, both candidates began the delicate and difficult task of pursuing votes during a crisis.

'Even if you want to do politics, no one is there to listen,' said Steve Schale, a Democratic consultant who directed or advised Barack Obama's campaigns in the state in 2008 and 2012.

Trump said last night at a town hall event in New Hampshire: 'Please know that we are praying for you and everyone in the path. You've got to take care of yourself, you've got to get out of the area, you've got to listen.'

The hurricane is expected to hit Trump's prized Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Campaign spokesman Hope Hicks said Trump had spoken with employees to ensure they are safe and are following instructions from local officials. The campaign has pulled its negative TV adverts.

Clinton, who was speaking at fundraisers in New York, tweeted: 'Hurricane Matthew is a major storm... Stay safe Florida.'
Britain will be made to 'pay' for leaving the EU, Francois Hollande has warned.

The French president said Britain should be punished for Brexit as a warning to other nations.

Launching a furious attack on Britain decision to leave the EU, the leader echoed the sentiments of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Yesterday she said Britain may not be given access to the European Union's internal market if it limits immigration, as it would lead to a free-for-all in Europe.

Mr Hollande also made it clear that it would be up to his own country and Germany, the founding fathers of the European project, to defend it.

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We'll punish the UK for Brexit: Hollande has launched a furious attack on Britain's decision

French President Francois Hollande has said Britain would have to 'pay' for the Brexit 'crisis'

The head of state's words - made during a dinner in Paris on Thursday night -caused fluctuations in the currency markets, with the pound once again falling against the euro.

'Today the UK wants to leave but pay nothing. That is not possible,' said Mr Hollande 'It is neither in the interest of the EU, nor the UK to remain in a situation of ambiguity.'

And another French minister said one target will be the City of London's status as the world's euro-dealer.

French finance minister Michel Sapin made a more direct threat: 'There will be consequences (to Brexit),' he said.

'One thing is sure  no one in the eurozone will accept that the main clearing place will be outside the European Union. From that point of view Paris is extremely well placed,' added Mr Sapin.

Theresa May has promised controls on immigration, but President Hollande has joined Angela Merkel is saying Britain will not receive special treatment

Mr Hollande also stated: 'Britain has decided to go for a Brexit, in fact I believe a hard Brexit. Well, we have to follow through with Britain's wishes to leave the European Union and we need to be firm.

'If not, we would jeopardise the fundamental principles of the EU' he added, warning that other EU countries might be tempted to leave too.

'Europe has always been in crisis,' said Mr Hollande. 'But this time, it is not a further crisis. This is the crisis!'

Mr Hollande was speaking at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.

Angela Merke has said that Britain could not be given access to the European Union's internal market if it limits, as it would lead to a free-for-all in Europe.

The dinner was attended by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, and the EU's main Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

Mr Hollande's warning comes after the Prime minister Theresa May announced that the UK would trigger the process of leaving the EU by the end of March 2017.

Mrs May also hinted that that immigration controls would be viewed by her government as more important thanaccess to the single market.

Britain's decision to leave the EU on June 23th sparked turmoil in financial markets, and that has continued.

There are fears that exit from the EU could mark a turning point in post-Cold War international affairs that will weaken the West in relation to China and Russia, undermine efforts toward European integration and damage global free trade.

Mr Hollande urged the 'architects' of the EU - a reference to France and Germany - to strengthen the bloc's 'foundations'.

Mr Hollande said: 'Europe is our values, a culture, which deserve to be defended fiercely and everywhere. As Delors put it, this is our Europe.'

Last night the French head of the London Stock Exchange warned that any reprisals against the City would damage EU economies more.

Xavier Rolet, who established London as the leading player in the clearing market, said the City is a 'money pump' for all of Europe, allowing businesses across the EU to raise capital in an 'efficient and stable manner'.

'People talk about casually moving euro-clearing back to Paris... but do this and you lose efficiencies and push up customer costs,' he said.

'Only one other financial centre in the world could come close to centrally clearing all these currencies as efficiently  New York.

'This is not a zero-sum game. If London loses business, the European economy suffers and the business will move to New York anyway.'

Xavier Rolet, who established London as the leading player in the clearing market, said the City is a 'money pump' for all of Europe and warned against reprisals

More pressure was also piled on yesterday by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who said it will be impossible for the UK to have free access to the EU single market unless it accepts free movement of people.

'On this point we need to be intransigent,' he declared.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued the same message on Thursday, warning that the EU could unravel if it compromised on free movement.

But yesterday it emerged that Germany itself now wants draconian new restrictions on out-of-work benefits for migrants from other EU nations.

Mrs Merkel's cabinet is set to agree a bill withholding unemployment and welfare benefits for five years. Jobless migrants would need enough cash to support themselves without state aid.
The mum is now recovering from concussion and facial injuries in hospital

She said her alleged attackers 'beat me brutally, non stop... I'm in pieces'

She was also robbed of her mobile phone and her Australian money

A 49-year-old Australian woman was raped and beaten in a park in Rome

The Australian woman who was savagely raped, beaten up and robbed in Rome has spoken about her horrifying ordeal.

'They beat me brutally, non stop. The face, the nose, the left eye. I'm in pieces,' the 49-year-old mother from Sandringham, south east of Melbourne, according to the Herald Sun.

The recently divorced woman, who was finishing studies in Rome, said she stopped to ask a man for directions near the bar she was drinking at by Rome's central Termini train station.

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Italian police have arrested a 40-year-old homeless man (wearing white and escorted by police) suspected of raping and punching an Australian woman. The woman said her attackers beat her 'brutally, non stop'

The woman said he offered to show her the way and were soon joined by another man who forced her into a cabin-like space at the Colle Oppio Park near the Colosseum, where she was attacked.

She was also robbed of her Australian money and her mobile phone.

'I hope they get who did this to me but now I just would like to speak to my daughter,' the woman said.

'She is on the other side of the world and she is the only person I would like next to me now.'

The 49-year-old Australian woman refused to give the man a kiss at a bar near Rome's central Termini station in Rome

She was attacked by the man in a park near the Colosseum in central Rome and was robbed of her mobile phone and purse

A homeless man was been arrested over the horrific attack.

Before the alleged incident, she had refused to kiss him near a bar by Rome's central Termini train station, 7News reported.

Italian police were able to identify the 40-year-old suspect using CCTV footage from the bar, according to Italian news outlet The Local.

The mother was unable to remember the rape, but recalled being punched in the face and being robbed.

The woman was raped, beaten and robbed at Colle Oppio park (pictured), near the Colosseum in central Rome on Sunday night

She had been at a bar near Rome's central Termini train station (pictured) and was seen leaving with a 30-year-old Romanian man

A passerby rescued the woman who is now recovering from concussion and facial injuries at San Giovanni Hospital.

The Australian had planned to leave for Paris on Tuesday.

But she is now expected to remain at the hospital for up to a month, local media reported.

Police believe there may be a second man involved.

This is the second brutal attack on a foreign woman in the Italian capital in as many weeks.

Two men, aged 27 and 31, and a woman were arrested on Monday for the rape and beating of a Brazilian woman, 48, on September 25.

She is recovering from concussion and facial injuries at San Giovanni hospital

She was reportedly kidnapped, beaten, tied up and raped.

The Brazilian woman passed out but escaped to hospital as her attackers slept.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed consular assistance to an Australian woman hospitalised in Rome.
James Larkin (left), 26, left 11-week-old Christopher Larkin with an 'unsurvivable brain injury' after growing frustrated at being 'treated like a lap dog' by the boy's 'domineering' mother, a court has heard

A man 'snapped' and shook his partner's baby to death after it emerged he was not the child's father, a court has heard.

James Larkin left 11-week-old Christopher Larkin with an 'unsurvivable brain injury' after allegedly growing frustrated at being 'treated like a lap dog' by the boy's 'domineering' mother Laura Ostle.

The court heard that Larkin, 26, might have just discovered that Christopher was not his son when the shaking incident took place.

The couple were also said to have had a 'dysfunctional' relationship and Ostle treated Larkin as her 'slave', the court heard.

Larkin is now standing trial at Sheffield Crown Court charged with the baby's manslaughter.

Dafydd Enoch QC, prosecuting, told the jury that Larkin does not deny shaking the child but claims he 'shook him in a panic' because he was ill and was trying to revive him.

Ostle is charged with perverting the course of justice.

On the first day of the trial, the court was told how Larkin was in a 'tempestuous' relationship with Christopher's mother.

Despite Christopher sharing the same surname as Larkin, the defendant was no relation to the baby.

The court was told how Ostle, 21, was 'domineering, bossy, provocative and aggressive' towards her partner.

The couple would often beat each other and on one occasion Larkin smashed Ostle's sex toys with a hammer, the court heard.

Mr Enoch told jurors: 'Theirs was, the prosecution say, a relationship on the edge.

'She treated him like his lap dog and on occasion he would snap. Snap he did, we say in the early hours of the 16th September 2014.

'He (Christopher) was killed by the first defendant James Larkin. He died as a result of being violently shaken by James Larkin in a way which caused him fatal internal head injuries.'

The court heard how paramedics were called to the couple's home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on the morning of September 16, 2014, after being phoned by Ostle.

There, they found the baby in cardiac arrest.

Christopher was taken to A&E and then transferred to Sheffield Children's Hospital where he died two days later.

Mr Enoch told the court this wasn't a case of 'mishandling' because Larkin had experience looking after babies and Ostle's children.

Mr Enoch said: 'I don't know how many of you have held a new born baby but even those of you who haven't will know and appreciate how tiny and vulnerable a baby of that age is.

'Everyone with even the most basic common sense or knowledge of the world knows do they not, that to violently shake a new born baby for whatever reason is likely to cause very serious injuries if not death.

'This was, the prosecution say, a straightforward loss of temper by James Larkin. It can have been nothing else. It certainly was not an accident. It was a deliberate shaking.'

The court heard that Larkin, 26 - who was in a relationship with the boy's mother Laura Ostle (pictured) - might have just discovered that Christopher was not his son when the shaking incident took place

The court was told how medical experts who studied Christopher found he displayed the classic 'triad of injuries' which are 'consistent with non accidental head injury or shaking trauma'.

These include bleeding around the brain, bleeding behind the eyes and brain swelling.

The jury heard that Larkin told the police a variety of stories about Christopher's condition.

He initially said that he picked Christopher up and he just went floppy, then that he he slipped on a mat while carrying him and hit the child's head against the cot.

Mr Enoch said: 'We say that he lied to everybody, that he never told the full truth which is there was no impact accidental or otherwise between Christopher's head and the cot.

'The truth is that something happened to cause Larkin to lose his temper and shake the baby.'

In his defence statement, Larkin said he thinks he shook the baby for about two seconds in panic - not anger - after fearing he wasn't breathing.

'The story has matured but remains a fiction,' said Mr Enoch.

Mr Enoch mentioned several people, including neighbours, family and friends, who have given evidence about the couple's dysfunctional relationship.

Mr Enoch said: 'Chantelle Drury, a good friend of Ostle describes Larkin as Ostle's slave.

'Ostle could be 'evil to him' and 'knows how to push Larkin's buttons and wind him up'.'

He added: 'On one occasion Larkin became angry and broke Ostle's sex toys with a hammer. This background we say allows you a window on to what went on behind closed doors on a regular basis between these two.

'To describe their relationship as dysfunctional would be the understatement of the year.'

The court heard there were 'several triggers' that day to Larkin's temper.

Larkin is now standing trial at Sheffield Crown Court (pictured) charged with the baby's manslaughter. He denies the charges

A short time before the 999 call was mad, Ostle appeared to be have been flirtatiously messaging two different men, the prosecutor said.

The jury heard that police found a letter on the sofa, which was addressed to the mother of Christopher's real father, which referred to her pregnancy.

When asked about the letter, Ostle said Larkin knew about it and had helped her write it.

Mr Enoch said: 'Larkin said he was aware of the letters and had put them in a box but had not read them.

'If Mr Larkin came across those letters some time on the 16th and learnt for the first time that he was not Christopher's father how do you think he would have reacted?'

Ostle asked James Larkin twice if he had shaken baby Christopher after the 11-week-old had died, a court heard.

Larkin had at first denied the accusation and then admitted he may have shaken him 'gently in a panic'.

The tragedy is the loss of such a young life Dafydd Enoch QC, prosecuting

Miss Drury, who described Ostle as 'like a sister' told the court of an incident when Larkin, Ostle and Miss Drury were playing around with Febreeze bottles and spraying each other for a joke.

Miss Drury said: 'Laura got it in James' eye and he lashed out and threw the bottle at her belly and she was pregnant.'

It was revealed that Miss Drury went to the hospital following this incident for a check-up.

During cross-examination, Miss Drury explained how she felt there was something wrong with Christopher when she used to visit him and Ostle before his death.

Miss Drury said: 'He wouldn't look at you unless you were feeding him and he didn't smile at you.

'When you were feeding him he would struggle to get his breath. I would take the bottle out and he would make a gasping noise. Laura and James felt there was something wrong with him.'

Larkin denies a charge of manslaughter and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Ostle, also of Doncaster, denies a charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The perverting the course of justice charge relates to texts send by Ostle in the back of the ambulance to Larkin with a view of getting a story straight, the court heard.

The court also heard that the two had a conversation in the back of a police car.

Mr Enoch said: 'They are discussing getting their story straight about where Christopher was sleeping that night and when Ostle woke up.

'In short it is not the conversation to be expected of two parents of a baby who is dying.'

He added: 'The tragedy is the loss of such a young life. Christopher was born into a toxic environment and that's what led to his death.'
Two senior Islamic State members have accidentally blown themselves up after their suicide vests detonated prematurely in Iraq.

ISIS military commander Abu Abdullah al-Kanadi and jihadist official Abu Mohamed al-Telafari were killed as they prepared the explosives.

The explosion caused damage to nearby houses in central Hawija near Kirkuk in Northern Iraq.

Two senior Islamic State members have accidentally blown themselves up after their suicide vests detonated prematurely in Iraq (file image)

'An explosive belt exploded at a late hour yesterday in central Hawija killing an ISIS military commander, Abu Abdullah al-Kanadi and the Jihadist official Abu Mohamed al-Telafari while they were trying to prepare it,' Iraqi news outlet Al Mada reported.

'The belt explosion caused material damages to nearby houses.'

ISIS members have occupied the areas of Kirkuk Province, including Hawija, Abbasi, Riyad, Zab and al-Basheer, after capturing the city of Mosul, the center of Nineveh Province in June 2014.

Four days ago a major terrorist attack by ISIS was foiled by a faulty explosive device before it had even began.

Sixteen of their fighters, including senior figures, were reportedly killed when the malfunctioning suicide vest went off in one of their meetings.

The terror group had been meeting in the village of al-Mahaws, 35km southwest of Kirkuk, to plan an attack on security forces in Iraq, according to Al Masdar News.

And earlier this year, around a dozen extremists were killed in eastern Afghanistan in March when they accidentally set off a bomb that they were trying to plant.

, senior terrorism analyst Firas Abi Ali confirmed the prediction made by many, including ex-Foreign Minister Philip Hammond, that ISIS will be defeated by late 2017 is still well on course.

The news comes as Moroccan police arrested ten women who had allegedly pledged allegiance to the ISIS and planned to carry out suicide bombings across the country, authorities said Monday.

The all-female cell had 'tried to obtain the chemicals used to make explosive belts' and were planning to attack 'vital installations', the interior ministry said.

The women had built 'close relationships with several Moroccan terrorists also affiliated with Daesh based on the Syrian-Iraqi border,' it said.

The cell was recruiting and training women in several parts of the country including the tourist hotspot of Tangiers and towns close to the capital Rabat, the ministry said.

Rabat says more than 150 'terrorist cells' have been uncovered since 2002, including dozens in the past three years with ties to jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS military commander Abu Abdullah al-Kanadi and jihadist official Abu Mohamed al-Telafari were killed as they prepared the explosives (file image)

A study by the US-based Soufan Group said last December that at least 1,200 Moroccans had travelled abroad to fight alongside ISIS in the previous 18 months.

However, the kingdom, which espouses a moderate version of Islam, has largely been spared repeated jihadist violence that has in recent years swept other parts of the region.
Disgraced DJ Chris Denning, pictured (left) in 1997 and (right) after his arrest, has been jailed for sex offences

Disgraced former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning has been jailed for 13 years for child sex abuse and even 'offered' one boy to another BBC presenter.

The prolific paedophile, 75, used his fame to groom and sexually assault dozens of young victims in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

He took some of the boys to London on several occasions and introduced them to other celebrities, including Gary Glitter.

Denning, one of Radio 1's founding presenters, was sentenced to a total of 13 years' imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court for abusing 11 boys, some as young as eight.

Judge Alistair McCreath said the effect on the victims, now grown men, has been 'devastating'.

He described the offences as 'utterly depraved', and added: 'It is not to be forgotten that all of this suffering was inflicted by you for nothing other than your own selfish pleasure.'

Denning previously pleaded guilty to 21 sexual offences, including indecent assault and inciting boys to commit acts of gross indecency.

Denning, pictured in 1967 with other radio presenters, used his fame to groom his victims

He is already serving a 13-year jail sentence for a catalogue of sexual assaults against 24 victims, including one allegedly at Jimmy Savile's house.

Judge McCreath ordered that the latest sentence will start from today.

He told the defendant: 'You groomed all of these boys. They were for the most part in their early teens, although some were younger.

'You used your own fame, your acquaintance with others who were famous, your familiarity with the music industry ... to win their trust and misplaced admiration.'

Denning lured boys into his house and plied them with records, alcohol and cigarettes. He showed them pornography before forcing them to perform sex acts on him and photographed them naked. He also took one of the victims to the Walton Hop Disco, which ran from 1958 until 2001.

Denning is already serving a jail sentence for other sex offences against 24 victims

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said: 'Denning would take one of his victims out for pizza. He also took him on holiday, on tours of radio stations and let him stay at his bungalow.

'On one of those occasions, in the bungalow, another well-known Radio 1 DJ was present and Denning offered the victim to him.

'The other DJ replied he didn't do that sort of thing.'

He promised another boy that he 'could use his connections to get him into the music industry' and convinced him to pose naked for a photo shoot, the prosecutor added.

He offered one of his victims a job at a disco and repeatedly had the boy sleep at his house afterwards, where he would abuse him.

Mr Polnay said: 'Denning took him to London, where he introduced him as 'one of my friends' to Gary Glitter.'

The defendant sat in the dock wearing a grey and orange tracksuit and showed no emotion as two of his victims, both now in their fifties, spoke of how the abuse continues to affect them.

David Burgess, defending, said Denning suffers from 'various ailments' and may die before the end of his sentence.

He added: 'His past has caught up with him, we are talking about events over 40 years ago. He is very sorry, he has expressed that before.'

The DJ groomed one 14-year-old victim before taking him to visit Gary Glitter in 1979

Denning did not react as the sentence was imposed.

Speaking after the case, a spokesman for the NSPCC said: 'Denning's sentence reflects the heinous nature of his crimes.

'He has shown himself to be a prolific, persistent offender. Denning richly deserves his punishment.
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He has built a career on his adrenaline-fuelled exploits - from wrestling alligators to swimming in shark infested waters - and now Bear Grylls has turned his adventures into a series of live action shows.

The 42-year-old is set to condense his death-defying exploits into fully immersive shows where audience members up and down the country can join him on a hair-raising, theatrical expedition across the globe.

Endeavour: Your Adventure Awaits, will dramatise Bear's escapades in a spectacle with adventures so real, 'you can almost touch them'.

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Endeavour: Your Adventure Awaits, is a live-action adrenaline-fuelled tour set to visit a number of cities across the UK

The show, hosted by Bear Grylls, will use groundbreaking state-of-the-art technology to transport audiences 'across the globe'

The 42-year-old is set to condense his death-defying exploits into fully immersive shows, promising fans an exhilarating experience

Using state of the art video mapping technology and incredible special effects, the shows will celebrate 'some of the greatest feats of courage through the ages'.

Starting from the SSE Arena in Wembley, London, the tour will then move onto cities across the UK including Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Nottingham where audiences will, 'witness the heroism and adventure that have shaped our world'.

A team of highly-trained stuntmen and women will sweep the audience away with them as they reenact the true life stories of survival from 'frozen Antarctica and the cruel winds of Everest, to the humid jungle and shark-infested waters'.

Organisers add: 'The audience will be swept into the heart of the action, with worlds that appear and fade away before them, they will see the tiny detail of rock crumbling beneath Bears feet as he climbs and witness him seemingly swimming with sharks before their very eyes.

'Through dizzying aerial stunts and intimate storytelling, Bear will reveal the wonder of our planet and the important value of mankinds indomitable human spirit.'

Audience members up and down the country can join Bear on a hair-raising, theatrical expedition across the globe

Bear Grylls will star alongside a cast of expert aerial artists and stunt crews in the shows, with action-packed fight and stunt sequences

Through dizzying aerial stunts and intimate storytelling, Bear will reveal the wonder of our planet and the important value of 'mankinds indomitable human spirit'

A team of highly-trained stuntmen and women will sweep the audience away with them as they reenact the true life stories of survival

Bear Grylls and his son Huckleberry rehearse for his Endeavour tour at the SSE Wembley Arena in London

The intrepid explorer best known for demonstrating extraordinary strength and endurance and pushing the limits of the human body, has built a global fanbase for his macho exploits - even becoming one of the youngest Britons to climb Mount Everest at the age of 23 in 1998.

The father-of-three and bestselling author said of his shows: 'I am so excited to see this show truly come to life, and to be able to take people on this incredibly inspiring journey of courage, heroism and survival against all the odds.

'With Endeavour we harness so much ground-breaking new technology to take the audience on a very intimate, immersive and at times terrifying journey through some of the greatest and most unknown feats of exploration.'

The show will take the audience from the 'frozen Antarctica and the cruel winds of Everest, to the humid jungle and shark-infested waters'

The intrepid explorer is best known for demonstrating extraordinary strength and endurance

Bear has built a global fanbase for his macho exploits - and they will be bought to life in his show

From the comfort of their seats, audience members will be taken on a realistic journey through the Antarctic

With a production crew made up of former military personnel, the shows certainly promise to be explosive

He added: 'It is a truly uplifting experience this show, and I am so proud of it - and it reminds us all that at the heart of so many of mankind's greatest achievements and hair raising adventures is this one word: Endeavour.'

With a production crew made up of former military personnel, the shows certainly promise to be explosive.

The father-of-three said he will be able to take people on 'this incredibly inspiring journey of courage, heroism and survival against all the odds'

Endeavour harnesses ground-breaking new technology to take the audience on a very intimate, immersive and at times terrifying journey

Fans will witness some of the greatest and most unknown feats of exploration
Roosegaarde has the support of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection to bring the project to China

He saw the smog first-hand during a trip to Beijing in 2014 and got the idea for the clever air machine

The machine was created by Daan Roosegaarde, a 37-year-old Dutch artist and innovator

An invention labelled 'Smog Free Tower' was installed at a park in central Beijing on September 29

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For those in China looking for a cure to the country's smog problem, a solution may just be on the way.

A contraption named The Smog Free Tower which cleans the air around it has been installed in Beijing's 751D park on September 29 and will stay there permanently.

The 23-foot-tall Smog Free Tower can clean 30,000 cubic metres (1,060,000 square feet) of fine smog per hour and uses no more electricity than a water boiler, according to Roosegaarde.

In Beijing: The 23-foot-tall smog free tower an clean 30,000 cubic metres (1,060,000 square feet) of fine smog per hour

The world's largest air purifier, the Smog Free Tower was installed in a park in Beijing on 29 September

Keeping safe from the polluted air: People wear masks as they walk in the heavy smog in Beijing (File photo)

Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde in front of the Smog Free Tower which has been installed in Beijing

On September 29, the Smog Free Tower was installed in Beijing's 751D park to coincide with Beijing Design Week.

The colossal device, named Smog Free Tower, is the largest air purifier in the world, claims Studio Roosegaarde.

It can collect pollutants, process them and then condenses it into cubes measuring around four centimetres (1.6 inches).

The designer from Rotterdam told MailOnline that he got the idea from a trip to Beijing in 2014.

'Two and a half years ago I was in Beijing on a Saturday looking out at the city from the 32nd floor.

'I could see the cars and other buildings but by the Tuesday or Wednesday, the view was completely covered with smog. It was so striking and so sad.'

Even the design of the tower itself has taken inspiration from China: 'The design is inspired by Chinese pagodas. It reflects history and also a link towards the future. Combining the old and new world.'

Dangerous: People wearing masks walk through central Beijing during a red alert for smog, the highest on the list (File photo)

Clean air: The air purifier which claims to be the largest in the world was installed in central Beijing on September 29

Horrifying scenes: Drivers go about their daily business after a yellow smog alerts (File photo)

A clever idea: The tower compresses the carbon particles which are then turned into diamond cubes and then rings

Roosegaarde has the support of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection to bring the project to China as the government fights its war against smog.

The Smog Free Tower prototype was tested this summer in a park in Rotterdam. Roosegaarde says that the smog collected in Beijing in the space of one day was equivalent to two-and-a-half weeks.

The smog collected during the test in Rotterdam was then transformed into rings and given out to those who had donated to the Kickstarter page, which Roosegaarde set up to help raise cash in order to bring his idea to reality.

He says within the coming weeks, the Beijing smog rings will be launched.

The reception in China towards the tower has been good. The designer says: 'Chinese people are really happy with it. They see a sign of hope.'

The tower will also tour four Chinese cities.

The artist says that the exact locations will be announced in the coming days: 'Hebei is China's most polluted province so we will definitely go there. Shenzhen is on the list as it has a makers mentality.'

Cleaning the air: Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde holds smog particles collected by the smog free tower

Not a good day to be outside: Beijing frequently features near the top of the list of China's most polluted cities

Beijing has faced increasing issues with smog over the past few years.

The capital city frequently features near the top of the list of China's most polluted cities.

At its worst, readings of the tiny poisonous PM2.5 particles reached into the high 600 micrograms per cubic meter through the capital, as compared with the World Health Organization safe level of 25.

When a red smog alert is issued, school are forced to close and cars are called off the roads.

Roosegaarde hopes that in 10 to 15 years there won't be a need for these towers.

He says: 'There is this quote that I like by Marshall McLuhan which says: "There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew." We need to engage people with a solution.'

Air pollution has become a daily battle and for many Chinese people it is normality.

The designer thinks that people should not accept smog: 'Luxury items used to be Louis Vuitton bags but now clean air is the new luxury.'

On October 2, Beijing was put on yellow smog alert which imposes restrictions on building and cooking outdoors. Those with respiratory problems were told to cut down on outdoor activities.

Winter is commonly known as the country's smog season with the most pollution warnings released at this time.

An innovative machine: The Smog Free Tower has been set up in Beijing's 751D park
Australia's airforce and navy should be staging military exercises in the fiercely contested South China Sea, a Labor MP has claimed.

Labor defence spokesman Richard Marles has also condemned China's plan to declare an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), which would see aircraft forced to identify themselves when flying over the nation's artificial islands.

Despite Labor leader Bill Shorten calling for alleviated tensions in the region in July, Mr Marles said responsibility lay with governments to give the Australian military authority to conduct navigation exercises, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

A Labor MP has condemned China's plan to declare an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over their artificial islands (pictured) in the South China Sea

Labor defence spokesman Richard Marles (pictured) Australia's airforce and navy should be staging military exercises in the South China Sea

'Our view is very clearly that the ADF, the navy should be fully authorised to engage in freedom of navigation operations. It's important that we are asserting our rights to navigate the high seas under international law,' Mr Marles said.

He said freedom of navigation operations would abide by international law, and branded China's plans to build an ADIZ could catapult tensions in the already volatile region.

'Our ship deployments in the area are occasional, generally they are done on the way somewhere else. We should do it with our aircraft. You could do boats, but we only have 12 of them and one of them is permanently in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf,' Mr Marles said.

Australia's former ambassador to the United States Kim Beazley mirrored his view by declaring the ADF has a right to operate in the area.

China has been embroiled in fierce territorial disputes in the region since laying claim to a vast swathe of land known as the 'nine-dash line'.

They have further triggered furore by linking islands in the region with runways in a process known as 'land reclamation'.

'Our view is very clearly that the ADF, the navy should be fully authorised to engage in freedom of navigation operations'
Former Respect MP George Galloway is to become a father for the fifth time with his with his 32-year-old wife.

Galloway, 62, announced that his wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, was expecting a baby to his 257,000 followers on Twitter.

The controversial Scottish politician tweeted: 'By the Grace of God we are grateful to announce we expect a new baby in March, God-willing. A sibling to Lucy, Zein, Faris and Toren.'

Former Respect MP George Galloway is to become a father for the fifth time with his with his 32-year-old wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi

Galloway married Miss Pertiwi, 32, an anthropologist, in a hotel in Amsterdam in April 2012, just four months after his third wife had given birth to their second son.

Miss Pertiwi is a Dutch-born researcher of Indonesian heritage who took a degree in cultural anthropology at the University of Utrecht.

She also studied in Amsterdam before taking a masters degree in children's rights at Amsterdam University.

The couple were sent dozens of messages from well-wishers after announcing their happy news.

Author Saurav Dutt posted: 'Superb news and my heartiest Congratulations to you @georgegalloway and Gayatri.'

Ashleigh Shaw said: 'I am sooooo happy for you both, your prayer was answered. I hope all goes smoothly for the beautiful Mrs G and safe delivery.'

Pictured: Galloway with his third wife and mother of two of his children Rima Husseini

Simon Anderson added: 'Well done to the happy couple, there's plenty of life in the ol' dog yet, go on George I'm made up for your family mate.'

Dundee-born Galloway lost his seat as the Respect MP for Bradford West at last year's General Election.

He is said to be determined on returning to the Commons and plans to contest the SNP poltician Natalie McGarry's Glasgow East constituency in the event of a by-election.

Pictiured: Galloway with his ex-wives, Elaine Fyffe in 1987 (left) and Amineh Abu-zayyad

Galloway waves to supporters as he campaigns for the Respect Party before losing his Bradford West seat

McGarry, 35, who won the seat last year, has been charged in connection with a five-figure sum of missing money.

Mr Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 after accusations that he had called on foreign troops to attack British soldiers in Iraq.
A shocking image has emerged of a yob defecating against the headstone of a grave of a married couple and their children.

The sickening act was caught on camera by a builder overlooking Howff Cemetery in Dundee.

The picture has caused outrage among locals in the Scottish city, with one resident branding the man's actions an 'utter disgrace'.

This is the shocking moment a yob defecated on the headstone of a family's grave

The sickening photo was taken by a building overlooking Howff Cemetery in Dundee

The photo was posted on Facebook by a Ross Drummond on Wednesday night, provoking fury among those who viewed it.

It shows a man leaning against the grave with his trousers around his ankles while another man apparently waits for him nearby.

The grave is that of David Mills, who was born in 1801 and died in 1868. His wife, Elizabeth Horn, died in 1889 and was buried next to her husband. Genealogical records suggest they had five children together.

The headstone suggests their offspring were buried on the same site.

Mary Teresa McCabe, responding to the photo online, said of the man: 'Wonder how they would feel if that was their family?'

Maryfield councillor Lynne Short, whose ward includes the cemetery, said the photos present a false image of Dundee.

She said: 'It's certainly not my Dundee. Things like this are a rare occurrence but pictures like this are the ones people remember.'

The grave is of manufacturer David Mills, his wife Elizabeth and their five children

The graveyard is overlooked by a number of buildings in the city and is next to a busy street

A Dundee City Council spokesman said: 'We are conscious of the impact antisocial behaviour has on local communities and we are committed to achieving a reduction in unacceptable behaviour.

'In order to minimise the impact of antisocial behaviour the graveyard is locked every night and any litter found is picked up.'

The picture is the latest in a series of unflattering images of Dundee to surface online.
A woman is suing Victoria Police for damages after she was brutally confronted by police officers who are accused of making up assault claims over her arrest.

Jessie Scarlett-Rhodes has launched legal action against the Victorian Government after four police officers arrested herself and her husband, Rhys, outside of the Royal Hotel Pub in Sunbury, north-west of Melbourne, after midnight on December 15, 2014, The Age reported.

The County Court of Victoria heard Ms Scarlett-Rhodes had accompanied her husband to a laneway beside the pub where he vomited after the medication he was taking to treat his nicotine addiction combined with the beer he had drunk.

Jessie Scarlett-Rhodes and her husband Rhys Rhodes were brutally arrested by four police officers in a laneway outside of the Sunbury pub, north west of Melbourne, on December 15 2014

Constables Aaron Eastley and Cassie Chirichilli, sergeant Carl Wagner and senior-constable Chim Ertekin saw the couple walk into the laneway and followed them to investigate.

When they approached, one of the officers said they shone the light at Ms Scarlett-Rhodes, which provoked her and caused her to become abusive.

They allege she swore, spat and put her hands around Sgt Wagner's throat like she was 'riding a horse', Snr Const Eastley said.

But the four officers are now accused of colluding their assault claims.

Const Chirichilli and Snr Const Eastley denied copying each others statements, sworn in March 2013, but said the other officers claims were emailed to each other before writing up their own.

Ms Scarlett-Rhodes told the court she received cuts and bruising to her face after she was forced to the ground, handcuffed and thrown into the back of a van.

The four officers are also accused of fabricating their claims of assault by Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes

'I could feel something running down my face, and it was blood,' she told Herald Sun.

Police said it was necessary for them to use force because of her behaviour.

Ms Scarlett-Rhodes pleaded guilt to charges of assaulting police, resisting police, using insulting language in a public place and being drunk in a public place.

She filed a complaint with the police ethical standards department, but an internal investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
Five white middle-aged male cyclists were behind the 9million heist at Kim Kardashians Paris flat, the reality TV star has told French police.

Testaments from Ms Kardashian and the apartment concierge also suggest the men were French nationals and almost certainly career criminals.

The 35-year-old American left France by private plane within a few hours of the attack on Monday morning, but is said to be briefing detectives in transatlantic phone calls from the US.

Kim Kardashian (left, with bodyguard Pascal Duvier) has been criticised by some for flaunting her wealth prior to the robbery. She flew back to the US with her children (right) on Monday

In a further dramatic twist, officers said there may be CCTV images of the gang both arriving and leaving the luxury apartment block in central Paris, close to the British Embassy.

A source close to the investigation said: There have been no arrests, but we are slowly piecing together profiles of those involved in this crime.

What we have been told so far is that they were in their forties or fifties, and were of European appearance.

They came went on bicycles, and only spent a few minutes inside the flat, suggesting they knew exactly what they were doing.

We have studied huge amounts of CCTV film in the area, and there is a chance that images of the men may have been caught on camera.

Police are looking at CCTV footage from the area around Kim Kardashian's luxury apartment in Paris (pictured, on the left)

Despite the possibility of CCTV being available, judicial police have not yet released any to the public.

In Britain or America it would be standard policy to distribute pictures of possible suspects as soon as possible.

Ms Kardashian claims a gun was placed against her head and she was tied up and gagged and pushed into a marble bath before the men took the jewels, which were easily on display on a bedside table, said the source.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (pictured) spend a lot of time in Paris and know the city well

As the men ran away, she managed to wriggle out of her hand ties, and get onto a balcony, where she started shouting.

The concierge  who suffered roughly the same fate at Ms Kardashian  has also told police one of the robbers at one point said: Where is the wife of the rapper?

This was a reference to Ms Kardashians husband, the performing artist Kanye West.

Despite such detailed testimony, officers have noted inconsistencies, and remain baffled at the apparent ease with which the robbers got into a VIP flat.

The couple (seen here with their children North and Saint in New York following her Paris ordeal) have now returned to LA but are co-operating with the French investigation

There are all kinds of security protocols limiting access to the nine apartments in the building, which all have armoured doors that are locked from the inside.

Ms Kardashian claimed she later untied herself, removed her gag and escaped from the locked bathroom, before calling her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, at 2.56am.

Mr Duvier, the muscular giant who is usually always at her side, was out at a nightclub with other Kardashian family members at the time.
The biography of Adolf Hitler which helped propel him to power was written by the dictator himself, newly uncovered evidence suggests.

Written in 1923, the book Adolf Hitler: Sein Leben und seine Reden (Adolf Hitler: His Life and his Speeches) compared Hitler to Jesus and heralded him as Germany's 'saviour'.

It was the first major profile of Hitler, apparently written by German aristocrat Victor von Koerber.

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Historian Thomas Weber, left, has uncovered new evidence which he believes 'almost certainly' points to Adolf Hitler, right, as the true author of his first biography

But historian Thomas Weber, a professor at Aberdeen University, has uncovered new evidence which he believes 'almost certainly' points to Hitler as the true author.

He said: 'The book, which also includes a collection of Hitler's speeches, makes some outlandish claims arguing that it should become "the new bible of today" and uses terms such as "holy" and "deliverance", comparing Hitler to Jesus likening his moment of politicalisation to Jesus' resurrection.'

Professor Weber made the discovery while studying von Koerber's private papers during research for his latest book on how Hitler became a Nazi.

He said: 'Going through his papers, I soon realised that von Koerber, who later broke with the Nazis, had merely been a front for the profile and not its real author.'

Among the documents he discovered was a signed testimony from the wife of the book's publisher which stated von Koerber had not written the book.

Written in 1923, the book Adolf Hitler: Sein Leben und seine Reden (Adolf Hitler: His Life and his Speeches), right, was apparently written by German aristocrat Victor von Koerber, left

Hitler had simply asked for a conservative writer without any connection to the Nazi party to put his name to the work, she claimed.

Professor Weber also found a statement by von Koerber and a letter he wrote that gave details about Hitler's authorship of the biography.

The discovery of is significant as it challenges the accepted view that Hilter only saw himself as the man to lead the German revolution later in life, Professor Weber said.

It was published two years before Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf.

Hitler had simply asked for a conservative writer without any connection to the Nazi party to put his name to the work, pictured, and penned the biography himself, it is claimed

Professor Weber said: 'The image of Hitler that has been conveyed in recent years is of someone who even once he had entered the Nazi party was really doing the bidding for someone else - a gift to propaganda to attract populist support - and that it was only in the writing of Mein Kampf several years later that he came to believe he could be the saviour or German messiah.
An 'ambitious' 29-year-old woman was found dead in the home of 'an admirer' who wanted a relationship with her but was rebuffed.

Police found Christy Keronen dead after in Tyree Johnson's home in Jackson, New Jersey, on Wednesday evening after finding him hanged from the extended ladder of his truck.

They had gone to the home in Jackson, 20 miles from where he was found in Holmdel, to inform his relatives but instead found Miss Keronen's body, with signs of head trauma.

Police found Christy Keronen (left) dead after in Tyree Johnson's (right) Jackson home on Wednesday evening after finding him hanged from the extended ladder of his truck

Her brother, who had reported her missing earlier that day, said that Johnson, 23, had wanted to have a relationship with Miss Keronen but she wanted things to remain platonic.

CJ Keronen said: 'Christy had admirers, but never did I think it would come this far,' as he paid tribute to his sister, who he described as his best friend.

He explained how the pair did everything together and regularly lent each other support since their mother died 10 years ago.

Mr Keronen said that Christy had ambitions to own her own cleaning company and didn't have a single enemy.

CJ Keronen (left), her brother, said that Johnson had wanted a relationship but his sister (right) wanted to keep things platonic

On the day she disappeared, he posted a heartbreaking message on Facebook asking if anyone knew where she was before he filed the missing person report.

He wrote: 'Before I call the police and file a missing persons report, has anyone seen or heard from my sister? She never came home last night and completely missed work today with not so much as a call.'

After news of her death yesterday, he posted a tribute to his sister, writing: 'I lost my sister, my best friend, this weekend... She was found lifeless in an apartment and the accused killed himself.

'The hardest thing I ever had to do in my life was to explain to my father that his baby girl is dead. Words can't even explain what I'm feeling right now, so please don't make me.

'The actual cause is still under investigation, so arrangements as soon as they are made will be made known to the public. I have no other information.'

Holmdel Police Department's Dave Fella said they are investigating the deaths as a murder suicide, and thought the pair may have had a relationship in the past.
Masoud Aqil, 23, was held captive by ISIS and tortured by ISIS brutes for 280 days

A Syrian refugee in Germany has become a hunter of Islamic State killers hiding among the migrants who fled to Europe - and even pinpointed one of the radicals who tortured him.

Masoud Aqil, 23, was a captive of ISIS psychopaths for 280 days where he was subjected to incredible brutality and decapitation threats.

Now safe in Germany he works with intelligence officials to track down potential terrorists disguised as refugees. Earlier this year, following a lengthy stakeout at a refugee hostel in Bavaria, he was able to identify one of his captors.

He has fingered 30 potential suspects but the kind of proof that is needed to make a case in a western court was lacking for the majority. Nevertheless, he has put them on police radar and officials know where they are.

Mr Aqil, who comes from a Kurdish part of Syria, told Germany's Spiegel magazine he was prisoner 6015 when seized along with another journalist by the death-cult militants in December 2014.

They were beaten with wooden clubs and told they were to be beheaded. A Sharia court judge sentenced them to execution but they were driven instead to a small town and locked up in a jail.

Mr Aqil was forced him into orange coveralls and thrown into a cell holding four other men. They were beaten regularly and fed on mouldy bread.

'It's like a movie,' Mr Aqil told the magazine. 'I have to watch and wait for it to end. It will be over eventually.'

Mr Aqil now helps authorities in Germany to track down Islamic State terrorists hiding in the country

On Fridays after prayers, the terrorists would shoot some of the prisoners and force Mr Aqil to watch the videos on a mobile phone. 'Look, journalist, what we did to your friends,' they would say. 'We are going to burn you alive,' one of the IS fighters told him.

But he was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange and vowed to get to Europe where he arrived with his mother earlier this year. Not long after his arrival, in March, three terrorists struck in Brussels, killing innocent travellers.

'Germany made a mistake by letting all of these people in,' said Mr Aqil. 'Now, the terrorists are here.

'I had to do something to protect Germany,' Mr Aqil said.

Now, Mr Aqil is working on a number of different cases for two German investigative agencies. He has already been able to deliver the names and locations of several suspects from his time as a prisoner.
A disabled boy allegedly 'died' for five minutes after lifeguards thought he was 'messing around' when he got into difficulty in a swimming pool.

Joshua Smith, 12, was on a day trip to a leisure centre when he panicked in deep water and started 'flailing his arms and legs and splashing a lot.'

His mother is now demanding answers after his carer claimed lifeguards 'failed to act' because they thought the youngster was 'just messing around'.

Joshua Smith, 12, was on a day trip to a leisure centre when he panicked in deep water and started 'flailing his arms and legs and splashing a lot'

Joshua's carer claims he had no pulse for five minutes.

After being resuscitated by staff, Joshua was rushed to Northampton General Hospital from Danes Camp Leisure Centre in Northampton on September 21.

He has since made a full recovery but his mother Katie Smith, 29, claims she has not been able to view CCTV of the footage, adding the music in the venue was 'too loud' for lifeguards to be able to hear anything clearly.

Joshua's mother said he has flashbacks and is suffering with a chest infection

Ms Smith, a full-time carer for Joshua - who has ADHD, dyslexia and language and communication difficulties - said her son was left traumatised by the incident.

The mother-of-one from Thrapston, Northamptonshire, said: 'His carer told me that the staff failed to notice he was struggling in the water.

'The leisure centre told me while Josh was in hospital that they were looking into the CCTV footage to determine what happened.

'But a few days later I went there to try to see the footage for myself but they told me the machine was broken.

'Its not acceptable really when my son technically died for five minutes.'

She added: 'Joshua now has flashbacks about that day and is suffering with a chest infection. He doesn't want the light being turned off when he goes to bed and refuses to have a bath.

'I just want to see the CCTV footage so I can see what actually happened.'

Joshua's carer alleges he got into difficulty about 15 minutes into the session and 'began to panic, flailing his arms and legs and splashing a lot'.

She also claims that the music in the leisure centre made it difficult for the lifeguards to hear what was happening.

The 12-year-old's carer claimed lifeguards 'failed to act' because they thought the youngster was just 'messing around'

The carer, who did not wish to be named, said: 'Another woman in the pool had spotted Josh and called for the lifeguards. By this time, Josh had stopped struggling and had gone limp.

'I got to the edge by Josh as the life guards reached where they were and they pulled him out of the water. He wasn't breathing and had gone blue around his face.'

The woman claims she was stopped from performing CPR as lifeguards waited for a first aider to arrive and carried out initial checks.

She added: 'A different Danes Camp staff member performed CPR on Josh and he started breathing again but was still unconscious.

'Staff at Danes Camp then emptied the pool of swimmers and called an ambulance.

'They then put a foil blanket on him and rolled him onto his side. When I got back to Josh, he was conscious and I was made to leave the poolside.'

A spokesman for Northampton Leisure Trust, which runs the centre, claimed its staff had acted in accordance with their procedures.

He said: 'As the child went under the water, there was a swimmer passing by who helped him to the side of the pool where our lifeguard pulled him from the water.

'The lifeguard checked for breathing and, by the time he had been assessed the child wasn't breathing.

'The second lifeguard on duty started the recovery process.

'The breathing recommenced and he was put into the recovery position. The lifeguards' response resulted in a positive outcome.

'We are aware an investigation has been launched by the local authorities into the circumstances of this event and we have also reviewed what happened.
An aristocrat is damning the presence of pesky beavers who are wrecking the trees at his country estate - and has come under fire for offering a 1,000 for anyone who can capture or kill them.

Eccentric Sir Benjamin Slade, 70, has erected 'Dead or Alive' posters around his 12-acres of parkland in Somerset.

He believes the animals have migrated into the nearby River Tone from the River Otter in Devon, where they were re-introduced into Britain in 2009.

Sir Benjamin Slade (pictured with part of his vintage gun collection) is offering a 1,000 reward for any beavers that are brought to him

Despite the huge conservation effort to establish a stable population, Sir Benjamin says they are a nuisance and are 'breeding like rabbits.'

His wanted posters read: 'Beaver Sightings! at Woodlands Castle. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.

'1000 reward. For crimes against trees. Beavers have been cutting down our trees!'

Sir Benjamin, worth a reputed 20 million, said: 'You get people shouting about how beavers are wonderful.

'But they're not, they are a nuisance. They eat the trees and strip them of their bark.

The 70-year-old has erected these 'Dead or Alive' posters around his 12-acres of parkland in Somerset

'They're not endangered. They're endemic. They breed like rabbits and are all over Europe.'

Sir Benjamin put up the posters last week in the hope the beavers would be caught so they could be moved off his estate.

Conservationists condemned the peer - although experts point out it is not illegal to kill beavers.

The animals were reintroduced to the wild in 2009 after being extinct in the UK for more than 500 years.

A colony has now been established on the River Otter and they are believed to have migrated into nearby waterways.

Despite the huge conservation effort to establish a stable population, Sir Benjamin says they are a nuisance and are 'breeding like rabbits'

They have now reached Woodlands Castle, a 17th Century country house near Taunton, which Sir Benjamin runs as a wedding and conference venue.

This is not the first time Sir Benjamin has courted controversy.

The childless baronet once considered a reality television show to try and find an heir to run his other estate, Maunsel House.

He said he would bequeath the estate to whichever stranger most closely matched his DNA - as long as they weren't Guardian readers, drug users or communists.

In 2007 he thought he had found an heir in rock star Isaac Slade, who fronts American band The Fray, but Mr Slade was too busy with his music career.

He took to Facebook to find love in 2012, placing an advert looking for a 'young lady' companion and offering a 50,000 salary plus car, house, food and holidays.

The advert read: 'You must have a shotgun certificate, be able to run two castles, an estate and a grouse moor. MUST be able to breed two sons (don't mind if she has bred before and is proven). A little private capital and income would be helpful. A large fortune would be more helpful.'

Sir Benjamin, who is worth a reputed 20 million, pictured here at his other property, Maunsel House

BACK... AFTER 230 YEARS Last spotted in England in 1789, when hunter John Swail was paid 2p for a bever head

Castoreum  their thick liquid scent produced to mark territories  was used as a pain relief in medieval times

The medieval church classed them as fish, which meant they could be eaten on holidays and fast days

European beaver numbers fell to 1,200 at the turn of the 20th century but they have been reintroduced to more than 20 countries

They can hold their breath under water for 15 minutes Advertisement

The baronet has now frozen his sperm and still hopes to father a child to keep his family's estate running.

Steve Hussey, of the Devon Wildlife Trust, said: 'We'd like to make contact with the landowner to see if we can come to another solution that doesn't involve killing beavers.

'It is true that beavers will cut down some trees but they're not going to fell forests or woodlands or anything like that.

'You can take very easy straightforward protective measures to stop beavers felling trees.

'Whenever we have consulted local people on beavers in the past they have overwhelmingly shown their support for beavers.

'Beavers have been persecuted in the past. It's because of human beings we lost our beavers - they were hunted for their meat, fur and scelt glands'

A photo supplied by Sir Benjamin which he claims shows a beaver gnawing on a tree outside his house

A beaver spotted lurking in the water in the grounds of Woodlands Castle, where they are wrecking the trees

After being hunted to extinction in the 16th century, beavers were reintroduced into the wild by conservationists in 2009 in pilot projects in Scotland and Devon.

They are known as a 'keystone species' because of their significant positive influence on the environment.

Ecologist Derek Gow, who runs a sanctuary for beavers, said: 'They're not a protected animal in Britain at this stage so if anyone wants to shoot them they can.

'But beavers are part of the natural ecology and the only reason they haven't been here is because we have slaughtered them all in the past.
her with axe and mop handle, had sex with her and left her to die

A man who bashed his former partner with an axe and mop handle, then had sex with her and left her to die in her home, has been jailed for at least 21 years.

Kevin James Corbett, 51, murdered 36-year-old Charmaine Winmar at her Narrogin home, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, in May 2013.

The mother-of-three suffered injuries to her head and chest, including a punctured lung, fractured rib, broken bones in her hand and a deep wound in her forehead.

Corbett also used a mobile phone to take photographs of himself having sex with her as she lay motionless on a mattress.

Kevin James Corbett, 51, was found guilty of murdering 36-year-old Charmaine Winmar.

Ms Winmar was attacked at her Narrogin home, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, in May 201

A 'jealous, possessive and controlling' man prosecutors claimed Corbett was obsessed with Ms Winmar, the ABC reports.

They had been in a relationship where Corbett was violent towards the 36-year-old and treated her as his property.

He went to prison in 2013, where he constantly rang her and threatened to 'put her in a wheelchair'.

When he was released from custody he called her phone more than 1,400 times over the space of 18 days.

She had attempted to distance herself from him, but Corbett tracked her down and caught a bus from East Perth to Narrogin, leaving abusive graffiti related to Ms Winmar along the way, before attacking her in her home, the court heard.

The WA Supreme Court jury deliberated for only a few hours before finding Corbett guilty

Corbett also used a mobile phone to take photographs of himself having sex with her as she lay motionless on a mattress (stock image)

Corbett's motive for murder was out of 'jealousy and anger' and the attack on Ms Winmar was described as 'brutal, sustained and merciless', Justice Stephen Hall said.

'Your anger ignited a brutal explosion of violence ... this was the most terrible type of domestic violence,' the ABC reports.

During his three week trial, Corbett tried to blame Ms Winmar's death on her new partner, Richard Penny, despite him also being injured in the attack.

A Supreme Court jury deliberated for only a few hours before finding Corbett guilty.
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These are the hilarious animal pictures battling it out to be crowned Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards winners this year.

After receiving more than 2,200 entries, the judges have whittled the photographs down to a shortlist of just 40 who are gunning for gongs in seven categories.

From lions appearing to be uncontrollably laughing to seemingly headless penguins - this superb collection of photographs will have you in stitches.

Get it?: An African lion looks like she finds something hilarious in the Maasai Mara in Kenya back in September 2011

Mice to see you: This harvest mouse is appearing to be waving at the camera in Cheshire back in May this year

All smiles: A frog appears to have a big smile for the camera as a photographer in Russia picked the perfect moment

Caught short: An unfortunate portrait of a buffalo in Meru National Park Kenya in July this year

Shake, rattle and roll: This bataleur had been preening himself for 3 hours in the sun before taking off in Singita National Park, South Africa

Unlikely composer: An adorable little squirrel captured on a beautiful sunny day holding the stem of a flower in an unknown location

All aboard: A little leopard tortoise jumps on a friends back in the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

The fruits of labour: A European ground squirrel does everything to get these rose hips in Vienna, Austria

Beary nice to meet you: A mother polar bear takes a nap during the day whilst her cub is full of energy and gives the camera a wave in Manitoba, Canada

He's too young to be trunk: An adorable baby elephant appears to face plant the ground, Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe

Say cheese: Wide-Eyed Burrowing Owlet posing for selfies in front of a GoPro in Florida in May last year

Bleeding the lizard: A huge komodo dragon appears to exit a toilet in Indonesia, August, 2012 (left) as a cheetah is photographed on main road in a nature reserve in South Africa suddenly noticed a speeding sign, promptly sitting down as if to ponder this speed limit in Hoedspruit

A rare bit of hare action: Photographer Andy Howard spent more than five hours with a friendly mountain hare which appears to raise its paw to say hello, Cairngorms, Scotland

Look for the bare necessities: A European brown bear dances like nobody is watching in the forests of Finland in June 2014

It's not that simples: Two meerkats appearing to have a dispute in Little Karoo, South Africa back in May 2015

You're finished: A yellow painted frogfish appears to hit another in the face as it pushes forward in Taiwan in June 2014

Warrior stance: A colourful reptile holds up a twig as it is pictured looking like a warrior with a powerful stance in May 2013

What a hoot: A snowy owl looks very content as it smiles for photographer Edward Kopeschny in Ontario, Canada

Corn in the gob: Eastern Chipmunk stuffing her cheeks with corn until they looked ready to pop in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada

The hunter beomes the hunted: A grizzly bear doing a bad job of catching a salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska, July, 2014

Jokes: A hyena appears to find something hilarious in a shot capture by Yaron Schmid in the Serengeti, Tanzania, in February

To the dancefloor: Two weaver ants - otherwise known as fire ants - appearing to dance together in Bata, Indonesia back in March

Mirror image: Two wide rhinos organised back-to-back seem to be the rarest creature in Laikipia, Kenya, in March 2015

You what? Four pigeon burrowing owls stare directly at photographer Mario Gustavo Fiorucci and one appears to tilt its head to get a better look in Santa Rosa, Argentina

Head in the clouds: A bear appears to have wings growing from its head in a photo taken by Adam Parsons

Double trouble: A mother and son leopard pair have a playful fight with photographer Ross Couper snapping a hilarious end result in Singita Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Off with their heads: Photographer Charles Kinsey captures a pair of 'headless penguins' as they preen themselves simultaneously in South Georgia

Keep your beak out of it: A nosey bald eagle peeks out from behind the rocks to check out what photographer William Saunders is up to, Cordova, Alaska

Head's gone: A tough day at the office for this fox in Yellowstone National Park, USA

Peek-a-boo: A jiungle babbler covers another's eyes with its wing as its beak pokes through in Bharatpur, Rajasthan

On the march: A wild owl appears to be walking along in a very serious manner in Lancashire, England

The one that got away: A pelican looks distraught as it drops a fish thrown to it by a fishermen in Kerkini Lake, Greece

Undercover job: A stag gets himself into an unfortunate situation in Richmond Park, London

Kung fu owl: A wild little owl landing with one wing open and one wing closed, Lancashire, England

D'oh: A meerkat appears to look like it has just remembered it needs to be somewhere in Little Karoo, South Africa

Sat Nav: Bighorn ram pointing out the way to trabel in Gardiner, Montana, or perhaps unleashing its inner Basil Fawlty
The world's fluffiest cat is getting its very own park as part of a drive to save the species which is hunted for its luxuriant fur.

The 12-square-mile area within Sailyugemsky Nature Park in Russia's Siberian Altai Mountains will be a scientific zone where the furry felines can be studied and protected.

The Pallass cat - also known as the Manul Wildcat - is a protected species in Russia but illegal poaching still goes on. It is also hunted for its fur in neighbouring Mongolia leaving it under threat of extinction in many border areas.

The rare and reclusive animal is about the size of a house cat but with thick, dense hair patterned with black rings and spots.

The cat is a protected species in Russia but it is hunted for its fur in neighbouring Mongolia leaving it under threat of extinction in many border areas

The rare and reclusive animal is about the size of a house cat but with thick, dense hair patterned with black rings and spots

But despite their cuddly appearance the cats are wild and notoriously solitary which makes observing them very difficult.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the species as Near Threatened.

The exact number of wild cats living in the park area are unknown but researchers hope to be able to release an estimate by November.

Researcher Alexey Kuzhlekov told the Siberian Times: ''The latest data on this species is outdated. It hasn't been updated over the last 3 or 4 decades.'

The 12-square-mile area within Sailyugemsky Nature Park in the Siberian Altai Mountains will be a scientific zone where the furry felines can be studied and protected

Despite their cuddly appearance the cats are wild and notoriously solitary which makes observing them very difficult

Delegates at a recent international conference attended by scientists from Russia, the US, the UK, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Mongolia and Ukraine agreed that establishing the park would allow the area to play a greater role in monitoring the endangered species.

It already has 15 photo traps set up to allow them to capture pictures of the seldom seen animals, which will increase understanding of their habits.

Denis Malikov, deputy director of Sailyugemsky Park said: 'The Pallas' cat is unfairly forgotten in the world although the animal is on the edge of extinction. There are only a handful of researchers studying it in Russia.

The cats are native to remote regions of southern Siberia, as well as Central Asia and China.

The park already has 15 photo traps set to capture pictures of the seldom seen animals, which will increase understanding of their habits

The exact number of wild cats living in the park area are unknown but researchers hope to be able to release an estimate by November




A school and nursery have been evacuated after a student thought they saw a gunman in a German town near the city of Hamburg.

Armed police searched buildings 'room by room' in Elmshorn for a gunman 'dressed all in black' who was reportedly spotted by a student at around 12.45pm on Friday.

Around 400 children were evacuated from the Elmshorner Waldorf School and the adjacent nursery on Adenauer Damm.

Armed police are searching the area after a gunman was reported near a nursery and school in Hamburg

However, no gunman was found and the children were all accounted for before being sent home for the day.

There are no reports of injuries.
The undersea explorer who discovered the Whydah Gally, the first authenticated pirate shipwreck in North America, believes he's found where the ship's legendary treasure lies after more than 30 years of poking around the murky waters off Cape Cod.

Barry Clifford says his expedition recently located a large metallic mass that he's convinced represents most if not all of the 400,000 coins and other riches believed to be contained on the ship.

'We think we might be at the end of the rainbow,' Clifford said in the recently opened Whydah Pirate Museum on Cape Cod, where many of the expedition's finds are now showcased.

Barry Clifford stands next to a display case containing silver coins recovered from the wreckage of the Whydah Gally at the Whydah Pirate Museum. He says his expedition recently located a large metallic mass that he's convinced represents most if not all of the 400,000 coins and other riches believed to be on the ship

A museum visitor, left, walks past a life-size replica of the hull of the pirate ship at the Whydah Pirate Museum, in Yarmouth, Massachusetts

The former slave ship, commanded by the English pirate Samuel 'Black Sam' Bellamy, went down in stormy seas off Wellfleet, Massachusetts, in 1717, killing all but a handful of the nearly 150-person crew

Maritime archaeologists and historians say they're intrigued but remain skeptical, mostly because he's been disproved on other finds.

'Barry Clifford's many claims can be very exciting, if they can be verified with photographs or scientific proof,' said Paul Johnston, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. who specializes in shipwrecks. 'Until then, it's just talk.'

The former slave ship, commanded by the English pirate Samuel 'Black Sam' Bellamy, went down in stormy seas off Wellfleet, Massachusetts, in 1717, killing all but a handful of the nearly 150-person crew.

It's believed the heavily laden ship sunk quickly, leaving the ill-gotten riches from over 50 ships at the bottom of the ocean.

But Victor Mastone, chief archaeologist for the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources, which oversees shipwrecks and other undersea finds, suggests the pirates could have simply been lying.

'Did they brag more than they should have? Who knows?' he said. 'We know what the pirates said they had.'

Clifford is pictured next to a bell once belonging to the pirate ship Whydah Gally

The bell once belonging to the pirate ship is seen at the pirate museum

Archaeologist Marie Kesten Zahn works to remove silver coins from a concretion recovered from the wreckage of the pirate ship

Clifford dismissed Johnston and others as longtime opponents who have refused to treat his team's work seriously.

'Why would they be bragging to the judge about how much treasure they stole? They were hanged,' he said, referring to the fate that befell the surviving pirates of the Whydah.

The 71-year-old explorer hopes to start investigating the suspected riches this month, but stressed the recovery process will take time.

Once the mass is located and raised, his team will need to gently break it down using electrolysis and small hand tools.

'For me, it'd be great to get it all finished, but it isn't going to get done in my lifetime,' Clifford said. 'Archaeology doesn't happen quickly, if you're doing it correctly.'

Since his 1984 discovery, Clifford and his team have returned nearly every year to the wreck, over which he has special rights.

They've already reclaimed some 200,000 artifacts, including thousands of silver Spanish coins, hundreds of pieces and fragments of rare African gold jewelry, dozens of cannons, various colonial-era objects and other prizes.

Archaeologist Chris Macort holds a bronze wheel wax seal recovered from the wreckage

Maritime archaeologists and historians say they're intrigued but remain skeptical, mostly because he's been disproved on other finds. Pictured is a silver coin recovered from the wreckage of the ship

A new find at the wreck that made him famous would be a coup for Clifford, who has been dealt major setbacks on other recent expeditions.

In 2014, he claimed to have found the wreck of the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus' flagship from his first voyage to the Americas in 1492, off the coast of Haiti, only to have researchers from UNESCO conclude it was more likely a ship from a later era because of the presence of bronze and copper fasteners.

Both a teapot (left) and a shoe (right) were found with the Whydah Gally's wreckage

Then last year, Clifford claimed to have located the infamous Scottish pirate Captain William Kidd's Adventure Galley off the coast of Madagascar.

UNESCO again threw cold water on the pronouncement, concluding an over 100-pound silver ingot Clifford produced as proof of his find was actually 95 percent lead.
Two bankers boxes of Hillary Clinton's emails went missing in 2014 and were never found, according to the FBI's notes on her case.

Officials were told to retrieve 14 boxes from Clinton's lawyer's office. Only 12 were recovered.

The FBI report says it's unclear whether they 'were consolidated or what could have happened to the two other boxes.'

Two bankers boxes of Hillary Clinton's emails went missing in 2014 and were never found, according to the FBI's notes on her case

Clinton is seen here entering a fundraiser for her presidential campaign in New York City yesterda

CLINTON HAS A HISTORY OF MISPLACING DOCUMENTS The White House in 1996 miraculously found copies of records it for years told Congress it did not have that detailed Hillary Clinton's work for a savings and loan association that went belly up. The originals went missing from Rose Law firm just before Bill Clinton took the Oath of Office. Congress subpoenaed the documents in 1994 as part of its Whitewater investigation. The files indicated that Hillary Clinton had a more involved role in counseling Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan run by the Clintons' business partner, Jim McDougal, than she'd let on. A day before the billing forms were discovered by a Clinton aide and former Rose Law firm employee in a storage area for unsolicited gifts, the White House stumbled across a two-year-old memorandum from a former staffer who said the first lady had been more intimate knowledge of the White House travel office firings than the administration said. Both documents were revealed to be in the White House's possession several days after the statue of limitations expired for a civil lawsuit to be brought against Hillary Clinton in the Madison Guaranty case that left taxpayers on the hook for $60 million. Previously, in 1993 the White House suddenly procured a note from Vince Foster that may have explained why he committed suicide after saying earlier it did not know why the former Rose Law firm lawyer had taken his own life. Advertisement

Fox News came across the mystery of the missing boxes in heavily redacted witness interviews released by the bureau.

A summary of an interview with an employee from the Office of Information Programs and Services (IPS) said, 'Initially, IPS officials were told there were 14 bankers boxes of former Secretary of State Hillary CLINTONs emails at CLINTONs Friendship Heights office.

'On or about December 5, 2014, IPS personnel picked up only 12 bankers boxes of CLINTONs emails from Williams & Connolly.'

The Clintons' longtime counsel is David Kendall, a lawyer at Williams & Connolly. Friendship Heights is a wealthy neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. that bleeds into the district's border with Maryland.

The State Department witness also told the FBI that the recovery team was 'unable to locate any of her emails from January-April 2009.'

Those months cover the beginning of Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, when she set up a private email address on her basement server with the intention of using it to conduct government business.

Fox also discovered FBI notes explaining that some of Clinton's emails were retroactively classified while she was still at State. Meaning, they were marked unclassified when she sent them but officials disagreed with that assessment or changed their minds and classified them after the fact.

'(Redacted) heard the argument that some of CLINTON'S emails were unclassified back in the 2009-2012 timeframe when they were initiated, but were later classified due to various circumstances.

'It was very rare for something that was actually unclassified to become classified years after the fact,' the review said.

MISSING: A State Department witness also told the FBI that the recovery team was 'unable to locate any of her emails from January-April 2009'

The same witness who detailed the missing boxes of emails accused Undersecretary for Management Patrick Kennedy of pressuring agencies to change the classification settings on some of Clinton's emails to evade Freedom of Information Act requests.

Two sources charged Kennedy with classification tampering in claims to Fox News, as well.

Fox's sources said he went to Capitol Hill to argue that one of the emails that began the investigation into Clinton's communications shouldn't have been classified because the sensitive information had already been reported in a news article.

State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said this week that their office would 'strongly refute those claims.'

Kennedy 'categorically rejected' the allegation in his interview with the FBI in December.
Plans to float the Governments remaining stake in Lloyds Bank on the stock market have been called off, the Chancellor announced yesterday.

Private investors hopes of a bonanza were dashed after Philip Hammond told an International Monetary Fund meeting that it was not the time to make such an offer.

Instead of the promised sale to the public, shares will be sold off gradually to funds and other institutions over the next year under a scheme run by investment bankers Morgan Stanley. The Government currently owns a 9.1 per cent stake in Lloyds Banking Group, valued at 3.6billion.

Taxpayers still own 9.1 per cent of Lloyds and Chancellor Philip Hammond announced today he would resume the sale of shares to fully return it to the private sector

Mr Hammond told the meeting in Washington that drip-feeding the shares into the market would ensure the bank is returned to private ownership in an orderly fashion. He blamed turmoil in the markets for the change of tack, after concerns about German lender Deutsche Bank saw banking shares fall dramatically in recent weeks.

However he added that returning Lloyds to the private sector is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole. He noted that the lender was an important source of credit for individuals and Britains small and medium sized firms.

The Government ploughed 20billion of taxpayers money into Lloyds in 2008, following the firms rescue of Halifax Bank of Scotland. It has gradually been selling down the taxpayers stake, and there have been hints that the remaining portion could be sold at a loss as long as the 20billion is recovered. The Government is already in profit thanks to earlier sales.

Mr Hammond, pictured at this week's Tory conference, said the disposal of the remaining Lloyds shares would be pursued in an 'orderly way'

Antonio Horta Osorio, Lloyds chief executive, welcomed the decision to press ahead with share sales directly to City institutions. He said: This reflects the hard work undertaken over the last five years to transform the group into a simple, low-risk and customer-focused bank that is committed to helping Britain prosper.

Despite the promised sale, Lloyds shares were trading down 2.42p at 52.57p in afternoon trading yesterday.
Hundreds of vile racist thugs performed Nazi salutes and screamed 'sieg hel' after a farmer was duped into letting a white supremacist rally be held in his field.

Almost 400 far-right supporters from Europe descended on the event which was held in the quiet rural village of Haddenham, Cambridgeshire.

They told the landowner they needed to use the farm to host the gathering which would raise money for British charity Help for Heroes.

However, the event was actually held to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the death of white supremacist Ian Stuart Donaldson.

Almost 400 far-right supporters from Europe descended on the event which was held in the quiet rural village of Haddenham, Cambridgeshire

A poster was made to alert people to the event which was held on the rural village farm

Donaldson founded extremist group Blood and Honour, which is banned in numerous countries but not England.

During the rally shocking video showed the thugs singing racist songs and parading disgusting flags accusing refuges of being rapists.

Police allowed the three-day event to go ahead despite knowing about the 'possible right-wing element'.

They were informed after the neo-Nazis contacted the farm earlier this year and asked to rent their five-acre field.

The farmer said they made no mention of their far-right affiliations but told police they were marking the anniversary of Donaldson's death.

Matthew Collins, from the anti-fascist Hope not Hate campaign group, said it was 'disappointing' that it had been allowed.

He added he was 'aware of a number of occasions when the police appear to have been caught short about the activities of the extreme far right'.

Mr Collins said about three-quarters of those attending travelled from Europe to be at the event and this included people from countries that ban Blood and Honour.

He said the annual Blood and Honour event had moved around the UK because it had 'struggled to find venues that will host them'.

The farmer, who does not wish to be named, said: 'I was told it was a private party with music.

'It was to commemorate somebody that had died and to raise money for Help for Heroes.

'It was logged with the police and council. Somebody from the police came out and spoke to us.

'We own the field next door to the farm. We put fencing up, nobody could come up to the farm.

'There was no trouble, we could hear the music but not much else. The police certainly didn't come.

'When we found out what it was we did not take any money for it. We won't be renting the field out to anybody again.'

The event took place over the weekend of September 23 and 24.

A witness to the event, who wished to remain anonymous, described seeing 'a lot of cars, a big bonfire and a lot of music'.

They said: 'The one that I heard was a song about white power and this kept going on and on. It was very loud and distinctive.'

The event (left) was held to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the death of white supremacist Ian Stuart Donaldson. During the rally shocking video showed the thugs singing racist songs and parading disgusting flags accusing refuges of being rapists (right)

East Cambridgeshire District Council said a temporary event notice was filed online for a 'private party with music'.

It said, like all applications, it was passed to the police to see if they had any objections and, as none were raised, the event went ahead.

Help For Heroes said the event was not registered with the charity, adding it was 'strictly non-political' and it did not accept donations from extremist groups.

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: 'There was a three-day music event held over the weekend before last in a private field near Haddenham, with the owner's permission.

'We had been in contact with other police forces about similar events and were aware of the possible right-wing element.

'Senior officers planned and implemented a response proportionate to the risk. We worked with the organisers and land owner and the event took place without any disorder or crime being committed.'
It has been claimed Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani was responsible for distributing the literature

Extremist leaflets ordering Muslims to kill those who offend Islam were handed out outside an east London mosque.

Metropolitan police is launching an investigation into hate crime after worshippers were given the booklets during a gathering by the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque in Walthamstow.

It has been claimed that Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani was responsible for distributing the literature, because his name appears on the front cover, although he has strongly denied this, reports the Evening Standard.

Mr Jilani is imam at the mosque and owns the place of worship.

It has been reported that the booklet was given out to more than 100 people and focused on fanatic Mumtaz Qadri, who murdered governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer in 2011.

Qadri was serving as Taseer's bodyguard when he shot him 27 times with an AK-47 rifle, in Islamabad.

It is believed that he assassinated the politician because he had dared to speak out against the country's blasphemy laws as part of reform of the country's strict Islamic laws.

This leaflet was handed out to worshippers outside the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque, with Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani's face on the front

The booklet says 'all Muslims' should support Qadri and that being an apostate, someone who does not believe in religion, means you 'deserve to be assassinated'.

One worshipper who received the leaflet told the Standard: 'Two or three people delivered the leaflet. Unfortunately, I am shocked. I think it gives a bad impression.

'Islam teaches when you live here you obey the law and the rule of law, but this is not doing that.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'We will be assessing the contents of these leaflets to establish whether any criminal offence has taken place.

'We are committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms and have long since recognised the impact of hate crime on communities.'

Pictured, the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque in Walthamstow, east London

Mr Jilani said that he had no knowledge of the booklet being distributed.

He also said he did not give permission for his face to be used on the front, that it has been falsely attributed to him and that he does not agree with its content.
A city in southern China has announced a plan to recreate William Shakespeare's hometown to express their love for The Bard.

'Little Stratford', located in the city of Fuzhou in Jiangxi province, is expected to contain replicas of Shakespeare's birthplace and family home as well as the Holy Trinity Church where the playwright was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Councillor Christopher Saint, Leader of the Stratford-on-Avon District Council, who has just returned from a trip to Fuzhou, said he was honoured to learn that 'Chinese people would build a town looking like our homeland'.

A Chinese city plans to build a 'mini Stratford' to include replicas of the landmarks in Shakespeare's hometown, including the birthplace of the writer (pictured)

'Little Stratford' is expected to be built in a similar natural setting to Shakespeare's (left) hometown in England, which has River Avon (right)

The blueprints of Sanweng town were revealed in late September by Fuzhou government

'Little Stratford' is expected to clone Shakespeare's birthplace, family home, the streets of Stratford-upon-Avon and the Holy Trinity Church

'Little Stratford' is set to be a part of a new town, named Sanweng in Chinese or 'Three Masters' in English, in the suburbs of Fuzhou, a city with around four million residents.

Sanweng town, currently in its conceptual phase, is designed to celebrate three legendary writers, William Shakespeare from England, Tang Xianzu from China and Miguel de Cervantes from Spain.

The three writers, each a highly respected figure in their homelands, all died in 1616.

The architectural blueprints of Sanweng were revealed in late September during an event hosted by Fuzhou government to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the deaths of Tang Xianzu, Shakespeare and Cervantes.

Just like Stratford-upon-Avon in England, Sanweng town is located in an area laced with waterways, according to a plan released by the local authority.

About two hours from Fuzhou by train, the Yangtze River, the longest river in China, flows through the provincial capital of Jiujiang.

Councillor Christopher Saint, Leader of the Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said he was impressed by the plan. Pictured is William Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon

The town is expected to contain replicas of the Holy Trinity Church (pictured) where the playwright was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon

Councillor Christopher Saint said a delegation from Stratford-upon-Avon were invited to visit Fuzhou in late September to give feedback on the conceptual plan.

He told MailOnline: 'I was quite impressed by the plan of a small area in the new town which will be dedicated to Shakespeare's influences.'

He said because of the waterways in Sanweng, 'Little Stratford' is expected to be built in a similar natural setting to Shakespeare's hometown in England, which has the River Avon.

A delegation from Fuzhou had travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon for get inspiration before forming the plan.

It is likely that the Fuzhou government will draw feedback from relevant experts before finalising the plan, according to Saint.

Talking about Chinese people's interest in The Bard, Councillor Christopher Saint said: 'They are certainly keen to embrace Shakespeare and Shakespeare's influence on the works of their own playwright.'

Fuzhou government is yet to announce when the construction of Sanweng town will begin. Its construction budget is yet to be revealed.

To the west of the 'Little Stratford', a 'Little Alcala' (blueprint left) inspired by Cervantes's (right) hometown has also been planned

The Spanish style quarter is expected to have the replicas of the streets of Alcala (pictured)

A copy of the Alcala de Henares Cathedral (pictured) in Alcala is due to be erected in Sanweng

Alcala de Henares, an UNESCO World Heritage site, is set to be cloned by the city of Fuzhou

Sanweng town is currently in its conceptual phase and Fuzhou government is yet to announce when the construction will begin

To the west of 'Little Stratford', a 'Little Alcala' inspired by Cervantes's hometown has also been planned to celebrate the author of Don Quixote.

The Spanish style quarter is expected to have replicas of the old house of Cervantes, Alcala de Henares Cathedral and streets of Alcala de Henares, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. A Cervantes Square has also been planned.

The largest part of the Sanweng Town is due to be devoted to Tang Xianzu, who was born in Linchuan, the district where the new town is located.

Tang wrote the Chinese literary masterpiece The Peony Pavilion, which has been billed as the Romeo and Juliet of the East.

In this area, a street following the traditional Chinese architectural style and an ancient theatre stage, among other commercial facilities, are on the drawing board.

Sanweng town is a part of a larger spa town named Wenquan or 'hot springs'.

A hot spring hotel, a water-bourne threatre and a cultural centre have been proposed to be built in the Wenquan town to accommodate and entertained the tourists coming to visit Sanweng.

The largest part of the Sanweng Town is due to be devoted to Tang Xianzu (left), a master playwright from China

In this area, a street following the traditional Chinese architectural style has been planned

In late September, the city of Fuzhou hosted a large-scale event to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Tang Xianzu, who passed away on September 27, 1616.

The event also honoured Shakespeare and Cervantes, who died the same year.

Apart from announcing the plan of Sanweng town, the city's authority also unveiled a new Tang Xianzu Museum, according to Xinhua News Agency.
A wealthy Ohio businessman of Jordanian descent who admits to fatally shooting his daughter at their family's suburban Cleveland home has been indicted on an aggravated murder charge.

Jamal Mansour, 63, told Rocky River police he was angry when he shot 27-year-old Tahani Mansour during a heated argument. The indictment was handed up Wednesday.

Mansour, a married father-of-six and a grandfather, is being held on a $4.5million bond. He is due back in court for his arraignment on October 20.

At his initial court appearance last week, City Prosecutor Michael O'Shea said Jamal 'executed' his own daughter and called her death 'an assassination,' but would not elaborate.

The prosecutor's description of the killing has raised the suggestion that it might have been an honor killing, but the suspect's attorney, Angelo Lenardo, vehemently denied it, saying the very notion was 'racist and offensive.'

'Mr. Mansour is a good man who very much loves his family,' Lenardo said of his client.

Father-daughter spat: Jamal Mansour (left), 63, told police he was angry when he shot Tahani Mansour (right), the youngest of his six children, twice in the head during an argument

Authorities have not disclosed why Jamal became so enraged that he grabbed a gun and fired three rounds at his youngest child, hitting her twice in the head. After his arrest, he told a judge it was an accident.

The youngest of six children, Tahani was described by friends as bright and energetic, and had recently been hired as a clinical pharmacist by the Cleveland Clinic.

She received a doctor of pharmacy degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University in 2013, worked as a clinical pharmacist for University Hospitals and taught at the University of Findlay and the medical school, according to her LinkedIn account.

Tahanis former classmate Philip King recalled how beautiful her smile was, how much she embraced the challenges of the rigorous program and how she enjoyed going out with friends.

She liked to be around people, King said.

King said her life at school and time with her friends allowed her to enjoy a measure of freedom she might not have had at home, where her family was very, very protective of her.

It seemed to me like it was almost an escape, King said.

Tahani dated a classmate for two years during school, King revealed, a relationship he thinks she tried to hide from some of her family members.

King said she confided in him that she had some fear of her father, but he didn't press for details.

I didn't ask, King said. I knew there were cultural reasons.

Timothy Ulbrich taught Tahani all four years she attended NEOMED and helped her get appointed to a one-year hospital residency program she would need to be hired as a clinical pharmacist, a position where she would be working with teams of doctors and their patients in a hospital setting.

She was loud and she was energetic, Ulbrich said. She had a personality that was just contagious to be around.

Her father Jamal was born in Jordan and came to the US in 1978, eventually becoming an American citizen.

In 1993, he and wife Sumaya bought their home in Rocky River, a west side suburb popular among professionals.

Jamal comes from a well-to-do family who own gas stations and grocery stores in Ohio. He had recently returned from Jerusalem, where his family is building an apartment complex.

Justin Withrow, one of Jamal's attorneys, said in court last Thursday that his client is devastated by his daughter's death and called the fatal shooting a tragic situation.

Crime scene: The 27-year-old clinical pharmacist was fatally shot in her upstairs bedroom at the family's home in Rocky river (pictured)

Police officers arrived at the Mansour family's home in the 22600 block of Vine Court in Rocky River after getting a frantic 911 call from the victims brother, reported Cleveland.com.

Tahani's sibling told a dispatcher that at around 1.15am, their father, Jamal, shot the young woman twice in the head in her upstairs bedroom.

The brother described Tahani as unconscious and breathing, but said her face was covered in blood and she was twitching.

On the 911 call, the brother also mentioned that his father was diabetic, but Lt. George Lichman, of the Rocky River Police, later disputed that claim, saying that paramedics who examined Jamal found that he was not 'under any medical care.'

Officers who responded to the scene found Tahani with two bullet wounds, including one to the front of her head. She was rushed to Fairview General Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries 10 hours later.

While investigators say they are still searching for a motive, records show that Jamal had previously threatened to commit suicide over Tahani's work-related trip to Las Vegas.

The station WOIO has obtained a police report dated December 1, 2012, saying that someone had called the authorities saying that Jamal had threatened to take his own life if his daughter failed to return home from a conference in Las Vegas by 7am the next day.
A man found what is believed to be a human heart in a pink box while rummaging through a dumpster in New York.

New York Police Department are now investigating after the 68-year-old called them when he found it at the bottom of a container holding a potted plant.

The New York Medical Examiners Office removed the remains and will do tests on the heart to find out if it is human or belonged to an animal.

New York Police Department are now investigating after the 68-year-old called them when he found it at the bottom of a container holding a potted plant on the Lower East Side (pictured)

Should it turn out to be human, it will spark a major police investigation after it was found on the Lower East Side housing project on Wednesday at around 11am.

Police are now trying to find out where the plant came from in an attempt to determine the origin of the heart, reports the Daily News.

Human remains have been found on numerous occasions in the recent months.

In August, a heart was found in a plastic bag in the middle of a field in Norwalk, Ohio, after reports it might be human.

Should it turn out to be human, it will spark a major police investigation after it was found outside Riis Houses (pictured) housing project on Wednesday at around 11am

However, it was later reported that the heart was not linked to a crime.

Last month, a human head was found in bag at the bottom of a lagoon in Chicago by a groundsman who was clearing it of litter.
A pair of magicians has smashed the world record for the most costume change illusions in one minute with their impressive on-stage routine.

Avery Chin and Sylvia Lim, from Malaysia, completed a jaw-dropping 18 changes of costumes at a theme park in Wuhan, China, on September 28.

Guinness World Records judge Charles Wharton attended the event to ensure all necessary rules were followed.

One important rule is that for each 'reveal' a completely new costume must be worn and there can be no evidence of the previous outfit.

The grand finale saw Mr Chin throw a bag of glitter over his partner's head as she completed her last costume change illusion from a short blue dress into a long white gown.

The world-record breaking event was live-streamed on Chinese video sharing site Youku.

The previous record was won by fellow Malaysian magicians Vivas Magic at Sunway Pyramid, in Kuala Lumpur, who achieved 16 illusions in one minute only a few weeks ago.

A pair of magicians has smashed the world record for the most costume change illusions in one minute with their impressive on-stage routine

Avery Chin and Sylvia Lim, from Malaysia, completed a jaw-dropping 18 changes of costumes at a theme park in Wuhan, China, on September 28

The impressive clip featuring Mr Chin and Ms Lim has been viewed more than one million times since being posted on social media.

Reaction online was positive with most viewers amazed at the skill on display.

Kim Bratton wrote: 'That was wild!'

Gerardo Guerrero added: 'The finale was great!'

Guinness World Records judge Charles Wharton attended the event to ensure all necessary rules were followed
A Baltimore elementary school teacher has come under fire for using students as props in racist posts to social media.

Kelly Forostiak, 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, is facing disciplinary action after several Instagram posts degrading her fifth grade class.

The Deer Park Elementary School teacher posted three images to her now-deleted Instagram account, which have caused the controversy.

In one screenshot of the post, Forostiak shows a black student in a sombrero and fake mustache. The caption reads: 'This is an African American Mexican #HappyHalloween.'

A Baltimore elementary school teacher is facing disciplinary action after posting degrading images of her students to Instagram

The Deer Park Elementary School teacher posted three images to her now-deleted Instagram account, which have caused the controversy

In this post showing Forostiak with her entire class, she calls the students her 'little a*******'

A second post shows a female student with a caption reading: 'When all the kids and staff are questioning your lipstick as you flash the "B****, I'm cute AF' face".'

An image posted to the account of Forostiak with her entire class was captioned: 'Field day with my little a***holes that I somehow still love #5thGradeSwag.'

One person commented on the image, saying: 'I do't think as a teacher you are supposed to call your students little a***holes on social media."

Forostiak responded by saying: 'It is okay they are 11 going on 18 hahaha.'

On Tuesday, Mychael Dickerson, a Baltimore County Schools spokesman said Forostiak (pictured) regretted making the posts

Forostiak is still employed at Deer Park Elementary School (pictured) but it is unclear what her punishment will be

On Tuesday, Mychael Dickerson, a Baltimore County Schools spokesman said Forostiak regretted making the posts, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Dickerson said Forostiak had given him permission to speak about the matter.

He said she will accept whatever disciplinary action she faces.

However, Dickerson was unable to comment on what kind of retribution she faces. He confirmed she is still employed at the school.

Emory Young, president of the Baltimore County Parent Teacher Association Council, told the Sun: 'It's an extremely poor choice of words. She should have used something more positive and uplifting.'
Mike Pence's break out performance at Monday's vice presidential debate has some Republicans wishing he were their party's nominee instead of Donald Trump.

A third of Republicans told pollsters for Morning Consult they'd prefer to have the Indiana governor at the top of the ticket. He had 32 percent support to Donald Trump's 59 percent.

Democrats did not come away with the same impression of Tim Kaine. A mere nine percent wished the Virginia senator were the Democratic nominee instead of Hillary Clinton.

Mike Pence's break out performance at Monday's vice presidential debate has some Republicans wishing he were their party's nominee instead of Donald Trump

A third of Republicans told pollsters for Morning Consult they'd prefer to have the Indiana governor at the top of the ticket. Democrats did not come away with the same impression of Tim Kaine

Kaine, pictured on Thursday in Las Vegas, was criticized for interrupting his opponent too often while Pence received high marks from pundits for letting the attacks roll off his back

The survey was taken just after the Farmville, Virginia, general election debate between Pence and Kaine.

Kaine was criticized for interrupting his opponent too often while Pence received high marks from pundits for letting the attacks roll off his back.

Voters seemed to agree. His unfavorability rating shot up 12 points to 41 percent. Pence's was at 37 percent, up six points from 31 percent before.

Independents were twice as likely to say in the Morning Consult poll that Pence won, 33-14.

Registered voters also thought Pence was the better debater. They said 38-20 that the Republican vice presidential nominee did the better job.

It hardly mattered to most voters, though. Just 10 percent said the VP debate changed their minds about who to cast a ballot for. Only five percent of independents said it made a difference.

Most voters, 54 percent, told Morning Consult that they didn't bother with watching the 90-minute slugfest. Of those that did, 42 percent, four in 10 said they stayed for the entire show.

Trump's standing with voters did improve afterward - 39 percent said Pence's performance left them with a more favorable impression of the billionaire than they had before compared to the 30 percent who professed to disliking him more.

The match had the opposite effect on Clinton. She came out of it with 31 percent of viewers saying the liked her more and 38 percent saying they liked her less.

The debate also had the effect of making Pence the 2020 frontrunner for the GOP nomination, however, in the case that Trump loses on Nov. 8.

Given the option of voting for Trump, Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, respondents were most likely to say Pence.

The former congressman and sitting governor had 22 percent support. Trump and Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, were nine points behind him at 13 percent each.

The debate had the effect of making Pence the 2020 frontrunner for the GOP nomination, however, in the case that Trump loses on Nov. 8

Cruz had the backing of 12 percent, Rubio had 11 percent and Kasich, who has already run twice before, was in the single digits at seven percent.

Cotton, a freshman senator for Arkansas, had almost no support. He peaked the interest of one percent of voters who were surveyed.

Many Republicans hadn't thought that far ahead - a third said they have no idea who they'd like to see compete for the GOP nomination for years from now.
Expats will be given a 'vote for life' under plans announced by constitution minister Chris Skidmore (pictured) today that will lift the 15-year limit that has barred three million Britons living abroad voting in elections

Expats will be given a 'vote for life' under plans that will lift the 15-year limit that has barred three million Britons living abroad voting in general elections.

The move, announced by ministers today, could give an electoral boost to the Tories as many Britons living abroad are pensioners and more likely to back Theresa May's party.

But it will need a vote in both Houses of Parliament before it applies to future general elections and could face opposition in the House of Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority.

The policy was in the Conservative party's 2015 election manifesto but David Cameron failed to act on it, meaning millions of expats were barred from voting in the EU referendum.

During the EU campaign a group of expats launched a High Court bid to overturn the 15-year rule, which bars those who have been living overseas for more than 15 years from voting in UK elections.

The campaign was led by World War Two veteran Harry Shindler, 95, who retired to Italy. He claimed they would be affected the most by the EU vote and said the 15-year rule should be temporarily lifted.

Reacting to today's announcement to end the ban on expats such as him voting in national UK elections, Mr Shindler told the BBC: 'It seems the government are moving [on this] and that's good.'

The 15-year rule meant around 700,000 UK nationals living on the continent missed out on having a say in the June 23 EU referendum.

Announcing plans to lift the 15-year rule today, Chris Skidmore, the constitution minister, said: 'This statement shows how we will introduce "votes for life".

'British citizens who move abroad remain a part of our democracy and it is important they have the ability to participate.

'Following the British people's decision to leave the EU, we now need to strengthen ties with countries around the world and show the UK is an outward-facing nation.

Giving expats a 'vote for life' could also give an electoral boost to the Tories as many Britons living abroad are pensioners and more likely to back Theresa May's party

'Our expat community has an important role to play in helping Britain expand international trade, especially given two-thirds of expats live outside the EU.'

Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who has long-campaigned for the Government to give all expats the vote in general elections, welcomed the move.

He said: 'British citizens abroad are some of the best unofficial ambassadors that we have.

'It is only right and fair after a lifetime of contributing to the UK that they in turn should be given the right to vote.'

Before 1985 no expats were allowed to register to vote in UK national elections.

Lifting the 15-year rule will need a vote in both Houses of Parliament before it applies to future general elections and could face opposition in the House of Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority

At the Tory conference in Birmingham last week, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the expat community 'has an important role to play in helping Britain expand international trade'.

He also raised concerns that expats could become a negotiating 'card' during Brexit negotiations.

After the Prime Minister this week signalled a hard-line approach to Brexit and plans to shame companies that employ foreign staff over British workers, European leaders have warned that such moves could see British nationals living in other EU countries facing similar crackdowns.

French housing minister Emmanuelle Cosse said the policy 'raises issues of reciprocity'.
Shot dead: Sadie was killed by a retired cop in a suburban Cleveland street on Wednesday

A former Ohio police officer has been caught on camera shooting a stranger's dog dead in the street - and now the dog's owner is demanding he be brought to justice.

The ex-cop, identified as Douglas Balogh, was caught on a home security system shooting the American bulldog on Bader Avenue in Cleveland on Wednesday morning.

Balogh's attorney claims the dog, named Sadie, had escaped from its yard and was attacking his dog.

Generally, force against animals in the street is seen as justified if the animals attack, Fox 8 Cleveland reported.

However, according to Sadie's owner, Megan Jackson, Balogh didn't just shoot once - he kept shooting until the dog was dead.

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Caught on camera: Through the tree the retried cop can be seen in this video pulling out a gun and shooting the dog

The ex-cop, identified as Douglas Balogh, was caught on a home security system shooting the American bulldog on Bader Avenue in Cleveland on Wednesday morning

After shooting the dog dead, the former police officer just walks off down the street

Balogh is seen here putting his weapon back in his shorts as he walks back down the street

Mrs Jackson says it was all captured on camera.

'He shot her just way too many times,' she told Fox. 'She stopped, the first shot. I could've took her to the doctor. And she would've still been alive. But he just continued to shoot her and shoot her and shoot her until she was dead.'

The footage shows the dogs fighting. It is unclear if one attacked in the other

'He over-killed her': The dog's owner, Megan Jackson, believes the retired cop involved should be charged for shooting her pet

Jackson could be cited by investigators for failing to control her dog even though her pet died. Her dog jumped a fence and got through another.

'He over-killed her. I'll take a citation for her jumping the fence. That's fine,' Jackson said.
A British Christian preacher has been slammed for posting a picture on social media showing him holding a rifle and standing over the body of an antelope he shot dead.

Pastor Rikki Doolan hunted the animal during a business trip in South Africa and claims it was 'beautiful on the BBQ'.

However, his post has triggered hundreds of angry responses from people who are disgusted with his lack of regard for the creature's life.

Mr Doolan uploaded a photograph of him with the dead Eland Antelope and wrote: 'SUCCESSFUL day on the HUNT here in South Africa this year we shoot to kill!'

Pastor Rikki Doolan hunted the animal during a business trip in South Africa and claims it was 'beautiful on the BBQ'

The British Christian preacher (pictured) has been slammed for posting the picture on Facebook

Jake Nimer was quick to condemn the man of God's actions and wrote: 'Hope God forgives you for taking another life... I won't be.'

Joanne Serginson added: 'I'm no follower of God but it took me all of two seconds to find this, Proverbs 12:10 Verse Concepts "A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel".'

But Mr Doolan, who lives in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, but is originally from Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, fired back.

The self-proclaimed 'young adult pastor' for Spirit Embassy: The Good News Church, stood by his decision and when asked what he ate with it, he replied: 'Rice n chicken wings mate ;)'

He also wrote: 'Genesis 9:3 - every moving thing that lives shall be food for you, and just as I've given you green plants I've given you everything.'

He also claimed that he was sent death threats after posting the picture of him on social media.

But the carnivore was quoted by The Gazette saying: 'It was on an organised hunt on a game reserve, run by farmers on a huge amount of land who have raised the animals to be eaten.

'Just because they buy their meat from Tesco, doesnt mean that animal isnt raised to be killed.

'Back in Boro a lot of people go fishing and the first thing they do is pose with their catch - the only difference with this is mine was bigger.'

Many of his South African friends jumped to his defence claiming that it was just a way of life there.

Mr Doolan (pictured) wrote on the post: 'SUCCESSFUL day on the HUNT here in South Africa this year we shoot to kill!'

His Facebook post (pictured) was spotted online and sparked outrage from people who were disgusted

A user called Brilliant Pongo said: 'This is Africa that's just how we do fast food (we shoot it and eat it).'

Christopher-Lee Martins added: 'These people must all eat rabbit food or be so holy that they just don't eat anything of the earth.

'Your meat, your fish, your chicken is ALL killed one way or another, gutted, cleaned and then put on braai and eaten!

'Here in my country we hunt our meat and then eat it. Proud of your first hunt Rikki Doolan and a true man of God too! Glad to have you as real family.'

Other Facebook users criticised his decision to post the 'horrendous' picture online.

David Connor said: 'It's the fact it's showcased. Kill it eat it. Fair enough. Don't be proud off killing a defenseless animal.'
A man who killed his de-facto wife and two young sons says he was ready to fall in love again just months after walking out of jail.

Sandor Cikos, 55, killed Allison Penrose and their two sons, 18-month-old Travis and Jake, 4, at their West Dapto home near Wollongong, south of Sydney, on December 6, 1999.

Ms Penrose and her young sons were killed just months after she watched Cikos have sex with her female friend in a threesome in February 1999, a sexual fantasy she wanted fulfilled.

After serving 16 years behind bars, Cikos, the former fitter and turner, was released earlier this year and is living in a $160-a-week apartment in Leichhardt, in Sydney's inner-west, The Daily Telegraph reported.

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Sandor Cikos (pictured left) was released after serving 16 years behind bars for killing his de facto partner Allison Penrose (right) and their two sons in 1999. He was released in May 2016

The former fitter and turner is open to finding love. He has been living in a $160-a-week apartment in Leichhardt since his release

'He has been saying he is lonely and open to finding love. Seriously? After what he did? Who'd be crazy enough to date him?' a source said.

Cikos, who is currently not working, is said to be living a reclusive life and opted to stay at home apart from attending compulsory rehabilitation sessions.

His mother, Iona Cikos, told the newspaper she did not want him get into another relationship.

'I visited him every fortnight in prison and told him, "Get these women out of your head - they're bad for you, they turn your head",' Ms Cikos said.

'I pray every day in church for his forgiveness. After he went into prison, a year later I had a heart attack and triple bypass, but he has not come to see me once since he was released from jail.'

After killing Ms Penrose, Cikos choked his two sons 18-month-old Travis (left) and Jake, 4 (right), to death after putting plastic bags over their heads

Allan Penrose (pictured): 'If he's out, in the world, I really don't want to come face to face with him'

Cikos killed Ms Penrose after the threesome did not live up to her expectations, filling her with jealousy and making her more violent towards him.

He struck her on the head with a pipe before choking her.

Cikos choked his sons to death after putting plastic bags over their heads.
The battle took place at Zimanga Game Reserve in South Africa

A photographer managed to capture the amazing skirmish on camera

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A heron displayed some impressive martial arts skills when it went into battle with an eagle at a South African nature reserve.

The African fish eagle found itself under attack by the angry Goliath heron when it refused to budge from a lagoon.

A photographer stationed in a purpose-built 'hide' at Zimanga Game Reserve managed to capture these dramatic pictures of the extraordinary skirmish.

The eagle found itself under attack by an angry heron when it refused to budge

The African fish eagle found itself under attack from a Goliath heron, which is the world's tallest species of heron

The dramatic scenes unfolded at Zimanga Game Reserve in South Africa

Professional photographer Max Waugh, 40, saw the scene unfold in front of his eyes as he waited in the hide, which is designed to allow photographers to get even closer to wildlife without disturbing them.

His incredible pictures show the Goliath heron, which is also known as a giant heron, rising into the air feet first to chase off the incoming eagle.

Professional photographer Max Waugh, 40, captured the extraordinary battle from a purpose-built 'hide' at the lagoon

The eagle wasn't ready to give up his perch without a fight and rose to meet the heron in the air

The huge bird, which is the world's tallest species of heron, displays then battles the other bird with what look like some impressive kung fu moves.

With wings outstretched and legs poised, the heron drives the eagle away from the lagoon.

However, the eagle doesn't back off with out a fight, and faces the heron head on with his claws raised

The heron looked like it was knocking out some impressing kung fu moves as it chased the eagle away from the lagoon

Goliath herons are solitary foragers and are highly territorial towards others entering their feeding territories, while African fish eagles swoop into the water from a perch

Goliath herons are solitary foragers and are highly territorial towards others entering their feeding territories.
An officer whose face was 'repeatedly smashed into the pavement' on Wednesday by a man who was allegedly high on PCP did not draw her gun because she was afraid to face the scrutiny of another police shooting, Chicago's superintendent said.

During the city's police and fire awards on Thursday, Police Chief Eddie Johnson stopped short of naming the controversial 'Ferguson effect', although he said the 43-year-old officer's self doubt was a problem facing law enforcement.

Named after the Missouri city where black teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white officer in August 2014, the 'Ferguson Effect' was first coined by St Louis police chief Samuel Dotson to describe a rise in crime while police were focused on the resulting protests.

Other officials have used the term to suggest cops have become less proactive about enforcing the law due to a national spotlight on race and police brutality.

President Barack Obama criticized the use of the term, but Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist whose work was first used to debunk the theory, told the Guardian his 'views have been altered' after conducting an extensive analysis in homicide figures.

During the city's police and fire awards ceremony on Thursday, Police Chief Eddie Johnson stopped short of naming the controversial 'Ferguson effect'

The Ferguson Effect was named after the Missouri city where Michael Brown (left) was fatally shot by Darren Wilson (right) in 2014. Wilson was not indicted by a grand jury

The 43-year-old Chicago police officer, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized after a car accident on Wednesday turned violent.

The suspect, who was allegedly high on PCP, stepped outside his car, which rolled through an intersection before crashing into a liquor store.

Responding police tried to calm the man down, but he smashed the 43-year-old's face into the pavement until she lost consciousness, police said.

Surveillance video did not capture the entirety of the beating, but Carmen Martinez, who was working inside the liquor store told WGNTV: 'He threw her down and started punching her like if she was a punching bag. It was really bad.'

Two other officers sustained minor injuries.

At Thursday's awards ceremony, the police chief said: 'This officer could (have) lost her life last night.'

'As I was at the hospital last night, visiting with her, she looked at me and said she thought she was gonna die, and she knew that she should shoot this guy, but she chose not to because she didnt want her family or the department to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news,' Johnson also said.

He commended her bravery and said: 'We have to change the narrative for law enforcement across this country.'

Other people have used the term to suggest cops have become wary of enforcing the law due to a national spotlight on race and police brutality (pictured, Michael Brown Senior, center, leading a march after his son's death)

Protests erupted around the country after Brown's death, shining a spotlight on race relations and police brutality in a debate that rages on two years later. Pictured, protesters in New York City's Time Square

When Johnson was asked whether he thought Wednesday's incident reflected officers becoming less proactive, he said: 'I dont know if thats an example of laying back.

'But, thats an example of how dangerous this job is. And because of the scrutiny going on nationwide, it does make officers second-guess themselves. And thats what we dont want them to do.'

Studies on the Ferguson Effect remain murky, but a researcher who was once skeptical changed his views after a detailed analysis.

In June, Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri St Louis, said he found it was a 'plausible' explanation for the 16 per cent rise in homicides from 2014 to 2015 in the 56 largest cities in the US.

But Rosenfeld told the Guardian his conclusion differed from the 'dominant interpretation' of the effect, which assumes police 'disengage from vigorous enforcement actions' as a result of harsh criticisms.

He believes the effect is 'plausible' in that 'longstanding grievances and discontent with policing in African American communities' are 'activated' by controversial incidents of police violence. The 'chronic discontent' then breeds violence, he said.

He was also careful to separate himself from the conservative writer Heather McDonald's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, which argued that criticisms of the police would eventually backfire on black people in inner cities.

Rosenfeld said: 'She thinks the solution is to stop criticizing the police; I think the criticism is understandable, rooted in a history of grievance, and serves as a reminder that the police must serve and protect our most vulnerable communities.

On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's police accountability overhaul was passed in City Council.

The Independent Police Review Authority will be replaced by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability in an attempt to rebuild trust between minority communities and the police force.

A deputy inspector general will also be instated to overlook police accountability.
Holly Willoughby has angered her neighbours with flawed building plans to put a two-storey extension on her 3million mansion

On daytime television she exudes girl-next-door charm, but those actually living near Holly Willoughby appear to think she is the neighbour from hell.

The TV presenter, 35, has angered her neighbours with flawed building plans to put a two-storey extension on her 3million mansion.

The Edwardian property in an affluent London suburb already has five bedrooms, but Miss Willoughby and her husband, Dan Baldwin, now want two more.

Their neighbours have objected fiercely to the proposal because the house is in a conservation area and the extension would compromise the character and appearance of the building.

The row is just the latest instalment in what seems to be a difficult relationship between local residents and the This Morning presenter and her TV executive husband.

Miss Willoughby has three children with Dan Baldwin, known as a producer on Ministry of Mayhem, Virtually Famous, and Through the Keyhole, after they married in 2007.

It is believed the couple moved into the multi-million pound property in 2012, where they now live with their children Harry, Belle and Chester.

Not only have they been accused of having noisy, late-night parties  a claim they vehemently denied  they have also been criticised for causing excessive disruption to neighbours when they had building work done.

Undeterred by such complaints, the day after their two-storey extension was denied on September 26, the couple submitted a separate application for a 'super' basement extension to their house on September 27.

The North-West elevation of the celebrity couple's house where they live with their children

The two-storey extension plans that neighbours said were flawed and would affect them and their neighbourhood (pictured in grey left)

After the two-storey plans were rejected Mr and Mrs Baldwin have now submitted a large basement extension (pictured tunneling below main house)

The couple submitted plans for the first and second floor extension in July. But their neighbours complained the work would disturb the area and breach conservation rules.

Responding to the public documents one resident said: 'We are objecting because we believe the proposal will be a detriment to the quality, character and amenity value of the area,'

Perhaps the most damaging of the objections is their accusation that Miss Willoughby and Mr Baldwin have tried to exploit the planning system.

Willoughby and her husband, Dan Baldwin (pictured here at the British Grand Prix) were also accused of having a loud party

They say the couple are using an unsympathetic extension they built previously to persuade the council to approve their new plans.

In 2012 they were given the green light to build a flat-roofed, ground-floor extension, which they said would enhance the design and appearance of the house.

But their latest plans, to build on top of this extension, say that the building has been unsympathetically extended with the addition of flat roof elements.

In objection letters to her local council, residents said this means the application is flawed and that approving the work would set a bad precedent.

In one resident's letter of objection they emphasise the noise and the persona impact on them

Neighbours Dr Christina Atchison and Kirsty Brown wrote: The justification made by the applicants regarding using the proposed alterations to remove out of context flat roof ground floor extensions, is flawed.

She has charmed viewers with her girl-next-door-like personality during her successful career (pictured here with Phillip Schofield on This Morning)

'Firstly, it was the present applicants who made these unsympathetic extensions in 2012, secondly it would set a bad precedent and send the wrong message that house owners can exploit their previous poor developments as a justification for further development.

The spat comes three years after the couple were accused of having a drunken, noisy party in an anonymous letter purporting to be from someone in the area.

Holly Willoughby with her husband Dan Baldwin who emailed neighbours seeking help in tracking down the person who wrote the letter to them

Mr Baldwin responded by emailing 50 neighbours, many of whom the couple had never met, seeking help in tracking down the letter-writer.

The presenter is set to start in a new dating show

And he denied creating any noise, claiming that he and Miss Willoughby were instead watching the US drama Nashville on the night in question.

Planners have refused Miss Willoughby and Mr Baldwins extension plans after receiving the letters of objection.

The couple have been given six weeks to appeal against the decision. And they have submitted an application to add a one-storey basement, though this has not yet been considered.

Since living in the house Miss Willoughby has co-presented charity telethon Text Santa, presented on The Voice UK and began hosting a revived version of Surprise Surprise.

She worked with her husband on the sports-based panel show Play to the Whistle on ITV in 2015, as he produced and she presented.
A fine art photographer was left astounded when the bosses of an upmarket gallery banned his work which featured an 'unsuitable' picture of a naked mother with her child.

Ray Spence, 64, was asked to provide pieces for the exhibition 'Close to Home' at the Leamington Art Gallery and Museum.

But the 64-year-old was stunned after 'short-sighted' curators barred two of his pieces from being displayed because they contained naked women posing in their homes.

Ray Spence, 64, was asked to provide pieces for the exhibition - but was left shocked when his work was deemed unsuitable

Banned: One image shows a nude mother in a living room, but it was deemed inappropriate

One image shows a nude mother in a living room while a fully-clothed youngster and her father can be seen reading a book in the foreground.

The other photo banned from the exhibition features another nude model in her white kitchen sitting on a worktop with a dog on the floor.

Bosses at the gallery in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, deemed the pieces unacceptable and told Mr Spence they could not go on display.

But the artist pointed out nudity had been used in art for centuries.

Mr Spence, of Warwick, said: 'I think it is ridiculous and very short-sighted of the gallery. There is nothing scurrilous about them.

'I thought the art world had accepted naked models but obviously not in this case.

'They show nude figures in the gallery all the time so I don't understand why they have rejected these photos.'

The other photo banned from the exhibition features another nude model in her white kitchen sitting on a worktop with a dog on the floor

Bosses at the gallery in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire (pictured), deemed the pieces unacceptable and told Mr Spence they could not go on display

The fine art photographer claimed the art gallery bosses were 'short sighted' and argued nudity has had a place in the artworld for centuries

The nude figure is a tradition in Western art, featuring in revered pieces from Michelangelo's David to photography by Alfred Stieglitz.

Mr Spence's pieces from his 'Life At Home' series have been exhibited around the UK on several occasions and have featured in the Royal Photographic Society's journal.

The photographs have also featured at another Leamington Spa venue, Gallery 150.

The exhibition organised by artist Katherine Barker is to be displayed in the spotlight area of the main gallery.

The father-of-three, who is also a part-time lecturer in photography, added: 'Katherine has had meetings with the gallery and has tried to argue my case but they are sticking to their decision.

'They suggested I provide a photograph of flowers instead but I declined.'

Senior Curator of the Leamington Art Gallery and Museum Chloe Johnson said it was decided alternative pieces by Mr Spence might be more suitable within the space.

She added: 'Given the location of the space next to the children's gallery, we did not think the pictures were suitable.

'We don't consider ourselves to be prudish, we believe art should be challenging but we had to manage the space available to us.

'Ray was invited to submit some alternative works for the display but he declined.
Zoe Howell, 19, (pictured outside court) is accused of allowing the death of her baby Joshua. The boy's father Daniel Sanzone is standing trial for murder

A father accused of shaking a baby to death allegedly threatened to sue the hospital while doctors attempted to save his lifeless two-week-old baby from 'catastrophic' brain damage, a court has heard.

Daniel Sanzone, 23, warned that there would be 'trouble if something f****** happens' as medics tried to resuscitate his son Joshua Millinson on October 2015.

The 13-day-old baby had been rushed into Birmingham Children's Hospital by Sanzone and the boy's mother Zoe Howell when he became 'grey, floppy and lifeless' at the family home in Wolverhampton.

A scan showed his brain had been starved of blood and oxygen and the young boy died one month later from his injuries, which experts say were some of the most extreme they have ever seen.

Post-mortem examinations also revealed a catalogue of older fractures to the child's lower legs and rib cage, which doctors said were consistent with 'twisting', 'squeezing' and 'being gripped forcibly'.

Sanzone is now on trial, charged with his son's murder, along with a string of cruelty charges. Howell, 19, is charged with causing or allowing the baby's death.

The court was told how Howell told police her partner could 'sometimes be a bit rough' with the child but said she had never seen him hurt the boy. She later told officers: 'I can't believe the dad has done it.'

Throughout the hearing, Howell sat weeping uncontrollably and clutching a teddy bear in her lap, while Sanzone had his head in his hands.

During the first day of trial, Birmingham Crown Court heard that Joshua sustained 'catastrophic and irreversible damage to the brain and brain stem' which experts said was consistent with 'shaking'.

Prosecutor Sally Howes QC told jurors that there was 'little to challenge the medical, pathological and expert evidence that Joshua died as a result of deliberately inflicted injuries'.

She said: 'The main issue for you to resolve is not what happened to him, but who is responsible.'

Jurors were told that Joshua was born as a 'normal, healthy baby' on October 11 at 39 weeks.

During a routine medical examination four days later, a doctor described the baby as 'active and alert'.

A community midwife who saw Joshua at home - where he lived with Sanzone, Howell and her mother Sharon - on October 17, described him as 'pink in colour with good muscle tone, and alert'.

But two days later, the couple turned up with their child at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital's accident and emergency department reporting that Joshua had a rash on his forehead.

The 13-day-old baby had been rushed into Birmingham Children's Hospital (pictured) when he became 'grey, floppy and lifeless' at the family home

He was examined by a nurse and doctor who diagnosed a milk or heat rash, but found the baby was otherwise normal.

Ms Howes said: 'The doctor noted he didn't cry when his limbs were moved in order to remove his clothes.'

But against the advice of the medics, Howell then self-discharged her child 'as she was adamant she wanted to take him home'.

The prosecution said a bone specialist who examined Joshua after his death concluded the leg and rib fractures may have happened before that hospital visit.

Three days later, the couple again brought Joshua to the hospital's emergency department.

The court was told Sanzone was complaining that a midwife had caused his son's left leg to swell up after taking a blood sample at their home.

Howell (pictured outside court at an earlier hearing) told police her partner could 'sometimes be a bit rough' with the child but said she had never seen him hurt the boy

Ms Howes said Sanzone told medical staff 'he was going to sue'.

But when the baby was examined by doctors, they found 'no bruising or deformities of the arms and legs' and the child was discharged to come back for a check-up the next day - an appointment the parents failed to attend that review with Joshua'.

The court was told how, on the night of October 24 - the day Joshua was rushed into hospital - Howell and her mother were at home with Sanzone, who was alone in the living room with Joshua.

Howell later told the police she was in the kitchen when she heard a 'thud' from the lounge, and the baby 'started screaming more than he normally would'.

Taking up the defendant's account, Ms Howes said: 'She went to the living room where she saw Joshua on the settee and Daniel hovering over him as if he was going to change him.

'Joshua was screaming, flat on his back, and when she asked what the noise was, Daniel reported that "I dropped the remote". But she noticed it (the remote) was still in its usual place.'

Sanzone picked up the baby but he was 'floppy' and 'lifeless'.

Ms Howes said: 'He (Joshua) was no longer screaming, he just stopped and was gasping for air.'

Howell then became 'hysterical' as her mother Sharon Howell stepped in and started CPR, in a desperate bid to save the child, the court was told.

Paramedics arrived within moments and described Joshua as 'grey'.

He was taken to hospital and transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital, with Sanzone allegedly telling doctors: 'If something f****** happens now, there will be trouble - someone's getting sued.'

At hospital, the gravity of Joshua's 'profound' injuries were revealed with a scan showing his brain had been starved of blood and oxygen.

Ms Howes said: 'Sedation was discontinued, but despite this, there was no purposeful movement by Joshua. His pupils became continually fixed and dilated - he was just staring.

'From this day until the day of his death on November 21, Joshua remained unresponsive.'

Jurors heard the authorities successfully applied to the High Court for permission to withdraw life support after an objection from Howell, and baby Joshua passed away peacefully in his mother's arms.

After his arrest - but before his son's death - Sanzone gave an account to police describing how Howell's mother - who desperately tried to revive the child - had rocked the baby after its collapse, with him telling her 'you don't shake a baby'.

But Ms Howes said: 'It's the Crown's case it is Daniel Sanzone who was alone with Joshua at the time of this collapse.

'Joshua had been fine and suddenly he was not. It is Daniel Sanzone, say the Crown, who is responsible for the collapse because it was him who inflicted these fatal head injuries by some form of shaking.'

The prosecutor added it was 'absolutely inconceivable the mother of such a tiny baby would be unaware there was something happening to him when he was with Daniel Sanzone'.

Sanzone and Howell deny causing or allowing their son's death, and child cruelty between October 15 and 24 2015.

Sanzone denies murder.
Thomas Dappa, 40, is pictured outside Westminster Magistrates' Court

A Met police worker was part of a gang that stole 300,000 from UK bank accounts by cloning company directors email addresses, a court heard today.

Thomas Dappa, 40, who works in the Mets Referencing and Vetting Unit, is facing two charges relating to a series of sophisticated frauds and money laundering.

He appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court alongside two fellow alleged gang members Ahmed Otun, 41, and 66-year-old Dennis Bean.

The gang allegedly cloned the email addresses of chairman and directors of UK companies and used the accounts to demand the immediate transfer of funds.

The money ended up in Nigeria after passing through a bogus Santander business account set up by Otun and Bean, prosecutor Kate Bryan said.

They were led by alleged ringleader Okwudili Chinze who did not appear in court today.

This is an organised crime group headed by co-defendant Mr Chinze, said Ms Bryan.

It concerns the movement of proceeds of funds from many UK bank accounts, multiple money transfers and then sending the funds to Nigeria.

All had a similar, sophisticated technique of cloning email addresses of chairman and company directors the asking for urgent transfers of money to bank accounts under their control.

Met police worker Dappa was caught by his own employers after a Met Police fraud investigation uncovered the alleged scam

Ms Bryan said that Otun and Bean set up the Santander business account and the other gang members were all signatories on the account.

This was a series of serious financial frauds, Ms Bryan said.

Ms Bryan told the court that the total amount of known stolen funds amounted to 300,000.

Met police worker Dappa was caught by his own employers after a Met Police fraud investigation, Operation Falcon, uncovered the alleged scam.

District Judge Kenneth Grant sent the case up to the crown court and released all three on conditional bail.

Dappa, of Sidcup; Bean, of Romford; and Otun, also of Romford, are all accused of conspiracy to defraud and facilitating the acquisition, retention or control of criminal property.

Chinze has also been charged with conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
Nordstrom has pulled a controversial drug-themed fashion line from its stores following complaints the clothing glamorizes substance use and is inappropriate in light of the nation's drug epidemic.

Items from Italian brand Moschino's 'Capsule Collection' feature dresses dotted with colorful pill capsules and handbags in the shape of prescription pill bottles.

Nordstrom told Fox News on Thursday that it is no longer selling items from the Spring/Summer 2017 collection that debuted at Paris Fashion Week, in its stores or online.

Nordstrom has pulled Moschino's controversial drug-themed fashion line from its stores following complaints the clothing glamorizes drug use. The line includes shoulder bags in the shapes of a capsules (left) and a pill bottle (right)

Stars including Rihanna have been donning items from the collection including this iPhone 6 case that retails for $95

The line was created by Los Angeles-based American designer Jeremy Scott and features accessories such as iPhone cases in the shape of medication packets priced at $75 along with a capsule shoulder bag for $1,095.

A T-shirt dress and T-shirt are also featured in the collection with the words 'Just Say MoschiNO' emblazoned across the front, retailing between $225 and $295.

The capsule collection was 'inspired by the packaging and instructional inserts of over-the-counter medication, "prescribing" its fans a colorful selection of garments and accessories that reflect Jeremy Scotts fun, provocative language,' according to the company's website.

Stars including Rihanna, Sofia Richie, and model Bella Hadid have been spotted donning items from the collection.

More than 1,500 people have signed Change.org petition from a Minneapolis drug counselor objecting to the line which is being sold at upscale department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue.

Sofia Richie above wears a short-sleeve shirt from the collection retailing for $395

Model Bella Hadid was spotted with a $75 iPhone case from the capsule collection while taking a selfie in Japan

Now that Nordstrom has pulled the line, counselor Randy Anderson, who started the online petition, is encouraging others to boycott Saks stores until the clothing line is removed.

Anderson, who works at RS Eden in Minneapolis, said the drug-themed clothing is an insult to all the mothers who call him to say they lost a child from a prescription drug overdose.

'I'm really disgusted that any retail store thinks this is OK, especially when our country is going through what the CDC has called a drug overdose epidemic,' he said.

The company has defended the collection, saying 'there was never any intent to promote prescription drug abuse.'

The capsule collection's iPhone case retails for $75. A backpack covered in colorful pill capsules retails for $695

A T-shirt dress emblazoned with instructional inserts for medication is shown above. It retails for $995

'The Moschino capsule collection was inspired by a play on the word "capsule" translated literally as a collection of "capsule-themed" products,' the company said in a statement to Fox News.

'A lesser exposed but equally relevant piece of the collection clearly states "Just say MoschiNO" referencing the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign.'

The statement went on to say that the company was 'disheartened' to hear there was a 'misunderstanding of the underlying theme of the collection.'

In the petition addressed to Saks' CEO, Moschino and buyers, Anderson says the country is 'in the midst of a severe epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths  acknowledged by the federal government as the worst drug epidemic in U.S. history.'

He also notes that a drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in this country.

'According to the CDC, in 2014 47,055 people died of an accidental drug overdose - with 29,467 of those from opioid related drugs which includes prescription pain medication and heroin,' the petition says.

'These accessory items you are choosing to market and sell to the public for profit, which include the Pill Bottle Shoulder Bag and Capsule Crossbody Bag, will most likely promote more drug use,' it continues.

Nordstrom (file photo) told Fox News on Thursday that it is no longer selling items from the Spring/Summer 2017 collection in its stores or online

Counselor Randy Anderson, who started the online petition, is encouraging others to boycott Saks stores until the clothing line is removed

'Do you have any idea of the message your company is sending to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one due to a drug overdose?'

On social media, people had mixed reactions when sharing their views of the collection with some calling it 'appalling' while another called it 'so cute.'

'It is hard to believe the fashion designer Moschino can justify this line of clothing for our teens,' Linda Kagey wrote on Twitter.

'Can we appreciate the fact that Moschino's collection is called the capsule collection and it's literally centered around meds. So witty,' Micah tweeted.

Meanwhile, a Missouri-based drug prevention organization said they were disappointed by the collection.

'@Nordstrom Very disappointed in the decision to sell these Moschino products. Please stop normalizing the misuse of Rx Drugs #tasteless.'

On social media, people had mixed reactions when sharing their views of the collection with some calling it 'appalling' while another called it 'so cute'

So far, Anderson's online petition has been backed by 1,559 supporters.

He wrote on Thursday that it was a 'victory' after Nordstrom decided to pull the line from its stores.

'It's time to focus our energy on Saks Fifth Avenue,' he wrote in an update on the petition page.

'We must demand that Saks immediately remove these items and their images from any and all sales locations.
She heard officers threatening and verbally abusing him in the next cell

Ms Iraee's husband Arash Sadeghi is also locked up in Tehran's Evin Prison

Amnesty said she is 'being punished for using her imagination'

An Iranian woman has been sentenced to six years in prison after authorities found an unpublished story she wrote about women being stoned to death.

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, a writer and human rights activist, has been convicted of 'insulting Islamic sanctities' because of her fictional story.

Under Shari'a law in Iran stoning is the punishment outlined for adultery.

The story describes a woman who watches the film 'The Stoning of Soraya M' - which tells the true story of a young woman stoned to death for adultery - and becomes so enraged that she burns a copy of the Qur'an.

'She is effectively being punished for using her imagination,' Philip Luther, Amnesty's Director of Research and Advocacy for the Middle East and North Africa, said.

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee (pictured here with her husband), a writer and human rights activist, has been convicted of 'insulting Islamic sanctities' because of her fictional story about stoning

The story was discovered by the authorities on 6 September 2014 by men believed to be members of the Revolutionary Guards.

The men showed no arrest warrant but searched Ms Iraee and her husband Arash Sadeghi's home, rifling through their possessions and seizing their laptops, notebooks and some CDs.

Mr Sadeghi was sent to Tehran's Evin Prison and Ms Iraee to a secret detention place.

She was kept there for the night and then transferred to a section of Evin Prison that is under the control of the Revolutionary Guard, where she was held for 20 days.

Ms Iraee said that during this time she was subjected to long hours of interrogations while blindfolded and facing a wall, and that interrogators repeatedly told her that she could face execution for 'insulting Islam'.

Her husband Arash Sadeghi (left) was also arrested and is now serving a 15-year prison sentence in Evin Prison on charges including 'spreading propaganda against the system'

She could reportedly also clearly hear interrogators threatening and verbally abusing her husband in the next cell, adding to her distress.

On Tuesday, Ms Iraee received a phone call ordering her to present herself to Evin Prison to begin serving her six-year prison sentence for 'insulting Islamic sanctities' and 'spreading propaganda against the system'.

Amnesty is urging the Iranian authorities to immediately repeal her conviction and sentence.

'Instead of imprisoning a young woman for peacefully exercising her human rights by expressing her opposition to stoning, the Iranian authorities should focus on abolishing this punishment, which amounts to torture. It is appalling that Iran continues to allow the use of stoning, and justifies it in the name of protecting morality,' Mr Luther said.
In August Abedin was accused of working at a magazine in 2002 which blamed the US for 9/11

Abedin recently dumped her husband, Anthony Weiner, after he became embroiled in yet another sexting scandal

She has been tipped to be Hillary's chief of staff if she wins on November 8

Hillary Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin has been accused of referring to a key pro-Israel lobby as 'that crowd' in an exchange of emails.

In 2009 Abedin reportedly emailed Doug Band, an aide to Bill Clinton, recommending the former President turn down an invitation from the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC).

'U really want to consider sending him into that crowd?' Abedin asked, according to the Daily Caller, a conservative website set up by pundit Tucker Carlson.

Human Abedin (right with Hillary Clinton, left) worked at a radical Muslim publication that opposed women's rights and blamed the US for 9/11 before being appointed as Clinton's top aide

It follows revelations in August that she worked at a radical Muslim publication that opposed women's rights and blamed the US for 9/11.

Abedin, who could become the future White House chief of staff if Hillary wins the election, occupies a key role in Hillary's campaign and the former First Lady remains fiercely loyal to the Michigan-born mother-of-one.

But this latest story will prove awkward for the Democrat nominee, who will be hoping to rely on millions of Jewish votes on November 8.

Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone recently asked whether Huma Abedin (left) was a 'Saudi spy' or a 'terrorist agent' working with Mrs Clinton (right)

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told the Daily Caller the email was 'appalling and showed 'hostility toward Jews and Israel in light of the fact that "that crowd" gives huge ovations to White House speakers.'

Mr Klein claimed Abedin's family had ties to a radical Islamic group, and he added: 'It makes me think about the allegations about her parents and other family members who were associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.'

Abedin's parents are both Muslims who were born in India and her mother, Saleha, an academic, founded the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, which Abedin herself once worked on.

In 2002 the journal published an article saying the United States had created a 'spiral of violence' which had created a 'time bomb' which exploded on 9/11.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pictured with Saleha Mahmood Abedin at a women's college in Jeddah in 2010

Huma was listed as 'assistant editor' on the masthead of the 2002 controversial issue.

Abedin has never spoken directly about the articles posted in her mother's magazine, while she served as assistant editor.

In a recent Vogue piece, she described her mother as a feminist who was unhappy when the family moved to the conservative Saudi Arabia.

Abedin (left) who could become the future White House chief of staff if Hillary wins the election, was assistant editor of the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs - run by her mother Saleha Mahmood Abedin (right)

Abedin has never spoken directly about the articles posted in her mother's magazine, while she served as assistant editor

Many politicians, of both parties, strongly support Abedin including Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.

'Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully,' McCain said then. He added: 'I am proud to know Huma and to call her my friend.'

Abedin was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the child of two academics. Her father was born in New Delhi, India, while her mother was from Pakistan. She attended George Washington University and was a board member of a Muslim students association.
Researches say 40 per cent of sexual assaults are commited by school kids

The ordeal has left the girl scarred and now has nightmares

A heartbroken Queensland mother who discovered her four-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by a nine-year-old boy has spoken out.

The woman from Caboolture, north of Brisbane, said the assault was discovered by the boy's father in July.

The incident is one of an increasing number of cases being reported in Queensland with school children carrying out upwards of 40 per cent of sexual assaults across the state, The Courier-Mail reported.

A four-year-old girl was sexually by a nine-year-old boy in Caboolture, north of Brisbane in July

The girl's mother has since noticed a number of changes in her daughter including the desire to always be close to her as well as having bad dreams.

'[The boy] admitted to trying to put his doodle in her, and said [my daughter] had wanted to go but he wouldn't let her leave,' the concerned mother told The Courier-Mail.

The mother who is now thinking about moving houses over the incident said she was frustrated about how long it took police to interview the boy and his father.

She said it took police 10 days to speak to the pair.

The boy has since been sent for counselling but he was not charged over the matter.

The woman from Caboolture, north of Brisbane said that the assault was discovered by the boys father in July when the boy was lay on top of the girl

Worryingly, school age children are responsible for more than 40 per cent of all sexual assault offences

Research has revealed young people aged 19 and under made up just over 40 per cent of the more than 2,200 of sexual attackers Queensland Police had investigated in the 12 months leading up to June 2015.

Under Australian legislation, children who are aged 10 years or younger are not charged with offences as they do not know right from wrong due to their age.

In September two twelve year old Sydney boys were charged with the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl at their primary school.
Russia is considering reopening military bases in Vietnam and Cuba as Putin looks to assert his army's presence around the world.

Bases in those countries served as pivots of the Soviet global military power during the Cold War.

Now, the Kremlin looks set to plot a return Russian news agencies quoted Russian Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov as saying today.

Russia is considering reopening military bases in Vietnam and Cuba as Putin looks to assert his army's presence around the world

'We are dealing with this issue,' the agencies quoted Pankov as saying in Russia's parliament.

Russia shut down its presence at the Lourdes signals intelligence base in Cuba and the deepwater Cam Rahn naval base in Vietnam in the early 2000s as part of a drawing down of Russia's military presence around the world after the demise of the Soviet Union.

But since then, Moscow's foreign policy has become more assertive.

It has lead to tensions with the United States and its allies over, among other issues, the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria and the presence of NATO troops in eastern Europe.

Pankov said the Defence Ministry was currently 'rethinking' past decisions on closure of the bases, but declined to go into detail.

Bases in those Cuba (pictured) and Vietnam (below) served as pivots of the Soviet global military power during the Cold War

Russia shut down its presence at the Lourdes signals intelligence base in Cuba and the deepwater Cam Rahn naval base in Vietnam (pictured) in the early 2000s as part of a drawing down of Russia's military presence around the world after the demise of the Soviet Union

The U.S. is in the process of reviving its relations with Cuba, which in Soviet times had offered Moscow its closest military installation to U.S. territory, less than 100 miles from the Florida Keys.

'The global situation is not static, it is in flux, and the last two years have made significant changes to international affairs and security,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.

'Therefore, it's quite natural that all countries assess these changes in line with their national interests and take certain steps in the way they consider appropriate.'

Vietnam's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Cuban officials were not available.
Other employee claims the department has done human experiments

Netflix hit show Stranger Things has spooked the Department of Energy into admitting that it does support research into parallel universes.

The series prompted the department to publish a blog in August, in which there is an entire section entitled The Energy Department Doesn't Explore Parallel Universes.

However, that claim - along with others - may have been exposed as a lie by a freedom of information request asking for any internal references to the series.

Netflix hit show Stranger Things (pictured) has spooked the Department of Energy into admitting that it does support research into parallel universes

Lachlan Markay admitted there was 'more than I expected' after posting a picture of the huge pile of papers he received back, published by the Washington Free Beacon

Lachlan Markay admitted there was 'more than I expected' after posting a picture of the huge pile of papers he received back, published by the Washington Free Beacon.

They reveal that the department may have looked specifically for Upside Down - the universe from the series - and could even have conducted human experiments.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist, even told a public affairs staffer working on the blog post that it was not true to say they don't search for other universes.

He wrote: 'Its not true that the Energy Department doesnt explore parallel universes. We support theoretical physicists/cosmologists through the Office of Science High Energy Physics program, some of whom almost certainly are doing a fair amount of research on parallel universes.'

The blog post was intended to set the record straight after the show portrayed the department as a shady organisation that covers up information.

The post called the show as 'a little less than accurate' after viewers were captivated by the storyline, in which a character is killed by a beast from another dimension.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist, even told a public affairs staffer working on the blog post that it was not true to say they don't search for other universes

The papers also reveal that the agency has conducted human experiments and does 'make weapons', according to a heavily redacted email from employee John Larue

In the show (pictured), set in the 1980s, the characters refuse to acknowledge the death and the department runs a secret laboratory testing human beings

In the show, set in the 1980s, the characters refuse to acknowledge the death and the department runs a secret laboratory testing human beings.

The papers also reveal that the agency has conducted human experiments and does 'make weapons', according to a heavily redacted email from employee John Larue.

'There is some really eyebrow-raising stuff in the history of the atomic energy commission,' he writes in an email to another staff member.'

But more than anything, the mountain of documentation on the show - which was more than Mr Markay expected - has revealed that it's been popular with staff at the department.
Cuban streets were reduced to rubble as debris from the storm littered the island

Other regions of the Caribbean were also hit hard with four reported dead in the Dominican Republic

An estimated 61,500 people are in shelters in Haiti and 300,000 homeless because of the storm's impact

Communication has been cut off from remote southwestern tip of island and deaths there aren't reported

storm with many more missing or unaccounted for

Haiti alone has seen nearly 900 people die from

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Hurricane Matthew's death toll in Haiti has climbed to nearly 900 people.

That number is expected to go up once communication is established with remote parts of the island.

Days after Hurricane Matthew moved away from Haiti, the number of people killed continues to rise in the hundreds as villages are reached by aid and rescue workers for the first time since the storm hit.

Patients filled rural clinics with varying ailments, including broken bones, which have yet to be treated since the storm hit on Tuesday.

With more than 300,000 homeless, food is limited and it is believed at least seven people have died of cholera, Reuters reported.

This is likely due to flood water mixing with sewage.

Authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands left homeless in Haiti (pictured) following the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Matthew

Almost 900 people have been killed in Haiti but that number is expected to climb once communication is reestablished with remote parts of the island

A United Nations official said Hurricane Matthew has caused the biggest humanitarian crisis in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010

The southwest peninsula of Haiti lacked reliable communication systems on Friday and could not contact authorities to report deaths in the area

A woman carries a laundry basket with her belongings inside in an area reduced to rubble by Hurricane Matthew days after the storm swept through

Men carry a woman wounded in Hurricane Matthew in Chantal, Haiti, in the central part of the southern peninsula

Haitians put their clothes to the sun after Hurricane Matthew in Playa Gelee, Haiti, as a man stands in the surf nearby

The number of deaths in Haiti jumped to at least 877 on Friday. The g overnment leaders said the final tally could be in the thousands.

The southwest peninsula lacked reliable communication systems on Friday and could not contact authorities for an official death toll.

A United Nations official said Hurricane Matthew has caused the biggest humanitarian crisis in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said his team had found 82 bodies that had not been recorded by authorities

The death toll in Haiti continued to climb through the day on Friday and authorities anticipate it's not finished rising

A man walks through the water after Hurricane Matthew in Playa Gelee, Haiti, on Friday as the death toll continues to soar

A boat was left ashore near some homes in Playa Gelee, Haiti, after the tides rose and then later receded following the hurricane

People use a handmade ladder after a key bridge has been destroyed, which connected two parts of the island

A man walks through the rubble in Playa Gelee after the storm destroyed thousands of homes and left thousands more in shelters

Locals are attempting to clean up what they can in the wake of Hurricane Matthew but the devastation left behind is immense

The central government's official death toll stood at 283 on Friday but changed that number by 1pm to more than 800 people.

However, authorities doing work the on-ground assessment in the remote corners of the southwestern peninsula said it would likely be significantly higher when the full accounting was complete.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said his team had found 82 bodies that had not been recorded by authorities in the capital.

Atanase Constant (pictured) stands in the ruins of his home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti

A statue's head lays in the rubble of the Saint Anne church destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti

Saintanor Dutervil stands with his wife in the ruins of their home destroyed by Matthew in Les Cayes

People sit in front of destroyed houses after the hurricane passes Jeremie, Haiti; Officials have warned that the death toll could stretch into the thousands and they still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years

The southwest peninsula lacked reliable communication systems on Friday and could not contact authorities for an official death toll (Croix March-a-Terre, in the southwest, pictured)

A 26-year-old woman stands inside of her house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in the Southwest of Haiti, where many official communication systems have been cut off

A group of people carry a coffin and try to cross the river La Digue, after the collapse of the only bridge that connects to the south

A woman covers her face as she walks next to a dead body who, according to witnesses, was found after Hurricane Matthew in Cavaillon, Haiti

This is due to the poor communication systems following the storm.

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest.

The deaths reported by aid workers did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

At least 89 more are missing, in the Grand-Anse region in southern Haiti.

At least three towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the inland community of Chantal, whose deputy mayor said 90 people perished, without giving details

Men begin clearing out brush from felled trees in the southwest of Haiti days after Hurricane Matthew tore through the island

Children climb on trees that have been downed and destroyed after Hurricane Matthew, in Croix March-a-Terre, in Southwest Haiti

A girl lugs buckets of drinking water after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes; With a key bridge washed out, roads impassable and phone communications down, the western tip of Haiti was isolated and there was no word on dead

A girl washes mud from her feet after Hurricane Matthew passed in Les Cayes, Haiti, two days after the storm passed

A boy removes mud and water from his completely flooded house in Les Cayes, Haiti

People stand in an area affected by Hurricane Matthew in Cavaillon; International aid efforts were stymied Tuesday because of the lack of access to the hardest-hit areas

Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti

'We don't have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still haven't reached,' Jeune said.

At least three towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the inland community of Chantal, whose deputy mayor said 90 people perished, without giving details.

Coastal town Les Anglais lost 'several dozen' people, the central government representative in the region, Louis-Paul Raphael said.

Les Anglais was the first place in Haiti that Matthew reached, as a powerful Category 4 storm before it moved north, lost strength and lashed central Florida on Friday.

Hours before the hurricane landed in Haiti, Les Anglais' mayor said residents were fleeing for their lives as the ocean rushed into their homes.

Most of the dead appeared to have been killed by falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145 mph on Tuesday.

More than 430,000 were evacuated from the island, the poorest region in the Western Hemisphere, ahead of the hurricane.

Electronic devices covered in mud stand outside an office destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes

Residents stand near a church that had its roof ripped away by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, as the repair effort continues

Piles of personal items are set out to dry as homeowners cull through the debris of their homes destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes

At least 61,500 people are in shelters in Haiti after they were forced from their homes.

Deputy Special Representative for Haiti Mourad Wahba said officials have received reports of destroyed houses and overflowing hospitals, with shortages fresh water. He also says the hospital in the city of Les Cayes had its roof blown off.

With a key bridge washed out, roads impassable and phone communications down, the western tip of Haiti was isolated and there was no word on dead and injured.

New aerial footage has illustrated some of the mass devastation, showing villages that have been leveled by 145 mph winds, with wreckage and misery everywhere.

In Cuba, residents were seen walking through the rubble strewn streets, and digging through the remains of broken buildings trying to recover their belongings

People search for belongings in the devastation caused by hurricane Matthew in Baracia, Cuba

People collect water after hurricane Matthew hit the area, in Baracia, Cuba; Cuba, however, unlike Haiti, appears to have escaped relatively unscathed when it comes to death toll

More than 30 homes were washed away in the Island's northeastern region but as of Thursday night none were reported dead

A woman cleans up debris on Friday in Cuba after Hurricane Matthew swept through the island earlier in the week

In addition, at least four people were killed in the Dominican Republic.

In Cuba, residents were seen walking through the rubble strewn streets, and digging through the remains of broken buildings trying to recover their belongings.

It is unclear if anyone was killed during the storm in Cuba.

More than 30 homes were washed away in the Island's northeastern region but as of Thursday night none were reported dead.

No injuries have been reported in the Bahamas, but homes have been destroyed by the rising water and winds and roads were still impassable as of Friday.

Cubans pick up the pieces on Thursday, following the damage and havoc caused by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba, where the streets are littered with rubble

Residents rebuild their homes, and clear up the brick, roofing and other rubble from the street after Matthew battered Baracoa, Cuba

A woman in Baracoa, Guantanamo province, east of Cuba, walks past ruined mattresses. No deaths have been reported in Cuba as of Friday

But an extensive clean-up will be needed in order to remove the mountainous debris from the roadways and streets

The Caribbean bore the brunt of the damage from the Category 3 storm which skirted the Florida coast yesterday.

But the state still suffered in its wake as 121mph winds brought a storm surge of up to 12ft and more than 10in of rain.

Roofs were peeled off homes, trees were uprooted and the states multi-million dollar tourism industry was hit as attractions in Orlando, including Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal Studios, were shut.

Daytona Beach and the city of Orlando, both popular with British tourists, were put under curfew until 7am today.

Walt Disney World like a ghost town as it closes for Hurricane Matthew

Some flights to and from the UK to the storm-affected area were cancelled, although flights from Heathrow to Miami were still taking off yesterday.

The first US casualty was reportedly a 58-year-old woman in St Lucie County, Florida, who died of a heart attack.

More than three million people had already left their homes to flee to safety. Of those who remained, some 600,000 were left without power.

At Cape Canaveral, home to Nasas Kennedy Space Centre, Sandy Wilk tweeted: We are seriously ground zero here. Hunkered down, lights flickering, winds are crazy.

Hurricane Matthew is seen moving up the east coast of Florida in this infrared image from NOAA's GOES-East satellite taken at 07:45am ET (11:45 GMT) October 7, 2016

Both presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton shut down their campaign offices in Florida.

Mr Trumps 6million seaside estate in Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, was set to take a battering as were dozens of mansions in the area owned by billionaires.

The storm, one of the strongest to hit the Caribbean and US, also killed four people in the Dominican Republic. Luxury hotels in the Bahamas were damaged by winds reaching 145mph and telephone pylons were uprooted in the capital Nassau.

Some 26million people have been affected by Hurricane Matthew as it covers almost half of the US East Coast.
Sanjay Nijhawan is on trial accused of murdering wife Sonita, 38, pictured

A 'depressed' Barclays banker who stabbed his wife 124 times at their 2million home after she told him she wanted a divorce has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Sanjay Nijhawan was accused of murdering wife Sonita, 38, at their 2million mansion in a gated community in Weybridge, Surrey, on May 21.

He was found not guilty of her murder by a majority verdict.

The 46-year-old had quit his highly-paid job as an investment banker in the City of London but had a mortgage of 670,000, Guildford Crown Court was told.

He was also diagnosed with depression months before the killing.

A doctor who assessed Nijhawan said the pressures had become too much and he snapped when his wife asked for a divorce, saying she would tell their families.

The jury also heard from the best man at the Nijhawans' wedding, who said his friend had been 'intent on pleading guilty' to murder.

Nijhawan is said to have attacked his wife with an axe and a knife, leaving her with more than 150 injuries. He denied murder.

A consultant psychiatrist said the defendant had lost his ability to think rationally in the moments before the attack on his wife.

Nijhawan, right, had quit his job and been diagnosed with depression in the months before the death of his wife Sonita, left. The former banker is said to have been overcome with pressure

Dr Philip Joseph said the inability to think rationally or exercise self control meant he thought killing his wife was his only option.

He continued: 'Mr Nijhawan saw no way out, no option and no choice. That is something to take into account when considering the rational judgement.

'He has behaved in a brutal and violent way and I think that's a very important aspect, what he was like before he developed his illness or depression.

Former Barclays banker Sanjay Nijhawan

'If as is the case he was not violent, it makes the depressive illness loom in a much larger way.

'If he had not been depressed, I think there's no possibility he would have killed his wife. He wasn't a violent man, he wasn't intoxicated.

'He went into a state of mind where he could see no way out, things built up in his mind.

'He ended up doing something that did not solve anything at all. He was not hearing voices telling him to kill or expressing delusional ideas.

'There is no doubt in my mind that he was suffering an abnormality of mental function. The condition from what he was suffering can be capable of substantially impairing the ability to exercise self control.

'What he said to me is that he saw no way out and that is a factor to take into account.'

Dr Joseph said the defendant was also considered to be a high suicide risk and had been moved from a remand prison to a secure psychiatric hospital amid concerns he would kill himself.

Mrs Nijhawan was found dead at her 2m mansion in a gated community in Weybridge, Surrey

Jurors heard that after Nijhawan killed Sonita he took the blade to his own neck.

Dr Joseph said: 'If someone cuts their neck in that way I think a psychiatrist would take that very seriously.

'If you try to hang yourself or try to cut a major vessel that would lead a psychiatrist to conclude that was a serious intent to kill yourself.'

MOTHER'S GRIEF 'LIKE A DEEP OPEN WOUND' After the verdict, the court heard a heartrending victim impact statement from Sonita Nijhawans mother, Nirmala Parkash, 62: I am Sonitas mother. I am desperate to see her, hold her and love her. It feels like an organ has been ripped out of me. I keep thinking of it in my head, it is like a film. How afraid she must have felt. I feel it like a deep open wound, like an abyss which cannot be filled. I cant even look at pictures of her. I had to take photos down around the house because it is unbearable. I will have to live with this until Im in my own coffin. I long so much to have her here again. Im proud of my daughter  she often teased me that I liked Sanjay more than her. We had spoken about Sanjays stress  she only wanted the best for him. I go from screaming and crying to feeling totally drained and hollowed out. I dont understand how this could have happened ... To think of their child who will have his whole life without his mother, I go from screaming to crying. Advertisement

Friend Bobby Nagpal, who had been the defendant's best man, said Nijhawan had told him over the phone he intended to plead guilty to the murder charge.

He said he had sought to dissuade the defendant as he 'felt he wasn't able to make a clear decision'.

Mr Nagpal said that at the time Nijhawan was a patient at Springfield Hospital in Tooting, West London, which specialises in treating serious psychiatric disorders.

He said that he considered the defendant was not in the right frame of mind to take such a significant step.

Nijhawen was not a man to lose his temper or get drunk, he added.

The jury also heard that Nijhawan had been prescribed a course of anti-depressants after he had visited a GP to talk about his depression.

Both he and his wife had also attended therapy sessions to try and help Nijhawan tackle his depression.

Defence counsel Orlando Pownall QC had argued that the defendant's anxiety and depression would have affected his judgement at the time of the attack.

However, Sally O'Neill QC, prosecuting, told the jury in her closing speech that the defendant's culpability was a matter for the jury.

She said the prosecution did not question that Nijhawan was suffering from psychological problems.

What was at issue was whether the defendant's mental state was such that it would have seriously affected his responsibility for his crime.
Prominent Georgia attorney Claud 'Tex' McIver insisted that he accidentally shot dead his beloved wife, Diane, when he abruptly woke up from a nap as the couple rode home in their SUV last week, causing the gun in his lap to discharge.

Speaking to an Atlanta Journal Constitution by phone Thursday, Mr McIver vehemently rejected the notion that he intentionally shot his wife.

'I absolutely did not,' he said. 'She was my life partner. My life as I know it is ruined because of this accident.'

As of Friday morning, no charges have been filed in connection to Diane McIver's shooting death on September 25. Police have been reluctant to divulge information related to this case, citing an ongoing investigation.

Grieving widower: Claud 'Tex' McIver (left) says he accidentally shot his beloved 'life partner,' Diane (right), when the gun in his left discharged

Earlier this week, Claud McIver passed a polygraph test conducted by an examiner who was hired by his attorney, Stephen Maples, reported the station CBS46.

During the test, McIver was asked if he intentionally shot his wife, if he knowingly shot his wife, or if he was consciously doing anything with the gun that could have made it go off.

Richard Rackleff, who conducted the lie detector test, said that McIver replied, 'no,' to all three questions, and that the polygraph did not register that he was lying.

Rackleff said McIver appeared to be overcome with grief and cried several times while undergoing the test.

The polygraph expert also revealed that in his conversation with McIver prior to the test, the man told him that on the evening of September 25, he was dozing in the backseat of his Ford Explorer SUV when he woke up with a jolt, causing the gun in his lap to fire.

His wife was riding directly in front of him, and the bullet from the revolver struck her in the back, leaving her mortally wounded.

McIver's attorney told the Journal Constitution that the reason his client had the .38-caliber revolver in his lap in the first place was because earlier in the evening, as he and Diane were ridding home from their farm in Eatonton, they saw a group of people approach their vehicle.

Mr McIver then asked his wife to take the gun out of the center console and hand it to him for protection.

The husband placed the gun in a plastic grocery bag in his lap and fell sleep. As the SUV was passing by Piedmont Park, Claud McIver abruptly woke up.

Tragic couple: Atlanta businesswoman Diane McIver, 63 (left), was reportedly shot dead by her husband, attorney Tex McIver (right), when a handgun accidentally discharged

Describing that fateful moment to the paper, Mr McIver said: 'I lurched and the gun fired. I must have forgotten it was in my lap. I saw a flash.'

The widower told the paper he is consumed by grief and guilt, and his only desire is to join his wife.

Im down to crying 25 times a day,' he added.

Mark Guilbeau, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that 63-year-old Diane McIver's cause of death has been listed as homicide  the death of a person at the hands of another.

Earlier this week, Bill Crane, a friend of the Atlanta couple acting as a family spokesman, told the paper that Claud McIver had retrieved his handgun, a .38-caliber snub-nose revolver, because they were concerned about unrest in Atlanta related to the Black Lives Matter movement and feared of getting carjacked.

But Mr McIver on Thursday denied ever mentioning Black Lives Matter, reported 11Alive.

Crane also told the paper that the revolver was in Mr McIver'a lap when their 2013 Ford Expedition hit a bump in the road and the weapon accidentally discharged, killing Diane.

It was a tragic accident, he said.

Lingering questions: It is unclear whether the gun fired as Mr McIver, pictured on the left outside Atlanta police headquarters, was removing it from a plastic bag, or when the SUV hit a bump in the road

Atlanta Police Sgt Warren Pickard on Tuesday called into question Crane's account of what went on inside the McIvers' car that night, saying that the friend 'wasn't in the car, so he is not a witness to what happened.'

Pickard declined to offer any more details on the investigation, only saying that the case is 'more complicated' than first thought.

In an earlier interview with WGCL, Mr Crane had said that the handgun fired as Claud McIver was taking it out of a plastic shopping bag.

Boss: Diane McIver was president of Corey Airport Services, an Atlanta-based marketing company where she had worked for more than 40 years

Police said they are now in the process of conducting repeat interviews of witnesses to the shooting.

Sometimes you have to question the person three or four times to get the answer you need, said Sgt Pickard. We are going to let those interview sessions lead us in the right direction.

Diane McIver was president of Corey Airport Services, a successful Atlanta-based marketing company where she had worked for more than 40 years.

Her husband is a partner in the Atlanta office of Fisher Phillips LLP specializing in labor and employment law. He is also a vice president of the Georgia State Election Board, and as of August, a member of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Gun Violence.

The fatal incident took place at around 10.40pm on September 25 as Diane and Tex McIver were riding in the 2013 Ford Expedition from their sprawling farm in rural Putnam County to their apartment in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.

The SUV was reportedly riding along Piedmont Avenue, past Piedmont Park, when Claud McIver became concerned about carjackers after seeing some people make their way towards their SUV and asked for the gun.

Georgia ranchers: The McIvers were riding in an SUV from their sprawling farm in Eatonton, Putnam County (pictured) on Sunday night when the incident took place

Pied a terre: Diane and Tex McIver own an apartment in a luxury complex in Buckhead, Atlanta (pictured)

Sad irony: Mr McIver is a member of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Gun Violence

After the shooting, Diane was rushed to Emory University Hospital, where she succumbed to her injures shortly before 1am Monday.

An incident report that was put out by the department last Wednesday made no mention of any other occupants of the Ford SUV other than the victim, but Mr McIver said the driver of the vehicle was a close family friend named Dani Jo.

'This is one of those situations were working through very slowly,' police Sgt. Warren Pickard said. 'We want to get it right.'

Diane was a vivacious, beautiful, entertaining woman who was a lot of fun to around, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told the station 11Alive.
A son was forced to endure the devastating news that his mother had died - only to be told moments later that the hospital had called the wrong person.

Sophie Nemis, 99, was taken to Seven Oaks General Hospital with a twisted ankle and her son Daniel later became concerned when he had not received an update.

The hospital, in Winnipeg, Canada, rang a few days later and told words he said he will never forget: 'Daniel, I'm sorry, your mother has passed.'

Daniel Nemis was furious after a hospital told him his mother Sophie (pictured together) had passed away while she was in hospital then realized they had made a mistake

She had only gone into hospital with a twisted ankle but is now back at home and looking forward to celebrating her 100th birthday in December

However, midway through the call, Mr Nemis claims the nurse suddenly realized he had made a mistake, saying: 'Whoops, wrong person.'

'The crying stopped, [but] the screaming started,' Mr Nemis told CTV News, admitting it took a long time for the nurse to calm him down.

Since then, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which manages the hospital, has been forced to apologize.

In a statement, it said the hospital 'is deeply sorry for any grief that may have been caused, even momentarily'.

Seven Oaks General Hospital, in Winnipeg, Canada, was forced to apologize and claims that there was a mix up on a shift change over and the nurse looked up the wrong details

It added: 'A patient had passed away overnight, and the nurse coming on shift was responsible to call the next of kin.

'The nurse looked at the wrong page in the chart binder, realized part way into the call that she had the wrong name and apologized profusely.'

Mr Nemis described his mother as 'extremely independent', and they have both since had personal apologies from people within the hospital's management.
Police who spent 10 years looking for a robbery suspect, found their man - living as a woman in New York City.

Kelly Olson, 30, formerly of Orange Court in Laconia, New Hampshire, was first arrested in January 2006, on two counts of attempted robbery.

Police alleged that Olson tried to steal a carton of cigarettes from a woman before allegedly threatening them with what the victim thought was a gun.

Police were looking for Kelly Olson, 30, pictured in 2006, left, on charges of attempted robbery but the suspect had changed their look and in 2016, is now living a woman, right,

At the time, Olson was released on $2,000 bail, but after being indicted by a grand jury for his alleged crimes, he failed to showed up for any scheduled court dates.

At the time, cops had information that suggested that Olson was a man and working in the adult movie industry in New York.

In 2011, the search for Olson was broadened and his case was handed over to the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force.

But their work in tracking the suspect was made even more difficult by virtue of that fact they believed they were still looking for a man.

The public was asked to help police find Olson and were provided with a photograph that depicted a blonde male with a crew-cut haircut.

When Olson was finally caught on Tuesday, he appeared to be female and is now being held on $3,500 bail.

New Hampshire, Belknap County Chief Deputy David Perkins told the Laconia Daily Sun that he was notified by police in Manhattan earlier this week that Olson was in their custody.

New Hampshire Sheriff's deputies drove to Manhattan to being Olson back to the state.
The former chief executive of the male escort website Rentboy.com Jeffrey Hurant leaves Brooklyn Federal Court after pleading guilty to promoting prostitution on Friday

The chief executive officer of the website Rentboy.com has pleaded guilty Friday to promoting prostitution.

Jeffrey Hurant faces up to 21 months in prison when he's sentenced February 2 in the federal case in Brooklyn, more than a year after he was first arrested.

Starting with the name, there was never anything discreet about the website Rentboy.com.

The successful site operated for nearly 20 years in an open and racy way, with male escorts paying for ads to attract new - mainly male - customers.

That came to an abrupt end during a raid of Rentboy's Manhattan offices last year, led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which was unusual given that the vast majority of prostitution cases are handled by local authorities.

'Surely the Department of Homeland Security has more pressing concerns than to fritter away precious time and resources on something that shouldn't even be criminalized in the first place,' Human Rights Watch's Graeme Reid said at the time, echoing the sentiments by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups.

Hurant faces up to five years in prison and a $10 million fine for conspiring to launder the proceeds of illicit advertising on the website through his corporation from 1996 to 2015

'The corporation operated primarily for a criminal purpose', Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Smith said in court

Prosecutors said Rentboy.com was the equivalent of an online brothel. Above is an advert from the site

Hurant (pictured left and right) admitted in Brooklyn Federal Court that he knew the ads on the website were for male prostitution

Federal authorities, who brought the case using a broad statute barring travel to commit or promote a crime, strenuously denied advocates' claims of anti-gay bias.

Some gay rights activists and sex worker rights groups questioned why prosecutors were targeting the service after it had operated transparently for nearly two decades.

Critics of the case have included The New York Times, which in an editorial in August 2015 said prosecutors had not justified shutting down "a company that provided sex workers with a safer alternative to street walking or relying on pimps."

Following the criticism, federal prosecutors in February dropped charges against six other six Rentboy employees, but continued to prosecute Hurant and the company itself.

Hurant (center) will be jailed between 15 and 21 months when he is sentenced in February

The feds raided the NYC offices of Rentboy in August 2015 arresting Hurant charging him with promoting prostitution online

The feds seized Hurant's Rentboy domain name - Rentboy.com which referred to a slang term for an escort - and shut down the site

At the time of Hurant's arrest, Rentboy had thousands of advertisers paying up to $300 a month, with escorts paying at least $59.95. The site received 500,000 visitors a day and generated revenues of $10 million over five years.

The business hosted parties and an annual awards show for escorts called the Hookies.

In interviews, Hurant insisted 'there is no place on this website where somebody says I'll have sex for money because that is against the law,' but also boasted about wanting 'to keep the oldest profession in the world up to date with all the latest technology.'

The website, which was founded in 1996 and targeted gay men, carried disclaimers saying its advertisements for escorts were for companionship and not sexual services. But authorities say Rentboy.com was intended primarily to promote prostitution.

Prosecutors said that Rentboy was the equivalent of an online brothel, and what it called escorts were actually prostitutes.

They say part of the proof was the fact explicit ads that featured nude photos, listings of all manner of physical attributes and pricing options ranging from $150 an hour to $3,500 for a weekend.

The initial roundup of Hurant and his workers triggered protests outside the courthouse by gay activists saying that the feds should stay out of their sex lives

CEO Hurant had been operating Rentboy since 1996 and had expanded it to serve 2,100 cities
Video has emerged of a fight in Ohio that left one man in hospital with lacerations from a machete.

Police say 18-year-old Scott Carrabine grabbed a machete when a man came onto his property in Brunswick Hills and challenged him to a fight.

The alleged trespasser has been identified as 21-year-old Josh Patron, who was accompanied by a friend, Bret Cumbee, 19.

Cumbee filmed the two fighting and streamed the video on Facebook Live.

Machete attack: This is 18-year-old Scott Carrabine, who said he grabbed a machete after a man came onto his property in Brunswick Hills

In the Facebook Live video, the two men are seen getting into a struggle over the weapon

Injured: Josh Patron, 21, eventually retreated from the struggle, but is seen with cuts to his arm and leg from the machete as he walked away

Investigators said Carrabine struck Patron with the machete as the two men struggled for control of the weapon, Fox 8 Cleveland reported.

Police said that, instead of breaking up the fight, Cumbee continued to record.

As Patron retreated from the struggle, Cumbee suddenly realized his friend had been sliced in the fight.

Cumbee can be heard saying in the video: 'Dude, we need to get you to the hospital right now, dude.'

He then adds: 'Dude, oh my goodness, my mom's  watching this s***.'

Scott Carrabine, 18 (left), allegedly armed himself with a machete when Josh Patron (right) trespassed on his property and the two got into a fight

The two-minute video, which has since been deleted and re-posted by other Facebook users, appeared on September 21.

However a viewer watching it live called police, who went to the scene.

All three of the men involved were taken into custody.

Carrabine was charged with felonious assault and tampering with evidence. Patron was charged with simple assault and trespassing.

Cumbee was cited for criminal trespassing as well. Police said they hope the case sends a message to those who take part in criminal activity and post it on the web.

Police Chief Tim Sopkovich (right) said Bret Cumbee, 19 (left), filmed the fight rather than help out his friend

'I don't understand why they do it,' Police Chief Tim Sopkovich said.

'First of all, I don't understand why they would continue on pushing each other to where they want to actually fight and actually harm each other.
President Barack Obama fulfilled his civic duty on Friday and cast his ballot in the presidential election.

'They can't see who I'm voting for can they?' he teased as reporters traveling with him looked on.

Obama grinned at the press as they asked him to reveal his vote.

The Democratic president endorsed Hillary Clinton in June and has campaigned with and for her. He's a fierce critic of Republican nominee Donald Trump, whom he says has 'wacky' ideas.

Trump was a major proponent of the birther movement. The businessman refused to affirm the president's Hawaiian birth until last month.

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President Barack Obama fulfilled his civic duty on Friday and cast his ballot in the presidential election. 'They can't see who I'm voting for can they?' he teased as reporters traveling with him looked on

The Democratic president endorsed Hillary Clinton in June and has campaigned with and for her. He's a fierce critic of Republican nominee Donald Trump, whom he says has 'wacky' ideas

Obama wouldn't tell the press whom it was that he voted for - giving them a grin instead

'You guys are doing a wonderful job. Appreciate ya,' Obama told poll workers as he filled out his paperwork

Passersby try to catch a glimpse Obama as they wait for him to depart the Cook County Office Building in Chicago, Illinois, today after he cast his ballot

Obama left Washington for Chicago this morning with the intention of early voting.

He's fundraising for Clinton, House Democrats and Illinois Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth while he's there.

The president indicated to reporters this morning that he was likely to take advantage of early voting while he was in his hometown.

'I'm not going to the precinct. I'll probably do early vote,' he said. 'I'll fill out my form. Don't worry - I'll be voting.'

A spokesman for the president later said: 'I do know that Illinois is a state that enjoys early vote. That's an option that the president has availed himself of previously.

'So if he decides to do that on this trip, we'll make sure you guys tag along.'

After his first fundraiser of the day Obama stopped by Chicago's Board of Elections Office and made it official.

'You guys are doing a wonderful job. Appreciate ya,' he told poll workers.

Filling out the paperwork, Obama said, 'What's my date of birth? 8-4-81?'

'Nice try!' an election official told him. The 55-year-old president, born on that day in 1961, said he was 'Shaving just a couple of decades off.'

Obama left Washington this morning to travel to Chicago to cast his vote for Clinton in the presidential election

ENTOURAGE: President Barack Obama is joined on the trip by Valerie Jarrett, left, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz, Obama's right, personal aide Joe Paulsen and photographer Pete Souza, far right

BYE! In Chicago Obama's fundraising for Clinton, House Democrats and Illinois Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth

Obama was flying to Chicago on Friday morning after a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate.

His departure came as Hurricane Matthew was fast-approaching the East Coast.

Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida, which will be swept with rains today, and Georgia and South Carolina, states that will be hit by the Category 3 storm on Saturday.

Officials downgraded the storm overnight, but Obama warned residents of the three states, 'This is still a really dangerous hurricane.'

Storm surge flooding and loss of life are still possible, he said, urging residents of those areas to take precautions.

Less than 45 minutes later he boarded Marine One for a weekend of fundraising in hometown.

Obama was flying to Chicago on Friday morning after a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate

This afternoon Obama lunched with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and contributors to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on the North Side of Chicago at the home of mega-donor Fred Eychaner.

Eychaner is the chairman of Newsweb Corporation. Obama in 2010 named him to the board of Washington, DC's Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that tickets to that event were in the range of $66,800 per couple to $10,000 an individual.

An 'intimate roundtable' at the home of Hyatt hotel heir and Clinton financier J.B. Pritzker, the brother of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, was organized by the Democratic National Committee and will benefit the presidential nominee's joint fundraising account with the national party.

Entry to that event was a cool $33,400 for the approximated 30 attendees. The hosts contributed or raised $100,000, a Clinton campaign aide said Friday afternoon.

Reporters were allowed to record Obama's remarks at the DCCC event. In keeping with the Clinton campaign's precedent of keeping reporters out of private fundraising events, the DNC roundtable will be closed to press.

Obama talks with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel after walking off Air Force One while arriving at O'Hare International Airport

Emanuel was Obama's chief of staff at the White House before he ran for and won the Chicago mayor's race

The president will continue the fundraising swing on Sunday in Chicago at an event for Congresswoman Duckworth at the Stony Island Arts Bank.

A close friend of Obama's, Martin Nesbitt, chair of the Obama Foundation, and his wife, Anita Blanchard, a physician, are hosting the decidedly less swanky event alongside Democratic activist and Willis Group Holdings managing partner John Atkinson and his wife, Bonnie.

University of Chicago professor Theaster Gates is also a sponsor. Gates founded the arts center the event is being held at and is on the design advisory committee for Obama's library.

Tickets start at $1,000 a person. The VIP package, for top fundraisers and donors, includes a special reception and a photo with the president.

Proceeds from the Sunday event will be directed to Duckwork's joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Party of Illinois, the Sun-Times writes.

Obama has at least two more campaign events on the books next week - rallies for Clinton in North Carolina and Ohio.

The outgoing president will be in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Tuesday evening and Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, where he'll headline a 'Get Out the Early Vote' event, Clinton's campaign advises.
The move follows fears money intended for civil servants was being spent on paying terrorist prisoners

It means 25million - a third of the Palestine aid programme - is on hold

Millions of pounds of British aid money is being suspended amid fears it is going straight into the hands of Palestinian terrorists.

Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, has ordered a freeze on the payments to the Palestinian Authority pending an investigation.

Some 25million is being withheld this year  a third of the total aid to Palestine.

The move comes just four months after former aid minister Desmond Syayne told MPs in unequivocal terms: 'British taxpayers' money does not fund terrorists'.

Ms Patel's crackdown follows claims in the summer that money meant for civil servants in the Occupied Territories was in fact being used to pay prisoners who have committed attacks in the Israeli conflict.

Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, has ordered a freeze on the payments to the Palestinian Authority pending an investigation

It was reported that one Hamas master bomber had been given 100,000; while other 'salaries' are said to have gone to families of suicide bombers and teenagers attacking Israel.

And it emerged that some charities funded by taxpayers' money were 'promoting violence on social media pages'.

Ms Patel, who was sent to the Department for International Development by Theresa May in July, has already launched a crackdown on the way British aid money is spent.

She told the Mail last month that British aid money was being wasted and stolen, and promised a major overhaul of the 12billion aid budget to make it finally 'deliver for our national interests'.

The minister pledged to pour hundreds of millions of pounds into foreign hotspots to deter 'mass migration' to the UK and mainland Europe, and using aid cash to boost UK trade and exports in the wake of Brexit.

Ms Patel's predecessor, Justine Greening, had previously refused to take action on Palestine.

Her department admitted the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which receives much of the money, makes 'social welfare' provisions for prisoners' families.

But it always ruled out the idea that British money is being diverted in this way.

But sources close to Ms Patel said she was concerned that many of the civil servants were doing other jobs while pocketing UK taxpayers' cash.

The department said that 25million  the majority of which goes to charities in the region  is being withheld this year.

The payments should re-start next year once the investigation is complete.

Desmond Swayne, who was then an aid minister, insisted that money given to the Palestinian Authority funds specific civil servants, helping to prepare a government in the event of a two-state agreement

A source said told The Sun: 'We are not stopping for the Palestinian Authority overall, just delaying it to a date when we know our money won't be going to people who do nothing in return for it.'

In June, a string of MPs lined up to say much of the aid cash to the Middle East was being used as an incentive for violence.

Sir Eric Pickles, the former Communities Secretary, said: 'It's no good just saying we don't fund terrorism  there is a knock on effect.

'Surely it is not unreasonable to ask the minister and officials to check what is going on, and to say that if you're going to receive money from the British government you should unequivocally denounce violence in all its forms.

'I don't think it's unreasonable in times of stringency that we should address the quality of that aid as well as the quantity. DfID's stated goal is to help secure a lasting two-state solution. I regret the funding doesn't follow that ideal.'

The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, will receive less money from Britain during a review into how aid is spent

But Desmond Swayne, who was then an aid minister, insisted that money given to the Palestinian Authority funds specific civil servants, helping to prepare a government in the event of a two-state agreement.

'Our taxpayers' money goes to build the Palestinian Authority so that it is able to morph into the government of a Palestinian state when that opportunity arises and we pay named civil servants for the provision of public services.'

Swayne was sacked by Mrs May after she became Prime Minister and was given a knighthood by David Cameron in his resignation honours.

A DFID spokesman said: 'The UK remains firmly committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority to build and strengthen the institutions needed for a two-state solution, which is essential for the prosperity and security of the region.
Diane Sawyer, along with ABC and correspondent Jim Avila, are asking a South Dakota judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit over their reports about ground beef.

In the report, former USDA scientist Gerald Zirnstein said 70per cent of ground beef contained 'pink slime', a food additive made from trimmings and exposed to ammonia gas before it was used as a filler in packages labeled 100% beef.

Beef Product Inc., the company behind the additive, filed a lawsuit in 2012, claiming ABC's 'vicious' reports caused three plants to shutter and roughly 700 people to lose their jobs because it misled consumers into thinking the product was unsafe.

In affidavits filed on Monday, Sawyer argued the report was conducted in the public's interest before saying: 'I was surprised when supermarket chains decided to discontinue use of BPI's product altogether.'

Diane Sawyer, along with ABC and correspondent Jim Avila, are asking a South Dakota judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit over a 2012 report about ground beef (pictured)

In the report, former USDA scientist Gerald Zirnstein (left) said 70per cent of ground beef (right, file photo) contained 'pink slime', a food additive made from trimmings

To make lean, finely textured beef, the leftover trimmings from a cow, once 'used in dog food and cooking oil' are heated until the meat is separated from fat, the report stated.

The mixture is exposed to ammonia gas to make it safe to eat, before it is frozen and shipped to meat packers and grocery stores, where it is added to ground beef, according to the ABC report.

While Zirnstein coined the term 'pink slime' in 2002, it became a household term after the 2012 report in ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.

In affidavits filed Monday in support of motions seeking a summary judgment, Sawyer and Avila argued that the number of reports was driven largely by questions from viewers, as well as decisions by the government, supermarket chains and BPI.

'My sole interest was to help the consumer by providing information,' Sawyer said in an affidavit filed on Monday

Their argument counters the lawsuit's characterization of the network's coverage as 'a monthlong vicious, concerted disinformation campaign against BPI.'

ABC's attorneys have argued that in each of its broadcasts, the network stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture deemed the product safe to eat.

They've said BPI might not like the phrase 'pink slime,' but like all ground beef, it's pink and has a slimy texture.

'My sole interest was to help the consumer by providing information to our viewers,' Sawyer states in an affidavit.

'I thought that our reporting might result in consumers getting more information from their grocers or might result in some form of labeling that would facilitate consumer choice.

I was surprised when supermarket chains decided to discontinue use of BPI's product altogether.'

After the reports aired, some grocery store chains announced that they would stop carrying ground beef that contained the lean, finely textured beef.

The USDA also began offering school districts that received food through the government's school lunch program a choice in ground beef purchases.

In August, the judge hearing the case signed off on the dismissal of five defendants: ABC's news division; correspondent David Kerley; USDA microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein, who named the product 'pink slime;' former federal food scientist Carl Custer; and Kit Foshee, a former BPI quality assurance manager who was interviewed by ABC.

The case is currently slated to go to trial in June.
A former nanny to the children of Pink Floyd star David Gilmour has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years today for helping her lover run his international cocaine business.

Anni Rowland, 52, helped drug baron Kevin Hanley by counting and laundering his cash from her home in the picturesque town of Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

Former grocer Hanley, 53, is now serving 17 years for smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine in shipments of watermelons, pomegranates and broccoli.

Today, Judge John Bevan QC at London's Old Bailey, slammed her penchant for show business and her life with the iconic rock band for skewing her sense of reality.

Hanley was juggling two women - Rowland and glamorous Greek television presenter Chrysi Minadaki, 45, who has also been jailed for her role in the conspiracy.

Former grocer Kevin Hanley (right) is serving 17 years for smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine in shipments of watermelons, pomegranates and broccoli. His former lover Anni Rowland (left), will now serve eight-and-a-half years behind bars herself over conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering

Rowland, his partner of 20 years - whom he met at a lavish bash held on David Gilmour's 1920s houseboat on the Thames - claimed she never had anything to do with drugs.

She said she thought Hanley was still working in fruit and veg and that she believed all his travelling was to meet contacts across the world.

Rowland denied knowing he was a drug dealer, even though he was jailed for supplying cocaine in 2001 and she herself was jailed in 2006 for helping him stash the cocaine in a safe house in the New Forest.

She was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and money laundering between 2009 and 2012 at the Old Bailey after a three-week trial.

Rowland, dressed all in black, held her head in her hands and wept as the jury returned the verdicts on Wednesday.

Jailing her for eight-and-a-half years, John Bevan QC said: The fact is you have been living off the proceeds, at least partially, of class A drug dealing for going on for 20 years.

The idea that you could conceive that the deeply dishonest and deeply unattractive Kevin Hanley could himself in five years go from dealing drugs to whiter than white pomegranate and watermelon wholesaler and dyslexic self-made millionaire is a fallacy that in my judgement goes to the core of this case.

Anni Rowland, 52 (pictured Wednesday outside court), the former nanny of Pink Floyd star David Gilmour's children, was found guilty of helping her drug baron lover Kevin Hanley count and launder his cash from her home in the picturesque town of Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire

I accept that Hanley may have treated you with disdain later when a newer model came on the scene in the form of Miss Minadaki, but Ive no doubt you that he treated you with largess when you were the new model.

I accept that you were under the malign influence of Kevin Hanley, besotted if you like with a deeply unpleasant and manipulative but somehow charismatic individual.

You had in your youth a penchant for show business, Pink Floyd, flashy restaurants and the like which must have skewed your sense of reality.

You were an important cog in a sophisticated machine, although I accept there was a degree of manipulation as Ive already outlined.

He also ordered that Euro 1000 and 185 found her home address when it was searched to be forfeited.

Rowland was initially unable to stand after her sentence was read out and had to be helped up by guards in the dock.

After his release from prison for the 2001 cocaine charge, Hanley set up two shell fruit and veg companies - ICC 2009 Ltd and Paris Western - to act as a front for his new drugs ring.

But investigators found that he hadnt declared a penny of legitimate income to HMRC.

His empire was smashed by the National Crime Agency after a massive surveillance operation which included bugging his home in Fulham.

Minadaki would travel with him all over the world to negotiate the drug deals, while Rowland was busily organising his flights and his accommodation.

She would also transfer him large sums of cash for his business dealings.

Hanley and Minadaki were eventually arrested in an Irish pub in Athens in 2013 an extradited to the UK- the drugs baron was just settling down to watch a British Lions game when the NCA swooped.

Rowland said she had never had anything to do with drugs, even when she was living a globe trotting lifestyle with the Gilmour family.

Rowland was the former nanny to the children of Pink Floyd star David Gilmour

I was looking after four children. I was on-call 24 hours a day - it certainly wasnt party, party, party.

I was going to concerts and things like that but I was staff.

She told the Old Bailey she met Hanley at her 30th birthday in 1992, which had been held on David Gilmours 1920s houseboat on the Thames.

She said there had been over 300 guests, because she had a joint party with the daughter of the legendary Deep Purple keyboard player, Jon Lord.

Prosecutor Richard Jory QC asked: What was Mr Hanley doing for Pink Floyd? Supplying them fruit and veg?

She replied he had only been introduced to her as Kevin and shed been told he was a friend of a friend.

Rowland insisted Hanley and stripped her of her confidence and twisted everything.

Its only after Ive been arrested that Ive been furnished with all this information and Ive found out its all been lies.

He said he was in fruit and veg and hed been set up and it was nothing for me to worry about and we argued and argued.

He would convince me. He just had this ability to twist things and I would end up apologising.

And its in all the [legal] papers and he still denies it - not that Ive spoken to him for more than two years, but he still says he was stitched up.

I stopped believing when I read everything that was in those papers, but then he would still come up with something feasible and I would still believe him.

I just feel very stupid and hurt. I stopped all contact with him.

Rowland was seen often crying during the three-week trial at the Old Bailey and when the sentence was given she could not stand

She said that Hanley would always promise to make things up to her, and told her that he would quit the fruit and veg industry and they would have a pub in the country.

He stripped me of my confidence. He always told me that no one would love me like he loved me and no one would love me because Id been in prison.

He always had all the lies and I wanted to believe him. All this - its all been a lie. Twenty years of a lie.

I never agreed with anyone to supply anything, she said.

I was counting money that I thought was legitimate money from fruit and veg. So yes I counted money, but I never laundered any money.

I kept everything relating to him for years. It was my shrine to him. It was so stupid, she said.

She said she never knew exactly where he was or who he was with and would always give her a feasible explanation of why he needed cash, flights or hotels.

Hanley, 53, is serving 17 years for smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine in shipments of watermelons, pomegranates and broccoli. Pictured: Cash seized by police during his arrest

When asked about Minadaki she said: It was the first time I met her. She was really rude. In my head she was this beautiful Greek goddess and she wasnt and I apologised to him for accusing him of anything.

She described her love rival as a woman with a beard.

Officers raided the Chelsea home of co-conspirator John Fowler, 58, on November 24, 2012 and recovered 2m in cash, around 2.5m worth of top grade cocaine, 100,000 of amphetamines and 61,000 of skunk cannabis.

Minadaki and grocery businessman John Fowler, 58, were jailed for 17 years and 16 years respectively were jailed for 17 years and 16 years in 2014.

Rowland commuted with her son between the Cotswolds town and London while Minadaki had a plush flat in Cadogan Square in Westminster.

Mr Jory said: Ms Rowland booked flights and accommodation for Hanley and Fowler around Europe.

Hanley set up the international drug smuggling ring and pretended he was shipping fruits

She made charges for payment where money became due. She arranged for the transfer of money to Hanley when he needed it, for example when he was travelling abroad.

She occasionally attended meetings with him and was present with him in September 2014 when the prosecution say there was a decision made that was picked up on a secret listening device about drug arrangements and procedural matters.

Her finger prints were found in due course on items, including the 2 million in cash.

Rowland, of Stow-on-the-Wold, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire was sentenced today

There were also writings and notes indicating that she was familiar with cash - perhaps counting the cash and making a note of the quantities stored at Mr Fowlers address.

It appears to be, at least at one stage, a safe house for cash and property in this criminal conspiracy.

Isabella Forshall QC described Rowland as Hanleys Girl Friday.

She said: Its a sexist term but Ill use it anyway in a sexist world. Shes Girl Friday to the principal conspiracy.

Shes not in the inner managerial circle.

Her relationship to the drugs conspiracy was limited to sorting out all the documentation, sorting out Mr Hanleys personal muddles and sorting out some of the affairs of the Hanley household.

Theres little evidence on which it could be concluded that she exerted any influence on others, the influence was all Mr Hanleys influence on her.

As to motive, its our submission that theres much more evidence that what Ms Rowland did was done for love of Mr Hanley rather than for modest gain, although I accept theres some modest gain.

Her biggest mistake was not to leave him when she got out of prison the first time, but at the time she had a still young son to care for.

Ms Forshall said Rowland had made preparations to see her and Hanleys 17-year-old son Alfie through university, but also had to worry about her 80-year-old father.

She added Rowland had a history of anxiety and depression that had been manipulated by Hanley.
Head teacher said there had been a '

The mother of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray blasted the decision as 'absurd'

A ban on pupils running in a playground has been overturned at a Cornish school after Judy Murray tweeted her outrage.

The mother of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray blasted the decision as 'absurd' after angry parents launched a petition claiming it was health and safety had 'gone mad'.

Hillfort Primary School, in Liskeard, came under fire for putting a stop to playground running due to a the level of injuries children were getting.

School bosses claimed the ban had a dramatic effect in reducing the number of bumps and bruises.

But campaigners fighting the ban are now celebrating a victory and hailed a 'U-turn' by the headteacher Dr Tim Cook after Judy Murray got involved.

Judy, who is Great Britain's Fed Cup captain, took to Twitter to attack the ban.

She wrote: 'A ban on running in a school playground? How utterly absurd. No wonder we are becoming a nation of fatties.'

Following her intervention, the school has described the situation as a 'misunderstanding.'

It has outlined that the ban only applies to running from one end of the playground to the other.

Hillfort Primary School, in Liskeard, came under fire for putting a stop to playground running due to a the level of injuries children were getting

Leah Browning, 32, whose son Jago attends the school, was responsible for the petition that was signed by 160 others.

She wrote: 'Stopping children running during free play due to bumping into each other is health and safety gone mad.

'Do not allow 'health and safety' to remove the liberty to spontaneously run in the playground during imaginative and child-led play.'

But she said all the parents were delighted by the U-turn.

She said: 'Fortunately the school have amended their original outline of the ban from, running would only be permitted 'in the ball court area' during the lunchtime break, to running across the full length of the playground, in one specific area is banned.

'This is a welcome backpedal and I am pleased my son will now be allowed to run during imaginative play and be a superhero in the playground once again.'

Dr Cook, who has been head of Hillfort since last November, wished to 'clarify' the school's position in a statement.

He said: 'It has come to my attention that some parents are concerned that we have banned all running from lunchtimes, this really is not the case.

School bosses claimed the ban had a dramatic effect in reducing the number of bumps and bruises

'What we have done is to stop running directly across the playground where some children had been hurt by others running into one another.

'Children are able to run around freely in the early years playground, the ball court and in areas of the main playground.

'In the three days that we have been running this new set of activities, the children seem to have enjoyed them and negative behaviours have reduced significantly.

'This decision has been taken in the interests of children's safety and I hope that parents/carers will support this.'

Speaking about why she backed the campaign, Ms Murray said she spoke out to highlight the importance of kids being active at a young age.

She said: 'We have to get more people, kids and adults, enjoying activity and the easiest way is to get kids used to doing it from a young age.

'It starts at home, in my opinion. We need to get parents understanding that being physically active is just as important as reading and writing, because if you enjoy it at a young age there's far more chance of it staying with you throughout your life.
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Barechested and lying on his back in a conference hall in Tel Aviv, Magneto isn't bothered that all eyes are on him. In fact, one eye is literally on him... a tattoo covering his right nipple.

The German tattoo model, whose entire face is covered in inkings, including his eyeballs, has travelled from Berlin to attend the third annual Israel Tattoo Convention.

And judging from his torso, he's keen on roses, zombies and cats.

Magneto is just one of many fans of body art who has flocked from all over the world today to get markings from some of Israel's leading artists at the two-day fair.

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Lying on his back in a conference hall in Tel Aviv today, Magneto - from Berlin - isn't bothered that all eyes are on him. In fact, one eye is literally on him... a tattoo covering his right nipple

The German tattoo model, whose entire face is covered in inkings, including his eyeballs, has travelled from Germany to attend the third annual Israel Tattoo Convention

Around 140 tattoo artists are participating in the event, which attracts thousands of visitors

Tattooing has risen greatly in popularity over the last decade in Israel

Fans of body art have flocked from all over the world to get markings from some of Israel's leading artists at the two-day fair

Attendees have travelled from countries including Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Norway, Australia and Russia

The event attracts thousands, with stalls by local artists, as well as performances by alternative bands.

There are those in the Holy Land who will tut at the tats: it is widely held that tattooed Jews cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

However, Dr Anna Felicity Friedman, a self-described 'tattoo historian', said: 'From my (and others') research, tattooing isn't necessarily prohibited in Judaism - there are many ways one can interpret, for example, the passage in Leviticus,' according to the Times Of Israel.

The passage in question prohibits 'etching of the flesh' - and in modern times, the spectre of the Holocaust, where victims were inked with their prisoner camp number, rightly lingers.

Even so, tattooing has risen greatly in popularity over the last decade in Israel. For the converted, it is seen as an act of rebellion, and not conforming to the religious norms.

The first convention was held in December 2014, with dozens of shops opening for artists to ply their trade.

For the converted among the Jewish community, getting tattoos is seen as an act of rebellion

US tattoo artists Squidling Brothers perform their freak show during the annual Israel Tattoo Convention

The Squidling Brothers provide an edgy twist on the classic American sideshow

A passage in the book of Leviticus prohibits the 'etching of flesh' - but not everyone goes by the book
Trafficking victims from Romania had been encouraged to come to Northern Ireland for well-paid jobs

Ioan Lacatus, 33, from Portadown in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, kept a dozen migrants in a shared house and sent them to work at local factories

A Romanian delivery driver who pocketed his trafficking victims' wages and kept them in conditions 'suitable for rats' has been jailed for more than two years.

Ioan Lacatus, 33, from Portadown in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, kept a dozen migrants in a shared house and sent them to work at local factories.

He pocketed around 3,500 a week in wages from the trafficking victims, who were from Romania.

Lacatus, who called himself the Master and has a string of previous fraud convictions in Europe, pleaded guilty to five counts of trafficking people into the UK for exploitation and similar offences.

The trafficking victims had been encouraged to come to Northern Ireland for well-paid jobs and a new life, and hoped to send money home to their impoverished families.

Instead, they were forced to work long hours at local factories and lived in degrading conditions, with a bathroom with no toilet paper and little food.

Police said one woman was told to eat stones when the food ran out.

Judge Patrick Lynch QC described Lacatus as a 'greedy, ruthless and manipulative individual' who relied on his physical size to 'intimidate' his victims.

He said: 'It seems there was also an element of stupidity in your offending in that you could have made a good living by treating your victims with some degree of decency rather than subjecting them to degrading and humiliating treatment.'

One of the trafficking victims said they were 'living like rats' in the shared home (pictured)

He added: 'The living conditions were characterised by one of the victims as living like rats.'

A total of 12 people were rescued after they contacted police in August 2014.

The migrants were collected from Dublin Airport by Lacatus and his brother-in-law Samuil Covaci, who police believe acted as a minder.

Lacatus watched the house on Charles Street in Portadown from his car wash business across the street.

A total of 12 people were rescued after they contacted police in August 2014. Pictured is the toilet in the shared home, where there was no toilet paper

The victims were transported to and from work by Lacatus and Samuil Covaci.

They claimed they never received any wages and had to beg Lacatus for pocket money.

The paperwork they had unwittingly filled in gave permission for their wages to be paid directly into the bank accounts of Lacatus and his wife Christina Nicoleta Covaci.

Christina Covaci, 31, was given a suspended 12-month prison sentence.

The migrants were collected from Dublin Airport by Lacatus and his brother-in-law Samuil Covaci (pictured left), who police believe acted as a minder. Lacatus' wife Christina Nicoleta Covaci was given a suspended 12-month prison sentence

Samuil Covaci, 25, from Tandragee Road in Portadown, was handed a conditional discharge.

Detective Superintendent John McVea, the senior officer investigating human trafficking, said: 'The harrowing accounts of these Romanian victims should serve as an alarm call to everyone in our society that human trafficking is happening right under our noses.
Joe Biden leveled with Hillary Clinton supporters at a rally on Friday, admitting at the end of his remarks that he recognizes some of them 'aren't crazy' about her.

At the Bucks County Community College speech Biden said his former Senate colleague was given an 'unfair deal' and skewered Republican Donald Trump for claims he more than once described as ' indefensible.'

Biden took pity on Trump's VP pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, whom he noted that he served with in Congress, and said it must be 'awful tough' to be on a ticket with the billionaire.

'God love him as my mother would say, but Donald Trump has said so many things that are inaccurate and indefensible, causing his running mate who's a decent guy...to have to make up a whole hell of a lot of facts on the run.'

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Joe Biden leveled with Hillary Clinton supporters at a rally this morning, admitting at the end of his remarks that he recognizes some of them 'aren't crazy' about her

At the Bucks County Community College speech Biden said his former Senate colleague had gotten an 'unfair deal' and skewered Republican Donald Trump for claims he more than once described as ' indefensible'

Biden took pity on Trump's VP pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, whom he noted that he served with in Congress, and said it must be 'awful tough' to be on a ticket with the billionaire

Reflecting on Monday's vice presidential debate, at which Pence repeatedly claimed that Trump hadn't said or didn't mean what he was being accused of, Biden recalled the two times he was in the hot seat.

'God, I just cant imagine having to do what he had to do for Trump.'

Biden listed off a litany of Trump's statements Pence had to defend, on Vladimir Putin, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, punishment for women who have abortions, Mexican immigrants, and more.

'His running mate had to deny every one of those things,' a bemused Biden said. 'I've never seen anything like it before.'

And it wasn't just one or two or two slip ups. 'It's kind of mind-blowing. It's awful tough being Donald Trump's running mate.'

Biden went on to belittle Trump for his 'lack of sensibility' and 'decency' when he bragged that he didn't pay federal income taxes.

He asked the audience to imagine past presidents waking up at 3 AM 'assuming that technology had been available then' to bash a former beauty as 'disgusting.'

'I think the American public has figured that out. And so I don't think we should waste a lot of time talking about Donald Trump,' the vice president finally said.

The notoriously long-winded politician eventually came back to Trump as he talked about China's economy, however, telling the attendees of Pennsylvania rally he's 'so tired' of listening to Trump's side 'run down' America.

I'M WITH HER....I GUESS: Biden said Friday, 'I know some of you, and some of the people you're trying to convince, aren't crazy about Hillary. I know that, OK. I think she's gotten an unfair deal'

As his rhetoric got heated, so did Biden. He interrupted a fiery segment on products that are made in America to take off his jacket and cast it aside.

'I'm gonna put this over here,' he said, barely missing a beat before he started back up.

At another point in his remarks he seemingly called out a hero of the left, Bernie Sanders, the runner up in the Democratic primary, as he said, 'Ladies and gentleman, we have the most agile venture capitalist system in the world. I know Bernie...my good friend, doesn't like me saying that, but it's true. It's true.

'And we have the most productive workers in the world. That's not hyperbole, it's not Joe Biden union guy, it's a fact.'

Getting to Hillary at the tail end of the half-hour speech, Biden told Pennsylvania Democrats, 'W e need you to register. We need you to vote. We need you to bring your friends.'

The last day to register for the November election is four days from now, he said.

'Don't do one thing,' he stated.

The vice president knew he that what he was about to say could be misconstrued.

He threw his hands up in the air in a defensive position and searched for the right words before he stated, 'No one ever doubts I mean what I say. The problem is sometimes I say all that I mean.

'But I know some of you, and some of the people you're trying to convince, aren't crazy about Hillary. I know that, OK. I think she's gotten an unfair deal. '

He would have continued had it not been for loud clapping and cheering from the audience.

As his rhetoric got heated, so did Biden. He interrupted a fiery segment on products that are made in America to take off his jacket and cast it aside

Switching gears he said, 'Folks, don't - don't - wake up on Nov. 9 and find out we lost Pennsylvania by 2,000 votes, and say if I'd only, If I'd only taken my neighbor, if I'd only gone. If I'd only.

'There's been a lot of elections, remember, Al gore,' he said, getting a rise out of his listeners. 'No no, but keep it in mind, man, keep it in mind.'

Pennsylvania will 'play a gigantic role in determining who the next president is,' Biden asserted.

'The reason I'm optimistic, is: A, I know her heart. B, everybody knows how smart she is, and C...we've never had a president who's won by merely appearing to the fears of the American people.'
A Colorado mother dying of cancer has made a final plea to find her son who was snatched from his crib 30 years ago.

Bernice Abeyta, 73, said her one wish is for anyone with information about Christopher Abeyta's 1986 disappearance to come forward.

She is currently fighting cholangiocarcinoma, a rare gallbladder cancer.

Back in May, her daughter Denise Alves said her mother was told she had four to eight months to live.

'Of course, I would like to have him back,' she told ABC News. 'I've always felt very positive that even though it's been 30 years, it would happen.'

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Bernice Abeyta, 73, (pictured) said her one wish is for anyone with information about her son Christopher Abeyta's 1986 disappearance to come forward

Bernice had laid seven-month-old Christopher in his crib (left). On July 15, 1986, she woke up to an empty crib discovering Christopher, the youngest of seven children, was gone. A photo composite of him is pictured right

'I think that's what kept me going in trying to find him. There's no way we were going to forget him,' she continued.

Bernice added: 'I would reassure him that we love him no matter what, no matter who he is.

'We are still going to be looking. I was always positive that we were going to find him.'

The night before his disappearance, Bernice had laid seven-month-old Christopher in his crib.

The following day on July 15, 1986, she woke up to an empty crib discovering Christopher, the youngest of seven children, was gone.

Christopher, described as a smart, happy baby, was born to parents Bernice and Gil Abeyta in Colorado Springs on November 28, 1985.

Bernice said her son 'was a doll' who loved to make the family laugh.

Bernice pictured with Christopher who was born on November 28, 1985

Christopher pictured in his crib. He was described as a smart, happy baby

The night before his disappearance his sister, 45-year-old Alves who was 15 at the time, recalled how she had been in the living room playing with her brother.

She said her family was sitting together and she was pretending to sneeze from smelling a bouquet of roses while Christopher laughed.

Alves told ABC News she gave Christopher his bottle before she and her mom laid him in his crib.

She said her brother's disappearance changed her mother forever as she recalled how Bernice would be curled up crying saying, 'I need my baby.'

'After the days turned into weeks and we still didn't have Christopher back, I saw her get up every single day and follow up on leads searching for answers,' Alves told ABC News.

'She was so desperate, and even with the seemingly limited results of her hard work I never heard her say she would quit searching.'

Christopher's parents pictured above with six of their children. Christopher was the youngest of seven

Bernice worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children while police investigated the disappearance.

She would often pass out flyer's across her community with her son's photo.

Alves has praised her mother's devotion to the case, noting how she has persevered even when suspicion swirled around the mother in the disappearance.

'Through it all she continued to search for her son, even when it appeared local law enforcement had given up,' Alves told ABC News.

'She never once passed up an interview about my brother.'

While tips have come in over the years, none have led to any breaks in the case, according to Alves.

An image of Christopher pictured top left along with sketches and composite photos. The case of of his disappearance is an active, ongoing investigation, and a person of interest has been named

The case of Christopher's disappearance is an active, ongoing investigation, and a person of interest has been named, authorities told ABC News.

The case is being investigated through Colorado Springs Police Department's cold case unit of homicide and missing persons.

As her mother continues in her battle with cancer, Alves said that maybe her mother will find some peace with the disappearance before passing.
The parents of a New York teen who disappeared seven years ago while on Spring Break in South Carolina have given their first interview to Dr. Phil, saying their daughter was gang-raped and murdered and that the suspects were never caught.

Brittanee Marie Drexel, 17, traveled to Myrtle Beach from Rochester with some friends without telling her parents, and disappeared after leaving her friend's hotel on April 25, 2009.

This past summer, the FBI revealed that Drexel had been raped, murdered and left in an alligator pit in McClellanville - about an hour from the hotel - where she is believed to have been held in a house for at least three days.

On Friday, Dawn and Chad Drexel appeared on Dr. Phil, sharing for the first-time information they have received about what happened to their daughter. No charges have ever been filed.

Speaking out: Dawn and Chad Drexel sat down with Dr. Phil Friday to discuss information released by the FBI about the 2009 murder of their 17-year-old daughter Brittanee

Brittanee Drexel was 17 when she vanished after leaving a friend's hotel in Myrtle Beach in April 2009. Her body has never been found and no arrests have been made

Mrs Drexel said she was 'sobbing' when she was told by investigators what they believe happened to Brittanee. Her body has never been found, and police don't think it ever will be.

Brittanee tried to escape and they ran out and got her and brought her back into the house and pistol whipped her and beat her and shot her Dawn Drexel, the victim's mother

The information came from an imprisoned man who says he saw Drexel's horrific last moments and made a jailhouse confession.

'The jailhouse informant said he walked into this house in McLelinville  it's called a stash house,' Mrs Drezel told Dr. Phil Friday.

'It's somewhere where they can put drugs and illegal things.

'He was walking through the house and he had said that Deshaun and other men were raping my daughter. He had walked through Brittanee tried to escape and they ran out and got her and brought her back into the house and pistol whipped her and beat her and shot her.'

'They have no regard for anybody's life': Dawn Brexel said her daughter was held in a 'stash house' where she was raped, beaten, killed and then left in an alligator pit

'I met the suspect': Chad Drexel unwittingly gave a missing persons flier to a man suspected of being involved in the death of his daughter

The FBI believe Brittanee Drexel was raped, murdered and dumped in McClellanville (pictured), where she is believed to have been held in a house for at least three days

Mrs Drexel continued to Dr. Phil: 'My heart just broke because Brittanee didn't deserve this.'

'Brittanee didn't even know these people. And for them to do that to my daughter is just, I mean, for nothing. I just feel like, you know, they're monsters. I mean, they have no regard for anybody's life.'

In Chad Drexel's interview, he explains how he went to McClellanville to hand out fliers about Brittanee's disappearance, when he unwittingly gave one to Timothy Da'Shaun Taylor, who has been identified as the prime suspect in the case.

FBI agents implicated Timothy Da'Shaun Taylor (left) earlier this year, citing a jailhouse confession from Taquan Brown (right), who claimed he saw Drexel's rape and murder (he is in prison on a separate case). Taylor has not been charged in Drexel's disappearance

Mr Drexel said he was standing in the middle of a dirt road in the rural suburb when a car came by. He said the people would not have stopped if he hadn't been standing there.

'I handed the flyer to the driver and the two people in the back were whispering,' Mr Drexel said.

'I stick my head in and say do you know anything about this girl, Im her dad? They laugh and I just give the flyer to the driver and he crumples it up and tosses it out the window and drives off as they are all laughing.'

Later, Mr Drexel returned to the office of a local private investigator he had hired to help find his daughter, when the PI explained that the man in the car was actually Taylor.

'I never saw her, Id never seen her besides the TV and the internet': Timothy Da'Shaun Taylor denied having anything to do with the case in the Dr. Phil interview

Dr. Phil pressed Taylor on information released by police earlier this year implicating him

Police had previously said they believed that the high school student was held for at least three days against her will near McClellanville, as that is where they traced signals from her cell phone after her disappearance.

Earlier this year, an inmate who was sentenced to 25 years for voluntary manslaughter told police he knew what happened to the young woman.

The inmate, Taquan Brown of Walterboro, told agents that he entered a 'stash house' in the days after Drexel's abduction and saw Timothy Da'Shaun Taylor, then 16, 'sexually abusing' her.

Brown said he then went outside to give Da'Shaun's father, Shaun, some money, and saw the girl run from the house, but she was caught and 'pistol-whipped.'

According to Brown, she was then dragged back into the house, and Brown said he heard two gun shots and later saw the girl's body wrapped up and taken away.

Munoz said several witnesses said the teen's body had been thrown in an 'alligator pit' and 'eaten by the gators.'

Taylor - who has never been charged in the case - was also interviewed by Dr. Phil, who grilled him with: 'I want you to respond to what FBI agent Gary Munoz testified about... that Taquan Brown said that he witnessed, and give you an opportunity to respond to that. He said that you picked her up from Myrtle Beach and back down to McLellanVille.'

Taylor responded: 'My reaction to it was like, you know, its not true. I never saw her, Id never seen her besides the TV and the internet. Through a computer screen. So when they read it out it was unbelievable.'

Brittanee Drexel (above) went to the beach spot with three friends without her parents knowing - her mom thought she was at a beach in New York

The blonde teen was last seen leaving her friend's hotel. where she stayed for ten minutes before leaving and disappearing

FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas told reporters of a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Drexel's case

Taylor did admit that he lives in McClellanville. He did at the time that Brittanee disappeared as well.

So far agents have not been able to find the girl's remains despite checking 14 alligator ponds. They believe there are about 40 in the area.

Joan Taylor, the wife of Shaun Taylor and mother of Da'Shaun Taylor, says the story implicating the pair is 'craziness' made up by investigators to get her son to confess to the crime.

However, agents say the gruesome account has been backed up by other 'tidbits' and 'second hand information' that have been coming in recently, and by another inmate in Georgetown County.

The teen is believed to have spent her final days around McClannanville as police traced pings from her cell phone to the area

Munoz said that, according to the second inmate, who got the account secondhand, Da'Shaun allegedly managed to get the girl from where he met her in Myrtle Beach back to McClellanville and then 'showed her off, introduced her to some other friends that were there they ended up tricking her out with some of their friends, offering her to them and getting a human trafficking situation.'
David Letterman pulled no punches when asked about Donald Trump, whom he lambasted as a damaged human being who may be in need of psychiatric help.

The 69-year-old retired talk show host also revealed that he was proud that a segment from The Late Show showing him poking fun at Trump ended up in Hillary Clintons attack ad, and claimed that if he still had his bully pulpit, he would have gone right after the GOP hopeful, unlike some of his successors in late night.

Letterman, who is currently promoting the New National Geographic series Years of Living Dangerously, shared his thoughts on the presidential campaign in general, and the Republican nominee in particular, in a candid interview with the New York Times Wednesday.

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Not too funny: David Letterman, pictured in May left, called Donald Trump, seen right at a campaign rally in Nevada on October 5, a 'damaged human being' who should be 'shunned'

'Perfect guest': During his 33 years as the host of The Late Show, Letterman would often invite Trump to appear on the show because he could take a joke and was, in his words, 'the perfect guest.' This screenshot is from Trump's appearance on the show in December 1987

Trump had been a frequent guest on The Late Show during David Lettermans 33 years as the program's host.

Looking back on his past encounters with the real estate mogul-turned-politician, Mr Letterman said the quintessentially New Yorker 'big blowhard billionaire' was the 'perfect guest' who could take a joke at his expense and would roll with the punches.

When Trump came on the Late Show in 2012, Letterman produced some ties and shirts that were being sold under the Donald Trump brand at Macy's stores and pointed out that they were made in Asia.

That segment would later be prominently featured in a campaign ad for Hillary Clinton, accusing Trump, whose slogan is 'Make America Great Again,' of hypocrisy for outsourcing his merchandise overseas.

According to Letterman, Trump ceased being funny in his eyes the moment he began calling immigrants drug dealers and rapists after launching his presidential bid.

And everybody swallows hard, Letterman said. And they think, oh, well, somebody will take him aside and say, Don, dont do that. But it didn't happen.

Badge of honor: Letterman said he was 'proud' and 'flattered' the Clinton campaign featured his on-air exchange with Trump in an attack ad

The ad seems to accuse Trump of being a hypocrite for making his line of clothing in Asia

Letterman also strongly condemned Trump for publicly mocking a disabled New York Times reporter while delivering a speech last November, saying that he believed at the time that it would be the end of his campaign.

Because if you can do that in a national forum, that says to me that you are a damaged human being, the veteran comedian explained. If you can do that, and not apologize, youre a person to be shunned.'

But that did not happen, and Trump went on to clinch the Republican nomination in July.

'The thing about Trumpy was, I think people just were amused enough about him to keep him afloat in the polls, because nobody wanted the circus to pull up and leave town, said Letterman of Trumps success in the primaries.

When asked about his reaction to the Clinton TV spot showing his confrontation with Trump over his outsourced clothing line, Letterman said he was 'flattered' and 'pleased.'

Not impressed: Jimmy Fallon was criticized for failing to hold Trump's feet to the fire during an interview last month. Letterman says he 'would have gone right after him'

'I felt like I still have a small voice in this. I thought it was good, he told The Times.

Several late-night hosts, most recently Jimmy Fallon, have been roundly criticized for failing to hold Trump's feet to the fire when he would appear on their shows.

In response to a question about Fallon's lighthearted on-air exchange with Trump, Letterman said if he had a show, he 'would have gone right after him.

'I would have said something like, "Hey, nice to see you. Now, let me ask you: what gives you the right to make fun of a human who is less fortunate, physically, than you are? And maybe thats where it would have ended, said Letterman.

He then added: But if you see somebody whos not behaving like any other human youve known, that means something. They need an appointment with a psychiatrist. They need a diagnosis and they need a prescription.

This was not the first time that the outspoken TV veteran discussed Trumps candidacy in unflattering terms.
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One of Europe's most iconic sights has been dramatically lit up as one of the centre pieces in Berlin's Festival of Lights.

Artists shone powerful beams onto the Brandenburg Gate to create a dazzling spectacle for thousands of visitors.

For ten days the German city is the capital of light with sights including Berlin Cathedral and Potsdamer Platz the subject of huge light-art installations, projections and video mapping.

Artists shone powerful beams onto the Brandenburg Gate to create a dazzling spectacle for thousands of visitors

For ten days the German city is the capital of light with sights including Berlin Cathedral and Potsdamer Platz the subject of huge light-art installations, projections and video mapping

Historically, one of the city's grand entrances, the Brandenburg Gate was built between 1788 and 1791 under the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II

Napoleon seized the statue's 'Quadriga', which sits at the top of the gate and depicts a statue of the goddess of victory driving a chariot pulled by four horses, after occupying the city, in 1806

Historically, one of the city's grand entrances, the Brandenburg Gate was built between 1788 and 1791 under the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II.

Napoleon seized the statue's 'Quadriga', which sits at the top of the gate and depicts a statue of the goddess of victory driving a chariot pulled by four horses, after occupying the city, in 1806.

It was returned to Germany from Paris after the French capital was itself captured by Prussian soldiers.

The Nazis also used the magnificent structure as a a party symbol during the rise of Adolf Hitler in the years preceding and then during the Second World War.

The neoclassical monument was restored at the turn of the Millennium by the Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation after being badly damaged in the war.

The Festival of Lights, which started today, is in its 12th year. Visitors can see the lights on foot, by bus and boat from 7pm to midnight.

A wide array of lights were shone onto the grand gate which was historically one of the city's huge entrances

Thousands of visitors will flock to the German capital for the festival of lights which redesigns city landmarks

Musicians from Hungary play outside as the Brandenburg Gate is illuminated during the Festival of Lights show in Berlin

People watch the light installations projected onto the walls of Berlin Cathedral during the 12th Festival of Lights
The City of Irving, Texas, is firing back at the lawsuit filed by the father of Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested for bringing a home-made alarm clock to school after his teacher questioned if it was a bomb in September 2015.

The city says that the arrest of then-14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed - who at the time was dubbed Clock Boy - was lawful due to the teen disobeying his teacher, not being forthcoming during questioning and because his device met the standards to qualify as a hoax bomb.

Mohamed Mohamed, Ahmeds father, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Irving, Texas, and Irving Independent School District accusing them of violating his sons civil rights

Mohamed accused the school district of having a history of racial discrimination and said the treatment his son suffered was a violation of his rights and the 14th amendment right to equal treatment under the law.

Mohamed Mohamed, Ahmeds father, filed a lawsuit against the city and Irving Independent School District, claiming his son's rights were violated when he was arrested at school in 2015

He pointed out that a 2009 report found that African-American students faced racial discrimination in the same school district.

On October 6, the City of Irving demanded the entire lawsuit be thrown out of court.

The city claims that its top priority is the safety of its residents and protecting the well-being of school children.

According to court documents, the city accuses Ahmed of repeatedly disobeying his teacher, who told him to keep the device in his backpack.

It also accuses him of displaying and activating the device during class after being told not to, and eventually showed the invention to another teacher who confiscated it.

The citys response says that Ahmeds device had a printed circuit board, a 9volt battery, wires, a transfer, a timing display panel and an alarm bell.

The city said: Ahmed brought a device to school which, under the Texas Penal Code, constituted a hoax bomb. Out of an abundance of caution, and for the safety of the school children and school personnel, Ahmed was taken into custody for possessing a hoax bomb at school. After further investigation, all charges against Ahmed were dropped

Further, the city says that the claim that Ahmed was arrested without probable cause is incorrect.

The city says that the arrest of then-14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed - who at the time was dubbed Clock Boy - was lawful due to the teen disobeying his teacher, not being forthcoming during questioning and because his device met the standards to qualify as a hoax bomb

According to court documents, the city accuses Ahmed of repeatedly disobeying his teacher, who told him to keep the alarm clock (pictured) in his backpack

The suit states: Ahmed was arrested for the offense of hoax bomb. The statutory definition of a hoax bomb is a device that reasonably appears to be an explosive or incendiary device, or that, by its design, causes alarm or reaction of any type by an official of a public safety agency.

Anyone who knowingly transports or possesses a hoax bomb with intent to cause a reaction of any kind is against the law in Texas.

The city says that Ahmeds device meets the statutory definition of a hoax bomb, adding that it believes that Ahmeds actions show he was not entirely innocent or bereft of intent to cause reaction from the alarm clock.

Regardless of Ahmed and his device not being dangerous, the city believes that due to his actions, police had every right to arrest the teen.

In the lawsuit filed by Mohamed, the teens father gives a detailed story of what he believes to be true of the day his son was arrested.

Mohamed explained that his son plugged in his clock to show his teacher how the device worked. She then asked if it was a bomb, which confused and surprised Ahmed.

He informed his teacher it was not a bomb, but rather an alarm clock. Over the years, he had brought many of his contraptions to show teachers, none of whom responded by asking if it was a bomb, Mohamed said.

The teacher took the alarm clock and said she would hold onto it until the end of the day. She kept the clock for hours and at no point were alarms raised, no evacuation of the school nor was a bomb squad called in.

Mohamed accused the school district of having a history of racial discrimination when Ahmed (pictured above in August showing off his device) was arrested

The incident caused a media firestorm, and President Barack Obama (right, with Ahmed) even invited Ahmed to the White House

Later that day, police arrived at the school, pulled Ahmed out of his class and arrested him.

His father claims the officers were so forceful in pulling him from his chair, they yanked his arms up and behind his back so far that his right hand touched the back of his neck which hurt him.

Ahmed was placed in handcuffs, paraded out the front of the school with two officers on both sides of him and placed him in a police car.

The police then took him to the police station where he was booked including having his mug shot taken and fingerprinted, all without his parents present.

He accused police of not being adequately trained, but the city claims he has no evidence to back the claim up.

Mohameds case seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, the family wrote a letter to the City of Irving suggested they were owed $15million for the treatment Ahmed received.

The City of Irving is demanding that Mohameds lawsuit be dismissed and that his family not be awarded a dime for the complaint.
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The glass-clad tower, set on one of New York's richest streets, is as imposing as it is exclusive. With a security guard on the door and apartments worth tens of millions within, it's a palatial building that only the very wealthiest will enter.

And it's here that George and Amal Clooney have just bought the latest addition to their burgeoning property empire, a four-bedroom, high-rise home worth an estimated eyewatering 30 million.

Although for Clooney, whose recent films include the appositely entitled Money Monster and who commands about 20 million per movie, this is not quite so eyewatering.

Burgeoning property empire: Amal Clooney with her movie star husband George now own a host of properties

Despite Amal's grandstanding as a champion of the downtrodden in her work as a human rights lawyer, it's the latest evidence that she's also rather fond of the finer things in life.

The Clooneys' new home boasts walls polished to a diamond shine, a chef's kitchen with bronze counters, and floor-to-ceiling, UV-protected windows offering some of the best views in New York. Similar apartments in the block also have window-side baths that overlook Central Park, marble floors and enormous dining rooms.

Intriguingly, it is also only a stone's throw from the UN headquarters  ideal for Hollywood's most politically-minded couple. This is particularly helpful for Amal, who has enjoyed repeated stints working for the UN as well as Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General.

MANHATTAN PARADISE Where: Midtown New York. Style: 6,700 sq ft of high-rise perfection, and every mod-con under one roof. Bought for: Estimated 30 million. Hollywood highlights: A 60ft pool, four bathrooms, a ballet barre  and a cocktail bar. Neighbours: Park Avenue princesses and ambitious politicos looking to make their mark. Fancy that: The couple bought the apartment off-plan. Added extras: The building will have a commmunal, Michelin-starred restaurant. There will also be a cinema  how appropriate  and a yoga studio and Pilates room. Advertisement

The sprawling, 700ft-tall apartment block designed by leading architects Aby Rosen and Foster and Partners, comes with a spa, swimming pool, library and, naturally, a cinema. It also boasts a state-of-the-art gym, yoga studio and Pilates room  ideal for helping Amal, 38, keep her honed physique in tip-top condition.

A friend said: 'George and Amal like the finer things in life, and this apartment wants for nothing. Another key attraction is its proximity to the UN. While Amal has done a lot of work with the organisation, clearly it will be handy if and when George decides to dip his toe into the world of politics. This is an exciting time for them both and they cannot wait to move in.'

The Clooneys' latest acquisition, which will not be completed until next spring, takes their property portfolio to four, at an estimated worth of 137.5 million. Not too shabby for a couple famed for their social conscience.

The off-plan purchase comes six months after George, 55, sold his beachfront Mexican residence for about 38 million. They also have homes in Sonning, Berkshire, Italy's Lake Como and Los Angeles, and have spent millions on improvements.

Having married at a star-studded ceremony in Venice, the Clooneys recently celebrated their second anniversary. Evidently still madly in love, Clooney seems to pander to his wife's every whim. After buying the English country estate in 2014, and spending up to 20 million on renovations, George was said to have told builders: 'What Amal wants, Amal gets!'

Here, we take a tour of the Clooney property empire . . .

CALIFORNIA RETREAT Where: Studio City, Los Angeles. Style: 7,300 sq ft of colonial-style Californian elegance. Bought for: 2.6 million in 1995 and now worth 9 million. Neighbours: Think pop stars and C-list television personalities. Singers Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, and actress Teri Hatcher, to name but three . . . Hollywood highlights: George has ploughed millions of dollars into re-doing his long-time residence and erstwhile bachelor pad. Theres now a wine cellar, alpine-style open log fire and a fully stocked bar. Oh, and a framed, signed photograph of Barack Obama taken during the height of the Presidents tenure in office. Fancy that: Ongoing renovations made over 20 years have left George on first-name terms with an ongoing stream of builders and renovators. By all accounts, he is now happy with the place. Added extras: A 3D, surround-sound cinema, with reclining leather seats. Advertisement

THAMESIDE TOWERS Where: Sonning, Berkshire. Style: 17th-century, Grade II-listed mansion; 11,000 sq ft of refined English elegance. Bought for: 7.5 million in 2014. Now worth 23.5 million after a serious refurbishment. Hollywood highlights: Situated on a five-and-a-half-acre island on one of the most picturesque stretches of the Thames, the idyllic country manor comes complete with some less-than-traditional features, including a 12-seater private cinema, subterranean irrigation system, 60ft swimming pool with hot tub and pergola, and an astroturf tennis court. It also boasts a boathouse and 10,000 rowing boat. Neighbours: Its all very jolly hockey sticks here. PM Theresa May lives just round the corner. Fancy that: In January, the place was hit by flooding after the Thames burst is banks. No lasting damage was done. Long-time local resident Uri Geller is moving on, but has left a bent spoon sculpture opposite the Clooneys mansion (without planning permission). Added extras: At what must be a phenomenal cost, fully grown trees were transported to the site by lorry and planted around the perimeter, concealing the mansion from prying eyes. Advertisement

LAKE COMO VILLA Where: The banks of Lake Como. Style: Sprawling 18th-century Italian waterside villa. Bought for: 4.8 million in 2002 and now worth a rather impressive 75 million. Neighbours: Both Madonna and Sir Richard Branson have previously owned homes here. Hollywood highlights: What doesnt it have? Think: pool, spa, cinema complex, gym and panoramic views of the lake. Everyone from Brad and Angelina (pre-split) to Georges best pal, Matt Damon, have enjoyed a free holiday here. Fancy that: Recently, the regions mayor introduced a 370 fine for anyone coming within 100 metres of the Clooneys estate, in an effort to safeguard the couples privacy. Tourists were suitably outraged. Added Extras: George apparently turned down a recent 80 million offer for the house. Advertisement
It's a time-honored tradition whenever extreme weather conditions roll in: watching miserable reporters get battered by the storm.

As Hurricane Matthew trounces Florida, committed journalists have done their duty by reporting from the heart of the downpour.

Both local and national stations have sent reporters and meteorologists to Florida to cover the impact of Hurricane Matthew.

One WPIX11 reporter tried his best to show the evacuated coastal towns of Florida, but the wind and rain had other ideas.

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Reporters have ventured to cover Hurricane Matthew at its worst and have been battered by the storms winds and rain in the process. This WPIX11 reporter tried to show the evacuated coastal towns of Florida, but the storm's brutal force had other ideas

As the reporter discussed how one man had stayed behind to tend to his business, the intense wind and rains pushed him back as he put an arm out trying to block the torrential rain.

At the beginning of the clip the reporter even says the wind is so strong he lost his hat before the start of the broadcast.

His interviewee, clearly more accustomed to the stormy weather, retrieves it for him.

In a different report, ABC News producer Scottie Withers was hampered by wind as he stood near the sea in St Augustine, Florida.

'Police, first responders - they've evacuated. Firefighters have evacuated the island. They've just told us we have to go.

ABC News producer Scottie Withers is hampered by wind as he stands near the sea in St Augustine, Florida

'Police, first responders - they've evacuated. Firefighters have evacuated the island. They've just told us we have to go,' Withers says into the camera

'If you're here and you do not leave, you are not getting any help until after the storm is over,' Withers warns as his microphone is battered by the wind.

In the Bahamas, one Weather Channel reporter, Brett Adair, looked as if he was sky diving as the winds pushed him around.

As winds ripped through Paradise Island, Adair held arms held backward and tried to walk forward but had to lean into the winds just to remain upright.

In the Bahamas, one Weather Channel reporter, Brett Adair (pictured), looked as if he was sky diving as the winds pushed him around

With his arms held backward, Adair tried to walk forward but had to lean into the winds just to remain upright

Another reporter from WKMG, Sachelle Saunders, was on assignment to cover the high winds and surf in Daytona Beach, Florida.

'Um, I don't know what to tell you guys. You can see what's happening,' Saunders says.

Her jacket is being ripped back and forth by wind in the clip and she has clearly been doused in rain and sea spray.

'I'm holding myself up against the wall as water and wind come in off the ocean,' she says.

Saunders tells viewers once she is on the other side of the wall she will be safe from the winds.

As she says this the intensity kicks up and streams of wind and water can be seen tearing around her body.

'Um, I don't know what to tell you guys!': WKMG's Sachelle Saunders was on assignment in Daytona Beach as she got a taste of Hurricane Matthew

'I'm holding myself up against the wall as water and wind come in off the ocean,' she said in the clip

Saunders tells viewers once she is on the other side of the wall she will be safe from the winds

Wow! Earlier this morning reporter Sachelle Saunders gave an update from Daytona beach as hurricane Matthew tore through.#Prayers4Florida pic.twitter.com/QM4WdkcuyQ  Today'sLoop (@TodaysLoop) October 7, 2016

Finally, she throws back to the studio as she reaches her breaking point

Another clip shows a WJXT reporter in St Augustine reporting from the beach as waves crash against a wall behind him.

Like the other journalists, his jacket is being pulled against him by the violent winds as water pellets downward.

As the water is flung over the wall by the wind, a cameraman is forced to pull out a rag and wipe clean his lens.

A CNN reporter tried to show how a gate was nearly ripped off by wind and flung into a road, but his camera was so clouded by water it's impossible to tell what he's talking about.

A WJXT reporter in St Augustine was pushed and pulled by strong gusts near the ocean in St Augustine

A CNN reporter tried to show how a gate was nearly ripped off by wind and flung into a road, but his camera was so clouded by water it's impossible to tell what he's talking about
A San Francisco judge has ruled that a controversial open-air urinal in a public park violates no rights and is allowed to stay, after a conservative group attempted to have it removed.

The Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco filed a civil complaint in April demanding the city remove the concrete circular pissoir from iconic Dolores Park.

The group claimed the urinal, which is out in the open and screened only with plants for privacy, 'emanates offensive odors', 'has no hand-washing facilities' and 'is offensive to manners and morals'.

The group also said it was unfair to women and people with disabilities, and even likened the lavatory to a 'sex party in a public park'.

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Unsightly urinal: The Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco filed a civil complaint demanding the city remove the concrete pissoir from Dolores Park, calling it discriminatory

The outdoor urinal was installed earlier this year in an attempt to stop men from publicly relieving themselves in other areas of the park, which is famous for picnics

However, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn struck down the allegations in a ruling this week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In the ruling, Judge Kahn decided: 'The installation and maintenance of the pissoir does not contravene any of the constitutional provisions, statutes or common law rules cited by plaintiffs nor, even if it did, would there be any basis to issue the requested injunctive relief.'

The item was installed in the popular park at the start of the year in an attempt to stop men from relieving themselves in the bushes and other areas.

The lawsuit alleged that the urinal discriminated against women and the disabled and exposes those who use it to 'shame and embarrassment.'

'It's like a sex party!' Frank Lee (pictured), of the Pacific Justice Institute, likened the urinal to a sex party in a park earlier this year

The urinal - mostly just a concrete drain - is out in the open and screened only with plants and a screen for privacy

'The open-air urination hole violates the privacy of those who need to use the restroom but would be required to expose their bodies and suffer shame and degradation of urinating in public view,' the lawsuit said.

Frank Lee, of the Pacific Justice Institute, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the San Francisco Chinese Christian Union, said the urinal is 'just like a sex party'.

'You know they have a lot of places they can have a sex party, but not in a public park!' told KPIX.

However the city attorney's office strongly fought the litigation.

It pointed out that the 16-acre park is well-known for its 'counterculture, immodest sunbathers, pot brownie vendors, spectacular city views, and famously irreverent ''Hunky Jesus'' contest.'

The office said residents advocated for the facility, called a 'pissoir', to stop people from urinating on walls, bushes and sidewalks.

Iconic: San Francisco's Dolores Park is famous for picnics and casual parties. It is seen here in a file photo from October 2013

City officials said that there were plenty of other public bathrooms in the park - such as this new complex - and that the urinal was not favoring men

'If I had to predict the top 100 things in Dolores Park likely to offend these plaintiffs, I wouldn't have guessed that this would make the cut,' city attorney spokesman Matt Dorsey said in the statement.

The urinal was part of a $20 million renovation plan that now has put more than two dozen toilets in the park along with other upgrades.

San Francisco has a long, sometimes creative, history of dealing with public urination.

Last summer, the city painted nearly 30 walls with a repellant paint that makes urine spray back on the offender.
At least 100 BBC presenters are being investigated over alleged tax avoidance.

HM Revenue & Customs was thought to be pursuing 23 staff over claims they set up elaborate schemes to minimise their liabilities.

But the taxman has now confirmed that the number of high earners in its probe has reached three figures.

Top-flight staff on the BBC's payroll were routinely paid through controversial personal service companies.

HM Revenue & Customs was thought to be pursuing 23 BBC staff over claims they set up elaborate schemes to minimise their liabilities. But the taxman has now confirmed that the number of high earners in its probe has reached three figures

They now face demands to hand back tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid income tax and national insurance.

The BBC stressed the claims were 'historic', also involving past presenters, saying the issue was industry-wide.

But a financial expert accused public sector workers of defrauding the tax authorities. Campaigners said BBC licence fee payers who pay their fair share to HMRC would be appalled.

The scandal erupted in 2012 after a report found that the BBC paid more than 124 stars via the service companies.

They included former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce. There is no suggestion that they are being investigated by HMRC or suspected of wrongdoing.

Following a public outcry the Corporation said it had moved 85 presenters on to its books as full-time employees.

But the rapidly expanding scope of the HMRC's investigation emerged yesterday in a tribunal judgment against BBC newsreaders Tim Willcox and Joanna Gosling.

Top-flight staff on the BBC's payroll were routinely paid through controversial personal service companies. The scandal erupted in 2012 after a report found the BBC paid more than 124 stars via the service companies. They included ex-Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce. There is no suggestion they are being probed by HMRC or suspected of wrongdoing

Mr Willcox and Miss Gosling are accused of failing to pay enough tax during years when they claimed they were not employed by the corporation. They are appealing against the judgment.

The BBC, which was blocked from giving evidence in the case, said: 'HMRC have indicated to the BBC that there are around 100 additional cases under consideration involving current or former BBC presenters.'

It said it believed HMRC was investigating 'presenters who are engaged by other broadcasting organisations'.

Margaret Hodge, Labour chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on responsible taxation, said the developments were disturbing.

'We've known since 2012 that staff at the BBC have been abusing a system which was set up to allow people like plumbers and child minders to set up a business,' she said.

HOW THE BBC HELPED STARS TO REDUCE TAX The BBC began moving 85 of its stars on to staff contracts in 2013 following a public outcry over the use of personal services companies to reduce their tax liabilities. It followed a review by accountancy firm Deloitte the previous year which identified that 96 on-air talent workers were paid more than 50,000 a year through service companies in 2011-12. The report described them as a high priority for becoming members of staff. The household names in the category reportedly included newsreaders Fiona Bruce, Emily Maitlis, Gavin Esler, Joanna Gosling and Tim Willcox. Personal services companies were introduced at the turn of the century by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor to help self-employed workers, including plumbers and labourers, who struggled to get work unless they formed a limited company. A review by accountancy firm Deloitte identified 96 on-air talent workers were paid more than 50,000 a year through service companies in 2011-12. The report described them as a high priority for becoming members of staff. The household names in the category reportedly included newsreaders Fiona Bruce, Emily Maitlis, Gavin Esler, Joanna Gosling (left) and Tim Willcox (right) But they have been exploited by thousands of people. Being paid through a service company can allow high earners to pay 20 per cent corporation tax on some income instead of the 45 per cent top rate. This is because they can take their salary in the form of dividend payments. They also avoid paying 12 per cent National Insurance. But the employer also benefits as they do not have to pay a 13 per cent National Insurance contribution. There is no suggestion any of the BBC presenters have behaved improperly. Staff including former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, said they were advised by the BBC to set up these personal services companies. But full-time workers who use such companies purely to cut their tax are known as disguised employees. This is banned under HMRC rules. Allegations of widespread abuse of the loophole at the BBC prompted George Osborne to launch a crackdown last year. Advertisement

'Personal service companies were not set up to allow well paid presenters to avoid tax. It's an absolutely deliberate ploy. The BBC promised they put an end to this. I hope they have. In the meantime licence fee payers won't look kindly on the news that so many people earned money from our taxes and refusing to pay their fair share.'

Peter Hargreaves, of FTSE 100 pension firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'These are public sector workers defrauding the tax authorities. We are paying these people's wages. This shows the public sector is just as corrupt as the private sector.'

Freelance and casual workers have been allowed to pay themselves through personal services companies  so they are taxed as a company rather than as an individual.

Perfectly legal, the system was established for freelancers such as plumbers, childminders and workmen not on a company's payroll.

But MPs and campaigners say the loophole has been widely exploited by highly-paid professionals across the country, including at the BBC, who are not technically contractors at all and are doing the job of a normal employee.

The BBC stars are accused of being in breach of a tax avoidance rule, called IR35, that says people cannot be 'disguised employees' by paying themselves through companies. Successive governments have been accused of turning a blind eye to this.

The revelation in 2012 that the practice was widespread at the BBC triggered a major backlash. George Osborne launched a crackdown, saying it was costing the Treasury 400million a year. Since then HMRC has stepped up its investigation.

John O'Connell of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Licence fee payers have a right to know where their money is going.

'The BBC has a duty as a public service broadcaster not to try to circumvent the rules by hiding the amount its talent are earning.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'As the judgment says this is an industry-wide issue and affects those who have been engaged in this way for a number of different organisations.

'The exact number of cases that will be taken forward will be determined by HMRC.
New witnesses have come forward in the hunt for Ben Needham in Greece prompting police to extend their search.

Locals have given detectives new information about where the suspect, the deceased Konstantinos 'Dino' Barkas, is thought to have buried 21-month-old Ben on the island of Kos.

Officers for South Yorkshire Police working in Greece were told by a passing motorcyclist of another location to search.

Officers started digging up a second site in Kos on Thusday after the previously unsearched area was brought to the attention of British police in June

Pictured: Police mark out piles of soil for forensic examination on the island of Kos

Detectives are confident the information has merit after it was backed by witnesses in the area

When he came across their present search area the rider said: 'I don't know why you are digging there  Dino dumped his old rubble up the road.' Dino worked as a digger driver in the Iraklis area.

Detectives are confident the information has merit after it was backed by witnesses in the area.

Their dig has been extended, after originally scheduled to end on Thursday, the Mirror reports.

Police think Ben was injured in an accident involving a digger in July 24, 1991.

Ben's mother Kerry Needham, 43, said: 'I am so relieved the people of Kos are helping us and coming forward.

'It seems clear Dino was responsible for an accident. They think my son's body was taken to this new site.'

On Thursday, police in Kos moved to search a new dig site, just a kilometre from where Ben disappeared.

Police think Ben was injured in an accident involving a digger in July 24, 1991

Ben's mother, Kerry Needham, from Sheffield has spent 25 years trying to find out what happened to her son

The search area, opened yesterday, is believed to be a dumping ground for rubble taken from the farmhouse where Ben went missing

The area - which has never been searched - was only brought to the attention of lead officer Detective Inspector Jon Cousins in June this year.

The search area, opened yesterday, is believed to be a dumping ground for rubble taken from the farmhouse where Ben went missing.

Officers believe stone and earth was taken from the farmhouse on the day or day after Ben vanished.

This week, Kerry's father Eddie visited the site of the farmhouse to give police more details about the disappearance of Ben.

He was focusing on the foundations which he laid under the farmhouse extension after Ben's disappearance.

He and his wife were looking after Ben when he went missing. They did not raise the alarm for three hours because they assumed the toddler was with Kerry's brother, Stephen, who was 17 at the time.

Kerry from Sheffield has spent 25 years trying to find out what happened to her son.

British detectives have been on the island for more than a week. Speaking this week, DI Jon Cousins said: 'The site is being prepared for a full search which will start soon and take a few days'

Police are investigating if digger driver Konstantinos 'Dino' Barkas may have accidentally killed Ben. Mr Barkas died from cancer last year and his son insisted his father was innocent

Kerry's father Eddie has visited the site of the farmhouse to give more details about the disappearance of Ben

Mr Barkas was questioned at the time Ben went missing but died from cancer last year.

The digger's son Valandis has insisted his father had done all he could to help police with their inquiries and 'wouldn't harm an ant, let alone a little child'.

Kerry said last month she was angry that the new witness had kept quiet for so long, adding: 'He could have ended this 25 years ago.

'I could have done something with my life instead of having my life on hold and not being able to do anything or focus on anything and living this nightmare.'
Amanda Holden dashed to be beside her younger sister who was in intensive care last night after a car crash.

The talent show star held a bedside vigil alongside her diving instructor sibling.

Debbie Holden, 44, was described as being in a 'critical but stable' condition at a hospital in Cornwall.

Very close: Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda, right, beside her sister Debbie

Debbie Holden, left, is described as being in a 'critical but stable' condition after a car crash

She was caught up in a horror accident on Thursday morning.

No-one else is thought to have been injured.

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda, one year her senior, had to rush off after attending Simon Cowell's 57th birthday bash in London on Wednesday night.

A source told MailOnline the family is now hoping Debbie will 'make a full recovery' and is 'out of the worst'.

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They added Debbie was in a car accident in Cornwall where no-one else was believed to be involved or injured.

A source told The Sun that Amanda is in 'absolute agony' as she is 'very close to her sister'.

'It's been a very difficult 48 hours and the whole family have been pulling together and trying to keep positive,' they told the paper.

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda, seen attending the birthday bash for head judge Simon Cowell on Wednesday night

Debbie, right, became especially close with Amanda in adulthood after living through a strained relationship with their father Frank, centre, as children

'Amanda is very close to her sister': A source said Amanda is still with her sister in hospital

A source told MailOnline the family is now hoping Debbie will 'make a full recovery' and is 'out of the worst'

'Amanda is very close to her sister. They're only a year apart and there's something about them together which is really special. Amanda's still with her in hospital,' added the source.

Debbie, who is single without children, escaped death during a Nepal earthquake in April last year.

She has reportedly become especially close with Amanda in adulthood, after living through a strained relationship with their father Frank as children.

Amanda has previously spoken about their relationship with her estranged father, who 'was hardly ever there'.

Debbie Holden, left, has been travelling around the world since the turn of the millennium, splitting most of her time between Cornwall and Koh Lanta in Thailand

Frank split from their mother Judith in 1976 on grounds of his alcohol fuelled behaviour.

Live on air last year Amanda was visibly moved when it was revealed Debbie had been caught up in an aftershock while stranded on Mount Everest.

She spoke to her sibling on ITV's This Morning, after the earthquake killed some 5,500 people and left 11,000 injured.

Amanda Holden, left at 4-years-old, sharing a seat with her sister Debbie aged 3

Older sister Amanda, left, scene in happy times as a child with her sister in Hampshire

Amanda bit her lip and tried to keep her composure as Debbie told her: 'We are still on edge... we are absolutely worn out.'

Miraculously Debbie missed a 300-foot high speeding wall of snow and ice after turning back down the mountain due to altitude sickness.
However, Kayden's family maintains he was intentionally set on fire

Authorities are still investigating but said at this time it does not appear there was any intent to harm any of the boys present

Police said burning gas canister caught alight as juvenile poured gasoline onto a fire in a shed and it inadvertently hit Kayden as he tossed it aside

A juvenile has since been taken into custody and is charged with first-degree arson

horrific burns and is in a medically-induced coma following a fire incident on Sunday

A 10-year-old disabled boy from Texas who was seriously burned in a blaze was not intentionally set on fire, officials have said, despite claims made by the boy's family.

Kayden Culp of Kerrville suffered burns to more than 20 per cent of his body and is currently in a medically-induced coma following a fire incident on Sunday.

An unidentified juvenile has since been arrested and charged with first-degree arson.

While authorities are still investigating the incident, at this time they do not believe Kayden was intentionally set on fire.

'Based on the results of our preliminary investigation, it does not appear that this event was premeditated or that there was any intent to harm any of the juveniles present,' Kerrville Fire Chief Dannie Smith said on Thursday.

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Kayden Culp, of Texas, is in the hospital after suffering horrific burns following a fire incident on Sunday

Kayden (pictured) is suffering from infections and is currently on medications to stabilize his heart, after receiving burns to about 20 per cent of his body on Sunday

On Sunday, four male juveniles, who were 'friendly' with each other were in a shed where there was an initial fire, Police Chief David Knight said.

Knight, who did not know how that fire started, said the juvenile who has been charged at one point left and returned with a gas canister in hopes of making the fire bigger.

He said that when the fire traveled up to the canister, the juvenile discarded it and it hit the victim.

'We have no indication that there was any premeditation involved to injure this child,' Knight said.

However, Kayden's family maintains he was intentionally set on fire.

Video courtesy of WOAI/KABB

The family told KENS5 that he was only friends with one of the three other boys and said he had a past with at least one of the other juveniles.

Tristyn Hatchett, Kayden's mother - who said her son exhibits autistic behavior but has not been diagnosed - said a relative of one of the other juveniles called her.

She said the relative told her one of the juveniles Kayden was with on Sunday had doused him in gasoline while another lit him on fire.

'He hurt me. He set me on fire. He needs to go to jail,' Kayden managed to tell his mom about his attackers, aged 9, 10 and 11, according to Fox News.

Kayden's mother, Trysten Hatchett, has spoken to local police about pressing charges against the boys who she claims set her son of fire deliberately

Kayden's family said the incident was premeditated  and hope there will be further charges.

'All the kids are talking, saying, 'Hey, they set out to do it on purpose,'' aunt Tanya Kasper told Fox News.

Kasper said Kayden's family worried about him because of bullying.

'He wore a hearing aid, talked with a lisp,' Kasper told KSDK. 'I mean, he was challenged from the get-go.

'And for him to face this new challenge, it's going to be overwhelming.'

His first-and second-degree burns stretch from near his belly button to his ears.

He has reportedly been 'suffering from infections and is currently on medications to stabilize his heart,' his mother said.

He also has burns to about 20 per cent of his body, has a feeding tube and is being kept sedated, according to a fundraising page set up to help the family.

Kayden's mother has spoken to local police about pressing charges against the boys she claims set her son on fire deliberately.

'My son is a special guy. He was rowdy and he liked to have fun,' she told the Houston Chronicle.

'He considered these guys his friends, but they would make fun of him and pick on him and tease him.

'He was usually the brunt of that kind of joke, but he kept playing with them.'

City spokeswoman Kaitlin Berry said she had heard 'rumors' the young boy was set alight deliberately, but could not confirm whether it was the case because fire marshals are still investigating.

The fundraising page set up to help the family has raised $222,559 to date.
A new radio ad by a pro-Donald Trump super PAC slashes context to make it sound like Hillary Clinton favors white supremacy.

The ad, by the Great America PAC, now being aired in battleground states, features Clinton saying, ''I believe in white supremacy.'

The statement, from when Clinton was a New York senator, came up while she was talking about school choice.

A new pro-Donald Trump super PAC quotes Hillary Clinton talking about white supremacy, but strongly implies that she believes in it without evidence

She used an example of a parent who wants to send their child to a 'School of the Church of the White Supremacists.'

Clinton is against private school vouchers and does not favor white supremacy.

The context of the statement was reported by Buzzfeed news.

WHAT HILLARY CLINTON ACTUALLY SAID: 'Suppose you were meeting today to decide who got the vouchers. First parent who comes says, 'I want to send my daughter to St. Peter's Roman Catholic School.' And you say, 'Great, wonderful school; here's your voucher.' Next parent who comes says, 'I want to send my child to the Jewish Day School.' 'Great, here's your voucher...' 'Next parent who comes says, 'I want to send my child to the School of the Church of the White Supremacist.' You say, 'Wait a minute. You can't send  we're not giving you a voucher for that.' And the parent says, 'Well, the way I read Genesis, Cain was marked, therefore I believe in white supremacy.' 'And therefore, you gave it to a Catholic parent; you gave it to a Jewish parent; you gave it to a secular private parent. Under the Constitution you can't discriminate against me.' Advertisement

A transcript of Clinton's appearance on Fox News 'Hannity and Colmes' from 2006 obtained by DailyMail.com indicates that Clinton was using the white supremacist example as a possible risk of vouchers.

The ad is set to air in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan.

The ad is announced as a 'message from Barack Obama.'

The ad also has President Obama making what sound like controversial statements. Obama is quoted saying Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan.

The ad also quotes President Obama making what sound like controversial statements. He is quoted saying straight ticket voting amounts to selling 'our soul for a Christmas turkey.'

He also discusses 'plantation politics.' It quotes him saying 'police brutality rampant ... black people in the worst jobs, the worst housing.'

The ad calls Clinton 'crooked Hillary,' a phrase used by Donald Trump, although the ad was not produced by the campaign

The radio ad also plays quotes from President Obama  but doesn't say he is describing someone else's supposed views  Smitty the barber

The statements were taken from a reading where Obama is actually quoting a barber, not expressing his own thoughts. The quote is from Obama's memoir, 'Dreams of My Father,' where he wrote about and reflected on supposed comments by Smitty the barber.

The PAC told Buzzfeed the ads are going on a test run. 'George W. Bush successfully targeted messages to Hispanics and African Americans during his 2000 and 2004 election wins,' said advisor Aaron Manaigo. 'However, this type of micro messaging is outside the norm for this election cycle.'

Trump has spent weeks trying to people away some of Clinton's minority support. He repeatedly references struggling African American neighborhoods he says are filled with crime, saying, 'What do you have to lose?'
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange promised 'significant' disclosures on subjects including the U.S. election and Google in the coming weeks as the secret-spilling group marked its 10th anniversary on Tuesday.

Assange said WikiLeaks plans to start publishing new material starting this week, but wouldn't specify the timing and subject and warned that the so called 'October Surprise' may expose Google.

The war between Assange and the tech giant started in 2014 when he wrote about the company in his book titled, 'When Google Met Wikileaks', according to Recode.

'Nobody wants to acknowledge that Google has grown big and bad,' Assange wrote in the book.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (pictured in 2016) promised 'significant' disclosures on subjects including the U.S. election and Google in the coming weeks as the secret-spilling group marked its 10th anniversary on Tuesda

Assange (pictured above on Tuesday) said WikiLeaks plans to start publishing new material starting this week

'But it has. Schmidt's tenure as CEO saw Google integrate with the shadiest of U.S. power structures as it expanded into a geographically invasive megacorporation.'

Assange became concerned about former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's ties with the State Department in 2009 when Hillary Clinton was serving as secretary of state.

He has claimed that Schmidt, who is a chairman at the company, has worked with the Clintons for years, as Donald Trump accused Google of political bias saying that it suppresses negative news about Clinton.

Speaking by video link to an anniversary news conference in Berlin earlier this week, he said the leaks include 'significant material' on war, arms, oil, internet giant Google, the U.S. election and mass surveillance.

WikiLeaks hopes 'to be publishing every week for the next 10 weeks,' Assange said.

Assange wrote in his 2014 book that 'Schmidt's (file above) tenure as CEO saw Google integrate with the shadiest of U.S. power structures as it expanded into a geographically invasive megacorporation'

The group, which released Democratic National Committee emails days before the party's national convention earlier this year, wouldn't say who or what campaign would be affected by the upcoming U.S. election leaks.

Assange said speculation that he or WikiLeaks intend to harm Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is 'false.'

Asked whether he feels any personal affinity with Clinton's Republican rival, Donald Trump, Assange replied: 'I feel personal affinity really, I think, with all human beings.'

'I certainly feel sorry for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump,' he added. 'These are two people that are tormented by their ambitions in different ways.'

Assange claimed that Schmidt has worked with the Clintons for years, as Donald Trump accused Google (file) of political bias saying that it suppresses negative news about Clinton

Wikileaks came to prominence a decade ago by publishing classified documents that related to prisoners in the United States' Guantanamo Bay, NSA surveillance of world leaders and military operations in Afghanistan.

In addition, millions of diplomatic and military files were made public by Wikileaks from US soldier Chelsea Manning who is currently serving a 35-year prison term for leaking the information.

Sweden is seeking Assange's extradition in a rape investigation.

He hasn't left the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012.
The scheme will be rolled out to 200 more locations over next few weeks

Shoppers who park in bays meant for the disabled and parents with young children face fines of up to 70 under a crackdown by Tesco.

The supermarket chain has armed staff at 81 of its stores with a special smartphone app to record evidence.

The scheme will be rolled out to 200 more locations over the next few weeks in Tescos first-ever enforcement action against drivers who break the rules.

Staff use the app to take pictures of vehicles parked in disabled bays without Blue Badges or hogging the spaces set aside for parents with children under 12.

Caught out: Last year Chelsea captain John Terry triggered a row after parking his 200,000 Range Rover in a disabled bay

The evidence is sent to a company called Horizon Parking, which obtains driver details from the DVLA and issues a 40 penalty notice, rising to 70 unless it is paid within 14 days.

Tesco insists it will not make money from the scheme because the fines cover only running costs plus fees to Horizon, which manages 1,325 UK car parks.

A store spokesman said: Many disabled customers rely on our disabled parking bays, so weve introduced our self-monitoring initiative to highlight the importance of using the bays properly, making it fairer and easier for everyone to find a space.

Private firms which run supermarket parking have been accused of unfairly issuing a blizzard of tickets to cash in on their contracts, but Tesco claims it will avoid this because its own staff decide who is breaking the rules.

Parking chief Cat Parkinson said: We want to change attitudes towards the misuse of disabled bays. I hope the scheme will help our disabled customers shop with ease. The scheme is already making a difference.

I spoke to British paratrooper Jordan Beecher who shops at our Finchley store. In 2012 he stepped on an IED which claimed his left leg. Jordan told me it was imperative that he had access to disabled parking.

A spokesman for the charity Disabled Motoring UK said it welcomes enforcement of the rules, adding: Hopefully the message will get out there that this is a serious crime affecting a very vulnerable group. Drivers who unfairly use Blue Badge spaces on public roads are committing a criminal offence, though there is widespread abuse.

Shoppers who park in bays meant for the disabled and parents with young children face fines of up to 70 under a crackdown by Tesco

Last year Chelsea captain John Terry triggered a row after parking his 200,000 Range Rover in a disabled bay. He was fined for the same offence in 2008 when he left his Bentley outside a Pizza Express.

On private land there is no criminal offence, so it is up to the landowner to decide if there is a penalty and enforcement firms must take cases to the small claims court if drivers dont pay up straight away.

The move by Tesco is part of a wider drive by supermarkets to clamp down on car park abuse. Sainsburys issues fines of 60, discounted to 30 for prompt payment, for the misuse of its bays. Asda imposes fines ranging from 40 to 100, while Morrisons does not impose a penalty. Many stores also impose time restrictions.
The spin chief who led David Camerons Remain campaign is cashing in on his failure with a lucrative job at a company advising firms on Brexit.

Sir Craig Oliver will be paid a six-figure salary as an adviser at global consultancy Teneo.

The US-based firm has set up a Brexit client transition unit to advise companies on how to influence the Governments plans to leave the EU.

Six-figure salary: Sir Craig Oliver, who was David Cameron's communications director

But the prospect of one of the men who lost the referendum advising pro-EU firms on making the best of Brexit will raise fears of a conflict of interest.

Among Teneos clients is Nissan, the Japanese car manufacturer that has threatened to close its Sunderland plant if the UK does not retain access to the European single market.

Another client, HSBC, said during the referendum campaign that it would consider moving its headquarters from London if Britain left the EU.

Sir Craig, nicknamed Sir Spin, was Mr Camerons communications director. He left No 10 in July when Theresa May took office, and he was handed a knighthood in Mr Camerons controversial resignation honours.

His application to work for Teneo has apparently not yet been approved by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).

The Whitehall watchdog  branded toothless by critics  was last night urged to prove its mettle by turning him down. The Daily Mail has revealed how hundreds of departing ministers and civil servants are taking well-paid jobs in the same policy areas in which they worked in Government.

Sir Craig led David Cameron's Remain campaign, but is now set to join Teneo

Former BBC executive Sir Craig will join former foreign secretary William Hague, who joined Teneos Brexit unit six weeks ago.

It is not known whether Sir Craig will be part of this unit.

One of its functions is ensuring the concerns of companies over post-Brexit arrangements are heard and understood by policymakers in government as well as regulators.

Launching the unit in August, Teneo chief Declan Kelly said: The pending transition of their business through the Brexit process presents the leaders of our clients with one of the most significant strategic challenges they are likely to face in the coming years.

Industry insiders said it was likely Lord Hague would be paid around 250,000, though ACOBA told him he would not be able to officially take part in lobbying for a year.

It is not known what salary Sir Craig will receive, although he was paid more than 140,000 in Downing Street.

Last night Tamasin Cave, of anti-lobbying pressure group SpinWatch, said: Craig Oliver is a man with huge inside knowledge and an enviable contacts book.

If anyone is going to get to the front of the queue to get to those influential in Brexit, its him. Teneos clients must pay a fair whack to influence what happens next in the Brexit negotiations.

This is probably not what people thought was going to happen when they voted to take back control.

In fact they are merely handing control to the corporate lobbyists.

Tory MP Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the Commons public administration committee, said he hoped ACOBA would be tougher with Sir Craigs application that it had been with others. He said: Our latest report on this subject made it clear we regard ACOBA as wholly inadequate to the task; a regulator without teeth and unable to provide any public confidence about conflicts of interests that arise when people move between the public and private sector.

As well as Nissan and HSBC, it is understood that Coca-Cola is also a Teneo client. Yesterday another of Mr Camerons allies, Sir Oliver Letwin, said his own knighthood was bittersweet as he defended the ex-PM against accusations of cronyism.
A credit card with a constantly changing security code is being launched in an attempt to combat fraud.

The three numbers on the back of the card will be replaced by a digital display randomly generating a new combination every hour.

The digital security company Oberthur Technologies is talking to UK banks about introducing the innovation and has said the cards will be used by French customers by the end of the year.

The security code on the back of most credit and debit cards is required to make payments online.

Extra security: The new digitally altered bank cards with constantly changing security codes

Fraud in the UK involving cards, remote banking and cheques totalled 755million in 2015, with more than 20,000 victims.

The mini-screen on the new cards is powered by a small battery designed to last three years.

Professor Alan Woodward, a cyber-security expert from Surrey University, said: Its surprising it has taken so long for this to appear. The technology has existed for some time so now it will be a case of persuading card processors that it is worth doing.

He told the BBC: It may be costly for card operators as some extra infrastructure will be required to ensure our cards stay synchronised with the operator, but it happens already for many banks with the dongles they issue for login [to online banking].

One drawback of the card is that customers will no longer be able to memorise their security code and will need to check every time they want to make an online purchase.

The French banks Societe Generale and Groupe BPCE are preparing to issue the cards to customers after a pilot scheme last year. They are also being tested in Mexico and Poland.

In another development in digital security, MasterCard said this week that it has created technology that could allow online shoppers to send a selfie of themselves to prove their identity when they make a purchase.

The digital security company Oberthur Technologies is talking to UK banks about introducing the innovation and has said the cards will be used by French customers by the end of the year

It would do away with the need for passwords used as an additional level of security to the three-digit code. But passwords can be difficult to remember, stolen or intercepted.

MasterCard customers currently use a system called SecureCode to verify their identity while shopping online. The process can result in shoppers abandoning their purchase or having the transaction declined if they enter the password incorrectly.

The selfie password system involves customers downloading an app to their mobile phone and registering by taking a photo of themselves so their face is stored in the system.
Few of us relish shorter days, plunging temperatures and the gloomy light of winter. But a new season offers the perfect excuse to make practical and decorative tweaks that will set up your home for the chillier months ahead.

Luxury fabrics: Swap bedding and curtains to make you feel warmer this winter. Furnishings from Marks and Spencers

If there's one word that sums up surviving these dark months in style, it's 'hygge'. The Danish word means living well  and applies particularly to this time of year. The concept has been embraced by Danes for well over a century, and it's newly popular in the UK. That's thanks to our ongoing passion for Scandi schemes and a slew of books on the subject.

The idea is to go back to basics, finding pleasure in the everyday rituals of life, from a hot drink in front of the fire, to family suppers served by candlelight.

Getting your own home in shape requires a dose of creativity.

Start with the basics and look at clever ways to minimise heat loss. Loose window frames, poor glazing, ill-fitting doors and exposed floorboards are all culprits.

'Windows create a draught, so place radiators beneath them to reverse the convection current from pulling cold air into the room to pushing warm air around it,' says interior designer Clare Pascoe (pascoeinteriors.com).

Draft excluder: Blinds can be more effective than curtains when it comes to keeping the heat in (purple blinds by Charlotte Beevor for Hillarys)

'Check that radiators are fitted in the right locations and make sure your windows are dressed properly. Wool has unbeatable insulation properties and drapes beautifully.'

Bear in mind that full length curtains can trap radiator heat when drawn closed, so consider alternatives such as blinds and shorter drapes.

Recent advances in technology mean that it's easier to fit underfloor heating with minimal disruption. 'Retro fit' options such as those at Nu-Heat (nu-heat.co.uk) include super-thin systems that can be applied to existing sub-floor surfaces without the need to readjust floor height levels.

Some are as little as 15 mm deep, making them easy to assimilate within a new or existing floor, often negating the need to alter skirting boards, door frames and stairs.

Several are also created to fit neatly in between joists, while new phone apps, such as Hive, allow heating to be controlled via smartphones.

Hot seat: Nothing says Hygge like picking the best spot to snuggle up for the afternoon (in the Kubu rattan lounge chair)

For long-term gain, Clare Pascoe recommends PV solar panels. 'It's a misrepresentation that they offer less value for money now that the feed-in tariff has been withdrawn,' she says.

'You'll still get a more generous return on investment than you would from savings, as well as free electricity. '

A clever move is to install a battery and a smart system to store energy generated during the day, and divert it to power appliances at times when free electricity isn't available.'

If you're looking for less invasive efficiencies, turn to your decorative scheme.

'People often dress their windows for fashion rather than function,' says Sarah Quilliam at Hillarys (hillarys.co.uk).

Window dressing: Shutters can help keep your home warmer. These are by California Shutters

'With the right treatment you can combine the two, helping to lower energy bills.'

Sarah advises opting for honeycomb pleated blinds (whose shaped layers trap air for energy efficiency), interlined Roman blinds with thermal lining, a combination of curtains and blinds, or shutters, which can reduce the amount of heat loss through windows by up to 62 per cent, according to research by English Heritage and Glasgow Caledonian University.

'Try colour matching to your walls,' suggests interior designer Abigail Ahern (abigailahern.com). 'My curtains perfectly match my paint colour, which gives a bespoke look  without a hefty price tag.'

Silky sleep: Luxurious bedding will make you look forward to winter

Other tips include swapping your regular duvet for a goose down or silk option, both of which are warm and light; covering exposed floorboards with a rug  a cost-effective way to do this is to have a length of carpet whipped at the edges to form a bespoke size  and introducing wools, velvets and faux furs into your scheme.

Turn your fireplace into a focal point  upgrading to a wood-burner is an energy efficient choice.

Its closed design allows for up to 81 per cent efficiently rates compared with an open fire's 25 per cent. Look out for the ultracontemporary Elise Glass inset fire range at Stovax (stovax.com).

Toasty: The Cocoon Aeris Fireplace from Wharfside will make a statement in your living room

And to up the hygge factor, turn to ambient lighting, abundant winter blooms and candlelight. Bloom & Wild's (bloomandwild.com) Sara Gordon adds stacks of fresh rosemary, branches and wild raspberries to winter bouquets, and Lucy Uren, of Rowen & Wren (rowenandwren.co.uk), suggests replacing high-wattage bulbs with retro filament ones, for a golden glow.

And there's nothing like a spice infused candle to set the scene. Try the cinnamon and clove-studded orange scent of Diptyque's (diptyqueparis.co.uk) Pomander, 42.
Property in the UK has become 50 per cent less affordable than it was 14 years ago with buyers now needing six times average income to buy the average home, official figures have revealed.

Official figures today revealed that average house prices have risen from 4.1 average earnings in 2002 to 6.3 times earnings last year.

There are sharp regional differences, with Burnley named as the most affordable place currently to buy a home in England and Wales, while Westminster in London is the least affordable.

Revealed: The 10 most affordable places to buy a property have been revealed

Merthyr Tydfil in Wales has been named as one of the most affordable places to buy a home

MOST AFFORDABLE 10 LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR HOME OWNERSHIP Local authority name Ratio of average house price to average salary Burnley 3.86 Blaenau Gwent 3.98 Copeland 4.11 Pendle 4.25 Merthyr Tydfil 4.47 Hyndburn 4.68 Rhondda Cynon Taf 5.05 County Durham 5.12 Neath Port Talbot 5.19 Stoke-on-Trent 5.2 Source: ONS

It comes despite the Bank of England capping the majority of home loans at 4.5 times earnings.

It suggests that some borrowers are making up the shortfall by having a large deposit (and so reducing the income multiple required).

For some, that will mean turning to the Bank of Mum and Dad or Government schemes, such as Help to Buy, for assistance.

The statistics by the Office for National Statistics found that the average house price in England and Wales last year was 207,500, ranging from just 77,000 in Blaenau Gwent to almost 1.2million in Kensington and Chelsea.

At the same time, the average salary for England and Wales was 22,578 last year, ranging from 16,384 in Blackpool to 37,909 in Westminster.

It compares to 2002, when the average house price was just 110,000 and the average annual salary was 26,600.

Richmond upon Thames has been officially named as one of the least affordable places to buy a home

Elmbridge has been identified as most of the most unaffordable places to purchase a home

TEN LEAST AFFORDABLE LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR HOME OWNERSHIP Local authority name Ratio of average house price to average salary Westminster 23.13 Camden 21.15 Hammersmith and Fulham 21.09 Islington 17.63 Mole Valley 17.26 Barnet 17.25 Hackney 17.01 Elmbridge 16.71 Richmond upon Thames 16.69 Brent 16.65 Source: ONS

It follows the latest increase in house prices announced by Halifax, which found the average price of a property in Britain rose 0.1 per cent in September to 214,024.

However, economists do not expect the trend to continue and are even suggesting that house prices will fall next year.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at HIS Global Insight, said: 'We believe that a slight dip in house prices is likely in 2017, possibly by around 3 per cent.

'Housing market activity and prices will be increasingly pressurized in 2017 as mounting uncertainty affects the economy and also constrains consumer confidence and willingness to engage in major transactions.'

He added: 'We also believe that the fundamentals for house buyers will soften with purchasing power softening and unemployment likely rising.'

Jonathan Harris, director of mortgage broker Anderson Harris, says: 'With house-price growth continuing to outpace wage growth, it is increasingly difficult to climb onto the housing ladder.

'Even though there is a good choice of high loan-to-value mortgages of 90 or 95 per cent, even if a borrower can drum up that level of deposit many are then thwarted by the fact that they simply can't get a big enough mortgage because of caps on the income multiple.
Taking the dog for a walk seems like a tradition as old as time itself.

But now we are one step closer to finding out exactly when the special connection between a man and his dog began.

Archaeologists have found evidence of the oldest known walkies. And not only was it roughly 7,500 years ago, but it was also an epic 250 miles.

A tooth belonging to a domesticated dog thought to resemble an Alsatian has been found in the grounds of a nursing home a mile from Stonehenge.

A tooth belonging to a domesticated dog thought to resemble an Alsatian from 7,500 years ago has been found in the grounds of a nursing home a mile from Stonehenge

Analysis reveals that the dog was originally from the Vale of York.

For the tooth to be found at Blick Mead, Wiltshire, means it must have accompanied humans to the site during the Mesolithic era.

This was 2,000 years before the big stone monuments were erected at Stonehenge. Bones also found at the site  gnawed by dogs  include those of an auroch, a type of huge, aggressive cow.

Other bones found nearby show the dog would have feasted on salmon, trout, pike, wild pig and red deer.

The discovery adds to the weight of evidence that people came to meet in the Stonehenge area millennia before the monument was built

A LONG WALK FOR FIDO The finding of a fossilised canine tooth so close to Stonehenge highlights the long partnerships between man and dog. Archaeologists believe the ancient tooth, which was found a few miles from the site of Stonehenge, is believed to have belonged to a German shepherd-like dog which lived 7,500 years ago. It is thought that for the animal accompanied its human owners on the long journey from York in the north of England to the site of Blick Mead in Wiltshire. Advertisement

David Jacques, a senior research fellow at the University of Buckingham, said the findings were significant because archaeologists did not know people travelled such long distances.

He said it also adds to the weight of evidence that people came to meet in the Stonehenge area millennia before the monument was built.

Previous excavations at the site uncovered a slate tool from Wales and stone tools from the Midlands and West of England.

As the Ice Age had just ended, one of the attractions of Blick Mead would have been a natural spring in which the only puce stones in the country could be found.

It would also have been relatively easy to reach because of the nearby River Avon, which was a major transport route at the time.

Burnt stones, wood and auroch bones from the site indicate that it was popular for feasting, an important ritual activity.

Mr Jacques said: The fact that a dog and a group of people were coming to the area from such a long distance away further underlines just how important the place was four millennia before the circle was built.

It is thought that for the animal accompanied its human owners on the long journey from York in the north of England to the site of Blick Mead in Wiltshire, a few miles from Stonehenge

Archaeologist David Jacques from the University of Buckingham (pictured) claims to have found evidence that Mesolithic man's best friend was an Alsatian

Discoveries like this give us a completely new understanding of the establishment of the ritual landscape and make Stonehenge even more special than we thought we knew it was.

He added that the population of Britain at the time is thought to have been 20-50,000.

He said: These were small, disparate populations that needed to come together to exchange ideas and technologies.

For these people, meeting would have been like Glastonbury mixed with Google.

Andy Rhind-Tutt, chairman of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said: These amazing discoveries at Blick Mead are writing the history books of Mesolithic Britain.

The domesticated dog tooth was dug up at Blick Mead, a site a mile from the World Heritage But archaeologist David Jacques (pictured at a dig site) says site and scientific tests have shown the dog most likely came from the York area

A dog tooth from York, a slate tool from Wales and a stone tool from the Midlands show that this wasnt just the place to live at the end of the Ice Age, but was known by our ancestors for a long time widely across Britain. They kept coming here.

Previous finds at the site have shown that Mesolithic man used to feast on toads legs.

At the time of the discovery in 2013, Mr Jacques said: It would appear that thousands of years ago people were eating a Heston Blumenthal-style menu on this site.

'It consisted of toads legs, aurochs, wild boar and red deer with hazelnuts for main, a course of salmon and trout and finishing off with blackberries.
As traders increasingly rely on algorithms, it is likely this will happen again

The Bank of England is looking into the 'flash crash' which sent the pound plunging more than 6 per cent against the US dollar overnight, while experts think computers are to blame.

The value of sterling dived during the Asian trading session to $1.18, hitting fresh 31-year lows before recovering to $1.238.

Experts are blaming algorithmic trading, systems of computers designed to follow a set of instructions for placing a trade.

The Bank of England is 'looking into' the 'flash crash' (graph pictured) which sent the pound plunging more than 6 per cent against the US dollar overnight, but experts think computers are to blame

ALGORITHMIC TRADING With old school trading floors ancient history these days, investors - particularly big institutional players with millions or billions to invest - often depend on computers to pick winners. Automated trading systems can be set up to keep an eye on news headlines and react to potentially market-moving information. Facts are collected, analysed and a computer-generated decision is made based on an investor's pre-set wishes. If a price moves to a pre-determined level, the computer starts selling, driving the price down as all the other algorithms join in. The algorithms can be written to trade on the back of news sites or social media Algorithm-based trading tends to save on labour costs and takes human emotion out of the investing equation. They can also analyse vast amounts of information far quicker than humans. But algorithms aren't perfect and they don't always get it right. Sometimes they over- or under-react to events. Advertisement

The Bank said it is 'looking into the cause of the sharp fall', but experts have pointed the finger towards algorithmic trading.

With old school trading floors ancient history these days, investors often depend on computers to pick winners.

Automated trading systems can be set up to keep an eye on news headlines and react to potentially market-moving information.

Facts are collected, analysed and a computer-generated decision is made based on an investor's pre-set wishes.

'The value of sterling plummeted overnight as algorithmic trading programmes apparently triggered a crash,' said XTB analyst David Cheetham.

Algorithm-based trading tends to save on labour costs and takes human emotion out of the investing equation.

They can also analyse vast amounts of information far quicker than humans.

But algorithms are not perfect and they do not always get it right.

Sometimes they over- or under-react to events.

Market-watchers pointed to comments by French President Francois Hollande yesterday, who insisted the European Union must take a tough stance in negotiating Brexit.

'Apparently it was a rogue algorithm that triggered the sell-off after it picked up comments made by the French President, Francois Hollande, who said if Theresa May and co want hard Brexit, they will get hard Brexit,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at spreadbetter City Index.

'These days some algos trade on the back of news sites, and even what is trending on social media sites such as Twitter, so a deluge of negative Brexit headlines could have led to an algo taking that as a major sell signal for GBP.

'Once the pound started moving lower, then more technical algos could have followed suit, compounding the short, sharp selling pressure.'

Sterling was also sitting at a five-year low against the euro, down 1.5 per cent at 1.113 euro.

The Financial Times - among the first to report Hollande's comments - said the computers might have been reading its website.

Japanese and British flags placed in front of a monitor showing the Japanese yen rate against the British pound at a brokerage in Tokyo today. The pound suffered a 'flash crash' in Asia on a computer-generated sell-off

STOP-LOSS ORDERS Automatic trades like stop-loss orders can also exacerbate market moves. Stop-loss orders are safety mechanisms put into place by traders. They tell their computers to automatically sell when the value of their commodity hits a certain point, in order to prevent them from losing any more money. If lots of players in the market place stop-loss orders at the same value, the increased selling can add to the losses. Advertisement

Market analyst David Cheetham at XTB agreed.

'It seems... plausible that news-scanning algorithmic trading systems began a move which gathered momentum as stop loss orders were triggered on the way down,' he said.

He added a combination of trades placed by algorithms and stop-loss orders can 'exacerbate the move, which is commonly seen to retrace by a significant proportion of the decline within a matter of minutes'.

Stop-loss orders are safety mechanisms put into place by traders.

They tell their computers to automatically sell when the value of their commodity hits a certain point, in order to prevent them from losing any more money.

At one point the pound plunged to $1.18 dollas. Sterling was also sitting at a five-year low against the euro

If lots of players in the market place stop-loss orders at the same value, the increased selling can add to the losses.

Traders have been increasingly alarmed since the Conservative Party conference began last weekend, with the Prime Minister giving her clearest indication yet that Britain is hurtling towards a so-called 'hard Brexit'.

It would involve pulling Britain out of the European single market so the Government can tighten its grip on immigration.
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From stunning mountain ranges to breathtaking rock formations, the UK and Ireland have some of the world's most varied geological features.

As part of Earth Science Week, The Geological Society ran a photography competition under the theme 'Earth Science in Action.'

The winners include photos from the Isle of Skye, Benbulbin and Pembrokeshire, and will all feature in the Geological Society's 2017 calendar.

As part of Earth Science Week, The Geological Society ran a photography competition under the theme 'Earth Science in Action.' First place in the competition went to Tim Hoe for 'Doors Portrait II: Reveal', depicting some stunning geology on the Pembrokeshire coastline

THE COMPETITION As part of Earth Science Week, The Geological Society ran a photography competition under the theme 'Earth Science in Action.' The competition was open to all, and asked for images featuring the geology of the UK and Ireland. The twelve winners will be on display at the Geological Society throughout Earth Science Week, which runs from 8-16 October. Advertisement

The competition was open to all, and asked for images featuring the geology of the UK and Ireland.

The twelve winners will be on display at the Geological Society throughout Earth Science Week, which runs from 8-16 October.

Nic Bilham, Director of Policy and Communications at the Geological Society, said: 'Once again, we were so impressed by the range and quality of the photographs we received.

'Earth Science Week is a celebration of the unique geo-heritage of the UK and Ireland, and all of the winning images reflect this.'

The Geological Society recently launch a 'Geology Career Pathway' website, in the hopes of illustrating the range of options open to those studying the geosciences.

Mr Bilham said: 'So many of the competition entries demonstrated a love of exploration and the outdoors, which is at the heart of many geological careers.'

The competition was open to all, and asked for images featuring the geology of the UK and Ireland. Another entry was the photo, taken by Jim Robertson, which shows the sunrise over Clasach Cove in Moray

Third prize in the competition was awarded to James Orr for his photo titled 'Climbing Ben Nevis', which shows an panoramic view of the famous mountain in Fort William

The twelve winners will be on display at the Geological Society throughout Earth Science Week, which runs from 8-16 October. This picture, taken by Kevin Privett, shows box weathering - a a form of chemical weathering that affects bedrock

This picture, taken by Pablo Ruiz, shows The Cauldron waterfall formation at Glen Etive, in the Highlands of Scotland

First place in the competition went to Tim Hoe for 'Doors Portrait II: Reveal', depicting some stunning geology on the Pembrokeshire coastline.

Speaking about his photo, Mr Hoe said: 'The conditions were dark and awkward with sea mist and spray coating the camera and lens.

'I lost the foot of my tripod somewhere in the large stones underfoot.

'There are three sources of light here: the low ambient light of the scene and two LED flashlights; one directed by me beside the camera and one by my friend.'

Second place was awarded to Catherine Inglis for a photograph taken during a rope access risk assessment on Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh.

Third prize went to James Orr for 'Climbing Ben Nevis,' which shows a panoramic view of the famous mountain in Fort William.

Bowfiddle Rock is a natural sea arch near Portknockie on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a fiddle bow

Second place was awarded to Catherine Inglis for a photograph taken during a rope access risk assessment on Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh

This photo shows strange patterns forming in the sand at Achmelvich Beach - one of the few white sandy beaches in the north of Scotland

This picture captures one brave climber as they ascend King's Gully, Benbulbin, in County Sligo

One of the other entries was titled 'Time Ramp' - presumably because of its similarity to a sun dial. The picture was taken on a beach in Seaford, Sussex

The Old Man of Storr is a famous rock formation on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye. Gijs de Reijke managed to capture the stunning site with a backdrop of a starry sky
An old Nokia has saved a man's life in Afghanistan after a bullet hit the handset, it has been claimed.

Incredible images show a bullet lodged in the device, with the tip sticking out of the phone's smashed screen.

The pictures were tweeted by former Nokia executive Peter Skillman, who said: A 'Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week'.

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An old Nokia has saved a man's life in Afghanistan after a bullet hit the handset, it has been claimed. Incredible images show a bullet lodged in the device, with the tip sticking out of the phone's smashed screen

BULLETPROOF PHONE Last month, a businessman who was shot in the chest by armed raiders during a robbery in South Africa was saved when the gunman's bullet deflected off his Huawei P8 Lite. Siraaj Abrahams, 41, was ambushed as he pulled up outside his house in Cape Town by two masked men who tried to pull him out of his vehicle. During the fracas, a 9mm bullet was fired at close range towards Mr Abraham's chest. Advertisement

Mr Skillman now works at Microsoft, but previously worked on the team that developed the aging Nokia handset.

The phone appears to be a Nokia 301, which was first launched in 2013.

So far, no more details have emerged to explain exactly how the bullet came to be lodged in the phone.

Some have claimed that the photo may not be entirely genuine, especially given Mr Skillman's affiliation with the phone maker.

'There's a chance it might not be a genuine thing and could be a stunt designed to boost Nokia sales in war-torn countries', suggests Gary Cutlack at Gizmodo.

When quizzed about the image of the bullet-damaged handset on Twitter, Mr Skillman said that it was: 'Passed to me by a co-worker'

The phone appears to be a Nokia 301, which was first launched in 2013. Pictured is a product shot

When quizzed about the image of the bullet-damaged handset on Twitter, Mr Skillman said that it was: 'Passed to me by a coworker'.

He also said that he would try to find out more.

Whether it turns out to be true or not, this is not the first report of a mobile phone stopping a bullet.

In 2014, a Nokia Lumia 520 reportedly saved the life of a Brazilian police officer who was shot at by armed robbers.

The previous year, a HTC handset is thought to have saved then life of an American man when he was shot at by a robber in a petrol station in Florida.
While wind has been used as an energy source for years, most turbines require huge machinery and high costs.

But one firm is finding a new way to use wind as an energy source, which they claim could halve the cost of offshore wind energy.

The renewable energy firm plans to create one of the world's first kite power stations in Scotland.

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One firm is finding a new way to use wind as an energy source, which they claim could halve the cost of offshore wind energy. The renewable energy firm plans to create one of the world's first kite power stations in Scotland

HOW DOES IT WORK? The station produces power via a pair of kites attached to two spool drums connected to electricity turbines. As one kite rises up to a height of 2,461 feet (750 metres), it pulls a tether and then flies in a figure of eight pattern, turning the turbine. The kites work in tandem so while one falls, the other rises, generating electricity continuously. A full-sized kite will be 131 feet (40 metres) wide and able to generate two to three megawatts of electricity, comparable to a 328-foot (100m) conventional turbine. Advertisement

Kite Power Solutions is building its power station at the Ministry of Defence's West Freugh range in Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, and will be in operation by March 2017.

The firm claims kite power will halve the cost of offshore wind energy, dispensing with the need for government subsidies.

The station produces power via a pair of kites attached to two spool drums connected to electricity turbines.

As one kite rises up to a height of 2,461 feet (750 metres), it pulls a tether and then flies in a figure of eight pattern, turning the turbine.

The kites work in tandem so while one falls, the other rises, generating electricity continuously.

A full-sized kite will be 131 feet (40 metres) wide and able to generate two to three megawatts of electricity, comparable to a 328-foot (100m) conventional turbine.

Planning permission has been granted for the 500 kilowatt demonstration system at West Freugh, and the company believes it will be an important stepping stone in developing commercial systems within the next few years.

David Ainsworth, the firm's business development director, said: 'This is the third evolution of our technology and the next step after the 500kW will be to develop a 3MW system at West Freugh, which is planned for 2019.

Planning permission has been granted for the 500 kilowatt demonstration system at West Freugh, and the company believes it will be an important stepping stone in developing commercial systems within the next few years

The station produces power via a pair of kites attached to two spool drums connected to electricity turbines. The kites work in tandem so while one falls, the other rises, generating electricity continuously

'We believe that we will be able to halve the cost of offshore wind.

'We can install offshore wind installations at a much lower price and can produce offshore wind without the need for government subsidies.'

He said the installed and on-stream cost for kite power stations is around five euro cents (four pence in the UK and six cents in the US) per kilowatt hour, compared to about 10 cents (nine pence in the UK and 11 cents in the US) for traditional offshore wind turbines.

The firm has already tested the technology as part of a much smaller project in Essex and now plans to move its headquarters to Glasgow and double in size in preparation for the West Freugh scheme.

As one kite rises up to a height of 750 metres, it pulls a tether and then flies in a figure of eight pattern, turning the turbine

The new project will be the first of its scale in the UK and the second in the world, following a research project in Italy.

WWF Scotland director Lang Banks welcomed the development.

He said: 'When it comes to renewables, Scotland's ambitions clearly know no bounds.

'Kite power technology offers the prospect of an exciting new way to harness the power of the wind, particularly in places where it might be impractical to erect a wind turbine.
A European spacecraft nearing the end of its journey to Mars is ready to send a lander to the surface of the red planet.

The European Space Agency's Schiaparelli lander on board the ExoMars spacecraft, is scheduled to land on Mars on October 19.

The ESA probe is part of an ambitious mission to search for evidence of life on Mars.

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ESA's main mission is to pave the way for ExoMars Rover, a hi-tech six-wheeled laboratory equipped with life-seeking instruments to be launched in 2020 (artist's impression)

SCHIAPARELLI'S MISSION Its main mission is to pave the way for the ExoMars Rover, a hi-tech six-wheeled laboratory equipped with life-seeking instruments to be launched in 2020. Schiaparelli will test the rover's Russian-designed descent and landing system - which employs a heat shield, parachute, and retro rockets. It also carries a small instrument package that will record wind speed, humidity, pressure and temperature at the landing site - and take electric field measurements that may shed light on how Martian dust storms are triggered. Advertisement

The European Space Agency (ESA) probe was launched on March 14 and has almost completed a 310 million mile (500 million km) voyage across the solar system.

It is due to deploy the small Schiaparelli lander on October 16.

Three days later, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will brake into an elliptical orbit around Mars while Schiaparelli enters the Martian atmosphere and parachutes down to the surface.

The 2.4m wide disc-shaped craft will aim for Meridiani Planum, a flat region near the equator.

Its main mission is to pave the way for the ExoMars Rover, a hi-tech six-wheeled laboratory equipped with life-seeking instruments to be launched in 2020.

Schiaparelli will test the rover's Russian-designed descent and landing system - which employs a heat shield, parachute, and retro rockets

Schiaparelli will test the rover's descent and landing system - which employs a heat shield, parachute, and retro rockets.

It also carries a small instrument package that will record wind speed, humidity, pressure and temperature at the landing site - and take electric field measurements that may shed light on how Martian dust storms are triggered.

Orbiter flight director Michel Denis said: 'Uploading the command sequences is a milestone that was achieved following a great deal of intense cooperation between the mission control team and industry specialists.'

The Trace Gas Orbiter (artist's impression) will brake into an elliptical orbit around Mars while Schiaparelli enters the Martian atmosphere and parachutes down to the surface

THE PRESENCE OF METHANE The TGO probe will tell scientists whether Martian methane is most likely to have a geological or biological origin. On Earth, the gas is chiefly generated by billions of bacteria, many of which live in the guts of animals such as cows. But it can also be released by the breakdown of organic molecules deep underground or volcanic activity. Advertisement

The spacecraft is being controlled from the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

However, many of its systems are automatic and not dependent on direct commands from Earth.

Schiaparelli's command sequences are time-saved to ensure the lander can carry out its mission even when out of contact.

During the landing, the command signals will eject the front and back aeroshells, operate descent sensors, deploy the braking parachute, and activate three groups of rockets.

At around 6.6 feet (two metres) above the surface, Schiaparelli will hover briefly before cutting its retro thrusters and dropping to the ground.

An artist's impression of the ExoMars 2016 launch sequence as the European spacecraft nearing the end of its journey to Mars is ready to send a lander to the surface of the Red Planet

Once down, it is programmed to keep its science instruments running for at least two days.

At around two metres above the surface, Schiaparelli will hover briefly before cutting its retro thrusters and dropping to the ground

TGO will play a key role in the ExoMars mission from orbit as it looks for rare gases in the planet's atmosphere including methane, which can only come from an active source.

The probe will tell scientists whether Martian methane is most likely to have a geological or biological origin.

On Earth, the gas is chiefly generated by billions of bacteria, many of which live in the guts of animals such as cows.

But it can also be released by the breakdown of organic molecules deep underground or volcanic activity.

The two-stage 1 billion (1.1 billion/$1.2 billion) joint European and Russian ExoMars mission is equipped to uncover the first clear evidence of past or present life on Mars, if it exists.
In this presidential election year we have heard much about some issues, such as immigration and trade, and less about others.

For example, climate change was discussed for an estimated 82 seconds in the first presidential debate last week, and for just 37 minutes in all presidential and vice presidential debates since the year 2000.

Many observers think climate change deserves more attention.

They might be surprised to learn that U.S. military leaders and defense planners agree.

The armed forces have been studying climate change for years from a perspective that rarely is mentioned in the news: as a national security threat.

And they agree that it poses serious risks.

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The armed forces have been studying climate change for years from a perspective that rarely is mentioned in the news: as a national security threat. And they agree that it poses serious risks. Pictured is the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry deploying during hurricane Sandy

OUR SECURITY IS AT RISK A researchers from Pennsylvania Sate University says climate change affects our security in two ways. First, it causes stresses such as water shortages and crop failures, which can exacerbate or inflame existing tensions within or between states. These problems can lead to state failure, uncontrolled migration and ungoverned spaces. Other studies have identified climate change as a contributing factor to events including the civil war in Syria and the Arab Spring uprisings. Second, climate change is putting our military bases and associated domestic infrastructure in the United States under growing pressure from rising sea levels, 'nuisance flooding,' increasingly destructive storm surges, intense rainfalls and droughts, and indirect impacts from wildfires. All of these trends make it harder to train our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to deploy and fight the 'away' game and to keep our forces ready to deploy. Advertisement

I spent 32 years as a meteorologist in the U.S. Navy, where I initiated and led the Navy's Task Force on Climate Change.

Here is how military planners see this issue: We know that the climate is changing, we know why it's changing and we understand that change will have large impacts on our national security. Yet as a nation we still only begrudgingly take precautions.

The Obama administration recently announced several actions that create a framework for addressing climate-driven security threats.

But much of the hard work lies ahead  assuming that our next president understands the risks and chooses to act on them.

Climate change affects our security in two ways.

First, it causes stresses such as water shortages and crop failures, which can exacerbate or inflame existing tensions within or between states.

These problems can lead to state failure, uncontrolled migration and ungoverned spaces.

On Sept. 21 the National Intelligence Council issued its most recent report on implications of climate change for U.S. national security.

This document represents the U.S. intelligence community's strategic-level view.

It does not come from the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change, politicians of either party or an advocacy group, but from nonpartisan, senior U.S. intelligence professionals.

The NIC report emphasizes that the problem is not simply climate change, but the interaction of climate with other large-scale demographic and migration trends; its impacts on food, energy and health; and the stresses it will place on societies, especially fragile ones.

As examples the report cites diverse events, ranging from mass protests and violence triggered by water shortages in Mauritania to the possibility that thawing in the Arctic could threaten Russian oil pipelines in the region.

Climate change causes stresses such as water shortages and crop failures In this In this before-and-after composite image, (Top) Boats are moored at the Lake Mead Marina in 2007 at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and bottom in 2014

Other studies have identified climate change as a contributing factor to events including the civil war in Syria and the Arab Spring uprisings.

Second, climate change is putting our military bases and associated domestic infrastructure in the United States under growing pressure from rising sea levels, 'nuisance flooding,' increasingly destructive storm surges, intense rainfalls and droughts, and indirect impacts from wildfires.

ARE HUMANS TO BLAME FOR CLIMATE CHANGE? More than half of Americans still don't believe that humans are behind climate change despite decades of research, a new study has found. The majority of people in the United States remain skeptical of climate change scientists and their research, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. Less than a third trust that the experts know 'very well' the cause of global warming while just 19 per cent believe they have identified the best ways to address it. Despite decades of research, more than half of Americans still don't believe that humans are behind climate change, a new study reveals Pew compared their findings to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which stated in the forward to its 2013 report, 'the science now shows with 95 percent certainty that human activity is the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20th century'. More than half of liberal Democrats said there is a 'widespread consensus among climate scientists' about the causes of climate change, and seven in 10 trusted those scientists to give full and accurate information on their findings. Yet around just 15 per cent of conservative Republicans agree. The likelihood to believe if climate change is caused by mankind appears to be deeply political They were far more likely to believe that climate research findings 'are influenced by scientists' desire to advance their careers (57 per cent) or their own political leanings (54 percent) most of the time,' said the Pew report. Solutions to the crisis were also split on political lines as more than three quarters of liberal Democrats said restricting emissions from power plants could make a big difference, compared to 29 per cent of conservative Republicans. A similar divide was seen on the question of the usefulness of an international agreement to limit carbon emissions - with 71 per cent of liberal Democrats in favor compared to 27 per cent of conservative Republicans. Two thirds of liberal Democrats back tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks and corporate tax incentives to encourage greener business practices, compared to just about one quarter of conservative Republicans. Advertisement

All of these trends make it harder to train our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to deploy and fight the 'away' game and to keep our forces ready to deploy.

These changes are not hypothetical.

Consider Hurricane Matthew: although we cannot directly attribute this storm to climate change, scientists tell us that as climate change worsens, major hurricanes will become more severe.

As Matthew moves up the Atlantic coast, the armed forces are evacuating thousands of service members and dependents out of its path, and the Navy is moving ships out to sea.

These problems can lead to state failure, uncontrolled migration and ungoverned spaces. Other studies have identified climate change as a contributing factor to events including the civil war in Syria (pictured) and the Arab Spring uprisings

Other units are preparing to deliver hurricane relief to hard-hit areas.

Many of us who work in this field have written and talked about risks like these for years.

Along with 24 other retired senior officers, civilian defense officials from Republican and Democratic administrations, and well-respected academics, I recently signed a consensus statement that calls climate change a strategically significant risk to our national security and international stability.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS ALREADY CAUSING DEATHS A new study has revealed the dangers of climate change are already affecting humanity and led to the death of hundreds of people across Europe sixteen years ago. A heatwave in 2003 killed 506 people in Paris and 315 in London, experts have said in a new study. A fifth of those deaths can be blamed on man-made pollution. The study led by University of Oxford scientists said there were 315 heat-related deaths in London as Europe experienced its hottest summer on record, out of which 64 were caused by climate change. Advertisement

We called for 'a robust agenda to both prevent and prepare for climate change risks,' and warned that 'inaction is not an option.'

The 'change' part of climate change is critical: The more ability we have to adapt to and manage changes and the rate of change in our climate, the greater our chances are to avoid catastrophic chaos and instability.

Simultaneously with the NIC report on Sept. 21, the White House released a Presidential Memorandum, or PM, on climate change and national security.

This document formally states the administration's position that climate change impacts national security.

Building on past executive orders and policies, it directs senior climate officials at 20 federal agencies to form a working group on climate change and national security, cochaired by the president's national security adviser and science adviser.

This working group will analyze questions such as which countries and regions are most vulnerable to climate change impacts in the near, medium and long term.

That's high-level attention! In the words of a senior administration official, the PM 'gives permission' for career civil servants and military professionals to work on this challenge, just as they address myriad other security challenges daily.

But we need to do much more.

I am a member of the Climate and Security Advisory Group  a voluntary, nonpartisan group of 43 U.S.-based military, national security, homeland security, intelligence and foreign policy experts from a broad range of institutions.

Second, climate change is putting our military bases and associated domestic infrastructure in the United States under growing pressure from rising sea levels. This makes it harder to train our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to deploy and fight the 'away' game and to keep our forces ready to deploy

We have produced a comprehensive briefing book for the next administration that makes detailed recommendations about how to expand our efforts to address security risks associated with climate change.

Our top-line recommendation is to 'mainstream' this issue by ensuring that U.S. leaders consider climate change on an equal basis with more traditional security issues, such as changing demographics, economics, political dynamics and other indicators of instability  as well as with low-probability, high-consequence threats like nuclear proliferation.

HEATING UP THE WORLD'S OCEANS The amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997. Scientists have long known more than 90% of the heat energy from man-made global warming goes into the world's oceans instead of the ground. But in a recent study, researchers tracked how much man-made heat has been buried in the oceans in the past 150 years. The world's oceans absorbed approximately 150 zettajoules of energy from 1865 to 1997, and then absorbed about another 150 in the next 18 years, according to a study in the journal Nature Climate Change. To put that in perspective, if you exploded one atomic bomb the size of the one that dropped on Hiroshima every second for a year, the total energy released would be two zettajoules. So since 1997, Earth's oceans have absorbed man-made heat energy equivalent to a Hiroshima-style bomb being exploded every second for 75 straight years. Advertisement

We also recommend that the next president should designate senior officials in key departments, the intelligence community, the National Security Council and within the Executive Office of the President itself to ensure this intent is carried out.

What's next? As a retired naval officer, I find myself drawing on the words of American naval heroes like Admiral Chester Nimitz.

In 1945, while he was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Nimitz wrote about a devastating storm near the Philippines that had sunk three ships and seriously damaged more than 20 others, killing and injuring hundreds of sailors. He concluded by observing that:

he next president will have a choice to make. One option is to continue down the path that the Obama administration has defined and develop policies, budgets, plans and programs that flesh out the institutional framework now in place

'The time for taking all measures for a ship's safety is while still able to do so. Nothing is more dangerous than for a seaman to be grudging in taking precautions lest they turn out to have been unnecessary. Safety at sea for a thousand years has depended on exactly the opposite philosophy.'

The next president will have a choice to make.

One option is to continue down the path that the Obama administration has defined and develop policies, budgets, plans and programs that flesh out the institutional framework now in place.

Alternatively, he or she can call climate change a hoax manufactured by foreign governments and ignore the flashing red lights of increasing risk.

The world's ice caps will not care who is elected or what is said.

They will simply continue to melt, as dictated by laws of physics.

But Americans will care deeply about our policy response. Our nation's security is at stake.
Microsoft's Surface tablet has become a hit, with users praising its portability and ability to bring a 'real' computer to a touchscreen.

Now, Microsoft hopes it can do the same for desktop PCs.

The firm is rumoured to be putting the finishing touches to an all in one desktop PC - and today sent out invites for an event in New York on the 26th October where it is expected to be unveiled.

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Microsoft's Surface brand could soon be extended to an all in one desktop PC codenamed Cardinal. According to ZDnet, it will come in three screen sizes, 21, 24 ,or 27 inch and will have a 'modern and elegant' design.

According to Mary Jo Folet at ZDnet, the new device is codenamed Cardinal, and will come in three sizes - with a 21, 24 ,or 27 inch screen.

'I've heard that Surface Cardinal could be positioned as a product that can turn your desk into 'a studio',' she wrote.

The device is expected to be unveiled at an also rumoured late October event where the firm's tablets could also get an upgrade.

According to Windows Central, it will have a 'modern and elegant' design.

The device is expected to be unveiled at an also rumoured late October event where the firm's tablets could also get an upgrade.

Microsoft also recently revealed it will launch a mixed reality version of Windows next year.

The move will bring a 3D holographic version of the platform to Windows 10 users who own a virtual reality headset.

Announcing its plans at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco yesterday, Microsoft said user interface will be available to run on mainstream PCs.

Lenovo already makes a 27inch tablet/PC hybrid, called to Yoga 900

HOW WILL IT WORK? According to Microsoft, the Holographic shell UI for Windows 10 will enable users to put on a headset to navigate their Windows desktop. It will mix 2D apps such as email and calendars - which could be overlaid onto surfaces with augmented reality - with fully immersive 3D apps, such as a virtual reality tour of a location. The exact look and feel will be dependent on the headset used - where an Oculus Rift style VR headset being fully immersive, while a Holoens style headset enabling AR and mixed reality. Users will be able to select applications using a point and click selector, like a Wii controller. Advertisement

The new Holographic shell desktop UI will enable users to run Windows 10 through a VR headset hooked up to a standard PC, opening up the experience beyond those with high end gaming machines.

Writing in a blog post, Microsoft's executive vice president for Windows, Terry Myerson, said: 'Next year, we will be releasing an update to Windows 10, which will enable mainstream PCs to run the Windows Holographic shell and associated mixed reality and universal Windows applications.

'The Windows Holographic shell enables an entirely new experience for multi-tasking in mixed reality, blending 2D and 3D apps at the same time, while supporting a broad range of 6 degrees of freedom devices.'

Microsoft is working with chip-maker Intel on a specification for mixed reality PCs and head mounted displays, in an effort to open up the market and its platform.

Microsoft has announced it will launch a new Holographic shell desktop UI for Windows 10, which will enable users to run Windows through a VR headset hooked up to a standard PC

A video demonstrates how the interface will look running at 90 frames per second, triple that of most HD televisions. It shows a woman wearing a headset running a mix of 2D and 3D apps as she checks email, books flights, navigates a diary and takes a virtual tour (pictured)

'Our shared goal is to enable our hardware partners to build a broad range of devices for the mainstream consumer and business markets,' wrote Myerson.

A promotional video demonstrates how the interface will look, running at 90 frames per second, triple that of most HD televisions.

It shows a woman wearing a headset in a virtual room running a mix of 2D and 3D apps as she checks email, books flights, navigates a diary and takes a virtual tour of the Pantheon in Rome.

The virtual dog in Windows holographic shell UI bears a close resemblance to Rover, the assistant character which made appearances in earlier Microsoft software

Veteran Windows users will also notice the similarity between the virtual dog and Rover, an assistant character in Microsoft's less than successful Bob software and who later made an appearance in Windows XP.

According to Microsoft, using a 'six degrees of freedom' headset, the interface can be manipulated using a point and click Wii-type controller.

The headset in the video is unbranded (still pictured) but it could well be the Washington tech giant's mixed reality Hololens, or Facebook's Oculus Rift

The headset in the video is unbranded but it could well be the Washington tech giant's mixed reality Hololens, or Facebook's Oculus Rift  which is set to launch in the UK next month  and which runs on Windows 10 devices.

While Hololens began shipping to developers in March at $3,000 a piece, but it remains unclear when a consumer version of the headsets could launch.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed an urgent investigation was underway after a replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught fire on a Southwest Airlines flight.

'CPSC is moving expeditiously to investigate this incident,' said a emailed statement from Commission Chairman Elliot F. Kaye said.

It also advised consumers that 'one of the remedies is a refund'.

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Carpet in an area of the plane was where the device was dropped was burned by the overheating device, but it was the only damage to the aircraft, authorities said.

WHY WERE THE BATTERIES EXPLODING? Lithium batteries are use in a range of consumer electronic devices, favored by manufacturers because they are lightweight and pack much more energy into a small space than other power cells. But storing so much energy in a tiny space, with combustible components separated by ultra-thin walls, makes them susceptible to overheating if exposed to high temperatures, damage or flaws in manufacturing. If the separators fail, a chemical reaction can quickly escalate out of control. Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president told reporters in Seoul: 'The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together.' It is unclear how Samsung failed to discover the battery problem before launching the Note 7. Advertisement

'Agency staff has already reached out to the FAA and Samsung to gather the facts about the incident.

'Agency staff will also reach out to the consumer who experienced a serious incident with his phone.

'I want to reiterate my call for consumers who have the recalled Galaxy Note7 to keep their smartphones powered down and to immediately take advantage of the remedies being offered by Samsung.'

Kaye also stated that another remedy to the situation is simply ask for a refund for the the pricey phone.

Sprint said it has already agreed to swap the handset for any other model after the incident.

"Sprint is working collaboratively with Samsung to better understand the most recent concerns regarding replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones,' it said.

'At this time, CPSC has not specifically said if customers should or should not use the replacement model.

The evacuation occurred around 9.20am, only 10 minutes before Flight 994 was set to depart for Baltimore from Gate B-17 at Kentucky's Louisville International Airport.

'If a Sprint customer with a replacement Note 7 has any concerns regarding their device, we will exchange it for any other device at any Sprint retail store during the investigation window.'

Indiana passenger Brian Green's phone began emitting smoke inside a Southwest Airlines Co flight to Baltimore from Louisville, Kentucky, his wife, Sarah, told Reuters after speaking with her husband.

She said that Green had replaced the original phone about two weeks ago after getting a text message from Samsung.

Samsung said in a statement it was working to recover the device and to understand the cause.

'Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note7,' it said.

Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, announced a global recall of at least 2.5 million of its flagship Note 7 smartphones in 10 markets last month due to faulty batteries causing some phones to catch fire.

The recall was a major embarrassment for Samsung.

Some 75 people, including crew members, were evacuated from the flight on Wednesday and no one was injured, airport authority spokeswoman Natalie Chaudoin.

Carpet in an area of the plane was where the device was dropped was burned by the overheating device, but it was the only damage to the aircraft, authorities said.

The Verge spoke to Brian Green, owner of the Note 7 that overheated, and he confirmed that he had picked up the new phone at an AT&T store on September 21.

A photograph of the box shows the black square symbol that indicates a replacement Note 7 and Green said it had a green battery icon.

He said the phone was at around 80 per cent of battery capacity when the incident occurred and that he only used a wireless charger since receiving the device.

His wife, Sarah, told The Courier-Journal he had just powered the phone off and was waiting for his flight to take off when it overheated, 'made a popping noise and started smoking.'

A Southwest Airlines plane was evacuated on Wednesday after smoke coming from an overheated Samsung device filled the cabin. A view of the plane shown above

A photograph of the box shows the black square symbol that indicates a replacement Note 7 and Green said it had a green battery icon.

He said the phone was at around 80 percent of battery capacity when the incident occurred and that he only used a wireless charger since receiving the device.

She said he quickly 'took it out of his picket and threw it on the ground,' before calling her from someone else's phone to tell her what happened.

She also noted that he had taken it to a local AT&T store about two weeks ago to have it replaced and had not had problems with it until Wednesday.

Louisville Metro Fire spokesman Capt Sal Melendez said the phone had overheated while the crew was giving their safety demonstration.

Passenger Misty Whitaker said she was sitting at the front of the plane when a flight attendant rushed down the aisle, saying there was smoke on the plane.

An aerial view of Gate B-17 at Kentucky's Louisville International Airport. Seventy-five people, including crew members, were evacuated from the flight and no one was injured

'(They said), 'Leave all of your bags on the plane and come forward in an orderly fashion,'' Whitaker told WAVE 3 News.

'They said it was a Samsung Galaxy. The last they told us while we were waiting was that the fire had burned through the carpet.

'I know it was toward the back of the plane but I don't know if it was in an overhead bin or under a seat or what.'

During the evacuation, Fletcher told WDRB that passengers were 'very calm' and said there was 'no panic.'

The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 9.30am, was delayed and then canceled shortly after 11am.

Whitaker told WAVE 3 News that passengers with connections from Baltimore were being rerouted.

Green said her husband, who was traveling for work, was 'shaken up' by the incident but okay.

She now questions why her husband's replacement phone 'was doing what the other one was doing.'

Last month, it was reported that half of the potentially dangerous Galaxy Note 7 handsets had been replaced with non-exploding versions through Samsung's recall program in the US.

US aviation safety officials also warned passengers last month not to turn on or even charge a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 while one the plane, after reports of devices exploding and catching fire.

U.S. safety regulators announced a formal recall last month of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone (pictured) after a spate of fires led to injuries and property damage

Samsung released a statement to USA Today regarding the incident, saying they are working with authorities and the airline.

'We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause,' the company said.

Southwest Airlines also issued a statement regarding the incident.

'Before Southwest Airlines Flight 994 departed from Louisville for Baltimore, a customer's electronic device, believed to be a Samsung, began emitting smoke,' the statement said.

'All customers and crew deplaned safely via the main cabin door.

'Customers will be accommodated on other Southwest flights to their final destinations.
German airline Tui fly was forced to cancel over 100 flights on Friday due to a staff shortages.

Many of the airline's crew and pilots were said to have called in sick at short notice, leaving the flights unstaffed.

The flights affected were all departing from or travelling to Germany, including several domestic flights.

German airline Tui fly was forced to cancel over 100 flights on Friday due to a staff shortages (file photo)

Tui fly, which belongs to tour operator Tui, said on Thursday that 108 flights would be cancelled, 54 each to and from Germany.

According to The Local, as many as 9,000 passengers will be affected by the disruptions.

The company is chartering planes from other companies to help bring home passengers. It said there may be further cancellations in coming days.

The flights affected were all departing from or travelling to Germany, including several domestic flights (file photo)

On social media, the company tweeted at 12.55pm on Friday that it's currently unable to give any information regarding flights on Saturday and Sunday.

The airline has seen less severe disruption over recent days, with 47 out of Thursday's 110 planned flights cancelled because of pilots and cabin crews reporting sick.

The problems come amid uncertainty over the company's future.

On Wednesday, struggling Air Berlin said it will hold discussions with Tui and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad on possibly merging part of Air Berlin's business with Tui fly.
Tennessee American Water will be flushing water mains and hydrants throughout its water system serving Chattanooga, East Ridge, Red Bank, Lookout Mountain, and Rossville.

Tennessee American Water conducts an annual flushing program of its water distribution system to help ensure continued high-quality water service. Flushing the water system entails sending a rapid flow of water through the water mains. As part of the flushing program, fire hydrants are checked and operated to help ensure fire protection in the community.

Flushing will begin Monday, and continue through Oct.



The flushing program is designed not only to maintain a high quality of water, but to inspect and operate fire hydrants to assure they are in good working order as well, said Kevin Kruchinski, Tennessee American Water director of operations.



While the flushing program is underway, customers may experience a temporary drop in water pressure or discoloration of their water for a short period of time. If this occurs, customers should let their cold water run to clear before using it again.



Automatic calls through the Tennessee American Water calling system are being made to inform customers about the flushing.



If customers have any questions or need additional information, they are encouraged to visit www.tennesseeamwater.com or contact Tennessee American Waters customer service center 24-hours a day, seven days a week at 1-866-736-6420.


For the ultimate game of boulder dash  this is the place to go.

Hickory Run State Park in Pennsylvania is home to a remarkable boulder field that measures a whopping 720,000 square feet - and stunning drone footage highlights just how gigantic it is.

The weight of the rocks is so great that they've depressed the ground they sit on by 12 feet over the years.

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Hickory Run State Park in Pennsylvania is home to a remarkable boulder field that measures a whopping 720,000 square feet

Stunning drone footage highlights just how bizarre - and big - the phenomenon is

The surreal nature of the phenomenon is heightened by the fact that it's surrounded by lush evergreens.

It's a bizarre, incongruous formation that draws in a steady stream of visitors, who often love to jump from rock to rock.

A slight element of mystery surrounds the formation of the field, but geologists broadly agree that the rocks  which are around 300million years old  came from the surrounding ridges and were broken up during the freezing and thawing of ice during an ice age that occurred about 20,000 years ago.

The rocks in the field are around 300million years old and came from the surrounding ridges

The field was formed by the freezing and thawing of ice about 20,000 years ago

The boulder field attracts thousands of visitors a year - who love jumping from rock to rock

The boulder field isn't America's only bizarre rock phenomenon.

Over in Death Valley in California there are rocks that roll  all by themselves.

Amid the eerie silence and the 50C heat of California's Death Valley these giant boulders appear to move smoothly - and unaided - across the desert.

The boulder field isn't America's only bizarre rock phenomenon. Over in Death Valley in California there are rocks that roll  all by themselves

The rocks, some as heavy as 17 stone, edge along in bizarre, straight-line patterns across the ultra-flat surface of the valley. They can travel more than 350 yards a year.

Scientists believe the phenomenon is caused by a coming together of specific weather conditions.
A New York bar has knocked its London rivals off last year's top spot to be crowned the best in the world.

The Dead Rabbit, nestled in the heart of the Financial District, scooped first place on The Worlds 50 Best Bars list for the first time, trumping other high-end watering holes around the globe.

There were five London bars in the top ten - including The Savoy's American Bar, which came second. The votes were cast by 476 of the leading figures of the global bar industry for Drinks International magazine.

The Dead Rabbit (pictured), nestled in the heart of the Financial District, scooped first place on The Worlds 50 Best Bars list

The Dead Rabbit, which came second last year, is famed for its sawdust-strewn ground-level space that serves Wall Street traders and locals with craft beers, bottled punches and world whiskies.

Upstairs the sumptuous surroundings of the moody Parlor create a rather more restrained drinking experience, say the judges of the annual list.

Meanwhile, the judges praised the American Bar's 24-strong cocktail book as 'an ode to London', with drinks divided into the capitals boroughs and named after their famous landmarks.

In second place was the American Bar (pictured), located in London's Savoy hotel, which was praised for its 24-strong cocktail book

In at third place was London's Dandelyan (pictured), the highest climber in the history of The Worlds 50 Best Bars

Last year, the American Bar came in at number five.

In at third place was London's Dandelyan, the highest climber in the 2016 list.

Not long open, it squeaked into the list in 2015 at 50th and this year rose 47 places to third. This is the highest climb of any bar in the history of The Worlds 50 Best Bars.

The Connaught Bar in London won fourth place on list, climbing from number nine last year; while New York's Attaboy in Manhattan's Lower East Side came in fifth, up from 11th in the 2015 list.

The top 50 list includes bars from 27 cities in 14 countries including Australia, Singapore, China, Holland, Italy, France and Spain.

The Connaught Bar in London (pictured) won fourth place on list, climbing from number nine last year

New York's Attaboy (pictured) in Manhattan's Lower East Side came in fifth, up from 11th in the 2015 list

By region, Europe is the dominant force, this year contributing 22 bars to the 50. Its contingent comprised bars from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

North America has the second-most bars in the list, with the US contributing 14, found in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

This year, Asia has seen a rise. Last year it contributed five bars to the list, but this year it has seven  five of which are in the top half of the list. Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai are now home to members of The Worlds 50 Best Bars.

50 BEST BARS IN THE WORLD (1-25) 1. The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog, New York 2. American Bar, London 3. Dandelyan, London 4. Connaught Bar, London 5. Attaboy, New York 6. The Gibson, London 7. Employees Only, New York 8. Nomad Bar, New York 9. The Clumsies, Athens 10. Happiness Forgets, London 11. Manhattan, Singapore 12. Baxter Inn, Sydney 13. Licoreria Limantour, Mexico City 14. 28 Hongkong Street, Singapore 15. Speak Low, ShanghaI 16. The Broken Shaker, Miami 17. Candelaria, Paris 18. Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam 19. Nightjar, London 20. Maison Premiere, New York 21. Operation Dagger, Singapore 22. Black Pearl, Melbourne 23. High Five, Tokyo 24. Little Red Door, Paris 25. Linje Tio, Stockholm Advertisement
Two passenger planes were involved in a serious near-miss after one of them did the opposite of the air traffic controllers instructions - and flew up instead of down.

The near-miss occurred over Bulgaria as the two planes flew to Istanbul.

One, an Atlasjet, was instructed by air traffic controllers to descend but the pilots allegedly initiated a climb instead. The error resulted in the plane flying parallel to a Turkish Airlines aircraft just 1.4miles away.

Two passenger planes were involved in a serious near-miss after one of them did the opposite of the air traffic controllers instructions - and flew up instead of down. The near-miss occurred over Bulgaria as the two planes flew to Istanbul

An Atlasjet operated aircraft was instructed by air traffic controllers to descend but the pilots allegedly initiated a climb instead (file photo)

The incident, which took place on September 8 this year, only came to light on Thursday.

According to the Aviation Herald, the Atlastjet operated flight KK-6112 was flying from Zurich to Istanbul at the time.

While at a position of about 140 nautical miles (161miles) south east of Sofia and 130 nautical miles (150 miles) of Istanbul, controllers at the Sofia centre instructed Atlasjet pilots to descend from an altitude of 35,000ft to 31,000ft.

At the same time, Turkish Airlines TK1966 was travelling from London Gatwick to Istanbul.

While at the same coordinates as the Atlasjet plane, the Turkish Airlines aircraft was instructed to descend from 37,000ft to 33,000ft.

However, instead of descending as instructed, the Atlastjet aircraft started to climb according to the report.

At the same time, Turkish Airlines TK1966 was travelling from London Gatwick to Istanbul and was flying to the same coordinates (file photo)

Both planes ended up flying at 36,300ft with a horizontal separation of just over a mile.

Controllers in Sofia were able to issue instructions to both aircraft in time to prevent a collision - the Atlasjet plane flew left while the Turkish Airlines jet flew right.

The planes continued to descend to their correct altitudes after that and were able to safely land in Istanbul, according to the Aviation Herald.

In Bulgaria, aircraft are normally required to have a vertical separation of at least 1,000ft, according to the Bulgarian International Virtual Aviation Organization, but in this case, the planes were flying at zero vertical separation.

The incident, considered serious, is currently being investigated by Bulgaria's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU).
She has had a whirlwind time recently, strutting her stuff at Paris Fashion Week.

So no wonder Milla Jovovich looked delighted to be jetting away with her husband on Thursday.

The 40-year-old model looked effortlessly stylish as she stepped out at LAX with film writer and director husband Paul W. S. Anderson.

Flying away: Milla Jovovich looked delighted to be jetting away with her husband Paul W. S. Anderson on Thursday

Milla only arrived back at LAX on Sunday, after spending time apart and Paul did not look ready to let the leggy beauty out of his clutches again anytime soon.

She brightened up her classic breton shirt and black skinny jeans with a bright multi-coloured floral scarf.

Giant retro-styled sunglasses dwarfed her delicate features, as she showcased her pout in a bright red lipstick.

Prints charming: The 40-year-old model looked effortlessly stylish as she stepped out at LAX with the film writer and director

Knee-high black leather boots and she carried an oversized white leather handbag with gold and yellow stripe as well as a stylish blazer jacket.

The Resident Evil star wore her dark locks in a shaggy bob, and kept a tight hold of her cellphone.

Milla shares her two daughters, Ever, eight, and Dashiel, 18 months, with Paul, but they appeared to be taking a child-free break.

Stylish: She brightened up her classic breton shirt and black skinny jeans with a bright multi-coloured floral scarf

Happy couple: Giant retro-styled sunglasses dwarfed her delicate features, as she showcased her pout in a bright red lipstick

Flight ready: Knee-high black leather boots and she carried an oversized white leather handbag with gold and yellow stripe as well as a stylish blazer jacket

The catwalk queen, previously revealed her sunglasses are her style essentials when travelling on long flights.

She told W magazine: 'You have to have your sunglasses. The worst thing in the world to me is wearing makeup on the plane.

'I feel like your skin like changes on the flight and makeup just doesnt sit right, so I just bring sunglasses.
She returned from a whirlwind European holiday just two weeks ago.

But Sam Armytage enjoyed a moment of downtime as she relaxed by her hotel pool on the Gold Coast on Thursday evening.

The Sunrise presenter flaunted her very bronzed thighs as she poised them for a picture of the book she was reading.

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Golden girl: Sam Armytage showed off her bronzed skin as she posed with tigers at Dreamworld on Friday morning, after putting on a leggy display by the pool the day before

Her photograph also captured her luxurious surroundings, with lavish deck chairs positioned underneath white cabanas.

On Friday morning, the 40-year-old arrived at Dreamworld to check out their new Tiger Island exhibit.

The renovated area allows visitors to get even closer to the seven adult cats and five cubs that roam around the area.

Soaking up the sunshine: Sam Armytage flaunted her golden legs as she relaxed by her Gold Coast hotel pool with a book on Thursday

Dressed in blue jeans, a white shirt and a beige trenchcoat, the presenter entered the park to the thrill of hundreds of fans.

She wore her blonde tresses in loose waves and allowed them to fall gently to her shoulders.

Since she has returned from her 40th birthday celebrations, which saw her travel throughout Europe before spending time with family in London, Sam has been on the move constantly.

Reow! The 40-year-old presenter appeared to be enjoying herself as she got up close and personal with the giant cats

Just a week after her return, the bubbly blonde was sent to Forbes to cover massive floods throughout the Central West of NSW.

The television personality then began her weekend in Melbourne ahead of the AFL Grand Final, where the Western Bulldogs defeated the Sydney Swans.

On Sunday, she returned to Sydney to watch the Cronulla Sharks take out their first ever NRL premiership.
Kristen Bell was a flower child for a day as she showed off her hippie chic side for lunch in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The 36-year-old looked straight out of the 1970s as she attended Rebecca Taylor LA VIE Launch Luncheon.

Kristen grinned brightly as she posed in a ruffled floral print blouse worn with a pair of patchwork jeans.

Hello petal: Kristen Bell was bohemian chic as she attended Rebecca Taylor LA VIE Launch Luncheon in Los Angeles on Thursday

The Veronica Mars actress styled her blonde locks in playful waves as she captivated crowds with her perfectly applied makeup.

Using heaps of mascara and a coat of shimmering eye shadow, the actress' light blue eyes shone as she also touched up her cheeks with pink blush while rounding off the overall effect with lipstick.

And to accessorize the look, Kristen wore a delicate silver necklace as she also wore a pair of platform beige heels and carried a purse to match, both of which added to the boho chic flair.

A busy actress, Kristen seemed delighted to take a break from work to mingle with some friends and grab in a bite to eat.

She has good jeans! Kristen grinned brightly as she posed in a ruffled floral print blouse worn with a pair of patchwork jeans

Picture perfect: The actress styled her blonde locks in playful waves as she captivated crowds with her perfectly applied makeup

The star gave her seatmates her undivided attention as they awaited their lunch.

But it won't be long until Kristen will be back throwing herself into work.

Kristen has several projects that fans can look forward to seeing her in soon, including returning to her animated character of Anna in Frozen 2, along with a role in the upcoming comedy How To Be A Latin Lover.

Strike a pose! Bell posed with Rebecca Taylor, who dazzled in a midnight blue floral print dress

Super stylish: To accessorize the look, the Frozen actress wore a delicate silver necklace as she also wore a pair of platform beige heels and carried a purse to match, both of which added to the boho chic flair

Work matters aside, Kristen has been married to actor Dax Shepard since 2013.

The couple are parents to daughters Lincoln Bell Shepard, three, and Delta Bell Shepard, one.

The actress recently appeared on Conan, where she spoke about her husband's antics.

Conan O'Brien told Kristen that, during her husband's appearance on his show, Dax 'casually, on the air, suggested a wife swap, with you and my wife and us switching it up.'

Let's do lunch! A busy actress, Bell seemed delighted to take a break from work to mingle with some friends and grab in a bite to eat

Busy woman! Kristen has several projects that fans can look forward to seeing her in soon, including returning to her animated character of Anna in Frozen 2, along with a role in the upcoming comedy How To Be A Latin Lover

'This sounds like my husband,' Kristen replied, 'and I don't want to hurt your feelings, but... you're not the first person he's tried to get us to swing with.'

The actress added her husband 'is a very free spirit... also a horn dog.'

'He just loves people, he loves the human frame and he constantly suggests at different dinner parties that we hang out and really get to know each other.'

'We're not actually swinging with anyone!', she made sure to add.
She lost her prized new 20-carat diamond engagement ring after being held up at gunpoint in her Paris abode.

But just days before the ordeal, Kim Kardashian shared the touching story of how her husband Kanye West surprised her in the middle of the night by leaving the bauble on her pillow.

The rapper also showed his trademark romantic side by having the $4 million Lorraine Schwartz band engraved - with the word, 'Adidas.'

Beats a pair of trainers: Kim Kardashian (pictured in August) revealed husband Kanye West told he got her 'something from Adidas' before handing over her now stolen $4 million ring

She told the story after Andy Cohen asked about her 'upgraded' engagement ring, which she first showed off at last month's MTV Video Music Awards, on his show Radio Andy just days before the robbery.

Kim said: 'I was sleeping and (Kanye) woke me up in the middle of the night and said, "Babe, babe, I got you something from Adidas."

Personalised: Kanye had the word 'Adidas' etched inside the band

'And I said, "Ill get the shoes in the morning babe, Im sleeping." And then he put a box on my pillow, a Lorraine Schwartz box, and he goes, "No, open your eyes."

'And I opened my eyes and it was a box, and I like, woke up, and I was like, "What is this?"'

She explained how the College Dropout star told her he had got her a special gift, which he even had personalised for her, to celebrate a business agreement he had just inked.

Kim said he told her: '"Well, you know I just did that big Adidas deal, so I got you something from Adidas!"

'And he engraved Adidas on the band inside because hes funny like that. '

However there were more laughs to come during the emotional moment, as her man weighed up the idea of returning her other engagement band.

She said: 'I was like, "Do I have to give my other ring back?" and he was like, "Can you do that?"'

Confidante: Kim shared the story about her ring with chat show star Andy Cohen

But quick-witted Kim stepped in, telling him, '"Nooo! You cant do that, Im just kidding." Thank you, Adidas!'

The reality television personality was held at gunpoint in the early hours of Monday morning, with her ring among the pieces of jewellery worth an estimated $8.5 million that were stolen.

Five gunmen disguised as police officers and wearing ski masks to hide their faces bound and gagged her in the luxury Hotel de Pourtales.

Mother-of-two Kim had been left alone in the suite while bodyguard Pascal Duvier went to high-end nightclub L'Arc with her sisters Kourtney and Kendall Jenner.

Scene of the crime: Kim was robbed inside a luxury apartment in the Hotel de Pourtales in Paris on Monday

Investigation: French police are working hard to crack the case of Kim's missing jewellery

Duvier, 43, had earlier filed for bankruptcy in his hometown of Heidelberg, Germany. Court documents show the bodyguard lodged papers some ten weeks ago after reporting debts of more than 1 million.

Kim has been criticised by security experts, as well as fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, for flaunting her jewellery on social media.

Speaking at Paris Fashion Week, the German style icon said: '(She is) too public, too public - we have to see in what time we live.

'You cannot display your wealth then be surprised that some people want to share it.

'I dont understand why she was in a hotel with no security and things like this. If you are that famous and you put all your jewellery on the net, you go to hotels where nobody can come near to the room.'
She made worldwide headlines this week after she was spotted kissing Oscar winner Sean Penn on a Hawaiian beach on Wednesday.

But just who is Leila George, the 24-year-old lover of Oscar winner Penn, 56?

The Australian-born blonde is a burgeoning actress with an A-list pedigree, born to Emmy nominees Greta Scacchi - who at 56 is the same age as her new man - and Vincent D'Onofrio, 57.

Rising star: Leila George is the beautiful Australian actress and rumoured new girlfriend of Oscar winner Sean Penn

Scacchi is best known for her performances in Broken Trail, Rasputin, and the Australian classic Looking For Alibrandi, while fans will recognise D'Onofrio from Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil, and Jurassic World.

Unlike her established parents, Leila's acting career is only just beginning, with the ingenue recently making her screen debut in the Lifetime TV movie Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? alongside James Franco and Tori Spelling.

Prior to that, the thespian honed her craft on the stage and in prestigious acting schools across the globe.

Pucker up! The 24-year-old made headlines across the globe after she was spotted kissing Sean Penn, 56, in Hawaii on Wednesday

Age ain't nothin' but a number! The unlikely lovers share an age difference of 32 years

At 19, she completed a course at The Australian Film School in Sydney, before spending two years studying in the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York.

Little else is known about Leila, with the blonde beauty keeping a relatively low-profile until her tryst with Penn went public this week.

In steamy pictures of the pair, the 56-year-old Milk actor can be seen passionately cupping Leila's neck and face as he kisses the bikini-clad actress in the Oahu surf.

Famous family: Leila's mother is Australian screen legend Greta Scacchi, who starred in Looking For Alibrandi and has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards

Big daddy: The rising star's father is Vincent D'Onofrio, best known for Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil, and Jurassic World

Good genes: The blonde beauty is no stranger to showcasing her impeccable physique on social media

Oahu is a location close to Penn's heart, with People reporting that the actor owns a beachfront home there.

He also spent time there with ex-fiancee Charlize Theron.

While Leila's dating history is unknown, Penn's love life is common knowledge, with the actor romancing countless A-list starlets over the years.

Thespian: Leila started her career on stage and studied acting at The Australian Film School in Sydney and the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York

Hollywood: The skilled star recently made the move from stage to screen in the Tori Spelling Lifetime TV movie 'Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?'

Mixing business with pleasure? Sean and Leila recently recorded an audiobook together

Some of his best known wives and lovers include Madonna, Robin Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Jewel, and many others.

Sean is known for enjoying the company of younger women, so it's no surprise that at 56, he's only one year younger than Leila's 57-year-old father.

Furthermore, Leila is just one year younger than Penn's daughter, Dylan.

Healthy: Leila has documented her healthy eating habits on Instagram

She's no snake! In this photo, the beauty can be seen playing with a snake on Coney Island

Social: The actress can be seen spending time with one of her friends in this photo

Leila's fun-loving nature can be seen on her Instagram page.

In various shots, the Aussie actress can be seen living life to the fullest as she plays with her dog, documents her travels, and goes drinking with friends.

In one image, she shows off a slew of vegetables she picked up from a local farmers' market, while another shot shows her playfully holding a snake on Coney Island.

No surprise: Leila is just one year younger than Penn's daughter, Dylan (pictured above)
She is always praised for her stunning and striking displays on red carpets everywhere.

And Felicity Jones certainly maintained her faultlessly fashionable reputation at the photo call for new flick Inferno in Italy on Thursday.

The Oscar-nominated actress, 32, ditched the floor-length gown for a trendy jumpsuit and blouse combo, as she promoted the new blockbuster against the gorgeous backdrop of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

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Style queen: Felicity Jones, 32, ditched the floor-length gown for a trendy jumpsuit and blouse combo on Thursday as she attended the photo call for her new film Inferno in Florence, Italy

The brunette caught the attention of everyone by wearing a chic black one-piece in place of a gown - which was tailored to perfection to flatter her tall and slender figure.

Styled like a pinafore, the jumpsuit featured a square neckline and thick old-fashioned straps before it extending into simple sleek black all the way to the ankle.

The Theory of Everything actress then layered a soft white blouse underneath from Rodebjer, which tied at the neck in a pussy bow in an effortlessly sophisticated touch.

Keeping it classic: The Theory of Everything actress layered a soft white pussy bow blouse from Rodebjer underneath a chic black jumpsuit, tailored to perfection

Adding a pair of patent pointed heels, the Birmingham native elongated her already long legs in the classic yet striking ensemble.

Not wanting to detract from the simplicity of the outfit, the actress, who rose to fame on ITV's the Worst Witch, accessoried with a simple metallic box clutch by Salvatore Ferragamo and a slick of black nail varnish.

The brunette beauty sported an extra thick fringe and added a rosy blusher to her cheeks, completing the impeccably put-together look.

Simplicity is key: Not wanting to detract from the simplicity of the outfit, the actress accessoried with a simple metallic box clutch by Salvatore Ferragamo

Fringe power: The brunette beauty sported an extra thick fringe and added a rosy blusher to her cheeks, completing the impeccably put-together look

The Brit posed comfortably in front of the movie poster, looking out at the event's gorgeous historic venue.

She was joined by leading man of the movie Tom Hanks, who looked dapper as always in a clean-cut grey suit.

The 60-year-old actor appeared his usual playful self at the event, as she humorously pointed at the huge pictures of himself on the walls and the cameras.

Felicity and Tom, alongside their co-stars, were all present at the photocall to promote the new blockbuster Inferno - based on the book of the same name in the famous Da Vinci Code series, by Dan Brown.

Strike a pose: The Brit posed comfortably in front of the movie poster for the new Ron Howard blockbuster Inferno

Still got it: She was joined by leading man of the movie Tom Hanks, who looked dapper as always in a clean-cut grey suit

The high-octane thriller, directed by Ron Howard, follows beloved character Robert Langdon who wakes up with amnesia in a hospital in Florence.

Teaming up with Dr. Sienna Brooks, played by Jones, the pair race across the city and against time to recover his memories and escape being targeted by a major manhunt.

Immediately after filming the high-octane thriller, set for release on October 14, Felicity then headed straight to set for another much-anticipated flick - the new Star Wars installment, Rogue One.

Let's do this: Felicity and Tom promoted the new movie, based on the book by Dan Brown, alongside director Ron Howard (right) who was keen to capture the day on camera

Stunning: The photo call took place at the Palazzo Vecchio (or the Hall of the Five Hundred) in Florence, Italy - in keeping with the movie's historic location

Talking to The Telegraph about partaking in such iconic movies in close proximity, the British beauty admitted: 'Taking on two giant roles back to back was a real challenge.

However she revealed that working with respected actor Tom made filming Inferno amongst her pressured schedule made the process much easier, thanks to his welcoming disposition.

She gushed of the Sleepless in Seattle star: I felt totally embraced by him. He is so unegotistical  he hasnt been in any way corrupted by fame.
Shannen Doherty shared an Instagram video of herself on Thursday as she headed for a workout just a day after a chemotherapy session.

The 45-year-old actress shot the video from the passenger seat of a moving vehicle as she explained that she believes it's important to keep active despite her battle with cancer.

Shannen put on a brave face, but noted that she was red and a 'little bit puffy' from steroids.

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Working out: Shannen Doherty shared an Instagram video on Thursday of herself headed to a workout a day after chemotherapy

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star said she was 'not feeling too great' and was nauseous and 'very achy' - typical after chemotherapy.

'I'd prefer to be in bed doing nothing, but guess where I'm heading? Gonna go work out!,' Shannen said.

The actress in the caption further explained her motivation.

'After chemo day. I believe that just moving helps so much in the healing process It's not always easy and sometimes I can't do it the next day but I try to make an effort to get the blood flowing and the toxins out of my body thru working out,' she wrote.

Moving helps: The actress believes that moving after chemotherapy helps with the healing process

Pushes it: Shannen said some days are easier than others but she pushes herself to move

'Some days are easy workouts and other days I push it but the key is to MOVE!!! This is for any illness. Obviously check with your doctor. The road to recovery is paved with all sorts of different material,' she added.

Shannen recently took to Instagram to post tender snaps of her supportive husband of five years Kurt Iswarienko.

A snap on Saturday showed Shannen and Kurt together after she underwent a chemotherapy session.

'Shaking your booty is hard work': Shannen said she felt 'way better' after the workout

'I love you mom': Later on, she spent time with her mother Rosa and said they decided to 'collapse on the couch and watch TV'

She was thankful and philosophical about her cancer battle in the caption.

'This is us now. Life has handed us an interesting card with cancer and although we would both prefer to not be faced with such a terrible disease, we must also search for the good,' she wrote.

She later in the post got a bit analytical about revelations from her cancer battle.

Husband and wife: The Beverly Hills, 90210 star on Saturday shared a snap of herself with husband Kurt Iswarienko

Throwback photo: The actress also recently posted a throwback photo from her honeymoon

'Cancer gives a clarity that is unique. I've seen friends run , I've seen strangers step up, I've seen the unwavering still unwaver and I've seen @kurtiswarienko there for it all. That's friendship. That's love.'

She has posted another snap a day earlier of the couple during their honeymoon.

Shannen had a full head of her famous raven locks and stood behind new husband Kurt in front of a herd of giraffes.

Way back: Shannen posted a photo of herself as a little girl on Wednesday after undergoing chemotherapy

'@kurtiswarienko surprised me by taking me to South Africa. By far the best trip I've ever been on. It was enlightening, inspiring and life changing,' she declared.

'Only kurt would understand me well enough to know that this was the perfect honeymoon trip. As I said before.... I'm lucky. I married my other half, my soul mate,' Shanned added.

Doherty has been documenting her battle against cancer and is nearing the end of her chemotherapy and radiation treatment after a mastectomy in May.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015 and it spread to her lymphatic system in 2016.
Here is the weekly road construction report for Hamilton County:

U.S. 27 (I-124) widening from I-24/U.S. 27 interchange to north of the Olgiati Bridge over the Tennessee River, including widening the Olgiati Bridge: Work on this project continues. The speed limit on U.S. 27 in the construction zone has been lowered to 45 MPH. The contractor may have temporary lane or shoulder closures on U.S. 27 between 7 p.m.-6 a.m. TDOT contract crews have closed the on ramp from eastbound MLK Boulevard to U.S. 27 North until December. A temporary left turn lane on eastbound MLK Boulevard has been constructed to allow traffic to access the alternate on-ramp to U.S. 27 North. As the project progresses, there may be short term temporary lane closures for the safety of the traveling public on city streets within the project area. Flaggers will assist with these closures and they will be properly signed in accordance with the Federal Highway Administrations Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. During Phase 1 of the U.S. 27 project, the contractor will be working on the northbound side of U.S. 27 on the bridges. Work will consist of demolishing and reconstructing the outside sections of the bridges along U.S. 27 North. Also on U.S. 27 South, they will be constructing a large retaining wall between the Olgiati Bridge and 6th Street. At least one lane will remain open in each direction on U.S. 27. THP will assist with traffic control on the project as necessary. Estimated project completion date is July 2019. For more info, visit the project website http://www.tn.gov/tdot/topic/US27-reconstruction-chattanooga. [Dement Construction Co., LLC/JM/CNP230]

SR 317 (Apison Pike) the grading, drainage and paving on from Old Lee Highway (LM 5.58) to SR-321 (Ooltewah-Ringgold Road) (LM 7.84): Work on this project continues. During this report period the contractor may have intermittent lane closures throughout the project from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is May 2017. [Wright Brothers Const. Co. /Pruett/CNN279]

SR-320 (East Brainerd Road) grading, drainage, installation of signals, construction of seven retaining walls and paving from east of Graysville Road to east of Bel-Air Road: Work on this project continues. The contractor will be detouring traffic from Givens Road to Grays Drive from Tuesday through Thursday for the installation of a storm drain. During this report period, the contractor will have intermittent lane closures between 9 a.m.-2 p.m. This work may affect either direction of East Brainerd Road or side streets from Graysville Road to Hamlett Drive as the contractor installs road crossings and borings. The contractor may have short-term lane closures to perform various operations on an as-needed basis. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion is June 2017. [Mountain State Contractors, LLC /Pruett/CNN383]

Shepherd Road over SR-153 construction of a rolled steel girder bridge from West Shepherd Rd. to Shaw Avenue in Chattanooga, including grading, drainage and paving: Work on this project continues. During the project, there may be intermittent nighttime lane closures as necessary in both directions on SR-153 between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. On the nights of Monday and Tuesday, between 8 p.m.-6 a.m., the inside lanes in both directions of SR-153 will be closed to allow the contractor to do parapet work on the bridge above. At least one lane in each direction will remain open during this work. On the night of Wednesday, between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. (and Thursday if necessary), all lanes in both directions of SR-153 at the bridge will be closed with traffic diverted to the exit ramps and entrance ramps. The contractor will also continue daytime paving operations on the Airport Connector and Shepherd Road. During these times traffic will be maintained through the project, although there will be occasional lane shifts and flagging operations to assist with traffic movement through the work zone. Please anticipate short delays and use extra caution though the work zone. Estimated project completion is October. [Jones Brothers Contractors, Inc./Micka/CNP105]

SR-153 resurfacing from the SR-319 underpass (LM 8.89) to north of Grubb Road (LM 10.85): Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor will conduct milling and paving operations between 9 p.m.-6 a.m. the following morning. At least one travel lane will remain open to traffic at all times. THP will assist with traffic control as needed. Motorists should use caution and be alert to construction equipment and vehicles within the work zone. Estimated project completion date is November. [Wright Brothers Construction Co., Inc./Micka/CNQ193]

The tunnel cleaning of the McCallie Tunnel on U.S. 11 (US 64, SR-2), the Stringers Ridge Tunnel on U.S. 127 (SR-8), and the Bachman Tubes on U.S. 41 (U.S. 76, SR-8): The nighttime cleaning operation of McCallie Tunnels, Stringers Ridge Tunnel, and Bachman Tubes occurs normally on Wednesday and Thursday nights during the week with the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Work hours are between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. Tunnels will be closed during cleaning, and detours will be marked accordingly as each tunnel is cleaned. Contract completion date is June 2017. [Diamond Specialized, Inc./Micka/CNQ174]

SR-60, resurfacing along various portions of SR-60. In Hamilton County from the Meigs County line (L.M. 0.00) to the Meigs County line. In Meigs County from the Bradley County line (L.M. 0.00) to the Hamilton County line (L.M. 1.02) and from the Hamilton County line (L.M. 0.00) to north of Horner Hollow Road (L.M. 2.10): Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor may have lane closures between 7 a.m.-7 p.m. At least one travel lane will remain open to traffic at all times. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is November. [Talley Construction/Pruett/CNQ192]






NORAH JONES: Day Breaks (Blue Note)

Verdict: Miss Jones goes back to her roots

Rating:

When she signed to the prestigious jazz label Blue Note in 2001, Norah Jones expected to sell a few thousand copies of her first album, Come Away With Me.

Instead, her debut ended up in 20 million homes and propelled the then 23-year-old former waitress to global fame.

She became the best-selling female artist of the Noughties and her overwhelming success gave her plenty of creative freedom to branch out into country, blues and rock, while moving her further away from her jazz roots.

But that all changed two years ago after she drove to Washington DC to take part in Blue Notes 75th anniversary concert.

Recorded with Shorter, Blade, organist Lonnie Smith and double bassist John Patitucci  one of the best bands Ive ever played with  Day Breaks has its playful moments

Inspired by playing in a group featuring saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Brian Blade, she decided to return to the music that made her name  and Day Breaks is the most jazzy record she has made since her debut.

Recorded with Shorter, Blade, organist Lonnie Smith and double bassist John Patitucci  one of the best bands Ive ever played with  Day Breaks has its playful moments, but is a record of serious musical intent, its acoustic backdrop providing an intricate platform for Norahs dusky vocals and twinkling piano. Arriving on the back of 2009s The Fall and 2012s Little Broken Hearts, both gloomy break-up albums, it is also upbeat.

Now a mother of two, Jones wrote on a small, upright piano in her New York kitchen, and the original numbers here are coloured by an air of domestic contentment.

With her voice rekindling the warm glow of old, there are numbers that hark back to the lounge-jazz of Come Away With Me: the stripped-back Burn gathers pace around Patituccis rolling bass; and Its A Wonderful Time For Love has the hallmarks of a standard.

Elsewhere, she ventures into less familiar terrain. Once I Had A Laugh has the fervour of a New Orleans marching band. Flipside is driven by her urgent piano, and sparks the normally apolitical Norah into a comment on Americas firearms problem: Put the guns away, or were all gonna lose.

There are three covers: Horace Silvers Peace is idyllic and Duke Ellingtons Fleurette Africaine a virtuoso instrumental, while Jones changes the gender and location of Neil Youngs Dont Be Denied to turn it into a number about a young woman coming of age in Alaska.

As recently as four years ago, Jones was lamenting the fact that she didnt have the chops to play real jazz. A lot has changed since then, and Day Breaks is a real American beauty.

BARRY GIBB: In The Now (RCA)

Verdict: You should be dancing

Rating:

The enduring affection for Bee Gee Barry Gibb was palpable when he joined Coldplay on stage at Glastonbury in June. With Noel Gallagher offering encouragement and Chris Martin hailing Stayin Alive as the greatest song of all time, the last surviving Gibb brother received a hearty welcome.

His first solo album in 32 years cements his return to a music scene he considered leaving after brother Robins death four years ago.

His first solo album in 32 years cements his return to a music scene he considered leaving after brother Robins death four years ago

Its soulful pop finds the falsetto that once graced hits like Night Fever in good shape. All the songs here were written by Gibb, 70, and his sons, Stephen and Ashley.

They re-inforce his fondness for working as part of a family trio while exploring the themes of old age, even though the confessional Home Truth Song is let down by some clunky lyrics.

Star Crossed Lovers, written for his wife, Linda, is better. Adorned with chiming bells and strings, it is closer to a Stylistics soul ballad than the Carole King pop that Gibb intended, but that is no bad thing.

Most touching, however, are the tributes to his brothers: Robin, Maurice (who died in 2003) and Andy (who died in 1988). The Long Goodbye documents his helplessness as he looks through old letters. End Of The Rainbow gives a tender yet upbeat finale to a welcome return.
Blood Father

Rating:

Here is a tale of two novels adapted for the big screen. One was a spectacular global bestseller, the other wasnt.

One has been turned into a highly entertaining thriller, the other hasnt.

That it is the much more successful book, The Girl On The Train, that has become the far less successful film, doubtless says something about expectation, as well as the inconvenience for the director of a psychological thriller of millions of people already knowing the ending.

But there is another reason why Peter Craigs book Blood Father has yielded a much better movie, co-written by Craig himself, than Paula Hawkinss The Girl On The Train.

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Blood Father, pictured, starring Mel Gibson is a highly entertaining thriller writes Brian Viner

It is a simpler, more cinematic story, less dependant on directorial wiles than on strong acting and decent writing, both of which it has in spades.

Mel Gibson is the star, not that he looks much like one. With an unkempt grey beard, his face as lined as a map of Greyhound bus routes, Gibson plays John Link, a former convict and recovering alcoholic, holed up in a remote trailer park, scratching a living as a tattoo artist.

It could be that Link has grappled with even more demons than Gibson, which is saying plenty.

But for the improbably perfect set of Hollywood teeth, he looks like a man who has gone ten rounds with life, and lost on a knockout.

He has no direction and no purpose, except to keep on the right side of his parole officer and off the booze. This he manages with the help of his neighbour and Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Kirby (William H. Macy).

Link has to shrug off his existential torpor when he gets a call from his long-estranged only daughter, Lydia (Erin Moriarty), begging his help.

Until then he didnt even know that she was still alive, although we did, because wed already seen her mixed up with some very rotten apples indeed, drug runners led by her amoral boyfriend Jonah (Diego Luna).

Lydia has accidentally shot Jonah, which means there is a price on her head and a nasty gang looking for her, not to mention a sinister enforcer for a Mexican drugs cartel.

Link knows hes a cartel man because he recognises the tattoos. He can read a tattoo at 50 paces. Its that kind of film.

But if you overlook the corniness, it is proper, high-octane, thrilling stuff, as father and daughter go on the run from the gangsters and, the least of their problems, the police.

This requires Link to jump on to a motorbike, kick his inner alpha-male into gear, and become even badder than the baddies, which he does so effortlessly that my wife, alongside me at the screening, whispered: he makes Liam Neeson look a wimp.

She was exaggerating, as you are allowed to do in a cinema whisper. A herd of marauding rhinos couldnt make Neeson look wimpish, but undoubtedly there are echoes of the Taken films starring Neeson, and of the TV drama Breaking Bad.

Moreover, Craig (who is the son of actress Sally Field) has made a fine job of the screenplay. The dialogue is witty without ever being glib, and sufficiently realistic to obscure the storys sundry improbabilities. There are even a few shafts of real poignancy in the underlying themes of filial love and parental responsibility.

And its good to be reminded that Gibson, for all his flaws as a human being, really can act.

The Girl On The Train

Rating:

So can Emily Blunt, who, as you are probably aware by now, takes the title role in The Girl On The Train.

It was a casting decision that seemed to upset the books legions of fans, since Rachel on the page is raddled and overweight, and many also objected to the geographical shift from London to upstate New York.

I dont think either matters, unduly. Since I reviewed the film in Tuesdays paper I have seen it again and Blunt certainly gives a strong performance as a woman saturated in alcohol and self-pity, whose dismissal from her job does not stop her keeping up appearances by commuting every day to and from Manhattan.

It is on these daily train journeys that she becomes obsessed with a couple whose house backs on to the railway tracks.

They are Megan (Haley Bennett) and Scott (Luke Evans), near neighbours of Rachels former husband Tom (Justin Theroux) and his new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson).

Emily Blunt takes on a challenging role in The Girl On The Train, pictured, but the film does not live up to the heights of the book it is based on

Then Megan goes missing, shortly after Rachel spotted her canoodling with a man who wasnt Scott. Could Rachel have something to do with Megans disappearance?

She is too pickled to remember even what she had for breakfast, so shes not sure and nor are we, unless we have read the book.

Perhaps because he knew he was making a 15-million-people-already-know whodunit, director Tate Taylor doesnt seem too bothered about cranking up the suspense.

But the mystery still needs solving, which slowly, achingly slowly, it is, in part by the time-honoured (or if you prefer, hackneyed) device of flitting back and forth in time.

Unfortunately, long before a histrionic denouement, which if nothing else will make you never look at a corkscrew in quite the same way again, the film has come off the rails.

Actually, the overwhelming problem is not the widespread familiarity with the novel. After all, not everyone has read it.

No, it has more to do with misanthropy; there is nobody in this story you feel like rooting for.

The men are oversexed and brutish, the women messed up and shallow. Not even the detective, played by Allison Janney, is remotely likeable.

None of that matters in print, because we get to know them all so well.
He's the charismatic television presenter and industrial designer who's vying for the heart of Georgia Love on The Bachelorette.

And Courtney Dober certainly seems like he can offer more to a relationship than just his dreamy smile, intelligent conversations and pasta bracelets.

The 30-year-old has previously shared photos of himself and ex-girlfriend Elloise Clissold enjoying the skyline, while providing bystanders with quite a view of their own as they stand on the sand completely naked.

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Baring all: The Bachelorette contestant Courtney Dober has previously shared photos of himself and ex-girlfriend Elloise Clissold enjoying the skyline while completely naked

'Great view. #Lakepukaki #newzealand #Queenstown #nudes #ghettobooty @elloisec (sic),' Courtney captioned the image shared in 2014.

Both Courtney and Elloise, who was tagged in the image, have their backs facing the camera, revealing their bare bottoms for all to see.

The pair seemed to have dated for a few years, with Elloise making their romance official in 2012 with a telling Facebook status.

Life in the limelight: Elloise is a model, and she and TV presenter Courtney have attended many flashy events including the Who Magazine Sexiest People Party in 2014

Reality star: Courtney is the charismatic television presenter and industrial designer who's vying for the heart of Georgia Love on The Bachelorette

It is unclear when the couple called time on their romance.

Like Courtney, Elloise has enjoyed spending some time in front of the camera, with the busty blonde boasting a Model Mayhem and Star Now profile.

This week was certainly eventful for Courtney as he continued his journey on The Bachelorette Australia.

Georgia was left 'totally humiliated' after Courtney 'gave up' on her during a group date on Wednesday, so fellow contestant Ryan could spend more time with him.

Relationship status: The pair seemed to have dated for a few years, with Elloise making their romance official in 2012 with a telling Facebook status

Cute couple: It is unclear when the couple called time on their romance - the pair pictured in Sydney in 2014

Good times: The pair pictured in this social media snap shared back in 2013

After the episode aired, he hit back at speculation he's purely on the show for fame rather than winning Georgia's heart.

He told The Daily Telegraph: 'I couldn't give a s**t what I do for a career - love is what makes you eternally happy'.

The Sydney-based reality TV star said he wouldn't care if he was a barista or a barman if it meant he had someone special to go home to.

He asserted about the fame speculation: 'I would choose Georgia 100 per cent.'

'That's a no-brainer,' he added, saying when Georgia told him he hurt her, he felt 'guilty'.

Awkward: Georgia was left 'totally humiliated' after Courtney 'gave up' on her during a group date on Wednesday, so fellow contestant Ryan could spend more time with him
Her husband Oliver Curtis was jailed for insider trading in June.

And, Roxy Jacenko's young children appeared blissfully unaware of the situation, as the PR queen shared a touching post on Friday after taking on the temporary single mother role.

The 36-year-old Sydney entrepreneur took to Instagram to share the sweet snap, while hailing her children as 'my world,' in a gushing post.

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Cute! Roxy Jacenko shared an adorable snap of her children, Pixie, 4, and Hunter, 2, via Instagram on Friday as she hailed the youngsters as 'my world'

Pixie, 4, and two-year-old Hunter are pictured embracing in their home parking garage, in the photo shared with fans.

Pixie wore a pink flower in her hair, as she sported her infectious grin while Hunter leant in for the cute sibling cuddle.

The Sydney socialite tagged both her children in the upload, having set them up with personal Instagram pages from an early age.

IMAGE: Absent dad: The Sydney socialite revealed her children believe their father (pictured) is in China,not prison, after he was jailed for insider trading earlier this year

The Sydney socialite has told her friends that she will NEVER allow her two young children to see their father Oliver Curtis in prison.

And has revealed her children believe their father is in China, not jail.

Captioned with an emoji of a world, there's no denying her children have been her rock during her tough time.

Tough: Roxy's family have become her rock over her tough couple of months, adjusting to life without her jailed stockbroker husband and publicly dealing with a cancer battle

Not only has Roxy adjusted to life without her jailed stockbroker husband, but also revealed her cancer battle two weeks after he was jailed.

The media personality later had a tumour from her breast removed, which was filmed for a 60 Minutes documentary about her life.

She is now fighting fit, announcing one week ago that she had finished a month of radiation treatment for breast cancer.

'And I'm DONE': PR queen Roxy Jacenko, 36, proudly took to Instagram last week to share the news that she's finished radiation treatment for breast cancer




Khloe Kardashian and Kendall and Kylie Jenner have cancelled all scheduled book signings due to 'ongoing security concerns'.

The cancellations came in the wake of sister Kim Kardashian, 35, being robbed at gunpoint earlier this week in Paris, according to an article on Thursday by Page Six.

Khloe, 32, was scheduled for appearances at Barnes & Noble stores to promote the paperback release of her memoir Strong Looks Better Naked.

Security concerns: Khloe Kardashian, shown in November 2015 at a book signing in San Diego, has cancelled planned book signings due to security concerns

Kendall, 20, and Kylie, 19, also had similar planned appearances for their upcoming second book Time of the Twins: The Story of Lex and Livia.

Representatives for the reality stars-turned-authors told bookstores that 'due to recent events and ongoing security issues, we are canceling all book signings'.

The message added that 'safety is the number one priority' and said the famous siblings would push the books on social media to make up for the lack of in-store apperances.

Safety first: Kendall and Kylie Jenner, shown in June 2014 in Los Angeles promoting their debut novel, also have cancelled planned book signings

Barnes & Noble stores also were told they could send books to Khloe, Kendall and Kylie to have them signed for fans.

The move comes as Kim also cancelled all public appearances, and the entire family beefs up security after the terrifying armed heist.

Their hit show Keeping Up With The Kardashians also has been put on hold 'indefinitely' by E!, which says 'Kim's well-being is our core focus right now'.

Kim was asleep when five masked armed men on early Monday stormed her private hotel in Paris and forced their way into her room.

Jewelry heist: Kim Kardashian, shown signing her book of selfies, Selfish in May 2015 in Los Angeles, has cancelled all appearances since being robbed early on Monday in Paris

Memoir: The sisters have called off in-person appearances over security fears, but will sign books sent to them by Barnes & Noble for fans

The mother-of-two begged for her life as she was bound and gagged and tossed into the bathtub.

The robbers made away with nearly $11 million of jewelry including a ring worth $4 million that husband Kanye West, 39, gave her.

Kim, her mother Kris Jenner and her three-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint arrived back in Los Angeles from New York on Thursday.

The KUWTK star reportedly feels safer in Los Angeles, and is deeply shaken by the armed attack. Her husband Kanye will join her later on Thursday before resuming his Saint Pablo tour on Friday.

No arrests have been made in connection with the Paris heist.
She gave birth to twins nearly two years ago.

And as Madeleine West, 36, prepares to mark her daughters Xalia and Margaux's second birthdays next month, the former Neighbours star recalled her past struggle to breastfeed in public, namely a stranger's shocking attempt to sexualise her nursing.

In a recent blog post for Kidspot, the mother-of-six called passing judgment on women who breastfeed in public 'an absolute disgrace' as she recalled once being shamed and subject to a perverted stare, while feeding her then-newborn babies at a local park.

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Hitting back: Mother-of-six Madeleine West, 36, recently slammed a sleazy stranger's shocking attempt to sexualise her nursing twins in piblic

'I was obliged to perform the juggling act of feeding both with a haphazard assortment of rolled up jumpers, baby blankets and wishful thinking,' she wrote in the post entitled To the man who perved at my boobs while I was breastfeeding my twins.

As a 'middle-aged couple' approached, the blonde beauty, who has been in a relationship with restaurateur Shannon Bennett since 2005, was met with a disgusted look from the woman and more incredibly, a sleazy grin from the man.

'She then turned to her husband to share her disgust only to find he had craftily slipped on his reflective sunglasses to get a closer look at my boobs undetected,' Madeleine wrote.

Disgraceful: The former Neighbours star was subject to the perverted look 'early' in her career, as she took her now-two-year-old daughters for a walk at a local park

Content: Madeleine has been in a relationship with restaurateur Shannon Bennett since 2005

Not holding back: The Melbourne-born beauty went on to call 'judgmental' strangers 'idiots' while slamming attacks on breastfeeding mothers as 'an absolute disgrace'

She continued: 'He received a sharp elbow to the ribs for his trouble and she stormed off, leaving him to throw me a sheepish smile.'

The Melbourne-born beauty went on to call 'judgmental' strangers 'idiots' while slamming attacks on breastfeeding mothers as 'an absolute disgrace.'

In 2002, Madeleine, who played Dione Bliss on Neighbours, was briefly written out of the long-running soap while undergoing plastic surgery following a bus accident.

Past struggle: In 2002, Madeleine, who played Dione Bliss on Neighbours, was briefly written out of the long-running soap while undergoing plastic surgery following a bus accident

Earlier this year, the Six Under Eight author hit back at trolls who criticized her parenting advice book.

'Online forums have become the equivalent to the villages of old But sadly, by tearing down rather than supporting our peers on the crazy rollercoaster that is parenthood, we shutdown discussion, and cut off honest dialogue,' she wrote.

In addition to her twin girls, she also shares 10-year-old Phoenix, eight-year-old Hendrix, six-year-old Xascha and four-year-old Xanthe with Shannon.

Last month, it was reported that the actress will return to Ramsay street, 13 years after her character's 'fatal' accident.
Sylvester Stallone was surprised by a superfan on Thursday in Beverly Hills, California.

The 70-year-old actor got a kick out of the female fan who had a tattoo of his name scrawled on her right arm.

The Rocky star was enjoying lunch at Mulberry Pizza when he was approached by the dedicated fan.

Fan favourite: Sylvester Stallone was approached by a superfan on Thursday in Beverly Hills, California

Sly was dressed casually in a grey polo shirt and faded blue jeans for the encounter.

He also accessorised with black sunglasses.

The clean-shaven actor appeared to be truly surprised at the tattoo as he pointed at her wrist in awe.

The woman also gave him a Rocky Balboa doll and the star happily posed for pictures with her.

Permanent art: The superfan had the actor's name tattoed on her right arm

Pizza joint: Sly was at a favourite pizza joint when he met the superfan

Sweet gift: The fan also gave Sly a Rocky Balboa doll

The First Blood star also hugged it out with his superfan.

The pizza joint is a favourite as the actor was spotted there last month arm wrestling with a man.

Sylvester reprised his role as Rocky in the 2015 sequel Creed.

Pleasant surprise: Sylvester was genuinely surprised by the tattoo

Arm art: The superfan proudly pointed out her tattoo of his name

Warm reception: The actor was pleased by the encounter with his fan

He earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Creed.

Sylvester has four films due out in 2017.

The projects include the highly anticipated sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

The Marvel Studios film featuring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana is due out in May 2017.
She's glowing after announcing her pregnancy on Instagram a week ago.

And Megan Hilty, 35, looked stunning on the red carpet as she stepped out to the opening night of Holiday Inn On Broadway on Thursday in NYC.

The Broadway star shimmered in a metallic dress, alongside husband Brian Gallagher.

Gold star: Pregnant Megan Hilty, 35, looked stunning on the red carpet as she stepped out to the opening night of Holiday Inn On Broadway on Thursday in NYC alongside Rebel Wilson

She looked every inch the glamorous yummy mummy as she showcased her curves and calves in the 1950s-style garb.

Her blonde tresses were styled in loose waves and seductively tucked onto one shoulder.

It's the second child for Megan and her actor husband, who also have two-year-old Viola.

Night out: The Broadway star shimmered in a metallic dress, alongside husband Brian Gallagher

Glamorous: She looked every inch the yummy mummy as she showcased her curves and calves in the 1950s-style garb.

They were joined by Rebel Wilson, who looked to have slimmed down, in a figure-hugging black dress, also with a gold thread.

The Australian actress, 36, showcased her trimmer physique and cleavage in the low-cut outfit.

The Pitch Perfect star wore her blonde locks half up with bangs framing her face.

Looking good: They were joined by Rebel Wilson, who looked to have slimmed down, in a figure-hugging black dress, also with a gold thread

Metallics: The Australian actress, 36, showcased her trimmer physique and cleavage in the low-cut outfit alongside Gordon Greenberg

Holiday Inn in the new Irving Berlin music, at Studio 54 in the city.

It's based on the 1942 movie of the same name, which features Bing Crosby singing White Christmas.

The stage version has been adapted from the book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge, and tells the story of Jim - who has left behind the bright lights of showbiz to settle down in a Farmhouse in Connecticut.

Pucker up: The Pitch Perfect star wore her blonde locks half up with bangs framing her face as she shared a peck on the cheek




He is known for his wacky antics - from wearing a paper bag over his head to watching all of his movies at once back to back.

And now Shia LaBeouf will bring his unique brand of performance art to Australia as part of Bingefest, a new two-day festival celebrating pop culture.

The work, which is yet to be announced, will be created with artists Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner, who were also involved in the communal three-day screening of all of Shia's movies.

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Overwhelmed: Shia LaBeouf invited strangers to join him for a back-to-back screening of all his works in New York last year - in December he will create another participatory performance art piece in Australia

Over the last few years, the 30-year-old actor has appeared on red carpets wearing a paper bag which says 'I am not famous anymore'.

The Transformers actor has since engaged in a number of participatory works.

He and his friends answered emotional phone calls from people in Liverpool, England, and recently travelled around North America by tweeting their coordinates and inviting the public to take them anywhere.

I am not famous anymore: The Transformers star infamously wore a paper bag over his head when he stepped on to the red carpet in 2014 for his film Nymphomaniac: Volume I

Touch my soul: Along with fellow artists Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner, Shia had emotional phone conversations with people all over the world when he set up an installation in Liverpool, England

Take me anywhere: The trio also recently travelled through North America by tweeting their coordinates and invited the public to take them anywhere

Bingefest, which will take place at the Sydney Opera House, will also celebrate culture curated and grown on the internet over the last few years.

'The Opera House is about exploring and reflecting the culture around us as its morphs and evolves,' Bingefest founder and curator, Danielle Harvey, said of the inspiration for the new festival.

'Television, podcasts, gaming and the internet at large create an artistic frame through which we view the world.

'BINGEFEST is the culmination of all of these wonderful moments.

'We cannot wait to explore binge culture at the Sydney Opera House in the all-encompassing, immersive environment that only a festival can create.'

Tight and bright! The 30-year-old ran in a pair of hot pink tights which read 'Ellen for the cure' to raise funds for breast cancer research

A memorial service for Harambe, the heavily-mourned gorilla killed at Cincinnati Zoo when a child climbed into his enclosure, will be held by local comedians.

Viral cat videos will be presented in film festival form at the Opera House Forecourt, and is expected to attract large crowds.

Devoted fans will be able to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a binge-watching night, which will also discuss how the popular show changed television for the better.

Cutting edge: Shia showed off his unusual haircut, which consisted of a thick plait at the end of a curly Mohawk at the Tribeca film festival in 2015

For those not interested in sitting around with their eyes transfixed on a screen, two intimate dance classes will be held - teaching participants how to dance to the music of Rhianna or Beyonce.

And if the watching or dancing leaves guests hungry, the Redfern Convenience Store, which boasts a loyal customer base and Instagram following due to owner Hazem Sedda's friendly nature, will offer a pop-up store.

Bingefest will take place at the Sydney Opera House from Saturday December 17 to Sunday December 18 2016. Tickets will be on sale on October 14.
Their family has endured a rough past few days.

But regardless of the tough situation, Scott Disick Wanted to enjoy some bonding time with his eldest child.

The 33-year-old reality star was pictured heading to lunch at King's Fish House in Calabasas with his six-year-old son Mason on Thursday.

Just the two of us: Scott Disick was pictured heading to lunch at King's Fish House in Calabasas with his six-year-old son Mason on Thursday

It was one of the first times the two have been spotted in public since Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris.

As the 35-year-old reality star returned to Los Angeles earlier that day, Scott appeared to have a serious and concerned look on the outing.

He sported a grey crewneck sweater with matching skinny jeans and a pair of black Adidas Ultra Boost trainers for the occasion.

Out and about: It was one of the first times the 33-year-old was spotted in public since Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris

Fatherly duties: Scott kept a close eye on his six-year-old child as they held hands while heading to the restaurant

His hair was combed back in his signature slicked back look as he sported quite a bit of scruff on his face.

Mason wore a navy blue graphic top, khaki shorts and white slip-on Vans shoes.

Scott kept a close eye on his eldest child as they held hands while heading to the restaurant.

Comfortable customer: He sported a grey crewneck sweater with matching skinny jeans and a pair of black Adidas Ultra Boost trainers for the occasion

In the early hours of Monday, Kim was robbed by five armed men wearing ski masks and clothes with police markings, who entered her Paris hotel building at around 3am after the concierge let them in.

They tied her up and held a gun to her head as she begged for her life and told them she was a mother of two, before the robbers made off with her giant ring and a jewelry box.

The reality star is said to be 'badly shaken' and 'blaming herself' after the shocking attack, and is already making changes to her public profile and security.
Phi Theta Kappa is the international academic honor society of all two-year colleges. Chattanooga State's PTK chapter, Alpha Beta Mu, recognizes and encourages academic scholarship among Chattanooga State students. Students must be invited to membership in this chapter by having completed twelve college-level credit hours and having a cumulative college-level GPA of 3.5. Once a member, students are expected to maintain a cumulative college-level GPA of 3.2.



The following students were recently inducted into PTK during the 2016 fall induction ceremony.



Catoosa County, Ga.: Stephanie Jean Bailey, Lisa B. Smith



Cumberland County: Deana Naomi Daugherty



Franklin County: David Preston Oliver



Grundy County: Emily Hunter Green, Karissa Danielle Northcutt



Hamilton County: Kristiana Mikayla Adrian, Sarah M. Ballard, Mackenzie Joy Camenisch, Lindsey Marie Chesmar, Autumn Nicole Christopher, Ashley Michelle Cook, Shaun Patrick Cranford, Taylor Jean Giles, Caien Shepherd Huddleston, Terri Sue Miller, Allen Nesmith, Amanda Margaret Nobles, Naveena Ann Priestley, Anna Marie Rapp, Stephen Daniel Ricketts, Ashwyn Matthew Sam, Avery Connor Ellington Smith, Angela Vaughn, Dana Marie Vogel, Alexis Morgan Whitener



Marion County: Jasper TN: Brandon Dakotah Hood, Alyson B. McGowan; South Pittsburgh: Ragan Nicole Glass, Shelby Jones; Whitwell: Chelsea Leaton Fowler, Sheldon Leann Ritchie



Polk County: Rebekah R. Bishop



Sequatchie County: Coleby Lucas Johnson, Clinton Aaron Pierce



Whitfield County, Ga.: Halle Alexis Ford



For more information about PTK at Chattanooga State, contact Rachael Falu at Rachael.falu@chattanoogastate.edu or visit PTKs website www.ptk.org or more details about the international organization.
She portrayed Joan Jett in 2010 movie The Runaways, and Kristen Stewart was harking back to the punk era as she stepped out in New York on Thursday.

The 26-year-old wore a black blazer and a pair of mustard yellow plaid trousers as she headed inside a building with her entourage in tow.

With just a black vest worn beneath her jacket, the bra-less actress flashed a bit of flesh as she ducked into the building.

Making a comeback! Kristen Stewart brought back the punk era as she made a quick exit out of her car in New York on Thursday

The peroxide blonde continued with the punk rock theme as she wore a silver chain necklace with a locket.

Opting to shade her eyesight behind a pair of silver tint sunglasses, Kristen had her bright blonde hair slicked back away from her face while opting to go for minimal makeup.

She also carried a black quilted Chanel purse, while offsetting the designer goods with a pair of extra casual Vans shoes.

Kristen has been busy promoting her new movie, Certain Women, at NYFF lately.

Flashing the flesh! With just a black vest worn beneath her jacket, the bra-less actress flashed a bit of flesh as she ducked into the building

Casual 'do: Opting to shade her eyesight behind a pair of silver tint sunglasses, the 26-year-old had her bright blonde hair slicked back away from her face while opting to go for minimal makeup

She stars opposite Michelle Williams and Laura Dern.

In a new interview with W magazine Kristen - who appears nude in her new indie flick Personal Shopper - opens up about how comfortable she is with sex scenes.

'I wasnt apprehensive,' she explained. 'I feel super great with director Olivier [Assayas], as well.

Just the best! She also carried a black quilted Chanel purse, while offsetting the designer goods with a pair of extra casual Vans shoes

'The scenes in which I dont have clothes on or the scenes that seem 'risque' from an outsider's perspective, there was no acknowledgment on his part.'

The actress said her directors nonchalant attitude was cultural: 'They're very f****** French.'

But said that Americans, on the other hand, 'are weirder about s*** like that.'

Certain Women will premiere in the U.S. on October 14.
The first full length trailer for her movie Jackie was released earlier this week.

And Natalie Portman showed off another special something just a day later.

The 35-year-old actress put her burgeoning baby bump on full display while out and about in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

Casual customer: Natalie Portman put her burgeoning baby bump on full display while out and about in Beverly Hills on Thursday

Her growing belly could be seen peaking through her baggy white knit sweater during the stroll in the affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood.

She also showed off her slender legs in a pair of tiny floral-patterned shorts and comfy flip flops.

The Oscar-winning actress accessorised with a pair of large, mirrored aviator shades while holding onto her car keys.

Natalie's brunette tresses were put in a messy updo as she let her natural looks show by going make-up free.

Out and about: The 35-year-old star's growing belly could be seen peaking through her baggy white knit sweater during the stroll in the affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood

Leggy lady: She also showed off her slender legs in a pair of tiny floral-patterned shorts

Natalie is already the proud parent to son Aleph, who she welcomed in 2011 with Benjamin Millepied - her husband of two years, who she met while filming Black Swan in 2009.

The brunette beauty debuted her baby bump at the Venice Film Festival last month and has been seen blossoming ever since.

In 2012, Natalie and Benjamin tied the knot in an intimate Jewish ceremony, and Benjamin announced he was in the process of converting to Judaism before they moved to Paris.

The V for Vendetta star relocated her family to France in 2014 after Benjamin was made the Paris Opera Ballet's director of dance - but admitted she had struggled to adjust to the culture change.

Happy parents: Natalie is already the proud parent to son Aleph, who she welcomed in 2011 with Benjamin Millepied - her husband of two years, who she met while filming Black Swan in 2009

The Israeli born star but Los Angeles native moved back to the States earlier this year, and said on Jimmy Kimmel Live: 'Everyone smiles a lot here. It's so nice. They're more cool in France. I didn't realise I got used to it until I got here and I was so surprised.'

Earlier this week she as unveiled in her role as former Jacqueline Kennedy in the hours and days following the assassination of her husband President John F. Kennedy in the film Jackie.

The film directed by Chilean Pablo Larrain paints a portrait of the former first lady as she lives through and then seeks to come to terms with the loss of her husband.

Jackie will be released in theatres by Fox Searchlight on December 2.

Moving portrayal: Natalie stars as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the hours and days following the assassination of her husband in the just released trailer for the film Jackie

The trailer begins with Richard Burton as King Arthur singing a song from the musical Camelot as the camera shows crowds reflected in the darkened glass of a limousine
Chrissy Teigen looked a bit downcast on a date with husband John Legend at West Hollywood hotspot Catch LA on Thursday evening.

The newly-opened rooftop sushi spot on Melrose has already drawn celebrities like the Jenner sisters, Jamie Foxx, Cindy Crawford, and Millie Bobby Brown.

But the normally feisty, outspoken presenter - who turns 31 next month - did not crack a smile.

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Different moods: Chrissy Teigen looked a bit downcast on a date with husband John Legend at West Hollywood hotspot Catch LA on Thursday evening

John's happy! The newly-opened rooftop sushi spot on Melrose has already drawn celebrities like the Jenner sisters, Jamie Foxx, Cindy Crawford, and Millie Bobby Brown

'I just feel like I am absorbing s*** 24/7': But the normally feisty, outspoken presenter - who turns 31 next month - did not crack a smile

It's been two days since Chrissy made her Twitter account private, writing: 'Yeah. Not strong enough anymore.'

'It's not haters or trolls or generally mean people,' Teigen - who boasts 11.3M followers - explained.

'I just feel like I am absorbing s*** 24/7. My body and mind cannot handle it anymore.'

It's been two days since Chrissy made her Twitter account private, writing: 'Yeah. Not strong enough anymore'

Leggy lady: The M.I.L.F. $ video vixen - who relies on stylist Monica Rose - bared her shoulder in a loose grey mini-dress, black maxi-cardigan, and booties

'My body and mind cannot handle it anymore': As usual, the Cravings author sported full, contoured make-up with a fuss-free top-bun

The M.I.L.F. $ video vixen - who relies on stylist Monica Rose - bared her shoulder in a loose grey mini-dress, black maxi-cardigan, and booties.

As usual, the Cravings author sported full, contoured make-up with a fuss-free top-bun.

The married couple of three years - who plan on having three more children via IVF - left their six-month-old daughter Luna at home for their night out.

Learning piano! The married couple of three years - who plan on having three more children via IVF - left their six-month-old daughter Luna at home for their night out

Lip lock: Thursday marked the premiere of the 37-year-old Oscar winner's new single Love Me Now featuring his All of Me muse on the cover

He's with her! The R&B belter will return to his Ohio hometown Sunday to perform at a Dayton concert in honor of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton

Vote! John and Chrissy posed with a cardboard cut-out of the former Secretary of State - who turns 69 this month - while at a voter registration drive in Las Vegas on Wednesday

Thursday marked the premiere of the 37-year-old Oscar winner's new single Love Me Now featuring his All of Me muse on the cover.

The R&B belter will return to his Ohio hometown Sunday to perform at a Dayton concert in honor of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

John and Chrissy posed with a cardboard cut-out of the former Secretary of State - who turns 69 this month - while at a voter registration drive in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Beat it! Teigen will continue to provide 'color commentary' for the third season of Lip Sync Battle, which premieres October 12 on Spike

Teigen will continue to provide 'color commentary' for the third season of Lip Sync Battle, which premieres October 12 on Spike.

And the 10-time Grammy winner has an acting gig as Keith in La La Land, which hits US theaters December 16 and UK theaters January 13.

The jazz pianist falling for an aspiring actress musical dramedy stars Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and J.K. Simmons.
He was an actor best remembered for his role in Australian sitcom Kingswood Country.

And sadly Ross Higgins passed away on Friday aged 86, after an ongoing battle with his health.

The late star died in hospital, where he had been staying for the past few weeks.

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Sad news: Kingswood Country actor Ross Higgins (L) passed away on Friday aged 86, after an ongoing battle with his health. Pictured with wife Nadine (R) in 2006

His former colleague Tony Sattler told the ABC the news of his passing.

'He has been in hospital for the past few weeks,' he confirmed.

Tony also shared that his long-time friend was dedicated to acting.

Leading man: The actor was perhaps best known for his role as Ted Bullpitt in Australian sitcom Kingswood Country, which aired from 1980 to 1984

'He was totally committed to comedy in his early years and he had worked in radio,' he added.

Ross played the leading role of Ted Bullpitt in Kingswood County, with the series being screened from 1980 to 1984.

The TV series mocked the intolerance of the main character, a factory worker and WWII veteran who often exaggerated his difficult upbringing.

Satire: The TV series mocked the intolerance of the main character, Ted, a factory worker and WWII veteran who often exaggerated his difficult upbringing.

The character of Ted was known for watching television, his greyhounds and his beloved Holden Kingswood car.

Ross is survived by his wife Nadine and four adult children.

He was also known for his role in The Naked Vicar Show, a satirical TV series based on a fictional radio program.
Her racy wardrobe choices have sent pulses racing since arriving in London last week.

And Paris Hilton continued her sexy British takeover as she arrived at the capital's Movida nightclub on Thursday night.

The American socialite, 35, boldly flaunted her eye-popping cleavage in a perilously plunging LBD.

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Head-turner: Paris Hilton, 35, continued her sexy British takeover in an eye-popping number as she arrived at London's Movida nightclub on Thursday

All eyes were on The Simple Life star's sensational physique as the slinky garment provocatively cupped her assets.

Boasting silver embellishments, the dress skimmed her figure before falling short on her thighs.

And not done with the saucy display just yet, the hotel heiress clad her lean, long pins in a pair of sexy fishnet tights, boosted by a pair of shiny stilettos.

In true diva style, Paris completed her look with a pair of black aviators, despite it being the middle of the night.

She's got front! All eyes were on The Simple Life star's sensational physique as the slinky garment provocatively cupped her assets

Walking the walk: Paris clad her lean, long pins in a pair of sexy fishnet tights, boosted by a pair of shiny stilettos

Style statement: In true diva style, Paris completed her look with a pair of black aviators, despite it being the middle of the night

Paris' long blonde locks fell neatly down one side, as she strutted forth with a bag in one hand and a black furry coat in the other.

The socialite wore natural make-up and didn't look the slightest bit fatigued, despite partying the previous night.

Arriving to the Chiltern Firehouse on Wednesday, she left little to the imagination as she went underwear free in an extensively slashed figure-hugging dress for the night on the town.

Racy lady: Paris sent pulses racing in a sexy dress as she partied the night prior at Chiltern Firehouse in London

The clingy number showed off her eye-catching figure as it bared her flesh with the racy cut-out detailing.

Starting from her back, the sexy slashes traced the outline of her tanned physique before falling at a thigh-skimming finish.

The rest of the black material collected at the front and ended at knee level, showing off her toned pins which were accentuated with zipped ankle boots.

Oozing body confidence as she strutted inside the venue, the former Simple Life star carried a chic black handbag, which balanced a statement leopard print jacket on it.

Flesh on show: The American socialite went underwear free in an extensively slashed figure-hugging dress for the night on the town

Sexy style: The clingy number showed off her eye-catching figure as it bared her flesh with the racy cut-out detailing

All eyes on her: The rest of the black material collected at the front and ended at knee level, showing off her toned pins which were tanned to perfection

With her long blonde locks falling down her sides, smokey eyes and a pink pout, Paris opted for finishing touches in the form of a choker and small studs.

Despite being in the limelight for over a decade, the reality star has apparently started toning down her appearances lately.

Paris has traded in her reality television days for a career as a celebrity DJ and recently spun the turntables for Philipp Plein's cocktail party in Milan, Italy.

She also recently returned from Serbia where she played in a club in Belgrade on Saturday.

The onetime BFF of Kim Kardashian - who she likes to boast was her assistant showed off her SIX security guards for the trip, with a group picture.

Paris - who is also launching more real estate property in Dubai, Las Vegas and New York - is also expanding to the tech world as well where she is planning to create content and games for VR, according to Adweek.
She's finished filming her latest flick and has been enjoying time in London and LA.

And Kate Beckinsale put on a stylish appearance as she stepped out for dinner in New York on Thursday.

Arriving at Mercer Kitchen, an upscale Franco-American eatery in SoHo, the 43-year-old British actress put in a chic appearance.

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Chic: Kate Beckinsale put on a stylish appearance as she stepped out for dinner in New York on Thursday

Wearing a black jumpsuit with a plunging neckline and elasticated ankle cuffs, Kate cut a cool figure.

Accentuating her stature she wore a pair of strappy platform heels with pretty cross strap detailing.

Wearing her ombre tresses loose, she covered her face with dark shades.

Shady lady! Wearing her ombre tresses loose, she covered her face with dark sunglasses

And paying attention to detail she sported a Gothic matching manicure and pedicure, and a dash of lipgloss.

Kate, is mother to daughter Lily from her previous eight-year relationship with Welsh actor Michael Sheen which ended in 2003.

The English-born star took her acting to career to America in the nineties and has been based Stateside ever since appearing in Thai prison drama Brokedown Palace, with Claire Danes.

The couple enjoyed an eight year relationship, but split in early 2003 after the filming of Underworld, which also starred Michael, when she started a relationship with the movie's director Len Wiseman.

Kate recently made her return as the gun-toting, latex-clad vixen, Selene, in a trailer for the up-coming fifth installment of the hugely popular Underworld series.

The trailer for Blood Wars hints that the plot of the action-flick will be based around Selene's own blood being the key to ending the war between vampires and werewolves.

Fans of Kate will be pleased to know that her return as Selene in Underworld: Blood Wars will premiere on January 6.
She decided to marry husband Will Corrie in secret earlier this year in Barbados, without her nearest and dearest present.

But former Blue Peter Presenter Zoe Salmon has now revealed the heartbreaking reason why they opted to elope without a single family member to witness their union at the exclusive Sandy Lane Resort on the Caribbean island.

Speaking to Belfast Live, the TV personality, 36, explained her mother Priscilla  who passed away last month after a long battle with two terminal illnesses - was so ill at the time that she couldnt travel.

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Newlyweds: Zoe Salmon has revealed the heartbreaking reason why she and husband Will Corrie chose to elope to Barbados without a single family member present at their wedding

Contrary to reports that she hadn't told her relatives about her nuptials, Zoe said: 'My parents knew all about it, they paid for our wedding. But mum was just too ill to be there. Mum's illness was so private, she didnt want anyone to know.

'I couldn't have married at home because mum couldnt have made it. But the fact we all did it meant it didnt feel sad that Will and I got married on our own.'

Zoe added: 'I spoke to mum and dad after the wedding  they hadnt known the exact day that week we were doing it, so that was the surprise bit. But they were thrilled for us.'

Although admitting 'people were baffled' by the choice to simplify their wedding, Zoe said their special day was 'lovely'.

Heartbreak: The former Blue Peter presenter, 36, explained her mother Priscilla  who passed away last month after a long battle with two terminal illnesses - couldnt travel

Loved-up: The couple got engaged at the exclusive Sandy Lane Resort last year and chose to return to the Caribbean island to tie the knot

And she said eloping runs in the family, with her parents tying the knot in Bournemouth on their own and her sisters Lara and Naomi running off to Mauritius and Antigua respectively to get married.

The blonde beauty revealed her late mother gave her a bottle of Chanel No5 as her something borrowed  which made her feel like she was there with her on the day.

The couple had been together for five years after meeting at a friend's wedding in Castle Leslie, County Monaghan - where Sir Paul McCartney famously married Heather Mills in 2002 - and got engaged in Barbados in 2015.

Aside from wedding bells, it's been a difficult time for the Northern Irish stunner, who is currently starring on Channel 4s The Island with Bear Grylls, as she revealed her mind was constantly on home and her mum as she filmed the series in February.

Zoe admitted being on the show was a 'constant concern' as she was without a phone or contact but was reassured by the production company that she would be notified should anything happen.

Heartbreaking: The blonde beauty revealed her late mother gave her a bottle of Chanel No5 as her something borrowed  which made her feel like she was there with her on the day

The former Dancing On Ice star - who took part in the show to raise awareness for the charity Stand up to Cancer - explained it was thinking about her mother Priscilla that got her through the difficult experience.

Although her career is important to her, Zoe insisted the past few months have put things into perspective after work commitments left her based in London and fearing she might get the chance to say bye to her mum.

The TV star revealed her flight was delayed upon hearing her mother wasn't doing so well but got back in time to say her final goodbyes in her native Bangor the night before she passed away.

Future: Reflecting over her difficult year, Zoe (pictured in 2011) revealed she can in the someday show her future children how 'lovely Granny Salmon was'

Reflecting over her difficult year, Zoe revealed she can in the someday show her future children how 'lovely Granny Salmon was'.

Following her passing, Zoe and her family have set up The Priscilla Edith Salmon Fund with the Northern Ireland Hospice in memory of her.

The blonde first started her career when she won Miss Northern Ireland in 1999, before turning her attention to presenting.

She co-hosted Blue Peter to 2004 until 2008 and also appeared as a contestant on Dancing On Ice in 2009.
Their marriage went through a testing time after it was alleged that he'd had a six-month affair with a celebrity hairstylist earlier this year.

But it now appears Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne are going strong once again, as she has revealed the rocker has bought her a dazzling new diamond ring.

Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Friday, 63-year-old Sharon said Ozzy surprised her with the gift before she left their home in the US to head to the UK, where she is currently serving as a judge the X Factor.

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Happy once more: Sharon Osbourne revealed Ozzy bought her a new ring during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Friday

She told her interviewer Richard Arnold: 'What's not to be happy? My husband got me a new wedding band before I left, put it on my finger before I left. Ice, ice, baby! Everybody's healthy and happy.'

Richard then joked: 'And that ring, on closer inspection, is probably worth more than my current living accommodation.'

Ozzy, 67, presented Sharon with the gift after he reportedly slept with stylist Michelle Pugh who is 22 years his junior.

Sparkler: Sharon said Ozzy surprised her with the gift before she left America and headed to Britain to judge the X Factor

Sharon said: 'What's not to be happy? My husband got me a new wedding band before I left, put it on my finger before I left... everybody's healthy and happy'

Sources close to the couple - who have been married for 34 years - said Sharon found out about her husband's alleged infidelity when she searched through his email inbox.

Sharon confirmed reports that she kicked Ozzy out of their 7.5million Beverly Hills mansion. He then reportedly moved back in - and Sharon moved out.

On her US chat show The Talk on May 10 she opened up about the incident and thanked her fans for their support.

Presenter Richard joked: 'And that ring on closer inspection is probably worth more than my current living accommodation'

She said: 'I'm 63 years of age, and I can't keep living like this... I've been avoiding looking at any pictures or reading anything. I know what's going on.

'I don't need to read about or see about it. It's like putting salt in a wound. I don't need to... He's back, and now I'm out of the house.'

Since the pair have made up, Ozzy told Good Morning America's Jesse Palmer: 'It's just a bump in the road, that's all it is. I'm back on track again.'

Testing times are over: Sharon reportedly kicked Ozzy out of the house after hearing rumors that he had cheated on her but now the couple are happy again

Ozzy's alleged mistress: Once in California, Michelle Pugh, 45, turned to hairdressing and became one of LAs most celebrated colorists

Also on Friday's GMB, Sharon defended her decision to put controversial rapper Honey G through to the X Factor live shows as one of her final three.

Talking about the unkind words the star has received on social media, Honey G said that 'very famous people' often have haters.

Sharon also talked about Kim Kardashian's robbery - in which masked men held a gun to the reality star's head and stole 8.5million worth of jewellery in Paris.

Sharon said: Even if you dont put yourself out there yourself, anybody can go online and see where you live. Nothing is private anymore Its great that nobody was hurt and everything can be replaced.'

On the defence: Also on Friday's GMB, Sharon defended her decision to put controversial rapper Honey G (third left) through to the X Factor live shows as one of her final three

Ozzy met Sharon, the daughter of Black Sabbaths manager Don Arden, when she was aged 18. They married in 1982 and have three children  Aimee 32, Kelly 31, and Jack 30.

In addition to coping with Ozzys addictions, Sharon battled colon cancer in 2002, and two years ago underwent a double mastectomy after she discovered she has a gene that puts her at greater risk of breast cancer.

In March Sharon shocked her fellow The Talk panellists when she revealed that Ozzy, 67, slept with two of the nannies hired to look after their children.

Opinionated: Sharon also talked about Kim Kardashian's robbery - in which masked men held a gun to the reality star's head and stole 8.5million worth of jewellery

She said: 'We used to have four nannies, because I had three children - I would work five days a week - I would travel because you can't work a nanny seven days a week.

'I'm telling you, they were the bane of my existence. They were all wanting to be celebrities. They were all wanting money.

Then, out of nowhere, dropped: 'I caught two of them in bed with Ozzy! At different times. It goes on and on.'
She cancelled her upcoming book signings following sister Kim Kardashian's terrifying Paris ordeal.

And Khloe Kardashian put on a serious appearance as she arrived at LAX flanked by three security guards.

The 32-year-old reality star dressed down as she arrived at the departures section of the airport.

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Taking no chances: Khloe Kardashian put on a serious appearance as she arrived at LAX flanked by three security guards

Clad in fitted jeans and a burnt-coloured loose-fitting hoodie she accentuated her stature with a simple pair of black ankle boots.

With her trademark blonde tresses loose, she covered her face with a large pair of shades and added a dash of lipgloss.

And taking no chances, she surrounded herself with three burly security guards.

Casual: The 32-year-old reality star dressed down as she arrived at the departures section of the airport

Her appearance comes after she- and sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner- cancelled all scheduled book signings due to 'ongoing security concerns'.

The cancellations came in the wake of sister Kim, 35, being robbed at gunpoint earlier this week in Paris, according to an article on Thursday by Page Six.

Khloe was scheduled for appearances at Barnes & Noble stores to promote the paperback release of her memoir Strong Looks Better Naked.

Security concerns: Khloe, shown in November 2015 at a book signing in San Diego, has cancelled planned book signings due to security concerns

Kendall, 20, and Kylie, 19, also had similar planned appearances for their upcoming second book Time of the Twins: The Story of Lex and Livia.

Representatives for the reality stars-turned-authors told bookstores that 'due to recent events and ongoing security issues, we are canceling all book signings'.

The message added that 'safety is the number one priority' and said the famous siblings would push the books on social media to make up for the lack of in-store appearances.

Safety first: Kendall and Kylie Jenner, shown in June 2014 in Los Angeles promoting their debut novel, also have cancelled planned book signings

Barnes & Noble stores also were told they could send books to Khloe, Kendall and Kylie to have them signed for fans.

The move comes as Kim also cancelled all public appearances, and the entire family beefs up security after the terrifying armed heist.

Their hit show Keeping Up With The Kardashians also has been put on hold 'indefinitely' by E!, which says 'Kim's well-being is our core focus right now'.

Kim was asleep when five masked armed men on early Monday stormed her private hotel in Paris and forced their way into her room.

Jewelry heist: Kim Kardashian, shown signing her book of selfies, Selfish in May 2015 in Los Angeles, has cancelled all appearances since being robbed early on Monday in Paris

Memoir: The sisters have called off in-person appearances over security fears, but will sign books sent to them by Barnes & Noble for fans

The mother-of-two begged for her life as she was bound and gagged and tossed into the bathtub.

The robbers made away with nearly $11 million of jewelry including a ring worth $4 million that husband Kanye West, 39, gave her.

Kim, her mother Kris Jenner and her three-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint arrived back in Los Angeles from New York on Thursday.

The KUWTK star reportedly feels safer in Los Angeles, and is deeply shaken by the armed attack. Her husband Kanye joined her before resuming his Saint Pablo tour on Friday.

No arrests have been made in connection with the Paris heist.
She was spotted cosying up to a mystery man in Bondi last month, after leaving The Bachelor unscathed by Richie Strahan's rejection.

And now Olena Khamula has made her public debut with boyfriend Rodney Maroun at a beauty launch in Surry Hills, Sydney.

The couple put on an affectionate display at the the Revlon x Chloe Morello Contour Kit Launch at the Dolphin Hotel on Friday.

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Debut! Bachelor's Olena Khamula has made her first public appearance with boyfriend Rodney Maroun at a beauty launch at the Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills, Sydney on Friday

Olena, 24, displayed her natural beauty with minimal make-up and styled her hair in a simple yet chic updo

The Ukrainian model offered a glimpse of decolletage in a plunging black dress with shoulder cut-out detailing.

She paired the outfit with several accessories, including a thin necklace, earrings and a white clutch.

Rodney appeared to be smitten with his new girlfriend as he affectionately wrapped his arms around her slim waist.

Three's a crowd? The couple were joined at the Revlon x Chloe Morello Contour Kit Launch by The Bachelor 'villain' Keira Maguire (L)

Loved up! Olena displayed her natural beauty with minimal make-up and styled her hair in a simple yet chic updo, while Rodney looked dapper in a navy suit with a crisp white shirt

Making a good impression! Keira enjoyed a friendly conversation with Rodney, which suggests she approves of her former co-star's handsome new boyfriend

Rodney, a builder, looked dapper in a navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a pair of smart brown shoes.

They were joined at the exclusive event by The Bachelor 'villain' Keira Maguire.

The 29-year-old looked glamourous in a dusty pink dress which she paired with beige Valentino heels

She opted for a nude lip with lashings of mascara and wore her blonde hair in her signature Lara Bingle style.

No hard feelings! Keira and Olena appeared as friendly as ever at the exclusive Revlon event, despite being former rivals on The Bachelor

Pink minx: Keira, dubbed The Bachelor's series 'villain', displayed her devilishly good style in a dusty pink dress and beige heels, while Olena went for a plunging black dress

She clearly approves! Olena looked happy that Keira was getting along with her boyfriend

Meanwhile, Olena was photographed kissing Rodney during a romantic date at Ravesi's hotel in Bondi last month.

She looked blissfully happy as Rodney touched her face and whispered into her ear before gently kissing her on the lips and hands.

Olena previously told The Sydney Morning Herald she worried about being 'single forever' because of her overprotective father.

Andriy Khamula, a former boxer, was a hit with Bachelor fans after he grilled Richie Strahan during home town week.
Belvoir Christian Academy, 800 Belvoir Ave. in East Ridge, invites the community to the annual fall festival on Sat., Oct. 22 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.This event, sponsored by the schools Parent-Teacher League, has been an annual tradition for over 60 years. Festival events will include a petting zoo, train rides, inflatables, face-painting, live music, and a variety of food, craft and service vendors.Admission is $5 per person, with a maximum of $20 per family. Children under one are admitted free.Proceeds will benefit BCAs Parent-Teacher League in purchasing classroom items for the school's "Teacher Wish Lists" and technology updates.The school wishes to thank festival sponsors Michael Luffman, Allstate Insurance; Denise Lineman, Bay View Riding Academy; and Dr. Michael Tew, Lifestyle Orthopedics.Belvoir Christian Academy was established in 1887 and serves infants through eighth grade.
Her parenting skills were called into question recently, after spending time apart from her five-year-old son Elijah since winning The Bachelor.

But now Alex Nation appears to be trying to prove her critics wrong by paying tribute to her adorable child on Instagram on Friday.

The 25-year-old model doted over Elijah in a lengthy caption alongside an idyllic photo of him playing at the beach.

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Proving her critics wrong? The Bachelor's Alex Nation shared an Instagram photo of her five-year-old son Elijah (pictured) on Friday, after receiving 'criticism' for her parenting skills

'I'm always going between wanting you to be this age forever and being excited about all the wonderful things you are going to do in life,' Alex wrote in the caption.

'Whilst sometimes it's hard for me to watch you grow up so quickly, every new little step you take fills me with so much pride.

'So in this moment, I'll enjoy watching the 5 year old boy with a bright beaming smile play with his best furry friend at the beach,' she concluded.

'It's hard for me to watch you grow up so quickly': The 25-year-old model doted over Elijah in a lengthy caption alongside an idyllic photo of him playing at the beach

The adorable image saw Elijah, dressed in a blue button-up shirt and shorts, flashing a huge grin while playing with the family dog.

It is unclear if the photo was taken recently or is a 'throwback' snap. It is also not known if Richie Strahan was present.

However, in recent weeks Elijah has been spending time with his father and his partner in Melbourne during the school holidays.

Family feud? Alex (pictured left with Elijah) appeared to be the subject of a social media post by her former sister-in-law Kimberley Grace Porter (right) posted several weeks ago

The post comes shortly after Alex was apparently criticised for her parenting skills by her ex-husband Joel Porter's girlfriend, Ashy Smith, and by her former sister-in-law Kimberley Grace Porter.

Presumably in response to last month's Bachelor finale, Kimberley shared a photo of her brother Joel, his son Elijah and Ashy, writing in the caption: 'You are the real winners'.

The image was posted on Instagram several weeks ago - shortly after Richie confessed his love for single mother Alex on the Network Ten dating show.

Kimberley, who is Joel's older sister, added as the caption: 'Love this little family. You are the real winners. You both have that kid's heart'.

Meanwhile, she also wrote on Ashy's Instagram page that she was ' relieved (her) nephew finally has a loving, attentive, maternal figure at home.'

'The real winners': Kimberley - Joel's older sister - shared a photo of him, his son Elijah, and girlfriend Ashy several weeks ago (pictured) and wrote in the caption, 'Love this little family. You are the real winners. You both have that kid's heart'.

Alex and Joel were briefly married after she gave birth to their son Elijah in 2011, but it is understood they divorced two years ago.

Alex frequently spoke about Elijah on The Bachelor, but fans have criticised her for not spending enough time with him since the finale.

It is also not yet confirmed if Richie, 31, has even been introduced to Elijah despite the couple spending time in Melbourne, where he lives.

This follows reports that Alex's parenting skills were supposedly being criticised by her ex-husband's partner on social media.

Fan claims: Alex often spoke about Elijah on The Bachelor, but fans have criticised her for not spending enough time with her five-year-old son since the finale. Pictured with Richie Strahan

Social media drama: This follows reports that Alex's parenting skills were supposedly being criticised by her ex-husband's partner Ashy Smith on social media. Pictured: Ashy and Elijah

As Daily Mail Australia revealed in September, Ashy appeared to share several Instagram posts about neglectful parents - which were later deleted.

An image posted days before The Bachelor finale stated: 'Too bad you are only a good mother on Facebook and the rest of the time you neglect your child'.

Another similar post read: 'Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience. You are raising a human being'.

It still remains unclear if Ashy's Instagram posts were directed at Alex.

Co-parents: Alex and Joel were briefly married after she gave birth to their son Elijah in 2011, but it is understood they divorced two years ago. Pictured: Joel and son Elijah

Daddy duties! Joel confirmed last month that Elijah was staying with him during the school holidays - while Alex flew to Perth to spend time with Richie's family

Meanwhile, Alex has responded to fans' accusations that Ashy has taken on a 'stepmother' role to Elijah since her rise to TV fame.

'My little boy is everything to me,' she said last month. 'I know who I am and I know what kind of mother I am so (critics) don't bother me'.

A glance at Joel's Instagram page shows that Ashy is very involved in Elijah's life and regularly joins the father and son on family days out.

Joel also confirmed last month that Elijah was staying with him during the school holidays - while Alex flew to Perth to spend time with Richie's family.
Over the past two weeks, she's successfully whipped up an avalanche of headlines while promoting her revealing new book Reborn, telling all about her heartbreak.

But Katie Price has now revealed that speaking so candidly about her husband Kieran Hayler's affairs with two of her best friends has taken its toll.

During an appearance on ITV's Loose Women on Friday, the former glamour model announced that she's taking a month-long break from the limelight to heal her reopened wounds - which she'll deal with during couples therapy sessions.

Break: Katie Price has announced on Loose Women on Friday that she's taking a month-long break from the public eye after the gruelling experience of promoting her new book Reborn

She explained: 'We're gonna go back to a therapist, not because there's anything wrong with our relationship... He's realised now I've moved on, how much he's hurt me. It's a lot for him to deal with.

'Everything, all in my life, I've never really sat down and spoken about it (with a therapist).'

She added: 'We had therapy at the time (of Kieran's cheating) and I thought I was over it... The past two weeks, I've been back on my book tour, it's reopened new wounds. I've had to talk about it.'

Therapy: Katie and husband Kieran Hayler will be going to couples therapy in the near future

Late honeymoon: The couple will also be heading off next week for a late honeymoon

However, while she insisted multiple times throughout the show's broadcast that she and Kieran are not splitting, she did mistakenly refer to him as ex-husband Peter Andre.

After her initial announcement of taking a break, Kieran sent a video message from his phone, in which he said: 'Hi babes, I love you and I'm so proud of you and I'm going to support you through everything. I love you.'

Katie jokingly fired back: 'You're the one who did the damage!'

Oops! During her time on the show, Katie mistakenly referred to Kieran as her ex Peter Andre

Testing times: Katie explained that speaking about her husband's cheating so extensively two-and-a-half years later has tested her and her spouse emotionally

When asked by her co-hosts if she'll ever forgive him, she said: 'I'll never forgive him. Never forget... But I wanna clarify me and Kieran - oops, I almost said Pete then - are absolutely fine. It's just been hard emotionally for both of us.'

She also confessed that her move to expand her boobs to a new bra-busting size - much like her old alter ego Jordan - was likely because of insecurities.

The mother-of-five said: 'The boobs had nothing to do with what's happened with the book. I will admit people see me going out in more skimpy stuff.

Demure: Katie displayed her slimline physique in a comparably demure ensemble

Heartbroken: Katie broke Kieran's heart when he cheated on her with two of her best friends

'When I met Kieran, my body was small and normal and then I had two babies back-to-back and gained weight... The two women he had affairs with were smaller... Now I'm back to where I was and maybe it's like, "Now I'm back to where you want me."

'I am insecure. I am vulnerable. It's kind of a relief for me to admit I'm not as strong as people think. I have to put a barrier up. But enough's enough now.

'I'm not disappearing for ages, just a few weeks... We're just going away on a belated honeymoon, just me and Kieran and the kids and enjoy some horses.

'I want to help Kieran through this as well, because it's tough for us both... I do trust him, but because of all this book stuff there's turbulence.'

Squad: She spoke candidly with panellists (l-r) Kaye Adams, Linda Robson and Nadia Sawalha

Sympathetic: She received support from the Loose Women team as she shared the news

Let's hug it out: The mother-of-five later shared a hug with Linda, who called her a 'great mum'

The first moment that she realised how gruelling it might be to relive the trauma was when her legal team advised her to read through her book and she couldn't face it.

'It's just something I don't want to relive again,' she said. 'It's just absolutely awful, torture.'

She also explained that she got through many of her past pains by putting up a defence mechanism.

'If I'm hurt, I try and answer it in a jokey-bantery way to look like I can handle it... I haven't got any tears to cry. My heart is shattered.'

Rude boy: She also took the opportunity to shoot down rumours of an affair with Scotty T

Just friends: Despite rumours to the contrary, Katie insisted that she and Scotty are just friends

But she's also been feeling sorry for Kieran - despite the damage of his past actions.

'It's also been hard for Kieran,' she said. 'He's changed in two-and-a-half years... I've had to relive it with a fresh mind and go, "Oh my god, this is what he did to me."'

Kieran's indiscretions stayed close to Katie's mind, as later on in the show, when Anne Diamond came on as a guest, she made further confessions when the TV veteran spoke about being cheated on.

'Sometimes, it crosses my mind that I want to hurt him back,' said Katie of Kieran. 'Sometimes, I just want him to feel the pain that I had.'

Feeling sorry: Despite Kieran's cheating, Katie said that she feels terribly for her husband

Raunch: Katie also apologised for her recent return to wild public behaviour and raunchy attire

During the show, she also took some time to shoot down rumours that she'd had a fling with Scotty T.

'This has dragged on,' she said, looking exasperated as she explained that the Geordie Shore star had taken her and a friend to a sunbed.

She recalled: 'Afterwards he asked if he could come and change in my room because he had a event to get to in Blackpool. While he was in there I was just getting my hair done and thats it. Were just friends.

Warning: During the show, Nadia revealed that she'd advised Katie against going on the tour

Chaos: She also pointed out Katie's string of chaotic relationships since her split with Peter

'We had people in room. I shouldn't have to justify myself. I'm married. I'm not gonna do that.'

Katie's fellow panellists also asked if Kieran trusted her, to which she answered: 'I feel like he might wonder if I'll go and do something because of all the book stuff.'

Directing her apologies to the public about her recent antics, she said: 'I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my pictures and behaviour. But I'm human... I don't wanna talk about the past anymore. I just need to move on.'

She added: 'It took me 23 years to admit that I am vulnerable and I do have insecurities... I'm self-destructive sometimes, but I'm human.'

Opening up: She revealed that this will be the first time she candidly talks through her issues

Having a laugh: Katie admitted that she'd previously joked her way out of serious discussion

Despite her efforts to save their marriage, Katie appeared remarkably considerate of his possible future should they ever break up.

Speaking later in the show about vasectomies, she admitted that she wouldn't want him to go through with the procedure, just in case he wanted children with somebody else.

Katie said: 'Once we've had all our kids I'd be happy to do it. But I don't think I'd want him to. You don't know what's going to happen...

'What if we split and he met someone and wanted to reverse his vasectomy and I went off and had a baby with somebody else? It would kill him.'
She unveiled her makeover at the Paris launch party for Chantal Thomass' new show Dessous Dessus on Thursday.

And Kelly Brook looked in good spirits as she stepped out with boyfriend Jeremy Parisi in the French capital on Friday.

The 36-year-old model- who made an appearance with straight hair and dramatic make-up at the bash, rocked a double denim ensemble as she enjoyed a day of shopping.

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In Paris with Parisi! Kelly Brook looked in good spirits as she stepped out with boyfriend Jeremy Parisi in the French capital on Friday

Accentuating her legs in fitted jeans and black ankle boots, she coordinated her look with a denim shirt left slightly unbuttoned.

And putting on a busty display she showed of a hint of cleavage in a low cut white vest.

Shielding herself from the Autumnal weather the British actress wore a faux fur jacket, and tied her hair into a relaxed ponytail.

Denim dream: The 36-year-old model rocked a double denim ensemble as she enjoyed a day of shopping with her beau

Ditching her dramatic make-up from the night before she kept the bold brows and kept the rest of her look natural.

Her beau Jeremy looked dapper in matching jeans and a tan leather jacket, helping Kelly carry her shopping bags.

The couple have been dating for over a year and just a few months ago an insider appeared to confirm that they were engaged and planning to wed.

But in June Kelly denied this, explaining: 'Jeremy bought me a lovely ring but we're not engaged. I only wear it on that finger because it doesn't fit on the others.'

A new look: Kelly looked worlds away from her usual self as she transformed her look with dead straight hair and over the top make-up while attending the Paris launch party for Chantal Thomass' new show Dessous Dessus on Thursday

And this week she unveiled a new look as she attended the Dessous Dessus launch party.

She typically favours the retro pin-up girl look, complete with over-sized curls and a statement lip.

But she looked worlds away from her usual self as she transformed with dead straight hair and over the top make-up while attending the Paris launch party.

The buxom brunette turned heads for wholly different reasons due to her shock new look where her beauty regime totally overthrown as she made her grand arrival at iconic French nightspot, the Crazy Horse Paris.

Chic: The model's figure-hugging dress skimmed her enviable curves in all the right places

Kelly exuded confidence and glamour in her black bodycon number, featuring a low V-neckline that enhanced her voluptuous curves - seemingly loving her new look.

While the model and actress has an extremely tried-and-tested red carpet look after nearly 20 years in the spotlight, it seems she was feeling experimental on Wednesday night.

Everything from her totally transformed hairdo, new make-up and muted dress made for a huge change in the beautiful star who is known for her vintage styling.

A transformed style: Everything from her totally transformed hairdo, new make-up and muted dress made for a huge change in the beautiful star who is known for her vintage styling

Is that you Kelly? Her usual look is different to how she was on Wednesday

While the look was different, her figure-hugging dress typically skimmed her enviable curves in all the right places and remained perfectly demure thanks to its modest hemline.

Kelly cosied up to her French partner Jeremy on the red carpet, looking blissfully happy together.

The pair were guests of honour at the Crazy Horse, which has seen lingerie designer Chantal become guest creator at the cabaret for the next three months.

She has been chosen to dress the dancers in her trademark racy designers from October 5 until December 31.

Loved up: Kelly cosied up to her French partner Jeremy on the red carpet, looking blissfully happy together

Date night: Kelly cosied up to her French partner Jeremy on the red carpet, looking blissfully happy together

Happy together: The former glamour model has been dating the judo pro for over a year

Her adopted homeland: The star is very much at home in France these days since she had been dating judo pro Jeremy for over a year

Kelly and Jeremy, 31, seem to be closer than ever and the model recently insisted she has no regrets about the path she's taken to happiness, as she sees her unmarried and childless status as a success.

Speaking during an appearance on Good Morning Britain, Kelly said of her very public love life: 'I see it as a success that Im 36 and still not married with children. Ive dodged so many bullets.'

In the past, Kelly has enjoyed high profile relationships with the likes of rugby players Danny Cipriani and Thom Evans, personal trainer David McIntosh and actors Jason Statham and Billy Zane.

Make way: The pair were guests of honour at the Crazy Horse, which has seen lingerie designer Chantal become guest creator at the cabaret for the next three months

Centre stage: Chantal (right) has been chosen to dress the dancers in her trademark racy designers
Kate Hudson sure loves a party.

And when that party involves 'celebrating caviar,' what's not to like?

The blonde actress joined a group of her fun-loving pals - including Courteney Cox, Tobey Maguire's wife Jennifer Meyer and her sisters - at the home of Absolute Elyx CEO Jonas Tahlin for a shindig on Thursday.

Just 'celebrating caviar'! Kate Hudson enjoys a girls' night out with her fun-loving pals including Courtney Cox, right, at a cocktail party in Hollywood on Thursday night

Dressed to impress in a black vest top and trousers, her blonde hair blow-dried into a sleek style, Kate seemed as always to be at the centre of the fun.

She and her close group of girlfriends smiled for the cameras as they snapped selfies at the private Hollywood home.

Whitney Port and sisters Sara and Erin Foster were also in attendance.

Selfie time! Kate snaps away with pals Jennifer Meyer, Sara Foster, Sarah Meyer and writer Erin Foster

One for the web: Kate reposted this image of her girl gang

The bash was in honour of Roe Caviar, and the guests made sure to plug the pricey brand in all their social media updates - of which, predictably, there were many.

'Celebrating @roecaviar @sjmeyer02 @conceptarts @katehudson @sarafoster @erinfoster @absolutelyx,' wrote jewelry designer Jennifer, in a post which Kate retweeted.

High class: The girls were nibbling on copious amounts of caviar

Having spent the afternoon trying on sunglasses, and Snapchatting the results to her fans, Kate settled for sharing a video of her cocktail, served in a coconut shell with a sparkler in the lid.

Meanwhile when not on the party circuit, mother-of-two Kate has been busy promoting her new movie Deepwater Horizon.

In an interview while plugging the film last month the 37-year-old spoke about 'forgiving' her father Bill Hudson for abandoning her and brother Oliver.

Now that's some fruity paper: The party-goers posed in front of banana palm print paper

Her host: Kate schmoozes with party host Jonas Tahlin, the CEO of Absolut Elyx

She insists she bears no ill will towards Hudson - who publicly disowned her and Oliver last year.

She said: '[His] issues ... are just something that he has to live with, and that must be painful for him. I forgive him.

'[There'll always be an] inability for me to understand my father.

'Forgiveness in any aspect of something that is complex is the greatest tool.'

Pals: Kate and her girlfriends posed up for pictures

And though the Almost Famous star is 'sad' that she has no relationship with her biological father, she claims their division has made her a stronger person.

Asked by DJ Howard Stern if she speaks to Bill, she said: 'I don't. It is very sad... I have a very thick skin because of it.'

And Kate - who has sons Ryder, 12, with ex-husband Chris Robinson, and Bingham, five, with former fiance Matt Bellamy - is thankful to have had her mother Goldie Hawn's long-term partner Kurt Russell in her life for the last 33 years.

She said: 'When you have a father like Kurt, who has been there for the hard stuff.
She is more comfortable behind the microphone as one of the world's biggest pop stars and more recently, a successful Heart radio presenter.

But Emma Bunton stepped way out of her comfort zone on Friday as she impressively walked over hot coals in aid of Global's Make Some Noise.

The former Baby Spice, 40, looked nervous but ultimately excited as she embarked on her scolding path to raise money for the cause, which aims to help young people of the UK.

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You can do it! Emma Bunton, 40, walked across hot coals on Friday to raise money for Global's charity Make Some Noise

Clapping and cheering along with the crowds, Emma psyched herself up for the money-raising challenge as she stood before the smoking rocks.

The Spice Girl faced the coals confidently in a chic black blazer, jeans and jazzy patterned shirt, not letting her trademark glamour falter in her nervous excitement.

Casting her black stilettos to one side, the blonde looked more than ready and determined to succeed, as she took her first step onto the painful path.

3, 2, 1... Casting her black stilettos to one side, the blonde looked more than ready and determined to succeed, as she took her first step onto the painful path

Flinching only slightly, Emma kept smiling, laughing and clapping as she skipped across the coals, making it back to cool grassy ground in mere seconds.

Delighted at her achievement, the GEM star threw herself into co-host and friend Jamie Theakston's arms for a hug, in celebration of her new skill.

The recent X Factor mentor was taking part in the challenge to raise money for Global's Make Some Noise - the charity set up by media group Global, who is uniting its radio brands Heart, Capital, Classic FM and Radio X to fundraise.

Success! Flinching only slightly, Emma kept smiling, laughing and clapping as she skipped across the coals, making it back to cool grassy ground in mere seconds

The charity, which is now in its third year, helps disadvantaged youngsters across the UK by giving a voice to small charities and projects that struggle to raise awareness.

Emma gushed of her experience immediately afterwards: 'My fire walk was scary but so exhilarating!'

'I was thinking of my kids, I know how proud they'll be of me. We've had a fantastic day in aid of this wonderful charity.'

So excited: Emma gushed of her experience immediately afterwards: 'My fire walk was scary but so exhilarating!'

The impressive feat marks just one event the team at Heart FM have organised in aid of the cause.

Her co-host Jamie Theakston had battled his fear of heights prior to Emma's challenge to raise funds for the charity.

The radio presenter, 45, took on the UK's highest free fall abseil for the cause, descending 262 feet down the Orbit.

Helping hand: Co-host Jamie Theakston and friend (above) met her at the other end to congratulate her

Party time: Delighted at her achievement, the GEM star threw herself into co-host and friend Jamie Theakston's arms for a hug

Emma added on their efforts: 'After Jamie faced his biggest fear and abseiled from the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, I wanted to do my bit for Global's Make Some Noise too. '

Superstar performer Michael Buble also pledged a generous 5,000 to the fund - having joined the crew for a live broadcast from the ArcelorMittal Orbit, giving the fundraiser even more scope.

The famous Canadian crooner said: 'It's an honour to support Global's Make Some Noise and it's been truly inspiring to meet some of the young people supported by the charity today.

Doing their bit: The challenge marks just one event the team at Heart FM have organised in aid of the cause with Jamie taking on the UK's highest free fall abseil for the cause

'Watching Jamie face his biggest fear when he abseiled from the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit was great fun, and I'm thrilled we've raised some money for such an incredible cause.'

Making the project an overall success, Heart listeners additionally raised more than 100K in sponsorship of Emma to do the challenge on Friday morning.

The fundraising has not stopped there however, with many other presenters cladding themselves in lairy costumes to do their bit for the cause.

Nine hosts across Capital, Radio X, LBC and Smooth, including George Shelley and Kate Garraway have dressed up as their favourite 'loud icons' to raise further money and awareness.

Tune in to Heart drive time with JK & Lucy from 4pm-7pm to hear Emma's challenge.

Let's play dress up: The fundraising has not stopped there however, with many other presenters cladding themselves in lairy costumes to do their bit for the cause, too

Guess who: Nine hosts across Capital, Radio X, LBC and Smooth have dressed up as their favourite 'loud icons' for the cause, including Katie Hopkins (L) and Lilah Parsons (R)

Bieber fever: George Shelley, of Union J fame, clad himself as popstar Justin Bieber for the cause

Standing out: Roman Kemp (L) went for a very colourful outfit while Jamie Theakston channeled his inner rockstar (R)
She's an actress, producer, mom of two and the co-founder of Foodstirs - an online food crafting company.

And Sarah Michelle Gellar kicked off the one year anniversary of launching her baking kit website by hosting a Kids In The Kitchen event at The Grove.

For the Sunday event, the 39-year-old actress looked lovely in a lacy blush dress with a khaki jacket and suede boots.

Strike a pose: Sarah Michelle Gellar kicked off the one year anniversary of launching her baking kit website - Foodstirs - by hosting a Kids In The Kitchen event at The Grove

Sarah Michelle glowed while at her company's cookie decorating and food crafting event at the outdoor mall in LA.

The mother of two was hands on during the kid friendly happening; she beamed as she demonstrated her baking techniques for attendees.

The Buffy The Vampire Slayer star looked gorgeous in the light pink frock, which had lacy ruffles across the waist and skirt as well as a turtleneck-style neckline.

The dress - from Bloomingdale's - highlighted the starlet's svelte frame.

Fashionable and flawless: For the Sunday event, the 39-year-old actress looked lovely in a lacy blush dress with a khaki jacket and suede boots

She's got a glow! The mother of two was hands on during the kid friendly happening; she beamed as she demonstrated her baking techniques for attendees

The Cruel Intentions star effortlessly transitioned to fall by slipping on the swingy army jacket by The Great, which retails for $375.

Sarah Michelle stepped out in Rag And Bone booties with sparkling Melinda Maria earrings.

The TV star styled her blonde tresses back into a bun and glowed in a minimal makeup look.

About to take a bite: Sarah Michelle glowed while at her company's cookie decorating and food crafting event at the outdoor mall in LA

Sprinkle time! The TV star styled her blonde tresses back into a bun and glowed in a minimal makeup look

Sarah Michelle painted her lips a pink hue with kohl lined lids and rosy blush on her cheeks.

The blonde beauty is mom to seven-year-old daughter Charlotte and four-year-old son Rocky with her husband actor Freddie Prinze Jr, 40.

The lovebirds began dating in 2000 after meeting three years prior on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer; they tied the knot in September 2002.

The Simply Irresistible actress co-founded Foodstirs in 2014 with Galit Laibow and Gia Russo Levin.

Absolutely beautiful: The Buffy The Vampire Slayer star looked gorgeous in the light pink frock, which had lacy ruffles across the waist and skirt as well as a turtleneck-style neckline
She never fails to put together a stylish ensemble.

And Friday was no exception for Ashley James since the former Made In Chelsea star was looking better than ever when she stepped out in London, arriving at Hoxton Radio Studios for her radio show.

The reality star-turned-presenter, 29, highlighted her best assets, flaunting her long legs in a sexy pair of thigh-high suede boots.

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Here she comes! Ashley James was looking better than ever when she stepped out in London, arriving at Hoxton Radio Studios on Friday morning for her radio show

Ashley teamed her daring boots with a baggy T-shirt dress, giving her look a casual vibe.

The stunner toted a candlyfloss pink handbag over one arm and added an on-trend choker with a gold buckle.

The blonde beauty wore her long blonde locks in a stylish half bun, and kept her make-up fresh and natural with just a hint of blusher and lipstick.

Laid back style: Ashley teamed her daring boots with a baggy T-shirt dress, giving her look a casual vibe

Ashley recently revealed she didn't always love her hourglass figure, and as a teenager she was so unhappy that she wanted to have a breast reduction.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the star admitted she got as far as having a consultation after finding her ample bust was being sexualised by her peers and even her teachers.

'When I was 15 me and my mum went for a consultation about a breast reduction just because I hated [my breasts],' she revealed.

On-trend: The blonde beauty wore her long blonde locks in a stylish half bun and toted a candlyfloss pink handbag over one arm

'But at the moment I don't think I would have cosmetic surgery... but I totally understand why people would. Each to their own.'

Ashley, who previously suffered from body dysmorphia, explained that she thinks the condition stemmed from the constant attention her chest received, as she explained: 'I think a lot of it comes from having big boobs.'

'I think there's a lot of judgement and sexualisation around boobs - but it's not like I've bought them - they're part of my body!' she continued.

'I tried to dress a lot frumpier and older than I was to avoid comments from boys and teachers even.'
Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Cyborg are seen sharing an elevator together in a behind the scenes glimpse of the new Justice League movie.

Director Zack Snyder posted a video clip which shows the cast behind the scenes on set in the UK, to mark then end of their filming schedule on Friday.

It showcases Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot in her role as Wonder Woman, and Jason Momoa playing Aquaman, alongside Ezra Miller as The Flash, and Ray Fisher who is Cyborg.

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Assembled: Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Cyborg are seen sharing an elevator together in a behind the scenes glimpse of the new Justice League movie

Over dramatic music, Affleck is heard speaking in character: 'There is a stranger who comes to this village from the sea, he comes in the winter when the people are hungry and brings fish. He comes on the king tide, that was last night.'

The cast are seen filming at the Warner Bros studios in Leavesden, where Harry Potter was shot, against a green screen.

Once the action shots with the cast are completed, the backgrounds and special effects will be filled in by a computer whizz.

He's back: Over dramatic music, Ben Affleck is heard speaking in character

One thing which was for real, however, was Henry Cavill's toned torso, which makes a brief appearance as he goes shirtless in the clip.

Not much is given away about the plot of the DC extended universe movie, but the entire Justice League are not only seen riding in an elevator together but also exploring some kind of huge, decrepit building.

At one point Jason Momoa accidentally drops his Aquaman trident and steals Wonder Womans sword so he can charge at an invisible enemy.

In character: Gal Gadot looks glamorous in her role as Wonder Woman

happy: Gal smiled as she was surrounded by the crew

Green screens: Once the action shots with the cast are completed, the backgrounds and special effects will be filled in by a computer whizz

Drama: Not much is given away about the plot of the DC extended universe movie

Hanging around: The cast are seen filming at the Warner Bros studios in Leavesden, where Harry Potter was shot

Dark Knight: Affleck is back behind the Batman mask

The lively footage also shows the actors keeping up their grueling fitness regimes to keep themselves in the superhero zone.

Director Zack Snyder looked delighted with the shoot, as he rounded off with a gracious thanks to all involved.

'Thanks to my cast and crew for a great shoot and thank you UK, you've been amazing,' he said at the end of the clip.

Whoops: At one point Jason Momoa accidentally drops his Aquaman trident

Scene stealer: He then takes Wonder Womans sword so he can charge at an invisible enemy

Speedy: The Flash is seen in costume with the cast and crew

Fighter: Wonder Woman pulled an intense face

Trade secrets: Actors are seen attached to wires which will later be painted out of the scene

Caped crusaders: The superheroes are seen exploring some kind of huge, decrepit building

Boom! There's an dramatic explosion in a building

Buff: The footage also shows the actors keeping up their grueling fitness regimes to keep themselves in the superhero zone

Behind the scenes: They are required to be physically active, and endure some heavy lifting

Eye candy: Ray Fisher also gets shirtless and works out

He captioned his post on Twitter: 'Last day filming in the UK. It has been an amazing shoot. Big thanks to everyone involved! #JusticeLeague,' ahead of production moving to Iceland.

He will be hoping the movie has a more favourable reception than this year's Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

Justice League hits theatres on November 17, 2017.

Saving the day: Superman Henry Cavill was also seen on set
It was a Mean Girls reunion of sorts.

Lindsay Lohan and her love interest in the romantic comedy, Jonathan Bennett, got together...via FaceTime.

On Thursday, the 30-year-old took to Instagram to share a screen shot of the 34-year-old, who played Aaron Samuels in the 2004 blockbuster, chatting to her.

Still friends: On Thursday Lindsay Lohan posted a FaceTime screen shot on Instagram as she chatted to Jonathan Bennett, who played her love interest in the 2004 hit Mean Girls

Old mates: Jonathan, 34, pictured at an event in Hollywood on Tuesday, and the 31-year-old, seen at the Butterfly Ball in London in June, have kept in contact for the past 12 years

The pair have kept in touch, despite the 12 years that have elapsed since the movie hit the big screen, according to E! News.

The newly single actress captioned it: '#nice #friends #j # #theworldisbiggerthan5 #facetime #iphone7 #stevenuniverseJOBS.

# means 'I love you' in Russian, a phrase she likely learned from her ex-fiance Egor Tarabasov, a 23-year-old Russian heir who runs the real estate agency Home House Estates in London.

She broke up with him in August, ending an allegedly abusive relationship.

Getting intense: The pair starred as high school girlfriend and boyfriend Cady and Aaron in 2004's Mean Girls. Jonathan has made it clear that there's no chance of a reunion film

Jonathan, who is presently starring in MTV series Awkward, has made no secret of the fact that he is against a full-blown cast reunion.

He told Us Weekly last year: 'If anyone asks me one more time if there's going to be a Mean Girls reunion, I'm going to kill someone.

'No! There's not going to be a Mean Girls reunion! Stop trying to make it happen! It's not going to happen!'

National Mean Girls Day: The blonde reminded her fans of the date on Instagram on Monday

However, Lindsay obviously isn't over the movie.

She posted an Instagram of herself with co-stars Amanda Seyfried, Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert on Monday, declaring it National Mean Girls Day.

Meanwhile, Lindsay is currently recovering from a scary injury to her ring finger that occurred when she tried to lower the anchor of the boat she was in off the coast of Turkey last weekend.
Getting two children to where they need to be in the morning does not lkeave a lot of time for fashion.

But Alessandra Ambrosio showed how you can be casually chic as she took little Noah to school.

The 35-year-old's look was a go-to guide of how to look put together but not spend too much time doing it, as she walked along with the tot in Santa Monica, California, on Friday.

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Stylish mom alert: Alessandra Ambrosio showed how you can be casually chic as she took little Noah to school in Santa Monica, california, on Friday

For her school run, the model donned a pair of distressed high-waisted Levis which were no doubt from her love Jamie Mazur's denim line RE/DONE.

She wore the jeans with a simple flowing white peasant top which is perfect for Los Angeles' warm fall weather.

The Victoria's Secret Angel finished off the look with a pair of slip-on canvas shoes, tortoiseshell sunglasses and a Chloe bag.

The style star wore her long brown hair in a half-up, half-down 'do and did not appear to wear much makeup.

It's jean-etic: For her school run, the model donned a pair of distressed high-waisted Levis which were no doubt from her love Jamie Mazur's denim line RE/DONE

Going with the flow: She wore the jeans with a simple flowing white peasant top which is perfect for Los Angeles' warm fall weather

Her little four-year-old rocked a too-cool-for-school look of a Run DMC shirt with blur shorts and a Spider Man lunchbox.

After dropping Noah off, the star headed to Kreation for a healthy juice.

Meeting up with a friend, Alessandra got herself a bright green smoothie.

Added extras: The Victoria's Secret Angel finished off the look with a pair of slip-on canvas shoes, tortoiseshell sunglasses and a Chloe bag

Cool kid: Her little four-year-old rocked a too-cool-for-school look of a Run DMC shirt with blur shorts and a Spider Man lunchbox

Mom time: After dropping Noah off, the star headed to Kreation to meet a friend

The two ladies grabbed some food and drinks to go and chatted away as they walked down the street.

Alessandra also has daughter Anja, eight with fiance Jamie.

The model and the RE/DONE jeans founder have been engaged since 2008 but are yet to set a wedding date
Art 120 is hosting El Mercado Latinoamericano de Chattanooga, a market featuring vendors from the local Latino community, on Saturday, Oct. 29 from noon-6 p.m.

This market is the feature of Art 120s first annual Dia de los Muertos fundraiser and celebration.

Festival goers may also contribute to a mobile Art Bike community altar honoring the roots of this Mexican and multi-cultural tradition, enjoy live music, craft Dia de los Muertos tissue flowers and masks, listen to bilingual traditional storytelling, and visit booths featuring the work of local artists for sale and auction.



El Mercado Latinoamericano de Chattanooga, typically held in the Ridgeside community, was founded by McCallie teacher Veronica Herrera and is part of a larger effort to support multicultural leadership skills through Culture Philanthropy.

Ms. Herrera said, In Culture Philanthropy we use culture as a catalyst to economic growth; we share culture to improve everyone's lives.

Officials said culture will certainly be shared as vendors offer traditional food such as gorditas and arepas prepared on site, quinoa and plantain snacks, handmade Columbian bags from Guajira region, handmade jewelry and traditional clothing, and more.



Art 120 has space remaining for booths and is accepting applications from local artists and craftspeople, musicians, and performers to participate in this event. If you are interested in participating, visit their website at art120.org to download forms and email to Hannah Hahn at edu@art120.org.
He's set to work every weekend until Christmas when the X Factor live shows kick off.

So Dermot O'Leary took the opportunity to relax on Friday as he enjoyed a very happy day at his close friend Simon's wedding.

The TV presenter, 43, dressed up to the nines for the occasion in a smart navy suit as he emerged from the church in Rock, Cornwall, with the wedding party and his glamorously-clad wife Dee.

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Stylish pair! Dermot O'Leary, 43, and his wife Dee dolled up in their best gear on Friday to celebrate the presenter's close friend Simon's wedding in Cornwall

The X factor host looked incredibly suave in his two-piece navy suit, which was tailored to perfection.

Opting for a classic outfit for the celebrations, the TV star layered a crisp white collared shirt underneath, which he secured in place with a light and summery lilac tie.

Adding a jazzy element for the fun day, Dermot finished his formal attire with a black and white checked pocket square.

Slick: The X factor host looked incredibly suave in his two-piece navy suit, which was tailored to perfection

Traditional: Opting for a classic outfit for the celebrations, the TV star layered a crisp white collared shirt underneath

Accessories are key: Adding a jazzy element Dermot finished his formal attire with a black and white checked pocket square

Meanwhile his stunning wife Dee Koppang showed off her naturally stylish flair as she ditched the tradiaitonal dress for a black and white trouser suit.

The black cigarette trousers perfectly hugged the producer's slim legs, while she broke up the dark colour with a chic cream blazer.

Keeping co-ordinated and adding a hint of glitz to the look, the Oslo-born beauty accessorised with a long string of Chanel pearls which hung delicately around her neck.

Suits you! Meanwhile his stunning wife Dee Koppang showed off her naturally stylish flair as she ditched the tradiaitonal dress for a black and white trouser suit

Closer than ever: The loved-up pair clasped onto each other's hands tightly as they exited the ceremony in their impeccably stylish fashion

Not wanting to clash with her monochrome look Dee also dressed her shoulder with a simple black leather handbag, fastened by a shimmering gold chain.

Adding a slick of red lipstick for a pop of colour, the Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack producer looked effortlessly gorgeous and glamorous as she headed to the party with hubby of four years Dermot.

The loved-up pair clasped onto each other's hands tightly as they exited the ceremony in their impeccably stylish fashion.

Day off: Adding a slick of red lipstick for a pop of colour, the producer looked effortlessly gorgeous and glamorous as she headed to the party with hubby of four years Dermot

My mate got married! Dermot appeared particularly over the moon at the day's festivities, pulling a selection of animated facial expressions and grins as he socialised

The happy couple: Dermot and Dee looked more in love than ever at the event, having married in Chiddingstone, Kent in 2012

The couple happily hugged and laughed with their friends in the church grounds.

Dermot, a good friend of the script-writer groom, appeared particularly over the moon at the day's festivities, pulling a selection of animated facial expressions and grins as he socialised with fellow guests.

After a quick catch up, the party then moved to the day's evening events, where celebrations no doubt continued late into the night.

Reunion: The couple happily hugged and laughed with their friends in the church grounds

Dermot and Dee looked more in love than ever at the event, having married in Chiddingstone, Kent in 2012.

Celebrity guests at the intimate ceremony included James Corden, Holly Willoughby, Fearne Cotton, Bear Grylls, Gemma Cairney, Antony Cotton and Leigh Francis (aka Keith Lemon).

The BBC Radio 2 host proposed to the brunette beauty in New York back in 2011, after a happy 10 years together.

The day undoubtedly came as welcome time together for the pair, as Dermot gears up for his lengthy X Factor run starting on Saturday - hosting the reality show's live episodes every weekend until Christmas.

Busy day: After a quick catch up, the party then moved to the day's evening events, where celebrations no doubt continued late into the night

Day off: The day undoubtedly came as welcome time off for Dermot as he gears up for his lengthy X Factor live show run starting on Saturday

Dermot made his return to the ITV series this year to rave reviews, having left the show after seven years in 2014.

He has since become the highest-paid presenter on British television, after reportedly securing an 8 million four-year deal with ITV to return.

A show insider told The Sun in July: 'This is the comeback of all comebacks for Dermot.

'Just one year after Cowell axed him, he's signing the contract of a lifetime.

'X Factor just didn't work without Dermot. Getting him to come back was absolutely essential for its future.'
She was rumoured to have enjoyed a fling with Lewis Hamilton.

But Barbara Palvin was no doubt catching the eye of endless suitors on Friday night, as she made an incredibly sexy appearance at Intimissimi On Ice in Italy.

The 22-year-old supermodel showed off the incredible figure that shot her to fame in a sheer lace top and trendy polka dot trousers, as she stormed the red carpet of the event in Verona like a catwalk.

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Spot on! Barbara Palvin, 22, showed off the incredible figure that shot her to fame in a sheer lace top and trendy polka dot trousers at the Intimissimi On Ice event in Italy on Friday

The Hungarian model looked truly flawless in the stylish ensemble, which was both sexy and sophisticated at the same time.

The pretty brunette teased at her flat abs and sexy cleavage in a low-cut vest top, which was formed entirely of sheer mesh decorated with tiny black diamante jewels.

The young star then layered a delicate black lace bra underneath, in keeping with the ensemble's risque yet ultra-feminine style.

Saucy: The pretty brunette teased at her sexy cleavage in a low-cut vest top, which was formed entirely of sheer mesh decorated with tiny black diamante jewels

Wanting to remain demure elsewhere, Barbara paired the daring blouse with a pair of high-waisted paper bag trousers, which skimmed her leggy figure from waist to ankle.

Made of sleek black leather, the strides were decorated with cute red polka dots all over, and lined with chic yellow and black piping at the hem.

Adding a thick black belt to her petite middle, the trousers cinched in her enviably slender figure and emphasised her tiny waist as she posed up a storm on the red carpet.

Fashionable flair: Barbara paired the daring blouse with a pair of high-waisted paper bag trousers, which skimmed her leggy figure

Keeping co-ordinated from top to toe, the Victoria's Secret model matched the dark tones of her outfit with a pair of pointed black patent heels, fastened with a ribbon.

She then layered a sleek, clean-cut black trench coat over the top, which she let drape casually and effortlessly over one shoulder.

The stunner left her hair hang loosely and opted for a natural, 'barely-there' makeup look, which was contoured to perfection to highlight her naturally gorgeous features.

True beauty: The stunner left her hair hang loosely and opted for a natural, 'barely-there' makeup look

Work it: Adding a thick black belt to her petite middle, the trousers cinched in her enviably slender figure and emphasised her tiny waist as she posed up a storm

Barbara showed her model prowess as she smouldered for the cameras, before letting her light-hearted side shine through as she flashed her winning smile.

She later posed beside the likes of fellow beauties Joan Smalls, Irina Shayk and Anya Rubik, as well as operatic legend Andrea Bocelli, who performed at the bash.

Barbara had reason to smile at the event, after being recently named a brand ambassador for L'Oreal Paris - making her the youngest ever representative of the company.

Finishing touches: Keeping co-ordinated the Victoria's Secret model matched her outfit with a pair of pointed black patent heels, that fastened with a ribbon

Professional: Barbara showed her model prowess as she smouldered for the cameras, before flashing her winning smile

Model behaviour: She later posed beside the likes of fellow beauties Joan Smalls, Irina Shayk and Anya Rubik

Speaking of her partnership, she said: 'What has happened to me is like a fairy tale. I am so excited to be part of the L'Oreal Paris family next to women as strong and iconic as Julianne Moore and Doutzen Kroes.'

The model attended the work event alone, clearly staying away from boy drama after her alleged recent fling with Lewis Hamilton.

Formula 1 ace Lewis was first linked to Barbara in May, following rumours they fell for each other during the Cannes Film Festival.

Yet during New York Fashion Week, Lewis was romantically linked to fellow model Winnie Harlow - partying with her until 5am just one day before Barbara was spotted leaving his hotel.

However a representative for Lewis has since insisted that the two are just 'good friends'.

Lovely ladies: Barbara beamed as she posed beside her fellow models and friends
Her show-stopping and glamorous displays turn heads on red carpets everywhere.

But Gemma Arterton proved she was just as beautiful in all her natural glory on Wednesday, as she headed to set make-up free.

The Made in Dagenham star, 30, showed off an enviably clear complexion as she returned to her hometown of Gravesend to shoot new drama The Escape.

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Glowing: Gemma Arterton, 30, showed off an enviably clear complexion as she returned to her hometown of Gravesend to shoot new drama The Escape on Wednesday

Natural beauty: Gemma proved she is just as gorgeous without a scrap of make-up (L) as she is when dolled up for red carpet events (R)

The British actress proved she was a natural beauty, showcasing a smooth and glowing complexion without a scrap of cosmetic help.

Gemma smothered her slender figure in a huge brown puffer coat, lined with a fur hood, to protect her from the chilly weather as she relaxed inbetween takes.

The BAFTA nominee laughed and joked with the cast and crew, looking on her phone and rehydrating with a bottle of water after a busy day filming multiple scenes.

Casual: Gemma smothered her slender figure in a huge brown puffer coat

Nip in the air: The coat was lined with a fur hood and layered on top of her full costume, to protect her from the chilly surroundings

Taking a break: The BAFTA nominee laughed and joked with the cast and crew as she rested between intense scenes

When filming kicked back into action, Gemma ditched her chunky overall to reveal the casual khaki parka, blue jeans and ankle boots of her evidently ordinary character.

The star adopted plenty of grave facial expressions for the camera as she filmed with a shopping trolley, before transferring to the comfort of a car for a later scene.

Completing her look with windswept and messy hair, the brunette looked miles away from her usual glamorous self - proving her to be totally immersed in her new character on set.

Time for a selfie? The British actress also browsed and laughed at her phone on set

Transformed: When filming kicked back into action, Gemma revealed the casual khaki parka, blue jeans and ankle boots of her ordinary character

Gemma is fiming in her hometown of Gravesend in Kent for new drama The Escape, which co-stars Mamma Mia star Dominic Cooper - although he was nowhere to be seen.

While little is known about the new project, directed by Dominic Savage, the Hollywood Reporter states the film will highlight 'the largely undiscussed phenomenon of women forced to leave their children and families'.

Gemma revealed of her new role to IMDB: 'The Escape will be an exploration of marriage and motherhood.

Serious business: The star adopted plenty of grave facial expressions for the camera as she filmed with a shopping trolley

Worlds away: Completing her look with messy hair, the brunette looked miles away from her usual glamorous self - proving to be totally immersed in her new character

'It is frank, honest and unapologetically from the womans point of view. It will be extremely personal.'

She finished: 'I look forward to embarking on it, surrounded by people I trust and who understand the intention.'

Gemma has been working incredibly hard recently, embarking on the new British flick just weeks after finishing filming and promotion for blockbuster The Girl With All The Gifts.

The film, which is based on the novel of the same name by M.R Carey, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada earlier this month to rave reviews.

Fuel: Gemma rehydrated with a bottle of water after a busy day filming multiple scenes

Warming up: Gemma then took to the wheel to film a later scene with a co-star
Creepy clown sightings spook America

A series of creepy clown sightings across the United States has caused a wave of hysteria, forcing police and schools to scramble to contain spreading jitters, and even the White House to weigh in.

The spooky sightings were first reported in August in South Carolina when police were called in to investigate what turned out to be bogus accounts of men dressed as clowns trying to lure children into the woods.

But similar sightings have since been reported in more than a dozen states with authorities forced to react to stories of clowns lurking outside schools or businesses, armed clowns driving around in a van or clowns prowling neighborhoods.

Spooky clown sightings have been reported in more than a dozen states with authorities forced to react to stories of clowns lurking outside schools or businesses, armed clowns driving around in a van or clowns prowling neighborhoods Marvin Recinos (AFP/File)

One school in Ohio even shut down over security concerns after a woman said she was attacked by a man dressed as a clown. And hundreds of students at Penn State University, in Pennsylvania, went on the hunt for jesters Tuesday night after reports of creepy clown sightings.

Coming just weeks before Halloween, when millions of children across the United States don costumes and go house-to-house trick-or-treating, the frenzy has become a social media sensation with the hashtag #IfISeeAClown trending on twitter and the @SpookyClowns account attracting 186,000 followers.

- Targeting schools? -

Meanwhile Instagram has exploded with posts of people dressed in clown costumes staring menacingly at the camera or photos of clowns appealing for understanding or offering free hugs.

The hysteria spread further this week with officials in California and Oregon forced to respond to numerous clown sightings -- largely considered to be hoaxes -- and social media threats against schools, also considered to be pranks.

Sergeant Juan Briseno, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told AFP that patrols outside schools had been increased in the city of Carson, south of downtown Los Angeles, following a threatening message on Twitter about clowns targeting an area high school.

"I have sent our school deputy to go speak with every school within our jurisdiction and make them aware of the situation," Briseno said.

The city of Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, was also swept into the frenzy this week after men wearing clown masks -- and possibly carrying kitchen knives -- were seen walking around in what police said was an attempt to frighten people.

At one school in Oregon, officials sent an email to worried parents this week reassuring them after a rumor spread about clowns planning to harm local students.

- No laughing matter -

"This rumor has surfaced across the country, mostly due to people reposting or sharing previous (social media) posts," the email states.

"We are working with our partners at Portland police to monitor this issue."

The White House weighed in on the phenomenon this week saying the sinister sightings that have led to about a dozen arrests should be taken seriously and that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security had been consulted on how to handle the scare.

"Obviously, this is a situation that local law enforcement authorities take quite seriously and they should carefully and thoroughly review, you know, perceived threats to the safety of the community and they should do so prudently," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

Experts said the epidemic of real or imagined sightings and ensuing hysteria could be explained by "coulrophobia", a long-documented phenomenon which increased in the wake of the 1986 Stephen King novel "It" featuring a malevolent clown, later turned into a hit movie.

"The last number that I have heard is that one in almost 10 people report a phobia of clowns," said Matthew Lorber, director of the child and adolescent psychiatry program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

"For kids, to not be able to see somebody's real face is what makes the clown so scary," he added.

Lorber said social media was feeding the current scare, which he warned could cause lasting trauma and panic attacks among younger children.

"Dangerous fads tend to catch and social media really fuels them," he said.

"The idea of scaring people with clowns and posting their reactions online is garnering so much attention that it's happening more and more."

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, which runs a clown school, views the creepy frenzy as no joking matter.

"It is troubling because it's a distraction for our clowns who just want to make people laugh and smile," it said in a statement carried by US media.

But King, whose cult thriller gave a generation the heebie jeebies, has decided to laugh it off.

"Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria -- most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh," the novelist tweeted on Monday.
Zimbabwe's Mugabe in surprise visit to Malaysia

Zimbabwe's 92-year-old strongman Robert Mugabe will pay a surprise one-day working visit to Malaysia on Friday, the Southeast Asian country said.

Malaysia's government said late Thursday Mugabe will have a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak but otherwise gave scant details on the purpose of the rare visit or the reason for the last-minute notification.

The foreign ministry said it was the Zimbabwean president's first working visit to Malaysia since 2000, but he has previously visited Malaysia and Singapore for medical procedures.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's health has been increasingly under the spotlight in recent years Jekesai Njikizana (AFP/File)

Mugabe's health has been increasingly under the spotlight in recent years.

He has denied reports of ill health and vowed to stand for reelection in 2018, but this year has seen demonstrations against his rule, which stretches back to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

Mugabe and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who stepped down in 2003, shared a close relationship and a love of anti-Western rhetoric in defence of the developing world.
With one month to go, US election is Clinton's to lose

One month from Saturday, Hillary Clinton is favored to make history as the first female US president. But with a resilient Donald Trump standing in her way, the Election Day outcome remains anything but certain.

The possible pitfalls -- an "October surprise," a Clinton debate meltdown, damning revelations from her controversial private emails or an act of terrorism -- are unknowable now, but they have a potential to upend an already extraordinary 2016 campaign.

The Democratic candidate has a 3.2-point advantage over her Republican nemesis, according to the RealClearPolitics national poll average, heaping pressure on Trump to make up ground in the closing weeks of their battle to succeed Barack Obama in the White House.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during a fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Hyatt hotel October 5, 2016 in Washington, DC Brendan Smialowski (AFP)

She has the upper hand in swing states, too. Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin are tilting Clinton's way, polls show.

Trump, 70, is leading in Iowa and the crucial state of Ohio, where he claims strong support among working-class white voters. But Clinton, 68, would not need those states if she can hold other battlegrounds.

Campaign momentum had swung in Trump's favor ahead of his first debate with Clinton, on September 26. The provocative real estate tycoon had seized on Clinton's description of half of his supporters as "deplorables," and earned praise for acting more disciplined.

But Trump -- whose incendiary rhetoric and propensity to go off script have been campaign hallmarks -- did not toe the line for long.

"After the debate, the Republican momentum ended," Columbia University professor Robert Shapiro said.

Not only did most analysts declare Clinton the debate's winner, but Trump's subsequent pre-dawn rant about a former Miss Universe raised doubts about his temperament as he seeks the world's most powerful job.

"That looked pretty unpresidential, tweeting at 3:00 in the morning," Shapiro said. "The polls have moved further in Hillary Clinton's direction."

- Caution -

Last week's revelations that Trump's declared loss of $916 million in 1995 allowed him to avoid paying federal taxes for almost two decades have not helped, even as he presented himself as "smart" for exploiting the complex tax code to his maximum advantage.

Democrats remain cautious about November 8, however.

Despite a cascade of insults and problematic policy proposals -- Trump has described Mexican immigrants as "rapists," called for a ban on Muslim visitors, and suggested providing Japan and Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons -- the celebrity billionaire emerged triumphant from the Republican primaries.

He swept aside 16 challengers, including Senator Ted Cruz, who branded him a "pathological liar."

Trump became "the Teflon Don;" the more he was attacked, the stronger he became.

"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Trump exulted in January.

The most caustic US presidential campaign in decades has potentially turned off millions of voters.

Clinton has amassed high-profile Democratic motivators: the president, First Lady Michelle Obama, Clinton's onetime primary rival Bernie Sanders, ex-president Bill Clinton and liberal firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren.

But after 30 years in public life, Clinton -- a former secretary of state, senator and first lady -- remains deeply unpopular.

The case of her private email server, Republican exploitation of her handling of the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, concern over donations to the Clinton Foundation, and her connections to Wall Street collectively reinforce a narrative that she is not trustworthy.

Many Republican voters will be converting their hatred for Hillary into motivation to head to the polls.

Their overwhelming desire for change after eight years of Obama is another factor. While Trump began the race with no political experience, he tapped into a deep well of anger at a system that many voters say has left them behind.

- 'Uphill battle' -

Trump -- who, like Clinton, is viewed unfavorably by more than half of Americans -- has harnessed that anger, but he, too, turns off voters.

"He has never been able to be consistent," said political science professor Jeanne Zaino of Iona College.

"He has a few good weeks, and then he ends up with the Khan situation," she said, referring to Trump's attacks against the Muslim parents of a slain US soldier.

"He has a few good weeks, and he is attacking women calling them fat," including beauty queen Alicia Machado, the subject of Trump's late-night tweet storm.

For months, supporters urged Trump to start acting more presidential and even-tempered, but "it looks like he may have passed the point of no return on that," Shapiro said.

The real estate billionaire has insulted Muslims and Hispanics, and broken with tradition by refusing to release his tax returns. Yet he continues to surprise.

He became the voice of millions frustrated by globalization, fearful of terrorism and betrayed by the political establishment.

Can he still bounce back with sharp performances in the second and third presidential debates on October 9 and 19? Zaino predicted that would be difficult.

"I think it is really an uphill battle for him."

The race for the White House Thomas SAINT-CRICQ, Paz PIZARRO (AFP)

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a town hall event on October 6, 2016 in Sandown, New Hampshire Mary Schwalm (AFP)

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a 3.2-point advantage over her Republican nemesis, according to the RealClearPolitics national poll average Brendan Smialowski (AFP)

Tee shirts, hats and bumper stickers for sale outside Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's rally on October 5, 2016 in Henderson, Nevada Robyn Beck (AFP)
Chastened 'Budgie Nine' back in Sydney after F1 stunt

Several of the nine Australian men who sparked outrage after stripping off at the Malaysian Grand Prix returned home Friday, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying they were lucky to escape without charge.

The men were celebrating Australian Daniel Ricciardo's Formula One win on Sunday when they stripped down to tight-fitting swimming briefs emblazoned with the Malaysian flag and drank beer from their shoes.

"We would like to urge all Australians travelling overseas in the future to be very aware of the cultural differences and sensitivities that exist in other nations," one of the nine, Nicolas Kelly, said after he landed at Sydney airport.

Nick Kelly (C) from the group of nine dubbed the 'Budgie Nine' speaks to the media after arriving at Sydney Airport Peter Parks (AFP)

One of the men, Jack Walker, a staffer for Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, remained in Malaysia.

The men, all in their 20s, were arrested and brought before a court in the town on Sepang on Thursday to face potential charges of public indecency and national insult.

Judge Harith Sham Mohamad Yasin called their conduct "totally inappropriate", but ordered their release, citing an apology they read out in court, their youth, and the four days already spent in custody.

Photos of the men flaunting the country's national colours on "budgie smugglers" went viral in Malaysia following the race, provoking angry comments from some social media users who accused them of insulting the Southeast Asian nation.

Budgie smugglers is the colloquial term Australians use for Speedo-style swimwear.

Displays of public indecency are not tolerated by authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia, with foreign offenders typically slapped with a fine before being deported.

Australian Prime Minister Turnbull said the men were lucky to get off so lightly.

"I think the Malaysian authorities were very lenient and I think the young Australian men were very repentant," Turnbull told Adelaide's commercial radio station FIVEaa.

"But they do need to reflect very seriously on their conduct.

"And it is just a reminder ... when you are overseas, you have to respect the laws of the country that you are visiting, just as we expect foreigners to, visitors to respect and comply with the laws of Australia when they are visiting us."
From Iran deal brokers to Greek islanders, Nobel peace prize wide open

Syrian rescuers risking all to save war-hit civilians and the brokers of Iran's nuclear deal are among contenders for Friday's Nobel Peace Prize after Colombia's peacemakers fell from pole position.

As the annual Nobel prize-giving week reaches its peak, the five-member Norwegian committee will unveil its decision at 0900 GMT, the only one of six awards to be presented in Oslo and the one which traditionally garners the greatest attention.

For once, experts, online betting sites and commentators had thought they were on to a sure thing with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo London, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, widely seen as frontrunners after signing a deal to end 52 years of civil war.

Local residents of Lesbos help refugees and migrants to disembark from a small wooden ship arter arriving at Lesbos island from Turkey Aris Messinis (AFP/File)

But they were suddenly forced to rethink after voters in Colombia rejected the agreement between their government and the communist FARC rebels in an October 2 referendum.

That threw the prestigious prize wide open again, and with a record 376 nominations to consider, predicting the winner is largely a lottery, with experts far from unanimous over who the committee will choose.

On the eve of the award, several Nobel watchers flagged civilian-led endeavours, with two betting sites giving Greek islanders the best odds for coming to the aid of thousands of desperate refugees landing on their shores after making the perilous journey across the sea from Turkey.

For others, it was the work of Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege in helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

- 'Resilience and bravery' -

Syria's White Helmet volunteers were also touted as possible winners for their daring efforts to rescue civilians caught up in the carnage of the country's five-year war.

Working in rebel-held areas, the force has won international plaudits for the bravery of its nearly 3,000 volunteers who risk life and limb to pull survivors from the rubble, with their nomination for the prize firmly backed by Britain's Guardian newspaper.

"What the White Helmets accomplish may seem like a drop in the ocean, but what they represent is immense: resilience and bravery in the face of barbarism," said the paper in an editorial.

"And they show that individual acts of courage can go a long way to fight indifference. They also embody a spirit of civic resistance... exemplifying courage and solidarity in the face of state-sponsored terror."

For Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Oslo's Peace Research Institute (PRIO), the top contender was Russian rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina for her decades-long work with refugees and migrants -- an issue which has shot to prominence in Europe since the start of the migrant crisis.

Also in the running is Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who endured months of sexual abuse by Islamic State militants before escaping to become a global spokesperson for her people.

And US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been touted for his exposure of the scope of US surveillance.

- Nuclear diplomacy -

If diplomatic achievement wins the prize, it could go to the negotiators behind the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord which effectively curbed Tehran's nuclear drive, putting an atomic bomb out of reach, in exchange for a gradual lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on its economy since 2006.

That could see the prize going to Washington's top diplomat John Kerry, his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as to nuclear experts Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary, and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

In an illustration of just how difficult it is to call, last year's prize went to four Tunisian groups who were instrumental in the country's transition to democracy -- none of whom had been mentioned in any of the pre-announcement speculation.

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, search for victims amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo on October 4, 2016 Thaer Mohammed (AFP)
It is the strongest storm since 2004, and Hurricane Matthew looks set to continue wreaking havoc on the southeast coast of the US.

The storm hit Florida in the earlier hours of this morning, and forecasters say that it isn't done yet.

They suggest that Hurricane Matthew could even loop back around on itself, hitting Florida for a second time - although forecasts are continually changing.

Experts have explained to MailOnline the science behind Hurricane Matthew's strange behaviour.

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Experts suggest that Hurricane Matthew could even loop back around on itself, hitting Florida for a second time - although forecasts are continually changing

THE SCIENCE BEHIND WHY IT COULD HIT FLORIDA TWICE Gurricanes that hit the East Coast tend to move northwest. But Hurricane Matthew is different The hurricane is expected curve to the north and northeast along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. Once it does this, it will then will be influenced again by the high pressure system and pushed back around to the south and southwest. Dr Chris Holloway, a researcher from the Department of Meteorology says the next trough [of low pressure] coming over the eastern US will be too weak and too far north to push Hurricane Matthew away. 'This could eventually steer the storm back over Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, although it is forecast to be much weaker, only tropical storm strength, as it approaches Florida again.' Advertisement

Most hurricanes that hit the East Coast tend to move northwest around the Bermuda high.

But that may not be the case with Hurricane Matthew.

Dr Chris Holloway, a researcher from the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, told MailOnline: 'The models are forecasting that the next trough [of low pressure] coming over the eastern US will be too weak and too far north to completely carry Matthew away.

'So Matthew will start to curve to the north and northeast along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts but then will be influenced again by the high pressure system and pushed back around to the south and southwest.

'This could eventually steer the storm back over Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, although it is forecast to be much weaker, only tropical storm strength, as it approaches Florida again.'

HOW BAD IS HURRICANE MATTHEW?

With winds of 120 mph, Hurricane Matthew is now listed as a Category 3 hurricane, which is defined as 'Winds ranging from 111 to 130 mph cause significant damage to property, humans, and animals.'

It is the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in October 2005.

This GIF shows how Hurricane Matthew's 5-day predicted path has repeatedly changed since last Thursday

Wilma's winds at landfall were 120 mph, and earlier that year, Hurricane Katrina hit with winds of 125 mph.

Jeff Masters, a former hurricane hunter meteorologist and meteorology director of Weather Underground said: 'There's no question that it's going to have major impacts.

'Is it going to be devastating or just major-damaging?'

MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel added: 'It could give a very extensive part of the Southeast coastline a pounding, and if it's moving very slowly, a lot of rain.'

An eerie 'skull' appeared in satellite images of Hurricane Matthew earlier this week, as the storm barreled towards the US

WHY IS IT HARDER TO TRACK THAN OTHER STORMS?

Hurricane Matthew became a Category One hurricane on September 30 - the lowest on the 1-5 scale.

Within 18 hours, it had strengthened to a Category Five hurricane with winds of more than 125 miles (200 kilometers) per hour.

'Even if science were perfect, even with all the right equations, we cannot forecast rapid intensification because there is an element of what appears to be randomness,' said Owen Kelley, a research scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

Most hurricanes that hit the East Coast tend to move northwest around the Bermuda high. But Hurricane Matthew looks set to loop back on itself and could hit Florida again

'We cannot perfectly measure the initial state of the atmosphere, the temperature and wind,' he added.

'So in some situations, it will make the forecast wrong.'

In the case of Matthew, forecasts at one point on Thursday showed it could hit Florida within 12 hours.

Commuters make their way through heavy rain in Jacksonville as the hurricane approached earlier this week

But Mr Kelley said the Category 4 storm was approaching the coast at an angle, which could have brought it to land up to six hours earlier and 60 miles closer or further than expected.

DOES GLOBAL WARMING PLAY A ROLE?

Knowledge about the role of global warming in the formation of potent hurricanes has improved over the past decade, but is also not fully understood.

Some of the variation in hurricanes, from active seasons seen in the 1940s and 50s to less active periods of the 1970s and 80s, come down to fluctuations in the North Atlantic Oscillation, a weather phenomenon that influences atmospheric pressure.

A satellite image taken earlier this week showed Hurricane Matthew making its approach towards the east coast

'Over the last 35 years, I have not seen any signal that there has been a notable change,' said Frank Marks, director of the Hurricane Research Division at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

'But I think 30 years is probably too short for looking at this kind of thing.'

Storm clouds could be seen rolling in towards the coast of Florida as Hurricane Matthew approached on Thursday evening
Frightened Syrians stuck in east Germany mull leaving

One had a beer bottle flung at him on a train. Another was woken at midnight as three men holding wooden slats rang his doorbell. A third had her headscarf pulled off by a stranger in the street.

A year after they arrived in Germany seeking refuge from war, some Syrians say they have experienced so much animosity that they are contemplating leaving.

The trouble is, they have landed in the eastern state of Saxony -- a flashpoint zone home to the Islamophobic PEGIDA movement that has seen a spate of racist hate crimes.

Majdi Khatun, a refugee from Lebanon and a father of two, sits at his window in the small eastern village of Clausnitz, in Saxony John MacDougall (AFP)

"It's too scary here," said Fares Kassas, victim of the train aggression.

"The man threw the bottle just as the door was closing and the train left the station. There was nothing I could do," said Kassas, who has obtained refugee status in Germany but is now contemplating leaving for Turkey, where his parents are living.

Mohammad Alkhodari, who spoke of a car that pulled up next to him with men preparing to beat him before he ran away, said he avoids going out after 6:00 pm.

"I am so stressed that I have developed a stomach problem," he said.

In Saxony, the number of far-right crimes, including assaults against asylum seekers and arson at refugee homes, tripled to 784 last year compared with 235 in 2014.

Both Kassas and Alkhodari are in the town of Freital, scene of anti-migrant demonstrations a year ago.

The area is linked to two neo-Nazi groups that plotted attacks against refugees but were dismantled by security forces last year.

In a report last month taking stock of the quarter century since reunification, the government warned that growing xenophobia and right-wing extremism now threaten peace in eastern Germany.

"Eastern states are bad states for refugees. It's hard to find apartments. There are no jobs and no contact with locals," said Alkhodari, a dental hygienist who desperately wants to move to western Germany.

- 'New level of hate' -

The arrival of 890,000 refugees last year has deeply polarised Germany, and misgivings against the newcomers run particularly deep in eastern states like Saxony.

The former communist state has become fertile ground for the far right, with unemployment fuelling resentment and xenophobia.

"They should all just disappear," said a man in his fifties, when asked what he thought of the refugees in Saxony.

Enrico Schwarz, who runs an association in Freital that has been helping Kassas and Alkhodari, said "latent racism and latent right-wing radicalism" has always existed in German society, but "at this time of the refugee movement, they have become bolder."

He said eastern Germans were more susceptible to xenophobia because many felt like migrants in a new country when Germany reunited.

"And (they feel) threatened by other migrants who are arriving now," he said.

Right-wing extremists are capitalising on fears with arguments such as "they're taking jobs away, or they'll drive health insurance contributions up", and lines are gradually blurring between those who are stirring up hate, and others who are simply worried about their future.

"Who is the 'concerned citizen', and who is the violent citizen? Who is the extremist citizen and who is the one who only has fears? It's no longer so clear," Schwarz said.

Erdmute Gustke, pastor at a church in Heidenau -- another Saxony village hit by violent anti-refugee demonstrations -- said some saw the migrant influx as another unwanted change affecting their lives.

"There is a feeling of 'leave us in peace, we've only just found our way after reunification and now we're facing something new again,'" she said.

Social media has also lifted the expression of hatred for foreigners to a "new level", said refugee aid volunteer Marc Lalonde.

"Before this social media explosion, people were probably racist but they kept it to themselves," he said.

Now they see that "they are not alone."

- 'No one to talk to' -

Lalonde helps out weekly at a small village that few had heard of before February.

But Clausnitz gained notoriety after a bus carrying refugees was mobbed by a marauding crowd.

"They shouted things like 'we will kill you'. They were drunk. We were so scared," said Afghan asylum seeker Sadia Azizi.

Six months on, two dozen refugees still living there complain of isolation as most locals have kept a distance and only German is spoken.

"There is no one to talk to," said Lebanese asylum seeker Majdi Khatun.

Some however have made an effort to reach out.

Khatun's son Luai, 15, spoke of schoolmates who help with homework or lend him notes to copy when the teacher's German is too rapid for him.

"There are no Nazis here," Luai said before greeting an elderly German couple.

"Did you like the marmalade? I've also packed some cake for you," said the woman who called herself "Luai's Deutsche Oma", or German grandma.

Lalonde admitted that it is "discouraging" that these efforts are often overshadowed by xenophobia.

"But I get motivated when I hear about a new attack because it means we have more work to do," he said. "And we can't give up."

Luai Khatun, a 15-year-old refugee from Lebanon, poses outside his flat in the small eastern village of Clausnitz, in the eastern state of Saxony John Macdougall (AFP)
The Tennessee Building and Construction Institute of Chattanooga hosted its second annual Build Chattanooga event at Chattanooga State. Attendees learned about the construction industry, careers in construction, and the types of training and education programs that support those careers. The event hosted 150 local high school and college students as well as career-change adults that have an interest in the construction industry.



Featured booths included Associated General Contractors of East Tennessee, Wright Brothers, Home Builders Association, UTC, Habitat for Humanity, green|spaces, ACE Mentor Program, Go Build Tennessee, as well as Chattanooga States Workforce Development division, Civil and Construction Engineering Technology program, Tiny House Project, and an AGC Student Chapter. Rhey Houston, Jim Blevins, and Taylor Clark manned the Stowers Machinery grill to provide dinner for the event.



A major topic of conversation during the night was the shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry both locally and nationally. Jimmy Lail (TNBCI, Raines Brothers) represented Go Build Tennessee during the event. There is a major need for young people to enter our industry in the skilled trades. We need people to learn skills in welding, carpentry, plumbing, ironwork, and masonry, etc. The industry can put those people to work today, said Mr. Lail.



Highlighting the specialized training required for the trades, Nick Adams with the Chattanooga Masonry Association and Adams Masonry facilitated a hands-on masonry workshop for the event. This is a very exciting time for the masonry industry. Chattanooga and the surrounding areas are growing by leaps and bounds and our challenges today include providing enough workers to handle the workload. We arent necessarily looking for young people to choose our profession instead of a college education but to decide to come to us as they are being educated, said Mr. Adams.



The event concluded with a diverse industry panel featuring Alex Miller (EMJ Corporation), Neal Adams (Adams Masonry), Marie Maher (Terracon), Jeremy Weaver (Wind River Tiny Homes), and was emceed by TNBCIs Harry Hawkins.

"The panel offered insightful and compelling perspectives on local construction industry trends, construction education and training, new technology (drones, robotics) in construction, and opportunities for careers in construction," officials said.

I believe tonight we heard a clear cry from the construction industry for a workforce development program integrated with technology that will help ease the ever increasing labor shortage the industry now faces, said Mr. Hawkins. It is my opinion that the students currently enrolled in construction programs at Chattanooga State and UTC have a very bright future ahead of them in the construction sector throughout the Tennessee Valley.

For more information on TNBCI, contact Caitlin Moffitt at Caitlin.moffitt@chattanoogastate.edu.
Agencies warn of fresh disaster as winter looms in flood-hit N. Korea

Humanitarian agencies are warning of a "second disaster" in flood-hit North Korea with tens of thousands -- many of them children -- still homeless as the region's bitter winter approaches.

Nearly 70,000 people are estimated to have lost their homes in disastrous flooding in North Hamgyong province in August and September that claimed more than 130 lives.

In a joint statement Friday, Save the Children and UNICEF warned that flood-hit areas would begin to see sub-zero temperatures from the end of October as the "long and bitter" winter sets in.

Damaged homes in a village can be seen in Hoeryong in North Korea's North Hamgyong Province after floods struck the area at the end of August

"Thousands of children are suffering and the impending winter will trigger a second disaster if we do not increase assistance for children and families," said UNICEF's country head in North Korea, Oyunsaihan Dendevnorov said.

"They have lost everything: clean water, food, medicine and shelter. Without more attention, the suffering of children will only get worse," Dendevnorov added.

The floods along the Tumen River, which partially marks the border with China and Russia, tore through villages, washing away buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands in urgent need of food and shelter.

Paolo Fattori, Save the Children's Program Director in North Korea, urged donors to come through with funds before winter arrives.

"The situation right now is urgent and on an enormous scale not seen here in decades. That's why we need the international community to step up," Fattori said.

The agencies are calling for $28.2 million in funding for immediate and long-term assistance, including repairing broken water systems and providing daily necessities like food, hygiene kits and temporary shelter.

The Red Cross has echoed the call for "urgent action" before winter sets in, but only 11 percent of the $15.5 million emergency appeal it launched on September 21 has been covered.

Aid agencies say raising money for humanitarian assistance in North Korea has become an increasingly difficult task given the global condemnation of its nuclear weapons programme.

Some donors have questioned how the North can afford to develop and test nuclear weapons, but still need financial help to alleviate the suffering of flood victims.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said homeless flood survivors were burning bits of wood in makeshift stoves to stay warm after losing their coal supplies in the flood waters.

"Urgent action is needed before the first snowfall," said Chris Staines, head of the IFRC delegation in Pyongyang.

"Last year that was in the third week of October. People lack proper shelter, clothing and other basic items to stay warm and healthy through the winter," Staines said, following a visit to the affected areas.

The impoverished and isolated North is vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods, due partly to deforestation and poor infrastructure.

At least 169 people were killed by a massive rainstorm in the summer of 2012.

Makeshift accommodation can be seen in Hoeryong, North Korea's North Hamgyong Province, after floods struck the area at the end of August
Mauritius wing debris from missing MH370: Australia

A piece of wing debris found in Mauritius is from MH370, Australian authorities said Friday as they cautioned the discovery shed no new light on the missing passenger jet's specific location.

The composite debris, recovered from the island nation in May, is the latest fragment found along western Indian Ocean shorelines linked to Malaysia Airlines MH370.

The Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew.

A trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO (MH370), the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said

Despite an extensive underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean far off Western Australia's coast where investigators believe the plane crashed, no trace of the aircraft has been found there.

The wing part "was a trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO (MH370)", the government agency leading the search, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said in a report.

"A part number was identified on a section of the debris," the ATSB said, adding that another "unique work order number" assigned by the flap manufacturer corresponded to MH370.

Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said investigators "remain hopeful" MH370 would be found.

"The finding of this debris... continues to affirm the focus of search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said in a statement.

"It does not, however, provide information that can be used to determine a specific location of the aircraft."

The ATSB report came two weeks after the agency said officials had yet to link debris recovered from Madagascar by US amateur investigator Blaine Gibson to MH370 or a Boeing 777.

Officials also said the debris found in Madagascar was not exposed to fire, quashing earlier speculation.

The failure to locate any debris in the search zone has fuelled speculation the plane may have crashed outside the area.

Several pieces of debris linked to the flight have been discovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines -- in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius.

The Mauritius part is the third fragment to be confirmed as coming from MH370. Malaysia said in mid-September that debris found in June off Tanzania came from the doomed airliner.

The first piece found -- a two-metre (six-foot) wing part known as a flaperon that washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July 2015 -- was confirmed by French authorities as from MH370.

More than 110,000 square kilometres of the search area has been scoured so far, Australia said this week, adding that the hunt was set to be completed in December.
Thirsty Taiwan makes splash on global whisky scene

An upstart Taiwanese whisky is outshining veteran brands on the global stage as the island fast earns a reputation as a stamping ground for connoisseurs.

Taiwan's whisky-drinking tradition is nothing new, fuelled by long business dinners and a "bottoms up" culture of throwing back hard liquor.

In 2015 it ranked as the fourth largest market by value for Scotch, behind the US, France, and Singapore, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.

In 2015, Taiwan ranked as the fourth largest market by value for Scotch, behind the US, France, and Singapore Sam Yeh (AFP)

But now a flourishing scene of specialised bars and tasting workshops has emerged as Taiwanese drinkers become thirsty for in-depth expertise.

Helping to galvanise interest is the island's homegrown Kavalan distillery. Set among rice fields in northeastern Yilan county, it sees a million visitors a year.

"A lot of people only know how to drink, but they don't know how it is made," says CEO Lee Yu-ting, who hopes the distillery can "educate" consumers.

Kavalan was founded just 11 years ago by local conglomerate King Car -- best-known for mass producing bottled water and canned coffee.

The brainchild of Lee's father, King Car founder Lee Tien-tsai, experts were sceptical that good whisky could be produced in such a humid climate.

But Kavalan has succeeded in wowing the international whisky circle.

It earned its global stripes by taking first place in a high-profile London blind tasting in 2010, beating four Scotches and one English malt just two years after its whisky hit the market.

In 2015 Kavalan's Solist Vinho Barrique was named the "World's Best Single Malt Whisky" by the prestigious World Whiskies Awards.

And this year it scooped the "World's Best Single Cask Single Malt Whisky" at the same awards for its Solist Amontillado -- named after a Spanish sherry which had previously been stored in the casks.

Kavalan has capitalised on the tropical climate to develop a method that allows it to age whisky more quickly, says CEO Lee.

That means it can hit the shelves within five years, compared with 10 years or more in traditional production regions.

"People tend to judge the quality based on its age -- that's not always correct," says Lee.

"Taiwan is the new player in the whisky world."

- 'Taiwan's awakening' -

Just over an hour away from Kavalan's distillery, in the capital Taipei, a growing number of specialist bars are testament to the island's burgeoning whisky scene.

Tucked away in a quiet alleyway, "L'arriere-cours" welcomes a steady stream of customers on a rainy Tuesday night against a backdrop of jazz.

Neatly dressed in dark grey waistcoat and bow-tie, bar manager Peter Huang says the Taiwanese have experienced an "awakening" when it comes to how they drink.

"Drinking used to be pervaded by the 'gan bei' culture," he told AFP, which means draining a glass in a single swig, a drinking style often encouraged in Asia whether at a business dinner or at a private karaoke room with friends.

"Consumers are becoming more curious about what they're actually putting into their stomachs," said Huang, attributing the trend to a proliferation of tasting workshops held by bars and local experts.

Stocked with over 400 bottles, from Scotches to Kavalan to India's Amrut, "L'arriere-cours" does not have a set drinks menu. Instead, bartenders chat with customers to determine what to serve them.

The bar food also reflects its whisky obsession -- slices of chicken, more traditionally marinated in Chinese rice wine, are instead soaked in whisky from the Scottish island of Islay.

For regular Mike Su, 35, the personal approach and wide selection has won his loyalty.

"You can try each kind one-by-one to find the drink you like, most suited to your mood that day," said Su, who works at a technology equipment distributor.

"It is finding pleasure through experimenting."

Edinburgh-based whisky expert, writer and researcher Charles MacLean says the level of whisky knowledge in Taiwan is impressive.

"In my judgement, there are more malt whisky connoisseurs in Taiwan than any other country I have visited," he tells AFP.

MacLean has followed Kavalan's rise from the beginning -- it was he who arranged the London tasting where it first rose to international prominence.

He describes the brand as "consistently excellent".

"Of course it is not better than Scotch -- or any other non-Scotch whiskies -- it is different, made with the same care and attention as other whiskies are."

While MacLean says Taiwan still has to catch up with its more established competitors, it is now on its way.

"It is too soon to describe Taiwan as being in the top whisky regions in the world," he told AFP.

"But it already has a reputation."

An employee of Kavalan whisky smells the whisky at the company's production facility in Yilan Sam Yeh (AFP)

Huge distillation columns at Kavalan's production facility in Yilan, northeast Taiwan Sam Yeh (AFP)

An employee of Kavalan whisky chars a wooden whisky barrel at the company's production facility in Yilan Sam Yeh (AFP)
Afghanistan in numbers, 15 years after US invasion

Nearly a month after the September 11 attacks that killed 3,000 people, the US launched its first major salvo in the "war on terror" by invading Afghanistan -- where, 15 years on, thousands continue to die each year.

Afghanistan, which the US invaded on October 7, 2001 in a bid to topple Al-Qaeda hosts the Taliban, has become Washington's longest military intervention since Vietnam -- and the most costly, now crossing $100 billion.

The country remains wracked by insecurity as the resurgent Taliban dealt Afghan forces serious blows in 2015, the first year they led security operations in Afghanistan, taking over from NATO.

Afghanistan remains wracked by insecurity as the resurgent Taliban dealt Afghan forces serious blows in 2015 Noor Mohammad (AFP/File)

The militants continue to launch repeated attacks on urban centres, including an assault this week on the strategic northern city of Kunduz, while the capital Kabul is often rocked by bomb blasts. US military officials recently described the situation as a "stalemate".

The Taliban threat forced President Barack Obama to slow plans to draw down US troop numbers at the end of this year. Some 8,400 will remain in the war-torn country in 2017, compared with 5,500 initially planned.

Here are some other key numbers charting the 15 years since the US invasion:

Civilians killed

-- A record 5,100 civilian casualties, including 1,600 deaths were recorded in the first half of 2016 according to the United Nations.

The previous year saw 11,000 deaths and injuries from attacks, mines and fighting between insurgents and government and foreign forces, which has spread to 31 of the country's 34 provinces.

But the true human cost of these 15 years is impossible to establish because deaths of Afghans in the war's early years were not recorded. Since 2009, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has recorded 23,000 deaths and 41,000 wounded.

Foreign troops

-- The foreign military presence peaked at 150,000 deployed soldiers in 2012, of whom 100,000 were American. Most NATO troops withdrew from the country at the end of 2014, but Washington decided to keep 8,400 through 2017 to support local forces -- 350,000 soldiers and police, including 18,000 special forces.

Losses by country

-- Foreign military losses by the end of 2014 amounted to 3,500 killed and 33,000 wounded.

The breakdown included 2,400 dead and 20,000 wounded for the US; 453 and 7,500 for Great Britain; 159 and 1,859 for Canada; and 89 and 725 for France -- figures that do not include private security contractors.

-- Afghan forces officially lost 5,000 men in 2015 including 3,700 police.

The money

-- The United States has spent around $110 billion on Afghanistan's reconstruction since 2001, more than the cost of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt a devastated Europe after World War II, but with limited results.

Some 80 percent of that sum has landed in "American pockets" according to European observers in the form of military contracts, maintenance tasks and various consultants.

Corruption too has swallowed a large part. According to Transparency International, it is to blame for the state "failing to deliver basic services to citizens". The group ranks Afghanistan as the world's third most corrupt state.

Unemployment and displacement

-- Despite colossal amounts of foreign aid -- international donors at a conference in Brussels on Wednesday pledged $15.2 billion over the next four years -- reconstruction efforts are advancing at slow pace and the unemployment rate exceeds 40 percent, according to the World Bank.

There are currently 1.2 million Afghans who are internally displaced, with the figure shooting up in 2013 because of increasing insecurity, according to Amnesty International.

Pakistan is hosting some 2.4 million Afghan refugees whom it is pressuring to leave and there are around one million in Iran, estimates say.

According to an estimate by the Norwegian Refugee Council and confirmed by authorities, 70 percent of people living in major cities, including Kabul, reside in makeshift camps.
15 years on, the Afghan war still defies US timelines

Fifteen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, President Barack Obama and the American military have dug in for a long campaign that defies rigid timelines and easy barometers of victory.

On October 7, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom to dislodge the Taliban and capture or kill Al-Qaeda militants they were harboring.

For much of the 15 years since, the US has groped for a strategy -- flitting between trying to chase down jihadis, take accursed terrain, stand up a fragile government or beat back a dogged Taliban insurgency.

Afghans gather around an unexploded missile near the Aghna city of Jalalabad on October 14, 2001

Obama came to office in 2009, promising a war-weary US electorate that he would bring the troops home.

But, after a series of missed deadlines and some semantic gymnastics about the definition of combat, he finally abandoned his pledge during his last year in office.

Insisting that he opposes "the idea of endless war," Obama has acknowledged his presidency will end before America's longest conflict does.

Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, who have barely discussed Afghanistan on the campaign trail, will inherit a much smaller war -- with some 9,000 US troops on the ground -- but one with no clear end in sight.

"Right now we don't have a time-bound commitment," said a senior US administration official, who asked not to be named. "It will be up to the next administration to determine how it wants to proceed."

- War without end -

That debate is likely to start with a fundamental question: Is a secure Afghanistan still a vital American strategic interest?

"You could ask, now that Al-Qaeda has been decimated, do we still have a reason to be in this region? It's a very legitimate question and certainly a question the next administration will ask very early on," said the official.

Afghan officials argue that the administration of Ashraf Ghani is trying hard to root out the corruption and bad governance that defined Hamid Karzai's decade in power.

"It would be an incredible mistake not to safeguard the progress that has been made," a senior Afghan official told AFP.

Afghan security forces still need training and US air power, the official said, as well as help in stopping Pakistan from harboring Taliban and Haqqani network leaders.

Few US officials, either current and former, would disagree with that assessment.

Many point to the experience of the 1990s as evidence for the need to stay.

Back then Washington, having watched their mujahedeen allies oust the Soviets, began to disengage.

"Ignoring Afghanistan proved unwise," a group of respected generals and ambassadors -- including Ryan Crocker and David Petraeus -- recently wrote in an open letter urging a sustained US commitment.

"The turmoil that ensued in Afghanistan after 1989 ultimately gave rise to the Taliban -- and then to the sanctuary for Al-Qaeda that the Taliban provided Osama bin Laden."

- Timelines and deadlines -

Unlike Bush, Obama has been willing to bring the Taliban into the peace negotiations with Kabul, so long as they respect the rule of law and hard-won progress on things like women's rights.

But so far, neither the US killing of hardline Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour nor Kabul brokering a peace deal with a notorious warlord has convinced militants to come to the negotiating table.

Earlier this month Taliban insurgents launched an assault to retake Kunduz and so delegitimize the government, before being repelled.

Washington is betting it's a matter of time before the Taliban, increasingly confined to rural areas and facing stiffer opposition from Afghan forces, change their calculus.

"The Taliban, who are equally resilient I'll grant you that, are learning that they are not able to gain their objectives," the US official said. "They have not be able to gain control and hold strategic terrain."

"So the question is, how long will they persist in this strategy?"

For much of Obama's tenure, it was an open question how long the United States would wait to find out.

His declarations of timelines and determination to drawdown forces has been criticized for sending mixed signals about US commitment and thus encouraging the Taliban and elements in the Pakistani security services to wait Washington out.

The administration argues they have offered a vital leverage.

"The Afghan security forces, I'm positive of this, would not have developed in the manner they have developed -- which in general has been very, very positive -- had it not been for the requirement imposed upon them by the international community for them to become more self-reliant," said the US official.

But setting a hard timeline of ending the war in 2014 was "the explicit announcement that the Taliban just capitalized on," said Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution.

Obama's departure is likely to make such timelines and troop numbers less of a political hot potato.

That may be fitting in a war where victory is illusive and success or failure cannot be easily measured by the number of boots on the ground.

US troops in Afghanistan

A Taliban fighter sits in front of a destroyed house caused by US-led air strikes on the village of Kadam near Jalalabad on October 14, 2001

Afghans look at the debris from the Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC) offices in Kabul on October 9, 2001 Said Mohammad Azam (AFP/File)
Don't compare us with F1, warns electric racing chief

Formula E's chief played down comparisons with F1 and said the all-electric racing series had pointed the way to the future of motoring as it gears up for its third season.

An influx of major manufacturers and a schedule that includes Hong Kong, Paris and New York underline the momentum of the electric car trend, chief executive Alejandro Agag told AFP.

He said starting the 10-month, 12-race season in chronically polluted Hong Kong highlighted the benefits of electric motoring -- cleaner engines and better air.

A Techeetah car is seen as other team members walk past in the pit lane of the Formula E track in Hong Kong Anthony Wallace (AFP)

"I think the objective of Formula E is to change the perception of electric cars and encourage people to buy electric cars," the Spanish businessman said, ahead of Sunday's season-opening race in Hong Kong.

"And one of the solutions to tackling a city's pollution is to have electric cars. If cities have electric cars only, the pollution would be a lot lower and the quality of life would be a lot higher."

Formula One has proved a potent tool in promoting Hong Kong's Asian rival Singapore, but Agag said it was unfair to compare Formula E with its much larger precursor.

While high-octane F1 has built up its following over decades, Formula E, the world's first electric racing series, only started in 2014 and has different objectives, he said.

"We try never to compare Formula One and Formula E, we're totally different concepts," Agag said.

"But racing electric cars promotes a different technology. And I think the association with Hong Kong, the values of sustainability and a clean city, go together well with Formula E.

"So if you want to promote those values it's going to have a major impact."

- 'Electric, driverless, connected' -

Manufacturers Renault, Jaguar, Audi and BMW are already involved in Formula E, while Mercedes has taken an option to enter a team from 2018.

Agag said he was also in talks this week with Brazilian driver Felipe Massa about joining a Formula E team when he retires from Formula One this season.

"The momentum is fantastic, not only for Formula E but for the electric car concept in general," Agag said.

"Now there is a belief that the future is going to be electric and that electric cars are going to be the main way of moving around in 20, 30, 40 years.

"Electric, driverless, connected, clearly that's the future."

Hong Kong's debut race will take place on a small, 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) street circuit in the city centre, with only 10 turns and a main straight of 555 metres (607 yards).

It is the template for Formula E, whose compact tracks can be squeezed into built-up areas, allowing it to go to cities including Buenos Aires, Monaco, Berlin and Montreal this season.

"We don't think we compete at all with Formula One. Also because Formula One couldn't race here," Agag said.

"This is ideal for Formula E: the track is shorter and we can fit on the streets and we make a lot less noise... we are ideal for small tracks in the heart of cities."

The technology is still evolving: even in a race that only lasts 50 minutes, drivers have to swap cars halfway as their batteries won't go the distance.

But Agag said advances made in Formula E were now migrating to road cars, with Renault recently unveiling a prototype electric car with similar technology.

"Major manufacturers are coming into Formula E because they see this is a platform to develop technology that then they can use on road cars," he said.

Hong Kong ePrix

"I think the objective of Formula E is to change the perception of electric cars and encourage people to buy electric cars," Formula E chief Alejandro Agag said Anthony Wallace (AFP)

A Virgin Racing mechanic works in the pit lane of the Formula E track in Hong Kong Anthony Wallace (AFP)
Philippines tells US no more joint sea patrols

The Philippines announced Friday it had officially informed the United States that joint patrols in the South China Sea patrols had been suspended, following orders from President Rodrigo Duterte.

"They have been suspended for the time being. They (Washington) know it already," Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters, adding he had relayed the decision to the commander of the US Pacific Command when he was in Hawaii at the start of this month.

Still, Lorenzana indicated he was still not 100 percent sure of Duterte's final plans.

US Marines take part in a joint amphibious landing exercise with their Philippine counterparts in San Antonio, Zambales province, on October 7, 2016 Ted Aljibe (AFP)

"They will not be conducted anymore until we clarify if he (Duterte) means what he says," Lorenzana said.

The longtime allies began planning joint patrols under the previous Philippine government, which had sought to attract a greater US military presence in the region to counter Chinese efforts to take control of the South China Sea.

China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters close to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, and has in recent years built artificial islands in the disputed areas that are capable of hosting military bases.

Lorenzana said the United States and Philippines had conducted two "passing through" manoeuvres over the section of the sea claimed by Manila this year, but not actual "combat patrols".

Duterte, who began his six-year term on June 30, quickly shredded Aquino's strategy on China, seeking co-operation and dialogue with Beijing while diluting the Philippines' alliance with the United States.

He also repeatedly railed against the Philippines' former colonial ruler for criticising his war on crime, which has claimed more than 3,300 lives and raised concerns about extrajudicial killings.

"I have lost my respect for America," Duterte said on Tuesday, as he threatened to break ties completely with the United States.

Duterte had previously branded US President Barack Obama a "son of a whore".

- Concrete actions -

He had also said he wanted US Special Forces out of the southern region of Mindanao, where they have been helping to quell Islamic militants, and threatened to scrap a 2014 agreement granting American troops increased access to Philippine bases.

Duterte also said he would cancel all 28 military exercises the two sides hold annually.

However, until Friday, officials from both sides had said Duterte's pronouncements were not necessarily policy.

US officials had repeatedly said they had not been officially informed of Duterte's comments.

So the announcement that the joint patrols had been suspended was the first public confirmation that one of Duterte's anti-US comments had become policy.

Lorenzana said none of the other Duterte pronouncements had been officially delivered to the Americans.

But he did say the Philippines was planning to eject the US forces in the southern Philippines in the "near future", as he disclosed details of their normally secretive activities.

The US Special Forces began short-term deployments in 2002 to train Filipino troops in how to counter Islamic militants, with the American personnel peaking at about 600 before the operation was scaled down in 2014.

"There are actually very few of them (now), just about 157 people," Lorenzana said, adding they were stationed inside a large military camp on the outskirts of Zamboanga city on the main southern island of Mindanao.

"All they do is operate their drones and some intelligence equipment to help our troops in the south."

He said the drones flew over the militant strongholds of the Basilan and Sulu island groups, as well as central Mindanao where another small armed group had pledged alliance to the Islamic State group.

Lorenzana said those US forces would be asked to leave when the Philippines acquired its own drones.

"The president said that he doesn't want them to leave immediately but maybe in the near future," Lorenzana said.

Disputed claims in the South China Sea

A US Marine runs next to an Amphibious Assault vehicle (AAV) during a beach landing in San Antonio, Zambales province, on October 7, 2016 Ted Aljibe (AFP)

President Duterte (pictured) has sought co-operation with Beijing while diluting the Philippines' alliance with the United States Manman Dejeto (AFP/File)

The US and Philippines conduct annual amphibious landing exercises in San Antonio, Zambales province Ted Aljibe (AFP)
Pakistan Supreme Court sets date for Bibi blasphemy appeal

The accused in Pakistan's most infamous blasphemy case has been granted a fresh chance to escape the gallows after the Supreme Court confirmed Friday that next week it will hear Asia Bibi's appeal against her execution.

Bibi, a Christian mother of five, has been on death row since 2010 in what some activists have called a battle for Pakistan's soul as the state walks a sharp line between upholding human rights and appeasing populist hardliners.

"The Supreme Court of Pakistan under the chair of Justice Saqib Nisar will hear Asia Bibi's appeal against her death sentence on Thursday, October 13 in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Islamabad," her lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook told AFP.

Asia Bibi was sentenced to hang for blasphemy in 2010 after an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water Martin Bureau (AFP/File)

"I am very hopeful and confident that my client will get justice... and she will be able to spend her life with her children."

The court confirmed Friday that the date had been set.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in deeply conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan. Anyone even accused of insulting Islam risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

Rights groups complain the controversial legislation is often abused to carry out personal vendettas, mainly against minority Christians.

Bibi was convicted and sentenced to hang in 2010 after an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water. Her supporters maintain her innocence and insist it was a personal dispute.

Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, an Islamist who assassinated provincial governor Salmaan Taseer after he advocated for Bibi in 2011, regularly call for her hanging.

A decision by the court in her favour would "send a powerful message to the world that Pakistan respects the rule of law and not the mob," Mustafa Qadri, an expert on human rights in South Asia, told AFP recently.
Israel deports activists on 'women's boat' for Gaza

Israel has deported all but one of a group of women activists who tried to break its decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip by boat, the interior ministry said Friday.

A ministry spokeswoman said the last activist would leave the country later the same day.

Thirteen women, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland, were detained on Wednesday after their sailboat was stopped around 35 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.

Palestinians sail boats in the port of Gaza City in support of the flotilla of international female activists attempting to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, on October 5, 2016 Mahmud Hams (AFP/File)

The boat was diverted to the Israeli port of Ashdod, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of the Palestinian territory, and the women detained before being deported.

"All the boat's passengers have left Israel except a woman who will fly to Oslo this afternoon," interior ministry spokeswoman Sabin Haddad told AFP.

Dubbed "Women's Boat to Gaza", the boat was part of the wider Freedom Flotilla Coalition consisting of pro-Palestinian activists who regularly defy Israel's blockade of Gaza.

An operation in 2010 turned to bloodshed when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists in a raid on a flotilla, leading to a six-year break in diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

Israel maintains a blockade to keep material it believes could be used for military purposes from entering the coastal enclave.
22 soldiers killed in attack on Niger refugee camp

Twenty-two soldiers have been killed in an attack blamed on jihadists against a camp in Niger sheltering almost 4,000 Malian refugees, security officials said on Friday.

The attack against the camp in Tazalit, in the Tahoua region some 300 kilometres (200 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey and close to the Malian border, took place in broad daylight on Thursday.

"A band of unidentified criminals in vehicles that had travelled from Mali" carried out the attack, killing "14 national guards, five gendarmes, and three army soldiers," defence ministry spokesman Moustapha Ledru said in a televised statement.

Niger troops patrol near Diffa on June 16, 2016 following attacks by Boko Haram fighters in the region Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

"Immediately after their crime, the assailants took flight towards Mali. The enemy were pursued in order to catch and neutralise them," he added.

"This attack will not go unpunished," the spokesman pledged, calling on the country's security forces to continue their "implacable fight against these criminal groups with courage and dedication."

A security official who asked not to be named said "some 30 to 40 heavily armed men speaking in Tuareg carried out the attack, killing 22 soldiers."

The assailants "headed directly to the camp's security post and machine-gunned the soldiers who were having lunch," he said.

He said the attack was "probably carried out by jihadists."

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which confirmed the death toll, said in a statement that five soldiers were also hurt in the attack, while the three remaining soldiers deployed at the camp managed to escape.

No refugees were hurt, according to the agency.

The attackers left some two hours later after seizing a vehicle as well as weapons, food, medical supplies and clothing.

UNHCR says about 60,000 Malians have sought refuge in Niger, which is also sheltering around 80,000 Nigerians who have fled attacks by Boko Haram jihadists.

Boko Haram in recent months has escalated its attacks inside Niger, with at least 26 soldiers killed in the southeastern town of Bosso in June.

In attacks attributed to other jihadist groups active in the region, at least two civilians were killed last month at the Tabareybarey refugee camp in western Niger, near the border with Mali.

Despite a peace accord and a 2013 international military intervention, large tracts of Mali are still not controlled by domestic or foreign troops and remain subject to attacks by jihadists.

Although its long borders are quite porous, Niger has for the most part escaped the armed violence that has rocked neighbouring states Libya and Nigeria, as well as Mali.
Chattanooga Traditional Dance Society presents its monthly Contra Dance Open to All, featuring calling by Matt Hawkins and music by Evan Kinney and the Fly By Nights on Saturday from 7:30-11 p.m., at Brainerd United Methodist Church, Lundy Hall (4315 Brainerd Road). Admission is $8; $5 for students.

Everyone is invited to join the welcoming, family-friendly community and enjoy this lively, traditional social dance, said officials. No partners are necessary. All dances are taught in walk-throughs. Toe-tapping live music makes even sitting out enjoyable.

Participants should wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes and bring an extra pair of clean, soft-soled shoes for dancing. Note: hard-soled boots or shoes are not allowed on the dance floor.

There is always a contra basics lesson for newcomers at the beginning of the dance.

For more information visit the website at http://contranooga.weebly.com/, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/contranooga// or email contranooga@gmail.com.
Monfils to face Kyrgios in Japan Open semifinals

French second-seed Gael Monfils will face Australian Nick Kyrgios in the Japan Open semi-finals after he beat Croatian seventh-seed Ivo Karlovic Friday.

Fourth-seed Marin Cilic defeated Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-1 and will meet Belgian fifth-seed David Goffin in the last four.

Monfils pulled off a nailbiting 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6) win against Karlovic, with both men landing nine aces in their 91-minute contest.

France's Gael Monfils serves against Croatia's Ivo Karlovic during their Japan Open quarter-final in Tokyo on October 7, 2016 Kazuhiro Nogi (AFP)

Monfils, a runner-up at the Japan Open in 2010, is now set to play Kyrgios, who comfortably fended off a challenge from Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4, 6-2.

"I thought I played great today," Kyrgios said. "I served well, returned well and my engagement level was really good the whole time."

Goffin came from behind to beat Joao Sousa1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in their quarterfinal.

"It was not easy. From the beginning of the match, I was feeling a little bit nervous, a little bit sleepy also," Goffin said.

"I was struggling a little bit with my footwork. Then I started to play much better, more aggressive from the start of the second set.
France, Britain at UN call for end to Aleppo 'bloodbath'

France and Britain on Friday called for an end to the Russian and Syrian bombing campaign over Aleppo as the UN Security Council began an emergency meeting on the crisis in Syria.

"The top priority is to stop the bloodbath in Aleppo," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters as he headed into the council chamber for the closed-door talks.

"The most important thing here is that the outrageous aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo must stop," added British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

The UN estimates that 275,000 civilians are under siege in east Aleppo George Ourfalian (AFP)

The urgent talks at the Security Council were requested by Russia after UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned that Aleppo could be totally destroyed in the coming months and proposed a plan to allow jihadist fighters to leave the city.

Delattre said these were "interesting proposals" but that they would only work if there is a ceasefire in Aleppo.

"As we speak, Aleppo is still under (a) barrage of fire," he said.

"Aleppo is to Syria what Guernica was to the Spanish war, a human tragedy, a black hole destroying all we believe in, also the harbinger of many more disasters to come," he added.

The Spanish town of Guernica was devastated in 1937, and more than 1,000 civilians killed, when Nazi warplanes bombed it in support of the dictator Francisco Franco.

The British ambassador echoed De Mistura's view that the bombing raids over Aleppo were indiscriminately being carried out in a city of 275,000 people to flush out only a few hundred jihadists.

"This is not about stamping terrorism, this is about killing civilians," said Rycroft.

"We are all in favor of fighting terrorism in Syria but the biggest single killer of innocent civilians in Syria is the Syrian regime, the second biggest killer of innocent civilians in Syria is Russia and only the third biggest killer is Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra and other terrorists."

Security Council members have been discussing for a week a French-drafted UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Aleppo.

"We are close to the moment of truth," Delattre said, suggesting a vote on the proposal could happen soon.
Two charged for insulting Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi

A member of Myanmar's ruling pro-democracy party has pressed charges against two villagers for insulting the government's new leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a police officer said Friday.

Suu Kyi steered her National League for Democracy (NLD) into power earlier this year after championing a decades-long struggle against military rule.

Her administration has vowed to expand freedoms in the fledgling democracy but limits on expression remain -- as does a culture of charging critics with defamation.

Aung San Suu Kyi (right) steered her National League for Democracy into power after championing a decades-long struggle against military rule Don Emmert (AFP/File)

The latest case saw two men charged for allegedly going on an obscenity-laced rant against the Nobel Laureate after a heavy evening drinking session in a village not far from the capital Naypyidaw.

Local police chief Zaw Khin Aung said the two men used "insulting words" against 71-year-old Suu Kyi.

"An NLD member sent a complaint letter to the police and sued two people for abusing the state counsellor," he told AFP.

"We know these two people but we have not arrested them yet," he added.

According to local news site the Democratic Voice of Burma, the two men called Suu Kyi a "hag" who deserved to be murdered.

Suu Kyi is adored by many in Myanmar and her party trounced historic polls in November, the first free election in decades.

Despite soaring hopes her administration would nurture a new era of free expression, several people have been prosecuted for defamation since her party took over in late March.

A man was jailed for nine months in September for calling Myanmar's president, Suu Kyi's long time friend and ally, "crazy" in a Facebook post. That case was also brought by a local NLD member.
Philippines arrests three militants over deadly blast

Three members of a Muslim extremist group have been arrested for a bombing in the home town of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last month that left 15 people dead, authorities said Friday.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the detained men belonged to a local gang in the southern Philippines, which carried out the attack partly to raise its profile with the Islamic State group.

"They are trying to get the attention of ISIS to recognise them that's why they were trying to record (the bombing on video) for propaganda for international release," Lorenzana said, using another term for IS, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Rescue workers gather body bags following a bombing in Davao City in the southern Philippines on September 3, 2016 Manman Dejeto (AFP/File)

In past fighting with troops, the group's members were seen carrying black IS flags and bandanas bearing the jihadists' insignia were found in their base, the military said.

Lorenzana said the Maute group also carried out the attack in an effort to disrupt a military campaign against the Abu Sayyaf, an infamous kidnap-for-ransom gang also based in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, that it has links with.

The blast, which tore through a bustling market in the heart of the southern city of Davao, Duterte's home town, led the president to impose a "state of national emergency" that led to tighter security measures.

Lorenzana said the three suspects were arrested Tuesday at a checkpoint in Cotabato city, a four-hour drive from Davao. Police and soldiers recovered firearms and materials for an improvised explosive device.

Seven other members of the group were involved in the bombing, and security officials were pursuing them, Lorenzana added.

The Maute group has carried out kidnappings and bombings and is believed to have led an attack on an army outpost in the Mindanao town of Butig in February.
Emirati designer brings vintage vibe to Dubai catwalk

A vintage carnival in Australia provided the inspiration for Emirati designer Lamya Abedin's show at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai that combined frills and sequins with Muslim modesty.

Abedin said she followed every detail of the century-old fair, which she visited while travelling with her husband and children, for her collection "Voyage of the Carnival" -- right down to the music and make-up.

"I loved the vibes," the designer told AFP in an interview following her Thursday night show.

Models present creations by Emirati fashion designer Lamya Abedin at the Arab Fashion Week in Dubai on October 6, 2016 Nezar Balout (AFP)

"There were the crazy mirrors, the music, the whole ambience attracted me. I felt that this is my inspiration," added the mother of three, who was accompanied during the show by her husband, uncle, and children.

"I wanted to show how in vintage fairs in the past people used to dress up" unlike today when they just wear jeans and T-shirts, she said.

To achieve this look, "I mixed modernity with the vintage feel," explained Abedin, dressed in a long silver sequin-studded coat and a traditional black scarf covering most of her hair.

Her show was preceded by men in tailcoats and black hats on unicycles and stilts entertaining an audience of mostly women -- some in mini-dresses and others in traditional black Abayas and even a niqab face veil -- before her assistant came in singing an American dance-pop song.

Carnival music accompanied a background video of acrobats and a circus tent as models in strawberry blond wigs with hats and flower headbands strutted down the catwalk, some in chequered circus stockings.

"I follow a theme," said Abedin.

"The look should be complete with the theme so I could let the people live the story," she added.

"This time the story is happiness."

Dressed in a long purple dress and a flower headband, Brazilian model Karine Graf said she found the concept "very funny" and "unique".

"I think it's a very cool collection and very new," she told AFP backstage.

Abedin's collection is mainly made up of flowing layered dresses and skirts mixing tulle, dentelle, sequins, embroidery, jacquard, and brocade -- all in vibrant colours.

"We did lots of patchwork and panel work. There was art and craft in the outfits," accompanied by belts, hats, and even handbags.

"We wanted to show how you could change your clothes using accessories... It was more of a styling show than anything else," she said.

- 'Long dresses, sleeves' -

While she steered away from traditional Gulf Arab clothing, Abedin still made sure her models do not reveal much skin in accordance with her society's Muslim codes.

Abedin's local touch is evident from the "very conservative" look of her models, said Noura Khaled, a 23-year-old Emirati attending the show. "The long dresses (and) long sleeves reflect the culture."

Abedin acknowledged that she made sure models in short dresses wore stockings to cover their legs "because I would wear it like that... But it's a personal choice."

In a wedding dress, Czech model Kaya noted the difference between the five-day Arab Fashion Week that opened Thursday in Dubai and similar events in Milan which she said were actually "more conservative" in their presentation.

"Nude make up, sleek hair and us going straight and back without thinking of the concept so much," she said of the Milan catwalks. "I like that this show has an idea: circus."

Abedin's show featured three bridal gowns -- one was light and short suitable for beach weddings, the second a little more formal.

But it was the third dentelle gown that was more formal with a vintage touch that she said was similar to her own wedding dress.

She made a similar peach-coloured one for her own little daughter who made an appearance hand-in-hand with the model wearing the final bridal gown, drawing applause from the audience.

Even the wedding dresses were inspired by the Australia carnival where she saw three brides coming for a photo shoot at the fair, Abedin said.

"I loved the idea!"

One of the brides was even wearing a blue bridal gown. "It was very cute," said Abedin. "I felt they're happy."

The Emirati designer, who has her own brand titled "Queen of Spades", said the aim of her show is to spread joy among her audience.

"We are living in a country where we're always busy and have lots of work, so it's nice to switch off and live in a different bubble" even briefly through an array of light, colourful fabrics.

Lamya Abedin's "Voyage of the Carnival" collection was inspired by a century-old fair in Australia which the designer visited with her family Nezar Balout (AFP)

Abedin's collection is mainly made up of flowing layered dresses and skirts in a range of vibrant coloured fabrics Nezar Balout (AFP)

Emirati fashion designer Lamya Abedin appears on the runway following her show at the Arab Fashion Week in Dubai on October 6, 2016 Nezar Balout (AFP)
Russian warship passes through Bosphorus to join Syria mission

Russian warship "Mirage" on Friday passed through Istanbul's Bosphorus strait, heading to the Mediterranean to back up Russia's bombing campaign in Syria, AFP journalists reported.

The corvette, which left Russia's Sevastopol base in Crimea on Thursday, is on a mission is to protect other navy ships from other ships or submarines.

Russian marines soldiers were seen on the vessel loaded with cruise missile launchers as well as artillery, AFP journalists reported.

The Russian warship "Mirage" passes the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, on October 7, 2016 Ozan Kose (AFP)

Mirage took part in the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia over Moscow-backed South Ossetia region.

The Russian navy used cruise missiles to strike Syria for the first time last October, launching them from the Caspian Sea, as well as in December, when they were launched from a submarine in the Mediterranean.
Hurricane Matthew 'still dangerous', says Obama

US President Barack Obama said southern Florida's population centers had dodged the worst of Hurricane Matthew Friday, although it remained "dangerous" with storm surges further up the coast a real concern.

"The bigger concern at this point is not just hurricane force winds, but storm surge," Obama said in the Oval Office, stressing the threat to the Jacksonville area in northern Florida, up as far as Georgia.

"I emphasize this is still a really dangerous hurricane," Obama said after receiving a briefing from aides including Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A police car patrols near Atlantic Beach, Florida, on October 7, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Jewel Samad (AFP)

The Category 3 storm has so far caused limited damage in the United States, but has killed at least 400 people in Haiti.

But Obama warned that residents of America's southeastern states should not let down their guard.

"Pay attention to what your local officials are telling you," he said. "We can always replace property. We cannot replace lives."

He recalled the lessons of Hurricane Sandy, which slammed into New Jersey and New York City in 2012, leaving 200 dead and causing tens of billions of dollars in damages.

"Initially people thought 'this doesn't look as bad as we thought,' and then suddenly you get a massive storm surge and a lot of people were severely affected."

On Friday he warned that "the potential for storm surge, flooding, loss of life and severe property damage continues to exist."

"People continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the course of the next 24, 48, 72 hours."

Obama said he was also tracking the damage done in Haiti, "one of the poorest countries in the world."

The president's comments came as the US marked its first known fatality from Hurricane Matthew.

A woman in her late 50s suffered a medical emergency in her home in central Florida's St. Lucie County, but high winds prevented fire officials from reaching her, a fire spokeswoman told AFP.

"We were unable to respond safely and unfortunately she died," said St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney.
Afghan forces struggle to flush out Taliban from Kunduz

Afghan forces battled to flush out Taliban insurgents from Kunduz for a fifth day Friday, as a humanitarian crisis deepened with civilians in the northern city reporting a crippling shortage of food and medicines.

The Taliban launched an all-out assault on Kunduz on Monday, triggering fierce fighting and sending residents fleeing, a year after the militants briefly overran the city in a stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces.

The government said it was seeking to push insurgents out of residential neighbourhoods as they took up positions inside homes.

BASHIR KHAN SAFI (AFP)

"Government forces have made advances in the last couple of days and have cleared a lot of areas, killing dozens of Taliban fighters," Kunduz deputy police chief Mohammad Masoom Hashimi told AFP.

"Our clearance operation is still ongoing in the city."

Hashimi did not offer information about civilian casualties. More than 200 are estimated to be wounded, according to local medical officials cited by Amnesty International, which warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.

"Civilians in Kunduz are once again at a precipice, and time is running out," Amnesty said in a statement on Thursday.

"Unless all parties to the conflict permit a humanitarian corridor to allow vital aid in and people to flee, we could soon be looking at a devastating humanitarian crisis."

Ghulam Rabbani Rabbani, a Kunduz provincial council member, warned of a dire shortage of essential supplies.

"People are dying of hunger," he told AFP.

"There is a shortage of food, water and medicines. The price of food has skyrocketed -- a simple loaf of bread is beyond the means of ordinary people."

The fighting in Kunduz comes as the Taliban have sought to storm into other provincial capitals, including that of neighbouring Baghlan province, but government troops managed to repel the attacks.

US forces are supporting Afghan troops in clearance operations inside Kunduz, with at least six air strikes against Taliban positions since Thursday.

Up to 10,000 civilians have fled Kunduz, the UN said Thursday, as rocket attacks continued in the streets of the city.

Afghanistan on Friday marked 15 years since the US invasion of the country which toppled the Taliban from power.

Afghanistan has become Washington's longest military intervention since Vietnam -- and the most costly, now crossing $100 billion.

The Taliban said it was a "black day in the history of Afghanistan", as the insurgents vowed to press ahead with their offensive against the Western-backed local forces.

An Afghan soldier aims his weapon amid ongoing clashes with Taliban militants in Kunduz, on October 5, 2016 Bashir Khan Safi (AFP/File)
US urges war crimes probe as Syria fight moves to UN

The United States declared Friday that the bombing of civilians in Aleppo could amount to a war crime, as the diplomatic battle over the Syrian war moved to the United Nations.

US Secretary of State John Kerry made clear his mounting anger at the Russian-backed regime onslaught, declaring: "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation -- war crimes."

France, meanwhile, was preparing to call a vote on Saturday on a United Nations Security Council resolution to demand an end to Russia and Syria's aerial bombardment of Aleppo -- a motion that Russia is all but certain to veto.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that has killed more than 300,000 since it began in March 2011 Omar Haj Kadour (AFP)

Russia countered with a draft resolution of its own, calling for a ceasefire and demanding access for humanitarian aid, but with no mention of restraining air power over the city.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched their assault on eastern Aleppo, home to around a quarter-of-a-million civilians, two weeks ago after a US-Russian brokered ceasefire fell apart.

The United States has since abandoned bilateral talks with Russia on restoring the truce, but a new effort to revive a multilateral peace-building effort has made no progress as fighting rages.

Meeting in Washington with France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Kerry said Assad and Russia's jets had repeatedly and deliberately launched deadly strikes on hospitals.

"And those that commit these will be and should be held accountable for their actions," Kerry told reporters.

"This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."

The blunt warning came amid soaring tensions, as US officials accused Russia of trying to manipulate the US election campaign through computer hacking and vowed to respond.

Ayrault said he would head to the United Nations on Saturday to make the case for a resolution demanding a ceasefire and a ban on Russian and Syrian jets overflying the city.

France's top diplomat, who met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, insisted that hope was not dead that the move could go somewhere, despite the clear threat of a Russian veto.

But Moscow's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters: "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

The Russian text, obtained by AFP, "urges immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, in particular in Aleppo" and demands deliveries of humanitarian aid.

US officials are working on possible sanctions against Russian and Syrian individuals and companies involved in the siege, and Germany said it would not rule out backing possible international moves.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that has killed more than 300,000 since it began in March 2011.

At least 250,000 people remain in the rebel-held east of the city. They have been under near-continuous siege for months, and are now facing some of the most intense bombardment yet.

Raids earlier this week destroyed the largest hospital in the rebel-controlled east.

- Indefinite deployment -

The talks in Washington came after UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura warned that Aleppo could be totally destroyed before the end of the year.

De Mistura also called on the regime and Russia to halt strikes if fighters from the former Al-Nusra Front, now known as Fateh al-Sham Front, left the city, even offering to escort them out himself.

Lavrov said he could support a UN plan for the jihadist faction to leave Aleppo if other opposition groups renounced their ties to the former Al-Qaeda subsidiary.

Russia's parliament on Friday ratified a deal with Syria on the "indefinite" deployment of its forces in the country.

In a move seen as firming up Russia's long-term presence, lawmakers approved an accord signed last year that could allow Moscow to establish a permanent presence at its Hmeimim Air Base.

- Aleppo life 'unbearable' -

Fierce fighting has gripped several neighborhoods on the frontline dividing rebel groups from regime forces in western areas.

Government troops captured a hilltop south of the city, but rebels retook nearby positions, according to British-based watchdog the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Carlos Francisco, who heads the Syria branch of medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders, described the circumstances in Aleppo as "unbearable."

"The few remaining doctors with capability to save lives are also confronting death," he said.

Rebels have also intensified their rocket fire on government-held western Aleppo, where four people were killed in the Midan neighborhood, state television reported.

A Syrian civil defence volunteer, known as the White Helmets, holds the body of a child after he was pulled from the rubble following a government forces air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Karm Homad on October 4, 2016 Ameer Alhalbi (AFP)

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, remove a wall in a destroyed building following reported air strikes on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on October 5, 2016 Sameer Al-Doumy (AFP/File)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting in Moscow on October 6, 2016 Vasily Maximov (AFP/File)
Qatar Airways orders 100 Boeing planes for up to $18.6 bn

Qatar Airways announced a large airplane order with Boeing Friday that includes up to $6.9 billion in single-aisle planes following delays in a rival Airbus offering.

Under the agreement, Qatar will buy 30 new-generation Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777s, both widebody aircraft, for $11.7 billion, the companies announced.

Qatar Airways also signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 60 narrow-body Boeing 737 aircraft. The deal is worth as much as $18.6 billion all together.

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, and Ray Conner (L), President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, stand alongside a Boeing 777 model after announcing a purchasing deal for 100 airplanes in an order worth $18.6 billion on October 7, 2016 Saul Loeb (AFP)

The order for the 737s follows unusual public criticism of Airbus earlier this year by Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al-Baker over delays in deliveries of the single-aisle Airbus A320neo due to problems with its engine.

The order would help meet growing demand for air travel, Al-Baker said Friday.

But the decision to go with Boeing was also prompted by "ongoing issues" with Boeing rival Airbus, Al-Baker acknowledged, appearing with Boeing executives and US and Qatar government officials at a news conference in Washington.

"Boeing has started building airplanes before everybody else," he said. "They make the best airplanes, even if their competitors will not like me saying this."

Al-Baker later emphasized that his company would continue to work with Airbus and take delivery of the A320 planes when they are ready.

We are not "pointing fingers or trying to embarrass Airbus," he told AFP. "We have close relations with Airbus and we are continuing to receive aircraft orders."

"The decision for us to buy Boeing airplanes is to get them for certain missions which today Airbus aircraft are not able to do," he added. "We will maintain all of our commitments to Airbus."

The contract for the 737 marks the first time Qatar Airways has ordered single-aisle planes from Boeing in more than 15 years, the companies said.

Al-Baker threatened to cancel the Airbus order in April due to problems with the engine and other difficulties, resulting in an "unacceptable" delay in delivering six planes. "We always in Qatar Airways have a plan B," he said at the time.

Qatar Airways cancelled an order for one of the Airbus planes in June.

The Qatar contract gives Boeing a boost. The US company had net orders of 380 through the end of the third quarter, suggesting its full-year tally for 2016 will come in below last year's 868.

"Our partnership with Qatar Airways has grown and strengthened tremendously over the years and I look forward to the time when its fleet will feature an increasing number of both our single and twin-aisle airplanes," said Ray Conner, chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplane division.

The companies did not release a timeframe for deliveries.

Shares of Boeing fell 0.7 percent to $133.53 in afternoon trade.
Mizpah Congregation, one of the countrys oldest Reform Jewish houses of worship, is celebrating its 150th year with a benefit concert performed by the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra conducted by CSO Music Director Emeritus Bob Bernhardt. The concert is Sunday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m. and will be held in the Sanctuary of the Congregations Ochs Memorial Temple, 923 McCallie Ave. A champagne reception will begin at 3 p.m. for all guests.

The program will feature selections from Schindlers List and Fiddler on the Roof, as well as traditional Jewish-themed music. Soloists for the evening are Holly Mulcahy, violin; Mela Dailey, soprano; and Michael Samis, cello.

We invite the Chattanooga community to join in celebrating this important milestone and to share this wonderful musical afternoon with us, said Henry Schulson, president of the Mizpah Congregation Board of Directors.

General admission is $75 per person. All donations will benefit education programs and facilities maintenance. Purchases may be made by phone at 267-9771 or online at mizpahcongregation.org. Groups of 10 or more: $40 per person. Walk ups are welcome. For more information, call 227-1505.

We are proud of our legacy and the commitment of our congregants both to preserving Reform Judaism and to bettering the lives of all people in our City, said Herb Cohn, whose family has been Mizpah members for four generations. We look forward to honoring Mizpahs 150th anniversary with beautiful music that has been an integral part of our religious and secular lives.






Qatari royal family mulls increasing Deutsche Bank stake: report

Qatari investors, including members of the royal family, are considering raising their stake in Deutsche Bank to 25 percent to shore up the embattled lender's capital position, German weekly Der Spiegel reported Friday.

Qatari ex-premier Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani and his cousin, the former emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, currently own 10 percent of the German bank's shares, the report said.

Deutsche Bank has been in crisis mode since a US demand last month for a $14-billion fine for selling toxic mortgage bonds sparked fears over the lender's financial health, sending its share price plummeting to a record low.

Qatari ex-premier Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani and his cousin, the former emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, currently own 10 percent of Deutsche Bank Daniel Roland (AFP/File)

If the Qatari group does indeed raise its stake in Deutsche to 25 percent, the investors would likely expect to have a say in management issues, Spiegel reported.

Without citing its sources, the magazine said the Qatari royals were "increasingly unhappy" with the current management under CEO John Cryan.

"If the Qataris were to raise their stake they would probably also push for changes to the management," it added.

The German finance ministry told Spiegel it would have no objections to a greater investment by the Qatari group.

Deutsche Bank's woes have eased somewhat after an AFP report last week said the German giant was in talks to reduce the fine to a more palatable $5.4 billion, although concerns remain over the bank's relatively weak capital foundations.
Ethiopia protesters target foreign investments

Anti-government protesters in Ethiopia have turned their anger on foreigners, torching tourist resorts and foreign-owned factories in the restive Oromia region, local media reported Friday.

At least 11 companies, including textile and plastic factories, were torched in recent days in the town of Sebeta as well as about 60 vehicles, according to Fana, a state-controlled broadcaster, which blamed "anti-peace forces" for the attacks.

The Bishangari Lodge on the shores of Lake Langano south of the capital Addis Ababa, one of the main tourist destinations in Oromia, was among the premises set alight.

People cross their wrists above their heads during the Oromo new year holiday Irreechaa in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016 Zacharias Abubeker (AFP/File)

"The lodge is completely destroyed. 100 percent burnt down," said a hotel employee who did not want to be named.

A Dutch fruit farm, AfricaJuice, was also ransacked this week in the south-eastern Awash Valley.

Oromo protesters blame foreign investors for occupying land appropriated from them by the government and said they have had enough.

"The people have been protesting peacefully for almost a year. They didn't find any solutions from the government until now, but rather the killing has continued as we have seen at Ireecha festival," said Barnabas, a protester in the town of Holeta who gave only his first name.

"This makes the people furious."

The latest violence follows the deaths of more than 50 people in a stampede triggered by police firing tear gas at the Ireecha religious festival in Bishoftu, a town in Oromia, last Saturday.

On Tuesday, a US citizen was killed close to Addis Ababa when a rock thrown by protesters hit the vehicle she was travelling in. She was identified as plant biology researcher Sharon Gray, in a statement from California's UC Davis University.

The UN on Friday called for an independent investigation into the violence, as government faces its most serious unrest since coming to power in 1991.

Such a probe was needed "to ensure accountability for this and several other incidents since last November involving protests that have ended violently," Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations human rights agency, told reporters in Geneva.

- 'Companies took our land' -

Protests began in Oromia in November and have since expanded to Amhara with human rights groups claiming several hundred killed so far in a crackdown on demonstrations.

Together, Oromos and Amharas make up 60 percent of the population of Ethiopia.

The protesters accuse the country's leaders, who largely hail from the northern Tigray region, of monopolising power.

"The businesses are targeted because these are the companies that took the land from the farmers without giving enough compensation," said Barnabas, who also complained that few locals get jobs at the foreign-owned companies.

"We are not getting benefits from them," he said.

The mobile internet network was cut in the capital Friday for a third day running, a measure often taken by authorities seeking to prevent people from organising demonstrations.

The unrest has pushed some investors to question their continuing presence in Ethiopia, threatening to undo the economic growth on which the government stakes its reputation.

Dutch-owned flower company Esmeralda Farms announced it was shutting up shop after its facility in the northern Amhara region was attacked last month.
A US appeals court on Friday handed Apple a victory in one of its battles with rival Samsung, reinstating a $119.6 million verdict for the iPhone maker for patent infringement.

In the latest twist in a series of patent cases between the smartphone giants, the Federal Circuit Appeals judges ruled 8-3 in a rehearing of the case, reversing a panel of the same court in February.

Apple's lawsuit contends that Samsung infringed on patents for 'slide to unlock' and autocorrection, among others.

Apple's lawsuit contends that Samsung infringed on patents for 'slide to unlock' and autocorrection, among others

GLOBAL TRUCE Samsung and Apple decided in 2014 to drop all patent disputes outside the United States, marking a partial ceasefire in a seemingly relentless legal war between the world's two largest smartphone makers. The companies have battled in close to a dozen countries, with each accusing the other of infringing on various patents related to their flagship smartphone and tablet products. Advertisement

Friday's ruling said Samsung failed to prove that some of the Apple innovations were 'obvious' and thus not able to be patented.

The opinion also said the court must defer to the decision of the jury when in doubt.

'Even in cases in which a court concludes that a reasonable jury could have found some facts differently, the verdict must be sustained if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record that was before the jury,' Judge Kimberly Moore wrote for the majority.

Apple asked for an 'en banc' rehearing of the case -- before all the appeals court judges -- following February's decision to toss out the award.

Apple had sought some $2.2 billion at trial, only to have a jury award the California-based company $119.6 million.

In February, the panel of judges ruled that Samsung did not infringe on one of the Apple patents and that the remaining two, which involved auto-correct and slide-to-unlock features, were not valid.

APPLE VS SAMSUNG IN SMARTPHONE SALES SpecOut | Graphiq Advertisement

Neither company responded to requests for comment.

The case is separate from another suit in which Samsung was ordered to pay $548 million for patent infringement to Apple and whose appeal is set for a hearing next week in the US Supreme Court

Samsung and Apple decided in 2014 to drop all patent disputes outside the United States, marking a partial ceasefire in a seemingly relentless legal war between the world's two largest smartphone makers.
UN council to vote on dueling resolutions on Aleppo truce

The UN Security Council will vote on two rival resolutions on Syria on Saturday, one drafted by France calling for an end to air raids on Aleppo and a second by Russia that makes no mention of a halt to the bombings.

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted measure backed by the United States and Britain that also provides for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

The council will then move to a second vote on the Russian-drafted text that calls for a ceasefire but makes no specific mention of stopping the aerial bombardment of Aleppo.

The two-week assault by Russia and the Syrian regime on Aleppo has sparked a global outcry after air strikes on hospitals and other civilian infrastructure Omar Haj Kadour (AFP)

British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft dismissed the Russian draft text as a political ploy.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the need to stop the bombing of Aleppo," he said.

The Russian text, obtained by AFP on Friday, "urges immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, in particular in Aleppo" and demands that all parties allow deliveries of humanitarian aid.

At least 250,000 people are living under siege in rebel-held east Aleppo, and facing almost-daily heavy bombing since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city last month.

Council members have been holding negotiations for the past week on the French proposal for an end to the bombing of Aleppo, access for aid deliveries and a ban on military flights over the city.

But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the measure was "hastily put together" and suggested it was "not designed to make progress... but to cause a Russian veto."

"I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," he told reporters when asked whether he would resort to the veto as one of the council's five permanent members.

If Russia blocks the draft, it will be Moscow's fifth veto of UN resolutions on Syria.

- Tougher on Russia ? -

The Security Council met in emergency session at Russia's request to hear UN envoy Staffan de Mistura outline proposals to allow jihadist fighters to leave Aleppo.

The Russian-drafted text welcomes the envoy's initiative and calls on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present a detailed plan that could be endorsed by the Security Council.

A Security Council diplomat, who asked not to be named, said the Russian "resolution on the surface looks like a lot of constructive language that draws from previous resolutions and the French draft, but the key point is that it does not call for an end to the aerial bombardment."

He said the "vast majority" of council members want "an immediate end to the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Aleppo."

The decision to move to a vote followed days of shuttle diplomacy by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who traveled to Moscow and Washington to secure agreement on the draft resolution.

Ayrault, who will attend the council meeting on Saturday, said the vote will be a "moment of truth for all the members of the Security Council."

"Do you want a ceasefire in Aleppo, yes or no? And the question is in particular for our Russian partner," the foreign minister said in Washington.

European countries and the United States are shifting toward a tougher line on Russia over its actions in Syria and have suggested that sanctions could be imposed.

The United States on Friday called for Russia and Syria to be investigated for war crimes for the bombing of hospitals.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, children and women," US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Now in its sixth year with more than 300,000 dead, the war in Syria has raged on as the Security Council has been divided between Russia, which backs President Bashar al-Assad, and western powers supporting opposition rebels.
Netherlands extends UN mission in Mali into 2017

The Netherlands on Friday announced it was extending its contribution to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali for another year, but will pull out its helicopters and crews.

"We have decided to continue the Mali mission, but with a reduced capacity," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters at his weekly press conference, adding the "Dutch helicopters will be withdrawn."

The Netherlands has been contributing to the UN stabilisation mission in the west African nation since April 2014, and has reportedly deployed up to 400 troops, as well as four Apache helicopters and three Chinooks.

UN peacekeepers officials salute the coffins of two Dutch UN peacekeepers accidently killed, during a funeral ceremony on July 11, 2016 at the Bamako airport Habibou Kouyate (AFP/File)

Earlier this year two Dutch UN peacekeepers were accidentally killed and one wounded in an explosion during a training exercise at their camp in northwest Mali.

A total of 290 Dutch troops will be left behind in Mali once the helicopters are withdrawn in early 2017, Rutte and officials said.

The Dutch mission remains "important to contribute to peace, was well as for stability in the Sahel region and thus the security of Europe," Rutte added.

The Dutch troops have already been transferring some tasks in and those remaining will focus on collecting and analysing information, as well as long range reconnaissance, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The UN mission MINUSMA was deployed in Mali in July 2013 as part of an international effort against jihadist groups which overran the country's northern territory. More than 11,000 UN police and military are currently serving there, attempting to guarantee security in lawless swathes of the vast Sahel nation.

Although they were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013, extremist groups still pose a threat.

And the north continues to be beset by violence having fallen under the control of Tuareg-led rebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.

Although peace has been restored in parts of Mali "it remains fragile and the work is not yet done," the ministry said.
ICC to decide on Israel-Palestinians probe 'in due course': official

The International Criminal Court has no deadline for deciding whether to investigate alleged war crimes by Israel and the Palestinians, an ICC official said on Friday.

"There is no time limit," the ICC's Phakiso Mochochoko told AFP during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"We are just working hard on this file and in due course when the time is right, when all the conditions have been met and when we have assessed everything, then the decision will be made."

Phakiso Mochochoko, in charge of the International Criminal Court's cooperation division, answers AFP journalists' questions in East Jerusalem on October 7, 2016 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP)

The Palestinians formally asked the ICC last year to investigate the Jewish state, which is not a party to the treaty that governs the court, for alleged war crimes.

Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki presented the court with a dossier alleging violations during the 2014 Gaza war and another on Israel's occupation and settlement of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Some 2,251 Palestinians, including 551 children, were killed in fighting between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and other factions, according to UN figures.

Israel is alleged to have used indiscriminate force against the blockaded territory, while Hamas is accused of firing rockets at Israeli civilian population centres and using Palestinians as human shields.

In January 2015 the ICC, the world's only permanent war crimes court, opened a preliminary examination into alleged abuses by both sides but has not moved to a formal investigation.

The Palestinians have expressed frustration at the slow pace of proceedings.

Mochochoko did not comment when asked if it could take years to reach a decision, but said the amount of data from all sides meant that the Gaza examination was "unique in its nature."

"There is a lot of information, there is a lot of reports and there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to analyse that information and to assess it," he said, speaking in English.

Mochochoko, a member of the ICC's prosecutor's office, arrived Wednesday as part of a four-strong delegation for a five-day mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

He said the trip was purely about explaining the work of the court and not seeking testimony.

"At this stage...we do not have any mandate to engage with witnesses, we don't have any mandate to collect evidence," he said.

"We are not doing any fact finding mission," he added.

"What the future holds for us, that remains to be seen."
Poll: Clinton grabs 5-point lead as independents shift

Hillary Clinton capitalized on growing support among independent voters to surge to a five-point national lead against rival Donald Trump barely a month before the US presidential election, a new poll showed Friday.

The Democrat improved her standing to 45 percent support compared with 40 percent for her Republican rival Trump in a four-way race that includes lesser-known candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

The result shows the former secretary of state extending her lead by four points from last month's Quinnipiac survey, further solidifying the gains that Clinton's campaign has registered since her strong performance against Trump in their first presidential debate on September 26.

According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton improved her standing to 45 percent support compared with 40 percent for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Brendan Smialowski (AFP/File)

In a two-person race, Clinton leads Trump 50 percent to 44.

"Post-debate, Hillary Clinton checks all the boxes," Quinnipiac poll assistant director Tim Malloy said in a statement.

"With her base of women and non-white voters now solidly behind her and independent voters moving into her column, Donald Trump gets a wake-up call."

The poll of 1,064 likely voters nationwide shows a dramatic shift toward Clinton among those not registered with any party.

Independents now back her 46 percent to 32 percent, compared to 42-35 for Trump in late September.

Clinton stayed off the campaign trail Friday and Trump kept his events to a minimum ahead of their second head-to-head debate, to take place Sunday in St Louis, Missouri.

The Manhattan real estate billionaire is widely believed to have not prepared extensively for their first showdown, while Clinton is known for rigorously studying up before such events.

Sunday's debate will be in the format of a town hall, with questions coming from audience members.

Trump held a town-hall-styled event Thursday night in New Hampshire, but appeared not to treat it like a warmup session.

"Forget debate prep," he said.

"Do you really think Hillary Clinton is debate-prepping for three days? Hillary Clinton is resting," he added.

Trump has routinely charged that Clinton does not have the "stamina" to be president.

"She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night."
UN envoy eyes 72-hour truce for Yemen

A 72-hour truce for conflict-riddled Yemen is expected to be announced soon, the UN envoy to the Arabian Peninsula country said Friday after talks with rebel representatives.

Three months of negotiations in Kuwait earlier this year ended without a breakthrough, dashing hopes for an end to the war between Shiite Huthi rebels and government forces that has gripped Yemen for more than 18 months.

Fighting flared anew when the talks collapsed in August, prompting UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to warn that restoring a ceasefire for Yemen was critical.

The United Nations says the conflict in Yemen has killed more than 6,700 people and displaced at least three million since a Saudi-led Arab coalition backing Hadi's government launched operations in March 2015 Saleh Al-Obeidi (AFP/File)

Speaking in the Omani capital on Friday after talks with representatives of the Huthis, the Mauritanian diplomat said a new truce deal was in the works as part of a wider peace plan.

"An agreement for a 72-hour renewable truce will be announced in the coming days," he said in remarks carried by the official Oman news agency.

The Huthis and their allies, supporters of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, "are convinced of the need for a ceasefire," the diplomat said.

He said he would head to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to meet with Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

The UN envoy said he was hoping to draft a new peace plan for Yemen "in the next two weeks" but that he first needed to carry out more consultations.

Military sources said that a local pro-government commander, General Abd al-Rab al-Shaddadi, was killed in Friday clashes with insurgents in Sarwah, in Marib province.

The United Nations says the conflict has killed more than 6,700 people and displaced at least three million since a Saudi-led Arab coalition backing Hadi's government launched operations in March 2015.

Since then, the rebels have been pushed out of much of Yemen's south, but they still control nearly all of its Red Sea coast as well as swathes of territory around the capital Sanaa.
France reopens probe into 1994 assassination of Rwandan president

French investigators have reopened their probe into the 1994 genocide-triggering assassination of a Rwandan president to question a dissident general who has accused the country's current head of state of orchestrating the killing, AFP learnt Friday.

After a French-crewed plane carrying Juvenual Habyarimana was shot down with a missile on April 6, 1994, a campaign targeting Rwanda's Tutsi population was unleashed. Within 100 days, some 800,000 people had been slaughtered.

The Rwandan former (1994-2002) army chief of staff whom French investigating magistrates want to question, Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, lives in exile in South Africa, where he has survived at least two attempts on his life.

French investigators want to question former Rwandan army chief Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who lives in exile in South Africa Alexander Joe (AFP/File)

He is the subject of a previous French arrest warrant and has also been sentenced to 24 years in jail by a Rwandan court.

Like President Paul Kagame, he was a founder member of the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which took power in the central African country in late 1994, putting an end to the genocide.

In a notarised deposition submitted to the French investigation in June this year, Nyamwasa denied witness testimony that tied him to the shooting down of Habyarimana's plane, and said Kagame had instigated the attack, which also claimed the life of the then president of Burundi.

In his deposition, which AFP has seen, Nyamwasa said that on April 6, 1994 he heard Kagame himself say that "Habyarimana's plane was brought down by our own (RPF) forces".

The deposition led French investigating magistrates to formally ask South Africa for its cooperation in having Nyamwasa questioned, according to case sources.

- Dead ends -

The French investigation had been effectively closed in 2014 and again in January this after previous requests to South Africa for cooperation came to nothing.

In 2006, Rwanda cut diplomatic ties with France after the investigating magistrate then in charge of the case issued arrest warrants for several people close to Kagame, including Nyamwasa.

Seven of them, including all those named in Nyamwasa's deposition, were later charged in France but have since called for the cases against them to be dropped.

A lawyer for the seven dismissed the latest move by the investigating magistrates as "yet another delaying tactic designed to put off the inevitable dismissal" of the cases and to derail Kagame's bid for a third term in next year's presidential election.

Kagame's camp maintains that the testimony given to French investigators by expert witnesses -- which identified an area held by Habyarimana's presidential guard as the most likely place from which the missile was fired -- is evidence of his innocence.

Kagame has long maintained that Habyarimana was killed by Hutu hardliners unhappy with the concessions the then president was making during negotiations with the RPF rebels.
Four dead in Florida from Hurricane Matthew

The United States marked its first four fatalities from Hurricane Matthew as the powerful storm lashed the Florida coast after killing more than 400 people in Haiti, officials said Friday.

A 58-year-old woman suffered cardiac arrest in her home in central Florida's St Lucie County overnight, but high winds from Matthew -- then a major Category Three storm on a five-point scale -- prevented fire officials from reaching her, a fire spokeswoman told AFP.

"We were unable to respond safely, and unfortunately she died," said St Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney.

A boat sits submerged in water after the passing of Hurricane Matthew, in Titusville, Florida, on October 7, 2016 Bruce Weawer (AFP)

In the early morning hours, rescuers also received a call about an 82-year-old man who was experiencing stroke-like symptoms and was having difficulty breathing.

"Again, we could not go because that's when the winds were high," Chaney said.

The man was taken in a personal vehicle to a nearby hospital, and fire officials learned later that he died, she said.

At midday Friday, a woman in Volusia County ventured outside to feed some animals during a lull in the storm and was killed by a falling tree, said county manager Jim Dinneen.

Further north up the coast, in Putnam County, another woman trying to "ride out the storm" was killed by a tree after it fell on the trailer, the local sheriff's office said. A man that was also in the trailer was able to escape with only minor injuries.

The powerful storm surged through the Caribbean earlier this week, at times as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, leaving a trail of destruction in Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In addition to the scores killed in Haiti, four died in the Dominican Republic.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category 2 storm on Friday evening as it pummeled the northeastern Florida coast with winds of 110 miles (175 kilometers) per hour. It was moving northward at 12 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said.
The District Attorney's Office said two witnesses who testified for the state in the double murder case in which Stephen Mobley is charged "fear for their lives" due to Mobley's violent history.

Mobley has been charged with two prior killings. He pleaded guilty in January 2007 to voluntary manslaughter after being charged with first-degree murder. He was given a six-year prison sentence. Charges were dismissed in 2014 on a second murder after a jury hung up.

Police say Mobley shot three people multiple times at a house on Pinewood Drive because he was mad that two of them threw up in the house. Two of the people died in the Labor Day rampage.

A woman who survived testified in General Sessions Court at a preliminary hearing. Also testifying was Mobley's cousin, who lived with him in the house on Pinewood Drive.

The DA's Office said, "The surviving witness and the primary resident of the house where the shooting happened have both expressed to Chattanooga Police and to the District Attorney General that they are terrified of Stephen Mobley and fear for their lives.

"From their accounts, the fear is based on (A) Mobleys homicidal history and (B) threats made to them the week of the shooting that were delivered to family members and close friends. DA General Pinkston is not aware of the source of the threats, only that they have occurred."

Killed were 22-year-old Jasmine Hines, whose father was murdered earlier this year, and 23-year-old Rashaud Taylor.

The woman who survived said she was with a group that went to the Chattanooga Billiards Club on Jordan Drive prior to the shooting. She said she was shot in the arm and the leg and she now has difficulty walking. She underwent surgery and spent three days at Erlanger Hospital.



The witness told of the other two victims being "covered in blood."

She told of seeing a gun hanging out of Mobley's pocket. She said she did not see anyone else in the group with a weapon.

The woman, who said all of the victims had used drugs that day, said was able to call 911 after the shooting. At the time, she said she did not know who had shot her.

Mobley's cousin said he was outside at the time of the shooting, and he said he heard gunshots.

He said Mobley did have a gun on the night of the shooting.

The witness said the next day that Mobley asked, "What happened?"

He said Mobley had only lived with him at the house for two months and was in Oklahoma for several months prior to that.

Detective Chris Blackwell said the bodies were still inside the house when he arrived, and he was told a third victim had gone to the hospital.

He said 10-11 9mm shell casings were found in the house.

Detective Blackwell said Mobley was traced to a Motel 6 after the shooting. He eventually turned himself in after being placed on the TBI's 10 Most Wanted List.

Charges against Mobley, including two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, were bound to the Grand Jury.







The week of Stephen Mobleys arrest in this case, the Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerks office received a call during which an anonymous caller stated the lives of all involved in the prosecution of Stephen Mobley  specifically including the judge, the jury, the prosecutors and the witnesses  are at risk. HCSO investigators attempted to locate the caller but the number used traced back to a public pay phone.



Police say Stephen "Dollar" Mobley shot three people multiple times at a house on Pinewood Drive because he was mad that two of them threw up in the house.

Two of them died and the third was rushed to a local hospital in the Labor Day rampage.

Mobley, 32, turned himself in Wednesday morning - a day after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation added him to its Top 10 Most Wanted list. He is being held on bonds totaling $3,750,000.



Mobley faces charges including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

Chattanooga Police were dispatched at 6:25 a.m. on Monday to 7458 Pinewood Dr. on a person shot call. Officers found Jasmine Hines and Rashaud Taylor dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds.

A woman was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to Erlanger Hospital for treatment.

Police found there had been a gathering at that address in the early hours. After the gathering, the victims and several others went to the Chattanooga Billiards Club in East Brainerd to play darts, play pool and drink beer.

They then all returned to 7458 Pinewood Dr.

The woman said she observed a black male with colored dreads holding a firearm during the course of the evening, but did not know his name. She said she believes he is the one who shot her and the other two.

She said the man with the colored dreads "got upset because she and Jasmine Hines vomited in the house."

Police said another witness said Mobley was arguing with Ms. Hines just moments before the shooting and was the only person left in the residence with the three victims when the shooting occurred.

This witness said Mobley had a gun and had colored-tipped braids.

Police said Mobley fled the scene and requested that a family member take him to a local hotel.



The victim was transported to Erlanger Hospital for multiple gunshot wounds he had received during an argument with Mobley.

Police were informed by witnesses that the victim and the suspect got into some type of argument and they allegedly began to exchange gunfire.The victim was struck twice and ran to his grandmothers residence before passing out. Paramedics arrived and transported the victim to Erlanger Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Mobley was 21 at the time.

In the latter incident, a woman testified that she was with Mobley when he gunned down 28-year-old Gregory Watkins at a convenience store near the Brainerd Road Tunnels on June 1, 2012.

The woman said she had made a number of drug purchases for him, including one from Watkins a short time before the shooting of Watkins and a woman who was in the car with him.

She said Mobley was upset about the quality of the drugs and had asked her to set up another deal with Watkins.

She said Mobley got out of the car at the Conoco and began firing, then a short time later jumped back in the car.

Pinewood Drive is off Standifer Gap Road in East Brainerd.
Despite recall, Samsung tips higher-than-expected profit

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter likely helped by its component businesses that helped offset the cost from an unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones.

The South Korean company said in an earnings preview Friday that its third-quarter operating income rose 6 percent to 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with 7.4 trillion won a year earlier.

That was slightly higher than forecasts. According to financial data provider FactSet, analysts expected a figure of 7.5 trillion won.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, a man walks by an advertisement of the Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter despite the unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Samsung said sales fell 5 percent from a year earlier to 49 trillion won ($43.9 trillion) during the three-month period.

The company will disclose its full results including earnings and divisional breakdowns later this month.

The results give clues about the short-term financial impact of its first global recall of smartphones. Last month Samsung recalled 2.5 million units of the Galaxy Note 7 just two weeks after its debut as consumers reported that batteries were overheating and catching fire.

That was followed by global airlines banning the phone during flights and official recalls by the governments in the U.S. and Canada.

Analysts estimate the cost of the recall could be as much as $1.8 billion as Samsung shipped the phones back and replaced them with a new Note 7 phone with safe lithium-ion batteries.

But they also said the damage would be outweighed by Samsung's other businesses, especially its sales of advanced computer chips and high-end smartphone displays.

"We'll see an earnings surprise in the display and memory chip businesses," said Kim Young Woo, an analyst at SK Securities. "The numbers will show that they are the two growth engines for Samsung."

According to Kim's estimates, nearly half of the income was generated by Samsung's component business during the last quarter, including the chips and the displays. He said the profit from Samsung's mobile business plunged to its lowest level in three quarters.

Samsung is the world's largest maker of the computer memory chips and the world's dominant supplier of advanced mobile-phone screens known as OLED. Samsung uses the lucrative OLED screens for its top-end phones, including the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge phones, whose sales were not affected by the Note 7 recall.

The analysts also believe that the third quarter would be the bottom for Samsung's earnings. OLED screens for mobile devices and Samsung's advanced chips for computers will likely fuel a huge profit growth for the company in coming quarters, they said.

That means that Samsung will have a buffer for its bottom line even as its smartphone battery crisis continues to damage its brand reputation.

The latest blow to Samsung's brand happened earlier this week when a U.S. domestic plane with 75 passengers had to be evacuated because of a Samsung phone emitting smoke before the plane's takeoff. Southwest Airlines Co. and the Federal Aviation Agency are investigating the Wednesday incident but declined to confirm whether the Samsung phone was the replaced Note 7 smartphone that Samsung had said was safe to use.

___

Follow Youkyung Lee on Twitter at twitter.com/YKLeeAP

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, a man touches the Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphone at its shop in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter despite the unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones are displayed at its shop in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter despite the unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, advertisements of the Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones hang outside of a shop in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter despite the unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, the corporate logo of Samsung Electronics Co. is seen at its shop in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter despite the unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, a visitor looks at the smartphone cases of Samsung Electronics's Galaxy Note 7 at a shop in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its profit rose more than expected in the July-September quarter despite the unprecedented recall of its flagship smartphones.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Officer acquitted in shooting death of mentally ill man

NORFOLK, Va. (AP)  A jury in Virginia on Thursday acquitted a white police officer who had been charged in the shooting death of a mentally ill black man holding a knife.

Norfolk police Officer Michael Edington faced one count of voluntary manslaughter for shooting David Latham in June 2014.

Outside the courtroom, the not-guilty verdict revealed the nation's stark fault lines over race and policing.

Michael Edington, center, a Norfolk, Va., police officer, speaks to his attorney, Jeffrey Swartz, right, outside of Norfolk Circuit Court on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Norfolk, Va. A jury had just acquitted Edington of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a mentally ill black man with a knife. (AP Photo/Ben Finley)

Jeffery Swartz, one of Edington's attorneys, praised the jury for setting aside "national issues and biases" and showing that the criminal justice system "still works."

But Latham's family said justice remains elusive for black men and people with mental illness.

Michael J. Muhammad, a Latham family spokesman, said they want a federal investigation of Norfolk's police department and a dozen police-involved shooting in recent years.

Edington has been on administrative duty since the shooting. Speaking through tears outside the courtroom, Edington, 27, the son of a police officer, said he intends to stay in law enforcement.

"It's something I'm very passionate about," he said.

After the verdict, Edington had embraced his attorney and laid his head on his attorney's shoulder, while family members sobbed.

"It's been 2  years of waiting for this to be off my shoulders,' Edington said. "I have my life back."

Latham, 35, suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. On the night he died, he had gotten into an argument with family members over a bag of potato chips and grabbed a knife. His relatives called 911.

Police arrived to find Latham holding a foot-long butcher knife on his mother's steps.

Prosecutors had argued that Eddington didn't give Latham a chance. They said Latham held the knife at his side without advancing or retreating from the officer. Edington shot him several times.

But Edington and his defense attorneys argued that Latham threatened violence, moved the knife around and made a small but alarming step as if he would attack.

Edington testified that he feared the 5-foot-11, 273 pound man was about to charge him with the blade, according to local media reports.

The jury consisted of five women and seven men. Eight of the jurors were white, three were black, and one was Asian.

Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, said juries are often reluctant to convict police officers because they know how dangerous their jobs can be.

Nationwide, Edington is among 77 officers who've been charged since 2005 with either manslaughter or murder after shooting someone while on duty, Stinson said.

So far, a third of the officers have been convicted and a third acquitted, Stinson said. The remaining cases are pending.

Latham's death was not the region's first police-involved shooting or its first trial for an officer charged with excessive force.

In August, a jury in the neighboring city of Portsmouth convicted white former police Officer Stephen Rankin of voluntary manslaughter. He shot to death William Chapman, a black teen suspected of shoplifting at a Wal-Mart.

In Norfolk, Latham is one of 13 people, 10 of them black, who've been killed by police since 2010, according to a Virginian-Pilot analysis.

Greg Underwood, who prosecuted Edington's case, said other shootings were found to be justified. He didn't believe Latham's was.

But he said "we are pleased this matter was heard by and decided by Norfolk citizens in an appropriate public forum via the jurors in this jury trial."
Hurricane party breaks out as Matthew misses Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP)  With Hurricane Matthew out at sea and aimed well north of this city known for parties, a big one broke out Thursday across the street from waves churned up by the storm.

A huge crowd spent the day tossing back beers and singing along with a guitar player at the Elbo Room, situated on a corner in the heart of an area that's typically overrun by college students during spring break.

A smaller crowd partied at another bar one block over. And just up the street, Kim Siegel pranced like a gazelle atop a squat beachside wall as a friend shot videos.

With Hurricane Matthew still far off the coast, people party at the Elbo Room bar in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Dozens of people joined in the festivities and others jogged or swam in the rough surf as Matthew appeared headed well north of the city. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

"I'm happy to have a breeze. We haven't had one in months," she said.

Although Fort Lauderdale was initially in Matthew's crosshairs, forecasters said the hurricane didn't move inland as far south as first expected. So rather than hunkering down in her home just off the coast, Melody Fortunato took her German shepherd for an afternoon walk. She also spent a few hours watching TV and cleaning out files on her two computers.

"I'm just doing things ... you don't normally do," she said.

Fort Lauderdale residents took all the necessary precautions for Matthew, stripping store shelves clean of bottled water and bread and moving luxury yachts while the storm was still days away. A luxury Bentley was nestled safely beside Toyotas and Jeeps in the vault-like parking garage of a resort hotel.

But the worst never came. So Michael Levi and a buddy went swimming in the ocean, bobbing down the beach in foamy white spray kicked up by Matthew.

"It's not the brightest idea in the world, but it's fun," said Levi of Pembroke Pines, Florida. "A lot of people are afraid to look at this, and actually it's quite beautiful. It's quite amazing. It's a one-in-a-lifetime type thing."

The mood wasn't as bright a few miles inland at a huge shelter set up in two schools where officials said more than 800 people sought refuge as the storm bore down on the road. Brad Witt, who normally lives in a tent and works as a day laborer, feared staying outside during Matthew.

"I came here to ride out the storm," he said.

Adam Bator went to the beach to ride the waves. Along with about a half-dozen others, Bator strapped a board to his feet and spent the morning in the ocean being pulled along by a kite that was puffed out by Matthew's wind.

"It's a major adrenaline rush," he said. "It's surfing times 10."

Palm trees sway in high gusts of wind, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Vero Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew continues to make a path for Florida's east coast from the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The first outer bands of rain from Hurricane Matthew pass over downtown Orlando, Fla., Thursday evening, Oct. 6, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Shell halts proposed oil-by-rail project at its refinery

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP)  Shell Puget Sound Refinery announced Thursday it has terminated plans for a proposed oil-by-rail project at its refinery in Washington state.

Under the plan, trains would have brought crude oil from the Bakken fields of North Dakota to replace some of the supply Shell currently gets from Alaska's North Slope.

Refinery general manager Shirley Yap told the Skagit Valley Herald (https://goo.gl/iLxiMW) Thursday that recent low oil prices and abundant production elsewhere have slowed Midwest production, making it less of a good investment.

"At today's prices even if I had a (rail) facility, I would not be buying Bakken," Yap said.

The proposal had been in the works for years with Skagit County officials concluding that there weren't significant impacts from the project in Anacortes. But conservation groups appealed and a county hearing examiner ruled a full project review was needed.

Shell's appeal of that decision was dismissed last year and a draft environmental impact statement regarding the project was released earlier this week by state and local officials.

The environmental statement being released was a good milestone at which to make the refinery's announcement, Yap said. She was confident, she said, the facility could have been built following the environmental statement's guidelines.

But the announcement was news to Skagit County Planning Director Dale Pernula.

"They've been working so hard, and we've been working so diligently on this. It just really surprised us," he said.

Kristen Boyles, an attorney at Earthjustice who represented conservation groups in their legal challenge of the project, called the decision to stop the project an extraordinary victory for the people of Skagit County and Washington state.

"Having a full and transparent public process exposed everyone - including apparently Shell itself - to the risks and harms of this project," Boyles said in an email.

The refinery will continue receiving crude from Alaska by ship and from Canada by pipeline and will also examine other potential sources.

"There will be other opportunities for us to invest in," refinery spokesman Cory Ertel told the newspaper. "This just isn't a good investment at this time anymore."

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JonBenet Ramsey's brother is demanding $150million from a forensic pathologist who went on TV and accused him of murdering his sister.

The murder of six-year-old JonBenet - who was found dead in the basement of the family's home in 1996 - remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in American crime history.

Last month Dr Werner Spitz was interviewed on CBS's Detroit affiliate and said he believed her brother Burke, who was nine at the time, had killed her after some sort of confrontation.

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JonBenet (left) was found beaten and strangled on the floor of the family's cellar several hours after 911 was called but Burke (right) and their parents always denied being involved

JonBenet Ramsey's brother Burke (pictured) has been criticized for smiling during an interview by Dr Phil about his sister's death

'Spitz made this accusation without ever examining JonBenet's body, without viewing the crime scene, and without consulting with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on JonBenet,' reads a complaint filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit by Burke's attorney, Lin Wood.

Burke Ramsey, who is now 29 and lives in Charlevoix in northern Michigan, is seeking $150million in damages from Dr Spitz.

The lawsuit says Dr Spitz is a publicity seeker 'with a history of interjecting himself in high profile cases'.

Dr Werner Spitz (pictured) is now being sued by JonBenet Ramsey in a $150million lawsuit

Burke's attorneys said they demanded a retraction the day after the interview, but Dr Spitz refused.

They said Dr Spitz had 'a disturbing history of making false statements related to the brutal murder of young girls' and his testimony had been labelled 'not useful or credible' in at least one case.

JonBenet was found dead in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

In 2008 her parents and brother were cleared by prosecutors who said DNA on the girl's underwear did not match anyone in the family.

Boulder police said last month the investigation into JonBenet's slaying remains open.

JonBenet's parents John and Patsy (pictured) were suspects for years. Patsy died of cancer in 2006, with the case still unsolved

Chief Greg Testa said investigators have collected 1,500 pieces of evidence, including the analysis of 200 DNA samples, traveled to 18 states to interview about 1,000 people and have received, reviewed or investigated more than 20,000 tips, letters or emails.

CBS is airing a six-part television docuseries, The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey, in which investigators are teaming up with new experts to re-examine the evidence using today's technology and forensics.

In one episode FBI special agent Jim Clement said Burke had a 'history of scatological problems' and had smeared feces on the bedroom walls and on one of his sister's Christmas presents.

Ex-housekeeper Linda Hoffman-Pugh also told she programme she remembered a time when she uncovered 'fecal material the size of a grapefruit on the sheets' in JonBenet's bed.

The murder of JonBenet Ramsey is unsolved 20 years on. Her brother Burke (pictured, left, with his sister) recently gave an interview with Dr Phil

Burke Ramsey was interviewed last month on the TV show Dr Phil.

On it he Dr Phil asked him what he would say to people who think he killed JonBenet and he replied: 'I don't know what to say to that, because I know that's not what happened... Look at the evidence or the lack thereof.'

JonBenet's body was found in the family's cellar on December 26, 1996, hours after her mother, Patsy, called 911 and said she was missing and she had found a ransom note.

Suspicions arose about Patsy and husband John because the ransom note was written on paper which belonged to the family and there were no footprints in the snow outside the house.

Mrs Ramsey died of cancer in 2006.

Mail Online contacted Dr Spitz' office and was told that he did not wish to comment.
10 Things to Know for Friday - 7 October 2016

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

1. HURRICANE MATTHEW MENACES FLORIDA

Some 2 million people are warned to flee inland to escape the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in over a decade.

The first outer bands of rain from Hurricane Matthew pass over downtown Orlando, Fla., Thursday evening, Oct. 6, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

2. WHERE HURRICANE DEATH TOLL JUMPS SHARPLY

Haitian officials say at least 283 are dead as they finally begin to reach corners of the country that had been cut off by the rampaging storm.

3. WHAT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL TOWN HALL DEBATE WILL TEST

The Sunday showdown will require Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to demonstrate both stagecraft and substance.

4. SYRIA AFLAME ON SEVERAL FRONTS

Outside Aleppo, opposition forces are on the offensive in the country's center and are battling the Islamic State group in the northwest, while to the east government forces are weathering an IS siege.

5. WHERE LAWMAKERS ARE CRACKING DOWN ON HONOR KILLINGS

In Pakistan, where more than 1,000 women were killed last year, many by fathers, brothers or husbands. Legislators passed a law that stiffens the penalty for such killers and closed a loophole that often allowed them to go free.

6. WHO TOPS NOBEL PEACE BETS

Bookies are putting their money on this year's prize going to Greek islanders who have opened their homes to hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Other favorites include Syria's White Helmets rescue group and Pope Francis.

7. U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL FORMALLY NOMINATES NEW CHIEF

Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres, who was the top U.N. refugee official for a decade, says he faces "huge challenges" and hopes to see unity and consensus during his term.

8. COLOMBIA PEACE DEAL HINGES ON EX-PRESIDENT

Hardliner Alvaro Uribe fanned resentment of FARC rebels as he crisscrossed the country, trying to convince voters against appeasing "terrorists." The historic accord is now in limbo following its shock defeat in a national referendum.

9. BARELY HALF OF ILLEGAL US-MEXICO BORDER CROSSINGS CAUGHT

That's according to an internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security report obtained by The Associated Press, which offers one of the most sweeping, detailed assessments of border security ever. The capture rate is well below the figure that the government publishes using a different counting method.

10. STUDY SAYS APES THINK LIKE HUMANS

Scientists find that some of our primitive relatives can understand someone else's point of view even when they know that point of view is dead wrong.

Women hold candles during a march for peace in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The march was organized on social media by student groups and social movements to ask the political establishment and leftist rebels to not give up on a peace deal that was narrowly rejected by voters in a referendum on Oct. 2. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Sweeping views, grass roof for new Statue of Liberty Museum

NEW YORK (AP)  A new museum that seemingly rises out of the ground will replace the small exhibition space inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, its grass roof blending with the landscape and affording sweeping views of the iconic symbol of hope and freedom and New York Harbor.

Officials on Thursday unveiled the design for a new Statue of Liberty Museum at a groundbreaking ceremony on Liberty Island, which sees 4.3 million visitors each year.

Slated to open in 2019, the 26,000-square-foot building, constructed of glass, granite and concrete, will be sited across the circular plaza from the statue.

This artist rendering provided by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation shows a design for a new free-standing Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island. The groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, markes the start of construction for the 20,000-square-foot building, slated to open in 2019 across the circular plaza from the statue. (Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation via AP)

Architect Nicholas Garrison said the goal was to design a building that didn't compete with the statue and wasn't the first thing visitors saw as they disembarked the ferry.

"We wanted to make sure our building didn't impede the experience," Garrison said.

Designer Diane von Furstenberg is leading the fundraising for the $70 million project, $40 million of which has been raised, said Stephen Briganti, president and CEO of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

The angular-shaped museum, inspired by the water's edge, has a monumental staircase that rises to the rooftop, featuring a paved terrace and grassy surface meant as a habitat for migratory birds.

The green roof plays off the idea that it's an extension of the park, said Garrison, a partner at FXFOWLE and the project's designer.

"It's as if the museum had been lifted out of the ground and the ground goes with it," he said.

The museum entrance is halfway up the steps, where it opens up into a wide patio.

"It's also a natural grandstand for an event that could happen in the plaza," Garrison said, adding that the roof and steps could also be a stage for a performance.

The building will triple the size of the current museum, giving many more visitors an opportunity to see its artifacts and exhibitions.

"Not only does the new museum give people who come to the island something else to see, but because of security changes in a post-9/11 era, only 20 percent that come to the statue get inside it. That means 80 percent are left to either walk around the front and look or have a picnic or whatever," Briganti said.

The interior features exposed steel structures and controlled low lighting. Exhibitions will be conceived by ESI Design.

In the entrance, visitors will encounter a large mural of 50 star sculptures evocative of the American flag. In the following three galleries, they will experience a virtual flyover of the statue's interior and see exhibits that tell the story of the statue, from its creation by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi as a gift from France to the American people to how it became an American icon. The experience culminates in the Inspiration Gallery, where the original torch takes center stage.

"At that moment you're back in full daylight, you come full circle and now you're confronted with the original torch that sat on her arm for nearly 100 years and was removed in the 1986 centennial restoration," Garrison said.

People can walk around it and align themselves with the statue through the glass while simultaneously seeing the harbor and the entire park.

"I want people to feel pride that this idea lives and that this building helps to celebrate the great American commitment to try to embrace a way of life that the statue is so associated with," Garrison said.

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This story has been corrected to show the design firm is ESI Design, not EDSI Design.

This artist rendering provided by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation shows a design for a new free-standing Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island. The groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, marks the start of construction for the 20,000-square-foot building, slated to open in 2019 across the circular plaza from the statue. (Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation via AP)

This artist rendering provided by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation shows a design for a new free-standing Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island. The new museum will triple the exhibition space in Lady Libertys pedestal, giving many more visitors an opportunity to see the exhibitions. Currently, a small percentage of visitors can enter the pedestal because of security measures put in place after 9/11. (Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation via AP)

This artist rendering provided by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation shows a design for a new free-standing Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island. The groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, markes the start of construction for the 20,000-square-foot building, slated to open in 2019 across the circular plaza from the statue. (Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation via AP)
In turnaround, Bundy denies leading refuge occupiers

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  Under a brief, but rapid-fire cross-examination Thursday, Ammon Bundy denied leading the occupation of a national wildlife refuge and defended receiving a U.S. Small Business Administration loan.

Bundy, 41, who's on trial for conspiring to impede Interior Department workers from doing their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was quickly reminded by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight that he had earlier testified that he was the leader.

Bundy said he was not a leader in the way Knight considers him to be. The man who led followers to the refuge for the 41-day standoff with law enforcement said he teaches "core principles" to people and lets them govern themselves.

Those principles, spoken of in great detail during three days of testimony this week, include Bundy's belief that the federal government can't own land within a state's borders, except for limited purposes.

Knight closed his 15-minute cross-examination by getting Bundy to acknowledge receiving a $530,000 U.S. Small Business Administration loan, a move to show Bundy isn't opposed to the federal government when it can help him profit.

Bundy said he supports the federal government, but not its management of land within states.

Bundy has said he came to Oregon's high desert to help locals deal with an overreaching federal government that has abused people's land rights for decades. The immediate issue was the case of Dwight and Steven Hammond, two ranchers who Bundy felt were unjustly returning to prison on arson convictions.

Earlier Thursday, Bundy was questioned by his own attorney and lawyers representing the other six people charged in the alleged conspiracy. One was his brother and co-defendant Ryan Bundy, who's acting as his own lawyer.

"How you doing, brother?" Ammon asked Ryan at the start of the testimony.

The pair discussed their relationship, from childhood to the start of the occupation. Ammon testified that the pair spoke by phone in the run up to the occupation, but never discussed the refuge or impeding federal workers.

Ryan Bundy did not arrive in southeast Oregon until the morning of the occupation, his brother said.

"I know you were not very prepared, didn't have much of a jacket," said Ammon Bundy, showing his brother had planned to attend a rally in support of the Hammonds but did not intend an extended stay.

Co-defendant Shawna Cox, also acting her own lawyer, briefly questioned Bundy. Lawyers for the other four defendants  Kenneth Medenbach, Jeff Banta, Neil Wampler and David Fry  asked questions designed to show they had only brief interactions with Bundy and were not involved in key decisions.

Medenbach's lawyer, Matthew Schindler, asked Bundy how a federal employee was supposed to work when Bundy was using her office and sitting in her chair.

"I didn't really think of it," Bundy said.

Answering questions from his own lawyer, Bundy repeated statements from earlier in the week that the group planned to take ownership of the refuge by means of adverse possession, which is a way to gain title to land by occupying it for a period of time. The defense displayed videos that showed Bundy lecturing on the topic at the refuge.

Bundy testified he did not visit the refuge before the occupation and had to use GPS to find it.

The prosecutor returned to that statement during his cross-examination, asking Bundy if he really needed GPS to find a place in which he intended to stay until 2036. Bundy responded that he expected the government to try to evict him  not arrest him  and the land dispute would be settled in civil court.

Prosecutors allege the conspiracy began two months before the occupation, when Bundy and another activist arrived in Harney County and gave Sheriff Dave Ward an ultimatum  protect the Hammonds from returning to federal prison or face extreme civil unrest.

Knight reminded Bundy that he told Ward during a Nov. 19 meeting that he wasn't bluffing.

Bundy said he couldn't remember a conversation that happened 11 months ago.

"Didn't we listen to a recording of it two days ago?" Knight asked.

"Yeah, bits and pieces," Bundy said.

Early Thursday, Bundy testified that he moved freely during the occupation, giving law enforcement plenty of chances to arrest him and end the occupation early. He said he traveled to nearby Burns for a haircut and Chinese food, and made three trips to see his wife and six kids in Emmett, Idaho.

Bundy also described the Jan. 26 traffic stop on a highway north of the refuge that ended with his arrest. He said he feared getting shot if he made a move and was too afraid to pick up his hat. He said armed police were in trees and everywhere else.

"I had red dots all over me," he said.

Police fatally shot Robert "LaVoy" Finicum after he fled the stop in a different vehicle.

When Bundy called it an ambush, U.S. District Judge Anna Brown halted further mention of the topic, reminding the courtroom that Finicum's death isn't being litigated.
Belmont winner Creator sold, to stand stud in Japan

VERSAILLES, Ky. (AP)  Belmont Stakes winner Creator has been sold by WinStar Farm and Bobby Flay and will retire from racing to stand stud in Japan.

WinStar Farm said Thursday night that Creator was sold to the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association and will stand stud at Shizunai Stallion Station in Hokkaido.

"Last year we visited the JBBA, and I was impressed with their facilities and overall program," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO and racing manager. "They've done such a great job with American horses like Empire Maker and Forty Niner, and we hope Creator can have a similar impact for Japan and its breeders."
A Chattanooga man is on the lam after cutting off his ankle monitor and failing to show up for the third day of his felony murder trial. And the jury on Friday found him guilty of first-degree murder, resulting in an automatic life prison sentence. He was also convicted of especially aggravated robbery.



Afterward, Christopher Padgett was placed on the TBI's 10 Most Wanted List.

The TBI said, "Padgett, who goes by the nickname Bubba, is a 22-year-old African-American man who stands 511 and weighs approximately 160 pounds.



Padgett, 22, attended the first two days of the trial, when prosecutors presented a series of witnesses and numerous exhibits aimed at proving Padgett shot and killed Millennium taxi driver Nathan Deere so he could steal his fare money.

Defense attorneys Meredith Ziebold and Wenche West were scheduled to begin presenting their side of the case Thursday morning, but the jury was eventually sent home.

At the start of court on Friday, Judge Tom Greenholtz told jurors, "You will notice that the defendant is not here." He said the case "will proceed without him."

Attorney Ziebold then announced that the defense would not put on any evidence.

Prosecutor Cameron Williams reopened the state's case, calling Chris Jackson, director of county corrections. He told of getting notification at 1:41 a.m. on Thursday that the GPS ankle monitor for Padgett had been tampered with.

He said he later learned that Padgett had cut off the monitor about that time and "ran away."

Mr. Jackson said he has "no idea" where Padgett is now.

City Officer Mark Pollard said he went Thursday morning to the home of Padgett's mother at an apartment on Bonny Oaks Drive, where he had been staying. He said his mother, Cynthia Walker, "was very distraught and upset. There was a lot of crying..

"She spoke of a mother's heartache for what her child had done."

The officer said, according to dispatch, that Padgett was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.



Padgett on Friday was released after posting a $350,000 bond put up by four bonding companies. The bond will be forfeited, the judge ruled, since their client violated the terms of his release.

Court records indicate Key Bonding Co. was on the line for $130,000, Platinum Bonding $100,000, Rocky Top Bonding $75,000, and Jay Price Bonding $45,000.

Padgett was arrested four and a half years ago on a variety of charges related to Mr. Deere, who was found on April 18, 2012 slumped over the steering wheel of his cab. He died the following day.

A hearing was held Thursday morning outside the presence of the jury, and a representative of Key Bonding Company testified that he went to the home of the defendants mother earlier that morning. He said he saw the GPS ankle monitor Padgett had cut off his leg while he was at the house.
How a patient's 'crazy' request for a new womb made history

STOCKHOLM (AP)  When the young Australian cervical cancer patient learned she had to lose her womb in order to survive, she proposed something audacious to the doctor who was treating her: She asked if she could have a womb transplant, so she could one day carry her own baby.

This was nearly two decades ago, when the Swedish doctor Mats Brannstrom was training to be a physician abroad.

"I thought she was a bit crazy," Brannstrom said.

In this photo taken Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, professor Mats Brannstrom talks about the revolutionary womb transplant he led that links three generations of a Swedish family at Stockholm IVF fertility clinic in Stockholm, Sweden. Brannstrom has made medical history by becoming the first doctor to deliver babies, five so far, from women with donated wombs, in a stunning advance that could lead to new insights into reproductive medicine and beyond. (AP Photo/ Dorothee Thiesing)

But Brannstom didn't dismiss her idea. Instead, after he returned to Sweden he began a series of painstaking research projects to learn whether it might be possible to transplant a womb, despite criticism that the unheard of procedure was dangerous, medically unnecessary, and impossible.

Brannstrom went on to become the first doctor to deliver babies  five so far  from women with donated wombs. No other doctor in the world has succeeded, despite attempts in the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and ongoing efforts in China, Britain, France, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.

The first of Brannstom's patients' babies was born in 2014 and the fifth arrived in January; another is due in early 2017.

Brannstrom is working with doctors at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic to help women beyond Sweden get access to the procedure. Doctors at Baylor University in Texas, including two former members of Brannstrom's team, announced this week they performed four womb transplants. One was successful, but not yet ready to attempt a pregnancy.

And scientists, many of whom were both doubtful and critical before, now believe Brannstom's work could help them extend the use of organs for those who need transplants and learn how embryos implant in the uterus after conception, a poorly understood but critical stage in pregnancy.

To figure out if womb transplants were even feasible, Brannstrom first asked Rana Akouri, then one of his doctoral students, to start experimenting in rodents in 1999. He picked Akouri because of her delicate surgical skills  a mouse uterus is only less than an inch long (about 2 centimeters). The surgery was so complex Akouri needed four custom-made tools to perform the microscopic operations.

After nearly two years, Akouri noticed one day that the belly of one of her mice a slight bulge. Too impatient to wait, she performed a cesarean section that evening  and found two tiny babies inside.

"I called Mats at 10pm and told him, 'one of our mice is pregnant!'" she said.

That night, Brannstrom said, was the first time he thought that a womb transplant in humans might actually be possible.

"If it hadn't worked in mice, we would have quit," he said.

Over the next decade, Brannstrom and his team performed hundreds of uterus transplants in rats, sheep, pigs and monkeys. Because Sweden forbids experiments in non-human primates, Brannstrom and 10 other doctors and nurses flew to Kenya nearly 20 times to perfect things like their surgical technique and the use of immune-suppressing drugs in baboons.

Brannstrom described the less-than-ideal conditions in Nairobi  no regular showers and power failures during surgery  as "team-building" experiences. Wooden carvings of African birds picked up during those trips now adorn several shelves at Brannstrom's fertility clinic in Stockholm.

In 2012, it was time to try the surgery in humans. He obtained ethical permission to perform womb transplants in nine Swedish women. He then held an information session one evening in the southern city of Gothenburg, where the operations were to take place.

"We were quite frank in telling them, 'This is not an infertility treatment, you're participating in a scientific trial,'" he said. "We're going into the unknown."

Of the nine women who had the transplants, two had their wombs removed when complications arose. Five women had healthy babies and the last two are trying to get pregnant.

At the time, many fertility experts considered it an outlandish pursuit.

"I thought this was crazy, a high-risk surgery for no reason," said Dr. Tommaso Falcone of the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. But a trip to Sweden to see Brannstrom's clinic changed his mind. Falcone is now at the forefront of the Cleveland Clinic's womb transplantation project. He and colleagues performed the first such operation in the U.S. in February, although the organ had to be removed after the patient developed an infection.

Falcone predicts that Brannstrom's work will lead to a better understanding of embryo implantation. And he marveled at the fact that babies have been born from organs once flushed with a cold solution  rendering them technically dead  before being placed into the recipient.

"Miscarriages are happening all over the place but here you have these dead uteruses that can carry a baby," he said.

Other experts thought it was astonishing that wombs of some post-menopausal women were able to grow healthy babies after being transplanted. Doctors typically expect younger organs to work better, but in the case of womb transplantation, organs from older women appeared "rejuvenated" after being dosed with hormones.

"All of a sudden, you have this old organ doing things that you only expected a young uterus to do," said Dr. Stefan Tullius, chair of transplant surgery at Harvard Medical School, who said that could lead to insights into extending the use of other organs.

Until now, Brannstrom has only used live donors, considered by some to be unethical because it means putting a healthy woman at risk for a procedure that isn't life-saving. The wombs are intended to be kept for a maximum of two pregnancies and are then removed so that patients can stop taking anti-rejection medicines.

Brannstrom believes doctors in other countries will soon deliver more babies from women with transplanted wombs and predicts that the surgery will one day become routine.

Emelie Eriksson, who received a womb transplant and then had a baby boy in 2014, said she could never thank Brannstrom enough.

"I think I need to thank him a thousand times more," she said. "He's my hero. He made it possible for me to have a child."

In this photo taken Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, Emelie Eriksson's son Albin, second left, plays at the sand pit surrounded by his mother, second right, his grandmother Marie, right, and his father Daniel, left, outside their home in Bergshamra, Sweden. For Emelie Eriksson, the bond she shares with her son Albin is particularly unique: both Emelie and Albin were born from the same womb, after Emelie received her mothers transplanted uterus in a revolutionary operation that links three generations of their family. (AP Photo/ Niklas Larsson)

In this photo taken Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, professor Mats Brannstrom poses besides a photo showing the birth of a baby of a mother with a womb transplant at Stockholm IVF fertility clinic in Stockholm, Sweden. Brannstrom has made medical history by becoming the first doctor to deliver babies, five so far, from women with donated wombs, in a stunning advance that could lead to new insights into reproductive medicine and beyond. (AP Photo/ Dorothee Thiesing)
Haitians mass at US-Mexico border despite deportation policy

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP)  A crowd of about 1,000 Haitians shouted and shoved at the door of Mexico's immigration agency at the U.S. border, which has found itself an unhappy gateway for thousands of would-be migrants in recent months hoping to cross into the United States.

They wrapped their arms around the waists of people in front of them to prevent anyone from cutting in line in their desperation for one of just a few dozen slots granted daily with U.S. immigration authorities about a half-mile away.

Several thousand Haitians have traveled to Tijuana in recent months, overflowing migrant shelters and often sleeping outside next to their backpacks on sheets of cardboard, many after traveling 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers) by foot, taxi and bus from Brazil through eight nations to the threshold of the United States. There have been so many that in August, Mexican authorities imposed a system of appointments in order to keep the Haitians away from the flow of other visitors at one of the world's busiest border crossings.

In this Oct. 3, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants receive food and drinks from volunteers as they wait in line at a Mexican immigration agency in Tijuana with the hope of gaining an appointment to cross to the U.S. side of the border. Many Haitians arriving at the Mexico-U.S. border are unaware of a new U.S. policy of putting them in deportation proceedings and detaining them while making efforts to fly them home. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Most of the Haitians appear unaware that the trip, and the desperate scramble at the border, has been in vain.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sept. 21 began putting Haitians in detention facilities before attempting to send them back to the homeland they fled, a departure from previous practice of freeing them on humanitarian parole. The U.S. softened its posture after Haiti's 2010 earthquake but now treats them like people from other countries.

Many of the Haitians continuing to arrive in Tijuana have said they were unaware of the change, while those who knew about it said turning back was not an option. Brazil opened its doors to the Haitians after the earthquake devastated their impoverished country, but the South American country later developed its own economic problems, recently prompting many to seek work in the United States.

Antonio Juneiro, 40, is typical. He lived in Sao Paolo for four years until factory work dried up and he decided to join family in Miami. After spending $4,000 to reach Tijuana, the prospect of a job in the United States was worth the risk of getting deported to Haiti.

"When you have money, you have hope. You have health," Juniero said at the Padre Chava migrant shelter in Tijuana, where he lived for a month while awaiting his appointment at San Diego's San Ysidro port of entry.

The exodus from Brazil accelerated in May and has shown no sign of slowing. U.S. officials say about 5,000 Haitians showed up at San Ysidro from October 2015 through late last month, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said at a recent congressional hearing that officials told her on a trip to Central America that 40,000 more were on their way. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said this week that an average of 300 Haitians and Africans were crossing Mexico's southern border daily.

On Thursday, Nicaraguan authorities captured smugglers driving two trucks containing 98 migrants from Haiti and a variety of African nations. Authorities said they planned to return them to the border with Costa Rica where hundreds of others are stranded.

With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Haitian men, women and young children regularly spending the night just outside the busiest United States border crossing, Mexican officials have moved to bring some order to the unruly scene by granting 20-day permits to stay in Mexico while also helping schedule their slots with the Americans on the other side.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection can only handle up to about 75 people a day at San Ysidro, and Tijuana authorities were unhappy about large crowds assembled on the Mexican side of the border crossing. So Mexican officials began distributing paper slips with dates to appear at San Ysidro but the documents were often copied. Now, three days a week, officials stamp dates to appear at San Ysidro on 20-day permits that Haitians receive to stay in Mexico.

Mexico also extends the 20-day permits to smaller numbers of U.S.-bound immigrants from Ghana, Senegal and other African countries.

One morning last week, 50 people who had dates to enter the U.S. quietly lined up at the border crossing. A Mexican official emerged from his trailer to say there was room for five more and was mobbed by about 100 people looking to cross. The official led the group across a bridge to a U.S. inspector, who directed them through a turnstile to an area inside the U.S. border station for questioning.

Once inside the United States, the Haitians cannot be turned back to Mexico. With the previous earthquake-related protections now dropped, they are held in U.S. detention centers pending repatriation.

Mexico's National Migration Institute in Tijuana on Monday made appointments in the coming weeks for 766 people to enter at San Ysidro, making it one of its busiest days since the influx began. All people in line got a date, with the last ones getting appointments for Nov. 10, stranding them in Tijuana for more than five weeks.

Padre Chava, one of 10 Tijuana shelters that house Haitians, turned away hundreds over the weekend, leading many to sleep outside on cardboard sheets. The shelter accommodated 271 people Saturday, about half of them women  some pregnant  and 34 children. Many slept on floors without mattresses. Shouting matches erupted.

"We are exhausted, completely exhausted," said shelter administrator Margarita Andonaegui. "When we have more than 200 people, we lose control."

Rosario Lozada, the city's director of migrant affairs, was exasperated after the latest arrivals raised her estimate of Haitians stuck in Tijuana to 2,000, half of them in shelters and the rest in hotels or on the streets.

"We've been going nonstop for almost five months, 24 hours a day," she said.

It's early to say if the U.S. policy shift is deterring Haitians from coming, but challenges lie ahead.

Haiti took back just 433 deportees in the 2015 fiscal year  before the influx, the recent policy shift and damage inflicted this week by Hurricane Matthew  and it's unclear how many the impoverished nation is willing or able to absorb. The United States has a limited number of beds at its immigration detention facilities to accommodate people while flights and travel documents are arranged.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it was monitoring the hurricane and "will assess its impact on current policies as appropriate." The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was working with other governments on how to address the Haitian immigrants.

Wilfred Jean-Luis, who moved to Brazil in 2014 and left when construction work dried up, was optimistic that he would eventually join cousins in Miami after a grueling journey that included getting robbed in Nicaragua, a common experience among the Haitians.

"How is Haiti going to able to take us back as deportees?" he asked after a night on Tijuana's streets. "They don't have the capacity."

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, a Haitian man listening to music on his phone and leaning against a wall decorated with a Mexican national flag and a framed image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, waits for a bed at the Padre Chava migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Many Haitians arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico are unaware of a new U.S. policy of putting them in deportation proceedings and detaining them while making efforts to fly them home. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, Haitians make their way towards the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico. U.S. officials say about 5,000 Haitians showed up at San Ysidro from October 2015 through late last month, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said at a recent congressional hearing that officials told her on a trip to Central America that 40,000 more were on their way. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants hold up their Mexican migration documents as they hope to gain a spot on the daily list to cross to the U.S. side of the border, in Tijuana, Mexico. With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Haitian men, women and young children regularly spending the night just outside the busiest United States border crossing, Mexican officials have moved to bring some order to the unruly scene by granting 20-day permits to stay in Mexico while also helping schedule their slots with the Americans on the other side. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Oct. 3, 2016 photo, Haitians line up at an immigration agency in Tijuana, Mexico with the hope of gaining an appointment to cross to the U.S. side of the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection can only handle up to about 75 people a day at San Ysidro, and Tijuana authorities were unhappy about large crowds assembled on the Mexican side of the border crossing. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Oct. 3, 2016 photo, Mexican immigration officials load a group of Haitians into a van, to help them find shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. Rosario Lozada, the citys director of migrant affairs, was exasperated after the latest arrivals raised her estimate of Haitians stuck in Tijuana to 2,000, half of them in shelters and the rest in hotels or on the streets. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants speak with Mexican officials as they hope to gain a spot on the daily list to pass to the U.S. side of the border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico. Once inside the United States, the Haitians cannot be returned back to Mexico. They are held in U.S. detention centers pending repatriation. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, a Haitian man returns a ball to a boy at the Padre Chava migrant shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. Padre Chava, one of 10 Tijuana shelters that house Haitians, turned away hundreds over the weekend, leading many to sleep outside on cardboard sheets. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants wait at the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico. Mexican officials distribute paper slips with dates to appear at San Ysidro on the U.S. side of the border. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants toss down blankets to family members below at the Padre Chava migrant shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. When full the shelter accommodates about 300 people, about half of them women and children. Many sleep on floors without mattresses. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants play dominoes at the Padre Chava migrant shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. We are exhausted, completely exhausted, said shelter administrator Margarita Andonaegui. When we have more than 200 people, we lose control. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 2, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants line up as they wait to enter the U.S. border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico. As the U.S. repatriate the migrants it has a limited number of beds at its immigration detention facilities to accommodate people while flights and travel documents are arranged. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Oct. 3, 2016 photo, a Haitian woman talks to a fellow migrant, from behind the fence of the Padre Chava migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. The man was not able to enter the overcrowded shelter. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, Haitian migrants prepare for their stay at the Padre Chava migrant shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. Padre Chava, one of 10 Tijuana shelters that house Haitians, turned away hundreds over the weekend, leading many to sleep outside on cardboard sheets. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, a Haitian migrant waves on his way to the U.S. border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sept. 22 halted the humanitarian parole it had given Haitians following a massive 2010 earthquake. Instead of releasing the Haitians into the United States, under a general policy the U.S. is now confining them to a detention facility and it plans to start deporting them back to the homeland they hoped to flee. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Oct. 3, 2016 photo, Haitian women and children get ready to sleep on the floor of the Padre Chava migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Haitian men, women and children regularly spend the night just outside the busiest U.S. border crossing. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, a Haitian migrant waits along a wall at the Padre Chava migrant shelter as diner is served inside, in Tijuana, Mexico. U.S. officials say about 5,000 Haitians showed up at San Ysidro from October 2015 through late last month. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In this Sept. 26, 2016 photo, a Haitian migrant reads a Bible at the Padre Chava migrant shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. Padre Chava, one of 10 Tijuana shelters that house Haitians, turned away hundreds over the weekend, leading many to sleep outside on cardboard sheets. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Emelie Eriksson has a bond with her son that hardly seems possible - both she and her son were born from the same womb.

She was the first woman to have a baby after receiving a uterus from her mother, in a revolutionary operation that links three generations of their family.

Born without a womb, she was told she would never be able to have children.

But she received her mother's womb nearly two years ago, swiftly followed by the safe arrival of her son Albin.

Albin's mother Emelie Eriksson, left, smiles as she poses for a photo with her son and her mother Marie, right, outside her home in Bergshamra, Sweden

'It's like science fiction,' she said. 'This is something that you read in history books and now in the future when you read about this, it's about me.

'I hope this will be a reality for everyone that needs it.'

The operation was performed by Mats Brannstrom, a Swedish doctor who is the only person in the world to deliver babies  five so far  from women with donated wombs.

Now 30, Ms Eriksson was 15 when she began wondering why her period had not started.

Tests revealed she had been born without a womb and doctors explained that she would never be able to carry her own children.

But when she was in her early 20s, she began reading about scientists attempting to create organs from stem cells and was told about the womb transplant research being pursued by Professor Brannstrom.

Emelie Eriksson carries her son Albin years after she became the first woman to have a baby after receiving a womb transplant from her mother

Ms Eriksson's husband Daniel Chrysong was so overcome when son Albin was born, he fainted in the delivery suite

Ms Eriksson's first pregnancy test was negative but another test a week later gave her the news she had dreamed of, she was expecting her first child

She described the novel project to her mother one Sunday evening at home in Stockholm.

THE DOCTOR BEHIND THE PIONEERING TRANSPLANT Swedish doctor Mats Brannstrom was training to be a physician abroad when a desperate patient asked if she could have a womb transplant, nearly two decades ago. Professor Brannstom began a series of painstaking research projects to learn whether it might be possible to transplant a womb, despite criticism that the unheard of procedure was dangerous, medically unnecessary, and impossible. Professor Brannstrom went on to become the first doctor to deliver babies, 5 to date, from women with donated wombs. No other doctor in the world has succeeded, despite attempts in the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and ongoing efforts in China, Britain, France, the Czech Republic and elsewhere. Professor Mats Brannstrom Dr Brannstrom is working with doctors at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic to help women beyond Sweden get access to the procedure. Doctors at Baylor University in Texas, including two former members of Professor Brannstrom's team, announced this week they performed four womb transplants. One was successful, but not yet ready to attempt a pregnancy. And scientists, many of whom were both doubtful and critical before, now believe Professor Brannstom's work could help them extend the use of organs for those who need transplants and learn how embryos implant in the uterus after conception, a poorly understood but critical stage in pregnancy. Tests were first conducted on mice then hundreds of uterus transplants in rats, sheep, pigs and monkeys. In 2012, it was time to try the surgery in humans. He obtained ethical permission to perform womb transplants in nine Swedish women. Advertisement

'I thought this was something that could only happen far in the future,' said Marie Eriksson, 53.

'But then I said to Emelie, ''I'm so old, I don't need my womb and I don't want any more children. This is your only chance to have a child and you should take it''.

Ms Eriksson emailed Professor Brannstrom and after several trips to Gothenburg and dozens of medical tests for both Ericksson and her mother, they were accepted into his trial testing the pioneering transplant.

'I'd known all my life that I wouldn't be able to be pregnant. But maybe now there was a small, small chance for me.'

Her husband, Daniel Chrysong, agreed to go ahead after meeting Professor Brannstrom and being reassured he wasn't 'some lunatic doctor.'

But even then, he doubted it would succeed.

'I thought we had a bigger chance of winning the lottery,' he said.

The night before her and her mother's operations, Ms Eriksson said, was the first time that she was afraid, mostly because her mother was terrified of the anaesthesia.

'I thought, ''what if it doesn't work and my mom still has to do this surgery?'' she sad.

She had two mild rejection episodes in the months after the surgery, but doses of steroids helped them pass.

After a year, she was finally ready to attempt to become pregnant through IVF.

Professor Brannstrom's team transferred a single embryo into her womb.

The first pregnancy test was negative but another test a week later gave her the news she had dreamed of.

'When I called my mom to tell her, she was like, ''I knew it - I knew I had a good womb.''

But Ms Eriksson was only convinced they had succeeded when she heard her newborn son scream in the delivery room.

'I realised that everything had worked,' she said.

Mr Chrysong was so overcome that he fainted and had to be watched over by the anaesthesiology nurse on the floor of the hospital room.

The couple plan to explain to Albin, who is nearly two, exactly how he was born, one day.
Tolls rises as Haiti digs out from Hurricane Matthew

JEREMIE, Haiti (AP)  People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after devastating Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people and created a new crisis for the impoverished country.

Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit town of Jeremie, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera. Dozens of young Haitians came to the small airstrip along the coast to watch as a helicopter was unloaded with crates of food and water.

"My home is totally wrecked and I heard they were bringing food," said 22-year Richard David, one of those who came to the airport. "I haven't had anything but water today and I'm hungry."

Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

The country's Civil Protection Agency said the death toll was still at nearly 300, but officials conceded it was likely higher because the central government had not received totals from much of the Grand Anse region because communications were still largely down across the rural and mountainous area.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said 82 bodies found by his team had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of spotty communications. Most appeared to have died from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145 mph (235 kph) on Tuesday.

"We don't have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still haven't reached," Jeune said, as he and a team of Civil Protection agents in orange vests combed the area.

The storm left signs of devastation all around the southwestern peninsula. Outside the coastal town of Jeremie, home after home was in ruins. Drew Garrison, a Haiti-based missionary who flew in Friday, said several fishing villages along the coast were submerged and he could see bodies floating in the water.

"Anything that wasn't concrete was flattened," said Garrison, whose organization, Mission of Hope Haiti, based in Austin, Texas, was bringing in a barge loaded with emergency supplies on Saturday. "There were several little fishing villages that just looked desolate, no life."

The Pan American Health Organization and others warned of a surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew. Haiti's cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced into the country's biggest river from a U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Sophia Cheresal, deputy medical coordinator of Doctors Without Borders in Haiti, said there were at least 18 cases of cholera at the Jeremie hospital. "It's getting worse and probably some people are going to die."

Solette Phelicin, a mother of five who lost her home and her small fruit and vegetable plot, watched from her yard as U.N. peacekeepers patrolled the small air strip. She said they were hungry and desperately in need of food. "Jeremie might get rebuilt after I'm dead, maybe, but I doubt it."

As Haitians mourned their losses, they tried to recover what they could of their belongings. Homes throughout the area were piles of rubble, the roofs mangled or stripped away.

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest.

Emmanuel Pierre, an Interior Ministry coordinator in Les Cayes, told The Associated Press late Thursday that authorities had counted 283 people dead in one part of Haiti's hard-hit southwest, but that did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

Death tolls are frequently difficult to tabulate in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster in any country, though it is particularly difficult in remote and mountainous southwest Haiti.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145 mph (235 kph) winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her 6-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

"On the way to the church, the wind took them," Ais said.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

Before hitting Haiti, the storm was blamed for four deaths in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Electronic devices covered in mud stand outside an office destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A view of the damaged city after the passing Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after Matthew killed hundreds of people in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A car stands after it was smashed by a tree felled by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A man dries his toys after he recovered them from the debris left by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Jislene Jean Baptiste stand in her roofless home, damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after Matthew killed hundreds of people in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Documents and bags of black beans air-dry in the sun near a home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after Matthew killed hundreds of people in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A UN helicopter lands in Jeremie, Haiti, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, bringing assistance to victims of Hurricane Matthew. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after Matthew killed hundreds of people in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Residents carry a coffin containing the remains of a pregnant woman, a victim of Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions after Matthew killed hundreds of people in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT- Residents try to put the body of victim of Hurricane Matthew in a coffin in Cavaillon, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti. Thursday Oct. 6, 2016. The coordinator for Haiti's Interior Ministry in the area hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew said the confirmed death toll in that southwestern zone has risen to almost 300. Emmanuel Pierre told The Associated Press that he expects the toll to rise as authorities reach remote places that were left isolated by the storm. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A girl helps her mother to remove mud from her house after Hurricane Matthew flooded their home in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
A damaged New Jersey Transit commuter train that crashed into Hoboken's terminal last week - killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 people - was removed from the station on Thursday to undergo further examination.

Federal investigators released new information Thursday gleaned from a data recorder and video from a forward-facing camera in the front of the train.

A final report on what caused the crash could take a year or longer to complete.

The train sped up and was going twice the 10 mph speed limit just before it slammed into a bumping post at the end of the rail line, went airborne and hurtled into the station's waiting area on September 29, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

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A damaged New Jersey Transit commuter train that crashed into Hoboken's terminal last week, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 people, was removed from the station on Thursday to undergo further examination

The train is pictured being moved on the track out of the Hoboken Terminal on Thursday

Damage done to the Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey after a commuter train crash is seen on October 1

The train (left) crashed into the terminal and caused the roof of the building (right) to collapse, killing one person inside

The train was traveling at 8 mph and the throttle was in the idle position less than a minute before the crash.

Approximately 38 seconds before the crash, the throttle was increased and reached a maximum of about 21 mph, the NTSB said.

The throttle went back to idle and the engineer hit the emergency brake less than a second before the crash, investigators said.

NJ Transit trains have an in-cab system designed to alert engineers with a loud alarm and stop locomotives when they go over 20 mph, according to an NJ Transit engineer who wasn't authorized to discuss the accident and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A New Jersey Transit employee rides on a train as it is moved out of the Hoboken Terminal

Investigators found the train's engineer hit the emergency brake less than a second before the crash. Pictured are flowers near the closed entrance to the Hoboken Terminal

Pictured is a New Jersey transit worker at the scene of the closed terminal

Police tape is still tied to a poll near the closed Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey where the deadly train crash took place on September 29

The engineer said the throttles have eight slots, putting the fourth spot at about half power.

The engineer said the throttle should be set to idle, or the first and slowest speed spot, when entering Hoboken Terminal.

The tracks into the station run slightly downhill, so there would be no need to push the throttle any higher, the engineer said.

An NTSB spokesman said he didn't know if the alert system went off. He said it's being looked at as part of the investigation.

Video from the train's forward-facing camera showed the front of the train smashing into and overriding the bumper at the end of the track, causing a large flash, investigators wrote.

Thursday's report contained no analysis of the data retrieved and no explanation for why the train increased speed.

Investigators (pictured) obtained the second black box from the New Jersey Transit train crash on Tuesday

A final report on what caused last week's crash, which killed one person and injured more than 100, could take a year or longer to complete. Pictured is a worker at the terminal on Wednesday

A police officer stands guard on Wednesday outside the Hoboken Terminal where a New Jersey Transit train crashed on September 29

NTSB technical experts and the parties to the investigation are scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., next Tuesday to continue reviewing the data and video from the train.

Also Thursday, New Jersey Transit implemented a new rule for pulling into two of its stations.

The conductor must join the engineer whenever a train pulls into Hoboken Terminal or its Atlantic City station, NJ Transit spokeswoman Jennifer Nelson said.

That means a second set of eyes will be watching as a train enters the final phase of its trip at stations where there are platforms at the end of the rails. The New York Times first reported the policy.

Train engineer Thomas Gallagher (left) has told investigators that he doesn't remember the crash. The crash caused the roof of the station to collapse, killing young mother Fabiola Bittar de Kroon (right)

New Jersey Transit trains are pictured sitting on the tracks at the Hoboken Terminal on Thursday

The engineer, Thomas Gallagher, was alone when the train crashed into the Hoboken station. He has told federal investigators he has no memory of the crash.

Some rail safety experts caution that having a second person in a cab isn't automatically safer, since crew members can sometimes distract each other.

In 1996 outside Washington, D.C., a commuter train engineer was thought to have been distracted by a conversation with a crew member, causing a crash with an Amtrak train that killed 11 people.

Investigators recovered the data recorder, a video recorder and the engineer's cellphone from the front car of the NJ Transit train on Tuesday.
A bit wild: Asian animal cafes go from mere cats to meerkats

BANGKOK (AP)  Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines.

At Tokyo's Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra.

At We Are The Furballs (WTF) in Singapore, Mochi and her puppy pals yap at ankles and occupy guests' laps for peaceful dognaps.

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, Miyu Nakajima, left, and Nina Arakawa, right, pet a snake at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

And at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and little foxes with the softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries.

Some sell the animals, or offer them for adoption. Others invite customers to bring their pets, or just offer encounters with creatures  from penguins to hedgehogs.

"I wanted there to be a place where people can come learn about the animals," said Wachiraporn Arampibulphol, who opened an exotic animal cafe in Bangkok a year ago after visiting an owl cafe in Tokyo.

Snuggling Jelly, a blond fox, Wachiraporn said she used to import chinchillas, meerkats and other exotic pets, but worried that owners bought them impulsively and then abused them or let them collapse and die in Thailand's heat.

She said customers at her Little Zoo Cafe get a reality check when they're so close to the animals; she's only sold a half dozen this year.

"When you see pictures and photos of these animals, you see their cuteness," she said. "But people don't think about what the animal would smell like or how actually raising one would be."

Indeed, a musky odor floated above two red foxes  Mocha and Cappuccino  as they boisterously wrestled and skittered around customers' legs.

Nearby, Nuttida Chaloembun, 23, from Bangkok, watched a waitress grapple with Cracker, a 25-pound raccoon, who chattered and swatted her away with little hand-like paws.

"It's fat and really adorable but it won't let me touch it," laughed Nuttida.

Shirley Chaifong came to the Little Zoo Cafe all the way from Malaysia after seeing photos of meerkats on Instagram. But it was the tail-wagging corgi, an uncommon breed in Asia, she fell for.

"It's a great way to see the animals," she said, her hands running through his fur.

After a cat cafe opened in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014 the concept quickly spread to more than 20 American cities, from New York to Los Angeles, and many more are planned. They're also popular in Europe, with recent openings in Netherlands, Finland and Italy.

The Cat Flower Cafe in Taipei, Taiwan, took credit as the first-ever cat cafe when it opened in 1998, although some aficionados say cats meandered through a Viennese cafe almost a century earlier. The real boom began in 2005 in Japan, where few apartments allow pets. There are now more than 100 cat cafes listed in Japan, 50 in Tokyo alone. But new goat-, rabbit- and bird-themed eateries now offer competition.

American and European cat cafes have stringent health and safety regulations that sometimes ban actually petting animals, or require cats to remain well separated from food. Most are affiliated with local humane societies or rescue shelters.

In many Asian countries, where there are fewer hygiene rules in restaurants and pets can be bought in street markets, animal rights activists say the cafes are cruel.

"These animals often become despondent and develop neurotic and self-destructive behavior," said Jason Baker at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' international campaigns office. "I don't know why anyone would want to eat a meal surrounded by animals who are imprisoned in cages and pens that are tiny fractions of the size of their homes in the wild."

But cafe owners say they're trying to help the animals by allowing people to safely and compassionately interact.

Tokyo Snake Center cafe manager Hisamitsu Kaneko said visitors can gain new appreciation of their oft-maligned reptiles.

"People have biases, or preconceptions about snakes, that they're disgusting or scary," said Kaneko, whose customers choose from about 60 snakes. "I think there are no animals as beautiful."

At Bangkok's TrueLove @ Neverland cafe, more than a dozen imported and bred huskies were panting  if calm  as they lounged for an hour outside on a humid 35-degree C (95-degree F) day, chewing ice cubes and carrots while visitors marveled at their thick fur.

At the end of a one-hour dog encounter, customers peeled off plastic foot covers, sanitized their hands, checked their husky-selfies and climbed into waiting tuk-tuk rickshaws. Barking and yipping, the dogs dashed en masse into their air-conditioned quarters to rest up and eat before their next human visitors.

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, a customer plays with meerkats at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, a snake lays in a container at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, a visitor photographs a snake in a container at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. At Tokyos Snake Center, where there are about 60 snakes to choose from, visitors pay 1,100 yen for a drink and a slithery friend to wind around their arm _ curry bread snacks and really big snakes cost extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, a visitor plays with a meerkat at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) I

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, visitors pet a snake at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, visitors play fennec foxes at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, visitors play with meerkats at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, vistors play with meerkats at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) I

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, a partial view of a cafe with a Japanese sign reads as "Congratulation One Year Anniversary, 2016. 08.08" at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. At Tokyos Snake Center, where there are about 60 snakes to choose from, visitors pay 1,100 yen for a drink and a slithery friend to wind around their arm - curry bread snacks and really big snakes cost extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, Sana Kikuchi, left, and Izumi Horiguchi, right, look at a snake in a container while having a drink at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, a snake lays in a container at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, Hisamitsu Kaneko, manager of the Tokyo Snake Center cafe, right, passes a snake to Miyu Nakajima, left, and Nina Arakawa, center, at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 30, 2016 photo, Sana Kikuchi, left, and Izumi Horiguchi, right, look at a snake in a container while having a drink at Tokyos Snake Center, in Tokyo. Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyos Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, visitors play with meerkats at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, visitors play raccoon at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) I

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, a visitor watches Red Fox play together at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Sept. 27, 2016 photo, a visitor pets fennec fox at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat cafe opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and the little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Chemical weapon for sale: China's unregulated narcotic

SHANGHAI (AP)  For a few thousand dollars, Chinese companies offer to export a powerful chemical that has been killing unsuspecting drug users and is so lethal that it presents a potential terrorism threat, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export the chemical  a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil  to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as $2,750 a kilogram (2.2 pounds), no questions asked.

Carfentanil burst into view this summer, the latest scourge in an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed tens of thousands of people in the United States alone. Dealers have been cutting carfentanil and its weaker cousin, fentanyl, into heroin and other illicit drugs to boost profit margins .

In this June 27, 2016 photo provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, members of the RCMP go through a decontamination procedure in Vancouver after intercepting a package containing approximately 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the powerful opioid carfentanil imported from China. Cocaine or heroin, we know what the purpose is, said Allan Lai, an officer-in-charge at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Calgary, who is helping oversee the criminal investigation. With respect to carfentanil, we dont know why a substance of that potency is coming into our country. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)

Despite the dangers, carfentanil is not a controlled substance in China, where it is manufactured legally and sold openly online. The U.S. government is pressing China to blacklist carfentanil, but Beijing has yet to act, leaving a substance whose lethal qualities have been compared with nerve gas to flow into foreign markets unabated.

"We can supply carfentanil ... for sure," a saleswoman from Jilin Tely Import and Export Co. wrote in broken English in a September email. "And it's one of our hot sales product."

China's Ministry of Public Security declined multiple requests for comment from the AP.

Before being discovered by drug dealers, carfentanil and substances like it were viewed as chemical weapons. One of the most powerful opioids in circulation, carfentanil is so deadly that an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin; carfentanil is chemically similar, but 100 times stronger than fentanyl itself.

"It's a weapon," said Andrew Weber, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs from 2009 to 2014. "Companies shouldn't be just sending it to anybody."

The AP did not actually order any drugs so could not conduct tests to determine whether the products on offer were genuine. But a kilogram of carfentanil shipped from China was recently seized in Canada.

Carfentanil was first developed in the 1970s, and its only routine use is as an anesthetic for elephants and other large animals. Governments quickly targeted it as a potential chemical weapon. Forms of fentanyl are suspected in at least one known assassination attempt, and were used by Russian forces against Chechen separatists who took hundreds of hostages at a Moscow theater in 2002.

The chemicals are banned from the battlefield under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In fiscal year 2014, U.S. authorities seized just 3.7 kilograms (8.1 pounds) of fentanyl. This fiscal year, through just mid-July, they have seized 134.1 kilograms (295 pounds), according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the AP. Fentanyl is the most frequently seized synthetic opioid, U.S. Customs reports.

Users are dying of accidental respiratory arrest, and overdose rates have soared. China has not been blind to the key role its chemists play in the global opioid supply chain. Most synthetic drugs that end up in the United In States come from China, either directly or by way of Mexico, according to the DEA. China already has placed controls on 19 fentanyl-related compounds. Adding carfentanil to that list is likely to only diminish, not eliminate, global supply.

Despite periodic crackdowns, people willing to skirt the law are easy to find in China's vast, freewheeling chemicals industry, made up of an estimated 160,000 companies operating legally and illegally. Vendors said they lie on customs forms, guaranteed delivery to countries where carfentanil is banned and volunteered strategic advice on sneaking packages past law enforcement.

Speaking from a bright booth at a chemicals industry conference in Shanghai last month, Xu Liqun said her company, Hangzhou Reward Technology, could produce carfentanil to order.

"It's dangerous, dangerous, but if we send 1kg, 2kg, it's OK," she said, adding that she wouldn't do the synthesis herself because she's pregnant. She said she knows carfentanil can kill and believes it should be a controlled substance in China.

"The government should impose very serious limits, but in reality in China it's so difficult to control because if I produce one or two kilograms, how will anyone know?" she said. "They cannot control you, so many products, so many labs."

Several vendors recommended sending the drugs via EMS, the express mail service of state-owned China Postal Express & Logistics Co., as a fail-safe option.

"EMS is a little slow than Fedex or DHL but very safe, more than 99% pass rate," a Yuntu Chemical Co. representative wrote in an email. "If send to the USA, each package less than 250g is the best, small and unattractive, we will divide 1kg into 4-5 packages and send every other day or send to different addresses."

EMS declined to comment.

A Yuntu representative hung up the phone when contacted by the AP and did not reply to emails seeking comment. Soon after, the company's website vanished.

Not all of the websites used to sell the drugs are based in China. At least six Chinese companies offering versions of fentanyl, including carfentanil, had IP addresses in the United States, hosted at U.S. commercial web providers, the AP found.

___

"NOBODY WAS MOVING. THEY PUT THE PEOPLE THERE LIKE DOLLS."

In 2002, Russian special forces turned to carfentanil after a three-day standoff with Chechen separatists, who had taken more than 800 people hostage in a Moscow theater . They used an aerosol version of carfentanil, along with the less potent remifentanil, sending it through air vents, according to a paper by British scientists who tested clothing and urine samples from three survivors.

The strategy worked, but more than 120 hostages died from the effects of the chemicals.

Olga Dolotova, an engineer who survived the attack, remembers seeing white plumes descending before she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she found herself on a bus packed with bodies. "It was such a horror just to look at it," she said. "Nobody was moving. They put the people there like dolls."

The theater siege raised concerns about carfentanil as a tool of war or terrorism, and prompted the U.S. to develop strategies to counter its use, according to Weber, the former Defense Department chemical weapons expert.

The U.S., Russia, China, Israel, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and India are among the countries that have assessed carfentanil and related compounds for offensive or defensive applications, according to publicly available documents and academic studies.

"Countries that we are concerned about were interested in using it for offensive purposes," Weber said. "We are also concerned that groups like ISIS could order it commercially."

Weber considered a range of alarming scenarios, including the use of carfentanil to knock out and take troops hostage, or to kill civilians in a closed environment like a train station. He added that it is important to raise awareness about the threat from carfentanil trafficking.

"Shining sunlight on this black market activity should encourage Chinese authorities to shut it down," he said.

Fentanyls also have been described as ideal tools for assassination  lethal and metabolized quickly so they leave little trace.

Agents from Israel's secret intelligence service, Mossad, sprayed a substance believed to be a fentanyl analog into the ear of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal as he walked down a street in Amman, Jordan, in a botched 1997 assassination attempt.

The U.S. began researching fentanyl as an incapacitating agent in the 1960s and, by the 1980s, government scientists were experimenting with aerosolized carfentanil on primates, according to Neil Davison, the author of "'Non-Lethal' Weapons" who now works at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The U.S. says it is no longer developing such chemical agents. But two state-owned companies in China have marketed "narcosis" dart guns, according to Michael Crowley, author of "Chemical Control" and project coordinator at the University of Bradford's Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project. He said the ammunition "might very well be fentanyl or an analog of fentanyl," adding that in the 1990s, the U.S. explored similar guns loaded with a form of fentanyl.

Among the problems with fentanyls is that the line between life and death is too thin.

"There is no incapacitating chemical agent that can be used in a tactical situation without extreme risk of injury or death to everybody in the room," Crowley said.

___

"HURRY TO BUY"

DEA officials say they are getting unprecedented cooperation from China in the fight against fentanyls, noting unusually deep information-sharing in what can be a fractious bilateral relationship.

The DEA has "shared intelligence and scientific data" with Chinese authorities about controlling carfentanil, according to Russell Baer, a DEA special agent in Washington.

"I know China is looking at it very closely," he said. "That's been the subject of discussion in some of these high-level meetings."

Last October, China added 116 synthetic drugs to its controlled substances list, which had a profound impact on global narcotics supply chains. Acetylfentanyl, for example, is a weaker cousin of carfentanil that China included on last year's list of restricted substances. Six months later, monthly seizures of acetylfentanyl in the U.S. had plummeted by 60 percent, DEA data obtained by the AP shows.

Several vendors contacted in September were willing to export carfentanil, but refused to ship the far less potent acetylfentanyl. A Jilin Tely Import & Export Co. saleswoman offered carfentanil for $3,800 a kilogram, but wrote, with an apologetic happy face, that she couldn't ship acetylfentanyl because it "is regulated by the government now."

Contacted by the AP, the company said it had never shipped carfentanil to North America and had offered to sell it just "to attract the customer."

Seven companies offered to sell acetylfentanyl despite the ban, however. Five offered fentanyl and two offered alpha-PVP, commonly known as flakka, which also are controlled substances in China.

Liu Feng, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Haiqiang Chemical Co., said his company sent a large order of carfentanil to India last year and has sold smaller amounts to trading companies in Shanghai. He said they also had put false labels on packages for customers.

"Everyone in the industry knows it," he said. "But we just do not say it."

Another company went out of its way to recommend acetylfentanyl. "Our customer feedback that the effect is also very good," Wonder Synthesis emailed in broken English. The company says it has warehouses in the United States, Europe, Russia and India.

Wonder Synthesis did not respond to emails seeking comment and the phone number provided did not work. The AP visited its published address in Beijing and found a beauty parlor.

The problem with carfentanil is not limited to the United States. In late June, Canadian authorities seized a kilogram of carfentanil shipped from China in a box labelled printer accessories.

The powder contained 50 million lethal doses, according to the Canada Border Services Agency  more than enough to wipe out the entire population of the country. It was hidden inside bright blue cartridges labeled as ink for HP LaserJet printers. "Keep out of reach of children," read the labels, in Chinese.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in Vancouver sealed themselves inside hazmat suits, binding their wrists, ankles, zippers, and face masks with fat strips of yellow tape. With large oxygen containers on their backs and chunky respirators, it looked as if they were preparing for a trip to the moon.

"Cocaine or heroin, we know what the purpose is," said Allan Lai, an officer-in-charge at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Calgary, who is helping oversee the criminal investigation. "With respect to carfentanil, we don't know why a substance of that potency is coming into our country."

In August and September, high-level delegations of Chinese and U.S. drug enforcement authorities met to discuss joint efforts on synthetic opioids, but neither meeting produced any substantive announcement on carfentanil.

Nonetheless, some Chinese vendors are already bracing for a new wave of controls. In an email, Wonder Synthesis wrote, "If you need any chems, just hurry to buy."

__

Butler reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Aritz Parra in Shanghai, Paisley Dodds in London, Jack Gillum and Maria Danilova in Washington, and news researchers Fu Ting in Shanghai and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.

Follow Kinetz on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ekinetz and Butler at http://twitter.com/desmondbutler

In this June 27, 2016 photo provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a member of the RCMP opens a printer ink bottle containing the opioid carfentanil imported from China, in Vancouver. Drug dealers have been cutting carfentanil and its weaker cousin, fentanyl, into heroin and other illicit drugs to boost profit margins. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)

In this June 27, 2016 photo provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, members of the RCMP inspect a package containing approximately 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the powerful opioid carfentanil imported from China, in Vancouver. It was shipped in a box labelled printer accessories. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)

This June 2016 photo provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shows printer ink bottles containing carfentanil imported from China, in Vancouver. Members of the Canada Border Services Agency seized approximately 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the powerful opioid bound for Calgary. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)

This Sept. 13, 2016 image shows a portion of a webpage offering the powerful opioid carfentanil for sale by the Jilin Tely Import and Export Co. We can supply carfentanil  for sure, a saleswoman from the company wrote in a September 2016 email. And its one of our hot sales product. But when later contacted by the AP, the company said it had never shipped carfentanil to North America and had offered to sell it just "to attract the customer." As of Oct. 7, 2016, this webpage was no longer available. (AP Photo)

Xu Liqun, center, president of Hangzhou Reward Technology, speaks at the company's booth during the China International Chemical Industry Fair in Shanghai, China on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. Xu Liqun said her company could produce carfentanil to order. "The government should impose very serious limits, but in reality in China its so difficult to control because if I produce one or two kilograms, how will anyone know? she said. They cannot control you, so many products, so many labs. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Visitors look at a directory of the vendors at the China International Chemical Industry Fair in Shanghai, China on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Despite periodic crackdowns, people willing to skirt the law are easy to find in Chinas vast, freewheeling chemicals industry, made up of an estimated 160,000 companies operating legally and illegally. Vendors said they lie on customs forms, guarantee delivery to countries where carfentanil is banned and volunteered strategic advice on sneaking packages past law enforcement. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A woman walks past a display at the China International Chemical Industry Fair in Shanghai, China, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Despite periodic crackdowns, people willing to skirt the law are easy to find in Chinas vast, freewheeling chemicals industry, made up of an estimated 160,000 companies operating legally and illegally. Vendors said they lie on customs forms, guarantee delivery to countries where carfentanil is banned and volunteered strategic advice on sneaking packages past law enforcement. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

This combination of images from a 1997 report by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shows photos from the testing of fentanyl-based anesthetics delivered via felt projectiles. The U.S. began researching fentanyl as an incapacitating agent in the 1960s and, by the 1980s, government scientists were experimenting with aerosolized carfentanil on primates, according to Neil Davison, the author of "'Non-Lethal' Weapons" who now works at the International Committee of the Red Cross. The U.S. says it is no longer developing such chemical agents. (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via AP)

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002 file photo, a special forces officer carries a woman out of the Dubrovka Theater where hundreds of hostages were held in Moscow, Russia. Russian special forces turned to carfentanil to end a standoff with Chechen separatists using an aerosol version of the opioid, along with the less potent remifentanil, sending it through air vents, according to a paper by British scientists who tested clothing and urine samples from three survivors. The strategy worked, but more than 120 hostages died from the effects of the chemicals. (AP Photo/Gazeta Gazeta, File)

FILE - In this early Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002 file photo, unconscious liberated hostages are taken away in a bus from the scene near the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow. Russian special forces turned to carfentanil to end a standoff with Chechen separatists using an aerosol version of the opioid, along with the less potent remifentanil, sending it through air vents, according to a paper by British scientists who tested clothing and urine samples from three survivors. The strategy worked, but more than 120 hostages died from the effects of the chemicals. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

Michael Crowley of Bradford University fellow poses for a photo during an interview in Bradford, England on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. As the project coordinator at the university's Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, he says among the problems with fentanyls is that the line between life and death is too thin. "There is no incapacitating chemical agent that can be used in a tactical situation without extreme risk of injury or death to everybody in the room." (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
'Budgie 9' man leaves Malaysia and urges cultural awareness

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  One of nine Australians who spent four nights in police detention in Malaysia for partying in skimpy swimsuits printed with the Malaysian flag returned to Australia on Friday and urged other travelers to be culturally aware.

The nine friends aged in their late 20s were detained on Sunday after they partied and drank beer from shoes in full view of thousands of spectators at the Sepang race track where Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo won the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix.

Most returned to Australia after pleading guilty in a court on Thursday to causing a public nuisance. They were released without penalty.

Australian Nick Kelly, front, speaks on behalf of five of the nine Australians charged for stripping down to skimpy briefs at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix after they arrived back in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. The nine were detained Sunday after they partied in Budgy Smuggler-brand swimsuits decorated with the Malaysian flag and drank beer from shoes in full view of thousands of spectators at the Sepang track after Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo won the race. All men arrested walked free Thursday Oct. 6, 2016 without a conviction after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance and apologizing.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

A grim-faced Nick Kelly, an advertising executive, was backed by three of his friends  civil engineer Thomas Laslett, corporate risk manager Timothy Yates and business general manager Edward Leaney  as he told reporters at Sydney Airport they were grateful for the help of the Australian consulate in Malaysia and their families.

"I'd like to urge all Australians traveling overseas in the future to be very aware of the cultural differences and sensitivities that exist in other nations," Kelly said.

Australian media dubbed them the Budgie Nine. A budgerigar is a small Australian parrot that is a popular household pet, and brief men's swimwear in the Australia is colloquially known as budgie smugglers.

The name plays on nine Australians arrested in Indonesia for heroin trafficking in 2005 who became known as the Bali Nine.

The only one who had not returned to Australia by early Friday was Jack Walker, a senior adviser to Australian Defense Industry Minister Chris Pyne.

Walker remained overseas with family members, who had flown to Malaysia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday described Malaysia's treatment of the nine as "very lenient."

Turnbull suggested Walker faced consequences when Pyne returned from an overseas trip.

"I will speak to Christopher when he is back and certainly the young man involved needs to have a very hard look at himself and he'll be, I'm sure ... considering his future carefully," Turnbull told Radio FiveAA.

"The young Australian men were very repentant. But they do need to reflect very seriously on their conduct," he said.

Budgy Smuggler, the Sydney-based, family-owned swimsuit manufacturer that made the Malaysian flag swimwear did not respond to a request for comment.

The company features on its website and social media photographs of customers wearing its swimwear in unusual public locations, including in front of Westminster Palace in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Drinking from a shoe is something Ricciardo does when he wins a race.

Five of nine Australians charged after stripping down to skimpy briefs at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix arrive back in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. The nine were detained Sunday after they partied in Budgy Smuggler-brand swimsuits decorated with the Malaysian flag and drank beer from shoes in full view of thousands of spectators at the Sepang track after Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo won the race. All men arrested walked free Thursday Oct. 6, 2016 without a conviction after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance and apologizing.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 photo, Australian men pose for a photo in Budgy Smuggler-brand swimsuits decorated with the Malaysian flag at the conclusion of the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities who have detained nine Australians for three nights would regard their actions in stripping down to their briefs and drinking beer from shoes as premeditated, Australia's foreign minister said Wednesday. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 photo, Australian men celebrate in Budgy Smuggler-brand swimsuits decorated with the Malaysian flag at the conclusion of the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities who have detained nine Australian men for three nights would regard their actions in stripping down to their briefs and drinking beer from shoes as premeditated, Australia's foreign minister said Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 image made from video supplied by Umar Akif Jamaludin, an Australian man dances in Budgy Smuggler-brand swimsuits decorated with the Malaysian flag at the conclusion of the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia. Nine Australians, including a government adviser, have been arrested in Malaysia for stripping down to their briefs and drinking beer from shoes after Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo won the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix, officials said Tuesday. (AP Photo)

Branden Stobbs, center right, and Thomas Laslett, center left, two of the nine Australian men arrested arrive at the Sepang Magistrate in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Nine Australian friends who have spent four nights in Malaysian police detention will appear in a court for the first time on Thursday after stripping down to their briefs and drinking beer from shoes at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix, an official said. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul)

John Walker, father to Jack Walker, one of the nine Australian men arrested, is surrounded by journalists as he arrives at the Sepang Magistrate in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Nine Australian friends who have spent four nights in Malaysian police detention will appear in a court for the first time on Thursday after stripping down to their briefs and drinking beer from shoes at the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix, an official said. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul)
Hurricane threatens some of South's most storied cities

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP)  Hurricane Matthew spared Florida's most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the South's most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline.

Among the cities in the crosshairs were St. Augustine, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.

"There are houses that will probably not ever be the same again or not even be there," St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver lamented as battleship-gray floodwaters coursed through the streets of the 451-year-old city founded by the Spanish.

Josephine and Kira Emberton walk through debris along wash-out highway A1A after Hurricane Matthew passed by the area, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Matthew  the most powerful hurricane to threaten the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade  set off alarm as it closed in on the U.S., having left more than 300 people dead in Haiti.

In the end, it sideswiped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, swamping streets, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to more than 1 million people. But it stayed just far enough offshore to prevent major damage to cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. And the coast never felt the full force of its 120 mph winds.

"It looks like we've dodged a bullet," said Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat whose district includes Martin County, just north of West Palm Beach.

At least four people died in Florida. An elderly St. Lucie County couple died from carbon monoxide fumes while running a generator in their garage and two women were killed in separate events when trees fell on a home and a camper.

While the hurricane was weakening quickly, several northeastern Florida cities, including Jacksonville, were still in harm's way, along with communities farther up the coast. Authorities warned that not only could Matthew easily turn toward land, it could also cause deadly flooding with its surge of seawater.

The storm gouged out several large sections of the coastal A1A highway north of Daytona Beach, and had nearly completely washed out the northbound lane for about a mile at Flagler Beach.

"It's pretty bad, it's jagged all over the place," said Oliver Shields, whose two-story house is within sight of the highway.

About 500,000 people were under evacuation orders in the Jacksonville area, along with another half-million on the Georgia coast. More than 300,000 fled their homes in South Carolina. The latest forecast showed the storm could also scrape the North Carolina coast.

"If you're hoping it's just going to pass far enough offshore that this isn't a problem anymore  that is a very, very big mistake that you could make that could cost you your life," National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb warned.

St. Augustine, which is the nation's oldest permanently occupied European settlement and includes a 17th-century Spanish fortress and many historic homes turned into bed-and-breakfasts, was awash in rain and seawater that authorities said could top 8 feet.

"It's a really serious devastating situation," the mayor of the city of 14,000 said. "The flooding is just going to get higher and higher and higher."

Historic downtown Charleston, usually bustling with tourists who flock to see the city's beautifully maintained antebellum homes, was eerily quiet, with many stores and shops boarded up with plywood and protected by stacks of sandbags.

The city announced a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew Saturday, around the time the coast was expected to take the brunt of the storm.

Matthew's outer bands began lashing Savannah, a city that was settled in 1733 and has a handsome historic district of moss-draped trees, brick and cobblestone streets, Greek Revival mansions and other 18th- and 19th-century homes.

Matthew was expected to bring winds of 50 to 60 mph that could snap branches from the burly live oaks and damage the historic homes. And 8 to 14 inches of rain could bring some street flooding.

Savannah-Chatham County Police Chief Jack Lumpkin said officers will enforce a dusk-until-dawn curfew.

A small crew of workers Thursday set out to button up the Owens-Thomas house, one of Savannah's architectural gems. The 1819 Greek Revival mansion serves as a museum.

Sonja Wallen, a curator, said antique rugs and furniture were moved away from the home's more than 40 windows, many of them still with their original glass. Windows were fitted with plywood and other coverings, while sandbags were stacked at the basement entrance.

"It's basically a lot of little details  sandbags and duct tape around doorways where water can get in," Wallen said. "It's pretty much the same stuff you would do for any home."

Some of Georgia's resort islands were expected to take the brunt of Matthew's storm surge, including St. Simons and Tybee.

On Tybee Island, where most of the 3,000 residents were evacuated, Jeff Dickey held out hope that the storm might shift and spare his home. But as the rain picked up, he decided staying wasn't worth the risk.

"We kind of tried to wait to see if it will tilt more to the east," Dickey said. "But it's go time."

Mayor Jason Buelterman personally called some of the holdouts, hoping to persuade them to move inland.

"This is what happens when you don't have a hurricane for 100 years," he said. "People get complacent."

At 9 p.m. EDT, Matthew was centered about 50 miles southeast of St. Simons Island, Georgia, and was moving north at 12 mph. Its wind speed had dropped to 110 mph, down from a terrifying 145 mph when it smashed into Haiti.

Airlines canceled at least 5,000 flights Wednesday through Saturday, including many in and out of Orlando, where all three of the resort city's world-famous theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  closed because of the storm.

But things began getting back to normal, with flights resuming in Miami and other South Florida airports.

In areas the storm had already passed, residents and officials began to assess the damage.

Robert Tyler had feared the storm surge would flood his street two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach. Tree branches fell, he could hear transformers exploding overnight, and the windows seemed as if they were about to blow in, despite the plywood over them.

But in the morning, there wasn't much water, his home didn't appear to be damaged on first inspection, and his vehicles were unharmed.

"Overnight, it was scary as heck," Tyler said. "That description of a freight train is pretty accurate."

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Mohr reported from Orlando, Florida; Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Florida; Kelli Kennedy and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Jennifer Kay, Freida Frisaro and Curt Anderson in Miami; Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Janelle Cogan in Orlando, Florida; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jeffrey Collins on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Jack Jones and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; and Bruce Smith in Charleston, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Debbie Tait checks on sand bags in the entrance to her hardware store as the street floods with water from Hurricane Matthew in downtown Brunswick, Ga., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. She and her husband plan on riding the storm out in their store which has been in his family for 90 years. "We're not going anywhere. It's our livelihood," said Tait. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Noah Simons steers as his car is pushed out of flood waters caused by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Cars drive through a flooded street as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Wind and water from Hurricane Matthew batter downtown St. Augustine, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

A car drives past a downed tree as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Ryan Stasa surverys the damage at Archie's Seabreeze in Fort Pierce, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, after Hurricane Matthew passed through. (Zachary Sampson/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A truck negotiates around trees downed by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Vehicles stop near a downed traffic signal taken down from winds associated with Hurricane Matthew Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Cocoa Village, Fla. Matthew skirted Florida's east coach. Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

As Hurricane Matthew moves through the area, workers clear tree limbs and debris from a street Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Cocoa, Fla. Matthew weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds near 120 mph. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A sailboat takes on water as she sits on her side in the Indian River Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Rockledge, Fla. Hurricane Matthew skirted Florida's east coach. Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A car rests in a ditch on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016 in Longwood, Fla. Hurricane Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to more than a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

A car drives past a downed tree as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

An official vehicle passes along the shoulder of Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Onlookers take photos at Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Bull River Yacht Club Dock Master Robert Logan leaves the dock after finishing up storm preparations as Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the East Coast, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the most powerful hurricane to menace the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade pushed north. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A car drives past a downed tree as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A motorist drives through a flooded street from Hurricane Matthew in Brunswick, Ga., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Preliminary results show incumbent Morocco party leading

RABAT, Morocco (AP)  Preliminary results in Morocco's national elections showed the moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development in the lead, despite frustration with its handling of the economy in its five years leading the government and a challenge from a party close to the royal palace.

With most of the votes counted, the Interior Ministry said early Saturday that the PJD had won 99 seats in the Chamber of Representatives in Friday's legislative elections. Its closest rival, the Party of Authenticity of Modernity, won 80 seats, followed by several other parties.

Of 395 seats in the chamber, 303 had been decided by early Saturday. The vote was still being tallied for two seats, and the 90 other seats are reserved for women and youth who will be chosen proportionally from the lists of the winning parties. Final results are expected later Saturday.

Prime Minister and leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party, known as the PJD, Abdelilah Benkirane casts his ballot at a polling station for the parliamentary elections, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Millions of Moroccans hit the voting booths, with worries about joblessness and extremism on many minds as they choose which party will lead their next government.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

The results suggest no single party will have a majority, meaning the winner will likely have to form a coalition government.

An unusually venomous campaign marked by adultery scandals and an alleged extremist attack planned for election day preceded the balloting in this North African nation, which is seen as a model of stability and relative prosperity in the region.

Worries about youth joblessness, high debt and Islamic extremism were on many voters' minds as they cast their ballots. Turnout was slightly lower than in the past national elections in 2011, at 43 percent.

Reports and videos surfaced online about alleged voting violations, including ballot stuffing, votes casts under the names of dead people, and authorities blocking a road to a voting site. The Interior Ministry issued statements denying most of the claimed irregularities, but said it was investigating others. Some 4,000 Moroccan and international observers were monitoring the elections.

"It's in God's hands now," Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane told The Associated Press after casting his ballot.

Benkirane's PJD has dominated parliament since the last legislative elections in 2011, and led a government coalition comprised of several parties with differing ideologies.

The party faced tough competition from the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), widely regarded as close to the palace. It was founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, childhood friend of King Mohammed VI and a current royal adviser.

The palace pledged to loosen control over Moroccan politics after Arab Spring protests five years ago, but still retains control over major policy decisions  prompting many Moroccans to ignore the elections Friday.

The king attended a Friday prayer sermon, during which the imam emphasized the importance of voting.

To help illiterate voters, each party was represented by a symbol on the ballot as well as its name  a lamp for the PJD, a tractor for the PAM, and other symbols for the other 26 parties.

This week, Benkirane slammed Ilyas El-Omari, head of the PAM, for comments he made to AP suggesting that state-funded associations were among groups involved in radicalizing Moroccan youth.

With high unemployment and relatively low literacy, Morocco has been fertile recruiting ground for extremists. As many as 1,000 Moroccans have joined the ranks of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

On Monday, authorities said they had dismantled a 10-member terror cell comprised entirely of women with alleged ties to IS.

The cell planned to carry out attacks on election day, according to Abdelhak Khiame, head of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations. Seven of its 10 members were minors, he said.

Nearly 7,000 candidates ran in 92 voting districts for seats in the Chamber of Representatives, which has the final say in Moroccan legislation.

Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, a doctoral candidate in political science at George Washington University, said "these elections, specifically, matter a lot ... and will show whether 2011 was just a blip on the radar screen" in gauging Morocco's path toward reform.

The 2011 Arab Spring uprisings have left a mixed legacy in North Africa  Tunisia built a fragile democracy, Egypt elected Islamists who were then ousted by the military and Libya has descended into deadly chaos.

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Associated Press journalist Andrew Drake contributed to this report.

A Moroccan woman walks past electoral paintings representing a political party logos for the upcoming municipal elections in Casablanca, Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. Party logos are, from left, are, "Socialist Union of the People's Forces" (Rose), Constitutional Union (horse), "Justice and Development Party" (Lamp) and Party of Istiqlal (Scale) at the Sidi Othmane district of Casablanca. To help illiterate people vote, only party logos will appear on ballot papers, and the numbers seen in the image are allocated to each party for displaying purposes only during the campaign. Elections are scheduled Friday 7. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Moroccan women walk past electoral paintings representing a political party logos for the upcoming municipal elections in Casablanca, Morocco, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. Party logos are, from left, are, "Justice and Development Party" (Lamp), "Socialist Union of the People's Forces" (Rose) at the Sidi Othmane district of Casablanca. To help illiterate people vote, only party logos will appear on ballot papers, and the numbers seen in the image are allocated to each party for displaying purposes only during the campaign. Elections are scheduled Friday 7. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

A Moroccan woman arrives to cast her ballot at a polling station for the parliamentary elections, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Millions of Moroccans hit the voting booths, with worries about joblessness and extremism on many minds as they choose which party will lead their next government.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

A Moroccan woman casts her ballot at a polling station for the parliamentary elections, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Millions of Moroccans hit the voting booths, with worries about joblessness and extremism on many minds as they choose which party will lead their next government.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

A man casts her ballot at a polling station for the parliamentary elections, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Millions of Moroccans hit the voting booths, with worries about joblessness and extremism on many minds as they choose which party will lead their next government.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

A man arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station for the parliamentary elections, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Millions of Moroccans hit the voting booths, with worries about joblessness and extremism on many minds as they choose which party will lead their next government.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
Beer can be served at two upcoming special events in Chattanooga after receiving licenses from the Chattanooga Beer Board Thursday morning. McKamey Animal Center will hold the second annual Barktober Fest on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 4500 N. Access Road from 4-11 p.m. It is first and foremost an adoption event, said Paula Hurn, director of operations for McKamey. It will also serve as a fundraiser. The function, billed as an animal and family event, is open to the community.

Race Director Benjamin Friberg also received a special events beer permit that will be used at the awards ceremony for Chattajack. This is a distance kayak and paddleboard race on the Tennessee River and will be the fifth year the event has taken place in Chattanooga. The starting line for the race is Rosss Landing and the finish line is Hales Bar Marina. This is a 31-33-mile course with the fastest time expected to be around four hours with a cut-off time of eight and a half hours. Spectators are encouraged to view the race from several locations - Raccoon Mountain, Prentice Cooper Park or Signal Point. The awards ceremony will be on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 6-9 p.m. and is not open to the general public.

Food City, 5604 Hixson Pike, has a carry-out beer permit, but withdrew its application for a consumer license when it was found that the store was ineligible for a consumer license due to the fact that it is located closer than 500 feet to a church.

One carry-out beer license was given at the board meeting for Lee Food Mart, 7490 Lee Highway.

Three locations of Mostellers Wrecker, 2411 Rossville Blvd., 2105 E. 24th St. Place and 1850 Polymer Dr., were approved for new licenses to operate. The new permits were required due to the ownership change to Janie Parker.

S&S Towing, 4402 7th Ave. used to be on the citys rotation list, but was taken off because of a move. The owner, Kelly Summey applied to the board and was approved to be reinstated to the list on Thursday.
Lethal chemical now used as a drug haunts theater hostages

SHANGHAI (AP)  Early one morning in October 2002, a dense white cloud silently filled Moscow's Dubrovka Theater.

It had been three days since Chechen militants took more than 800 people hostage. Russian special forces faced an impossible task: liberating the hostages from a theater laced with booby traps and several dozen suicide bombers. They turned to chemicals Russian scientists had been researching for years, and pumped an aerosol containing potent forms of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the theater before storming it.

As the mysterious substance descended, people knelt, covering their faces as best they could, according to eyewitness accounts. No one was choking. People simply dropped into what appeared to be a deep sleep.

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002 file photo, a special forces officer carries a woman out of the Dubrovka Theater where hundreds of hostages were held in Moscow, Russia. Russian special forces turned to carfentanil to end a standoff with Chechen separatists using an aerosol version of the opioid, along with the less potent remifentanil, sending it through air vents, according to a paper by British scientists who tested clothing and urine samples from three survivors. The strategy worked, but more than 120 hostages died from the effects of the chemicals. (AP Photo/Gazeta Gazeta, File)

"I lay down and started praying," said Vladimir Stukanov, the director of the children's troupe at the theater. His friend, Boris Lapin, had given him his coat, which Stukanov pressed to his face. "Boris died, but saved me," he said.

Commandos stormed the theater and killed the attackers, but more than 120 hostages died from the effects of the chemicals. Many survivors suffered lasting health effects.

The Russian government acknowledged that the aerosol contained fentanyl-related compounds, but refused to reveal the exact composition. Years later, British government scientists tested clothing and urine samples from three survivors and concluded that the aerosol contained carfentanil, one of the most potent opioids on the planet, as well as the less-powerful remifentanil.

Today, carfentanil is readily available from vendors in China, who offer to export the deadly substance around the world, no questions asked, an Associated Press investigation has found. Carfentanil is not a controlled substance in China, the world's largest chemicals exporter, despite U.S. efforts to get Beijing to blacklist it.

Olga Dolotova, an engineer, remembers seeing the plumes descend in the theater before losing consciousness. Later, she heard someone say, "She is alive." When Dolotova opened her eyes again, she found herself on a bus packed with bodies.

"It was such a horror just to look at it," she said. "Nobody was moving. They put the people there like dolls."

Dolotova wanted to get up, or shout. She wanted the bus to stop. And she badly needed to vomit. "I was having spasms, but I could not throw up," she said. When she reached the hospital, she gulped down some tea and began retching. "I continued throwing up and throwing up and throwing up," she said.

She said she understands why Russian special forces used the chemicals. "They had to somehow render them immobile," she said of the militants. "What else was there?"

But she said medical and rescue personnel were not trained to deal with effects of the mysterious aerosol and made deadly errors  failing, for example, to tilt people's heads so they didn't choke on their own tongues. "More people would have been saved," she said.

The aerosol created a kind of sleep without memory, Stukanov said.

"It's like this cluster has been erased and dropped out of your head," he said.

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Danilova reported from Washington. AP writer Iuliia Subbotovska, video journalist Veronika Silchenko and news assistant Sergei Fedotov in Moscow contributed to this report.
Trump gets softballs at town hall ahead of Clinton showdown

SANDOWN, N.H. (AP)  It had the trappings of a town hall debate.

There was a moderator. The audience members had questions. There was a two-minute countdown clock for answers. And Donald Trump carried a microphone while patrolling a small stage.

But the similarities between what Trump faced Thursday night in New Hampshire in a warm-up town hall and what he'll see Sunday night in St. Louis versus Hillary Clinton end there.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a town hall-style forum, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Sandown, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Trump didn't actually interact with the audience, instead only conversing with a friendly moderator who read the questions nearly all softballs submitted from the invitation-only crowd. And he publicly scoffed at his aides' previous framing of the event as a warm-up for his pivotal second debate against Clinton.

"This isn't practice. This has nothing to do with Sunday. We're just here because we just wanted to be here," Trump told the crowd in Sandown, which was comprised solely of supporters and local Republican leaders.

"I said, 'Forget debate prep.' I mean, give me a break," said Trump, who mocked Clinton for spending days preparing. "She's resting. She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night. And you know what? That's fine. But the narrative is so foolish."

For presidential candidates, a town hall debate is a test of stagecraft as much as substance. Trump and Clinton  she has far more experience in the format  will be fielding questions from undecided voters seated nearby. In an added dose of unpredictability, the format allows the candidates to move around the stage, putting them in unusually close proximity.

"There's a lot more interaction, physical interaction," says Judd Gregg, the former New Hampshire senator who helped President George W. Bush prepare for debates. Gregg said a candidate who is too aggressive in a town hall, either with the voters or a rival, "can come across looking really chippy, not looking presidential."

After his uneven showing in their first debate, Trump's candidacy may rise or fall on his ability to avoid that trap. The Republican repeatedly interrupted Clinton in their opening contest and grew defensive as she challenged his business record and recited his demeaning comments about women.

Those close to Trump have steadfastly insisted that the candidate did well in the first debate, but the hastily added New Hampshire town hall was a tacit acknowledgement that this particular format poses unique challenges and that Trump needed to fine-tune some of his responses to Clinton's barbs.

The Republican nominee has reviewed video of the first debate and his aides have stressed the need to stay calm and to not let Clinton's attacks  such as her invocation of a former beauty queen that sent Trump into a days-long tailspin  get under his skin.

Trump has tried out some new attack lines in recent days, though most of his debate prep continues to be rapid-fire, question-and-answer sessions with advisers on his plane as he kept up a busy campaign schedule that took him to Virginia, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada in the first half of the week. But while the campaign has built in more rehearsal time in the days before the second debate, no other mock debates are planned and the campaign is not using a stand-in for Clinton.

That stands in stark contrast to the meticulous debate preparations undertaken by the previous Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor prepared for the debates months in advance, studying President Barack Obama's positions and style, exchanging briefing books with staff, and starting full-fledged practice debates several weeks ahead of their meeting.

The rehearsals were comprehensive. Podiums were built to the exact specifics of those on the debate stage and the mock debates were precisely timed. At a campaign retreat and in hotels across the country, the dimensions of the town hall format were copied to give Romney chances to practice walking around while answering audience questions.

Aides created the stage set up, complete with where the candidates would stand and where the moderator and questioners would sit.

Knowing that town hall events are different animals, they focused on Romney presenting himself: how he should walk, how he should gesture and smile, and how he should take the answer to a potentially specific audience question and broaden it to make a larger point or use it to pivot to an attack on Obama. In total, Romney did 16 mock debates.

The town halls have produced a series of moments that have helped define their elections.

President George H.W. Bush drew criticism in 1992 for conspicuously checking his watch. In 2008, Sen. John McCain seemed to wander about the stage as Obama spoke. Four years ago, Romney strode across the stage to confront Obama face to face.

During the 2000 election, George W. Bush was answering a question on leadership when Vice President Al Gore stood up from his chair and walked unnaturally close to his Republican rival. Bush turned to Gore, and with a slightly puzzled look on his face, gave him a nod and a smile. The audience broke into laughter.

That seemingly natural Bush reaction was actually well-rehearsed.

"His reaction was the exact same with Al Gore as it was with me  to look at me with a bemused smile and move on to his answer," Gregg said. "We practiced."

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Pace contributed from Washington.

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Follow Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/JonLemire and Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
The Latest: Section of I-95 closes in South Carolina

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  The Latest on Hurricane Matthew (all times local):

11:40 p.m.

Heavy rains and winds have caused crews to close a section of Interstate 95 in southern South Carolina.

Wind and water from Hurricane Matthew batter downtown St. Augustine, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The state Department of Transportation said on Twitter that the highway was closed in Jasper County between Ridgeland and Hardeeville.

Authorities did not know when the highway would be reopened. I-95 is the main route connecting Florida and the Southeast with the Northeast. Low-lying sections of the highway have flooded at least three times in the past year, forcing the interstate to close.

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The eye of Hurricane Matthew is continuing to move northward off the coast of Georgia.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm has weakened slightly, with sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), and is 70 miles (kilometers) southeast of Savannah, Georgia. It is moving north about 12 mph (19 kph).

Matthew is expected to weaken in the next two days, as it travels along or over the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.

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8:40 p.m.

Authorities say an elderly couple appears to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator after Hurricane Matthew, raising the U.S. death toll from the storm to 4.

A post on the St. Lucie County Fire District's Facebook page says rescuers responded to couple's home Friday morning after neighbors found them not breathing. They were taken to a nearby hospital, where county spokesman Erick Gill says they later died.

Officials say the couple had been running a generator inside their garage throughout the storm.

Officials didn't immediately naming the couple. Two women in Florida were also killed in separate accidents.

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8 p.m.

A man who stayed on a Georgia island to ride out Hurricane Matthew says "trees are bending over" and it's "raining sideways" as the storm approaches the Georgia-Florida line.

Steve Todd said he and a friend ventured out in a truck after dark Friday to pick up a couple of buddies who had become frightened of rapidly worsening conditions on Tybee Island. He said they were all going back to his third-floor condominium to spend the night.

Local officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Tybee on Wednesday, but some residents insisted on staying put. The hurricane's center was expected to pass early Saturday.

Todd said he doesn't regret his decision, "but I'm not going to lie. There's a little bit of nervous tension right now."

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6:45 p.m.

Officials in Florida are cutting off all access to beachside portions of Flagler County after Hurricane Matthew washed away a portion of State Road A1A.

A news release says emergency workers will begin entering the area to rescue those who did not leave.

"This is not a curfew. No one will be permitted to enter the barrier island," Flagler County public safety emergency manager Steve Garten said in the release. "This will be enforced by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office."

A curfew will begin at 7 p.m. Friday on the mainland portions of the county.

"We don't want anyone on the beachside who doesn't need to be there," Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey said in the release. "We need to be able to get an assist those people who are in the most need."

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More than 1.1 million people are now without power in Florida after Hurricane Matthew steadily grinded its way up the east coast.

State officials released updated totals late Friday that showed the powerful storm had knocked out electricity over a long coastal stretch of the peninsula. One of the hardest hit areas is Volusia County where nearly 258,000 customers  92 percent of all customers  were without power.

Nearly 200,000 people in Brevard County, the home to Cape Canaveral, were also without power along with nearly 132,000 customers in the Jacksonville area.

But the fury of the storm was strong enough that it has also caused outages in Central Florida. Nearly 150,000 customers who live in the Orlando area are without electricity.

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6 p.m.

Authorities are now saying two people have died in the U.S. because of Hurricane Matthew.

The Putnam County, Florida, Sheriff's Office reported Friday that a woman was killed and a man was injured near Crescent City when a tree fell on their camper during the storm.

A post on the sheriff's office Facebook page says the two adults were attempting to ride out the storm when high winds apparently caused the tree to fall. The man escaped with minor injuries, but the woman was killed.

Authorities didn't immediately name the victims.

Earlier Friday, Volusia County emergency management director Jim Judge reported the death of a woman after a tree fell on her house.

More than 300 people were killed in the Caribbean as a result of the hurricane, mostly in Haiti.

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5:30 p.m.

The U.S. military is mobilizing to help Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew's destruction.

The Navy said Friday that it's sending the Norfolk, Virginia-based USS Mesa Verde, an amphibious transport dock ship, toward the island where hundreds are reported dead.

The ship is loaded with 300 Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, one landing craft and three large helicopters. The Navy said they'll be able to quickly distribute relief.

Lt. Jeffrey Prunera said two other ships, the USS George Washington aircraft carrier and the USS Comfort hospital ship, are awaiting further orders in the South Atlantic to possibly help as well.

The military has established Joint Task Force Matthew to oversee its relief efforts. By Friday afternoon, 170 personnel and nine helicopters had already reached the country.

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4:45 p.m.

Hurricane Matthew has weakened slightly as it pounds Florida and crawls north along the Atlantic coast.

At 5 p.m. EDT Friday, the National Hurricane Center said Matthew had sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph), making it a very powerful Category 2 storm.

At one point, Matthew reached the strongest Category 5 designation, but it has been slowly weakening as it has moved closer to Florida.

The storm left more than 300 people dead in the Caribbean and at least one person has died in Florida. More than 1 million homes and businesses are without power in the state.

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4:30 p.m.

Emergency officials are reporting the first death in the U.S. directly caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Volusia County emergency management director Jim Judge says a tree fell on a woman's house in the county, which includes the city of Daytona Beach. Judge says her family took her to a hospital, where she died.

More than 300 people were killed in the Caribbean.

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4 p.m.

The steady march of Hurricane Matthew has left more than 1 million customers in Florida without power.

State officials released updated totals on Friday that showed that the powerful Category 3 storm had knocked out electricity over a wide stretch of the state's eastern coast. Most of the customers in Flagler and Volusia County  the home to Daytona Beach  were without power. Other hard hit areas include Brevard and Indian River counties.

The storm was strong enough to also cause outages in Central Florida. More than 100,000 who live in the Orlando area are without electricity.

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4 p.m.

Several more communities on the South Carolina coast are imposing curfews as the winds and rains of Hurricane Matthew approach the state. The worse of the storm is expected to move in overnight and Matthew is expected to be just off Charleston about daybreak as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds.

Charleston, North Charleston, and Mount Pleasant are all imposing curfews from midnight Friday through 6 a.m. on Saturday. Officials say they don't want people driving or walking around while law officers and emergency workers have to deal with issues related to the storm.

In Beaufort County a curfew will be in effect from dusk Friday through dawn on Saturday.

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4 p.m.

President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in North Carolina as Hurricane Matthew wreaks havoc on the East Coast.

The declaration puts the Homeland Security Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of disaster relief efforts in the state, including providing equipment and needed resources.

Gov. Pat McCrory says he's about worried that the storm could lead to heavier rains than previously estimated at or near the coast, and cause power outages from high winds.

Obama has already declared states of emergency in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, the other states in Matthew's path.

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4 p.m.

The city of Asheville may not have to endure the winds associated with Hurricane Matthew, but it's definitely experiencing a windfall.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports (http://avlne.ws/2d9cnra) that with the hurricane menacing the Carolinas' coast, thousands of coastal residents fled their homes and vacation spots and decided to go to Asheville to enjoy the area's attractions, and as a result, boost the local economy.

Shane Harpham, a pediatric dentist from Bluffton, South Carolina, said his wife and two young children came up on Wednesday night. He said while it wasn't easy finding a room they found a motel and booked the last room it had.

Early October is already a popular time for travelers to visit Asheville, but adding hundreds or even thousands of evacuees has put a crunch on hotel rooms.

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4 p.m.

With Hurricane Matthew leaving South Florida largely spared, the region's Haitian and Cuban communities are busy trying to help family and friends dealing with the storm's devastating rampage through the Caribbean.

Haitian-American nurses and doctors who volunteered to go to Haiti were stranded at South Florida's airports as the storm passed.

About 20 organizations collecting medicine, food, clothing and building supplies for Haiti at a Miami-area warehouse suspended activity Thursday. Sandy Dorsainvil is a Haitian-American community leader in Miami. She says volunteers eager to return to work waited in long lines at the Miami Gardens warehouse early Friday.

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3:30 p.m.

NASA spokesman George Diller says NASA's Kennedy Space Center has been spared major damage from Hurricane Matthew.

Diller says recovery team members won't be out in full force until Saturday, but a preliminary inspection showed limited roof and door damage, and some water intrusion.

Diller was among 116 NASA, Air Force and contractor personnel who rode out the storm at the space center, which remained closed to everyone else. He reported some power outages, along with a loss of air conditioning and water pressure in some buildings, and scattered debris. Otherwise, the space center appeared to weather the storm fairly well, experiencing a minimal storm surge.

Kennedy is no longer an active launching site; the space shuttles have been retired for five years. Both former shuttle launch pads, however, are being refurbished, one by NASA for its future Space Launch System rockets meant to carry astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit, and the other by private company SpaceX.

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Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/

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3:15 p.m.

Charleston is imposing a curfew starting at midnight Friday and extending until 6 a.m. Saturday as Hurricane Matthew moves along the South Carolina coast.

Police Chief Greg Mullen told a news conference Friday that officials expect unusually high tides driven by the storm along with the torrential rains that Matthew is expected to bring. He said no cars or pedestrians will be allowed on the streets during the overnight period.

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2:45 p.m.

St. Augustine, Florida, Mayor Nancy Shaver says the 451-year-old city is experiencing widespread flooding from Hurricane Matthew. The Category 3 storm battered the city much of Friday with waves and storm surge that could top 8 feet.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Shaver said the flooding "is just going to get higher and higher and higher."

The mayor said roughly half of St. Augustine's 14,000 residents chose to stay in their homes. No injuries or deaths had been reported as of Friday afternoon, but the mayor said it will be several hours before authorities can get out and begin damage assessments.

She said damage will be "widespread" and "there are houses that will probably not ever be the same again or not even be there."

One silver lining, she said, is that the worst of the surge did not occur at high tide, which was around 1:30 p.m. Friday.

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1:30 p.m.

Despite a mandatory evacuation order for the 3,000 people who live on Tybee Island in Georgia, about 100 people have decided to ride out the storm.

Some of them on Friday had bellied up to the bar at Nickie's 1971, located about a block away from Georgia's largest beach.

Owner Calvin Ratterree says he's worried about the powerful storm that's already drenching parts of the Georgia coast with heavy rains. But he says a friend has a third-floor condo across the street that he and his dozen or so customers can flee to if necessary.

Steve Todd was having a drink at Ratterree's bar before lunch Friday. He said his wife and child evacuated, but he stayed to try to protect their home and belongings.

Island residents were ordered to evacuate Wednesday. Most left, some of them hitting the road at the last minute Friday.

Tybee Island councilman Monty Parks was out Friday morning offering rides to a few stragglers who wanted to leave but had no transportation to the mainland.

He said he was trying to make sure everyone got out, "but there are people that are diehards."

Parks estimated that 100 or more people were insisting on braving out the storm on the island.

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1:30 p.m.

Prison officials in Georgia announced that they had moved more than 1,500 inmates from facilities in coastal counties to other lockups farther inland as Hurricane Matthew approaches.

Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Homer Bryson announced Friday that 1,286 inmates at Coastal State Prison and 257 offenders housed at Coastal Transitional Center had been moved from those Chatham County facilities by 7:30 a.m. Friday.

The transfer of prisoners came as a result of Gov. Nathan Deal's mandatory evacuation order for anyone east of Interstate 95.

Bryson said offenders will be moved back to the coastal facilities once his staff has had a chance to assess any potential damage and has determined conditions are safe.

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1:30 p.m.

Officials in coastal Georgia's southernmost county have announced a curfew ahead of Hurricane Matthew.

The curfew in Camden County begins Friday at 10 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m. on Saturday. County Sheriff Jim Proctor says he'll decide whether to extend the curfew on a day-to-day basis.

Proctor says he hopes a curfew will keep people indoors overnight and prevent injuries.

Glynn County, located just north of Camden, announced a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew on Thursday. Glynn County officials have said the curfew will be in place each night of the weekend, ending Monday at 5 a.m.

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12:30 p.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says the forecast for the state appears to have gotten worse: There are now hurricane warnings for the entire coast and the latest projections from the National Hurricane Center show the center of the storm very close to the coast near Charleston early Saturday morning. Earlier projections had the hurricane farther offshore.

At a news conference Friday, Haley warned residents that South Carolina is now looking at major winds, major storm surges, and flooding that could compare to the historic floods of last October. Power outages are also expected.

Haley said an estimated 310,000 people have now fled from coastal areas and said "this is the last time you will hear my voice when I am asking you to evacuate." She said everybody along the coast needs to consider getting inland.

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12:30 p.m.

While everyone else is fleeing inland, two 18-year-old storm chasers drove nearly 1,000 miles from New Jersey to St. Augustine, Florida, to watch Hurricane Matthew roll past.

Lucio Bottieri of Jackson, New Jersey said Friday that he has "an obsession with severe weather: snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, anything crazy that most people wouldn't go toward."

Jackson says that while he rode out Hurricane Sandy at home four years ago, this week was the first time he's traveled to see a hurricane.

He says his mom was "really against my trip," and most of his friends thought it was a bad idea too  except one: Bailey Lilienkamp.

Packing canned food, snacks, bottled water and a first aid kit, the pair left early Thursday morning and drove straight through to St. Augustine.

As winds and rains from Matthew battered the coast, they stood by a seawall at the Castillo de San Marcos, a 17th-century Spanish fort. Salt water blasted into the air and hard, driving rain pelted them, prompting them to go back to their hotel for a break.

They vowed to venture out again, however.

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12:30 p.m.

Humans aren't the only ones hunkering down as Hurricane Matthew batters Florida. A stork has apparently found refuge in a zoo bathroom.

The St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park has shared a photo of a marabou stork inside a bathroom at the facility. The zoo's Facebook page jokes in the caption, "No species discrimination in this bathroom!"  an apparent reference to a law in North Carolina that obligates students to use public school bathrooms conforming to the gender on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity.

The stork isn't the only animal taking cover from the storm. The zoo also shared photos of young alligators swimming indoors in plastic tubs and other birds walking around freely inside a building.

The zoo says it has moved all of its birds and mammals inside.

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12:30 p.m.

On Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, some residents who had decided to evacuate were running down for a last look at the angry sea as the rains and winds from Hurricane Matthew increased.

William Frank and Heather Wilson rode their motorized scooter a half-mile to Coligny Beach on Friday, using Facebook live to show the already unusually high surf to family back in Athens, Georgia, and to promise they would be on the last bus out to evacuate at noon.

Frank said they wanted to take a look at Mother Nature's power.

Every few minutes, another person or two would walk down the boardwalk to the sand. Most took selfies or videos, then hustled back to their cars before the rains picked up again.

Marcos Reyes brought his dog, who seemed skeptical about the rain, strong winds and surf. He too was evacuating, but reluctantly, to his parents' home about 25 miles inland.

Reyes said he would like to stay and watch, but he said his parents would kill him.

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12:15 p.m.

Robin and Greg Bontrager's preparations for Hurricane Matthew involved a lot of rope.

The couple lives year-round on their 42-foot Hunter sailboat named "Always and Forever," and for the last two years they've docked in Brunswick, Georgia, from June through November.

The Bontragers found space at a motel in the city after having two other reservations canceled due to evacuation orders. They removed any loose items from the boat, including sails and canvas, and double-tied it to the dock.

Robin Bontrager said they're both retired schoolteachers who decided life was too short to skip adventures. She was emotional Friday as rain poured down around Dock 3 where their boat will ride out the hurricane, surrounded by several other boats that are full-time homes to fellow "cruisers."

Robin Bontrager said that while "it's tough to leave your home ... things can be replaced."

Her life, her husband's life  and the couples' two dogs who sail along with them  can't be.

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11:45 a.m.

Police officers and firefighters returned to roads in Brevard County, Florida, to assess hurricane damage.

Over half the county  174,000 customers  had lost power.

The National Weather Service office in Melbourne reported wind gusts as strong as 107 mph Friday morning. Flood warnings were expected to continue through 11:30 a.m. Friday for parts of Seminole, Brevard and Volusia counties.

All causeways to the barrier islands and beachside communities remained closed for the Florida Department of Transportation to conduct assessments of the bridges for structural integrity.

The Brevard County Board of Commissioners urged residents to be patient as authorities assess the storm's impact, and warned that "resuming normalcy will take some time."

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11:15 a.m.

Officials on the Georgia coast are warning that time is running out to flee Hurricane Matthew.

Chatham County emergency management director Dennis Jones told a news conference in Savannah on Friday morning that people had just a few more hours before powerful winds start hitting. He said "Once the wind starts blowing, we're pulling all emergency services off the street." Savannah police said they also will enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

All emergency responders left Tybee Island earlier Friday as increasingly heavy rains at high tide threatened to flood the only road to the mainland.

Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman (BELL-ter-man) was taking names of people believed to remain on the island and had police officers calling them. Buelterman attributed some people's complacency to the fact that the area hasn't had a major storm for some time.

He remarked: "This is what happens when you don't get hit by a hurricane for 100 years."

Tybee Island resident Jeff Dickey had been holding out hope that the forecast might shift and spare his waterfront home, but by Friday morning Matthew was still on track to hug the Georgia coast, so he decided not to take any chances.

With soaking rain from Matthew's outer bands already falling, he loaded a diesel-powered generator into his pickup truck.

Most of the island's 3,000 residents had evacuated over the past two days. Dickey, his mother and his two daughters were among several last-minute evacuees leaving Tybee Island early Friday.

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11:15 a.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed the Port of Charleston as Hurricane Matthew approaches South Carolina. The agency says no vessels may leave Charleston or enter the port.

The Coast Guard also announced that its smaller boats have been removed from the water and larger ones have moved to safe harbor.

The Coast Guard said it will be suspending search-and-rescue missions during the height of the storm and its helicopters will not be flying.

Tropical storm force winds are expected to be felt along the South Carolina coast later Friday.

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11:15 a.m.

Senior hurricane specialist Lixion Avila says Hurricane Matthew's most intense winds have fortunately remained "a short distance offshore," but Florida's coast isn't in the clear yet.

The hurricane center says the western eyewall, where the most intense winds are found, was expected to cross over or very near the coasts of northeastern Florida and Georgia on Friday.

Avila noted that it would take "only a small deviation to the left" to bring the winds onshore.

Avila said people riding out the storm in high-rise buildings will experience stronger winds than people sheltering at ground level. At the top of a 30-story building, Matthew's winds could reach speeds of 130 mph or more  Category 4 strength, even if the hurricanes winds at the surface only sustain Category 3 strength.

Forecasters say storm surge and inland flooding remain potentially life-threatening hazards even if Matthew remains offshore.

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11 a.m.

President Barack Obama is warning that Matthew is "still a really dangerous hurricane."

Meeting in the Oval Office on Friday with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Obama said he was concerned about storm surge and that as the hurricane moves north, areas such as Jacksonville, Florida, and Georgia might be less prepared.

Obama told those living in affected areas that, "If they tell you to evacuate, you need to get out of there and move to higher ground."

He noted that "because storm surge can move very quickly ... people can think that they're out of the woods and then suddenly get hit, and not be in a positon in which they and their families are safe."

The president pleaded with people to listen to the warnings of state emergency personnel "because we can always replace property, but we cannot replace lives."

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10:45 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew continues to cause problems for travelers, with 4,500 flights canceled so far between Wednesday and Saturday, according to tracking service FlightAware.

All flights to and from Orlando have been canceled Friday and half scrapped Saturday. FlightAware expects that number to rise. Orlando's world-famous theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  all closed due to the storm.

As the storm moves north, so do cancellations, with Atlanta, Charleston and Savannah taking the largest hits.

Airports in Southern Florida are reopening, however, with flights expected to resume at midday. Airlines moved planes and crews out of the storm's path and must now fly them back into the region.

American Airlines saw its first arrival at its Miami hub at 9:05 a.m. with a flight from Sao Paulo.

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10:30 a.m.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is cautioning Floridians that Hurricane Matthew could still do substantial damage before it passes by the northeast end of the state.

Scott on Friday warned that while the main eye of the storm has remained offshore as it brushes the eastern coast, it could still bring tremendous damage and flooding, especially to low-lying areas along the St. Johns River, including downtown Jacksonville.

Scott said the hurricane "still has time to do a direct hit" and he remarked that "the worst part of this is yet to come."

Hurricane Matthew approached the state overnight, bringing damaging winds and lots of rain. State officials said that as of 9 a.m. there were nearly 600,000 people without power. Some of the hardest hit counties were Brevard, Indian River and Volusia, where more than half of the customers in those counties were without power.

State officials during an internal emergency management briefing said they anticipated that more than 1 million Floridians could eventually be without power.

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9:30 a.m.

Georgia transportation officials are closing a bridge that is one of the main routes between the mainland and the barrier islands off Brunswick in anticipation of high winds from Hurricane Matthew.

The Georgia Department of Transportation said in a news release that the Sidney Lanier Bridge would close at 10 a.m. Friday and would remain closed at least until strong winds subside.

The state's tallest cable-stayed suspension bridge, the Sidney Lanier Bridge is a primary route to the Golden Isles  including Jekyll Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island and Little St. Simons Island  from Interstate 95.

Transportation officials say high winds, particularly at the bridge's elevation, would likely make it difficult for drivers to control their vehicles, so the bridge is being closed for the safety of the public.

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9:30 a.m.

Winds from Hurricane Matthew blew off the door of Darrell Etheridge's garage and tore down the banister to his upstairs neighbor's apartment, but the Vero Beach resident said the storm was no big deal.

Etheridge stayed in his apartment about two blocks from the ocean during the storm.

He said the winds howling "sounded like a pack of wolves," but added, "I got off damn good."

There was no flooding and he had power for most of the night Thursday, only losing cable TV.

As he put it, "It was nothing. It felt like nothing."

Vero Beach is south of the Melbourne/Cape Canaveral area.

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8:20 a.m.

The time has been set for the Georgia-South Carolina football game in Columbia on Sunday that was rescheduled because of the threat of Hurricane Matthew.

South Carolina officials announced late Thursday that the game will be played at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The game had been scheduled Saturday night in Columbia but is being delayed because of Hurricane Matthew.

School officials say they consulted with Georgia and the Southeastern Conference before making the decision.

Officials say they are consulting with the governor's office and state and local law enforcement. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said earlier this week that state troopers would not be available to help with traffic for the game. But Richland County sheriff's deputies and Columbia police are expected to help.

The school says it will be able to handle traffic, security and other game day operations.

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8 a.m.

Robert Tyler had feared a storm surge flooding his street, which is only two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach.

But he and his wife, Georgette, felt fortunate Friday morning when they looked out the front door of their one-story cinder block apartment and there wasn't much water.

The oak trees held up. Tree branches littered the road and he could hear the transformers blowing up overnight. But his home didn't appear to have damage on first inspection and his vehicles were unharmed.

He says it was "scary as heck" overnight, adding that at one point "it felt like the windows were going to blow even though they all were covered with plywood."

In the end, he says he's just "glad we didn't hear the ocean coming down our street."

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5:45 a.m.

In Geneva, the international Red Cross announced an emergency appeal for $6.9 million Friday to provide medical aid, shelter, water, and sanitation assistance to 50,000 people in southwestern Haiti, which was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew.

UNICEF says it needs $5 million to meet children's immediate needs in Haiti.

The World Food Program said it has enough food on the ground for 300,000 people for a month, and was deploying its best logisticians to help distribute it.

Matthew left more than 280 dead in its wake across the Caribbean and is now battering Florida's east coast with high winds and rain.

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An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow Friday but threatened some of the Souths most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Kaleigh Black, 14, left, and Amber Olsen, 12, run for cover as a squall with rain and wind from the remnants of Hurricane Matthew pelt them as they explore the Cocoa Beach Pier on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Cocoa Beach, Fla. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Margaret Bodchon, 56, of Merritt Island, Fla., checks text messages and weather updates as she drinks coffee by lantern light in the lobby of the Hampton Inn while Hurricane Matthew rages outside in Titusville, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. "As each hour passes, it looks better and better than it did yesterday," she said. (Will Vragovic/The Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Nelson Hall, 64, and Glenn Moore, 68, sit by a window in the lobby of the Hampton Inn as Hurricane Matthew rages outside in Titusville, Fla.. Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (Will Vragovic/The Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Bull River Yacht Club Dock Master Robert Logan leaves the dock after finishing up storm preparations as Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the East Coast, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the most powerful hurricane to menace the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade pushed north. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Reaves Tuthill walks on a submerged dock at the Vero Beach Yacht Club, after checking on his boat in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Vero Beach, Fla. Matthew continues moving north along Florida's east coast. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Brian Johns walks through waters from a storm surge as debris litters the ground while he tries to video the effects of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A motorist drives down flooded street in St. Augustine, Fla., as Hurricane Matthew moves up the Florida coast Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center, or eye, hung just offshore Friday morning as it moved up the coastline, sparing communities the full force of its 120 mph winds. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Michael Whitmore passes by a boarded up pizza business searching for an open store for supplies as Hurricane Matthew hits the area on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Saint Marys, Ga. As the storm closed in, an estimated 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to move inland to escape the fury of the most powerful hurricane to menace the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

A fallen tree from Hurricane Matthew blocks the road on St. Simons Island, Ga., after residents were ordered to evacuate, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Greg Height peddles his bike down a street after checking on a friend riding out the storm in her home in Brunswick, Ga., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Italy seeking EU-Africa migration deal

ISTANBUL (AP)  Italy's foreign minister says his country "would appreciate" an agreement between the European Union and African countries similar to the one reached with Turkey to curb migration flows across the Aegean into Greece.

Speaking in Ankara on Friday, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni praised the migration deal struck between the EU and Turkey in March, saying "we need to have similar agreement to solve, or at least manage, migration flows from Africa."

More than a million people reached Europe in 2015, with thousands of migrants drowning on the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.
Why would anyone use a chemical weapon to make drugs? Money

SHANGHAI (AP)  This summer, carfentanil  one of the most potent opioids on the planet  hit the streets of North America. Many users who thought they were taking heroin actually injected or snorted a substance that has until recently been viewed as a chemical weapon . First responders pumped hundreds of dying, bluish people full of the antidote naloxone to try to make them breathe again.

Legally used as a tranquilizer for large animals like bears and elephants, carfentanil is so potent that an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person. How such a toxic substance made its way into global narcotics supply chains is a matter of economics, and desperation.

Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, a related drug that increasingly has been mixed into narcotics such as heroin. But carfentanil is only slightly more expensive than fentanyl, and it can be cut into much larger volumes, creating stronger, cheaper highs.

In this June 27, 2016 photo provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a member of the RCMP opens a printer ink bottle containing the opioid carfentanil imported from China, in Vancouver. Drug dealers have been cutting carfentanil and its weaker cousin, fentanyl, into heroin and other illicit drugs to boost profit margins. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP)

"There's an advantage to the drug distributor: They make more money," said Russell Baer, a special agent at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington. Addicts, meanwhile, "want the best high at the cheapest price and they're willing to take whatever risks are involved," he said.

Carfentanil is typically sold as a powder. Mixing it poorly into other drugs can create lethal hotspots of concentrated carfentanil, presenting enormous risks for users.

Those concerned include drug users themselves. In online forums, much of the talk is about carfentanil as a threat, not a means to an epic high.

One user was so distressed when he received a package labeled carfentanil  a free sample from his supplier  that he asked for advice on Reddit on how to dispose of it safely. He worried that flushing it down the toilet "carried the risk of harming wildlife down the line."

"Honestly," wrote another, "the only use I could think of would be to kill people."

"Dealers are just starting to learn how to volumetrically dose these fentanyl POISON bags, but killing us in the process. We are their guinea pigs," wrote a third.
Nobel Prize boosts Colombian leader's pursuit of peace

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  By winning the Nobel Peace Prize, President Juan Manuel Santos got a big boost Friday in his efforts to save an agreement seeking to end Colombia's half-century conflict.

The prize, announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, puts pressure on both conservative critics and leftist rebels to find a way forward after the shocking defeat of the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum.

Santos dedicated the prize to his fellow Colombians, especially the victims of the bloody conflict, saying it would redouble his commitment to end hostilities that left 220,000 dead and almost 8 million displaced.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos speaks to supporters of the peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, behind a sculpture of a white dove donated by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

"I invite everyone to bring together our strength, our minds and our hearts in this great national endeavor so that we can win the most important prize of all: peace in Colombia," Santos said alongside his wife in his first public appearance after being notified he had won in a pre-dawn phone call from their son.

Colombians are split on their support for the peace deal.

Some see it as the best chance in a generation to halt the conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC; others are outraged that rebels behind scores of atrocities, from kidnappings to attacks on civilian targets, probably will never spend a day in prison and instead be reserved seats in congress to smooth their transition into a political movement.

The accord's defeat in the referendum by the narrowest of margins  less than half a percentage point  humiliated Santos, especially since polls had predicted it would pass by an almost 2-1 margin. He had signed the deal with the FARC just six days earlier in front of world leaders.

Now he's scrambling to save the accord. This week, he dispatched negotiators to Cuba, to see if the FARC will make additional concessions, and presided over meetings with opponents led by his former ally turned archrival: ex-President Alvaro Uribe.

Uribe, who inflamed widespread hatred of the rebels by warning that the peace deal would take Colombia down the path of communist Cuba, emerged as the big victor in the referendum and is pushing for harsher punishment for the FARC.

But he's been conciliatory so far, and even sent Santos a congratulation of sorts on winning the Nobel.

"I hope it leads to a change in the accords that are damaging for our democracy," Uribe said in a message on Twitter.

Nobody knows how the impasse will end but most analysts agree that a bilateral cease-fire already in place can't endure for too long without resolution. Amid such uncertainty, the Nobel prize gives some oxygen to Santos' efforts, although how much is unknown.

In Bogota's Plaza Bolivar, where thousands gathered Wednesday in the biggest street demonstration in years to demand the peace deal be saved, an activist distributed white daisies symbolizing peace. A small group camped in the plaza since then celebrated with shouts of "Peace deal now!" and "Colombia wants peace!"

"Even though Uribe won the vote, I think Santos has some advantage right now," said Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America who was in Colombia for the referendum.

Nobel committee secretary Olav Njoelstad said there was "broad consensus" on choosing Santos. It was the first time the peace prize has gone to Latin America since 1992, when Guatemalan indigenous rights activist Rigoberta Menchu won. It is Colombia's second Nobel honor after beloved novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez won for literature in 1982.

But in a departure from its tradition of honoring both sides of a peace process, the five-member committee conspicuously left out Santos' counterpart, rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, from the honor, a move that could further strengthen Santos' hand in wresting concessions from the rebels.

"We're not going to destroy what we've designed, and that has received so much international praise," the FARC's chief negotiator Ivan Marquez said from Havana upon learning of Santos' Nobel.

The rebels and the government on Friday invited the United Nations and regional government to send observers to monitor the cease-fire already in place

Santos, the Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombia's wealthiest families, is an unlikely peacemaker. As Uribe's defense minister a decade ago, he dealt some of the biggest military blows to the FARC, including a 2008 cross-border raid into Ecuador that took out a top rebel commander and the stealth rescue of three Americans held captive by the rebels for more than five years.

Though nominally Marxist, the FARC's ideology has never been well-defined. It has sought to make Colombia's conservative oligarchy share power, and prioritized land reform in a country where millions 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.

Santos and Londono met only twice during the entire peace process: last year when they put the final touches on the most-controversial section of the accord  how guerrillas would be punished for war crimes  and last month to sign the accord.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was present for the ceremony, called this year's Nobel Peace Prize a "timely message" to all people working toward national reconciliation.

"This award says to them: You have come too far to turn back now. The peace process should inspire our world," he said.

___

Ritter reported from Stockholm. Associated Press writer Mark Lewis contributed from Oslo, Norway.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos is embraced by his wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez after speaking to journalists at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Flowers decorate the statue of independence hero Simon Bolivar at the main square in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos is embraced by his wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez after speaking to journalists at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 file photo Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos makes the victory sign after voting in a referendum to decide whether or not to support the peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2016 file photo Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos delivers a statement to the press after meeting with former President Alvaro Uribe and other opposition leaders at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 file photo Cuba's President Raul Castro, center, smiles as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, left, and Commander the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC, Timoleon Jimenez, known as "Timochenko", shake hands, in Havana, Cuba. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 file photo, 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 between Colombias government and the FARC to end over 50 years of conflict in Cartagena, Colombia. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, Oct. 7, for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Kaci Kullmann Five, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize award committee, announces the laureate of Nobel Peace Prize 2016, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, during an announcement in Olso, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians. (Heiko Junge NTB scanpix via AP)

Kaci Kullmann Five, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize award committee, announces the laureate of Nobel Peace Prize 2016, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, during a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians. (Heiko Junge NTB scanpix via AP)

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 file photo a boy shows his hand painted with the word "Yes" in Spanish during an event attended by Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos to promote the "yes" vote in the upcoming referendum on the peace deal he signed with rebels Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Soacha, in the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 file photo Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos speaks during an event to promote the "yes" vote in the upcoming referendum on the peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Soacha, on the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 19, 2016 file photo President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, left, presents a copy of a peace agreement that was forged in his country to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting at the United Nations headquarters. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016 file photo Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos holds the peace deal with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC after delivering it to Congress in Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Caicedo, File)

A Colombian flag and a white flag hang from a building in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Soldiers of the presidential guard prepare to raise the Colombian flag at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, early Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos holds his hands as he arrives to deliver a statement at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A woman places white roses outside a government building to celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize of Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
The Latest: Obama personally congratulates Santos over Nobel

OSLO, Norway (AP)  The latest on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (all times local):

1 a.m.

The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama has spoken with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to congratulate him on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work seeking to end the longest conflict in the Western Hemisphere.

Flowers decorate the statue of independence hero Simon Bolivar at the main square in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Spokesman Eric Schultz says that in the conversation Friday evening, Obama also reiterated U.S. government support for the peace process as Santos pursues a national dialogue on the way forward for peace negotiations.

Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal in a referendum Sunday. Obama said earlier in the day that the vote shows there is more work to be done.

The U.S. strongly supported Colombia's peace talks with the FARC rebels.

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11:15 p.m.

U.S. President Barack Obama says the Nobel committee "made the right decision" by awarding its peace prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians.

Obama says Friday's award sends the message that peace must be supported and encouraged in a world of conflict. He says the award also is a testament to Santos' "unwavering and courageous" leadership through years of difficult negotiations with Colombian rebels seeking to produce an accord aimed at ending five decades of armed conflict.

Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal in a referendum last week. Obama says that vote shows there is more work to be done. He says Santos and the Colombian people can continue to count on the United States as a partner in that process.

The U.S. strongly supported Colombia's peace talks with the FARC rebels.

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6 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says in a message of congratulations to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos that the peace process he initiated "gives many people, not just in Colombia, great hope for a better future."

Merkel said Friday that the Nobel prize was "a very appropriate appreciation" of his efforts to overcome divisions.

She added: "I wish you and the Colombian people great strength, stamina and success in the future in taking the next steps on the way to lasting peace."

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4:55 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is hailing Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, named winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, "for his courageous efforts to try to bring peace to Colombia."

He said from Washington that he hopes that in the wake of the prize "this can still work out and get over the hurdles that remain," referring to efforts to reach a peace deal acceptable to all sides.

Kerry added that he would speak to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe later Friday.

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4:30 p.m.

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt says the Colombian rebel group that kept her captive for six years deserves to be included in the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Juan Manuel Santos.

Ingrid Betancourt told The Associated Press during an interview in Paris that "it's hard for me to say it but I have to be just and, even though they were my captors. She says "I think that it's true that they transformed themselves."

Betancourt is a dual French-Colombian citizen. She was campaigning for Colombia's presidency when she was kidnapped in 2002.

She was released in 2008 after six years as a hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

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3:45 p.m.

Negotiators for Colombia's government and largest rebel movement say they're taking steps to guarantee a cease-fire doesn't unravel while the two sides work together to save a peace accord defeated in a referendum.

At a joint press conference in Havana the two sides read a joint statement in which they pledged to listen to those who voted against the peace deal to "define quickly" a solution to the impasse in accordance with a recent constitutional court ruling.

The statement says: "The proposed adjustments and precisions that come about from this process will be discussed between the government and the FARC to provide guarantees to everyone."

The two sides invited the United Nations to begin monitoring a cease-fire already in place along the terms established in the accord so that rebel fighters aren't at risk.

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3:30 p.m.

Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairwoman Kaci Kullman Five says the peace prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos shouldn't be seen as a rebuke of the referendum in which voters rejected his peace deal with left-wing rebels.

"It is really not meant as a rebuke," Five told The Associated Press. "We strongly underline the respect we have for the voice of the Colombian people."

She said many Colombians who voted against the deal weren't against the peace process, just "this specific agreement."

Even though Santos won the prize alone, she said the award was also meant as "encouragement" to the FARC rebels.

"Giving the prize to Santos is not a belittlement to any of the other parties," she said. "The FARC is obviously a very important part of this process."

She noted that the FARC has made "important concessions and that (rebel leader Rodrigo) Londono stated after the referendum that the FARC reiterates this position, that it will use only words as weapons to build towards the future."

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3:10 p.m.

The top leader of Colombia's largest rebel group is congratulating President Juan Manuel Santos for the Nobel Peace Prize, along with the other participants in talks to end the country's long-running conflict.

The FARC leader known as Timoleon Jimenez says on his Twitter account that "peace would be impossible" without the efforts of Santos and the guarantors from Cuba and Norway, as well as participants from Venezuela and Chile.

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2:30 p.m.

European Union policy chief Federica Mogherini says she is deeply moved that Colombian President Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Let me say how happy I am personally and all the European Union is for this prize that recognizes the determination, the vision of the great man of peace," she said Friday during a visit to the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

She said she hoped it would lead to greater peace in Colombia, noting that the EU "has played an important role and continues to play an important role" in the peace process.

"I feel deep emotion ... and I wanted this share this publicly," she said, adding that the EU would continue support the peace process.

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2:20 p.m.

President Juan Manuel Santos says the Nobel Peace Prize should serve as an incentive for all Colombians to rally behind a stalled peace accord with leftist rebels.

Santos said he was notified of the Nobel committee's decision by his son, Martin, who woke him up before dawn Friday.

He dedicated the prize to his fellow Colombians, especially the victims of the long conflict, and called on his detractors who defeated the peace deal in a referendum Sunday to join him in securing an end to hostilities.

"I invite everyone to join our strength, our minds and our hearts in this great national endeavor so that we can win the most important prize of all: peace in Colombia," Santos said alongside his wife during his first public appearance since winning the Nobel.

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2:15 p.m.

Nobel laureate Juan Manuel Santos' arch rival and predecessor is swallowing his pride and congratulating the president.

Colombians widely credit conservative hardliner Alvaro Uribe for forcing the FARC rebels to the negotiating table by leading a U.S.-backed military offensive that pushed them to the edges of the jungle during his 2002-2010 presidency.

Santos was Uribe's defense minister most of those years but the two later angrily split and Uribe led the "no" campaign against the peace deal in Sunday's referendum.

"I congratulate President Santos for the Nobel," Uribe said on Twitter. "I hope it leads to a chance in the accords that are damaging for our democracy."

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2:10 p.m.

The previous Nobel Peace Prize winner from Latin America has some advice for Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos: don't lose hope.

Guatemalan indigenous rights activist Rigoberta Menchu won the Nobel in 1992, but it wasn't until 1996 that her Central American nation put an end to the three-decade civil war.

Speaking to Bogota's Blu Radio, Menchu said that with the peace prize Santos will now be able to count on broad international support to see the peace process through after the deal he struck with the FARC rebels was narrowly rejected by voters in a referendum Sunday.

"This is an extraordinary stage for Colombia in its intense search for peace," Menchu said. "Santos now has a lot to do to take Colombians down the path of peace."

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2:05 p.m.

Never mind about the Nobel Peace Prize, the head of the FARC says the only reward he wants is an end to Colombia's entrenched conflict.

Rodrigo Londono, who was overlooked by the Nobel committee, reacted to the news of the prize for Colombian leader Juan Manuel Santos with a mercurial message on Twitter that's bound to lend itself to multiple interpretations.

He said that the only prize the rebels want is peace with social justice and "Colombia without paramilitaries, without retaliations and without lies."

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2 p.m.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the choice of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for the Nobel Peace Prize is a "timely message" to all people working toward national reconciliation.

Ban said the awarding of the prize "tells them to keep working until they have brought the peace process to a successful conclusion."

In a statement from Hamburg, Germany, Ban said Friday that the failure of Sunday's referendum in Colombia on the peace plan "should not divide the millions of Colombians who strive to build a peaceful country."

He added: "This award says to them: you have come too far to turn back now. The peace process should inspire our world."

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1:15 p.m.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says he's deeply honored by the Nobel Peace Prize, which he dedicated to the people of his country.

"I receive this with great emotion," Santos told the Nobel Foundation in an audio interview posted on its Facebook account.

"This is a great, great recognition for my country," he said. "I am eternally grateful."

"I receive this award in their name: the Colombian people who have suffered so much in this war," he said. "Especially the millions of victims that have suffered in this war that we are on the verge of ending."

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12:50 p.m.

The Nobel Peace Prize is providing a much-needed boost to some 20 activists camping out for the past two nights in front of Colombia's congress to demand the peace deal not be scuttled after its shock defeat in a referendum.

As media began to arrive at the Plaza Bolivar in the frigid, pre-dawn hours, the small group shouted "Peace Deal Now" and "Colombia Wants Peace."

"This is a big help but we're not leaving until there's peace," Juliana Bohorquez, a 31-year-old artist, said with a broken voice from having just woken up.

The group of activists settled in Bogota's main Plaza Bolivar on Wednesday after thousands of Colombians marched in the streets to demand the government, FARC and opposition find common ground to save the accord.

Prize recipient President Juan Manuel Santos is expected to give a statement from the presidential palace on the far end of the plaza at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT).

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12:45 p.m.

The head of the U.N. refugee agency says the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recognizes "political courage."

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi, who recently returned from Colombia, said he noticed an "extraordinary commitment" by Santos' government, FARC rebels and civil society to make a peace plan in the country work.

Grandi noted the relevance to his agency's work: Colombia has over 7 million internally displaced people, the "largest internal displacement situation" in the world.

Several U.N. officials in Geneva offered congratulations as word landed Friday of the choice of Santos during a regular U.N. briefing.

Spokesman Rupert Colville of the U.N. human rights office said the award recognition of the importance of the peace process, and hopes it will give a "boost" to it.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Santos, calling him a "man with a vision for his country," spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.

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12:15 p.m.

The Nobel Peace Prize awarded by the all-Norwegian committee is in part a self-recognition of that country's pivotal role in the Colombian peace talks.

Norway along with Cuba has been a sponsor of the peace process since the outset. The public phase of talks began in Oslo in 2012 and the Norwegian government's representative to the talks, Dag Nylander, has become a minor celebrity among Colombians who've followed every announcement from Havana on TV.

Norway's' role as a peace facilitator around the world isn't new. It helped broker the historic Oslo accord between the Palestinians and Israelis in 1993 and is currently facilitating talks bringing an end to a half-century-old communist insurgency in the Philippines.

"To succeed in being a facilitator you have to be a very honest broker and you can't take sides," Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende told The Associated Press in an interview last month while attending the peace deal's signing ceremony. "You have to try to find common ground and be very, very patient."

"It has been a bumpy road, there have been setbacks for sure," he said. "For us we had to believe that a deal was possible and we had to believe it was a question of time."

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11:50 a.m.

Colombians are notorious among Latin Americans as being early risers, but the decision to award President Juan Manuel Santos the Nobel Peace prize even caught them sleeping.

Early morning radio programs are abuzz with the news but so far there's been no reaction from President Santos.

Many Colombians thought that Santos was a shoo-in for the Nobel Peace prize after he signed a peace accord with the FARC on Sept. 26 in front of many world leaders and the U.N. Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon. But they assumed his chances faded after the deal fell apart in a referendum a week later.

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11:40 a.m.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos comes just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected a peace deal that Santos helped bring about.

The award conspicuously left out Santos' counterpart, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Santos and Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, signed the peace deal last month, ending a half-century of hostilities, only to see a major setback in the shock vote against the agreement in a referendum six days later.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that rejection doesn't mean the peace process is dead.

"The referendum was not a vote for or against peace," it said. "What the 'No' side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement."

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it believes that Santos, "despite the 'No' majority vote in the referendum, has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution."

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11:30 a.m.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Juan Manuel Santos, 65, is an unlikely peacemaker. The Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombia's wealthiest families, as defense minister a decade ago he was responsible for some of the FARC rebels' biggest military setbacks, including a 2008 cross-border raid into Ecuador that took out a top rebel commander and the stealth rescue of three Americans held captive for more than five years.

Under the peace deal he negotiated, rebels who turn over their weapons and confess to war crimes will be spared time in jail and the FARC will be reserved 10 seats in congress through 2026 to smooth their transition into a political movement.

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11 a.m.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award should also be seen "as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process.

It did not cite his counterpart in peace negotiations, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Santos and Londono signed a peace deal last month ending a half-century of hostilities only to see their efforts collapse following a shock vote against the agreement in a referendum six days later.

A woman places white roses outside a government building to celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize of Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

A cyclist raises his arm next to students camping to ask for peace at the main square in Bogota, Colombia, early Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected a peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2016 file photo Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos delivers a statement to the press after meeting with former President Alvaro Uribe and other opposition leaders at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 file photo, 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 between Colombias government and the FARC to end over 50 years of conflict in Cartagena, Colombia. Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, Oct. 7, for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Kaci Kullmann Five, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize award committee, announces the laureate of Nobel Peace Prize 2016, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, during a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a civil war that killed more than 200,000 Colombians. (Heiko Junge NTB scanpix via AP)

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016 file photo Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos holds the peace deal with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC after delivering it to Congress in Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Caicedo, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 file photo Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos makes the victory sign after voting in a referendum to decide whether or not to support the peace deal he signed with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Bogota, Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 19, 2016 file photo President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, left, presents a copy of a peace agreement that was forged in his country to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting at the United Nations headquarters. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won Nobel Peace Prize it was announced on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Burundi to leave International Criminal Court, official says

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP)  Burundi will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, months after the court said it will investigate violence sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's re-election, an official said. No country has ever withdrawn from the court, which pursues cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Burundi's government has presented a draft law in parliament to debate how it can withdraw, First Vice President Gaston Sindimwo said Thursday. He accused the court of violating the rights of Africans.

Some African countries have threatened a withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, accusing the court of disproportionately targeting the continent. Only Africans have been charged in the six cases that are ongoing or about to begin, though preliminary investigations have begun elsewhere.

Of the 122 countries that are parties to the Rome Statute, 34 are African, the largest continental bloc.

"This is posturing. All a member state country needs to do to leave is write to the U.N. secretary-general saying they wish to withdraw from the ICC, and a year after the day the secretary-general receives the letter the country will no longer be a member," said Tom Maliti with the New York-based International Justice Monitor, which tracks ICC cases.

An ICC spokesman said the court has not received any official information about a possible withdrawal by any state. "Burundi is an important state party, and we look forward to Burundi continuing to be part of the ICC's future," Fadi El Abdallah said.

Hundreds have died in Burundi since Nkurunziza pursued and won a third term that many call unconstitutional. Since his candidacy was announced in April 2015, Burundi has seen violent protests, forced disappearances and assassinations. More than 260,000 have fled.

The ICC in April said it will investigate.

African threats to withdraw from ICC rose after the court indicted Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity for 2007 post-election violence in which more than 1,000 died. The ICC prosecutor said the lack of cooperation by Kenya's government led to the case's collapse.

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10/30/2022

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Vietnam labels California group a terrorist organization

HANOI, Vietnam (AP)  Vietnam's government has officially labeled a California-based anti-Communist group a terrorist organization and warned that anyone involved with it will be considered an accomplice in terrorism and will be dealt with in accordance with Vietnamese law.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that Viet Tan, or the Vietnam Reform Party, has been carrying out terrorist activities to end Communist rule in Vietnam.

The government has long considered Viet Tan a terrorist group, but this is the first time it has officially given it that designation.

The group was formed in 1982 by a vice admiral in the former U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government.

Viet Tan says it is committed to nonviolent struggle to end Communist rule. The U.S. government has said it has seen no evidence that the group is engaged in terrorism.

The statement, posted on the ministry's website on Tuesday, said Viet Tan in its early years recruited and trained members to use weapons and explosives and sent armed groups to Vietnam to carry out terrorist activities, but the plans were thwarted by Vietnamese and Lao authorities.

It said the group still sends members to Vietnam to stir up anti-government protests and unrest.

Several Viet Tan members from the United States and Australia have been brought to trial or deported.

"Viet Tan is a terrorist organization, therefore, anyone who joins, propagandizes, instigates others to join, sponsors, receives sponsorship from Viet Tan, participates in training courses arranged by Viet Tan, operates under instructions of Viet Tan will be an accomplice in terrorism ... and will be dealt with in accordance with Vietnamese law," the statement said.

Viet Tan said in a statement that the Ministry of Public Security "is regurgitating baseless propaganda that they have routinely used against peaceful voices." It said that to justify its suppression of political expression and human rights, Hanoi portrays its critics as engaging in terrorism.

"The Vietnamese Communist Party has a long history of violence and terror against the people of Vietnam. No amount of propaganda can shift attention from Hanoi's human rights abuses and repression of peaceful political opposition," the statement said.
Ethiopia says 11 factories damaged by 'anti-peace forces'

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP)  Ethiopia's government said Friday that 11 factories and dozens of vehicles had been damaged in attacks by what it called "anti-peace forces," while the U.N. human rights office requested access to areas where anti-government protests have raged.

This East African country has seen months of demonstrations demanding wider freedoms. An American woman was killed this week in a rock attack by protesters, and more than 50 people were killed in a stampede when police tried to disperse a protest during a massive religious event.

Some businesses have been targeted because of suspected government links, putting even more pressure on the government as it tries to promote itself as one of Africa's top-performing economies.

The state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate said the attacks on factories in Sebeta town on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, affected more than 40,000 workers. It said textile, plastic and bottled-water companies have been targeted.

A resident of Adama in the restive Oromia region said he has heard gunshots on the city's outskirts. There was no transportation in and out of town, and many shops were closed.

"It feels like a war zone!" Yosef Girma said.

A spokesman for the U.N. human rights office on Friday again urged Ethiopia's government to allow independent observers to access the regions of Oromia and Amhara where most of the protests have occurred. He also called on protesters to renounce the use of violence.

The spokesman, Rupert Colville, also spoke out against the government cutting off internet access in parts of the country, and he urged the release of people detained for expressing their opinions.
Fox News' Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity are friends again

NEW YORK (AP)  Fox News Channel colleagues Sean Hannity and Megyn Kelly are friends again.

Kelly tweeted a picture of her and Hannity together on the set of Kelly's show Thursday night, with a note, "We're Irish. It's complicated. #friends." She also ended her program, which leads into Hannity's, by saying, "Up next: Live, Sean Hannity. My friend."

The amends come a day after Kelly called out GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump for seeking out friendly media interviews with Hannity. Hannity responded with a tweet calling Kelly a supporter of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, Moderator Megyn Kelly waits for the start of the Republican presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Kelly's Fox News colleague, Sean Hannity, accused Kelly of backing Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The spat began Wednesday night on Kellys program, when the anchor criticized both GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and the Democratic candidate, Clinton, of avoiding tough media interviews. Kelly said Trump will go on Hannity and pretty much only Hannity. Hannity responded on Twitter that Kelly clearly supports Clinton. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

Hannity also appeared to bury the hatchet on Twitter , saying "2 friends just worked out a MINOR disagreement."
Pakistani parliament condemns India's actions in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistan's parliament has adopted a resolution condemning India's actions in the disputed region of Kashmir.

After a two-day session, the lawmakers unanimously on Friday backed the document denouncing the "brutal use of force" by Indian troops in the Indian-controlled part of the territory.

Many in the Indian-controlled portion, where violence and cross-border skirmishes have escalated in recent months, favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.

The resolution also rejected Indian accusation against Pakistan of an alleged involvement by Islamabad in a militant attack on an Indian base that killed 17 soldiers last month. The document also accused India of "sponsoring terrorism" in Pakistan.
Turkey warns against Shiite militias in Mosul operation

ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkey's foreign minister has warned against the inclusion of Shiite militias in a possible operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, saying it could fan sectarian divisions.

Speaking in Ankara Friday, Mevlut Cavusoglu said their remaining after the offensive would only compound the region's problems in the long term.

"The greatest danger for the Sunni population there is being forced to choose between Shiite militias and Daesh," he said referring to the Arabic acronym for IS.
British Museum shows Germans their own history in Berlin

BERLIN (AP)  The British Museum is serving Germans a view from London of centuries of their own history.

Some 200 exhibits illustrating the complex political and cultural history of Germany, which didn't unify as a nation until the late 19th century, have been brought together at Berlin's Martin-Gropius-Bau museum for the show.

They include a huge 16th-century print commissioned from Albrecht Duerer's workshop by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to celebrate his achievements; a replica of the entrance gate to the Nazis' Buchenwald concentration camp; elaborate 17th-century drinking vessels; an early Benz car; a 1952 Volkswagen Beetle; and a homemade pro-reunification placard in the shape of the country from a 1989 East Berlin demonstration, declaring that "We are one people."

A man looks at the work 'Eagle' by Georg Baselitz, right, and a poster 'We are one people' by Eckart Conradt that was carried during a protest in Berlin's Lustgarten in December 1989 during a press preview for the exhibition 'The British view' in the Gropius-Bau in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. The exhibition 'The British View: Germany  Memories of a Nation' runs through Jan. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Ferdinand Ostrop)

The show, "The British View: Germany  Memories of a Nation," is based on an exhibition that opened in London two years ago and was originally designed to show Britons more about a neighbor whose pre-20th century history they are generally unfamiliar with.

"Our German colleagues asked for the exhibition to come to Berlin, and I shall be very interested to see how a German public responds to an exhibition which was designed for foreigners," said former British Museum director Neil MacGregor.

"Much of what we are showing here  things like the political fragmentation of Germany, the habit of many different states, the habit of sharing power or not having one dominant capital  these are very strange things to a British or a French person," said MacGregor, who has been tapped to lead a new cultural history museum in Berlin.

The exhibition illustrates that difference by showing coins from the many currencies of German states around 1700, when Britain had only one currency. And it highlights Germany's history of fluid borders, with a section titled "German no more" featuring places such as Strasbourg and Koenigsberg  now the Russian city of Kaliningrad  that at various points ceased to be part of the German-speaking world.

MacGregor acknowledged that German history is, for most people, dominated by the events of the 20th century. But he said "what we wanted to do is to put that story into a longer perspective."

The exhibition includes works that illustrate the complexity of Germans' relationship with their own history  such as a cast of the 1927 sculpture "The Floater" by Ernst Barlach, who returned from World War I a pacifist.

The angel-like figure, suspended from the ceiling, illustrates the grief of war. Much of Barlach's work was confiscated as "degenerate art" under Nazi rule. An original cast was melted down in 1937, and copies were shown in both East and West Germany after World War II.

The British exhibition "opens up for us the view into the past and gives us back our own history, a journey that is astounding, rich and complex and shown in a very English way  very light, very confident," said Thomas Oberender, artistic director of the organization that oversees the Martin-Gropius-Bau.

The show opens to the public Saturday and runs through Jan. 9.

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Online:

Exhibition site: http://tinyurl.com/hzvyl8r
Kuwait arrests 2 Iranians ahead of Shiite memorial

KUWAIT CITY (AP)  Authorities in Kuwait say two Iranians have been arrested after being seen photographing Shiite congregation halls ahead of a major religious ceremony.

Kuwait's Interior Ministry issued a statement late Thursday saying the two men took "suspicious photos" of the halls, also known as husseiniyahs. It said the two men entered Kuwait separately in the past two months.

It wasn't immediately clear if the men had lawyers.

Their arrests come ahead of next week's Shiite commemoration of Ashoura, which marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century.

Kuwaiti police have promised increased security ahead of Ashoura.
Finland, US to deepen military ties through pact

HELSINKI (AP)  Finland and the United States have signed a bilateral defense cooperation pact pledging closer military collaboration at the time when the Nordic country is increasingly concerned over Russia's activities in the Baltic Sea region.

The deal was signed in Helsinki on Friday by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work and the Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto.

While Washington and Helsinki already closely cooperate through joint military drills on air, land and sea, the non-legally binding pact seeks to deepen the ties through information exchange, joint research and development in areas like cyberdefense and training among other things.

US Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work, attends a media conference with chief of staff of the Finnish Ministry of Defence Jussi Niinisto, in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. Finland and the United States have signed a bilateral defense cooperation pact pledging closer military collaboration at the time when the Nordic country is increasingly concerned over Russia's activities in the Baltic Sea region. (Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva via AP) FINLAND OUT - NO SALES

The pact covers cooperation in ship building, nuclear defense and developing technologies for the Arctic - an area of increasing interest for both nations.

In the three-page declaration, the U.S. and Finnish defense ministries jointly state that "the U.S. presence in and around the Baltic Sea undergirds stability in the region, and creates opportunities to increase defense cooperation between our countries."

As a stark reminder of the military realities in the region, Niinisto said earlier Friday that Finland suspects that Russian SU-27 fighter jets violated the country's airspace on two separate occasions in the Gulf of Finland on Thursday.

The claim was quickly denounced by Russia's defense ministry which, as quoted by news agency TASS, said the planes flew over international waters "in strict compliance with the international regulations."

While the Finnish media speculated that the air intrusion may be related to Work's visit, others claimed it was caused by an ongoing air drill by Russian air forces in the region.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila considered it "serious" that two such incidents took place on the same day, and urged a thorough investigation.

Estonian national broadcaster ERR reported that Russian military has been transporting short-range Iskander missiles by sea to the Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad this week complete with substantial air escort - something that could explain intrusions on the narrow international air strip on the Gulf of Finland.

Estonia's military reported separately that a Russian SU-27 fighter plane had violated its airspace early Friday for less than one minute.

The United States has expressed concern over what it says is Russia's aggressive and reckless behavior on the Baltic Sea, where Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia - among other nations - have reported air violations and there has been other activity by Russia's military near U.S. aircraft and ships.

During his one-day Helsinki visit Work met with Nordic and Baltic defense officials in a regular gathering to discuss regional defense issues, including Russia's recent maneuvers.

"Unfortunately these (Russian air intrusions) are becoming a norm rather than an exception," Work told a news conference after the meeting. "It's hard for me to fathom that Russia would consider Finland a threat in anyway, and activities like these are hard to understand."

Finland's close Nordic neighbor Sweden concluded a similar kind of military pact with the United States in June.

Non-NATO members Finland and Sweden each struck such a defense cooperation deal also with Britain earlier this year.
Russian military considers return to Cuba, Vietnam

MOSCOW (AP)  The Russian military is considering the possibility of regaining its Soviet-era bases on Cuba and in Vietnam, the Defense Ministry said Friday, a statement that comes amid growing U.S.-Russia tensions over Syria.

Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told lawmakers Friday that the ministry is considering the possibility of establishing footholds far away from Russia's borders.

Responding to a lawmaker's question if the military could return to Cuba and Vietnam, Pankov said the military is "reviewing" a decision to withdraw from them, but didn't offer any specifics. "As for our presence on faraway outposts, we are doing this work," he said.

In 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to pull back from Cuba and Vietnam as he sought to bolster ties with the United States. The U.S.-Russian relations now have plunged to the lowest point since the Cold War times amid strain over Syria and Ukraine.

Moscow has lamented that Washington never appreciated Putin's goodwill gesture.

Asked Friday about the possibility of the Russian military's return to Cuba and Vietnam, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from specific comment, but added that the global situation requires various players to mull possible responses.

"Naturally, all countries assess those changes from the point of view of their national interests and take steps they consider necessary," he told reporters.

When Putin ordered the military withdrawal from Cuba and Vietnam, Russia was still reeling from its post-Soviet economic meltdown. Putin cited the need to cut costs when he explained reasons behind his move to the military.

Windfall oil revenues in recent years have filled the government's coffers with petrodollars, allowing the Kremlin to fund an ambitions weapons modernization program and turn the military into a more mobile modern force.

Amid the deterioration of ties with the West, the military began pondering plans to re-establish its global presence. A small naval supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus is now the navy's only outpost outside the former Soviet Union.

Oleg Nilov of A Just Russia, one of the factions in the Kremlin-controlled lower house, pointed at the U.S. and its NATO allies' deployment near Russian borders as he argued that Russia needs to regain its Soviet-era bases
Couple determined to have beach wedding in spite of Matthew

COCOA BEACH, Fla. (AP)  Hurricane Matthew has forced evacuations, the cancellation of vacations, and left hundreds of thousands in the dark. But the storm won't stop one Florida couple's dream beach wedding.

Jaime Gurnavage and Ryan Gordon tell Florida Today (http://on.flatoday.com/2cZ5Z2N ) that they chose their Saturday beach wedding for a reason. Gurnavage explains that "everything is engraved with the 8th of October." She says they "picked the 8th because the No. 8, when you set it on the side, it's the infinity symbol."

The couple lives in nearby Suntree. Gurnavage says they still plan on having "some type of ceremony, whatever kind of ceremony that will be."

Employees of Siam Orchid restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Fla., board up the front of the restaurant Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

The wedding was set to be held at the Ocean Landing Resort in Cocoa Beach.
Sen. Lamar Alexander on Thursday said three U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grants will help enhance educational opportunities and economic development in rural areas of Tennessee by providing funds to help build high-speed internet infrastructure.

These grants are good news for people living in parts of Marion, Morgan, Grundy and Trousdale counties, who currently dont have access to high-speed internet.

The USDA approved $850,700 in grant funding to Ben Lomand Rural Telephone Cooperative to build a broadband network to serve residents on Palmer Mountain in Grundy County and residents in Greentown in Marion County. It also approved a separate $850,032 grant for North Central Communications to construct a fiber optics facility in the northern part of Trousdale County. A third $723,593 grant will go to Highland Communications to help build a fiber optics facility to serve residents in southern Morgan County.

Upon request, Senator Alexander sent letters of support for grants serving Grundy, Marion and Trousdale counties to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Russia faces Security Council showdown Saturday over Syria

MOSCOW (AP)  International diplomatic pressure increased on Moscow on Friday to end the joint Russian-Syrian siege of the city of Aleppo, but Moscow's U.N. ambassador says he will most likely veto a U.N. Security Council resolution that would ground Russian warplanes.

Russia's parliament meanwhile ratified a treaty with Syria that allows its troops to stay indefinitely in the country, a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The siege by Syrian forces backed by Russian warplanes has inflicted immense suffering on civilians in the city's rebel-held eastern districts. A cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia collapsed last month and Washington-Moscow ties have deteriorated sharply; Russian lawmakers said ratifying the treaty with Syria on Friday was a necessary step to stand up to the U.S.

FILE In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 file photo Russian defense ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, file)

The United States and Russia support opposite sides in the more than 5-year-old war  Moscow has been a staunch Assad ally and Washington backs Syrian rebels trying to oust him.

As Aleppo's misery dragged on, Russia's United Nations ambassador Vitaly Churkin rejected a French-proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that would call for grounding all aircraft, including Russia's, over Aleppo.

The resolution, also calling for an Aleppo cease-fire, is to be considered Saturday but Churkin said, "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution to pass."

In a last-minute move Friday, Russia introduced its own draft resolution urging "immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Syria," similar language to the French text.

But Russia's draft adds two new elements: It stresses "the urgent need to achieve and verify separating moderate forces from 'Jabhat Al-Nusra' as a key priority," a reference to the al-Qaida linked militant group. It also welcomes U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura's proposal for an al-Qaida-linked militant faction to leave Aleppo in exchange for a halt to Russian and Syrian government bombardment and asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present a plan to the council to implement it.

The Security Council will vote Saturday first on the French draft and then on the Russia draft  and what is likely to happen is a Russian veto of the French draft and a veto of the Russian draft by France and its Western allies.

Russia's air campaign in Syria, launched a year ago, has reversed the tide of war and helped Assad's forces regain some key ground. Moscow says the goal of its military operation is to assist the Syrian army in the fight against terrorism. It rejects accusations of targeting civilians.

Lawmakers in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously to approve the deal, which allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, for as long as it wants. The deal was signed in August 2015 in Damascus, a month before the Russian air campaign began.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus, the only such outpost outside the former Soviet Union. That base is not covered by the treaty, and some lawmakers say it could be the subject of a separate deal.

On Thursday, the Russian military warned the U.S. against striking the Syrian army, stressing that Russian air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said any U.S. strikes on areas controlled by Assad's government could jeopardize the lives of Russian servicemen, and noted that the range of Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems would "surprise" any country operating its aircraft over Syria.

During Friday's debates, Russian lawmakers said that Russia should demonstrate its military muscle to deter the U.S.

Leonid Kalashnikov, a Communist lawmaker, said Moscow must "seriously defend our interests in Syria" in a resolute response to what he and other lawmakers described as Washington's anti-Russian policies.

Meanwhile, Syrian rebels said they had captured several Shiite pro-government fighters in Aleppo after repelling a government offensive on a southern neighborhood of the contested city.

Social media postings showed rebels from the Fastiqum faction harshly interrogating three captives, who spoke with Iraqi accents.

The Fastiqum and Nour el-Dine el-Zinki groups said the prisoners were fighters from the Iraqi Nujaba Shiite militia, which has recently sent some 4,000 fighters to Syria to fight alongside government forces in Aleppo, a militia official told The Associated Press earlier this week. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the militia's strategy.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through activists on the ground, reported that five presumed Iraqi militiamen had been taken prisoner by the rebels.

Syria's government depends on an array of foreign militias, elite Iranian fighters, as well as Russian military intelligence and air power to maintain its fight against the rebels, who also rely on foreign fighters.

The Observatory said clashes were underway Friday in Aleppo's southern Sheikh Saeed neighborhood, as well as along other fronts inside the city.

On Thursday, de Mistura urged fighters from the Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front, to evacuate to another part of the country to save the ancient city from complete destruction.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft echoed de Mistura's contention that the bombing raids in eastern Aleppo, with a population of 275,000 civilians including 100,000 children and about 1,000 "terrorists," were indiscriminate.

"This is not about stamping terrorism, this is about killing civilians," said Rycroft. "We are all in favor of fighting terrorism in Syria but the biggest single killer of innocent civilians in Syria is the Syrian regime. The second biggest killer of innocent civilians in Syria is Russia, and it's only the third biggest killer of innocent civilians in Syria that is al-Qaida, al-Nusra and all the other terrorists."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that Moscow backs the de Mistura's call, saying that Moscow is ready to ask Damascus to allow the militants to leave the city with their weapons "for the sake of saving Aleppo."

He added, however, that policies need to be developed to deal with other militants who choose to stay in Aleppo.

A Fatah al-Sham official in northern Syria told the AP via text message that the group's gunmen will not leave Aleppo, adding that they intend to stay to defend eastern parts of the city.

He said the group's fighters would only leave if the Shiite militias withdrew from Aleppo.

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Issa reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Jim Heintz in Moscow and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2015 file photo, Syrian soldiers fire repelling an attack in Achan, Hama province, Syria. he battle for Aleppo has gripped the world, but it is hardly the only front in Syria: Opposition forces are on the offensive in the countrys center hoping to sever the road connection between Aleppo and the capital Damascus, which is itself a front; in the northwest, Turkish-backed opposition forces battle Islamic State militants; to the east, government forces weather an Islamic State siege of Deir El-Zour. (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2015 file photo, a Syrian APC moves raising dust in Harasta, northeast of Damascus, Syria. he battle for Aleppo has gripped the world, but it is hardly the only front in Syria: Opposition forces are on the offensive in the countrys center hoping to sever the road connection between Aleppo and the capital Damascus, which is itself a front; in the northwest, Turkish-backed opposition forces battle Islamic State militants; to the east, government forces weather an Islamic State siege of Deir El-Zour. (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP, File)
'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' on hold after robbery

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The E! Network has shut down production on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" since Kim Kardashian West was held up in Paris.

A spokesperson for the network tells Variety that "Kim's well-being is our core focus right now" and "no decision has been made as to when production will resume."

E! said in a statement Monday that the show wasn't filming at the time of the robbery.

FILE - In this May 16, 2016 file photo, Kim Kardashian West attends the 20th Annual Webby Awards in New York. Kardashian who has been laying low in a New York City apartment building since her robbery at gunpoint in Paris early Monday, departed on Thursday, Oct. 6, with her two young children and husband Kanye West. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)

Police in Paris say they are investigating the heist in which armed robbers forced their way into a private residence where Kardashian was staying, tied her up and locked her in a bathroom, then stole $10 million worth of jewelry.
Maryland prosecutors oppose 'Serial' case new trial ruling

BALTIMORE (AP)  Most of Maryland's top prosecutors are opposing a new trial granted to a man whose murder conviction was examined in the "Serial" podcast.

The Baltimore Sun reports (http://bsun.md/2dArOZC ) Friday that the state's attorneys signed on to a friend of the court brief calling Adnan Syed's successful appeal "meritless" and saying the "sensational attention" surrounding his case led to an improper ruling. The amicus brief is signed by the elected state's attorneys of every Maryland county, except Baltimore city and county and Cecil County, where the original prosecutor now works.

Syed was convicted of murdering his former high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 and burying her in a Baltimore park. The Attorney General's Office is appealing the ruling granting a new trial in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

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German Hells Angels chapter president shot dead in clubhouse

BERLIN (AP)  Authorities say the president of a German chapter of the Hells Angels has been shot and killed in his biker gang's clubhouse.

Prosecutors said Aygun Mucuk was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds Friday morning by the Giessen clubhouse's cleaning lady, the dpa news agency reported.

Prosecutor's spokesman Thomas Hauburger says authorities have no immediate suspects and have secured the clubhouse, used by some 30-50 members, as part of their investigation.

Dpa reports there had been a rivalry between the Giessen Hells Angels, whose membership is largely of Turkish origin, and the long-established Hells Angels chapter in nearby Frankfurt.
The Latest: Sheriff: Helicopter broke apart before crashing

LINO LAKES, Minn. (AP)  The Latest on a fiery helicopter crash in a Twin Cities suburb (all times local):

9:55 a.m.

Sheriff's officials say a helicopter that crashed in a Twin Cities suburb and killed two people apparently broke apart as it fell from the sky.

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Friday that the wreckage was still on fire when emergency personnel arrived at the sod field in Lino Lakes where the helicopter crashed. Authorities say the amount of debris scattered over several hundred yards suggests the helicopter was breaking apart as it descended.

The sheriff's office says the pilot was a 48-year-old Minneapolis man and his passenger was a 47-year-old woman from Blaine. Their remains have been recovered from the crash scene.

Witnesses told investigators they heard a loud pop or explosion and saw the helicopter's rotors stop spinning before it started falling and breaking apart.

Authorities say the 1982 Fairchild Hiller had been on a flight earlier in the day with no mechanical issues. Officials say the second, fatal flight originated at the Anoka County Airport in Blaine.

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7:40 a.m.

Sheriff's officials say two people died when a helicopter burst into flames as it crashed into a field in a Twin Cities suburb. The aircraft crashed near a residential area in Lino Lakes Thursday evening igniting into what Anoka County Sheriff's Cmdr. Paul Sommer described as a "large fireball."

Sommer tweeted Friday that there are two confirmed fatalities. No one on the ground was hurt.

Sommer described conflicting witness accounts of what happened to the helicopter before it crashed about 5:30 p.m. Some witnesses reported seeing the helicopter's blade stop turning before it "dropped out of the sky," he said. Others told authorities that the helicopter began to break up before hitting the ground and bursting into flames.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Lino Lakes is about 17 miles north of downtown St. Paul.

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This item has been corrected to show Sommer tweeted Friday that two people died, not Thursday.

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6:00 a.m.

A Minnesota sheriff's official says "multiple fatalities" are likely following a helicopter crash in the Twin Cities suburb of Lino Lakes.

The aircraft crashed in a field near a residential area Thursday evening. Anoka County Sheriff's Cmdr. Paul Sommer says it's too early to say who was traveling in the helicopter because "it's basically charred-up debris."

No one on the ground was hurt.

Sommer says witnesses reported seeing the helicopter's blade stop turning before it went down.

Federal Aviation Administration is expected to investigate the cause of the crash. Authorities are asking Lino Lakes residents to contact the police if they find any objects that could be debris from the aircraft.
Vermont man convicted of killing wife appeals to state court

CHARLESTOWN, N.H. (AP)  A Vermont man serving a 30-year sentence for beating his wife to death hours after she filed for divorce has appealed his conviction to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

The Valley News reports (http://bit.ly/2dzEMGD) James Robarge says a Sullivan County Superior Court judge erred when he allowed prosecutors to present some evidence at trial last year, including cellphone records that placed him near Kelly Robarge on June 27, 2013, the morning she disappeared.

Robarge's lawyer says the phone location records are "unreliable" and the investigator who compiled and analyzed the data wasn't an engineer or computer programmer, and was therefore unqualified.

Robarge, of Saxtons River, Vermont, was sentenced last year.

Kelly Robarge's decomposed body, with her hands and head detached, was found 10 days after she was reported missing

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Czechs vote for Senate, regional representatives

PRAGUE (AP)  Czechs are voting in elections that the governing center-left, three-party coalition hopes will maintain its control of the Senate, the upper house in Parliament.

In a two-day vote, voters are selecting one-third of the country's 81-seat Senate and also new regional governments in 13 of the country's 14 regions currently dominated by the ruling Social Democrats.

Parliament's lower house dominates the legislative process, but the Senate plays an important role in passing constitutional amendments and approving Constitutional Court judges.
Turkish ambassador returns to Germany after 4-month recall

BERLIN (AP)  Germany's Foreign Ministry says the Turkish ambassador has returned to his post in Berlin, some four months after he was recalled amid fury in Ankara over a parliamentary resolution that labeled the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.

Deputy foreign minister Markus Ederer met with ambassador Huseyin Avni Karslioglu Friday and said his return was "an important positive step in bilateral relations."

The ambassador's return was the latest sign of a thaw between the two countries following the June vote in Parliament.
Japanese lawyers urge country to abolish death penalty

TOKYO (AP)  Japanese bar associations have formally adopted a policy against the death penalty for the first time, demanding the government abolish execution by 2020 when Japan hosts the Olympics and an international conference on criminal justice.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations urged the government Friday to introduce life imprisonment to replace execution.

Japan has one of the world's lowest murder rates, making the need for capital punishment unconvincing, the federation said. It also cited the risk of wrongful convictions and the lack of evidence that the death penalty reduces crime.

Nearly 130 prisoners are on death row in Japan, according to justice officials. Crimes subject to a possible death penalty in Japan include murder and acts such as arson or sabotage that cause death, usually in the most egregious cases or involving multiple victims, as well as terrorist attacks and attempted coups.

"We should face the fact that the death penalty ... is a serious and grave violation of human rights by the state," the group said in a statement, adopted after heated debate and objection by opponents at a convention in Fukui, western Japan.

The statement said the possibility of mistrials and wrongful accusations could not be denied. "Once carried out, the death penalty is irreversible and fundamentally different from other punishment."

Four death row prisoners have been found innocent and released after being granted retrials since the 1980s, including former professional boxer Iwao Hakamada, who won release in 2014 after nearly 50 years on death row for a wrongful murder accusation.

Japan and the U.S. are the only Group of Seven members that maintain the death penalty, while 140 nations have ended the practice that opponents consider cruel.

The prospect of any change is unclear as the majority of Japanese still support the death penalty.

Some lawyers favor keeping the capital punishment as a way to address the victims' feelings. At Friday's convention, a group of lawyers handed out leaflets, unsuccessfully trying to vote down the federation-wide policy.
The Latest: Al-Qaida-linked faction refuses to leave Aleppo

MOSCOW (AP)  Russia's lower house of parliament has ratified a treaty with Syria that allows the Russian military to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country.

The Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously Friday to ratify the deal, which formalizes Russia's military presence at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.

The move comes as a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. The deal allows Russia to use the base free of charge, and for as long as it requires.

FILE In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 file photo Russian defense ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, file)

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win back key ground. Moscow says its goal is to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins was sworn in by Governor Bill Haslam at a ceremonial investiture in the historic Supreme Court chambers Thursday afternoon.

More than 80 people were in attendance as Governor Haslam praised Chief Justice Bivinss work and the quality of the judiciary as a whole.

We should be proud of the type of people who serve us on the bench in this state, Governor Haslam said.

Following the swearing in, Chief Justice Bivins thanked all those in attendance, including dozens of members of the judiciary.

It truly is an honor for me to now serve as your chief justice, he said. As the head of the judicial branch of government, I am proud of the judiciary we have in this state, thanks in significant part to Governor Halsam, we are blessed with an outstanding judiciary at all levels in Tennessee.

In Chief Justice Bivinss remarks, he said he intends to travel throughout the state and meet with people from throughout Tennessee and listen to their concerns. He emphasized the courts work on Access to Justice, addressing indigent representation, and the business court docket. He also said he believes its time to begin the discussion about a comprehensive review of our criminal sentencing laws in Tennessee.

Justice Cornelia Clark, who served as chief justice from 2010-2102 spoke on behalf of the court.

Justice Bivins has the perfect combination of intelligence, respect for the rule of law, expectations of excellence, and true grit when necessary ... to bring out the best in all of us, she said.

Chief Justice Bivins was unanimously elected chief by the court last month. He was appointed to the Court in 2014 by Governor Bill Haslam and was elected to the remainder of the full term in 2016. Prior to assuming that position, he was a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals from August 2011 until July 2014.

Previously, Justice Bivins served as a circuit court judge for the 21st Judicial District of Tennessee, covering Williamson, Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties. He is a 1986 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. He received a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, in 1982 from East Tennessee State University, with a major in political science and a minor in criminal justice.

He is a member of the John Marshall American Inn of Court, having served as President from 2003-2008, and the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Williamson County Bar Association. He also is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Tennessee Bar Foundation, and the Nashville Bar Foundation. He is a former member of the Williamson County Commission. Prior to his appointment to the trial bench, Justice Bivins practiced law with the firm of Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry PLC in Nashville. He also served as assistant commissioner and general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Personnel.
The Latest: Chinese glassmaker unveils finished Ohio plant

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  The Latest on a Chinese company's unveiling of its Ohio glassmaking plant (all times local):

9:30 a.m.

A Chinese company has unveiled its completed automotive glassmaking plant in southwest Ohio, which serves as its North American hub for recycled glass manufacturing.

Fuyao Glass America Inc. Chairman Cho Tak Wong, a host of dignitaries and about 700 guests attended the grand opening Friday.

Fuyao has spent roughly $450 million to convert the former General Motors factory in Moraine, near Dayton, which was shuttered in 2008. That represents China's biggest investment in the state and its eighth largest in the U.S.

The plant employs more than 2,000 people.

Fuyao is China's largest automotive glass manufacturer. The company received a $1 million workforce training grant and a $3 million economic development grant from JobsOhio, Ohio's privatized economic development office, in conjunction with the Moraine project.

12:05 a.m.

A Chinese company is ready to show off its completed automotive glassmaking plant in Ohio, which serves as its North American hub for recycled glass manufacturing.

The chairman of Fuyao Glass America Inc., a host of dignitaries and about 700 guests are expected to attend the grand opening Friday.

Fuyao has spent roughly $450 million to convert the former General Motors factory in Moraine, near Dayton, which was shuttered in 2008. That represents China's biggest investment in the state and its eighth largest in the U.S.

The plant employs more than 2,000 people.
The Latest: Brunswick County visitors leave ahead of Matthew

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  The Latest on Hurricane Matthew's impact in North Carolina (all times local):

12:40 p.m.

Visitors in Brunswick County moved pretty quickly to obey orders to get out of town before Hurricane Matthew approached the southeastern part of North Carolina.

The county government, the city of Southport and all six beach towns had declared states of emergency by Thursday and issued voluntary evacuation notices. Oak Island, Caswell Beach and Bald Head Island have imposed mandatory evacuations, ordering visitors to leave.

Officials rely on rental companies and hotels to inform visitors about evacuations. Condominiums emptied fast and one vacationer grumbled about having to leave.

Philip Aschliman was on vacation with his wife and child from Franklin and said Thursday he didn't see any reason to leave. That was before updated forecasts said Matthew would come closer to the North Carolina shore on Saturday.

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12:30 p.m.

Wilmington-area officials are bracing for flash flooding and possible widespread power outages as projections for Hurricane Matthew have it creeping closer to the southeastern North Carolina coast.

New Hanover County Emergency Management Director Warren Lee said Friday that new forecasts have increased concerns about high winds beginning Saturday afternoon and rain totals approaching 1 foot. Downed trees and minor structural damage to buildings are possible.

Lee said at a media briefing that voluntary evacuations have been issued for local beaches and low-lying areas prone to flooding, but they could become mandatory if projections worsen. He strongly urged people to stay out of the ocean.

Lee says two emergency shelters would be open late Friday afternoon. County and Wilmington city offices were to close at 3 p.m.

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11:40 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning from Cocoa Beach, Florida, to Surf City, North Carolina.

In addition, a hurricane watch has been posted for north of Surf City to Cape Lookout. Also, a tropical storm warning is in effect from north of Surf City to Duck on the northern Outer Banks, as well as the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.

Forecasters say tropical storm conditions are expected to first reach the tropical storm warning area in North Carolina on Saturday morning. The forecast also calls for a storm surge of from 2 to 4 feet from Cape Fear to Salvo, including portions of the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

Also, forecasters say there is a danger of life-threatening inundation during the next 36 hours along the Florida northeast coast, the Georgia coast, the South Carolina coast, and the North Carolina coast from Sebastian Inlet, Florida, to Cape Fear. There is also the possibility of life-threatening inundation during the next 48 hours from north of Cape Fear to Salvo.

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9:55 a.m.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says he's about worried about current projections of Hurricane Matthew that show the storm could lead to heavier rains than previously estimated at or near the coast and power outages from high winds.

McCrory said Friday morning rainfall totals could exceed a foot in parts of southeastern North Carolina, with the most activity starting Friday night through Sunday morning. He said in a storm media briefing that wind gusts could push above 65 mph, and that citizens should be prepared to remain without electricity for some time because utilities may have to focus first on other affected regions.

He says the North Carolina National Guard and emergency equipment are being assembled, including high-water vehicles and swift-water rescue teams. The state is also providing a helicopter rescue team and other resources to South Carolina. McCrory says a mobile hospital unit is ready to go to Florida when it's safe to do so.

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9:10 a.m.

Soldiers are Fort Bragg are prepared to deploy on short notice if they are called to assist with those who suffer from damage or other problems because of Hurricane Matthew.

The Fayetteville Observer reported (http://bit.ly/2cZfhMb ) that several units were weighing trucks, checking inventory and practicing loading aircraft on Wednesday.

The training came as Hurricane Matthew was moving toward the United States.

The cargo transport company and the movement control team would go ahead of soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, which is part of the Global Response Force that is ready to respond around the world on short notice.
UK government to shed stake in Lloyds but scraps retail sale

LONDON (AP)  The British government has scrapped plans for a retail sale of its remaining 3.6 billion pound ($4.4 billion) stake in part-nationalized Lloyds Banking Group, opting for a trading plan to institutional investors.

Lloyds was bailed out with 20 billion pounds from British taxpayers during the 2008 global financial crisis. Since then, the government has been gradually selling off its share.

Treasury chief Philip Hammond says "returning Lloyds to the private sector is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole." But he says financial market volatility means a retail offer is not the best option.

Speaking Friday in Washington, Hammond promised to sell the 9.1 percent stake "in an orderly way, and at the best possible price."
Brother of suspect in Brussels police stabbings also charged

BRUSSELS (AP)  Belgian prosecutors say the brother of a man charged with stabbing two Brussels police officers has been arrested and charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

A statement from the Federal Prosecutor's Office on Friday gave no additional details about the brother, identified only as a Belgian citizen named Aboubaker D. who was born in 1970.

His sibling Hicham D., 43, has been charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context and participating in the activities of a terrorist group in connection with the Wednesday stabbings in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels.

Police investigate the scene where a man stabbed two police officers, in the Schaerbeek neighborhood in Brussels, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The man stabbed one officer in the neck and the other in the abdomen and then fled the scene in an incident that Belgian prosecutors say could be terror-related. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Belgian media have reported that Hicham D. is a veteran of the Belgian army who was discharged in 2009.
EU foreign policy chief says EU must up defense spending

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says the EU needs to spend more on defense to increase security, insisting plans would not undermine NATO.

"There is a need for the European Union to use all potential we have on defense cooperation," Mogherini said Friday during a visit to Bucharest. She said EU states spend half of what the U.S. spends on defense and are far less efficient with their spending.

She denied there were plans for a European army, saying she had already discussed plans with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, listens to questions during a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Mogherini expressed satisfaction upon hearing that President Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize calling him a "great man of peace" (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

European officials will discuss ways to beef up security in the next two months, which will be beneficial "for European security ... and for strengthening NATO," she said.

Most EU members are also NATO members.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, listens to questions during a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Mogherini expressed satisfaction upon hearing that President Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize calling him a "great man of peace" (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, listens to questions during a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Mogherini expressed satisfaction upon hearing that President Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize calling him a "great man of peace" (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, removes her headphones during a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, listens to questions during a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini attends an Aspen forum event in Bucharest, Romania, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini talks smiles as she speaks in Bucharest, Romania, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini talks gestures as she speaks in Bucharest, Romania, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini talks takes her seat before speaking in Bucharest, Romania, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini talks smiles as she speaks at an Aspen forum event in Bucharest, Romania, Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Jordan's King Abdullah II praises Merkel's migrant policies

BERLIN (AP)  Jordan's King Abdullah II says Chancellor Angela Merkel should be commended for her decision to open Germany's doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants and for her government's support for his and other countries in the region dealing with the flood of refugees from Syria.

Jordan, with a population of about 6.5 million, hosts about 635,000 refugees from neighboring Syria. In brief remarks Friday after talks with Merkel, Abdullah said the chancellor's approach brought a "breath of fresh air" into the challenges faced by his country and elsewhere.

Germany last year saw 890,000 migrants arrive and has also been a critical supporter in providing more aid for countries like Jordan and Turkey that share borders with Syria.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and King Abdullah II, of Jordan, brief the media prior to talks at the chancellery in Berlin, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Abdullah told Merkel she raises "the moral bar very high."
The Latest: Backpage attorney blasts raid, CEO's arrest

DALLAS (AP)  The Latest on the arrest of the CEO of adult classified ad portal Backpage.com and the raid of his Dallas offices (all times local):

7:15 p.m.

The attorney for Backpage.com is blasting the raid on the online classified ad portal's Dallas headquarters and the arrest of chief executive Carl Ferrer as "an election year stunt" on the part of the California attorney general and "not a good-faith action by law enforcement."

This photo released by the Texas Office of the Attorney General shows Carl Ferrer. State agents have raided the Dallas headquarters of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Ferrer. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that adult and child sex-trafficking victims had been forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site. Paxton announced that Ferrer had been arrested Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, on a California warrant after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. (Texas Office of the Attorney General via AP)

In a statement issued Friday, Backpage general counsel Liz McDougall said "the actions of the California and Texas attorneys general are flatly illegal" and "ignore the holdings of numerous federal courts that the First Amendment protects the ads on Backpage.com."

She also said the actions violate a federal law that she says pre-empts state actions such as these and immunizes web hosts of third-party-created content.

McDougall says Backpage will, in her words, "take all steps necessary to end this frivolous prosecution and will pursue its full remedies under federal law against the state actors who chose to ignore the law, as it has done successfully in other cases."

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2:45 p.m.

Cindy McCain says the arrest of Backpage.com's chief executive is a "huge game-changer" in efforts to crack down on the sex trafficking of young girls and boys.

The wife of Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain has been leading efforts for several years to fight human trafficking. She has repeatedly called out Backpage.com for allowing the advertising of minors for sex.

She said Friday that she's grateful to California and Texas authorities who charged Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer. He's facing pimping charges in California and a money laundering charge in Texas.

Ferrer was arrested in Thursday in Texas. He waived extradition to California during a court hearing Friday.

Cindy McCain co-chairs the Arizona Human Trafficking Council and works nationally and internationally on efforts to stop sex trafficking.

She says Backpage.com had the chance to "do the right thing early on" but chose not to.

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12:50 p.m.

Texas authorities say Backpage.com receives more than 90 percent of its revenue from the adult escort ad portion of its classified advertising business.

A warrant used to search the company's Dallas headquarters says those ads amounted to about $50 million between January 2013 and May 2015 just in California, where the company is also being investigated.

A search warrant affidavit says law enforcement officers told the company's chief executive, Carl Ferrer, about prostitution ads on the site.

The affidavit also says Ferrer "is regularly copied on the hundreds of law enforcement subpoenas and requests that Backpage.com receives each year related to prostitution and sex trafficking of both adults and minors on the website."

Ferrer, who lives in the Dallas area, was arrested Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General's Office says he's also charged with a single count of money laundering in Texas.

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11:50 a.m.

The chief executive of the adult classified ad portal Backpage.com has waived extradition from Texas to California after being arrested on several pimping charges.

CEO Carl Ferrer appeared in a Houston courtroom Friday in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. Ferrer was arrested Thursday on a California warrant after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam.

Ferrer waived extradition during the hearing. The local prosecutor says Ferrer is expected to be flown to California on Friday afternoon.

Ferrer's attorney, Philip Hilder, says his client believes the charges are "trumped up." Hilder says Ferrer is "looking forward to his day in court, where he gets to battle back on these charges."

Investigators allege that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on Ferrer's site.

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10:20 a.m.

A Texas search warrant affidavit accuses the chief executive of Backpage.com of engaging in money laundering while operating the adult classified ad portal.

The Dallas headquarters of Backpage.com were searched Thursday, the same day CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam.

Ferrer was arrested on a California warrant. He is expected to appear in court in Houston on Friday for an extradition hearing.

California authorities say Ferrer was arrested on several pimping charges, including one involving minors. Under California law, pimping is defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.

Backpage.com is a Dutch-owned limited liability corporation incorporated in Delaware. But its principal place of business in Dallas.

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6 a.m.

State agents have raided the Dallas offices of adult classified ad portal Backpage.com and arrested Chief Executive Officer Carl Ferrer following allegations that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site.

Fifty-five-year-old Ferrer was arrested on a California warrant after arriving Thursday in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. Authorities also issued warrants for the arrest of the site's controlling shareholders, sixty-eight-year-old Michael Lacey and sixty-seven-year-old James Larkin.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Ferrer was arrested on felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. Under California law, pimping is defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.
The scariest haunted house this election year? 'Doomocracy'

NEW YORK (AP)  Artist Pedro Reyes thinks American politics are pretty darn terrifying, especially this election year, and he wants to scare the wits out of you with his "Doomocracy" exhibition.

Alternately called "The Haunted House of Political Horrors," the satirical, performance-based installation that opened Friday has visitors navigate a series of rooms that deal with scary things like gun violence, climate change and painkillers addiction.

"When I think of Frankenstein, I think of genetic engineering and the food industry," said the artist, whose primary home is in Mexico City. "When I think of vampires, I think of banks and the financial sector, or if you think of zombies, you can think of how people are addicted to prescription drugs."

This Oct. 4, 2016 photo provided by Creative Time shows a scene from a satirical performance-based installation called Doomocracy or The Haunted House of Political Horrors, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The theatrical experience at the sprawling Brooklyn Army Terminal is timed for both the elections and Halloween and includes this room which simulates a funeral parlor complete with a child-sized coffin, and an organist playing junk-food jingles in the background. (Will Star/Creative Time via AP)

Spread over three floors of the sprawling Brooklyn Army Terminal, it's timed for both Halloween and the general elections  "a perfect recipe to do something with a haunted house with the most scary things you can find today, which is politics," he said. "Monsters are fantasy, but the scary things we're dealing with for this project are real."

As Reyes began considering how "these metaphors of scary things" could be staged, he appropriated the haunted house format  walking through a maze of horrors  for an "intense theatrical experience" in which groups of 12 people walk from room to room encountering short skits performed by actors and audience members cast in roles.

The experience starts in front of a monumental effigy Reyes created of the Statue of Liberty as a Trojan Horse, representing "this idea of how war has been normalized ... in the name of freedom."

Visitors are then whisked in a minivan to another building to begin a tour of 14 darkened rooms.

One room is a commentary on the diabetes epidemic and the food industry. It simulates a funeral parlor dominated by a coffin in the shape of a pink-frosted Twinkie while a man plays junk-food jingles on an electric organ. The undertaker explains to prospective customers  the audience  the new trend in fashioning coffins in the shape of people's favorite sugary foods.

In another room, the setting is a corporate boardroom where a bailout unfolds; the audience votes on whether to get a big bonus or save the company.

The project provides a "space for catharsis for all the things that you fear every day," Reyes said.

Katie Hollander, executive director of Creative Time, which is presenting the project, explained how it came about.

"As the political climate continues to heat up and became in some ways more and more absurd we felt it was a project that needed to be realized," she said. "People are really struggling to understand the complexities and absurdities of this particular election and feel that our candidates and elected officials aren't necessarily tackling the big issues of our time."

In a fake polling place, audience members fill out referendum ballots. In the next room, they're in for a bit of a shock (which won't be disclosed here). In fact, during a press preview, some rooms were off-limits in the interest of creating an aura of mystery. When asked if any skits involved actors in the role of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Reyes would say only that visitors were in for a surprise at the end.

"Doomocracy" runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 6 p.m. to midnight through Nov. 6. Advance ticket purchase is necessary for the two-hour experience.

In this Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016 photo, Pedro Reyes poses for a picture in a section of his installation called "Doomocracy" in New York, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Reyes thinks American politics are pretty darn terrifying, especially this election year. So hes created a large performance-based installation called Doomocracy or The Haunted House of Political Horrors. It opened Friday, Oct. 7 and runs through Nov. 6 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016 photo, Pedro Reyes poses for a picture in a section of his installation called "Doomocracy" in New York. Reyes thinks American politics are pretty darn terrifying, especially this election year. So hes created a large performance-based installation called Doomocracy or The Haunted House of Political Horrors. It opened Friday, Oct. 7 and runs through Nov. 6 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016 photo, Pedro Reyes poses for a picture in a section of his installation called "Doomocracy" in New York. Reyes thinks American politics are pretty darn terrifying, especially this election year. So hes created a large performance-based installation called Doomocracy or The Haunted House of Political Horrors. It opened Friday, Oct. 7 and runs through Nov. 6 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016 photo, Pedro Reyes poses for a picture in a section of his installation called "Doomocracy" in New York, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Reyes thinks American politics are pretty darn terrifying, especially this election year. So hes created a large performance-based installation called Doomocracy or The Haunted House of Political Horrors. It opened Friday, Oct. 7 and runs through Nov. 6 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Man gets 6 years in prison for abandoning pit bulls

HEADLAND, Ala. (AP)  A pit bull owner in Alabama has been sentenced to six years in prison for animal cruelty.

The Dothan Eagle (http://bit.ly/2e8NRbx) reports that Henry County sheriff's investigators discovered five emaciated pit bulls and the half-eaten body of a sixth at a home where 26-year-old Quenton Eugene Mathis lived. His wife, Ashley Nicole Mathis, faces similar charges. Authorities found the animals when they came to take custody of their 4-year-old son and found nobody home.

A half-eaten pit bull was found near one dog. Four others spent weeks without food or water.

Defense attorney Cada Carter said Mathis pleaded guilty Thursday and was taken into custody following the hearing because he tested positive for marijuana in court. Carter said they've asked for probation; the judge will rule next month.

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The Latest: Russia floats rival UN resolution on Syria

BEIRUT (AP)  The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):

2:20 a.m.

Russia is calling for a vote Saturday on a U.N. resolution it proposed urging immediate implementation of the U.S.-Russia cease-fire agreement, particularly in Aleppo.

FILE In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 file photo Russian defense ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, file)

However, the resolution makes no mention of a halt in bombing over the besieged Syrian city that a rival French resolution demands.

In a last-minute move, Russia introduced its draft resolution to the Security Council on Friday and called for a vote in 24 hours without any negotiations on the text.

The U.N. Security Council will therefore be voting Saturday afternoon first on the French draft and then on the Russia draft  and what is likely to happen is a Russian veto of the French draft and a veto of the Russian draft by France and its Western allies.

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8:30 p.m.

Russia says it will veto a French-drafted U.N. resolution calling for a cease-fire in Aleppo and the grounding of all aircraft, which would include Moscow's, over the besieged Syrian city.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the Security Council should instead rally around the proposal made by U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura for an al-Qaida-linked militant faction to leave Aleppo in exchange for a halt to Russian and Syrian government bombardment.

He told reporters after de Mistura briefed the council Friday behind closed doors that "the French proposal is very hastily put together, and I frankly believe that this is designed not to make progress" in ending the current stalemate "but to cause a Russian veto."

Churkin said it was "unprecedented" that the 15-member council would ask one of the five permanent members to limit its activities, in this case requiring the Russian military to stop flights.

Asked if Russia will veto the French draft, Churkin said he never uses the word until he gets instructions from Moscow, but "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

France's U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters after Churkin spoke that a vote on its resolution, co-sponsored by Spain, will go ahead on Saturday.

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8:15 p.m.

Syrian opposition activists are reporting intense clashes in the northwestern province of Idlib between two of Syria's most powerful insurgent groups.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes began when the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham attacked positions of the extremist Jund al-Aqsa group in several areas in Idlib. It said nine Ahrar al-Sham fighters were killed.

The Local Coordination Committees said Ahrar al-Sham fighters captured the Mastoumeh base, a former Syrian army barracks, from Jund al-Aqsa Friday afternoon.

Fighting between the two groups is uncommon but some insurgents have complained about Jund al-Aqsa's extremist ideology.

A Jund al-Aqsa member who goes by the name of Abu Waqqas confirmed the intensity of the fighting, adding that "the Ahrar are shelling us with multiple rocket launchers

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7:30 p.m.

The Russian military says it has killed about 35,000 militants in Syria since the start of its air campaign there a year ago.

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Friday that the number includes about 2,700 residents of Russia and other ex-Soviet nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that between 5,000 and 7,000 people from Russia and other ex-Soviet nations were fighting alongside the Islamic State group and other militants in Syria.

Russia launched its air campaign in Syria a year ago, turning the tide of the war and helping Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces win back key territory. Moscow says the campaign's goal is to fight terrorism.

A U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire in Syria collapsed last month, badly straining ties between Moscow and Washington. Antonov blamed the U.S. for the truce's collapse.

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7 p.m.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says Saturday will be a "a moment of truth," especially for Russia, when it puts a resolution calling for a cease-fire and no-fly zone in Aleppo to a vote in the U.N. Security Council.

Calling Syria a "human tragedy," he told reporters after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Friday that "you have to do anything to find the solution through a new possibility of negotiation."

Ayrault said the question for all 15 Security Council members, but particularly Russia, is: "Do you, yes or no, want a cease-fire in Aleppo?"

He said two demands are absolute: A cease-fire and no fly zone over Aleppo and access for humanitarian aid.

Russia, a close Syrian ally, rejects the grounding of aircraft over Aleppo and has questioned the timing of the resolution drafted by France and Spain.

At the current rate of fighting, Ayrault lamented, "Aleppo will be totally destroyed by Christmas."

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6:45 p.m.

France's U.N. ambassador says he wants to put a draft resolution aimed at stopping "the bloodbath in Aleppo" to a vote in the Security Council.

Francois Delattre told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday that after a week of negotiations, "We are close to the moment of truth and now it is up to the Security Council and its 15 members to take their responsibilities."

He did not say when a vote will take place.

The draft resolution seeks an immediate truce in Aleppo and calls for an end to all military flights over the Syrian city, where over a quarter million people in rebel-held areas are besieged by Syrian forces.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin has rejected any grounding of aircraft and questioned whether a resolution at this time would actually produce any results.

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6:30 p.m.

An international relief organization says hospitals in the eastern side of Syria's Aleppo have been attacked 23 times since July, damaging all eight facilities that have not yet been shuttered or destroyed.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement Friday that one of east Aleppo's two main surgical facilities has been out of service since Oct. 1. The organization supports eight hospitals across the city.

The U.N. estimates 275,000 people are trapped in a Russian-backed government siege of the city's rebel-held eastern districts, subjected to relentless bombardment.

"The situation is unbearable," said Carlos Francisco, MSF's head of mission to Syria. "The few remaining doctors with the capability to save lives are also confronting death."

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5:30 p.m.

A spokesman for an al-Qaida-linked militant faction in Syria has rejected a proposal by a U.N. envoy to withdraw their fighters from eastern Aleppo, where an estimated 275,000 people are trapped in a government siege.

Hossam al-Shafai of the Fatah al-Sham Front wrote on Twitter Friday that the group is "determined to break the siege" on the city's opposition-held neighborhoods.

Russian and Syrian government forces have been bombarding the city's east for months on the grounds that they are fighting terrorism. Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura on Thursday urged the group's estimated 900 fighters inside the city to leave in exchange for a halt to Russian and Syrian government bombardment.

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5:15 p.m.

Russia's lower house of parliament has ratified a treaty with Syria that allows the Russian military to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country.

The Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously Friday to ratify the deal, which formalizes Russia's military presence at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.

The move comes as a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. The deal allows Russia to use the base free of charge, and for as long as it requires.

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win back key ground. Moscow says its goal is to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.

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4:45 p.m.

The foreign ministers of Italy and Spain are calling for immediate action to end the deteriorating condition in Aleppo, where thousands of civilians are under siege by the government.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni referred to the siege as a "terrible humanitarian tragedy," during a press conference in Ankara on Friday. He urged Turkey to ask Russia to put pressure on Damascus to halt its offensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled visit Istanbul next week.

In a separate press conference in Ankara, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo called for the United Nations' Security Council to "immediately" find a solution to the crisis.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has described conditions in eastern Aleppo, where 275,000 people are trapped under a government siege, as "worse than a slaughterhouse."

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4:15 p.m.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow backs the U.N. Syria envoy's call on al-Qaida-linked militants to leave the besieged city of Aleppo.

Hundreds of people have died as the Syrian army backed by Russian warplanes has stepped up its offensive on rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Special envoy Staffan de Mistura urged fighters from Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front, to evacuate to another part of the country to save the ancient city from complete destruction.

Lavrov backed de Mistura's proposal, saying Friday that Moscow is ready to ask Damascus to allow the militants to leave the city with their weapons "for the sake of saving Aleppo."

He added that policies must also be developed to deal with other militants who choose to stay in Aleppo.

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2:45 p.m.

The Russian parliament is discussing the ratification of a treaty with Syria that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country.

Lawmakers spoke in favor of the agreement, in a sign of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Moscow has backed throughout the devastating civil war.

The vote is to be held later Friday.

The treaty allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, as long as it wants.

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win some key ground. Moscow says it seeks to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2015 file photo, Syrian soldiers fire repelling an attack in Achan, Hama province, Syria. he battle for Aleppo has gripped the world, but it is hardly the only front in Syria: Opposition forces are on the offensive in the countrys center hoping to sever the road connection between Aleppo and the capital Damascus, which is itself a front; in the northwest, Turkish-backed opposition forces battle Islamic State militants; to the east, government forces weather an Islamic State siege of Deir El-Zour. (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2015 file photo, a Syrian APC moves raising dust in Harasta, northeast of Damascus, Syria. he battle for Aleppo has gripped the world, but it is hardly the only front in Syria: Opposition forces are on the offensive in the countrys center hoping to sever the road connection between Aleppo and the capital Damascus, which is itself a front; in the northwest, Turkish-backed opposition forces battle Islamic State militants; to the east, government forces weather an Islamic State siege of Deir El-Zour. (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP, File)
10/27/2022

NOTICE: The Hamilton County Registers Office did not publish this data. All information in the Registers Office is public information as set out in T.C.A. 10-7-503. For questions regarding ... more
France's Hollande cancels visit to Poland over copter deal

PARIS (AP)  French President Francois Hollande has postponed a visit to Poland after the country backed off from a multibillion-euro purchase of French-made Caracal helicopters.

Hollande had been expected in Warsaw on Thursday for French-Polish talks.

The decision to postpone was made Friday, following the confirmation by Poland's defense minister that his country was breaking off offset negotiations with Airbus Helicopters, which produces the Caracal, Hollande's office told The Associated Press.

The offset deal had been a major condition for Poland's purchase of 50 Caracal helicopters for 13.5 billion zlotys (3.14 billion euros).
AP Interview: ECB official plays down Brexit hit to eurozone

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Britain's exit from the European Union single market would not hurt the continent's eurozone economies as much as initially expected, and it will be Britain that suffers most, European Central Bank official Yannis Stournaras said Friday.

As Britain and the EU, of which 19 countries are in the eurozone, prepare to enter heated discussions on how to set up new trade relations, Stournaras' comments suggested the eurozone would be in a stronger position to weather the uncertainty.

"Negotiations will not be easy," Stournaras, who is also the governor of the Bank of Greece, told The Associated Press in an interview. "But it seems that the effect on the euro economy will be much less than initially anticipated. I think the greatest cost will fall on the U.K. economy, I'm afraid."

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras listens to a question during an interview with the Associated Press in Athens, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. European Central Bank governing council member Yannis Stournaras says the effect of Britain leaving the European Union single market on the continents eurozone economy will not be that important, and it will be the UK economy that suffers the most. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Britain voted in June to leave the EU, and will become the first nation to ever leave the 28-member bloc, which grew out of efforts to foster closer ties on the continent in the aftermath of World War II. British Prime Minister Theresa May has suggested the country could be heading for a definitive break from the EU's single market, in a move that has become known as "hard Brexit." The comments have put renewed pressure on the pound and rattled markets.

While economic indicators of both Britain and the eurozone have held up since the June vote, experts warn that the impact could be felt over the longer-term. Once Britain starts the official negotiations, a move expected before April, it will take years to find new trade relations.

Leaving the EU single market will throw up tariffs on trade between Britain and the EU, though Britain depends more on the EU for its exports than the other way round.

Greece, which is struggling to emerge from six years of a deep financial crisis that has roiled the euro currency, will barely feel the impact of Brexit, Stournaras said, as its economy was not particularly exposed to Britain apart from in the tourism sector.

"There's already some impact from the depreciation of the pound, but we don't envisage a disastrous effect on Greek tourism," he said.

Greece has been dependent on rescue loans from three successive international bailouts since 2010, when years of profligate spending and fiscal mismanagement exploded into a financial crisis that left it unable to borrow on international bond markets. In return for the loans, successive governments have had to make deep reforms to the economy, including tax hikes, deep spending cuts, privatizations and structural reforms.

The painful austerity has led to a series of political crises that have seen seven governments since 2009, while a quarter of the country's economy has been wiped out and unemployment remains hovering at about 23 percent.

Greece has long argued its debt  currently at 179 percent of GDP  is unsustainably high and that debt relief is essential. The International Monetary Fund, one of Greece's creditors, agrees, bringing it at odds with Greece's main lenders in the eurozone, and particularly Germany.

Stournaras said it is time for the eurozone to "commit realistically to debt relief as it has committed itself since November 2012," adding this would be fair given the "huge restructuring" the Greek economy has undergone.

Outright debt forgiveness was not being sought, Stournaras said, but rather "a mild restructuring of Greek debt, including perhaps the extension of Greek maturities, the extension of the period during which we must have interest payment smoothing."

He said it would benefit both Greece and its creditors to ease requirement for Greece's primary surplus  the budget without taking into account interest repayments on outstanding loans. While the government could meet the 3.5 percent primary surplus target in 2018, this was a "very ambitious" program. Reducing it a little "will be better for growth," he said, adding that the current bailout program "is too tax-heavy at this moment."

While there were delays in the implementation of Greece's bailout program, and in particular in privatization and structural reforms, Stournaras said the current government  one with which he has often been at odds in the past  is now more committed to privatization, though not all ministers were on board yet.

"I would like to see more ministers committed to privatization, to land development, land development owned by the state, through a proper legislation. That could be a catalyst for higher growth."

Greece's return to the bond markets, however, is "still distant," the governor said. The country would first have to complete another review of its economic policies and carry out "one or two more privatizations," he said.

Greece has also been seeking to participate in the ECB's stimulus program under which the ECB is buying 80 billion euros ($90 billion) in bonds every month with newly created money. Participating would mean the ECB buys Greek bonds, too, which would indirectly lower the country's borrowing rates and help it financially.

Stournaras said that if the bailout creditor's next review of Greece's finances is concluded successfully in 2016, "I think it's a fair guess that we can have a good discussion before the end of the year."

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in Athens, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. European Central Bank governing council member Yannis Stournaras says the effect of Britain leaving the European Union single market on the continents eurozone economy will not be that important, and it will be the UK economy that suffers the most. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Athens, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. European Central Bank governing council member Yannis Stournaras says the effect of Britain leaving the European Union single market on the continents eurozone economy will not be that important, and it will be the UK economy that suffers the most. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Athens, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. European Central Bank governing council member Yannis Stournaras says the effect of Britain leaving the European Union single market on the continents eurozone economy will not be that important, and it will be the UK economy that suffers the most. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Athens, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. European Central Bank governing council member Yannis Stournaras says the effect of Britain leaving the European Union single market on the continents eurozone economy will not be that important, and it will be the UK economy that suffers the most. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
Obama campaigns for Democratic House candidates

CHICAGO (AP)  President Barack Obama urged donors Friday to rally around Democratic candidates for the House in next month's election, saying a stronger caucus will make the difference on such issues as immigration, rebuilding roads and bridges, and ensuring access to an early education.

Obama said he was confident of victory by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8, but said she'll need supportive members in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to get things done. Democrats would need to pick up 30 seats to retake the majority.

"It's an uphill battle. Nancy is the first to acknowledge it," he said, referring to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who was in attendance. But he said if Democrats are willing "to really bear down in this last month, if we are, as we say in church, cheerful givers, then I think we've got a real shot."

President Barack Obama votes at the Chicago Board of Elections in Chicago, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Obama is spending the weekend in Chicago. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Obama said his administration tackled tough issues when Democrats had the majority in both chambers of Congress during his first two years as president. Examples he cited included increasing the level of Pell grants for college students, expanding health insurance coverage and creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"Across the board, whatever your issue, the stakes could not be higher, and I hope all of you feel that same sense of urgency," he said.

Less than five weeks before the election, Obama returned to his hometown of Chicago to raise money for Clinton and Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is running for his old Senate seat. His first fundraiser Friday benefited the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Participants paid $10,000 and up to attend.

Obama also used the visit to cast an early ballot. Democrats have been working to encourage supporters to vote early nationwide, and Obama led by example. After speaking at the fundraiser for Democratic House candidates, his motorcade stopped at the Cook County Office Building.

He shook the hands of about a dozen poll workers and was directed to a desk where cameras watched from about 30 feet away. As Obama marked the ballot, he joked about the camera operators catching his every move. He said: "Now, they can't see me, can they?"

Obama then attended a joint fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Victory Fund. The money raised will pay for voter registration efforts and getting Democratic voters to turn out in battleground states. Participants contributed $33,400 to attend. The fundraiser took place at the home of J.B. Pritzker, who heads a private investment firm and served as national co-chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008. The fundraiser was closed to the press.

Obama's final fundraiser on Sunday is for Duckworth, who is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.

Kirk won the Senate seat during the 2010 election that swept Democrats out of power in the House and allowed the GOP to make gains in the Senate. He faces a tougher road in a general election, when more Democratic voters cast ballots.

Most public polls suggest Duckworth is leading in the race. Democrats pounced recently when Kirk said Obama was "acting like the drug dealer in chief" after the Obama administration delivered $400 million in cash to Iran on the same day Tehran agreed to release American prisoners.

Democratic officials used the comments to tie Kirk to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, with a party spokesman saying that "hateful and divisive politics have taken over the entire Republican party." Kirk is not endorsing Trump and has called him "bigoted and racist."

The Senate race represents one of the Democratic Party's best hopes this November. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to secure the majority if Clinton wins the presidency, as her vice president would break a tie. The party needs to net five seats if Trump wins.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Obama considers Duckworth a friend and he wants her in the Senate because "he thinks she's a phenomenal public servant" and a "true patriot."

Before winning election to the House, Duckworth served in the Obama administration as an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She served in Iraq and lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. She spent the next year recovering at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington.

President Barack Obama cast his ballot at the Cook County Office Building in Chicago, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Obama is spending the weekend in Chicago. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama checks in with poll workers to cast his ballot at the Chicago Board of Elections in the Cook County Office Building in Chicago, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Obama is spending the weekend in Chicago. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama runs back to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, after realizing he left his cellphone. Obama is traveling to Chicago for the weekend. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama right, talks with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel left, after walking off Air Force One while arriving at O'Hare International Airport Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

President Barack Obama waves as he walks off Air Force One after arriving at O'Hare International Airport Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Brazil bank strike ends after workers accept 8 pct increase

SAO PAULO (AP)  Brazilian bank workers have returned to their jobs, ending the longest nationwide strike of its kind in 12 years.

The National Confederation of Bank Workers said on its website that workers at private banks and state-run Banco do Brasil agreed Thursday night to return to their labors after accepting the National Banking Federation's proposal of an 8 percent wage increase and a bonus of about $1,100.

Workers had demanded a nearly 15 percent pay raise and a bonus of about $2,600. They were on strike for a month.

A man leaves the ATM of a striking bank, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The strike that began one month ago to demand a wage increase of nearly 15 percent, on Wednesday completed one month, making it the longest bank workers strike in 12 years. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

The confederation says that workers at state-run Caixa Economica Federal refused the offer and will remain on strike.

About 350,000 of Brazil's 504,000 bank workers went on strike on Sept. 6, temporarily closing 13,000 of the country's bank 23,544 branches.
US surgeon general warns of possible computer breach

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Health and Human Services Department is investigating a possible breach of a computer system holding personal information of more than 6,700 doctors, nurses and other uniformed public health workers overseen by the surgeon general.

It is the latest in a series of breaches involving federal employee records  the largest being the break-in at the Office of Personnel Management that exposed security clearances, background checks and fingerprint records of more than 21 million current, former and prospective federal employees.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent an email this week to members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps warning them that unauthenticated visitors to a computer site could have accessed their names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

"Based on our investigation, affected individuals are those served by this website-based system: current, retired and former Commissioned Corps officers and their dependents," the email said.

The department says the problem was discovered on Sept. 20, when a user noticed something amiss with the system, which has since been disabled. The information was accessible, but investigators are still trying to find out whether any of it was actually stolen or compromised.
UN criticism of Trump draws Russian complaint

GENEVA (AP)  Russia lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top U.N. official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin.

There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, told The Associated Press on Friday that he complained to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about Zeid's remarks.

In this Oct. 6, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a town hall in Sandown, N.H. Russia's government lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top U.N. official's condemnations of Trump and some European politicians, diplomats told The Associated Press, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin. There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Three diplomats familiar with the conversation said the complaint occurred in a private meeting Sept. 13. Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced "demagogues" and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Islamic State propaganda.

"Prince Zeid is overstepping his limits from time to time and we're unhappy about it," Churkin said Friday. "He criticized a number of heads of state, government. He should stick to his file, which is important enough."

In a speech in Cleveland three months before Republicans gathered there to nominate Trump, Zeid said: "In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack  disguised as courageous taboo-busting  on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society."

"Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture," said Zeid, a Jordanian royal, referencing a speech Trump gave in Ohio in November promising to restore waterboarding and introduce even harsher interrogation methods for suspected terrorists.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to several requests for comment.

The Kremlin has said it has no position on the U.S. election. Its officials regularly oppose the U.N. interfering in what it considers the internal politics of sovereign nations.

Still, Churkin's personal intervention could add to questions about the relationship between Trump and Russia.

Trump has praised President Vladimir Putin's strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated. He has suggested Russia hasn't entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east. And he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state.

The Obama administration, meanwhile, hardened accusations Friday that Russia is interfering in the presidential election. The Director of National Intelligence's office and Homeland Security Department blamed Moscow for cyber-intrusions including the hack of the Democratic National Committee's emails, saying, "Only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."

Three diplomats, including two U.N. officials who were familiar with the meeting between Churkin and Ban, said the Russian complained "virulently" to Ban about Zeid's Cleveland speech and one in Europe in September.

A senior U.N. diplomat familiar with the discussion said Churkin specifically "condemned the fact that Zeid mentioned Trump."

The diplomats weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing possible diplomatic repercussions from Russia, a powerful, permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

"We don't comment on meetings with ambassadors," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Trump's policy pitches have upset human rights officials like Zeid, including the candidate's calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, temporarily ban Muslim immigration and even potentially kill the families of Islamic extremists.

Trump's positions on Russia have faced sharp attacks from some Republican leaders as well as Clinton.

His supporters pressured Republicans to back away from supporting U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine, which many GOP leaders want. Instead, the platform backed "appropriate assistance" to Ukraine.

Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign manager, resigned this summer over revelations about Manafort's work for Ukraine's Moscow-backed former president and other pro-Russian officials. And Carter Page, a former Trump foreign policy adviser, criticized the U.S. and other Western governments on a July trip to Moscow for "their often-hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change."

Clinton's campaign pounced on the Russian complaint.

"This is not only strange  it's scary," senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said. "A major-party candidate for the presidency of the United States is being protected by the Kremlin. Wow."

Eight days before Churkin's demarche, Zeid went after Trump again in a Sept. 5 speech in The Hague, Netherlands, lumping the billionaire businessman with several populist leaders in Europe. "All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion," Zeid said, calling it a sentiment they share with the Islamic State.

Zeid concentrated on Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders, who opposes asylum for refugees and, similar to Trump, immigration from Muslim countries. Wilders also advocates closing mosques and Islamic schools, and outlawing the Quran.

Zeid also criticized by name the pro-Brexit head of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, who appeared with Trump at an August rally; Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico; Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer; French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen; Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Czech President Milos Zeman.

U.S. and European officials accuse Russia of supporting several of these politicians' parties. Russia doesn't acknowledge such support.

Allies of Wilders, Orban, Le Pen and Farage complained vociferously after Zeid's speech. Trump didn't publicly respond.

While Zeid's criticism carries no legal weight, his position gives him a highly visible pulpit to shame governments and politicians around the world. The U.S.  like Russia and other powerful governments  lobbies hard to avoid condemnation.

___

Klapper reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Jill Colvin in Washington and Lisa Lerer in White Plains, New York, contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2016, file photo, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein speaks in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Russia's government lodged a formal complaint in September with the United Nations over a top U.N. official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, diplomats told The Associated Press. There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal "demarche" to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Sept. 13, according to three diplomats familiar with the conversation. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
UK accused of barring non-citizens from advising on Brexit

LONDON (AP)  The London School of Economics says some of its academics will no longer be allowed to advise the U.K. government on Britain's exit from the European Union because they are not British citizens.

Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at the school's European Institute who is Danish, said government representatives told her that she and her non-UK colleagues "no longer qualify" as expert advisers.

A memo to staff from LSE interim director Julia Black, obtained Friday by The Times of London newspaper, said "the Foreign Office have advised us that they will be issuing tenders to contract for advisory work, but that only U.K. nationals will be eligible to apply."

The university said in a statement that "any changes to security measures are a matter for the U.K. government."

It said a group of fewer than 10 London School of Economics experts had been giving the government advice on Brexit.

"We believe our academics, including non-U.K. nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the U.K.'s relationship with Europe and the rest of the world," it said.

The Foreign Office said there had been no policy change since the referendum. It said people who work with the government "may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work."

Britain voted in June to leave the 28-nation European Union. A desire to control immigration  impossible under the EU's principle of free movement among member states  was a key issue for many voters.

Formal exit talks have yet to begin, but many in the business and academic spheres accuse the Conservative government of harming Britain's international reputation with hard-line comments about immigration and relations with the EU.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd drew strong criticism this week when she said companies could be forced to disclose what percentage of their workforce was from other countries. She later said the government was not committed to the idea.

Nick Clegg, a spokesman on Europe issues for Britain's Liberal Democrats party, said the decision about the academics was "utterly baffling."
Repeal or reform? Death penalty voter decisions for 3 states

LOS ANGELES (AP)  California's dysfunctional death penalty faces a fate in November that seems fitting: voters can put it out of its misery, or fix it so it does what it promises. The state is among three where voters will make decisions on capital punishment.

California's ballot initiatives  one would repeal capital punishment, the other would speed up appeals so convicted murderers are actually executed  are fueled by those who agree only that the current system is broken, leaving murder victims' kin grieving and the condemned languishing on death row.

Meanwhile, voters in Nebraska will be asked whether they want to reinstate the death penalty and Oklahoma residents will decide whether to make it harder to abolish it.

In this Aug. 16, 2016 photo, a condemned inmate is led out of his east block cell on death row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. Proposition 66, which would shorten the appeals time in death penalty cases to five years, is supported by prosecutors and law enforcement who say it will begin to clear the legal bottleneck blocking the path to the death chamber. Attorney Barry Scheck, founder of the Innocence Project, cited several cases in which condemned prisoners had been found innocent, in some cases decades after their conviction, and one after he had been executed in Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

In California, more than 900 convicted murderers have been sent to death row since 1978  but only 13 have been executed in the state. Many more have died of natural causes and no one has been put to death in more than a decade after a judge ordered an overhaul to the state's lethal injection procedure.

The votes for the three states come amid an evolution for capital punishment in the U.S.

Executions have mostly been in decline since the turn of the century and last year reached their lowest level in 25 years, with 28 prisoners killed. Capital punishment has been either legislatively or judicially repealed in eight states since 2000, according to Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

CALIFORNIA: ABOLISH

The referendum to repeal California's death penalty and replace it with life in prison without parole is a repeat of a 2012 ballot measure that failed 52 percent to 48 percent. Only voters in Arizona and twice in Oregon have repealed the death penalty and both states later reversed course to reinstate it.

The California repeal effort is supported by defense lawyers plus luminaries including former President Jimmy Carter, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer.

Proponents of Proposition 62 argue eliminating it would save California $150 million a year, mostly in reduced legal fees plus cheaper prison costs since death row inmates who get single cells could be double-bunked. California's finance director has estimated the proposed reforms to speed up the death penalty could save the state $30 million annually.

They also point to wrongful convictions. Kirk Bloodsworth, who spent nearly nine years in a Maryland prison for the sexual assault and bludgeoning death of a 9-year-old girl in Maryland, was the first condemned inmate in the United States freed because of DNA results in 1993. Another man later pleaded guilty to the murder.

"If it can happen to an honorably discharged Marine with no criminal record or criminal history, it can happen to anybody in America," Bloodsworth said.

A majority of votes is needed for a ballot measure to pass in California. In the unlikely event both competing measures cross the 50 percent threshold, the one with the most "yes" votes would take effect. If neither passes, the current system would remain in place.

CALIFORNIA: SPEED UP

California's prosecutors and law enforcement are leading the opposing measure to "mend, not end" capital punishment. They say Proposition 66 will begin to clear the legal bottleneck blocking the path to the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison.

"It shouldn't take decades upon decades," said Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who helped draft the initiative. "I'm not a rabid dog about the death penalty, but I think it should be an option in the rarest of the most heinous cases that exist in our society."

The reformers want to trim state appeals of death sentences to five years, assigning some to trial judges and expanding the pool of lawyers taking cases. It would have no control over federal appeals.

Those seeking to abolish the death penalty say the reforms will result in incompetent lawyers being assigned appeals and forced to meet arbitrary deadlines that will overwhelm already strained trial courts.

Death penalty supporters point to heinous crimes and the grieving family members of victims who have long waited for justice.

Sandy Friend's 8-year-old son, Michael Lyons, was kidnapped, stabbed 70 to 80 times with a knife and bludgeoned 20 years ago in Northern California. Robert Rhoades, the barber who murdered him, was also convicted of murdering and raping a young woman and sentenced to death for both cases.

"Robert Rhoades is just the poster child for the death penalty and there are people who are worse than him. These people are monsters," Friend said. "I'd like to see the last breath that Rhoades takes. I really would. I think that's what Michael had to endure."

NEBRASKA: REINSTATE

Lawmakers in Nebraska abolished the death penalty last year and voters there are being asked whether it should be reinstated.

Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, who helped finance the ballot drive with $200,000 of his own money, insists lawmakers were out of touch with their constituents when they got rid of capital punishment.

Death penalty opponents have appealed to the state's conservative ideals, arguing the punishment is expensive and inefficient because no one has been executed in Nebraska since 1997.

Last month, Catholic leaders launched a statewide campaign urging voters not to reinstate the punishment and promised to raise the issue in church services before the election.

There are 10 prisoners on death row in Nebraska. The state's last execution was in 1997.

OKLAHOMA: KEEP IT AROUND

Voters in Oklahoma, where executions are on hold after mistakes in the past two executions, will consider enshrining the death penalty in the state constitution, making it harder for legislators or courts to end it.

"There are people that are trying to remove the death penalty from being used," said state Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, one of the measure's authors. "We wanted that to continue to be a viable alternative."

Among other things, the initiative declares that all death penalty statutes are in effect, that the methods of execution can be changed and that "the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment."

Oklahoma has 48 prisoners on death row. Its most recent execution was last year.

___

Associated Press writers David Crary in New York, Grant Schulte in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Tim Talley in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2005, file photo, Barbara Chan protests the execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the founder of the Crips gang, outside of San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. Williams was executed early Dec. 13. California voters face opposite choices to fix the state's broken death penalty. They can repeal capital punishment in November or reform it so convicted murderers are actually executed. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - This Sept. 21, 2010 file photo shows the view a condemned inmate would have from a table inside the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. California voters face opposite choices to fix the state's broken death penalty. They can repeal capital punishment in November 2016 or reform it so convicted murderers are actually executed. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
A candlelight service for the National Month of Remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant Loss will be held next Thursday at St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church.

This memorial service will also include a balloon release and a reception following the service.

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and then the service will begin at 6:15 p.m. This service is for anyone who has been through the death of an infant during pregnancy or after birth.

This service is sponsored by Hospice of Chattanooga.

Contact Christy Bonner at 423-892-4289 or Christy_bonner@hospiceofchattanooga.org with any questions.



Registration is not required but can be made for this event at http://grace-peace.eventbrite.com.
4 guilty in 1 of Puerto Rico's biggest corruption cases

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  A federal jury on Friday found four people guilty on all charges in one of Puerto Rico's biggest public corruption cases in the past decade. They were the last of the 10 people to be charged and convicted in the fraud scheme that generated some $2 million.

Ivonne Falcon, a former vice president and treasurer of Puerto Rico's heavily indebted water and sewer company, and Sally Lopez, a former director of the island's Administration of Workforce Development, were found guilty of charges including bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and federal programs fraud. They could get up to 80-100 years in prison.

Falcon's sister, Marielis Falcon, and Glenn Omar Rivera, who worked in the administrative office of the island's House of Representatives, were also found guilty.

Their attorneys said they will appeal.

Douglas Leff, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Juan division, said in a phone interview that he was pleased with the verdicts.

"It's the most significant public corruption conviction we've had in at least a decade," he said, adding that federal agents in Puerto Rico are pursuing other similar cases. "There'll be more coming in the near future."

Friday's verdicts come amid a punishing economic crisis and revelations of government excesses and corruption that have angered Puerto Ricans.

At the center of the scheme was businessman Anaudi Hernandez, a one-time campaign fundraiser for the governor's Popular Democratic Party. He was accused of offering public officials items such as expensive meals, fountain pens and concert tickets in exchange for political favors and government contracts. He has since pleaded guilty after also being accused of using his connections with high-ranking government officials, including the brother of Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla, to appoint people to certain positions.

The case has dealt several blows to the U.S. territory's ruling party. The speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives recently stepped down, and one senator said she would not seek re-election during next month's general elections.
Iowa State president got flight lessons from key appointee

AMES, Iowa (AP)  Iowa State University President Steven Leath received personal flight lessons from a former Republican lawmaker who was appointed around the same time into a high-paying university job without a search, Leath acknowledged Friday.

Leath told the Iowa State Daily student newspaper that now-university vice president Jim Kurtenbach helped him train in late 2014 to obtain an instrument rating that allowed Leath to fly the university's single-engine plane by himself.

In November of that year, the school announced that it had cancelled a planned national search and that Kurtenbach, a former ISU associate dean, had been selected to return as interim vice president and chief information officer.

This undated photo provided by the Bloomington Normal Airport Authority shows a damaged wing of a Cirrus SR22 single engine plane at the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Ill. Iowa State University President Steven Leath caused "substantial damage" to the university airplane he was piloting when it made a hard landing at the Illinois airport last year. ISU pilots have flown Leath and his wife to and from the North Carolina town where they own a home and business on several occasions, costing thousands of dollars in university donations. (Bloomington Normal Airport Authority via AP)

The acknowledgment adds another layer to the scandal surrounding Leath's use of university planes for a mix of official duties and personal business.

Seven months after obtaining an instrument rating to fly the school's Cirrus SR22 plane, Leath damaged the plane in a rough landing while returning from a vacation in North Carolina in July 2015. Leath has blamed windy conditions, but the FAA required him to undergo a reexamination of his flight skills. Leath passed and kept his certification.

Leath vowed last month to stop flying the plane, which was purchased with private donations for $498,000 in 2014, after The Associated Press revealed the accident. He also donated $15,000 to the university's foundation to cover the damage and related costs.

On Wednesday, Leath said that he regretted mixing personal and business trips on both university planes and would be more careful in the future.

Kurtenbach offered to help Leath complete his flight training in fall 2014, after ISU Provost Jonathan Wickert had started talks to recruit Kurbenbach for the CIO opening, Leath said. Leath said the CIO position didn't report to him at the time and that he wasn't involved in hiring Kurtenbach, who was working for an Ames-based company.

Leath said the timing worked well because the two were able to train during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks before Kurtenbach started his job Jan. 1, 2015. Leath said he took his final lesson from Kurtenbach days later, and was granted a new certification from the Federal Aviation Administration that month.

It wasn't clear whether Leath paid for the lessons, which typically cost $35 per hour for the instructor plus plane rental. A university spokeswoman said she would look into the question Friday afternoon.

University policy prohibits employees from accepting anything of value from anyone seeking to do business with the state or who has interests that may be "substantially and materially affected" by their performance of duties.

Leath moved Kurtenbach into the position permanently on July 1 of this year  at a salary of $252,794. The Iowa Board of Regents approved the appointment of Kurtenbach, who now reports to Leath after an administrative restructuring.

Dating back to Sept. 25, Leath and his aides hadn't responded to AP inquiries about Kurtenbach's role in his flight training. Kurtenbach, a former co-chairman of the Iowa Republican Party who served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, also hasn't returned messages.

Kurtenbach had worked at Iowa State as an accounting professor since 1991, and served as associate engineering dean from 2010 until 2013.
California Rep. Matsui injured in car crash

WASHINGTON (AP)  Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui of California is set to be released from a Washington hospital Friday after she was involved in a car crash that caused internal bleeding and bruised ribs.

A spokeswoman said Matsui, 72, was being driven from her Washington home for a flight to Sacramento on Tuesday when her vehicle was struck by another car. Neither driver was injured. Matsui, who was sitting in the back seat, had surgery to stop internal bleeding in her abdomen.

Spokeswoman Lauren Dart said the six-term congresswoman has been told to rest and not travel for a few weeks. Matsui had been scheduled to attend a fundraiser Sunday with Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine.
The Latest: 3 men convicted in asylum home grenade attack

BERLIN (AP)  The Latest on Europe's reaction to its influx of migrants (all times local):

8 p.m.

Two men have been convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to several years in prison for throwing a hand grenade onto the grounds of a home for asylum seekers in southwestern Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and King Abdullah II, of Jordan, brief the media prior to talks at the chancellery in Berlin, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The grenade was thrown over the fence of the facility in Villingen-Schwenningen in January and landed next to a container used by security staff. It didn't explode, and a bomb squad destroyed it.

Prosecutors suspect the attack was motivated by rivalry over contracts between security companies.

News agency dpa reported that the state court in Konstanz on Friday sentenced the two men alleged to have thrown the grenade to 3 and 3  years in prison.

A third suspect was convicted of inciting the attack and sentenced to 3  years.

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4:30 p.m.

Jordan's King Abdullah II says Chancellor Angela Merkel should be commended for her decision to open Germany's doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants and for her government's support for his and other countries in the region dealing with the flood of refugees from Syria.

Jordan, with a population of about 6.5 million, hosts about 635,000 refugees from neighboring Syria. In brief remarks Friday after talks with Merkel, Abdullah said the chancellor's approach brought a "breath of fresh air" into the challenges faced by his country and elsewhere.

Germany last year saw 890,000 migrants arrive and has also been a critical supporter in providing more aid for countries like Jordan and Turkey that share borders with Syria.

Abdullah told Merkel she raises "the moral bar very high."
'I'm committed': Island die-hards don't evacuate for Matthew

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP)  The mayor of tiny Tybee Island, Georgia, was so worried about his constituents that he was calling them personally, pleading with them to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Matthew. But the beer kept flowing at Calvin Ratterree's bar, where about a dozen holdouts gathered for lunch.

"I'm worried, but we've got friends across the street with a third-floor condo," said Ratterree, who owns Nickie's 1971 bar about a block from Georgia's largest public beach. "I'm committed. I'd rather be here with the people that support me and need me."

The 3,000 people who live on Tybee Island, 18 miles east of Savannah, were ordered to evacuate Wednesday. Most left, some of them hitting the road at the last-minute Friday as Matthew churned toward Georgia from the coast of Florida.

Preston Payne tires to hold his umbrella as he watches the waves near the Tybee pier as Hurricane Matthew makes its way up the East Coast, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, on Tybee Island, Ga. Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the most powerful hurricane to menace the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade pushed north. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

But some insisted on riding out the storm, much to the frustration of Mayor Jason Buelterman. He personally called some of the holdouts, hoping to persuade them to move inland.

"This is what happens when you don't have a hurricane for 100 years," Buelterman said. "People get complacent. They just don't know. Thankfully, it's a very small minority."

Among those Buelterman called was Steve Todd, who was having a drink with neighbors at Ratterree's bar. Todd made sure his wife and child and their two dogs evacuated. He said he stayed behind to guard his home and belongings, fearing he otherwise might not be able to return for a week or more.

"We're at a really safe building, probably one of the safest on Tybee," Todd said.

Todd said trees were bending over and it was "raining sideways" as the storm approached the Georgia-Florida line Friday night. He and a friend ventured out in a truck after dark to pick up a couple of buddies who had become frightened of rapidly worsening conditions on the island. He said they were all going back to his third-floor condominium to spend the night.

Todd said he doesn't regret his decision, "but I'm not going to lie. There's a little bit of nervous tension right now."

Others weren't taking chances.

Jeff Dickey hefted a diesel-powered generator into his pickup truck Friday morning outside his waterfront home. He had hoped Matthew would take a turn away from shore, as other storms have in the past.

"We kind of tried to wait to see if it will tilt more to the east," Dickey said. "But it's go time."

James Gibbs carries the last few items out of his house before evacuating ahead of Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, on Tybee Island, Ga. As the storm closed in, an estimated 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to move inland to escape the fury of the most powerful hurricane to menace the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
Pharmacist slain by dad is recalled as energetic, outgoing

CLEVELAND (AP)  Tahani Mansour's future seemed promising: The 27-year-old had a doctoral degree in pharmacy and had just been hired as a clinical pharmacist at the renowned Cleveland Clinic.

But her dreams were cut short on Sept. 27, when her father fired three rounds at her from a .38-caliber revolver while she was inside her bedroom at the family's suburban Cleveland home. Police said she was shot twice in the head.

Jamal Mansour, 63, was indicted this week on charges of aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault. He's being held on a $4.5 million bond, which was increased from $1.5 million after a prosecutor told a judge he was concerned that Mansour had the means to flee the country.

This 2012 photo provided by Northeast Ohio Medical University shows Tahani Mansour, died on Sept. 27, 2016 after being shot at her family's home in the Cleveland suburb of Rocky River, Ohio. Her father Jamal Mansour was indicted Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, on murder charges in his daughters death. (Joseph Rudinec/Northeast Ohio Medical University via AP)

Authorities have yet to explain why Mansour would have killed the youngest of his six children. He told Rocky River police during his arrest that he shot her because he was angry and told a judge later that day it was an accident.

Prosecutor Michael O'Shea said during a court hearing last week that Mansour "executed" his daughter.

Mansour's attorney, Angelo Lonardo, declined to be interviewed and referred to an earlier comment published on the Arabamericannews.com website.

"Mr. Mansour is a good man who very much loves his family," Lonardo said.

Jamal Mansour and his wife, Sumaya, bought their home in Rocky River, a west side suburb popular among professionals, in 1993. Police have said he was born in Jordan and immigrated to the U.S. in 1978. He owned a gas station in Geauga County.

The only substantive contact between Rocky River and the family before Tahani Mansour's slaying occurred in December 2012. According to a police report, officers went to the home after receiving an anonymous call that Jamal Mansour had threatened to kill himself if his daughter didn't immediately return home from a conference in Las Vegas. Sumaya Mansour told an officer that her husband wasn't "a harm to himself" but was "very upset" about his daughter's trip, the report said.

The report doesn't name Tahani Mansour, but friends and colleagues confirmed that she was in Las Vegas at a national conference at that time.

Philip King spent four years attending classes and socializing with her during the doctor of pharmacy program at Northeast Ohio Medical University, and both graduated in 2013. He recalled how beautiful her smile was, how much she embraced the challenges of the rigorous program and how she enjoyed going out with friends.

"She liked to be around people," King said.

King said her life at school and time with her friends allowed her to enjoy a measure of freedom she might not have had at home, where her family was "very, very protective" of her.

"It seemed to me like it was almost an escape," King said.

Tahani Mansour dated a classmate for two years during school, King said, a relationship he thinks she tried to hide from some of her family members.

King said she confided in him that she had some fear of her father, but he didn't press for details.

"I didn't ask," King said. "I knew there were cultural reasons."

Timothy Ulbrich taught Tahani Mansour all four years she attended NEOMED and helped her get appointed to a one-year hospital residency program she would need to be hired as a clinical pharmacist, a position where she would be working with teams of doctors and their patients in a hospital setting.

"She was loud and she was energetic," Ulbrich said. "She had a personality that was just contagious to be around."
What is Backpage.com? A Q&A in wake of executive's arrest

DALLAS (AP)  A day after his arrest in Texas, the chief executive of Backpage.com agreed Friday to waive extradition to California to face charges that allege sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the website.

Carl Ferrer, 55, was arrested on a warrant that alleges his company  which investigators say takes in more than $150 million in annual revenue  is making nearly all of its money from advertising illegal adult services. Authorities also searched his company's Dallas headquarters and filed arrest warrants for two of his associates.

Here's a look at how Backpage.com operates and the scrutiny it has faced:

This photo released by the Texas Office of the Attorney General shows Carl Ferrer. State agents have raided the Dallas headquarters of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Ferrer. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that adult and child sex-trafficking victims had been forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site. Paxton announced that Ferrer had been arrested Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, on a California warrant after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. (Texas Office of the Attorney General via AP)

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WHAT IS BACKPAGE.COM?

The website is similar to sites like Craigslist.com where users can create posts to sell items, seek a roommate, participate in forums, list upcoming events or post job openings. But Backpage.com also has listings for adult escorts, body rubs and other sexual services, and authorities say advertising related to those services has been extremely lucrative.

Worldwide revenue from sex ads on Backpage.com topped $3.1 million in just one week last year, according to a California court affidavit in Ferrer's case. A warrant used to search the company's Dallas headquarters says those ads amounted to about $50 million between January 2013 and May 2015 in California alone.

The affidavit also alleges that Ferrer expanded Backpage.com's share of online sex marketing by creating affiliated sites with related content.

Backpage.com is a Dutch-owned limited liability corporation incorporated in Delaware, but its principal place of business is Dallas.

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INCREASING SCRUTINY

Backpage.com has been in Congress' crosshairs for much of the last year. The Senate unanimously voted in March to hold the company in contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena into how it screens ads for possible sex trafficking. The vote marked the first time in two decades the Senate voted to hold someone in contempt.

Ferrer argued that the company's process for reviewing ads on its adult section was a "core editorial function" protected under the First Amendment. But the U.S. Supreme Court told the company last month to turn over records sought as part of a congressional investigation into human trafficking over the internet. Senate investigators say Backpage.com has been linked to hundreds of reported cases of sex trafficking.

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WHAT'S THE CURRENT CASE ABOUT?

California officials allege that Ferrer's site collects fees from users who use coded language and nearly nude photos to offer sex for money. Ferrer is facing several felony pimping charges in California, including pimping a minor. Under state law, felony pimping is defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.

Ferrer is also facing a money laundering charge in Texas, according to Texas Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn.

Ferrer's attorney, Philip Hilder, said his client believes the charges are "trumped up."

"He's looking forward to his day in court, where he gets to battle back on these charges," Hilder said Friday.

Ferrer, who lives in the Dallas area, waived extradition to California during a court hearing Friday morning in Houston. He was arrested in Houston on Thursday after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam. The local prosecutor said he was expected to be flown to California later Friday.

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WHO ELSE IS BEING TARGETED?

Arrest warrants have also been issued for Backpage.com's controlling shareholders: Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67. The men founded the website in 2004, and Ferrer was brought on to manage the site's operation, according to California court records. Larkin and Lacey each received $10 million bonuses from the website in September 2014, according to court documents.

The California arrest warrants allege that the men have known for at least the last five years that their site is a hub for the illegal sex trade, "and that many of the people who advertised for commercial sex on Backpage.com are victims of sex trafficking, including children."
When Hispanic residents of Allentown, Pennsylvania want to grab a bite, get their hair cut or shop for groceries, they often head to Seventh Street  or what they call Calle Siete.

A councilman wants to honor the city's Hispanic population - which represents nearly half the city's 120,000 residents - by installing Spanish-language street signs on the busy thoroughfare.

Democratic Councilman Julio Guridy thinks the signs are a small but long overdue gesture of respect to the city's growing Hispanic community, but others are against the proposal, calling it unnecessary and divisive.

A city councilman is stirring up controversy with his proposal to install Spanish-language street signs on the major commercial corridor

Many supporters think the signs serve as a small gesture of respect to the city's growing Hispanic community. (Pictured, Steven Castillo, who sees the street signs as a marketing tool)

Critics also say the proposal for the signs is a distraction from issues of poverty, drugs, crime and lack of opportunity in Allentown's urban core.

'With all the problems this community has, please don't talk to me about signs,' said John Rosario, 54, who moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic about four decades ago and owns a Seventh Street insurance, tax and real estate business.

'If you really want to help somebody, roll up your sleeves, come down here and let's talk about it.'

A city council committee tabled the sign proposal for more discussion after dozens of people showed up at a public meeting this week to voice their support and opposition. Guridy hopes to bring it up for a vote in a month.

The debate in Allentown would have been unimaginable not so long ago, when Hispanics were a tiny minority.

For much of its history, the city, an hour's drive north of Philadelphia, was a bustling industrial center populated largely by European immigrants and their descendants.

As manufacturing declined, so did the population. Then, drawn in part by cheap housing, Hispanics began swelling Allentown's numbers again. The Latino population has more than doubled since 2000.

Shaniqua Andrews, 25, who lives a block from Seventh Street (pictured), said her co-workers at a warehouse mostly speak Spanish and she resents having to ask for instructions in English

Guridy said the Hispanic community has contributed to Allentown's efforts to remake its economy and deserves to be recognized.

'It is a good thing for Allentown because it provides a sense of pride, and a sense of belonging, to the Hispanic community, who have been working hard and contributing to this community, and who feel alienated because they are not recognized for their contributions,' he said.

Inside Seventh Street's bustling Los Compadres Barber Shop, Steven Castillo, 27, views the Spanish-language signs as a good marketing tool, no different from cities that boast Chinatowns or Little Italys.

'When you want Spanish food in Allentown, where do you go? Calle Siete,' he said.

Zack Alali, 48, a Syrian immigrant who moved to the United States about 25 years ago, opened Casa Dollar on Seventh Street to cater to the Hispanic population. He said Calle Siete simply reflects the reality of what the street has become.

'It's just a little appreciation for the people here,' Alali said. 'It's just a name.'

But the controversy goes deeper than those two words.

For some, it's about language and culture. Shaniqua Andrews, 25, who lives a block from Seventh Street and works in a warehouse, said her co-workers mostly speak Spanish and her supervisor typically gives instructions in Spanish. She said she resents having to ask for them in English.
Trump to focus ads on Pennsylvania, Ohio

WASHINGTON (AP)  Donald Trump is changing some of his advertising plans.

He's focusing more than ever on Pennsylvania and Ohio, a sign of the importance his campaign is placing on those two states.

The campaign plans to spend almost $1 million next week in Pennsylvania and $1.2 million there in each of the next three weeks, Kantar Media's political ad tracker shows. In Ohio, he'll spend more than $700,000 next week and about $1 million in each of the following three weeks.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., left, looks on as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a national security meeting with advisors at Trump Tower, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

At the same time, Trump is decreasing his media plans for Maine and Iowa by a few hundred thousand dollars, according to Kantar Media. On Twitter, campaign spokesman Jason Miller wrote that reductions have occurred in "over-performing markets." Trump has been ahead in recent Iowa polls.

Also, within the past 24 hours, Trump has slashed his planned advertising for next week from about $7.6 million to $6.1 million, the ad tracker shows. That includes smaller ad buys in Florida and North Carolina, where residents might be preoccupied by Hurricane Matthew's aftermath.

The data show the campaign has increased its media plans for subsequent weeks by about $1 million, suggesting Trump is shifting resources rather than adding or subtracting commercials. Miller did not respond to questions from The Associated Press.

Two weeks ago, Miller told the AP that the campaign would spend $100 million on TV between that day and Election Day. As of Friday, it had made plans to spend about $45 million in that time frame.

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Keep track on how much Clinton and Trump are spending on television advertising, and where they're spending it, via AP's interactive ad tracker. http://elections.ap.org/content/ad-spending

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Trump apologizes, but also calls crude remarks a distraction

NEW YORK (AP)  Caught on tape making shockingly crude comments about a married woman he tried to seduce, Donald Trump declared in a midnight video, "I was wrong and I apologize." Yet even as he did so, he claimed the astonishing recording was "nothing more than a distraction" and argued his words were not nearly as egregious as former President Bill Clinton's marital affairs.

"I've said some foolish things," the Republican presidential nominee said in a taped apology posted on his Facebook page early Saturday morning. "But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women."

Turning to his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Trump accused her of having "bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated" her husband's "victims."

A clock sits outside of Trump Tower at midnight on, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in New York. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump blurted out lewd and sexually charged comments about women as he waited to make a cameo appearance on a soap opera in 2005, a revelation that led him to issue a rare apology. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Trump's 90-second statement capped a jarring day that threatened to sink his presidential campaign and sent Republicans into a panic with early voting well underway in several states and a little more than a month until Election Day.

On Friday afternoon, The Washington Post and NBC News released a 2005 video on which Trump describes trying to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous.

"When you're a star they let you do it," Trump says. "You can do anything."

He adds seconds later, "Grab them by the p----. You can do anything."

Within hours, the shock of the video led to widespread condemnation from inside Trump's own party. House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was sickened by Trump's comments, while a one-sentence response from GOP's chairman was devastating.

"No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever," said Reince Priebus, who had stood by Trump through his past provocative comments.

Ryan added tartly that Trump was "no longer attending" a joint campaign appearance set for Saturday in Wisconsin. Trump himself later said in a statement that he would be preparing for Sunday night's debate instead.

Other Republicans, painfully aware of Trump's possible impact on their own political fates, were quick to chime in. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is locked in a close race, called his comments "totally inappropriate and offensive."

By the time Trump posted his video apology, three Republican members of Congress had called on Trump to abandon the race. Among them was Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who called Trump's words "some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine."

Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was "beside himself" and his wife was furious, according to a person familiar with their thinking. That person spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to share the private discussion.

On the tape, Trump is caught on a live microphone while talking with Billy Bush of "Access Hollywood." The candidate is heard saying "I did try and f--- her. She was married." He also uses graphic terms to describe the woman's body and says he frequently tries to kiss beautiful women.

"Access Hollywood" said a recent Associated Press story about Trump's lewd behind-the-scenes comments as star of "The Apprentice" led it to dig through its archives and turn up the previously unaired tape. It was recorded during a bus ride while Trump was on his way to appear in an episode of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

Trump offered a half-hearted apology shortly after the video was released, saying he was sorry "if anyone was offended." Only hours later, after the scope of the damage became clear, did he release the video statement.

Trump appears alone in the video and appears to be reading off a script. He closes the video by suggesting he'll raise Bill Clinton's affairs again in the coming days.

"See you at the debate," he says.

Hillary Clinton seized on Trump's quotes from the 2005 video, calling them "horrific." She said in a Twitter message: "We cannot allow this man to become president."

But she had her own problems Friday with sudden revelations.

The WikiLeaks organization posted what it said were thousands of emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, including some with excerpts from speeches she gave to Wall Street executives and others  speeches she has declined to release despite demands from Trump.

The excerpts include Clinton seeming to put herself in the free trade camp, a position she has retreated from. In a talk to a Brazilian bank in 2013, she said her dream was "a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders."

Trump strongly opposes current U.S. trade deals and insists Clinton is too cozy with Wall Street to reform it.

Friday's developments came two days before Trump and Clinton are to meet in the second presidential debate, with the Republican urgently in need of a strong performance. After his uneven showing in the first contest, public opinion polls have showed Clinton pulling ahead in nearly all battleground states, some of which are already in the midst of early voting.

There were plenty of other problems for Trump on what surely was one of the worst days of his two-year drive for the White House.

His advisers planned for him to spend a quiet Friday preparing for the debate and meeting with border security officials. But the day was quickly consumed by a series of controversies, including Trump's unsubstantiated claim about immigrants in the U.S. illegally voting in the election and his questioning the innocence of five black teenagers exonerated in a 1989 rape case.

Then, there were new signs of unusual links between Trump and Russia. For the first time, the U.S. publicly blamed the Russian government for hacking the Democratic National Committee and accused Moscow of trying to interfere with the American election. Diplomats also told the AP that Russia had lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations over a U.N. official's condemnations of Trump.

Also in the mix Friday: New questions about the Trump campaign's finances. With roughly a month until Election Day, the campaign has yet to schedule the $100 million in television advertising that his campaign boasted about just two weeks ago.

The campaign has just half that amount scheduled, and late this week shifted ad money around rather than increasing its overall investment, suggesting a bit of penny-pinching even as the clock winds down.

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AP writers Kathleen Hennessey, Alicia A. Caldwell, Julie Bykowicz, Erica Werner and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Pace and Jonathan Lemire on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and http://twitter.com/jonlemire

In this Oct. 6, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a town hall in Sandown, N.H. Trump made a series of lewd and sexually charged comments about women as he waited to make a cameo appearance on a soap opera in 2005. The Republican presidential nominee issued a rare apology Friday, if anyone was offended. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

CORRECTS SPELLING OF DEL CUETO - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands with Art Del Cueto during a meeting with members of the National Border Patrol Council at Trump Tower, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

In this Oct. 5, 2016, photo, Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta speaks to members of the media outside Clinton's home in Washington. The WikiLeaks organization on Oct. 7, posted what it said were thousands of emails from Podesta, including some with excerpts from speeches she gave to Wall Street executives and others  speeches she has declined to release despite demands from Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Event Planning and Management Practicum at Bradley Central High School is planning a 1 Mile Fun Run, 5K, and 10K to support the Bradley County Schools anti-drug initiative. The proceeds from this event will go towards supporting anti-drug initiatives within the Bradley County School system.

For parties interested in taking part in the event, please visit Active.com and Search Run from Drugs. The cost for the 1 Mile Fun Run is $15.00, the 5K is $20.00, and the 10K is $25.00. A group rate is available for groups of 7 or more. If you are interested in a group rate, please contact Amy McIlvain. The group rate is $5.00 less than the above costs and is only available when registering early. Additionally, when registering early, a t-shirt will be guaranteed, but they will be first-come, first-serve on race day.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Amy McIlvain at (423) 716-4262 or email at AMcIlvain@BradleySchools.org.
Evangelical campus ministry group asks pro-gay staff to quit

NEW YORK (AP)  One of the largest evangelical college ministries in the U.S. has asked any staff members who support same-sex relationships to quit, a move critics call a purge and supporters laud as an affirmation of true Christianity.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship informed all staff about the policy over the summer after issuing a position paper based on their three years of study of sexuality that concluded sex should be reserved for marriage between a man and a woman. The organization's leaders said employees are expected to "believe and behave" in accord with InterVarsity's stand on sexuality, including not engaging in immoral sexual behavior or promoting positions that conflict with the group's beliefs.

"If they disagree, we trust that they will alert their supervisors and conclude their work," within two weeks, the leaders wrote in a letter the Madison, Wisconsin-based InterVarsity provided Friday to The Associated Press. "We expect that staff who continue to disagree will act with integrity and let their supervisor know."

The new policy was first reported by TIME magazine, and prompted a swift backlash on social media, inspiring the hashtags #InterVarsityPurge and #InterVarsityDoBetter.

Russell Moore, head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, was among evangelical leaders who were surprised by the uproar.

"The policy they hold on human sexuality is the exact same view that has been held by every wing of the Christian Church for 2,000 years," Moore said.

But Matthew Vines, author of "God and the Gay Christian" and an advocate for evangelical acceptance of LGBT people, called the policy "a recipe for institutional marginalization." He noted that InterVarsity is known for fighting racism and supporting women in leadership positions, even though many evangelical churches only allow male leaders.

"This seems like it really runs counter to their justice stand to be proudly embracing injustice and to be intentionally and actively persecuting a marginalized group within their community," said Vines, who was active in InterVarsity at Harvard University.

InterVarsity is the latest conservative Christian group, including charities and colleges, struggling to navigate a new environment in which a majority of Americans accept same-sex relationship and gay marriage is legal. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, 51 percent of younger evangelicals said homosexuality should be accepted, compared to 33 percent of evangelicals overall.

Two years ago, World Vision, a Christian aid agency, announced plans to hire Christians in same-sex marriages, then quickly reversed the decision when a large number of donors dropped the organization. In several U.S. Roman Catholic dioceses, parish workers and school teachers have been quietly fired over having same-sex spouses or supporting LGBT rights.

InterVarsity's position is especially significant because of its reach. The group has more than 1,000 chapters on 667 American college campuses, with additional outreach programs for athletes, artists, nursing students and more. The organization has an influential publishing house, InterVarsity Press, and runs a missionary conference every few years that draws about 20,000 students. InterVarsity reported receiving $80 million in donations last year.

InterVarsity said some staff members already have left due to the new policy. Michael Vazquez, who is gay and led an InterVarsity chapter at the University of Utah, said he resigned three months ago after working unsuccessfully with a small group within the organization who pushed for a broader consideration of sexuality.

"I was concerned about my students," the 25-year-old seminary student said in a phone interview. "I could not authentically reach out and tell them that they were loved by the ministry."

In 2013, InterVarsity temporarily lost official recognition from the California State University system because the evangelical group required its leaders to be Christian in contrast to the system's requirement that such positions to be open to all students. An agreement was later reached and InterVarsity regained recognition.
Aggressive in spotlight, Kaine charms donors in private

LAS VEGAS (AP)  Tim Kaine may not have wowed America in his biggest moment on the national stage, the vice presidential debate, but Democrats aren't regretting Hillary Clinton's choice for running mate. He's been a hit on the donor circuit that's fueling the campaign and an effective emissary to Republicans disenchanted with their party's nominee.

Kaine received some criticism for his aggressive style in Tuesday's debate, where he constantly interrupted Republican rival Mike Pence. But that's not the Kaine that attendees at his campaign rallies and fundraisers see: a down-to-earth, policy wonk who is a good listener and a persuasive speaker.

Paul Gray, a Chicago art dealer and Democratic fundraiser, has hosted events for Clinton, President Barack Obama and others and has seen many candidates speak to his friends. He hosted Kaine in September. "I don't think any of them were more able to articulate the progressive point of view that we believe in than he can," he said.

In this Oct. 4, 2016 photo, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine speaks during the vice-presidential debate with Republican vice-presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. Kaine doesnt quite bring star power to the national campaign spotlight, but hes a hit on the donor circuit thats helping fuel running mate Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Kaine can't fill rallies or attract news coverage like some of Clinton's other surrogates, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders or first lady Michelle Obama, but his appearances draw local coverage that is critical as voter registration and early voting deadlines loom in swing states. Fluent in Spanish, he also does outreach on Spanish-language media.

And he keeps up a steady clip of fundraising. So far, Kaine has raised at least $25 million at private fundraisers, including five $1 million-plus days. In total, he's attended more than 70 fundraisers since joining the ticket in July. On a single day in September, he raised at least $3.6 million doing four events in New York, according to an Associated Press analysis of information provided by the campaign.

It's a role he knows well, having helped build a national network as the head of the Democratic National Committee. But that can run counter to the folksy senator's anti-elitist bent.

The Harvard-trained attorney and former governor eschewed a life of wealth in favor of a more modest middle-class lifestyle, and Kaine often bemoans the outsized influence the wealthy have on politics. Kaine said he'd like to see "dramatic" reforms to America's campaign finance laws, but he says he's not going to disarm "unilaterally."

The donors Kaine meets with in private say he brings an authenticity to his work that seems lacking in politics today. They describe a candidate who pays attention to each individual and focuses heavily on policy and personal anecdotes in his remarks.

Kaine is good at donor maintenance, too. Gray, the Chicago art dealer, said Kaine tried calling him three times after the fundraiser, eventually reaching him Thursday, to thank him.

And it's not just Democrats whom Kaine can charm. He's helped bridge the divide between Clinton and Republicans of the "Never Trump" variety who are skeptical of the Democratic nominee.

One is Jillian Manus, a California venture capitalist who hosted Kaine at her home for a lunch in September alongside Hewlett-Packard executive Meg Whitman. Although Manus said she'd never back Trump, she admitted it's Kaine, not Clinton, who helped sell her on enthusiastically backing the Democratic ticket. She said Kaine came off as attentive, empathetic and genuine, qualities that she doesn't quite see in Clinton.

"He said 'I trust her,' and that spoke volumes to me," she said. "Because if someone like him trusts her, so do I."

Manus said it took some "arm-twisting" to get her Republican friends, who made up most of the crowd, to show up. But many walked away impressed.

"I had people calling me afterward saying they've never seen anyone in politics like this," Manus said. "He took time with everyone, not giving them lip service but really thanking them and asking them about themselves in a genuine way."

Manus said Kaine stood out because he didn't tell attendees to abandon the Republican Party. Instead, he said they could still be proud to be affiliated with it. He spoke about what he's learned from his Republican father-in-law, former Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton. Kaine also talked up his record as former governor of Virginia and spoke about his children and love of music.

Kaine said Thursday he'll be spending the month before Election Day trying to motivate Democrats to vote through rallies and doing interviews with local media in swing states. But Kaine also plans to spend this weekend doing fundraisers around California, with no announced public events.

"It will be a mixture," Kaine told reporters Thursday. "Will I do fundraising? Sure. But it starts to really move more and more toward encouraging people to vote."

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Ronayne reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

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Follow Kathleen Ronayne on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kronayne and Alan Suderman at https://twitter.com/AlanSuderman .

Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, center left, poses with a supporter during a Nevada Democratic Party rally at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Lawyer: Backpage.com CEO will fight sex trafficking charges

HOUSTON (AP)  Handcuffed and dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, the chief executive of an internet site authorities accuse of being "a hub for the illegal sex trade" waived extradition to California on Friday, and his attorney vowed to fight the "trumped up" sex trafficking and money laundering charges he faces.

Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested Thursday and his Dallas headquarters was raided after officials in California accused him of felony pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. Under California law, felony pimping is defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution. Texas' attorney general's office added money-laundering to the list of alleged crimes.

Ferrer, 55, was arrested after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. Backpage.com is a Dutch-owned limited liability corporation. Ferrer was expected to be flown to California later Friday.

This photo released by the Texas Office of the Attorney General shows Carl Ferrer. State agents have raided the Dallas headquarters of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Ferrer. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that adult and child sex-trafficking victims had been forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site. Paxton announced that Ferrer had been arrested Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, on a California warrant after arriving in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam. (Texas Office of the Attorney General via AP)

Ferrer, wearing glasses, said little during his brief court hearing, acknowledging he was waiving extradition.

"Mr. Ferrer looks forward to vigorously fighting these charges that we believe are trumped up," Ferrer's attorney, Philip Hilder, said after Friday's extradition hearing. Hilder declined to comment on further questions related to the charges.

Authorities also issued arrest warrants for Backpage's controlling shareholders: Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67. They were not yet in custody as of Friday, said Kristin Ford, spokeswoman for the California attorney general.

Lacey and Larkin are former owners of the Village Voice and the Phoenix New Times. It wasn't clear whether they had attorneys who could comment. An attorney who previously represented the two men, Michael Manning, said he was not representing them in this case.

Cindy McCain, the wife of Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain and who has been leading efforts for several years to fight human trafficking, called Ferrer's arrest a "huge game-changer" in the efforts to crack down on the trafficking of young girls and boys for sex.

Texas state agents raided Backpage's Dallas offices following allegations that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site.

Backpage.com advertises a wide range of services, but California officials said the site collects fees from users who use coded language and nearly nude photos to offer sex for money. A California court affidavit says Ferrer expanded Backpage.com's share of online sex marketing by creating affiliated sites including EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com with related content.

The ad portal received more than 90 percent of its revenue from the adult escort ad portion of its classified advertising business, according to a search warrant affidavit filed by the Texas attorney general's office. In California, that amounted to about $50 million between January 2013 and May 2015, or between $1.5 million and $2.5 million a month, it said.

Ferrer was told directly by law enforcement officials about prostitution on the site "and is regularly copied on the hundreds of law enforcement subpoenas and requests that Backpage.com receives each year related to prostitution and sex trafficking of both adults and minors on the website," according to the affidavit.

The California complaint alleges that rather than merely being a conduit for the ads, Ferrer "developed and oversaw a process to screen escort ads on Backpage.com." By charging for the ads, the state charges that he and his co-defendants violated the state's law against pimping, defined as making money off prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.

California authorities said the state's three-year investigation found many of the ads involve victims of sex trafficking including children under the age of 18.

One of the advertisers, identified only as 15-year-old "E.S.," ''was forced into prostitution at the age of 13 by her pimp," according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. She used other online advertising services until they were shut down, the court filing says, when she turned to Backpage.com.

The criminal charges, like a lawsuit pending in Washington state, skirt free-speech and federal internet immunity protections by alleging that Backpage profited by directly participating in sex trafficking, including of minors.

In a statement Friday, Liz McDougall, Backpage.com general counsel, called the raid and Ferrer's arrest "an election-year stunt, not a good-faith action by law enforcement."

She said prostitution ads violate Backpage.com's policies against illegal content, that the company blocked the posting of ads using terms that violated those policies and removed ads when contacted by law enforcement

"The actions of the California and Texas Attorneys General are flatly illegal. They ignore the holdings of numerous federal courts that the First Amendment protects the ads on Backpage.com," McDougall said. She also contended that they also violate the U.S. Communications Decency Act "pre-empting state actions such as this one and immunizing web hosts of third-party created content."

However, the criminal complaint and affidavit, like the Washington lawsuit filed on behalf of three underage girls, contend that Backstage actively coached advertisers in how to write advertisements in ways that would stay within legal limits while still encouraging commercial sex.

Backpage has argued that it merely publishes advertisements that are created and provided by others, but the Washington Supreme Court ruled last year that the company didn't just host the ads, but helped develop the content.

The girls' civil attorney, Erik Bauer, said at the time that the three were in the seventh and ninth grades when adult professional sex traffickers sold them as prostitutes on Backpage.

Ford, the spokeswoman for the California attorney general, declined comment on the company's statement. A message to a spokeswoman for the Texas attorney general drew no response.

California officials said their investigation was prompted in part by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which reported 2,900 instances to California authorities since 2012 when suspected child sex trafficking occurred using Backpage.com.

The charges against Ferrer could bring him nearly 22 years in prison. Larkin and Lacey face a maximum of six years.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee that has investigated the company estimated its annual revenue at more than $150 million.

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Associated Press writers David Warren in Dallas, Don Thompson in Sacramento, California, and Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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France, Senegal to expand fight in region against extremism

DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  France and Senegal have agreed to expand cooperation in the fight against extremism to at least 14 other African countries.

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve made the announcement with his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo after meetings Friday in Senegal's capital, Dakar.

Cazeneuve said the decision expands on already established intelligence agreements to fight extremism, looking to include more countries to help secure borders, exchange intelligence and foster cooperation between special and local security forces in the region.

Diallo said talks will include countries within a French West African economic and monetary union, expanding to Ghana, Liberia and Cameroon.
Schools warn of 'virtual kidnapping' scam targeting parents

Schools across the U.S. are warning about a scam to convince parents that their children have been kidnapped  even though they haven't  and to collect ransom money.

Cases of "virtual kidnapping" have been reported over the past two months in Virginia, California, Texas, Arizona and other states. Authorities say the scam often targets the parents of college students, tricking some into paying thousands of dollars and appears to be on the rise nationally.

In many cases, parents receive a call from a stranger who claims to have kidnapped their child, and can often provide the child's name or other details. Some parents have reported hearing screams or a muffled cry in the background. Then the caller orders parents to wire money in exchange for their child's release.

"They really prey on people's fears, and in this case it's a very intense fear, thinking that your child's been kidnapped," said Jay Gruber, police chief at Georgetown University, where a parent reported the scam on Thursday. In that case, the parent used social media to contact the child, and didn't pay the ransom.

Usually, the ransom demand is between $600 and $1,900, according to the FBI's New York field office, which issued a warning about the scam in January 2015. FBI officials said they weren't available to comment on Friday. Gruber said the scheme emerged in the U.S. more than a year ago but has become more common recently.

Thirkel Freeman was driving with his wife, Coretta, last week when a man called Coretta's cell phone and said he had kidnapped their daughter, Kiauna, a senior at the University of Maryland. The caller even put a woman on the phone who claimed to be Kiauna and had a similar voice, pleading them to pay the ransom. The man threatened to kill Kiauna if they didn't.

"He says, 'If you play games with me, it's over,'" said Thirkel, of White Plains, Maryland. "At that point, we were at the peak of traumatization."

Coretta called the police, who arrived and guided the couple through the call. But the Freemans ultimately wired $1,300 to the caller before finding out Kiauna was safe on campus.

Several colleges have issued alerts about the scam, including Georgetown, Arizona State University, George Mason University and the University of Texas at Arlington.

The calls often come from outside area codes, sometimes from Puerto Rico, according to the FBI. If someone calls demanding a ransom, authorities say parents should try to text their child or reach them through social media to confirm their child's safety. Or they can ask the alleged kidnapper to have their child call back from his or her own phone.
Train service set to resume after deadly New Jersey crash

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  Rail service at a New Jersey transit station damaged after a train crash last week that killed a woman on the platform and injured more than 100 will resume Monday, as officials continue to investigate why the train was traveling twice the speed limit before it hit the station.

Eight of the 17 tracks at Hoboken Terminal will reopen Monday at the busy station where commuters connect with other trains and with ferries heading into New York City, New Jersey Transit announced Friday.

Also Friday, a state lawmaker said the Assembly will request New Jersey's auditor initiate an investigation into the crash. Assemblyman John McKeon said on Friday Assembly Speaker Vincent will ask the auditor to investigate the crash, likely by Monday.

A New Jersey Transit train is moved on the track out of the Hoboken Terminal, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Hoboken, N.J., a week after the train crashed into the station, killing one person and injuring more than 100 people. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

One person was killed and more than 100 were injured last Thursday morning when the train slammed through a bumper at the end of the track and dislodged an overhead canopy, showering debris onto the train.

The federal agency investigating the crash said Thursday the train was going about twice the speed limit of 10 mph just before the crash.

With the resumption of service, a new rule will require that the conductor join the engineer whenever a train pulls into the terminal, NJ Transit spokeswoman Jennifer Nelson said. That means a second set of eyes will be watching as a train enters the final phase of its trip at stations where there are platforms at the end of the rails.

In the Sept. 29 crash, the engineer was alone at the time. He has told federal investigators he has no memory of the crash.

Some rail safety experts caution that having a second person in a cab isn't automatically safer, since crew members can sometimes distract each other. In 1996 outside Washington, D.C., a commuter train engineer was thought to have been distracted by a conversation with a crew member, causing a crash with an Amtrak train that killed 11 people.

It took investigators until Tuesday to make the New Jersey crash site safe enough to be able to remove an event recorder from the lead car that had smashed into and over a bumper at the end of the line. The damaged train that took out part of a canopy wasn't removed until Thursday, a week after the crash.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the train sped up and was going twice the 10 mph speed limit just before it slammed into a bumping post at the end of the rail line, went airborne and hurtled into the station's waiting area Sept. 29.

The train was traveling at 8 mph and the throttle was in the idle position less than a minute before the crash. About 38 seconds before the crash, the throttle was increased and reached a maximum of about 21 mph, the NTSB said. The throttle went back to idle and the engineer hit the emergency brake less than a second before the crash, investigators said.

NJ Transit trains have an in-cab system designed to alert engineers with a loud alarm and stop locomotives when they go over 20 mph, according to an NJ Transit engineer who wasn't authorized to discuss the accident and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The NJ Transit engineer said the throttles have eight slots, putting the fourth spot at about half power. The engineer said the throttle should be set to idle, or the first and slowest speed spot, when entering Hoboken Terminal. The tracks into the station run slightly downhill, so there would be no need to push the throttle any higher, the engineer said.

An NTSB spokesman said he didn't know if the alert system went off. He said it's being looked at as part of the investigation.

A Thursday report contained no analysis of the data retrieved and no explanation for why the train increased speed. NTSB technical experts and the parties to the investigation are scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to continue reviewing the data and video from the train.

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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

FILE - This Oct. 1, 2016, file photo, provided by the National Transportation Safety Board shows damage done to the Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, N.J., after a commuter train crash. New Jersey Transit is implementing a new rule after the crash. NJ Transit spokeswoman Jennifer Nelson said the conductor must join the engineer whenever a train pulls into Hoboken Terminal or Atlantic City. That means a second set of eyes will be watching as a train enters the final phase of its trip at stations where there are platforms at the end of the rails. (Chris O'Neil/NTSB photo via AP, File)

A New Jersey Transit train is moved on the track out of the Hoboken Terminal, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Hoboken, N.J., a week after the train crashed into the station, killing one person and injuring more than 100 people. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A New Jersey Transit employee rides on a train as it is moved out of the Hoboken Terminal, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Hoboken, N.J., a week after the train crashed into the station, killing one person and injuring more than 100 people. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Illinois will have same-day voter registration this election

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Same-day voter registration will be allowed in Illinois in the general election because an appeals court ruled Friday that a challenge to the law won't be resolved until after Nov. 8.

The decision from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals not to expedite the case means the legal wrangling between a conservative group and the state won't impact this election, but the question of whether the law is constitutional remains unresolved.

This week, the appeals court issued a ruling temporarily canceling a federal judge's decision that the Election Day voter registration law, as drafted by lawmakers, is discriminatory to voters in rural, GOP-leaning areas. If that ruling stood, it would've prevented same-day voter registration on Nov. 8.

Under the law, counties with more than 100,000 residents must allow Election Day registration. Smaller counties that keep electronic records must do the same, but voters in places without electronic records must travel to the county's main election office or a larger municipality.

The conservative Illinois Policy Institute sued to overturn the law, which began as a pilot project in 2014 and was expanded in 2015.

Jacob Huebert, a Liberty Justice Center attorney representing the group, said the law is a "tremendous advantage" to candidates who draw their support from high-population areas, like Chicago. He called the law "unfair and unequal."

"We've done all we can do for now, but we're hopeful that when the court has an opportunity to hear the case after the election that it will uphold the district court's decision," he said.

Both sides will begin filing their legal briefs with the appeals court beginning Nov. 10.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who represents the state when it is sued, said in a statement that same-day "registration allows all voters the opportunity to participate in our elections."
Report shows big increase in people seeking asylum on border

SAN DIEGO (AP)  Hundreds of thousands of people have sought asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border in the last two years, a dramatic increase that shows how migrants have changed from mostly Mexican men trying to evade capture to more Central American families who often turn themselves in, a report for the federal government shows.

Asylum seekers, many of them fleeing drug-fueled violence south of the border, peaked in 2014 at 170,000, nearly triple the 63,000 who arrived the previous year. Before 2012, there were fewer than 30,000 a year.

In the 2015 fiscal year, the number declined to 140,000 people, according to the report by the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federally funded research organization that was tapped to help develop new measures of border security. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report from a government official involved in border issues who acted on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.

FILE - In this June 25, 2014, file photo, an unidentified U.S. Border Patrol agent, left, helps an immigrant, including setting up intravenous fluid replacement for dehydration, near Sells, Ariz. Barely half of immigrants who entered the country illegally on the U.S. border with Mexico last year got caught. That's according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report obtained by The Associated Press, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Astrid Galvan, File)

"The dramatic increase in asylum seekers since 2011 may represent a structural change in illegal entry behavior at the southern border," the report said. "This trend is driving significant changes in how to enforce immigration laws and the demands for resources for enforcement."

The number of asylum seekers spiked well after the U.S. launched a major expansion in enforcement, erecting hundreds of miles of fences, adding surveillance gear and doubling the size of the Border Patrol.

The spike highlights the need to address other aspects of the immigration system, such as the courts and the Department of Health and Human Services, which supervises unaccompanied children, said David Aguilar, who led the Border Patrol from 2004 to 2010.

"There's a new border environment that we, as a country, need to address," Aguilar said. "The border environment that I took over as chief in 2004 is very different than what we see today."

The report's authors did not include asylum seekers in their calculation of how many people are apprehended at the border. That is in contrast to the Homeland Security Department, which counts them.

The different approaches help explain why the report found that 54 percent of people trying to enter the country illegally between Mexico border crossings got caught last year. That's much lower than the government's publicly stated success rate of 81 percent.

Rep. Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican who has pressed Homeland Security officials to release the report, said the 54 percent figure was no surprise.

"Given that DHS knows these facts, they need to stop pushing misleading measurements that don't show the full picture and create mistrust with the American public," she said.

The Homeland Security Department began releasing its "interdiction effectiveness rate" two years ago  81 percent last year and 79 percent in 2014. It also includes people who set foot in the country and turned back. The most recent report does not include them.

The authors caution that the number of asylum seekers cannot be counted precisely and was calculated using categories of people most closely associated with those claims, including unaccompanied children from countries other than Mexico.

Homeland Security officials said Thursday that the report was "one building block provided by a research organization" toward developing more reliable measures of border security and that its methodology needed refinement.

The report showed a dramatic decline in the number of people who eluded capture  200,000 in 2015 compared with 1.9 million in 2005. The drop coincides with increases in spending on border enforcement to $14 billion a year and the introduction of tougher penalties for people who get caught, including jail time.

"This is the first solid evidence we have that the border buildup of the last 20 years has indeed made some significant difference in deterring and reducing illegal entries across the southern border," said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

FILE - In this June 22, 2016, file photo, Border Patrol agent Eduardo Olmos walks near the secondary fence separating Tijuana, Mexico, background, and San Diego in San Diego. U.S. immigration authorities caught barely half the people who illegally entered the country from Mexico last year, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report that offers one of the most detailed assessments of U.S. border security ever compiled. The report found far fewer people are attempting to get into the U.S. than a decade ago and that 54 percent of those who tried were caught in the year ending Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2009, file photo, long lines of vehicles wait in line to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Border Crossing in San Diego, Calif. Immigration authorities caught barely half of the people who illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico last year, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report that offers one of the most detailed assessments of border security ever compiled. Homeland Security officials had no immediately comment Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, a U.S. Border Patrol agent drives near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Sunland Park, N.M. U.S. immigration authorities caught barely half the people who illegally entered the country from Mexico last year, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report that offers one of the most detailed assessments of U.S. border security ever compiled. The report found far fewer people are attempting to get into the U.S. than a decade ago and that 54 percent of those who tried were caught in the year ending Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 15, 2014, file photo, More than 350 immigrants who have been detained while crossing the border are held inside the McAllen Border Patrol Station in McAllen, Texas. Barely half of immigrants who entered the country illegally on the U.S. border with Mexico last year got caught. That's according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report obtained by The Associated Press, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Rick Loomis, Pool, File)
Bisping craves revenge in UFC 204 title defense vs Henderson

Shortly after Michael Bisping agreed to defend his unlikely middleweight title in a rematch with Dan Henderson, he sat down with his wife to watch the fighters' first bout seven years ago at UFC 100.

It doesn't take much to get Bisping riled up, and that defeat still does the trick.

"It's embarrassing as hell when I watch that first fight," Bisping said. "I'm skinny as hell. I'm so skittish. I'm mentally, physically beaten in that fight. I was just, 'Oh God, turn this off.' I wanted to watch it, but it didn't resemble me at all. That's not how I fight. I was disgusted with my performance. I was embarrassed. It was horrible. But we all have it. We all have bad nights at the office. It was a good night for Dan, and it was a bad night for me."

FILE - In this June 15, 2013, file photo, Dan Henderson moves in on Rashad Evans during a UFC 161 mixed martial arts bout in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Henderson will attempt to cap his 19-year career by beating middleweight champion Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 204 on Sunday morning, Oct. 9, in Manchester, England. The 46-year-old Henderson has never won a UFC title belt, and he has said he will retire after the fight. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

He didn't even have to mention the ending: Henderson literally knocked out Bisping with one spectacular right hand, and he punctuated it with a flying elbow onto Bisping's defenseless face on the ground. It's one of the most memorable stoppages in UFC history, and it's the main reason Bisping eagerly agreed when the UFC offered him a chance to make it right.

Bisping (30-7) is back in his native northern England to take on the 46-year-old Henderson (32-14) in the main event of UFC 204 this weekend, making his first defense of the belt that he won at UFC 199 in June with a stunning victory as a late replacement opponent for fearsome Luke Rockhold.

"Dana White called me, and I was still hung over from that fight," Bisping said. "They were thinking Dan Henderson. I said, 'Absolutely. Line him up. I'll knock him down.' ... He knocked me out. I want revenge. He was on steroids, and now I get to shut him up."

The 37-year-old Bisping grew into a successful broadcaster and actor even before he upset Rockhold to claim the belt, but he remains one of mixed martial arts' most polarizing fighters. Many fans love his trash talk and humor in his broad Lancashire accent, while others despise his bravado and cockiness.

Nobody can argue about Bisping's fight promotion skills, and he has aggressively sold this seeming mismatch with Henderson, who has lost six of his last nine fights and has claimed he'll retire after this one.

Bisping and Henderson have needled each other for weeks, with Bisping coming down hard on Henderson's sanctioned use of testosterone replacement therapy before their first bout. Bisping also refers to Henderson as "Captain Caveman, Fred Flintstone. Whatever you want to call him, you can see he is a throwback to the Neanderthal man."

"I don't even see this fight as a rematch, to be honest with you, because the two versions of ourselves are so completely different," Bisping added. "I'm much better. I've improved mentally and physically. Dan Henderson, he's the opposite. He's not on the steroids. He's older. Look at the muscle mass he had in that first fight compared to now. It's like two different fighters."

Bisping expects to have the English crowd behind him when he fights early Sunday morning  the UFC schedules its pay-per-view fights to run in the U.S. market's prime Saturday night viewing hours. After a night of carousing and cheering, the fans will be more than ready for Bisping, who now lives in Orange County, California.

The card from 21,000-seat Manchester Arena, which sold out almost immediately, also features veteran Vitor Belfort against Gegard Mousasi, along with bouts for light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux and heavyweight Stefan Struve.
NHS 'would not cope' without overseas staff, nursing leaders warn

Nursing leaders have warned that the NHS "would not cope" without staff from abroad, as new figures suggest the number of EU nationals joining NHS hospitals has soared.

Around one in five nurses recruited in England 2015/16 were non-British EU nationals - up from one in 14 in 2011/12.

Over the same period the proportion of British nurses joining hospitals dropped from roughly 78% to 70%.

The proportion of British nurses joining hospitals dropped from roughly 78% to 70% over the same period

The Royal College of Nursing said the figures showed nurses trained abroad made a "critical contribution" to the health service, while the British Medical Association said the NHS could only benefit from widening its overseas "talent pool".

New analysis by the Press Association has revealed the extent to which the NHS in England is increasingly dependent on EU workers to meet demand for new staff.

Of the 33,000 nurses recorded as joining hospitals in 2015/16, just over 6,000 held an EU nationality other than British. Some 1,750 were Spanish, 1,300 Italian and nearly 1,000 Portuguese.

The findings, based on data published by NHS Digital, also suggested that in 2015/16:

:: Around one in 10 midwives joining hospitals were non-British EU nationals, up from one in 20 in 2012/13

:: Some 20% of newly-recruited speciality doctors were EU nationals, along with 17% of speciality registrars and 7% of foundation year doctors

:: Just over 10% of the total staff joining NHS hospitals held EU nationality. In 2012/13 the proportion was 6%.

The rights of EU citizens to continue to work in the UK is likely to be one of the key areas of the Brexit negotiations. The Government has yet to clarify the future status of the 2.2 million non-UK nationals employed in this country.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt this week told the Conservative party conference that he wanted EU nationals working in the NHS "to be able to stay post-Brexit".

Responding to the PA's analysis, Donna Kinnair, director of nursing, policy and practice at the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Nurses trained in other countries have contributed to the NHS since its inception.

"The health service would not cope without their contribution, and with the future supply of nurses looking uncertain this situation will not change any time soon.

"Allowing the ambiguity about the future of health care staff from the EU to continue is completely unfair.

"The Government must act now and develop a coherent and sustainable workforce strategy, which recognises the critical contribution of overseas nurses as well as the pressing need to educate, recruit and retain a domestic nursing workforce in the UK."

Dr Mark Porter, British Medical Association council chair, said: "The UK has grown to rely on health care workers from the EU who play a vital role in the effective functioning of our NHS.

"By widening our talent pool, the NHS can only benefit from the wealth of knowledge and expertise that is gained from recruiting doctors from overseas.

"With unprecedented staff shortages and a recent BMA study revealing that almost half of doctors were planning to move abroad to work, the Government should be focusing on creating a health service that supports and nurtures both those wishing to apply to work in the UK and those already here."

The proportion of EU nationals recruited as nurses in 2015/16 may be even higher than one in five, as the data from NHS Digital includes 1,674 nurses whose nationality was recorded as "unknown".

NHS Digital also noted that data on nationality was based on self-reported information from individual employees. As this may reflect cultural heritage rather than country of birth, the figures do not necessarily equate to migrants from other countries.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "As the Secretary of State has repeatedly made clear, overseas workers form a crucial part of our NHS and we value their contribution immensely.




Chef Greg Paulson, director of Culinary Arts at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, has always brought international cooking techniques to his kitchen-lab to teach students the various cooking methods used in other countries.This summer, he exposed students to Irish cuisine by bringing them to Ireland.Going outside the country and learning from the Irish chefs, their cuisine, and some of the fresh ingredients, was just phenomenal to the students, said Chef Paulson.The ten-day course Irish Food and Culture, was taught at the Waterford Institute of Technology in Waterford, Ireland, just outside of Dublin.Ten students took part in the chance-of-a-lifetime course which also included field trips to various markets, restaurants, butcheries, fromage (cheese) shops, famous landmarks, castles, and beaches.Georgia Northwestern was the first college in the Technical College System of Georgia to take part in the international agreement between the Waterford Institute of Technology and the TCSG.According to Chef Paulson, one of the primary reasons GNTC was chosen was because TCSG officials were impressed by the culinary lunches that the Culinary Arts program offers to the public, which feature international cuisine.Dr. Ian Bond, executive director of the International Center at TCSG, was very impressed with our Fundamentals of Restaurant Operations course, said Chef Paulson. As part of this course the students create the menu, prepare the food, serve it to the public, and interact with the customers.Culinary student Trey Sutton of Adairsville said that the agriculturally-driven aspects of the food and culture of Ireland were what he liked the best.They have whats called 100 percent traceability where every piece of meat, fish, or dairy product can be traced all the way back to the farmer, said Mr. Sutton. There are tracing numbers for everything that is served in the restaurants. You are not going to find better ingredients.It is very normal for a restaurant in Ireland to have a special where they picked the vegetables that morning, said Mr. Sutton.According to Ross Wood of Cave Spring, the all-natural aspects of Irish cuisine were the most memorable part of the trip for him as well.It's a new world over there and everything is just so vastly different from what you already know, nothing is processed or anything, said Mr. Wood. If you buy a carton of milk you look on the back of it and see the name of the farmer who cultivated it and where his farm is  they just pay a lot more attention to the finer details.Toni Gaulding of Rome said that the best part of the trip for her was working side-by-side with the Irish chefs.They didn't make us feel like we were out of place or anything, said Ms. Gaulding. It was intimidating for someone like me. I'm a homemaker, so it's a little scary, but they took that fear away and I think that was what impressed me the most.The Culinary Arts program is taught in the Woodlee Building on the Floyd County Campus of GNTC. The building is an early 20th century dwelling that has been renovated and updated to include a first-class teaching kitchen, commercial-grade equipment, and a refined serving area.Chef Paulson says that he is entertaining the thought of doing a nine-day course in France and Germany in the future and hopefully making international experiences an ongoing part of the program.Growing up in my hometown, there was a travel agency with a large marquee that stated see the world before you leave it, said Chef Paulson. That was a very impressionable declaration for me and I have genuinely always guided my career path based on that statement.Because of that, I implore all of my students to travel and discover the vast culinary experiences, both regional and international, he said.
Ebola scare nurse Pauline Cafferkey to spend second day in hospital

Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who was rushed to hospital for a fourth time since her return from Africa, is to remain in hospital for a second day.

Ms Cafferkey was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow under police escort on Thursday morning where she underwent tests by the infectious diseases team.

On Thursday evening NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) released a statement saying tests for the Ebola virus were negative and she remained in a stable condition.

Pauline Cafferkey was taken to hospital in Glasgow

The statement said: "Pauline Cafferkey was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital this morning under the care of the Infectious Diseases Unit.

"Due to Ms Cafferkey's past medical history, appropriate precautionary measures were taken whilst further investigations were carried out.

"We are pleased to report that tests for the Ebola virus are negative.

"She remains in a stable condition in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. We want to repeat our previous reassurance that there is no risk to the public.

"We will not be issuing further statements and would ask that Pauline's privacy and right to medical confidentiality be respected."

The nurse was infected with the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone as a volunteer for Save The Children in 2014.

On her return from west Africa at the end of that year, she was quickly struck down and treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Ms Cafferkey was discharged in January 2015, with doctors saying she had completely recovered and was not infectious in any way.

However, she was readmitted to hospital twice - in October 2015 and February 2016 - after suffering complications linked to the disease, at one stage falling critically ill.

Last month Ms Cafferkey was cleared of misconduct over her return to the UK with the virus.

She was accused by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of allowing an incorrect temperature to be recorded in a ''chaotic'' screening centre in Heathrow on her return from Sierra Leone in late 2014.

Ms Cafferkey said she would never have knowingly put anyone in danger and an independent panel found three charges against her were not proven and her fitness to practise was not affected.

It ruled her judgment at the airport in December 2014 had been so impaired by the developing illness that she could not be found guilty of misconduct.

Speaking outside the hearing in Edinburgh, Ms Cafferkey's lawyer said she was ''relieved the process is at an end'' and stressed the nurse would have never knowingly placed anyone in danger.

Joyce Cullen said of her client: ''She willingly put her life at risk to travel to Sierra Leone to work as a volunteer helping to treat people suffering from Ebola.

''She and hundreds of other volunteers played a vital role in saving lives, helping to curb the epidemic in extremely challenging circumstances.''

During the Ebola outbreak which swept Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, more than 28,000 cases were reported, resulting in over 11,000 deaths.
Ultra-left Labour under Corbyn risks one-party state, says Blair

Tony Blair has hinted at a return to frontline politics, as he suggested Britain risks becoming a "one-party state".

The former Labour prime minister said it was "a tragedy" that the two choices facing the electorate were the Tories pursuing a hard Brexit and "an ultra-left Labour Party" which has "a set of policies that takes us back to the Sixties".

Mr Blair recently announced that he would be significantly scaling back his business empire in order to focus on charity work.

Former premier Tony Blair has refused to rule out a return to politics

And, in an interview with Esquire magazine, he refused to rule out a return to politics.

Mr Blair said: "It's a tragedy for British politics if the choice before the country is a Conservative government going for a hard Brexit and an ultra-left Labour Party, that believes in a set of policies that takes us back to the Sixties.

"In the UK at the moment you've got a one-party state.

"When you put it all together (taking into account that the Conservative leader wasn't elected), there's something seriously wrong.

"I don't know if there's a role for me ... There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment.

"All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes.

"Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question."

Mr Blair said Labour had shifted under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership from a party of government to an "ultra-left" culture "which believes that the action on the street is as important as the action in Parliament".

He added: "It's a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, very remote from the way that broad mass of people really think.

"The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left or because they're too principled - it's because they're too wrong.

"The reason their policies shouldn't be supported isn't because they're wildly radical, it's because they're not.

"They don't work. They're actually a form of conservatism. This is the point about them. What they are offering is a mixture of fantasy and error."

Mr Blair's New Labour won three general elections by moving the party closer to the centre ground of British politics.

"There's been a huge reaction against the politics I represent," said Mr Blair.

"But I think it's too soon to say the centre has been defeated. Ultimately I don't think it will. I think it will succeed again.
Same-sex marriage first for Army sergeant on Cyprus

An Army sergeant has married his partner in the first same-sex wedding in a British Forces overseas territory.

Alastair Smith, of the 2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, tied the knot with civilian Aaron Weston in Dhekelia, Cyprus, the Ministry of Defence said.

Air Vice Marshal Mike Wigston, the Sovereign Base Area Administrator (SBAA), approved and conducted the ceremony on September 10.

Air Vice Marshal Mike Wigston, Sergeant Alastair Smith and Aaron Weston during the first same-sex wedding on a British overseas base (Sgt Andrew Benson (RAF)/PA)

Members of his regiment, nicknamed the Tigers, attended alongside the couple's family and friends.

Pictures shared by the couple on social media showed the men wearing cream trousers and waistcoats, with pink buttonholes and pink bow ties, and embracing for their first kiss by the waterfront at Fisherman's Cove.

Sgt Smith, 36, said: "As well as having the great honour of being able to serve in an infantry battalion in the British Army, it's also an honour to be able to commit myself to my husband with the full backing and support of the British Army in the unique environment that Cyprus offers.

"In a country that is pushing forward on matters of gender and equality, both Cyprus and the SBAA have been massively supportive. We are proud to be able to serve and live in this community."

Sgt Smith's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Davies, said: "I am delighted that Sergeant Smith and Aaron were able to get married on the Dhekelia coastline - a cracking choice. On behalf of the Battalion and wider 'Tigers' community, we wish them the very best of happiness for the future."
From 'mother's midday meal' to menopause, Woman's Hour celebrates 70 years

Radio 4 show Woman's Hour is celebrating its 70th birthday - and much has changed since the debut episode discussed "putting your best face forward".

The first presenter of the show, now fronted by Dame Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey, was a man - ex-RAF intelligence officer Alan Ivimey.

Ivimey, who specialised in "writing for and talking to women", lasted just three months and was replaced by Joan Griffiths.

Dame Jenni Murray became the regular presenter of Woman's Hour in 1987

The first edition of Woman's Hour was broadcast on October 7 1946.

The guests were Elsie Crump, a butcher's wife, Hollywood star Deborah Kerr and Labour politician and feminist Margaret Bondfield.

The then-afternoon programme was commissioned by Norman Collins, who said in 1967: "I always visualised the poor, wretched housewife, her morale probably at the lowest, at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when she had the washing up and lunch to do."

He said he did not want an "endless succession of light music" but "speakers talking on topics that would be of interest to the intelligent woman" and that there were too many "programmes in which the intelligence of the woman is underrated".

The first programme, broadcast in postwar Britain, discussed topics such as "mother's midday meal" - herrings, kippers or a baked potato - and "putting your best face forward" - wear lipstick, put on powder and don a headscarf.

Some listeners complained that the advice given to housewives was patronising and assumed that they were ignorant, and they asked why the presenter was a man.

Shortly afterwards, there would be programmes on equal pay and the menopause, causing some consternation for BBC bosses.

When what was then known as "the change" was discussed on air, it was seen as deeply shocking, with a listener stating they were "embarrassed to hear hot flushes, diseases of the ovaries and the possibility of the removal of the womb discussed at 2 o'clock in the afternoon".

The programme broadcast the recording of a birth in the 1950s.

In the 1990s, Woman's Hour moved from 2pm to the morning, when it is still broadcast today.

There were also plans to attract more male listeners by changing its name, but there was a revolt at Radio 4 and the title Woman's Hour stayed.

Today, around 40% of the magazine show's listeners are male.

On New Year's Eve in 2004, the programme became Man's Hour for one episode, presented by Jon Snow.

Dame Jenni became the regular presenter of Woman's Hour - which today commands a weekly audience of 3.7 million listeners - in 1987.

She told listeners that she had breast cancer at the end of a programme in 2006, before she underwent treatment.

Violet Carson, who played Ena Sharples in Coronation Street, presented Woman's Hour for five years in the 1950s.

Guest editors on the programme have included Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Doreen Lawrence, the campaigner and mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Woman's Hour is also a hit with younger listeners - it is the second most popular daily podcast across all BBC radio after The Archers.

Late Night Woman's Hour, hosted by Lauren Laverne, became a permanent fixture earlier this year following a trial run.
Andy Murray predicts big things for Kyle Edmund after win in China

World number two Andy Murray praised compatriot Kyle Edmund after defeating his Davis Cup team-mate 7-6 (11/9) 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the China Open.

Murray edged a tight first set in a tie-break and trailed 2-0 early in the second, but reeled off six games in a row to set up a semi-final clash with Spain's David Ferrer, who beat Alexander Zverev in three sets.

" I know how good he (Edmund) is and the power that he has on the court," Murray said.

Andy Murray, pictured, beat Davis Cup team-mate Kyle Edmund to reach the semi-finals in Beijing (AP)

"I knew it was going to be a hard match today, he'd come though qualifying here and had a good win in the last round. He's playing really well and will be up at the top of the game soon.

" The first set was very tough and I was down an early break in the second. He generates a lot of power on the forehand side, it's one of the bigger weapons in tennis just now and that will continue to develop over the next few years the more matches he plays.

"In the biggest tournaments against the best players he's going to learn how to use that shot more and more."

Murray, who is the top seed in Beijing following the withdrawal of world number one Novak Djokovic, had coasted through his second-round contest against Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, dropping just three games in a match lasting 76 m inutes.

But he needed almost as long simply to win the first set against Edmund, who looked well worthy of his move into the world's top 50 for the first time in his career when the rankings are updated on Monday.

Murray won 100 per cent of points behind his first serve in the first set but was unable to convert his only break - and set - point in the 10th game, Edmund producing an excellent forehand winner with his opponent at the net.

Edmund then surged into a 5-2 lead in the tie-break but was unable to find the killer blow before Murray finally won it 11-9 with another powerful first serve.

After saving a break point in the first game of the second set, Edmund was gifted a 2-0 lead thanks to a double fault from Murray, but failed to consolidate the break despite being 40-15 ahead on his serve.

And although he had to save three break points in the seventh game, Murray was in no mood to take his foot off the gas and broke Edmund twice more to seal his place in the last four.

Speaking about facing Ferrer in Saturday's semi-finals, Murray said in an interview shown on www.atpworldtour.com: "It's always tough against him.

"He's one of the best returners out there, he moves extremely well and he's got a very accurate forehand as well, so if you let him dictate with that shot he makes you do a lot of running and can be very dangerous off that side.

"I'll need to play well if I want to win but I feel like I am in a good place right now and have played a little bit better with each match and hopefully it will be the same again tomorrow."
Chancellor to sell remaining stake in Lloyds Banking Group

The Chancellor will offload the Government's remaining stake in Lloyd's Banking Group to institutional investors, ditching George Osborne's plans of a retail sale to the public.

Philip Hammond said the 3.6 billion - or 9.1% - stake would be sold through a trading plan after experts warned a retail sale was no longer an option due to "ongoing market volatility".

Previous trading plans had seen the Government automatically sell shares in Lloyds once its price rose above 73.6p - the price it paid to bail-out the bank in 2009.

The Chancellor said returning Lloyds to the private sector "is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole"

Mr Hammond said the move would allow the Government to recoup the entire 20.3 billion used to bail out the bank during the financial crisis.

The plan marks another departure by the Chancellor from his predecessor after scrapping Mr Osborne's pledge to put the public finances back into surplus by 2020.

Speaking from Washington, Mr Hammond said he had "listened to the experts" who advised him against a retail sale.

"Returning Lloyds to the private sector is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole.

"That is why exiting our stake in Lloyds in an orderly way, and at the best possible price, is one of my top priorities as Chancellor."

"Our plan will get back all the cash taxpayers invested in Lloyds during the financial crisis and leave the bank in a better place to continue the crucial role it plays in supporting individuals, families and businesses up and down the UK," he added.

The Government snapped up a 43% stake in Lloyds following the 2008 global financial crisis.

Around 16.9 billion has already been raised by the Government from selling its stake in Lloyds. It still owns 73% of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Osborne had temporarily shelved plans to sell off Government stakes in British banks in January and after the EU referendum result on June 23.

Morgan Stanley International will now act as a broker on behalf of the Treasury to carry out the new trading plan, which will allow the Government to drip-feed the sale of its stake to institutional investors.

UK Financial Investments - the organisation which manages the Government's investments in Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, and UK Asset Resolution - said the sale would begin immediately and last until October 6, 2017.

Shares in Lloyds, which have plunged 23% since the day of the EU referendum, were down more than 4% after the announcement.

Tom McPhail, Hargreaves Lansdown's head of retirement policy, said Lloyds sale did not dovetail with the Government's pledge to support ordinary people.

"This would have been an opportunity to not only raise money for the Treasury but also to democratise retail investing.

"Share offers of this nature are an excellent mechanism for developing consumer interest in long term investments, so this decision to place shares via an institution hardly seems in keeping with the new Government's mantra of standing up for ordinary people."

Lloyds announced in July that it is cutting 3,000 jobs and shutting 200 branches in the wake of lower interest rates and as part of an extension of a cost-cutting programme.
Johanna Konta wins 12 games in a row to claim China Open quarter-final victory

British number one Johanna Konta advanced to the China Open semi-finals after fighting back in remarkable fashion from 4-0 down in the first set to clinch victory over home favourite Zhang Shuai.

Konta, the world number 14, bounced back emphatically from her slow start, winning the next 12 games in a row for a 6-4 6-0 triumph.

The 25-year-old 11th seed is aiming to force her way into contention for the WTA Finals in Singapore later this month and she certainly looked to be on a mission against Zhang, ranked 36 in the world.

Johanna Konta, pictured, beat Zhang Shuai 6-4 6-0 on Friday (AP)

Play was briefly held up on set point in the first as a spectator made their way back to their seat, and there subsequently appeared to be some concern over the pressure of the balls being used.

But there was little stopping Konta, who will now meet American Madison Keys in the last four.

Eighth seed Keys earlier beat 14th-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-7 (2/7) 7-6 (7/5).
Tiger Woods plans to return to PGA Tour next week

Former world number one Tiger Woods has officially entered next week's Safeway Open as he edges nearer to competing in his first PGA Tour event since August 2015.

Woods, who has been sidelined by serious back problems, said last month he planned to play four events before the end of the year, starting with the Tiger Woods Invitational on the Monterey Peninsula, California, on October 10.

The 40-year-old will then head north to Napa for the Safeway Open from October 13-16 and, if all goes to plan, Woods will play on the European Tour in the Turkish Airlines Open in November and the Hero World Challenge, which is hosted by his own foundation, in the Bahamas.

Tiger Woods is set for his latest comeback from injury at next week's Safeway Open

Woods has undergone three back operations in the space of 19 months and has not won on the PGA Tour since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2013.

The 14-time major winner served as a vice-captain to Davis Love as the United States won the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine last week and will perform the same role for Steve Stricker at the 2017 Presidents Cup, if he fails to make the team.
Man arrested after scaling gate at Buckingham Palace

A 21-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly climbing over a gate at Buckingham Palace.

Police were alerted to a man scaling the south gate of the royal residence at 1.45pm on Friday.

Officers met the man as he dropped to the ground and arrested him for trespassing on a designated site, Scotland Yard said.

The man was arrested when he climbed over a gate at Buckingham Palace

The man was not carrying an offensive weapon and has been taken into custody.

He will undergo a mental health assessment and inquires are continuing, police added.

It is understood that no members of the Royal Family were in residence at the time of the security breach.

The Queen had undertaken an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle earlier in the day.

Her London home has long been a target for intrusions - with security breaches at Buckingham Palace ranging from a naked paraglider landing on the roof to an undercover journalist posing as a footman.
Johanna Konta fightback books China Open semi-final place

British number one Johanna Konta advanced to the China Open semi-finals after fighting back in remarkable fashion to beat home favourite Zhang Shuai.

Konta, the world number 14, trailed 4-0 in the opening set, but bounced back emphatically from her slow start to win the next 12 games in succession for a 6-4 6-0 triumph.

The 25-year-old 11th seed is aiming to force her way into contention for the WTA Finals in Singapore later this month and certainly looked to be on a mission against Zhang, ranked 36 in the world.

Johanna Konta advanced to the semi-finals of the China Open on Friday (AP)

Play was briefly held up on set point in the first as a spectator made their way back to their seat, and there subsequently appeared to be some concern over the pressure of the balls being used.

But there was little stopping Konta, who will now meet American Madison Keys in the last four after the e ighth seed beat former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-7 (2/7) 7-6 (7/5).

The other semi-final will see third seed Agnieszka Radwanska take on Elina Svitolina after the pair enjoyed comfortable quarter-final wins on Friday.

Radwanska beat Kazahkstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1 6-2, while Ukraine's Svitolina - who knocked out top seed Angelique Kerber in the previous round - beat Australia's Daria Gavrilova 7-6 (7/3) 6-1.
Chattanooga's Glass House Collective is featured in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum exhibit, By the People: Designing a Better America, an exhibition of 60 collaborative designs from throughout the United States and across borders, By the People challenges persistent social and economic inequality, officials said.Cooper Hewitt and Smithsonian Design Museum's Curator of Socially Responsible Design Cynthia E. Smith conducted over two years of field researchtraveling to shrinking post-industrial cities, sprawling metro regions, struggling rural towns, areas impacted by natural and man-made disasters, and places of persistent povertyin search of design for more inclusive and sustainable communities."Ms.Smith came to Chattanooga. She was aware of the mid-size citys national recognition for its successful downtown revitalization, transforming its image from an industrial town to a thriving city center. Meanwhile on Glass Street, residents were struggling with the compound effects of disinvestment, beyond the reach of basic municipal services. When Ms. Smith reached out to Glass House Collective, she found a small non-profit enlisting residents and artists on small scale improvement projects from their 'How-To Guide,' which was the exhibits focal artifact from Glass House Collective. This small booklet outlined projects that derived from planning meetings with the neighborhood residents. The guide includes a detailed list of instructions as well as all necessary tools, materials, and collaborators to complete each grass-root project. The idea is to make community transformation as achievable, practical, and replicable as possible."For example, recent GHC partner artist, Zachary Reynolds of Woodwise Urban Designs has wooden stools displayed in the exhibit, representative of his sustainable furniture often crafted from salvaged or repurposed materials with a simple blueprint that can be replicated. Partnering with resident artist, Rondell Crier of Studio Everything, Mr. Reynolds mentors community members of all ages interested in making art and woodworking," officials said.We approach community development through the arts and feel that its a crucial approach to urban planning and community building. Its about leveraging the power of arts and culture to strengthen communities and drive social change which we believe sparks civic engagement which then leads to stimulating local economies, innovation, and cultural diversity. Weve seen how creativity has fueled Glass Street, and the benefits of using arts and culture to tap into a places unique character extend well beyond the idea of art for arts sake. The goal of our work is to build a strong, healthy, and resilient community by integrating the arts into broader community revitalization efforts, said GHC Executive Director Teal Thibaud.Ms. Thibaud traveled with co-founder Katherine Currin to NYC last weekend for the exhibits opening reception. Ms. Currin said, Its often difficult to envision how the work were doing in this particular neighborhood we love relates to the wider national conversation about the intersection of design, social justice, and urban and artistic renewal. The scope of the whole exhibit is both incredibly humbling and also affirming.The official exhibit book published by Cooper Hewitt includes a four-page spread about the Glass House Collectives How-To Guide process and features a preface written by Darren Walker, director of the Ford Foundation.Mr. Walker writes: "Beautiful and functional design isn't just for the elite few; everyone appreciates good design, because it can have a profound effect on the way people participate in their communities--especially those who can't afford alternatives to municipal drinking water, parks, public transportation, and public spaces...We can see the effects of poverty and inequality in the growing spatial disparities in communities across America. Some are visible in the deteriorated infrastructure and some are invisible, resulting from policies of exclusion. To create the future that we wish to see, we need bold, smart, and creative ways to turn the paradigm on its ear and lead with inclusivity."
UK to provide 5m in aid to Hurricane Matthew victims in Haiti

Britain will give up to 5 million of initial aid to help those affected by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

Almost 300 people have died and more than 350,000 have been affected after 145mph winds savaged the Caribbean country.

Temporary shelters, water purification kits and solar lights from the UK will arrive in Haiti in the next few days to help 12,500 of the most vulnerable people.

Hurricane Matthew moves up the Florida coast after battering the Caribbean (AP)

Experts from the Department for International Development (DfID) are already in the region helping UN and NGO partners address the country's most pressing needs.

International development secretary Priti Patel said: "Tragically, with the death toll continuing to rise we are now beginning to see the full scale of the devastation wrought by the worst storm to hit this region in almost a decade.

"The absolute priority right now is to reach those who are injured and provide them with water, sanitation, shelter and protection."

She said Britain would "play its part" by providing expertise and support to help those caught up in the aftermath of the Hurricane.

"We are working closely with aid agencies and international partners on the ground to assist those in immediate need and help prevent an even greater crisis," Ms Patel added.

Helene Robin, head of Handicap International's emergency response, said there was a "heightened risk of epidemics such as cholera" following the torrential rain and violent winds, and warned that stocks of medication and prevention equipment were probably destroyed by the hurricane.

She said: "Hundreds of thousands of people are still cut off from the world and all humanitarian aid. They need immediate assistance because they probably lack drinking water and do not have roofs to protect them from the weather."

Aleema Shivji, director of Handicap International UK, said: "It is essential to ensure that the population affected and especially, the most vulnerable people have access to humanitarian aid.

"Sadly, we know from experience that, in a disaster such as Hurricane Matthew, people with disabilities and injuries struggle to access the care they need and can easily find themselves excluded and forgotten."

Unicef said it was unclear how many of an estimated 500,000 children who live in the worst affected areas hit by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti were in need of urgent assistance.

Marc Vincent, Unicef representative in Haiti, said: "We're still far from having a full picture of the extent of the damage. We are hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.
Man critical after pair struck by car in Bridgend

A young man is in a critical condition in hospital after being struck by a car.

Police said the 19-year-old was walking with another man, also 19, on the A4106 Tythegston Road in Bridgend, south Wales when they were struck by a blue Dacia Sandero.

South Wales Police said both men, who live locally, suffered injuries when the car, travelling from the Porthcawl direction towards the A48, mounted the offside kerb and struck the pair at 4pm on Friday.

The man was flown by air ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff

The first man was flown by air ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where his condition was described as critical.

The second man is receiving treatment for less serious injuries at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

"The 49-year-old driver of the Dacia is currently assisting police with their inquiries," a force spokesman said.
Yahoo email scanning prompts European ire

By Tom Bergin

LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Yahoo's decision to scan clients' email accounts at the behest of the U.S. authorities has prompted questions in Europe as to whether EU citizens' data had been compromised, and could help derail a new trans-Atlantic data sharing deal.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Yahoo complied with a classified U.S. government demand to search customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by U.S. intelligence officials.

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, the lead European regulator on privacy issues for Yahoo, said on Wednesday it was making enquiries about the matter.

European politicians called on the European Commission, the European Union's executive body, to look into the issue and lawyers said a legal challenge to the new EU-U.S. data sharing deal agreed earlier this year was now more likely in Europe.

"Any form of mass surveillance infringing on the fundamental privacy rights of EU citizens would be viewed as a matter of considerable concern," the regulator in Dublin, where Yahoo's European headquarters is based, said in a statement.

Yahoo said in response to the original Reuters story that it was "a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States".

It declined to confirm whether it scanned users' emails or to say whether Europeans' emails were intercepted as part of the programme.

Johannes Kleis a spokesman with BEUC, an umbrella group for European consumer organisations, called on other EU data protection authorities to investigate Yahoo.

Fabio de Masi, a German member of the European Parliament with the leftist Die Linke party, said he had submitted a formal request to EU High Representative for External Affairs Federica Mogherini asking her to seek clarification from U.S. authorities about the treatment of EU data.

PRIVACY SHIELD

Ashley Winton, a data protection and privacy lawyer with Paul Hastings, said the revelations that Yahoo had helped the authorities scan user emails could prompt clients to ditch Yahoo.

In addition to retail users in Europe, Yahoo also provides email services for other companies, including UK-listed groups Sky Plc and BT Plc.

Sky did not respond to a request for comment. When asked about the matter, BT referred to Yahoo's comment about being a law abiding group.

In February, the United States and Europe published a new deal -- the so-called 'Privacy Shield' -- to allow U.S. companies to move data on EU clients to the United States.

The full list of all companies which have applied to benefit from the Privacy Shield has not yet been published as a deadline for early applications passed just last week.

Yahoo declined to say whether it hoped to be able to participate in the new arrangement, which has been criticised by some European politicians as not offering enough protection to consumers against mass surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Winton said EU data regulators would probably deem the kind of scanning the sources told Reuters that Yahoo had engaged in last year -- sifting through millions of emails for those with specific characteristics -- as being not consistent with the terms of the Privacy Shield.

As part of the Privacy Shield, the United States has ruled out indiscriminate mass surveillance, a European Commission spokesman said.

"The U.S. will be held accountable to these commitments both through review mechanisms and through redress possibilities," he added.

Yahoo could use other legal mechanisms to transfer data to the United States from Europe but these are more complicated and involve additional expense, lawyers said.
UK crime agency investigating six in relation to Irish "bad bank" sale

BELFAST, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Six people are under criminal investigation in connection with the sale by Ireland's state-run "bad bank" of a multi-billion-pound portfolio of Northern Irish loans, the head of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) was quoted as saying on Thursday.

The NCA opened an inquiry last year into the National Asset Management Agency's (NAMA) 1.3 billion pound sale in 2014 of its entire portfolio of loans belonging to Northern Ireland-based debtors to U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

The investigation began after an independent member of the Irish parliament raised concerns about the portfolio, alleging that a 7 million-pound fee had been "earmarked" for a Northern Ireland politician. The NCA arrested two men earlier this year.

"We have interviewed over 40 witnesses, we have searched eight properties, we have achieved a number of court orders both for private properties and for public locations, and our inquiries continue," NCA director general Lynne Owens told the BBC.

Possible offences being investigated include bribery, fraud and corruption, she added.

NAMA, which became one of the largest property groups in the world in 2009 when it paid 32 billion euros to purge local banks of risky loans worth over double that amount, has said the investigation is in no way concerned with its side of the sale.

Cerberus has said that no improper or illegal fees were paid by it or on its behalf.

The U.S. Department of Justice and parliamentary committees in both the Irish and Northern Irish parliament are also investigating the deal.
Pakistan parliament passes legislation against "honour killings"

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik

ISLAMABAD, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan's parliament unanimously passed legislation against "honour killings" on Thursday, three months after the murder of an outspoken social media star.

A joint session of the lower and upper houses of parliament, broadcast live on television, approved the new anti-honour killing law, removing a loophole in existing law that allows killers to walk free after being pardoned by family members.

"Laws are supposed to guide better behaviour, not allow destructive behaviour to continue with impunity," said former senator Sughra Imam, who initially put forward the bill.

Some 500 women are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to "honour" that can involve eloping, fraternising with men or any other infraction against conservative values relating to women.

In most cases, the victim is a woman and the killer is a relative who escapes punishment by seeking forgiveness for the crime from family members.

Under the new law, relatives can forgive convicts in the case of a death sentence, but they would still have to face a mandatory life sentence.

An anti-rape law, which makes it mandatory that a perpetrator gets 25 years in jail, was also passed in the same parliamentary session.

"These bills are hugely important for Pakistani women, where rape conviction rates were almost non-existent, due in large part to various technical obstacles to accessing justice," said Yasmeen Hassan, Global Executive Director at Equality Now.

"We hope that these new laws will help generate a cultural shift in Pakistani society and that women will be able to live their lives in safety," Hassan told Reuters.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, whose documentary on honour killings won an Oscar this year, posted on Twitter: "Thank you to PM Nawaz Sharif for keeping his promise".
EU launches joint border guard to keep migrants out

By Angel Krasimirov

KAPITAN ANDREEVO, Bulgaria, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The European Union launched a joint border guard force on Thursday as it tries to prevent any repeat of an uncontrolled influx of migrants and refugees last year that has opened up gaping rifts between member states.

Overwhelmed by the arrival of some 1.3 million people in 2015, the EU has increasingly focused on sealing its external borders. The new force is designed to deploy quickly and flexibly to any location on the bloc's frontiers.

"The establishment of the agency is a symbol of the EU, of a Europe that is able to deliver, that is proving its efficiency in addressing the migration and security challenges we are faced with," EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told a ceremony at a Bulgarian border point with Turkey.

The new body is due to have 1,000 staff and a reserve pool of 1,500 border guards designated by member states. In the past, however, EU governments have often been slow to provide such reinforcements.

It will have some 120 officers in Bulgaria, which shares a land border with Turkey and whose prime minister Boiko Borisov has previously criticised the EU's response to the migrant crisis as too soft. Brussels has also pledged 160 million euros ($179 million) to Bulgaria to help it police its borders.

"This no longer is the EU we loved criticising. The EU has shown it can be quick, effective, united, take actions in the field," said Borisov, who built a controversial fence that has cut arrivals from Turkey by a third this year to 12,500 people.

BUNDLE OF WOES

While arrivals in Bulgaria and Greece, the main point of entry to Europe last year, have dropped, the numbers in Italy are the same, a growing worry for Rome and Brussels.

Responses to the migrant crisis have ranged from Germany taking in more than a million migrants last year to Hungary's emphatic rejection of any EU attempts to oblige it to accept a small number of asylum-seekers.

The spats have added to the EU's woes as it struggles with weak economies, growing euroscepticism and the prospect of Britain's departure.

Bitter divisions over how to distribute the refugees across the continent have led the EU to adopt an increasingly tough stance on economic migrants, many of them from African countries, and people who cross illegally.

Avramopoulos said the bloc needed to focus on its policy for returning such people. "The door is open for the ones who are eligible for international protection. And closed to the ones who want to cross our borders illegally," he said.
GRAINS-U.S. corn futures fall, soybeans firm as harvest expands

By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell 1.9 percent on Thursday, pressured by the expanding harvest in the U.S. Midwest as well as a forecast for a bumper crop in Brazil, traders said.

Soybean futures edged higher, overcoming bearish supply trends on strong export demand and some technical buying.

U.S. wheat futures were mostly weaker, easing on a profit-taking setback after rallying sharply on Wednesday, but some MGEX spring wheat contracts gained slightly amid tight global supplies of high quality milling wheat.

CBOT November soybean futures settled up 1-3/4 cents at $9.58-1/2 a bushel. Soybeans traded lower for much of the session before finding support near the weekly low.

"Beans did a good job of hanging in despite a lot of bearish news today," Charlie Sernatinger, global head of grain futures at ED&F Man Capital, said in a note to clients. "The talk from the fields is still of very, very good yields, but perhaps a few now coming in of spots where the combine yield counters found fields not yielding as high as last year."

CBOT December corn futures dropped 7-1/4 cents to close at $3.40-1/2 a bushel.

Brazil's CONAB on Thursday morning forecast that 2016/17 soybean production in the country, a key exporter, will rise to between 101.9 million and 104 million tonnes from 95.4 million tonnes in the previous marketing year.

CONAB pegged the corn harvest at 82.3 million to 83.8 million tonnes, up from 66.7 million tonnes in the 2015/16 marketing year.

The Brazil forecasts followed an outlook from the Buenos Aires grains exchange on Wednesday that Argentine farmers will likely harvest a record corn crop as they favor planting of 36 million tonnes in 2016/17, six million tonnes more than 2015/16.

The USDA reported weekly soybean export sales rose to 2.180 million tonnes from 1.693 million tonnes a week ago, well above forecasts for 1.2 million to 1.5 million tonnes. Weekly corn export sales of 2.602 million tonnes (old-crop and new-crop combined) topped forecasts ranging from 1.6 million to 2.1 million tonnes.
Court finds Canada is best jurisdiction for Eritreans' lawsuit against Nevsun

Oct 6 (Reuters) - A Canadian court ruled on Thursday that a lawsuit filed against Nevsun Resources Ltd by Eritreans who say they were forced to work at the company's Bisha mine can proceed in British Columbia, but not as a single case, according to a copy of the judgment seen by Reuters.

The Vancouver-based miner argued that the case should be dismissed and that any lawsuit should be heard in Eritrea, not Canada, an argument the court rejected.

But the judge granted an application by Nevsun asking the court to find that the case could not continue as a representative action, similar to a class action, noting that the six workers named in the case made slightly different allegations. The plaintiffs will need to file separate lawsuits, which could make the case more complex and expensive.

Joe Fiorante, one of the lawyers representing the workers, said he was not concerned about that part of the decision.

"We're reviewing that aspect of the decision but the case will certainly go forward," he said. "This is a big win for us."

It was not immediately clear whether the rulings would be appealed. Nevsun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If Nevsun loses at trial, the company could be forced to pay compensation for "severe physical and mental pain and suffering."

Nevsun says its mine is a model development. In legal filings, it said 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.

In affidavits filed with the court, six men, who have since left Eritrea, said they were forced to work at Bisha from 2008 to 2012 and that they endured harsh conditions at the Eritrean gold, copper and zinc mine, including hunger, illness and physical punishment at the hands of military commanders.

They said they were conscripts in the country's national service system when they worked at Bisha, working not for Nevsun directly but for government-owned construction firms subcontracted to build the mine.

Some workers backed up the company in affidavits, saying they worked at the mine voluntarily and never experienced mistreatment.

The United Nations has said Eritrea's national service program is "similar to slavery in its effects" - an allegation the government rejects. Eritrea, ruled by a former Marxist guerrilla leader since its independence from Ethiopia, sees conscription as crucial to its security.
Court finds Eritreans' case against Nevsun can proceed in Canada

Oct 6 (Reuters) - A Canadian court ruled on Thursday that a lawsuit against Nevsun Resources Ltd by Eritreans who say they were forced to work at the company's Bisha mine can proceed in British Columbia, but not as a single case, according to a copy of the judgment seen by Reuters.

The Vancouver-based miner argued that the case should be dismissed and that any lawsuit should be heard in Eritrea, not Canada, an argument the court rejected.

But the judge granted an application by Nevsun asking the court to find that the case could not continue as a representative action, similar to a class action, noting that the six workers named in the case made slightly different allegations. The Eritreans will need to file separate lawsuits, which could make the case more complex and expensive.

Joe Fiorante, one of the lawyers representing the workers, said he was not concerned about that part of the decision.

"We're reviewing that aspect of the decision but the case will certainly go forward," he said. "This is a big win for us."

Nevsun said it is studying the ruling and considering an appeal of the decision that the action can proceed at all.

If Nevsun loses at trial, the company could be forced to pay compensation for "severe physical and mental pain and suffering."

Nevsun says its mine is a model development. In legal filings, it said 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.

In affidavits filed with the court, six men, who have since left Eritrea, said they were forced to work at Bisha from 2008 to 2012 and that they endured harsh conditions at the Eritrean gold, copper and zinc mine, including hunger, illness and physical punishment at the hands of military commanders.

They said they were conscripts in the country's national service system when they worked at Bisha, working not for Nevsun directly but for government-owned construction firms subcontracted to build the mine.

Some workers backed up the company in affidavits, saying they worked at the mine voluntarily and never experienced mistreatment.
Avolon buys CIT's $10 bln plane-leasing business in push for scale

By Anshuman Daga and Michael Flaherty

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Avolon Holdings, part of China's acquisitive HNA Group, is acquiring CIT Group's aircraft leasing assets worth $10 billion in a deal that will create the world's third-largest lessor in a rapidly consolidating sector.

Asian lessors, led by cash-rich Chinese banks, are spending billions of dollars to expand in the $228 billion global plane-leasing sector that offers long-term revenue in dollars. Leasing accounts for some 40 percent of the world's airline fleet as carriers increasingly rent planes to lower fixed costs.

"When you have a depreciating currency and local industries are not showing strong growth, then aircraft leasing looks like a pretty good option," said Johnny Lau, who ran aircraft leasing units at some Chinese banks before starting his own consultancy.

Chinese conglomerate HNA bought Irish lessor Avolon last year, building on a series of acquisitions in recent years as it expands its global presence in aviation and related sectors.

Avolon is valuing CIT's aircraft leasing business at $10 billion, a 6.7 percent premium over the net asset value. CIT said in a presentation the deal had an implied equity value of $3.9 billion.

CIT, whose shares rose 7.6 percent to $39.16 in extended trading, had been exploring a sale or a spin-off of the business since about a year.

The transaction will help Avolon add 334 owned and managed aircraft and 133 planes already on order or committed to its fleet of 443 planes, giving Avolon access to an additional 69 airlines.

"While this transaction is strategically compelling and will double the scale of Avolon, it is not the summit of our ambition," Avolon's CEO, Domhnal Slattery, said in a statement.

Reuters reported in September that Avolon was nearing a purchase of CIT's aerospace assets, which were also being pursued by China's Ping An Insurance Group's aircraft leasing arm, and Century Tokyo Leasing - a joint venture partner of CIT.

Other interested buyers included lessor AirCastle, which offered potential tax advantages as a U.S.-based company, sources said.

AerCap Holdings and General Electric's GE Capital Aviation Services still dominate the global leasing sector.

The CIT transaction will be funded by a combination of Avolon's cash, new equity contributed by Avolon's parent Bohai and debt financing of $8.5 billion. Bohai bought Avolon in 2015 and closed the transaction this year.

With the new purchase, Avolon said it will have a fleet of 910 planes valued at over $43 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

The deal also marks another victory for Hudson Executive Capital, the activist hedge fund founded by two former JPMorgan bankers last year. Hudson held 1.2 million shares of CIT, or around 0.5 percent of the stock, according to the fund's latest regulatory filing.

Hudson was among the investors pressing CIT to sell the aircraft leasing arm, sources said, adding that the fund has also pressed CIT to shed its rail business and lending operations.
Backpage.com CEO arrested over sex trafficking allegations

By Dan Levine

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Carl Ferrer, chief executive of advertising website Backpage.com, was arrested on Thursday on criminal charges including pimping, as authorities investigate the company which has been accused of facilitating sex trafficking of minors.

The attorneys general of Texas and California said in a statement that Ferrer had been taken into custody in Houston on a California warrant.

Backpage, the second-largest U.S. online classified ad service after Craigslist, has faced scrutiny from the U.S. Senate as well as civil lawsuits over allegations that the site facilitates sex trafficking, especially of children.

Kristin Ford, a spokeswoman for California Attorney General Kamala Harris, said Ferrer would appear in a Texas court for an extradition hearing unless he waives it.

Attorneys for Backpage.com could not immediately be reached for comment.

Harris also announced a criminal charge on Thursday against the controlling shareholders of Backpage.com, Michael Lacey and James Larkin. Ford said warrants have been issued for Lacey and Larkin but they are not in custody.

The California AG office said it had conducted a three-year investigation, including undercover operations posting escort ads.

The Senate voted 96-0 earlier this year to hold Backpage in civil contempt after it did not comply with a subpoena to hand over documents explaining how it combats sex trafficking in ads on the adult section of its website.

One civil lawsuit against Backpage was filed in 2012 in Washington State by three young teenagers who alleged they were raped multiple times after being advertised on the site. The girls, the oldest of whom was 15, sued Backpage for claims including sexual exploitation of children, alleging its posting rules were intended to instruct pimps how to post trafficking ads that evade law enforcement.

Backpage argued its rules are meant to prevent unlawful posts and invoked the federal Communications Decency Act, asserting they are not responsible for the ads because they were third-party content. Some free speech advocates filed briefs in support of its position.

The Washington state Supreme Court disagreed, ruling last year that the lawsuit could go forward.
U.S. researcher killed in Ethiopia praised for work, kindness

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The California university researcher killed in Ethiopia protests was a brilliant scientist with an infectious smile who was studying the effects of climate change at the time of her death, the colleague who was traveling with her said on Thursday.

Sharon Gray, a 31-year-old postdoctoral scientist at the University of California, Davis, was riding through Addis Ababa with her co-researcher Siobahn Brady when their car was attacked by demonstrators hurling rocks.

Brady was not hurt in the incident and was returning to the United States, according to the university. The U.S. State Department was assisting in bringing Gray's body home.

"She had an infectious smile and giggle, a calm and patient nature and she was truly committed to helping people through her studies of plant biology. I and her colleagues and friends in my lab will miss her intensely," Brady said in a written statement.

"These last hours of her life and the past day have been incredibly difficult and we ask for your respect for the privacy of my lab group, our project members and her colleagues while we mourn," she said.

The two women were the lead researchers on study to understand the response of plants to climate change with the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and were in Addis Ababa for a "kick off meeting," Brady said, calling Gray a future leader in her field.

On her Twitter page Sharon Gray described herself as an "outdoor adventurer, traveler, foodie" as well as a postdoctoral fellow. A memorial page posted by the university was filled with photos of her in fields of crops, rock-climbing and hiking, surrounded by friends.

Originally from the Chicago area, Gray earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois-Champaign.

State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that an American citizen had died in Ethiopia on Tuesday but declined to provide further details.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and to the loved ones. We are providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the family, we must decline further comment," he said.

Asked if the United States believed that protesters had targeted Americans, Kirby replied: "As for the situation itself, that's really for the local authorities to speak to in terms of the investigation and how they are looking into it."

The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has said that an American woman was killed on Tuesday when stones were hurled at her vehicle on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Residents there have described crowds attacking vehicles since a stampede at a weekend protest killed at least 55 people.

That stampede began when police fired teargas and shots in the air to disperse anti-government demonstrations during a festival in the Oromiya region, south of the capital, which has been a focus for demonstrations by locals who say land has been seized to build factories and housing blocks.
Pound plunges in thin conditions in early Asian trade

TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The pound plunged sharply to its lowest in more than three decades on Friday, in thin conditions in early Asian trading.

Sterling was last down 1.7 percent at $1.2380, after suddenly dropping as low as $1.1378.

Investors have been fretting about Britain's impending exit from the European Union and the potential of the UK giving up full access to the single market in order to impose full control on its borders.
Yahoo email scan fell under foreign spy law -sources

By Mark Hosenball and Dustin Volz

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A Yahoo operation in 2015 to scan the incoming email of its customers for specific information identified by the U.S. government was authorized under a foreign intelligence law, U.S. government officials familiar with the matter said.

Reuters on Tuesday reported that the Yahoo program was in response to a classified U.S. government request to scan emails belonging to hundreds of millions of Yahoo users.

The revelation rekindled a long-running debate in the United States over the proper balance between digital privacy and national security.

The Department of Justice obtained the order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, said the sources, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

The order came under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related specifically to Yahoo, but it is possible similar such orders have been issued to other telecom and internet companies, the sources said.

Two government sources previously said the request was issued under a provision of the law known as Section 702, but Reuters subsequently learned the information was incorrect. Section 702 will expire on Dec. 31, 2017, unless lawmakers act to renew it.

In a statement on Wednesday, Yahoo said Tuesday's report by Reuters was "misleading" and that the "mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems."

When asked to identify any specific way in which the story was misleading, or whether the operation described by Reuters had previously existed, Yahoo declined to comment.

Former Yahoo employees told Reuters that security staff disabled the scan program after they discovered it, and that it had not been reinstalled before Alex Stamos, the company's former top security officer, left the company for Facebook last year.

The intelligence committees of both houses of Congress, which are given oversight of U.S. spy agencies, are now investigating the exact nature of the Yahoo order, sources said.

Privacy advocates expressed alarm at the reported Yahoo program, saying it may amount to an unprecedented use of the authorities granted to the National Security Agency by Congress.

Speaking to students at Georgetown University on Tuesday, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked a trove of classified documents to journalists in 2013 exposing NSA surveillance programs, said the Yahoo report renewed questions about whether government surveillance programs are subject to sufficient congressional oversight and public scrutiny.

"That's not to say that this Yahoo program is sinister," Snowden said via satellite: "It could be related to cyber security, where it is related to known malware actors."

Government officials on Wednesday sought to defend U.S. surveillance operations as appropriately balanced and transparent, though they did not deny the Reuters report.

"The United States only uses signals intelligence for national security purposes, and not for the purpose of indiscriminately reviewing the emails or phone calls of ordinary people," Richard Kolko, a spokesman for the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in a statement.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday that he could not confirm the existence of specific intelligence programs or intelligence tools, but defended the checks and balances placed on what information or methods the intelligence community can seek.
Norway gas plant workers agree wage deal, avoid strike

OSLO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Workers and employers at three plants serving Norway's energy industry agreed a wage deal early on Friday, avoiding a strike that could have cut gas supplies to Britain, the negotiators said.

The parties reached the agreement after extending talks for three hours past a midnight deadline. A strike could also have harmed deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide,

"We are happy that the parties have agreed during the mediation on a new collective agreement for the next two years," said Jan Hodneland, a negotiator for the oil industry.

Altogether 338 members of the SAFE union were set to go on strike at Statoil's Melkoeya LNG plant, Shell's Nyhamna natural gas processing plant and ExxonMobil's Slagen refinery terminal if the wage talks had failed.
Taiwan aims to build ties with Japan on maritime, regional issues

TAIPEI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan is to launch talks with Japan on maritime cooperation, including on fisheries and search and rescue, President Tsai Ing-wen said, part of a push to deepen ties with Asia's second-largest economy.

China regards Taiwan as a wayward province, to be taken back by force if necessary, and is likely to disapprove of it building ties with Japan, especially when China is suspicious of Japan forging closer maritime cooperation in Southeast Asia.

"In the near future, we will jointly open the Taiwan-Japan maritime affairs cooperation dialogue," Tsai told Japan's Yomiuru Shimbun newspaper.

"We don't rule out it could take place this month," she said, according to a transcript of the interview, issued by Tsai's office on Friday.

Media interviews by Taiwan presidents are often used as a way for the diplomatically isolated, self-ruled island to state positions to a wider audience.

Tsai, like her predecessors, is constrained from travelling to other countries, most of which have official relations with China and recognise its "one China" principle.

Tsai leads the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party and she took power in May after an election win, raising suspicion in Beijing.

Tsai said she looked forward to cooperating with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen relations and promote regional stability.

"From Taiwan's perspective, Prime Minister Abe is someone we are quite familiar with over a long period of time. We also understand that he has goodwill toward Taiwan," she said.

For Japan, building ties with Taiwan could risk its relations with Beijing, which are already strained by arguments over their wartime history and a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

China is also suspicious of Japanese moves to help the Philippines and Vietnam develop their maritime security. Both are in disputes with China over rival claims in the South China Sea.

Tsai called on Beijing to talk, saying that immediately after she took power on May 20, China appeared to be "relatively rational and calm" in handling matters with Taiwan.

"But we have seen China reverting to past practice of exerting pressure on Taiwan to obtain a political position," she said.

"We will have patience but we hope the other side can show more wisdom."
Nine Turkey-backed rebels killed in clashes in Syria - Turkish military

ANKARA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Nine Turkey-backed Syrian rebels were killed and 32 were wounded on Thursday fighting in an operation to push Islamic State militants away from the Turkish border area in Syria, the Turkish military said on Friday.
U.S. watchdog questions money spent on Afghan 'ghost' soldiers

By Josh Smith

KABUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. government watchdog is pressing the Pentagon to explain reports of tens of thousands of "ghost" soldiers and police on the payrolls of the Afghan security forces, which are heavily funded by international donors.

The U.S. government has allocated more than $68 billion since 2002 to help support Afghan security forces battling Taliban insurgents and other militants. The United States and its NATO allies pledged earlier this year to provide around $5 billion per year until at least 2020 for the army and police.

Some of that money could be fraudulently wasted by funding non-existent positions in the security forces, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, wrote in a letter to the U.S. Defense Department.

The letter was sent in August but released publicly on Friday.

"Persistent reports indicating discrepancies between the assigned force strength of the (Afghan security forces) and the actual number of personnel serving raise questions regarding whether the U.S. government is taking adequate steps to prevent taxpayer funds from being spent on so-called 'ghost' soldiers," Sopko wrote.

Afghan forces are struggling to defend against Taliban militants seeking to reimpose a fundamentalist Islamist government in Afghanistan, as well as other militant groups.

In northern Afghanistan, government troops have been battling since Monday to try to clear Taliban fighters from positions they seized in key city of Kunduz.

Nationally, the Afghan army and police have an approved strength of about 320,000, but officials say the real number is much lower than that.

Heavy casualties and soldiers and police deserting or not reporting for duty mean security forces lose thousands of personnel every month, which they struggle to replace.

The shortage of personnel has been most acutely felt in hot spots like Helmand province in southwest Afghanistan, where a lack of troops has undermined efforts to blunt Taliban gains.

Officials in Helmand have said as many as half the security forces on the rolls did not exist, with much of the salaries for the non-existent troops going to corrupt leaders, Sopko said, citing media reports.
US lawmakers to investigate funding of WHO cancer agency

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Officials from the U.S. government's health research agency are to be questioned by a congressional committee about why taxpayers are funding a World Health Organization cancer agency facing criticism over how it classifies carcinogens.

An aide to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform told Reuters that National Institutes of Health officials have agreed to give an in-person briefing to the committee after questions were raised by lawmakers over its grants to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a semi-autonomous part of the WHO based in Lyon, France.

The hearing will be in private, with NIH officials answering questions from committee investigators, the aide said.

The committee is working with the NIH to schedule the briefing soon, the aide said, but no date has yet been set.

The briefing comes after the committee's chairman added his voice to growing concerns among some senior U.S. lawmakers about the way IARC reviews and classifies substances.

In recent years IARC has caused controversy over whether such things as coffee, mobile phones, processed meat and the weed killer glyphosate cause cancer.

Its critics, including in industry, say it is sometimes too quick to conclude that substances might cause cancer, causing unnecessary health scares. It defends its methods as scientifically sound.

In a Sept. 26 letter to NIH director Francis Collins, Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz describes IARC as having "a record of controversy, retractions, and inconsistencies" and asks why the NIH, which has a $33 billion annual budget, continues to fund it.

"IARC's standards and determinations for classifying substances as carcinogenic, and therefore cancer-causing, appear inconsistent with other scientific research, and have generated much controversy and alarm," Chaffetz wrote.

The NIH confirmed in an email to Reuters that it had received Chaffetz's letter and "will respond directly to the committee".

The WHO referred Reuters to IARC for comment. A spokeswoman for IARC told Reuters that Chaffetz's letter contained "misconceptions" which IARC's director, Chris Wild, has sought to address in a letter of his own to the NIH director.

Wild's letter, dated Oct. 5 and copied via email to Reuters on Thursday, rejects Chaffetz's criticisms and says IARC's classifications, known as "monographs", are "widely respected for their scientific rigour, standardised and transparent process and ... freedom from conflicts of interest".

Wild also defends IARC's evaluation of coffee and disputed Chaffetz's description of it as a "retraction". IARC's previous assessment of coffee as "possibly carcinogenic" was updated in June this year, when IARC said it had found "no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect".

"The (coffee) report in 2016 was not a 'retraction' but a re-evaluation based on an additional 25 years of scientific evidence," Wild said.

FULL DISCLOSURE

Chaffetz, however, asks the NIH to detail its standards for awarding grants and the vetting and oversight of grantees. It also asks for full disclosure of NIH funds to IARC or money spent in relation to IARC's activities.

Questions over grants awarded by NIH to IARC could put a significant portion of IARC's funding at risk.

IARC's resources are relatively modest. Its 2014 revenue was about 30 million euros ($33 million).

In his letter, Chaffetz's cites the NIH's grant database as showing that it has given IARC more than $1.2 million so far this year. The database also shows that since 1992, NIH grants to IARC have totalled some $40 million.

The American Chemistry Council also joined those voicing concern, issuing a statement following Chaffetz's letter accusing IARC of "a long history of passing judgment on substances through a fundamentally-flawed process that yields questionable results".

"We welcome the interest of the House Committee ... and hope it will shed light on the close and somewhat opaque relationship between IARC and NIH, including the use of taxpayer dollars and resources to support IARC's activities," it said.

IARC is also in dispute with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and United Nations and United States regulators over glyphosate, a widely-used weedkiller developed by Monsanto.

IARC says glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic", while EFSA and several other regulators say it isn't.

This dispute prompted Robert Aderholt, chairman of the U.S. congressional Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, to write in June to NIH's Collins questioning funding of IARC.

In that letter, Aderholt says IARC's conclusions "appear to be the result of a significantly flawed process" and adds that "some in academia have raised questions about the quality of the science and the transparency of the process".
PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Oct 7

SOFIA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said he would not resign over the failure of government candidate Kristalina Georgieva to win the U.N. leadership race. Opposition parties accused Borisov of betraying the national interest by replacing Bulgarian candidate Irina Bokova with Georgieva at the last moment. (24 Chasa, Standart, Duma, Trud, Monitor, Capital Daily, Duma)

-- Bulgaria remains out of the most attracting outsourcing destinations and the industry makes about 3.4 percent of the economic output of the country, President Rosen Plevneliev said. (Sega, Capital Daily, Monitor)

-- The finance ministry expects moderate growth of the economy in the next three years of about 2.7-2.5 percent, as well as a freeze of exports and a pick up public procurement. (Capital Daily, Sega, Standart, Monitor, Trud)

-- Coca-Cola Hellenic Business Services Organisation will expand its financial services centre in Bulgaria and invest 1.1 million levs ($625,426) to open 164 new jobs, the company said. (Capital daily, Standart)
Vietnam to fully list its top brewers; no imminent strategic sale-govt official

HANOI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Vietnam's government will list all its shares of top state-owned brewers, Sabeco and Habeco, on local stock exchanges before considering allowing any international industrial buyer to take a controlling stake, a senior industry and trade ministry official said.

The government, which owns an estimated $2.2 billion worth of shares in the firms, wants to sell at the highest price, but wants to use a transparent mechanism to value the companies, Phan Dang Tuat, head of the ministry's enterprise renovation and development committee, told Reuters.
Nine Turkey-backed rebels killed in clashes in Syria - Turkish military

ANKARA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Nine Turkey-backed Syrian rebels were killed and 32 were wounded on Thursday fighting in an operation to push Islamic State militants away from the border area in Syria, Turkey's military said on Friday, indicating a fresh surge in clashes.

The rebels have seized control of just over 1,000 square km (386 square miles) of territory from the Islamic State militant group in the offensive, dubbed "Euphrates Shield", since it was launched on Aug. 24, the military said.

Turkish warplanes hit 18 targets in the region over the past 24 hours, destroying 15 buildings used by Islamic State fighters, while U.S.-led coalition warplanes killed three of the militants in air strikes, the statement said.

Turkey's entry into Syria has raised concerns of a further escalation in an increasingly fraught regional conflict.

Ankara says its efforts to cleanse its border region of Islamic State militants are legitimate under international law as self-defence after months of rocket attacks and bombings in cities along the boundary.
Poland - Factors to Watch Oct 7

Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

DATA

The central bank to release September FX reserves at 1200 GMT.

BUDIMEX

Financial results of the largest construction firm in Poland, Budimex, will reflect in the third quarter a growth trend from the first half of the year, the company's chief executive Dariusz Blocher told Parkiet daily.

KGHM

Poland's largest copper miner KGHM may come under the supervision of the energy ministry following the shut down of the treasury ministry, minister Henryk Kowalczyk told Puls Biznesu daily.

UNIPETROL

Minority shareholders of Unipetrol have asked a court in Prague to force the company to hold a meeting of shareholders to explain the purchase of a Polish chemical firm from Unipetrols' majority owner, the Polish refiner PKN Orlen, Puls Biznesu daily reported.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****
Turkey orders 166 police detained in coup-related crackdown -media

ISTANBUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Turkish authorities detained 120 police officers on Friday and issued warrants for 46 others, media reported, extending a nationwide clampdown launched following a failed coup in July.

The operation was focused on Istanbul police headquarters but simultaneous raids were carried out in 35 provinces, targeting people who used a little-known smartphone messaging app called ByLock, state-run Anadolu Agency said.

President Tayyip Erdogan blames the coup on followers of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally turned enemy, who has denied any involvement.

Privately owned Dogan news agency said all those detained or sought were police employees, including 13 police chiefs, 114 ranking officers and 39 regular officers.

Around 32,000 people have been jailed pending trial during the post-coup crackdown, while around 100,000 members of the security and civil services, university professors and others have been fired or suspended from work.

Turkey's Western allies in the European Union and NATO have voiced concerns that innocent people may be swept up in the investigations, which critics have described as a purge.

The Council of Europe, a law and human rights organisation based in Strasbourg, called on Turkey to lift its state of emergency, imposed days after the coup and extended this week for a further 90 days.

"It is inconceivable that the obvious threats on Turkish democracy at the time of the coup attempt have not dropped drastically," Nils Muizniecks, the council's human rights commissioner, said in a statement.

The emergency measures have effectively granted Erdogan the ability to rule by decree, with his decisions not subject to oversight by the Constitutional Court, Turkey's highest legal authority.

Ankara says followers of Gulen staged the coup to overthrow the president and seize control of the country.

The coup involved rogue troops who commandeered warplanes to bomb parliament and used tanks to kill 240 people, many of whom were civilians.

A senior Turkish official said in August the country's intelligence agency had identified at least 56,000 operatives of Gulen's network after it cracked the ByLock app, which the group began using in 2014.
Finland flags second airspace violation by Russian jets

HELSINKI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Finland's defence ministry said on Friday it detected a suspected violation of Finnish airspace by a Russian fighter jet, the second in less than 24 hours.

The ministry said it scrambled jets late on Thursday to identify the SU-27 fighter over the Baltic Sea.

It previously announced a similar suspected incursion involving a different Russian fighter earlier on Thursday, which it said lasted about a minute.

"Russian air activity over Baltic Sea has been high on Thursday," the ministry said in a statement.
German official calls for sanctions against Russia over Syria

BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A German official on Friday called for new sanctions against Russia over its role in the bombardment of Syria, saying Moscow's involvement in war crimes could not go unpunished.

Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power have stepped up an offensive on rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo. Conflict monitors said hospitals had been hit and water supplies damaged in the most lethal bombardment in nearly six years of war.

Moscow and Damascus say they target only militants and deny they have bombed hospitals.

Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Russia's responsibility was beyond dispute.

"A lack of consequences and sanctions for the most serious war crimes would be a scandal," Roettgen said, adding military measures would be the wrong approach.

"Imposing economic sanctions wouldn't work in the short term, but in the long term they would certainly have some influence on (Vladimir) Putin's subsequent calculations," he added.

While some European lawmakers - including Elmar Brok, who is also a member of Merkel's CDU - have called for sanctions, a senior European diplomat has said sanctions could prove extremely difficult for Europe.

A German foreign ministry spokesman told reporters on Wednesday, shortly before Western officials met in Berlin to discuss the Syrian conflict, that there were no international proposals to impose sanctions on Russia over its role in Syria.

The EU has sanctions in place against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. Italy and some other EU states have said these should be eased, but the prospects for any relaxation of those sanctions had dimmed, given the crisis in Syria.

Roettgen criticised Europe for not clearly condemning Russia's involvement: "The least that Europe should do is use clear language which calls a war crime a war crime."
Red Cross makes emergency appeal for Haiti

ZURICH, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate relief to 50,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean since 2007.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is seeking 6.8 million Swiss francs ($6.92 million) to help provide medical relief, shelter, water and sanitation over the next year to people affected by Hurricane Matthew in southwestern Haiti.

"We are extremely concerned for the safety, health and well-being of the women, men and children who have been impacted, particularly those in remote towns and villages," IFRC's Latin Caribbean head, Ines Brill, said in a statement late on Thursday.

A Reuters tally of deaths reported by local officials showed the storm killed at least 339 people in Haiti and displaced thousands as it flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods on its way through Haiti's southwestern peninsula .

The Red Cross estimated more than one million people in Haiti were affected, with hundreds of thousands in need of humanitarian assistance.

"Our teams in Jeremie report massive destruction in the town," Brill said of the peninsula's regional capital. "Water and electricity have been cut and the medical services are not functioning any more. Communication is very limited."

The Red Cross said its response teams in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Bahamas and the United States had also been mobilised as Hurricane Matthew moved north .
Estonia, Finland say Russia entered airspace before U.S. defence pact

By Tuomas Forsell and Jussi Rosendahl

HELSINKI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Estonia said a Russian jet violated its airspace on Friday, hours after neighbouring Finland said two similar planes passed over its territory as it prepared to sign a defence pact with the United States.

Moscow denied sending planes across anyone's borders - but one analyst said the flights could have been staged as a reminder of Russia's influence, as countries in the region looked to strengthen ties with the West.

Estonia's defence ministry said a Russian fighter jet entered its airspace for less than a minute with its transponder turned off at 2.38 a.m. (2338 GMT, Thursday).

Helsinki said two different SU-27 planes crossed into its airspace on Thursday afternoon and evening, over the Gulf of Finland - the body of water that separates it from Estonia.

"We take these incidents seriously," Finland's defence minister, Jussi Niinisto, told reporters. "Having two suspected violations on the same day is exceptional." Past incursions had mostly been by Russian cargo planes, not fighter jets, he said.

Russia's defence ministry dismissed the reports, saying SU-27 military planes had conducted training flights on Thursday and Friday over neutral waters, Russian agencies reported.

Finland has grown increasingly worried about military activities by Russia - its former ruler with which it shares a 1,300-km (812-mile) land border - particularly since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in February, 2014.

In response, Finland has tightened cooperation with Sweden and fostered closer ties with NATO. On Friday it signed a defence cooperation deal with the United States, covering training and information sharing but stopping short of military assistance.

"It's positive that United States is interested in Northern Europe's security situation and of collaboration with the region's countries. We see this as a stabilizing element," Niinisto said.

He declined to speculate on whether Russia had tried to show its power before his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work.

But Charly Salonius-Pasternak, analyst at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said it was "entirely credible, that airspace violations were a reminder from Russia: 'Hey, we are still here'."

"It costs them nothing, and they can see that these violations have an effect on Finland," he told public broadcaster YLE.

The reported incursion in Estonia also coincided with a one-day visit there by Ukraine's defence minister.

German pilots patrolling the skies over the Baltics reported "noticeable and aggressive behavior" by Russian military aircraft overnight, a spokesman for the German defence ministry said.

He said two of up to six German Eurofighters stationed at Amari air base in Estonia had been scrambled several times to identify the Russian aircraft.
Continental European stock markets slip, underperform UK's FTSE

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Continental European stock markets fell on Friday, with vouchers company Edenred and airline easyJet among the worst performers, although a new slump in sterling propped up Britain's FTSE 100.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down by 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX and France's CAC both retreated by a similar amount. The STOXX 600 has fallen by around 7 percent since the start of 2016.

"European stocks look utterly uninteresting to me at the moment. Corporate profits are weak and the economy remains weak as well," said Andreas Clenow, chief investment officer at Swiss-based ACIES Asset Management.

Edenred fell 4.7 percent after UBS cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy". EasyJet fell 3.3 percent after broker downgrades following its profit warning on Thursday.

However, the FTSE 100 managed to gain 0.5 percent, since the slump in sterling should benefit exporters and help the index's international companies .

Sterling slid on new concern that British Prime Minister Theresa May's government will back a "hard Brexit" where Britain quits the European Union's single market in favour of imposing controls on immigration.

That could hinder inward and outward trade and constrict the foreign investment needed to fund Britain's current account deficit, one of the biggest in the developed world.

Concern over European banks were also weighing on stocks, said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Geneva-based fund management and consultancy firm Prime Partners.

Deutsche Bank, whose shares rose on Friday but remain near record lows, is fighting a fine of up to $14 billion from the U.S. Department of Justice over the alleged mis-selling of mortgage backed securities.

Investors are also concerned about bad debts in the Italian banking system.
Russia considers military bases in Vietnam and Cuba - agencies

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russia is considering plans to restore military bases in Vietnam and Cuba that had served as pivots of Soviet global military power during the Cold War, Russian news agencies quoted Russian Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov as saying on Friday.

"We are dealing with this issue," the agencies quoted Pankov as saying in Russia's parliament.

Russia lowered its flag at the Lourdes signals intelligence base in Cuba and the deepwater Cam Rahn naval base in Vietnam in the early 2000s as part of a drawing down of Russia's military presence around the world after the demise of the Soviet Union.

But since then, Moscow's foreign policy has become more assertive, leading to tensions with the United States and its allies over, among other issues, the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, and the presence of NATO troops in eastern Europe.

Pankov said the Defence Ministry was currently "rethinking" past decisions on closure of the bases, but declined to go into detail. Vietnam's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Cuban officials were not available.

The United States is in the process of reviving its relations with Cuba, which in Soviet times had offered Moscow its closest military installation to U.S. territory, less than 100 km (60 miles) from the Florida Keys.

"The global situation is not static, it is in flux, and the last two years have made significant changes to international affairs and security," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.
Are You Crazy Enough To Take The Chicago Handshake Challenge?

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 7, 2016 7:35PM



Getty Images / Photo: Justin Sullivan

The two greatest drinking traditions in Chicago are just about indisputable: Jeppsons Malort and Old Style beer. Taken together, they form the fabled Chicago Handshake. This week, the two institutions unveiled a campaign that ties the infamously face-puckering liqueur and the charmingly swill-y brew together with another classic custom, the challenge coin.

The prize for the Chicago Handshake Challenge may be smalla handsome, limited-edition Old Stlye/Jeppsons coinbut the challenge is big, if mildly health-hazardous. Bargoers must down a Chicago handshake at each of these five different, pre-selected bars:

Nisei Lounge: 3439 N. Sheffield Ave.

Chicago Five Star: 1424 W. Chicago Ave.

Chicago Quenchers Saloon: 2401 N. Western Ave.

Chicago Cafe Mustache: 2313 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Chicago EZ Inn: 921 N. Western, Chicago Ave.

Along the way, barkeepers will stamp a passport (available at any of the five bars). Five stamps gets you the coveted coin, although be sure to note: the coin is only available to be redeemed at EZ Inn, so maybe make that your last stop.

The idea of the challenge coin dates back to World War I, according to most origin stories. Squadron members displayed their coins to identify their particular squadronand to challenge other members who failed to produce their own token to buy drinks. The coin concept gained, ahem, currency with the service-industry crowd when Fernet Branca put their own spin on the tradition.

The campaign was unveiled only on Thursday, but its already gaining traction, according to Adam Melberth, a former field marketing representative for Old Style. EZ Inn handed out some 40 coins (of only 500 total) by early Thursday night, he told Chicagoist. (Note: maybe spread it out and don't drink five beers and five shots in one day? Just a suggestion.)

Given their place in Chicago drinking historyand their dubious reputations among the unconvertedSam Mechling, of Jepson's Malort, agreed that the two drinks share a kinship. "They're both linked to sense memory for Chicagoans," he told Chicagoist. "They're affordable,something you can have when you're young and don't have any money."

But, as long as trad-loving local boozers map their course correctly, they can be at least one coin richer. Although, we'd argue, the coin's really not important at the end of the day. We have no skin in that game; we're just happy to see a cool local tradition keep root.
Pakistan train bombings kill at least four

By Gul Yusufzai

QUETTA, Pakistan, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Two bombs targeting a train in the restive western Pakistani province of Baluchistan killed at least four people on Friday and wounded 16, officials said.

The bombs hit the Jaffer Express which runs between the provincial capital, Quetta, and Rawalpindi, next to the capital, Islamabad, said Kashif Akhtar, a senior railways official in Quetta.

"The train was stopped, and then as people were leaving the train, there was another explosion under a different (carriage)," he told Reuters.

No group had claimed responsibility for the explosions near the town of Mach, about 65 km (40 miles) southeast of Quetta. Ethnic Baluch rebel forces have targeted transport infrastructure in the province in the past.

Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique, addressing reporters outside parliament in Islamabad, confirmed the attack.

Railway services from Quetta had been suspended and rescue services were tending to the wounded, Akhtar said.

Security forces foiled a similar attack on Thursday as an attacker laid explosives on a railway track near Quetta, he said.

Last week, Allah Nazar Baloch, the chief of the Balochistan Liberation Front, appealed for international help in his group's fight against the state, including from Pakistan's regional rival India.

Attacks on infrastructure in Baluchistan are a cause of concern for Pakistan's neighbour and "all-weather" friend China.
Spain asks for Swiss assistance in tax matters - UBS

ZURICH, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Spain has asked Switzerland for help on tax matters, UBS said on Friday, making it the latest European country to look into foreign account holders at Swiss banks.

For years, strict Swiss bank secrecy laws helped the world's super-rich keep their money hidden from the taxman. Since the financial crisis, however, cash-strapped governments around the world have clamped down on tax evasion.

The Spanish request for support from Switzerland's tax agency follows similar requests from France and the Netherlands earlier this year.

"Spanish tax authorities have filed a request for international administrative assistance in tax matters with the Swiss Federal Tax Administration," UBS said in a brief statement on its website for the bank's Spanish business.

Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration and Spain's tax authorities declined to comment.

Asked for further comment, UBS said it had largely completed a compliance programme with clients based in Europe.

UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, said in July that Switzerland's tax agency had ordered the bank to provide France with tax information, adding that it expected other countries to file similar requests.
Vietnam to fully list top brewers, avoid strategic sale for now-govt official

By Mai Nguyen

HANOI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Vietnam's government will list all its shares of top state-owned brewers Sabeco and Habeco on local stock exchanges before considering if any foreign beer makers or other investors can take a controlling stake, a senior government official said.

The government, which owns an estimated $2.2 billion worth of shares in the firms, has already stated its intention to sell the stakes at the best possible price but wants to use a transparent mechanism to value the companies, Phan Dang Tuat, the industry and trade ministry official overseeing the stake sale process, told Reuters in an interview.

Vietnam's government is seeking to fully divest its 89.6 percent ownership in No.1 local beer firm Sabeco, formally known as Saigon Beer, Alcohol, Beverage Corporation, and 82 percent in smaller brewer Habeco, or Hanoi Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp.

Several international brewers have already expressed interest in bidding for strategic stakes in the two companies. A listing on the stock market of the government's holdings instead of an auction could make them reassess their plans.

Vietnam's beer market is growing at an average compound annual rate of 7 percent from 1999 to 2015 and touching about 4 billion litres in 2016. Growth is anticipated at around 4 percent till 2021, data from research firm Canadean quoted by investment bank Liberum showed.

Known for its Bia Saigon and 333 brews, Sabeco owns 40 percent of Vietnam's beer market, while Habeco and a local joint-venture of Heineken hold 20 percent each, Liberum said in its report.

The government has said it wants to list Sabeco before selling 53.59 percent, worth an estimated $1 billion, this year and the remainder in 2017, but Tuat said the government is reconsidering this plan.

The state also plans to sell all of its shares in Habeco worth an estimated $400 million in 2016. The listing was expected to give the government a good idea of pricing for any strategic sale.

"The Prime Minister has ordered to sell the shares publicly and transparently," Tuat said, adding strategic stake sales were not presently under consideration.

Sabeco's chief executive Le Hong Xanh told Reuters this week the company may debut on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange by early December, but Tuat said the listing may be delayed to 2017.

Habeco is slated to list all shares on Vietnam's unlisted public company market (UPCoM) and wants to eventually list on the Ho Chi Minh bourse, Tuat said.

Kirin Holdings, Asahi Group Holdings, Thai Beverage, Heineken and Anheuser Busch Inbev SA are among around 20 investors who have expressed interest in the assets which also includes financial investors, said Tuat, a former Sabeco chairman.
Sunni force pleads for Iraqi government help as Mosul fight looms

By Michael Georgy and Babak Dehghanpisheh

BASHIQA, Iraq, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Abu Mahmoud, part of a 2,500-man predominantly Sunni Arab force pulled together to launch an offensive against Islamic State in the Iraqi city of Mosul, has heard from relatives the group has been threatening to behead anyone who speaks of "liberation".

That threat has not discouraged him but he is worried about a lack of support from the Shi'ite-led central government.

"The most important thing we need is weapons and government support," said Abu Mahmoud, 42, who like others interviewed at a training camp in Bashiqa in northern Iraq, declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

Abu Mahmoud, who covers his face so that Islamic State militants don't target his family, hopes he and other men in the National Mobilisation force will capture Mosul and rescue its residents in an operation expected to start within weeks.

The Iraqi army, along with Kurdish peshmerga fighters, will take the lead in one of Iraq's most important offensives in years, with the aim of clearing Islamic State from its last major stronghold and promoting long-term stability.

But complaints from fighters and commanders in the National Mobilisation force about lack of weapons from the Baghdad government highlights sectarian faultlines that could undermine the offensive and chances for sectarian and ethnic harmony.

Iraq has descended into civil war, mainly between Shi'ites and Sunnis, since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The force, that trains about five hours a day at the camp, was patched together by former Mosul governor and Sunni politician Atheel al-Nujaifi in 2014, not long after Islamic State swept through northern Iraq, virtually unopposed by an army riddled with corruption.

Nujaifi purchased used weapons for the fighters in markets, according to his commanders.

After the camp came under heavy Islamic State rocket fire, Turkish trainers positioned six tanks along the edge of the compound in May 2015.

While the men have benefited from the training, Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey's military presence in Iraq could spark a regional war.

Last week, Turkey's parliament voted to extend its military presence in Iraq for a further year to take on what it called "terrorist organisations".

PRIMED FOR BATTLE

At first glance, the fighters seemed disciplined in their crisp military uniforms and flak vests.

Many of the commanders are former army officers who served under Saddam Hussein.

Others abandoned their posts during Islamic State's lightning sweep through Mosul and the rest of Nineveh Governorate that at one point seemed to even threaten Baghdad.

"There are two rocket types," said instructor Mishaan al-Jibouri, as a group of men sat and listened. "This is what you do if it jams."

The occasional boom of training mortars could be heard echoing off nearby mountains, in a pastoral setting where teenage shepherds on donkeys guided their flock.

The Turks provide basic training but the focus is on urban warfare. The United States also provided training earlier this year and took part in a few joint raids on Islamic State targets, said the Iraqi commanders.

The leader of the camp, General Mohamed Yehya, said there are 2,500 men primed for battle, and with proper support he could muster twice as many fighters.

"Baghdad gives support only for Shi'ites, not Sunnis. We believe we are one. Iraq is our country," said Yehya, sitting in a small command centre which included a colourful mockup of the battlefield.

Yehya, 59, is still bitter about the disbanding of the Iraqi army in 2003 by the United States. He believes that was the first step to weaken Sunnis, who dominated positions of authority under Saddam.

"The government doesn't give direct support to the National Mobilization (force) because it is not part of the Popular Mobilization and there is no coordination between the two," said a government spokesman in Baghdad.

The mostly Iran-backed, Shi'ite-led Popular Mobilization force falls theoretically under the command of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

"While Shi'ites make up a majority in the Popular Mobilisation, it also has in its ranks Sunnis," the spokesman added, denying allegations that the government is only supporting Shi'ites, and not Sunnis.

He said of 110,000 men in the Popular Mobilisation force, 25,000 to 30,000 are Sunnis.

PERSONAL STAKE

The Sunni force has already put itself at risk, setting up the camp 13 kilometres from the frontline with Islamic State.

Several shrapnel holes in the walls of the command room at the camp had been plugged with plaster, a reminder of a flurry of Islamic State rocket attacks earlier this year.

Back on the training ground, an officer was holding up an AK-47 assault rifle as fighters sat on the ground and looked on.

The camp trains mostly Sunni Arabs but there are also some Kurds, Shi'ites and Yazidis, whose community was singled out by Islamic State for particularly harsh persecution.

Hundreds were executed and many Yazidi women were captured and raped or used as sex slaves.

Abu Mourad, a Yazidi sniper, describes himself as a hunter of Islamic State. The group beheaded one of his cousins and threw another off a building in Mosul, he said.

Many fighters believe they have the highest stake in the battle because they are from Mosul and have friends and relatives who were killed by the group.

Ali Ahmed argues that this personal stake in the fight means the force should lead the offensive and take firm control of Mosul, uncompromising talk that underlines the potential for sectarian strife.
'Instant job' apps find niche in Spain's troubled labour market

By Sam Edwards and Sarah White

BARCELONA/MADRID, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Marta Romero's small start-up is in hiring mode, and it's not just her own workforce that is growing: she's trying to find jobs for 4.6 million unemployed Spaniards too.

A wave of home-grown job search apps like hers are shaking up Spain's labour market with a nimble formula that allows people to find work quickly in nearby shops and restaurants, even for last-minute shifts.

"Everything started on a bar terrace one day. The waiter was missing and it all became a little chaotic. I realised there was an easy solution when there are so many unemployed people," Romero said.

That encounter inspired her to develop WorkToday. Since launching it a little over a year ago, the app has notched up 100,000 jobseekers and around 5,000 employers and now advertises permanent jobs too.

Romero, who says she has found work for 5,000 people, has more than doubled her own staff to eight.

Similar instant job portals have cropped up in the past few years in the United States, Sweden, Canada and Britain, often touting themselves as flexible tools for people to earn a little extra spending money.

STEPPING STONE?

In Spain, that is the case too, though many jobseekers there are also looking for a permanent way back into the workforce. Three years into a robust economic recovery, the jobless rate is still running at 20 percent, the second-highest in Europe after Greece.

An active private services sector, which drives about half of national output, has also made Spain a magnet for foreign businesses looking to test this "quick hit" job model.

JobToday, a Luxembourg-based start-up which runs its app in France, Spain and Britain, was first launched in 2015 in Barcelona, lured by the city's steady churn of seasonal employment in bars and hotels.

The portal, which offers a mix of short and longer-term jobs, has attracted a million candidates and around 100,000 employers, according to Sergio Balcells, its general manager for Spain.

The apps are far from the ideal remedy to Spain's chronic unemployment problem. Many of the jobs they offer last only a few weeks or even hours in sectors that are notoriously badly-paid.

Temporary employees already make up a quarter of the workforce, more than in any other European country bar Poland, and economists worry this abundance of low-skilled workers in precarious positions pose a latent threat to the recovery.

Such insecure jobs can also hinder people's access to welfare, given Spanish workers only become eligible for unemployment benefits once they have notched up 12 months of work.

TOUGH MARKET

But some jobseekers argue any chance is better than none, and that a permanent position could arise as a result.

"At least if I have the opportunity to work for four hours that's more than someone who isn't," said Frankel Diaz, 34, an avid WorkToday user based in Madrid.

When he lost his regular job as a hotel events manager, he found shift work as a waiter through the portal. Though he got his old job back after a six-month layoff, he still supplements his income with evening work at restaurants when he can, usually at the same venue. "I haven't stopped," Diaz said.

Overall, websites placed 29 percent of the jobseekers who found work in 2015, a poll by recruitment firms Infoempleo and Adecco found.

Other surveys, which do not break out apps as a separate category, have shown lower figures for internet-related searches.

Even the higher figure lags behind the 36 percent who said they found jobs via word of mouth, but it dwarfs the 1.7 percent of salaried employees official data shows were placed by state-run job centres, down from 2.8 percent when Spain's downturn started in 2008.

The apps' promise of a hassle-free format, fast results and direct contact between candidates and employers are also winning over users all the time, their backers say.
Moderate Islamists seek to keep office in Moroccan election

By Aziz El Yaakoubi

RABAT, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Morocco's moderate Islamists are favoured to win a parliamentary election on Friday, five years after they entered government when the kingdom introduced limited reforms in the wake of Arab Spring protests calling for change.

The Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has led the ruling coalition since 2011, is seeking to retain office in the ballot against its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which opponents say is too close to the palace.

When the Arab Spring uprisings convulsed the region, Morocco's royal palace introduced limited reforms granting more powers to parliament. But the king retains most executive authority and no party openly challenges the monarchy.

Voters will select lawmakers for the 395-seat House of Representatives. The palace will then appoint the prime minister from the party that wins most seats.

Under the electoral system, no one party can win an outright majority, forcing winners into a drawn-out process of negotiations to form a coalition government.

Popular for its anti-corruption stance, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD has pushed fiscal reforms to reduce Morocco's deficit and overhaul a system of heavy subsidies, a programme he says will continue if the PJD is re-elected.

"I voted for the PJD because I want to give them a chance to finish what they started," said Hamza Saidi, a pensioner casting his ballot in the capital Rabat.

Opinion polls are banned, but most analysts say they expect the PJD to dominate after its performance in last year's municipal elections, when it won major cities for the first time. PAM also did well, especially in rural areas.

The Interior Ministry said turnout was around 30 percent by 1600 GMT, two hours before closing. Early results were expected later on Friday.

BOYCOTT

Campaigning was marked by accusations that the royal establishment, uneasy about sharing power with Islamists, was unfairly backing PAM as a way to roll back PJD influence.

On Friday, the PJD accused local officials under the control of the Interior Ministry of trying to influence voters. The ministry has dismissed some claims and said it would investigate others.

"Our central election committee is worried about reports of local authority officials trying to influence the will of voters toward one party. It is also concerned about reports of officials filling ballot boxes with votes for one party," a PJD statement said.

PAM, whose founder is a close ally of the king and a royal adviser since leaving the party, has promised to review PJD reforms, especially a contested pensions overhaul. PAM presents itself as a liberal alternative to the Islamists.

More than 30 political parties are running, but only the conservative Istiqlal party, which quit the PJD government in 2013, has the national reach of the PJD and PAM.

"It's hard to judge, but from what we have observed, the PJD looks to be the favourite," said Mohamed Madani, a political scientist at Rabat University. "Let's hope it is a transparent vote so we can see the real tendency."

Other groups, including the Islamist Justice and Spirituality party and leftist organisations, are boycotting the vote because the monarchy retains most powers.
Trump's Indian-American fan spreads the word back home

By Douglas Busvine

NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Donald Trump sympathises with India in its recent escalation of tensions with Pakistan and supports skilled immigration, an adviser said on Friday, portraying the U.S. presidential hopeful as a friend of India and Indian Americans.

Trump, a real estate billionaire, has earned a reputation of hostility towards minorities with proposals such as "extreme vetting" of potential immigrants and building a wall along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration.

The Republican nominee has proposed a ban on immigration from countries where vetting would be difficult, such as nations faced with Islamic militancy.

Some Indian officials worry the United States could become more isolationist under Trump, leaving allies like New Delhi without the support it has enjoyed under President Barack Obama against China's growing regional influence.

Shalabh Kumar, a Chicago-based businessman of Indian origin tasked by the Trump campaign with reaching out to Asian-Americans, said India and the Indian-American community had nothing to fear from a Trump presidency.

There may be only 4 million Indian Americans but the potential to develop the relationship with their country of origin, a land of 1.3 billion, was huge, Kumar told a news conference at a hotel in New Delhi that drew a curious audience of about 30 journalists and several TV cameras.

"Our overarching goal is for the 21st century to be an Indian-American century - instead of a Sino-American century," said Kumar, wearing a dark suit and gold-rimmed pilot glasses, his white hair swept back.

"Mr Trump is a businessman - he has no bone in his body, not a drop of blood that is anti-immigrant," Kumar said. "He wants to have legal, skills-based immigration."

The Punjabi-born businessman, who emigrated in 1969 and was converted to the Republican cause by Ronald Reagan, also said Trump's determination to keep Islamic militants out of the United States played well with his community.

Around four in five Indians profess the Hindu faith, while 14 percent are Muslims. Hindu nationalist groups, including many Indian Americans, have applauded Trump's anti-Muslim comments.

"There is a war declared on the free world by Islamic terrorists," Kumar said. "We are very happy that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a very firm stand."

Kumar said the Republican Hindu Coalition, a group that he set up last year, would hold a cultural event and charity fundraiser in New Jersey on Oct. 15 at which Trump will deliver a keynote address.
Germany steps up pressure on Russia over Syria, opens door to sanctions

By Caroline Copley and Andrea Shalal

BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia on Friday to use its influence with the Syrian government to end the devastating bombardment of Aleppo, as her government opened the door to possible sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict.

In some of her harshest comments to date, Merkel said there was no basis in international law for bombing hospitals and Moscow should use its influence with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the bombing of civilians.

"Russia has a lot of influence on Assad. We must end these atrocious crimes," Merkel told party members in Magdeburg. She did not address sanctions directly, but said the international community needed to do all it could to bring about a halt in the fighting and get supplies to civilians.

Merkel's chief spokesman Steffen Seibert, speaking at a regular news conference, declined to rule out possible sanctions against Russia for its part in the conflict, but said Berlin's top priority remained a ceasefire to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population.

Seibert said Western officials discussed the Syrian conflict in Berlin on Wednesday and those discussions were continuing.

A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters on Wednesday that there were no formal proposals to impose sanctions on Russia over its role in Syria, but the issue has received growing attention in recent days.

ALEPPO FIGHTING

Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power have stepped up an offensive on rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo in the most lethal bombardment in nearly six years of war, with conflict monitors citing attacks on hospitals and water supplies. Government forces fought fierce clashes with rebels in the south of the city on Friday.

Moscow and Damascus say they target only militants and deny they have bombed hospitals.

Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German parliament, called for new sanctions against Russia over its role in the bombardment of Syria.

His comments to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung came two days after another CDU member and member of the European Parliament, Elmar Brok, urged the EU to impose new sanctions against Russia.

"A lack of consequences and sanctions for the most serious war crimes would be a scandal," Roettgen said, adding military measures would be the wrong approach.

The idea of sanctions was discussed at a coalition meeting on Thursday and also at a meeting of senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Germany in Berlin on Wednesday but both groups have decided against it for now, participants said.

Seibert urged key backers of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran, to use their influence to halt the escalation in violence and the suffering of the civilian population," he said.

One European diplomat has said sanctions could prove extremely difficult for Europe.
In Lebanon, getting Syrian children in school a huge task

By John Davison

NABATIEH, Lebanon, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Twelve-year-old Abdulrahman has not set foot in a classroom for nearly three years. Instead of going to school, he works at the grocer's downstairs from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., packing fruit and vegetables to support his family.

Since the family fled Syria in 2014, they rely on his wages, around $10 a day, and those of his 15-year-old brother who works in a garage, to buy food and rent a barely furnished flat.

Lagging far behind and shackled by adult responsibilities, the slight Abdulrahman sees no prospect of resuming his education.

"Dad hardly finds any work, so I have to. That's it," he said quietly when asked if he wanted to return to school.

He and his brother are among an estimated 250,000 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon who are out of school, often having missed years of formal education.

It is a crisis that ensures the effects of Syria's war, now in its sixth year, will be long felt throughout the region, where hundreds of thousands more out-of-school children live. They face growing up as a lost generation vulnerable to abuse by traffickers and recruitment by extremist groups.

Western nations and Lebanon's education ministry recognise the scale and significance of the issue.

But an ambitious drive to provide schooling for all Syrians and poor Lebanese, funded with tens of millions of dollars a year, mostly from EU countries and the United Nations, has struggled to meet even interim enrolment targets.

Families interviewed by Reuters in different parts of Lebanon spoke of a range of barriers to putting their children in school, including poverty and reliance on child labour, government-imposed movement restrictions and public schools turning Syrian pupils away as the new academic year begins.

Aid and rights groups report similar difficulties, some rooted in Lebanese government policy on refugees and others beyond its control.

'ENORMOUS BARRIERS'

Lebanon, which hosts more than 1 million Syrian refugees including nearly 500,000 children, last year launched a campaign to enrol 200,000 in public schools, expanding a "second shift" system of additional afternoon classes exclusively for Syrians.

The tiny Mediterranean country's response to the Syrian crisis has often been praised by the international community, which has repeatedly pledged to help it cope with the influx of refugees.

Donors gave $267 million for education in 2015, including the schools campaign, and another $207 million this year, according to an annual U.N. aid report and figures from the U.N. refugee agency, making education one of Lebanon's best-funded sectors for Syria aid.

But tens of thousands of places went unused as no more than 159,000 Syrians enrolled in public school, according to government and charity estimates.

An unknown number of those dropped out. Among Syrians aged 15-17, 95 percent are not in school, Human Rights Watch said in a recent report.

The plan to get Syrian children into school last year was ineffective in some areas: many places allocated for Syrians were in schools far from where most refugees live, meaning at least 40,000 seats went unused, the New York-based rights watchdog's Bassam Khawaja told Reuters.

Meanwhile, some schools were "contravening the (education) ministry's policy by demanding additional documents" like residency permits, he added.

Refugees must pay $200 a year for legal residency. Most Syrians, 70 percent of whom live in poverty, are illegal because they cannot afford that fee.

The education ministry has waived residency requirements for entry to public school, but families said some schools demanded residency, I.D. cards or other documents they did not have.

Residency rules also mean many parents do not leave home to look for work because they fear arrest at army checkpoints, and rely on their children for income.

Abdulrahman's family lives on around $750 a month if both children work, $500 of which goes towards rent. The rest is left for food for five people.

"We just about get by," his father Faisal said, sitting on the floor of their empty living room. At age 53 and with an injured arm, the former farmer says he seeks manual labour locally but without success.

Other difficulties include transport - one family said they had to choose which of their two children they sent to school because it cost $30 a month for the bus - and language barriers, where the Lebanese curriculum uses English and French.

The education ministry said it was working to ensure that more schools implemented government policy on letting in Syrians.

FILLING THE GAP

Lebanon's public school system was stretched even before the Syrian conflict and catered for only about 30 percent of all Lebanese pupils, according to U.N. reports, raising questions over its capacity to absorb so many more children.

Charities have privately asked to be more involved in efforts to educate the refugees that remain outside public schools, including through programmes that can keep children learning but without awarding formal qualifications, sometimes using classrooms set up in tents.

Last year Lebanon hampered some of those efforts, Human Rights Watch said, including by asking at least one organisation to shut down some unofficial schools.

Syrian refugees themselves are also filling the gap, setting up makeshift schools and volunteering as teachers, but without government approval.

Staff at one such school outside Beirut said the government had tried to close it, but the local town hall was negotiating to keep it open, provided it taught the Lebanese curriculum.

The education ministry said it recently allowed dozens of charities to operate programmes. A separate U.N.-funded catch-up scheme catered for nearly 18,000 children last year said UNICEF.

The scale of the problem is also drawing new private sector initiatives.

A project launched by the Clooney Foundation for Justice, backed by Google and Virgin, aims to enrol up to 10,000 children next year in schools operated by SABIS, an international company which has prepared students for college and high school exams.

It hopes to reach 50,000 children per year after that.

"It is a huge challenge ... (but) we're much better off having 200,000 kids educated," SABIS CEO Carl Bistany said, noting that schools would be set up in areas most heavily populated by refugees.

But ensuring all Syrian children receive education remains an almost impossible task.

"We're not, at the start of the 2016 school year, in a situation where even if all of us club together all of our resources and capacity, we're going to secure education for all Syrian children," the Norwegian Refugee Council's Lebanon country director Niamh Murnaghan said.
Merkel on economic mission to Africa to curb migrant flow

By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Africa on Sunday seeking investment opportunities which her government hopes will drive economic development on the continent and curb future waves of migration to Europe.

A flood of almost a million migrants into Germany last year, many from Syria and Iraq, has hit Merkel's popularity at home. A European Union deal with Turkey helped stem the flow from the Middle East and Asia, but thousands of people still risk the perilous Mediterranean crossing every day from Africa to Europe.

"The migration pressure will increase dramatically in the coming years if we do not manage to generate economic prospects in African countries," German Development Minister Gerd Mueller told Reuters.

Merkel has described Africa, with its population of 1.2 billion people, as "the central problem" in the migration issue, and last month said the EU needed to establish migrant deals with north African countries along the lines of the Turkey deal.

She visits Mali on Sunday, Niger on Monday and Ethiopia on Tuesday in her first multi-day trip to Africa since 2011.

Germany, France and Italy want to develop particularly close partnerships with Niger and Mali, which they see as key states in the migration issue. In Mali, Germany has over 550 soldiers as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Merkel, who has yet to declare if she will seek a fourth term as chancellor next year, wants to discuss bilateral aid and business investment on her trip, rather than aiming to secure any deals to return migrants there.

"Being an open society means that we should try to aim for a kind of balance such that the first thing for young Africans, when they get a smartphone in their hands, isn't 'I have to go where I see a better world,' but rather that they live in a country in which things are at least getting better step by step," she told an industry conference on Thursday.

"This is our task," Merkel added.

Mueller pointed to the energy sector as an area where there was an opportunity for a "win-win partnership" for Africa and German businesses, which have been pioneering in developing solar technology.

"We have the innovation, Africa has the sun and needs innovation," he said.

However, the experience of the Desertec renewable energy project, founded in Germany to much fanfare in 2009, has made businesses sceptical about such schemes as investors worry about security risks associated with investing in Africa.

Desertec aimed to help to provide up to 15 percent of Europe's power from solar and wind parks in North Africa and the Middle East by 2050 but it all but folded after the withdrawal of most of its shareholders.

"We need a Marshall Plan for Africa," said Mueller, looking for international stakeholders to contribute as Germany prepares to make Africa a focus of its G20 presidency next year. Berlin is also open to working with China on infrastructure projects.
Trump Taunted Mark Kirk At A Thursday Town Hall

By aaroncynic in News on Oct 7, 2016 5:06PM



Mark Kirk / Getty Images / Photo: Gabriella Demczuk

Republican Presidential nominee and ringmaster of the xenophobic carnival also known as the alt right took a jab at Mark Kirk at a town hall forum Thursday evening, saying the Republican Senator might actually be a Democrat.

I guess theres a gentleman in Illinois whos not doing very well, Trump said, according to The Hill. He was actually taking out ads against me. I said, are you sure hes a Republican? Maybe hes a Democrat. Hes not doing well, but, hey, thats his problem. He wasnt for me and thats for political reasons.

Kirk, whos running against challenger Representative Tammy Duckworth, reversed course on supporting Trump in June, citing the carnival barkers temperment and inflammatory rhetoric. He later cited dumping Trump in a campaign ad.

Kirk istrailing in several polls to Duckworth. Last week, two polls put him a 2 to 5 point lead behind Duckworth, and most recently, a Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll put him a whopping 14 points behind the 8th District House Rep, 48 to 34. Despite this, the Kirk campaign took the opportunity to remind the Trump campaign the Illinois Senator still outperforms the Don. "The simple fact is that the Illinois Senate race is a statistical tie and Sen. Kirk is outperforming Donald Trump by a net of 13 points, Kirk campaign manager Kevin Artl told Business Insider.

Duckworth's campaign took the chance to dig at both Republicans. "Donald Trump has proven himself totally unfit to be President, but even a broken clock is right twice a day," Democratic Party of Illinois spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement emailed to Chicagoist.
Attack on Niger refugee camp targeted only soldiers, loot

NIAMEY, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Gunmen who killed 22 soldiers at a refugee camp in Niger on Thursday did not harm any of the nearly 4,000 Malian refugees sheltering there, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.

The armed men attacked soldiers stationed at the Tazalit camp in Niger's western Tahoua region, bordering Mali, the U.N. said in a statement. They also burned an ambulance and looted a health centre.

In addition to the 22 killed, five soldiers were injured before the assailants fled with a stolen military vehicle, it said.

The camp shelters Malians who have fled to Niger since Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012.

A French-led military intervention pushed back the insurgents a year later but rebel fighting and Islamist attacks in Mali have led more people to flee the country. More than 60,000 Malian refugees now live in Niger.

Last month, a Malian woman and child were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a security post at another refugee camp in Niger, the U.N. said.

Niger's prime minister confirmed that an attack had taken place on Thursday but gave no information about the suspected identity of the attackers. An army spokesman was not available for comment on Friday morning.

Niger's small army is battling armed groups on numerous fronts. It is fighting Boko Haram militants launching raids from Nigeria in the south, while seeking to prevent an overflow of attacks from armed groups and bandits in Mali to the west.
Ghana to remove Gandhi statue because of his "alleged racism"

DAKAR, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Ghana will move a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from its main university because of his "alleged past racist comments", the foreign ministry said, while paying tribute to Gandhi's role as a civil rights leader.

A group of lecturers and students began campaigning for the Indian nationalist leader's statue to be removed shortly after it was installed at the university in June as a symbol of friendship between Ghana and India. They argue that Gandhi made comments that were racist about Africans and that statues on the Accra campus should be of African heroes.

In a statement late on Thursday, the ministry said it was concerned by the acrimony the campaign had generated.

"The government would therefore want to relocate the statue from the University of Ghana to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy ... being a distraction (from) our strong ties of friendship," it said.

Noting that Gandhi had inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world, the statement urged Ghanaians to "look beyond the comments attributed to ... Gandhi and acknowledge his role as one of the most outstanding personalities of the last century."

A senior Indian diplomat said the ministry's "very good statement" had sought to set the life and work of the advocate of peaceful resistance in a broader context and that the statue would be moved from the university to a safer place.

Amar Sinha also told reporters in New Delhi the two governments had discussed the debate over Gandhi that had flared in Ghana and South Africa.

He said comments interpreted by some as racist had been made relatively early in the life of the Indian protest leader.

India's struggle against British colonialism under Gandhi was an inspiration to a generation of African independence leaders, including Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, who in 1957 managed to persuade British authorities to grant Ghana independence -- one of the first African nations to get it.

Gandhi lived in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century, where he campaigned for rights for the descendents of Indian indentured labourers brought there to work sugar plantations in its northeast Natal province, now KwaZulu-Natal.

Although his philosophy of peaceful protest would later inspire the African National Congress in its resistance to white Apartheid rule, historians say Gandhi himself was no believer in equality between races, at least not earlier in his career.

In his book, Gandhi: the True Man Behind Modern India, broadcaster Jad Adams quotes him as referring to black people as "kaffirs", a deeply offensive term, in a speech in 1896:

"Ours is one continual struggle against a degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the Europeans, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw kaffir," he quotes him as saying.

"And whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy his wife with and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness."
OPEC officials set for flurry of meetings to nail down Algeria deal

By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler

DUBAI/LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - OPEC officials are embarking on an unusual flurry of meetings in the next six weeks, OPEC sources said on Friday, to nail down details of their deal to cut production agreed last week in Algiers.

The chain of meetings, starting with ministers in Istanbul next week, signal that unlike in the first half of 2016, the exporting group is more serious now about managing the global supply glut and propping up prices.

First up, OPEC energy ministers will be meeting each other and Russian officials for informal talks on oil output in Istanbul next week as the Turkish city hosts the World Energy Congress from Oct. 9-13.

Citing Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Russia's energy ministry said in a statement on Friday it expected an output freeze deal could be reached before the OPEC meeting on Nov. 30.

No decision however is expected to be taken in Istanbul, OPEC sources said, but the meeting will be a chance for the officials to discuss the next step after the Algiers deal, which was agreed after intensive shuttle diplomacy.

"I have been extremely engaged in recent weeks," said an OPEC official involved in the talks.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Sept. 28 agreed to reduce output to a range of 32.50 million barrels per day to 33.0 million bpd, its first output cut since the 2008 financial crisis.

But ministers left aside the delicate and critical issue of how much each of the 14 OPEC members will produce, handing the matter to what the group terms a High Level Committee.

This committee, which will probably include OPEC governors and national representatives - officials who report to their respective ministers - will work out details of country allocations ahead of OPEC's next ministerial meeting on Nov. 30.

"Everyone will be very busy until the end of November," said another OPEC source.

The committee's first meeting is expected to take place at OPEC's Vienna headquarters around Oct. 28-29, OPEC sources said. This will be followed by meetings of the OPEC governors to discuss OPEC's long-term strategy - delayed due to disagreements last year - and other administrative issues from Nov. 1-4.

Then, a technical meeting of OPEC's national representatives will again meet in Vienna on Nov. 23-24, followed possibly by a second meeting of the High Level Committee on Nov. 25, OPEC sources said, which will then present its recommendations to the ministers when they meet on Nov.30.

The number of meetings is not on the scale of the early 2000s, when OPEC oil ministers met as many as seven times a year to micro manage supply policy, but it represents an increase in activity from the last few years.

"Consultations remain ongoing among the OPEC-14, the High Level Committee initiated by the OPEC conference is moving forward on the implementation of the Algiers decision," said OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo in a speech at the G-24 ministerial meeting in Washington.
France says vigilant on Central African Republic violence as pullout nears

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - France said on Friday it was keeping an eye on the worsening security situation in Central African Republic, but that there was no change in the timeframe to withdraw the bulk of its troops by the end of the month.

Eleven people were killed in clashes in the capital Bangui this week set off by the murder of an army officer. Fighting between armed groups also killed at least six civilians in a north-western province last week, where unidentified assailants fired on U.N. peacekeepers.

"We are vigilant on these events, but the calendar has not been modified," Foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told reporters in a weekly briefing.

France deployed more than 2,000 troops to its former colony in 2013 after widespread violence involving Muslim-led rebels and Christian militias erupted. Its defence minister is due in Bangui later this month to officially end his country's Sangaris mission in the Central African Republic.
Fighting OPEC only for the 'brave,' says oil bull Hall

By Barani Krishnan

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - OPEC is back in the business of influencing oil prices as Saudi Arabia works with Russia and Iran to limit output, and only "a brave person" would bet against this, oil bull Andy Hall said in his latest investor letter.

The hedge fund manager is up nearly 18 percent for the year at his $2.5 billion Astenbeck Capital Management in Southport, Connecticut, after his fund rose 6 percent in September as oil rallied.

With the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries now looking to limit output for the first time since 2008, the cartel can no longer be ignored, he said in Astenbeck's October investor letter, seen by Reuters on Friday.

OPEC declined to cut output two years ago after oil breached $100 a barrel, instead letting the biggest oil market collapse in a generation happen as the price plunged.

"Now Saudi Arabia has declared it wants higher prices and is working with the rest of OPEC - and quite possibly Russia - to achieve them by curbing production," he said, adding that this included Saudi arch rival Iran. "It's a brave person who bets against this combination of factors."

Hall's remarks come as OPEC officials embark on an unusual flurry of meetings in the next six weeks to nail down details of the Algiers deal.

Oil prices settled down 1 percent on Friday after hitting June highs above $50 this week. Prior to that, they jumped as much as 15 percent over a week after OPEC announced its planned cuts on Sept. 28.

Still, the market is trading at just half of the mid-2014 high above $100.

Astenbeck did not return an email seeking comment.

OPEC hopes to bring its output to 32.5 million to 33 million barrels per day, cutting about 700,000 bpd from a global glut estimated by analysts at 1.0 million to 1.5 million bpd. The amount that each member cuts would be decided at the group's policy meeting in Vienna in Nov. 30, it said.

Many analysts are skeptical of OPEC's pledge as it has been maxing out production whenever possible.

"Quibbling over whether Angola will honor a commitment to cut its production by a few tens of thousands of barrels per day is really not the issue," Hall wrote, adding that the output of most OPEC members has possibly peaked in recent years.

What mattered was the cartel saying it "was back in business ... planning to once again control its collective production, which still accounts for a third of global oil production and the majority of oil exports," he said.
Libya's eastern authorities say oil money will go to Tripoli central bank

By Ayman al-Warfalli

BENGHAZI, Libya, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Authorities in eastern Libya will allow revenues from rising oil production to be paid into the central bank in Tripoli even though they do not recognise the bank's governor there, the head of Libya's eastern parliament told Reuters in an interview.

The pledge is a sign authorities in the east, who have resisted a U.N.-backed unity government in Tripoli, may not try to take direct control of oil resources and revenues, at least for now. They have previously failed in attempts to export oil independently.

Agila Saleh, president of the east's House of Representatives (HOR), said production should be managed by a unified National Oil Corporation (NOC) and revenues distributed fairly across Libya.

His comments came after the state-run NOC reopened major oil terminals seized last month by eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, boosting national production by more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"The revenues of oil will be deposited in the central bank of Libya and will be for all Libyans according to geographic distribution and density of population," Saleh said. "All Libyans benefit from this wealth."

The HOR has been based in the eastern city of Tobruk since 2014, when rival armed factions took control of Tripoli, deepening the political turmoil and conflict that emerged after an uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Libya was left with two competing sets of institutions in Tripoli and the east, including rival branches of the NOC and the central bank.

The U.N.-backed government is now operating from Tripoli, but has failed to win endorsement from the east. Its leadership is currently drawing up a new list of ministers after seeing two proposed cabinets rejected by the HOR.

The NOC announced a deal to unite in July. The central bank is still divided, though NOC revenues continued to go through the bank's Tripoli headquarters throughout Libya's conflict.

Saleh he was planning to meet NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla and eastern central bank governor Ali Hibri, noting the HOR had previously sacked Tripoli central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir.

"We will work to draft a new agreement with the (eastern) parliament's finance committee for harmonising operations in the Libyan central bank and the NOC," he said.

GROWING PRODUCTION

Conflict, political disputes and local protests had reduced Libya's oil output to a fraction of the 1.6 million bpd the OPEC member was producing before the 2011 uprising.

Following the NOC's reopening of terminals seized by Haftar, national production rose this week above 500,000 bpd, from lows over the summer of between 200,000 and 300,000 bpd.

The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Saleh, accusing him of blocking political progress in Libya. HOR members who support the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have said they were repeatedly obstructed from holding or participating in votes to approve it.

Saleh dismissed the sanctions as a "violation of Libyan sovereignty and democracy". He said he would accept civil society observers to monitor any future vote, but they had to be Libyan.
Indian cotton exports to Pakistan slump amid tensions -traders

By Rajendra Jadhav and Syed Raza Hassan

MUMBAI/KARACHI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Rising hostilities between India and Pakistan have brought their $822 million-a-year trade in cotton to a juddering halt, as traders who are worried about uncertainty over supplies and driven by patriotism hold off signing new deals.

The nuclear-armed rivals have seen tensions ratchet up in the past few months over the disputed territory of Kashmir, and cotton traders in both countries said they were watching developments along the de facto border with alarm.

Pakistan, the world's third-largest cotton consumer, usually starts importing from September, but three Indian exporters said the number of inquiries had slowed to a trickle in the last two weeks.

In the clearest sign yet of souring relations affecting commerce, Pakistan-based importers also said they were not buying.

"At the moment there is no cotton trade. It's at standstill. There is uncertainty that, God forbid, if war breaks out, what will happen?" said Ihsanul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.

Pakistan Cotton Commissioner Khalid Abdullah said a "low quantum of trade activity is still taking place."

He said the Pakistan government had not directed traders to stop buying Indian cotton and expected trade to normalize when tensions eased.

Indian government officials said they had not yet noticed trading had stopped.

But some Indian officials said last week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was considering whether it should choke trade with Pakistan to put pressure on its neighbour, even though the trade balance is in India's favour.

INDIA'S BIGGEST COTTON BUYER

Trade between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, is small.

In the 2015/16 fiscal year ending on March 31, official trade between the two was $2.6 billion. Cotton is the largest component of that total.

It is not clear whether other goods and commodities traded between the two, such as jewellery and dry fruits, have been hit by the escalation in hostilities as well, but the disruption to cotton shipments is potentially significant.

In the crop year ended Sept. 30, Pakistan was India's biggest cotton buyer after its own crop was hit by drought and whitefly pest.

It imported 2.5 million bales from India, and supported Indian cotton prices at a time when China was cutting imports, traders said.

Lower purchases by Pakistan this year could hurt exports from the world's biggest producer of the fibre and put pressure on Indian prices, but could also help rival cotton suppliers like Brazil, the United States and some African countries.

Chirag Patel, chief executive officer of Indian exporter Jaydeep Cotton Fibers, said the country could export 5 million bales in the 2016/17 crop year, but exports could plunge to 3 million bales without Pakistani imports.

An exporter based in Mumbai estimated that Pakistan will need to import at least 3 million bales in 2016/17, and India will have a surplus of around 8 million bales.

"As soon as the (political) situation improves, cotton trade will definitely resume between the two countries," said Haq of the Pakistan Cotton Dealers Association.

But for now, traders on both sides of the border said the environment was not conducive to doing business.

"Many cotton exporters are not interested in selling cotton to Pakistan. They are trying to find other markets," said Pradeep Jain, a ginner based in Jalgaon in the western state of Maharashtra.

Shahzad Ali Khan, chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, referred to a move by the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), a small filmmakers' body, last week, banning their members from hiring Pakistani actors.

"India is banning Pakistani artists, so how can it expect us to buy cotton from India?" Khan said.
South Africa's top court denies prosecutor appeal on Zuma graft charges

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 7 (Reuters) - South Africa's Constitutional Court has told the state prosecutor it cannot appeal a ruling to reinstate corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma, another setback for the embattled leader.

The High Court in April ordered a review of a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decision to set aside hundreds of corruption charges against Zuma, calling it "irrational". That decision allowed Zuma to run for president in 2009.

The High Court has already refused the NPA's attempt to appeal that ruling. After that, the NPA approached the Constitutional Court while Zuma went to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which is yet to rule on the matter.

"The Constitutional Court has considered this application for leave to appeal. It has concluded that it is not in the interest of justice for this court to hear the matter at this stage," the court said in an order dated Sept. 28.

"The application for leave to appeal is dismissed."

NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said the court was mindful of the fact that Zuma had petitioned the SCA on the same matter.

"The matter at the SCA is still pending, so with that in mind they cannot adjudicate on a matter that can come back to them," Mfaku said.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said the appeals were attempts by the NPA and Zuma to delay him having his day in court.

"The DA has argued that there are no reasonable prospects of success nor are there any other compelling reasons why the appeal should be heard," it said in a statement.

The scandals swirling around Zuma contributed to the worst election showing by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in local polls in August, intensifying calls for his resignation.

The prospect of Zuma's corruption charges being reinstated follows a damning constitutional court judgment against him in March. The court said he breached the constitution by refusing to refund some of the 240 million rand ($17 million) of state money spent on refurbishing his private residence.
Colombia's Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize in boost for troubled talks

By Stine Jacobsen and Helen Murphy

OSLO/BOGOTA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a 52-year-old war with Marxist guerrillas, a surprise choice and a show of support days after voters rejected a peace deal he signed with the rebels.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Santos had brought one of the longest civil wars in modern history significantly closer to a peaceful solution, but there was still a danger the peace process could collapse.

The award excluded FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, who signed the peace accord with Santos in Cartagena on Sept. 26.

Santos has promised to revive the plan even though Colombians narrowly rejected it in a referendum on Sunday. Many voters believed it was too lenient on the FARC guerrillas.

"There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties ... continue to respect the ceasefire," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

"The fact that a majority of the voters said 'No' to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead."

More than 220,000 people have died on the battlefield or in massacres during the conflict between leftist guerrillas, government troops and right-wing paramilitaries.

Millions have been displaced and many beg on the streets of the capital, while economic potential has been held up in the mostly rural nation.

"I infinitely appreciate from all of my heart this honorable distinction, not in my name, but the name of all Colombians, and especially the millions of victims that have been left by the conflict we have suffered for more than 50 years," Santos, 65, said in a brief statement on television.

"Thank God peace is close. Peace is possible."

The committee released audio of the winner being informed of his award. In it, Santos sounded moved, saying he was "so honored and so grateful," adding that the prize would be a "great push" towards peace.

"We're on the verge of reaching that end of this war, and this (the award) is going to be very important," he added.

Asked why Londono was left out, committee leader Kaci Kullmann Five said Santos had been central to the process.

"President Santos has been taking the very first and historic initiative. There have been other tries, but this time he went all-in as leader of the government with a strong will to reach a result. That's why we have put the emphasis on president."

She declined to elaborate on Londono's role. Londono via Twitter congratulated Santos, and thanked countries including Cuba and Venezuela for supporting the process.

"The only prize to which we aspire is that of peace with social justice for a Colombia without paramilitarism, without retaliation nor lies," he wrote on his personal Twitter account after the award went only to Santos.

POSSIBLE ANGER

Santos is the first Latin American to receive the peace prize since indigenous rights campaigner Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala won in 1992, and is the second Colombian laureate after writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the literature prize in 1982.

The scion of one of Colombia's most prosperous families, Santos was not thought likely to spearhead a peace process with FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

But though he had served as defense minister under hardline ex-president Alvaro Uribe, when the FARC were weakened by a U.S.-backed offensive, Santos has used his two terms in office to open negotiations with rebel leaders in four years of talks.

The peace talks made bitter enemies of Santos and Uribe, who accused his former protege of betraying FARC victims. Uribe founded a new right-wing political party, won a Senate seat and led the "No" camp in the referendum.

But Uribe commented on the award from his Twitter account.

"I congratulate President Santos for the Nobel and hope it helps move towards changes to accord which is so damaging to democracy."

U.S. President Barack Obama also congratulated him in a telephone call and reiterated "support for the peace process as President Santos pursues a national dialogue on the way forward for negotiations," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.

The news may anger those Colombians who see Santos' bid for peace with the FARC as selling out the nation as he negotiated terms that they see as an embarrassment.

But the fact that his rebel foe did not receive the prize alongside him may be a relief to Santos, given political tensions following the referendum. It may also give Santos a moral boost in talks with Uribe.

"This gives me hope that the prize will bring peace with the FARC, though it cannot come above the will of the people," said Adriana Perez, a 26-year old teacher in Bogota.

The FARC on Friday agreed to listen to proposals for adjustments to the accord.

SETBACK

Some Nobel watchers had taken Colombia off their lists of favorites after Santos' referendum defeat.

"The peace accord was indeed a major achievement and, although the referendum was a setback, hopefully this award will help peace builders maintain the momentum needed to keep the process moving forward," Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Director Dan Smith said in a statement.

The United Nations human rights office, which does not usually comment on Nobel Peace Prizes, said the award was a recognition of the importance of the conflict in Colombia.

The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 8 million Swedish crowns ($930,000), will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10.

($1 = 8.5891 Swedish crowns)

(graphic on http://tmsnrt.rs/1jLPeM7)
Slovakia wants EU to draft alternative plan to refugee quotas, PM says

BRATISLAVA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Slovakia wants the European Union to drop a proposal to distribute asylum seekers and start working on an alternative plan, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday, repeating his view that a permanent quota system was politically dead.

The EU executive proposed in May to reform the so-called Dublin system of EU asylum rules based on a "fairness mechanism" under which each member state would be assigned a percentage quota of all asylum seekers in the bloc, aiming to ease the load on states like Greece and Italy.

Eastern Europe's ex-communist states have strongly opposed the proposal and pushed for alternatives at a meeting of heads of state in Bratislava last month.

"Talks with EU leaders confirmed that mandatory quotas are becoming a politically dead issue," Fico told journalists after meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, also a staunch critic of quotas, in Bratislava.

Almost all Hungarians who voted in a referendum on Oct. 2 rejected the EU's migrant quotas though turnout was too low to make the poll valid.

"We want the European Commission's legislative proposals to reflect attitudes of prime ministers and presidents ... that have clearly confirmed voluntariness as a basic principle in migration matters," he said.

Slovakia holds the rotating six-month EU presidency until the end of the year and is responsible for coordinating agenda of ministerial meetings.

Fico said he wanted interior ministers to start working on an alternative to the Commission's proposal at their meeting on Oct. 13.

At the meeting of EU leaders in Bratislava, German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded defeat in a year-long quest to convince Berlin's EU partners to accept migrant quotas.

She agreed to let eastern European states off the hook by embracing their proposal of "flexible solidarity" meaning they would be allowed to send troops or money to European borders instead of taking migrants in.

Under the Commission's proposal, the quotas would reflect national population and wealth and, if a country found itself handling 50 percent more than its due share, it could relocate people elsewhere in the bloc. States could refuse to take people for a year -- but only if they paid another country 250,000 euros per person to accommodate them.

Slovakia and Hungary have also challenged at the European Court of Justice an earlier decision on a one-off relocation of 160,000 asylum seekers agreed last year, as Greece struggled to cope with the chaotic arrival of nearly a million people.
War Is The True Terror In Iranian Ghost Story 'Under The Shadow'

By Joel Wicklund in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 7, 2016 2:40PM



Narges Rashidi in "Under the Shadow." (Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.)

Symbolic and perhaps literal ghosts haunt an apartment complex in Under the Shadow, an effective slow-burner of a horror film set in the 1980s at the height of the Iran-Iraq war.

The movie feels authentic to the Iranian experience. Writer-director Babak Anvari drew upon his memories of growing up in the country, including his early childhood during the war. But Anvari is a London-based filmmaker and shot thishis first feature filmin Jordan. No doubt the movie's pointedly critical portrait of Iran's harsh, post-revolution environment, particularly in terms of treatment of women, would have made it potentially dangerous, if not impossible, to shoot in Iran, even under its comparatively less extreme current leadership.

As the movie takes place mainly in apartment interiors, the shooting probably could have been done anywhere. Influenced by Roman Polanski's "apartment trilogy" (Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant), Anvari creates a similar sort of psychological prison for his protagonist, Shideh, a mother recently rejected for readmission to medical school due to her political activism before the revolution. A school authority, clearly disapproving of her ambition, delivers the news coldly as a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini hangs in the background. As they talk, we see a bomb drop and explode from a distance through the school official's window. It's a striking opening scene that immediately connects the political and the personal.

Crushed at having her dream derailed, Shideh is also angered by her husband's lack of empathy. When he is called away for military service, she's left to care for their young, somewhat spoiled daughter Dorsa while the war creeps ever closer to their Tehran home. As the bombing intensifies, so do the anxieties in the apartment complex. A new, supposedly mute neighbor boy tells Dorsa stories of djinn (evil spirits) and soon the young girl is claiming to see one herself. Shideh writes it off to stress... at first.

The dynamics of war and female oppression are too central to the movie to call them subtext. Shideh is indeed under more than one shadow. When seemingly supernatural occurrences lead her to run out of the apartment in a panic without her head covering, Dorsa in her arms, security forces don't come to her rescue. Instead, they bring her in for questioning after stopping her in the street. One of the soldiers asks, in an accusatory tone, "What is this look? Are we in Europe now?"

But if Anvari is intent on keeping recent (and to a large extent ongoing) history at the forefront, he does not cheat those looking for a good scare. Whether the ghost in the movie is real or imagined is up to the viewer, but the filmmaker makes the appearance of the specter both very simple and surprisingly frightening. Let's just say linens are put to good use.

Taking time to effectively build to the scares, Under the Shadow creates vivid characters and lives up to Iranian cinema's reputation for high-quality social realism. Take away the supernatural elements and this could easily have been an involving domestic drama in the vein of the Oscar-winning A Separation.

Much of the weight of the movie's emotional conviction falls on lead actress Narges Rashidi, and she carries it skillfully. Rashidi conveys Shideh's empathetic qualities, but also her off-putting, prideful isolation in rejecting her husband's attempts to smooth things over. She's a confident enough actress to keep the audience on her side without requiring us to love her every moment.

Anvari also shows directorial confidence in switching from an almost docudrama approach to nightmarish fantasy techniques without a jarring stylistic shift. And he knows that in horror, simple objects can pack a powerful punch. In this talented new director's hands, a nondescript child's doll and a bedspread's sudden movement can take on as much menace as a bomb falling through a ceiling.

Under the Shadow. Written and directed by Babak Anvari. Starring Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi and Bobby Naderi. 84 mins. In Persian with English subtitles. Rated PG-13.

Opens Friday, Oct. 7 at Facets Cinematheque.


UK to restart $4.5 bln Brexit-stalled sale of Lloyds stake

By Andrew MacAskill and Sinead Cruise

LONDON Oct 7 (Reuters) - Britain will resume selling its residual 3.6 billion pound ($4.5 billion) stake in Lloyds Banking Group after a break following the country's vote in June to quit the European Union.

UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), which manages the government's stake in the bailed-out bank, said it would relaunch a trading plan led by Morgan Stanley to try to return Lloyds to full private ownership over the next 12 months.

The plan means the shares will be offered in increments to institutional investors, with the first sales likely in the coming days.

UKFI has recommended scrapping plans to sell some of those shares via a discounted offer to the general public, risking disappointing thousands of small investors hoping to cash in on growth at Britain's biggest mortgage lender.

"Returning Lloyds to the private sector is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole. That is why exiting our stake in Lloyds in an orderly way and at the best possible price is one of my top priorities," Finance Minister Philip Hammond said in a statement on Friday.

The government currently owns about 6.5 billion ordinary shares in Lloyds, representing about 9 percent of its shares.

Hammond said he had no plans to start selling shares in fellow state supported lender Royal Bank of Scotland due to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the alleged misselling of U.S. mortgage-backed securities and delays in the sale of unit Williams & Glyn.

Market conditions were also not right for the sale, he told reporters during a trip to Washington.

BEST VALUE?

After a 28 percent fall in the value of Lloyds stock so far this year, some analysts questioned whether restarting share sales in the middle of a banking share slump represented the best value for taxpayers.

"Having sold 11 billion shares at 81.4 pence over the last 18 months, it would appear that the Chancellor is now willing to sell them at a ballpark 50 pence, which I find slightly surprising," said Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec.

"Selling assets before the (November) Autumn Statement may play a part in his thinking but I thought he had removed those pressures by pretty much abandoning all plans to balance his budget," Gordon added.

Lloyds shares slipped 5.5 percent to a two-month low of 52p by 1415 GMT.

Lloyds was rescued with a 20.5 billion pound taxpayer-funded bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, leaving the state holding 43 percent.

So far the government has recouped about 16.9 billion pounds after the finance ministry began selling off its stake in 2013.

In January, the government posted a planned sale of shares in Lloyds due to turmoil in global financial markets.

Hammond himself has stopped short of scrapping an eagerly anticipated share sale to the public but few investors and analysts expect the offer to be revived, especially if the trading plan goes well.

That would break with the Conservative government's previous commitment to offload the shares in one of biggest public privatisations since the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher's administration sold shares in British Telecom and British Gas.

The decision comes as the government faces increased pressure to recoup the 9 billion pounds it said it planned to gain from selling stakes in Lloyds and RBS this year.

Earlier this week, it also announced plans to restart the sale of almost 16 billion pounds of Bradford & Bingley mortgage loans, in a further sign of renewed confidence in the economy.
UN airline emissions pact gets cold welcome from EU lawmakers

By Julia Fioretti and Allison Lampert

BRUSSELS, MONTREAL Oct 7 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers said on Friday they would keep the bloc's existing emissions trading system for flights within Europe, and would weigh a future decision to apply it to foreign carriers because the world's first global aviation pollution deal is not "ambitious" enough.

The European system actually reduces pollution from flights, according to EU lawmakers, while a United Nations approved deal on Thursday merely curbs it at 2020 levels.

The EU ETS is a "cap and trade" system in which emissions are capped at certain levels. The deal reached by the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal allows carriers to increase emissions without limit as long as they offset them by purchasing carbon credits from designated environmental projects.

"This (the ICAO deal) is historic, but unambitious," said German MEP Peter Liese, from the centre-right group, the largest, in the Brussels legislature.

EU lawmakers recently passed a resolution saying intra-European flights would still be covered by the ETS.

"It (the ICAO deal) is a first step of action from countries who until now didn't do so," said Bas Eickhout, a green member of the European Parliament. "But other countries are allowed to go beyond that."

Two EU diplomats said the bloc was unlikely to dismantle its internal emissions trading scheme, with one calling it a 'red line.'"

Industry has argued the ICAO deal should be the only emissions scheme for international aviation. But as a concession, the deal's text was drafted in a way that allows the EU to keep its scheme for flights between European countries, said two sources familiar with the matter.

"Of course this ICAO deal is not enough to really decarbonise aviation," said EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc at a news conference. But "without this deal, there is no other progress."

"We will now build on it."

The European Commission, the EU executive, said it would soon present a report on the future of the ETS.

Following the ICAO deal, the EU must decide whether to extend an exemption for international flights from its ETS beyond next year. The issue almost sparked a trade row ahead of the 2013 ICAO assembly.

"The next five or six months will be important," said Jens Nilsson, an MEP from the parliament's centre-left grouping. "There will have to be a decision on the best way to act in Europe with this global deal in place."

Eickhout, who favours imposing the ETS on foreign carriers, said lawmakers should weigh whether the ICAO deal goes far enough to curb pollution from airlines.

"That will be the yardstick. Was (the deal) decided here ambitious? My answer is 'no,'" Eickhout said in Montreal.

The EU had ordered foreign carriers to buy credits under its ETS in 2012 but backtracked when countries said it violated their sovereignty and China threatened to cancel plane orders to Airbus Group SE.

The EU instead agreed to temporarily stop applying the ETS to foreign carriers and allow ICAO to craft a global deal.
France angry with Poland after it scraps Airbus deal

By Marine Pennetier and John Irish

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - France reacted angrily on Friday after Poland scrapped a multi-billion dollar helicopter deal with Airbus, saying it would review defence cooperation with its NATO ally and cancelling a presidential visit to Warsaw.

Poland had agreed to buy 50 Airbus utility helicopters in April 2015 for 13.5 billion zlotys ($3.5 billion) as part of efforts to modernize its military at a time of tensions with Russia.

Its previous, centrist government, which was beaten by the Law and Justice (PiS) party in elections last October, had agreed the provisional deal. But on Oct. 4 the new administration said it was scrapping the contract altogether.

Members of the new eurosceptic government have said they would rather see the deal awarded to a company that could build the helicopters locally.

"The Franco-Polish bilateral relationship will undeniably be extremely affected by this decision," a French source close to the matter said.

"The contract's cancellation will force us to review all the defence cooperation that we have with Poland and see what can be maintained and sadly what can't in the current context."

Without indicating which investments, the source added that the French government, which holds roughly 11 percent in Airbus, would advise the firm to review its strategy in the country, including investments that had already been made.

A source in the French presidency said earlier that President Francois Hollande had decided to cancel a visit to Warsaw next week for intergovernmental consultations, in protest.

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski attempted to play down the spat, emphasizing that Poland had offered "important concessions" in the failed commercial negotiations.

"Due to persistent differences in negotiating positions it proved impossible to reach a compromise," he said in a statement, adding that the abandoned contract "will not affect overall cooperation with France".

In a speech on Friday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls took a swipe at Poland at a time when the European Union is trying to reinforce its common defence policy in the face of growing concerns over Russian foreign policy, Islamic militancy and the refugee crisis.

"Poland is a big country, but questions need to be asked of Poland, notably its defence industry, after the choices that have just been made," Valls said.

"As far as France is concerned, we're worried because negotiations had started, but also for the very concept of European defence."

Polish media has reported that Warsaw has already begun negotiations with U.S. firm Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky, manufacturer of locally produced Black Hawk helicopters that could be purchased by the Polish army as soon as this year.

As well as boosting Poland's defence industry, buying Sikorsky helicopters could further strengthen Warsaw's ties with Washington, already its closest ally.

"Before we had a centre-right platform that understood it was in Poland's interest to go beyond the U.S. axis and have a bilateral relationship with France and Germany," a French diplomatic source said.

"But clearly the PiS doesn't understand the benefits for Poland, which are frankly huge in its European arena."
U.N. envoy hopes to announce Yemen ceasefire deal soon

MUSCAT, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The United Nations' envoy for Yemen said on Friday after meeting with Houthi forces in Oman that he hoped to announce a ceasefire in the conflict in the next few days.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, speaking to Oman's state news agency ONA, said Houthi representatives and their allies had said a ceasefire was necessary. But he added he had yet to meet with exiled Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to discuss the matter.

"They were long and positive meetings, which make me optimistic. They have agreed during them to accept a ceasefire for 72 hours in Yemen which could be extended," he told ONA.

He would meet President Hadi in Saudi Arabia later on Friday, he said.

Hadi's internationally-recognized government, which is supported by an alliance of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, is battling the Houthis who took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014.

The Houthis toughened demands this week for the resumption of peace talks to end the 19-month-old civil war, saying Hadi must go and an agreement must be reached on the presidency, complicating United Nations efforts to bring the parties back to talks.

A shaky ceasefire between the government and the Iran-aligned Houthis, took effect in April and brought some respite from the war, which started when the rebels pushed the government into exile in March 2015.

Peace talks broke down in August, though, and Saudi-led air strikes on the Houthis have resumed.
GRAINS-U.S. corn, soybeans, wheat hold steady ahead of USDA report

By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures were trading close to unchanged on Friday as investors squared positions ahead of a key government report next week, traders said.

Both corn and soybeans were on track for weekly gains as investors have digested expectations of a record U.S. harvest this fall.

"A lot of bearish news is already out there," said Chris Robinson, senior trader and analyst at Top Third Ag Marketing. "Everyone is well aware of the fact that harvest is going to be very, very big."

Strong export demand also lent support to prices despite the bearish harvest outlook.

The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday morning that exporters reported the sale of 195,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown buyers for delivery during the 2016/17 marketing year.

The new sale followed bullish weekly export data for corn and soybeans from the USDA on Thursday.

At 10:37 a.m. CDT (1537 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures were down 1/2 cent at $9.58 a bushel. CBOT December corn was 1/4 cent lower at $3.40-1/4 a bushel.

For the week, soybeans have risen 0.3 percent and corn is up 1.0 percent.

Forecasts for good harvest weather in the coming week have been keeping gains in check.

"Corn Belt rains over the past 24 hours have likely complicated things for an already-wet harvest in most areas, but the good news on that front is that additional rains are few and far between," Matt Zeller, director of market information at INTL FCStone, said in a note to clients. "The rest of the harvest campaign looks like it should move full steam ahead."

CBOT December soft red winter wheat was unchanged at $3.95-3/4 a bushel, on track for a weekly loss of 1.5 percent.

Analysts were expecting next week's USDA report to show that U.S. farmers would probably harvest 15.060 billion bushels of corn this year, based on an average yield of 173.5 bushels per acre.
France to review defence ties with Poland after helicopter deal scrapped

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - France will review all its defence cooperation with Poland after the new government scrapped a multi-billion dollar helicopter contract with Airbus, a French source close to the matter said on Friday.

"The Franco-Polish bilateral relationship will undeniably be extremely affected by this decision," the source said.
Heavy toll weighs on Misrata after battle for Libya's Sirte

By Aidan Lewis and Ahmed Elumami

MISRATA, Libya Oct 7 (Reuters) - Next to the rusting shell cases outside Misrata's museum of Libya's 2011 uprising is a new addition: a scaffold used by Islamic State in Sirte to display bodies of executed prisoners, mounted on a would-be suicide bomber's captured truck.

Five years after Misrata's fighters killed Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte, his home city, they are on the verge of ending another campaign there, this time against Islamic State militants who controlled the city for a year.

The battle has been costly and drawn-out. Many Misratans, who form one the strongest of the rival military forces to emerge after Gaddafi's overthrow, say they are tired of war.

But defeating Islamic State in Sirte, about 230 km (140 miles) southeast of Misrata along the Mediterranean coast, will leave their city far from secure. Other enemies remain, and some Misratans are ready to fight again if pushed.

In early September, with the war in Sirte already approaching its end, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar seized some of Libya's major oil ports, one just 200km east of Sirte.

It was a challenge to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli that is trying to unite competing armed groups. Misrata has supported the GNA; Haftar rejected it.

"We are trying to avoid war, but Haftar is not clear and his intentions are not clear," said Ibrahim Baitulmal, the head of Misrata's military council. "Sometimes war is imposed on us, and when the enemy approaches, you have to defend yourself."

Just two years ago, Misrata was the power base for Libya Dawn, an Islamist-leaning alliance that prevailed against forces aligned with Haftar in a battle for control of Tripoli.

The conflict left Libya with two competing sets of governments in the capital and the east, and eastern authorities later named Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally, to head their forces.

Haftar waged a military campaign in Benghazi against an alliance of Islamists and other opponents that Misrata supported. Misrata swung its support behind the U.N.-brokered deal that resulted in the GNA, and has provided security for the new government in Tripoli since its arrival in March.

Misrata's brigades began the campaign in Sirte after Islamic State advanced north-west towards their city in May.

Though the operation has been supported by small teams of Western special forces, and since Aug. 1 by U.S. air strikes, Misratans say they feel abandoned.

A large majority of fighters are from Misrata itself. Many lack training and equipment, and casualty rates have been high, with more than 560 fighters killed and at least 2,750 wounded.

Misrata businessmen have made donations, and hundreds of women prepare food each day to be driven in to Sirte.

"We have been alone in this battle," said Mustafa Ben Haiba, a 46-year-old police employee who lost two of his seven sons in 2011 and another in Sirte in June.

SUPPORT FOR TRIPOLI

The campaign in Sirte is nominally under the GNA's command, but the government, which has struggled to establish its authority, has been slow to provide support.

Officials in Misrata say the fight against Islamic State has improved relations with residents of Sirte and the inland town of Bani Walid, both bastions of Gaddafi support that Misrata rebels attacked during 2011.

This is part of a broader push for reconciliation that included a recent deal to allow the return of residents to Tawergha, another inland town, which was destroyed and emptied in 2011 after Gaddafi forces used it as a base.

There have also been prisoner exchanges with the western pro-Haftar town of Zintan, said Ali Abusetta, a member of Misrata's municipal council.

He does not exclude a rapprochement between east and west but, like many in Misrata, he suspects that Haftar wants to become the country's military ruler.

Both Abusetta and Baitulmal said Misrata would respond if Haftar's forces advanced further west or tried to keep oil revenues for themselves. But there is little confidence that the GNA and its Western backers would come to Misrata's defence.

Ziad Bellam, a brigade leader from Misrata, pointed to Egyptian and Emirati support for Haftar, and the presence of French special forces who worked alongside the eastern commander's troops.
Qatar Air orders up to 100 Boeing jets worth as much as $18.6 bln

By Alwyn Scott and Mike Stone

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Gulf carrier Qatar Airways ordered 40 Boeing Co widebody jets valued at $11.7 billion and signed a letter of intent for up to 60 narrowbody 737 MAX 8 jets worth $6.9 billion, Boeing and the airline said on Friday.

The agreement for up to 100 jetliners potentially worth $18.6 billion helps fill out Boeing's order book in a year when sales have slowed sharply, and amid tough price competition with European rival Airbus.

The deal marked a key commitment by Qatar Airways to Boeing's new 737 MAX jetliner, after it refused to accept three of Airbus' competing A320 aircraft earlier this year. Qatar has not ordered 737s previously.

Airline Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker took the opportunity of the announcement in Washington to further press Boeing to build a new jet slightly larger than the 737 to fill a gap in Boeing's product line.

Asked in an interview when he expected to hear more about that proposed plane, Al Baker said: "Yesterday!"

Ray Conner, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in the same interview, said Boeing continues to evaluate such a plane and talk with customers.

"I think we have a pretty good idea today as to what our customers would like to see with respect to seat count, range capabilities," Conner said, adding that Boeing understands how quickly customers want the plane.

"Now it's a matter of us going back and doing our homework and figuring out how do we put all of that together," he said. "I can't give you a real time frame on that, but we're certainly working the heck out of it right now."

BIG ORDER

The deal for 30 of Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliners and 10 of its 777-300ER aircraft is significantly larger than an order for five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft worth $1.7 billion that the carrier had been expected to place during Britain's Farnborough Airshow in July.

That announcement was postponed by Qatar in an effort to speed up U.S. approval of its purchase of Boeing fighter jets, sources familiar with the situation said.

The orders announced on Friday are worth $11.7 billion at list prices, with an additional list value of $6.9 billion if all of the 737 MAX jets are purchased. Airlines typically receive steep discounts on large orders.

Boeing shares were down 0.7 percent at $133.51 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Qatar Airways' order is likely to further intensify concern among U.S. airlines about what they term unfair subsidies that Gulf carriers receive.

Earlier on Friday, Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates airline had received $50 billion in illegal subsidies, financing that allows the carriers to offer some 30 flights a day to the United States at fares substantially below what U.S. airlines can offer.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar together have a population the size of the U.S. state of Ohio, but "they have more widebodies on order than all the Chinese airlines and U.S. airlines combined," Bastian said at an event in New York.

"That doesn't sound fair, that doesn't sound free," he said.
Russia under pressure to stop devastating Aleppo bombardment

By Jack Stubbs and John Davison

MOSCOW/BEIRUT, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday a draft U.N. resolution demanding an end to air strikes and military flights over the Syrian city of Aleppo was unacceptable, as Moscow faced growing international pressure to stop a devastating bombardment of the city backed by Russian air power.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said a draft put forward by France contained a number of unacceptable points and politicised the issue of humanitarian aid.

But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would support an eye-catching proposal by U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura to escort militants out of Aleppo personally.

Russia was ready to call on the Syrian government to allow fighters from the Islamist Nusra Front to leave the city with their weapons, Lavrov said.

Lavrov was speaking a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered fighters and their families amnesty to leave rebel-held eastern Aleppo under guarantee of safe passage to other parts of Syria held by the insurgents.

However, rebels have told Reuters they do not trust Assad, and have said they believe such an agreement would be aimed at purging Sunni Muslims from eastern Aleppo.

The offer follows two weeks of the heaviest bombardment of the 5-1/2-year civil war, which has killed hundreds of people trapped inside Aleppo's eastern sector and torpedoed a U.S.-backed peace initiative.

More than 250,000 people are believed to be trapped in eastern Aleppo, facing severe shortages of food and medicine.

The war has already killed hundreds of thousands, made half of Syrians homeless, dragged in global and regional powers and left swathes of the country in the hands of jihadists from Islamic State who have carried out attacks around the globe.

The United States and Russia are both fighting against Islamic State but are on opposite sides in the wider civil war, with Moscow fighting to protect Assad and Washington supporting rebels against him.

"ATROCIOUS CRIMES"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia to use its influence with the Syrian government to end the bombardment of Aleppo, as her government opened the door to possible sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict.

Merkel said there was no basis in international law for bombing hospitals and Moscow should use its influence with Assad to end the bombing of civilians.

"Russia has a lot of influence on Assad. We must end these atrocious crimes," Merkel told an audience of party members in Germany.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russian and Syrian actions such as bombing hospitals in Syria cried out for a war crimes investigation.

"Last night, the (Syrian) regime attacked yet another hospital and 20 people were killed and 100 people were wounded. Russia, and the regime, owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women," Kerry told reporters in Washington.

"These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions."

Russia said the call for an investigation was an attempt to distract from the failure of a U.S.-Russia brokered ceasefire, according to Tass news agency.

"It is very dangerous to play with such words because war crimes also weigh on the shoulders of American officials," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, according to RIA news agency.

Russia and Syria accuse the United States of supporting terrorists by backing rebel groups. The Syrian and Russian governments say they target only militants.

Russia has built up its forces in Syria since the ceasefire collapsed, sending in troops, planes and advanced missile systems, a Reuters analysis of publicly available tracking data shows.

The U.N. Security Council was expected to vote on Saturday on a draft resolution that calls for an immediate truce throughout Syria and access for humanitarian aid. It also "demands that all parties immediately end all aerial bombardments of and military flights over Aleppo city."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, speaking through an interpreter as he and Kerry spoke to reporters before they met at the State Department in Washington said:

"Tomorrow, will be a moment of truth - a moment of truth for all the members of the Security Council. Do you, yes or no, want a ceasefire in Aleppo? And the question is in particular for our Russian partners."

Russia is expected to use its power of veto. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency Moscow had hoped talks with Ayrault, who was in Moscow earlier this week, "would help to find a way forward".

"Instead of that, in New York we now have an attempt at political blackmail by putting to the vote, possibly tomorrow, a French resolution on the Syria crisis which is unacceptable for us."

ALEPPO FIGHTING

The Syrian army and its allies clashed on Friday in the south of Aleppo with rebels seeking to oust Assad, part of a pro-government offensive to retake the city.

The fighting was concentrated in Sheikh Saeed, a rebel-held district of the city next to Ramousah, where the most intense battles this summer took place, but there were conflicting accounts of whether the army made any gains.

Air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo by the Syrian military and Russian jets remained significantly lighter than during the previous two weeks following an army announcement on Wednesday that it would lessen its bombardment.

"Today there's no bombardment on the neighbourhoods in the city, until now. We don't know what will happen in an hour," said Ammar al-Selmo, head of the civil defence rescue organisation in Aleppo.

A Syrian military source said the army had captured several important positions on Sheikh Saeed's hilltop, but rebels said later those gains had been reversed and that insurgents still held the area.

Later in the day a number of air strikes hit areas of Sheikh Saeed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported. Syrian state TV meanwhile reported that rebel shelling of government-held neighbourhoods killed four people and wounded many more. The Observatory said insurgent shelling had killed 15 people in Aleppo over the past 24 hours.

The Observatory said that according to its own tallies, thousands of people had been killed in Russian air strikes over the past year, a significant number of them civilians.

Since the start of an offensive two weeks ago, following the collapse of a short ceasefire, the army and its allies have made some progress in northern and central districts of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.
U.N. council to vote on rival Syria resolutions on Saturday

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will vote on Saturday on rival draft resolutions on Syria - a French text requiring an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo city and a Russian text that is similar but does not include that demand.

The French draft resolution appears doomed to be vetoed by Russia. Moscow's text is effectively the French draft with Russian amendments that put the focus back on a failed Sept. 9 U.S./Russia ceasefire deal, which is annexed to the draft.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the bombing of Aleppo," British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said of the Russian draft.

The 15-member council has been negotiating for a week on a French text. A Saturday vote on that was called after French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault visited Moscow on Thursday and Washington on Friday to discuss the resolution.

Moscow then proposed its own draft and said it would be put to a vote immediately after the vote on the French draft, which is likely to be blocked by Russia because it "demands that all parties immediately end all aerial bombardments of and military flights over Aleppo city."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, backed by Russian war planes and Iranian support, have been battling to capture eastern Aleppo, the rebel-held half of Syria's largest city, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped.

"This is not a draft which is right for adoption, I have this suspicion that the real motive is to cause a Russian veto," said Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Friday of the French text. "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

Security Council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while the Russian draft contained a lot of reasonable language, the lack of any references to ending air strikes on Aleppo was likely to be a problem.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes to be adopted. The council veto powers are the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China.

The United States on Monday suspended talks with Russia on implementing a ceasefire deal in Syria, accusing Moscow of not living up to its commitments to halt fighting and ensure aid reached besieged communities.

That failed ceasefire deal is annexed to the Russian draft U.N. resolution, which urges Moscow and Washington to ensure the implementation of the agreement. It stresses an "urgent need to achieve and verify separating moderate opposition forces from 'Jabhat Al-Nusra' as a key priority."

Both the French and Russian drafts, seen by Reuters, urge an immediate cessation of hostilities and safe and unhindered humanitarian aid access in Syria.

The French draft asks U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to propose options for a U.N.-supervised monitoring of a truce and threatens to "take further measures" in the event of non-compliance by "any party to the Syrian domestic conflict."

Ayrault said that he planned to go to New York for the vote and told reporters in Washington: "I still have hope that the resolution will pass and that it can be implemented."

Russia and China have previously protected the Syrian government from council action by blocking several resolutions, including a bid to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

"It is unprecedented for the members of the council to ask a permanent member to limit its own activities," Churkin said of the French draft resolution.

"I'm supposed to vote for a demand that then our military will have to comply with. It doesn't mean that certain things cannot happen but they can't happen through a certain process, which is definitely not putting a resolution with this kind of text on the table," he said.
Motor racing-F1 teams divided over Bahrain testing

SUZUKA, Japan, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Formula One teams are divided over next year's pre-season tests, with champions Mercedes keen on going to Bahrain but Williams and others opposed to leaving Europe on cost grounds.

The 2017 sporting regulations state that no testing of current cars can take place on any track outside of Europe without the agreement of a majority of the teams and the governing FIA.

While Barcelona has been scheduled for the two four-day tests in February and March, that could change.

"(Tyre supplier) Pirelli have asked the FIA if they would support testing in Bahrain, which is outside Europe. So by regulation it requires a process to get there," Mercedes technical head Paddy Lowe told reporters at the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday.

He said Pirelli needed to test the new wider 2017 tyres in hot conditions and were concerned about what might happen otherwise.

"We've seen what can happen, for example, in Indianapolis 2005," said Lowe, referring to the infamous U.S. Grand Prix that saw only six Bridgestone-shod cars start after all the Michelin-provided teams withdrew on safety grounds.

"We need to run a 300 kilometers race with sensible numbers of tyres, so that's not an inconsiderable risk and should be covered. So that's why we particularly support that request," added the Briton.

Williams technical head Pat Symonds said he was firmly opposed.

"The cost of doing a test outside of Europe is vast," he told reporters.

"Depending on exactly how you do it and how much you have to ship back to the UK, how much you can ship on to the first race - we're talking of a minimum of 300,000 pounds ($372,810.00), probably a maximum of 500,000.

"A team like Mercedes, I'm sure that they can put contingencies in their budgets to cover things like that. A team like Williams simply can't, it's a significant amount of our budget."

Symonds said there was also the risk of sandstorms in Bahrain, and the first few hours can be spent clearing the track.

"I think Abu Dhabi would be a much better place, maybe even Malaysia. But as a team we're opposed to the idea," he added.
Russia builds up forces in Syria, Reuters data analysis shows

By Jack Stubbs and Maria Tsvetkova

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russia has built up its forces in Syria since a ceasefire collapsed in late September, sending in troops, planes and advanced missile systems, a Reuters analysis of publicly available tracking data shows.

The data points to a doubling of supply runs by air and sea compared to the nearly two-week period preceding the truce. It appears to be Russia's biggest military deployment to Syria since President Vladimir Putin said in March he would pull out some of his country's forces.

The increased manpower probably includes specialists to put into operation a newly delivered S-300 surface-to-air missile system, military analysts said.

The S-300 system will improve Russia's ability to control air space in Syria, where Moscow's forces support the government of President Bashar al-Assad, and could be aimed at deterring tougher U.S. action, they said.

"The S-300 basically gives Russia the ability to declare a no-fly zone over Syria," said Justin Bronk, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London.

"It also makes any U.S. attempt to do so impossible. Russia can just say: 'We're going to continue to fly and anything that tries to threaten our aircraft will be seen as hostile and destroyed'."

Russia's Defence Ministry did not respond to written questions. A senior air force official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed talk of an increase in supply shipments.

But data collated by Turkish bloggers for their online Bosphorus Naval News project, and reviewed by Reuters, shows reinforcements sent via Russia's "Syrian Express" shipping route from the Black Sea increased throughout September and have peaked in the last week.

The data shows 10 Russian navy ships have gone through the Bosphorus en route to Syria since late September, compared with five in the 13-day period before the truce -- from Aug. 27 to Sept. 7.

That number includes The Mirazh, a small missile ship which a Reuters correspondent saw heading through the Bosphorus towards the Mediterranean on Friday.

Two other Russian missile ships were deployed to the Mediterranean on Wednesday.

Some of the ships that have been sent to Syria were so heavily laden the load line was barely visible above the water, and have docked at Russia's Tartus naval base in the Western Syrian province of Latakia. Reuters has not been able to establish what cargo they were carrying.

Troops and equipment are also returning to Syria by air, according to tracking data on website FlightRadar24.com.

Russian military cargo planes flew to Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria six times in the first six days of October -- compared to 12 a month in September and August, a Reuters analysis of the data shows.

INCREASED ACRIMONY

Russia sent its air force to support the Syrian Army a year ago when Moscow feared Assad was on the point of succumbing to rebel offensives. U.S.-led forces also carry out air strikes in Syria, targeting Islamic State positions.

Aerial bombardments in the past two weeks, mainly against rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo, have been among the heaviest of the civil war, which has killed more then 300,000 people in 5-1/2 years.

Since the collapse of the ceasefire in September, acrimony between the United States and Russia has grown and Washington has suspended talks with Moscow on implementing the truce.

U.S. officials told Reuters on Sept. 28 that Washington had started considering tougher responses to the assault on Aleppo, including the possibility of air strikes on an Assad air base.

"They (Russia) probably correctly surmise that eventually American policy will change," Bronk said, commenting on the analysis of the tracking data.

"They are thinking: 'We're going to have to do something about this, so better to bring in more supplies now ... before it potentially becomes too touchy'."

The FlightRadar24.com data shows Ilyushin Il-76 and Antonov An-124 cargo planes operated by the Russian military have been flying to Syria multiple times each month. It offers no indication of what the aircraft are carrying.

But the Il-76 and An-124 transporters can carry up to 50 and 150 tonnes of equipment respectively and have previously been used to airlift heavy vehicles and helicopters to Syria.

State-operated passenger planes have also made between six and eight flights from Moscow to Latakia each month. Western officials say they have been used to fly in troops, support workers and engineers.

Twice in early October, a Russian military Ilyushin plane flew to Syria from Armenia. Officials in Yerevan said the planes carried humanitarian aid from Armenia, a Russian ally.

Russia's Izvestia newspaper reported last week that a group of Su-24 and Su-34 warplanes had arrived at the Hmeymim base in Syria, returning Russia's fixed-wing numbers in the country to near the level before the drawdown was announced in March.
Dutch to cut role in U.N. peace mission in Mali

AMSTERDAM/BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Friday it would continue its peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2017 but will withdraw its helicopter contingent at the start of the year, leaving the United Nations struggling to find replacement aircraft.

Canada was mentioned as a potential supplier of the helicopters after the United Nations first announced the Dutch intention to remove their helicopter forces in July. But Ottawa has not made a firm commitment.

Germany, which is counting on the helicopter force to protect the 570 soldiers it has stationed in Mali, is concerned it may have to fill the gap, requiring the deployment of up to 300 more troops to the African country.

U.N. peacekeepers are deployed across northern Mali to try to stabilize the vast region, occupied by separatist Tuareg rebels and al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in 2012 before France intervened in 2013.

The Dutch government said its mission in Mali would consist of 290 soldiers, down from 400, mostly focused on analysis and policing.

The Dutch military has been operating Apache attack helicopters to protect the peacekeepers and transport helicopters to evacuate sick or wounded soldiers.

Military sources say time is running short to find a country to supply replacement helicopters as it takes months to prepare such a mission.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to visit German troops in northern Mali on Sunday during a visit to Africa aimed at promoting economic development and curbing migration.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the U.N. Security Council about the Dutch decision on Thursday and said no other country had stepped up to supply replacement aircraft despite "extensive efforts" by U.N. officials.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters last week: "The helicopters are existentially important for the protection of our soldiers and for the effectiveness of the mission, meaning how far the soldiers can range away from the base in Gao."

Mali's government has not had a military presence in the restive northern region of Kidal since clashes between the army and Tuareg rebels killed 50 soldiers there in 2014, leaving a heavy security burden on U.N. troops.

Mali has become the deadliest place to serve for U.N. peacekeepers. The United Nations says more than 100 peacekeepers have been killed since the U.N. mission MINUSMA deployed in July 2013. The U.N. Security Council voted in June to increase the contingent by 2,500 troops, taking the total number of uniformed personnel to more than 15,000.
U.N.'s Ban says Niger must reinforce refugee camps after attack

NIAMEY, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Niger's government to reinforce security around refugee camps after gunmen killed 22 soldiers stationed at a camp for 4,000 Malian refugees.

Thursday's attackers also burned an ambulance and looted a health centre at the Tazalit camp in Niger's western Tahoua region, bordering Mali, a U.N. statement said on Friday.

The Malian refugees were unharmed, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said.

The camp shelters Malians who have fled to Niger since Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012.

A French-led military intervention pushed back the insurgents a year later but clashes with rebels and Islamist attacks have led more people to flee. More than 60,000 Malian refugees now live in Niger.

Last month, a Malian woman and child were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a security post at another refugee camp in Niger, the United Nations said.

Niger's government said it had launched an investigation into the Tazalit attack and declared two days of national mourning.

"The president of the republic (and) the government present, in the name of the devastated Nigerien people, their condolences to the families of the victims," said a statement read on national radio.

Niger's small army is not only seeking to prevent armed groups and bandits entering from Mali to the west, but also fighting Boko Haram militants launching raids from Nigeria in the south.
Taboo coffee gets reappraisal amid climate, market changes

By Luc Cohen, Marcy Nicholson and Enrique Pretel

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA Oct 7 (Reuters) - Three decades ago, Costa Rica outlawed cultivation of the robusta coffee bean in order to promote production of arabica, the variety prized by high-end roasters around the world.

Now, however, with warmer temperatures and disease threatening arabica production, the world's 14th largest coffee producer is looking back to robusta - just as the more bitter, higher-caffeinated bean is gaining favor around the world.

The National Coffee Congress for Costa Rica, a group of industry and government representatives that sets national coffee policy, is set to gather in an extraordinary session on Saturday to consider whether the 1988 decree against robusta should be dropped. Its decision is binding on the government, said Luis Zamora, the agriculture ministry's national manager for coffee.

Zamora said the meeting shows that the calculus around robusta is changing. "In the case of the quality and the price, robusta coffee, as a result of free trade deals, has demand," he said.

Costa Rica's reconsideration of the once taboo bean also illustrates how climate change is affecting crop production. While global demand for coffee is rising, both main species, arabica and robusta, are climate sensitive and under threat long term.

By 2050, the area suitable for growing coffee worldwide is expected to shrink by as much as 50 percent with arabica endangered by rising temperatures and robusta by increasing climate variability, according to a study published last year in the journal Climate Change.

In Guatemala, some growers have planted robusta trees in place of arabica that was stricken by roya, a leaf rust disease made more virulent by heat. In Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, arabica farmers, particularly at lower altitudes, have switched to warm weather crops, including cocoa, tomatoes and chilies.

In Costa Rica, the turn toward robusta is not without controversy. In spite of a nascent robusta makeover, some fear it would dilute Costa Rica's reputation as a producer of premium arabica.

"The great name is one of the concerns," said Ronald Peters, president of Costa Rica's largest trade group, the Coffee Institute (ICAFE).

Despite the worries, ICAFE last month recommended that robusta no longer be considered an agricultural outlaw. It also forecast a 7 percent decline this year in production of arabica, a prestigious but small part of the country's economy, involving more than 47,182 registered producers.

Allowing robusta production would reduce the need to import the bean for domestic consumption, a practice that picked up as arabica production declined. It also could improve the livelihoods of farmers outside the country's arabica-suited highlands.

To avoid tainting Costa Rica's premium arabica beans, ICAFE recommended robusta be cultivated in separate zones. Still, a decision in favor of robusta is anything but certain, Peters said.

"There are voices in favor and against," he said.

PEAK COFFEE

A growing taste for coffeehouse brews, as well as instant, among the emerging middle class in the developing world is driving up global coffee consumption. That appetite can't be met by arabica alone, said Andrew Hetzel, a consultant with Coffee Strategies in Hawaii.

"There is no way," he said, "we as an industry can produce enough arabica coffee to satisfy their demands."

Discovered in Ethiopia and now grown largely in Latin America, Africa and Asia, arabica has long dominated production and commands about 60 percent of the world's coffee output.

But its susceptibility to frosts, droughts and warmer temperatures has caused supply shocks and volatile prices. In 2014, for instance, a drought and high temperatures struck Brazil, the world's biggest coffee grower, when the arabica cherries were developing, a potentially devastating time. Supply fears caused futures prices to nearly double within four months to around $2.15 per lb.

Robusta - grown mostly in Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia and Uganda - has higher yields, lower input costs and is more resistant to roya, a fungus that attacks coffee trees by causing premature defoliation.

Some roasters have looked to robusta as a more reliable and less expensive bean, helping to double its share of global output over the past 50 years to 40 percent. Robusta also has begun attracting some interest from the specialty coffee market as producers improve cultivation and processing techniques. One new niche application is high-end Nespresso's roasted blend launched with robusta from South Sudan.

CLIMATE CRISIS

Central America's arabica crops are on the front lines of climate change. The tree had long thrived in the relatively cool temperatures and rich volcanic soil of the region's mountain slopes.

But, in 2012, an outbreak of roya began spreading - aided by warmer temperatures - to elevations that had previously not been susceptible to the airborne fungus. Growers pruned trees and re-planted with rust-resistant varietals where they could.

Some growers abandoned farms and migrated to cities and to the United States, said Rene Leon-Gomez, executive secretary of Central American coffee industry group Promecafe.

Almost a fifth of Central America's coffee workforce, about 374,000 people, lost jobs amid the roya crisis in 2012 and 2013, according to the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation.

In Costa Rica, roya contributed to the decline in area planted with arabica to 84,000 hectares this year, down from 98,000 in 2011 before the outbreak, according to reports by an agricultural specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's foreign service. Production fell to 1.4 million 60-kilogram bags last crop year, down from 1.9 million in the crop year that ended in 2008.

The Costa Rican government responded by making $42 million available to help growers rehabilitate farms with fungicides and technical assistance.

Roya was a climate change wake-up call. Even as growers work to recover from the immediate crisis, experts say other climate-driven threats loom, including the coffee berry borer, an endemic beetle that is more active - and destructive - in warmer temperatures.

Earlier this year after a small farmer asked permission to grow robusta, the agriculture ministry decided to look more broadly at whether the ban on the bean still made sense in light of market and climate changes.

Jose Manuel Hernando, who heads the Chamber of Costa Rican Coffee Roasters and participated in the study committee, said robusta now represents a "great opportunity" and should no longer be treated as an outlaw.

"The taboo is falling down," Hernando said.
Paz Corp sees discounts in Chilean real estate, despite slump

By Gram Slattery

SANTIAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Chile's real estate market is set for solid long-term growth as strong fundamentals among its main construction companies will outweigh a severe, short-term slump, the CEO of major homebuilder Paz Corp said in an interview.

Chilean construction firms posted historically high sales last year, as buyers rushed to purchase houses before a new tax on new homes went into effect. As the last developments approved under the old tax regime are completed, the sector is struggling and many fear the downturn will worsen.

Approved new construction in terms of area fell more than 50 percent in annual terms in July, and home sales in Santiago fell almost 40 percent in the second quarter, Chile's construction industry body said.

Paz was not immune, as net profit fell 89 percent in annual terms in the second quarter.

"There was a rise above the mean, and now there's a reverse to the mean, which is normal," Paz Chief Executive Officer Ariel Magendzo told Reuters late Thursday. Magendzo added that he believed the natural rate of annual construction to be around 40,000 new housing units in Chile.

"But in the long-term, we're very positive."

Investors seem to share Magendzo's sanguinity. Sector stocks have surprisingly spiked in the last three months on the Santiago stock exchange, most rising more than 30 percent.

For Magendzo, the only surprise was that the rally did not happen sooner.

"If you look at the indicators - price-to-earnings, price-to-book - everything, the sector is still discounted, and we've been discounted for a long time," he said.

According to Magendzo, international investors have been hunting for Chilean small caps. As of the latest securities filing, Latin American-focused private equity firm Compass Group had scooped up 12 percent of shares in Paz, while buying into Chilean construction firms Socovesa and Salfacorp as well.

Magendzo said his five-year plan for Paz foresaw the equivalent of $236 million to $275 million in annual sales in Chile, though he does not expect to meet that target next year.

Paz, among other Chilean construction companies, also operates in neighboring Peru. Magendzo said his company plans around $60 million in annual sales over five years.

New Peru President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has passed reforms that allow Peruvians to withdraw pensions savings to use for mortgages. Magendzo said, however, that formalizing the economy and developing Peru's credit market would have a more profound effect.
Germany grounds half its Tornado fighters over loose screws

BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Germany has grounded half of its ageing Tornado fighter jets, including six currently deployed to Turkey as part of the fight against Islamic State, after discovering loose screws that cannot be properly tightened in some key cockpit equipment.

A spokesman for the German Defence Ministry said the issue affected 42 of the country's 85 Tornados, including the six jets being used for surveillance flights out of Incirlik air base in Turkey near the Syrian border.

He said the issue centres on the screws used to fasten the control and display unit in the rear of the jet's cockpit.

He said the aircraft would not be allowed to fly until a solution had been found to secure the screws, since loose screws could cause problems elsewhere in the aircraft.

It was not immediately clear how long it would take to resolve the issue, or the likely cost.
Mali says closes Randgold offices over alleged unpaid taxes

BAMAKO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Mali's government has shut down the offices of companies controlled by Randgold Resources , alleging they owe 46.89 billion CFA francs ($80 million) in unpaid taxes, an adviser to the economy ministry said on Friday.

"In the last three days, we have closed the offices of the company and seized their bank accounts," Mohamed Lamine Samake told Reuters. "And if they don't comply within 10 days, we are going to take our actions to the next level."
Mali says closes Randgold offices over alleged unpaid taxes

BAMAKO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Mali's government has shut the offices of companies controlled by Randgold Resources, alleging they owe 46.89 billion CFA francs ($80 million) in unpaid taxes, an adviser to the economy ministry said on Friday.

"In the last three days, we have closed the offices of the company and seized their bank accounts," Mohamed Lamine Samake told Reuters. "And if they don't comply within 10 days, we are going to take our actions to the next level."

Randgold did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mali, which mined 50 tonnes of gold in 2015, is Africa's third-largest producer after South Africa and Ghana.

Samake said that the money is owed by Gounkoto and Somilo, two companies that work the Loulo-Gounkoto project in southwestern Mali, and Kankou Moussa, a bullion bank that sells gold produced by Randgold's mines.
Obama announces lifting of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama formally announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar on Friday by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to U.S. national security.

"I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency ... has been significantly altered by Burma's (Myanmar's) substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015," Obama said in a letter to the U.S. House and Senate speakers.

A U.S. Treasury statement said that as a result of the termination of the emergency order the economic and financial sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.

The move followed a meeting between Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Obama in Washington last month, when she called for the lifting of economic sanctions against her country, and he said he was willing to do this.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a sweeping victory in the November elections.

Obama's letter pointed to the formation of a democratically elected, civilian-led government as a result of the election, the release of many political prisoners and improved human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

"While Burma faces significant challenges, including the consolidation of its democracy, the United States can, and intends to, use other means to support the government and people of Burma in their efforts to address these challenges," Obama's letter said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy icon, helped persuade the West to impose sanctions on Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, during her years as a jailed opposition leader. She is now trying to strike a balance between showing her people the economic rewards of a democratic transition while keeping pressure on the country's generals for further reforms.

Some members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concerns about the extent and durability of change in Myanmar and introduced legislation seeking to give lawmakers some influence on the process of easing sanctions.

Rights groups condemned last month's announcement, saying it forfeited leverage on Myanmar's military.

Officials of the U.S. administration have said the removal of sanctions would not apply to military-to-military assistance, given the extent of the military's involvement in politics and rights abuses.

Suu Kyi herself has been criticized for doing too little to address the plight of Myanmar's stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.
The EU is encountering an existential crisis. President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker has correctly pointed out that grouping has become too distant from the problems of ordinary people.

This reality is not new. The EU has been almost always an affair of elites and the cognoscenti. In good years, citizens didn't pay serious attention to the modus operandi of Brussels because they were enjoying high growth rates and prosperity.

But in difficult times  as during the ongoing economic and migration crises  it's different. People in several member-states have started to challenge the efficiency of the EU, disagree with decisions made by unelected bodies and often express their disappointment and frustration.

Attention is currently turned towards internal initiatives at the EU level aiming at creating new momentum and save the European project. The Bratislava Summit, which took place without the participation of the U.K. after its Brexit vote, confirmed the will of European leaders to act and move forward.

The process will be difficult. The acknowledgment of existing problems does not entail the finding of tangible solutions to create confidence among citizens, principally the younger generation.

If there is a politician whose role will be crucial for the transformation of Europe in the coming months, it is surely German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A few hours before flying to Bratislava, and immediately following her visit to Paris where she met with French President Francois Hollande, Merkel went to Potsdam to give the keynote address at the "M100 Sans Souci Colloquium."

The aim of this annual international conference launched in 2011 is to bring together leading journalists and thinkers from inside and outside Europe to exchange views on its future. Managing editors of media organizations such as the BBC, Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News and Germany's Bild and Spiegel discussed how the EU should act in the fields of economy, foreign policy and the media. Subsequently, journalist Roberto Saviano received a prize for his investigative work in relation to Italian mafia.

Being an invited participant, I had the opportunity to join the debate on the future of Europe and also listen to Merkel's speech. The chancellor characterized a priority the continuous evolution and development of the EU.

This development will have to be based on four pillars. The first is prosperity, the second competiveness and innovation, the third a generation of a wave of enthusiasm and fourth is security. The German leader believes Europe can achieve much more if it is united, especially regarding rising nationalism, radicalization, and terrorism, as well as to better respond to challenges such as Brexit, globalization and climate change.

It seems that Berlin  in cooperation with Paris  seeks to set the basis for a stronger common defense union. While such a plan could hardly be implemented before Brexit due to U.K. objections, an opportunity has now been created. According to a paper recently prepared by the defense ministries of Germany and France, a joint headquarters, from which operational small battle groups will be coordinated, and a single budget for military research are proposed.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants a "Schengen of defense." This initiative certainly appeals to Germany to combat the Islamic State and play a more active role in European foreign policy.

In spite of expressed ambitions in defense, the lack of a real vision is evident. Steps boosting further European integration are significant, but they do not provide specific answers to meet the demands of most European citizens.

Chancellor Merkel is right in saying more time is required and that no tangible results can be immediately produced. Nevertheless, the public patience is waning and their anger is often reflected in electoral results, even within Germany. The governing Christian-Democratic party, for instance, recently suffered a painful defeat in the local poll of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Developments in other countries also cause skepticism. Italy might reach a political deadlock if Premier Matteo Renzi loses in the referendum on EU membership. Austria could soon have an extreme right-wing leader after the second round of the presidential election. Spain has failed to form a stable government in the last 10 months despite two national elections. Greece is struggling to implement the bailout terms required by Germany and the IMF. And Hungary is expected to send a strong anti-EU message in the referendum pegged to the refugee crisis.

This period is the most difficult, complicated and unpredictable since Angela Merkel took power in 2005. In the rest of 2016 and the first part of 2017 she will have to show that  along with European elites  she is able to influence European public opinion in the direction she desires.

George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Global aviation deal seen as long-term carbon market boost

By Allison Lampert

MONTREAL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A new global pollution deal for aviation is seen providing a long-term boost for carbon markets by generating demand for environmental offset projects that now often sell at rock-bottom prices, according to industry groups and analysts.

The carbon offsetting scheme, the first such industry-wide initiative, will start in 2021 with at least 65 participating countries in its voluntary phases, following the deal's approval on Thursday by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency.

"It should be a great boost for carbon credit markets in general," said Dirk Forrister, Chief Executive of the International Emissions Trading Association. "I would expect pricing to respond to this increase in demand."

He said carbon credits now sell for as little as 40 cents a tonne, but can rise to $10 a tonne depending on the quality of the carbon-emission reduction project, which can range from efforts to counter deforestation, to more efficient stoves.

Carbon market analysts estimate demand will rise closer to the deal's mandatory phase in 2027, but the completion of ICAO's eligibility rules for credits in 2018 could prompt earlier purchases by airlines.

"Should there be sufficient purchasing activity I suppose prices for voluntary standards may increase," said Maria Kolos, a carbon markets analyst for Thomson Reuters Point Carbon.

To meet the industry's own goal of capping aviation pollution at 2020 levels, airlines would have to offset more than 3 billion tonnes of carbon emissions between 2021 and 2035 by buying designated credits set up through the private sector, governments and the United Nations.

It is not yet clear which carbon credit projects would be available for purchase by airlines.

The deal has run into criticism from European lawmakers for pursuing carbon neutral growth as opposed to emissions reduction.

ICAO president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu told reporters the agency will now lead work to come up with criteria on how to select eligible projects, to verify their efficiency in reducing carbon emissions and to address concerns of double counting. An airline would not be able to use the same carbon credit to comply both with the deal and any separate offsets programs.

The deal's success hinges on that criteria, environmentalists say.

"There is a lot of work to be done to regulate the quality of credits allowed in this system," said Kelsey Perlman, a policy officer with the non-profit Carbon Market Watch.
Satellite images show activity at North Korea nuclear test site -report

SEOUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - An increase in activity at North Korea's nuclear test site could signal preparations for a new test or a collection of data from its last one, a U.S.-based monitoring group said on Friday.

The 38 North group, run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said satellite images showed activity at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel.

"One possible reason for this activity is to collect data on the Sept. 9 test, although other purposes cannot be ruled out, such as sealing the portal or other preparations related to a new test," the group said.

North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test on Sept. 9 and South Korea has said it believes the north is ready to conduct another nuclear test at any time. There has been speculation that Pyongyang could mark the Oct. 10 anniversary of the founding of its Workers' Party with a sixth detonation.

A study published on Friday by a U.S.-based North Korea research project said North Korean missile and nuclear tests, and other major "provocations", had clustered increasingly closer to U.S. elections.

The study from Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies said the pattern based on looking at 30 U.S. elections since 1956 suggested a North Korean action as early as a month before the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

This could mean a test coinciding with the Oct.10 anniversary. The trend also suggested the possibility of an act during the December transition period for the next U.S. administration.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and has since defied U.N. sanctions to press ahead with the development of the weapons and missiles to carry them, which it says it needs for defence.

In January, it conducted its fourth nuclear test and the fifth was carried out on the anniversary of the nation's founding.

South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a briefing there were no particular indications of a plan for a nuclear test on Oct. 10.

However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying that activity at North Korea's rocket launch station near the west coast could be preparations for a long-range missile launch.

Japan said the possibility of further "provocative action" by North Korea could not be ruled out.
As Pakistan stands isolated on the global stage, a massive confrontation is intensifying between the civilian government and the military leadership. In the aftermath of surgical strikes by India, Pakistan continues to be threatened by internal strife and a state of uncertainty. This is likely to assume further dangerous proportions in the not-so-distant future.

Political and military turbulence notwithstanding, there are credible reports of excesses being perpetrated on the minority Shia community who have generally been targeted by violent Sunni backed terror outfits coinciding with the commencement of Muharram.

As recent as on October 4, two incidents of Shia killings have been reported. Six persons including four Shia women were gunned down in Quetta (Balochistan) and at the Wah Cantonment (Punjab). Significantly, these areas are under the tight control of the army who are believed to be keeping a close eye on Balochistan and at a time when Pakistan is on red alert following a perceived threat of being attacked by India amid looming war clouds.

The law and order machinery is adrift with increasing fissures surfacing between Islamabad and General Raheel Sharif. Photo credit: Reuters

Importantly, those killed are Hazara Shias who have been selectively targeted. During the past decade, 500 Hazara Shias have been exterminated. The perpetrators are Lahkar e Jhangvi ( LeJ) international which openly collect funds for their cause and maintain close links with the military stationed in Balochistan. Killings happening in the close proximity of the army installations indicate that the offenders have patronage from the men in green and the government has no muscle to assert and stop these murders.

The law and order machinery seems to be going adrift with increasing fissures surfacing between the elected government and General Raheel Sharif who is trying desperately to remain afloat in his race to continue beyond November when he is due to superannuate. This unholy race has further escalated his fight with Nawaz Sharif who is, despite indifferent health, making an effort to rein in and wean the army from its existing mode of military jingoism and war mongering.

Nawaz's political party seems to be rallying behind him as evident from his brother's most recent bold stand calling the army to control terrorists and terrorism. His open challenge to the ISI chief to stop terrorism speaks volumes.

The ISI chief enjoys massive clout and seldom does any one from the elected regime issued a diktat to the omnipotent intelligence entity. It's an obvious flexing of muscles against the army by the civilian establishment. This also demonstrates that the polity no longer wants to be an outcaste internationally, hence they have started asserting themselves to show who is boss. This may prove costly but this is the right time for the Pakistani civilian establishment to take on the armed forces as they will have international and India's support.

There are reports already that the Pakistani government has indicated they want to revisit the 26/11 trial and Pathankot investigations - a positive and welcome indication for India. This will further gain them goodwill in the subcontinent and the necessary moral support needed to taken on the Pakistani army. In fact it's the only silver lining in the dark clouds in the region.

Should the government succeed in gaining de-facto control over the military fond of misadventures, then the targeted killings of Shias, Ahmediyas and excesses on Hindus and Christians are very likely to come down and terrorists would be forced to flee. Once the society is safer, it will be a matter of strength for the legitimate government.
Strategic stability

Following the terrorist strike in Uri, several Pakistanis, including Khawaja Asif, the defence minister, have held out nuclear threats to deter Indian military retaliation.

They have been particularly vocal in holding out the threat of employment of tactical nuclear warheads (TNWs) against Indian forces. For almost three decades, India has shown immense strategic restraint despite grave provocation from Pakistan.

However, first in Pathankot in January 2016 and then in Uri in September 2016, Indias red lines were crossed and the government was left with no option but to include calibrated military measures in its response.

Strategic stability is a product of deterrence stability, crisis stability and arms race stability in the context of a hostile political relationship between two nations. The state of strategic stability in South Asia has for long been a cause of concern for the international community due to Pakistans proxy war against India.

Pakistans "first use" doctrine, quest for full spectrum deterrence, the development of TNWs as weapons of warfighting, the armys control over nuclear decision-making and the risk that nuclear weapons may fall into jihadi hands, are all causes of instability. Hence, overall, the state of relations between the two countries may be described as "ugly stability", a term coined by Ashley Tellis.

Possibility of limited war

The conventional wisdom in India is that there is space for limited war below the nuclear threshold. Though Indian military retaliation to a major terrorist strike would be carefully calibrated to avoid threatening Pakistans nuclear red lines, under certain circumstances the exchanges could escalate to a war in the plains.

For example, Pakistan may launch pre-emptive offensive operations across the international boundary (IB), forcing India to launch counter-offensive operations to destroy Pakistans war-waging machinery and simultaneously capture a limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter.

The Pakistan army seeks to convince India that it has a low nuclear threshold and that its nuclear red lines are fairly close to the IB and threatens to use TNWs on its own soil to contest Indian offensive operations.

Pakistani analysts believe no Indian Prime Minister will authorise massive retaliation with nuclear weapons in such a contingency. Such a belief would tend to lower the threshold of use of nuclear warheads, but does not address the issue of the consequences that Pakistan will suffer if the Indian PM, heading the Political Council of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), actually approves massive retaliation. Deterrence is ultimately a mind game.

Efficacy of TNWs as weapons of warfighting

Simple calculations on the efficacy of TNWs against mechanised forces combat group (roughly comprising an armoured regiment and a company of mechanised infantry) advancing in desert or semi-desert terrain are revealing.

The combat group (60 armoured fighting vehicles, AFVs) would normally advance with two combat teams forward over a frontage of 10-12km and depth of 8-10km.

If a nuclear warhead of 8-10kt is detonated over this combat group (low air burst explosion, with ground zero close to the centre), the initial casualties would be in the range of 20-30 personnel killed or wounded and 10-12 AFVs destroyed or damaged.

While the leading combat group would need to regroup - that is, undertake casualty evacuation, repair and recovery and decontamination, the reserve combat group of the combat command/armoured brigade could resume the advance in six to eight hours.

The template used for working out the casualty figures given above is United States Field Manual FM 3-3-1. Also, the Hatf-9 warhead is likely to be of a much lower yield than 8-10kt and would, consequently, cause even lesser damage.

The conventional wisdom in India is that there is space for limited war below the nuclear threshold. (Photo credit: India Today)

If an Indian bridge head across a water obstacle is hit, the casualties would be a hundred times greater, but in a bridge head the adversarys troops would be in contact with Indian troops and, hence, a bridge head is a much less likely target.

By employing TNWs against Indian forces, the Pakistan army would have broken the nuclear taboo without achieving anything substantive by way of influencing the course of an ongoing military operation.

In the process, it would risk the destruction of major Pakistani cities, should India choose to retaliate massively. The leadership of the Pakistan army must have done these calculations.

Therefore, their advocacy of Indian disinclination to retaliate massively in response to their use of TNWs on their own soil indicates either a flawed analysis, or is nothing but a bluff - a bluff that the Indian armed forces would be inclined to call.

Doctrinal challenges

During a crisis, if deterrence breaks down, the essence of nuclear strategy would lie in minimising civilian and military casualties and material damage and preventing escalation, while ensuring the survival of the state.

If Pakistan detonates TNWs on Indian forces on its own soil, the major options available to India are the following:

Option A: Massive retaliation to inflict unacceptable damage and cripple Pakistan as a functional nation state.

Option B: A quid pro quo or quid pro quo plus response ("flexible response"), in order to minimise the probability of further nuclear exchanges and keep the level of casualties and destruction as low as possible.

Option C: Refrain from retaliating with nuclear weapons, but warn Pakistan of dire consequences if any more nuclear strikes are launched. This option is the least likely to be adopted.

If deterrence ever breaks down, publicly declared doctrine will become irrelevant. The Political Council of the NCA will decide how to retaliate based on the advice given by the Executive Council, of which the three services chiefs are members.

The method and mode of retaliation will be based on the prevailing operational-strategic situation and the likely reactions, especially the probability of further nuclear exchanges, and the reactions of the international community - the threats held out, the appeals made and the course of discussions held in the UN Security Council.

From Indias point of view, massive retaliation (Option A) is the most suitable option for deterrence as anything else will run the risk of lowering the nuclear threshold and encourage the Pakistan army to continue to bank on the early use of TNWs to counter operational reverses.

Flexible response (Option B) would run the risk of continuing and repeated nuclear strikes. Also, breaking the nuclear taboo would be considered unacceptable by the international community.

Impact of TNWs on Indias nuclear doctrine

Indias nuclear doctrine premised on "credible minimum deterrence" and posture of "no first use" has stood the test of time and no major change is necessary.

Indias declaratory strategy of "massive retaliation" to a nuclear first strike is "designed to inflict unacceptable damage" and would work well even in a contingency where Pakistani planners may consider using TNWs against Indian forces on Pakistani soil as they cannot possibly risk the destruction of their country.

However, the credibility of massive retaliation needs to be enhanced through a carefully formulated signalling plan that is designed to showcase the technological proficiency and operational preparedness of Indias nuclear forces and the firmness of its political will.
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Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.

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American Homes 4 Rent is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the US rental industry. The company is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand. The company is known for high-quality rental homes, providing good value and tenant satisfaction while generating profits for investors. The primary investment objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns through dividends and capital appreciation.

The company plans to achieve its objective through the disciplined acquisition of new properties, by expanding its own construction and neighborhood building efforts, growing its geographically diverse portfolio, efficient property management, building a strong brand, and maintaining a sound capital structure.

The company was founded in 2011 by David Singelyn and his partner. Mr. Singelyn has served as a Trustee and CEO since 2012. The company began by acquiring homes in underserved areas and remodeling them to modern standards. The firm has since expanded its operations to construction and now builds planned communities tailored to different lifestyles as well. The company went public in 2013 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

American Homes 4 Rent is an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. The company operates through a network of offices and the website AH4R.com. The company owns more than 55,000 properties across 22 states featuring move-in-ready and pet-friendly homes for individuals and families of all sizes.

All previously used properties have been renovated to a high Certified Property standard that brings them to a like-new condition. Interested parties can view listings by area on the website and even use the site to fill out applications and sign leases. Properties are located in communities that fit a variety of lifestyle needs including fences, marble countertops, and even attached 2 and 3-car garages. The communities are located in hand-picked neighborhoods with features including access to commerce, schools, and amenities like lawn care, pools, trails, and fitness centers.

Tenants are afforded many benefits by renting through American Homes 4 Rent. The first and most obvious is the freedom and flexibility of a mortgage-free lifestyle. On top of that, tenants can pay rent or schedule maintenance on their homes through the website, and dedicated service representatives are available 24/7.
NCI Building Systems, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets metal products for the nonresidential construction industry in North America. It operates in four segments: Engineered Building Systems, Metal Components, Insulated Metal Panels, and Metal Coil Coating. The Engineered Building Systems segment offers engineered structural members and panels; and self-storage building systems under the Metallic, Mid-West Steel, A & S, All American, Mesco, Star, Ceco, Robertson, Garco, Heritage, and SteelBuilding.com brands to builders, general contractors, developers, and end users directly, as well as through private label companies. The Metal Components segment provides metal roof and wall systems, metal partitions, metal trims, doors, and other related accessories for use in new construction, and repair and retrofit applications; roll-up doors; and interior and exterior walk doors under the MBCI, American Building Components, Eco-ficient, Metal Depots, and Doors and Buildings Components brands to manufacturers, contractors, subcontractors, distributors, lumberyards, cooperative buying groups, and other customers. The Insulated Metal Panels segment offers insulated metal panels for architectural, commercial, industrial, and cold storage end-market applications under the Metl-Span and CENTRIA brands. The Metal Coil Coating segment engages in cleaning, treating, and painting flat-rolled metals in coil form, as well as in slitting and/or embossing the metal, before the metal is fabricated for use by industrial users. It also cleans, treats, and coats heavy and light gauge metal coils for use in construction products, heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, lighting fixtures, ceiling grids, office furniture, appliances, and other products; and provides toll coating and painted metal package services under the Metal Coaters and Metal Prep brands. NCI Building Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Ag Growth International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes grain and rice handling, storage, and conditioning equipment in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company offers storage equipment comprising grain and bolted bins, hopper bins, smooth wall bins, temporary storage equipment, unloads and sweeps, water tanks, fuel tanks; and conditioning equipment, such as mixed flow dryers, fans and heaters, aerations, airaugers, aeration floors, vents and exhausters, stirrings, and accessories. It also provides portable handling equipment, such as portable augers, conveyors, grain vacs, post pounders, seed treaters, and accessories; and permanent handling equipment, including bucket elevators, chain and belt conveyors, enclosed belt conveyors, distributors, feed handling equipment, screw feeders and conveyors, and spouts and connections. In addition, the company offers towers, catwalks, ladders, all-steel buildings, flat storage buildings; batch blenders, bulk scales, declining weight blenders, vertical blenders, micro-dosing systems, mixers, milling equipment; and controllers, hazard monitoring equipment, monitoring and automation equipment, sampling solutions. Further, it provides cleaning and destoners, rice milling and processing equipment, bin unloads, blending and control systems, Liquid and dry fertilizer blending and conveying equipment, turnkey design and build construction solutions for seed and fertilizer facilities, and farm management software. The company markets its products under the AGI, Airlanco, Batco, Brownie, CMC, Compass, Danmare, Ezee-dry, Frame, Grain Guard, Grainmaxx, Hi Roller, Hutchinson, Improtech, Junge, Keho, Mayrath, Milltec, MMS, Neco, PTM, REM, Sabe, Sentinel, Storm, Suretrack, Tramco, Twister, Westeel, Westfield, Wheatheart, and Yargus brand names. It provides its equipment for agricultural commodities. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.
Coeur Mining, Inc. explores for precious metals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead properties. It holds 100% interests in the Palmarejo gold and silver mine covering an area of approximately 67,296 net acres located in the State of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico; the Rochester silver and gold mine that covers an area of approximately 43,441net acres situated in northwestern Nevada; the Kensington gold mine comprising 3,972 net acres located to the north of Juneau, Alaska; the Wharf gold mine covering an area of approximately 3,243 net acres situated in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota; and the Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine comprising 97,298 net acres located in northern British Columbia, Canada. In addition, the company owns interests in the Crown and Sterling projects located in southern Nevada; and the La Preciosa project located in Mexico. Further, it markets and sells its concentrates to third-party customers, smelters, under off-take agreements. The company was formerly known as Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. in May 2013.Coeur Mining, Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
An open letter by the former Republicans slams the GOP nominee as unqualified for the presidency.

With fewer than five weeks left before Election Day, more Republicans that remain high profile are taking a stand publicly against the divisive nominee of their party.

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alerts:

Thirty former Republican congressmen on Thursday released a letter denouncing Donald Trump. The letter argues that Trump makes a mockery of their conservative principles and lacks all qualities necessary to be the leader of the U.S.

Each day brings another revelation that underscores an unaccepted danger in electing Trump to the highest office of the country, read the letter.

The letter prominently features both present and past lawmakers from a number of battleground states as well as key allies of powerful members of the GOP currently on Capitol Hill.

In the letter, they were critical of Trump for the numerous offenses against the handicapped, women, foreign allies and parents of a soldier who was Muslim that had been killed in action, for the suggestion that Muslims should be banned from the U.S.

Due to the enormous power the office holds, every presidential candidate must be rigorously judged in assessing if he or she has the intelligence, competence, knowledge, empathy, judgment, understanding and temperament that are necessary to maintain America on a steady and safe course, wrote the lawmakers.

Several of the signatories against Trump are allies with high profile leaders of the Republicans who currently, yet unenthusiastically endorse Trump.

Former congressman Tom Petri of Wisconsin was a close ally of Paul Ryan the House Speaker who spends time on air dismissing or condemning the latest Trump offenses while continuing to offer support.

The letter does not mention the opponents of Trump, but the GOP group of lawmakers is planning to vote for either Gary Johnson or Hillary Clinton, while others might write in one other candidate.

The group of anti-Trump lawmakers is the most recent of a number of open letters that Republicans have published denouncing the nominee of their party, including one that was signed by 50 figures in national security.

Other prominent figures against Trump included Mitt Romney the presidential nominee for the GOP in 2012 and both former Bush presidents, with father George H.W. supporting Clinton and his son George W. not making any comments about the race.
MSCI Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment decision support tools for the clients to manage their investment processes worldwide. It operates through four segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and All Other - Private Assets. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed product creation, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct. The Analytics segment offers risk management, performance attribution and portfolio management content, application, and service that provides an integrated view of risk and return, and an analysis of market, credit, liquidity, and counterparty risk across asset classes; managed services, including consolidation of client portfolio data from various sources, review and reconciliation of input data and results, and customized reporting; and HedgePlatform to measure, evaluate, and monitor the risk of hedge fund investments. The ESG and Climate segment provides products and services that help institutional investors understand how ESG factors impact the long-term risk and return of their portfolio and individual security-level investments; and data, ratings, research, and tools to help investors navigate increasing regulation. The All Other - Private Assets segment includes real estate market and transaction data, benchmarks, return-analytics, climate assessments and market insights for funds, investors, and managers; business intelligence to real estate owners, managers, developers, and brokers; and offers investment decision support tools for private capital. It serves asset owners and managers, financial intermediaries, wealth managers, real estate professionals, and corporates. MSCI Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Aqua Environmental Limited, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bro-Tech Limited, CALGON LLC, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, Cymru Holdings Limited, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, EPN Water Col Ltd., Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH in Liquidation, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co. Compagnie Ecolab, Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Digital Center Private Limited, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab International SDN BHD, Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 SCA, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 16 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 17 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 Sarl, Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Malaysia SDN. BHD., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BV, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios S.A.S., Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM B.V., NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE SAS, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA MANUFACTURING S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC (1), Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Deutschland Manufacturing GmbH, Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Private Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., National Wiper Alliance Inc., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Purolite, Purolite (China) Co. Ltd., Purolite (Int.) Ltd, Purolite (Pty) Ltd, Purolite AG, Purolite GmbH, Purolite Ileri Kimyasal Ticaret Ltd, Purolite KK, Purolite LLC, Purolite Ltd, Purolite NZ Limited, Purolite Private Limited, Purolite Pte. Ltd., Purolite Pty Ltd, Purolite S. de R.L. de C.V., Purolite SAS, Purolite SRL, Purolite do Brasil Ltda, Purolite s.r.o., Purolite sp. z o.o., Purolite C Corporation, QazSorbent LLP, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, TechTex Holdings Limited, Technical Textile Services Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, VanBaele Hygiene AG, Wabasha Leasing LLC, Zhe Jiang Purosoft Home Appliances Sale Co Ltd, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG.

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First Data Corporation provides commerce enabled technology and solutions for merchants, financial institutions, and card issuers in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through three segments: Global Business Solutions, Global Financial Solutions, and Network & Security Solutions. The Global Business Solutions segment provides solutions to merchants, such as retail point of sale merchant acquiring, e-commerce, and mobile payment services, as well as cloud based point of sale operating system that include a marketplace for proprietary and third party applications. The Global Finance Solutions segment provides technology solutions for bank and non-bank issuers, such as credit, retail private label, commercial card, and loan processing, as well as licensed financial software systems; suite of account services that include card personalization and embossing, customer communications, and professional services; and call center solutions and back office processing. The Network & Security Solutions segment offers EFT network, stored value network, and security and fraud solutions, as well as other value added solutions to its clients in GBS and GFS segments, smaller financial institutions, and other enterprise clients. First Data Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
VMware, Inc. provides software solutions in the areas of modern applications, cloud management and infrastructure, networking, security, and digital workspaces in the United States and internationally. It offers VMware multi-cloud solutions, including VMware vSphere, a data center infrastructure that provides the fundamental compute layer; vSAN and VxRail, which offers holistic data storage and protection options to applications running on vSphere; and vRealize Cloud Management solutions that manages hybrid and multi-cloud environments running in virtual machines and containers, as well as VMware Cloud Foundation, a cloud platform that combines its vSphere, vSAN, and NSX with vRealize Cloud Management into an integrated stack and delivers enterprise-ready cloud infrastructure for private and public clouds. The company also provides networking solutions, such as VMware NSX, NSX Distributed and Gateway Firewalls, NSX Network Detection and Response Engine, NSX Advanced Load Balancer, Tanzu Service Mesh, and VMware SASE; security solutions consisting of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, Workload, and Container; and digital workspace solutions comprising Workspace ONE Unified Endpoint Management, Access, Intelligent Hub, and Horizon. In addition, it offers application modernization solutions, such as Tanzu Application and Operations Platform, Tanzu Application Service Platform, Tanzu Observability, Tanzu Community Edition, and Tanzu Labs; and cloud management solutions, including vRealize Cloud Management, vCloud Suite, and CloudHealth by VMware Suite. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, system vendors, and systems integrators. VMware, Inc. has a strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services to build and deliver an integrated hybrid solution. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. LTD., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES BORROWER S.C.A., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES LLC, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES MIDDLE EAST FZE, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES SERVICES LIMITED, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Accudyne Industries Acquisition S.A r.l, Accudyne Industries Canada Inc., Accudyne Industries S.A r.l., Air Dimensions, Air Dimensions Inc., Albin Pump SAS, BOC Edwards Global Low pressure Air business, CISA S.p.A., Cameron-Centrifugal Compression, Comercial Ingersoll-Rand (Chile) Limitada, Comingersoll-Comercio E Industria De Equipamentos S.A., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Dosatron International SAS, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Proprietary Limited, FlexEnergy Holdings LLC, Frigoblock Grosskopf Gmbh, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First (UK) Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings II Inc., GD Global Holdings Inc., GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., GPS Industries, Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp (Canada), Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Limited, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica SL, Gardner Denver Inc., Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver International Inc., Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Investments Inc., Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan Ltd., Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte. Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia s.r.o., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH (f/k/a ILMVAC GmbH), Gardner Denver Thomas Inc., Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Ghh-Rand Schraubenkompressoren Gmbh, HASKEL EUROPE LTD., HASKEL HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, HASKEL INTERNATIONAL LLC, Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, Haskel France SAS, Haskel Sistemas de Fluidos Espana S.R.L., Hibon Inc., Highspeed Newco LLC, Hingerose Limited, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, INGERSOLL RAND ITS JAPAN LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHANG ZHOU) TOOLS CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHINA) INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND CHINA LLC, INGERSOLL-RAND COMERCIO E SERVICOS DE MAQUINAS E EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA., INGERSOLL-RAND DE PUERTO RICO INC., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY B.V., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL SP. Z O.O., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL U.S. INC., INGERSOLL-RAND PHILIPPINES INC., INGERSOLL-RAND SPAIN S.A., INGERSOLL-RAND U.S. HOLDCO INC., IR HPS Holdco. Inc., ITO Emniyet, Ingersoll Rand Cyprus Investments Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Finance LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Investments LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Ventures LLC, Ingersoll Rand Hong Kong Investments Limited, Ingersoll Rand Inc., Ingersoll Rand Investments (SG) Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Investments B.V., Ingersoll Rand Schweiz Investments Gmbh, Ingersoll Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (Australia) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (China) Investment Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Guilin) Tools Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Hong Kong) Holding Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Ab, Ingersoll-Rand Air Solutions Hibon Sarl, Ingersoll-Rand Beteiligungs Und Grundstucksverwaltungs Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Colombia S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (Uk), Ingersoll-Rand Company South Africa (Pty) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Cz S.R.O., Ingersoll-Rand De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Equipements De Production S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Industrial Ireland Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International (India) Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Italia S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Italiana Manufacturing S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Korea Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Korea Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments II S.A R.I., Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Luxembourg Industrial Company S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Machinery (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Malaysia Co. Sdn. Bhd., Ingersoll-Rand S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Services And Trading Limited Liability Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Singapore Enterprises Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand South East Asia (Pte.) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Superay Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technical And Services S.A.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Technologies And Services Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Tool Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Trading Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Vietnam Company Limited, Instrum Rand JSC, Interflex Datensysteme, Ir Canada Holdings Ulc, Ir Canada Sales & Service Ulc, Ir France Sas, Kryptonite corp, Lawrence Factor Inc., LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MILTON ROY (HONG KONG) LIMITED, MILTON ROY (UK) LIMITED, MILTON ROY EUROPA B.V., MILTON ROY EUROPE SAS, MILTON ROY INDUSTRIAL (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD., MILTON ROY LLC, MILTON ROY US PURCHASER INC., MP Pumps Inc., Maximum AG Technologies Inc., Maximus Solutions, Mb Air Systems Limited, Nash Elmo, Officina Meccaniche Industriali Srl, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Plurifilter D.O.O., Pt Ingersoll-Rand Indonesia, Robuschi, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, SEEPEX, Seepex (M) SDN, Seepex Australia Pty Ltd, Seepex Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mit Beschrankter Haftung, Seepex France S.a.r.l., Seepex GmbH, Seepex Inc., Seepex India Private Ltd., Seepex Italia SRL, Seepex Japan Co. Ltd., Seepex Nordic A/S, Seepex OOO, Seepex Pumps (Shanghia) Co. Ltd., Seepex UK Ltd., Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Shanghai Ingersoll-Rand Compressor Limited, Shenzhen Bocom System Engineering Co., Superay, Syltone, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, Tamrotor Marine Comp AS Norway, Tecno Matic Europe s.r.o., Thomas Industries Inc., Trane Technologies, Tri-Continent Scientific Inc., Vacuum and Blower Systems division, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zaxe Technologies Inc., Zeks Compressed Air Solutions Llc, Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, Zinsser NA Inc., and crayon interface.

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Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. The Consumer Banking and Lending segment offers diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses. Its financial products and services include checking and savings accounts, and credit and debit cards, as well as home, auto, personal, and small business lending services. The Commercial Banking segment provides financial solutions to private, family owned, and certain public companies. Its products and services include banking and credit products across various industry sectors and municipalities, secured lending and lease products, and treasury management services. The Corporate and Investment Banking segment offers a suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients. Its products and services comprise corporate banking, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate lending and servicing, equity, and fixed income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research capabilities services. The Wealth and Investment Management segment provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, and trust and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net worth, and ultra-high-net worth clients. It also operates through financial advisors. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs, manufactures, and markets engineered components and products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Bedding Products; Specialized Products; and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products. The company offers steel rods, drawn wires, foam chemicals and additives, innersprings, specialty foams, private label finished mattresses, mattress foundations, wire forms for mattress foundations, adjustable beds, industrial sewing and quilting machines, and mattress packaging and glue drying equipment, as well as machines to produce innersprings for industrial users of steel rods and wires, manufacturers of finished bedding, big box and e-commerce retailers, bedding brands and mattress retailers, department stores, and home improvement centers. It also provides mechanical and pneumatic lumbar support and massage systems for automotive seating; seat suspension systems, motors and actuators, and cables; titanium, nickel, and stainless-steel tubing, formed tubes, tube assemblies, and flexible joint components for fluid conveyance systems; and engineered hydraulic cylinders to automobile OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, aerospace OEMs and suppliers, and mobile equipment OEMs. In addition, the company offers steel mechanisms and motion hardware for reclining chairs, sofas, sleeper sofas and lift chairs; springs and seat suspensions; components and private label finished goods for soft seating; and bases, columns, back rests, casters, and frames, as well as control devices for chairs. Further, it offers carpet cushion and hard surface flooring underlayment, structural fabrics, and geo components to manufacturers of upholstered and office furniture, flooring retailers and distributors, contractors, landscapers, road construction companies, retailers, government agencies, and mattress and furniture producers, as well as manufacturers of packaging, filtration, and draperies. The company was founded in 1883 and is based in Carthage, Missouri.
A lecturer at the University of Virginia "has agreed to take leave" after comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan on social media, according to UVa's School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The comment posted earlier this week by Douglas Muir, an adjunct lecturer at the engineering school and the Darden School of Business, has also prompted a Charlottesville city councilor to call for residents to boycott Muir's restaurant.

On Tuesday, Charlottesville real estate agent Roger Voisinet wrote a Facebook post about Black Lives Matter, and Muir left a comment on the post stating:

Black lives matter is the biggest rasist [sic] organisation [sic] since the clan [sic]. Are you kidding me. Disgusting!!!

A statement from the engineering school issued Friday night said that Mr. Muir has agreed to take leave and is preparing his own statement to the community.

While free speech and open discussion are fundamental principles of our nation and the University, Mr. Muirs comment was entirely inappropriate, the statement continues. UVA Engineering does not condone actions that undermine our values, dedication to diversity and educational mission.

Speaking to the issue of free speech, UVa Provost Tom Katsouleas said the university stands firmly against racism and social injustice of any kind.  This position in no way squelches academic freedom, which welcomes dissent and encourages the voices of others whose perspectives may differ from ours  thereby adding new insights to our own. But statements such as Mr. Muirs do not foster intellectual exploration, nor do they encourage the voices of others.

The original post referred to an event at the Paramount Theater that featured a series of speakers addressing the issue of injustice. Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza was one of the presenters and spoke to the audience on the topics of white privilege, the struggle of black Americans and the focus of the movement.

Black Lives Matter aims to end state-sanctioned violence once and for all, Garza said Tuesday night. We are fighting for the sanctity and dignity of all of us, and not just for black men. We are fighting for black women, black queer people, black trans people, immigrants and the disabled community.

When Charlottesville City Councilor Wes Bellamy heard about Muirs comment, he took to social media and called Muir out for his comments.

How can you compare people standing up for justice to the KKK, who have unapologetically hung many African Americans? Bellamy said. They are outright and blatantly racist, and when you look at Black Lives Matter, thats white people, Latino people, Asian people and young and old people. Its a collective call to bring people together to face systemic oppression.

Comparing that to the KKK shows me how culturally incompetent some people can be, he said. It shows me how much work we need to do in this country.

On his Instagram account, Bellamy also asked people to boycott Muirs business, Bellas Restaurant, to drive home the message.

If that is how he really, truly feels, then thats a place that doesnt deserve to have the business of the people in the city of Charlottesville, said Bellamy. Tell him economically that you wont go and that black lives do matter. We have to say more than just words. We have to use our actions and our buying power.

Douglas Muir could not be reached for comment Friday. In a tweet Friday, the Darden School distanced themselves from Muirs comments.

The personal comments made by University of Virginia adjunct lecturer Doug Muir on his personal social media accounts do not in any way represent the viewpoint or values of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, the release said. As a school within a public university, we respect and recognize peoples rights, including their First Amendment right to free speech.  However, the personal statements made by Doug Muir regarding Black Lives Matter do not represent the views of this School, it said.
A judge has ordered a northern Culpeper County farmer to stop interfering with the easement rights of a man who hopes to open a bed-and-breakfast inn in an historic antebellum home.

Judge Susan Whitlock Thursday issued a preliminary injunction against Jeffrey Herren and Herren Farms that would allow Josh MillsonMartula to not only make county required improvements to the gravel road into PresquIsle, but also to erect small signs along the way.

However, in balancing her ruling, Whitlock ordered Millson-Martula to put up a $500,000 bond to protect Herrens crops and machinery from any damage that might results from the actions of guests at the bed-and-breakfast.

MillsonMartula and his business partner, Aaron Mastin, bought PresquIsle, a 125-acre estate, last year and were granted a special-use permit to operate a bed-and-breakfast in the historic home.

Among the conditions the Culpeper County Planning Commission suggested for granting the permit was that small, wooden bumper guard rails be placed on a cement bridge that is part of the right-of-way easement, but is owned by Herren.

Other conditions, which the Board of Supervisors approved, included putting up speed limit signs and improving the almost two-mile road to PresquIsle.

During a three-hour hearing in Culpeper County Circuit Court on Sept. 19, MillsonMartula testified that he had installed the guard rails as the county had directed, but that one of Herrens employees had taken them up, loaded them onto a tractor forklift and dumped them on the PresqueIlse property.

He also testified that Herren occasionally parked a farm vehicle that blocked part of the right-of-way near a grain bin/shop area complex.

Herren countered by saying that the bumper rails made the bridge over the Rappahannock River too narrow for his combine to cross.

Herren added that he owns 1,170 acres that surround PresquIsle on three sides (the Hazel River is its southern boundary) and has about 500 acres in grain production, most of it on either side of the right-of-way easement into the planned bed-and-breakfast site.

He told the judge that opening up the easement to commercial traffic is putting me at risk. He said hundreds of cars would produce huge amounts of dust that could diminish crop production.

We are very aware that we need to stay out of that easement and not block access, Herren said. But he added, Thats my bridge.

MillsonMartula also told the judge that until the deep snow in January of this year, Herren kept the gate locked that led from the public road on the Fauquier County side into the entrance to his farm, which is also PresquIsles right-of-way.

Whenever guests arrived, they would have to call MillsonMartula, who would then have to drive the two miles to the gate and open it.

I put that lock on for security reasons, Herren testified. I was worried about the grain in my bins.

MillsonMartula said he was happy with the judges ruling.

We are pleased to be able to move forward, he said.

Herren has counter-sued and the case is scheduled to come to court this winter.

Whitlock ruled that the bond must be in effect before the bed-and-breakfast can open.
Marie Aughenbaugh set a goal to find a job where she feels she can contribute and grow professionally.

The Culpeper resident recently returned from three years of work in West Africa where she helped administer humanitarian, development and relief efforts for a nonprofit organization.

Now, in hopes of finding workperhaps in government, nonprofit or educationAughenbaugh plans to attend the regional job fair today from 10 a.m. to noon at Germannas Daniel Technology Center.

Even if the opportunities presented during the fair dont match her qualifications, Aughenbaugh remains confident that attending, meeting people and getting her resume out there is the right thing to do.

Sometimes the searccan be discouraging but you just have to keep going, she said. I just keep knocking on doors. Its good to keep networking.

Pursuing a job through the Workforce Center worked out for Sarahi Johnson. Shed recently come to the area from Panama City, Fla., and needed employment.

The Orange County resident approached the Workforce Center, and was pleasantly surprised to spend only about eight hours there before her resume had been distributed to 40 or more businesses and organizations.

They were awesome, Johnson said.

The contacts Johnson made allowed her to land a job in August at Rappahannock Legal Aid, where she helps provide pro bono and low-cost legal services to income-eligible clients.

They signed me up with a couple of the places I interviewed with. Legal Services was looking for someone bilingual, she said. I love it here.

Now Aughenbaugh hopes to find a job shell equally love.

Ive been looking at a lot of different fields, she said. I think you can transfer your skills, bring your abilities to work for a company you hadnt thought of.

The job fair is free, and sponsored by community partners the Piedmont Workforce Network, Germanna Community College, the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the Virginia Employment Commission, Veterans Services and Rappahannock Goodwill Industries. A similar fair, held in February, drew 225 job seekers.

The more than 20 attending employers include Aerojet Rocketdyne, AmeriCare plus, Continental Automotive, EuroComposites, Kelly Services, Madison Wood Preservers, MVP Staffing, Pohanka Honda, Plow & Hearth, Seniors Helpers and UVA temps.

In addition, staff members from Germanna Community College will be available to speak with attendees about training and apprenticeship programs.

Job candidates should bring an updated resume and come dressed to interview.

For more information about other upcoming job fairs and career services available, including resume preparation, visit the Culpeper Workforce Center at 210 E. Stevens St. in Culpeper, or call 540/212-4570.
It was a bit of an odd start to the morning Thursday in Culpeper with two apparently unsubstantiated and unrelated security scares happening concurrently.

Around 10 a.m., the Culpeper Police Department received notification that an employee of Cintasa uniform rental company on Bus. 29 in the townhad received a bomb threat. The building was evacuated as state police K9 units responded to the scene.

Three hours later, the building was determined to be safe, and Cintas employees went back to work.

As a result of the investigation, police charged Lashania M. Coles, 21, of the 1100-block of Vantage Place in Culpeper with a Class 5 felony charge of threatening to bomb a building related to this incident. Coles is currently being held without bond at the Culpeper County Jail.

Meanwhile, a few miles away, school officials took security measures around the same time as the reported bomb threat after a report of a suspicious person in the community.

Culpeper County High, Culpeper Middle, TRIER, Sycamore Park Elementary and Floyd T. Binns Middle schools were all placed on a remain indoors status, meaning the entrances were secured and everyone was instructed to stay inside and continue with normal operations.

Soon after, the security measure was lifted.

The two events put the local public on high alert with conjecture spreading quickly on social media. Posters speculated it was related to the creepy crown craze spreading nationwide while others tied the incidences to the increase in planes flying around in advance of Saturdays Culpeper Air Fest.

Anyone with information related to the ongoing police department investigation at Cintas should call Detective Brittany Jenkins at 540/727-7900 or give an anonymous tip to Crime Solvers at 540/727-0300.
Kiger, 61, died last weekend after an illness of several months. An employee of the city of Waynesboro for nearly 30 years, Kiger had served as the city's assessor since 2001. He was a Staunton native and business administration graduate of Virginia Tech.

Waynesboro City Manager Mike Hamp said Kiger "was absolutely a gentleman, a consummate public official and a terrific ambassador for the city." Hamp said Kiger was "committed to fairness'' in his assessments.

Kiger showed patience in explaining his assessments to Waynesboro residents.

Waynesboro Commissioner of the Revenue Don Coffey had worked closely with Kiger since taking office in 2004.

"John had the best interests of Waynesboro at heart,'' Coffey said. "He was a true gentleman in everything he did. This is a huge loss to the city of Waynesboro."

Hamp said an employee in the city assessor's office is serving as the interim assessor. Waynesboro City Council has the responsibility of appointing a successor to Kiger.

Funeral services are scheduled Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Staunton.
Emergency airlift headed for Haiti; U.S. to assist missions Editorial Staff | 07 October, 2016 by Joni B. Hannigan

PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI (Christian Examiner)  With hundreds of thousands displaced in Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, Samaritan's Purse is airlifting 20 tons of heavy-duty plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, and water filters to assist survivors, according to a news release.

A Disaster Assistance Response Team is also onboard to join field staff already on the ground where they witnessed the major damaged caused by torrential rains and 145-mph winds in one of the world's poorest countries.

"Hurricane Matthew has wreaked havoc on Haiti," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. "Our teams are on the ground helping in Jesus' Name. They're going to do all they can to meet the needs of the suffering. Please pray for the people of Haiti as they recover from this deadly storm."

ELECTIONS CALLED OFF, U.S. ASSISTS MISSIONS

Meanwhile, the president of Haiti has called off presidential and legislative elections there, scheduled for Sunday, according to the Miami Herald.

While the move was generally met with widespread acceptance because of humanitarian concerns, the lack of a new date has left some uncomfortable.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida issued a statement in which he called the postponement "justifiable" but said the Haitian people need leaders.

"It cannot be used as an excuse to perpetually postpone it and further undermine the democratic process there," Rubio said. "We need effective U.S. leadership on the humanitarian response for all the obvious human reasons, but also so this election can be rescheduled as soon as possible and the Haitian people can choose leaders that can address the many challenges facing their country."

The U.S. Southern Command staged an area at Port-au-Prince airport for C-130 cargo planes, and a team of 100 U.S. military personnel and nine helicopters were waiting in the Caymen Islands for the weather to improve before leaving for Haiti where they will assist disaster relief missions that have been requested by the government in Haiti.

According to the Miami Herald, the Haitian government has reported at least 350,000 people "immediate assistance."

To donate to the Samaritan's Purse effort, go online.
home Tech Lenovo Phab 2 Pro release date, news, specs rumors: First phablet for Google Project Tango coming this November

Google has been developing a new virtual reality technology platform that will run on mobile devices. The company's innovative technology called Tango will make applications in smartphones and tablet to be "spatially aware," allowing mobile users to interact with his surroundings in 3D with the help of special camera lens and processor. After several months, the public will have the chance to experience this highly interesting VR feature with the release of Lenovo Phab 2 Pro. The device is now set to be released next month.

According to The Verge, the Lenovo Tab 2 Pro will be the first mobile device coming from Google Project Tango. It was first reported that Lenovo's next iteration of smartphone t tablet hybrid would be released in Summer 2016. However, possible revisions and modifications have further delayed its launch until the last months of the year.

Lenovo's upcoming phablet model, designed to run Tango, will be featuring wide-angle and depth-sensing camera incorporated into its main 16MP sensor. This camera feature will allow the mobile device to create a spatial 3D map of the user's environment and display it on the screen. The 3D map can be overlaid with visual effects, track objects, and even map indoor spaces. Various applications can be developed to further explore and experiment with this new 3D mapping technology in mobile devices.

Project Tango was initiated in 2014, but it is only now that the outcome of Google's groundbreaking venture will be experienced. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro will be a thin and classic device with 6.4-inch quad HD display, Digital Trends reported. It may not be so different from the previous phablet models from Lenovo, having Snapdragon 652, 4GB RAM, and 4,000 mAh battery capacity, although its Tango technology will make it stand out from the rest.

There are no confirmed reports yet regarding the other specs of the phablet and its price, although the latest rumors suggest that the regular variant of Phab 2 Pro will cost around $500.
home Tech Nexus 6 release date, specs news & update: Android 7.0 delays launch on Nexus 6 devices

The Android 7.0 Nougat performed performed well on current Nexus models. Since the update still isn't available for Nexus 6, owners of the two-year-old smartphone unit are excited to receive the latest update. The update can be manually installed by downloading it online but reports said the new OS will soon be available on the device itself.

Google hasn't made any statements as to why the Nexus 6 Nougat update has been delayed. Reports noted that it is not unusual for the smartphone line to receive the latest update weeks after it was launched. On the other hand, The Tech Times suggested that based on hints from company insiders, the delay has to do with battery drain.



Android Central reported that Google posted about the Android 7.0 Nougat factory image and flashable OTA file, and that Nexus 6s users will be receiving the OTA updates now. Users can get the updates online.

The latest Android OS comes with the recent security patch for the month of October. Furthermore, it is consistent and its size only comes in 860 MB. Nexus users are excited about the OS because it offers a revamped UI and improved notifications. Once the update is installed, users have quicker access to the important elements in their phone through Instant Apps and enhanced power saving.

The developers of the smartphone line also offered Google Allo, a new messaging app that reinvents texting. It is a user-friendly app with cool new features.

More importantly, the Quick Switch and Multi-Window features provides users with an opportunity to multitask with ease.

For Nexus users, it is imperative that the space needed is made available. A stable connection and charged device is also highly recommended.

Users who don't want to manually install the update should just wait for the update to reach their phones.
Recently, I had an opportunity to take a trip to Cuba. My purpose of going to Cuba was a combination of fact-finding and education. The signs are pointing toward the U.S. Embargo against Cuba ending. With that, this could lead to the Cuban cigar market being opened in the United States (although under current FDA regulations, this may never happen). Therefore, the time seemed right to explore this country that was much of an unknown to myself  and to learn about the Cuban Cigar Industry. While we have discussed Cuban Cigars on Stogie Geeks, we havent covered much on Cuban Cigars on Cigar Coop.

This is the second of a two part series. In the first part, Havana Cuba-In My Minds Eye I took a look at the Cultural Observations from visiting Cuba. Like Part 1, this is not a trip report. In this installment, I focus more on the cigars and the cigar experience in Cuba.

Understanding the Cuban Cigar Market

In Cuba, the tobacco industry is controlled by the government. There is a company called Cubatabaco that owns the production of Cuban Cigars. In 1994, the Habanos SA was formed. Habanos SA as the distribution arm of Cubatabaco products and it handles distribution both in Cuba and internationally. Fifty percent of Habanos SA is owned by Cuban government owned Cubatabaco and fifty percent is owned by the Spanish based Imperial Tobacco (Altadis). Habanos SA exports to one company in each country to prevent counterfeiting and it owns the trademarks in each of the countries. La Casa del Habano (LCDH) is an official chain of retail shops located worldwide. La Casa del Habano shops exist in Cuba, and in particular Havana where there are several shops located.

If you look at Davidoff, there is a similar (but not exact) analogy. TABADOM represents the manufacturing arm of Davidoff. There are several subsidiaries such as Davidoff of Geneva North America, Davidoff of Germany, etc. Davidoff owns many acres of farmland (although it does source tobacco externally too). There is also a chain of retail stores owned by Davidoff known as Davidoff Flagship stores.

The big difference in Cuba, the Cubatabaco / Habanos SA / La Casa Del Habano is (pretty much) run by the State as opposed to privately held like the example for Davidoff.

The farms in Cuba are a different story. These are primarily independently owned, however they are heavily regulated. Farmers are required to sell the lions share of what they produce to the Cuban government. In the case of tobacco, it is sold to Cubatabaco. While this might seem like the bright spot in the communist society of Cuba, being a farmer is still very much a challenge. Farmers still have to deal with the government and often are paid less than market value for their product.

Pinar del Rio is in the western part of Cuba about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Cuba. Think of it as the equivalent of what Esteli. Jalapa and Condega is to Nicaragua and what the Jamastran Valley is to Honduras. In other words, this is an area where a lot of Cuban tobacco is grown.

La Casa Del Habano in Cuba

While the Cuban government has its hand in La Casa del Habano, if you are a cigar enthusiast, these are the absolute must go cigar places in Cuba.

These places offer what I consider to be a total cigar experience. They are going to offer the widest selection of product. The products you will find are the ones distributed by Habanos SA and are not going to carry any non-Habanos products. In other words, you will find Cuban cigars. There are several positives to these shops. You wont find overpriced product and you dont have to worry about counterfeit product. There is also a wide variety of accessories available for purchase.

To find La Casa de Habano outlets in Cuba and worldwide, you can click here.

La Casa del Habano shops offer a place to enjoy a comfortable smoke. I found some of the lounges are much larger than the others in terms of seating. Some also offer Cuban Coffee and / or Cuban Rums to enjoy there too.

There are different scenarios for where these lounges can be found. One highlight is going to the one at the old Partagas factory, an iconic destination for both cigar enthusiast and non-cigar enthusiast tourists. Some La Casa de Habano shops are found at some of the iconic hotels in Cuba such as Hotel Nacional and Melia Cohiba. There is even one found at the famous Morro Castle.

There are a couple of observations I noticed at the La Casa del Habano shops. First of all, many of the patrons of these shops are tourists. In particular, I met several European tourists, but I also did run into some American ones. These are also not places where I did not see a lot of Cuban natives in. The second thing is that these places are not open late (but as we will see there are plenty of places to go and enjoy a smoke later in the day and into the evening).

Custom Rolls and La Casa de Habano Ambassadors

One thing that I enjoyed about visiting La Casa de Habano shops in Havana was the ability to purchase custom rolled cigars. Most of the La Casa de Habano have a cigar-maker present rolling a blend that is exclusive to the La Casa del Habano shop. These cigar makers are men or women who have previously worked for Cubatabaco. Names such as Jose Cueto Castelar (Parque Morro-Cabana LCDH), Reynaldo Gonzalez (Conde de Villanueva LCDH), Juanita Ramos Guerra (Hotel Melia Cohiba) and Leopoldina Gutierrez a.k.a La China (Fabrica Partagas LCDH) have become cigar celebrities worldwide. They provide a more personal touch to each La Casa de Habano experience.

Perhaps Cueto has achieved the highest level of fame. Cueto is the custom roller at Parque Morro-Cabana (Morro Castle) and is most famous for rolling the worlds longest cigar on multiple occasions.

I found Custom Roll concept at La Casa de Habano to be quite special. I really liked the ability to go into a cigar and get a particular blend and / or vitola that was unique to that store. Lets face it, a lot of us have smoked Cuban cigars at one point or another. Smoking some of these diamonds in the rough were a real treat. While many of these were unbanded, there was one a special Partagas 170 Aniversario edition at the Fabrica Partagas La Casa del Habano. It was a cigar originally rolled to commemorate the 170th anniversary of the Partagas factory. The cigar is rolled by La China and is now sold exclusively as a custom roll at the Partagas La Casa del Habano shop. Finally the best part is that these Custom Rolls are very well priced  most of them 5.00 to 10.00 CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso  translates to $5.00 to $10.00 in U.S. Dollars)

While its not a completely foreign concept to U.S. shops, it made me think how cool it would be to see this in each premium retail outlet in the U.S.. Unfortunately, with the new FDA regulations in the U.S., this now may seem quite unlikely.

Big Ring Gauge Cigars Do Exist in Cuba

Habanos SA is not known for its production of larger ring gauge cigars. When you start to get into the mid 50s in terms of ring gauge, the offerings in the Habanos SA portfolio become slim. While in recent years we have seen Habanos releases in the 56 to 58 ring gauge, the 60 ring gauge is pretty much not something you see in the Habanos portfolio. However, that does not mean there are not big ring gauge cigars to be found in Cuba.

There is a 60+ ring gauge market and it pretty much exists through the custom roll segment. Reynaldo, Gonzalez who is the roller at La Casa del Habano at the Conde de Villanueva hotel had several 60+ ring gauge offerings and was told he has rolled cigars measuring 70. I even found a 60 ring gauge cigar at Hector Luis Prietos farm located in the Pinar del Rio region of Cuba.

The presence of these big ring gauge were another plus in my book in terms of going to the La Casa Del Habanos. Not only did this provide a different blend you cannot normally get, but it also provided some unique sizes. This made going to the La Casa de Habano stores even more enticing.

The big ring gauge cigars I did smoke were from Reynaldo and Hector Luis Pretos farm,. These were both excellent.

Limited Editions

While Limited Edition cigars are a big part of the U.S. market, when it comes to Cuba and Havana, this really isnt a focus at the La Casa de Habano.

The Edicion Limitada (EL) cigars are probably the most well-known Cuban limited editions. These are pretty much true limited cigars in that they are one and done. They also sell out pretty quickly. These cigars are usually unveiled at the Habanos Festival held each February, but typically dont hit the stores until later in the year (usually in the Fall). My visit to Cuba was August 2016 and from the La Casa Del Habano stores I visited, I really didnt notice much in the way of the EL cigars on the shelves.

Regional Editions are special cigars made for a particular geography. These cigars are distributed by Habanos SA to a particular country or region and are not found at the La Casa del Habanos.

One of the most prized cigars is the Cohiba Behike. This cigar features the high priming tobacco medio tiempo. It is limited in production because of the low yield of the medio tiempo. Prior to my visit to Cuba, I was told that these were no where to be found. From my visit to the La Casa del Habano shops (again which was an August 2016 visit), this was indeed the case. Cigar Aficionado confirmed this and recently has stated these cigars should be making their way to shops in the Fall of 2016. While visiting Hector Luis Prietos farm in Pinar del Rio, Prieto mentioned that poor crops over a period of time affected the medio tiempo. This led to lower yields and thus the shortage of Behike cigars. This again was confirmed by Cigar Aficionado.

If you are looking for something more limited and hard to find, I would again stress checking out the Custom Roll blends.

Smoking in Cuba

As I mentioned in the first article covering my Cuba trip, Havana Cuba-In My Minds Eye, it is not hard to find a place to smoke in Cuba after hours. Many (but not all) bars, restaurants and hotels still allow smoking. There are both outdoor and indoor places. Since much of the Cuban nightlife begins quite late, you can easily find a place to smoke well into the night. My advice is to go to La Casa del Habano during the day, enjoy a smoke there, and purchase some to take with you for the night.

Epilogue

What exactly is Dancing on the Jetty and what the heck does it have to do with my trip to Cuba?

A jetty is could refer to a structure that protrudes into a body of water and can be used to protect a harbor or deflect the current of a water. It could also be referred to as a wharf or landing pier. Havana, sitting on the Gulf of Mexico certainly has its share of jetties. However it this context, it has nothing to do with why I chose this particular theme.

Dancing on the Jetty is the title of song by the Australian band INXS. It was written by band members Andrew Farriss and the late Michael Hutchence. In a way, this song summed up my experience in Cuba. Many question why I would visit a communist country where human rights are still very much in question. I mentioned my trip was more on the fact finding and educational side. At the same time, I very much enjoyed my visit to Cuba and the people I encountered there.

The lyrics in this song deal with a theme of peace. There is a line repeated over and over in this song:

Watch the world argue

Argue with itself

Whos going to teach me

Peace and happiness  Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence

So to the great friends I made in Cuba  especially Dennis, Pedro, Naomi, Vivian, our great Taxi drivers, and even the most interesting man in Cuba Luigi; I hope we meet again some day on a future visit to Cuba  or even better when they hopefully someday get to visit the United States.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Nick Syris and Gary Laden of the Smooth Draws Radio Show who are now providing guided tours to Cuba. They put together this trip and hosted my tour. I personally recommend these guys as they provided an outstanding tour with a nice cigar focus.

Smooth Draws Radio also has a special series of free recorded podcasts called Nicks Notebook that provide a cigar enthusiasts an excellent information guide for visiting Cuba.

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
The company decided to raise the prices of the SUV by up to Rs 1.43 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai, since the diesel ban was in effect in Delhi then).

In the recent period of time, American car brand Ford has been utilising much of its time to decide on what to do with its Endeavour SUV. Back in August 2016, the company decided to raise the prices of the SUV by up to Rs 1.43 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai, since the diesel ban was in effect in Delhi then). Later, in September, it realised that the price hike wasn't aligned to its aim of capturing the SUV market and so it decided to slash the prices of three out of the six variants available then by up to Rs 2.82 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

In its latest development, Ford has narrowed the variant list down from six to five by binning the 2.2-litre 4x2 MT Trend variant of the Endeavour. This means the SUV retains both variants powered by its 3.2-litre mill and three variants with the 2.2-litre motor. Both the 2.2-litre 4x2 AT Trend and 2.2-litre 4x4 MT Trend variants wear the same price of Rs 23.78 lakh. While the 2.2-litre 4x2 Titanium version, with all the gadgetry stuffed on-board, is priced at Rs 27.50 lakh, the more powerful 3.2-litre 4x4 AT Trend wears a Rs 25.93 lakh price tag. The top-of-the-range variant is the 3.2-litre 4x4 AT Titanium and it is priced at Rs 29.76 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom Delhi).

Fords biggest rival in this segment is the Toyota Fortuner. While the American car firm has managed to clock good sales figures with the new Endeavour, it is bound to face a heated competition from the Japanese carmaker Toyota, which is readying itself to launch the new Fortuner in India on November 7, 2016.

Source: ZigWheels.com
New Delhi: Terming as a "missed opportunity" the non-bidding for the high quality but expensive 700Mhz in the just concluded spectrum auction, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal today said the government needs to have a relook at the pricing of the particular band.

"Three or four solid networks around the 700Mhz would have taken care of a lot of rural broadband networks. This is a missed opportunity. I hope the government will look into this and correct that particular part," Mittal said here at the India Economic Summit organised by the WEF and CII.

India's biggest-ever spectrum auction ended yesterday without yielding the expected results with telecom players placing bids worth just Rs 65,789 crore in five days, leaving nearly 60 per cent of airwaves, including premium 4G bands, unsold. The auctions could have fetched Rs 5.6 lakh crore to the exchequer if all spectrum was sold at the reserve price.

According to the industry, the premium 700 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum found no takers, mainly because of high reserve or auction start price set by the government. The 700MHz band alone had the potential to fetch Rs 4 lakh crore, when sold at the base price.

"I have always maintained that. The pricing, you yourself have seen. Nearly Rs 60,000 crore for a small little tiny 5 MHz, it was bound not to get any response. Nobody should be surprised," Mittal said when asked if the telecom companies did not bid for 700 Mhz band due to the high pricing.

Lamenting on missing out on the 700MHz, he said it is truly a very high quality spectrum, "which in fact Sri Lanka has not got it from broadcasters as yet, we have been able to get it, still have not been to put into good use".

Although only 40 per cent of the spectrum that was put up for auction was taken, Mittal refused to call the process a failure.

"It is not a failure. It is USD 10 billion, Rs 66,000 crore (auction). Why do you call it a failure? I think the government did very well by putting on the table a lot of spectrum and it must be congratulated for running a fantastic, open process," he said.

When asked whether service quality will improve now as more airwaves are available, he said: "In the coming months, you will see massive improvement across the country, not just from my company but all the industry players who have participated in the auction."

Stating that the ingredient that drives high quality networks is "clearly nothing but spectrum", Mittal said: "India is finally getting out of fractured spectrum. It was earlier very small, it was then fractured among 12 players, we are getting down to four players now and spectrum will not be an issue. This industry is also investing enough and more towers are coming up."
Tata company has also acquired 5Mhz spectrum in Maharashtra circle for Rs 1400-1500 crore, while in Andhra Pradesh, it has acquired 2.4 Mhz spectrum for Rs 500 crore.

New Delhi: Tata Teleservices made total commitments of Rs 4,500 crore mainly to protect its spectrum holding in three circles, including highly-lucrative markets of Mumbai and Maharashtra, in the five-day auction that ended today.

It was important for Tata Group company to get spectrum in Mumbai and Maharashtra circles as its licence in these circles is set to expire next year. According to sources, the company has shelled out Rs 4,500 crore in the auctions for acquiring spectrum in three circles, including Rs 2,400 crore for purchasing 5 Mhz spectrum in the 1800 Mhz band in Mumbai.

Sources added that the company bid agressively against the likes of Idea Cellular to secure the required spectrum. In Mumbai, where the base price for 1800 Mhz spectrum was set at about Rs 1,430 crore, the company ended up paying a heavy premium to protect its holding, they said.

The company has also acquired 5Mhz spectrum in Maharashtra circle for Rs 1400-1500 crore, while in Andhra Pradesh, it has acquired 2.4 Mhz spectrum for Rs 500 crore.
Washington: BRICS' contingent reserve arrangement (CRA) is now operational to deal with any short-term balance of payments pressures the grouping's member nations face, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.

CRA, established in 2015 by BRICS member nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is a framework for the provision of support through liquidity and precautionary instruments in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures.

In his address to the meeting of BRICS Finance Ministers and heads of central banks, Jaitley announced the "CRA is now operational" and the central banks of the grouping's members are "fully ready to carry out" the transactions, a media release said.

Jaitley and his BRICS counterparts are here to attend the annual fall meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. During yesterday's meeting, BRICS ministers welcomed the proposal to formalise the setting up of a network of central banks research units that will support the working of CRA.

Jaitley also extended invitation to attend BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held in Goa later this month. He chaired the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting, during which two important issues - the 'Economics of Climate Change and Financing Climate Adaptation and Mitigation'; and 'International Taxation - a Commonwealth Conversation around the Panama Papers' were discussed and deliberated.

In the presence of Jaitley, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Baroda signed an MoU on Commonwealth Small States Trade Finance Facility. This finance facility is expected to make available up to USD 100 million of incremental trade finance over a period of three years. As part of the voluntary contributions, India has pledged 1,022,100 pounds to Commonwealth Fund for technical cooperation, an official release said.

Later in the evening, the Finance Minister attended the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Working Dinner, where discussions centred around the global outlook, key risks for the global and national economies and the proposals made by the Global Forum and the Financial Action Task Force to improve implementation of the beneficial ownership standard.

Jaitley also held separate bilateral meetings with British Secretary of State, US Treasury Secretary, Finance Minister of Bhutan, Finance Minister of Bangladesh, and CEO of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

"The bilateral trade and investment ties were the focal point of each of these meetings for ensuring greater economic cooperation," the release said.

On the sidelines of the Fund Bank meetings, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das participated in a panel discussion organised by Morgan Stanley to deliberate upon the 'Cyclical and Structural Progress in the Emerging Market Economies', wherein he spoke about the fiscal consolidation and economic reform path being undertaken in India.
Mumbai: Japanese brokerage Nomura today said there will be a Rs 32,000-crore shortfall in revenue accretion because of the disappointing spectrum auctions, but it would not affect the overall fiscal math of the government.

The higher-than-expected growth in indirect tax collections and revenue mop-up (around Rs 30,000) under a tax amnesty scheme will help the treasury, it said.

The budget has accounted for revenues of Rs 99,000 crore from the telecom sector, including Rs 64,000 crore from the new telecom auctions, Rs 20,000 crore from recurring licence fees and Rs 15,000 crore from deferred payments for previously conducted sales.

The lack of interest shown by telcos in the five-day long auction concluded yesterday will result in the government collecting only Rs 67,000 crore, leaving a gap of Rs 32,000 crore which is 0.2 per cent of GDP.

But, the brokerage was quick to add that this would not affect the fiscal math, which will be supported by the larger than expected indirect tax mop-up which will help the government maintain the deficit at the budgeted 3.5 per cent of GDP.

It said indirect tax revenue has been up 27 per cent in the April-August period as against a budgetary target of 10 per cent growth. The Rs 15,000-crore to be collected from the tax amnesty scheme which ended earlier this month will also help the fiscal arithmetic, Nomura said.

As against a target of netting at least Rs 5.68 lakh crore, the government could garner only Rs 65,879 crore as telcos stayed away from the 700 MHz band due to high reserve price of over Rs 11,000 crore.

The lack of interest in the 700 MHz band, which can help support services in the high growth data segment, alone drilled a hole of over Rs 4 lakh crore in the government calculation.

Nomura said even if the government agrees to the telcos' demand of doing a fresh auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a lower price, the sale is unlikely to happen in this year.
The World Bank estimates that the total remittance flows to India in 2016 would come down to $65.5 billion from $69 billion in 2015.

Mumbai: The inflow of remittances to India is expected to decline by 5 per cent in 2016 as weak economic growth and low oil prices in in countries where Indian workers are based have impacted the labour market and income, the World Bank said.

While India will still remain the top recipient of remittances in the world, the World Bank estimates that the total remittance flows to India in 2016 would come down to $65.5 billion from $69 billion in 2015.

Remittances to the region (South Asia) are expected to decline by 2.3 per cent in 2016, following a 1.6 per cent decline in 2015. Remittances from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continued to decline due to lower oil prices and labour market nationalisation policies in Saudi Arabia.

In 2016, remittance flows are expected to decline by 5 per cent in India and 3.5 per cent in Bangladesh, whereas they are expected to grow by 5.1 per cent in Pakistan and 1.6 per cent in Sri Lanka, the World Bank said in its latest report on remittances.

The top recipients of remittances are, in nominal US dollar terms, India, China, the Philippines, Mexico and Pakistan and, in terms of remittances as a share of GDP, Nepal, Liberia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Haiti.

While weak economic growth and low oil prices have reduced remittances from Russia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the World Bank noted that structural factors such as the labour market nationalization policies in some GCC countries and exchange controls in many countries faced with adverse balance of payments and falling international reserves have also impacted flows.
Hyderabad is expected to see a real estate boom in the coming months due to the near-total occupancy of commercial spaces in the city, a top realtor said on Thursday.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is expected to see a real estate boom in the coming months due to the near-total occupancy of commercial spaces in the city, a top realtor said on Thursday. Due to investor-friendly policies of the state government, several companies have set up their operations in Hyderabad. With this, A-Grade commercial real estate, which is occupied by the IT and ITeS companies has got absorbed completely. Typically, when A-Grade real estate is absorbed, the demand for residential real estate picks up as new companies create more employment, which will lead to the demand for more residential properties, Mr P Dasharath Reddy, president of Telangana Real Estate Developers Association (TREDA), told this newspaper. Mr Reddy was speaking on the sidelines of an event to announce 7th TREDA Property Show 2016 from October 14 to 16 at HITEX.

He said the demand for office space is on the rise with several multinational companies like Amazon, Google, Deloitte, JP Morgan, Qualcomm and Uber focusing on the Hyderabad region. Observing that prices in Hyderabad are lower than tier-2 cities in northern India, Mr Reddy forecasted a 10 per cent rise in prices.
Kotak Said that telecom industry has placed its bets  data volumes largely on one variable and a disappointment on that front could mean a long phase of sub-par industry economics.

New Delhi: The top four telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular are mostly done with building their spectrum footprint and the focus will now shift to monetising the massive data spectrum investment made in the past few years, said analysts.

Kotak Institutional Equities in a report said that it is amused by the failed auctions commentary in sections of the media. Everything has a context to it and the most critical context, now that the top four operators are hopefully mostly done building their spectrum footprint, is whether the industry pie can become large enough to justify the massive spectrum investments, said Kotak.

It pointed out that cumulative bids in auctions since 2010 now total Rs 3.5 trillion. For an industry with annual revenues in the vicinity of Rs 1.8 trillion and EBITDA around Rs 500 billion, these are not small numbers, it said.

Kotak said that telecom industry has placed its bets largely on one variable  data volumes  and a disappointment on that front could mean a long phase of sub-par industry economics.

The spectrum auction which ended on Thursday saw no bids for 60 per cent of airwaves on offer and government receiving bids worth Rs 65,789 crore against potential of Rs 5.6 lakh crore.

No bid came for the most expensive spectrum 700 MHz, offered for the first time in an auction. Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea -- have secured adequate 4G spectrum during the auction to counter Jio, making them more competitive to poach subscribers. We now believe that the top three telcos have adequate 4G spectrum to counter Jio, making it more competitive to poach subscribers. We now also see faster consolidation among smaller telcos, given lack of data spectrum, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

However, it said that the top three operators still lack a sub-1 GHz 4G band that Jio has and therefore, there is a possibility that these companies may purchase spectrum in the 700 MHz in future.

Meanwhile, Sunil Mittal said on Friday the government needs to have a relook at the pricing of expensive 700 MHz band. Three or four solid networks around the 700MHz would have taken care of a lot of rural broadband networks, Mr Mittal said.
Sebi chief U K Sinha says the US SEC came into existence after millions of people lost their savings during the Great Depression.

New Delhi: Had Harshad Mehta scam not happened, the Sebi Act would not have been enacted, the regulatory body's chief U K Sinha said today, underlining that every subsequent amendment to the law came after a "grave episode".

The extent of delegating powers to regulators for protecting public interests is often a matter of intense debate, the Sebi Chairman said, adding that such debates are not unique to India.

"While the foundation of Sebi was laid in 1988, the Sebi Act would not have been enacted if the Harshad Mehta scam had not happened.

"Almost every subsequent amendment of Sebi Act has been undertaken after a grave episode has highlighted lacuna and shortcoming in its legal provisions. Often, these changes have been brought about through ordinance first without waiting for a formal enactment," Sinha said.

Mehta was an Indian stockbroker who hit the headlines for the notorious security scam of 1992 and was engaged in a massive stock manipulation scheme.

Sinha said also mentioned that the US SEC came into existence after millions of people lost their savings during the Great Depression.

"US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) could not have been created if millions of people had not lost their life long savings in the decline of the securities market during the Great Depression," he said.

Giving the JRD Tata Memorial lecture, Sinha said the US did not have a Federal Reserve till 1920s even though serious liquidity crisis arose in 1907 and repeated thereafter.

At that time, a group of senior bankers became the liquidity providers, but questions arose about conflict of interest as the same bankers gained substantially on their investments, he noted.

The lecture was organised by industry body Assocham.
New Delhi: Market regulator SEBI has ordered two companies -- Morningstar Ventures and Gitanjali Udyog -- and their directors to refund investor money they had raised by issuing securities without complying with the norms.

The firms and their directors need to refund the money within three months with an interest of 15 per cent per annum. Besides, the entities have been barred from the capital market for four years.

A Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) probe found that Morningstar Ventures had issued redeemable preference shares (RPS) between 2009-12 to 1,224 allottees and mobilised funds to the tune of Rs 5.62 crore.

Similarly, Gitanjali Udyog raised Rs 39.02 lakh by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to at least 291 investors between 2011-15, as per SEBI's interim order.

Since the securities were issued by these firms to more than 50 people each, these qualified as a public issue, which requires compulsory listing on a recognised stock exchange. They were also required to file a prospectus, among other things, which they failed to do.

In two separate orders, the regulator restrained the companies from "buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the securities market, directly or indirectly, in whatsoever manner for a period of four years".

Further, the companies and their directors will have to submit within 15 days complete details of their assets to SEBI. The order comes into force with immediate effect.
Mumbai: Actress Hina Dilpazeer, who will be seen with Naseeruddin Shah in Indo-Pak collaboration Jeewan Hathi, says artistes can be peace messengers at a time when tension is high between India and Pakistan. The 47-year-old Pakistani actress believes artistes may not be able to change the current political scenario, but they can spread love, reported Dawn.

"All us artistes, who are related to creative works, our job is not to change anybody, our job is to ignite light in the darkness, in hopes that it may create light... We are just doing that. We ignite the light of our names, of our films and hope that it is enough to pave a path. We're not here to change anything. We're just here to spread love," she said.

The film is the part of a Pak-India collaboration initiated by Zee Zindagi called Zeal for Unity. The effort brought 12 filmmakers from both the countries. Hina says the war is only between politicians, not the common people. "I've lived a long time in Dubai and we had a lot of neighbours who were Indians, but they used to welcome us with a lot of love, and we'd call them over with a lot of love. This (Pak-India friction) is not the common man's war, this hatred is not the work of the common man, this is the politicians' work and nothing else. Why would one God-fearing human hate another God-fearing human? There's no reason," she added.

Jeewan Hathi, written by Fasih Bari Khan and directed by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, is set to release in Pakistan on November 4. However, the project will not be screened in Indian cinemas as of now.

Pakistani artistes have faced a lot of backlash in India following the Uri attacks. The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) has banned artistes like Fawad and Mahira Khan till Indo-Pak relations are normalised. Cinema owners in Pakistan have retaliated by vowing not to screen Indian movies.
Muzaffarnagar: Nawazuddin Siddiquis return to the stage in his hometown Budhana for the Ramlila programme ended in a fiasco after the show was cancelled at last minute due to opposition by Shiv Sena activists.

The actor, who has been in his hometown for a week now, was invited by the artistes to attend the Ramlila, but Nawazuddin instead offered to do a small role, and was all set to perform the role of Ravans uncle Mareech.

However, Shiv Sena activists objected, saying a Muslim actor cannot be part of the Ramlila show and the organisers decided to cancel the performance subsequently fearing a law and order situation.

The protests were in the wake of a complaint filed against the actor by his sister-in-law alleging dowry harassment. Wife of Nawazuddins brother, Afreen, who is 3 months pregnant, alleged that she was told to get out of the house on September 28 and was also kicked in the stomach by Nawazuddin when she refused to give in.

"We could not have allowed Nawazuddin Siddiqui to perform in the Ramlila due to many reasons. Firstly, there is a complaint at the police station against him and his younger brother by his sister-in-law for dowry. We cannot let anyone who has such charges against him perform as a character in the Ramlila. Also, he is a Muslim and till date no Muslim has played any role in the Ramlila in Budhana," Mukesh Sharma, Muzaffarnagar's Shiv Sena chief, was quoted as saying in a report.

Damodar Sharma, president, Shri Ramlila Committee Pradarshan (Budhana), said, "For the last 50 years, no Muslim has been given any of the lead roles in the Ramlila here. And Maaricha's role doesn't qualify as one of those. Muslims have performed as background dancers, just like this year. So I don't understand what the problem of the Shiv Sena members really is. When the district administration told us to cancel his role to ensure law and order, we agreed to it."

The Ramlila cast, however, are not too happy with the protest. Rajesh Sharma, the director of the play, said that Muslims have been part of Ramlila since several years as background dancers, sound artistes, set designers, musicians, and other roles, though they might not have played the lead roles. A substantial portion of the donations for the event also comes from the community.

Nawazuddin had even rehearsed for his performance. After he was forced to pull out of the event, the actor tweeted a rehearsal video, saying his childhood dream could not come true.

My childhood dream could not come true, but will definitely be a part of Ramleela next year.

Check the rehearsals. pic.twitter.com/euOYSgsm3F  Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) October 6, 2016

About the incident, Nawazuddin told a news channel, "There were some technical issues. I got the order that I should not do it as it was important to maintain peace in the village."
Mumbai: Actor Fawad Khan, who has been the subject of discussion for the past couple of weeks, has finally broken his silence on the on-going tension between neighbouring nations India and Pakistan. After Uri attacks, that witnessed 18 Indian soldiers losing their lives to violent terrorst act, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had given 48 hours ultimatum to all the Pakistani artists to leave India following which, Fawad Khan allegedly had to leave the country.

Tension heightened when India, in retaliation to Uri attacks, launched surgical strikes on 29th September where they attacked seven terror launch pads across border. After the strikes, Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) had also passed a resolution against Pakistani artists and technicians working in India. They justified this move saying that Pakistani actors, who have been so closing related to Indian film industry, had not condemned the Uri attacks.

While the nation believed that Fawad had to leave India following MNS48 hours ultimatum, the actor, in his post, cleared that he had been living in Pakistan since July for the delivery of his second child.

Bollywood seems to be divided on this issue of ban on Pakistani artists. While celebs like Salman Khan and Karan Johar have criticised this step, veteran actor Nana Patekar clearly stated that country, for him, comes first and that artists constitute only a small portion of it.

MNS had vehemently criticised Salman and Karan for supporting Pakistan talents and even went to the extent of threatening them of banning their movies.

Films like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees, that have Pakistani actors like Fawad and Mahira Khan in pivotal roles, find themselves hanging amidst the heightening tension.
Mumbai: Amid the crumbling ties between India and Pakistan in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmirs Uri, several political parties had stated that they wouldnt allow the release of films with Pakistani actors.The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association had also banned Pakistani artistes from working in the country till normalcy in the ties returns.

However, the association is trying to help films such as Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees, which have Pakistani actors like Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan respectively, release. IMPPA recently held a meeting with one of the protesting political parties, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, in order to allow the release of completed films with Pakistani actors.They have also tried to arrange for a meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for the same reason.

One of the members of the association, Ashoke Pandit took to Twitter to reveal the details.

However, the partys stand remains the same. MNS Vice-President Shalini Thackeray said that it is no longer a party issue, but a national sentiment and our stand is unchanged in view of the public angst. She was reported as saying, The Indian producers have earned enough from the Indian audiences It's time now that they respect national and public sentiments. Our stand on the matter remains the same."

It would be interesting to see what would eventually be the fate of these films.
Mumbai: Its not wrong to call Sonakshi Sinha a private person as the actress has always kept her personal life to herself and away from medias prying eyes. Not only does the actress likes to keep things under wraps, she also prefers to keep mum on rumours, take the reports of her dating Bunty Sajdeh for example.

Even though Sonakshi Sinha has never been vocal about her alleged affair with Bunty Sajdeh, the recent outing of them only proved that they enjoy spending time together. Sonakshi and Bunty, who are a rare sight together, were snapped stepping out of night club Trilogy in Juhu, Mumbai on Thursday.

The actress went clubbing with her alleged beau to be a part of the lounges celebration as it won the best night club award recently. Dressed in bodycon blue dress, Sonakshi, who is riding high on the success of her last outing Akira, looked gorgeously fit and fine as she walked out of the club with Bunty by her side.

Reportedly, Sonakshi and Bunty sparked dating rumours in 2012 when Sajdeh started managing her endorsement deals.
The controversy has already divided Indian film industry in two parts with many supporting the ban, while few opposing it.

Mumbai: While many spoke against the ban on Pakistani actors in Indian cinema, few chose to stay mum on the entire issue. However, Ajay Devgn became the first celebrity to openly confess that he wont work with any Pakistani artiste at the moment.

In an interview with CNN News 18, Ajay expressed why he wouldnt work with any Pakistani actor. oHowe

We all want peace, lekin taali ek haath se nehi bajti (you cant clap with one hand). I heard some people saying talks are the only way to continue but talks have been going on. You keep talking to people and they come and kill you, then you still continue your dialogue, Ajay said.

I want to see you getting into a fight with somebody and after he gives you a tight slap on your face and you say okay lets have a talk right now. What will your reaction be instantly? he added.

Ajay Devgn isnt the only celebrity who furiously spoke his mind on the issue. Recently, Akshay Kumar too expressed his honest views in an explosive video where he addressed the Uri terror by saying, Today, I'm not speaking to you as a star or a celebrity. I am speaking to you as an army man's son," he clarifies before adding, "I have been noticing our countrymen fighting amongst themselves since a few days. A few of them are asking for a proof of the surgical strike, while others have been asking for the artistes to be banned, while some others are just concerned if a war might happen at all.

The actor who seemed to be in the mood to not mince words said that people should be ashamed of themselves.

"The fights can wait. What needs to be understood is that someone's already died on the frontier. The 19 soldiers who were martyred in the Uri terror attacks and the 24-year old Nitin Yadav who was martyred in the Baramulla attack... Do you think their families are concerned about the release of a film or a ban on an artiste? No. Their only concern is their future and our concern should be securing their present and their future," the actor lashed out.

After the Uri attacks that saw 18 Indian soldiers losing their lives to terrorism, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had given a 48-hour ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave the country or get ready to be kicked out, forcing actors like Fawad Khan to fly back to Pakistan.

Things got messier when Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) announced a ban on Pakistani artists and technicians for an indefinite period until normalcy returns. Though many Indian artistes have so far voiced their perspectives on the attacks, no Pakistani artiste has spoken out on the issue.

MNS Chief, Raj Thackeray had vehemently criticised Salman Khan, Om Puri and Karan Johar for opposing the ban. MNS has also threatened to stop the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees which features Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan respectively. Eventually, the release date of Raees got postponed.

In an interview, Raj Thackeray had said, We have asked the theatres to not release their movie, we must teach them a lesson, the producers are more at fault than those artists.

The controversy has already divided Indian film industry in two parts with many supporting the ban, while few opposing it by requesting people to keep art and cinema away from political conflict.
Rating:

Cast: Lupita Nyongo, David Oyelowo, Madina Nalwanga, Martin Kabanza, Taryn Kyazze

Director: Mira Nair

Mira Nairs storytelling is very personal, to the extent that she makes you want to know more, and even then chooses to ignore that request. While watching Queen of Katwe, there are numerous moments when you want to know more, see more and perhaps feel more, but there seems to be no way to do that. Perhaps the limitations of the cinematic medium are more pronounced in a story like this. While it would be a sin to try and relate this film to any other, but one cannot help thinking of Salaam Bombay, and the life of those kids. Queen of Katwe is a similarly restrained, thriftily managed and precisely timed film, just as the lives of the people in it. From a distance one is curious and particularly interested in rhythms and routines of lives lived in such ghettos and slums. While Mira presents a beautiful biopic, she also makes sure that you get just the right amount of reality within the story.

It goes further from there, the biopic also presents a world of hope, a method of diversion and providing channelisation to the most wasted resource of this world, humans. It presents an applicable approach to people engaged in self-help groups and NGOs trying to figure out how things can change for the better in the longer run. There are no quick fixes, and often times the expense on the desired solution is very disheartening. Simple interventions like these can be effective in preparing adolescents in similar surroundings for better lives, and the film remains grounded, by not allowing you to bring in luck, talent or any of those words that are often disheartening. It simply emphasises on the importance of practice, persistence and performance in a non-heroic way.

Phiona is a delicate character placed within harsh and demeaning circumstances of the slums of Katwe, Uganda. Madina Nalwanga has perfectly played out Phiona and when you see the two of them together in the end credits you know instantly that they have bonded not just on the surface, but deep within, in a way that the actor has fully actualised the life and the pain of the person. I would really go much beyond the scope of this review if I were to talk about the perfection of casting in this film. Every character seems so real; they talk, as much as needed in real lives and they remain silent likewise.

Queen of Katwe is not very beautiful; it is filled with images that are not pleasant, faces that dont seem to belong on the big screen. There are inconsistencies in parts but then again its a medium of limitations, and yet in those limitations there are some exceptionally crafted scenes, like the one in which Phiona and Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) are playing chess on the bank of the river, there arent enough words to describe the beauty of that scene. The films sound is considerably unpolished and dull, as viewers we are used to experiencing sound in theatres in such grand proportions that this one seems to be dull.

There are those crescendos and emotional peaks and in those moments the sound literally brings tears, but it still remains unnoticeable. Biopics like these are important; they dont reject or demean you. They are simply stories of people who went through mountains of trouble and one step at a time they kept moving with a plan; trying to avoid the rough weather, hunger to finally emerge on top. The moment that truly stands out for me in the film is when Phiona is walking in the ghetto doing her chores, and she passes by a man who is making bricks. The man asks her the same question in both scenes. Hey Phiona, how is your life? In the two scenes the answer to the question not only takes you closer to the character, it also allows for exploration of transformations that happen on a minute scale every day.

The writer is founder, Lightcube Film Society
Actress Lakshmi Manchu is gearing up for the upcoming film Lakshmi Bomb where she plays the role of an advocate.

The subject is very close to my real life. As in the film, I fight for the justice and never give up anything, so its easy for me to play this role, says Lakshmi, adding, I prefer to play a role that no one has played earlier. I am going in that way, adds Lakshmi.

The actress wants to come up with a film with her father. I am looking for a good subject to suit both of us. I am also ready to play the role of a villain opposite my father if it is a good one, she says.

Talking about her future projects, she says that she has signed a romantic comedy.

We approached Adivi Sesh for the lead character, but he is very busy, now we are looking for another one, she says.

The industry is encouraging lot of Telugu girls to come forward, so more women should come in this field. If my daughter chooses to become an actress, I wont stop her, adds Lakshmi.
London: A novel 'kite-driven' power station is set to come up in Scotland in what could be a major step towards finding the "magic solution" to humanity's energy problems.

While kites have until now largely been flights of fancy that have entranced generations of children, Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci and poets like Robert Louis Stevenson and Joyce Carol Oates, their practical uses have seemed limited. Kite Power Systems plans to build a 500-kilowatt system at

the Ministry of Defence's West Freugh Range near the southern Scottish town of Stranraer after securing planning permission.

This will be the first of a significant scale in the UK and only the second in the world after a research project in Italy, The Independent reported. Those behind the new power station believe their system could cut the price of offshore wind energy in half. It is so cheap, they say, that there will be no need for any government subsidy something currently required to build any new kind of power generation, renewable or fossil fuel.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is investing billions in green technology, has said he believes there is a 10 per cent chance that kite power is the "magic solution" to the world's energy problems. Other companies are also investigating the potential of"kytoons" - kite/balloon hybrids - or even flying turbines that can capture the energy of the jet stream at altitudes of 20,000 ft, where the wind is constant.

The firm behind the Stranraer project, Kite Power Systems has already demonstrated a small kite-driven power station in Essex. The kites fly to heights of up to 450 metres in a figure-of-eight pattern, pulling a tether as they rise which

turns a turbine that produces electricity.

By having two kites working in tandem, one going up as the other floats back down, electricity can be generated continuously. David Ainsworth, business development director at Kite Power Solutions, told the daily that the system was mainly designed to be used offshore with the West Freugh power station designed to demonstrate its capabilities.

"Our systems basically float and the cost of the mooring is much lower than a wind turbine," he said. "It will be tariff-free, we just don't need government to

support it. Our potential investors believe it's going to take off in a big way," Ainsworth said. According to the Met Office, Scotland is home to eight of the top 10 windiest places in the UK.
When I got the opportunity to accompany my daughter for a competition in the Czech Republic, I was extremely excited. I had heard a lot about its beauty, and how it was inexpensive and not touristy yet. Add to it, my education in fine arts, where I had learnt about the medieval art and architecture in Czech Republic. Also, I had never visited a mainland European country before.. so I was really keen to experience all of it.

I was completely taken in by the beauty of Prague as soon as i landed  it is probably one of the few places Hitler left untouched, simply because he was enamoured by its beauty. The river Vltava flows through the centre of the town and divides it in two. The red roof tops and old bridges, like the Charles bridge, that cross the river, take you back to the medieval era, especially during the wee hours of the morning, when there are no trams or buses operating.

The Prague Castle is one of the largest medieval castles in the world and sits atop a lovely hill, overlooking the river. If you happen to reach there earlier in the morning, you can avail an audio tour of this well-maintained castle. If you happen to visit around midday, you can witness the change of guards.

A leisurely cruise on the river, and visit to castle, where they have maintained the homes of the medieval tailors, carpenters and iron smiths, is a must.

Do not miss the Old Town Square with its beautiful astronomical clock tower and quaint lanes lined with shops, and puppets and chocolate museums.

We also chanced upon a free walking tour online, conducted by students. There is no fixed fee as such, but they work for a tip. This was truly the best part of our trip, which I urge everyone visiting Prague to experience! We walked along, absorbing the sights and sounds, guided by a young enthusiastic, funny, English speaking local. We learnt a lot about the Russian invasion and local history, from a locals perspective.

The Segway tour along the river, was another of the highlights. With the breeze caressing our faces and lovely clean roads with minimal traffic, traversing the city as a group, was a whole new experience.

Since we had a Schengen Visa, we could take a train to the Vienna (Austria) where we stayed for 2 days and also hopped on to a Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg. Ive promised myself to go back there one day, just to experience the gorgeous locales of the Lake district yet again.

Being a pure vegetarian, I was rather worried that I wouldnt have too many options, but indeed, I was wrong! I found a good variety of vegetarian food, wherever we went, including soups, pizzas, salads and pizzas. What stood out was the beer and wine, which were cheap everywhere most times cheaper than buying water. The pubs here are also famous.

The locals in the tourist spots are extremely friendly and helpful. Most of them can speak a smattering of English, but the older generation struggle with the language  which was a slight inconvenience.

Although the weather was mostly pleasant in July, I believe April, May, June and August/September will be ideal months for travel.

After having tasted a little bit of what Europe has to offer, I am eager to go back and explore more of France, Germany and other European countries!

(As told to Kaavya Pillai)
It featured a drawing of the lighthouse along with the helpful message: "Here please" (Photo: Facebook)

An Irish postman today received praise on social media for successfully delivering a letter which had no address and only a hand-drawn map.

The Hook Lighthouse, situated at the tip of the Hook Peninsula, shared a photo of the letter on its Facebook page, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

It featured a drawing of the lighthouse along with the helpful message: "Here please". The postman in County Wexford, southeast Ireland, managed to deliver the letter with just the hand-drawn map and no address on the envelope.

Hook Lighthouse, which is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world, wrote: "Fair play to our postman who managed to deliver this map drawn address from Red Dave #postiechallenge."

And what was the important message? "A little note to say how much he liked the Hook Lighthouse," they revealed.

The photo has been shared and liked by hundreds of Facebook users, with one commenting: "Nice one! Most people think it's nuts that our addresses don't have a house number, street or postcode and the postman still gets it right, this takes the biscuit though!!! Brilliant."

Last year, a postman successfully delivered a letter to "your man with the glasses" in Donegal.
Jain requested the people of the city to donate a spare cycle for this security guard in a post on her Facebook profile. (Photo: Facebook)

Contrary to what most people might assume, theres still hope left for humanity. A group of complete strangers came together to help out a poor security guard thanks to a social media post by a concerned citizen. A few days ago, Pune resident Tanvi Jain spotted an ATM security guard desperately searching for his lost bicycle and decided to turn to social media to get him out of his misery.

Jain requested the people of the city to donate a spare cycle for the man in a post on her Facebook profile. She also wrote that if anyone from NIBM/Nyati/ Wanowrie or Kondwa had an extra cycle to donate then they could directly get in touch with her.

She was surprised by the overwhelming positive response from the community. Reportedly Jain even received more than 250-300 messages in her FB inbox from perfect strangers. Fortunately, the security guard ended up with a brand new bicycle in just three days and seems quite happy with his gift.
Thane: Some employees of three call centres, under the scanner for allegedly conning American nationals by posing as US taxmen, earned huge incentives as "best performers" from the racketeers.

Explaining the modus operandi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mukund Hatote told a local court that "best performing" staffers were given reward of up to Rs one lakh by the operators of the racket for making US nationals cough up money.

The employees were given liberal incentives for money they earned for the company by calling up US 'tax defaulters' and on several occasions upon seeing one employee getting big money others also followed the suit and won reward, Hatote stated in a remand application moved before the court of FCJC PD Chavan and AB Katte today.

The court remanded all 70 persons arrested so far in police custody till October 10.

The racket was exposed after city police raided three call centres, which were run illegally at the premises of Hari Om IT Park, Universal Outsourcing Services and Oswal House in Mira Road locality in Thane district, on Tuesday night.

The callers used to make calls to people in the US and spoke to them in American accent by posing as officials of US Internal Revenue Service.

The ACP said though salary of the employees was in range of Rs 10,000-40,000 per month, some of them earned up to Rs 1 lakh per month.

He stated that employees were fully trained in US accent and were given SOP and call sheet, based on which they used to make calls to the 'tax defaulters'.

They use to make at least 100 calls per day of which 10 to 15 calls would materialise and of these three to four people would make payment under threat by the conmen, the ACP said.

If the caller earned USD 10,000--20,000 for company by making the gullible US citizen pay, he would get a good incentive, the application stated.

"We are yet to reach the mastermind, the directors and owners of the companies which had been raided by police," the ACP said, adding that the racket was an international one.

He said police will trace the money trail and are also gauging the quantum of the fraud. Hatote told the court that police have received a complaint in this regard from US and are working on it.

Thane Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh yesterday said the accused made the use of VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). "The reference number and registration number of the IRS officials of the US were brought in for the purpose. Thus, in this manner they extorted money," he said.

The daily turn over of these call centres was to the tune of nearly Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.50 crore, and the annual turn over could be well above Rs 300 crore.

Besides arresting 70 persons, Kashimira police booked another 630 people under IPC sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating) and under relevant sections of the IT Act and Indian Telegraph Act.

According to police, among over 12 persons who are absconding are two directors of Universal Outsourcing Services, namely Tapan Gupta and Arjun Vasudeo.
The victim Sohan had gone to a flour mill owned by Kundan Kumar Singh to take back his wheat flour, the SP said. (Photo: Representational Image)

Dehradun/Pithoragarh: A 35-year-old Dalit man was beheaded allegedly by a primary school teacher who accused him of rendering "impure" a flour mill by using it before the upper caste villagers in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district, a senior police officer said on Friday.

Sohan Ram died when he was assaulted with a sickle by Lalit Karnatak after he protested an insulting remark against his caste, Bageshwar SP Sukhbir Singh told PTI on phone.

The accused was arrested yesterday and sent to Almora jail this morning, the SP said, adding that he was charged with murder and under provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening in Kadaria village of Bageshwar bordering Pithoragarh. The victim Sohan had gone to a flour mill owned by Kundan Kumar Singh to take back his wheat flour, the SP said.

When Lalit, who teaches at a primary school in a neighbouring village, saw Sohan at the flour mill, he made an insulting remark on his caste, saying the flour mill had been "rendered impure" by him.

As Sohan protested, Lalit attacked him with a sickle on the neck in a fit of rage, beheading him.

According to villagers, both Dalits and upper castes had been using the mill. But in view of the ongoing Navratri festival the upper castes had issued a diktat to the Dalit families to use the mill only after flour has been prepared for offering to deities.
The man was convicted under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). (Photo: Representational Image)

Mumbai: A 26-year-old man working as a cleaner in a suburban school in Mumbai was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, for sexually abusing a four-year-old girl.

According to reports, the man was convicted under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The minimum sentence under the section for aggravated penetrative sexual assault is ten years.

The incident took place in 2014, when the child told her mother of pain in her private parts after returning from school. The mother initially thought it was an infection from chlorinated water, as the child was taking swimming classes. But when the pain continued for the second day, her mother inquired with her, said the reports.

The girl described an incident in the schools washroom, after which her mother rushed her to a doctor. She also lodged a police complaint for sexual abuse leading to the arrest of the accused.

The court examined 10 witnesses including the mother, the child and staff members of the school. Medical reports confirmed external injury to the private parts of the child. The staff members said that the accused had been cleaning toilets in the school and was present on the day of the sexual assault.

The court eventually levied a fine of Rs 25,000 on the accused, and sentenced him to 10 years in jail.
Police said Maqsood Ali and Salauddin had opened fire at the wedding of Salauddins niece at Victory Function Hall. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Two persons who allegedly opened fire during a wedding on September 21 were arrested by the Kulsumpura police on Friday.

Police said Maqsood Ali and Salauddin had opened fire at the wedding of Salauddins niece at Victory Function Hall.

Police said both were employed with Hathway Cables where Maqsood, a Moghalpura resident, was an assistant general manager.

Police said Maqsood and Salauddin were drunk when they fired six rounds from a .32 revolver.
Sub-inspector Madan Kumar and constable Maheshwar Reddy were part of an undercover team deployed to nab the suspects in Madhapur. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Two personnel from the cyber crime police were injured and three vehicles damaged when some persons suspected to be running an online sex racket ran over them during a decoy operation on Friday.

Sub-inspector Madan Kumar and constable Maheshwar Reddy were part of an undercover team deployed to nab the suspects in Madhapur. When the organisers realised that they were being arrested, they drove their vehicle over the police personnel.

Other members of the police team nabbed four persons, identified as Ayesha Begum, Upender Kumar, Anish Kumar Yadav and Imran Mustafa Shaikh. Police said three mobiles seized from them contained the pictures of sex workers. Kingpin Saleem, Ayeshas husband, and one Totu are at large.

Briefing the media, additional DCP, CCS, Vijender Reddy said the marketing Intelligence unit while verifying online commercials came across a suspicious ad inviting customers seeking female escorts in Hyderabad through a website.

The MIU launched a decoy operation and contacted the numbers mentioned on the website and were directed to another number. They were sent the picture of a girl and quoted Rs 25000 per night as the price. They were asked to go to Madhapur.

After reaching the spot in Madhapur, two persons approached the decoy team in a car and asked them for identity proof. When cops tried to nab them, they drove the car at high speed injuring two cops. he said.

Another car and two two-wheelers were also damaged as they gang tried to escape. They were however stranded at a traffic signal, where passers-by intercepted them and handed them over to the police.
Hyderabad: Chairman of State Minorities Commission that serves Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Abid Rasool Khan, who had come out openly against the triple talaq issue, on Friday said he would implead in the ongoing case before the Supreme Court to explain the "happenings" in the community so as to protect the interest of Muslim women.

"I have personally taken a decision to implead (myself) before the Supreme Court in the ongoing case," Khan, who had last month said the Muslim community at present has a huge social problem where lakhs of women all over the country are suffering because their men divorced them by pronouncing talaq thrice, told PTI.

"The idea of impleading is not to question the authority of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)," he said.

According to him, most of cases filed by Muslim women before the Supreme Court or any other court of law relate to economic problems and physical abuse.

"The women who are approaching the Supreme Court or the (Minorities) Commission or any other court of law including family courts are not questioning the Islamic way of talaq.

They are questioning the misuse and in the way it leads to economic and physical distress," Khan said.

"We are saying that the Supreme Court in this particular case can give recommendations to the government to pass some rules which will in turn mitigate these types of problems," he said.

"Basically, the rules should be on the lines of simple marriage as shown in Islam, where women are not burdened".

He said he would implead in his individual capacity but noted that as the Commission's Chairman, he is well-versed in happenings in the community and also concerned about it.

"I would like to explain to the Supreme Court why these things are happening and in what way the apex court can intervene and give its recommendations in the interest of the society as well as the community; in what way they can advise the AIMPLB to act without conflict with the religion or the tenets of the religion," Khan said.

He would ask the court to consider his version also because it is based on "facts and happenings" in the country.

Khan said he has gone through the petitions of the AIMPLB and others who impleaded, adding, their stand is "very religious and based on scriptures".
Ahmedabad: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet families of the youths who were killed during the Patidar (Patel) quota agitation in Ahmedabad and Mehsana when he visits Gujarat next week.

The state would having Assembly elections next year. Kejriwal, whose party is making efforts to make inroads in Gujarat, will also hold a rally in Surat on October 16.

"Arvind Kejriwal will come to Gujarat on October 15 and will head for Mehsana where he will meet family members of youths who were martyred during Patidar quota agitation. He will also visit family members of deceased youths in Ahmedabad," Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi MLA and Gujarat in-charge Gulab Singh Yadav said on Friday.

"Kejriwal will meet Patidar leaders at Mehsana circuit house," Yadav said, adding that the AAP's national convener will also visit Umiya Mata temple at Unjha in Mehsana. Umiya Mata is a revered deity of the Patidar community.

On October 16, Kejriwal will hold a public rally at Yogi Chowk in Surat's Varachha area, Yadav said.

Before the rally, Kejriwal will meet business leaders and people from various communities.

Yadav alleged that BJP workers and Surat Municipal Corporation were tearing down the hoardings put up by AAP ahead of the rally.

"In the last two days our hoardings were torn by BJP supporters and the municipal corporation," he said.

"BJP supporters are trying to spread a rumour that Kejriwal supports Pakistan. But people are not affected by this, they are looking forward to his visit. The kind of fear visible in BJP camp due to the planned rally shows that the party is somewhere apprehensive about defeat in the 2017 Assembly elections," he said.
Washington: Hitting out at Pakistan for using terrorism as an "instrument of state policy", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said 'Brand Pakistan' "really identifies with global terror" as every major terrorist incident in the world has a "Pakistani footprint" around it.

Jaitley, leading the Indian delegation to the IMF and World Bank meetings here, also said Pakistan has a "very low credibility" in terms of the way it deals with matters involving terrorism.

He added that the pull out by a number of nations out of the 19th SAARC Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Islamabad, show Pakistan is being isolated in the region.

"The fact that almost everybody said that we won't attend the SAARC Summit speaks of the isolation in the region. Ultimately, if you use terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and every terrorist incident - a major terrorist incident anywhere in the world, has Pakistani footprint around it, then 'Brand Pakistan' really identifies itself with global terror.

"Therefore, all contrarian noises that they make that Pakistan is a victim et cetera, clearly has established that the world is not willing to listen to them because of a very low credibility and a low track record as far as these matters are concerned," he told a TV channel.

Responding to a question on the geopolitical risk of India's surgical strikes blowing up, he said: "I don't think we should overstate the problem".

"Emphasising that the two countries are nuclear powers and therefore, nuclear blackmail in the world is Pakistan's strategy. It's never been an Indian strategy.

"If you look at the economic impact of the surgical strikes, within minutes of the strikes, you had an upheaval in the currency market. Defence will always remain a top priority as far as expenditure is concerned because national security and sovereignty are paramount as far as India is concerned," Jaitley said.

He also termed the surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control (LoC) as "army strategy" and "pre-emptive strike against terrorism". He said all opposition leaders were briefed and consensus was build because India was "entitled to strategise" following the Uri and Pathankot terror attacks.

He had earlier said that any economic impact arising from recent tensions with Pakistan and incidents like the surgical strikes undertaken by Indian special forces will be "extremely marginal".
Speaking to reporters at Thirukkadaiyur in the district, Raja alleged the DMK-Congress combine was responsible for all the problems in the Cauvery dispute. (Photo: File)

Nagapattinam (TN): In a bid to assuage theruffled feathers of farmers' groups in Tamil Nadu, BJP today said it will not act against their interests in the state, hoping the Centre forms a strong Cauvery Management Board soon.

"BJP will not act against the interests of farmers in Tamil Nadu and hopes that the Centre would soon form a strong, statutory and fair Cauvery Management Board (CMB)," BJP national secretary H Raja said.

Political parties had recently accused the Centre of "betraying" the state by seeking modification of a Supreme Court order asking it to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB).

The ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK had alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre made the move with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly polls, scheduled in 2018.

Speaking to reporters at Thirukkadaiyur in the district, Raja alleged the DMK-Congress combine was responsible for all the problems in the Cauvery dispute.

"In 1974, DMK failed to renew the 1924 Cauvery River Pact. The DMK, instead of pressurising the Congress government in Karnataka now to release water, is staging a drama at Thanjavur today, blaming the Union Government," he said.

Referring to the health condition of Jayalalithaa, he said it was improper to ask for release of photographs of the hospitalised Chief Minister.

"The hospital is issuing regular bulletins. Let us pray and hope for her speedy recovery," he said.

On the local body polls, which Madras High Court had declared as null and void, the BJP leader said when the state

Election Commission issues a fresh notification, candidates who had filed their nominations earlier should be allowed to contest without the need to file nominations again.
New Delhi: For the first time in India's constitutional history, the Centre on Friday opposed in the Supreme Court the practice of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims and favoured a re-look on grounds like gender equality and secularism.

The Ministry of Law and Justice, in its affidavit, referred to constitutional principles like gender equality, secularism, international covenants, religious practices and marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries to drive home the point that the practice of triple talaq and polygamy needed to be adjudicated upon afresh by the apex court.

"It is submitted that the issue of validity of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of principles of gender justice and the overriding principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality," the affidavit filed by Mukulita Vijayawargiya, Additional Secretary in the Ministry, said.

Responding to a batch of petitions including the one filed by Shayaro Bano challenging the validity of such practices among Muslims, the Centre first dealt with the right of gender equality under the Constitution.

"The fundamental question for determination by this court is whether, in a secular democracy, religion can be a reason to deny equal status and dignity available to women under the Constitution of India," it said.

Referring to constitutional principles, it said that "any practice by which women are left 'socially, financially or emotionally vulnerable' or subject to the whims and caprice of men-folk is incompatible with the letter and spirit of Article 14 and 15 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution".

Linking the issue with the Right to Life and Personal Liberty, the Centre in its 29-page affidavit said "gender equality and the dignity of the women are non-negotiable, overarching constitutional value and can brook no compromise.

"These Rights are necessary in letter and in spirit not only to realise the aspirations of every individual woman who is an equal citizen of this country but also for the largerwell-being of the society and progress of the nation, one half of which is made up by women".

Dealing in detail with the idea of secularism, the government said that in a secular democracy, the state has no religion, which moreover has already been held to be the basic structure of the Constitution.

"It is submitted that secularism being a hallmark of Indian democracy, no part of its citizenry ought to be denied access to fundamental rights, much less can any section of a secular society be worse off than its counterparts in theocratic countries, many of which have undergone reforms," it said.

The Ministry of Law and Justice has also provided a list of Islamic countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey and Afganistan and the changes made there in marital law.

"It is noteworthy that even theocratic states have undergone reform in this area of law and therefore in a secular republic like India, there is no reason to deny women the rights available under the Constitution.

"The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reform goes to establish that the practice in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practice of Islam or essential religious ractices," the affidavit said.

The Centre, however, made it clear that it may file a more detailed affidavit if required.
People demonstrate over the death of Dadri lynching case accused Ravi in Bishada village in Uttar Pradesh. (Photo: PTI)

Greater Noida: Bishada in Uttar Pradesh is on the boil once again as villagers on Thursday refused to cremate the body of 22-year-old Ravi, accused in the Dadri lynching case.

Ravi alias Robin died at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday of kidney and respiratory failure. Villagers draped his coffin in a tricolour, saying he had been martyred protecting "Hindu values".

Tensions rose as the body reached the village, as villagers outrightly rejected Ravi's death report claiming he was murdered. Heavy police force was also deployed in the area.

Read: Dadri lynching: Bisada villagers drape tricolour on dead accused's body

Seeing the body draped in a tricolour, policemen and administration officials, however, preferred to remain mum as objections might have sparked violence in the area.

"Villagers demanded Rs 1 crore for deceased's family, arrest of Akhlaq's brother Jaan Mohammad in a cow slaughter case and an FIR against the jailer. Villagers told administration that they will not cremate the body till their demands are met," said Sanjay Rana, BJP leader and father of one of the accused.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate N P Singh said the state government would give its consent for a CBI probe if the deceased's family is not satisfied with the ongoing inquiry. The DM said a judicial inquiry had been initiated, adding that the Chief Judicial Magistrate is conducting it.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to the deceased Ravi's wife Pooja. Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that Ravi was suffering from high fever and his death was suspected to be due to dengue.

Ravi's brother Vicky, however, claimed he was "assaulted by police in jail due to which he sustained injuries. Unlike, what police is saying, he was not suffering from any fever. The state government had earlier said that the jailer of the prison where Ravi was held would be transferred once the probe found him guilty.

But in an apparent attempt to pacify villagers, the jailer S K Pandey was transferred to Lucknow headquarters. The National Human Rights Commission has also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and demanded reply from district administration. The postmortem was conducted yesterday in Delhi under the supervision of a Metropolitan Magistrate from a local court.
Jodhpur: While the surgical strikes by the Indian Army in PoK has sent much of the nation into a jubilant frenzy, it has mounted pressure on the minority Hindu community in Pakistan, forcing many more to abandon their homes and seek refuge in India.

The influx of Pakistani-Hindu migrants entering India via the Thar Express, that connects Karachi to Jodhpur, has increased significantly.

Last week 31 Pakistani-Hindus arrived in India via the Thar Express and even as they struggle to get a permanent residence in India, another 216 Pak-Hindus arrived in Jodhpur on Thursday.

The refugees have come to India by availing pilgrimage visas and have denied going back to Pakistan with plans to settle here permanently. For now, these people will stay in camps for displaced Pakistanis in Dali Bai, Kali Beri and Angnwa, in Rajasthan.

Emphasising that the situation back at Pakistan was awful, Maya and Moti, two of the 31 migrants who arrived here last week, said that they would rather die than return back.

Head of the Frontiers Works Organisation Hindu Singh Sodha said that due to atrocities in Pakistan, the number of Hindu migrants coming to India has increased and people are arriving in Jodhpur on pilgrim visas and creating new problems for the government.
Hyderabad: Terming as "politically motivated" the finding of report of Justice Roopanwal Commission on Rohit Vemula, the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice at University of Hyderabad (UoH), said it will hold a protest rally on Friday.

Under the banner of 'Justice For Rohit Vemula' a protest rally would be held from the campus to university's main gate this evening, said the JAC for Social Justice, which is spearheading the protests over the scholar's death.

Raising questions over the Dalit status of Rohit Vemula, the Commission constituted by the HRD Ministry after Vemula's death on January 17 this year, had said the material on record did not establish it and attributed his suicide to personal reasons.

The Justice Roopanwal Commission, in a report submitted to the Ministry, had given a clean chit to Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya.

"The Roopanwal Commission constituted by MHRD has pronounced an atrocious report by discounting the discrimination and humiliation suffered by Rohit Vemula and his mother Radhika Vemula for being Dalits, and by concluding that they have obtained SC certificate in order to avail the benefits of Scheduled Caste Category," the JAC said.

The Commission's report is politically motivated and acted in favour of the accused in the atrocities and abatement of suicide on Rohit Vemula, it alleged.

The JAC further said that Commission crossed its mandate of enquiring into the flaws in the institutional mechanisms identified by the MHRD three-member Committee, and instead chose to comment extensively on the caste of Rohit Vemula.

Vemula's suicide on January 17 had sparked massive protests at UoH, popularly known as HCU, as well as outside resulting in a fierce political slugfest, with a string of political parties and dalit organisations siding with students and accusing the BJP and varsity administration of being anti-dalit.

UoH had witnessed sporadic protests since Vemula's death, with students demanding removal of Appa Rao Podile from the Vice-Chancellor's post. Appa Rao and others were earlier booked under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for abatement of Vemula?s suicide.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday hit back at Congress leader Kapil Sibal for claiming that BJP gave birth to Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Slamming Congress, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, What does Congress mean by BJP created JeM? The kind of language used by Congress is shameful, regrettable and full of venom. We can't expect more from Kapil Sibal.

"You know who will be happy with this assertion? The ISI," Prasad said.

On Sibals reference to the 1965, 1971 and 1999 Indo-Pak wars, Prasad said he was glad that the Congress had acknowledged 1965, because it rarely ever gives importance to Lal Bahadur Shastri (who was the PM at that time).

Attacking the Congress for Rahul Gandhis statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "hiding behind the blood of soldiers", Prasad said defending the vice-president was more important for Congress than defending the country.

Even Congress men are troubled with what Rahul has said. I thought that they will teach them something. I would have thought that Congress being reduced to 44, they would understand but from zero loss theory they have come to this, Prasad said in an apparent reference to Kapil Sibal view that their was zero loss in the 2G scam.

Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal had earlier on Friday said relations between India and Pakistan wouldnt have been so strained if the BJP during its time in the government hadnt released the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. Who created JeM? BJP did, he said.

Those who have murder cases against them, have been to jail, are in no position to question Rahul Gandhi, said Sibal in a reference to BJP president Amit Shah.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hiding behind the blood of jawans and doing dalali on their sacrifice.

Sibal also said the government is undermining the valour of armed forces by giving PM Modi all the credit. The former Union Minister demanded that BJP stop putting up posters claiming credit for the surgical strikes.

Sibal also gave a detailed account of all the previous times the Indian armed forces had crossed the Line of Control (LoC)  in 1965, 1971 and 1999  to deal with Pakistan.
New Delhi: Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday dissolved the Delhi Waqf Board, which was "superseded" by the Arvind Kejriwal government last year, after two of its members resigned alleging corruption and referred the matter to CBI for a probe, setting the stage for another round of confrontation between the AAP dispensation and the Centre.

The LG reconstituted the board, quashing all appointments made by its incumbent Chairman and Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan. Jung has directed Divisional Commissioner A Anbarasu to set up a committee to review the legality and propriety of all decisions and action taken by the Board after its constitution in March and submit a report within a month.

"In view of the deliberate and persistent acts of illegality, violation of rules, allegations of corruption, possibility of malafide etc, the whole matter related to the Delhi Waqf Board is referred to the CBI for investigation," the LG office said in a statement.

Two members of the Board had earlier resigned alleging "corruption" and "irregularities in appointments" during Khan's tenure. The Okhla MLA had, however, denied the charges.

"Revenue Department's notification dated October 8, 2015 superseding the Delhi Waqf Board and dated March 11, 2015 reconstituting the Delhi Waqf Board and orders of services department dated April 28, 2016 appointing Mehboob Alam as CEO are declared illegal and void ab initio for not having obtained the approval of the competent authority and are revoked immediately," the statement added.

S M Ali, Special Secretary (Environmnet and Forests), has been given the additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of the Board till further orders.

Since the term of the Board, constituted in 2011, was to expire in December 2016 and five out of seven members have already resigned, no purpose is served in reviving the Board and therefore, the body is superseded under Section 99 of the Act till the expiry of its term, it said.

It said Secretary (Revenue) as per Section 99(2) of the Waqf Act will exercise all powers and duties of the Board, till it is reconstituted.
Patna: LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said his party was not opposed to prohibition in Bihar, but disapproves penal provisions that violate the fundamental right and right to privacy of a citizen.

The Union minister, however, refused to comment on Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi citing the instruction of the PM to avoid making statement in public over the surgical strike across the LoC.

"Army is working efficiently and public is watching everything," he told reporters.

Asked about Supreme Court's order on Friday staying the Patna High Court judgement setting aside Bihar liquor law, he said, "Our party's stand is clear from day one that we are in favour of prohibition and not opposed to it. But we disapprove of harsher penal provisions under new liquor law that violates citizen's fundamental right and right to privacy."

The party is of the view that a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police be allowed to carry out search/inspection of any premises without warrant as it would be against "natural justice", he said.

Taking potshots at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Paswan said, "Kumar is trying to propagate liquor law in order to become Mahatma Gandhi and is trying to send to jail all adult members of a family if a liquor bottle is found in a house besides imposing fine."

"If all adult members of a family can be jailed in the event of recovery of a liquor bottle, then the Chief Minister should also go to jail for heading the government in the state over recovery of bottle in the state," he said.

"The stay granted by the Supreme Court does not mean that the matter has been decided. The apex court is examining the matter and hearing of the case is yet to start," he said on today's order.

The Patna high court had on September 30 held the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act 2016 as per which the state government had notified on March 31, 2016 bringing the state under "prohibition" regime.

Without much lapse of time, the Bihar government notified new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti incorporating stringent penal provisions such as sending all adult members of a family to jail if a liquor bottle is found from his/her premises.

Within a few days, the state government filed an appeal in the apex court against the high court judgement in order to protect its (government's) actions such as arrests, search and seizures made under the said Act.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to celebrate Dussehra in Lucknow will not yield the BJP any political benefits in poll-bound UP, which may go on to repeat a Bihar for them.

Breaking from tradition, Modi will attend the historic Aishbagh Ramlila at Lucknow on Dussehra next week. Usually, Prime Ministers have celebrated this festival in the national capital.

"The Opposition is scared that if Modi visits UP, there will be a political atmosphere created there. But Modi should visit Lucknow and announce that he has not come there to reap any political gains but to announce the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"During the polls, the BJP in Bihar had put at stake Modi's image and had got the entire Council of ministers at the Centre to campaign for the party. Yet, the party was decimated. If this fact is taken into consideration, there will be no reason to believe the party will reap any political benefits out of Modi's Lucknow event," the Sena said.

Suppose the BJP wins some seats in UP at a time when the Congress is already crippled, Mayawati's BSP does not have a future and the SP is busy with its family feud, will such a victory be called a (real) win, the Sena questioned.

It added that after the surgical strikes, Modi's next target would be to get hold of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Balochistan.

"We would not be surprised if he celebrates the next Diwali in Balochistan," the Sena said.
Border Security Force soldiers patrol near the India-Pakistan international border area at Gakhrial boder post in Akhnoor sector. (Photo: AP)

Jammu: Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire over 25 times along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir since the September 29 surgical strikes by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to destroy terror launch pads.

"There have been over 25 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after the surgical strikes," a senior Army officer said today.

The major ceasefire violations took place on 3, 4 and 5 October along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region.

On October 5, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire thrice and resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling to target several Indian posts and civilian areas in three sectors in

Poonch and Rajouri districts of J-K, provoking retaliation by the Indian Army.

Three soldiers had suffered minor injuries, while nine Pakistani armymen were injured in the retaliatory action by India.

On October 4, Pakistani troops targeted 10 forward areas with mortar shelling and firing with five ceasefire violations on Indian posts and civilian areas along the LoC in four areas of Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts.

They shelled mortar bombs and opened small and automatic weapons in Jhangar, Kalsian, Makri in Noushera sector of Rajouri district and Gigriyal, Platan, Damanu, Channi and Palanwala areas of Pallanwala sector of Jammu district and Balnoi, Krishnagati in Poonch district. One jawan had sustained injuries in the action.

On October 3, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire four times and restored to heavy firing and mortar shelling in Saujian, Shahpur-Kerni, Mandi and KG sectors in Poonch district, where five civilians were injured and several shops set ablaze after a shell triggered fire in oil containers in a security force camp.

On October 2, Pakistan resorted to firing and shelling from 19:15 hours along LoC in forward areas in Pallanwala belt of Jammu district.

On October 1, Indian posts and civilian areas were shelled with mortar bombs, RPGS and HMGS amid small arms firing along LoC in Jammu sector.

On September 30, Pakistani troops had opened fire from small arms along the LoC in Pallanwala, Chaprial and Samnam areas of Akhnoor sector of Jammu district.

Last year, 16 civilians were killed and 71 others injured in 405 incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistan.
The university has been told by the TS government to hand over its administration building so that it can house the collectorate office of the new Shamshabad district. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The proposed Shamshabad district has left the PV Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University administration scouting for a building to house its administration staff.

The university has been told by the TS government to hand over its administration building so that it can house the collectorate office of the new Shamshabad district.

This has forced the varsity to scout for a suitable building in its campus and also in the campus of the neighbouring Professor Jayashankar Agricultural University.

Dean of Faculties V. Ravinder Reddy said, The academic block is housed separately in a new building. The administration cannot be housed there. We are looking for a building in our campus or in the agricultural varsity.

Meanwhile, students are not taking too kindly to the proposal. Katam Sridhar a student, said, Its unacceptable that a busy administrative centre like a collectorate which will be visited by many outsiders every day is being planned to be set up inside a university. There is girls hostel in the campus close by.
New Delhi: Taking potshots at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for accusing Narendra Modi of doing politics on the sacrifices of jawans at the border, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said the former needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the country's Prime Minister.

Swamy raked up the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Bofors scandal and the National Herald scam to corner the Gandhi family.

"Dalal mean lobbyist. It's a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Augusta, Bofors and National Herald," Swamy said.

"I think Rahul Gandhi needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India," he added.

The Congress vice-president earlier insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda.

Read: Modi playing politics with blood of soldiers, says Rahul Gandhi

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," said Gandhi in a series of tweets.

The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong)."

Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men.

"Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi.

A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.
Chennai: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi visited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital in Chennai on Friday and said she is recovering well.

Rahul drove straight from the airport to the hospital and visited the unit where Jayalalithaa is being treated.

In brief remarks after visiting the hospital, Rahul said, "I wanted to give my support and Congress president's support to the Chief Minister".

"The Chief Minister is improving and she is going to be alright," he said.

"I want to give maximum energy to Jayalalithaa ji, so that she gets well soon," Rahul said while replying to a question, adding, he wishes for her speedy recovery.

He was briefed by doctors about the treatment being given to the AIADMK supremo. State Congress chief Su Thirunavukkarasar accompanied him.

Rahul's visit to Chennai lasted barely a little over an hour and half. He arrived around 11.20 am and boarded a flight to Delhi around 1 pm.

On Thursday, Apollo Hospital had issued a statement, saying that Jayalalithaa needs to stay in hospital for a longer period and will be examined by a team of three doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The doctors said she remains on respiratory support.

According to reports, the three-member team includes pulmonologist GC Khilnani, cardiologist Nitish Naik and anaesthetist Anjan Trikha, who were flown in to Chennai on Wednesday.

Based on the detailed deliberations and clinical examination, the expert group of doctors Apollo Hospitals have drawn up a detailed medical management plan, keeping in view the Chief Ministers known history of diabetes and winter bronchitis in inclement weather, the statement said.

The present treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supportive therapy, the statement further said.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Chennai on September 22 for fever and dehydration.

Dr. Richard John Beale, consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at Guy's and St.Thomas Hospital, was earlier called to Chennai to examine the chief minister.

The opposition party in Tamil Nadu demanded the AIADMK release her photograph to confirm her illness.

A social activist, Traffic Ramaswamy, had filed a petition in the High Court, seeking a detailed report from the government on the chief minister's health. However, the Madras High Court dismissed the petition on Thursday.
Jaisalmer: India will completely seal the border with Pakistan by December, 2018 by using all effective means including technological solutions, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Friday.

Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four states, Singh said India is planning to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place at the central and state government levels for it.

He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the states which share border with Pakistan.

"It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders," Singh said.

The Home Minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added "this project will be periodically monitored by Home Secretary at the central level, BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level."

He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. "Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border.

Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthan's Home Ministers Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Gulab Chand Kataria respectively and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.

Senior BSF officials were present at the meeting here which reviewed security arrangements on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, he also counselled that leaders must exercise restraint in their comments on security challenges before the country at a time when tension between India and Pakistan has increased.

Singh said this without giving a directly reply to a volley of questions by reporters on the controversial remarks made by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday on the sacrifice of soldiers. Gandhi had accused Centre of doing politics on the bodies of soldiers.

"I do not wish to comment on that but when there is a big challenge before the nation, we should stand by our forces. At a time when tension between India and Pakistan is increasing, countrymen should trust the security and armed forces and stand by them.

"People from all walks must exercise restraint. The country should support the forces," he said.
Following the Patna High Court judgement, the Bihar government had instituted an even more stringent law banning liquor consumption in the state. (Photo: Representational Image)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Patna High Court order striking down the liquor ban in Bihar.

A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit, issued notices to all respondents including some liquor manufacturers on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional the Nitish Kumar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

The state government in its petition had urged the apex court to stay the high court order quashing the April 5 notification to ban liquor.

Read: After Patna HC quashes liquor ban in Bihar, Nitish comes out with new law

It notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 to ensure that the ban on sale and consumption of alcohol including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well spiced and domestic liquor continued in the state.

While assailing September 30 high court verdict, Bihar government urged the court to decide whether State can impose absolute prohibition on distribution and consumption of liquor and whether an individual can claim right to consume liquor as his or her fundamental right under the Constitution.

It claimed that as a consequence of the high court order, the state government's efforts to bring in complete prohibition on liquor, in performance of its constitutional obligations, has been frustrated.

Read: Patna High Court strikes down Bihar prohibition law, calls it illegal

Following the Patna High Court judgement, the Bihar government had instituted an even more stringent law banning liquor consumption in the state, and had approached the Supreme Court.

A division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and Justice Navaniti Prasad Singh of the Patna High Court quashed the April 5 notification of the state government to stop consumption and sale of alcohol in the state.

The high court had on September 30 quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of alcohol in the state, saying it was ultra vires to the Constitution.

The order was passed on a batch of petitions filed by the Liquor Trade Association and others, challenging the liquor law, brought in with stringent penal provisions.

Soon thereafter, Bihar government brought in the new law banning liquor including harsher provisions like arrest of all adults in a house where contraband was found.

The Grand Secular Alliance government in Bihar had first banned manufacture, trade, sale and consumption of country-made liquor since April 1, but later imposed a blanket ban on all types of liquor, including foreign liquor, in the state.
Chennai: With Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa hospitalised for the past two weeks, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Friday called two senior ministers and Chief Secretary P Ramamohana Rao and discussed the day-to-day administration and affairs of the government.

The Governor enquired "about the general administration of the affairs of the government," a Raj Bhavan release said.

"The Chief Secretary to Government briefed Honourable Governor about the administrative affairs that are being carried out on a day-to-day basis and also other general matters," it said.

Jayalalithaa's trusted lieutenant and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam and his cabinet colleague Edappadi K Palaniswami also met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan where he enquired with them about the health condition of the Chief Minister, it said.

Although the Governor had visited Apollo Hospital, where Jayalalithaa was admitted on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, on October 1, this was the first time he has held consultations with the senior ministers and the Chief Secretary since she was hospitalised.

The Ministers and Chief Secretary met Rao "on the request of the Governor," it added.

With the ministers, the top two in Jayalalithaa's Cabinet after her, the Governor "enquired about the health condition" of the AIADMK supremo, it added.

Further, he also enquired about the arrangements made for the visit and information to be presented to the High Level Technical Committee on Cauvery issue constituted by the Centre "to protect the welfare of farmers of Tamil Nadu", it added.

Palaniswami, the Public Works Minister, explained in detail the arrangements made and related matters, it added.

The Apollo Hospital had said yesterday that the 68-year-old AIADMK leader's health condition "continues to improve" but requires a longer stay at the hospital.

"The consensus of opinions of all the experts is that the line of treatment given to the Chief Minister should be continued as she will require a longer stay at the hospital," a release from the hospital had said.
New Delhi: BJP on Friday stepped up attack on Rahul Gandhi for his 'dalali' barb on cross-LoC surgical strike, alleging that he has "crossed all limits" with his remarks which "undermine" the armed forces and are an "insult" to their bravery.

Urging parties not to politicise the issue of surgical strikes, BJP President Amit Shah also lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was the first among the "anti-India" leaders to raise questions on the army's action.

Terming as "very unfortunate" the Congress leader's use of word "dalali for soldiers", he alleged it depicted the Congress' mindset as the word is synonymous with the opposition party whose leaders were "embroiled in several scams worth thousands of crores of rupees".

"With his 'khoon ki dalali' remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. I feel his use of words are an insult to the bravery of the armed forces...I agree that the word 'dalali' is part of their mindset as several scams took place during their rule," he said.

Shah said "Gandhi's remarks depict the Congress party's mindset. There is a flaw in the thought process of the Congress leadership. I strongly criticise his remarks. The word dalali should be restricted to Congress party only."

He said the remarks have "angered" the people and have "demoralised" the forces.

In a jibe at the Congress vice-president, Shah said he should concentrate on the "potato factory" for farmers instead as his understanding of the problems of agriculture sector is limited to that only.

Shah was referring to Gandhi's remarks made during his Delhi to Deoria march in Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to a poser on some BJP leaders creating a hype on the strikes, he said some workers were only exhibiting their excitement and questioned why there is was no such excitement in the Congress leadership.

The BJP chief urged all parties not to politicise the issue but said the BJP would take the issue to the masses to build up the confidence of the armed forces. "We have not claimed the surgical strikes. The army did it. Army and not the politicians should claim credit," he said.

He said by questioning the strikes, Congress is associating itself with the dejection in Pakistan. He asked it to stand with the army and the enthused people of India instead.

Gandhi had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was selling off their sacrifices for political benefit.

"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Gandhi had said.

Targeting Kejriwal, Shah said he has made headlines in Pakistan and supported the neighbouring country which has denied that any strikes took place in its territory.

"We do not believe in the questions raised by some parties, but we believe in the army's actions... it (remarks on strikes) is a very condemnable act and all political parties should desist from doing so," he said.
Rahul Gandhi came in for flak from a number of political leaders across the spectrum for his remarks that PM Modi is playing politics on the blood of soldiers. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Political temperature soared on Friday over Rahul Gandhi's 'dalali' remarks, with BJP chief Amit Shah launching a blistering attack on him, saying he "crossed all limits" and "insulted" the army's valour as Congress leader insisted he supported the military action but denounced "political propaganda" on the issue.

The Congress vice president also came in for criticism from Arvind Kejriwal, who himself is facing flack over his remarks on the army's surgical strikes across the LoC, with the Delhi Chief Minister urging political parties to set aside their differences and rally behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"By making 'khoon ki dalali' remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. It was an extreme. By choosing such words, he insulted the bravery of our soldiers and 125 crore people of India," Shah said.

Read: Kejriwal criticises Rahuls 'dalali' remark against Modi, opposes politicking

Suggesting that those casting doubts on the authenticity of surgical strikes are "anti-India" leaders, he said, "The whole country, BJP and its government are standing firmly behind the army. We do not believe in the comments of anti-India leaders. We believe in the army's bullets."

Union minister Jayant Sinha also ridiculed Rahul Gandhi?s 'dalali' barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying all those scams and scandals during the UPA regime reflected who had been doing "dalali".

Replying to a query at a press conference about Gandhis remark, Sinha said that "dalali" was clearly visible during the previous UPA regime whenever scandals had emerged.

Referring to Congress leader and former Jharkhand minister Yogendera Sao's involvement in an agitation in Barkagoan, Sinha said one could see whose party (Congress) was doing "dalali" and which party (BJP) was working in the interest of the people.

Read: Modi playing politics with blood of soldiers, says Rahul Gandhi

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, who belongs to the BJP, said Gandhi is doing dirty politics. He said that the BJP condemns those who are demoralising the army, demanding proof for the strikes.

On the backfoot after his barb, apparently aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress vice president said he "unequivocally" backed the army action.

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," the Congress vice president said in a series of tweets.

He had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices.

"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Rahul had said.

Read: 'Language used by Cong shameful, full of venom': BJP hits back at Kapil Sibal

Even as Shah insisted that the strikes should not be politicised, he made it clear that BJP will go to people over the issue to "boost the army's morale" and that the military assault underlined the Modi government's zero tolerance policy against terrorism as well as its strong political will to take tough decisions.

Congress' senior leader Kapil Sibal, who was fielded to defend Gandhi, said the party vice president had lauded the Prime Minister when he said "Modi finally acted like a true

PM". "We defend the strikes, but stop this propaganda. It is wrong to claim credit for the sacrifice made by the jawans," he said and attacked Amit Shah for criticising Gandhi.

Sibal said that the history of India did not begin with 2014 and asked the BJP to note that the army had crossed the LoC in 1965, 1971 and 1999  when PM Modi and Amit Shah were not in power.

"Those who were in jail, got externed, had murder cases against them are telling us that we are at fault," Sibal said.

Sibal further claimed that it was BJP who had created Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which is accused of terror attacks in Pathankot and Uri, by releasing its chief Masood Azhar in 2001.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad attacked Gandhi, Sibal and the Congress party on the issue in response to Sibals comments.

"Rahul Gandhi's comments yesterday were not only regrettable but shameful. The justification today by the Congress crossed all limits of shameful conduct in the public life of the country," Prasad said, assailing Sibal for his comments against Shah that criminal cases were pending against him.

"Not even charges were framed against our party chief. The court said the entire case is a frame-up because of political conspiracy," he said.

"Devotion (in Congress) to Rahul Gandhi is more in order of priority than devotion to the country and defending Rahul is more important than defending the country," Prasad said.

Prasad said that it was fortunate that Sibal had mentioned 1965, when India had gone to war against Pakistan, because the Congress rarely gives any credit to Lal Bahadur Shastri (the PM at that time).

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, whose remarks on the surgical strikes were interpreted as questioning their veracity, was also critical of Gandhi.

"Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I have previously done so and want to congratulate the army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhi's remarks wherein he said army's sacrifices and bravery was 'khoon ki dalali'," he said.

Meanwhile, the NCP, former Congress ally, too criticised Gandhi for his 'dalali' remarks and called the surgical strikes "historic".

"Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the principal opposition party, which is the perhaps the oldest organisation in the world. He should have refrained from using such words," NCP MP D P Tripathi told reporters.

He also hit out at Congress' Mumbai unit chief Sanjay Nirupam for questioning the genuineness of the strikes, saying his comments were "anti-national" in nature.

Asserting that the surgical strikes on terror camps were "historic" and a result of astute planning by the government and the army, the party said it was, however, against "chest thumping" and "drum beating" over the issue.

RJD President Lalu Prasad disapproved of Rahuls remark, saying he failed to put across his views properly.

"Rahul Gandhi ko apni baat theek se rakhni nahi aai (Rahul Gandhi failed to put across his views properly)," Lalu told reporters when asked to comment on Congress leader's 'dalali' remark against the PM in the wake of controversy over the surgical strikes in POK.

Lalu said there was a need to give even stronger punishment to Pakistan.

"I am with the country's army and there is a need to give even stronger injection to Pakistan," he said.
The GMR group has also deployed private security at the airport premises. More sniffer dogs have been deployed at the airport. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The Shamshabad airport has been put on high alert after inputs from intelligence agencies in the wake of the situation on the Indo-Pak border. The airport has been categorised as hyper sensitive.

Patrolling has been intensified on the two approach roads. Central Industrial Security Force jawans have been deployed in and around the airport.

The GMR group has also deployed private security at the airport premises. More sniffer dogs have been deployed at the airport.

Barricades have been put up at arrival and departure lounges. Patrolling has been intensified and checking would be conducted every hour, an official said. The Cyberabad police has also intensified patrolling around airport.
New Delhi: Working on a multi-pronged strategy to deal with increasing security threat from Pakistan, the Centre has now set up an ambitious deadline to completely seal the entire border in Northern and Western sectors with the neighbouring country by end 2018.

The decision was taken following a high level security meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday in Jaisalmer with Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of four border States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

Sources said the Home Minister categorically told the concerned security agencies and the States that the deadline for sealing the border has to be strictly adhered.

The meeting discussed recommendations of the Madhukar Gupta committee. Constituted following the attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in January, the committee recommended use of technology in sealing the entire border, and a new border protection grid in four border States and in Sir Creek and riverine areas.
Farmers plead with members of the Central team of experts which visited Mandya for an assessment of water availability on Friday.

Bengaluru: The state government informed the Cauvery Water Expert Committee on Friday that Karnataka was short of around 20 tmc ft of water to save its standing crop over 4.27 lakh acres and supply drinking water to the people dependent on the river for their needs.

The teams aim is to distribute water between the two states in a judicious manner, Central Water Commission Chairman G.S. Jha told reporters.

The team first visited Maddur in Mandya and is scheduled to visit KR Pet on Saturday and inspect Hemavathi dam. It will then leave for Tamil Nadu to inspect Mettur dam.

Chief Secretary, Subhas Chandra Khuntia, who briefed the Cauvery Water Expert Committee headed by CWC chairman, G S Jha, said the state had cultivated only one- third of the 18.5 lakh acres of agricultural fields in Cauvery basin owing to the poor monsoon and farmers were even so opting for dry or semi-irrigated crops here.

The situation was so bad that of the 6.15 acres cultivated, crops had withered over 1.88 lakh acres and if Karnarka was to save the remaining crop over 4.27 lakh acres and also provide drinking water, it needed around 45 tmc ft of water. But currently it had a storage of only 25 tmc ft in its Cauvery reservoirs, leaving it short of 20 tmc ft of water, Mr Khuntia said.

The government made a audio-visual presentation on changes in rain and crop patterns and ground water depletion over the last 40 years before Water Resource Minister, M B Patil submitted a memorandum to Mr Jha detailing Karnataka's crisis.

Speaking to reporters after the state briefing, Mr Jha said the committee would take a balanced view of the issue after visiting Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Farmers pour out their woes, is central team convinced?

Scores of farmers poured out their woes to the high-level central technical team, led by Mr G.S. Jha, Chairman, Central Water commission (CWC), on the first day of the four-day tour of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to gauge the ground reality in terms of availability of water and condition of crops in the Cauvery basin, on Friday.

These farmers mobbed members of the team and explained their hardship in view of a failed monsoon soon after the arrival of the experts at Huligerepura village in Maddur taluk in two helicopters. The local administration provided details of the deficit rainfall as the team moved from Hemmanahalli and Tailur villages in Maddur taluk to Koppa, Pannedoddi, Araseenakere and later toured villages in Malavalli taluk before reaching KRS dam through Srirangapatna town.

Admitting acute shortage of water in the basin region, Mr Jha said We visited some villages in Maddur taluk, and are trying to understand the ground reality. The team is yet to visit many places and the dams including KRS. We will submit a report based on ground reality to the Supreme Court after visiting Karnataka and TN.

Mr C S Puttaraju, JS (S) MP, Maddur MLA D.C. Thamanna, MLC Appajigowda and former MLA, Dr Annadani, met the experts.
Hyderabad: The Telangana state Cabinet on Friday approved reorganisation and creation of more new districts apart from the 27 that were already notified, besides revenue divisions, mandals, police commissionerates and staff as per requirement from Dasara.

In view of the demand for more districts, the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao issued an ordinance to amend the Telangana Districts (Formation) Act 1974.

In another development, the committee headed by TRS MP Dr K. Kesava Rao submitted its report to the Chief Minister over the feasibility of having Gadwal, Asifabad, Sircilla and Jangaon districts. Sources said it would be approved by the government and in all likelihood, the state would have 31 districts.

After issuing the notification for 27 districts besides mandals and revenue divisions, there has been a demand for more districts from people, public representatives and organisations. The government received about one lakh petitions. We have to amend the Act, Deputy CM Kadiam Srihari said. He added, We took a decision to issue an ordinance for making such a provision in the Telangana state Districts (Formation) Act 1974.
Banks in TS have extended total loans worth Rs 3,50,884 crore, of which education loans are a mere one per cent at Rs 3,239 crore. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Backward classes and student organisations are demanding the state government waive education loans of students along the lines of crop loan waiver scheme for farmers to enable them appear for the State Bank of India's clerks recruitment exam.

The SBI has barred loan and credit card defaulters from appearing for the exams. It recently issued notification to fill 17,140 clerk posts barring candidates with a record of defaults in repayment of loans or credit card dues and candidates with an adverse report from a credit information company. These norms triggered protests from BCs, who constitute a majority in availing bank loans to pursue higher studies.

While SCs and STs are getting total reimbursement of tuition fees in the state, this is not the case with BCs, for whom the benefit is extended only if they secure ranks below 10,000 in entrance examinations. This forces a majority of BC students to depend on education loans.

However, most of the candidates are unable to repay the loans for various reasons. Banks in TS have extended total loans worth Rs 3,50,884 crore, of which education loans are a mere one per cent at Rs 3,239 crore.

The organisations are angry at the SBI resorting to such a harsh step to recover just one per cent of its total loan portfolio, while overlooking other sectors, which have huge NPAs.

Students can repay loans only if they get jobs. If they are barred from appearing for job exams, how can they get jobs? The banks have several options to recover loans. They can instead impose a condition that the loans will be recovered from the salaries of selected candidates. Barring them from job exams is totally unfair and unconstitutional. We will approach the courts against this norm besides taking up the agitation programmes. If this is allowed now, this may soon be extended to other exams, said R. Krishnaiah, BC Welfare Association leader.

The Association has convened a meeting with 120 backward castes, which demanded TS government to waive off education loans.

We will soon meet Prime Minister and demand action against SBI for introducing such unfair norms. At the most, banks extend education loans up to Rs 5 lakh for each student with much difficulty. And to recover such a small amount, they are now resorting to unfair means of barring students from writing exams, said J. Kalyan, president, Telangana Students and Unemployed JAC.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Oommen Chandy on Friday slammed chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for blaming A K Antony for the self-financing college mess. In a statement here, Chandy said that the chief minister was targeting Antony to hide his failures in finding a solution to the self-financing college fee issue. The state would always remember with gratitude the revolutionary changes made by Antony in the higher education sector.

The former chief minister said that Antony government had decided to start self-financing colleges following exodus of students in hundreds to the neighbouring states for pursuing higher education. Such a bad situation had developed because facilities had not been put in place for higher education and the state was finding it difficult to come out of it.

Chandy said till 2001, Kerala had only five government medical colleges and 12 engineering colleges. Now apart from the existing government medical colleges, there are 24 self-financing medical colleges and 119 engineering colleges, nursing schools, pharmacy colleges and institutions for management studies. We achieved this because of Antony governments vision,

he said.

The former chief minister said that Pinarayi Vijayan government was completely responsible for the issues that had cropped up in the self financing college sector. The government yielded to the exorbitant demands made by managements because they had conducted the discussions without doing any homework. Chandy said it was because of the realisation that they had been allowed huge increase in the fee, the managements agreed for granting certain concessions. However, the adamant attitude of the chief minister had deprived the students of the additional benefits they would have got otherwise.
Kochi: No timeline has been fixed for the repatriation of Indians in distress in Saudi Arabia, according to a Right to Information reply given by the embassy of India, Riyadh. Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had set a deadline of September 25 for the workers to reach India, but the RTI reveals that the process is still on. The RTI reply given by the Riyadh embassy to Dominic Simon working in Riyadh said that the claims submitted by the workers to the embassy have already been handed over to the Saudi authorities for further action at their end, for which no timeline has been fixed.

Sushma's tweet created a panic situation and several persons were forced to join companies for meagre salaries, said Dominic Simon who keeps a tab on the NRI issues. The RTI reply was given on October 4 by Anil Nautiyal, First Secretary (CW) Embassy of India, Riyadh. According to the embassy, workers were expected to opt for either of the two options--final exit or transfer to other sponsors. The RTI reply clarified that the process was started in August 2016 and was still continuing.

Ms Sushma on August 23 in three separate tweets set a deadline and claimed, Indian workers who have lost their jobs should file their claims and return by 25th September. We will bring them back free of charge. When the Saudi government settles with the companies, the workers claims will also be settled, she said in a subsequent tweet. In her final tweet on the issue, she said: Those who do not return by 25th September will have to make their own arrangements for boarding, lodging and return journey.

Saudi authorities are providing final exit and one-way air ticket to the workers opting for final exit, the RTI said. Ms Sushma Swaraj on August 4 had informed the Rajya Sabha that the Saudi Arabian government had agreed to issue emergency exit visas in two days to Indian labourers stranded in the country and had assured the government of their wellbeing.
Students of CMR College of Pharmacy in Medchal approached the Telangana State Council for Higher Education Chairman and complained against their college principal for alleged harassment.(Representational image)

Hyderabad: Students of CMR College of Pharmacy in Medchal approached the Telangana State Council for Higher Education Chairman and complained against their college principal for alleged harassment.

The students also launched a protest demanding suspension of principal Uma Maheshwar Rao. They alleged the principal had been abusing the students.

All students of the pharmaceutical branch were constantly abused and tormented by him, the students alleged in the complaint. They said that one of their classmates had committed suicide two months ago due to harassment and they had started a protest against the principal.

Following the students death we appealed to the management to terminate him. Though they agreed initially they went back on their word. Thats why we are approaching the Telangana State Council for Higher Education, said the student petitioners. Meanwhile, repeated by attempts by DC to reach principal Uma Maheswar Rao over the phone remained futile.
New Delhi: Facing flak for his 'dalali' remarks on surgical strikes, Rahul Gandhi today said he has "unequivocally" supported the military action but is against the use of army in political posters and propaganda by BJP.

"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," the Congress vice president said in a series of tweets.

He had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices.

"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Rahul had said.

His 'dalali' barb has drawn strong reaction from BJP which called it "a new low in Indian politics". Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and other parties have also criticised the Congress leader's remarks.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Digvijay Singh lashed out at the BJP leadership, alleging that they were touting the surgical strike on terror launchpads along the LoC as if they did it themselves instead of the army men.

"Modi Amit Shah Parrikar and BJP Leaders are going around as if they have done the Surgical Strike! Give our Army & our Braveheart the Credit," Singh tweeted.

Rahul had made the remarks yesterday while addressing a rally here, marking the culmination of his month-long 'Deoria to Delhi kisan yatra' in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
The celebratory drum-beating that followed the September 29 surgical strikes by Indian Army special forces against terrorist training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was expected given that terror attacks on India over the years have all gone unchallenged. While we might have finally scored a goal, let us not forget for a moment that the match is far from over. The September 29 strikes will not be the real test of the Narendra Modi Doctrine or whatever else we choose to call the strategy that prompted the military response against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Prior to this, despite the damning evidence pointing invariably to Pakistan, the risk-averse Indian leadership never retaliated against its nuclear capable neighbour. The surgical strikes therefore came as a paradigm change; and with change comes uncertainty. Central to any prognosis arising from latest counter-terrorism strike is the likely response of Pakistans ruling elite. Two fundamental factors shape the Pakistani establishments intrinsically offensive strategic mode  its Timurid mindset and the necessity of the smaller combatant to adopt an offensive posture.

In military theory, the defensive side over time loses through attrition and a smaller power thus will theoretically always lose in such a situation. The Pakistani elite appear to have founded their national goals on founder Mohammed Ali Jinnahs belief that they had been given a moth-eaten country. Forming a country that was deserving of the Pakistan dream meant annexing Kashmir, Balochistan and parts of Afghanistan. It is this dream that the Pakistani elite have been pursuing ever since the countrys independence in 1947. They have been spurred on by a mindset that was formed centuries ago in the steppes of the Asian continent by Timur, the Lame. He and his successors saw themselves as the natural rulers of Asia, particularly its south and central regions. This thinking was responsible for the near-total exodus of the Muslim elite from India at the time of Partition, leaving the masses of poor and nationalist Muslims to their fate in what they believed to be a Hindu India. Conflict thus became a part of the Pakistani ethos at the moment of its creation and the direct fallout of this reality is the unrelenting terrorist and military assaults inflicted on India over the decades.

Will this dynamic change? The short answer is: unlikely. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs continued provocations over Kashmir and reports of a massive terrorist buildup on the borders are hardly encouraging signs. Therefore, India must prepare for more bloodletting. Sadly, our weakness is not so much at the borders as it is in the chaotic cities of the heartland. Indias internal security pillars undermined by decades of political interference, systemic callousness and the rise of anti-national subcultures makes for a vulnerability that a determined enemy can exploit at will. Another event like the 26/11 Mumbai attack, the 2001 Parliament attack or even the Pathankot terror strike will create enormous domestic pressures on the Modi government and compel it to retaliate. The extent of retaliation and its form will determine the success of the Modi doctrine. For the total war option would prove disastrous not just because of the nuclear arsenals both nations possess but also because of its economic impact.

A full-fledged war will inevitably drain Indias economic resources and set the development process back by decades, specially now that the economy is poised for a dramatic transformation. Pakistan would be weakened more than India, perhaps even terminally, but we would fall way behind China in terms of economic power and resilience. This would spell long-term disaster for our global ambitions. This is perhaps one reason why Prime Minister Modi has not overplayed the September 29 attacks and recently asked his political colleagues to refrain from jingoistic chest-thumping. Retaliation, after all, can take many forms other than war, including covert action to destabilise Pakistan internally and economic warfare to undermine its economy. These actions cannot, however, be publicised in the same way as a surgical strike and therefore will not yield similar political dividends. The Modi doctrine could perhaps take a leaf from the United States secret but unrelenting war against the Soviet Union waged over at least three decades. At no point did the militaries of the two superpowers confront each other eyeball to eyeball; yet the Soviet Union ultimately collapsed.

The true character of the Modi doctrine will be apparent only as events unfold in the subcontinent. Will its priority be domestic public opinion or the eventual erosion of Pakistani national power? Will tomorrows battles be fought over media headlines or in the backrooms of undercover operations? Will New Delhi be able to absorb the many cuts that its neighbour will continue to inflict or will it lash out in an all-out military assault? The possibilities are finite but whichever way it pans out, the biggest danger of any long-term doctrine is the danger of strategic overreach. Not matching aims with capabilities has historically been the Achilles heel of many a grandiose strategy. Much is at stake here, indeed the entire future of South Asia.

Military historians often cite the example of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) of ancient Greece when democratic Athens was defeated by the militarised state of Sparta to illustrate the concept of strategic overreach. A disastrous military expedition on distant Sicily by the Athenians, which clearly constituted an act of military overreach, paved the way for the eventual defeat of liberal Athens and began the rule of tyrants. This was a turning point in Greek history which proved that a more evolved civilisation does not always win. On the other hand, the United States, forced into World War II by the Japanese knockout attack on Pearl Harbour that virtually destroyed the American Pacific Fleet, recovered and successfully struck back. National resilience was the secret of Americas success. This allowed the creation of a huge military force capable of fighting halfway across the world. Unlike in ancient Greece, the US overreach in World War II succeeded. The enabling factors included a massive industrial base  that enabled the production of defence material on a huge scale  and vast human resources. A strategy that will ultimately force the Timurids in Islamabad to give up and change course will depend entirely on how we emerge  as the Athenians in ancient Greece or the Americans in the Second World War.
To write to you I need to find a form

So that my memories cannot entice

Me into idle thoughts  and yet they swarm

Like bees disturbed. No free verse will suffice

To lure them back into their hives of time

And places that will live on in my mind

Though no device of poetry or rhyme

Can ultimately keep these thoughts confined.

So clumsy as I am Ill try and use

(I beg you not to think it quite absurd)

The sentiment of Shakespeares own muse

And that for you love was the only word

Though like his sonnets mine does rhyme and scan

It isnt dedicated to a man!

From Ai Shuddup Yaar

by Bachchoo

When Prime Ministers resign in haste and go into the interstellar political spaces, the commentators, scavengers all, search for the nourishing parts of their remains. So let it be with David Cameron. Now that he is gone there are commentaries on his legacy and most of these find the negatives first: he favoured the rich, while squeezing the welfare budgets for the unemployed and disabled, that he appointed the wrong people to be health secretaries, etc. The one thing that liberal opinion credits him with is the legalising of gay partnerships. The laws against homosexuality were rescinded in the late 60s but Mr Camerons initiative recognised gay and lesbian partnerships as marriages in law. Several countries have followed his example and legalised gay partnerships to one extent or the other. Religious opinion has not, in most cases, paralleled this progress. The Roman Catholic Church still counts gay partnerships or physical homosexual contact as a sin, even though in typical Jesuitical sophistry Pope Francis, when asked, said, Who am I to judge?

In Russia the Orthodox Church has set its precepts against legalising homosexuality and the Russian state has followed in persecuting gay people and militantly holding what Vladimir Putin avowedly considers the decadence of the capitalist West. The capitalist East and the corruption of his oligarchs and government are fine. In China, the atheistic regime, legalised homosexuality in 1997. In 2001, it was removed from an official list of mental illnesses. Legalising gay marriage is still a few bridges too far. India with its traditionally thriving gay culture has, through the contradictory judgments of different courts gone through a few years of debating whether it is constitutional, legal, an offence, social deviance or a normal state of relationships and an entirely personal matter. Prosecution, despite very staunch orthodox attitudes towards it, is not something the state pursues.

Indian society seems to accept that there are traditional homosexual practices that have been and should remain socially tolerated  as long as they dont intrude on the family. The population is fully aware that very many males confess to having used professional hijras for sexual activity, though a vast majority of families would be seriously outraged if their son or daughter came out. So it was with more than curiosity that I read about Rishi Agarwal, whose parents migrated to Canada in the 1970s. Rishi was brought up in a traditional Hindu household and professes to be a religious and observant Hindu. As such he always wanted to follow the rituals of the faith and consequently wanted a traditional Hindu wedding. In 2004, Rishi told his parents that he was gay. His parents at first were shocked, but love for their son persuaded them after deep soul-searching that they ought to regard his sexuality with respect, and his father, 68, and mother, 61, began attending the meetings of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in Toronto. (No surprises that such an institution exists in that oh-so-politically-correct city!)

Seven years later Rishi decided he wanted to marry his partner Daniel and wanted to do it within the religion. Several Hindu priests turned down the request to marry a gay couple. Rishis father Vijay finally found one who was willing to perform the rituals. The family arranged for a Hindu wedding with all the usual Bollywoodish fanfare and the couple were married with the support of friends and guests. Daniel and Rishi have now made their experience public and are actively encouraging the Hindu communities of Canada and, they hope elsewhere, to accept and celebrate gay marriage. It will probably be a long time before an Indian government makes gay marriage legal, which may give rise to an ironic anomaly. Following the Canadian example it is more than likely that some progressive Hindu priests will find in the scriptures full sanction for performing a traditional religious ceremony to marry gay couples. In India, religious sanction will then precede that of the democratic state.

If the practice catches on and Indian families follow the precedent set by Rishi Agarwals family in Canada, it could have far-reaching consequences. It is traditionally accepted in the subcontinent that a boy child is preferred to a girl. The reason, probably true, is because the boy will grow to look after his parents whereas the girl will, by hidebound tradition, have to be provided with a dowry and with wedding expenses and will then leave the birth family to look after that of her husband. With gay marriages and weddings to celebrate them, the birth of a boy will, if he turns out to be gay, incur the same sort of expense as a girl.

Might the realisation lead to a reduction in the bigoted prejudice against girl children? And could that lead to a fall in female infanticide? And what happens to dowries, which are in theory at least already illegal? When both partners are male or female, which family pays which? One hopes that the question confounds the idea of dowries altogether and leads to its universal suspension  and so compliance with the current law. And then why wouldnt a government of the near future see all these social benefits and advances and make gay marriage compulsory? Dream on! And what would Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi be called?
Even by the brazen standards of hyper-nationalism that has been foisted on us in recent times, the draping of the national flag on the body of one of the accused in the Dadri lynching case marks a new and obscene low. Soon after the death of Mohammed Akhlaq, who was killed for allegedly keeping beef in his refrigerator  a charge that proved to be false  the saga has taken many twists and turns that can only be described as farcical. Yet, this is a tragedy that could have only happened in the India of today  the frenzy over beef by Hindutva extremists, spurred by stringent government laws, is directly to be blamed for Akhlaqs death. Banning cow slaughter and consumption of beef has been an article of faith for BJP governments. Among the first acts of the newly-installed governments in Haryana and Maharashtra was to put in place strict penalties against consumption and even possession of beef.

But now no one waits for the law and order machinery to step in; vigilante groups have taken it upon themselves to decide who they will target and what summary justice they will dispense to those who dare eat beef; the facts in such cases are of no consequence, allegations are enough to condemn the victim. Mohammed Akhlaq was one such unfortunate soul who was targeted and then killed. Agent provocateurs like BJP MP Sangeet Som ensured that Akhlaq did not find peace even in death. (It is a bitter irony that Som, the adarsh Hindu who says he does not even eat eggs, turned out to be a director in a meat exporting company.) Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma said the killing was an accident  he did not explain how he reached this conclusion  and should not be given a communal colour. The authorities said the meat samples obtained by the police were of goats progeny. That was in December last year. In June this year, eight months after Akhlaqs death, a forensic report said that the meat that the police had found in a dustbin outside his home was beef after all.

Villagers in Dadri demanded that Akhlaqs widow and mother be prosecuted and the court ordered that an FIR be filed against them. Clearly, there was to be no closure for the family. Now, with the death  because of chikungunya  of Ravi, one of the accused in the lynching case, the matter has flared up again. And where the locals stand on it is apparent from the fact that they draped his body with the national flag, in the manner of a brave soldier who died fighting for his country. Apparently this youngster, who was facing manslaughter charges, died while protecting Hindu values. They claim that Ravi died because of he was tortured in the jail; to assuage their feelings, the state government has transferred the jailor. His family wants Rs 1 crore compensation to be paid by the government and the Akhlaq family arrested and tried. The police and local administration have stayed mum, ignoring the gross misuse  abuse  of the flag. Nobody wants to stir up trouble in a volatile environment.

But imagine the pain of the Akhlaq family and particularly of his son Mohammed Siraj, who is a technician in the Indian Air Force. To lose a father in this horrific way, to worry about the possible arrest and prosecution of his mother and grandmother and now to see the manner in which Ravi has been honoured. The Indian flag is draped for a rare few, for their services to the nation, among them soldiers. As an Air Force man, Siraj would understand the deep significance of such a gesture. That his fathers alleged killer gets the same treatment, even if from his family members, must hurt. But such perversity is now par for the course. The government condemns the politicisation of the surgical strikes, says Amit Shah, even as his partys banners appear in Uttar Pradesh, where elections are due in the next few months. All said and done with a straight face.

Dont ask questions, we are told. And why? Because those who are asking questions about the surgical strikes are belittling the Army and falling for Pakistani propaganda, says Ravi Shankar Prasad, blithely linking the government, the Army and patriotism together. Wise generals tell us that this is the time for national unity, the coming together for a common purpose. But blind acceptance of authority is one of the hallmarks of a dictatorship, not a democracy. Whether beef vigilantism or flag-waving nationalism, the mood is now taking an ugly turn. Whether a remote village or an English television studio, the tactics are the same  either shout down an opponent or kill them. Dissenters are seen as dangerous. The flag is all the matters, whether it is waved or draped on an alleged killer. And its only just begun.
Muharram, the month that ushers in the Islamic New Year means, something sacred. Since the creation of mankind, the 10th of Muharram has tremendous importance as a sanctified day in Islamic traditions. After paying heed to the devil, Adam was sent from heaven to earth. He was forgiven by God on 10th Muharram and reunited with Eve in the grounds of Arafat, where Muslims collect on Haj. Prophet Noahs arc anchored on mount Judi on 10th Muharram after sailing the sea for six months. Nimrod cast Prophet Abraham into a fire that became akin to a pleasant flowerbed on 10th Muharram. Swallowed by a whale, Prophet Jonah was released from the fishs stomach 40 days later. This also took place on the 10th of Muharram. So did the deliverance of Moses and his followers when the Red Sea parted, saving them from Pharaohs tyrannical rule. Many Muslims observe fasts this month, particularly on the 10th of Muharram, a favoured day of Gods boundless mercy.

After the coming of Prophet Muhammad, the 10th of Muharram marks the biggest tragedy of Islamic history. Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad was martyred at the battle of Karbala in the year 680. Prophet Muhammad loved his grandsons and it is said that Imam Hussain looked like him. The Prophet famously said, I am from Hussain and Hussain is from me. Giving an oath of allegiance was an old Arab practice. Those who were ruled, specially the respected names among them gave bayah, their hand in allegiance to the rulers, by way of showing support of their actions. Following the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad, allegiance given by free will carried weight and authority.

The tyrannical and debauch Yazid had inherited the caliphate from his father Muawiyah. Yazid ordered his governor in Medina to force an allegiance from Imam Hussain or send his head to Damascus, where the caliphate was based.

On learning of this, Imam Hussain sought refuge in the holy city of Mecca for a few months. Meanwhile, he was flooded with letters from people in Iraq to lead them as they were suffering under Yazid. Imam Hussain addressed the people of Mecca and told them he was going to Kufa in Iraq and that he would be martyred. He had to save Islam from being hijacked for personal and political gain. Prophet Muhammad said: My followers will not unite in supporting corruption.

When Imam Hussain reached Karbala, a desert 70 kilometres from Kufa, Yazids large army of 30,000 soldiers surrounded him and his 70 companions. On the fourth of Muharram, they cut off the water supply to Imam Hussains camps, ensuring that the women, children and soldiers remain thirsty. On the 10th of Muharram, they slew Imam Hussain with a volley of arrows. All his companions, his 25-year-old son Ali Akbar, five-year-old Jafar and a suckling infant Ali Asghar were mercilessly killed. Bodies of the martyrs were decapitated and denied burials. Women of the Prophets household were taken captive, their camps looted and burnt. These honourable women were taken from Karbala and paraded through the streets of Damascus. Knowing he would be martyred, Imam Hussain fought valiantly till his head was severed from his body while he prostrated in prayer. Stabbed 33 times by spears, struck 34 times by swords and hit by over a hundred arrows, yet he held his blood in his hands saying, I only wish that Allah forgive them.
Apple accounted for about 80 per cent of Dialog's revenue last year, making the chipmaker's results a potential indicator of iPhone sales.;ll

Shares of Apple Inc rose 1 per cent on Thursday after German supplier Dialog Semiconductor Plc said its quarterly revenue were higher than expected, adding to recent enthusiasm about demand for the newest iPhone.

With global demand for smartphones on the wane, Apple is counting on the iPhone 7 to help wrest market share from rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and limit an expected decline in annual revenue. Apple accounted for about 80 per cent of Dialog's revenue last year, making the chipmaker's results a potential indicator of iPhone sales.

"We believe this is another confirming data point of stronger than expected iPhone demand, corroborating the US carriers' reports a few weeks ago," wrote Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha in a note to clients on Thursday.

Dialog reported preliminary third-quarter revenue that was 13 per cent above the mid-point of its own outlook range, and up 5 per cent year over year. It said orders for its mobile chips were brought forward due to China's National Day holiday.

Cupertino, California-based Apple's stock has surged 11 per cent since mid-September, when T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp reported strong pre-orders for the new handsets.

With US consumers less eager to replace their devices, global smartphone shipments are likely to grow less than 2 percent in 2016, compared with growth of 10 percent last year, according to market research firm IDC.

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Alphabet Inc's Google, long considered the most logical buyer for Twitter, and Walt Disney Co would not bid for the social network.

Twitter Inc shares plunged on Thursday as fears mounted that a much-anticipated auction of the social media company will draw minimal interest from potential buyers.

With stagnant user growth and continuing losses, Twitter's board agreed last month to consider a sale, and has told potential acquirers it wants such deliberations to conclude by the time it reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 27, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Technology website Recode reported later on Wednesday that Alphabet Inc's Google, long considered the most logical buyer for Twitter, and Walt Disney Co would not bid for the social network, leaving cloud software company Salesforce.com as the only known suitor.

Twitter shares fell as much as 19.2 percent to $20.10, valuing the company at about $14.2 billion. They closed 20.1 percent lower at $19.87.

Salesforce Chief Executive Mark Benioff has publicly expressed his interest in Twitter in recent days, but stopped short of saying the company had decided on a bid. Analysts said he downplayed the possibility in a meeting with investors on Wednesday, sending Salesforce shares up about 4 percent.

"I'm not saying I'm buying it, but I'm not saying I'm not buying it," Benioff said on Wednesday in an interview with the New York Times. Even at $20, Twitter shares are well above the $14 they were trading at before speculation about a possible acquisition began to emerge this spring.

Many investors and analysts believe Twitter remains expensive for most potential buyers, but the company does not have a clear back-up plan if it is not acquired.

Product initiatives under CEO Jack Dorsey, who returned to the company a year ago but also remains CEO of payment company Square, have borne little fruit. Large amounts of employee stock and options are also considered an obstacle for some potential bidders.

The rationale for Salesforce bidding on Twitter is not clear, said Jefferies analyst John DiFucci in a note to clients. Buying Twitter would reduce the value of Salesforce shares by about $11 through dilution, while increased debt could cut another $9.50 from the stock.

Other potential bidders beyond Salesforce are taking a look at Twitter, CNBC said, citing sources. Apple Inc has also been rumored as a possible bidder, though Recode reported that Apple would not move forward.

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Google has stated today that Verizon will be in control of system-level updates for the newly released Pixel and Pixel-XL smartphones. This means the Verizon-branded Pixel might not receive important system updates alongside the unlocked versions sold by Google itself.

Google, in a statement, said, Monthly security updates will come from Google (for all models), and system updates will be managed by Verizon for Verizon models, and Google for unlocked models bought from Google store.

For its previous Nexus devices, Google controls and distributes system updates as and when it is required. This is also one of the primary benefits of the purchasing a Google Pixel/Nexus handset rather than going in for a carrier model. Consumers who will be going for the carrier branded model will lose this benefit.

Verizon has also intended to install third party apps  also called bloatware  on the Pixel, even though Verizon assures that users will be able to delete unwanted apps. Verizons Pixel will be shipped alongside a locked bootloader, preventing consumers from loading their own system builds.

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Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel embarks Sunday on a visit to three African countries before hosting leaders from Chad and Nigeria for talks in Berlin, as she seeks ways to stem a migrant influx to Europe.

Merkel will first travel to Mali and Niger before heading to Ethiopia where she is to visit the headquarters of the African Union in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Her talks with leaders of all three countries are to focus on migration issues and the battle against terrorism.

On Wednesday, a day after her return to Berlin, she will host Chadian President Idriss Deby. She will cap off the week by meeting with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the African giant's battle against Boko Haram Islamists.

"The well-being of Africa is in Germany's interest," Merkel told Die Zeit weekly in an interview ahead of the visit, arguing that bringing more stability to Africa and improving living conditions on the continent would help reduce the numbers of people seeking to leave.

Simply ignoring the reasons that are pushing people to migrate "will not make the problem go away," she warned.

Pointing to drought plaguing Chad as an example, Merkel said that "it does not mean that everyone who is in difficulties there can come to Europe as a refugee".

"But we should be interested in whether 11 million people will have a livelihood or not," she stressed.

The German leader has said that she wants the European Union and North African countries to do deals modelled on a controversial agreement with Turkey to curb migrant flows to Europe.

Under the EU-Turkey agreement, Ankara agreed to take back one Syrian who made it to Greece in return for being allowed to send one from its massive refugee camps to the bloc in a more orderly redistribution programme.

The deal also pledges billions of euros in EU aid for Turkey, visa-free European travel for Turkish citizens and accelerated EU membership talks.
New Delhi: US' Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will address a rally of Hindu-Americans in New Jersey on October 15 and half of the proceedings from the event will be used for the benefit of Kashmiri Pandits.

The founder of Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) Shalabh Kumar on Friday claimed that this is the first of its kind event where Trump is scheduled to address only one specific ethnic community.

"...This is a charity concert organised for the benefit of terror victims in various countries...The 50 per cent of the proceeds from this concert will go for the benefit of Kashmiri Pandits in India," Kumar told reporters here.

Kumar is also Chairman of Indian American Advisory Council to the Republican Party.
Washington: Secretary of State John Kerry called Friday for Russia and Syria to face a war crimes investigation for their attacks on Syrian civilians, further illustrating the downward spiral in relations between Washington and Moscow.

Kerry said Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100, describing what would be the latest strike by Moscow or its ally in Damascus on a civilian target.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children," Kerry told reporters alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who arrived in Washington directly from meeting Russian officials in Moscow. Kerry said such acts "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes."

"They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond," Kerry said in some of his toughest criticism to date. He accused Russia and Syria of undertaking a targeted strategy to "terrorize civilians."

Ayrault, for his part, spoke of a new French effort for a cease-fire in Syria. But it's unclear what advantages his plan would have over the U.S.-Russian led process that collapsed last month.

Kerry's Sept. 9 agreement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counterterrorism alliance in Syria, had fighting stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas.

Neither condition was ever met.

The truce then broke completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo. Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Russia on the military partnership earlier this week.

The war has killed as many as a half-million people since 2011, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State group to carve out territory for itself and emerge as a global terror threat.

As Kerry and Ayrault spoke at the State Department, Russia's lower house of parliament ratified a new treaty with Syria that would allow Russia's military to remain indefinitely in the Arab country. The vote was unanimous, a show of support for Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

Russia launched its air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces make significant territorial gains.
Kim Kardashian.Kardashian has always flaunted her ring and other jewellery on social media.

Los Angeles: Days after she was robbed at gunpoint at a Paris hotel room, America's highest paid TV star, Kim Kardashian, has vowed to stop flaunting her jewellery on social media.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Kardashian said that she will take a month off from her work and will also re-evaluate how she displays her wealth.

This wake up call comes after she was dragged out of the bedroom of the hotel room, zip-tied and thrown on the floor by five masked men, before she was robbed of her jewellery worth USD 10 million.

The robbers zip-tied Kardashian's hands with plastic handcuffs, duct-taped her mouth and ankles and dumped her in the bathtub.

They made off with a ring worth around four million euros ($4.5 million) and a case of jewellery with a value of five million euros ($5.6 million), a police source said. Two mobile phones were also taken.

Kardashian has always flaunted her ring and other jewellery on social media.

Moreover, Pornhub, an adult website has offered $50,000 reward to those who would help police with any information related to the robbery.

"Here at Pornhub we were deeply saddened to hear about the horrible incident involving Kim in Paris," said Pornhub's Vice President Corey Price.

"We consider Kim to be a member of the Pornhub family and want to do all that we can to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice," he added.

Pornhub currently hosts Kardashian's infamous sex tape that was leaked in 2007.
They are also seeking a judgment declaring the district's policy is unconstitutional and discriminates against them, as well as damages. (Photo: AP)

New York: Three transgender high school students have launched legal action on Thursday after their school reversed a policy allowing them for years to use school bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, the plaintiffs' lawyer said of the unprecedented case.

The civil complaint against a Pennsylvania school district was filed in a federal court amid mounting scrutiny over transgender rights in the United States with concerns about access to public bathrooms, healthcare and even the ballot box making headlines.

"This is the first lawsuit in which we have students that had an affirming policy, where without incidents, for years, were able to use the restrooms that matches their gender identity, and just as they started their senior year, the school board reversed [that practice]," plaintiffs' attorney Omar Gonzalez-Pagan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

One of the plaintiffs, 18-year-old Juliet Evancho, said the new school rule made her feel "exposed and vulnerable."

"I even thought about dropping out, or trying to finish school from home," she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, co-plaintiff Elissa Ridenour, also 18, said the rule had made her "feel constantly under surveillance".

"For years, I have used the girls' restroom without incident," she said in a separate statement. "I'm a girl. But I'm expected to use the boys' room?"

Evancho, Ridenour and a 17-year-old transgender boy, referred to only as A.S., are seeking an injunction that would force the school district to grant them access to bathrooms matching their gender identity.

They are also seeking a judgment declaring the district's policy is unconstitutional and discriminates against them, as well as damages.

The Pine-Richland School District decided in September that students should use "facilities that correspond to their biological sex or unisex facilities," according to its website.

Students were told they would be disciplined if they disobeyed the rule, the complaint said.

Rachel A. Hathhorn, a spokeswoman for the Pine-Richland School District said by email that "the district does not discuss or comment on litigation".

The lawsuit was filed by attorneys with Lambda Legal, a New York City-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group.

Legal battles are being fought across the country as school officials and lawmakers debate whether transgender people should be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity instead of their birth sex.

North Carolina earlier this year enacted a measure mandating that multiple-use bathrooms and locker rooms be restricted according to a person's biological gender. The law has prompted protests and boycotts.

Jillian Weiss, executive director of the New York City-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, said the cases were "the inevitable backlash that transgender people are facing as their civil rights become increasingly recognized".

Late last month, in a move hailed as an advance of transgender rights, California passed a law that will open single-stall public restrooms to anyone regardless of gender.
The girl was found in a devastating state and was immediately rushed to the hospital. (Representational Image)

Astana: A six-year-old girl, who was kidnapped and sexually abused by a paedophile in Kazakhstan, is fighting for life after being left in a brain-dead state in coma.

According to a report in the Mirror, medical experts believe that the victim might have suffered a brain stroke after she was left to die on the beach in scorching heat.

The victim went missing when she was out shopping with her grandmother in the city of Aktau in western Kazakhstan.

In her statement to the police, the victim's grandmother said that while she was busy shopping at a grocery store, her granddaughter was running in and out. After some time, she disappeared.

The victim's family spent hours searching for her everywhere. Later, the girl was found in a devastating state and was immediately rushed to the hospital. Doctors fear that her condition might get worse as she is said to be in stage 3 coma.

Medics also said that the victim was severely bleeding when she was brought to the hospital. Specialised doctors from India have been contacted for assisting in the case, said a staff at the hospital.

The victim's grandmother said, "Currently we are waiting for the doctors from India. Soon we will know if they will come or not."

Police have arrested a 32-year-old in connection with the case.
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to visit India early next month, according to highly-placed sources involved in finalising the details of her first trip to the country as premier.

May's visit is likely to coincide with the India-UK Tech Summit in New Delhi between November 7 and 9, they said.

The summit is being organised by India's Department of Science and Technology and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and has Jo Johnson, UK minister for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation, as a confirmed keynote speaker from the UK end.

The bilateral summit was among the major announcements made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK in November 2015.

The India-UK partnership has since moved into a new era, with Britain voting to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum in June and leading to the resignation of then Prime Minister David Cameron.

May, 60, as the post-Brexit leader of the country, has often mentioned India among the priority countries for a free trade agreement to boost the UK's ties outside the EU.

"Countries including Canada, China,India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea have already told us they would welcome talks on future free trade agreements. And we have already agreed to start scoping discussions on trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand," she told the Conservative party conference earlier this week.

Therefore, trade is expected to feature high on the agenda during her India visit, when she is expected to hold bilateral talks with Modi and other senior ministers.
Moscow: Russia's parliament ratified a treaty with Syria on Friday that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country, a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The development comes against the backdrop of a Syrian army onslaught on the rebel-held eastern part of the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, which has been backed by Russian warplanes. Since the collapse of a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire last month, ties between Moscow and Washington have grown even more strained.

The two powers support opposite sides in the war - Moscow has been a staunch Assad ally and the United States backs Syrian rebels trying to oust him.

Russia's air campaign in Syria, launched a year ago, has reversed the tide of war and helped Assad's forces regain some key ground. Moscow says the goal of its military operation is to assist the Syrian army in the fight against terrorism. It rejects accusations of targeting civilians.

Lawmakers in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously to approve the deal, which allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, for as long as it wants. The deal was signed in August 2015 in Damascus, a month before the Russian air campaign began.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus, the only such outpost outside the former Soviet Union. That base is not covered by the treaty, and some lawmakers say it could be the subject of a separate deal.

On Thursday, the Russian military warned the U.S. against striking the Syrian army, stressing that Russian air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said any U.S. strikes on areas controlled by Assad's government could jeopardize the lives of Russian servicemen, and noted that the range of Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems would "surprise" any country operating its aircraft over Syria.

During Friday's debates, Russian lawmakers said that Russia should demonstrate its military muscle to deter the U.S.

Leonid Kalashnikov, a Communist lawmaker, said Moscow must "seriously defend our interests in Syria" in a resolute response to what he and other lawmakers described as Washington's anti-Russian policies.

Meanwhile, Syrian rebels said they had captured several Shiite pro-government fighters in Aleppo after repelling a government offensive on a southern neighborhood of the contested city.

Social media postings showed rebels from the Fastiqum faction harshly interrogating three captives, who spoke with Iraqi accents.

The Fastiqum and Nour el-Dine el-Zinki groups said the prisoners were fighters from the Iraqi Nujaba Shiite militia, which has recently sent some 4,000 fighters to Syria to fight alongside government forces in Aleppo, a militia official told The Associated Press earlier this week. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the militia's strategy.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through activists on the ground, reported that five presumed Iraqi militiamen had been taken prisoner by the rebels.

Syria's government depends on an array of foreign militias, elite Iranian fighters, as well as Russian military intelligence and air power to maintain its fight against the rebels, who also rely on foreign fighters.

The Observatory said clashes were underway Friday in Aleppo's southern Sheikh Saeed neighborhood, as well as along other fronts inside the city.

On Thursday, U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura urged fighters from the Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front, to evacuate to another part of the country to save the ancient city from complete destruction.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that Moscow backs the de Mistura's call, saying that Moscow is ready to ask Damascus to allow the militants to leave the city with their weapons "for the sake of saving Aleppo."

He added, however, that policies need to be developed to deal with other militants who choose to stay in Aleppo.

A Fatah al-Sham official in northern Syria told the AP via text message that the group's gunmen will not leave Aleppo, adding that they intend to stay to defend eastern parts of the city.

He said the group's fighters would only leave if the Shiite militias withdrew from Aleppo.
Moscow: The Russian military on Thursday strongly warned the United States against striking the Syrian army, noting that its air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack. The statement underlined high tensions between Moscow and Washington after the collapse of a US-Russia-brokered Syria truce and the Syrian armys offensive on Aleppo backed by Russian warplanes.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said any US strikes on areas controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assads government could jeopardize the lives of Russian servicemen.

He said Moscow was worried by media reports alleging that Washington was pondering the possibility of striking Syrian army positions.

I would recommend our colleagues in Washington to carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans, Konashenkov said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Were looking at the full range of options here and those comments notwithstanding, we still have a responsibility as a government to consider all those options.

I dont find them (comments like the warning) helpful to moving forward, to reach some sort of diplomatic solution here. But the Russians should speak for themselves and why theyre saying that kind of thing, he said.

Russia responded with dismay to the US-led coalitions air raid on Syrian army positions near Deir el-Zour that killed 60 Syrian soldiers on Sept. 17, rejecting the US explanation that the attack was a mistake.

Konashenkov said we have taken all the necessary measures to prevent any such `mistakes with regard to Russian servicemen and military facilities in Syria.

He said the range of Russias S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems deployed to Syria would be a surprise to any country operating its aircraft over the country. Konashenkov added that the Syrian army also has various Soviet- and Russian-built air defense missile systems, which have undergone modernization over the past year.

Since Russia has launched its air campaign in Syria in support of Assads forces a year ago, the Russia and the US militaries have maintained contacts to prevent any midair incidents between Russian warplanes and the aircraft from the US-led coalition in the skies over Syria.

Konashenkov warned, however, that the Russian military wont have time to use the hotline if it sees missiles on their way to targets in Syria.

It must be understood that Russian air defense missile crews will unlikely have time to clarify via the hotline the exact flight program of the missiles or the ownership of their carriers, he added.

In an apparent hint at the US stealth aircraft, he added that any dilettante illusions about stealth planes could collide with disappointing realities.

The Russian military announced Tuesday that a battery of the S-300 air defense missile systems had been sent to Syria to protect a Russian facility in the Syrian port of Tartus and Russian navy ships off the Mediterranean coast.

Tartus is the only naval supply facility Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.

The deployment has added more punch to the Russian military force in Syria, which already includes long-range S-400 missile defense systems and an array of other surface-to-air missiles at the Hemeimeem air base in Syrias coastal province of Latakia.

Russia has conducted an air campaign in support of Assad since September 30, 2015, saving his army from imminent defeat and helping it win key ground.
After the attack, he also apologised to this girlfriend, the court heard. (Photo: AFP)

Cardiff, Wales: UK police have arrested a 24-year-old man after he threatened to 'stamp the baby' out of his pregnant girlfriend, whom he accused of sleeping with his uncle.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the accused identified as Joshua Thomas, was sentenced to 16 months in prison. He was convicted for threatening his girlfriend.

While the case was under trial at the Cardiff Crown Court, prosecutors argued that the accused had once held a knife to his girlfriend's throat and had threatened to kill her.

The court was told that the accused feared that his girlfriend was attracted towards his uncle and that she had been sleeping with him.

"He began to press his clenched fists on her chest area. She told him it was painful and expressed concern for their unborn baby," said prosecutor adding that the accused had warned that he would "stamp the baby" out of her.

After the attack, he also apologised to this girlfriend, the court heard.

However, a few days later the accused's girlfriend had a miscarrriage. It has not yet been established if the accused was involved in the death of the baby.

Sentencing him to 16 months in prison, the judge said to him, "Your behaviour is explained in psychological and pre-sentence reports as largely because of you abusing substances and your life experiences havent assisted but theres a pattern here of violence and controlling behaviour towards partners as well as violence towards others."
Nottingham, England: A UK man has been arrested on the charges of murder after his two-month-old son died of extensive brain damage caused due to physical assault.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the toddler was found in a lifeless state in his father's bedroom at their home in Nottingham.

The incident came to light when a neighbour heard a 'bang' from the accused's home, minutes before an ambulance was called. The baby was immediately rushed to the hospital.

While operating on the baby, doctors managed to re-start his heart after about 26 minutes and the baby was kept on life support system. However, as soon as the life support was switched off, the boy succumbed to his injuries.

Autopsy reports of the toddler suggested that he was otherwise normal, but had been subjected to years of physical abuse, starting since he was a few weeks old. His medical history showed a pattern of inflicted injury, broken bones and a history of brain bleeding.

While the case was under trial in the Nottigham Crown Court, the judge observed that the toddler's father had been assaulting him shortly after he was born. However, his mother was unaware of the attacks.

The case is currently under trial and the accused would be sentenced at the next hearing.
Islamabad: All communication channels with the Indian military including the hotline are open, the Pakistan army has said, even as it accused India of escalating tensions.

"The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false," Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said.

"What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements" by the Indian side, Bajwa told China's state-run Xinhua news agency yesterday.

At least two Pakistani soldiers have been killed while nine injured in the Indian firing over the past week, the general said.

However, the army spokesman emphasised on the importance of resolving the current tension through dialogue.

He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the "start of the cross LoC firing".

"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitors the situation and reports to its headquarters.

India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, with the Army saying it had inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

The strike came just days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.
Pakistan had rejected as false and concocted the Indian claim of surgical strikes within Pakistani territory following the Uri terror attack . (Photo: AP)

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday claimed that a leading Indian channel aired a forged interview of a Pakistani official in which he allegedly confirmed Indias surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the border. Pakistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleged that CNN News18 has aired a forged interview of police officer of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Ghulam Akbar, in which he has allegedly confirmed Indias surgical strikes.

The reporter impersonated himself as Inspector General Police Punjab, the Ministry said in a statement. Akbar has categorically denied having spoken over phone and that it is not even his voice on the recording run by the said Indian TV channel, the Ministry said.

Pakistan strongly denounces Indian medias despicable act of fraud of airing of a fake programme aimed at twisting and fabricating stories for domestic political consumption, the Ministry said.

This is a clear indication that certain quarters in India are desperate to prove Indian false claim of surgical strike by hook or by crook, it said.

We hope that CNN would take up the matter very seriously with the affiliate Indian TV channel and initiate action against the channel, as not doing so will be regarded as directly owning to this unethical and manipulative act. We reserve the right to take necessary legal action against the said TV channel, the statement said.

The news report of CNN News18 said that Akbar has admitted that surgical strikes did happen. Pakistan had rejected as false and concocted the Indian claim of surgical strikes within Pakistani territory following the Uri terror attack that killed 19 Indian soldiers last month.
Islamabad: Pakistan Parliament on Friday unanimously passed a resolution rejecting India's assertion that Kashmir is an integral part even as it called for a result-oriented dialogue with New Delhi for resolution of all outstanding issues including Kashmir.

The joint session of the Pakistan Parliament, which has been discussing the current tension with India since Wednesday, unanimously passed the resolution, urging the international community to carry out an independent investigation into "gross human rights violations" in Kashmir.

The resolution moved by Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz called upon the world community to play its role in stopping "Indian brutalities" in Kashmir.

The resolution also expressed concerns over the detention of Hurriyat leaders and human rights activists and urged the Indian government to release them.

"It strongly deplored the draconian laws which have created an environment of impunity" for Indian forces, Radio Pakistan reported.

The resolution rejected India's assertion that Kashmir is an integral part of India, recalling it is a "disputed territory" on the agenda of the United Nations.

It urged the Indian government to immediately stop "terrorising" the people and fulfill its commitment regarding international and humanitarian laws.

The resolution condemned the repeated "ceasefire violations" by India.

It also reiterated Pakistan's desire for a "result-oriented dialogue" with India for resolution of all outstanding disputes including that of Jammu and Kashmir.

At the start of the session on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by "driving tanks on farmlands".

He had also needled India again by calling Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani the "valiant son of Kashmir".
Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday dismissed as irrelevant a call by the chief minister of the Tamil-majority northern province for a federal solution to issues of the ethnic minority community.

C V Wigneswaran two weeks ago had demanded a federal solution to meet the political aspirations of the Tamil minority.

The opposition in parliament demanded government response to Wigneswaran's demand.

"Anyone is free to air their views but the Constitution making process is the work of parliament," Wickremesinghe said, terming Wigneswaran's demands irrelevant.

He said the all party steering committee report would be the basis for constitutional change.

"All of us in this House can express our views to the committee," Wickremesinghe said.

Wigneswaran during his demonstration in Jaffna had said the Sinhalese fear federalism through ignorance and a federal solution would not mean a division of the island into ethnicity-based provinces.

Wigneswaran has been accused of trying to fan communal flames and has also come under fire for organising the demonstration from his own Tamil National Alliance party.
The incident came to light when the boy managed to escape from his abductors and inform his family about the crime. (Representational Image)

Kasur: In a horrifying incident, a 17-year-old Christian teenager was abducted and gangraped by a gang of Muslim men in Pakistan, while her brother was forced to hear her screams.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the gang tried to force the teen and her brother to convert to Islam. On refusing to do so, the brother-sister duo was kidnapped from their home and assaulted. The incident took place in Pakistan's Kasur district.

The British Pakistani Christian Association claimed that the gang stormed into the victims' home with sticks, guns and metal poles. The charitable organisation said that the accused first threatened the victims to convert to Islam or die. However, the victims said that they will stay resolute to Christianity.

The men tied up the victims, blindfolded them and took them to an unknown location. They kept the boy in a room and tortured him. They then took his sister to another room where they gangraped her, forcing her brother to hear her screams, the charity said.

The incident came to light when the boy managed to escape and informed his family about the crime. However, his sister could not be traced.

The charity also claimed that the local police refused to file a case or investigate the crime even as the victim and his family remains traumatised.
Islamabad: Taking a dig at government for failing to take action against terror groups in Pakistan, a Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker has called for action against Jamaat ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

According to a report, Rana Muhammad Afzal questioned the government over its inability to act against Saeed. "Which egg is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him," asked Afzal during a parliamentary meeting on foreign affairs.

Afzal, who was a member of the panel, said, "We have not been able to get rid of Hafiz Saeed so far". He also said that such incidents "led the world to start isolating us and trying to declare (Pakistan) a terrorist state".

In what could be seen as an unprecedented warning for the Pakistan military, the Nawaz Sharif-led government had on Thursday informed the former about growing international isolation of Islamabad and has sought consensus on several key actions by the state.

It is reported that the message that has been sent by the government is that military-led intelligence agencies are not to interfere if law enforcement acts against militant groups that are banned or until now considered off-limits for civilian action.

Sharif had also directed that fresh attempts should be made to conclude the investigation in the Pathankot terror attack and restart the stalled 26/11 Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.

Recently, in a move to clamp down on terror financing in the country, Pakistan froze bank accounts of individuals listed on the Fourth Schedule of Pakistans Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. However, the accounts of Hafiz Saeed were excluded from the list.

Saeed, who masterminded the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, has been blamed for most of the terror attacks in India, including the recent attack on Indian Army base in Uri which killed 19 soldiers. Saeed had envisioned that Kashmir would be part of Pakistan, and said that the world will witness India splitting into pieces one day.

He had also warned India of a "befitting response" for its military operation in PoK. "We will tell you what a real surgical strike is and you will get the deserved response soon," Saeed said in a public address in Faisalabad.

Saeed had also expressed anger over visa denial to a group of Pakistani doctors who wanted to visit Kashmir.
A labourer was electrocuted and six others were injured when a trolley they were standing on touched a high-tension wire in Outer Delhis Alipur area on Thursday afternoon.





The labourers were installing a temporary shed (pandal) at a wedding venue by standing on a trolley when accidently it touched an overhead high tension wire causing a strong electric shock.



The incident happened around 3 pm when the workers were installing a pandal at the wedding venue, said an eyewitness.



As the labourers were dragging the trolley on the ground, it suddenly touched an overhead high-tension wire and the current pulled them towards it. All got glued to the metal trolley due to the electric shock, the eyewitness said.



Other labourers standing there then picked ropes lying on the ground and threw it towards the trolley. They then pulled it away from the wire.



All the seven labourers  Danish, 24, Majeed, 40, Imran, 19, Anwar, 17, Anas, 14, Usman, 28, and Mustakim, 26, were taken in two vehicles arranged by the owner of the wedding venue to Narelas Raja Harish Chandra Hospital.



Danish was declared brought dead by the doctors, and the rest were referred to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. Out of the injured two have sustained 70% burn injuries, and their condition is said to be serious but stable.



All the injured and the deceased hail from Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. Police have registered a case. Police are questioning the owner of the Palm Green farm house where the wedding venue was located. Police have sent the body for postmortem.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhis supporters waited and jostled for hours near Jantar Mantar at Delhis Sansad Marg to get a close look of the leader who concluded a 2,500-km long padyatra to highlight the plight of farmers on Thursday.





We have come from UPs Hathras village to listen to our leader. We are very disappointed with the present government, said 60-year-old wheat farmer Ishwar Kumar Singh.



The government only care about seths and sahukars. They have no time for us. They werent voted to ignore us, complained Om Prakash, a farmer from Jodhpur, Rajasthan.



The UPA government waived-off our debts and helped my ailing family, said Asha Rani, a resident of Aligarh.



Gandhi was supposed to arrive at the venue at 4.30pm. That, however, did not dampen the mood of the farmers and young Congress volunteers who whole-heartedly heaped slogans of praise on the Congress Vice President and many local leaders present there. Members of Congress affiliates NSUI, Indian National Trade Union Congress and Indian Youth Congress, among others, attended the rally.



Amidst the crowd, however, there was a small section of people, who came simply to supplement their incomes. One such person was Sakal Dev Yadav, who has been selling candy and peanuts in Delhi for the last 12 years. When asked about the rally, he said, I dont have time to think about what these political parties and leaders say. I earn around Rs 200-250 a day. I have to pay my rent, take care of my family of five and ensure my children dont drop out of school. Do these leaders care?



These leaders are always late and that makes people restless. In such cases, people are willing to pay handsomely for a good cup of tea, said 39-year-old tea seller Vinay Kumar.



Papad-seller Raju told Deccan Herald, We are poor people with no political affiliations. We come to such political rallies and gatherings with the hope of supplementing our income. The bigger the speaker, the higher our income is. He was quick to add, however, that he earns more during Congress rallies.



The Congress vice president finally reached the venue at 6.20pm. He shared the dais with many senior party members including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, MPs Raj Babbar and Kamal Nath, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken.



In his 10-minute speech, the Amethi MP accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing with the feelings of poor farmers and misleading the youth. He promised Rs 15 lakh, fair MSPs and jobs. But he hasnt fulfilled those promises.



All the Centre has managed to achieve to make Indians fight each other and divide the nation, he added.



The Congress vice president also praised the Army and accused the Centre of politicising the issue of surgical strikes. Its wrong. The Prime Minister shouldnt play politics with the lives of those who gave their life to protect the nation, he said and eventually, concluded his speech.



Ah! I wish his speech were longer. My stock of tea wouldve been completely exhausted, said a dejected Vinay Kumar.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has directed the Delhi Police to ensure that CCTV cameras installed in markets and busy areas are made fully functional ahead of the festival season.





The direction was issued in a security review meeting with top police officials on Thursday. In the wake of the Uri attack and intelligence inputs of a terror threat to the capital, Delhi Police has ramped up security at places that see high footfall.



During the meeting, the LG expressed concern over inadequate training of security personnel of private agencies manning malls, cinemas and theatres. He directed Delhi Police to be extra careful in all such places.



Jung also ordered deployment of sufficient numbers of police personnel deployed for the safety of the citizens during Ramleela, Navratra and Moharram and other festivals and wherever there is large congregation of people.



He also instructed that police personnel to ensure safety and security of sensitive installations in the capital. The security review meeting came close to another meeting chaired by Jung to review women security last week.



Jung told police to show concrete results on checking crimes against women by adopting a policy of zero tolerance against tormentors of women. He advised police to activate local committees and engage with local NGOs working with women in their areas. He also instructed that patrolling be intensified, particularly in areas, which are more vulnerable and prone to such incidents.



Jung, who controls Delhi Police, held the review in the backdrop of the AAP government and Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal accusing him of failure to improve law and order and making women feel safe.



The attacks on Jung and Delhi Police got louder after the gruesome stabbing of a woman by her spurned lover in Burari on September 20. The incident revived memories of a similar attack on a woman in Anand Parbat in 2015 .
The AAP government's mohalla clinic project has hit a roadblock in north Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila area after the municipality allegedly threatened to register an FIR against officials if they continued the construction work.





Aam Aadmi Party MLA Alka Lamba had inaugurated the construction work of a mohalla clinic at Majnu Ka Tila on Wednesday.



The construction work has been stopped today as the municipal corporation said that the work was started without informing them and threatened to lodge an FIR against government officials, Lamba told Deccan Herald on Thursday.



The three municipal corporations in Delhi are dominated by AAP rival Bharatiya Janata Party.



People of all ages including young and the elderly participated in the inauguration of the construction work of the clinic yesterday, thinking they will get medical facilities in the neighbourhood. But now it seems they will be deprived of such healthcare facilities, Lamba said.



The North Delhi Municipal Corporation said that the land where the mohalla clinic was being constructed belongs to the civic agency.



The city government's Public Works Department (PWD) is only the 'land maintaining agency'. It cannot carry out construction work on the land," said a senior North Corporation official.



We have intimated the government earlier also to stop illegally occupying public land, he added. The AAP lawmaker said the government is not challenging the corporation's claim to the land.



But at least the corporation can stop politicising the issue and let the mohalla clinic come up at Majnu Ka Tila, which will help in providing better healthcare facilities to the locals, Lamba said.



The issue of encroachment of public land was raised at the Standing Committee meeting of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The Municipal Commissioner said Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has sought from the corporation the list of areas where the public land has been `encroached.



During the recently held one-day Delhi Assembly session, Health Minister Satyendar Jain had blamed the municipal corporations for politicising the issue of mohalla clinics and stalling their construction work.
Thirty-three per cent of Delhi MLAs barely participated in any discussion in the state Assembly last year, said a report card on legislators released here by an NGO.





The NGO assessed the performance of 58 legislators  out of 67 of the AAP and three of the Opposition BJP  and found that 33 per cent of these have barely participated in discussion, according to the report. Sixteen MLAs have raised only one to five issues.



Three AAP MLAs in the 70-member Assembly have not asked even a single question. According to the report released by Praja Foundation, Nangloi Jat MLA Raghuvinder Shokeen, Deoli MLA Prakash and Seelampur MLA Mohammad Ishraque did not raise a single question in the 26 meetings of the Delhi Assembly from February 24, 2015 to December 22, 2015.



The NGO has issued the report card of 58 MLAs of Delhi based on two aspects. Sixty per cent weightage was given to the relevant issues raised by them in the Assembly. The remaining 40 per cent is given to the personal interviews with the people of the particular MLAs constituency.



A sample size of 29950 households from various constituencies has been taken into account for this purpose. The main source of information for the organisation was RTIs. A perception survey was also conducted along with the Hansa Research.



Just 12 questions



The ruling party MLAs asked just 12 questions at an average, much lesser in comparison to 69 issues raised by ruling coalition (BJP and Shiv Sena) MLAs from Mumbai in the Maharashtra Assembly. In Delhi, Krishna Nagar MLA S K Bagga has topped the list of 58 Delhi legislators, the report said.



All the three bottom rankers are from the ruling party AAP with the overall party score for AAP being 58.44 per cent and BJP scoring 66.04 per cent, said Nitai Mehta, founding trustee of Praja Foundation.



Two of the three BJP MLAs in the Delhi Assembly have featured in the top five MLAs. BJPs MLA Jagdish Pradhan from Mustafabad ranked second with 71.87 per cent and Om Prakash Sharma from Karkardooma has been ranked fourth with 70.75 per cent.



AAPs Nitin Tyagi secured the second position according to the results based on the legislators performance in the Assembly by raising questions and their image among the voters.



Meanwhile, Mumbai MLAs have outperformed the Delhi MLAs by raising 140 issues in comparison to 16 by the MLAs in the capital. According to the report, Delhis first report card is disappointing with 58.83 per cent in contrary to Mumbais average score being 65.11 per cent.



Eleven MLAs including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Manish Sisodia, Transport Minister Gopal Rai, the then Deputy Speaker Bandana Kumari, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel , controversial minister Sandeep Kumar, now sacked, and Health Minister Satyendar Jain were excluded from the study. Another member, who is Delhi Cantonment, has also been left out.



They have not been involved because being speaker, deputy speakers, chief ministers and ministers in the state assembly, they cannot ask question. An MLA, who is a part of a cantonment board, has also been excluded from the survey.



The organisation has listed three badges namely Mr Popular which is given after judging the perception of services extended to the public and their accessibility. A badge of Mr Committed is given to an MLA who had raised maximum quality issues in the Assembly during this period.



An MLA would be awarded with the Mr Clean badge based on his criminal record. A negative marking by five points was made if an FIR was filed against the MLA and another five for a charge sheet filed against him.
A piece of an aircraft wing found on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Malaysian and Australian officials said today.





The piece of wing flap was found in May and subsequently analysed by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane in a remote stretch of ocean off Australia's west coast.



Investigators used a part number found on the debris to link it to the missing Boeing 777, the agency said in a statement. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai also confirmed the identification.



Several pieces of wreckage from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014.



So far, none of the debris has helped narrow down the precise location of the main underwater wreckage. Investigators need to find that in order to locate the flight data recorders that could help explain why the plane veered so far off-course.



Search crews are expected to finish their sweep of the 120,000 square kilometre (46,000 square mile) search zone in the Indian Ocean by December.


Facing flak for his 'dalali' remarks on surgical strikes, Rahul Gandhi today said he has "unequivocally" supported the military action but is against the use of army in political posters and propaganda by BJP.





"I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country," the Congress vice president said in a series of tweets.



He had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices.



"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Rahul had said.



His 'dalali' barb has drawn strong reaction from BJP which called it "a new low in Indian politics". Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and other parties have also criticised the Congress leader's remarks.



Meanwhile, Congress leader Digvijay Singh lashed out at the BJP leadership, alleging that they were touting the surgical strike on terror launchpads along the LoC as if they did it themselves instead of the army men.



"Modi Amit Shah Parrikar and BJP Leaders are going around as if they have done the Surgical Strike! Give our Army & our Braveheart the Credit," Singh tweeted.



Rahul had made the remarks yesterday while addressing a rally here, marking the culmination of his month-long 'Deoria to Delhi kisan yatra' in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
Ghana's government said today that it wants to relocate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi off of a university campus after professors launched a petition claiming he was "racist".





A statue of Gandhi was unveiled in June at the University of Ghana campus in Accra by President Pranab Mukherjee as a symbol of close ties between the two countries.



But in September a group of professors launched a petition calling for the removal of the statue because they say Gandhi was "racist" and that the university should put African heroes and heroines "first and foremost."



"It is better to stand up for our dignity than to kowtow to the wishes of a burgeoning Eurasian super-power," said the petition, which quotes passages written by Ghandi that say Indians are "infinitely superior" to black Africans.



Ghana's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that it has followed the controversy with "deep concern" and that it wants to relocate the statue. "The government would therefore want to relocate the statue from the University of Ghana to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy," it said.



"While acknowledging that human as he was, Mahatma Gandhi may have had his flaws, we must remember that people evolve," said the ministry, emphasising that Ghana and India have "championed the struggle for the liberation of oppressed peoples around the world."



Statues on university campuses have recently sparked charged debates in Africa as students wrestle with the legacy of colonialism and history of racism on the continent.



Last year, students in South Africa successfully campaigned for the removal of a statue of Cecil Rhodes, a notoriously racist mining magnate who died in 1902, from the University of Cape Town campus.
Donald Trump no longer wants to impose a total ban on Muslims entering the US, his running mate Mike Pence has said, indicating a disavow of one of its most provocative policy proposals by the Republican presidential nominee.





"It is not Donald Trump's position now," Pence told CNN in an interview yesterday when asked about Trump's stated policy of banning Muslims from entering the country.



"Donald Trump has... talked about putting the security of the American people first... And he's made it clear our position is, we're going to suspend immigration from countries compromised by terrorism," Pence argued.



Pence said Trump has underscored on the need to suspend immigration from countries and territories that have been compromised by terrorism.



"I understand why you want to play the oldies, you want to talk about the where the campaign began or what statements were made, but the American people are focused on the policies that Donald Trump is articulating every day across this country," 57-year-old Pence said.



Later at an election rally in Pennsylvania, Pence slammed the Obama Administration for making alleged cash payment to Iranians as ransom, which has been denied by the US Government.



"This administration and Hillary Clinton, with Clinton's assent, signed an agreement that essentially puts off USD 150 billion to the Iranian, the radical Mullahs in Iran. And all we did was delay their nuclear ambitions.



"The worst of it to me was the very day that the Iranians released four American hostages from captivity in Tehran, we delivered USD 400 million in cash on a pallet as ransom," he said.



"Let me make you a promise. When Donald Trump becomes president of the US, we won't be paying ransom to terrorists. They will be paying the price if they detain American citizens or threaten our people," he added.



The US, he said, can't have four more years of Obama Administration. "We cannot have four more years apologising to our enemies and abandoning our friends. For America to be safe, for the world to be safe, America needs to be strong. And when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, we will lead with American strength on the world stage once again," he said.



Meanwhile, the 70-year-old reality TV star denied allegations that a town hall, held yesterday, was not his preparation for the next debate with his Democratic rival Clinton.



"This isn't practice, this has nothing to do with Sunday," Trump said in an apparent response to the criticism against him.



Trump's performance in the first debate against Clinton was widely panned. "We're just here because we just wanted to be here. And I want to be with the American people, I want to be with the people from New Hampshire, and she (Clinton) wants to rest," he lashed out at Clinton.



The next debate in town hall-style presidential format is scheduled to held on Sunday.
BJP today stepped up attack on Rahul Gandhi for his 'dalali' barb on cross-LoC surgical strike, alleging that he has "crossed all limits" with his remarks which "undermine" the armed forces and are an "insult" to their bravery.





Urging parties not to politicise the issue of surgical strikes, BJP President Amit Shah also lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was the first among the "anti-India" leaders to raise questions on the army's action.



Terming as "very unfortunate" the Congress leader's use of word "dalali for soldiers", he alleged it depicted the Congress' mindset as as the word is synonymous with the opposition party whose leaders were "embroiled in several scams worth thousands of crores of rupees".



"With his 'khoon ki dalali' remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. I feel his use of words are an insult to the bravery of the armed forces...I agree that the word 'dalali' is part of their mindset as several scams took place during their rule," he said.



Shah said "Gandhi's remarks depict the Congress party's mindset. There is a flaw in the thought process of the Congress leadership. I strongly criticise his remarks. The word dalali should be restricted to Congress party only."



He said the remarks have "angered" the people and have "demoralised" the forces.



In a jibe at the Congress vice-president, Shah said he should concentrate on the "potato factory" for farmers instead as his understanding of the problems of agriculture sector is limited to that only.



Shah was referring to Gandhi's remarks made during his Delhi to Deoria march in Uttar Pradesh.



Responding to a poser on some BJP leaders creating a hype on the strikes, he said some workers were only exhibiting their excitement and questioned why there is was no such excitement in the Congress leadership.



The BJP chief urged all parties not to politicise the issue but said the BJP would take the issue to the masses to build up the confidence of the armed forces.



"We have not claimed the surgical strikes. The army did it. Army and not the politicians should claim credit," he said.



He said by questioning the strikes, Congress is associating itself with the dejection in Pakistan. He asked it to stand with the army and the enthused people of India instead.



Gandhi had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and said that he was selling off their sacrifices for political benefit.



"Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong}," Gandhi had said.



Targeting Kejriwal, Shah said he has made headlines in Pakistan and supported the neighbouring country which has denied that any strikes took place in its territory.



"We do not believe in the questions raised by some parties, but we believe in the army's actions... it (remarks on strikes) is a very condemnable act and all political parties should desist from doing so," he said.
Supreme Court today extended the stay granted by Bombay High Court to facilitate an appeal against its decision to lift the ban on entry of women near the sanctum sanctorum of the famous Haji Ali Dargah, till October 17 when it will hear the matter.





However, during the brief hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar expressed hope that the Haji Ali Dargah Trust, which has challenged the high court judgement, "will take a stand which is progressive".



The court adjourned the matter at the request of senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam who appeared for the Trust.



"The order of the High Court granting stay on operation of its judgement to continue till the next date of hearing on October 17," the bench said.



Subramaniam assured the bench that he was on a "progressive mission" and said all holy books and scriptures promoted equality and nothing which is regressive in character should be suggested.



The bench also remarked that "if you are not allowing both men and women to go beyond a point, there is no problem. But if you are allowing some to go beyond a point while others are not, it is a problem."



The bench, which recorded that an identical issue has been raised and was pending before the Supreme Court relating to the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, said "the problem is not only among Muslims, but among the Hindus also".



The counsel, appearing for a women's group which has challenged the practice of the Trust not to allow women near the sanctum sanctorum, submitted that the position was different before 2011 than what it is today.



The Trust moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court order lifting the ban on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the renowned Muslim shrine in South Bombay.



The High Court on August 26 had held that the ban imposed by the Trust on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah, contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution and said women should be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum like men.



The High Court had allowed a PIL filed by two women Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz, from NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, challenging the ban on women's entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah from 2012.



It had granted a six-week stay on the order on a request by the Dargah Trust to enable it to appeal before the Supreme Court.



The high court had held that the Trust had no power to alter or modify the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or any group.



The High Court in its 56-page judgement had also noted that the "right to manage the Trust cannot override the right to practice religion itself".



It had said the trust has not been able to justify the ban legally or otherwise. Hence it cannot be said that the prohibition was an essential and integral part of Islam and whether taking away that part of the practice would result in a fundamental change in the character of the religion or belief.



It had also refused to accept the justification of the Trust that the ban was imposed for safety and security of women, in particular, to prevent sexual harassment at places of worship.



The Trust had claimed that the ban was in keeping with an order of the Supreme Court wherein stringent directions have been issued to ensure that there is no sexual harassment to women at places of worship.



The court had noted that the aims, objectives and activities of the Haji Ali Dargah Trust were not governed by any custom or tradition and held that it was a public charitable trust and hence, open to people all over the world, irrespective of their caste, creed or gender.



The Maharashtra government had earlier told the court that women should be barred from entering the inner sanctorum of Haji Ali Dargah only if it is so enshrined in the Quran.


A complaint was today received by police of gun shots heard at a Naval base in Gujarat's Porbandar, but later it turned out to be a hoax after the security men conducted a thorough search in the entire area.





"We received a complaint this morning from one of the guards at the communication room of the Naval base which said that he had heard two-three gun shots being fired," Porbandar Superintendent of Police Tarunkumar Duggal told PTI.



"We carried out search operation in the entire area, in and around the Naval base, for about three hours," he said.



"However, after a thorough search operation, nothing was found. The alarm raised seems to be a hoax," Duggal further said.



He also denied that there were any reports of explosion at the Naval base.

The Porbandar city located on Gujarat coast is on a high alert following the surgical strikes recently carried out across the Line of Control by the Army.



The Indian Coast Guard, Navy and the Gujarat coastal police have increased vigil on the coast.



Security has been enhanced on the Gujarat coast, which have vital installations like ports, oil refineries and famous temples at Dwarka and Somnath, following inputs from intelligence agencies about possible infiltration bids by terrorists through the sea route, police had said yesterday.



The alert has been issued for coastal districts of Gujarat based on an input received from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) recently, they had said.



Gujarat, having 1,600 km-long coastline, shares border with Pakistan.



During the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, terrorists had hijacked a fishing trawler from the mid-sea in Gujarat to travel to Mumbai shores.


Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today visited the Apollo Hospital here to enquire about the condition of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who was hospitalised recently for fever and dehydration and said "she is improving and going to be alright."





In brief remarks after visiting the hospital, Rahul said, "I wanted to give my support and Congress president's support to the Chief Minister".



"The Chief Minister is improving and she is going to be alright," he said.



"I want to give maximum energy to Jayalalithaaji, so that she gets well soon," Rahul said while replying to a question, adding, he wishes for her speedy recovery.



The Congress vice president straight to the after arriving at the airport here and visited the unit where Jayalalithaa is being treated.



He was briefed by doctors about the treatment being given to the AIADMK supremo. State Congress chief Su Thirunavukkarasar accompanied him.



Rahul's visit to Chennai lasted barely a little over an hour and half. He arrived around 11.20 AM and boarded a flight to Delhi around 1 PM.



The Apollo hospital had said yesterday that the treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supporting therapy.



Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration.


All communication channels with the Indian military including the hotline are open, the Pakistan army has said, even as it accused India of escalating tensions.





"The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false," Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said.



"What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements" by the Indian side, Bajwa told China's state-run Xinhua news agency yesterday.



At least two Pakistani soldiers have been killed while nine injured in the Indian firing over the past week, the general said.



However, the army spokesman emphasised on the importance of resolving the current tension through dialogue.



He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the "start of the cross LoC firing".



"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitors the situation and reports to its headquarters.



India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, with the Army saying it had inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.



The strike came just days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.


Pakistan has said India cannot unilaterally revoke the Indus Water Treaty as it is binding on both states and there is no exit clause in it.





"The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is not time barred and was never intended to be time or event specific. It is binding on both India and Pakistan and has no exit provision," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.



Zakaria said that according the sub-provisions (3) and (4) of the Article XII of the IWT, the Treaty cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally.



"The international community should take notice of Indian claims that are indeed a violation of Indias obligations and commitments under the Treaty," he said yesterday, responding to reports that India may revoke the treaty amid heightened tensions between the two nations.



He said Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation and would respond accordingly.

To a question that China has blocked a tributary of Brahmaputra river in Tibet, the spokesman said that he was not aware of it.



"We have seen the media reports. You may like to approach the government of China to ascertain the details," he said.



Earlier, Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and several other leaders also said that India cannot revoke the treaty unilaterally.



Pakistan had also warned the unilateral revocation of the Indus treaty by India will be considered as an 'act of war'.


AIADMK today said the detailed medical bulletin about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has "put an end" to questions about the treatment being given to the hospitalised party supremo and expressed confidence that "she will return home soon".





Apollo Hospitals, where Jayalalithaa was admitted on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, has yesterday answered in detail all queries on her treatment regimen, Party spokesperson C R Saraswathi said.



People were eager to know about the treatment being provided to Jayalalithaa and the detailed statement answers it all, she said.



"Apollo Hospitals had clearly mentioned in the statement (yesterday) the kind of good treatment being given to Amma (Jayalalithaa) and the good care being taken by doctors from AIIMS and London. This has put an end to all the questions about the treatment being given to her," she told reporters.



Among others, a three-member medical team from Delhi's AIIMS and a British doctor Dr Richard John Beale had examined Jayalalithaa.



Saraswathi pointed out that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had also noted today that "Jayalalithaa is improving" and thanked him.



"Rahul Gandhi has also said that the Chief Minister is doing well and that she is recovering. That is the fact. Thanks to Rahulji," she said.



Saraswathi also said the Chief Minister should take rest and that "she will return home soon."



The Apollo hospital had yesterday said that the treatment regimen for Jayalalithaa includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supporting therapy.






India, the world's largest remittance recipient in 2015, may receive a remittance of USD 65.5 billion this year, a drop of 5 per cent, the World Bank has said in a new report citing weak economic growth in remittances-source countries and cyclic low oil prices.





"In 2016, remittance flows are expected to decline by 5 per cent in India and 3.5 per cent in Bangladesh, whereas they are expected to grow by 5.1 per cent in Pakistan and 1.6 per cent in Sri Lanka," the World Bank said in a latest report on remittances.



Despite the drop, India is likely to top the list of countries receiving remittance. The World Bank said in 2016, India is expected to receive a remittance of USD 65.5 billion, followed by China (USD 65.2 billion). Pakistan positioned at number five is estimated to receive USD 20.3 billion in 2016.



The World Bank said remittances to South Asia is expected to decline by 2.3 per cent in 2016, following a 1.6 per cent decline in 2015.



This is attributed mainly due to weak economic growth in remittances-source countries and cyclic low oil prices.



India retained its top spot in 2015, attracting about USD 69 billion in remittances, the World Bank had said.



Remittances from the GCC countries continued to decline due to lower oil prices and labour market 'nationalisation' policies in Saudi Arabia.



Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an alliance of six Middle Eastern countriesSaudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.



It said against a backdrop of tepid global growth, remittance flows to low and middle income countries (LMICs) seem to have entered a "new normal" of slow growth.



In 2016, remittance flows to LMICs are projected to reach USD 442 billion, marking an increase of 0.8 per cent over 2015.



The modest recovery in 2016 is largely driven by the increase in remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean on the back of a stronger economy in the US; by contrast remittance flows to all other developing regions either declined or recorded a deceleration in growth, the bank said.



The Bank said low oil prices continued to be a factor in reduced remittance flows from Russia and the GCC countries.



In addition, structural factors have also played a role in dampening remittances growth.

Anti-money laundering efforts have prompted banks to close down accounts of money transfer operators, diverting activity to informal channels, it added.



"Remittances continue to be an important component of the global economy, surpassing international aid. However this "new normal" of weak growth in remittances could present challenges for millions of families that rely heavily on these flows.



"This, in turn, can seriously impact the economies of many countries around the world bringing on a new set of challenges to economic growth," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director of the World Bank's Global Indicators Group.
New research suggesting that the planet might already be committed to vastly greater warming than previously thought is being dismissed as deeply flawed by prominent climate scientists.



A study published in one of the worlds top science journals, Nature, offers the most complete reconstruction to date of global sea-surface temperatures for the past two million yearsa valuable addition to the climate record, scientists say. But the conclusions the studys author drew from that researchthat even preventing any further increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could still leave the Earth doomed to a catastrophic temperature rise of up to seven degrees Celsius  isnt supported by the data, several top scientists said.



This is simply wrong, said Gavin Schmidt, chief of Nasas Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Jeffrey Severinghaus, a paleoclimatologist at Scripps Institution for Oceanography in San Diego, was equally vehement, arguing that the studys result isnt logical. Its based on a fundamental mistake, he said. The problematic conclusion doesnt flow from the main meat of the paper.



Two other scientists reached by National Geographic shared that blunt assessment. The studys author, a former postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, said she wasnt attempting to offer a detailed climate forecast. But she examined the pasts tight link between sea-surface temperature changes and natural releases of carbon dioxide (CO2) and tried to show what that might imply for the future. Her result: an alarming three to seven degree Celsius temperature rise by several thousand years from now, even if fossil fuel emissions were capped today.



We do find this relationship between temperature and greenhouse gases that is remarkably stable, and what the study is developing is the coupling factor between the two, said Carolyn Snyder, who now works on climate issues for the Environmental Protection Agency.



Other scientists said, however, that Snyder has drastically overstated what that relationship tells us about todays situation because of the way she extrapolates from past ice ages to the very different climate of the modern era.



The number she gets is huge, said Eric Steig, an earth sciences professor at the University of Washington. Shes making a statement about the future, but I dont find anything in the paper that explains why she thinks she can do that.



In reality, Nasas Schmidt said, if greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere stay the same as today, temperatures may rise an additional 0.5 degrees Celsius to one degree Celsius. Other studies suggest they could hit two degrees. But, Schmidt said, no credible evidence suggests they could rise seven degrees and nothing in the study changes that.



For decades scientists have used ocean sediment cores to reconstruct past sea-surface temperatures at particular times and locations. Snyder catalogued and organised 20,000 such reconstructions from 59 sediment cores. Then she went through the painstaking process of weighting them to build a time line of global average surface temperatures.



Previous research had only organised these temperature records into short snippets of history. Snyders critics applauded her for creating the first temperature time line that spans the globe and extends back two million years.



Thats great, said Jeremy Shakun, a geologist and climate scientist at Boston College. It seems like an absolute must-do kind of study. It had to be done.



During the past two million years, Earth has cycled in and out of prolonged ice ages; the most recent one ended 11,000 years ago. Snyders new time line reveals that temperatures gradually cooled to a nadir around 1.2 million years ago. She also found that the phenomenon known as polar amplificationthe tendency of temperatures at the poles to fluctuate more strongly than the global averagehas held steady for the past 800,000 years.



Today the whole planet is warming, but the Arctic is warming much faster than average. Scientists have no doubt that the current warming is caused primarily by human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.



It has also been known for a long time, from analysis of ancient air bubbles trapped in Antarctic and Greenland ice cores, that atmospheric levels of CO2 fluctuated naturally during the ice agesand that they were tightly correlated with local air temperature above the ice. Snyders time line confirms that correlation between CO2 and temperature at the global scale and over two million years. Her mistake, the critics said, was in the simplistic way she used that correlation to infer the Earths sensitivity to CO2not only in the past but also in the future. Her conclusions simply didnt make sense, they said. The reason is that much of the variation in temperature during the ice ages was caused by factors other than CO2.



Feedback effects



Over the past 800,000 years, massive ice sheets have expanded across the northern continents and then retreated again every 100,00 years or so. The cycle is driven by variations in Earths orbit about the sun, which determine whether enough sunlight falls on the Northern Hemisphere in summer to melt ice. The presence of ice itself has a dramatic cooling effect on the planet, because it reflects sunlight back to space. Conversely, when ice melts at the end of a glacial period, the increased absorption of sunlight warms the whole planettriggering feedback effects, including a rise in CO2, that warm it further.



Fundamentally, the orbit of the Earth causes ice ages to end, and the ocean warms in response, Severinghaus said. This warming causes some CO2 to outgas from the ocean, raising atmospheric CO2 concentrations.



Whereas today the rise in CO2 is the prime driver of global warming, during the ice-age period it was merely an important feedback. Snyder insisted she wasnt trying to suggest that greenhouse gases caused all the temperature changes back then. But the papers critics said her work had in effect done just that, and as a result produced what seems an exaggerated estimate of the current sensitivity to CO2.



The question of just how sensitive Earths climate will be over the long term to our CO2 emissions remains open. There is evidence that over millennia, once all the feedbacks have had a chance to kick in, the warming could be indeed be substantially larger than in the short term.



But Snyders critics agree that her method is not the way to resolve the question. Over the weekend Schmidt wrote a blog post to explain why the relationship between CO2 and temperature during the ice ages isnt enough by itself to describe our potential future.



Theres a lot of good work in here, he said of Snyders paper. But one small error has been made that has been translated into something with a huge implication for the future. And unfortunately, thats just wrong.



Or perhaps he should have said fortunately. If Snyders analysis were correct, our descendants might already be doomed to a catastrophically warmer world, with sea levels hundreds of feet higher than they are today. As it stands, that outcome appears preventable.




Amid rising acrimony between India and Pakistan over surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC), a simple assurance on Twitter by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has brought joy to two worried families living on either side of the barbed wire fence.





Naresh Tewani, an engineer running an auto-parts business in Jodhpur, got engaged to a Karachi-based girl Priya Bachchani in 2014.



The cross-border marriage scheduled on coming November 7 in Jodhpur, hit an unforeseen roadblock with escalation of tension between India and Pakistan. The brides family and relatives in Karachi were unable to get visa from the Indian embassy in Pakistan, leaving both parties tense about solemnising the union as per the auspicious muhurat (date of wedding).



The boy and his family's only hope being the Indian government, the groom's friends suggested he create a Twitter account and address his problem to the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both being active on this platform.



Naresh told DH, "I created a Twitter account on October 7 to directly communicate with the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian government because I couldn't think of any better way to keep my marriage date which is just one month away. I wrote to Sushma Swaraj on October 6 and explained to her my problem. On October 7 she responded to my messages and assured me that my fiance and her family's visa will be taken

care of."



Sushma's reply on Naresh's Twitter wall has brought cheers to the grooms family, who are now hopeful of holding the wedding as scheduled. Naresh's father Kanhaiya Lal Tewani added, "After Sushma Swaraj responded on social media, we are hopeful that the bride and her family will be granted visa. In Pakistan too they have met local political leaders and public representatives from the community for help." "I met Priya in 2014 when she came to Jodhpur with her family for the engagement; since then we have been in touch over telephone and email. When her father, a government doctor, retired in August, the date of our marriage was fixed and we started making preparations for the ceremony, says Naresh.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi came under fire from political opponents and allies for his khoon ki dalali remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for politicising surgical strikes.





While BJP president Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Rahul saying his has crossed all limits and insulted the valour of the armed forces. Rahul took to Twitter to proclaim that he supported the surgical strikes but denounced using the same for political propaganda.



RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, a member of the Congress-led UPA government, disapproved Rahuls remarks saying the Congress vice president had failed to put across his views properly.



Another UPA constituent NCP said Rahul should have refrained from using words such as dalali. Rahul is the second most important leader of the oldest political party of the world.



He should not have said such words, NCP general secretary D P Tripathi said here. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also critical of Rahul. Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I have previously done so and want to congratulate the army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhis remarks wherein he said armys sacrifices and bravery was khoon ki dalali, he said.



I condemn the use of such words. I have told in the House as well as in a video message that right now there is tension at the border, Kejriwal said.



Incidentally, Kejriwal had sparked a controversy after he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expose Pakistans propaganda on surgical strikes.



*RJD supremo Lalu Prasad disapproved Rahuls remarks saying the Congress vice

president had failed to put across his views properly
The Punjab government has withdrawn its earlier order to evacuate people residing in villages located within 10-km radius of the international border with Pakistan.





The orders are applicable with immediate effect. The governments move, ordering the evacuation of about 1,000 villages in the wake of apprehensions of a war with Pakistan following Indias surgical strikes across the LoC, had invited widespread criticism.



The state government has assured complete safety and security to residents in the border areas. The decision comes within days of the government ordering the reopening of hundreds of schools that were closed owing to the apprehensions of a war.



Opposition leaders had questioned the governments rationale of reopening schools if the build up on the border for a war with Pakistan was real.



In fact, the governments earlier order to evacuate border villages remained only partially implemented. Many preferred not to leave their homes. Others, who left to stay in camps, too returned in a few days.



The ongoing paddy season is one of the reasons why the government decided to issue the fresh orders.



Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday accused the Parkash Singh Badal government of pushing poor farmers to the brink of suicide due to its failure to ensure timely procurement of paddy. Last year itself, more than 500 debt-trapped farmers in the state had committed suicide, he claimed.



The situation is even more critical in the border villages, where the delay in shifting the grain to the mandis, caused by the untimely and unwarranted evacuation, has left the farmers devastated, Capt Amarinder said.

DH News Service
The Telangana Cabinet on Friday ratified the high-power panel report that examined the option to form four more districts in addition to the 17 already announced through a notification.



If all goes well, Indias newest state formed with just 10 districts will increase that number to 31, helping the government to decentralise power and aid speedy delivery of development.



Announcing the details of the cabinet meeting, state Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari said that an ordinance will be issued before Vijayadashami determining the final number of districts.



The number of districts will be surely more than 17, but cannot give a final figure as allocation of district collectors, revenue officers, police officers have to be finalised, Srihari said. However, TRS sources said the addition of Gadwala, Asifabad, Jangaon and Sircilla to the final list is a mere formality.



Setting the process in motion, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao met the state Governor ESL Narasimhan and apprised him of the formation of new districts.



Considering the severe shortage of officers to man the new districts each with a minimum population of 3 lakh, the chief minister also sat with senior IAS officers to decide on allocating departmental heads for each district.

DH News Service
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Haji Ali Dargah Trust to take a progressive step to relook into the ban on womens entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.





A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar, however, extended the stay on the Bombay High Courts judgement, which had lifted the ban for contravening Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution.



The high court had on August 26 stayed the judgement to allow the trust to file an appeal in the apex court.



Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the trust, maintained that it was ready to take a progressive stand. At the same time, he defended the prohibition on womens entry beyond a point.



If you are not allowing both men and women beyond a point, there is no problem. But if you are not allowing a set of people (women) beyond a point, then there is a problem, the bench said.



The court agreed to consider the special leave petition filed by the trust, and suggested tagging the matter along with a similar plea made against womens entry into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.



Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz of NGO Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan had challenged the ban on womens entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah from 2012.



*Bench: If you are not allowing both men and women beyond a point, there is no problem. But if you are not allowing a set of people (women) beyond a point, then there is a problem.


An incubation centre, restaurant and takeaway outlet will come up in two Metro stations shortly. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) signed separate retail outlet licence agreement on Thursday and Friday.





While Food World and another restaurant would come up at Baiyappanahalli Metro station, the incubation centre and takeaway retail outlet would come up in Trinity Metro station in the next two months. BMRCL spokesperson U A Vasanth Rao said the incubation centre could be the first in any Metro station in the world. Set up by industry veterans, the centre, owned by Candor Management Services Pvt Ltd, will primarily support first-time entrepreneurs, he added. In all, nearly 30 retail outlets would come up in five Metro stations on the East-West corridor of Namma Metro. With this, BMRCL is hoping to generate non-fare revenue to meet its expenses.
Now, fees and taxes for new vehicles and the quarterly tax for transport vehicles can be paid online.





The Transport Department has redesigned its website which was formally launched by Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Friday. He said the website had been revamped to improve transparency and reduce paperwork so that people need not come to the departments offices. It was one of the public demands, he said.



Hemanth Kumar, Additional Commissioner for Transport (Administration), said people could now pay fees and taxes conveniently and in a secure way. The website provides links to 17 major banks for payment through netbanking. People need not stand in long queues at Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), he noted.



The e-payment system, which was implemented on a soft launch (trial) basis at RTOs in the state, has helped the department collect around Rs 380 crore as fees and taxes for more than one lakh vehicles. The money collected online goes to the exchequer in real time. People can also pay permit fees, penalty and other fees through the website, Kumar added.



Reddy said the department contributed Rs 5,150 crore to the exchequer, with Bengaluru alone accounting for Rs 2,468 crore. Besides online payment which includes a provision to pay the driving licence fees through the Sarathi-4 software, the websites new features include a search engine for easy search of information and registration of complaints. More services wil be included in the future, a transport official said.



The website has been redesigned as per the Central government guidelines and is hosted at the Karnataka State Data Center with technical assistance from the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The website has been integrated with the Khajane-II portal of the Karnataka government, said a press note issued at the launch.



*The website (www.transport.karnataka.gov.in) has special options for the differently abled to help them avail themselves of services and facilities.



*Complete information on learners licence, driving licence, vehicle registration and permit (in Kannada and English).



*Facility to forward suggestions and lodge grievances directly to the RTO concerned.



*Vehicle statistics, road safety, enforcement and vehicular pollution details.



*Details of fees, taxes and fines.



*Government orders, notifications, tenders, fare chart, etc.



*Call centre number: 9243350000
The high-level technical team of the Central Water Commission (CWC) visited Mandya district on Friday to take stock of the ground reality in the Cauvery basin.





The team obtained information from the experts and local engineers accompanying them and gathered all details.



While the farmers explained their plight in Kannada, officials from the state translated it into Hindi and English for the team members. The team, which toured the district in two helicopters, landed at the helipad at Huligerepura Gate in Maddur taluk and proceeded further on road.



The team collected bunches of transplanted paddy at a farmland in Hemmanahalli. MLA D C Thammanna explained about the water problem, depleting water table, failed borewells and others. The team captured the withering crop on their cameras and tablets.



Speaking to media persons in Maddur, Jha said that he found farmers of the district were in distress. We have listened to the farmers and have personally inspected the fields. The team will visit Hemavathy dam and Harangi dam on Saturday and later conduct the inspection in Tamil Nadu. A report would be submitted to the court, he added.
The death toll in the collapse of an under-construction apartment at Bellandur, southeast Bengaluru, has gone up to six as another body was retrieved from the rubble on Friday.





The latest victim is Srikrishna, 23, a native of Kolkata, who was engaged in laying floor tiles at the building. His body was retrieved around 12.45 pm.



Srikrishna was fixing tiles on the fourth floor when the building collapsed around 12.30 pm on Wednesday. He noticed the building collapsing and ran down the stairs. Just then, a wall fell on the stairs and he was buried alive, Regional Fire Officer, Shivashankar T N, told DH. The place where the body was found indicates that he made desperate attempts to save himself.



Srikrishna brother Subodh broke down when the body was retrieved. The body was moved to Victoria Hospital for post-mortem. The brothers had arrived in Bengaluru a few years ago looking for work.



The two-day-long rescue operation, which began around 12.45 pm on Wednesday, concluded around 12.45 pm on Friday.



The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Fire and Emergency Services Department and the local police decided to call off the operation after making sure that no one was trapped in the rubble. A total of 474 men from these agencies were involved in the operations. They rescued a person alive and retrieved six bodies.



The debris was cleared by Friday evening. But the BBMPs cranes were stationed at the site. The cranes will remain there until the building is fully demolished, said Shashikumar, executive engineer, Mahadevapura zone.



NDRF assistant commandant K S Subish said the operation was conducted carefully as the building was falling down slowly. Rescue workers used sensor-fitted cameras that detect human heartbeat to trace the bodies and heavy machinery to cut concrete slabs and steel, he added.



A BBMP official said poor quality materials were used in the apartment construction, and their usage was not proportionate either. The contractor reportedly used cement and M-sand, which is crushed stone powder. The concrete curing was not done properly. The apartment height was increased in violation of the sanctioned building plan, the official said.



Police, meanwhile, have decided to send the construction materials to expert engineers for examination. Based on their report on what caused the accident, we will take action against the building owner, Srinivas Reddy, DCP (Southeast) Boralingaiah M B said.



The BBMP, too, will get the materials tested. We have collected samples of sand, mud, iron and other materials used in the construction. We will send them to the laboratory for tests, said Shashikumar.



Boralingaiah refuted reports of two arrests in the incident. We have arrested only one person so far. We are questioning several others but have not yet made anymore arrests. One of the owners lives in the US. Just being one of the owners doesnt prove complicity in the crime. We are investigating if he had any role in the substandard construction.

DH News Service
The Karnataka government made a fervent plea before a visiting central team that the state was not in a position to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu given the severe distress situation in the basin.





The eight-member team led by Central Water Commission Chairman G S Jha is on a two-day visit to the Cauvery basin, on the direction of the Supreme Court, to assess the ground realities.



The court has also directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 12 days from October 7.



The team held a meeting with Water Resources Minister M B Patil and top government officials, including Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia, in Bengaluru before their field visit. In a power-point presentation made before the team, it was pointed out that the failure of the Southwest Monsoon has led to reservoirs in the Cauvery basin recording the second lowest storage in the last 42 years.



Based on a long-term average of 41 years, 257 tmc should have flown into the reservoirs but only 131.51 tmc flowed into the reservoirs this year.



The team was informed that non-release of required quantity of water for agriculture has resulted in crop loss in 1.88 lakh acres besides 4.27 lakh acres coming under soil moisture stress.



The total cultivable area during the kharif season in the Cauvery basin is about 15.22 lakh acres but this year, sowing took place only in 6.15 lakh acres due to poor monsoon.



Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Patil said, We are not in a position to release any more water from our reservoirs. Compared to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu is better placed in view of the probable normal Northeast Monsoon.



A memorandum was presented to the team highlighting the poor rainfall situation, withered crops and drinking water needs of the towns, cities and villages in the basin, including Bengaluru.



It was pointed out that Tamil Nadu gets 48% of the rainfall during the Northeast monsoon. It was estimated that the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu will receive about 63.86 tmc from intermediate catchment of Karnataka up to Biligundlu.



Farmers of Karnataka are entitled for one crop while their counterparts (in Tamil Nadu) grow three crops. This is second consecutive distress year. Even last year, due to poor rainfall, farmers were put to great hardship, Patil said.



The team comprising representatives from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry visited villages in Mandya district and KRS reservoir on Friday. They are scheduled to visit the Gorur dam and villages in Hassan on Saturday before leaving for Tamil Nadu.



States submission before



Total water requirement till May 2017 for drinking and irrigation: 67.18 tmcft

Drinking water requirement of Bengaluru,Mysuru and surrounding towns till May 2017: 23.05 tmcft

Present storage in reservoirs of Cauvery basin: 32.05 tmcft

The expected inflow during the next six months: 15.17 tmcft

Total shortfall: 20 tmcft



Fair assessment



Central technical team head G S Jha promised a fair assessment of the situation and strike a balance between the two contesting states. He said the team will submit its report to the Supreme Court on October 17 after assessing the water availability, condition of standing crops and water requirement for the coming months.




LinuxCon Europe 2016 - Veni, Vidi, Vici

Updated: October 7, 2016

Hello everyone. The reason why you see me report so early on my participation at LinuxCon Europe this year is because I have not been able to attend the full three days of conference. Alas, unfavorable circumstances forced me to fly in just for my session, deliver a quick if neat little presentation, and then fly back. The shortest country visit ever.

But let us not lament! Let us enjoy ourselves. To wit, please take a moment or three to read and reflect on my experience at the European version of the arguably most important open-source event of the year, which took place in Berlin, Germany. Alles klar after me, kommissar.

Take my breath away

You can't not love Germany. The moment you put your feet down on the proverbial tarmac, you start having fun. The driving is just otherworldly, sharp, efficient and intuitive. Just as we likes them. Hint: A supercar review on autobahns coming soon!

As I only had about four hours at my disposal in between arrival and departure, the only picture I have of the cityscape scenery is this forlorn little snapshot with a phone camera from inside an old Mercedes taxi smelling too much of fake wood and cigarettes, driven by a prototype fella that put a few creases of nostalgia on my face. Chiseled in 1975 and kept the same ever since.

The venue for LinuxCon was Hotel InterContinental Berlin, a smart-looking piece of architecture. I even recreated the same photo they have on their own brochure, because I am a fashionable git. The organization is good, the food is solid, but not quite as artsy and precise as LinuxCon 2014, which took place in Dusseldorf. It also felt somewhat less busy, also compared to my last-year Linux trip to Dublin. But there was still that vibrant, good, familiar atmosphere, and of course free souvenirs from two dozen sponsors booths.

My session was the last of the day, and it was most aptly titled: Application Profiling and Tuning, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Tweak. Dr. Strangelove reference, boom. Winning.

Winning indeed. The sexy title and my charm (arguable) had me standing in front of about 150 people, slightly over the booked capacity, pleading for help to find IT guys so I could actually hook my HDMI-only laptop and deliver. Or rather, stand and deliver. Get the joke. It's subtle and good. Funny though, the venue asked for 16:9 slides, which is sort of modern, but then finding non-VGA connectors was more of a problem.

We had that sorted, and then I talked about the scientific method and industrial methodologies, the likes of statistical engineering, design of experiment, pairwise comparison, component search, and others, followed by some complex, layered examples on slow and gimping applications. We topped it all off with Perf, and the audience were actually able to solve a tricky kernel-related issue after following the advice and tips we learned in the session. I was quite pleased with the outcome. In essence, I did a blitz course on some of the parts of my Problem Solving book, as well as half a dozen tutorials on system troubleshooting that I presented on Dedoimedo in the last few years.

Of course, I made my fair share of jokes - and tossed candy at willing participants. There was much rejoicing. I met a lot of familiar faces, friendly faces, and some people even approached me to tell me how they remembered me from years past and loved my earlier work. It's always nice to bump into fans, and they tend to be much nicer in real life than on the Internet.

As soon as I had the presentation wrapped and my new T-shirts packed, it was time to head back to the airport. A few quick thanks and jokes in a bunch of languages, and I was watching twilight Berlin fade away behind me. Coffee, sandwich. And then, the plane took off. Curtain.

Conclusion

There we are. It feels like a dream. It happened too fast, and I did not get to absorb the full aroma of the conference. But never mind. There will always be another opportunity, and LinuxCon will be there next year, waiting, beckoning. Despite a somewhat less than perfect circumstances, I am quite happy. I enjoyed my session, if I'm allowed to say that, and I think I served my audience well, and their feedback was good and open. There is nothing that would have made it better except a little more time to network, talk to people, pilfer some more free shirts and electronics, and actually see the city.

Anyhow, I hope you find these little field reports entertaining. And maybe we will meet somewhere next year, and you will come over and say, oh so you are that crazy guy, why are you not wearing a fedora huh? Indeed. 2017, so let the countdown begin. The Final Countdown. By a band called Europe. What can be more appropriate? OMG. See you next autumn.

Cheers.
Finland Investigates Russian Airspace Violations, Russia Denies



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Local author Kathy Krevat recently announced the release of Behind Chocolate Bars, third in the bestselling Chocolate Covered Mystery series by Berkley Prime Crime, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Published under her pen name of Kathy Aarons, it will be available anywhere books are sold on Oct. 4.

Behind Chocolate Bars features chocolatier Michelle Serrano and bookstore owner Erica Russell as they become embroiled in a web of online dating, fraud and murder.

Mysterious Galaxy bookstore is hosting the book launch party including wine, food, and ,of course, chocolate. It will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct.8. Mysterious Galaxy is located at 5943 Balboa Avenue, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92111, (858) 268-4747. www.mystgalaxy.com. This event is free and open to the public.

Immediately following will be the October meeting of Partners in Crime  the San Diego Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a national mystery writers organization. The meeting will feature Charlaine Harris, a New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series that inspired the True Blood HBO series. Both the launch party and Partners in Crime meeting are free and open to the public.

Krevat has been a tireless advocate for youth arts education in the Carmel Valley community since her family moved there in 1998. At Carmel Creek and Solana Pacific Elementary Schools, shes been PTA president, Reflections Arts chair, school foundation fundraiser, student newspaper editor and more. Shes handled publicity and created costumes for J*Company and the Canyon Crest Academy Envision Theater programs, and assisted with the CCA Writers Conference and Middle School Writing Program.

Krevat is currently president of the board of Playwrights Project (playwrightsproject.org) whose mission is to advance literacy, creativity and communication by empowering individuals to voice their stores through playwriting programs and theatre productions.

Mysterious Galaxy (a supporter of the CCA Writers Conference) is an independent genre store specializing in science fiction, mystery, fantasy and horror. The store has an emphasis on author events in its San Diego storefront, as well as providing booksellers for literary events at libraries, schools, and other venues throughout Southern California.
San Diego-based nonprofit Womens Empowerment International (WE) recently announced Carmel Valley resident Paige Bradley as its first executive director.

Bradley brings two decades of experience in the nonprofit, political and communications arenas to the role, where she will oversee efforts to double the organizations funding of poverty alleviation programs by 2020. Bradley most recently worked in Paris, France, as a fundraising director for Sport dans la Ville, Frances leading nonprofit serving at-risk youth and families

Bradley joined WE, a 550-member organization, on Sept. 6. She will oversee WEs microloan and other poverty-alleviation projects for impoverished women in Uganda, Honduras, Haiti and Mexico. WE also supports the STAR Center, a City Heights business incubator through which poor San Diego women have launched 282 local businesses.

Paige has that important mix of fundraising skills, communications strengths, passion for social justice, and international experience that matches our ambitious vision of greatly increasing the breadth and impact of our help to impoverished women, said WE President, Winifred Cox.

A Los Angeles native and UCLA graduate, Bradley worked as a political consultant, fundraiser and campaign strategist in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for leading figures such as Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), former Rep. Lynn Schenk (D-CA), the California Democratic Partys Clinton/Gore re-election campaign, and the Womens Technology Cluster.

In Boston, she served as development director at NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, a 20,000-member grassroots nonprofit; and at Grub Street Writers, one of the nations leading literary arts centers.

In France, Bradley consulted with international organizations including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the International Energy Agency (IEA); and the American Chamber of Commerce in France where she co-created a mentoring program for women entrepreneurs.

Women make up nearly 70 percent of the worlds poor. These are hard-working mothers and grandmothers struggling to care for their families, said Bradley. Womens Empowerment is changing lives and communities here in San Diego and around the world by enabling these women to access the vital resources and training they need to start sustainable businesses. It is incredibly important work and I am honored to join Womens Empowerment as its executive director.

Since receiving its tax-exempt status in 2005, WE has raised close to $1.5 million, funded poverty alleviation projects in eight countries, and has a 2020 goal of funding a half-million dollars to projects that help women out of poverty. This is part of a global effort to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030, changing the lives of nearly a billion people who live on less than $1.25 a day.

For more information, visit www.womenempowerment.org.
Louise-Marie of France (15 July 1737  23 December 1787) was the youngest of the ten children of Louis XV and his wife, Maria Leszczynska. As a daughter of the king, she held the rank of a fille de France. From 1740 she was known as Madame Louise.

Youth

L ouise was born at Versailles on 15 July 1737, and was at first known as Madame Septieme" (one of her seven older sisters died before her birth) or Madame Derniere, later Madame Louise. She was sent to be raised at the Abbey of Fontevraud with Louis three other young daughters, Victoire, Sophie and Therese (who died at Fontevraud at the age of eight). On 20 December 1738 she was baptised at Fonevraud; her godfather was Francois-Marc-Antoine de Bussy, seigneur de Bise; her godmother was Marie-Louise Bailly-Adenet, first woman of the chamber to her sister Madame Therese.When Louise reminded a nun at the convent that she was the daughter of the King, the nun replied: And I am the daughter of God.

N one of King Louis projects for Louises marriage came to fruition, and she sought sanctuary from the world in her religion. In 1748, there were rumours that Louis would have her engaged to Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the throne of England.

Monastic life

I n 1770, to general amazement, Louise asked her father to allow her to become a Carmelite nun. She believed that becoming a nun would compensate for her fathers lax morals. Louise joined the convent at Saint-Denis,where the orders rule was obeyed strictly, taking the name Therese of Saint Augustine . On 10 September 1770, she took the habit. On 1 October 1771, she gave her vows and was fully accepted into the order.

L ouise became prioress of the convent 25 November 1773. She served as prioress from 1773 to 1779, and a second term from 1785. She interceded with her father to allow Austrian Carmelites persecuted by the Emperor Joseph II to enter France. While at the convent, she tried her best to make sure that the other nuns treated her as an equal rather than the daughter of a king. As a child, she had an accident that affected her knee. As a result, she found it difficult to kneel, but when she was offered assistance, she refused. On 26 May 1774, two weeks after the death of her father, she was visited at Saint-Denis by her nephew, King Louis XVI.

S he died at Saint-Denis, suffering from a stomach complaint. Her last words were the following:

Au paradis! Vite! Au grand galop! (To paradise! Fast! At the great gallop!)
"...king of the hate left..."--

"As my friend Capper -- the best Wisconsin blogger ever -- says, there will be more. There's always more." - karoli

"...the psychiatrically attuned Capper..."--

"This is really great of you! I'm so proud to know someone like you"--

"Capper, a reasonable (and maybe even likeable) Lefty..."--

"capper, the Sidney Freedman of the hate left..."--

"I love capper because, well, what's not to love. But I also hate capper for alerting me to nonsense like this."---

"Capper, you really have a knack for this kind of writing. Really."--

"Crap. I agree with capper. Can Armageddon be far behind?"--

"capper is right. OMG, did I actually say that?"--


Italian designer MARCANTONIO RAIMONDI MALERBA has paved a path in the design industry thanks to his unique approach to design. His projects are a masterful mixture of art, design, sculpture and nature itself. Malerbas portfolio features collaboration with noted Italian brands such as Mogg, Nodus, FoDe and Seletti to name a few. For the latest issue he sits down for an interview with Design SCENE Magazines editor KATARINA DJORIC to talk about beginnings, starting a project and future plans.

GET DESIGN SCENE FT SHANINA IN PRINT $22.90 & DIGITAL $2.90

Can you recall how or why you became a designer?

Well, I have always been a dreamer, one who preferred to imagine things rather than to focus on what surrounded him. Later, I found out I was pretty able to mould what I had in mind. So I started to create things by myself and I have never stopped since then. I cant remember exactly when it all started but I do recall that when I was a child I used to take toys apart to understand how they worked with their joints and their hidden mechanisms. I reassembled them according to my experimental criteria, only afterwards. That was the real game to me!

I have always been very curious; we are all curious we just have to figure out about what.

See more after the jump:



Where do you seek design inspiration?

Inspiration is something unpredictable. Lets just say Im always waiting for being inspired and surprised by myself. This attitude creates an intimate listening, and the idea often comes if you are ready to recognize it and grasp it. Ideas lie everywhere, in the cinema, in the restaurant, with friends, on vacation or while youre working on something else And that is the real work. I like to explore recurrent themes in my works like nature, mankind, our habits and our references. These are all topics that invite us to reflect as they affect all of us.

How would you describe your work? What is your design philosophy?

Undoubtedly, my work as a designer is totally influenced by my artistic career. Art played a key role in my tuition, teaching me how an idea could be elegant. Nowadays theres much attention to this kind of creativity combining two seemingly different worlds, namely Art and Design. I like to mix together these two worlds and in my case theyre complementary. I think that design can be art, it all depends on the final context but Im not interested in design without artistic concept. I love thinking about my work as a direct continuation of what I used to do when I was a child, playing with everything I found and creating what my mind imagined.The design objects I create must be strong and simple at the same time, theyre supposed to create an atmosphere and be a little magical. They must tell a story, perhaps ironically and in a very direct way like images which are explaining themselves in a second.

When starting a new project how do you begin the process. Do you traditionally start with sketches?

When I have an idea, this always starts with an artistic vision and not by projecting. In the industrial production, it is obviously complex to translate the artistic aspect in the serial object butthis is the challenge. Im very inflexible about this issue because the identity of an idea often lies in this artistic aspect which is not possible to change.

What part of the process excites you the most?

Every part of the process is important: ideation, researching, prototyping and presenting the project to the public. You can learn something new in every phase. However, it is the initial idea that gives you the energy to develop the project.

How long does it take to develop a product?

Sometimes it takes only a few months, but sometimes it can take years: I have been trying to accomplish the realization of a lamp with one company for the last 3 years and it might happen that we will never succeed Nevertheless, some other objects that I have designed for that same company have been realized within only a few months!

What do you do in your spare time?

I barely have any free time but when I have a tiny bit, I do nothing but random things!

What is your dream project?

Art is the biggest challenge for me and my big dream. I take art very seriously, so every time I create a new piece or a new exhibition Im very tense, full of insecurities and expectations. Its not like this for everyone, I have friendsartists who make art to relax or to get better with excellent results. its very challenging for me, in the choices, in the study of the subject, very often I like to reach realistic effects and this is hard. But design has helped me to make art in a lighter way and to appreciate a simple solution.

What are you currently working on?

At the moment I am working on a lamp and on a collection of plates. I am also creating four sculptures for a gallery in Paris.

What is next for you?

Just wait and see! I plan to continue like this. Id like to create works of art of great format that I designed.

GET DESIGN SCENE FT SHANINA IN PRINT $22.90 & DIGITAL $2.90
What! Aishwarya, Anushkas Character Changed To Non-Pakistanis In Ae Dil Hai Mushkil?
People who worry about losing their job might be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to new research.

New cases of the condition were 19 per cent higher in those who felt insecure about their employment, when compared to people who felt safe in their job.

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Bristol and University College London.

Data from 19 studies were compared which involved a total of 140,825 adults in the US, Australia and Europe. At the time of signing up they were employed and did not have diabetes.

Although the research does not prove that worrying about job loss can cause type 2 diabetes, lead author Dr Jane Ferrie said it could be a contributory factor.

She said: In an ideal world, the sort of thing Id like to see come out of this study is a reduction in job insecurity and an increase in secure job contracts and reasonable wages.

At the beginning of each study, all participants were asked if they were fearful of losing their source of income in the future. The findings varied from 6 per cent to 40 per cent of respondents saying yes to the question about their job insecurity.

On average across a decade, the rate of new diabetes rates annually in the research trials ranged from about 9 for every 10,000 participants to about 85 for every 10,000.

The findings suggested that those who feared about losing their job were 19 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes during the follow-up period, having taken age and sex into account.

Previously a link has been shown between job insecurity and higher body mass index (BMI) and heart attacks.

Speaking to Reuters Health, Dr Ferrie said: This is not going to tell any individual about their risk. We need a population health approach and to reduce peoples exposure to job insecurity.

The findings were published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The Nokia 1100 smartwatch can connect to a smartphone and gives calls and text notifications.

Nokia 1100 has been out of production for quite some time now and the once ubiquitous smartphone is now part of mobile history. However, a hacker has repurposed one into a smartwatch. Hacker Daniel Davis wanted a smartwatch, so he thought why not build one from the old Nokia 1100, he had lying around. The finished product is not pretty or light, but it tells time, can connect to a smartphone and gives calls and text notifications. Whats more Daniel has made a three part video explaining the process and how you can make one from an old phone.

Now the Nokia 1100 turned smartwatch wont be winning any design awards or will be available for purchase. However, it is quite satisfying to see that even after so much time, age old Nokia devices still work. Furthermore, students and makers who want to build something new can try their hand at this. In this project the main things Daniel used is a Nokia 1100, a mini Arduino board, a Bluetooth module for connection and a 3.7v rechargeable battery, but as he explains you can swap parts as per your preference. You can see the entire project at tinkernut, where Daniel has listed all the parts as well as most of the code used in this project.
Apples new flagship device, the iPhone 7 will finally be hitting Indian shores today. The new phones were unveiled last month and come with a host of new features like water resistance, new chipsets, new cameras and more. Prices of the phones start at Rs. 60,000 in India, and pre-orders for the phones have already begun. As alway, online retailers are doing their bit to offer discounts in an effort to lure fans. If you are planning to purchase the new iPhones, here are the deals that you can avail. Click on the name of the e-tailer to head on over to their website. However, you might want to be quick about it as the devices are going out of stock pretty quickly.

Flipkart

Fresh of it Big Billion Day Sale, the e-tailer will be offering exchange offers and EMI option for Apples new device. Buyers can get upto Rs. 24,500 upon exchaging their old smartphone. The EMI option is available for a number of different banks and ranges from three months, to 24 months.

Paytm

Paytm is also offering the Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus to customers. The company is offering the new device ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,000 depending on the model. Those who are planning to purchase the device will get a promo code, which will have to be used before they check out in order to avail the offer.

Snapdeal

If you have an American Express card, then you might want to check out Snapdeals offers. The e-tailer is offering up to Rs. 10,000 off when using an American Express card. Those with an Axis bank credit or debit card can get a 10% discount.

Infibeam

Alongside Flipkart, Infibeam is the second internet reseller that is Apple Authorised. The company is offering no cost EMI on the iPhones, ranging from three to twelve months. Further, buyers will also get Rs. 500 cash back on the first EMI.

Amazon

If you were planning to purchase the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus from Amazon, then you are out of luck. Both models are out of stock on the e-tailers website. However, you can choose to get notified when the phones are back in stock.

Airtel

Telecom operator, Airtel is also offering deals on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Buyers can enjoy 10G of free 4G/3G data per month for one year with any Airtel Infinity postpaid plan. These plans also offer unlimited voice calling.
COLUMBUS  A 29-year-old Columbus man out of prison on parole hasnt contested much in reaching plea deals for a binge of crimes he committed over the summer.

Jakota Moore was sentenced to an additional three months in jail Thursday after pleading no contest to theft by deception and forgery charges in connection with bum checks written at two city banks in late June.

Platte County Judge Frank Skorupa ordered Moore to serve the sentence consecutive to the one year he is currently serving after pleading no contest in August to a string of theft and forgery offenses committed in June and July.

The judge ordered the city man to pay restitution of $400 and $394 to Cornerstone Bank and First National Bank, respectively.

In exchange for Moores no contest pleas, the Platte County Attorneys Office dismissed three other counts of second-degree forgery.

Moore, who acted without representation during Thursday's hearing, was released from prison less than a year ago after being convicted on burglary and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device charges in Platte County in 2014. In 2013 in Platte County, he was sentenced to 18 to 22 months in prison for theft by unlawful taking $500-$1,500.

Thursdays sentencing hearing, with Moore attending via video link from the county jail, capped a stretch in which the local man was charged with multiple misdemeanor criminal counts in five separate cases.

In August, Moore reached plea bargains in which he pleaded no contest to stealing a tablet computer from a city mans home while the man was sleeping on the couch. Moore was later arrested for the theft after trying to sell the device at a local computer repair shop.

Moore also pleaded to stealing a city womans purse out of her vehicle in June and then using her debit card at various city locations, including a convenience store equipped with video security.

Moore was identified from the video as the person using the stolen card to buy lottery tickets, sunglasses, soda and cigarettes.
Nokia's older phones have always been hailed for being practically indestructible, and even the new Asha 301 seems up to the task.

Nokia used to make some really tough phones, and the Nokia 3310 is a fine example of that. While many would have expected later Nokia devices to have toned down the built quality, you're in for a pleasant surprise. A Nokia 301 reportedly saved a man's life in Afghanistan, by stopping a bullet. The image of the actual phone was shared by Peter Skillman on twitter, who is currently Microsofts General Manager of Core UX for Windows Desktop, Tablet and Phone, and was a part of the Nokia team that made the Nokia 301.

The image shows the bullet still lodged inside the phone after the impact, saving its owners life. In reply to Skillmans tweet, many have reminisced the good old Nokia days, with celebratory memes of Nokia phones' tank-like durability, like Nokia 1100, 3310, 6600, and many more of its legendary creations. Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time that a Nokia phone has saved a mans life. Back in 2014, a Nokia Lumia 520 was also reported to have saved the life of a police officer in Brazil, by stopping a bullet.

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week. The embedded bullet.... pic.twitter.com/O2zBxadkDO  peter skillman (@peterskillman) October 5, 2016

Other similar instances have involved phones from HTC, Apple and (even) Samsung. Many of these, though, depend a lot on luck, and other aspects like the trajectory of a bullet. While many phones have acted as a shield, certain others have ended up with fatal flaws that pose a potential threat to the safety of the user. For now, though, we'd like to sit back and look at some of the most iconic Nokia phones through the ages.
The coming week is set to get off to a slow start given the Columbus Day holiday Stateside on 10 October, which will see fixed income markets remain closed although the NYSE will keep its doors open for share dealing.

In the following session, the ZEW institute will release its economic confidence index for the month of October, providing a timely update on analysts confidence in the current economic cycle.

The most significant session will be Wednesday, with the minutes of the US central banks last policy meeting and the Federal Reserves Beige book both set for release.

Following that, another barrage of US data is due to be published on Friday, including data on producer prices, retail sales, business inventories and the preliminary reading on the University of Michigans consumer confidence index for the month of October.

Meanwhile, and the UK, the data calendar was set to be quite light, with only the RICS house price survey data.

Over in Europe, euro area-wide industrial production figures for August are set to be published on Wednesday, followed by consumer price data for Germany, Italy and Spain at the tail-end of the week.

Monday October 10

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Aukett Swanke Group , Hammerson

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

BlackRock Income Strategies Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (GER) (07:00)

Current Account (GER) (07:00)

FINALS

Surface Transforms, Waterman Group, YouGov

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Colefax Group, Newmark Security PLC, UniVision Engineering Ltd.

Tuesday October 11

INTERIMS

LiDCO Group, Redstoneconnect, Ted Baker

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Holders Technology, JPMorgan American Inv Trust, UBM

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

ZEW Survey (EU) (10:00)

ZEW Survey (GER) (10:00)

FINALS

Genedrive , Nanoco Group, River and Mercantile Group , Volution Group (WI)

ANNUAL REPORT

River and Mercantile Group

IMSS

Pagegroup

EGMS

Fondul Proprietatea S.A. GDR (Reg S)

AGMS

Harvest Minerals Limited (DI)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tricorn Group

Wednesday October 12

INTERIMS

Tissue Regenix Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. (Singapore), Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd (Singapore Reg), Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd. (Singapore), Maintel Holdings, Mandarin Oriental International (Singapore), Neptune-Calculus Income & Growth VCT, Pagegroup

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (21:30)

Industrial Production (EU) (10:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

FINALS

Animalcare Group, Diurnal Group, Proactis Holdings

IMSS

Hays

DRILLING REPORT

Fresnillo

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Pagegroup

AGMS

Ashley (Laura) Holding, FinnAust Mining, Project Finance Investments Limited

Thursday October 13

INTERIMS

Booker Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Arrow Global Group, Communisis, Macfarlane Group, Molins, Restaurant Group, Zotefoams

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Action Hotels, Amati Vct 2, Braime (T.F.& J.H.) Holdings, British American Inv Trust, Centrica, Charles Taylor, Curtis Banks Group, Dillistone Group, F&C Private Equity Trust, Kerry Group 'A' Shares, Manx Telecom , Mears Group, Morgan Sindall Group, OneSavings Bank, Restore, Scisys, Spectris, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Sprue Aegis, Staffline Group, Tandem Group, Witan Pacific Inv Trust

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

GlaxoSmithKline, XP Power Ltd. (DI)

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Custodian Reit , F&C Commercial Property Trust Ltd., Middlefield Canadian Income PCC, Primary Health Properties

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Budget Statement (US) (19:00)

Consumer Price Index (GER) (07:00)

Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (16:00)

Import and Export Price Indices (US) (13:30)

Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)

Q3

Unilever

FINALS

Imperial Innovations Group, WH Smith

EGMS

Avarae Global Coins

AGMS

Leeds Group, Renishaw, Sky

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mondi

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

RICS Housing Market Survey (00:01)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Avation

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

City of London Investment Group, Close Brothers Group, CPL Resources, Daejan Holdings, Hays, JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust, Pacific Horizon Inv Trust, Schroder Japan Growth Fund, Strategic Equity Capital

Q1

Sky

Friday October 14

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Chesnara, Christie Group, Computacenter, Foresight VCT Planned Exit Shares, G4S, Highcroft Investment, Impellam Group, Intertek Group, Phoenix Spree Deutschland Limited SHS NPV , Robert Walters, RPS Group, RSA Insurance Group, SafeCharge International Group Limited (DI), Sanne Group, Total Produce, Treatt, Zegona Communications

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Schlumberger Ltd., Total SA

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (EU) (10:00)

Business Inventories (US) (15:00)

Producer Price Index (US) (13:30)

Retail Sales (US) (01:30)

Retail Sales Less Autos (US) (01:30)

U. of Michigan Confidence (Prelim) (US) (15:00)

GMS

MBL Group

FINALS

Inland Homes

IMSS

Provident Financial

AGMS

Atlantis Japan Growth Fund Ltd., PME African Infrastructure Opportunities, Rank Group

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Best of the Best, Coral Products, Sophos Group , Trifast, United Carpets Group
Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of Salesforce.com, has hit out at executives at Microsoft for being "anti-competitive" in its acquisition of social network LinkedIn .

He has raised concerns that the purchase will allow Microsoft to deny its rivals access to data necessary for other businesses.

Earlier this year, Microsoft bought the professional network in a deal worth $26.2bn.

Benioff pointed out in the interview on CNBC that he maintains a good relationship with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, but other executives have stepped over the line.

"I'm cool with Satya for sure, but some of his executives however, I am not cool with because they have made some very aggressive statements about what they are going to be doing with this LinkedIn data," Benioff said.

"It's amazing what they have said. And they are doing things that are absolutely anti-competitive, and that's what I wrote on Twitter."

Salesforce has been rumoured to be interested in the possible purchase of another social media site, Twitter, but will most likely face competition for the bid.
The full extent of Hurricane Matthew's impact on the Carribean nation of Haiti is becoming clear, as officials confirmed the death toll may be as high as 300.

The US state of Florida is now bracing itself for the storm, which has been graded as a category three by the The National Hurricane Center.

Senator Herve Fourcand from southern Haiti told AFP news agency that more than 300 people had died, with other unconfirmed reports putting the number as high as 339.

Hurricane Matthew also hit the Bahamas after making its way through both Haiti and Cuba.

Winds of 145mph and torrential rain battered through Haiti on Tuesday, destroying more than 3,000 homes and displacing up to 15,000 people.

The scale of the destruction became more apparent on Thursday as the storm died down, as Haitian authorities and humanitarian organisations worked to help those most affected.

The country's south coast has been particularly affected by Matthew, with the port towns of Les Cayes being described as "catastrophic".

"The situation in Les Cayes is catastrophic, the city is flooded, you have trees lying in different places and you can barely move around," its deputy mayor, Claudette Regis Delerme, told Reuters.

Citizens in Florida have been urged to evacuate coastal areas, as areas of Miami have already been hit, leaving 200,000 homes and businesses without power.
US presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to introduce major federal reforms for businesses in the country, with the potential of repealing up to 70% of regulations aimed at companies.

Speaking at an event in New Hampshire ahead of Sunday evening's second televised debate with Democrat rival Hillary Clinton, Trump said that small companies were being stifled by a plethora of regulations.

"We are cutting the regulation at a tremendous clip," Trump said. "I would say 70% of regulations can go. It's just stopping businesses from growing."

Earlier on Thursday, one of Trump's financial policy advisers said that the figure was much lower, citing 10% of unnecessary regulations that would face the chop.

Trump also fended off comments that he used the town hall event as a practice for Sunday night's debate.

"This has nothing to do with Sunday," he said. "Even tonight they said 'Donald Trump is going to New Hampshire to practice for Sunday'. It's like they make you into a child."

After the first televised debate between Trump and Clinton, the former secretary of state has gained steadily in polls due to an assured performance, in contrast with the New York tycoon's disorganised manner.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) officials are set to meet several times over the next six weeks in order to fine tune the details of their deal to cut down on oil production, according to Reuters.

The deal agreed in Algiers last week was that all member countries have to reduce output to a range of 32.50m barrels per day (bpd) to 33m bpd, which is its first output cut since the 2008 financial crisis.

The first meeting starts off in Istanbul next week, between OPEC energy ministers and Russian officials, on oil output in in the Turkish capital as the city hosts the World Energy Congress.

The series of meetings indicate that the cartel taking the global supply glut more seriously than it was in the first half of the year.

Russias energy minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that Russia expected an output freeze deal to be reached before the OPEC meeting on 30 November 2016.

OPEC sources have said that no decisions are expected to be made in Istanbul but the meeting will give officials the chance to discuss the next step after the Algiers deal.

Exactly how much each of the 14 OPEC members should produce was however left out of discussions.

The matter has been handed to a high level committee, made up of OPEC governors and national representatives, who will work out these details by the meeting at the end of November.

A technical meeting of OPEC's national representatives will also be held in Vienna on 23 November 2016 to 24 November 2016. This will possibly be followed by a second meeting of the High Level Committee on 25 November 2016, which will then present its recommendations to the ministers when they meet on 30 November 2016.

"Steps are being taken to further develop a framework for high-level consultations between OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries. We believe there is firm and common ground for continuous collaborative efforts among producers, both within and outside OPEC, said OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo in a speech at the G-24 ministerial meeting in Washington.
Markets in Asia tripped on Friday, as traders watched sterling take a major slide, and kept their purses closed ahead of the crucial nonfarm payrolls report for September, due from the US later on Friday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.23% lower at 16,860.09, with the yen maintaining its weakness against the greenback, last trading at JPY 103.82 per $1.

South Koreas Kospi was 0.56% lower at 2,053.80, while Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index finished down 0.42% at 23,851.82.

Samsung Electronics was up 0.89%, touching a record high after it said it expected third-quarter operating profit to reach KRW 7.8trn.

Its components business was surging, the technology giant said, offsetting the impact of a recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones over an apparent self-combustion problem.

Reuters had analysts picking a lower quarterly profit of KRW 7.4trn.

On the Hong Kong bourse, one of Chinas largest brokers - China Merchants Securities - failed to fire on its debut day.

It opened at its IPO price of HKD 12.00, and didnt go much beyond HKD 12.02 for the session.

Markets on the mainland were still closed for a fifth day, for the Golden Week of public holidays.

Sterling dropped sharply during Asian trading, getting to fresh 30-year lows in what many analysts and traders called a flash crash.

It hit $1.1819 for a short time, before climbing back beyond $1.24 later in the Asian day.

One pound sterling was worth $1.2384 at 1032 BST on Friday.

Investors may have thought that negotiations are going to be easy, but today's flash crash has shown where the support [for sterling] is and the reality is this that it won't be long before we may touch the low again, noted ThinkMarkets chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.

Oil prices were higher during Asian trading, with Brent crude last up 0.29% at $52.66 and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.36% to $50.62.

Australias S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.29% to 5,467.39, with most sectors finishing below the line, though two of the heftiest subindexes - financials and energy - closed 0.11% and 0.72% higher respectively.

The major banks were mostly up, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group virtually flat, adding 0.01%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia grew 0.3%, National Australia Bank gained 0.11% and Westpac marched ahead by 0.59%.

Chiefs of all four institutions appeared in Canberra this week, fronting a parliamentary inquiry to apologise for overcharges and poor financial advice.

New Zealands S&P/NZX 50 fell 0.4% to 7,167.82, led lower by online marketplace Trade Me, which lost 4.4%, while crude processor New Zealand Refining lost 2.8%.

The down under dollars were once again weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.1% to AUD 1.3196 per $1, and the Kiwi weakening 0.52% to NZD 1.4030.
Industrial supplies and services distributor Brammer issued an update on its trading and financial position on Friday, reporting group sales per working day at constant currency as down 2% in the third quarter.

The London-listed firm said UK sales per working day were down 1% against the prior year, with an improved Buck & Hickman performance.

Bearing and power transmission sales per working day were down a further 6%, and it saw a stock reduction of 30m at constant currency, in line with the boards plans.

The declining sales and reduced levels of supplier support led to an operating loss in the quarter, and accordingly, the board said it does not expect to report a pre-tax profit for the full year 2016.

It did confirm that a standby underwriting agreement had been entered into with Investec for a rights issue of up to 100m, to be launched no later than the announcement of the full year results for the year to 31 December 2016, in Q1 2017.

No final dividend would be proposed for the year ending 31 December, however.

I have been impressed by the market position and the expertise and the quality of people the group has built over the last few years, said chief executive Meinie Oldersma.

However, an over-emphasis on expansion of the products and services has resulted in a lack of focus on some of Brammer's core key areas, whilst significantly increasing costs in other areas.

This is a good business, but it will require time to get that focus back onto core products, with the effective processes to support it.

Oldersma said in the near term, the board was anticipating continuing decline in sales in the companys more profitable core products, which, combined with its drive to reduce levels of stock, has led to reduced levels of supplier support and a significant impact on margins.

These factors have led to an operating loss in the third quarter, and accordingly we do not expect to report a pre-tax profit for the full year 2016.

Oldersma added that the company is actively developing its plans to move the business forward, with strong recognition within the business of the need for change.

The proposed rights issue will reduce the group's structural indebtedness significantly and provide the group with the appropriate capital structure to deliver this improved performance.

At 0955 BST, shares in Brammer were down 31.16% at 87.25p.
A fat finger error by a trader or computerised chain reaction was thought responsible as the pound plunged to a new three-decade low during early trading in Asia on Friday  adding to the huge losses sterling had already suffered amid speculation that Britain is heading for a hard Brexit. The pound fell almost 10% at one point to US$1.1378, prompting confusion among traders who were struggling to identify any news or market event that could have been to blame. - The Guardian

Snap, the company behind the popular messaging app Snapchat, is laying the groundwork for a $25 billion flotation next year. It is drawing up paperwork for an initial public offering that could take place as early as March, according to The Wall Street Journal. Snapchat users share photos and short videos with each other. The images, or snaps, self-destruct within a time frame picked by the sender. Snap makes money from posting advertisements on Snapchat. - The Times

Saudi Aramco is expected to publish its full annual accounts for the first time, as the state-controlled oil producer seeks to boost transparency in preparation for an initial public offering. The company, which pumps more than 10 per cent of the worlds crude oil, is preparing to list 5 per cent of its shares in 2018, offering international investors the chance to own a stake in what is easily the worlds biggest oil company. - The Times

Heathrow is hoping an 11th-hour push pegged to Brexit will secure approval to build a third runway, with a final verdict from the government expected within a fortnight. A government committee chaired by the prime minister, Theresa May, is understood to be on the verge of deciding whether new runway capacity will be added at Gatwick or Heathrow, and industry insiders expect a verdict on 18 October. - The Guardian

Deutsche Bank is slashing another 1,000 jobs in Germany as the beleaguered lender battles to convince investors it has a solid future. The reduction is on top of 3,000 German job losses announced in June. Almost half of the latest cuts will hit the companys head operating office and the rest will be spread over several other departments. - The Daily Mail

The chief executive of private equity firm SVG Capital is set to pocket up to 8.1million following a fierce bidding war to take over the business. Goldman Sachs and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have launched a 1.1billion joint bid to buy SVG. Their proposal is supported by the board and is likely to beat a rival 1billion offer from US competitor HarbourVest. - The Daily Mail
The FTSE 100 end the week up 145.06 points to 7,044.39.

Equity view

FTSE 250 listed property investment trust Workspace Group has been granted planning permission for the Mare Street Studios redevelopment in north east London.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca agreed to divest rights outside the US of its nasal spray to Johnson & Johnson affiliate CilagGmbH International for $330m in order to concentrate on respiratory treatments.

Vodafone announced on Friday that its subsidiary, Vodafone India, has acquired spectrum in all its key telecom circles in the latest spectrum auction for a total cost of INR 202. 8bn.

BAE Systems reiterated its confidence about hitting full year targets and gave encouraging platitudes about ongoing long-term contracts, including the government's politically sensitive talks about the next defence export contract with Saudi Arabia.

Only a week after being encouraged to step down, big data software company WANdisco has re-appointed ex-chief executive David Richards and so lost chairman Paul Walker, who has resigned.

Homeware retailer Dunelms first quarter revenue fell due to the unseasonably warm weather.

TalkTalk has been fined a record 400,000 by the Information Commissioners Office for failings over a cyber attack last year that affected more than 150,000 of its customers.

Centamin announced preliminary production results for the quarter to 30 September from its Sukari Gold Mine in Egypt on Wednesday, with preliminary total gold production of 148,674 ounces, a 6% increase on the previous quarter and a 41% increase year-on-year.

BHP Billiton briefed investors in London on Tuesday, outlining what it called a broad range of opportunities within its petroleum business to grow value, returns and cash flow as markets improve

Private equity investment company 3i Infrastructure has invested 6.5m in a motorway project in the Netherlands, the companys third investment in Dutch roads.

In a pre-close trading update for the 52-week period ending 1 October, tile specialist Topps Tiles reported a slowdown in sales as it took a slight hit from its decision to exit the wood flooring business.

Tesco reported much improved sales and operating profits in the first half of the year and set out ambitious plans for growing profit margins, though its pension deficit soared to a whopping 6bn.

Aviva has been fined 8. 25m by the UK financial regulator for failures around its arrangements to protect client assets outsourced to other providers.

Airline group IAG released its group traffic and capacity statistics for September on Wednesday, with traffic - as measured in revenue passenger kilometres - up 4. 8% year-on-year, while capacity in available seat kilometres rose by 5. 6%.

Bakery retail chain Greggs posted its third quarter trading update on Tuesday morning, with total sales up 5. 6% for the 13 weeks to 1 October and like-for-like sales up 3. 4%.

Central and Eastern Europe-focused low-cost airline Wizz Air reported a rise in passenger numbers and load factor in September.

Fastjet, an African based low-cost airline, has entered into a binding sale agreement of its solely-owned Airbus A319 with Avtrade.

For the first time since 2010, the US state of Massachussetts has given National Grid the 'green light' to raise its prices for 1.3m electricity distribution customers.

Henderson Group has agreed a $6bn "merger of equals" with New York-listed fund management peer Janus Capital, with a proposal to cancel the FTSE 250 company's London listing.

Economic news

The Bank of England will subject Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Standard Chartered to a two-part stress test in 2017.

An unseasonably warm September affected fashion sales as high street retailers recorded the second worst figures for the year so far, according to business and accountancy advisory firm BDO.

Adding to the woes of prospective first time buyers, the Office for National Statistics found that average house prices in England and Wales increased to over six times the average salary last year.

Britain's shortfall in its trade with the rest of the world worsened in August amid a jump of purchases of goods from abroad.

UK industrial production unexpectedly declined in August, while manufacturing production rose less than expected, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

UK house price growth eased in the three months to September, adding to signs the housing market is slowing after the EU referendum in June, according to Halifax on Friday.

The sterling plunged during Asian trading hours, mimicking the volatility seen in the South African rand and New Zealand dollar at the start of the year, with traders possibly trying to front-run further weakness, especially as Westminster and the European Union staked out their initial bargaining positions.

The final Markit/CIPS UK services purchasing managers index fell to 52.6 from 52.9 in August, which was better than the 52.0 reading economists had been expecting and above the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted the UK will be the fastest growing of the G7 country this year, backtracking on its prediction that Brexit will lead to a financial crisis.

With rising house prices making home ownership increasingly out of reach, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predict that there will be 1.8m more households looking to rent by 2025.

The Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers index rose to 52.3 from 49.2 in August, above the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion for the first time in four months.

The UK will start formal negotiations to leave the European Union no later than the first quarter of 2017, the Prime Minister said.

International events

The European Central Bank had not yet considered tapering its monthly bond purchases, President Mario Draghi said.

US job growth slowed to a pace of 156,000 in September, according to the US Department of Labor.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, according to data released by the Labor Department.

Gasoline stockpiles in the US registered an unexpected drop in the latest week, pressuring crude oil futures higher.

US factory orders grew by 0.2% month-on-month in August to reach $453.1bn, according to the Department of Commerce.

The US trade deficit edged higher in August as the surplus in America's trade in services with the rest of the world shrank.

Markits final US services purchasing managers index rose to 52. 3 in September, up from 51. 0 in August and the flash estimate of 51.9.

Retail sales in the 19 countries that share the euro fell less than expected in August, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

The International monetary Fund (IMF) marked down its forecast for the United States this year to 1. 6%, from 2. 2% in July, due to rise in political uncertainty in the lead up to the November election.
COLUMBUS  Some voters are getting a jump on casting their ballots for the general election.

Early voting ballots were mailed to in-state voters who requested them starting Monday and military members and overseas voters had their ballots sent 45 days prior to the election.

Platte County Election Commissioner Diane Olmer said early voting has increased since it was opened to any registered voter.

So far, Olmers office has sent 350 ballots, which is par for the course during a presidential election year.

That is a trend across the state.

Secretary of State John Gale said there is typically a large surge in early voting as soon as it is available, then again right before Election Day.

In the last presidential election, 26 percent of people voted early, by mail and in person. Since then, many more counties have conducted special elections by mail, so it will be interesting to see if that translates to more voters casting a ballot by mail for the general election, Gale said.

Applications to receive an early voting ballot are available at the Platte County Election Commissioner's Office or www.plattecounty.net or from the secretary of states website at www.sos.ne.gov.

Early voting ballots can be mailed to the election commissioners office or placed in the drop box located next to the Platte County Courthouse entrance.

Voters can also cast their ballots early in person starting next week. That option will be available in Platte County beginning Tuesday. The courthouse will be closed Monday in recognition of Columbus Day.

People have until Oct. 28 to ask for an early voting ballot to be mailed to them. All mailed ballots must be returned to the county election office by 8 p.m. on Election Day (Nov. 8). The last day for in-person, early voting is Nov. 7.

Sample ballots can also be viewed by visiting the countys website. There are a few area races this year that do not have enough candidates to fill the open positions, including the village boards for Creston, Cornlea and Monroe.

Those seeking a write-in campaign need to file a notarized affidavit at least 10 days before the election.
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Need to get rid of leaves? Here's how to get them recycled in Columbus
COLUMBUS  April Zaura wants residents voices to be heard before an 80-foot cellular communications tower is erected in Glur Park.

Zaura, who lives across the street from the local park, is rallying the neighborhood to oppose the project  although her efforts are likely coming too late.

Columbus City Council members voted in August to approve an agreement with Verizon Wireless to install the cellphone tower in the parks northeast corner, near the intersection of 26th Avenue and 30th Street.

The structure, designed to look like an evergreen tree, will be accompanied by a building that houses both public restrooms and service equipment for the cell site.

City officials are using the cell tower request to their advantage.

Verizon will cover the buildings construction costs, estimated at $240,000, then receive a $40,000 payment from the city and $6,000 annual credit on its lease payment over 15 years.

The companys yearly lease payment starts at $13,200 before the city credit, with that amount increasing by 2 percent annually for up to 25 years.

Columbus Public Property Director Doug Moore, who oversees the parks department, said city officials were trying to get the best deal they could from Verizon.

Am I totally happy? No. But I think we made the best deal that we could make, he said.

Moore said he requested that the fenced-in cell tower be moved from the parks northwest corner  where it was originally proposed  to the northeast section so its located alongside a sanitary sewer lift station that will be moved to the park from a nearby residential property. Putting the infrastructure together will limit the effects on the park, he said.

Aesthetics are only part of the concerns expressed by Zaura, who learned about the project from a Telegram article printed after the Verizon agreement was approved.

Weve been blindsided by the whole thing, Zaura said of the project, which was also discussed at a park board meeting.

Zaura said a cell tower doesnt fit in with the surrounding residential neighborhood and shes concerned it could pose a safety threat for those living nearby and children at the Immanuel Lutheran School and day care just across 26th Avenue.

Municipal code requires cell towers to be at least 200 feet from residential properties, but that rule doesnt apply to the city-owned park. Also, city officials say the tower is designed to collapse onto itself should a structural failure occur, reducing the amount of setback needed.

If the tower fell over, City Engineer Rick Bogus said it wouldnt reach private property.

The citys land development ordinance  a set of general guidelines for siting communications towers  lists goals such as protecting residential areas, encouraging the location of towers outside residential areas, limiting the number of towers within the city limits and considering public health and safety.

Zaura, who held a meeting with neighbors at her home Wednesday night, said the cell tower will hurt the area and could decrease property values.

Basically, who is going to buy a house right next to a cell tower? she said.

Zaura wrote a four-page letter she plans to present to the city and Verizon, and shes leading a group that will be canvassing the neighborhood this weekend to pass out fliers and collect signatures in opposition to the project. She said more than 50 people have backed the effort so far.

Im really saddened that our community leaders dont think that our neighborhood is of value, she said.

It comes down to money, Zaura added. They sold us out for a cell tower.

City officials say it isnt that simple.

Verizon identified a void in its cellular coverage and picked an area for the new tower. The citys preference is to put cell towers on property it already owns.

If a project is rejected by the city, Moore said a cellular company can appeal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to get it pushed through.

Basically, were limited in what we can do, he said.

Mayor Mike Moser agreed.

And since the contract with Verizon is already signed, theres likely no turning back.

To go back now and say, Well, we changed our mind, would be a problem, Moser said.

The city has scheduled a public meeting on the project for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Immanuel Lutheran School gymnasium, 2865 26th Ave.

Principal Jody Timm said the school doesn't have an official stance on the cell tower project, but was open to hosting the meeting.

Timm said it's important for parents and those involved with the school to be informed about the changes.

"They have a stake in the neighborhood as well," he said.
COLUMBUS  Sheryl Korger can only imagine what her sister would be like today.

She thinks Lynn Ditter would have loved being a mom, seeing her two children grow, and enjoyed life as a grandmother just as much. She can picture her sister being a successful accountant at a local business, probably working there her entire career.

There isnt a day that has gone by when Korger hasnt wondered just what Ditter would have been. That is all she can do  wonder.

Korger was nervous to talk about her sister, admitting she isnt much of a public speaker. As she stood behind a podium in front of a room of people, she kept in mind why she agreed to tell her sisters story. It would help victims of domestic violence. She spoke Thursday during a domestic violence awareness vigil sponsored by the Center for Survivors and held at First United Methodist Church.

Lynn should have had the chance to be a mother, to shine, to become the person she had every right to be. To laugh, to love, to exist, Korger said.

But her life was cut short.

On Jan. 23, 1979, a 26-year-old Ditter was shot four times, murdered by her estranged husband David Ditter, who broke into her Columbus apartment. Their two children were 3 1/2 and 2 years old at the time.

Korger said her sister knew her husband would kill her.

She knew if she left him, she would die, Korger said.

Her sister got married at age 18 and, shortly after, her husband was drafted and they moved to Germany. A relationship that was already manipulative and controlling turned much more violent when Lynn Ditter was separated from her family.

Isolation is one form of abuse, said Abbie Tessendorf, with Center for Survivors.

Domestic violence is when one person uses power and control to get what they want. That power and control takes many forms. It can be jealously, financially, sexually. We think of it as just hitting, but that is the extreme, Tessendorf said.

Ditters abuse lasted years, even after moving back to Columbus, and went beyond bruises and broken bones. Korger said her sister eventually filed assault and rape charges against her husband.

It was the 1970s, a time when Korger said there wasnt nearly as much of a spotlight on domestic violence awareness as there is now. Because of that, many people chose not to believe the charges.

She remembers overhearing people at work talking about the case. One comment, in particular, stood out  if Ditter stayed married to her husband for as long as she did, she must have asked for it.

Korger said her sister left her husband a few months after filing the rape charges. David Ditter stalked Lynn Ditter for weeks.

She lived in constant fear, Korger said.

The morning of the day she was killed, Korger said her sister called their mother and said she just wanted to live and that she was too young to die.

Korger said her sister was courageous to leave. Despite the terror she faced, she did get out.

Leaving an abusive relationship can be the most dangerous time for a victim, Tessendorf said, adding that statistics show 70 percent of women who are murdered by their partners are killed while trying to leave the relationship.

Tessendorf said family members and friends can help victims get out of an abusive situation by being a source of support.

When you are afraid for somebody, your sister or your friend, I think the most important thing you can say is, I love you and I want you to know youre worthy. I know youre doing what is best for you, but I hope you know that nobody deserves this and Im frightened for you. But Im always going to be here, no matter what, if you are with that person or not, she said.

David Ditter was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. Korger has testified at two of his parole hearings and one pardon hearing to keep him behind bars.

Even though her sister isnt here, Korger wants her life to matter and to help those who are facing domestic violence.

That is all I wanted to do tonight, to make a difference, even if it is just one person, she said.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Stocks recovered from a broad decline to end mixed on Thursday, a day ahead of a key jobs report.

The market fell from the start, then drifted between gains and losses for much of the afternoon. Yields on Treasury bonds rose again, and the price of oil climbed past $50 a barrel for the first time since June.





. . .
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Q. How much sleep do you normally get? But first, are you female or male? Young or old? Have a job starting at an early or later time?

A. Using a smartphone sleep-tracking app called Entrain, Daniel Folger and his team at the University of Michigan monitored the sleep patterns of 5,000 people worldwide, noting their bedtime, waking time, time zone and daytime light exposure, says David Shultz at New Scientist magazine online. They found that women get the most sleep, especially those under the age of 25, while middle-aged men sleep the least. The strongest indicator of amount of sleep is the time a person awakens, suggesting that having a job that starts early often means not getting as much sleep as someone whose job begins at a later hour. Furthermore, older folks tend to go to sleep and wake up earlier, perhaps because the window for when a person can sleep narrows with age.





. . .
Tobin's Spar Express Letterkenny has just been named as the Best Forecourt Retailer in Ireland for Hygiene and Food Safety at this years National Q Mark Awards.

Hailed as The Olympians of business excellence, the team from Tobin's SPAR Express Letterkenny received the winners medal during an awards ceremony held in the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Dublin.

The Q Mark Awards are associated with quality and excellence in the minds of Irish consumers and it is the only system which allows businesses to monitor 100 per cent of their processes and procedures 100 per cent of the time.

Established in 1980, Tobins Service Station is a family run business which incorporates a modern attended forecourt, car wash facility, convenience store and 60-seat cafe/deli. They employ 37 staff and have been in the Q Mark programme since 2009.

The Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar TD, who attended this years awards, said, At the heart of the government's strategy is supporting Irish businesses through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Quality standards and good governance enables this growth and competitiveness and it is exciting to see companies in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors competing side by side. These are the modern Irish businesses that are driving the engine of our recovery, and I wish them every success in the future.

Eddie Tobin, owner of the store said, The Q Mark for Hygiene and Food Safety is an integral part of our businesss DNA and we are delighted that our standards are worthy of this prestigious national award yet again.

Irene Collins, managing director of The National Q Mark Awards said, It seems that the harder Annette, Eddie and the team work the luckier they become. The team have a fantastic work ethic and an unwavering commitment to operational excellence.
A pensioner who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges at Letterkenny District Court may have a jail term suspended if he removes all animals from his farm by the beginning of November.

Leslie Stewart, 69, of The Thorn, Letterkenny entered guilty pleas in relation to four charges under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations 2010 on Monday.

Judge Paul Kelly has ordered Stewart not to keep any animals on his farm after several horses and donkeys were found starving on his lands.

Animal welfare inspectors outlined to the court how they visited Mr Stewarts farm at The Thorn in Letterkenny on several occasions and found animals in various states of starvation.

Department of Agriculture Veterinary Inspector, Desmond Lavin, told the court he was forced to euthanise a number of animals including two donkeys, two calves and a pony during different inspections.

The defendant had 25 previous convictions in relation to animal welfare and had been banned from keeping sheep for 15 years back in 2000.

Solicitor, Kieran OGorman, said his client did not pay for any of the animals of his farm but that he had taken them after they were abandoned.

Judge Paul Kelly said he was seriously considering a jail sentence in the case and adjourned sentencing to November 1 to ensure there were no animals left on his property.

He asked both ISPCA Inspector Kevin McGinley and Inspector Lavin to inspect Stewarts lands adding the only reason he is considering suspending the sentence is because of his advanced years and circumstances.
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The Place Where I Stand To Look Out Over This World, an exhibition of the work of artist Ann Quinn, continues at Taylor Galleries in Dublin through Saturday.

The show opened on Sept. 22nd and finishes tomorrow, Saturday, October 8th.

The solo show received five stars from Aidan Dunne, visual arts critic with The Irish Times. Several paintings, are likely to stop you in your tracks, he said.

Analyse their component parts and it remains unclear how Quinn managed the magical feat of conjuring up the overall vision, he said.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Mick ODea, artist and RHA president, addressed the importance of Anns Donegal home place in her work and her absolute identification with where she comes from.

He said Ann could look at the far horizon from the family farm in east Donegal, and her imagination took off.

I really think Ann has a visionary imagination, he said. Shes somebody who processes the world and lives in the world at a very intense level. Theres a magical quality to the work and the way she processes the world as she sees it in her paintings."

A companion catalogue to the show is available at Taylor Galleries in Dublin and online at http://www.blurb.com.
The National Health Service has reported that Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey tested negative for the Ebola virus after being admitted to hospital under routine monitoring.

A registered NHS nurse, Ms Cafferkey, who has close Donegal connections, contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone in 2014, where she was working as a volunteer with the Save the Children charity.

Ms. Cafferkeys late grandmother was originally from the townland of Rannyhaul, near Kincasslagh.

The NHS of Greater Glasgow and Clyde issued the following statement on Thursday evening:

Pauline Cafferkey was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital this morning under the care of the Infectious Diseases Unit. Due to Ms Cafferkeys past medical history, appropriate precautionary measures were taken whilst further investigations were carried out.

"We are pleased to report that tests for the Ebola virus are negative. She remains in a stable condition in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. We want to repeat our previous reassurance that there is no risk to the public.

We will not be issuing further statements and would ask that Paulines privacy and right to medical confidentiality be respected.
A local campaign opposing proposed oyster farms at Cruit strand and Keadue strand in west Donegal has gathered steam since it began last week, when local people became aware of the plans.

About 200 people attended a public meeting in Kincasslagh on Sunday evening, the third well-attended public meeting in a matter of days after public notices of the applications appeared in local newspapers.

This time last week no one knew any of this, Ben McGonagle, PRO of the Save Our Strands (SOS) group, said Sunday night in Kincasslagh hall, after the meeting had finished.

The public notices invited people to make submissions on the projects and SOS is encouraging people to make their concerns about the projects known to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

SOS group member Adrian Ward said people were not opposed to oyster farming  they have friends who make their living in the field and group members said they welcome employment in the area  but they had serious concerns about the proposed location of these oyster farm projects.

Wild Atlantic Way has brought results

Tourism is all the area has, group members said. And they said visitors are drawn largely because of the natural beauty of the area and its beaches, as well as by the legacy of international singing star Daniel ODonnell, who is from Kincasslagh and whose fans still visit regularly.

They said the Wild Atlantic Way tourism initiative has produced results for the Rosses area in recent months. The increased number of visitors, particularly from France and Germany, has been noticeable, especially in local B&Bs and other businesses, they said

Visitors to the area include photography clubs who stay locally for several days in order to take photographs of the coastal west Donegal landscape.

Whos going to come and take photographs of oyster trestles? Ben asked.

Strands well used by locals and visitors

In addition, group members said the local strands are also regularly used by local people and visitors for kayaking, horseback riding and swimming.

Anyone coming to go to Cruit Island or Keadue, they dont want to see an oyster farm, SOS group member Sheila ODonnell said.

She called the amount of footfall along the strands, quite staggering.

One application proposes an 11.2-hectare project in Kincasslagh Bay at Keadue strand, from applicant Manus Bonnar of Belcruit, Kincasslagh.

The second application proposes a 12.5-hectare project in Kincasslagh Bay at Cruit strand, from applicant Benedetta M.C. Cazzamali, who lives in County Cork.

The deadline for submissions on the application for the Keadue strand project is October 14th and the deadline for submissions on the application for the Cruit strand project is October 17th.

On Saturday, Thomas Pringle, independent TD; independent Cllr. Micheal Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig; and Sinn Fein Cllr. Marie Therese Gallagher met with local people at the Cruit bridge.

Deputy Pringle said Keadue strand is very heavily used by the local community. While the meeting took place, horseback riders could be seen along the strand.

With trestles so close to the bridge and the area very well used by the local community, it is too big an intrusion and a displacement of the community, Deputy Pringle said.

He said the projects, would have a huge impact on the community, which hasnt been considered.

Pat the Cope Gallagher, Fianna Fail TD, has urged the public to make necessary submissions to the department.

I am fully supportive of the local residents and their bona fide concerns regarding these applications, he said. The natural beauty and unspoilt nature of this area along the Wild Atlantic Way has to be protected.

Deputy Gallagher met with Minister Michael Creed last Thursday when news broke, and expressed his concerns. He said he has also been in discussions with department officials.

Questions over EIS

Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein TD, questioned the ministers decision not to require an Environmental Impact Statement as part of the plans that were submitted to the department.

The ministers decision is highly questionable, particularly when you consider the fact that the site is located within a Special Area of Conservation and considering the implications which such a large development will have on the region, Deputy Doherty said, saying he will raise those proposals with Minister Creed.

The applications are available for viewing on the web site of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, by searching for aquaculture/foreshore licence applications at https://www.agriculture. gov.ie.
As the number of breast cancer cases increases by 33% model Roz Purcell is calling on members of the public in Donegal to Paint it Pink this October as she launches the Irish Cancer Societys campaign to support people affected by breast cancer in Ireland.

In Donegal 1,077 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2013, 80 with breast cancer, and this figure is increasing every year.

Paint it Pink calls on members of the public to host a pink coffee morning or event this October and fight back against breast cancer by raising funds to support the Societys vital research, advocacy and services for those affected by breast cancer.

Every year in Ireland over 2,800 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. That figure is rising annually and according to statistics by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland there has been a 33% increase in the number of cases diagnosed over a ten year period.

However, 85% of women are surviving breast cancer, thanks to cancer research which is improving detection and treatments. The Irish Cancer Society has invested 7.5m in a five year study focused on breast cancer research.

Speaking at the launch, model and former Miss Universe Ireland Roz Purcell said, Every family has been touched by cancer, and for women, breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. This October we can help support all those on their breast cancer journey by Painting it Pink  host a coffee morning or pink event and play your part.

Members of the public can help fund vital cancer research and support services for those affected by cancer, such as Night Nursing and the Societys Freephone Cancer Nurseline, by Painting it Pink this October. Visit www.paintitpink.ie or call 1850 60 60 60 for fundraising ideas and information on breast cancer.

CEO of the Irish Cancer Society John McCormack said, We cant continue our work in the fight against breast cancer without raising significant funds, so we hope men and women across the country will get behind the campaign and Paint it Pink with us! It is through campaigns such as Paint it Pink that we can continue to fund and support exciting new research and support services for those affected by breast cancer.
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.
Ronald Moede was born on December 21, 1934, in Rio Creek, WI. The son of the late Fred and Emily (Hanamann) Moede, he married Bonnie Neinas in Brussels on June 4, 1960, and they were married for 62+ years. He was a life-long resident of Rio Creek and was an innovative dairy farmer. He owned and managed a large dairy operation, Meade Manor Farms, which had been homesteaded by his grandfather, August Moede, in 1895. The log cabin home, barn, and herd grew to become one of the larger dairy farms in Kewaunee County under his guidance. Upon his retirement, it evolved into Meade Manor Pet Clinic, a vet service for small animals, but the land continued to flourish and produce. Ron graduated from Casco High School, Class of 1952 and Graham School for Cattlemen, Kansas. He was a member of the Wisconsin Holstein Breeders, Kewaunee County Holstein Breeders, and the National Holstein

Association. He was a charter member of the Algoma FFA Alumni. His family exhibited champion dairy cattle at local, state, and national dairy cattle shows. In 1984, in Madison, the Wisconsin FFA named him Outstanding Farmer and in 1995, he was named and honored at the Wisconsin State Fair as a Century Farmer. He served as an elder in his church for many years as well as a trustee and various committee appointments. In his younger days, he was active in dartball and also high school sports. He received the Algoma Honorary Chapter Farmer Award, and the Unified Board Business Award. In his retirement, he drove school bus for 15 years for the Algoma School District and was a member of the Great Lakes Sports Fishermen. A hobby later enjoyed was his chicken farming. He raised a small flock of chicken, and he enjoyed passing out extra eggs to friends and relatives when the supply was greater than the family could handle. He was an avid sports fan and he and Bonnie attended both Packers Super Bowl games in 1996 and 1997, and also the Milwaukee World Series in 1983. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, both here and in upper Michigan and Minnesota. He even got Bonnie to go along with him to Lake of the Woods on the Canadian border to do some ice fishing. He held Packers season tickets since 1960 and at the time they bought their tickets they were allowed to pick out where they wanted to sit on the sidelines --there were no end zone seats yet-- and the tickets cost $5.00 a piece! He traveled through most of the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii as well as traveling to the Caribbean and Europe. He enjoyed a summer place in Door County for 20 years. He told many stories of farming with his dad and the fact that at the age of 12, he had his own team of horses to work with on the farm. Responsibility came early as he was left in charge whenever it was necessary for his parents to be gone for a few days. He learned to drive a truck at an early age and often drove himself to school in 8th grade and parked the vehicle a few doors down at a relatives. This was because chores need to be done before and after school. The first tractor purchased was in 1937. In his retirement, he had it restored and displayed in local fairs and tractor shows. He would tell of shocking grain and threshing crews traveling from neighbor to neighbor and the wonderful table his mother would set full of food. A vivid memory was the day WWII ended. The whole neighborhood and working crew quit in the early afternoon (unheard of) and celebrated With beer and music! Even the clergy arrived and joined in. It was a day to remember! In his lifetime he went from horses and the depression, to the digital age and unimagined luxuries. There was no electricity and no running water in his youth and now he had wireless phones, computer screens in his vehicles, along with heated steering wheels and heated seats. Who would have thought that back then.

Ron is survived by his wife Bonnie; son Robert (Debbie Harms) Moede; grandson Michael and granddaughter Megan; siblings, Terry (Jane) Moede, Paul (Roxie) Moede; sisters-in-law, Diane Fontaine, Sheila (Don) Baudhuin; and brothers in-law, Dan (Mary) Neinas. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Emily Moede; sister, Marilyn (Arno) Schneider; father- and mother-in-law, Herman and Madeline Neinas, and brother-in-law, Gary Fontaine.

Visitation will be held at Kinnard Funeral & Cremation Services  Algoma, on Friday, October 7, 2022, from 4-7:30 pm with a prayer service at 6:30. Visitation will continue on Saturday, October 8th at St. Johns Lutheran Church  Rankin, from 9-11:00 am. Funeral service will be held at 11:00 am with Dr. Rev. Christopher Jackson officiating. Burial to follow in Evergreen Cemetery. Online condolence message may be shared at KinnardFCS.com. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Kewaunee County 4-H Dairy Fund and the Projection Screen Fund at St. Johns- Rankin.
This is the last Ford built in Australia.

The blue oval released photos and information of the final Falcon rolling off the production line earlier today, October 7, 2016.

The blue Falcon XR6 was the last of 4,356,628 vehicles manufactured by Ford since it began local manufacturing in a rented wool stores in Geelong in 1925.

It is believed the final 10 cars were built this morning at the Broadmeadows plant. Ford Australia CEO Graeme Whickman hosted a private ceremony with the 600 workers still employed in the manufacturing side of the business.

"Today is an emotional day for all of us at Ford," explained Whickman. "We are saying goodbye to some of our proud and committed manufacturing employees and marking an end to 91 years of manufacturing in Australia.

"But, as the country's largest automotive investor and soon employer, we have been able to transfer many employees from our plants to our design, engineering and testing facilities across Victoria."

Ford confirmed that 160 employees have already moved into new roles within the product development team that will be maintained at Broadmeadows, as part of Ford Australia's role as one of the company's global design and engineering centres.

Ford confirmed earlier this week that it will keep the final Falcon, Falcon ute and Territory instead of selling them to collectors.

The company has yet to announce its plans for the Broadmeadows factory once it has been decommissioned
Local snapper Darran Rafferty took a shot of ongoing refurbishment work on the railings and facade at St Patrick's in Dundalk this afternoon.

It appears that the railings have been removed along with a significant part of the structure at the front of the church.

St Patrick's is built of Newry granite and was designed in the style of King's College chapel, Cambridge. Its style is pointed Gothic. Inside, St Patrick's measures 144 ft. x 72 ft (44m x 22m). It has one long nave and 2 aisles, finely chiselled granite pillars and a "ribbed vaulting" type of roof which was inspired by English Monastic architecture. Exeter Cathedral is thought to have provided the inspiration for the interior of St Patrick's.

The campanile and tower was erected by Fr. M.J. Quin (Adm.1899 - 1909) in 1903. The tower was the gift of Mrs. Julia Hamill of Seat own in memory of her late husband John Hamill. It was designed by Messrs. Ashlin & Coleman and built by James Wynne & Co., Dundalk at a cost of 6,000.

ln 1910 the commemorative tablets to Dr. Coyne & Archbishop Kieran were erected. Many iprovements were effected by Fr. P. Lyons (Adm. 1910 -1915). The original floor was of large Yorkshire flagstones. These were sold to Maynooth College and replaced by a wood block floor. He also provided the new terraced approach to the church in 1914.

In 1937 the sacristy, meeting rooms and stores were built to the plans of W.H. Byrne & Son by James Wynne & Co., Dundalk. Include in the scheme was a new bridge over the Rampart river. The extension is in the same style as the church and built of Newry granite. The cost was 14,000. In the same year a new mortuary chapel was provided on the ground floor of the campanile, where previously the baptistery was located.

History courtesy of St Patrick's
Businesses will fall behind in the innovation stakes unless they buck the status quo and strive for greater gender equality, attendees at a recent forum were warned.

Last month, the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce hosted a media briefing at Sydneys Shangri-La Hotel. The event saw Lynn Kraus, Managing Partner, Sydney & Oceania Markets, EY moderate a panel discussion on diversity. The speakers were:

Gordon Cairns, Chairman, Woolworths and Origin Energy;

Elizabeth Proust, Chairman, Australia Institute of Company Directors (AICD); and

Lisa Annese, CEO, Diversity Council of Australia.

Here were some of the key insights shared with the audience:

Diversity fuels innovation, success

You cannot innovate from a place of uniformity. To stay ahead of the curve, you need different points of view, different frames of reference and an enabling culture. Its easy to create a diverse workforce but harder to create an inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole self to work and achieve their potential. Innovation is no longer a nice to have, its a must in this day and age and companies that harness the power of diversity will have an absolute competitive edge.  Lynn Kraus

This blend of what Australia is becoming  a multi-cultural society  needs to be represented in corporate society, otherwise well be unable to respond to the challenges that we meet in the global economy. We often talk about women as though they are one homogenous group but there are different types of women who represent different cultural backgrounds and age groups. Targeting women as women may in fact lead boards down the path of replicating the same type of woman. We need to open our minds when it comes to diversity. If what you really want is increased innovation, the capacity to solve problems and a turn away from groupthink, then genuine diversity is about tapping into all sorts of people and their differences. The ability to bring people from diverse groups together to work towards a common goal, harness different ideas and get people to think creatively  thats the skill thats required we call that inclusive leadership. Its great HR practice but it needs to be learnt because it doesnt happen automatically.  Lisa Annese

According to the World Economic Forum, the most important determinant of a countrys competitiveness is its human talent  the skills and productivity of its workforce. In order to succeed, organisations cannot afford to ignore half the worlds population. There is a positive correlation between GDP per capita and gender equality. Its been found that higher female workforce participation creates productivity gains in industries that have been predominantly male-dominated. More equality and balance on boards leads to better performance and share price. From 2005 to 2014, boards with a higher than average percentage of women outperformed by 36% those with fewer than average. EYs research with the Peterson Institute shows that when companies have over 30% of women in leadership, they can expect a 6% increase in net profit.  Lynn Kraus

The long road to gender parity

It has been 200 years since the industrial revolution sent women into the workforce in large numbers. Its been more than 150 years since women gained access to higher education in western countries. Its been more than 90 years in parts of Asia and 80 years in parts of South America since women gained the right to vote, hold a job, go to college, create a business or rise to leadership positions. Despite this progress, there is a 60% gender gap for economic participation and the World Economic Forum estimates it will take 117 years for women to achieve gender parity in the workplace.  Lynn Kraus

About 18 months ago, the AICD set a 30% female director target for ASX 200 boards by 2018. The ASX 20 companies have almost reached the target  theyre at 28.5% and at the current rate of appointment of women to ASX 200 boards, there is a reasonable chance the target will be reached by the end of 2018 or early 2019. From a low of 8 to 9% women on ASX 200 boards a few years ago, were of striking range of that goal. The problem is the smaller end of the ASX 200 where female representation on boards is still in the single digits and there are still 11 companies that dont have a woman on their board. 30% is the point at which you get critical mass and you start to change the conversation  its a step on the way to parity. It begins to breakdown the mindset of just a few years ago when everyone around the boardroom table was male and Anglo-Saxon  I find myself saying, male, stale and pale. Some will be critical off us for not aiming for parity, but this is a journey of inches and we have to make sure we bring our membership with us.  Elizabeth Proust

What concerns me is that every year, we say the same thing: were making progress. The progress is glacial  we need to do more. We need to set aggressive targets  I dont think 30% is nearly enough. Weve set a 50% target with the Woolworths board with a 40% target to begin with. If we set the bar high, I think it sends a signal.  Gordon Cairns

The prevailing status quo

[The AICD] has written to the chairs of the ASX 200 companies with no women on their boards  or that have one  four times, occasionally without any response. Weve received written and verbal comments about why people are happy with the status quo [including] Women talk too much, dont get to the heart of matters and lengthen board meetings, we would rather have someone known to the board already and Women arent reliable enough to be long-term board members.  Elizabeth Proust

The role of sponsorship

When you sit around the boardroom table to discuss filling a position, the first question is who do you know? The who do you know ends up being the usual suspects. Now, there are a lot of talent women who are coming to the end of their executive careers and want to step onto boards but they dont know how and they dont have the same networks as men. These woman need sponsors. The more they get sponsored the more successful theyre going to be. Sponsoring means for them to identify which boards theyd like to join, for the sponsor to then ask who do you know there? or who can I get you in touch with there?, and for these women to be able to meet with the people on the boards so that when the question comes up  who are the usual suspects?  they are in the fray, as opposed to out of the fray. Until we have men who are committed to sponsorship, at both the board and executive level, the progress will continue to be glacial.  Gordon Cairns
A U.S. District judge denied Gage Countys request for a stay in paying the $28.1 million judgment awarded to six people wrongfully convicted of a 1985 Beatrice rape and murder.

The county filed the request Wednesday. On Thursday, Judge Richard Kopf said he found no grounds to grant the stay, leaving the decision up to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

I am especially sensitive to the years and years of imprisonment suffered by (the six), the long litigation history of these cases, and the fact that (Gage County has) had about eight years in this court alone to plan for the eventuality, Kopf wrote.

He previously has denied requests from Gage County for a new trial and to reduce the amount of the award granted.

With respect, the time of reckoning has long since passed," Kopf wrote.

In July, a federal jury awarded the money to Joseph White, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Thomas Winslow, Kathy Gonzalez, James Dean and Deborah Shelden, who together spent 75 years locked up for the rape and murder of Helen Wilson.

In 2008, DNA testing sought by White from behind bars tied another man -- Bruce Allen Smith -- to the crime.

The state released the three who remained in prison, granting pardons to five of them and dropping the charges in the case of White, who died in a workplace accident a couple of years after his release from prison. Smith died in an Oklahoma prison in 1992.

The six sued, saying a reckless cold-case investigation launched by Gage County Sheriff's Deputy Burt Searcey violated their civil rights.

Attorney Jennifer Tomka, writing on behalf of Gage County in its plea for a stay, said the county does not have the ability to pay the $28.1 million and that it's not clear if the county has insurance coverage or how much.

Two companies with which the county had insurance coverage from 1989 to 2010 told Gage County officials in 2009 they would not cover the cost of attorneys or any judgment in a civil court.

The county has asked both companies to reconsider, and if that fails, it could ask a judge to interpret the policies in question.

It has limited options to pay the judgment, which includes $1.7 million in attorneys fees, because it is restricted in how much it can increase both its spending and tax collecting in a single year under Nebraska law.

Should the county get a bond to pay the judgment, it would take years to pay back and would thus be a hardship for the county and its residents, the county argued.

Last week, the Gage County Board of Supervisors met with attorneys to begin looking at the process of filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy to structure payments to pay the judgment while also maintaining county services.

Board Chairman Myron Dorn said Thursday the county likely will continue those discussions next week.

In her brief filed Wednesday, Tomka said Gage County would be exempt under state law should the six try to place a lien on county property, one option they would have to collect on the judgment.

Even before attorneys for the six had a chance to respond to her assertion, Kopf said in his Thursday ruling that he does not find merit in the argument because they have not filed a lien against Gage County.

The quick answer to (Gage County's) argument is that the (six) may not wish to utilize the provisions of (the law)," Kopf wrote. "Indeed, I can think of tactical reasons why they would not do so."

To date, no lien documents have been filed, so the law does not apply, he added.

The county filed its request for a stay with both Kopf and the 8th Circuit Court, which has not yet said if it will hear the matter.
LINCOLN  Nebraska's wide grasslands, fields of golden corn and gushing aquifers make the state a nearly perfect home for cows that are content to live a quiet life of chewing cud and being milked.

That was the sales pitch the past several years as Nebraska sought to woo dairy farms from states like Texas and California, where the Holsteins were being squeezed out by drought, development and environmental regulations.

Last year, it seemed to be working. After decades of decline, the number of registered dairies in Nebraska bumped from 181 in 2014 to 184 in 2015, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

But it turned out to be more of a blip than a renaissance. The state lost 20 registered dairies as of September, dropping the total to 164.

It's not because of a lack of interest in the state. Nebraska has a list of dairy farmers who have said in writing they'd be happy to move here, state Ag Director Greg Ibach said during a recent interview.

The problem is that they can't find anyone to buy their milk.

"All of the sudden the plants that were begging for more milk, the cows caught up with the amount of processing capacity," said Rod Johnson, executive director of the Nebraska Dairy Association.

"The pipeline is full."

It's an issue up and down the Interstate 29 corridor, the dairy belt of the Midwest, Johnson said.

Dairy Farmers of America, the main cooperative force in southeast Nebraska, confirmed it doesn't need any more milk from the state.

"Due to a number of factors, including the export market, supply is currently outpacing demand in the Nebraska area," spokeswoman Kim O'Brien said in an email.

This summer, dairy farmers were losing on every gallon because of overproduction, although prices have rebounded slightly since. The National Milk Producers Federation recently reported prices in the region ranging from $14.20 to $15.70 per 100 pounds.

In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would buy 11 million pounds of cheese to help reduce a 30-year-high national surplus. The cheese is to be distributed to schools and food banks across the nation.

U.S. butter and cheese has been expensive on the world market for much of the past couple years compared with dairy from other places like Europe and Australia, causing U.S. suppliers to lose market share, although price disparities have narrowed in September, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

Dairy is an economic development cash cow. A study done last year by the state Ag Department at the direction of the Legislature found a single cow has a $5,000 local economic impact.

"Taken a step further, Nebraska's 55,000 dairy cows generate $275 million annually in local economic activity," the study said. That doesn't include the value added by Nebraska's 10 milk processing plants.

In two other studies, economists at Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota estimated a dairy cow's statewide economic impact with in-state processing at $23,000 and $25,000, respectively.

Hoping to tap into the rich dairy bounty, a coalition of state commodity groups has been sinking time and effort into attracting new processors to Nebraska.

"We call ourselves Grow Nebraska Dairy," said Johnson.

The issue, he said, is that processors want to know there are enough cows and milk to meet their needs, but to get those farmers, the state needs a processor.

"It's kind of the chicken or the egg, which comes first? Our challenge is to bring everybody together at one time," Johnson said.

Half of the state's 10 processors, including Prairieland Dairy near Firth, process milk produced by their own cows.

Dwaine Junck gets up each morning at about 5 to check the cows and get his kids ready for school.

His family has run a dairy near Carroll since the 1940s.

For him, Nebraska's full milk pipeline means less competition and lower prices for his milk. And the declining number of dairies in the state means fewer local businesses catering to dairy's unique needs.

"If we had more dairies in the area . there would be more support industries, the equipment dealers, the repair people," he said. "Well, we can't get more dairies in the area if there is no place to sell the milk."

His milk went to a string cheese processing plant in Ravenna until Leprino Foods closed it in 2013 citing, among other reasons, difficulty in getting enough milk.

Now, like 60 percent of the milk produced in Nebraska, Junck ships his out of the state.

Nebraska's dairy herd peaked in 1934 with 820,000 cows producing 2.9 billion pounds of milk annually. Today, the number of cows is closer to 55,000, but each of them produces more milk.

In 1934, each cow produced an average of 3,500 pounds of milk; today, an individual cow produces an average of more than 21,000 pounds, thanks to improved nutrition and genetics.

Nebraska's dairy farms have also gone through consolidation. The state lost 553 dairy farms over the past 15 years, a 75 percent decrease. The average number of cows per dairy farm went from 98 in 1999 to 214 in 2010, according to USDA statistics.

Last year, 52 percent of the dairy cows in the state were housed on just 14 farms.

Still, the amount of milk produced in the state has remained relatively stable at just over 1.1 billion pounds a year, according to USDA statistics.

The vast majority of Nebraska's remaining dairy farms are in the eastern portion of the state, where they are closer to processors, highways and population bases like Lincoln and Omaha that have plenty of mouths to gobble up ice cream and cheese.
Yesterday afternoon, at Adams Field at Michigan State University, in what was a dreary, rainy, pretty humid day, hundreds of mostly college students congregated to see and listen to a real political rock star: Sen. Bernie Sanders.

With just 33 days until the election, it is clear that the push to register voters, Democratic voters, and to excite the base to vote Democratic, sending Bernie Sanders to a critical state like Michigan, where he won the primary way back when was the right thing to do.

His message was both very simple and very profound: this is not about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump; it is about democracy and the very foundation on which this great country was founded.

Sen. Sanders is quite self-aware and knows that his brigade of supporters are still smarting from the primary season, where the political romance millions of voters had for him, his agenda and ideas left them terribly devastated when the process was over and he was not the candidate. He gets that but he also gets what is at stake on November 8th and he wants YOU to get that, too.

In a message Sen. Sanders delivered as he crossed that state yesterday, his comments were felt strongly and cheered loudly.

I hope you do everything you can to see Secretary Clinton is elected, Sanders exclaimed. Donald Trump is running a campaign of bigotry and I say to Mr. Trump, We have spent too long fighting bigotry and we are not going back.

As national and statewide polls have shown over the past week, Hillary Clinton is starting to pull ahead, but polls dont vote, people do. So, as part of a national strategy to get people to register to vote and check to make sure their registration is up to date, IWillVote.com is the one stop shop for it all. Its very simple to navigate and use. In fact, to test it, as I have just moved and changed my registration, I was shocked to find out that my OLD polling place was still on the books. That allowed me to make sure it was properly changed with the Michigan Sectary of State, but it was my visit to IWillVote.com that saved my voting ass!

A few of the students I spoke with, including Jessica Jessup, a sophomore from the Monroe, said she was always with Hillary Clinton, but brought along six friends to get registered and to show them why Hillary was the only choice, telling me, The thought of Donald Trump being anywhere near the White House, even to visit, is more than enough to vote for Hillary. But my vote is not an anti-Trump vote, it is very much a pro-Hillary vote.

One of her tag-alongs, James McIntyre of Traverse City, was undecided until he heard Sanders, but said his was an anti-Trump vote. Its not that Hillary Clinton is viewed negatively by this college freshman. He just doesnt see her as being as energetic and powerful as President Obama. He also said that early on he thought Trump was a real option. That is until he opened his mouth.

Jane Westmoreland, a senior political science major from Ontonagon, was a fervent Bernie Sanders supporter and organizer even making very long trips home to canvass her area. Her disappointment, as many Sanders supporters shared, was that the system seemed to favor Hillary Clinton and the leaked memos from the Democratic National Committee just reinforced her fears. But, once the dust settled and I came to my senses, I ealized what was at stake and working for Hillary got easier every day.

The handful of people I was able to get to before they quickly disbursed because of the rain were all registered, ready, and working to get others registered, as well.

There was a small protest just at the fringe of the event, but none of them would talk to me except to call me names that Chris Savage does not like us to use on the blog, not even knowing what media organization I was with. Once I identified myself as being with the media, a true Trumpian distaste was well observed and expressed. It was actually quite funny. The media? What a**holes we ALL are, right?

As Chris Savage posted yesterday, latest polls show Hillary up in Michigan by 11 points and, as he also wrote, that should scare us. I also believe that Hillary Clinton is NOT taking Michigan for granted which is why she will be in Detroit on Monday. She knows with great certainty that every vote matters and, like most of what she knows, this is true, too.

The clock is ticking and I would expect that over the course of the next 33 days well see more surrogates,as we will on Saturday when icon and feminist Gloria Steinem (Ill be covering her event in East Lansing on Saturday night at the Wharton Center) comes to Michigan for a few stops, including Ann Arbor, to make sure all women understand what a Trump presidency would mean for them.

Listen, at the sake of sounding condescending, not everyone follows politics as closely as you and I do, dear reader, and MANY voters are now only beginning to pay attention and make their decision. Sunday nights debate is crucial to Hillary Clinton, but so are all of us.

Bernie Sanders made that clear yesterday, now we need to deliver that message to the rest of the electorate.

As Chris Savage is also fond of sharing, #GOTMFV
Watching Republican Jack Bergman running for Congress in Michigans mammoth 1st Congressional District is fascinating. Hes a charming, affable guy but when you scratch the surface of his facade, hes not informed about many issues and hes nothing more than a typical tea party Republican on all of the others.

The campaign of the Democrat running for the seat, Lon Johnson, put together clips of Bergmans know-nothingness and tea party rhetoric that gives a comprehensive look at how atrocious of a candidate he really is:

Bergman wants to privatize Social Security and Medicare. He wants to decrease the number of VA hospitals. He thinks the decision on whether or not to shut down Line 5, the aging oil pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac, is a business decision. He is an extreme forced-birther who wouldnt even allow an exception for abortions for women who are the victims of rape and/or incest. He even brought in House Speaker Paul Ryan to campaign for him, a man who is the poster child for privatizing Social Security and Medicare and a major proponent of the failed model of trickle-down economics where all of the benefits go to the most wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Hes not just completely wrong on the issues, hes also completely ignorant on some of them. Heres what he told an audience at a recent appearance when asked he is for Medicare turning into vouchers:

Ill tell you what, again, thats one of those things. You have concentrated on all of the issues that I have not here in the last six months. Im not very deep on that one. So, I I Going back End game? End game: quality health care, thats accessible and affordable. How we get there, were going to figure you AFTER you send me to Congress. Okay? I cant give you all the answers on the front end because were going to be in that debate saying, Geez, well why didnt I vote for you before? Well I didnt run. This is your chance. This is your chance. You cant vote for the incumbent because hes retired. Youre gonna hafta roll the dice with me.

His rhetoric is astonishing enough but when you watch his body language when he says it, you get a true sense of just how out of his league he is:

Bergman appears to know hes terrible when he has to deal directly with voters. Hes been skipping out on multiple debates and forums with Johnson. Heres the tally so far:

After skipping out on a debate last week in Gaylord, heres what his appearance at a forum in Ontonagon this past Tuesday looked like:

Meanwhile, Johnson has been an indefatigable campaigner, criss crossing the Upper Pensinsula and the northern Lower Peninsula to speak with voters to earn their vote.

Bergman doesnt appear to believe he has to earn the votes of the people who would be his constituents. Hes relying on his military background and the fact that the 1st District has an R+4 Cook Partisan Voting Index to carry him, avoiding contact with voters on a regular basis.

You might say hes rolling the dice.
The Michigan Democratic Womens Caucus is holding a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Rally for Hillary Clinton and all Democrats this Saturday, October 8th from 3:00-4:30 p.m. at the Parkridge Community Center in Ypsilanti (591 Armstrong Drive.) They have two very special guests: Womens Rights pioneer and founder/publisher of Ms. Magazine Gloria Steinem and AFT President Randi Weingarten.

As I man who spent enormous amounts of time reading Ms. Magazine as a young boy thanks to my feminist/activist mother, I am positively thrilled to have Ms. Steinem visiting us in Washtenaw County. I also will have the privilege of introducing my friend Randi Weingarten, a powerful and energetic warrior for teachers, women, and Democrats in general.

Many thanks to the Michigan Democratic Womens Caucus including Washtenaw Countys own Christina Montague and Ypsilanti Mayor Pro Tem Lois Richardson for making this event possible. I hope youll join us!

You can RSVP for the event HERE.

Click the image below for a printable flyer.
LINCOLN  A retrial of a dorm-room sex assault case ended Thursday with a Lancaster County jury finding a 19-year-old college student not guilty.

Christopher Petersen's first trial, in June, ended in a mistrial after the all-male jury deadlocked.

In the case that came down to whether his accuser had done enough to let him know she wasn't consenting, some speculated then that it unfairly benefited him that no women were on the jury even though attorneys on both sides take part in the selection.

This time, six men and six women took 2 hours to acquit him of first-degree sexual assault, a felony that could've gotten him up to 50 years in prison and put him on the sex offender registry.

Little was different this time around, aside from the fact that Petersen chose to testify.

After the bailiff said not guilty, Petersen, a student at the University of Arizona now, let out a sigh heard from the back of the courtroom. His mother cried.

His accuser wasn't there. But early in the week, the 19-year-old took the stand to give her version of what happened Sept. 5, 2015, in a room at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Sandoz Hall.

They were both Greek pledges, 18-year-olds in their freshman year who met a couple of weeks earlier, Snapchatted, then started texting.

That Saturday, they saw each other at a tailgate before the BYU game, had a couple of drinks, then walked hand-in-hand back to her room so she could change her shoes.

They talked for a while before they started kissing. She didn't mind that.

"It was like maybe if I got to know this kid, I could like him," she said.

But at some point, she said, Petersen put his hand on the back of her head and forced her to kiss him.

"That's when I knew I didn't want to go any further," she said.

Defense attorney Bob Creager asked why she didn't just get up and leave.

"I don't know," she said.

Instead, she and Petersen talked about how she didn't want to do more with someone she wasn't dating. She said he told her to just let it happen and kept going.

Petersen said he agreed to be in a relationship, and she continued, even helping him take off her pants. She said he pulled them off her with one hand while he pinned her down on the bed.

She said she squirmed and pushed his shoulder at one point and said more than once to stop.

In a call recorded by police, Petersen told her his urges got the best of him and he took things too far.

"I think I definitely wanted to have sex more," he said on the stand, "but she didn't seem like she was adverse to it."

He penetrated her with his finger and tongue, her feet on his shoulders at one point, until she said to stop, that she was bleeding, and he stopped.

"You agree that you forced yourself on (her), correct?" Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Dan Packard asked him.

"To some extent, yes," Petersen answered.

He said at the time she was giving him signs she was OK with everything that was happening. But the next day, she said she wasn't.

In closing arguments, Packard said it wasn't about mixed signals.

"Maybe you think, 'Hey, she could've done more.' That's not the question," he told the jury. "The question is did she reasonably make known to him ... she was saying no."

He said her testimony alone was enough to convict Petersen.

Creager said there's no doubt she didn't consent, but did she say enough or do enough to make that clear to Petersen?

"That's the key to this case," he argued. "What's going on in her head versus what she's actually saying and doing."

After the verdict, he said, Petersen was thankful for the jury's thoughtful deliberations and hard work.

"It was a trying ordeal for all involved," Creager said, adding that Petersen was grateful to those who stood by him.

Neither Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly, nor Petersen's accuser responded to a request Thursday afternoon for comment.
Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer is facing extradition to California after appearing in a Texas court Friday on charges his company earned millions of dollars by promoting adult and child prostitution through escort advertisements run on the site.

The court appearance came a day after Ferrers arrest in Houston. He had just returned from the Netherlands to the headquarters of his Dallas-based company, which officials said is the largest advertiser of adult escort services in the U.S.

Backpage.com seems to have knowingly and willingly allowed women and children to be expoited in return for its own financial gain, said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference announcing the arrest. I intend to provide every resource available to make sure this company and the individuals who operate it can never again do business in the state of Texas.

Undercover Probe

The arrest followed an investigation led by California Attorney General Kamala Harris and the California Department of Justice, which investigated the firm for three years using undercover agents who responded to escort ads and arranged meetings with people who had advertised on the site.

Ferrer and the two owners of Backpage, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, were charged in Sacramento Superior Court with conspiring to commit pimping through Backpage and two additional websites, Evil Empire and BigCity, according to court filings.

Backpage generated about US$2 million a month in credit card payments between Oct. 2014 and May 2015, according to the complaint.

Warrants have been issued for Lacey and Larkin, but they have not yet been arrested, Kristen Ford, a spokesperson for Harriss office, told the E-Commerce Times on Friday.

The Backpage operation has created websites in local cities throughout the country, including more than 30 in California since 2010, according to Harriss office.

From January 2013 to March 2015, 99 percent of the companys revenue came from escort ads, based on the California investigation.

Bad Business

Ferrers arrest could be the beginning of the end for Backpage, suggested Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute.

Its hard to predict, since i dont know what defense they may offer, he told the E-Commerce Times. However, it has the flavor of a careful investigation by a major states law enforcement apparatus, so it could cripple or close the business.

A big part of this story is the involvement of Lacey and Larkin, who were among the original founders of the Phoenix New Times and later founded Village Voice Media, Edmonds added.

Arguably, these guys were once the kings of the alt-weekly field, and this is pretty sordid stuff for once-respected publishers, he observed.

Ferrer and Backpage have been subject to prior investigations into child sex trafficking. Backpage was cited for civil contempt after Ferrer failed to appear at a hearing last November of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., respectively the chair and ranking member of the committee, said the committees bipartisan probe of trafficking led right to Backpage using its advertisements to exploit women and children to bring in millions in revenue.

We certainly wish that Backpage had willingly cooperated with our investigation, the senators said in a statement. Despite its refusal to do so, our investigation was the first to uncover Backpages practice of editing ads in manner that serves to conceal criminal activity.

The committee will continue its probe.

Attorney Steven Ross, who represented Backpage during the Senate hearings, was not immediately available for comment.
Leaks about Googles expected family of Pixel smartphones, reportedly manufactured by HTC, on Monday reached a crescendo ahead of the companys Tuesday press event.

Google is poised to announce two smartphones, the Pixel and Pixel XL, according to specs published by UK retailer Carphone Warehouse.

The Pixel XL has a 5.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 pixel AMOLED display and a 3,450 mAh battery; the Pixel has a 5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 AMOLED display and a 2,770 mAh battery.

Both have a Gorilla Glass 4 screen, a 12-MP rear camera with 1.55-micron pixels and an f/2.0 aperture, an 8-MP front-facing camera, a one-touch fingerprint sensor and 4 GB of RAM. They will be offered with 32-GB or 128-GB storage options.

Both use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor.

Google Assistant reportedly is a major feature of the devices.

This is a major disruption, said Werner Goertz, research director for personal technologies at Gartner.

Google realize the Nexus concept worked up to a certain point, but now they have to take tighter ownership of the end point, which is the smartphone  not the PC or tablets, he told TechNewsWorld.

Butting Heads With Apple

With the Pixel, Google is approaching the capabilities of the iPhone high-end devices, said Michael Jude, a program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

Think of it as the iPhone for the masses, he told TechNewsWorld.

Both the iPhone 7 and the Pixel line max out at 128 GB of storage, for example.

Of course, the iPhone 7 Plus can go up to 256 GB, but I bet the Google price point is much lower, Jude said.

Pricing tags currently being tossed around peg the Pixel at about US$350 and the Pixel XL at $650, according to David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research.

If true, thats substantially cheaper than an iPhone, and I think it puts the XL on a par with Samsungs S7, he told TechNewsWorld.

The bang-for-your buck argument is very important in the Android ecosystem, as its becoming so much more difficult to differentiate on hardware, McQueen pointed out. With brands like Samsung, LG and Huawei all very much vying for shelf space in the market, Google needs to come out with something different.

Pure Android

Speculation is rife over whether the Pixel family of devices has an SD card.

There is some contention over the SD slot, McQueen told TechNewsWorld. When Samsung took it out of their higher-end devices, there was an uproar, and now, its put back in the S7.

However, most smartphones can now back up to the cloud or email or text any file to another machine, Frosts Jude pointed out. Except for additional storage, [SD cards] make no sense.

Pixel will let Google showcase all the new features and functionalities that are included in [Android Nougat], and how the tightly integrated hardware helps create an improved user experience, McQueen suggested.

The Pixel family will run Android Nougat at its purest, said Ramon Llamas, a research manager at IDC.

This is just a flagship for Google, and a way to show what Android Nougat is supposed to look and feel like, he told TechNewsWorld.

Pixels Target

The Pixel will appeal to a limited number of people, because the marketplace as a whole doesnt understand or appreciate what its all about, Llamas predicted. It will appeal to developers the most.

Google hasnt been very successful with smartphones in terms of volume sold, ABIs McQueen noted. On the other hand, its chief aim with the Nexus line was to showcase the device for the Android ecosystem.

The change in Googles branding of its smartphones may signal Googles attempt to make Android a more unified experience on its own products, McQueen speculated. Androids a highly fragmented platform and some consistency would be welcomed.
Yahoo on Thursday disclosed that a data breach in late 2014 resulted in the theft of information from at least 500 million customer accounts.

Based on a recent investigation, it appears that state-sponsored hackers carried out the attack, the company said.

Account information compromised includes names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.

Payment card and bank account information was not compromised, according to Yahoo. That information is stored on a system that was not affected by the breach.

Yahoo pointed to an increase in state-sponsored attacks on technology companies and noted that since late last year, it has informed about 10,000 users of suspicions that state-sponsored actors were targeting their accounts.

Bad Timing

If the breach reports are true, they couldnt have come at a worse time for the company, which is preparing to sell its operating business to telecommunications giant Verizon for US$4.8 billion.

Verizon certainly took on a calculated level of risk in acquiring Yahoo, particularly because of its massive user base, said Kevin Cunningham, president of SailPoint.

The question of whether this breach will affect the sale price depends on how extensively [Verizon] performed due diligence on Yahoos security controls, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Its a perfect illustration of the fact that this due diligence should include not just network security controls, but also identity governance controls, Cunningham continued, because as weve seen with LinkedIn, Dropbox and countless others, breaches very often result from compromised employee credentials.

With a data breach of this size, tremendous risk is created for an acquisition partner, noted Erik Knight, CEO of SimpleWan.

Theres going to be a ton of issues here that could drastically reduce the value of Yahoo, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Verizon on Thursday acknowledged that it had been notified of Yahoos security incident, but had limited information and understanding of its impact.

The company would consider its interests  including those of its customers, shareholders and related communities  as the investigation proceeded, it said.

Protections in Place

Yahoo encouraged its users to take precautions, such as changing passwords and security questions, to protect themselves from malicious activity.

The company recently has introduced new tools to help safeguard customer security.

If youre a Yahoo user, over the last several years you will have experienced additional security measures on your accounts, noted Michael Harris, chief marketing officer at Guidance Software.

Those measures include a requirement to change passwords on a regular basis, and mobile alerts when Yahoo detects a login from a new device.

These improvements will help mitigate the impact of this breach, Harris told the E-Commerce Times.

Yahoo also introduced the Yahoo Account Key last year, which is similar to the two-factor authentication systems used by some online services.

The problem with security offerings like 2FA is that people dont take advantage of them.

I doubt many people have opted in for it. I dont know many people outside the security industry that enable things like 2FA, said Prevoty CTO Kunal Anand of Yahoo Account Key.

The idea sounds great, but not many people do that, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Its good cyberhygiene, but I should eat more vegetables, too, quipped Cameron Camp, a senior researcher at Eset.

Whenever something is opt-in, that usually means a slower rate of adoption, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Trust Will Take Hit

While it remains to be seen what impact this data breach will have on Yahoo, one very likely consequence is a loss of trust among its users, said Ebba Blitz, CEO of Alertsec.

Nearly one in three survey participants said it would take them several months to begin trusting a company following a data breach, the company found.

Our research demonstrates just how difficult it will be for Yahoos brand to recover from this breach, Blitz told the E-Commerce Times.

Customers who are affected by data breaches suffer a significant loss of trust, and this is particularly true of men, he pointed out.

Twenty-two percent of participants said it would only take them a month to forgive, but 17 percent of men and 11 percent of women said their trust would be permanently lost. Men were more likely to switch to a competitor following a data breach than women.
One of the problems facing the technology industry right now is the critical lack of strategic thinking. Hedge fund managers and activist investors increasingly are directing companies, forcing tactical decisions that raise stock prices over the short term, largely by destroying the firms long-term viability. What makes this trend particularly problematic is that most top executives dont seem to understand they are destroying their companies until its too late.

This also speaks to Joe Tuccis and Michael Dells recent partnership as a massive effort to remove that threat from both of their companies. Rather than once again picking on a firm like HPE, which is a showcase for this horrid foundation for decision making, I thought it would be interesting to explore the Trump and Clinton campaigns. My contention is that had either candidate thought strategically, neither would have run for the office of president.

Ill close with my product of the week: an interesting Samsung smart refrigerator that may define the future of the smart home  and fortunately is without any exploding battery risk.

Thinking Strategically vs. Tactically

We often define tactical and strategic thinking by time. A tactical decision tends to be more reactive and implemented with a 12-month window, while a strategic decision tends to be proactive and implemented over a far longer period.

Deciding to date someone would be tactical, while marriage should be strategic. Id argue that marriages often fail because they often are entered for tactical reasons. The parties are thinking more about how much they like to date than about how well their goals and ideals will align in the long term.

In the case of this years election, both candidates want to be president  likely for different reasons. Both started with powerful brands that were leveraged successfully into building businesses or getting stratospheric speaking fees and funding global and very lucrative charities.

This reflects a downside that I doubt either fully assessed. Unlike a typical politician who isnt as well compensated, both Clinton and Trump have huge assets tied to their names, as well as reputations that are at risk, regardless of whether they win or lose. Neither can exit this process without incurring most of the damage now.

They are both effectively locked into a path that will leave them badly damaged with respect to personal wealth and influence once this process concludes, regardless of the outcome. That is likely because neither really thought through the risks and rewards strategically.

Donald Trumps Brand

Trump entered the election process with a very powerful personal brand and a reputation for being both very successful and very rich. His brand is placed on all of his properties  not an insignificant portion of which are casinos, where patrons  particularly Asian patrons  connect his brand with winning.

However, much of this is a false front. He is neither as rich nor as successful as people believe him to be, and he actually seems to be operating very close to collapse. He isnt alone. Others, like Elon Musk, also operate on a razors edge between impressive success and catastrophic failure.

The perception that Trump is a success is likely his most valuable asset and is most responsible for keeping him in private jets and penthouse suites, as opposed to a nice house in the country and a neverending issue of paying the rent.

If Trump loses, he will have lost to Hillary Clinton, who isnt seen as a strong politician because she basically was anointed by her party. Thanks largely to Colin Powell, she also is viewed both as incompetent and unsuccessful, particularly by Trumps base.

This doesnt just make Trump a loser but a super loser, having lost to Clinton, who lost to Obama and is seen as unelectable. This means he not only will have virtually eliminated the perception that he cant lose, but also will be seen as a person who cant win. The impact on his income should be not only dramatic but also significant enough to shift him from profit to loss. The resulting loss as people avoid his casinos and brand in general could be catastrophic.

If he were to win, things wouldnt get much better. Hed enter not only with the Democrats but also a critical mass of Republicans against him, and no real political experience. That suggests his presidency would be catastrophically bad, and with his personal brand seriously damaged by the election process, he could face financial collapse while in office. The result would be the absolute destruction of his brand and further deterioration of his image from that of a successful billionaire to that of a punchline.

Youd think, given the risk, that exiting the process might allow him to recover his brand, but that seems doubtful. As president, hed at least have access to resources that would help him recover it, but his unwillingness to learn from his mistakes suggests that outcome is exceedingly remote. He is kind of screwed.

Hillary Clintons Reputation

Clinton entered the campaign as one of the most powerful women in the world. Largely seen as successful as a senator and particularly as secretary of state, she could have enjoyed a long successful career as a very highly paid speaker, power broker and charity manager. The election process so far has reduced her perceived power as a power broker. Her positions against Wall Street have devalued her considerably as a speaker, and her charity is at risk of being positioned as a liability to many current contributors.

So, even before the election process is complete, the perceptions that formerly surrounded her will have been badly, if not critically, damaged  destroying much of the financial engine under her relatively high income. Recall that the Clintons complained that his term in office effectively broke them financially.

If Clinton should lose, thing would get worse. Already increasingly seen as unable to do what is necessary to accomplish key goals, she will have lost to Trump, who is positioned by his party as unelectable. This suggests that anything he does in office that damages the country likely will be blamed on her inability to execute.

Trump is known to be vindictive, and that behavior, backed with the power of his office and access to still-confidential information on both Hillary and Bill, could result in a level of brand damage and potential criminal charges and litigation that would be unprecedented in their lives, if not the history of the nation.

There is an unacceptably high chance this not only could result in her being broke again, but also facing a high risk of a jail sentence. I expect that Trump would pull no punches in seeking to get even with her for the damage he would perceive she had done. (Trump doesnt accept that he makes mistakes, and hell likely blame his own financial problems on Clinton.)

If she wins, things also get worse  though likely not as much as in Trumps case, because Trump effectively would be neutralized as a threat. Still, she would face a Republican majority that hates her more than they hate the current sitting president, as well as a not-inconsequential number of Sanders supporters who think she cheated to get the job.

The effort to neutralize her will be unprecedented, both from within and without her party, and her now-historic inability to execute likely would define her term. There is a very high probability that she would be forced out of the office early (the same is true of Trump) and a near certainty that she would be tarnished further by her aging husbands increasing inability to make prudent decisions (also highlighted by Colin Powells leaked email).

Exiting the White House, she could be in even worse financial shape than the last time but lacking the vitality, due to age, to recover. Granted, as in Trumps case, things would be marginally better if she were to win rather than lose  but strategically, this looks like a lose/lose outcome for both candidates.

Wrapping Up

The strategic decision at this point would be for both candidates to meet and agree to withdraw, focusing on brand recovery and partnering for mutual brand recovery, given that both have the same problem. There is zero probability of that happening, not only because both candidates are unable to think strategically, but both also because both are likely at the point where they are more likely to shoot each other than to partner.

Plan B would be to work far harder  not only to ensure a win, but also to ensure the ability to execute the office of president successfully. That means aggressively reducing the conflict in their own parties  not through rhetoric alone, but by embracing proactively critical aspects of the elements positioned against them, and turning them from liabilities to assets.

In addition, both candidates would need to address their own core behaviors more aggressively. Clinton has to focus more on sharp execution and Trump on doing his homework instead of skating. Both need to be ready to enter the office running and be fully capable of avoiding the mistakes that have crippled both candidates careers and campaigns. At the heart of this is the willingness to accept mistakes and faults, and prioritize addressing them.

Since neither candidate seems willing to do that either, I expect that regardless of who it is, the winner eventually will have deep regrets about running  if theyre not harbored already. Had they thought this through strategically  like the computer in the movie War Games eventually did  both candidates would have concluded that the only truly good decision would have been not to play in the first place.

One other point: More people, particularly politicians, should practice thinking strategically. It would lead to a lot more good decisions and far fewer catastrophic ones.

At our house, Im typically the person who falls in love with a new high-tech appliance and then deals with what often is an unexpected bad outcome. However, this Samsung smart refrigerator was my wifes idea  and so far, it is a good one.

Samsung 4-Door Flex RefrigeratorWith Family Hub

The idea of a smart refrigerator has been around for some time. Over the years, Samsung has introduced a number of them, both with built-in PCs and built-in tablets, that for the most part have truly sucked.

Part of the problem has been that Samsung service typically sucks, and this class of product has tended to be complex and unreliable. However, the company has improved over time with regard to reliability, and there is an increasing number of third parties that can service the product (though I would always buy an extended warranty).

What makes the difference is that this new offering not only is stunning to look at, but also has significant value, thanks to the integration with other Samsung products, as a smart hub for IoT devices.

While still young, this product can be used to sync in real time with Samsung TVs (playing the same program in the kitchen that the family is watching in the living room); program compliant Samsung stoves and appliances; and control compatible IoT devices.

Running about US$1,500 more than the same refrigerator without a display and with a price of just under $4K this isnt a cheap date, but it is more impressive in place than comparably priced Sub Zero and Viking appliances.

In short, if you want to impress people, this thing does it in spades. This is finally a good representation of what is coming, and it is a fascinating way to move from paper sticky notes into a digital messaging future.

Because this is a great early showcase for IoT, but mostly because this is one of the most impressive devices in a home that is nearly wall-to-wall tech, the Samsung RF8K9580SG Smart Refrigerator is my product of the week.
Newsweek is the latest media institution to get caught up in a series of cyberattacks that have targeted major government, political and media organizations, raising suspicions of links to Russia or other foreign adversaries.

The news magazine sustained a massive DDoS attack the day after it published a cover story about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumps business activities in the late 1990s. Officials linked to the real estate mogul allegedly spent tens of thousands of dollars to seek out potential new business in Cuba, amid rumors of a change in U.S. policy during the second term of the Clinton administration.

The expenditures would have violated U.S. law, the article suggests, as it was illegal for Americans to spend money in the country due to a boycott of the Castro regime.

Kurt Eichenwald, author of the Newsweek story, tweeted news of the attack.

News: The reason ppl couldnt read #TrumpInCuba piece late yesterday is that hackers launched a major attack on Newsweek after it was posted.

 Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) September 30, 2016

Eichenwald later tweeted that numerous IP addresses had been identified, with the main ones coming from Russia.

The New York Times this summer was hit by an attack on its Moscow bureau.

There was no evidence that any of the companys internal systems, including at the Moscow bureau, had been breached or compromised, Eileen Murphy, SVP of communications, said at the time.

The two attacks are different in that hackers breached The New York Times in search of information, while the Newsweek attack was a DDoS, noted Jon Clay, senior global marketing manager at Trend Micro.

The similarities are that they are both news organizations, he told the E-Commerce Times. We have seen an increase in attacks against these types of organizations over the past year, which may be due to the nature of the world today. Hackers want information they can use to either sell or exploit for profit, and hacktivists want to disrupt their victims activities or networks.

Device Diversion

DDoS attacks often involve using compromised devices connected to the Internet  for example, Web cameras or IoT devices  and then flooding the system with targeted communications from them, said Clay.

More traditionally, the actors have recruited other sympathetic users on the Internet to utilize DDoS tools and then coordinate an attack at a specified time frame, he pointed out.

DDoS attacks generally fall into three categories  mischief, misdirection or brand damage  noted Kevin OBrien, president of GreatHorn.

Mischief attacks, known as lulz, are essentially digital graffiti  or hackers having fun at the expense of a victim, he told the E-Commerce Times. Brand damage is essentially a form of disrupting a political or corporate brand by taking it offline. Misdirection attacks use the initial hack to divert essential IT staff from a second more dangerous attack, which usually involves the use of stolen credentials to access more sensitive areas of a target.

Mulling Motives

I would not be surprised to find that the Newsweek DDoS attack was motivated by some form of political activism, in response to their OpEd position in world affairs in general and/or Russian influence on the global stage in particular, OBrien said.

The jury is still out on whether the Newsweek attack was designed to intimidate the magazine or was a random attack designed primarily to embarrass another major U.S. institution, said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute.

Id vote for random mischief, though I am going to have to leave it to the CIA to scope out how coordinated the Russian hacks are and what their purpose is, he told the E-Commerce Times, noting that the Newsweek attack was sort of in the Trump spirit of bite back.




1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
DHAKA - The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance) has issued its third annual report which shows that so far, 97 factories have been suspended from the list of Alliance-compliant factories for failure to make sufficient remediation progress, 63 per cent of required repairs have been completed, and 1.2 million workers have been trained in basic fire safety. The report shows that just 40 factories have achieved substantial completion of their Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), illustrating the slow pace of remediation in Alliance factories (in common with Bangladesh Accord factories).
STOCKHOLM - H&M has established a permanent Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Industriall Global Union and Swedish trade union IF Metall after a 12-month pilot proved to be effective in improving worker relations at suppliers of the leading fast fashion business. A GFA is aimed at protecting employees across the global operations of multinational companies, even those not directly working for the company, setting best standards for trade union rights, health and safety, and environmental practices, according to Industriall.
Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in TED Talks 2016 where I discussed many of the challenges presented by the climate crisis. But a powerful shift has been taking place, and it is clear that we will ultimately prevail.

Heres why:

There are now only three questions we have to answer about climate change and our future.

1. MUST we change?

Each day we spew 110 million tons of heat-trapping global warming pollution into the very thin shell of atmosphere surrounding the planet, using it as an open sewer for the gaseous waste of our industrial civilization as it is presently organized. The massive buildup of all that man-made global warming pollution is trapping as much extra heat energy every day as would be released by 400,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding every 24 hours. That, in turn, is disrupting the hydrological cycle, evaporating much more water vapor from the oceans, leading to stronger storms, more extreme floods, deeper and longer droughts, among other climate related problems. Fourteen of the 15 hottest years ever measured have been in this young century. The hottest of all was last year. So YES, we must change!

2. CAN we change? And the answer, fortunately, is now YES!

Were seeing a continuing sharp, exponential decline in the cost of renewable energy, energy efficiency, batteries and storageand the spread of sustainable agriculture and forestrygiving nations around the world a historic opportunity to embrace a sustainable future, based on a low carbon, hyper-efficient economy. Indeed, in many parts of the world, renewable energy is already cheaper than that of fossil fuels and in many developing regions of the world, renewable energy is leapfrogging fossil fuels altogether the same way mobile phones leap-frogged land-line phones. And these dramatic cost reductions are continuing.

3. WILL we change?

While the answer to this question is up to all of us, the fact is that we already are beginning to change dramatically.

In December, 195 nations reached a historic agreement in Paris, which exceeded the highest end of the range of expectations. And the Paris Agreement is just the most recent example of our willingness to act. Much more change is needed, of course, but one of the binding provisions of the Paris agreement requires five-year transparent reviews of the action plans put forward by every nation, and the first will begin in less than two years, so now is the time to build the momentum for the actions needed.

Businesses and investors are already moving. And with the continuing cost-down curves for renewable energy, efficiency and energy storage, it will get easier year by year to win this historic struggle.

There are many, many more examples of powerful responses to this moral challenge. They all give me confidence that we are going to win this.

It matters a lot how quickly we win, and some still doubt that we have the will to act on climate, but please remember that the will to act is itself a renewable resource.

I hope you will take the time to watch the 20-minute video embedded above. And I hope that you will personally take action to become the change we need to see in the world.

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Monsantos history with a controversial and dangerous class of chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, has

once again reared its ugly head.

PCBs, a highly toxic chemical manufactured by Monsanto decades ago, is still found in our environment today. Office of Senator Edward J. Markey

On the same day that the agribusiness giant announced plans to set aside a whopping $280 million in PCB personal injury settlements, a study from scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that up to 14 million students in 26,000 schools in the U.S. could be exposed to unsafe levels of the highly toxic chemicals even though they were banned several decades ago.

Before switching its operations to agriculture, Monsanto was the sole manufacturer of PCBs from 1935 until 1977. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned PCBs in 1979 due to its link to birth defects and cancer in laboratory animals. PCBs can have adverse skin and liver effects in humans and can also linger in the environment for many decades.

The Harvard study noted that PCBs could still be leaching from caulking, sealants and other aging building materials and fixtures in elementary, middle and high schools across the nation.

The report states:

Decades after the PCB ban, people are still being exposed to these toxic chemicals from various sources, such as caulk, some oil-based paints, and floor finish in buildings constructed between 1950 and 1979; leaking fluorescent light ballast; old electrical equipment; and PCB-containing landfills. Most worrisome are PCB exposures for children in schools built or retrofitted during the period that PCB-containing materials were widely used. Up to 14 million students nationwide, representing nearly 30 percent of the school-aged population, may be exposed to PCBs in their schools, based on the estimated number of schools built during that time and how much PCB-containing material was used in these schools. A 2016 Harvard School of Public Health study estimates that between 12,960 and 25,920 schools have PCB-containing caulk

The reportThe ABCs of PCBswas released on Wednesday by U.S. Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and America Unites for Kids.

Report Claims 14 Million Kids Could Be Exposed to Toxic PCBs at School https://t.co/1q85hRqqXS via @wnpr #ToxicChemicals  Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) October 6, 2016

That number comes by looking back at those periods of time where public schools were most extensively built. About 60 percent of the schools were built from 1950 to the early 80s, the time when PCBs were most commonly used in building materials, Robert Herrick, primary author and researcher at Harvard School of Public Health, said at a conference call. Its a reasonable estimate. Theres never been a national survey.

PCBs are some of the most toxic and persistent chemicals ever produced, said Ken Cook, president of EW. Its shocking to find that while they were banned decades ago, millions of kids and other Americans continue to be exposed today.

According to the Washington Post, people can be exposed to PCBs simply by touching contaminated substances, eating contaminated food or breathing in PCB-laden dust.

The new report includes a chart for each state on the availability of PCB information (or lack thereof) on state websites.

At some schools in Malibu, California, PCB concentrations were thousands of times higher than the federal limit.

Parents have the right to know what their children are being exposed to in school, America Unites for Kids founder Jennifer deNicola founder told the Post. DeNicola, a parent living in Malibu, California, filed a lawsuit against the school district over PCB contamination.

As it happens, supermodel Cindy Crawford pulled her two children from Malibu High School over the issue. She has since become a spokesperson for America Unites for Kids.

Millions of our students are likely spending significant hours each week inside classrooms that expose them to extremely toxic chemicals that could cause serious health problems for them, Crawford said. Unfortunately, as these findings show and by our own personal experience in Malibu, the government agencies have very little information or answers for parents and teachers. Schools and classrooms should be healthy places where our kids are safe and able to flourish, not environments that could put them at risk.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the Malibu school district to remove PCBs from its schools by Dec. 31, 2019.

Proper removal of PCBs in public schools across the U.S. could cost between $25.9 billion and $51.8 billion, the report estimates.

Sen. Markey said in a conference call that while the EPA is currently inspecting schools for PCB contamination, it could take 32 years to check schools across the country for the chemicals.

According to the report, schools in New England have reported the most cases of PCB contamination. However, as Markey pointed out, schools do not test for PCB hazards, and are not required to do so.

And when PCB contamination is found, no one has to report it to the EPA  To put it plainly, we have no real idea how many students are being exposed to PCBs in their classroom each and every day, he said.

The reports supporters are calling on the EPA to survey school systems nationwide and update its records to better assess the scope of potential PCB hazards in schools. They are also calling on the source of PCB exposure be eliminated from our nations schools.

Meanwhile, in a Wednesday press release for its fiscal year 2016 results, Monsanto said it was setting aside money for PCB litigation.

Selling, general & administrative expenses increased, primarily due to the $280 million in PCB litigation settlement costs associated with a group of legacy PCB personal injury claims, the company said. In September, after diligent efforts, the company reached an agreement to potentially settle all the legacy PCB personal injury claims, including those on appeal. The settlement and final payment amount will be contingent upon the level of claimant participation, which the company anticipates will be met at a very high level.

Monsanto has already had to face the music with its controversial chemical. In May, a St. Louis jury awarded three plaintiffs a total of $46.5 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging that Monsanto and three other companies were negligent in its handling of PCBs. The lawsuit claimed that Monsanto continued to sell the compounds even after it learned about its dangers and falsely told the public they were safe. Indeed, internal documents have surfaced showing that Monsanto knew about the health risks of PCBs long before they were banned.

A document, dated Sept. 20, 1955, stated: We know Aroclors [PCBs] are toxic but the actual limit has not been precisely defined.

Several cities in the West Coast have also initiated lawsuits against Monsanto over PCB clean-up costs.
(Facebook/NBCChicagoPD)A city wide unrest will take place in the next episode of "Chicago PD."

A city emergency will force Voight (Jason Beghe) and his team to ask for the help of other government agencies in the upcoming episode of the NBC series "Chicago P.D."

In the episode titled "Big Friends Big Enemies," the synopsis (as per CarterMatt) reveals that a happy night will turn into a nightmare when an unidentified man interrupts a concert and starts shooting. Lindsay (Sophia Bush) and Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) personally witness the incident and radio for help. Voight, who fears it is the work of terrorists, will feel that they are in over their heads and will ask for back-up. Homeland Security, the FBI and Customs will be asked to assist.

It remains unclear why a single man will purposely plow his car through a crowd and end many lives. The precinct will be turned upside down, trying to come up with answers immediately. Unrest is taking over the city and the authorities must assure the citizens they are safe.

As per the promo, Voight and his detectives will be using their connections to find the man in the mug shot. They know what he looks like, but the details they need are still sketchy. Voight is also shown going hard against an informant to get what he wants.

Meanwhile, a complication will arise in the form of Atwater's (LaRoyce Hawkins) brother. Burgess (Marina Squerciati) will accidentally come across Jordan (guest star Ahmad Nicholas Ferguson) in a place where he should not be. Is he connected to what has taken place at the concert?

From how it looks like, Atwater will need to find out exactly what his sibling was doing when the incident happened. If he is somehow involved, they need to bring him in for questioning. Will the detective shield his brother or will he do what is right for justice?

"Chicago P.D." season 4 airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT on NBC.
(Photo: Reuters / Olivia Harris)An anti-G8 protestor takes part in a demonstration against the arms trade in central London, June 12, 2013. The G8 met meet in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, in June. REUTERS/Olivia Harris (BRITAIN)

Protesters against the arms trade succeeded in a partial blockade of a the road to a UK military fair which will host the arms suppliers of the regime of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and other countries known for gross human rights' violations.

Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) which describes itself as the "world's largest fully integrated defence and security exhibition" has been the target of concerted nonviolent opposition for the past 10 years.

Three Church of England priests peacefully led dozens of worshippers into the road on the eastern approach to the Excel Centre in east London, where the arms fair was due to begin on September 10, the Ekklesia think tank reported.

"Part of the car park we've blocked is the 'outsize exhibitions' area for tanks and warships," reported one protester on Sunday, while another described stopping "a row of tanks" from entering.

London Catholic Worker and Christianity Uncut were among the groups using social media to report the first arrests of demonstrators.

The Quakers (the Religious Society of Friends) held a service outside DSEi in London, while other Christian groups organized an "exorcism" for the evil represented in selling arms to regimes that oppress their people with those weapons.

The UK government does not disclose who is invited to the arms fair in London, but research by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and others has revealed a panoply of human rights abusers.

"There are few limits to who is welcome: Assad's Russian arms suppliers and the companies supplying teargas to Turkey, Brazil and Bahrain are among the hundreds booked to attend," said CAAT on its website.

Christianity Uncut noted that "oppressive and aggressive regimes" such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Israel are expected to attend the fair.

It said the British government is subsidising DSEi with taxpayers' money despite having an austerity agenda.

At one point this afternoon (Sunday 8 September 2013), Ekklesia was told, both of the main entrances to the fair were blocked, effectively 'kettling' the exhibition.

Hundreds of occupy movement campaigners, peace and justice activists, Christians, trades unionists, humanists and others were involved in the protests Monday.

The protesting groups said they have formed a coalition which plans a week of action against the DSEi show.
Israels Palestinian citizens are divided over whether to vote. They say they still face discrimination and violence  even with an Arab party in government.from YouTube October 31, 2022 at 12:00AM
Local safety experts offer advice for keeping Trick-or-Treat fun for everyone

As families prepare for fun night of Trick-or-Treating, local safety experts are offering some tips on how to stay happy and healthy this Halloween season.
EU Parliament condemned multiple human rights breaches that have occurred in recent days in three separate resolutions voted yesterday (6 October)  acts of intimidation, arrest, detention and prosecution of opposition party leaders and activists in Rwanda, the ongoing indiscriminate bombing of civilians and human rights breaches in Sudan, and the guilty verdict against workers rights defender Andy Hall in Thailand.

In Rwanda, the EU expressed its concern at the Rwandan Supreme Courts denial of appeal and judgment, sentencing Victoire Ingabire to 15 years imprisonment and at the worsening conditions of her detention. In 2012, Ms Ingabire, President of the Unified Democratic Forces (UDF), was accused of conspiracy to harm the authorities using terrorism and of minimizing the 1994 genocide. The Parliament believes that Rwandas authorities should make sure that Ms Ingabires appeal process is fair and free of intimidation, arrest, detention or prosecution of opposition party leaders.

Regarding Sudan, MEPs are concerned that the Sudanese governments bombing of civilians and the use of chemical weapons against them in the Jebel Marra areas are a serious violation of international norms and also a war crime. Brussels reiterated its deep concern at unlawful killings, abductions and sexual violence in the conflict areas, most notably Darfur. The EU has called for an immediate end to the aerial bombardment, arbitrary arrests and detention of activists.

As to Thailand, the EU said that it deeply regretted the guilty verdict against Andy Hall, an EU citizen, who was sentenced to a 3-year jail term after he had contributed to a report by Finnish NGO Finnwatch exposing human rights violations in a Thai pineapple processing plant. The Parliament has also called on the Thai government to ensure that human rights including the right to free trial are guaranteed for human rights activists including Andy Hall.
Nacional

Defensa pagara 58,5 millones en 2023 a los militares que han salido del Ejercito por cumplir 45 anos: 704 euros al mes
Evolutionary advocacy is colonialist, by which I mean it seeks dominion not only in a limited and appropriate sphere  scientific theory about origins  but pushes out into others: education, psychology, religion, and more. Whatever the field, status anxiety furnishes a useful tool in expanding Darwins empire. With folks who know little about the relevant science, winning praise for intellectual sophistication, while avoiding social opprobrium, can be a powerful motivator.

Colonizing religion is an especially high priority  in other words, spreading the idea that to resist evolutionary thinking is not only poor science but also makes you a deplorable in the context of your faith community.

Im a Jew, not a Christian, but as an anti-colonialist I always feel cheered by pushback from Christian friends against the idea that being a good Christian demands being a good Darwinist. Thus heres a new book by a Catholic writer, John Zmirak, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism, that includes a good discussion of his church in relationship to evolution, intelligent design, and science in general:

[F]or far too many moderns, science has become a new religion all its own, whose authority bubbles up and overflows the narrow channels of disciplined experiment and responsible speculation. As we know from reading his journals and other works published after his death, Charles Darwin himself was so troubled by the problem of evil that he wanted to disprove Gods existence. It was essential to him, for personal and not scientific reasons, that natural selection rule out entirely the possibility that some divine Design lay behind the process, or that mans sudden eruption was part of Gods creative plan. In other words, natural selection must connect every dot and leave no room at all for any divine Purpose behind the processes of biology. Of course, as many critics of Darwinism and proponents of intelligent design like to point out, there are by necessity great big gaping holes in every version of materialistic Darwinism. The events we are trying to reconstruct took place long before any man ever walked the earth, and we cannot experimentally try to replicate them  taking millions of years to sit back and see if intelligent life randomly pops up somewhere else. Even then, how could we prove the absence of divine design? Why then do so many who claim that they are merely defending science from dogmatic creationism insist that school textbooks (including kindergarten texts) explicitly assert what science cannot possibly know one way or the other: that evolution is a purely material process that happened randomly, with no guiding purpose or design? In other words, that we must choose between atheist materialism or a Christian version of The Flintstones? Now it would be one thing if scientists wished to make sure that we didnt lazily stop doing research into the origins of life  by sitting back and saying God did it. Stop funding science. But no one (outside, perhaps, the Islamic world) is advocating that. The ideologues who lean on evolutionary theory arent worried that Catholics and Baptists want to shutter M.I.T. Instead, they are committed to teaching another religion, materialism, and fighting to stomp out heresy.

Ive also been catching up on reviews of a book by another Catholic friend, Father Michael Chabereks Catholicism and Evolution: A History from Darwin to Pope Francis. Georgetown University philosopher James V. Schall, S.J., writes in the Catholic World Report:

[T]his book is not antiquarian or by any means fundamentalist. It accepts forms of evolution as a fact in making accidental, though usually not permanent, changes in individuals of a species. If anything, Catholicism and Evolution is a plea to be more up-to-date than the modernist and liberal mind that bases its views uncritically on a popularized version of evolution as scientific. This book requires a very careful reading; it is tightly argued and carefully researched. The researches and approach of the Discovery Institute in Seattle are present in this book. That is, there is a much-controverted argument within science itself that something very wrong is found in those evolutionary theories that assume, in its various versions that something by chance came from nothing. This position will mean, of course, that the validity of the argument of this book will itself depend largely not on theology but on science and its self-understanding. In other words, the Psalmists query Can he who made the ear, not hear? suggests a universe of intelligence and order. What intelligent designs adds is that there is no mathematical or scientific probability that such a relation could occur by chance or random selection. In itself, this position has nothing directly to do with revelation, though it does have much to do with reason. This book then is not an anti-scientific book. It is just the opposite. Nor is it an anti-theological book. Rather it suggests that many Catholic prelates and theologians did not take a careful enough look at the facts of revelation because of a too facile acceptance of those Darwinian schools that were based on the notion that the world just happened by itself with no real guiding origin or following order.  It is important to note that the scientific thesis of intrinsic design has room for evolutionary elements within the manifestations of order. In fact, chance is a definite factor in the universe and in every existing human life, but it is a chance that occurs when two purposeful actions cross each other. It is not just chance in the midst of nothingness. Thus, if it could be shown that the manifestations of intrinsic design that do exist in the universe and in the microcosmos that is man were products of chance, this books thesis would fall apart. But the evidence seems to show rather that order does exist. In this context, the real liberals  the ones really willing to accept change  are not the dogmatic evolutionists and their theological followers who show themselves as conservative if not reactionary, but those who are willing to face the implications of the evidence that order is manifest in the universe.

Wow, Father Schall is a major scholar and that is a great review. Read the rest.

Father Chaberek also receives a fine review from church historian Father John McCloskey in the National Catholic Register:

[M]any centuries before Charles Darwin set sail on The Beagle for the Galapagos Islands, great Catholic thinkers were already laying the intellectual groundwork for understanding just what theories about the origins of the Earth and all its creatures were consistent with the God of Scripture. In the early centuries of the Church, Christian theologians confronted the Greek philosophers arguments that God could not have made the world out of nothing. By grappling with ideas about the nature of God and about where the universe came from, the Church developed a doctrine of creation. The doctrine that all nature once did not exist and was created by God had immense implications for the Christian civilization that gradually developed in Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire. It led to an understanding of nature as intelligible, created good and real (as opposed to some Eastern conceptions that nature is an illusion projected by mind). There are many other questions about creation and cosmology that the Church Fathers like St. Augustine and later medieval thinkers like St. Thomas Aquinas grappled with; their insights armed the Church with a set of first principles for engaging with the theory of evolution when it arose and determining which versions were problematic from the point of view of Catholic theology. (Whether evolution is or is not a true explanation is a separate question that the Church does not pronounce upon, any more than it feels called upon to pronounce on the truth or falsity of particle physics.) In this book, Father Chaberek deftly and lucidly summarizes 2,000 years of thinking on creation and almost 200 years of evolutionary theory. In the century and a half since publication of Darwins Origin of Species, there have been a number of papal statements on the subject. Among the key points that Pope Pius XII, for example, made in his 1950 encyclical Humani Generis are 1) the soul does not evolve, but is immediately created by God, and 2) human beings all descend from one set of parents whose sin was actually committed by an original Adam and which, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own. There is much, much more to learn from this readable and extremely useful summary of Catholicism and evolution. Father Chabereks book is thoroughly accessible to the reader without a strong science (or theological) background. Read it, and you will be better prepared to share your faith with others in this year dedicated to mercy. After all, instructing the ignorant is one of the spiritual works of mercy, and certainly many Catholics and non-Catholics could benefit from learning what the Church teaches about creation and evolution  and why.

Again, read the rest.

Does faith supply a reason for taking a second, critical look at evolution? Clearly, not everyone agrees that it does.

It seems to me there are three separate questions that each requires separate, critical, and humble evaluation. First, what does your faith tradition prompt you to expect from science? For instance, evidence of design in nature, or no evidence of design? Second, does science, subjected to your own independent investigation, deliver that evidence?

Third, if not, or if it does so only in part, what if anything can be done to honestly effect a reconciliation? For myself, Ive learned to let certain tensions simply be, without demanding a hasty harmonization, or a false and damaging peace.

Photo: Pith helmet, Second French Colonial Empire, by Rama, [CeCILL or CC BY-SA 2.0 fr], via Wikimedia Commons.

Im on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.
As I have been  and will be  warning with intensifying urgency, moves are afoot to destroy medical conscience clauses under which doctors, nurses, and others can refuse to participate in abortions and assisted suicide. This force-MDs-to-kill meme was summarized in a recent Reuters story:

Physicians shouldnt have the legal right to act as conscientious objectors and refuse to provide services like abortion or assisted suicide even when these things conflict with their personal values, some doctors argue.

But what about patients who want life-sustaining treatment, that is, they want to remain in the fight to stay alive?

Some of the same activists who argue that doctors should be forced to be complicit in killing, say that doctors should have the right to refuse wanted treatment that keeps patients alive.

Known as futile care, bioethicists see it as a way to save healthcare resources for patients with a better quality of life. Heres a description in an earlier article I wrote about Texass futile care law:

This is how the Texas law, seen as a model by many futilitiarians, works: Under the Texas Health and Safety Code, if the physician disagrees with a patients decision to receive treatment, he or she can take it to the hospital bioethics committee. A hearing is convened at which all interested parties explain why they want or dont want treatment to continue. If the committee decides to refuse treatment, it is determinative. Even if the family finds another doctor willing to provide the treatment, it cant be done in that hospital. At that point, the patient/family has a mere ten days to find another hospital willing to take the patient, after which, according to the statute, the physician and health care facility are not obligated to provide life-sustaining treatment. In practical terms, thats a death sentence. The economics of medicine have changed from the old fee-for-service days. Today, extended care in ICUs is usually a money loser for hospitals, meaning that families find it almost impossible to find a facility willing to accept the transfer of expensive patients whose care has been declared to be futile. There are even reported cases of desperate families looking out of state for a facility willing to provide treatment for a loved one about to be pushed out of the lifeboat by a Texas hospital.

So, here is the bottom line. Autonomy rules if you want to die  even over medical conscience. But doctor/bioethicists values rule if you want to live.

Photo: Audie L. Murphy Veterans Administration Hospital, San Antonio, TX, by Billy Hathorn (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Cross-posted at The Corner.
The ongoing military face-off between India and Pakistan post the Uri attack in J&K has resulted in a full scale media war that is being witnessed on both sides of the border.

Post the recent Uri attack in J&K and the Indian Armys action thereafter; there has been a steep escalation of war-like hysteria between India and Pakistan. This escalation is not only limited to ground zero but is palpable in the media coverage in both the countries and has resulted in a full scale media war that is being witnessed on both sides of the border.

Pakistan medias war games

Pakistan media launched a full scale media war post the announcement made by the Indian Army about the surgical strikes, it has now been reporting that the surgical strikes were never conducted in the first place, a clear attempt to negate Indias claims. Well known Pakistani author and journalist Zahid Hussain in one of his recent columns published in Pakistans leading daily Dawn made a reference to it and underplayed the surgical strike claims by the Indian government. He wrote, It is not important whether technically speaking it was a surgical strike or just an incursion. The real issue is that the Modi government has set a new and dangerous precedent signalling its willingness to go to the extreme in the event of any militant strike on its soil in the future. It is what is described as Modis doctrine of aggressive diplomacy.

Another Pakistan Daily The Express Tribune in one of its reports published on 6th October stated, Very credible sources confirm that the Indian army is filming videos in the Nowgam and Leepa sectors, adjacent to the border, to show as if it is carrying out covert operations in enemy territory.

Even Pakistans popular English weekly-The Friday Times painted a different picture of the operation that was carried by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. In its recent issue dated 29th September, popular weekly The Friday Times reported, The war hysteria, revolving around surgical strikes and what not, gave more oxygen to the cyclical acrimony that has gained currency under Modi in the shape of an anti-Pakistan chorus that has only grown in the last two years. At this particular point in time, it also felt like a ploy to deflect attention from Indian oppression in Kashmir.

Looking at the Pakistani media coverage, it is apparent that its political and military establishment is making all attempts to paint a different picture of what we hear and believe in India. Recently, Pakistan even invited a group of international journalists in its attempt to counter the Indian media offensive. Its electronic media coverage is no different with channels making the most of Indo-Pak crisis to boost TRPs. With some Indian politicians seeking proof of the surgical strikes, the Pakistan media has got a good reason to continue its India bashing coverage.

Commenting on the coverage by the Pakistani media and the full scale media blitzkrieg that it has launched to counter Indian claims, Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor Zee News says that it is far removed from reality and scripted by the army generals in Pakistan. He said, The journalism in Pakistan is low on facts and high on propaganda. The Pakistan establishment has been conducting guided tours for foreign media, which in reality is nothing but a part of its propaganda against India. The reportage of post Uri events by the Pakistani media clearly point out to its agenda of deflecting from the facts since its controlled and directed by its army. Moreover, the irresponsible comments made by some of our politicians have been used by Pakistan media to paint a different picture ,but one can see through the falsehood of such statements and the politics behind them.

How the Indian media reported the Indo-Pak flare up

The Indian media has spent considerable time and space as far as the post Uri coverage is considered. Some of the leading English and Hindi channels have devoted a chunk of their primetime reporting to the ongoing Indo-Pak flare up, and even the print media has been generously allotting space to the issue that has pushed the two countries on the brink of a war like situation.

Indian media is making all efforts to counter the Pakistans claims that no surgical operations took place. In a recent article by noted Indian Foreign and Security policy expert Shashank Joshi, which was published in The Hindu, he argues, There are reasons to be even more sceptical of Pakistans insistence that nothing, beyond routine shellfire, occurred overnight on September 28. Pakistans case appears to be that the LoC is impermeable, but we know this to be nonsense from the history of tactical raids in both directions. Pakistan itself has acknowledged some of these in its complaints to the United Nations, and Indian officials have tacitly owned up. 

While explaining the rationale behind Pakistans latest media campaign against India, Lieutenant-General Prakash Katoch in his column which was published in Firstpost stated, Pakistan has mounted a massive campaign of disinformation against the surgical strikes in PoK by India on 28 September  to attempt to portray that these strikes never occurred. This was logically response with Raheel Sharif, the Pakistani army chief  who is due to retire shortly  made to look silly with all the chest-thumping about the Pakistani Army being on full alert for 10 days since the attack on the Indian Army's Uri post.

Varun Kohli, CEO India News believes that Indian media is taking a responsible line as far as its coverage of post Uri events is concerned. He said, I would say that the Indian reportage has been responsible and driven by facts and reflected the sentiments of the common citizen. Unfortunately same cannot be said about the Pakistan press because they have been following a set script which is often directed from their bosses in the army. If you compare the media coverage post the Uri attack, there is a visible element of Jingoism in the Pakistan coverage which also reflects their insecurity.

While the war on ground zero is witnessing a new twist daily, the ongoing media war is definitely following suit.

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Capital for banking is Toronto. But there are banking jobs in every major city.



You can look for jobs on the websites of banks itself, or on sites such as LinkedIn, or Monster, Workopolis, Indeed,...

You can not expect at all to be invited for an interview call, not even when you already live in Canada and have a visa that allows you to work here. Competition for banking jobs is big. Networking will be your best option. Get to know people who are working in banking and who have a good impression of you (technical skills + personality + language proficiency), who are willing to put your resume forward to a hiring manager).
Hi All,



Just received the offer letter from Canada.



1) I need to verify if its original. How this can be done.
People moving to the UK to live, work and study could face tougher restrictions sooner rather than later with the Home Secretary indicating that she will not wait until the official Brexit process to bring in change.Article 50, the process by which the UK formally begins leaving the European Union, is set to be triggered by the end of March 2017 at the latest with the county formally leaving in 2019.  But Home Secretary Amber Rudd is to launch a consultation paper on bringing in controls aimed at new restrictions on overseas students and workers and the setting aside a $140 million fund for controlling migration.Rudd said in a speech that businesses should ensure that foreign workers do not take the jobs that British people should do and she wants all companies to reveal how many overseas people they employ.When it comes to students, the UK wants to reduce the number coming from outside Europe with the likelihood that new rules will look at the quality of the courses offered to international applicants.There will be a new multi-tiered student immigration system and tightening of the resident labour market test that companies have to pass before recruiting employees from overseas. The test should ensure people coming here are filling gaps in the labour market, not taking jobs British people could do, Rudd said.She wants to tighten the current system where family members of an international student studying in the UK can come to the country and work and indicated that a language test is likely.She also announced that mandatory immigration status checks under this years legislation, including on those who apply for licences to drive taxis, would come into effect this December.But universities are unlikely to back a plan that ties student visas to particular universities or particular courses. International students make an enormous contribution to UK higher education, both educationally and economically. As highly skilled people, they make an invaluable contribution to our economy, said Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union.This proposal to limit overseas students to particular universities and courses equates to pulling up the drawbridge and sending a message that the UK is closed for business. Ministers need to take a very different approach and support universities by removing international students from the net migration target altogether, she added.
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Lowes Home Centers Inc. is suing Bexar County to try to cut its property assessment by more than half, worrying San Antonio leaders as big-box retailers exploit legal loopholes in hopes of reducing local taxes in Texas and other states.

The tactic has been successfully deployed in Michigan and Indiana where major retailers have driven down property values and tax revenue. Michigan taxpayers had to refund about $100 million to retailers while Indiana reduced their taxes by more than $120 million. Yet cities and counties still need the revenue to pay for roads and other municipal services. The worry is that local governments will have to cut programs, as they have in Michigan, or raise residential property taxes like Indiana to make up the shortfall, officials say.

If a company is allowed to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes, it will shift the burden onto other taxpayers, particularly our homeowners, City Manager Sheryl Sculley said. City officials are monitoring the Lowes lawsuit here. The City of San Antonio is greatly concerned about this, and our taxpayers should be, too.

Lowes, Home Depot Inc., Kohls Department Stores, Target and Walmart are trying to persuade judges in Texas and elsewhere that their stores should be appraised as as so-called dark stores  which are vacant buildings instead of fully functioning businesses. Appraisers generally value a property at its highest and best use, meaning at whatever function makes the most money from the property in its current condition. However, retailers argue that their stores should be assessed as if the building were vacant and the property carried onerous deed restrictions  thus lowering its marketability and value to potential buyers.

Lawmakers in Michigan and Indiana, including Indiana Gov. and vice presidential contender Mike Pence, are trying to close loopholes that have allowed retailers to successfully use the dark-store strategy to reduce property taxes on otherwise thriving stores.

But the new laws have been met with mixed results and legal challenges. Small municipalities with limited budgets are outgunned and often end up settling for smaller tax collections out of court  rather than fight a costly legal battle  giving retailers the upper hand. They are deploying their winning strategy across Texas where they have sued appraisers in at least six counties since 2013: Bexar, Denton, Harris, Hunt, Taylor and Williamson counties.

Lowes has taken the lead on dark-store lawsuits, according to appraisers. The home improvement retailer currently has three lawsuits against the Bexar County Appraisal District contesting the values of its 11 stores in the San Antonio area for the past three years, Bexar County chief deputy appraiser Mary Kieki said. Lowes also has a pending lawsuit in Harris County concerning its five stores around Houston, court records show.

People make all kinds of assertions in litigation hoping to lower their value, but weve never specifically faced this kind of an argument, Kieki said.

The North Carolina-based chains 11 area stores, all measuring roughly 136,000 square feet, were appraised at about $81 per square foot for tax year 2016, Kieki said. If Lowes gets its way, that value could drop about 58 percent to $34 a square foot. And, because Article 8 of the Texas Constitution states that taxation shall be equal and uniform, other retailers would likely follow suit, she said.

Others wont even have to assert this theory, Kieki said. They can simply say make me like Lowes.

On top of lost revenue from lowered property values, Bexar County would also have to reimburse Lowes for legal fees if the retail giant prevails in court, which could strain the countys finances, Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti said.

In any system where one group is not paying their fair share of taxes, its going to be shifted to the remaining groups that are having to pay taxes, Uresti said. The idea behind taxation is to make sure its fair and equitable.

Lowes declined to comment for this story. Other retailers who have filed lawsuits in Texas argue that they want to make sure theyre paying a fair price on their real estate holdings.

Just as homeowners would want to ensure that valuations on their property is assessed at a fair value, thats our same issue here, Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes said.

Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said the worlds largest retailer pays hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes in the normal course of doing business in Texas.

As a responsible member of local business communities across the state, we believe in collaborating with local jurisdictions to ensure that our stores and clubs receive fair and equitable treatment in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices, she said in an email.

Target also wants to ensure its properties are fairly taxed, spokeswoman Kristy Welker said in an email. She said the store remained committed to supporting the communities in which we do business, but declined to get into the specifics on any property tax appeals.

Appraisers in Texas say its not unusual for retailers to contest their property values but that the dark-store argument is novel and could strain budgets in smaller counties who may not have the funds for a drawn out court battle.

Lowes sued the Hunt County Appraisal District outside of Dallas over the 2014 value of its Greenville store  $61.63 a square foot  to have it lowered to $34.76 a square foot, but later settled out of court for $51.64 a square foot, said Hunt County Chief Appraiser Brent South.

For a county like Hunt County, we have a very limited budget for litigation, South said. For us to go out and hire an expert witness, pay our attorneys and possibly face paying their attorneys fees if we lose  We just settled it outside of the courthouse.

Though the county hasnt encountered the dark-store strategy in contested appraisals since, South said he worries the method will spread to other types of properties including apartment buildings and office buildings  and that homeowners will pay more in taxes as a result.

As the tax base shrinks on commercial properties, the burden gets shifted over to the homeowners, South said. I think that could become a real issue in the future.

Retailers that have asked Texas appraisers to value their stores as vacant rather than functioning stores often still wind up with higher values than what theyd prefer. Lowes wanted the value of its two stores in Abilene  between Lubbock and Austin  cut from about $70 a square foot to $30 in 2015, Taylor County Chief Appraiser Gary Earnest said. The company later agreed to somewhere around $60 a square foot in an out-of-court settlement, Earnest said.

Even though the dark-store theory may have been used as leverage, the end result was a tax value higher than the initial request, Earnest said.

In Denton County just north of Dallas, Lowes sued to price its four stores  appraised at $50 to $79 a square foot  in the $30 range in 2015, said George Clerihew, Denton County deputy chief appraiser. The Denton County Appraisal District and Lowes reached a settlement valuing the stores between $45 and $59 a square foot. Clerihew said the appraisal district dealt similarly with lawsuits from Walmart and Target.

Retailers using the dark-store assessment strategy compared their properties with vacant stores in other areas of the country when arguing for lower assessments, Clerihew said. But, county appraisers found that approach problematic because they felt they did not have enough information about economic factors hat could have made empty stores difficult to sell in other parts of the country, including declining population or poor sales.

Thats why we dont like using sales that are outside of our area, Clerihew said. We dont know whats going on with these particular properties that didnt sell.

Retailers have successfully relied on the dark-store assessment theory in legal battles in Michigan, Indiana and other states, leading to millions in lost local tax revenue. The Michigan Association of County Treasurers estimated in 2015 that taxpayers have refunded almost $100 million to retailers since 2013 after they successfully contested their property values to the Michigan Tax Tribunal, a court that settles tax disputes.

The tribunals rulings in favor of the dark-store argument have definitely had an impact in how properties are assessed and its really putting an unfair balance in our tax system, said Scott Erbisch, county administrator of Marquette County in Michigans Upper Peninsula. The county has refunded more than $2 million in property taxes with interest to retailers including Lowes, Target, Kohls and Wisconsin-based home improvement chain Menard, Inc., according to information provided by Marquette County Treasurer Anne Giroux.

Erbisch said the refunds strained the countys budget, necessitating cuts that led to the shuttering of a facility that housed minors accused of committing nonviolent crimes and the elimination of 29 full-time and part-time positions there.

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.

Prior to challenging its property value, the Lowes store in Marquette Township was valued at $75 a square foot, according to the Michigan Association of County Treasurers. Now, the store is valued at about $29 a square foot.

Marquette Township Manager Randy Girard said the township has spent about $250,000 defending itself from legal challenges by Lowes. Marquette Township pulled about $360,000 out of its 2014 budget to refund the company for three tax years, Girard said.

When we have to refund $300,000 for three years of taxes, that has a significant impact on our ability to function, Girard said.

He later added, We dont blame the businesses. Were not saying boycott Lowes, stop shopping there or anything else.

In Indiana, a 2015 study commissioned by the Indiana Association of Counties, found that dark-store assessments yielded $120.8 million in tax reductions that year for big-box stores that challenged their property value. That translated to $49.9 million in increased property bills paid by other taxpayers, according to the study.

State tax review boards in Michigan and Indiana have been sympathetic to dark-store arguments from retailers. The Indiana Board of Tax Review cut the 2012 property value of an 88,242-square-foot Kohls store in Kokomo, Indiana, by about 37.7 percent from more than $5.9 million to almost $3.7 million in a December 2014 ruling. Property appraisers for Kohls compared the operating store to former Walmart and K-Mart stores, among others, in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. The Michigan Tax Tribunal accepted similar arguments from Ikea and Kohls in three separate contests in 2012 and 2013.

Lawmakers in both states have sought ways to outlaw or undercut the dark-store strategy with varying results. Indiana state legislators passed two laws in 2015 essentially prohibiting the practice of using vacant stores as comparable sales in valuations, but the laws were later repealed. Indiana Gov. Pence signed a bill in March creating a market segmentation approach for assessing properties.

Indiana State Sen. Brandt Hershman, a Republican who chairs the Indiana State Senates Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, said segmentation ensures that similar properties are equally valued  meaning in-use stores will be compared to other in-use stores, not to empty ones, during the appraisal process.

Part of being business-friendly in addition to trying to keep rates low is to also be fair to all classes of taxpayers, Hershman, who co-sponsored the bill, said. If one class of taxpayers is clearly advantaged, that isnt the sign of a good tax structure.

Michigan lawmakers have had less luck in passing anti-dark-store legislation. A state Senate bill requiring property assessments to strictly adhere to highest and best use and a state House bill prohibiting negative deed use restrictions for retailers each died in committee in 2015.

Michigan House members approved a bill 97-11 on June 8 that would require the Michigan Tax Tribunal to compare similar properties when weighing a tax appeal and abide by the same standards Ive used for roughly four decades now as a real estate appraiser, said Michigan State Rep. David Maturen, a Republican legislator who authored the bill.

However, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce criticized the bill in a Sept. 7 op-ed published in the Detroit News, criticizing lawmakers use of the word loophole to describe the dark-store strategy and claiming that retailers routinely use vacant stores in property valuations.

Local governments are trying to legitimize over-taxing by making scapegoats out of job providers who have successfully challenged their over-assessments, wrote Tricia Kinley, the chambers senior director of tax and regulatory reform.

Whether Michigan senators will approve the legislation remains to be seen: the states Senate Finance Committee hasnt scheduled the bill for a hearing and senators only meet for another 17 days before the end of the year. Maturen hopes the bipartisan support the bill received among House lawmakers will prod Senate leaders to hear the bill.

jfechter@express-news.net
Songwriter Aaron Barker, a San Antonio native who went from singing and playing bass in the 70s hard rock act American Peddlers to writing No. 1 hits for George Strait to being the homespun voice of Blue Bell Ice Cream, is among the latest inductees to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Barker, 63, is being honored Sunday at a gala event in Nashville along with fellow songwriters Beth Nielsen Chapman, Bob Morrison and the late Townes Van Zandt.

I just couldnt believe it, Barker said from his Nashville home about the honor. All of the guys that Ive admired most of my life are in there. I just never dreamed Id be in there with them. But Ill take it.

His many accomplishments include writing Baby Blue, Love Without End, Amen and Easy Come, Easy Go (with Dean Dillon) for George Strait in the late 1980s and early 90s. All three went to No. 1 on the country music charts. Barker also co-wrote Straits Top 10 hits I Know She Still Loves Me and I Can Still Make Cheyenne.

Hes also co-written hits for such artists as Clay Walker, Neal McCoy, Aaron Tippin and Doug Supernaw, as well as the No. 1 hit What About Now for Lonestar.

Barker already is a member of the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame.

Garth Brooks promoter Glenn Smith, a founding member of the American Peddlers, recalled getting a first listen of a future No. 1 song. Barker had written it in his head as he drove the bands tour bus in the middle of the night from Wichita Falls on the way to Denver, Colorado.

Im passing him in the aisle and he goes, You got to hear something, Smith said.

It was barely morning. He was about to hear Baby Blue.

He takes his guitar out of the closet. I can still see it like it was yesterday. I got to hear that song first. He wrote it driving the damn bus, all in his head. Hes in a third, fourth, fifth dimension compared to any of the rest of us. He so relateable.

As a child, Barker said, his guitar was my everything. He graduated from Marshall High School in 1971, attended San Antonio College, married and became a father while he was still a teenager. He played rock n roll, he said, until I was too old to wear Spandex.

He moved to Nashville in the mid-90s, though a solo career as a recording artist wasnt really in the cards. Songwriting was his forte, as was jingle writing for Blue Bell. And he prefers to do it alone.

When I write a song, Im using words to paint pictures, just like a painter would get an image in their head and put it on a canvas, he said. Well, mines with words instead of paint. And Ive never bought a picture with two names on the bottom. Maybe thats a Texas attitude.

His favorite songwriters include Sanger D. Whitey Shafer (All My Exs Live in Texas) and Kris Kristofferson. These guys just have a way of saying things, he said.

Q. How did you become a George Strait songwriter?

A. A buddy of mine introduced me to Bill Butler down in Hondo, who was dabbling in publishing. He was actually a pharmacist, owned a pharmacy, and he made regular trips to Nashville and dropped a tape off at Erv Woolseys office, George Straits manager. They heard Baby Blue. After about four years messin around, they said, George really loves that song. Why dont we let him record it, get you some notoriety and see what it does. The doggone thing went No. 1. So I started to think about this writing thing.

Q. Was Love Without End, Amen an easy sell?

A. I didnt think he would because it was kind of a personal song for me. I didnt think George would relate to it. But, boy, he did, and that thing went to No. 1 and sat there for several weeks.

Q. Were you suddenly rich?

A. The checks dont come in for about a year. Its kind of out of sync. By the time you get this money and it becomes real to you, because it really makes it real, a validation that this is gainful employment, its a year-old song and there have been 50 more and you go to celebrate, and everybody goes, Uh, thats an old song. This check came in on Baby Blue, the first substantial one, and it was enough to fix a lot of broken stuff in my life and move forward for the first time.

Q. What do you credit that early success to?

A. A lot of its got to go to George because hes awesome. I used to think that about the Beatles. I used to think they could probably record the dictionary and have a hit off of it. With George, everything he sings turns to gold.

Q. Why live in Nashville?

A. Theres a lot of opportunities. Its not a must-be-present-to win (situation). But it sure helps. I know I wouldnt be going into the Hall of Fame here if I hadnt lived here.

Q. What are you doing nowadays?

A. I still write, but I write by myself. When I work with other writers, its more of a mentoring thing. I dont like co-writing. Ive done it, and its important when youre signed with a big company like George Straits company, youre obligated to turn in songs. They want you to be producing. Thats pressure because I work off real-life inspiration and that doesnt happen on demand. Im fortunate to be in a position where I did not need a publisher anymore.

Q. Did George Strait change your life?

A. Oh, yes. It was life changing. It really wasnt the money, it was the validation that youre doing something right. I got to ride, economically speaking, the best time in country music. We had a 40 percent market share. We ate up all the pop and rap, all through the 90s. George Strait used to go through 4,000 songs a year and pick 10 of em. You can imagine the competition. I was very fortunate.

Q. How much revenue can a big No. 1 song generate?

A. Between publishers and writers, a No. 1 song will generate $1.2 million. People seem to be interested in that. I generally say a No. 1 song for a songwriter is worth about $300,000. And thats a lot of money. But you may never see it again.

hsaldana@express-news.net
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CENTER POINT  In 1974, Ed Story bought the first of six parcels of land that today make up the 1,000-acre Ramshorn Ranch near Comfort.

After spending vacations and holidays at the ranch in a 400 square-foot cabin that Story, 72, built himself, he and his wife, Joey, decided in the early 90s that it was time for something a little more comfortable and substantial, something that made a statement.

But we wanted to replicate the feel we had in our one-room cabin, said Joey Story, 65. I started looking through magazines, and I pulled five homes from them  and every one was a Lake | Flato house. I just knew I wanted them to do it. Their strength is site location, and that was important to us. We started talks with Lake | Flato in 1993 and moved into the house in the fall of 1995.

The Storys home is a series of connected limestone buildings, or what they call pods, with standing seam metal roofs topped with glass-paned cupolas for light and ventilation.

Hill Country couple saves elephants with polo and coffee.

The pods are gathered like a ring of teepees in a semi-circle around an above-ground stone pool reminiscent of a cattle tank. The house sits on top of a mesa 1,100 feet above sea level  the Hill Country views are spectacular.

The family shares the land with a herd of 75 longhorns, 30 sheep, nearly a dozen burros and a small pack of shaggy Great Pyrenees dogs with French names such as Baguette.

Cedar harvested from the site forms the shade arbors and fencing.

Originally, the house consisted of three units, with the master bedroom, kitchen and great room in one, a study across the yard in another and a guest bedroom in the third pod. The vaulted great room ceiling of layered Douglas fir beams and decking is a work of artistic structural engineering.

About four years ago, the Storys added a fourth pod, which is a yoga/meditation room.

In 2008, they built a pool pavilion, complete with an outdoor kitchen and an Airstream trailer for changing clothes and taking naps. It is about a mile away on top of another mesa.

The house was conceived as a series of small, one-room wide, limestone structures ringing the hill and capturing the diversity of the distant views as they move around the mesa, said Karla Greer, a partner at San Antonios Lake | Flato Architects. The ranch had no natural water, and mesas can feel hot, so the idea of playing off of the traditional stock tank provided a cool, protected internal courtyard that the buildings radiate from.

The Storys spend about half the year in the Center Point house. Eds oil business takes them all over the world, mainly southeast Asia, for the remainder of the time.

They became interested in elephant conservation several years ago in Thailand, and proceeds from The Elephant Story, a shop they opened in 2012 in downtown Comfort selling Asian artisan goods, benefits several elephant organizations, as does an elephant polo tournament Ed founded in northeast Thailand.

But we call this home, Joey Story, who also has a building restoration business, said of the Center Point home.

The interior of the house reflects the Storys world travels and features fine Asian collectibles, from a Thai elephant bell and a Japanese shop sign  rice paper over wood  over their bed to a collection of more than 25 figures about a foot tall carved from teak by members of the hill tribes of the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.

Its a fun life, Joey Story said.

sbennett@express-news.net
There seems to be more trick than treat around Halloween this year.

Creepy clown threats have been erupting on social media across the nation, most of which have been deemed hoaxes. San Antonio isnt immune to the phenomenon, with its three largest school districts  Northside, North East and San Antonio  having received threats on social media that proved to be false. Other districts, including Harlandale and Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City, have also been targeted by these internet trolls-turned-clowns, as has Harmony Public Schools, a group of charter schools in San Antonio, Houston and Laredo.

At Anne Frank Inspire Academy, a message was posted Thursday on Instagram of creepy clowns with the words, Hey Anne Frank kids, come outside and play, and was signed, The clowns. San Antonio Police were called in, school officials said. The officers checked the campus, found nothing amiss but stayed throughout the school day, according to an email sent to parents. The two girls who made the post were later identified and will be disciplined, Superintendent Bruce Rockstroh said Thursday.

Rumors are spreading like wildfire on school campuses, triggered by young imaginations. Parents report children terrified at the thought that bad clowns are going to attack their school or in some way hurt them. There are few specific threats, but the very lack of details seems to be fueling childrens fears.

The five school districts and Harmony have sent letters to parents, assuring them that school safety remains a priority. Many said that the phenomenon provides a valuable learning experience.

These unfortunate incidents are a prime example of the power of social media and how that power is not always used in a good way and instead can create fear and uncertainty, stated the letter from NISD Superintendent Brian Woods. Please take this opportunity to discuss with your children the value of social media, as well as the dangers of misusing it.

OConnor and Holmes high schools were specifically mentioned, NISD spokesman Barry Perez said, among others. But many posts just referred vaguely to NISD schools in general, or gave a schools name but no indication of a specific threat. He said most of the creepy clowns hes seen were on Instagram.

These things kind of take a life of their own, he said.

Some creepy clowns on social media have red makeup spread to look like blood across mouths full of jagged teeth, or masks that make their jaws drop in a gaping scream. One holds balloons next to its slashed face, sitting in a swing set at night. All are a grotesque twist on what is usually a fun childhood staple.

One photo making local rounds via text and Facebook shows a scary-faced clown in pajamas holding a bunch of balloons standing by glass doors that look like the entrance at many schools. The title claims it was taken at Clemens High School, but theres nothing in the photo that proves its at that school or even if its in San Antonio.

Across the country, many of the real clowns who earn a living by making people laugh are concerned about the bad rep clowns are getting.

Stephen King, whose film adaptation of his book It about a clown is expected to be released next year, jumped into the mix this week to defend clowns. He issued a Tweet saying Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteriamost of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.

A clown lives matter movement has started on Twitter, with Arizona scheduled to have a peaceful walk for it on Oct. 15. But some creepy clowns have also appropriated the slogan for themselves, with one by the name of Loco the Clown featured in an Instagram photo holding up a sign with those words in blood-red writing.

Jose Pastrano of San Antonio, who goes by Chencho the Clown for his weekend clown job, says he thinks things will soon die down and go back to normal.

Ive been doing this clown for about 30 years, and I met a lot of people, even adults, who are afraid of clowns. So I think theyre playing on that fear and especially these clowns, theyre scary, Pastrano said, adding that his clown costume is much more cheerful.

And so far, his career hasnt been adversely affected. He performed at a National Night Out on Tuesday and said the kids were just as entertained as usual  though the organizers did tell him to be careful out there, given the national clown climate.

Staff writers Alia Malik and Vincent T. Davis contributed to this report.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net
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As District Attorney Nico LaHood tightens his embrace of anti-vaccination activism, his critics dont just include medical professionals.

Lawyers who helped elect him  and who have spent months shaking their heads at multiple controversies involving him  say LaHoods strenuous advocacy for the debunked notion that childhood vaccines can and do cause autism, as he put it, could put the integrity of his office at risk.

LaHood has courted some of these battles, and others have come to him unbidden. He has gone to bat for an employee trying to land a county contract. He has claimed on talk radio that no true Muslim can adhere to constitutional democracy. He failed to disclose to the state a business interest now tangentially linked to an FBI probe. And his office defended the county from a lawsuit that claimed two deputies unnecessarily shot and killed a man while his prosecutors also weighed possible criminal charges against them.

LaHood doubled down on his anti-vaccine stance a week ago at a conference in Dallas in which fellow activists, including the actress Jenny McCarthy, praised him for his courage in defying established science. Appearing with his wife, Davida, as celebrity keynote speakers at the Autism Education Summit, he called for people to educate lawmakers on the issue while denying he was trying to tell parents what to do.

When LaHood invests the prestige of his office so heavily in a personal position, people might believe they wont get a fair shake from the office if theyre on the wrong side of it, some lawyers said in recent interviews.

His stance against vaccinations could affect child-custody and child-abuse cases, where Texas Child Protective Services caseworkers are represented by LaHoods staff, they pointed out. In many cases, LaHoods prosecutors have argued that failing to vaccinate kids is medical neglect, said defense attorney Joseph Hoelscher, who has sparred with LaHood on social media.

So the next time I deal with that in court, what is the prosecutor going to say? Hoelscher asked. Theres a lot of cases where parents have arguments with CPS about their childs medical care, and having a DA take a fringe position like this undermines the credibility of the departments medical decision-making.

A former prosecutor added, I can see where someone might sue the countys hospital district over a vaccination, and hes defending (the district), then that might be a problem.

Most of those interviewed for this story who have dealings with LaHoods office declined to be named, saying they dont want to antagonize a DA who wont be up for re-election until 2018. The Texas District & County Attorneys Association and professors at St. Marys University and the University of Texas at Austin declined comment on the issues raised in this story.

John Convery, another former prosecutor who has a defense practice here and is president of the 3,500 member Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said he didnt agree with LaHoods vaccination stance, but cautioned, Im not so sure it is going to filter down in all those horrible ways.

The Bexar County District Attorneys Office is one of the busiest in the state. It has 190 assistant district attorneys, according to its website. It estimates it will open 57,500 cases in the fiscal year that began Saturday, and 490 civil cases. Judging LaHood underpaid, county commissioners recently raised the local supplement to his $140,000 state salary, bringing his pay to $242,000.

Courthouse regulars who cheered LaHoods defeat of longtime incumbent Susan Reed continue to laud his flexibility, accessibility and follow-through on campaign promises to reform the office.

But others, including some ex-prosecutors and judges, say the recent controversies and his prioritizing of the political aspects of his job may be affecting his credibility.

Late last year, when LaHoods staff weighed possible criminal charges for two Bexar County sheriffs deputies who had fatally shot an assailant, they were simultaneously defending the deputies conduct against a lawsuit.

LaHood also waded into a dispute over a county security contract involving his chief investigator.

LaHoods anti-vaccine crusade became public knowledge this summer, when he cited his own two children as examples of the dangers they pose  dangers that medical researchers say dont exist.

Also last summer, LaHood told a talk radio host that Islam is a horrifically violent religion and invited Muslims to leave the country on the assumption that true adherents to that faith could not adhere to the Constitution.

More recently, he made headlines for failing to report a business interest on a state-required financial disclosure statement, a consulting firm with ties to a bankrupt fracking sand company that the FBI is investigating.

Criticized for politicking

The anti-vaccination comments, made in a video in which LaHood spoke at his desk in his capacity as district attorney, triggered a spate of warnings from local health officials, institutions and hospitals that science had found no link between vaccines and autism  and that the sharp increase in parents who have decided not to vaccinate their kids puts them and others at risk of dangerous childhood diseases.

I like Nico in a lot of ways, Hoelscher said. I dont think he understands the implications of what he says will have on what happens on the front lines.

Several of LaHoods critics were more concerned with how he runs his office than with the appropriateness of his lending a megaphone to conspiracy theories. Several said the time LaHood spends attacking his critics on social media, or politicking on the radio or at social functions, takes his eyes and ears away from the day-to-day business of his prosecutors.

Several brought up a dispute that erupted last year, when one of his division chiefs wrote to the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association  alerted by leaked emails from the groups confidential list service  warning that the office would not tolerate an accusation of misconduct made against one of its prosecutors.

Association leaders said they couldnt substantiate that accusation, made by one of its members, that a prosecutor withheld trial evidence and suborned perjured testimony from a state witness. They reached an understanding with LaHood that their private conversations should be private, but some members are still angry about the episode.

LaHood spent 12 years as a defense lawyer before defeating Reed, a former state district judge who had been district attorney for 16 years. She had gained a reputation as being tough on crime, but many in the defense bar saw her as past her time, unwavering and unreceptive toward new ideas to help rehabilitate defendants.

Reed was difficult to work with, but she had set policies, said one defense lawyer who has practiced for nearly 25 years. Now, you cant even get a straight answer.

Theres no structure in that office, the lawyer said. Nico doesnt make decisions. Hes got heads of different divisions making decisions. Hes more of a politician than an administrator.

The local defense lawyers association has heard many similar complaints, its president, Patricia Jay, confirmed.

I would certainly say its a fair statement that most of the members of our board, and a large part of our membership, did support Mr. LaHood, she said. I think its fair to say that the defense bar as a whole has not seen the progress we had hoped for in the transition from Judge Reeds occupancy as district attorney to Mr. LaHood.

In a brief interview after a recent unrelated news conference, LaHood scoffed at the notion that things were better under his predecessor, and said complaints were from a couple of lawyers.

Nobody met with her, he said of Reed. Im available. Im transparent. I meet with (defense) lawyers. Ill review cases if someone wants to meet with me.

I give my prosecutors the authority to do whats right. I tell them, Always do whats right. Use the law to make sure youre seeking justice, which is a new culture in the office.

Im open-minded, he said. I will definitely listen if theres some constructive criticism.

Praise for changes

When LaHood took office, he expanded programs to divert first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors and some nonviolent felonies. He created special units to investigate claims of wrongful convictions and police use of deadly or excessive force. His office refers defendants with mental health issues to a specialized court that helps them get treatment.

Support for LaHood appears strongest among those who most appreciate these progressive measures. Because he had a personal experience in the system as a youthful drug offender, several interviewed for this story said, LaHood understood incarceration was not always the answer.

Defense lawyers are never going to be happy with the DAs office, said one veteran lawyer who believes expectations for LaHood have been unrealistic.

LaHood delivered on some things, but plenty of his prosecutors worked there before he arrived and he cant snap his fingers and theres change, the lawyer added. You cant change that culture overnight.

Jay Norton, a veteran defense lawyer who joined LaHoods office to head up the police use of force unit, said LaHood is genuinely interested in justice.

Ive personally heard him say this: We want to win, and if we should win, its because its the right thing, the right person and the right charge, and by the rules, Norton said. Nico doesnt believe in any hide-the-ball, unethical type behavior.

Norton also said LaHood is trying to expand training programs to instill play-by-the rules conduct.

These are really big fundamental changes in the way the office does things, Convery said. Its about time.  You have to recognize that offenders need to be reintegrated into the community.

Defense lawyer Brandon Hudson called LaHood above reproach and said his staff has been such an improvement over the past administration, though he added that it seems a little odd for LaHood to take such a public stance on the vaccine issue.

Making waves, catching heat

Last fall, LaHoods office weighed a potential criminal case against two Bexar County sheriffs deputies who had shot and killed a knife-wielding and belligerent man named Gilbert Flores. Video taken by neighbors showed Flores with his hands raised just before the shots were fired, but a grand jury declined to indict the officers.

LaHood was thrown on the defensive by his biggest political donor, Thomas J. Henry, the attorney representing the Flores family in a lawsuit against the county, because LaHoods office must represent the county against civil suits. Even before prosecutors met with the grand jury, other lawyers working for LaHood were denying the lawsuits claims that the deputies had used unnecessary and unreasonable force.

Its a conflict of interest, but its legal, so the Legislature should require a special prosecutor in such cases, Henry said. LaHood dismissed the criticism, saying the lack of indictments was based on the evidence, which he said his prosecutors had fully presented to the grand jury.

When LaHood clashed with Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff, who had argued that county rules barred the Blue Armor security company from getting a $720,000 contract because it was owned by LaHoods chief investigator, a county employee, it wasnt to ensure Blue Armor got the contract, LaHood said in the recent interview.

It was taking a stand against an unfair process, he said, adding, After me forcing the issue, I was correct.

In another matter, LaHood downplayed his failure to report his business interest in Trinity Global Funding and Consulting LLC, whose owner Gary Cain he successfully defended in 2014 against theft charges related to a land deal. Months later, LaHood helped Cain get consulting work with Four Winds Logistics, according to testimony in a bankruptcy case stemming from Four Winds later collapse. The FBI is probing allegations by Four Winds investors that they were swindled.

LaHood said it was an oversight not to disclose his board memberships, including the co-chairmanship of Trinity Global, on his personal financial statement for 2015 with the Texas Ethics Commission. It was corrected on a supplemental filing, he said.

There wasnt anything I did not disclose, LaHood said. A staff member found it, corrected it and the Ethics Commission said, Thank you for correcting it, and that was it.

In the same interview, LaHood offered a full-throated defense of what medical researchers consider junk science. Defense attorneys in particular, he said, should respect the idea that science can be questioned and people dont take governments word for it.

Concerns that LaHoods personal views might affect the decisions of his office were raised by his comments about Islam on a radio talk show last summer. He included a claim that a congregation in Irving had tried to set up a Sharia court  an untrue rumor circulated among right-wing bloggers and broadcasters that drew armed members of a militia group to posture outside the mosque last year.

This country was founded on the Constitution, and there are certain founding principles. If people dont like it, they can either start their own country or they can leave, LaHood told Joe Pags, the shows host.

Its surprising to hear such broad-brush Islamophobia from a Democrat  but its especially troubling when it comes from an elected official responsible for law enforcement, said Sarwat Husain, president of the San Antonio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and deputy chair of the Bexar County Democratic Partys District 3.

Time and time again, he lines up with the right-wing extremists, Husain said. To me, he is disguising himself, being an extremist and calling himself a progressive person.

What kind of justice will we get from this district attorney? she asked.

Informed of Husains concerns, LaHoods office issued this statement: All individuals who come before the District Attorneys Office are treated in a fair, respectful manner and in accordance with the Constitution.

Its not that simple, said a former prosecutor who supports LaHood.

Whats he thinking? the supporter said. Its going to affect juries and their perception of the DA's Office and the arguments made by prosecutors. It's going to affect judges. You have to realize the boundaries of your office and the mission you've been elected to serve.

gcontreras@express-news.net

Twitter: @gmaninfedland
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AUSTIN  Interim state Rep. Laura Thompson, the first independent to win a seat in the Legislature in more than half a century, has thwarted an effort by Bexar County Democrats to have her disqualified from the upcoming election.

A state district judge in Travis County ruled Thursday that Thompsons name will stay on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Justice has been served, said Thompson, who took office last month after winning a special election to fill the unexpired term of a retired San Antonio lawmaker. This gives the voters a choice.

Thompsons eligibility had been the subject of controversy ever since state election officials initially declared she lacked the necessary 500 valid signatures to compete as an independent candidate in Novembers election. But Thompson appealed, and the secretary of states office reversed its stance, authorizing her for the ballot last month.

The Bexar County Democratic Party responded by filing a lawsuit to have Thompson removed from the ballot, claiming she failed to collect the needed signatures to compete against Democrat Barbara Gervin-Hawkins in Texas House District 120, which covers parts of the East and Northeast sides.

On Thursday, a lawyer for the Bexar County Democrats argued that 16 of the 510 approved signatures were not valid, leaving Thompson just shy of the necessary threshold to be an eligible candidate. Thompsons lawyers argued all the signatures were valid and they had found more legitimate signatures that were originally discredited by state election officials.

District Judge Tim Sulak, however, signaled early in the hearing that he was not likely to remove Thompsons name from the ballot, in part, because of the election timetable. But Sulak said he was aware any decision would likely be challenged, so he let the two sides argue their cases to build a court record.

Lets just go ahead and get a decision so this can go to an appeals court, he said.

Along with time constraints, another issue in removing Thompsons name from the ballot arose: taxpayer money.

Officials told Sulak that Bexar Countys election machine has already started spinning its wheels and to pump the brakes now would be costly. Hundreds of overseas ballots have been mailed, more than 2,000 mail-in ballots in the district have been distributed and election computers are already programmed.

The total cost, estimated at $70,000, could set the countys election planning back by seven days if Thompson were booted off the ballot, officials said.

This would be an incredible disruption, Clark Brown of the Bexar County district attorneys office told Sulak.

Thompson originally submitted more than 600 signatures, but the secretary of states office goofed by invalidating over 100 of them, said Carl Myers, an assistant attorney general for Texas.

Myers, who is representing the secretary of state on behalf of the AGs office, told the judge that human error by employees at a state agency shouldnt prevent a candidate from being on the ballot.

The time for second guessing the secretary of state has passed, Myers said.

Sulaks ruling does allow for Bexar County Democrats to ask a state appeals court to invalidate Thompsons eligibility, but a decision on that is not likely to happen before Nov. 8. That means a post-election court fight is still possible if Thompson wins in November.

Gervin-Hawkins, the Democrat who will face Thompson, said she was pleased the judge left that option available but her focus right now is on campaigning.

Its time to let the voters speak, she said. The ballot box will tell the big story.

drauf@express-news.net
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In a close race with the election barely a month away, it was time for Democratic congressional candidate Pete Gallego to play his newest endorsement card.

On the heels of Vice President Joe Bidens statement of support for Gallego, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland appeared with Gallego on Thursday at an immigrant-owned South Side business to back Gallegos candidacy in District 23.

Gallego, who held the seat for one term before losing two years ago to Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, is locked in a tough race thats rated as a toss-up by national pundits. In recent weeks, Hoyer has said several House seats are in play, but he doesnt expect enough turnover to put Democrats back in power.

With early voting starting Oct. 24 in a borderlands district that reaches from San Antonio to El Paso, Gallego and Hurd are in full battle mode as they enter the campaigns final weeks.

Complaining of congressional gridlock, Hoyer, a floor leader for the minority Democrats, said he needs Gallego back on his side of the aisle. He praised Gallego for his bipartisan approach, first in the Texas House and then in Congress.

He brings experience, but he also brings the personality of success and accomplishment, Hoyer said.

Hoyer made the endorsement at Concord Supply, Inc., in the 9500 block of South Presa Street, a company started in 1991 by Mexican immigrant Victor Quinones.

We see here an example of what can happen if we give people opportunity, Gallego said.

Hoyer called the company, which makes packaging and other products, an absolute wonderful example of how important it is for America to have this immigrant population.

Hoyer chided GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump for denegrating the country when he says it needs to be made great  It is a great country right now, Hoyer said.

For someone (Trump) to say were going to shut our door, (he) doesnt have the faintest understanding of what has made America a great country, Hoyer said.

Gallego is hoping that key endorsements help him endure an onslought of attack ads from Hurds campaign and Hurd supporters. Earlier this week, Biden did his part to boost Gallegos chances.

Texans can trust that Pete Gallego will always fight for them in Congress because he's one of them, through and through, and has spent his career in public service putting their needs above all else, Biden said in a prepared statement.

Pete Gallego has never lost sight of the values he learned growing up in West Texas. He will continue to fight for Texas families, seniors, students, and veterans, and to make sure his son and all of our children have the opportunity to work hard and get ahead, Biden said.

Hurd, whos expecting a high-level congressional endorsement of his own next week, preemptively welcomed Hoyer to the Alamo City. Hurd used the occasion to tout legislation he passed with Hoyers support, including a measure to modernize government technology.

Hurd said that measure not only reduces wasteful spending on outdated IT, but also saves taxpayer dollars, increases government accountability, and helps government be more efficient in serving the American people. This is true bipartisan work.

Citing his own Democratic praise, Hurd quoted Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., as hailing the work of the Subcommittee on Information Technology, which is chaired by Hurd.

Deservedly, Congress gets dinged on for not being able to get anything done, Connolly said. But the fact of the matter is, kind of below the surface, lots of things can and do get done with leadership and collaboration and partnership. And Mr. Hurd epitomizes that, Connolly said.

jgonzalez@express-news.net

Twitter: johnwgonzalez
Across America, clowns are putting their big feet down.

After 30 years of being associated with evil intent and offended by a recent surge in clown spotting around the country, entertainers who don the makeup and garb associated with the art form have swapped their squirting flowers for flowery words.

Ron Anglin, a professional clown who works for a childrens health care center in Atlanta, began a social media campaign Wednesday night to fight back.

To counter all the horrible images out there, he wrote on Facebook, I am asking you to help me flood Facebook with images that show what REAL Clowns do!

Under the hashtag (a way of indexing social media topics) #RealClownsAreAboutLove, other clown performers are posting pictures of their work and the crowds they entertain.

RELATED ARTICLE: Creepy clowns pose empty threat to local schools

Its the latest instance of a heretofore harmless activity that has taken a public beating because of mass hysteria fueled by performance media or news events:

With the 1960 film Psycho, director Alfred Hitchcock made a generation afraid to take showers when they were home alone.

When Ronald Clark OBryan poisoned his 8-year-old son with tainted candy on Oct. 31, 1974, he single-handedly destroyed Halloween for generations of families.

The Detroit-based rap duo Insane Clown Posse began in the early 1980s, dressing as clowns to sell their unique brand of hardcore hip-hop, which they call horrorcore. Then and to this day, it appeals mainly to a small-but-fervent group of fans.

The ongoing circus over clowns, however, went mainstream with Stephen Kings 1986 horror novel It and the subsequent 1990 television adaptation. It's scheduled to be released as a movie next year.

In his book, King told the story of a murderous clown, beginning a backlash that would undo centuries of tradition.

That book, more than anything, is blamed for turning the public perception of clowns from pleasant, paint-faced practitioners of fun and pathos into ghastly symbols of fear.

For his part, King, jumped into the mix this week to defend clowns. He issued a Tweet saying, Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteriamost of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.

Still, pranksters continue riffing on Kings It imagery.

It began Aug. 20, when a prankster dressed as a clown was spotted in the woods behind an apartment complex in Greenville, S.C., spooking residents and their children.

Since then, a clown car stuffed full of copycats has spread across the country, showing up outside schools and in various locations in 10 states trying to scare witnesses. Rumors, fueled by social media, have spread the fear across the nation.

At least five San Antonio-area school districts that have had to deal with rumors of clown sightings or activity have sent home letters promoting student safety.

These things kind of take a life of their own, said Barry Perez, a Northside ISD spokesman.

The explosion of spooky sightings  like a cigar blowing up in a clowns mouth  is the sudden, irrational culmination of an urban legend thats grown for years.

Ive been doing clown work for 37 years as a Shrine clown and on my own, said John Viner of Universal City. Ever since Stephen King did that movie It, it has created negative reactions for me.

Decades earlier, Viners dad had dreamed of entertaining kids as a father-son clown team. The idea was that his father, a commercial artist, would draw pictures and Viner, then only a fifth-grader, would make balloon animals.

There wasnt enough money to pay for the plan, however, so the Viners never did it.

When Viner's father died, Viner took up clowning as a tribute to him. Viner became a Shrine clown, performing at hospitals and also hiring out to do parties.

I enjoy entertaining kids, he said. I dont like them being scared of me.

Its now a Viner family tradition. Wife Rhenae Viner clowns as Bubblegum and daughter Coriann Viner-Baker clowns as Violet.

Some clowns have shelved their facepaint.

I dont perform anymore as a clown because I dont like that children are scared, said Mary Ann Tapia, who makes balloon animals for local parties as Silly McNilly.

The art of clowning dates back centuries, various historical sources say, beginning with court jesters who performed for royalty.

Some clowns lost their way over the years, performing in blackface for minstrel shows. That practice now is frowned upon though, surprisingly, its still legal in the U.S.

The mainstream clowning of today, however, consists of performers in exaggerated makeup and clothing who do physical shtick, perform magic, create balloon animals, juggle or any combination.

Though King popularized the image of the demonic, murderous clown, there were incidents and media portrayals well before It, said Frank T. McAndrews, the Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill.

Serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who murdered 33 boys and young men in the Chicago area in the 1970s, appeared at children's birthday parties as "Pogo the Clown. That was a large rubber hammer to the clown image.

After (creepy clown sightings) occurred in the Boston area in the 1980s, McAndrews wrote, "Loren Coleman, a cryptozoologist who studies the folklore behind mythical beasts such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, came up with something called The Phantom Clown Theory, which attributes the proliferation of clown sightings to mass hysteria (usually sparked by incidents witnessed only by children).

Theres even a field of research, called coulrophobia, that studies the irrational fear of clowns. According to Canadian psychologist Rami Nader, McAndrews said, clown phobias are fueled by the fact that clowns wear makeup and disguises that hide their true identities and feelings.

That realization changed the way Silly McNilly performs, Tapia said.

I dont wear clown makeup anymore, she said. I wear a red heart on my nose and some glittery eyelashes, and thats it.

rbragg@express-news.net

Staff Writer Silvia Foster-Frau contributed to this report.




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College students in San Antonio could be exactly what the State Department is looking for. At least thats what Arnold Chacon thinks.

The director general of the Foreign Service is visiting South Texas colleges this week, including the University of Texas-San Antonio, St. Marys University and Texas A&M University-San Antonio, to recruit students for careers in the State Department.

Chacon, 60, wants this visit to help demystify what the Department of State is all about.

We offer a number of career paths, in Washington and overseas, he said in a telephone interview with the San Antonio Express-News. The bottom line is, its important, meaningful work that matters.

With career moves every three to four years, employees have a chance to reinvent themselves frequently. While students can apply for a job right out of college with either Foreign Service or Civil Service and take the exam and other required steps, Chacon also talked about a Counselor Fellows program for those looking to test the waters before diving in completely.

Fellows, especially those with foreign language skills in Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese, have a three-to-five year appointment to work abroad in embassies and consulates alongside other diplomats, processing visa applications. These positions could qualify for recruitment incentives and student loan repayment programs.

Chacon described San Antonio as dynamic, with people who appreciate international affairs. Also, with much of the community bilingual, the city is a key area to cultivate. Currently, less than 7 percent of State Department employees are Hispanic.

Chacon, a diplomat for more than 30 years, has worked abroad in Latin America and Europe, and served as the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala. A kid from Colorado, his family roots in that part of the country date back to the 1700s.

Few in his family, however, ventured beyond of that region. Between high school and college, Chacon began volunteering with Amigos de las Americas, a nonprofit where people travel abroad for public health work. He spent six summers traveling to central and South America, providing vaccinations and dental hygiene services. While abroad, he met some U.S. diplomats, who taught him about Foreign Service. When he went back to school, he switched his major to international affairs.

However, Chacon stressed its not one size fits all at the State Department.

While many may have degrees in international affairs, Chacon said hes interested in people whove studied different things, whether its management, economics, liberal arts or foreign languages. The department also recruits specialists, people with health care backgrounds or experience in engineering, basically a diverse workforce to represent the face of the United States when overseas, he said.

On one hand its the right thing to do, but also its the smart thing to do, he said.

Diversity engenders creativity, and it helps the message resonate, when were out there serving as an example to the world.

Fauzeya Rahman

frahman@express-news.net

@fauzeyar
Back in its first season, Saturday Night Live ran a spoof commercial featuring sales pitches for various brands of jam, each with horrible names such as Nose Hair and Mangled Baby Ducks.

The marketing premise was that with names so repulsive, the jam had to be great.

Im not sure if the same idea can be applied to politics, but San Antonio horror-movie producer Michael Salzburg-Felts seems to be going for a similar effect.

Salzburg-Felts, 44, filed with the Federal Election Commission on October 3 to create a new political party that he describes as a moderate, unifying antidote to our current polarization. But Salzburg-Felts and his allies have given it a name they concede is divisive and off-putting: the New Confederates Party.

The name is kind of misleading, Salzburg-Felts said, because it has nothing to do with the Confederate States of America in any way. Its based on the definition of confederate: the banding together of different affiliates together into one group.

That definition is correct, and outside the realm of politics you might be able to use the word without immediately conjuring the horrible stench of 19th century American racism. For example, Elvis Costello toured in 1986 with a roots-rock band he dubbed the Confederates, and no one objected. But dont the founders of the New Confederates Party worry that people will assume theyre advocating a return to the pre-emancipation South?

Of course we do, Salzburg-Felts said. People are going to see the name confederate, and theres going to be a negative connotation to the name.

Were an inclusive party. Just like the gay community is taking words and symbols and changing them to a positive, Im doing the same thing on that aspect. Im trying to bring attention to that topic and show that government needs to step away from those symbols that were enacted in hate.

In other words, Salzburg-Felts went out of his way to use an incendiary term, because he wanted to reclaim that word from its ugly past and recast it. You could compare it to the way modern American conservatives took the term federalist  once used to describe someone who favored a big central government  and branded themselves new federalists, as a label for their desire to shift power away from the federal government.

Salzburg-Felts has been a political animal for most of his life. The son of an Air Force master sergeant, he was born in Spain and moved to San Antonio when he was 2 years old. True to his middle-of-the-road inclinations, Salzburg-Felts has worked for candidates in both major parties.

In 1990, he volunteered for Rick Perrys successful campaign for agriculture commissioner, Perrys first contest after switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

In 2008, Salzburg-Felts made it as far as the Texas Democratic Convention as a delegate for Hillary Clinton.

Over the years, he grew exasperated with the inability of lawmakers to set aside dogmatic grandstanding and work with the opposition to get things done. Its a problem which intensified on Capitol Hill after the 2010 tea-party tsunami election ushered in an uncompromising class of 87 GOP House freshmen.

Its so polarized today, its either super extremely left or its super extremely right, Salzburg-Felts said. Nobody is looking at the middle. Thats what were missing in politics today, someone to stand up for whats right for everybody and legislate from the center. Thats what Im trying to do with the new party.

Salzburg-Felts makes his living as a travel agent, but his passion over the past six years has been creating indie horror films in the spirit of the 70s and 80s slasher classics he grew up on. With encouragement from indie auteur Del Shores, Salzburg-Felts sunk $10,000 of his own money into Yorktown, the 2011 feature film he wrote, directed and produced. Since then, hes concentrated on bringing other peoples projects to fruition, through his company, Angry Otter Productions.

As with his moviemaking operation, Salzburg-Felts is building his party on a shoestring and a notion. His political team consists of only eight San Antonians, but he carries the dream of building the New Confederates Party into a national entity. Step 1: fielding a 2018 congressional candidate in Texas.

We need to build a base and get people motivated behind the party, Salzburg-Felt said. And we have our own obstacles with that, the name of our party being one of them.

But Salzburg-Felts might argue that with a name this bad, his new party has to be good.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
CANFIELD, Ohio  Mahoning County Farm Bureau members were challenged to stay involved in key ag issues, and to reach down and lend a hand to younger members of the ag community. The farm group held its annual meeting Oct. 4 at Al A Cart Catering in Canfield.

In her remarks, Mahoning County Farm Bureau President Barbara Biery encouraged members to find ways to speak to others about their farms and agricultural issues.

It has been difficult for us to be passionate, said Biery, but this is our vocation, not just our job.

Last year, the Mahoning Farm Bureau had 4,711 members, of which 860 were active farmer members.

Next generation

Like the state and other county Farm Bureaus, Mahoning County is working to build programs and encourage involvement by young adults, specifically through the Young Agricultural Professionals program. The county is offering membership at $25 for young adults, age 18-24, and encouraged members to underwrite those dues for someone they know, or make a blanket dues donation so the office can select someone.

State trustee Mike Boyert, of Medina County, applauded the county for that effort, likening the aging of agriculture with his church. Theres a lot of gray hair in that congregation.

When the state board visited the Iowa Farm Bureau board this summer, Boyert learned the state has lowered its average farmer age from 59 to 53.

Thats what we need to be looking at here in Ohio, he told the Mahoning County members.

Ohio Farm Bureau President Frank Burkett III also spoke to the group about his whirlwind year, which included his succession to the presidents post, and chairing the search committee for the state farm groups new executive director, Adam Sharp.

Columbus has certainly become my second home, said the Stark County dairyman.

He also thanked the local members for the foundation they provide the state group.

Ive always known the respect your organization has carried, Burkett said, but that respect is there because of the work everyone of you do.

Scholarships

During the meeting, the local farm group presented scholarships to Sarah Baird, Levi Plocher and Lydia Schlegel.

Baird, the daughter of Matthew and Debra Baird, Green Township, is a freshman at Ohio State Universitys Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster. Plocher, son of Todd and Jody Plocher, of Goshen Township, is in his final semester at ATI, with plans to continue his degree in animal science at the main campus. Schlegel is the daughter of Ed and Sarah Schlegel, Green Township, and is a freshman at Youngstown State University.

The county Farm Bureau also presented its Friend of Agriculture award to state Rep. John Boccieri, D-Poland, and state Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, D-33rd.

Volunteer leaders

Sara Greier and Dave Hively were each re-elected to three-year terms on the county Farm Bureau board of trustees. Rick Molnar Jr. was elected to his first term on the board.

Team leaders for 2017 will include: Sara Greier, communications action team; Michael Hammond and Chad Bailey, food and animal issues action team; Jenifer Pemberton, organization action team; and Nancy Kemp, public policy action team.

Members also elected delegates to the 2017 state Farm Bureau annual meeting: Brian Barth, John Biery, David Corll and Nancy Kemp. County presidents also serve as an automatic delegate, so Barbara Biery will also be representing the county.

Members also approved a slate of eight national, 18 state and 21 county policy resolutions that will now be forwarded to the state level for consideration by the state policy development committee. Statewide delegates will set the farm groups guiding policy during the annual meeting Dec. 1-2.
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.
Shropshire

A Full-Time position is available for an assistant herdsperson on a family dairy farm in mid Shropshire. We have a 250 dairy herd rearing own replacements together with a b...
Changes are needed to the Neighbourhood Planning Bill to help the rural economy thrive and grow, the CLA has said.

Further reform of the planning and compulsory purchase systems are 'essential to ensure a viable future for the rural economy'.

The Neighbourhood Planning Bill prepares for its Second Reading (10 October).

The CLA said the Bill contained 'welcome measures' on both planning and compulsory purchase.

'The Bill has the potential to impose unnecessary costs on those looking to diversify their rural business'

"But without changes the Bill has the potential to impose unnecessary costs on those looking to diversify their rural business and to further weight the balance of compulsory purchase in favour of those acquiring land," CLA President Ross Murray said.

"The Bill is a welcome opportunity to reform both the planning and compulsory purchase systems to ensure that farmers and landowners have the best opportunity to help the rural economy thrive and grow.

"However, without changes the Bill will add unnecessary costs to planning applications and fail to address the imbalance of compulsory purchase in favour of acquiring authorities.

"We want to see changes which make it easier to deliver important development in rural areas and ensure those losing land temporarily for infrastructure projects have the same rights to payment as those losing land permanently."

Pre-commencement conditions

The CLA wants to the ensure the government makes it possible to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate only in relation to pre-commencement conditions.

These are planning conditions which prevent any development with planning permission from taking place until detailed aspects of the development have been approved and the condition has been fulfilled by the applicant.

Currently, if a farmer or landowner disagrees with a pre-commencement condition imposed by the local authority the appeal can lead to the entire application being re-examined.

The rural organisation wants to force acquiring authorities to be clear at the outset that they only acquire the minimum amount of land required land to deliver a project and whether this land is required temporarily or permanently.

Farmers and landowners are seeking compensation if the land they lose via compulsory purchase is then used for a different purpose at a later date.
British sheep farmers are concerned at the prospect of a possible free trade deal with the Australia following the decision to leave the European Union.

Neil Hesiltine, an upland sheep farmer, said that more sheep being imported from Australia and other commonwealth countries could only be a bad thing for the British sheep industry."

He said that, as a sheep farmer, he would rather not see Australian sheep meat come into Britain.

"Id not rather not see our supermarkets dealing with any of the Antipodean countries because its going to have an impact on our industry," Mr Hesiltine said.

A free trade proposal has caused alarm among National Sheep Association (NSA) members who fear a further increase in foreign lamb products.

NSA believes more should be done to grow the UK domestic market

NSA said Brexit needed to bring 'tighter controls' on Australian and New Zealand lamb.

They said a situation allowing new foreign products to be imported into UK retailers would make matters worse.

"Recent figures from Meat and Livestock Australia show the country produced 516,366 tonnes of lamb and 196,040 tonnes of mutton in 2015/16, exporting 56% of total lamb production (worth $1.78 billion) and 91% of mutton production ($700 million)," said Phil Stocker, NSA chairman.

"The main destinations were the Middle East, USA and China.

"The UK is currently an importer and exporter of lamb, which helps balance supply and demand through the year and exploits ideal sheep producing conditions in the UK," he said.

'Bad thing for the British sheep industry'

Australia currently has a quota to export just under 20,000 tonnes of sheep meat to the EU, which it fulfills every year.

With an annual production of more than 700,000 tonnes, the country is very keen to open up more trade opportunities and is seizing on Brexit as an opportunity to renegotiate its EU quota.

NSA believes more should be done to grow the UK domestic market and increase self-sufficiency in lamb production and consumption.

"Especially as we do not know what access we will have to EU markets in the future," Mr Stocker continued.

"We currently export around 36% of UK lamb, with France and the rest of the EU taking the majority of this. A priority for our sector is negotiating a trade deal with the EU post-Brexit.

"A free trade deal with Australia or New Zealand may be beneficial for some UK industries but could have a catastrophic effect on UK sheep farmers and we cannot sit back and be sacrificed for the benefit of others.

"Given the fundamental role our sheep sector has in maintaining the rural environment, landscape and community in the UK, we cannot afford to be overlooked in crucial trade negotiations.

"We encourage the UK Government to work hard on these deals, but not to rush into agreements without considering the wider consequences."
The agricultural industry has met at the Congress of European Farmers in Greece this week to discuss ways to prevent future farm crises.

High-level speakers participating in the event, include the European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, European Parliaments Agriculture and Rural Development Committee Chairman Adam Siekierski and NFU Scotland President Allan Bowie.

Mr Bowie said that by embracing innovation, the whole agricultural industry can grow and thrive.

Mr Bowie chaired a workshop on innovation and finance on the first day of the Copa Cogeca-organised conference.

The workshop looked at the innovation within agriculture and the supply chain and how this can better deliver sustainable prices with a profit that can be shared by all.

This workshop was one of the sessions at the Congress of European Farmers conference, taking place in Greece from 5 to 7 October, considering what needs to be done to create a better future for farmers and crofters.

Innovation 'is key'

"We are facing more and more challenges, seeing farmers being squeezed harder than ever by low market prices and high input costs"

Allan Bowie, NFU Scotlands President said innovation is "key to all parts" of the farming, food and drink industry.

"Many times over it has been said that we could not produce enough food to feed the world population," Mr Bowie said.

"Time and time again farming has innovated and stepped up to the challenge.

"With a finite amount of land, a growing world population and the added pressure of being asked to use less resources while producing more, the need to innovate has never been greater.

"By getting farmers together from across the whole of Europe we have an opportunity to share our experiences and highlight the innovation that is being done.

"Farming today is so much more than dirty boots and simply planting a seed or rearing an animal.

"We need policies and initiatives that understand the complex factors that now go into food production and that will be needed if we are to provide for the food needs of a growing world population while addressing the challenges of combatting climate change, using natural resources sympathetically and ensuring that all in the food chain share the risk as well as the rewards."

'Farmers squeezed harder than ever'

Steps need to be taken to prevent farming crises caused by low market prices and high input costs from happening in the future, according to EU cooperative Copa.

"We are facing more and more challenges, seeing farmers being squeezed harder than ever by low market prices and high input costs," Copa President Martin Merrild said.

"The demanding consumer should be considered as a friend and not as a threat. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must be aligned to reflect this.

"Consumers also need to be aware of the high production standards that we meet. Communication must be stepped up on this," he said.

"But it is important that cooperatives are innovative and develop products that are suited to consumer demands if they are to bring these rewards to their farmer members.

"We will also see how we can further develop smart farming and precision agriculture which enables producers to save on input costs and produce more efficiently," Cogeca President Thomas Magnusson said.
Fermanagh and Omagh has delivered 8.3 million of the LEADER element within the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP).

Funded by the Northern Ireland government and the EU, Fermanagh and Omagh Local Action Group is one of ten LAGs across Northern Ireland and has been allocated a budget of approximately 8.3million to support rural communities in Fermanagh and Omagh.

The 8.3m will be available for small and micro businesses, local councils and the community/voluntary sector to develop rurally based projects.

Rural Minister Michelle McIlveen

The emphasis will be on job creation, social inclusion and poverty reduction in rural areas.

Rural Minister Michelle McIlveen has welcomed the progress made, as she spent the day speaking in Fermanagh engaging with farmers and various business enterprises.

Miss McIlveen met with the Board of Fermanagh and Omagh Local Action Group (LAG) in Enniskillen today where she handed over Letters of Offer to two local rural businesses each worth 30,000.

Rural benefits

She said: "The LEADER Programme provides an 8.3million investment opportunity for the Fermanagh and Omagh Council area towards the creation of rural jobs, the development of rural infrastructure for a range of community services and ensuring the sustainability of our rural communities.

"One of my key objectives is to ensure we support rural businesses to grow and create employment opportunities.

"I am therefore delighted to hand over Letters of Offer, each to the value of 30,000, to Paul Donnelly of DIFCO Ltd, Carrickmore, County Tyrone and Jake McCoy of Re-Kurr NI Ltd, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh to expand each of their respective rural businesses.

Barry Boyle, Chairperson of Fermanagh and Omagh Local Action Group who are tasked with the delivery of the Programme, looked forward to seeing the vital funding reaching the projects on the ground.

He commented: "The Local Action Group involves local people making decisions on programme delivery and ensuring that the investment available responds to local needs.

"This funding is a welcome boost in the current economic climate, and provides opportunities for new and existing micro and small enterprises to grow and contribute further to the rural economy and improving the quality of life in rural areas."
Meadow Foods, the UKs largest independent dairy, has announced that it will be increasing its standard A milk price by 1p per litre to 22.15p per litre for November.

In addition to this A litre price increase, Meadow Foods has announced that its B price for October will increase to 30p per litre.

This is an increase of 3p per litre, which is 3p/litre higher than forecast last month.

The processor predicts the November B price will be no lower than 30p/litre.

In August, Meadow Foods announced that they had written to farmers to reassure them that the company would not be penalizing them for any under supply during these challenging times.

Meadow Foods is the UKs largest independently owned dairy group and leading supplier of milk based dairy ingredients to the food industry.

The organisation currently handles more than 500 million litres of milk each year direct from over 550 farmer suppliers from across the North of England, Midlands and North & West Wales.

The company, founded in 1992, operates from factories in Chester, Peterborough and Holme-on-Spalding Moor and now employs more than 275 people.
Meat produced from British pigs has been shown to be infected with a livestock strain of MRSA.

According to a Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism report, pork products bought at Asda and Sainsburys were contaminated with the bug.

The two outlets had tested 97 samples of pork from British supermarkets, with three found to be contaminated.

The investigation has also established that a loophole in import regulations is leaving an open door for MRSA CC398-infected live pigs from countries such as Denmark, where the disease is rife.

Like other food-borne germs, the superbug is killed by thorough cooking but it can be passed on by lapses in hygiene

Experts are warning that if no action is taken, the UKs pig herd could rapidly become infected.

Such an epidemic could have a serious impact on human health, according to leading Danish microbiologist and MRSA expert, Professor Hans Jrn Kolmos.

The superbug, like other foodborne germs, is killed by thorough cooking - but it can be passed on through lapses in hygiene.

Workers on pig farms can also catch the disease from infected animals and pass it on to other people.

'Hugely concerning'

Emma Rose, the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics, said it is "hugely concerning" that livestock associated MRSA has spread from British farms into the domestic pork supply chain.

"If we are to have any chance of heading off this catastrophe, the government needs to put in place some basic measures to tackle the spread of LA MRSA and introduce immediate screening of the national pig herd, as well as strict testing of imported livestock and meat products," Miss Rose said.

"Crucially, we need immediate restrictions introduced to farm use of antibiotics most linked to LA MRSA - particularly the critically important modern cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone antibiotics."

In a statement, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: Livestock-associated MRSA is not the same as MRSA strains that can cause healthcare-associated infections and if meat is handled and prepared properly the risk to people is low.

"Defra and the National Pig Association recommend that pigs imported to Britain are screened for LA-MRSA.

"The government is reviewing options for surveillance, which will be proportionate to the very low health risk posed by livestock-associated MRSA."
A new dairy export trade development programme has been set up by AHDB and Lucy Randolph is joining the organisation to take charge of it.

The initial programme will be presented to the Dairy Export Forum in Stoneleigh Park on 13 October and is designed to be expanded to develop export sales of dairy products worldwide and position them as a premium offer on international markets.

This forms part of AHBD Dairys wider ambitions to support market development with domestic and international markets for which it has earmarked a budget of 3.5m over the next three years.

Lucy brings a wealth of experience in the field of food exports having worked for Food from Britain and more recently for the Department of International Trade as International Trade Adviser for food and drink in the London International Trade team.

Jean-Pierre Garnier, Head of Exports for Livestock Products said: Lucy will provide a high level of export marketing talent that will complement our skills in marketing meat. Both sectors offer a lot of synergy.

At the moment, there is no coordinated British export marketing effort to promote dairy products, unlike our major competitors, and we need to bridge this gap in the very competitive world dairy market.

We strongly believe that to maintain the current level of export success, we need to build a highly professional, commercially aware team that is able to carry the British flag abroad.

"In these challenging times, this is particularly significant," concluded Jean-Pierre.
The NFU has appointed a new director to lead its newly created Brexit Unit.

The organisation is seeking to strengthen and extend its political reach in the wake of the EU Referendum.

Nick von Westenholz will join the NFU as Director of EU Exit and International Trade to ensure the NFU has a co-ordinated and constant presence in its Brexit conversations with the government in the months ahead.

The new Brexit team is part of the NFUs strategy to refocus and strengthen both its government and external affairs teams in London.

The union wants to ensure it continues to have the impact needed on behalf of its 46,000 farmer and grower members as all-important Brexit negotiations get underway.

NFU Director General Terry Jones said: "We have made no secret of our determination to seize the opportunities offered by the forthcoming Brexit deals to ensure that British farming has a profitable and productive future and is able to seize and capitalise on new opportunities.

"Farming and food production is politically and strategically important for the UK; farming provides the raw ingredients for the UKs food and drink sector worth 108 billion, supporting 3.9 million jobs for people nation-wide as well as delivering high quality, traceable food for a growing population.

"In the coming weeks and months ahead it is essential that food and farming is front and centre of any talks about the UKs relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.

"I am confident the building blocks being put in place now will ensure the NFU is able to work with the two new Government departments, Exiting the EU and International Trade.

"I am delighted Nick von Westenholz is re-joining the NFU to lead the new and strategically important Brexit team to ensure the voice of farming is at the heart of policy and decision-making in these crucial talks," Mr Jones concluded.

Mr von Westenholz joins the NFU from his current post as Chief Executive of the Crop Protection Association.

He is a trained barrister and previously worked with the NFU as its Head of Government Affairs.

'Clear challenges'

He said: "Im delighted to be taking up this new post at the NFU at such a critical time for UK agriculture.

"While Brexit presents clear challenges to UK farming in the coming years, if we get it right it offers the prospect of an exciting future, both to the benefit of domestic food production and our precious natural environment.

"The NFU has shown a strong intent to be on the front foot in getting the best out of Brexit for British farmers and Im immensely excited about stepping up to that task on behalf of the NFUs members."

In addition, the NFU is recruiting a new Head of External Affairs and two new External Affairs Managers to strengthen its London presence.

Mr Jones added: "Recruitment for these posts has already started and I look forward to welcoming the new members of this team to the NFU as we work together to create a positive, profitable and productive future for British farming."
The pig industry has written to Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom to lay out its Brexit priorities, seeking assurances that a cheap food agenda will not take place.

The National Pig Association is seeking assurances a cheap food agenda will not take priority over the need for the UK to build its self-sufficiency in food.

The association has prepared a Brexit briefing document outlining its position, potential solutions and how government can help on trade, future farm support, animal health and welfare and the availability of labour.

The NPA said it would fear this could open the doors to large volumes of lower standard, imported pigmeat

While the NPA says it would welcome opportunities to further build UK export markets, it has warned Mrs Leadsom of the potential pitfalls associated with the sort free trade some prominent figures, including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, are advocating.

If EU tariffs, which currently add 45 per 100kg to the cost of imports of pig carcases, were significantly reduced in new trade deals, the NPA said it would fear this could open the doors to large volumes of lower standard, imported pigmeat.

'Desire for cheap food'

NPA policy services manager Lizzie Wilson said countries like the US, Canada and Brazil are able to produce pigmeat at a much lower cost because they have lower animal welfare and environmental standards.

"We are absolutely adamant that the government must not put a desire for cheap food ahead of the need to shore up the UKs self-sufficiency in food, which has already declined alarmingly over the last few decades," Miss Wilson said.

"We do not want to see UK consumers exposed to pigmeat produced to lower standards and we certainly do not want our producers to face unfair import competition."

The NPA is calling for equivalent standards of production, including animal welfare, to be negotiated into any new trade agreements and, if necessary, for UK pigmeat to be granted protected status to control the volume of tariff free imports allowed into the UK.

The NPA is also calling for new post-Brexit agricultural policies to support pig farmers in delivering public goods such as reducing antibiotic usage by improving animal health.

Mrs Wilson said: "We would like to see grant funding and some sort of tax relief available to help with reinvestment in new buildings, equipment and infrastructure.
Scotland's red meat exporters will be flying the flag for Scotch beef and lamb in Paris in the coming weeks at SIAL, one of the largest food fairs.

Eleven Scottish exporters are attending the event (October 16  20) where Quality Meat Scotlands stand will highlight the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status of Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb.

The trade-only show attracts over 155,000 visitors and around 7,000 exhibitors from 105 countries over its five days and is generally accepted as the place to meet many of Europes most important buyers.

Exporters will be joined by QMS staff and European agents to promote the Scottish red meat industry to buyers and traders from across the globe.

Trade awareness

QMS Head of Marketing Laurent Vernet said: All the worlds meat exporting nations will be attending SIAL this month.

"It is therefore extremely important that Scotlands exporters have a strong presence at the show, highlighting and explaining what makes Scotch Beef PGI and Scotch Lamb PGI different and desirable to customers.

"The Scotch brands and PGI label already enjoy strong trade awareness on the continent.

"SIAL gives us the opportunity to continue to grow that awareness as well as offering exporters a great opportunity to build business."

Scotch Beef PGI is specially selected beef from Scotland. It is sourced from selected Scottish farms that must adopt best practice regarding animal welfare and natural production methods.
New bill seeking to unlock gene-editing tech returns to parliament
"Funding of $15m is a great start, but if we could have a pool of $30m that we could keep in a trust fund for mitigation work, it would be of great benefit to WA and to reducing the impact of fire in this State," he said.
By comparison, the NAB's Rural Commodities Index of 28 commodities was up just 1.5pc in August and, while not calculated for the whole of September at the time Farm Weekly went to press, was on track for a "moderate increase" last month.
What does a more efficient Caleb Love look like for the Tar Heels?
Bear Grylls has urged celebrities to not "flaunt" their wealth online to stop themselves becoming targets for criminal gangs.

Bear Grylls with Huckleberry

In the wake of Kim Kardashian West being robbed by five masked gunmen at a luxury apartment in Paris, France, this week, the 42-year-old TV survival expert has urged all stars to re-consider what they are posting on social media and sharing with the world.

Bear served as a trooper in the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) unit from 1994 until 1997 until a parachuting injury curtailed his career and knows more than most about personal security.

When asked his opinion on celebrity security during a Q&A session following the final dress rehearsal for his live stage show 'Bear Grylls: Endeavour presented by Land Rover' at the SSE Wembley Arena, he said: "Don't flaunt your wealth and be smart!"

During the Q&A, Bear also revealed his nerves ahead of the opening of his show at the venue in the UK capital on Friday night (07.10.16) admitting it was a "daunting" prospect performing live.

He told BANG Showbiz: "It is quite daunting, I don't love being in front of a lot of people. I do think it's a timely moment in society to deliver a message about selflessness and humility. The whole show is about facing fears. The idea is telling a few stories well rather than some badly."

In 'Endeavour: Your Adventure Awaits', the 'Mission Survive' star, alongside a cast of expert aerial artists and a stunt crew, takes the audience on a hair-raising and immersive 'expedition' across the globe celebrating some of the greatest feats of courage, endurance and endeavour through the ages.

Bear guides the audience on a journey uncovering true life stories of survival from frozen Antarctica and the cruel winds of Everest, to the humid jungle and shark-infested waters.

For one space-themed part of the show, during which the aborted Apollo 13 moon landing is recreated, Bear is joined on stage by his son Huckleberry and he admits his lad and his siblings Jesse and Marmaduke were a big influence on the production.

Bear - who has his kids with wife Shara - shared: "You always ask kids for advice, they're the harshest critics. I try and pick stories which would inspire them and I tried to pick ones which show true courage ... Huckleberry is such a prima donna. He believes the security guards are there for him not me!"

'Bear Grylls: Endeavour presented by Land Rover' tours across the UK throughout October.
Craig David, Laura Mvula and Tinie Tempah will perform at the MOBO Awards.

Craig David

The three artists, along with Clean Bandit - who will be singing at the event for the first time when they team up with Best Newcomer nominee Anne-Marie - will join previously-announced duo Chase & Status in playing at the awards, which take place on November 4 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.

The 'When The Bassline Drops' hitmaker - who is nominated for Best Male and Best Song - is thrilled to be making a return to the awards ceremony after first wowing the show in 2000.

He said: "I first performed at the MOBO Awards 16 years ago and walked away with three awards that night. I'm back with new music and it's only right that I celebrate this by joining MOBO as they celebrate their 21st birthday."

Meanwhile, Laura - who last performed at the 2013 MOBOs - will be hoping her performance will be a celebration of a successful night as she's up for an impressive four awards.

She said: "I'm so thrilled to be back in Glasgow performing on the MOBO Awards stage. The MOBOs are one of the few music events that have really championed and supported urban music from Gospel to Grime, so it's an honour to be taking part once again."

Like Craig, Tinie is up for Best Male and Best Song for 'Girls Like', and will be hoping to add to the two awards he picked up in 2010.

Laura and Kano lead the nominations with four each, with Skepta narrowly behind with three nods.

Tickets for the MOBO Awards are available now at www.mobo.com/tickets.
Prince Charles' recording of poem 'The Shipping Forecast' has been hailed a fitting tribute to late writer Seamus Heaney.

Prince Charles

The 67-year-old prince recorded a recital of the acclaimed poet's verse to play on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme in celebration of National Poetry Day on Thursday (06.10.16) and it will also be heard by visitors to the new Seamus Heaney HomePlace centre in Northern Ireland.

And local officials think Charles' contribution to the exhibition, which celebrates the life and work of the poet - who met the prince several times during his life - proves just how highly regarded Heaney was.

Trevor Wilson, who chairs Mid-Ulster District Council, said: "To have a contribution from Prince Charles is testament to the esteem in which Seamus Heaney was held and the great influence of his work.

"This is a wonderful addition to our exhibition and when better to announce it than on National Poetry Day when we celebrate writing and our great writers."

This year's National Poetry Day was themed around Messages and people are being encouraged to "say it with a poem", with a host of major organisations - including Channel 4, local BBC radio stations, and Royal Mail - taking part in the initiative.

National Poetry Day director Susannah Herbert said: "A poem can reach places that prose just can't.

"That's why we're inviting all with anything important to say today to say it with a poem. It can be new or old, utterly original or a familiar favourite.

"It can be deep and dark, funny or memorable. By enjoying, discovering or sharing a poem - words that draw attention to themselves - you change the nature of the national conversation."
Princess Charlotte has been hailed a "mini style icon".

Princess Charlotte and her family

The 17-month-old daughter of Prince William and Duchess Catherine donned a pale blue cotton hand-smocked dress by Pepa & Co at her first official engagement, a children's tea party in Canada last week, and the $94 garment sold out within 24 hours of the event.

Designer Pepa Gonzalez said: "Since then, we have had a lot of interest in all smocked and traditional dresses--her influence as a mini style icon is huge."

Most of Pepa's designs are sold online and she now keeps a map on the wall of her office to document just how far the young royals' influence has spread.

She told People magazine: "Now we have added Korea, China, New Zealand and Brazil. Even Russia! So many people around the world follow the royals, especially this royal family.

"The Americans love it, and when they discover a brand the moms really go mad!"

Catherine - who is also known as Kate Middleton - buys a lot of clothes for her children, including the outfit George was wearing when the family arrived in Canada, from Pepa & Co, something which is very exciting for the designer.

She said: "It's very exciting because of the surprise factor--you never know what they are going to wear."

Pepa describes the duchess' style for her children as "classic with a vintage inspiration", and she usually opts to buy "hand-smocked dresses, frilled collars for little girls, peter pan collars for little boys--similar to what William wore as a little boy."
Len Goodman has been a "bit bossy" on 'Strictly Come Dancing', according to Darcy Bussell.

Len Goodman

The 47-year-old professional dancer - who is currently on her fifth series as a judge on the popular BBC One programme - has admitted she "admires" the 72-year-old head judge, although he can be a "bit bossy", a trait which she puts down to his age.

Speaking about her fellow panellists on 'The Jonathan Ross Show' on Saturday (08.10.16), the former ballerina said: "It's his age and a bit bossy but he is Head Judge. But what I admire the most is obviously his skill; he was judging way before this show even started."

And the beauty has admitted Len likes to remind his colleagues how talented he was on the dance floor, prior to taking a seat as a critique on the show.

She said: "He [Len] was a great [dancer] and he always tells me he was really good at the lifts ... He does get the best room in Blackpool.

"He is the Head Judge so all his knowledge on his ballroom and latin skills is fabulous."

And Len, who is set to leave 'Strictly Come Dancing' after this season, will be dearly missed.

Speaking about Len's forthcoming departure, she said: "This is his last series, I still don't believe he's going to leave but yes he has announced it but maybe we could have Judge Rinder if he wins maybe. If you're going to be head judge you've got to be the expert."

And Darcy has admitted she "has a lot of fun" with Craig Revel Horwood, who has built up a reputation of being the harshest critique on the channel.

She said: "Craig isn't as mean as he comes across. He's horrible (on the show) and I have to beat him up on that and he doesn't like being mean but he carries it off very well. He says I'm rubbing off on him and he sometimes gives a higher mark than he should."

Whilst Italian choreographer Bruno Tolioni, 60, makes her "feel old", despite being three years her senior.

Speaking about the enthusiastic television personality, she said: "His energy levels are higher than high. I feel rather old next to him actually it's amazing, he's so passionate about the show and all that exuberance just comes out naturally and that's what he is like. He's only calm when he's smoking backstage."
Rosie Fortescue has been rushed to hospital to get an ear piecing removed.

Rosie Fortescue (c) Instagram

The 'Made In Chelsea' reality star has revealed she has had "Friday morning hell" after spending the day in Chelsea and Westminster hospital, London, where she was forced to get an earring surgically taken out.

And the strawberry blonde beauty has thanked her friend Holly Anna Scarsella for coming to her rescue.

Alongside a picture of herself with her mascara smeared across her face with the puppy dog Snapchat filter edited on, which Rosie shared on her personal Instagram account on Friday (07.10.16), she wrote: "Friday morning hell in A and E getting an ear piercing removed Thank god for @hollyannascarsella for rescuing me (sic)."

However just hours before the television personality announced the news, she had shared a string of photos of her enjoying a pleasant day filled with a bundle of "treats".

Alongside a photo of a 'Matthew Williamson: Fashion, Print and Colouring Book', Aerin skin care products and a number of beauty products from Victoria Beckham's make-up collection VB x Estee Lauder, she wrote: "F R I D A Y treats @matthewwilliamson book, @victoriabeckham X @esteelauder make up and @aerin skincare (sic.)

Whilst another image, which she retweeted on her Twitter account, sees her relaxing in a cream jumper emblazoned with the weekday on it prior to the incident.

The tweet read: "@RosieFortescue knows what day it is. (sic)."

Meanwhile Rosie - who did not make an appearance in the recent 'Made In Chelsea: South of France' series despite starring in the popular E4 show since 2011 - has previously revealed she has no plans to walk away from the programme yet and is very grateful to the makers for giving her a platform to launch a career in the fashion business.

Speaking previously, she said: "It can be extremely hard at times being in the public eye but at the same time, 'MIC' has helped me so much to promote my loves, my blog and my jewellery brand ... I've learned to stick true to myself. Without staying grounded, I don't think I ever would have survived!"
The Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) between India and Sri Lanka will be signed by the end of this year, said Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He also stated that the governments of the two countries were working to expand the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement to include services and investment as well.

The ETCA is expected to promote growth of up to $500 billion within the sub-regional economy. It will also help Sri Lanka get wider access to the rapidly growing Indian market.

The announcement to sign the ETCA, which has been under negotiation for some time now, was made by Wickremesinghe at the Inaugural Plenary at the India Economic Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) in New Delhi.

The Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) between India and Sri Lanka will be signed by the end of this year, said Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He also stated that the governments of the two countries were working to expand the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement to include services and investment as well.#

Sri Lanka was in the process of negotiating Free Trade Agreements with several countries. India would have access to not just the Sri Lankan market but also to markets in Singapore, Japan and China among others after these agreements come into force.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister also invited Indian companies to invest in various sectors in his country as he aims to convert it into a logistic, finance and business hub of South Asia.

The reforms being undertaken by India is making it a more attractive place for companies to do business, said Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of state for commerce and industry.

Sitharaman highlighted the measures undertaken by the Indian government in the recent past to help improve the countrys competitiveness in the world. These include the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which would integrate 800 transactions onto a single platform and Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar and Mobile which ensures financial inclusion of those who are unbanked.

She said that the government was adopting measures to improve processes and regulations to help improve the ease of doing business in the country. Sitharaman also stated that Indian states are working with the Central government to achieve a growth of 8 per cent.

According to the WEFs Global Competitiveness Index, India is now one of the 40 most competitive economies in the world thanks to the reform measures that had been undertaken, said professor Klaus Schwab, executive chairman, WEF.

The measures taken by the government have helped improve the ease of doing business in the country, said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The International Apparel Federation (IAF) with other organisations is leading the development of a training course on collaborative sourcing, for both buyers and manufacturers in Bangladesh. The course will create a unique opportunity for buyers and manufacturers to learn about collaborative sourcing in a joint and collaborative training course.The decision to start a training course was taken at a conference on ' Sustainable Sourcing in the Garment Sector' (SSGS) organised by the embassy of Netherlands in Dhaka, hosted in partnership with IAF and the BGMEA.

The International Apparel Federation (IAF) with other organisations is leading the development of a training course on collaborative sourcing, for both buyers and manufacturers in Bangladesh. The course will create a unique opportunity for buyers and manufacturers to learn about collaborative sourcing in a joint and collaborative training course.#

This conference clearly indentified knowledge as a key factor in creating more sustainable sourcing practices. It also concluded that for management of both, buying firms as well as manufacturing companies, more knowledge of setting up collaborative sourcing arrangements is needed.IAF will lead the formation of a consortium involving major Bangladeshi and international partners to build and finance the training course. The course will also serve as a benchmark for similar training courses to be developed in other countries with a major apparel industry. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Country Road Group, a subsidiary of Australian retailer Woolworths Holdings is acquiring Politix, a retailer of Australian designer menswear, which will be funded through internal resources. Politix offers designer apparel to men aged 18 to 35, while managing 75 stores, including 31 concessions across Australia and posted fiscal 2016 sales of Au $56 million.The Politix acquisition is consistent with Woolworths southern hemisphere strategy of building a strong and diversified portfolio of iconic brands and is being added to its portfolio that already includes David Jones, Country Road, Witchery, Trenery and Mimco.

Country Road Group, a subsidiary of Australian retailer Woolworths Holdings is acquiring Politix, a retailer of Australian designer menswear, which will be funded through internal resources. Politix offers designer apparel to men aged 18 to 35, while managing 75 stores, including 31 concessions across Australia and posted fiscal 2016 sales of Au $56 million.#

The acquisition of Politix is a logical acquisition that will deliver value for Woolworths' shareholders, Woolworth CEO Ian Moir said. Politix will extend our menswear offering in Australia and in time we expect to roll out the brand in David Jones and into New Zealand. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
More than 1,600 exhibitors will take part in the ITMA Asia + CITME 2016 international exhibition for textile solutions to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai from October 21 to 25. Textile makers from around the world will showcase their cutting-edge solutions to over 100,000 trade visitors from the global textile industry.

Products will be showcased based on categories for the convenience of visitors, and stringent controls are being adopted to protect intellectual property, organisers said. The exhibition enjoys strong support from all major trade associations around the world. It will be held at a venue that spreads across 180,000 square metres.

Visitors can explore innovative yet cost-effective solutions for the industry, and evaluate and compare them on the spot. Live demonstrations of machines will be held at the exhibition and visitors can get first-hand information from manufacturers.

The event combines the unique strengths of the ITMA brand and China's most important textile event -CITME. This move to combine the two shows into one mega high-quality event is strongly supported by all nine CEMATEX European textile machinery associations, China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA).

The combined show is now well-entrenched in the textile machinery exhibition calendar. It draws all the leading textile and garment manufacturers and is an essential showcase for the Asian market, offering plenty of business and networking opportunities, said Maria Avery, secretary general of CEMATEX.

The show is owned by CEMATEX, the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC). It is organised by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co Ltd and co-organised by MP Expositions Pte Ltd, while the Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA) is a special partner.

Online registrations for the event will close on October 18, 2016. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Saiyami's Real Life Hero

Saiyami says, "Sachin Tendulkar! I love him. He inspires me so much. Not many know that I love sports and I am very good at it. So yeah, he's my hero."

Her Favourite Actor

She also revealed that she is the biggest fan of Amitabh Bachchan and wants to work with him. She says, "There's no one better than Amitabh Bachchan. I envy Shraddha because she did Teen Patti with him!"

Wants To Work With Ranbir

When Saiyami was asked with whom she thinks she will make an amazing on-screen jodi, she instantly took Ranbir Kapoor's name. Well, it would be indeed interesting to see them together.

She Loves Alia Bhatt

She says, "I love Alia. I think she's by far the best in the current lot. No one can deny that. She can pull off any role. And I think Highway will always remain a benchmark for me as a performer."

On Hearing Strange Rumours About Herself

She says, "I haven't heard any!" Then she adds, "Oh yeah, there's one. People claim that I'm dating this politican."

What Makes Her Different From Her Contemporaries

When asked about the same, she honestly answers by saying, "My love for the old world." Here, Saiyani surely takes the brownie points!

Her Secret That No One Knows

She says, "I am in love with Gulzar saab."We gotta say that the Mirzya actress really knows how to play safe. *wink*

Her Idea Of A Perfect Date

Saiyami says, "Going for a trek together!" Point to be noted Miss Kher! Along with Saiyami, Harshvardhan was also seen having an intercation with DNA, and his reply over the same question was, "For me, it's taking a girl to dinner and talking and having a glass of wine."

Saiyami's Connection With Bollywood

Not many of you know that Saiyami has a strong connection with Bollywood! She is the granddaughter of yesteryear actress Usha Kiran and the niece of Tanvi Azmi.
Our television beauty, the very chirpy Nia Sharma, has set her foot abroad! The actress has taken a break from her busy schedule and taken off on an international holiday! The actress is currently holidaying in one of the most popular tourist destinations of the world! Yes, New York.

Nia, who played the role of Roshni in the hit Zee TV soap, Jamai Raja alongside Ravi Dubey, quit the show in the month of August, as she didn't want to age on-screen. She took a small break and is now seen in the second season of Comedy Nights Bachao, which airs on Colors. (Check out Nia Sharma's holiday pics in the slides below).

Nia Sharma's Holiday Vibes One of the most popular actresses of television, Nia Sharma is currently on an international holiday with her mom. New York City The actress has chosen the vibrant city of New York as her holiday destination this time and is having the time of her life there. Pictures And More Pictures Her Instagram account is filled with the pictures from the New York holiday and we can't stop drooling! Super Stylish The actress has nailed it with her super stylish avatar and is looking bright and beautiful, as always. Shopaholic Apart from exploring the city, the 'Jamai Raja' actress is seen indulging in shopping, as well! Vacation Goals This actress is surely giving us vacation goals. We can't wait for more pictures...

The actress is seen in a new avatar and is surely entertaining the audiences with her comic skills. She is seen alongside popular actors such as Sharad Malhotra and Aditi Bhatia on the show.

It looks like the actress absolutely loves travelling and is currently having the time of her life there. This beautiful actress is highly active on the social media and keeps sharing her pictures, which are absolutely attractive!

On her recent trip to Dubai, this 'ideal bahu' of television even flaunted her perfectly toned body in a pink beach wear, which grabbed many eyeballs!

There is never a dull moment for Nia, who is enjoying her current holiday to the fullest and the pictures are going viral all over the internet and her fans are wanting more and more....

Nia's New York trip pictures are giving us serious vacation goals, isn't it guys? Hit the comment box, if you agree.


MORRISTOWN (dpa-AFX) - Honeywell International Inc. (HON) announced that it trimmed third quarter earnings view to about $1.60 per share. Previously, the company had expected earnings in range of $1.67 to $1.72 per share. Excluding stock compensation restructuring, third-quarter EPS is expected to be approximately $1.67, in-line with the prior guidance range. On average 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.70 per share. Analysts estimates usually exclude special items.



This guidance also reflects the impact of lower shipments to Business and General Aviation OEMs, continued program delays and completions in the domestic and international businesses within Defense & Space, and lower volumes in Productivity Solutions (part of Safety and Productivity Solutions)



The company now predicts third quarter sales of about $9.8 billion, down from its previous projection of $10.0 billion to $10.2 billion. Wall Street expected $10.11 billion.



Honeywell shares fell 4.75% to $110.12 in the after hours.



Additionally, the company initiated fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $1.74-$1.78, up 10%-13% year-over-year on sales of $10.1 billion - $10.3 billion range. Wall Street expected $1.80 per share on $10.7 billion revenues.



Full-year EPS guidance, excluding those same items, is updated to $6.60-$6.64, up 8%-9% year-over-year. For the full year analysts are looking for $6.68 per share. Core organic sales are now expected to be down 1-2 percent for the full year.



The company also announced it has elected to adopt the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) Accounting Standards Update 2016-09 for stock compensation in the third quarter, which is in advance of the mandatory 2017 effective date.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/06/16 -- Beleave Inc. ("Beleave" or the "Company") (CSE: BE) (CSE: BE.CN) is pleased to announce that it has closed a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Financing") for gross proceeds of $250,000. Upon closing the Financing, Beleave issued 416,666 units (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.60 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share ("Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable for one Common Share at a price of $0.75 for a period of two years from closing. The Financing was placed to a number of strategic industry advisors at a 50% premium to Beleave's recently completed $1,405,000 financing. No finder's fees were paid in connection with the Financing. The Company will use the net proceeds of the Financing to complete its proposed facility and for general working capital purposes.

The Financing remains subject to the completion by Beleave of customary close-out filings, including the filing of a Form 9, with the Canadian Securities Exchange. The Common Shares and Warrants issued pursuant to the Financing are subject to a four-month hold period.

About Beleave

Beleave Inc. is a biotech company committed to becoming a licensed producer under the ACMPR. Beleave's wholly owned subsidiary First Access Medical Inc. ("FAM") has applied for a licence to cultivate and sell medical marihuana pursuant to the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, now the ACMPR. As of the date hereof, FAM has successfully advanced past the security clearance stage and is currently in the review stage of the licensing process. Beleave's purpose built facility is located near Hamilton, Ontario. Beleave is traded on the CSE under the symbol BE, with 22,688,355 Common Shares outstanding (34,201,356 on a fully diluted basis).

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. This news release includes forward-looking statements with respect to the completion of the ACMPR licensing process, meeting the requirements of the ACMPR, and the start of production. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com.

Contacts:

Beleave Inc.

Sebastian de Kloet

+1-905-979-5173

Sebastian@beleave.com

www.beleave.com




MEMPHIS, TN--(Marketwired - October 06, 2016) - ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV), a leading provider of residential and commercial services, today announced it has entered into a national partnership with the American Red Cross to be the exclusive sponsor of the Red Cross Emergency App, which alerts people of significant weather events, in addition to providing expert safety advice on disaster preparedness.

"ServiceMaster is built on a foundation of providing essential services -- both to our customers and the communities where our employees live and work," said Rob Gillette, chief executive officer of ServiceMaster. "Protecting and maintaining homes and businesses is in our DNA, and we believe the Red Cross app is another way we can help bring valuable content delivered on a trusted mobile platform to millions of users who want timely access to information when disaster threatens or strikes."

"The Emergency App builds on our legacy of teaching life-saving skills to people across the country," said Dominick Tolli, vice president, product management and development at the Red Cross. "People have saved lives by having this expert advice at their fingertips. Having ServiceMaster as a sponsor allows us to enhance the app with new content and use technology to help save more lives."

With Hurricane Matthew bearing down on the United States, it is essential to have information on what to do before, during and after the storm. The app also offers information on ways to prepare for a variety of disasters, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes or wild fires. ServiceMaster has more than 5,000 franchises which employ more than 33,000 experts in various residential and commercial services, and many of these individuals respond in the aftermath of such catastrophic events. In fact, disaster preparedness has become a critical component of the company's public outreach efforts.

Additional app features include:

Monitoring for more than 35 different severe weather and emergency alerts;

Prioritized steps to take during an emergency;

Instant access to all safety information even without mobile connectivity; and

Safety and emergency preparedness tips.

Consumers can download the Emergency App by texting "GETEMERGENCY" to 90999, searching "American Red Cross" in their app store or by going to redcross.org/apps.

About ServiceMaster

ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) solves the homeowner's dilemma. Every day, we visit more than 75,000 homes and businesses through our extensive service network of expert professionals. Technology powers our trusted experts to engage with customers so they can order, buy and receive services when, where and how they want them. Our well-recognized brands includes American Home Shield (home warranties), AmeriSpec (home inspections), Furniture Medic (furniture repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial and residential floor cleaning), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration) and Terminix (termite and pest control). Like, follow or visit us at facebook.com/ServiceMaster, linkedin.com/ServiceMaster,"twitter.com/ServiceMaster, or servicemaster.com.

Contact:

Jay Robinson

901 692 2221

Email contact





Alison Bishop

901-827-6956

Email contact


SASKATOON (dpa-AFX) - According to SEC filing, Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO, AGU) and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO, POT) shareholders said to hold separate meetings next month to vote on a merger agreement. Agrium shareholders will meet in Calgary, Alberta on Nov. 3, while Potash investors meet the same day in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Last month, Agrium and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan agreed to combine in a merger of equals. Following the close of the transaction, PotashCorp shareholders will own approximately 52 percent of the new company, and Agrium shareholders will own approximately 48 percent on a fully diluted basis. The Arrangement is currently anticipated to be completed in mid-2017. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Agenda and Keynote Speakers Announced for Premiere European Cloud Security Event

MADRID, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world's leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today announced the agenda and keynote speakers for its fifth annual CSA Congress EMEA event which will be held on November 15th - 16th in Madrid, Spain. CSA Congress EMEA will be attended by thought leaders, policy and decision makers representing key industry organizations, cloud customers, and the R&D community. Early-registration pricing is available through October 16th by visiting https://csacongress.org/event/emea-congress-2016/registration

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/DC51526LOGO

The event this year will be divided into two separate days: November 15th is the CSA EMEA Congress day and will focus mainly on Security and Privacy in the cloud, while the 16th is dedicated to the CSA STAR Summit, focusing on Security Governance, Compliance and Certification in the cloud. Tickets purchased will include access to both days.

This year's event will feature keynote presentations by:

Paul Raines , CISO, United Nations Development Programme on "Security Lessons from 1532"

, CISO, United Nations Development Programme on "Security Lessons from 1532" Andy Chang , Senior Product Manager, Cloud Security & Risk, Google on "Behind the Curtain - Lessons Learned from Securing Google's Network"

, Senior Product Manager, Cloud Security & Risk, Google on "Behind the Curtain - Lessons Learned from Securing Google's Network" Max Schrems , Privacy activist on "Privacy Shield - dead on arrival?"

, Privacy activist on "Privacy Shield - dead on arrival?" Richard Morrell , Principal Security Strategist at Red Hat on "Making friends and influencing people - empowering secure DevOps ".

Among the featured keynotes, Google's Chang will present on "Behind the Curtain - Lessons Learned from Securing Google's Network," where will draw back the curtain on how the company creates a platform for trust that millions of businesses around the world rely on daily. Chang will provide an inside look at the multiple layers of security Google has built into its architecture and services from the start, and how its 600-member strong Security and Privacy Team prevents phishing, malware, nation-state cyber attacks and other threats from impacting the data and operations of Google's customers.

"The past four Congress events in Europe have brought together some of the leading voices and thought leaders from across the cloud security industry," said Daniele Catteddu, CTO for the Cloud Security Alliance. "Organizations continue to have concerns about security, privacy and data management in the cloud, many of these concerns can be directly attributed to a basic lack of trust in cloud computing services. We anticipate that this year's Congress will further build upon this growing body of knowledge and help us achieve a more trusted and secure future cloud environment."

CSA Congress EMEA will also feature a number of sessions on emerging topics including 'Quantum Cyber-Security - The New Normal,' 'Privacy Shield - Dead on Arrival?' and 'Security in a Multi-Cloud World: A Multi-Dimensional Challenge and speakers from Microsoft.'

The CSA Congress EMEA represents a unique mixture of compelling presentations and topical discussions on research, development, practice and requirements related to cloud security. Attendees represent both end-user and industry viewpoints, and the event also provides networking and business opportunities. For the first time at this event, CSA will offer a Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) training designed to provide fundamental security principles to assist prospective cloud customers in assessing the overall security risk of a cloud provider. Additional the CSA will offer a Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) training workshop during this year's conference as well.

The agenda also includes several CSA Working Group meetings on November 17th. A complete agenda for CSA's Congress EMEA can be found at https://csacongress.org/event/emea-congress-2016/agenda.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cloud-security-alliance-emea-to-host-fifth-annual-congress-300341120.html


SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.OB, SSNNF.OB, SMSN.L) said Friday that it expects operating profit for the third quarter to increase 5.5 percent year-over-year, despite a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.



The operating profit result is likely to reflect continued strong demand for the company's flash memory chips and displays, and is above analysts' expectations. The company is scheduled to report its financial results for the third quarter in late October.



Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker by shipments, had been earlier losing market share in its handset business to U.S. rival Apple, Inc. (AAPL) as well as Chinese brands. However, the launch of the Galaxy S7 smartphone series in March has boosted the company's sales performance.



According to a regulatory filing, Samsung estimates operating profit for the third quarter to be about 7.8 trillion won, or $7 billion, above analysts' expectations of 7.4 trillion won.



The forecast represents a 5.5 percent increase from the company's year-ago quarter operating profit of 7.39 trillion won, but also marks a 4.2 percent sequential decrease from second-quarter operating profit of 8.14 trillion won.



Samsung projects third-quarter sales to decline 5.2 percent to about 49 trillion won from last year's sales of 51.68 trillion won. Sales are also seen to decrease 3.8 percent from the previous quarter's sales of 50.94 trillion won.



Samsung did not provide earnings or sales figure estimates for each of its business divisions.



In late July, Samsung reported an almost 18 percent year-over-year increase in operating profit for the second quarter, reflecting strong performance both in the set and component businesses.



In early September, Samsung confirmed that it stopped the sales of Galaxy Note 7 due to a battery cell issue. The company said it plans to replace the faulty batteries of the devices with new ones over the coming weeks.



There have been reports about Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note 7 phone exploding during or after charging. The lithium-ion batteries are suspected to be the culprit. The company has reportedly sold 2.5 million Note 7s.



On the South Korean Stock Exchange, Samsung shares are currently trading at 1,700,000 won, up 9,000 won or 0.53 percent on a volume of 263,924 shares.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- The Orange County Technology Alliance recognized and honored technology company leaders and a broad array of technology products in several categories at the 23rd Annual OC Tech Alliance Skyworks Solutions, Inc. is named Outstanding Public Company; Mavenlink, as outstanding Private Technology Company; Brian Meshkin, CEO, Proove Biosciences as CEO of Outstanding Emerging Technology Company; Jeff Erle, CEO, MobilityWare as the Outstanding Private Technology Company; Verismic Software as Outstanding Emerging Technology Company.

More than 350 attendees of Orange County's thriving high technology community also honored individual innovation awards in eight product categories presented during the event.

"Orange County is home to technology innovations that affect the lives of everyone and we're fortunate to have company leaders who start, grow and expand technology innovation that re-invents our rich technology landscape every year," said Peter Craig, CEO, OC Tech Alliance. "Our annual High-Tech Innovation Awards recognizes this changing landscape and remains the premier Orange County technology event celebrating our past, present and future of technical innovation produced here. We're proud of the contribution each of our finalists make to Orange County's technology foundation which benefit Orange County, the State of California and across the nation and all over the world. We're especially pleased to recognize the educators and students who represent our next generation of innovators and leaders."

OC Tech Alliance's education partner, Project Tomorrow, joined the celebration by honoring outstanding schools, teachers and students for their incorporation of technology in education.

"The OC Tech Alliance is thrilled to recognize all of the finalists in each of the categories. It is an honor to work with these outstanding individuals," added Craig.

Top honors for individual product categories for the 2016 OC High-Tech Innovation Awards were:

Clean Tech/Green Tech: Smart Utility Systems, Smart Customer Mobile.

Cloud/SaaS/Web Platform Solutions: Numecent, Cloudpaging.

Consumer Devices & Software: D-Link Systems Inc., Full HD 180-Degree Wi-Fi Camera

Cyber Security: Sekur Me, Inc., Sekur Login

Enterprise Hardware & Devices: Astronics Test Systems, CTS-6000 Radio Test Set

Enterprise Software: CG-Tech, VERICUT Composite Applications.

Medical Technology: Modulated Imaging, Inc., Ox-Imager CS

Mobile Technology: Acorns Grow, Inc., Acorns.

The Project Tomorrow 2016 Innovation in Education recipients are:

Innovative Schoolwide Program of the Year in Science, Math & Technology

Tustin Ranch Elementary, Tustin Unified School District - Rocky's Creativity Den.





Tustin Ranch Elementary, Tustin Unified School District - Rocky's Creativity Den. High Impact Teacher of the Year in Science Math & Technology.

Scott Rosenkranz, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton Joint Union High School District.





Scott Rosenkranz, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton Joint Union High School District. Emerging Student Innovator of the Year in Science, Math & Technology

Shalin Shah, Tesoro High School, Capistrano Unified School District.





About Orange County Technology Alliance

Orange County Technology Alliance is a 501(c)6 nonprofit trade association committed to fast-forwarding the local innovation economy. It is the successor organization to the Orange County Council of TechAmerica and AeA. It is the only technology association addressing the needs of technology companies and their leaders based in Orange County, Calif. The alliance serves members through local networking, professional development, state and federal advocacy, savings on business services and industry recognition. To learn more about membership, contact OC Tech Alliance at octech@octechalliance.com or www.octechalliance.com. Follow alliance activities on:

Twitter at www.twitter.com/octechalliance

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/octechalliance/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oc-technology-alliance

About Project Tomorrow

Project Tomorrow (www.tomorrow.org), a national education nonprofit organization headquartered in Irvine, California, supports the innovative uses of research-based science, math and technology resources to develop critical thinking, problem solving and creativity in K-12 students. Project Tomorrow addresses the challenges of developing schools for the 21st century through national research projects, community and school-based programs, online tools and resources, and advocacy efforts to ensure that all students are prepared to be tomorrow's leaders, innovators and engaged citizens of the world.

Media Contacts:



Dan Chmielewski

Madison Alexander PR

714-832-8716

949-231-2965

Email Contact




DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (GOSY.PK), an AI Mobile Robot company, announced Friday that it has recorded a modest profit for the quarter ending June 30, and also continues to gain traction in the marketplace. For the quarter, the company generated net profit of $21,003 with gross revenue of $121,700. The Company introduced a new mobile robot concept for public safety and initiated a joint venture with an NYC AI firm for a machine sentient and moral robo-nurse. To better manage latest 21st century mass shootings, the company is offering to prototype and deploy the GeckoNED, a new type of mobile security robot that is a Non-violent Enforcement Device with a high level of independent mobile autonomy, sensor rich for enhanced situational awareness, and ease of teleoperation by designated public safety personnel. The joint venture with the NYC AI firm plans to address many of the same safety, morality and ethics issues of Google's advanced DeepMind artificial intelligence project from a different perspective. Market research firm, Research and Markets, named GeckoSystems as one of seven leaders in the service robotics marketplace. The company further said that next week, its CEO will be traveling to Missouri to discuss licensing and/or a joint venture for use of the CareBot by a professional in-home caregiver firm of those needing watching over, but most often prefer to age in place. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 10/02/16 -- Sunset Cove Mining Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: SSM) has accepted the resignation of Lorne Woods as President, CEO and director of the Company, effective immediately. The Board of Directors will be meeting tomorrow to appoint as interim CEO and President.

Property Update

The Company has been informed that the Company along with the proposed acquisition of the Houlton Woodstock Manganese Property located in Carleton County, New Brunswick has been referred to the Exchange's Compliance and Disclosure department. The Exchange is in the process of reviewing the timing between the execution of the option agreement, the payment of the initial cash portion of the consideration and public announcing of the option agreement (initially disclosed on June 28, 2016). The Board of Directors wishes to clarify the public record relating to the option agreement. An initial option agreement between the Company and Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSX: GMX)(FRANKFURT: G1M)(OTCQX: GLBXF) was executed on September 18, 2015, which remained in escrow until the Company would have been able to make the initial cash payment. The Company was never in a position to fulfill its obligations under that option agreement and as such it became null and void. On April 22, 2016 the Company and Globex entered into a second option agreement, which was identical to the initial September 2015 version. The Company made the initial cash payment to Globex of $100,000 on April 28, 2016 to secure the option agreement, but was not in a position to actualize the agreement in terms of the expenditure program required until the private placement which closed in July was imminent. At which time the Company made the announcement regarding the option agreement.

Sunset Cove's mission is to acquire and advance high potential mining prospects located in North America with the intent of supplying value added materials to the lithium ion battery and other alternative energy industries. For more information visit the website at www.sunsetcovemining.com.

Forward-Looking Statement: Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information that involves inherent risk and uncertainty affecting the business of Sunset Cove Mining. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Martin Kepman, Director

martin@kepman.com

1-514-802-1814




Malin Corporation plc. (ISE:MLC, "Malin"), an Irish-based global life sciences company, today announced the appointment of Peter Schwartzman to the company's senior team, effective immediately.

Peter Schwartzman brings 30 years of experience in asset and risk management to Malin. He was most recently a Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance Group within BlackRock Financial Management the world's largest asset manager. From 1998 to 2016, Peter was a leading member of a team that managed over $40 billion of assets in credit markets.

Peter's initial focus in Malin will be to work with and alongside a number of the current members of the senior team to further refine Malin's capital sourcing efforts and, subsequently, how that capital is structured. A particular focus will center on aligning current and future capital to cash flow generating opportunities that may afford shareholders additional ways to participate in Malin's total shareholder return approach to capturing value. He will report to Malin CEO, Kelly Martin and will be based in the company's offices in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Peter has also previously held the role of Vice President, Corporate Bond Research Group at Alliance Capital Management in addition to analyst roles in Moody's Investors Service and J.J. Kenny. He holds an MBA from New York University, Stern School of Business.

ENDS

About Malin Corporation plc

Malin (ISE:MLC) is an Irish incorporated public limited company. Its purpose is to create shareholder value through the selective long-term application of capital and operational expertise to private, pre-IPO, pre-trade sale operating businesses in dynamic and fast growing segments of the life sciences industry. Through its operational involvement, Malin works with its investee companies to enable them to reach the full potential of their value proposition and to achieve commercial success. For more information visit www.malinplc.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006006125/en/

Contacts:

For further information, please contact:

Malin Media Relations/IR

Jemma Hogan

Tel: +353 1 901 5717

Email: mediarelations@malinplc.com

or

Davy Corporate Finance (ESM Adviser)

Brian Garrahy Daragh O'Reilly

Tel: +353 1 679 6363
KKR TowerBrook become first outside investors to partner with OVH

Investment will support OVH in capitalising on the rapidly growing demand for cloud infrastructure

OVH, a leading provider of cloud infrastructure, telecommunications and web hosting services, today finalised a partnership with KKR and TowerBrook Capital Partners (TowerBrook), two leading global investment firms, to further its global expansion. KKR and TowerBrook will acquire a minority stake in OVH for 250 million of growth capital that will allow OVH to take advantage of the rapidly expanding market for cloud and internet infrastructure services, while also broadening its customer base and services in new geographies. The Klaba family will retain the majority stake in the company and will continue, together with OVH management, to lead the company, its strategy and operations.

The Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) markets are expected to continue to grow rapidly, driven in large part by the exploding demand for cloud services. With its hybrid cloud product portfolio, including both private and public cloud infrastructure and strict data protection policies in line with European standards, OVH is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this growth. This is supported by its reputation for excellent performance, innovation and strong customer service.

Founded in 1999 by Octave Klaba, OVH has grown rapidly to become the leading provider of dedicated cloud infrastructure in Europe with a total of 250,000 servers across 17 data centres in France and Canada. The company provides services to a million customers globally, and it boasts a long track record of technological innovation driven by a team of 400 dedicated research development engineers. OVH's turnover for FY 2016 stands at 320 million.

KKR has an extensive track record of partnering with entrepreneurs and family-owned companies in Europe to deliver growth, international expansion, and value creation as well as expertise in supporting fast-growing European technology companies in developing their global presence. This includes the recent investments in Webhelp, Fotolia, SoftwareONE and Darktrace.

TowerBrook's extensive transatlantic network enables it to successfully partner with entrepreneurial businesses to open up new opportunities and create market-leading companies. This partnership approach fits well with founder-led businesses and has delivered real value to French companies as diverse as Infopro, Autodistribution and Kaporal.

Octave Klaba, Founder, Chairman and CTO of OVH, said: "KKR and TowerBrook are the perfect partners for OVH as we look to take the next step in our development into a truly global technology company. With their support, we are looking forward to scaling our company into new markets, while remaining completely committed to delivering excellence in security, service and innovation that our current customers expect."

Laurent Allard, CEO of OVH, said: "This capital increase will allow us to invest 1.5 billion over 5 years. The aim is to provide ourselves with the means to consolidate our leading position in Europe and become a key global player in the cloud market. OVH already has strong assets (one of the largest server farms worldwide, 17 datacenters, record energy efficiency indicators), as well as an ambitious development plan for the next five years. Besides capital, TowerBrook and KKR will bring substantial operational expertise. Both firms have a successful track record in supporting entrepreneurs to grow their business to the next level."

Jean-Pierre Saad, Director at KKR EMEA said: "Over the past 17 years, the Klaba family has built OVH into a true European technology champion. We are excited to be supporting the company in the next phase of its global expansion, particularly in the US market and Asia and look forward to continuing our strong track record of partnerships with successful European entrepreneurs."

Karim Saddi, Managing Director at TowerBrook, said: "We are delighted to be partnering with the Klaba family who have great ambitions for the further expansion of their successful business. We believe our expertise in France together with our transatlantic network will enable them to achieve their goals. We very much look forward to working with them to deliver even greater success."

BNP Paribas Corporate Finance acted as financial advisor to OVH and Linklaters LLP as its legal advisor

ends

About OVH

Specializing in cloud and internet infrastructure, OVH offers innovative products and services evolving around three universes: Web, Dedicated and Cloud. Since being founded in 1999, the company has become an established partner for hundreds of thousands of professionals worldwide. OVH owes its success not only to a development model built on innovation but also to keeping full control over the supply chain, from server manufacturing and in-house maintenance of their infrastructure, right down to customer assistance. OVH is able to ensure stable and reliable product and service offerings to all clients across all its brands while also providing the best price quality ratio.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners' capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital markets business. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About TowerBrook Capital Partners

TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P. is an investment management firm with over US$7 billion under management as at June 30, 2016, and a track record of creating value for investors. The firm is based in Europe and the USA and focuses on making investments in European and North American companies through private equity and structured opportunities strategies, allowing it to access a range of opportunities throughout the cycle. TowerBrook private equity primarily pursues control-oriented investments in large and middle market companies, partnering with highly capable management teams and seeking situations characterised by complexity with a track record of creating value through growth, build-up and transformation strategies. TowerBrook's structured opportunities strategy leverages its PE experience and expertise to invest in opportunities that fall outside the investment parameters of the PE strategy. Further information is available at www.towerbrook.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005182/en/

Contacts:

KKR:

UK

Victor Mallet

Finsbury

Phone: +44(0)20 7251 3801

Email: victor.mallet@finsbury.com

or

France

Olivier Blain

Adding Value Conseils

Phone: +33 6 72 28 29 20

Email: ob@addingvalueconseils.com

or

Towerbrook:

UK

Gill Ackers Javier Agudo

Brunswick Group LLP

Phone: +44 20 7404 5959

Email: towerbrookcapital@brunswickgroup.co

or

France

Aurelia de Lapeyrouse

Brunswick Group LLP

Phone: +33 1 53 96 83 72

Email: towerbrookcapital@brunswickgroup.com

or

OVH:

France

Lorine Schieber

Phone: +33 09 74 53 08 57

Email: lorine.schieber@corp.ovh.com

or

Sophie Lavergne

Phone: 33 09 74 53 35 05

Email: Sophie.lavergne@corp.ovh.com
DUBAI, UAE, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Last week, international hydroponic experts Pegasus Agriculture attended the 13th edition of South China's leading luxury property show LPS Guangzhou 2016 as an exhibitor. The show was held from September 23rd until the 25th in Guangzhou city, China, and drew more than 100 exhibitors from around the world, as well as over 6000 VIP buyers.

As an exhibitor, Pegasus Agriculture was able to close deals and network with several potential partners within the country that could help drive indoor agriculture development in China, as well as generate a significate amount of interest in the company's investment model. Pegasus Agriculture representative, Ricardo Schenke, who attended the exhibition, referred to the show as being "an outstanding experience and an important step for Pegasus Agriculture towards developing contacts and probing markets in China."

Pegasus Agriculture has been interested in expanding their international operations into China for quite some time now, having identified the country as holding significant potential for the indoor agriculture industry. This is because, recently, China has been orienting itself towards a more eco-centric focus, one of the latest developments of which is its recently-announced $450 billion farm plan.

About LPS Guangzhou

South China premier international property show, LPS Guangzhou 2016 welcomed over one hundred exhibitors from more than thirty five countries.



Supported by over 150 media & influential show partners and held in the center of Guangzhou, LPS Guangzhou works with the world's leading real estate brands such as Sotheby's International Realty, Savills, Colliers, Re/Max, Alain Pinel, Knight Frank, Ritz-Carlton Residences, helping them to expand their activities in the China market.

About Pegasus Agriculture

Pegasus Agriculture is one of the leading owners and operators of hydroponic farming facilitiesin the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Their head office is strategically located in Dubai,U.A.E. and serves as the headquarters for our globally growing distribution network.

Withover 150 years of combined market experience, Pegasus Agriculture leads theMENA region in its goal to attain independent food security.

For more information, please visit http://pegasusagriculturegroup.com

Pegasus Agriculture Contact

info@pegasusagriculturegroup.com

Dubai Office:

+971 4 818 8300


LAUSANNE, Switzerland, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The 'JCA-Mauvernay Award 2016' is awarded to Doctors Hidewaki Nakagawa and Hiroyuki Seimiya

DebiopharmGroup'(http://www.debiopharm.com), a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical company, will be presenting the 'JCA-Mauvernay Award' on October 8 to Doctors HidewakiNakagawa from the RIKEN Center for Integrated Medical Sciences for his basic research on Molecular Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancers Using Genome Sequencing and Genome-wide Association Study and Hiroyuki Seimiya from the Division of Molecular Biotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research for his applied research on Telomere Maintenance System as an Anticancer Therapeutic Target.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160830/402503LOGO )

Doctors Nakagawa and Seimiya will receive their Awards during the General Assembly of the 75th AnnualMeeting of theJapaneseCancerAssociation (JCA) in Yokohama on the following theme: 'Breakthroughs in Cancer Treatment: Collaboration of Basic, Translational and Clinical Research'. Dr.KoheiMiyazono, President of the JCA and ThierryMauvernay, Co-President & Delegate of the Board of DebiopharmGroup, will present the trophies to both scientists.

Dr.Nakagawa has been working on cancer genomics for many years. He has analyzed gene expression profiles of pancreatic and prostate cancer cells to identify target genes for molecular diagnosis and therapies. He has elucidated their biological functions and demonstrated that they could serve as targets of antibody, small interfering RNA (siRNA) or immune-mediated therapies. Dr.Nakagawa has also analyzed the mutational landscape of Japanese liver cancers by whole genome sequencing and using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and has identified several oncogenic mutations.

Telomeres maintenance system could be a promising anticancer strategy as cancer cells often activate telomere-lengthening enzymes to counteract the natural telomere-shortening process ensuing from repeated cell cycles and leading to normal cell senescence and death. Dr.Seimiya and his group have conducted studies on telomeres and telomere-related factors. They have reported that long telomeres increase the levels of the telomeric non-coding RNA, which in turn suppresses the innate immune genes expression in cancer.

"For more than 10 years, our goal has been to reward outstanding achievements in the field ofoncology amongst Japanese researchers. We are pleased to see that they are still very committed. We congratulate Doctors Nakagawa and Seimiya for the high quality of their research and hope their work will lead to effective treatments in the years to come", said Thierry Mauvernay, Co-President & Delegate of the Board of DebiopharmGroup.

AbouttheJCA-MauvernayAward

Since 2005, the JapaneseCancerAssociation (JCA) and DebiopharmGroup have co-organized the 'JCA-Mauvernay Award'. This prize illustrates the curiosity that drives researchers as well as the scientific cooperation between Japan and Switzerland. It aims at recognizing outstanding achievements in the field of oncology amongst Japanese researchers, in both the fundamental and the clinical aspects. The award has a total value of CHF 25'000.

About Debiopharm Group

Debiopharm Group' is a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of five companies active in the development and manufacture of drugs and diagnostics tools. Debiopharm focuses on developing prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs. The group in-licenses and develops promising drug candidates. The products are commercialized by pharmaceutical out-licensing partners to give access to the largest number of patients worldwide.

For more information, please see http://www.debiopharm.com

We are on Twitter. Follow @DebiopharmNews at http://twitter.com/DebiopharmNews

DebiopharmInternationalSAContact

Christelle Tur

Communication Coordinator

christelle.tur@debiopharm.com

Tel: +41(0)21-321-01-11


SEVENOAKS, England, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

On Oct 4th, 2016, TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Limited ("TOTALTEC" or the "Company") successfully completed its initial equity finance raising from a number of private investors, price undisclosed. TOTALTEC intends to use the proceeds from this equity raise to establish its presence in Guyana and fund the initial stages of its strategy to provide a Guyana based oilfield services company to enable the growth and development of indigenous content and competence in the oil & gas industry in Guyana.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416084LOGO )



TOTALTEC is a newly established company focused on the Guyana oil & gas industry in support of the major discovery by ExxonMobil offshore Guyana in 2015. Its aim is to contribute to the development of the oil & gas industry in Guyana by providing training, development, engineering, technical advisory, support and consultancy services to the local community, government and international operators and service companies in Guyana.

TOTALTEC has also launched PETROGO.Org, PETROGO is owned and operated by TOTALTEC as an effective membership platform and vehicle for promoting the offshore industry's capabilities to key clients in Guyana and providing market information to its member companies and organizations. TOTALTEC's international team come from a strong former Schlumberger and Welltec executive bench.

Simmons & Company International Limited served as corporate finance advisor and Pitmans LLP acted corporate legal advisor to TOTALTEC and its founders on the start-up equity financing.

For more information, please contact:

Lars Mangal

Company Director

UK Cell +44-748-416-8068

E-mail larsmangal@totaltec-os.com



http://www.totaltec-os.com

http://www.petrogo.org
HELSINKI (dpa-AFX) - Finland's merchandise trade deficit for August widened from a year ago, as a gain in imports was offset by a decline in exports, figures from the Finland Customs Office showed Friday. The visible trade deficit rose to EUR 455 million from EUR 226 million in the same month last year. Imports grew 3 percent, while exports dropped at 3 percent. In the January to August period, the trade deficit just more than EUR 1.7 billion versus a surplus of EUR 36 million in the year-ago period. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
MIAMI, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami-based law firm Diaz Reus announced today that former Division Counsel for the Miami Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Patricia L. Diaz, and former Federal Prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, Richard N. Wiedis, have joined the firm as partners in the firm's international litigation, arbitration, and mediation and white collar criminal defense practices. The addition of Diaz and Wiedis continues the firm's international expansion over the past 12 months as they join other impressive and talented lateral hires, including Ali Awais (Dubai), Gayle E. Hanlon (Dubai), Louis V. Martinez (Miami), Roland M. Potts (Miami), Javier Ruiz (Mexico), and Karel Suarez (Miami and Cuba).

"We are truly fortunate to attract such top level talent in key areas that are important to our clients," says Michael Diaz, Jr., Global Managing Partner. "Patricia has an enormously successful track record in investigative and litigation matters and is highly qualified to guide clients through sensitive criminal investigations, prosecutions, and negotiations. Richard covers multiple areas of our practice, having outside counsel, in-house counsel, and government experience. His work at the DOJ and for a large, publicly traded technology corporation will be very valuable for our clients in high-stakes litigation, investigations, and regulatory compliance counsel."

Diaz served six years as Division Counsel for the Miami Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration-covering the State of Florida and the Bahamas-and spent 21 years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, prosecuting hundreds of complex, international money laundering cases and earning Special Achievement and Meritorious Service awards from the DOJ, DEA, FBI, HHS, and other U.S. agencies. As a Federal Prosecutor, Diaz was assigned to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, a task force dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of high level international money laundering organizations.

A member of the Florida bar since 1988, her practice will be focused on white collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, general civil litigation, civil and criminal forfeiture, money laundering, RICO, and dispute resolution. Diaz received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law, Miami, Florida.

Wiedis served 15 years as a Federal Prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, where his investigatory and trial work led to convictions in high profile cases involving bank fraud, securities fraud, accounting fraud, and other white collar crimes. He holds multiple Special Achievement and Meritorious Service awards and letters of commendation from the DOJ and FBI. Prior to joining Diaz Reus, he served as Executive Vice President of Risk Management and Human Resources and Associate General Counsel at MicroStrategy, a $2 billion market cap, multinational business intelligence software company, where he oversaw the company's litigation portfolio and designed and deployed a comprehensive risk management and corporate compliance regime for the company and its 23 international subsidiaries.

A member of the New York and District of Columbia bars, Wiedis will focus his practice on white collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, FCPA, general civil litigation, trial counsel, civil forfeiture, money laundering, RICO, mediation, arbitration, and compliance and risk management counseling. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University School of Law, Washington, DC.

About Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP

Operating on five continents, across 17 offices in key business centers, Diaz Reus offers a global practice centered around national and transnational parallel proceedings and transactions in the following broad areas: sovereign, trade, commerce, finance, and fraud; civil litigation and arbitration; asset identification, location, tracing and recovery; white collar crime, regulatory, and criminal investigations and defense in matters of corruption, bribery, money laundering, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, OFAC, Specially Designated Nationals, and the Bank Secrecy Act; and politically sensitive investigations including the recovery of U.S. immigration status and visas. The firm is headquartered in Miami, Florida. www.diazreus.com.
New Thomson Reuters Toronto Technology Centre to Create 1,500 Jobs in Canada

CEO and CFO to relocate to Canadian headquarters in Toronto

TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2016 -- Thomson Reuters today announced the expansion of its Canadian operations with the creation of a new technology centre in downtown Toronto, Ontario. The Toronto Technology Centre is expected to create 400 high-quality technology jobs in Canada over the next two years, with plans to grow to approximately 1,500 jobs over time.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130208/MM57185LOGO

"Canada is not only our home, it is home to an emerging ecosystem of world-class technology talent," said Jim Smith, president and chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. "Our new Technology Centre furthers our commitment to growing Canada's preeminent hub of innovation, and to building the customer-centric platforms and solutions of the future. We applaud the Canadian federal, provincial and municipal governments for making jobs, innovation and the knowledge economy a top priority and look forward to our role in supporting these initiatives."

The Toronto Technology Centre will allow Thomson Reuters to co-locate technology talent to drive productivity, increase flexibility and encourage cross-enterprise innovation. The Toronto-Waterloo Region Corridor is one of the largest technology clusters in the world and offers a rich mix of emerging and mature technology talent and a robust pipeline of development graduates from local universities. Proximity to large and strategic customers will also enable rapid, customer-driven innovation, particularly in Toronto's fast growing fintech community.

As part of Thomson Reuters growing investment in Canadian talent and innovation, Mr. Smith and Chief Financial Officer Stephane Bello will be relocating to Toronto in 2017. The company's expanded corporate presence in Toronto will support its growing footprint and build on its heritage as one of Canada's leading international companies, and most respected brands. Additional management roles will be relocated and recruited locally in Toronto over the next few years.

"Today's news is an example of how great things can happen when the public and private spheres work together - for the betterment of Canadian workers, and Canadian families," said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"Ontario is creating the conditions for businesses to thrive and help create jobs for people across the province. We are delighted that Thomson Reuters selected Ontario and look forward to even more opportunities like this as we continue to invest in our highly skilled workforce and build up our innovation economy," said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

"More and more businesses like Thomson Reuters are choosing Toronto as the city to expand their footprint, embracing new technologies and new partnerships. It's good for business and it's good for our economy,?" said Toronto Mayor John Tory.

The Toronto Technology Centre will be initially located in Bremner Tower and focus on emerging skills such as cognitive computing, visualization, user experience and cloud development. Initial hiring, which will start in the coming weeks, will focus on skills related to the company's cognitive computing initiatives as well as core development.

Thomson Reuters currently has 1,200 employees based in Canada. In 2015, the company established Thomson Reuters LabsTM - Waterloo Region at Communitech to drive innovation through applied research and experimentation in partnership with academics, students and startups. Also in 2015, Thomson Reuters began sponsoring MaRS Discovery District's LegalX Cluster in Toronto, one of the world's largest urban innovation hubs to foster innovations that advance the legal industry. In September, Thomson Reuters announced the sponsorship of a research chair in data science and gift-in-kind of nearly 700 Thomson Reuters Eikon desktops to the University of Waterloo, and the opening of a new customer centre at the company's Bay Street offices. The company will continue to maintain customer centres in key markets such as New York, London and Hong Kong bringing the very latest developments directly to its customers.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges (symbol: TRI). For more information, visit http://www.thomsonreuters.com/.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including the company's current expectations for its Toronto Technology Centre and corporate headquarters. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and reflect our company's current expectations. As a result, forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including factors discussed in materials that Thomson Reuters from time to time files with, or furnishes to, the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There is no assurance that the events described in any forward-looking statement will materialize. Except as may be required by applicable law, Thomson Reuters disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS

MEDIA
MADRID, Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Register now forWorld ATM Congress 2017, the world's largest air traffic management (ATM) exhibition, opening on the morning of 7 March at IFEMA, Feria deMadrid. The event will bring together aviation leaders from over 130 countries, including high-ranking regulators and officials; CEOs of airports, airlines, and air navigation service providers (ANSPs); trade associations; and leaders of commercial companies that provide products and services to the aviation industry. The event runs through 9 March.

World ATM Congress is on track to exceed last year's 7,175 registrants, and includes:

Air traffic controllers and representatives from air traffic control and ATM service providers, airports, airlines, governments, armed forces, NGOs, manufacturers, suppliers, and more.

Over 80 ANSPs.

A record-breaking 230 exhibitors, including 25 new exhibitors.

Five education theatres with over120 presentations, including product demonstrations and launches, panel discussions, and exploration of recent trends and developments from nearly 100 leading organisations across various segments of aviation.

The award-winning World ATM Congress, now in its fifth year, is produced by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) in partnership with the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA). The theme of theConference isAdapting to Change in ATM - Creating the Right Culture. Four sessions over two mornings explore how best to facilitate desired change in this complex environment. It will start with an airline view - not just of the airline requirements but how the airline business has coped with and facilitated major changes and how it is seeking to respond to geopolitical changes and events. The Conference will then look at achieving better performance across sectors and at how to collaborate more effectively between multiple stakeholders. It will take a fresh look at a specific example of the challenges of change in ATM - how to integrate remotely piloted aircraft systems and drones safely into and alongside airspace.

World ATM Congress 2017 will also play host to several events, including the IHS Jane's ATC Awards and the Single European Sky (SES) European Commission Awards on 7 March, as well as several press events throughout the three days.

For more information about World ATM Congress 2017, please visitwww.worldatmcongress.org. Online registration runs through the event. On-site registration is available at no additional cost.

Media Contact: Abigail Glenn-Chase, abigail.glenn-chase@atca.org

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NEW YORK, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Persistence Market Research delivers key insights on the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market and analyzes the key factors and trends impacting market performance over an eight-year forecast period (2016 - 2024).

In 2015, the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market was valued at US$ 249.2 Mn, and this is estimated to increase to US$ 276.0 Mn by 2016 end, reflecting a Y-o-Y growth rate of 10.7%. In terms of value, the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market is expected to register a CAGR of 10.6% during the forecast period.

Browse Market Overview and Research methodology at:http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/ready-to-use-therapeutic-food-market.asp

Market Dynamics:

Increasing government as well as NGO focus on the treatment of malnutrition is expected to drive revenue growth of the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market over the forecast period.

Also, an increasing demand for drinkable ready-to-use therapeutic foods and rising global emergencies and disasters is expected to further fuel market growth.

Demand for semi-solid paste therapeutic food products as a result of easy storage and distribution is fueling the demand for ready-to-use therapeutic food products to manage people suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Demand for ready-to-use drinkable therapeutic food is increasing with the government focusing on increasing the procurement of drinkable ready-to-use foods for small children.

Rise in regional government bodies and global manufacturers planning to establish local manufacturing facilities is another major driving factor fueling the growth of the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market.

However, increasing consumer/local government shift towards local ingredients and inconsistencies in ready-to-use therapeutic food milk products thereby creating a risk of contamination are factors likely to restrict market growth during the forecast period.

The global ready-to-use therapeutic food market offers great opportunities for market players with UNICEF encouraging the domestic production of ready-to-use therapeutic foods.

Request for Sample Report:http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11044

The global ready-to-use therapeutic food market is segmented on the basis of Product Type into Solid (Powder/Blends, Biscuits/Bar), Semi-solid Paste, and Drinkable Therapeutic Food; and on the basis of Region into North America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).

The Powder/Blends solid segment is estimated to create incremental $ opportunity of US$ 1.5 Mn between 2016 and 2024, registering a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period.

between 2016 and 2024, registering a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period. The Biscuits/Bar solid segment is estimated to create incremental $ opportunity of US$ 7.8 Mn between 2016 and 2024, witnessing a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period.

between 2016 and 2024, witnessing a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period. The Semi-solid Paste segment is expected to retain its dominance in the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market throughout the forecast period, with 90.7% value share by 2024.

Among regions, Europe is estimated to account for a maximum revenue share of 62.0% of the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market by the end of 2016. The MEA market is expected to account for 19.1% market share of the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market by the end of 2016. The Europe ready-to-use therapeutic food market is estimated to be valued at US$ 171.0 Mn by 2016 end and is expected to increase to US$ 355.7 Mn by 2024 end, registering a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period.

View Report Table of Contents, Figures, and Tables: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/ready-to-use-therapeutic-food-market/toc

Vendor highlights

This report covers detailed profiles of key players operating in the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market - Insta Products (EPZ) Ltd., MANA, Nutrivita Foods Pvt Ltd., Power Foods Industries Ltd., Tabatchnick Fine Foods, HILINA Enriched Food Processing Center P.L.C., GC Rieber Compact AS, Diva Nutritional Products, Edesia, Inc., Nutriset, and InnoFasoSA. Ease of product availability, rising malnutrition population in developing nations, and an easy storage and distribution network are factors encouraging new players to venture into the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market. Established players in the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market are expanding production facilities and are focusing on product innovations, which is creating robust competition in the global ready-to-use therapeutic food market.

About Us:

Persistence 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

Persistence Market Research

U.S. Sales Office:

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York City, NY 10007

United States

USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353

Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com



Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Blog: https://pmrblog.com
VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - U.K. shares headed back towards a fresh record high on Friday, as the abrupt slump of the British Pound buoyed the outlook for companies with overseas earnings. The pound recovered some ground after briefly plunging over 6 percent in Asian trade as French President Francois Hollande called for tough Brexit negotiations. Economic reports painted a mixed picture, with U.K. industrial production logging an unexpected drop in August and the country's visible trade deficit widening more-than-expected in the month, while a measure of U.K. house prices rose slightly in September after two consecutive declines. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 70 points or 1.0 percent at 7,070 in midday trading after declining half a percent in the previous session. Weakness in sterling lifted miners, with Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton climbing 3-4 percent. Oil major Tullow Oil rose about 1 percent as oil prices hovered near a three-month high. Luxury retailer Burberry, which sells heavily in the U.S. and Asia, advanced 2 percent. EasyJet fell almost 4 percent on brokerage downgrades after its profit warning. Vodafone Group gained 1.2 percent. Its Indian arm has acquired spectrum in all its key telecom circles in the spectrum auction for a total cost of 2.74 billion euros. AstraZeneca shares rose over 1 percent. The biopharmaceutical company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cilag GmbH International, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson, for the divestment of the rights to Rhinocort Aqua outside the U.S. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Interxion Holding N.V. (NYSE: INXN), a leading European provider of cloud-and carrier-neutral colocation data centre services, will release its third quarter 2016 results on Wednesday, 2 November 2016, and will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 p.m. GMT, 1:30 p.m. CET) to discuss the results.

To participate on this call, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-866-966-9439; callers outside the U.S. may dial direct +44 (0) 1452 555 566. The conference ID for this call is INXN. This event also will be webcast live over the Internet in listen-only mode at investors.interxion.com.

A replay of this call will be available shortly after the call concludes and will be available until 15 November 2016. To access the replay, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-866-247-4222; callers outside the U.S. may dial direct +44 (0) 1452 550 000. The replay access number is 92466336.

About Interxion

Interxion (NYSE: INXN) is a leading provider of carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data centre services in Europe, serving a wide range of customers through 42 data centres in 11 European countries. Interxion's uniformly designed, energy efficient data centres offer customers extensive security and uptime for their mission-critical applications.

With over 600 connectivity providers, 21 European Internet exchanges, and most leading cloud and digital media platforms across its footprint, Interxion has created connectivity, cloud, content and finance hubs that foster growing customer communities of interest. For more information, please visit www.interxion.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005034/en/

Contacts:

Interxion

Jim Huseby, +1-813-644-9399

Investor Relations

IR@interxion.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Lydian International Limited (TSX: LYD) ("Lydian" or "the Company") announced today the Company will be participating in the Armenian Investment Forum being held in New York City on October 10-11, 2016 at the Down Town Association.

Mr. Howard Stevenson, President and CEO of Lydian will present on October 11, highlighting the Company's Amulsar Gold Project, a compelling asset with a large scale low cost operation in Armenia. The Amulsar Gold Project is expected to be in production in 2018.

About Lydian International Limited

Lydian is a gold developer, focusing on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. Amulsar will be Armenia's largest gold mine, with estimated mineral resources containing 3 million measured and indicated ounces and 2 million inferred ounces. Open pit mining and conventional heap leach processing contribute to excellent scale and economic potential. Gold production is targeted to average greater than 200,000 ounces annually over an initial 10 year mine life. Existing mineral resources and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. The Company is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. For more information and to directly contact us, please visit www.lydianinternational.co.uk.

About Armenian Investment Forum

The Investment Forum is designed to highlight the unique foreign investment opportunities. Armenia has a unique geographical location and cultural heritage that provides a strategic access for businesses to markets in Russia/CIS countries, the European Union and the Middle East; it provides one of the most liberal and favorable investment regimes among emerging economies; it has a stable macroeconomic environment and the economy has been steadily expanding for the last 2 decades; Armenia has a skilled and highly educated labor force that contributed to the robust development of high-tech industries and services sectors.

Caution regarding forward-looking information

Certain information contained in this news release is "forward looking". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "proposed" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "should", or "occur" or the negative connotation of such terms. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements with respect to: the realization of mineral resource estimates and the timing of development of the Amulsar Gold Project, including the expected start date of production; the potential improvement of average annual production and extension of the Amulsar Gold Project mine life through the evaluation of currently defined inferred resources and from open extensions at depth; the commitment to and implementation of good international industry practices; the expected gold production from, and life of mine of, the Amulsar Gold Project; the expected mining methods at the Amulsar Gold Project; the estimated cash cost per ounce of gold over the life of mine of the Amulsar Gold Project; and the expected cost of operations at the Amulsar Gold Project. Statements concerning mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking information to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered when the property is developed.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, without limitation: changes in gold and silver prices; adverse general economic, market or business conditions; regulatory changes; failure to improve average annual production and extend the Amulsar Gold Project mine life through the evaluation of defined inferred resources and from open extensions at depth; as well as "Risk Factors" included in the disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Lydian International Limited

Howard Stevenson

President and CEO

+1 720-307-5080 (d) or +1 775-771-0739 (m)



Lydian International Limited

Doug Tobler

CFO

+1 720-307-5087 (d) or +1 303-905-4442 (m)

moreinfo@Lydianinternational.co.uk

www.lydianinternational.co.uk




VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European stocks inched lower in choppy trade on Friday, as lingering worries over Italian banks and the pound's mysterious flash crash overshadowed positive industrial output data from Germany and France. The pound recovered some ground after briefly plunging over 6 percent in Asian trade as French President Francois Hollande called for tough Brexit negotiations. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.9 percent in midday trading after declining 0.4 percent in the previous session. The German DAX was losing 0.8 percent and France's CAC 40 index was moving down 0.6 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was gaining 0.8 percent. German utility RWE fell as much as 5 percent after its renewable energy unit, Innogy, debuted on the stock market. French rival EDF lost over 1 percent after raising $2.655 billion from 20 investors through a series of senior bond issues on the Taiwanese market. Weakness in sterling lifted miners, with Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton climbing 3-4 percent in London. Luxury retailer Burberry, which sells heavily in the U.S. and Asia, advanced 3 percent. Airline EasyJet fell almost 4 percent on brokerage downgrades after its profit warning. Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd rallied 2 percent after it rejected an unsolicited takeover offer of 2.4 billion euros from domestic rival NN Group. In economic releases, German industrial production recovered at a faster than expected pace in August, figures from Destatis revealed. French industrial output also rebounded more than expected in August, while U.K. industrial production logged an unexpected drop in the month. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LUND, Sweden, Jan 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Alfa Laval will release fourth-quarter earnings on January 31st at 07:30 a.m. CET. The telephone conference will start at 08:30 CET.

To join the telephone conference - hosted by Alfa Laval's President and CEO, Tom Erixon, and CFO, Thomas Thuresson - sign up in advance via the link below. Once registered, you will receive a phone number, a participant pin and a conference pin. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the event. If you are having difficulties when registering, contact Intercall at +44 20-8288-5566.

https://eventreg1.conferencing.com/webportal3/reg.html?Acc=543661&Conf=195503

You can also follow the conference via a live webcast. A webcast link will be available on www.alfalaval.com/investors.

If you want to listen to the replay, call +44 (0)20-7031-4064 or +46 (0)8-5052-0333, access code 96 09 53. The recording will be available for 24 hours. After that, you can go to www.alfalaval.com/investors and watch and listen to an on-demand version of the webcast.

Contacts:

Gabriella Grotte

Alfa Laval

Tel: +46-46-36-74-82

Beata Ardhe

Alfa Laval

Tel:+46-46-36-65-00-26

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/alfa-laval/r/invitation-to-alfa-laval-s-fourth-quarter-conference-call,c2164043

The following files are available for download:
SAN JOSE, California and PADERBORN, Germany, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

AEVI is pleased to welcome VSi, a leading developer of mobile apps for the hospitality industry, as a partner for the AEVI Global Marketplace, designed to revolutionise how merchants conduct and streamline their businesses by providing a new way of engaging with customers. The partnership will leverage AEVI's open solutions and global support infrastructure to target multiple vertical markets including the hospitality, healthcare, retail and financial services industries.

Based in California's Silicon Valley, VSi is a multinational company that provides hoteliers with guest-facing and back-of-the-house mobile application solutions. The AEVI Global Marketplace will initially feature VSi's vInspect and TraveLight, custom mobile applications that allow hotel staff to perform their roles more efficiently via innovative tools on mobile devices.

vInspect streamlines backend hotel operations, enhances housekeeping staff performance, and provides real-time business intelligence tools for management, resulting in an improved bottom line. TraveLight, currently running as a pilot in New Orleans, has been developed with the aim of helping travellers streamline their luggage logistics. These innovative applications are a sample from the range apps that support AEVI's vision to enable businesses to DO MORE.

These apps are already available and showing benefits in casinos in Las Vegas and other major hotel brands across the US. This partnership marks the beginning of new business opportunities, with a solution that is ready to roll out and lead in the US market.

"Banks and merchant acquirers are always seeking new solutions to better meet the needs of their merchants, but a mobile device with built-in security and facility for business apps was not available for the hospitality industry" says Vasona Systems International's CEO Saeed Kazmi. "Now we can reach out to new customers and enter new markets to offer industry-specific solutions running on AEVI's Albert device to streamline guest services and build brand loyalty."

"We are delighted to welcome VSi in our Global Marketplace", says Mike Camerling, Chief Product Officer & Board Member at AEVI, "Our ecoystem and connected devices enable banks and merchant acquirers to introduce a new range of value propositions to their customers under their own brand. VSi joining the Global Marketplace significantly benefits acquirers addressing the hospitality industry, allowing them to provide a more customised merchant experience."

VSi will be joining AEVI at Money 20/20 Vegas, the world's largest payments and financial services innovation event, on October 23-26, 2016. AEVI invites US banks, acquirers, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and hardware vendors to join them developing a truly open ecosystem to give choice and flexibility to merchants.

About VSi:

Based in California's Silicon Valley, VSi is a multinational company that provides hoteliers with guest-facing and back-of-the-house mobile applications solutions. VSi's cloud-based managed services can be customized for each brand while providing a consistent experience across multiple devices and multiple properties. VSi's fully supported turnkey solutions serve over 1500 locations in key markets worldwide, including top-tier luxury brands, independent boutiques, casinos and resorts, as well as limited service chains.

http://www.ver-sys.com

About AEVI:

AEVI has developed a unique, open Ecosystem to bring merchant banks and merchant acquirers closer to their merchants, and merchants closer to their consumers. AEVI provides a global gateway for secure payment transactions together with a marketplace for high-quality value-added apps and services (VAAS) providing new business opportunities beyond payments, which enables fast and effective innovation, plus enhanced control and flexibility. This combination delivers a reduced total cost of ownership for clients.

AEVI works with customers to help them embrace collaboration and adopt open solutions that have the power to deliver more value and better meet the needs of today's consumer.

In short, AEVI enables businesses to DO MORE.

http://www.aevi.com

AEVI Press & Media Contact:

press@aevi.com

Tel.: +49 (0) 52 51 / 693-3375
CHARLOTTE, NC -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- LaVie SouthPark, a 321 unit luxury lifestyle apartment community in the SouthPark neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, has undergone a full rebrand. Formerly known as Crescent SouthPark, LaVie SouthPark emphasizes living life to the fullest, offering incredible outdoor spaces, spectacular amenities, open floor plans, and a location to be desired nearby high-end shops, restaurants, and the stunning SouthPark Mall.

LaVie SouthPark inspires community living, from on-site food truck visits, to monthly social events, mobile car wash and detailer arrangements, and even mobile dog grooming catering to LaVie's several four legged residents.

Unwind on the four acres of preserved natural landscape, boasting 100 year old double oak trees alongside a serene pond with water feature. Stay active in the spa like, two-story health club with state of the art equipment alongside a yoga and barre studio. Swim and sun in the saltwater pool with aqua sundeck and lounging areas. Socialize and entertain in the chef-quality demonstration kitchen with flat screen TVs, poker and billiards tables, outdoor kitchen and fire pit areas. Stroll or take advantage of LaVie's own bikes for resident use on the wooded walking trails around a scenic pond, or the two-acre Dog Park.

As the first fiber wired building in Charlotte, residents of LaVie SouthPark stay connected, offering Ultimate wideband high speed internet, HD digital cable and USB outlets. Working from home is a breeze in the business center with Mac stations, Wi-Fi, designated meeting space, and fresh-ground coffee from the Starbucks coffee bar. Inside, residents enjoy gourmet kitchens with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, high ceilings, spacious walk-in closets, wood-style plank flooring, and 36" soaking tubs.

LaVie offers studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom floor plans and is under the professional management of Lincoln Property Company, the second largest multifamily manager in the United States.

About Lincoln Property Company

Lincoln Property Company was founded in 1965 as a builder and operator of high-quality residential communities. In the early 1970's, Lincoln expanded its product mix to include commercial, build-to-suit, office, hotel, industrial, and other mixed-use assets. In 1972, Lincoln took this expertise within the United States to Western Europe and the Middle East.

In 2001, Lincoln joined forces with the U.S. Department of Defense to renovate and redevelop family housing at selected bases for the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Army. Through innovative management, property rehabilitation and award-winning new construction designs, Lincoln is now one of the largest operators of military housing in the country. Lincoln continued its growth in 2013 with the acquisition of Grand Campus Living, increasing the depth of knowledge in the rental housing sector for the firm.

Headquartered in Dallas, TX, Lincoln focuses on real estate investment, construction and development, in addition to property management. Their national reputation has enabled Lincoln to attract a large client base of owners and investors who count on their ability to deliver quality results and continually serve as a market leader.

For more information about Lincoln Property Company, please visit http://www.lincolnapts.com/management-services or visit http://www.lincolnapts.com/regions/ for apartment listings in your area.

Follow Lincoln Property Company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to hear about all the new deals to help you look forward to moving into your new home!

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3064384



Media Contact:



Sheri Sandefur Killingsworth

Vice President - Marketing & Communications

214-740-3300

Email Contact




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- The Toronto Star announced today that David Skok has been appointed Associate Editor and Head of Editorial Strategy for all its digital platforms and products.

Mr. Skok has had a distinguished career in journalism both in Canada and the United States. Most recently he served as Managing Editor and Vice President, Digital at the Boston Globe, where he oversaw all digital business and editorial groups. Before moving to Boston, Mr. Skok worked for Global News in Toronto where he was instrumental in launching Globalnews.ca, a site that grew rapidly in audience and journalistic quality, recording triple-digit annual growth.

He also was a Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University in 2012, the first Canadian digital journalist selected for this honor. He is the co-author of Breaking News: Mastering the Art of Disruption in Journalism, a Nieman Reports e-book he co-wrote with Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen and Forum for Growth and Innovation Fellow James Allworth.

Mr. Skok began his career at ABC's Nightline, the flagship current affairs program in Washington, D.C. He was born in South Africa and immigrated to Canada in 1988. He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Ryerson University's journalism program and is a regular commentator on the future of media and journalism.

Mr. Skok will report to Michael Cooke, Editor, and Chris Goodridge, Chief Operating Officer Digital, on strategic digital direction and to Irene Gentle, Managing Editor, on news issues.

"Make no mistake, David was a highly sought after commodity across Canada and around the world," Mr. Cooke said. "That he chose to work with the Star confirms that David believes, just like we do, that we have the finest newsroom in the finest city in the world. Having someone of David's intellect and experience in our midst will only help us reach new journalistic heights."

About the Toronto Star, thestar.com and Toronto Star Touch

The Toronto Star, founded in 1892, is read by approximately 3.0 million readers a week in print, online (thestar.com) and on Toronto Star Touch, one of the news industry's most innovative tablet apps. The Toronto Star is a division of Star Media Group, which includes the Metro free daily newspapers in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax. Star Media Group also includes Toronto.com, Torstar Syndication Services and The Kit, a fashion and beauty publication, and the jointly owned Chinese language newspaper Sing Tao. Star Media Group is a division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, which is a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation.

Contacts:

Toronto Star

Bob Hepburn

Director, Community Relations and Communications

(416) 869-4947

bhepburn@thestar.ca




Senior management of JR Asia and UOB Kay Hian toasting with a glass of 60-year old Rothschild Lafite cognac.



SINGAPORE, Oct 7, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - JR Asia & Partners Fund Management Pte Ltd ("JR Asia"), a Singapore investment holding company, today announced that it has engaged UOB Kay Hian Pte Ltd ("UOBKH") to help the company access the Singapore capital markets to grow its premium wine business in Asia, starting with China.The appointment marks a major milestone for JR Asia, which has set its sights on dominating the lucrative Chinese wine market in the next two years. The UOBKH appointment will enable JR Asia to increase its premium wine inventory, support its aggressive expansion in China and other Asian countries, and to invest more in promotion and marketing efforts.Mr Andrew Lim, Chairman of JR Asia, said: "In China, wine has grown over the past 6 years in social status and as an investment asset. Not surprising, based on our research, the import volume of wine has recorded a compounded annual growth rate of about 20% between 2009 and 2015. The demand for these premium wines and other similar labels is insatiable and impossible to meet. This is the space that JR Asia wants to dominate, over and above distributing premium wines that match the tastes and social index of different consumer groups."Mr Lim added that the Liv-ex Fine Wine Investable Index, which tracks the value of some of the world's most expensive wines, has continued on an upward trend all these years, despite the economic crises and market downturns.To achieve its goal, JR Asia also announced that it has formed a partnership with one of China's most established wine merchants, Laidesitong Wine Co., Limited ("LDST"), to distribute premium limited edition and collector vintage wines in China and Asia. These include wines by Barons De Rothschild (Lafite), Pont Des Arts, Francois Thienpont and Francois Janoueix.LDST, founded by Meng Fei, who has more than 10 years of experience in wine distribution and a wide established network in China, holds exclusive distribution rights with some of France's oldest vineyards, such as Rothschild Lafite, Thienpont, Pont Des Arts and Francois Janoueix. The rights have been secured by LDST's long-term relationship with the families of the vineyard founders.JR Asia is also looking to secure its own exclusive distributor rights to expand its premium wine presence in China and South East Asia, Mr Lim said.Mr Lim added that the wine business would be the first venture in JR Asia's investment portfolio. However, as an investment holding company, JR Asia is open to invest in other asset classes that are aligned with its aim to deliver consistent solid shareholder returns.JR Asia marked its appointment of UOBKH with a signing ceremony yesterday at the Marina Bay Sands. Among the 50 VIPs and guests who witnessed the event were LDST's Managing Director Meng Fei and Harbin Liming Gas Group Co. Ltd.'s CEO Jiang Hui. The latter company is the biggest industrial gas producer and supplier inNorth and North-Eastern China region. Ming Fei is also vice-chairperson of an influential elite private China business club with 2,000 members, among which included Mr Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, Mr Liu Chuanzhi, Chairman of Legend Holdings, Mr Wang Jianlin, Managing Director of Wanda Group.JR Asia's first major event with LDST is the SINODIS 2016 Global Chef Competition which will be held at the Wanda Reign hotel, Shanghai's first and only 'seven-star' hotel. This prestigious 4th international chef competition boasts participation by Michelin-starred and renowned chefs from 5-star hotels and best restaurants around the globe. JR Asia has been appointed the sole wine sponsor for the final round of the competition, where every finalist will also have to choose a particular Thienpont wine to pair with his or her culinary creation.*Photo L-R: Mr Royce Yeo, Chief Executive Officer, JR Asia & Partners Fund Management Pte Ltd (JR Asia), Mr Andrew Lim, Chairman, JR Asia, Ms Patricia Cheng, Finance Manager, JR Asia, Ms Jiang Hui, Managing Director, Liming Gas Group of Harbin, Ms Amy Lee, Director, Equity Sales, UOB Kay Hian Pte Ltd (UOBKH), Mr Ding Hock Chai, Senior Director, Head of Corporate Finance, UOBKH and Mr Meng Fei, Managing Director of Laidesitong Wine Co. Limited (LDST).About JR Asia & Partners Fund Management Pte LtdJR Asia & Partners Fund Management Pte Ltd ("JR Asia") is a Singapore-based investment holding company with interests spanning across wine / F&B, fund management, as well as property developments. Currently, through its wholly-owned subsidiary in China, it markets and distributes premium wine products such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pont Des Arts and Thienpont in selected countries in Asia such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. For more information, please visit www.jrasiafunds.com.About Laidesitong Wine Co., Limited ("LDST")Established in 2011, Laidesitong Wine Co., Limited, became the sole supplier to the China Duty Free Group for Baron de Rothschild (Lafite), and exclusive distributor of renowned brand of wine like Baron de Rothschild (Lafite), Pont Des Arts and Thienpont.Mr. Meng Fei, the founder of LDST, has built strong relationship with these renowned wine principals over the years. LDST has established sales, warehousing, logistics and distribution capabilities across approximately 170 China Duty Free stores throughout China.ABOUT SINODIS 2016 Global Chef CompetitionSINODIS 2016 Global Chef Competition is organised by Global Gourmet which is the top hospitality, food and beverage publication in China and the only monthly bilingual (English & Chinese) food and beverage magazine circulated nationwide. All of the participants in the competition are famous chefs from top hotels and Michelin-rated restaurants all over the world. Over 300 guests, including top hotel F&B directors, importers, foreign consuls, are expected to attend the final round of the competition.Issued on behalf of JR Asia & Partners Fund Management Pte Ltd by:Waterbrooks Consultants Pte LtdMs Jacqueline Lim / Ms Jean Yang / Mr Ma Kin Hoong+65 9695 9318 / +65 9363 6369 / +65 9384 0073jacqueline@waterbrooks.com.sg / jean@waterbrooks.com.sg /ma@waterbrooks.com.sgSource: JR Asia & Partners Fund Management Pte LtdCopyright 2016 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Editors Note: There are three photos associated with this press release.

Cultural exchange has always been at the forefront of strong relations between Canada and the People's Republic of China. This year marks the 46(th) anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries. At the heels of the recent visit by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to China and of China's Premier Li Keqiang to Canada, a masterful collection of 156 contemporary works of art by 81 of China's most celebrated artists will be unveiled for the first time ever in Canada at the University of Toronto Libraries' Robarts Library. The Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library on the 8(th) Floor of Robarts Library has been converted into a fine art gallery where students, collectors, and art connoisseurs can marvel at these creations free of charge from October 7-13, 2016 (closed on October 9-10).

Some of the artists featured in "EXPRESSIONS OF CHINA" include: Dawei Liu, Changjiang Wu, Xiang Li, Peiqiu Chen, Fan Lin, Hesheng Xia, Wensen Yang, Yunxiang Xue

Selected works will be for sale. Some works will have 100% of their gross proceeds donated to charities such as the Canadian Cancer Society and the SickKids Foundation.

EXHIBIT NAME: Expressions of China DATES: October 7 to 13, 2016 HOURS: OCT.7 10AM-5PM OCT. 8 12 Noon to 5 PM OCT.9-10 CLOSED OCT. 11 - 13 10AM to 5 PM PLACE: Robarts Library, University of Toronto 130 St. George Street, 8(th) Floor (Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library) Toronto, ON

The Justin Poy Agency is a Toronto-based award-winning multicultural advertising agency established in 1993. Agency President, Justin Poy is the Honorary Patron of Asian Heritage Month (CFAC) and is Vice-Chair of The Canadian Foundation for Chinese Heritage Preservation. The Agency is known for its ability to bridge and promote east/west cultures and businesses.

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following link:

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20161005-mother1.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20161005-Rock1.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20161005-Monk%26Tiger1.jpg

Contacts:

The Justin Poy Agency

Lily Tsang

Cell: (416) 276-7217

ltsang@justinpoy.com



The Justin Poy Agency

Justin Poy

Cell: (416) 565-6791

jpoy@justinpoy.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- MOBI724 Global Solutions Inc. ("MOBI724" or the "Company") (CSE: MOS)(CSE: MOS.CN), a Fintech leader offering all in one fully integrated EMV payment, card link couponing and digital marketing is pleased to announce that on October 5, 2016, it has successfully closed a first tranche equity private placement in the aggregate amount of $250,000.00 dollars by issuing 5,000,000 common shares ("Shares") at $0.05. The private placement included a conversion of bona fide debt in the amount of $25,344.51. For each common share received, the subscribers were issued one common share purchase warrant at an exercise price of $0.15 exercisable on or before August 31st, 2018 after which they shall expire.

The Company has also closed a secured convertible debenture ("Convertible Debenture") private placement in the amount of $500,000.00. The Convertible Debenture will (i) mature on March 30, 2018 (the "Maturity Date"), (ii) bear interest at a rate of 8 % per annum, (iii) be convertible at the option of the holder into common shares of the Company (the "Shares") on or prior to the expiry of the Term at a price of $0.15 (the "Conversion Price") and (iv) be secured by the receivables of the Company limited to 20% of the gross revenues. Payments shall be effected every 6 months and shall be limited to 10% of the gross revenues collected and the holder shall have the option to be paid in cash or convert into Shares at the Conversion Price. The Company has the option to redeem the Convertible Debentures at any time prior to the expiry of the Term without penalty. Due to pari passu provisions in an existing and outstanding debenture recently issued to an institutional investor, the Company is also granting the same security in favour of the existing debenture holder.

The Shares and Convertible Debenture were sold pursuant to exemptions from prospectus requirements to purchasers in Canada and are subject to a hold period of four months and one day following the closing of the private placement. The Shares are listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). The Company will use the net proceeds to support project deployments of the Company's solution, for ongoing obligations and for working capital requirements. Since August 31, 2016, the Company has raised $ 2.25 million dollars and is currently working on closing another tranche of funding this month as previously announced.

The Company also announces that it recently ended its relationship with its current CFO-COO and that Mr. Michel David Pereira CPA CA will continue to execute the quarterly consolidated financials with internal accounting staff. The CEO, Marcel Vienneau stated that "we are currently concentrating our efforts in soliciting new team members."

About Mobi724 Global Solutions

MOBI724 Global Solutions Inc. (CSE: MOS)(CSE: MOS.CN), a leader in the Fintech industry based in Montreal (Canada), offers a unique and fully integrated suite of Payment & Digital Marketing solutions.

We are innovating in our market with a combined EMV Payment, Card Linked Offers, and Digital Marketing platform that works on any card and any mobile device. We pioneered in adding intelligence to all types of transactions benefiting banks, retailers and cardholders. We succeed in leveraging all available user and purchasing data to increase transaction volumes and spend.

MOBI724 provides a turnkey solution to its clients to capture card transactions on any mobile device, at any point of sale or from any payment card. Our easy-to-adapt gateway Switch is designed for easy integration with all payment protocols in our target markets.

Within the same solution suite we combined our Card Linked Offers solution, and provided financial institutions' payment card portfolios and retailers the ability to add offers and/or coupons which can be redeemed directly at the Point of Sale, in a seamless user experience for all the parties in the eco-system.

MOBI724 Global Solutions unleashes the true potential of both payment and card-linked couponing/rewards transactions for both online and offline points of sale (POS).

The Corporation provides its customers with full and comprehensive traceability and enriched consumer data through its offering. Its solutions enables card associations, retailers, manufacturers, offer providers, mobile operators and card issuers to create, manage, deliver and "track and measure" incentive campaigns worldwide to ANY mobile device and allow its redemption at ANY point of sales.

Our credit and debit EMV payment solutions will allow banks to process end to end EMV transactions, focusing on authentication, approved security and quick merchant adoption which allows the users to process payments with a wide range of devices over a secure and seamless transaction.

MOBI724's PCI and EMV cloud-based switch, with their device agnostic connectivity, simplifies deployment and integration, and introduces new payment and digital incentives solutions to the market enabling multi layered intelligent transactions therefore SMART TRANSACTIONS.

For more information on its products and on MOBI724 Global Solutions, visit www.mobi724globalsolutions.com.

Certain statements in this document, including those which express management's expectations or estimations with regard to the Company's future performance, constitute "forward-looking statements" as understood by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are, of necessity, based on a certain number of estimates and hypotheses; while management considers these to be accurate at the time they are expressed, they are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and risks on the commercial, economic and competitive levels. We advise readers that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other known and unknown factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Investors are advised to not rely unduly on the forward-looking statements. This advisory applies to all forward-looking statements, whether expressed orally or in writing, attributed to the Company or to any individual expressing them in the name of the Company. Unless required by law, the Company is under no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events, or other circumstances.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed this news release and does not accept responsibility for its adequacy or accuracy. This news release does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell any securities in the United States.

Contacts:

Mr. Marcel Vienneau

1-514-394-5200 Ext 413




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.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- European Commercial Real Estate Limited (the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: ERE.P), a capital pool company, is pleased to announce that it has completed its initial public offering (the "Offering") of 17,700,000 common shares ("Common Shares") at a price of $0.10 per share, for gross proceeds of $1,770,000 and the closing of a concurrent private placement to the directors and officers of the Corporation (the "Private Placement") of 27,300,000 Common Shares at a price of $0.10 per share, for gross proceeds of $2,730,000. The Common Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period.

The Common Shares were listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") under the trading symbol "ERE.P" at the close of business on October 6, 2016 and will commence trading at the opening of the market on October 7, 2016.

The net proceeds of the Offering and the Private Placement will be used to provide the Corporation with a minimum of funds with which to identify and evaluate assets or businesses for acquisition with a view to completing a "Qualifying Transaction" under the capital pool company program of the Exchange with a focus on commercial real estate in Western Europe.

CIBC acted as agent for the Offering. In connection with the Offering, CIBC received a commission of 7% of the aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of the common shares.

The Corporation has also granted incentive stock options to acquire Common Shares ("Options") to a total of nine directors, officers and technical consultants of the Corporation to acquire a total of 5,500,000 Common Shares. The Options may be exercised for a period of ten years at a price of $0.10 per share.

After the closing of the Offering and the Private Placement, there were 55,000,000 Common Shares issued and outstanding, of which 37,300,000 Common Shares (including 10,000,000 Common Shares that had been issued prior to the Offering) have been placed in escrow in accordance with the policies of the Exchange.

On October 7, 2016, Thomas Schwartz acquired, on a private placement basis under the Private Placement, directly and indirectly, 9,150,000 Common Shares for total consideration of $915,000 ($0.10 per share) and was granted 800,000 Options representing in aggregate 17.83% of the Corporation's outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. After the acquisition, Mr. Schwartz, owned, directly and indirectly, 11,450,000 Common Shares and 800,000 Options, representing in aggregate 21.95% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis.

On the same date, Phillip Burns acquired, on a private placement basis under the Private Placement8,850,000 Common Shares for total consideration of $885,000 ($0.10 per share) and was granted 2,000,000 Options representing in aggregate 19.04% of the Corporation's outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. After the acquisition, Mr. Burns, owned 11,150,000 Common Shares and 2,000,000 Options, representing in aggregate 23.07% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis.

On the same date, David Ehrlich acquired, on a private placement basis under the Private Placement 3,850,000 Common Shares for total consideration of $385,000 ($0.10 per share) and was granted 800,000 Options representing in aggregate 8.33% of the Corporation's outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. After the acquisition, Mr. Ehrlich, owned 6,150,000 Common Shares and 800,000 Options, representing in aggregate 12.46% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis.

On the same date, Ian Dyke acquired, on a private placement basis under the Private Placement 3,850,000 Common Shares for total consideration of $385,000 ($0.10 per share) and was granted 1,000,000 Options representing in aggregate 8.66% of the Corporation's outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. After the acquisition, Mr. Dyke, owned 6,150,000 Common Shares and 1,000,000 Options, representing in aggregate 12.77% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis.

The Common Shares referred to above were acquired independently by each of Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Burns, Mr. Ehrlich and Mr. Dyke (collectively, the "Acquirors") for investment purposes. Each of the Acquirors may increase or decrease their respective ownership or control in securities of the Corporation depending on, among other factors, market conditions and other relevant factors.

Portions of this press release is being issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues which requires a reports of each of the Acquirors to be filed under the Corporation's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) containing additional information with respect to the foregoing acquisitions. A copy of the related early warning reports for each of the Acquirors in respect of the acquisitions described above will be filed on www.sedar.com.

The Corporation's head office address is 199 Bay Street, Suite 5300, Commerce Court West, Toronto, Ontario, M5L 1B9.

The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Corporation to complete a Qualifying Transaction. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Corporation disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward looking statements or otherwise.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

European Commercial Real Estate Limited

Phillip Burns

Chief Executive Officer

phillip.burns@mapleknollcapital.com




OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. ("Tetra" or the "Company") (CSE: TBP)(CSE: TBP.CN)(OTCQB: GRP0F) is pleased to announce that, on October 5, 2016, the Company entered into a non-binding agreement for a draw-down equity facility of up to $2,000,0000. Each Offering will occur exclusively at the option of the Company, throughout the 18-month term of the agreement.

The agreement provides for equity private placement offerings, to be conducted between Tetra and Alumina Partners LLC ("Alumina Partners"), a New York-based private equity firm.

Pursuant to the terms of the Offerings, Alumina Partners will commit to purchase up to $2,000,0000 of units of the Company (the "Units"), consisting of one common share (the "Shares") and one common share purchase warrant (the "Warrants"). The placement will be at a discount of 20% of the market price of the Shares. The exercise price of the Warrants will be at a 25% premium over the market price of the Shares. The closing of the transaction is anticipated later this month.

"We are very pleased to be entering into this agreement with Alumina Partners. The purpose of the Offerings is to provide the Company with working capital to fund various projects as deemed necessary by the Board of Directors of the Company", commented Andre Rancourt, Interim Chief Executive Officer.

"Alumina is excited to continue investing in the Canadian regulated cannabis industry, and looks forward very much to seeing the kind of innovative applied biotherapeutics and endocannabinoid-mediated agents that have yet to be discovered or even imagined, and that pioneers like Tetra Bio-Pharma will take the lead in exploring," said Adi Nahmani, Managing Member of Alumina Partners LLC.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed this news release and does not accept responsibility for its adequacy or accuracy.

Forward-looking statements

Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the inability of the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, GrowPros MMP Inc., to obtain a licence for the production of medical marijuana; failure to obtain sufficient financing to execute the Company's business plan; competition; regulation and anticipated and unanticipated costs and delays, and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

Contacts:

Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.

Dr. Guy Chamberland

Chief Scientific Officer

514-220-9225



Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.

Andre Audet

Executive Chairman

613-421-8402



Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.

Ryan Brown

President, Grow Pros MMP

613-421-8402




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Department of State has warned U.S. citizens against all non-essential travel to Pakistan. In a Travel Warning update Friday, it said consular services provided by the American Embassy in Islamabad, the Consulate General in Karachi, and the Consulate General in Lahore are often limited due to the security environment. At this time, the Consulate General in Peshawar is not providing consular services. Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks. Throughout Pakistan, foreign and indigenous terrorist groups continue to pose a danger to U.S. citizens, it added. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2016 'for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.'



Santos was selected from a list of 376 candidates.



Announcing the award on Friday, Kaci Kullman Five, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process.



President Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in the signing of a peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas in Cartagena in September, putting an end to a war that cost the lives of at least 220,000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people.



However, a narrow majority of the over 13 million Colombians who cast their ballots said no to the accord. This result has created great uncertainty as to the future of Colombia, and a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again.



The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasized the importance of the fact that President Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process.



The civil war in Colombia is one of the longest civil wars in modern times and the sole remaining armed conflict in the Americas. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it firmly believes that President Santos, despite the 'No' majority vote in the referendum, has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution, and that much of the groundwork has been laid for both the verifiable disarmament of the FARC guerrillas and a historic process of national fraternity and reconciliation.



The Nobel Peace prize, worth Swedish kronor 8 million or $0.925 million, will be awarded on December 10, the date of Alfred Nobel's death.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 --New Colombia Resources, Inc. ("the Company") (OTC PINK: NEWC), a Colombian natural resource company listed in the U.S., is pleased to announce their medical marijuana joint venture, Sannabis SAS, has identified a native cannabis sativa strain from Colombia with a natural high CBD content and no detectable THC. This pure extract has been working well for children with epilepsy and the Company expects similar successful results in the U.S. To see the lab test for this strain visit https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxSKP5j2FlseM3NNaHpxRDRmcXM

Medical marijuana products in the U.S. are projected to generate $ 35 Billion in revenue by 2020. New Colombia Resources and Sannabis are positioned to be a part of this exceptional growth and are making plans to legally export non-THC products to the U.S.; both companies have been gearing up to export products around the world. As a first mover in Colombia's medical marijuana industry, Sannabis has been supplying children with epilepsy, cancer patients, fibromyalgia patients, and many others with legally produced medical marijuana products in Colombia since 2014 with exceptional results.

Company President John Campo received a letter from the Presidency of Colombia in reference to their "Medical Marijuana Project" requesting assistance from the Ministry of Health on their behalf. New Colombia Resources congratulates President Juan Manuel Santos for winning the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, which was announced this morning. The Company is committed to bringing cannabis research to Colombia to create high quality value added products generating industries, jobs, and profits that stay in Colombia. New Colombia Resources has a pipeline of medical marijuana and hemp projects that will be announced soon.

In addition to the great results of their high CBD Cannabis Sativa products low in THC, Sannabis' Cannabis Indica products high in THC have shown remarkable success in cancer patients. The Company is eager to bring those products to the U.S. when legally able to do so.

Potential distributors, researchers, or investors interested in Sannabis products, possible joint ventures, research facilities, or private label are encouraged to contact Company President John Campo at 1-410-236-8200 or 57-318-657-0918.

To view a nationally televised documentary about medical marijuana in Colombia titled "De lo Maldito a lo Bendito" (From the Damned to the Blessed), visit http://www.sannabis.co/video. This documentary interviews medical marijuana patients and their loved ones around the country using Sannabis products, including "Sara" a 5-year-old girl with epilepsy that Sannabis has been successfully treating since its inception in 2014. The producers of the documentary also traveled to Cauca to interview Sannabis and their growers, filming different areas of Sannabis marijuana production.

Sannabis has grown and processed medical marijuana legally on the Nasa Indian Reservation in Colombia since 2014. Their products are sold online, in stores, and through independent distributors in Colombia. They are supported by INVIMA Resolution 243630 of 1999 and Sentence C-882 of 2011 from the Constitutional Court to legally produce non-smoked medical marijuana products on the Indian Reservation and distribute them nationally.

"We're gearing up to begin exporting non-THC products to the U.S.; we will have hundreds of pounds of raw material at our disposal to guarantee production output to our distributors. Our goal is to provide the best medical marijuana products possible taking advantage of our native medicinal strains and ideal climate, we can grow year around outdoors and manufacture the highest quality 100% organic cannabis products providing much needed jobs in the community where we operate," stated John Campo President of New Colombia Resources Inc.

New Colombia Resources' President, John Campo, was featured in an article in a major financial news publication, Dinero Magazine, in August 2014 at the beginning of the medical marijuana legalization movement in Colombia. Since then medical marijuana was legalized by both a Presidential executive order in December 2015 and a Senate Bill in May 2016. To view the article, visit http://www.dinero.com/edicion-impresa/negocios/articulo/medicamentos-legales-derivados-del-cannabis-marihuana/199474

Adults and children with epilepsy and cancer have shown remarkable improvements using Sannabis products causing an interest from national and international media. A Sannabis distributor showcasing products was featured on the nightly newscast of a major network in Colombia, Noticias RCN. To view the newscast, visit http://www.noticiasrcn.com/videos/producen-y-venden-productos-marihuana-bucaramanga

The Company feels these newscasts and documentaries will help increase medical marijuana awareness and sales. To view or purchase Sannabis products visit www.sannabis.co. Follow Sannabis on Facebook for photos and testimonials at https://www.facebook.com/sannabis.cannamedicinal

New Colombia Resources, Inc.

New Colombia Resources, Inc. is focused on the acquisition and development of high-quality metallurgical coal properties and other available resources in the Republic of Colombia. They expect to have several revenues producing businesses including; metallurgical coal mining and rock quarry aggregates for domestic Colombian highway and railroad building projects. The Company owns 100% of La Tabaquera metallurgical coal mine in Colombia with an estimated 15- 17 million tonnes of reserves. They have another pending acquisition for 390 ha and a solicitation contract for 184 ha metallurgical coal concession. New Colombia Resources also holds a significant position in Sannabis SAS which legally produces medical marijuana products in the Republic of Colombia, visit www.sannabis.co. For more information on the Company visit www.newcolombiaresources.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Forward Looking Statements; This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements might not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include financing, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations. New Colombia Resources, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

Company/Media Contact:



New Colombia Resources, Inc.

John Campo

President/Chairman

(1)-410-236-8200 USA

jcampo@newcolombiaresources.com






CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar declined against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as the U.S. economy created less jobs than expected in September and jobless rate climbed, casting doubts about the likelihood for a Fed rate hike before the end of the year.



The Labor Department report showed that U.S. employment increased less than expected in the month of September.



The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 156,000 jobs in September compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 176,000 jobs.



While the job gains in August were upwardly revised to 167,000 from 151,000, the job growth in July was downwardly revised to 252,000 from 275,000.



The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate edged up to 5.0 percent in September from 4.9 percent in August. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.



Investors focus on the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester's speech on 'Fed Communications' before the Shadow Open Market Committee Fall Meeting in New York at 12:45 pm ET for more clues about the outlook for monetary policy.



Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, Governor Lael Brainard and Kansas City Fed President Esther George are also set to appear at the Institute of International Finance's annual meeting in Washington.



The greenback was higher against its major rivals, except the yen, in the Asian session.



The greenback declined to 1.1185 against the euro, coming off from a 2-month high of 1.1104 set at 3:00 am ET. The greenback is seen finding support around the 1.13 mark.



Figures from Destatis showed that Germany's industrial production recovered at a faster than expected pace in August.



Industrial output grew 2.5 percent month-on-month in August, reversing a fall of 1.5 percent in July. Output was expected to grow 1 percent.



The greenback reversed from its recent 5-week high of 0.9839 against the Swiss franc, moving lower to 0.9783. Continuation of the greenback's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 0.96 region.



The greenback resumed its early decline against the Japanese yen, touching a 2-day low of 103.04. This marks a 0.9 percent decline from Thursday's closing value of 103.93. On the downside, 101.5 is likely seen as its next support level.



Preliminary data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index rose to a 9-month high in August.



The leading index that measures the future economic activity, climbed to 101.2 in August from 100 in July. This was the highest score since November 2015, when the reading was 101.5.



The U.S. currency weakened to a 2-day low of 0.7197 against the kiwi, moving off from an early 2-month high of 0.7122. Continuation of the greenback's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 0.73 region.



The greenback reached as low as 0.7618 against the aussie, after having advanced to more than a 2-week high of 0.7561 at 9:00 pm ET. The next possible support for the greenback may be seen around the 0.79 mark.



The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that Australia's construction sector turned to expansion in September, with a PMI score of 51.4.



That's up sharply from 46.6 in August, and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.



On the flip side, the greenback held steady at 1.2369 against the pound, after climbing to a 31-year peak of 1.1992 at 7:00 pm ET. At Thursday's close, the pair was worth 1.2614.



Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the U.K visible trade deficit widened more-than-expected in August.



The trade in goods showed a deficit of GBP 12.1 billion in August versus a shortfall of GBP 9.5 billion in July. Economists had expected the deficit to rise to GBP 11.25 billion.



Looking ahead, Canada Ivey's PMI for September, U.S. whole sale inventories and consumer credit for August are due shortly.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Friday, 7th October 2016

WESTERN SELECTION P.L.C.

("Western", "the Company")

ORDINARY SHARE DIVIDEND DECLARATION

The Company today announces a final dividend payable in respect of its Ordinary Shares.

Following the announcement of its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 30th June 2016, the Board recommends a final dividend of 1.05 p per ordinary share, making a total of 2.1 p per ordinary share for the year (2015 - 2.1 p). Subject to shareholders' approval at the Company's Annual General Meeting on 30th November 2016, the dividend will be paid on 5th December 2016 to those shareholders on the register at the close of business on 18th November 2016.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

For further information, please contact:

Western Selection P.L.C.: 020 7796 9060

Copies of this notification are held at the Company's office, 6 Middle Street, London, EC1A 7JA (tel. 020 7796 9060) and are available for a period of 14 days from the date of this announcement.
NEW YORK, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Growing automobile sales coupled with expanding vehicle fleet to drive Saudi Arabia tire market through 2021

According to recently released TechSci Research report, "Saudi Arabia Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021", Saudi Arabia tire demand is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11% during 2016 - 2021. Improving macroeconomic scenario, growing vehicle fleet, increasing automobile sales and favourable government policies are some of the major factors anticipated to boost the demand for tires in the country over the next five years. The cumulative sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the country grew at a CAGR of 8.91% during 2011-2015.

(Logo:: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 )



Browse 23 market data Tables and 30 Figures spread through90 Pages and an in-depth TOC on"Saudi Arabia Tire Market"

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/saudi-arabia-tire-market-forecast-opportunities-2021/800.html

On the basis of vehicle type, the tire market in Saudi Arabia has been segmented into five categories, namely, passenger car, medium & heavy commercial vehicle, two-wheelers, off-the-road and light commercial vehicle. In 2015, passenger car segment dominated the country's tire market. According to the World Bank, the Gross National Income per capita of Saudi Arabia was USD23,550 in 2015. Moreover, the Government of Saudi Arabia banned the import of used vehicles over the age of 5 years in 2009. Backed by increasing purchasing power and favourable government policies, the passenger car segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance in the country's tire market over the next five years as well.

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"Eyeing robust demand for various vehicle types, some of the prominent tire suppliers such as Chinese, Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, Yokohama, Hankook, etc. are operating in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, due to its strategic location in the Middle East region, many companies use Saudi Arabia as a re-exporting hub. Tire imports from Asian countries such as Thailand, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, etc., dominates the Saudi Arabia tire market. Tire imports from the aforementioned countries accounts for more than 85% of the total tire imports in Saudi Arabia. Lower overheads and local raw material sources are the major reasons for tires being imported from these countries.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

"Saudi Arabia Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of Saudi Arabia tire market and provides statistics and information on market structure, market size, share, imports and trends of Saudi Arabia tire market. The report intends 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 Saudi Arabia tire market.

Browse Related Reports

Saudi Arabia Commercial Vehicles Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/saudi-arabia-commercial-vehicles-market-forecast-opportunities-2021/794.html

Saudi Arabia Construction Equipment Rental Market By Equipment Type (By Diesel Genset, Crane, Wheel Loader, Excavator, Bulldozer, Motor Grader and Telescopic Handler), Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/saudi-arabia-construction-equipment-rental-market-by-equipment-type-by-diesel-genset-crane-wheel-loader-excavator-bulldozer-motor-grader-and-telescopic-handler-competition-forecast-and-opportunities-2011-2021/653.html

Qatar Earthmoving Equipment Market By Type (Excavators, Loader, Motor Grader & Bulldozer), Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011-2021

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/qatar-earthmoving-equipment-market-by-type-excavators-loader-motor-grader-bulldozer-competition-forecast-opportunities-2011-2021/745.html

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Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recentglobal military load carriage systems marketreport. This research report also lists five other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

The growing number of military bases across the globe is a major driver of the market, as it would result in the increased development and deployment of military load carriage systems to augment the combat readiness of the armed troops.

The regional tensions in the Middle East (especially in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Turkey) and Eastern European countries (especially in Belarus, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and Ukraine) are driving the need for military load carriage systems.

Competitive vendor landscape

According to the report, in-house manufacturing capabilities, newer technologies, global footprint network, product offerings, R&D investments, and strong client base have become the key areas to have an edge over the competitors.

"The global military load carriage systems market is highly competitive, and vendors compete based on cost, product quality, reliability, and aftermarket service. It is crucial for the vendors to provide cost-effective and high-quality load carriage systems equipped with latest technologies to survive and succeed in an intensely competitive market environment," says Moutushi Saha, a lead defense analyst from Technavio.

The growth of the market vendors is dependent on the market conditions, government support, and industry development. Thus, the vendors should focus on expanding geographically and improving their products. The major vendors in the market compete in terms of quality, price, availability, and technology, against each other. They primarily focus on the implementation of lightweight materials, electric technologies, and robust systems.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=53264

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Top five military load carriage systems market vendors

Aegis Engineering

The company is a developer of some major military load carriage systems that are employed in the military forces, worldwide. The equipment, systems, and the body wear developed by the company are International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certified.

The company also initiated the Dyneema Anti Stab Technology program. Under the program, the company produces anti-stab vests, which can reduce the weight of the overall system, increase the comfort, and enhance the mobility of the soldiers.

BAE Systems

The company has been developing body armor, helmets, armor inserts, and load carriage equipment for the military forces, across the globe, for over 15 years. It also developed the MOLLE system, the next-generation XSAPI (which is similar to the ESAPI, with additional ballistic protection), and the ESBI and XSBI body armor inserts. It also develops and provides the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) and Releasable Body Armor Vest (RBAV), which are used by the US armed troops.

Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics began its operation as a spin-off from a US-based private research university, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It manufactures advanced robots with improved mobility, dexterity, agility, and speed. It uses sensor-based computation and control to enhance the capabilities of complex mechanisms.

The company developed quadruped robot, namely AlphaDog, for the US Army with funding received from the DARPA as a part of its Biorobotics Program initiated in 2002. In a recent announcement in January 2016, the US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory has put a hold on the further deployment of AlphaDog, citing concern regarding the excessive noise produced during its operation.

CQC

CQC provides integrated soldier systems for greater capability, lethality, and survivability of the armed troops.

The company developed the Osprey body armor system that is equipped with modular capability, allowing the dismounted troops to modify the system's configuration, according to the mission-specific needs. The body armor system is designed to provide flexibility in the weight distribution and in the integration of ballistic protection, without compromising on combat effectiveness. The company has delivered over 275,000 Osprey systems to the military forces, worldwide.

Lockheed Martin

The company developed exoskeleton technologies that can enhance the operational capabilities of the military forces and simultaneously improve the endurance and safety of the soldiers. These lightweight wearables are designed to increase the efficiency, effectivity, and productivity of the soldiers and prevent injuries.

The company developed the HULC for the US Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) that certified the use of the exoskeleton system. It evaluated its potential and concluded that it could reduce the chances of fatigue and strain for the soldiers who carry heavy bulk over long distances.

The other prominent vendors are:

ADS

Australian Defence Apparel

Honeywell

Pivotal Defense Solutions

Sarkar Defence Solutions

Browse Related Reports:

Global Military Infrastructure and Logistics Market 2016-2020

Global Military Mobile Computing Systems Market 2016-2020

Global Military Support Vehicles Market 2015-2019

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005236/en/

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www.technavio.com
OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

The Government of Canada values the role of post-secondary institutions as they help equip young Canadians with the education and training they need for future careers that will help them join a strong, healthy middle class. Today's $12.5-million investment at Sheridan College will do just that by fostering the training needed for the well-paying middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow.

The funding was announced today by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Amrit Mangat, MPP for Mississauga-Brampton South.

The Government of Canada's Innovation Agenda aims to make this country a global centre for innovation-one that creates jobs, drives growth across all industries and improves the lives of all Canadians. This investment exemplifies that vision in action.

Sheridan College will use the funding for its Partnering Across Boundaries project. The project focuses on strengthening academic and municipal collaboration on district energy, a centralized system of energy production that improves energy efficiency, allows for more flexible fuel options, and decreases life-cycle and building costs. Sheridan College is working on district energy systems at its Oakville and Brampton campuses, with the goal of demonstrating how its design and expertise can be used across Canada. Of the total project investment of $21.39 million, $9.88 million will be provided by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario will contribute $2.62 million and Sheridan College will provide $8.89 million.

In total, universities and colleges throughout Ontario will receive more than $1.9 billion from the Government of Canada, the provincial government, the institutions themselves and private donors. Federal funding will be allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.

As a result of these investments, students, professors and researchers will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country's best research. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will work in close proximity with partners to turn discoveries into products or services. In the process, they will train for-and invent-the high-value jobs of the future. And their discoveries will plant the seeds for the next generation of innovators.

That is how the Strategic Investment Fund will jump-start a virtuous circle of innovation, creating the right conditions for long-term growth that will yield benefits for generations to come.

Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province's history-about $160 billion over 12 years-which is supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province with projects such as hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit. Since 2015, the Province has announced support for more than 475 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life. To learn more about infrastructure projects in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Quotes

"This once-in-a-generation investment by the Government of Canada is a historic down payment on the government's vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation. That means making Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into middle-class jobs and start-up companies into global successes. This investment will create conditions that are conducive to innovation and long-term growth, which will in turn keep the Canadian economy globally competitive."

- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"This investment will support an innovative demonstration project that will position Sheridan College as a leader in environmental stewardship. This more efficient way to heat and cool buildings not only will be more cost effective and cleaner but will also demonstrate state-of-the-art design principles that can be used across the country."

- John Oliver, Member of Parliament for Oakville

"Through strategic investments like this one, the Government of Canada is promoting energy innovation that is crucial to moving Brampton forward. I am proud to see Sheridan College continuing to build a stronger, more innovative future in partnership with students, the community and our government. I am proud to support projects that create economic growth and build Brampton up."

- Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South

"Our government is proud to support this important project, which will give Sheridan College students access to renewed and upgraded facilities with district energy and combined heat and power systems. We know that providing access to high-quality education and training facilities is critical to building the highly skilled workforce we need to support good jobs and economic growth for today and tomorrow, and this investment will help us to do it."

- Amrit Mangat, MPP for Mississauga-Brampton South

"The Partnering Across Boundaries project evolved from our award-winning Integrated Energy and Climate Master Plan, which aims to reduce energy and carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2020. With this funding, we will work with our local municipalities to share our district energy expertise and develop a model for academic-municipal collaboration that can be shared nationwide."

- Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, President and Vice-Chancellor, Sheridan College

Quick facts

-- The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario are providing more than $950 million for research infrastructure at institutions across Ontario. Sheridan College has been awarded $9.88 million by the Government of Canada for this project. -- The Government of Canada's recently launched Innovation Agenda is designed to ensure Canada is globally competitive in promoting research, translating ideas into new products and services, accelerating business growth and propelling entrepreneurs from the start-up phase to international success. -- The targeted, short-term investments under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund will promote economic activity across Canada and help Canada's universities and colleges develop highly skilled workers, act as engines of discovery, and collaborate on innovations that help Canadian companies compete and grow internationally. -- The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund supports the Government of Canada's climate change objectives by encouraging sustainable and green infrastructure projects.

Associated links

Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund website

Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund backgrounder

Innovation Agenda backgrounder

BuildON

Follow Minister Bains on social media.

Twitter: @MinisterISED

Contacts:

Philip Proulx

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Innovation,

Science and Economic Development

343-291-2500



Media Relations

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

343-291-1777

ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca



Allison Buchan-Terrell

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Advanced Education

and Skills Development

416-314-5475



Tanya Blazina

Communications Branch

Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development

416-325-2746

Tanya.Blazina@ontario.ca




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A sizable portion of Republicans say they wished Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence was the GOP candidate for US presidency. In a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll held among 1,989 registered voters after Tuesday's Vice Presidential debate, 32 percent of Republican supporters said they would rather cast their vote for Pence than for Trump. On the other side, Democratic supporters remain staunchly behind Hillary Clinton. To a question, who would you vote for President, 84 percent of Democratic supporters preferred the former Secretary of State over her running mate Tim Kaine. Pence was generally rated as the clear winner in the only VP debate, which was held in Farmville, Virginia. And in the poll, independents thought Pence beat Kaine in the debate by a 33 percent to 14 percent margin. Voters were also asked to choose their top pick for President in the next election, which is due in 2020. Among Republicans, Pence was the most popular first choice at 22 percent, followed by Trump and Ryan at 13 percent each. For Democrats, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is the favorite for 2020 election. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade, announced today that the Government of Canada has secured expanded market access for Canadian beef and beef products of all ages to Mexico, consistent with recommendations from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The expanded access will allow for open trade in beef, and beef products throughout North America.

The announcement comes as Minister MacAulay wraps-up his first official visit to Mexico where he met with Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Jose Calzada to build on the two countries' long standing partnership in agricultural trade. They discussed areas of opportunity to increase the competitiveness of their agricultural sectors. Minister MacAulay also provided opening remarks at the Canada Beef Inc. Gala Dinner where he promoted the Canada Beef brand by emphasizing Canada's safe, high-quality and sustainably produced beef.

Quick Facts

-- Canadian industry has projected that the value of this expanded access for beef to Mexico will result in incremental sales valued at $10 million annually and that total annual sales of beef to Mexico could eventually exceed $200 million. -- Fresh, boneless beef is Canada's third-highest grossing export to Mexico. -- Canada and Mexico have a strong and complementary trading relationship with approximately $3.5 billion in annual bilateral trade in agriculture and food products. -- Canada and Mexico have over 70 years of diplomatic relations and more than 20 years of partnership through the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Quotes

"Canada is pleased with Mexico's commitment to restore access for Canadian beef. It is an important milestone which underscores the strength of our bilateral agricultural trade relationship with Mexico. This expanded access, based on sound scientific principles, will create new opportunities to export even more high-quality Canadian beef to Mexico while putting more money in the pockets of farmers and help grow the middle class."

- Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"Mexico is an essential market for our farmers, and when they export more, Canadians and our middle class benefit. Canada is extremely pleased the Mexican market is open to more Canadian beef and beef products. This increased access is a testament to the stronger economic relationship between our two countries and I look forward to building on this success with Mexico."

- Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P., Minister of International Trade

"Mexico has consistently been a top tier destination for the export of Canadian beef products. I am very pleased it was possible for the Canadian government to complete on schedule the technical negotiations that were required for the full resumption of normalized trade. Each enhancement in export market access leads to increased value for the Canadian livestock and meat sector."

- Joe Reda, Canadian Meat Council President

Additional links

- Agriculture at a Glance - Mexico

- Fact Sheet - Mexico

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada

Like us on Facebook: CanadianAgriculture

Global Affairs Canada

Follow us on Twitter: @CanadaTrade

Like us on Facebook: Canada's international trade - Global Affairs Canada

Contacts:

Guy Gallant

Director of Communications

Office of the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay

613-773-1059



Media Relations

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Ottawa, Ontario

613-773-7972

1-866-345-7972



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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Thursday the Donald Trump Campaign released a new television ad entitled 'Consumer Benefit,' which highlights the GOP nominee's comprehensive plan to lower childcare expenses, cut taxes and create jobs. The ad will air nationally and will be rotated into battleground states, the Campaign said. It says, as per Trump's Tax Plan, the top tax rate for someone earning $60,000 will go from 15 percent to 12 percent - a 20 percent tax rate reduction, enabling middle-class families to keep more of their hard-earned money. The Trump Plan will lower the business tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, and eliminate the corporate alternative minimum tax. In the ad, Trump promises paid maternity leave for working moms, and an average $5,000 child care tax reduction. Dr. Terry Neese, Founder of Terry Neese Personnel, said the majority of small business owners like him support Trump because he is the only candidate who has provided a substantial policy platform that creates jobs, cuts taxes and puts the economic well-being of Americans first. 'While his opponent has spent her career advocating for job-killing policies like Obamacare, Mr. Trump has been busy creating jobs and putting forth a clear vision for American success,' he said in a statement. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Northquest Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: NQ)(FRANKFURT: N3Q) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has granted its final order approving the previously announced statutory plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), whereby Nord Gold SE ("Nordgold") will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of the Company (the "Shares") that it did not already own. At a special meeting held on September 28, 2016, the Arrangement was approved by the shareholders of the Company. It is expected that the Arrangement will be completed in the coming days.

In April 2016, Nordgold commenced its offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Northquest that it does not own, which expired on 29 June 2016. Nordgold currently owns 108,789,852 Northquest common shares, representing approximately 97.57% of the issued and outstanding Northquest shares.

Under the terms of the Arrangement, each holder of the Shares will receive $0.26 in cash per Share, and all of the outstanding warrants to purchase Shares (the "Warrants") will be transferred to the Company for $0.10 in cash per Warrant.

To receive consideration under the Arrangement, each holder of the Shares must properly complete the letter of transmittal (the "Letter of Transmittal") which accompanied the management information circular dated August 30, 2016 (the "Circular") and deposit it with Computershare Investors Services Inc. in accordance with the terms and provisions set out in the Circular. Complete instructions for such deposit are set out in the Circular and the Letter of Transmittal. The Circular and a copy of the Letter of Transmittal are available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Holders of the Warrants are not required to complete and return the Letter of Transmittal to receive the consideration payable under the Arrangement for their Warrants, which consideration will be paid automatically.

In connection with the Arrangement, the Company will apply to delist the Shares from the TSX Venture Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as soon as possible, and to cease to be a reporting issuer in the relevant Canadian jurisdictions following the completion of the Arrangement.

About Northquest Ltd.:

Northquest is a Toronto based gold explorer which owns the Pistol Bay project in eastern Nunavut territory, Canada. The Pistol Bay property consists of 860 square kilometers of mineral rights within the underexplored Rankin-Ennadai greenstone belt. Within Arctic Canada, the project is favourably located with relatively easy access and existing infrastructure. For further information, please visit www.northquest.biz.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. In some cases forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the anticipated timing for the completion of the Arrangement and the anticipated timing for the delisting of the Shares, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Contacts:

Northquest Ltd.

Igor Klimanov

Director and Chief Executive Officer

Tel.: (416) 306-0954




Technavio has announced the top nine leading vendors in their recentglobal military mobile computing systems marketreport. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the market, market shares and growth opportunities by systems (radio, computers, personal computer [PC] or laptops, and smart devices), and growth prospects by region (the Americas, EMEA, and APAC).

Military mobile computing systems include electronic systems and devices that are used for the transmission of real-time data and reception of video, voice, and data signals essential in defense operations. The facilitation of communication has become an effective means for defense authorities to enhance the capabilities of their units in harsh environments. Also, the defense industry is embracing new mobile computing system technologies and shifting to a new generation of sophisticated systems that enable faster, secure, cost-effective, and more flexible communication.

The Americas was the largest segment of the global military mobile computing systems market in 2015, accounting for a share of 49.17%, followed by EMEA with a share of 29.72%, and APAC with a share of 21.11%.

Competitive vendor landscape

Manufacturers of ruggedized computers hold strong support from military systems designers. However, strong competition in the market has motivated manufacturers to keep up with the rapidly changing evolution of COTS components, while customizing their computers to match specific demands for cost, weight, power, and ruggedness.

"BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins are the two leading vendors in the market. Their focus is primarily on the implementation of lightweight materials, more electric technologies, and robust systems," says Moutushi Saha, a lead defense analyst from Technavio.

Mergers and acquisitions, along with increased collaboration with alliance partners around the world, would drive the global military communication market during the forecast period. In 2015, Data Link Solutions (DLS) was formed, as a result of the joint venture (JV) of BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins to provide support to the military assets globally. The JV would enhance the company's position in the market and enable direct access to the local customers.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=52087

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Top nine military mobile computing systems market vendors

BAE Systems

BAE Systems designs and manufactures military computers and display systems that offer broad and advanced capabilities. It also provides mission computing products and application-ready systems that provide flexibility as well as hardware and software reuse for a wide variety of military platforms with maximum use of COTS hardware. The company develops rugged mission computers as a part of Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA).

General Dynamics

The information systems and technology business group of General Dynamics provides technologies, products, and services in support of various programs for a wide range of military customers. This group portfolio consists of IT solutions and mission support services, and mobile communication, command-and-control mission systems, and ISR solutions.

Harris

The company through its tactical communications systems business division, manufactures secure radio communications, tactical communication networks, and embedded high-grade encryption solutions for the US and ally military forces. It has developed a family of software-defined tactical radio systems, namely Falcon, that covers manpack, handheld, and soldier-worn vehicular capabilities. Harris has also introduced a next-generation multiband manpack radio systems, namely Falcon III, which can integrate the wideband networking capabilities in the modern battlefield.

Rockwell Collins

Rockwell Collins designs, manufactures, and supplies navigation and communications systems for both defense and commercial applications. Its product offerings include HF and very high frequency (VHF) software-defined radios, satellite communication systems, radio navigation, GPS equipment, hand-held navigation devices, and multi-mode receivers.

Thales Group

Thales Group has been developing and supplying communications solutions for armed forces since last 70 years. It designs and integrates radio systems for a wide array of platforms, including dismounted infantry, armored vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and naval vessels. It supplies tactical network solutions to over 40 countries across the globe.

Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems develops, manufactures, and integrates advanced, high-performance defense electronic and electro-optic systems and a wide range of defense-related airborne, land, naval, and C4I programs. As of December 2015, the company had 12,134 employees globally.

L-3 Communications

L-3 Communications provides C3ISR systems, avionics, navigation products, and display systems. As of December 2015, the company had 38,000 employees. It reported net revenue of USD 10.99 billion in FY2014 and USD 10.47 billion in FY2015.

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman provides systems, products, and solutions focusing on aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to the government and commercial customers across the globe. As of December 2015, the company had 65,000 employees. It reported net revenue of USD 23.98 billion in FY2014 and USD 23.53 billion in FY2015.

Raytheon

Raytheon provides modern electronics, mission systems integration, and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Land Mobile Radio Market 2016-2020

Global Amphibious Assault Vehicle Market 2016-2020

Global Professional Mobile Radio Market 2016-2020

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005240/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Nearly 40 retailers have promised to keep their stores shut on Thanksgiving day, in order to allow their employees to celebrate the holiday with their families. It is only in recent years that retailers started the trend of shopping on Thanksgiving Day ahead of Black Friday, however, many have criticized it to be unfair as employees of retail stores will have to be away from family and friends on the holiday. Bestblackfriday.com, a website that tracks holiday shopping deals and news, has provided a detailed list of the retailers that will be closed on Thanksgiving day, which includes American Girl, AT&T, Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco, GameStop, Home Depot, IKEA, PetSmart among others. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- BWR Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE: BWR) ("BWR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a definitive acquisition agreement, whereby BWR can acquire 100% interest in the Little Stull Lake Gold project in Northern Manitoba from Puma Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE: PUM) ("Puma"). The closing is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture exchange.

Definitive Agreement

The main elements of the definitive agreement include:

-- Cash payments of $150,000 to Puma; the first $50,000 was paid upon signing the LOI on July 11, 2016, there are two additional milestone payments of $50,000 each, payable within 30 days of Edmund Lake and Kistigan Mineral Exploration Licenses being granted and transferred to BWR by Manitoba Department of Natural Resources. -- Puma will receive up to 10 million BWR common shares, of which 4,750,000 are subject to escrow provisions. 4,750,000 of the first 5,000,000 securities will be delivered to Puma upon execution and approval of the definitive agreement to be released in increments over a 36-month period, 250,000 shares will similarly be delivered as directed by Puma to a finder. The additional 5,000,000 additional securities are to be delivered to Puma as directed by Puma, upon certain exploration and development milestones being met by BWR over the next several years as follows: -- 1 million shares to be issued once 500,000 ounces of gold have been identified in the measured and indicated category; -- 1 million additional shares to be issued once 1,000,000 ounces of gold have been identified in the measured and indicated category; -- 1 million additional shares to be issued once a positive preliminary economic analysis has been prepared; -- 2 million additional shares to be issued upon delivery of positive feasibility study Notwithstanding the above, with respect to the additional 5,000,000 securities, BWR must expend $1.5 million in exploration within the first 36 months of the effective date. Failure on the part of BWR to do so will result in the additional 5,000,000 securities being issued to Puma in accordance with provisions of the escrow agreement. -- Puma has nominated Marcel Robillard to be their representative on the BWR Board of Directors as part of the agreement. BWR has agreed to add Mr. Robillard to its' Board of Directors upon closing of the agreement. -- Puma will have the right to maintain its' pro rata equity interest in BWR by investing in future financings of BWR for as long as it maintains greater than 10% equity. The pro rata equity interest calculation is as if Puma has received all 9.75 million shares. -- If commercial production is attained at the Little Stull Lake Project, Puma retains a non-buyable 1% NSR. -- BWR has assumed Puma's right of first refusal regarding an underlying 1% net smelter royalty that is payable to Tanqueray Resources Inc. ("Tanqueray"). This underlying royalty is buyable in its entirety at anytime for $3 million by BWR, Tanqueray has consented to this assignment.

The Little Stull Lake Gold Project

The Little Stull Lake Gold project consists of 20 staked mining claims covering approximately 2,387 hectares that cover the main exploration sites for the project. The staked claims were originally staked in 1984 and have applied assessment credits making them valid until 2025. The 20 claims are surrounded by the Kistigan Mineral Exploration License (M.E.L. 1026A) application covering an area of approximately 15,640 hectares. The western extension of the project is covered by the Edmund Mineral Exploration License (M.E.L. 426A) application covering an area of approximately 20,308 hectares. The Little Stull Lake Project covers exploration rights over a total of 38,335 hectares (approximately 384 square kilometers), including the 20 claims and the two Mineral Exploration Licenses.

Historical results on Project

Historical drilling has been carried out in three drill campaigns, initially by Westmin Resources Inc. in the period 1984 to 1990 when 202 drill-holes were completed totalling 34,498 meters, followed by Wolfden Resources Inc. drilling 7 holes in 2000 totalling 1,423 meters, followed by Puma Exploration drilling 10 holes in 2007 totalling 1,500 meters. These 219 drill holes represent an aggregate of 37,421 metres, the analysis of which resulted in the delineation of five separate zones of gold mineralization along a 6.2 kilometre geological structure. Most of the drilling focussed on the West Zone reported by Westmin in 1991, to contain a potential resource estimate of 750,000 tons averaging 10.5 g/t Au as recorded in Open file 90-2 by Manitoba Department of Energy and Mines (p 58), also reported in Canadian Intergovernmental Working Group on Mineral Industry, in 2008. The Westmin resource estimate is considered historical in nature and was done prior to the implementation of NI 43-101 reporting requirements and adoption of CIM Guidelines for Estimation of Mineral Resources and Reserves, however the reported resource estimate is considered relevant as it has been used as reference to the gold potential of the region in various technical reports about the area by government agencies. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify this historical estimate and the Company is not treating this historical estimate as a current mineral resource estimate.

Recent activity in Project area

Most notably, in June, 2015 Yamana Gold acquired Mega Precious Metals, in a share transaction valued at an estimated $17.5 million. As a result of this corporate takeover, Yamana now holds title to the Monument Bay Gold Deposit, that is located approximately 20 km southwest of BWR's Little Stull Lake Gold Project. The Little Stull Lake mineralized gold zones lie in a similar geological environment to those on the Monument Bay property. Recent news by Yamana includes an update press release on September 6, 2016 where they report an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.787 million ounces of gold contained in 36.58 million tonnes at a grade of 1.52 g/t Au and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.781 million ounces of gold contained in 41.97 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.32 g/t Au. The mineralization hosted on the Monument Bay property is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization, if any, hosted on the Company's property.

"BWR is excited about this new exploration and development opportunity acquired from Puma Exploration. Our Board of Directors is looking forward to working with Marcel Robillard of Puma over the next several years as the Little Stull Lake Gold Project matures from an attractive exploration project into what BWR hopes to be a development project. Puma will continue focussing their exploration efforts on their base metal assets in New Brunswick while BWR focuses on this exciting gold project." notes Neil Novak, President and CEO of BWR Exploration Inc.

BWR is a public company (TSX VENTURE: BWR) focused on exploring early stage projects for base and precious metals, with three exploration projects in Northern Ontario, and more recently one in Northern Quebec, Canada. Management of BWR includes an accomplished group of exploration/mining specialists with many decades of operational experience in the junior resource sector. There are currently 39,191,961 shares issued in BWR prior to this transaction.

The contents of this press release were prepared by Neil D. Novak, P.Geo., a Qualified Person; Patrick Chance, M.Sc., P.Eng. has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release in the capacity of Independent Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 reporting guidelines.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BWR Exploration Inc. to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made, except as required by law. BWR Exploration Inc. undertakes no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include: the uncertainty of completing the acquisition of the project from Puma at all as the final acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, or on the terms described in this press release, or that actual results obtained by BWR in the future may differ materially from the historical results described in this press release, which historical results have not been verified by BWR. In addition, readers of this press release should review the risks and uncertainties that are described in the quarterly and annual reports and in the documents submitted to the securities administration. Neither the Toronto 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.

BWR's website is currently being updated to include information about the new project and will be launched over the next few weeks.

Contacts:

BWR Exploration Inc.

Neil Novak, P.Geo.

President, CEO & Director

416-848-6866

nnovak@blackwidowresources.com




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Benefiting from an increase in support among independent voters, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has pulled out to a five-point lead over Republican rival Donald Trump in a new Quinnipiac University national poll released on Friday. The poll found that 45 percent of likely voters support Clinton, while 40 percent back Trump. Libertarian Gary Johnson comes in a distant third at 6 percent, and just 3 percent favor Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The latest results compare to a poll conducted last month showing the race as too-close-to-call, with Clinton at 44 percent, Trump at 43 percent, Johnson at 8 percent and Stein at 2 percent. The wider lead for Clinton reflects a shift among independent voters, as the former Secretary of State leads by 46 percent to 32 percent among independents in the latest poll compared to 42 percent to 35 percent last month. Clinton also benefits from a 20-point lead among women and an even more substantial 45-point advantage among non-white voters. 'Post-debate, Hillary Clinton checks all the boxes,' said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. 'With her base of women and non-white voters now solidly behind her and independent voters moving into her column, Donald Trump gets a wake-up call.' The Quinnipiac survey of 1,064 likely voters was conducted October 5th and 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
RIMOUSKI, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- This press release is to announce that Puma Exploration (TSX VENTURE: PUM)(SSE: PUMA) has executed a definitive sale agreement, whereby BWR can acquire 100% interest in the Little Stull Lake Gold project in Northern Manitoba from Puma Exploration Inc. ("Puma"). The closing is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture exchange.

Definitive Agreement

The main elements of the definitive agreement include:

-- Cash payments of $150,000 to Puma; the first $50,000 was paid upon signing the LOI on July 11, 2016, there are two additional milestone payments of $50,000 each, payable within 30 days of Edmund Lake and Kistigan Mineral Exploration Licenses being granted and transferred to BWR by Manitoba Department of Natural Resources. -- Puma will receive up to 10 million BWR common shares, of which 4,750,000 are subject to escrow provisions. 4,750,000 of the first 5,000,000 securities will be delivered to Puma upon execution and approval of the definitive agreement to be released in increments over a 36-month period, 250,000 shares will similarly be delivered as directed by Puma to a finder. The additional 5,000,000 additional securities are to be delivered to Puma as directed by Puma, upon certain exploration and development milestones being met by BWR over the next several years as follows: -- 1 million shares to be issued once 500,000 ounces of gold have been identified in the measured and indicated category; -- 1 million additional shares to be issued once 1,000,000 ounces of gold have been identified in the measured and indicated category; -- 1 million additional shares to be issued once a positive preliminary economic analysis has been prepared; -- 2 million additional shares to be issued upon delivery of positive feasibility study.

Notwithstanding the above, with respect to the additional 5,000,000 securities, BWR must expend $1.5 million in exploration within the first 36 months of the effective date. Failure on the part of BWR to do so will result in the additional 5,000,000 securities being issued to Puma in accordance with provisions of the escrow agreement.

-- Puma has nominated Marcel Robillard to be their representative on the BWR Board of Directors as part of the agreement. BWR has agreed to add Mr. Robillard to its' Board of Directors upon closing of the agreement. -- Puma will have the right to maintain its' pro rata equity interest in BWR by investing in future financings of BWR for as long as it maintains greater than 10% equity. The pro rata equity interest calculation is as if Puma has received all 9.75 million shares. -- If commercial production is attained at the Little Stull Lake Project, Puma retains a non-buyable 1% NSR. -- BWR has assumed Puma's right of first refusal regarding an underlying 1% net smelter royalty that is payable to Tanqueray Resources Inc. ("Tanqueray"). This underlying royalty is buyable in its entirety at anytime for $3 million by BWR, Tanqueray has consented to this assignment.

The Little Stull Lake Gold Project

The Little Stull Lake Gold project consists of 20 staked mining claims covering approximately 2,387 hectares that cover the main exploration sites for the project. The staked claims were originally staked in 1984 and have applied assessment credits making them valid until 2025. The 20 claims are surrounded by the Kistigan Mineral Exploration License (M.E.L. 1026A) application covering an area of approximately 15,640 hectares. The western extension of the project is covered by the Edmund Mineral Exploration License (M.E.L. 426A) application covering an area of approximately 20,308 hectares. The Little Stull Lake Project covers exploration rights over a total of 38,335 hectares (approximately 384 square kilometers), including the 20 claims and the two Mineral Exploration Licenses.

Historical results on Project

Historical drilling has been carried out in three drill campaigns, initially by Westmin Resources Inc. in the period 1984 to 1990 when 202 drill-holes were completed totalling 34,498 meters, followed by Wolfden Resources Inc. drilling 7 holes in 2000 totalling 1,423 meters, followed by Puma Exploration drilling 10 holes in 2007 totalling 1,500 meters. These 219 drill holes represent an aggregate of 37,421 metres, the analysis of which resulted in the delineation of five separate zones of gold mineralization along a 6.2 kilometre geological structure. Most of the drilling focussed on the West Zone reported by Westmin in 1991, to contain a potential resource estimate of 750,000 tons averaging 10.5 g/t Au as recorded in Open file 90-2 by Manitoba Department of Energy and Mines (p 58), also reported in Canadian Intergovernmental Working Group on Mineral Industry, in 2008. The Westmin resource estimate is considered historical in nature and was done prior to the implementation of NI 43-101 reporting requirements and adoption of CIM Guidelines for Estimation of Mineral Resources and Reserves, however the reported resource estimate is considered relevant as it has been used as reference to the gold potential of the region in various technical reports about the area by government agencies. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify this historical estimate and the Company is not treating this historical estimate as a current mineral resource estimate.

Recent activity in Project area

Most notably, in June, 2015 Yamana Gold (TSX: YRI) acquired Mega Precious Metals (TSX VENTURE: MGP), in a share transaction valued at an estimated $17.5 million. As a result of this corporate takeover, Yamana now holds title to the Monument Bay Gold Deposit, that is located approximately 20 km southwest of BWR's Little Stull Lake Gold Project. The Little Stull Lake mineralized gold zones lie in a similar geological environment to those on the Monument Bay property. Recent news by Yamana includes an update press release on September 6, 2016 where they report an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.787 million ounces of gold contained in 36.58 million tonnes at a grade of 1.52 g/t Au and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.781 million ounces of gold contained in 41.97 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.32 g/t Au. The mineralization hosted on the Monument Bay property is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization, if any, hosted on the Company's property.

"BWR is excited about this new exploration and development opportunity acquired from Puma Exploration. Our Board of Directors is looking forward to working with Marcel Robillard of Puma over the next several years as the Little Stull Lake Gold Project matures from an attractive exploration project into what BWR hopes to be a development project. Puma will continue focussing their exploration efforts on their base metal assets in New Brunswick while BWR focuses on this exciting gold project." notes Neil Novak, President and CEO of BWR Exploration Inc.

BWR is a public company (TSX VENTURE: BWR) focused on exploring early stage projects for base and precious metals, with three exploration projects in Northern Ontario, and more recently one in Northern Quebec, Canada. Management of BWR includes an accomplished group of exploration/mining specialists with many decades of operational experience in the junior resource sector. There are currently 39,191,961 shares issued in BWR prior to this transaction.

The contents of this press release were prepared by Dominique Gagne, PGeo, a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. The samples were analyzed at the ALS Chemex laboratory in Val d'Or using the atomic absorption and ICP methods. There is not enough drilling data presently available to determine the shape and true width of the mineralized zone. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BWR Exploration Inc. to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made, except as required by law. BWR Exploration Inc. undertakes no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include: the uncertainty of completing the acquisition of the project from Puma at all as the final acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, or on the terms described in this press release, or that actual results obtained by BWR in the future may differ materially from the historical results described in this press release, which historical results have not been verified by BWR. In addition, readers of this press release should review the risks and uncertainties that are described in the quarterly and annual reports and in the documents submitted to the securities administration. Neither the Toronto 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.

About Puma Exploration

Puma Exploration is a Canadian mineral exploration company with advanced precious and base metals projects in Canada. The Company's major assets are the Turgeon Zinc-Copper Project and the Nicholas-Denys Project in New Brunswick and their equity interest in BWR as related to the Little Stull Lake Gold Project in Manitoba. Puma is focusing its exploration efforts in New Brunswick. Canada.

You can visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more by clicking here: www.pumaexploration.com

The contents of this press release were prepared by Dominique Gagne. PGeo. a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. The samples were analyzed at the ALS Chemex laboratory in Val d'Or using the atomic absorption and ICP methods. There is not enough drilling data presently available to determine the shape and true width of the mineralized zone. 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.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks. uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results. performance or achievements of Puma Exploration Inc. to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made. except as required by law. Puma Exploration undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the quarterly and annual reports and in the documents submitted to the securities administration.

Contacts:

Marcel Robillard

President

(418) 724-0901

Toll free: (800) 321-8564

president@explorationpuma.com




Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors in their recentglobal travel irons marketreport. This research report also lists nine other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

Travel irons are mostly used by business professionals. However, with increasing consciousness of consumers about dressing even during leisure travel, the sales of these portable, lightweight irons will likely increase during the forecast period.

As irons comprise a part of the very basic appliances, there is not much innovation taking place on this front, globally. However, in order to increase the sales of travel irons and further entice consumers, players are introducing various features such as convertible wings, dual voltage, and compact nonstick soleplates.

Competitive vendor landscape

The global travel irons market is moderately competitive with the presence of numerous leading conventional iron brands presenting a wide variety of models. Companies compete against each other in terms of quality, technology, and pricing. Therefore, to survive and succeed in this stiff competitive environment, it is imperative for vendors to distinguish their product offerings by incorporating innovations and stay abreast of emerging technologies that have a bearing on their product lines.

"Providing low-price options is one of the strategies that the players of small domestic appliances like travel irons are focusing on. Players operating in this space are also focusing on offering innovative features for consumers looking to upgrade their existing travel iron models," says Poonam Saini, a lead retail goods and services analyst from Technavio.

A rise in the prevalence of Omni channel retailing can be seen in the market, as players realize the vital role of this channel in ensuring the maximum visibility of products. Omni-channel retailing uses a mix of distribution channels like retail stores and online stores for enhancing customer engagement. Key players like Koninklijke Philips and Sunbeam Products are focusing on omni channel retailing for selling their products.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=52969

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Top six travel irons market vendors

Conair

Conair develops, manufactures, and markets personal grooming, bath and spa, hair care, health and wellness, garment and home care, oral care, and travel products.

It serves customers through its online retailers and online stores in the US, Mexico, Spain, and Brazil. It has distribution centers in Phoenix, Arizona and East Windsor, New Jersey, US. The company's manufacturing facility is located in Rantoul, Illinois, US.

Koninklijke Philips

Koninklijke Philips engages in healthcare, consumer lifestyle, and lighting businesses worldwide. In FY2015, the company reported a revenue of $26.9 billion. In the same financial year, the company reported a revenue of $3.06 billion through its domestic appliances category.

The company is focusing on entering into new agreements and contracts, which will create ample growth opportunities by strengthening its revenue sources. In April 2015, the company entered into a partnership agreement with Al-Araby Group for the launch of its first steam iron production line in Egypt. Such agreements and contracts enable the company to acquire new customer bases.

NACCO Industries

NACCO Industries offers diversified products that enhance its brand value. It offers premium household appliances under the Hamilton Beach brand and low-priced appliances under the Proctor Silex brand. It also licensed the Jamba brand for its line of blenders and juicing products. Such diversified brand portfolio helps the company to enhance its brand value.

Panasonic

Panasonic offers various products that improve its brand value. It sells its products through dealers and distributors across the world. It also sells its products through e-commerce websites. Such diversified distribution channels enable the company to leverage its position in the market.

Rowenta

Rowenta operates as a subsidiary of Groupe SEB, and therefore can gain support from its parent company's well-established business operations and distribution channels. Groupe SEB sells its products in 150 countries. It operates in most major as well as emerging geographical markets. Through its parent company, Rowenta can gain low outsourcing costs and can acquire businesses or assets to expand its business. Such initiatives will aid in increasing the share of the company in the market.

Sunbeam Products

Sunbeam Products markets and sells its products in the US, Latin America, EMEA, Canada, and APAC markets. It sells its products through sales representatives, dealers, direct sales, authorized dealers, and education sales. It has sales offices in 20 countries. Such strong network enables the company to sell its products in various countries.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Travel Insurance Market 2016-2020

Global Travel Duffel Bags Market 2016-2020

Global Baby Travel Bags Market 2015-2019

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005712/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pembina Pipeline Corporation ("Pembina" or the "Company") (TSX: PPL; NYSE: PBA) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a common share cash dividend for October 2016 of $0.16 per share to be paid, subject to applicable law, on November 15, 2016 to shareholders of record on October 25, 2016.

For shareholders receiving their common share dividends in U.S. funds, the October 2016 cash dividend is expected to be approximately U.S. $0.1211 per share (before deduction of any applicable Canadian withholding tax) based on a currency exchange rate of 0.7568. The actual U.S. dollar dividend will depend on the Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate on the payment date and will be subject to applicable withholding taxes.

Pembina's Board of Directors also declared quarterly dividends for the Company's preferred shares, Series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 Preferred Shares. All preferred share dividends are payable on December 1, 2016 to shareholders of record on November 1, 2016.

Series Dividend Amount Preferred Shares, Series 1 (PPL.PR.A) $0.265625 Preferred Shares, Series 3 (PPL.PR.C) $0.29375 Preferred Shares, Series 5 (PPL.PR.E) $0.3125 Preferred Shares, Series 7 (PPL.PR.G) $0.28125 Preferred Shares, Series 9 (PPL.PR.I) $0.296875 Preferred Shares, Series 11 (PPL.PR.K) $0.359375 Preferred Shares, Series 13 (PPL.PR.M) $0.359375

These dividends are designated "eligible dividends" for Canadian income tax purposes. For non-resident shareholders, Pembina's common share dividends should be considered "qualified dividends" and may be subject to Canadian withholding tax.

Confirmation of Record and Payment Date Policy

Pembina pays cash dividends on its common shares in Canadian dollars on a monthly basis to shareholders of record on the 25th calendar day of each month (except for the December record date, which is December 31st), if, as and when determined by the Board of Directors. Should the record date fall on a weekend or a statutory holiday, the effective record date will be the previous business day. The dividend payment date is the 15th of the month following the record date. Should the payment date fall on a weekend or on a holiday the business day prior to the weekend or holiday becomes the payment date. Dividends on the preferred shares are payable on the 1st day of March, June, September and December in each year, if, as and when declared by the Board of Directors. Should the record date or payment date fall on a weekend or holiday, the business day prior to the weekend or holiday becomes the record or payment date, as applicable.

Third Quarter Conference Call and Webcast

Pembina will release its third quarter 2016 results on Thursday, November 3, 2016 after markets close. A conference call and webcast have been scheduled for Friday, November 4, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. MT (10:00 a.m. ET) for interested investors, analysts, brokers and media representatives.

The conference call dial-in numbers for Canada and the U.S. are 647-427-7450 or 888-231-8191. A recording of the conference call will be available for replay until November 11, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. ET. To access the replay, please dial either 416-849-0833 or 855-859-2056 and enter the password 92805628.

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed on Pembina's website at www.pembina.com under Investor Centre, Presentation & Events, or by entering: http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1102324&s=1&k=B668FDE0C802236008BA502A98896DE9 in your web browser. Shortly after the call, an audio archive will be posted on the website for a minimum of 90 days.

About Pembina

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America's energy industry for over 60 years. Pembina owns and operates an integrated system of pipelines that transport various products derived from natural gas and hydrocarbon liquids produced primarily in western Canada. The Company also owns and operates gas gathering and processing facilities and an oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics business. Pembina's integrated assets and commercial operations along the majority of the hydrocarbon value chain allow it to offer a full spectrum of midstream and marketing services to the energy sector. Pembina is committed to working with its community and aboriginal neighbours, while providing value for investors in a safe, environmentally responsible manner. This balanced approach to operating ensures the trust Pembina builds among all of its stakeholders is sustainable over the long-term. Pembina's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under PPL and PBA, respectively. For more information, visit www.pembina.com.

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements that are based on Pembina's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In this news release, such forward-looking information and statements can be identified by terminology such as "to be", "expects", and similar expressions.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to: future dividends which may be declared on Pembina's common shares and preferred shares, the dividend payment and the tax treatment thereof. These forward-looking statements are being made by Pembina based on certain assumptions that Pembina has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release, regarding, among other things: oil and gas industry exploration and development activity levels; the success of Pembina's operations and growth projects; prevailing commodity prices, margins, volumes and exchange rates; that Pembina's future results of operations will be consistent with past performance and management expectations in relation thereto; the continued availability of capital at attractive prices to fund future capital requirements relating to existing assets and projects, including but not limited to future capital expenditures relating to expansion, upgrades and maintenance shutdowns; the success of growth projects; future operating costs; that any third party projects relating to Pembina's growth projects will be sanctioned and completed as expected; that any required commercial agreements can be reached; that all required regulatory and environmental approvals can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner; that counterparties to material agreements will continue to perform in a timely manner; that there are no unforeseen events preventing the performance of contracts; and that there are no unforeseen material construction, integrity or other costs related to current growth projects or current operations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: the regulatory environment and decisions; non-performance of agreements in accordance with their terms; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; reliance on key industry partners, alliances and agreements; the strength and operations of the oil and natural gas production industry and related commodity prices; the continuation or completion of third-party projects; actions by governmental or regulatory authorities including changes in tax laws and treatment, changes in royalty rates or increased environmental regulation; adverse general economic and market conditions in Canada, North America and elsewhere; fluctuations in operating results; construction delays; labour and material shortages; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Pembina's public disclosure documents including, among other things, those detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Pembina's management's discussion and analysis and annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2015, which can be found at www.sedar.com.

Accordingly, readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. Such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the above statements. Pembina does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws.

For further information: Investor Relations, Hayley McKenzie / Ian McAvity, (403) 231-3156, 1-855-880-7404, e-mail: investor-relations@pembina.com, www.pembina.com




OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Stria Lithium Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SRA)(OTCQX: SRCAF) ("Stria" or the "Company") announces that it is cancelling the non-brokered private placement of up to 8,333,334 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.12 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 (the "Offering") announced on June 23, 2016.

About Stria

Stria Lithium Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SRA)(OTCQX: SRCAF) is a Canadian junior mining exploration company with an expanding technology focus. It is also the sole owner of the Pontax spodumene lithium property in Northern Quebec. Stria's mission is to be a reliable, profitable global source for both lithium metal and lithium compound products and process technologies.

Stria's expanded business focus is on the application of in-house developed technologies and processes that lead to the production lithium metal and lithium metal foil.

Stria Lithium Inc. is part of the 2GL Platform, a green energy technology alliance with Grafoid Inc., Focus Graphite Inc., and Braille Battery Inc.

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 accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Stria Lithium Inc.

Iain Todd

President & COO

613 241-4040

itodd@strialithium.com

www.strialithium.com




VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - October 07, 2016) - Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation ("APC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: APC) (FRANKFURT: 0E8) is pleased to announce that it has retained Virtus Advisory Group Inc. ("Virtus"), to develop and implement a strategic corporate communications program to increase the Company's exposure among industry stakeholders and investors across Canada.

In connection with the engagement, Virtus has been awarded a consulting agreement for an initial term of six months commencing October 1, 2016, at a monthly fee of CDN$4,000, with the anticipated cost over the next six months not expected to exceed CDN$24,000. The Agreement may be renewed at the Company's option or terminated at any time by APC by providing 30 days' notice. APC has also agreed to grant options to purchase 400,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Options") at a price of CDN$0.05 per common share for a period of five years from the date of grant. The Options are granted pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan and will vest in accordance with the provisions therein and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, which require that Options granted to a consultant providing investor relations services must vest in stages over 12 months with no more than one-quarter of the options vesting in any three month period. Virtus acts at arm's length to APC and does not have any interest, direct or indirect, in the Company or its securities, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest.

The appointment of Virtus is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Virtus Advisory Group

Virtus is a Toronto-based consulting firm, providing select private and publicly listed companies with business consulting, capital markets strategy and investor relations services. The company provides expert counsel and access to an unmatched network of investors and capital markets professionals across Canada and the United States. Virtus helps issuers establish the relationships and the investor confidence required to build long-term shareholder value. Visit http://www.virtusadvisory.com for more information.

About Advanced Proteome Therapeutics

Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation (APC) is advancing a Site-Specific Protein Modification technology platform to enable the development of superior protein therapeutics. Using this technology, APC has generated numerous and diverse modifications of annexin proteins with superior binding and stability properties which are amenable to further labeling and conjugation for use in therapeutic applications. APC is now vigorously applying its technologies to achieve the site-specific labeling of therapeutic antibodies and provide the next generation of antibody-drug conjugates. More information: www.advancedproteome.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.

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the Company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "will", "should", "future", "potential" or similar expressions or by a general discussion of the Company's strategies, plans or intentions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results of operations, financial position, earnings, achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, earnings or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors and partners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments.

Alexander (Allen) Krantz

Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation

President and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: (617) 638-0340

http://www.advancedproteome.com



Babak Pedram

Investor Relations

Virtus Advisory Group Inc.

Tel: 416-644-5081

bpedram@virtusadvisory.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/07/16 -- Pilot Gold Inc. (TSX: PLG) ("Pilot Gold" or the "Company") reports that the Company has filed a National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Goldstrike Project, Washington County, Utah, U.S.A.", with an effective date of April 1, 2016 (the "Report"), dated October 7, 2016, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Report has also been posted on the Company's website.

The Report was prepared by Michael M. Gustin, C.P.G. of Mine Development Associates of Reno, Nevada and by Moira T. Smith, Ph.D., P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration and Geosciences, Pilot Gold. Mr. Gustin and Dr. Smith are "Qualified Persons" as defined by NI 43-101.

Goldstrike is located in the eastern Great Basin, immediately adjacent to the Utah/Nevada border, and is a Carlin-style gold system, similar in many ways to the prolific deposits located along Nevada's Carlin trend. Goldstrike represents part of a growing number of Carlin-type systems located off the main Carlin and Cortez trends in largely underexplored parts of the Great Basin.

Goldstrike is an early-stage exploration project and does not contain any mineral resource estimates as defined by NI 43-101. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource at Goldstrike and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in targets thereat will be delineated as a mineral resource.

Pilot Gold also announces the resignation of Alex Holmes as Vice President, Business Development. Pilot Gold's Board of Directors thanks Mr. Holmes for his contributions during his tenure and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

ABOUT PILOT GOLD

Pilot Gold is led by a proven technical and capital markets team that continues to discover and define high-quality assets. Our core projects are Goldstrike in Utah, Mineral Gulch in Idaho and Kinsley Mountain in Nevada. The Company also holds important interests in two Turkish assets, Halilaga and TV Tower, and has a pipeline of Western US projects characterized by large land positions and district-wide potential that can meet our growth needs for years to come.

For more information, visit www.pilotgold.com.

Except for statements of historical fact relating to Pilot Gold Inc., certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers", "intends", "targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". The Company provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Pilot Gold Inc.'s public filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com. Other than as specifically required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events, results or otherwise.

Contacts:

Pilot Gold Inc.

Evelyn Cox

Director Corporate Communications

604-632-4677 or Toll Free 1-877-632-4677

info@pilotgold.com

www.pilotgold.com




Even as the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) delegation, led by its president TP Agarwal and other officials, met the Maharastra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders yesterday seeking their co-operation to release Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Dear Zindagi and Raees, the party leaders so far have remained firm and refuse to budge from their stand.

Ameya Khopkar, who heads the MNS' cine wing and produces regional films, said, I am firm on my stand. We will not allow any of the films with Pakistani artistes to release. The Uri attack is the recent incident but we have been against Pakistani artistes working in our films or performing here for last 11 years or so. These filmmakers should have thought about the repercussions earlier. But in any case we will take a call on 9 or 10 October

Meanwhile, the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI) decided to meet on 7 October to discuss the issue. Some of the theatre-owners and exhibitors gave the meeting a slip as they wanted to stay away from what has turned into a controversy and political issue.

Manoj Desai, executive director of G 7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir cinema in Mumbai was vociferous about his views. He stated, I dont attend such controversial meetings. I have heard that yesterday the IMPPA delegation also met Raj Thackeray and he clearly told them that he wont let the films release. The matter has become political and I want to stay away from it, but one thing is certain, our Diwali will be really bad, the festival will spoil for sure.

He further asserted, If MNS is saying that they have been opposing Pakistani artistes in our country for last 11 years, then why didnt the MNS take action when Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Ghulam Ali came to perform in our country? Kapil Sharma gave lot of importance to Fawad by promoting him on his show, Comedy Nights With Kapil, why didnt they attack him then?"

"The biggest fear is violence and vandalism in theatres, how much police protection can be possible in such a situation? Who will control the unruly, violent mob? There is no insurance cover for this. Now lets see what happens in the meeting but its certainly not a good feeling with our soldiers losing their lives. We are not attending any meetings but will follow whatever others decide to do.

Meanwhile, Nitin Datar, President of Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI), who had a meeting with few office-bearers, has decided to put their views in front of the executive committee and has called for another "Urgent" meeting on October 14 after discussing the matter with producers, distributors, exhibitors.

Datar added:

This is a very tricky situation. If we release the film then there is the risk of a riot kind of situation, loss of lives, violence, damage, as political parties might react and so will the general public. MNS is only in Maharashtra, but we have other parties like Bajrang Dal in other parts of the country. We have 9000 screens in India, how much police protection would be possible? In case there is vandalism and violence, the exhibitors would be held responsible for the same as a licence-holder

He continues, "If we dont release, then the distributors would claim losses from the exhibitors as the agreements have been signed for pre-release promotional, booking cinema halls and other related issues. Then the producers want their returns on the investments made. But, of course, human lives are more important, money can always be recovered.

We will be consulting distributors, producers and take public view into account as well to find a solution on whether we should release these films or not. Its Diwali period and there will be lot of rush, so we dont want situation to go out of control. But we definitely stand by our country and public sentiments, we dont want to come across as anti Indians," concludes Datar.
New Delhi: Terming as a "missed opportunity" the non-bidding for the high quality but expensive 700Mhz in the just concluded spectrum auction, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal Friday said the government needs to have a relook at the pricing of the particular band.

"Three or four solid networks around the 700Mhz would have taken care of a lot of rural broadband networks. This is a missed opportunity. I hope the government will look into this and correct that particular part," Mittal said here at the India Economic Summit organised by the WEF and CII.

India's biggest-ever spectrum auction ended Thursday without yielding the expected results with telecom players placing bids worth just Rs 65,789 crore in five days, leaving nearly 60 percent of airwaves, including premium 4G bands, unsold. The auctions could have fetched Rs 5.6 lakh crore to the exchequer if all spectrum was sold at the reserve price.

According to the industry, the premium 700 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum found no takers, mainly because of high reserve or auction start price set by the government. The 700MHz band alone had the potential to fetch Rs 4 lakh crore, when sold at the base price.

"I have always maintained that. The pricing, you yourself have seen. Nearly Rs 60,000 crore for a small little tiny 5 MHz, it was bound not to get any response. Nobody should be surprised," Mittal said when asked if the telecom companies did not bid for 700 Mhz band due to the high pricing.

Lamenting on missing out on the 700MHz, he said it is truly a very high quality spectrum, "which in fact Sri Lanka has not got it from broadcasters as yet, we have been able to get it, still have not been to put into good use".

Although only 40 percent of the spectrum that was put up for auction was taken, Mittal refused to call the process a failure.

"It is not a failure. It is $10 billion, Rs 66,000 crore (auction). Why do you call it a failure? I think the government did very well by putting on the table a lot of spectrum and it must be congratulated for running a fantastic, open process," he said.

When asked whether service quality will improve now as more airwaves are available, he said: "In the coming months, you will see massive improvement across the country, not just from my company but all the industry players who have participated in the auction."

Stating that the ingredient that drives high quality networks is "clearly nothing but spectrum", Mittal said: "India is finally getting out of fractured spectrum. It was earlier very small, it was then fractured among 12 players, we are getting down to four players now and spectrum will not be an issue. This industry is also investing enough and more towers are coming up."

He said that earlier the Indian spectrum position was woefully inadequate when compared with any other parts of the world.

"We have come from that problem in a dramatically quick way and fast manner... I think the government is trying to harmonise lot of spectrum. A lot of spectrum have been put on the table, parts in section, and segments of that spectrum are extremely expensive," he added.

On whether the amount of money that Airtel and Vodafone had spent on spectrum auction was a response to the capital pumped by Reliance Jio, Mittal said: "People have their own spectrum gaps, people have gone for what they needed."

Market leader Bharti Airtel acquired 173.8 Mhz spectrum in bands of 1800MHz, 2100 MHz and 2300 Mhz through auction for Rs 14,244 crore in circles including Kerala, Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi, Mumbai and North East.
New Delhi: The government has come out with draft norms for registration of insolvency professionals and agencies under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

While the Code is in the process of being implemented, the government has already set up the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), chaired by M S Sahoo.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry has issued the draft regulations, which would be finalised after taking into consideration views of stakeholders.

The draft regulations pertain to registration of insolvency professionals, agencies and model bye-laws. It has been drafted by a working group of experts set up by the ministry.

The panel was constituted as part of the process for implementing the Code, the Ministry said in a notice.

Notified by the government in May, the Code seeks to consolidate and amend laws relating to reorganisation as well as insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time-bound manner.

Under the new law, employees, creditors and shareholders would have powers to initiate winding up process at the first sign of financial stress such as serious default in repayment of bank loan.

The draft norms have been put up for public comments till October 28.

IBBI would have 10 members. Apart from the chairman, four nominees have been appointed by the government while the process is on for appointing three whole time members. There would also be two members from outside.
New Delhi: Life Insurance Corporation of India and other pension funds "must step in" to fund start-ups, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said today.

"LIC and other pension funds must step in... definitely that money needs to be leveraged," Abhishek said here at the India Economic Summit, jointly organised by CII and WEF. Speaking at a session on start-ups, founder of Pinstorm and Seedfund Mahesh Murthy stated that big companies like LIC and cigarette firms are found wanting as far as funding of start-ups is concerned.

"I am taking note (of this suggestion)," Abhishek said, adding that the government is engaging with start-ups to resolve issues to give a push to budding entrepreneurs. On the Rs 10,000-crore Fund of Funds, the secretary said it would mobilise about Rs 50,000 crore private investments in start-ups over a period of time. SIDBI is implementing the Fund of Funds.

"It has started implementation, we want to fast-track it, processes are rather slow, we are figuring it out," he added. About e-pharmacy firms, Abhishek felt that they are not flouting any law, contrary to the police's claims. "Police inspectors are not very trained in such matters. Now, we are trying to take up this matter with states and... make sure it does not happen," he said.

Citing an example, Abhishek said, the number of taxis in one city has been capped at 32,000 because of "some vested interest" as one can cap the prices through this.

"So, we need to free up all these things... our laws and regulations are completely out of sync in most cases. With these new technologies and innovations coming in, we need to change that and we are working with regulators," he added.

DIPP has identified some 25 problems of start-ups and is sensitising departments and ministries on these. Founder of Paytm Vijay Shekhar Sharma pointed to the need of large Indian companies to fund start-ups.

"We do not have that inspiration. We have to have Indian investors. Why are we not playing a big bet? We do not get support from local companies," he said.

Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, felt that capital is not a big issue, but there are constraints at local levels.
By Scott Malone and Gabriel Stargardter

| ORLANDO, Fla./MIAMI

ORLANDO, Fla./MIAMI Matthew, the first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years, blasted the Bahamas on Thursday as it headed for Florida after killing at least 265 people in the Caribbean, mostly in Haiti.Carrying extremely dangerous winds of 140 mph (220 kph), the storm pounded the northwestern part of the Bahamas en route to Florida's Atlantic coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.Matthew's sustained winds later dropped to 130 mph, but it was likely to remain a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as it closed in on the United States, where it could either take direct aim at Florida or tear along the state's coast through Friday night, the Miami-based center said.Few storms with winds as powerful as Matthew's have struck Florida, and the NHC warned of "potentially disastrous impacts." The U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years.Hurricane conditions were expected in parts of Florida late on Thursday and a dangerous storm surge is expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN."What we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm surge," he said.Some 261 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti. As the storm passed near the Bahamas capital of Nassau, howling gusts of wind brought down palms and other trees and ripped shingles off the rooftops of many houses. The eye of the storm was located over the western end of Grand Bahama Island on Thursday evening. It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most of its damage in the United States, but the NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel.The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.Jeff Masters, a veteran hurricane expert, said on his Weather Underground website (www.wunderground.com) that Matthew's wind threat was especially serious at Cape Canaveral, which juts into the Atlantic off central Florida.

"If Matthew does make landfall along the Florida coast, this would be the most likely spot for it. Billions of dollars of facilities and equipment are at risk at Kennedy Space Center and nearby bases, which have never before experienced a major hurricane," Masters wrote.NASA and the U.S. Air Force, which operate the nations primary space launch site at Cape Canaveral, have already taken steps to safeguard personnel and equipment.A team of 116 employees were bunkered down inside Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center to ride out the hurricane.We've had some close calls, but as far as I know it's the first time we've had the threat of a direct hit, NASA spokesman George Diller said by email from the hurricane bunker."AS SERIOUS AS IT GETS"

Roads in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached early on Thursday.Florida Governor Rick Scott warned there could be "catastrophic" damage if Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there to evacuate."If you're reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people... already killed, Scott said at a news conference. "Time is running out. This is clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast." Scott, who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power. Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida, Scott said.

Those three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering their governors to mobilize the National Guard.President Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts."Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," Obama warned people in the path of the storm in a posting on Twitter.Hundreds of passenger flights were canceled in south Florida, and cancellations were expected to spread north in coming days along the storm's path, airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines [UALCO.UL] said. At 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT), Matthew was about 75 miles (120 km) east of Florida's West Palm Beach, the hurricane center said. It was heading northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph) and was expected to continue on this track through Thursday and early Friday.On Tuesday and Wednesday Matthew, the strongest hurricane in the Caribbean since Felix struck Central America in 2007, whipped Cuba and Haiti with 140 mph (225 kph) winds and torrential rain, pummeling towns and destroying livestock, crops and homes.In Florida, fuel stations on Thursday posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up. At a Subco gas station in Orlando, the pumps ran dry on Wednesday afternoon. The shop was a stopping point for coastal residents seeking shelter inland. Among them was Jonas Sylvan, 44, of Melbourne, Florida, who planned to hole up in a hotel with his wife, two daughters and dog. "We're just trying to get away from the coast," he said. "It's safer here." (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Neil Hartnell in Nassau, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Nick Carey in Chicago, Harriet McLeod in Charleston, S.C., Doina Chiacu in Washington, Joseph Guyler Delva in Haiti, Irene Klotz and Laila Kearney; Writing by Frances Kerry and Tom Brown; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Maya Palit

Last year, Maitri Lakra, who was diagnosed HIV-positive almost two decades ago and served as a coordinator for the Bengal Positive Network, gave the journalist Sohini Chattopadhyay a harrowing account of how patients' HIV statuses being made public frequently affected the quality of care they received. "The hospital in Purulia did not even have a sheet covering the mattress. Vomit and shit had caked on the mattress. Nurses would walk past, but none would go near the HIV+ bed. There was a label identifying the bed as HIV+."

This situation might change soon, with confidentiality measures on their way. The ball is finally rolling on the draft of the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill that has been pending since February 2014. The wait isnt over, but on Thursday, the Union Cabinet in New Delhi approved it for passage in the winter Parliament session. If passed, it will protect the 21 lakh HIV positive people in India in several ways, including prohibiting discrimination against them by prospective healthcare and education providers. Perhaps most crucially, the Bill insists upon confidentiality and the protection of positive persons information  so patients wont be forced to reveal their HIV status without consent.

Why is confidentiality so important to people with HIV? Meena Seshu, the founder of Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha (SANGRAM), an organisation that works on HIV prevention, draws attention to the critical importance of the bills confidentiality clause: "Confidentiality was part of the National Aids Control Organisations objectives, but their targeted intervention programs routinely disclosed information about patients and made things very messy. All this while, we could only fight it at the policy level, but now that its a law, it sends the message to hospitals and establishments that now we can take them to court."

The bill prohibits unfair treatment and the denial of services to HIV patients or their caretakers. It also prohibits HIV testing as a pre-requisite for obtaining employment, healthcare or education, and mandates that the central and state governments make provisions to provide anti-retroviral therapy. "The main feature of this bill is that it is anti-discrimination and recognises the right to equality for HIV patients. For the first time, the bill also covers the private sector," says Raman Chawla, a member of the HIV and Law Team at Lawyers Collective, a Delhi-based organisation that has campaigned for the Bill and first drafted it a decade ago, in 2006.

The informed consent clause is also a move in the right direction. The bill states that, "No person shall be compelled to disclose his HIV status except with his informed consent, and if required by a court order," and formal mechanisms are apparently to be put in place to make sure that HIV-affected peoples data is protected by healthcare establishments following testing, treatment or clinical research. An individual known as an 'ombudsman' will be appointed the task of inquiring into violations of the Act and is entitled to take action.

A few aspects remain up in the air though. A press note released by the Lawyers Collective points to a lack of clarity about whether the new bill contains provisions for free or complete treatment of the patients, which has been a longstanding concern for HIV-affected groups. The 2014 Bill stipulated that the state government provide HIV treatment "as far as possible"  vague phrasing that leaves too much room for negligence  and networks have been demanding that this be changed.

An HIV activist who did not wish to be named spoke about how there is very little focus on womens needs within HIV programmes. "The prevention programme does not look at how womens bodies are different from men. We are told to avoid having babies, but otherwise the main prevention methods provided are condoms. There is also very little focus on the culture that discourages women from joining the prevention programme; they see the prevention methods as physically invasive.

Sexual violence heightens the risk of HIV transmission and the infection travelling from mothers to children during pregnancy or breastfeeding are factors that deserve more attention. A Unicef report states that only 23 percent of pregnant women living with HIV undertook anti-retroviral treatment in 2009 because of factors like social customs and family restrictions. It is crucial, then, that complications that impact women specifically are raised, particularly given the massive proportion of HIV-affected women: figures from 2015 provided by UNAIDS estimated that 39.5 percent (7,90,000 of 20,00,000) of HIV-affected adults in India were women and that this was a growing proportion, while two years ago it was reported that HIV prevalence for women who inject drugs was almost double that of men.

The ball is finally rolling on the draft of the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill that has been pending since February 2014

Although activists expressed their satisfaction about the bill becoming the subject of active discussions, L Ramakrishnan, the vice-president of SAATHI (Solidarity and Action against the HIV Infection in India) said that from a first reading, it appeared that there was a "colossal lacuna" in the definition of a 'protected person' according to the bill. It still refers to an individual who is either living with HIV or residing with an HIV-affected person in the present or the past, and these are the people who are entitled to anti-discrimination, informed consent and other rights.

Ramakrishan says that the bill must include provisions for the protection of people who are most vulnerable to contracting the disease as well, such as people frequently using contaminated injection equipment. "The feedback we have received is that the definition should include vulnerable people, what is known as the most-at-risk population (MARP), which would include transgender women, men who have sex with men, women who sell sex and people who inject drugs." Punitive laws like Section 377, which criminalise their actions already, mean that there is very little protection for these groups. They are also already more prone to contracting diseases like Hepatitis C.

Kousalya Periasamy, founder of the grassroots network Positive Women Network and incidentally the first woman in India to announce that she was HIV-positive, was unequivocal in her scepticism about Bills emphasis on anti-discrimination. "Its not at all useful to us. What is the point of giving us these policies without treatment and health rights? They have to reword the treatment clause to make it compulsory. Its been a long time coming, and we are unhappy." Kousalya also expressed her dissatisfaction with the change of the minimum age of a person who can get tested for HIV to 18 years, saying it should be kept at 14 years.

The Cabinet approved amendments to the draft law on Wednesday, but hasnt yet specified what these are. Next, the bill makes its way to the Rajya Sabha. The good news as far as HIV activists are concerned, is that although there remains much to be done, the process has begun.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
Islamabad: Pakistan Parliament on Friday unanimously passed a resolution rejecting India's assertion that Kashmir is an integral part even as it called for a result-oriented dialogue with New Delhi for resolution of all outstanding issues including Kashmir.

The joint session of the Pakistan Parliament, which has been discussing the current tension with India since Wednesday, unanimously passed the resolution, urging the international community to carry out an independent investigation into "gross human rights violations" in Kashmir.

The resolution moved by Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz called upon the world community to play its role in stopping "Indian brutalities" in Kashmir. The resolution also expressed concerns over the detention of Hurriyat leaders and human rights activists and urged the Indian government to release them.

"It strongly deplored the draconian laws which have created an environment of impunity" for Indian forces, Radio Pakistan reported. The resolution rejected India's assertion that Kashmir is an integral part of India, recalling that it is a "disputed

territory" on the agenda of the United Nations.

It urged the Indian government to immediately stop "terrorising" the people and fulfill its commitment regarding international and humanitarian laws. The resolution condemned the repeated "ceasefire violations" by India. It also reiterated Pakistan's desire for a "result-oriented dialogue" with India for resolution of all outstanding disputes including that of Jammu and Kashmir.

At the start of the session on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by "driving tanks on farmlands". He had also needled India again by calling Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani the "valiant son of Kashmir".
New Delhi: A husband can now seek a divorce from his wife if she restricts him from fulfilling duties towards aged parents, a new Supreme Court judgement maintained, on Thursday.

Hearing a divorce appeal between a couple from Karnataka, the apex court said that "no son would want to be separated from his old parents and family members, who are also dependent upon his income" and the "persistent effort of the wife to constrain the husband to be separated from the family... constitute an act of cruelty", and thus a valid ground for divorce.

The apex court held that in a Hindu society, it is a pious obligation of the son to maintain the parents. If a wife makes an attempt to deviate from the normal practice and normal custom of the society, she must have some justifiable reason for that.

The court said that it found no justifiable reason, except monetary consideration of the wife in the present case.

Upholding the conclusion of a trial court, the SC categorically stated that the persistent effort of the wife to constrain the husband to be separated from the family would be torturous for the husband and in our opinion, the trial Court was right when it came to the conclusion that this constitutes an act of cruelty.

The evidence shows that the family was virtually maintained from the income of the (appellant) husband. It is not a common practice or desirable culture for a Hindu son in India to get separated from his parents on getting married at the instance of the wife, especially when the son is the only earning member in the family. A son, brought up and given education by his parents, has a moral and legal obligation to take care and maintain the parents, when they become old and when they have either no income or have a meagre income," reads the judgement.

Going into detail on a sons duty as defined by Indian tradition, the judgement observed: "In India, generally people do not subscribe to the western thought, where, upon getting married or attaining majority, the son gets separated from the family. In normal circumstances, a wife is expected to be with the family of the husband after the marriage. She becomes integral to and forms part of the family of the husband and normally without any justifiable strong reason, she would never insist that her husband should get separated from the family and live only with her."

The judgement further reads, In the instant case, upon appreciation of the evidence, the trial Court came to the conclusion that merely for monetary considerations, the Respondent (wife) wanted to get her husband separated from his family. The averment of the Respondent was to the effect that the income of the Appellant (husband) was also spent towards maintaining his family. The said grievance of the Respondent is absolutely unjustified. A son maintaining his parents is absolutely normal in Indian culture and ethos. There is no other reason for which the Respondent wanted the Appellant to be separated from the family  the sole reason was to enjoy the income of the Appellant. Unfortunately, the high court considered this to be a justifiable reason. In the opinion of the high court, the wife had a legitimate expectation to see that the income of her husband is used for her and not for the family members of the Respondent husband."

The couple got married in 1992 and a year later blessed with a girl child. However, the husband filed a divorce plea alleging harassment because of his wifes constant suspicion about him having illegal affairs with a maid. The family court granted the decree of divorce dated 17 November 2001 "after considering the evidence adduced by both the parties. The wife not satisfied by the family court order filed an appeal in the high court which was allowed, whereby the decree of divorce given by the family court in 2001 was set aside. Following which the husband filed an appeal in the apex court, challenging the high court order, on which the judgement was pronounced on Thursday.

However, the apex court while rejecting the allegation held: There is sufficient evidence to the effect that there was no maid named Kamla working at the residence of the appellant. Some averment with regard to some relative has been relied upon by the high court to come to a conclusion that there was a lady named Kamla but the high court has ignored the fact that the Respondent (wife) had levelled allegations with regard to an extra-marital affair of the appellant with the maid and not with someone else."

While the unreasonable suspicion has been accepted as a valid ground for divorce by various courts in different cases, the moral question of a sons duty towards parents and the impediment caused by the wife in performing these duties has now become a new ground for divorce with this judgment.
New Delhi: In a relief to the Nitish Kumar government, Supreme Court on Friday stayed the operation of Patna High Court judgement quashing the state's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor, saying liquor and fundamental rights "do not go together".

A bench of justices Dipak Misra and UU lalit also issued notices to all the respondents including some liquor manufacturers, on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional Bihar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

"Liquor and fundamental rights do not go together," was how the apex court observed before passing the interim order on the appeal against the high court's verdict. "As an interim measure, it is directed that there shall be stay of operation of the judgement and order passed by the division bench of the Patna high court," the bench said.

Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of 30 September which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state. However, after the law was set aside, the Grand Secular Alliance government came out with a new law banning sale and consumption of liquor, which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on 2 October.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, assisted by advocates Gopal Singh and Keshav Mohan, told the bench on behalf of the state government that after high court's order, Bihar has notified a new law on 2 October which repealed the old legislation. "The new law is not under challenge. The high court judgement was in relation to the old law," he said.

Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for one of the liquor manufacturers, said "this judgement (which is under challenge) is not operational. It is supplanted by a new law. Now, there is nothing to be stayed." He was opposing the appeal of the state government by submitting that a new law has been notified on 2 October.

There were a battery of senior lawyers, including CS Vaidyanathan, Rajeev Dhawan and Balbir Singh, who appeared to oppose the Bihar government's appeal raising the issue of fundamental right of equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
Washington: On Thursday the US said that it does not support declaring Pakistan a 'terrorist state' but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.

The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a 'terrorist state', Kirby at his daily press briefing said, "I have not seen anything specifically about the  such a bill, and obviously we don't."

He, however, said he would not comment on "whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard". "What we  what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we're going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously it's a threat to the Indian people as well.

"So we're going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we've always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that's  we're going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end," Kirby said.

He said the US' position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place  meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," Kirby said.

He added that the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

"There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them," Kirby said.

"That's all we're asking, that's all we're hoping, that's all we're expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we don't believe for a minute that they don't take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children," he said.

Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistan's nuclear security.

"I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal," he said.
Im officially confused.

India claims its soldiers crawled through two kilometres of landmines and back without so much as getting mud on their trousers, to conduct a surgical strike. Pakistan denies this, and says it was a cross-border artillery exchange, during which an Indian soldier was captured when he was fired in place of a shell. India says the soldier should be freed because he crossed the border by mistake; he was just out for a stroll and didn't notice all the barbed wire, landmines and trousers.

For India, 29 September was a historical and unprecedented retaliation over jihadist terrorism. For Pakistan, it was just another Thursday. The Pakistan Army invited a bus full of journalists to visit one of the sites of the alleged attack, showing them undisturbed, lush green fields where they claimed the worst thing to happen the entire week was a farmers goat going missing. This is the first time the Pakistan Army has taken journalists somewhere not against their will.

CNN International carried that report. While CNN-News18 in India released a phone conversation with some intelligence operator in Mirpur on Pakistans side of Kashmir, where he admits to the surgical strike to a man pretending to be a superior officer from Punjab, in an accent that wouldnt convince someone half-deaf.

India also claims to have traced two of the Uri terrorists to Muzaffarabad, using the latest in espionage technology  because thats where Google Maps shows jihadist camps.

Pakistan dismisses this claim too, and in response asked the United Nations to direct its attention towards human rights abuses in Indian Kashmir, the real root of militancy, while militant leader Hafiz Saeed, declared a terrorist by the same United Nations, is busy conducting caravans and press conferences up and down the country.

War is not a complicated matter, people die in large numbers to produce winners and losers. But war between Pakistan and India seems altogether too intricate an affair to be understood. We fight wars in which both sides win. This is unprecedented in the history of human conflict. Subcontinental warfare seems to produce only winners because subcontinental warfare is largely a war of narratives.

India says, "We attacked you", Pakistan says, "No, you didnt". India says, "Militants". Pakistan says, "Freedom fighters". India wants Pakistan declared a terrorist state, Pakistan wants India declared a terrible state. For Kashmir. But every time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says, "Kashmir", his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi says, "Balochistan". On Twitter, we remind you of Hyderabad, and you remind us of East Bengal, then its back to Kashmir and Balochistan.

The language of war is important. Its meant to obfuscate. A surgical strike evokes precision, efficiency and impact. It could also just be the plight of unpaid surgeons. What is it really? Terrorist launch pads? I didnt realise we were sending militants into space. Intense engagements. When you propose, but she takes a day or two to say, "Yes".

The language is important, but whats also important in the war of narratives is to never relent, like two children in a staring contest.

Nawaz feels India was too hasty in its allegations that the Uri attack originated from Pakistan. If youd only waited a decade or two, maybe we couldve admitted culpability. Modi says he has proof that the terrorists were from Pakistan, their guns still had shopping tags. Nawaz says he was too far away to see the tags from London.

Modi threw down the gauntlet on eradicating poverty, to which Nawaz replied that poverty cannot be eradicated by driving tanks over farmlands. As his advisory team pointed out after days of research and deliberation, those would be tractors.

You say youre aggrieved by terrorism. We say were more aggrieved by terrorism. You say youre upset about Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri and everything in between. We say were upset about Kulbhushan Yadav. An Indian national caught in Balochistan. We claim hes a serving army officer, we received a big tip. Meanwhile Baloch separatist Brahumdagh Bugti says he will seek asylum in India. You're officially becoming the next Switzerland. Former president Asif Ali Zardari might call asking if he can shift his bank accounts to Delhi.

So now you say Kashmir, and we say Balochistan,

As of yesterday, Pakistans television channels are banned from airing Indian content. Your content was fine as long as it wasnt discontent. Our minister of defence claims you engineered the attack yourself, but then our minister of defence says a lot of silly things, dont mind him.

The language is important, but whats also important in the war of narratives is to never relent, like two children in a staring contest

Nawazs opponents say Pakistans ambiguous policy on militants is isolating it internationally. From whom, asks Nawaz, we already have the second worst passport in the world. The green passport is the equivalent of an international restraining order.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal was drenched in black ink for saying that the Modi government should provide proof of the surgical strikes. He was terribly upset of course, he wouldve preferred blue.

India says a video documenting the attack is with the Modi government (hopefully narrated by Anupam Kher in camouflage gear) and he will decide whether to release it or not. His supporters say asking for proof of the surgical strike is disloyal, and only those not asking for proof should be shown it.

If any of this makes sense to you, youre a much more discerning person than I.

One things for sure though, in the war of narratives the only thing that loses is the truth.
Amit Shah on Friday twisted the knife into Congress, which Rahul Gandhi had handed to him a day earlier. Taking on the Congress vice-president's rabble-rousing slur that the Prime Minister is trying to "profit from the blood of martyred soldiers", the BJP president, in a news conference, at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, pointed out the irony of it when the scion of a dynasty inextricably linked to the Bofors scandal, 1984 riots and countless other scams accuses his political rival of doing "khoon ki dalali".

If there was a modicum of maturity in Congress' conduct and an early effort to rally behind the government and the army, after the covert operation across LoC, that positivity was quickly dispelled by a series of suicidal comments from party functionaries at various levels. It was triggered perhaps by a crippling fear that the booster dose of nationalism may leave Narendra Modi and the, party in power, BJP soaring. Be that as it may, this was an opportunity that Amit Shah was not going to miss.

The rhetoric, outrage and indignation were present in equal measure.

"By saying 'dalali' over soldiers' blood, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. The remarks reflect the Congress' mentality," Shah said during a news conference at the BJP headquarters. "I strongly condemn his remarks. They are an insult not only to the brave armed forces and martyrs but the entire country."

"We want to ask him, who was the dalal in the Bofors scandal? Who was the dalal in the 2G scam? Dalali is a word used for deals. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi how is it possible to refer to this word while talking about the sacrifices of the Indian Army? Is the blood of our soldiers a tradable commodity?" Shah posed these questions at Friday's presser.

Just want to ask Rahul Gandhi, Is dalali a word to refer Indian army and their efforts to save the country?: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/XB5WlTQJQ0<http://pic.twitter.com/XB5WlTQJQ0>  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Shah then proceeded to answer his own rhetorical question. "From Bofors scandal to coal auction to 2G scam, the Congress knows exactly what dalali means. It is a word that defines them, not us. We are in solidarity with the army and the stellar work it has done."

Shah's presser deftly exposes the chaos and confusion amid Congress ranks, which seems unable to come up with a coherent response, post the surgical strikes on Pakistan's terror factories.

It appears to be divided between the responsibilities conferred by its legacy, its duties as a national party well-versed in statecraft and a gnawing insecurity over its future. Rudderless about direction, clueless about strategy, bankrupt of an ideological mooring, the Congress is condemned to vacillate between competing embarrassments under the 'guidance' of a feckless dynast.

Nothing exemplifies it more than the conduct of its vice-president. Just about a week earlier, in Bulandshahr during his kisan rally, Rahul Gandhi had applauded Modi when news broke about the army's surgical strikes.

"I want to thank him that for the first time in two-and-a-half years, he has taken action which befits the stature of PM. He has my full support. The entire country and the Congress is with the Prime Minister," Rahul had said.

That stance dramatically changed within a span of a few days. During an electoral speech at Jantar Mantar on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi tore into the PM.

The rhetoric, outrage and indignation were present in equal measure.

"Aap kar kya rahe ho jo hamare jawan hain, jinhone khoon diya hai, jinhone Jammu and Kashmir mei apna khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiya hai, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe huye ho. (What are you (PM) doing? Our soldiers have given their blood in Jammu and Kashmir, carried out surgical strikes for India, you (PM) are hiding behind their blood)," he said, according to a report in Hindustan Times. "Aap unki dalali kar rahe ho. Ye galat hai (PM is profiteering from the soldiers. This is wrong)," he said.

Changes in stance are not unheard of in politics, but what makes this volte-face interesting is that Modi did absolutely nothing in the interim to elicit such a response. Not only did he maintain radio silence on the covert operation, he also reportedly warned his ministers against speaking out of turn on the issue. Not for the first time Modi had used his silence as a weapon of political statement when rivals around him were too busy falling over their swords.

While training his guns on Congress, Shah deftly brought Arvind Kejriwal into crosshairs. He portrayed the AAP chief as Pakistan's hero and blamed him for opening the floodgates of controversy.

"We always want to keep our armed forces and their actions above politics. The 'proof' for the surgical strikes was first demanded by Kejriwalji. His comments were promptly picked up and #PakStandsWithKejriwal was trending in Pakistan. After this, there were stray comments from our other opponents," he said. On being reminded of Kejriwal's claim that he stands "solidly behind Modi," Shah advised the questioner to "read between the lines" as Pakistan media has done.

Soon after Kejriwalji made statement on #surgicalstrike he started trending in Pakistan. Soon after Rahulji talked of 'dalali' : Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/Kvs4WZztQF<http://pic.twitter.com/Kvs4WZztQF>  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

Even in leveling choicest insults and filmiest of dialogues, Rahul Gandhi seems to be drawing less of a reaction from his rivals than he would have hoped for. That accurately describes Congress' situation.
Amid campaign by the Marathas across Maharashtra for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party said on Thursday that it was committed to meet the demand of the community without upsetting the existing OBC quota.

Considering that the Maratha community is seeking 16 percent reservation, the government will face difficulty in the Supreme Court, for the quota limit for the state is set at 50 percent.

The resolution, moved by Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, was adopted, state BJP president Raosaheb Danve.

"BJP will provide 16 percent reservation to Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions," Danve said.

The state BJP chief said that there is no provision for quota on the basis of religion.

The BJP criticised opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party for "ignoring" the Maratha community, which constitutes 30 percent of the population in the state, after allegedly using it as their vote bank for years.

Before the 2014 state Assembly elections, the then Congress-NCP dispensation had approved 16 percent reservation for Marathas and five percent for Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions. The decision, however, was challenged in the court, where it is pending.

According to a report by The Indian Express, Education Minister Vinod Tawde, who was the leader of the Opposition in the former government, had earlier too sought a reservation system implemented by the Tamil Nadu.

The "silent marches" taken out by the Maratha Kranti Morcha around Maharashtra to highlight their demands have elicited a huge response, creating ripples in state politics.

According to observers, all main parties  BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP  are unnerved by the turnout at the rallies, highlighting demands like reservation in jobs and educational institutions, though the immediate trigger being the rape and murder of a girl from the community at Kopardi in Ahmednagar.

More than 20 rallies have already taken place across the state over the last one-and-a-half months.

Danve said that a resolution supporting the demand of Maratha reservations would be discussed and adopted at the state executive meeting.

The Indian Express reported that BJPs political managers find two major challenges with the Maratha reservation  one is related to the Supreme Court directive that the quotas cannot exceed 51 percent and the second challenge is proving that the Marathas are a socially backward community. The government is planning to submit a 1200-page document to establish the Marathas social backwardness.

Tamil Nadu- type reservation

In Tamil Nadu, the population of backward classes is 87 percent. According to the 1994 Act, the reservation in the state is 69 percent with the breakdown of 30 seats for other backward classes (OBC), 20 seats for most backward class (MBS), 18 seats for schedule classes (SC) and 1 seat for schedule tribe (ST).

In Maharashtra, the total reservation is 51 percent. Communities like scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, VJNT/nomadic and other backward castes can avail this reservation. If the Maharashtra government decides to provide an excess 16 percent quota to the Maratha community then the total figure goes up to 67 percent, starting a legal battle with the Supreme Court much similar to the one in Tamil Nadu.

The TN reservation is different from the rest of the country by nature of its history. It is wide-known that Tamil Nadu politics function on caste-based politics. In 1969, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government found that the MBCs have a very small ratio in the government services and colleges and hence recommended a separate quota for them.

Hence in 1971 the then government hiked the reservation for BC to 31 percent from 25 percent and for the SC and ST to 18 percent.

This was further increased during the 1980 All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) rule, where the Backward Class secured a reservation of 50 percent, a hike from the existing 31 percent.

The Tamil Nadu reservation gets viewed in a different light considering the high population of the backward classes in the state and the caste-based politics practiced there.

It is yet to be seen if the Maharashtra government can pull off a similar reservation model.
After a brief lull, the turf war in the ruling Samajwadi Party resurfaced on Friday in the open as reports trickled out that the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) of mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari has already merged with the Samajwadi Party  a move Akhilesh was against and had tried and prevented in the past.

"The QED has already been merged with the SP. Netaji (SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav) has made a statement in this regard in the media. His decision is final," Yadav told reporters while announcing the party's new 80-member state executive committee.

Three months ago the merger was called off after a huge internal turmoil in the party.

The controversial mafia turned politician, who is currently lodged in Lucknow jail, is facing several criminal cases.

The inclusion of Mukhtar Ansari in the Samajwadi party is likely to dent the image of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who has been primarily seen as the face of a relatively corruption free and pro-development government.

This was one of the probable reasons for which Akhilesh vehemently opposed his entry into the party. However, the old guards from the party believe that the merger would bring in additional Muslim votes to the party's kitty, particularly from the eastern districts of the state in the 2017 Assembly election.

Earlier, the SP-QED merger was announced in June in the presence of Shivpal but as Akhilesh, who was the party's state president then, was reportedly against the move it was called off by the party's state parliamentary board later.

However, despite all the visible differences, Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav played down reports of "differences" within the party, saying, "Everything is all right. All the decisions have been taken by taking netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and Akhilesh into confidence."

However, the ongoing tug-of-war is no longer being seen as a tiff between uncle and nephew in the Yadav clan but as a direct face-off between father and son. While Mulayam the organisational head of the party is resisting an increasingly assertive Akhilesh, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, on the other hand, is also trying to flex his muscles and prove he is no longer a puppet figure operating out of his father's shadows.

This was evident from the recent spat within the family when Akhilesh stripped uncle Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios asserting his rights as the Chief Minister. Mulayam was quick to sack his own son from the post of Uttar Pradesh state unit chief and fortifying brother Shivpal's position in the party by giving him the post.

The very public rebuff of Akhilesh not only brought out in the open the inner strife within the family but belittled the Chief Minister in the public eye. Akhilesh, who was increasingly trying to project himself as a strong leader came out with a bruised ego. The opposition too was quick to grab the opportunity and play it up to its advantage.

BJP spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh said, "If Akhilesh is a helpless person then we don't need such a chief minister." BSP supremo and old adversary of SP, Mayawati too mocked Akhilesh terming him "a weak chief minister" who is prone to taking U-turns, according to The Indian Express.

Though the Yadav family has been claiming there were no differences within the party, their actions have clearly displayed the faultlines in the state's ruling party.

On 20 September, Shivpal sacked seven youth leaders perceived as Akhilesh's loyalists for "indiscipline" for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mulayam. Shivpal also sacked an MLC, a nephew of his brother Ramgopal Yadav who had stood by Akhilesh in the face of the feud. This recent purge carried out by Shivpal indicates that the turf war to wield control within the party is far from over.

Speaking on the matter Shivpal had said, "I have expelled them. Now, they can approach someone who has the right (to reinduct them)."

Earlier Akhilesh was made to take a U-turn and reinstate sacked ministers and Shivpal's loyalists including the ministers charged with corruption Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha. 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.

Another act of Shivpal betrayed the fact that indeed all is not well within the family when he released the list of nine candidates for the upcoming elections which included the name of Madhumita murder case accused Amanmani Tripathi, son of Amarmani Tripathi. Amanmani is also under the CBI scanner for allegedly killing his wife Sara. Akhilesh, when asked about the party's choice of candidate, first feigned ignorance but later gave a cryptic response stating he has given up his say in the ticket distribution process. "In politics, no one knows what will happen the next day," the Chief Minister added reflectively.

Shivpal, however, defended his decision and said, "The probe is on. The chargesheet will be filed in court. We should wait for that."

When he was reminded that Sara's mother Seema Singh had on Wednesday met Mulayam to request him not to allot a poll ticket to Amanmani, Shivpal said that, "Her (Sara's) mother has not met me. When she does, I will look into it."
New Delhi: On Friday Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal criticised Rahul Gandhi over his 'dalali' remarks on surgical strikes and urged political parties to cast aside their differences and rally behind the Prime Minister.

Kejriwal, who was himself in the line of fire over his remarks on the surgical strikes, said the armed forces are to be credited for valiantly carrying out the operation and demolishing terror launch pads across the LoC and that there should not be any politics over this issue.

"Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I have previously done so and want to congratulate the army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhi's remarks wherein he said army's sacrifices and bravery was 'khoon ki dalali'.

"I condemn the use of such words. I have told in the House as well as in a video message that right now there is tension at the border. The entire country should stand behind the army keeping aside political differences and support the Prime Minister's steps pertaining to security. There should not be any politics over this issue," Kejriwal said.

Incidentally, Kejriwal had sparked a controversy after he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "expose" Pakistan's propaganda on surgical strikes. BJP had said the AAP chief's comments amounted to seeking proof and were an insult to the army.
Rahul Gandhi was barely 14 years old when his grandmother and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi fell to the assassins bullets at her residence in New Delhi on 31 October, 1984. Barely a few hours after the tragedy the national broadcaster, Doordarshan, put out a live telecast with an outpouring of peoples mourning.

Something unusual happened at that moment. A slogan rent the air, khoon ka badla khoon se lenge (will avenge blood with blood). This was probably the first time since the monumental tragedy of the partition of the country that khoon (blood) was reintroduced into the political lexicon. Lo and behold, a volcano of violence erupted in Delhi, Kanpur and Bokaro, engulfing thousands of innocent Sikhs.

If a grief-stricken Rahul had watched television back then, his childhood familiarity with the word khoon must have been an unpleasant one. As a child, he saw how people reaped the benefits by shedding the blood of a prime minister and subsequently of thousands of innocents for political gains.

His father, Rajiv Gandhi, was one of the beneficiaries of this tragedy. A word embedded deep in ones psyche, particularly during childhood, has the uncanny ability to haunt you for the rest of your life, more often at the wrong moments.

There is hardly any doubt that such a moment came for Rahul on Thursday when he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of politically profiteering from soldiers blood (khoon ki dalaali). His context was, however, patently wrong.

Even the most ardent critics of Modi would find the prime ministers conduct since Indias surgical strikes on terrorists camps across the Line of Control (LoC) nothing but exemplary. Till now, he has maintained a stoic silence that is uncharacteristic of a leader often projected by media as a demagogue.

A day after Indian Armys successful operation across the LoC, Modi addressed a conference on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Delhi and did not even once reflect on the growing India-Pakistan strain.

Similarly, just after the Uri attack, Modi spoke in Kozhikode and addressed the nation on the All India Radio in his monthly programme Mann Ki Baat. In both the speeches, he brought down the temperature around war-mongering.

In Kozhikode, he talked about fighting a war on poverty and illiteracy, while in his radio programme he mentioned Pakistans nefarious intent to destabilise the sub-content through the instrument of terror. Not once could he be accused of making any loose remarks. Practically, Modi has not said a word on the India-Pakistan conflict since the 29 September military operation.

That was the precise reason why all the political outfits lent their support to the government in the all-party meet called by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 29 September. But taking into consideration the shift in the stand of many of the parties since, a pertinent question arises: What went wrong suddenly?

Within less than 24 hours of the military operation, a realisation dawned upon political leaders across the spectrum that Modis popularity was soaring sky-high. And thus, the search for fault-finding began. In a calculated move to sow the seeds of doubt, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul-loyalist Sanjay Nirupam started demanding proofs of the surgical strikes.

Since the issue could not gain much traction, Rahul chose the decibel on debate by accusing Modi of profiteering on soldiers blood. This jibe curiously coincided with attempts by leaders like Sharad Pawar, who claimed that the surgical strikes were a routine affair and took place many-a-times when he was the countrys defence minister.

Apparently, the strategy employed by Modis detractors is too clever by half and bound to recoil on them. If their efforts are to set the terms and engage Modi in a public debate, they are attempting to do something in which even Pakistan could not succeed.

Over the years, Modi has developed silence and eloquence as strategic tools. Recall a vituperative attack on Modi by Congress general secretary BK Hariprasad before the 2007 elections; he simply ignored it.

Similarly, Mani Shankar Aiyars caustic remark on Modi, calling him a chaiwala (tea vendor), may have evoked popular anger but could not elicit a response from him. In this regard, there is no chance that Modis detractors can draw him into a debate by hurling invectives at him.

Unlike Rahuls jibe of suit-boot ki sarkar that seemed to have rattled Modi to some extent, his rather clumsy and hysteric delivery of khoon ki dalali is flawed on many counts.

Rahul dragged the security forces at the centre of a political turf at a time when the country is staring at an undeclared war with Pakistan. His rant, believed to scripted by a filmi-dialogue writer, is seen to be directed against the countrys most powerful leader  a prime minister who has been showing exemplary fortitude and equanimity against all odds.
NIAMEY At least 22 soldiers were killed in Niger on Thursday when unknown assailants attacked a camp for Malian refugees, the West African nation's Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said.The attack targeted a camp in the village of Tassalit in Niger's Tahoua region, around 525 km (326 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey."We received information of an attack on the camp in Tassalit. For the moment we are told there are 22 dead, but that is not a total death toll," he said in comments broadcast on state-run television TeleSahel. "The death toll could increase."Rafini gave no further information concerning the suspected identities of the attackers or whether any civilians had been killed or wounded.

The camp's residents are Malians who fled to neighbouring Niger after Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda, seized Mali's desert north in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove back the insurgents a year later but violence is on the rise across the region's arid Sahel band.

Niger's small army is currently battling Boko Haram militants who launch raids across its southern border from Nigeria while seeking to prevent an overflow of attacks from Mali.There are also concerns that Islamic State fighters could be pushed onto its territory by a government offensive in Libya.

(Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Malaysia said on Friday that a piece of plane debris discovered in Mauritius was from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking a two-year search that has turned up few leads.

Analysis by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had found that the debris was consistent with the trailing edge of an aircraft wing, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement.

Two pieces of plane debris were previously confirmed as being from the missing jet. The first was recovered from the French island of Reunion in July 2015, while the second was found on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania in June 2016.

The wing flap recovered earlier this year washed ashore on an island off Tanzania was identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had previously said it was highly likely to have come from the missing Boeing 777.

An analysis by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, subsequently confirmed the part was indeed from the aircraft, the agency said in a statement.

Several pieces of wreckage suspected to have come from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on 8 March, 2014.

It was earlier reported that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau anticipates search crews will complete their sweep of the 120,000-square kilometer (46,000-square mile) search zone in the Indian Ocean off Australia's west coast by December.

Meanwhile, oceanographers have been analyzing the wing flaps from La Reunion and Tanzania in the hope of identifying a possible new search area through drift modeling. But a new search would require a new funding commitment, with Malaysia, Australia and China agreeing in July that the $160 million hunt will be suspended once the current stretch of ocean is exhausted unless new evidence emerges that would pinpoint a specific location of the aircraft.

The new piece of debris found brings to six the number of pieces of debris the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has determined are almost certainly, or are definitely, from Flight MH370.

Another piece of wing found a year ago on La Reunion Island, near Madagascar, was positively identified by French officials.

With inputs from agencies
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With annual sales of about CHF 6.7 billion (EUR 6.1 billion / USD 6.8 billion) in fiscal year 2015/16, the Zurich-based Barry Callebaut Group is the worlds leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products  from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations and compounds. The Group runs more than 50 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse and dedicated global workforce of close to 10,000 people. The Barry Callebaut Group serves the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The two global brands catering to the specific needs of these Gourmet customers are Callebaut and Cacao Barry. The Barry Callebaut Group is committed to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. It supports the Cocoa Horizons Foundation in its goal to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.
Any investor who was wise enough to buy shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 3.20%) (BRK.B 3.36%) when Warren Buffett took it over in 1965 has enjoyed one heck of a 50-year run. Berkshire's stock has compounded at a 20.8% annualized rate as of the end of 2015, which blows past the 9.7% return generated by the S&P 500 over the same time period. That phenomenal result is mostly owed to Buffett's knack for buying great businesses at attractive prices, which is why many consider him to be one of the best investors of all time.

Of course, even the greatest of stock picks does not always go up in a straight line, and history has shown that some of Buffett's holdings can badly trail the market for years on end. With that in mind, here's a closer look at two of his top holdings that have put up poor performances year-to-date.

Goldman Sachs: Down 9.96%

It has been a rough couple of months to be a shareholder in the investment banking giant. Goldman Sachs' (GS 1.38%) stock has spent all of 2016 trading below its Jan. 1 opening price.

It is not hard to understand why investors haven't been excited about owning the company's shares. Last quarter, Goldman's revenue declined by 13% year-over-year as demand for its investment banking services has waned. In addition, Goldman stated that its investment banking backlog has fallen, which hints that this weakness will continue for the foreseeable future.

Another reason for the soft results was the recent Brexit vote. Roughly 20% of Goldman's revenue comes from its U.K. business, so uncertainty there and in the E.U. more broadly is slowing demand for investment banking services.

Nonetheless, Goldman Sachs continues to muddle through these tough times by controlling its expenses. That's how the company was able to grow its EPS by 88% last quarter even with the headwind of lower revenue. The company also shared the good news that it passed the Federal Reserve's stress test, which gives it the green light to move forward with a capital-return plan that includes buying back stock and raising its dividend. Those moves should reward patient long-term shareholders like Buffett.

Goldman's tangible book value currently stands around $166.90 per share, which is slightly higher than its current share price. That's a historically low valuation for this high-quality business, which suggests that it is a great time for the company to get aggressive with its share repurchase activity.

Wells Fargo: Down 19%

If you've been paying attention to the news then you are likely aware that Wells Fargo (WFC 1.53%) is currently in some hot water. A few weeks back the banking giant admitted that its employees had fraudulently opened as many as 2 million checking and credit card accounts without its customers' permission between 2011 and 2015. Regulators have so far slapped the bank with $185 million in fines, and its CEO was called to testify before Congress.

Wells Fargo is one of the largest holdings in Berkshire's portfolio, so there's no doubt that Buffett is not happy about this news. The primary worry is that the revelations about the company's malfeasance will cause customers to leave in droves, and hinder the bank's ability to cross-sell financial products in the future. As a result, investors have been dumping shares, and they now trade for less than 1.25 times book value.

We don't yet know if the news has caused Buffett to reduce Berkshire's massive position in Wells Fargo, but I'd personally be quite surprised if he did. After all, he is well known for taking the long view on companies that he believes have durable competitive advantages, and it is still unclear if the bank's earnings power will be hindered moving forward.

Is it time to buy Buffett's biggest losers?

With Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs down big this year, I'm much more inclined to call both stocks buys rather than to suggest that you abandon ship. After all, both of these businesses are hugely important to the global financial system, so there's no doubt that they both have long-term staying power.

With shares of each trading for historically valuations, I think investors could do worse than joining Buffett as a shareholder in either of these banks.
Colgate-Palmolive (CL 1.93%) doesn't sound like the most exciting growth stock around. After all, the company makes most of its sales and profits by selling mundane products such as toothpaste, soap, and pet food. Nevertheless, slow and steady sometimes wins the race: Colgate-Palmolive has produced impressive returns for investors over the years, and it still has a lot to offer going forward.

A global market leader

Colgate-Palmolive operates in multiple consumer staples segments, such as shampoo, shower gels, deodorants, and pet food, among several others. However, the lion's share of the business comes from oral care, where Colgate-Palmolive is an undisputed leader on a global scale.

According to management, the company owns 43.9% of the toothpaste market around the world, with a special focus on emerging markets: Colgate-Palmolive has a market share of 73.3% in the Brazilian toothpaste market, 79.9% in Mexico, and it owns 53.4% of the market in India.

The company is a pioneer when it comes to international expansion. Colgate-Palmolive entered Mexico in 1925, Brazil in 1927, and India in 1937. This first-mover advantage has been enormously beneficial for shareholders; Colgate-Palmolive now has a presence in 223 countries, with more than 75% of sales coming from international markets and over 50% of revenue produced in emerging markets.

The company has built long-standing relationships with dental care professionals around the world -- Colgate is recommended by 47% of dentists worldwide. This is a major advantage when it comes to brand recognition. Besides, specialized toothpaste generally carries premium prices and above-average profit margins, so Colgate-Palmolive's relationship with dentists has positive implications in terms of profitability, too.

Translating competitive strength into profitability

Solid competitive strengths are the key to sustained profitability over the long term. In addition to brand differentiation, Colgate-Palmolive enjoys cost advantages due to its massive scale and wide geographical reach. Besides, the company has abundant financial resources to invest in key areas such as marketing and advertising or research and development, which sets it apart from smaller competitors trying to steal market share away.

The company is facing economic headwinds in many of the main emerging markets where it operates, but financial performance remains solid as of the second quarter of 2016. Colgate-Palmolive reported a 5.4% increase in organic sales during the period, while adjusted gross profit margin grew 190 basis points year over year, to 60.2% of revenue.

Management is doing a sound job at generating increasing profitability for investors, as gross profit margin is consistently moving in the right direction over the last couple of decades.

On the back of solid competitive strength and attractive financial performance, the stock has downright crushed the market over time. Over the 20-year period ended in 2015, Colgate-Palmolive has delivered an accumulated total return, meaning dividends plus capital appreciation, of 1,021%, considerably beating both the S&P 500 index and the return offered by companies in its peer group.

Positioned for dividend growth

High-quality companies in the consumer staples sector typically generate big and consistent cash flows, so they tend to pay generous dividends. In fact, dividends are one of the main reasons why many investors gravitate toward market leaders in different consumer staples categories.

Colgate-Palmolive pays a dividend yield of 2.3% at current prices, which is not particularly high by industry standards. For example, Procter & Gamble (PG 2.53%) is paying almost 3% in dividends, while Kimberly-Clark (KMB 2.46%) offers a dividend yield of 2.9%.

On the other hand, the company has a pristine track record of dividend payments over the long term. Colgate-Palmolive has paid uninterrupted dividends for 122 years in a row, and it has increased dividends in every year over the last 54 consecutive years. Even better, Colgate-Palmolive has outperformed both Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark in terms of dividend growth over the last decade.

Wall Street analysts are on average expecting Colgate-Palmolive to make $2.87 in earnings per share during 2016. This puts the dividend payout ratio at nearly 54% versus earnings forecasts for the current year, which is quite a sustainable ratio. As a reference, Procter & Gamble has a dividend payout ratio of 68% of earnings, while Kimberly-Clark offers a dividend payout ratio around 61% versus earnings expectations for 2016.

While Colgate-Palmolive is not the highest-yielding dividend stock in the consumer staples sector, the company doesn't leave much to be desired in terms of dividend growth. Financial performance has been remarkably solid over the long term, and the dividend payout ratio is still comfortably safe. This means that Colgate-Palmolive is in a strong position to continue rewarding investors with consistent dividend growth over the years ahead.
Voters in nine states will decide whether to approve recreational or medical marijuana in November. Will cannabis get legalized and, if so, what could it mean for the national market for marijuana?

Recreational marijuana states in play

Five states will decide on recreational marijuana next month: Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada.

Recent polls suggest that cannabis initiatives have the best chance at passing in California, Maine, and Nevada.

California was at the forefront of legalizing medical marijuana in the 1990s. It's already one of the world's biggest areas for marijuana production, and in November, residents appear ready to OK cannabis for recreational use.

Proposition 64, or the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, allows people over 21 to legally grow up to six plants and possess up to 1 ounce of flower and/or up to 8 grams of concentrate for personal use. If passed, the proposal would allow the licensing of commercial cannabis production and retail sales. A September poll conducted by USC Dornsife and the Los Angeles Times showed 58% of Californians favored passing Proposition 64, while only 34% said that they'd vote against the ballot proposal; 8% of respondents were undecided.

It's less certain that Maine residents would support marijuana next month, but polls suggest that cannabis will get the OK in the state. Question 1 would allow people over 21 to have 2.5 ounces of cannabis acquired from a licensed facility and to cultivate up to six plants. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found that 53% of people polled support Question 1 and 38% oppose it.

In Nevada, momentum to legalize recreational marijuana is building at the right time. Polls conducted by Suffolk University in August indicated that 48% of people surveyed favor legalization; however, that support jumped to 57% in September. Currently, only 33% of people polled oppose the ballot measure.

Cannabis legalization may face a tougher time in Massachusetts and Arizona. In Massachusetts, proposals would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis, keep up to 10 ounces of marijuana at home, and grow up to six plants. The proposal has been met with significant pushback from legislators, and a poll conducted by WBZ-TV finds that while 53% of people support approval, 40% oppose it. That's a higher level of opposition than in other states and it suggests legalization efforts may fall short. Similarly, polls in Arizona peg opposition to legalization at 40%.

Medical marijuana states in play

Support is typically higher for medical marijuana legalization than it is for recreational marijuana legislation. According to research by Gallup, 58% of Americans support marijuana legalization, and according to CBS News, 84% of Americans support medical marijuana legalization. Support could be due to the fact that medical marijuana laws have already been passed in 25 states.

Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota will try to bring that number to 29 in November.

Polls point to a toss-up in Arkansas, where there are two different pro medical marijuana questions on the ballot.

The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act would allow for no more than one nonprofit cannabis care center per 20 pharmacies, or roughly 38 dispensaries statewide, and the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment would allow up to eight grow facilities and up to 40 for-profit dispensaries statewide.

Neither of the two ballot measures is garnering slam-dunk support in polls. According to a poll by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College, 53% of respondents are against the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act and 43% are against the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment. That's not overly convincing, especially since the state voted 51% to 49% against medical marijuana legislation in 2012.

Florida voters failed to surpass the 60% threshold necessary to change the state constitution and legalize medical marijuana in 2014, but this time around, it appears that medical marijuana advocates will get the votes they need. According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, 73% of Floridians support Amendment 2 while only 22% oppose it.

In Montana, voters will vote on Issue 24 (I-182), which would remove a three-patient per-doctor limit, and in North Dakota, voters will decide the fate of the North Dakota Compassionate Care Act, which would allow for the possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana for qualifying conditions such as AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, and glaucoma.

What's ahead

Marijuana market research firm ArcView estimates that the legal cannabis market was valued at $5.4 billion in 2015 and that 30% annual growth per year could make this market worth $22 billion in 2020. Hitting that target, however, will depend a great deal on how marijuana does at the ballot box in November.
What happened

Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (UVE -0.20%) are rising by about 15% as of 11:30 a.m. EDT as investors lower their expectations for insurance losses resulting from Hurricane Matthew.

So what

Universal Insurance Holdings is highly concentrated in Florida, where it is the largest private personal residential insurance company by premiums. Policies in Florida made up 91.4% of its written premiums in the first six months of 2016.

Hurricane Matthew was expected to create significant losses for homeowners insurers in Florida and along the Southeastern United States. Universal Insurance Holdings sent out a press release in an apparent attempt to calm investors on Thursday, noting that it had reinsurance that would kick in after the first $35 million in losses in Florida and after the first $5 million in other southern states.

Shares were pummeled in trading on Thursday, as Hurricane Matthew was upgraded to a Category 4 storm.

Now what

The storm is now about 95 miles southeast of Jacksonville, Florida, and has been downgraded to a Category 3 storm. The National Weather Service expects it to gradually weaken as it travels north up the Atlantic coast to brush Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Due to its geographic concentration, Universal Insurance Holdings will remain Wall Street's favorite way to wager on hurricane-related losses. For today, at least, expectations of losses are clearly much lower than when the storm was upgraded on Thursday.
The minute you have a back-up plan, youve admitted youre not going to succeed.  Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO, Theranos

This time last year, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was on top of the world. Her Silicon Valley startup was valued at $9 billion, it had a blockbuster deal with Walgreens, her picture was plastered on magazine covers and she was heralded as the second coming of Steve Jobs. Then the proverbial s--- hit the fan.

On October 16, 2015, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter John Carreyrou wrote a page one expose for the Wall Street Journal calling into question the companys claims that its breakthrough technology could run the full gamut of diagnostic tests from a few drops of blood  in record time and far less expensively than traditional labs.

You probably know what happened next, but ICYMI: the companys technology was shown to be fatally flawed, its claims were refuted, its flagship California lab was shuttered, its relationship with Walgreens was terminated, its reputation was in shambles and Holmes was banned from the lab testing business for at least two years.

What a difference a year makes.

Above all, Holmes proved to be a feckless leader whose culture of secrecy and opacity doomed the companys 12-year effort. In an open letter recently posted on the companys website (you have to marvel at the irony), Holmes announced that Theranos will exit the lab testing business, lay off 40% of its staff and focus on developing a miniLab platform.

Considering the ban, this would appear to be the only way that Holmes could remain at the helm of her closely held company. And while she announced that a new executive team would lead this new direction, the 32-year-old Holmes still appears to be chairman and CEO, according to the website, and in denial about her role in the debacle.

Instead of holding herself accountable for what happened, stepping down as CEO and giving her company a fighting chance to survive, the entrepreneur who infamously told a group of Stanford business school students that, The minute you have a back-up plan, youve admitted youre not going to succeed, is instead trying to pivot to plan b.

The question is, how will this plan turn out differently than the last one?

The letter says that the company will seek FDA clearances, build commercial partnerships, and pursue publications in scientific journals for its new product line. Considering how effectively Theranos burned all three of those bridges the last time around, I dont think Im being the least bit cynical by saying Ill believe it when I see it.

From the beginning, Holmes considered the FDA to be the gold standard in terms of regulatory approval. But it was that same FDA and other federal regulators who showed up on the companys doorstep in the aftermath of the Journal piece, audited its facilities, and levied critical sanctions that led to Theranos voiding two-years-worth of blood tests and shuttering its premier lab.

Theranos seems to have a particular problem keeping its relationships together. The Walgreens deal was supposed to be nationwide but never really got past Arizona before the pharmacy chain called it quits. Previously, Safeway sought to end an agreement with Theranos on concerns over missed deadlines and inaccurate test results, even after spending $350 million to build wellness clinics in nearly half its 800 supermarkets.

Theranos also announced several partnerships with big-name healthcare providers, including Cleveland Clinic and Dignity Health, but those relationships never materialized.

And nothing has hurt Theranos more than failing to vet its technology through scientific publication. On the contrary, the company attempted to avoid the rigorous peer-review process entirely, opting instead to use aggressive PR tactics to generate media hype. And when the story started to unravel, Holmes repeatedly promised to publish in peer-reviewed journals, but never followed through.

If I were a federal regulator with the FDA, a potential corporate partner, or a member of the biomedical scientific community, I wouldnt just be highly skeptical of anything Holmes says or writes, I would simply say Show me. Meanwhile, Holmes tells her stakeholders that we are fortunate to have the runway, meaning funding, to realize our vision. If I were a stakeholder, I would take that with a big old grain of salt, as well.

Theranos failed to reply to an email request for more details on its new executive team prior to publication. If that changes, we will update.
Hurricane Matthew hit some insurance stocks on Thursday. Image source: NOAA.

The stock market had a mixed day on Thursday, with some major market averages gaining ground while others fell modestly. Investors were stuck in a holding pattern as they waited for important economic data to come out tomorrow, when the Department of Labor releases employment figures for the month of September. Investors expect relatively modest gains in nonfarm payroll numbers of 172,000, with the unemployment rate remaining below 5% but average hourly earnings rising faster than in previous months. Yet even on a quiet trading day, some stocks fell considerably on Thursday. Among the worst performers were Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), Universal Insurance Holdings (NYSE: UVE), and The Buckle (NYSE: BKE).

Twitter sees buyout interest drop

Twitter plunged 20% in the wake of speculation that several major companies that some had expected to make a bid for the social-media player are simply not interested in the microblogging provider. Reports cited both Google and Disney as being unlikely to make bids for Twitter, and that leaves a short list of possible acquirers for the ailing target. Given how much of the stock's recent gains have centered on buyout interest, anything short of a solid deal for Twitter could send the stock falling even further. Twitter said that it expects to reach closure on the issue by the end of October, but that doesn't guarantee a positive result.

Universal braces for impact

Universal Insurance Holdings fell 12% as investors reacted negatively to the possible impact that Hurricane Matthew might have on its financials. Universal has a particularly strong concentration of policy exposure to the Florida market, and the latest projections suggest that the Sunshine State might end up taking a double-hit from the massive hurricane under certain models. The insurer today noted that it had completed the placement of its reinsurance programs, and it emphasized that thanks to some of the efforts it has made, Universal's retention of catastrophic risk related to Florida could lead to liability losses of as little as $5 million. Nevertheless, investors have bought into the idea of just how large a storm Matthew is and the size of its potential impact on insurers providing coverage to the area.

Buckle sees sales dry up

Finally, The Buckle dropped 10%. The retailer reported a dismal 15% decline in same store sales for the month of September, continuing its recent string of double-digit percentage declines in comps. The Buckle has been one of many victims of the difficult environment for retailers in general, but it has gotten hit harder than many of its peers, with comparable-store declines of 10% or more in seven out of nine months so far in 2016. Unless the retailer can reverse its adverse trends, then today's drop in the stock price to its lowest level since 2009 could prove to be just the beginning of an even more extreme downward move for The Buckle.

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Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Twitter. 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.
Image source: Getty Images.

As part of his plan to cut taxes for all Americans, one of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposals calls for more than doubling the standard deduction for single and married taxpayers. While this certainly would save lots of people money, it's not quite as big of a tax cut as it sounds at first. Here's what voters should know about Trump's new standard deduction, and one big detail that might offset your tax savings.

How much would this deduction mean to American taxpayers?

The simple answer when talking about just the standard deduction is about $1.29 trillion per year. During the 2014 tax year, the most recent for which finalized data is available, about 102.6 million tax returns used the standard deduction instead of itemizing, and the average deduction on these returns was $8,540.

Trump is proposing to increase the standard deduction to $15,000 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately, and to $30,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly. Trump also proposes getting rid of the head of household filing status, which is currently used on about 15% of all U.S. tax returns.

Filing Status Trump's Proposed Standard Deduction Current Standard Deduction Married filing jointly $30,000 $12,600 Married filing separately $15,000 $6,300 Head of household N/A $9,300 Single $15,000 $6,300

Data sources: IRS andwww.donaldjtrump.com.

Based on the latest data, and considering all current head of household filers as singles, a little math reveals that the average standard deduction under Trump's plan would be $20,445, or $11,905 more than the current average. Multiplying this by the 102.6 returns that used the standard deduction gives us a total tax break of $1.22 trillion.

We also need to consider the 44 million taxpayers who itemize. Under Trump's plan, taxpayers whose itemized deductions add up to less than the new standard deductions would no longer itemize. The mathematics behind this get a little complex, but based on the average standard deduction under Trump and the current averaged itemized deductions taken by taxpayers, the short explanation is that the average taxpayer earning less than $100,000 who itemizes would be better off using Trump's standard deduction. And, it would add roughly $66 billion in tax savings from this group. That brings us to a grand total of $1.29 trillionin standard deduction tax breaks.

One big caveat

However, this isn't really a $1.29 trillion tax break. As part of the plan, Trump plans to do away with the personal exemption, which is currently $4,050 per person, subject to a phase-out for high-income taxpayers. (Note: The personal exemption for the 2014 tax year was $3,950, so I'll use that in the appropriate calculations.)

Now, here's where it gets a little tricky. In 2014, the average tax return had a personal exemption amount of $7,548 to $11,482 for married joint filers, $4,993 for married separate filers, $10,299 for head of household, and $3,730 for single filers.

In a nutshell, the Trump exemptions are a good thing if the savings you get are greater than the personal exemption you're losing. The average married joint filer, for example, would get an additional $17,400 in standard deduction, but would lose $11,482 in personal exemptions, which translates to a net deduction of $5,918.

Here's how it would affect the average taxpayer's deduction, by filing status:

Filing Status Standard Deduction (Trump) Standard Deduction (Present) Difference Average Personal Exemption Net Deduction Change Married filing jointly $30,000 $12,600 $17,400 $11,482 $5,918 Married filing separately $15,000 $6,300 $8,700 $4,993 $3,707 Head of household $15,000 $9,300 $5,700 $10,299 -$4,599 Single $15,000 $6,300 $8,700 $3,730 $4,970

Data sources: IRS and www.donaldjtrump.com.

There are a couple of things to note here. First, taxpayers who currently file as head of household will actually see their deduction go down, on average, by about $4,600.

Second, these are just averages, and the change in your deduction would depend on your filing status and how many dependents you claim. For example, a married couple filing jointly who has three children would lose $20,250 in personal exemptions this year, and would actually see their net deduction decrease by nearly $3,000.

For this reason, it's useful to analyze the breakeven family size numbers for Trump's plan. Based on filing status, these are the breakeven points. In other words, if your family size is less than the breakeven number (for 2016), you could expect your standard deduction to outweigh the lost personal exception. If your family size is larger, Trump's tax plan could actually hurt you.

Filing Status (Currently) Breakeven Family Size (Includes Taxpayer) Married filing jointly 4.3 Married filing separately 2.1 Head of household 1.4 Single 2.1

Calculated as the increased standard deduction, divided by the 2016 personal exemption amount.

In a nutshell, most people will come out ahead. The vast majority of single taxpayers have one dependent or fewer, and the average married couple has two children or fewer (remember, this includes older married couples who no longer have dependents). However, it's important to realize that this isn't an across-the-board tax cut. Many taxpayers would certainly benefit, but others would not.

How big of a tax break is this, really?

Since this would increase the standard deduction by $1.29 trillion, but would eliminate $1.12 trillion in personal exemptions, Trump's big increase in the standard deduction would really only exempt an additional $170 billion from taxable income. This is still a significant amount, but not nearly as much as it seems.

Finally, bear in mind that the standard deduction change is only one part of Trump's proposed tax changes. He also wants to change the tax brackets, and offer additional breaks for child care, which could help offset the loss of the personal exemption for large families. So, be sure to read up on all of the details before you choose which candidate's plan sounds more appealing to you.

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Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, Florida airports are being shuttered and train services suspended as Hurricane Matthew heads towards the U.S. southeastern coast, with passengers and goods likely to be stranded or delayed through Saturday.

Atlanta-based Delta Airlines said 130 flights were cancelled on Thursday after the airline halted operations at southern Florida airports including Miami. A further 150 will be cancelled on Friday as Florida airports further north such as Orlando are affected. Additional cancellations are expected for Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday, the airline said.

A spokeswoman for Chicago-based United Airlines said the company cancelled 180 flights from Wednesday through Saturday affecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Jacksonville.

"This is a very fluid situation, so we are ready to change and cancel more flights as needed," she said.

American Airlines has cancelled flights in southern Florida starting Thursday afternoon, which should resume by midday on Friday. The airline said Orlando flights will cease late on Thursday afternoon, with a reduced service resuming Saturday morning. Jacksonville flights will cease on Friday morning and reduced service will resume on Saturday.

Southwest Airlines said it had cancelled 60 flights for Thursday due to the hurricane.

A FedEx spokeswoman said the package delivery company is implementing unspecified contingency plans but warned of potential service delays or disruptions.

"Contingency plans are being implemented to ensure that shipments arrive at their final destinations as quickly as conditions permit," said Glenn Zaccara, a spokesman for rival United Parcel Service.

Operations on No. 3 U.S. railroad CSX's main Florida line from Auburndale into Jacksonville would cease late on Thursday afternoon, spokeswoman Melanie Cost said.

Services from Florida into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina would be curtailed until after the storm passes, she added.

No. 4 U.S. railroad Norfolk Southern is moving equipment away from Southeast coastal areas and transferring shipments inland to secured rail yards. Traffic en route to affected regions is being held at yards throughout the Norfolk Southern system to alleviate congestion in those areas.

Miami-based trucking and logistics company Ryder System will close its headquarters during the storm, spokesman David Bruce said. But he added that Ryder is "repositioning rental trucks to the affected areas and working to ensure an uninterrupted fuel supply for our customers in the days after the storm passes."

(Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (October 7) in a surprise after Colombians voted "No" to an agreement he signed with Marxist rebels to end 52 years of war.

Santos has promised to revive a peace plan even though Colombians, in a referendum on Sunday, narrowly rejected the accord. Many voters reckoned it was too lenient on the FARC guerrillas.

The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 8 million Swedish crowns ($930,000), will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10.

Santos, 64, began peace talks with the FARC in 2012, carried out in Havana.

Four years later, the two parties reached an accord on five phases of talks to end a conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people since it began in 1964.

Both sides have agreed to the creation of special tribunals to try former combatants and have embraced an amnesty that would exclude those who committed war crimes or crimes against humanity, and provide reparations for victims.

Previously, the government and the rebels reached a partial agreement on co-operating to end the illegal drug trade, in addition to other agreements on land reform and the legal political participation for rebels once they disarm.

Santos' push for peace has isolated former allies including ex-president Alvaro Uribe, who has lambasted the Colombian leader for selling out citizens during the FARC talks.

A former defence minister of Uribe's right-wing administration, Santos had overseen the conservative government's military campaign that largely drove the FARC into remote regions and saw the dramatic rescue of French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt.

Santos' military feats saw Uribe personally recommend his minister to the 2010 presidency.

Upon taking the country's leadership, Santos kept up his army-led and U.S.-backed attacks on the FARC which included the killing of the FARC's top leader Alfonso Cano and military commander Mono Jojoy.

Santos saw his approval ratings drop considerably, however, with many Colombians believing that the security gains during Uribe's presidency were being reversed.

Halfway through his first four-year term, the president staked his reputation and political future on the new round of peace talks.

His hardline stance against the leftist rebels also sparked tensions with neighbouring Venezuela after allegations from Bogota that Hugo Chavez had harboured Colombian guerrillas.

Chavez, however, had played a key role in pushing the talks between Colombia and the rebels.

Recovering from prostate cancer surgery in 2012, Santos was re-elected in 2014 on promises that peace would bolster economic growth, and that he would continue to reduce unemployment and poverty.

Santos continued peace talks in Havana with his six-man negotiating team, led by former Vice President Humberto de la Calle and including former police chief, an industrialist, a former military head, the president's chief security adviser and a former environment minister.

In September 2015, he and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez announced that the leftist guerrillas would lay down arms within 60 days of signing the accord, marking an official deadline of March 23, 2016, which eventually passed without a deal.

A bilateral ceasefire and end to hostilities were signed in June 2016, with the complete peace accord published in August.

Santos and Timochenko signed the accord on September 26, 2016.
The recent news that ITT Educational Servicesclosed 130 of its campuses and filed for bankruptcy isn't just important because of what it means for the school's 37,000 students left without degrees. It also has a wider economic significance.

In this clip from of Industry Focus: Financials, The Motley Fool's Gaby Lapera and John Maxfield discuss how the student loans used to prop up for-profit universities could be translating into lower consumer spending.

A full transcript follows the video.

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This podcast was recorded on Sept. 26, 2016.

John Maxfield: What they have foundwhen they have talked to these students,they get all these loansand find out that their job prospects aremuch less promising thanITT or these other for-profit colleges have led them to believe. They've found that,in order to service their student loans,people are avoiding medical treatment,they are delaying marriage,they are putting off home buying. So this isn't just a problem with ITT. This is a problem that hasfundamental economic significanceto the wider economy,if all these things are going on,and consumer spending is struggling in our economy,just moving along really slowly. Then certainly,this could be a contributing factor.

Gaby Lapera:Absolutely. If you have gone to ITT Tech andyou are having problems, you can contact the Department of Education; they have resources for you. If you are considering a for-profit university,one of the things you should maybe consider insteadis your local community college. It'sfrequently four times lessexpensive to go to your local community college than it is to go to a for-profit university. Andnot only that, but they'reaccredited by the state. So frequently,you can take credits that you got at your community collegeand transfer them into a four-year degreethat you can get at state public universities. A lot of states have programs with that. And you'll get a much better bang for your buck.

That's actually something else I wanted to talk about -- the accreditation. ITT Tech wasaccredited by the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools, which is ACICS, whichI'm going to try to call it, but it's a little bit of a tongue twister. ACICSactually raised a lot of red flags about ITT Tech,but the Department of Education shut them down, too, because ACICS is responsible for accrediting a lot of these for-profit universities, likeUniversity of Phoenix and DeVry, which are prettycommonly well-known names. Those universities have run intoa lot of trouble in the last couple years. The University of Phoenix lost 50,000 students last year, andDeVry has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for telling students -- exactly the same thing that happened at ITT Tech -- that they could help them get jobs that they could not help them get. Last year,I don't know if you've heard of Corinthian Colleges,but they closed most of their schools down,because the Department of Education gave them a $30 million fine, again, for overstating job rates for graduates. I thinkCorinthian is actually now out of business.

Maxfield:It's coming in this wave where companies need to bemore focused on consumers. What we have foundin the wake of the financial crisisis that the government is actuallyserious about consumer-protection reforms. We'veseen that in banking, we talked about that with Wells Fargo, and what's now going on in the for-profit education space.I think one takeaway for investors who are invested in these companies --a lot of these are actually publicly traded companies -- is that there is serious risk now when you're looking at companies where there isn't a close alignment of interestbetween the various types of stakeholders and the investorsand the customers of whatever these companies are. Where there's a lack of alignment there,with the federal government looking atconsumer protection right now so intently, there'salways the potential now thatyou could have this backlash like we're seeing with banking in for-profit educations. It's just a good thing for investors to add to the points that they look at when they're considering a company.

Gaby Lapera has no position in any stocks mentioned. John Maxfield has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Joint Civilian Orientation Conference is a Department of Defense program designed to give a few dozen non-military members a deeperunderstanding of the U.S. Armed Forces. In this week's Rule Breaker Investing podcast, David Gardner is ready to reflect on the lessons of his trip. When it comes to the dangers they have to defend us from, it's clear that all branches of the military are on the same page about which are the most pressing. And if you keep up with world news, none of them will shock you.

A transcript follows the video.

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This video was recorded on Aug. 31, 2016.

David Gardner:

A third insight was something that was consistent throughout the week, and that is the description from the top levels in terms of what the greatest threats are to the United States of America. So a quick quiz for you. I've got four countries and a fifth thing. You can ask yourself, in your own mind, what the U.S. military would deem to be the four countries, in ranked order, that represent the greatest threats to our safety and stability.

I'm not going to editorialize on each of these. I'll just give you the list. The first one starts with an "R." It's Russia. Russia is number one. Number two is China. Number three is Iran, and number four is North Korea, a country that is not much bigger than the U.S. state of Mississippi. Those consistently, from one branch of the military (from the U.S. Armed Forces to the next) were all marching in line to the same concept, which shows that communications are effective from the Department of Defense. And generally it's nice to know that there is consistency in communication and we're all marching to the same beat throughout the Armed Forces.

The fifth is not a country. Some people might use the word terrorism. I don't like that term. The U.S. military doesn't use it. They use the term violent extremism. I remember, in particular, one of the generals saying, "We don't actually name who or what that is, because if we put a name on it, today" (let's say al-Qaeda), "that wouldn't be the same name we'd be using three or five years from now. It keeps changing."

So violent extremism. I know I'm speaking to many Americans, today. We do have a lot of international listeners, as well, for Rule Breaker Investing. But for us in America, and maybe your country, too, I think we're rather preoccupied with violent extremism. We worry about that a lot. When something goes wrong, the first question is, "Was that a terrorist thing?"

But the truth is, especially from the military standpoint, those are generally pretty under-resourced operations. They're not impressive, most of them. They don't really have that much in terms of forces, or technology, or really the ability to work together. So it's really these larger countries that don't always purpose freedom or seem to act in ways that you and I would say, "Well, that's a good citizen." Those are the things that the U.S. military spends the most time thinking about. That was a little bit of a surprise to me.

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.
The Joint Civilian Orientation Conference is a Department of Defense program designed to give a few dozen non-military members a deeperunderstanding of the U.S. Armed Forces. In this week'sRule Breaker Investingpodcast, David Gardner is ready to reflect on the lessons of his trip.Concerning the Middle East, where a large fraction of our the world's most troubled areas reside, the military brass doesn't even use the word "peace." And the idea of risk -- which investors love because it's linked to the possibility of profit -- has a wildly different meaning to them.

A transcript follows the video.

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.

This video was recorded on Aug. 31, 2016.

David Gardner:

The next one up -- and I mentioned this earlier -- the goal in the Middle East is not peace. That came from Gen. Votel, who's in charge of Central Command. He said, "We don't really use that word. In our lifetimes, that's probably not achievable." It's a little bit Pollyanna-like, I might say (not Gen. Votel). He said, "The phrase that we use is stability and cooperation. That's really what we're aiming for in the Middle East. It's the most realistic thing we can achieve and it's a better way, sometimes, of thinking about what we want from that area of the world than the concept of so-called peace."

For the next one I have a couple of terms I want to define that I learned about last week, one of which is (because this is the military, after all) an acronym. I'll cover that second. The first one is a term near and dear to us, here, for rule breakers and Rule Breaker Investing and anybody who's an investor (lots of us, here, at The Motley Fool), and that's the word risk.

Risk, in the military sense, is fundamentally different from how you and I use the word when we think about everything from investing to life. When I think about investing, I like to take risk. Risk is a good thing. I like that there's uncertainty about whether Netflix [would ever], back in the day, be bigger than Blockbuster. Or whether Google, back in the day, [would] ever make money as a free search engine. Those kinds of early questions.

And we see questions still like that today for a lot of the companies that we're looking at going forward. I like the risk that's inherent there, where it might not work out. Our conception of whether Chipotle may or may not pull itself out of its operational and public-relations snafus of the last year. Those are really interesting. And when I believe, and I put my money down, you and I become investors in those companies, we're taking risk, and risk often equates with reward. So I can say more about risk. We've talked about it before here. I know we'll talk about it in the future.

But from a military standpoint, this was really interesting to me. The concept of risk is fundamentally different, because after all, if you come from the military, your goal is to protect [us]. Your citizens. Your homeland. If you take a risk and fail, it really hurts. You and I as investors -- the worst we can ever do is lose 100% of our money, and that's if we didn't do something silly like borrow money beyond that and take the crazy risk of leveraging and then losing it all.

Really, we can't lose much more than 100% of whatever that investment is. And if you're a capital "F" Foolish investor, then you probably have, I hope, at least 15-plus different stocks and/or funds. You're diversified (I hope not over-diversified), but if you're diversified, you can afford to lose. When you're operating at a national level, and you work in the military, you really can't afford to lose. So that concept of risk is much more about protecting downside and ensuring the ultimate downside never happens than any kind of real sense of upside to risk.

In fact, the way that I heard the Marines (I think it was the Marines) talk about how they train enlisted people is they're looking for "the ability to anticipate, communicate, and mitigate risk." The ability to anticipate it, to communicate it, share it out, and then to reduce it and mitigate it as much as possible. So any time I heard risk that week, I realized this is a fundamentally different concept than the one that I think about the other 51 weeks of the year.

And then one other term I want to define, and that's just this military acronym AOR. That's for area of responsibility. This is a pretty simple concept. You hear people use acronyms all the time. Occasionally we, as civilians, would say, "Let me stop you there. Could you just say what AOR means, because you just used it?" That was a frequent interchange that I and my fellow JCOC civilians had with military at all levels -- just asking them to stop for a second and explain the acronym they just laid out in front of us.

But area of responsibility. This is what you think it is. It might be a geographical area where somebody (a general or a battalion) has a responsibility. Or it might be an operational kind of responsibility. A more philosophical level. An abstract area of responsibility. I'm mentioning this one because I think it's kind of great. I saw the military make sure that any area of responsibility was owned -- that it was clear who had ownership of that responsibility in that area.

And when I think about business, this is something I think we, as businesspeople, can learn from the military, as I mentioned earlier in the teaser to the show. I think that you should be asking yourself, your organization, for-profit, not-for-profit, [whether] all the areas of responsibility are owned. Do you have clarity within your organization in terms of who's basically on task for making sure that happens, or for making sure nothing bad happens?

Maybe it's that I grew up in an internet company. We're in our 23rd year and still building the plane as we fly it, but I think we, at The Motley Fool, sometimes (and even today, no doubt) have blind spots where we don't realize that that should have been an AOR, and so we need to designate the AOR. Maybe I'm speaking to you in your own organization. Do you know your AORs, and do you know who owns them? It's very impressive to see it at the military level.

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The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate relief to 50,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean since 2007.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is seeking 6.8 million Swiss francs ($6.92 million) to help provide medical relief, shelter, water and sanitation over the next year to people affected by Hurricane Matthew in southwestern Haiti.

"We are extremely concerned for the safety, health and well-being of the women, men and children who have been impacted, particularly those in remote towns and villages," IFRC's Latin Caribbean head, Ines Brill, said in a statement late on Thursday.

A Reuters tally of deaths reported by local officials showed the storm killed at least 339 people in Haiti and displaced thousands as it flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighborhoods on its way through Haiti's southwestern peninsula .

The Red Cross estimated more than one million people in Haiti were affected, with hundreds of thousands in need of humanitarian assistance.

"Our teams in Jeremie report massive destruction in the town," Brill said of the peninsula's regional capital. "Water and electricity have been cut and the medical services are not functioning any more. Communication is very limited."

The Red Cross said its response teams in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Bahamas and the United States had also been mobilised as Hurricane Matthew moved north .

($1 = 0.9820 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, editing by Larry King)
David Letterman said in an interview Friday that hes glad a "Late Night" sit-down he did with Donald Trump in 2012 is being used in an ad by Hillary Clintons presidential campaign.

I was flattered. I was pleased. I felt like I still have a small voice in this. I thought it was good, Letterman told the New York Times, while also joking Clintons ad made me a wealthy man.

In the "Late Night" clip in question, Letterman confronted Trump for outsourcing to foreign countries some of the production for his line of menswear.

The retired talk show host said Trump was a frequent and popular guest. Nobody took him seriously, and people loved him when he would come on the show, Letterman said. I would make fun of his hair, I would call him a slumlord, I would make fun of his ties. And he could just take a punch like nothing. He was the perfect guest.

But Lettermans view of Trump has since shifted dramatically.

"I can remember him doing an impression, behind a podium, of a reporter for The New York Times who has a congenital disorder. And then I thought, if this was somebody else  if this was a member of your family or a next-door neighbor, a guy at work  you would immediately distance yourself from that person. And thats what I thought would happen, Letterman said. Because if you can do that in a national forum, that says to me that you are a damaged human being. If you can do that, and not apologize, youre a person to be shunned.

Trumps spastic arm waving at a rally last November while mimicking reporter Serge Kovaleski drew swift condemnation from opponents who claimed Trump was making light of a disability. The Washington Post gave Trump four Pinocchios for his denials, and Hillary Clinton used a clip of the impression in a video slamming Trump.

But a pro-Trump, Catholic website compiled footage appearing to show Trump has a very limited repertoire of impressions -- which the site points to as "evidence" he wasn't mocking the reporter's disability.

Catholics 4 Trump posted four videos  one of which dates back to 2005  in which Trump impersonates everyone from Sen. Ted Cruz to The Donald himself with the same, flailing mannerisms and goofy speech.
Michael Pena opened up about practicing Scientology in a new interview.

The actor told The Guardian that he began practicing the controversial religion in 2000 after falling on hard times.

"I wasnt an alcoholic, but I was doing it too much," he said. "And then there was the next thing, and the next thing. For me, it isn't religion like a belief; it's practical things you do."

Pena then began Scientology's detox prgoram called Purification Rundown. Next, he joined the Study Tech program to help him improve his reading which he said helped him with movie scripts.

"[It] made me a better actor," he claimed. "because I felt like it helped my understanding of scripts."

The "Gracepoint" star said he is fully aware of the controversy surrounding Scientology but he doesn't listen to the criticism.

"But I dont read that stuff," he said. "OK, imagine were friends, you and me. Buddies. And theres a tabloid story about you. Theres no way Im going to read some --king tabloid story about you. Especially when I know its misinformed."

Pena is one of many Hollywood stars who is a member of the Church of Scientology. Other members include Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Laura Prepon.

He blames stars who left the church -- Lea Remini, director Paul Haggis and most recently Jason Lee -- for the "misinformed" stories about Scientology.
Out of four uterus transplants that were recently performed at a U.S. hospital, three were not successful, doctors announced today. What makes uterus transplants so challenging, and why might they fail?

In mid-September, doctors at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas performed four uterus transplants on women who were born without the organ, according to a statement from the university Wednesday. The uteruses came from living donors, marking the first time such transplants have been performed in the United States. In February, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic performed the country's first uterus transplant, but the organ came from a deceased donor.

However, three of the women who received the transplants at Baylor needed to have their uteruses removed after follow-up tests showed that in all three cases, the organ was not receiving proper blood flow, the statement said. The patient at the Cleveland Clinic who received the first transplanted uterus also needed to have the organ removed, because of a yeast infection that had developed and caused complications.

So far, there have been 16 uterus transplants in the world that have been reported, and eight were not successful.

The main challenge for uterus transplants is that the surgery is very new, so it will take time to perfect.

"It's not so much more difficult [than other transplants]; it's just that it's a brand-new surgery, so the learning curve is steep figuring out how to actually do it," Dr. Alexander Maskin, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), told Live Science in an interview in March. Maskin was not involved with the Baylor or Cleveland Clinic cases, but he is helping plan a uterus transplant program at UNMC.

Three decades ago, kidney transplants took 6 to 10 hours to complete, but can now be done in an hour and a half, Maskin said.

Indeed, doctors at both Baylor and Cleveland Clinic said that the unsuccessful surgeries will likely result in changes to the surgery protocols, in the hope of improving future outcomes.

The doctors at Baylor "believe the valuable learnings from the cases will result in recommendations to change the current protocols in operative and post-operative management of uterine transplant patients, with specific attention to the thickness of the uterine veins," the medical center's statement said.

Another challenge is that uterus transplants are slightly more complex than other organ transplants. "The uterus lies deep inside the pelvis and [so] it's difficult to access," Dr. Andreas Tzakis, who led the Cleveland Clinic uterus transplant surgery, said at a news conference in March. "And the [blood] vessels are all deep inside the pelvis as well. So it's a little bit more difficult," than other transplants, Tzakis said.

Uterus transplants can fail for the same general reasons that any organ transplant fails, Maskin said.

The main reasons for failure include organ rejection, which is when the patient's immune system attacks the organ; an infection of the organ (as happened in the Cleveland case); or problems with the organ's blood supply (as happened in the Baylor cases).

In 2014, doctors in Sweden performed nine uterus transplants using organs from living donors. In two of those cases, the transplanted organs had to be removed after the surgery. But five of the Swedish women were able to become pregnant and give birth.

Members of that Swedish team assisted in the Baylor surgeries. One patient from Baylor still has her transplanted uterus, and there are currently no signs of rejection, the statement said.

"We are cautiously optimistic that she could ultimately become the first uterine transplant recipient in the U.S. to make it to the milestone of uterine functionality," the statement said.

The plan is for that patient to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) in six to 12 months, according to Time. Baylor is planning a total of 10 uterus transplants before the end of the year, but doctors will assess the results from the first four surgeries before continuing with the other six, Time said.

Original article on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
During a violent gang fight, a young man was hit in the head by a dagger, but he managed to remain conscious despite losing copious amounts of blood.

Two gangs of young men in a park in Chinas Jiangsu Province were involved in the fight, Asia Wire (AWR) reported. The victim, who was only identified by his surname, Guan, was rushed to the hospital.

Surgeons removed the blade from Guans head, and its unclear whether hell suffer from permanent or at least temporary neurological damage from when the blade went into the left side of his head. AWR did not report the exact extent of his injury.
A pair of 3-year-old identical twin sisters in Canada on Wednesday got the chance to meet the woman who saved their lives with a bone marrow transplant after the girls were born with a life-threatening genetic blood disorder.

Zoey and Zayne Espayos were born with alpha thalassemia (hydrops fetalis), which renders red blood cells incapable of producing hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body, according to a news release.

The Espayos twins underwent a blood transfusion in utero as well as after birth, and received a bone marrow transplant from their older sister Zoey a donation their bodies rejected.

The twins parents, Reina and Mark Espayos, found a match for the girls through DKMS, a nonprofit that recruits bone marrow donors and raises funds to match donor registration costs.

DKMS identified Orange, County, California, resident Judiel Ennis as a perfect bone marrow match for the twins. She hopped on a plane to Pennsylvania, where her bone marrow was extracted in a surgery that lasted less than one hour.

Ennis helped save their lives, and the feat marked the first time identical twins were cured of alpha thalassemia through a bone marrow transplant, according to the release.

On Wednesday, the Espayos family flew to Lake Forest, California, to meet Ennis in person.

I dont feel like anyone should be thanking me, Ennis told the Orange County Register. What I did was what I hope anyone else would do. All it takes is a swab to save a life, and in my case I got to save two.

But Reina insisted her gift was important.

Shes the second mom now, said Reina, according to the release. She gave life to my daughters.

According to DKMS, 30 percent of patients with blood disorders are able to find a matching donor in their families, but 70 percent must rely on donations from strangers.
A UPS driver in Phoenix does more than just deliver packages he brings joy to one young man on his route, a teen with autism.

Every morning for the past eight years, Michael Day has called 14-year-old Asher to give him the rundown of whats to come, Fox 11 reported. Getting a delivery is the best part of the boys day.

Whether its getting a package or the neighbors getting a package, or just seeing Mike, thats enough of a buzz for him that it keeps him going, Ashers mother, Raquel, told the news channel.

Day told the news channel hes more than happy to contribute to Ashers day.

I just try to put myself in his shoes and his familys shoes, and all of that, Day told Fox 11. And just say, Hey, you know, its not really that big of a deal to take a phone call or do a little bit of extra, so, you know. Why not do it?

Day even celebrated Hanukkah with the family, who did not disclose their last name.
On March 30, 1981, at 2:25 p.m., President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton through a side door after speaking to a union group. Outside was a gaggle of staff, secret service, reporters, and bystanders, including one determined to end Ronald Reagans life at that moment.

As the president headed toward the car, a reporter barked out a question. With a smile, Reagan raised his left arm to deflect it. But he could not deflect what was about to fly in his direction. A few feet from the safety of the backseat of his presidential limo, Reagan heard what sounded like firecrackers. It was gunshots.

Secret Service agent Jerry Parr thrust Reagan into the car, landing on top of him. Jerry, get off, cried Reagan, I think youve broken one of my ribs. Noticing the frothy blood bubbles emerging through Reagans lips, Parr commanded the driver to get to a hospital fast. They reached George Washington University Hospital in minutes.

Only once Reagan was on the table did the doctors determine the terrible extent of the 40th presidents injury. John Hinckley had employed .22 Devastator bullets designed to explode on impact. One of the bullets had ricocheted off the armored car, flattened, and sliced into Reagans body through his left armpitso tiny that surgeons only discovered it after finding a hole in the presidents jacket. The projectile traveled downward, bounced off a rib, punctured a lung, and finally halted in Reagans chest, less than an inch from his 70-year-old heart. The president lost a huge amount of blood and proceeded to survive a perilously close call.

Of course, nearly all of this has been reported before. Never reported, however, was the unique reaction of Nancy Reagan. It was shared with me in February 2006 by Louis Evans, the longtime pastor of the National Presbyterian Church, who kept it to himself for 25 years. Knowing my work on Reagans religious faith, the aging Evans decided to share the story with me.

The Reagans attended the National Presbyterian Church during their first weeks in Washington. Evans was their new pastor. The day after the assassination attempt, a distraught Nancy was in need of spiritual counseling. She asked Evans to track down Donn Moomaw, who for two decades had been the Reagans pastor at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church in California.

Evans picked up Moomaw at the airport and brought him to the White House, where they were greeted by Mrs. Reagan in a room that included a small group of close friends: Frank Sinatra and his wife, the Rev. Billy Graham, and a Los Angeles businessman, the name of whom escaped Evans.

Nancy began by uttering words that shocked her friends. Im really struggling with a feeling of failed responsibility, she confided. I usually stand at Ronnies left side. And thats where he took the bullet.

Yes, Nancy had deep regrets: If only she had been next to Ronald Reagan as he strolled to that limousine, positioned between him and Hinckleys pistol, she could have taken that bullet for him.

Imagine that. It was a bracing thought to Evans then, and should be to us today.

When Evans informed me of this, I quickly shared it with the late Bill Clark. I was Clarks biographer at the time. Clark worked literally side-by-side with both Reagans, beginning way back when he was Governor Reagans chief of staff in Sacramento. He knew both very well. He was not at all surprised by Evans account. In fact, Clark waxed Biblical, telling me without hesitation: I agree with the Scripture that she would have laid her life down for her friendfor her best friend. She would have done that for him.

It was always understood that Nancy was Ronald Reagans supreme protector, the one who played bad cop and watched his back as he trusted everyone, regardless of their loyalty. Their son Ron once said that his dad trusted everyone and his mom trusted no one. Reagan left the White House with the highest approval ratings of any president since Eisenhower; she would never win a popularity contest. Nancy received a lot of bad press, not all of it undeserved. Yet, what Evans told me adds a heightened appreciation for Nancys commitment to her spouse.

Ronnie is my hero, Nancy once glowed. My life began when I got married. My life began with Ronnie. She was willing to give that life for him.

Nancy Reagans reaction to her husbands shooting should be seared into our memories of this First Couple, regardless of political differences. It is an inspiring image of one womans undying devotion to her life partnera woman who now at last is reunited with her Ronnie.


Newly disclosed emails show top Obama administration officials were in close contact with Hillary Clintons nascent presidential campaign in early 2015 about the potential fallout from revelations that the former secretary of state used a private email server.

Their discussion included a request from the White House communications director to her counterpart at the State Department to see if it was possible to arrange for Secretary of State John Kerry to avoid questions during media appearances about Mrs. Clintons email arrangement.

In another instance, a top State Department official assured an attorney for Mrs. Clinton that, contrary to media reports, a department official hadnt told Congress that Mrs. Clinton erred in using a private email account.

The previously unreported emails were obtained by the Republican National Committee as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records of Mrs. Clintons time in office. The RNC provided to The Wall Street Journal only some of the emails, leaving it unclear what was in the remaining documents. The RNC said it released only emails relevant to the communication between the White House and State Department.

Meredith McGehee, chief of policy, programs, and strategy at the nonpartisan advocacy group Issue One and an expert on ethics and campaign finance, said the email exchange would probably raise no legal concerns because federal law permits members of the White House staff to engage in some political activity.

Mrs. Clintons email arrangement has dogged her campaign for months, with Republicans and other critics saying it shows a carelessness with government secrets and undermines her claim to good judgment. Donald Trumps campaign posted a statement on his website last month saying the Obama White House knew Mrs. Clinton was using a private email server.

Mrs. Clinton has acknowledged the arrangement was a mistake, but she has rejected the notion that national secrets were placed at risk. Her campaign didnt respond to a request for comment about the new email disclosures.

The emails highlight the revolving door between the State Department, the White House and the Clinton campaign in early 2015 as Mrs. Clinton geared up to run for president.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.


Wikileaks released over 2000 emails allegedly from Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta Friday, part of what the group says is a total of 50,000 emails that it intends to release to the public.

The group, headed by hacker Julian Assange, says the emails consist of 2,060 emails focusing on Podestas communications relating to nuclear energy, and media handling over donations to the Clinton Foundation from mining and nuclear interests.

It says that over 1,000 emails are related to nuclear energy and that the full collection includes emails to and from Hillary Clinton.

Assange had promised significant disclosures on the U.S. election Tuesday, and said the group would plan to start publishing new material this week.

WikiLeaks hopes "to be publishing every week for the next 10 weeks," Assange said.

Wikileaks released emails from Democratic National Committee staff days before the party conference. The emails, that appeared to show a bias toward Hillary Clinton over primary opponent Bernie Sanders, led to the resignation of then-DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

Sweden is seeking Assange's extradition in a rape investigation. He hasn't left the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012. Assange denies the rape allegation and says he fears being extradited to the U.S. to face espionage charges if he leaves.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"Power laces  all right!" In "Back to the Future Part II," teenage time traveler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) was understandably impressed by a pair of sneakers that conformed to his feet and laced themselves automatically.

It only took 27 years, but Nike has produced those science-fiction kicks and is putting them up for grabs. But there's a catch: Only 89 pairs are available. ['Star Wars' Tech: 8 Sci-Fi Inventions and Their Real-Life Counterparts]

The limited-edition release of the 2016 Nike Mag offers the self-lacing sneakers through an online lottery in collaboration with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Lottery entries can be purchased with a $10 donation to the foundation; 100 percent of all the proceeds will go toward research for a Parkinson's cure, according to a statement released by Nike.

The shoes' big scene in the film lasted less than 30 seconds, but it was long enough for them to make a big impact on moviegoers  and to inspire Nike executives and designers. Nike Mags closely resemble the sneakers that so impressed Marty McFly nearly three decades ago. A system called "adaptive fit" uses sensors to tighten or loosen the shoe to conform to the wearer's foot.

This isn't the first time that Nike has tantalized science-fiction fans with promises of self-lacing sneakers. On March 16, the company announced the forthcoming debut of the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, declaring in a statement that the shoe would be "the first performance vehicle for Nike's latest platform breakthrough, adaptive lacing."

Nike representatives described a sensor in the sneaker's heel that would detect the wearer's foot inside the shoe, triggering the system to adjust the fit.

However, the HyperAdapt's promised release  the 2016 holiday season  would only accommodate Nike+ members, and Nike did not specify how much the shoes would cost or when they would be more widely available.

The lottery for a chance to snap up the new Nike Mag sneaker, on the other hand, is already underway.

If the shoe fits

From Oct. 4 to Oct. 11, residents of the U.S. and Canada can purchase entries to win a pair of Mags on the Nike website or the Nike app. There is no limit to the number of tickets that hopeful entrants can buy, and winners will be notified Oct. 17.

Three additional pairs of Nike Mags will be auctioned off during fundraising events in three cities: Hong Kong on Oct. 11, London on Oct. 14 and 17, and New York on Nov. 12.

Considering Fox was the first to wear the futuristic shoe when it was just a gleam in a special-effects prop master's eye, it seems only right that he would be the first to test out the sneaker in the real world  and Nike delivered the first pair of Nike Mags to Fox in 2015.

"Though it initially shared only a few seconds of screen time with Michael, the idea behind the Nike Mag unlocked something much bigger at Nike," Mark Parker, Nike's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "It sent us down an uncharted path of innovation, but it also opened our eyes to our ability to fight some of the world's biggest challenges. We feel privileged for the opportunity to raise even more awareness for the fight against Parkinson's," Parker said.

Original article on Live Science.
A camera in Michigan set up to film an eagles nest has caught something else on film, and some say that it looks like the legendary creature bigfoot.

Taken in May, the footage isnt clear, as the camera was in a tree close to a state fish hatchery, and the creature or whatever it is is down on the ground.

"Like most videos purported to be Bigfoot, it's grainy and out of focus  of course, the camera wasn't set up to be focused on the ground; it was focused on the nest," Ed Eisch, of the fisheries division of the Department of Natural Resources in Michigan, told the Detroit Free Press.

This footage is not the only thing to cause a sensation online for capturing a possible mythical creature last month, an image that some say showed the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland caused a stir.
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Jurors began deliberating Thursday in a murder case against two former New Mexico police officers who prosecutors said killed a mentally ill homeless man as he tried to surrender and defense attorneys countered was armed with two knives and posed a threat.

The three-week trial scrutinized how and when police should deploy force or deescalate encounters with people suffering from mental illness at a time when shootings by police have become a national conversation.

The final seconds of an hours-long standoff between Albuquerque police and James Boyd in the foothills of the Sandia Mountain have been in dispute since the 2014 shooting touched off protests and calls for police reform in Albuquerque, the largest city in the state.

In police video, a flashbang-grenade goes off and a K-9 unit advances on the camper during a rushed and failed attempt to take him into custody with less-lethal force. Boyd briefly shifted from side to side with two knives in hand before he started pivoting to his left away from the officers and was shot by then-Officer Dominique Perez and detective Keith Sandy, said special prosecutor Randi McGinn.

She disputed a contention by defense attorneys that Boyd took a step toward the K-9 officer, prompting the use of lethal force. McGinn called it a "phantom step."

"You can see that Mr. Boyd never moves toward the officers," she said. "He never closes distance."

Both former officers are charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Jurors must decide whether they were justified in shooting Boyd to protect the life of the K-9 officer or whether they violated their training when they decided to open fire. Sandy's shots hit Boyd in each arm, while Perez's struck him in the back.

"The way the society should handle the mentally ill should be addressed but not in this courtroom," Sandy's attorney Sam Bregman told jurors. "The way the Albuquerqu Police Department handled this situation in general also should be addressed but not in this courtroom."

He urged jurors to block out those larger issues and focus their deliberations on the actions of the two officers.

Perez and Sandy were among 18 officers charged in 2015 with murder or manslaughter stemming from on-duty shootings, said Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University who tracks shootings by police. Like the Boyd shooting, a majority of those cases were captured by police lapel or dashcam cameras, or bystander video.

Both sides in the New Mexico case said the most important evidence is the video taken by police and a nearby homeowner.

"Here's the thing about the evidence in the video: It cannot lie. It is what it is," McGinn told jurors. "Don't listen to the words, look at the video."

She added during her closing argument that "no one should be above the law."

Boyd was 38 and camping in the foothills when a resident reported his illegal campsite several hundred feet behind a neighborhood. Two officers responded with weapons drawn and called for help after they tried to pat down Boyd and he pulled knives.

Nineteen officers responded over the next several hours with rifles, handguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and smoke bombs. During the standoff, Boyd shouted death threats at the officers from his perch on a hillside and expressed fears they would shoot him.

McGinn spent much of the trial underscoring the role she says Sandy played in making a series of flawed decisions that agitated Boyd, starting with calling other members of his tactical team, known as the Repeat Offenders Project, to respond to the standoff with him. The unit has since been dismantled under the terms of a U.S. Justice Department settlement agreement to change the culture of the Albuquerque Police Department, where officers were accused of numerous instances of excessive force.

Sandy responded to the standoff with Boyd because a sergeant had requested a Taser shotgun. He arrived at the same time as a State Police sergeant he knew. The sergeant's dashcam video recorded Sandy calling Boyd "a lunatic."

During the trial, he said for the first time publicly that he deeply regretted the remark. His testimony also denied accusation that he was a decision-maker during the standoff.

Perez was among the last to arrive after his SWAT sergeant asked him to respond.

He drove to the campsite hearing other officers say over radio traffic that Boyd was threatening officers and that he also had a history of violence against police.

A few minutes after Perez arrived, he yelled for Sandy to detonate the flash-bang grenade, which went off near Boyd's feet but not close enough to startle him so officers could take him into custody. Sandy opened fire seconds later, and then Perez, whose helmet camera video shows his finger moving onto the trigger as Boyd faces the K-9 handler while holding two knives.

"These are the tense, uncertain, rapidly evolving circumstances they had to work with," said Luis Robles, the lead attorney for Perez. "He had to make life or death decisions in moments."

Sandy's lapel camera failed to record the shooting, he said.

__

This story corrects a previous version to say the prosecutor argued the camper was turning away from officers not toward a K-9 handler.
A muscular man who cold-cocked a woman outside a supermarket in Los Angeles last month has turned himself in, police officials told The Post.

Michael Fino, 44, surrendered to police on Tuesday, nine days after a surveillance camera caught him punching a woman to the ground outside Windward Farms on Windward Avenue in Venice Beach. He was booked on felony battery charges, LAPD Officer Aareon Jefferson said.

Bail was set for Fino at $165,000. He has a court date set for next month, said Jefferson, adding that no additional information was available.

In the surveillance video, which was taken at about 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 25, a woman who had a disagreement earlier that day with Fino exits the supermarket. He then turns around and throws a vicious right-hand, knocking the woman instantly.

Witnesses immediately tried to subdue Fino, including one man who put him in a headlock before jumping on his back. But Fino managed to break free and ran away.

Click for more from the New York Post.


Chicago teachers and officials in the nation's third-largest school district will hold contract negotiations through the weekend in hopes of reaching a deal to avert a strike.

The Chicago Teachers Union has said its members are prepared to walk off the job as early as Tuesday. It would be the district's second strike since 2012, and affect about 400,000 students.

At issue are pension contributions, pay raises, staffing levels and classroom funding.

Chicago Public Schools officials argue the district faces massive financial challenges. Union officials say teachers don't want to strike, but are concerned about cuts to pay and benefits as well as school-level cuts that affect students.

CPS says school buildings will remain open if a strike occurs.
Hurricane Matthew moved up the Atlantic coast of the U.S. Friday night, threatening some of the Southeast's most historic cities after leaving more than 1 million people without power in Florida.

Authorities in Florida confirmed four storm-related deaths late Friday. One woman was killed when a tree fell on her house in the Daytona area and another woman died when a tree came down on a camper in Putnam County. The St. Lucie County Fire Department said Friday that an elderly couple appeared to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator inside their garage during the storm.

As of 10 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center reported that Matthew was about 90 miles south-southeast of Savannah, Ga., moving north at 12 miles per hour. Its wind speed had dropped to 110 mph, down from a terrifying 145 mph when it smashed into Haiti.

The most powerful storm in more than a decade to threaten the U.S. tossed trees onto homes, ripped off roofs and knocked out power to at least one million people. But it stayed just far enough offshore to prevent major damage to cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. And the coast never felt the full force of its 120 mph winds.

"It looks like we've dodged a bullet," said Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., whose district includes Martin County, just north of West Palm Beach.

While the hurricane was weakening quickly, several northeastern Florida cities, including Jacksonville, were still in harm's way, along with communities farther up the coast. Authorities warned that not only could Matthew easily turn toward land, it could also cause deadly flooding with its surge of seawater.

The storm gouged out several large sections of the coastal A1A highway north of Daytona Beach, and had nearly completely washed out the northbound lane for about a mile at Flagler Beach.



It's pretty bad, it's jagged all over the place," said Oliver Shields, whose two-story house is within sight of the highway.

About 500,000 people were under evacuation orders in the Jacksonville area, along with another half-million on the Georgia coast. More than 300,000 fled their homes in South Carolina. The latest forecast showed the storm could also scrape the North Carolina coast.

"If you're hoping it's just going to pass far enough offshore that this isn't a problem anymore  that is a very, very big mistake that you could make that could cost you your life," National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb warned.

St. Augustine, which is the nation's oldest permanently occupied European settlement and includes a 17th-century Spanish fortress and many historic homes turned into bed-and-breakfasts, was awash in rain and seawater that authorities said could top 8 feet.

"It's a really serious devastating situation," the mayor of the city of 14,000 said. "The flooding is just going to get higher and higher and higher."

Historic downtown Charleston, usually bustling with tourists who flock to see the city's beautifully maintained antebellum homes, was eerily quiet, with many stores and shops boarded up with plywood and protected by stacks of sandbags.

The city announced a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew Saturday, around the time the coast was expected to take the brunt of the storm.

Matthew's outer bands began lashing Savannah, a city that was settled in 1733 and has a handsome historic district of moss-draped trees, brick and cobblestone streets, Greek revival mansions and other 18th- and 19th-century homes.

Matthew was expected to bring winds of 50 to 60 mph that could snap branches from the burly live oaks and damage the historic homes. And 8 to 14 inches of rain could bring some street flooding.

Savannah-Chatham County Police Chief Jack Lumpkin said officers will enforce a dusk-until-dawn curfew.

A small crew of workers Thursday set out to button up the Owens-Thomas house, one of Savannah's architectural gems. The 1819 Greek revival mansion serves as a museum.

Sonja Wallen, a curator, said antique rugs and furniture were moved away from the home's more than 40 windows, many of them still with their original8glass. Windows were fitted with plywood and other coverings, while sandbags were stacked at the basement entrance.

"It's basically a lot of little details  sandbags and duct tape around doorways where water can get in," Wallen said. "It's pretty much the same stuff you would do for any home."

Some of Georgia's resort islands were expected to take the brunt of Matthew's storm surge, including St. Simons and Tybee.

On Tybee Island, where most of the 3,000 residents were evacuated, Jeff Dickey held out hope that the storm might shift and spare his home. But as the rain picked up, he decided staying wasn't worth the risk.

"We kind of tried to wait to see if it will tilt more to the east," Dickey said. "But it's go time."

Mayor Jason Buelterman personally called some of the holdouts, hoping to persuade them to move inland.

"This is what happens when you don't have a hurricane for 100 years," he said. "People get complacent."

Airlines canceled at least 5,000 flights Wednesday through Saturday, including many in and out of Orlando, where all three of the resort city's world-famous theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  closed because of the storm.

But things began getting back to normal, with flights resuming in Miami and other South Florida airports.

In areas the storm had already passed, residents and officials began to assess the damage.

Robert Tyler had feared the storm surge would flood his street two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach. Tree branches fell, he could hear transformers exploding overnight, and the windows seemed as if they were about to blow in, despite the plywood over them.

But in the morning, there wasn't much water, his home didn't appear to be damaged on first inspection, and his vehicles were unharmed.

"Overnight, it was scary as heck," Tyler said. "That description of a freight train is pretty accurate."



The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Venture capitalist John Greathouse doesn't believe women who want to work in the tech industry should use their full names online. Just use a first initial, he suggested in a now widely criticized blog post in the Wall Street Journal in late September -- one he eventually apologized for.

Related: Women Made Incremental Progress in Tech the Past Few Years (Infographic)

By using an initial, Greathouse argued, hiring managers won't know you're female and will treat you the same as any other applicant, without any sort of unconscious bias trickling in.

I disagree -- because I see women in tech from a different lens. In fact, it's more than that: My view is the polar opposite of what Greathouse is saying.

Not only do I want to see women's full names when they apply to work in tech, but I am actively seeking them out for investment and recruiting them to work with my early stage venture capital firm, White Star Capital, every day.

Why? Because the women who are working in technology today know how to triumph over adversity. This is a group that has suffered significant bias in our society -- studying computer science or engineering in college, going out into the male-dominated environment of the modern tech world and succeeding despite those biases. And then, many have gone on to start companies in the tech industry despite the well-known challenges there.

That is a fact to be celebrated, and sought out by investors looking for high-performance collaborators, not hidden behind initials. These are women that I want to talk to. These are the proven entrepreneurs that I want to invest in.

Related: Tech space challenges grappling women entrepreneur

I admittedly am biased because of my academic background in computer science at the University of Waterloo and my prior experience at Microsoft and aQuantive. Many of the women that I studied with were brilliant, and in my past life as an engineering and product lead, many of the female engineers that I worked with were among my teams' superstars. This collection of former colleagues includes the team that launched the first version of Microsoft.NET -- you can imagine how strong all of those team members were -- and the founding team at aQuantive, which was eventually acquired for $6.3 billion.

In short, I know that women can be game-changers in tech, and I've seen it firsthand.

Another layer of bias

Still, there is another force at play here, and it is one that I believe is holding back not only the startup community's female founders but the entire tech industry as a whole.

While I see impressive growth in female entrepreneurship -- and I love being part of the New York City ecosystem, which is " Officially the Best City in the World for Women Entrepreneurs" -- there is a form of female entrepreneurship that I eagerly want to see more of: that's growth in the number of female technical founders of highly technical companies.

I define these as companies doing work in areas like database development, artificial intelligence, machine learning, the internet of things, M2M, etc. Given my background, I am naturally drawn to highly technical companies where technology is one of the company's key strengths and key barriers to entry.

The problem today, as I see it, is the "Venn diagram of biases," shown below. Yes, the tech industry is becoming more open to women in general, but there remains an unconscious bias that keeps smart, capable female entrepreneurs out of leadership in truly complex, high-tech work. In my view, there are simply not enough women in tech who find the opportunities, or appropriate encouragement and mentorship, to take the reins as CTOs or starting tech-focused companies:

This perception is pervasive across the industry.

I was at a conference recently where a highly regarded female VC (who will remain nameless) said on stage something along the lines of its being obvious that female entrepreneurs are most likely to create startups focused on ecommerce, fashion, media, social, etc.

She may have been commenting on the apparent numbers in our imperfect world. But I still respectfully disagree with the statement. If we removed the bias and barriers girls and women face across society, female entrepreneurs would be as inclined as men to launch any kind of startup.

I am undeniably happy every time I read a new list of impressive tech companies that have women founders. These are fantastic companies led by impressive entrepreneurs. But most of the companies on these lists do not have technology as one of their leading differentiators. They are too often, as predicted by the VC mentioned above, doing work on what I view as the fringes of tech -- social media, advertising, retail and so on.

Regardless of why this bifurcation exists, it is a loss for our industry.

I adamantly believe that women can and should be the founders of successful startups that will follow in the footsteps of deep tech companies like MongoDB and Domo, both of which I consider highly technical companies. In fact, there are already a number of impressive examples of successful female founders of similar companies, including but not limited to: VMware's Diane Greene, semiconductor company Marvell's Weili Dai, Sunrun's Lynn Jurich, Pixel Qi's Mary Lou Jepsen, Clara Labs' Maran Nelson and PlanGrid's Tracy Young.

These are successful, tech-focused women who hopefully never needed to hide behind their initials online in order to get ahead in Silicon Valley.

I am convinced that the number of technical women who will follow in their footsteps will grow exponentially over the next several years, helped by organizations such as Women Who Code, TechGirlz.org, MentHER, Empress Capital. A powerful new ally for women in tech will be an as-yet unnamed new initiative from Melinda Gates. There are also gender-neutral apps, like Hopscotch, which teach children to code, the STEMinists at Skillcrush and accelerators such as Grand Central Tech.

The overall lack of female entrepreneurship in high-tech fields is an absolutely critical issue that we collectively must work on fixing. I am not alone in this opinion, but it's important to remember that there are several levels to this problem.

Related: There's No App to Explain This: The Gender Salary Gap in Tech

It isn't enough to simply hire more women for tech roles. We need to create an environment where women feel empowered to work in even in the most tech-focused parts of the tech industry, starting companies and driving growth. Women need the same sponsorship and mentorship available to men. Only then will we be able to take steps toward true equality of opportunity and success in technology -- with full names attached.
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A man who admits fatally shooting his daughter at their family's suburban Cleveland home has been indicted on an aggravated murder charge.

Sixty-three-year-old Jamal Mansour told Rocky River police he was angry when he shot 27-year-old Tahani Mansour. The indictment was handed up Wednesday. Mansour is being held on a $4.5 million bond.

Authorities haven't said why Jamal Mansour became so enraged he fired three rounds at his youngest child. He told a judge it was an accident after his arrest Sept. 27.

Friends say Tahani Mansour was bright and energetic and had recently been hired as a clinical pharmacist by the Cleveland Clinic.

Jamal Mansour's attorney referred to a previous comment that said Mansour loved his family.

Mansour was born in Jordan and came to the U.S. in 1978.
Two people died when a helicopter erupted in "a large fireball" as it plummeted into a field outside of St. Paul, a sheriff's official said Friday.

According to the Anoka County Sheriffs Office, officers were called to a report of a crash in a field in Lino Lakes at around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, about 17 miles north of St. Paul.



"What the officers discovered, a helicopter crashed in the field," Anoka County Sheriffs Office Cmdr. Paul Sommer said. "There is basically wreckage. There's not a lot I can tell you about the crash scene. There's a large fireball, wreckage."

Sommer tweeted Friday that two people died in the crash. No one on the ground was hurt in the crash.

Witnesses said they saw the helicopter and then heard a large pop or a bang, Sommer said. They said that the helicopters rotor appeared to stop suddenly and the aircraft was seen falling out of the sky, he added.

Others told authorities that the helicopter began to break up before hitting the ground and bursting into flames.

Sommer said it didn't appear that the crash was caused by an entanglement with power lines, saying the helicopter was flying at a much higher altitude when it started to go down.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, according to FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. Authorities asked Lino Lakes residents to contact the police if they find any objects that could be debris from the aircraft.

"We don't know what kind of aircraft this was. We can't identify much based on what remains in the field. It's basically charred up debris," Sommer said.

Authorities ask if anyone finds debris from the crash to turn it into investigators.

"This is a horrible tragedy," Sommer said. "I can't begin to describe what that scene looks like."

Click for more from Fox 9.

Click for more from KSTP.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Police in Vermont are searching for whoever shot and killed a horse with a bow and arrow.

Authorities say the 23-year-old mare, Bunny, was fatally shot sometime between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning in Barre.

WCAX-TV reports searchers discovered part of an arrow lying in the pasture. Another piece was found in the horse's stomach.

Though it is bow hunting season, Chief Timothy Bombardier says he doesn't believe the slaying was a hunting accident.

He says hunters aren't supposed to be out during the hours that investigators suspect the shooting happened.

Bombardier says Bunny also couldn't have been mistaken for a deer due to her size, color and where she was penned.

Police say the killing is aggravated cruelty to a domestic animal and felony unlawful mischief.
City officials are refusing to release additional video footage in the shooting death of a homeless man in Sacramento this summer.

The Sacramento Police Department previously distributed portions of dash-cam video showing the moments before two officers shot 50-year-old Joseph Mann on July 11.

With enhanced audio, the officers are heard swearing at Mann and saying "I'm gonna hit him" and "OK, go for it" before driving their cruiser at him. They followed on foot and shot him 14 times.

The city on Friday denied a public records request filed by The Associated Press seeking the full, unedited video, citing ongoing investigations.

The officers' attorney, Judith Odbert, says at least one portion of the released exchange has been taken out of context. She says the officers were protecting the public.
Settlement talks that one attorney describes as "fruitful" could resolve a lawsuit that Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson and others filed against the city of Baton Rouge over their arrests during protests of a deadly police shooting.

A court order Friday says attorneys have reached an "agreement in principle to amicably resolve the matter," but plaintiffs' attorney Roy Rodney Jr. disputed that characterization of the negotiations. Rodney said "fruitful discussions" with city attorneys haven't produced a tentative settlement agreement yet.

Mckesson was among nearly 200 protesters arrested after the July 5 death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot during a struggle with two white police officers. The federal class-action lawsuit accuses police of using excessive force and violating protesters' constitutional rights.
Millions in the Southeast headed their state governments warnings Thursday, getting out of dodge before Hurricane Matthew approached.

However, as most residents up and down the Florida coastline packed up and left their beachside homes, there were plenty of people who stayed behind to ride out the storm and taking a calculated risk in doing so.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Brevard County officials expressed concern about those who didnt evacuate the coast. The 2010 census recorded about 90,000 living in the barrier islands, but Don Walker told the Sentinel that only 3,500 have checked into the countys 15 emergency shelters.

It would be very unsafe to have stayed on the barrier island, he said. There are lives in danger.

Brevard County officials said that those who chose to stay need to stay inside their homes as the storm approaches and dont even step outside until a day or two after it passes. Walker added that emergency personnel might to be able to get to the barrier islands if there was an emergency.

Kevin Draddy, of Cape Canaveral, admitted to the Sentinel that the storm did scare him, but chose to stay anyway as he was apprehensive about bringing his dog with him to a pet-friendly shelter.

Tracey Lewis and her boyfriend Michael Culpepper call Merritt Island their home and were one of the spots in Brevard County under evacuation order. However, Lewis told the paper that they couldnt afford to leave their home.

I dont really have anywhere to go, she added.

Lewis said she rode out Hurricane Andrew, but was worried about the debris that could be flying around. She said she didnt feel safe bringing her children to a shelter and prepped for storm at home instead.

Some University of Central Florida students decided to wait out Matthew as well. Students were seen in their dorms hanging out or playing video games as the powerful hurricane made its way up the coast.

I didnt feel like going home, Brett Ellinport, a junior, told the paper. Going home would be Miami so, like, its not that much better.

Most of the campus dorms were evacuated, but those who had close friends in the four Towers dorms were able to stay. Those dorms were not evacuated.

Rapper Vanilla Ice chose to ride out the storm in his home in West Palm Beach. That area was expected to get hit hard by winds and rain from Hurricane Matthew. He provided updates on his Twitter account.

Meanwhile further south, residents in Fort Lauderdale used Thursday to party instead of panicking over the hurricane.

A huge crowd spent the day tossing back beers and singing along with a guitar player at the Elbo Room, situated on a corner in the heart of an area that's typically overrun by college students during spring break.

A smaller crowd partied at another bar one block over. And just up the street, Kim Siegel pranced like a gazelle atop a squat beachside wall as a friend shot videos.

"I'm happy to have a breeze. We haven't had one months," she said.

Although Fort Lauderdale was initially in Matthew's crosshairs, forecasters said the hurricane didn't move inland as far south as first expected. So rather than hunkering down in her home just off the coast, Melody Fortunato took her German shepherd for an afternoon walk. She also spent a few hours watching TV and cleaning out files on her two computers.

"I'm just doing things ... you don't normally do," she said.

Fort Lauderdale residents took all the necessary precautions for Matthew, stripping store shelves clean of bottled water and bread and moving luxury yachts while the storm was still days away. A luxury Bentley was nestled safely beside Toyotas and Jeeps in the vault-like parking garage of a resort hotel.

But the worse never came. So Michael Levi and a buddy went swimming in the ocean, bobbing down the beach in foamy white spray kicked up by Matthew.

"It's not the brightest idea in the world, but it's fun," said Levi of Pembroke Pines, Florida. "A lot of people are afraid to look at this, and actually it's quite beautiful. It's quite amazing. It's a one-in-a-lifetime type thing."

Adam Bator went to the beach to ride the waves. Along with about a half-dozen others, Bator strapped a board to his feet and spent the morning in the ocean being pulled along by a kite that was puffed out by Matthew's wind.

"It's a major adrenaline rush," he said. "It's surfing times 10."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from the Orlando Sentinel.
The mystery over who left behind a sailors World War II medals in an old dresser donated to a charity has been solved, according to a report Friday.

Fox 59 Indianapolis reported that the daughter of the sailor said she donated the dresser to Goodwill when her mother moved to Florida and she didnt realize the medals were in there.

The woman picked up the medals Friday, the station reported.

She is the daughter of Paul John DiModica, a sailor who served on the USS McDougall during World War II. He died in Florida in 2005 at 83, according to a newspaper obituary.

Fox 59 reported earlier that the dressers new owners were gathering clues in hopes of discovering the sailors identity.

He loved his country because he served, Susan Terry told the station. I dont know to what extent he served his country, whether he lived or died. I dont know what his story is, but I sure hope to find out.

Her husband brought the dresser home this week.

Its just, you know, plain Jane, just a little nightstand, Clay Terry told the station.

The couple found the medals in a plastic bag in the bottom drawer. They Navy awarded the medals to mark service in designated World War II campaigns.

The dresser held other items of sentimental value, including DiModicas old Social Security card and a photo taken during his Navy days.

The discovery hit home for Susan Terry.

I was thinking about my dad because he was in the Navy for 22 years and our sons a Marine, she told the station.

Click for more from Fox 59 Indianapolis.
The death toll from Hurricane Matthew rose to at least 283 in Haiti, an emergency official told Reuters on Thursday, as rescue workers started getting a closer look at the extent of the devastation across the Caribbean nation.

The number of dead included "several dozen'' in one coastal town on a part of the southwestern peninsula that authorities and rescue workers were only beginning to reach days after the storm, officials told the news agency.

The storm killed four other people in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the news agency added, reporting that many in Haiti were killed by falling trees.

As the weather began calming, convoys and helicopters have begun venturing to marooned corners of the country to assess the damage and determine how to help thousands of people who lost homes, livestock and crops.

In Haiti's southern peninsula towns where Matthew arrived around daybreak Tuesday with 145 mph winds, there was wreckage and misery everywhere.

"The floodwater took all the food we have in the house. Now we are starving and don't have anything to cook," said farmer Antoine Louis as he stood in brown water up to his thighs in the doorway of his deluged concrete shack.

In Aquin, a coastal town outside the battered city of Les Cayes, people trudged through mud around the wreckage of clapboard houses and tiny shops.

Cenita Leconte was one of many who initially ignored calls to evacuate vulnerable shacks before Matthew roared ashore. The 75-year-old was thankful she finally complied and made it through the terrifying ordeal with her life.

"We've lost everything we own. But it would have been our fault if we stayed here and died," she told The Associated Press as neighbors poked through wreckage hoping to find at least some of their meager possessions.

Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, head of the civil protection agency, said the storm also made roads impassable and knocked out communications in the Grand Anse department, on the opposite side of the narrow peninsula from where Matthew first hit.

"We do know there's a lot of damage in the Grand Anse, and we also know human life has been lost there," Jean-Baptiste said, though the official death toll did not yet include reports from there.

Civil aviation authorities reported counting 3,214 destroyed homes along the southern peninsula, where many families live in shacks with sheet metal roofs and don't always have the resources to escape harm's way.

The government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance after the disaster, which U.N. Deputy Special Representative for Haiti Mourad Wahba has called the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In coming days, U.S. military personnel equipped with nine helicopters were expected to start arriving in the capital to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas.

Jean-Michel Vigreux, the country director in Haiti for the nonprofit group CARE, his group hadn't yet been able to communicate with its team in Grande Anse. "It is very scary," he said.

With answers slow to come, some Haitians in the crowded capital were convinced their homeland had been largely spared the kind of suffering that severe weather has wrought in the past.

"The news on the radio doesn't seem nearly as bad as it could have been," upholsterer Daniel Wesley said as he walked down a rain-slicked street in downtown Port-au-Prince which was largely spared from the storm.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

Matthew was pummeling the Bahamian capital of Nassau on Thursday with winds of 125 mph.

The head of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority, Capt. Stephen Russell, told The Associated Press there were many downed trees and power lines, but no reports of casualties.

Authorities shut down the power grid to protect it against the winds.

In nearby Cuba, Matthew blew across that island's sparsely populated eastern tip, destroying dozens of homes and damaging hundreds in the island's easternmost city, Baracoa. But the government oversaw the evacuation of nearly 380,000 people and strong measures were taken to protect communities and infrastructure, U.N. officials said.

Early Thursday, Matthew was pounding the central the Bahamas on a path forecast to take it close to the U.S. East Coast as a category 4 storm, where authorities were carrying out large-scale evacuations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Diplomats tell The Associated Press that Russia's government lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top U.N. official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians.

The intervention underscores the unusual links between the Kremlin and the Republican presidential nominee.

There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

But three diplomats say the criticism prompted Vitaly Churkin, Russia's U.N. ambassador, to issue a verbal "demarche" to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Sept. 13.

The diplomats weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and demanded anonymity, fearing possible diplomatic repercussions from Russia, a powerful, permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
Belgian prosecutors say the brother of a man charged with stabbing two Brussels police officers has been arrested and charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

A statement from the Federal Prosecutor's Office on Friday gave no additional details about the brother, identified only as a Belgian citizen named Aboubaker D. who was born in 1970.

His sibling Hicham D., 43, has been charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context and participating in the activities of a terrorist group in connection with the Wednesday stabbings in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels.

Belgian media have reported that Hicham D. is a veteran of the Belgian army who was discharged in 2009.

Officials say the injuries to the police officers were not life-threatening.


Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is dropping hints about a possible return to politics.

The former Labour Party leader told Esquire magazine in a lengthy interview published Friday that Britain is becoming a one-party state under the Conservatives as Labour moves to the "ultra-left" under new leader Jeremy Corbyn.

He tells the magazine he doesn't know if there's a role for him but says he is still motivated by politics and views what is happening now as "a tragedy." He says his future plans are "an open question."

The 63-year-old Blair won three consecutive elections by moving the Labour Party into the political center, but the British public has largely soured on him because of his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He left office in 2007.

Blair has recently scaled back his for-profit business activities.
Authorities say the president of a German chapter of the Hells Angels has been shot and killed in his biker gang's clubhouse.

Prosecutors said Aygun Mucuk was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds Friday morning by the Giessen clubhouse's cleaning lady, the dpa news agency reported.

Prosecutor's spokesman Thomas Hauburger says authorities have no immediate suspects and have secured the clubhouse, used by some 30-50 members, as part of their investigation.

Dpa reports there had been a rivalry between the Giessen Hells Angels, whose membership is largely of Turkish origin, and the long-established Hells Angels chapter in nearby Frankfurt.

Mucuk had been wounded by gunshots two years ago when the rivalry led to a clash outside a Frankfurt club.
Police say a Liberian man, his partner and her grandson were injured in what appears to have been a racially motivated attack at the man's home in eastern Germany.

Police in Saxony-Anhalt state said two men rang the doorbell at the Liberian's apartment in Merseburg on Thursday evening. Armed with a baton and brass knuckles, they attacked the 44-year-old man and then his 47-year-old partner. The five-year-old child also was hurt in the scuffle.

The assailants left, but one returned after police arrived and made racist comments. Officers then tracked down the other suspect.

Police said Friday both were from Merseburg and were highly intoxicated. The men, one of whom maintained he had wanted to complain about loud music, are being investigated on suspicion of bodily harm and other offenses.
The long-awaited move on Mosul is expected to begin early next week, as Kurdish, national and allied forces prepare to oust ISIS from its Iraqi stronghold, sources told FoxNews.com.

Forces have been massing along Mosuls outskirts for months, with periodic skirmishes in towns and villages that ring Iraqs second-largest city. Despite the black-clad jihadist armys tight grip within city limits, Iraqi and Kurdish military sources know ISIS has been digging in, fortifying positions, planting booby traps and preparing for a bloody siege.

The coalition has trained us very well in joint operations, medical training, our snipers, advanced bomb units and street guerrilla tactics," Col. Thamar Mohamed Ismael, commander of the Iraqi Army Emergency Response Division (ERD), told FoxNews.com this week from his unit's Baghdad base that once housed hundreds of U.S. troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He and others who spoke to FoxNews.com said they expect the assault to begin next week.

Iraqi and coalition forces have in recent days bombarded Mosul with radio broadcasts and leaflets instructing civilians of the coming offensive and notifying them of their exit routes, ginning up speculation that action is imminent.

Aerial attacks are expected to soften up known ISIS targets first, and then Iraqi special operations battalions will spearhead the ground assault, Ismael said. Iraqi troops will then move in, with the grim possibility of fighting block-to-block and door-to-door in a city that was once home to 2.5 million and has been controlled by ISIS since June, 2014. The Kurdish military  known as Peshmerga - will keep the frontlines to the north secure, with Sunni militias guarding the outside of the city. It is unclear what role Shia militias will play.

Iraqi military officials have intel from inside Mosul, much of which has been gleaned from spies within ISIS, said Haitham al-Malaki, head of military intelligence for the ERD. Working closely with the U.S.-led coalition, Malaki has obtained troves of key documents and sources that have paved the path for the Mosul offensive to kick into high gear.

"We've identified most of their communications and financial supplies," he told FoxNews.com.

A major part of the plan includes safeguarding the thousands of Yazidi women believed to be held hostage as sex slaves in the city.

"The minute we are on the verge of the city, we will notify those assets to go in and collect as many girls as possible before going in," Malaki told FoxNews.com. "We will also open a rescue path to ensure safe passage for the ones we can't get beforehand."

Perhaps the biggest question looming ahead of the operation is the whereabouts of shadowy ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Reports have claimed he was injured  and even killed  in the past, but intelligence sources believe he is likely alive and well and hiding somewhere around Mosul.

Several military officials said the offensive to take control of Mosul could happen as fast as four days to a week. However, Malaki anticipates that it will likely take two months to take back full control, clearing the city of threats and rooting out holdout fighters.

"It will take longer than the others due to the vast majority of people there and the size of the land," he said.

Conditions inside Mosul are believed to have deteriorated significantly in recent months, with inside sources telling FoxNews.com families have been starving due to high costs and limited supplies. Medicine has become scarce, and cash-strapped ISIS is believed to have stopped supplying civilians with the services they once offered in exchange for support.

ERD Captain Omar Nazar, 28, said civilians have turned on ISIS and will be a key to the operations success.

"We expect many civilians to stay there," Nazar said. "ISIS isn't the same ISIS as before, we have conquered them emotionally. Their morale is gone."

United Nations officials and non-governmental organization leaders have converged in the Northern Iraq town of Erbil this week in preparation for refugees the offensive could produce. However, the deteriorating security situation and high level of suicide bombings in the area surrounding Mosul have made it difficult to set up aid bases and camps, sources told FoxNews.com.

The fight for Mosul is both symbolic and strategic. The Iraqi army was humiliated when the city was overrun more than two years ago. Soldiers fled their posts, leaving behind weapons, munitions and even uniforms in a display that demonstrated the militarys shocking inability to protect the nation from the growing threat of ISIS. Over the next two years, the terrorist army overran much of northwestern Iraq, claiming a caliphate the size of the United Kingdom.

Iraqi soldiers are now eager to reclaim the city  and their armys reputation.

"This will be honor, it is my desire to protect my country," said First Soldier Omar Salah al Wad, a 29-year-old father of four from Ramadi. Wounded seven times in battles with ISIS, he added, "I want my country to be as good as it can for my kids."
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Jordan's King Abdullah II says Chancellor Angela Merkel should be commended for her decision to open Germany's doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants and for her government's support for his and other countries in the region dealing with the flood of refugees from Syria.

Jordan, with a population of about 6.5 million, hosts about 635,000 refugees from neighboring Syria. In brief remarks Friday after talks with Merkel, Abdullah said the chancellor's approach brought a "breath of fresh air" into the challenges faced by his country and elsewhere.

Germany last year saw 890,000 migrants arrive and has also been a critical supporter in providing more aid for countries like Jordan and Turkey that share borders with Syria.

Abdullah told Merkel she raises "the moral bar very high."
Authorities in Kuwait say two Iranians have been arrested after being seen photographing Shiite congregation halls ahead of a major religious ceremony.

Kuwait's Interior Ministry issued a statement late Thursday saying the two men took "suspicious photos" of the halls, also known as husseiniyahs. It said the two men entered Kuwait separately in the past two months.

It wasn't immediately clear if the men had lawyers.

Their arrests come ahead of next week's Shiite commemoration of Ashoura, which marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century.

Kuwaiti police have promised increased security ahead of Ashoura.

An Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing in 2015 targeting a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City killed 27 people and wounded scores.
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The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):

5:30 p.m.

A spokesman for an al-Qaida-linked militant faction in Syria has rejected a proposal by a U.N. envoy to withdraw their fighters from eastern Aleppo, where an estimated 275,000 people are trapped in a government siege.

Hossam al-Shafai of the Fatah al-Sham Front wrote on Twitter Friday that the group is "determined to break the siege" on the city's opposition-held neighborhoods.

Russian and Syrian government forces have been bombarding the city's east for months on the grounds that they are fighting terrorism. Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura on Thursday urged the group's estimated 900 fighters inside the city to leave in exchange for a halt to Russian and Syrian government bombardment.

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5:15 p.m.

Russia's lower house of parliament has ratified a treaty with Syria that allows the Russian military to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country.

The Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously Friday to ratify the deal, which formalizes Russia's military presence at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.

The move comes as a show of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. The deal allows Russia to use the base free of charge, and for as long as it requires.

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win back key ground. Moscow says its goal is to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.

___

4:45 p.m.

The foreign ministers of Italy and Spain are calling for immediate action to end the deteriorating condition in Aleppo, where thousands of civilians are under siege by the government.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni referred to the siege as a "terrible humanitarian tragedy," during a press conference in Ankara on Friday. He urged Turkey to ask Russia to put pressure on Damascus to halt its offensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled visit Istanbul next week.

In a separate press conference in Ankara, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo called for the United Nations' Security Council to "immediately" find a solution to the crisis.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has described conditions in eastern Aleppo, where 275,000 people are trapped under a government siege, as "worse than a slaughterhouse."

___

4:15 p.m.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow backs the U.N. Syria envoy's call on al-Qaida-linked militants to leave the besieged city of Aleppo.

Hundreds of people have died as the Syrian army backed by Russian warplanes has stepped up its offensive on rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Special envoy Staffan de Mistura urged fighters from Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front, to evacuate to another part of the country to save the ancient city from complete destruction.

Lavrov backed de Mistura's proposal, saying Friday that Moscow is ready to ask Damascus to allow the militants to leave the city with their weapons "for the sake of saving Aleppo."

He added that policies must also be developed to deal with other militants who choose to stay in Aleppo.

___

2:45 p.m.

The Russian parliament is discussing the ratification of a treaty with Syria that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country.

Lawmakers spoke in favor of the agreement, in a sign of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Moscow has backed throughout the devastating civil war.

The vote is to be held later Friday.

The treaty allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, as long as it wants.

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win some key ground. Moscow says it seeks to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.
The Latest on The conflict in Syria (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow backs the U.N. Syria envoy's call on al-Qaida-linked militants to leave the besieged city of Aleppo.

Hundreds of people have died as the Syrian army backed by Russian warplanes has stepped up its offensive on rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Special envoy Staffan de Mistura urged fighters from Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front, to evacuate to another part of the country to save the ancient city from complete destruction.

Lavrov backed de Mistura's proposal, saying Friday that Moscow is ready to ask Damascus to allow the militants to leave the city with their weapons "for the sake of saving Aleppo."

He added that policies must also be developed to deal with other militants who choose to stay in Aleppo.

___

2:45 p.m.

The Russian parliament is discussing the ratification of a treaty with Syria that allows Russian troops to stay indefinitely in the Mideast country.

Lawmakers spoke in favor of the agreement, in a sign of support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Moscow has backed throughout the devastating civil war.

The vote is to be held later Friday.

The treaty allows Russia to keep its forces at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, Assad's Alawite heartland, as long as it wants.

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win some key ground. Moscow says it seeks to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.
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A court has cleared the ex-mayor of Rome in an expense account scandal that cost him his job and plunged the already troubled city administration into a year of chaos.

A defiant Ignazio Marion emerged from the courthouse Friday denouncing the political elites of his own Democratic Party who brought him down and said it was up to each one to apologize.

Marino resigned under pressure a year ago after questions arose over whether he used the city hall credit card to expense family dinners.

The court found no crime was committed but Marino said the damage was done.

He says "one year ago, democracy was wounded in our capital. The truth was denied and hundreds of thousands of Romans were violated of their democratic choice for mayor."
Germany's Foreign Ministry says the Turkish ambassador has returned to his post in Berlin, some four months after he was recalled amid fury in Ankara over a parliamentary resolution that labeled the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.

Deputy foreign minister Markus Ederer met with ambassador Huseyin Avni Karslioglu Friday and said his return was "an important positive step in bilateral relations."

The ambassador's return was the latest sign of a thaw between the two countries following the June vote in Parliament.

Last month, Turkey gave its approval for German lawmakers to visit German troops at a Turkish air base, ending a standoff that had deepened strains in ties between the two NATO allies. The visit took place earlier this week.
The UN Security Council held a closed-door emergency meeting on Syria Friday, one day after U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura warned that the lives of some 275,000 people were hanging in the balance as the Russian and Syrian government air bombardment of Aleppo continued unabated.

In maximum two months, two-and-a-half months, the city of eastern Aleppo may be totally destroyed, de Mistura said. The Kremlin said Russian fighter jets were assisting Syrias armed forces in the fight against terrorism. De Mistura, who was briefing the Security Council via video link in Geneva, implored Russia to halt its airstrikes to end the terrible suffering of Aleppos residents and allow a few hundred jihadi fighters holed up in the city to leave. If you decide to leave with dignity I am personally ready to physically accompany you, de Mistura said, urging former Al-Nusra Front fighters in eastern Aleppo to leave in a deal that would end the brutal air campaign against the city and its residents.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Russias Channel One news that Moscow was ready to urge the Syrian government to agree to de Misturas proposal to allow the Al-Nusra fighters out of eastern Aleppo in exchange for a temporary cessation of hostilities.

On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States ended talks with Moscow on Syria over Russias stepped up air campaign in Aleppo. Moscow and Washington accused each other of breaking a fragile ceasefire last month. Russia has since deployed advanced S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air-missiles to Syria. And Thursday, a Russian defense ministry spokesman warned that any U.S. aircraft attempting to launch strikes may be shot down by the Russia air defenses.

Security Council members were discussing a French-drafted resolution that demands a ceasefire in Aleppo. Fox News saw an initial draft of the resolution which called for the suspension of all aerial military activity over the war-torn city. The measure also called for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the establishment of a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire.

Russias Ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, said earlier this week that the resolution in its current form has no chance of working, essentially threatening to veto it. Moscows deployment of advanced air defenses in Syria is viewed by Western diplomats as a move that would deter any attempt by the West to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, a long-standing appeal by Syrias opposition.

The UN Security Council scheduled to vote on the resolution at 3pm Saturday. Churkin, said a short time ago outside the Security Council that the French draft contains elements that we think are harmful, hinting of Moscows intention to veto.
David Nomberg Receives WILG Rising Star Award

David P. Nomberg was selected as the 2016 recipient of the Rising Star Award by the Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group ("WILG").

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David P. Nomberg was selected as the 2016 recipient of the Rising Star Award by the Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group ("WILG"). This award is given to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and accomplishments in service to WILG and are new to getting involved in the organization. David was presented with the award at the President's Dinner on September 26 at WILG's annual convention.

WILG is the national non-profit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families who, each year, suffer the consequences of work-related injuries or occupational illnesses and who need expert legal assistance to obtain medical care and other relief under workers' compensation programs. WILG is a network of like-minded advocates for workers' rights, sharing information and knowledge, a sense of commitment and kinship, and networking to help each other and their own clients.

David P. Nomberg primarily represents injured workers throughout Alabama in workers' compensation cases. David has earned an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell in civil practice, personal injury and workers' compensation. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine as well as chosen as a Top Attorney by Birmingham magazine and B-Metro magazine. David is a Board Member and Sustaining Member of the Alabama Association for Justice. David is a Board Member of WILG.

"I am honored to receive the Rising Star award from WILG. Joining WILG has been a great benefit to me, my practice and my clients because WILG's membership is comprised of outstanding attorneys from across the nation who are deeply passionate about helping injured workers," said David Nomberg.

The Nomberg Law Firm is based in Birmingham, Alabama, specializing in workers' compensation, personal injury and Social Security disability.

For more information, please visit http://www.nomberglaw.com/contact

Contact Info:

Name: David Nomberg

Organization: The Nomberg Law Firm

Address: 115 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N., Birmingham, AL 35203

Phone: (205) 930-6900

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/david-nomberg-receives-wilg-rising-star-award/136784

Release ID: 136784

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Christopher Davis Launches Outdoor Hiking Blog

Christopher Davis launches outdoor hiking blog including exciting locations and exceptional product reviews.

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Hiking - a wonderful pastime - is ideal for all ages. Whether an avid experienced hiker or a hiking novice, the new hiking blog at ChristopherTDavis.com offers everything hikers of all levels need to know from the best equipment to the most beautiful locales. Dedicated to hikers from all walks of life, the hiking blog at ChristopherTDavis.com promises information delivered by an experienced hiker who knows the ins and outs of hiking in all types of temperatures and terrains all over the country.

Christopher Davis offers readers a hikers-eye-view into all things hiking - from the best trails, the most scenic camping spots, what to wear no matter where you trek, the most effective gear to carry along on your adventure, how to handle unexpected emergencies on the trail, and hiking etiquette. Beginning with gear selection, ChristopherTDavis.com opens the blog with the reviews of the most efficient trekking poles featuring an overall review of the benefits of hiking poles and following up with specific reviews of some of the best trekking poles on the market including Cat Nomad Ultra Compacts, Sterling Endurance Foldables, Weanas Alpenstocks Collapsibles, Montem Ultra Strongs, Sterling Endurance Foldables, and Himal Folding Collapsibles.

Along with real product reviews, hikers will also find helpful tips for each product's most effective use on the trail, no matter the terrain or the weather. In addition, the new hiking blog (https://christophertdavis.com/best-trekking-poles/) presents true encounters with hiking trails, from the easiest to the most difficult and the advice needed to make the most arduous trail manageable including maintaining a steady pace along the entire trail, the best way to get the most out of hikes, trekking steep trails and greater distances, finding one's hiking rhythm, choice trekking trails and scenic spots, choosing gear that is light and compact as well as sturdy and durable, and, of course, safety first always.

"I'd like to personally welcome you to ChristopherTDavis.com, where I am excited to share my passion for hiking with you, my fellow hikers. Each post will offer helpful tips and tricks to use along the trail, allowing you to gain greater joy from trekking the great outdoors and exploring the beautiful scenery you can only enjoy when you are out on the trail!" - Christopher Davis

About ChristopherTDavis.com: ChristopherTDavis.com is the latest hiking blog from avid hiker, Christopher Davis of Birmingham, Alabama. Though his hiking blog launch, Davis hopes to reach others who already share his passion for all things hiking as well as new hikers who want to explore the amazing great outdoors in the best way possible - hiking!

For more information, please visit https://christophertdavis.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Chris Davis

Email: chris@christophertdavis.com

Organization: Christopher Davis

Address: 237 Cahaba Road Birmingham, AL 35223

Phone: (205) 819-8603

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/christopher-davis-launches-outdoor-hiking-blog/136828

Release ID: 136828

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Lisa Sherri Announces the Launch of New Outdoor Gear Review Site

Lisa Sherri announces the launch of New Outdoor Gear Review Site beginning with Lisa's Trekking Pole Reviews.

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Lisa Sherri is pleased to present a welcome addition to her Women Hiker Blog - the New Outdoor Gear Review Site beginning with the featured posts - Lisa's Trekking Pole Reviews. She is an avid hiker who is passionate for the outdoors, offers her expert opinions and delivers both the advantages and disadvantages of each product reviewed. In addition, she presents comparisons for both the expert and novice outdoor fans, so whether readers have been hiking and mountaineering for years or are just beginning their adventures, everyone benefits.

Lisa Sherri offers readers her expert reviews including the best products available in outdoor gear for trekking, mountaineering, and more. Plus, she presents each product in light of what everyone should look as far as quality and features, depending on the activity being pursued. From the most appropriate gear selection, to the most effective wearable gear for the location, to the gear needed to take care of emergencies in the great outdoors, she delivers the best of the best in outdoor gear, saving her readers time and money that can be better spent on their next adventure.

Beginning with Lisa's Trekking Pole Reviews, the NEW Outdoor Gear Review Site offers up the top four trekking poles available today. Trekking poles are essential for hiking and mountaineering, promising exceptional benefits including reduced impact on joints, increased speed, consistent rhythm, and defense against everything from thorns to wild animals. The right Trekking poles can make your hike more comfortable and enjoyable and she has taken the guesswork out of the selection. Scouring hundreds of reviews and testing numerous products, Lisa Sherri presents the best trekking poles available including the Hiker Hunger Trekking Poles, the High Trek Hiking Poles, Crown Sporting Goods Trekking Pole and Hiking Staff, and the Life in Motion Adventurer Trekking Poles.

"In each article, readers can be assured, we have done ample research to ensure you get the best outdoor gear available beginning with your trekking poles. We examine hundreds of reviews about each product, test products, and offer you a list of the best of the best available. You, then are left with the simple and small task of selecting your best just from these few - what could be better!" - Lisa Sherri, LisaSherri.com

About LisaSherri.com: LisaSherri.com features the latest in outdoor gear product reviews presented by hiker and mountaineering expert, Lisa Sherri of Idaho Falls. Through her latest efforts, those who love the great outdoors can find the best gear available quickly and easily, saving time and money, as Lisa Sherri reviews the best products available and present them simply.

For more information, please visit https://lisasherri.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Lisa Sherri

Email: lisa@lisasherri.com

Organization: Lisa Sherri

Address: 725 E Anderson Street Idaho Falls, ID 83401

Phone: (208) 244-2810

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/lisa-sherri-announces-the-launch-of-new-outdoor-gear-review-site/136830

Release ID: 136830

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Danny Kenda Launches WalkingPoleReviews.com

Danny Kenda announces the best Walking Pole Reviews with the launch of WalkingPoleReviews.com.

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Danny Kenda is pleased to announce the launch of WalkingPoleReviews.com presenting the best Walking Pole Reviews available anywhere. Regardless of what they are called - Walking Sticks, Trekking Poles, and, of course, Walking Poles - avid hikers and trekkers know they are indispensable when trekking through rough terrains. Selecting the right trekking poles can present a challenge not only to novice hikers, but also to expert trekkers. That was then, but today with the launch of WalkingPoleReviews.com, the challenge has been met as the new site offers the best of the best in walking poles, presenting reviews, product testing, and most of all what to look for in the perfect trekking pole designed to suit one's hiking habits.

Walking Pole Reviews offers followers of the site expert reviews of walking poles along with the importance of quality, material, flexibility, shock absorption, and all the things hikers need to keep in mind when making a decision on the best poles for their adventures. Choosing the appropriate trekking poles can make all the difference in hikers' comfort and enjoyment of each and every hike, no matter the location, the terrain, the weather, and the obstacles along the way.

The walking poles reviewed at WalkingPoleReviews.com are intended to find the best products for every level of hiker. Trekking poles help hikers move more easily, increasing their speed over long distances, while reducing the impact on joints and muscles. In addition, walking sticks can push away brush and thorns, as well as help hikers balance and rhythm. With so many options out there, it can be difficult to choose the best quality and the best price for the ideal walking poles. Hikers don't want to choose the cheapest prices or the lowest quality, given all that trekking poles add to the adventure.

"Selecting the best trekking poles is not an easy task and that is what WalkingPoleReviews.com was created for - to make your selection of the perfect walking sticks simple, so that you can enjoy your latest trek without worrying if whether your trekking poles will fail you along the way. We take great pains to ensure the information presented is true based on reviews and research so that you can choose the ideal walking poles for you and your adventure!" - Danny Kenda, WalkingPoleReviews.com

About WalkingPoleReviews.com is the brainchild of Danny Kenda, a devoted hiker, who saw the need to deliver the latest in walking pole reviews to fellow hikers - expert and beginner. The new site offers well-researched reviews, intended to help each and every hiker find their perfect trekking poles without wading through the myriad of options available, but rather though a short list of the best of the best options out there.

For more information, please visit https://walkingpolereviews.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Danny Kenda

Email: danny@walkingpolereviews.com

Organization: Walking Pole Reviews

Address: 201 N 3rd Street Las Vegas, NV 89101

Phone: (702) 185-0133

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/danny-kenda-launches-walkingpolereviews-com/136832

Release ID: 136832

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SME Online Mastery Launches Brand New Service

The company is now providing press release writing and marketing services to help boost client rankings, reports www.sme-mastery.com.

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SME Online Mastery, a company that specializes in online marketing strategies for real-world businesses, has recently announced the launch of a brand new service. The company is now offering press release marketing for business owners who want to get their message out to the world and give their search engine optimization strategies a boost. SME Online Mastery's press release marketing can be used as a standalone service or in conjunction with the company's other offerings.

Wei Khoon Shoo, the owner of SME Online Mastery, stated "Most business owners believe that press releases are only for companies with large advertising budgets or those who have big news to report. However, nothing could be further from the truth. A Press release can also bring online exposure to a local business and improve their search engine rankings, both of which can result in more traffic and the acquisition of new customers. In this way, our new service aims to help business owners get in front of their target audience by positioning themselves in the right places."

Local business owners across Malaysia can take advantage of SME Online Mastery's press release marketing services by following three simple steps. First, they'll send information about their subject, keywords, and URL's along with any special instructions to the company's marketing team. Then, SME Online Mastery will employ their U.S.-based writers to craft a newsworthy PR and distribute it among their network of journalists, which includes the Associated Press. Finally, SME Online Mastery will deliver a detailed distribution report to the business owner 14 - 21 days after the release is submitted.

Wei Khoon Shoo continued, "Getting in front of their target audience means that local business owners have to embrace tactics that will gain them exposure and authority online. More than 80 million people around the world read the news each day, which makes press releases a powerful addition to any company's online Marketing strategy. Our team looks forward to using this new service to help businesses maximize their potential online and beyond."

Those who are interested in learning more about SME Online Mastery's new press release service or inquiring about their small business SEO offerings should visit www.sme-mastery.com for more information.

About SME Online Mastery:

The mission of SME Online Mastery is to help local and small business owners get online and get in front of their target audience. The company's SEO experts accomplish this goal by providing clients with a localized SEO analysis, showing them how to build an effective website, and creating the ultimate online marketing strategy for their business.

For more information, please visit http://www.sme-mastery.com

Contact Info:

Name: Wei Khoon Shoo

Organization: SME Online Mastery

Phone: 60177180887

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/sme-online-mastery-launches-brand-new-service/135522

Release ID: 135522

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Beacon Plumbing Launches a Sewer Line Awareness Campaign

Many homes and businesses are at risk of a sewage backup, as they are connected to sewer lines that are now more than a century old, announces BeaconPlumbing.net

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Fox Business reports many homes and businesses in the country are connected to sewer lines more than a century old. Experts warn this needs to be of concern to every home and business owner, as sewage backups may occur due to these aging lines.

Furthermore, plumbing experts state pipelines designed to handle raw sewage and storm water often tend to be overwhelmed during heavy rains, and tree roots have a tendency to grow into the lines and block them. Any time sewage backs up into a home, walls, floors, electrical systems and more become susceptible to damage, thus home and business owners need to keep an eye on their sewer system and immediately call for a Sewer Repair any time a problem is detected.

"Prevention remains the best option when it comes to ensuring there isn't an issue with a sewer system. Our technicians evaluate these lines and scope them to determine if there are any concerns present. As these lines are underground, this isn't a task the average person can take on simply because they do not have the professional sewer camera needed to do the job thoroughly," Bill Cahill, of Beacon Plumbing, explains.

Numerous things may bring about a sewage backup in the home or office. Grease poured down a kitchen drain, egg shells discarded in a sink or tree roots are only three problems the technician may find when they come to diagnose the issue. A backed up toilet often leads to the need for flushing of sewer lines, and cracked sewage lines aren't unheard of. Regardless of where the problem lies within the Plumbing, this is one issue that needs to be addressed immediately.

A failure to resolve the problem in a short period of time may result in extra damage to the structure. Mold grows in damp places, and a sewage backup provides optimal conditions for this growth. Furthermore, if the sewage reaches one or more electrical systems, they may need to be repaired or replaced, and these are only two examples of the damage that can be caused when a sewer line is clogged or damaged.

"Contact our trained sewer experts today for assistance with any sewer problem you are experiencing, whether it be sewer related or another matter completely. We charge by the job, not by the hour and provide customers with a complete cost before the sewer project begins. In addition, we make use of a high pressure, hydro-jet device to clean the pipes thoroughly, as our goal is to ensure the job is done right the first time." Cahill recommends.

About Beacon Plumbing:

Established in 1999, Beacon Plumbing serves as a family owned company offering 24 hour emergency and same day service. Known as a pillar company for sewer repair in the Seattle area, the technicians are sewer experts who live in the local Seattle neighborhoods, ensuring a quick response when a plumbing issue arises. In fact, technicians generally arrive on site in 90 minutes or less and can take on a variety of tasks, including flushing the sewer system or replacing sewer lines.

For more information, please visit http://www.beaconplumbing.net/seattle-sewer-repair

Contact Info:

Name: Bill Cahill

Organization: Beacon Plumbing

Address: 515 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104

Phone: 206-452-3130

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/beacon-plumbing-launches-a-sewer-line-awareness-campaign/135611

Release ID: 135611

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Sydney Digital Marketing Firm Launches New 'Rent & Rank Websites 4 Startups'

Go Viral Now releases teaser information on the upcoming launch of its new "Rent & Rank Websites for Start Ups" service. Further information can be found at http://www.goviralnow.net/search-engine-optimisation-prices/

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GO VIRAL NOW has announced that today is the official launch of its 'Rent and Rank: Websites' for Start-Ups package. This great new service has been much anticipated among local start-ups and small local businesses, who are looking forward to these key features:

1. RENT a website! Start-ups and small business entrepreneurs will no longer have to pay a fortune upfront for a website that may just languish in the back-blocks of the interwebs. Now it's possible to rent a stunning, responsive website with full branding, company colours, information and logo, for a monthly management fee. No need for a start-up to stress about all the initial expenses.

2. RANK a new website. Now it's possible to have a complete online presence up and running without a huge initial investment of time and money. Every business needs a search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media network to get brand and product visibility. The 'Rent and Rank' packages include:

a. a website that looks great on mobile devices as well as desktop computers,

b. FOUR social media properties (choose from: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram &/or YouTube), plus

c. SEO: search engine optimisation to ensure the website and business can be found easily and upfront on Google and other search engines.

SPECIAL LAUNCH OFFER!

Go Viral Now will celebrate the launch event by providing a discount for setup costs for all new clients who sign up before 31 October, 2016. It's expected that this will help lots of start-ups by saving them from paying a fortune up-front - for a website that doesn't rank in Google and isn't set up to convert visitors into buyers. Go Viral Now want to see their customers have the time to focus on their own business while having the digital marketing taken care of for them.

SOLID EXPERIENCE

Go Viral Now has been building and ranking websites for over 5 years and has helped many start-ups and small businesses to become highly visible online. The company stays up to date with the latest Google algorithm updates and the strategies that work right now, plus the latest techniques for websites that bring in new prospects and sales. The sites are built targeting the most relevant keywords and phrases, to get those all-important rankings in the search results. Go Viral Now ensures that clients are found online, and helps get their new business up and running, all while minimising the endless expenses and overheads that come with achieving a solid and beneficial online presence.

The 'Rent and Rank' package has taken 3 months to put together and is finally ready to go. Tess Robinson, Director at Go Viral Now adds, "I've spent years watching start-ups spend a large chunk of their budget on a nice website that can't be found by their customers - so it does nothing for their business. I wanted to develop a service that actually helps start-ups and small businesses get a solid web presence without those huge initial costs. A monthly fee is far more affordable for most start-ups. Plus, they get the added benefit of having monthly search engine optimisation done on their website, with ongoing back-up support to keep improving their social media networking."

For more information about Go Viral Now and the new 'Rent and Rank: Websites for Start-Ups' service, go to: http://www.goviralnow.net/search-engine-optimisation-prices/

For more information, please visit http://www.GoViralNow.net

Contact Info:

Name: Tess Robinson

Organization: Go Viral Now

Address: 3 Baden St



Release ID: 135791

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UK Groundworks Contractor And Specialist Precast Concrete Installer Launches

Modular Cubed, a groundworks contractor and specialist in construction, groundwork, and civils projects, this week officially opened.

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Modular Cubed, a groundworks contractor and specialist in construction, groundwork, and civils projects, this week officially opened and launched their operation for all interested companies and prospective clients. The UK's newest groundworks contractor will provide structural design, project management, groundwork, precast installation, transportation, and logistics services to all partnered clients.

Equipped with expertise of installing precast concrete products, Modular Cubed will be able to save clients time and money through off-site manufactured precast concrete products. The firm plans to work with some of the UK's leading precast manufacturers and will put their precast installation to work by offering a wide range of services form pre-stressed wall panels to modular retaining wall systems. Additional precast installation services available through them include procurement, project management, joint sealing, RAMs, crane installation, and concrete repairs. Learn more here: http://www.modularcubed.co.uk/precast-concrete-installation/

Modular Cubed is poised to outshine the competition in their precast concrete installation through their highly experienced and professional team. Composed of individuals who are borne from passions for design and implementation of structural perfection, Modular Cubed has stated they will add even more precast concrete service selections for clients in upcoming months.

Determined to be more than just a concrete installation company, Modular Design is also offering structural design and project management to interested partners. Through their structural design service, their engineers are able to produce full structural calculations and CAD drawings for any submitted project. Additionally, no matter the longevity or complexity of the project, Modular Design is equipped to manage the entire project, from design to delivery.

For those interested in groundworks, they're ready to support that, too. They are providing a wide range of site surveying, earthworks, reinforced concrete foundations, and concrete footings. They are capable of designing the foundation, preparing the site, pouring reinforced concrete slabs, erecting steel frames, and combined it all with their precast experience and knowledge. It's what makes them a one-stop-shop unlike any other.

To top it all off, the new precast company is also offering transportation and logistics to clients. They have a reported extensive access to a UK logistics network including their very own crane and moffett vehicles.

Modular Design plans to accept any kind of custom request or project that may only require one or two of their available services. Types of projects they consider include agricultural construction, energy and utilities, retaining walls, site security, and modular buildings.

This means the company can address construction of crop storage, livestock buildings, and silage clamps for any agriculture industry participant. For those in energy, they can install solar power, Anaerobic Digestion, highway, rail, and airport infrastructure. For those in the waste management industry, they can install earth retaining walls and waste transfer stations. They will also create material storage bays. For businesses in need of some kind of site security measures, which is most of them, Modular Design is providing concrete barriers, fencing, and hoarding that will be personally installed by their team. Lastly, they provide bespoke modular building solutions for storage of materials and machinery.

Upon visiting the new site, visitors will find a wealth of information and advice from industry professionals, available for free. Modular Design also posts a phone number for interested clients who need advice and guidance on which kind of precast product is right for them and their operation.

"We have built a very healthy alliance with M3, built around their excellent customer service, prompt responses and their ability to work around our exact requirements," said Tom Hallam-Eames, Director of Toro Shelters.

Site visitors can also feast their eyes on a serious of pictures illustrating Modular Design's completed work.

The new UK-based precast company is highly active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

For more information, please visit http://www.modularcubed.co.uk/

Contact Info:

Name: Philip White

Email: info@modularcubed.co.uk

Organization: Modular Cubed



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/uk-groundworks-contractor-and-specialist-precast-concrete-installer-launches/136925

Release ID: 136925

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This week Oculus wraps up its third annual Oculus Connect developer conference, the first its held since debuting a commercial version of its Rift VR headset earlier this year.

That makes this the first Connect Oculus has hosted as a bona fide platform holder, and it showed.

Devs who missed the Connect keynote should know that it focused on promoting the Oculus platform as a whole rather than any specific headset, while the conference sessions tended to feature Oculus staff or partners speaking directly to devs about how they could build better games and experiences for the platform -- with an emphasis on lessons learned by devs who had been doing just that.

Anyone whos attended dev conferences in the past will appreciate how thats all par for the course and not at all surprising -- which is a bit of a departure from prior Oculus events. With Oculus hardware and software still coming together around them, earlier Connects prominently featured company cofounder Palmer Luckey and other Oculus execs talking passionately about revolutionizing VR hardware, changing the world or describing the path to a metaverse in VR (while throwing foam tchotchkes into the crowd.)

That kind of presentation was notably absent at this years Connect keynote, as was Luckey, who has been a significant stage presence in years past.

According to a comment Oculus chief Brendan Iribe gave Polygon, Luckey himself chose to skip the event because he didnt want to be a distraction -- likely referring to the condemnations Luckey received from some devs last month when his support of a pro-Trump troll group came to light.

"Virtual reality is the perfect platform"

In lieu of Luckey, Facebook frontman Mark Zuckerberg spent a significant amount of time onstage at the Connect keynote talking up Oculus plans to flesh out its platform (which encompasses both the Rift and Samsungs Oculus-powered Gear VR) with services like party chat and party meeting rooms. Later, Oculus exec Nate Mitchell took the stage to talk up new Oculus tech like customizable avatars, a new framework ("React VR") for creating VR experiences for the web, and a new web browser, codenamed "Carmel", that's optimized for use in VR and meant to run on any Oculus device.

All of these seem like notable additions, ones that will bring Oculus technology even more in line with platforms like Xbox, Playstation -- or Facebook.

A post-show Facebook update from Zuckerberg, referencing a screenshot of the social VR network he demonstrated onstage during the keynote

Virtual reality is the perfect platform to put people first, because of presence. You feel like youre really there, Zuckerberg said at one point, during a demo of yet-unnamed VR social software, which appeard to allow him and other participants to meet in VR, take phone calls in VR and give the people on those calls a window into the VR get-together via a virtual facsimile (see above) of a giant phone.

The point is, he added. We have this space and we can do anything with it.

For devs with an interest (financial or otherwise) in VR, the heavy emphasis on growing and refining Oculus as a platform, rather than as a hardware company, is probably a good thing. The rate at which people are buying Rifts (or any VR headset, for that matter) has a lot of room to grow, and past the mid-range (but still notable) PlayStation VR headset, the Rift and HTC Vive make up the priciest end of the VR spectrum thanks to both their own asking price and that of the powerful PCs required to run them.

Here, too, Oculus seems intent on improving things. Onstage at Connect Iribe announced a fresh wave of Oculus Ready (i.e. Oculus-approved) custom-built PCs that are poised to enter the market, as well as the first-ever Oculus Ready laptops. That's probably a step in the right direction in the eyes of devs whove long complained that contemporary PC VR is intimidating for many people to get into because of both the high asking price and the lack of plug and play options.

Iribe also took pains to hype up some new optimization techniques Oculus has developed -- most notably a new asynchronous spacewarp trick --in an effort to lower the minimum system specs required to drive VR games and experiences for the Rift.

That seems key for the future of Oculus, since what was notably absent during Connect was any talk of how well the Rift is selling now, months after a slightly rocky launch. Zuckerberg briefly acknowledged that "we had a little bit of a slow start earlier this year on Rift." In a later conversation with Polygon, Oculus VP Nate Mitchell declined to give sales numbers, stating instead that "I would say that were far, far from being saturated."

To get more people buying Rift hardware and jumping on to the Oculus platform, the company probably needs to keep funding development of VR games and experiences -- and sure enough, this week Oculus personnel announced various plans to continue pouring money into the Oculus ecosystem.

Zuckerberg confirmed the company has invested over $250 million into Oculus developers to date to fund development of all kinds of content, and plans to invest $250 million more -- plus another $10 million which is earmarked for the development of educational VR games and experiences.

Mitchell added that the company has partnered with Epic Games to cover all royalty fees for Unreal Engine titles shipping on Oculus Store for up to the first $5 million in gross revenue per game.

Ebony Peay Ramirez, Oculus chief of diversity, proclaimed that the company is investing another $10 million specifically to fund diverse programs for VR development. "We're going to increase funding for Oculus Launchpad, VR for Good, and create new programs like the Diverse Filmmakers Project, she said.

All of these promises are probably good news for devs, though theyre again not surprising -- Ocuius dev relations chief Anna Sweet told Gamasutra earlier this year that our plan is to keep investing for as long as we need to in order to jumpstart Oculus ecosystem, and that appears to be just what Oculus is doing.

On the hardware side, Oculus is catching up to HTC as it looks toward the future

Its also playing a bit of catch-up. While Oculus did have a prototype headset to hype up at Connect -- a still early wireless VR headset, codenamed Santa Cruz, thats being designed to use computer vision systems to track the world around it rather than relying on cameras in the room -- it devoted far more time to promoting its Touch motion controllers, which it now expects to ship in December for $200.

That will finally bring the Rift right in line with HTCs competing Vive headset, months after the Vive launched. Touch and a $600 Rift combined match Vives $800 asking price, and the Touch packages ship with two hand controllers and an extra tracking camera (with additional cameras being sold for $79 apiece), allowing Rift owners to engage with room-scale VR experiences.

Thats a big deal for VR devs because without competent motion controllers, the Rift has lagged behind the Vive in terms of functionality. Its also a big deal for Oculus because the company has made hand presence -- the reinforcement of the feeling that youre really there afforded by seeing your hand and finger movements replicated in VR -- a cornerstone of its vision for the future of VR game development.

I believe it's going to be one of the fundamental differentiators of the Rift, and I'm very confident you'll see all the other VR systems out there pivot and go in the direction we're going, Iribe told Gamasutra last year, following a demo of Oculus Toybox VR playspace using Touch prototypes. This is the right path for VR input."

And sure enough, the lions share of VR demos at this years Oculus Connect seemed to be being played by people standing and moving around, waving Touch controllers around -- not unlike the way people play games on the Vive, and very much unlike the demos which dominated earlier Connects, most of which were best played sitting down with a gamepad in hand.

So by the end of the year, Oculus aims to have a PC VR headset that can do everything its primary competitor can, a market-leading mobile VR headset in Samsung's Gear VR (which, despite all the recent focus on the Rift, is almost certainly the leading edge of Oculus platform adoption) and a wireless new headset in the works that's meant to walk the middle path between portability and power.

But if you look at Connect's keynote this year, what the company seems to prize above all of that hardware is the platform which ties them together -- the in-between places where people in various Oculus-powered headsets slip behind custom facades to chat with each other, play games and share experiences with one another.

This shouldn't come as a huge surprise (Facebook did spend a cool $2 billion to buy the company, after all) but it is a good reminder that as much as many devs still think of Oculus as a hardware company, what it really cares about are the people using that hardware to get into VR -- and onto its platform..
Google Chromecast Ultra Release Date, News & Update: 4K, HDR Features Strong Rival Vs Roku, Amazon? Google Assistant Opens For Developers

Google recently rolled out the new Chromecast Ultra during its Oct. 4 event. Based on reports, the new media streaming product is able to stream a 4K video with HDR image quality and a reasonable price.

The new Google Chromecast Ultra will be offered at a price point of $69, as it heads towards giving a tough competition to Amazon and Roku. Although the 4K video resolution is unlikely to render a notable difference in terms of picture quality as compared to other high-definition visuals, the HDR image quality is reportedly a neat improvement. Moreover, its HDR supports Dolby and HDR10 vision formats.

Google's new and Chromecast Ultra is reported to run the impressive HDR quality and 4K feature. Also, it will also rock an Ethernet port for the users to easily plug in the cable internet in order to have a stronger connection instead of streaming on WiFi. Moreover, the new device is reportedly 1.8 percent better and faster compared to the original Chromecast, given its enhanced WiFi to support the higher-definition streams.

Google Chromecast Ultra is set to go on sale in the US in November and will also be available in 16 countries worldwide. In addition, Google Play Movies will also be launching in November a 4K content that can maximize the function of the new Chromecast Ultra, which is expected to cast a 4K content from YouTube, Netflix and Vudu, Tech Times reported.

Meanwhile, Google's Home-voice controlled speaker is not only inspired by Amazon, it is also reported to challenge the electronic selling company on third-party software developer integration. Considering Amazon's more than 3,000 abilities for Alexa, Google will have to require plenty of buy-in from service providers, publishers and software developers to make the Google Home a better alternative.

Google has also confirmed the release of its project named Actions on Google in December that allows developers to create "Actions" for Google Assistant. Based on reports, these will be available in two types - the Conversation Actions and the Direct Actions, The Verge reported. Watch Google Chromecast Ultra offers 4K and HDR video streaming for $69
OnePlus 4 Release Date, News & Update: Here's Why It Can Compete With Samsung Galaxy S8, iPhone 7; OnePlus Teases New Product?

OnePlus 4 is now ready to go head-to-head with other smartphones in the market, including the upcoming ones. According to rumors, features such as a 4K OLED display, a 5.5-inch screen, wireless charging capability, Android 7.0 Nougat and fingerprint scanner are now set to make new device compete directly with Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7. While the Chinese phone manufacturer has not officially announced any detail regarding its device, rumors about its release date, specs and pricing have already emerged online.

The recent report on OnePlus 4 has created speculations that it is going to arrive with the best hardware configuration and features that may pose as a big threat to the tech giants Samsung and Apple. In fact, the new smartphone is also rumored to come with 256GB of storage with an option for a microSD, an 8GB RAM as well as a 4,000 mAh battery.

OnePlus 4's 8GB RAM is expected to be among its biggest advantages over the other smartphones. While iPhone 7 has only 2GB of RAM and Galaxy Note 7 has only 4GB RAM, the smartphone geeks are believed to get charmed by OnePlus 4's features. In terms of pricing, there are speculations that it will likely cost for about $400. However, they may have to wait for its release until 2017 since its predecessor has just been launched in 2016, HNGN reported.

Meanwhile, OnePlus is reported to begin teasing what does not appear to be a new smartphone. On the company's Twitter and Facebook accounts, a photo was seen posted and paired with the caption "What's in store for OnePlus?" including a hashtag #comingsoon. According to reports, the photo contains eight smaller yet blurred images.

OnePlus has not made anything official yet, which makes the rumors become more persistent, as others continue to provide interesting details about a possible new product, Digital Trends reported. Watch Oneplus 4 Leaks & Rumors video here:
Microsoft October Hardware Event News & Update: Surface Desktop, Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 Ergonomic Surface Keyboard to Launch? Details Here

Microsoft hasn't confirmed about the future of its Surface devices, but rumors are suggesting that the tech giant will be unveiling several products under the lineup this month. Tech aficionados might look forward to the launch of the new Surface Pro 5, but the company is more likely to introduce other Surface brands such as an All-in-One (AIO) desktop and a refreshed Surface Book.

Windows Central reported of a filing for a keyboard accessory assumed to be made for Surface devices. Known as the "Ergonomic Surface Keyboard," the accessory appears to have the signature magnesium color scheme of the Surface lineup. There wasn't an indication that this keyboard is intended for a specific device but it is expected that it will be sold with the Microsoft Surface Desktop at a hardware event this month. Aside from this ergonomic keyboard, another Surface keyboard and mouse are rumored to be introduced as well. The Verge reported that Microsoft is eyeing a late October event to be held in New York City.

Meanwhile, other Surface brands like Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2 will more likely be introduced in 2017, which means that fans might miss them at the rumored October event. There are reasons why the two Surface devices are slated to release next year. For one, it is rumored that they will run on a Windows 10 Redstone 2 update, which won't likely be available until 2017. Another is that the laptops are also expected to have an Intel Kaby Lake chipset, the full distribution of which won't begin until 2017.

At this point, it's hard to tell if Microsoft will really introduce the Surface Desktop at the said October event. The Redmond-based giant has been consistently silent regarding the existence of not only the desktop, but also Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2. With that said, fans can only hope that a confirmation of the event will be given soon. By then, people can look forward to what the company has to say about its products.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date, News & Update: Tech Giant Making the Speediest Device of 2017? Amazing Specs & Features Revealed

It seems Samsung is also planning to go the Apple way by dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack in its upcoming, highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S8. Apple has started this trend and its closest rival Samsung won't be left far behind.

As per inside sources, Samsung will be pushing the audio through the same USB-C connection used to charge the Samsung Galaxy S8 phone. This is not the first time the company has mimicked Apple's efforts. When Samsung dropped the expandable storage in Galaxy S6, fans forced the tech giant to bring back microSD storage in Galaxy S7.

According to Digital Spy, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will sport an incredible 4K screen, a new camera and most-powerful processor. Despite the hype, the device is not expected to be released before February 2017.

Rumors suggest that the mystery device on AnTuTu benchmarking site is the Samsung Galaxy S8. The AnTuTu benchmark measures a device's overall performance and the rumored Samsung Galaxy S8 has scored a whopping 203,737 surpassing Galaxy S7 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus by a long way.

The score suggests that handset will be one of the speediest devices in the market when released, writes iTech Post. Going by a February 2017 release date, the said prototype on AnTuTu could well be the Samsung Galaxy S8. Moreover, the recent Galaxy Note 7 fiasco has left a bad taste in the mouth for many Samsung fans.

Releasing a revolutionary device like the Samsung Galaxy S8 will surely be the master stroke everyone is expecting from the company. As per International Business Times, a rumor from China suggests that the mobile may be priced at around $850. It may feature a 30MP primary and 9MP secondary camera and 4,200 mAh battery.

Some of the Samsung Galaxy S8 specs as mentioned in a Weibo leak looks outrageous and are too good to be true. But you never know. Samsung may surprise the world with the most advanced smartphone in 2017. Moreover, the iPhone 8 is also expected next year. It will be a clash that tech enthusiasts are eagerly waiting for. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more Samsung Galaxy S8 news and updates!
'One Punch Man' Season 2 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Updates: Saitama Loses Strength? New Ultimate Villain Revealed! Mobile Game Coming Soon!

Fans have been looking forward for the anime series "One Punch Man" after it was confirmed that "One Punch Man Season 2" will be happening. Although there are still no official date as to when it will be aired, there are already reports coming online about what the fans can expect on the upcoming season.

The second season for the anime series has been confirmed through its official Twitter account. According to reports, "One Punch Man Season 2" was announced during the Wanpan Autumn Festival last Sept. 25, 2016. The post included an image featuring Saitama's fist with the show title "One Punch Man 2," which can be a great indication of that a sequel is totally coming.

After knowing that there will be a "One Punch Man Season 2," fans have started spreading their own speculations as to what will happen next to the characters in the series especially to the main character, Saitama. According to iTech Post one of it is is that Saitama will be losing its abilities and will become weak for some time.

Aside from Saitama's strength problems that he will encounter in the "One Punch Man Season 2," he will be facing his most trusted friend Genos, who is now considered to be Saitama's ultimate enemy. There were also reports claiming that Saitama will also be fighting Garou, Amai Mask and Lord Boros.

Besides the upcoming anime "One Man Punch Season 2," International Business Times reported that the creators of "One Punch Man" had announced their first mobile video game during the "One Punch Man" Full Festival held in Japan recently. The "One Punch Man" video game is said to follow the story of the first season of the anime series.

Although there are not much details revealed about it, fans can expect that it will be released soon. Stay tuned for more "One Punch Man Season 2" updates here on GameNGuide.
Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield Split: 'Amazing Spider-Man' Co-Stars Confirmed Together Again? Pair Head Over Heels In Love With Each Other?

Since starring in the reboot movie "The Amazing Spider-Man," Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield have become one of Hollywood's most loved couples. The two have been dating since 2011 during the filming of the superhero film. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was reported to have broken up last year but recent reports have indicated that the two are back together.

Just a month ago, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield have been seen in public in London, the Daily Mail reports. This started rumors that they are patching their problems up and it is expected that the former couple will reunited soon.

It can be remembered that Emma Stone was around when Andrew Garfield suffered a very public professional heartbreak with "The Amazing Spider-Man." After the sequel failed to achieve high expectations, Garfield was unceremoniously fired from the franchise, along with Stone and director Marc Webb. In fact, according to Cinema Blend, Garfield was part of talks to revive the character at first. However, rivalry between movie studios ultimately put an end to the talk.

Despite that, the careers of Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are still bright. Stone is currently a front-runner for the Best Actress trophy in the Oscars set in February for her performance in "La La Land." Garfield, on the other hand, is starring in his own awards magnet, the Mel Gibson directorial comeback "Hacksaw Ridge," which earned praises in Venice last month. He is also expected to draw raves when the Martin Scorsese film "Silence" debuts in theaters in December.

While it is still not confirmed whether Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are rekindling their romance, to the very least, it looks like the two are getting on as friends. You can watch the trailer for "The Amazing Spider-Man," which stars Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, in the video.
Lee Min Ho, Bae Suzy Engaged: Wedding Confirmed To Happen? City Hunter Actor Professes Love, Intention to Marry Uncontrollably Fond Actress

Popular Korean celebrities Lee Min Ho and his girlfriend, Bae Suzy, continue to make the headlines as reports about marriage are rampant. The "Bounty Hunters" actor and the "Dream High" actress also had their shares of breakup rumors but time and again, they've proven that nothing can keep them apart. Lee Min Ho has even declared how much love he has for his girlfriend in a previous interview.

For those who are not in the know, Lee Min Ho was one of the main protagonists in the South Korean TV series, "Boys Over Flowers," and he plays the role of Gu Jun Pyo. When it comes to love, Jun Pyo's family always has a say, but for Lee Min Ho it's different. In a 2015 interview, Lee Min Ho asked what he can do in the name of love, especially when his parents would disapprove of the girl he chooses, a familiar situation for his character in the TV series. The 29-year-old actor replied, "I would run away with her. Even if we had to elope, I would marry her." This has sparked speculations that Lee Min Ho is ready to take the next step with Bae Suzy.

It remains unclear if Lee Min Ho was just speaking in general or was actually referring to Bae Suzy, but the latter is more likely. According to The Bitbag, the "City Hunter" actor has professed his intentions to marry his girlfriend in one of his recent interviews. The report detailed that Lee Min Ho has learned how it is to be a real man as he matures and that's being one with his word. More importantly, he should be able to protect the one he loves.

Meanwhile, another interview by Drama Fever with Lee Min Ho in 2015 asked about his marriage plans, in which the actor replied that if he's going to tie the knot, he'd do it with someone who is a friend. Things are going great for Bae Suzy and Lee Min Ho, but for now, there isn't any announcement on whether or not wedding bells will start to ring soon. Fans should just stay tuned for more updates.
Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL Latest News & Update: Stepping Out of the Android Ecosystem with Never-Seen-Before Uniqueness! Impressive Specs & Features

Despite a lot of reports suggesting that by releasing Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL, Google has taken the competition up to Apple, it will be unjust to say that Google is trying to make an anti-iPhone. In fact, the two tech giants are not trying to compete against each other and have very different positioning s of their devices.

Even though the iPhones and Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL look similar design-wise, the very appeal of an iPhone lies in its omnipresence and familiarity with minor upgrades here and there. New software arrives across the entire platform all at once and hardware adds better and faster versions than its predecessors, writes The Sydney Morning Herald.

On the other hand, Google wants people to believe that it has come up with something new. Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL has stepped out of the Android ecosystem and is offering everything Google, many of the features not yet found elsewhere.

The handsets host everything Google including Assistant, Daydream VR, live screen-sharing customer support and the very recent Google Duo and Allo that are built-in. This is one strong reason why Google dropped its Nexus branding in favor of Google Pixel. Google Pixel, the name itself, signifies newness as it's devoid of numbers and model indicators unlike other phones.

The iPhone and Google Pixel phones are for consumers who want very different things. Google Pixel runs on Android 7.1 but it's very different from what Sony and Samsung are preparing to include in their devices.

The various tweaks in the vanilla version of 7.1, the Dream VR mode and blue light filter, Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are all about customizations. Google Assistant has been integrated throughout. Built-in chat support, "unlimited and automatic ability to back up and restore videos and pictures in full resolution," and smart storage solution are all exclusively Google.

Google is trying to directly compete with other Android premium smartphones by adding its own hardware and brilliant twist on the vanilla Android in Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL. As per International Business Times, the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are not simply pure Android phones. They are a unique combination of best-in-class hardware and software smarts, never seen before.
Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL Latest News & Update: Bringing Virtual Reality to the Masses; Google Assistant, Customizable OS a Big Draw

Hardcore Apple and Samsung loyalists may say that the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL smartphones does not offer anything very unique but that may not be true. Google has broken into the Android market at a brilliant time when Samsung is reeling under the after effects of a Galaxy Note 7 recall and the Apple iPhone 7 hype has died down a bit.

In the United States, the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL phones come in three colors - Quite Black, Really Blue and Very Silver. Design-wise, many have found the Pixel phones to be vulnerable as the design consists of a glass panel on the back top third of the phone. Unlike the Apple and Samsung devices, the Pixel and Pixel XL are not dust and water-resistant. While Samsung, Apple and Google have 12MP cameras for their flagships, the iPhone 7 Plus has a dual-lens and the Google Pixel phones do not support image stabilization for still photography, reports News.com.au.

However, despite these shortcomings (as seen by many), the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL smartphones have been able to step out of the Android ecosystem to offer everything Google. Some features have not been experienced before. Google has paved for future super smartphones, writes The Sydney Morning Herald.

Google has given smartphone lovers something new. Google has included a dongle inside the box that plugs into the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL phones while the other end of the cord goes in the iPhone or Android phones for easy transfer of photos, contacts and messages.

The primary and most-noble offering of Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL is the introduction of Virtual Reality to the masses. Buyers can use the Pixel phones to play VR games, apps and watch movies via the new Daydream View VR headset.

Google has made major tweaks in the vanilla version of the Android 7.1 and Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL phones are all about customizations. The customizable operating system is very different from what other Android players are trying to include in their phones, writes International Business Times.

Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL users will be able to store all their photos and videos in full resolution for free in Google's cloud storage. The phones' fast-charging function adds seven hours of life in just 15 minutes of charging. Moreover, there is no bulging lens camera at the back.

The Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL smartphones are the first ones to have the Google Assistant built-in. The highly-advanced digital assistant can do almost everything from recognizing monuments to searching old photos to taking users to celebrity social media accounts.

Feature-wise, the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL smartphones are pretty unique though Google may have to focus a bit more on the hardware part. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL news and updates!
LG V20 Release Date, News & Update: US Pricing Details Revealed; Handset Better Than iPhone 7? Impressive Specs & Features!

Following the announcement from LG that a new smartphone dubbed as LG V20 will come out in the market this month; the growing interest from fans with regard to the new handset has further increased. However, fans have been waiting for the South Korean company to reveal the pricing details of the device, which is expected to arrive late this month in the United States. According to the latest reports, T Mobile will begin its roll out of the device on Oct. 28.

The American mobile carrier will also be offering the LG V20 along with the popular BeoPlay H3 headphones during its release; however, the offer will only last for a limited time. Nonetheless, the company has yet to provide the promotional details of the new smartphone, which is also available as a standalone device. Unfortunately for fans, T-Mobile did not mention the pricing details of the highly anticipated handset; however, there are speculations suggesting that pricing details will be provided a week before the date of release.

On the other hand, AT&T has already announced the pricing information of LG V20; however, the company has yet to provide the release date specifics. According to the report, the handset will be available by the end of October at a monthly installment $27.67 for 30 months.

Interested LG V20 buyers can only get the device at $30 per month for a two year installment period. There are speculations that the unlocked version of the smartphone may most likely be at $830; however, this has yet to be confirmed. AT&T will start the preorder of the new LG V20 on October 7, which details are available on AT&T's retail website.

Meanwhile, industry experts are saying that the new LG V20 certainly has all the capabilities to challenge the new iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in the market. The new LG flagship smartphone is running on a Snapdragon 820 processor from Qualcomm paired with a 5.7-inch QHD screen.

The new LG V20 is also the first handset to be released with a preinstalled Google's latest operating system, Android 7.0 Nougat. Stay tuned for more news and updates about LG V20.
Rotary got started in Long Beach in 1917 when seven local businessmen met with a New York Rotarian who talked about his club there.
SALEM  David Peterson and his friend Warren Patterson are lifelong hot-rod enthusiasts. But on Thursday afternoon they were sitting at McNary Field waiting to board a 1928 Ford Tri-Motor airplane  actually, Transcontinental Air Transport NC9645, named the City of Wichita.

Peterson was so excited, he was wearing a dark green military-style cloth helmet that he picked up at a car parts swap meet.

I have wanted to ride in a biplane for a long time, he said. Its been 20 years and I still havent done it, so I thought I would do this instead.

Patterson said he was, Just going along for the ride.

The Salem residents, who are members of the Road Lords Car Club, were among dozens of mid-valley residents who spent $75 each to take 15- to 30-minute flights in the historic aircraft that helped usher in modern aviation.

Peterson didnt wait until the plane landed after pilot John Hartke of Anchorage, Alaska  a retired military pilot  flew it low and slow over homes, businesses, colorful farm fields and the Willamette River  to exclaim that the trip was awesome!

Hartke said he is one of 18 volunteer pilots who live throughout the country who rotate taking the controls in the tight cockpit.

Its a very honest plane, he said. You definitely feel everything.

Hartke said that in addition to his many years of military flying, he completed extra training to be approved for flying the vintage craft.

The trick is that you have to pay attention at all times, he said.

Only 199 of the planes were constructed from 1925 to 1933 at a cost of about $42,000 each. The NC9645 has serial number eight. The aircraft carries 12 passengers, cruises at 122 miles per hour and has a range of more than 500 miles. Today, they're valued at up to $1.5 million.

The plane is now owned by the Liberty Aviation Museum of Port Clinton, Ohio, and is on loan to the Experimental Aircraft Association of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

This weeks trip to Oregon is a homecoming of sorts for the 88-year-old plane: For much of the 1990s, it was owned by Evergreen Vintage Aircraft and displayed at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. It sat under the wing of Howard Hughes famed Spruce Goose and carried the nickname the Tin Goose, thanks to its shiny sheet metal skin.

The 1928 Ford Tri-Motor planes were workhorses in both private and public use.

Their interiors were reminiscent of fine wooden yachts of the era. There are two cockpit seats and 12 passenger seats, all wide with large window views, cloth curtains and individual art-deco reading lights. The cabin is narrow  only 4 feet, 6 inches wide and 6-feet tall  and both sides can be touched by extending ones arms. There is no in-flight movie nor a place to plug in an iPod or smartphone.

The three Pratt & Whitney engines generate a total of 420-horsepower  today, Boeing 777 aircraft engines put out more than 110,000 horsepower  and the plane can climb to more than 18,000 feet.

It is 50 feet, 3 inches long and 12 feet, 8 inches tall.

Pilot Hartke fired each of the engines individually, and they rumbled much like souped-up hot-rod V-8 engines. They were a bit noisy until the plane leveled off to cruise, when they began to purr.

During the flight, Hartke turned a manual crank numerous times to set the trim of the aircraft  the pitch of the plane from fore to aft (theres nothing automatic or computer-controlled).

Its really amazing when you think that the Wright Brothers had only taken flight about 25 years before this plane was built, he said.

Mike Ryer, a member of the EAA 292 chapter of Salem, called the aircraft the SST of its time. There was nothing faster or better at the time.

Ryer and his wife, Adele, were making the flight, Because we are both airplane junkies, and we figured we had better go now. These kinds of planes wont exist much longer.

A similar Ford Tri-Motor was used in the making of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). That plane is now in a Florida museum.

The NC9645 has worked domestically and internationally throughout its storied history. It introduced the first coast-to-coast passenger service in 1929, and for several years carried sightseers around the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

It was later based in Nicaragua and then Mexico.

After being wrecked in 1954, it was sold to Frank Oergel of Burbank, California, and then to Eugene Frank of Caldwell, Idaho, who put it in storage.

The plane was restored in 1971 and then was put on display at the famed Harrahs Automobile Collection in Reno, Nevada. After William Harrahs death in 1978, the aircraft remained in the collection until 1986, when it was sold at auction for $1.5 million to Norton Aero Ltd. of Athol, Idaho.

Evergreen Aviation purchased the plane in 1990, and in 2013 it was purchased by the Liberty Aviation Museum.

Public rides will be available through Sunday.

Tickets are $75 for adults or $50 for youth under 17. To reserve space, call 920-379-8339.

To learn more about the Ford Tri-Motor, visit wwwflytheford.org.
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.
Holiday airline in crisis : All TUIfly flights from Cologne-Bonn cancelled

Hannover Passengers from Cologne-Bonn and Dusseldorf had flights cancelled as the airline struggles to find enough crew.

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It is extremely bad news for hundreds of holidaymakers from North Rhine Westphalia. They had been looking forward to an autumn holiday in Majorca, Crete or Turkey, but in many cases had to unpack their suitcases again on Friday. The holiday airline TUIfly closed nearly its entire operation on Friday because of the huge number of cockpit and cabin staff who called in sick. The company tried to recover at least a small number of the flight cancellations, including some in Dusseldorf and Cologne, using chartered aircraft and crews.

The airline, which is owned by the Tui travel agency, said on its website on Thursday night that according to current information only ten flights country wide could operate in this way. All other flights from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are cancelled for 7 October because of current crew shortages.

Some Turkey-bound Dusseldorf holidaymakers were lucky. Their aircraft to Antalya could take off. TUIfly and an airport spokesman also said an incoming flight from the Turkish holiday resort was being operated by the Turkish budget airline Corendon. There should be eight outbound and inbound flights at Dusseldorf during Friday, although sometimes with amended flight times. In Cologne, the airport said all seven TUIfly outbound flights had been cancelled. Of the 52 planned Air Berlin flights, ten outbound and inbound flights are cancelled.

TUIfly had already said on Thursday evening that many flights on Friday would be cancelled  a likely 108 flights throughout the country. The reason for the cancellations is the large number of pilots and cabin crew on sick leave. There have been cancellations of TUIfly and Air Berlin flights for several days because of crew members calling in sick at short notice. The holiday airline is about to be restructured and employee representatives fear there will be job losses.

TUIfly is currently planning return flights for tourists in holiday regions such as Majorca and Turkey. Passengers who had return flights on Thursday should be able to fly home today. A total of 12 flights are foreseeable, the company said.

TUIfly does not want to compensate passengers and claims the cancellations and delays are an act of force majeure. A spokeswoman said: The large number of illness notifications at extremely short notice constitutes unusual and unavoidable circumstances within the meaning of force majeure.

Philipp Kadelbach from Flightright sees it differently. TUIfly cannot rely on force majeure. Waves of illness are normal business risks, which airlines need to account for at any time, even if there is doubt an illness actually exists. He advises all passengers to bring claims for compensation.

Thousands of passengers have been affected. TUIfly said of 110 planned flights on Thursday, 47 had been cancelled. Thousands of passengers had to wait for connections or cancel their autumn holiday plans.

At the Cologne/Bonn airport alone, 25 Air Berlin and TUIfly flights were cancelled at short notice. On Wednesday, 29 Air Berlin flights had already been cancelled.

TUIfly passengers can find out about the status of their flights by calling 0800 900 609 0 (free of charge) or 0511 942 796 10 (local call rates apply).
United Nations : Ground-breaking ceremony for new UN building

Bonn A new 17 storey UN building will be constructed between the former plenary chamber of the Bundestag and the historic Old Waterworks.

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At the Old Waterworks on Thursday, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new United Nations building in Bonn took place under the watchful eye of the Federal Eagle. This historic place, between the Rhine and the former Bundestag, with the Old Waterworks - used between 1986 and 1992 as a temporary home for the Bundestag  will be integrated into the UN campus from 2020.

A 17 storey extension will be built there which will be a special building, in no way an ordinary office block,  said Petra Wesseler, President of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning. It will, of course, be climate neutral. It is, after all, being built for the UN Climate Secretariat. The design by the Berlin architect Stefan Lippert includes five conservatories across the several floors. It is intended 330 UN employees currently working in the Carstanjen House will move in 2020.

It was the first key appearance for Patricia Espinosa, the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and current Chair of the Heads of UN Agencies in Germany. Unusually, the Mexican diplomat spoke not in the UN language of English, but gave her speech in perfect German. She thanked the Federal Government for its support not only for the ratification of the Paris Climate Change Agreement but also for its commitment to the UN. The most senior climate change protector in the world used clear language to summarise the tasks faced by the world. Espinosa said: By providing us with the proverbial space and the best working conditions, the Federal Government is making a significant contribution to achieving sustainable development goals and also of course for meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon announced on Wednesday that the agreement signed in Paris last December would come into effect on 4 November.

Rita Schwarzeluhr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, emphasised that she saw the commitment of the Federal Government to Bonn as a UN location also as a clear declaration of loyalty to the Federal Capital. She said the strengthening of Bonns position was a matter particularly close to Minister Barbara Hendricks heart. The Minister had had to cancel at the last minute.

Stephan Steinlein, State Secretary in the Federal Foreign Office, and a strong supporter of Bonn as a UN location, said he had spoken to the Vice-Chancellor of Bonn University, Michael Hoch, about how the Bonn network for sustainability needed to be further strengthened. Sustainability is a key element of our policy. Bonn itself stands for sustainability. Through the UN, numerous former government buildings are having a second life.

On the sidelines of the event, Simon Koppers and Daniela Zehentner-Capell from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development confirmed that an office of Unido, the UN organisation for industrial development, would open in Bonn on 1 January 2017. The approximately 10 employees would promote the transfer of green technologies.
On average, 40 volcanoes on land erupt into the atmosphere each month, while scores of others on the seafloor erupt into the ocean. A new time-lapse animation uniting volcanoes, earthquakes, and gaseous emissions reveals unforgettably the large, rigid plates that make the outermost shell of Earth and suggests the immense heat and energy beneath them seeking to escape.

With one click, visitors can see the last 50 years of Eruptions, Earthquakes, and Emissions. Called E3, the app allows the viewer to select and learn about individual eruptions, emissions, and earthquakes as well as their collective impact. Visualizing these huge global datasets together for the first time, users can speed or slow or stop the passage of time. They can observe flat maps or globes, and watch gas clouds circle the planet. Data from Smithsonians Global Volcanism Program and the United States Geological Earthquake Survey (USGS) feed into the app, and the datasets are available for free download. The app will update continuously, accumulating new events and additional historical information as it becomes available.

Have you had a eureka! moment where you suddenly see order in what appeared chaotic? This app abounds in such moments, said Elizabeth Cottrell, head of the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. As geologic events accumulate over time, Earths tectonic plates appear before your eyes. What took geologists more than 200 years to learn, a viewer learns in seconds. We wanted to share the excitement with as big an audience as possible. This is the first time were able to present these datasets together for the public.

She added, This app is interesting not only for educators and the public, but also will help scientists understand global eruption patterns and linkages between Earths inner workings and the air we breathe.

A team of experts developed the app with support from the Smithsonian Institution and the Deep Carbon Observatory, an international multidisciplinary research program exploring the quantities, movements, forms, and origins of carbon deep inside Earth. Deep Carbon Observatory scientists are studying volcanic emissions as part of this mission, and will more than triple the number of permanent volcano gas monitoring stations from 2012-2019.

Tracking volcanic emissions to avoid disaster

Hundreds of millions of people around the world live on the flanks of active volcanoes, and eruptions can cause massive economic damage even when few people live nearby. In 2010, Eyafjallajokull erupted in Iceland, spewing massive ash clouds, disrupting air travel for millions of people and costing the airline industry nearly USD 2 billion. Better anticipation of eruptions could lower the human and economic toll of these natural phenomena.

Recent discoveries by Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) scientists in the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative are laying the foundation for improved volcanic eruption forecasts. These hard-won advances required expensive, dangerous expeditions to sniff gas emissions for clues.

We are deploying automated monitoring stations at volcanoes around the world to measure the gases they emit, said Tobias Fischer, a volcanologist at the University of New Mexico, USA, and leader of DECADE. We measure carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and water vapor (steam), the major gases emitted by all volcanoes on the planet. In the hours before an eruption, we see consistent changes in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted relative to sulfur dioxide. Keeping an eye on the ratios globally via satellites and on-site monitoring helps us learn the precursors of volcanic eruptions. Monitoring these volcanic gas variations also helps us come up with a more accurate estimate of total volcanic carbon dioxide emissions on Earth  a major goal of DCO.

Our goal of tripling the number of volcanoes monitored around the world by 2019 is no small task, added Fischer. Installing instruments on top of volcanoes is dangerous work in extremely hard-to-reach places.

Sometimes our monitoring stations become victims of eruptions they are trying to measure, as happened recently on Villarrica volcano in Chile. At least our instruments recorded gas composition changes right up until the eruption destroyed them, Fischer noted.

By 2019, DECADE scientists hope to have gas monitoring stations on 15 of the worlds 150 most active volcanoes. This will add to the eight stations currently operated by other entities such as the USGS and the University of Palermo (Italy). Data collected at these monitoring stations are feeding a new database of volcanic carbon emissions, making potentially life-saving information available to many more scientists around the world.

Advancing knowledge and forecasting potential from land

DCO volcanologists are also advancing basic knowledge about how different volcanoes work, which is further advancing eruption forecasting.

Maarten de Moor and his team at the National University in Costa Rica, for example, using DECADE monitoring stations, have measured gas emissions at Poas and Turrialba volcanoes in Costa Rica over several years. De Moor and colleagues have observed remarkable changes in gas compositions before eruptions at these volcanoes, both of which have a huge impact on local society. Turrialba, for example, deposited ash on the capital city of San Jose over the last few weeks, affecting about 3 million people and closing the international airport.

Were getting more and more confident that changes in the carbon to sulfur ratio precede eruptions, said de Moor. Potentially, we can now see an eruption coming just by looking at gas emissions. What is truly fascinating is how dynamic these volcanoes are in their degassing and eruptive behavior. To understand the big picture of Earth degassing, we also need to understand the processes driving temporal variations in volcanic emissions.

Historically, volcanologists have measured emissions of smelly sulfur dioxide much more easily than colorless, odorless carbon dioxide emissions. But DCO scientists at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Universite de Lorraine in France are designing new geochemical tools to detect and monitor large-scale emissions of volcanic carbon dioxide. Tools include a new high-precision method for measuring excess airborne amounts of a rare form of helium found in magma, high-temperature fluids from below Earths crust that come out of volcanoes in the form of lava and gases.

Our helium data suggest that even when they are not erupting, volcanoes constantly release carbon dioxide and other gases through the crust, from magma chambers deep underground, said Bernard Marty, leader of the CNRS group. We see low level release of carbon dioxide over large areas surrounding Mt. Etna volcano in Sicily and Erta Ale volcano in Afar, Ethiopia, which tells us this might be happening at sites around the world.

Eyes in space add to the toolkit

To assess volcanic activity and gas release on a global scale, DCO researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, are taking yet another approach; measuring volcanic gases from space using satellites.

While water vapor and carbon dioxide are much more abundant volcanic gases, sulfur dioxide is easier to measure because Earths atmosphere contains very little sulfur dioxide, said Marie Edmonds, co-Chair of DCOs Reservoirs and Fluxes Science Community. With satellites, we have been able to measure sulfur dioxide emissions for years and the technology keeps getting better. An exciting new aspect of DCOs research combines the satellite data with ground-based measurements of carbon to sulfur ratios provided by DECADE. This powerful combination allows us to better define global volcanic emissions, or degassing, of carbon dioxide.

DECADEs volcano-based instruments make it possible for us to ground-truth our satellite observations and obtain much more frequent measurements added Edmonds. Eventually we hope well get as accurate measurements from space as we do from the ground. When this happens, we can monitor volcanoes in remote parts of the world for a fraction of the cost and without risking scientists lives. As the data accumulate, they too will stream into and through the E3 app.

Reference:

J. Maarten de Moor, A. Aiuppa, G. Avard, H. Wehrmann, N. Dunbar, C. Muller, G. Tamburello, G. Giudice, M. Liuzzo, R. Moretti, V. Conde, B. Galle. Turmoil at Turrialba Volcano (Costa Rica): Degassing and eruptive processes inferred from high-frequency gas monitoring. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2016; 121 (8): 5761 DOI: 10.1002/2016JB013150

Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO).
Take a glance around the oceans, rivers and lakes of today and youll confront an astonishing diversity of fish, from narrow-bodied eels to the 25-foot-long giant oarfish to delicate, fluttering seahorses. The vast majority of fish alive today  approximately 96 percent  are known as teleosts, a group of ray-finned fish that emerged 260 million years ago.

Evolutionary biologists and paleontologists since Darwin have offered hypotheses to explain why teleosts seem to have out-evolved other groups. The closely related holosteans, for example, once dominated the oceans but are now considered living fossils, representing just eight species in forms that resemble those of the past.

But this view of the teleost success story may be based on the false premise that teleosts dominate today because they have always been more evolutionarily innovative than other groups. A new analysis of more than a thousand fossil fishes from nearly 500 species led by the University of Pennsylvanias John Clarke revealed that the teleosts success story is not as straightforward as once believed. Examining the first 160 million years of teleost and holostean evolution, from the Permian to the early Cretaceous periods, the scientists show that holosteans were as evolutionarily innovative as teleosts, and perhaps even more so.

A lot of these so-called living fossils that appear to be kind of boring today actually have a pretty rich history, said Clarke. If we were to go back in time to the Triassic and you had to place a bet on which group was going to do better going forward, you would have definitely chosen the holosteans. It just didnt work out that way.

Clarke collaborated with Graeme T. Lloyd of Macquarie University and Matt Friedman of the University of Oxford on the work, which appears in Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Its easy to see why scientists have long presumed teleosts exceptional. They represent 29,000 diverse species worldwide, roughly half of modern vertebrates. In contrast, the eight living species that comprise holosteans share a resemblance, and all dwell in the freshwaters of eastern North America. Numerous ideas have been put forward to explain teleost success, including the flexible structure of their jaws, a diversity of reproductive strategies and the symmetry of their tail fins.

With the emergence of molecular and genetic techniques to probe evolution, researchers have also attributed teleost success to a genome duplication event in the evolutionary past that left the fish with twice the number of chromosomes and thus more raw material with which to acquire beneficial mutations and to evolve.

Yet Clarke and colleagues wanted to back up a bit, questioning the very assumption that teleosts had always been more evolutionarily innovative and successful.

There were times in the past when holosteans were top dog, Clarke said. There are lots of holostean fossils, and they were quite diverse, not only in numbers but in the wide variety of sizes and shapes they possessed.

It was known from the fossil record that holosteans appeared to be more dominant in the Triassic Period on into the Early and Middle Jurassic. In the Late Jurassic, however, teleosts began to take over.

The researchers decided, therefore, to focus on the earlier period of fish evolution, starting in the Permian, which just preceded the Triassic period, and following it through 160 million years into the Early Cretaceous, which followed the Jurassic.

To do so, they relied on a dataset that included the size and shape of hundreds of fossils Clarke had compiled during visits to 15 museums as part of his Ph.D. research. They also constructed supertrees, to summarize the relationships of nearly all known extinct species of holosteans and teleosts from the Triassic, Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. These large trees were built from more than 100 smaller trees already available in the paleontology literature, from studies that examined the morphological traits of fishes to work out their evolutionary tree.

While other researchers have examined patterns of diversity in fish fossils, no one had ever applied a quantitative framework to determine whether holostean or teleost fishes possessed higher rates, or greater innovation, in shape and size.

The Penn-led scientists were able to use the supertrees to evaluate first the rate of size evolution in teleosts versus holosteans and then to compare the degree of shape innovation in the two groups.

In their various analyses of the specimens, Clarke and colleagues found no support for the expectation that teleosts would change their body sizes and shapes faster, or be better able to invent new sizes and shapes compared with holosteans. On the contrary, using timescales from molecular studies that suggested holosteans and teleosts evolved much earlier in Earths history than when their first fossils appear, holosteans seemed to come out on top, appearing more innovative at evolving new sizes and faster at evolving between different shapes.

There is no compelling evidence on any timescale that teleosts were the best at evolving different body sizes and shapes, said Clarke. And in fact, if anything, there is some evidence hinting that maybe holosteans were more innovative when it came to evolving different body sizes and faster at changing shape.

The researchers also used the dataset to investigate whether genome duplication correlated with an increase in evolution rate and innovation. They found no consistent link with size evolution but did see indications that shape evolution was elevated in the more geologically recent teleosts with duplicate genomes relative to more ancient groups of teleosts. However, this occurred because those more ancient teleosts were particularly slow at evolving shapes since they compare equally poorly with holosteans, rather than signifying any exceptional evolution in those teleosts with duplicate genomes. On this basis, the authors deem the role of genome duplication on size and shape evolution to be ambiguous, suggesting that, in agreement with recent studies of diversification in living teleosts, genome duplication is not the magic bullet that explains the diversity of all teleosts.

Clarke would like to continue delving into the history of neopterygian fishes, particularly those living fossils that are often neglected in favor of researching the more dynamic and diverse living teleosts.

Many biologists have focused upon trying to explain why some groups are so incredibly successful, he said. But there hasnt been a lot of focus on the other end of the spectrum: how do you get living fossils, these species-poor, long-lived groups that stick around doing the same thing for millions of years.

Reference:

John T. Clarke, Graeme T. Lloyd, Matt Friedman. Little evidence for enhanced phenotypic evolution in early teleosts relative to their living fossil sister group. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016; 201607237 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607237113

Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pennsylvania.
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.
A man has lost his p*nis after it was chopped off by the angry and violent husband of a woman he was cheating with. A man who was caught cheating with another man's wife has been made to pay the ultimate price as his p*nis was chopped off by the man. According to Citizen Reporters, the man was found hiding under the bed. Upon being asked what he was doing there, he responded by saying he was a carpenter tasked by the mans wife to fix the bed.

Quote

Tatenda Chasara (25) had told Mr Mandlenkosi Ndlovu that he was repairing the bed on the instruction of Mrs Ndlovu, Mandlenkosis wife.

Mrs Ndlovu bolted when her husband stormed into the room leaving her worker under the bed. The incident happened yesterday at 4344 Gwabalanda. Chasara stays a stones throw away at Number 4309 in the same suburb.

a neighbour said.The neighbour added:

Quote

Mr Ndlovu arrived home, he found the door locked but suspected his wife was inside. After knocking for some time he took his tool box which was in another room and tried to open the door.

That is when the wife opened the door and ran away. We do not know where she went. Mr Ndlovu went in and found Tatenda under the bed. When he was asked what he was doing, he said he said he was repairing the bed. Mr Ndlovu did not buy the story and he took a metal bar which was in the tool box and started attacking Tatenda,

The man is now battling for his life at Mpilo Hospital in Zimbabwe as his p*nis was shattered during the encounter.
5 things you should know before buying an Apple iPhone 7 Features oi -Rohit

It's the day Apple fanboys have been waiting for in India since Tim Cook announced the 2016 flagship smartphones in San Francisco.

Apple iPhone 7 is now official in Indian market and can be yours without any further wait. The smartphone is Apple's most advanced handset till date and packs a lot of punch when it comes to hardware and software it packs underneath.

SEE ALSO: Should You Buy an Apple iPhone 7 or Look for These Affordable Options Let's Find Out

However, there are some important things that you should know before spending your hard earned cash on the Apple's new products. Here you go.

No 3.5mm headphone jack

Apple has always been known for taking a step further but that doesn't mean it's always for your benefit. The lack of the headphone jack is by far the biggest shortcoming in the latest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. If you are buying the new iPhone today, be ready for the hassle of an extra connector- Lightning to 3.5mm adapter to use your standard 3.5mm headphones with the new smartphones.

Thank god Apple is shipping the smartphone with earpods with Lightning connectors and the adapter.

No 16GB and 64GB Storage option

Sadly, there's no 16GB variant for the iPhone 7. The base model now starts from 32GB instead, which is good news for many but that also tips the lowest official price to Rs 60,000.

Moreover, Apple is also not offering 64GB variants of the new iPhones and you have to settle with 128GB after the 32GB storage variant.

Adding to this, the Jet Black variant is only available in 128GB and 256GB storage models, and there's no 32GB model in this colour.

Same design and no significant improvement in battery

The new iPhones looks more or less similar to iPhone 6/6S and has been given some minor cosmetic changes in terms of design.

Moreover, there's no significant improvement on battery grounds.

SEE ALSO: 5 exciting features exclusive to Google Pixel smartphones

Price and Availability

The 32GB base model of iPhone 7 is priced at Rs. 60,000. The 128GB variant comes at Rs.70,000 and you have to spent Rs. 80,000 for the 256GB iPhone 7.

You have to shell out Rs. 72,000 for the 32GB 128GB model, Rs. 82,000 for the 128GB variant and Rs. 92,000 for the 256GB storage variant.

You can buy the new iPhones on retail stores across the country and online portals like Flipkart, Paytm, Amazon, Snapdeal, Infibeam, etc. and can avail cashbacks and other offers.

Other options worth considering

We understand that the new iPhones are tempting but that doesn't mean their Android counterparts are not worthy of your attention.

You can buy a flagship Android smartphone and can even save for your next holiday trip. Some sensible options are- Samsung galaxy S7/S7 Edge, LG G5, HTC 10, OnePlus 3, Sony Xperia XZ and recently launched Moto Z and Moto Z Play that offers modular design

Furthermore, if you can wait for a week, you can get your hands on Google Pixel smartphones. The new phones- Pixel and Pixel XL are first Google branded products and offers the best of hardware and software experience. Google Pixel smartphones offer access to Google Assistant, highest rated camera, unlimited storage space, and pixel launcher which are exclusive to these smartphones only.

Best Mobiles in India
Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct. 6, 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 nine strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, three strikes destroyed nine ISIL oil tanker trucks, seven oil truck trailers, four oil pump jacks, an oil storage tank and a front-end loader.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a front-end loader.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed an ISIL oil well head and damaged two supply routes.

-- Near Manbij, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroying three fighting positions and two heavy machine guns. A mortar position was suppressed.

-- Near Mara, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as rocket artillery, conducted 18 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Al Huwayjah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Baghdad, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Hit, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroying two ISIL-held buildings, a vehicle and a weapons cache. A second ISIL-held building was damaged.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three vehicles, a weapons cache, two supply caches, a command-and-control node, a mortar system and an anti-air artillery system.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system and a fighting position.

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles, two bunkers and a tunnel entrance.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL-held buildings and a vehicle.

Additionally, due to a delayed strike assessment, two strikes conducted near Dayz Ar Zawr in Syria on Oct. 4 were not reported on the Oct. 5 strike release. The correct assessment reads:

Strikes in Syria

-- Near Dayz Ar Zawr, two strikes destroyed three ISIL oil well heads and an oil pump jack and damaged six supply routes.

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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ISIL Fighters Are 'Dead Men Walking' in Mosul, Raqqa, Work Says

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Oct. 6, 2016  The defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is certain, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said today.

"The Department of Defense is focused on one key thing: and that is ... inflicting a lasting defeat on ISIL," Work said in an interview with DoD News, as he traveled from Germany to Finland.

"I believe the ISIL fighters in Mosul and Raqqa are dead men walking," he said.

ISIL Will be 'Ejected, Defeated'

"They will be ejected and they will be defeated. It's only a matter of time," he said. "That's what we're focused on and there is no doubt in my mind that we will defeat ISIL as a state."

The U.S.-led coalition continues to support Iraqi forces as they prepare for the battle to liberate Mosul, the city in northern Iraq that was overrun by ISIL in 2014. U.S. officials have said they expect a tough fight, as the terrorists are entrenched in the city. Raqqa, Syria, is ISIL's so-called capital.

Work will be in Helsinki for two days of talks with Finnish officials on key issues, including Russian actions of concern on and over the Baltic Sea. In Germany, his events included the signing of an agreement with Germany to strengthen U.S.-German cooperation at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.

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Brooklyn Resident and Two Russian Nationals Arrested in Connection with Scheme to Illegally Export Controlled Technology to Russia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, October 6, 2016



Defendants Used Brooklyn-Based Front Companies to Procure Sophisticated Military and Satellite Technology on Behalf of Russian End-Users

Earlier today, Alexey Barysheff of Brooklyn, New York, a naturalized citizen of the United States, was arrested on federal charges of illegally exporting controlled technology from the United States to end-users in Russia. Simultaneously, two Russian nationals, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Alexey Krutilin, were arrested in Denver, Colorado, on charges of conspiring with Barysheff and others in the scheme. Federal agents also executed search warrants at two Brooklyn locations that were allegedly used as front companies in Barysheff's illegal scheme.

Barysheff is scheduled to make his initial appearance today at 2:00 p.m EDT at the United States Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann. Karpenko and Krutilin are scheduled to make their initial appearances today at 2:00 p.m. MDT at the United States Courthouse in Denver, Colorado, where the government will seek their removal in custody to the Eastern District of New York.

The arrests and charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin; U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers of the Eastern District of New York; Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York Field Office; FBI Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., New York Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office; and Craig Rupert, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, North East Field Office.

The complaints allege that Barysheff, Karpenko, Krutilin, and others were involved in a conspiracy to obtain cutting-edge microelectronics from manufacturers and suppliers located within the United States and to export those high-tech products to Russia, while evading the government licensing system set up to control such exports. The Department of Commerce, pursuant to authority granted by the President of the United States, has placed restrictions on the export and re-export of items that it has determined could make a significant contribution to the military potential and weapons proliferation of other nations and that could be detrimental to the foreign policy and national security of the United States. The microelectronics shipped to Russia included, among other products, digital-to-analog converters and integrated circuits, which are frequently used in a wide range of military systems, including radar and surveillance systems, missile guidance systems and satellites. These electronic devices required a license from the Department of Commerce to be exported to Russia and have been restricted for anti-terrorism and national security reasons.

As further detailed in the complaints, in 2015 Barysheff registered the Brooklyn, New York-based companies BKLN Spectra, Inc. (Spectra) and UIP Techno Corp. (UIP Techno). Since that time, the defendants and others have used those entities as U.S.-based front companies to purchase, attempt to purchase, and illegally export controlled technology. To induce U.S.-based manufacturers and suppliers to sell them high-tech, export-controlled microelectronics and to evade applicable controls, the defendants and their co-conspirators purported to be employees and representatives of Spectra and UIP Techno and provided false end-user information in connection with the purchase of the items, concealed the fact that they were exporters and falsely classified the goods they exported on records submitted to the Department of Commerce. To conceal the true destination of the controlled microelectronics from the U.S. suppliers, the defendants and their co-conspirators shipped the items first to Finland and subsequently to Russia.

"According to the complaints, Barysheff, Karpenko, and Krutilin conspired among themselves and with others to send sensitive U.S. technology surreptitiously to Russia in violation of U.S. export law," said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. "These laws are in place to protect the national security, and we will spare no effort in pursuing and holding accountable those who seek to harm the national security by illegally procuring strategic commodities for foreign entities."

"U.S. export laws exist to prevent potentially dangerous technology from falling into the wrong hands," said U.S. Attorney Capers. "Those who seek to evade the scrutiny of U.S. regulatory and law enforcement agencies by operating in the shadows present a danger to our national security and our allies abroad. We will continue to use all of our available national security options to hold such individuals and corporations accountable."

"Had law enforcement not interceded, the alleged perpetrators would have exported materials that are known to be used in a wide range of military devices," said Melendez, Special Agent in Charge for HSI New York. "HSI will continue to partner with other law enforcement agencies while focusing its efforts on national security and stopping the illegal flow of sensitive technology."

"Export controls were established to prevent certain individuals, organizations, or nations from obtaining protected technology and information. When the laws are evaded, we become vulnerable to the many threats posed by our adversaries. The FBI will continue to protect our national security assets as we work with our partners to prevent the exportation of restricted materials," said Sweeney, FBI Assistant Director in Charge, New York Field Office.

"Today's arrest is a collaborative effort among law enforcement agencies. I commend our colleagues for their efforts," said Special Agent in Charge Carson, U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office. "The Office of Export Enforcement will continue to use our unique authorities as the regulator and enforcer of our nation's export control laws to keep the most dangerous goods out of the most dangerous hands."

"The attempted theft of restricted U.S. technology by foreign actors severely threatens the United States' defensive posture," said Special Agent in Charge Craig Rupert, DCIS Northeast Field Office. "DCIS will continue to pursue these investigations with our Federal partners to shield America's investment in national defense."

If convicted of the charges, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being handled by the Office's National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Heeren and Peter W. Baldwin are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

16-1172

National Security Division (NSD)

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Six Fort Campbell Soldiers and Two Others Charged with Stealing and Selling Sensitive Military Equipment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, October 6, 2016



Indictment Alleges Some Restricted Equipment Sold to Customers in Foreign Nations

Eight individuals, including six Fort Campbell soldiers, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville, Tennessee, yesterday and charged in connection with a conspiracy to steal sensitive U.S. Army equipment which was ultimately sold and shipped to anonymous eBay bidders, including some located in foreign nations.

This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney David Rivera for the Middle District of Tennessee at a mid-morning press conference in Nashville. U.S. Attorney Rivera was joined by Resident Agent in Charge Robert Hammer of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Special Agent in Charge Tracey Montano of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) in Nashville.

"The actions of the soldiers charged today should in no way stain the honor of the brave men and women who proudly serve in our country's armed forces and selflessly give everything to protect America's freedom," said U.S. Attorney Rivera. "To the contrary, we never want to allow the illegal and self-serving actions of a few to cast a shadow on the thousands of military heroes who every day place themselves in harm's way to protect this great nation. Today we seek both to hold accountable all those who seek to financially profit from the illegal sale of stolen, sensitive and restricted military equipment as well as to thank the U.S. military personnel around the world whose dedication and service safeguards us all."

Those charged in the indictment are:

- John Roberts, 26, of Clarksville, Tennessee;

- Cory Wilson aka Jason Cory Wilson, 42, of Clarksville;

- U.S. Army Sargent Michael Barlow, 29, of Clarksville;

- U.S. Army Sargent Jonathan Wolford, 28, of Clarksville;

- U.S. Army Specialist Kyle Heade, 29, of Fort Campbell, Kentucky;

- U.S. Army Specialist Alexander Hollibaugh, 25, of Fort Campbell;

- U.S. Army Specialist Dustin Nelson, 22, of Fort Campbell; and

- U.S. Army Specialist Aaron Warner, 24, of Fort Campbell.

According to the indictment, the soldiers charged stole more than $1 million worth of sensitive military equipment from the U.S. Army installation at Fort Campbell and sold it to others, including Roberts and Wilson, who then re-sold the equipment on eBay. The items sold included sniper telescopes and rifle accessories, machine gun parts and accessories, grenade launcher sights, flight helmets, communication headsets, body armor and medical supplies. Many of these items were advertised as "Army Special Forces" and "U.S. Government Issued" (USGI).

The indictment also alleges that Roberts and Wilson illegally sold certain restricted U.S. Army equipment, including night vision helmet mounts, to eBay customers located in foreign nations including Russia, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Lithuania, Moldova, Malaysia, Romania and Mexico. The indictment also alleges that Wilson sold flight helmet mounts, advertised as USGI, to buyers in Russia, China and Kazakhstan and Roberts sold advanced communications headset helmets to buyers in Russia and China.

The indictment charges each defendant with conspiring to steal or receive U.S. Army property and to sell or convey U.S. Army property without authority. In addition, Roberts was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and Wilson was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act. Barlow was also charged with three counts of selling or conveying U.S. Army property without authority.

"As reflected by our name, HSI considers the national security interests of our nation among our top priorities," said Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer of HSI New Orleans Field Office. "It's especially disturbing when we identify corrupted members of our military who undermine the welfare of this this country, so we, along with our law enforcement partners, shall continue to aggressively investigate this type of criminal activity."

Parmer is the Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Office with responsibility for Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

"The security of our nation is also a top priority for IRS Criminal Investigation," said Special Agent in Charge Montano. "Those who compromise the safety of the American public and our military personnel in the interest of greed will be held accountable for their actions. IRS-CI remains committed to its partnership with other law enforcement agencies to investigate these types of egregious acts."

Montano is the Special Agent in Charge of the Nashville Field Office with responsibility for Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Each defendant faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the conspiracy charge. Roberts and Wilson face up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud and violating the Arms Export Control Act and Wilson faces up to an additional 20 years on the money laundering charge. In addition, Barlow faces up to 10 years in prison on each conveying charge. The defendants also face forfeiture of the proceeds of their crimes. Any sentences would be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and applicable federal statutes.

An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case was investigated by HSI, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William F. Abely and Thomas J. Jaworski.

USAO - Tennessee, Middle

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NATO welcomes deepening cooperation with the Republic of Korea

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

06 Oct. 2016

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se of the Republic of Korea to NATO Headquarters for the first time on Thursday (6 October 2016). The two leaders discussed how to deepen the Alliance's partnership with Seoul, their continued commitment to Afghanistan, and shared concerns over North Korea.

The Secretary General praised the Republic of Korea's political and practical support for Afghanistan, highlighting Seoul's major financial contributions to the Afghan forces. He noted that NATO will sustain its Resolute Support Mission beyond 2016 and continue to fund Afghan security forces to 2020. The Secretary General also condemned North Korea's persistent provocations and violations of binding UN Security Council Resolutions, which undermine regional and international security. He pointed to opportunities for deepening the Alliance's partnership with Seoul, including in the areas of cyber defence and exercises.

During his visit, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se also participated in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, chaired by NATO's Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow. The Council discussed the security situation on the Korean peninsula and agreed on the importance of taking forward the Alliance's cooperation with Seoul.

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Navy Conducts Restrained Missile Firing Test for LCS Surface-to-Surface Missile Module

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161006-12

Release Date: 10/6/2016 2:52:00 PM

From Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) successfully completed a restrained firing test of the Longbow Hellfire missile for the LCS Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM), the Navy announced Oct. 6.

The Longbow Hellfire missile has been undergoing developmental testing for incorporation into the SSMM, part of the LCS surface warfare mission package.

A major milestone demonstrating the SSMM missile launch module's ability to withstand heat and fire in the event of an unplanned rocket motor ignition was achieved at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division's Explosive Experimental Area. Prior to integrating and testing the Longbow Hellfire missile aboard a LCS, a series of tests must be accomplished to prove the safety of the system.

During the test of the missile exhaust containment structure (MECS), a test designed to duct missile exhaust and fire through plenum exhaust chambers in the top of the SSMM module, one live Longbow Hellfire missile with inert warhead and non-functional guidance section was fired but restrained in the launcher. As the missile's rocket motor burned, exhaust and flames ducted properly through the MECS plenums.

"This critical test concludes another vital step in a series of efforts that will lead to the fielding of this tremendous capability to LCS and to the fleet," said Capt. Ted Zobel, program manager for the LCS Mission Module Program.

The test verified the MECS could prevent ignition exhaust fire from escaping into other missile modules. Three mass-simulated Longbow Hellfire missiles and eight mass-simulated missiles with inert rocket motors were situated with the live missile to help evaluate the MECS's effectiveness.

The Navy is planning to deploy the Longbow Hellfire missile capability aboard a LCS by December 2017. Structural test firing from a LCS is scheduled to occur by March 2017.

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Navy Holds Industry Day on Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Program

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161006-09

Release Date: 10/6/2016 1:41:00 PM

From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications

NEWPORT, R.I. (NNS) -- The Navy's Unmanned Maritime Systems program office and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport recently hosted an industry information day as the government develops its acquisition strategy for the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV) program.

The Navy is looking to large and small businesses, including small business innovative research, to meet its program needs.

"This specialized industry day further highlights efforts of NAVSEA and the program executive offices to engage businesses of all kinds, especially small businesses who can offer innovative solutions across our portfolios," said Bill Deligne, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) executive director. "We awarded almost $2.5 billion in contracts to small businesses in fiscal year 2016 and we continue to see the return on investment as they support our programs' mission critical work."

Intended to inform the industrial base on the restructured LDUUV program and potential business opportunities and roles, the September forum attracted 265 industry participants representing 138 large and small companies. The Navy has designated NUWC Division Newport as the Government Lead Systems Integrator (GLSI) for LDUUV.

NUWC Division Newport's Christopher Egan, technical project manager, provided a description of opportunities for industry to participate in LDUUV prototyping and UUV prototyping efforts while Capt. Bill Guarini, program manager of Unmanned Maritime Systems, gave an update on the LDUUV program.

"Ensuring our industry partners are aware of the acquisition opportunities in the LDUUV program will ultimately help us deliver the best products and services to support the warfighter," Guarini said.

The LDUUV program comprises a new class of large-displacement unmanned undersea vehicles intended to provide increased endurance, range and payload capabilities. Capable of being stowed, launched and recovered by multiple host platforms, including littoral combat ships, Virginia-class submarines and Ohio-class guided-missile submarines, the system is being designed for intelligence, surveillance and mine countermeasure missions. The vehicles are based on a modular, open architecture that will allow the Navy to incrementally develop new mission sets for the craft.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned Systems Frank Kelly provided a briefing on the Navy's plan for unmanned undersea systems. Rear Adm. Robert Girrier, director for Unmanned Warfare Systems, re-affirmed the importance of UUVs as a part of the Navy's undersea dominance vision. Together they offered insight into UUV goals, undersea strategy, and warfighting contributions for unmanned warfare systems.

In May 2016, NUWC Division Newport released a request for information seeking information on industry capabilities and systems engineering trade space to inform the Navy's LDUUV plan. Earlier in the year, the Navy had announced plans to shift the LDUUV program acquisition strategy to include prototyping and to use NUWC Division Newport as GLSI. The change is part of a broader Navy effort to insert innovation and agility into the acquisition stream via prototyping and rapid capability development.

The Unmanned Maritime Systems program is part of Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships. The program office is responsible for the development, acquisition, delivery and maintenance of effective unmanned maritime systems, including both unmanned underwater and surface vehicles.

NUWC Division Newport is one of 10 NAVSEA Warfare Center sites across the United States. Newport provides research, development, test and evaluation, engineering, analysis, and assessment and fleet support capabilities for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive undersea weapon systems, and stewards existing and emerging technologies in support of undersea warfare.

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US, Oman, Bahrain, UAE Participate in VBSS Exchange

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161006-01

Release Date: 10/6/2016 8:09:00 AM

By Petty Officer 2nd Class Corbin J. Shea, Commander, Task Group 56.1 Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- The U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Engagement Team (MET) with the Omani, United Arab Emirati and Bahraini Coast Guards participated in a 10-day visit board search and seizure (VBSS) subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, Sept. 18-29.

The VBSS exchange focused on boarding procedures, defensive tactics, boarding team communications, maritime tactical egress, and tactical combat casualty care. Throughout the exchange, participants shared their organization's tactics, techniques and procedures in order to increase proficiency and interoperability in maritime law enforcement.

"Each of these engagements provides us an opportunity to ensure a high level of interoperability between U.S. forces and nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council," said Lt.j.g. Meredith Anderson, MET supervisor. "It further encourages each of these nations to adopt the best practices for the job."

The exchange was one of two U.S. Coast Guard-led VBSS engagements conducted this month. The MET also conducted a 10-day VBSS SMEE with the Egyptian Navy, Iraqi Marines and Jordanian Royal Navy, involving exchanges in counter-smuggling practices. According to Anderson, smuggling techniques are constantly evolving.

"The SMEEs are highly effective in promulgating the trends observed in this area of operation and providing best practices to partner nations for conducting the counter-smuggling mission set," said Anderson. "While engaging in operations in the Arabian Gulf, being able to work together seamlessly with partner nations allows for multinational cooperation at stopping illicit trafficking, as well as facilitating the sharing of multinational best practices in maritime law enforcement. When law enforcement teams utilize the same tactics, the results benefit all involved."

The VBSS exchange took place at the MET facility, which encompasses a 65-foot fishing dhow and a 3,000-square-foot building laid out similar to most ships, known as the "ship in a box."

"[Conducting exchanges in this facility] helps us know what each other's procedures are," said U.S. Coast Guardsman Maritime Enforcement Specialist 2nd Class Michael Dean. "Through these exercises, we're all able to conduct boardings more professionally, safely and humanitarianly."

USCG Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), the Coast Guard's largest unit outside the United States, was established in 2002 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). PATFORSWA plays a key role in maritime interdiction operations, maritime infrastructure protection and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf as part of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 55. The MET was established in 2005 to maintain the operational proficiency for PATFORSWA units. Since then, the MET has grown to also support U.S. Central Command's theater campaign plan and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's (NAVCENT) theater security cooperation objectives.

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Indian army 'kills three militants in Kashmir'

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 6, 2016 9:13AM

The Indian military says it has killed three suspected militants who allegedly attempted to seize an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, as heightened tensions continue in the disputed Himalayan region.

According to army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia, the three gunmen, wearing army fatigues, were shot dead in a heavy exchange of fire with Indian soldiers early on Thursday after they fired at sentry posts and tried to break through an army base's perimeter in Kupwara district near the border with Pakistan.

He further said that three AK rifles and some ammunition were recovered from the gunmen, adding that no Indian army troops was killed or sustained injuries in the incident.

The base attacked serves as the local headquarters of the counter-insurgency military unit and is situated in the vicinity of the fortified Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

The attack came less than three weeks after allegedly Pakistan-based militants assaulted an Indian army base, killing at least 19 soldiers, the deadliest such raid in nearly two decades.

The incident sparked further tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of failure in establishing security over the region and curbing the militants. Pakistan, however, rejected India's claims that the militants had come from Pakistan, demanding credible proof.

Meanwhile, reports say that a number of militants, allegedly from Pakistan, unsuccessfully tried to break through the barbed wire fence on the LoC at two points in the Nowgam sector and one at Rampur on Wednesday night.

Adding to the tensions, India announced last week that it had carried out "surgical" strikes in the region aimed at barring the militants from alleged further infiltration. Pakistan, however, denied that any such strikes had occurred, saying that there had instead been cross-border fire by India.

The restive Muslim-majority region has also witnessed an increase in mass protests and violent attacks since early July, when a pro-independence figure was killed in a shootout with Indian troops.

New Delhi has repeatedly accused Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting for Kashmir's independence from India. Pakistan, however, denies the allegations. The two countries have fought three wars over the Himalayan region since they gained independence from Britain some 70 years ago.

In 2003, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC in Kashmir and launched peace talks a year later. The process was, however, suspended after terrorist attacks killed over 160 people in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008. New Delhi blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants.

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Suspected Shabab militant kills six in Kenya

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 6, 2016 8:40AM

Half a dozen people have lost their lives in an attack by suspected the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group in northeast Kenya.

The fatalities occurred during an attack on a residential compound housing non-ethnic Somalis and non-Muslims in the northeastern Kenyan county of Mandera early on Thursday.

"We have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost six people," said the county's governor, Ali Roba.

Reports said there were 33 people and the attackers used explosives to gain access to the gated building.

Kenya's police chief Joseph Boinnet confirmed the assault, saying, "We highly suspect the attackers are members of the Shabab insurgent group, who have sneaked across the porous border."

"These criminal gangs are desperate to hurt innocent Kenyans since they were defeated badly and routed out of all their hideouts in the neighboring country," he added, referring to Somalia.

The Shabab, a group known for its campaign of terror in Somalia since 2006, has a long record of launching attacks in Kenya as revenge for the country's contribution to the African Union's mission in Somalia. The AU troops seek to bolster the weak UN-backed government of Somalia against the militancy.

The government in Nairobi sent over 3,000 soldiers to Somalia in late 2011 after al-Shabab carried out a series of raids inside Kenya. The group has been pushed out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and other major cities in the country by the African Union Mission in Somalia, but keeps carrying out attacks against civilians and troops in the country.

Kenya's counties of Mandera and Garissa on the border have been hit by an upsurge of attacks by the al-Shabab militants. In early April, the group carried out an attack against the Garissa University College campus, killing nearly 150 people.

The militant group has vowed to continue attacks until Kenya pulls its troops out of Somalia.

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EU suspends Colombia fund over rejection of peace with rebels

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 6, 2016 7:27AM

The European Union (EU) says it will withhold development funding earmarked for Colombia in the wake of the Colombian people's rejection of a government peace deal with the South American country's main rebel group in a referendum.

The bloc announced on Wednesday that it would suspend the nearly 600 million euros it had promised Bogota in order to assist the Latin American country for upholding the historic peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"Obviously, in the current situation we cannot continue with the launch of this fund," said Slovakia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Ivan Korcok, who is also the president of the Council of the EU, in an address to the European Parliament.

He insisted that the "EU engagement in the Colombian peace process will carry on," adding that 11 countries had committed to the proposed fund.

A peace in purgatory

The landmark peace deal was signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono in Cartagena on September 26, following four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba, and after 52 years of armed conflict in the country that has killed over 220,000 people and left 45,000 missing.

The deal was astonishingly rejected, however, when Colombian voters struck it down in a referendum with a margin of merely 0.4 percent on Sunday. The result is largely blamed on Santos' top political rival, former president Alvaro Uribe, who spearheaded the "No" campaign.

Uribe's right-wing Democratic Center party, which claims that the terms of the deal are too lenient with the militant group, wants jail terms for those FARC rebels who have committed serious crimes and some of the rebel leaders to be banned from politics.

Meanwhile, after more than three hours of talks between Santos and Uribe on Wednesday, the latter said in remarks that seemed toned down that there had to be "adjustments and proposals" in the accord to ensure it satisfied all Colombians.

Under the current circumstances, it seems that the Bogota government and FARC will engage in renegotiating the deal.

Saving the deal

Thousands of people in Colombia have already staged peaceful demonstrations in support of the deal.

The crestfallen Santos, whose tenure will end in mid-2018, however, has vowed to save the deal and continue seeking peace "until the last minute of my term." As part of such attempt, Santos extended a ceasefire with FARC until October 31. Under the deal, the ceasefire would have been permanent.

FARC has also said it would maintain the truce, which was put in place over a year ago, and "remain faithful" to the peace accord signed last week with the government, with its leader saying he was prepared to "fix" the rejected deal.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Korcok, the president of the Council of the EU, said the bloc would not reverse its decision to "suspend" the rebel group for six months from its "EU terrorist list." FARC has been on the list since June 2002.

"After the referendum, the FARC did not denounce the peace accord they had signed. In fact, they confirmed their desire to continue to search for a peaceful solution," he argued.

On September 27, a day after the deal was signed, the EU announced that it had suspended the application of its sanctions, including the freezing of assets, against FARC.

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Yemeni forces hit several Saudi bases with rockets

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 6, 2016 7:20AM

Yemeni army soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have struck a number of military bases in Saudi Arabia's border region of Jizan in retaliation against incessant airstrikes.

They launched a number of artillery rounds at a base in the mountainous Jebel al-Dukhan area on Wednesday evening, setting several military vehicles ablaze and destroying support and communications equipment, al-Masirah television network reported.

Yemenis also targeted a gathering of Saudi troops in al-Khojarah district of Jizan, located 967 kilometers (601 miles) southwest of the Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh.

Separately, Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired a locally-developed al-Sarkha 3 (Shriek 3) missile at al-Madrasah village in al-Khoubah area of Jizan, leaving a number of Saudi soldiers dead and injured.

Early on Thursday, two Katyusha rockets were launched at a gathering of militiamen loyal to resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in al-Wazi'iyah district of Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz.

An unspecified number of Saudi-backed militiamen were reportedly killed and injured in the attack.

Yemen has been under Saudi military strikes since late March 2015. The war was launched in a bid to reinstate Hadi, who has stepped down as president but is now seeking to grab power by force.

The United Nations puts the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000. The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, announced on Tuesday that violence has left over two million children out of school in Yemen.

UNICEF's representative to Yemen Julien Harneis said 350,000 children got no education last year amid the deadly violence, which led to the closure of many schools across Yemen.

"Children were killed on their way to school or while at school," Harneis said. "Parties to the conflict should keep children and schools out of harm to give education a chance."

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Colombia's Former Leader Uribe Says New Peace Agreement With FARC Coming

Sputnik News

05:46 06.10.2016

Colombia's former president Alvaro Uribe has stressed that the country's current leadership will strive to reach a new agreement with the Revolutionary Armed forces of Colombia.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  Uribe told reporters as quoted by El Universo on Wednesday, after meeting with Colombian President Jose Manuel Santos, that "adjustments to initial proposals" will be made in order "to seek a new peace agreement binding on all Colombians." Santos said in his turn that peace in Colombia is "close."

On Wednesday, Santos announced an extension of the ceasefire regime with the FARC until the end of October.

On Tuesday, the Colombian president announced the start of a new national peace dialogue with the FARC.

On October 2, Colombia's National Election Council said the peace agreement between the government and the FARC rebel movement, signed in September, failed to garner the support of the majority of Colombian voters at a referendum.

The half-century war between the FARC and the Colombian government has claimed the lives of a quarter of a million people. The two parties began peace talks in November 2012 and signed a historic ceasefire agreement in Cuba on August 24.

 Sputnik

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In US' Footsteps, Germany Plans Military Base in Niger

Sputnik News

21:57 06.10.2016(updated 00:48 07.10.2016)

A week after the US confirmed that it is building a military base in Niger, Germany has announced plans for a base of its own in the impoverished West African nation.

Bernd von Munchow-Pohl, the German Ambassador to Niger, made the announcement in a speech in Niamey, the country's capital, on October 5, AFP reports.

"With the establishment of a German military airbase in Niamey in support of the MINUSMA mission in Mali, which Niger has supported since the beginning, a new chapter in our cooperation has begun," von Munchow-Pohl said. MINUSMA is the acronym for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

Von Munchow-Pohl stated that Germany is "ready to engage more in the Sahel region [and] assume even more responsibility," the ambassador said, calling Niger "a central partner" for Germany and "a key country in the fight against terrorism and illegal migration."

The German ambassador also announced that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would visit Niger in the coming days.

In late September, the US confirmed that it is building a new base in Agadez, in the center of the country, to the tune of either $50 million, as the Pentagon says, or $100 million, which the Intercept reported on September 30, citing documents it received through an FOIA request.

The US already stations armed Reaper drones at an air base in Niamey, from which it supports France's anti-terrorism Operation Barkhane, focusing on Sahel-region countries Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania.

The German cabinet voted in May to expand its army's presence in Africa. Under the aegis of the EU, several hundred German soldiers have been involved in military training programs in Mali and have been part of patrol missions in Somalia since 2008.

Niger is the least-developed country in the world, according to UN Human Development data.

 Sputnik

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Israeli Fighter Jet Malfunction Leaves Pilot Dead, Navigator Injured

Sputnik News

03:16 06.10.2016(updated 10:41 06.10.2016)

According to the Israeli military, one of its pilots was killed following a strike mission over the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, a squadron of Israeli Air Force jets was deployed in response to a rocket attack launched from Gaza.

"Today's attack, the second since the beginning of August in the city of Sderot, is the direct result of Hamas' terror agenda in the Gaza Strip that encourages deliberate attacks against Israeli civilians," said Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, according to Defense News.

While no civilians were killed in the attack, the Israeli military did lose one of its own in what it called a "Class A mishap."

Returning from its strike mission over Gaza, one of the F-16I fighter jets was en route to Ramon Air Base southwest of Beersheba. The pilot and navigator operated normally when, around 5 pm, "for some reason, they felt the need to eject."

According to the Jerusalem Post, the jet caught fire shortly before the pilots ejected.

"We have no specifics yet to offer," said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, according to Defense One.

"It happened while they were landing. An inquiry is ongoing to review the circumstances."

While the navigator suffered only minor injuries, the pilot, identified as Major Ohad Cohen, was killed.

While an investigation is ongoing, officials so far believe the incident to be the result of human error. The air force has no plans to ground its F-16I fleet.

A similar incident occurred in 2013, when an F-16I crashed into the Mediterranean during a training flight. The pilot and navigator ejected in time and both parachuted to sea, where they were rescued.

Another F-16I fighter crashed in southern Israel during a training exercise in 2010. Both the pilot and navigator were killed.

 Sputnik

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Stalled peace process, fresh ceasefire violations undermine Mali's stability, warns UN peacekeeping chief

6 October 2016  Citing a lack of progress on the peace process in Mali, the United Nations peacekeeping chief today warned that the UN mission there would not be able to fully carry out its mandate as long as the signatories to the peace agreement do not resolutely engage in its implementation.

"If the relative respite in recent months [leads us] to expect a possible improvement of the situation on the ground, we need to face the fact that persistent delays in the implementation of the peace agreement and new violations the ceasefire are incompatible with lasting stabilization, albeit partial, of the situation," Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous told the Security Council.

He underscored: "Time has come to rise above their immediate, localized interests and think of the long-term concerns of their constituencies, as well as of the country as a whole."

While he welcomed the announcement by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to convene a 'National Conference of Understanding' in December to discuss the root causes of the conflict, strengthen ownership of the peace process and promote genuine national reconciliation, Mr. Ladsous said that unfortunately, at present, the parties to the peace agreement are yet to set their differences aside and sit down with Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, to prioritize implementation steps and finalize benchmarks and concrete timelines as requested by Security Council resolution 2295 (2016).

That resolution, which extended the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA), until 30 June 2017, also authorized an increase in MINUSMA's capabilities, including a force level of up to 13,289 military personnel and 1,920 police personnel.

Under the terms of the resolution, the Council also decided that MINUSMA should perform tasks related to, among others, supporting the implementation of the peace agreement of June 2015; good offices and reconciliation; protection of civilians and stabilization, including against asymmetric threats; protection, safety and security of UN personnel; promotion and protection of human rights; and humanitarian assistance.

Impact of violence, instability on Mission effectiveness

Following the clashes in July in Kidal, in the north of the country, the Mission launched an operation to deter violence and protect civilians by showing a robust presence with patrols and checkpoints. In August, the Mission launched another operation, again establishing checkpoints and conducting coordinated patrols with the Malian armed forces along the TimbuktuDouentzaHombori axis, which spans from Timbuktu to the Mopti region.

However, in spite of the Mission doing its utmost, civilians continue to suffer from the consequences of the armed groups' and Government's military operations, he said.

The ceasefire violations have further hampered access for humanitarian actors that strive to answer to the most pressing needs of the population pending the resumption of basic public services.

MINUSMA continues to seek to enhance collaboration with Mali's neighbours and regional security initiatives to more effectively address common security challenges. It is in this context that Mr. Annadif has been engaging the Governments of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, or so-called the G-5 Sahel member States.

The Mission, however, suffered a series of attacks on its force, including the May 29 detonation of an unidentified explosive device that killed five peacekeepers travelling in a convoy in the Mopti region, and the 3 October coordinated attacks in Kidal that killed one peacekeeper and injured eight others, reported Mr. Ladsous.

As tragically illustrated by Monday's attacks, the Mission's capacity to protect civilians and counter asymmetric attacks in active defence of its mandate is further hampered by the absence of the capabilities authorised by resolution 2295.

Mr. Ladsous said he regrets to inform the Security Council that in the short to medium-term instead of receiving reinforcements, MINUSMA will be confronted with the loss of key enablers, explaining that two troop-contributing countries have recently decided to withdraw three out of the Mission's five helicopter units by early 2017.

The UN Secretariat has deployed extensive efforts to generate assets to replace them, but no Member State has so far committed to contribute any of the outstanding capabilities authorized either by resolution 2295 or by previous resolutions, he said.

Support for MINUSMA

Picking up that thread, Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support and head of the UN Department of Field Support (DFS), who also briefed the Council, stressed the importance for the Mission to be provided with the necessary capacities and capabilities required to operate safely and effectively in the current environment to be able to implement its mandate.

Highlighting that modern peacekeeping operations like MINUSMA require a range of new and stronger capabilities, he called on UN Member States to consider becoming 'contingent owned equipment (COE) contributing countries;' contributing to joint battalions; and partnering directly with troop and police contributing countries to provide the required equipment.

Mr. Khare also underlined that he continues to prioritize efforts to address sexual exploitation and abuse as well as all issues related to the conduct of UN personnel and further called on all Member States of the UN to ensure that their personnel uphold the highest standards of conduct and discipline as well as for timely reporting of incidents and follow-up action when necessary to ensure accountability.

He also informed the 15-member body of efforts being undertaken to enhance the Mission's operational effectiveness, to strengthen security and protection of both civilian and uniformed staff, such as through reinforcing facilities against blasts and installing protected command positions and bunkers as well as to strengthen MINUSMA's medical support plan, equipment and personnel.

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UN: Humanitarian Situation Rapidly Deteriorating in Kunduz

By Ayaz Gul October 06, 2016

The United Nations says it is deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation for civilians still trapped in the conflict-hit northern Afghan city of Kunduz, while thousands of others have fled their homes with few possessions.

Street-to-street fighting for control of the crucial Afghan provincial capital continued for a fourth day Thursday, after Taliban insurgents staged a multi-pronged offensive earlier this week.

Afghan forces backed by U.S. military airstrikes have been attacking insurgent positions to evict them, but officials say the operations are being conducted carefully to avoid collateral damage. They allege Taliban fighters are using civilian homes as shields. Clashes were reportedly also taking place in parts of central Kunduz.

There have been dozens of civilian casualties while Afghan forces and the Taliban also claim to have inflicted heavy losses on the other side, but no exact figures or details are available because of communication disconnections and lack of access to the city.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition says Afghan forces are defeating Taliban attempts to take Kunduz and their commando units "continue to clear isolated pockets of Taliban" in the city.

The hostilities come despite repeated claims by government forces backed by the U.S. military's advisors and air power that they have pushed the insurgents to the edges of Kunduz.

Initial reports suggest that up to 10,000 individuals fleeing the fighting have in recent days arrived at locations including Taloqan, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul, the national capital.

Many of these refugees left suddenly and are carrying few possessions, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan.

"Families trapped in Kunduz city are facing water shortages, power cuts and are finding it increasingly difficult to source food and fuel, and when they do, it's at inflated prices. In addition, with many health clinics shut or running with reduced staff, there is limited access to essential health services," said Dominic Parker, head of the UNOCHA.

A senior doctor at the city's 200-bed main public hospital, Abdul Hameed Alam, told VOA that several rockets and small arms fire hit the facility during overnight clashes, forcing all the doctors and other staff to abandon their work and flee for safety.

Since then, he says, medical units of the Afghan army have been trying to provide assistance at the hospital to more than 150 people sustaining conflict-related injuries.

The doctor disclosed that since the fighting erupted, the hospital has treated and discharged more than 200 wounded people, but declined to share the number of fatalities.

An American airstrike mistakenly destroyed the city's well-equipped trauma center run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) when Taliban militants assaulted and briefly captured Kunduz exactly one year ago. Hospital staff and patients were among 42 people killed.

Meanwhile, a government spokesman in the southern Helmand province told VOA that overnight coalition airstrikes killed nearly 90 insurgents, including several commanders, enabling Afghan forces to repel a major Taliban assault on the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

The Islamist insurgency has kept the city under pressure since capturing key districts around it in addition to overrunning other areas in Helmand in recent months.

In the wake of intensified hostilities in Afghanistan, U.N. officials estimate that nearly 280,000 individuals have fled their homes as of early October. They have warned that by the end of this year, more than 1 million people will be on the move in Afghanistan, including Afghan refugees returning home in large numbers from Pakistan and Iran.

The U.N. refugee agency says that within the past five weeks alone, more than 100,000 Afghans have gone back to Afghanistan and the number is growing by the day.

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Mugabe Opens Zimbabwe Parliament

By Sebastian Mhofu October 06, 2016

President Robert Mugabe addressed the new session of Zimbabwe's parliament Thursday. All eyes were on the 92-year-old leader, watching for clues to the state of his health and listening for any response he might give to the recent protests against his government.

President Mugabe, looking visibly tired, started proceedings by joking with his officials that they had given him the correct speech this time. The president stirred talk of mental decline a year ago when he re-read a speech he had delivered in parliament a month before.

This year, he read out a list of laws that his government wants parliament to amend or introduce to be in line with Zimbabwe's 2013 constitution and to prop up the country's moribund economy.

Mugabe ended his speech by saying: "In conclusion I wish to remind you, honorable members of parliament, of your sacrosanct duty to enact laws and build institutions that promote development in an environment of peace and national unity. You not only have a duty to enact laws, but to also respect and adhere to them and to our constitution; in word, deed and spirit.

Zimbabwe opposition MPs, who had received death threats amid reports that they planned to protest while Mugabe spoke, remained subdued throughout the 30-minute speech.

Since July, the opposition has teamed up with civic organizations to hold protests against Mugabe and his 36-year rule of Zimbabwe. They accuse his government of failing to fix the economy and disregarding human rights.

Authorities have used force to disperse the demonstrations or prevent protesters from gathering to march.

On Thursday, Mugabe also said he wanted tighter laws to avoid what he called "leakages" in strategic areas of the Zimbabwean economy, such as mining and tourism. "Leakage" is when businesses do not declare their actual profits, depriving the country of tax revenue.

The problem has plagued the government for the past decade, since the discovery of diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe and the takeover of the fields by the military.

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US Army to Test New Turret on Stryker Combat Vehicle

Sputnik News

00:15 07.10.2016(updated 00:49 07.10.2016)

Defense technology officials say that a new modular turret will be tested on the Stryker armored vehicle by the US Army in the next few months.

Waltham, Massachusetts- based missile maker Raytheon and Belgian turret-maker CMI Defense evaluated the technology using development agreements and cooperative research they received from the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center.

The Strykers are a family of eight-wheel combat vehicles, transportable by C-130 aircraft.

Raytheon's Commander Independent Viewer (CIV) sensor and CMI's new Cockerill 3030 turret, with interchangeable guns, were both evaluated, and the products had their first public viewing this week in Washington DC at the Association of the United States Army's annual conference.

The turret, weighing in at about five tons, can accept a variety guns, and can be unmanned or manned. CMI Chief Marketing Officer Bo Arne Berglund told DefenseTech, The only thing you need to change is the cannon and possibly the auto-loaders and ammunition systems." He added that CMI would be supplying an unnamed Middle Eastern client this year as well.

Berglund claimed this month that CMI is completing a design review for the Army, and that a test-firing should take place this summer using Orbital ATK Inc.'s recently-finished 30mm gun.

Raytheon spokesman Lorenzo Cortes said the Army "will use that combined sensor-turret combo to evaluate what kind of lethality they can get if they wanted to upgrade their Stryker fleet and other vehicles."

 Sputnik

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South Carolina, Florida Guard Prepare for Hurricane Matthew

By Army Sgt. Tashera Pravato South Carolina National Guard

COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 6, 2016  As Hurricane Matthew barrels toward the southeastern United States today, additional National Guard members in South Carolina and Florida are assisting in disaster-relief preparations and plans for recovery.

South Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen were activated Oct. 4 following the state of emergency declared by Gov. Nikki Haley.

South Carolina had more than 1,900 Guard personnel on duty as of this morning, according to figures compiled by the National Guard Bureau.

Powerful Storm

Hurricane Matthew, which had sustained winds of 125 mph overnight, took lives and damaged infrastructure in the Caribbean.

The unpredictable storm was projected to move along the coast of Florida and South Carolina, with uncertainty as to when it would make landfall. Weather forecasters predicted conditions along the coast would begin deteriorating beginning tomorrow, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced that 1.5 million residents have been ordered to evacuate.

"The South Carolina National Guard is ready to assist first responders with evacuations, and any resources and equipment needed to assist in response to Hurricane Matthew," said Army Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston Jr., the adjutant general for South Carolina.

Activation of Guard Forces

On the first day of activation, about 1,460 South Carolina Guard members were assisting first responders with aerial reconnaissance and traffic control points. The South Carolina Highway Patrol said its officers were manning nearly 700 checkpoints.

It is estimated that numbers of National Guard troops put into action could go as high as 2,000, depending on Matthew's path. Guard units activated include military police, transportation, engineers, general purpose and aviation. Two UH-72 Lakota helicopters and CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the South Carolina National Guard's Donaldson Facility in Greenville were flown to Columbia to assist with reconnaissance for highway patrolmen and the coastal evacuation of 1.1 million residents.

"As South Carolinians, we are strong and we are resilient. Now is the time to finalize your preparations, especially if you live along the coast," Livingston said. "Please review your family communication plans, and be ready if your zone is notified for evacuation."

"We've been through winter storms; we've been through the 1,000-year flood," Haley said. "Hurricanes are very different, and these storm surges are to be taken very seriously. We are strong and I am proud of Team South Carolina. I know we are ready."

Providing Support

The Florida National Guard has about 1,500 soldiers and airmen to provide support in such areas as search and rescue, reconnaissance, high-wheeled vehicle and security capabilities as well as planners, county liaison officers, command and control and logistics support, officials said.

North Carolina media reports that at least 180 Guard members are ready if the storm heads toward their state.

"Many Guardsmen have been through natural disasters and know what it can do to families and neighborhoods," said Army Lt. Col. Matthew Devivo, with the North Carolina National Guard.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve Marshall of the National Guard Bureau and the Florida National Guard contributed to this article.

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South Korean media report 'North Korean defections'

Iran Press TV

Wed Oct 5, 2016 7:51AM

South Korean media say North Korean embassy officials stationed in China have defected, claiming that the incident was the latest in a series of alleged defections by North Korean officials.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting an anonymous source, said on Wednesday that an embassy official stationed in the Beijing embassy, who was attached to the North Korean Health Ministry, had disappeared with his family in late September.

The South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, also cited an unnamed source as saying that two senior staffers from the North Korean embassy in Beijing had defected and asked for asylum in Japan's mission in Beijing.

Propaganda at work?

Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga has, however, denied that anyone from North Korea had asked for asylum at the Japanese mission.

"There's no truth in the reports that North Korean asylum seekers contacted the Japanese embassy, and we're not aware of any situation involving North Koreans hoping to defect to Japan," Suga said.

It was not even clear if the two individuals alleged to have defected in the JoongAng Ilbo report included the one person reported by Yonhap.

The reports by the South Korean media are not unlikely to be mere propaganda against Pyongyang particularly in light of a recent speech by South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who urged North Koreans to defect.

In her provocative speech last Saturday, Park urged North Koreans to abandon the "horrendous" lives they have in North Korea, and defect to the South "to find hope and live a new life."

The two Koreas have been at loggerheads since the Korean War (1950-53) ended in a ceasefire, which has nevertheless continued to this day despite unending hostile political rhetoric, regular military exercises and sporadic incidents of confrontations.

They also regularly engage in circulating propagandist material against one another.

Pyongyang is armed with nuclear weapons and missiles it claims it needs to protect itself against aggression by Seoul and its military ally Washington.

Pyongyang's main ally, China, has repeatedly called on the US and South Korean officials to refrain from provocative actions against the North, which would not be conducive to stability in the region.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesman Blasts Obama Group's Racket for Sanctions and Pressure upon DPRK

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

Pyongyang, October 6 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK issued a statement on Thursday in connection with the fact that the Obama group's racket for sanctions and pressure on the DPRK has reached an extreme phase.

Far from drawing a lesson from its failed DPRK policy, the Obama group is threatening and blackmailing the DPRK by force of arms and is not hiding even the fact that it is seeking "a regime change" in the DPRK while daring hurt the dignity of its supreme leadership, the statement said, adding:

It is also making desperate efforts to isolate and stifle the DPRK by pressurizing other sovereign countries to sever relations with the DPRK or downgrade the level of ties with it.

This is nothing but the last-ditch efforts of those who are on a losing streak in the political and military stand-off with the DPRK.

Defying universally accepted principle of international law that sovereign states can never be subject to jurisdiction of other countries under any circumstances, the Obama group is brandishing the sanctions stick against those countries disobedient to it. It is, indeed, a group of rogues.

In order to defend itself from the group of gangsters keen on inflicting even nuclear holocaust at the end of putting unprecedented political and economic pressure and military threats, the DPRK has bolstered the nuclear force both in quality and quantity after setting it as a national line to go nuclear and has now soared as a nuclear power possessed of powerful nuclear attack capabilities.

A stick has to be used against the horde of wolves like the U.S. which comes in fierce attack to eliminate the DPRK while categorically denying the sovereignty of the DPRK and its right to existence. Only then the U.S. will come to its senses.

The U.S. will sooner or later face a shuddering reality in which their bayonet that targeted the life of the people of the DPRK will boomerang on it. -0-

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IRGC warns Saudi Navy to keep off Iran waters

Iran Press TV

Wed Oct 5, 2016 12:19PM

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has issued a stern warning to all military vessels partaking in Saudi Arabia's ongoing wargames in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, noting that any act of transgression into Iran's territorial waters shall be met with an immediate and befitting response.

A strongly-worded statement, addressed to all Saudi and non-Saudi naval vessels that are part of the maneuvers, suggested that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps views the ongoing wargames as an evident attempt to foment tensions and compromise sustainable security in the Persian Gulf.

The IRGC statement advised all military vessels participating in the maneuvers against crossing into the country's waters, warning them not to approach Iran's territorial waters and not to even cruise in international waters that are in the vicinity of Iran's territorial waters, since any such attempt is in no way regarded as an instance of "innocent passage."

The Islamic Republic of Iran's Navy and the IRGC's Naval Force are in full combat readiness to safeguard sustainable security in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman and shall therefore respond promptly and proportionately to any potential acts to undermine peace and security in these waters, added the statement.

Saudi Arabia's exercises involve units of the Royal Saudi Navy Forces of Eastern Fleet, including warships, naval aircraft and special security naval units.

Royal Saudi Navy Commander Abdullah al-Sultan said the drills were part of a series of exercises seeking to raise combat readiness, gain the necessary skills and improve ability to perform essential services.

Back in August, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan stated that the Islamic Republic's naval forces were monitoring all movements in the Persian Gulf and would confront anyvessels intruding into the country's territorial waters.

"If any foreign vessel enters our waters, we will give them a warning. If it is an act of aggression, we will confront them," Dehqan said.

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IRGC commander: No country dares to attack Iran

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Oct 6, IRNA -- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari underlined the Iranian Armed Forces' readiness to defend the country against the foreign enemies.

'The warriors of Islam wholeheartedly defended the Islamic Revolution during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and this might has resulted in no country daring to attack Iran,' Major General Jafari said on Thursday, addressing a ceremony in the Western city of Yasouj.

He reiterated that the Iranian military and security forces have well been able to contain foreign threats as the country enjoys security and power despite the existing dangers in both world and region.

Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution is developing beyond the borders, the commander said while talking of Iran's anti-hegemony movements.

He further stressed importance of keeping military and defense forces prepared.

Iran has turned into a role model of security for other countries, said the commander, adding Iran today is the most secure country that no one is able to do anything against its security.

2050**2050

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International Coalition Strikes People's Militia in Iraq Killing 18 Fighters

Sputnik News

20:26 06.10.2016(updated 20:39 06.10.2016)

The head of the press center of the People's Militia in Iraq, Thu El-Fiqar Al-Baldawi spoke to Sputnik about the attack carried out by the international coalition on the People's Militia on October 5, in northern Iraq that killed 18 soldiers and injured dozens.

"Yesterday, the coalition aircraft struck officially armed militia, who are fighting under the national flag of Iraq. This happened in broad daylight. The militia was fighting against a small Daesh unit, among which there were high ranking officers as well," Al-Badawi said.

According to him, Daesh was transporting arms from the city of Mosul to the south of Nineveh. It was at that precise moment that the People's Militia surrounded the terrorists. The fight went on for more than three hours.

"After that the coalition planes attacked the militia who were holding Iraqi flags, but did not attack Daesh militants who had black flags," the head of the press center told Sputnik Arabic.

He added that the fight was taking place in an open territory, so the visibility was clear and there was no excuse for misinterpreting who was who on the ground.

"After this attack, 18 militiamen were killed and dozens were injured. The militants of Daesh managed to escape with their leaders. The planes that struck the militia did not attack the leaving cars of Daesh militants," Al-Baldawi said.

He said that this is not the first time that the coalition attacked the People's Militia forces. This happened in Tikrit, in Samarra, in the areas around Samarra, Baiji, in Fallujah and in other cities of Anbar.

"Yesterday's attack on the militia occurred, despite the fact that the coalition is coordinating its actions with the US Armed Forces, which are in the south of Nineveh at the El Kiara base. After all, the entire infantry troops coordinate with each other [including the US Armed Forces]," Al-Baldawi concluded.

 Sputnik

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Kurdish Commander in Iraq Denies Reports of US Building Military Base Near Mosul

Sputnik News

17:40 06.10.2016

In an interview with Sputnik, a Kurdish Peshmerga commander in Iraq, Livan Hurettin, denied earlier reports about a military base allegedly being built by the US near Bashiqa, a town 25 kilometers from Mosul.

"The information about the construction of a US military base in the area is not true. There are neither American soldiers nor any representatives of the US military command there," Livan Hurettin said.

He denied rumors about Turkey allegedly having sent reinforcement to its troops already deployed near Bashiqa.

"There were only Turkish troops stationed there. Their number hasn't changed," he said, refusing to elaborate any further out of security considerations.

Meanwhile, the presence of Turkish troops near Bashiqa has sent Iraq-Turkey tensions soaring. According to local media reports, there are an estimated 600 Turkish troops currently stationed in Bashiqa, which is controlled by Kurdish Peshmerga units.

In a majority vote on Sunday, the Turkish parliament extended the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq by one year. The move invited an angry backlash from Iraqi MPs who called for the earliest possible withdrawal of the Turkish troops already in the country.

Livan Hurettin said that it was not yet clear whether the Turkish soldiers were going to take part in the operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

He added that the Peshmerga forces were now in the final stages of preparations for the operation that is expected to start shortly.

 Sputnik

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Iraq to Take Military Presence Dispute With Turkey to UNSC

Sputnik News

14:32 06.10.2016(updated 14:33 06.10.2016)

Baghdad has submitted a request for an emergency session at the UN Security Council to discuss Turkish troops' presence in Iraq.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Thursday it had requested the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, seen by Baghdad as violation of the country's sovereignty.

"The Foreign Ministry has submitted a request for an emergency session for the United Nation's Security Council to discuss the Turkish violations on Iraqi territories and interference in its internal affairs," Iraq's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal said as quoted in a statement.

Jamal added that Baghdad also called on the UN Security Council to uphold its responsibilities toward Iraq and to take a decision to put an end to Turkey's "violations" of Iraq's sovereignty.

Relations between Iraq and Turkey has tensed up after the Turkish parliament last week extended a mandate allowing Turkish troops to be deployed in Iraq and Syria to combat terrorists for an additional year.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution voicing protest against Turkish military presence in Bashiqa, located about 19 miles northeast of Mosul.

 Sputnik

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Libya: As situation worsens, UN envoy calls for pause in fighting near Benghazi

6 October 2016  Expressing deep concern over the plight of civilians caught in the cross-fight in a Benghazi neighbourhood, a senior United Nations official in Libya has called for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach those in urgent need and as well as a safe passage for those who wish to leave.

"The protection of civilians is the UN's number one priority here," Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Martin Kobler, said today in a news release issued by the UN mission in the country (UNSMIL).

"Therefore, I call for a humanitarian pause to allow humanitarian assistance and to reach those in need and to create a safe passage to allow civilians who wish leave to do so in a safe and dignified manner," he added.

In particular, he emphasized that women and children who wish to leave must be allowed to do so as a first step towards the evacuation of all civilians and prisoners in the city's Ganfouda neighbourhood.

According to reports, the civilians are also suffering shortages of food, water and medicines.

Mr. Kobler, also the head of UNSMIL, added that the mission has been working to support the Libyan mediation process to minimize the suffering in Ganfouda and in that capacity, "stands ready to support in the evacuation process."

Further noting that UNSMIL supports the fight against terrorist organizations as identified by relevant Security Council resolutions, the news release underscored that the fight against terrorist organizations should be conducted in line with international laws.

"The use of civilians as human shields and the carrying out of indiscriminate attacks are prohibited by International Humanitarian Law," stressed Special Representative Kobler, adding: "Such violations would constitute war crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and their perpetrators would be held accountable."

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Pakistan Will Meet Indian Aggression in Kashmir with 'Most Fitting Response'

By VOA News October 06, 2016

Pakistan's army chief is warning India any military aggression in contested Kashmir will not go unpunished.

General Raheel Sharif said Thursday Pakistan wants good relations with all its neighbors, but no one should mistake its collective resolve to defend itself.

On the other side of the border, India said it had foiled an attack by suspected rebels near an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir. All three attackers were killed, according to the army.

In a separate incident, the Indian army said at least one militant was killed in clashes between groups along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between Indian and Pakistani control.

Neither incident has been independently confirmed.

Mounting tensions between India and Pakistan over the contested region of Kashmir were sparked by a rebel attack last month that left 19 soldiers and four attackers dead at an Indian military base in Kashmir.

India later retaliated by conducting what they called "surgical strikes" to destroy "terrorist launching pads" in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Islamabad rejects India's account, citing routine cross-border fire instead.

The violence also comes amid some of the largest protests in Kashmir against Indian rule in recent years, which have killed more than 80 people.

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Russian Military Denies Violation of Finland's Airspace by Su-27 Fighter Jet

Sputnik News

23:29 06.10.2016(updated 23:48 06.10.2016)

The Russian Defense Ministry denied reports of violation of the Finnish airspace by a Su-27 fighter jet on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  "A Russian Su-27 combat plane on October 6, 2016, carried out a training flight over neutral waters of the Bay of Finland," the ministry said in a statement.

"The plane did not deviate from the established route, which is confirmed by means of objective monitoring," the statement said.

Finland's Yle television reported earlier on Thursday, citing border guards services, that a Russian Su-27 stayed in the Finnish airspace for about a minute after crossing the border near the town of Porvoo some 30 miles east of capital Helsinki.

 Sputnik

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Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Holds Press Conference With French Counterpart

Sputnik News

16:55 06.10.2016(updated 20:34 06.10.2016)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault have held a press conference on topical issues including the Syrian crisis.

"Everybody knows well  that is written in the decision of the UN Security Council  that the regime of cessation of hostilities has never included and will never include Daesh and al-Nusra Front and those who merged with these terrorist organizations," Lavrov said.

Moscow is ready to work on Paris' draft resolution on the war-torn country, he added. He said that the Russian side expected its amendments to be taken into account in the French UNSC resolution.

"We expect that our ideas, our amendments which we shall pass on after today's meeting to our French colleagues, will be diligently studied and taken into account," Lavrov said.

"We have seen the plan, the document, we consider that it deserves to be discussed and supported. We note that in response to the request of the European Union, Syrian authorities have given their approval to open a humanitarian office of the European Union in Damascus," he added.

Lavrov stressed that Moscow was unlikely to soften its stance on separation of terrorists from "moderate opposition" in Syria.

"I don't think Russia would be able to soften any wording."

He underscored that Moscow and Damascus were ready to implement their obligations under the Russia-US deal on Syria.

"Russia and the Syrian authorities are ready to implement their part of the agreements that includes ensuring the ceasefire that was declared and [then] violated by illegal armed groups. That also concerns ensuring humanitarian access, primarily through the Castello Road in full accordance with the US-Russian documents."

He noted that Russia did everything it could but the US-collation failed to separate moderate opposition from al-Nusra Front terrorists.

Lavrov also expressed regret that the United States suspended cooperation with Russia on Syria.

The Russian top diplomat said Russia considered the EU humanitarian plan on Syria as deserving discussion.

Commenting on the deployment of the S-300 and S-400 air defense systems in Syria, Lavrov said that Moscow had to ensure the security of its troops there. He said the systems did not pose any threat to anyone.

"We simply need to ensure the safety and security of our military personnelour naval maintenance facility in the port of Tartus at this point while the situation is still extremely volatile," he said.

Speaking about possible German sanctions against Russia over Syria, Lavrov said he hoped commons sense would prevail.

"We have read reports suggesting that the German government is allegedly considering the possibility of imposing new anti-Russian sanctions over the situation in Syria. Of course, it is a matter of the German authorities First of all, I very much hope that the common sense will prevail, and, secondly, that the aspiration to stabilize the situation in the world, including in Ukraine and the Middle East will triumph over the desire to blame Russia for everything," Lavrov told reporters after a meeting with French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Russia hopes that the US desire to resolve the Syrian crisis by resorting to force will not win, Sergei Lavrov said.

"We are witnessing now that there are people in Washington willing to resort to force [against the Syrian army]. That is not a secret and I hope that they will not win, we heard a rather weighted comment  made by a White House's spokesperson and hope that it reflects the main line [of the policy] conducted by the [US President] Barack Obama's administration," he said.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition groups, as well as terrorist formations, such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia.

"We have discussed preparations of President Putin's visit to France scheduled for October 19. We hope that the results of the visit would give an additional momentum to the relations between our countries," Lavrov said.

He added that France was Russia's traditional partner and Moscow paid a special attention to relations with Paris.

The talks on France's UN Security Council draft resolution on the situation in Syria are constructive, and there has been a progress, but some obstacles remain, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.

"There has been progress on the issue of the resolution, the negotiations are going in a constructive fashion, but there are several obstacles which must be removed in order for the resolution to be adopted," Ayrault told reporters.

The mechanism to control adherence to the Syrian ceasefire must be improved, Ayrault said.

"We must work to improve the mechanism that exists now. Our aim is to ensure an effective mechanism which would allow to examine all cases of Syrian ceasefire violations in real-time."

France's resolution on Syria proposed to the UN Security Council (UNSC) should mention struggle against terrorists without any ambiguity, Ayrault said.

"Terrorism has numerous forms and we fight with the very same means against Daesh and al-Nusra Front. We fight against terrorism without any duplicity, including in Syria. The resolution should mention fight against terrorism in all of its aspects," Ayrault told reporters.

Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed hope that there would be a remarkable progress in the work within the Normandy Format in the coming days.

"The sanctions against Russia exist and they are linked to implementation of the Minsk agreements. In order to achieve that we have a mechanism  the Normandy Format. Owing to that mechanism, we are going to work further and to achieve a big progress in coming days," Ayrault said.

Kiev launched a special 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 accord was signed between Ukraine's conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, after talks of the Normandy Four countries, namely Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, an all-for-all prisoner exchange and constitutional reforms, which would give a special status to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Both sides of the conflict, however, are constantly accusing each other of violations of the agreements.

 Sputnik

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Russian Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 Bombers to Patrol Airspace Between Hawaii and Japan

Sputnik News

15:57 06.10.2016(updated 19:08 06.10.2016)

A new division of Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers will soon appear in the Russian Far East to patrol the area over the Pacific Ocean inside the Japan  Hawaii  Guam triangle, Izvestia reported.

Military experts see the creation of a new air group as a clear signal to the Asia-Pacific nations and the US that Russia is serious about is current pivot to Asia.

"The formation of the division is almost complete now. It consists of several squadrons of long-distance bombers deployed in the Eastern and Central military districts," a Defense Ministry representative told the newspaper.

It will be already the second heavy bomber air group in the Russian Aerospace Forces after a division of Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers that have been so successful mopping up terrorists in Syria, was added last year.

The newly-formed division will include dozens of strategic and long-range bombers to be deployed in Irkutsk and Amur regions.

"Back in the Soviet days our long-range bombers in the Far East had as their primary targets US military bases in Japan, on Guam Island, which then served as the main base of US strategic bombers in the Pacific, and also the US naval bases in Hawaii," military historian Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.

He added that Soviet missile-carrying bombers patrolled those areas keeping an eye on "enemy activity." These regular patrols were called off during the 1990s and early 2000s, but now it looks like Russian bomber flights inside the Japan-Guam-Hawaii triangle are back.

Since 2014 Russian Tu-95MS bombers have regularly been spotted off the coast of Japan which scrambled fighter planes to intercept the Russian "Bears" (NATO reporting name for the Tu-95MS).

In November a pair of Tu-95MS bombers circled the US island of Guam in the Western Pacific without straying into US airspace. Even though Guam is not a US state, it has been a US unincorporated territory since 1898.

This Russian military beef-up in the Pacific means that Moscow is serious about its current pivot to Asia," Anton Tsvetov, an expert with the Center of Strategic studies think tank, told the newspaper.

"Even though Russia's economic presence in Asia still has a long way to go, Moscow apparently wants to increase its military clout in the region, all the more so since regional security has always been a key element of Russia's participation in multilateral organizations in Asia," Tsvetov added.

 Sputnik

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Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zakharova Holds Weekly Press Briefing

Sputnik News

13:56 06.10.2016(updated 16:16 06.10.2016)

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova held her weekly press briefing on Thursday, covering such topics as the US-Russia relations and the situation in Syria.

On the Situation in Syria

The situation in Syria remains tense, especially in the northern parts of the country with battles going on in Aleppo and around it where al-Nusra Front, a militant group that renamed itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham in July, uses civilians as a shield.

"So far we see in the actions of primarily Western countries no concern for the humanitarian situation in Syria, but the desire to protect al-Nusra and affiliated forces and militant groups," Zakharova said.

Zakharova also spoke about the shelling of Russia's embassy in Damascus: "Russia sees a link between the US State Department's 'body bags' threat and this week's shelling of Russia's embassy in Damascus".

When talking about the UK Foreign Secretary Johnson's accusations of Russian airstrikes on humanitarian organizations in Syria, Zakharova said that these accusations are unsubstantiated.

"We do not hear these accusations for the first time. There is no evidence, only a frontal attack," Zakharova said. "If you directly accuse Russia, what is stopping you from providing the relevant materials? Satellite data, geolocation, any material that can confirm your statements."

On US-Russia Relations

When asked about the deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia, Zahkarova said that the dynamic fits into the pre-election situation in the US.

 Sputnik

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Moscow Ready to Review NATO's More Specified Arms Control Concept

Sputnik News

11:40 06.10.2016(updated 11:42 06.10.2016)

Moscow is ready to deliberate the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) new arms control concept as soon as more specific language is introduced to the proposal, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  In August, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote in an op-ed that a new Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) would help avoid an arms race between Russia and NATO and would contribute to "transparency, risk prevention and confidence building." He pointed out Moscow's repeated calls for new discussions on the issue.

"It is good that Mr. Steinmeier has put forward the idea to revive dialogue on arms control. I recently admitted a representative of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who brought some of the initiatives, but there are no specifics and it is not very clear what to do," Andrei Kelin said at the second young diplomats' European forum.

"If NATO countries do create this new concept and it will be worked out and presented to us, we are ready to consider it. So far, we only have the famous article of the German foreign minister, in which he mentioned only a few ideas," Kelin stressed.

 Sputnik

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US-Russia Relations Go from Reset to Retrograde

By Steve Herman October 06, 2016

Russia on Wednesday suspended a three-year-old agreement with the United States on cooperation on nuclear and energy-related research  the latest move signifying a deteriorating bilateral relationship.

"It's frankly concerning," a senior U.S. official told VOA on condition he not be named.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday also signed a decree suspending an agreement with the U.S. on disposing weapons-grade plutonium, citing "unfriendly actions" by Washington  a reference to U.S.-led sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Nullifying the plutonium pact is "a real tragedy because these are areas where we have successfully cooperated in the past," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said during Wednesday's daily briefing.

The United States has halted Syria cease-fire direct talks with Russia amid continuing military attacks against civilian targets, with the U.S. administration declaring its patience at an end with Moscow. However, Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke again Wednesday about Syria.

Diplomats in both Washington and Moscow say the United States requested the call, which also covered the situations in Ukraine and North Korea.

There was also face-to-face, high-level U.S.-Russian engagement Wednesday in Moscow with Victoria Nuland, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Nuland, accompanied by members of the National Security Council, met with Russian officials, including presidential aide Vladislav Surkov. They discussed the 2015 cease-fire and peace agreement for Ukraine, known as the Minsk Protocol.

U.S. officials insist that despite all of their disagreements with Russia when it comes to achieving a solution for Ukraine, "we still believe the Minsk process remains the best way to get there," Toner said.

Global influence

Besides Ukraine, Russia is staking its reputation on whether it can keep its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, in power in Damascus and can ensure Syria's reviled government, which is confronting numerous enemies on the battlefield, is able to maintain territorial integrity.

Addressing the new State Duma on its first official day of work Wednesday, Putin stressed the importance of maintaining global influence.

"Every nation and every country has the right to be powerful, as does [Russia]," Putin said. "Our power is in ourselves, in our nation and our people, in our traditions, our culture, our economy."

Throwing aside agreements that "are not terribly important but have symbolic value" are a way for Russia to try "to raise the cost of having bad relations with Russia," Henry Hale, George Washington University professor of political science and international affairs, told VOA.

'Never acknowledge, always counterattack'

As far as alleged Russian responsibility for atrocities in Syria and other actions for which it is harshly criticized by the international community, the Kremlin's tactic is to "never acknowledge, always counterattack," Mark Galeotti, a senior research fellow at the Institute of International Affairs Prague, wrote in an article for Foreign Policy. "Moscow believes such gambits are successful because the West is at once cynical and easily distracted."

Among the most recent alleged controversial action taken by Moscow are cyberattacks intended to undermine American public confidence and disrupt the U.S. election process.

Some analysts caution there may not be an overarching goal tied to such actions.

"Is there any strategic thrust to what the Russians are doing in cyberspace  or is it all improvisation?" asks Martin Libicki, a professor at the Pardee Rand Graduate School and distinguished visiting professor at the U.S. Naval Academy.

"Just because the Russians are doing something tactically doesn't mean there is a strategy attached," Libicki said Wednesday during a discussion at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies. "In Russia, everything is subsumed to psychological operations."

'Messing' with U.S.?

Hale, who is also co-director of the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia, characterizes it as Moscow flexing its muscles to say "look, we're here, we can mess with you  we can do some of the same types [of things] to you we see you doing to us."

Reports say the Russian president blamed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for being behind protests in Moscow in December 2011  in which demonstrators accused Putin of rigging elections  at the same time she spoke of a "reset" in relations with Russia.

Some analysts, such as Hale, expect Putin to continue to engage in brinksmanship and play up a perceived threat from the West ahead of the planned 2018 presidential election in Russia.

But the Kremlin "doesn't want things to spin out of control" and while misunderstandings could happen, "all sides in the end are in control enough of their actions to avoid something really catastrophic," Hale told VOA. "I don't think they're interested in outright conflict with the United States and NATO. Because such a serious confrontation could "pose problems [at home] for the Putin administration, as well," Hale added.

"The bottom line is, in some ways, Russia's leadership really does want cooperation with the West, with the United State, with NATO," Hale said. "The question is on whose terms this cooperation is going to be."

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Blast kills dozens of Turkey-backed militants in Syria

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 6, 2016 8:46AM

More than two dozen Turkish-backed militants have been killed in a powerful bomb blast that ripped through their gathering in Syria's northern province of Idlib on Thursday.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast took place near the Atmeh border crossing on Thursday morning.

Witnesses in the area said the bombing claimed at least 29 lives and wounded many more.

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group later claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing in the northwestern Syrian village.

The so-called Free Syrian Army militants are Turkey's proteges in Syria, with a mission to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

In August, Turkish ground forces and the militants stormed the strategic Syrian city of Jarablus after Daesh terrorists left without resistance.

The offensive was launched in coordination with the US which is supporting a group of Kurdish militants in Syria.

The incursion was the first major Turkish military intervention in Syria which has denounced it for violating the Arab country's territorial integrity.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told English-language France 24 television news network last month that his country planned a deeper military incursion into northern Syria.

While Ankara has tried to project its incursion as a campaign against Daesh, many observers say it is chiefly aimed against Syrian Kurds and staking out a foothold inside Syria.

Turkey has long been criticized for refusing to seriously fight Takfiri terrorists. The country stands accused of allowing potential militants to use its territory for travel and shipment of arms into Syria and buying smuggled oil from terrorists.

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Obama considering more sanctions against Syria

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 6, 2016 5:10AM

US President Barack Obama is considering more sanctions against Syria that could target lower-level military officers, following the failure of US and Russian efforts to revive a failed ceasefire in the country.

American officials and diplomats said the new strategy is still being discussed, but initial efforts may focus on passing United Nations sanctions against those responsible for the chemical weapons attack three years ago.

A UN-backed panel is expected in the next few weeks to present new findings about the deadly chemical attacks in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in 2013.

Syrian opposition groups and their western allies claim the nerve gas attacks were launched by the Syrian government. Damascus rejects the allegation, saying the attack was carried out by militants operating inside the country to draw in foreign intervention. Subsequent investigations by the UN and Russia backed Syria's assertions.

Most of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's top government and military officials are already the subjects of US travel bans and assets freezes.

However, Washington's efforts to add sanctions against Damascus could force Moscow to wield its veto in the UN Security Council.

"What we are doing now is a different type of diplomacy -- one which might be more robust -- it could be resolutions which are designed to put pressure on them," a US diplomat at the UN said.

"The strategy that we are on is to try to change Russian behavior and let's face it, we have not been very successful at that in the year that they have been militarily supporting Assad," the diplomat added.

Russia has been supporting the Syrian government in its campaign against terrorist groups operating in the country.

Syrian government forces, backed by the Russian air campaign, have managed to gain more ground against foreign-sponsored militants.

On Monday, the United States suspended bilateral channels with Moscow that were established to maintain the cessation of hostilities in the war-torn country amid rising tensions over the embattled city of Aleppo. The US has been working with Russia for months to try to secure a ceasefire in Syria.

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Russia Warns It May Shoot Down U.S. Aircraft If They Attack Syrian Forces

RFE/RL October 06, 2016

A Russia Defense Ministry spokesman suggested that Russian antiaircraft systems may shoot down U.S. or U.S.-led coalition aircraft if they attack Syrian forces.

The warning by Major General Igor Konashenkov was the harshest and bluntest remark to date by a Russian official about the ongoing air campaigns in Syria.

It comes as bilateral ties between Washington and Moscow continue to spiral downwards. The United States earlier this week announced it was suspending talks with Russia about cooperation on Syria that were aimed at reestablishing a cease-fire that broke down on September 19.

Since then, Syrian and Russia warplanes have conducted a campaign of air strikes on rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo, killing hundreds of civilians.

Since the weekend, Russia has deployed S-300 antiaircraft missile systems in Syria, and has sent three warships to the eastern Mediterranean. Several longer range S-400 antiaircraft systems are also in Syria and mounted on Russian warships off Syria's coast.

The Washington Post reported on October 4 that the Pentagon this week presented U.S. administration officials with several options for possible air strikes against Syrian government forces in response to the offensive on Aleppo.

Speaking at a briefing in Moscow on October 6, Konashenkov said Moscow was worried by The Washington Post report and other similar media reports.

"I would recommend that our colleagues in Washington carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans," Konashenkov said.

'Unhelpful' Comments

Konashenkov also warned that the Russian military would probably not have time to use the hotline set up earlier this year to avoid confrontation between U.S. and Russian military forces if missiles are fired at targets in Syria.

"One should realize that the Russian crews manning the air defense systems will unlikely have time to find out an exact flight path of missiles and their origin through the direct [hotline]," he said.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby criticized the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman's comments, saying they "weren't helpful" for moving toward "some sort of diplomatic solution."

But Kirby said "the Russians should speak for themselves."

Kirby also said U.S. administration officials were discussing a range of options for action in Syria.

"Not all of those options revolve around diplomacy," he said.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-konashenkov -may-shoot-down-u-s-aircraft -syria/28036458.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US Discussions on Military Option in Syria Continue Despite Russia's Warning

Sputnik News

21:56 06.10.2016(updated 22:50 06.10.2016)

Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said that the United States is still considering military options in Syria despite Russia's warning against such actions.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United States is still considering military options in Syria despite Russia's warning against such actions, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing on Thursday.

"I have seen the comments out of Moscow  those comments notwithstanding, that conversation inside the US government continues," Kirby stated when asked about US discussions on military options.

Earlier, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov warned the US-led coalition against attacking Syria's army.

Last week, media reports claimed that US officials were contemplating the possibility of US airstrikes on Syrian military air bases and boosting support for the opposition.

When pressed on how the United States perceived Konashenkov's comments, Kirby claimed that the warning against US kinetic activity in Syria was not "helpful" to resolving the situation in Syria.

Kirby added that nobody within the US government wants to see tensions escalate between Moscow and Washington.

Russia has deployed S-300 and S-400 air defense systems to Syria to protect the Hmeimim and Tartus military bases, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

 Sputnik

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White House May Consider Imposing Sanctions on Russia Over Syria Outside UN

Sputnik News

19:27 06.10.2016

The US may impose sanctions against Russia over situation in Syria.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United States does not rule out imposing sanctions on Russia over the current situation in Syria outside the United Nations (UN) auspices, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday.

"I wouldn't rule out multilateral efforts outside of the UN to impose costs on Syria or Russia or others with regard to the situation inside of Syria," Earnest stated, when asked if Washington would be willing to pursue sanctions with Europe and other allies outside the framework of the UN.

Earnest continued, "We've done that in the past, and I wouldn't take it off the table in terms of the options the president may consider in the situation."

The White House spokesman noted that there have been other cases when the United States acted outside the UN.

"The situation in Ukraine is obviously the best example where the United States has been able to work with our European allies to impose tough sanctions against Russia," he explained.

The spokesperson added that the current anti-Russia sanctions over the Ukrainian conflict have not achieved the desired effect despite having some impact on the country.

On Monday, the US State Department announced it was suspending bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain a cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria. Russia responded with suspending a number of agreements with the United States including those on cooperation in scientific research and development in nuclear and energy sectors and the plutonium disposal agreement.

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Third Russian Black Sea Fleet Missile Ship en Route to Syria

Sputnik News

11:26 06.10.2016(updated 12:07 06.10.2016)

A third Russian Black Sea Fleet small missile ship has embarked on a voyage to Syria a day after two others entered the Mediterranean waters.

SEVASTOPOL (Sputnik)  The Kalibr cruise missile-equipped Serpukhov and Zeleny Dol corvettes are planned to join the Russian Navy's permanent task force as part of an off-shore maritime zone rotation in the Mediterranean.

"The third Black Sea Fleet small missile ship, The Mirazh [Project 1234], has left Sevastopol heading to the Mediterranean Sea," a source in the Crimean security agencies told RIA Novosti said, noting that the vessel is equipped with the Malakhit anti-ship missile.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet confirmed that its third small missile ship has embarked on a voyage from Sevastopol, Crimea, to the Mediterranean.

"It is planned that the Black Sea Fleet small missile ship will pass through the Black Sea straits and enter the Mediterranean Sea tomorrow, where it will join the Navy's permanent task force in accordance with the rotation plan," the fleet said.

 Sputnik

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Russia's Year-Long Campaign Has Freed Large Part of Syria From Terrorists

Sputnik News

10:49 06.10.2016(updated 12:54 06.10.2016)

The Russian Aerospace Forces' operation has freed a large part of Syria from terrorists and stabilized the situation in the Arab state, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

"Our Armed Forces have been carrying out combat missions in the Syrian Arab republic for a year. Over this period, we managed to stabilize the situation in the country, liberated a major area from international terrorists, launch the Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides," Shoigu said.

The minister reiterated that "during the operation the Aerospace Forces conducted airstrikes on militant groups and their infrastructure, delivered humanitarian cargo to Syrian citizens and carried out other important tasks".

The minister noted the value of Russian weapons displaying reliability and efficiency in desert terrain, pointing to high-precision long-range weapons on ships and submarines in the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean, as well as the use of new air-launched missiles by strategic aircraft.

"A lot of modern Russian weapons have proved their effectiveness in the difficult conditions of desert," he added at a conference on weapons improvement based on experience in Syria.

"It is important that the development of new weapon systems and the operation of existing equipment takes into account the Syrian experience," he stressed.

Moscow has been conducting an aerial campaign against terrorists in Syria since September 30, 2015, at President Bashar Assad's request. The Russian side has also helped negotiate ceasefire deals in the war-hit country.

 Sputnik

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UN: Aleppo Could be 'Totally Destroyed' in Coming Months

By VOA News October 06, 2016

The United Nations special envoy for Syria says eastern Aleppo could be "totally destroyed" by the end of the year due to the "cruel, constant" military activities in the city, where some 275,000 civilians are besieged.

At a news conference Thursday, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura and his special adviser, Jan Egeland, also called on the rebel group al Nusra to see the destruction and devastation their actions are causing on the civilians of the country.

"One thousand of you are deciding on the destiny of 275,000 civilians," de Mistura said. He also criticized the Russians for what he said was excessive bombing of eastern Aleppo, putting the civilians of the city at risk for a comparatively small number of rebel fighters.

Hours later, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists in Moscow that any airstrike or missile strike against Syrian government-controlled territory would present a "clear threat" to Russian service personnel present in Syria.

He added that the two Russian military bases in Syria  the air base in Khmeimim and the naval base in Tartus  are now protected by S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, adding that the range of those systems would be a "surprise" for any "unidentified" aircraft.

Konashenkov referred to the U.S.-led coalition's airstrikes on Syrian army positions near Deir el-Zour last month that killed 60 Syrian soldiers, which Washington said was meant to hit Islamic State positions. "[We] have taken all the necessary measures to prevent any such mistakes with regard to Russian servicemen and military facilities in Syria," he said.

Konashenkov also cited what he said were U.S. media reports concerning "discussion in the White House of the possibility of missile and airstrikes on Syrian troop positions."

IS claims Syria border bomb blast

Also Thursday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a bomb blast that killed at least 20 people, most of whom were Turkish-backed opposition fighters along Syria's northwestern border with Turkey.

A suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of rebel troops near the border crossing in the village of Atmeh, just a short distance from where the rebels and the jihadist group had been fighting along another stretch of the border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based non-profit group, put the number of dead at 21.

The Islamic State group took credit for the attack in an online statement.

Those killed include a judge and another top civil judicial figure from the rebel-held eastern Aleppo, according to a rebel official.

One witness told the Reuters news agency that most of those killed were members of the Failiq al-Sham group, which has been fighting alongside Turkish soldiers to defeat the IS group.

Lisa Schlein contributed to this report from Geneva.

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President underlines ties with diplomatic allies

ROC Central News Agency

2016/10/06 21:34:20

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () said on Thursday that since she took office in May, she has attached great importance to Taiwan's relationships with its diplomatic allies and wants the world to feel the cordial and sincere hand of friendship extended by Taiwan.

Tsai made the remarks during a meeting with 19 trainees from eight countries who are in Taiwan to attend a training program for international high-ranking military officers organized by the Ministry of National Defense.

Tsai warmly welcomed the trainees in her capacity as the nation's armed forces commander in chief.

The military officers are from seven of Taiwan's diplomatic allies-- El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay -- as well as Peru -- and will be in Taiwan for three weeks.

Tsai said that she made her first overseas visit as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Central and South America in July to consolidate ties with diplomatic allies.

During her visit to Panama, she attended the opening of the expanded Panama Canal and exchanged views with government leaders from several countries, Tsai said, adding that she also visited Paraguay where she discussed bilateral cooperation with government leaders.

In addition, Tsai said she hosted a state welcoming ceremony with honor guard on Monday for Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, to shore up relations between the two countries.

The president said that the military training program has become an important channel for exchanges between Taiwan and other countries.

As part of their visit, the military officers would not only attend the training program but also gain a first-hand understanding of Taiwan's infrastructure and cultural diversity, Tsai added.

(By Sophia Yeh and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/AW

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Taiwan accuses China of 'politicizing' tourism

ROC Central News Agency

2016/10/06 22:38:20

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday the government will not accept China's policy of dividing Taiwan into "pan-blue" and "pan-green" areas based on which Chinese visitors follow a "politicized" schedule while traveling around the island.

"The government's policy of welcoming Chinese tourists remains unchanged, but we do not welcome (Beijing's) political arrangement of Chinese tourist schedules in Taiwan," said MAC Vice Chairman Chiu Chui-cheng ().

He added Beijing's actions will "worsen the relations between the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait."

Chiu was replying to a media question about China allowing its citizens to only visit eight Taiwanese cities and counties whose governments are headed by mayors and magistrates who are from the pan-blue camp -- meaning Kuomintang (KMT) and its pro-China allies.

China adopted the policy after eight such local government leaders of Taiwan held a "breakthrough" meeting with Beijing officials on Sept. 18 during which the Taiwanese officials urged China to seek ways to "reset and restart" cross-strait ties, after China froze official contacts with Taiwan in retaliation of President Tsai Ing-wen's refusal to accept the "1992 consensus."

The eight pan-blue administrative areas are Miaoli, Hsinchu, Nantou, Taitung, Hualien, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties and New Taipei City.

All other cities and counties are headed by pan-green politicians, mostly of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Taipei, the capital, is led by an independent mayor considered to be pro-green.

The eight pan-blue leaders uphold the "1992 consensus" -- a tacit agreement reached by Taipei and Beijing officials in Hong Kong in 1992 that there is only one China in the world, but each side is free to interpret what "one China" means.

For Taipei, ruled by the KMT since 1945 until 2000 and then during 2008-2016, that "one China" is the Republic of China. For Beijing, that one China is the People's Republic of China, but it goes on to stress that the "one China" principle embodied in its "1992 consensus" with Taiwan is the political foundation on which cross-strait exchanges must be conducted.

The new situation since Tsai was sworn in on May 20 has created "grave influences and impacts on" every aspect of cross-strait exchanges, making certain cities and counties in Taiwan "feel uneasy," Zhang Zhijun, China's Taiwan affairs minister, said while explaining the background of the Beijing visit by eight predominantly Kuomintang politicians.

Chiu, however, accused China of "unnecessarily creating a domestic division inside Taiwan" by politicizing its policy on tourism exchanges with Taiwan, a policy that he said goes against the purpose of tourist exchanges and does not help the long-term development of cross-strait ties.

During China's National Day holiday from Oct. 1-4, a traditionally peak season for outbound Chinese tourists, the total Chinese tourist arrivals in Taiwan was down 9 percent from the same period of last year, according to Chiu. Since May 20, Chinese tourist visits to Taiwan have declined by 27 percent year-on-year, he added.

At the press conference, Chiu was also asked to comment on a statement by An Fengshan, spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, that Taiwanese people should not underestimate the firm determination of China's 1.3 billion people to maintain national sovereignty and to oppose Taiwan independence.

An's statement was a response to Tsai's remarks, made during a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, that she will not succumb to pressure from Beijing but also will not return to the old path of confrontation.

Chiu said indeed Taiwan and China should not go back to their old path of confrontation -- "a vicious cycle of division, pressuring, confrontation and provocation."

Instead, it's the duty of both sides to show good will toward each other and to keep interacting with patience, dealing with the knotty problems between them in a rational and cool-headed fashion so that they will find a road map for a healthy development of cross-strait ties, Chiu said.

(By Chen Chia-lun and S.C. Chang)

Enditem/cs

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Taiwan welcomes new declaration on export, use of UAVs

ROC Central News Agency

2016/10/06 20:42:20

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) Taiwan welcomed a joint declaration issued by the United States and more than 40 other countries on Wednesday, laying out principles to govern the export and use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The new declaration seeks to ensure armed drones are not used to cause instability or facilitate terrorism and organized crime.

In a statement on Thursday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that as a committed peacekeeper, the Republic of China supports the joint declaration.

Although Taiwan was not among the 40-plus countries that signed the declaration, the ministry said the principles of the declaration were in line with Taiwan's efforts to help maintain peace around the world.

Taiwan's statement on the Joint Declaration for the Export and Subsequent Use of Armed or Strike-Enabled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles was welcomed by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

"Taiwan's support demonstrates its important role as a responsible actor on export control and non-proliferation matters of global concern," said the AIT, which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties, in a statement Thursday.

"As a central hub for shipments and transshipments in the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan's efforts on export controls are a critical bulwark of the global non-proliferation architecture," it added.

The joint declaration was signed by the United States and countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday.

The declaration noted that an increasing number of countries are acquiring or employing UAVs to support a range of objectives, including military missions that promote peace and security.

Some countries might have laws and policies in place to ensure the responsible export and use of armed UAVs, the declaration said. However, "recognizing that misuse of armed or strike-enabled UAVs could fuel conflict and instability, and facilitate terrorism and organized crime, the international community must take appropriate transparency measures to ensure the responsible export and subsequent use of these systems," it added.

The declaration said that international laws on armed conflict and human rights should apply to the use of armed UAVs and that exports should be done consistent with the principles of existing multilateral export control and nonproliferation regimes.

(By Elaine Hou)

ENDITEM/AW

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Turkish Troops Will Stay in Iraq, PM Yildirim Says

Sputnik News

13:56 06.10.2016

Turkish troops will remain in the camp in the northern Iraqi town of Bashiqa despite Baghdad's objections, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday.

ANKARA (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution voicing protest against Turkish military presence in Bashiqa, located about 19 miles northeast of Mosul. The lawmakers demand its government to take the necessary legal and diplomatic measures, including a review of the economic relations between the two countries. Ankara has condemned the resolution.

"There are soldiers from 63 countries in Iraq. Claims toward Turkey about its military presence there are an unfriendly step. Turkey will maintain its presence in Iraq," Yildirim said at a meeting with businesspersons in Ankara.

Turkey's deployment of troops and tanks to reportedly to help national forces reclaim the city of Mosul from Daesh jihadists on December 4, 2015, has caused a rift with Iraq.

 Sputnik

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Turkey Insists on Immediate Transfer of $3.3 Bln Under Refugee Deal With EU

Sputnik News

00:57 07.10.2016

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara expects that the European Union will transfer 3 billion stipulated in the refugee accord without further delays.

ANKARA (Sputnik)  Ankara expects that the European Union will transfer 3 billion ($3.3 billion) stipulated in the refugee accord without further delays, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

"We have signed three interrelated agreements with the European Union. Three billion euros must be transferred without delays. We are waiting for the response from the European Union," Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Ankara, calling for the implementation of the agreements.

Earlier in the day, Norbert Hofer, a presidential candidate of the Austrian right-wing Freedom Party (FPO), told Sputnik in an exclusive interview, that the agreement between Turkey and the European Union on refugees was unlikely to work.

In mid-March, Brussels and Ankara agreed on a deal, under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the European Union pledged to provide a total of 3 billion euros to Turkey to help it deal with refugees, with a possible further 3-billion-euro provision in 2018.

 Sputnik

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Security Council recommends former Prime Minister of Portugal Guterres as next UN Secretary-General

6 October 2016  The Security Council today formally chose the former Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres, as its nominee to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations for a five-year term when incumbent Ban Ki-moon steps down on 31 December.

The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted in a private meeting by acclamation, now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for formal approval.

On an official visit to Italy, Mr. Ban said in Rome this morning that Mr. Guterres is "an excellent choice," noting that the two had worked closely during Mr. Guterres "long and outstanding tenure" as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

"He showed deep compassion for the millions of people who were forced to leave their homes," Mr. Ban said, adding: "His past experience as Prime Minister of Portugal, his extensive knowledge of world affairs and his keen intelligence will serve him to lead the United Nations at a crucial period."

Under procedures for appointing the world body's new chief, after the recommendation is transmitted from the Council to the Assembly, a draft resolution is issued for the Assembly to take action. After appropriate consultations with Member States, the Assembly President fixes a date for the draft to be taken up.

The last five Secretaries-General were appointed by the Assembly through a resolution adopted by consensus. A vote will take place only if a Member State requests it and a simple majority of those voting would be required for the Assembly to adopt the resolution. But the Assembly could decide that the decision requires a two-thirds majority. If a vote is taken, it will be by secret ballot.

The UN Charter, signed in 1945 as the foundation of the Organization, says relatively little about how a Secretary-General is to be selected, aside from Article 97, which notes that the candidate "shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council."

At its first session in 1946, the General Assembly was much more active in the selection process. It created resolution A/RES/1/11 determining that the Council take the lead in the selection process, agree on a single name in a private meeting, and pass that name down to the General Assembly for a vote.

Yesterday, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which holds the Security Council presidency for the month, informed the President of the Assembly, Peter Thomson, that after the sixth informal "straw poll" for the position of Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres had emerged as the clear favourite.

In addition to Mr. Guterres, 12 other candidates were in the running to succeed the current UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who leaves office at the end of the year.

Today's decision by the Security Council brings the UN closer towards the culmination of an historic process: the selection of a new United Nations Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, has for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate campaigning for the world's top diplomatic post.

These so-called 'informal briefings' between the candidates, UN Member States and civil society representatives kicked off on 12 April, when the first three candidates presented their 'vision statements' and answered questions on how they would promote sustainable development, improve efforts to create peace, protect human rights, and deal with huge humanitarian catastrophes should they be selected to lead the Organization.

In addition, this past July, the UN held its first-ever globally televised and webcast townhall-style debate in the General Assembly Hall, where the confirmed candidates at the time took questions from diplomats and the public at large.

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Portugal's Guterres Confirmed as Next UN Chief

By Margaret Besheer October 06, 2016

The U.N. Security Council has formally endorsed Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres as the next U.N. Secretary-General.

Following a decisive round of voting Wednesday in the council, the veteran politician and diplomat prevailed with 13 votes in favor of his candidacy, none objecting and two votes of "no opinion."

In the formal vote Thursday, the council approved him by acclamation, adopting a resolution recommending him to the General Assembly, which will pro forma approve his nomination next week.

Guterres was not present in New York for the vote, but he spoke briefly in Lisbon saying he feels humbled and grateful that he has been selected.

"Gratitude, but also humility when facing dramatic problems of today's world. Humility that is needed to serve," he said. "Especially to serve those that are most vulnerable, the victims of conflict, of terrorism, the victims of the violation of rights. The victims of poverty and the injustices of this world."

He noted the quick agreement around his nomination in a Security Council not lately known for its unity.

"I hope this represents a symbolic moment, a moment in which the Security Council enhances its capacity to act in unity and consensus creating the conditions to decide timely in relation to the dramatic problems of our time," Guterres said.

Praise for Guterres

"He's a high level politician. He's been prime minister of his country. He is a person who talks to everybody, listens to everybody, speaks his mind; very outgoing, I think open person," Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said about Guterres. "So I think it was a great choice."

"Antonio Guterres has shown ... that he is the strongest candidate," said Britain's ambassador Matthew Rycroft. "He has a vision, and a moral authority, and integrity that have put him at the top of this league."

Speaking to reporters in Rome, current U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon congratulated his former high commissioner for refugees.

"I know Mr. Guterres very well and consider him a superb choice," he said. He noted that during his decade-long tenure as refugee chief he showed "a deep compassion for the millions of people who have been forced from their homes."

The global refugee crisis will be one of the biggest challenges awaiting Guterres when he takes up his post on January 1, 2017.

Guterres, 67, was Portugal's prime minister from 1995 to 2002. He led the U.N. Refugee Agency from 2005-2015. He is a trained theoretical physicist and an avid reader of history.

He told VOA in an interview during his campaign that he was running for the top U.N. job because he wants to "create the conditions for solutions" to global challenges.

Gender and Geography

There is a United Nations tradition of regional rotation to fill the secretary-general's post. Eastern Europe is the only group that has never had a turn and it fielded a number of candidates this year in a bid to end that .

There was also a push by about a third of the member states to see a woman occupy the secretary-general's suite on the 38th floor of U.N. headquarters. But despite the talk of wanting a woman, the female candidates have mostly placed only in the middle to the bottom of the pack.

"We do, however, fully expect that the new secretary-general will be a feminist secretary-general who puts women's rights and gender equality at the very core of the international agenda," Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said Thursday.

Ban Ki-moon's term expires December 31st. Guterres will take over on January 1, for an initial five-year term, with the possibility of a second five-year term.

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Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months.
A survey of small- to mid-sized North Carolina business owners found more willingness to add jobs over the next six months, according to an economist with PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

The study from Mekael Teshome also found those 153 business owners were becoming more hopeful about the N.C. and national economies even though they are dissatisfied with the economic plans of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Teshome has released a North Carolina-specific economic outlook each spring and fall since the bank expanded into the state through its $3.45 billion purchase of RBC Bank in March 2012.

North Carolinas economy is on track for strong job growth in the next several quarters, Teshome said.

Investments in infrastructure and real estate will boost construction. Favorable demographics, strong jobs and low mortgage rate will support housing demand.

About 27 percent of the business owners expected to add staff between now and April, compared with 13 percent during the previous six months.

Just 2 percent project cutting jobs, up from 1 percent the previous six months.

There was little change (53 percent compared with 51 percent) expecting improved sales over the next six months.

About three out of four survey participants expressed optimism about their local economy improving, 72 percent about the U.S. economy improving and 89 percent about their own companys prospects getting better.

However, just 60 percent expect to produce a net profit between now and April, down from 72 percent over the previous six months.

About 27 percent of the owners said it has become harder to find the skilled workers they need compared with a year ago.

"The biggest challenge is that candidates don't have the technical skills specific to the business, i.e. computer applications, tools or machinery," Teshome said.

The business owners are not alone in pointing out limited number of skilled workers in fields such as advanced manufacturing and information technology.

Economists, elected officials and other business have said that re-energizing the local and North Carolina economies will come down to better matching the workforce with the job skills required by high-growth industries.

However, there's been a lack of dedicated funding to job-training initiatives, particularly for the long-term unemployed  defined as being out of work for more than six months.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 7, 2016) - Lydian International Ltd. (TSX:LYD) ("Lydian" or "the Company") announced today the Company will be participating in the Armenian Investment Forum being held in New York City on October 10-11, 2016 at the Down Town Association.

Mr. Howard Stevenson, President and CEO of Lydian will present on October 11, highlighting the Company's Amulsar Gold Project, a compelling asset with a large scale low cost operation in Armenia. The Amulsar Gold Project is expected to be in production in 2018.

About Lydian International Limited

Lydian is a gold developer, focusing on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. Amulsar will be Armenia's largest gold mine, with estimated mineral resources containing 3 million measured and indicated ounces and 2 million inferred ounces. Open pit mining and conventional heap leach processing contribute to excellent scale and economic potential. Gold production is targeted to average greater than 200,000 ounces annually over an initial 10 year mine life. Existing mineral resources and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. The Company is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. For more information and to directly contact us, please visit www.lydianinternational.co.uk.

About Armenian Investment Forum

The Investment Forum is designed to highlight the unique foreign investment opportunities. Armenia has a unique geographical location and cultural heritage that provides a strategic access for businesses to markets in Russia/CIS countries, the European Union and the Middle East; it provides one of the most liberal and favorable investment regimes among emerging economies; it has a stable macroeconomic environment and the economy has been steadily expanding for the last 2 decades; Armenia has a skilled and highly educated labor force that contributed to the robust development of high-tech industries and services sectors.

Caution regarding forward-looking information

Certain information contained in this news release is "forward looking". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "proposed" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "should", or "occur" or the negative connotation of such terms. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements with respect to: the realization of mineral resource estimates and the timing of development of the Amulsar Gold Project, including the expected start date of production; the potential improvement of average annual production and extension of the Amulsar Gold Project mine life through the evaluation of currently defined inferred resources and from open extensions at depth; the commitment to and implementation of good international industry practices; the expected gold production from, and life of mine of, the Amulsar Gold Project; the expected mining methods at the Amulsar Gold Project; the estimated cash cost per ounce of gold over the life of mine of the Amulsar Gold Project; and the expected cost of operations at the Amulsar Gold Project. Statements concerning mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking information to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered when the property is developed.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, without limitation: changes in gold and silver prices; adverse general economic, market or business conditions; regulatory changes; failure to improve average annual production and extend the Amulsar Gold Project mine life through the evaluation of defined inferred resources and from open extensions at depth; as well as "Risk Factors" included in the disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Toronto, Ontario (FSCwire) - Stans Energy Corp. (TSX-V: HRE, OTCQB: HREEF), ("Stans" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a lithium carbonate has been produced from lithium concentrate extracted from the Pervomayskiy Lithium Mineralization Stockpile (the Pervomayskiy Stockpile) using a patentable milling and hydro-metallurgical technology.

Laboratory research was completed on three different milling processes to determine the optimal composition of a concentrate to be processed into lithium carbonate. It was determined that a concentrate yielding 4.48% Li 2 0 is the ideal source material for the developed hydrometallurgical technology proposed for the production of lithium carbonate from the Pervomayskiy Stockpile. The lithium carbonate product will be suitable for sale on the world market.

Research on the beneficiation and processing of the lithium mineralization and lithium concentrate was performed by VNIIHT (Lead Institute of Chemical Technology), which is overseen by the Science and Innovation Corp., a research and development branch of Rosatom, the Russian State Nuclear Energy Agency.

Stans partners, Pervomayskiy GOK, undertook this work, with partial government funding supported by Rosatom.

It is encouraging to see the amount of the development and research our partners have already conducted on the Pervomayskiy project. Stans is moving quickly to conduct due diligence of the geological and technical materials provided by our partners, states Rodney Irwin, Interim President and CEO.

The scientific and technical information in this document was reviewed, verified and compiled by Stans Energy Corp.s geological and mining staff under the supervision of the company's qualified person, Dr. Gennady Savchenko FGS, Director of International Mining Operations, Stans Energy Corp.

About Stans Energy

Stans Energy Corp. is a resource development company focused on advancing rare and specialty metals properties and processing technologies Stans is now transitioning into a supplier of materials and technologies that will assist in satisfying the future energy supply, storage and transmission needs of the world. Previously, the Company acquired, among other things, the right to mine the past producing rare earth mine, Kutessay II, in the Kyrgyz Republic. Due to the expropriatory actions taken by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Company is undertaking international arbitration litigation to protect the Companys rights and recover damages estimated at over US$210,000,000, caused by the Republic.

We seek safe harbour.

Contact Details

Rodney Irwin David Vinokurov

Stans Energy Corp. Stan Energy Corp

Interim President & CEO VP Corporate Development

rodney@stansenergy.com david@stansenergy.com

647-426-1865 647-426-1865

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, use of proceeds from the Offering, the completion of the Offering, the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of mineral exploration projects. When used in this press release, the words will, shall, "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intent", "may", "project", "plan", "should" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although Stans Energy Corp. believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of minerals, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian Securities Regulators.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/StansPROct72017.pdfSource: Stans Energy Corp. (TSX Venture:HRE, OTCQB:HREEF)

To follow Stans Energy 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.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 7, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES.

Eco Oro Minerals Corp. ("Eco Oro" or the "Company") (TSX:EOM) is pleased to provide additional information regarding the Company's upcoming shareholder meeting (the "Meeting") in response to the press release issued by certain concerned shareholders on October 3, 2016. At the request of the concerned shareholders, the Company has adjourned the Meeting until 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on November 3, 2016 to allow the shareholders of the Company (the Shareholders") additional time to consider the information in this press release in advance of the Meeting.

The Company has called the Meeting to obtain shareholder approval for the issuance of common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") pursuant to the second tranche ("Tranche 2") of the private placement (the "Private Placement") to be completed by the Company pursuant to the investment agreement (the "Agreement") between the Company and Trexs Investments, LLC (the "Investor"). In the event that Shareholder approval is not obtained at the Meeting, Tranche 2 will consist of secured contingent value rights ("CVRs") instead of Common Shares. Convertible notes ("Notes") will also be issued pursuant to Tranche 2, regardless of whether Shareholder approval is obtained at the Meeting. The Company has filed the form of CVR certificate under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and encourages all Shareholders to read the form of CVR certificate.

The Board of Directors of the Company recommends that Shareholders vote

FOR approval of the resolutions to be considered at the Meeting.

In the event that Shareholder approval is not obtained at the Meeting, following the closing of Tranche 2 the Investor will own 9.99% of the Common Shares (issued pursuant to tranche 1 of the Private Placement) and will be entitled to 51% of the gross proceeds of any claim against the Government of Colombia (a "Claim") pursuant to the terms of the CVR. If Shareholder approval is obtained at the Meeting, following the closing of Tranche 2 the Investor will own a total of 49.99% of the Common Shares and will not be entitled to any proceeds of any Claim. Regardless of the outcome of the Meeting, the Investor will also be issued a Note in the principal amount of US$7 million pursuant to Tranche 2.

Pursuant to the Agreement, certain existing Shareholders of the Company (the "Participating Shareholders") will also participate in Tranche 2. As disclosed in the management information circular of the Company dated September 13, 2016 (the "Circular"), one of the Participating Shareholders is a director and officer of the Company and two of the Participating Shareholders are insiders of the Company due to the fact that they each currently own more than 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. As a result, such Participating Shareholders are "related parties" of the Company and their participation in Tranche 2 is subject to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The details regarding such Participating Shareholders and their participation in Tranche 2 is as follows:

Participating Shareholder Number of Common Shares Currently Owned/

Controlled Number of Common Shares to be Acquired in Tranche 2 Current Percentage of Common Shares Owned/

Controlled Percentage of Common Shares Owned/

Controlled post

Tranche 2 Anna Stylianides

Executive Chairman of the Company 244,279 633,685 0.23% 0.29% Amber Capital LP 24,259,470 29,783,192 22.85% 18.01% Paulson & Co. Inc. 12,177,835 20,911,603 11.47% 11.03%

The Company relied on the exemptions from the MI 61-101 formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements set out in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101. As the Investor was not a related party of the Company at the time the Agreement was executed, MI 61-101 does not apply to the Investor's participation in the Private Placement.

Management and the Board of Directors of the Company believe that approval of the issuance of the Common Shares pursuant to Tranche 2 is in the Company's best interests and recommends that Shareholders vote FOR the resolutions at the Meeting. Prior to the Company entering into the Agreement, the Board of Directors carefully considered all alternatives available to the Company, the terms of the Private Placement, the financial situation of the Company and the need for certainty regarding a financing. At the time the Agreement was negotiated, the Company was in a working capital deficiency position and there was significant doubt regarding whether the Company would continue as a going concern. The Board of Directors determined that the Private Placement was the best alternative available to the Company in the circumstances. Anna Stylianides and David Kay disclosed their interest to the Board of Directors with respect to the participation by the Participating Shareholders in Tranche 2 and abstained from voting.

The provisions of the Agreement are the result of extensive arm's length negotiations between representatives of the Company and the Investor. Pursuant to the rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange, the issuance of the Common Shares pursuant to Tranche 2 of the Private Placement is subject to disinterested shareholder approval, whereby no Common Shares held by the Investor or the Participating Shareholders are eligible to be voted.

BOTH ISS AND GLASS LEWIS, TWO INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTIES, RECOMMEND THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF COMMON SHARES PURSUANT TO TRANCHE 2 OF THE PRIVATE PLACEMENT

As noted above, in the event that Shareholder approval of the resolutions is not obtained at the Meeting, the Company will be required to issue the CVRs to the Investor and Participating Shareholders instead of Common Shares. Shareholder approval is not required for the issuance of the CVRs and Notes to the Investor and Participating Shareholders. As with all issuances of Common Shares, TSX approval will be required prior to the issuance of any Common Shares in the event that the Company elects to convert either the Notes or CVRs into Common Shares in the future.

Shareholders are encouraged to read the Circular for further information regarding the Private Placement and the Meeting. The Circular can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Special Meeting

The Meeting will be held at the offices of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP at Suite 2600, 595 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C. at 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on November 3, 2016.

How to Vote

Your vote is important regardless of the number of Common Shares you own. Shareholders are reminded to vote FOR the resolutions prior to the proxy voting deadline of 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on November 1, 2016.

In the interest of time, Shareholders are encouraged to vote via the internet or by fax.

Registered Shareholders (Shareholders who hold the Common Shares in their name and represented by a physical certificate or through the Direct Registration System) may vote as follows:

Internet: Vote online at www.voteproxyonline.com, using the control number located on your proxy (which you will receive in the mail or via email)

By mail: using the return envelope

In person at the meeting

Beneficial Shareholders (Shareholders who hold their Common Shares through a bank, broker or other intermediary) will have different voting instructions provided to them and should follow the instructions found on their voting instruction form to vote online, by telephone or fax.

Shareholders who have already submitted their voting instructions and wish to change their vote can do so by submitting a new later dated proxy or voting instruction form before the proxy voting deadline

Shareholder Questions

Shareholders who have questions regarding the Meeting, voting or changing their vote may contact Eco Oro's Proxy Solicitation Agent:

Laurel Hill Advisory Group

Toll free at 1-877-452-7184

International +1 416-304-0211 outside Canada or the US

By email at: assistance@laurelhill.com

The securities set forth herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and securities of the Company may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Company Profile

Eco Oro Minerals Corp. is a publicly-traded precious metals exploration and development company with a portfolio of projects in Colombia. Eco Oro has been focused on its wholly-owned, multi-million ounce Angostura gold-silver deposit, located in northeastern Colombia.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forwardlooking" within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the benefits of the Private Placement, the closing of Tranche 2, the Meeting, the use of proceeds of the Private Placement, a Claim against the Government of Colombia, the Company's ability and plans for advancing the Angostura Project, and the funding of the Company and ability of the Company to meet its obligations. Forward-looking statements are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "in the event", "if", "believes", "intends", "envisages", "assumes", "recommends", "estimates", "approximate", "projects", "potential", "indicate" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur.

Forwardlooking statements are necessarily based upon the current belief, opinions and expectations of management that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and other contingencies. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forwardlooking statements. These factors include, among others, the Company`s ability to satisfy the conditions to the closing of Tranche 2, the Company`s ability to obtain Shareholder approval at the Meeting, the outcome of any Claim, the timeliness and success of regulatory approvals, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, as well as other risk factors set out under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Annual Information Form dated March 11, 2016, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forwardlooking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Standard-Times file A cook-off is planned downtown Saturday.

SHARE Cleto Reyes starts a fresh batch of pancakes at the Lions Clubs Pancake Breakfast downtown in October 2014 Standard-Times file A cook-off is planned downtown Saturday. Standard-Times file Armando Cedillo and Arturo Madrid (right) visit while they cook up hundreds of pancakes at the Lions Clubs Pancake Breakfast downtown in October 2014. Standard-Times file An Angelo State University flute player stops with the rest of the band for a quick song before moving along the Homecoming Parade route in downtown San Angelo in 2014.

By Matthew Mcdaniel, matthew.mcdaniel@gosanangelo.com

Barbecue rigs from all over the Lone Star State are heading toward San Angelo for this weekend's Brews, Ewes & BBQ event.

Downtown San Angelo, Inc. will host the extravaganza, which features a sanctioned International BBQ Cookers Association competition, a Home Brew Contest and a concert downtown. This is a first-time event, and DSA's Del Velazquez talked about how it all came together.

"The whole concept came from one of our board members  Delila Sudduth  who thought of the event as something to complement all of the other things going on in San Angelo that weekend," Velasquez explained. "The idea of having a cook-off on the river bank really resonated with the board, so we decided to move forward with the planning."

Velazquez said 35 to 40 teams are expected to take part in the cook-off, which will include brisket, ribs, chicken and  for some local flavor  lamb.

"We decided to feature the lamb  a great product from this area  as a highlight of the competition," Velazquez said. "As most folks around here know, 25 percent of the world's sheep and goats are raised within a 200-mile radius of San Angelo.  So we wanted to highlight that."

Velasquez said DSA partnered with Sterling Lamb for the cook-off, and each contestant will receive a free leg of lamb to work with.

"Since the association doesn't really do lamb, this will be kind of a freestyle event," Velazquez said. "Contestants can feel free to use their imaginations."

The cook-off begins at noon in the parking lot near 125 E. Concho Ave.

Attendees will be able to sample craft brews, and the winner will be selected based on the totals in their tip jars. Velasquez said a panel of local dignitaries, including Mayor Dwain Morrision, will serve as judges for the cook-off.

Cook-off winners will take home a $500 first prize in each meat category and $250 for top beans.

"This is going to be another great way to draw people downtown," Velazquez said. "We are really excited."

MORE FUN EVENTS

Some familiar annual events also will be happening downtown Saturday:

The Lions Club Pancake Breakfast will be 8-11 a.m. at the Chadbourne Street and Concho Avenue. Cost is $6; children 6 and younger eat free. Outdoor Family Fun Day, presented by the Standard-Times, will include fishing, paddle boating, kayaking and more near Celebration Bridge on the Concho River from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free.

The Angelo State University Homecoming Parade will be 11 a.m., featuring floats from student organizations, the Ram Band, ASU's Air Force ROTC, Alumni Honorees, King and Queen finalists, and several community groups.

Rockin' the Ranch, benefitting the West Texas Boys Ranch, happens between South Chadbourne Street and South Irving Street on Twohig Avenue. The event is free, but donations will be taken, and food plates and T-shirt sales will raise funds.

Performers and schedule include:

3:30 p.m.  Brushfire

5 p.m.  Jennifer Westwood & the Handsome Devils

6 p.m.  Kylie Rae Harris

7 p.m.  Zac Wilkerson

8 p.m.  Case Hardin

9 p.m.  Michael Lee Band

10 p.m.  Jason Eady & Courtney Patton

11 p.m.  Micky & The Motorcars

If you go

What: Brews, Ewes & BBQ Cook-Off

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Parking area near Magdalen Street and Rio Concho Drive

Contact: 325-655-2345
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By Michelle Gaitan of the San Angelo Standard-Times

Transition is not always easy, and for children growing up in a broken foster care system the road to higher education proves a rough one to travel.

"Conventional knowledge suggests that (foster youth) should be doing extraordinary," said Tymothy Belseth, research coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin's School of Social Work.

"You get free college, you get free health care until 26, you get financial incentives to go to school  so you could do really well,' he said. "But people don't, and part of that lies with the foster care experience and a part of that lies with a lack of connected support after kids have transitioned out and go on to college campuses."

Joined by Monica Faulkner, director and research associate professor at UT Austin's School of Social Work, Belseth spoke about the challenges facing foster youth in higher education at a luncheon hosted by the San Angelo Texas Exes on Wednesday.

The pair touched on how colleges and communities can help create a network of support for foster youth and lessen the stress and anxiety of being in a new environment.

Foster youth get tuition waviers in Texas, which means they can go to any public school that receives state funding and pay no tuition and no fees  and that's for life as long as they take one class before their 25th birthday, Belseth said.

The question is: Why aren't foster youth taking advantage of free tuition? There are a lot of challenges, Faulkner said.

About 1,000-plus children age out of foster care every year. Only about 30 percent of foster youth graduate from high school, and the number that actually makes it to college is about 2 to 4 percent, Faulkner said.

"We still don't know how many kids actually use the waiver because there are data issues between the higher (education) agency in Texas and Family Protective Services," she said. "We're not quite sure how many kids have actually used it. We know how many times it's been used, but we don't know how many duplicates there were."

Barriers for foster youth include a lack of data sharing, underdeveloped social and relationship skills and multiple high school transfers within a school year, Faulkner and Belseth said.

Other issues discussed included trouble gaining acceptance into a college because of poor grades in high school, and a lack of "normal" experiences peers have.

Normalcy is something foster youth don't have. They have chaos going on in their lives  and that's why only 30 percent graduate high school, Faulkner said.

About 23,000 youth in the Texas public school system are in conservatorship care of the Department of Family and Protective Services, and 47 percent of them are attending two schools within a school year, she said.

They are also 3.4 times more likely to have a high school suspension, more likely to get into more trouble than other students and are more likely to fall into the "minimum" graduation program instead of recommended or distinguished, she said.

Faulkner and Belseth have volunteered their time at UT Austin to help identify foster youth entering UT as freshmen and create a support system for those who struggle to adjust to campus life.

The Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing within the School of Social Work has created a program called SPARK, which aims to increase the number of former foster youth who graduate from the university.

The program aims to create a campuswide network of support to assist students who grew up in the foster care system achieve educational success and graduate.

"The system, with all its shortcomings, should not excuse anyone from wanting to do more, especially in society," Belseth said. "If you have kids in your community in foster care, consider helping them out. We always think it should be somebody else's job to do, it should always be CPS's job to do this, that and the other."

"The simple fact is they're not getting it done. They can't. The reason being is I don't think any genuine connection exists there. If you want to help people, and you want to do it genuinely, I think that is far more likely to result in positive outcomes."
Cowboys offense clicks in rout of Bears

Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Micah Parsons returned a fumble for his first NFL score in Dallas Cowboys win.
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"Jonah  We have come a long way together  and I like it! Thank you!"

That right there is the full extent of my personal communications with Donald J. Trump. He wrote it by hand in broad felt pen on the very page my column appeared in the New York Post, mostly in ALL CAPS, followed by his signature (which looks a bit like an EKG reading). It came to me as a PDF via email on Sept. 4, 2015, under the subject header "From the office of Donald J. Trump."

Apparently he does this sort of thing a lot. I know several other columnists who've received similar missives from the GOP nominee. But I like mine the best. It came after months of feuding with Trump. We had an epic battle on Twitter in which he insisted I should be fired. He told an NBC reporter that I don't know how to buy pants (I'm still trying to figure that one out.) But, in my column, I had given Trump a backhanded compliment.

I noted that according to the polls, the No. 1 thing his fans liked about him was that he "tells it like it is." I disagreed with that then  and now. (I think he makes stuff up on the fly, which is different.) But I did concede that Trump was refreshingly unfiltered. "The one thing you can be sure of," I wrote, "is that he hasn't consulted with a political consultant about how to talk."

My theory was that Trump, a bridge-and-tunnel populist with a chip on his shoulder, never cared what the muckety-mucks at The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, or even the pinheads at National Review (where I'm a senior editor) thought about him, so long as they wrote about him.

"I'd be willing to bet that if there's a single newspaper in the country that Trump cares about, it's the New York Post," I wrote. "The Big Apple Narcissus has spent his entire career looking for his reflection on Page Six of New York's true paper of record."

And that's why I loved Trump's missive. Oblivious to the irony, The Big Apple Narcissus proved my point perfectly.

I have no idea whether or not he thought his mash note would win me over. But I'm glad it didn't. Because it seems that whenever people put their faith in Trump, he sets out to punish them for it.

For 18 months he promised to "pivot" and become presidential. But once he secured the nomination, he vowed he wouldn't change. Just hours after Paul Ryan endorsed him, Trump doubled down on his bigoted attacks against an American judge of Mexican descent. After rising in the polls for a while, Trump started his verbal war on the parents of a slain Muslim-American soldier.

Last week, a group called Scholars & Writers for Trump issued their endorsement of the GOP nominee. One of the group's leaders, law professor F.H. Buckley, wrote, "I have some sympathy for people who can imagine a better Republican candidate this year, but from the very beginning I always thought that Donald Trump was perfect."

Two days later, Trump the Perfect was tweeting at 3:20 a.m. about Alicia Machado, the Miss Universe he humiliated 20 years earlier. At 5:30 a.m., he instructed his millions of followers to check out her nonexistent "sex tape."

These are just a few of the highlights. When he announced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate, he couldn't be bothered to stand next to him on stage at their initial press conference. In their joint interview on "60 Minutes," Trump treated Pence like he was an unwanted intern. Poor Chris Christie has been abused like a valet in the court of the Romanovs.

The man is so incapable of taking advice, his aides have started leaking constructive criticisms to the press. A beleaguered Newt Gingrich had to go on "Hannity" the other night and essentially beg a man he's favorably compared to Reagan, Thatcher and Churchill to stop the nighttime tweeting. "There's no excuse. Ever."

It's all for naught. Even if the New York Post itself blared on its cover "Donald Get Your Act Together," it wouldn't work, because The Big Apple Narcissus thinks it's better to be attacked in the limelight than to succeed out of it. Instead of taking the Post's advice, he'd have his secretary send the editors a nice note thanking him for the front-page placement.

Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor of National Review. Contact him at goldbergcolumn@gmail.com.
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The following editorial appeared in Tuesday's McAllen Monitor:

Proponents of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program (otherwise known as "DAPA"), as well as an expansion of the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ("DACA,") admit that requesting a rehearing by the U.S. Supreme Court on this controversial United States vs. Texas immigration case  that would have allowed about 5 million immigrants to lawfully stay in this country  was a longshot. But had the Supreme Court been fully staffed with nine seated justices, it would not have been an impossibility.

But with the court still having just eight justices  following the death of Antonin Scalia on Feb. 13, 2016  there was politically no way to get the required five justices to sign off on a rehearing, unless one of the justices from the court's 4-4 tie vote in June flipped their vote on Monday. And without five justices signing off, according to Supreme Court rules, there can be no rehearing and a lower court ruling in the 5th U.S. Circuit, that declared Obama's actions unconstitutional, stands as law.

That the high court was able to turn away the case without comment is unfortunate.

Every political poll conducted, to date, has listed immigration as a leading priority among Americans. Yet a case that is key to one of our nation's most divisive issues is not being decided because of politics outside of the courts august chambers because just across the street, in the halls of Congress, Senate leaders have decided not to hold a vote to confirm President Obama's choice to succeed Scalia.

We do not believe that is how our Constitution meant our country to be run. And certainly not for so long.

Justice Scalia died nine months ago and at the time there was widespread speculation that his seat would not be filled until a new president takes over and makes the appointment. But it is doubtful that most of America ever expected the court to truly remain in limbo for this long, or even longer as a new president will not assume the oath of office until mid-January, therefore likely pushing the calendar around the one-year anniversary of Scalia's death before a new justice is seated.

In delaying to hold confirmation hearings on President Obama's pick for nomination of Merrick Garland, Senate Republicans are in essence holding hostage one of our nation's top issues.

Because with the June 23 tie vote, no legal precedent was set, and no insight was provided into individual justices' positions on the legal issues raised in the case. Hearing the esteemed justices' thoughts on this case is necessary if our nation is to ever enact meaningful immigration reform measures  something that most Americans clearly want.

Yet our politicians continue to fail to lead. And they continue to point fingers. ...

"It's never (been) about Garland, it's always been about the principle," Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told The Daily Beast.

"This is untoward and the Supreme Court has been hamstrung as a result of them wanting Donald Trump to appoint the next Supreme Court justice," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters recently.

Nevertheless, Republicans have been holding hearings to fill the more than 20 vacancies in federal district courts. And just two weeks ago, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on five Texas judges.

Surely Americans will not forget how these Senate Republicans failed to perform their duties. Surely Americans will remember how long our nation's judicial system was forced to operate without a full court.
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By Roy A. Harrell Jr.

Listening to Radio Moscow on short-wave radio, Russia gives every appearance of hoping that the presidential run by Republican Donald Trump will prove successful and there is every indication that the Kremlin wants to give him a boost.

Russia has made a lukewarm confession of hacking the emails from the Democratic National Committee that appeared on WikiLeaks. Surely this must be a covert Russian operation designed specifically to sow distrust in our elections. Put another way, Trump may well have become an agent of the Russian Federation.

Russia, by whatever yardstick is in vogue, prefers Trump if for no other reason than it hates Hillary Clinton because of her alleged foreign policy interventionist views. But Russian officials today are worried by the disruptive potential of a Trump presidency, specifically about his fulfillment of even some of his chaotic promises.

Vladimir Putin clearly is pleased with Trump's praise of him, such as saying that Putin has been a better leader than Barack Obama. And the Kremlin is thrilled by Trump's statements deriding NATO, applauding the British decision to leave the European Union and suggesting that America might not defend allies threatened by Russia.

Trump's views on America's role in the world completely align with the very fervent hopes Russia has. Stylistically Trump is Putin's type. Trump seems to Moscow at this point unlikely to put politically correct talk of "Western values" ahead of "our mutual and shared interests." That he may well harm the Western alliance in the process is a most welcome bonus.

Trump will smash America as the Russians currently perceive it. There is little doubt (at least as expressed on Radio Moscow) that Trump's use of advisers who are sympathetic to Moscow is welcome.

Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, previously has worked hard for Ukraine's ex-president Vicktor Yanukovych, a Krelim ally. He recently made a speech in which he denounced America's hypocritical focus on democratization in all its forms. And retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a Trump adviser, just attended a big social occasion in Moscow seated right next to Putin.

Yet in the final analysis, how clear is it that Trump is all that committed on his pronouncements on Russian policy? Is there any creditable evidence that he has received Russian money? Are Trump's business interests in Russia really all that significant?

The reports on the BBC and elsewhere say that he has tried, though most of his trips yielded precious little. This fact may be partially the result of a lack of well-placed connections in Moscow. Just how deep is the friendship?

If reports on Radio Moscow are any guide, there is some understanding of Trump's unpredictability  that is, just about everything is unknown. While Hillary Clinton is viewed as fiercely anti-Russian, she is nonetheless a familiar figure, and there is some grudging respect. Her stance is widely portrayed and is known, though not entirely appreciated.

Regardless of who takes the White House come November, Russia's very presence at the center of American electoral politics is celebrated in Moscow. There is wholesale denying of meddling in Moscow; the accusations nonetheless reinforce the sense of Putin's power.

Put another way, the focus in Russia on the presidential campaign in America is construed to be a true and lasting acknowledgement that Russia has returned to the international arena. That surely must be what Putin really craves.

Having said this, consider how far Donald Trump is estranged from fact. He shows himself to inhabit a fantastical realm where Barack Obama's birth certificate was faked, the president founded ISIS, the Clintons are killers and the father of a former rival was with Lee Harvey Oswald before he assassinated John F. Kennedy in Dallas.

If after all of this fantasy Trump does lose in November, the post-truth will surely seem less menacing, though he has been far too successful for it to just go away.

The deeper worry is for countries such as Russia and Turkey, where autocrats use the techniques of post-truth to silence opposing opinions deemed unacceptable by some. Being cast adrift in ever expanding ocean of lies, the people may well end up with nothing to cling to. This in itself may well end up in old-fashioned oppression. This was the prediction of Pinocchio. Or must we be victims of the forked tongue? What a choice.

Roy A. Harrell Jr., of Ozona, is a retired foreign service officer.
On Thursday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC departed Brisbane for an official visit to Townsville.

Following, at the Department of Premier Cabinet (DPC) Office, Townsville, the Governor presided at the first regional meeting of Executive Council during His Excellencys term.

In the afternoon, at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Governor received a briefing on reef management activities.

Following, at the DPC Office, Townsville, the Governor met the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, Premier of Queensland.

In the afternoon, the Governor returned to Brisbane.
Description

GIS - 07 October 2016: The requisite for the public health system to be adequately resourced to ensure quality care for everybody was the gist of the speech of the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Mr Anil Gayan, at the inauguration of a Gastroenterology Department at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National (SSRN) Hospital in Pamplemousses yesterday.

Our vision in Government is to make of Mauritius a centre of excellence for medical services and medical tourism; we must show to the world that our medical staff is capable of responding to any medical procedure however complex, said Mr Gayan. The Minister rejoiced that Government is investing massively in state-of-the-art technology and equipment.

Speaking on the necessity for the medical personnel to be familiar with the latest research and development, the Minister pointed out that no public health system can survive without a sound management planning for its medical and paramedical staff. He said that a process has been initiated to collect data from all young doctors in the public service to indicate their preferences for the area in which they would like to specialise. The Ministry has a list of scarce speciality areas where there is the need to build capacity as well as a databank for planning capacity for the years to come, observed Mr Gayan.

The Minister also gave an overview of his recent mission to India during which discussions with the authorities focused on capacity building and training of Mauritian medical professionals. Presently, the regulations of the Medical Council of India allow Mauritian doctors to be observers only during complex surgery. Mr Gayan announced that through the examinations which the National Board of Examiners of India will be setting for Mauritian doctors who wish to join the public service, these professionals will be entitled to have hands-on training in India.

The new Gastroenterology Department is yet another important milestone in the health sector. It is equipped to make an early diagnosis of colorectal cancers, which can lead to improvement in treatment outcome. The new Department goes along the route that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages has mapped out. The Unit is a glowing example of our commitment to implement that SDG, he said.

It was in 2007 that gastroenterology, the specialty that covers disorders of the digestive system, stomach, bowels, liver and pancreas, was introduced in Mauritius. The first Endoscopy Unit, which started at the SSRN Hospital, treated some 200 patients then. Endoscopy is the examination of a body cavity using an endoscope, which is a flexible or rigid tube with a small camera and light, enabling gastroenterologists to view problems within the body without making large incisions. At present, the number of endoscopic procedures carried out every year at SSRN Hospital is about 2,500.
Description

GIS - 07 October, 2016: Mauritius remains the top ranking country in overall governance in Africa for the tenth consecutive year says Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) 2016 entitled: A decade of African Governance 2006-2015, which was released on 3rd October 2016 in London. Mauritius remains the top ranking country in overall governance in Africa for the tenth consecutive year says Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) 2016 entitled:

With a total score of 79.9 points, Mauritius ranks first in Africa followed by Botswana with 73.7 points and Cape Verde with 73 points at the second and third position respectively.

Among the 54 countries rated by the Foundation, Mauritius scored the highest overall points with the average score for the continent being 50.1 and Southern Africa remaining the best performing region, with an average score of 58.3. In total, 37 countries have shown improvement in Overall Governance since 2006, representing 70% of African citizens.

The 10th edition of the IIAG, which is considered as the most comprehensive analysis of African governance undertaken to date, brings together a decade of data to assess each of the 54 Africa countries against 95 indicators drawn from 34 independent sources. This year, for the first time, the IIAG includes Public Attitude Survey data from Afrobarometer. This captures Africans own perceptions of governance, which provide fresh perspective on the results registered by other data such expert assessment and official data.

IIAG 2016 further observes that Southern Africa has shown average improvement in all categories except Safety & Rule of Law where it shows a slight deterioration of -1.6 score points as well as a decline in accountability by -4.0 score points since 2006 therefore attributing it as the main driver behind the decline in score in Safety & Rule of Law.

According to the Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, improvement in overall governance in Africa over the last decade reflects a positive trend in a majority of countries and for over two-thirds of the continents citizens.

Mo Ibrahim Index provides a comprehensive assessment of governance performance for each of the 54 African countries and is the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance. It combines 93 indicators into four categories namely: Safety and Rule of Law; Participation and Human Rights; Sustainable Economic Opportunity; and Human Development.

IIAG was set up in recognition of the need for a robust, comprehensive and quantifiable tool for civil society to track government performance in Africa. It is Africa's leading annual assessment of governance established to inform and empower the continent's citizens and support governments, parliaments and the civil society to assess progress.
(TNS) -- The Philadelphia Parking Authority will again begin treating UberX and Lyft as illegal car services, according to a statement from the agency released Oct. 4."The PPA is providing 48 hour notice that it will resume enforcement against illegal TNC [transportation network company] service in Philadelphia," a statement from Corinne O'Connor, the PPA's deputy executive director, stated.The move comes four days after the General Assembly's temporary authorization of ride-sharing companies expired . In addition, the PPA is relaxing regulations that taxicab company owners and drivers say have made it impossible for them to compete with ride-hailing app drivers. The changes bring PPA policy in line with state law, said Dennis Weldon, the authoritys general counsel, and allow the taxi industry to adjust to a changing market.Clearly we have to regulate taxicabs differently, because clearly the market has changed, he said.The taxicab industry, meanwhile, hailed relaxed regulations as a needed step to create parity between the traditional industry and the high-tech newcomers, said one cabdriver advocate.I would say that were halfway there now, said Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Philadelphia. For the taxicabs theres some relief.Both Uber and Lyft, the major ride-hailing app companies operating in the city, said the announcement highlighted the need for guidance from the state legislature. Uber stated it would continue providing service in the city despite the PPAs decision.The changes, which were announced in the statement released at 6:32 p.m., were prompted in part by a lawsuit cab owners brought against the Parking Authority. The suit alleged the authority allowed UberX and Lyft, and their related pool services, to operate with minimal oversight while levying heavy fees on cabs that provide essentially the same service, making it impossible for them to compete . The suit stated cab owners revenue has dropped 50 percent from 2015 to present. Cab medallions, meanwhile, were worth $545,000 in July 2014. Bidding for medallions this month is expected to begin at $10,000, the suit stated.The parties have been before U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson this week over a request for a preliminary injunction against the PPA. As part of those hearings Baylson on Tuesday asked for a clarification of the PPAs position toward Uber and Lyft, lawyers for the plaintiffs and the PPA said. Discussions about the injunction also brought to the judges attention the regulations that govern cab operations in the city.Brett Berman is representing a collection of plaintiffs who own 1,000 of the citys taxicab medallions, and felt the information presented so far persuaded the PPA to make regulatory changes.It was a pretty good few days of hearings for the taxi industry, he said.He also described the PPAs announcement as a step in the right direction, but not a total solution. The suit alleges a failure to provide equal protection, and that remains unresolved, he said.The goal here is not to shut Uber and Lyft out of the city of Philadelphia, Berman said. The goal here is to treat us equally.Among the relaxed conditions, the citys 3,370 cab rivers can get rid of the shields between passengers and the front of the cab as long as they have a camera system installed. Vehicle mileage limits will be raised from 250,000, which a typical cab will exceed in two and a half years, to 350,000. Some inspection requirements will be dropped until a vehicle has traveled 200,000 miles.The regulatory changes also will allow cab companies more freedom to embrace technology. Drivers will no longer be required to have two-way radios. Most dispatch is done by computer now, Blount said, making radios redundant. The PPA also opened the door to allow cab companies to select different credit-card transaction processors. The ones currently required take 5 percent off each credit-card payment, Blount said, more than is standard in retail. The changes are expected to be approved at the authority's Oct. 25 meeting.The PPA also will be open to changing other regulations in the coming months, Weldon said.The PPA said the judges influence was only partially responsible for the policy changes.Clearly we have to regulate taxicabs differently, because clearly the market has changed, said Weldon. The economic realities are that eventually Uber and Lyft are going to be legal and taxicabs are going to be legal, and we need to regulate them in a way that will allow them to thrive.Announcing enforcement against UberX and Lyft, meanwhile, was inevitable since the legislative umbrella they were operating under expired, he said.Along with the legal action from cab owners, the PPA has faced scrutiny over allegations of sexual harassment against Vincent Fenerty , the executive director who resigned last week. Those allegations have led to plans for an independent audit of the authority.The assembly's temporary authorization, which allowed Uber and Lyft to operate in Philadelphia under the cover of law, came just in time for the Democratic National Convention in July, but covered only three months. The General Asembly is not meeting again until Oct. 17 and it was unclear when another authorization may pass.The PPA statement did not say how the authority would enforce restrictions against ride-hailing app businesses, but in the past it conducted sting operations to ensnare drivers in the city. Ride-hailing apps operate legally throughout the rest of Pennsylvania under a separate authorization from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that expires at the end of the year. The PUC controls private car service everywhere in the state except in Philadelphia.
(TNS)  Houston residents soon will be able to hail a city cab via smartphone app, after City Council signed off on a plan Wednesday to consolidate dispatching in a single program.The Arro app, already operating in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago, is expected to be fully operational in Houston by the end of the month, combining dispatch for Houston's 146 taxi companies. The city is requiring all of its roughly 9,000 licensed cab and limo drivers to participate."It is innovative. It's taking advantage of technology that exists to create a centralized dispatch service," Turner told City Council. "If you go to the airports, you've got cabs that are sitting there pretty much six, eight hours a day, waiting on a customer. Under this system, they can be out there servicing Houstonians. They don't lose their place in line, and when it's time for them to do something, they get a ping."Cab and limo companies had urged the city to develop an alternative to Uber, which dominates Houston's ride market. Uber and other ride share drivers would not be included in the Arro app.No taxpayer money will be used to develop or advertise the app, though city staff will coordinate with Arro, and elected officials could devote time to promoting the program.Riders who use the app would pay $1.50 on top of the cab fare, and drivers would pay 50 cents for each app-generated trip, plus 3 percent of the total fare for a credit processing fee.City Councilman Greg Travis objected to requiring drivers to use the app, saying, "I don't really like government having to mandate anything."He also worried about Arro's ratings - 2.5 stars in the Apple iTunes store - and pointed to other apps with better reviews.Turner said many of the companies Travis cited do not operate in the United States."Let's not compare what we have competitively bid with companies that do not do business on the North American continent," Turner said.The mayor added that the city is requiring all licensed cab drivers to participate in part because some of them have contracts that otherwise would prevent them from using the app.
Government agencies are always talking about ways to make their operations more efficient and less frustrating to deal with. But very few have managed a change in culture as dramatic and expansive as the one thats taken place in Pittsburghs building inspection department.When Bill Peduto was elected mayor in 2013, the department was known as a backwater. Inspectors didnt have cellphones. Or computers. Or even email addresses. Contractors and residents hoping to arrange an inspection would have to play telephone roulette, hoping to find someone at a desk who could pick up the phone. Given the nature of the departments work -- going out and inspecting things -- this was often an exercise in futility. Developers sometimes waited up to 12 weeks just to make an appointment.Now Pittsburghs inspectors are equipped with modern communication tools, and the department is moving toward online permits. Just being able to send text messages to inspectors makes an amazing difference, says contractor Chad Sipes. Before, the system was terrible, he says. They were so out of touch, it would hold up the project. Im not saying the system has changed to the point where theyll be there the next day, on demand, but at least you have the chance to schedule something.In addition to communicating with the outside world, the department has revamped its internal use of technology. Not that long ago, enforcement work was all done on paper. An inspector would take a form out into the field and then jot down some notes that might get typed up later. Now the entire system is mechanized, with complaints logged and tracked in a database. Where the department used to perform a couple of hundred inspections a month, referring about 30 cases to the courts, it now handles thousands per month, with 800 cases sent to the courts. Its dramatically more efficient, while using the same amount of people, says Maura Kennedy, who directs the department.Maybe its the same number of people, but its a different cast of characters. Theres been 50 percent turnover since Kennedy took over three years ago. Every job description in the agency has been changed, with employees old and new undergoing extensive training. Employees have received more than 150 additional certifications over the past two years. That means that instead of having to send five different people out to check on various aspects of a project, the department can now send out one person who holds five certifications. Because the agency had been known in the past as a black hole for training, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry happily provided a $37,000 grant to help the process along.All of these improvements make the department run more smoothly. More important, they arent getting in the way of the citys building boom. Thanks to Pittsburghs recent emergence as a tech center and a magnet for millennials, the number of building permit applications has been growing by 20 to 30 percent during each of the three years Peduto has been in office.If applicants were still having to stalk inspectors, countless projects would have been delayed. The old building inspection bureau never would have been able to handle this growth, says City Councilman Dan Gilman. It wasnt set up to do it.
Pascal Wehrlein has moved into pole position to race up the grid next year, should Nico Hulkenberg leave Force India.

According to rumours, German Hulkenberg is now a hot candidate to join the works Renault team for 2017, as Carlos Sainz's chances seem to fade.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said on Friday that he thinks Renault has in fact "given up" trying to get Sainz out of his current Toro Rosso seat.

So if Hulkenberg goes - amid speculation he is also linked with Haas - there will be a seat free at Force India, whose engine supplier is Mercedes.

Mercedes' top young talent is German Wehrlein, whose current Manor drive is funded by the German giant.

The 21-year-old admitted at Sepang that there are options for his 2017 whereabouts.

"Mercedes will do the talks for me," Wehrlein is quoted by DPA news agency.

"If there are several options, we will decide together."

He denied, however, that what Hulkenberg now does is the key to his next move.

"The contracts of other drivers interests me much less than my own," said Wehrlein.

(GMM)
Valtteri Bottas has hinted that his future in F1 is now settled, even though Williams is yet to officially announce it.

It is now almost an open paddock secret that the British team will line up next year with the Finn alongside rookie Lance Stroll, the newly-crowned European F3 champion.

Spain's El Mundo Deportivo newspaper claims that Bottas has pushed for his extended contract to include a clause allowing him to leave in the event that Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari want to sign him.

When asked about his future at Sepang, Bottas told Finnish television MTV: "Maybe I know what I'm doing, maybe I don't.

"In any case, the time is getting closer."

When asked if he doesn't know or simply can't tell, the 27-year-old admitted: "I don't want to say. I hope that soon, everything will be 100 per cent ready."

Bottas was also asked about reports that, following a recent seat belt incident, Williams is testing the product of another manufacturer at Suzuka.

"We are testing it in practice," he said. "That's all I can say. Then we will decide what to do in the future."

(GMM)
Sebastian Vettel says he was "surprised" by the reaction of fellow drivers and the media following his performance in Malaysia a week ago.

Track rivals including Max Verstappen and Nico Rosberg, and the Italian press, reacted angrily to the first-corner crash at Sepang that cost Ferrari's lead driver a grid penalty at Suzuka this weekend.

"I did not drive like 'crazy'," Vettel insisted in Japan when asked about Verstappen's criticism.

"I took a risk that did not pay off. I'm sorry for Nico and after the race I went to him to explain.

"I'm a little surprised if people say they never saw me like this. I have attacked many times at the start before and I did well most of the time," he added.

"The last time was one of those times when it doesn't work. I don't think there is much to analyse -- it's normal, it happens.

"Sometimes you try too hard and sometimes you don't try hard enough, so it's a matter of finding the right balance between the two," Vettel said.

Vettel said he was sorry the crash tipped Rosberg into a spin, but thinks the grid penalty for Suzuka is "hard".

"I am not of the opinion that I did something stupid," he said. "It was a small mistake which was punished very hard."

Vettel also denied he is losing heart with the situation at Ferrari, insisting he has a "good feeling" about the Maranello team's prospects for 2017.

"A lot is happening behind the scenes at Ferrari, and that will show in the coming season," he said.

"Of course, we are not satisfied with what our performance has been so far, and if we could change it in a day we would. But I still think it was a good season if you look at what happens behind the scenes."

(GMM)
Daniil Kvyat has called for patience amid constant rumours about his future.

Not long ago, reports suggested his employer Red Bull - having demoted him from the senior team mid-season - had now decided to oust the young Russian completely for 2017.

But now, media sources report that Toro Rosso driver Kvyat will in fact sign a new two-year Red Bull deal.

"First I'm fired then I sign for two years," the 22-year-old, responding to the constant rumours, is quoted by Russia's Sportbox as having said at Suzuka.

"All these rumours don't interest me. When there is something to announce, it will be announced, so you need to be patient," Kvyat added.

(GMM)
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Only weeks after announcing plans to close a Shelton call center that employs hundreds of people, new Cablevision owner Altice is slashing jobs at its News 12 offices in Norwalk, moving production work there to Edison, N.J., with plans to keep a small number of reporters, photographers and support personnel based in Connecticut.

A source told Hearst Connecticut Media the restructuring will be completed by March and that station founder and anchor Tom Appleby is among the people being let go. Altice is also said to be moving its Westchester and Hudson Valley, N.Y., bureau operations to production studios on Long Island.

In an internal memo obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media, News 12 Networks President Patrick Dolan described News 12 as a place that feels almost like family and said the consolidation was a business decision. In his email to staff, Appleby said, While todays developments were a challenge to all of us here at News 12 Connecticut, they also served to show our mettle and acknowledged the wide range of emotions in the days to come, praising his colleagues for producing a news program an hour after being told of the restructuring at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Appleby has been the backbone of News 12 Connecticut since 1984 as anchor, news director and general manager, with the studio having its offices above Altices Optimum retail store on Cross Street in Norwalk. News 12 Connecticut has won several New York regional Emmy Awards over the years, including two this past March for photography and arts news. In addition to its regular on-air and production staff, News 12 has offered internships and freelance work to area professionals over the years.

Local officials expressed disappointment. I think this is a mistake by Altice to consolidate operations, because Cablevisions strongest asset has been News 12 and that part of their family, said state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. We in Fairfield County have gotten very used to News 12 and have come to rely on it.

In a statement forwarded by spokeswoman Deborah Koller-Feeney, News 12 said the relocation will enable us to more effectively and consistently deliver high-quality hyper-local news for viewers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Koller-Feeney declined to provide additional information on the record, including the number of staff members affected.

News 12 plans to maintain production studio space in Norwalk to accommodate interviews as local needs dictate.

Another Altice spokeswoman emailed a statement saying News 12 is an important and valuable part of our business.

Altice acquired control of Cablevision in June from founder Charles Dolan and his son James.

The senior Dolan endowed the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University.

In August, the company announced plans to consolidate its Shelton call-center operations that employ about 600 people.

News 12 has long been a major selling point for Cablevision and more recently Altice, covering breaking news as well as offering magazine-format shows exploring topics of importance to residents of southwestern Connecticut.

Were seeing a lot of this for a few years now, ever since its (become) easier to broadcast, said Ben Bogardus, assistant professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University in Hamden. The actual process of putting news together can be done anywhere.

 an earlier version incorrectly stated Tom Applebys early role at News 12 Connecticut, where he was news director, general manager and anchor beginning in 1984.

Robert Koch contributed to this report.
With origins in aircraft engines dating back to 1913, Bayerische Motorenwerke officially formed in 1916. You know the brand now as BMW.

BMW is celebrating its first 100 years today, with the unveiling of an autonomous concept car in Munich.
GREENWICH  George Archibald, the only man on record to convince a crane to fall in love with him, is coming to Greenwich Audubon this week.

Archibald told the story of acquiring 9-year-old Tex the whooping crane in 1976 to journalist Faith McNulty. Tex refused to mate with other whooping cranes, and Archibald thought he might have a solution. McNulty wrote about the extraordinary conversation for The New Yorker in 1982:

I guessed that she was imprinted on people, and decided to see if I could form a pair bond with her by playing the male role, Archibald said. This would trigger ovulation, and then artificial insemination would succeed.

When she arrived, I put my bed in (the cranes) house and slept there for a month. I talked to her all the time. As the spring advanced, I began to dance, and she responded. Dancing is how whooping cranes initiate mating.

It worked. We built a nest together out of corncobs and hay. She laid an egg, but the semen we used was poor and the egg was infertile. The next year, we went through the same routine, and this time the egg was fertile. I was so excited! I felt like a father.

That first fertile egg died and subsequent attempts by other men failed, so Archibald agreed to try again. According to the New Yorker, he flew to Washington to collect whooping crane semen from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, then back to Wisconsin to resume the relationship.

That was successful, and they named the chick Gee Whiz.

Archibald, a renowned conservationist and ornithologist, will spend part of his talk Thursday describing his efforts to save cranes in East Asia. He has worked in China, Russia, Iran and the Koreas.

Ted Gilman, a senior naturalist at Audubon Greenwich, was a volunteer on one of the projects in northern China back in the 80s.

The big thing with George is that, with his amazing diplomacy and knowledge of cranes and their habitat requirements, really understanding the importance of large wetlands, he has been able to go around the world and get folks from the U.S. and Russian working together, Gilman said.

Crane preservation has required international political savvy, and Archibald has risen to the occasion, Gilman said.

There is one crane that has traditionally gone from Russia, down through Iran, Pakistan and into India. Just imagine all the challenging diplomacy in that route, Gilman said. Rivers dont observe national boundaries.

The presentation, titled Keeping the Sacred Cranes of the Orient Safe, will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at 613 Riversville Road.

Archibald is a co-founder of the International Crane Foundation. Based in Wisconsin, the Foundations property is the only place in the world people can observe all 15 existing species of cranes.

The event costs $5 for members and $7 for non-members. Those interested in attending should RSVP to greenwichcenter@audubon.org. A wine and cheese reception will be held at the event.

pfrissell@hearstmediact.com; @PeregrineFriss
Two little thumbs waaay up.

The veterans behind New Yorks Will Ferrell and Tim Burtonthemed bars are back with a new spot that holds two middle fingers way up high to celebrate the real America. Simply called Merica (its name was no doubt the easiest part), the space at 320 East 6th Street in the East Village  which opens October 15  is the latest by restaurateur duo Zach Neil and Radouane Eljaouhari. They figured nothing honors the ol US of A like an eatery full of unhealthy food, assault weapons, flags and other grotesquely cliched Americana, and the possibility of angry customers fighting about politics.



The mockery continues with the food menu. An early version included The Kanye (Fried breast of chicken tossed in a creamy rich Alfredo sauce served over mashed potatoes, then drizzled with a balsamic glaze), but Neil said that dish was meant simply for shock value, so patrons will have to make do instead with other, actual options like the 100 Calorie Lie, a Hillary Clintoninspired triple cheeseburger that DNAinfo says includes bacon and a layer of mac and cheese and is falsely advertised as being 100 calories. Of course, you might call that sandwich low energy next to the T-Rump Mexican Burger.

He adds theres going to be a weekly debate night where people will go head-to-head on a variety of topics  both serious and comic  with food-related penalties for the loser, such as having to pay for the winners meal.


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Sony has announced the Japanese pricing and availability information for its Xperia Ear accessory. According to Sony Japan, the device will be released in the country on November 18 and will carry a price tag of around JPY 20,000 (excluding tax).

The JPY 20,000 tag is the "market estimated price," the company's Japanese website says, adding that the actual selling price of the product may vary.

In case you aren't already aware, the Xperia Ear - as the name suggests - is essentially an earpiece. Its selling point, however, is its ability to double as your own personal assistant. To know more about the device, head to our hands-on story.

Source




Haiti - FLASH : 271 deceased (provisional report) (UPDATE)





Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, the Director of the Civil Protection Directorate (DPC) confirmed that "more than 140 people died in the region of Grand'Anse, bringing the number of victims of the hurricane Matthew to 271 [...]" adding "It's almost 300 and that number will surely increase", there are also 3 missing and 186 injured.



Artibonite : 3 dead, 2 missing, 10 wounded

Centre : -

Grand'Anse : 143 dead, 0 missing, 80 wounded

Nippes : 6 dead, 0 missing, 4 wounded

North : -

North East : -

North West : 1 dead, 0 missing, 1 wounded

West : 34 dead, 0 missing, 65 wounded

South : 78 dead, 1 missing, 20 wounded

South East : 6 dead, 0 missing, 6 wounded



Total : 271 dead, 3 missing, 186 wounded



She said that the toll of 283 deaths reported by various media was incorrect and had not been confirmed independently and informs that the National Emergency Operations Centre (COUN) will continue to confirm the death "[. ..] many have lost their lives trying to escape the surge of the sea, others after their houses and their roofs have collapsed on them because strong winds [...]"



According to DPC "all temporary shelters are closed in the Southeast. Hosted returned home." However, 61,537 people are still living in 192 temporary shelters in other departments.



At least 178 schools were affected in several departments of the country, some of them are destroyed.



The Prime Minister, Enex Jean-Charles, accompanied by the Ministers of Planning and External Cooperation, National Education and Vocational Training, and his Chief of Staff, will pay a visit this Friday to affected populations of recent flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew, to ascertain the condition of some affected infrastructure and show solidarity and that of the whole government to the victims of the Great North.



The delegation will stop on the Cote des Arcadins, before heading to Gonaives, Bombardopolis, Anse Rouge, Baie de Henne, Jean Rabel, Port-de-Paix, Chansolme, Saint- Louis du Nord, Anse a Foleur, Cap-Haitien and Ouanaminthe, where it will meet with local authorities and the victims.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18847-haiti-flash-new-death-toll-122-victims-official.html



HL/ S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Canada : Matthew, 3 million dollars in initial aid





Thursday, Stephane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, and the Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, today announced that the Government of Canada has deployed the Canadian Disaster Assessment Team (CDAT) to Haiti and set aside up to $3 million as an initial humanitarian response for those in Haiti and other countries in the region affected by Hurricane Matthew.



The CDAT will rapidly assess the situation, which is a critical step in ensuring that a Canadian response to the hurricane is coordinated, evidence-based and tailored to the needs on the ground. Canada is also supporting the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination unit teams in Jamaica and Haiti, who are still assessing the situation and assisting local authorities.



Canadas humanitarian assistance will go toward immediate, life-saving needs, such as water and sanitation, food, shelter and basic health services, and will be delivered through experienced humanitarian partners. Canada contributes financially to UN agencies, the Red Cross Movement and non-governmental organizations to quickly get humanitarian aid to where it is needed.



"Canada stands side by side with Haiti in the wake of this devastating hurricane. We work with experienced humanitarian partners, including Canadian and international NGOs, the Red Cross Movement and UN agencies on the ground, and our teams have been working around the clock to assess the situation. Our government is ready to provide further assistance needed to reach the most vulnerable, including, especially, women and children," declared Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie.



"The terrible destruction and loss of life https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18849-haiti-flash-271-deceased-provisional-report.html in Haiti left by Hurricane Matthew is deeply concerning. The Canadian Disaster Assessment Team deployed quickly via Canadian Armed Forces aircraft to assess the damage. As this situation evolves, the Canadian Armed Forces stand ready to support Government of Canada efforts," declared Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence of Canada.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18849-haiti-flash-271-deceased-provisional-report.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18837-haiti-politic-privert-overflight-the-great-south.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18822-haiti-flash-matthew-be-careful-it-s-not-over.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18821-haiti-flash-the-bridge-ladigue-collapses-situation-west-pap.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18816-haiti-flash-blackout-on-port-au-prince-les-cayes-flooded.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18812-haiti-flash-matthew-the-situation-across-the-country.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18809-haiti-flash-hurricane-matthew-the-current-situation.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


























Haiti - Economy : World Bank sends experts on the ground





Thursday, Jim Yong Kim is President of World Bank (WB) announced the dispatch of a team of experts to Haiti to assess the damage caused by the destructive passage of Matthew and the immediate needs.



He informed that the WB will use the operating funds available to provide assistance for debris removal, recovery of bridges and roads, rebuilding schools and disposal of mud, which requires heavy equipment and expensive.



Kim announced the decision of the Bank to assist the Haitian government, offering immediate assistance to meet the emergency. A Bank team will work with the Ministry of Public Works of Haiti to begin to restore access to the most affected areas in the south, where a major bridge was washed away https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18821-haiti-flash-the-bridge-ladigue-collapses-situation-west-pap.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18849-haiti-flash-271-deceased-provisional-report-update.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18837-haiti-politic-privert-overflight-the-great-south.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18822-haiti-flash-matthew-be-careful-it-s-not-over.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18821-haiti-flash-the-bridge-ladigue-collapses-situation-west-pap.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18816-haiti-flash-blackout-on-port-au-prince-les-cayes-flooded.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18812-haiti-flash-matthew-the-situation-across-the-country.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18809-haiti-flash-hurricane-matthew-the-current-situation.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





FLASH, U.S. Embassy reopened

The Embassy of the United States to Port-au-Prince, informs the general public that its offices will be reopened from Friday, 7 October 2016. The applicants whose appointments had been scheduled for that day to the U.S. Consulate are urged to appear as expected https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18845-haiti-news-zapping-politics.html



Andre Michel gives $8,000

Following the passage of Hurricane Matthew, the Andre Michel's campaign team decided to donate over 8,000 US dollars to the population of West department; This donation will be given in the form of sheets for repairing damaged houses and food. To avoid political exploitation and to better reach the victims, the campaign team decided to go through the town halls of Petit Goave, Leogane, Port-au-Prince and Cite Soleil.



90% of houses destroyed or damaged on the south coast

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that "The waves and strong winds that accompanied the Matthew hurricane destroyed or damaged near 90% of houses along the coastal area of the South. UN Environment made a plea at various levels in order to push officials to move the occupants of small islets of the south coast and residents very near the coast."



Diaspora, your donations for Les Cayes



End of the electoral campaign

Leopold Berlanger, President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that according to the electoral calendar, the campaign ends this Friday 7 October at midnight. A provision that criticism Fanmi Lavalas, which states that in the absence of a date of next elections one cannot fix the end of the electoral campaign. The party evokes its concern to see the political parties with more financial resource, continue their campaign under the guise of humanitarian aid...



Control of the distribution of aid

Ronald Lareche, the Senate President announced the formation of a Senatorial commission to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in different departments and to control the distribution by the State Victim relief items.



A small candidate withdraws

Vilaire Cluny Duroseau, Presidential candidate under the banner MEKSEPA informed in a letter to the Nation whose copy to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) that he was withdrawing his candidacy from the presidential race... Recall that Duroseau ranked 42nd in the elections of 25 October 2015 had obtained 1,208 votes or 0.08% of the votes.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby.

09:44, 30 OCT 2022
By Jesse Wood

This week, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners authorized Planning Director Joe Furman to work out the details of $150,000 in unexpected appropriations from the state that are earmarked for the Middle Fork Greenway project and a river access.

Furman said the $100,000 is for the Middle Fork Greenway and $50,000 is expected to be for an access project along the Watauga River at Guy Ford Road. The $50,000 grant was initially earmarked for New River access by Sen. Deanna Ballard, according to a memo in the commissioners packet. However, Sen. Ballard is being requested to change that to the Guy Ford Road access on the Watauga River.

Furman said that the General Assembly conveyed these funds to the county as grants from the Office of State Budget and Management.

Furman said that there are currently little details yet as to what the money will go towards for the Middle Fork Greenway project.

We are figuring out the best and most expedient section to spend it on. It may be that we have to have it spent by June 30, 2017, and if that is truly the case, that will help us decide where to spend it, Furman said in an email following the meeting with the commissioners.

As for the river access on the Watauga River, if that is approved it will be for parking and boat access like what is located at the intersection of U.S. 321 and Watauga River Road.

Guy Ford Road is a put-in to the classic Watauga Gorge kayak run that flows into Tennessee. The five-mile paddle drops 100 feet per mile and flows through the rugged, remote wilderness.

Earlier this year, Blue Ridge Conservancy announced that it had secured a 2.3-acre parcel for river access at Guy Ford Road. Read about that here.

Once complete, the Middle Fork Greenway will be a 6.5 mile trail that connects Boone and Blowing Rock. So far only about one mile of the trail is navigable, but it seems like every few months or so, a new announcement regarding the project comes about. See the latest here.

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Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team are excited to return to North Carolina! They plan to film episodes of the hit series AMERICAN PICKERS throughout the region this fall.

AMERICAN PICKERS is a documentary series that explores the fascinating world of antique picking on History. The hit show follows Mike and Frank, two of the most skilled pickers in the business, as they hunt for Americas most valuable antiques. They are always excited to find sizeable, unique collections and learn the interesting stories behind them.

As they hit the back roads from coast to coast, Mike and Frank are on a mission to recycle and rescue forgotten relics. Along the way, the Pickers want to meet characters with remarkable and exceptional items. The pair hopes to give historically significant objects a new lease on life, while learning a thing or two about Americas past along the way.

Mike and Frank have seen a lot of rusty gold over the years and are always looking to discover something theyve never seen before. They are ready to find extraordinary items and hear fascinating tales about them. AMERICAN PICKERS is looking for leads and would love to explore your hidden treasure.

If you or someone you know has a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the Pickers can spend the better part of the day looking through, send us your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to:

[email protected] or call 855-old-rust.

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This morning, the Asheville Police Department (APD) participated in an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force operation that resulted in the arrest of James Eugene Patty Jr., 48, of Maryville, Tennessee for Solicit Child by Computer.

Patty is currently being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center under a $50,000.00 bond. At the time of his arrest, Patty was serving as a Sheriffs Deputy for the Blount County, TN Sheriffs Office.

Patty traveled from his home in Maryville, TN to Asheville with the intent of having a sexual encounter with a minor female. Patty was taken into custody by the SBI and APD shortly after arriving in Asheville, prior to making any physical contact with a minor.

North Carolina agencies participating in the operation were the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the Boone Police Department and Asheville Police Department. APD has been an active member of the ICAC Task Force since 2007.

Additional assistance was provided by the Tennessee ICAC Task Force and the Blount County, TN Sheriffs Office. Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong has been very cooperative and is working with the SBI to resolve this matter.

For any additional information please contact Alan K. Flora, Special Agent in Charge of the NCSBI Computer Crimes Unit/Commander NCICAC Task Force at [email protected].

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We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here
The telecommunications technology provider says it will launch consultative negotiations with the objective of laying off roughly 135 members of its administrative, support and product development staff in Kirkkonummi and 40 members of its staff in Oulu.

Ericsson has announced that it is planning on shedding approximately 3,000 positions globally, including up to 175 in Finland.

The redundancies are part of a major transformation undertaken to secure the long-term competitiveness of the technology provider, says Jan Frykhammar, the interim chief executive of Ericsson. We continue to have a strong focus on research and product development, he underlines in a press release.

Frykhammar refrained from commenting specifically on the planned reductions in Kirkkonummi and Oulu.

Ericsson is not this week's only major employer to announce lay-offs in Finland. Tivi, an online provider of information and communications technology related news, reported on Tuesday that also Fujitsu is planning on initiating consultative negotiations with the objective of reducing a maximum of 400 positions in the country.

The initial scope of the reductions was confirmed to the online publication by Simo Leisti, the managing director of Fujitsu Finland.

The announcement came as a shock to the personnel especially in light of the considerable cost-cutting measures introduced in recent years, revealed Liisa-Johanna Pesonen, the chief shop steward at the service and technology provider. Fujitsu Finland terminated the contracts of nearly 150 of its employees as recently as in June.

Pesonen said she understands that the company must respond to the changes caused by digitisation in its operating environment and the industry in general but questioned the tendency to immediately resort to lay-offs.

The employees were hoping that the company would first tell how it's going to change and only then start talking about lay-offs, she said in an interview with Tivi.

Pesonen also voiced her concerns about the fact that the lay-offs are to be implemented over a three-year period. The uncertainty will surely have a negative impact on productivity, she predicted.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
The assessment found that police officers in the country used their firearms  that is, discharged their firearms or drew their firearms as a preventive measure  a total of 385 times over the ten-year period. No more than seven people died of a gunshot wound inflicted by a police officer over the past ten years, the Police University College highlights in a press release .

The latest such incident dates back to 2 October, 2016, when a man suspected of attempted manslaughter was shot fatally by a police officer in Orimattila, a town located some 20 kilometres south of Lahti, sparking the ongoing debate over the use of force by police officers.

The National Police Board has gathered data on police firearm use since 2003.

The Police University College also points out that police officers in the country respond to more than one million calls every year but only seldom use force in, for example, apprehending a suspect. Police officers, it points out, used force in no more than 2 per cent of the 97,566 arrests they made in 2005.

Use of force is defined as the use of physical force or accessories, such as batons, tasers, police dogs or  in the most extreme cases  firearms.

Henri Rikander, the chief inspector in charge of the assessment, reminds in the press release that comparing the use of force by police to other countries is problematic due to various differences in categorising and monitoring practices.

Data gathered in Seattle, the United States, indicate that on average police officers use force in 2.4 out of every 100 arrests. In Finland, use of force assessments indicate that the corresponding figure is 1.7. Drawing a comparison to the United States is, however, difficult [] due to distinct differences in how force and especially firearms are used, he says.

The Police University College also calls attention to a doctoral dissertation published in 2013, indicating that nearly one in two police officers encounter physical violence on a monthly basis. The share creeps up to two in three if verbal abuse and threats are also taken into consideration.

The violence encountered by police officers has diversified, with the means ranging from biting to running over. Use of force assessments suggest the offender was armed with a knife, a firearm or other instrument in 25 per cent of the cases, tells Rikander.

It is similarly rare for a police officer to die on the line of duty in Finland. The police officer who was shot to death during a siege in Vihti, Uusimaa, in June was only the second to die on the line of duty since the turn of the millennium, according to YLE.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Samuli Ikaheimo  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
A recruitment drive for hundreds of key public sector workers will begin in the wake of Budget 2017 as funding is expected for nurses, gardai and teachers.

The Herald has learned that Tuesday's Budget will provide funding for at least 1,000 new nurses, 800 gardai and 650 teachers.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has received clearance to hire 800 trainee gardai next year.

The new batch of recruits will go some way to supplying the 3,200 recruits demanded by Fianna Fail in exchange for their support for the minority government.

Since the garda college re-opened two years ago, 1,200 cadets have begun training. The next batch of recruits will enter Templemore in mid-2017.

Meanwhile, under-pressure primary schools are set to receive the majority of the 650 new teachers.

As the separate recruitment drives get under way in the justice, education and health departments, Health Minister Simon Harris' focus will remain on attracting new nurses to the HSE.

Of the 1,000 nursing jobs, the majority will be full-time permanent staff who will replace agency workers.

Overseas

In the past year, 585 additional nurses have signed up with the HSE, but the body still has serious issues attracting and retaining staff.

It is already running a campaign to bring back hundreds of nurses who are currently working overseas, though Mr Harris told a Dail committee last month that only 83 nurses have returned.

Childcare remains a key issue for the Budget, and it is hoped that the details of the final package can be ironed out in the coming days.

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said yesterday that the childcare budget package will respond to "the many needs raised within Ireland at the moment, and we can only do that inside the resources available to us".

"Tackling affordability and quality of childcare has long been recognised now as an issue that more progress needs to be made on," he said.

"We are going to make progress on that next week, I believe, and I'm now in the process of working with Children's Minister Katherine Zappone to finalise how we will do that.

"As is the case with every other budgetary matter we've discussed, we won't be able to make progress on all the needs our country has."
A garda who was shot in the US had nothing to say when charged with assaulting two young women following a night out in Tipperary.

Gda Brian Hanrahan (34), of Newcastlewest, Co Limerick, was charged before Judge Elizabeth MacGrath at Nenagh District Court.

The officer, who made headlines last year when he was shot and seriously injured while on holiday in New Orleans, did not speak during the brief hearing.

Gda Hanrahan, who is based in Limerick, was charged with two assaults.

Both relate to an alleged incident last February in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

Eager

The court was told that Gda Hanrahan made no reply when the charges were formally put to him after caution at Nenagh Garda Station where he att- ended by appointment at 2pm yesterday.

Det Insp Pat O'Callaghan told Judge MacGrath that the DPP has already indicated that the matters can be dealt with summarily at district court level.

Det Insp O'Callaghan said the statements in the matter will be ready for submission to Gda Hanrahan's legal team from next week.

Solicitor Daniel O'Gorman said his client was eager for the matter to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible.

The garda statements will be submitted to him from October 13.

Judge MacGrath adjourned the matter to another date.

She said she will hear an outline of the evidence then and make a ruling on whether she accepts jurisdiction.

The State said it had no issue with Gda Hanrahan being remanded on bail. He was remanded to Nenagh District Court sitting on a future date and directed, as is routine in such cases, not to attempt any contact or interference with the witnesses in the case.

The judge remanded him on his own bond of 500.

Gda Hanrahan made no comment as he left the courthouse following the brief hearing.

He made headlines in January last year when he was shot during an attempted robbery in New Orleans.

He was on holiday in Louisi- ana at the time and was confronted at an ATM machine by an armed assailant.

During the attempted robbery, he was shot in the leg and back. Gda Hanrahan had just withdrawn $200 (180) from the machine when he was confronted.

Two men are currently before the US courts in relation to the incident.

Gda Hanrahan underwent emergency surgery in New Orleans, with major fundraising events in Ireland and the US to support him.

Compensation

Last June, he was awarded more than 36,000 in compensation for injuries he suffered while chasing criminals six years ago.

His neck, shoulder and lower back were injured in October 2010 when a garda vehicle in which he was a front seat pass-enger was rammed following a car chase on the Limerick- Mallow Road.

In the High Court in Dublin on June 27, barrister Michael P Binchy told Mr Justice Bernard Barton that Gda Hanrahan was in a garda car chasing a stolen vehicle when it was rammed.

He said he had initially felt no discomfort, but after the adrenalin wore off he felt pain in his neck, shoulder and back. The pain in his lower back was most troublesome.
The scene of the crash at Carrigeenlea, Tramore

The father of a young girl killed in a horror car crash has paid tribute to his "beautiful" daughter.

Katie Murphy (16) died in the accident which left three of her friends in hospital.

Katie's father Hilary posted a message on Facebook last night in tribute to her, saying: "Our beautiful daughter was taken from us last night in a car accident.

"We loved her so very much and I don't know how we can cope without her."

Meanwhile, on of Katie's schoolmates told the Herald that her pals were about to call for her and were yards away when the tragedy occurred.

Claire Lombard (17) said her best friend Katie was the sort of girl who could make anyone smile no matter how sad they were.

Katie, from the Castlewoods estate in Ballynamona, Co Waterford, was a rear-seat passenger in the car with three friends when it crashed into a wall as it turned into the Carrigeenlea Estate in Tramore at 8.20pm on Wednesday.

She was rushed to University Hospital in Waterford but died from the injuries she sustained.

A 17-year-old boy, the son of a well-known and respected family involved in the motor trade in Tramore, was driving the car and a male pal was in the passenger seat.

Katie and another female friend were travelling in the back of the car.

Hospital

The male passenger was later transferred to Cork University Hospital where it is suspected he has swelling on the brain and a punctured lung.

The female passenger is being treated for suspected bone fractures, including her legs and pelvis.

Claire, a pupil at St Angela's school in Waterford, described the sequence of events.

"Katie texted me to say they were on their way and that they'd see me in a few minutes. Then a bit later I was closing my bedroom window and I saw people running down the road, and my brother Conor ran out as well," she said.

"I went out to see what was happening, and as I got to the corner I could see the car. (The driver) wasn't that badly injured and he was able to get out and walked towards me in a daze.

"We went down to the car to help. (The driver and passenger) were in the front of the car, and Katie and (her friend) were in the back," she said.

Claire's brother Conor supported the male passenger's head in the vehicle until emergency services arrived, and local residents did all they could.

"Katie was always smiling and laughing. She made everyone happy no matter how sad they were," said Claire through tears.

Claire told a poignant story of how Katie had borrowed a biro from her in school on Wednesday so she could write a reminder on her hand as to what classroom she was supposed to start in yesterday morning.

"That message, Lab B, was still visible on her hand after the crash," said Claire.
Firefighter Philip Keogh from Clonsilla pictured with his girlfriend, Mary Barrett from Kerry

Firefighter Paul Moore from Donnycarney pictured with his partner, Lyndsey and their daughter, Bobbi Ellen (5months)

Firefighter Larry O'Toole from Newbridge, Co. Kildare pictured with his wife Lorraine and their children, Sarah (3) and Daithi (1)

Firefighter John Walsh from Ratoath, Co. Meath pictured with his partner, Sarah Murphy and children, Mia (8) and Morgan (4) after he graduated as a full firefighter this afternoon at Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre

Training to be a firefighter is tough enough, but try being the only woman in the class.

New Dublin Fire Brigade recruit Caroline Grace (29), from Raheny, wasn't too concerned with being the only woman among 50 budding fire officers, though.

"It's always been a dream I had and I was filled with pride and a little bit of disbelief that I eventually got there," said Caroline.

"It was one of the toughest things - it challenged me mentally and physically.

Collisions

"It was myself and 49 lads - it was OK. Obviously, it would have been nice to have some female company, but at the same time they all looked after me and always had my back."

Caroline will be stationed at North Strand.

The 15-week training included courses in dealing with road traffic collisions and hazardous materials. Gardai also provided expert training to the officers.

For Kilbarrack's latest addition, Stephen Sweetman, it may have been a difficult journey, but he passed with flying colours. Stephen (26), from Artane, won the award for best recruit - which was no great surprise.

"My father was 30 years serving with Dublin Fire Brigade, my brother-in-law is a member of the brigade, I have a cousin currently serving and I've another cousin set to start in the next class, so we're a fire brigade family," said Stephen.

He said the four months of training had left little time for family life.

"My own girlfriend had to put up with a lot of long nights where I was putting in the preparation needed because a lot of hard work was required," he said.

"It meant that the class weren't seeing as much of our families and our better halves as we'd like, but they were all very happy for us."

Dublin Lord Mayor Brendan Carr also commended the leaders who provided instruction to the new firefighters - a combined 37,000 hours of training,

"We're proud to have trained yet another class of recruits this year over the past 15 weeks," he said.

Vital

"The calibre of the recruits passing out is a testament to the remarkable hard work and dedication of the instructors and of the recruits themselves.

"Dublin Fire Brigade provides a vital service for the city and county of Dublin.

"I have no doubt that all new firefighters joining the ranks of Dublin Fire Brigade will continue to uphold that."
Rory O'Neill, aka Panti Bliss, said he's "absolutely delighted" that after fighting "tooth and acrylic nail", his bar sign is here to stay.

The distinctive pink sign for Pantibar on Capel Street has been at the centre of controversy for more than a year after Dublin City Council directed its removal as it contravened planning regulations.

But the gay rights campaigner appealed this decision to An Bord Pleanala (ABP) and was over the moon yesterday when the body overturned DCC's original decision.

"I think it's unfortunate that we had to go through that process in the first place but I'm glad it's done and they ruled in our favour. I'm not going to be a sore winner," he told the Herald.

"Getting the letter was a great start to the day. We made our appeal at the beginning of the summer and we knew we would have to wait until October for a decision, so I've been biting my nails ever since.

"People have been asking for updates but I always knew it was going to come in around now. It's great news.

"I believe the sign is safe and it's here to stay. I honestly believe the sign is beautiful and has significance to people," he said.

The controversy over the brightly-lit sign was sparked after three complaints to DCC which then investigated whether it contravened regulations.

It then directed the sign's removal from the city centre street bar earlier this year on the basis that it was located in an "architectural conservation area".

It also claimed "its use of inappropriate materials and lighting would impact adversely on the character and integrity of the area".

Integral

However, ABP disagreed with the council's decision and ruled that "exceptional circumstances" applied, saying the sign was "integral to the social, historical and cultural significance of the current use of the premises".

The sign was designed by Niall Sweeney, an award-winning artist, and has hung outside Rory's popular bar for the past two years.

He said that tourists regularly pose for pictures underneath the sign and the venue has also taken on a social significance to Dubliners, given the same-sex marriage referendum last year.

He was inundated with support from members of the public after setting up a petition, which attracted more than 20,000 signatures, in favour of keeping the sign.
Comings and goings: Boot Barn in the works; Clorox plant opens

New store could be the third to move into Valley Plaza this year.
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Who is a martyr and can the National Flag be used for a private funeral?

At a time of hyper-nationalism and increased chest thumping it would be misleading to loosely look at both the questions. And that is what is happening in Bisada.

Read | A year after Ikhlaqs lynching, Bisada sitting on a communal tinderbox

Bisada, in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, is back in the news, a year after it shot to infamy after 55-year-old Mohammad Ikhlaq was lynched by a mob on the suspicion of storing beef for consumption. Communal tensions are again on the rise in the village after 22-year-old Ravinone of the 18 accused in Ikhlaqs killing died while in judicial custody. While authorities say that Ravin died because of respiratory and renal complications, the family suspects that he was attacked while in jail.

However, the disconcerting aspect is the reaction of the villagers to Ravins death. Not only have they refused to cremate the body  they are demanding a 1 crore compensation from the State and a CBI investigation into Ravins death  but the murder accused has also been hailed a martyr and his coffin was draped with the National Flag.

This is wrong in so many ways.

Read | Dadri lynching: Kin of accused refuse to perform last rites, demand compensation

The tricolour is usually draped over the bodies of people of national importance  political leaders who have held high office, people who have contributed to their respective fields and held India proud nationally and internationally  when it is a State funeral. Most importantly it is draped around the coffins of armed forces personnel who die in the line of action. As stated in the Flag Code of India, 2002, it is used to honour members of armed forces who have ungrudgingly laid down their lives to keep the tricolour flying in its full glory.

Also, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, leaves little room for ambiguity. In Section 2 (iv) of the Act it states that the disrespect to the National Flag includes using the Indian National Flag as a drapery in any form whatsoever except in State funerals or armed forces or other para-military forces funerals. This seems to be the case in Bisada.

Read | Body of Ikhlaqs murder accused draped in tricolour

The National Flag is a symbol of national pride  using it to honour a person accused of being part of a mob that brutally killed an unarmed innocent man is disrespect to the tricolour.

Ravin is not a martyr. The family suspects the authorities version that he succumbed to respiratory and renal failure and has demanded a CBI probe. It is definitely a personal tragedy for the family, but for the villagers to hail him as a martyr is logically and morally wrong. Ravin was accused of killing a fellow villager  to honour him as a hero sends the wrong message.

At a time when the narrative in the media is that India has avenged the martyrdom of the soldiers in the Uri attack by conducting surgical strikes along the LoC, and, at a time when politicians are being accused of demeaning the Army for demanding proof of the strikes, the misuse of the tricolour in Bisada is the disrespect that should be condemned.

Read | We feel safe here, say Muslims of Bisada as police keep watch

What should also be condemned are the efforts by some Right-wing leaders to communalise Ravins death. Reports suggest that what was essentially a protest against police negligence, has taken a communal tone after Sadhvi Prachi, a pro-Hindutva leader, visited the village and called on Hindus to rally against the state government.

The events in Bisada show that misguided nationalism when mixed with communal politics has the potential to become a highly-inflammable cocktail.

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We are approaching the 50th anniversary of a major, even tectonic shift in Indian politics that took place in early 1967. In February of that year, the Congress lost power in six states and also posted its worst-ever performance till then in the Lok Sabha under the new Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Barely a few months in power, she was dealing with slow economic growth and also bitter internecine fights within the Congress as her deputy Morarji Desai and the rest of the old guard  later collectively called the Syndicate  could not stomach the fact that their goongi gudiya had turned out to be a strong and imperious leader.

The losses in the elections threatened to weaken her position to which she reacted with her characteristic confidence, fighting back and seizing the initiative within two years, the Congress had split and the oldies were cast into historys dustbin. Indira Gandhi emerged as the supreme leader of her party and led it to a spectacular victory in 1971.

But that was to come later. In the mid-1960s, she and her party were faced with an emerging political threat that shook the Congress, the pre-eminent party on the Indian political scene with almost no competition from any quarter.

Read: Rahul attacks PM Modi, says he is hiding behind the blood of soldiers

The disparate, non-Congress opposition, too fragmented to be of any threat, was brought together by the Ram Manohar Lohia, a bitter critic of Jawaharlal Nehru and later, of his daughter. It was Lohia who devised the notion of anti-Congressism, which, despite the grand old partys situation today, has not entirely vanished. Madhu Limaye, a social stalwart, had tried to modify this by arguing that communalism was the greater danger and all secular forces needed to come together to fight it, but as was seen, anti-Congressism has long been the leitmotif of Indian politics. Even today, it lingers on among some socialists, Swarajists and even leftists.

While the BJPs Congress-Mukt Bharat is a strategic ploy to make the Congress irrelevant in the electoral stakes and to emerge as the only national party, anti-Congressism became an ideology in itself. Scratch a socialist of the old school and that virulent strain, embedded there by Lohias ideas, shows up immediately.

Read: Political parties firmly back Modi govt over armys surgical strikes

Lohia was obsessed with the idea of anti-Congressism. He tried to bring about unity among the various socialist groups and for a while even succeeded. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the socialists kept on breaking and reforming under various heads. The Praja Socialist Party and the Lohia-led Socialist Party merged in 1964 but it did not last too long. The PSPs somewhat weak leaders objected to Lohias crusade against the English language but they couldnt stand up to his energetic personality.

In 1967, only eight of the 16 states that went to elections returned the Congress. In Tamil Nadu, a new force, the DMK emerged and since then, Dravida politics has closed off the space for the Congress. The Left took over power in West Bengal and held on to it for over three decades. In Kerala, the Congress won just one seat in the assembly elections.

Read: Exclusive: BJPs anti-Congress mindset doesnt go with reforms, says Manmohan

But not all was well within the new groups that Lohia put together. In UP, the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal governments bitterest critics were the Lohiates  among them a young, rising star called Mulayam Singh Yadav. Lohia died in 1967, but his legatees are still very much with us, spouting not just his socialist and anti-English theories but also  50 years later  as fractious as ever, as the intra-Yadav clan fight in UP shows.

History is useful in understanding todays politics. In Uttar Pradesh, the socialists morphed into casteists, seizing the opportunity that came their way when the Mandal Commission report was accepted by a floundering V P Singh. The Lohiates were in the forefront, grabbing the vast vote banks that suddenly became theirs almost overnight by a sheer stroke of luck. Now, with the caste vote assured, they have grown, like the Samajwadi Party, into family corporations, any notion of socialism left long behind.

Lip service is paid occasionally to Lohia, but one key lesson of those times  opposition unity  has been forgotten. From 1977 onwards, when the Janata Party was birthed in extraordinary circumstances, many a Front has come and gone. The socialists were part of all of them as was the BJP, either as a joiner or a supporter. But the BJP, with a strategic goal in mind, continued to grow. Today the BJP has no legitimate opposition at the national level. Like the Congress of old, it is aiming to become a broad umbrella, which will include its core Hindutva supporters (upper castes) and many other constituencies, including the urban middle-class which may not be otherwise attracted to the more extremist Sanghi views. It would like to bring in Dalits, OBCs and even the minorities within the fold, but is limited by the fact that it wants all of them to sign up for the Hindutva project or at least accept its supremacy.

The only way to counter that is to create an even broader opposition front. Lohia assembled an unlikely coalition that consisted of the Jan Sangh and the socialists. Todays version should theoretically be easier to cobble together, since there is broad ideological agreement among most small parties. The Mahagathbandhan of the Congress, Nitish Kumar and RJD is one example of this new pragmatism, but it remains at the state level.

As long as the Opposition parties do not come together  and the Congress has to be part of such a coalition  the BJP cannot be dislodged, even if there is growing disappointment with its performance. But in a scenario where the socialists are fighting among themselves, the Left cannot still find it in itself to shake hands with the Congress and the Congress itself remains incoherent about what it stands for, the BJP has nothing to worry about.

Sidharth Bhatia is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.
Removing discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS is an exceedingly slow and painful process. In many cases, the best hope the affected have is the law. So the amendments to a Bill cleared by the cabinet on HIV prevention and control that make discrimination in employment against those with HIV/AIDS punishable with two years in jail and a fine of Rs 1 lakh come as a positive step. The amendments also bar unfair treatment in educational institutions, healthcare, residing or renting property and standing for office.

Read: HIV Bill: Discrimination ends, time to promote awareness

The person affected also need not reveal his status unless required by the court. Confidentiality by employers will help the affected persons chances at the workplace as it is here that he can be discriminated against the most in a manner which affects his livelihood. Remember Tom Hanks case in the iconic movie Philadelphia. At least Hanks was able to battle his case in court and win but here the affected are rarely able to do so for fear of further exposure or lack of support and money.

Another enabling provision is that the states are expected to provide anti-retroviral therapy and infection management, facilitate access to welfare schemes and formulate HIV education programmes that are gender-sensitive, age-appropriate and non-stigmatising. This is good news but for many of the 2.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS, it would make much more sense if the systems to deliver all this were in place.

Read: From jobs to renting homes, HIV and AIDS patients get more rights in new bill

For medical care to be delivered in time, the public health system needs to function properly. This is not the case here. However, at least anyone denied this will now find the law on his side. The extent and depth of the stigma crosses all socio-economic strata. Education does not necessarily mean that attitudes towards the affected will improve. One of the most famous cases of discrimination against children took place in highly educated Kerala, which ranks the highest in awareness about the disease. In 2003, two HIV positive children Bency and Benson came into the news when their grandfather fought to have them admitted to a school. The children had been kicked out of three schools after their status was revealed. It took the intervention of the chief minister and a protracted battle to get them readmitted. The school had pleaded helplessness as other parents objected. There are many cases where the environment turns hostile when a persons status is revealed. Not everyone will be able to counter this.

It is important that state governments work to create awareness of these changes in the law. It is only when you know your rights that you can benefit from the law. That should be the next endeavour along with putting in place the mechanisms that will make these amendments really work for those with HIV/AIDS.

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With plans to provide an Indian home for Baloch nationalist leader Brahamdagh Bugti in an advanced stage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming through on his public talk of playing this ethnic card against Pakistan. But providing Bugti a place to set up a government-in-exile or its equivalent is the easy part.

The mixed history of Indias involvement with Balochistan is a reminder that this is an extremely difficult ploy to use successfully. The record, however, does seem to indicate that civil society gambits like Bugti as opposed to supplying weapons to insurgents may be the most effective means to put this thorn back into Pakistans side.

The many insurgencies

Balochistan is in the throes of its fifth insurgency since being taken over by Pakistan. Most have lasted only one or two years. When they have been longer it is often because they secured external backing. Russian and Iraqi support ensured the 1973 insurgency lasted four years. The last round began in 2004 and went on until 2012. Pakistani military sources, speaking privately, name the Hamid Karzai government in Kabul and, through him, New Delhi as the foreign hands of this period.

Read | Arrangements made for Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugtis stay in India

Since 2014 the Baloch insurgency has become a low key affair. The Pakistani security forces have gotten on top of the Baloch who are now low on funds, arms and facing extreme repression, says Rana Banerji, former number two of the R&AW, and fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

Supporting factors

Direct Indian support to the Baloch insurgents would not be impossible and revive a relationship wound down or redirected through third governments after the 1980s.

But there are a number of things to keep in mind.

One, it will be more difficult for India to make Balochistan a matter of international concern for Pakistan than it will be for Islamabad to do the same with Kashmir for New Delhi. Baloch insurgencies never achieved the sort of scale the Kashmiri ones have. Because Balochistan does not lie along a disputed border between two hostile countries, it attracts minimal international interest. Human rights groups do criticise Islamabad, but they tend to give New Delhi more grief over Kashmir and the Northeast. At a time when Kashmir is in ferment again, it will be difficult for India to make a moral case over Balochistan.

Read | After Modis remarks, Pak media has started mentioning Balochistan: Analysts

Two, the Baloch insurgency is highly fragmented. India, notes Banerji, has traditionally had a closer relationship with the Mendal and Marri tribal sardars, the Bugtis have been more willing to play footsie with Islamabad in the past. The Mendals formed the core of the Balochistan Liberation Army but this group has splintered and its leadership dispersed.

A new Baloch resistance has arisen in the southern parts of the province and includes middle class professionals rather than just tribal fighters. They would be more comfortable with urban sabotage than old-style rural ambushes. India would need to develop stronger ties with this new movement  though some of them express wariness about the Hindu nationalist tones of the Modi government. While not an insurmountable problem, it is an outreach that will take time.

Involving a third party nation

Three, putting a light to Balochistan would be much easier for India if it could get a third party to become involved. At present, it is unclear there is such a candidate. The new Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has soured of Pakistan recently but not enough to consider taking up cause of the Baloch people. However, say Indian officials familiar with previous cases of India-Afghan cooperation, Kabul may be prepared to turn a blind eye to India using their country as a logistics base to help the insurgent. Iran has its own Baloch problems, though their insurgents are extremist Sunnis and distinct from the secular nationalist groups India is looking to assist in Pakistan.

Read | Declare Pak state sponsor of terror becomes most popular US petition ever

Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Forum and author of a recent book on Pakistan-Iran relations, says, Iran will be able to live with rhetorical Indian support, but it will be something else if India pushes ahead with a new policy towards the question of the Baloch people. Anything that threatens Irans boundaries will, as history has shown, be met by stiff force and impact ties with New Delhi. In other words, Indias third country policy could be just as much about holding reassuring conversations with Iran as looking for logistics support for Baloch insurgents.

The low cost option

Four, the fastest option would be to encourage the Baloch emigre groups in the West to harass Pakistan in the halls of the US Congress or the European Parliament. They have been the first to respond to Modis Balochistan speeches. But they are as fragmented as their cohorts inside Balochistan. Previous engagements with them have been a difficult experience for New Delhi. But Banerji says they would constitute a low cost option that could generate media play and keep Islamabad busy putting out diplomatic firefights around the world.

Read | Pak envoys get an earful from their expats in US

Usefully, Pakistans standing in Europe and its strategic utility to Washington has both bottomed. Many of these governments would not seek to put on a lid on Pakistan-bashing on their soil. Says Shaun Gregory, a specialist in the Pakistan army at Durham University, The efforts the Pakistan Army/Inter-Services Intelligence have made to clamp down on militancy in Balochistan have gone along with attempts to keep the media out and away from their use repression and violence in the province. Getting that Baloch story out in the open again would be no small accomplishment all on its own.

Exaggerations and shadows

The ace in Indias hand is Pakistans exaggerated view of what New Delhi has and can do in Balochistan. It helps even more that some of this paranoia has rubbed off on China.

As a WikiLeaks document revealed, ISI chief, Ahmed Shuja Nawaz Pasha, once blamed the United Arab Emirates and India of together sabotaging the building of the Balochistan port of Gwadar. Indian and western diplomats scoff at this given the UAEs long history of being in Pakistans corner. But it tells how Islamabad sees shadows and spooks in Balochistan even when India is not doing anything there.

Read | Pakistan shocked by Indias new Baloch policy, says columnist Tarek Fatah

Says Gregory, I think Pakistan would reject the idea that India has stopped its agitation in Balochistan and thus that there is a policy change to resurrect. In theory, Islamabad should be doubly nervous if New Delhi begins talks like it is doing something on the dark side.

Gasfields and Chinas interests

China, which is nervous about attacks or worse on the $46 billion economic corridor it plans to construct from Balochistan to Kashmir, is already alarmed at how rising India-Pakistani tensions are boosting security costs for the corridor. There is evidence Beijing is applying pressure on Islamabad and, more importantly, Rawalpindi to moderate its stance regarding India.

Read | We are no longer alone: Rebel Baloch leader thanks India for support

Sound and fury signifying not very much can have surprising consequences. One example: Pakistans economy has been largely powered by ageing gasfields in Balochistan and today it has begun importing natural gas because even the low-level Baloch insurgency of the past decade has stalled attempts to explore for new gasfields. The economic corridor could become at least financially wounded if India plays it cards with care.

There is a Baloch card to play. But it is not just about a fistful of rupees and a thousand rifles as it once was in the past. There are a number of different cards, all of varying effectiveness and largely dependent on how India plays and prepares the larger game board.

letters@hindustantimes.com
A Pakistani media report suggesting a showdown between the civilian regime and the army over the latters patronage of terror groups has to it a familiar ring. Something similar had happened in the aftermath of the US Navy seals 2011 operation that took out Osama Bin Laden.

In whats called Memogate, Hussain Haqqani, then Pak envoy in Washington got a secret memo delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen. With the armys morale and public image at an all-time low, the idea was to seek Americas support for a new national security team after dismantling sections in the ISI that backed terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

The move boomeranged: Haqqani lost his job; the ruling PPPs ties with the army under Gen Ashfaq Kayani turned from bad to bitter. Asif Zardari was the President then. Yusuf Raza Gilani the PM.

Reported by the influential Dawn newspaper, the instant case looks familiar but is inherently different. The showdown came in the backdrop of Indias cross-LoC surgical strikes that brought back harsh memories of 2011 compounded by Islamabads diplomatic isolation as a safe haven for terror groups.

The confrontation between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs younger brother Shahbaz, whos CM of Punjab, and ISI chief Rizwan Akhtar happened at a stock-taking civil-military session. The issue: mounting international pressure for action against the (anti-India) Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Haqqani network active in Afghanistan.

When Gen Akhtar asked the government to go ahead and arrest whomever it wanted, Shahbaz accused the security establishment (a euphemism for ISI) of working at cross purposes with the police. It all happened in the presence of Nawaz Sharif who sought to defuse tension by decreeing the ISI chief wasnt to be blamed -- policies pursued in the past falling in the collective responsibility domain.

Read | Sharifs directive to Pak army: Experience shows its easier said than done

If correctly attributed, the Pak PMs comments were an inadvertent summation of the actual ground reality. The anti-India groups have forever enjoyed the armys patronage and that of the Sharifs who havent had the political conviction to act against them. They fear in fact the LeT-JeMs socio-religious clout riding on a network of seminaries. They just have to lay a finger to destabilize Punjab, the PML (N)s electoral mainstay.

In fact, the LeTs political arm, Jamaat ud Dawa has had government funds allocated to it for the seminaries, schools and creches it runs across Punjab. The news report is partial. Its driven by the civilian narrative of the meeting. Isnt it a bit rich for Shahbaz to put the entire blame on the ISI, asked a Pakistani analyst. He then pointed out that the states interior minister Rana Sanaullah protects and uses jihadi elements in Punjab for political purposes.

Unlike the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) thats at war with the civil-military establishment, terror groups holed up in southern and central Punjab feast on hatred for India. Instances of policemen interceding with them at politicians behest prove how thick they are with each other. A writer who once crossed the LeTs path took this route to escape.

So, whats it: a case of pot calling the kettle black? Or a mock civil-military fight to ease global pressure?

Vinod Sharma is political editor, Hindustan Times.
Hes been in India for 16 years and has never seen the Taj Mahal. Thats because Rajasthan has held him in complete thrall for ten of those years. The 60-something American photographer and artist, who goes by the unusual name of Waswo X. Waswo, found new vigour and life in his art in this faraway desert state. He runs a photo studio  I call it my cowshed, with its gobar floor and corrugated tin roof held up by six poles  in a small village, Varda, half an hours drive from Udaipur.

Read:Making portraits: A preview of photographer Raghu Rais upcoming book

Waswo and his assistant, Ganpat, find ordinary, interesting models  his barber, chaiwallah, somebody just walking down the road, Gauri folk dancers  and shoot them in front of specially painted linen backdrops. Then the black-and-white digital prints are hand-coloured by Udaipur artist Rajesh Soni, who learnt this fine art from his family (his grandfather Prabhu Lal Soni was the Mewar court photographer, and hand coloured the black-and-white photographs that he took).

A photograph titled New News at the chai shop. Rajesh Soni learnt the art of hand-colouring pictures from his father and grandfather.

Together, Waswo and Rajesh Soni have created what Waswo calls a homage and critique of old ethnographic photography. A collection of their striking photographs have been brought to Delhi by Tasveer and can be seen at Exhibit 320 in Lado Sarai. A dancer delicately holding the edge of a sari with her hand, balancing a tumbler and pot on her head. A wizened ironing lady with her ancient-looking heavy iron. Five youths gossiping at a chai shop. And many others.

Read:The surreal world of Pablo Bartholomew

In earlier ethnographic photography, says Waswo, the people look almost scared in front of the camera. But we have tried to break the mould. We have introduced a playful element. Take the picture of a young man with a rubber tail and a gada, flying like Hanuman. Or the picture of a lean young man standing knee-deep in water, emptying a ghada of water on his upturned face and bare chest. The photographs are also reminiscent of old studio pictures where people posed in front of painted backdrops and pretended to be movie stars or pilots flying planes.

Photograph titled Desert Man with Sickle. Waswo and Soni have created what Waswo calls a homage and critique of old ethnographic photography.

But how did Waswo, who is originally from Wisconsin, get to Udaipur at all? The story is best told in his own words: My father had been in India during World War II. I grew up listening to his stories and looking at his pictures. In school I developed a love for English literature, which led me to the Raj, which led me to India. He first landed in India in 1993, and went straight from Delhi to Udaipur after seeing a picture of the city in a tourist brochure. He stayed there for ten days and fell hopelessly in love with the place. He came back to India in 1999 but it was not till 2006 that he decided to open a studio in Rajasthan (in between Waswo lived in Goa where his father spent the last three years of his life before he died in 2007).

So in 2006, he rented a beautiful three-storey house on Ambhavgarh Hill in Udaipur overlooking Lake Pichola (It had the best view of the city) and thats where he met Rajesh, a talented sketch artist who sold his drawings of Udaipur at his own gallery. At that time, Waswo was working with chemical-process sepia photographs of India. I wanted to change my style, yet keep a continuity, he says. Hand-coloured photographs seemed the answer. It was a new style but still had a vintage feel, says Waswo.

He had to leave his Udaipur home after five years (the landlord retired and wanted his house back), and move to an apartment. The hunt for a studio took him to the Rajput village of Varda, where hes universally known as chacha, and where he sometimes spends his evenings on the studio roof, drinking (thats when my Hindi really comes out!). He says he rather likes the fierce Rajasthan summer, because Udaipur is empty of tourists and he can go to the local, more plebian Lake Fateh Sagar where youngsters hang out at night.

Photograph titled The Shopkeeper. In earlier ethnographic photography, people would look almost scared in front of the camera. Waswo and Soni have tried to break the mould.

This going native as some would call it means that Waswo has often been subjected to familiar criticism  of a foreigner exoticising India in his pictures, looking at his subject with a foreginers gaze. The accusation annoys him. The problem is that people still think of all photography as documentary, he says. But I come from the pictorial school. I see beauty in people and craft. If I am guilty of something, so are most people  say, of seeing beauty in a farmers field when the farmer is impoverished. Waswo often conducts a little experiment when hes invited for talks in different parts of the world  he shows the audience a series of pictures and asks them to figure out which ones were taken by Indian photographers and which ones by foreigners. They can never tell the difference, he says. So much for the foreigners gaze!

Read:What is cultural appropriation and why is everyone talking about it?

The global debate around cultural appropriation bothers him equally and hes already felt its impact. Recently, he sold his Hanuman photograph to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It was a big museum sale and Waswo was excited that his picture would be a part of their Ramayana exhibition in November. But suddenly he found that the picture had been pulled out of the show. They said it was a routine thing, but they had actually announced it would be part of the exhibition in a press release. So I can only suspect that it was because of this, he says sadly.

Photograph titled At Navratri. Waswo has often been subjected to the criticism that hes a foreigner exoticising India. Waswo counters that he, like many others, is only seeing the beauty in people and craft.

Not that his time in India has been all honey and roses. There are moments when he says hes fed up and hes going to leave and not come back, laughs Rajesh. (Maybe one of those times was at the Kochi Biennale last year when an enraged Waswo destroyed his own art installation after Kerala unions demanded Rs 10,000 for loading it into a truck.)

At the moment, Waswo is spending a lot of his time in Bangkok (mainly because my partner lives there) and has been asked by his Thai gallerist to do a series with Thai themes. To do that I have to spend time there, he says. But Rajasthans crafts and skills keep pulling me back. I start missing Udaipur after just a few days. The place has magic. Apart from Rajesh, Waswo also works with Udaipur miniaturist R Vijay (Rajesh introduced them to each other) and the two have collaborated to produce a series of quirky miniatures, which invariably feature a foreigner in a white suit and hat.

Is that Waswo himself?

The foreigner who is also an integral part of the frame?

(The exhibition is on at Exhibit 320, F 320, Lado Sarai, until October 18. Timings: 11 am-7pm.)

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In school, you discover the literary giants: John Keats, Robert Frost, Alfred Tennyson, to name a few. For many, its a defining period of their lives, a window to something wonderful.

But while we continue reading and discovering prose through our adult lives  short stories, novels, non-fiction, news articles  poetry tends to be the genre we lose touch with.

The new-age poets

But social media  blamed often for making us read less  is determined to surprise, yet again. On Instagram, jostling for followers alongside #foodporn photos, filtered vacation landscapes, and the deluge of selfies is good old poetry.

READ MORE: How social media is reviving book clubs

Mumbai-based student Harnidh Kaur (21) has 10.6k Instagram followers, and launched a book earlier this year. A YouTube video of Shamir Reuben (23; content head at a performance art platform) performing a spoken word piece called Everythings Fine clocked 41,000 views in 10 days. Then, 21-year-old poet Kusha Verma, the chief amazement officer (founder, in other words) of Art Refurbish, an online publishing platform, has 7,673 followers on Instagram.

These poets post their work primarily on Instagram. On a purely visual medium, the poetry has been adapted and turned into a visual experience: typewriter fonts, backgrounds of yellowed paper or plain white, and the occasional accompanying sketch.

READ MORE: From pubs to art galleries: How poetry is getting cool again

And it works for a generation collectively suffering from attention deficit. The poems are short, and written simply, something youd figure out instantly. Consider Reubens work. His Instagram feed is a series of life lessons: Adversity throws bricks at you. Experience teaches you how to build walls, reads one of his posts. The Mumbai-based poet says, I started writing poetry at 17. [But] It wasnt until turning 20 that I felt like I was writing good poetry. The good thing about social media is the interaction is two-way; so theres feedback and the encouragement acts as an incentive to keep writing.

A photo posted by DesiDramaQueen//Jugni (@harnidhk) on Oct 4, 2016 at 3:30am PDT

Social media has also made poetry accessible to an audience thats constantly online. People may not buy a book of poetry or subscribe to a magazine for it, points out Nilesh Mondal (23), a poet and engineering student from Asansol, West Bengal. Mondal, who posts as @hungover.hamlet, is also a writer with TTT (Terribly Tiny Tales), a micro-fiction collective. He adds that in smaller cities, where not many poetry-related events take place, the internet is a saviour.

How it all began

The rise of the Instagram poet, like so many other trends, first occurred in the West. New Zealand-based Lang Leav, who writes on love and heartbreak, struck gold in 2012 when her work began to be noticed. Leav (275k Instagram followers) launched her first poetry collection, Love & Misadventure, in 2013, and is slated to launch her fourth collection, The Universe of Us, this month. According to The New York Times, Leavs three collections have collectively sold more than 300,000 copies so far.

A photo posted by Lang Leav (@langleav) on Sep 29, 2016 at 6:03pm PDT

Leav is not alone. Her partner, Michael Faudet (97.5k followers) also has two best-sellers to his name. He writes on love and erotica. Other Instapoets such as Tyler Knott Gregson (303k followers) and RM Drake (1.6m followers), too, have gone on to sign book deals.

We followed the trend, even borrowed the typed-out layouts. Micro-fictions beauty lies in being minimalist and poignant; therefore, the large blank spaces with little text, says Reuben. He creates his posts using an app, The Amazing Typewriter. Actor and Instapoet Arunoday Singh (33) is an exception here. He physically writes his Sufiana poetry in a calligraphic font, I write my poems in a journal, or any other piece of paper. I then take photos with my phone and play around with filters.

A photo posted by Arunoday Singh (@sufisoul) on Oct 5, 2016 at 6:02am PDT

But appearances notwithstanding, the Indian Instapoets seem to be consciously trying to be different.

Most popular international ones are known for their sentimental pieces. When you leave, it storms. The sky screams and weeps. You come home and it is painted once more, writes Gregson.

But with Indian poets, the themes are different, often serious. Kaurs writing is feminist. Mondals ranges from an erotica spin to Harry Potters characters (Imagine Luna Lovegood with her collection of sex toys  ropes and vibrators and lubricants) to a poem inspired by Omran Daqneesh, the Syrian child whose photo of being dazed in an ambulance became a symbol of the fallout of war (The kid who survived a war, died with his heart in hand).

A photo posted by Nilesh (@hungover.hamlet) on Aug 19, 2016 at 10:32am PDT

Kaur, who recently posted about war in light of the Uri attack, says she is not a fan of Lang Leav. A lot of international poets pander heavily to a market that wants easily digestible poetry. Indian poets are going beyond generic love poems, and writing about conflict, politics, identity, he says.

Writing about sensitive or controversial issues also brings with it extreme reactions. Kaur, who has often written on war, Kashmir and Manipur, says, There are always people with strong beliefs attacking your beliefs. Thats part and parcel of putting up your work on social media.

Going pro

Like international ones, home-grown Instapoets too have leveraged social media success into something bigger. Harnidh Kaur launched a collection of 66 poems, The Inability of Words (Writers Workshop India), this July. She says its sold over 500 copies, and she now has a book deal with Thought Catalog for next year. Mondal too, has a collection due next February.

The big question then is: is online poetry just a hobby or a viable career option? Kaur doesnt think its sustainable to be a poet. Shes studying for a Masters in public policy, and plans to work in policy or governmental administration. The market [for poetry in India] is growing, were making poetry sexy again, but being a poet is not sustainable, she says.

Leaving home. #ddtales #wordporn #writing A photo posted by Shamir Reuben (@thedevastateddreamer) on Nov 15, 2015 at 10:50am PST

On the other hand, Mondal remains optimistic: It seems ambitious right now, but in five years, I hope theres a big enough market. It doesnt help that publishing houses dont take a chance on emerging poets. The big, traditional houses work only with big names, he says.

Fortunately, social media doesnt have gatekeepers. Instapoets write for a generation that cant be bothered with the stamp of literary cred. As long as your poetry is simple, and compels one to feel or think, people will double tap on your post.

Tyler Knott Gregson (303k followers)

This American poet and photographers Instagram feed is positively dreamy. Sentimental poetry (often handwritten) on varied backgrounds  pictures, checkered paper, and torn and faded paper.

"Shall we begin now, now after all this waiting? Is this the new start?" . Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson A photo posted by Tyler Knott Gregson (@tylerknott) on Oct 2, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

RM Drake (1.6m followers)

Romantic poetry on a minimalist background. The Miami-based writer has seven books to his name, and one more, Broken Flowers, slated to launch later this year.

A photo posted by R. M. Drake (@rmdrk) on Oct 5, 2016 at 6:43pm PDT

Atticus (270k followers)

People get tattoos of his poetry. Enough said.

Lang Leav (274k followers)

Leavs poetry is widely loved for the emotions it evokes: of love, longing and loss. Her fourth collection of poems, The Universe of Us, will launch this month.

From my book Lullabies  Available now. Link in bio  A photo posted by Lang Leav (@langleav) on Aug 27, 2016 at 7:14pm PDT

Michael Faudet (97.3k followers)

Mostly erotic, occasionally sappy poetry. Faudets book, Dirty Pretty Things, was a best-seller.

A photo posted by Michael Faudet (@michaelfaudet) on Oct 1, 2016 at 3:37pm PDT

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Congress corporators told the Bhopal civic bodys general council meeting on Thursday they would not allow goods from China and Pakistan enter the city, a move that comes amid increasing cross-border tensions.

The Congress members stand and opposition leader Mohammed Sageers statements on civic bodys properties stalled the council meeting that was organised to discuss poor road maintenance, water supply problems and the proposed smart city.

We will not let any crackers, lights and decorative items made in China enter Bhopal. We have put forward a proposal at the general council meeting and will talk to mayor and commissioner on the issue, said Congress corporator Monu Saxena.

If needed, we wont hesitate to (stage a) demonstrate. After the Uri terror attack that killed 19 soldiers and the following strikes, we need to ban goods from China and Pakistan in Bhopal, said Saxena.

Congress corporator Yogendra Chouhan demanded that the BMC ban goods from Pakistan such as mangoes, onions and carpets.

During the question hour, Sageer accused the civic body of being involved in corruption and sought to know how much the BMC gets from movable and immovable properties. The statements angered mayor Alok Sharma who asked Sageer to follow the code of conduct.

The council gave nod to the proposals presented during the meeting. The BMC has received offers for three shops located at the multi-level parking projects at MP Nagar and Sant Hirdaram Nagar. These shops are among the 92 shops for which BMC has decided to sell it to the highest bidder.

Under the Immovable property transfer rules 2016, the lease of Kendriya Bhandar Nigam, Chola road will be renewed for 30 years. Also, 18 shops at the multi-level parking in Sant Hirdaram Nagar will be allotted to the State Bank of India on rent for five years.

Just like the BMC has started garbage collection from door to door, the waste dumped on roads by residents during construction would now be picked up by the BMC using dumpers for a charge of Rs 1,500 per trip.

The other decisions included termination of deputations of six officers. The action was taken after a HT report highlighted that the officials were not following rules and extending their deputation for more than three years.
Recently, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan was upset when she was asked about questions about her pregnancy and whether shes expecting a boy or a girl. Reacting to this, sister-in-law and actor Soha Ali Khan says, Given that theres so much scrutiny a celebrity is subjected to, I feel Kareena is handling all these baseless questions very well. Its not anyones business to ask about babys gender. Its outright indecent. People should strictly refrain from invading anyones privacy.

Soha is quite excited and cant wait to welcome the first child of brother actor Saif Ali Khan and Kareena. Not divulging much about how the family is preparing for the special day, Soha says, The date is coming close but I dont want to say too much because I feel they (Saif and Kareena) are such big stars in their own right and this is something they probably are choosing to be private about. So its really not my place or responsibility to say anything when it concerns them, apart from saying than just as a family member.

Actor Soha Ali Khan feels its wrong to invade Kareena Kapoors privacy and ask irrelevant questions about her pregnancy. (Waseem Gashroo/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

When asked if shes taking any special care of Kareena, Soha quips, Shes very healthy and looking after herself very well along with the doctors. I dont have to worry much. Bhai and her are doing a good job of that.

Soha further shares that the entire family is very excited. They are a lovely couple. They are both every happy with this phase of their life. And so is everyone else in the house, she says.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Some days ago, there were reports that Pakistani actor Fawad Khan left India after threats from political outfit Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

MNS had said that the Pakistani actors working in India will be beaten up if they dont leave the country by September 25.

The threat came in the wake of the terror attack in Uri, J&K, last month, in which 19 Indian troops were killed.

Subsequently, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) passed a motion to ban artistes from across the border from working in the industry till Indo-Pak relations are normalised.

Now, Khan has responded to the controversy in a Facebook post. He says, Ive been in Lahore since July as my wife and I had been expecting our second child.

Ive received numerous requests from the media and from well wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks. As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow, adds Khan.

You can read his FB post here:

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Of late, a number of Indian actors such as Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Nimrat Kaur have made it to the international arena. Irrfan Khan, who is considered one of the best Indian exports to Hollywood, feels it is high time Indian talent makes a mark in the west. Its possible to see that dream (of working in Hollywood) now, says the actor, adding, And why not? After all, thats the industry that addresses the whole world.

The Life of Pi (2012) star is happy to be working in Europe as well. Ive also done a film in Bangladesh. If I do two-three films [in Hindi] and have time in hand, I explore projects abroad. I am fortunate to get these opportunities and work with different kinds of people, he says.

However, there are several Indian actors who are also spreading false news about them bagging roles in Hollywood films. That wont work. Let them fake it. Its an individuals choice as to how they wish to carve their [career] paths. I dont want to pass any judgment on that, says Irrfan, who will next be seen in a film alongside Tom Hanks.

Deepika Padukone will be seen alongside Vin Diesel in XXX: Return of Xander Cage.

The Haasil (2003) actor admits that one can earn four times the amount [in Bollywood] in the kind of time one devotes there (in Hollywood). Of late, Irrfan has become a benchmark for quality work, but he refuses to take such a perception of his acting skills seriously.

Priyanka Chopra will be seen with Dwayne The Rock Johnson in Baywatch. (Viral Bhayani)

I havent noticed such things (people holding his work in high regard). But even if I notice that, I wont give it any importance. If people feel the need to create such an opinion, so be it. It doesnt matter to me. But, having said that, if you become a kind of benchmark, it is a good thing, he says.

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Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is currently in his village Budhana, had to pull out of a Ramleela programme there place after members of Shiv Sena raised objection.

Shiv Sena district head Mukesh Sharma claims he had approached police and asked the committee to drop Nawazuddin from participating in the show. Our objection is with his name as well as the person. His sister-in-law has filed a case against him. He is trying to use this role to get back his social prestige. We will not allow this. For over 50 years, no Muslim has been a part of the production. Why should this be allowed now? We went to the police and our members went around town to spread the word and urge people to stop this, he says.

The Ramlila program featuring Nawazuddin has been cancelled following opposition by some Hindu activists, SP (rural) Rakesh Jolly said. The organisers had to cancel the programme after the activists approached them and expressed their displeasure over Nawazuddins participation, he added.

President of the Ram Leela Committee Damodar Prasad Sharma told Indian Express,  A few members of the Shiv Sena didnt want a Muslim man to play a character in Ram Leela. Then the police told us that we should not let Nawazuddin participate and, if at all we do, and there is a problem during the show, we will have to take responsibility. We were not ready for that, there were just too many people in the audience, we couldnt have controlled the crowds in case of a ruckus.

The actor, known for his critically-acclaimed performances in many Hindi blockbusters, however, has not lost hope and promised his fans that he will return next year. My childhood dream could not come true, but will definitely be a part of Ramleela next year. Check the rehearsals, he tweeted with a link of the rehearsal video.

Nawazuddin did not comment on the people who were against his appearance on the stage, saying he had to cancel his appearance to maintain peace in the village. There were some technical issues. I got the order that I should not do it as it was important to maintain peace in the village, he told a news channel.

My childhood dream could not come true, but will definitely be a part of Ramleela next year.

Check the rehearsals. pic.twitter.com/euOYSgsm3F  Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) October 6, 2016

We were really looking forward to his performance. Over 2,000 people had come here yesterday but a few hours before the show we were told he will not perform, Dharmendra Goyal, who plays Marich in the production told Indian Express. He rehearsed for two hours with the team yesterday, learnt the lines but the plans changed in the last minute, Goyal added.

(With PTI inputs)

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Ajay Devgn has become the first Bollywood A-lister to speak openly in support of Pakistani artists getting banned in Bollywood. In an interview with CNN-News18, he said, How do you expect me, when there is a constant exchange of bullets, to sit down and isolate them? 

On being asked whether he would work with the Pakistani actors, Devgn said, Not at the moment. I heard some people say that talks are the only way to continue. I want to see you getting into a fight with somebody after he gives you a tight slap on your face and you say lets have a talk right now.

Daring Devgn | @ajaydevgn's tough stand on Pak artistes: Should all Pak artistes be banned in Bollywood? Tell us what you think #Big5At10 pic.twitter.com/R9RYyV7Hms  News18 (@CNNnews18) October 6, 2016

He made an indirect jibe at his fellow actors who are supporting the idea of Pakistani actors working in Indian films. Its saddening. I dont know what the reasons are. I dont even believe that they are human beings are scared at this time.

He said, Country comes before money. What will you do with money if your country sinks?

He added, You cant clap with one hand. You keep talking to people but then they come and kill you. How can you still continue a dialogue?

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Aviation regulator DGCA may issue a fresh advisory on the use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones on board an aircraft after getting inputs from its US counterpart, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The DGCA is in touch with the FAA on the issue and the fresh advisory is likely to be put in public domain by next week, a senior DGCA official said, two days after a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught fire on a US airline flight.

Samsung has recalled one million of its Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones sold before September 15 after finding that some of their batteries had exploded or caught fire.

Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had banned the use of Galaxy Note 7 on flights and barred passengers from carrying them in check-in baggage, which it partially lifted on September 30.

The FAA guidelines prohibit carrying of Galaxy Note7 device in the cargo, besides switching off all applications (in case of flight mode) as well as protecting the switch on/off button. We are touch with the FAA over the issue, and if it revisits these guidelines, we will also issue a fresh advisory on the use of device, the official said.

The FAA guidelines issued on September 16 prohibit air cargo shipments of recalled or defective lithium batteries and lithium battery-powered devices, and passengers may not turn on or charge the devices when they carry them on board a plane. Passengers must also protect the devices from accidental activation, including disabling any features that may turn on the device, such as alarm clocks, and must not pack them in checked luggage.

The DGCA, in a public notice on September 12, had advised air travellers not to turn on or charge the device and also not to stow them in their check-in baggage.

However, it later allowed passengers to use the device purchased after September 15 which has green battery charge indication. The ban remains on Galaxy Note 7 having a white battery charge indication on the screen and manufactured before September 15, which has seen battery overheating.

A Southwest Airline flight from Louisville International Airport in Kentucky to Baltimore was reportedly evacuated on Wednesday after a passengers Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone released smoke shortly before the take off.

Samsung had said there was no evidence that this incident was related to the new Note 7 and that they were probing the matter.
On Friday morning, social media exploded with the apparent ad-coupe pulled by the makers of Pan Bahar brand of pan masala by roping in former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan closes the TV commercial with the line: Pan Bahar  Class never goes out of style.

While one is likely to find the obvious association between the Brosnan (sporting a grizzly beard like the captain in Titanic movie) and class, the ad world provides a more pragmatic twist to the tale.

Brosnan is Irish and self regulating codes dispensed by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is unlikely to be applied to him with the same zeal as it would be for an Indian celebrity.

When Saif did it (endorse Pan Bahar before Brosnan), he had to be doubly careful about what he says, not use his signature etc. One slip and he could be hauled up by the government for promoting a habit that risks consumers health. With Brosnan it is different. If something goes wrong who is going to haul Brosnan to the court here, according to a senior advertising executive with one of Indias biggest ad agencies.

Apart from Saif Ali Khan, in 2014 actor Priyanka Chopra had also endorsed similar brand Rajnigandha for its cardamom mouth freshener brand Silver Pearls but not for the pan masala made by the same DS Group that owns the brand.

This is not just a perception issue, but one that can potentially turn into a media nightmare for the brand custodians, say experts.

In April this year, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended new laws that could allow celebrities to be fined and jailed (Rs 50 lakh and five years) for misleading consumers.

However ASCI codes, according to the councils general secretary Shweta Purandare, does not differentiate between an Indian or a foreign celebrity. The codes just expect brands to provide the necessary health warnings if the products being advertised are potentially harmful for human consumption.

ASCI is a self-regulating body with no legal powers. The recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in April had also sought to provide legal powers to the council.
The tepid response to the governments ambitious spectrum auction is likely to leave a big hole in the governments fiscal balances. While excise tax collections have risen and recoveries from the income declaration scheme should also help, it will still be a tight rope walk to meet fiscal targets, say economists.

The government had put a record 2,354 MHz of mobile frequencies up for sale, but managed to sell only 40% of it. The spectrum auctions that ended on Thursday will help the government raise Rs 65,789 crore.

However, the government will only get an upfront payment of Rs 32,000 crore this year, while the rest will be paid over a 10-year period. This leaves a gap of about Rs 30,000 crore in governments finances, since it had budgeted Rs 1 lakh crore to come from telecom services, which included about 65,000 crore from spectrum auctions and rest from license renewals and deferred payments from previous auctions.

There will be a shortfall of Rs 30,000 crore due to the tepid response in the spectrum auction. While, the government will get around Rs 30,000 from the income declaration scheme, it will still be a tight rope walk. The kind of surpluses that were expected wont be available and it will again be a case of cutting corners, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Ratings.

Analysts say the spectrum auctions got a tepid response due to high pricing in the 700 MHz band, which saw no buyers at all and expect the government to lower the reserve prices for this band in the next round of auctions.

The fiscal math is running neck-to-neck between mounting pressures (shortfalls in disinvestments and spectrum sales receipts) and offsetting factors (higher than expected excise collections and income disclosure scheme). There is no space left for any additional spending, said Pranjul Bhandari, chief economist, India, HSBC Securities..

The government has set an ambitious fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP.

Spectrum sales apart, a lot is also riding on the governments divestment programme, where the government has set a target to raise Rs 56,500 crore for the year ending March 2017.

So far this year, the government has raised about Rs 20,000 crore from stake sales and share buybacks by a few public sector undertakings. However, economists expect meeting the full year disinvestment target will be an uphill task. Last year, the disinvestment target was cut by 63% to Rs 25,300 crore from budgeted Rs 69,500 crore.

HSBC believes, the government could yet meet its fiscal targets, but investment spending could suffer.

We anticipated that 2017, may not be a great year for investment demand as the country walks the fine line between macro stability (via meeting fiscal targets) and growth (via higher government capex), said Bhandari.

Nomuras economist Sonal Varma, however, there were unlikely to be any slippages in governments fiscal deficit targets due to better than expected indirect tax collections (27% year-on-year rise over April-August, versus budget target of 10%) and the collections from the income disclosure scheme.

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In hindsight, we know that at the time of Independence, Pakistans Quaid-e-Azam MA Jinnah had advanced tuberculosis and died just over a year later on September 11, 1948. Jinnahs illness was a closely guarded secret, known only to a small inner circle.

Today we ask: What if we had known back then? What would have been the course of history? Would India have been partitioned?

Read | The health of Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa is a matter of public concern

Nearly 70 years later, we remain just as clueless and in the dark about the true state of the health of our politicians.

In Tamil Nadu, speculation about the health of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, in hospital since September 22 for fever and dehydration, has gone from she is running office from her hospital bed to ventilator support. As a team of doctors from AIIMS rushes off to Chennai, Apollo Hospital says she is responding well. Tamil Nadu governor C Vidyasagar Rao also says she is recovering well, and her personal friend for long, former editor of The Hindu, Malini Parthasarthy tweeted that she is certainly recovering & out of danger as seen by a close associate who visited her at hospital.

Read | AIIMS doctor in Chennai to treat Jayalalithaa

These statements tell us nothing and do nothing to quell the wild conjecture. As devotees enact strange rituals including the piercing of their childrens cheeks, fake photographs and blood reports have gone viral. This past week, Chennai police booked a case against a woman for spreading rumours about Puratchi Thalaivi Ammas health.

The Madras High Court has asked the government to provide clarity and, coincidentally, Apollo Hospital issued its most detailed statement soon after saying she was being treated with antibiotics and was on respiratory support.

Every decent Indian wishes Jayalalithaa a speedy recovery. But the lack of transparency and the resulting rumours about her health  including the legitimate question of whos in charge of the party and the state  is worrying.

Read | CM Jayalalithaa in hospital, her adviser is in Tamil Nadu hot seat

From former prime minister AB Vajpayee to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, politicians in India have rarely been forthcoming about their health, taking refuge in the argument that they are entitled to their privacy.

We still dont know what ails Sonia Gandhi who this week made her first public appearance two months after she collapsed and injured her shoulder during a rally in Varanasi  though speculation about her health goes back further. In 2015 when Vajpayee received the Bharat Ratna from President Pranab Mukherjee at home, every newspaper and website carried the same photograph that strategically shielded his face. Why?

Read | How is Jayalalithaa? Rumour abuzz on Twitter despite denials, health reports

Are people in public life entitled to privacy? Hillary Clintons collapse during a 9/11 service led to worldwide speculation about her health. This wasnt gossip but a legitimate question about the physical capabilities of someone running for office. Hillary had only herself to blame for not being more candid about a bout of pneumonia, leading to a needless debate about possible character flaws including a tendency to be secretive.

In India, media have happily colluded with politicians to protect personal details, including dalliances and romances. Do we as citizens have some god-given right to know if a minister has a mistress or two? I would say no, unless there is a conflict of interest or abuse of power. Are tickets being given, for instance, in lieu of sexual favours? Is a girlfriends relative getting an undue business advantage? We cannot even begin to answer these questions without first knowing the facts.

Read | Harming children for Jayalalithaas health is not acceptable

Where health is concerned, there can be no secrecy. There is an unstated, sacred pact between elector and elected. When I vote for a candidate, I assume that person is of sound health, physically and mentally. I dont need blood, stool and urine reports. But if that person should fall ill and end up in hospital for close to two weeks, then, yes, I have the right to know. I have the right to know not just because its my taxpayer money but because in a democracy, people voted to office are accountable.

When someone in elected office refuses full disclosure on health, it is disrespectful to voters and to the idea of democracy itself.

The author tweets at @namitabhandare. The views expressed are personal.

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NEW DELHI: The level of pollution caused by fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in Delhi will continue to

exceed normal limits even if all emissions inside the city were stopped, as over 40 per cent of it originates outside the NCR, a study has found.

About 60 to 80 per cent of ozone concentration in Delhi was also attributed to sources outside the city in the report, prepared jointly by TERI and the University of California, San Diego.

This study finds that in-house sources in Delhi contribute about 32 per cent (1065 per cent) of the air pollution in Delhi, while NCR (National Capital Region) sources (other than Delhi) contribute an additional 25 per cent (1337 per cent).

The remaining 43 per cent (2563 per cent) is the background due to sources outside of NCR, the report says.

The analyses and solutions suggested in the report released here today at the World Sustainable Development Summit organised by TERI, are based on a synthesis of studies and reports done over the last decade.

Even if all emissions from Delhi were to be stopped, the PM (particulate matter) levels would still exceed the standards at several locations in the city, mainly due to higher contributions from outside regions to Delhis air quality, it says.

The safe limits of PM 2.5 and PM 10, microscopic particles that can enter and embed deep into the lungs and subsequently the bloodstream, are 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.

It also offers 10 scalable solutions to reduce air pollution across the country, focusing on regional cooperation and a multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination including the launch of a National Clean Air Mission.

Switch to low-sulphur fuels (10 ppm) and implement Bharat VI (similar to Euro VI) standards for engine emissions...Implement wall-to-wall paving of streets and vacuum cleaning of roads; enforce ban on open burning of solid waste; manage waste and recovery of methane from landfills, are among the suggestions.

Indias efforts to meet its Paris INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) will significantly reduce air pollution, the report states.

The monitored annual average PM 2.5 concentrations in Delhi have varied between 60 mg/m3 to 140 mg/m3, as measured by different agencies, such as Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and SAFAR, during the last few years.
SRINAGAR: Security forces gunned down seven militants in Kashmir on Thursday, including three who tried to storm an army camp in Kashmir, the second such strike in the Valley after the Uri attack.

Four infiltrators were killed when the army repelled three infiltration bids along the Line of Control, a signal that Pakistan has stepped up the offensive after Indian forces struck

militants preparing to sneak into India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29. Two global positioning system sets and two wireless sets with code sheets of the kind used by Lashkar-e-Taiba were recovered from militants who attacked the 30 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) camp in Kupwara, intelligence sources said.

The terrorists fired indiscriminately on our sentry posts and on our jawans in the resting area. However, alert action by the jawans forced the militants to retreat, colonel Rajiv Sarang, commanding officer of 30 RR, said.

After repelling the attack, security forces launched a search operation, forcing the militants into an orchard. Three militants were killed in the two-hour gunfight.

A large cache of arms, including three AK-47 rifles and grenade launchers, food and medicines bearing Pakistani markings were also recovered from them, the army said.

The army overnight beat back two infiltration bids in Naugam sector in Kupwara and one in Rampur in Uri along the LoC, the third such attempt after Indias surgical strikes.

Four bodies were recovered during the combing operations in Naugam, an army spokesperson said.

The Langate camp is not too far from the military post in Baramulla targetted by six militants on October 2 that left a Border Security Force jawan dead.

The strike came within days of the worst attack against the army in the border state when 19 soldiers were killed by suspected Pakistani militants in Uri.

India crossed the line of control, the de facto border, to avenge the strike, worsening the ties with Pakistan which says the so-called cross-LoC raid was nothing but cross-border firing.

Meanwhile, Pakistans powerful army chief lashed out at India on Thursday, warning that any act of aggression from New Delhi would not go unpunished as tensions spiked between the two countries.

General Raheel Sharif in a televised speech said Pakistans armed forces will react with a befitting response to such a move.

Pakistan is a responsible country and remains committed to follow the policy of friendship with all other countries based on the principles of equality and mutual respect. While doing so, the armed forces of Pakistan remain fully prepared to give the most befitting response to any kind of internal and external threat posed to our nation, Sharif said.

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BISADA (GREATER NOIDA): A 22-year-old man accused of lynching a Muslim villager was hailed as a martyr on Thursday and his body draped in the tricolour in Bisada village even as a saffron leader said the sacrifice of the young boy will not go in vain.

Though the state government announced a compensation of `10 lakh for the family of Ravin alias Robin  who died on Tuesday in a hospital while in judicial custody  villagers refused to perform the last rites till their demand for Rs 1 crore relief was met.

The villagers consider my son a martyr. He died without trial as he was tortured in jail at the behest of the government, said Ranveer Sisodiya, father of Ravin.

The lynching of 55-year-old Mohammad Ikhlaq on September 28 last year over suspicion of cow slaughter for consumption had sparked outrage and the BJP-led government at the Centre pilloried by opposition parties allegedly failing to rein in fringe groups curbing freedom of personal choice.

Prominent historians, litterateurs, scientists and filmmakers had returned awards as a mark of protest against what they said was growing intolerance in India.

Ravin was among 18 people arrested for allegedly lynching local Ikhlaq and injuring his son Danish. On Thursday, the state government also agreed to a CBI probe into the death of Ravin, who is said to have succumbed to respiratory and renal failure, but the villagers refused to relent. They are also demanding a government job for Ravins wife.

We have formed a committee of villagers who will discuss the demands with the administration. We are also trying to resolve the issue, said Hariom Sisodiya, husband of village pradhan Kaushalya Devi.

Nearly 300 residents of the village continued a protest demonstration in front of Ravins house even as the administration deployed a large number of security personnel in the village.

We are trying to pacify the protesters. The last rites will be done once the villagers agree, said NP Singh, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Pro-Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachi, who visited the village on Thursday defying prohibitory orders, accused the state government of favouring the Muslims.

Hindus shall unite against the government. They are testing our patience, Prachi said.

The police, however, said that people who wanted to visit the deceaseds house were allowed to enter the village.

There is no communal tension in the village. People are tensed as a person has diedAlso, we are video recording the speeches of all people, said Dharmendra Singh, senior superintendent of police, Gautam Budh Nagar.

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NEW DELHI: Delhi food and supplies minister Imran Hussain and his four associates were denied anticipatory bail by a Delhi court here on Thursday.

Hussain, along with his associates  Mohsin Ahmed, Furkan Hussain, Irfan Hussain and Hammad, were accused of demanding rs 30 lakh from a Delhi resident.

The complainant had accused the minister and his associates of threatening to demolish his under-construction building if he failed to pay the money.

The complainant had also alleged that he was abused and one of the ministers associate flashed a pistol at him and threatened to implicate him in a rape or a murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma dismissed the application after considering that the matter was serious and the offence was not compoundable.

The judge said, Considering the evidence so far, I do not find it a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail.

An FIR was registered against the minister and four others at Jafrabad Police Station early this year.

The complaint was registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 387 (putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion) and 389 (putting person in fear of accusation of offence, in order to commit extortion) of the IPC.
CHENNAI: Apollo Hospital on Thursday released the first relatively detailed health bulletin on Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa since her hospitalisation last month, stating that she would have to remain under medical care for a longer duration.

The document said a panel of medical experts had arrived at the consensus that the current line of treatment  comprising decongestion of lungs, nebulisation for breathing, administration of antibiotics, supportive therapy, and general nursing care  should continue.

A detailed medical management plan has been drawn up in view of Jayalalithaas history of diabetes and winter bronchitis, it added.

Earlier in the day, the Madras high court had dismissed a petition seeking information on Jayalalithaas medical condition, saying it was meant for publicity.

A bench comprising chief justice Sanjay Kaul and justice R Mahadevan took this action after hearing a public interest litigation filed by petitioner KR Traffic Ramaswamy on October 3.

The veteran social activist, who has often found himself at loggerheads with the AIADMK government, claimed that the public had the right to know the actual status of the chief ministers health.

Three specialists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi were also called in to assist the team attending on Jayalalithaa. The trio  comprising pulmonologist Dr GC Khilnani, cardiologist Dr Nitish Naik and anaesthetist Dr Anjan Trikha  reportedly held detailed discussions on her medical condition through the course of the day. Dr Richard John Beale, a world-renowned specialist and consultant from London, visited Chennai a second time to assist the team in an advisory role.

The chief minister was hospitalised on September 22 after she complained of high fever and dehydration, and the rumour mills have been running overtime since then. Initial press releases from the hospital failed to throw any light on the exact nature of her ailment, creating further confusion.

Ramaswamys petition cited several rumours regarding Jayalalithaa that had been doing the rounds, causing concern among party workers and well-wishers. Stressing on the need to dispel such talk, he said no information had emerged on the nature of the patients illness despite senior state ministers and Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Rao visiting her on separate occasions.
NEW DELHI: Some international publishers have approached the Delhi High Court, challenging a single judge verdict last month allowing the sale of photocopied pages of their books in Delhi University for use by students.

Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press (UK), Cambridge University Press India Pvt Ltd, Taylor and Francis Group (UK) and Taylor and Francis Books India Pvt Ltd has moved the division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Pratibha Rani.

The publishers said a stay on the single bench verdict was needed as it had led not only one photocopy shop, but hundreds of them, to sell photocopies.

We have kept the matter for final disposal on November 29We shall hear you and pass the order. So as of now, no interim order, the bench said.

The September 16 verdict was considered a landmark decision that was likely to lend relief to thousands of students from buying all books prescribed as suggested reading for their courses.

The publishers contended that through this appeal, we seek assurance that copyright law in India will balance the interests of those creating learning materials here in India as well as globally, with those requiring access to them in a fair and sustainable manner.

The single judge verdict had lifted a ban on a photocopier kiosk inside Delhi University from issuing copies of chapters from textbooks of the international publishers. The court had said the copyright in literary works did not confer absolute ownership to the authors.

The international publishing giants had alleged that the kiosk was violating their copyright and at the instance of Delhi University was causing huge financial losses as students stopped buying their text books.

But the court had remarked that, The students can never be expected to buy all the books, different portions whereof are prescribed as suggested reading and can never be said to be the potential customers of the plaintiffs.
NEW DELHI: Disappointed that Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal couldnt suggest measures to prevent chikungunya outbreak in future, the Supreme Court criticised them for letting the people suffer.

Exasperated that its October 4 direction to the authorities to hold a meeting bore no results, the bench, comprising justices MB Lokur and AK Roy, was left with no option but to ask Delhis health secretary whether tea was served at Wednesdays meeting.

So was there tea served. What about the snacks? Were they served too? And did you have the tea and snacks while the meeting was on or before it, the bench asked him.

Embarrassed, the secretary kept mumbling and clarified that there were no snacks but just biscuits.

The bench was infuriated to note that the CM and his health minister gave no inputs at the meeting. Pointing to the minutes of the meeting, prepared by the L-Gs office, the bench said all other heads of civic agencies and authorities presented their views. However, there was no end result. It said the minutes were silent on what strategy needs to be adopted to prevent a similar outbreak in future. You have no contribution in the meeting. You didnt say a word, the bench told senior advocate CU Singh, the counsel representing the health minister.

On senior advocate Colin Go nsalve s s intervention, the bench agreed to give authorities another chance and tasked them to hold another meeting on Thursday. Asking Gonsalves to beaparticipant, thebenchnoted: We hope they listen to you because they dont listen to us. Gonsalves was asked to take an assistant along to prepare minutes of the meeting.

Solicitor general Ranjit Kumar assured the bench of a positive outcome. Appearing for the health secretary, he said the participants had a baggage in the last meeting. But it wont be repeated, he said.

The bench outlined points for discussion. They must discuss the steps to be taken to prevent the problem faced by people this year and the future measures, the bench ordered, asking authorities to take effective steps to clean garbage strewn all over the city.

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New Delhi

Former deputy commissioner of police, Delhi, was sentenced a two-year jail term on Friday by a special court, after being convicted for amassing assets disproportionate to his income.

Special CBI Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna handed down the punishment to Bhupinder Singh Bola and also imposed a fine of R 5 lakh on the 1993-batch IPS officer.

He was convicted for offences under section 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant) read with 13(1)(e) (possession of disproportionate assets by public servant) of Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

Bola, who has been convicted in a 2001 case for amassing assets worth over R10 lakh disproportionate to his income, was granted bail on a personal surety of R 50,000.

Earlier in this case, the CBI had filed a chargesheet on the basis of a complaint that he possessed assets disproportionate to his income.

Raids were conducted at his residence and other places where several documents were recovered which showed that he owned one farmhouse, agriculture lands in villages, a flat in Mayur Vihar and two flats in Krishana Nagar.

CBI sleuths while conducting raid at Bolas residence in 2001 found that he possessed assets worth over R 10 lakh.

The chargesheet read that the CBI had started trailing him from January 1989 to June 2001 when he was posted as Additional DCP North district. At the time of registration of the case, he was posted Managing Director, Pondichery Distilleries in June 2001. Most of the assets were acquired by Bola during this period.

The court said that Bhola is convicted for the offence punishable under section 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant), 13(1)(e) (possession of disproportionate assets by public servant) of Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday dissolved the Delhi Wakf Board and cancelled the appointment of Okhla legislator Amanatullah Khan as Wakf Board chairman and Mehboob Alam as its CEO.

Jung also recommended a CBI probe into their appointments and the reconstitution of the board by the AAP government.

The development comes at a time when a three-member committee is reviewing all decisions of the Arvind Kejriwal government that were taken without prior approval of the city administrator. The committee was constituted following the Delhi High Court order on August 4, declaring L-G as the citys administrative head.

Amanatullah was appointed chairman in October 2015 while the board was reconstituted in March this year.

Read more: AAP MLA Khan resigns from govt posts, booked for sexual harassment

The L-G office declared the appointments illegal and void ab initio, for not having the approval of the competent authority and revoked the notifications concerned.

The secretary (revenue) will now run the affairs till a new board is constituted. The L-G also directed the official to reconstitute the board, which is custodian of a majority of the city mosques, graveyards besides several charitable institutions and commercial properties.

Jung has directed divisional commissioner A Anbarasu to constitute a committee to review the legality and propriety of all decisions taken by the board after its constitution in March 2016 and submit a report within a month.

In view of the deliberate and persistent acts of illegality, violation of rules, allegations of corruption, possibility of malafide etc, the whole matter related to Delhi Wakf Board is referred to the CBI for investigation, a statement from the L-G office said.

Sacked chairman Amanatullah termed the decision political vendetta. Procedures were followed under the watch of the divisional commissioner. Why no questions were raised then. Even if the approval was mandatory, why dissolve the board. Post facto approval could be granted as everything was done as per the rules. We are being targeted, as I have been raising voices against the irregularities by previous board members, Amanatullah told HT.

Earlier this month, Amanatullah had filed a complaint with the anti-corruption branch (ACB) alleging irregularities in the development of 62 bighas of Wakf land in Narela in 2006.

Before his complaint, a plaint was filed in the ACB by Mohammad Mustafa alleging recruitment scam in the board in 2016. Two members of the board had resigned alleging corruption and irregularities in appointments in the regime of Khan, who denied the charges. A team of ACB had raided board office on September 9.
A six-year-old girl raped in Gurgaons Kherki Daula on Thursday evening has been admitted in Delhis Safdarjung hospital in a critical condition.

Police on Friday arrested two people for the crime.

The main accused, Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Uttaranchal, works at a dhaba in Delhi, police said. He lived in Kherki Daula at his sisters house till a few months ago.

On Tuesday, he visited his sister with his friend Suresh Kumar when he noticed the girl outside her house.

Rakesh asked the girl about the location of a chicken shop and when she pointed towards a shop, he asked her to escort them, said investigating officer, sub-inspector Suman.

The accused offered to give her sweets and noodles and she went with them. Rakesh raped her at a secluded spot near a cremation ground while the co-accused kept an eye on passers-by, the officer said.

The accused reportedly gagged the victim and then raped her. The girl managed to scream, alerting people walking by. The locals nabbed the accused and handed him over to the police.

The victims parents, who hail from Madhya Pradesh and work as labourers in a local factory, were at work when the incident happened.

The parents rushed her to the civil hospital in Gurgaon from where the doctors referred her to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi. The girl has reportedly been operated upon and is in critical condition.

The police booked the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Police said the accused were arrested and sent to 14 days judicial custody.

The officer said the victim is in shock.
National Law University, Delhi, will conduct the next edition of the All India National Law Entrance Test (AILET) on May 7, 2017. AILET 2017 is for admission to the five-year BALLB (hons) programme, one-year LLM and PhD programmes. The application form will be available on the university website from January 1, 2017. Prof GS Bajpai, registrar, NLU, issued a circular on the test. The question paper consists of English, general knowledge, legal aptitude, reasoning, and elementary mathematics.

For the five-year programme, candidates should have passed senior secondary school examination (10+2) or equivalent examination in any discipline with 50% marks. Students appearing in the Class 12 examination in March/April, 2017 can also apply. Aspirants should complete LLB or an equivalent degree with 55% marks (50% in case of SC/ST/ persons with disability). The candidates appearing in final LLB examination in April/May, 2017 can also apply.

Aspirants need to first register themselves on the universitys official website by entering the required information, including their email id and their scanned photograph. After registration, candidates will have to fill the application form, followed by payment of application fee.

Read more: Law students oppose need for nationality certificate

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The British Council is inviting applications from scientists, engineers, mathematicians and researchers for FameLab India 2017  a science communication platform that it launched in India earlier this year. The competition is aimed at presenting scientific concepts in an interesting and innovative manner to the non-science audience. Open to applicants aged over 20  40 years as on June 1, 2016, the competition requires students to fill in an application form and submit a three-minute video of their science talk in a unique format. The winner of the national competition will get an opportunity to represent India and compete with contestants from over 27 countries at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK in June 2017. The last date for applying is October 30, 2016.

In India, our key focus is in three areas: education and science, culture and promoting the English language. India is on the cusp of a digital and technological revolution. We would like to work with the next generation of young Indians to help them present useful science in an interesting and innovative manner. Scientific information is becoming an essential and integral part of peoples daily lives. We want to create a platform that promotes a culture of science and improves peoples understanding of science and science-related information, said Alan Gemmell, OBE, director, British Council India.

The competition will provide a platform for researchers to put forth their ideas to the public in an interesting manner; enhance their communication and presentation skills; and engage with like-minded individuals and alumni network. Shortlisted applicants from each region will get an opportunity to attend a fully funded science communication workshop jointly delivered by UK and Indian trainers in each region. The finalists will also get an opportunity to attend a science communication masterclass led by the best UK trainers.

National FameLab programmes currently run in Australia, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, US and Vietnam.

For registration or more information, click here.

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Close to cross-country skiing, but more widely accessible, Nordic walking is attracting more and more sports and nature lovers in various parts of the world.

Here is a run-down of the main benefits of fitness walking with specially designed poles.

A lower BMI

Walking is a fully fledged endurance sport that can bring down your weight. A study of the discipline by the University of Toulouse reported that fitness walkers benefited from a lower BMI (body mass index) that was clearly apparent after 12 months of practice.

Involving all of the bodys muscle chains, Nordic walking uses more energy, up to 40% more than walking without poles. For experienced walkers who hit the road two or three times a week this can amount to a calorie burn of between 1200 to 1500 kcal.

Using 80% of muscles

Unlike regular walking or running, Nordic walking makes use of all of the bodys muscles: thighs, buttocks, pectorals, biceps, triceps, back, abdominal and pelvic muscles are all put to work without exerting undue pressure on joints.

According to a study of the discipline by the University of Toulouse, seniors who reinforce their limb muscles are better able to balance on one foot. Walking with poles also facilitates a more upright posture, which puts less pressure on the spine.

Hiking is also good for your brain

For experienced walkers who hit the road two or three times a week Nordic walking can amount to a calorie burn of between 1200 to 1500 kcal. (Shutterstock)

Long walks in the open air oxygenate the brain and reduce stress. On average 1-2 km/h faster than regular hiking, Nordic walking enables practitioners to breathe better.

Benefiting from improved posture and more lateral support, Nordic walkers take in up to 60% more oxygen than regular walkers.

A sport that is also a social occasion

Most Nordic walkers cite the group atmosphere as one of the attractions of their sport. Walks are also social occasions that help to boost morale.

No doubt this is one of the reasons why regular walkers tend to increase the time they spend on the trails: after 12 months of practice, walkers progress from an average of 2-3 hours to 3-4 and a half hours of physical activity per week.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
Life expectancy worldwide has jumped by a decade since 1980, rising in 2015 to 69 years for men and nearly 75 for women, according to a comprehensive overview of global health released on Thursday.

These extra years came in large measure thanks to a sharp drop in deaths from communicable diseases, especially over the last decade, said the Global Burden of Disease report, published in The Lancet.

Despite population increases, combined mortality from HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis  both major killers  fell by more than a quarter, from 3.1 million in 2005 to 2.3 million in 2015.

Over this period, annual deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases decreased by 20% . And malaria mortality plummeted by more than a third, from 1.2 million in 2005 to 730,000 last year. During that decade, life expectancy went up in 188 of 195 countries and territories.

At the same time, however, non-communicable diseases of all kinds  ranging from cancers to heart disease and stroke  claimed more lives, with the death toll rising from 35 million in 2005 to 39 million in 2015.

As we live longer, the burden of non-communicable diseases is rising  along with the attendant costs of treatment, Kevin Watkins, head of Save the Children UK, noted in a comment, also in The Lancet.

Many of the diseases on the rise are associated with ageing: cancers, coronary artery disease, cirrhosis of the liver and Alzheimers, among others.

The paradox is that even as lifespans grow, more people are spending more time in ill health of living with disabilities, the 100-page study found.

Centralising the expertise of nearly 1,900 experts, the report  coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle  comes at the juncture between two major UN health initiatives.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set in 2000, set hard targets for reducing child and maternal mortality, and combatting key communicable diseases, by 2015.

A 15-year clock on a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  several of them health related  began running last year.

The report is intended as a benchmark for this new effort.

There have been other major health gains over the last quarter century. The number of deaths of children under five, for example, dropped by more than 50 percent from 1990 to 2015, to 5.8 million.

National score cards

But that was still well short of the MDG calling for under-five mortality to be slashed by two-thirds. Had that target been met, another 14 million children would have survived to see their fifth birthday.

There were exceptions to the generally positive trends, many stemming from conflict. Since 2011, global deaths from war have risen massively due in large part to fighting in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

Male life expectancy in Syria has dropped more than 11 years since the civil war there began.

In 2015, the number of people displaced by armed conflict and disasters reached a record 65 million. Over half of the worlds refugees are children.

The report also graded countries, indicating whether mortality levels from specific causes were lower or higher than expected, taking into account each nations income and education levels, as well as fertility rates.

The United States, for example, scored very poorly on coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and drug abuse.

Many Eastern European countries scored poorly on these, as well as alcohol abuse and stroke.

Western European and East Asian countries, generally speaking, scored highest.

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A 20-year-old engineering student from Jaipur on Friday donned the hat of the Canadian High Commissioner to India for a day, holding parleys with top diplomats from other countries on gender equality.

Medha Mishra, who won a video competition conducted by the High Commission of Canada to win the once in a lifetime opportunity, chaired a delegation on girls rights and flagged off a run for gender equality as part of the missions activities to mark International Day of the Girl Child on October 11.

As the day drew to an end, Medha, who usually spends her day flipping through pages of coding and geometrical lines, was revelling in what she described was a tough job.

It was basically emulating what a High Commissioners day is like and honestly, it is quite a tough job. I got to attend a session with a few diplomats that included the Mexican Ambassador and Deputy Ambassadors from Canada, South Africa and Australia. I am glad that I got a chance to do this, given my current skills, she said.

The contest she won required women from across the country to explain in a video, Why girls rights are important and what can be done to achieve greater gender equality.

Medha participated in several public events to create awareness about the importance of girls rights including the run along Shanti Path with staff from several foreign missions in the city and students and volunteers.

I learnt that it does not take as much effort as it seems to raise awareness, she said.

A staunch feminist, Medha has very strong views on the issue of gender equality.

According to her, with half the population of the world being women, it is an issue that should be taken up globally.

I think it should bother us that we are okay with the metaphor of a glass ceiling and a sticky floor. That is something that globally as a society we should be working to tackle, she said.

Medha was joined by Jess Dutton, Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to India, for a chat with diplomats session at IILM Institute for Higher Education to discuss the issue of women in leadership with management students.
A corporate leader writes rapes happen because men cant bear accepting womens empowerment and a young mother says she will raise sons who respect women and difference of opinion.

These are some suggestions readers have sent in response to our series Lets talk about rape, for which eight eminent Indians are writing open letters about sexual assault in India. Actor Farhan Akhtars letter to his daughter discussed the crudity and vulgarity of Bollywood movies. Boxer Mary Koms open letter to her sons recalled the time she was molested. Novelist Shashi Deshpande asks men to understand that being gentle is not being unmanly. Politician Shashi Tharoor urges politicians not to support rapists

NR Acharyulu, corporate leader, says government alone cannot be held responsible

Its ironical that in a country that worships Goddess Durga, women and even children are raped and molested by men not only to satisfy their sexual thirst but also to derive meaningless pleasure. Such men do not fear the law of the land.

But there are cases where a woman protects her husband or father or brother accused of raping a woman with the least concern for the victim who is also a female.

Everyone should follow and respect a code of conduct as our defence forces do. Why cant our women and girls follow a dress code ie a dress that covers the body so that the other gender will not be tempted? A woman herself is responsible for bringing up her daughters. A woman herself is the enemy of another woman. Whos responsible for dowry deaths and divorces? Whos responsible for engineering the abortion when the young mother is going to deliver a female child?

We talk about freedom for women and about their empowerment. We talk about reserving 33% of the posts in an elected body for women. But we have been unable to bring the legislation. I think men do not want women to be educated or to occupy a position in the governing bodies or to compete with men as they think that their position and authority will be weakened.

Equal status should be given to both genders and 50% of seats in every position/employments/school or college admissions should be for women and girls.

The country needs a stringent law to punish rapists and molesters and even those who assist or shield the culprit. Fast track courts should be established in every district exclusively to deal with cases of rape and molestation. The judgment should be given within 3 months.

Education to all girls should be made compulsory and free of cost. Schools and colleges should teach about the importance of equal status to women. Students should be taught with a spiritual flavour that sex is sacred. The creation of any being is on account of the act which is natural biological requirement and that it should be consensual.

The government alone cannot be held responsible. A change is required within the society - first from the parents, second from teachers and in our education policy.

Our country will flourish only when our women are respected.

Aarti Mardhekar Kagwade, mother of two sons, on what to teach sons

I am a mother of two sons. Its easy to provide sons with education that will give them financial stability, but the true test is if I can raise two well-mannered human beings who prove to be good citizens.

The increase of adult content on television, newspapers, internet and public places is not in my control. However, the option I have is to teach my sons what is good behavior and what is bad behavior. I must teach my boys to accept rejection; I should teach them to respect others opinion and feelings and accept decisions of others which may not be acceptable to them.

Join the conversation about rape, tweet to @httweets with #LetsTalkAboutRape

Want to have your voice featured in the Hindustan Times? Send us your entries at htwebresponse@hindustantimes.com and we will feature the best responses.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is planning to launch an insurance scheme for passengers gadgets such as phones and laptops.

The scheme may cover both thefts and accidents.

IRCTC officials held a meeting with insurance companies on Friday to discuss the possibilities, managing director A K Manocha said.

There are some concerns that insurance companies have about false claims. We have shared a few ideas with them and also asked for their suggestions. Offering this policy to credit card holders or government officials in the initial stage is one of the ideas we have floated to mitigate cases of false claims, he said.

I am trying hard to push companies to give insurance cover in instances of theft as well. So far, they have expressed their willingness to offer it only in cases of mishaps, Manocha added.

The proposal was goaded by the success of the 92 paise travel insurance plan introduced by the IRCTC last month. It offers insurance cover of up to Rs 10 lakh for a premium of 92 paise in case of accidents or incidents like terrorist attack, dacoity, rioting, shoot-out or arson.

The scheme was an instant success and according to reports, over one crore passengers have opted for it till now.

The IRCTC has decided to reduce the premium from 92 paise to 1 paise for tickets booked between October 7 to October 31, a promotion targeting the Diwali crowd.
All communication channels with the Indian military including the hotline are open, the Pakistan army has said, even as it accused India of escalating tensions.

The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false, Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said.

What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements by the Indian side, Bajwa told Chinas state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday.

At least two Pakistani soldiers have been killed while nine injured in the Indian firing over the past week, the general said.

However, the army spokesman emphasised on the importance of resolving the current tension through dialogue.

He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the start of the cross LoC firing.

All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open, he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitors the situation and reports to its headquarters.

India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, with the Army saying it had inflicted significant casualties on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

The strike came just days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.
The ruling BJP and its main rival accused each other on Friday of playing politics over soldiers sacrifice, after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was profiteering from the armys surgical strike on militant hideouts in Pakistan.

BJP chief Amit Shah led the partys counter-offensive against Gandhis accusation that Modi was doing khoon ki dalali or profiteering from the surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control, the de facto border in Jammu and Kashmir.

The strategic action was carried out after last months militant attack on the Uri army base in which 19 soldiers were killed.

Is the blood of our soldiers something that you can trade? Shah asked and put the Congress leaders remarks in the same league as maut ka saudagar, an old comment from the party referring to Modi.

The army raids were being touted as revenge for Uri and could become a talking point for next years assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

Posters hailing Modi for the raids have surfaced in UP, prompting the Congress and BSP chief Mayawati to allege that the BJP was trying to gain political mileage out of the military action.

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, Gandhi tweeted, standing by his dalali remarks.

The political slugfest came on a day home minister Rajnath Singh announced sealing the entire the India-Pakistan border, while the finance minister said in Washington that every major terrorist incident in the world has a Pakistani footprint.

The blame game over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday when Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam called the military action fake and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the government to release proof to counter Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

Mayawati, a political rival to both Congress and BJP, condemned the attempt to profit from the armys cross-border action ahead of the UP polls.

Only the army should be felicitated and hailed for it not any leader, the defence minister or the Prime Minister, she said.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal called for a stop to this poster-baazi and politics on the armys successes.

BJP chief Shah attributed these posters to decisions taken by local leaders, but credited the Prime Minister for his leadership. He insisted that his party wont desist from using the issue during the elections to boost the morale of the armed forces.

He lashed out at the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for seeking proof.

Who is being questioned  the soldiers who risked their lives? What did Kejriwal want when he asked for proof? And after his statements, Kejriwal began trending (on social media) in Pakistan. From this, it is clear his words have helped whom, he said.

Shah tried to corner the Congress, with scams such as Bofors guns deal and 2G spectrum auction when the party was in power.

The use of the word dalali for soldiers shows the Congresss mindset. The word is synonymous with the opposition party whose leaders were embroiled in several scams worth thousands of crores, he said.

Shah said Gandhi should concentrate on the potato factory for farmers as his understanding of the problems of agriculture sector is limited to that only. He was referring to Gandhis remarks made at a public meeting during his Delhi to Deoria march in UP.

Congress leader Sibal hit back, accusing the BJP of giving birth to Jaish-e-Mohammed as it was during the previous NDA government that the militant outfits chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, was released from jail in a hostage exchange.

But the BJP was not alone in criticising Gandhis remarks. The AAP too latched on to the issue.

Such words (dalali) should not have been used by Rahul Gandhi. These are the times for us unite & stand along army, Kejriwal tweeted.

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Tamil Nadus senior-most bureaucrat and two influential ministers rushed to Raj Bhavan on Friday to brief the governor about the states general administration in the absence of chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who is recuperating from an ailment for the past fortnight.

Acting governor Vidya Sagar Rao met chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, finance minister O Panneerselvam and PWD minister Edapadi Palanisamy after doctors treating the chief minister at Apollo hospitals said her treatment would continue for some more days.

Jayalalithaa, the 68-year-old former matinee star, was admitted to Apollo hospitals on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration.

As her discharge from hospital could take a longer time than anticipated, the governor convened Fridays meetings to know how the state was functioning without the chief minister at a time crucial issues such as the Cauvery water-sharing row was bubbling up with neighbouring Karnataka.

Read | AIIMS specialists in Chennai fuel more talk on TN CM Jayalalithaas health

Karnataka had yielded to a Supreme Court order to release water to Tamil Nadu, after much delay as its neighbour wanted the water to save its paddy crop. A Centre-appointed technical committee on Cauvery is due to visit Tamil Nadu, and the governor sought to know what information will be provided to the panel to protect the farmers.

Also, a Raj Bhavan statement said the governor enquired about the general administration of the affairs of the government.

The chief secretary, who met the governor in the afternoon for 35 minutes, briefed him about the day-to-day functioning of the government.

In the evening, he accompanied the two ministers for another round of discussion that lasted 20 minutes. A Raj Bhavan release said the governor also enquired about the chief ministers health.

Later, the chief secretary and the ministers went to Apollo hospitals, where most members of the Jayalalithaa government and her AIADMK party were present.

The AIADMK put to rest all speculation about the health of Jayalalithaa, endearingly called Amma by her legions of supporters, many of whom have committed suicide, cut their fingers or tonsured their heads whenever she faced any trouble in the past.

Read | Jayalalithaa: A timeline of the movie star-turned-politician

As her supporters held a vigil outside the hospital, the party said a detailed medical bulletin put an end to questions about the treatment provided to the leader and was confident she will return home soon.

Party spokesperson CR Saraswathi said people were eager to know and Apollo hospitals answered them in a statement. She also thanked Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for noting that Jayalalithaa is improving.

Earlier in the day, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi called on Jayalalithaa at the hospital.

She is going to be all right, Gandhi told mediapersons after spending nearly 40 minutes inside the medical institution. He also interacted with doctors attending to the AIADMK chief, popularly known as Amma.

I came from Delhi to see the CM because I wanted to give my support and the Congress presidents support. The doctors say her health is improving, and she is going to be all right. I want to give maximum energy to Jayalalithaaji so that she gets well soon, Gandhi said.

The hospital on Thursday called in three specialists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi to assist the team attending to the chief minister, whose hospitalisation has sparked rumours ranging from her death to an incurable disease.

Dr Richard John Beale, a world-renowned specialist and consultant from London, also visited Chennai a second time to assist the team in an advisory role.

The chief minister was hospitalised after she complained of high fever and dehydration, and the rumour mills have been running overtime since then.

Read | The lack of transparency about Jayalalithaas health is worrying

(With PTI inputs)

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The state government has decided to recommend CBI probe into the mysterious death of Ravi Sisodia (22) accused in lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Bisada village located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

Talking to the media persons IG (STF) Ram Kumar on Friday said, The state government has directed the Gautam Buddha Nagar administration to send a proposal for the CBI inquiry into death of Ravi. Once we receive district administration letter the state government will recommend the CBI probe, he said.

Sisodia was an accused in the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq over alleged rumours that his family has consumed beef in Bisada village. He was arrested last year. A local court had sent him to jail under judicial custody. On September 29 he complained of illness and was admitted in the district hospital. Later he was shifted to LNJP hospital, Delhi where he breathed his last on Tuesday.

Villagers and Sisodias family members organised a protest dharna on Wednesday alleging foul play in the district jail and demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation. Tension gripped the area and heavy police force was deployed in the village.

The NHRC has also issued notice to the state government seeking report from DGP and DG, Prison over the incident within four weeks.

Read: Bisada witnesses the misuse of Indian flag and communal politics

The state government has already shifted two prison officers SK Pandey and BS Mukund. Both have been attached to the prison headquarter Lucknow. ADG, Prison , GL Meena said DIG Prison has been directed to probe into the incident and submit a report.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to visit India early next month, according to highly-placed sources involved in finalising the details of her first trip to the country as head of state.

Mays visit may coincide with the India-UK Tech Summit in New Delhi scheduled between November 7 and 9, they said.

The summit is organised by Indias Department of Science and Technology and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and has Jo Johnson, UK minister for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation, as a speaker.

The bilateral summit was among the major announcements made during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the UK in November 2015.

The India-UK partnership has since moved into a new era, with Britain voting to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum in June and leading to the resignation of David Cameron as prime minister.

May, 60, as the post-Brexit leader of the country, has often mentioned India among the priority countries for a free trade agreement to boost the UKs ties outside the EU.

Countries including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea have already told us they would welcome talks on future free trade agreements. And we have already agreed to start scoping discussions on trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, she told the Conservative party conference earlier this week.

Therefore, trade is expected to feature high on the agenda during her India visit, when she is expected to hold bilateral talks with Modi and other senior ministers
A high-level technical team set up by the Centre to gauge the Cauvery-basin situation down south reached Bengaluru on Friday and held a meeting with top government officials of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

Karnataka water resources minister MB Patil apprised the eight-member panel headed by Central Water Commission chairperson GS Jha about the situation in the land drained by the 802km river, whose sharing of water has been a matter of prolonged conflict between the peninsular states.

We will check the availability of water in various reservoirs in the two states and submit our report to the Supreme Court, Jha said after the meeting. Karnataka has submitted a memorandum on the availability of water and the prevailing ground situation.

The visiting team is set to conduct aerial survey of reservoirs in the Cauvery for a week from now. The members will also visit the Krishna Raja Sagar, Harangi, Kabini and Hemavati reservoirs over the next two days amid Karnatakas refusal to implement a Supreme Court direction to release 6,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, creating a major judicial stand-off.

The committee was formed in the wake of a review petition Karnataka filed with the apex court, asking the Centre to set up such a body to assess the ground situation in the Cauvery basin areas of the two states.

The team will first survey the basin areas of Maddur in Karnatakas Mandya district before heading to the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam. The members will later head for Tamil Nadu.

After assessing the situation of Cauvery water in both the states, the team will submit a report to the Supreme Court on October 17.

The Supreme Court has directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of water daily for 12 days from October 7.
A controversial BJP legislator on Friday assured an additional Rs 15 lakh to the family of a murder accused whose custodial death sparked tension at Bisada in Uttar Pradesh where a Muslim man was lynched last year.

Sangeet Som, an accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots, played the peacemaker in Bisada where villagers had refused to perform the last rites of Ravin Sisodia, 22, alleging that he died due to police torture.

The (state) government will give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 10 lakh will be given by NGOs and we will donate Rs 5 lakh to the family, Som said after nearly two hours of discussions with a committee formed by the villagers to fight for justice. He said Ravins wife will be given computer training and then provided a job in a private company.

Som and Union minister Mahesh Sharma  who is also the local MP  visited the village a day after firebrand Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachi joined the protesters. The BJP has waded into the issue, highlighting Ravins death as an example of misrule by the Samajwadi Party government in the poll-bound state.

Som, who requested the agitators to end their protest and perform the last rites, said the district magistrate will take care of the education of Ravins one-year-old daughter for her entire life.

Ravin was one of the 18 people arrested over the alleged lynching of 55-year-old Mohammad Ikhlaq and injuring his son Danish over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing its meat for consumption. He died on Tuesday at a Delhi hospital due to multiple organ failure under judicial custody.

Read | Bisada: State govt to order CBI probe into death of Dadri lynching accused

The villagers were demanding Rs one crore as compensation and a government job for Ravins wife.

Som, however, urged the villagers to continue their fight against injustice without taking the law in their hands.

Most youth lodged in jail (on lynching charges) are innocent. We should continue our fight peacefully, he said.

The state government is responsible for this (the death). We are with the villagers. We will ensure that justice is done, he said.

District magistrate NP Singh, SSP Dharmendra Singh, superintendent of police (rural) Abhishek Yadav and other senior administrative and police officers camped in the village throughout the day. More than 300 policemen were deployed at the village.

In Lucknow, inspector general of the special task force said the state government has decided to recommend a CBI probe into the death.

The body of Ravin was draped in the tricolour and hailed as a martyr by villagers on Thursday.

Sadhvi Prachi also accused the state government of favouring the Muslims. Hindus shall unite against the government. They are testing our patience, Prachi said.

Read | Bisada witnesses the misuse of Indian flag and communal politics

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A Dalit woman research scholar has alleged violation of reservation norms by Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in appointing guest faculty at one of its departments.

The scholar, a former faculty member, was selected as a guest teacher at the Institute of Management Studies and Research (IMSAR) department of the MDU in September 2014. However, she was relieved from her post in the middle of the session in December 2014, as the university cited inadequate workload at the department.

In a letter to the university authorities and the National Scheduled Castes Commission, a copy of which is with HT, the teacher alleged that while she was relieved from the services, five other guest teachers who were appointed before her were still employed at the institute, as per the orders of the Punjab and Haryana high court. The court had directed MDU to continue using services of the guest teachers until regular appointments were not made.

Furthermore, the varsity shifted two other guest teachers working at the University Institute of Law and Management Studies (UILMS), Gurgaon, to IMSAR, after relieving the Dalit scholar on account of inadequate workload at the department.

MDU vice-chancellor BK Punia said the teacher was relieved in 2014, while the two guest teachers working at UILMS were shifted one month ago. The situation and workload have now changed, he said.

MDU sources told HT that guest teachers were appointed in the university as per the demand in a particular department and the job is non-transferrable.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said Brand Pakistan identifies with global terror as every major terrorist incident in the world has a Pakistani footprint around it.

Jaitley, leading the Indian delegation to the IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, also said, Pakistan has a very low credibility when it comes to matters involving terrorism.

He added that the Saarc snub by many nations shows Pakistan is getting isolated in the region.

The fact that almost everybody said that we wont attend the Saarc Summit speaks of the isolation in the region. Ultimately, if you use terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and every terrorist incident - a major terrorist incident anywhere in the world, has Pakistani footprint around it, then Brand Pakistan really identifies itself with global terror.

Therefore, all contrarian noises that they make like Pakistan is a victim et cetera, clearly has established that the world is not willing to listen to them because of a very low credibility and a low track record as far as these matters are concerned, he told a news channel.

Responding to a question on the geopolitical risk of Indias surgical strikes, he said, I dont think we should overstate the problem.

Nuclear blackmail in the world is Pakistans strategy. Its never been an Indian strategy.

If you look at the economic impact of the surgical strikes, within minutes of the strikes, you had an upheaval in the currency market. Defence will always remain a top priority as far as expenditure is concerned because national security and sovereignty are paramount as far as India is concerned, Jaitley said.

He also termed the surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control (LoC) as army strategy and pre-emptive strike against terrorism. He said all opposition leaders were briefed and consensus was built because India was entitled to strategise following the Uri and Pathankot terror attacks.

He had earlier said that any economic impact arising from recent tensions with Pakistan will be extremely marginal.
Gender equality is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and non-negotiable, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Friday while opposing the practices of triple talaq and polygamy in the Muslim community.

This is the first time the Indian government has officially taken a stand to oppose the contentious custom that has divided the community, with womens groups and individuals advocating sweeping reforms in Muslim personal law that is heavily tilted against women.

Under Muslim personal law based on the Sharia, a Muslim man can divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq thrice. Muslim men are also allowed to have four wives.

India has separate sets of personal laws for each religion governing marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and maintenance. While Hindu law overhaul began in the 1950s and continues, activists have long argued that Muslim personal law has remained mostly unchanged.

Even though it may be true to say that only some women are directly and actually affected by these practices being divorced by talaq-e-bidat or being in a polygamous marriage, the fact remains that every woman to whom the law applies, lives under the threat, fear or prospect of being subject to these practices, which in turn impacts her status and her right to a life with confidence and dignity, the government said in its affidavit to the top court.

The Centres stand was in response to the court asking whether an intervention would violate the Muslim communitys fundamental rights.

Disputing the All India Muslim Personal Law Boards (AIMPLB) claim that personal law cannot be re-written in the name of reforms, the government asserted that a woman cannot be deprived of her constitutional right by virtue of her religion.

Any practice by which women are left socially, financially or emotionally vulnerable or subject to the whims and caprice of men-folk is incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the government said.

The SC had opened the debate over triple talaq last year after it took cognisance of the age-old customary practice. Later, a petition was filed by Uttarakhand-based Shayara Bano seeking a ban on it. More Muslim women approached the court demanding reforms.

The petitioners said the triple talaq practice - which allows Muslim men an instant divorce through modern tools such as Facebook, Skype and text messages  violates womens right to equality. Some even challenged AIMPLBs authority to dictate terms on the community.

In its affidavit, the Centre said even theocratic states have undergone reforms, reinforcing that the practices cannot be considered an integral part of Islam.

It is respectfully submitted that no undesirable practice can be elevated to the status of an essential religious practice, the government said, seeking a judicial review.

In a related but separate development, the Law Commission on Friday sought peoples views on triple talaq and a uniform civil code, opposed by opposed by sections of minority communities.

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The government has put airports in four states that border Pakistan  and in the national capital  on high alert, keeping in mind the security environment over the past few days.

Around two dozen airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat besides Delhi will hold more random and detailed checks of passengers and their baggage. Also, parking and loading areas are being specifically monitored.

There is no specific threat. But as a precaution, we have put the airports in all the bordering states and in Delhi on high alert, said OP Singh, chief of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that guards airports across the country. Recently, he reviewed the security preparedness at all airports under CISF protection.

The alert has been sounded at a time when Union home minister Rajnath Singh is in Jaisalmer of Rajasthan on Friday to chair a meet of chief ministers and home ministers of the four border states.

Read | Rajnath Singh to meet with heads of states bordering Pak, plan to seal border

The meeting will deliberate on measures to manage the Indo-Pak border where there is a spurt in tension ever since the September 18 Uri attack in Kashmir and last weeks surgical strikes across the LoC.

After the surgical strikes on terrorist launchpads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on the night of September 29, the government had sounded high alert all across the country. The states bordering Pakistan were asked in particular not to lower their guard amid apprehensions of retaliatory strike from across the border.

The security of airports across the country is generally strengthened during the festive season. Additional resources are usually deployed to manage the extra load of passengers, but this time security personnel in the border states airports have been asked to remain particularly vigilant owing to the prevailing security environment.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has asked police chiefs of all the four states besides the CISF and other central forces involved in airport security to be extra careful.

Intelligence agencies have already warned the government that Pakistan may try to push more terrorists following the surgical strikes. According to an intelligence assessment, Pakistan spy agency ISI has gathered more than 100 terrorists to be pushed into the Valley.

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As mortar shells rained on a nondescript Gigriyal village here, 15-year-old Surinder Kumar risked his life and returned home from a makeshift camp miles away to collect his books that he could not pick up while fleeing to safety.

Kumar, Class X student from the frontier Gigriyal village in Pallanwala sector, along with his family members, had to hurriedly abandon his house and flee to a nearby safe camp after the Pakistani army resorted to unprovoked firing post the surgical strikes on terror launch pads in PoK on the intervening night of September 28-29.

Soon after shells started landing on our village, we had to leave our houses in a hurry. I could not even pick up my schoolbag, he said, adding he could not sleep the whole night and next day early morning, he decided to walk back home from the camp and bring back his schoolbag.

...I had to walk on foot for several kilometres. Though I was stopped by the army and when I told them that I want to bring my schoolbag, an officer helped me, he said.

As he was back home, there was sudden bangs of mortar bombs and rattle of guns, forcing him to take cover, along with others who had returned to the border hamlet to feed their cattle.

For Kumar, it was a mission accomplished as he now sits in a makeshift classroom in the government school in Khour, which has been converted into a safe camp by the authorities.

Amid rising Indo-Pak tension, residents of several border villages had to abandon their houses and shift to safe camps.

To help children continue study, Jammu deputy commissioner Simrandeep Singh issued orders to the school administration where the safe camps have been set to start special classes for those who had to leave home.

Keeping in mind the future of these migrant students, it was decided to start special classes in the migrant camps for the students who had to leave their houses due to cross-border firing, Singh said told PTI.

He said that the special classes being held for the migrant students have been a success.

The parents of the migrant students who were worried about the future of their children are relieved after schools started having special classes for them.

Every time we had to migrate due to ceasefire violation, it was our children who had to abandon their studies, but now we are happy that their education is being taken care of by the administration, Kumars mother Sheela Devi said.
A policeman was killed while another cop and a civilian were injured on Friday night when militants fired at a picket in a village at Shopian district of south Kashmir.

The militants attacked the security post, guarding minority community in a village in Jamnagri area.

The policemen retaliated, forcing the attackers to flee.

A constable, Nazir Ahmad, was killed in the gunfight, superintendent of police, Shopian, Tahir Saleem told HT.

Another constable Zahoor Ahmad and a civilian -- Puran Krishan Koul -- were injured in the incident.

The area has been cordoned off and a search launched to track down the terrorists, a police official said.

#WATCH Visuals of spot where terrorists attacked police post in Shopian distt (J&K), one policeman dead, another injured (Visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/w0vjTl6ACu  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

The policemen and the civilian hurt in the attack were rushed to District Hospital in Shopian, where Nazir succumbed to his injuries.

Zahoor and Krishans condition is stable and they have been referred to the Army Base Hospital in Srinagar for further treatment.

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A management students online petition has prompted women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi to seek free education for children of army personnel who died in the Uri attack.

In a letter referring to the online petition on change.org, Gandhi has asked education minister Prakash Javadekar to ensure that these children do not have to pay for their education.

There is already a 5% quota for children of defence personnel, who died in service, in admissions.

I received a petition signed by over 50,000 citizens on http://www.change.org @Change on behalf of the children of #Uri Martyrs Our soldiers have made supreme sacrifices. Taking care of the cost of educating their children will be a small part of our gratitude, Gandhi tweeted.

Over 70,000 people have signed the petition Free education for children of Indias martyrs started by Maryada Prasad, a management student from Symbiosis Pune, on September 25.

I wanted to do something for the families of the soldiers who gave up their lives to keep us safe. I started a petition on Change.org and Im really happy to have received so much support, Prasad said.

The management student said that he is hopeful that the education minister will act on his petition soon. The least that we can do for the martyrs of India is ensure that their children are taken care of, he added.

This is the second instance where Gandhi has backed an online petition. She had earlier put her weight behind a petition by a single mother who wanted to put an end to the rule that mandated passport applicants to give their fathers name. An external affairs ministry panel had later supported the change.

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With just a couple exceptions, South Middleton School District students scored above the state average on Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests administered last year.

Only the fifth grade in math and the sixth grade in English/language arts scored below the state average at the proficient and advanced level, according to Joseph Mancuso III, assistant superintendent.

Year-to-year comparisons of test results show improved scores in both math and ELA among students in the fourth-, seventh- and eighth grades. However, PSSA scores in the sixth grade fell off slightly in both subject areas while math scores declined at the fifth grade and ELA scores at the third grade.

Mancuso along with the building principals briefed school board members Monday on the test results and plans underway by staff to address deficiencies and improve scores. Other school districts in the area are expected to do the same in the coming weeks.

W.G. Rice Elementary School

About 68.4 percent of third-graders taking both tests at this building scored at the proficient or advanced level compared to the statewide average of 54.4 percent for math and 60.9 percent for ELA.

In a year-to-year comparison, the percentage of third-graders proficient or advanced in math was up slightly from the 65.9 percent who scored at the same level in 2015. However, the percentage proficient or advanced in ELA went down over six points from 74.7 percent to 68.4 percent.

When it came to math, Rice students showed a lot of improvement in the measurement of data  a problem area in the past, Principal David Boley said. He added that while third-graders last year scored high in finding the area of a plane figure and problem solving with multiple operations, they scored low on questions involving the interpretation of data from graphs.

That was a surprise to us because the teachers felt the students did well in the classrooms leading up to the test, Boley said. The plan going forward is to work with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit on professional development on assessment tools that could help faculty better pinpoint areas of individual need.

As for ELA, Rice students did well in vocabulary acquisition in literature and information text, Boley said. We need to continue to look at how we can improve writing. A goal going forward is to improve writing skills in not just ELA lessons, but in science and math, according to him.

Iron Forge Elementary School

About 65.7 percent of fourth-graders taking the math test last year scored at either the proficient or advanced level. This is almost 20 percentage points above the statewide average for fourth-grade math of 46.6 percent and a gain of almost 12 percentage points over the 54.4 percent Iron Forge fourth-graders scored in 2015.

As for ELA, 69.8 percent of fourth-graders taking the test last year scored proficient or advanced compared to 58.7 percent of fourth-graders statewide and 65.5 percent of Iron Forge fourth-graders in 2015.

Turning to the fifth-grade at Iron Forge, only 42.6 percent scored proficient or advanced in math but 70.4 percent scored proficient or advanced in ELA. This compares to statewide averages of 44.4 percent and 61.5 percent respectively. In 2015, the percentage for Iron Forge fifth-graders was 48.6 percent for math and 66.7 percent for ELA.

Lastly, 45.3 percent of Iron Forge sixth-graders scored proficient or advanced in math in 2016 while 59.1 percent of that same population scored that well in ELA. This compares to statewide averages of 41.1 percent in math and 61.7 percent in ELA. Year-to-year, the math score among Iron Forge sixth-graders slipped less than four percentage points from 49.1 percent in 2015 while the ELA score dropped almost 10 percentage points from 68.8 percent in 2015.

Were not too happy with the fifth-grade math score, Principal Tricia Reed said. Some of the changes in the test that students are adjusting to are multi-step problems where they are expected to go back and use something from A to solve B. The change in rigor requires the students to grasp the whole picture of the problem.

Iron Forge staff plans to partner with the CAIU to take a thorough look at the math curriculum to make sure it meets expectation, Reed said. We are buckling down already.

As for ELA, the biggest change in the test is questions requiring text dependent analysis, Reed said. This type of format requires the students to not only answer questions, but to provide evidence from the text to support their conclusions.

We are still working to get that piece secure, Reed told board members Monday. We are partnering with the IU to do some professional development with staff on text dependent analysis training.

Yellow Breeches Middle School

About 38.4 percent of seventh-graders taking the math test in 2016 scored proficient or advanced compared to the statewide average of 37 percent. That same group of students scored 10 percentage points over the state average in ELA with 71.9 percent compared to 61.5 percent.

In math, the seventh grade of 2016 scored almost five percentage points better than the 33.5 percent of seventh-graders who were proficient or advanced in 2015. As for ELA, the seventh grade of 2016 scored 12 percentage points better than the 59.5 of seventh-graders who were proficient or advanced in 2015.

Turning to the eighth grade, 41.9 percent of Yellow Breeches students scored proficient or advanced in math while 62.8 percent scored that way in ELA. This compares to statewide averages of 31.2 and 58.4 percent respectively and year-to-year averages of 29.9 and 61.2 percent.

The percentage of Yellow Breeches students scoring at below basic is well below the state average in both subject areas and both grades, Principal Jesse White said.

In eighth-grade math, for example, 40 percent of students statewide scored at that level compared to only 28.4 percent of local students. Only one of the 164 Yellow Breeches seventh-graders who took the ELA test last year scored below basic compared to 45 who scored basic and 92 who scored proficient.

When it comes to math, Yellow Breeches has a math remediation teacher who works with small groups of students who are struggling with particular lessons, White said. One area of emphasis is on making sure students understand the need to read each question thoroughly and make sure they answer precisely what is asked of them.

As for ELA, the focus there is on developing text dependent analysis skills, White said. One push this year is ELA wont get fixed in just the ELA classroom. Students have to write and read all day long to improve.

This push is taking the form of lesson plans and test questions in science and social studies that focus on reading text to find important information, White said.
Speculation about Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaas health intensified on Friday after Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi sent heart, lungs and anesthesia specialists to Chennai, fuelling rumours that her internal organs may be severely affected.

Sources say the three specialists -- GC Khilnani of the pulmonary and respiratory medicine and critical care department, Nitish Naik of the department of cardiology and Anjan Trikha from anaesthesiology and critical care -- were flown to Chennai to have a look at the treatment being given to the CM at Apollo Hospital, where she is admitted since September 22.

Her exact health condition only the treating doctors will be able to tell but she has been in the hospital ICU for quite some time now, which means the infection in her blood isnt contained, said an AIIMS doctor, requesting anonymity.

Read | Jayalalithaas treatment to take longer, more specialists flown in

It usually starts with fever and dehydration and then the condition starts deteriorating .

The chief ministers health has triggered wild rumours across the state, despite the hospital and her party, the AIADMK, repeatedly saying that she was improving. Her political rival, DMKs M Karunanidhi, has even asked for photographic evidence of her well-being, only to be rebuffed.

An official in the Union health ministry said the Tamil Nadu government directly got in touch with AIIMS authorities, asking for experts to be sent for a second opinion.

AIADMK MLA Amman Arjunan along with party members offers prayers at Lord Murugan Temple in Coimbatore for recovery of Jayalalithaa. (PTI file photo)

We have an experienced faculty, and everybody can add on to the clinical experience in managing the patient. Our doctors are there just to have a look whether the line of treatment is fine or not, said a hospital source.

Its more like giving a second opinion, and does not mean that there is anything lacking in managing her. She is already in a state-of-the-art facility in Chennai and doctors are doing their best to ensure she recovers fast.

Read | Its a publicity stunt: HC dismisses plea for update on Jayalalithaas health

The move came on a day Apollo finally sent out a detailed health bulletin that mentioned decongestion of lungs, nebulisation for breathing, administration of antibiotics, supportive therapy, and general nursing care as part of her treatment. But instead of quashing the rumours that began because of the secrecy surrounding her health condition, the bulletin alarmed many supporters.

Last week, Apollo also consulted a critical care expert from London to discuss her treatment plan. She is being given strong antibiotics and is on respiratory support.

The hospital maintains the Tamil Nadu CM is stable and responding well to treatment. But her prolonged hospitalization has set alarm bells ringing with many worried that her health condition was far more serious than previously thought of. Activists have also approached the high court to force the hospital and state government to send out information about Jayalalithaas health but with little success.

Read | How is Jayalalithaa? Rumour abuzz on Twitter despite denials, health reports

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into Thursdays attack on the Rashtriya Rifles camp in Langate in which three terrorists were killed.

We have formally registered an FIR in connection with the attack and taken over probe. A team of NIA officials has reached the RR 30 camp as well, said a senior NIA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Read | J-K: Army camp attack, infiltration bids foiled; 7 militants killed

The investigative agency was involved since the arms and supplies recovered by the army from the dead infiltrators had Pakistani markings, much like those carried by the Uri attackers who killed 19 soldiers on September 18.

The NIA is investigating the Uri attack as well.

During the combing operations at Langate, the army found medicines, first aid supplies like gauze and syringes, dry fruits, jaggery, maps, metric sheet, a cache of arms, ammunition and radio sets.

At Uri, the army inventoried 48 items that the attackers are believed to have been carrying, including AK-47 rifles, cookies, lip conditioner, combs, medicines and syringes made in China.

The militants also had two Made-in-Japan ICOM brand radio sets; one of the sets was labelled new English and bilkul naya in Urdu. Investigators managed to retrieve the serial number of the rifles, which they say will help trace their origins.

The recoveries made from the Langate attackers will be matched with the items brought by Uri attackers to find out about the group involved in the attack. It is suspected that the Uri attackers belonged to Pak-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, said the official.

The collected evidence has been sent for forensic analysis.

Also read | High alert at airports as home ministry works on sealing Indo-Pak border

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhis remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over surgical strikes along the Line of Control came in for criticism from the BJP and leaders of some other political parties on Friday even as his own party jumped to his defence.

Both the BJP and the Congress accused each other of playing politics over the blood of soldiers.

Concluding his Kisan Yatra at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi had accused Modi of profiteering from the blood of soldiers who gave their lives for the nation.

BJP president Amit Shah hit back at Gandhi for suggesting that his party was using the Indian Armys surgical strike across the Line of Control for political gains ahead of crucial assembly elections.

The use of the word dalali for soldiers shows the Congress mindset. The word is synonymous with the opposition party whose leaders were embroiled in several scams worth thousands of crores, Shah said.

The Congress, however, came out all guns blazing at BJPs condemnation of Gandhi, accusing the saffron party of using the armys strikes against militant bases for political purposes.

Those who have murder charges against them, those who have been in the jail, those are now trying to find faults in Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.

Stop putting up these posters claiming credit -- it was the Indian Army who should be hailed; stop this politics, he said.

But Rahul Gandhi was slammed for his remark by other political parties as well.

The NCP criticised Gandhi for the barb. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the principal opposition party, which is perhaps the oldest organisation in the world. He should have shown refrained from using such words, party legistator D P Tripathi told reporters.

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar had on Thursday supported the government over the surgical strikes, saying it was necessary to teach a lesson to terrorists and those exporting terror.

Read: Devotion to Rahul overriding Congress devotion to India: BJP

Shiv Sena too took strong exception to Gandhis remarks, terming them as obnoxious.

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande said, I think this is a very obnoxious statement. But what can you expect from Rahul Gandhi? The person, who is so immature and whatever is happening in the country hardly matters to him. What else can you expect? But I think such sort of statements, sometimes Sonia Gandhi saying Maut ka saudaagar and this Khoon ki holi. What image of the country you create in front of the world? Kayande said.

If the Prime Minister is taking all the parties in confidence when he has taken some action then they should definitely boost the morale of the army and the Prime Minister, she added.

RJD President Lalu Prasad, however, was cautious in his reaction, saying Rahul Gandhi had failed to put across his views properly. Rahul Gandhi ko apni baat theek se rakhni nahi aai, Lalu told reporters.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the partys vice-president for his remarks.

We strongly condemn Rahul Gandhis terming our soldiers sacrifices and their valour as khoon ki dalaali, Kejriwal said in a video posted on his twitter account.

I have said this earlier in assembly as well as in a video message that at a time when theres grave tension at the border, we all must allay our differences and stand together with our army, he said.

The war of words comes as political temperatures rise following an army operation on militant bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last week. The Opposition says the government is trying to usurp credit ahead of assembly polls next year while the BJP says other parties are insulting the army.

(With inputs from agencies)
After Indian troops opened preventive fire in wee hours on Friday after suspicious movement on the Line of Control (LoC) in Malti sector of Poonch district, Pakistan army opened fire and shot mortars on nearly six Indian posts in the area.

The gun-duel lasted till 7.30 am and now intermittent exchanges are on.

At around 4.30 am today (Friday), Indian troops fired four to five rounds on a suspicious movement in Malti sector of Poonch to foil a possible infiltration. Consequently, Pak army also opened fire and a gun-battle between the two side ensued, said an intelligence source.

Pakistan started firing mortars on Indian posts, viz, Langoor, Nakkarkote, Malti Forward, Bahadur and Ashoka. The Indian army responded in equal measure, he added. He also said the exchange of fire was post-to-post between the two sides. While heavy fire subsided by 7.30 am, intermittent exchange of fire is still on, he said. There were no reports of any loss of life and property.

However, defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta denied any firing between the two sides in Poonch on Friday.

Station house offficer (SHO) of Khour police station in Pallanwala sector said the army again on Friday morning launched a search operation in Jourian. It was a normal search operation and the areas close to LoC and Jourian were searched for possible infiltrators, but nothing was found, he said.

He also said that on Thursday night, there was intermittent small arms fire by Pakistani army in Channi Dewanu, Darkote and Platan forward areas. Our troops had also responded to them but the fire was intermittent, he added.

Following Indias surgical strikes across the LoC, a desperate Pakistan has moved over 100 ultras close to the borders on its side to push them into Indian territory to flare up insurgency.

Kashmir has already been in the grip of violent protests and is witnessing spurt in terror attacks since Hizbul ultra Burhan Wani was killed on July 8. Pakistan has been violating with impunity the mutually brokered bilateral ceasefire agreement between the two nuke countries in November 2003.

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Pakistan on Thursday claimed that a leading Indian channel aired a forged interview of a Pakistani official in which he allegedly confirmed Indias surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the border.

Pakistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleged that CNN News18 has aired a forged interview of police officer of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Ghulam Akbar, in which he has allegedly confirmed Indias surgical strikes.

The reporter impersonated himself as Inspector General Police Punjab, the Ministry said in a statement.

Akbar has categorically denied having spoken over phone and that it is not even his voice on the recording run by the said Indian TV channel, the Ministry said.

Pakistan strongly denounces Indian medias despicable act of fraud of airing of a fake programme aimed at twisting and fabricating stories for domestic political consumption, the Ministry said.

This is a clear indication that certain quarters in India are desperate to prove Indian false claim of surgical strike by hook or by crook, it said.

We hope that CNN would take up the matter very seriously with the affiliate Indian TV channel and initiate action against the channel, as not doing so will be regarded as directly owning to this unethical and manipulative act. We reserve the right to take necessary legal action against the said TV channel, the statement said.

The CNN News18 news report said Akbar admitted that surgical strikes did happen. Pakistan had rejected as false and concocted the Indian claim of surgical strikes within Pakistani territory following the Uri terror attack that killed 19 Indian soldiers last month.
Pakistan has said India cannot unilaterally revoke the Indus Waters Treaty as it is binding on both nations and there is no exit clause in it.

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is not time barred and was never intended to be time or event specific. It is binding on both India and Pakistan and has no exit provision, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.

Zakaria said that according the sub-provisions (3) and (4) of the Article XII of the IWT, the Treaty cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally.

The international community should take notice of Indian claims that are indeed a violation of Indias obligations and commitments under the treaty, he said on Thursday, responding to reports that India may revoke the treaty amid heightened tensions between the two nations.

He said Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation and would respond accordingly.

To a question that China has blocked a tributary of Brahmaputra river in Tibet, the spokesperson said that he was not aware of it.

We have seen the media reports. You may like to approach the government of China to ascertain the details, he said.

Earlier, adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and several other leaders also said that India cannot revoke the treaty unilaterally.

Pakistan had also warned the unilateral revocation of the Indus treaty by India will be considered as an act of war.
For the first time, Pakistan has linked peace in war-torn Afghanistan to the resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying a solution to both is required for peace and they cannot be compartmentalised.

Road to peace in Kabul lies in Kashmir in the sense that when you talk of peace, you cannot compartmentalise peace, you cant segregate a section... ok you can have peace in Kabul and let Kashmir burn. That is not going to happen, Pakistan Prime Ministers special envoy on Kashmir, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, said.

So you (US) talk of a comprehensive peace settlement, so let the people of South Asia not be hostage to the hostility of the past. Let them move forward, said Syed during an interaction at Washington-based think-tank Stimson Centre.

He is accompanied by Shezra Mansab, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, as Special Envoys of Pakistan Prime Minister on Kashmir.

Our core issue this time is Kashmir and no peace can prevail in the region, if this issue is not solved. It is an international dispute. It is not an internal problem. The stakes are very high now, we are nuclear neighbours so we need to have peace on the issue of Kashmir and then rest of the things can be solved, Mansab said.

She added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has offered peace talks without any preconditions but it has been consistently rejected by India.

The way to move forward is negotiations. We are ready to talk on any subject. It is India which says that it is willing to talk about only one subject. We are ready to talk on that subject as well as other subjects, she said.

Referring to the lackluster response that they received during their visit to Washington DC, Michael Krepon of the Stimson Centre asked as to why the US should interfere in this.

Why, when it is so hard for the US to my embarrassment to get involved in more helpful way in Syria, why should the US listen to the argument to be more involvement in Kashmir, Krepon said, adding that the situation in Kashmir is much better than many other conflict prone areas of the world, including Syria.

The two Pakistani envoys had no clear explanation to it.
Famous perfumer and researcher Monika Ghurde was found dead at her residence in Goa on Friday.

A police inspector from Porvorim, JG Dalvi, said, the 39-year-olds naked body with her hands and legs tied was found at her Goa home.

A murder case was registered and the body was sent for forensic analysis, police said.

According to the police, Ghurde may have died on Thursday night and said further evidence is being collected.

Ghurde graduated from the J J institute of Applied Arts in Mumbai. She co-founded Graf, a design and publishing company. And before entering the perfume industry she was a graphic designer and photographer.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis dalali remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Indias surgical strikes across the LoC has given the rival BJP a fresh handle to attack the main opposition party.

Gandhi, addressing the concluding rally of his 26-day Kisan yatra, said in the national capital on Thursday that the PM was hiding behind the blood of soldiers and politically exploiting their sacrifices.

The ruling BJP termed the statement as most shameful, but an unfazed Gandhi stood by his remarks on Friday.

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, he tweeted.

Read | Why the opposition is wrong in demanding proof of surgical strikes

The BJP sought to draw a parallel between Rahuls dalali comment and the maut ka saudagar remark by his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Gujarat during the 2007 assembly elections both directed at Modi.

Overall, the armys attacks on targeted terrorist launchpads across the Pak border is turning into a political slugfest, with the Opposition initially asking the BJP-led NDA government to furnish evidence to call Pakistans bluff. Amid thick media publicity, Pakistan has denied any such cross-border action by the Indian army.

Political observers are of the view that last weekends surgical strikes could alter the political narrative and dominate the election discourse in the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

Leaders of the opposition parties feel the BJP will try to seek political mileage out of the surgical strikes and asking for proof on the cross-border raid is seen as an attempt to counter chest-thumping by ruling-party members.

A poster war has already started in Uttar Pradesh. Hoardings have appeared in Varanasi, Lucknow, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar among other cities, hailing the surgical strikes as the BJP-led governments achievement and a befitting reply to Pakistan for recent terror attacks in Pathankot and Uri in Kashmir.

The Opposition is least amused. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad accused the BJP of politicising the surgical strikes, saying the posters indicated the ruling partys political insecurity.

Read | Why political discourse in poll-bound states may change after army action

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah too criticised the move. And some people will lecture others about politicising the army action all the while turning a blind eye to hoardings like these that sprout, he tweeted.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chose to deplore Gandhis remarks. I strongly condemn what Rahul Gandhi said about our jawans, this is a matter in which we all need to stand united, tweeted AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Such words (dalali) should not have been used by Rahul Gandhi. These are the times for us unite & stand along army, he said in another tweet.

The AAP is trying hard to usurp the Congress political space in almost all the states. It has emerged as a strong contender for power in Punjab and Goa in the upcoming assembly elections and is seen as hurting the Congress prospects in these states.

On its part, the BJP called Gandhis remarks a new low in Indian politics and said it reflected frustration as the Prime Minister was drawing praise for giving a nod to the army to carry out the surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control.

Read | Kejriwal, Congress leaders flayed for questioning surgical strikes

Said BJP secretary Sidharth Nath Singh: Congress and other political parties may be nervous because of the courage and will power shown by the Modi government in backing the armed forces decision to go for surgical strikes across LoC. Rahul Gandhi has done surgical strike on his party.

At the Thursday evening rally in Delhi, the Congress-vice president unleashed a blistering attack on the PM, accusing him of profiteering from the soldiers who have given their blood for the nation.

Aap kar kya rahe ho jo hamare jawan hain, jinhone khoon diya hai, jinhone Jammu and Kashmir mei apna khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiya hai, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe huye ho. (What are you (PM) doing? Our soldiers have given their blood in Jammu and Kashmir, carried out surgical strikes for India, you (PM) are hiding behind their blood), he said.

Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Ye bilkul galat hai (PM is profiteering from the soldiers. This is totally wrong.), Gandhi said in Delhi, winding up his 26-day Kisan yatra across UP that is going to the polls early next year.

Gandhis remarks came six days after he had praised the PM over the surgical strikes. I want to thank him (PM) because for the first time in two-and-a-half years he has taken an action that is of the stature of PM, he said, while addressing a public meeting at Bulandshahr in UP on September 30. This was a rare occasion when Gandhi had publicly lauded Modi.

Also read | Storyboard: See how India carried out surgical strikes across LoC

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The Congress came out all guns blazing at BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday for condemning Rahul Gandhi, accusing the saffron party of using the armys strikes against militant bases for political purposes.

At a press conference in Delhi, the Congress attacked Shah for saying that Gandhi had crossed all limits and insulted the army.

Those who have murder charges against them, those who have been in the jail, those are now trying to find faults in Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.

Stop putting up these posters claiming credit -- it was the Indian Army who should be hailed; stop this politics.

The Congress offensive came after Shah condemned Gandhi, who had said at a rally on Thursday that the BJP was profiteering from the blood of soldiers. Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. His remarks are an insult not only to the brave armed forces and martyrs but the entire country, Shah said.

But the Congress hit back, blaming the BJP for the spurt in militancy and pointing out that a BJP government had released Maulana Masood Azhar during the Kandahar aeroplane hijack in 1999. Azhar went on to launch the terror group, Jaish-e-Mohammed.

You gave birth to Jaish-e-Mohammed and then you level allegations on the Congress. They released Masood Azhar, Sibal said.

The war of words comes as political temperatures rise following an army operation on militant bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last week. The Opposition says the government is trying to usurp credit ahead of assembly polls next year while the BJP says other parties are insulting the army.

Read | Why the opposition is wrong in demanding proof of surgical strikes

The Congress also said the BJP was mishandling the militancy emanating from Pakistan.

Terrorists are cancer cells in patient Pakistans body. We want for this cancer to end. The government thinks after that the surgical strikes, patient Pakistan has been cured, terrorism has ended. End this poster-bazi.

Also read | Rahul Gandhis dalali remark against Modi only adds to BJP-Cong acrimony

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In a borough prideful of its military roots and Army institutions, October serves as a stark reminder of the risks those take when they suit up to fight for the country.

On Oct. 5, 2013, 25-year-old Army Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins was killed by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations in the Zhari District of Kandahar Province during his fourth deployment to Afghanistan. He was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning, Ga.

Im so thankful that he became the man that he did. As you watch your children grow up you want them to find their passion, and thats all I wanted for Patrick, said his mother, Sheila Hawkins.

In the same attack that stole Hawkins life, 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno, 25, of San Diego, Calif., assigned to Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; Sgt. Joseph M. Peters, 24, of Springfield, Mo., assigned to the 5th Military Police Battalion, Vicenza, Italy; and Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, 24, of Philomath, Ore., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning, Ga., were also killed.

Wednesday was the three-year anniversary of their loss.

A coincidence

Sheila Hawkins recalls the morning her sons news reached her clearly, because that day was different.

Her husband usually attended church with her on Sundays, but on this particular Sunday, he decided not to, which was unusual, Hawkins said. When the preacher spoke, his message, for some reason, was more thought-provoking than usual.

I remember sitting in church and the sermon was on how we should be thankful for all things, including the bad things, Hawkins said. I remember thinking: if something were to happen to my husband, well hes led a great life. If something were to happen to my son, that I dont think Id know how to handle.

Later that day, while sitting outside on the front porch with her husband and the family dog, a car pulled up, and two men got out. She knew immediately.

I had to reflect back on what that preacher said, Hawkins explained. It was difficult, and it took me still by surprise, but because Patrick was special ops, because he was a ranger, there always was that in the back of your mind.

In loving memory

In an effort to recognize Hawkins service and keep his memory alive, signs have been posted around the Villages of Cross Creek housing development. Thats where Charles Allen lives. Hes a professor of leadership and cultural studies at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle and a retired Army colonel who stayed in the borough as a civilian after retiring.

He called news of Hawkins death three years ago a shock.

Its always a shock to hear of someone you know that sacrificed and was killed in this global war on terror, Allen said. The heart of the community went out to the Hawkins family.

In his own effort to recognize the legacy of Hawkins, Allen said every year he sends a guest editorial he had written in the aftermath of the grim news that ran in The Sentinel. He shares it with friends and faculty at the war college, and he also tells Hawkins story to his studentsas a lesson in leadership and sacrifice.

Im trying to keep that awareness in peoples minds, he explained, and trying to build that continuity between the military community and the civilian community.

Now and through the rest of the month, many of Hawkins neighbors will fly flags outside of their homes in memory of the fallen Carlisle man.

And when she and her husband think of their son, they think of the man he had become, and of the sacrifice he made for his country.

When I think about him I dont think God took him from me at 25 years old, I think of it as thank you God for giving me 25 years with him, she said.

Hawkins was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal and Purple Heart, according to a news release from U.S. Army Special Operations Command three years ago.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh will meet with heads of four border states  Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab  on Friday and Saturday to discuss sealing of the India-Pakistan border in light of the increased militant activity.

Singh will meet with chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Vijay Rupani of Gujarat, Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan and deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal in Jaisalmer, aside from the state home ministers, to deliberate on ways to completely seal the border.

Army posts along the Line of Control, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, have been witnessing increased militant activity, with multiple infiltration bids being made in the past weeks. Last month, the most significant incursion was the attack on an army post in Uri that killed 19 soldiers. On Thursday, jawans at a Rashtriya Rifles camp in Handwara foiled a similar attack, killing three militants in the encounter. The Indian army even announced having carried out surgical strikes on militant launchpads across the LoC to curb the offensive.

Read | J-K: Army camp attack, infiltration bids foiled; 7 militants killed

The meeting is expected to bring synergy among the state police forces and the Border Security Force, which guards the border, to bolster Indias defence, a home ministry official said. Issues concerning the states are also expected to be discussed during the two-day meet.

Of the 3,323 km border India shares with Pakistan, 508 km is in Gujarat, 1037 km in Rajasthan, 553 km in Punjab and Jammu-Kashmir has 1225 km. But only 2289.66km of it is properly demarcated as the international border (IB) and is under operational control of the home ministry. The rest of the dividing line is in Jammu and Kashmir, a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LoC), which is guarded under the operational control of defence ministry.

Read | More soldiers in Kashmir to seal borders, not to tackle protests: Parrikar

Of the 2,289.66 km international border, 2,034.96 km is covered with physical barriers, including fencing. Now, the government plans to cover the remaining 254.80 km with physical and non-physical barriers soon in order to effectively seal it.

There are stretches in the border where construction of physical barriers is not feasible due to geographic constraints like riverine, low-lying, creek or marshy areas. In these stretches the government proposed to deploy tech such as use of surveillance cameras, sensors, radars or lasers.

The BSF is testing the technologies through pilot projects in Jammu, Punjab and Gujarat regions, said the statement.

The security review comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan, the impact of which has seen Pakistan facing global pressure to act on militants within its borders. India blames Pakistan for sponsoring those who carried out the Uri attack and other anti-India activities.

Read | Pakistan army beefs up positions along LoC: Intelligence reports

On its end, Pakistan has reinforced its army posts along LoC after Indias announcement of the surgical strikes, even though it has dismissed the tactical operation as Indian falsehood.

After the meet, home minister Singh will visit Murar Border Outpost (BOP) in the same district, and the Munabao BOP in Barmer, to interact with BSF jawans, a home ministry statement said.

Read | Security along Indias porous border with Pakistan needs a revamp

For more on the tensions between India and Pakistan, click here.

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The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to RJD leader Rajballabh Yadav on Bihar governments petition seeking cancellation of his bail in a rape case.

Yadav, accused of raping a minor girl in February this year, was granted bail by the Patna high court last week. Within days of his release, the Bihar government moved the apex court. He had surrendered in March before a local court in Bihar Sharif in Nalanda.

A bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice NV Ramana directed Yadav to submit his response by October 17, the next date of hearing. It, however, refused to stay the Patna HC order.

Read: Rape accused RJD MLA Rajballabhs meeting with Lalu raises eyebrows

Bihar government counsel Gopal Singh sought direction to put Yadav back in jail on the ground that the statement of the alleged victim was being recorded in a trial court. He had said that Patna HC erred in granting bail to Yadav in the case.

Read: Nalanda rape victim fears for her life after accused MLA gets bail

In the chargesheet, Bihar police has also named a woman and her relatives as accused on the grounds of allegedly supplying women to the suspended RJD MLA.

Yadav was suspended from the party on February 14, a day after his arrest warrant was issued.

Following his release on bail, the opposition parties led by BJP had accused the Nitish government of facilitating the relief.
Curfew and restrictions were imposed in many parts of capital Srinagar to thwart a protest march called by separatists towards United Nations office in Srinagar.

Residents said that a 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded in his head after security forces allegedly used force during a protest in the city. He was admitted in Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in serious condition where doctors said they were ascertaining whether he was hit by pellets or a bullet.

The valley witnessed sporadic protests and shutdown on the 91st day of unrest which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan wani on July 8.

Curfew was imposed in areas coming under seven police stations of the city including Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma and Batamaloo.

The restrictions were also imposed in Sonwar to prevent people from marching towards UN office, said a police official.

Vehicular and pedestrian movement towards the UN office in Sonwar was also restricted.

Hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani mailed a memorandum to the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) wanting the intervention of the world body to solve the Kashmir issue.

Since we believe and understand that Kashmir dispute remains at the centre of the regional conflict, we appeal you to challenge the behaviour of Indian State in Jammu Kashmir and urge it to stop this reign of terror. In the interests of regional peace and global justice we once again implore you to intervene and prevail upon the Indian state to shun violence and initiate processes for granting universally recognised Right to Self Determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the memorandum read.

A large number of Police and CRPF were deployed in the city laying road blocks and installing concertina to block the mass movement of people. The separatists had urged people to move en-masse towards the UN office demanding right to self determination.

Friday prayers were not held in the Jamia Masjid for the 13th Friday owing to the restrictions.

However protests erupted in Saidepora area of Eidgah in old city prompting the security forces to fire tear gas shells and pellets. Residents said that a 12-year-old boy, Junaid Ahmad, was injured in the clashes.

Medical superintendent SKIMS Dr S A Tabish said that the boy had a serious head injury. We are not sure as yet that whether the injury is due to pellets or a bullet. That will become clear after CT scan and other investigations. We are trying to save him, he said.

Protests and clashes between youth and security forces were also reported in some areas in northern districts of Bandipora and Baramulla.

Kashmir has been on boil since the killing of Wani with routine pro-freedom and anti-India protests. As many as 88 persons have lost their lives and over 10,000 wounded in clashes between youth and security forces.

Police have arrested hundreds of youth with many booked under controversial public safety act to contain the situation in the Valley.

All the separatist leadership including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah have either been under house detention or in custody.

The joint separatist leadership has extended the latest protest calendar to October 13. They have urged students to organise day-long Resistance Convention on Saturday.

The students have been asked to educate yourself and others about the Indian occupation alternate history, freedom struggle and real heroes of Jammu and Kashmir.

The separatists have also urged people to occupy all the roads leading to your respective police stations on October 10.
BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged home minister Rajnath Singh to impose Presidents Rule in Tamil Nadu following the prolonged hospitalisation of chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Swamy also sought the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be imposed in the state since sleeper cells of the IS have become active in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Tirunveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari, and disruptive groups such as Dravida Kazhagam, leftover LTTE, and Naxalites are out to create an upheaval.

I urge home minister Rajnath Singh to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution and put the legislative assembly in suspended animation till Jayalalithaa is able to attend office, Swamy said a press statement.

According to him, the step should be taken in view of the administrative disarray in the state following the indefinite hospitalisation of the chief minister and her having to remain incommunicado for health reasons.

A retired chief secretary has been allowed to conduct the business of the state, Swamy added.

In this ad hoc administrative situation, he pointed out, the sleeper cells of the Islamic State (IS) have become active in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Tirunveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari.

Besides, a collaborative and supportive action by Dravida Kazhagam, leftover LTTE, and disruptive groups such as underground Naxalites are out to create an upheaval in the state causing a massive disorder and lawlessness, added the statement.

In view of this situation, Swamy sought imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (Afspa) in all the southern districts as well as Chennai for a period of six months.

The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 22 for fever and dehydration.
The government will completely seal the India-Pakistan border by December 2018, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday, as part of an extensive plan to monitor the countrys frontier security.

Speaking to reporters in Jaisalmer, Singh said the process of sealing the frontier will be monitored on a monthly basis by the Border Security Force and the respective chief secretaries of the states concerned.

It has been decided that the entire length of the Indo-Pak border will be sealed in a time-bound way by December 2018. An action plan has been prepared in consultation with security agencies, said Singh.

The governments decision comes as tensions mount between India and Pakistan following an army strike on militant bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Islamabad has denied the military operation and said any attempt to infiltrate its territorial integrity will be rebuffed.

The home minister also announced the creation of a Border Security Grid, which will serve as a streamlined platform for border-related issues. Guidelines have been prepared for this by the central government, said Singh.

The meeting took place at the BSF headquarters and was attended by Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, home ministers of Rajasthan and Gujarat -- Gulab Chand Kataria and Pradeep Kumar Jadeja-- respectively.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, didnt turn up and the state was represented by the chief secretary. Union minister for state for home, Kiren Rijiju, also attended the meeting.

Singh said that all the complaints filed by the BSF needs to be addressed at the earliest and charges framed. Technology will play a major role in the creation of the Border Security Grid in remote areas. I appeal to the people of India to have full trust on armed forces,  said Singh.

The ministers comments came amid a bitter political fight over the surgical strikes with opposition parties demanding proof and the BJP accusing them of dishonouring the army.

Singh also hit out at political rival and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who had accused the government of profiteering from soldiers.

I dont want to comment on the issue and would only like to say that every Indian citizen should show their full support for the army. Much like a farmer, who protects his crop at all cost, soldiers risk their lives for the country, said Singh.

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India is up against the Chinese wall yet again.

New Delhi wants to get Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Mohamad Masood Azhar Alvi designated a terrorist under the United Nations Sanctions Committee but has a long path of persuasion ahead to get the support of veto-wielding Beijing, Pakistans all-weather ally.

For a long time now, the Indian government has taken the issue up with China, and an upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jingping in two weeks will be another chance for India to persuade its biggest neighbour.

For India, Azhar is the mastermind behind the strike on the Pathankot air base in January this year. Also, his militant outfit, the JeM, has been indulging in anti-India activities, including the attack on an army camp in Uri, India believes.

Listing Azhar would cripple his ability to raise funds and travel.

The JeM was listed by the sanctions committee on October 17 2001 on account of being associated with al Qaida, Osama bin Laden or the Taliban for participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of, supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to or otherwise supporting acts or activities of al Qaida, Laden and the Taliban.

To put the date of listing in context, the JeM was listed 11 days after al Qaida was designated as a terrorist organisation.

Read | India slams UN for hold on declaring Jaish chief Masood Azhar global terrorist

But India points out its chief has been let loose by Pakistan and the UN has failed in plugging this lacuna, much to its detriment.

China is the only country that blocks any effort to extend the sanctions to Azhar.

China did so in March with a last-minute intervention and the resolution of listing went into a technical hold for six months. When the hold was to end, China extended it for another three months this week. This is the last extension and the pending matter will have to be approved at the end of the three month period which ends on December 31. By then Beijing will have decide whether it wants to exercise the veto call.

Indian frustration was evident in the statement made by countrys permanent representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin.

The Committee has already pondered (over) our submission for the last six months. It will get a further three months to ponder, but that will in no way change the strange situation we have of the Committee designating the terror organisation but failing to or ignoring the need to designate the organisations most active and dangerous terrorist.

Indian demand is that the committee should proscribe Azhar under the 1267 Sanction Regime on the basis of its submission.

Such a move, India, argues would help send a strong signal to all terror groups across the world that the international community is no longer going to pursue, or tolerate, selective approaches to terrorism.

For New Delhi, Chinas position is helping Pakistan where it hurts India the most: Cross-border terrorism. And in the process, China is subscribing to the view of there being good terrorists and bad terrorists.In other words, China is supporting Pakistans good terrorists who attack India at will. But convincing China on supporting for the designation remains an exercise in fine persuasion.

For more on the tensions between India and Pakistan, click here.

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Gods are supposed to rise above all differences  rich and poor, educated and illiterate, old and young, analog and digital. In the case of the first three, Durga has certainly risen above the divides. Its evident all around us  both the rich and the poor revel during the festive days, there is not much difference between the levels of enjoyment of a university professor and that of an illiterate daily labourer in a remote village. The old and the young too break into great revelry, though manifestations may differ due to physical abilities, rheumatism, gastronomic abilities and asthmatic tendencies.

But the only area where the goddess is increasingly showing signs of preference is to tilt towards the haves of the digital divide. Lets not beat around the bush  enjoyment during the pujas is nowhere near the peak if you are digitally unarmed. In the eighties, young women could not imagine going out to the pandals without putting on lipstick. In the following decade, high hill shoes became an equally mandatory accessory. In the first decade of the new century, carbonated drinks took their place  moving around with a pet bottle of chilled aerated soft drink was the in thing.

But this decade has been the era of smartphones, and what the pujas worth if you are not digitally armed throughout the day, every moment of it. Woebegone is the goddess who will stand in a pandal where no youth will click a selfie with her in the background.

This year the goddess has all the more reasons  an infrastructure push actually  to celebrate. Various operators have launched 4G services and have already unleashed a rate war  no less intense than the devis own against Mahisashura after he vanquished the gods in a 100-year war  to make super speed data connection more affordable. The result will be lightening fast transmission of images all around captured in and out of puja pandals  helping the goddess in her quest for omnipresence.

Never has the goddess been empowered to such an extent after the gods got together to initially arm her to take on Mahisashura. Propagation is the key to all religions and the millions of cellphones that will go up every minute clicking photos and videos of the idols and pandals for four days will help in propagating the devi around the world much faster and more effectively than all the evangelists of humankind put together down the centuries.

Online Durga puja has turned into a storm in the cyberspace. There are several websites offering virtual tours of major puja pandals, online puja services, live streaming of arati performances and virtual tours of the major pujas across Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh and in other major cities in different parts of the world. (HT Photo)

Durga will turn a devi of the digital, by the digitial and for the digital. For the devi has realised that the worshippers of the digital are no fewer, possibly bigger in number, than her own worshippers and that discretion lies in riding the digital crest rather than remaining secluded in puritan righteousness.

In the west, the clergy has often complained about bored churchgoers, especially youngsters constantly fiddling with their cellphones and tabs even during services. In Bengal, the goddess has embraced the digital generation possibly with bigger enthusiasm than the followers of any other creed anywhere in the world. In western societies there have been heated debates about whether digital devices will be banned from churches as many have been found furiously playing games even during services and continuing to do so even after the devotees walked out of the room. In this country, the gods and the priests have seen wisdom in coexistence and alliances.

Selfies are easily the greatest digital addiction all over the world and during the puja days the goddess is almost always seen in the background of the billions of selfies generated by gorgeously dressed men and women. Equipment stores in fact report higher sales of selfie, sticks in the run up to the puja without which the perfect shot (capturing the goddess in the background) is impossible. Sales of power banks have also gone up. No handset manufacturer has been able to make such a battery that will cater to the demands of day-long photo shoots.

I cant think of puja celebration, or pandal hopping, without my cellphone, says Titlee Chowdhury, a chartered accountant in her early thirties who works with an MNC in New Town Rajarhat.

The ebullient professional who loves to sleep and wear red lipstick has planned hangout sessions with her friends and pandal hopping. I can easily move around without the red lipstick, but just cant enjoy without my cellphone, she affirms. Not surprising, since most of our activities now centre around the cellphone.

Take the example of Kumar Biswas, who is a Bihar-born Bengali. In 2013, during the pujas he was feeling sad while travelling through the Nairobi National Park in Kenya. It was October, and back home the dhaaks were alive to the familiar rhythms in Bengal, and he was missing all of it. But soon a lion appeared from behind the bushes very close to him. He didnt waste the opportunity, captured the majestic animal on his cellphone and transmitted the image back to his friends in Kolkata, erasing the enormous geographical distance that separated him from the biggest celebration of the Bengalis. As a return gift, his friends shot a video of the astami arati and sent it to him on his phone  and Durga appeared on a 5 inch screen thousands of kms away inside the dense jungles of Kenya.

This year the information sharing platform will be more crucial for the festive season as quite a few tour organisers are bringing foreign tourists to Kolkata to market Durga puja worldwide. (HT Photo)

None of that could be possible in the brick-and-mortar world.

The goddess began riding the digitial revolution years ago, and the mobile handheld device is merely a grand culmination of a process that matured for several years.

More than a decade ago the little mouse  namesake of the carrier of Durgas beloved son Ganesha but in a different avatar  became the carrier of Durga around the world.

Puja went online and distances vanished immediately, as if by divine touch. With the click of a mouse, non-resident Bengalis could hear mantras online and repeat them, blow conch shells, offer pushpanjali and even receive bhog at home  irrespective of how far he/she was from a Durga idol or the physical presence of a priest.

Online Durga puja has turned into a storm in the cyberspace. There are several websites offering virtual tours of major puja pandals, online puja services, live streaming of arati performances and virtual tours of the major pujas across Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh and in other major cities in different parts of the world.

There are websites that provide service of offering the goddess garland, flowers and green coconuts from afar. Another website puts forward the opportunity of online pushpanjali and promises, The prasad will be delivered at your residence  wherever you are located. Now you can watch the purohit performing the puja on your laptop or mobile. These websites recorded nearly 50,000 hits during the 2015 pujas.

Read: Bengal to be showcased as model state by wine producers

The digital push has also been a great leveler  it has united Bengalis all over the world. Earlier, there was a pronounced disconnect between the Durga puja held in Bengal and those organised overseas, especially in the US and European cities. This not surprising as there are extreme difficulties in organising Durga puja abroad. There are no holidays. The idols, and even priests, often need to be transported from Kolkata. Immersion of the idol is not allowed in many places. The online pujas have changed all that. Non-resident citizens can now witness the pujas as they happen in faraway homeland on their phones and computers as they happen in real time. Even the introverts and depressive maniacs cannot feel left out anymore.

The phenomenon has percolated to such levels that in 2001-2002, Kerstin Anderson, a Swedish researcher devoted her Ph.D thesis on the trend of online Durga puja. She observed that for the Bengali diaspora all over the world digital Durga has become a unifying factor irrespective of wherever they had to settle for professional reasons.

Any religion talks about connecting people, and what achieves the cause of unity  and a more democratic level playing field  more spectacularly than the smartphone? It also achieves the mission of equality, another quest for any religion.

The digital era has created the environment for a common man to walk the same information superhighway as a billionaire and a national leader  almost a recreation of the maxim that all mortals are equal before the gods. Cyberspace worships equality something that so many human creeds  political to religious  seek on earth.

Durga puja is an event that marshalls the best of creative skills in an array of artists in lighting, painting, creating sets, and the amazing artwork that comes up on many community pandals are nowhere to be seen on the planet. (HT Photo)

This year the information sharing platform will be more crucial for the festive season as quite a few tour organisers are bringing foreign tourists to Kolkata to market Durga puja worldwide. As tourists from the US to China will converge in the city to have a firsthand experience of the magic, millions will witness the magic simultaneously in their respective countries via the handheld devices they will carry.

If someday Kolkata attracts as many foreigners as the Rio carnival, or the Oktoberfest in Bavaria, the digital technology will have contributed a lot to it, quips Joydeep Mookerjee, director of Meghdutam Travels that has offices in Kolkata and Montreal. Mookerjee is an enthusiast in selling the citys autumn extravaganza that he believes surpasses any festival in the world in display of creative talents.

The photos and texts that these tourists will transmit to their countries will send many messages about the ancient land for which snake charmers and soothsayers have been traditional brand ambassadors. For instance, it will show them that women, unassisted by men, used to slay demons in this land. There are lessons for many with stiff upper lips in modern nations that are yet to elect a woman to head the government. One of the most looked-up-to European nations did not allow their womenfolk to vote till 1971.

And why only the goddess? Durga puja is an event that marshalls the best of creative skills in an array of artists in lighting, painting, creating sets, and the amazing artwork that comes up on many community pandals are nowhere to be seen on the planet. Without the digital media none of it could be recorded and transmitted all around the globe  both for the moment and forever. Just imagine how rich human civilisation would have been if the Harappan masonry, Nalanda university discourses, the construction of the Gizza pyramids, the Paleolithic cave paintings in Altamira could have been recorded and transmitted in real time as they happened. Documenting the pujas in Kolkata will be as much a service for posterity.

Since I learnt using the internet with help of my daughter, my puja days have changed dramatically. I used to be in great pain during the five days of festivity and TV programmes were my only window for devi darshan. But now, I have a world to explore. I can click and reach any location from Ekdalia Evergreen to New York, Singapore to London, said Ketaki Chakraborty, a sixty-plus homemaker in Chinsurah of Hooghly district who suffers from acute arthritis.

A few years ago she got a pleasant surprise when she found Birendrakrishnas voice in the ringtone of a neighbour.

The devi and the digital have truly merged into a single supreme being where it is difficult to say where the devi ends and where the digital begins. The two are complementary  like the devi, the cyberspace remains intangible. The digital space can be felt but not touched  the cellphone, or tablet, or the computers that we hold in our hands are actually the meaningless exteriors of the infinite, almost in the same way as the idol of clay that stands in the pandal offers us the illusory experience of touching the goddess, the supreme power.

There is also a legacy, and a family, issue connecting the two. Indias biggest contribution to human civilisation is the invention of the zero. Brahmagupta (598670 AD) reduced this essentially philosophical construct to a mere convenient symbol on paper, without which Boolean algebra, the bedrock of the science behind the digital age, would not have simply developed. (His Brahmasphutasiddhanta is the first book in that mentions zero as a number.)

Another little known is the fact that Brahmagupta was a follower of Shiva, the husband of Parvati.

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Without a doubt, Kolkata turns into the worlds largest open air gallery for artworks during Durga Puja every year. For the past several years organisers and art directors have uncorked exotic themes around which hundreds of pandals have been decorated. Which are the pandals you shouldnt miss this year. HT gives you a shortlist. Along with directions.

BELIAGHATA 33 PALLY

This puja committee has come up with a theme that showcases the iconic ambassador taxi which is no longer produced. The theme of this puja is nostalgia. The organisers have bought 15 yellow taxis and silencer pipes and doors of the car with which the entire paldal has been decorated. It is a tribute to the car that had been a part of the city and, in fact, the controlled economy era in the country.

Location: Near phool bagan bus stop.

Suruchi Sangha has Bhutan as its theme this year. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

SURUCHI SANGHA

The theme of Suruchi Sangha this year is Bhutan. The organisers of this puja at New Alipore have decorated the entire pandal with milestones of the Himalayan kingdom. For those who have gone to Bhutan, this can be a trip of nostalgia.

Location: New Alipore. Can be approached both from Taratolla and Tollygunge Circular Road.

MITALI SANGHA (KANKURGACHI)

The theme of this puja is Upasana. The pandal of this puja has been decorated with items that are needed for offering puja such as incense sticks and incense stick stands.

Location: Near Kankurgachi

SANTOSH MITRA SQUARE

This is one of the famous pujas in north Kolkata and this year they are showcasing what one needs to do survive an earthquake. Given the frequency with which the earth is shaking beyond our feet, it is a must visit for everybody. The organisers are offering the rather unusual solution of shifting to the moon. The organisers are saying that eastern India is an earthquake prone zone, and one can explore the idea of living on the moon.

Location: Near Sealdah

BADAMTALA ASHAR SANGHA

They have already acquired a name for unique concepts, and this year too has come up with a novel idea. The pandal will depict the rashi chakra or the zodiac cycle. The pandal has been erected with five crore pieces of broken bricks. A theme music has been composed and it will be synchronised with illumination.

Location: Near Rashbehari Avenue crossing

BALLYGUNGE CULTURAL ASSOCIATION

This is one of the most famous pujas of south Kolkata for several decades. Their theme is to recreate the simple, traditional community puja of yesteryears. The pandal has been decorated with terracotta. The idol will be dressed in Bengals traditional red-bordered sari that symbolises festivities for married women. The lighting, too, promises to be dramatic. The idol will be completely decked up in traditional style.

Location: On Lake View Road

GOLAGHATA SARBOJANIN

The theme this year is dedicated to postcards, stamps and letter boxes. The entire compound has been decked up with more than 50,000 post cards assembled with the help of Kolkata GPO. The organisers of the puja said that the postal department employees were initially stunned when they were asked to provide the puja committee with so many post cards. The organisers want to remind the people of the nearly lost art of communicating through letters.

Location: Near Ultadanga off VIP road

Deshapriyo Park Pujo idol this year has 1,000 hands instead of the usual 10. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

DESHAPRIYA PARK DURGOTSAV SAMITI

This club created history in 2015 by installing the tallest Dura (88 feet) that attracted such crowds that the puja had to be stopped by the police to restore normalcy in the entire city. There was also a stampede on Panchami. This year the organisers have uncorked another gimmick -- the idol will have 1,000 hands instead of the usual 10.

Location: Deshapriya Park

The famous Meenakshi temple has been recreated at Ekdalia. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

EKDALIA EVERGREEN

You can get a test of South India in this pandal. The famous Meenakshi Temple has been recreated here. This temple in the ancient city of Madurai was actually built around 1625-1655, but it is said the original temple could have been built in 6th century BC. Like other years, the pandal also displays a gigantic chandelier.

Location: Near Gariahat crossing.

DUM DUM PARK TARUN SANGHA

In its 31st year, the theme of this puja is Doshe Dosh. There is a perennial fight between the good and evil. We must stand together to fight it. That is the theme we have presented in a creative manner at the pandal, said an organiser. The pandal is being decorated with replicas of different weapons. A gallery of faces is being built to represent evil forces. The gallery will lead to the main idol where the devis powers are highlighted.

Location: Dum Dum Park

BHAWANIPUR 75 PALLI PUJA

The theme of this year is Aarshinagar, or the City of Mirrors. A 45-feet high elephant has been created for the facade of the pandal. The structure is made of cane and paper pulp with pieces of mirrors all over it. Stitching mirrors on clothes is a popular craft in many states of the country such as Odisha and Gujarat. Colourful floral motifs have been used, along with miniature bells and toy animals made out of papier mache and clay. The idol in traditional Rajbari style but with a modern touch.

Artists have recreated Rajasthan at Barisha. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

BARISHA

To visit Rajasthan, go to Barisha this year. Artists from Rajasthan have been brought to create an atmosphere of Rajasthan. Rocks, sand and other artefacts have been used to create a slice of Indias most colourful state.

Location: Beyond Behela

Like every year, the idol is decked up in pith (shola) artwork and has a pristine, imposing look at Bagbazar Sarbojanini. (Samir Jana/HT Photo )

BAGBAZAR SARBOJANIN

One of the community puja organisers who have stuck to tradition despite the entire Durga puja scene being swamped by competitive themes. Like other year, the idol is decked up in pith (shola) artwork and has a pristine, imposing look.

Location: Bagbazar
He visited five Durga Puja pandals out of the thousands that are being organised across the city.

And before he left for Kolkata airport to catch a flight back to the US, he said he will tell everybody back home about the Durga Puja in the city.

Meet principal deputy assistant secretary, US department of state bureau of consular affairs David T. Donahue who went pandal-hopping on Thursday evening (panchami).

According to him, this vibrant city, is worth exploring as far as tourism is concerned.

Donahue on Thursday visited five Durga Puja pandals in South Kolkata and he could not hide his excitement and tried playing the Dhaak and Dhamsa madol at two Puja pandals.

Read:How the differently-abled and the elderly experience Bengals biggest festival

The year has been declared as the US-India Travel & Tourism Partnership Year. In view of this declaration, Donahue visited some of the Durga Puja pandals in the city to explore tourism potentialities in eastern and northeast India and to honour and enjoy this great cultural and historical festival.

Before leaving for the airport, Donahue said, I am going to tell everybody. People are looking for something different, exciting and something exotic. According to Donahue, it will be great to bring up Kolkata and Bengali people for other to understand.

After hopping from one pandal to another, Donahue said, I am disappointed that I have lived this long in my life and never heard of this (Durga Puja) before. He said that he came to know about the Durga Puja festival from one of his office mates who was originally from India after that person gave him a childrens book on Durga.

Read:In this Nadia club puja, meet Mamata as Durga

This is a wonderful thing for children to read and understand the culture. After visiting a pandal depicting the topic of women empowerment, Donahue said, I have two daughters and I strongly believe in empowering them.

Its nice, its beautiful and its something exciting where people learn how they can be better their societies, he said.

After taking a walk from one Pandal to another, he said that he has seen many connections between Durga Puja in Kolkata and other festivals around the world, such as the Chinese New Year, the carnival and other festivals across the world. They attract millions of people across the world. If people knew, they would have definitely come here, Donahue said.

He also took a few pictures of idols and pandals and said the festive mood of the city reminded him of places like Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Speaking about 2017 which will be the year of tourism between India and the US, Donahue said, We want to do everything we can to promote tourism during that time.

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The year was 2007. Then state environment minister, Sailen Sarkar, was having an informal chat with a few environment experts and some senior Kolkata-based journalists over a cup of tea in his chamber one evening. The topic of discussion was as informal as the meeting  what could be done about the rising pollution levels in the city?

Experts and journalists pointed out that with no checks and balance, the pollution was shooting up every day. The levels were particularly high during the festival. During Durga Puja, thousands of lights gild the pandals in and across the city. These consume thousands of units of power which comes mainly from the coal-based thermal power plants. This further contributes to rising pollution levels.

The idol-makers of Kumortuli were, at the time, using paints laced with led and other toxic chemicals. As the idols were immersed in the Hooghly, the toxic chemicals melted into the water leading to pollution. Furthermore, the random and unrestricted use of plastics, sound and crackers added to the environmental hazard.

The idol-makers of Kumortuli were, at the time, using paints laced with led and other toxic chemicals. (Ram Krishna Samanta )

It was then that the idea of launching a green campaign during the Durga Puja was pitched in the meeting. Though there wasnt much hope at the time that the proposal would be followed up and implemented in earnest or be taken seriously.

The experts told the minister that if companies could ride the Puja bandwagon to capture the imagination of consumers while they are out pandal-hopping, why cant the idea of a clean and green environment and an eco-friendly Puja take shape at a time when the festive frenzy hits the proverbial crescendo?

Read: Tale of two women: Mother Teresa and Ma Durga

The minister latched on to the idea and even assured his departments full support if any initiative is taken to make Bengals biggest festival  the Durga Puja  a clean and green one.

As these discussions and initiatives were gradually gaining momentum, a professor of biochemistry, Krishnajyoti Goswami, who was heading the National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India (West Bengal Chapter) at the time, commissioned a study that brought out how paints laced with lead and used for painting the idols were posing grave risks to the environment.

Equipped with this report, environment activists and pollution experts hit the roads. The first Puja to take up an environment-related theme was the puja at FD Block in Salt Lake. That was the start of the green revolution that gradually left an indelible imprint on Bengals biggest festival.

Campaigns against paints laced with lead and chromium were actively carried out in Kumartuli and also by puja organisers. (Subhendu Ghosh / HT Photo )

A city-based NGO, Environment-Governed Integrated Organisation (EnGIO), announced an award for the best of all Green pujas. In the first year itself, as many as 60 puja organisers applied for the award. The initiative was supported by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

Thereafter, environment-related themes such as climate change, energy conservation, noise pollution, plastic and immersion made their presence felt at Puja pandals across the city. Puja organisers, not just in the city and across the state, joined the revolution and started planning their themes on these lines. Related topics such as safety and disaster management also turned into Puja themes.

Once the organisers of such big pujas as Suruchi Sangha in New Alipore, Ballygunge Cultural and others started working on these themes, there was no looking back. Experts claimed that at present, one out of every four pujas in the city and across the state are themed on environment-related topics.

Today, almost every award handed out to Puja organisers are judged on whether and to what extent they have adhered to environment-friendly norms. These awards, coupled with environment-friendly theme pujas, are gradually changing the face of Bengals biggest festival.

Simultaneously, the campaign for lead-free paints also gained momentum. Unlike other environment-friendly norms such as curbing use of plastic in selected areas, banning kanta tel (adulterated fuel) and phasing out pre-1993 vehicles which were enforced by the court and the government, it was a peoples movement that drove the change to lead-free paints.

Lending a boost to the green cause, the state pollution control board got leading paint manufacturers to distribute over 150 litre of green paint among artisans in idol-making hubs at Kumartuli, Garia, Canal East Road, Metiabruz and Howrah in 2011. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo)

Campaigns against paints laced with lead and chromium were actively carried out in Kumartuli and also by puja organisers. Initially, there was resistance from the artisans as they claimed that lead-free paints could result in rise in the price of idols. Many voiced fear of the idols losing out on lustre and glossy finish in the bargain.

Lending a boost to the green cause, the state pollution control board got leading paint manufacturers to distribute over 150 litre of green paint among artisans in idol-making hubs at Kumartuli, Garia, Canal East Road, Metiabruz and Howrah in 2011.

At a meeting with 16 paint manufacturing companies, the experts pointed out that to bring about a behavioural change, they first needed the artisans to use the paint. And the best way to do so was to distribute it for free during Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Jagaddhatri Puja. The response from both the artisans and the paint companies was overwhelming. Some paint companies even organised workshops with the artisans to sensitise them on environmental hazards and encourage them to switch to green paints.

Apart from distributing green paint in Kolkata and Howrah before the Pujas, the PCB also took the initiative to Chandernagore before Jagaddhatri Puja and Naihati before Kali Puja.

Awareness campaigns targeting puja organisers paid off. As the organisers started demanding idols made with lead-free paints, the artisans were left with little option but to switch to such paints.

In 2015, a survey of the citys leading pujas  conducted by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and EnGIO suggested that more than 70% of the Kolkatas top draws had switched to lead-free paint.

But that was not all. After doing away with the polluting lead paints, the chorus to make the pujas more environment-friendly by using LED lights as opposed to the existing ones, got shriller.

At a meeting with 16 paint manufacturing companies, the experts pointed out that to bring about a behavioural change, they first needed the artisans to use the paint. (SubhankarChakraborty/HT Photo)

The organisers gradually started displaying their lighting skills with the help of LED lights. At such top pujas as Ekdalia Evergreen, Singhi Park Durgotsav and Md Ali Park  that draws revellers aplenty for their dazzling display of lights  the organisers gradually shifted to LED lights.

LED lights consume less power than the regular ones. Those switching to LED lights derived instant benefits. The power consumption, which used to shoot up manifold during the Pujas, came down significantly. This was despite the fact that the number of pujas increased over the years.

As the majority of our power supply still comes from coal-based thermal power plants, more consumption lead to more pollution. However, the advent of LED lights helped curb both power consumption and pollution.

Also, the efforts made by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and other civic bodies across the state to pull out the idol structures soon after they are immersed into the water, made a difference. Every year, the KMC makes elaborate arrangements during immersion in the Hooghly to prevent pollution.

While separate make-shift bamboo structures are erected near the ghats where those, leading immersion processions, could dump flowers, the KMC deputes workers to pull out the idol structures after immersion. The Hooghly is restored to its normal pristine self within 48 hours of immersions.

LED lights consume less power than the regular ones. Those switching to LED lights derived instant benefits. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

The first such initiative was taken up by the residents of Chandernagore in Hooghly. It was a peoples initiative supported by the civic body.

In time, the initiative spreads to other municipalities. Civic boards like the one at Naihati municipality took it to another level. In Naihati, the idols are not even taken to the ghats for immersion. A huge screen was erected, behind which hose pipes were used to melt the idols into a mound of mud.

Read: Devis digital domain

A few puja organisers in Kolkata have approached the KMC authorities asking to be allowed to follow the same procedure. However, not much has come of it as yet.

The initiative to make the Pujas clean and green is now set to be taken to every single community in the city. A city based NGO recently tied up with the KMC to launch a campaign aimed at keeping the neighbourhoods as clean and green as the pandals. Awards for the best eco-friendly para (locality), which implements ban on plastic, segregates waste, manages t e-waste and maintains its greenery, have also been proposed.

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A motorcycle and an SUV crashed head-on Thursday evening shortly after 6 p.m. at the intersection of North West Street and Lincoln Avenue in Carlisle.

The motorcyclist appeared to suffer a shattered leg, as many at the scene described it. The driver of the SUV looked to be unharmed in the crash.

Carlisle resident Donald Black, who was behind the SUV at the intersection on his own motorcycle, said, Ill be selling that thing tomorrow, nodding toward his bike, when asked to describe what he saw.

We nodded, since were both on the bikes, and they both came together and then it was like a push, he explained.

The extent of the motorcyclists injuries are unclear at this time.

Police at the scene declined to comment, and said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
On Friday as Kolkata was absorbed in Durga Puja celebrations, in one corner of the city the nuns of Missionaries of Charity (MoC) were busy chanting special prayers to mark their 66th foundation day.

Established on October 7, 1950 by an innocent but determined 40-year-old Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Kolkata, MoC had its most glorious moment on September 4, when she was canonised as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. However, moments of glory never swayed the nuns of this institution, and Friday was no exception.

Read: Tale of two women: Mother Teresa and Ma Durga

Mother never encouraged any pompous celebration. On foundation day special prayers are organised. Otherwise it is like any other day at Missionaries Of Charity, said Sunita Kumar, spokesperson of MoC.

A look into the extraordinary journey of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionaries of Charity would put anyone in awe. Saint Teresa started MoC with just 12 members and today it has 5,150 sisters in 139 countries and 7,058 homes spread all over the world. In other words, MoC is present in 73% of the 191 member countries of the UN.

This number includes 19 homes in Kolkata to look after people and children who need care, care for refugees and homeless, former prostitutes, the disabled, ill, orphans, lepers and the aged.

Mother Teresas way of frugal life and selfless service is being carried forward by the sisters of MoC. (HT Photo)

With just three sarees, a griddle, a pair of sandals, a crucifix and a rosary, a plate, a set of cutlery, napkin, a canvas bag and a prayer book, the nuns of MoC lead a completely frugal life. While the vegetables used in the all the homes in Kolkata are grown in homes of MoC, the blue and white sarees that the nuns wear are woven by the members of the home for leprosy patients by MoC.

I have been with Mother for 30-years. And in all these years we were surprised to see how she used to lead a simple life and render selfless service. That is exactly what everyone at MoC does, said Kumar.

Read: Ahead of Mother Teresas Canonization, tracing her journey in Kolkata

When she established MoC not many people knew her. Then as people saw her selfless service donation in kind and in terms of voluntary service started trickling in. Now MoC has no dearth of donors all over the world. Since the year Mother passed away the number of volunteers coming to Kolkata for short term service too has grown four times, Kumar added.

The popular saying change is permanent does not apply here. Nothing changes at MoC, except its reach. From its headquarters at Entally in Kolkata, its sisters continue to live up to the credo of the Mother to reach out to the poorest of the poor.

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13th

Director - Ava DuVernay

Rating - 4.5/5

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

- The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

In a film full of impassioned voices  intellectuals, politicians, activists and former inmates  there is one voice that is more resounding than any. It is the only voice that doesnt speak. It is the only voice we never hear. But through her images and sounds, director Ava DuVernay brings the necessary anger, the controlled outrage, without which this film couldnt have been as enormously important as it is.

The image is a powerful medium to inspire change. It is definitive. You only believe what your eyes can see, and then, confronted with proof, the questions and the doubts that you once had, are quelled. Without ever saying it outright, DuVernays film, about mass incarceration in the United States, is also about these images.

It traces the history of injustices against the black community, from the iconic image of slave Gordon, his back whipped so mercilessly that it became almost reptilian, to cell-phone footage of police brutality in 2016.

Read more movie reviews here

That image of Gordon was the final evidence many abolitionists needed. It was the image that inspired many free black men to join the Union Army against the Confederates in the Civil War. This film, which borrows its name from the same amendment that declared every individual free, has the courage to say whats on everyones mind. Without any hesitant pauses, in a strong, reasonable voice, DuVernays film announces mass incarceration as a form of modern slavery. The plantations have become cells.

The images presented in 13th, in 2016, are as powerful a force of mobilisation as the image of Gordon was in 1863, or the hundreds of images of nameless black men, lynched, hanging from trees. Or the images of open casket funerals, parting gifts of fierce black mothers to their gunned-down black sons.

Ta-Nehisi Coatess Between the World and Me (L) and James Baldwins The Fire Next Time.

Ta-Nehisi Coates, in his magnificent 2015 book Between the World and Me, observed the role of the black man in a modern America, just like James Baldwin all those years ago in 1963. As many have already pointed out, it is required reading. But unlike Coates, DuVernays idea of America, while similarly dour, is not without hope. In many ways, it has the urgency of a last-ditch attempt, a final warning sign before the road forks into uncharted, dangerous territory.

She uses images from the past and juxtaposes them against contemporary rhetoric. The voice of Donald Trump, romantically talking about the good old days plays over footage of the KKK burning crosses, an image that was itself inspired by DW Griffiths immensely racist film The Birth of a Nation.

A still from DW Griffiths The Birth of a Nation shows actors dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan apprehending a character in blackface makeup.

So what do we do about it  aside from the occasional #BlackLivesMatter tweet? The easiest route to take would be washing our hands off this, like the hundreds of other injustices we observe and ignore every day, by chalking this down as an American problem. But its not, is it? Its not just an American problem.

In India it is worse. We just dont talk about it.

There is a short clip played in the film. In fact, it is played a couple of times. In it, a black man, dressed in a suit, wearing a hat, is slapped around by white men on a street. No one comes to his aid. He is knocked about like a pinball, from one racist monster to another, seemingly concerned only about his hat, which keeps falling every time he gets hit.

Now think about all the times youve seen our own policemen beating women on the news, dragging naked young boys, tied to their motorbikes, on gravel and mud. How many times have you seen a mob beating dalits?

For every Dr Martin Luther King, we have a Dr BR Ambedkar. For every 13th Amendment we have an Article 17.

This is not an American problem. 13th is a great film. Its streaming on Netflix, where itll exist forever. You have no excuse to not watch it.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @NaaharRohan

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The Ahmednagar police on Friday filed a 300-page charge sheet against three accused in Kopardi rape and murder.

A 15-year-old girl was raped and murdered on July 15 in Kopardi in Karjat tehsil of Ahmednagar district, sparking outrage across the state. The three accused -- Jiendra Babulal Shinde, 25, Nitin Gopinath Bhailume, 28, and Santosh Gorakhnath Bhaval, 30, all residents of Kopardi -- were arrested two days after the incident.

In the charge sheet, the accused have been charged under sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of Indian Penal Code and two sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO). The document names 70 witnesses.

Sources in the Ahmednagar police said the charge sheet has been filed within the mandatory 90-day deadline with utmost precaution, so the accused get maximum punishment.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced in the Assembly the trial would be conducted in a fast-track court and the government would seek death penalty for the accused. The government has appointed Ujwal Nikam as public prosecutor.

According to the police, the accused inflicted injuries all over the girls body, hacked her limbs and abandoned the body near her home. While they escaped, their motorcycle provided a vital clue, leading to their arrests.

While the girl belonged to the dominant Maratha community, the accused were Dalits. Fearing retaliation by Marathas, police protection was provided to Dalit houses in Kopardi and Dalit leaders were not allowed to enter Kopardi.

Days after the incident, the Maratha community held a massive march in Marathwada, which later spread all over Maharashtra. Apart from reservation, the community demanded capital punishment to the accused in the Kopardi case and abolition of Atrocity Act.

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Nearly 4,200 engineers from all departments of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have threatened to go on strike from Friday if the police and civic body fail to take action against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporators who humiliated the chief engineer of the roads department. The administrative work was shut on Thursday too.

MNS corporators Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri on Wednesday called Sanjay Darade on the pretext of inspecting a site in Dadar and forced him to carry a placard saying he was responsible for all potholes on a road in Dadar.

The strike by engineers would mean slowing down of work across departments. In the absence of engineers, the potholes on roads, too, wont get filled. The engineers met municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta to submit their resignations in protest. I will look into the matter. I have requested the police department to take action, said Mehta, after the meeting. They also held a protest march at Worli, from where the engineering department works. We will be in our offices, but administrative work wont be carried out, said an engineer. All engineers have submitted their resignation to the commissioner. We will go on strike from Friday if no action is taken, said advocate Sukhdev Kashid, secretary, BMC engineers union.

Darade filed a police complaint against Darade on Thursday. An FIR was lodged against Deshpande, Dhuri and other MNS workers for criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint.

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The polices interrogation of suspects in the Thane call centre scam has revealed that the scammers targetted gullible taxpayers not only in the US but in the UK and Australia as well, by working round the clock in shifts.

On Tuesday night, the police raided several bogus call centres, where employees allegedly posed as US Internal Revenue Service officials to con people over the phone. They rounded up about 700 employees and arrested 72 of them.

A senior official in the Thane crime branch said, We have learnt that the call centres functioned 24x7. Separate sets of trained callers would dupe people in the UK and Australia using similar methods. We will trace these employees and arrest them soon.

The official said that the shift for the Australia calls would start at 7am, and for the UK at 11.30 am. While those calling Australian citizens would pose as officials from the Australian Taxation Office, those calling the UK would masquerade as officials from Her Majestys Revenue and Customs.

He said the scripts varied according to the target country and that the callers were trained by experts to adopt the appropriate accent. A source said the police have already retrieved some conversations from the 820 hard disks seized in the raid.

The police have also learnt that the employees had set up several WhatsApp groups to post their daily traps. Every member would disclose his or her traps and earnings from them. The highest earner would get a bonus of between Rs2,000 to Rs5,000, the official said. The administrators of these chat groups were the promoters of the call centres or managers appointed by them, he added. We have also found Excel sheets in which the salaries and bonuses to the employees were recorded. These will be used as evidence, said the official.

Meanwhile, Thane police commissioner Paramveer Singh hinted at more arrests, saying, I can say that the syndicate is much wider than what we thought earlier. A lot more is going to be unraveled soon, he added.

Sources meanwhile, said that the police had initially planned to conduct the raid last Friday. However, the information got leaked and the call centres preferred to shut shop on that day. They did not open till Monday. However, following specific information on Tuesday, the police made a swoop.

WIDER RACKET Thane crime branch officials say scammers worked round the clock in shifts to con gullible taxpayers in disparate time zones

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It may have been reduced to being the BJPs junior partner at the state level. But the stars seem to have aligned for the Shiv Sena ahead of the polls to the countrys richest municipal corporation. It has emerged as the only party with a clear advantage from the recent delimitation exercise in Mumbai.

A ward-wise analysis of all sitting corporators vis-a-vis the new ward constitution after delimitation shows that while four administrative wards that are the partys mainstay areas have been unaffected, four more administrative wards with a majority Sena presence will see an increase in electoral seats. This is likely to help position the party, which currently has 75 corporators in the BMC, to improve its numbers.

In some of the northern suburbs where the Sena has a majority, electoral seats are set to increase from the existing 44 to 51. These include four administrative wards of R North (Dahisar), P North (Malad), P South (Goregaon) and L ward (Kurla). The partys other bastions comprising K East (Jogeshwari, Andheri), F North (Sion, Matunga), F South (Parel), and G North (Dadar, Mahim) have been unaffected by the delimitation process.

Although the G North ward currently has a majority of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporators, it has been a Sena stronghold with the party having germinated here. Surendra Jondhale, who heads Mumbai Universitys Department of Civics and Politics, said, The situation is strategically advantageous to the Sena. If the BJP and Sena fight elections separately, the BJP will be at the receiving end and will have to put in much more effort because the battle lines have become more competitive. There is a political compulsion for both the parties to come together, but the Sena will be ready for an alliance only if it gets to retain majority control of the corporation.

Unlike in the 2012 polls when the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) ate into several Sena votes, any threats from the Raj Thackeray-led party this time are likely to be contained as the party struggles to stay afloat. In the last BMC polls, the MNS pointedly chipped into the Senas vote share, sweeping its home turf of Dadar and Mahim, to get 28 of its corporators elected. However, in the following Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the party was decimated, losing all seats it contested in the former, and reducing its tally from 13 to a single MLA in the latter.

Jondhale said, For the MNS, this election is about political survival.

Unlike most other parties, the detrimental effect of the delimitation on the Sena is also likely to be limited. There are four administrative wards where the Sena has a majority and where the number of councilor seats is to dip for the 2017 elections. However, despite this, any direct impact on the Sena will be diluted as the partys majority in three out of four of these wards is very thin, and there are several other parties having a significant enough presence to share the blow.

Mumbai has 24 administrative wards with each of them having multiple councilor wards, totalling 227. Ahead of the 2017 polls, the citys electoral map has been redrawn to change the constitution of councilor wards owing to a shift in population towards the suburbs, leading to corporators across parties fretting over losing their vote bank.

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Hundreds of schools students got a rare opportunity to interact with retired National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Steven Swanson at Shiv Nadar School on Thursday as part of a five-day project.

Swanson, a celebrated NASA astronaut based in the United States, has flown two shuttle flights and completed four space walks. He survived 643 hours in space.

He is in Noida to interact with 270 participants of Mission Discovery, organised by The International Space School Education Trust (ISSET) in collaboration with Shiv Nadar School.

Thirty teams across 17 schools in NCR and Ajmer will brainstorm, interact with astronauts, space programme researchers and trainers, to present a unique idea to the ISSET about life in space. One team will be chosen to submit their idea to the International Space Station.

Students asked Swanson about life outside Earth, spacewalking, surviving alone and chances of growing vegetation in outer space. Many students also asked him about the psychological and spiritual effects of living alone in space for months.

This is my first visit to India and I was pleasantly surprised by the energy and motivation shown by the students. They quizzed me about space travel and my experience regarding space walking. The students here are no less when compared to their counterparts in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, said Swanson.

This is the first of its kind event that ISSET is organising in Asia, after their project last year in the UK.

The missions objective is to provide first-hand knowledge to inquisitive students about outer space through workshops and interactions, said ISSET founder, Chris Barber.

The objective is to motivate young people and inspire them so that they achieve their ambition. We want them to realize that they can become what they want.., said Barber.

Students were discussing ideas on space travel among their teams. We have read so much about space travel and we were really looking forward to meeting the NASA astronaut. There is so much possibility of life outside our planet.., said Amaan, student at Shiv Nadar School, Gurgaon.

I have come from Alwar to participate in the event. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends and gel with like-minded people. We are now focussing on working in a team towards a common goal, said Heena, a student of Mayo College, Ajmer.

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The Model Town police on Thursday arrested two more accomplices of October 3 robbery bid accused Hari Om and Sandeep Kumar, who were nabbed by two college youths Jagdish Singh and Gurpal Singh, as they tried to snatch a bag containing 1.94 lakh from an employee of a security agency near city hospital chowk on Monday.

They arrested were identified as Gopi and Honey of Katehra Mohalla of the city. The cops also recovered three stolen LCDs, two bikes and sharp-edged weapons from their possession.

In a press release, the police officials said that following interrogation of Hari Om and Sandeep Kumar, both Gopi and Honey were caught from undisclosed locations. The officials added that three more accomplices, Vicky, Money and Sonu were still absconding.

They had committed several snatchings and thefts in the past six months here, police said.

Honey is the kingpin of this gang and all of them have been to jail before.

The cops stated that Honey was also associated with gangster Daljeet Singh Bhana and four of them would be produced in the local courts on Friday.
Former member parliament and national spokesman of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Vijay Inder Singla said that every business in Punjab was owned by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders and the Badals in Punjab.

Addressing party workers during the Congress Liao, Punjab Bachao campaign in the Rampura Phul assembly segment, Singla said that industry was actually fleeing from the state.

Singla addressed party workers in four rallies at Mehraj, Rampura, Bhai Rupa and Bhagta as part of the Punjab Congress Express campaign. Former MLAs Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon also addressed the gatherings.

From liquor to stone crushing, monopolies are flourishing in Punjab as SAD leaders run the state like a private limited company. Among the reasons cited by businessmen for the exodus were the bribes they claim they are compelled to pay, he said. He criticsed the police lathicharge on protesters in Kothaguru on protesting contractual employees on Wednesday and said that everybody has the right to raise his demands but the SAD-BJP government was crushing the protests using police force. He blamed SAD in the Rampura Phul assembly for using police for targeting political opponents by registering false cases against them and said that state was facing a situation of lawlessness.

EVACUATION SHOWS INCOMPETENE OF GOVTS: MANPREET

MANSA: The Punjab Congress Express, a mini bus customised for campaigning, reached the Budhlada assembly constituency under the leadership of Manpreet Singh Badal, who was accompanied with party MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti and around seven ticket aspirants from Budhlada.

The leaders visited and held nukkad meetings at Birokalan, Hirokhurd, Bachuana and Gurnekalan villages. Criticising the state government, Manpreet said that the evacuation of villages near the Indo-Pak border shows the sheer incompetence of the state and Union governments. When you face a crisis situation, it is the people in power, who should stand behind you. However, the government has played a cruel joke with the people by asking them to evacuate their villages without any orders from the Border Security Force, said Manpreet.

The villagers mostly raised the local issues related to law and order situation and highhandedness of Sardar Chatin Singh Samao, SAD MLA from Budhlada. Chatin Singh and his musclemen have hijacked the entire area. All the projects and police stations are run under his guidance. We have apprised of his actions to the leaders, who have come here, said one of the attendants of the programme.

Manpreet said that when the Congress would come to power, it would bring a rule of law in the state.
Pronouncing the judgment in the 23-year-old jeb katri tattooing case, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has convicted three cops. The case involved tattooing of jeb katri word on the foreheads of four women in 1993 that had brought criticism to the Punjab Police from world over.

Terming the act of the accused as inhuman, special CBI judge Baljinder Singh, who wrapped up the trial in a year, on Friday awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) to the then superintendent of police Sukhdev Singh Chinna and sub-inspector Narinder Singh Malli, the then SHO of Rambagh police station, and a years RI to ASI Kanwaljit Singh.

The victim women were: Gurdev Kaur, Parmeshri Devi, Mohinder Kaur and Jaswinder Kaur.

The Punjab Police had faced widespread criticism as the incident hit the headlines across the world in 1994 after cops in Amritsar tattooed jeb katri on the foreheads of four habitual offender women.

The National Human Rights Commission took cognisance of a press report dated January 12, 1994 and lodged proceedings under Section 12 (b) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

The victims had also filed a writ petition in the high court in 1994, praying for directions to the respondents, the government of Punjab, Amritsar superintendent of police, and others, to arrange for plastic surgery for removal of the tattoo, giving compensation for the inhuman act and humiliation and punishing the guilty cops.

On January 17, 1994, the NHRC not only approached the high court to become a party, but also addressed a letter to the Punjab chief secretary, seeking a report on the matter. The NHRC had also submitted an affidavit in the court, demanding a CBI probe.

After hearing counsel of NHRC and petitioners, the high court not only handed over the probe to the CBI, but also directed Punjab government to arrange plastic surgery of the victims and pay a compensation of `50,000 to each victim, as recommended by NHRC.

The case, reached to the Supreme Court, which upheld the decision of high court. The CBI filed the challan in 2015 under Sections 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 346 (wrongful confinement in secret)and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

How it happened

As per the petition, the victims alleged that they had gone to visit Golden Temple on December 8, 1993. After paying obeisance when they reached at bus stand, ASI Kanwaljit Singh stopped them and kept them custody from December 8 to 15. Later, the ASI on the directions of the SP and SHO, got tattooed jeb katri on their foreheads. The case came to fore when during a hearing of a pick-pocketing case, the police produced them in the court, foreheads covered with dupatta. One of the women showed to the court the tottoo on her forehead. Though the court didnt make any observation, the media highlighted the story. Police had alleged that womens neighbours had tattooed jeb katri on their foreheads to aware the public about their misdeeds.

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Novembers general election, which includes the battle for president of United States at the top of the ticket, is only a month away.

Deadline to register to vote, however, is much closer.

All voters in Pennsylvania must be registered by Tuesday to be eligible to vote in next months election. An application to register is available on the Pennsylvania Department of States website at pavoterservices.state.pa.us.

Physical forms can be delivered to the Cumberland County Bureau of elections, 1601 Ritner Highway, Carlisle, or mailed to the Department of State. Mailed voter registration applications must be postmarked by Oct. 11.

Registration can also be done online at the Department of States website.

Qualified individuals, like those in the military or those who will not be in the area of their polling place on Election Day, may vote by absentee ballot. An absentee ballot application, and information about voting by absentee ballot, can be found at votespa.com. Most absentee ballots must be received by the county bureau of elections by 5 p.m. Nov. 1.

Candidate events

In the lead up to the Nov. 8 election, several organizations will be holding candidate forums and events to better inform voters where those on the ballot stand on the issues.

The YWCA of Carlisle will host a state representative candidate forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the YWCA facility at 301 G Street.

The forum will feature incumbent Rep. Stephen Bloom, R-Carlisle, and Jill Bartoli, the Democratic challenger for the seat in the 199th legislative district, which includes the Carlisle area.

The event is presented by the League of Women Voters and will include an opportunity for questions from the audience.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

On Nov. 1 the Cumberland 9/12 Project will be hosting the Cumberland County Candidate Forum at 7 p.m. at Carlisle Fire and Rescue, 177 Carlisle Spring Road, Carlisle.

All candidates running to represent Carlisle in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate, as well as candidates for Pennsylvania auditor general, attorney general and treasurer have been invited to the event.

U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta and Scott Perry, state Reps. Bloom, Michael Regan, William Tallman, Greg Rothman and Sheryl Delozier and candidate for state treasurer Otto Voit plan to attend, according to the Cumberland 9/12 Project.

Doors open at 6:25 p.m. for a 6:30 p.m. meet and greet with the candidates, and the event is moderated by Ken Matthews of WHP-580 radio news.

Dickinson discussion

The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues at Dickinson College will host a nonpartisan panel discussion beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday about a range of issues from race and immigration to voting tendencies and the significance of presidential primaries.

The panel will be made up of Kathleen Marchetti, assistant professor of political science; Sarah Niebler, assistant professor of political science, who will also serve as moderator; David OConnell, assistant professor of political science; and Eric Vazquez, visiting assistant professor of American studies.

The event will be held at the Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 360 West Louther St. in Carlisle, and will be free and open to the public.
The Modi regime has opened more avenues of financing for the countrys small and cottage industry, besides encouraging such entrepreneurs to start new projects for employment generation, Union minister of state for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSME) Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said in Chandigarh on Thursday.

He was addressing a regional MSME conclave, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

As part of this initiative, small entrepreneurs excelling in innovation and adopting new technology will be awarded in Ludhiana on October 18, he said.

He said the Centres another initiative included understanding the indigenous needs and problems of the small entrepreneurs in their respective states and regions.

The investment in the MSME sector will generate lakhs of jobs, thus pushing the countrys development, he said.

INITIATIVES IN THE REGION

Haryanas finance minister Capt Abhimanyu said the state was trying to create a mechanism so that investments up to Rs 10 crore and factory spread over an acre get all clearances at the deputy commissioners level.

Punjab principal secretary Anirudh Tiwari said the border state was striving to create an ecosystem where MSME sector flourishes. He sought the Centres initiative in setting up knowledge facilitation centres for the industry.

The CIIs regional committee head for the small industry, Kavi Arora said they were working on three MSME clusters  agriculture implements, pharmaceutical and auto components in Ludhiana, Baddi and Faridabad, respectively. He felt an urgent need to re-visit the definition of MSME, as defined under the MSME Act-2006.

TOLL-FREE HELPLINE FOR PADDY FARMERS

Farmers across Punjab can now lodge paddy procurementrelated complaints with deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at toll-free helpline 1905 or through email (sukhbirsinghbadal@punjab.gov.in), said a spokesman on Thursday.
In yet another incident of crime against women, a man kidnapped his fiancees elder sister and raped her repeatedly. The woman alleged that mother of accused helped him in the crime.

The division number 6 police registered a case of kidnapping and cheating against the accused, Aakash, of Dr Ambedkar Colony of Industrial Area-A. The police also booked his mother Kailasho under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The victim, who is married, in her complaint stated that engagement of her younger sister was solemnised with Aakash. Nearly two week ago she went to Aakashs home to discuss about arrangements of marriage.

She added that at that time Aaskashs mother was also present there, who offered her tea laced with sedatives, and she lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself in Uttar Pradesh where Aakash raped her repeatedly.

She managed to flee and went to her maternal house in Kot Ise Khan in Moga. She did not share her ordeal with anyone for a few days, but later decided to lodge a complaint against him.ASI Rachchpal Singh, who is investigating the matter, said the police registered a case under Sections 366 (kidnapping), 417 (cheating) and 120-B of the IPC in this context. The police will add Section 376 (rape) after conducting her statements before the court. The police launched a manhunt for the arrest of the accused.
Even as the evacuation orders along the International Border are yet to be rolled back, normalcy seems to be returning in the region with people starting to move back to their villages.

Even though the five relief camps set up by the Amritsar district administration did not receive a single family, many people living in border villages had moved to their relatives homes in safer places. Now, even the relief camps set up in Tarn Taran, which were receiving people, are getting vacated fast, with people moving back home.

The Tarn Taran administration had set up as many as 12 camps in the district. As the evacuees were not ready to stay at the camps, only six  at Jhabhal, Bir Baba Budha Sahib (Thattha), Gagobuha, Bhikhiwind, Pahuwind and Bainkan were made operational.

Deputy commissioner Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal said: A few evacuees were present at these camps till Tuesday, but now hardly anyone can be seen at the camps. The harvesting season is one of the reasons behind their return to their villages.

Even as there is no evacuee in most of the camps, the government staff will be remain there till any directions are issued. We will see for another day or so before closing the camps, he said.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also claimed that residents of border villages in Punjab, who were uprooted from their homes following tensions along the Indo-Pak border, were returning home.

The villagers feel the atmosphere back home is conducive enough for them to return. Moreover, they are concerned about their ripening crop, livestock and property, said SGPC additional secretary Daljit Singh Bedi.

Bedi said in Tarn Taran, the SGPC had set up 22 relief camps outside the 10-km border belt zone. Those in these camps are now moving back to their villages, and the situation is the same in Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Fazilka districts as well.

Amritsar DC Varun Roojam, too, admitted that people have started moving back to border villages.

SCHOOLS REOPEN, BUT ATTENDANCE LOW

After remaining closed for around a week, government schools in border villages opened on Wednesday. However, the attendance at these has been low.

The attendance is quite thin in all schools after resumption of studies. For instance, out of 800 students, only 125 turned up at the Government Senior Secondary School in Gagobuha village on the first day, said Parmjit Singh, district education officer (secondary), Tarn Taran, who was overseeing the relief camp set up at the school.

RETREAT CEREMONY: BAN NOT LIFTED YET

The district administration has not lifted the ban on entry of visitors during the evening retreat ceremony at the WagahAttari border.

The ceremony was closed for spectators ever since the orders of evacuation were passed last Thursday. Though the Border Security Force allowed 300 people on Sunday, but a stone was thrown at the Indian gallery from Pakistani side, making the situation even tenser. Since then, no spectators have been allowed. We will soon conduct a security review and take a call on lifting the ban, said Amritsar deputy commissioner Varun Roojam.

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Education helps even if you end up doing farming. Avtar Singh, 57, a postgraduate in chemistry, has emerged out to be a trendsetter in pursuing organic farming and adopting innovative measures to make agriculture profitable.

Solution to the farming crisis lies in the concept of forest biodiversity that can also be coined as diversification. We must adopt such a mechanism for farming that suited regional flora and fauna, he says.

Standing tall in his blooming cotton field embedded with sugarcane at Virk village on Delhi-Amritsar highway, this progressive farmer was praised by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Dr Gurdev Singh Khush (world food prize winner) and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) vice-chancellor Baldev Singh Dhillon, among others, for all what he does. Our concept of farming is based on judicious management of natural elements (air, water, earth and sky) available to us for free, said Singh.

Read | Cotton bounty: White gold shines in Punjabs Malwa region, farmers happy

Singhs cotton fields are the cynosure of all eyes as the crop was almost abolished from the map of Doaba region. He has been growing it from last two years in five hectares and there is no sign of whitefly anywhere around it. He had claimed to take more than 15 quintals per acre last year successfully, much more than the official estimate.

He also sows much fewer seeds per hectare as compared to conventional practices. Avtar is planning to enhance the cotton experiment to 20 hectares in the next season. He used to sow 1,250 cane buds in one hectare and taking upto 700 quintals yield from it. It only needs one hour irrigation daily by this technique he adopted thus saves water and power.

Labourers picking organically-produced bringals at Virk village near Phagwara on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Pursuing the multi-crop pattern in a single hectare, he has been growing maize, sugarcane, pulses, eggplant and vegetables in 70 acres untidily and mulling profits.

In this technique, he has generalised the rules for all crops. Avtar has prepared 50 soil beds in one acre with sufficient distance maintained to provide plants enough exposure to sunlight.

Once tilled, it will only need the same after one-and-half year, said Avtar Singh.

Moreover, Avtar has successfully adopted a water-saving approach for irrigation as he argues that plants only need moisture, not excess liquid as moisture serves as an elixir. He has taken proved results through it.

Agriculture officer Naresh Gulati said that Avtars approach can help revive rural economies as it would save seeds, labour, water and time.

Farmers across north India often visited us and many successfully adopted the technique, Singh said. He also invited state farmers to take a demo of the technique. He has also prepared a video presentation of this technique and distributes it to the farmers for free.
A woman and her two daughters were crushed to death under a tipper truck loaded with sand opposite the office of the senior superintendent of police (SSP) in Moga on the busy Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway here on Thursday morning.

The driver of the tipper (HP 31 B 0398), belonging to the Continental Construction Projects Limited, was reversing the vehicle to unload the sand for the construction of an over bridge when the woman and her two daughters came under its wheels and died on the spot. The tippers driver, Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Ghal Khurd village in Ferozepur, said that he didnt notice that they were behind the tipper.

The deceased have been identified as Aruna Devi, 45, Savita, 5, and Sarita, 10. They were residents of Sahnewal in Ludhiana and had been residing at a slum near the grain market here for a decade.

Eyewitnesses said they cried but the driver failed to listen to them.

The police reached the spot and shifted bodies to the civil hospital here.

Kulwant Singh, assistant sub-inspector (ASI), investigating the case, said that after conducting postmortem, bodies would be handed over to the family.

The police have impounded the truck and arrested the driver after registering a case against him under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving on a public way) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the city police station.

Paramjit Singh, the woman s brother, who was accompanying them, told the police that they were crossing the road when the tipper was being reversed.
UT home secretary Anurag Agarwal clarified on Thursday evening that there was no specific threat to Chandigarh and routine directions have been issued by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to all states. He said it was a routine advisory regarding dos and donts to be followed during the festival season. He said there was nothing to panic about.

He said they have sounded the agencies which are on alert to avoid any untoward incident in the city.

He said the bureau normally issues such alerts during the festive season, but the advisory gains importance due to the current situation between India and Pakistan.
After Fridays Namaaz, Miraz Malik, 17, is getting ready for his favourite scene during the Dussehra-Diwali months for the past two years now  his kidnap. The strapping lad has been playing the role of Sita at the Ramlila in Chandigarhs Manimajra for two years now. An engineering diploma student, not surprisingly, he does not know how to fix a sari.

The store in-charge of the Ramlila helps me drape myself in a saree, with the make-up doing the rest. The Sita Haran and Ashok Vatika scenes are my favourites. There are good arguments with Laxman and Ravana, in these respective scenes. Today is Sita Haran, Malik said.

There are two other Muslim artistes, too, who are performing with him at Azad Dramatics Clubs Ram Lila. One of them, Malik himself, broke into a major role only recently.

Malik, who joined the club in 2013, had previously been given the roles of Sumitra and Nal. Director Chitranjan Chanchal saw my acting and selected me for the role of Sita, he says.

There are no religious boundaries in Manimajra. We celebrate all festivals together. Miraz performed well, so we selected him for Sitas role. We do not allow woman to perform on stage, said Chanchal, who has been associated with this Ramlila for 42 years.

Ramlila is performed for 11 days. For all these days we have to sleep on floor and cant eat non-vegetarian food. We cant have onion or garlic in food. To ensure this, we rely only on home-made food, but are allowed to visit our places of worship, Malik adds.

We have been given a Ramayana and script to prepare for the role, he said.

From left: During prayers, Taj Ali who plays Marich, Idam Khan who plays Lord Rams father Dashrath, and Miraz who plays Sita. (Sant Arora/HT Photo)

Miraz playing Sita (extreme right) and others on stage during the Ramlila at the Manimajra fort ground. (Sant Arora/HT Photo)

Maliks father is an Ayurvedic doctor, while the mother a homemaker.

My parents have supported me. No one stopped me from doing the role and my relatives praise me. We have been brought up in a secular culture. I have visited Vaishno Devi and have taken the Amarnath Yatra as well. We also celebrate Diwali, he said.

On Shiv Sena not allowing actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui to perform in Ramlila at Muzaffarnagar on Thursday, he said, I dont care. When my parents are supporting me, I dont have to worry about anything. Some people have created artificial boundaries. You have to pay for your sins, that is what Ramayana teaches.

I will like to do Rams role one day. The director has promised me that, he adds , with a twinkle in his eye.

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A fire gutted a major Durga Puja pandal in Ranchi on Friday morning hours before religious rituals for the goddess were to begin.

Officials said no casualty was reported at RR Sporting Clubs pandal, built at an estimated cost of Rs 30 lakh on the busy Ratu Road here.

The pandal, based on the theme of Nepal earthquake, is one of the most sought after ones in Ranchi drawing revelers from across the state, especially the northern districts, and was to be thrown open to public from Friday evening.

Witnesses said fire broke out around 9:30am and soon flames were seen leaping from the sanctum sanatorium and spreading to the walls and interiors of the pandal. Five fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the blaze.

A priest, who was among those trapped in the pandal, fainted due to suffocation and was rescued by the civil defense team.

Prime facie it seems to be short circuit that caused the fire, city SP Kaushal Kishore told HT.

He said the administration has deployed quick response teams to tackle any such eventuality. This team sprung into action in no time and ensured minimum damage to life and property at the site, he said.

State fire officer RK Thakur said barring a few, most of the 153 pandals in the city have not taken mandatory clearances from his department, raising fears of a repeat of such incidents.

Synthetic and inflammable materials are prohibited in the making of pandals but are being used extensively, and live wires are left open and PVC conduits are seldom used, he said.

District disaster management officer Ashok Sharma, who visited the pandal with his team, found fire-fighting arrangements missing there.

Ranchi Mahanagar Durga Puja Committee president, Munchun Rai expressed concern over the incident but said they would go ahead with the puja come what may.

This is a sorry incident but we take this as the Goddesss will. The puja shall go on without any hindrance and break, he said.

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Telugu actor Naga Chaitanya spoke highly of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and said he is extremely proud of her growth as an actor. He recently admitted to being in a relationship with the actor.

Although Chaitanya and Samantha have been seeing each other for a long time, it wasnt until a few months ago that their relationship came into the limelight.

Im a very private person and I never felt the need to speak about my relationship in public. My friends have known about it for a long time. Then, when we informed our families, they supported our decision. We plan to get married next year, said Naga Chaitanya.

Refusing to talk about how it all started, Chaitanya said he wont stop Samantha from acting after marriage.

I dont think Id ever tell her what she should and shouldnt do. Im proud of her growth as an actress and I will encourage her to continue working. It was through sheer talent and hard work she got where she is today. I dont think she should throw away her successful career because of marriage, he explained.

He also clarified its not because of their relationship that Samantha walked out of upcoming Tamil gangster drama Vada Chennai.

On the career front, Chaitanya is excited about the release of Premam, the eponymous Telugu remake of the Malayalam blockbuster.

Weve made changes to suit Telugu sensibilities. Hence, this isnt a frame-to-frame remake. I really liked Premam and when we decided to remake it; our intention was never to make a better film. Honestly, this is our take on a wonderful film which was widely appreciated and accepted, he said.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya came close while making Autonagar Surya (2014) together. (Anjaanmovie/Facebook)

The original featured Nivin Pauly and Sai Pallavi in the lead. Chaitanya has qualms in admitting he took references from Nivins performance.

Nivin was terrific in the film. I dont feel ashamed to have taken references from his performance and also from my own life. I strongly feel this film will establish me as an actor, he said.

Directed by Chandoo Mondeti, Premam releases worldwide on Friday. It also stars Shruti Haasan, Madonna Sebastian and Anupama Parameswaran.

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps biography on the website of his privately held corporation, the Trump Organisation, claims he forced President Barack Obama to release his birth certificate.

The biography claims: In 2011, after failed attempts by both Senator McCain and Hillary Clinton, Trump single-handedly forced President Obama to release his birth certificate, which was lauded by large segments of the political community.

Asked about the claim, which has been in his biography since at least last August, McCains spokesperson Rachael Dean replied: As the record clearly shows, McCain has never questioned Obamas birthplace.

McCain famously defended Obama against conspiracy theories when he carried the Republican presidential banner in 2008, the Daily Beast reported.

At multiple campaign events, the Arizona Senator forcefully pushed back against his own supporters who questioned Obamas religion, race, and loyalty to the US.

Democrat Clinton, too, never attempted to force Obama to release his birth certificate, contrary to Trumps claim.

Trump, on the other hand, first emerged as a politically significant force when he began beating the birther drum in 2011, and hes continued to do so ever since, even after declaring last month that Barack Obama was born in the US, period.

Last summer, Trump, while vying for the Republican nomination, said of McCain: Hes not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured? I like people who were not captured.

Trump received multiple medical deferments from the military service for bone spurs while attending business school and once called the risk of STDs while sleeping around his own personal Vietnam.

McCain spent almost six years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, where he refused early release despite being brutally tortured to avoid the appearance of favouritism because his father was an admiral.

Despite that insult, McCain, facing a right-wing primary challenge for re-election, eventually endorsed his partys nominee for president but pointedly criticised Trump after he hurled insults at the Gold Star Kahn family.

McCain said: I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Trumps statement... While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.

Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening about the sentence in the candidates corporate biography that effectively labels McCain and Clinton the original birthers.

Clinton campaign press secretary Nick Merrill said: The record is clear on this. I give Trumps bio four Pinocchios.

Notably, the sentence in Trumps biography uses almost identical language to that of the Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr. at Liberty Universitys 2012 convocation when he was introducing Trump, whod just finished flirting with a presidential run that year.

Falwell said to a roar from the assembled believers: Trump has also become one of the most influential political leaders in the US. In 2011, after failed attempts by John McCain and Clinton, Trump single-handedly forced Obama to release his birth certificate.

--IANS

py/vt
RBI Panel moots easing bank branch norms

Published: October 7, 2016

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Internal Working Group (IWG) on Rationalisation of Branch Authorisation Policy has proposed easing bank branch norms. It was chaired by Lily Vadera.

It has proposed to relax norms that a bank branch has to follow, like a building, number of employees etc to facilitate financial inclusion.

Key Recommendations

Bank branches including those manned by business correspondents providing minimum 4 hours of service for 5 days a week, should be allowed to be treated as a full-service branch.

Any other fixed point unit of the bank not complying with minimum working period should be considered a part-time banking outlet

A part-time banking outlet can be opened in any centre. It will be counted in for computing requirement of having 25% branches in rural areas.

Redefined the un-banked rural centre (URC) as a rural (tier V and VI) centre that does not have a core banking solution-enabled banking outlet.

Comment

The acceptance of recommendations will significantly help to reduce costs for a bank while for opening branches in un-banked rural centres. It will further help to enhance financial inclusion by taking idea of bank as an outlet that delivers basic banking services. Banks, even without traditional branches, can use technology to offer services in areas that so far had no access.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016

Topics: Banking  Financial inclusion  National  RBI

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Donald Trump no longer wants to impose a total ban on Muslims entering the US, his running mate Mike Pence has said, indicating a disavow of one of its most provocative policy proposals by the Republican presidential nominee.

It is not Donald Trumps position now, Pence told CNN in an interview on Thursday when asked about Trumps stated policy of banning Muslims from entering the country.

Donald Trump has... talked about putting the security of the American people first... And hes made it clear our position is, were going to suspend immigration from countries compromised by terrorism, Pence argued.

Pence said Trump has underscored on the need to suspend immigration from countries and territories that have been compromised by terrorism.

I understand why you want to play the oldies, you want to talk about the where the campaign began or what statements were made, but the American people are focused on the policies that Donald Trump is articulating every day across this country, 57-year-old Pence said.

Later at an election rally in Pennsylvania, Pence slammed the Obama Administration for making alleged cash payment to Iranians as ransom, which has been denied by the US Government.

This administration and Hillary Clinton, with Clintons assent, signed an agreement that essentially puts off USD 150 billion to the Iranian, the radical Mullahs in Iran. And all we did was delay their nuclear ambitions.

The worst of it to me was the very day that the Iranians released four American hostages from captivity in Tehran, we delivered USD 400 million in cash on a pallet as ransom, he said.

Let me make you a promise. When Donald Trump becomes president of the US, we wont be paying ransom to terrorists. They will be paying the price if they detain American citizens or threaten our people, he added.

The US, he said, cant have four more years of Obama Administration.

We cannot have four more years apologising to our enemies and abandoning our friends. For America to be safe, for the world to be safe, America needs to be strong. And when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, we will lead with American strength on the world stage once again, he said.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old reality TV star denied allegations that a town hall, held on Thursday, was not his preparation for the next debate with his Democratic rival Clinton.

This isnt practice, this has nothing to do with Sunday, Trump said in an apparent response to the criticism against him.

Trumps performance in the first debate against Clinton was widely panned. Were just here because we just wanted to be here. And I want to be with the American people, I want to be with the people from New Hampshire, and she (Clinton) wants to rest, he lashed out at Clinton.

The next debate in town hall-style presidential format is scheduled to held on Sunday. PTI LKJ AMS AKJ AMS
One month from Saturday, Hillary Clinton is favoured to make history as the first female US president. But with a resilient Donald Trump standing in her way, the Election Day outcome remains anything but certain.

The possible pitfalls -- an October surprise, a Clinton debate meltdown, damning revelations from her controversial private emails or an act of terrorism -- are unknowable now, but they have a potential to upend an already extraordinary 2016 campaign.

The Democratic candidate has a 3.2-point advantage over her Republican nemesis, according to the RealClearPolitics national poll average, heaping pressure on Trump to make up ground in the closing weeks of their battle to succeed Barack Obama in the White House.

She has the upper hand in swing states, too. Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin are tilting Clintons way, polls show.

Trump, 70, is leading in Iowa and the crucial state of Ohio, where he claims strong support among working-class white voters. But Clinton, 68, would not need those states if she can hold other battlegrounds.

Campaign momentum had swung in Trumps favour ahead of his first debate with Clinton, on September 26. The provocative real estate tycoon had seized on Clintons description of half of his supporters as deplorables, and earned praise for acting more disciplined.

But Trump -- whose incendiary rhetoric and propensity to go off script have been campaign hallmarks -- did not toe the line for long.

After the debate, the Republican momentum ended, Columbia University professor Robert Shapiro said.

Not only did most analysts declare Clinton the debates winner, but Trumps subsequent pre-dawn rant about a former Miss Universe raised doubts about his temperament as he seeks the worlds most powerful job.

That looked pretty unpresidential, tweeting at 3:00 in the morning, Shapiro said. The polls have moved further in Hillary Clintons direction.

Caution

Last weeks revelations that Trumps declared loss of $916 million in 1995 allowed him to avoid paying federal taxes for almost two decades have not helped, even as he presented himself as smart for exploiting the complex tax code to his maximum advantage.

Democrats remain cautious about November 8, however.

Despite a cascade of insults and problematic policy proposals -- Trump has described Mexican immigrants as rapists, called for a ban on Muslim visitors, and suggested providing Japan and Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons -- the celebrity billionaire emerged triumphant from the Republican primaries.

He swept aside 16 challengers, including Senator Ted Cruz, who branded him a pathological liar.

Trump became the Teflon Don; the more he was attacked, the stronger he became.

I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose any voters, OK? Trump exulted in January.

The most caustic US presidential campaign in decades has potentially turned off millions of voters.

Clinton has amassed high-profile Democratic motivators: the president, First Lady Michelle Obama, Clintons onetime primary rival Bernie Sanders, ex-president Bill Clinton and liberal firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren.

But after 30 years in public life, Clinton -- a former secretary of state, senator and first lady -- remains deeply unpopular.

The case of her private email server, Republican exploitation of her handling of the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, concern over donations to the Clinton Foundation, and her connections to Wall Street collectively reinforce a narrative that she is not trustworthy.

Many Republican voters will be converting their hatred for Hillary into motivation to head to the polls.

Their overwhelming desire for change after eight years of Obama is another factor. While Trump began the race with no political experience, he tapped into a deep well of anger at a system that many voters say has left them behind.

Uphill battle

Trump -- who, like Clinton, is viewed unfavorably by more than half of Americans -- has harnessed that anger, but he, too, turns off voters.

He has never been able to be consistent, said political science professor Jeanne Zaino of Iona College.

He has a few good weeks, and then he ends up with the Khan situation, she said, referring to Trumps attacks against the Muslim parents of a slain US soldier.

He has a few good weeks, and he is attacking women calling them fat, including beauty queen Alicia Machado, the subject of Trumps late-night tweet storm.

For months, supporters urged Trump to start acting more presidential and even-tempered, but it looks like he may have passed the point of no return on that, Shapiro said.

The real estate billionaire has insulted Muslims and Hispanics, and broken with tradition by refusing to release his tax returns. Yet he continues to surprise.

He became the voice of millions frustrated by globalization, fearful of terrorism and betrayed by the political establishment.

Can he still bounce back with sharp performances in the second and third presidential debates on October 9 and 19? Zaino predicted that would be difficult.

I think it is really an uphill battle for him.
Fifteen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, President Barack Obama and the American military have dug in for a long campaign that defies rigid timelines and easy barometers of victory.

On October 7, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom to dislodge the Taliban and capture or kill Al-Qaeda militants they were harbouring.

For much of the 15 years since, the US has groped for a strategy -- flitting between trying to chase down jihadis, take accursed terrain, stand up a fragile government or beat back a dogged Taliban insurgency.

Obama came to office in 2009, promising a war-weary US electorate that he would bring the troops home.

But, after a series of missed deadlines and some semantic gymnastics about the definition of combat, he finally abandoned his pledge during his last year in office.

Insisting that he opposes the idea of endless war, Obama has acknowledged his presidency will end before Americas longest conflict does.

Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, who have barely discussed Afghanistan on the campaign trail, will inherit a much smaller war -- with some 9,000 US troops on the ground -- but one with no clear end in sight.

Right now we dont have a time-bound commitment, said a senior US administration official, who asked not to be named. It will be up to the next administration to determine how it wants to proceed.

War without end

That debate is likely to start with a fundamental question: Is a secure Afghanistan still a vital American strategic interest?

You could ask, now that Al-Qaeda has been decimated, do we still have a reason to be in this region? Its a very legitimate question and certainly a question the next administration will ask very early on, said the official.

Afghan officials argue that the administration of Ashraf Ghani is trying hard to root out the corruption and bad governance that defined Hamid Karzais decade in power.

It would be an incredible mistake not to safeguard the progress that has been made, a senior Afghan official told AFP.

Afghan security forces still need training and US air power, the official said, as well as help in stopping Pakistan from harboring Taliban and Haqqani network leaders.

Few US officials, either current and former, would disagree with that assessment.

Many point to the experience of the 1990s as evidence for the need to stay.

Back then Washington, having watched their mujahedeen allies oust the Soviets, began to disengage.

Ignoring Afghanistan proved unwise, a group of respected generals and ambassadors -- including Ryan Crocker and David Petraeus -- recently wrote in an open letter urging a sustained US commitment.

The turmoil that ensued in Afghanistan after 1989 ultimately gave rise to the Taliban -- and then to the sanctuary for Al-Qaeda that the Taliban provided Osama bin Laden.

Timelines and deadlines

Unlike Bush, Obama has been willing to bring the Taliban into the peace negotiations with Kabul, so long as they respect the rule of law and hard-won progress on things like womens rights.

But so far, neither the US killing of hardline Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour nor Kabul brokering a peace deal with a notorious warlord has convinced militants to come to the negotiating table.

Earlier this month Taliban insurgents launched an assault to retake Kunduz and so delegitimize the government, before being repelled.

Washington is betting its a matter of time before the Taliban, increasingly confined to rural areas and facing stiffer opposition from Afghan forces, change their calculus.

The Taliban, who are equally resilient Ill grant you that, are learning that they are not able to gain their objectives, the US official said. They have not be able to gain control and hold strategic terrain.

So the question is, how long will they persist in this strategy?

For much of Obamas tenure, it was an open question how long the United States would wait to find out.

His declarations of timelines and determination to drawdown forces has been criticized for sending mixed signals about US commitment and thus encouraging the Taliban and elements in the Pakistani security services to wait Washington out.

The administration argues they have offered a vital leverage.

The Afghan security forces, Im positive of this, would not have developed in the manner they have developed -- which in general has been very, very positive -- had it not been for the requirement imposed upon them by the international community for them to become more self-reliant, said the US official.

But setting a hard timeline of ending the war in 2014 was the explicit announcement that the Taliban just capitalized on, said Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution.

Obamas departure is likely to make such timelines and troop numbers less of a political hot potato.

That may be fitting in a war where victory is illusive and success or failure cannot be easily measured by the number of boots on the ground.
Twenty-two soldiers have been killed in an attack blamed on jihadists against a camp in Niger sheltering almost 4,000 Malian refugees, security officials said on Friday.

The attack against the camp in Tazalit, in the Tahoua region some 300 kilometres (200 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey and close to the Malian border, took place in broad daylight on Thursday.

A band of unidentified criminals in vehicles that had travelled from Mali carried out the attack, killing 14 national guards, five gendarmes, and three army soldiers, defence ministry spokesman Moustapha Ledru said in a televised statement.

Immediately after their crime, the assailants took flight towards Mali. The enemy were pursued in order to catch and neutralise them, he added.

This attack will not go unpunished, the spokesman pledged, calling on the countrys security forces to continue their implacable fight against these criminal groups with courage and dedication.

A security official who asked not to be named said some 30 to 40 heavily armed men speaking in Tuareg carried out the attack, killing 22 soldiers.

The assailants headed directly to the camps security post and machine-gunned the soldiers who were having lunch, he said.

He said the attack was probably carried out by jihadists.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which confirmed the death toll, said in a statement that five soldiers were also hurt in the attack, while the three remaining soldiers deployed at the camp managed to escape.

No refugees were hurt, according to the agency.

The attackers left some two hours later after seizing a vehicle as well as weapons, food, medical supplies and clothing.
Two explosions targeting military personnel on a passenger train killed at least six people and wounded 19 others in Pakistans troubled southwestern Balochistan province Friday, officials said.

The attack, claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, came as the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffer Express was passing the town of Much, 55 kilometres (35 miles) east of Balochistans provincial capital Quetta.

The explosions damaged two passenger carriages and killed six people besides wounding 19 others, senior local Pakistan Railways official Imtiaz Ahmad told AFP, updating the earlier toll of three deaths.

He said the fresh toll came after railway officials finalised the list of dead and injured. It was also confirmed by a senior doctor at the local hospital Noor Baluch.

Earlier, provincial home secretary Akbar Harifal told AFP rescue teams had been rushed to the accident site.

Oil and gas rich Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan, and has been roiled for years by violent separatist, sectarian and Islamist insurgencies.

The Pakistani military is accused of committing widespread abuses in the fight against the insurgents, which it denies.

A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army said the attack had targeted military personnel who travel to Rawalpindi by this train.

Balochistan is also the site of Chinas ambitious $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project linking its western province of Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and directed authorities concerned to find the culprits and bring them to task immediately, an official statement said.
Belgian prosecutors said the brother of a man charged with stabbing two Brussels police officers has been arrested and charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

A statement from the Federal Prosecutors Office on Friday gave no additional details about the brother, identified only as a Belgian citizen named Aboubaker D who was born in 1970.

His sibling Hicham D., 43, has been charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context and participating in the activities of a terrorist group in connection with the Wednesday stabbings in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels.

Belgian media have reported that Hicham D is a veteran of the Belgian army who was discharged in 2009.

Officials said the injuries to the police officers were not life-threatening.
Pakistan has decided to reverse an earlier decision and hire lobbyists once again to help it dig itself out of the deep hole it finds itself in the US, friendless and abandoned as a duplicitous ally that cannot be trusted.

The top leadership in Islamabad was going through a shortlist of 10-12 applications from top lobbying firms that had shown an interest, according to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that a decision was likely soon.

Pakistans relations with the US have been on a free fall in recent years, with feelings bordering on hostility on Capitol Hill  where many lawmakers have used the word duplicitous and killed an F-16 fighter jet deal  as well as in the administration and among experts of Washingtons influential think-tanks.

And the ongoing visit of special envoys sent by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to present Pakistans case on Kashmir and India was not going too well either, with no meetings scheduled at the White House or on the Hill, with lawmakers away.

After firing Locke Lord Strategies, its lobbying firm, in 2013, the Pakistani embassy here had soldiered on using its own diplomats to do the work of lobbyists. But clearly, that did not work out as well as the government would have wanted.

In fact, Michael Krepon, a long time Pakistan watcher at the think tank Stimson Center, argued Pakistan needs more than a lobbyist now.

What it needs to do is acknowledge reality, change course with respect to violent extremist groups that take safe haven in PakistanThat will help Pakistan more than a lobbying firm.

Pakistan believes it can do with all the help it can get. Locke Lord is believed to have played an instrumental role in the passage of the $7.5-billion aid package by congress in 2009, or so it claimed, according to reports.

Locke Lord also helped Pakistan deal with  or tried given the enormity of the challenge  the sense of shock and betrayal felt by Americans over the discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden in a hideout not far from Islamabad in 2011.

The firm was fired in 2013, a diplomat said, because of a combination of over-confidence  its diplomats can handle it by themselves  and a desire to save money.

As a major recipient of aid, how could it be seen spending so much on lobbying?

Lorde Lock cost Pakistan $760,000 in 2013, according to the senate lobbying disclosure database. India paid its lobbyist, BGR Government Strategies, $720,000 the same year, and every year since.

But costs may have been just one of the factors for Pakistan.

Mark Siegel, a partner at Locke Lord, told The Hill, a news publication, at the time his firm was fired, It is traditional when there is a change in democratic government for a newly appointed ambassador to select his own team of consultants.

Siegel has been called a personal friend of the Bhuttos and his firm was hired after Asif Ali Zardari became president in 2008.

His party lost the next election and Nawaz Sharif became prime minister in 2013, and Locke Lord was fired shortly thereafter.
Syrian rescuers risking all to save war-hit civilians and the brokers of Irans nuclear deal are among contenders for Fridays Nobel Peace Prize after Colombias peacemakers fell from pole position.

As the annual Nobel prize-giving week reaches its peak, the five-member Norwegian committee will unveil its decision at 0900 GMT, the only one of six awards to be presented in Oslo and the one which traditionally garners the greatest attention.

For once, Experts, online betting sites and commentators had thought they were on to a sure thing with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo London, alias Timoleon Timochenko Jimenez, widely seen as frontrunners after signing a deal to end 52 years of civil war.

But they were suddenly forced to rethink after voters in Colombia rejected the agreement between their government and the communist FARC rebels in an October 2 referendum.

That threw the prestigious prize wide open again, and with a record 376 nominations to consider, predicting the winner is largely a lottery, with experts far from unanimous over who the committee will choose.

On the eve of the award, several Nobel watchers flagged civilian-led endeavours, with two betting sites giving Greek islanders the best odds for coming to the aid of thousands of desperate refugees landing on their shores after making the perilous journey across the sea from Turkey.

For others, it was the work of Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege in helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Resilience and bravery

Syrias White Helmet volunteers were also touted as possible winners for their daring efforts to rescue civilians caught up in the carnage of the countrys five-year war.

Working in rebel-held areas, the force has won international plaudits for the bravery of its nearly 3,000 volunteers who risk life and limb to pull survivors from the rubble, with their nomination for the prize firmly backed by Britains Guardian newspaper.

What the White Helmets accomplish may seem like a drop in the ocean, but what they represent is immense: resilience and bravery in the face of barbarism, said the paper in an editorial.

And they show that individual acts of courage can go a long way to fight indifference. They also embody a spirit of civic resistance... exemplifying courage and solidarity in the face of state-sponsored terror.

For Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Oslos Peace Research Institute (PRIO), the top contender was Russian rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina for her decades-long work with refugees and migrants -- an issue which has shot to prominence in Europe since the start of the migrant crisis.

Also in the running is Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who endured months of sexual abuse by Islamic State militants before escaping to become a global spokesperson for her people.

And US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been touted for his exposure of the scope of US surveillance.

Nuclear diplomacy

If diplomatic achievement wins the prize, it could go to the negotiators behind the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord which effectively curbed Tehrans nuclear drive, putting an atomic bomb out of reach, in exchange for a gradual lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on its economy since 2006.

That could see the prize going to Washingtons top diplomat John Kerry, his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as to nuclear experts Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary, and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization.

In an illustration of just how difficult it is to call, last years prize went to four Tunisian groups who were instrumental in the countrys transition to democracy -- none of whom had been mentioned in any of the pre-announcement speculation.
More than 264 died and even more were hurt or left homeless in the chaos hurricane Matthew left behind in Haiti.

But the disaster was far from the first to hit the western hemispheres poorest nation, and as Haitians counted their dead on Thursday they were also quick to help out their neighbours.

In the Sous-Roche district of Les Cayes, Haitis third city on its exposed southern coast, Dominique Osny was giving instructions to a friend helping him gather corrugated iron sheets ripped from a roof.

Ive been on my feet for two days without sleep. We need to help each other, he told AFP amid the debris and destruction left when the storm passed through on Tuesday.

Everyone is a victim here, houses have been washed away, we lost all the roofing. I lost everything, right up to my birth certificate, he said, citing a vital document hard to replace in Haiti.

Sous-Roches Cayes was a quiet beachfront neighbourhood of the city before the storm, now drowned in mud and shattered trees.

The river level has begun to drop, but its waters are still mixed with the storm surge that inundated the beach during the hours-long battering by the Category Four storm.

I thought I was going to die. I looked death in the face, said 36-year-old Yolette Cazenor, standing in front of a house smashed in two by a fallen coconut palm.

Read | Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate: Millions in US told to flee Hurricane Matthew

An ariel view shows damaged houses are after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Sous Roche in Les Cayes, Southwest Haiti, on Thursday. (AFP)

Over 10 hours, hurricane-force wind blasts and heavy rain levelled all the crops in the communitys fields, promising lean months ahead even by Haitis impoverished standards.

I had fields of maize and of chili peppers, and 100 mango trees and a nursery where people could come and buy pre-germinated shoots for their own plots. I lost everything, said Junior Jetro Cherubin.

Cherubin is cheered by the solidarity his neighbours are showing in their misery, but wants the whole of Haiti to stand up as well and right some of the errors of recent history.

It is time that we work together to re-forest this country and to train people so they know how to build sturdy homes. Otherwise, each natural disaster will be as bad as the last, he said.

Sceptical of foreign aid

Haitis economic decrepitude is likely connected to its disastrous post-colonial legacy of foreign intervention and home-grown corruption.

The country has also had its fair share of natural disasters: Haiti sits on a hurricane path and in January 2010 was hit by a devastating earthquake that demolished much of the capital and left more than 250,000 dead.

Since then the nation has been struggling to overcome a cholera outbreak.

Some of its needs have been met by international aid -- a religious mission Arise Haiti sent a truck to Les Cayes and an American woman was distributing food parcels as AFP visited.

An ariel view shows damaged houses are after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Sous Roche in Les Cayes, Southwest Haiti, on Thursday. (AFP)

But the large-scale international aid programs in place since the quake have been criticised for failing to build local capacity while spending millions on their own short-term programs.

And ordinary Haitians are sceptical of help from abroad.

Ive never believed in foreign aid. Please, dont come back promising us billions again if nothing is to come of it, said Gedeon Dorfeuille.

And definitely dont send in the army in again, he declared, recalling how armed US soldiers arrived by helicopter after the earthquake and then the aid agencies took 80 percent of the cash.

Dorfeuille now believes that Haitians will have to care for themselves, and as the sun went down he was still working with his hammer, repairing roof after roof for his destitute neighbours.

Read | Nothing is going well: Hurricane Matthew leaves over 250 dead in Haiti
India is calling out Pakistans tendency to demand the worlds attention by holding a gun to its own head, raising the bogey of a nuclear neighbourhood, as has been the strategy of special envoys sent by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the United States to press their case on Kashmir.

Emphasizing that the two countries are nuclear powers and therefore there is nuclear blackmail involved is a Pakistani strategy, finance minister Arun Jaitley told NDTV in an interview on his arrival in Washington for the annual World Bank group meetings.

Thats precisely what Sharifs envoys, lawmakers Mushahid Hussein and Shezra Mansab Khan, have sought to do in their meetings here, specially those open to public  raise the bogey of a dangerous nuclear neighbourhood.

Arguing for urgent attention on Kashmir, Hussein said, Its come back with a bang and its more significant because youre dealing -- as President Clinton called in 1993 -- a nuclear flash point -- potential nuclear flash point. He was speaking at an event at Atlantic Council, a DC think tank, on Wednesday.

(As) Two nuclear neighbours, we should learn to talk to each other rather than talk at each other.

His colleague Khan took a similar tack at Stimson Center, another DC think-tank, on Thursday. Asked to name the single most important issue for Pakistan at present, she said, Our core issue at this time is Kashmir. No peace can prevail if this issue is not solved.

She went to argue it was an international dispute and not an internal problem, which must be resolved urgently. For emphasis, she added, The stakes are very high. We are a nuclear neighbourhood.

Neither Hussein nor Khan pointed out that this nuclear neighbourhood is keenly aware of that because of repeated threats of a nuclear war from Pakistan.

We will destroy India if it dares to impose war on us. Pakistan army is fully prepared to answer any misadventure of India, Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif said recently. We have not made an atomic device to display in a showcase. If such a situation arises, we will use it and eliminate India.

The Prime Ministers special envoys, who have been largely ignored by local media, lawmakers and the administration  with no meetings on Capitol Hill or at the White House (they met Peter Lavoy at the White House on Friday)  have sought US understanding and intervention in resolving Kashmir, despite repeated rebuffs from the administration, which continued to stress, it was an issue for India and Pakistan to deal with and resolve. State department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, Our position (on Kashmir) has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides.
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Expanding the shadow cabinet, newly re-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday appointed prominent human rights barrister Shami Chakrabarti to the role of shadow attorney-general, taking the number of non-white MPs in his cabinet to a high of five.

The expansion was supposed to be an attempt to reunite the party after the recent bruising leadership contest, but none of Corbyns critics who left his cabinet in recent weeks found a place in the new team.

Chakrabarti is the only Indian-origin member in Corbyns shadow cabinet, but Barry Gardiner, shadow energy minister and shadow secretary of state for international trade, is known for his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the days the latter was Gujarat chief minister.

Accepting the shadow cabinet role, Chakrabarti said it was an enormous privilege

I hope to follow in a great tradition of law officers on both sides of the aisle who have defended rights, freedoms and the rule of law, she said.

Many MPs were said to be dismayed that Rosie Winterton, the opposition chief whip, was sacked from her post, to be replaced by former prime minister Gordon Browns aide, Nick Brown.

Corbyns long-time aide, Diane Abbott, was made the shadow home secretary.

Chakrabarti, 47, is the former director of campaign group Liberty.

She was elevated to the House of Lords just a month after she concluded a report into alleged anti-semitism in the Labour party. Her peerage was criticised by MPs and others who questioned her independence.

However, Chakrabarti, who studied law at the London School of Economics, insisted there was nothing remotely transactional about her inquiry report that absolved the party of anti-semitism.

Her rise in politics has been described as rapid.

A former lawyer for the Home Office, Chakrabarti was a panel member of the Leveson inquiry into phone hacking and carried the London Olympics flag in the 2012 opening ceremony.

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Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, is a wealthy businessman who staked his political legacy on making peace with the FARC rebels.

He sealed a historic deal last month with his former mortal enemy, the FARC guerrilla leader Timoleon Timochenko Jimenez, to end five decades of conflict -- only to see it rejected by voters in a referendum last weekend.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, said committee chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five.

Santos and Timochenko come from different worlds: one a rich businessman and politician; the other a country boy turned Marxist guerrilla leader.

Santos, 65, led a major offensive against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as defence minister from 2006 to 2009.

After becoming president in 2010, he shifted tack and negotiated for a settlement with the guerrillas.

He made war as a means to achieve peace, said his brother-in-law and adviser, Mauricio Rodriguez.

He weakened the FARC to make them sit at the negotiating table.

The peace drive required courage, audacity, perseverance and a lot of strategy -- those are Santoss strengths, Rodriguez added.

Despite fierce opposition to the talks from some former allies, Santos staked his presidency on the peace process.

I am not looking for applause. I just want to do the right thing, he once said.

He won re-election in 2014 in a vote widely seen as a referendum on the talks.

Santos, who was born in August 1951 in Bogota, is the scion of a wealthy, powerful family entrenched in Colombian politics and the media.

He has described himself as politically in the extreme centre.

He was educated at the London School of Economics and began his career as a journalist, covering the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua as a young man.

He then switched to politics, serving in various ministerial posts.
Syrias White Helmets may have missed out on the Nobel Prize for Peace, but the graciousness of their reaction to the announcement shows how much they deserved to win.

Soon after the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos,was announced as the winner, the official Syrian Civil Defence Twitter account congratulated him.

Congratulations to the people and President of Columbia. We sincerely wish them peace. @NobelPrize  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) 7 October 2016

People around the globe were rooting for the White Helmets -- the nickname for the Syrian Civil Defence, a 2,900-strong volunteer force that carries out rescue and search operations in the conflict-ravaged country. Till date, the organisation has saved more than 62,000 lives.

There is no denying that the humanitarian work undertaken by the White Helmets has made them the frontrunners for the prize, with popular opinion dubbing them the peoples choice. Hollywood celebrities such as George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Jude Law, Daniel Day Lewis had publicly expressed their admiration, while many international publications had supported their Nobel nomination.

Who are the White Helmets?

Former bakers, carpenters, painters, engineers, students  the force is made up of civilians who lead serach missions and deliver crucial emergency services, even as Syrias public infrastructure lies in shambles. Their name comes from the signature uniform - white-coloured hard hats -- worn by the members while they are out on rescue missions.

Their motto, on their site, says: We act neutrally, impartially and for all Syrians.

How do they operate?

When a bomb is dropped at any area  close to 50 bomb and mortars are dropped on Syrian neighbourhoods and markets  the White Helmets rush in to start evacuate the population and launch rescue and search operations.

Their other work includes warning people of potential targets, providing first-aid at the spot, fire-fighting, managing emergency shelters, repairing critical public utilities, and emergency disposal of dead, among others. With no equipment and no support services, the White Helmets often have to pull out people from the rubble using their bare hands.

How did the organisation form?

Self-organised volunteer groups sprung into action in late 2012-early 2013 when the Syrian regime started aerial bombardment on rebel areas. These groups then started communicating with each other and banding together. The first centres were started in Aleppo City, Douma and Al Bab and have expanded to 120 centres across Syria. They received funding from Western air organisations and in March 2013, basic training on search and rescue was organised in Turkey.

What are the dangers they face?

The volunteers risk their lives every single day -- in the past three years, 142 have been killed and more than 400 injured while saving others. The White Helmets are specifically targeted by government forces. Just yesterday, a barrel bomb was dropped on one of their centers in Damascus, putting it out of commission.

.@SyriaCivilDef center in Damascus just destroyed by air dropped barrel bomb. Vehicles destroyed and center out of action.  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) 5 October 2016

Why did they deserve the Nobel Prize for Peace?

Syria is often called the worlds deadliest conflict till date -- according to a UN estimate, more than 400,000 people have died since war broke out in 2011, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights pegs the number between 301,781422,317.

In a departure from previous conflicts, medical workers have been fair targets. UN investigators say that more than 700 doctors and medical personnel have been killed in the Syrian conflict. In the past five years, many parts of Syria, especially markets, hospitals, mosques have been reduced to rubble. In Syrias climate of unmitigated despair and horror, what the White Helmets bring to the Syrian people is some much needed hope.

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Steven Woolfe, a candidate to be the new leader of Britains anti-EU UK Independence Party, was recovering in hospital after suffering seizures on Thursday following an altercation with a colleague at a meeting about the partys future.

Described as unseemly behaviour between two grown men by UKIPs leader, the incident took place as the UKIP members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Strasbourg, sought to clear the air amid factional infighting which has grown since Britons voted to leave the European Union in June.

Brexit has shaken all parties across the British political spectrum, leading to Conservative Theresa May replacing David Cameron as prime minister, a leadership election in the opposition Labour Party and deep division in UKIP as to its purpose now it has achieved its goal of securing EU withdrawal.

The party was plunged into chaos on Wednesday when its leader Diane James quit just 18 days after being elected to replace Nigel Farage, the high profile party chief who announced he would step down after the vote for Brexit.

Woolfe had angered some in his party when he said he would stand as a leadership candidate to replace James but then also admitted he had considered defecting to join Mays ruling Conservatives.

It shouldnt have happened. Were talking about a dispute that finished up physically, Farage, who has resumed his role as interim UKIP leader, told reporters outside the Strasbourg hospital where Woolfe was recovering.

Its two grown men getting involved in an altercation. Its not very seemly behaviour. Its made us look like were violent.

He declined to name the other man involved and said there would be an inquiry. Roger Helmer, one of the UKIP MEPs at the meeting where the altercation occurred, said there had been a lively exchange of views at the meeting.

Nigel Farage (C), United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, leaves the Hautepierre Hospital in Strasbourg, France on Thursday where Steven Woolfe of the UKIP, was in, after suffering "epileptic-like" seizures on Thursday, following an "altercation" at a heated European Parliament meeting on the party's future. (Reuters)

Several British newspapers cited an aide to another MEP Mike Hookem, UKIPs defence spokesman, denying reports that he had punched Woolfe. Mike did not touch him, the unnamed woman was quoted as saying, adding it was a purely verbal altercation.

Hookem, 62, could not be reached for comment. On his website, the former army commando describes himself as a working class lad from ... Hull, who calls a spade a spade.

Woolfe collapsed about two hours after the incident and lost consciousness outside the EU legislatures chamber after taking part in votes. Pictures showed him sprawled face down, still clutching a briefcase on a walkway in the parliament building.

Farage said Woolfe had passed out and suffered two seizures, one quite major, but scans had shown no blood clot or bleeding on the brain.

I am sitting up and said to be looking well. The only consequence at the moment is a bit of numbness on the left-hand side of my face, said Woolfe, who marked his 49th birthday on Thursday, in a statement.

He should be discharged from hospital on Friday, Farage said.

Hit head on window

UKIPs Welsh leader Neil Hamilton, who was not at the meeting but said he had been given an account of what had happened by an eyewitness, told BBC TV that Woolfe had picked a fight and then been knocked over and hit his head on a window.

French police and prosecutors in Strasbourg told Reuters that they were not investigating the case for the time being.

Once dismissed by former prime minister Cameron as fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, UKIP now has 22 MEPs, two more than either the Conservatives or Labour, after winning the May 2014 European Parliament election on a surge of eurosceptic sentiment.

That pushed Cameron to agree to hold a referendum on quitting the EU but since then the party, which has only one Westminster lawmaker, has struggled with its identity.

Farage resumed overall leadership of the party on Wednesday after James quit less than three weeks into the job saying she did not have sufficient authority or the full support of UKIP MEPs.

Hours later Woolfe said he would put his name forward to be leader but caused consternation when he said he had flirted with leaving the party.

I have been enthused by the start to Theresa Mays premiership, he said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

The growing evidence that she is committed to a clean Brexit prompted me, as it did many of my friends and colleagues, to wonder whether our future was within her new Conservative Party.

Woolfe had been the original favourite to take over from Farage but was excluded from the leadership ballot after submitting his nomination papers late.
The US said on Friday it does not support declaring Pakistan a terrorist state but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.

The US also called for a meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.

US state department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.

Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a terrorist state, Kirby said: I have not seen anything specifically about such a bill, and obviously we dont.

He, however, said he would not comment on whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard. What we -- what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and were going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously its a threat to the Indian people as well.

So were going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and weve always said that more can be done about the safe havens and thats -- were going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end, Kirby said.

He said the US position on Kashmir has not changed and it is for India and Pakistan to address the problem.

On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir. And generally, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place -- meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries, Kirby said.

He added that the US wanted India and Pakistan to resolve their differences.

There are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them, Kirby said.

Thats all were asking, thats all were hoping, thats all were expecting from leaders in India and Pakistan. But we dont believe for a minute that they dont take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children, he said.

Kirby also said the US had full confidence in Pakistans nuclear security.

I think weve said before were confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal, he said.
A 41-year old Sikh-American IT specialist was brutally attacked by some men, who knocked off his turban and allegedly cut his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, prompting a civil rights organisation to demand a hate crime investigation into the incident.

Maan Singh Khalsa, a father and IT specialist in California, was driving home on the night of September 25 when a group of men in car threw a beer can at his vehicle.

Khalsa drove away from the scene but the men followed him and assaulted him through his open car window, knocking off his Sikh turban and hitting his face repeatedly, according to a statement from The Sikh Coalition, the nations largest Sikh civil rights organisation.

Khalsa said there were five to six white males in their late 20s to early 30s who abused him and three of them then attacked him physically.

Shouting that Khalsas hair should be cut off, the men pulled his head out of the window, and cut a fistful of his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, the complaint alleged.

Khalsa sustained injuries to his fingers, hands, eye and teeth.

Read | In this fight together: Sikhs join Muslims to combat hate crimes in US

The Sikh Coalition has written to the Richmond Police Department and the Contra Costa County district attorneys office on behalf of Khalsa, urging authorities to conduct a hate crime investigation and prosecution in the case.

The attackers caused physical injuries and deep harm when they targeted my Sikh faith, Khalsa said in a press statement released by the Sikh Coalition.

I urge a thorough investigation so we can address the tide of violence and bigotry in this country.

Sikh Coalition legal director, Harsimran Kaur urged authorities to fully investigate this hateful attack on Khalsa and his Sikh identity.

The purpose of a hate crime investigation and prosecution is to ensure that our government and communities accurately account for the problem of bias in our society, Kaur said.

The Sikh Coalition said that in the 15 years that have followed 9/11, Sikhs remain hundreds of times more likely to be targeted in cases of profiling, bigotry and backlash than the average American.

We need to acknowledge hatred so that we commit the resources necessary to stem bias-based violence, Kaur said.

Read | War on hate crime: SGPC out with document on Sikh identity
UNITED NATIONS: Portugals former prime minister Antonio Guterres, who is almost certain to be the next UN secretary-general, says he wants to be an honest broker, a bridge-builder and someone who tries to create conditions for consensus.

The veteran politician and diplomat won unanimous backing from the UN Security Council on Thursday. During a closed-door meeting, the 15 council members adopted a resolution formally presenting Guterres as their choice to be the worlds diplomat-in-chief. Applause rang out in the chamber as the council recommended Guterres for a five-year term from January 1.

Guterres said in an interview during his campaign that if he got the job his aim would be to work with all countries to help solve the myriad problems on the global agenda.

Guterres topped all six informal polls in the council after receiving high marks from almost every diplomat for his performance in the first-ever question-and-answer sessions for candidates in the General Assembly.

The result disappointed campaigners for a woman or East European to be the worlds top diplomat. Guterres will almost certainly select a woman as deputy secretary-general and he said in the interview that one of the things that is crucial at the male-dominated United Nations is to have gender parity. He said his 10 years as the UN high commissioner for refugees were excellent preparation for the new role.

A vote by the General Assemblys 193 member-states to endorse the successor to Ban Ki-moon is expected next week, probably on Thursday.

Speaking in Rome, Ban hailed Guterres as a superb choice, saying that his wide knowledge of world affairs and lively intellect will serve him well in leading the UN in a critical period.
CAPE CANAVERAL: The fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade slammed into the Bahamas on Thursday, intensifying as it barrelled towards the south-east US coast where a mass exodus was under way with millions heeding warnings to flee inland.

Roadways in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were packed and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as Hurricane Matthew approached, packing sustained winds of about 185 km per hour, storm surges and heavy rain.

Matthew killed at least 102 people, the death toll in struggling Haiti alone rising to 98, officials said.

Many were killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers. Southern and western Haiti bore the brunt.

Everyone in our state must prepare now for a direct hit, Florida Governor Scott told a news conference in Tallahassee, adding, If Matthew directly impacts Florida, the destruction could be catastrophic and you need to be prepared.

The four states in the hurricanes path declared states of emergency enabling their governors to mobilise the National Guard. Shelters in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened their doors after authorities, along with President Barack Obama, urged locals to evacuate their homes.

Federal emergency response teams were coordinating with officials in all four states and stockpiling supplies, Obama said. Scott requested that Obama declare a pre-landfall emergency for Florida, which would bring resources including as food, water and waterproof coverings and double the active National Guard force to 3,000.

Schools and airports across the region were closed on Thursday and some hospitals evacuated patients, according to local media.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the storm whipped Cuba and Haiti with 230 kph winds and torrential rains, pummeling towns and destroying livestock, crops and homes .

The devastation in Haiti prompted authorities to postpone a presidential election.

Local authorities and international aid workers still lack a clear picture of the storms destruction.
WASHINGTON: Recruits into the Islamic State group are better educated than their average countryman, contrary to popular belief, according to a new World Bank study.

Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group, said the newly released study titled Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism.

The study, which aimed to identify socioeconomic traits that might explain why some are drawn to the Syria-based extremist group, made clear that poverty and deprivation were not at the root of support for the group.

Almost without exception, fighters joining ISs Syria and Iraq-based forces had several more years of education in their home countries -- whether in Europe, Africa or elsewhere in the Middle East -- than the average citizen. The data shows clearly, the report said, that poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism.

Out of 331 recruits described in a leaked Islamic State database, only 17% did not finish high school, while a quarter had university-level educations.

Only those from Eastern Europe were below the average, and only marginally so, according to the study. Foreign recruits from the Middle East, North Africa and South and East Asia are significantly more educated than what is typical in their region, the Bank report said.

About 30% of the recruits told the extremist group what positions in the force they wanted. Around one in nine volunteered for suicide operations, and their educational levels were on par with those who sought to be administrators, the report said.

Most of the 331 recruits also reported having a job before traveling to join the IS, also known as Daesh, according to the study.

But a significant number of those choosing to be suicide fighters when enlisting said they had not been employed back in their home country, or that they were in the military before joining the group.
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is facing another potentially embarrassing discovery of the leak of top secret documents and intelligence from a former NSA contractor whose arrest in August was disclosed in court filings on Wednesday.

Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, was working as a contractor with the defence department at the time of his arrest, for Booze Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm which is still reeling from the fallout from the arrest of its earlier employee Edward Snowden.

Though the exact damage caused by Martin is not known yet, his arrest in itself will be damaging for the Obama administration.

FBI found thousands of pages of documents, and dozens of computers and electronic devices from his house in Maryland, a state abutting Washington DC that is home to the National Security Agency.
An Ironton teen remains in the Iron County Jail facing a Class D felony charge of making a terrorist threat after police say he sent an anonymous threat last month to several of his fellow Arcadia Valley High School students via a smartphone app.

Arcadia Valley High School senior Justin Buffington, 18, was taken into custody at school on the morning of Sept. 16 by an Iron County Sheriff's Office detective. The incident for which the teen is accused took place on Sept. 9 when around 16 students received the message, "School shooting on Monday. Don't be late," on the After School smartphone app. Local law enforcement began an investigation into the threat and eventually the FBI was brought in to assist.

On that Monday, there was a heavy presence of police officers and sheriff's deputies on the school grounds. While no incident occurred, many concerned parents kept their children home from school that day, which resulted in a 45 percent attendance rate.

Arcadia Valley Superintendent Dr. Jim Carver explained the process that led to Buffington's arrest.

"On that Wednesday, Sept. 14, we ended up getting information from coordinating with the After School app company," he said. "We ended up getting a [phone] number that specifically identified the device. Once we had that, we had to get subpoenas to get stuff from the cellphone company.

"Sometime on Thursday we got confirmation on the owner of the account and cellphone which was tied-in specifically with this individual who was 17 at the time the threat was sent, but ironically turned 18 that next weekend. Once that happened, Detective Gregg Hitchings with the Iron County Sheriff's Office came to school on that Friday and took him into custody."

Buffington was incarcerated under a $25,000 bond and, to date, has not made bail. His attorney is requesting a bond reduction.

While Carver expressed appreciation for the assistance given by the app company in helping to identify the teenager, he also expressed frustration in the way that the After School app company handled the situation.

"The app company ultimately gave us the information to be able to identify the individual, but they could have given us that information on the Friday that the threat was made," he said. "Instead we didn't get it until that Wednesday. They could have saved us a lot of grief had they just released that information earlier, but I'm very grateful that they worked with us.

"I just wish things could have been done a little bit quicker with our community being on edge and going through everything they had to for almost a week. It sure would have helped to have things resolved quicker."

While Carver is relieved that Buffington is now in custody, he hopes his arrest will serve as a warning to area students about the seriousness of committing a similar crime.

"On behalf of any school, anytime there's any kind of threat whatsoever, we can't afford in this day and time to take anything with a grain of salt," he said. "It's a very serious situation and we have to respond and react to that as soon as we can for the safety of our kids and the peace of our community.

"The thing that would have really been bad is if a kid makes a post like that and we're not able to get to the bottom of it. In a case like that, I think you've just opened the door for a whole bunch of kids to post whatever they want. It's good that it came to a head because it could have been very challenging for all of us."
ISLAMABAD: Pakistans parliament unanimously passed legislation against honour killings on Thursday, three months after the murder of an outspoken social media star. A joint session of the lower and upper houses of parliament, broadcast live on television, approved the new anti-honour killing law, removing a loophole in existing law that allows killers to walk free after being pardoned by family members. Laws are supposed to guide better behaviour, not allow destructive behaviour to continue with impunity, said former senator Sughra Imam, who initially put forward the bill. Some 500 women are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to honour.

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HENDERSON: US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump backed off from praising Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, saying he was unsure of his relationship with the Russian president who he has described as a better leader than President Barack Obama.

The day after running mate Mike Pence appeared to break ranks with Trump during a vice presidential debate and called Putin a small and bullying leader, Trump adjusted his own previously warm rhetoric toward the Russian.

I dont love (Putin), I dont hate. Well see how it works. Well see, Trump told supporters during a campaign stop in the swing state of Nevada. Maybe well have a good relationship. Maybe well have a horrible relationship. Maybe well have a relationship right in the middle.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has criticized Trump, who often praises Putin, as being too cozy with the Russian leader and questioned the Republicans business interests in Russia. Those charges were repeated by her vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine during a debate with Pence on Tuesday. In response, Pence denounced Putin for his interference in Syrias civil war and support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the United States, Pence said. The greatest nation on earth just withdraws from talks about a ceasefire, while Vladimir Putin puts a missile defence system in Syria.

The vice presidential encounter set the table for a second presidential debate on Sunday in St. Louis between Clinton and Trump, who needs to rebound from a rocky performance in his first debate, one that gave Clinton a boost in national opinion polls.

In Nevada, Trump suggested Russia could be a valuable ally in the fight against Islamic State, also known by the acronym ISIS.

I will say if we get along with Russia and Russia went out with us and knocked the hell out of ISIS, thats okay with me, folks, he said. Trump celebrated a strong debate performance by Pence, the governor of Indiana, and said his running mate had won on style and on the issues.

Hes getting tremendous reviews from me and everybody, Trump told a group of pastors and leaders gathered at a Christian academy in Las Vegas.

The encounter between Pence and Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia, was the only such debate between the vice presidential contenders, and the two spent most of their time attacking each others running mates.

For more than 90 minutes at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, Pence sought to project an image as a reassuring presence, in contrast with the bombastic Trump, while Kaine tried to frighten voters away from Trump and make Clinton seem
LONDON : Britains 1.5 million-strong Indian community - traditionally a strong Labour vote bank - has largely moved away to the Conservatives in recent elections, but there are few signs the party will regain its trust after Jeremy Corbyns re-election as leader.

Not just party members of Indian or Asian origin, but many Labour MPs were uneasy after Corbyn was elected on September 24 with more support than he received in September 2015, and he reaffirmed his socialist plans.

Despite the uneasiness, Corbyn leading Labour to victory in the 2020 elections is no longer seen as an impossibility, given the reality of Britain under the Conservatives and the growing appeal of his socialist plans. The Indian community in Britain is in limbo after Labour was hijacked by left and ultra-left elements, Anasudhin Azeez, the Kerala-origin editor of the publication Asian Lite told HT.

Besides Labours left orientation under Corbyn, a large section of the Indian community is uneasy with his support to groups seeking to introduce caste-based discrimination in UK law, an issue that has already divided the community. It feels there are fewer prospects of Labour returning to the agenda of combining economic credibility with a strong commitment to social justice, which won it three successive elections.

Since his victory, however, Corbyn has said he wants to reach out to his opponents... That gives me cause for hope, said Manoj Ladwa, chair of the Indians for Labour group.
WASHINGTON: Pakistan would move towards China and Russia if its views on Kashmir and India are not considered by the US, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs envoys have warned.

The envoys described the US as a declining world power.

(The) US is no longer a world power. It is a declining power. Forget about it, Mushahid Hussain Syed, special Kashmir envoy, was quoted as saying after the conclusion of an interaction at the Atlantic Council, a top American think tank.

Syed and Shazra Mansab, another Kashmir envoy, are in the US as part of Pakistans effort to apprise the global community of the situation in Kashmir and alleged human rights violations in the Valley.

Syed was apparently responding to a question from a member of the audience after the conclusion of the 90-minute interaction, during which he expressed his frustration over the lack of response on the issue.

His remarks were not recorded on camera, but were heard prominently by those inside the room. Thereafter, he was quick to mention China and the newly perceived relationship with Russia.

Syed submitted a dossier of alleged human rights violation in Kashmir to special US representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson.

With no takers for Pakistans Kashmir policy, Syed said China is now an important factor in South Asia and described Beijing as part of what he termed as Greater South Asia.

There has been slow and steady building of relationship between Moscow and Islamabad, he said, referring to the joint military exercise between Pakistan and Russia.

Syed said the Russian government has for the first time agreed to sell arms to Pakistan and the US should take note of this changing regional alignment.

Unfortunately under the Obama administration, there was a drift in American foreign policy towards our region, towards Afghanistan. There was confusion and there was a lot of flip-flops. The Obama administration could not figure out this region Afghanistan and Pakistan and as a consequence this region suffered, he said.
A bold rebel cavalry raid falls short at a mountain crossroads.

On August 1, 1864, war arrived with a vengeance in the western Maryland town of Cumberland. Days earlier, Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early had ordered nearby communities ransomedand had burned Chambersburg, Pa., when the town refused to pay up. Now Cumberland, a rich but well-defended target about 100 miles southwest of Gettysburg, was next in his sights.

What began as the outpost Fort Cumberland in 1754the last stronghold for British General Edward Braddock in his ill-fated 1755 expedition against French and Indian forceshad become the thriving hub of three major transport routes: the National Road, also known as the Baltimore Pike; the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal; and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. By 1860, it boasted a population of 7,302.

Since the start of the Civil War, there had been a strong Union presence in the town. In August 1861, the District of Grafton was established, with Cumberland placed under federal martial law and the authority of Brig. Gen. Benjamin F. Kelley. Union troops stationed in town varied in strength from 3,000 to as many as 8,000more than the civilian populace.

During the summer of 1864, Early retaliated on two occasions for Northern depredations in Virginia. In May and June, Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter had stormed through the Shenandoah Valley destroying food and supplies, levying fines on uncooperative towns, fending off guerrillas and burning the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. At first Early headed for Washington. Earlys Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, reinforced with local units and renamed the Army of the Valley, staged a counterinvasion that reached the outskirts of Washington, D.C., on July 11. Facing Union forces, Early withdrew the next day. Then in late July, he regrouped for a second incursion, this time starting in Pennsylvania. On July 30, Brig. Gens. John McCausland Jr. and Bradley T. Johnson demanded $600,000 from Chambersburg residents. When that ransom wasnt paid, approximately 500 of the towns structures were burned. McCausland and his column then plundered McConnellsburg, 20 miles to the west, before heading southwest for Hancock, pursued by Brig. Gen. William W. Averells Union cavalry.

On the morning of August 1, McCausland reached Hancock, where his request for $30,000 nearly caused a mutiny from his own Marylandersincluding his second in command, Johnson. Then Averells cavalry arrived and fighting broke out in the main street. And at that point McCausland received orders from Early to set out for the more lucrative target of Cumberland, 38 miles away, where he was to destroy railyards, bridges and coal pits. Early also instructed him to exact a ransom from the towns citizens, threatening them with the same fate as

Chambersburg. Disengaging from Averell, McCausland pulled out of Hancock and headed west along the Baltimore Pike.

Anticipating the threat, Cumberlands mayor, Dr. Charles H. Ohr, had all roads leading in and out of town barricaded and picketed by General Kelleys troops. He also called for a home militia to be raised. Townsmen took up an assortment of arms ranging from rifles to shotguns, and shopkeepers hid their goods. Meanwhile the railroad companies sent their trains westward, beyond the Rebels reach. But many townsfolk gathered on the city heights to observe the coming confrontation.

The first shots were fired around noon near Flintstone, 12 miles northeast of town. Responding to a telegraph message received in New Creek, Lieutenant Tappan W. Kelley, General Kelleys son, led a small detachment of the 11th West Virginia Infantry to reconnoiter and was soon skirmishing with McCauslands scouts.

Meanwhile, 2 miles east of Cumberland near John Folcks mill, some of Kelleys troops had positioned themselves along the Baltimore Pike and placed two sections of Battery L, 1st Illinois Light Artillery, at George Hinkles house on a hill. The balance of Kelleys commandconsisting of the 152nd and 156th Ohio Infantry (100-day men whose enlistment was due to expire within a few days) along with four companies of the 11th West Virginia; one company of the 6th West Virginia Infantry; and several hundred survivors of the Second Battle of Kernstown, fought a week earlierentrenched on the citys outskirts.

Aligned on Kelleys right flank were the 200-man volunteer militia led by Brig. Gen. Charles Mynn Thruston, a West Point graduate and Cumberland resident. The 153rd Ohio Infantry, under Colonel Israel Stough, had been sent to Oldtown, Md., to secure the Potomac River crossing there in case the enemy tried to take Cumberland by a circuitous route, coming up from the south through Virginia, or to block his retreat if need be. Of the roughly 1,000 men on hand to defend Cumberland, the only battle-tested men were the 6th and 11th West Virginia, the three sections of Illinois and Maryland artillery and the stragglers from Kernstownhardly a match for the 2,800 seasoned veterans descending on them.

At 3 p.m. a squadron of McCauslands cavalry was crossing the covered bridge over Evitts Creek near Folcks Mill when Federal artillery and skirmishers opened fire. Scrambling for cover around the Folck house, barn, grist and saw mills, and cooper shop, the troopers returned fire while McCausland brought the four guns of Captain John H. McClanahans battery into line and committed the remainder of his force.

During a three-hour exchange, McClanahans guns were well handled but proved to be largely ineffective against the Northern artillery emplaced on higher ground. Folcks Mill sustained considerable damage, with one shot starting a fire in the barn that destroyed it.

The Confederates made several assaults, nearly succeeding in seizing ground on the Federal left flank before being driven back. At 6 p.m. McCausland and Johnson held a conference. Neither side had made any headway, but the Confederates, who were in unfamiliar territory facing what they (wrongly) believed to be numerically superior Federal forces, knew time was not on their side. As his troops disengaged and withdrew from Folcks Mill, McCausland sent Major Harry Gilmor and his cavalry ahead to scout out an escape route.

Across the Baltimore Pike, Cumberlands defenders established a field hospital at George Hinkles house. General Kelley reported that the engagement, which would be variously referred to as the Battle of Folcks Mill, the Battle of Pleasant Mills or the Battle of Cumberland, had cost him one man killed and one wounded, though the number of wounded actually came to four. The Confederates left behind eight dead and 30 wounded, along with two caissons, carriages, a large amount of ammunition and some of their plunder from Chambersburg.

At 11 p.m. the Confederates began withdrawing from Cumberlands outskirts, leaving their campfires burning as a ruse. Elements of the 153rd Ohio Infantry that were deployed on a narrow spit between the C&O Canal and the Potomac made it necessary for the Confederates to fight their way across the river, but they ultimately succeeded. After riding into Springfield, W.Va., they got a chance to rest on August 4 before setting out for New Creek to resume raids on the B&O Railroad.

On August 3, Cumberlands Mayor Ohr and his council adopted the following resolution: Whereas on Monday, the 1st of August, the peace and safety of our city was endangered by an invading enemy, and the military authorities called on the citizens for voluntary aid, therefore Be it resolved by the Mayor and Councilmen, That the thanks of the Mayor and Council of the City of Cumberlandare hereby tendered to those citizens and others who, at the call of the authorities, volunteered in the defense of the city by taking up arms and marching out to meet and repel the invading foe.

On August 5, the council issued another resolution expressing their gratitude to General Kelley for saving the town and protecting them from dreadful calamity, similar to that lately inflicted upon the people of Chambersburg. And on that same day President Abraham Lincoln promoted Kelley to brevet major general. Cumberland held a grand review on August 11, honoring Kelleys troops as well as citizen soldiers.

Never again would Cumberland face a significant threat from the Confederates, although raids continued on the B&O railroad. And in February 1865, Confederate partisan raider Jesse McNeill managed to reach the town undetected at night and capture General Kelley and Maj. Gen. George Crook. Both Union commanders were exchanged soon thereafter.

Debra Topinka, a reenactor and living historian of the Civil War for the past 15-plus years, writes from Bedford, Pa.


Rose ONeal Greenhow

This photograph of Rose ONeal Greenhow and her daughter was taken during her six-month imprisonment in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. Greenhow, a 44-year-old widow with four daughters, was recruited in 1861 to be the operating head of the Confederacys first spy ring. A Washington socialite with many friends in high government circles, Rose was perfectly placed to gather intelligence about Federal troop strengths and movements. It was she who supplied Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard with a warning that Union General Irvin McDowell was planning an attack on Manassas in July 1861. Roses career as a spy was cut short, however, when, on August 23, she was arrested by Union secret service operative Allan Pinkerton and held under house arrest for five months. Rose Greenhow was finally released and sent South on June 2, 1862. She drowned in a shipwreck on September 30, 1864.

Photo: Library of Congress


The Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

On July 2, 1937, record-setting aviatrix Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick Noonan disappeared over the Pacific in their attempt to fly around the world. The two set out in Earharts twin-engine Lockheed Electra, taking off from Oakland, Calif., for Miami on May 21. They flew across the Atlantic from Brazil to Africa, then reached Calcutta on June 17, having made 15 stops thus far. On July 2 they departed Lae, New Guinea, for tiny Howland Island in the Pacific, but never arrived. Radio operators received messages from Earhart saying that they had to be close and were circling, searching for land, but radio contact was lost and the two were never heard from again. There has been much speculation about the aviators fate and the planes whereabouts, but none of the evidence found has been conclusive.

Photo: Library of Congress


On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed, giving American women the right to vote. The amendment had been first introduced in Congress in 1878, setting in motion supporters who demonstrated, lobbied, marched and spoke out for woman suffrage. They were often met with venomous opposition. Early on, the two main factions of the movement disagreed about how to achieve their goal, but they ultimately united in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association and worked together to get the amendment passed. By August 18, 1920, three-fourths of the United States had agreed to the bill. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 26.


Florence Nightingale, The Lady With the Lamp

After the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, nurse Florence Nightingale was appointed to oversee female nurses to be dispatched to military hospitals in Turkey to help with increasing casualties. She and 38 nurses arrived at the Barrack Hospital in Scutari on November 4, 1854. Nightingale had been trained as a nurseagainst the belief that nursing was not a suitable profession for womenbefore serving as Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen during Illness in London in 1853. At Scutari, soldiers appreciated her kindness and devotion as a nurse. Among other things, she later became known for her ideas about hospital reform and for creating reading rooms in hospitals. In 1907, she was the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit. She died at the age of 90, at home in London in 1910.

Image: Library of Congress
A local man who police say fled from a home after he attempted to burglarize it and then fled from police was quickly taken into custody after a tip led an officer to his location.

Washington County Sheriffs Captain Zach Jacobsen said they received a call for a burglary in progress Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on Chapel Road in Washington County.

A white male with brown hair, approximately 5 (foot) 7 broke a window and attempted to gain entry into the residence, said Jacobsen. We believe the homeowner armed himself and told the intruder he had a weapon and he would shoot him if he entered the residence.

Jacobsen said the man fled in a white passenger car. He said they had deputies on each end of the road when the information came out.

The suspect was spotted by another deputy who turned around to try and stop him, but never did regain sight of the vehicle, said Jacobsen. We did, however, find the vehicle abandoned in a field not far from where the original sighting was and we scoured the area.

He added that they were able to obtain information through dispatch and Crawford County Sheriffs Office that the car was stolen on Saturday but was never entered into the system because of a mix-up with some paperwork by the owner.

Through the course of the investigation we received some information that the individual was in a residence in Ryan Manor Trailer Court and that was the same subject who ran from us and had since changed clothes, said Jacobsen. Myself and Corporal Jenkins arrived at the residence to try and apprehend the suspect.

Jacobsen said the witness had pointed out the wrong person and when they went to detain him, that person fled on foot. He led deputies on an approximately mile and a half foot chase and deputies lost him in a heavily-wooded area.

However, the person we were originally looking for was the second male subject on scene, Jacobsen explained. He left after we left in the foot chase and got into a vehicle with two females and went to the Caseys store on N. Missouri Street.

Jacobsen added they got more information letting them know that he would be at the Caseys. Jacobsen and Lt. Mike Gum with the Potosi Police Department went there and arrested the man who was involved in the burglary.
Chinese tech company Xiaomi is ready to hit the market with another product following the successful launch of their two new phones: 5s and 5s. It's reportedly rumoured that there will be a new phablet from the Chinese giants called the Mi Note 2, which is not subject to numerous leaks. The product was supposed to be announced back in September, but due to various reasons, the phone is now set for a November release.

However, a new leak that has been spreading on the Internet has sparked off huge rumours, which sees a real dual-camera setup implemented by the manufacturer. Such a feat isn't new for this year, given that the new Apple iPhone 7 has been released with a dual-rear camera setup for the Plus version. Indeed, the leaked image showed that the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will carry a dual-rear camera as well - one that can be taken as a perfect Android counterpart to that released by the Cupertino tech giant.

As if the dual-rear camera wasn't enough, Xiaomi curiously opted for a variant of black for its Mi Note 2 that closely resembles the "jet black" color Apple has introduced on their recent flagships, hence sparking a huge online debate as to whether Android device manufacturers are desperately try to imitate Apple in terms of features and physical attributes just for them to keep pace in the competition.

A closer look at the Xiaomi Mi Note 2's spec sheet shows the following: a 2K (QHD) screen resolution in a 5.7inch-display in a dual-curved screen - a feature arguably ripped off from both the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy Note 7. Nonetheless, the handset in question will be one of the veryfirst handsets to carry a Snapdragon 821 chipset, which Google equipped on their Pixel devices released just barely a week ago.

Along with a 8-megapixel front-camera, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will have a 13-megapixel dual-rear camera, but much has yet to be seen as to whether either of the dual-lenses will carry the same functionality of a secondary lens useful for panoramas or telephoto usage.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
OnePlus X users can rejoice for the fact that all OPX users begin receiving over-the-air updates to Android Marshmallow OS based ROM. The update was reportedly made available on OnePlus' forums.

The update will be the first official build for Marshmallow based ROM from the manufacturer. With a previous community build, beta testers and advanced users did have some performance issues and stability issues. This update, however, is the official stable release, which includes bug fixes and an October Android security patch.

A brief of the update reveals that the ROM will now be based on Android's previous operating system OS marshmallow v6.0.1. The launcher now includes some new icon packs along with customized Google search bar and users can now pick wallpapers of their choice.

In terms of settings, users are now provided with app permissions which are native android based. Along with an alert slider, the same can also be customized.

There's also a new music player along with OnePlus photo gallery. OnePlus have also decided to implement the latest security patches in the new ROM. Along with gesture optimizations and general bug fixes.

Staff member Berg explained about how users had issues installing Facebook or the messenger app which he explained that users now have to manually permit the app otherwise resulting in an app crash. Google+ which also was known to crash can also be fixed from the user-end.

The staff member thanked beta testers who had installed their community build by appreciating their feedback. This definitely helped them optimize the new ROM better along with some key improvements in several areas, reports iTechPost.

He also mentioned that users with previous versions running v2.2.3, 3.1.0, 3.1.1. and 3.1.2 are eligible for a direct OTA update to the v3.1.3 without having to side load or flash back to the previous versions.

It's fair to assume that all OnePlus X users are already rejoicing about Marshmallow in the forum post itself, thanking for it. One user reports that the October security update was very optimistic.

However, it's strange to assume that the security updates weren't really a part of Google and that only OnePlus had fixed some key issues which they might have included as a "security patch" since Google's own security patches take place around 05 or 06 every month.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google Pixel XL and LG V20 are some of the most powerful new smartphonest. The former was recently unveiled and the latter has been on sale in various tech markets worldwide. Google Pixel XL is to go head-to-head with LG V20, as reported below.

Display- Google Pixel XL is featured with 5.5-inch touchscreen display with 2,560 x 1,440 pixels at 534 pixels per inch (ppi). LG V20 comprises of two displays at the front. The main 5.7 inch Quad-HD IPS Quantum Display with 2560x1440 pixels and 513 ppi, is supplemented by an always-on mini display above it. The LG V20 comes with its iconic secondary screen, which is 2.1 inches in size.

Processor - The Google Pixel XL is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and the device is embedded with 4GB of RAM. LG V20 working efficiency mainly depends on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM.

Storage - The Google Pixel XL comes with either 32 GB or 128 GB internal storage with no option of expanding. Internal Storage in LG V20 is packed with 64GB of internal memory, provided with an option to expand up to 256GB via a microSD card.

Operating System - The Google Pixel XL comes with the newest Android OS named to be as Android 7.1 Nougat which is at the peak by all Android based smartphone companies trying to fetch the OS in to their devices. The LG V20 is the first device announced with Android 7.0 Nougat in the tech market.

Battery - A non-removable battery of 3,450mAh is embedded in the Google Pixel XL to power the phone for long running. A 3,200mAh removable battery is incorporated inside LG V20 with a support of quick charging.

Camera - Google Pixel XL comes with a 12.3-megapixel primary camera on the rear and an 8-megapixel front shooter for selfie. LG V20 feature dual camera at the rear with 16 megapixels and an 8 megapixel lens with 135 degree coverage and front camera made up of 5 megapixels with 120 degree lens.

Price - Google Pixel XL comes with a price tag of 769USD. LG V20 is set to a price tag of 810 USD in South Korea and no details have been mentioned yet on the price tag of LG V20 in the US tech market.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Following CEO Elon Musk's plan to conquer the Red planet, the race to land the first human-led expedition is on. The competition has gone global as Russia, China and Japan express their intention to land the first man on Mars.

Along the way, the SpaceX CEO may have hit a nerve when Boeing head Dennis Muilenburg reacted that the first individual to step on the planet will be riding on his company's rocket. Boeing's role in the development of the largest space vehicle that is the Saturn V craft strongly echoes Muilenburg's statement.

While the number of parties interested in exploring the fourth planet from the sun continues to increase, it cannot be denied that NASA has the edge in landing that coveted price. After all, being the prime space organization in the US, and to a certain extent, across the world, is something to capitalize upon. However, with the SpaceX group keen in asserting its claim on snaring Mars, NASA may have to give in to Musk's ambitions.

Just recently, the billionaire entrepreneur shares his plan to inhabit the red planet during the International Aeronautical Congress in Mexico. His speech, 'Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species,' unveils the capabilities of his Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) program. Musk's presence in Guadalajara is more than just publicity. Considering that he has depended on low-cost and reliable alternatives for his space program, the CEO is out there seeking a substantial financial partner.

If things go accordingly, an unmanned mission will be launched by SpaceX to Mars in 2018. By 2024, the first human crew will explore the planet with a projected arrival in 2025. Should all of Musk's plans materialize, SpaceX will be exalted in the annals of history.

At the moment, there is no indication that NASA is hot on the heels of SpaceX. The agency's 'Journey to Mars' blueprint has not really made a splash. Considering that the space administration is tied to government regulations and directives, the bureaucracy and the budget are possible factors that slowed down NASA's operations over the years.

The space agency's Authorization Act of 2010 and the US National Space Policy have outlined NASA's objectives. It has targeted 2030 as the year that the first man will land on Mars. It has also anticipated that by 2025, humans will reach an asteroid.

However, based on current developments, SpaceX's accessibility to NASA facilities indicates enough leeway for the private space company to pursue its plans. Although the space administration may be yielding the Mars exploration at the moment, NASA will still be benefiting from Elon Musk's ambitions judging from the fact that the agency has access to data used by SpaceX during the expedition process.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Yahoo is on to something when it scanned the emails of its clients. The breach in user accounts comes to light when Reuters released a narrative that the company created a program that will search for essential elements of information on its database.

In reference to an earlier report that Yahoo forwarded scanned emails to the FBI, the tech company has admitted that what it did is in accordance with an order to hunt down suspected terrorists. An unidentified government official has been cited by the New York Times that the California-based organization is searching for a digital signature of a lawless group that is connected to a foreign government.

Anonymous sources reveal that the discrete directive, which the Justice Department issued to Yahoo, came from a judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court last year. After complying, the tech group sets off to work by modifying its spam filter program. Individual emails have been scanned and forwarded to federal authorities.

Prior to Yahoo's involvement, it has been learned that the tech group's email service is being used by a terrorist group as a means of communication within its network. Some kind of designator or signature is embedded in each conversation.

When the news about Yahoo's participation went public, the organization has responded that the email scanning reported by Reuters contains a lot of loopholes. The search engine organization has a history of getting itself embroiled in controversies. Last month, Yahoo has confirmed that 500 million user accounts were hacked way back in 2014.

In 2007, the company has challenged the government with regards to the NSA's Prism data collection program wherein federal authorities tapped into the systems of top US technology organizations. Although the current issue is highly contentious, security experts believe that the US Administration will continue issuing orders in order to limit if not eliminate terrorist threats especially now that encryptions are embedded in emails and other means of communication.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
After filing for divorce from husband Brad Pitt, Angeline Jolie is now looking to move on from her past wholeheartedly. The "Tomb Raider" actress has decided to remove her famous tattoos that she got etched as a proud symbol of love for her husband.

The 41-year-old actress is determined to erase all the painful memories of Pitt and is firm on getting her tattoos removed, reports Celeb Dirty Laundry. She wants to get rid of all the Pitt tattoos and therefore, would be removing one tattoo at a time. An insider said that her tattoos are very symbolic for her and it is not the first time that she is taking such a step.

She feels that the painful procedure of removal is worth it and would erase any negativity surrounding Pitt. She is convinced about it and her decision is final. Many feel that this decision of Jolie is an attempt to destroy Pitt as she has been through a lot and wants to protect herself as well as her six children.

Notably, Pitt and Jolie's marriage was going through a lot of troubles and it is said that she filed for divorce because of his infidelity (affair with Marion Cotillard) and substance abuse. He had hurt her a lot and now she does not want to see him again.

In the meantime, Justin Theroux, husband of Pitt's ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, has said that Aniston has been through a lot of bulls**t, reports International Business Times. He also said that he is very proud of her and admires the way she handles her life. Ever since Theroux made this statement, it is being said that it was targeted at Pitt.

It is worth mentioning here that Aniston and Pitt divorced in 2005 after five years of marriage. Soon after, Pitt started living with Jolie, his co-star from "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", who he is rumored to have started dating when he was still married. This put Aniston under severe media scrutiny. It continues till this day and even when Jolie filed for divorce, it was said that Aniston might be the reason for their split.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As King Taejo passed away, "Scarlet Heart Ryeo" shifted from love to a political story. Alliances and rivalries are formed and Wang Wook, the eigth prince, reveals his true color as ambitious and cunning person.

This week episode ended with the death of the third prince Wang Yo in the hand of the fourth prince Wang So. Wang Yo died in a duel, which was witnessed by their little brother, 14th prince Wang Sung. He reported the incident to their mother, the third queen, as the three of them have the same mother.

"Scarlet Heart Ryeo", also known by its full title "Moon Lover: Scarlet Heart Ryeo", finally shifted its theme from love story into political intrigue following the storyline of its original Chinese novel.

Previously, Wang Wook told Hae Soo that whatever happen, he would become king for her sake. This was the first revelation of the true Wang Wook and his actual ambition for the throne. Afterward, Wang Wook then badmouthed Wang So, his fiercest competitor to Wang So's sibling Wang Yo.

Wang Wook then spread rumor about prince Wang So trying to overtake the throne. He assembled most of the soldiers in Goryeo using the crown prince's name. He approached the palace gate in full battle attire while challenging Wang So in a duel. However, Wang So had also his own loyal soldiers who served under his trusted confidant Grand General Park, played by Song Dong-Il.

They engaged in a one-on-one combat until suddenly the Crown Prince Wang Moo showed up with his troop and 13th prince Baek-Ah. Wang Wook cunningly put the blame of his action to Wang Yo.

Afterward, astronomer Choi Ji-Mong came out and officially informed the king's death and his last decree was to appoint Crown Prince Wang Moo the king. Wang Wook took the opportunity to show his support to Crown Prince Wang Moo.

This week episode has raised viewership rating for "Scarlet Heart Ryeo" for several points.

What will happen to the plot formulated by Wang Wook? Will he succeed to take the throne?

Find out in the next week episode of "Moon Lover: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" on SBS on Monday and Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. KST (GMT+9). International viewers can also watch the drama at the cable channel in each particular country that cooperated with SBS.

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Amid rising tension between India and Pakistan, police in India's northern province of Punjab have taken a pigeon into custody after the bird was found carrying a threatening note against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India's paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) officers found the bird at Pathankot, which is close to heavily guarded India-Pakistan border.

"We took it into custody last evening," Pathankot police inspector Rakesh Kumar told AFP.

"The BSF found it with a note in Urdu saying something like 'Modi, we're not the same people from 1971. Now each and every child is ready to fight against India."

India and Pakistan fought their third, and last, full-blown war in 1971. It appears that the note was signed by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"So we are investigating the matter very seriously," added Kumar.

The bird was also X-rayed to see if it was carrying a spy camera, transmitter or hidden chip.

According to the police, the message was signed by the militant group responsible for recent deadly attacks on Indian military bases. Tensions between the long-time rivals have been escalating since a militant attack at Uri army base in disputed region of Kashmir in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed.

To avenge the killing of its soldiers, India recently claimed that it has conducted surgical strike along the defacto India-Pakistan border.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan government and army have repeatedly dismissed claims that India's military conducted surgical strikes on its side of the border in Kashmir region.

The fresh tension between the two countries comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government in India has been struggling to contain protests on the streets of disputed Kashmir, where more than 100 civilians have been killed and thousands wounded in the last 10 weeks after a young separatist militant was killed by Indian security forces.

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FARMINGTON Gary Edward Versluys, 70, died at his Georgia residence. Gary was a US NAVY Vietnam veteran.

Funeral Saturday, 10:30 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church. Interment with full military honors following at the parish Cemetery, Park Hills, under direction of Taylor Funeral Service, Inc., Farmington. Memorials to Wounded Warrior Project. Photo obituary and guestbook online at: www.taylorfuneral.com.
The Department of Homeland Security has granted New Mexico an extension to comply with the federal REAL ID Act.

The decision means the Air Force will continue to accept drivers licenses from New Mexico and 16 other states and territories with extensions. Driver's licenses from these states will be accepted at all federal facilities, to include DOD installations, as proof of identity, through Oct. 10, 2017.

There are a total of 21 states and territories with extensions or limited extensions to comply with the REAL ID Act. Eight states remain noncompliant with the law.

Individuals who do not have a license from a REAL ID-compliant state will be asked to provide alternate acceptable identification such as a U.S. passport.

Please visit https://www.dhs.gov/current-status-states-territories for more information. For Holloman-specific REAL ID Act information, please contact the Welcome Center at 575-572-5951.
Cody Gakpo la mot trong nhung cau tan cong an tuong nhat chau Au thoi iem nay voi 13 ban va 11 pha kien tao co uoc trong 18 lan ra san. Anh a lot vao tam ngam cua Arsenal trong He qua va sau tran au tai Emirates, huyen thoai Martin Keown a co nhung nhan xet tich cuc ve tuyen thu Ha Lan.

etquabonga Gakpo choi rat no luc truoc Arsenal nhung khong ghi ban.

Keown chia se voi BT Sport:"Cau ay vua khoac ao oi tuyen quoc gia, cau ay la mot tai nang thuc thu."

etquabonga

"That thu vi, cau ay thuc su giong Martineli o Arsenal khi choi o canh trai. Cau ay cat vao trong voi nhung uong bong an tuong. Cay ay co moi thu, tu toc o, suc manh cho en su chinh xac."

"Hau ve bien xuat sac nhat o Arsenal"

Cham iem Arsenal: 2 iem 8 quen thuoc

etquabonga

"Cau ay co guong chan va cach di chuyen giong kha giong Henry. Cau ay thuc su sung man."

etquabonga

"Ho (PSV) thuc su rat manh o nhung vi tri tien ao va khong ai thuc su co the thay the cau ay o vi tri trung phong mua giai nay,"Keown neu quan iem.

etquabonga

Vao mua He vua qua, PSV a oi khoang 40 trieu euro cho chu ky cua Gakpo. Ca Arsenal va Man Utd eu tiep can cau thu nay, nhung cuoi cung khong co thoa thuan nao uoc ua ra.

etquabonga

Ban than Gakpo cung than trong va muon quyet inh tuong lai sau khi World Cup 2022 khep lai. O tuyen Ha Lan, cau thu nay cung la mot nhan to quan trong trong tay HLV Louis Van Gaal.

etquabonga
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
ARIZONA  Larry James Pete AuBuchon, of Gilbert, Arizona, formerly of this area, passed away June 17, 2016 at his home in Arizona at the age of 69 years. He was born on July 26, 1946 at Ironton son of the late Lloyd C. and Fern G. (Robinson) AuBuchon.

Following high school he proudly served his country in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, serving much of time in West Germany. Upon returning from the service Larry went to work in the Missouri Mining Industry and learned the miners trade from the ground up. His quick acquisition of mining knowledge and skills prepared him to advance into the service of the U.S. Department of Labor Division of Mine Safety, eventually becoming a Mine Inspection Supervisor for our Federal Government. During his years of service to the Federal Government, Larry was stationed at multiple locations throughout the United States. His last station was in Phoenix, AZ. Following his retirement, Larry chose to retain greater Phoenix, Arizona as his final home area, where he remained until the time of his passing.

Those who knew Pete will remember him for his strength of body and character. He was a powerful and thoughtful man in many ways. His good humor and never ceasing energy were contagious trademarks of his life amongst us.

Mr. AuBuchon is survived by three daughters, Elizabeth Lankford, Angela Wivoda, and Lori Woodard, a brother Mike AuBuchon of Farmington, MO a sister Mary Beth Loray of Hartville, MO and numerous other relatives and friends.

A gathering of friends and family will be held on Saturday, October 8, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 10 a.m. in the Cozean Chapel with Father Abe Araganiosa officiating. Interment will be in the Marvin Chapel Cemetery east of Bonne Terre. Memorials, if desired, donations may be made to the Salvation Army. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cozean Memorial Chapel & Crematory. Share your memories and leave condolences online obituary at cozeanfuneralhome.com.
Hurricane Matthew has taken a devastating path through the Caribbean and is now bearing down on the coast of Florida. It is expected to move along the southeast United States coast through the weekend.

Residents of the areas of projected impact have been urged to evacuate. Here are some evacuation resources for horse owners in affected states:

Get Our Free Weekly Enewsletter About Horses

Florida Resources:

A searchable database of relocation resources is available at evac.flahorse.com If you have space available in a safe location, you can also provide your information to help other horse owners.

Bar M Ranch Rescue has offered stabling and is compiling some evacuation resources on its Facebook page.

The Florida Horse Park in Ocala has offered stalls for evacuees for $10/night as well as trailer hookups for $25/night. Contact publicrelations@flhorsepark.com or call 352-307-6699

Floridahorse.com lists these resources on its website.



Sunshine State Horse Council  Searchable stable directory

Sumter Equestrian Center, Bushnell, FL  emergency stabling and camping  352-303-4325 LEAVE A MESSAGE.

Marion County Animal Care and Control (352) 671-8900

Broward County Animal Care and Control (954) 359-1313

Palm Beach County Are and Control (561) 233-1201

Georgia Resources:

News4Jax.com lists these pet-friendly shelters:

Houston County * Horses ONLY* 60 Stalls



Georgia National Fairgrounds



401 Larry Walker Parkway



Perry, GA 31069

Sumter County



Sumter County Humane Society



108 Industrial Blvd



Americus, GA 31719

Tift County



Tift County Extension Bldg



1468 Carpenter Rd



Tifton, GA 31794

South Carolina Resources:

The Hippodrome in Aiken County has 300 stalls available. South Carolina residents can call 211 for more information about stabling at the Hippodrome, as well as finding pet-friendly accommodations as most shelters do not allow pets.

North Carolina Resources:

The Equine Disaster Response Alliance maintains a list of emergency facilities here.



There are two regional shelters available depending on the storm track.

Martin Center in Williamston



Hunt Complex in Raleigh



Virginia Resources:

The Virginia Horse Park in Lexington is offering free stalls for evacuees if the storm reaches Virginia before moving out to see. Contact the stabling office at (540) 464-2966.

Be prepared for a natural disaster in your area. Visit HorseChannel.com/Emergency for more resources for horse owners.
We all, at least most of us, love and enjoy the thrills of travel. Yet, we have divergent ways in which we react to the buzz. Some prefer the quiet while others favor exhilarating activities. There are those who would rather arrange for their itinerary personally, while another type will prefer to have their travel agents do the work for them. We are inspired by different things to travel and our taste of holidays differ from beach holidays, Ecotourism holidays, cultural holidays, active holidays to safaris especially in the African jungles. Jumia Travel, Africa's leading online hotel booking platform, analyses the different categories of travelers.

Solo Travelers

These are travelers who prefer wandering on their own. They are quite mysterious and are likely to head anywhere off the beaten path. They appreciate a destination on their own terms without being distracted or having to follow other people's itinerary. Solo travelers are often in search of personal growth and self-reflection.

The Groupies

These are either seen in the literal way, traveling in pursuit of meeting a celebrity especially a musician; with the hope of getting to know them. They will follow their target on most of their tours and meanwhile get to visit different destinations. Otherwise, these would be considered as those travelers who are often moving in a group of friends or family. They detest loneliness and are always accompanied on their jaunts. Often, they enjoy road trips and other group activities.

Recreational Vehicle Travelers

Not quite common in Africa but absolutely among the Westerners. These travelers are especially the senior couples enjoying their retirement and the self proclaimed full time wanderers on a long term travel mission. They use a recreational vehicle, commonly known as an RV that is fully equipped with home amenities and a living space. They will be on the move all day and just pull off at night to get some rest.

Cultural Travelers

The Maasai land in Kenya, the ancient capital of Memphis in Egypt, Stone Town in Zanzibar, the Omo River Region in Ethiopia that's home to over 50 different tribes and the Ruins of Kilwa Kisauni in Tanzania are some of the most frequented destinations by the cultural travelers. They seek to firsthand experience the way of life in foreign cultures as they indulge in every bit of it. Cultural travelers completely disintegrate from their normal way of life and fully immerse themselves in the elements of others' lives.

The party lovers

We cannot forget this lot. They are constantly on the move in search of newly opened bar lounges to indulge in their best offers of alcohol. Whether alone or in a group, they easily make new drinking buddies and cities are usually their best destinations.

The Backpackers

Backpackers are minimalist travelers who take long trips on very minimal budgets. They will be headed for any destination that does not require them to spend a lot and will lodge in considerably cheap accommodation such as hostels and lodges. They are satisfied as long as they have a comfortable place to rest before another day on the move. In some cases, backpackers befriend the locals and in turn are treated to free meals and accommodation, a tactic that greatly cuts down on their expenditure.

There are many other categories of travelers, but the most important takeaway is that whatever kind, they all play a very vital role in the travel and tourism industry. The sector relies heavily on each one of them and their contribution to the growth of the industry is therefore always appreciated. In the words of Anais Nin, "We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.
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DEAR ABBY: I am having to part ways with someone I have known for 15 years. This person has done many good things for me. On the other hand, he has also thrown more insults at me than anyone else in my lifetime. At the snap of a finger, this normally good-hearted person has insulted me, insisted I was wrong (when I wasn't) or dumped cold water on something I was enthusiastic about.

A week ago, I approached him calmly and told him I was uncomfortable with his put-downs. Well, he threw an over-the-top temper tantrum the likes of which I have never seen, accused me of being "weak-kneed" and stomped away. I have finally had it.

I mentioned it to a friend who is a psychologist and he said this person has all the character traits of a raging narcissist. I'm now convinced this person will never change and I cannot understand the pettiness he reverts to. Can you comment? -- BREAKING AWAY IN MIAMI

DEAR BREAKING AWAY: If you feel it is better for you to distance yourself from this "friend," then that's what you should do. He may be a jackass; however, it is unwise to label someone who hasn't been FORMALLY diagnosed as having a personality disorder.

DEAR ABBY: A year ago we had a house fire. While insurance put us up in housing, it took a while to find a place. That first month I didn't know if I was coming or going. Dealing with insurance, contractors, family and a job was almost more than I could handle. The last thing I needed to hear was, "What's for dinner?"

If I have one piece of advice to offer to people who want to help friends, it would be, "Give them gift cards from local restaurants." I know how much I hated to speak up and say I needed help, so don't ask, just DO if you see something needs to be done.

This idea also works well in lieu of flowers or home-cooked meals when someone dies. We gave a friend several gift cards for area restaurants when her husband died. When out-of-town company came in for the funeral, she said they came in handy for her. -- HOPEFULLY HELPFUL

DEAR HOPEFULLY HELPFUL: People are often at a loss about how to help during a crisis, and this isn't something that usually comes to mind. Your suggestion is a good one. Thank you for writing.

DEAR ABBY: Is there a proper way for a man to introduce himself to an attractive woman in a public place like a store or a museum? -- DAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

DEAR DAN: It's not difficult. If you're in a store, ask for her advice about a product. If you're in a museum, strike up a conversation about an artist or a painting, sculpture, etc. Then introduce yourself and keep talking. If she's receptive, she'll give you her name.

DEAR ABBY: I have noticed that you often tell people to talk to a spiritual adviser. As an agnostic, I am curious whom you would recommend I speak to. -- RICK IN DENVER

DEAR RICK: In a case like yours, talk to someone who is not personally or emotionally involved with you, such as a licensed counselor.

DEAR ABBY: My husband travels frequently with a work crew. It is not unusual for them to be gone for months at a time. During these absences, some of the married men on this crew cheat on their wives, who are at home with their children.

I feel guilty knowing they are cheating. I don't want them bringing home any sexually transmitted diseases to their unsuspecting spouses. My husband says I should stay out of it because it's not my business, but I feel bad saying nothing.

Should I speak to the wives? I have seen the cheating firsthand, so I'm certain it is happening. I would want to know if it were me. -- TORN IN THE NORTHEAST

DEAR TORN: You have a moral dilemma, one that I can't decide for you. It is extremely important that you talk further with your husband about this. While I respect your motivation to disclose what you have seen to the wives, before doing anything you must carefully consider what the consequences could be. If you do what you are contemplating, your husband is sure to be ostracized by his co-workers. He could lose his job, and you your marriage.

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 14-year-old girl with two younger brothers. They fight all the time, which I understand is normal. The problem is, my dad favors my youngest brother. If there's a conflict between my brothers, he always punishes the oldest whether he deserves it or not. I have come to realize this is because of my dad's own bad relationship with his older brother and that this is his way of getting revenge.

It's taking a toll on my brother emotionally because he already struggles with school and sports. I'm afraid he will become depressed. My mom will never speak up about it, and when I do, despite my good relationship with my dad, he punishes me. Sometimes I'm afraid he'll become violent. I feel boxed in, Abby. Please help. -- STUCK SISTER

DEAR SISTER: You're a brave girl, and I'm glad you wrote. Regardless of how dysfunctional your father's relationship may have been with his older brother, it does not give him the right to abuse your brother. Your mother may be afraid of your father or she would have put a stop to it years ago.

You say you are afraid your father will become violent with you, which suggests that you have seen it happen to other family members. If you try to discuss this further with your dad, you might be at risk for violence.

It's important that you find an adult you trust who can intervene on your brother's behalf -- a teacher, a relative or even a neighbor. Another strong male may be what it takes to protect your brother.

P.S. If this doesn't solve the problem, please write to me again and let me know.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Examining Americas prison system and its connection to slavery, 13th, the new documentary from Ava DuVernay, was released today exclusively on Netflix. Just as Black Lives Matter comes to the forefront of all national discussion (including the US Presidential race), this documentary arrives to provide a horrifying historical context for the woes of racism in 2016. This critically-acclaimed documentary throws shade on both American political parties, demonstrating their guilt in creating a new system of slavery, one that covertly utilizes the mass arrests of black and brown men to earn profit for corporations. Chicago OG Common Sense has already co-signed DuVernays powerful doc.

The documentarys creator, Ava DuVernay, is already a queen in the industry, having directed the 2014 MLK-biopic Selma, which is the first film directed by a black woman to be nominated for Best Picture at The Oscars. Do yourself a favor  do the human race a favor  and watch this documentary whenever you can. See the trailer for 13th below.

Ava DuVernay
Ice cream giant Ben & Jerrys has issued a strong statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In doing so, the company has generated both intense praise as well as dissent from its customers, depending on how they view the protest group. In a statement on the Ben & Jerrys website, the company requests that its customers join us in not being complicit. The decision to support Black Lives Matter is regarded as a moral obligation to take a stand now.

Underneath a large image of BLACK LIVES MATTER written in Ben & Jerrys signature font, the statement explains why Black lives should indeed matter to all Americans. They matter because they are children, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers.

They matter because the injustices they face steal from all of us  white people and people of color alike. They steal our very humanity.

Later in the letter, the company explains that its support of Black Lives Matter does not equate to any ill will toward law enforcement. There is also a synopsis of why, at this current juncture, the plight of Black people needs to be focused on more so than the All Lives Matter movement, which has, strangely enough, emerged as a reactionary faction to Black Lives Matter. All lives do matter. But all lives will not matter until Black lives matter, reads the statement.

Ben & Jerrys has had a history of voicing its support for various political causes, such as gay rights and tackling global warming. In light of its statement on Black Lives Matter, the hashtag Ben & Jerrys New Flavor has begun to trend, with the imagined flavors (often hilariously) incorporating easily recognizable quips relating to Black culture.

Ben & Jerrys
As a part of his new deal with The Weinstein Company, Jay Z is producing a documentary series on the life of Kalief Browder, who was imprisoned for three years for allegedly stealing a backpack. Despite never getting convicted, Browder spent over 1,000 days in solitary confinement and committed suicide two years after he was released in 2013.

Jay Z spoke on the documentary and the larger issues it will address during a press conference on Thursday in New York City. Taking answers from the press, he addressed police brutality, the general presidential election, the use of body cameras, and more. He had this to say in response to a question about stopping police brutality against African-American men:

When you have compassion for what someone goes through  were all looking for a short embrace at time. Judgement is the enemy of compassion. When you are able to identify thatwere all not perfect, we may make mistakes. All of us, every single one of us. When you have compassion for what someones going through and their plight, my personal belief, having the camera on someone creates more distrust. When we have an exchange and it has to be recorded, somethings wrong there, somethings broken. A camera cant fix a relationship between a person thats hired to protect and serve and society. There has to be a relationship. There has to be respect on both sides.:

Hov explained that he was moved to make the documentary after reading the The New Yorkers profile on Browder. Here are his comments in full:

I look at Kalief Browder as a modern-day prophet. Our prophets come in many different shapes, forms, or mediums. This young man just by the fact that he brought all of us here today lets you know how powerful of a soul he was. I came across his story in The New Yorker and I called Chaka Pilgrim, who has worked with me forever. Shes sitting here today. I said, I need to meet this young man, can you find him? I was thinking that it would take a while and my phone kept ringing. I didnt answer because sometimes I dont answer her call [laughs]. She kept calling so I knew it was important. I was like okay, youre not going to believe this. She was at another event and she ran across his lawyer who was helping him out, hes a brilliant young man who was helping Kalief seek justice. It was meant to happen. Kalief came to the office and we met and I wanted to give him words of encouragement, that I saw his story, and that Im proud of him for making it through, and to keep pushing. He told me that he was going to college. This story, in the movies it wouldve ended differently. I got a call from Chaka and she told me that he had taken his own life. I was thrown of course. I was asking myself, this story doesnt end like this, its not supposed to end this way. Thats not how the story goes. Not in the movies, not in real life. Shortly after things start happening, Obama starts talking about a crime bill and eliminating solitary confinement for minors. I know that was Kalief. All of these things start happening and we came across these fabulous filmmakers and everything started happening the way it should have been. I knew right there that he was a prophet. Some of my prophets go in tragedy, Martin Luther King ends tragically but what comes from it, the life and the next iteration and the lives saved and how this man has moved culture forward is incredible. And I think you [to Venida Browder, mother of Kalief] should be and you are incredibly proud of your son and what he has accomplished, I know its difficult to you and your family to not have him and not be able to speak to him but hes here. Hes here today and hes done more in 19 years than what a lot of us will do in a lifetime, so on that note, I would like to thank you for bringing us Kaliefs energy in this world.

Jay Z
Last year, Florida rapper Robb Banks posted artwork from a black metal album, Leviathans Verrater, on his Instagram. As the artwork features a man in corpse paint and a classically illegible metal logo, it seems unlikely that it would be mistaken for anything other than an album from metals bleakest genre, but even still, Banks felt the need to tell his followers that it was not the cover of his next mixtape. Its hard to imagine a previous era of hip hop in which such a disclaimer would have been necessary, but today, even the most pop-friendly artists are co-opting metal aesthetics.

In typography, fashion, and live shows, rappers are adopting various aspects of metal in unprecedented numbers, whether that means Kanye copping the Metallica font for his Yeezus logo, Travis Scott wearing a Slayer shirt in GQ, or ScHoolboy Q urging you to mosh at his concerts. A few years ago, it would have seemed unthinkable for A$AP Rocky to collaborate with a rapper who owns a Burzum shirt, or for Pusha T to commission merch from an artist who had previously only worked with death metal bands like Nunslaughter and Rotting Christ. But thats nothing compared to how mainstream the phenomenons gone this year.

Justin Biebers Purpose tour apparel mimicked the band Pentagrams logo, Rihanna unveiled a very metal logo at the VMAs a few weeks ago, and fashion magazine Harpers Bazaar featured model Gigi Hadid wearing an edgy rock tee (AKA vintage Metallica shirt) as the header to its list of 2016 summer looks. Since metal music itself hasnt seen any huge leaps in the charts since its big-ticket days of the 80s and early 90s, it would seem that rappers are more to blame for this new wave of popularization than anyone else, as they were on this steez a year or two before the latest wave of pop stars and fashionistas.

But apart from Bones throat-shredding screams in the above live performance of Rockys Canal Street, there are very few traces of actual metal influence in the music of the many young rappers who take fashion and performance cues from those genres. In fact, the actual sound of that genre is far rarer on rap records today than it was ten, twenty, or even thirty years ago.

In the mid 80s, metalhead Rick Rubin set a precedent by sampling Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin on the Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill, and Terminator X went even heavier, creating Public Enemys She Watch Channel Zero?! atop a bed of riffs lifted from Slayers classic Angel of Death. Bands like Rage Against the Machine and Ice-Ts Body Count went on to create more balanced fusions of the genres with live instrumentation in the 90s, and Cypress Hill even started attracting metal fans with their ominous aesthetic on the album Black Sunday, though they barely ever made use of anything resembling a metal riff. It was common to see people moshing at their shows, even though the heaviest thing they were sampling was one of Black Sabbaths more subdued songs.

Metal mining persisted into the late 90s and early 2000s, with Three 6 Mafias Koopsta Knicca sampling Metallica, Lil Wayne sampling Iron Maiden, Lil Jon reworking Ozzy Osbornes Crazy Train for Trick Daddy, and Busta Rhymes getting the Prince of Darkness himself to reprise Sabbaths Iron Man but you could never call it popular. In the last ten years, metal samplings all but died out. There are, however, astonishing outliers that diverge from the classic metal pantheon rappers tend to favor (Sabbath, Maiden, Metallica, Slayer). Take Trae Tha Truths 2008 cut Im Fresh, which licks the riff from Electric Wizards Dopethrone, a cult classic. Pairing screwed-up Houston with stoner metal is a genius combination, but not one thats been attempted very often.

These days, Lil Uzi Vert slaps a Metallica-inspired logo on tapes that have more in common with electropop than they do with any sort of guitar-driven music. It seems like hip hops increasing interest in metal aesthetics seems to be coinciding with a waning interest in actual metal music. To get a better perspective on the matter, I got in contact with illustrator Mark Riddick, who worked exclusively with underground metal bands until last year. His personal involvement in hip hop and pop design work, like a vast majority of the things that are now en vogue, just so happens to be at least somewhat traceable back to Kanye West.

Yes a known fan of metal tees, having been spotted wearing ones from slightly more obscure bands like Type O Negative, and it appears that this interest extends to his creative team. According to Riddick, DONDAs Virgil Abloh requested a list of heavy metal illustrators a few years back, and his name came up due to a past connection with a label executive. DONDA contacted Riddick about designing a King playing card, and that ended up being used for Pusha Ts Darkest Before Dawn merch line. Pusha T was my first client outside of the realm of underground metal music to publish my work, Riddick confirmed via email. Its now less than a year after that shirt hit shelves, and hes already done design work for Justin Bieber and Rihannas aforementioned metal-inspired merch and logos.

Ive been surprised to receive requests from such unlikely clients this year, he said. As you can imagine, Im deeply rooted in the underground death metal scene so Im very far removed from anything related to other genres of music. As he points out, artists whose music has very little in common with any style of metal are seeking out illustrators from not just any metal community, but one of its least commercial and most abrasive. He at least has a guess as to why thats the case.

Im uncertain why heavy metal graphics are an obsession for pop music and the high fashion industry at this time, he said. In terms of intrigue, I suppose the subversive and gruesome nature of my artwork might be appealing to a pop artist seeking to add a level of shock value to their work.

This strikes me as the opposite of what was happening with Cypress Hill in the mid-90s. Heres the groups B-Real describing their unlikely success with the headbanger demographic in an interview with HipHopDX:

Weve seen more white kids and more skater kids, metal kids listening to us and Wu-Tang the harder-edged hip hop When we came in, there wasnt any punk rock elements in the music, but our attitude was very punk rock. Our music and our look as far as album covers looked more on the rock side. They looked [like] mysterious, dark, metal shit. I think thats what was kind of the appeal.

In their case, metal-style imagery attracted people to artists who werent very metal; today, artists who arent very metal are attracted to metal-style imagery. All thats needed is a shared passion, whether thats horror movies, grimy tones, or authenticity. For Robb Banks, its the latter. Over the phone, he explained his interest in metal:

Im not gonna sit here and say Im a fan of metal in general, I was always solely a fan of black metal. Mayhem, Darkthrone, shit like that. I always respect the artist that does everything they talk about, so thats why I fuck with Mayhem and even [Burzum founder and convicted murderer] Varg Vikernes, people who was doing something for a reason. Even if you could look at it as wrong or crazy, he believed in what he was doing. Its like rap, where you have everyone saying they do shit, but not everyone actually lives it.

Denzel Curry, a fellow Florida rapper whos worked with Banks in the past, has also referenced the genre, specifically in the name of his ongoing Black Metal Terrorist Tour.

The title, lifted from his song ULT, scathingly refers to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones asking, Are black people terrorists? in the wake of Michael Browns murder a few years ago, but it also nods to some of the music that inspires Curry. Im a black terrorist, and as far as the metal part, my music is pretty turnt, like metal, Curry told me over the phone. Im really influenced people like Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies I love Trash Talk and thrash metal. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Currys got tracks that actually take cues from this music. Last years 6 Billion Dollar N*gga not only reflects hardcore punks sub-two minute song lengths, but also some of black metals grimy, lo-fi sonics.

Despite their respective connections to metal, Curry and Banks wont be seen rocking vintage band tees like many of their contemporaries.

When it comes down to band shirts and shit like that, I just cant do it, said Banks. That shit always rubbed me the wrong way, but to be honest, I dont really give a fuck what other n*ggas doing. Its not my place to tell someone what they can or cant wear.

Currys a bit less forgiving.

I mean, if you dont know about the shit, I think you shouldnt be rocking it, he said. I even get on my homies case. He be rocking Metallica shirts and Ill be like, Yo, do you even know a whole album by Metallica? Do you listen to it? And hes like, Theyre hard bro, thats why I wear it! I wear it because I like it. And Im just like, Damn, you cant even name me one Metallica song, bruh. If anything, I should be wearing the damn shirt, I bought a whole Metallica album.

Currys mindset is a common one among people who *actually* listen to metal. This year, a writer for metal blog MetalSucks went to Justin Biebers Purpose tour stop in Brooklyn to see if fans were as bout it bout it as the Metallica tee-wearing, Pentagram logo-ripping star. The host keeps a harmless, friendly enough tone, but the whole idea of asking pre-teen girls if they rock with Cannibal Corpse is a little condescending. Jake Phelps, editor-in-chief of the iconic skate magazine Thrasher, took this sentiment even further last week in an interview with Hypebeast. Like vintage metal tees, Thrashers instantly-recognizable clothing is a favorite choice for celebrities seeking an edgy look, but Phelps seems to loathe the fact that non-skating poseurs seek it out. We dont send boxes [of clothing] to Justin Bieber or Rihanna or those fucking clowns The pavement is where the real shit is. Blood and scabs, does it get realer than that?

This Do u even skate bro?? or Nice Metallica shirt, name one of their songs mentality is somewhat understandable in once-underground scenes whose aesthetics suddenly go mainstream while the scenes main cultural export (i.e. metal or skateboarding) remains unheralded and unprofitable. But is it really worth getting bent out of shape over? Mark Riddick takes a much more levelheaded, optimistic opinion of the aesthetic changes hes helped to usher in, and also provides some helpful perspective on the subject of logo-ripping:

In my opinion, the repurposing of a logo or image is a way to pay homage to something great that came before you. In terms of the Yeezus versus Metallica logo, my understanding is that Kanyes team had permission to appropriate the Metallica logo for the Yeezus tour merchandise campaign. In addition, the Pentagram logo was based off of Black Sabbaths Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album title type treatment. The type has since been converted to a font, easily accessible by anyone. In addition, some other metal bands, besides Pentagram, have based their logo on this typeface.

Im positive [hip hop and pops use of metal aesthetics] will be a temporary fascination as trends are always changing; they come and they go. Im grateful to have somehow been a part of this unusual phenomenon nonetheless. Having these unique opportunities to publish my artwork have allowed me to be a liaison for the underground metal music scene. Underground metal culture is oozing with talent, both artistically and musically, and shouldnt go unnoticed.

The only part of this aesthetic appropriation that does make me a little sad is that it feels like a missed opportunity to try the whole rap/metal fusion thing again. (Lord knows the nu-metal wave of 10-15 years ago failed at that.) Metal and hip hop have more similarities than most members of either genre seem to want to admit. Theyre the two genres that have historically caused censorship advocates, religious leaders, and parents the most headaches. They both have stoner subgenres. They both spend more time meditating on the concept of evil than any other style of music. Theyre both responsible for the best mosh pits Ive ever participated in. Cant we bond over those things?

There are bright spots, in terms of rappers currently incorporating some traces of metal and punk into their work. Curry, Banks, and Yung Simmie are making Florida the biggest hotbed for an aggressive young movement since the states fertile death metal scene of the 80s and 90s. Bones usual style is moody gothic rap, but hes also made screamo songs and sampled post-hardcore band La Dispute. Ratking expertly emulate the scuzz of skate and punk subcultures, and sometimes work alongside NYC sludge-punkers Show Me The Body. Acts like Dalek, Death Grips and Clipping. are far, far left of mainstream rap, but incorporate abrasive strains of industrial, metal, and punk into their music.

Even if the majority of rappers and rap fans who wear metal gear talk the talk but dont walk the walk, its worth it if just one person sees someone they admire wearing a Slayer shirt and subsequently listens to Reign in Blood for the first time. In a year, hip hop and pop stars will probably be on to the next fad, but Im hoping at least some trace amounts of metal have latched onto the next generation and lead to some ugly, brutal, hair-raising rap music.

Heavy Metal
Don't cry over Chilled Milk

Following their sold-out debut show last year, the Booka Brass Band return to Vicar Street in Dublin.

The eight-piece ensemble began in 2012 as a shy group of music students. But before long, the group quickly captivated audiences with their energetic rhythms. Fresh out of production and following their 2015 EP, the band will play songs from their September release Chilled Milk. Musical influences include jazz greats, such as Miles Davis, and hip-hop artists like Kendrick Lamar. A rendition of Jason Derulo's 'Talk Dirty' stands out among the grooves as well.

Booka Brass have collaborated with Irish acts like The Frames, Lisa Hannigan, and Paul Noonan. And believe it or not, they have blown their horns inside the home of the Irish president.

Advertisement

Find Booka Brass Band shaking things up at Vicar Street, Friday October 14 2016

Tickets are 22 and can purchased online or at the door.
Jerry Fish is among the first acts to climb aboard The Bowery

Rock n rum will both be on the menu on October 28 when Stomptown Brass play the first gig in The Bowery, a seven nights a week venue which can be found at 196 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6.

The complex has a nautical theme, hence the craft rum thats being distilled there in smoked barrels.

Also confirmed are an Abner Browns gig with special guests (October 29); The Jerry Fish Electric Sidehow Halloween Party (30) and Interskalactic (November 29).

If youd like to bag yourself a gig there, contact [email protected]

Today FMs Kelly-Anne Byrne and Michael Pope of Le Galaxie are among the resident DJs, with the co-owners Tom Bohan from Ringsend watering hole the Oarsman, and Brian Costello whos given many a Limerick hopeful their first gig in Costellos Tavern.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My landlord lives in the apartment below me in a three-family home.

It was my boyfriend's birthday recently, and I hosted the celebration, with 15 people. This was on a Friday evening, and we were all wrapped up by 11 p.m. On Saturday, I got a knock on my door and learned my landlord was mad at me for having people over. He told me he doesn't condone "huge house parties," and that I kept him up. My rent isn't cheap, and I don't think I did anything wrong by having people over once for a celebration. I want to stand up for myself because I think my landlord is accusing me of being a bad tenant because I am young and hosted one small celebration. -- Last Friday Night, Dallas

DEAR LAST FRIDAY NIGHT: Rather than getting into an argument with your landlord, you can apologize for any disturbance your celebration may have caused him. Then point out that you rarely entertain. This was a special occasion, and it wasn't a large group.

In the future, let your landlord know in advance if you are hosting a party. Honestly, whenever you can, it is wise to invite the neighbors to parties because that cuts down on them being annoyed by whatever disturbance the event may cause. Obviously, it would not be appropriate to have your landlord come to your boyfriend's dinner party. But possibly inviting him over for a toast before the evening began might have softened him up.

Everybody lives on a different schedule. Your 11 p.m. Friday evening ending time seemed respectful to you. Obviously, it was annoying to him. You will need to work together toward a middle ground in the future. Giving him the heads-up is a great start.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I mentioned to my dad how I lend my car to friends pretty frequently. He got so upset with me, I was completely taken aback. He yelled at me about insurance and liabilities.

I trust my friends, and I don't see why I shouldn't lend out my car. They all have clean driving records and don't have cars of their own. I never lend it out for huge road trips, just for a trip to a grocery store or for one night. Is this a generational difference, or could I possibly be as reckless as my father thinks I am? -- Take the Wheel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

DEAR TAKE THE WHEEL: This time, I think your father is right. Even though your friends have clean driving records, what would you or they do if they got into an accident? Your insurance would go up for sure. Would they be able to pay for damages?

Check your insurance policy. Does it allow for drivers who are not related to you? What type of coverage do you pay for? You need to be crystal clear about how you are protected and how they are protected. Finally, if you do let them continue to drive your car, you need to make clear agreements with them about what they pay for if they ever do get into an accident.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My family has a history of breast cancer, and I am nearing an age where my rate of developing cancer is getting higher. I have been considering getting a preventive double mastectomy. Although this is not necessary for me right now, I want the closest thing to 100 percent certainty that I will see my grandchildren get married.

I have spoken to my doctor, and he recommends waiting on the mastectomy, provided I get frequent checkups to see if I develop something. However, he does note that I should do whatever I am most comfortable with. My husband has told the rest of my family about my medical dilemma, and now I am getting opinions from all sides. I want my medical opinions coming from my doctor only. -- Risky Business, Washington, D.C.

DEAR RISKY BUSINESS: It is understandable that you would be nervous about your health, given your family history. But it is also wise for you to consult with your doctor -- and to get a second opinion. Consult another cancer specialist, and have that doctor review your medical history to give you a second recommendation. I have spoken to many women who have a family history of breast cancer who have made a range of choices based upon medical input and their own instincts.

There now are a host of tests that can help to pinpoint the likelihood of you getting cancer. Take advantage of the new technology before taking extreme action. By all means, stay on top of your health.

DEAR HARRIETTE: Upon moving into my house, my landlord said utilities were included in my rent. After a month of living here, I received an electricity bill and called my landlord. He didn't pick up, but texted me that it was my responsibility. His statement about utilities wasn't in the lease, but he made a verbal promise to me. Is there any way I could make him honor his promise now that he's trying to make me foot the bill? -- Lights Off, Jackson, Mississippi

DEAR LIGHTS OFF: This is why you must read the fine print. It is your word against your landlord's, and your rental agreement does not support your word. If at all possible, try again to have a direct conversation with your landlord. Appeal to his humanity. Tell him that you created a tight monthly budget based upon numbers that are now changing because he has changed his terms. Ask him to help you out. Remind him how much you enjoy living in this house, but you really need his help by honoring the verbal agreement he made with you.

If you cannot get to him in person, you can try having this conversation via text. If you get him to admit that he did verbally agree to paying the utilities, you could take him to court. But it is likely that you are going to have to pay this utility bill. You will have to balance out whether the headache, time and possible cost of attempting to get your landlord to honor his word is worth it.

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
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Peter Rodriguez's appointment as dean of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business makes him the first Latino dean at Rice University and a new representative for the handful of Hispanic-American business deans across the country.

"Being Latino means having insights into communities that have not always had great representation in universities, particularly in leadership positions of universities," said Rodriguez, who started in July. "And that will certainly color the way that I frame problems or opportunities for us."

Enrolling more underrepresented minorities and women is just part of his ambitious plan for the school, however. He has set out to create more engaging online classes, continue building the school's entrepreneurship programs and boost students' job-placement rates, to name a few.

His experience as a businessman, academic and senior associate dean for degree programs at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia has many excited about Rodriguez's future in Houston.

Meet the dean Meet the dean A brief bio of Peter Rodriguez, new dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, and some of his favorite things outside of work: Local roots: Bachelor's degree in economics from Texas A&M University Most recent position: Senior associate dean, University of Virginia's Darden School of Business Hobby: Travel photography with a Nikon D810, especially in Turkey, Peru and Vietnam Home life: Married, three children Age: 48 Favorite author: Kurt Vonnegut Poet: Delmore Schwartz Food: Anything spicy See More Collapse

"He's the whole package," said Doug Foshee, owner of Sallyport Investments and part of the dean search committee.

"He's a scholar. He's a teacher. He's a leader," Foshee added.

Born and raised in Texas, Rodriguez earned his bachelor's in economics from Texas A&M University. He later attended Princeton to receive a master's and doctorate in economics. As a researcher, he's focused on the interaction of globalization, economic development and social institutions. He's also studied the consequences of corruption at multinationals and how seed-stage finance affects emerging markets.

He was most recently in charge of the MBA programs at Virginia and led the Darden school's global, online and diversity strategies.

In his new position, Rodriguez is one of just 10 or so Hispanic-American deans to lead a business school nationwide, according to The PhD Project that seeks to increase minority representation in business school faculties. It created its list by reaching out to business schools and underrepresented minorities with business doctorates.

The Jones school's full-time MBA program, class of 2018, is 9.1 percent African-American, Native-American or Latino; 27 percent are women.

Rodriguez said these groups and women are underrepresented in business schools nationwide. One way to remedy this is cultivating relationships earlier, he said. The Jones school needs to build connections with other universities so it can reach out to women and underrepresented minorities studying business as undergraduates.

"One of my goals is to make sure that we do a better job of getting diverse talent," Rodriguez said.

The Jones school is also working to award more scholarships to underrepresented minority students, and it is part of the Forte Foundation, a nonprofit that helps women launch business careers.

Rodriguez comes to Jones after a period of growth. Former dean Bill Glick spent 11 years improving the school's recognition and rankings, growing its alumni base and adding new areas of study. Glick, who was "ready to step down" and return to the faculty, said someone with experience in a top-ranked business school should continue this growth.

"I'm very confident Peter is going to be the right person to take it to the next level," Glick said.

It won't be easy. Business schools across the country are trying to keep pace with a quickly evolving business environment brought on by globalization and new technologies, said Dan LeClair, chief strategy and innovation officer for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Schools are pressured to churn out entrepreneurs who will create new businesses and jobs in the local community, LeClair said. At the same time, they must teach students to take jobs in existing companies and operate in a global environment.

In Houston, Rodriguez can help design a business curriculum that meets the needs of global employers and Fortune 500 companies, added Foshee, with Sallyport Investments.

"It's more than just a local labor market," Foshee said.

That's largely what attracted Rodriguez to Houston. He liked the school's reputation and its location in an urban area with global industries. Its size allows him to interact with and get to know students.

Another challenge confronting business deans is the best way to approach online education. Rodriguez said the Jones school could offer online classes that are broadcast live and require student input. This could be in the form of drop-down polls or surprise requests where students are called upon.

"You do want to still have what I think distinguishes a good research institution, high access to professors who are interested in monitoring you and mentoring you," he said. "But you need the intensity and the engagement of live in order to do that."

He said Jones is considering offering online live classes in the next few years. Last month, it began offering online classes through Coursera. These are solely for personal development and don't count toward credit.

Other goals set by Rodriguez include boosting student placement. Currently, he said, 82 percent of students have jobs at graduation and 91 percent have jobs three months later. He wants to increase that to at least 90 percent at graduation and at least 96 percent three months later.

He also wants to use data to measure performance and then create an environment where faculty openly discuss that performance without fearing failure or blame.

"Discussing it openly means sort of wearing your problems in front of everybody else, and you have to develop a culture that's really comfortable doing that," he said.

Rodriguez lives in West University Place with his family.
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High school sophomores Angie Benitez and Nikole Morales stared intently at their invention made from paper and Popsicle sticks. They slowly poured in marbles and beads to see if their design would separate the two.

Small beads were supposed to flow to the bottom through gaps created by taping the sticks together. But the marbles clogged the system and the beads couldn't flow through. As the two girls tweaked their design, nearby college students provided encouragement. This is what engineering is about. Test an idea, then improve it.

Benitez and Morales were among 65 high school girls from Alief Independent School District participating in an event Friday at the University of Houston. Part of the nationwide Manufacturing Day, the local festivities were focused on attracting, retaining and advancing women in the industry.

"The whole point of national Manufacturing Day is to create an experience that opens students up to opportunities they never knew existed," said Jennifer McNelly, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute.

And with manufacturers facing a skilled labor shortage, she said, women are an "untapped labor pool." Women make up nearly half the U.S. labor force but only 27 percent of manufacturing employees, according to a report by The Manufacturing Institute, Deloitte and supply chain association APICS.

That's partly because manufacturing isn't introduced to women before they make career decisions and partly because it is viewed as being dirty, gritty and physically demanding. Patricia Rossman, chief diversity officer for chemical manufacturer BASF Corp., said some aspects of manufacturing will always require physical labor, but most positions in modern manufacturing defy that stereotype.

"For the most part, technology and work conditions have evolved," she said.

Today's manufacturing requires technical and problem-solving skills and a healthy dash of curiosity, Rossman said. It provides well-paying jobs for a variety of educational levels, ranging from technical to doctoral degrees.

The local event at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering was hosted by The Manufacturing Institute, BASF Corp. and UH. The theme was pay it forward, allowing women of different ages and career stages to assist one another.

The college students worked with high school students, including Benitez and Morales. As part of Alief ISD's Career and Technical Education Early College High School, they will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree.

Benitez is studying welding and electrical. She wants to go to college and study engineering but said welding could be a backup. Morales is studying HVAC - heating, ventilation and air conditioning - because she knows it pays well and could help her attend college and become a veterinarian.

A few tables away, sophomore Angelique Brown was using a cereal box, plastic spoon, Popsicle sticks and rubber bands to build a catapult. As she pulled back the spoon, the ball flew over the college student's head instead of knocking down cups stacked on the table. Its power emitted cheers.

Brown, part of the school district's STEM program, has a knack for geometry.

"I love math," she said. "It always has an answer."

Amira Spikes was one of the college students assisting Brown with her catapult. "It's going to be amazing," she said as they adjusted its design.

Spikes, a sophomore studying biology and environmental science at UH, remembers being younger and looking up to women at events like this. She hopes the diversity present on Friday - with people of different race, hair styles, weight, etc. - can help the girls find someone to identify with and inspire them.

After helping the high schoolers, college students ate lunch with career women. Some of the more senior women shared stories with the entire audience: How they progressed in their careers, how they balanced it with children and how they reinvented themselves for new opportunities.

McNelly, with The Manufacturing Institute, finished the event with a call to action. Find some way, big or small, to advance women in manufacturing. She wants to hear about these actions when she returns for an event in February.

"I will look forward to telling the story of momentum here in the Houston area," she said.
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WASHINGTON - Each year, boats contracted by oil and gas companies travel hundreds of thousands of miles around the Gulf of Mexico to set off underwater explosions, a necessary step in generating images of the sea floor that one day may lead to the discovery of the next big field.

But after years of warnings from scientists that the constant barrage could harm the Gulf's already diminished whale population, federal regulators are considering limitations on the practice, which could bring offshore oil exploration to a standstill.

Such limitations, which face a lengthy review, represent another front in the long-running debate between environmental advocates and the oil and gas industry, again pitting economic growth and the demand for energy against the need to protect natural resources.

The mapping of the sea floor involves seismic surveying, a technology similar to the methods used by bats, which track insects by emitting a series of high-pitched squeals into the night sky and zero in on their prey based on the echoes that return.

RELATED: Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have caused 'irreversible' damage to marshes

In the case of the offshore oil industry, boats use so-called "air guns" to set off the underwater explosions, creating sound waves that are directed into the depths of the ocean, sea floor and underlying rock and sediment. When those waves reverberate back to the surface, they are recorded by what is essentially an underwater microphone and later processed and analyzed by scientists to determine if oil and gas deposits are present.

Dolphins and whales - most commonly the sperm whale - are ever-present in the Gulf. They possess an acute sense of hearing, upon which they depend to communicate with one another and sense the large schools of fish upon which they feed.

Scientists fear the constant noise from the "air guns" used in seismic surveys, not to mention tanker traffic and fish finders, are distressing the whales and interfering with basic life functions, including mating and feeding.

RELATED: Rare sperm whale caught on tape by Gulf researchers

As captured in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," sperm whales were hunted to near extinction in the 1800s as demand for whale oil as a fuel for lamps reached fever pitch - until the discovery of crude oil and its refining into kerosene later in the century. Today, sperm whales are listed as endangered, with concerns growing their numbers are declining in the Gulf of Mexico.

The most recent estimate by the National Marine Fisheries in 2009 puts the sperm whale population in the U.S. Gulf at about 800 - less than half what it was during a survey conducted in 2003 and 2004.

'Louder than a tank propeller'

Doug Nowacek, a marine biologist at Duke University who studies the effects of noise on whales, said the population estimate was not definitive - sperm whales are notoriously hard to count because of the hours they spend underwater - but it had heightened long-standing worries among scientists about the health of the species.

"Seismic air guns are the loudest thing we put in the ocean," he said, "louder than a tanker propeller or a depth sounder."

Studies show that constant noise has a negative impact on wildlife, scientists said, but the body of research on the long-term impacts of marine noise on mammals is relatively scant - a product of a shortage of funding and the limited understanding of the mammals themselves.

"It could be like smoking," Nowacek said. "How long did it take us to figure out that was bad for you?"

RELATED: Study suggests BP oil spill had significant impact on bluefin tuna

But the government, forced into action by a 2010 lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other conservation groups, might not wait for a definitive answer. Last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a draft environmental report stating that in some cases seismic surveying could harm marine mammals, forcing them out of their established territory and even cause hearing loss and death.

The agency proposed a series of measures to protect whales and dolphins, from halting seismic surveying when whales are in the area to capping the number of surveys that can be done each year.

The draft is under review, with a final decision not expected until next year.

But the potential for a draconian crackdown on energy exploration in an area that produces 17 percent of the country's oil has sent fear through surveying companies, rig workers and oil and gas firms that offshore oil and gas exploration as they know it would have to be radically downsized.

"As you look down their list of proposals, they get more and more restrictive. And at some point they become (so) onerous, you just don't do the survey," said Andy Radford, senior policy adviser for offshore at the American Petroleum Institute, the Washington-based trade group. "How does that trickle through the economy and affect jobs in the region?"

For now the trade group says it is reviewing the environmental report and says it is too early to make any forecasts on economic impacts.

New technology sought

Already a small number of scientists are working on developing an alternative to the sonic boom of the seismic air gun. The new device would lay on the ocean's surface and vibrate rather than explode. But with research in the early stages, there is no expectation the device would replace the air gun any time soon.

In the meantime, wildlife groups are pressing for tighter limits on a petroleum surveying industry in which multiple companies often work the same stretch of ocean - each hoping to sell their individual findings to competing clients looking for an edge in offshore lease sales.

Within a high-stakes industry like offshore oil and gas, any form of cooperation between companies is unlikely, experts say.

RELATED: Anadarko to pay $2 billion to expand foothold in Gulf

But some relief for marine life might lie within the historic lows in oil prices since 2014, which have reduced exploration in the deep sea Gulf as companies look at easier and cheaper ways of producing oil and gas onshore.

"There's a shakeout," said Jamie Austin, associate director of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics.

"When the price is over $100 a barrel, you get over capacity and everyone wants in. But with prices where they are now, we have a lot of (seismic) ships at the dock and technical people doing other things."
KPMG LLP has named Regina Mayor its new global sector head of energy and natural resources practice, a job she will perform from Houston.

Mayor, who has been with KPMG since 2006, previously headed the energy and natural resources practice for the U.S.

Her new role will have her focused on oil and gas services across the globe, and traveling as a speaker and to meet with clients. As of early October, Mayor had already traveled to Australia and Mexico, and she said she is planning on making future trips for conferences in Japan and India.

Mayor said she also will be working on a very American problem at home: What she calls the demonization of the oil and gas industry. Americans' fractious relationship with the oil and gas industry  particularly in recent years with the increased use of hydraulic fracturing  is not something she sees often in other countries.

"It's a much maligned industry, unfairly. ... It is kind of a demonized industry," Mayor said, adding that oil and gas companies are working more on their public image. "I am seeing the industry pulling together to take back control of the dialogue."

KPMG's oil and gas clients are particularly concerned about what they describe as overregulation of their industry in the U.S., Mayor said. Companies have told her that regulations are the No. 1 challenge they face, and have become too much of a burden.

KPMG does not reveal the names of its clients, said spokesman Henry Yu. But they represent many of the world's largest energy companies.

Nonetheless, companies are learning to adjust to the new status quo  where not only are market where regulations greater but oil prices are lower.

KPMG clients are simplifying their operations, looking to spending less money, and if they are smart, taking advantage of the learning opportunity that a crisis provides, Mayor added.

"It's been an important wake-up call for the industry," Mayor said.

Mayor's clients are ever hopeful that their lot is improving, particularly after OPEC indicated last week that it might decrease production oil production in a move to raise the price.

"I see a building level of optimism," she said.
Caption: Crude oil settled above $50 a barrel for the first time since June. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for oil, settled at $50.44 barrel in New York, continuing a rally that began Sept. 28. But questions remain about how much production and supplies will fall as analysts remain dubious about OPECs ability to stick to production cuts and non-OPEC producers. Click the button below the chart to see the closing prices at the end of each month in 2016

Crude prices settled above $50 a barrel in New York for the first time since June, providing some measure of relief for struggling oil producers, but leaving no certain path for prices to rise significantly higher.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for oil, settled at $50.44 barrel, continuing a rally that began Sept. 28 when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached an agreement to cut production by as much as 750,000 barrels a day in an effort to reduce a worldwide glut of oil and raise prices. Prices have climbed more than 10 percent since the deal was announced, but it still must be finalized at OPEC's formal meeting in Vienna next month.

Many analysts, however, remain skeptical that OPEC will follow through on the deal at the November meeting. And even if OPEC succeeds in cutting production and raising prices, analysts said, non-OPEC producers, including U.S. shale drillers, may well kick up their output, offsetting the reduction, extending the supply glut, and depressing prices.

Many forecasters expect prices to hover around $50 a barrel - less than half the 2014 peak - until at least the end of November; the Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs recently projected that abundant global supplies would keep oil below $55 a barrel well into next year.

"There is still a lot to be determined here in terms of recovery of the oil market," said Tony Starkey, manager of energy analysis at Platts Analytics, the forecasting arm of S&P Global Platts, a provider of energy and commodities information.

The oil industry has struggled to emerge from a two-year-plus downturn that has pushed scores of companies into bankruptcy and cost tens of thousands of workers their jobs.

Oil prices have climbed steadily - with occasional setbacks - since hitting a bottom of about $26 a barrel in February, but they remain well below the $107 a barrel reached in June of 2014.

The latest rally has been largely driven by anticipation of the OPEC deal, although less speculative developments have added some support to prices. Commercial stockpiles of crude oil in the United States have declined for five consecutive weeks, against the backdrop of solid demand.

Although still historically high, crude inventories have plunged by more than 40 million barrels since peaking in April, slipping below 500 million barrels last week for the first time since the beginning of the year, according to the Energy Department.

Demand for petroleum products, meanwhile, is rising. U.S. drivers consumed an average of 9.3 million barrels of gasoline a day over the past four weeks, up more than 3 percent from a year earlier.

Consumption of all petroleum products, averaging nearly 20 million barrels a day, has also risen about 3 percent from a year ago.

Higher prices, meanwhile, have offered at least a short-term reprieve for struggling Texas and U.S. companies, which are slowly returning to oil fields. In some sections of the Permian Basin in West Texas, companies can earn profits with oil just below $40 a barrel, analysts said; more can make money at $50.

As a result, more than 100 drilling rigs have come back into operation since hitting a low of just over 400 in May, according to the Baker Hughes.

"It's an improvement from what prices were," said Andy Lipow, president of Houston-based Lipow Oil Associates and Consulting.

"It throws a lifeline to many of the struggling producers. We are not out of the woods yet, but the future is looking a little brighter."

The outlook will brighten further if OPEC, which controls about 30 percent of global production, finalizes its agreement and follows through on production cuts. If OPEC reduces output by 750,000 barrels a day, it could boost prices by as much as 25 percent, said Ed Hirs, a professor of energy economics at the University of Houston.

But that's a big if, Hirs said. Hirs said he doesn't expect OPEC to finalize the preliminary agreement reached in Algeria last week, opting instead to wait, as it has done for the past two years, for the market to bring supplies in line with demand.

In the United States, as low prices have driven companies out of business, oil production has fallen by about 700,000 barrels a day, according to the Energy Department.

If OPEC fails to stick to the Algerian deal, prices could quickly drop by $8 to $10 a barrel, analysts said.
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Residential prices for electricity have dropped this year for the first time since 2002, despite worries that shutting down coal-fired power plants and relying more on wind and solar would ruin the economy, according the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Prices are down 0.7 percent this year, the EIA said Thursday. That's a reversal of the last five years, when electricity costs rose on average 1.9 percent annually.

This it not what the defenders of burning coal said would happen. Placing new emissions regulations on coal-fired plants would drive up costs, they said, as generators had to build new natural gas plants and rely on renewable sources, which in most cases cost more than coal.

The cost of natural gas and renewable resources, though, are going down fast and all forecasts show wind and solar becoming cheaper. Burning natural gas in place of coal has also lowered U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, a key greenhouse gas.

RELATED: Must the U.S. lead the world towards a cleaner way to burn coal?

Meanwhile, coal producers are going out of business with no apparent harm to the national economy, though causing devastation in coal communities.

The United States is not the only country weaning itself off dirty coal. The United Kingdom from March to September produced more electricity from solar panels than from coal, an achievement once thought unthinkable.

"The first ever day when solar produced more than coal was only on 9 April  when there was no coal-fired electricity for the first time since 1882," The Independent newspaper reported. "But then May became the first ever month when this happened."

China announced Thursday that the government had cancelled the construction of 15 coal-fired power plants, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

RELATED: Houston company brings 'cleaner coal' technology to China

"China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to bring its emissions to a peak by around 2030, as part of its commitments to a global climate change pact signed in Paris last year," Reuters reported.

All of this points to progress toward meeting the world's obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, which will go into force Nov. 4, after a group of nations ratified the agreement this week.

While there will always be some uses for coal, the era of the world burning rocks for electricity is coming to an end. And it is not going to cost us as much as we'd thought.
Over the past few weeks, defying the anti-trade rhetoric on the campaign trail, President Barack Obama has mounted a full court press to get a vote on a big, missing piece of his legacy: The Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The trade and investment deal with 13 Pacific Rim nations has been in progress for nearly his entire term. It's cleared a couple of congressional hurdles, but hit a roadblock with the populist surge of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, leading to Hillary Clinton's announcement that she wouldn't support the deal for which she had helped lay the groundwork.

Leaders in Congress have all but closed the door to a vote in the two short months they have to finish business after the election. Nevertheless, Obama and his lieutenants talk it up at every chance they get, in hopes that opinions will change once the polls have closed.

The problem is, they're doing it with an argument that Americans may not care that much about.

In earlier stages of the TPP campaign, the administration pushed its economic benefits: By eliminating thousands of tariffs on U.S. goods in Asian countries, the White House argued, the deal would boost American exports, creating more jobs and higher wages. Even helping U.S. companies like Nike manufacture overseas could support design and engineering jobs at home.

Then, the economic analyses of the TPP started coming back. The U.S. International Trade Commission found that the deal would only boost economic growth by 0.15 percent and employment by 0.07 percent over 15 years. The pro-trade Peterson Institute for International Economics found that TPP might raise wages, but wouldn't meaningfully change employment. More skeptical economists at Tufts University determined the deal would actually decrease employment and economic growth in the United States.

With the economic case becoming difficult to make, backers of the trade deal shifted their emphasis to a geopolitical argument: The TPP is an essential manifestation of American leadership, without which southeast Asia would be drawn inexorably into China's orbit, potentially undermining U.S. national security.

The argument seemed to be very much on the minds of Ted Osius and Craig Allen, the ambassadors to Vietnam and Brunei respectfully, during an interview this week in Houston. They were visiting local companies that do business in those countries, but also talking up TPP. "The alternative is really a China-centric trading system, and we won't like that," said Osius.

The inclusion of Vietnam in particular was concerning to U.S. labor interests, since it has some of the highest tariffs, lowest wages, and worst human rights record in the region. During the TPP negotiations, the U.S. was able to get Vietnam  along with Malaysia and Brunei  to commit to side agreements on labor issues that include the freedom to join unions. Regular reviews could lead to revocation of trade benefits if provisions of the agreement aren't met after a generous grace period.

"What made it possible to have this really tough agreement was TPP and the economic benefits, and even more important, the strategic benefits, for countries in the region who don't want to be owned by any one economy, but would like to have options," Osius said. "The setbacks of not going through with it would be really significant." (The ambassadors declined to speculate on why their former boss, Secretary Clinton, turned against the deal when it became public.)

So, if Hanoi upholds its end of the deal and labor unions really are allowed to flourish and collectively bargain, that could allow wages to rise and labor conditions to improve in Vietnam. It also could bring Vietnam closer to the United States and make it less dependent on China, leading to some nebulous strategic advantage in the future.

Putting aside other issues, such as elevating the rights of corporations in a way that undermines the appearance of democratic legitimacy, that would be a decent moral and long-range diplomatic case for TPP.

But do voters actually care about such internationalist arguments, at a time when "America First" is the newly ascendant political rallying cry? A recent Gallup poll puts "national security" pretty far down the list of issues voters prioritize, unless you combine it with "terrorism." The poll didn't ask about jobs and labor rights for impoverished Vietnamese people, but it's probably fair to assume that's not a big voting issue either.

State Department heavyweights are reaching out to members of Congress who might be persuaded to vote for TPP if it were to come to the floor. There are a few of those in Texas  10 of the state's 36 representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, voted against a key procedural step that allowed the deal to move forward in the summer of 2015. And Texas' big industries, from cattle ranching to oilfield equipment manufacturing, would very much like the TPP to happen.

The problem is, the fixes the Republicans want are likely to make Democrats less likely to vote for the deal, not more. Rep. Kevin Brady, the Woodlands Republican who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee, said via a spokeswoman that he wants longer patent protections for high-priced drugs (which Democrats think are already too long) and more protections for tobacco companies (which Democrats pushed hard to eliminate).

There are some Democrats who might be more comfortable with TPP if there were some guarantee that it would come with measures that could help those who lose jobs as a result of additional import competition, like massive investment in infrastructure or a commitment to free community college. But there's no indication that those ideas are on the table as bargaining chips.

It's true, elections have a way of shifting things around. But unless voters suddenly change their minds about the value of global integration in the next couple of months, TPP's chances still look pretty dim.
A former bank executive with a prior state conviction for possessing child pornography was sentenced to prison for possessing child pornography obtained at a dark website where FBI agents set up a sting operation in 2015.

Gregg Carl Baird, 45, of Spring, told U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Friday he felt remorseful. He knew he had a problem and he needed treatment, he said. The judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison, which is at the low end of mandatory federal guidelines.

Baird's lawyer, Josh Schaffer, asked the judge to send Baird to a facility in Seagoville that has a treatment program for inmates convicted of child pornography. Hittner said he would recommend the specialized facility to the Bureau of Prisons.

RELATED: Feds chalk up a win in 2015 child porn sting

"The court recognized that Gregg has never received treatment for his addiction, poses a low threat of hurting anyone and is extremely remorseful for his conduct," Schaffer said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack had asked for a sentence in the mid-range of the guidelines but told the judge she would not object if he sentenced Baird anywhere within the guideline range.

Baird pleaded guilty Jan. 8 to one of three charges as part of a plea agreement.

READ MORE: FBI went too far with cyber crime investigation, attorneys say

He was arrested as a result of Operation Pacifier, an FBI sting on a dark website, inaccessible through surface Internet sites or search engines. Agents seized the server of Playpen and got a federal warrant to keep the site running at a secure facility in Quantico, Virginia while they ran a massive hacking operation, using software known as "network investigative tecqnique."

During a search of his home, investigators found 450 videos and 2,300 images, including depictions of penetration of a minor under the age of five and bondage of a child.

The watering hole sting, which was unprecedented in scope netted thousands of IP addresses and has resulted in 135 indictments around the country, including seven men prosecuted in the greater Houston area. The group of men indicted in the Southern District of Texas through Operation Safe Childhood included Baird, a former bank executive, as well as a former pediatric oncologist, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a college professor.

Defendants in some of cases deriving from the sting have walked back their guilty pleas and filed motions to suppress evidence obtained through what they have argued was an illegal search of their home computers. District judges in the Southern District of Texas have rejected one request to withdraw a plea and another to suppress evidence. One district judge in Houston has allowed a defendant to withdraw his plea of guilty.

CONTROVERSY: Ex-comic book store worker pleads guilty in child porn case

Baird, who was once a vice president at Aggieland Credit Union and a member of board of advisers for Texas A&M, was convicted in 2010 of multiple child pornography offenses and sentenced to 15 years. He was offered early release in 2014, was a registered sex offender at the time the FBI agents caught him visiting the dark website.

Upon completion of his term, Baird was ordered to serve the remainder of his life on supervised release. The court will restrict his access to children and the Internet and he will be required to register as a sex offender.
Tana French has lived in the United States, Italy and Malawi, but her themes of identity, justice and the past are most evocative of her home for the past 26 years: Dublin, Ireland. She studied acting at Trinity College in Dublin and, intriguingly, she populates her Dublin Murder Squad series with an ensemble cast.

Her protagonists are all members of the Murder Squad team of detectives, but the lead investigators change from book to book, with a cast member stepping into the spotlight, then receding to a supporting role for the next book.

This "chain-link" series has produced five books, critical raves and a spate of awards. "The Trespasser," the sixth novel in the series, was released Tuesday. She recently discussed her background, books and writing process.

Q: You're an actress, and you've lived in many different places. How does your background inform your writing?

A: I've lived in different places, and this is one of the reasons I tend to write about people who are deeply rooted in Ireland. It's what you don't know that is most fascinating. Because I grew up moving around, I was fascinated by people who had deep roots, and Ireland has a heritage that is present in its current way of life.

Q: You mention writing about the Irish, and I'm reminded of Yeats' quote: "Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." Your characters seem unable to enjoy themselves fully.

More Information 'The Trespasser' By Tana French Viking, 464 pp., $27 See More Collapse

A: Characters who are too purely content aren't that interesting to read about. My motto as a writer is: "When in doubt, mess with your narrator's head." And, yes, that kind of cynicism is definitely an Irish trait.

Q: In your last novel, "The Secret Place," you tackled the world of teenagers. What prompted you to write about that subject?

A: I was interested in the relationship between secrets and identity. Teenagers are fragile, and they are trying to construct their own identity, even as they have instincts pulling them in different directions and people telling them who they are supposed to be. How do you balance that? It's also a time when your secrets are precious currencies. You want to tell your friends who you are with intimate depth, but you also fear that revelation can damage you. For a mystery writer, secrets are always going to be interesting.

Q: How did you get the teenagers' language down?

A: I'm exactly the wrong age to write a book about teenagers. I'm too old to know teenagers, but I'm too young to have teenagers, so I lurked around bus stops when school was letting out, and I listened. One of the things I forgot is that they can all talk at once and still hear each other, and I forgot how intense they get. Interestingly, I don't think I was ever noticed. I was this 30-something woman standing there, and I didn't exist in their world.

Q: J.D. Salinger hung out in soda shops to capture the language he used for "The Catcher in the Rye."

A: Well, I am in very good company. I think it's easier for a woman. You look a little less sinister.

Q: Speaking of sinister, tell us about "The Trespasser."

A: Antoinette Conway is a murder detective. She is good at her job, but she is a poor compromiser, and she doesn't get along well with her colleagues. She's considering quitting, but a case comes in which, at first glance, seems to be a lovers' quarrel that ended in death. But Antoinette has seen the victim (a young woman named Aislinn) before, and evidence keeps coming in that can be read in multiple ways. It's clear that somebody on their squad is pushing hard for them to arrest the boyfriend and close the case. And Conway and her partner, Stephen, need to figure out why.

Q: In all of your books, there is some intradepartmental strife.

A: Yes, each book of my books has a core location and, in "The Trespasser," it's definitely the squad room. It is an elite location where people are incredibly focused and invested in chasing down whatever variant of truth or justice or closure they are looking for.

Q: Tell us about the title, "The Trespasser."

A: Who is the trespasser? Is it the person who came into Aislinn's home and killed her? Or is it Aislinn herself, who, as we find out, is trespassing on another's life? Or is Antoinette the trespasser, by being an outsider in her own department? And there's also the religious sense of the word. Who has trespassed in this book? How does one decide? This book is about invasion, about invading people's lives and spaces in multiple ways.

Q: Spaces take on great importance in your works.

A: Places are practically characters in my novels. Places are one of the first things that I come up with when I am writing a book. I come up with a core place, and if I don't have a core place, I don't really know how to start the book. That place is where the book draws its power from, and I think that might have something to do with having grown up moving around and thinking about roots and what they mean.
During "Pinktober," look for products whose profits benefit such organizations as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which has top ratings from Charity Navigator and Charity Watch, the American Cancer Society and Stand Up to Cancer.

1. HALLE'S PINK: Actress Halle Berry is this year's campaign ambassador for Saks Fifth Avenue's 2016 Key to the Cure campaign, now in its 18th year. The limited-edition $35 T-shirt designed by Christian Louboutin is available at Saks Fifth Avenue Galleria, with 100 percent of sales going to Stand Up to Cancer.
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This week Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine, putting him in an elite circle of scientists.

It's a club that Rice University chemist Robert Curl joined almost 20 years ago when he and his colleagues Richard Smalley and Harry Kroto earned a Nobel Prize for their creation of buckyballs, a previously unknown form of carbon.

Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the announcement of the coverted prize, the only Nobel ever awarded to a Houston scientist who made the discovery while working in the Bayou City.

For the Houston Chronicle's 115 series, reporter Markian Hawlruk described how the discovery was made.

"In 1985, Rice University chemists Robert Curl and Richard Smalley hosted British chemist Harry Kroto for a series of experiments in Houston. Kroto had a theory about how long carbon chains were formed in the atmospheres of carbon-rich giant stars, and Smalley had built a laser beam apparatus that could vaporize molecules and test the theory.

Over 10 days, the three professors and three graduate students conducted tests in which they vaporized carbon molecules with Smalley's laser beam apparatus and then measured how the carbon atoms clustered together. To their surprise, in addition to the long chain molecules they were seeking, they found a high number of clusters consisting of 60 carbon atoms.

The professors tasked their graduate students with finding ways of changing the parameters of the experiment to increase the number of C60 molecules and tried to theorize what their structure would look like. They knew the structure had to be something more stable, like a sphere, that would protect the bonds between the carbon atoms from being easily broken.

"What was the chemical structure?" Curl recalled in his Rice office earlier this month. "How can you put 60 carbon atoms together and come up with something really stable?"

Kroto remembered he had built with his children a paper star dome that consisted of both pentagons and hexagons. He wanted to call his wife in England to have her find the construction.

"But it was getting late, and it seemed highly improbable that he had done this," Curl said.

Instead, that night, Smalley fiddled with paper, scissors and scotch tape, creating a paper sphere made up of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons with 60 corners. It fit all the parameters for a stable form of carbon with 60 atoms."

While the team marveled over this discovery, none realized its magnitude at the time.

"We were all very excited," Curl told the Chronicle. "Some of my colleagues uttered the words 'Nobel prize,' but I knew that wasn't going to happen."

Buckyballs, themselves, turned out to have little practical use, but their discovery opened the door to the entire field of nanotechnology, including the 1991 discovery of carbon nanotubes in Japan.

Both Smalley and Kroto have passed away, and Curl is retired, though he remains very much a visible presence at Rice. Today, at 83, he is studying the effect of automation on the work force.

On Oct. 21, Curl will be honored at reception. To commemorate the Rice team's Nobel win, the university has posted this insightful Q&A session with Curl.
PORT ARANSAS - The mayor and I should have been having a Sunday-morning bloody mary given the topic at hand. Instead, I was taking notes at the dining-room table and he was sitting at the kitchen bar. We weren't even sipping coffee. I was trying to determine whether several Gulf Coast tales I'd been reeling in - a couple of them booze-related - were historical fact. Charles Bujan, a Port Aransas native elected mayor in May, seemed like the man to ask.

I had heard about coyotes in the dunes. (True, he said.) And what about the Deep Water Saloon, I asked. I had heard it was a drinking establishment constructed offshore in 1909, allegedly because foreign laborers building the Port Aransas jetties - Greeks, Italians, Spaniards, Croats and Russian-Finns - weren't allowed to darken the doors of the Tarpon Inn, the only bar in town. (Port Aransas was known as Tarpon in those days; the inn remains a Port Aransas landmark.)

"There are so many stories around here that simply aren't true, it's hard to know what to believe," said Bujan, a fishing guide and retired insurance executive whose Austrian grandfather immigrated to Mustang Island through Galveston in 1885.

Whether the legendary watering hole owes its origins to saloon discrimination, we can't say for sure. We do know that Tomas Jakasovitch, also an Austrian immigrant, was prohibited from opening a saloon by an ordinance allowing only one per a prescribed number of residents; Tarpon wasn't big enough to accommodate two. Jakasovitch, who changed his name to Tom Matthews for understandable reasons, built a small cabin atop one of his fishing boats, outfitted the structure with a well-stocked bar and a few tables and towed his newly christened Deep Water Saloon into Turtle Cove. Only a few yards offshore, it was beyond the reach of the ordinance and open to anyone who could pay for his drinks.

Former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby told me the who-knows-whether-it's-true tale that got me down to the Coastal Bend in the first place. It involves his great-uncle, Alfred Marmaduke Hobby. A member of the Texas Legislature at age 23, a poet and commander of the Eighth Texas Confederate Infantry Regiment, A.M. Hobby was a defender of Corpus Christi during the Civil War. Bill Hobby's grandfather, Capt. Edwin E. Hobby, was a member of the regiment, as well.

On Aug. 12, 1862, four Union warships sailed into Corpus Christi Bay under the command of Lt. John W. Kittredge, a 35-year-old New Yorker described as a "small, light man with a sallow complexion." Since February, Kittredge and his hundred-man crew had been intercepting blockade runners, raiding coastal towns and converting captured vessels into gunboats.

Cool and courageous

Ed Cotham, a Houston amateur historian who's written extensively about Confederate Texas, points out that Kittredge's orders were to blockade the entrance to Corpus Christi Bay, nothing more, but, as Cotham notes, the aggressive Union officer decided that actually taking the city might mean a promotion. He was confident the Confederates had neither the will nor the resources to oppose him. "He turned out to be wrong about that," Cotham said via email.

The morning after sailing into the bay, the Union commander landed under a white flag and met with Major Hobby at Ohler's Wharf. After an exchange of gentlemanly threats, Kittredge gave Hobby 48 hours to evacuate the townspeople.

On Aug. 15, with inhabitants streaming westward into the countryside, Hobby's men took the initiative, firing three cannons from behind a sandbank battery left over from the Mexican War. A shot ripped through the mainsail of the Union yacht Corypheus and another tore a hole in the side of the gunboat Sachem. The Union ships returned fire.

"[Hobby] was very indecisive initially," Civil War historian Norman Delaney told me. "It was Private Billy Mann who had to tell him what to do about placing the cannon, but once the battle began he proved to be cool and courageous."

On Aug. 18th, Kittredge positioned a shallow-draft vessel called the Belle Italia close to shore and landed 30 men in launches, intending to take the Confederate battery from the rear. Major Hobby led a charge that drove the Union invaders back to their boats. One of Hobby's men shot in the head during the charge was the only casualty.

After his shore party made it back to the ships, Kittredge contented himself with shelling houses and blasting holes in buildings before sailing away. He came back a few weeks later and got himself captured.

Shells as doorstops

Here's the part of the story that may be too good to be true: Among the 500 to 600 shells the U.S. Navy vessels fired, several were duds. Legend has it the gunpowder in them had been replaced with whiskey that crew members stole from their leader's private supply. In the heat of battle, it seems, the sailors forgot which cannon balls were live and which were just lively, so to speak.

Decades later, a relative of Felix von Blucher, a Mexican War veteran who directed the Confederate gunners during the battle, recalled what she had heard about the spent shells, called "Kittredges" by Corpus Christians who used them as conversation pieces and doorstops: "Many of the cannon balls that fell in Corpus Christi did not explode, and the experts on the Confederate side were able to open them without exploding the caps. The powder inside was then used by the people in their firearms, as powder was scarce. Occasionally, a bombshell, upon being opened, was found to contain very fine whiskey, which was a pleasant surprise to many. After the war, it was explained that Kittredge had had on board some fine liquors, and that some of the marines conceived the idea of extracting the fuse cap and powder from some of the bombshells and replacing the same with liquor taken from Kittredge's barrels; the fuse cap was replaced to avoid detection."

Delaney, a Corpus resident who's writing a book about Kittredge, tells me he was skeptical initially but changed his mind when he discovered that the source was a former Confederate captain named James Ware, who played a major role in the battle and the subsequent capture of Kittredge. Ware spent his final years at the Texas Confederate Home for veterans in Austin, where he told the story in 1892 to a writer from Leslie's Illustrated.

Delaney is a reputable historian, but he's in the minority on the whiskey-ball story. Cotham, for example, wrote earlier this week: "Great story, but no truth to it. There is also a story that one of the shells hit a warehouse and scattered the contents, leading one man to say something like 'My God, they're firing cattle hides at us!' That one might possibly be true."

So, unless we discover one of those 100-proof cannon balls buried beneath the Corpus Christi bayfront, we're unlikely to know. We do know the Port Aransas coyote tale is true. The crafty canines leave their dens in the thick vegetation on the dunes and skulk around at night, nosing into garbage bins and howling when they feel the urge. They've been known to nibble on residents sleeping outdoors. Completely sober people have told me so.
Harris County Judge Rory Olsen is now accepting involuntary psychiatric commitment requests signed by doctors of osteopathic medicine, a reversal of his position that health care leaders complained aggravated the area's already limited access to mental health care.

Olsen on Friday changed his policy to only grant the requests from medical doctors following Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's decision to review whether osteopathic doctors have the legal authority to certify an individual is mentally ill, dangerous and in need of commitment.

"I consider this the equivalent of a case on appeal," said Olsen, a Republican in his 18th year as a mental health probate judge. "It's pretty standard that when a case is under appeal, you freeze everything."

Olsen said medical providers have been informed DO-signed commitment requests will be granted until Paxton issues an opinion and after if he sides with osteopathic doctors.

The controversy arose in early September, when Olsen rejected a commitment request that included an osteopathic doctor's signature, arguing that an "ambiguous" provision of Texas law suggests only medical doctors can sign medical examination forms. He subsequently directed his staff to reject DO-signed applications. He was the only judge in the state thought to be rejecting such requests.

More for you Harris County judge takes position that could cause bottleneck...

The change in policy upset many in the medical community, as the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this week. Leaders of numerous societies, including the nearly 50,000-member Texas Medical Association, wrote him trying to clarify that MDs and DOs are equal under state law and expressing concern about the likely effect on the county's already undermanned psychiatric force.

Such leaders Friday expressed great relief at Olsen's reversal. Dr. Don Read, TMA's president, said Olsen "made the correct decision" and Stephen Glazier, chief operating officer of UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center, called it a "positive development for patient welfare."

Olsen said the issue has been "blown out of proportion," claiming there aren't many hospitals in Harris County who have osteopathic doctors signing psychiatric patient orders. He called Paxton's decision to render an opinion "a good compromise."

Paxton's review was solicited by state senators Charles Schwertner and Joan Huffman. In a statement Thursday night, Schwertner referred to Olsen's "altogether puzzling decision that seems to defy decades of established legal and medical precedent" and said he is asking the attorney general to issue a legal opinion "affirming the right of doctors of osteopathy to practice medicine in Texas."

"The simple fact is, Judge Olsen doesn't have the authority to decide which physicians he does or does not want to listen to," said Schwertner, R-Georgetown, chairman of the health and human services committee and also a medical doctor. "Regardless of this man's opinion, the law governing the practice of medicine is exceedingly clear: DOs  just like MDs  are fully-trained, licensed, and accredited physicians with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. Period."

Earlier Thursday, leaders of professional medical organizations and hospitals had met about the matter, concerned about "possible downstream effects." Officials in attendance said the conversation explored all possible solutions, including a lawsuit.

Osteopathic doctors, whose specialties include psychiatry, represent about 10 percent of the Texas physician workforce. More hands-on and prevention-oriented, osteopathic medicine was developed in the second half of the 19th century as a rejection of the then-prevailing system of medical thought before gradually moving into the mainstream in the 20th century.

DOs ultimately achieved the same practice rights as MDs in all 50 states. All told, more than 96,000 osteopathic doctors now practice in the U.S.

Texas medical leaders were mystified by Olsen's September action because previous DO-signed applications had sailed through his court. Olsen said last week he hadn't noticed any before.

He cited a section of the state health and safety code that says, "a physician shall examine the person" and defines a physician as "a person licensed to practice medicine in this state."He said that to him, the term physician implies a medical doctor and rejected arguments that the law already clearly establishes physicians either can be medical doctors or doctors of osteopathic medicine because a "specific" provision in the code trumps a more "general" one.

The judge wrote doctors last week that he was open to persuasion, but suggested it would take a citation of an appellate court or an opinion from Paxton's office. Olsen said the best solution would be for the Legislature to clarify the law.

Dr. David Garza, president of the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, Friday expressed gratitude to Schwertner and Huffman for requesting the attorney general's opinion but remained troubled by Olsen's original, "baffling" directive, which he said caused "a trying month for many DOs." Dismissing the call for a legislative solution, he added that "this is clearly a case of one judge who chose not to follow the law as written."

Others seemed more focused on the outcome. Dr. George Santos, medical director of Houston Behavioral Healthcare Hospital and a former president of the Houston Psychiatric Society, called Olsen's new policy "a more reasoned approach that does not disrupt patient care while the Attorney General considers his opinion." He said it will restore psychiatric care to more people in need.

It is unclear how quickly Paxton will issue an opinion on the matter. Kayleigh Lovvorn, his spokeswoman, said Friday that most opinions are issued within 180 days of the request, though the amount of time required may vary depending on the volume of research required and the number and length of commentaries and briefs received.

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The Harris County inmate shot by a deputy after grabbing a weapon and briefly taking a medical student hostage Thursday had struggled with mental health problems for decades, according to his mother.

Ricky Hall, 46, was facing a parole violation and a host of new charges when he was shot by a sheriff's deputy after he took up an "edged weapon" just before 10 a.m. at Ben Taub Hospital, authorities said.

"He wanted them to shoot him; he did not want to go back to prison," his mother, Elizabeth Keith, 66, of Pasadena, told the Chronicle. "But I had no idea he would come and do this."

Days before his violent outburst, Hall - who struggles with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, his mother said - was taken to the hospital for treatment of seizures.

"He was brought here for an evaluation, and during his treatment today, our preliminary information is that he tried to grab some type of edged weapon," Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said at a news conference outside the hospital.

After snatching the weapon - which appeared to be the metal band from a set of headphones - Hall attacked the visiting medical student, Houston police spokesman Kese Smith told reporters.

The deputy, who was working an overtime security job on the fifth floor at Ben Taub, heard a scream and dashed into the room, where Hall had his arm wrapped around the medical student's neck and the sharp object pressed to her throat.

As the tense stand-off moved out into the hallway, Hall repeatedly threatened to kill the woman.

"He was advising the deputy he was going to kill the medical student unless the deputy shot him," Smith said. Neither the deputy's name nor the student's name has been released.

The woman started to struggle and, as Hall put more pressure on her neck, the deputy fired off two shots, wounding the inmate. It was unclear how many times Hall was hit; the Houston Police Department's homicide unit, the Harris County District Attorney's office and the sheriff's office internal affairs division are all investigating the shooting.

Hall went into surgery after the shooting and was listed in critical condition mid-afternoon Thursday, Smith confirmed.

The victim - a visiting student at Baylor College of Medicine - was not wounded.

"We offered counseling for students today and are doing so tomorrow (Friday) as well," said Baylor spokeswoman Lori Williams.

Hall, who has a lengthy criminal record that ranges from drunken driving to check forgery, had been at Ben Taub since Saturday and was slated for release back to the jail Thursday.

Aside from the motion to revoke parole, Hall is now facing new charges for forgery, credit card abuse and robbery threats.

His heartbroken mother said it was her credit card he swiped - something he's done time and again.

"I love him to pieces, but I don't like him," she said.

Her son had been in and out of prisons and mental hospitals for years but this time he seemed to be doing well, she said. He had a job and a girlfriend.

But then he fell back into his old ways, and Keith, a retired school cafeteria worker on a fixed budget, said she had no choice but to report him if she wanted to get her money back.

Once he found out about the new charges against him, Hall skipped a parole appointment, but police took him into custody last Friday.

"The last time he called he said, 'Mom I need to talk to you. I love you and I'm sorry for what I did.' And that was the last time I heard from him," Keith said.

Dale Lezon contributed to this report.
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The former president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club is standing his ground against federal organized crime charges that could land him in prison for life, even as a key member pleaded guilty to racketeering in a possible bid for leniency in his case.

Jeff Pike, the former president and still powerful member of the motorcycle club, was charged earlier this year with three other Bandidos in federal court in San Antonio with racketeering to commit murder, drug trafficking and other crimes.

Justin Cole Forster's guilty plea Friday in San Antonio is set to be followed this week with a plea by another key member, Frederick "Fast Fred" Cortez, according to court documents.

That would leave Pike, who lives in Conroe, and vice president John Portillo, of San Antonio, still facing the federal charges, which carry a penalty of up to life in prison.

Court papers indicate they are set to face trial next summer before U.S. District Judge David Ezra.

"If he (Forster) said he is guilty then he probably is," Pike's attorney, Kent A. Schaffer, said Friday via email. "It does not affect Mr. Pike at all."

Forster's and Cortez's lawyers could not be reached for comment.

Pike, 61, who recently stepped down as leader of the Bandidos to face the charges, has been adamant that he has not broken the law and that the group is not a criminal organization.

Schaffer and attorney James Kennedy, who is also representing Pike, have sought to portray Pike as a new breed of Bandido seeking to clean up the club's image and avoid legal trouble.

"The truth is, over the years a lot of these old outlaws have fallen by the wayside," Schaffer has told the Chronicle. "They have died or gone to prison, or didn't want to go back to prison, so they stopped breaking the law."

The Bandidos have at least 1,500 members, according to prosecutors, and its officers are the most powerful and influential members.

The pleas stand to greatly change the landscape of the case for prosecutors preparing for trial.

"They want to know who is going to be cooperating with them and on their team as early as possible" said former federal prosecutor Jeff Vaden, who is based in Houston. "It allows them to see what they have in their bag and narrow their scope of their focus."

Has rejected deals

Vaden said that Pike will have to huddle with his lawyer to determine the impact of the pleas.

"If in fact any of the defendants who have pleaded guilty cooperate with the government and have relevant information about Mr. Pike, that can certainly be powerful evidence," Vaden said.

Pike has been adamant that he didn't break the law and has said he is not interested in any deals that would send him to prison, even for a light sentence, for something he didn't do.

"I don't know what my brothers did or what they didn't do," he told the Chronicle earlier this year. "I know I didn't know nothing about it."

The Department of Justice contends Pike is not just an outlaw biker but has been the leader of a sophisticated criminal organization with members who don't trust outsiders and have no fear of authority.

The indictment alleges the Bandidos were at war with the Cossacks Motorcycle Club and describes an array of violence, such as a shooting, a stabbing and multiple beatings on behalf of the organization.

Forster faces up to life in federal prison after his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit racketeering, drug trafficking, violence and extortion, said U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr, of the Western District of Texas.

A member of the Bandidos since 2006, and sergeant at arms since 2011, Forster is tentatively set to be sentenced in January.

Cortez, is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Pike is the only one of the four persons charged in the case to be released on bond. A federal magistrate judge ruled that prosecutors had not revealed enough evidence to show Pike was a danger to the community or at risk of fleeing instead of facing trial.

Broad indictment

A federal indictment contends Pike and Portillo directed, sanctioned, approved and permitted other members of the Bandidos to commit murder, attempted murder, assault, intimidation, extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes to protect and enhance "the organization's power, territory, reputation and profits."

The indictment also contends the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle clubs were clashing with one another, and alleges violence before and after the May 2015 melee at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. More than 170 bikers were arrested by local authorities and charged with engaging in organized crime after the clash in Waco that left nine bikers dead and several wounded.
The sentencing this week of a New Caney man to life in prison for his 12th DWI conviction is the latest example of Montgomery County's approach to repeat drunk driving.

Joe Ford Woods Jr., 63, was arrested by a state trooper about 8 p.m on Feb. 6, 2015, after he crashed into a vehicle at a stop sign near Oakley Elementary School, according to arrest records.

Woods drove away after the crash but was found minutes later passed out and slumped over the steering wheel, Montgomery County prosecutors said. His blood alcohol concentration was .269, more than three times the legal limit. At the time he was out on parole after serving part of a 20-year sentence for a previous DWI conviction.

Woods' defense lawyer, Bob Mabry, said his client never drove his truck that evening. Instead, a friend drove Woods home from work and hit the other vehicle, the lawyer said.

However, the couple whose vehicle was hit testified that Woods was driving.

A jury sided with the state and found Woods used his truck as a deadly weapon, triggering a 25-year minimum sentence. District Judge Phil Grant, who was the county's No. 2 prosecutor until his election earlier this year, decided Wednesday to send Woods away for life, saying he had "every opportunity to make any rehabilitative effort."

Tyler Dunman, the supervising prosecutor, said Woods' previous convictions likely would have required him to install an ignition interlock device that would disable his vehicle if it detected alcohol on his breath. He also may have been required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, go through treatment and listen to people whose loved ones were killed by drunk drivers.

"Even in prison, despite what people think, there are a multitude of treatment options," Dunman said. "So you're talking thousands of dollars of resources and time that were thrown at him that he ultimately refused."

In addition to the 11 prior DWI convictions, the judge considered Woods' 1995 conviction for aggravated assault and 1985 conviction for aggravated robbery. Woods will not be eligible for parole for 30 years.

Mabry, who asked the judge for a 25-year sentence, said he filed a motion for a new trial.

In state prisons, repeat DWI offenders account for one of every 20 people - more than 6,600 inmates in 2015, according to the Department of Criminal Justice. Their detention costs taxpayers about $153 million a year. Since elderly inmates generally require more medical care, life sentences are especially expensive.

Montgomery County gives out a disproportionate number of life sentences for repeat DWI offenders, as documented by a recent Houston Chronicle report. The county has 2 percent of the state's population but represents more than 15 percent of the 35 or so inmates serving life for DWI. Some legislators and lawyers - including prosecutors - call for more interlocks during probation and parole to prevent repeat offenses.

The 12th conviction is not unprecedented in the suburban county - a prosecutor heard of a 16th. An assistant district attorney said the county has a "DWI problem." Montgomery County sees about 9.7 DWI crashes per 10,000 residents. The rate tends to be higher in rural counties and lower in urban ones; Harris County has 6.4 crashes per capita while Chambers county has 18.3.

Another man got a life sentence in June for his nine conviction, and in August a defendant who had previously killed someone while driving drunk got a 50-year sentence after his sixth conviction.
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Steve Radack has built close to five dozen parks and spent millions of dollars expanding road and trail networks in 28 years as Harris County commissioner for Precinct 3.

It is a prolific body of work for the longest-serving, and most outspoken, member of commissioners court, who is asking voters this fall to vote him into his eighth term.

That longevity also is what his November challenger, Democrat Jenifer Rene Pool, is keying on in her bid to unseat the veteran Republican.

"If we want a different outcome, we have to do things differently," Pool said.

Precinct 3 encompasses more than 450 miles of the county's west side, stretching from just outside Prairie View and Waller County in the north, through parts of the Katy area, to near Alief in the south. Almost 1.2 million people live in the precinct.

That is up from roughly 850,000 when Radack first took office, and the number is expected to grow, especially in the unincorporated areas of the county.

"We've been able to adjust," Radack said, adding "We've got plenty of challenges ahead."

More Information Meet the candidates Steve Radack (incumbent) Age: 66 Party: Republican Occupation: Harris County commissioner Campaign website: none Jenifer Rene Pool Age: 67 Party: Democrat Occupation: Permitting and licensing consultant Campaign website: jeniferrenepool.nationbuilder.com See More Collapse

A former Houston police officer and county constable, Radack points to his support of raises for law enforcement as one of his top achievements. He also notes that Harris County has not seen a tax rate increase in roughly two decades. When Radack took office, the precinct had 10 parks. Today, it has 63, with more in development.

Throughout his tenure, Radack has been no stranger to controversy. In 2000, for example, the Houston Chronicle disclosed Radack for years had collected a $10,000-a-month consulting fee from a developer doing business in his precinct without publicly disclosing the arrangement. He denied any wrongdoing but subsequently ended the contract.

In 2010, he championed a $2.3 million soapbox derby park, a project that ballooned from its original $300,000 estimate, causing some to question the spending.

Broken with GOP

He recently came under fire for suggesting at a public town hall meeting that some people enjoy floods. He later clarified that he was talking about people who fake damage claims to get insurance or disaster payouts.

He has earned a reputation as one of the most outspoken members of the court, particularly as a critic of the county's public hospital system. In 2009, Radack questioned the cost and timing of the hospital district's bid to buy Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital while health care reform still was being debated in Congress. The district nixed the deal six weeks after it was unveiled.

And he has broken with members of his own Republican Party. Radack joined county Judge Ed Emmett earlier this year in urging the state to accept federal Medicaid dollars.

Emmett, who has served with Radack longer than anyone on commissioners court, supports his re-election bid, calling the commissioner well-tuned to the needs of his constituents.

"It may sound a little corny, but he almost treats you like a family," Emmett said. "He may be the sometimes unruly big brother in the family or something, but it's not done out of maliciousness."

Texas Southern University political scientist Michael Adams said Radack is regarded as an "effective commissioner" whose political persona plays to his constituency. Radack has handily won re-election to each of his terms.

"This is an easy win for Radack, in large part because the district is heavily partisan and in favor of the GOP," Adams said. "It would be a massive upset for Radack to lose."

For Pool, more than 27 years is too long a term for any elected official. While she has run three times, unsuccessfully, for Houston city council, Pool never has run for county office before. She said a woman should be on commissioners court, currently made up of five men.

She first decided to run last May, when one of the worst storms in recent years inundated the Houston area. Flood control is Pool's top issue, and she said Radack has not done enough to protect people living in the precinct from the region's increasing number of severe storms.

"He's had time," Pool said.

She said she would push to research and update the county's flood plain maps and to boost the county's standards on flood water detention for new development. Pool also wants to reinforce Addicks and Barker dams, which were rated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seven years ago as among the nation's most unsafe. About $72 million in repairs already are underway, and Army Corps officials say there is no imminent risk of failure.

Supports term limits

Pool has been a prominent activist for GLBT issues and has served as the president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. Pool is transgender and said she has had to overcome discrimination since she made her transition to being a woman in the early 1980s, when businesses routinely would shut their doors when she applied for work.

She has owned a construction permitting consulting business for more than 21 years. In her spare time she helps counsel abused women.

"I have been focusing on service to others," she said.

As commissioner, Pool would push for term limits and urge the county to adopt zero-based budgeting, forcing departments to justify each expenditure.

At the end of June, according to the most recent campaign finance reports available, Pool reported having no cash on hand, having raised and spent more than $13,000 in 2016. Radack reported more than $1.6 million in his campaign chest at the end of June.
Over the course of the presidential race, concern has grown about digitally safeguarding election results.

New cyber security threats seem to emerge monthly. Republican Donald Trump has repeatedly contended the presidential election will be "rigged." And suspected Russian hackers have broken into computer systems of the Democratic Party.

"With so much news out there, people are concerned," acknowledged Harris County's top election official, Stan Stanart, at a news conference Thursday.

However, Stanart sought to reassure the public that all necessary defenses are up and there is no way Harris County's election will be hacked or rigged, because it is not connected to the internet.

Federal officials in recent months have warned states to remain vigilant, as cyber security threats mount across all aspects of the digitized world. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in August announced a special cyber security team to oversee this year's election.

"Our elections are too important to leave them open to attack," said Dan Wallach, a Rice University computer science professor who testified in September to Congress on election cyber security. "We need to do better."

The most attractive part of an election system for a malicious attack, he said,is the voter database - in Harris County, it's a list of nearly 2.2 million registered voters. If hackers successfully deleted it, chaos would ensue.

But the county database is kept offline, invulnerable from the outside. Even so, Stanart, the county clerk, said his office, the county tax assessor's office, and the Texas secretary of state save a backup copy every day.

"There are many eyes and there are many triggers in the whole system that would notify us, and we would observe if there were any issues with any registrations being changed," Stanart said. "I assure you there's no problem there."

Wallach agreed that the daily database backups provided excellent protection.

Vulnerable networks?

Stanart laid out the process through which votes are tallied. Early voting starts Oct. 24; by the end of Election Day on Nov. 8, about 1.4 million ballots are expected to have been cast at 765 polling locations in the county.

Each location will have up to 12 electronic tablets wired into a central terminal (and a backup). Those terminals arrive at each location in the morning with a security seal, and officials will certify that their memory is empty. When voting ends, they'll hold records of all digital ballots cast at that location.

"At no time are any of these machines connected to the internet," Stanart said.

Officials will take the terminals to one of four depositories across the county, where county staff will take each terminal's memory card, plug it into a laptop and upload the vote data through a "secure county network" to HarrisVotes.com. Officials at the clerk's office downtown will gather the data and assemble the final results.

Wallach said such secure networks, commonly used by governments to transmit election data, are vulnerable to an attack by "anyone who can make a phone call."

He cited a 2007 review of California's digital voting system, in which he participated, that identified vulnerabilities in the so-called secure networks.

Stanart addressed that review, which is highly cited in literature on election cyber security, saying that technical experts could only identify "theoretical" security breaches, but that no actual breaches have been known.

Wallach also said that breaching the network would be a complex and "low priority" attack for a hacker to launch.

Poll watchers will be ready

On the question of malware being planted in the voting hardware, Stanart said, "there is no way to do that," citing his experience as a software engineer and product developer at computer maker Compaq.

Wallach disagreed, saying a "primitive form of a virus" could be introduced to the voting machines if planted in other county hardware first, although no such attack has been recorded.

The best practice for a safe election, Wallach said, was to use paper ballots that are hand delivered and hand counted, even though it slows the process significantly.

Stanart also addressed concerns, largely propagated on the campaign trail by Trump, of political meddling in the process.

Each polling place, the depositories, and the final count at the clerk's office will be overseen by two election judges - one appointed by each major party. In all, about 6,000 staff and volunteers will run elections in Harris County.

"We have poll watchers," he said. "We have people from both parties participating."
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WASHINGTON - As Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton intensify their attacks on each other's business and personal dealings, the presidential campaign has become a mirror of their tangled relationships with Wall Street.

In a "change election" following the recovery from a devastating recession, nobody wants to be the bankers' candidate. But Trump and Clinton, both New Yorkers with close ties to Wall Street, have plenty to live down.

Clinton has been most on the defensive as Trump has pressed his attacks on her closed-door Wall Street speeches - released by Wikileaks last Friday - revealing a mixed relationship with the financial industry that is largely backing her.

Trump, the billionaire businessman running as a populist outsider, has implored voters to "follow the money," telling a rally in New Hampshire last week that "the Wall Street investors who have rigged the regulations against the middle class - they are donating to Hillary Clinton."

Clinton, appealing to the Democrats' traditional middle-class base, has targeted her Republican rival's record of profiting from the very system he says is rigged, turning others' pain into his own personal gain, and possibly paying little to nothing in federal income taxes along the way.

In the wake of the 2008 bank bailout - a cataclysmic event that energized the tea party movement - Trump's now-defunct university offered an investor workshop on how to "cash in on the greatest property liquidation in history." The Republican standard-bearer now also favors scrapping some of the banking regulations Congress enacted as a hedge against another financial catastrophe.

In an election that has upended all the conventional rules, however, Wall Street has abandoned its past embrace of the Republican ticket, and instead is betting heavily on Clinton.

Campaign donors from the securities and investment sector have given Clinton's campaign and outside groups that support her more than $58 million so far. That compares to a relatively miniscule $560,000 for Trump, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which analyzes campaign finance reports.

Part of that yawning gap can be explained by Trump's decision to self-finance much of his campaign throughout the primaries. About a third of the $165 million his campaign had raised through the middle of September was his own money, records show.

His appeals to Wall Street, however, have stepped up since he won the GOP nomination in July, despite his assertion at an Ohio rally in early August that he did not "even want" Wall Street money, and that if he got any he would "send it back."

There is no evidence Trump has refused any Wall Street money. There is mounting proof, however, that Wall Street has turned its back on Trump's vows to scrap trade deals, start mass deportations and weaken the Federal Reserve  all policy planks that represent risk and uncertainty.

"Business, in general, wants stability," said Euel Elliott, who teaches public policy and political economy at the University of Texas at Dallas.

The shift to Clinton is a stark reversal from 2012, when GOP nominee Mitt Romney, a venture capital executive, took in more than $23 million from the securities and investment industry. That was nearly four times as much as the $6.8 million that went to President Barack Obama.

The tables were turned in 2008, when Wall Street backed Obama to the tune of $16.5 million, almost double the $9.3 million that went to John McCain, who was running with tea party heroine Sarah Palin, a political unknown widely regarded as a risky bet.

To Elliott, the pattern shows that Wall Street financiers are more strategic than ideological. "They want to hedge their bets, and if they think they have a sure winner, they're going to go to that person."

The same pattern has played in other sectors of the economy, including the energy sector, which has given more than twice as much money to Clinton than Trump, to date. When it comes to oil and gas money, however, both lag behind Texas also-rans Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz.

If big financiers fear Trump, he has by no means cut off ties to Wall Street, which has been a source of credit to his casino and real estate ventures over the years.

Trump's inner-circle also is dominated by some of financial services industry's most potent titans, backers who have celebrated his wealth and praised his reported tax avoidance as "genius."

Trump's national campaign finance director, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Steven Mnuchin, is a hedge fund manager, as is one of his top new advisors and financial backers, Robert Mercer, a former Cruz supporter.

Clinton, too, has a bevy of big money backers, including investor George Soros, hedge fund executive Donald Sussman, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, and former Goldman Sachs partner Gary Gensler, her chief finance adviser.

For popular consumption, Wall Street was mentioned only twice in their first debate. When it did come up, the dividing line was stark.

Clinton attacked Trump for "rooting" for the 2006 housing crisis  which she blamed partly on Wall Street  a financial "perfect storm" that cost millions of Americans their homes and wiped out an estimated $13 trillion in family wealth. Trump' answer: "That's called business."

While Trump repeatedly has attacked Clinton for some $4.1 million in speaking fees from financial firms, Clinton sought to put him on the defensive about his businesses debt to "Wall Street and foreign banks"  including the Bank of China  to the tune of $650 million.

Trump's attacks suggesting that the banks "totally own" Clinton resemble those of her Democratic primary rival, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Unlike Trump, however, Sanders shunned the sort of big-dollar fundraisers Trump has employed to raise money with the Republican National Committee since he secured the nomination.

On many of the issues that animate Wall Street, Trump's free-market conservatism would appear to be much more in sync. He promises to undo the landmark Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted in 2010 to regulate the banks in response to the financial crisis. Clinton would strengthen the law by, among other things, tightening the Volcker Rule that bars banks from speculating with federally-insured deposits.

Clinton also argues for tighter curbs on Wall Street pay, including making top banking chiefs individually responsible for some of the fines levied on their institutions, such as those imposed on Wells Fargo for its fraudulent customer accounts.

Clinton also would clamp down on the so-called "carried interest" loophole that allows hedge fund managers to treat their compensation as lesser-taxed investment income. Trump too has called it a form of "getting away with murder," which he would presumably end.

While Trump may be closer to Wall Street on the issues, the banks also have had a front-row seat to his controversial business practices, including multiple business failures, bankruptcies and the alleged mob ties that Cruz tried to use against him in the Republican primaries.

Clinton, by comparison, represents continuity. From a Wall Street perspective, that has meant a gradual economic rebound, jobs growth, and the stock market hitting new heights. Clinton's affinity also stems, in part, from her years as a U.S. senator from New York, home to many of the nation's elite financial institutions.
The executive director of the Katy Prairie Conservancy has praised the city of Houston's decision to scrap plans for paving about 20 miles of roads across prairie land.

The Houston City Council voted recently to amend a major thoroughfare plan to remove the road projects.

"City council realized the importance of those prairies to Houston," said Mary Anne Piacentini, the conservancy's executive director. "Those roads are not needed."

Piacentini said she constantly worries about the 20,000 acres of grassland she's tasked to look after. Her most significant mission, she said, is to protect this vast expanse in west Houston from land development.

She and her group continue to battle other development threats while attempting to show elected officials the value of prairie land in controlling floods and preserving wildlife.

In the 1940s, city planners established a major highway plan for the greater Houston area that has since been revised several times. The plan for years included major roads that would pass through the prairie.

Katy Prairie Conservancy

Conservancy officials have been pushing back on the plan since 2007, Piacentini said. And in July, they met with city planners to discuss potential changes that would avoid the prairie. The city's Planning Commission endorsed the changes, which were then approved by the city council.

In late September, the conservancy announced that it had received accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, which identifies land trusts across the country that operate at high standards.

Piacentini believes the accreditation may have helped nudge council members to back the changes. But she said the most significant factor likely was flood control.

This past April, various areas of Houston experienced catastrophic flooding when downpours sent waterways over their banks. At least eight people died in the region due to flooding, and thousands of homes were damaged.

Downstream runoff, which can be worsened by development, caused more flooding.

"There is value in the conservancy area for that reason," said City Council member Brenda Stardig. "The floods heightened the awareness of accelerating this process to (remove roads from) the major thoroughfare plan."

The prairie still faces a significant battle with Waller County.

The county's thoroughfare plan, adopted in 1985, included a potential major road through the conservancy's land. The conservancy and its supporters worry about plans for Highway 36A, which officials in Waller, Fort Bend and Brazoria counties have said could extend from Freeport north to Interstate 10 before heading north again and passing through the prairie and ending at U.S. 290.

The project is still in its planning and study phase, but conservancy officials strongly oppose it as a major threat.

Road project backers point out that the conservancy bought its property when the Waller County thoroughfare plan was already in existence.

"That plan was public knowledge," Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said recently. "Anybody buying the property had knowledge that the road would go through there."

Conservancy leaders intend to meet with Waller County officials to discuss the project, Piacentini said. She said there are still some planned roads in Houston's thoroughfare plan that would cut into the prairie that the conservancy will continue to oppose.

The Houston Endowment awarded $400,000 to the conservancy earlier this year to conduct an economic impact analysis to study the value of prairie land in flood reduction, agricultural production and nature tourism.

Piacentini hopes the study will underscore why major roads need to be diverted from the prairie and how doing so is in the best interest of both land developers and the conservancy.

"Our goal is not to tell (elected officials) what to do but instead see how we can work with them to protect our land but also protect what they want," Piacentini said. "They need to look at the benefits of the prairie."
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Waste, fraud and abuse.

During any election season, you're bound to hear some politician promise to incise those cancerous growths in government. Experienced political observers know this is just another way of saying: "I don't have any specifics, but please vote for me."

If Houston-area politicians were serious about eliminating redundant bureaucracies, they'd take a hard look at Harris County's eight constable offices.

Those offices are empowered by the state Constitution to serve civil warrants and perform bailiff duties in justice of the peace courts. Harris County constables also contract to patrol communities - a practice that's been questioned on its efficacy and legality.

The constable precinct boundaries need to be updated, with populations varying by hundreds of thousands. Oversight is limited. Training is inconsistent. Expectations of professionalism vary. In any given year, odds are you'll read some headlines about corruption in these down-ballot positions. In 2014, Precinct 1 Constable Jack Abercia was sentenced to three years probation for conducting illegal criminal background checks to raise money. That same year, Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino was sentenced to 10 years of probation for misapplication of fiduciary duty.

And this year, the Precinct 4 Constable's Office was ground zero for a scandal that shocked our county's entire criminal justice system: More than 20,000 pieces of evidence were improperly destroyed. Without this evidence, innocent people may have been sent to jail, criminals may be set free and peoples' constitutional rights may have been violated.

As Chronicle reporter Lise Olsen revealed last month, Precincts 3, 6 and 7 also had serious problems relating to cataloging and controlling evidence.

Harris County needs to bring these law enforcement fiefdoms in line: Update precincts to equalize populations, reduce the competing bureaucracies, centralize the evidence room and put county law enforcement responsibility in the hands of the Sheriff's Office. Harris County also needs to encourage unincorporated regions to directly fund their own law enforcement, whether through independent taxing districts or incorporation into formal cities.

It is time to return constables to their core duties. It will save taxpayer dollars, streamline government and knock out some of Harris County's most problem-prone institutions.

Until that day, the Houston Chronicle editorial board makes the following endorsements in the contested races for Harris County constables.

Constable, Precinct 1: Alan Rosen

Since his election in 2012, Constable Alan Rosen has set the standard across the county for professionalism. While his precinct covers the western half of the Inner Loop and inside Beltway 8 from US 290 to Interstate 69, Rosen, 48, also has the countywide responsibility of serving juvenile and mental health warrants and of overseeing environmental investigations and animal cruelty cases. The Democratic incumbent has put a strong emphasis on training and community relationships. For example, when Houstonians marched downtown to protest police brutality and in support of racial equality, Rosen spoke to the crowd about the shared pain felt by communities and law enforcement officers.

"We're grateful to God to be a part of a county like Harris County with leaders like Constable Rosen," Bishop James Dixon said at the time. Voters should be grateful, as well, and reelect Rosen.

His Republican challenger, Joe Danna, did not meet with the editorial board.

Constable, Precinct 2: Christopher (Chris) Diaz

Our choice is the incumbent Christopher (Chris) Diaz, a former mayor and councilman in Jacinto City. Precinct 2, one of the smaller precincts in Harris County, encompasses parts of the cities of Houston, Jacinto, Friendswood, Webster and Galena Park. During an interview with the editorial board, Diaz, 43, didn't display much depth about the issues facing his office. The Democratic constable did say that he hosts a quarterly Citizen's Police Academy to allow members of the community to find out more about the workings of Precinct 2 and foster community engagement.

Diaz's Republican opponent, Daniel Vela, did not meet with the editorial board.

Constable, Precinct 3: Dan Webb

Incumbent Preinct 3 Constable Ken Jones is retiring and residents of Harris County would do well to cast their ballots for Republican Dan Webb, who currently holds a Department of Public Safety Commission as a Special Ranger and has 33 active-duty years of law enforcement service. Webb promises to fix the "good ol boy" promotion system at this precinct, which encompasses Channelview, Huffman, Crosby and Highlands and part of the Northshore communities.

Webb, 61, also said that he wanted to bring the entire department "more in line with modern policing," and to do a better job coordinating efforts with the Harris County Sherriff's Office and other precincts.

Democratic candidate Sherman Eagleton was on the same page with his opponent about the inefficiencies in the management of the department during a screening for the May primary, but declined a request for a screening for the general election.

Eagleton has been a deputy serving in Precinct 3 since 1993. As an outsider, Webb will be in a better position to implement changes to this department, which both candidates view as necessary.

Constable, Precinct 4: Jeff McGowen

If Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman, a Republican, worked in the private sector, he would have been fired for the evidence room scandal that occurred on his watch. This race should be viewed as an opportunity to remove a politician who has failed at a job and elect a replacement.

Voters in this massive precinct, which stretches across north Harris County from US 290 to Lake Houston, luckily have a qualified candidate in Jeff McGowen. The Democratic challenger is a 23-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Office and is a strong advocate for community policing. In a meeting with the editorial board, McGowen, 46, offered proposals on improved training and greater coordination between precincts.

Herman has worked in this office for 31 years and was appointed constable after his predecessor, Ron Hickman, was appointed sheriff last year. However, that long tenure may have merely been an education in mediocrity, as evidenced by his slowness in responding to the evidence room crisis. It is time for a change: Vote McGowen.

Constable, Precinct 6: Richard "Rick" Gonzales

Silvia Trevino isn't asking anyone to call her madre, but students of Texas history should see reflections of Pa and Ma Ferguson - the unfortunate tag-team husband and wife Texas governors - in this race for Precinct 6 Constable.

Silvia's husband, former Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino, is currently on probation for spending charity dollars at a Louisiana casino and faces newfound scrutiny for running an evidence room that had not been cleaned out or organized during his 26 years. Now Silvia is running to take her husband's former position and defeated incumbent Precinct 6 Constable Heliodoro Martinez in the Democratic primary.

It is time to make a full break and elect someone new.

Even if Mrs. Trevino were granted a clean slate, she is also a candidate deeply out of touch with the challenges facing law enforcement agencies in Houston. For example, during an endorsement meeting with the editorial board, she demonstrated a shocking ignorance about the synthetic drug, Kush.

"Is it sniffing glue?" she asked.

By process of elimination, we encourage voters to instead select Richard "Rick" Gonzales. A retired 30-year officer in the Houston Police Department, Gonzales ran for this office four years ago in the Democratic Party primary. His poor experience in that race drove him to the Republican slate, and we can't help but view this as a grudge match. Gonzales, 58, grew up and worked in the precinct, which covers Near Northside and East Houston, and he has the law enforcement credentials to give this constable's office a much-needed fresh start.

Constable, Precinct 8: Phil Sandlin

Incumbent Phil Sandlin is the right man to be constable of this southeast precinct that borders the Houston Ship Channel and includes NASA and many large chemical complexes. A 24-year veteran of the department, Sandlin, 48, rose through precinct ranks as corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and chief deputy. Harris County Commissioners Court appointed Sandlin to serve as constable in 2011, and he handily won his election in 2012. During his time in office, Sandlin has been praised for his award-winning K9 unit and DWI enforcement efforts.

His Democratic opponent Heather Perry declined to meet with the editorial board.
Firefighters from three local departments responded early last Wednesday morning to a fire that destroyed a house about three miles north of the Twin Bridges area on U.S. 63.

At 4:26 a.m., the Licking Fire Department requested help from the Houston Rural Fire Department after the large, two-story wooden house owned and occupied by David Kinserlow was fully engulfed at 10801 U.S. 63. Houston Rural Chief Don Gaston said Kinserlow was inside the home, but got out safely.

His dog apparently woke him up and kept him from burning up with the house, Gaston said.

Gaston said a pumper truck and two men from his department attended the fire. The Raymondville Volunteer Fire Department also was called for mutual aid.

The house was already fallen in by the time we got there, Gaston said. There was a big garage next to it and we worked to save it. The wind was blowing pretty hard, too, and we kept the fire from spreading into the woods.

Gaston said the home was completely destroyed, and that the cause of the blaze wasnt known.

That was a beautiful home, he said. Its a shame.

Another fire call occurred even earlier the same morning, as residents on Oak Crest Drive in Houston reported smelling smoke resembling chemicals at 2:49 a.m.

City of Houston Fire Chief Joey Moore said it turned out to be oily rags that were starting to combust. Moore said a police officer arrived and moved the container of rags outside and the fire call was cancelled before firefighters left the station.

-

EARLIER: Early-morning fire calls sent departments to two locations early Wednesday:

Oak Crest Drive in Houston, where at 2:49 a.m. residents were smelling smoke resembling chemicals.

At 4:26 a.m., the Licking Fire Department requested help from the Houston Rural Fire Department after a two-story wooden structure was fully engulfed at 10801 U.S. 63. Raymondvilles department also was called for mutual aid at the David Kinserlow home.

A detached garage was saved, but damage was extensive to the home, firefighters said.
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number of women in the boardroom may have increased but the Diversity Action Committee (DAC) said that compared with the rest of the world, Singapore is still lagging behind in this initiative.Presenting their findings to the minister for social and family development, Tan Chuan-Jin, last week, the DAC said that womens representation on boards have increased by 21% since 2012, reaching 10% as of June this year  up 2% from last year  while the number of all-male boards declined by 11%.To put this in perspective, The Straits Times reported that in Britain there is a 22% female representation while Hong Kong has 13% female representation.The DAC said that although the numbers in Singapore are promising, the pace of progress is still very slow and gave five recommendations on how they see this improving:1) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) should strengthen the Code of Corporate Governance by requiring companies to disclose gender diversity policies and the progress they have made;2) For companies to disclose diversity policies in their annual reports;3) For shareholders to monitor progress and for MAS to consider stronger actions against companies that do not respond;4) For companies to adopt best practices for board nomination and appointment, such as requiring recruitment to present both male and female candidates, among others;5) For companies to develop an executive pipeline paying particular attention to female candidates and incorporating board training in their learning and development programs.I urge stakeholders to consider DACs recommendations to raise womens representation on Singapore boards, said Tan.Women bring with them different perspectives which can bring about more robust and dynamic governance in companies.These companies perform better, ultimately benefiting our economy as a whole.Outgoing DAC chairman Magnus Bocker added that with todays ever changing pace of business, more varied skills and experience are needed in the boardroom.Bringing the best talents and diverse perspectives to the boardroom is no longer an option but a conscious effort made by a far-sighted company, he said.This will support a sustained growth for the company in the long run.Related stories:
There's something delicious happening in Toronto lately.

With many new spots popping up in and around the downtown core since the summer, fall is a great time to revisit that restaurant bucket list, but also see what's trending in the world of food.

Poke and sushi burritos definitely seem to be city favourites (since the summer), with restaurants coming up with signature dishes and make-your-own bowl features. And although we don't have any dessert options on this list, we've seen everything from overwhelming milkshakes to Thai ice cream rolls as well.

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Below we've rounded up some of our favourite buzz-worthy restaurants in Toronto perfect for fall dining. From local ingredients to a focus on comfort food to inspiring cocktails, let us know some of your top eats in 2016.

Location: 1221 Bay St.

Type of food: Plant-based (but not particularly labelled vegetarian or vegan)

On the menu: Everything from coconut ceviche and chickpea fries as starters, to a carrot hot dog and "crab" cakes for mains.

Price point: Small plates range from $10 to $13; larger plates start at $17.

The vibe: Planta is stunning. From its tableware to bar area to the interior design, it's definitely a chic atmosphere for dining. We'd recommend this spot for intimate dinners and with people who have curious taste buds (the carrot hot dog is delicious)!

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Location: 577 King St W.

Type of food: Casual Italian (read: many pizzas)

On the menu: 12 pizzas on the menu, and an option to build your own pizza and sides.

Price point: Pizzas start at $14.

The vibe: Ideal for a quick lunch, this new King Street pizzeria uses vegetable carbon to create a black dough. And with this price point in mind, we recommending sharing a pie.

Location: 134 Peter St.

Type of food: Mediterranean

On the menu: Shareable apps, flatbread and a make-your-own pasta service based on regions.

Price point: Smaller plates from $9 to $14; large dinners start at $19.

The vibe: Whether you're going for lunch or dinner, Ricarda's has something for everyone. While the main courses were our immediate favourites, make sure you save room for their fresh in-house dessert (the orange cake is a win).

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Location: 420 Queen St W.

Type of food: Hawaiian/Asian fusion

On the menu: Poke bowls and the option to create your own bowls.

Price point: Bowls range from $11.95 to $14.95; burritos start at $12.95.

The vibe: This is another great lunch spot with fast service and variety  especially if you want a custom bowl or burrito. We also suggest ordering the dole whip.

Location: 461 King St W.

Type of food: Brunch

On the menu: Oreo pancakes, big egg breakfasts and a homemade cinnamon bun that's not too overbearing.

Price point: Mains range from $12 to $18; brunch cocktails start at $7.

The vibe: Brassaii itself isn't a new Toronto restaurant, but their brunch offerings did get an update this summer. We suggest starting sharing the Oreo pancakes though  nobody should have this much sugar in one go.

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Location: 548 King Street W.

Type of food: Better-than-your-average pub fare

On the menu: Thin crust pizzas, red onion rings with mustard and heavier meals like pot pie and steak.

Price point: Pizzas range from $14 to $16; starters range from $7 to $12.

The vibe: With warm fall weather in Toronto, we definitely recommend checking out the restaurant's outdoor side street patio. Order apps and pizza for sharing, and take advantage of their lounge-like vibes on Friday and weekend nights.

Location: 150 E Liberty St.

Type of food: East Indian

On the menu: A focus on rotis (both meat and vegetarian) and rice dishes.

Price point: Rotis start at $6.95; rice dishes range from $8.95 to $12.95.

The vibe: Their second location is now open in Liberty Village; it's a typical take-out restaurant.

Location: 367 King Street W.

Type of food: Hawaiian poke and superfoods

On the menu: The small space focuses on poke bowls, superfood smoothie bowls and healthy drinks (like superfood smoothies).

Price point: A small poke bowl is $10.95; regular is $14.95. Smoothie bowls are all $9.95.

The vibe: With a focus on healthy living, we suggest hitting up Calii Love in the morning hour for a breakfast-to-go. Oh, and take advantage of those Instagram backdrops.

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Location: 610 College St.

Type of food: Fried chicken

On the menu: Deep-fried chicken sandwiches and sides of potato salad, coleslaw and pasta salad.

Price point: Sandwiches start at $6.50; chicken pieces with sides start at $8.

The vibe: Easy takeout spot that is only open between the hours of 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. between Tuesday and Saturday. And as a recent Toronto Life points out, you have to check our their (sweet) secret menu.

Location: 176 Yonge St.

Type of food: South American

On the menu: Everything from small plates to seafood mains to a full breakfast and brunch menu.

Price point: Entrees range from $22 to $47; brunch runs up to $28.

The vibe: The space is absolutely beautiful, so it's perfect for date night. Also, save room for their custom cocktails.

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Location: 35 Baldwin St.

Type of food: Filipino

On the menu: All-day brunch (on the weekends) and tapas to share.

Price point: Both tapas and lunch dishes start at $7.

The vibe: One thing you will notice about Platito is everyone's obsession with the bok bok chicken and ube waffles dish  it has almost become a novelty.

Location: 627 King St. W. roof

Type of food: Contemporary French

On the menu: A full brunch menu including an oyster options and prix fixe lunches and dinners.

Price point: Dinner mains range from $21 to $159; raw menu (dinner) ranges from $19 to $24.

The vibe: Of course, Lavelle is most known for their downtown rooftop views and pool, but with such a selection of food  including a full dessert menu  we suggest splurging a little.

Location: 1532 Dundas St W.

Type of food: Comfort bar food

On the menu: Bar food that ranges from death mango wings to collard green poutine and watermelon wasabi fried chicken.

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Price point: Food sells from $4 to $18 and cocktails start at $7.

The vibe: A family-owned joint in the west end, BlogTO notes, Three Hands is mainly a bar with food sharing options.

Location: 81 Church St.

Type of food: Japanese

On the menu: Full BBQ courses to share, beef entrees to grill and seafood.

Price point: Apps start at $1.50 and group BBQ courses start at $55.

The vibe: With locations across the U.S. and some Canadian cities, this is the first location of the franchise in Toronto. This location is super casual with a focus on a la carte, BlogTO notes.

Location: 746 Queen St. W.

Type of food: Canadian

On the menu: Snacks, starters and mains that focus on fresh, seasonal produce.

Price point: Starters range from $15 to $22; mains range from $28 to $59.

The vibe: Who doesn't love figuring out exactly what Canadian cuisine is? As Toreats notes, the presentation of the dishes are stunning  almost too beautiful to eat!

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Google Canada has just released the most searched terms for Halloween costumes in 2016 and the top picks definitely won't come as a surprise to parents of the under five set.

Alexandra Hunnings, Google trends expert, says this is the first time the search monolith has revealed the top picks for kids costumes. And the company has some interesting observations.

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"Using Google Trends, we can compare relative search volume over time, shedding light on how Canadians research and make decisions," says Hunnings. "Searches for DIY Halloween costume have increased by over eight times over the past five years in Canada, significantly outpacing searches for buy Halloween costume."

Apparently, we're also very last minute when it comes to costumes (no doubt because our kids change their minds the night before Halloween.)

Here is a countdown of the most searched for kids' costumes of 2016 -- and the characters we'll likely see at our doors on October 31.

10. Tyrannosaurus

A two-year-old recently won the Internet's heart over his adorable naming of every dinosaur. So who can blame parents for dressing up their kids as a T-rex? This one is especially hilarious.

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#trex Jake and Gwen. It's Gwen's costume but it's not fitting either of them right with the face piece so it may get returned  #trexcostume #jurassicpark A video posted by Kim PreJean (@chickameow) on Oct 5, 2016 at 9:20pm PDT





9. Angel

An angel might not be the most original costume, but it's a quick and easy one to throw together. And how cute is this?!?!

 #TBT #littlemisscherish #Halloween2015  #CherishMaRee #instakids #KidModel #talentedKids #princessswagger #angelcostume A photo posted by Cherish MaRee LaVern Lee (@littlemiss.cherish) on Jan 14, 2016 at 9:14pm PST





8. Dragon

Dragons are always a favourite of parents and kids alike. We especially love this kid's DIY costume. #dragongoals

I met my spirit animal today. #dragon #dragoncostume A photo posted by _Queen_Beyond_the_Wall (@alexandriabasso) on Jul 31, 2016 at 1:19pm PDT

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7. Werewolf

For the kids who want to go with a more scary than cute costume, a werewolf is a good solution. This girl has the perfect hair and her make-up is spot on!

Akilah was looking pretty cool tonight #werewolfcostume #werewolf A photo posted by Aleta (@aletabonita) on Oct 23, 2015 at 7:43pm PDT





6. SWAT

Looks like parents are taking the traditional police officer costume to a new level.

Miggy Wonka and the Shy Policeman #willywonka #SWATcostume #policecostume #pinoy #siblings  A photo posted by Kathlyn Mae Gonzales-Balio (@migueljoseella) on Sep 13, 2016 at 4:35am PDT





5. Supergirl

With the release of the CBS series, it's no surprise kids want to dress up as the fierce character (aka Kara Zor-El).

Heute unterwegs mit Supergirl #kids #supergirlcostume #spaziergang #dietramszell A photo posted by @lexilohr on Jul 15, 2016 at 8:25am PDT

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4. Iron Man

Continuing the superhero theme, we have the ever popular Iron Man ranking at number four this year.

ironman suit #nurseryschoollife #twoandahalfyearsold #ironmancostume #ironman A photo posted by Ronnie Chung (@ronnienie) on Sep 6, 2016 at 6:01pm PDT





3. Chewbacca

Of course, "Star Wars" continues its reign of popularity among kids. And who can resist dressing up as the furry Chewie this Halloween (especially on a cold night)?

Chewbacca is ready for Star Wars movie night at ICES. Thanks for your help @vickilichti #chewbaccacostume #georgiaharper #movienight A photo posted by Nancy Fletcher (@purplepeachesphotography) on Apr 22, 2016 at 2:45pm PDT





2. Yoda

Ranking at number two is the all-powerful Yoda.





1. PAW Patrol

Ta-da! It will be no surprise to parents of PAW Patrol-obsessed kids (isn't that everyone?!?!) that this ranks as the most popular costume for kids this year. And seriously this kid and his mama are just too cute.

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Happy Halloweeen! Marshall  and Chase  #pawpatrolcostume #pawpatrolnews #pawpatrol proud of my diy Marshall lol A photo posted by Tierra And Eli (@tierra_shanae) on Oct 31, 2015 at 1:11pm PDT





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If you still haven't seen the incredibly popular and oh-so-amazing Netflix series "Stranger Things" (seriously, what are you even doing with your life?), we would like to introduce you to Millie Bobby Brown.

Millie, who plays psychokinetic "weirdo" Eleven in the show, just landed her first magazine cover. And here's what we want you to do: remember this moment. Remember this cover. Remember this shoot. Because Brown has officially become fashion's newest It girl and she's about to take the industry by storm ... at the age of 12.

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Giving that stern Eleven look on the front cover of So It Goes magazine, the young actress is seen perched up on a marble fireplace, decked out in a feminine Chloe skirt, grungy forest green bomber jacket and black Doc Martens boots. Her short hair, which she cut off for the show, is slicked back and totally gorgeous.

That's a wrap! Very, very special shoot with @milliebobby_brown by @laurendukoff coming to Issue.8 soon #milliebobbybrown #strangerthings A photo posted by So It Goes Magazine (@soitgoesmag) on Sep 8, 2016 at 2:31pm PDT

Shot by Lauren Dukoff and styled by fashion editor Liz McClean, issue number eight of the glossy features a 20-page spread on the British actress and fans are treated to an array of looks rocked by Brown, who just attended New York Fashion Week last month, solidifying herself as an up-and-coming Hollywood star.

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Upcoming Issue.8 outtake. @milliebobby_brown shot by @laurendukoff. Styled by @lizmcclean in @ragandbone and @calvinklein #milliebobbybrown #strangerthings #comingsoon A photo posted by So It Goes Magazine (@soitgoesmag) on Sep 18, 2016 at 7:09am PDT

And lets make this clear: the fashion world loves her right back. In Paris with her co-stars Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin, Brown was paid a visit by Louis Vuitton's creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere. He posted a photo to Instagram of the #strangerthingssquad and everyone freaked out. Could the young cast be Louis Vuitton's next campaign stars?

#StrangerThings in Paris. The cast of @StrangerThingsTV stops by #LouisVuitton headquarters ahead of #PFW for a visit with @nicolasghesquiere. A photo posted by Louis Vuitton Official (@louisvuitton) on Sep 23, 2016 at 11:15am PDT

We sure hope so.

With her British charm, badass style and quirky demeanor (seriously, have you seen her rap Nicki Minaj's "Monster" verse?), Millie is well on her way to becoming a household name. And we can't wait.

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Issue 8 of So It Goes magazine is available for pre-order now at soitgoesmag.com.

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OTTAWA  A Liberal MP received violent and racist messages on social media this week after he highlighted the refusal of some Conservative MPs to denounce all forms of Islamophobia in the Commons.

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Liberal MP Omar Alghabra speaks in the House of Commons on June 3, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)

Ontario MP Omar Alghabra, the parliamentary secretary for consular affairs, told The Huffington Post Canada he was taken aback by some of the hundreds of responses on Twitter and Facebook after he published this tweet: It's sad that Conservatives denied to give a unanimous consent to a motion in the House of Commons to condemn all forms of Islamophobia.

Its not unusual that I get the occasional troll online, but I was surprised by the magnitude and the number, he told HuffPost on Friday.

I dont believe this is representative of the majority of Canadians, but it highlights the importance of the need for public discourse and motions like the one the Conservatives unfortunately rejected, he added.

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He said talking about this type of disgusting behaviour allows an opportunity to speak collectively against it.

Draws like to so-called 'values' debate

The Liberal MP said he believes Conservative party leadership candidate Kellie Leitchs call for screening newcomers for so-called Canadian values has also heightened tensions.

It gives licence to people who have these feelings to speak out publicly without shame, he said.

Some of Leitchs own caucus members have spoken out against her position. Fellow Conservative leadership candidates Michael Chong and Deepak Obhrai have accused her of engaging in dog-whistle politics and of fear-mongering.

Kellie Leitch arrives at the Conservative summer caucus retreat in Halifax on Sept. 13, 2016. (Photo: Andrew Vaughan/CP)

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Leitch did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Conservative caucus.

The motion calling on MPs to recognize that extremist individuals do not represent Islam and to condemn all forms of Islamophobia was introduced on Wednesday. The Tory MPs who denied the unanimous consent were not identified in the Commons record because there was no standing vote.

MP smeared as terrorist sympathizer

Alghabra, who was born in Saudi Arabia to Syrian parents, is a past president of the Canadian Arab Federation and someone who is frequently attacked by people such as right-wing commentator Ezra Levant who falsely claims he is a terrorist sympathizer.

I dont want to dignify [him] with an answer. Its absurd!, the MP said.

Alghabra said he doesnt fear for his own safety but he wonders what other Muslims face regularly.

Statistics Canada noted last year that police-reported hate crimes against Muslims had more than doubled over a three-year period.

Black and Jewish Canadians, however, still faced the most reported racially and religiously-motivated attacks.

Also on HuffPost

24 Reasons To Challenge Islamophobia See Gallery
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion apologized Friday for making a thumbs-down gesture as a Conservative MP pressed the government to do more to secure the return of four Canadian children abducted to Iran.

The mea culpa, ultimately deemed insufficient by Tories and New Democrats, also included a call for MPs to work together and stop politicizing the case.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion speaks in the House of Commons on Oct. 7. (Photo: Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)

But as Dion preached harmony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters decisions by his predecessor made the ordeal worse.

Tory House Leader Candice Bergen kicked off question period by urging Dion to apologize for his inappropriate and unparliamentary gesture on Thursday as Alberta Tory MP Michael Cooper raised the case of Alison Azer.

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The British Columbia woman has not seen her kids, who were abducted by her ex-husband, in 15 months.

Azer was sitting in the public gallery at the time and later told reporters she felt disrespected and dishonoured. Dion refused to apologize at the time, saying he was merely expressing his disappointment that Tories were trying to score political points.

On Friday, Dion read a statement of contrition.

Dion 'disappointed' by Tory politicking

I am sorry that some interpreted it to be directed at Ms. Azer, he said. It was obviously not the case. I have nothing but compassion for Madame Azer and cannot imagine the anguish she must be going through.

I am disappointed in how the opposition is politicizing this heartbreaking situation, he said. The remark drew jeers from the Tory bench.'

Alison Azer holds a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on July 5. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

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Dion said he was open to constructive ideas from all colleagues as they work on the file.

NDP MP Gord Johns, who is Azers MP, urged Dion to offer a clear apology to the mother and update the House on efforts to bring her kids home.

Again, Dion said he was sorry his gesture was wrongly interpreted.

Dion commits to 'impeccable parliamentary behaviour'

Cooper rose later to say that while the minister had come close to apologizing, it was not enough. He accused Liberals of using a government insider to criticize Azer.

The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that a senior government official suggested Azers criticism of the Liberals hasnt helped her case.

Let us all work together to reunite this family.

Dion once again said it was imperative that MPs work together.

Now that they know how I feel about harmful politicization, I will come back to my usual impeccable parliamentary behaviour and again, I will say, my door is open, Dion said. Let us all work together to reunite this family.

Trudeau slams previous government's Iran policy

The ministers call for cooperation may have been compromised, however, by Trudeaus remarks to reporters in Toronto Friday. The prime minister said his government has been working extremely hard to bring back the Azer children, CBC News reports.

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Yet Trudeau pointed out a snare in that the previous Conservative government cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012.

"It would be significantly easier to engage in this situation if the previous government hadn't made the decision for political and ideological reasons to close down our representatives in Iran," Trudeau said.

CBC News has a clip of Trudeaus remarks on the Azer case:

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William Shatner left two British TV hosts on another planet after he mocked them on-air over a fan question during an interview on Friday.

And that was before he randomly asked after someone named Neil.

The Star Trek legend spoke to Good Morning Britain hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway to promote Europes largest convention celebrating the 50th anniversary of the series.

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But when asked about his favourite episode, Shatner responded with some sarcasm.

No, Ive never been asked that question before, he said via video link from Birmingham.

William Shatner speaks to Good Morning Britain hosts on Friday. (Screengrab)

The two hosts quickly took Shatner to task, saying the question was actually forwarded by a reader. Dont mock us! said Garraway.

And instead of delivering an answer on the spot, Shatner tried to cajole viewers to come to Birmingham with all their burning Star Trek questions.

Shatner held court from the captains chair of a Starship Enterprises auxiliary control centre set recreated from the original series. And while in that seat, he was asked if he ever played pranks on co-stars during filming.

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I never play pranks  Im deadly serious, you understand, he said before launching into a tangent after getting distracted by the adhesive keeping the buttons glued onto his captains chair.

These two women weren't sure what was going on either. (Screengrab)

The interview comes to an abrupt end after Shatner asked if Neil on the other end of the line.

No, its Kate and Ben in the studio, said Shephard.

Lovely to chat if thats what it was to you, Shatner responded, slipping in one last plug for the gloriously wonderful Birmingham convention.

The never-prankster later addressed the trainwreck interview with a belated burn.

The UK press asks the strangest questions.I wish they spoke English so I could understand them better!   William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) October 7, 2016

Vintage Shatner.
nicolamargaret via Getty Images Light trails of traffic on the famous Gran Via.

While Madrid is a city in which you could easily spend a year and not see, do or eat everything, it's also an easily accessible stopover if you're just passing through.

En route to Ibiza last month, I managed to sneak in about 24 hours in Spain's capital city. And it's amazing how much one can accomplish in such a short time with an itinerary. Unless you're the aimless wandering type, a plan is key.

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Getting to and from the airport

There are two easy ways to get yourself from Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD): taxi or Airport Express bus. Taxis have the obvious benefit of being available immediately and offering direct transportation without any stops or the inconveniences sometimes caused by other customers. But it comes with a cost. In this case, it's a minimum of 30 Euros and takes anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to reach the city centre.

The Airport Express is a fantastic, less expensive alternative. For only five Euros, it takes you from terminals 1, 2 or 4 to one of three stops in central Madrid (two of which are 24-hour-a-day stops). It takes 30-40 minutes to complete one run and there are buses every 15 minutes. Look for the white and yellow shuttle bus, and get more details here. Of course, you may still need to hop in a taxi or use the Metro (subway) to reach your hotel if it's not within walking distance of one of the bus stops.

Accommodations

If you've only got a day or two, put yourself in a location that's close to what you want to see and allows you to do a lot on foot. The Gran Via is considered Madrid's version of Broadway, but it's got the added benefit of London's Oxford Street or Manhattan's Fifth Avenue because not only is it littered with great theatres, but also terrific shopping and restaurants.

Our stay at the IBEROSTAR Las Letras Gran Via was nothing short of wonderful and it's smack dab in the middle of everything. Plus, in case your Spanish is as embarrassing as mine, everyone who works there speaks English really well and can help guide you with a free city map available at the front desk. One tip: if the breakfast isn't already included with your booking price, do yourself a favour and add it on. It's truly excellent. The fresh churros will keep you going for hours!

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Shopping

You've got limited time and your Euros are burning a hole in your pocket, so focus your efforts on two main streets -- up and down the Gran Via and anywhere along Calle de Serrano in Barrio de Salamanca. Stores have pretty long hours in Madrid and you won't find them closing for a siesta any day of the week either.

The former is where you'll find "high street" shopping as they call it in the UK, with stores like Primark, Spain's international brand Camper as well as their version of Macy's, El Corte Ingles. Check out Spain's answer to Lululemon at Oysho, which also carries PJs and lingerie; for fashion-forward European-brand shoes, visit ulanka; and don't miss the seven-floor Desigual, with an entire floor earmarked as an outlet.

The latter is nicknamed "the golden mile" because it's home to the world's finest brands like Prada, D&G and Louis Vuitton. Looking for a little local luxury to take home? Stop in at Loewe for the most beautifully crafted purses -- or an interesting leather keychain if that's more in your budget range. There's also Madrid's huge flagship Zara store, which carries so much more than we ever get in Canadian stores.

Eating

You may want to spend all your time eating in the foodie wonderland that is Madrid, but with only 24 hours to play with, you'll need to be strategic if you want to do any sightseeing. Breakfast is often included at hotels here, so fill 'er up and spend your day seeing the city, perhaps needing only a snack-on-the-go to keep you going until dinner. Keep in mind that Madrid is a busy tourist destination, so restaurant reservations are always a good idea.

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Must-eats (and drinks) in Madrid include:

Gazpacho and roasted suckling pig at Restaurante Botin, which holds the Guinness World Record for the world's oldest restaurant -- in operation since 1725. The in-house extra-virgin olive oil here is divine, too

Ox beef tartare, Iberico ham and sangria at Atico 11; note that this spectacular rooftop terrace is open only in the evenings from mid-May through mid-October

Taberna Maceiras has three locations, but go to the original in Las Letras and order the pimientos de padron, patatas bravas, croquetas de bacalao and jamon (all of which pair nicely with Estrella Damm beer, brewed in Barcelona). If you have room for dessert, go for the filloas con limon

Any of the gin cocktails made at Macera Taller Bar -- each one lovingly handcrafted with mixology precision

At Al Trapo, you have to start with the croissant meloso de ternera -- a mind-blowing veal croissant (just ask for a mushroom substitution if you're a vegetarian; they're incredible like this, too) -- and end with the chocolate en texturas, a delightful montage of chocolate-y goodness

If you'd rather tapas your way through the city, know that the more tourist-heavy areas do tapas differently from the rest of Madrid. In most tapas bars, you order a drink and you get FREE nibbles, like croquetas or a Spanish omelette. If you have to pay for your tapas, consider moving a bit farther out.

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Arts and culture

You won't have time to take in too much of Madrid's rich history, but don't forget to look up as you make your way from point A to B, because the architecture - even in alleyways - is jaw-dropping.

Here are three things you should do:

Visit the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Perhaps not known the world over as well as The Prado, it's one of the world's greatest examples of a private art collection, housing art from the 13th to the late-20th century. Easy to walk to from the Gran Via, you'll get up close and personal with works from Fra Angelico, Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso, among others; the Impressionists always wow me and paintings from Cezanne, Monet and Renoir abound at the Thyssen

Take a brisk walk through El Retiro Park (near Salamanca if you have plans to shop there). At 125 hectares, no chance you'll scratch its surface but look for the rose garden, a 400-year-old bald cypress tree and the Crystal Palace as a starting point

See a flamenco dance -- specifically, Cardamomo's tablao show. Although your ticket comes with a beverage, don't expect much. I wouldn't bother adding the dinner to your ticket either. The wait staff is also on the rude side. But the show more than makes up for these shortcomings. It's powerful, passionate, heart-stopping -- and wildly popular. So book your tickets online in advance to avoid disappointment

Nightlife

Since most people don't even start eating dinner until 9 p.m. in Madrid, you'll find that the city's nightlife doesn't really get going until close to midnight. Start off in a fun bar, like Macera (mentioned above), and ask the locals where to go from there.

We had a blast at a small hip hop dance club called Bogui. It was nine Euros to get in and that included an alcoholic beverage. Dance like no one's watching until 4 or 5 a.m.

This city never sleeps, so to make the most of your 24 hours, don't be ashamed if you party until dawn and get on your next flight without so much as a nap.

Photo credits: Andrea Traynor
via Getty Images Flags waving in the wind.

The following letter was sent on October 6 to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion, and Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland.

We, the undersigned organizations and supporters, call on the Canadian government to put human rights, especially free expression and press freedom, at the heart of the renewed Canada-China relationship.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived on Parliament Hill on September 22 to continue talks with Prime Minister Trudeau, during which an agreement was signed by the two countries to begin exploratory talks on a Free Trade Agreement. Discussions of a proposed extradition treaty also continued, which provoked swift outcry in Canada after its announcement on September 13.

In light of Chinas atrocious human rights environment, simply acknowledging that China and Canada have different systems of law and order, as Prime Minister Trudeau did during his press conference with Premier Li, is not acceptable. The very nature of fundamental human rights is that they transcend national borders and apply to all humans equally, regardless of their citizenship.

Chinese officials frequently object when any criticism is made of their human rights record by foreign governments, insisting that the country has made tremendous and universally recognized achievements in the protection and promotion of human rights. The advancement of human rights depends upon a free press to disperse accurate information, expose corruption and wrongdoing, and give voice to the powerless. As long as the government of China can with impunity engage in broad crackdowns on dissent, kidnap Hong Kong booksellers for publishing books critical of Chinese leaders, repress Uyghur Muslims, punish lawyers who dare to defend dissidents, and intimidate diaspora journalists in Canada, there can be no true progress.

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Canada must not conveniently forget this in the name of increasing trade and currying favour with China. "Honest, regular engagement" with China must include an engagement with, and consideration for, the Chinese citizens who risk their lives and personal freedom to secure the liberties we are guaranteed by birth. We urge you to put human rights at the heart of the Canada-China relationship. Specifically, we ask you to raise with the Chinese government the cases of the 49 journalists imprisoned simply for carrying out their professional duties, and to call for their immediate release.

Above all, we ask that you call on China to prioritize journalists safety in all interactions with law enforcement and security forces.

We thank you for your attention and look forward to your reply.

Signed,

This letter was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion, and Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland.

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Handout . / Reuters A mushroom cloud rises with ships below during Operation Crossroads nuclear weapons test on Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands in this 1946 handout provided by the U.S. Library of Congress. The United States said on April 25, 2014, it was examining lawsuits filed by the Marshall Islands against it and eight other nuclear-armed countries that accuse them of failing in their obligation to negotiate nuclear disarmament. REUTERS/U.S. Library of Congress/Handout via Reuters (MARSHALL ISLANDS - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) ATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump once suggested that more, not fewer, countries be given nuclear weapons including Japan, South Korea and even Saudi Arabia. Although his suggestion met with widespread criticism, one organization seems to be in line with The Donald's thinking.

We are the International Rifle Association otherwise known as the IRA, not to be confused with that other IRA, the Irish Republican Army, although, in general, we think they're a swell bunch of guys, too.

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No, we're more in line with the NRA, the National Rifle Association, except we have a global vision. Just like the NRA wants to see fewer restrictions on guns throughout the United States, we want to see fewer restrictions on weapons worldwide.

We agree with the NRA that the widest interpretation of the Second Amendment is in the best interests of everyone. Likewise, we are of the view that there is no reason to restrict the right of any nation state to own and use whatever weapons it likes.

The logic relied on by the NRA in support of their position is, if you'll pardon the expression, bulletproof. Just as gun ownership is the best deterrent against crime, large scale weapon ownership is the best guarantee against outright war.

We here at the IRA strongly believe that the only thing that can stop a bad country with a nuke is a good country with a nuke. For example, if Iran has a nuclear weapon, it's not likely going to use it on the U. S. knowing full well that the U.S. will retaliate tenfold.

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For those liberal whiners who think this will spell disaster, just take a look at India and Pakistan. Two countries who were at one another's throats for years with ongoing border battles and skirmishes now hardly engage militarily at all. Why? Because both now have nuclear weapons. They might not like each other but neither dares risk starting a war which might result in the destruction of both states.

But what about rogue states we hear liberal nuke control wusses saying all the time. Well, what about them? Just like the NRA, we say that the more countries that have nukes, the safer we'll all be. Just as gun-friendly folks contend that teachers in schools should be given guns, so, too, should countries bordering unstable states be fully armed. Sure there might be some collateral damage if nuclear war breaks out but it will definitely be a lot less than if such states can't be stopped.

As the NRA contends, guns don't kill people; people kill people. Same thing internationally. Nuclear weapons don't annihilate states; states annihilate states.

Liberals long for the day when nuclear weapons are eliminated, when no nation, not even the United States, has nuclear capability. Bad idea. To borrow another truism from our NRA allies, if nuclear weapons are outlawed, then only outlaws will have nuclear weapons.

Remember the Cold War or what we here at the IRA like to call the good old days? Some folks worried about nuclear attacks but those in the know felt completely secure in view of the doctrine of mutually assured destruction. The best defense against a country with a nuke is your country with a bigger nuke.

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That's why we recommend that this matter be taken to the United Nations and urge them to pass a resolution modeled on the Second Amendment as in: "The national right to keep and bear weapons of any kind shall not be infringed."

Once we're all armed to the teeth, peace can reign throughout the world. At least that's the plan.
The point of no return. Works as a title for horror movies just as well as it does as a slogan for election-tailored megaprojects.

How do you get a project past the point of no return? Hit the accelerator.

Case in point: the mad dash to wrap up the Port Mann Bridge/Trans-Canada Highway deal before the 2009 election. It was the perfect storm of haste, politics and intrigue.

Consider the 53 days from Jan. 23 to March 17, 2009.

The "we have a public-private partnership deal" announcement cancelled with 18 minutes to spare. "We really have a deal this time" redux on Jan. 28. "We hold a pile-driving photo-op to show we mean it" one week later. Deal falls apart on Feb. 24. We announce a new deal on Feb. 27 and put it all to bed with everyone's John Hancock on what's become a design-build contract on March 17.

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This wasn't a toaster the B.C. government was buying.

The $2.4-billion fixed-price contract with the construction team Kiewit & Sons/Flatiron General Partnership runs more than 1,000 pages and should be materially different than the intended P3 deal.

It would have required a little more legal effort than using the "find" function to replace "public-private partnership" with "design-build" throughout the contract.

And it wasn't just the contract that was of interest back then.

According to the Transportation Investment Corp.'s 2008/09 audited financial statements -- statements that are not posted to its website -- the Crown corporation's accounts payable stood at $104.2 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009.

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The bill for capital costs totalled $97.8 million -- "mainly for work done under the design-build contract."

It's a hefty sum, given that not much of anything had taken place over the previous 14 days.

While work was underway later in 2009, ground wasn't broken on the site until February 2010, according to Kiewit (page 14).

The payables also included a $6-million cancellation fee for the P3 team, "when the P3 agreement was not reached."

The team -- Connect B.C. -- consisted of Kiewit, Flatiron, Transtoll and the Australia-based Macquarie Group.

Something about those statements set off alarm bells for someone in government and that someone was in a position to demand an explanation.

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At the time, TIC placed one of the most costly bets in recent B.C. political history.

According to B.C. Supreme Court documents, TIC retained accounting firm KPMG in mid-2009 "to review a contractor's invoicing process on a major British Columbia highway project."

The project was Port Mann and the contractor was Kiewit/Flatiron.

The matter before the courts included allegations of conspiracy, a coverup and misuse of funds, but details are protected by a gag order sought by TIC and KPMG on a potential whistleblower.

Gary Webster, a partner at KPMG, was charged with overseeing the review, which is odd, given that only a few weeks before, he had been largely responsible for setting up and approving those same processes, as a senior vice-president at CH2M Hill, a global engineering firm.

Webster, an engineer, had been the TIC's representative on the Port Mann project, the taxpayers' foreman.

For Webster to oversee KPMG's review into what were many of his own decisions or decisions he had agreed to -- and as a freshly-minted partner no less -- might raise a few eyebrows in some circles.

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With a final price tag of $3.3 billion, the Port Mann Bridge overshot the government's initial estimate of $1.5 billion by 120 per cent.

It wasn't the only miscue.

In 2009, TIC's board consisted of then-deputy health minister John Dyble, then-deputy transportation and infrastructure minister Peter Milburn and then-Partnerships B.C. president and CEO Larry Blain.

At the time, TIC placed one of the most costly bets in recent B.C. political history.

From its financial statements (Note 12) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010: "[TIC] entered into a number of hedging transactions during the year, through advanced rate-setting, also known as bond forwards and forward-starting swap instruments."

In 2013, the full magnitude of the wager was driven home in a government filing (Table 3.6, page 59) with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.

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TIC had lost $265 million on the bet.

Also missing from its website is the government's 2012 letter of expectations sent by then-transportation and infrastructure minister Blair Lekstrom to TIC, and signed by its then-chair Grant Main.

In it the government stated: "TIC is to be in a positive net income position by 2017/18, four years after toll revenue collection commences."

Not by a long shot.

In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a single government forecast for the Sea-to-Sky highway project ($195 million over its first estimate), the Port Mann or the South Fraser Perimeter Road that has been met.

Kiewit/Flatiron have little to complain about. So far, they've been paid $2.82 billion on their $2.398-billion fixed-price Port Mann contract.

The B.C. Liberal party hasn't done too badly, either, with more than $500,000 in donations from the companies that worked on Port Mann, including a cheque for $50,000 from Kiewit & Sons three days after the 2009 election.

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Darren Robb via Getty Images Elderly couple sitting on bench outdoors, low section

So there was this CBC-Angus Reid poll. You may have heard about it, or at least seen it while scrolling through your social media feeds this week. It was called the "Canadian Values" poll and it found, according to the original CBC headline, that Canadians want minorities to do more to 'fit in.'

Perhaps a more accurate headline would have read "Older white Canadians want minorities to do more to 'fit in.'"

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Now, I'm going to jump into the numbers explaining this but first I'd like to note that Canadians and minorities are not mutually exclusive categories despite the headline's unintentional implication. As well, "Canadians" are not "white Canadians" even if the last voluntary National Household Survey in 2011 put the country at about 81 per cent caucasian.

This poll made news because it revealed 68 per cent of Canadians thinking minorities should be "doing more to fit in" with mainstream society instead of keeping their own customs and languages. But what I found out after contacting Angus Reid was that 87 per cent of those respondents were white.

This CBC-Angus Reid Institute poll spoke to 16 per cent visible minorities, which is a slight under-representation of the 19.1 per cent number from 2011, though that number has no doubt gone up in the five-year interim.

It was also only available in English and French. Angus Reid executive director Shachi Kurl explained to me that including those not fluent in either official language "would have most likely required face-to-face interviews in myriad/unlimited languages with translators."

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Fair enough, but that means the perspectives of these Canadian minorities were not included. How many are we talking about? At least one in 10, based on National Post reporting that one in six immigrants "only" use a non-official language and 60 per cent of them cannot conduct a conversation in English or French.

Speaking of immigrants, the poll reporting also said that while newer immigrants favoured maintaining their culture and language, only 38 per cent of immigrants who had been in the country for less than 20 years wanted minorities to fit in more -- while that number surged to 68 per cent for immigrants who had been in the country for 20 or more years.

But here's the thing about that: not all immigrants are visible minorities, and that was especially true in the past. StatsCan says the percentage of new immigrants who are visible minorities has grown from 12.4 per cent in 1971 to 78 per cent in 2011.

So, this specific group of immigrants in the country for 20+ years that wants minorities to fit in more also happens to be 74 per cent white.

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We know that the minorities who currently fit in the least - the 10 per cent who don't speak English or French - were not included at all.

Now, 57 per cent of visible minorities did agree that minorities should "fit in" more, however we don't have a further breakdown of that stat as far as age, region or immigrant status. We just know that the minorities who currently fit in the least -- the 10 per cent who don't speak English or French -- were not included at all.

We also know that the older a respondent was, the more likely they were to want minorities to fit in more. Only 47 per cent of 18-to-34-year-olds feel this way compared to 69 per cent of 35-to-54-year olds and a whopping 83 per cent of those 55 and older. Those latter two age groups, by the way, make up 57 per cent of the country.

Then there's the whole use of the word "fit in."

I presume this was chosen because of the negative connotations that accompany the word "assimilate." (Blame the Borg.) But make no mistake, these are the same things, which is why it doesn't matter what 68 per cent of the country thinks no matter who or how old they are.

I am Canadian because my great-grandparents fled here from Russia and the Ukraine during the pogroms. And why were their Jewish shtetles, or villages, burned down? Because they didn't assimilate. So it hurts to read that so many of my fellow Canadians feel this way about multiculturalism.

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Of course, it also hurts to read that the federal Tories just voted against a bill condemning Islamaphobia. Yes, those same Tories who used the Niqab and "barbaric cultural practices" hotline to gin up election votes, and then doubled down with demands to screen immigrants for "anti-Canadian values."

It's sad that Conservatives denied to give a unanimous consent to a motion in the House of Commons to condemn all forms of Islamophobia -- Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) October 5, 2016

And to hear the Globe and Mail's Denise Balkissoon, who co-hosts the newspaper's race-focused podcast Colour Code, be attacked during a recent radio interview on Vancouver's CKNW because the fragile white host was mad that his whiteness was not catered to enough. While melting down over the fact that he didn't feel included by minorities, he also tried to claim minority status in a country that is 81 per cent white.

(Though CKNW's management deserves respect for apologizing personally and publicly.)

Thank you. Program director Larry Gifford called me as well and he was very sincere. He said that Ian Power plans to call me too. https://t.co/oD8WE9Z4Ok  Denise Balkissoon (@balkissoon) October 5, 2016

And that an Ottawa police officer posted racist online comments about an Inuit artist who died while his police chief defended him because "everybody has biases."

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Or that everyone got mad at the deservedly infamous Blue Jays beer can, but ignored the racial slurs that fans also hurled during the wild card game.

Not to mention being reminded by my colleague Brian Trinh that, "the last time Canadian institutions forced minorities to fit within mainstream society -- they were called residential schools."

Haven't we learned our lesson?

Besides, there's never been a mainstream "Canadian culture" to fit into.

To a degree there's English-Canadian culture, French-Canadian culture and Indigenous culture. But even those are regionally as well as religiously and racially multicultural.

I grew up on the West Coast and that hippie-fied beach culture has little do with the Jewish Montreal culture my parents grew up in, or the downtown Toronto culture I live in now where my neighbourhood is a mix of Portuguese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Somali, Caribbean, Tibetan, Nepalese, Filipino, Tamil, Polish, Indian and, yes, hipster.

Should Alberta culture do more to fit in with Newfoundland culture or Quebecois culture? No, because it's not about fitting in, it's about mixing together.

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That is the great Canadian dream because we are the world's second largest country and we contain multitudes.

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While the Canadian government deliberates on plans to legalize cannabis, new regulations are underway. The Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) allow patients to grow a limited amount of cannabis for their own use -- with seeds and plants to only be provided by licensed producers.

As the ability to home grow has returned to patients, there has been heightened concern about quality and safety of product by independent growers, including cannabis sold at dispensaries as Health Canada stated their products "may be unsafe."

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To heighten the issue even further, a recent investigation tested nine dispensary samples of cannabis, and one-third of the samples failed Health Canada's safety standards. It has been circulating however, that labs are discouraged by Health Canada to test dispensary cannabis, while storefront owners have spoken out about not being able to test their own products.

Despite the facilitated access to cannabis that dispensaries provide, and considering the in-between phase patients are finding themselves in, the standards of Health Canada's licensed production facilities are a much safer bet in terms of quality of medicine. One of the latest licensed producers to emerge on the Canadian market, Emblem Cannabis Corp., recently welcomed me to their facility to see the grow for myself, discuss bud quality and talk about their new Health Canada license to begin in sales.

The 23,500 square foot production facility in Paris, Ontario started off early in cultivation. As soon as their license to grow was granted, work began straight away. As part of a fully integrated medical marijuana and health care company, high standards must be held to carry on business under the regulations.

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There clearly are major benefits of growing in indoor, state-of-the-art environments that modern facilities can provide. Custom HVAC units, including humidity and climate control allow for perfect growing conditions and premium product that can be created as consistently as possible.

Starting off with the cuttings room, we observed the delicate first stages of strains Jesus OG, Northern Lights and Lavender. Simply speaking, cuttings are created when a piece of stem or root of a plant is removed and placed in soil, coaxing roots to grow and completely become its own plant.

Of course it has to be humid for success, which brought me to consider the humidity levels of rooms that independent growers need to keep, as well as the potential for mould and bacteria to multiply in those conditions -- if plants are not monitored properly.

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We entered a grow of large mother plants placed at the back, while closer to the front we could see the clones that were beginning to root. Bean plants were placed around strategically to deter any potential insects -- thank goodness for natural solutions. With eight weeks to maturity, a few cycles were going on in this room at the same time as some plants had been there longer than others.

We continued into the next grow with plants beginning to flower; a delight to see and smell, full of anticipated harvest of strain varieties Girl Scout Cookies, Exodus Cheese, Shark Shock and Strawberry Cough -- a favourite of sativa lovers.

The tour took us to the dry room -- a low humidity haven for strains to dry out before distribution, approximately three to five days before packaging. I took a whiff of the Cheese strain and will announce that it was exceptionally cheesy, a scent that counteracted the fruitier tone of Girl Scout Cookies.

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The packaging room where the finished product arrives also holds the curing vaults, and I really wanted to sniff that Strawberry Cough after being told it smells like strawberries. It was beautifully pungent, living up to its name. Staff explained that drying the buds a bit extra ensures there is no mould or bacteria growing on the final product. It is afterwards gently hydrated with a humidity packet to give it a bit of sponginess without adding excess moisture. The product is then placed in an airtight canister that is sent to a lab for testing.

As Emblem plans to be in the position to fulfill orders to authorized patients by Nov. 1, 2016, quality of product before providing it to customers for consumption is a key priority. While customers, both medicinal and recreational, become more knowledgeable on cannabis and their rights than ever before -- the next step is to become more aware and selective of product quality and source.

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As for the stigma of cannabis consumption -- it will soon be a thing of the past assured Emblem President Maxim Zavet. "It's like drinking a cup of coffee, perceptions will change in the next five years."

A version of this post originally appeared on the Canadian Marijuana Journal.

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Green renewable energy has finally come of age.

Thanks to the United Nations' recent Paris Agreement, its speedy integration is being mandated by governments throughout the industrialized world.

But the challenge still remains to make it significantly more affordable to encourage mass adoption at a consumer level.

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Now a small Canadian start-up is developing a novel technological breakthrough to help solve this pressing problem. In fact, Vancouver-headquartered Pure Energy Minerals (TSX.V: PE) (US OTCQB: PEMIF) aims to play a key role in making the electrification of our energy supplies affordable.

It's an ambitious mandate. And it involves the pioneering an entirely new, environmentally conscious form of lithium mining and processing at the heart of lithium-rich Nevada.

Not surprisingly, it has already attracted the attention of one high-profile electric vehicle manufacturer: Tesla Motors signed a conditional supply agreement with Pure Energy in September 2015.

The company's deposit is also right next door to North America's only lithium mine (as shown below) in the arid Clayton Valley. This is half way between Reno and Las Vegas and is also just a 3.5-hour drive from Tesla's in-development "giga-factory."

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Remember that lithium-ion batteries are being championed around the world as a catalyst for a greener society. Admittedly, their most disruptive use to date has been in their ongoing transformation of the automobile industry, especially in China.

Truth be told, there are much bigger applications on the way. For instance, the ability to store electricity generated by solar energy and wind power has long been the Holy Grail of renewable energy. And now it is finally possible thanks to the cost-effective scalability of lithium-ion battery packs.

The advent of "smart" buildings that can access uninterrupted, self-generated energy supplies literally makes them their own power plants. A good example can be found with Tesla's "Powerwall" -- a battery pack that stores energy generated by rooftop solar panels.

Consequently, demand for lithium is growing at an exponential rate that is already destined to outstrip existing supplies within the next few years, according to industry analysts.

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This is why Pure Energy's business model appears to have a viable future. Also, the company has a commitment to sustainable mining practices. Second, it offers the prospect of far greater production efficiencies (translating into cost savings) and an expedited timeline to cash flow.

Why the Reinvention of Lithium Mining Matters

Traditional lithium mining involves depositing lithium brine that's pumped out of the ground into a series of expansive shallow concentration ponds. This is where the sun's heat concentrates the lithium salts until they are ready for extraction at a nearby recovery plant. This whole process typically takes 18 months to two years.

Yet this old form of lithium brine mining is fraught with environmental hazards. For instance, it can harm any wildlife that comes into contact with concentration ponds. And the waste salt can become airborne, thereby polluting the air.

Worse still, it involves intensive water usage, as well as protracted and wasteful production inefficiencies. Frankly, it's a drawn-out, low-tech process that hasn't changed in decades.

However, new technology would dramatically reduce the need for large amounts of water and would eliminate any need for evaporation ponds. It even conserves water because there is no loss to evaporation, and it keeps the lithium concentration from being exposed to the environment. This is likely to accelerate the company's permitting process.

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Executing at a Higher Level

In essence, new processing/extraction systems will turn raw lithium brine into high-purity, battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Significantly, this facilitates delivery to market in days, instead of months.

It's worth noting that this technology has been developed by Tenova Bateman Technologies (TBT) -- a global leader in innovating mineral extraction and separation processes. In fact, extensive proof-of-concept testing has just been successfully completed at a mini pilot plant.

According to Pure Energy's CEO, Patrick Highsmith, "This technology is likely to be a true game-changer. In fact, lithium recovery from the brines could show gains of 60 to 100 per cent over existing technology."

"We'll also be conserving water, saving wildlife, and we won't be having a negative impact on the air quality either," he adds.

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Additionally, Pure Energy is focused on minimizing start-up and operational costs. On this note, estimates from TBT suggest that capital and operating costs should be comparable or even superior to existing technology.

Furthermore, the shorter lead times to production paves the way for a faster payback -- a key value driver in an industry where paybacks typically take between five to 10 years.

Leading the Race to Market

Whether tomorrow's green battery manufacturers flourish or falter depends on two key dynamics -- these batteries have to be produced cost-efficiently, and there has to be a steady and sizeable supply of raw lithium.

It's a daunting challenge. Globally, there are very few lithium mines. Nevada's sole producer is the Silver Peak Mine, owned by the US chemical company Albemarle Corporation. And it can only supply a tiny fraction of the world's burgeoning lithium needs.

However, Albemarle is one of four companies that operate as an oligopoly by controlling close to 90 per cent of the world's current supply. They dictate price. Yet, they have been unwilling to bring significant new production to market.

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This is why Pure Energy is racing to bring its own mine into production, and it is well ahead of other brine exploration/development companies in North America. Later this year, it plans to announce a "preliminary economic assessment" of its sizeable 816,000-tonne lithium brine deposit -- an initial blueprint for a mine.

"Achieving this important milestone should boost our credibility as a serious player in the race to commercialize new lithium production right here in America," Highsmith says.

"And new, cleaner, more efficient 21st century lithium mines are needed to spearhead the mass adoption of clean, sustainable energy."

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In a recent opinion editorial, Conservative Party Interim Leader Rona Ambrose said that we cannot have electoral reform without a referendum.

A genuine claim to the use of a referendum cannot strictly appeal to convention or populism that demands the consent of "the people." The relationship between referendums and democracy is a contingent one. In some cases referendums are explicitly used for political gains. In other cases they are actively used as part of a broader process of public participation. In the end, the bigger picture is about implementing a substantive framework of public engagement, with multiple, ongoing points of entry into political decision-making structures.

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Experts have been debating in witness hearings about whether or not we can have electoral reform by legislative fiat. Given that particular areas of the British North America Act imply the electoral system can be altered by the party in power, it calls in to question why the Conservatives when given the chance didn't jump at the opportunity. Perhaps the greater force of their argument is that politics has played into electoral reform historically; changing or not changing the model is often more about political maneuvering than a genuine desire for a fairer electoral system.

Months into public debate and yet we are left without a serious discussion of what a good referendum process looks like.

Detractors, whether or not they are reluctant to see proportional or alternative representation in place, have been very vocal about making sure we have a referendum to decide its fate. This includes the debate about the precedent set by other provinces using the referendum to determine electoral reform, and the moral imperative to have it because it satisfies a preamble of democracy. In the latter camp, referendums are considered the direct will of the people. Rather than have politicians determine if electoral reform should move forward, people should.

Months into public debate and yet we are left without a serious discussion of what a good referendum process looks like. In the instance that a referendum is selected to determine the outcome of national electoral reform, it may be too late to ensure it is less about making the outcome more palatable to partisans rather than a truly substantive deliberative exercise.

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The present debate has failed to go beyond the simple statement that we need a referendum because other countries have done it. What a 'good' referendum process consists of, not simply that we need one, is a far more nuanced topic that even academics in the public eye have yet to address.

The quality of a referendum is discerned by how inclusive it is of a wide range of actors coming together at various stages of negotiation. This means that simply having a referendum as a vessel to solicit particular support for a desired outcome -- "Yes" or "No" -- places an inappropriate emphasis on the final vote, rather than preparatory phases leading up to it.

Comparative literature indicates that referendums may enhance the democratic quality of electoral and legislative institutions. For example, compelling aspects of the processes applied in Swiss Cantons and federally, offer citizens the recurring opportunity to initiate a referendum, including agenda-setting control mechanisms. This is part of a broader attempt to provide citizens with the right to challenge political elites on unpopular legislation, as Adrian Vatter points out in "Consensus and Direct Democracy: Conceptual and Empirical Linkages."

Countries that reduce hurdles have a better chance of seeing referendums evolve into routine practice. Even then, referendums alone are not guaranteed to enhance democratic processes, and they do not automatically lead to increased and informed engagement, according to Silvano Moeckli's "Direct Democracy and Political Participation from a Cross-National Perspective."

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It becomes paradoxical to claim "the people" have spoken when sizeable portions of the populace have not participated.

There must be measures in place to ensure that the process does not end up like many other referendums where the public is unaware. It becomes paradoxical to claim "the people" have spoken when sizeable portions of the populace have not participated. There will need to be public inclusion in the formulation of ground rules (like preventing arbitrary qualifications), ensuring the referendum question is worded appropriately, guaranteeing adequate time for public deliberation, as well as providing sufficient resources for a national educational campaign.

Advocates have been alluding to the necessity of both informing and including public deliberation on the topic. The reference point is our very own Citizens' Assemblies. While the BCCA and OCA had the potential for meaningful change, and in many ways they did within the Assemblies, there was still the need for a broader education strategy on electoral systems. The issue of course is the scaling up from small forums to the general public where partisan actors and the media actively seek to manipulate the process to their advantage, as Dennis Pilon wrote in his 2009 and 2010 investigations of Canadian voting systems. Without entrenchment of some form of referendum process design, there is little recourse against political interference.

Ultimately, if a referendum is deemed worthy by the Party of the day, it should be in tune with an earnest attempt to invigorate participatory democracy in Canada. This may be ironic given that referendums are best used in countries that value power-sharing, the very principle that proportionally representative electoral systems entail.

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As Canadian children are now settled back into school, it's a good time to think about the 59 million primary-school-aged children around the world who are not in school -- children who are missing out on acquiring the basic building blocks they need to grow up and become strong, productive members of society, and to realize their full potential.

It's been over one year since two devastating earthquakes rocked Nepal in April and May 2015. The earthquakes and aftershocks claimed the lives of nearly 9,000 people, and left nearly 1.1 million children without shelter and with little food or access to water, sanitation, education and health services. The earthquakes also destroyed more than 35,000 classrooms and jeopardized the futures of millions of children.

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Thanks to the quick recovery and reconstruction efforts that followed -- funded in part by the overwhelming generosity of Canadians -- we were able to minimize any interruption to their education. In the hardest hit districts, makeshift classrooms were reopened just one month after the first earthquake. We were able to distribute emergency school kits and recreational kits to the most affected regions, and we supported a comprehensive building structural assessment of earthquake-affected schools in 11 districts.

It's progress, but there is still much work to be done. The impact of the earthquakes continues to be felt, especially among women and children. Many families and children continue to live in temporary accommodation, study in temporary classrooms, and families are struggling to make ends meet. Children remain exposed to increased risk of neglect, exploitation and violence.

They also face the fear of another natural disaster. That's why UNICEF is working with the affected communities to build back better -- to be more and better prepared to withstand future shocks, like an earthquake.

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As Canadian children settle back into their school routines, it's hard not to think of young Nepalese like 17-year-old Geeta Thapa Magar.

Geeta has always dreamt of becoming a nurse, but for now she's unable to attend school. Her father left the family six years ago to work as a migrant worker, and less than one year after that, her mother also left home and would not call the family until four years later. Geeta's dream of becoming a nurse was put on hold as the responsibility of raising her five younger sisters and brother fell to her. As is so often the case in child-headed households, one child sacrifices their education and their dreams for the sake of the others' survival.

"I could not concentrate, and I flunked in five subjects," Geeta said of her final high school exams. "I didn't have time to study...And now I think I have even forgotten how to study."

Following the earthquakes, their home was so badly destroyed that the children took shelter under a homemade shelter of branches and leaves.

That's when a social worker identified them and notified UNICEF. We began to provide Geeta and her family with assistance, which helped the children to buy clothes, notebooks, and build a better shelter for themselves.

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Their future remains uncertain, but Geeta's dreams of becoming a nurse are being revived; a local organization has expressed interest in training and employing Geeta on a part-time basis as a social mobilizer -- and also paying for her and her sisters' education.

As Canadian children settle in for another school year, let's remember what a significant opportunity that is in and of itself; it is something millions of children like Geeta around the world dream of, and one we should never take for granted.

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The five things you need to know on Friday, October 7

This morning's reshuffled Waugh Zone is by Ned Simons - as I live in North London and that is politically on-trend right now. Paul is away.

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1) EVERY DAY SHUFFLING

Diane Abbott is shadow home secretary. Baroness Chakrabarti is shadow Attorney General. Keir Starmer is shadow Brexit secretary. And last night Clive Lewis had all his speeches completely re-written to make them about business, energy and industrial strategy. Anti-Trident Nia Griffith replaces him as shadow defence secretary. Jeremy Corbyn is very much the leader of the Labour Party.

This morning Jo Stevens, the new shadow Welsh secretary, said she was "very sorry" Corbyn had dumped Rosie Winterton as Chief Whip. But added she thought Nick Brown, who returns to the job having been sacked by Ed MIliband six years ago, would do a "great job". Stevens, who backed Owen Smith in the leadership campaign, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme her appointment showed Corbyn was reaching out to all sides of the party. There are, she said, "plenty of issues that will unify" Labour MPs with its leadership against the Tories.

But one ex-shadow cabinet minister said the sacking of Winterton showed Corbyn was not interested in offering an olive branch to the PLP - and predicted trouble ahead. "He's not reaching out to anyone who publicly spoke about reasons why they resigned or to those who wouldn't serve in 2015," they told me. "I think he thinks he's in a stronger position than he is and will struggle to fill junior roles."

Eyebrows have also been raised at the Islington-centric nature of Corbyn's top team. Corbyn, Abbott, Starmer and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry all represent seats within walking distance of each other in North London. The senior shadow cabinet cluster makes even John McDonnell, sitting out in West London, look exotic. Corbyn's team subtly responded to the criticism by releasing a list of the ten frontbench MPs who are from the north of England. Including Jonathan Reynolds, who will serve as shadow City minister.

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The reshuffle is set to continue today. We should be, among others, expecting a new shadow culture secretary as Kelvin Hopkins has made it clear he wants to return to the backbenches. Former shadow housing minister John Healey is one name expected to return. HuffPost is looking forward to some more exciting adjectives in Labour reshuffle press releases. Yesterday Starmer was described as vital, Griffith "effective", John Trickett "outstanding" and Lewis "dynamic".

There were titters yesterday when Corbyn tweeted that "as a proud Welshwoman". he welcomed Stevens appointment as shadow Welsh secretary. A spokesperson for the Labour leader dryly cleared this up this morning: "he was referring to Jo being a proud Welshwoman".

2) UKIP RECOVERY`

Steven Woolfe, the favourite to take over as Ukip leader, is recovering in hospital this morning after getting into a "scrap" with fellow MEP Mike Hookem at the European Parliament yesterday. Woolfe tells the Daily Mail Hookem "came at me and landed a blow" following a tense meeting of the party's MEPs in Strasbourg. Nigel Farage, who is (obviously) Ukip leader again until a replacement for Diane James is found, said the fight was "one of those things that happens between men". Which if true, suggests I am fortunately doing being a man wrong.

3) BLAIR'S BACK

Tony Blair has given a strong hint that he could make a return to frontline politics, declaring he is very motivated to tackle the Tory partys vision of Brexit Britain. The former Prime Minister told Esquire magazine that a weak Labour party, with little appeal to mainstream voters, was allowing the Conservatives to run a one party state. But in his clearest suggestion yet that he wants to come back into the battle against the Tories, Blair said it was an open question what his future role would be. Now I know we have been promised some "eye openers" in Corbyn's reshuffle, but seriously...

BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FARCNNs Ana Navarro Demolishes Trump In 2 Languages

4) DONALD'S WARMUP

Donald Trump on Thursday held a rare town hall event in New Hampshire that looked a lot like a trial run for Sundays second presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. The Republican rarely appears before small audiences, preferring raucous campaign rallies in large arenas, so Thursdays town hall provided him an opportunity to practice speaking in a more intimate setting and to prepare for Sundays town hall-style event with Clinton. However it was not exactly a grilling. Questions included What would you say to convince Hispanics who are deceived by Obama, Clinton and the biased media to vote for you? and What is your favorite childhood memory? Go Donald.

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5) SIBLING RIVALRY

The row over Amber Rudd's proposal that firms list the number of foreign workers they employ continues. The home secretary's brother, Roland Rudd, has had a pop. "Those of us who want a sensible Brexit, who want Britain to remain a beacon of tolerance and who find the denigration of non-British workers appalling have a duty to speak out,' he writes in the Evening Standard. "Try and stand up for a multiracial Britain and you are labelled part of the liberal elite; point out the 20 billion net contribution from immigrants over a decade and you are told you are not listening to the people; oppose hate crime and you are mocked for political correctness. It is easier to vilify foreigners in the new Britain than it is to espouse European values.

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I'll start with a disclosure. I voted for Brexit. Not on nationalistic grounds. Not because I believe the 350m a week for the NHS nonsense. I made my call based on what I believe to be a well-informed and objective view that the EU wasn't working for the people.

The EU lost me with its handling of the global financial crises. It put the interests of casino capitalism firmly ahead of those of the people and stream-rollered democratically elected governments. I shuddered at the huge democratic deficit and I didn't think reform from within was likely or possible.

I voted for Brexit in good faith. A faith that Brexit, if it came about, would have been overseen by Cameron et al who despite their failings would oversee it in an intelligent and pragmatic way, underlined with a general sense of fairness and a moderate tone.

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I feel badly let down. For the first time since the vote for Brexit, I feel genuinely uncomfortable about the emerging discourse. I thought those dealing with Brexit would act in the best interests of all who contribute to British society. How wrong I was.

The Brexit vote, if handled correctly could create an opportunity for Britain to build an even better, fairer and more democratic society. Britain could have opted to take the best of the EU and add to it. In truth this now seems like an overly optimistic pipe dream.

It started this week when Liam Fox said that the rights of EU citizens to remain in Britain post Brexit wouldn't be assured, because doing so would be giving up a 'negotiating card'. Nice. Seemingly a senior cabinet minister, sees EU citizens who built lives here as nothing more than negotiating cards.

It got worse when Amber Rudd told the Tory conference that businesses would be forced to list the number of foreign nationals they employ. Another nice touch. Alarm bells really began to ring as it dawned on me that Fox's words weren't in isolation or off the cuff.

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The grim reality is that those running the show clearly see foreigners as somehow less worthy. Nefariously they seem to believe that it's ok to play politics with their lives and livelihoods. In other words, they are fair game. I might be wrong but I'd bet that many leave voters don't share these views.

For me, and many others in Britain, the terrifying thing isn't that these views exit. They always have and always will. The BNP are testament to that. No, the real worry is that people holding these views are no longer consigned to the margins. Post-Brexit, they are front and centre with their hands firmly on the levers of power.

Fast forward to 2024 and five years into post Brexit Britain. What sort of Britain will Fox and Co. have created? Will foreigners be stripped of employment rights? Will firms be told that they must employ Brits even if it means sacking foreigners who are in post?

How about housing, education, health and the legal system? Will they be able to avail of legal aid? Will they be deported for minor crimes? I would have laughed at the thought of these question being valid until very recently. Now I'm not so sure. To my mind, Brexit wasn't meant to raise any of these questions.

I am reminded of the kids that I taught when I was secondary school teacher in London. I came across plenty of young people from Eastern European backgrounds who moved here when they were very young. They sounded British, they looked British. Culturally, they pretty much were.

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Are we now entering a time when an 18 year old whose parents moved to London when he was one, is no longer sure of his place in the society in which he grew up? Or will he be allowed to stay but his mother with her still distinctively Polish accent will be told to 'go home'? Is that what Brexit and modern Britain is meant to be about? I don't think so.

I might make another disclosure. I moved to Britain as a boy. Twenty five years later I'm still here. I sound English. I have a British sounding name. I'm indistinguishable from any 34 year old British man walking down the street. I went to school here, studied at British universities, taught in British schools, worked here and paid British taxes, and even stood as a candidate in British local elections.

In a small way, I and many more like me have helped to build modern British society. But ultimately, I am one of those foreigners. For the first time in my adult life, I'm not sure that I feel entirely comfortable in Britain anymore. This despite the fact that after 25 years living here, I am in a social and cultural sense at least, pretty much British. I am not alone.
In September, there were two summits that were supposed to turn the tide of the refugee crisis. World leaders came together; first, for the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, and, second, for the US Summit for Refugees hosted by Barack Obama. We were told that they were going to change the way the world helps the 65 million people in the world that are forcibly displaced. We were told that this was the beginning of a new, more immediate, international course of action. This did not turn out to be the case.

What happened? A commitment was made, as per usual. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants was officially adopted, which "expresses the political will of world leaders to save lives, protect rights and share responsibility on a global scale". On paper this is commendable, a unifying call to bring the major players together in agreement on one of the most important issues facing humanity today.

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But it's undermined by its timeline, and the lack of concrete, time-bound actions. It's unanimously understood that the crisis is on our doorstep. Just this week, 6,000 refugees were saved by Italy in a single day as they crossed the Mediterranean in crowded boats. On that very same day, nine of them died. A global compact provides one potential avenue to force concrete actions to address the crisis. And yet the declaration delays action until 2018. Not now. Not even next year. The agreement now in place has pledged action just far enough into the future that it can tumble further down the list of global priorities.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-6000-saved-nine-dead-italy-single-day-mediterranean-rescue-latest-a7343611.html

How has this been allowed to happen? Listening to our leaders talk about the issue, you could be forgiven for thinking they intend to act. But, to scrutinise their statements, all that is being said has been said before. What we're seeing is a rehashing of old commitments, an echo lost down a tunnel that's only getting longer. We need these leaders to follow through on their rhetoric, increase their ambition, and actually face up to the problems at hand. Small talk isn't enough. The crisis demands big action.

Collectively, we must demand more of our leaders. Last year the appalling image of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy found dead on a Turkish beach, shocked the world. The outcry provoked the UK to promise to resettle 20,000 refugees by 2020. But we've become insensitive to the crisis as it has dragged on unsolved. Developed countries with the most to offer often give the least: developing countries take 86% of the world's refugees. According to Amnesty, just 8,000 Syrians have been accepted into the UK since 2011, whilst Jordan, ten times smaller with just 1.2% of the UK's GDP, has taken over 656,000. Jordan, however, hosts over a million, of which 70% live below the poverty line. The situation has got worse, not better, as we've shut our eyes to the atrocities. We must make sure our leaders hear us.

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At this year's Global Citizen Festival in New York, we gave a stage to those who have survived the long journey to safety. Sarah Mardani, sister to an Olympian swimmer, found a home in Berlin. She helped save the lives of those who travelled with her in a boat to Greece after the engine failed. Alek Wek, born in Sudan, came to Britain after her father died escaping war with their family. She's now an activist and fashion model. And Brendan Cox, husband to the late MP Jo, has vowed to carry forward her message: "we hold more in common than that which divides us". Their message is simple: unified, we can fix this.

Next year, the G20 Summit will take place in Hamburg. This is an immense opportunity to act. After the festival, Global Citizens everywhere called on Chancellor Merkel to make the refugee crisis a top priority at the G20. The most powerful countries on the planet will come together, and Merkel must lead from the front in forcing words to become action. It is not acceptable that the UN & US summits refused to enforce meaningful change; they have failed refugees everywhere. For every moment we hesitate, more people will be lost: fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters.
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As we re-think and re-define our relationship with Europe following the Brexit vote, its become increasingly apparent that everyone has a different view of what Europe is for. I've been investigating the role that British writers played in advocating for and defining our role in Europe after World War Two.

How did they envision Europe, what did they hope it would achieve and why did they want a united Europe after the war?

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What I've found is that, beyond the economic and political associations of the E.U., the cultural and emotional origins of this Europe can be found in the work of writers like George Orwell, Storm Jameson and E.M. Forster, whose ideas informed the cultural imaginary of Europe as it was being forged in the crucible of postwar Europe.

The idea of Europe itself, had of course, been around for centuries. For historian Pim Den Boer, 'the term "Europe" has a long history, but the idea of Europe is a recent phenomenon' dating back to the nineteenth century. The term is thought to date back to the Enlightenment, when it was linked to the idea of a republic of letters that operated transnationally across the continent. Europe as a supranational entity in its current form really started with the formal economic Union formed when the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957.

But writers like Orwell and many others had been advocating throughout the interwar period and into World War Two for a united Europe - not a Europe of economics but one of political and culture union. This was symbolised, for them by a literary community, based around the porosity of borders and the free movement of ideas. They felt that it was this cultural (and political) community, rather than its economic equivalent, would offer the opportunity to build better and fairer nations following the war. For many writers, a culturally and politically united Europe formed a crucial part of their fiction and non-fictional work during the war years.

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Orwell comes to the conclusion in his essay 'Toward Europe Unity' (1947) that the only way to avoid nuclear annihilation or development of totalitarian super-states post-World War Two, was the establishment of a 'socialist united states of Europe' in which democratic principles could be safeguarded and upheld. Although his hope for Europe is described chiefly in terms of a group of states to practice what he terms 'democratic socialism', this is combined with an equal belief:

'that it is only in Europe, if anywhere, that democratic Socialism could be made a reality in short enough time to prevent the dropping of the atom bombs'.

This Europe is about shared values of equality and internationalism but it is also about peace. For Margaret Storm Jameson, a successful novelist from Yorkshire, this idea of Europe is also based on socialist values, in which the problems of poverty, inequality and aggressive capitalism would be alleviated. Jameson hoped that Europe's 'spiritual heritage' what she called 'the genius of Europe, its old traditions, its old habit of growth and discovery, its young energy, [would] lift us out of the shadows' of war. She, like Orwell, saw these traditions of democracy and justice as antithetical to the unrestrained capitalism which she thought had brought Europe to war. For her, a united Europe was a challenge to capitalism and a tool for social progress and political transformation.

This is all, of course, highly ironic in light of the view of many within the contemporary Left of the E.U. as an instrument, not of socialist progress but of capitalist greed. Nonetheless many writers at this time felt that Europe's great value was as a literary and cultural entity and were passionate about saving this legacy, rather like the American soldiers depicted in the George Clooney's 2015 film The Monument's Men. But these writers were not defending priceless works of art, but Europe's literary works and the writers who produced, and would go on producing, them.

For others, like E.M. Forster, books were the ultimate weapon against fascism because:

'books have troubled the Nazis most because of their tendency to comment on contemporary life, even when they were written years ago'

He viewed the freedom and continuation of the European republic of letters as crucial in defeating fascism. Forster, like many others, believed that Europe's books, its shared literary traditions, held the key to its survival.
First there was disbelief, nothing but disbelief. Huddled around a table in a steamy restaurant in a quaint Bogota neighbourhood, my Colombian wife, our friends and I literally couldn't believe our eyes. It was the 2nd of October. After a tranquil day, with no reports on anything out of the ordinary, the results of the plebiscite on the peace accord with the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began rolling in. Up during the first few minutes after the voting ended at 4pm, 'yes' was soon matched by 'no' and finally overtaken. By the slightest of margins, a majority of thirteen million Colombians - less than 40 per cent of the electorate - opposed the accord that the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the leftist guerrilla group had hammered out in four years of talks in Cuba and signed only days before in the city of Cartagena.

Then there was frustration and anger. Across the country dumfounded supporters of the peace deal broke down in tears, literally gasping for air after the blow. How on earth could that have happened? Why did nobody see this coming? What kind of a society was Colombia's to oppose a well-crafted, progressive agreement on ending armed conflict and build peace in this South American country of eternal war that had cost the lives of some 220,000 people and displaced six million more? Was the huge effort of the past four years - which Cuba, Norway and others in the international community had helped keep on track - all for nothing? Would a deeply polarised Colombia now descend again into senseless violence and bloodshed? How would any parent be able to explain to their children, including our three-year old daughter, that this historic opportunity to make Colombia a better place had been squandered?

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And then, as the country was still trembling from the political quake that had just hit, the leaders spoke. First in line was a visibly shaken Santos, who addressed the nation flanked by his stern-faced negotiators. FARC commander 'Timochenko' followed suit, transmitting a brief statement from Havana. The last to go on air was former President Alvaro Uribe, the staunchest of critics of the peace process and spearhead of the 'no' campaign.

Quite clearly, none of the three parties expected the 'yes' to lose. Just like the rest of us they appeared to be taken by utter surprise, which perhaps explains why, on all three sides, the initial statements were measured and bent on sending conciliatory messages. There was no 'plan B'. The Santos administration and FARC had put all their eggs into one basket, and now they were hard-pressed to control a mounting political crisis. Having run a protracted anti-peace campaign without proposing any convincing and real alternatives, the 'no' camp equally was caught wrong-footed.

These first official reactions helped allay the worst fears that Colombia was poised to descend into political chaos and witness a bushfire flare-up of violence. Particularly President Santos and the FARC commanders ought to be commended for living up to the situation and not losing their nerve on that ominous night. Uribe and the anti-peace camp too acted as responsibly as responsible goes, not appearing triumphantly and hell-bent on drawing political capital from their foes' defeat.

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Yet the poll and its turbulent aftermath reveal that Colombia remains a nation that is fractured and polarised to the core. And not only that, but evidently also not interested in getting its act together and building a better, less violent and more inclusive, democratic and modern society. It is more than telling that those regions of the country most hit by the armed conflict in the past, such as Narino, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Choco departments on the Pacific coast, all voted in favour of the peace accords. This contrasts starkly with the much less affected central highland departments of Cundinamarca and Antioquia, for instance, where a majority said 'no'.

The peace process also shows that the critics of closed-door elite negotiations to end armed conflicts are not entirely mistaken. Time will tell with more certainty, but the indications are that both government and insurgents, holed up in Havana for four long years, lost touch with the realities on the ground. While not sparing any effort to craft a sterling peace accord, both parties underestimated or simply did not pay sufficient attention to the mayor challenge entailed in getting the deal approved and legitimated by popular vote. Nobody knows what kinds of obstacles they would have encountered during the implementation phase had the 'yes' vote been the winning choice.

Now that Colombia is faced with a harsh new reality, it is futile to dwell on the ifs. A minority vote accompanied by massive popular abstention sent a well-designed and handled Colombian-led peacemaking effort crashing to the ground. The future of the peace process is up for grabs, the vultures are up in the air. The anti-peace camp headed by Uribe now says they are all in favour of peace, but with strings attached. What for four years has been a tango between the Santos administration and FARC is now set to turn into an unsavoury threesome.

What are Uribe's and his followers' motives, what is the strategy that lurks behind the argument of seeking inclusion in the negotiation with the insurgents? Again, peacemaking and peacebuilding theory - both conventional and critical - is not of any great help here. By virtue of a plebiscite the Colombian peace process has been broken open, with powerful political forces that hitherto had opposed any negotiation now claiming the right to participate. The big question is whether this represents a genuine broadening of the political and social base involved in finding peace or whether a beautiful but pampered peace deal is in the process of being hijacked by the jackals.

In the flux of the current events and the uncertainty that engulfs the rapidly unfolding situation, we do not know the answer. However, it is quite obvious that peace with FARC hinges on the adroitness and disposition of the Santos administration, the insurgents and the political opposition to find and agree on a new institutional framework for (re)negotiating peace that would be sufficiently robust to carry them out of the present mess. Other forces, such as Colombian civil society and victim and business organisations, would have to make their voice heard much stronger than before to make this happen. Many of their representatives did vote in favour of the peace accord, but evidently that was not enough.

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6 October was National Badger Day, but badgers have been far from celebrated recently. In an attempt to reduce bovine TB in dairy cows, a few weeks ago the government expanded its controversial badger cull to include several new areas. However, experts say that badgers are just acting as stripy scapegoats - although they may use more technical language. Evidence shows that the cull is ineffective, expensive and inhumane - so why do we continue with it? The answer is to appease and protect the interests of dairy farmers.

Reports have showed that of the small percentage of badgers that have TB, a smaller percentage still are able to transmit it to cattle. Because the culling isn't selective, this means that thousands of badgers which pose no threat to cows have been killed. This is often through painful and drawn-out methods, such as free-shooting, which often severely wound rather than kill outright. This all occurs at great cost to the taxpayer - the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that last year over 1.5M was spent on killing less than 1,500 badgers, a cost of over 1000 per badger.

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However, no one is talking about the link between the badger cull and the dairy industry. The cull has been driven by pressure on government by dairy producers based on consumer demand for their products. Public demand for dairy means that cows are protected by farmers and the government at the expense of other British wildlife, including badgers.

This comes after the news that intensive farming has an 'overwhelmingly negative' impact on nature, with more than half of UK species in decline. This is just one more example of how our modern farming practices have a negative effect on the world around us - from public health to the environment to the animals involved, and now to surrounding wildlife.

The public have generally been against the badger cull since it was launched in 2012. Protesters have been patrolling badger cull areas, releasing badgers from traps (which is entirely legal) and starting petitions. This government petition against the badger cull has reached almost 50,000 signatures. This warranted an official response, in which the government avoided the questions raised, and declared that it planned to continue with the method of killing badgers.

In its response the government painted a rosy picture of agricultural life, and stated that bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat in the UK. It left out the fact that the dairy cows at risk of bovine TB are destined to be killed at around a quarter of their natural life span, after a lifetime of being exploited for their milk. Male calves are routinely killed shortly after birth as they are deemed useless by the dairy industry. Surely our farming industry is a bigger threat to animal health, in that it profits from killing animals? This fact highlights our doublethink about animals.

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The badger cull has clearly been a political tool to keep traditionally conservative-voting farmers and farming communities onside. The government have been keen to show that they are doing something to help, that they are taking a strong stance. In reality this is manifesting in violence and cruelty rather than addressing the root cause - modern farming methods.

The only logical response is to stop supporting the dairy industry, which profits from animal suffering and is devastating our wildlife.
Today the Government approved Cuadrilla's plans to go ahead with fracking at a site in Lancashire. You will have heard the to-ing and fro-ing that has gone on between the local council, Cuadrilla, various activist groups, the government and the local people.

The Tories would have you believe that fracking was the next big thing for us in the UK. That it will bring about a much needed boost to the economy and save us from the fossil fuel sink hole that we are falling into. However, if you have been following the media storm around the decision, you will know that fracking is actually a highly controversial process.So polarising in fact, that the Labour party announced that they would ban fracking if they were to win the next general election. Not only them but the leaders of countries such as France, Germany, Bulgaria and Scotland have all stood up to the mutli-billion dollar industry and banned fracking until it has been proved that shale gas fracking won't harm the environment.

So yes, you have probably heard of how controversial a process it is. You may or may not agree with it yourself. Then you will probably move on with your lives as fracking becomes the new norm for energy in the UK and maybe listen with mild interest when you hear there has been another earth tremor somewhere up North, near where they might be fracking.

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I guess that's probably what I would be doing too except for the fact that this fracking site is not 2 miles from my home. It's happening under my nose. Miles of our countryside has been dug up and destroyed. House prices are set to fall. Fracking is going to take a massive environmental impact on my home turf. It requires a huge amount of water and materials, which have to be delivered to the site. This will cause untold disruption on our already congested roads. There is a big possibility that fracking will release carcinogenic chemicals into our groundwater whether it is through bad practice or technique. Would you want your children using and drinking water with that possibility hanging over your heads? Not to mention the fact that test fracking has already resulted in two earth tremors. That was just the testing - how much more so will that happen when they are drilling full time?

And what exactly has happened to the so called notion of democracy? There was due consideration of all of the facts by Lancashire County Council and understandably, the vote came back as a big fat NO WAY. How can we respect the process of democracy that we are supposed to pride ourselves in as a nation when the government have just waltzed in and fracked all over it?! That's not democracy Mrs May. That's dictatorship.

I expect that it's easy to state from their cushy seat of power in Westminster that it's "safe" and "well regulated" as they grease their paws with millions of dollars of Cuadrilla's dirty money. It's easy to say, we can't rely on traditional fossil fuels forever and ignore the fact that we are under utilising the un-taxable renewable energies such as solar and wind. It's easy to look the other way I'm sure.

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A weakened and divided UKIP to the right of her, a weakened and divided Labour party to the left of her, and a hole in the centre where the Lib Dems used to be. No wonder Theresa May thinks she rules the world.

But I'm afraid she is in for a nasty (her favourite word) shock. Her message to the Conservative party conference on Wednesday was audacious if you took it at face value - and deluded nonsense as soon as you started to pick it apart.

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It was politics as fantasy. A speech delivered by a prime minister who seems to believe that the question on the referendum ballot paper last June was: "Do you want Theresa May to reinvent the UK in her own image?" and that 99% of us voted Yes.

The prime minister wants us to be in no doubt: she is not Dave. If it was always possible to imagine her predecessor as a Cavalier, all periwigged, shiny-faced and tight breeches, she is a Roundhead, stern, no-nonsense, disapproving of fripperies. She would never have joined the Bullingdon Club, even if they had allowed her in. (Mind you, the snazzy clothes and shoes are a glaring contradiction, a sign perhaps of some inner conflict still raging. Is she really a crazy party girl, forced to deny her true nature by the dictates of her father, an Anglican vicar?)

Mrs May apparently thinks she now has free rein to do all the things she has wanted to do during those long years she sat at the Cabinet table and bit her lip. Reintroduce grammar schools? Try getting that through the House of Lords. Workers' representatives on corporate boards? Wait till the CBI's lobbyists have wined and dined a few Tory backbenchers.

Oh, and then there's this thing called Brexit. Not a thing at all, of course, but a process, a long, difficult, fiendishly complex process that could well take a decade, or even two decades, to complete. A process, by the way, that Mrs May, in theory, was opposed to all along, although she has now jumped on board with all the unbridled enthusiasm of a born-again religious convert.

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But watch what happens to investment plans once the truth about the UK leaving the single market kicks in - and listen out for the screams of anguish from hi tech bosses as they discover that whizz kids from overseas have started looking for opportunities anywhere but in the UK. Plus the wails from the universities who rely on fees paid by overseas students to balance the books, once word gets out that Britain isn't so keen any more on students from beyond our shores.

Some major banks are already reportedly making their plans to move out of London. According to Politico EU, suiters from Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin are already hard at work in the City, and Luxembourg has been sending industry experts, lawmakers and consultants across the Channel to offer advice on 'contingency planning.'

Perhaps you wouldn't be too distressed to see the backs of those over-bonused bankers, but you should probably bear in mind that the UK financial services industry generates between 190 billion and 205 billion of revenue annually and employs 1.1 million people, according to a report this week. The industry also pays between 60 billion and 67 billion in taxes each year. They'll leave a helluva hole in the government's coffers if they up sticks.

Mrs May clearly thinks there is mileage in being rude about the UK's corporate culture. I'd like to think that she is right, because there is a lot to be rude about. But wait till the Conservative party's donors start kicking up a fuss, and all those non-executive director Tory MPs report back from frosty boardrooms.

Worst of all, though, wait till people have had a chance to ponder what on earth she meant when she said: 'If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere.'

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Tell that to the 135,000 NHS employees in England and Wales who were born overseas. Or the tens of thousands of British school and college leavers who hope to travel or find work abroad. Or the refugees and asylum seekers who fondly believe, as my own parents did more than 75 years ago, that Britain was a country where they could find a safe haven to build a new life.

Citizens of the world are also known as cosmopolitans, people who, according to my dictionary, are 'familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures'. Both the Nazis and Stalin railed against such people (Jews in particular were called 'rootless cosmopolitans'), and we know where that led. I sincerely hope that Mrs May had no idea what deeply unpleasant undercurrents she was tapping into when she spoke those words.

On the other hand, what she said about inequality, tax dodgers and market failures could have come straight from the mouth of Ed Miliband. What she said about the role of an interventionist government in improving the lives of ordinary people would be music to the ears - if they believed that she meant what she said - of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

But what she and her mini-me home secretary Amber Rudd said about immigrants was straight from the UKIP playbook. Let us not forget who was home secretary when those vile 'Go home' billboard vans took to the streets three years ago. It was not exactly Mrs May's finest hour. Fortunately, Ms Rudd is already frantically rowing back from her nasty (it's that word again) suggestion that companies should be shamed into disclosing how many foreign workers they employ. But the message was clear enough: foreigners not wanted. Go home.

Are you a Labour voter unhappy with Jeremy Corbyn? Climb aboard Theresa's train: she is the champion of the working class. Or are you a UKIP supporter, in despair as your party's MEPs punch each other's lights out? Don't worry, Theresa knows how you feel: she's there for you.

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Ezra Bailey via Getty Images

When I think back to key moments in my life, I was fortunate enough to have supportive mentors who helped provide me with guidance, ideas and confidence, to achieve my goals at different points in time. I think back to a teacher at my school who recognised my interest in international relations and helped me consider a study abroad programme. I also think of the encouragement from my boss during my first job after college to pursue a part-time graduate degree. As recent as five years ago, it was dinner with a mentor who suggested I start my own business - an idea that hadn't even crossed my mind prior to her suggesting it.

I am very grateful for the mentorship I've received. The guidance and support of these important people helped (and to this day continue to help) shape my path. Mentors are invaluable to provide a sounding board during times of important decisions. They provided tough love when I need an extra push, an encouraging voice during times of failure and a way to stay grounded during times of success. I believe having trusted and supportive mentors are pivotal for everyone through all stages of their life. Mentoring fills a gap that you may not be receiving from friends, family, teachers or colleagues. I have also found being a mentor myself has been extremely fulfilling and fun. I am constantly learning from the people who I mentor, whether it was through the experience of mentoring a young teacher who was working in one of the highest poverty districts in the country as she was in the process of figuring out her own career transition, to a college student who decided to launch her own social enterprise. These relationships have helped to enrich my life and I love being able to help them work through challenges. I'm motivated by their passion and extremely committed to their success.

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It was eye opening to learn that two-thirds of girls in the UK in a recent study said that they had never met a professional in the creative industry before. This, I think highlights that the majority of young people don't have the opportunity to observe people with successful careers, let-alone receive advice from them. I strongly believe that companies have a role to play in investing in future leaders. This can take on many forms, from opening their doors to young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to step foot in an office, to providing young people from disadvantaged communities with more intensive one-on-one mentoring programmes. By providing students the exposure to an industry, as well as the interaction with experienced adults who can be role models, it helps break down barriers and shows them that their goals may be in reach. It also highlights that there are people who want to see them succeed and are here to help.

I am thrilled that the AOL Charitable Foundation is continuing it's global expansion by funding a new programme designed to improve the lives of women and girls across the UK through mentoring with The Girls' Network. We believe that providing girls with mentorship programmes can be instrumental in shaping their future. Not only have I have seen what a big impact this has had on my own life, but I have seen the transformative impact that mentoring programmes can have on young girls first hand through our work in the United States. There is no question that these programmes have provided girls with increased levels of self-confidence, helping open their eyes to the myriad of career opportunities that are available. From a survey conducted by one of our partners Step Up, in 2015 of girls who took part in our group mentoring model, 90% reported an increase in their self confidence.

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There is a lot of impact that can be made and the results can be life-changing for both the mentees as well as the mentors.
As my youngest daughter approaches her eighth week on this earth and I feel as if the waves of hormonal emotions are levelling out, I've been enjoying taking the time to reflect on all that Aluna Grace's birth brought earth-side. It's really quite amazing when I think about it....Ooh, there go the tear ducts...again....

As a hypnobirthing practitioner and a supporter of literally thousands of women through my hypnobirthing program The Calm Birth School, it's fair to say that when it comes to celebrating women and our bodies in all of their greatness and glory, it's kind of my thing.

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But when it comes to myself and celebrating the journey my body takes during pregnancy I've always been the first to admit I'd give birth over 9 months (come on it's really 10) of pregnancy every day of the week. So when my husband and I found out we were pregnant for our third and our last time, I set the intention to reverse my pregnancy apathy. I did pretty well, until I didn't...but even with my third trimester wobble, I still did very well...until I didn't.

When it comes to pregnancy my body loves roasting my buns.

Seriously. I'm always pregnant for at least 41.5 weeks. My first child I was 11 days over my guess date, my second 13 and Aluna, well she didn't arrive until 15 days after the doctors had told me she'd be cooked. I would say the waiting this time was as hellish as it had been for the last two, but this time I had a secret weapon in my back pocket. Virginia Howes. Independent Midwife from the Kent Midwifery Practice.

My quest

In my quest to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy, I decided early on I wanted to use an independent midwife. We were moving home when I was around 7 months and knowing what I know about the benefits of continuity of care, I knew that having private care would make my whole experience so much easier and more conducive for me having my third home birth.

My husband took a lot of convincing that it was a good use of money, but after the event has said so many times how amazing he thought the care we received as a family had been. I think that was one of the most pleasant surprises about making this choice, it felt like a family thing. It wasn't just about me, but Virginia also getting to know our kids and my husband too.

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Right throughout my antenatal period everything felt super relaxed, without any rushing. Which I loved. I don't think I had an appointment that was less than an hour in length and in addition to my birth preferences, I felt Virginia got to know me and equally important, I got to know her.

What was so reassuring, from day 1 was it was really, really clear how much she shared my belief in the power of the pregnant and labouring woman and of course as I saw in later days, her belief in me.

As the other two babies had been so 'late' there wasn't any part of me that expected this baby to arrive on its due date. So when that came and went I was cool with it. Despite being huge and experiencing serious Braxton Hicks, I knew this baby would arrive when it was ready (at the beginning).

Then the comments & suggestions started

I started getting "the comments" quite early on because I was so big, but nothing really hit home until about Day 8 or 9, when I realized that I didn't want to do the school run anymore. I think the comment that riled me was 'are they just going to leave you like that?'

I had also started getting asked what I was going to do from not only strangers on the school run, but subtly from my peers too. My family, thank goodness knew better than to ask anything so irritating...

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What was one of my constant positives during this time, as I was also fortunate enough to be working with Lauren Derrett, a doula from The Whole 9 Months who was also keeping me on track, was Virigina's super relaxed and unwavering knowing that everything was absolutely fine. As long as I could feel my baby moving around and the heart beat was strong, she was completely happy.

This was in stark contrast to the first two times I went over my due date. Where at Day 7 people were talking about inductions, monitoring and sweeps. Which was a complete head wreck. I think also knowing that I didn't need to worry about having a midwife available for me when I did finally go into labour was a great concern to have taken off of my plate.

While I resisted the temptation to do ALL of the things when it came to naturally trying to induce my birth. It didn't stop me feeling a huge amount of pressure even from some of my peers as I hit days 11, 12 and 13.

Recommendations to get myself onto Spinning Babies to do inversions, getting out going on a brisk walk, requests to analyse why I felt it was necessary to hold on to my baby. All of it coming from a good place, but all of it quietly undermining my belief that we don't need to 'help' nature along in most cases (unless we want to). When there are no signs to indicate that a helping hand is necessary.

Here's the truth

Your body knows what to do.

Nature does get it right most of the time.

You're not doing anything wrong if your baby is late.

Your baby is not doing anything wrong if they're feeling comfy.

My body just likes bambinos well cooked. And even on day 14 when I had had enough and was asking for a sweep (which I eventually decided against) Virginia was there constantly reminding me that my body knew what to do. She didn't doubt me even once.

She believed in me, my body and my baby.

There was no fear. And that belief is contagious.

So of course when it came to giving birth there's no surprise that it was that energy of belief that filled my room, was transported via osmosis to myself, my baby, my husband and even the photographer.

Photo credit: www.treeoflifedoulaphotography.com/

Strength, power and belief.

There's so much more I could say, but in short would I recommend working with an independent midwife? Absolutely. When the going got tough and I was tired and beginning to doubt the day was even going to come, Virigina's belief in me reminded me of what I already knew. That I could do it.

And this, in birth, is priceless.

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This post has been written by Hedda Schupak, an editor, analyst, and communications director of the Upper Merion Area Democratic Committee, Upper Merion Township, PA.

This past Monday and Tuesday marked the observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. At the temple I attend, the president of the congregation told the story of her own path to that congregation--a journey that began in Europe as the political forces were brewing that would eventually become the Holocaust.

"My parents somehow read the tea leaves, and were able to escape into the world of the resistance fighters," she said. Unlike many of her extended family, her parents did survive the Holocaust and immigrated to the United States. Here, her father, worried that his children might someday face the same terrors he did, chose to baptize and raise them as Christians, fearing for their safety as Jews. For years, the family's Jewish origins remained a secret, and the woman grew up active in church life but always with a strange sense that something was missing.

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When she learned about her family's Jewish roots, her own personal journey led her back to Judaism and, eventually, to the congregation she was now addressing. It struck a particular chord with me.

Although I am not a Holocaust survivor, nor the child of one, the rhetoric of Donald Trump scares me. It sounds frighteningly reminiscent of the early days of Adolf Hitler. While Trump hasn't turned his crosshairs on us Jews, if we mentally substitute the word "Jews" for the words "Muslims" or "Mexicans" in Trump's rhetoric, can we still be comfortable with what he says?



I'm not. The Holocaust didn't start with gas chambers and concentration camps. It started with populist anger looking for a scapegoat. Once one step is taken in that direction, the next becomes easier, and the next after that, easier still, until the end result is something like the Holocaust. And every Jew since then has prayed, "never again."

The time has come to act on that prayer. While the fundamental shift from a labor-based economy to an information-based economy in the United States has left many people struggling and with plenty to be angry about, blaming one or another group for all that ails has never been the solution. It wasn't in Germany, and it isn't here.

The tea leaves foretell a very chilling outcome if such scapegoating isn't stopped. Fortunately we still have the opportunity to stop it and ensure "never again." Just because it isn't happening to us this time (yet) doesn't mean we can afford to turn a blind eye to it and become a complicit part of it, just like the gentiles of Europe who turned a blind eye to the plight of their Jewish neighbors.

Even apart from the Trump rhetoric, everything the alt-right wing of the GOP stands for runs counter to the values and teachings of Judaism. Jewish liturgy exhorts us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and open our doors and hearts to the stranger. On the High Holidays, we pray for forgiveness for turning a blind eye to those in need, for closing our hearts and our minds to the cries of others' pain, for doing unto others what we would not want done to ourselves, for perpetrating xenophobia, or becoming zealots for bad causes. Furthermore, repentance is only acceptable when we truly try to change our ways and do better. These same precepts are also central values in Christianity and Islam, and in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and other non-Abrahamic faiths.

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Many Jews believe the far-right GOP candidates are the most supportive of Israel. But don't confuse geopolitical support for Israel with policies that are good for Jews in the United States. As our rabbi said in his sermon on Rosh Hashanah, you cannot help others if you don't first keep yourself safe and healthy.

It is incumbent upon us as Jews to do everything in our power to make sure a demagogue like Donald Trump does not rise to power. It also is incumbent upon us to have compassion for those less fortunate, to give them a hand up and help them better their lives, not to push them off the ladder or kick them again when they're down.



And it is incumbent upon us to read the tea leaves and see that yes, something akin to the Holocaust could happen here if we don't do our part to stop it.

Personally, I am voting for Hillary Clinton. She isn't perfect--but neither are we. She has made some big mistakes--and so have we. She has ticked a lot of people off--so have we. But if we can be forgiven for our faults, we can forgive her for whatever we perceive her faults to be. She may not be left enough for die-hard Bernie fans, nor right enough for staunch fiscal conservatives, but I believe she is the candidate whose values are most closely aligned with Jewish values. While Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are honorable individuals, the stark reality is that neither one has a chance to win this election, only to divert critical votes that can help ensure that Donald Trump never does.
Ever since eBay came into the picture, the potential for online service marketplaces has existed. However, it really took a good 10 years before entrepreneurs began to maximize this opportunity. But now that the infrastructure is in place and customers are warming up to the idea of hiring and paying for goods via third party websites, savvy entrepreneurs and their companies are taking full advantage.

The Rise of Online Service Marketplaces

The service industries account for 68% of the United States GDP and four out of five jobs, but until now e-commerce growth has been dominated by product sales from the likes of Amazon, eBay, Staples, Wal-Mart and Best Buy, Glenn Laumeister, CEO of a freelance marketplace, wrote back in 2014 when the industry first began to experience massive amounts of growth. That is changing fast as just in the last few years the growth of new services marketplaces have exploded and provide us a glimpse of what is possible in the future.

Whether youre an entrepreneur looking to join the trend or a customer who simply enjoys the convenience of using these services, the rise of online marketplaces is exciting. But why are they so successful and what does this mean for the economy?

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Ultimately, it comes down to speed and convenience. The internet is simply the medium through which speed and convenience are maximized. See, online service marketplaces are valuable because they eliminate the biggest points of friction customers have when hiring for services: researching, vetting, contracting, and transacting with the company. With an online marketplace, all of this happens in one fell swoop.

Then, there are the cost advantages. When a professional is able to offer services through an online marketplace, theres less of a need for a physical location and expensive marketing and advertising strategies. This reduces operational expenses, which is reflected in the end price consumers pay.

How Three Online Marketplaces are Succeeding

The e-commerce business of selling products has become a ruthless game of razor thin margins requiring massive scale to compete with Amazon, eBay, and the big box retailers on price, selection and speed of delivery, Laumeister notes. However with so much of the economy based around services where the vast majority of the transactions are still taking place offline, the opportunities for building new billion dollar plus services marketplaces represent an exciting growth area in e-commerce.

A number of entrepreneurs and businesses have recognized this opportunity and leveraged it for their benefit. Lets take a look at three examples to give you a firsthand look at whats happening:

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Indian-based UrbanClap is one of the more exciting and promising online service marketplaces on the internet. It currently offers a number of services in a variety of categories  including health and wellness, repairs and maintenance, weddings and events, academic tutoring, and business  and has proudly served more than 1.2 million customers to date. But what really stands out about UrbanClap is how it benefits both customers and service providers.

Customers get convenient access to cost-effective services that deliver real value. Every service professional is required to go through a rigorous verification process and quality control measures to be eligible to serve customers on the site. So, not only do customers get access to services that otherwise would be difficult to find, but they can rest assured the work will be done well.

The professionals benefit as well. UrbanClap seems to create a culture of micro-entrepreneurship among verified professionals. From salon specialists to freelance developers, the site gives everyone a marketplace to expand their business. The potential for high earnings is also there. The site has salon professionals making as much as 120,000 INR ($1800 USD) a month in India, where the typical salary is just 10,000-15,000 INR ($150-$220 USD) per month.

UrbanClap is the perfect example of how these online marketplaces dont just benefit customers or businesses. They can benefit both parties and deliver real value across the board.

One of the most popular online marketplaces is Etsy. Its essentially an ecommerce website that allows artists to sell handmade products to buyers from around the world. Much like UrbanClap, it benefits both buyers and sellers.

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On one side Etsy helps sellers sell their handmade crafts and earn a living while on the other side it helps buyers own one of a kind products, digital marketing expert Ajay Deep explains. This fact has led to the massive growth of Etsy. It started as a simple website in year 2005 and is now listed as a public company with over $360 Million of total funding.

The thing that sets Etsy apart is that it only lists unique products that are handmade. Etsy also allows anyone to set up a shop, assuming they follow the guidelines and rules. This low barrier to entry creates a variety of product offerings. Though some worry that it could eventually water down quality, Etsy isnt worried about it. When customers search for products, they are ranked by popularity and reviews. Thus, low-quality vendors dont get much visibility.

Deep believes that the success of Etsys business model is rooted in the fact that, unlike Amazon and eBay, Etsy started (and stuck with) a very narrow domain. While they could technically go after whichever categories they want at this point, Etsy has stuck by its focus on art and handmade gifts. This has led to a strong identity and incredible brand loyalty.

The rise in online learning, coupled with the viability of the online service marketplace, is what led to the concept behind TakeLessons. With TakeLessons, customers can search for local instructors across a broad variety of categories. Need a dance teacher in San Francisco? There are plenty of choices. Want your child to get some SAT test prep in Dallas? Youre in luck  there are instructors standing by.

But its not just local lessons. With TakeLessons, a customer can actually find their dream instructor and meet with them via a webcam. This opens up a world of opportunity for students and gives instructors the chance to expand their footprint beyond the city in which theyre located.

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Another benefit of TakeLessons is that everything from scheduling and communication to bills and payments happens within the online student account. This safeguards both parties and allows for the emphasis to be placed on teaching and learning.

The TakeLessons business model is one that many companies have tried, but few have been successful. What sets TakeLessons apart is their size and versatility. There are thousands of instructors in hundreds of locations offering dozens of learning opportunities.

How Will You Tap Into the Changing Marketplace?

From an entrepreneurial standpoint, how will you tap into this shifting marketplace thats now being controlled by forward-thinking online marketplaces like UrbanClap, Etsy, and TakeLessons?

Dont assume that its as easy as launching a marketplace and reaping the rewards. It takes a lot of careful strategizing and a detailed understanding of who your customers are to make it work.
From stone tablets to electronic tablets, the evolution of technology and rise of educational apps have dramatically changed how we access information across multiple fields, from health to religion and much more.

While convenience and accessibility are clear advantages of educational apps and technology-enabled learning, are these digital environments actually effective for learning?

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That is the million-dollar question on the lips of many skeptics. To answer this question, we need to consider a few factors.

Are we jumping to conclusions when it comes to screen learning?

Theres a general belief spread by physical book advocates that screens are harder to read, makes us learn slower, and leads to less information retention. Are screen technologies really that inferior to paper?

The researchers at Karolinska Institutet University Library dont believe so. They suggest that habits and attitudes, rather than measurable cognitive effort during reading, largely influence people who are more familiar with books to prefer print. This means ones familiarity with technology, rather than the technology itself, impacts learning effectiveness.

Bottom line is, nativity matters.

In the same way simplified keyboard layouts failed to go mainstream because of QWERTY familiarity, native book readers will find it cumbersome to switch to digital formats -- even if digital formats prove to be better.

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This also indicates that the preference for digital learning could increase with the emerging new generation of native digital readers who grew up alongside digital formats.

What about the effectiveness of a digital learning environment?

Alongside educational apps, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have also been on the rise and has been forecasted to disrupt the global education landscape in the next 10 years.

Are digital classrooms effective for learning though, or are physical classroom interactions better?

We can gather some insights from Georgia Tech, who is spearheading a change in higher education by offering its prestigious masters in computer science completely online. The program first rolled out in 2014, and is already proving that it is not inferior to its highly selective residential program counterpart.

Charles Isbell, a senior associate dean at the College of Computing who helped lead the effort at Georgia Tech, noted that he was interacting more with his online students.

I never see [my residential] students at my office hours, Isbell explains, A few linger after class to ask scheduling questions, but thats about it.

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In contrast, the online students constantly interact on a website set up for discussion. I spend more time helping them with assignments online than I ever do on campus. The experience for the students and for me is much richer online, continues Isbell.

This suggests that digital learning environments and educational apps, because of the flexibility to access it at ones convenience, could become more engaging and effective if it provides an enriching learning environment through the digital space, by integrating elements such as social connection, multisensory learning, and gamification.

Conclusion

Learning through educational apps and digital environments can offer many more advantages than traditional learning styles, but personal factors such as a students familiarity with technology can have an impact upon learning preferences and effectiveness.
America's electoral college -- where voters elect candidates (rather than parties) who receive a plurality of votes -- makes it difficult to elect third-party candidates. Due to the limitations of the U.S. system, third-party presidential candidates are largely seen as a waste of Americans' individual voting power. At the same time, the confines of our two-party system is a source of frustration for many Americans who desire alternatives to Democratic and Republican candidates.

It looks unlikely that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein's third-party campaigns will carry weight in the 2016 presidential election. Nonetheless, Americans' dissatisfaction with the two-party system and the manner in which candidates get elected in the U.S. will continue to have currency in the years to come. Here's a brief outline of American presidential candidates who eschewed the Republican and Democratic Parties and made waves by running on third-party tickets.

1912 - Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive 'Bull Moose' Party)





Two years after finishing his second term as U.S. President, Teddy Roosevelt announced he would run for President again in 1911. Roosevelt's best-laid plans went astray, however, when William Howard Taft secured the Republican nomination. Determined to enter the race, Roosevelt formed the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party. Although he eventually lost the election to Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt's third-party campaign siphoned a number of his liberal supporters away from the Republican Party. Some historians contend that this had the unintended effect of making the GOP more conservative in the years that followed.

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1948 - Strom Thurmond (States' Rights Party)





Thurmond's third-party presidential bid in 1948 helped his fledgling political career gain traction. As a "Dixiecrat" candidate who opposed racial integration and championed states' rights, Thurmond's third-party run launched his career in the U.S. Senate. He represented the state of South Carolina for nearly 50 years.

1968 - George Wallace (American Independent Party)





Having famously declared "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever," Alabama Senator George Wallace ran for president on the American Independent Party ticket during the tumultuous 1968 election. Wallace ran on a platform that vehemently opposed both desegregation and American withdrawal from the Vietnam War.

1992 - H. Ross Perot (Independent Party)





Having bankrolled his own bid for the White House, Ross Perot, an Independent Party candidate and wealthy billionaire from Texas, wooed many American voters with his promise to balance the federal budget and end the government's deficit spending. Perot became one of the most successful third party candidates in American history after he won 18.6 percent of the popular vote.

2000 - Ralph Nader (Green Party)





Many Americans would not be alive today were it not for Unsafe at Any Speed, Ralph Nader's 1965 journalistic expose on seat belts and automobile safety. Although some argue that Nader ought to be remembered for his public service record, more Americans know Nader within the context of the role he played in the 2000 presidential election. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader drew ire of Democrats across America after his Green Party ticket in Florida split the state's democratic vote and elevated George W. Bush into the presidency.

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1988, 2008, 2012 - Ron Paul (Libertarian Party)




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Co-author Mike Walker, Project Director Antarctic Ocean Alliance

For many of us Antarctic is out of sight and out of mind. We know even less about the waters surrounding it, the wild Southern Ocean. Our ignorance may aid its conservation, as what goes unseen goes, relatively, unharmed. However, this might also means we have not noticed the repeated failure of decision-makers to honour their commitment to protect this unique wilderness.

Exactly 25 years ago on October 4, 1991, countries signed the Madrid Protocol to protect Antarctica's environment. The agreement is widely regarded as one of the most successful examples of diplomacy in modern history and has ensured that Antarctica remains "a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science". And while the Protocol applies to the waters surrounding the continent it does not apply to fishing activities. Furthermore, before any marine protected area can be created in the Southern Ocean under the terms of the Protocol, it must secure the approval of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR. Of course, most of the CCAMLR members are parties to the Protocol. In parallel, for the past ten years CCAMLR members have been discussing the adoption of Marine Protected Areas, MPAs, in the Southern Ocean. And still marine protection is not as strong as it should be.

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So the prize is to motivate these countries, parties to the Madrid Protocol and members of CCAMLR, to overcome their split personalities and realise protection of the Southern Ocean through the designation of MPAs, and resist the pressure to expand fishing activities. In essence, why protect the frozen land if not also the surrounding ocean upon which so many creatures rely e.g. Adelie penguins and orcas? New Zealand and the United States have proposed to do exactly that by designating a large MPA in the Ross Sea, one of several proposals.

The Ross Sea is a 3.6 million square kilometre block of ocean off the coast of Antarctica. It teems with life including krill, a unique species of orca, Weddell seals and penguins. Krill is a shrimp-like invertebrate that acts as a linchpin for the entire Antarctic ecosystem. This marine richness, coupled with the Ross Sea's near pristine state, makes it a virtual living laboratory. It provides important reference points for scientists working to predict how climate change will affect ecosystems around the world. However, the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean are under pressure from fishing operators seeking valuable toothfish and krill.

Like Antarctica, the process which will decide the fate of the Southern Ocean is unknown. A decision to protect the Ross Sea will be made behind closed doors in the course of two weeks of negotiations by diplomats from 25 CCAMLR members (24 countries, and the EU) beginning on October 17 in Hobart, Tasmania. Of these 25 members, only one - Russia - opposed designation of a Ross Sea marine protected area in 2015. So the country whose explorer, Fabian von Bellinghausen discovered Antarctica, and which was instrumental in the development of the Antarctic Treaty, now has the opportunity to make a historic move in the protection of the Southern Ocean. We cannot all influence Russia, but we can pressure other governments to make every effort with to safeguard Antarctica's waters.

The 25th anniversary of the Madrid Protocol is a timely reminder that world leaders can again show courage in protecting Antarctica and its Southern Ocean. It might be far away but we have a responsibility to hold our leaders to account for the decisions made in Hobart.

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"The most remarkable finding really is that teaching strategies clearly trump nationality and social background; many of our observations hold over more than 60 countries." -- Andreas Schleicher

What can we learn from the teaching and learning practices of mathematics -- school to school and country to country?

In 2012, PISA studied students' performance in mathematics, and additionally, collected data from students and school principals in 70 countries about how teachers teach mathematics. The goal was to explore what teaching and learning strategies related to higher student achievement by way of answering these 10 questions:

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How much should I direct student learning in my mathematics classes? Are some mathematics teaching methods more effective than others? As a mathematics teacher, how important is the relationship I have with my students? What do we know about memorization and learning mathematics? Can I help my students learn how to learn mathematics? Should I encourage students to use their creativity in mathematics? Do students' backgrounds influence how they learn mathematics? Should my teaching emphasize mathematical concepts or how those concepts are applied in the real world? Should I be concerned about my students' attitudes towards mathematics? What can teachers learn from PISA?

Joining us in The Global Search for Education to discuss Ten Questions for Mathematics Teachers... and How PISA Can Help Answer Them is Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the OECD Secretary-General.



"Students who cannot extrapolate from what they know and apply their knowledge in novel situations have only accumulated dead knowledge that won't be particularly useful for them." - Andreas Schleicher

Andreas, what were your key findings and what surprised you the most about this study?

The most remarkable finding really is that teaching strategies clearly trump nationality and social background; many of our observations hold over more than 60 countries. The data also showed that where teachers have confidence in their own skills and abilities they are more likely to innovate in the classroom. Now the key question is how we boost teacher self-efficacy. A high degree of professional autonomy in a collaborative culture seems to be key to this.



What elements of the teaching practices that you studied have the greatest impact on students' math capabilities?

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While strategies such as teacher-directed and student-oriented teaching strategies are both useful, it appears that teacher-directed strategies are more beneficial for students to more successfully solve simpler problems. Yet, as the problems become more difficult, students with more exposure to direct instruction no longer have a better chance of success. That means teachers need to master a range of approaches to serve diverse student needs well. Cognitive-activation strategies, while more difficult for teachers to implement, also appears to have a positive relationship with student performance, no matter how difficult the mathematics problem. It appears that these methods are associated with better performance in mathematics, perhaps because they require students to be more creative and proactive in their learning. They may be presented with problems for which there is no obvious solution or they may have to explain how they arrived at the answer.

We found that a reliance on memorization was useful for solving simpler problems but actually hindered success on more difficult problems. Control strategies were always helpful but less so for more difficult problems. Elaboration strategies were particularly associated with a greater chance of solving more difficult problems. To attain peak performance in mathematics, we recommend that teachers consider the following: help students go beyond root memorization (such as simply learn something by heart) and to be both more strategic and responsible in their learning and to try to see the links between what they learn, what they already know, and what new problems they are faced with in class, in their homework, and on tests. (Of course, this may come naturally as students become more confident and more capable in mathematics over time.)



"The challenges and complexities brought by 21st century classrooms make it impossible for teachers just to rely on their initial training. Thus, life-long learning should be a must on the teachers' career path." -- Andreas Schleicher

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How important is the connection between teaching mathematics principles and applying the knowledge to other subject areas and to real world problems?

These are two sides of the same coin. Students who cannot extrapolate from what they know and apply their knowledge in novel situations have only accumulated dead knowledge that won't be particularly useful for them. But students who do not have a deep conceptual understanding of math, and who cannot think like a mathematician, won't be good at any math. The use of elaboration strategies seem particularly helpful in solving more complicated problems so teachers should help students see the connections between various mathematics topics (e.g. algebra, trigonometry, probability and statistics) and develop analogies to real-life problems and concepts learned in other subject areas. This also helps foster students' interest in mathematics as it is easier to stay motivated with a subject when its usefulness is apparent.

However, it is also important not to lose sight of teaching pure mathematics - functions, equations, conic surfaces, etc. There is a clear link between exposure to pure mathematics and performance in mathematics generally - this link is stronger than it is for applied mathematics. It is certainly possible to expose students to both pure and applied mathematics and there is actually a slight positive correlation between the two: the more pure mathematics one sees at school, the more applied mathematics one is also likely to see. (Perhaps this is simply due to greater class hours in some countries.) One country that sticks out particularly well for this is Korea.



What self-assessment do you recommend to school leadership to determine the effectiveness of math teaching in their schools?

That question really goes beyond the scope of this report. But we have just brought out a "PISA-based Test for Schools" that individual schools can use to see their own strengths and weaknesses in light of what other schools in their country or in other countries achieve.

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"PISA finds that socio-economically disadvantaged students are often less frequently exposed to both pure and applied mathematics than their more advantaged peers. This might be because they are in different education tracks, or have been placed in classes or groups in classes where they are not exposed to more challenging mathematics." -- Andreas Schleicher

What improvement programs do you recommend to address the gaps in teaching effectiveness? How do teachers find the time to secure this need for professional development?

A key component to promote teaching effectiveness is training, and particularly, professional development. The challenges and complexities brought by 21st century classrooms make it impossible for teachers just to rely on their initial training. Thus, life-long learning should be a must on the teachers' career path.

What countries generally have developed and deployed the best practice models, in terms of PISA results and in your qualitative appraisal of their practices?

Switzerland, Estonia, and Macao-China are a few interesting examples. Students in these systems use a variety of learning strategies - especially control and elaboration strategies. Our data shows that different strategies have different results depending on the complexity or type of problem. Consequently, the more strategies that a student can apply will increase the likelihood of success in solving a wider range and difficulty of problems.

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What key factors have you identified that are central to PISA math performance that are separate from teaching approaches, such as cultural habits and socio-economic disadvantages? What are the keys to addressing these issues and how can teachers be trained to handle them?

PISA finds that socio-economically disadvantaged students are often less frequently exposed to both pure and applied mathematics than the more advantaged peers. This might be because they are in different education tracks, or have been placed in classes or groups in classes where they are not exposed to more challenging mathematics. But PISA also finds that exposure to complex mathematics concepts and tasks is related to higher performance in PISA among all students, including disadvantaged students; and that providing additional support to struggling students is strongly related to students' positive self-beliefs. Teachers can help struggling students acquire the numerical and spatial skills they may not have developed before through targeted tutoring - without denying these students exposure to a more demanding curriculum. More frequent use of problem solving as a method of teaching mathematics can also help weaker students to connect the abstract or conceptual aspects of mathematics with real life, and make mathematics lessons more engaging for all students.

(Pictures are courtesy of CMRubinWorld)



C. M. Rubin and Andreas Schleicher

Join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. MadhavChavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. EijaKauppinen (Finland), State Secretary TapioKosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Geoff Masters (Australia), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Professor Manabu Sato (Japan), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (LyceeFrancais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page
By Cambell Klose and Charlie Wood, 350.org Australia



Renewable energy has received a hammering from many of our conservative politicians and media over the past week. This comes after an unprecedented attack by the Prime Minister on the South Australian government, still reeling from a "once in 50 year" destructive storm.

Right wing commentators have consistently blamed the resulting power blackout on the State's heavy reliance on renewable energy, despite advice from energy experts and a preliminary report stating that the real cause of the blackout was transmission failure. But, hey, never let facts get in the way of a good story, right?

At first glance this might just seem like a Federal Liberal Government trying to wedge and embarrass a state Labor government. This alone would be in poor taste, given the millions of people suffering without power after this extreme weather event. But there is more at stake than just scoring cheap political points.

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Despite a minor uptick in coal prices, the industry remains in terminal decline. So, with its back against the wall, the coal lobby is taking every opportunity to hit its main competitor: cheap, clean renewable energy. Rather shockingly, part of the strategy seems to involve recruiting members of the Federal Government to help in these attacks.

Today the Federal and State energy ministers are meeting in Melbourne to seek a unified position on Australia's energy mix. However, listening to the rhetoric in the lead up to the meeting, it looks like it might be more of an excuse for Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg to pressure the states into less ambitious climate policies with lower renewable energy targets.

Despite signing the Paris Agreement to address climate change almost a year ago, (which would see Australia cut its greenhouse gas emissions to keep warming below 2 degrees) the Federal Government has taken absolutely no steps toward meeting this goal.

We remain one of the only developed countries in the world without an effective climate policy, and last year our carbon emissions began increasing rather than decreasing after the Coalition axed the carbon price.

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With a vacuum of Federal leadership, many Australian states have stepped up. This includes South Australia, which is aiming to get 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2025; Victoria, which is aiming for 40 percent generation by 2025; Queensland which committed to 50 percent by 2030 through the last state election; and the ACT, which is aiming for an impressive 100% percent by 2020.

As electricity generation makes up about one third of Australia's total emissions, this means much of Australia's heavy lifting on climate to the states, while a bellicose Federal Government, the recipient of millions in donations from the fossil fuel industry, does anything it can to stymie climate action.

The reason this is such dangerous politicking from the Federal Government is that it comes at a time when the effects of climate change are being felt across the world: 2016 is on track to be the hottest year on record, beating the previous record holders of 2015 and 2014. Australia has been hit by a number of freak 'once in a lifetime storms' this year alone - including the one that caused the South Australian blackout. The Great Barrier Reef is still reeling from its worst bleaching in memory while the south is experiencing record floods, the rest is locked in drought. Make no mistake, climate change is taking its toll right now and this is only the beginning.

This anti-renewables campaign comes at a time when a number of state governments are seeking re-election. The Federal Government could be trying to bully the states into complying with its woefully inadequate energy and climate policies or fear the wrath of the conservative commentariat and Federal ministers. This is how the Victorian, Queensland and South Australian governments see it.

But, as our Energy and Climate Change Minister looks back in time for solutions to the problem of energy in a changing world, some business leaders are proposing ideas. As our elected leaders were busy crying wolf and painting renewables as the villain of the picture, CEO of Power company AGL, Andrew Vesey, reminded us that true energy security comes from a distributed energy grid, possible only through renewable energy and local battery storage.

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Despite AGL's currently being the title holder as Australia's biggest carbon emitter, Vesey is backing a number of renewable energy projects and has made the point that "the policies and the practices and the mental models that we have don't seem to fit the current reality".

And herein lies the problem. The transition to clean forms of energy is inevitable. The world agreed in Paris last year that the era of fossil fuels must end, yet our elected leaders are acting as though business as usual is good enough. It's not.

Australia's energy grid is ageing and was designed to accommodate a 19th century form of energy production and supply. Rather than bashing renewables, blaming the states and kicking the can down the road for future governments to deal with, Josh Frydenberg, Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition must work with the States to create a comprehensive and ambitious renewable energy target that will see a smooth transition to clean energy.

It can be done. Countries like Denmark and Portugal, as well as states like California in the US, have similar levels of renewable energy as South Australia and have retained a stable grid. The problem here is not renewables. The problem is a lack of imagination and willingness to bring Australia into the 21st century.

Clean, safe sources of power like wind and solar are not the villains of this story. Frydenberg and Turnbull's renewable energy bashing is a dead-end game that will see Australia alienated from the rest of the world, left with a 20th century energy grid and missing out on the spoils of the new, innovation economy Turnbull touted so loudly when he became Prime Minister.

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Deliver me from your cold phlegmatic preachers, politicians, friends, lovers and husbands.

Abigail Adams, Letter to John Adams

Alabama is back with us. Its arrival preceded by just one day the news that thanks to Donald Trump's sophistication, he had probably paid no taxes for many years. As Rudolph Giuliani explained it, "The man's a genius. He knows how to operate the tax code for the people that he's serving." The people he is serving do not include the people who were serving Mr. Trump as workers in his construction projects whom he repeatedly stiffed by not paying them what they were owed, and who, thanks to Mr. Trump's clever use of the bankruptcy laws, were left holding an empty bag of compensation while Mr. Trump was left holding a bag full of tax benefits. But never mind all that. Let's go back to Alabama where it's two for three and that's just as exciting as what's happening in the presidential campaign.

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Readers who follow events in Alabama will recall that all three of what might be called its "top dogs," were in hot water because of their conduct as elected officials. Two of them have now been happily dispatched (although one of them intends to appeal) and the third is in a holding pattern as lawyers quibble over how to proceed. Of the three, perhaps the most interesting is Roy Moore, the now-suspended Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Moore is the most interesting because he is probably the only Chief Justice in Alabama who has been a repeat customer of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. Each of his appearance before that body has resulted in his not being permitted to continue to serve as Chief Justice although the manner in which that result was achieved differed in the two cases. When he became the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court the first time, Chief Justice Moore caused a 5,280-pound granite monument to the Ten Commandments to be installed in the central rotunda of the state judicial building. When the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him to have it removed, he refused. As a result, instead of the monument being removed from the rotunda, Justice Moore was removed from the bench by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary.

In 2012 Mr. Moore was re-elected as Chief Justice and, in 2016, the Court of the Judiciary suspended him. On this occasion he was suspended for ordering lower court judges in Alabama to ignore federal court rulings permitting same-sex marriages, and for instructing probate judges to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. Using the sort of nicety that only lawyers can appreciate, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary did not remove Justice Moore from office following his second appearance since removal required a unanimous vote of the members of the Court and the members of the Court were not unanimous in voting for his removal. Instead, it suspended him without pay until his term ends in 2019. (Alabamans needn't fear another resurrection of the Chief. In 2019 he will be too old to run again.)

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Meanwhile, back at the trial court level in Alabama, we have the conviction of the former Alabama House Speaker, Mike Hubbard. He, it will be recalled, was first elected to the House in Alabama in 2010, vowing to clean up the state legislature. In a book he wrote following his election, he said: "Ethics was a subject that set Republicans apart from the Democrats." That assertion was made because of pre-election scandals and indictments involving Democrats. Mr. Hubbard is no longer the Speaker of the Alabama House. In a good news-bad news kind of way, in June 2016 he was convicted of only 12 counts of corruption instead of the 23 counts with which he had been charged. He was sentenced to four years in prison and given $210,000 in fines. He will, of course, appeal. That leaves us, as we consider Alabama, with Governor Robert Bentley. He is in the midst of a process that may result in impeachment proceedings. His offenses involve the kind of conduct that has suddenly become one of the hot issues of the presidential campaign-infidelity.

In the presidential campaign, the question Mr. Trump has repeatedly suggested voters should consider, in comparing himself and Hillary Clinton, whether it is a greater offense to (a) engage in sexual misconduct with someone other than a spouse while married or (b) be a spouse who is cheated on. Since Mr. Trump is critical of Secretary Clinton's response to the infidelity of her husband, it would be helpful to learn of the responses of Mr. Trump's betrayed spouses to his acts of infidelity. That would be helpful to know since, as in all things Trumpian, one can be confident that the responses of his former spouses to his repeated acts of infidelity represent the gold standard in dealing with unfaithful spouses. But I digress.

In Alabama, the House Judiciary Committee is conducting an investigation to determine whether impeachment proceedings against the governor are warranted because the governor has been accused of having an affair with a staffer BEFORE he was divorced. The outcome of the investigation will not be known until after the presidential election is past. However it comes out, Alabamans may, for good reason, feel that their state has fallen into the Slough of Despond. They are not alone. Thanks to the campaign for president, the entire country has joined them in the Slough. Christopher Brauchli can be emailed at brauchli.56@post.harvard.edu. For political commentary see his web page at http://humanraceandothersports.com
The DC. Court of Appeals began hearing arguments recenlty in an historicsession taken "en banc" - with a roster of 10 judges hearing a case that challengesPresident Obama's Clean Power plan. Specifically, some industry associations arechallenging new targets for coal plants that would require a 32 percent reduction incarbon emission by 2030. More generally, the case highlights challenges to Obama'suse of his executive powers to regulate the electricity industry in a way that willhelp the US meet international targets for reduction in carbon emissions. Obama's use of the Clean Air Act to bring his Clean Power Plan to fruition has beencalled "vast legal overreach" by some law professors who have said it is tantamountto burning the constitution. While it may take weeks or even months for the court to rule, the case highlights theextreme importance of keeping U.S. plans to reduce emissions on track in order tospur continued global cooperation on global warming. With the U.S. electioncontinuing to create its own heat, there are many interlocking and swiftly movingpieces on the global climate change front. The world needs continued leadership from the U.S. and a ruling by the court thatObama had overreached would impact progress globally. The hearing comes on the heels of last November's Conference of the Parities onClimate Change in Paris (COP-21) where more than two decades of difficult and verytenuous multilateral negotiations on collective action on climate change concludedin a delicate compromise. The effectiveness of this agreement hinges on nationsadhering to - and eventually ratcheting up - their nationally determinedcontributions (NDC). Other big emitters are living up to their commitments. India,for example, is set to ratify its COP-21 contributions next month on the historicoccasion of Gandhi's birthday, October 2; just last month, China's President XiJinping announced the ratification of China's COP-21 commitments in a joint pressconference with President Obama. China and India rank first and third, respectively,in global greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. ranks second. Combined these threecountries account for nearly one-half of all emissions. Domestically, some observers have claimed that the court case and the Clean PowerPlan no longer matter because market forces are driving reductions in the powersector even absent policy constraints. What they overlook, however, is that marketforces such as low natural gas prices are unpredictable and the fortuitous dynamicsthat have allowed substantial carbon reductions in the U.S. could change,jeopardizing further progress. Policies do matter - they signal a formal commitmentthat provides certainty to investors when deciding about very long-term, capitalintensive bets in the energy sector and provide reassurance to our partners in theinternational community who judge our earnestness in tackling global climatechange by the credibility of our policies. The Clean Power Plan is widely acknowledged as pivotal to achieving the U.S. Pariscommitments, as it is the single policy with the largest abatement impact thatObama or any other U.S. administration has implemented to date. The internationalcommunity is therefore carefully monitoring the fate of the Clean Power Plan, and ifthe latter were to be deemed unlawful/vacated in court, that will send asignal to other major emitters such as India and China that the U.S.' commitment tothe Paris Agreement cannot be backed up by commensurate action. As we moveforward in a few short weeks to flesh out the Paris Agreement in Marrakesh(COP22), a major setback in the second-largest emitter worldwide could have hugeramifications. The United States is the only signatory to the Paris Agreement whosecommitments are subject to a domestic legal challenge. As a result all of us arewatching and waiting for a decision that could change the course of climate change,for better or worse. Joshua Hodge is the Executive Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
As Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys a "very good" net satisfaction rating three months into his presidency, and high approval ratings from the Filipino people, our assessment of the feisty foul-mouthed leader is somewhat less generous. There is no doubt that Duterte remains very popular among a broad cross-section of the Filipino people, and that he has broad-based support among all socio-economic classes, but his net ratings are really little different than that of many other Philippine presidents -- from Fidel Ramos to his immediate predecessor, Benigno Aquino III -- experienced in their respective first 100 days in office. Historically, high satisfaction ratings tend to taper off by within six to nine months from the assumption of office.

The Philippines remains one of the fast growing economies in Asia, piggybacking on the prior gains in economic fundamentals attributed to President Aquino. The World Bank expects economic growth to accelerate to 6.4 percent this year, and according to the country's board of investments, overall investment commitments have soared 200 percent, to 51 billion pesos, from 17 billion last year. There is a flip side to this rosy data, however. In recent weeks the Philippine Stock Exchange reached its lowest point since Duterte took office and the Philippine peso has become the worst performing currency in Asia, the result of uncertainty around the 'unconventional' path being taken under his presidency.

Some local and foreign investors have been pulling their money out of the country at a brisk pace. Duterte's "noise" not only creates uncertainty, but muddles up economic policy. Standard and Poors cited the President's unpredictable and unclear policy signals as an ongoing concern and has hesitated to make further positive forecasts for the economy, although the rating agency has, for the time being, retained the country's investment grade. On the other hand, Templeton's Mark Mobius underscored Duterte's pledges to cut income tax and double infrastructure spending as good signs for the remainder of his six-year term. The 'ratings' jury will remain out until sufficient time has passed to determine whether investors will give a definitive sign that the good times may be over in the Philippines.

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The incidence of criminality has, predictably, markedly dropped, especially in urban areas. Filipinos today generally feel safer as they walk the streets. And never before have the country's leaders seen such great progress in the peace process with the National Democratic Front and the Communist Party of the Philippines. The latest round of peace talks is approaching its second round in Oslo. Rebel leaders claim to be seeing a level of seriousness and sincerity on the part of Duterte's government not seen in prior administrations. In fact, as part of Duterte's approach to inclusive government, he appointed several nominees from leftist militant groups to occupy key cabinet positions, from agriculture to social services.

If we were to sum up Duterte's first 100 days in a few words, it would be "strong political will". That has also translated into the similarly predictable rise of extra-legal killings and perceived human rights abuses, that have characterized Duterte's aggressive anti-drug campaign and which thus far has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 people in just three months. The absence of due process and any concern for human rights have become Duterte's trademark. He has drawn condemnation from international human rights groups, United Nations agencies, the U.S., the EU, and church groups, among others. He was roundly condemned from the global Jewish community after he had compared his war on drugs with Hitler's treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust.

If we were to characterize Duterte's approach to international relations in a few words, they would be "what on earth is he doing"? Politically, Duterte's presidency has thus far been an unmitigated disaster. Although he has only been in office a few months, Duterte has been giving Donald Trump a run for his money as the most bombastic and outrageous political figure on the global media stage. Just as a large percentage of Americans apparently love Trump's weekly offensive and absurd statements, a "huge" percentage of Filipinos apparently applaud when Duterte verbally "sticks it" to Obama, the UN, and even the Pope. He has succeeded in alienating the country's historically most important global ally - the U.S. - while inexplicably embracing China as it continues its brazen exploits in the South China Sea, in spite of the Philippines' victory against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague earlier this year.

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Duterte is upending decades of post-war foreign policy, with as yet unforeseen consequences. He has threatened to sever U.S. relations and to scrap the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the U.S., the country's number one ally. The US military alliance is crucial to establishing an effective and credible defense force, and to enhancing the country's armed forces modernization, yet Duterte said that this year's joint war games with American forces would be the "last", and instead vowed to strengthen bilateral relations further with China and Russia. Duterte seems hell bent on expending huge moral and legal capital to dismantle hard fought gains the country has won over many decades, in essence to stroke his own ego and stick a finger to those global powers he does not favor.

While it remains far too early to declare the Duterte Administration either a success or failure, some conclusions may already be drawn. The social costs of Duterte's tirades and attempt at geopolitical rebalancing cannot be captured in terms of lost opportunity in military assistance, nor in terms of international reputational damage alone, but in terms of long-term societal costs that come with the normalization of crises as ordinary events. For example, there has been little scrutiny about Duterte's recent proclamation of a state of national emergency following the bombing of a Davao city night market and a new spate of hostage taking by the Abu Sayyaf, an ISIS-affiliated terrorist group.

Never previously has a state of emergency been declared as a result of a single bombing or kidnappings, which were in any event far more serious a decade ago than they are today. And, in fairness, bombings have regrettably become commonplace in areas of the southern Philippines over the past two decades. No time frame has been attached to this state of emergency, which could well become indefinite. The declaration would appear to be little more than an attempt by Duterte to enhance his already strong hold on power, and give him carte blanche to impose further measures designed to rid the streets of crime.

It may already be the case that Filipinos have accepted the militarization of civilian police functions as part of their normal life. Not only is this reminiscent of the martial law years of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, it revives society's destructive fixation with strongman politics, and the dangers associated with dictatorial rule. Given the Philippines' post-war history, it is surprising that more Filipinos have not publicly questioned both the imposition of the state of emergency, and the fact that no time frame has been placed upon it.

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Crisis strategies are characterized by supply-driven rhetoric. Duterte promised radical change, but how much has really changed on the ground? What, if anything, has Duterte done, or does he intend to do, to address the plethora of structural maladies that plague the Philippines - from a broken judicial and penal system to rampant and endemic corruption? This will likely become a recurring question throughout his term in office. While an "our-brand-is-crisis" strategy can be an effective approach to an election campaign, because it draws power by frightening people already inclined to believe it, it has no place in day-to-day governance. Normalizing fright and violence is not a governance model and is a huge step in the wrong direction. What the Philippines needs today is for Duterte to end his outrageous tirades, maintain the respect it earned during the Aquino Administration, implement policies that ooze with common sense, and adopt a long-term orientation toward achieving regional peace, stability and cooperation. Whether that can be achieved under Duterte remains highly doubtful.

*Edsel Tupaz is a public interest attorney and legal academic, based in Manila. Follow Edsel on Twitter: www.twitter.com/edseltupaz.
All around the world, agencies for international development are becoming attuned to the value of immersive storytelling technologies-- like 360 video, virtual reality, augmented reality, and gamification-- to galvanize a bigger, stronger network of changemakers and achieve greater positive change. To support the exploration of technology-driven ways to engage global audiences around ideas for progress, the network-focused innovation platform LAUNCH co-hosted a 'Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Hack' focused on development, food, and nutrition with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's innovationXchange in Canberra, Australia. The October 'VR/AR Hack' brought together some of the best and brightest minds, to rethink systemic obstacles to global food quality and access. More than 40 food and nutrition experts, virtual and augmented reality practitioners, and marketers joined us in conversations around how to leverage emerging storytelling tools to address this complex international development challenge. We framed the hack as a creative exercise, splitting attendees into five teams. Check out their ideas on LAUNCH's open-source wiki .





Below, check out some of the key takeaways from the LAUNCH/ innovationXchange 'VR/AR Hack':



1. Expanding access to new technologies could be game-changing for international development. When you think of the average user for virtual reality, you might not think of a teenager living in the capital of East Timor. Yet international development agencies can be game-changers in engaging in new and unprecedented ways via VR, AR, and gamification-- and the potential for impact among these audiences is huge. Our hack teams sought to create a future where the impact of these tools isn't limited to wealthy residents of developed countries.



2. Empathy can lead to impact. Virtual reality is an exceptional tool to foster empathy because it immerses viewers in situations that they otherwise may never experience first-hand. In the context of international development, empathy should translate into an opportunity for action. Storytellers should be conscious of messaging throughout their VR experiences so that once the viewer removes their headset, they'll know what action to take-- whether that's donating money, contacting elected representatives, or participating in a related social media campaign.



3. Audience is key. A good storyteller knows their audience. When soliciting engagement with new media, like virtual reality, identifying and understanding your potential audience becomes especially critical. One team at the Canberra 'VR/AR Hack' tailored their virtual reality production to influence a smaller, highly targeted audience of Western donors and policymakers. Another team, tasked with reaching a broad audience in the Pacific Islands, opted for more traditional storytelling platforms with existing audiences. This team anchored their challenge-driven, multi-platform "reality show" in radio, one of the most widespread and accessible forms of media in that region.



4. Education is paramount. As a nutritional tool, augmented reality can help us visualize both healthy and unhealthy ingredients in food, to better understand what we're putting into our bodies.



5. There is more to do. Right now, access to augmented and virtual reality production tools and content distribution platforms is limited to a small, privileged percentage of the world's population-- those who have access to high-end devices and fast, reliable internet connections. This is an issue that was unanimously agreed upon by 'VR/AR Hack' attendees, which suggests that these technologies' current impact is small. Only when virtual and augmented reality experiences become more accessible, and enable underprivileged populations to generate their own content, will they contribute to meaningful change.
HBO's Divorce isn't the kind of television comedy for which Thomas Haden Church remains best-known, and he couldn't be happier about that.

"I did 10 years of sitcoms that were punchline, punchline, punchline," he says. "I wanted something different."

Divorce, which premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, is that.

Church and Sarah Jessica Parker play Robert and Frances, a long-married suburban couple with two school-age children, Lila (Sterling Jerins) and Tom (Charlie Kilgore).

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When we meet Robert and Frances, they are about to split up. As anyone who has had first-, second- or 28th-hand experience with divorce knows, that's not the premise for a traditional laff riot.

But then, Divorce creator Sharon Horgan seems partial to dark comedies, including her current BBC/Amazon Prime series Catastrophe.

Parker picked Divorce for her own return to HBO, also in a rather different role than when she played Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City.

The 56-year-old Church is probably best known to television watchers for his six seasons as Lowell Mather on Wings. He also co-starred with Debra Messing for two seasons on Ned & Stacey, and did some sitcom writing himself.

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"By 2000, I was done with the laugh machine," he says. "Setup, payoff, setup, payoff."

He turned to film and in 2003 costarred with Paul Giamatti in Sideways, which landed him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

"Sideways was an amazing experience," he says. "Paul and I and [director] Alex [Payne] set out to do a different kind of comedy, with characters just having a human experience. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes it was pathetic."

He says that same sense of possibility attracted him to Divorce, where it quickly becomes clear that both Robert and Frances are complex characters riddled with flaws and the potential for redemption.

Robert is a former Wall Street guy who earned enough - Church figures "maybe $350G a year" - to quit and start his own business flipping houses. Frances was okay with this, he suggests, "as long as it didn't affect their lifestyle."

But Robert's new job did create new issues, like cash flow, and his responses are sometimes jagged.

"In some ways Robert is sharp and in other ways he's just blind," says Church. "I think in a number of ways he's trying to hold back."

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That's a challenge in the first episode, because he learns Frances has been having an affair. That's nominally the trigger for the split, though we soon learn that, to no one's surprise, deeper problems have been bubbling around for some time.

"We go to a counseling session and Robert is so quick to jump on her," Church says. "But Frances is willing to have it out. She's a fighter. She says let's go back a ways, there are skeletons in your closet, too.

"As we go further through, his innocence is pretty tarnished."

The split also affects the kids, naturally, and then begins to ripple through family and friends, notably Frances's neurotic pal Diane (Molly Shannon) and her BFF Dallas (Talia Balsam).

It also reaches Robert's friend Nick (Tracy Letts), who has the single funniest line of anyone in the first couple of episodes. (No spoilers on that one here.)

Letts and the rest of the cast do shoulder a good part of the show's humor, particularly when things aren't all that amusing between Frances and Robert, and Church say that's a tribute to the team's depth. (Above: Balsam, Church, Parker, Shannon.).

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He's a particularly worshipful fan of Letts, he says, but he's been loving the whole ensemble.

"I've never worked this long in New York before," says Church, who was born in California and lives in Texas. "There are so many gifted actors, all these theater actors. It's a terrific cast."

The humor itself, says Church, flows from the characters' actions and words, however painful or absurd.

"As an actor, I do what you always try to do," he says. "If it's a funny situation, you try to make it funnier. It's entertaining to the audience and not funny to the characters at all."

Other scenes in Divorce won't be funny to anyone, including viewers, who may at some point want some indication where the whole story is going.

The comedy designation would suggest at least a moderately happy ending, but Church says the eight-episode first season, at least, promises nothing that neat.

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"We've all discussed every conceivable path for the show," he says. "Do they get divorced? Do they stay together? Do they divorce and remarry? Would they start other relationships? We talked about Robert potentially with a younger woman."

But Church says something else is also at play.

"I believe Robert is still in love with Frances," he says. "She's the one that blinks first in terms of 'Do I love my husband?' So maybe the question is whether the marriage is worth the endurance contest it's become.

"Sarah Jessica's character is in serious no-man's land. She deals with it in therapy, with her friends. She deals with it in the Christmas episode."

Christmas episode?
World leaders are gathering this weekend in Kigali, Rwanda to make the biggest climate decision since December's historic Paris Climate Agreement. Under the auspices of the Montreal Protocol--a 1989 treaty that phased out pollution that was eating a hole in Earth's ozone layer--negotiators will consider phasing-down a class of factory-made coolants, referred to as hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.

The outcome of the Kigali negotiations is critical in the effort to control climate change because, paradoxically, HFCs are extremely powerful climate warmers--some thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide. That's why leading scientists see phasing out HFCs as a key part of implementing the Paris plan.

Last month, momentum increased as over 100 nations and scores of national and international businesses called for an ambitious phase-down, while government and philanthropic donors committed $80 million to countries in need of technical assistance.

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As important, the negotiations in Africa reflect a broader strategy to rein in climate change by bolstering carbon dioxide cuts with reductions of other planet-warming pollution. This strategy is based on a simple fact with major implications for mitigation efforts: carbon dioxide is not the only pollutant we have to control to meet our climate goals.

Make no mistake: the need to aggressively cut CO2 emissions is fundamental, irreplaceable and must be accelerated. But HFCs are one of a group of other pollutants--including methane and black carbon--that often have been overlooked despite their effects on public health and significant contribution to climate change. Like many HFCs, on a relative basis, pollutants like methane and black carbon are more potent warmers than carbon dioxide, earning them the label of climate "super pollutants."

The attention that governments, businesses and civil society are giving the HFC phase-down is a major indicator that this dynamic has begun to change. Another key signal is the passage of super pollutant legislation in California--a climate policy bellwether. The new law, signed by Governor Edmund Brown on September 19, requires a 50 percent reduction in black carbon and a 40 percent reduction in methane and HFCs by 2030 (from 2013 levels).

This strategic evolution in the climate battle can make a crucial difference for people and nature. Since super pollutants are short-lived, meaning they stay in the atmosphere for anywhere from days to decades, reducing them affects the climate quickly too. That is why a strong HFC phase-down agreement in Kigali could cut the global temperature by as much as a half a degree Celsius by the end of the century.

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This may sound small. But remember that the goal set in Paris is to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius overall to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change. In that context, it becomes clear why it's powerful to couple accelerated action to cut carbon pollution with a full-court press on super pollutants like HFCs. In fact, without it, experts believe it's unlikely we can keep climate change below 2 degrees Celsius.

A commitment to address climate super pollutants alongside carbon dioxide can do more than help us better control climate change. It can also yield immediate public health benefits.

For example, pollution from oil and gas development can contribute to smog that can trigger asthma attacks and other public health challenges. That is why scores of organizations are pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to expand recently-adopted rules that will control leaks of methane and other harmful chemicals from new oil and gas sources to the vast network of existing facilities.

An enormous leak from a Southern California gas storage facility last October provided a vivid example of why greater oversight is necessary. Before it was capped, the leak forced thousands of people out of their homes and spewed as much greenhouse gas pollution as the annual emissions of over half a million cars.

Another climate super pollutant, black carbon, also has serious air quality and resultant public health impacts globally. Significant reductions of black carbon and other fine particles from tailpipes and additional sources could contribute to preventing millions of premature deaths.

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When I was younger, I was told 'Are you sure you want to do that? It's not really a career for young women, is it?' or 'You are too pretty to be a scientist,' and my ultimate favorite comment: 'You do not look like a scientist.' When I was told these things at such a young age, it made me question what I wanted to do. If everyone else thought that I couldn't do it, what made me think that I could?

Looking back at my college years, I knew that attending an all-women's college, (Bay Path University) which offered a very focused degree path in science, would be instrumental in achieving my goals. My alma mater helped me to find who I was as a person--but more importantly, who I wanted to be as a scientist. It challenged me to try new things, and to accept the things that were not right for me. Through many organizations I involved myself in, I learned to stand for what I believed in, and to prove that young women can have any career that they choose. Not to mention, not once in my studies did I hear someone question my career and educational goals. No comments were made about my gender and how that would influence my career.
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Having been formerly -- one might say way back -- a white officer in a black outfit, I have since been keenly interested in the black experience in America. I was thrilled to see the first black president of the United States, someone so cool, so intelligent, and so exemplary a family man.

When Barack Obama pulled away from intervening militarily in Syria, I supported his action. After all, wasn't it his mission to get the United States out of its fateful habit of intervening militarily abroad?

I thought it was astute of President Obama to get us out of his "red line" commitment to attack Syria if the Assad Government persisted in the use of chemical weapons. (It turns out that this was a commitment that was the original sin of the whole affair-- there is such a thing as being too straight.)

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I thought it was astute of President Obama in following David Cameron's example of putting the decision to move ahead militarily into the hands of the legislators.

Now, much later, the picture looks different. The U.S. has largely lost a role in Syria. In the first place, following Britain's example was a miscalculation. Our two countries are simply not on the same plane of importance.

But more importantly, if the U.S. had taken charge of the skies over Syria at that time, it would have made it more difficult for Vladimir Putin to throw his air force into the mix later on and thereby outwit his American counterpart. However one may criticize Donald Trump for playing up to Putin, the Russian leader has shown himself to be a formidable tactician.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 2, 2016: Jeromy Jackson, lights candles for his best friend Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by LAPD police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit, at at vigil in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 2, 2016. The candles spell out Long Live C.J. (Photo by Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

In quick succession, an El Cajon police officer gunned down an alleged mentally challenged man, a Tulsa police officer gunned down a distressed motorist, a Charlotte, North Carolina officer gunned down an allegedly combative suspect, Pasadena, California police officers violently restrained a distressed man who allegedly became combative and he died, and a Los Angeles police officer killed an alleged fleeing auto theft suspect. These violent deaths at the hands of officers have two things in common. They stirred furor, rage, and protests because the victims were Black males. But it's the second thing that has drawn almost no attention in these cases that deserve the most attention, and more importantly some answers. That's the tormenting, and still mostly unanswered question, just when can and should a cop use deadly force?

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There is no uniform national standard of what is or isn't an acceptable use of force in police slayings. It almost always comes down to a judgment call by the officer. In the Rodney King beating case in 1992 in which four LAPD officers stood trial, defense attorneys painted King as the aggressor and claimed that the level of force used against him was justified. This pattern has not changed in a number of celebrated cases since then. Police claim that they feared for their lives in confronting civilians and they use deadly force solely in self-defense. In the rare times an officer is charged with the wanton use of deadly force, and is brought to trial, judges and juries, almost always buy the line that the level of force was necessary to save the officer's life or prevent injury or harm to other civilians. Judges either dismiss the charges. If it goes to a jury, it usually quickly acquits the officer or officers charged. But just what exactly is the level of force that's permitted to convince a judge and jury that the deadly force is legal and necessary?

The courts haven't been much help. A 1985 Supreme Court ruling did say that police officers can't simply kill a fleeing suspect simply because the suspect is fleeing. There has to be a proven immediate threat to the officer or others for deadly force to be justified. That didn't do much to clarify the issue, since an officer can easily make the case that the suspect had committed a felony or serious crime and that alone made him an immediate risk or threat to the officer and others. A 1989 Supreme Court ruling muddied the picture even more when it ruled that the test of reasonable use of deadly force is "not capable of precise definition or mechanical application." In effect it punted the issue back to police departments to determine when deadly force can and should be used. Some police departments such as the NYPD and Philadelphia PD picked up on that 1985 court ruling and made it policy that officers can't take shots at a fleeing suspect simply because the suspect is fleeing. However, it's still a subjective call by the officer over whether the suspect's flight could result in the commission of more crimes that could result in harm to others. If the officer shoots, it's almost certain that the officer would not be prosecuted for making the judgement call that killing was necessary, no matter whether the suspect was armed or not.

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Even when police departments spell out exactly when an officer can use deadly force, that policy is not a ready part of the public record, that's open and accessible to all. There's also no public disclosure of how the department's rules on the use of deadly force are made a part of the officer training, and follow-up training, to drill home to officers that there are indeed strict guidelines that must be adhered to when an officer can shoot to kill.

The recent police killings that ignited massive protest are glaring examples of how judgements are made that may have absolutely nothing to do with the actual imminent threat standard or test for the use of deadly force. The officers claimed a gun or knife was present, that they feared for their life, or that there was a flight and a chase that endangered others. Whether there was a true imminent threat mattered little, it was just the officer's word that it did that counted, and a life was taken.

The National Institute of Justice has put on paper a uniform summary of when and what level of force officers should use. The steps range from no force, verbal commands, bodily force, non-lethal weapon use such as pepper spray, Tasers, and wooden bullets. These are the things on paper anyway that an officer must use before opening fire.

However, the gap between what's on paper and what officers did in the Tulsa and El Cajon killings is wide and deep. Without uniform and rigid guidelines that spell out when an officer can use deadly force, and spell out the punishments for violating the guidelines, the lines will continue to be blurred and the killings will continue--legal or not.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of How "President" Trump will Govern, (Amazon Kindle) He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at the Henderson Pavilion, October 5, 2016 in Henderson, Nevada. / AFP / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump turns Will Rogers famed maxim that he never met a man he didn't like on its head every time when it comes to race baiting. He's never met an opportunity to take a racial dig or shot that he didn't like. This time it's the Central Park Five case. This has been one of Trump's long favorite race baiting ploys. He took a big swipe at the five again when he again loudly declared that the Central Park Five are guilty.

Here's a quick review of the case. The five are the five young African-American and Latino youths who were charged with raping and beating Trisha Meili while jogging in New York's Central Park in 1989. They were convicted and imprisoned for more than a decade. The five were innocent. Their alleged confessions were obtained illegally, through two days of non-stop police intimidation, coercion, and lies. There was no physical evidence to connect them to the crime.

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The actual rapist Matias Reyes confessed in 2002. DNA tests confirmed him as the assailant. Even more telling in the years during the incarceration of the five, Reyes continued to murder and rape women including his own mother. Following his confession judge vacated the convictions of the Central Park who had languished in prison for more than a decade.

After much wrangling between the NYPD, prosecutors, and New York city officials New York finally shelled out more than $4 million to the five in a wrongful conviction settlement in 2014. The Trump vendetta with the case starts almost from the second the rape occurred. He screamed loud and long that the five should be slapped in the electric chair, and even though New York didn't have a death penalty then, the rape was the best reason why the state should quickly reinstitute the death penalty. Trump didn't stop there. He plopped down tens of thousands to four newspapers to splash an ad demanding the death penalty for the five.

Trump still wasn't finished. Despite all the evidence that the five were wrongfully convicted, Trump still refused every plea for him to acknowledge the wrong, and if not apologize, at least drop his incessant baiting of the men. Instead Trump upped the ante when the settlement was announced, he was the first in the door to denounce it, and again declare that the men were guilty. Even this wasn't enough, now we have Trump again saying, forget the DNA evidence, forget the confession of the real rapist, forget the settlement by the city, forget any and everything that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt the five were railroaded, they're still guilty. And they always will be he says with Delphic and omnipotent wisdom and insight into the "truth."



Race baiting the Central Park Five made Trump a political player.





This would almost be either laughable, pitiable, or both, except for one thing. The case more than any other single thing moved Trump from being just another plodding, conniving, business magnate to a coming figure on the political scene. Race baiting the Central Park Five made Trump a political player. It also taught him a lesson that racial demagogues have known for ages. That is how to take a racially volatile issue loaded with hysteria and emotion and twist, bend, and fracture it into an ego, name, and attention getting ploy to move him up the political food chain. Trump hit political pay dirt in race baiting with the five case and he's never looked back.

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His record since is well-known. He was ripped by the Justice Department for blatant racial discrimination in his apartment rentals and when cornered on his racist exclusion he blithely said that if he didn't his and other tenants (meaning white tenants) would flee from his units and the city. He turned the thinly disguised racist savaging of President Obama into a fine art by stoking hard the phony, fraudulent, and bigoted Birther movement.

On the campaign trail and in the debate with rival Clinton, he's self-proclaimed himself the "law and order candidate", the "stop and frisk" candidate "the stop black crime and murder" candidate. These are the ancient and durable racist code words and slogans that arch race baiters have used seemingly forever too tap the raw, racial nerve of millions. Trump banked from day one of his campaign that this would be his ticket to the White House too.

There is really no legal, media, or even logical reason for Trump to dump on the Central Park Five again. The case has been long settled, and it has been out of the news for the past two years. But don't look for logic here, Trump isn't, he's looking for votes. The case like so many other racist quips, digs, and insults that Trump has turned into a fine art has gotten him this far, so why not dredge it up again.

That Trump is an arch-race baiter, but he's not dumb. He knows that his well-timed racist digs, quips and slurs will get the tongues wagging, another round of invitations on the talk show circuit, and in the case of the Central Park Five an invite to pen his race tinged scribbling's in an op-ed column. His cynical but Trump got what he wanted. Tons of fresh media attention, a momentary seat at the GOP presidential candidate's chat table, and starry eyed idolization from legions of ultra-conservatives and untold numbers of unreconstructed bigots. Trump now has the template that he can trot out any time an issue comes up that even has the barest whiff of race, public talk, and lots of media notoriety to it. The Central Park Five is just the latest grist in Trump's race-baiting mill. Take this to the bank. America's arch-race baiter will be back at it again.
Political leaders who pledge to reduce taxes while in full-throated denial of human-generated climate change are actually setting the stage for a tax increase.

If these leaders' do-nothing environmental policy should prevail, the public should anticipate future hefty tax hikes to offset the damages from proliferating extreme weather events. Scientists identify release of greenhouse gas emissions at their current rate as the cause for the projected increase in the intensity (and in some instances the frequency) of extreme weather events. These events will undoubtedly wreak economic havoc that the insurance industry won't begin to cover if the past is any indication. Between 1980 and 2014, insurance companies made good on only one-quarter of the nation's climate-related losses. It was left for the American taxpayer to shoulder the remainder of the tab.

Scientists at the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast that at the current rate of greenhouse gas emission release, more category four and five hurricanes will occur globally. With that will come a 20 percent increase over the current amount of rainfall in such tempests, which already produce devastating flood damage.

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Even without super storms, climate-related seal level rise provides sufficient evidence for NOAA scientists to declare with "high confidence" that coastal flooding will increase dramatically by the end of the century unless the global warming threat is aggressively addressed.

Moreover, additional billions of dollars in damage will result if the projected climate-related increases in drought, heat waves, wild fires, and water shortages materialize. You can be confident that as in the past, the insurance industry's liability won't come close to covering all the losses. Clearly, the American taxpayer will be left holding much of the proverbial bag.

The past gives some sense of the future challenges. Between 2005 and 2015 in the nation, there were 93 natural disasters that resulted in more than $586 billion in losses largely made whole by federal aid. Nor does that sum account for the expense of assisting displaced people and battered businesses to return to some degree of normality.

During that 10-year period, the Federal Emergency Management Agency distributed $49.5 billion in taxpayer-funded assistance for hurricane recovery alone-.

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The young pig at the outer edge of the immobile transport truck bearing him to slaughter was so terrified and parched that his mouth was foaming. But when the truck stopped at a traffic light and animal activist Anita Krajnc thrust an open water bottle through a ventilation opening, he raised his snout and slurped until the traffic light turned green and the truck revved up and veered around toward Burlington, Ontario's Fearman's Pork Inc., the slaughterhouse across the road.

This happens often during Toronto Pig Save slaughterhouse vigils, and other activists also tip water bottles into the gasping mouths of frantic pigs. Twice, I have been one of them, holding out my water bottle and crooning through tears the mantra that encapsulates our mission as well as our despair: "We see you. We're trying. We're sorry. We love you."

What was different and unexpected on the June 22, 2015 vigil was that the truck driver, Jeffrey Veldjesgraaf, stepped down and, in a heated exchange captured by a Toronto Pig's Save videographer, asked Krajnc to stop giving water to the pigs he was transporting to their death. Krajnc refused with a biblical reference to giving water to the thirsty. "Have some compassion!" she urged.

Veldjesgraaf snapped, "You know what, these are not humans, you dumb frickin' broad," and later added, "You do it again and I'll slap it out of your hands."

But in face of Krajnc's defiance to his threat to "call the cops" - "Call Jesus!" she retorted - Veldjesgraaf climbed back inside the truck and hauled his cargo of hundreds of pigs to slaughter at Fearman's.

The next day, the pigs' owner, Eric van Boekel of Van Boekel Holdings Inc., filed a complaint against Krajnc and on September 9, 2015, she was charged with criminal mischief. Her trial began a year later, in Burlington's Courthouse, with van Boekel and Veldjesgraaf's testifying. On October 3rd, the proceedings were devoted to Krajnc. The courtroom was so packed that the judge invited journalists to move into the empty Prisoners' Dock, which he said he'd temporarily dub the 'Press Dock,' and when every seat was filled, permitted people still waiting to enter his courtroom to sit on the floor accommodate the overflow crowd that included Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA, the world's largest animal rights organization.

In her testimony, Krajnc confirmed the accuracy of the prosecution's description of what happened on June 22, 2015. Then, in response to her lawyer James Silver's questions, she gave detailed accounts of Toronto Pig Save, which she co-founded in 2010, and of the burgeoning Save movement it spawned, that now numbers more than fifty groups in Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

Krajnc could not save the young pig who sipped her water, but she transformed her legal defense into a powerful platform to not only justify her small act of mercy but also to elaborate on Toronto Pig Save's mission. She identified herself as the group's full-time organizer and defined its three goals: to promote a non-violent vegan world, to promote activism, and to promote a cultural shift so that everyone who sees suffering of any sort bears witness, thereby helping animals, people and the planet.

Culturally savvy, the Save Movement uses social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, websites, Vimeo and YouTube - to show the realities of animals going to slaughter and to connect supporters. A Save Response Team is mandated with finding homes for animals who fall off slaughter trucks and are reprieved. There are a plethora of related groups: vegan outreach, poster and postcard campaigns, climate/vegan groups, an SOS squad that issues placards and distributes PETA and vegan starter kits, and a program that pays students $10 each to watch the documentary Earthlings. Dozens of virtual headsets, recently purchased, are being distributed worldwide to render the viewing experience more authentic and compelling.

And, at the heart of the Save Movement are slaughterhouse vigils where supporters bear witness to the terrible suffering of doomed animals being trucked away into local slaughterhouses. At Fearman's Pork Inc., Krajnc testified, ten thousand pigs are slaughtered daily, and videos of pigs being slaughtered by the same methods used at Fearman's and elsewhere were entered into the trial records as Exhibits relevant to her defense.

"We want everyone to see what we see," Krajnc said. "As Leo Tolstoy said, "When the suffering of another creature causes you to feel pain, do not submit to the initial desire to flee from the suffering one, but on the contrary, come closer, as close as you can to her who suffers, and try to help her."

The Save Movement is also guided by the reasoned non-violence of Mohatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King. These two icons also strove to change the system that permits the violence afflicted on other creatures, and to go to the darkest sites of injustice and to bear witness there.
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in Harrisburg, Pa. For Clinton, October is the month when she's likely to win or lose the election, not the official Election Day on Nov. 8. By the third week of this month, her campaign hopes to have a solid enough sample of the early vote to know whether the Democrat is on track to win the White House. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

This week's issue of The New Yorker offers up an epic, 8,000-word look at Donald Trump voters in West Virginia, and why the state has switched from blue to red over the last two decades. An anthropological dig into cultural and political shifts that have benefited Republicans in the Appalachian State (W.V. voter: "Political correctness is destroying the country") The New Yorker feature arrives on the heels of the magazine's previous 10,000-word examination of Trump voters in the July 18 issue. That equally detailed feature examined the rise of Trump rallies and what the raucous affairs, teeming with fanatical supporters ("Where did my country go?") say about the state of American politics.

So that's 18,000 words in the span of two New Yorker articles published just three months apart dissecting Trump supporters and what makes them tick; what fuels their rage and passion. Do you get a sense of where the magazine's focus has been this campaign?

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The esteemed weekly has hardly been alone in that regard this year. As the presidential campaign heads toward its final month and Hillary Clinton stands poised to become the first woman president in American history, the press continues to be strangely obsessed with profiling the supporters of the losing candidate, while often gazing uninterestedly at Clinton voters.

Despite the fact that the Clinton campaign has put together a voting coalition that is in several ways historic, more and more media attention seems to be showered on the supporters of the candidate who's trailing badly in the polls.

Obviously, both general election candidates have been the subject of never-ending campaign coverage. But when it comes to spotlighting and understanding their supporters, journalists seem far more keyed in on Republicans in terms of time and attention.

In general, I understand the media's desire to try to explain what's driving the support for Trump, who's obviously running a highly unusual campaign and marketing his run in openly bigoted language. For a lot of people that's deeply troubling, so understanding the dynamic behind Trump represents an obvious story of interest.

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What I'm baffled by is the media's corresponding lack of curiosity about examining Clinton voters. After all, she has accumulated more votes than any other candidate this year and is leading a Democratic surge into key states. (Why hasn't The New Yorker published an 8,000-word piece on why Virginia has turned into a deeply blue state over the last decade?)

And I'm not alone in noting the year's long-running disparity. Journalism professor and Clinton supporter Jeff Jarvis recently admonished the media (emphasis in original): "I never hear from voters like me who are enthusiastic supporters. I never see reporters wading among eager backers at Clinton rallies to ask them how much they like her and why."

And from MTV News' Jamil Smith: "Contrary to Trump voters, I hardly ever see profiles of Clinton supporters. She's winning. Yet, I hear a lot about her 'enthusiasm gap.'"

Smith's tweet was in response to a 4,600-word Washington Post profile of a Trump supporter who thinks Obama's a Muslim, Clinton should be in jail, and the White House may have plotted to have U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia murdered. (Smith wrote that the "deranged" Trump supporter had been treated to a "humanizing" profile by the Post.)

So why do supporters for Clinton's historical run seem to generate so little interest from the press? It might be because so many journalists seem wedded to the Beltway narrative that Clinton doesn't inspire voters and she's a deeply unpopular politician; that the only reason she might win (and serve "as a kind of default president") is because she's running against Trump, a flawed candidate. The press also became heavily invested in Clinton "scandal" storylines.

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So if journalists are committed to a downer storyline about Clinton, they're likely less to be interested in acknowledging her vibrant political base. We saw that same dynamic during the Democratic primary season as well, where the press routinely depicted Clinton's opponent as leading a vibrant "movement" while she, we're told, struggled to connect with voters. Especially young voters!

Even today, we see a continued media infatuation with millennial and young voters and relentless reporting about how they might not like Clinton as much as they loved Barack Obama. Mathematically, the indications are that the Republican Party stands poised to be routed by those voters in November. But that's not story the press wants to focus on.

So the only Democratic voting bloc the press seems genuinely interested in is the voting bloc that the press insists Clinton is struggling with. (She's really not.)

Another, larger demographic the press has singled out as being uniquely important this cycle are white working class voters, who (surprise!) are also not keen on Clinton. It's almost as if when the Democratic nominee has trouble connecting with a particular set of voters, those voters suddenly become supremely worthy of media attention.

And if you think I'm exaggerating about the press' complete obsession with Trump-friendly white working voters, here's a rundown of some of the pieces published at CNN.com, just last month:

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"Why Trump Gets Backing of White Working-Class Voters" (September 6)

"The 'Forgotten Tribe' in West Virginia; Why America's White Working Class Feels Left Behind" (September 20)

"2016: Last Call For Working Class Whites?" (September 21)

"The Anatomy Of A White, Working-Class Trump Voter" (September 23)

"The Shell-Shocked White Working Class" (September 23)

"White Working-Class Evangelicals: Christian Values Are Under Attack" (September 24)

"The Truth About The White Working Class: A Mosaic Of Their Own" (September 25)

Who wants to tell CNN there's also a black and Latino working class in America, that they vote, and they vote overwhelmingly Democratic?

All of this isn't to say there haven't been some insightful media snapshots of Clinton supporters. This week, The Wall Street Journal examined her strong backing among older voters: "Among voters 65 and older, the most recent round of major media polls show Mr. Trump running between 11 and 18 percentage points behind 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney at this same point four years ago."

Demographically, that's a very big deal. Clinton's campaign is also rewriting the rule book among college educated voters who, for the first time in six decades, may side with the Democratic candidate for president.

We're witnessing major, possibly historic voting shifts in favor of the Democratic Party this election cycle. "The demographic and geographic trends reverberating through 2016 could produce a electoral alignment unlike any since the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act shattered the Democratic hold on the 'solid South,'" noted Ronald Brownstein at The Atlantic.

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So why isn't the press clamoring to explain all that to news consumers?
A diverse group of preschoolers in a classroom

Beyond the presidential election, Ohio is ground zero for two other big fights .

When voters go to the polls in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio on November 8th, they'll be voting for more than president and other candidates - they'll also be casting ballots on historic proposals to expand preschool to thousands of children and improve the wages of the educators who teach and prepare them for school and a lifetime of learning.

Rather than wait to see who gets elected president, and what, if anything, the new president and Congress will do to improve early childhood education, smart and forward-thinking Dayton and Cincinnati leaders have taken matters into their own hands by putting on the ballot revenue-raising measures that will pay for significant expansion of pre-kindergarten in their communities.

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In Cincinnati, the AMOS Project, a faith-based affiliate of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, joined forces with Preschool Promise, teachers, and other community stakeholders to successfully negotiate a levy proposal with the Cincinnati Public School (CPS) system that will significantly expand pre-K seats for low-income children, especially children of color. The measure is the product of months and months of community organizing, and builds on AMOS's successful campaign to ban suspensions and expulsions for children in pre-K to third grade, actions that disproportionately punish children of color.

"This didn't come out of thin air," says Elizabeth Hopkins, a mother of children aged one and three and a parent-leader in the AMOS campaign. "We had to organize and make a lot of noise to get this far, and make the point again and again that equal access to education is at the root of a just and healthy community. This is about expanding opportunity for our kids, addressing poverty head on, and making this a better and more affordable city for parents."

In August, after months of negotiation among the parties, the School Board unanimously voted to put the proposal, Issue 44, on the ballot for the November election (to find out more and get involved, click here).

The measure will raise $48 million a year for five years, of which $15 million a year will be used to expand preschool citywide to about 80% of the 4-year-olds in the city (6,000 kids over five years), raise the pay of educators, and offer targeted contract opportunities for independent centers and home-based early childhood education providers. The property tax levy will cost an owner of a $100,000 property about $277.55 per year or about $5 a week.

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Issue 9 would cost a taxpayer making $35,000 per year about $1.60 per week. Forty percent of the tax revenue, or approximately $4 million, will go to pre-K. The majority of the new revenue will be paid by those who live outside Dayton, but work there and use city services. This is the first income tax increase in Dayton since 1984.

"We're at a fork in the road," says Bill Dudley, a lead organizer for MVOC. "Either we move forward with this investment and take advantage of the new opportunities it creates for our children and the city, or we can watch our kids fall behind and not get the education and support they need and deserve."

What's significant about these two measures is that they demonstrate the growing demand that exists across the country to fix America's child care and pre-K crisis. The need is great and our kids can't wait.

Only 29 percent of 4-year-olds and 5 percent of 3-year-olds are enrolled in publicly-funded pre-K programs. Just over half of 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in public or private preschool programs.

Child care is increasingly unaffordable for all but the wealthiest of families - typical child care expenses exceed rent in all 50 states, and are more than college in the majority of states. Low wage workers are totally priced out of the market and left without any options.

Providers and educators are paid poverty wages even though the facts are indisputable - better care and education comes with better pay, recruitment and retention of employees. And yet nationally, the median annual salary for a preschool teacher is only $28,570. The median wage is $13.74 per hour. For child care workers the pay is even worse - the median wage is $9.77 per hour.

"It saddens me, that the jobs these women have keep them in poverty," Cincinnati's Hopkins said. "These are the most important positions. They're the ones tending to our children."

Beyond Ohio, there are exciting developments across the country in places like Philadelphia, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and New York, to give just a few examples.

But the solution to this crisis can't be town by town and state by state. We have a national problem and need a national solution.

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We need a massive federal investment to bring affordable, accessible, high-quality child care and pre-school to every child and family in America.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, understands what's at stake. She has a bold plan to make child care affordable, expand preschool, and improve the pay of providers and educators. Donald Trump also has a proposal, but his plan won't work and will mostly help rich people.
By Clint Rainey

The first rule of fine dining: If you have to ask how much it costs, don't order it. In a piece chronicling his painful realization of this truth for Vice, screenwriter Matt Galletta recounts how he and a friend decided to eat at a "transcendent" sushi spot before going to a show in Times Square, then nearly suffered heart attacks when their bill totaled four figures in less than an hour.

It's possible some of Galletta's story is embellished, but he says they ducked into a restaurant his friend -- a big Jiro Dreams of Sushi fan -- said was run by one of Jiro Ono's old apprentices (Galletta gives him the moniker of "Toma"):

We were told Jiro's protege Toma was actually there that night, and we should sit at the counter. Matt was giddy. The wizard himself would be making our sushi before our very eyes. Suddenly, I was bummed that we only had an hour to eat. I like sushi a lot and was prepared to do some damage.

They went big, feasting on toro cuts and uni that the chef "was literally cleaving" live a few feet away. At a certain point, Galletta says his friend leaned over and said, "This is gonna cost us." Being naive fools, they were apparently expecting "to pony up at least one hundred. Maybe 150." So imagine their shock when the check came:

We opened it together, like shitty Golden Globe presenters. The bill read one-one-zero-zero. Eleven hundred. One-thousand one-hundred. $1,100. Dollars. As I mentioned, I write for a living. I didn't have $1,100. Matt didn't either.
Many Republicans as well as Democrats are horrified at the possibility of a Trump Presidency. It's not only because of his blatant racism, which he makes no attempt to hide. Or his complete ignorance of foreign policy. He has advocated the arming of Japan and Korea with nuclear weapons--which coupled with his unstable personality that a biographer has labeled psychopathic, makes him a dangerous psychopath.

No, it is because with his slogan Take Back America, he wants to disunite the United States of America. This is when America is already divided--by race and economic opportunity, for starters. Trump seems to want to take America back to a time when we were a divided country--to the Civil War.

He is taking advantage of the fact the U.S. Civil War is still being fought in many, particularly southern states, where African-American and other minorities are dis-proportionally prevented from exercising their voting rights--be it with voter ID requirements, or the even more pernicious felon disenfranchisement laws in many states.

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For instance, Iowa, Kentucky, and Florida permanently ban any convicted felon from exercising their right to vote. Only Maine and Vermont give everyone the right to vote, even still imprisoned felons. The rest of the states allow for reinstatement in some form, once their time has been served.

The Sentencing Project in a just released study found:

As of 2016, an estimated 6.1 million people are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, a figure that has escalated dramatically in recent decades as the population under criminal justice supervision has increased. There were an estimated 1.17 million people disenfranchised in 1976, 3.34 million in 1996, and 5.85 million in 2010.

Approximately 2.5 percent of the total U.S. voting age population - 1 of every 40 adults - is disenfranchised due to a current or previous felony conviction.

Individuals who have completed their sentences in the twelve states that disenfranchise people post-sentence make up over 50 percent of the entire disenfranchised population, totaling almost 3.1 million people.

Rates of disenfranchisement vary dramatically by state due to broad variations in voting prohibitions. In six states - Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia - more than 7 percent of the adult population is disenfranchised.

The state of Florida alone accounts for more than a quarter (27 percent) of the disenfranchised population nationally, and its nearly 1.5 million individuals disenfranchised post-sentence account for nearly half (48 percent) of the national total.

One in 13 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate more than four times greater than that of non-African Americans. Over 7.4 percent of the adult African American population is disenfranchised compared to 1.8 percent of the non-African American population.

It is therefore easy to see why majorities in four states are in the Take Back America column. Florida (21 percent), Kentucky (26 percent), Tennessee (21 percent), and Virginia (22 percent) have the largest percentage of disenfranchised voters--more than one in five African-Americans.

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But what if another such demagogue with the thirst for absolute power--both Trump and Veep Mike Pence have said Vladimir Putin and even N. Korea's Kim Jong Un are stronger leaders than President Obama--is able to disguise the racism and divisive politics that demagogues must utilize to achieve and keep power?

It's terrifying just how close Trump seemed to come to the White House before his latest blunders. But what would be even more terrifying is the possibility another, much more polished demagogue, might stir up the Take Back America crowd in future election cycles.

African-Americans now comprise 50 percent of our 2.3 million prison population when they are 12 percent of our population. There are many states that restrict many other rights (mainly red states), including abortion rights, immigration, even the collective bargaining rights of workers that are no longer able to negotiate for their own living wages.

Preventing another Donald Trump is why our political leaders must to find a way to re-unite the Divided States of America.

Harlan Green  2016
A drug so powerful that it's used as a sedative for elephants and other large mammals is now showing up mixed with heroin in some areas of the country.

The drug is 10,000 times more potent than morphine.

And 100 times more powerful than the opioid fentanyl, which itself can be lethal in doses as small as 2 milligrams.

The new threat, known as carfentanil, is so deadly that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently issued a warning to law enforcement, first responders, and the public.

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This synthetic opioid has been linked to a number of overdoses and deaths around the country.

Carfentanil can show up as a powder, tablets, blotter paper, or spray. It may be sold by itself or mixed in with heroin to produce a bigger high.

Some forms of carfentanil can be accidentally inhaled or absorbed through the skin, putting law enforcement, first responders, and even drug-sniffing dogs at risk of overdose.

People exposed to the drug can become drowsy or disoriented, or may develop pinpoint pupils or clammy skin. An overdose can also slow a person's breathing to dangerous levels.

Symptoms can occur within minutes of exposure.

The DEA is urging law enforcement and health officials keep naloxone -- also known as Narcan -- on hand. This opiate antidote can reverse an overdose, but it may require several doses.

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Emergency medical care is still needed.

Amping up drugs

Carfentanil is not a new drug. This schedule 2 controlled substance was developed in the 1970s for use in animals.

In spite of its long history, it may not be surprising that carfentanil has finally made its way onto the street.

"With the number of people addicted to opioid drugs in the United States on the rise, suppliers will use whatever chemical they can get, including drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil," William Eggleston, PharmD, a clinical toxicologist at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the Upstate New York Poison Center, told Healthline.

An estimated 2.6 million Americans are addicted to heroin or prescription opioid pain relievers, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

But the idea of drug dealers lacing heroin or cocaine with other drugs to give a bigger high is part of an ongoing trend.

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"Heroin laced with other compounds, even strong opioids, is not new. Numerous other psychoactives have been added to heroin in the past," John Stogner, Ph.D., a criminologist at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and co-author of "Emerging Trends in Drug Use and Distribution," told Healthline.

One of the most common drugs added to heroin in recent years is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid similar to carfentanil. Fentanyl mixed with heroin or cocaine caused a number of overdose deaths in the United States and Canada as early as 2006.

But even marijuana has been sold laced with embalming fluid or PCP.

Users may not always know they are buying a laced drug until they need urgent medical care. Still, some are aware of the dangers.

In research that has not been published yet, Stogner and his colleagues talked to incarcerated substance users with a recent history of nonmedical use of opioids.

"The group seemed readily aware of the potential for poorly cut batches to endanger their lives," said Stogner. "They took precautions in the form of avoiding dealers or areas they believed sold heroin cut with synthetics."

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Doctors and public health officials can also educate people about the dangers of buying drugs on the street.

"Healthcare providers need to continue to urge patients that there is no way of knowing what adulterants or contaminants are in illegal drugs and that many of them can be extremely dangerous or deadly," said Eggleston.

Keeping up with drug threats

With the DEA warning and media coverage, news about the dangers of carfentanil spread quickly.

But the next new drug to pop up on the street may still catch law enforcement off guard.

"Unfortunately, we are not getting better at catching up with new threats," said Stogner. "Neither law enforcement nor academic researchers do an adequate job at forecasting drug trends and assessing emergent issues."

One challenge is knowing what substance people have overdosed on. Even users may not know what they have taken.

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Similar drugs -- like heroin and carfentanil -- can give almost identical overdose symptoms.

"One of the reasons this may fly under the radar," said Stogner, "is that overdoses associated with heroin laced with other opiates or opioids present the same way and respond similarly."

Laboratory tests can help -- if there's any drug left to test. But this can take time for official confirmation.

By then, another drug may make its way onto the street.

Some experts think the best way to stay ahead of new drug threats is to focus on the people most at risk.

"One of the most important things healthcare providers can do is to continue to advocate for resources to help patients combat addiction," said Eggleston. "We need more manpower and financial support if we're going to win this fight."

By Shawn Radcliffe
At the recently concluded 17th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Conference of the Parties (CoP17) - the largest meeting of its kind ever held - IUCN helped inform a number of landmark decisions on regulating sustainable and legal trade, writes Richard Jenkins, Deputy Director of IUCN's Global Species Programme, from Johannesburg.

Many of the issues discussed at the CoP17 conference were recently brought to light at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii. The role of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an inter-governmental observer organisation to the Convention is to provide technical input and expertise on species and conservation. As scientific information on the biology and conservation status of species in the wild is fundamental to decision-making in CITES, IUCN, through its Species Survival Commission (SSC), plays a key role. In Johannesburg, the IUCN SSC was represented by its Specialist Groups, providing a wealth of expertise on African rhinos, African and Asian elephants, amphibians, antelopes, boa and pythons, cats, chameleons, crocodiles, eels, orchids, pangolins, sharks, seahorses, small carnivores, tortoises and freshwater turtles, as well as livelihoods and the sustainable use of wild species.

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IUCN's African Elephant Status Report, launched during CoP17, provided the most up-to-date information on the African elephant population, highlighting the countries that have experienced most serious declines, and the ones that are sustaining large and stable populations. The report guided a key decision on a proposal to up-list elephant populations in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe onto Appendix I, which includes species threatened with extinction.

Debates on whether to add, remove, or transfer species between the CITES Appendices were further informed by the IUCN/TRAFFIC Analyses, which objectively examine proposals to amend the appendices against the CITES listing criteria. Other decisions adopted at the meeting were informed by status updates, such as the joint IUCN/TRAFFIC Rhino report, and information on the status and trade in pangolins, provided by the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group.

Aside from debates on iconic mammals, there were also a number of excellent outcomes for communities that live with, and depend on, wildlife. The President of the Republic of South Africa addressed the CoP on the first day and emphasised the importance of sustainable use of wildlife for socio-economic development and rural livelihoods.

The CoP saw a renewed effort to raise the profile of rural communities as beneficiaries of the sustainable use of wildlife and their vital role in combatting wildlife crime. A particularly noteworthy decision was to set up a CITES working group dedicated to determining the best way of engaging rural communities in CITES processes. This decision echoed an IUCN resolution adopted last month at the IUCN Congress, highlighting the need to recognise, understand and enhance the role of indigenous peoples and local communities in tackling the illegal wildlife trade crisis.

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The sustainable use of wild species - a fundamental principle of CITES - was at the heart of many discussions and decisions at the meeting, which were taken to strengthen the convention's oversight of sustainable trade in wild-harvested and captive-bred species. These new and improved procedures will help to prevent legal trade from becoming detrimental to species in the wild.

During the meeting, IUCN's Boa & Python Specialist Group highlighted its new reports which reveal that the wild harvesting and farming of CITES-listed pythons is ecologically sustainable and results in socio-economic benefits for poor households in South-East Asia.

Many species for which current trade levels - if left unchecked - would likely threaten wild populations were added to Appendix II so that they come under CITES trade controls. These included six species of soft-shelled turtles (Trionychidae), two genera of African pygmy chameleons, two African vipers, the Hong Kong warty newt, the earless monitor lizard, the masobe gecko, chambered nautiluses, devil rays, silky sharks, the tree genus Dalbergia and other commercially important timber species, pony tail palms and Grandidier's baobab.

There was also a serious effort to focus on combatting the illegal wildlife trade in species and their parts, with decisions taken to bolster initiatives to tackle corruption and cybercrime, to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products, and to strengthen enforcement activities.

As in previous CITES meetings, elephants and rhinos were the focus of many debates and decisions and attracted a great deal of media attention. The CoP saw the acceptance of the National Ivory Action Plans as a tool for Parties most affected by illegal trade in ivory, including source, transit and destination countries, to strengthen their controls of the trade in ivory and ivory markets, and help combat the illegal ivory trade. The plan was supported by other decisions on ivory stockpile management and forensic analysis of large-scale ivory seizures. The continent-wide African Rhino Conservation Plan, led by South Africa and IUCN's African Rhino Specialist Group, was also launched at the meeting and received warm support from African rhino range states.

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Current levels of trade are so high in some species that they were put on Appendix I to prohibit international commercial trade. These species, which also face multiple other threats, included five species of alligator lizards, the psychedelic rock gecko, the Chinese crocodile lizard, the turquoise dwarf gecko, the Titicaca water frog, the Barbary macaque and the African grey parrot.

There was some positive news too, with the Cape Mountain zebra being transferred from Appendix I to Appendix II thanks to effective conservation action and management. Madagascar's tomato frog was also down-listed from Appendix I to Appendix II, while the two other species in this genus, Dyscophus guineti and D. insularis, were listed on to Appendix II under the 'lookalike' principle, i.e. species that are very difficult to distinguish from other species that are threatened by international trade. The CoP was also used to draw attention to particularly critical species conservation issues, such as the plight of the vaquita porpoise, which is threatened with extinction by illegal gill-net fishing for toataba, and the hunting of helmeted hornbills for their highly-valued casque ivory.
The phenomenon of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, we've been told for months in the media, has been fueled by the coal-fired alienation and anger of the nation's working-class whites. Appalachia, more than any other region, has been targeted as ground zero. And J.D. Vance's best-selling and heartfelt memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, has been held up by conservative and liberal reviewers alike as "a Tough Love Analysis of the Poor Who Back Trump."



Well, sorry, but just as there is no reason to deny the Republican stronghold in the region, outsider observers need to look beyond default stereotypes for some sort of tidy explanation for today's electorate.

Don't blame hillbillies for Trump.

For every "hillbilly elegy," there is a hillbilly paean, or a "Higher Ground," in the words of a Harlan County theatre troupe, which puts local voices on stage to grapple with the stories of addiction, abuse and jobs.

The media, on the other hand, and its hype over Trump, has missed the real humanitarian crises of power and powerlessness in Appalachia, and an unacknowledged assault by absentee coal companies and pharmaceutical companies on its residents, instead relying on breathless and uninformed proclamations on "hillbilly culture" that simply rehash the old stereotypes that have dogged the region for centuries.

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And media hype it is: The American Conservative christened Trump "the tribune of poor white people." Slightly more moderate, the Christian Science Monitor pointed out the "deeper rebellion" of Appalachian whites joining the insurgent Trump campaign, in search of a political vehicle for their "desperate sadness." News outlets like CNN have showcased America's "forgotten tribe," suddenly left behind in the "war on coal," and abandoned to the long black veil of racism, drug addiction, abuse, multi-generational poverty and gun-toting fatalism. In its glowing review of Hillbilly Elegy, The New Yorker asked: "Why is the hillbilly culture so defensive, insular, and frozen in time?"

Well, it ain't. And for anyone who has done more than an hour's worth of research, it hasn't been for a century. In 1932, federal surveyors begged Washington policymakers to "revise old ideas" of Appalachia as a static region, and recognize its "rapid transformation" and upheaval from outside industries.

Instead of derision or finger-wagging accusation, it's time our nation pays its debt to Appalachia, and places the diverse region in the forefront of regeneration and a new economy.

"Appalachia has given more than can be counted to the nation at large," 9th-generation West Virginia-based radio commentator Bob Kincaid told me. "It's time the nation gave back and with no strings attached and no talk of our own bootstraps, which, for all intents and purposes, we boiled and ate a couple of generations back."



To claim Trump has uniquely galvanized a working-class white electorate by tapping into its bitter political alienation disregards two centuries of historical clashes--and a never-ending hillbilly trope of backwardness by the media since the British Crown warned about the "dangerous" backwater people in the Appalachian mountains before the American Revolution.

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Far from a singular tribe in a single place, Appalachia is a vast region, stretching over 13 states. It's our nation's most conflicted region, a crossroads of cultures, with black and white cultures so entangled that a country song can be traced to a minstrel or blues origin. The region has been the frontlines of industrial shift and disenfranchisement and political conflict for centuries--and every wealthy and powerful politician has attempted to exploit it, from the "log cabin and a hard cider" slogan of wealthy presidential candidate William Henry Harrison in 1840, to President Ronald Reagan, who won West Virginia by a landslide in 1984 with the upbeat campaign slogan, "It's Morning Again in America."

Another Appalachia---or several other Appalachias--is waiting to be discovered by the media or children of the diaspora, like Vance or myself, who appear every election to pass judgment on the region's ills without any sense of the historical context of the region.

And these "other Appalachias" have been waiting a long time: Today's election stories on Appalachia's "war on coal" and entrenched poverty largely replay stereotypes of "Yesterday's People," the textbook manual of blame on some cultural deficiency of poor whites in the 1960s, still overlooking the boom-bust realities of absentee-owned extraction industries and their stranglehold over the development of the region.

Despair, hopelessness, fatalism--yeah, Appalachia and Greater Appalachia and rural America, in general, have amassed their share of these traits in abundance. And not by accident. When my Mom lived in a log cabin without water and electricity in southern Illinois, the mined-out and deforested region was described as a place of "utter hopelessness" in a report, Seven Stranded Coal Towns.

"Sitting here in the midst of the collapse, I'm trying to figure out how to get around the usual dreck that surrounds any discussion of Appalachia," Kincaid said, from a family of coal miners and long-time activists against mountaintop removal mining. "It comes not only from the "outsiders," but from inside, as well; not only from the pro-coal forces, but from our own forces (such as they are) opposing them. It's as if we don't know how to be anything but what we've been told we are. To see in John Fox, Jr.'s "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" a vision of a before-the-fall Appalachia, then to consider what came next and then to look at Google Earth and see the ossified remains of that area he described as "Edenic" and know it's only going to get worse absent profound and brilliant change is to serve as witness to a funeral after an execution by drawing and quartering."

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Kincaid, like so many other Appalachians, has been fighting back for decades.

For every Trump supporter blaming President Obama with the faux "war on coal" slogan, we need commentators and reviewers to point out that Vance's native homeland in eastern Kentucky lost nearly 70% of their coal jobs to mechanization (mountaintop removal strip mines) in the three decades before President Obama came to power. That coal states and coal companies have been found guilty in court of violating basic clean water mine laws; that the rates of birth defects and cancer have skyrocketed in strip mining areas; and, that mine unions have collapsed over the past decade, shattering any fabric of tight communities.

That people are dying from cancer-related diseases from mountaintop removal in central Appalachia, thanks to a regulatory policy that turns a blind eye to an outlaw coal industry.

For every heartbreaking story of addiction, in Appalachia, we need commentators and reviewers to note that the makers of OxyContin (referred to as "hillbilly heroin") pleaded guilty in 2007 to falsely marketing a drug that has ravaged the region.

For every "face of poverty" in the media, like Sabrina Shrader in after her 2013 state legislature testimony on her own hunger, you have a emerging Sabrina Shrader that was inspired by Bernie Sanders' campaign, and has now become a leader of Our Children Our Future Campaign, and a candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates.

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For every non-union coal miner waiting for Trump to bring back a declining industry, a recent poll found that two-thirds of Appalachian voters believe elected officials should focus on attracting new industries into former coal towns. Republicans and Democrats alike have joined to pass the RECLAIM ACT to provide $1 billion in funds for economic diversification programs in coal country.

Courageous Appalachians living in the ruins of mountainntop removal have never given up their struggle for civil rights and health justice, still campaigning daily for the Appalachian Community Health Emergency Act.

For every Mountain Dew-swigging mother, as the caricature is often trotted out in news program, legions of folks are reviving a local food economy; Hazard hosted the Big Ideas Fest for Appalachia: Visionary Thinking and Doing, examining high tech options, including NASA satellites. Retired eastern Kentucky coal miners like Carl Shoupe and Stanley Sturgill are fighting mountaintop removal operations and leading energy efficiency employment projects, while others pursue reforestation and hemp efforts, and new groups like Accelerating Appalachia are launching regenerative economic solutions in the region.

It's an old story, actually, this hillbilly shuffle.

For every "Sut Lovingood," the "darn fool" with his "brains unhooked" in the New York newspapers in the 1850s, there has been an Appalachian writer like Rebecca Harding, who published the first fiction of white working class and immigrant realities in The Atlantic Monthly in 1861, or today's Affrilachian (African American Appalachia) poet laureate of Kentucky, Frank X. Walker, bestselling novelists like Ron Rash and Denise Giardina, or feminist and renowned author like bell hooks.

For every racist swinging that Confederate flag--and there are many--we need teachers to remind us that Black History Month emerged from West Virginian historian and coal miner Carter Woodson, and Appalachia produced the 19th Century's defining black nationalist Martin Delany, as well as blues, jazz and rock icons like Bessie Smith, Nina Simone and Bill Withers.



"You can't understand America until you understand Appalachia," Don West, a labor organizer told me, as we visited poor families near abandoned coal mines in McDowell County in the early1980s.

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West had cofounded the Highlander Folk School in eastern Tennessee, which trained the shock troops of the Civil Rights Movement and inspired Rosa Parks, four months before the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. Parks said her visit among hillbilly organizers was the first time she found white people she could trust.
The White House in Washington, D.C. is seen after sunset as darkness falls. It is the home of the first family of the president of the United States of America.

Bone up on the facts, before Trump recites these tired falsehoods at the closing debates.

When "Hillary doubters" are asked to point to specific things that raise concern about her trustworthiness or integrity, they mention the so-called "email scandal" or the supposed "Clinton Foundation transgressions"-- or even to purported failures in Libya and Iraq. But they are never able to point to factual, real-life wrongdoings on Hillary's part.



There is a simple reason for this: no wrongdoing has actually taken place. Rather, these invented incidents are the product of an overly active imagination by dystopic Trumpians, the alt-right underworld, and the seemingly ever-present cadre of dedicated Hillary naysayers. The press shares the blame by perpetuating dubious myths in the interest of eyeballs, advertising dollars and the promotion of a Presidential race made to seem closer than it should really be.



At the upcoming debates, Trump promises to hit Hillary "harder." Don't let his own fabrications deceive you:

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Falsehood #1. Have you heard the one about Hillary being caught in a lie because she claimed that no classified emails crossed her unclassified server? Trump will undoubtedly bring this up--and given all of the press palaver, you may have missed that FBI Director Comey actually exonerated her on this point. How so? Well, in brief, what makes a sensitive document a genuinely classified document is the way it is marked--as in with a heading "Top Secret," "Secret," or "Confidential." Guess how many documents crossing Hillary's unclassified server during her time in office bore one of these required headings? What if you were told the answer was zero, zilch, nada? (Well--that is the fact of the matter.)

In the absence of such classified markings or labeling, the decision as to which of Hillary's emails contained classified material is an entirely subjective one: one classification expert might deem a nugget of information or expression "classified," while another may not. Hillary naturally relied on the hundreds of diplomats and other highly experienced State Department employees she communicated with to keep her within the bounds of "non-classification" when she communicated over unencrypted servers.

Meanwhile, from everything you've been hearing or reading, you would think all of Hillary's communications traveled over unsecured servers--but this could not be further from the truth. Rather, when Hillary needed to communicate, or receive information about, really sensitive and genuinely classified information, she did so via a whole separate, highly encrypted, system that connects the State Department to Embassies and consulates around the world

Want to go a little deeper on this topic? Well then, Homework assignment #1 is to read this: This Must Stop: The Three Big Fictions (And One Hidden Truth) About Hillary's Emails

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Oh, and one more thing: about those 33,000 emails Hillary supposedly wrongfully deleted? Well, here are the operating facts: when leaving public service, all Government employees are allowed to take their personal emails with them--and preserve or delete them, as he or she sees fit. At a time well before Hillary's handling of emails became a public issue, she instructed her lawyers (all with proper security clearances of their own) to review her tens of thousands of emails and to dispose of those that were personal. As reported by the FBI, Hillary did not personally review or second-guess the work of these highly capable lawyers who, again, followed this procedure long before the email issue became a lightning rod for trumped up Republican charges. As with the other falsehoods about Hillary's emails, there is absolutely no wrongdoing to be found on this point--and the Republican FBI Director specifically came to the same conclusion.

Falsehood #2. Trump has declared the Clinton Foundation to be "the most corrupt organization in history." Ignoring for a moment the smoking guns of corruption unearthed in recent weeks about Trump's own foundation, let's consider Senator Tim Kaine's words describing the Clinton Foundation--a pithy and accurate description he provided at the Vice Presidential debate on Tuesday night:

I am glad to talk about the foundation. It is one of the highest rated charities in the world. It provides AIDS drugs to about 11.5 million people. It helps America deal with opioid overdoses and it gets higher rankings for its charity than the American Red Cross does. It does a lot of good work. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state took no action to benefit the Foundation. The State Department did an investigation and concluded that everything Hillary Clinton did as Secretary of State was in the interest of the United States. So, the foundation does good work and Hillary Clinton as secretary of state acted in the interest of the United States.

In particular, every single Trump charge of "trading favors" or "pay to play" has been debunked by the many analysts who have looked at the Clinton Foundation--and notably, no U.S. investigative agency has chosen to go after it. It is especially telling that, given the worldwide friends and contacts Bill and Hillary have developed over 40 years in public life, they have nevertheless succeeded in respecting the punctilio of "no special favors" for foundation donors--a foundation which exclusively supports the poorest of the poor around the world.

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Want to go a little deeper on this topic? Well then, Homework assignment #2 is to read this: How the Press is Making the Clinton Foundation into the New Benghazi

Falsehood #3. Trump will undoubtedly assert, yet again, that he was against the Iraq war before it began--and then he will pivot and say that Hillary supported the war, even voted "for" it in 2002. While Hillary has long since taken ownership for that vote (as was both responsible and politically astute), what if you were to learn that Senator Clinton was joined in her Iraq vote by liberal lions Tom Harkin, John Kerry and Joe Biden? Notably, this vote took place just over a year after 9/11 and at a time when the only war George Bush had prosecuted to that point was a highly popular and successful one, to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban.

More importantly, what if you learned Hillary's "yes" vote on the 2002 Iraq resolution was actually one that aimed to restrain the President's power to wage an unjustified war on Iraq? You see, lawyer Hillary, a junior New York Senator at the time, voted aye on a resolution that required that sanctions or diplomacy be fully employed before force was used--i.e. force was to be used "only as "necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United State" and only upon the President certifying to Congress that "diplomatic or other peaceful means" would be insufficient to defang Saddam.



So when Hillary later apologized for that vote, many of us understood this not as apologizing for the side she took on that vote, but rather for trusting a man, then in only the second year of his Presidency, to abide by the requirement that he exhaust weapons inspections and other diplomatic means before going to war.



What Hillary said at the time she cast that vote also belies any notion that she was a war-monger, either then or now:

My vote is not a vote for any new doctrine of preemption or for unilateralism or for the arrogance of American power or purpose, all of which carry grave dangers for our Nation, the rule of international law, and the peace and security of people throughout the world.

Yes, these are Hillary's actual words on the day of her vote in October 2002. And these words presaged the collaboration-seeking "Smart Power" doctrine she later advanced as Secretary of State.



Want to know more about this topic? Well then, Homework assignment #3 is to read this: Re-Examining Iraq: Is Hillary Really a Hawk?

Falsehood #4. Trump will also undoubtedly repeat his assertion that he opposed our country's Libya intervention in 2011, which took place under Hillary Clinton's watch. (He didn't--he supported it.) But Trump doubles this particular lie when he says Libya is now a lost cause, or that ISIS has taken over the entire country. (On ISIS: their Libyan leadership has recently been decapitated, and they are on the verge of being completely ousted from their principal stronghold in the town of Sirte.)

The genesis of our country's effort to support Libyan democracy was the March 2011 attempt by the late dictator Muammar Ghaddafi to commit a mass atrocity in Libya's second city of Benghazi. The United States, with much involvement by Secretary Clinton, chose to support our European and Arab allies in stopping a column of warriors, personally directed by Ghaddafi, from marching on Benghazi--with the very real prospect, just hours away, that its residents would be slaughtered. A very unpleasant internal revolution against Qaddafi and subsequent civil war did take place in 2011, which led to the welcome overthrow (and gruesome death) of Qaddafi himself--but which also gave rise, in that war's aftermath, to the formation or strengthening of many local militias and the breakdown of governance, generally.

Despite all the instability that ensued in Libya, relatively well-run elections were held, a moderate was elected to head the country, Qaddafi's old stockpile of chemical weapons was safely removed, and a Western-supported effort to stabilize and democratize institutions have all taken place since the end of the civil war. Development experts the world over will tell you that the work of standing up a democratic nation state on the ashes of an old, tyrannical one can take generations, and European and U.S. efforts to assist like-minded Libyans to create a new Constitution, strengthen civil society groups and expand citizen participation and the building of peaceful institutions are ongoing to this very day.

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Guess who put these efforts into place? None other than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The eventual success of U.S. efforts to rebuild a constitutional democratic structure in Libya will be part of Hillary's long-term legacy, and part of the hard development work she has undertaken more broadly in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world. In the meantime, saving hundreds of thousands of lives and keeping chemical weapons out of the hands of militias and terrorists are wins all by themselves. And news of Libya's ultimate demise as a nation-state is premature, at best.

Want to go a little deeper on this topic? Well then, Homework assignment #4 is to read this: Debunked: Bernie's Second Big Myth About Hillary's Foreign Policy Record
I captured this image in 2002 at the Ajanta caves outside of Aurangabad, India. Helen and I were in the final three months of a year of traveling out of small backpacks and on $30/day between the two of us. It was a great trip - as Mark Twain once said, "adventure is discomfort misremembered."

We landed in Bombay after a flight from Zanzibar (flights, SCUBA and safaris were outside of our daily $30 budget). And after five days in and around Bombay, our first challenge was to find our way to Aurangabad.

Enter our first experience with the Indian train system. For perspective, the Indian train system was once the single largest employer in the world and is still in the top ten (the US Defense Department is now the world's largest employer). And consider that the Indian train system moves considerably more people than it employs. With this as a backdrop, Helen and I entered the central station in Bombay, successfully queued up and purchased two second class tickets to Aurangabad.

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This, it turned out, was the easy part. Finding our way to the correct track and train, on the other hand, proved a nearly insurmountable challenge. All the signs pointing to different trains and tracks were written in Hindi script. I stopped a handful of people and asked them each in English if they could point me to the train to Aurangabad. English is not an official language in India, but it's still there, lurking in the background among the educated class - a holdover from India's days as a British colony.

Still, no luck. Everyone I asked just shook their head and flipped one hand, palm side up, in the universal Indian expression that roughly translates to "I have no idea what you're saying."

A bit anxious about missing our train and in a bit of desperation, I turned to the next well dressed Indian man I saw, embarrassingly adopted my best Indian accent and asked if he could direct us to the train to Aurangabad. To my delight and astonishment, my accent did the trick. We finally were pointed in a general direction and given a track number.

There wasn't much to the town of Aurangabad. We stayed in a dusty hotel that sat right between the Ellora Temple and the Ajanta Caves. I'll admit it, the Ellora Temple held me in sway. Helen and I had seen the rock-cut churches of Lalibella in Ethiopia several months earlier and the Ellora temple is India's answer to that great Ethiopian treasure. Cut out of a single hillside of rock, the Ellora temple with it's many floors, large elephant guardians and other intricate grandeur is truly a wonder of the world.

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Helen and I spent a day exploring the Ellora Temple got a good night's sleep and tackled the Ajanta caves the next morning. The caves date back to the 2nd century BCE and contain some of the oldest known Indian cave paintings. There are 28 caves in all, each representing a different Indian Monastery from the ancient era - and all the caves were consumed by the jungle and rediscovered by a British army officer during a hunting expedition in 1819.

The caves were each different, each amazing and many contained ancient drawings and carvings. That said, by the time we reached cave 20, I was feeling a bit worn out and tired of spending so much time indoors. As amazing as the Ajanta caves were, they paled in comparison to the grandeur of the Ellora Temple we had explored just the day before. Of course, having made the trek to Aurangabad, and being there in that amazing place, Helen and dutifully entered each open cave and in order - after all, we didn't want to miss anything.

When we entered cave 26, we knew why we were there, at the caves, and walking in and exploring each of them. There, carved into the far wall near the entrance was this amazing reclining Buddha. The light shone in through the opening and cast an perfect waft of light across the Buddha from head to toe.

I pulled my camera to my eye and considered the light, my film speed and the composition. This was long before digital photography and back when the light limits of our cameras were defined by a combination of the aperture (lens opening) and film speed (ASA). You could push the film, essentially fake the film out and pretend you were shooting one that performed better in lower light. You'd then process the film differently in the lab. But the trade off was in the clarity of the image (it deteriorated the more you pushed the film) and the fact that the entire role of 36 frames would need to be shot and processed differently.

Bearing in mind that I carried 12-15 rolls of film with me at any given time, and considering that I would shoot perhaps six frames of this Buddha - at most - pushing the film was out of the question.

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All told, given the light and the lens I had, I needed to shoot with the shutter open for a full second. Without a tripod. That's an insane length of time to hold the camera steady. But seeing the Buddha and the light before me, I knew I had to try. To get this picture, I braced myself against the opposing wall, pressed the camera tight against my face, took a deep breath, held it, and slowly pressed the trigger - concentrating on the Buddha and trying to channel all the calm and inner peace that I could in that moment.

I'm very pleased with the result - and, of note, one of the limited edition prints of this image resides in the permanent collection at the San Jose Museum of Art.
Cork, Ireland

"The vast majority of evangelicals support Donald Trump." We've heard that statement so often during this election season that it's all but assumed fact. But there's a problem with that line and with how we talk about "evangelicals" in this election.

From a political perspective, "evangelicals" comprise primarily older, politically conservative white men. A statement released yesterday by a racially diverse and intergenerational group of evangelicals bucks that identity. In it, the signatories call out the racism apparent this election cycle, writing, "racism cuts to the core of the gospel, and racial justice and reconciliation is at the heart of the message of Jesus." They apply that theological commitment to this election by saying that racial bigotry "is a foundational matter of the gospel for us in this election, and not just another issue. ... Its brazen use to win elections threatens to reverse real progress on racial equity and set America back."

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The signers are not alone in their belief that racial justice is a core issue for evangelicals, though you wouldn't know it from reviewing the media's portrayal of them.

"Evangelical" as a voting bloc has long enjoyed the kind of political sway that has earned it a place at the top of news cycles in every presidential election season in recent history. It stems from the fact that 30 percent of Americans identify as "evangelicals," according to 2014 data from Pew Research Center, and that partisan political organizing long ago grabbed only two issues to define the term.

The confusion now comes in how we talk about evangelicals. Several polls this election season, including one by Pew, show that Donald Trump's support among white evangelicals is close to 80 percent; too often that number gets reported as "80 percent of [all] evangelicals support Trump." But it's not true.

If you look a little more carefully at the data, about 37 percent of self-identified evangelicals are non-white, and those numbers are growing.

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Mitt Romney's run bears this out: He got a similar level of support from evangelical voters as Trump is getting now, but his support dropped significantly when non-white evangelicals were included in the measurement. And of course, this is a very different election, with one candidate stoking racial fears and making implicit racism explicit.

Data from PRRI shows that the share of older white evangelicals in this country is shrinking, while the non-white and younger generation of evangelicals is growing. Unfortunately, older white evangelicals are showing themselves to be more white than evangelical, putting aside many of their traditional moral concerns to support Donald Trump -- a move that seems hypocritical to many. But that trend is not true of evangelicals of color and a younger generation -- who define evangelical differently than older white evangelicals do. And thankfully, they are using the original definition Jesus gave us.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed meto bring good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim release to the captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free."

The root of the Greek verb Jesus uses in Luke 4 for "good news" is evangel, from which we get the words "evangelize" and "evangelical." It's a theological term, not a political one. It means that Jesus' movement was to be based on proclaiming the good news, and without a doubt, Jesus' gospel was always to be good news for the poor and oppressed.

The new evangelical statement attempts to clarify who evangelicals are and how they should be defined: not as a people beholden to any political party, but as a people who proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ that always seeks to lift up those on the margins of society -- not deport them, or scam them, or attack their professionalism because of their ethnicity or gender. These evangelicals are Americans of African and European descent, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American. They are women and men, as well as younger and older evangelical Christians from a wide range of denominational and political backgrounds.

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"We believe in the unity of the body of Christ, but we acknowledge the diverse nature of a community whose faith is biblical and evangelical," the statement says. "And we are growing. Given the rich diversity within our unity, we call upon the political world to hear all our voices, and for the media to acknowledge that the evangelical community is quite diverse."

And they're not alone.

According to Jon Ward -- who released a short documentary and an examination of this trend for Yahoo! News today, "It's unclear how this will play out politically, but a growing and active subset of Christians are determined to reclaim the evangelical label, and to reject the idea that they are a monolithic voting bloc that marches in lockstep with the GOP."

And even a number of white evangelical leaders, including conservative columnist Michael Gerson, the Southern Baptist Convention's Russell Moore, and others, have come out against the racial bigotry and misogyny in this election cycle that is antithetical to Christian and evangelical values. Still other white evangelical leaders and pastors have privately told me how "astonishing" it is to them that a majority of white evangelicals seem to be lining up behind Trump.

But this is not ultimately about politics. It's not about favoring any political party. As the aforementioned statement says: "Whether we support Mr. Trump's political opponent is not the question here. Hillary Clinton is both supported and distrusted by a variety of Christian voters. We, undersigned evangelicals, simply will not tolerate the racial, religious, and gender bigotry that Donald Trump has consistently and deliberately fueled, no matter how else we choose to vote or not to vote."

For a new, multiethnic generation of evangelicals, this is a moral test of conscience and faith over what is most important to us.

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Will this election ultimately be about "whiteness" or about what is best for the diverse America we are becoming?

Before and after this election, my hope is that the media and other commentators will start getting it right. What it means to be "evangelical" is changing -- it's reverting back to its original meaning.

Older, white "evangelicals" are clearly losing their share of the electorate and their political power, while the share of younger, non-white evangelicals is growing. The issues that motivate these younger, multiethnic evangelicals -- which include racial, economic, and gender justice and healing, as well as issues of life from womb to tomb -- remind us what it means to be a bearer of good news to those on the margins. That points to a very different future for the word "evangelical" in this country. And that is "good news" indeed!
Linda Tirelli - a bankruptcy attorney in White Plains, New York - has a case load of approximately twelve hundred clients and they're ordinary folks: first responders, retirees, teachers, construction workers. Most are in bankruptcy because they're unemployed or underemployed; collateral damage from 2008's financial meltdown. Their situation, according to Tirelli, is made far worse because they would like to stay in place while trying to put their lives together but changes to the consumer bankruptcy code in 2005 have made that all but impossible.

Hillary Clinton, as New York's Senator, should have stepped up to the plate and fought the change because the old code provided for something called judicial modification; a provision that that allowed a bankruptcy judge to force banks to modify a homeowner's mortgage.

Hillary didn't and almost three years after the bill's passage the housing market tanked and took the world's economy with it. Tens of millions of homeowners were sucked into the maws of the foreclosure machine, chewed up and spit out; in the process losing equity, credit, sleep, health, not to mention self-respect. Much of this agita could have been ameliorated, according to Tirelli:

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Homes might have been saved if following Obama's election the administration supported judicial modification and it would have cost the taxpayers NOTHING, zip, zero, zilch. If the banks and servicers felt the pressure that a bankruptcy judge could modify a mortgage loan on a primary residence then they would have considered doing more modifications on their own; avoiding the cost of having lawyers argue their case in bankruptcy court.

I've written about Tirelli for American Banker and Huffington Post; she's a go-to source for news and among her noteworthy feats was the outing of foreclosure fraud by Wells Fargo in 2014. That bit of rock-kicking got her named lawyer of the year by 4,000 of her colleagues, members of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys

Together with fellow lawyers - and on their own nickel -- Tirelli recalls traveling to DC, pre-2008 election, to surf the halls of Congress, peeking and poking around for a friendly face who might help restore judicial modification to the bankruptcy code.

Tirelli, a registered Republican, found those friendly faces in the guise of the two Democratic presidential contenders, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: The former, all gung ho for the idea; the latter, well, a staffer in Hillary's office - all smiles - promised to forward the information because, as he told Tirelli, the Senator "knows how important the issue is to consumers."

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So, in 2008 Tirelli went all democratic, voting for Obama but as the financial tsunami drowned Main Street the new President's support for judicial modification turned out to be just another promise with fingers crossed behind back.

The first two versions of the TARP bill tried to float this life preserver but the renewed nexus of a financially empowered Wall Street and friendly faces like Timmy Geithner at Treasury conspired to send judicial modification to never/never land.

Ironically, the 2005 reform bill did allow a homeowner to save a second home or rental property.



Back Asswards, as Tirelli puts it:

It's not a coincidence that the rules changed such that I can save your vacation property before I can save your primary residence. Let's face it, the majority of homeowners don't have the luxury of owning a rental or secondary property so they made damn sure that we couldn't do judicial modifications on primary residences. It would have hurt Wall Street but it would have saved homeowners.

Hurting Wall Street was not on Senator Clinton's agenda in 2005.

She sang a different tune as First Lady.

After reading a 1998 New York Times op-ed by Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren, Hillary summoned the Prof to a meeting and listened intently to a passion fueled sermon about the impact of changes to the bankruptcy code on middle-class families who fall on hard times.

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Efforts to change the code were led by lobbyists for the credit card industry who feared that high carb profits would continue to take a hit when drowning-in-debt consumers sought refuge in Chapter 7 (which was, as many critics pointed out at the time, the logical end to a relentless marketing campaign to convince Americans that better lives could be led through the unbridled use of plastic).

Elizabeth Warren sensed the danger early on and explained to Hillary that changes to the code would preserve the credit card industry's bottom line but it came at a high cost. Warren made her case using the example of a divorced mother with kiddies, pointing out the level playing field sought by the credit card industry would make hubby's cash fair game for the snatching and eliminate the sacrosanct nature of child support and alimony. Not good for a divorced mom who wants to keep family in hearth and home.

According to Warren, First Lady Hillary "got it." So much so that she implored husband Bill to kill the piece of bankruptcy reform legislation that sat ready for his John Hancock. Bill acceded to Hillary's wishes. It was his last act in office; pocket vetoing the bill in 2000.

Fast forward to Senator Clinton: 2001, who now supported the proposed changes to the bankruptcy law. The bill was essentially the same but Hillary had a changed and as Elizabeth Warren told Bill Moyers in a 2004 interview the Senator's political priorities now seemed to fall in synch with her new constituency: Wall Street.

Senator Clinton, together with 36 other Democrats including Senator Joe Biden, voted "yea" for the reform bill in 2001 but the Congressional numbers didn't add up for passage. It would take a new election to turn a recalcitrant Congress into an enthusiastic one, passing the so-called "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act," in April of 2005. While placing added burdens on regular folks seeking a safe harbor to escape from debt, Mega-Industries that screwed up badly like fraud-laden Enron, Adelphi, Worldcom and Global Crossing could still flock to bankruptcy court as they figured out next moves.

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The new consumer bankruptcy code raised fees for filing (a real encouragement if you're already broke) and to ramp up the shame factor (something that the debt-collection industry loves to exploit) you had to pay for taking a kindergarten-style financial literacy review which seemed to financially benefit only the companies that were offering the course



No longer would the bankruptcy court provide a reprieve for hard-pressed debtors seeking the traditional "fresh start" while trying to hold on to a primary residence.

True to form, Senator Sanders voted no whenever the bill came up for a vote.



In the August, 2007, Presidential primary debate with Barack Obama, Hillary offered mea culpas for supporting the bill in 2001 (she abstained in 2005).

Hillary has since remained silently weak-kneed on the issue of consumer bankruptcy and in the current campaign has avoided discussing any real alternatives for underwater homeowners who remain subject to the not-so-tender mercies of mortgage servicers and third-party investors (Trump has remained silent as well). Even Treasury's half-hearted modification program, HAMP, will be rolling up by year's end and there's been little in the way of suggestions regarding a replacement.

In 2014, Senator Warren, citing failed efforts to ameliorate the housing crisis took the Obama Administration to task claiming that efforts to reverse the foreclosure damage done by Wall Street was the equivalent of trying to put out a forest fire with an eye dropper.

Like a downed fighter with the best corner men money can buy, Wall Street has picked itself back up, gotten back into the ring, dusted off the derivatives and damn any regulatory torpedoes are headed full speed into new revenue streams including housing, putting aside any talk of bad old days coming back. No, they'd like you to believe it's a thing of the past - a legacy - but stats prove otherwise. It's still a problem and something that Tirelli is keen to talk about.

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There are still millions of homeowners in foreclosure and Hillary sat idly by while the 2005 bankruptcy reform act stripped judges of their power to modify mortgages. As far as I'm concerned - unfortunately - my business will continue to boom.

I can only imagine the conflicts that went on in Liz Warren's head when arriving at the decision to bite the bullet and support Hillary. If Secretary Clinton becomes President Clinton - and if Warren allows her voice to be drowned out by Wall Street's chumminess with the new Prez -- then the bitten bullet may prove to be a dum-dum with splinters ricocheting off Main Street sidewalks and targeting ordinary Americans.
Southerners are downright feisty about their independence. There's a great sign at a park on the Alabama-Tennessee border which proclaims "We Dare Defend Our Rights!" Yet this rebellious streak doesn't seem to translate to independent candidates or third party challengers, who tend to fare poorly in Dixie. That may be changing as the Libertarian Party appeals to Southerners in general and Georgians in particular.

Several years ago, I attended a conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. A presenter showed us data on how poorly independents and third party challengers have performed in the South. Texas tycoon H. Ross Perot, Illinois Congressman John Anderson, and others, have received fewer Southern votes than most other regions.

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Sure there have been Dixiecrats like South Carolina's Strom Thurmond, and former Alabama Governor George Wallace, who won Southern states. But doesn't it say something that these men have failed to win more than a few of the Southern states against Northern candidates?

The Libertarian Party might be changing that, and it all started with Georgia eight years ago. Of course there was a Libertarian Party before that time. But in the 2008 election, a former Georgia Congressman, as well as a Senate candidate, changed all that. In that year, ex-Congressman Bob Barr became the Libertarian standard-bearer, faring much better than most candidates from his party in the presidential race, even though the nation followed the tight Obama-McCain contest.

The other was Attorney and CPA Allen Buckley, the Libertarian nominee for the U.S. Senate. Despite the presence of an incumbent U.S. Senator on the ticket, and an experienced State Senator, Buckley garnered enough votes to force Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin into a runoff, and for Republicans and Democrats to seek the support of Libertarians for the tie-breaking vote nearly a month after Obama prevailed. Buckley is running again in 2016.



Georgia Senate candidate Allen Buckley speaks before LaGrange College students

But was 2008 a fluke? The national average for Libertarian votes is about 0.5%-1% in presidential contests and 1-2% in Senate and Congressional races (I have no data for U.S. gubernatorial averages for Libertarian candidates, so I used Senate performance in the state as a proxy for statewide average). Georgia candidates ranging from Allen Buckley to John Monds to Andrew Hunt to Amanda Swafford have made or exceeded national averages, and twice (1992, 2008) thrown the Senate race into a runoff.

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It is also noteworthy that former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, in getting 1.16% of Georgia votes in 2012, nearly doubled the vote total of Barr, a Georgian. That is significant. Yet despite their statewide success, the Libertarian Party faces tremendously long odds in their races for downticket races, especially the U.S. Congress. In an email communique with me, Richard Winger, the Editor of Ballot Access News, wrote the following:

"Georgia has had a 5% (of the number of registered voters) petition in place for all minor party and independent candidates for US House since 1943. In all those 73 years, no minor party has ever complied with that law, and no independent complied with it since 1964. There was one independent on in1982 but the law was suspended in 1982 because of late redistricting, for only two Atlanta districts. This is a disgrace. The Libertarian Party has carried counties in Georgia in partisan races for Public Utilities Commissioner, three times (in races between a Libertarian and a Republican). We have had races like that in which we have polled over 1,000,000 votes. We will probably have another race like that this November. It is shocking, unbelievable, that the LP is kept off the ballot for US House in Georgia when we have such voter support. Every other state has had Libertarians on the ballot for US House at least once in this century."

Imagine if the Libertarian Party got 5%, of the vote to qualify for Federal Matching Funds, which would enable the party to get more recognition, recruit more followers, and make the 2020 debates, which would only increase the visibility of the party with real national exposure. Since this is the decision of taxpayers to voluntarily contribute to the matching fund, I see no reason why this violates any Libertarian beliefs. A visit to Georgia, especially to college campuses, should help, as several students consider themselves to be strong libertarians.

To determine whether college visits would help, I interviewed LaGrange College Presidential Student Ambassador Matt Crawford, a campus leader, who said

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"Millennials are ready for a change. We are tired of the old two party system where it seems we all lose. The other day I was discussing the current presidential election with a group of fellow college students. These individuals ranged from far left to far right, but we all had one thing in common, none of us were very crazy about the Republican or Democrat nominees. During the course of our discussion, the Johnson-Weld ticket was brought up and almost every student agreed that not only were they the best qualified, but they had the best policy as well. Millennials are ready for something different. They are ready for the third party option that Governor Johnson has to offer."



Libertarian VP Candidate William Weld speaks in Atlanta. Photo by Brandon Collins

Senate candidate Buckley's visit to my college netted a fairly good turnout. Even more Georgians showed up in Atlanta to see former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, running as Johnson's Vice-Presidential candidate. Many in attendance were enthusiastic college students. It's a sign of not only the power of the Libertarian Party in Georgia, and the potential for what it could become in the region, as conservative Southerners have decide between Donald Trump and a pair of experienced former Republican governors.
Reflecting on the completion of our Clinton Global Initiative commitment to save elephants, I realize how privileged I was in 2013 to participate in two seminal meetings in New York City that helped to frame the future direction of this global movement to make sure there is a future in the wild for these incredible creatures.

It had been a year of mourning for elephants, being slaughtered at the rate of 35,000 a year (96 per day) to meet soaring demand for ivory globally. Earlier that spring, a team of researchers led by my WCS colleagues Samantha Strindberg and Fiona Maisels had published their finding that well over 60 percent of Africa's forest elephants had been killed since 2002.



In September 2013, eleven African leaders came together at a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative to declare that the world must stop selling ivory and close their domestic ivory markets. Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS.

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In July of 2013, WCS worked with Secretary Clinton to call together the largest and most active conservation NGOs working to protect elephants to confront the burgeoning crisis of ivory poaching. As we sat together at the Central Park Zoo thinking through our strategy none of us could have imagined that two months later, at the urging of Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea Clinton, eleven African leaders would powerfully declare that the world must stop selling ivory and close their domestic ivory markets.

Out of that meeting an $80 million commitment took shape in the form of the nascent Clinton Global Initiative Elephant Action Network, whose goal would be to stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand for elephant ivory.

Reducing the killing required significant funding for greater enforcement and the development of more aggressive and sophisticated elephant poaching detection tools and protocols. Tackling demand required no less than a shift in long-held cultural attitudes and perceptions of the true scope of the crisis taking place in Africa. In the three years since the CGI commitment was made, great progress has been made on each of those fronts.



Across Africa today, elephants are being slaughtered at the rate of up to 35,000 a year -- 96 per day -- to meet soaring demand for ivory globally. Credit: Charles Foley/WCS.



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Trafficking interdiction efforts have been expanded both at airports and seaports in Africa and at their destination points. Dogs trained to sniff out the presence of ivory have been a growing asset, as have so-called SMART enforcement systems that use mobile technology to track both wildlife and poachers. Meanwhile, a series of campaigns targeting in-country social media have had an impact on public opinion in China -- the world's largest ivory market.

As those efforts proceeded abroad, WCS drew up a particular set of goals to address trafficking in ivory in the United States, where is found one of the world's largest ivory markets outside of China. If US-based institutions of government and civil society were going to be asking other nations to clean up their act, we would have to do the same.

Out of this essential focus, a coalition called 96 Elephants was born. Named for the number of elephants killed daily in Africa, this group would grow in the next three years to a campaign engaging more than 200 organizations in 45 states working to end the illegal wildlife trade in the United States and globally. Our goal would be to secure a U.S. federal ivory ban and pass bans on ivory sales within U.S. states with the greatest trade in ivory, starting with New York metropolitan region - the heart of the U.S. ivory market.



Hillary and Chelsea Clinton speak at the launch of the Elephant Action Network at the 2013 meetings of the Clinton Global Initiative. Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS.

The first thing we did was to poll New Yorkers. We found that more than 80 percent supported a ban on the sale of ivory, finding it immoral and reprehensible. New York set the standard. On World Elephant Day in 2014, Governor Cuomo signed the New York ban into law - in large part due to effort of hundreds of thousands of individuals and passionate advocates like Katie Lee and piano man Billy Joel, whose outreach to elected leaders and Gov. Cuomo proved critical.

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California, the nation's 2nd largest ivory market, passed a similar bill in 2015. And just a few months ago, Hawaii - with the 3rd largest market - passed a wildlife trade ban protecting elephants. These laws have been matched by an impressive focus on enforcement at the local level. Just last month, I joined Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance and New York State DEC Commissioner Basic Seggos to announce the New York's largest ever seizure of illegal ivory, with a value of $4.5 million.

President Obama and the administration have played a key role in helping to stop this devastating trade though the recently enacted federal ivory ban, foreign diplomacy, and efforts to align a whole-of-government approach. And as a matter of fact, the Chinese government has recently publicly stated that they too will be closing their ivory markets.



WCS Exec VP for Public Affairs and 96 Elephants Director John Calvelli joins Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. in September 2016 to announce the largest seizure of illegal ivory in New York state history, valued at $4.5 million. Credit: John Delaney/WCS.

And at the just-completed CoP 17 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), parties adopted a resolution calling for the closure of global domestic ivory markets - adding further weight to a similar resolution passed in September at the quadrennial meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In the three years since the Clinton Global Initiative helped to launch the Elephant Action Network we have gained valuable insights. As CGI winds down this year, it is important to reflect on some key takeaways for the benefit of similarly ambitious conservation efforts that can and must continue for the protection of wildlife and wild places.

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One of the most critical ideas that has come out of work by both the network and the 96 Elephants campaign is the importance of partnerships. We are always stronger when like-minded leaders and institutions - public, private, and non-profit - come together as one to achieve their goals.



In July 2013, the Wildlife Conservation Society worked with Secretary Clinton to gather at WCS's Central Park Zoo the largest and most active conservation NGOs working to protect elephants to confront the burgeoning crisis of ivory poaching. Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS.

On the trafficking side - perhaps the most complex challenge of the three pillars embraced by the network - we now have a deeper appreciation for the importance of coordinating ivory enforcement efforts and the role of intelligence gathering.

Finally, we must never lose hope. Our efforts have proven that smart interventions can work to protect elephants and other threatened wildlife. At sites in Congo, Chad, and Kenya for instance, elephant populations are stable or increasing because people and organizations are working together to conserve these magnificent animals and their increasingly encroached upon habitat.

All participants in the Elephant Action Network have been privileged and fortunate to work in collaboration with Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative, whose commitment to the conservation of wild species and their ecosystems cannot be overstated. We thank them for their guidance and dedication.

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(Detail from "Mumu" by Mika, for Swatch)

So many words! This is what comes of being the People of the Book -- that our approach to sacred days, succeeding the ancient system of tangible sacrifices and physical offerings, has evolved to be so much a matter of recitation, of bringing our heritage to life verbally. Through centuries of exile, such practice created a moveable home for the Jewish people, forming a sanctuary, in whatever space, built of syllables and sentences, rather than of stones.

And still today -- as High Holiday services at Harvard University, for example, take place in two multi-purpose rooms and in two borrowed churches, clustered around Harvard Square -- what makes our spaces of worship into sanctuaries is that they become filled with the words of our tradition. So many words!

But if asked to reduce the whole of the thick prayer book for the Jewish New Year to one single word, I could answer readily, and without hesitation: "m'loch!"

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"Reign!" -- or, as one might translate the imperative form of the Hebrew word for King: "Be Sovereign!"

"Our God and God of our ancestors," we pray, "reign over the entire world in Your glory, and be exalted over all the earth in Your splendor, and appear in the magnificence of the augustness of Your might over all the inhabitants of Your earthly realm, so that every animated being will know You as its animation, and every creature will understand You to be its creator..."

Rosh Hashanah -- as far as the aspiration of its many words is concerned -- is a grand fanfare for the Divine.

Over and over, we pray for a world in which Divinity is gloriously manifest, a world that shines with the immediate presence of the Most High, as we imagine the Divine ascending in splendor to be enthroned.

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So much of the liturgy of our New Year is a quoting of our scriptures back toward the Divine, as though reminding God of this ancient reassurance and of that one, by way of imploring for the fulfillment, finally, of the visions, and for the actualization, at long last, of the promises of divine sovereignty.

"The Eternal One shall reign, robed in splendor, girded in strength, making the earth firm, that it not totter." (Psalm 93:1). "God shall make wondrous works to be remembered." (Psalm 111:14). "God shall ascend amid the fanfare, the Eternal One in the call of the ram's horn." (Psalm 47:6)

"The Eternal One shall rule forever." (Exodus 15:18) "And I [God] shall remember my covenant with Jacob, and even my covenant with Isaac, and even my covenant with Abraham shall I remember, and I will remember the land." (Exodus 2:24) "And it shall come to pass on that day that a great ram's horn will be sounded..." (Isaiah 27:13)

Yom Kippur, then - our Day of Atonement - is a rejoinder that says: Imagine for a moment that all of that happened. How would you stand on such a day? Consider what it would be like if God were suddenly so manifest, enthroned so actually in glory. Could you stand in that presence, as you are, and survive?

Now that is a terrifying thought. And immediately we begin to search our souls and recognize our shortcomings. We may define the Divine Sovereignty and Divine Presence we pray for at Rosh Hashanah as: That Before Which Our Failings and Our Faults are Glaring and Transparent on Yom Kippur.

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And that sounds rather discouraging. Is each new cycle and the start of each new year mostly a matter of telling ourselves that we have not yet deserved the Kingdom of the Divine, that we have failed and fallen short and proven unworthy of God's Majestic Presence? Our liturgy on the Day of Atonement can seem that way: "We have sinned, we have transgressed, we have rebelled, we have spoken seditiously" - so who are we to expect and to demand that God be gloriously manifest in our world?

There is that possibility, the hazard of a self-deprecating and self-abnegating approach to the High Holidays, an experience of prayer to make us feel tiny and despicable - one from which we walk away saying to ourselves it must be fair, after all, when the world fails to shine with divine light, and berating ourselves for expecting such splendor in the first place.

To which I say - God forbid.

Or rather, we must forbid it. We have to take an approach to our New Year that starts in a constructive experience that may actually lead somewhere redemptive.

Rather than telling ourselves we are unworthy, Yom Kippur ought to be a matter of clearing away obstacles and obstructions, so that what we have within ourselves to contribute toward a world radiating Divine Presence can shine forth. Instead of burying ourselves in a feeling of how undeserving we may be, our Day of Atonement should be a matter of getting out from under such encumbrance, so that we can address ourselves to the year ahead with self-respect and with a sense of possibility.

We have to face that within ourselves which is wanting, and the particular ways in which we have fallen short. But the purpose of doing so is to leave the faults behind - we name them in order to get a grip on them, and we specify them so that we can put them out of our way, as we turn toward the year ahead. We do not catalogue our transgressions to define ourselves. On the contrary, we list our failings in a realization that we do not have to repeat them.

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An Affordable Piece Of Paradise In The Caribbean

I am a big fan of little Belize. I've been recommending Ambergris Caye, Belize's Caribbean face, for years and, more recently, the country's Cayo District for its back-to-basics self-resilient lifestyle.

Another part of this country is worth a look, too. Northern Belize is a remote region of tropical rivers, hardwood forests, traditional farms, sleepy rural villages, and breezy Caribbean seashores. This is a refreshingly off-the-radar place where residents embrace a simple, friendly, by-the-sea lifestyle.

It is also the best value destination in Belize and one of the most affordable options for retirement in the Caribbean.

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Northern Belize is an area of about 2,500 square miles and the point where the Caribbean and Central America meet. As that geographic juxtaposition suggests, the population is diverse, and it is becoming more so as North American retirees are beginning to recognize what this overlooked part of Belize has to offer and settling here in growing numbers.

Northern Belize's remoteness is part of its appeal, but remote living has its disadvantages, especially in retirement. This is why the proximity of this part of Belize to Chetumal, Mexico, just across the border, is so important. The town of Corozal in Northern Belize is a gateway town to Chetumal and from there to Merida and Cancun beyond. In Northern Belize, you could enjoy a bargain Caribbean lifestyle with easy access to shopping, city distractions, and, very important, medical care in Chetumal.

Belizeans are known for their hospitality. Plus, they all speak English, so new friendships are quickly and easily made. Corozal is home to an established and growing expat community, but this group is well integrated with the local Belizean community. Living here, how would you fill your days? Sailing around Sarteneja, horseback riding at Chan Chich, kayaking at Orchid Bay, fishing at Bacalar Chico, or bird watching at Crooked Tree Lodge, and you wouldn't ever lack for company, Belizean or expat, if you wanted it.

While some expat retirees are prepared to be pioneers and carve a homestead out of the jungle or maybe plant a farm, most prefer to settle in a town (the three most appealing for expat retirees are Sarteneja, Corozal, and Orange Walk) or in one of the expat pockets developing in places like 4 Mile Lagoon and Gringo Lane. In recent years, planned communities have developed specifically with the foreign retiree in mind.

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Property taxes are miniscule in Belize. This is a plus on one hand, but it means that municipal services are thin on the ground. There just aren't funds to support them, thus the appeal of the organized and private communities that are evolving. These are places where you can enjoy a laid-back, bargain Caribbean lifestyle in Northern Belize while maintaining a North American standard of living.

Retirees settling in this part of Belize are launching all manner of businesses, from restaurants, bars, and B&Bs to construction services and farming. Others are well and truly retired, choosing to spend their days deciding which book to read next or which restaurant to boat over to for lunch.

Corozal (which is both a town and a district) maintains a Friendship List so expats can stay in touch and know what's going on. Every Wednesday, foreign retirees and residents meet at Jam Rock Restaurant for darts. One Thursday per month is the Corozal Women's Forum. Fridays are for Happy Hour and potluck dinners in expats' homes. The third Saturday of each month is Art in the Park, when local artists set up tables to display and sell their work. There's a local chapter of the Rotary Club, a Sailing Club, and Full Moon concerts in front of the Corozal House of Culture.

Despite the growing expat influence and excluding most waterfront property, real estate in this part of the country is still priced for the Belizean market. This is unusual and likely won't continue much longer. The presence of foreign buyers eventually translates to pricing for foreign buyers. This hasn't happened yet, though, meaning a window of opportunity.

As anywhere in the world, waterfront land is the highest priced and much more expensive than inland property. Still, the cost of waterfront in Northern Belize is a bargain compared with prices out on Ambergris and Belize's other cayes and an even greater bargain compared with values elsewhere in the Caribbean.

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It's possible to buy a sea-view lot for as little as US$30,000 or a small but turn-key casita in some of the development communities in the region for less than US$200,000. Also recently on the market was a seafront house in Sarteneja built to U.S. standards on 1 acre of land and listed for US$299,000.

Inland you can find larger properties suitable for farming. If this idea interests you and you're willing to dig deep and talk to the locals, you can find land for as little as US$1,000 per acre.

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Produced by Jym Magon and Jim Andron, the album was released through Disney's Buena Vista records and consisted of ten original songs, most of which were written by husband and wife songwriting duo, Michael and Patricia Silversher. The Silversher's, who have written some of Disney's most memorable theme songs (including Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears and Tale Spin), contributed five of the album's ten tracks, which also included songs by Lois Blaisch and a songwriting team credited as Patrick, Bourland, Gift & Hughes. "I had a recording set up in the garage," Michael recalls, "in back of the house and we wrote and recorded a bunch of songs in that two-week period, and every one of them made it onto the album. Those songs included "In the Twink of an Eye", "A Color Symphony", "The First Part of Friendship is Friends," and the album's title track "Paint a Rainbow In Your Heart." I personally love "Paint A Rainbow In Your Heart," Silversher says of his favorite tune on the disc.



"The Disney Music Company was looking for properties other than Disney," producer Jym Magon recalls about how the album was pitched to him. "Somehow we connected with Hallmark, so we said, 'We can do some story books and maybe even a song album, if you want.' And it went from there."



The story tapes, which included many of the voices used for the animated series, resembled radio plays that were very popular in the eighties, and Disney dominated the market. Those story tapes, most notably those centered on Rainbow Brite, were how my parents taught me to read. The series consisted of six read-along stories, my favorite being "Rainbow Brite and the Big Color Mix Up" which included the Silversher's song "A Color Symphony" after the story was finished. Each book had its own song and while Symphony was the album version of the song, two of the stories, "Rainbow Brite Saves Spring" and "Rainbow Brite and the Brook Meadow Deer" included demo versions of the songs "Rainbow Land" and "Paint a Rainbow in Your Heart" respectively - something both Magon and Silversher find funny and strange. "I don't know why they did that," Magon laughs. "I believe it's Patty singing, "Paint a Rainbow" and I think "Rainbow Land" is Lois' voice slightly sped up."



The albums were put into production at the same time as the story-tapes. "We were called by Jymn Magon," Silversher says, "and he told us that this was a co-production with three companies: Hallmark, who had created the characters, Mattel, who made the toys, and Disney for the music. Mind you, this is way before Haim Saban and company did any of their TV stuff."



"I remember Bettina," Magon says of Bettina Bush, the actress who provided the voice of Rainbow Brite. "I recall her as very sharp and talented. She was doing a lot of cartoon voice work at the time." In addition to songwriting, Michael also provided the voice of Twink (Rainbow Brite's Sprite side-kick, voiced by Robbie Lee in the series and story tapes) in three of the songs "Twink of an Eye", "Bink! Bonk!" and "Prismatistm" which was written by Patrick, Bourland, and Gift.



Lois Blaish, who wrote Tiffany's hit song "Could've Been," contributed (and sang) one of Magon's favorite songs on the album, "Rainbow Land". "I'll never forget when the head of the Disney Music Label called me and said 'If ever there were a song I would want sung to my child, that would be the song and I would want you to sing it!'" Blaish said in a Facebook post. "That was the sweetest thing a music biz executive ever said to me."



Based on a statement posted on Lois Blaish's website, the album was certified gold by the RIAA (though no other information on that can be found). The album was so popular that a second album "A Rainbow Brite Christmas" was also produced. Though Andron continued on as a producer, Magon did not, but the album did include a few tracks written by the Silversher's.



As mentioned, these songs are very special to me. They got me through some very dark times in my life. They, in part, sparked my love of music and are some of the reasons why I myself got into music. To the many men and women involved in this project, I can't thank you enough. You have inspired me, you have taught me, and you have saved me.
The Internet may have just become a safer place for vulnerable kids, with the arrest yesterday of Carl Ferrer, the chief executive of Backpage.com. California authorities charged him with multiple counts of pimping, defined as soliciting customers for prostitutes, or profiting off of them. Charged also with pimping minors, Mr. Ferrer faces almost 22 years in prison if convicted. Arrest warrants were also issued for two founders of Backpage.com, the leading marketplace for escort ads. All three face felony conspiracy to commit pimping charges. The company's Dallas offices were also raided.

Those are the kind of vulnerable kids we at Covenant House see at our shelters, where, according to our studies with two universities, almost a quarter of the young people interviewed have been commercially sexually exploited - homeless kids, those from the foster care system, those who, because their families couldn't or wouldn't take care of them, are vulnerable to pimps who offer them love and security.



But in the next few months, Backpage's reach may be severely shortened. After the Supreme Court refused to hear Backpage's attempt to block a Senate subpoena, Ferrer and his company have until Monday to produce files on how it monitors ads, or they could face monetary fines and/or imprisonment. And Backpage is trying to defend its policies in several courtrooms around the country, facing the teenagers it helped exploit. At issue is the company's claim that it is protected by the Communications Decency Act, even though that legislation was created to keep children safe online.



We know that stopping Backpage's escort ads will not stop the sexual exploitation of young people online. We know there are countless other sites, some run by Backpage, that would gladly jump on the profits to be made from the commercialized rape of children.



But we are overjoyed that the real possibilities of arrest and felony charges now await those who prey in such a sick way on the most vulnerable kids in our society.
The soaring rhetoric of those in power should always be greeted with a healthy amount of skepticism. Or at least that's how I usually feel. But yesterday as I listened to Jim Kim, President of the World Bank, talk about his commitment to protecting, caring and investing in children, especially those most likely to be left behind -- an argument that was one part emotional, one part scientific and one part economic -- I believed him completely. And the feeling hasn't worn off.



It's not just that everything he said was true -- because it always has been -- it's that I'm now convinced the head of the World Bank believes it as much as I do.



Kim's speech at the Human Capital Summit came on the heels of Wednesday's launch of a much awaited new three-part series on Early Childhood Development from The Lancet which presents new estimates that at least 250 million children are at risk of poor development -- trapping them in a cycle of poverty by harming their cognitive growth and wellbeing and subsequently diminishing their future earning potential by as much as 25 percent.



The economic impacts go far beyond the individual and family, for low and middle-income countries, the lost economic opportunity of continuing to allow millions of children to suffer from stunting, inadequate stimulation and care could be as much as twice what these countries spend nationally on health.



When The Lancet says that four out of ten children worldwide are seriously limited in accessing what they need for healthy development we all have to sit up and listen. When that is followed by the President of the World Bank, The Executive Director of UNICEF and Finance Ministers from Pakistan to Tanzania, talking seriously about doing more and better, something is serious is afoot.



The case for early childhood development is airtight. It's the perfect cocktail of science, economics, common sense and a strong moral compass, but globally we are still way behind on putting all of these pieces together and taking the next necessary steps -- investing the billions necessary to scale up all of the interventions that children need. In particular, we continue to leave behind those children and families who are most vulnerable.



These children most likely to be left behind -- and the vast gaps between rich and poor -- is the focus of a new Theirworld equity snapshot on early childhood development across 53 countries in Africa. The data tells a clear story about how humanity has lost its way in supporting the most vulnerable children. Millions of children are being left behind at every development milestone -- those most likely to be left behind are disproportionately poor.
The value of a professional network is undeniable. And lack of access to informal networks has been cited as one of the primary barriers to the advancement of women in business. So how do we help women build better networks? At Ellevate Network, a global women's network, I tackle this opportunity every day.

Personally, I've experienced the power of my professional network on many occasions. When I first entered the professional landscape, and quickly realized that investment banking wasn't the right fit for me, it was a friend from college who introduced me to the wonderful world of start-ups and helped me get a job at Vault.com. Thanks to my friend, who saw potential in me that I had not yet realized, I started a career as a sales assistant and eventually became the VP of North American Ad Sales and then the GM of International Operations.

Vault was an early leader in the field of career networking. It had discussion boards where students and professionals shared information on employers and careers. Vault also published survey-based guides where anonymous peers shared insights on what it was like to work at the world's top companies. There was an endless flow of shared information, but little person-to-person connection.

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My next two jobs were also a direct result of my network. Former managers recruited me to help start their businesses. Joining the founding team of a company was a risk, but a huge learning opportunity. 39% of Ellevate members say that the biggest hurdle to starting their company is getting the courage to make the jump. Many women think about starting their own businesses but are hesitant to make the leap. As a result of my professional network, my time at Zeel.com taught me a great deal about launching a business, including trusting my instincts, developing a personal board of advisors, and the work that goes into raising money.

When it came time to make my next career transition, I wanted to work at a company more closely aligned with my personal passion - closing the achievement gap for women and girls. I had been a member of 85 Broads (now Ellevate Network) for years and reached out to the business leader to discuss potential opportunities in the industry. That conversation led to a job. Yet more progress due to my network.

I believe in the power of women to drive better businesses, economies, and cultures, and I'm blown away every day by the women I meet through the Ellevate Network. I've seen first-hand the power of a strong network and now, through Ellevate, I am able to facilitate connections between professional women every day.
How did that delicious bowl of pho migrate across an ocean and land on your table? How did the Vietnamese get to America?

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people fled their country on boats of all sizes. This first wave of immigrants to arrive in America by boat started the kinds of Vietnamese neighborhoods that I would eventually grow up in. Other refugees, like my family, didn't come to America by boat. At least not right away.

Those who didn't have access to larger boats, and those who were not part of military evacuation, had to travel on the small fishing boats available to them. Many didn't escape and many perished at sea. The desire to escape the war torn country was so intense that even these small boats were loaded with up to a hundred people. This obviously didn't make for safe methods of transportation, though it did make easy targets for pirates at sea.

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Most of the fishing boats travelled only as far as their little engines could take them. After that it was left to the currents and the winds to carry them onward. In an effort to aid the Boat People, the UN founded a handful refugee camps for the fortunate ones who managed to survive the journey. Some wound up in camps in the Philippines, some in Malaysia, and others, like me, in Galang, Indonesia. After years of harsh living conditions, the U.S. eventually eased restrictions on the entry of Vietnamese refugees, allowing them to arrive safely by plane and (bigger) boats from camps like these.

I decided to travel back to Galang to learn more about my roots and my ancestor's history.

There never have been direct flights to Galang. The easiest way to get there is to fly into Singapore, take a short ferry ride over to Batam, and rent a car and driver to go to Galang.

I was a bit disillusioned when I arrived at my hotel in Batam and learned that the staff weren't even aware of the old Vietnamese refugee camps that were only 25 miles Southeast. I understand that it's not a typical tourist attraction, nor something that visiting Singaporeans and Indonesians would likely visit, but it came with the realization that outside of Vietnam many people don't know about these camps.

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I ventured off to the Galang camp not long after checking into the hotel. The temples still remain and the administration buildings have been turned into museums and working areas for the staff. Unfortunately, most of the barrack housing have been destroyed. The powerful history is being erased and it is difficult to get a true sense of what life was like back when it housed hundreds and thousands of Vietnamese refugees. I wanted to be able to imagine those times, but it felt as though I were being forced to put it behind me.

I wandered around the grounds for a bit, unsure of what to film for my YouTube video because there wasn't much I saw that was worth filming. I was on the side of a road looking at a monument when I waved to a motorbike passing by and said, "Xinh Chao" ("Hello" in Vietnamese). I thought I heard him respond, "Chao Anh" ("Hello, older brother"), but perhaps that's just wishful thinking.

A few minutes later I met an Indonesian man who spoke Vietnamese. His name is Abu Galang (he's the man you see guiding me in the video). Abu's mother used to cook for the camp, so he grew up around Vietnamese children. Not only did he pick up the language, but also the specific verbal mannerisms. It was truly amazing to hear an Indonesian man speak better Vietnamese than I could.

Abu still works at the camps all these years later as a guard and I was fortunate to catch him on his day off. If it wasn't for him, I would have had no idea where to go. It turns out area there is so massive that a driver unfamiliar with it would have limited knowledge on where the monuments or sites were located. Abu showed me just how much there was still experience in Galang. Meeting him reinstated my hopes and allowed me learn more about the camp. Here was an Indonesian man who was part of the history itself, preserving the spirit of Vietnam.

As a history major in university, I know to appreciate remnants of the past. As a Vietnamese American I know to appreciate how my ancestors, the pioneering individuals who shaped the Vietnamese identity abroad, lived and endured. Visiting the camp and touring around with Abu allowed me to capture and grasp the beautiful and haunting imagery of a grievous era, without which us Vietnamese Americans would not exist.

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The sacrifices and hardships of this time should never be forgotten, and to really know the identity of Vietnamese people abroad, is to visit these camps.

Thank you to all of the individuals and the first generation of Vietnamese immigrants who weathered hardships at sea, on land, and in their new host countries. Thank you to those who made it possible for my friends and I to live freely today.
Plenty of headline-grabbing words about health care and other topics have been exchanged between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton this campaign season making for an extraordinary 2016 race to the White House. Whoever wins in November, it's expected that our next president will change health care in this nation.

The substance of what Trump and Clinton are saying about actual policy sometimes gets lost in the soundbites, so here at insuranceQuotes we thought it would help if we breakdown what the candidates want to do about Obamacare, Medicare and the private insurance providers involved.

Sure, we've heard plenty of talk about the health of each candidate, but what about your health?

The outcome at the ballot box could affect everything from your insurance premiums and prescription drug costs to whether you receive coverage at all.

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Future of Obamacare

The future of Obamacare is at stake in November.

Republican nominee Trump has vowed to repeal Obamacare, while Clinton is a firm supporter. The Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state has called to expand the health care law by offering government-run insurance plans. Keep in mind there is only so much the next president can do on his or her own without the permission of Congress.

President Obama's signature health care law came at a time when nearly 50 million Americans were uninsured. It was billed as a solution to make insurance more affordable and accessible, particularly for low-income Americans who struggle to pay for coverage.

Studies show Obamacare has expanded coverage to more than 20 million Americans who previously did not have insurance. Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed in March 2010, the uninsured rate has plummeted to an all-time low of 8.6 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For this reason, Democrats hail Obamacare a success. But critics argue the cost of health insurance is rising, because of what they say are unsustainable health care reforms.

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Previously, insurance companies could reject sick people because they cost too much to cover. Obamacare requires insurers not only to cover sick people with "pre-existing conditions," but also to offer them the same price as healthy people.

This forces insurers to bear the burden of sicker people because they cannot balance the risk with higher premiums.

Lawmakers anticipated this problem and built in a remedy to solve it, but their plan hasn't been as successful as first thought.

The individual mandate requires adults to purchase health insurance, or face hefty fines. Democrats reasoned the number of sick people seeking coverage would be balanced with an influx of young, healthy people, who are less likely to rack up expensive medical bills.

RELATED: The ABCs (and D) of Medicare



Essentially, young people were intended to pick up the slack for older, sicker Americans.

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The problem? The fines seem to be too small to entice young people to sign up for more expensive health care plans.

In 2016, the penalty is $695, or 2.5 percent of income. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates the average person will pay $969. That's a far cry from the cheapest Obamacare plan. Kaiser notes that the bronze plan cost an average of $2,484 in 2015. Many young people are taking the $695 hit and not purchasing insurance.

Also, growth has been slower than expected. The Congressional Budget Office originally predicted there would be 21 million people using the government-run health care exchanges by 2016, but as of March, there were only 11 million enrolled, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

That spells trouble for Obamacare.

The imbalance is forcing insurers to scale back as losses pile up.

VIDEO SERIES: Medicare 101

The nation's largest insurer -- UnitedHealth -- is pulling out of the exchanges next year in all but three states. The company claims it has lost $1.3 billion on the health care exchanges.

Aetna is also exiting the Obamacare exchanges in 11 states next year, amid $430 million in losses. While Humana plans to scale back by nearly 90 percent on the exchanges.

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To make matters worse, an Obamacare risk corridor program that eases insurers' pain by partially compensating them for losses will expire in 2017.

The fallout could send prices skyrocketing. The Department of Health and Human Services reported insurance premiums have jumped 8 percent since last year. What's more concerning: Insurers are considering a 23 percent rate hike on average in 2017, according to ACASignups.net.

What this means is Obamacare could have a reverse effect: As insurers pull out, there will be less competition in each market, fewer options for consumers, and prices will rise, critics say.

The next president is tasked with solving this problem. Clinton plans to tinker with Obamacare, while Trump wants to scrap it and start over.

Let's take a closer look at the competing health care plans of Trump and Clinton.

Where Trump stands on health care

Trump plans to repeal Obamacare and replace it with "something much better."

"On Day 1 of the Trump administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare," the Republican presidential candidate says in his seven-point health care plan.

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But Trump cannot eliminate Obamacare on his own. He would need to rally support in Congress.

In 2016, that wouldn't be a problem. In fact, the Republican-led Congress earlier this year passed a bill to repeal the health care law, but it was blocked by President Obama.

Could lawmakers repeal it again next year? That depends. The Senate is up for grabs in November, and if the Democrats take back control of the upper chamber, most would be ideologically opposed to shutting down Obamacare.

For the sake of argument, let's say Trump wins in November and Republicans maintain control of the Senate. What happens then?

Trump's plan to dismantle Obamacare would nearly double the number of uninsured Americans. According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, 22 million people would lose their insurance plans because of the repeal, while only 1 million of those people would regain coverage under the replacement policies.

This would cost the economy about $550 billion over the next decade, the study finds.

But the Center for Health and Economy paints a more optimistic picture. The group released a study in July that argues Trump's plan would decrease the federal deficit by $583 billion.

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Trump's plan to replace Obamacare involves a patchwork of proposals aimed at relinquishing the federal government's grip on health care and creating a free-market system.

It's starts with an overhaul of Medicaid, the government-funded health care program for low-income families. Any overhaul would require approval from Congress.

Trump would shift the responsibility for Medicaid to the states through what's known as a block-grant system. Republicans say this will give the states more control over the program, and encourage them to "eliminate fraud, waste and abuse," but critics say it could lead to massive funding cuts from cash-strapped states that would increase the number of low-income Americans without insurance.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated Trump's Medicaid plan could "generate significant savings." If the federal government were to freeze the block grants at the current levels, it would save $845 billion over the next decade.

But warnings sign can be gleaned from House Budget Chairman Tom Price's 2015 proposal to turn Medicaid into a block-grant program, which according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, would have led to $1.8 trillion in funding cut over the next decade and left "tens of millions of Americans" without health insurance.

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CHECK OUT: 6 Common Health Insurance Myths

Trump also would also seek to reduce the barriers for insurance companies to sell coverage across state lines.

Currently, federal law prohibits Americans from buying health insurance from out-of-state companies.

Trump would ask Congress to overturn this policy and open up a national health insurance market that increases competition and choice for consumers. This, he reasons, would put downward pressure on prices.

The Center for Health and Economy estimates that allowing insurers to selling across state lines would decrease premiums by as much as 37 percent by 2026.

In keeping with the spirit of a free market, Trump would also like to allow foreign pharmaceutical companies to import drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Supporters say this would lower prescription drug prices, but others have expressed safety concerns.

Trump would replace the "individual mandate" with tax credits. Americans would be allowed to deduct insurance premiums from their taxable income, which is the current practice for employees who receive insurance through their companies.

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But participation could take a hit if Trump removes the individual mandate, critics say, causing insurance premiums to climb.

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the tax credits would cost the government $100 billion in lost revenue, and critics say it would only benefit wealthy people who make enough money to claim deductions.

Trump would also exempt health savings accounts from taxes, and allow the benefits to be passed onto family members.

Such a tax overhaul would require congressional approval.

Doctors and hospitals would be required to offer more transparent prices, so patients can shop for the most affordable healthcare services, under Trump's plan.

The Affordable Care Act prohibits illegal immigrants from buying coverage through the government-run exchanges, but Trump claims he can save another $11 billion each year in health care costs by more rigorous enforcing existing immigration laws. This would fall within Trump's executive authority, meaning he would not need the permission of Congress.

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"If we were to simply enforce the current immigration laws and restrict the unbridled granting of visas to this country, we could relieve healthcare cost pressures on state and local governments," he wrote.



Where Clinton stands on health care

As first lady, Clinton wanted to reform health care in the 1990s but never got the major overhaul that is Obamacare. She still has health care as a top priority.

The Democratic presidential nominee has sworn to defend Obamacare from Republican attacks. She admitted there are "glitches" that must be addressed, but ultimately, she would fight to expand the healthcare law.

"As president, I will make sure Republicans never succeed in their attempts to strip away health care and that the remaining uninsured should be able to get the affordable coverage they need to stay healthy," Clinton says.

That starts with establishing a government-run "public option" that competes with private insurance companies in an effort to provide Americans with more healthcare choices and lower prices. In 2013, the Congressional Budget Office estimated this plan would save the government nearly $160 billion over a 10-year period.

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Clinton would be required to obtain congressional approval, but Senate Democrats are already rallying behind her push for a public option.

Clinton would also ask lawmakers for permission to expand Medicare, the government-funded health care program for older Americans. She wants to lower the age of eligibility from 65-years-old to 55-years-old.

This would make an addition 7 million Americans who currently do not have health insurance eligible for Medicare, according to a study from the consulting firm Avalere Health.

But critics say a Medicare expansion could have severe consequences: As more older Americans compete for the same number of doctors, treatment would be harder to come by.

The Affordable Care Act also provided incentives for states to expand Medicaid coverage to more poor families. So far, 31 states have increased eligibility to families that make up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line. This has helped as many as 10 million Americans who previous did not have health insurance find coverage.

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But Clinton intends to launch a campaign against the 19 states that have so far rejected the Medicaid expansion. She could do this unilaterally, because it was previously approved by lawmakers.

"Access to care should not depend on where you live," her campaign says.

"It is a disgrace that 19 states have left [4] million Americans without health insurance, because their states have refused to expand Medicaid. It is wrong that Republican governors and legislatures are leaving too many Americans without health insurance, even though the quality for coverage."

However, a recent study from the federal government won't help Clinton's push. The Department of Health and Human Services found that the cost of expanding Medicare came out to $6,366 per person. This was nearly 50 percent higher than expected.

Clinton would also wage a war against insurers and pharmaceutical companies over the rising cost of healthcare. "She will not stand for unjustified health premium increases," her campaign says.

Under Clinton, HHS would have the authority to block "unreasonable" increases in premium rates. She would also support legislation to cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $250.

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Clinton is staunchly opposed to Trump's immigration proposal. She would call for Congress to make illegal immigrants eligible for coverage on the health care exchanges.

She would also push Congress to double the funding community health centers that provide free medical services for tens of millions of low-income families each year. This would include a request for an additional $40 billion over the next decade.

These community health centers save uninsured Americans $1,200 each year in medical expenses, according to her campaign.

Clinton would also get behind telehealth efforts to expand coverage in rural areas.

However, you may be able to find a Medicare Advantage plan from a private insurer that covers part of the cost hearing loss testing and treatment.

This article was originally published on insuranceQuotes.com.

Laura Adams is a personal finance expert, award-winning author, host of the top-rated Money Girl Podcast, and insuranceQuotes' senior analyst. For more on auto, home, health, life, and business insurance, click here.
By Kristin Hettermann, Grace Delivers

Since the first marine site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, 49 sites in 37 countries stretching from the tropics to the poles have received this prestigious designation as an irreplaceable wonder of the world's oceans. Yet these unique places are facing unprecedented challenges and change. Right now, more than 15 World Heritage marine sites are suffering from serious coral bleaching and a third of all World Heritage marine sites are still unsustainably or illegally fished. From August 27-31, the guardians of the 49 World Heritage marine sites gathered from around the world in the Galapagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavor for UNESCO's Third World Heritage Marine Managers Conference, looking to share resources and find smart solutions.

Announced from this collaboration, the site managers from the Galapagos Islands, Coiba National Park, Cocos Island, Malpelo Fauna and Flora, Revillagigedo Archipelago, and Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California signed an historic agreement, the "Carta de Punta Suarez" to signify their commitment to working together to reduce illegal and unregulated fisheries in their sites, and interchange experiences to improve management practices. Carlos Godinez Reyes, Director of Cabo Pulmo National Park, referenced the cultural as well as environmental significance of this agreement, "This is the first agreement between World Heritage marine protected areas in this vast biological corridor between Gulf of California and Galapagos Islands in the Eastern Tropical Pacific that share not just megafauna like sharks and marine mammals, or similar ecosystems like coral reefs or insular and pristine territories, but a similar idiosyncrasy, language, and cultural diversity."

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In the past year, the nations that host the world's two largest coral reefs have developed visionary plans to secure their future. Belize Barrier Reef now has a blueprint to get off the World Heritage in Danger list, a list that indicates that the characteristics that make the site globally significant are at risk of being lost. Australia's Great Barrier Reef has announced a 35-year plan to protect its cherished waters. Following the announcement earlier this year that 33% of Galapagos Marine Park has been set aside as a no-take zone, managers from the Great Barrier Reef (which closed a similar percentage of its waters to fishing in 2004) and Galapagos National Park pledged at the Conference a closer collaboration to scale up compliance and monitoring in their respective no-take zones. Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, referenced the importance of no-take zones at the Conference, "World Heritage Sites should be fully protected and act as our baselines, time machines that let us see what the ocean of the past was like, and how the ocean of the future could be."

In Alaska, Glacier Bay National Park has made huge strides to increase the sustainability of cruise ships that bring 95% of all visitors to the park. The program allows ship companies to propose more environmentally friendly operations in exchange for the opportunity to tour Glacier Bay. The result: a reduction in air pollution, the risk of oil spills, and the chance of lethal collisions with humpback whales, plus millions of dollars each year to fund interpretive and educational programs, monitoring, and research. Now, Glacier Bay is working with the West Norwegian Fjords to explore expansion of this model and possibly common standards for ship visits that could apply to other World Heritage sites visited by the same cruise lines. "After years of development, trial and error, managers at Glacier Bay are utilizing a concessions system that uses the forces of the market to increase sustainability while maintaining high levels of visitation by cruise ships," explains Scott Gende, Senior Science Advisor with Glacier Bay. "We've demonstrated that this system has dramatically reduced air and water pollution, while bringing financial resources to the site for long-term monitoring and research. As long as companies can equate sustainable practices with a market advantage, both the sites and the companies win."

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The World Heritage marine network has a unique opportunity to spearhead change on a global scale. Collectively, these managers have hundreds of thousands of hours of practice in guarding the world's flagship protected areas, and site manager conferences help facilitate the exchange of best practices across this global community. "The World Heritage platform is a unique opportunity to explore solutions to some of the world's most pressing conservation challenges including climate adaptation strategies and market-based approaches to strengthen sustainable fisheries," says UNESCO's World Heritage Marine Programme Coordinator Fanny Douvere. "It is my hope that our successes and lessons learned can be a positive driver for change and secure a better future of our oceans."

World Heritage marine sites are among the most studied ocean areas on the planet, recognized by the international community for their outstanding beauty, exceptional biodiversity, or unique ecological, biological, and geological processes. Today, World Heritage marine sites comprise approximately 10% by surface area of all the world's marine protected areas, and include icons such as the Belize Barrier Reef, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Phoenix Islands Protected Area, and Everglades National Park. The honored list includes the breeding grounds of the world's last healthy population of grey whales, the highest density of ancestral polar-bear dens, and home of the world's most ancient fish and the marine iguana.

Nations work for years in a rigorous process to obtain World Heritage recognition, and once received, all leaders of all nations are bound by the responsibility to protect it. The roots of this global cooperation date back to 1956, when the Abu Simbel temples were in danger of being forever lost beneath the Nile, and Egypt and Sudan appealed to UNESCO for help. More than 50 nations came together to fund the careful relocation of the 5000-year-old temples to higher ground. This historic campaign set the stage for the 1972 World Heritage Convention ratified by nearly every nation on Earth, signifying their commitment to conserve, not just their own treasures, but the common heritage of humankind.

World Heritage marine sites can also power socio-economic development for local communities. One example is South Africa's iSimangaliso Wetland Park. It is home to the world's oldest fish, the Coelacanth, and the world's biggest animal, the blue whale. But the area is also home to 640,000 people, and the World Heritage site serves both its human and animal residents, balancing responsible economic development with effective conservation. Today, after 17 years of World Heritage designation, iSimangaliso supports 8,000 jobs, and hosts an environmental education program that reaches 150 schools and more than 2,400 future leaders every year.

Sven Lindblad, CEO of Lindblad Expeditions who provided leadership support to the conference, highlighted the importance of the World Heritage collection of environmental treasures. "The power of the World Heritage brand helps to increase interest in those sites, which often helps sites secure sustainable and long-term funding. From a tourism perspective, the designation adds value and all of us who incorporate World Heritage sites into itineraries should invest in their conservation, since they are the assets which we are trading upon."

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"In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught." Baba Dioum

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Despite headlining and playing to a mammoth crowd at last weekend's International Bluegrass Music Association's annual gathering in Raleigh, the boys from Brevard, North Carolina, better known as the Steep Canyon Rangers, have disqualified themselves from most likely ever winning another IBMA entertainer of the year award.

That's because the band doesn't play traditional bluegrass since it added percussion, says Mike Guggino, Steep's mandolin virtuoso, who also sings harmony. "We're like Hillary Clinton at a Trump rally, or maybe Bernie Sanders," he says with a laugh. It should be noted, however, the title track, "Radio," from the band's 2015 release, was nominated for IBMA song of the year (the award went to up-and-comers Flatt Lonesome). "That's fine. We get it. It's because of the drums. And Flatt Lonesome is great, very deserving."

"Steep," as they are affectionately known, is a Grammy-winning group most distinguishable from its contemporaries for partnering with comedian and banjo player Steve Martin.

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And despite winning a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album for 2013's "Nobody Knows You," which included the addition of percussionist Michael Ashworth, the band has recently found itself in a sort-of no man's land when it comes to defining its musical genre, Guggino continues.

"It's definitely weird," he says. "We're in an interesting place. We're too bluegrassy for the AMA (Americana Music Awards) and we're not in the jamgrass world, but we're on the fringes of all of it. In a way it's good because we can play so many different types of festivals and shows but it also makes it harder, too. It's so much easier if you are a definable thing but we don't fit into a category."

But trust me when I say Steep's fans, and there are many, don't care that the group, which also includes co-founders Woody Platt (guitar), Graham Sharp (banjo) and Charles R. Humphrey III (upright bass) and Nicky Sanders (fiddle) defies being categorized. And those fans have the chance to catch the band at two very different venues this weekend in Virginia -- The Festy Experience and Brewster Walk.

"We play such a variety of shows, it doesn't matter to us if we're playing for 500 or at Red Hat Amphitheater, as long as people are into it, we put on the same show," Guggino says. "We feel comfortable enough musically in our skin that we don't have to change for the crowd. This is it. This is what we do."

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Guggino credits the fans -- bluegrass, folk, Americana -- for being able to hang no matter what the band throws out at them. "No matter if they are really old or high school kids, they love the music just the same."

Guggino adds, "We think being undefinable is a positive." Indeed.
Macedonian customs officers pose for the media with hundreds of packages of marijuana which were seized at a border crossing, in Skopje, Macedonia, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Macedonian custom officers seized over 500 kilograms (1100 pounds) of marijuana at a Macedonian border crossing with neighboring Albania and detained the truck driver, police said. The marijuana, which is believed to have originated from Albania and destined for distribution in western Europe, has an estimated euro 3 million (US$ 3.8 million) street value. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Albania, a small country in southeastern Europe, has become the epicenter of the European drugs trade, especially marijuana. This should come as no surprise. With its extensive coastline along the Adriatic, this region of the Balkans has long been the trailhead for illicit goods, weapons and drugs hiking into the heart of Europe. This activity has bolstered the rise of organized crime and political corruption in a country that already faces many domestic challenges.

What makes the current situation unique are the allegations, especially coming from the opposition Democratic Party, that senior officials of the ruling Socialist Party are connected to or benefit from the drug trade. Prime Minister Edi Rama has been repeatedly accused of failing to do enough to stop Albania's role in Europe's drug trade. And Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri has even been accused of protecting--and even covering up for--those involved in the drug trade.

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These allegations raise the question: What could possibly motivate Albania's governing elite to get tangled up in the murky world of organized crime and drug smuggling?

Perhaps they stand to gain personally. Maybe it's part of a larger plan to retain power. Albania suffers from political and economic corruption as much as, if not more than, the rest of the Balkans. Millions of dollars could buy off a lot of judges, journalists, and prosecutors and help secure electoral victory well into the future.

Whatever the motivation, something fishy is going on.

Earlier this month, an Italian pilot, Andrea Guidi, crash landed in a field north of Albania's capital of Tirana. At first Guidi claimed he was flying over Albania for recreational reasons. However, a journalist named Artan Hoxha claimed that the pilot had told prosecutors that he was checking out the terrain before returning 20 days later to pick up 200kg of cannabis. Considering the history of small aircraft being used to transport drugs out of Albania, this explanation seems plausible.

Soon authorities detained Mr. Hoxha, apparently for releasing sensitive information to the public. The plot thickened when the opposition Democratic Party suggested that the information that Mr. Hoxha shared was actually released by Interior Minister Tahiri as a ploy to "compromise the investigation" and cover-up the nefarious acts of the drug traffickers.

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Earlier this year, Greek authorities accused the Albanian government of protecting and covering up for Klemend Balili, an Albanian businessman who served as a local administration official in the southern Albanian city of Saranda. Balili is suspected of financing a racket exporting marijuana from Albania to Western Europe. Again, Albania's opposition Democratic Party was quick to point out Mr. Balili's political connections and accused Tahiri of protecting the alleged kingpin. The government's inconsistency regarding what it is doing to put an end to Albania's drug problem is also sowing distrust. Last year Albanian authorities claimed to have destroyed 99.2 percent of the country's marijuana. This is fanciful. Already this year, police claim to have destroyed 1.7 million cannabis plants which apparently is three times the amount destroyed last year. The math doesn't add up.

In many ways a country like Albania is ripe for this sort of venality and illicit activity. It ranks 88th in the world in Transparency International's most recent Corruption Perceptions Index. And The Heritage Foundation's 2016 Index of Economic Freedom gave the country a "repressed" rating-- lowest rating possible in the category of corruption.

Even so, Albania has much to be proud of. The country became a full member of NATO in 2008, becoming only the second Muslim-majority nation in the alliance. In 2014 it became an official candidate to join the EU. For a country located in the turbulent, economically depressed and war torn Balkans region these are no mean feats.

But the level of corruption emanating from the political elite and the country's role in Europe's illegal drug trade--both occurring with the alleged complicity of senior government officials--should concern policymakers in Washington, D.C., and across Europe.

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FLORIDA KEYS: Goodyear Satire Company--

Deprived of media oxygen due to days of hurricane coverage, sanity returned as Americans turned away from Trump's raucous winds of anarchy. "We've seen Peak Trump," said meteorologist Windy Streets, "And nature found a solution."

The stormtrooper surge that initially fueled Trump's rise has left the nation's roadways littered with nothing more than a few broken limbs and downed lines of power. "We'll have the nation back up and running by January 20," predicted Florida Power and Light high voltage lineman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

On the horizon is debate #2 but the lure of Green Bay Packers counter-programming may prove too much of a temptation for Trump's white male supporters. "Trump brought out the teenager in all of us," confided Midwest Campaign Coordinator Bull Hinkley, "But in the end, teenagers don't vote."
A Black Lives Matter protester addresses fellow protesters near the site of Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 26, 2016. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

During last week's presidential debate, I watched as the discussion transitioned to the legality of "stop and frisk." As sometimes happens at the most unpredictable moments, I had a flashback to one of my experiences working in war zones. This time, my mind wandered to 2005 when I wrote about abuses caused by the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Specifically, I remembered traveling through Israeli military check points in the West Bank where Palestinian vehicles were stopped, searched, and, on occasion, the occupants arbitrarily detained. An extreme version of "stop and frisk." Even though I went through the same check points, my American passport guaranteed I would never be searched or detained. Because of my skin tone and nationality, I was not a threat. Palestinian Arabs had no such guarantees.

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This flashback made me wonder if Trump's race-centric political ascension mirrored other racial and ethnic conflicts I studied or experienced first-hand over the years. This article demonstrates that several elements of Trump's candidacy bear strong similarities to other ethnic conflicts. The US, because of its relative wealth and strong institutions, has greater resilience to the worst consequences of these race wars than many of the countries mentioned below, but nonetheless could suffer considerably.

Racial and ethnic strife have played a role in wars and human tragedies for millennia. Thirteen-thousand years ago, the first documented race war raged in what is now North Sudan between stoutly framed Sub-Saharan Africans and taller enemies from Europe and North Africa. In fact, some of the greatest tragedies in modern man's history - like the Jewish or Armenian genocides - were perpetrated around racial identities. Even current conflicts - like many in Africa or the Middle East - are largely defined according to ethnic, racial, and religious differences.

This long history shows us that two conditions must be sown to cultivate a race war - defined as violent conflict among one or more racial, religious, or ethnic group. First, hate speech - speech that disparages a person based on their racial identity - becomes dangerous speech - speech that incites violence. And second, racial discrimination is codified through policy and upheld by institutions. Trump is (wittingly or unwittingly) constituting both conditions.

Dangerous Speech

A study by California State University-San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism argues that, "rhetoric is one of the significant variables that can contribute to hate crimes." Moreover, professor Susan Benesch of American University identifies five variables that maximize the likelihood that speech leads to violence. Trump scores highly in all five.

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1. A powerful speaker with a high degree of influence over his audience

In most countries with ethnic conflict, there is a known political figure or prominent personality driving racial discord. This is true for virtually every country that has experienced ethnic strife. Trump has cultivated his public speaking and his ability to generate a reaction from his intended audience through decades as a public figure and reality television star. For all his seemingly incoherent and uniformed bloviating, Trump inarguably is able to connect with his audience. Moreover, as the standard bearer of the Republican party, he has enormous influence over millions of American conservatives.

2. The audience has fears the speaker can exploit

People need a reason to turn their frustrations into grievances toward another race. Political leaders frequently tap into these frustrations to garner support. This summer in Kenya, a country plagued by ethnic-based skirmishes, eight politicians were arrested after they made remarks "laced with ethnic hatred, vilification and incitement." Even Kenya's current president, Uhuru Kenyatta, was charged in 2010 by the International Criminal Court for inciting ethnic violence (charges were later dropped because of insufficient evidence).

Trump's audience is overwhelmingly white. According to a WSJ/NBC poll, Trump's national share of the black vote is just five percent compared to 76 percent for his opponent, Hillary Clinton. In the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, polls show Trump with zero percent support from African-Americans. Yes, you read that correctly, zero! Among Hispanics, Trump does not fare much better. From the same WSJ/NBC poll, he received 17 percent support from Hispanic voters, while Clinton received 65 percent.

Trump's audience holds glaring fears and prejudices against non-whites. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, nearly half of Trump supporters believe that African-Americans are more "violent" and more "criminal" than whites. Forty percent describe black people as more "lazy" than whites." Eighty percent support an immigration "ban on Muslims." A third thought the practice of Islam should be illegal in this country. And 38 percent wished the south had won the civil war.

Trump has consistently cultivated these fears. He famously called Mexicans "rapists" and his entire political ascension began by questioning the nationality of America's first black president. He associates terrorism with Islam and unemployment with trade and immigration.

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3. Speeches understood as calls to violence

In 2015, there was a wave of violence against immigrants in South Africa. The violence started after the influential Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini, said to a gathering of supporters that foreigners "should pack their bags and go" because they are taking jobs from South Africans. Hardly an outwardly inciting comment, but nonetheless people understood this as a call to violence and took to the streets with bats and machetes. In the end, seven people were murdered and dozens more injured.

Like Zwelithini, Trump also has not made overt calls for widespread violence, but he has certainly embraced violent rhetoric. On at least nine different occasions, he suggested using violence against his opponents. Twice he suggested that someone could or should assassinate his Democratic rival. Trump may or may not know the potential consequences of violent speech, but history shows it matters.

4. Historical context and, specifically, if there is a recent history of violence



I carried out a study in 2008 that analyzed every war in Africa since 1980 (126 wars in 32 countries) and showed the greatest predictor of violence is a history of violence. Rwanda is an extreme example. There, Tutsis were privileged over Hutus by Belgian colonialists because of their more European features. This privilege led to historical Hutu grievances. Just prior to the 1994 genocide, there was a war between Tutsi rebels and the Hutu-led government. After the Rwandan president's plane was shot down, hate speech toward Tutsis accelerated. This mix of hate speech with historical grievances and recent violence was the powder keg that exploded into 800,000 deaths.

The United States has a long history of violence by whites toward non-whites. This includes colonial violence against Native Americans, the history of slavery, and the assassinations of minority leaders, to name a few. More recently, there have been well-publicized killings of black Americans at the hands of white police officers. This has led to protests, which in some cases led to new violence, like in Charlotte, Ferguson, Baltimore, and Milwaukee.

5. The speaker is the primary source of news for his or her audience

In Rwanda, much of the 1994 violence was incited by a radio station that consistently encouraged violence against Tutsis. In rural Rwanda, radio was the only source of news for many Hutus. A study of the Rwandan genocide by David Yanagizawa shows that killings were 65 to 77 percent higher in villages that received radio signals from this station than in villages that did not.

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Today, there is no shortage of websites peddling racial divisiveness. But, Trump represents a mainstream mouthpiece that would otherwise not exist for many racist groups and theories. For example, a mainstream republican would never have heard the rumor that Obama is not American from any reputable news source, but he or she would have heard it from Trump. Last fall, the head of the American Nazi Party, Rocky Suhayda, wrote, "Donald Trump's campaign statements, if nothing else, have SHOWN that 'our views' are NOT so 'unpopular' as the Political Correctness crowd have told everyone they are!" (His emphases) The founder of a white nationalist website wrote, "Our message is more visible than ever before...It's also all due to Trump's presidential run." Once Trump himself retweeted a post from @WhiteGenocideTM, a white nationalist account. In fact, no less than 15 individuals affiliated with hate groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, have endorsed Trump as President. He has not repudiated any of these endorsements.

Race-based Policy

It is not only dangerous speech that creates conditions for racial violence, but also racist policies and institutions. During World War II, it was not just Nazi propaganda that vilified Jews, but also a state apparatus that systematically discriminated against them. Official German policy condemned Jews to ghettos and concentration camps while state institutions implemented these edicts. In Rwanda, the military facilitated the killing of Tutsis. In many countries with a history of racial and ethnic violence, policy and institutions follow the mandate of the head-of-state. Trump has already provided three examples of how his policy and institutional mandates are based on race.

First, Trump proposes deporting all undocumented immigrants from the United States. If implemented, this would result in the forceful removal of 11.3 million individuals from the United States, 52 percent of which are Mexican. It is unclear what Trump's forced displacement would look like, but history suggests these displacements lead to terrible human tragedies. In 1915, Turks expelled Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. It was during this expulsion that 1.5 million Armenians died. There is a similar, albeit smaller-scale, history of expulsion in the United States. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act to expel five Native American nations from the eastern United States to beyond the Mississippi River. This included the "trail of tears" where, of the 15,000 Cherokee natives forced to move, 5,000 died.

Second, Trump proposes not allowing immigrants into the country, especially Mexicans and Muslims. One of Trump's cornerstone campaign pledges is to build a giant wall along the 2,000-mile southern border with Mexico. The goal would be to ostensibly prevent competition for American jobs, but in reality would keep as many Hispanics out of the country as possible. In December, Trump proposed a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." Several months later he suggested "The time is overdue to develop a new screening test" that prevents individuals "who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law" from entering. Such a religious test is unprecedented in American history and would clearly target Muslim immigrants (though loyalty oaths have been implemented previously). With a policy of deportation and reduced immigration, it seems that to "Make America Great Again" means to make America as white as possible.

Third, Trump proffered instituting "stop and frisk" in American cities. "Stop and frisk" gives police officers the right to stop and question citizens, then frisk them for weapons. During his first debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump referred to this as "law and order." He cited New York's experience with "stop and frisk" as one to follow, but this practice was ruled to have "violated the constitution" because it disproportionately targets blacks and Hispanics.

In New York City, from 2004 to 2012, "stop and frisk" resulted in 4.4 million stops with only six percent of these stops leading to arrests and six percent leading to summonses. The other 88 percent resulted in no action. Of the 4.4 million people stopped, about half were frisked, with only 1.5 percent leading to the discovery of weapons. More importantly, 83 percent of the time the person stopped was black or Hispanic.

Trump was enthusiastically endorsed by the National Rifle Association and pledged to protect gun rights. But, by supporting the NRA, which has a majority white membership, and reinstituting "stop and frisk," Trump effectively supports arming whites while disarming blacks and Hispanics. Disarming a perceived enemy group is a common occurrence in ethnic conflicts. During Guatemala's military takeover in 1954, policy dictated that to legally access guns one must pay a fee and "prove his good character." In application, this kept guns out of the hands of indigenous Guatemalans and in the hands of wealthier mestizos who were more likely to support the military. In the 1960s, Uganda permitted guns only to those with the "fitness" to possess a firearm. "Fitness" was discretionarily defied by the government. This effectively disarmed Idi Amin's ethnic opponents and paved the way for massive ethnic killings.

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Institutional Enforcement

Trump can also count on having the institutional support in place to carry out his racist policies. Besides the NRA, Trump's race-centric stances on gun control, immigration, and "law and order" have garnered him the endorsements of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). The NBPC is a national union of border patrol agents that supports the deportation of "illegal aliens." The FOP claims to be the "world's largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers." But, some of the FOP's objectives are to reduce criticism of the police while undermining attempts to add oversight and accountability to police action. Perhaps unsurprisingly, African-American members of the FOP have voiced their disagreement with the organization's endorsement of Trump.

The Consequences

Taken together, Trump's dangerous speech, his policy proposals, and institutional support suggest that his election would create the conditions for a race war in the United States. Do I think this will happen? Not likely. The US is too wealthy, state institutions are too strong, and civil society is too empowered: all attributes that the above-mentioned countries suffering from race wars or ethnic violence do not possess. Still, unlike in Europe, where the denigration of communities and religion is criminalized, in the US there is no law against slandering communal identity, only against slandering individuals. This, along with the experiences of ethnic conflict from around the world, make it likely that hate crimes, race-related terrorism, and racial discrimination in general will all increase under a Trump presidency.
Of the many issues great and small that have rebounded in and out of the news cycle this election season, only one is immediately and monumentally crucial. In fact it's not science fiction to assert that the future of humanity depends on who becomes the next President of the United States.



If we get Donald Trump, we're ruined.

If we get Hillary Clinton, we still have a fighting chance.

The world's scientists have amassed oceans of data that prove beyond a doubt that our planet and its human population stands at grave risk due to climate change. The world's governments agreed at last year's Paris climate talks that we have an ever-shrinking window of time to address the Earth's warming and avert the worst when it comes to sea level rise, severe heat and drought, super storms and other extreme weather events. NASA scientists now warn that we seem to be entering a period of accelerated warming with the planet heating up faster than has been experienced in the past 1,000 years.

Even Pope Francis took the unprecedented step last summer with his release of an encyclical that acknowledges climate change as the undisputed, most urgent issue facing the world's people. Laudato Si! lays out how the poor of the world stand to suffer first and worst from global warming's extreme consequences, with rising tides and monsoons predicted to create hundreds of millions of climate refugees within just the next few decades.

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And yet American voters stand on the edge of putting a man in the White House who recently told the Miami Herald he is "not a big believer" in human-made climate change.

Bizarrely, Trump thinks climate change a "very expensive hoax" planted by the Chinese. "This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop," he tweeted in January of 2014. His energy plan would eliminate the Obama administration rules that cut carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. Trump would ax laws that regulate the production of oil and gas. He has vowed to withdraw the United States from the first-ever, worldwide climate agreement struck in Paris last year.

Trump has put infamous climate denier Myron Ebell in charge of his EPA transition team. And, as noted by Michael Finnegan in a recent LA Times article, the candidate's climate position even stacks him against top energy companies: Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP scientists all acknowledge that the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming.

Consider the future of the climate crisis if we elect Hillary Clinton:

She has vowed to follow in President Obama's footsteps in sharply curtailing the use of fossil fuels that burn the gases that cause global warming. She fully applauds the Paris Agreement and idea that America must continue to play a leadership role in guiding the governments of the world toward ever-sharper emissions cutbacks. Clinton backs a continuation of Obama's Clean Power Plan that will help accelerate our transition away from the use of carbon-burning fossil fuels; she embraces the clean-energy revolution that is now underway. She would appoint a Supreme Court that wouldn't stand in the way of any of the above.

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Many climate activists - notably Bill McKibben of the climate group 350.org - say the Paris agreement and other steps now being taken are still too timid and won't be enough to avert the worst of the calamity that is coming our way. But neither he nor his original pick for the presidency, Bernie Sanders, doubt that a Trump presidency would be an outright disastrous when it comes to the climate, taking us way past the point of no return.

You may have your problems with Hillary Clinton on other matters - so be it.

But don't kid yourself about the stark decision we now face.
It's hard to believe it is the same Barack Obama who delivered a compelling speech in Cairo in June 2009 and last week's speech in Jerusalem at the funeral service of Shimon Peres. The two speeches were the products of completely different mind-sets.

The Cairo speech was characterized by a depth of knowledge of the Middle East, its history and the preoccupations and aspirations of its people, while the Jerusalem speech was a rehash of distorted bits of history that even Zionist propagandists have increasingly shunned in recent years.

Take, for example, his reference to Israel's neighbors' threats to throw Israelis into the sea. Such a claim was fashionable in the 1960s and 70s, but there has never been a shred of evidence produced to support that accusation.

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In fact, after exhaustive research in Israeli State archives, a number of leading Israeli historians concluded that with the balance of power overwhelmingly in its favor, at no time in its existence was the state of Israel under any serious threat from its Arab neighbors. Even before the creation of the state in 1948, the armed groups of the Zionist movement had a collective fighting force that was well-equipped, well-trained and even numerically exceeded the combined armed forces of all the surrounding Arab countries put together.

Thanks to constant flow of financial and economic aid, arms, and cutting-edge technology from the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, Israel's military superiority remains intact.

Another unsubstantiated and controversial polemic included in President Obama's eulogy was his praise of Shimon Peres for never giving up his dream of "returning home" to Palestine.

Eminent Israeli historians, such as Shlomo Sand have ruled out any possibility that those European Jews who immigrated to Palestine ever had or could have had any ancestry link with the ancient Hebrews who had for less than a hundred years ruled over historic Palestine some 3,000 years ago.

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Missing here is any analysis of the enormous ethnic cleansing that men such as Peres contributed to when over 700,000 Palestinians were forced out in the Nakba, or catastrophe, of 1948 during and after the creation of Israel.

Zionism is a colonialist movement that masqueraded under the banner of religious aspirations and has set back the cause of equal rights in the region. Palestinians to this day live with inferior rights, both in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Most incomprehensible of all was President Obama's likening of Shimon Peres to Nelson Mandela. Shimon Peres helped arm the apartheid state against black South Africans trying to advance equal rights and freedom! Nelson Mandela, on the other hand, was a freedom fighter who devoted his life to fighting colonialism and its racist legacy in South Africa. For many observers, this comparison will be a low point in the rhetoric of the Obama presidency.

A few hundred yards away from where President Obama poured his praise on the Zionists' dream is East Jerusalem, illegally annexed by Israel, and where Christian and Muslim Palestinian Arabs are subjected to rampant discrimination. Their children are forced to learn the Zionist narrative and negate their own history and their attachment to the land of Palestine where they and their ancestors have lived for centuries.

Within East Jerusalem and beyond are the illegal settlements, or more accurately colonies, built on confiscated Palestinian land where only Jews can live using Israeli-only roads and amenities. Their armed militias subject neighboring Arabs, mostly previous owners of the land on which these colonies are built, to raw forms of apartheid.

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President Obama's frequent references to Peres, the father of the Jewish colonies, as a man of peace must have been jarring to the ears of the families of the 106 Lebanese civilians, half of them children, massacred by the Israel army at a UN compound in Qana when Peres was prime minister in 1996. Eleven years earlier, also under Peres's premiership, Israeli air force and commandos reigned havoc on Tunisia, a sovereign state, leaving 75 Tunisians and Palestinians dead.

In Cairo nearly eight years ago, President Obama looked and sounded presidential. With elegance and grace, he expressed his vision of a future built on mutual respect between the United States and Arab and Muslim countries.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, in Ambridge, Pa. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Ever eager to assure conservatives he's their best bet to cement an ultraconservative majority on the Supreme Court, Donald Trump recently announced ten more names he'd add to the pool of people he might name to the Court if elected. The new list made a token nod to diversity and brought the total of potential Trump nominees to 20:21 if you include the apparently blindsided Senator Mike Lee, who clearly didn't know he was a Trump pick and hurriedly bowed out. It also reinforced what was abundantly clear when Trump unveiled his first list of "great" Supreme Court picks: the men and women that Donald Trump wants on the Court have clear records of hostility to rights and freedoms we all take for granted.

Here's a sampling.

Start with a name on Trump's latest list, Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady. His far-right record includes a death-penalty ruling so indefensible that when it reached the U.S. Supreme Court even the court's arch-conservatives, Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas, agreed it was unconstitutional. As a Congressman, Canady led the charge to impeach President Bill Clinton.

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Two more from the new list, Judges Neil Gorsuch and Timothy Tymkovich of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, helped set women's health back decades in the infamous Hobby Lobby case, when they ruled that for-profit corporations can be treated as persons exercising religious freedom in denying reproductive health care to women employees.

Voting rights are an issue that seems to rub at least two Trump favorites the wrong way: Judge Diane Sykes of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals voted to reinstate Wisconsin's blatantly discriminatory voter ID law, while Michigan Chief Justice Robert Young wrote an opinion upholding the state's voter ID law that dissenting judges called "tragic" and likely to further harm the state's "impoverished and disadvantaged."

Then there's Justice David Stras of the Minnesota Supreme Court, who once lamented that the U.S. Supreme Court has ventured "into contentious areas of social policy--such as school integration, abortion, and homosexual rights." What kind of judge thinks school integration is still contentious? Apparently, one who Trump thinks is "great."

Next we have Utah State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Lee, who once questioned whether Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment had standing to challenge the permit for a refinery that would add significant new levels of pollution to the region. Why? Because he assumed the economic interest of the doctors was actually better served by more people getting sick from the contamination of the air.

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Another Trump favorite, Judge Steven Colloton of the Eighth Circuit, authored decisions letting Tyson Foods get away with $24 million in wage theft from its employees. No friend to workers, Judge Colloton wrote on another occasion that a woman who reported sexual harassment could not take legal action when her employer allegedly retaliated by firing her.

And there's Eleventh Circuit Court Judge William Pryor, who thinks Miranda v. Arizona, which requires that people be advised of their rights when arrested, and Roe v. Wade, which established a woman's right to an abortion, are "the worst examples of judicial activism."



The examples are troubling, because Trump clearly prefers judges who would turn back the clock on long-established fundamental rights, and who favor the powerful over the interests of everyone else.

The most frightening part is that the stakes this year couldn't be higher. Whoever is elected president in November will likely determine what the Constitution means for the rest of our lives. There are three justices will be in their 80s during the next president's first term, and there is the distinct possibility--if not probability--that there will be multiple vacancies to fill. And, of course, there is already one vacancy caused by the death of Antonin Scalia, for which President Obama has nominated the highly qualified, widely respected Merrick Garland. Senate Republicans, clinging to the hope that Trump will get to nominate someone for the seat instead, have refused to do their job and give Garland the vote to which he is entitled.

During the upcoming presidential debates, including the one this Sunday, Trump should be pushed to explain why he supports the judicial philosophies of the people on his lists. Because once Americans learn what these individuals really stand for, our bet is that - like Trump Steaks - the public won't buy what Trump is selling. Our research into voter attitudes has found that, overwhelmingly, Americans expect Supreme Court justices to ensure that the Constitution protects all of us, not just special interests. Voters care deeply about the Supreme Court. They want justices who will support the principle of liberty, equality, and justice for all of us. Donald Trump's Supreme Court justices, by contrast, would roll back a century of economic and social progress.
Relatability. It's the hottest thing, and everyone wants it. Film stars, social media celebrities, companies and brands - even Presidential candidates. They all want, even need, to be relatable. And why wouldn't they? You'll follow someone on Twitter if they're similar to you and unfollow someone on Facebook who doesn't agree with you. You'll buy a product from a brand that "gets" you. You'll hire the person who reminds you of you.

It's not only fashionable to care about relatability. It's borderline essential.

But I worry that "relatability" has become too relevant. Because the more we put "us" at the center of our decision-making, the less we pay attention to things that might really matter.

Take, for example, what happens every day in a court of law. Criminal defense attorneys in particular know well the role that relatability plays during a legal proceeding. How a defendant is dressed, wears their hair, or carries themselves (including their facial expressions) all have an impact. But the rules of criminal procedure are specifically designed to encourage rational decision-making by jurors and judges. By rational, I don't mean the opposite of irrational or crazy. I mean making decisions without bias or prejudicial influence, by reason instead of heightened emotion. I mean judging a case on the facts so we don't repeat the Salem witch trials. But when decision-makers are swayed by the relatability of a defendant, even as our entire legal system is hell-bent on preventing sway, how comfortable are we in saying that justice was served?

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If you are shocked that Robert Durst was acquitted for killing and chopping up his neighbor, for example, then you might be interested to know that the defense strategy in that case was to make everyone else in Durst's story less relatable and likeable than Durst himself. And it worked. Relatability is why trials involving minority defendants and mostly white juries are so controversial. It's why litigation attorneys take care to know as much as they can about each judge they appear before. It's why jury consultants make money.

The phenomenon of liking people who are "like you" is called the "homophily principle," and is recognized by social scientists and biologists as widespread not only among humans but also other species. Socially, we are more likely to attach ourselves to people who not only share our attributes (gender, race, age) but also our values and beliefs. Homophily explains who our friends are and which friendships we let go of, who we date and marry, and from whom we seek support at work. It might also explain who we will vote for in the upcoming Presidential election.

But homophily results in homogenous social networks that prevent us from being exposed to new and sometimes better ideas, perspectives, or experiences. Homophily on a broader social level can generate an unnecessary sense of "us" versus "them," creating damaging social divides among race, gender, class, or ideology. Also, as we often see in courtrooms, by placing too much importance on attributional or attitudinal "sameness," we may overlook the importance of other things that matter much more.

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During the 2000 Presidential race, I asked Bush supporters I knew why they were voting for him. Most told me it was because he was a regular guy, a lot like them. One said "he's the kind of guy I could hang out and have beers with." I thought about all the people I went drinking with at the time, and trust me, they were great, but you do not want them in the Oval Office.

I don't want anyone like me in the Oval Office either. That person would blow it, because though I'm a lot of things, Presidential material is not one of them. "Like me" won't help me determine someone's criminal guilt or innocence (I plead the fifth). And I've overlooked many critical flaws in friends and romantic partners to my detriment, for the sake of being around someone who was "like me" in other ways.

Seeking out what's relatable hasn't always worked for me. So I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to follow people on social media who are different, either by their appearance or their views. Maybe they'll frustrate me. Maybe I'll frustrate them. But that's ok. I might learn something new. I might also get to meet people with whom I can't relate, but who have hearts of gold. That would be cool.
I've been struggling with my identity for a while now. Having recently graduated from college, I am more lost than ever as I grapple with my postgrad life. Who am I, really? I'm not a business professional, data enthusiast, journalist, or musician. I'm not an environmental or social justice advocate. I'm not a liberal. I'm not a friend or sister. Thanks to Fox News correspondent Jesse Watters' recent Watters' World segment about how Asians will vote in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, I've found my calling. I'm a prop. A mute prop. And I'm not just ok with it; I embrace and internalize it.

It all makes sense. The more I watch the video, the more I realize how right saintly Watters is. I never thought I'd achieve enlightenment (because I'm Asian I automatically abide by Buddhism), but watching Watters trample around Chinatown to "sample political opinion" comes close. I only say it comes close because I'm convinced that a full-length film version of his segment is the key to enlightenment.

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The very first question he asked was directed to two young women. "Am I supposed to bow to say hello?" I was instantly struck by his chivalry. Watters is such a gentleman. This is not condescending or misogynistic at all. Shout out to Watters for watching Memoirs of a Geisha, set in Japan over 100 years ago, to inform himself on how to treat women.

It's hard to top a question like that. But Watters managed to pull off that feat. He strolled past a vendor and inquired about the watches that were available for sale. "I like these watches. Are they hot?" This is a gracious compliment. Watters said he liked the watches. He liked them. My heart soared past the ozone layer as soon as he uttered those words. Regarding the second part, Watters is just so incredibly smart to assume that the vendor sold stolen watches. I love a good cynic. Just as Charles Dickens criticized industrialization and F. Scott Fitzgerald criticized material excess, Watters criticized...a vendor who did nothing to insult Watters. Wow, Watters has what it takes to be a literary legend.

Ah, next comes the first political question. Watters asked a man whether he liked Donald Trump. The man spoke in comprehensible, perfectly understandable English. Despite this, in the video, he received subtitles. Great choice, Fox News. Why should any of your viewers listen to English spoken in accents other than an American one? We all know that the goal is to maximize efficiency, so thank you Fox News for not subjecting your viewers to the task of deciphering English in accents other than American.

In response to the backlash he received about this segment, Watters said on Twitter that he is a "political humorist." Well I'm a Fox News satirist. And unlike Watters, I do not consider myself a talented satirist or humorist. However, I will make every effort to bring down the tired stereotypes he perpetuated in his Chinatown segment.

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Every now and then, a national issue about Asians pops up. Master of None's Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari's success at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards highlighted the lack of Asian representation in Hollywood. And now, under the pretense of sampling political opinion of Asians, Watters managed to obtain no substantial information about Asian political opinion. His true intention emerged within seconds - he was there to belittle the Asian community.

This is not just a Watters issue. Asians have long suffered negative stereotypes. Docile. Meek. Submissive. Insulated. Unworldly. Unworthy of respect.

In addition to ridiculing Asians, Watters has abused his platform to mock the Arab-American community. Fox News: Watters is not a journalist. He's not even an entertainer. He's a racist. Remove Watters from your network.
In 1986, David Snowdon began a study of nuns in Mankato, Minnesota. He was interested in what causes the brain to deteriorate with age in some people while others remain intact. His choice of nuns as subjects has provided a unique source of data that continues to churn out fascinating findings.

The Nun Study quickly grew to include 678 sisters, scattered across the U.S. All were American Roman Catholic sisters and members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, an international religious congregation that began more than 150 years ago in Bavaria, Germany. Their age ranged from 75 to 103 when the study began. Their health also covered a broad spectrum. Some 90-year-olds were highly functional and some in their 70s were already severely disabled.

Nuns might not seem a representative population from which to extrapolate. They do not smoke, drink little if any alcohol, share the same gender, marital status and reproductive history, live in similar housing, work at similar jobs and have similar access to health care. This however, makes them ideal. Their remarkable similarity eliminates the confounding variables that plague most human studies.

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The nuns had another quality that made them the envy of any investigator, comprehensive records. Convent archives provided risk factor data spanning nearly the entire lifespan of the sisters. This includes birth certificates, socioeconomic status of the family, medical histories, education records and a wealth of social and occupational information.

All 678 participants agreed to annual assessments of cognitive and physical function, medical exams, blood work for genetic and nutritional studies and brain donation at death for neuropathologic study. In fact the Nun Study represents the largest brain donor population in the world.

An unusual piece of data mined from the convent archives has proven to be a powerful predictor of how we will age. Before taking their vows, the nuns had been required to write an autobiographical statement. Linguistic ability, both oral and written, is an accepted indicator of cognitive ability. Research suggests that a high level of linguistic function in early life may act as a buffer against cognitive decline.

This idea stems from a threshold model of dementia. One becomes demented only if a cognitive reserve capacity falls below a specific threshold of functioning brain tissue. In other words, a neurocognitive reserve developed in early life can protect the elderly individual from dementia.

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Linguistic ability can be assessed by analyzing the form and content of language samples. Snowdon wondered if the sisters' autobiographies, written at an average age of 22, might predict their risk for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. He chose to study two indicators of linguistic ability thought to be sensitive to the progression of dementia, idea density and grammatical complexity.

Idea density is measured by counting the average number of ideas expressed per 10 words of written language. Grammatical complexity is rated with a research instrument that classifies sentences according to 8 levels of complexity.

Approximately 58 years after these autobiographies had been written, Snowdon assessed the cognitive function of 93 nuns (aged 75 to 95 years) and the autopsy results of 14 nuns who had died (aged 79 to 96 years). He found that both low idea density and low grammatical complexity were associated with low cognitive test scores more than half a century later.

However low idea density had significantly stronger and more consistent correlation with impaired cognitive function. In addition, among the 14 sisters who died, autopsy confirmed Alzheimer's disease in all those with low density autobiographies and in none of those with high density writing samples.

This research suggests that the autobiography of our youth holds unimagined prophetic power. The brain may be unique amongst organs in providing evidence of disease in normal function, more than 50 years before it produces symptoms.

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Jim Miklaszewski, one of the best reporters I've ever worked with, has finally retired as NBC's chief Pentagon correspondent thus giving me, once again, the opportunity to report on what I regard as his greatest story.

On September 19, 1980, a nuclear tipped missile in Damascus, Arkansas had fallen on its side and reporters flocked to the scene. The Air Force refused to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear warheads and denied that the missile posed a threat to anyone or anything. The reporters, Mik among them, believed them and went home--in Mik's case, to Texas.

I had been working in CNN's Washington Office that day and when I got word of the event, I called Atlanta and discovered that Mik had left the scene along with the other reporters. At the time, we were the only news organization in the country that had a satellite mounted on a truck, which gave us an edge on everyone else in the business. I told CNN's assignment editor Jim Rutledge to call Mik and tell him to get back to Damascus as fast as he could. And we arranged for the truck to meet him there.

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When Mik approached the missile site he was greeted by an Arkansas sheriff leading what looked like a group of sharecroppers toting bags on their shoulders and carrying bags in their hands. Mik asked the sheriff what was happening and the sheriff said, "I don't know, I've just been told to get them out of here." The Air Force in Washington had refused to comment about the event except to say there were no nuclear hazards.

By that time, our truck had arrived and Mik was directed to report every half hour. When Mik began reporting, the Air Force moved two large vans in an attempt to block the view. A telephone lineman installing temporary lines saw that Air Force was blocking Mik and offered him a ladder so that he could climb up and shoot down on the site where they saw troops searching back and forth for parts that had broken off the missile when it fell. An Air Force General told Mik that radiations from the truck were "cooking his pilots." He demanded we shut down but Mik did stand down and for the next few hours did live voiceovers while our camera focuses on soldiers trying to hide their "mystery package." The last thing Mik reported was that Air Force personnel were chaining the canister to the back of a truck.

Throughout that long September weekend, CNN had the only camera watching the Air Force live as it attempted to cover up a potential nuclear disaster. On Monday, the 22nd we showed the missile covered up and on its way out of Damascus. I believe to this day that if Mik had not been there, the Air Force never would have revealed the full threat the missile posed.

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When NBC brought Mik to Washington, at his first meeting with the Air Force, he was informed that he was the only reporter who ever forced the Air Force to change its PR about a potential nuclear disaster. The officers informed him that their rules had changed and they no longer said that an accident "poses no threat to human life." The line was changed to ""

After Mik left CNN for NBC as their new Pentagon correspondent the Air Force invited him to lunch and laughingly admitted that after the Damascus story, it had changed its PR policy: in the case where the public safety or security was an issue they would no longer deny the presence of nuclear material but they wouldn't confirm it either. They also told Mik that he was the first reporter who had ever made the Air Force change its policy on anything.
When Senator Hillary Clinton was a presidential candidate in 2008, her biggest problem was not her husband's dalliances, or her opponent (then senator) Barack Obama for that matter, it was her inability to connect to the voters and a failure to appear authentic and empathetic to the plight of an average working class that saw her as a Washington insider who appeared as if she deserved the office rather than trying to earn the position on her own merits (despite her eight years in the White House as the first lady or her two terms senatorial stint in New York). Mr. Obama on the other hand appeared genuine, impassioned, personable, and with an oratory skill that eclipsed Hillary's credentials--style over substance as usual in politics: he offered a different view of America that voters were hungering for after eight years of George W. Bush's dismal record, leaving a country that found itself in shambles after war cost overruns and an economy teetering on the brink of collapse ala 'The Great Depression'.

So why does Ms. Clinton have this perceived or earned persona in the court of public opinion as being non-trustworthy and a bit shifty? Some of it can be attributed to decades of vicious campaigning against her by political foes and against her husband when they unsuccessfully tried to impeach him and in the process spent nearly 80 million dollars of tax payer's money with nothing concrete to show for it except that he lied about having an affair under oath--a president who was one of the most successful economically in terms of job creation (22 million) and economic prosperity. Mr. Clinton left us a balanced budget and a surplus to boot during his eight years in the oval office.

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This disdain of her husband wasn't just limited to him. Her sworn enemies, a group of misogynistic conservatives, talk show hosts and some Washington political PAC, dislike her ideologically--for all that she represents (despite her mostly centrist right positions when she was in the senate), perhaps because of a more liberal political past or simply because she is a woman with opinions which threatens the status quo, i.e. the old boys club in Washington.

But some of this earned reputation has something to do with the way Ms. Clinton reacts after verbal missteps, trying to overcompensate instead of simply recanting, or trying unsuccessfully to invoke a classic evasive verbal maneuver (a la her lawyer's training), only to regret it later and come clean once irrevocable damage has been done, which further bolsters the undeserved 'untrustworthy' persona. For many on the fence it only adds to her besmirched reputation because it gets repeated in the press.

After defending a barrage of allegations for decades--whether Whitewater, Healthgate, Clintongate, Bengazi, some damning report from the personal email server fiasco (a practice that never got her predecessor in trouble), or the failed presidential run in 2008--one would think that by now she would have honed her political demarche and stagecraft into a fine art. But she has yet to find an adequate balance between authenticity and artifice which leans on the side of believability, and that failing of style despite mountains of substance (her manifold experience advocating for the less fortunate, her work as first Lady of Arkansas and the United States, and her work as the two terms Senator from New York passing some key bipartisan bills) has held sway.

Perhaps her biggest political mistake was trying to pass an ambitious health bill without taking the temperature of the political climate at the time; the bill was doomed even before the boiler plate was drafted not because it was poorly hatched: the Republicans and their health industry lobbyists were having none of it, and they made sure that this would be the albatross around her neck for years to come. But that wasn't the end, her detractors found more fodder from her years at state department - a matter that would have been put to rest had she handled it better. But surprisingly nothing was dug from the time when she was the senator from New York? Hmmm!

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Having had her eye on the White House for some time, she was the 'chosen one' early in the presidential cycle, and perhaps was handed that opportunity on a silver platter. With a Republican primary that looked like a farcical vaudevillian revue at times or a room full of squabbling school children, one would expect her to trounce the victor by high double digits--a Republican candidate who is more like a carnival hawker, a cunning and egotistical charlatan who is a pathological fabricator, has committed innumerable verbal faux pas, and fomented hatred and incited riotous rage through his supporters against certain sector of our citizenry: undignified behavior of the basest form.

His portfolio of misdeeds, dishonest business practices, myriad fronts of dubious nature designed to dispossess unsuspecting customers of their monies, a trail of bankruptcies, unpaid bills, unsavory acts of fund usage from his foundation for personal use and campaign donations for persons to look the other way on his fraudulent business dealings, should be grounds for imprisonment.

Mr. Trump's disdain for the Mexicans, Muslims, and African Americans is well founded and reflected in the comments he has made all through the primaries. Some of those statements are patently racist and unconstitutional. His name calling of women, making crude remarks, and having little or no reverence for women, is quite obnoxious. He has made numerous sexist remarks, even questionable comments about his own daughter. His latest incessant salvo against Ms. Machado is further proof of his nature. His bravado about making money on the backs of the less fortunate, not paying taxes, and gaming the system to get rich is revolting. His call for Russia to hack into sensitive information of our country, and his reverence for the Russian President is downright treasonous, yet few conservative commentators called him out.

I will be honest, I am not gaga over either of these candidates but I am certainly not impervious to reason: it is not even a matter of lesser of the two evils. Albeit, both the candidates are a bit slick for my taste, but the difference is that Mr. Trump is dripping with the type of slickness you taste when a diner has neglected to change the griddle oil for a while and the food that had the misfortune of gracing that griddle finally hits your palate--the unsavory, thick, nauseating, and rancid film of grease that lingers for hours afterwards.

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So who are these working class white Americans or even educated middle class independents that are willing to ignore Ms. Clinton's decades of experience? Sexism is one explanation, and lack of traditional jobs is another: the sort of job that didn't require any sort of degree or certification that still paid well. A lot of the workers supporting Mr.Trump have sat on the sidelines waiting for the tide to turn while not seeking further education or different training, but those jobs are gone for good!

Steve Jobs chose to produce the iPhone in China (and admitted as much that it wasn't possible to produce it here) because when he was furious about a design flaw in the original iPhone, which had a plastic screen that scratched: he ordered his team to change the screen to glass in a matter of weeks before 1st iPhone shipped out, and the company that undertook the challenge and retooled their factory to meet his requirement was Chinese, even though the glass would be sourced from Corning. The majority of corporations look out for themselves and convenience, not their workers.

As more and more women are outpacing men in education, out-graduating them in college and at times (but still not often enough) out-earning them: a further source of consternation for these men. The role reversal is a bitter pill for a lot of these men to take, and for many Ms. Clinton is the zenith of that trend: a woman who is going to be possibly calling the shots at the highest level possible in this country.

Ms. Clinton is favored to win this election mostly due to demographic statistics--her goodwill with urban women, Hispanics, and African Americans is still in good stead. Her staid mannerism, straitlaced style, and wry humor will not beguile any millennials: she urgently needs to find a voice of her own - and not her surrogates' - that resonates. Whether the white working class and educated independents see her formidable experience as the stronger argument remains to be seen--her poll numbers and her admirable debate performance notwithstanding. But none of this should be taken for granted.

She is not going to move the voters with her oratory skills, or by making promises that everyone already predicts. She needs to narrow her communication gap with the voters by dispensing with the guarded persona that muddles her message--even though the content in her message is far more defined, corporeal, and nuanced than her opponent's rather murky "plans" (declarations only, no details). She runs circles around Mr.Trump in terms of substance but the fool's gold of style may still be her undoing. She needs to discard her carefully drafted talking points and just go off the script and speak off the cuff--letting the passion that drives her deeds also fuel her words. With the election less than month and a half away, Ms. Clinton is the most experienced and prepared candidate for president we have had in our lifetime, but what the public really want is to feel the authenticity and emotion behind her plans.
BOSTON - SEPTEMBER 1: Attorney General Maura Healey holds a CVS prescription bottle as she announced in a first-in-the-nation settlement, that CVS Pharmacy will strengthen its policies and procedures around the dispensing of opioids, at The Dimock Center, which has a treatment program for substance abuse, Sept. 1, 2016. CVS will have to check the Prescription Monitoring Program before filling prescriptions for commonly misused opioids. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

In the arc of a lifetime, I've witnessed the rising tides of many drug epidemics, beginning in the 1960s. Sadly, none have accelerated as quickly as the latest opioid addiction epidemic, which seems to be sweeping the nation and leaving no one untouched. In fact, you can't read the news without seeing one disturbing example after another.

In my home state of Virginia, for example, the Secretary for Health and Human Services recently said the crisis is so widespread and so fast-growing that punishment alone cannot address the problem, and that more people in Virginia die from opioid overdose than from car crashes and gun violence combined. In Ohio, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner, Dr. Thomas Gilson, recently said that fentanyl and heroin had already killed 300 people this year and the number of fatalities are likely to be double from 2015. In Wisconsin, the Department of Health Services issued an advisory calling opioid addiction a public health crisis. With more than 600 opioid-related deaths in 2015, the number of people dying from overdoses in Wisconsin now exceeds those dying in car crashes or from breast cancer, colon cancer, HIV, suicide or shootings, the advisory said. And a recent video from Massachusetts of a young woman overdosed on the floor of a store went viral, grimly showing her two-year-old daughter crying and calling for her mom to wake up.

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In the past, it seemed like these waves of drug abuse were distant, something that happened elsewhere, in poor neighborhoods or depressed rural areas. But today, this epidemic seems to be everywhere and sparing no one, regardless of geography or demography. Almost a decade ago, a friend of our son Jack died of a fentanyl (synthetic opioid) overdose; fast-forward to today, and as an addiction counselor in New Haven, Connecticut, Jack's caseload is increasingly comprised of young people addicted to opioids.

Like other drug epidemics, the solutions are complex and multiple parties play a role. In the realm of prevention, physicians have begun to prescribe opioid painkillers more sparingly, though we need a much quicker change in protocols for managing pain. Medical researchers are studying new ways to do that. Data analytics - "big data" - is already helping public health officials understand the crisis, for example by producing maps that track opiate prescriptions, hospitalizations for overdoses, and deaths; and by using masses of data predictively, to anticipate and prepare for cases in the near future. Information technology may also be useful for immediate intervention during overdose. In September, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new competition to develop a smartphone app to connect opioid users who are overdosing with nearby clinics that have supplies of the prescription drug naloxone, the antidote for an opioid overdose. Ultimately, all of us need to understand and support a change of mindset, away from criminal measures and toward recognition that opioid and other abusers are sick and need treatment.

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But as someone who has spent a lifetime working in the safety- and security-sensitive airline industry, as well as studying mobility and logistics, I'm especially interested in two linked questions "how does all this bad stuff get from producer to consumer?" and "what can we do to interrupt the flow?" Although synthetic opioids are relatively easy to make here in the U.S., with far less risk than building an explosion-prone methamphetamine lab, foreign producers are major suppliers of opioids. Foreign labs and mules have gotten creative with transport - drones are increasingly popular for low-weight contraband, and a homemade bazooka was recently found across the border from Arizona.

Hiding in plain sight is the U.S.Postal Service, which does not adequately screen the approximately 340 million packages that annually enter our country from abroad for dangerous and illegal contents. This lapse in security exposes Americans to additional risk from opioids and other illegal drugs. The Trade Act of 2002 mandated that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) receive advance information (electronically, in a document commonly called a manifest) on all packages entering the nation. FedEx, UPS, and cargo-carrying passenger airlines quickly complied. But the government's own carrier, the USPS, never adopted regulations for screening practices, partly because of concerns about the compliance of foreign postal services. So the Chinese fentanyl lab can simply mail their dangerous stuff and your smiling letter carrier will put it in your neighbor's mailbox - or maybe yours, for your teenagers to intercept before you get home from work.

Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Russ Baer recently said that "[Fetnanyl and fentanyl-related compounds], along with a growing cornucopia of illicit synthetics, are largely being manufactured in China and smuggled into the United States both over land and through the U.S. Postal Service."

When I recently spoke with our son, the addiction counselor, about this security issue, he responded, "I'm saddened but not especially surprised. Federal and state governments have not been smart in dealing with waves of drug epidemics. The War on Drugs failed massively, and now suppliers can send boxes of opioids without fear that they will be detected. By failing to screen, we all become partly responsible for addiction across the United States."

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I've always been an optimist, and there are signs that we're waking up. One came last month when Congressman Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and Congressman Richard E. Neal (D-Massachusetts) introduced the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, a measure to address this security screening loophole by requiring the USPS to provide advance electronic information about package shipments to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and for other purposes. A week earlier, Senators Rob Portman of Ohio, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire introduced the STOP Act in the Senate.
Amy Gibson, "The Voice of Women's Hair Loss," and founder of CreatedHair.com, the author of Sex, Wigs & Whispers: Love and Life with Hair Loss, and creator of the Cancer Hair Care Center by Amy Gibson for the prestigious CancerConnect.com. Amy Gibson is the country's leading hair loss consultant as well as the brave and tireless voice committed to helping women look and feel their very best. This Emmy award-winning actress, author, nationally recognized speaker, alopecia activist, and innovative wig designer, knows how her clients' feel first hand because she too suffers from a condition called Alopecia Areata: a condition which ultimately left her completely bald. Learning how to cope and navigate through her personal hair loss in the highly competitive world of show business ultimately sent her on a journey to become the founder of CreatedHair.com , a company dedicated to assisting women who are experiencing hair loss. While creating this company she also helped these women rebuild their appearance and sense of self-worth. I had the opportunity to sit down with the inspirational Amy Gibson and hear more about what motivates her as well as how her company, CreatedHair, is forging new ways to help women deal successfully with this challenging loss. Sex, Wigs & Whispers: Love and Life with Hair Loss Dr. Robi: Amy, you've been an expert and advocate for women struggling with hair loss for a couple of decades now. Would you tell me how, as an actress, you got interested in this typically un-talked about topic? Amy G: My first bout with Alopecia and hair loss was when I started losing my hair in large patches while playing a lead role at 13 1/2. It occurred while I was performing on my first daytime show, LOVE OF LIFE. It was very frightening at that time. Nobody talked about hair loss or Alopecia, so very little was known about this condition or had any answers -- especially for a child who was in such emotional pain and fear. I remember my imagination running wild, immediately associating Alopecia with leprosy and being terribly afraid of my limbs falling off next. I would have nightmares about this constantly. There was no one to talk to about any of this. The only treatment available was a 'Band-Aid' of Cortisone shots that they would shoot directly into my scalp. I would breathe in the numbing spray when the nurse wasn't looking so I could be high enough to silence the sound of "Rice Krispies" as the needle entered my scalp with each shot. The cortisone treatments which are still used today would momentarily force the hair to grow back in the bald areas but wouldn't prevent further hair loss from occurring. I used this treatment for 17 years until one day my body rejected the cortisone and all my hair fell out in 3 weeks -- just 5 weeks prior to beginning a new leading role which had been created specifically for me on GENERAL HOSPITAL. After struggling on my own with the hair loss process throughout a 20-year television career and having discovered my own deeper strength to keep my self-esteem and my discretion, I decided to help other women and children with hair loss by offering the type of personal guidance that wasn't available to me. Along with the highest quality products, my goal became to help women living with hair loss look like themselves again and feel their optimum potential. Dr. Robi: Culturally we seem to be better at talking about male hair loss and baldness than female hair loss and baldness; why do you think this is? Amy G: It's all about the hair. Hair loss and hair-related issues are a major topic throughout history. The Egyptians regarded baldness as shameful .

Men and women were willing to put ointments and potions of all kinds attempting to regrow hair that had fallen out. From reciting magic spells to the sun god and then swallowing a mixture of onions, iron, red lead, honey, and alabaster, to rubbing the fats and even toes of a dog, or the hooves of various animals onto the scalp, including those of lions, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and geese. They would do anything to get their hair and self-esteem back just so they could feel better about being in society. So as you can see, hair loss has always been a "big deal" and baldness is more familiar than has been talked about openly -- for women.



Egyptians shaved their beards and heads, which was a custom adopted by the Greeks and Romans about 330BC during the reign of Alexander the Great. This was encouraged for soldiers as a defensive measure to stop enemies from grabbing their hair in hand-to-hand combat.



It is mainly some of the great male figures such as Gandhi, Gorbachev, Darwin and Churchill who have thought nothing of strutting their shiny bald heads. So I guess you can say hair awareness or lack of it is universal to human culture.



In our era hair loss still carries some shame, guilt, and sadness. It's clearly more easily accepted for men to be bald than women. I work hard with many women trying to get them to change their perspective, as wigs are really an extension of ourselves. They are now more and more looked upon as a sexy and fun accessories like lipstick and heels! They also allow us the opportunity to be anyone we want to be in an instant.



Sadly, it's not until the recent release of Mattel's "Ella"-- a bald Barbie doll that comes with several wigs designed to give solace to little girls going through chemotherapy, that there is any bald example figure for little girls. Kudos to them for helping these children have a more creative and appropriate understanding of the cancer treatment hair loss process.



I wish they could have taken a more empowering stance and given "Ella" the power of choice instead of making the doll's baldness related to a sickness, which can very possibly only magnify a feeling of lack or not being good enough in the minds of young children everywhere.



Dr. Robi: What do you think it means to women to struggle with hair thinning and female baldness?



Amy G: For most women, they feel like they have lost or are losing a part of themselves that represents their sexuality, sensuality, and feminine essence. They might feel ugly and unwanted. They feel out of control, uninformed, frustrated and that nothing can stop this process. Which is why the art of created hair or wigs is so important. Because as long as you can come close to feeling and looking like "You" when you look in the mirror, the easier it is to make it through the day and lessens the enormous stress hair loss can have on our emotional and nervous system, which in many cases, only adds to the vicious hair loss process. Less struggle can mean more healing.



Dr. Robi: You work with all kinds of women who are struggling with hair challenges; how does your company differ from other wig companies out there? What sets you apart?



Amy G: Unlike most companies, we find what sets us apart is the tremendous personal attention we give each client. Education is vital. We spend time teaching our clients about the art of wigs, how to select one, how to care and maintain, a wig, what makes your correct color and style. We do all this, so they can be more secure in their understanding of this unexpected, unfamiliar process. Then they're better equipped to make an intelligent choice with such an important personal purchase. Wigs are an investment on many levels: financially, emotionally and spiritually.



I want my clients to acquire a hair piece not because I tell them what is best or because of our reputation, but because they have a solid understanding of what makes the wig correct for them.



Dr. Robi: How do you work with the self-esteem component of your clients' hair loss issues?



Amy G: This is a sensitive area and everyone's barometer is different, so we are careful in our assessment and approach with each client.



For my cancer clients, most of the time their hair will return, so the emphasis for someone in a crisis mode may be to remind them how temporary their hair loss is and how quickly their fresh new hair will return. For my other clients, I find that as long as we can find those products that help them "remember" who they are again, their self-esteem is heightened and the rest of the details fall into place more naturally.



Dr. Robi: Do all of your clients need wigs?



Amy G: All clients that seek me out need hair, not just a consultation.



They either need a top piece to give them volume, which is the greatest invention scene the paper napkin. Let's not forget beautiful bangs to cover the very front hair loss or a beautiful full wig with maybe a tad more density than the woman has now, so she looks like herself only better, yet not look like they are wearing an obvious wig; this is in itself an art to achieve with someone's facial symmetry. Forty-five percent [45 percent] of the clients we provide wigs for live outside of Los Angeles. Our stylists are able to match their photo of their style exactly.



Dr. Robi: You talk about how to keep hair loss a secret. What does this mean exactly? Wouldn't this be hard to do for the single woman who's dating?



Amy G: Keeping one's discretion is the most challenging part of wearing a wig, and there is an art to it. It's not hard to keep your hair loss or created hair a secret at all when you have the right tools, correct guidance and learn the simple steps which allow you to not only feel more relaxed by having these tools at your fingertips but will help you keep your power during this time. It can be fun!



Dr. Robi: You recently came out with a new book SEX, WIGS & WHISPERS: Love and Life with Hair Loss, what can your fans and readers expect to learn about you?



Amy G: My hope is that the book gives readers a sense of who I am as a woman, not just a designer, spokesperson or actress. I walk their walk. Even though I am married, I still live with the same personal struggles at times while on this hair loss journey -- especially since my Alopecia has gone to the next stage called Universalis where I have lost all my body hair, eyebrows, and lashes. There are days when I feel on top of it and feel beautiful and other days when I look in the mirror and feel like an alien and have to work through it just like anyone else to get back to "me" again. On those days, I take a breath and quickly remind myself of the positive things I do have in my life, and stay grateful. I have found that gratitude helps me and my clients get out of the funk more quickly and into a more joyful place.



Dr. Robi: What was it like for you emotionally, being in such a visual world as an actress, struggling with Alopecia? What was the hardest part?



Amy G: Losing my hair and trying to hold on to my self-esteem and confidence in a world that cherishes hair and where you are constantly judged on your looks first was very difficult.



While searching for whatever treatments I could find and not be able to bounce the information off of anyone and get reliable, credible feedback was extremely difficult on my soul.



I was very insecure and always worried the wind would blow and my wig would fly off or someone would bump into me and my hair would move off my bald patches for all to see. I was very shy. Aside from a coffee with someone now and then, I didn't seriously date until I was 21.



As I look back, I see how my Alopecia affected every part of my being, which is why I am so passionate about doing whatever I can to prevent that from destroying other women's lives. This is why I am so committed to creating the correct solutions for each and every person who comes to me.



Dr. Robi: What's next for you and where can we learn more about what you're working on and your upcoming projects?



Amy G: Currently, I was fortunate enough to be asked by CancerConnect.com to create the first Cancer HairCare Center by Amy Gibson which is currently helping thousands of cancer patients. I am also working on my second book, which will hopefully be transformational for the readers as we talk about how to combine many outer beauty secrets with our inner wellness.



There's some very strong interest in a number of different wig accessory products I've been developing, including a much-needed full-service medical wig line that will further give women freedom and comfort while living with hair loss, cancer treatment, and wigs.



There is a steady stream of videos we're producing, and since I enjoy being a television talk show host, we're in development with a new 1/2 hour show that combines the best of personal transformations with cutting-edge health and beauty alternatives.



Amy Gibson's goal is to help people with hair loss, and it

is to that goal she has dedicated her company: CreatedHair.com



For more information about Amy Gibson and her latest projects go to: createdhair.com and cancerconnect.com
On January 20, 2017--after the speeches, parades, and parties end--the next president will sit down, start sifting through a seemingly endless trove of briefing binders, and begin making difficult decisions that will shape the future of the world.

Many of the next president's most consequential choices--on trade, technology, education, and other matters--will have serious implications for American manufacturing. While the unemployment rate and many of our economic fundamentals have improved markedly in recent years, the loss of at least 5 million manufacturing jobs over the past two decades has left a scar on the national psyche. Our trade deficits in advanced technology products shifted from a surplus in 2001 to a deficit of more than $90 billion in 2015. There's widespread uncertainty about what we as a nation will produce in the decades ahead.

On September 29, MForesight: Alliance for Manufacturing Foresight convened leading thinkers from industry, academia, and government to envision a successful future for American manufacturing. We asked six seasoned thinkers to share what they would say to the next American president. Their answers are below.

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Robert Atkinson, President, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Support the designation of at least 20 U.S. "manufacturing universities"

If the United States wants to win in advanced manufacturing a key step it needs to forge stronger industry-university research collaborations and incentivize universities to focus more on training students with the requisite skills to support engineering-based industries. Unfortunately, university engineering programs have evolved in two troubling directions. First, the focus on "engineering as a science" has increasingly moved university engineering education away from a focus on real problem solving toward more abstract engineering science. Second, this focus on "engineering as a science" has left university engineering departments more concerned with producing pure knowledge than working with industry.

To address this, the next president should work with Congress to pass legislation with appropriated funds to create a core of at least 20 universities that brand themselves as leading manufacturing universities. In the Senate, Senators Coons (D-DE) along with Ayotte (R-NH), Gillibrand (D-NY), Graham (R-SC), and Baldwin (D-WI) took the lead in authoring the Manufacturing Universities Act of 2015, which was incorporated in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the Senate in June 2016. In the House, Representatives Elizabeth Etsy (D-CT) and Chris Collins (R-NY) have introduced a companion bill, HR 1441. While this legislative text was not included in the House's version of the 2017 NDAA, there is hope that it might be included in the final NDAA bill reported out of conference.

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This legislation would provide a competitive grant program managed by the National Science Foundation to winning universities that propose to revamp their engineering programs and focus much more on manufacturing engineering and in particular work that is more relevant to industry. This would include more joint industry-university research projects and more student training that incorporates manufacturing experiences.



Christine Furstoss, Vice President & Technology Director, GE Global Research

Paradigm changes require both new outcomes AND new approaches. Building a vibrant, flexible U.S. manufacturing ecosystem requires a bold plan premised on three 'Es' - Engage, Educate and Evolve.

It starts with Engage. Despite many efforts, the reach and impact of industry's voice is still too limited in setting priorities. We must create a national common purpose, driven less by funding and more by linking efforts to specific industry outcomes that make U.S. manufacturing more attractive and competitive. Implementing technologies in industrial test beds will allow the entire ecosystem to learn together, strengthen engagement, and demonstrate the benefits.

Second, we need a new framework to Educate our present and future manufacturing workforce. Industry sees the greatest gap in the skilled trades positions. These positions are becoming increasingly high-tech and require more specialized training. We need government entities to partner with industry and local institutions to create standardized certifications that meet the needs of high-tech advanced manufacturing. This in turn will create high paying manufacturing jobs that can be obtained without exorbitant educational expenses.

Third, we need an Evolving approach. With the digital revolution happening so rapidly, we're seeing enterprise changes in how manufacturing is executed at all levels of the supply chain. Government and industry together need to look at new innovation models from full testbeds to develop and integrate changing technology to increased hands-on activities with students and universities.

The key is sustainability and consistency of purpose. The new manufacturing institutes, while a great start, cannot fully address what is required as their ability to adapt and sustain is limited. By bringing together the entire manufacturing ecosystem and focusing on the 3 E's, we can truly affect sustainable change for our country.



Ralph Gomory, Research Professor, New York University Stern School of Business; President Emeritus, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Our present wide-open economy and the current orientation of our major corporations make our nation an excellent target for mercantilist exploitation.

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Although we like to imagine that we are in a world of free trade, the world that we live in is not like that. It is to a considerable extent, a world of mercantilism--a world in which many foreign governments do whatever it takes to make their industries succeed.

Our vulnerability to these tactics can be traced to the doctrine of shareholder primacy, profit as the only corporate goal.

Today our corporations believe their mission is to make as much money as possible for their shareholders; they believe it is someone else's job to take care of the American economy. This is a long way from the Stakeholder doctrine that dominated business thinking in the decades before the 1980's. That view took into account the impact of corporate actions on customers, employees, local communities, and the nation.

In today's world, mercantilist nations can sign free trade agreements with us but then use subsidies to make outsourcing or moving overseas the most profitable path for our corporations.

Experience has shown that in a mercantilist world, the free trade arguments used to justify our trade agreements with many countries simply do not apply, and the promised benefits do not materialize.

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Instead, these agreements have often opened our industries to destructive, non-market competition.

We end up with huge trade deficits and find that we have traded jobs for corporate profit, and along with the jobs we have often lost our technology, and increasingly the actual ownership of our own economy.

As long as we do not realize what is possible for countries to do in a mercantilist world, and as long as our corporations feel their only goal is profit, we will be vulnerable to having jobs and technology lured overseas.

It is time to wake up both to the realities of the modern world and to the need to reform the goals of our corporations.



Ron Hira, Professor of Public Policy, Howard University; Research Associate, Economic Policy Institute

Americans continue to harbor concerns about the economy even with record stock prices and low unemployment rates. Many of their anxieties stem from the emergence of the New U.S. Employment Model. The loyalty between employers and workers has deteriorated. Employers discard workers for cheaper substitutes and workers show little attachment to employers.

IBM illustrates how employment relations have radically transformed over the past twenty-five years. Until 1992, IBM never laid off an employee. Faced with losses in the early 1990s IBM began layoffs, continuing them even when profits returned. By 2003, IBM's offshoring strategy included requiring its U.S. workers train their overseas replacements as a condition of severance. IBM went from lifetime employment to requiring its workers destroy their own jobs.

Employers across the spectrum are aggressively cutting labor costs even for jobs that cannot be offshored. In 2010, Dr. Pepper Group demanded significant wage and benefits cuts for workers at a Motts plant in New York even though the plant was profitable. Contractors for Tesla Motors hired guestworkers at $5 per hour for its California factory while Tesla receives $millions in job creation tax credits. It even extends to state governments. The University of California announced it would force its information technology workers train their cheaper guestworker replacements.

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This behavior represents a major structural transformation in our economy but our current policy formulation operates as though nothing has changed.

R&D policies provide a good case. The U.S. heavily subsidizes R&D hoping we will capture many downstream design, development, and production jobs. Yet firms act rationally and the lure of lower costs, from cheaper labor and government incentives, make it more likely many of those jobs leak offshore even when R&D is performed here. Instead of blindly increasing R&D subsidies, as many leaders have prescribed, we should craft policies to better capture those downstream jobs - the real prize.

Solving the serious economic problems of our time requires that we look at all of our policies - tax, trade, education, training, and innovation - through the lens of the New U.S. Employment Model.



Scott Paul, President, Alliance for American Manufacturing

Madam/Mister President: You have embraced manufacturing as a critical element of economic growth and pathway to the middle class. You recognize that public policy can help to strengthen manufacturing. I know these to be some of the core truths of your economic thinking.

Now is the time to put these words into action. We stand at the cusp of dramatic changes in manufacturing. Industry 4.0 means we will have opportunities to bring some manufacturing back to the U.S. as it becomes more automated, more technical, more digital, and more customized.

But this shift will not occur on its own. We need the right public policy environment. For this to happen, it will require your strong leadership. Manufacturing policy solutions tend to unite our otherwise divided citizens, so harnessing their energy will be critical. Navigating a fractured and dysfunctional Congress will require pragmatism and hands-on work--work you must dedicate to this effort, ahead of your other campaign goals.

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An omnibus Make It in America bill is the answer. Why? Because fostering a competitive environment for manufacturing requires the adjustment of a number of monetary, fiscal, and trade policy levers.

First, erase regulatory and tax incentives for short-termism and restore Wall Street's function as a utility and provider of capital to industry. Increase incentives for long-term corporate investments in workers, machines, innovation, and domestic production.

Second, phase in a border-adjustable carbon fee. This will minimize the externalities, both here and abroad, of climate progress, and incentivize new industries and energy processes.

Third, make post-secondary technical training free to any worker in traded industries, formalize portable credentials, and incentivize high-road apprenticeships.

Fourth, include sizable investments for infrastructure and the Manufacturing USA/MEP networks.

Finally, appoint a robust Special Trade Prosecutor to identify and knock down unfair trade practices and barriers to our exports.



Justin Talbot-Zorn, Truman National Security Fellow; Senior Adviser to MForesight

The Case for a National Innovation Foundation

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In June of 2008, then-Senator Hillary Clinton and Republican Senator Susan Collins introduced a piece of legislation that had unique potential to bolster America's manufacturing competitiveness. The National Innovation and Job Creation Act would have created a National Innovation Council to consolidate and coordinate the activities of many of the government's diverse innovation programs. The idea was straightforward: To catch up with more than 50 countries from China to the UK that all have coordinating agencies to catalyze the translation of scientific discoveries and inventions into useful products and process improvements that help meet societal needs.

Fast-forward eight years, and manufacturing remains one of the few truly bipartisan national priorities. While specific policy proposals regarding manufacturing tend toward contentious matters like tax rates and trade policy, a new national coordinating body for translational research could expand domestic manufacturing and win broad bipartisan support by helping US taxpayers maximize their return on investment from R&D spending.

The need for translational research is clear. Crucial platform technologies like semiconductors and solar cells were not simply created in an academic lab but rather through the combined efforts of government-funded scientific researchers and private sector engineers over years or even decades. The United States remains the world's leader in R&D spending, but we're doing a lackluster job of connecting the research with the development: translating our basic science activities into the new products and services that improve lives and livelihoods.
If there's one thing Michael Moore knows, it's that Donald Trump is going to be president. In fact, the only person who seems more confident of that prospect is Trump himself.

At first blush, it may seem odd that the lefty filmmaker best known for eviscerating GM for downsizing in his 1989 film, "Roger & Me," would be grabbing pro-Trump headlines.

But given Moore's poor track record of predicting elections and his insatiable need for media attention, this actually makes a lot of sense.

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The Michigan native (unsurprisingly) endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, but not before reminding us on MSNBC of a creepy chapter he wrote in his 1996 book, "Downsize This," on his "forbidden love for Hillary Clinton" (yes, he called her "one hot shitkickin' feminist babe.")

In July, he released his rambling letter to fans, titled, "5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win," which sounded awfully similar to his pronouncement that Mitt Romney would triumph in 2012 (spoiler alert: he didn't). The letter is chock full of the sort unsophisticated observations that pass for political analysis on cable TV, replete with a fairly insulting depiction of Trump supporters (the "last stand of the angry white men") and a reminder that pro-wrestler-turned-governor Jesse Ventura was a thing a couple decades ago.

Moore's biggest point is that Trump will ride the wave of a "Rust Belt Brexit" in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. He never really explains how a British referendum on the European Union is a good predictor of the American presidential election, but he does know TPP is evil. Plus, those states have had GOP governors (federal election voting patterns are different, especially in Michigan, but no matter). It's also somewhat amusing that polls have only been promising for Trump in the Buckeye State.

Then came Moore's follow-up column, "5 Reasons Why Trump Will Lose," which started out declaring that Clinton will continue lead in polls but "IT DOESN'T MATTER" (his emphasis) because polls are wrong ("Stop the early celebrating and the gloating over Trump's Bad Week," he admonishes Democrats). Only then did he launch into some mundane GOTV tips.

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Moore hasn't let up, declaring Trump won the first debate on Sept. 28: "It's over. Trump, the egoist, the racist, the narcissist, the liar, 'won.' We all lost. His numbers will go up. She told the truth. So what." Fun fact: Clinton's poll numbers have jumped since then. But, of course, Moore warned us that the polls are skewed (the man has an answer for everything).

Undeterred, Moore swung for the fences in a "Meet the Press" interview this week, declaring Trump to be a "human Molotov cocktail" who will, of course, win.

The interesting thing is that both Trump and Moore are selling pessimism to the American public to boost their brands. If you listen to either of them, you wouldn't know the unemployment rate is 5.1 percent or that we're living in the most peaceful time in human history.

Consider this doozy from Moore:

"From Green Bay to Pittsburgh, this, my friends, is the middle of England -- broken, depressed, struggling, the smokestacks strewn across the countryside with the carcass of what we use to call the Middle Class. Angry, embittered working (and nonworking) people who were lied to by the trickle-down of Reagan and abandoned by Democrats who still try to talk a good line but are really just looking forward to rub one out with a lobbyist from Goldman Sachs who'll write them nice big check before leaving the room."

I suspect Trump's knock on our dystopian hellscape is more appealing, because at least he's promising to make it all great again. All Moore is promising to do is write more overwrought columns.

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Moore still has has diehard liberal followers, but he's slipped in relevance and his image has taken a beating with a messy divorce (one of the flashpoints was his tony mansion on Torch Lake). Let's face it, most of his natural audience of young Sanders supporters were born after "Roger & Me" and probably have no idea who Moore is. So he has to keep upping the ante with over-the-top antics.

Moore's frequent pro-Trump declarations have made a splash in the conservative media, particularly in the far right/alt-right haven of Breitbart News, whose publisher, Steve Bannon, just happens to be on loan to the Trump campaign.

But that's the point, right? One of the surefire ways of nabbing media attention is for liberals to break with Democrats (and conservatives to bash the GOP). And Moore does it with his trademark bombast, unloading cringeworthy zingers made for TV.

We saw this with the Flint water crisis. Moore has been a loud and frequent critic of President Obama -- even irresponsibly suggesting in April that the city would "riot" soon (it didn't) and he should "arrest" Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette (he can't). Moore actually wrote a column, "Don't Send Bottled Water to Flint" and told people to "revolt."

When you're dealing with the unspeakable human tragedy of children being poisoned by the water supply, Moore's clown act suddenly isn't funny anymore. It's wrong-headed and deeply irresponsible.

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It's a stark reminder that those of us in Michigan deserve better.
Blue light flasher atop of a police car. City lights on the background.

By Deborah Ramirez, Tara Lai Quinlan, and Marcus Wraight

In a recent town hall meeting in Ohio, Donald Trump called for the national use of the controversial police "stop and frisk" practice. Trump claimed the practice "worked incredibly well" in New York City. Even beyond issues of constitutionality, what Trump critically failed to grasp was that it was used to racially profile large numbers of Blacks and Latinos. Trump also failed to recognize the significant role stop and frisk played in damaging relations between police and New York City's ethnic minority communities. Now, amidst a national climate which national law enforcement leaders like Charles H. Ramsey, retired commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, are calling for police to repair their relationships with ethnic communities across the nation, something must be done. The answer is changing the culture of policing from a warrior model to a guardian model.

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In far too many communities, the police are viewed -- by both themselves and the citizens they are charged with protecting -- as warriors occupying hostile territory. Instead, the police must act as trusted community partners working collaboratively with community members to make their neighborhoods stronger and safer.

How do we achieve this? By doing things differently. Acting differently. Training differently. Promoting differently. By changing the way policing is approached from a warrior to a guardian model. President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing begins to describe this model of policing and recommends its introduction nationwide.

The question is: How do we get there?

It is clear that to harness the full strength of the guardianship model, policing must become more transparent and accountable. Body and patrol car cameras can provide the community with the information they need to be true and respected partners in the policing enterprise. When there are grave police incidents, police videos should be released in a timely manner so police do not give the appearance of hiding anything.

Police supervisors should also assess an officer's video footage as part of the standard promotion and assessment process. During these regular reviews, supervisors should use randomly selected video footage in order to evaluate officers on four important criteria:

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In the recorded footage, was the officer respectful?

Was the officer courteous?

Did the officer follow training?

Did the officer attempt to de-escalate a hostile encounter?

In addition, during reviews officers should also be invited to select video footage showcasing some of their best policing, including particularly effective de-escalation techniques and community engagement.

By standardizing the use of these processes, police officers can begin to collect video footage of best practices in creative approaches and effective de-escalation techniques that could be incorporated into compulsory de-escalation training modules. Adopting these measures can signal the beginning of the police cultural transformation that needs to take place by emphasizing innovative guardianship metrics and different types of training, not the traditional warrior metrics like numbers of arrests, and stops and frisks, which prove problematic time and time again.

But other reforms must also take place to change police culture. Perceptions about race and racial profiling are at the heart of the community critique of policing. Many communities of color believe they are treated differently and more harshly by police. In order to assess such concerns and ensure that policing is bias-free, police need to implement mandatory racial profiling data collection systems that record the racial demographics of police activities like stops and searches. We need to measure these because police -- like all of us -- suffer from implicit biases that they are sometimes unaware of. By shining a light on this with actual data, we can help police understand the reality of their practices and help them work to change their behaviors.

Finally, we need a new way to deal with officers who continue to adhere to the warrior mentality through engaging in risky or hostile encounters, especially those that result in the death or severe injury of civilians. Too many officers who engage in problematic police behaviors remain on the force. We must therefore also consider requiring all police officers to carry personal liability insurance. While police departments could feasibly pay the general insurance premiums, officers could become responsible for paying any increases in the premiums that stem from engaging in risky police behavior. Just as all car drivers must have car insurance, police could also be required to carry policies tied to their conduct. And just as insurance companies rate drivers each year based on their driving behavior, police could be similarly assessed. Under this model it is conceivable that officers who repeatedly engage in risky police behaviors could be priced out of policing altogether.

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As a nation we all have a stake in changing police culture from a warrior to guardian model. All of us need to do our part to solve this problem. We support the bi-partisan Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, which encompasses many of these reforms, and urge others to call their Congressional representatives and urge its passage.

Repairing community-police relations and building the necessary trust and legitimacy will not be easy, and will take time. But the current state of affairs provides us with both extraordinary challenges and extraordinary opportunities for real and meaningful reform. Let us roll up our sleeves and begin the journey.

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Deborah Ramirez is a Professor of Law at Northeastern University School of Law, and has testified several times before Congress about community-police partnerships.

Tara Lai Quinlan is a lawyer and criminologist whose research focuses on policing, terrorism and criminal justice, and Lecturer in Law and Diversity at University of Sheffield, UK.

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I am inspired by the courageous women of Poland who on Monday said NO to an attempt to impose a near total ban on abortion. The women who stopped working and hit the streets, the women who made 3 October an historic day, the women of the #CzarnyProtest.

Thanks to them, Wednesday and Thursday saw a U-turn by the Polish Government and Parliament on a draconian abortion bill. The Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin said "the black Monday protest taught us humility," and the Polish Parliament overwhelmingly rejected the proposed ban.

This social movement is unprecedented in Poland. The vibrant mass-demonstrations by tens of thousands of people around the country have shown the Government that disregard for the human rights of half its citizens is not acceptable to the electorate.

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It would seem that the political implications of turning their back on this social movement have, for now, pushed the Polish Government to change strategy in how it opposes abortion. It is proposing social welfare measures and social campaigns to "educate" the public about abortion instead of legislative changes.

The #CzarnyProtest is a beautiful example of the power of grassroots activism to hold political leaders to account, of how social movements can work across borders. Thousands of outraged people in Europe and around the world stood with Polish women to say "enough is enough". Demonstrations took place worldwide, and there was an outpouring of outrage and solidarity on social media. The 'wemove petition' created in partnership with the European Women's Lobby and IPPF European Network gathered more than 80,000 signatures in just a few days.

Progressive Members of the European Parliament fought to ensure that their institution held a plenary debate on Wednesday on Polish women's rights, sending a strong signal of solidarity and reiterating that women's rights are fundamental rights and are at the core of what the European Union should be about. The European Commissioner for Justice and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova, stressed that "as a woman and the mother of a daughter", she personally hoped that a bill which went against human dignity and women's freedom to choose would not be adopted.

But let's remember that the proposal that failed in Poland is a reality in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In Malta abortion is banned outright. It is hard to believe, but in 2016 we are still fighting for a woman's right to bodily autonomy and the situation is becoming worse for many women across Europe. Just two years ago, Spanish women fought off a similar attempt to the Polish one. Constant attacks on women's rights are taking place in Europe and are often linked to a very well organised and well-resourced global anti-choice movement.

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The failure of this particular attempt to control Polish women's bodies is clearly cause for celebration, and the #CzarnyProtest has been an important step in breaking the silence around abortion which contributes to its stigmatisation. But Polish women continue to face one of the most repressive regimes in Europe when it comes to their reproductive rights, with abortion currently only theoretically legal in cases of rape, incest, severe foetal abnormality or when the woman's life is in danger. I hope that the momentum of the Black Protest opens up some space for progress in Poland, and becomes a source of inspiration for the social movement elsewhere in Europe and in the world.


KING RODRIGUEZ / PPD / HANDOUT

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has attracted international condemnation with his violent crackdown on alleged drug takers and his dismissive attitude towards his country's traditional allies. But his popularity at home remains incredibly high - he seems to have his finger on the nation's pulse.

Every day during the first 100 days of Duterte's administration, an average of 36 Filipinos have been killed. About half of these extrajudicial killing are in the country's capital Manila.

In the Philippines' so-called "war on drugs", suspects die in "encounters" with police, are shot by motorcycle-riding vigilante gunmen, or are killed by trained and unofficial police death squads. Their taped up bodies are left with a cardboard confessional sign strapped around their necks, saying "pusher" or "drug lord", or dumped under a bridge or neighbouring town.

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The guilt of victims is assumed - never proven, seriously investigated, or even questioned.

The sad, the bizarre, and the misguided

Not surprisingly, there have been reports of many heart-wrenching cases of violent death. A five-year-old girl was killed in late September after gunmen aiming to kill her grandfather opened fire. A father and son caught smoking shabu, the most widely available methamphetamine in the country, were beaten and then shot dead while in police custody.

Photos taken by Raffy Lerma on July 23 of Jennilyn Olayres embracing her murdered partner, peddycab driver Michael Siaron, on the street became iconic as Filipinos immediately associated with Michaelango's famous Pieta sculpture showing Mary cradling the crucified Jesus. A cardboard sign next to his body carried the chilling message Pusher ako, wag tularan (I'm a pusher, don't do what I did).

President Duterte dismissed this case as "overdramatised", suggesting one had to be hard hearted to "win" a war against drugs.









REUTERS/Czar Dancel





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There have been bizarre incidents among the bloodshed as well. One case saw a suspected drug taker who "rose from the dead" become inevitably associated with the TV zombie craze. The Philippine media reported that a man found lying in his own pool of blood stood up once he felt safe in the presence of reporters who came to cover the apparent killing.

Crime has been linked to illicit drug use in the Philippines, but the country is certainly not about to degenerate into a "narco state". No drug gangs are directly challenging the authority of the state as in Mexico, or Columbia before that. Even so, there's a growing fascination with such states in the country.

Filipinos have become obsessed with the Netflix series Narcos about Colombia's drug lord Pablo Escobar. Showing death can imitate fiction, one Philippine commentator surmised police chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who is responsible for the anti-drug campaign, was inspired by the television programme to fly to Colombia recently to find out how that South American country had "won" the war on drugs.

He found the country's President Juan Manuel Santos has been advocating a more humane solution to the problem.

War on the poor?

Since becoming president in late June, Duterte has implemented his "Davao model" of giving police and vigilantes a license to kill drug suspects nationwide.

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The name comes from the town where he was twice vice mayor (1986-1987 and 2010-2013) and thrice mayor (1988-1998, 2001-2010 and 2013-2016) before he became president; Davao is the largest city in the conflict-torn southern island of Mindanao. And Duterte's anti-drug policy left over 1,400 people dead there.

Duterte used his "tough on crime" approach to win the May 2016 presidential election as a political outsider, promising to restore law and order with strongman rule. Columbia University academic Sheila Coronel has called Duterte the "bastard child of Philippine democracy".

In a report about the widow of a victim of the anti-drug drive, reporter Jamela Alindogan of Al Jazeera, who has been a leader in the international coverage of the killings, summed up the view of many critics, noting there were fears that "the war on drugs is a war against the poor."









REUTERS/Staff





Foreign human rights groups and most Western governments have been outspoken in their criticism as have some Philippine activist groups. But protest has been limited in the face of police terror directed primarily at the poor.

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Duterte has played to the deep resentments of those marginally better off after 15 years of solid economic growth. And he's done so despite the "straight path" anti-corruption platform of the previous administration of president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.

"Dutertismo" as the Philippine sociologist Randy David has termed it, has been driven by middle-class worries about rising crime and a broken justice system, as well as crumbling infrastructure and continued corruption.

Academic Nicole Curato has applied the term "penal populism" - appeals to voters who feel threatened by crime and not protected by the police or the courts - to the Philippines to describe a fantasy "that sets apart the virtuous public from the degenerates who do not deserve due process."

This "politics of anger" leaves little room for treating drugs as a health problem, and as symptom of social problems rather than its cause. The latter approach would allow for the rule of law and for rehabilitation to deal with the problem, thereby avoiding the criminalisation of the poor.

But the fact that there's been so little protest against Duterte's "war on drugs" is a sad indicator of the expendability of life at the bottom of the social hierarchy in the Philippines.

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Silencing opponents

Duterte has also mobilised nationalist antipathy against foreign interference, and that of the US in particular, to deflect criticism from his violent drug crackdown.

Indeed, his popularity seems part of the national zeitgeist. Last year, Filipinos flocked to the local film Heneral Luna, which celebrates the life and death of the strong-willed General Juan Luna. Commander of the revolutionary army, he fought against US occupation in 1898 but was betrayed by his compatriots.

When running for the country's highest elected office Duterte said a president must be willing to risk his life to defend the people, tapping into the mood created by the film. He pledged his willingness to die in carrying out his promise to eradicate drugs.









EPA/MARK R. CRISTINO





Given Duterte's super-majority in Congress, only a handful of politicians have spoken out against the killings. One who has consistently criticised Duterte's bloodbath is former Commission on Human Rights chairperson, former Justice Secretary and now Senator, Leila de Lima.

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She has paid for her outspokenness. She was removed as head of the Senate committee investigating the killings. And Duterte's congressional allies retaliated with hearings in the lower house that saw former convicts testify that she had granted them privileged conditions in prison while she was Secretary of Justice, in return for drug money contributions to her senatorial campaign.

Duterte claimed de Lima has drug connections through her driver who had become her lover, a double sin in starkly class-divided patriarchal society.

De Lima has received death threats and has been forced to leave her home.

Dissolving democracy?

The more than 3,600 people killed in the anti-drug war already exceeds the 3,240 people Amnesty International estimates were "salvaged" (a Filipino term for extrajudicial killings) during the nearly 14 years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos.

There's a discrepancy between Duterte and his police chief's claim that there are more than three million drug addicts in the Philippines. The government's own Dangerous Drugs Board estimates there are in fact 1.24 million illegal drug takers in the country.

Meanwhile, Duterte's defence of his anti-drug campaign has become increasingly unhinged. In a recent outburst, he compared his campaign to the Nazi holocaust against the Jews. He later apologised.

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The reasons for Duterte's rise to power and the silence, if not acceptance, from Philippine society about his violent crackdown on drug takers has historical roots.

Not even modest steps toward transitional justice were attempted during the early post-Marcos period, which was marred by repeated military coup attempts. And this established a pattern of informal immunity from prosecution that, with few exceptions, has continued since then.

Democracy has not yet died in the Philippines; the press remains uncensored and opposition criticism is still tolerated. But civil liberties, particularly the right to life, lie buried beneath the corpses of thousands of victims of Duterte's 100-day "war on drugs".

Mark R Thompson, Professor of Politics & Head of the Department of Asian and International Studies, City University Hong Kong
If you ask a Seattleite what is the local signature food, they will say two things: wild salmon and Dungeness crab. Indeed, these are known worldwide as the native food of the Pacific Northwest.

Most local are aware of the wild salmon's life. Out-of-towners not so much. If you want to know more, just visit the Ballard Locks and take the tour offered.

Salmon start their life in freshwater. This is where it spends the first years of its life. Walk around at the locks and you will find out about the salt and fresh water and the fish ladder. Grown up salmon have to return to freshwater where there were born when they reach adulthood and is time to spawn. The locks provide the infrastructure for salmon to move step by step. "Their bodies have to adjust to fresh water as it may be hard on them", says our tour guide at the Ballard Locks. When the tide is in, it is easy but when the tide is out they have more steps climb. That's why there is a long fish ladder with many steps."

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Salmon travel and come to the ladder because they recognize the smell and the taste of the waters where they were hatched. The locks provide the only way to come out to the ocean from any of the creeks or rivers from Lake Washington. So following their instincts, they remember the smell and they come back to the ladder, the only way back into the lake. At this point, they have stopped eating and their body goes major changes as well. They start to change color, they get redder and redder and male salmon develop what is called kype, when the lower jaw extends wide out and curves up and the upper jaw extends down. So now they have sharper teeth to push around the river and to fight over females.

When they arrive at the fish ladder, they rest. When they are to leave, they escape through the last three steps up into the canal. They swim eight miles to Lake Washington and that can take a while.

Those that return to the hatchery, swim north to the Squamish river at Issaquah. There, they are removed from the river and the hatchery employees remove the eggs from the females and milk the males to get their milt (sperm) to fertilize the eggs. Then they put the eggs in tanks, feed the little fish until they are much bigger, they clip the fin on top and send them back to the river to grow up. Their life has started at the hatchery but then it continues to the streams and lakes and finally to the ocean. When they spawn, the female searches for a spot in the river to lay her eggs. As she approaches the water she came from, she has to find the perfect size gravel: not too small because the eggs will be smothered or too big because she will have a hard time to pick them around with her tail. By using her tail on her side, she pushes the gravel out of the way. So she has a nest big enough for two. The male is next to her, and may even do the courtship dance over the nest. Finally she drops her eggs, nearly 800 eggs and the male squirts enough milk to fertilize them. Afterwards she again swims upstream, kicks the gravel with her tail and the river brings it down and covers her eggs up and kicks and cleans all the dirt all the way away; now she has a new nest. She moves to a different nest for up to five times on the whole.

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By that time, the salmon are mortally exhausted, with all the digging and fighting and lack of food for months. Even then some males still want to spawn. Eventually, their short, hard and tragic life will end when they finally die in the river where they were hatched. But as conscious parents, they ensure that the young offspring have a healthier place to grow up. It is their dead bodies that feed everything in the river including their offspring. The nutrients from their rotting bodies feed the eggs, and when they hatched out, they provide the food that the local ecosystem needs for a teaming population of insects and small aquatic animals that the baby salmon need to eat. This circle of life is called semelparity.

The dead salmon also are food for other animals and plants in the streams and adjacent forests such as trees and bears. In all, over 120 species rely on salmon.

Out of the 5,000 eggs that end up in the gravel all covered up and fertilized, only 500 will emerge as a young fresh water fish called a "smolt". Each species of salmon spends different periods of time as smolts. Coho for example spends a year and a half in this juvenile state. By the time they are grown enough to start heading down to the ocean and salt water, only fifty will have survived. On their way to the ocean, through the lake, through the ship canal, and voyage through Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, only thirty will survive bigger fish, birds, harbor seals, sea lions, orca whales and finally humans.

Those left will head out a hundred miles off the coast where they will eat and grow more and follow various migration patterns. When the three-year old Coho returns home, only five will have survived and then they have to go back through the same gauntlet of predators as they return through Puget Sound. As they enter Puget Sound, they get closer and closer to where their home stream is by smelling the water. When they arrive at the locks, only five have returned. Of these, only two will successfully spawn. Some will not find a spot in the gravel, or they won't win the battles over the females, others take a wrong turn and get lost.

Being the biggest strongest male is not always the key to breeding. Sometimes, a smaller male salmon will slip past a larger spawning male and drop a little milk on the fresh unfertilized eggs before the bigger male can get there. Although for humans this may be considered adultery, is actually a good thing for the species because they are passing their genetics on and increasing the gene pool. Therefore, if something happens which threatens the species such as a disease or changing climate, the increased genetic diversity ensures that some will survive and carry on the species.

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So the ones who return to the locks are the survivors? Yes, indeed. Less than one in thousand comes back to the locks, less than 1% off the eggs survive adulthood. So the Chinook, Coho, and the Sockeye are four years old when they come back to the locks after a long and amazing voyage.

Next time you have a piece of wild salmon on your plate, think for a moment about this rather short but insightful life of this amazing creature.

More info

80% of the Coho are going to the hatchery and is the same for Chinook. For Sockeye it is the reverse with only 20% being from a hatchery.
You don't need some HBO epic about incestuous medieval royalty to tell you winter is coming. Instead, just watch the green bleed out of the forests. As temperatures drop and days shorten, those trees prepare for the darkness by shutting down photosynthesis. Gradually, like a Chicagoan's exercise regimen, they shut down for the winter.



What does this mean? It means trees stops producing chlorophyll, aka the chemical that makes leaves green. What results is America's most glorious season for scenery, when our more temperate climates (sorry, California and Florida) turn into a blazing rainbow of oranges, yellows, reds, and purples. And people spend their weekends driving through the countryside to take it all in. Since we've all seen Family Guy, and know New Englanders like leaf peepers about as much as they like Bucky Dent, here are 13 places outside New England with fall colors that are worth making a trip for.



Credit: John McCormick/Shutterstock

Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Yeah, it's a bit of an oddball place, but even in a state known for beautiful water scenery, no place tops the Upper Peninsula. The best spot to catch great views is in the far north, at Copper Harbor, but a drive through the vast wilderness on the way there is just as vibrant, and mostly uninterrupted.

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Credit: Andrew F. Kazmierski/Shutterstock

Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania

This vast mountainous region in Eastern Pennsylvania spans 2,400 square miles, so you can visit any of its three leaf-peeping regions at different points of the fall and get a completely unique experience. With 127 different types of foliage, peak season will vary between the northern, central, and southern regions, and the tourism department's Facebook page lets you know when each one is at its peak.



Credit: Ohran Cam/Shutterstock

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Fall colors are great. Fall temperatures? Not always so much. That's why if you prefer the climate-controlled comfort of your SUV there's no better place in America for leaves than Shenandoah National Park. It's home to the famous 105-mile Skyline Drive, where you'll be enshrouded by a canopy of red, orange, yellow, and green.

Columbia River Valley, Oregon

The Pacific Northwest might be the country's most underrated region for fall colors. Many think of it as either evergreen or desert, but a hike to Multnomah Falls during September or October will have you standing on a bridge under a thundering waterfall, surrounded by the brightest colors you'll see in the region.



Credit: Explore Minnesota

Great River Bluffs, Minnesota

For the best view of these bluffs that line the Mississippi River, jump on the Great River Rd -- aka Hwy 60 between Red Wing and La Crescent. It'll not only take you through charming little river towns, but also some of the state's best scenic overlooks at Frontenac and Great River Bluffs State Parks.

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Aspen, Colorado

It's worth a trip to this tiny resort town outside Denver just to spot bright yellows and oranges against majestic snow-capped mountains. But if you truly want to go all back-to-nature and shoot your own dinner while you're there, Aspen Outfitting will take you out into the fall foliage with trained dogs, help you flush out birds, and bring back whatever you manage to hit.

More from Thrillist:
This week, I was going to write about a recent controversy that occurred at the University of Michigan. To wit: It seems the university has some weird policy wherein students are allowed to choose the gender pronouns by which they would like to be addressed in the official campus roster. This is supposedly meant to help professors identify students in ways that won't accidentally offend the students.

Apparently, some kids who don't identify as a specific gender don't like to be addressed as "he/him," "she/her" or even "they," so somebody dreamed up words like "zir" and "zi." I have no idea what those are supposed to mean, but then I've never had a problem with someone calling me by the wrong pronouns and have yet to go shopping for new ones.

The controversy arose when one enterprising young man decided he wanted to be addressed as "His Majesty" and entered that into the university's records. His reasoning was that while "His Majesty" is decidedly not a real pronoun, neither are "zir" and "zi." Since everyone was being completely arbitrary about what they wished to be called, he was free to choose whatever he wanted, and he wanted to be "His Majesty."

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His Majesty's choice was basically a prank intended to point out the absurdity of the university's pronoun policy, but the joke, to no one's surprise, has not gone over well with the university's LGBTQP population, which has never been known for its sense of humor.

According to reports, all the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, (not sure what the Q stands for) and pansexuals are in an uproar because they think the student wishing to be addressed as "His Majesty" is anti-LGBTQP and has no right to choose such an identifier as his pronoun, while they have the right to choose made-up nonsense words and throw hissy-fits if professors don't get the words right.

Anyway, that's what I was going to write about. As some of you may know, the ongoing wimpification of America's college students is a common theme here at "I'm With Stupid," and I was going to use His Majesty's story as another opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of those who cry the loudest for tolerance while being incredibly intolerant themselves.

I was going to mention all of that, but then it dawned on me that what we don't need is another braying voice contributing to all the noise. No, what we really need, I realized, is a little peace and quiet. If we could, as a nation, just take a short break from all this caterwauling and incessant whining, I think it might do us a lot of good.

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With that in mind, here's what I propose: This coming Monday is Columbus Day. I've never really understood why we celebrate a guy who "discovered" a place where 30 million people already lived, so I say, instead of honoring Columbus with all our traditional Columbus Day activities, let's celebrate a new holiday.

Say hello to "Shutupfora Day."

In case you're wondering, it's pronounced "Shut-up-for-a Day," and it's really easy to celebrate. All you have to do is shut up for 24 hours.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying you have to take a vow of silence for the day. You can still talk to your family, friends and coworkers. It might be nice if you don't argue politics, religion or guns with them, but that's up to you. You can chat away all you want.

What you can't do, if you want to celebrate Shutupfora Day correctly, is go on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or any other social media site to crow about your latest bike ride or express your outrage over something you read about on some website.

You can't leave a comment on some guy's blog because you disagree with what he wrote, and you can't fly off the handle and accuse someone of intolerance because he, she or it called you "her" instead of "zir."

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Honestly, for one day, if we can all accept that no one cares what we think, what we're up to or what we had for breakfast, and if we can all refrain from expressing our opinions and outrage, I think we'd all be a little happier. So I don't know about you, but on Columbus Day, as much as I'm capable, I plan to shut up. And I urge you -- each and every one of you -- to shut up, too.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shake hands during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Around 85 million people tuned in to watch the first Clinton versus Trump debate. Although this is a staggering audience, and upcoming debates may be expected to attract a similar number of viewers, televised debates don't matter as much as we think. Consider the fact that there is not much agreement on the outcome of the first debate, and even the biggest win awarded to either candidate (a 4% gain to Clinton) is still within the margin of error for an election prediction.

To be sure, nothing would suit the media more than a critical incident that ends up influencing the election result, and it has happened before: e.g., Nixon's sweat, Al Gore's sighing, or Reagan's jokes. The problem with such incidents is that, contrary to popular belief and the media's wishes, they reveal very little about a candidate's actual presidential potential. Just because we live in an age of media politics does not mean that what we really need is an entertainer-in-chief rather than a competent leader!

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And yet, both candidates will do what they can to make the most of the next debates. The stakes are obviously very high, but the chances of successfully influencing pubic opinion - and shifting votes - are rather lower. In that sense presidential debates are like playing the lottery: there's a big prize for winning but no clear formula for winning the prize.

The best candidates can do, and one can only imagine that an army of spin doctors and PR consultants is working full-time to help them achieve this, is to effectively manage their impressions. That is, to carefully craft their message and behaviors so as to upgrade their reputation with viewers, in particular undecided voters.

Although this is more art than science, here are a few evidence-based recommendations that the candidates may wish to consider to win the next debate:

What Clinton Could Do to Win:

Clinton's biggest problem is that many voters don't have a clear understanding of who she is. Politicians are like brands, and the stronger they are the more clearly they convey the attributes and style that makes them different from others. Whether you like Trump or not, it is very easy to understand what he stands for, and despite his alleged improvised style his behavior is fairly predictable, which is an asset when it comes to attracting votes. Thus the best strategy for Clinton is to repeat the same strategy she used during the first debate, where she combined the traditional style of a mainstream politician with some seemingly engineered calmness and humor. The Trump campaign will no doubt attack her for being overly scripted and "inauthentic", but that is what politicians are. If Clinton can demonstrate that over three debates this strategy is sufficient to resist Trump's attacks and even unsettle him, she may win some more votes.

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Another perceived weakness that Clinton should try to address is her alleged emotionality. Perhaps because she is a woman, many viewers including traditional democrat voters perceive that Clinton is too emotionally sensitive and vulnerable to be president, which questions her ability to handle pressure. Conversely, Trump's overconfident style plus his incomparable ability to draw media attention may suggest that he is immune to pressure. The best Clinton can do to persuade skeptics that she is mentally tough enough is to avoid reacting to Trump's provocations. She managed to do this well during the first debate, responding to most provocations with a smile, and appearing to expect them. The same approach should work again - the calmer she stays, the more annoyed Trump will get, which will turn his aggression against him.

A final point Clinton may want to consider is how she can expose Trump's weaknesses. From the first debate we have learned that his biggest deficits are in the area of content: Trump appeared to run out of ideas (and started repeating himself) after the first 30 minutes. The split screen also portrayed him as fairly out of depth with regards to technical facts, as if she could make stuff up without him noticing. Although it is true that voters appear not to care much about accuracy these days, just like Trump will attempt to make Clinton look irritable and emotionally vulnerable, Clinton should attempt to make Trump seem uninformed. Few qualities are more important for leadership than good judgment, and while Trump may benefit from not having a record as a politician it is hard to demonstrate potential for leadership in the absence of knowledge and expertise.

What Trump Could Do to Win:

The most effective strategy pursued by Trump during the first debate was to remind viewers that whatever Clinton says she is just a politician. This would work on his favor again given that most people around the world are disenchanted with the political establishment and, whatever Clinton does or says, she is clearly an emblematic member of that establishment. Since Trump's biggest asset is not being a politician, and Clinton cannot pretend not to be one, this is a strong card in Trump's hands. At the end of day, much like with Brexit, many people prefer a complete wild card than more of the same guaranteed - because they for sure are unhappy with the status quo.

In addition, Trump could do more to exploit Clinton's past records. During the first debate he seemed too unfocused and impatient to let Clinton respond to his criticisms (e.g., the e-mail scandal, her decisions as foreign secretary, and her changing views on key policy issues). Good leaders are seen as trustworthy, which comes as a byproduct of good judgment and integrity. Instead of threatening to talk about her husband's affairs or what she said about Obama when she campaigned against him, Trump should question Clinton about her track record. Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior, and this is no doubt Trump's best weapon against Clinton.
Crossposted from UN Women.

A Roma family challenges cultural norms by refusing a reparatory marriage. In their community, school drop-out rate is a stagerring record 58 per cent, mainly driven by child/early marriages, unplanned pregnancies and childcare responsibilities.

Half the Roma girls in Moldova receive no schooling, only 20 per cent complete primary school, another 20 per cent finish a gymnasium, and only 10 per cent graduate from high school or university. UN Women Moldova is working through various partners, including with the media to increase the visibility of positive role models from the Roma community. Photo: UN Women Programme Women in Politics/Dorin Goian

Svetlana*, 12, was walking home from school when a 17-year-old boya distant relative who visited her home sometimesinsisted to give her a lift in his car. After that day, her mother Nona* would often find her crying. It wasnt until Svetlanas family took her to a doctor, that they realized the 12-year-old had been raped.

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"It hurts me that she could not trust me enough to come and tell me immediately. This is a tragedy for our family and there is no way we can undo it, says Nona. Svetlana belongs to a Roma family. The unwritten rules of their community say that no other Roma man will marry her.

Local community traditions dictated that Svetlana describe her rape to a group of local women in excruciating detail. Then the Romani Crissthe Roma tribunallistened to both parties. It was not until Svetlanas family threatened to report to the police, that the perpetrator finally admitted his guilt. The tribunal sentenced him to either marry Svetlana or pay a sum of money to her family for having stolen her virginity.

We could not accept the money, said Nona My girl is not for sale. But neither could we have her marry at 12. What about her childhood, her dreams? What was the chance that such a marriage would last? Our decision took the community by surprise, but we knew that what she needed most was for us to stand by her and let her stay with her family, surrounded by our love.

Svetlanas family decided against reporting the crime to the police to protect Svetlana from further psychological stress, but unlike many other Roma girls, Svetlana continued going to school. Her teachers helped her in her healing process and encouraged her to continue her education. We are now much closer than we used to be, says Nona. She wants to go to university one day, and well support her. I know we took the right decision by refusing the reparatory marriage and her entire life will be better because of it. She will study, she will have a job. She will be happy.

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Roma women and girls are among the most disadvantaged groups in Moldova, discriminated both on the basis of their ethnicity and gender. UN Womens programme, Women in Politics has focused on increasing their political representation in city councils. Photo: UN Women Programme Women in Politics/Dorin Goian

Roma girls in Moldova spend on average less than four years in school, compared to 11 years for non-Roma girls. Due to child and early marriages, unplanned pregnancies and childcare responsibilities, the rate of school drop-out among Roma girls is one of the highest in the regiona record 56 per cent (compared with 16 per cent for non-Roma girls) [1].

Data and analyses on the issues that Roma women are facing in Moldova has so far been fragmented. To fill the gap, UN Women, UNDP and the National Statistical Office have recently compiled a Statistical Profile of Roma Women and Girls [2]. The data and stories, such as those of Svetlana, collected through the initiative will inform future policies and actions.

"Violence against women is endemic in Moldova, and in cases like Svetlana's its a double curse: rape followed by a forced marriage," says Corneliu Eftodi, National Programme Officer at UN Women Moldova. UN Women is working with Roma women to help them overcome their experience of violence and become role models who can support other women in their communities.

With grants from UN Women, civil society partners across Moldova are piloting new approaches to end violence against women and girls, from championing role models to facilitating justice for child survivors and working with young men, police officers and religious leaders to prevent domestic violence. UN Women is also supporting Roma womens political activism. Until recently virtually excluded from political representation, in 2015 the first two Roma women were elected into city councils.

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*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals concerned.

Notes

[1] UNDP/WB/EC Regional Roma Survey, 2011.
Co-authored with Aaron Johnson



The United States has on its Aegis-class cruisers a defense system that can track and destroy anti-ship missiles and aircraft. Israel has developed a drone, the Harpy, that can detect and automatically destroy radar emitters. South Korea has security-guard robots on its border with North Korea that can kill humans.

All of these can function autonomously -- without any human intention.

Indeed, the early versions of the Terminator are already here. And there are no global conventions limiting their use. They deploy artificial intelligence to identify targets and make split-second decisions on whether to attack.

The technology is still imperfect, but it is becoming increasingly accurate -- and lethal. Deep learning has revolutionized image classification and recognition and will soon allow these systems to exceed the capabilities of an average human soldier.

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But are we ready for this? Do we want Robocops policing our cities? The consequences, after all, could be very much like we've seen in dystopian science fiction. The answer surely is no.

For now, the U.S. military says that it wants to keep a human in the loop on all life-or-death decisions. All of the drones currently deployed overseas fall into this category: They are remotely piloted by a human (or usually multiple humans). But what happens when China, Russia and rogue nations develop their autonomous robots and acquire with them an advantage over our troops? There will surely be a strong incentive for the military to adopt autonomous killing technologies.

The rationale then will be that if we can send a robot instead of a human into war, we are morally obliged to do so, because it will save lives -- at least, our soldiers' lives, and in the short term. And it is likely that robots will be better at applying the most straightforward laws of war than humans have proven to be. You wouldn't have the My Lai massacre of the Vietnam War if robots could enforce basic rules, such as "don't shoot women and children."

And then there will be questions of chain of command. Who is accountable in the event that something goes wrong? If a weapons system has a design or manufacturing issue, the manufacturer can be held accountable. If a system was deployed when it should not have been deployed, all commanders going up the chain are responsible. Ascribing responsibility will still be a challenging task, as it is with conventional weapons, but the more important question is: Should the decision to take a human life be made by a machine?

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Lethal autonomous weapons systems would violate human dignity. The decision to take a human life is a moral one, and a machine can only mimic moral decisions, not actually consider the implications of its actions. We can program it, or show it examples, to derive a formula to approximate these decisions, but that is different from making them for itself. This decision goes beyond enforcing the written laws of war, but even that requires using judgment and considering innumerable subtleties.

And the steady seepage of military technologies into civilian life will see these military systems being deployed in our cities.

Artificial systems have the benefit of not experiencing destructive emotions, such as rage. But they also lack critical positive emotions, such as sympathy and compassion. As Maj. Daniel Davis of the U.S. Army points out: "In virtually every war involving the U.S. ... the enemy discovered that although GIs could be as ruthless and vicious as any opponent, the same soldier could extend mercy when appropriate." The point of war is to attain peace on our terms; the human connection is an important part of facilitating it.

The only way to avoid untenable situations is to create and enforce an international ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Unilateral disarmament is not viable. As soon as an enemy demonstrates this technology, we will quickly work to catch up: a robotic cold war.

The precedent for this sort of ban is well established. Barbed spears, chemical weapons and blinding lasers are all weapons that society has agreed should never be used. (Unfortunately, nuclear weapons are not specifically banned, though their use may violate other international laws limiting civilian casualties and long-lasting effects; the main factor curtailing their use is the fear of massive retaliation.)

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There is hope for such a ban. Efforts are underway by the U.N. Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), leading scientists and theCampaign to Stop Killer Robots to have the world's governments consider a multilateral treaty that would remove the temptation to build a bigger, better swarm of autonomous killer robots and deploy them sooner than the next potential enemy can. But we are collectively responsible for considering these moral questions and deciding whether we want this technology to be used in war.

Robotics and artificial intelligence both offer great potential for helping society -- from searching collapsed buildings for survivors, to sifting massive data for new treatments for cancer. It is up to us whether we harness their potential to build peace and enrich our lives or to ensure endless war and cheapen human life.

Vivek Wadhwa is Distinguished Fellow and professor at Carnegie Mellon University Engineering at Silicon Valley and a director of research at Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke.
The views are those of the author.



These accolades were the result of her exceptional work ethic and her legacy of significant accomplishments. In examining her record, Russia is a good place to begin. There has been unfounded criticism about a Russian reset during the first Obama term, referring to an effort to find common ground with the Russians on issues of mutual interest. Secretary Clinton did find common ground, and the facts bear this out.

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She accomplished several things with Russia. The most prominent was the negotiation of the New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Under the terms of New START, there was an agreement to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and launchers that the United States and Russia deploy, and establish a new verification mechanism. Lessening the threat of a nuclear launch makes the world a safer place. Not only did she do a good job negotiating with the Russians, she was also able to get 71 Senators to agree to the ratification of the Treaty, no small feat in the polarized political world of Washington.

She was also able to work with Russia and other US allies to pass the toughest UN sanctions against Iran's effort to build a nuclear weapon. These multilateral sanctions helped lay the groundwork for tougher EU sanctions, and buttressed strict US bilateral sanctions against Iran as well. The combination of sanctions--domestic and international--which would not have happened without her involvement, got the Iranians to the bargaining table, and paved the way for the Iran nuclear deal that was negotiated during President Obama's second term. Even Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged in 2012 that sanctions were having an impact on the Iranian economy. Her toughness with Iran gave the P5+1 negotiators the leverage they needed that resulted in the nuclear agreement with Iran.

When looking at the reset, it is also important to remember who was president of Russia at the time. The reset was with then Russian President Dmitri Medvedev not Vladimir Putin. Medvedev had a more open approach to working with the United States, unlike Putin. This was not lost on Secretary Clinton, who expressed serious misgivings about Putin when he was reelected president in 2012 at the end of her term as Secretary. Putin's reelection was more "back to the future" than a reset, as the last several years have proven.

Secretary Clinton has been unfairly criticized about US policy toward the Middle East, in particular Iraq and Libya. The rise of ISIS has been blamed on the President's decision to withdraw US troops from Iraq. This ignores the facts. The withdrawal was negotiated by President George W. Bush, and was supported by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The Prime Minister did not want US troops in Iraq and would not give them the legal protections necessary to allow them to remain. It would have been wrong to ask US troops to remain in a country that did not want them and would not protect them legally.

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The myth that somehow the Obama Administration is responsible for the creation of ISIS is ridiculous. The legacy of ISIS began with Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which was formed during the Iraq war begun under President George W. Bush. AQI established a presence in Syria during the Syrian civil war, calling itself Al Nusrah. It became ISIS after there was a split in Al Nusrah. It established a base of operation in Syria and later Iraq because of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brutality and Maliki's mismanagement of the Iraqi military and political scene. They are the ones responsible for the present battle against ISIS. With respect to Syria, press accounts indicate that Secretary Clinton was supportive of the US taking a more proactive role in order to prevent the kind of humanitarian and political crisis we are witnessing in the region today.

Her support of US counter terrorism efforts helped lead to the capture of Osama bin Laden after a decade long search. That successful mission took a great deal of courage on the part of the President in particular but also those who supported him like Secretary Clinton and then CIA Director Panetta. As Secretary she also established a robust diplomatic effort to combat terrorism. She worked with friends and allies globally, focusing on how to counter violent extremism.

US involvement in Libya, which Secretary Clinton supported, was the right thing to do. It is important to remember that among other things, Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi was directly responsible for the 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am 103 in which 270 people were killed, including 189 Americans, many of whom were college students coming home for the holidays. He ran Libya like a fiefdom and was ultimately the one responsible for the present state of chaos in Libya--there was no system of governance or national cohesion under Gadhafi. It is also important to remember that the EU, Arab League and others were determined to stop Gadhafi from attacking his own people. US involvement protected innocent Libyan civilians, and helped prevent a prolonged war.

There was an effort to help the Libyans after the fall of Gadhafi. In his excellent book on President Obama's foreign policy, The Long Game, national security expert Derek Chollet discusses what was done, "The United States and its partners diligently worked with the new leadership in Tripoli to help with reforms in key areas like energy, justice and security." As Chollet points out, the effort to have Libyans "own" the rebuilding process made it very difficult and complicated, although there was some success. This included the first democratic elections in Libya in half a century, as well as working with the Libyans to eliminate chemical weapons stockpiles and securing shoulder-fired surface to air missiles.

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Regarding Benghazi, Secretary Clinton testified on the Hill, most recently for 11 hours, as to what happened. Ten Congressional committees have participated in Benghazi investigations, and while the death of the four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens was a tragedy, none found it to be Secretary Clinton's fault. What she did do was immediately set up an Accountability Review Board (ARB) headed by two distinguished public servants, Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Michael Mullen. The ARB made 29 recommendations, 24 of them unclassified. Secretary Clinton accepted them all. They focused on improving security and overall coordination, and included a need for additional funding, which must come from Congress.

What is also often ignored or overlooked is the positive role she played in bringing about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in November 2012. It was Secretary Clinton's diplomatic push, working with the Egyptians, the UN and of course, Israel and the Palestinians, that brought about the cease-fire.

The pivot to Asia happened under Secretary Clinton's watch. This included a more substantive dialogue with the Chinese, which laid the groundwork for achievements like the Paris Treaty on Climate Change. Although relations with China were a fundamental part of US foreign policy when she was Secretary of State, she was not soft on China. A good example is her diplomatic high wire act that paved the way for Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng to leave China and come to the United States. The opening of diplomatic relations with Myanmar also happened while she was Secretary.
This year's 'Best of' goes to local
Lyor Cohen Takes the Cake by Joining the Google Empire [Op Ed]

Google's hiring of industry insider Lyor Cohen as YouTube's Global Head of Music is "no grounds for celebration" says musician and activist Maria Schneider in a new op ed. "And who better to prevail over the majors than the very guy who helped lead those majors into the back alley where they now find themselves."

_______________________________

By Grammy winning composer, bandleader Maria Schneider

You can be sure that in order to woo Lyor Cohen into the Google empire, they offered him a pretty nice slice of cake in the form of a piece of equity, decorated with incentives and salary perks. Now, some people might be naive enough to join YouTube in celebrating, imagining that Mr. Cohen is going to somehow show YouTube the light and magically deliver fairness for us.

But history is a good teacher, and there are three good reasons why his hire at Google is definitely no grounds for celebration:

While at Warner, Mr. Cohen made a deal with the devil ( Google/YouTube ) when he sunk so low as to allow the monetization of pirated content through Content ID. With that contract, he legitimized YouTubes illicit business model thats fueled by piracy and paltry ad revenues.

While at Warner, Mr. Cohen let Spotify sweet talk him into the equity deal that allowed Spotify to mushroom into a massive big data company. In doing so, he breached Warners fiduciary duty (in my opinion) to its own musician clients. His move aligned his company with Spotifys hype that music should be free or next to free, that music should be as ubiquitous as water, and that musicians and music creators should largely settle, once again, for paltry ad revenues.

Last week, Mr. Cohen morphs into a Google executive as YouTubes Global Head of Music  right on the heels of wooing many musicians to join his new record label, 300 Entertainment.

On the landing page for his 300 website (that he still runs), Mr. Cohen blares in huge print:

(This graphic is taken directly from his site.) http://300ent.com/

But by bailing on his musicians, before the musicians ink was barely dry, it seems to me, Mr. Cohen has basically said, Fuck the Bands, I Want my Cake.

It seems that Google has hired Mr. Cohen, not to build stronger relationships with musicians, but to spearhead the massive negotiations Google has with the three majors over the rights for the next decade. And who better to prevail over the majors than the very guy who helped lead those majors into the back alley where they now find themselves.

Wed all love to be proven wrong. It could be that Mr. Cohen really will build a stronger and more sustainable future. If thats the case, the path for him is actually straight and clear. Heres a blue print for the first few constructive steps:

Make Content ID available for blocking uploads for all content owners , with no monetization requirement . Fingerprinting is obviously a standard technical measure that should be offered to every copyright-holder. And while theyre at it, Alphabet's engineers need to improve Content IDs accuracy and efficiency, building better tools to ensure that less infringing content leaks through, and that non-infringing materials aren't incorrectly flagged. And why stop there? Alphabet should show leadership by making this improved Content ID available (without cost) to any other internet service thats a UGC (user generated content) platform.

Create mandatory checkpoints for every upload, asking users a series of questions that truly intend to prevent unlawful uploading, and that require uploaders to swear to their rights, exactly as YouTube requires of copyright-holders for a takedown.

If users want to upload music for which they dont hold rights, offer them a searchable list of music available in the Content ID monetization system, so that music thats not in the system can be protected. YouTube can train their users that research is required, just like they trained those same users to disregard copyright.

Put up a real educational video on copyright, with the real facts about fair use. Mr. Cohen would have to agree that the videos YouTube uses to educate the world on musicians copyright rights is a revolting farce.

Stop the intimidating practice of exposing to the whole world, the identity of those who assert their legal right to take down illegal uploads.

6. And while the most important thing is to develop and maintain a forward-looking infrastructure to allow the digital market to operate as a market, why not use some of Alphabet's huge cash reserves to compensate creators that unwillingly contributed to those reserves over the past decade? How about for starters, calculate the billions YouTube has earned on ads placed on illegally uploaded music from the time it was uploaded to the time it was taken down. YouTube should agree to do so on a going-forward basis, in a transparent way, with audit rights for musicians. Theyve got over 50 billion in cash reserves, most stashed in other countries. Alphabet is too big and too powerful to remain a secret black box of mysterious payments.

These steps are all straight-forward, simple, and fair. And if the majors cant get these things from YouTube in the negotiations, they should have the integrity and backbone to walk, because ultimately, they have the power to make YouTube change. And this isnt just about the majors and their musicians, the majors have the market power to change things for every musician on the planet. These things are a no-brainer. And for YouTube, the change would be a piece of cake.

YouTube continues to demolish the music industry by abusing the DMCA safe harbor and ruining any chance for an honest record label, a new streaming service, or an independent musician to make it. Even Spotify complains about YouTubes unfair power, and thats incredible, given the absurd market share Spotify has quickly amassed. YouTube has become a behemoth Jabba the Hutt engorging itself on an all-you-can-eat buffet. And now, putting none other than Mr. Cohen at the helm, well, thats just the icing on the cake.

Maria Schneider is a five-time GRAMMY-winning composer/bandleader and has testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet in regard to the Notice and Takedown Provisions under the DMCA, Section 512.

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It's critical to help clients make the most of the plans they have
As Southeast Florida recovers from Hurricane Matthew, the northeast portion of the state braces for the storm. Its been nearly two decades since the Jacksonville areas has been issued a hurricane warning.As the eastern seaboard waits for Matthews arrival, the insurance industry is waiting by also. According to Gary Marchitello, head of property broking for Willis Towers Watson, the now Category 3 hurricane has a potential to be a market changing event for the commercial insurance industry.Much of the east coast has already suffered from flooding, power outages and damaging winds as coastal areas in Georgia and the Carolinas make final preparations and evacuations.When we are talking to our clients, one of the things that we are trying to ensure is that we sent out a packet of information so they can prepare themselves. I think a lot of people forgot how bad [a hurricane] can be. We try to make reminders by calling our clients to remind them to prepare for the worst, said Brian Carlson, P&C practice leader for southeast Florida with USI Insurance Services.Potential commercial insured losses are predicted to be in the billions but the market may be in a position to sustain the loss, says Carlson, without the consequence of premiums skyrocketing in its aftermath.However, Carlson did mention that if the market does suffer the loss estimated, insurance policyholders could expect deductibles to rise with many of the coverage enhancements that have been added over the years to now be excluded from policies. We are now seeing things in our policies such as 2% wind deductibles. Five years ago, you had a 5% wind deductible and that was it. No one was really going below that. If we do have significant damage, we are probably looking at those 2% wind deductibles going away.Carlson adds that Hurricane Matthew could likely affect the coverage people place on properties versus what banks are now requiring. For example, if you have $100 million worth of property, you might just buy $25 million in wind coverage and not $100 million, commented Carlson. I think the challenge will be that banks became used to people covering their properties to full-limits. But if we get a significant $30 billion loss, we may be in a position again where the insurance industry and banks will need to have discussions about people not covering all the properties to the full required wind limits.Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit northeast Florida and Georgia this evening and South Carolina Saturday. Meteorologists reported that its winds are currently at 120 mph.
Piper Jacobs won first place in the Indvidual Costume category for her military dog memorial costume.

Berkshires Beat: Children's Parade Features 63 Costumed Kids

The winners are: Led down Main Street from Eagle Street to City hall, by the North Adams police, Drury High School Band and the SteepleCats' Slider, the Northern Berkshire Children's Parade featured 63 children.



Individual Costume prizes were awarded to: first place, Piper Jacobs for her military dog memorial costume; second place, Judah Star Rodgers for his mount Greylock Ranger costume; and third Place: Estelle Klein for her Susan B. Anthony costume



Float prizes were awarded to: first place, the Appalachian Trail "Been on the Trail Too Long" with members Race Chilmor, Kitt Chilmor, Abby Moulton, Weston Moulton, Cadence Beattie, Ethan Moran, Camryn Moran and Sage Moran; second place, Mount Greylock National War Memorial by the First Baptist Church of North Adams group members William Braman, Samuel Braman, Ryan Braman, Gabe Thomas, Joushua Clark, Madleyn Clark, Brady Clark, Michelle Wood, Noarh Wood, Mason Wood, Ariana Maylott, Natlaie Tatro, Abby Anderson, Isabella Speniener, Emma Gregory, Shaylee Lawson and Svea Lawson; and third place, "From Sea to Shinining Sea" with members James Varellas, Nick Varellas, Eris Varellas and Ella Kemp.



Group prizes were awarded to: first place, Hollywood Mountain of the Berkshires with members Jenaya McCue, Nicholas McCue, Greyson McCue and Nevaeh Flynn; second place, Junior Rangers with members Margot Gordon and Elgin Gordon; and third place, National Park Wildlife with members Aubrey Wells, Madeline Putignano, Eowyn Beaudreau and Aiden Beaudreau.





Get a grant: Williamstown Elementary School Endowment is looking for ideas to help enrich the educational experience for WES students.



Typical grants range from $250 to $2,500. For more information go to www.berkshiretaconic.org/WESE. Application deadline is Oct. 7. WESE is a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Contact WES principal Joelle Brookner at jbrookner@williamstownelementary.org or call 413-458-5707 with any questions.







Stitch in time: A knitting support group is starting on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. at the North Adams Public Library. The library will have needles, yarn samples, pattern ideas, and plenty of good books.



Knitters with some experience are encouraged to share their expertise and beginners are welcome to learn the basics of this ancient skill. The cold dark months of winter are a perfect time to start.







Down under: IS183 Art School of the Berkshires is selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a trip to Australia for 10 days. Tickets for the "Amazing Oz to Aussie Raffle" are $25 and are limited so the chance of winning are one in 1,500. Purchase them online.



Winner receives round trip travel from New York City, staying in the lap of luxury at a five a 5-star Sydney hotel for five nights and five nights in a deluxe Bondi Beach Hotel. Proceeds of the raffle will benefit IS183 Art School Programs. The man behind the curtain will be announcing one lucky winner during a short twist of fate at The OZ Gala on Oct.r 29 at The Shire City Sanctuary in Pittsfield.







Tea time: McCann Tea Room will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays every other week during the months of October and November beginning Oct. 4. Tea Room will be closed Oct. 6.
Principal Tara Barnes, right, reviews the school's PARCC scores with the School Committee on Thursday. Clarksburg was rated a Level 1 school by the state. Barnes pointed out that there are still gaps - between the blue line and red dot - that have to be closed. The new report cards for Grades K-5 will be based on numbers correlating to skill levels. PreviousNext

Clarksburg School Attains Level 1 Status

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  Clarksburg School has achieved a Level 1 status based on last spring's standardized tests.



"Staff and teachers really worked hard over a number of years to reach this level," Superintendent Jon Lev said at Thursday's School Committee meeting.



The levels, running from 1 to 5, are based on the percentage of students mastering proficiency levels in English-Language Arts and math in the lower grades. Level 1 is the highest that can be achieved.



Clarksburg has been administering the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests, or PARCC, for the past two years. Some students also took the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests.



In a letter sent home to parents this week, Principal Tara Barnes said, "after many years of Level 2 status at Clarksburg, this is a great accomplishment to move to Level 1. It reflects the many years of hard work by the entire school staff and the perseverance of our students to meet high expectations. ...



"I think our test scores reflect our commitment to provide a high-quality educational experience for all of our students."



The school also earned extra credit for reducing the percentage of students failing and increasing the percent advancing.



Barnes told the committee that she felt that student preparation and creating a positive environment surrounding the tests were critical to the higher scores by helping reduce anxiety.



"That helps a lot, just setting the tone, which I thank the Student Council for and the staff," she said, but added, "We can really celebrate a lot of success but we're not done, we're not done until every student meets their goal."



The state sets that goal, Barnes said, showing the committee members the percentages as calculated by the state. A blue line showed progress and a red square the goal; in some cases they met, in others, the blue line passed the square. But there were still areas where the line didn't quite reach.



"This shows some of the gaps. We still have to move and grow but I think we're in a really good spot. ... we're trying to close any gaps we have and meet that red dot."
Shingle-style vinyl siding is being placed on the front facade of Town Hall by McCann students. The students have been working at the site on during their non-classroom weeks. The facade was in poor shape. The town started a donation fund to help defray the cost of repairs to the nearly 90-year-old former schoolhouse. The town plans a rededication ceremony of the honor roll on Veterans Day. PreviousNext

McCann Students Repair Clarksburg Town Hall Facade

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  McCann Technical School students are giving Town Hall a facelift using donated funds.

With tighter budgets through the years, Town Administrator Carl McKinney said it has been hard to keep up with the aging and deteriorating building that was constructed in the 1930s as the Briggsville School.

"We were looking at Town Hall and its many needs," McKinney said. "It is a solid structure, well built but it has had a level of neglect and it really needed some attention."

McKinney said about 15 months ago, with the blessing of the Select Board, he started a fundraising campaign and was able to raise $3,200.

"Citizens of the town of Clarksburg donated as well as the Adams Community Bank, and the town put up some money," McKinney said. "If it wasn't for the generosity of the community, we would not be doing this because the budget is where it is."

McKinney said he was in contact with the McCann carpentry program to see if it was interested in doing the work. McCann students three years ago put a new roof on the Police Department's one-car garage and last year built an oak case for the some of the town's historic pieces, including its scale.

The department was busy with other projects last spring but kept Clarksburg Town Hall on the radar for the fall.

McCann teacher Fran Kruzel said projects like the Town Hall are great learning experiences for the students.

"Its great to get them out on a job," Kruzel said. "It really is the best learning experience."

McKinney said the main focus of the project is the building's facade. He said the town purchased grey vinyl siding that he hopes will be long lasting.

The front will also receive a new coat of paint where necessary.

One of the main drivers behind the project was to provide a better backdrop for the Clarksburg Veterans Honor Roll, McKinney said. The honor roll is installed on the front of the building.

"We wanted to create a respectful and appropriate memorial that was long lasting and historically appropriate," he said.

The town plans to hold a rededication ceremony on Veterans Day.

McKinney said the project also addressed some energy efficiency problems in the building with the addition of a house wrap underneath the building and the sealing and insulating of some upper-level windows that were unusable.

He expects work to wrap up soon.
Famous New Yorker cartoonist Bob Eckstein's new book 'Footnotes from the Worlds Greatest Bookstores'

Biz Briefs: Bookstore in Lenox Features in New Book

Bookstore features: The Bookstore in Lenox is featured in a new book that offers a look inside local bookstores that have thrived as central hubs of conversation and learning. Famous New Yorker cartoonist Bob Eckstein's new book "Footnotes from the Worlds Greatest Bookstores" invites readers into the heart and soul of every community: the local bookshop, each with its own quirks, charms, and legendary stories.



The Bookstore is not just in Ecksteins collection of great local bookstores, they kick the whole thing off as the first book featured right on page one. Owner Matt Tannenbaum said that making it into a book like this that only has spots for so many stores and so many stories was a great honor for not just himself but his entire staff.



The book has also gotten amazing early reviews for the way that page by page, Eckstein perfectly captures the public's lifelong love affair with books, bookstores, and book-sellers that is at once heartfelt, bittersweet, and cheerfully confessional. The book is expected to draw more attention to local bookstores, and even more so for The Bookstore in Lenox who Eckstein has already informed will be a stop on his upcoming tour of events at stores.







Ending Alzheimer's: A team of employees and their families from Adams Community Bank joined the community and participated in the Walk to End Alzheimers at the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Cheshire on Sept. 24, raising more than $12,000. The walk has become an annual event that the employees participate in.



The team, led by Dawn Lampiasi and Nancy Hubbard, raised the money through various efforts. They hosted a Mangia Mangia Italian Night at the Richmond Grille. Also helping to raise funds was the selling of flower bulbs as well as the "Dress down for Charities" program at Adams Community Bank, when employees pay to "dress down," and all money collected is donated to the charity of choice.







Housing grants: The Lenox Housing Trust is providing grants in the amount of 5 percent of the purchase price of a home to first time homebuyers. The Lenox Housing Trust has provided matching grants to seven first time home buyers since 2014, and has up to $50,000 to provide in new matching grants.



To qualify for a matching grant, the homebuyer must be purchasing their first home in Lenox; have an income of no more than 80 percent of the HUD Median Income; meet standard secondary market underwriting criteria determined by participating lender; own no other residential properties; and complete homebuyer counseling.



The Trust works with three area banks participating in the Federal Home Loan Bank Equity Builder Program: Lee Bank (Marge Pero at 413-243-9223), Adams Community Bank (Tess Sorrentino at 413-749-1181) and Pittsfield Coop Bank (Mike Barbieri at 413-629-1605).


MCLA Professor to Receive 'Friend of Art Education of the Year Award'

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Lisa Donovan, a fine and performing arts professor at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, has been selected to receive the Massachusetts Friend of Art Education of the Year Award for 2017 at the 2016 Massachusetts Art Education Association (MAEA) Conference.



The conference, titled "Redefining Art Education," is set for Saturday, Nov. 12, at Lesley University in Cambridge.



Donovan was selected for her passion and dedication to creative learning and the arts, for the great work she does in the field of art education, and for her contributions to teaching and learning in Massachusetts, according to the MAEA Awards Committee.


SVMC ExpressCare Welcomes New Nurse Pactitioner

BENNINGTON, Vt.  Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has welcomed Erica Gallen to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians.



Gallen is a board-certified gerontology acute care nurse practitioner and an advanced registered nurse practitioner.



Gallen received her doctor of nursing practice from University of Florida in 2014. She holds dual bachelors degrees in nursing and political science, also from the University of Florida. She has worked a nurse practitioner at Jackson Medical Group in California. Before that, she was a registered nurse in the Emergency Department of North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainsville.



SVMC ExpressCares board-certified physicians are a part of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system and have access to more than 1,200 primary and specialty care physicians and state-of-the-art-technology and services.



Open seven days a week, ExpressCare is a convenient walk-in clinic. No appointment is necessary. ExpressCare offers care for minor illnesses and injuries to patients of all ages. It is located in Suite 111 of the Medical Office Building at 140 Hospital Drive in Bennington. For more information, call 802-440-4077.
Lenovo IdeaPad 500 for finding your own rhythm

If you need a breather at work or school, youre likely to turn to YouTube or Spotify for soothing music. But what if instead of a quick stress fix, you encounter lag issues and poor sound quality. Fortunately, Lenovo has developed blazing-fast laptops with rich audio features that hit the right note, so that you can keep the music playing for hours without a woe.

Lenovo is committed to developing a diverse array of devices including great PCs that combine superior craftsmanship and productivity focus. Our latest consumer lineup, which includes the Lenovo IdeaPad 100 and Lenovo IdeaPad 500, packs in great multimedia features and superb sound quality, to help you enjoy music and create content, said Michael Ngan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Philippines.



Lenovo IdeaPad 500 for finding your own rhythm

Busy professionals wont be missing their home stereos anymore when they need music therapy while at work. Lenovo IdeaPad 500 is equipped with the latest JBL Speakers with Dolby Advanced Audio, giving users a full surround of music in between business presentations and back-to-back meetings. Powered by Intels latest processors, Lenovo IdeaPad 500 packs in speed and superior horsepower for a seamless music streaming session. Users can also watch Charlie Puth and Maroon 5s latest music videos without interruption, thanks to a battery lifespan that offers up to 4 hours of local video playback.

Now, not even poor Internet connection can stop the music. Thanks to Lenovo IdeaPad 500s high memory and large storage capacity at 1TB HDD music aficionados wont have to get onto online music platforms such as Sound Cloud and Grooveshark when they want to hear their favourite tunes. They can simply store their favourite songs and music videos on their hard drives for offline listening and viewing pleasure.

Lenovo IdeaPad 100 for seamless music streaming

Binge-watching music videos is more fun with crisp sound and sharp visuals. Lenovo IdeaPad 100 has a stunning HD display, the latest Integrated Intel HD graphics, and stereo speakers, so music lovers will definitely feel the urge to dance to their favourite hits.

Lenovo IdeaPad 100 for seamless music streaming

Lenovo IdeaPad 100 makes streaming music less stressful, too. With Lenovo IdeaPad 100s 5th Generation Intel Core i5 Processor, music lovers wont be complaining about lags whenever they stream their favourite music. With up to 1 TB HDD, users can save all the music they want without worrying too much about filling up storage space on their laptops.

Pricing and Availability

Lenovo IdeaPad 100 is available in black at a starting price of Php 13,995, while Lenovo IdeaPad 500 comes in black at a starting price of Php 49,995. Both are available in Lenovo Exclusive Stores and at Lenovo resellers nationwide.

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9 October 2015

It was during a recent BBC Newsnight programme that I finally cracked. An admirably self-possessed young woman  Im now of an age where I am qualified to say that  was explaining in ostensibly reasonable terms why junior doctors in the NHS would be right to strike. Except that the arguments did not seem very reasonable at all, not for the realities of the modern working world anyway.

Listen to the interviews given by junior doctors and their champions in the British Medical Association; read their articulate and often caustic blogs; study the letters in their support from the Royal Colleges, and what comes across  to me, at least  is a hugely inflated sense of entitlement masquerading as concern for patients and the sad fate of our NHS.

The dispute is all about a proposed new contract of employment, but there are different angles. For some, its less about the contract itself, than how no one consulted them (well, they did try, but junior doctors representatives walked out) and how, in the playground language of such quarrels, the process was unfair. We need to be valued, they said.

For most, though, it is about the contract  and they know exactly what buttons to press. Savour this particularly self-righteous passage from a letter addressed to trainees from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health: The consequences, gravely damaging to the health and wellbeing of children, include increased difficulty in providing 24/7 paediatric cover, increasing need for locum and agency staff, and a reduction in innovation and medical advance. In other words, the new contract is a false economy in every way.

But is it a false economy? It will be if the BMA has its way, because it is doing as good a job as any old-fashioned trade union in trying to frustrate any change. And it is using the same arguments in support of junior doctors as it is in its efforts to block the introduction of a seven-day NHS: compromised patient safety, longer working hours, demoralisation, and the risk that every half-competent doctor will hightail it abroad (not, note, for voluntary service in the backwoods, but for the good life in Australia or Canada). But the money? Good heavens, its not about the money. No, really.

All of which reminds me of the well-used quip coined by the American journalist, HL Mencken: When somebody says its not about the money, its about the money. So lets just take a look at the money.

Insofar as they can bring themselves to mention it, doctors themselves estimate that, because the new structures would incorporate most evening and weekend work into basic pay, junior doctors could lose between 15 and 30 per cent of their current earnings. But 15 to 30 per cent of what? They have been notably coy about this.

Junior doctors start on a salary of 23,000, which is at the high end of a new graduates pay. This can rise to 47,000  a solid increment way beyond most UK wage earners. And this, remember, is basic salary, before those out of hours supplements. And there is more to look forward to, much more, with 100,000 being the norm for hospital consultants and many GPs.

Those outside the medical establishment might see the other advantages of becoming a doctor, in addition to job satisfaction. Once you are accepted as a medical student, your future is secure. There are predictable career structures; generous provision for training and leave; and, so long as there remains a ceiling on the number of UK medical students, there is almost no risk of being made redundant. In retirement, a public-sector pension awaits. The Government says the loss of out-of-hours supplements would be completely offset by a rise in basic pay. But an element of choice in the present system  more hours for more pay  means that there may well be some who lose. Is that really a false economy? Or is it rather a sensible reform that belatedly updates working practices in at least one area of medicine? How many other professionals earn overtime these days?

There are jobs  those in the emergency services being a prime example, you would think  where so-called out of hours working is a basic requirement. Yet these services have been among the last to formalise this necessity in the pay structure. The archaic principle that junior doctors work the unsocial hours for additional pay, while consultants have somehow earned the right to work nine to five, five days a week, may finally be coming to an end. But still the special pleading goes on.

In defence of current arrangements, I hear junior doctors say they need the extra payments because their courses are longer and their loans higher than those of other graduates. Yes, but their repayment terms are the same  and their later rewards are often far higher. They complain, too, that they will have to wait longer to buy a house, as though doctors are uniquely entitled among their contemporaries to their own home in their 20s. Female doctors complain that the new system will make it harder for them to work part-time and combine a career with motherhood  as though this is not a serious problem for almost every professional woman.

When I look back, there has hardly been a year in my adult life when junior doctors were not complaining. First it was the 100-plus hour week; EU regulation stopped that. Then it was that they could not work enough hours to accumulate the experience they needed. Then it was a new system for applying for first jobs. The one complaint that has remained valid is one you almost never hear: junior doctors have to take on too much responsibility too soon, because so few consultants work evenings or weekends. This is a real danger to patient safety. That is what junior doctors ought to be striking about  but they already know their chosen profession too well.
Hamza Sodagar

A US-based Muslim preacher who allegedly advocated killing gay people is giving a lecture series in London after being allowed to enter the UK.





The Home Office has been urged to retract the visa of Hamza Sodagar who is giving a series of lectures in the capital city between 3 October and 12 October.





Mr Sodagar appeared in an online video recorded in 2010 [watch YouTube video below] in which he details ways in which gay people can be punished for their sexuality, including being beheaded or thrown off a cliff.





Footage shows him apparently telling an audience: If theres homosexual men, the punishment is one of five things. One, the easiest one maybe, is cut their head off, thats the easiest. The second is, burn them to death. Third, throw them off a cliff. Fourth, tear down the wall on them so they die. Fifth, a combination of the above.





We have a hadith on that. Now, whether someones going to accept that, thats up to the jurists to read that and understand. Theres definitely some of those apply maybe the combination [fifth option]. These are things which are there.





LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell called on the Home Office to revoke Mr Sodagars visa. He said: In a free society, Hamza Sodagar has a right to believe that homosexuality is sinful but not to preach about ways to kill lesbians and gay men. Many people with far less extreme views, who have never advocated violence, have been banned from entering the UK. Calling for death to LGBT people crosses a red line.





The Home Office was wrong to grant him a visa and should now revoke it. The cleric should be ordered out of the country.





His lectures are being facilitated by the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission at the Islamic Republic Of Iran School in London. Literature advertising the lecture series has been posted on the group's website and Twitter feed.





ISIS terrorists throw a gay man off a building top in Iraq in August 2016

The Mission have defended their decision to host Mr Sodagar, saying his comments did not mean he endorsed murder of gay men and had been taken out of context. In a statement, the group said: The unfortunate rise of right-wing extremism has resulted in a malicious campaign to misconstrue the positions of Islam and dehumanise Muslims.





We are saddened that the UK media is able to publish materials that clearly follow a right-wing extremist agenda of spreading hatred and Islamophobia.





In remarks made in 2010, as part of a series of lectures delivered on mercy, love and hatred in Islam through a commentary of a supplication from the Islamic tradition, Shaykh Hamza explained the position of Islam on homosexuality, and that it is not compatible with Islam. This is a clear and undeniable position that is upheld by Islam as found in Islamic scripture and tradition. In this regard, it must be understood, as was mentioned in the very same lecture series, that Islamic penal code cannot be administered outside the framework of law-enforcement and legal process within a legitimate government.





"De-contextualised excerpts of this series, were used by right-wing media to suggest that Shaykh Hamza was calling for the beheading and burning of homosexuals. This is untrue and a mischievous and malicious accusation to make.





When approached by The Independent, a Home Office spokesperson said they were unable to comment on individual cases. They said: An individual can be excluded on the grounds that their presence is not conducive to the public good if it is reasonable, consistent and proportionate based on the evidence available.

U.S.-born Radical Islamist Preacher Who Called for Beheading of Gay People to Lecture in London

A U.S.-born radical Islamist preacher who released a video describing methods for killing gay people is to give a number of speeches in London over the coming days.





In the video, Shaykh Hamza Sodagar calls for gay people to be beheaded, set alight, thrown off cliffs and have walls torn down over them. When Sodagar suggests using a combination of these methods, his audience laughs.





Born in Washington, D.C., Sodagar has spent the past 14 years in Iran studying Islamic law and principles, reports the Express.





According to the website The Muslim Group, Sodagar is deemed a "role model by young Muslims around the world."





Organized by the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission group, Sodagar will be speaking at the Islamic Republic of Iran School in London between October 4th and 12th.













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Source: The Independent , October 7, 2016Source: Towleroad , October 6, 2016
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The highly-anticipated Blade Runner sequel has finally received its foreboding title, Blade Runner 2049.

Warner Bros.' confidence in the project seems to be constantly on the rise, perhaps partially thanks to the success of director Denis Villeneuve's recent festival hype with Arrival.

The film previously had been slated for a January 2018 release; a sort of cinematic tundra in the cinematic calendar, settled after the hysteria over Christmas blockbusters and Oscar contenders has died down.

But now, the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic 1982 sci-fi has been bumped up to a far more prime 6 October 2017 release; a far sweeter spot for Harrison Ford's return to his iconic role as Rick Deckard, alongside Ryan Gosling, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto, and Robin Wright.

The film's storyline, penned by original Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher and Dave Green (also co-writer on the upcoming Alien: Covenant), is tightly under wraps; though the title reveals the film's timeline has naturally progressed, with the original set 30 years earlier in 2019.

The title announcement also accompanied a newly released behind the scenes shot; featuring Scott, Villeneuve, Gosling, and Ford all together, which is a pretty formidable team if you think about it. Though Villeneuve is confident about the project, he's admitted it's, "not possible to live up to the original. It's Ridley Scott. It's one of the best sci-fi films, one of the best films in the past 50 years."



Blade Runner 2049 hits UK cinemas 6 October, 2017.
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The group 'F**k Rape Culture' - which consists of artists, filmmakers, and women in Hollywood - staged a silent sit-in outside of a local screening of Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation.

The protest was staged ahead of the film's US opening this weekend; in response to the controversy surrounding a 1999 trial in which Nate Parker and Jean Celestin (who co-wrote The Birth of a Nation) were accused of raping an 18-year-old woman while unconscious, when studying at Penn State.

Parker was acquitted in 2000, though Celestin was found guilty and sentenced to six months in prison, later appealing the verdict in a second trial which was thrown out due to the victim's inability to testify again. It emerged over summer that the woman at the centre of the case had repeatedly attempted to commit suicide in the weeks and months following her accusation, later dying in 2012 at age 30.

A statement from 'F**k Rape Culture' reads, "We recognize the need to hold space for those celebrating the advancement of people of color in Hollywood while continuing to fight for the victims of sexual assault and rape around the world." Around 50 people gathered for the two-hour sit-in, which was conducted in complete silence.

"The goal tonight is to show that there is space in Hollywood to both celebrate a film that has incredible for promise for people of color advancing in Hollywood while simultaneously creating space for those that wish to honor victims of rape and sexual assault," 'F**k Rape Culture' founder Remy Holwick told Variety. "Rape has been in the news for the last year in a way that its deserved for a long time, but hasnt had the exposure that it should have."

 The Birth Of A Nation - Trailer

"There is a really big problem with the way rape is portrayed in film," added model/writer Elyse Cizek. "I have a problem with it being portrayed in the way that it was [ in The Birth of a Nation] written the way that it was, with an actress having to depict that happen to her, who also happened to be a survivor; and all of that done under the cloud of history, thats a problem for me, for it not to be brought up or talked about. I want to start that dialogue."

Distributor Fox Searchlight, having paid a record $17.5 million for the film after its critically lauded debut at Sundance Film Festival, has tightly controlled the film's publicity since the controversy ignited; with the film's Toronto International Film Festival press conference growing heated under the moderator's total avoidance of questions about the scandal.



Parker recently appeared on 60 Minutes, the first interview since the scandal erupted; responding to Anderson Cooper's question on the subject with, "I dont feel guilty.As a Christian man? Just being in that situation, yeah, sure, he says. Im 36-years-old right now, and my faith is very important to me, you know, so looking back through that lens, I definitely feel like its not the lens I had when I was 19 years old."
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E! has postponed the production of their hit show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, following the incident in Paris where Kim was robbed at gunpoint by masked gunmen.

Kims well-being is our core focus right now, a spokesperson for E! told Variety on Thursday. No decision has been made as to when production will resume.

While the extremely popular show has been suspended, it will still premiere its half season as planned on October 23.

Kim Kardashian Robbery Show all 10 1 /10 Kim Kardashian Robbery Kim Kardashian Robbery Kim Kardashian West and her husband Kanye arrive back at their town house in New York City last night Rex Kim Kardashian Robbery Kris Jenner is surrounded by security as she leaves the New York residence where her daughter Kim Kardashian West is staying in New York, after her robbery ordeal in Paris, France. AP Kim Kardashian Robbery Security cars and media surround Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's town house in New York City. Rex Kim Kardashian Robbery Media and security personnel are gathered in front of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's town house in New York City. She flew out of France on a private jet on Monday after being questioned by police about the robbery. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery Security cars and media surround Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's town house in New York City. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery A close-up on the 'Rue Tronchet' street sign where Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint by masked men during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery A french police car is seen outside Kim Kardashian's Luxury Apartment after being robbed at gunpoint by masked men during Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 in Paris, France. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery Journalists stand in front of the entrance of a luxury residence on the Rue Tronchet in central Paris, France, where masked men robbed U.S. reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gunpoint early on Monday, stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars, police and her publicist said. Reuters Kim Kardashian Robbery Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery French police officers exit the residence of Kim Kardashian in Paris Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. Kim Kardashian was unharmed after being robbed at gunpoint of more than $10 million worth of jewelry inside a private Paris residence Sunday night, police officials said. AP

When Variety reporters asked if cameras were rolling during the Paris incident, E! remained tight-lipped and declined to comment.

The suspension comes days after Kardashian was tied up and bound at her hands and feet, locked in a bathroom, and robbed by at least two gunmen. Authorities believe up to five suspects were involved and said they made off with nearly $10 million worth of jewelry.

Kim Kardashian West was held up at gunpoint inside her Paris hotel room this evening, by two armed masked men dressed as police officers, a spokesperson for the reality star told The Independent the night of the incident. She is badly shaken but physically unharmed."
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The people youre seeing on Tinder might not be all that they seem. In fact, they might have paid to get there.

The app is now rolling out its Tinder Boost feature in the UK, to allow people to pay to be more visible for 30 minutes. And being more visible theoretically means more matches  it will mean that more people will see your profile, and so therell be more chance of you liking them.

Usually, the order that Tinder profiles are shown is something of a mystery. The company has indicated before that it runs a special desirability mechanism, which works out how similar users are and shows those people.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

But the Boost feature will skip that mechanism, pushing people whove paid to the front.

That mechanism means that people will get up to 10 times more profile views during the time theyre boosted, according to Tinder. Its likely that wont necessarily translate into that many more matches  if the algorithm works, then ordinarily you wouldnt see people you wouldnt match with  but it should inevitably lead to some more interest.

Tinder Plus users  who already pay 3.99 or 14.99 depending on their age for some special features  will get a free Boost per week. Beyond that Boosts will have to be paid for by Plus or normal users, and it isnt clear yet how much they will cost.

The Boosts are used while swiping in the normal Tinder mode. A Boost button can be pressed in that mode and the 30-minute timer will start.

When its all over after 30 minutes, the app will notify you. And itll also show which new matches came from the time using the Boost mode.

The company suggests that the feature is meant for busy people who just want to get out meeting others.

Youve got people to meet and places to be, the company wrote in its announcement. In fact, Tinder was designed with this in mind, providing you a simple, fun introduction to new people nearby so you can get out and meet them in the real world.

Still, sometimes there just arent enough hours in the day and what you need is a boost in the right direction.

A trial of the feature began in Australia last month, and is still ongoing there. The company said that theyd be looking to roll out the boost feature to the rest of the world soon.
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A deadly drug, which has been banned from the battlefield under the Chemical Weapons Convention and is being blamed for a spate of drug overdoses in the United States, can be easily bought over the internet for just a few thousand pounds, it has been revealed.

Twelve Chinese online businesses said they could export carfentanil  a synthetic opioid which is being cut with heroin and other illicit drugs - at just $2,750 (2,233) to the US, Canada and various European countries including the UK, an investigation by the Associated Press found.

Carfentanil is the most potent commercial opioid in the world, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Its chemically similar cousin fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger the heroin and carfentanil is 100 times stronger than fentanyl itself.

Before being discovered by drug dealers, carfentanil and substances like it were viewed as chemical weapons. Assistant Secretary of Defence for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defence Programmes between 2009 and 2014 described the drug as a weapon, adding companies shouldn't be just sending it to anybody.

World's 10 deadliest street drugs Show all 10 1 /10 World's 10 deadliest street drugs World's 10 deadliest street drugs Whoonga Whoonga is a combination of antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV, and various cutting agents such as detergents and poisons. The drug is widely available in South Africa due to South Africas high rate of HIV sufferers, and is believed to be popular due to how cheap it is when compared to prescribed antiretrovirals. The drug is highly addictive and can cause major health issues such as internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and ultimately death Getty World's 10 deadliest street drugs Scopolamine Scopolamine is a derivative from the nightshade plant found in the Northern Indian region of South America (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela). It is generally found in a refined powder form, but can also be found as a tea. The drug is more often used by criminals due its high toxicity level (one gram is believed to be able to kill up to 20 people) making it a strong poison. However, it is also believed that the drug is blown into the faces of unexpecting victims, later causing them to lose all sense of self-control and becoming incapable of forming memories during the time they are under the influence of the drug. This tactic has reportedly been used by gangs in Colombia where there have been reports of people using scopolamine as way to convince victims to rob their own homes World's 10 deadliest street drugs Heroin Founded in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, heroin is one of the worlds oldest drugs. Originally it was prescribed as a strong painkiller used to treat chronic pain and physical trauma. However in 1971 it was made illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Since then it has become one of the most destructive substances in the world, tearing apart communities and destroying families. The side effects of heroin include inflammation of the gums, cold sweats, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and insomnia. It can also damage blood vessels which can later cause gangrene if left untreated World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crack cocaine Crack cocaine first came about in the 1980s when cocaine became a widespread commodity within the drug trafficking world. Originally cocaine would have attracted a high price tag due to its rarity and difficulty to produce, but once it became more widespread the price dropped significantly. This resulted in drug dealers forming their cocaine into rock like shapes by using baking soda as a way of distilling the powder down into rock form. People were doing this because it allowed for them to sell cocaine at a lower quantity and to a higher number of people. The side effects of crack cocaine include liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as permanent damage to blood vessels, which can often lead to heart attacks, strokes, and ultimately death World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crystal meth Not just famous because of a certain Walter H White, but also because it is one of the most destructive drugs in the world. First developed in 1887, it became widely used during the Second World War when both sides would give it to their troops to keep them awake. It is also believed that the Japanese gave it to their Kamikaze pilots before their suicide missions. After the war crystal meth was prescribed as a diet aid and remained legal until the 1970s. Since then it has fallen into the hands of Mexican gangs and has become a worldwide phenomenon, spreading throughout Europe and Asia. The effects of crystal meth are devastating. In the short-term users will become sleep depraved and anxious, and in the long-term it will cause their flesh to sink, as well as brain damage and damage of the blood vessels World's 10 deadliest street drugs AH-7921 AH-7921 is a synthetic opioid that was previously available to legally purchase online from vendors until it became a Class A in January 2015. The drug is believed to have 80% of the potency of morphine, and became known as the legal heroin. While there has only been one death related to AH-7921 in the UK, it is believed to be highly dangerous and capable of causing respiratory arrest and gangrene World's 10 deadliest street drugs Flakka Flakka is a stimulant with a similar chemical make-up to the amphetamine-like drug found in bath salts. While the drug was originally marketed as a legal high alternative to ecstasy, the effects are significantly different. The user will feel an elevated heart rate, enhanced emotions, and, if enough is digested, strong hallucinations. The drug can cause permanent psychological damage due to it affecting the mood regulating neurons that keep the minds serotonin and dopamine in check, as well as possibly causing heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Bath salts Bath salts are a synthetic crystalline drug that is prevalent in the US. While they may sound harmless, they certainly arent the sort of salts you drop into a warm bath when having a relaxing night in, they are most similar to mephedrone, and have recently been featured throughout social media due to the zombification of its. The name comes from the fact that the drug was originally sold online, and widely disguised as bath salts. The side effects include unusual psychiatric behaviour, psychosis, panic attacks and violent behaviour, as well as the possibility of a heart attack and an elevated body temperature World's 10 deadliest street drugs Purple Drank One of the more unusual drugs around at the moment, purple drank was popularised in 90s hip hop culture, with the likes of Jay Z and Big Moe all mentioning it in their songs. It is a concoction of soda water, sweets and cold medicine, and is drunk due to cold medicines high codeine content, which gives the user a woozy feeling. However it can also cause respiratory issues and heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Krokodil Krokodil is Russias secret addiction. It is believed that over one million Russians are addicted to the drug. Users of krokodil are attracted to the drug due to its low price; it is sold at 20 a gram while heroin is sold for 60. However, krokodil is considered more dangerous than heroin because it is often homemade, with ingredients including painkillers, iodine, lighter fluid and industrial cleaning agents. This chemical make-up makes the drug highly dangerous and likely to cause gangrene, and eventually rotting of the flesh

The drug was first developed in the 1970s and its only official use is to sedate large zoo animals such as elephants. Just 10mg of carfentanil will sedate a 5000kg elephant.

A spate of overdoses in the US in recent months has been attributed to dealers lacing heroin and other substances with carfentanil to boost profit margins.

One of the worst-hit areas is Ohio where in Hamilton County there were more than 96 heroin overdoses and three deaths in under a week in late August, Fox 19 reports.

In nearby East Liverpool, the Ohio police department shared a photo of two adults who had overdosed in their car with a four-year-old child in the back.

In Ohios Cuyahoga County there were 14 opioid related overdoses in the first week of September, two of which were directly related to carfentanil, ABC 5 News reports.

"Our community has been devastated by heroin and fentanyl abuse, said Hamilton County Coroner Dr Lakshmi K Sammarcoin in a statement released by Hamilton County Heroin Coalition. The fact that there is a new lethal drug that has been found on the streets of Hamilton County is frightening.

 Heroin production on the rise in Mexico

In 2014, US authorities seized 3.7kg of fentanyl. This year, until mid-July, they have seized 134.1kg, according to US Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the AP. Fentanyl is the most frequently seized synthetic opioid, US Customs reports.

In China, however, carfentanil is not a controlled substance and it can be manufactured legally and sold openly online.

"We can supply carfentanil . for sure," a saleswoman from Jilin Tely Import and Export Co told the AP in an email in September. "And it's one of our hot sales product."

Vendors said they lie on customs forms, guaranteed delivery to countries where carfentanil is banned and volunteered strategic advice on sneaking packages past law enforcement.

At a chemicals industry conference in Shanghai last month, several vendors said they would be able to supply carfentanil and some also recommended sending the drugs via EMS, the express mail service of state-owned China Postal Express & Logistics Co.

China's Ministry of Public Security and EMS have not commented on the allegations.

Not all of the websites used to sell the drugs are based in China. At least six Chinese companies offering versions of fentanyl, including carfentanil, had IP addresses in the US, hosted at US commercial web providers, the AP found.

The US government has urged China to blacklist carfentanil, but Beijing has yet to act.

Most synthetic drugs that arrive in the US come from China, either directly or by way of Mexico, according to the DEA. China has already placed controls on 19 fentanyl-related compounds.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
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Abner R Small, a commissioned officer in the 16th Maine Volunteers, was captured by Confederate forces in August 1864 and spent several months as a prisoner of war. In his diary, Small recorded the effects of imprisonment upon his fellow inmates. They became homesick and disheartened, he noted. They  were dying of nostalgia.

Nostalgia, once regarded as a condition of homesickness, was widespread during the American Civil War. Wartime letters and diaries, as well as post-war memoirs and reminiscences, reveal much about the emotional sensitivity of Civil War fighting men towards their homes.

For the most part, Union and Confederate armies were comprised of young volunteers who were away from their homes and families for the first time. The majority of recruits came from an agricultural or rural background.

While Civil War-era preventative medicine lacked the knowledge to care satisfactorily for those stricken with homesickness, medical experts of the time debated how to manage and alleviate the emotional suffering of their patients.

Nostalgia aint what it used to be

The term nostalgia was created in a 1688 dissertation by Johannes Hofer, a Swiss medical student at the University of Basel. According to Hofer, Swiss mercenaries serving abroad were particularly susceptible to bouts of nostalgia, especially when reminded of the sights, sounds and tastes of home. These youthful conscripts became anxious, lost sleep and appetite, and suffered from heart palpitations. Though frequently fatal, nostalgia was treatable. The most effective remedy for homesick patients was to be sent home to the Alps.

By the 18th century, nostalgia was no longer a provincial disease. Physicians across Europe studied the nostalgic condition, often advancing different theories on evolving forms of homesickness. Nostalgia became an established pathology, a mental disorder that continued to afflict soldiers separated from home or peoples displaced by the onset of modernity.

Over time, nostalgia became less an acute homesickness for a specific place, and more a sentimental longing for the past. Often partially recalled, nostalgic memories usually invoke pleasant associations and simultaneous regret at the passing of time.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

The definition of nostalgia as a mental disease, however, persisted. Civil War fighting men attached much importance to home and its associations; a domestic ideal was at the very heart of family life and society. Many soldiers believed they were fighting to protect their homes and communities. Soldiers missed their wives, sweethearts, and mothers.

John Preston Sheffeys incurable blues were exacerbated by the fact that his wife wrote to him only sporadically. By the summer of 1863, Sheffey, a Confederate cavalry officer, admitted he was feeling intensely homesick.

You must write to me ever so often, he instructed his wife. If I were to get a letter from you today, I would look for another tomorrow as anxiously as if I had not received one for a month.

With the outbreak of the war in 1861, many American males were forced to confront extraordinary social and political upheaval as the security and certainty of home life dissolved. It is no coincidence that extensive debate on the subject of homesickness in America was articulated at this time.

Nostalgia was all too familiar to Union and Confederate army doctors and surgeons during the Civil War and they recognised the condition as a legitimate mental disease. The death of Frederic D Whipple, a volunteer from Vermont, was put down to a clear case of nostalgia. Doctors asked the recently married recruit about his strange behaviour. He was sent to the infirmary where, refusing to be nursed, after a few days he died, moaning  all the time, I want to go home, I want to go home.

No place like home

Statistics recorded in the multi-volume Medical and Surgical History of the War of Rebellion (1888), show the malaise developed to a morbid degree among white Union soldiers over the course of the war with some 5,213 cases identified, resulting in 58 deaths  the statistics also reveal 334 cases and 16 deaths among the Unions black soldiers.

Unfortunately, no statistics are available for Confederate soldiers stricken with homesickness. Confederate medical regulations published early in the war list nostalgia among all other diseases. Given limited scientific understanding, this was perhaps understandable; there were no experts during the Civil War era that specialised in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.

American medical handbooks from the mid-19th century offered broad and wide-ranging definitions of nostalgia, combining both psychological and physiological effects of the malady. A medical report from 1864 in the Confederate States Medical and Surgical Journal, the only journal of its kind published under the Confederacy, noted many Confederate soldiers convalescing in Virginia hospitals were oppressed with nostalgia.

Civil War-era doctors and surgeons determined to meet the challenge of the circumstances by facing them head-on. While many homesick soldiers were hospitalised in the short term, only in the most severe cases might a full discharge from the army be considered. Occasionally, doctors assured patients that they would be returned home on a furlough if symptoms persisted. For example, the South Carolina physician and medical essayist Francis P Porcher noted the promise of a furlough  would literally rescue a sick or wounded soldier from the jaws of death. A Civil War veteran writing in 1907 recalled the granting of furloughs as a perfect antidote to offset the gloom of homesickness. For some soldiers, though, the cure was worse than the disease; the return home was more disappointing, not less.

The importance that 19th-century Americans attached to homesickness reminds us how powerful this emotion can be. If homesickness today is dismissed as a sign of immaturity, we would do well to remember that for earlier generations the significance of home ties offered an important lesson.

This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com). David Anderson is senior lecturer in American history at Swansea University
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Students successfully campaigned to get Drake to Drake University. But when he got there, things did not go to plan.

Students at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa have been imploring Drake to visit their campus. Their pleas were finally heard on Wednesday when the Canadian rapper turned up at his namesake university after a gig at 2.30am.

He also stopped by the Kappa Kappa Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta sororities.

Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City Show all 6 1 /6 Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City Roy Woods performs at Madison Square Garden on August 6, 2016. Justin Carissimo Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City Roy Woods performs at Madison Square Garden on August 6, 2016. Justin Carissimo Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City dvsn performs at Madison Square Garden on August 6, 2016. Justin Carissimo Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City dvsn performs at Madison Square Garden on August 6, 2016. Justin Carissimo Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City Drake performs at Madison Square Garden on August 6, 2016. Justin Carissimo Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour in New York City Drake performs at Madison Square Garden on August 6, 2016. Justin Carissimo

But the success of their campaign was dampened by the fact that almost all of the students were asleep, and the only one who was awake was convinced it was a clown knocking at her door instead of a Grammy award-winning artist.

A number of alleged sightings of scary clowns across the US has sparked something of a clown panic that has seen a Connecticut school district banning clown costumes and students at Pennsylvania State University holding a clown hunt.

Now we're in disbelief together that it actually happened, Drake Student Body President Thalia Anguiano told KTLA.
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Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, days after the Colombian Presidents peace deal was voted down in a referendum.

His historic peace deal with Marxist rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the result of four years of negotiations, was narrowly rejected by voters in a nationwide referendum. Colombia has been rocked by a civil war which has claimed the lives of 220,000 and displaced six million in the 52 years since it began.

As their fighter numbers began to dwindle, Farc began secret negotiations with the government in 2010; two years later these negations became official. The peace deal finally reached in September 2016 would have seen fighters disarmed and Farc made an official political party.

The stunning defeat caused shockwaves: it had been signed by both Mr Santos and Farc leader Timoleon Timochenko Jimenez. Having it approved by voters was considered just a formality - then 50.2 per cent rejected it, a marginal result with far-reaching consequences.

Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Show all 5 1 /5 Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Edward Snowden 2014: The National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has been nominated by two Norwegian MPs for the Nobel Peace Prize, meaning the US contractor currently claiming asylum in Russia could be awarded the same prize accepted by President Barak Obama in 2009 Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Vladimir Putin 2013: The Russian President Vladimir Putin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because the former KGB agent actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet, according to the advocacy group that nominated him, at least Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Barack Obama 2009: US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples, shortly before launching military airstrikes in Libya. The irony was not lost on Mr Obama it seemed, who during a press conference joked: "[Energy Secretary Steven] Chu's the right guy to do this, he's got a Nobel Prize in physics - he actually deserved his Nobel Prize" Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Henry Kissinger 1973: Henry Kissinger was awarded the prize for his work on the Paris Peace Accords jointly with Le Duc Tho, who turned the Prize down. The American humourist Tom Lehrer later quipped that Kissingers award represented the death of satire Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Josef Stalin 1945: Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was nominated for his efforts to end World War II. Fellow nominee Vladimir Putin recently said there was no difference between him and Oliver Cromwell, when asked whether he would erect a statue of Stalin in Moscow

Here is the Nobel committees reasoning in full for awarding it to Mr Santos even after his peace deal was voted down.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220 000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people. The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process. This tribute is paid, not least, to the representatives of the countless victims of the civil war.

President Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in the peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, and he has consistently sought to move the peace process forward. Well knowing that the accord was controversial, he was instrumental in ensuring that Colombian voters were able to voice their opinion concerning the peace accord in a referendum. The outcome of the vote was not what President Santos wanted: a narrow majority of the over 13 million Colombians who cast their ballots said no to the accord. This result has created great uncertainty as to the future of Colombia. There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, continue to respect the ceasefire.

The fact that a majority of the voters said no to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead. The referendum was not a vote for or against peace. What the No side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement. The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasises the importance of the fact that President Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process. Even those who opposed the peace accord have welcomed such a dialogue. The Nobel Committee hopes that all parties will take their share of responsibility and participate constructively in the upcoming peace talks.

Striking a balance between the need for national reconciliation and ensuring justice for the victims will be a particularly difficult challenge. There are no simple answers to how this should be accomplished. An important feature of the Colombian peace process so far has been the participation of representatives of civil war victims. Witnessing the courage and will of the victims representatives to testify about atrocities, and to confront the perpetrators from every side of the conflict, has made a profound impression.

By awarding this years Peace Prize to President Juan Manuel Santos, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to encourage all those who are striving to achieve peace, reconciliation and justice in Colombia. The president himself has made it clear that he will continue to work for peace right up until his very last day in office. The Committee hopes that the Peace Prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Furthermore, it is the Committees hope that in the years to come the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the ongoing peace and reconciliation process. Only then will the country be able to address effectively major challenges such as poverty, social injustice and drug-related crime.

The civil war in Colombia is one of the longest civil wars in modern times and the sole remaining armed conflict in the Americas. It is the Norwegian Nobel Committees firm belief that President Santos, despite the No majority vote in the referendum, has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution, and that much of the groundwork has been laid for both the verifiable disarmament of the FARC guerrillas and a historic process of national fraternity and reconciliation. His endeavors to promote peace thus fulfil the criteria and spirit of Alfred Nobels will.
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The sister of Kim Kardashian Wests bodyguard Pascal Duvier has defended him amid accusations he failed to protect the reality TV star.

French police say Kardashian West was bound, gagged and held at gunpoint at a luxury residence in Paris while thieves made off with almost 9million worth of jewellery they had spotted on social media.

Mr Duvier, who has worked for Kardashian for four years, was minding her sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner at the time. It has been reported Kardashian Wests friend, who was also in the apartment at the time of the robbery, called Mr Duvier when she realised what was going on and that he arrived minutes after the thieves had fled.

Kim Kardashian Robbery Show all 10 1 /10 Kim Kardashian Robbery Kim Kardashian Robbery Kim Kardashian West and her husband Kanye arrive back at their town house in New York City last night Rex Kim Kardashian Robbery Kris Jenner is surrounded by security as she leaves the New York residence where her daughter Kim Kardashian West is staying in New York, after her robbery ordeal in Paris, France. AP Kim Kardashian Robbery Security cars and media surround Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's town house in New York City. Rex Kim Kardashian Robbery Media and security personnel are gathered in front of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's town house in New York City. She flew out of France on a private jet on Monday after being questioned by police about the robbery. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery Security cars and media surround Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's town house in New York City. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery A close-up on the 'Rue Tronchet' street sign where Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint by masked men during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery A french police car is seen outside Kim Kardashian's Luxury Apartment after being robbed at gunpoint by masked men during Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 in Paris, France. Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery Journalists stand in front of the entrance of a luxury residence on the Rue Tronchet in central Paris, France, where masked men robbed U.S. reality TV star Kim Kardashian at gunpoint early on Monday, stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars, police and her publicist said. Reuters Kim Kardashian Robbery Getty Kim Kardashian Robbery French police officers exit the residence of Kim Kardashian in Paris Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. Kim Kardashian was unharmed after being robbed at gunpoint of more than $10 million worth of jewelry inside a private Paris residence Sunday night, police officials said. AP

Mr Duviers sister Denise has now told the Mail Online he is really angry and emotional about what happened to Kardashian West.

He hasnt done anything wrong but this has really affected him, she said. That someone he protects has suffered a robbery like this.

He has come in for a lot of unfair criticism. But I know hes not going to stop until he finds whoever did this.

Mr Duvier faced criticism online and from Piers Morgan who claimed he failed dismally in his Mail Online column.

It hurts to see some of the criticism hes been receiving, she said. He protects Kims family and acts as Kim and Kanye Wests personal bodyguard.

On Wednesday, the German bodyguard wiped all traces of Kardashian West from his social media accounts. A source told TMZ the posts were removed as a measure of heightened security and that both Kardashian West and her husband Kanye West do not blame him for the robbery.

Last week, Kardashian West gave Mr Duvier a shout out on social media after he bundled a notorious celebrity prankster to the ground when he tried to kiss her bottom.

Over the last couple of days, Kardashian West has flown back to her home in Los Angeles from New York City. She has cancelled some public appearances and the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which accelerated her to be a household name, has been placed on hiatus in the wake of the robbery.
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It is a religion surrounded by controversy and shrouded in secrecy.

Louis Theroux's years spent trying to get to the heart of Scientology and under the skin of its leaders has culminated with an illuminating feature length film, but little contact with its members.

Scientology was developed by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, with enigmatic leader David Miscavige currently at the helm. Its most famous followers include Tom Cruise, who has given impassioned defences of the Church in the past but is reportedly more reticent to speak about it in interviews now.

Many of its followers hail from Hollywood circles; few speak openly about what they practice. But one actor is happy to talk about what being a Scientologist has involved for him.

South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology Show all 10 1 /10 South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology cruise_1.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology kelly preston.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology 125695366.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology 3364652.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology 1138185.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology 107955067.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology 51641683.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology 103287404.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology cruiseholmes.jpg Getty Images South Park, silent births and Nicole Kidman: The top 10 stories from the Church of Scientology scientology.jpg Getty Images

Michael Pena joined the Church of Scientology in 2000, telling The Guardian he felt that he was drinking too much at the time. He joined their Purification Rundown, a detox programme. And then there was the next thing, and the next thing, he explained. For me, it isnt religion like a belief; its practical things you do.

Pena, who stars alongside Alexander Skarsgard in War on Everyone, claims a second Scientology-led programme, Study Tech, made him more confident at reading scripts, which in turn made me a better actor because I felt like it helped my understanding of scripts.

The 40-year-old dismissed reports detailing controversial claims about the organisation which he says he roundly ignores.

OK, imagine were friends, you and me, he explained. Buddies. And theres a tabloid story about you. Theres no way Im going to read some f**king tabloid story about you. Especially when I know its misinformed.
Clowns are the latest group to feel profiled and discriminated against. Taking a cue from Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, we now haveClown Lives Matter.



No, I am not making this up.



Over the last few months, communities across the US have been spooked by clown sightings, clown-related threats, clowns trying to lure children into the woods, clowns chasing kids with baseball bats, and clown attacks.



People have been arrested for dressing as clowns and harassing people, schools are on high alert (some are even calling parents to warn them about clown sightings), and a man in Kentucky was arrested for firing a shot in the air after mistaking a woman walking her dog for a clown.



The public is justifiably unnerved.



So, in an attempt to calm people down and reduce clown-phobia, organizers in Arizona have planned a Clown Lives Matter march for October 15 in Tuscon.

According to a flyer advertising the event, this is a peaceful way to show clowns are not psycho killers. We want the public to feel safe, and not be afraid. So come out, bring the family, meet a clown and get a hug!



More than 100 clowns are expected to show up, and attendees are invited to participate in full clown makeup or masks.



The more the merrier, right?



*shivers*
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The Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize days after his peace deal was rejected in a referendum.

Announcing their decision in Oslo, the Nobel committee praised Mr Santos' resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.

Mr Santos' peace deal with Farc guerillas, the result of four years of negotiations, was narrowly rejected in a referendum in the country on Sunday. But the Nobel committee said despite the shock result of the referendum, Mr Santos "has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful resolution".

The referendum result caused shockwaves across the country. The peace deal had been signed by both Mr Santos and Farc leader Timoleon Timochenko Jimenez. Having it approved by voters was considered just a formality.

Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Show all 5 1 /5 Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Edward Snowden 2014: The National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has been nominated by two Norwegian MPs for the Nobel Peace Prize, meaning the US contractor currently claiming asylum in Russia could be awarded the same prize accepted by President Barak Obama in 2009 Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Vladimir Putin 2013: The Russian President Vladimir Putin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because the former KGB agent actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet, according to the advocacy group that nominated him, at least Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Barack Obama 2009: US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples, shortly before launching military airstrikes in Libya. The irony was not lost on Mr Obama it seemed, who during a press conference joked: "[Energy Secretary Steven] Chu's the right guy to do this, he's got a Nobel Prize in physics - he actually deserved his Nobel Prize" Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Henry Kissinger 1973: Henry Kissinger was awarded the prize for his work on the Paris Peace Accords jointly with Le Duc Tho, who turned the Prize down. The American humourist Tom Lehrer later quipped that Kissingers award represented the death of satire Most controversial Nobel Peace Prize nominees Josef Stalin 1945: Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was nominated for his efforts to end World War II. Fellow nominee Vladimir Putin recently said there was no difference between him and Oliver Cromwell, when asked whether he would erect a statue of Stalin in Moscow

The committee also praised Mr Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his final day as President.

A spokesperson said: The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further, it is the committees hope that in the years to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process.

When asked by a journalist if Mr Santos will be "as surprised as the rest of us", the committee spokesperson said they had not yet made contact with Mr Santos.

That was not surprising, with the award being announced in the middle of the night in Colombia. But the Nobel media group on Twitter later quoted Mr Santos as saying: I have received this award in their name: the Colombian people who have suffered so much with this war.

The White Helmets volunteer search and rescue group, who are believed to have rescued up to 60,000 people in war-torn Syria, were widely tipped to receive the award.

After the winner was announced, the group sent a congratulatory message to Mr Santos on Twitter.

Others who were believed to have been nominated for the prize included a group of inhabitants from Greek islands who have rescued refugees after they made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean.

Pope Francis, Edward Snowden and Iranian architects of the landmark nuclear deal with world powers were also rumoured to have been nominated. The committee does not reveal its shortlist.

The peace prize is the one of the five Nobel Prizes along with Chemistry, Physics, Medicine and Literature. Last year, the surprise winners of the accolade were the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet who were heralded for bringing peace in the country after the Arab Spring.

The year before, Malala Yousafzai, the girls education campaigner who was shot in the head by the Taliban at the age of 15, became the youngest ever winner when she was jointly awarded the prize with the Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi.
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A woman who was addicted to pulling out and eating her own hair had a giant hairball measuring 15 centimetres removed from her stomach, according to a medical journal.

The 38-year-old, who was suffering from nausea, vomiting and an extremely swollen abdomen when she arrived at hospital in the US, had suffered dramatic weight loss, losing 15 pounds over the previous eight months after she lost her appetite.

The unnamed woman was rushed into surgery, where a giant hairball was found lodged in her digestive tract, with a small tail of hair trailing into her intestines and a second four centimetre hairball nestled deeper in her bowel.

She was found to be suffering from the rare Rapunzel Syndrome, which has only ever been documented 88 times in medical literature.

According to the BMJ journal, the syndrome is caused by trichotillomania, a disorder that causes a patient to develop an irresistible urge to pull out their own hair, and sometimes eat it.

A large hairball measuring 1510 cm was removed from the woman's stomach. (BMJ Case Reports)

Named after the long-haired Rapunzel from the Grimm brothers fairy tale, it is extremely uncommon but can cause potentially deadly side effects and complications as hair becomes lodged in the sufferer's stomach.

Typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, altered bowel habits, abdominal distension and weight loss.

Complications can be severe and include bowel obstruction, bowel perforation, intestinal bleeding, anaemia, weight loss and appendicitis.

A second hairball measuring 43 cm was found deeper in her bowel (BMJ Case Reports)

Surgeons removed both hairballs from the woman and she was released from hospital after six days, with recommendations to seek psychological therapy.

She was also treated for malnutrition and advised to eat food high in proteins, such as eggs and chicken breast, and a daily iron supplement.
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A 15-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot in the head while riding on the back of a motorbike in Sunderland.

Police arrested a 39-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm following the incident in Hewitt Avenue at 8.40pm on Wednesday. They remain in police custody.

The boy, who was riding pillion on the bike, was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle with a serious head wound, police said. The driver of the bike was unharmed.

Police currently do not know whether an air gun or firearm was used in the shooting. A search is still on going for the weapon.

A Press Association journalist at the scene said a blood-stained tea towel could be seen on the pavement behind a police cordon, where officers were carrying out a thorough search of the street.

Investigators believed it to be an isolated incident but extra officers were patrolling in the area to reassure residents.

Locals said a group of children usually played on motorbikes in the area.

"They are quite considerate for being such young kids, said Brogan Connify, 21, who lives in the street where the incident took place.

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There have been times I have asked them to keep the noise down and they have apologised and moved. They are lovely around here."

"There's nothing to cause this, no bullying. With it being such a small community, they have all grown up together, it doesn't matter the age. This is a massive shock."

Another resident, John Thompson, 63, said: "It's an isolated thing, it's quite pleasant here. It's a shock."

Southern Area Commander Chief Superintendent Ged Noble, said: "The 15-year-old boy remains in hospital in a critical condition and our thoughts are with his family at this time.

We understand they and the local community will be concerned about this incident and will have questions around the circumstances, and I would like to reassure them we have a team of detectives working to establish what happened.

"At this stage it is not clear whether or not the weapon used was a gun or an air weapon. However, I would like to stress that we do not believe that this incident is in anyway linked to other incidents that we have had in the city where a firearm has been discharged.

"Neighbourhood officers are in the area, speaking to local residents and offering reassurance and I would urge anyone who is concerned to speak to an officer on patrol."

Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to contact Northumbria Police on 101 quoting reference 1063 061016 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Press Association
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A charity that monitors anti-Muslim hatred has made a formal complaint to the chair of the Conservatives over the way it says it was treated at the partys annual conference in Birmingham.

Fiyaz Mughal, chief executive of the Tell Mama organisation, has alleged that one of his staff members, who is gay, was subjected to homophobic abuse by a G4S guard during a row about security passes at the conference.

He has written to Tory chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin with the details of his complaint and threatened to boycott the partys future conferences unless he receives a full apology.

He also claims Tory staff members were rude and dismissive towards him and his team, an allegation the Conservatives strongly deny.

G4S also strongly deny any homophobic abuse and allege the Tell Mama team was aggressive and rude to their staff.

The incident took place on Tuesday night as the Tell Mama team arrived for their own fringe eventon policing and anti-Muslim hatredinside the secure zone at the International Conference Centre.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters and TELL MAMA (Fiyaz Mughal)

Tell Mama, which compiles statistics and other reports on anti-Muslim prejudice, says it booked the room last month but only applied for security passes the day before the event.

Tory party officials say the security screening process requires far more notice.

It meant that when the Tell Mama team arrived at the registration centre on Tuesday, they were told they would not be allowed in to their own event.

Mr Mughal told The Independent that two G4S guards were then ordered to stand behind them. Mr Mughal said he objected and found them intimidating. He alleged they stared and mocked and laughed at his team, whom he said remained calm and polite.

When it was clear there would be no solution, Mr Mughals team decided to leave and he said the G4S guards followed them.

Luke Holland, one of Tell Mamas organisers, told The Independent it was at this point that he was abused.

He said: I asked them, Why are you following us? Whats your problem? Youve been picking on me from the start. Is it because Im young? Is it because Im gay?

Straight away, they laughed and one said, Im not inclined that way, mate, dont you worry.

It was the way he said it, I found it homophobic. Then as we left they started waving to us, they were goading us trying to provoke reaction. They were like children in a playground.

Tell Mama has written to Conservative Party chairman S (BBC)

In his letter to Sir Patrick, Mr Mughal said: We do not feel comfortable attending a future Conservative Party conference unless assurances can be given to us that such actions will not take place again and we ask that a full apology be provided to us.

In particular, there is no reason why a full apology cannot be provided to my colleagues for having homophobic statements made to them by staff under the supervision of [party] organisers . We hold G4S liable and de facto, the Partys machinery responsible for the way G4S staff were instructed to act.

A Conservative party spokesman said: "We always encourage delegates to apply for passes as early as possible. Unfortuately, if people apply close to the start of the conference we can't always guarantee they will get a pass in time."

Tell Mama and G4S are currently involved in a separate dispute. Last month G4S Outsourcing, part of the G4S group, was awarded a Government contract to run the Equality Advisory Award Service, a helpline for victims of discrimination.

Tell Mama, Liberty and 39 other human rights groups have called for an inquiry, saying G4S is ill-equipped to run the line.

Last week, a High Court judge dismissed a last minute legal bid to stop the contract, saying G4S Outsourcing had a proven track record free of any accusations of mismanagement and human rights abuses and should not be tainted by accusations and findings against other companies in the G4S group.
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Night Tube services on London's Northern Line will run every weekend from November 18.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced the addition to the all-night service on Friday, just hours before the Jubilee Line runs continuously from Friday to Sunday for the first time.

24-hour services have been operating on the Victoria Line and Central Line since August 19, with nearly 750,000 journeys made so far between 12.30pm and 5am.

The Piccadilly Line will join the Night Tube line-up later this year, once drivers have completed training.

Northern Line services will run from High Barnet and Edgware, via the Charing Cross branch, to Morden.

Around 200,000 passengers are expected to use the Night Tube when all five lines are in operation.

Transport for London predicts the service will cut late-night journey times by an average of 20 minutes and could boost Londons economy by 77m a year.

When the Jubilee Line service was announced, Mr Khan said: There was a real buzz from when we launched the first Night Tube services in August and I am delighted that the Jubilee Line services are now up and running.

"Hundreds of thousands of Londoners have already benefited, and it's great news that so many more will now be able to enjoy our world-class cultural venues on the South Bank, as well as venues such as The O2 and Wembley Stadium, without needing to make that late dash for the last Tube.

Being from Tooting, I'm also really looking forward to the start of services on the Northern Line next month."

Simon Pitkeathley, chief executive of Camden Town Unlimited, told The BBC: Camden Town has some of London's most iconic music venues, traditional pubs and fantastic restaurants.

"It stands out as a shining star in London's night-time economy. We're absolutely delighted that the Night Tube on the Northern Line will reflect this."

Meanwhile, Rebecca Kane Burton, former vice president of The O2, told The Evening Standard: The Night Tube is a game changer for venues like The O2 and thousands more across the capital.

"Over 60 per cent of our fans already use the Jubilee Line to reach us.

That will grow, the experience will improve and it will enhance options for the teams who work here too.

The Night Tube was originally due to launch on September 12 2015 under a scheme started by Mr Khans predecessor Boris Johnson.

In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London People queue for buses at Stratford station In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London Commuters crowd on a platform as they wait for a train on the c2c line at Upminster station In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London Metropolitan Police with crowds of people queuing for buses at Stratford station In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London People queue for buses in Stratford In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London People queue to get on a bus outside Victoria Station In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London A long line of people waiting at a bus stop in Wimbledon, south west London, as tennis fans leaving the All England Club faced a difficult journey home due to a tube strike In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London People wait in line for taxis in Wimbledon In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London A closed entrance to Stratford underground station, as commuters face travel misery trying to get to work because of a strike which has brought London Underground to a standstill In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London District Line tube trains parked at the Upminster depot during a 24-hour walkout of London Underground staff In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London Commuters try to board a tube train at Westminster station as workers across the British capital begin a 24-hour strike on 7 July In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London Commuters crowding around one of the entrances to Oxford Circus Tube station, the rush hour on 7 July started early in London as commuters left work to beat a Tube strike In pictures: Tube strike in London (July 2015) London Commuters crowding around one of the closed entrances to Oxford Circus Tube station. Picket lines were mounted outside stations by members of four trade unions involved in a 24-hour walkout in a row over the new all-night Tubes, due to start in mid-September

But following several strikes organised by the unions that represent London Underground workers, Mr Johnson was forced to delay the start of the service.

In March, Transport for London agreed a pay and conditions deal with the biggest union, RMT, which included a two per cent pay rise in year one.

In addition, staff on the lines where the Night Tube will run were given a bonus of 500.
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A London recruitment agency has been criticised for posting job adverts for attractive women and specifying a required bra size.

Matching Models describes itself as the employment agency for beautiful and talented people and claims to match clients with ideal candidates, both skilled and attractive.

One job description for an F1 hospitality team in Abu Dhabi called for blonde, size 10, professional models, with a maximum height of 58, blue eyes, and a B/C cup.

In the agency's mission statement, the company said it "understands the importance of having the right people representing your company, because after all, first impressions count!"

Womens rights campaigners have condemned the company, with some claiming its postings were "straight out of the 1970s".

"It is sad in every sense that the men using the services of this agency look upon women as status symbols - and sad, too, that girls and women are still being given the message that their value is dependent on their looks above all else, Womens Equality Party spokesperson Catherine Riley told The Independent.

Stories like this show casual sexism, racism and misogyny aren't relics of a bygone era: they permeate our culture. And they drive everyone at the Women's Equality Party forward as we work to make the UK an equal, respectful and frankly more grown up place to live."

A job advert on Matching Models for "blonde", "size 10", "B/C cup" women (Screengrab)

One role advertised on the site asked: Do you want to be the next Amal Clooney? An Indian business tycoon who owns an international company is looking for a brilliant experienced Corporate/Commercial lawyer London based.

The successful candidate will need to have an immaculate presentation and be able to handle all aspects of corporate and commercial work.

Another role called for a "sexy driver" to drive a well-known business tycoon from London "to the polo field".

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) called the firms practices "appalling, unlawful and demeaning to women", according to the BBC.

EHRC Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath said it would be writing to Matching Models "asking for them to clarify their hiring practices immediately".

Matching Models founder Nathalie Jansen said in a statement on her website: Matching Models is focused on brains and beauty, matching both looks and skills to assign professional crews for a range of events.

She told the BBC: "The client who wants the specific cup size is an older gentleman - he has a specific outfit he designed with Christian Dior.

He wants a "Jackie O" look. And he wants a lady with a smaller cup size to fit into the outfit."

The Independent contacted Matching Models prior to publication but no one was available to comment.
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The Home Secretarys brother has attacked the Governments denigration of foreign workers after Amber Rudd announced a policy to force businesses to publish figures on the number of foreign staff they employ.

Roland Rudd, the head of PR agency Finsbury who  like his sister  campaigned for Remain during the referendum, wrote in an article for the London Evening Standard that there could be no place for vilifying foreigners in the new Britain.

On Tuesday, Amber Rudd told the Conservative Party conference that foreign workers should not be able to take the jobs that British people should do.

She proposed measures to compel companies to name what proportion of their workers were foreign, effectively naming and shaming those which are not taking on British workers.

Her brother wrote: In a democracy there is always a spectrum of views.

Those of us who want a sensible Brexit, who want Britain to remain a beacon of tolerance and who find the denigration of non-British workers appalling have a duty to speak out.

Try and stand up for a multiracial Britain and you are labelled part of the liberal elite; point out the 20 billion net contribution from immigrants over a decade and you are told you are not listening to the people; oppose hate crime and you are mocked for political correctness.

It is easier to vilify foreigners in the new Britain than it is to espouse European values.

The new proposal has been branded xenophobic and leading to the return of the Nasty Party.
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Francois Hollande has become the latest EU leader to demand that Britain must pay a heavy economic price for leaving the EU.

The French President  who called the likely hard Brexit the biggest crisis in the EUs history  said its future depended on a determination to be tough in the talks to follow.

He said: We need to remain strong. If not, we will threaten the very principles of the European Union. That could lead to other countries or regions wanting to leave the EU to gain so-called benefits but without any inconvenience or rules.

Recommended Read more Angela Merkel takes tougher line on Brexit negotiations

President Hollande added: There must be a threat, there must be a risk, there must be a price. Otherwise we will be in a negotiation that cannot end well.

The comments echo those of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and lay bare rising opposition in EU capitals to Theresa Mays negotiating strategy, revealed at this weeks Conservative conference.

The Prime Minister said she wanted to operate within the EU's single market, yet end free movement of people and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, provoked an outcry across the continent with a plan for UK-based companies to list how many foreign workers they employ

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

Ms Merkel, the German chancellor, won thunderous applause from German business leaders yesterday when she pledged not to allow special concessions for Britain, if it threatened the single market.

Hours later, President Hollande delivered the same message to guests at the 20th anniversary of a pro-EU think tank founded by Jacques Delors, the former EU Commission chief. He recalled how Margaret Thatcher wanted to stay in Europe, but she wanted a cheque in return, adding: Now, the UK wants to leave and pay nothing. Its not possible.

The comments are a rebuff to pro-Brexit Cabinet ministers, who have insisted that European exporters will force its leaders to give Britain a good deal on tariff-free access to the single market.

Some analysts suggested they helped trigger the pounds nosedive on Asian markets on Thursday night, to as low as $1.1841 at one point.

President Hollande is under pressure from a resurgent far-right National Front, which has also demanded a referendum on EU membership.

Italy's deputy foreign minister, told the Financial Times that Britain was starting to resemble the rise of nationalist parties in Hungary and Poland. Mario Giro said it was taking on those tones that we see in Eastern Europe, adding: This is not the UK that we have always known.
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Foreign academics at a leading British university have been barred from offering advice on Brexit, apparently because of national security.

A message sent by the Foreign Office informed staff at the London School of Economics (LSE) that their contribution to Government analysis and reports was no longer wanted.

A source told The Independent that the instruction had been given because sensitive trade relations were being examined, adding: They do not want academics from overseas involved  it seems to be about national security.

Recommended Read more Hollande demands UK pay heavy price for Brexit

The crackdown was revealed by Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at the LSE who specialises in EU policymaking and treaties and in the role of national parliaments.

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

Dr Hagemann tweeted: UK govt previously sought work & advice from best experts. Just told I & many colleagues no longer qualify as not UK citizens.

The Foreign Office is believed to dispute the claim, but had not responded to requests for a response by the time of publication.

The move was condemned by Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats EU spokesman, who said: It is utterly baffling that the Government is turning down expert, independent advice on Brexit simply because someone is from another country.

This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policymaking.

 How the pound has struggled since Brexit

The decision comes despite Britains well-advertised lack of trade negotiators, which could threaten its ability to carry out detailed and protracted talks with the remaining EU countries.

Dr Hagemann could not be contacted, but the LSE confirmed that an instruction had been received from the Foreign Office, which would affect a number of its foreign academics working on different policy briefs.

A spokesman said: The UK Government regularly calls upon LSEs world-class academics for their advice on a range of issues.

We believe our academics, including non-UK nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the UKs relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.

The spokesman added: Any changes to security measures are a matter for the UK Government.

There are suggestions that one of the academics affected is a dual-national, with citizenship of both the UK and another EU member state.

Steve Peers, a professor of EU law at the University of Essex who has advised the Government on EU legal questions, said it should be possible to receive advice without sensitive information being revealed.

I dont really get the security or sensitivity argument, he said. Whatever the reasons, this will come across as hostile, narrow and xenophobic.

The move comes amid strong criticism of the Government over immigration  in particular, the proposal to require companies to declare the proportion of international staff in their workforce.

Ministers suggested those employers with the highest proportions of foreign staff could be named and shamed for not training and employing British people.

A Foreign Office (FCO) spokesman said: The FCO regularly works with academic institutions to assist in its policy research and nothing has changed as a result of the referendum.

"It has always been the case that anyone working in the FCO may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work.

Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds, regardless of nationality.
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Votes for life will be extended to millions of British immigrants living abroad, in a move that will vastly improve the electoral fortunes of the Conservative party.

The Government will announce today that it would scrap the 15-year limit after which British people who have left the UK lose their right to vote, in a pledge that was first announced by David Cameron in 2014 and formed part of the Conservative election manifesto.

Immigrants, or expatriates, will be given the right to vote in the constituency in which they last lived.

The vast majority of British people living abroad are elderly retirees, and are more likely to be Conservative voters.

Chris Skidmore, the constitution minister, said: This statement shows how we will introduce votes for life.

British citizens who move abroad remain a part of our democracy and it is important they have the ability to participate.

Following the British peoples decision to leave the EU, we now need to strengthen ties with countries around the world and show the UK is an outward-facing nation.

Our expat community has an important role to play in helping Britain expand international trade, especially given two-thirds of expats live outside the EU.

Prior to 1985, Brits abroad were not permitted to register to vote in UK national elections. In 2000 the rule was amended to give Brits abroad fifteen years before losing their voting rights.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, parliamentary adviser to Conservatives Abroad, who has campaigned for the changes for years, told The Daily Telegraph: British citizens abroad  are some of the best unofficial ambassadors that we have. It is only right and fair after a lifetime of contributing to the UK that they in turn should be given the right to vote.

The move stands in marked contrast to Theresa Mays party conference speech on Wednesday, when she said, If you are a citizen of the world you are a citizen of nowhere, in a passage meant to place greater emphasis on local citizenship.
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Jeremy Corbyn has announced his new Shadow Cabinet in the wake of his second Labour leadership victory last week.

Several moderates who opposed his leadership during the revolt in June have been appointed to key positions in the Shadow Cabinet  including the new shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer  and Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson has been given the shadow Culture, Media and Sport brief.

But key Corbyn allies such as shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and newly promoted shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott remain responsible for shadowing the four key "Great Offices of State".

Despite appointing Jon Ashworth as the new shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth, Mr Corbyn also forced him out of the party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) and replaced him with one of his allies, Kate Osamor.

This gives him the crucial majority he needs to make it harder to starve off rebellions in future and change party positions on issues like Trident.

Mr Corbyn had initially hoped to seize control with the election of six of his supporters after they swept the board at the NEC elections in August but was blocked by the moderates who added two extra unelected seats representing Scotland and Wales to the committee.

Both Scottish and Welsh Labour leaders, Kezia Dugdale and Carwen Jones, have previously criticised Mr Corbyn's leadership.

The Guardian reported that Mr Ashworth was offered the shadow health brief but was told regardless of whether he was accepted he would be forced off the NEC.

During the battle for the leadership following the attempted coup NEC decisions continually frustrated both sides of the civil war.

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

The old NEC voted to ban new members from voting in the second leadership contest and raised the fee to vote as a supporter from 3 to 25  angering Corbynistas  but allowed Mr Corbyn an automatic place on the ballot paper without him having to get 50 signatures from Labour MPs  angering moderates.

In a statement Mr Corbyn said: "Following my re-election as Leader of the Labour party, I have made a number of new appointments to Labours shadow cabinet.

"For the first time, two of the three great offices of state are shadowed by women. Once again, the shadow cabinet has a majority of women, and has more black and minority ethnic appointees than any shadow cabinet or cabinet ever.

"I have acted to bring together a strong and diverse opposition leadership team. Our aim is to deliver what millions of people are demanding: a Labour party focused on holding this divisive government to account and winning the next general election."

Recommended Read more Corbyn has spelled out exactly why the establishment hate him so much

Other key movements within the Shadow Cabinet include the removal of Rosie Winterton as chief whip in favour of former Gordon Brown ally, Nick Brown.

Ms Winterton, who has been in her post since Mr Corbyn won the first leadership election in September 2015, is perceived as one of the main bulwarks against calls for rebellious MPs to be deselected from within the team surrounding Mr Corbyn.

Former shadow Defence Secretary, Clive Lewis, has also been demoted to shadow Business Secretary. It has been speculated that this is due to an alleged altercation after Labour's Executive Director of Strategy and Communications, Seamus Milne, removed a passage from his conference speech where he pledged to support the Labour's official stance backing Trident renewal.

Mr Lewis reportedly punched a wall in frustration.

The list in full:

Leader of the Opposition  Rt. Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP

Shadow Foreign Secretary  Emily Thornberry MP

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer  John McDonnell MP

Shadow Home Secretary  Diane Abbott MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union  Sir Keir Starmer MP

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury  Rebecca Long-Bailey MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Business  Clive Lewis MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Education  Angela Rayner MP

Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade  Barry Gardiner MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence  Nia Griffith MP

Shadow Lord President of the Council and National Elections and Campaigns Co-ordinator  Jon Trickett MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions  Debbie Abrahams MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Health  Jonathan Ashworth MP

Shadow Secretary of State for International Development  Kate Osamor MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport  Andy McDonald MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government  Teresa Pearce MP (standing in for Grahame Morris MP, who is on leave)

Shadow Secretary of State for Justice  Richard Burgon MP

Shadow Attorney General Baroness Shami Chakrabarti

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport  Tom Watson MP

Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  Rachael Maskell MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland  Dave Anderson MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales  Jo Stevens MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Housing  Rt. Hon. John Healey MP

Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities  Sarah Champion MP

Shadow Minister for Diverse Communities  Dawn Butler MP

Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs  Cat Smith MP

Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office  Ian Lavery MP

Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care  Barbara Keeley MP

Shadow Minister without Portfolio  Andrew Gwynne MP

Shadow Leader of the House  Valerie Vaz MP
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Jeremy Corbyn has concluded his latest shadow Cabinet reshuffle, keeping significant parts of his previous team in place and making some new additions.

Labour announced further changes on Friday evening after reorganising parts of the front bench on Thursday night.

The latest moves include deputy leader Tom Watson taking the shadow Culture Secretary brief and Jon Ashworth taking the post of shadow Health Secretary.

Recommended Read more Corbyn to lose NEC majority as party adds extra members to body

John Healey, who previously resigned, has returned as shadow Housing Minister, while Valerie Vaz has taken Paul Flynns position as shadow Leader of the House.

Barbara Keeley is now the shadow minister for mental health and social care; she resigned in June as a shadow Health Minister.

Crucially, Mr Corbyn has replaced Mr Ashworth as the shadow Cabinet representative on Labours National Executive Committee with Kate Osamor. She is expected to bolster Mr Corbyns support on the body, which makes decisions about how Labour is run internally.

That change on the NEC came after Labour conference passed a vote to put new unelected members on the NEC, appointed by the Scottish and Welsh party leaders, who would likely be hostile to Mr Corbyns agenda.

Though there are no formal factions on the NEC, by most estimations the move was anticipated to cost the Labour leader his very slim majority on the body.

Tom Watson will take up the culture brief (Getty)

Mr Ashworth's replacement with Ms Osamor  an ally of Mr Corbyn  could, however, restore the leadership's majority, meaning internal decisions go his way in future.

Previous controversial decisions taken by the old NEC include banning new members from voting in the Labour leadership contest, as well as raising the fee to vote from 3 to 25, apparently in order to deter supporters of Mr Corbyn.

On Thursday night Mr Corbyns team briefed out some significant changes to the composition of Labours front bench, claiming that it was the most diverse shadow Cabinet ever.

Kate Osamor will be the new shadow Cabinet representative on the NEC (Getty)

Diane Abbott was appointed shadow Home Secretary, Shami Chakrabarti shadow Attorney General, and Clive Lewis moved from shadow Defence Secretary to shadow Business Secretary.

Rosie Winterton was sacked as Chief Whip and replaced by Nick Brown, who did the same job under Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.

Other recent figures of Mr Corbyns shadow Cabinet remain in place, including Angela Rayner as shadow Education Secretary and Debbie Abrahams as shadow Work and Pensions Secretary.

Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Show all 12 1 /12 Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn's reshuffle Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn and the Syria bombing vote Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn asks questions from the public at PMQs, meanwhile backbenchers plot to oust him Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn is unavailable to attend the Privy Council Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Conference rejects Corbyns call to debate Trident Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn At Labour conference Corbyn and McDonnell press for a Robin Hood tax Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyns hopes for a new politics look optimistic in the face of a media barrage Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn enters Labour leadership race

The new reshuffle did not see the return of as many Labour moderates as had been expected. Some Labour MPs say they want the return of elections to the shadow Cabinet, which they say would bring more unity.

Mr Corbyn has reportedly said he wants members to be involved in the election process, but MPs say it should be MPs who elect the front bench.

Jeremy Corbyn said: Following my re-election as Leader of the Labour Party I have made a number of new appointments to the shadow Cabinet. For the first time, two of the three great offices of state are shadowed by women. Once again the shadow Cabinet has a majority of women, and has more black and minority ethnic appointees than any shadow Cabinet or Cabinet ever.

I have acted to bring together a strong and diverse opposition leadership team. Our aim is to deliver what millions of people are demanding: a Labour Party focussed on holding this divisive Government to account and winning the next general election.

Deputy leader Tom Watson said: Im looking forward to working with Jeremy to develop Labours policy on introducing the arts pupil premium [investment to support cultural activities for schools] to every child of primary school age.

There should be no class ceiling placed on anyone who wants to contribute to or enjoy our artistic, musical and sporting heritage. I also want our globally successful games industry to be given the recognition it deserves.
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Jeremy Corbyn has started work on building a new front bench, plugging gaps in his top team following his re-election as Labour leader last week.

Mr Corbyn began the reshuffle by promoting women and ethnic minority MPs to top positions  after attracting criticism on previous occasions for failing to do so.

Key moves include Diane Abbott to shadow Home Secretary, Clive Lewis to shadow Business Secretary, and Keir Starmer to shadow Brexit Secretary.

Recommended Read more Corbyn appoints Chakrabarti as shadow Attorney General

Labour said its shadow Cabinet now had the most ethnic minority members in of any Cabinet or shadow Cabinet ever  and that of the three appointed shadow great offices of state two were now women. With Ms Abbott now in the home affairs brief, Emily Thornberry retains her position as shadow Foreign Secretary.

Further changes to the top team are expected to continue into Friday. The party leader signalled the start of the reshuffle late on Thursday afternoon by sacking chief whip Rosie Winterton, who had held the job under Ed Miliband. She replaced with Nick Brown, an MP with a reputation as a ruthless enforcer who had held the role under Tony Blair.

Other key appointments as of late on Thursday include Shami Chakrabarti, the former director of the campaign group Liberty, who Mr Corbyn made a Labour peer during the summer. She will take the role of shadow attorney general.

Shami Chakrabarti joins the shadow Cabinet for the first time

Among new joiners are Mr Starmer, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service, who was elected an MP in 2015; and Dawn Butler, who will be shadow Minister for Ethnic Minorities.

Mr Lewis has been moved to the shadow Business Secretary Brief following an altercation at Labour conference of Trident ahead of his speech as shadow Defence Secretary. He however said he was delighted with the move and would use the post to build 21st century socialism.

Keir Starmer is in as shadow Brexit Secretary (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Nia Griffith, who resigned after the EU referendum, returns to the shadow Cabinet to take over Mr Lewiss old role. Jonathan Reynolds also rejoins the shadow cabinet, having previously quit over the sacking of former shadow Europe minister Pat McFadden. Sarah Champion, who unresigned during the summer, is now shadow Equalities minister, while Jo Stevens takes the role of shadow Welsh Secretary.

Mr Corbyn's top team was gutted after mass resignations following the European Union referendum campaign in late June. While other MPs stepped in to fill vacant roles, many were left with several to cover alone.

Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Show all 12 1 /12 Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn's reshuffle Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn and the Syria bombing vote Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn asks questions from the public at PMQs, meanwhile backbenchers plot to oust him Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn is unavailable to attend the Privy Council Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Conference rejects Corbyns call to debate Trident Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn At Labour conference Corbyn and McDonnell press for a Robin Hood tax Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyns hopes for a new politics look optimistic in the face of a media barrage Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn enters Labour leadership race

Ms Abbotts appointment to shadow home secretary apparently signals an intention from Mr Corbyn to take a liberal approach on immigration. The Hackney MP was one of few to publicly speak out against Labours controversial controls on immigration tea mugs which caused a storm the 2015 general election. She is a long-time campaigner for migrants rights and against xenophobia.

Mr Corbyns team appeared to take a more nimble approach to the reshuffle than on previous occasions, reacting to social media criticism about London-centric appointments by apparently fast-tracking the release of a list of frontbench MPs from the North in response.

Despite the ongoing nature of the reshuffle Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the exercise showed centrist, pro-Europeans have been side-lined in the team.

Mr Corbyn said in a statement: These appointments mean, for the first time ever, two out of the three traditional great offices of state will be shadowed by women. He later added that he was very proud that the Labour Party now has five MPs in our shadow cabinet from the BAME community  the highest number ever in any cabinet or shadow cabinet.
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Tony Blair has suggested he might return to politics in order to battle the Conservative Partys vision of Brexit Britain.

In an interview with Esquire magazine, the former Prime Minister said the Tories had created a one-party state in the face of a weak Labour Party.

He said his future role was an open question.

Recommended Read more Theresa May is the new Tony Blair

I dont know if theres a role for me ... Theres a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment, he said.

All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? Thats an open question.

The former Labour leader announced in September that he was winding down his business consultancy and donating the reserves to charity. He said at the time that he would spend 80 per cent of his time on charitable causes.

His promise sparked speculation that he was clearing the path for a political comeback.

 Blair says Britain can still avoid Brexit

Asked if there was room in the UK for a centre ground party, he replied: Theres been a huge reaction against the politics I represent.

But I think its too soon to say the centre has been defeated. Ultimately I dont think it will. I think it will succeed again. The centre ground is in retreat. This is our challenge. Weve got to rise to that challenge.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected in September by the party membership and has reshuffled his shadow Cabinet, forcing his critics to step back in line.

Mr Blair denounced current Labour as advocating ultra-left policies that hark back to the 1960s.

This is not about Jeremy Corbyn, he told Esquire. Its about two different cultures in one organism.

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One culture is the culture of the Labour Party as a party of government. And that, historically, is why Labour was formed: to win representation in Parliament and ultimately to influence and to be the government of the country. The other culture is the ultra-left, which believes that the action on the street is as important as the action in Parliament.

That culture has now taken the leadership of the Labour Party. Its a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, very remote from the way that broad mass of people really think.

Mr Blair added that Mr Corbyn would not be elected prime minister because his policies dont work and were wrong.

Theyre actually a form of Conservatism. This is the point about them. What they are offering is a mixture of fantasy and error.

Mr Blairs road back to politics would be paved with hurdles. He has become very unpopular since this summers Chilcot Report, which slated his decision to go to war in Iraq.

He was also criticised for working as an adviser to the president of Kazakhstan, dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev, which he said he regretted.

But to his supporters, Mr Blair is still seen as the most popular Labour leader of recent history.
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A white lawyer in the US accidentally shot his wife dead after taking out a gun because he feared they would be carjacked during a Black Lives Matter protest, a friend of the couple has said.

Claud Tex McIver was travelling in the backseat of a car behind his wife Diane as a chauffeur drove them home in Atlanta, Georgia.

The friend, Bill Crane, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mr McIver had taken a gun from the glove compartment because he was concerned about protesters nearby.

Mr Crane said the couple had been approached by several people from the protest while in the car just before the incident on 25 September.

He said the .38 calibre revolver accidentally went off, hitting his wife in the back, when their car hit a bump in the road.

He also told local news channel WGCL the gun accidentally discharged when Mr McIver removed it from a plastic bag.

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. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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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. 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Ms McIver, 63, died later in hospital.

Atlanta Police issued a statement saying the shooting was more complicated than Mr Cranes account suggested.

They said Mr Crane wasnt in the car, so he is not a witness to what happened. We are going to wait and see what all the witnesses have to say.

Mr McIver, a prominent lawyer in the area, has not been arrested.

The police were critcised for taking Ms McIver to a hospital four-and-a-half miles from the scene when there was one half a mile away.

The Black Lives Matter movement began after 17-year-old black youth Trayvon Martin was shot dead in Florida in 2013 by George Zimmerman, and has grown following a number of fatal shootings of black men by police in questionable circumstances.
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have reached a multi-million dollar settlement with female members of the force after decades of gender and sexual discrimination and harassment.

Once approved in federal court, the settlement agreement is expected to reach C$100m (60.7m).

Recommended Read more The hijab is officially part of the uniform for Mounties in Canada

The settlement comes as a result of two class action lawsuits filed by two former Mounties: Linda Gillis Davidson, who joined the RCMP in 1985, and Janet Merlo, who joined in 1991.

Some of these women left the RCMP heartbroken, disillusioned, and angry, said RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, apologising for shameful conduct.

Others stayed and were forced to find ways to cope with this inexcusable condition since they did not see an organisation that was willing to change.

Ms Merlo called Mr Paulsons apology a turning point for the Canadian organisation.

I have total faith that this is the beginning of a new era, hopefully a better era, she said.

She added that the hundreds allegations were not directed at the entire organisation, but rather at a few members of the Mounties.

Within the RCMP itself, she said, it seems that it was a minority, but a potent minority, that behaves this way.

Allegations of gender discrimination and harassment were first made public in 2011 when former RCMP spokesperson Catherine Galliford came forward with her account of constant sexual advances from male colleagues over her 16 years spent on the force.

Ms Merlo launched the first class-action suit after 19 years of the force, alleging that officers routinely directed graphic sexual comments at her. More than 500 members signed on to the suit alleging rape, unwanted grabbing, and other accusations.

Ms Davidson launched the second class action suit in 2015. She alleged that through her nearly three-decade career, she was subjected to harassment, including unwanted grabbing and kissing and crude jokes, causing her to suffer with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

If approved by federal court, the settlement will be available to any woman who served as a Mountie since 1974.

Mr Paulson promised to improve the culture of the RCMP in his apology Thursday.

Its a very complex, pervasive, culturally ingrained problem that requires the transformation culturally of this police force, he said.
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A US police officer who was found to have sexually assaulted a man with a screwdriver while another officer watched is still in his job.

A civil court jury decided Chicago police officer Scott Korhonen had committed the assault, while his partner Gerald Lodwich looked on, with the victim, 20-year-old Coprez Coffie, receiving $4m (about 3.2m) in compensation as a result.

But journalist and Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King revealed both officers had not been arrested on criminal charges or even sanctioned following an internal police investigation. As a result, neither served time in jail, and both have been allowed to keep working for the force.

On 28 August 2004, Mr Korhonen and Mr Lodwich pulled over a van in which Mr Coffie, who is black, was riding with a group of friends in Chicago's west side area. The officers searched Mr Coffie, his friends and the van, then let everyone but Mr Coffie leave, alleging he had been involved in a drug deal.

The two men handcuffed Mr Coffie, who Mr King reported was employed as a security guard at a local hotel at the time, and drove him to a nearby alley.

Mr Coffie testified at trial that he was then placed against the officers' unmarked car, still handcuffed, and told to spread his buttocks before Mr Korhonen pulled down his trousers and assaulted him by inserting a screwdriver into his rectum.

Mr Coffie, who suffered internal injuries and was left bleeding from his rectum, reported the incident when the officers took him to Cook County jail, where he spent a night detained on drug charges.

The next day, Mr Coffie's mother took him to hospital, where a doctor found a tear in his rectum. Chicago police investigators were summoned to the hospital and Mr Coffie gave a second statement.

Chicago police investigators immediately searched Mr Korhonen and Mr Lodwich's car and found three screwdrivers in their glove compartment. Later testing on swabs taken from the glovebox were positive for fecal material.

However, the City's Office of Professional Standards, which researched the claims of officer misconduct, found the allegations could not be sustained. No disciplinary action was taken against Mr Korhonen or Mr Lodwich and a criminal case was not pursued.

The evidence against the two officers was only revisited when Mr Coffie filed a civil action against the department.

On 17 October 2007, after three days of deliberation a nine-person civil jury found Mr Korhonen conducted an unreasonable search of Mr Coffie and Mr Lodwich failed to stop it.

They ordered the City of Chicago to pay Mr Coffie a $4 million (3.2 million) settlement plus nearly $675,000 (around 550,0000) for Mr Coffie's legal fees.

District Court Judge James Holderman, who presided over the hearing, said in court documents there was a preponderance of evidence in Mr Coffie's favour.

This was a clear case, he said, ruling that: Korhonen unreasonably inserted a screwdriver in Coffie's rectum in violation of Coffie's constitutional rights and that Lodwich knowingly failed to stop Korhonen's unconstitutional conduct.

In addition, the evidence clearly showed that Korhonen and Lodwich each knowingly testified falsely at the trial.

Mr Coffie told journalists at the time: Justice was served, it was. Now you see what's going on. It's put to the light."

His lawyer Jonathan Loevy described the case as a black eye for the police department.

Mr Korhonen and Mr Lowich continue to be employed by the Chicago Police Department, Mr King revealed.

According to the journalist, Mr Lodwich was paid $90,618 by the city last year and Mr Korhonen made $87,384.

Mr King said: The more I do this work, researching and telling stories of injustice, the more I learn just how unjust this country truly is.

He prefaced his report by saying that he is contacted by hundreds of families on a daily basis to report incidents of police brutality, but he found Mr Coffie's case to be so far fetched, so outrageous, so ridiculously unjust, so extreme that he intially suspected it might be a hoax.

It was not until he reviewed court documents that he came to believe the story.

Ferguson Anniversary Protests Show all 11 1 /11 Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Police take a mug shot of a protester who was detained in Ferguson, Missouri, August 10, 2015. Protesters regrouped in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday evening after a state of emergency was declared, aimed at preventing a repeat of violence the night before on the anniversary of the police shooting of unarmed black man Michael Brown. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests St Louis County police officers arrest an anti-police demonstrator in Ferguson, Missouri August 11, 2015 Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Protesters march in the rain, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo. Sunday marks one year since Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Demonstrators, marking the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, march along West Florrisant Street in a driving rain on August 9, 2015 in Ferguson, Missouri. There are reports that two people were shot when gun fire broke out during protests later in the evening. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on August 9, 2014. His death sparked months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and drew nationwide focus on police treatment of black offenders. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests A St. Louis County police officers respond in an MRAD vehicle after shots were fired during a protest march on August 9, 2015 on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri. Over 50 shots were reportedly exchanged on the day marking the one year anniversary of the death of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by a white police officer, throwing America's troubled race relations into harsh relief. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Protesters yell as police form a line across West Florissant Ave., Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo., before shots were fired near the protest. The one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson began with a march in his honor and ended with a protest that was interrupted by gunfire. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Protesters fall to the ground to take cover after shots were fired in a police-officer involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests A white woman holds a black woman as they pray during a rain storm at the site of last year's riots on the one year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Hundreds of people marched, prayed and observed a moment of silence in Ferguson, Missouri, on Sunday, a year to the day after a white police officer shot the unarmed black teenager to death, igniting months of protests and a national debate on race and justice. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests A woman reacts after shots were fired in a police-officer involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Police take cover as a barrage of gunfire erupts along West Florrisant Street during a demonstration to mark the 1-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, 2015 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on August 9, 2014. His death sparked months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and drew nationwide focus on police treatment of black offenders. Ferguson Anniversary Protests Ferguson Anniversary Protests Amarion Allen, 11-years-old stands in front of a police line shortly before shots were fired in a police-officer involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri August 9, 2015. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago.

This is unthinkable... It is indicative of every single thing that is wrong with policing in America," Mr King said.

"These men should be fired immediately... they must never be in law enforcement again."

Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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Donald Trump still insists that five black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of the 1989 rape of a jogger in New York City are guilty, despite their 2002 exoneration.

Five teenage boys  commonly known as the Central Park Five  spent the better part of a decade in jail after New York police arrested them for the rape of a white woman while she jogged through the expansive Manhattan park.

The boys first confessed to the crime after lengthy interrogations by detectives, but later recanted their statements, citing intimidation and coercion from police. In 2002, convicted rapist and murderer Matias Reyes confessed to the crime. Investigators later tied Reyes DNA to the attack.

Nonetheless, Mr Trump, who was a loud, vocal advocate of punishing the five teenagers harshly, maintains that they are guilty.

They admitted they were guilty, the Republican presidential nominee told CNN on Thursday. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that the case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same.

Trump's full page ad published in the New York Daily News (Wikipedia)

Shortly after the 1989 attack, Mr Trump paid nearly $100,000 to run full-page ads in four New York City papers calling for the execution of roving bands of wild criminals.

Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police! the ad read.

It continued: I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.

One of the five accused, Yusef Salaam is escorted by police in New York in 1990 (AP)

Michael W Warren an attorney for the five, called Mr Trumps advertisement outrageous in a 2002 interview with the New York Times.

A lot of people felt it coloured the eyes of prospective jurors who ultimately sat on the case, he said. Now its even more appalling, with new evidence that points exclusively to another person. I think Donald Trump at the very least owes a real apology to this community and to the young men and their families.

One of the wrongly accused, Yusef Salaam, told CNN that he still hopes for an apology from Mr Trump.

I keep saying to myself, One day, Donald Trump is gonna perhaps take a full-page ad out and apologise to the Central Park Five, Mr Salaam said. That would be tremendous.

Mr Salaam served seven years in prison with Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, and Raymond Santana. Kharey Wise served 13 years after the groups 1990 conviction.

In 2014, New York City officials approved a $41m settlement for the Central Park Five, calling it a prudent and equitable solution that closes a very difficult chapter in our citys history.

Its a major victory for us, said Mr Santana. Its difficult to hang up the gloves. Weve never been given nothing easy. Everything has been a battle for us."

But Mr Trump still contended that the group was involved in some criminal activity, even if they were not guilty of the reported attack.

They walked away with $41 million," he said after hearing of the settlement, "and the best thing they had going for them was they were wilding in other parts of the park, beating the hell out of people."

Co-directors of the 2012 documentary Central Park Five  Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon  issued a statement condemning Mr Trump's remarks this week.

Mr Trump's comments on the five young men who were wrongfully convicted in the Central Park Jogger case are part of his worn out pattern of denying facts and evidence to promote a perverse alternate reality in which people of colour are seen as a threat to America," they said.
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A petition in the US state of West Virginia is calling for the public hanging of a man charged with the murder and violent sexual assault of a nine-month-old girl.

The online petition to the White House has reached more than 30,000 signatories in just two days. To force a written response from the president, the petition needs to collect 100,000 names.

The body of infant Emmaleigh Barringer was discovered in the basement of the apartment complex in Ripley, West Virginia, where she lived with her mother and the latter's live-in boyfriend, Benjamin Taylor.

Taylor was found at the scene with Emmaleigh by the baby's mother, West Virginia Metro News reports.

Emmaleigh was unresponsive and suffering from extensive bleeding and a body temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.

According to family members, the baby girl was clinically brain dead before she died later in hospital.

Taylor, 32, has been charged with first degree sexual assault and murder.

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 petition states: "Prison is too good for child rapists and their ilk. I would move to say that our 'justice system' is even a part of the problem, in that incarceration is hardly justice when it comes to such an awful act.

"Maybe if these people were actually afraid of what would happen to them if/when they were caught, they'd be less likely to do such vile things?

"Let us make examples of them, and allow the American people to attend these hangings so that the accused may be ridiculed, as they should be."
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Hundreds of people have been killed in the wake of the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean and the United States in more than a decade.

In Haiti, the death toll due to Hurricane Matthew rose to 877, according to Reuters, with tens of thousands of people now homeless and a swathe of crops and livestock destroyed.

Many more people are missing or unaccounted for.

Recommended Read more In Haiti 842 are dead but the US media does not seem to care

Officials said the number of deaths could reach the thousands.

The US has sent $400,000 of aid and the UK announced that it would commit at least 5 million to help diaster relief.

The embassy of Haiti in Washington DC confirmed to The Independent that the lower, official death toll number of around 300 people, according to the country's civil protection agency, was very fluid and likely to change as authorities were assessing the damage.

The agency takes longer to report fatalities as it has to visually confirm the victims itself.

In one of the poorest countries in the world, 145mph winds and heavy rain battered the Les Anglais area and then moved north across the peninsula.

High waves crashed coastal towns, battering concrete houses as well as poorly-built housing of tin and tarp.

The mayor of Les Anglais said people were fleeing for their lives as the sea rushed into their homes.

The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew Show all 14 1 /14 The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 A woman illuminates her family with a candle as they sleep on the floor in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Mist rises off the water as a flooded building is pictured after Hurricane Matthew passes in Lumberton, North Carolina, US Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Children sleep over metal sheets in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 People carry the coffin of a woman who died during Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Destroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew passes Grande Cayemite, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Clothes hang in an area destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Anglais, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 A woman with cholera symptoms receives medical atention at the health center of Les Anglais, in Les Cayes in the southwest of Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Residents line up for food after Hurricane Matthew in Anse D'Hainault, Haiti. Nearly a week after the storm smashed into southwestern Haiti, some communities have yet to receive any assistance, leaving residents who have lost their homes and virtually all of their belongings struggling to find shelter and water AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 People sick with cholera receive medical assistance at Saint Antoine hospital in Jeremi, Haiti. According to the UN after hurricane Matthew the disease has spread EPA The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A woman and a child sit on a buckets amid the ruins of their home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 UN blue helmets load aid which arrived in US helicopters onto a truck for people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A UN helicopter lands next to aid sent by the United States for the people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A boat passes a church in Nichols, South Carolina. Nearly 1 million homes and businesses still did not have power Monday morning in the Carolinas after Hurricane Matthew AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 9 October 2016 Boats sit washed up on shore amongst the twisted docks at Palmetto Bay Marina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Hilton Head, South Carolina AP

A key bridge collapsed, deadly mudslides surged on rain-soaked ground and all communication lines were down. The number of fatalities is expected to rise once communication is re-established with the hardest hit areas.

The country is still grappling with the after-effects of an earthquake in 2010 and a cholera outbreak the following year, which killed at least 9,000 people and infecting hundreds of thousands.

At least seven people died of cholera after the storm, likely due to flood water mixing with sewage.

Damage did not just happen on the coast. In the hilly farming village of Chantal, 86 people died, according to its mayor, as trees crushed houses, and 20 people were missing.

As floodwater receded, bodies started to emerge.

People who survived but were seriously hurt and had broken bones were left untreated for days.

Some 61,500 people were reported to be living in shelters this week. Deputy special representative for Haiti, Mourad Wahba, said the hospitals were overflowing and there is a shortage of fresh water.

One hospital in Les Cayes had its roof blown off.

A resident from Les Cayes, Dominique Osny, told AFP news agency that he had been on his feet for two days, helping neighbours.

"Everyone is a victim here, houses have been washed away, we lost all the roofing. I lost everything, right up to my birth certificate," he said.

The deputy mayor of Chantal, Marc Soniel Noel, told Reuters: "We have nothing left to survive on. All the crops have gone, all fruit trees are down. I don't have a clue how this is going to be fixed."

At least 90 people were killed in Chantal alone.

At least four people were killed in the Dominican Republican. No fatalities have yet been confirmed in Cuba.

Dramatic video footage in the Cuban city of Baracoa, however, showed how the storm had flattened buildings.

The category four storm moved north, losing strength before hitting the Floridian coast on Friday morning.

Three people were reported to have died in Florida during the storm, the first storm-related deaths on mainland US to have been reported.

Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, announced that the UK would commit at least 5 million in aid to Haiti, sending in the first supplies of temporary shelters for 5,000 people on Friday.
Some Florida businesses are being accused of price gouging as hurricane winds drive millions to seek shelter elsewhere.Hotels. Florida resident:I had made a hotel reservation at Holiday Inn by I95 for Wednesday through Friday night then after hearing how close its going to be and timing, I decided I needed Thursday through Sunday the price went from $81 per night to $229 per night for Saturday night!In Augusta, Ga, one hotel went from $50 to $500.Gas. $6.00/gallon One gas station charging almost $10/gallonWater. A case of bottled water....$30?This is illegal. During a state of emergency you cannot raise prices for profit.This is a perfect example of the greed which grips this country.
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Hurricane Matthew has brought havoc to northeastern Florida, with high winds and heavy rain leaving at least four people dead and more than a million people without power as the storm continues its destructive march up the coast toward Georgia and North Carolina.

The storm, which has already killed more than 800 people in Haiti, was downgraded on Friday to a Category 2 hurricane. But forecasters warned it could still bring winds of more than 100mph, some 15 inches of rain and a 9ft storm surge that would threaten flooding along hundreds of miles the south-east US coastline. Such flooding was reported in coastal Florida communities including Daytona Beach and St Augustine on Friday.

After making its way through the Caribbean, striking Cuba and the Bahamas, Matthew largely spared southern Florida, remaining some 100 miles from the shore as it passed Miami and Fort Lauderdale late on Thursday. The eye of the storm was expected to grind north, pounding the coast of Georgia on Friday night and South Carolina on Saturday, as well as parts of southern North Carolina, before turning back into the Atlantic.

The northern Florida city of Jacksonville, with a population of almost 1.6 million, was the largest metropolitan area in Matthews crosshairs. During Friday the storm moved parallel to the coast, with its centre staying between 25 and 40 miles from shore, according to the Weather Channel. It remained unclear when and where it might make landfall, but Florida Governor Rick Scott warned that It could be the worst part of this is still to come.

Authorities have ordered some two million Floridians to evacuate their homes, while Governor Scott activated 3,500 members of the states National Guard. Patients from two waterfront hospitals and a nursing home close to Daytona Beach were moved to safer locations as thousands of people crammed into shelters and inland hotels.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, meaning federal agencies will coordinate any relief efforts. On Friday, Mr Obama reiterated the advice of local officials for people to follow evacuation orders. Do what they say. Do not be a holdout, because we can always replace property, but we can't replace lives, he said.

On Thursday night, a 58-year-old woman died at her home in St Lucie County, Florida, following a heart attack. Emergency personnel were unable to reach her after cancelling operations due to the high winds. A second woman in her 60s was killed by a falling tree in Volusia County, while an 82-year-old man also died after falling unconscious with breathing difficulties while emergency services were unable to respond.

Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville and Orlando airports were all closed on Friday, with at least 4,500 flights cancelled. Theme parks including Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld were also shut. Though Nasas space shuttle fleet is no longer in service, the private firm SpaceX was concerned about possible damage to its seafront launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, where gusts reached 107mph on Friday.
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Hundreds of people have died in Hurricane Matthew, the largest storm to hit the Caribbean - and soon the United States - for a decade.

As one of the poorest countries in the world is still dealing with the effects of an earthquake last year and a cholera outbreak, now close to 300 people have been killed by collapsing infrastructure and mudslides amid a category four storm which ravaged the Caribbean this week.

Reports say the latest death toll is 339 in Haiti, according to local officials - up dramatically from the half dozen or so initially reported. One count by the Reuters news agency, which has not been independently verified, claims the total of dead is at least 478.

Recommended Read more Weather models track where huge storm Hurricane Matthew will hit

Thousands of people have been displaced, and shelters and hospitals are stretched to their limits, according to the UN.

Around $400,000 was sent in aid to Haiti and Jamaica from the US.

Emergency workers have struggled to reach the hardest-hit areas of the country and the death toll is expected to rise.

Four people have also died in the Dominican Republic.

The storm moved to the Bahamas on Thursday, battering the capital of Nassau, and is now very close to the coast of Florida.

Winds of around 140 miles per hour and 11 foot waves are expected to hammer the US coastline.

President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina and 3.1 million people are under voluntary and mandatory evacuation as of Thursday afternoon.

One man was shot dead by police after he removed a traffic cone while trying to evacuate in South Carolina, resulting in the police officer chasing him and shooting him.

The storm is expected to travel through Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina before veering into the Atlantic Ocean by Sunday night, possibly looping back around and even making landfall for a second time in Florida.

Governors in all of the mentioned states have declared states of emergency.

This storm will kill you, Florida's governor Rick Scott said Thursday morning.

This is life and death, he added.
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The older brother of murdered beauty pageant contestant JonBenet Ramsey is suing a pathologist who alleged he was responsible for the six-year-olds brutal 1996 killing.

Burke Ramsey, 29, who filed the complaint on Thursday, is seeking a jury trial and a minimum of $150 million (121 million) in damages.

The lawsuit accuses Dr Werner Spitz of defamation following a radio interview he gave in September, in which he alleged Mr Ramsey had "bludgeoned" his sister to death.

The forensic pathologist also appeared in CBS documentary The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey, which aired last month, 20 years after her mysterious death.

JonBenet was found dead in the basement of the family home in Boulder, Colorado, following a murder that remains unsolved to this day.

Mr Ramseys attorneys said they demanded Dr Spitz retract his comments the day after the interview, but that he refused.

"Spitz made this accusation without ever examining JonBenet's body, without viewing the crime scene, and without consulting with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on JonBenet," the complaint alleged.

Forensic expert Dr. Werner Spitz testifies at a court trial in 2011 (REUTERS/Red Huber/Pool)

Mr Ramsey also claimed Dr Spitz had a history of interjecting himself in high profile cases."

Boulder police confirmed last month that the investigation into JonBenets murder remained open.

Chief of Police Greg Testa said investigators had collected over 1,500 pieces of evidence, including 200 DNA samples, in the course of the investigation.

He also stated they had travelled to 80 different states to interview 1,000 people of interest and had received, reviewed and investigated more than 20,000 tips, letters and emails.

Burke Ramsey came under fire last month after viewers found his smiling demeanour bizarre during a TV interview on the Dr Phil show about his sister's murder.

Burke Ramsey arrives at his mother's funeral in 2006 (Getty)

In September, he launched a different lawsuit against CBS, the network behind The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey documentary.

Mr Ramseys lawyer said he would seek to target the lies, misrepresentations, distortions, and omissions" in the two-part series.

His lawyer, L Lin Wood, said the networks desire for ratings and profits was put before the truth.

In doing so, CBS perpetrated a fraud on its viewers  there was no new investigation by the phony TV 'experts'," he said.

Manhattan murder mystery: Who really killed Linda Stein? Show all 2 1 /2 Manhattan murder mystery: Who really killed Linda Stein? Manhattan murder mystery: Who really killed Linda Stein? 8417.bin Manhattan murder mystery: Who really killed Linda Stein? 8418.bin

A statement on behalf of Mr Ramsey said: Burke Ramsey shall seek redress against CBS for its outrageous accusations in a court of law where he successfully acquitted himself over 15 years ago in libel actions filed against the tabloid Star Magazine, the New York Post and Court TV for publishing similar false accusations. CBS shall be held accountable for the damage it has unlawfully inflicted on this young mans reputation.

CBS has so far denied any wrongdoing and said it would stand by the broadcast in court.
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A Muslim and a Christian have made a new translation of the Quran to underline the similarities between their two religions.

The authors, who are also friends, said they hoped the text would provide a tool of reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.

Some 3,000 parallels between the Bible and Quran are demonstrated in the book, which has a split-page format.

Safi Kaskas, the Muslim co-author of the new book, said in a statement: Most of the tension that exists in the West in the post-9/11 era is because Christians fear Muslims and their book, the Quran.

"This new translation was designed to be a tool of reconciliation between Muslims and the followers of other Abrahamic religions [Christianity and Judaism].

In an environment of tension, working for reconciliation and peace is long overdue. If we are to prevent a much larger disaster from happening, we must work for a better understanding.

He said some translations had wrongly given the impression Islam was intolerant of other faiths, saying this was not an accurate interpretation of the holy text.

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

Mr Kaskas started the project with Dr David Hungerford, a Christian, 10 years ago. The book is part of a project by Bridges to Common Ground, an organisation that aims to reduce Islamophobic attitudes among Christians.

Dr Hungerford said: We hope this translation will lead people to understand that while there are differences between Islam and Christianity, there is also a tremendous bridge between Muslims and Christians."

There are more than 100 mentions of Jesus in the text  who is known as Esa in the Quran.

In todays society, no one talks about this common ground among the Abrahamic faiths, much of which is centered around the person of Jesus of Nazareth," Dr Hungerford added.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Russia and Syria must face war crimes investigation for recent attacks on Syrian civilians.

Mr Kerrys remarks come after a series of hospital bombings in the war-torn country, including an overnight strike that killed 20 and injured 100 in Damascus.

Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children, Mr Kerry said, speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Washington.

He added that the actions beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.

In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 1 /19 In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria A TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps A TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond, Mr Kerry said, accusing Russia and Syria of engaging in a targeted strategy ... to terrorise civilians.

Shortly before his appearance with Mr Kerry, Mr Ayrault had spoken with officials in Moscow. He addressed ceasefire efforts by France in Syria, but did not address the advantages it would have over the now collapsed agreement made between the US and Russia last month.

Earlier this week, the state department announced that the US would suspend communication with Russia after the country broke the 9 September ceasefire agreement brokered by Mr Kerry and his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

This is not a decision that was taken lightly, state department spokesman John Kirby said. Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments ... and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed.

Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the cessation of hostilities, he said, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need, including through the September 19 attack on a humanitarian aid convoy.

As Mr Kerry spoke on Friday, Russias lower house of parliament unanimously approved a treaty with Syria that would allow Russian troops to remain in the country indefinitely.
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A 10-month-old baby has died after allegedly being sexually assaulted by her mothers boyfriend.

Benjamin Taylor, a 32-year-old from West Virginia, was arrested and charged with first-degree sexual assault - a charge reportedly likely to be upgraded to murder after the death of baby Emmaleigh Barringer.

Her mother, Amanda Adkins, woke up in the early hours of the morning to find her baby unclothed and bleeding on the floor.

Taylor had reportedly been with the baby and was seen wiping something off his groin area, which was later determined to be blood, WSAZ reported.

Police said when they interviewed Taylor he changed his story multiple times and claimed he had "blacked out" while doing laundry and did not know how the injuries occurred.

Deputies said it was "the worst case of sexual assault they have seen in two decades", Kutv reported.

"The only way justice is going to be served is if he feels every ounce of pain that he caused her too," Danielle Adkins, Ms Adkins first cousin, told WSAZ.

"It wasn't enough that he took her innocence, he had to take her life too."

Emmaleigh passed away in hospital and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover her medical and funeral expenses.

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 page has already raised over $19,000 (15,000).

Taylor is being held at South Central Regional Jail on a $2 million (1.6 million) bond.
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US schoolchildren have more favourable views of their black and Latino teachers than their white teachers, regardless of their own race and ethnicity, a new study by New York University education researchers has found.

Minority teachers may be perceived more favorably by minority students because they can serve as role models and are particularly sensitive to the cultural needs of their students, wrote study co-author Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, assistant professor at NYUs Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

However, in our study, we were surprised to find that minority teachers are not just viewed more highly than white teachers by minority students, but in many cases by white students as well.

Cherng, who is of Chinese descent, previously taught maths at a middle school in San Francisco, where he had good relationships with a student body that was 85 per cent African-American.

He and his co-author, Steinhardt statistician Peter Halpin, analysed data on 1,680 teachers and their pupils from more than 300 middle and high schools in cities across the US and found that the students broadly preferred their black and Latino teachers to their white teachers.

The data had been collected as part of the Measure of Effective Teaching study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, which surveyed students on their teachers and their educational methods.

Previous studies have shown that so-called race matching  whereby, say, black teachers are assigned to teach black students  helps those students to perform better. But Cherng and Halpins study found that students perceptions of their teachers of colour were more complex.

Latino students, for instance, did not have distinctly favourable views of their Latino teachers, while Asian-American students liked their black teachers even more than black students did. Cherng told NPR he found the results surprising, and added: I thought student awareness of the racial hierarchy would influence the results.

Cherng said he believes that teachers of colour speak with a greater depth of personal understanding of certain issues such as race and gender, which can make them more effective in the classroom, whatever their subject.

A majority of students in US state-run schools are now non-white, while only 20 per cent of teachers are from a racial or ethnic minority. These findings underscore the importance of minority teacher recruitment and retention, Cherng and Halpin wrote in an abstract accompanying the study.
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A Christian woman who has been facing execution in Pakistan for six years after being accused of blasphemy has been granted her final appeal.

Pakistans supreme court will hear the case of Asia Bibi, a mother-of-five from the rural village of Ittan Wali in Punjab, eastern Pakistan, who was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 after allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhamed during a row with other women over water.

All of Ms Bibis appeals in the lower courts failed before the supreme court temporarily suspended her execution in July 2015 ahead of a fresh hearing now scheduled to be heard on 13 October.

If her final appeal fails, Ms Bibi will be the first woman to be executed under the countrys controversial blasphemy laws.

Critics of the laws, which have been condemned by the international community, have said they are being abused by people persecuting religious minorities or trying to settle petty local squabbles.

Five days after the incident in June 2009, where several local Muslim women refused to drink water from the same bowl as an unclean Christian, a local imam - who was not present during the original argument - accused Ms Bibi of defaming the Prophet.

Despite her insistence that she was being persecuted for her faith, Ms Bibi was sentenced to death the following year.

The governor of the Punjab at the time, Salmaan Taseer, was murdered by his bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, in January 2011 after he attempted to get clemency for Ms Bibi.

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 bodyguard, who was executed earlier this year, was showered by rose petals by supporters when he was taken to the courthouse to face charges in the days following the assassination.

The Pakistani blasphemy laws date back to British rule in the 19th century and were originally inherited following its partition with India in 1947.

But during the dictatorship of General Zia al-Haq in the 1980s, the laws became more Islamised.

Although no-one has been executed under the laws so far at least 20 people arrested on suspicion of blasphemy have been murdered while in custody, sometimes by their own guards.

Ms Bibis husband, Ashiq Mashih, and their children have been in hiding since her arrest.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "I have great hopes in the supreme court and I am very hopeful that justice will done for my wife.

She has been living a miserable life in jail for many years. I want justice for the mother of my five children.

Her lawyer, Saif al-Mulook, told the newspaper that Ms Bibi had been falsely accused and the complaint was registered on personal motives.
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North Koreas ability to use nuclear weapons is increasing with each passing month, according to a former US State Department negotiator.

Robert Gallucci, previously US special envoy on North Koreas nuclear weapons programme, said the current American approach towards North Korea was not working.

Mr Gallucci led the 1994 negotiations with the North Korean government that led to a nuclear freeze deal.

Speaking during a seminar at John Hopkins University in Washington, he said: We could continue just as we are now. We could continue with what might be called some version of containment, where we have a sanctions regime we attempt to limit the North Korean options politically and economically.

But...as we do contain the North, we also watch the situation get worse.

The North Korean case is not like fine wine. It doesnt get better with age. With each passing month and year, we look at a nuclear weapons capability that grows qualitatively and quantitatively.

Mr Gallucci suggested the next US president should prioritise negotiations with North Korea, but said they should not offer concessions such as the end of joint military exercises with South Korea  something Pyongyang has long called for.

And he called on the US government to stop "sub-contracting" resolution of the issue to China.

He said: "We want the Chinese to move the North to the proper frame of mind and enter negotiations. But we should not subcontract this issue, the North Korea issue, to Beijing.

So I say, cooperate with the Chinese, get them to do as much as possible, but don't expect them to do the whole job.

North Korea would be willing to surrender its nuclear weapons if an agreement guarantees the regimes survival with as much certainty as they think nuclear weapons will give them as deterrent to U.S efforts at regime change, Mr Gallucci added.

It comes as satellite images suggest the authoritarian state could be gearing up for another nuclear weapons test.

US-based monitoring group 38 North said satellites had recorded on-going activity at Punggye-ri - North Koreas main nuclear test site.

The countrys fifth and most recent nuclear test took place on 9th September, leading it to announce it had successfully detonated a nuclear warhead that could be mounted onto a ballistic missile.

The test caused the UN Security Council to strongly condemn North Korea while US President Barack Obama warned the country will face consequences to its unlawful and dangerous actions.

North Korea has been developing nuclear bombs since quitting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003. It claims its weapons are for self-defence against the danger of nuclear war caused by the US-led imperialists.
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The High Court in Australia has ruled to deny a woman the chance to become the countrys first deaf jury member, a decision she later described as a smack in the face for the deaf community.

In 2012, a registrar told Gaye Lyons from Queensland she should be excused from jury duty as a sign language interpreter could not be sworn into the conference room, according to state law.

The 69-year-old can lip read but needs an interpreter to communicate, and decided to take her case against the Queensland government to the High Court.

The court decided to uphold state law and said the presence of an interpreter in a deliberation room would cause an incurable irregularity which could affect the outcome of a case, resulting in the dismissal of Ms Lyons appeal.

Queensland attorney general Yvette DAth said the confidentiality of jury deliberations and the right to a fair trial were among the most fundamental tenets of [Australias] justice system, according to AP Australia.

"We're the same as everybody else, we're human, we have kids, we go to work, we drive cars, we pay mortgages - I was just fuming because I could not have equal access to this," Ms Lyons told reporters outside court.

"Why should the powers that be decide what's right for me, why should they decide what I can and can't do? It just made me livid, I was seething about the whole thing.

Ms Lyons has repeatedly cited her detailed interest in the law and said jury duty was something I really wanted to take part in.

"After five years of struggle, just fighting for access for the Australian deaf community, it felt like a slap in the face.

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

"For them [the High Court] to say that interpreters could not relay information accurately, that was the living end, that was the last straw for me. Deaf people should not be treated differently. The High Court does not see that, she added.

In 2011, a deaf woman served on an inquest jury in the UK after several legal challenges found deaf people can fully comprehend courtroom discourse and jury deliberations through interpreters.

Exemptions for deaf people carrying out jury service in criminal trials were removed in Ireland and the UK after legal challenges during the 2000s. In the United States, they have been serving on juries since 1979.

New Zealand is another country where sign language interpreters are employed by courts to help deaf jurors contribute to trials.
At a Hillary Clinton town hall yesterday in Haverford, Pennsylvania, a 15 year old girl was supposedly chosen at random to ask a question of the former Secretary of State. But, the well-scripted performance raised some suspicion with a YouTuber named Spanglevision who decided to dig a little deeper. And, wouldnt you know it, the random participant was none other than child actor, Brennan Leach, whose father just happens to be Pennsylvania democratic State Senator Daylin Leach. Oh, and in case it wasnt obvious, Daylin supports Hillary for presidentshocking.So, here was the original question from Brennan:Brennan:Hi Madam Secretary. Im Brennan and Im 15 years old. At my school, body image is a really big issue for girls my age. I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look. As the first female president how would you undo some of that damage and help girls understand that theyre so much more than just what they look like?And here was Hillarys attempt at knocking the soft ball out of the parkits almost like she knew the question was coming.Hillary:Im so proud of you for asking that question. You are right  my opponent has just taken this concern to a new level of difficulty and meanness. And, its shocking when women are called names and judged solely on the basis of physical attributes.My opponent insulted Miss Universe. I mean, how do you get more acclaimed than that? But, it wasnt good enough. So we cant take any of this seriously any more. We need to laugh at it. We need to refute it. We need to ignore it. And we need to stand up to it.Here is the full analysis from Spanglevision. Among other things, he points out that Brennan is the only participant of the night who reads her question from a prepared script.
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A man accused of stabbing two police officers in Brussels in a suspected terror attack is a former soldier in the Belgian military and once ran for political office, it has emerged.

Hicham Diop, 43, remains in custody following Wednesdays attack in the Belgian capital, which remains on high alert following Isis bombings targeting its main airport and a Metro station earlier this year.

The Belgian national has been charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context and participation in the activities of a terrorist group, prosecutors said.

Blood at the scene of a stabbing attack against two police officers in the Schaerbeek district (AP)

They did not specify which group the extremist was linked to but local reports strongly suggested inspiration from the so-called Islamic State, claiming Diop was previously known to authorities for having contact with fighters in Syria.

Investigators said he served in the Belgian army until 2009 and unsuccessfully ran in the Brussels regional elections in 2004.

Government documents seen by The Independent show he was registered for the Citizenship and Prosperity Party (Parti citoyennete prosperite), an Islamist group that has since dissolved.

Diop, who reportedly has several children including a five-month old baby, ran for the regional parliament in Brussels and won 200 votes.

In an interview with Belgiums La Derniere Heure newspaper, his mother said she had noticed no recent changes in her sons behaviour.

A knife lies on the ground at the scene of the attack (AP)

Why would he go and stab police officers? the unnamed woman asked. My son is a decent man, he was even in the Belgian army for a long time.

Hicham is very sporty, he is also a boxer. He has never had any problems with the law.

He is accused of stabbing two uniformed police officers in the district of Schaerbeek at around noon on Wednesday with a military-style knife.

One was wounded in the neck and another in the abdomen before a second patrol approached. Diop broke one officers nose before he was shot in the leg and subdued.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place less than a mile from a hideout used by a group of Isis militants who killed more than 30 people in blasts at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek Metro station.

They are believed to have manufactured their explosives in the apartment, before filling a taxi with suitcase bombs on their way to the airport.

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

The Belgian federal prosceutors office said Diop lived in Schaerbeek, with investigators searching his home in the Avenue de la Reine.

No weapons or explosives were found but officers have since arrested his brother, Aboubaker Diop. Both remain in custody.

The provisional results of the investigation indicate that it would be a potential terrorist attack, a spokesperson said.

It comes after a string of stabbings in Belgium, where two other police officers were wounded by a machete-wielding man shouting Allahu Akbar in the city of Mons in August. The attacker was shot dead and Isis claimed responsibility.

In September, a man carrying a knife attacked two police officers in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, but the officers were wearing bulletproof vests and suffered only bruises.
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Iceland has found nine senior bankers guilty for crimes relating to the economic meltdown in 2008.

The Supreme Court in Reykjavik returned guilty verdicts for all nine defendants in the Kaupthing Bank market manipulation case, one of the biggest cases of its kind in Iceland's history.

Kaupthing was a major international bank headquartered in Reykjavik. For years it perused overseas expansion plans, but collapsed in 2008 under huge debts.

It was taken over by the government in 2008 and domestic operations were spun into a new bank, which now goes under the name Arion Banki.

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The court trial of the case began in April 2015 and in June last year the Reykjavik District Council found seven of the nine defendants guilty, acquitting two.

But the Supreme Court overturned the acquittals on Thursday, finding the bank's former credit representative, Bjork orarinsdottir, and former CEO of Kaupthing Luxembourg, Magnus Gumundsson, also guilty, the Iceland Monitor reports.

The six defendants who were handed prison sentences in 2015 included one of the bank's former directors, its former credit manager, board director, director of proprietary trading and two former proprietary trading executives.

Their sentences range from one year to more than four years for crimes relating to misleadingly financing share purchases - the bank lent money for the purchase of the shares and used its own shares as collateral for the loans. They are also found guilty of creating a misleading demand for Kaupthing shares.

No jail time has yet been handed out to Ms orarinsdottir or Mr Gumundsson.

Another former director of the bank, Hreiar Mar Sigursson, who received a prison sentence of five and half years last year, was given a six-month extension to his sentence on Thursday.

He was one of group of former bankers accused of hiding the fact that a Qatari investor bought a stake in the firm with money lent illegally by the bank itself. Weeks before the bank collapsed Kaupthing announced that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Hamad al-Thani had bought a 5.1 per cent stake during the financial crisis in 2008 - a move supposed to be seen as a confidence boost for the bank.

By allowing bankers to be prosecuted as criminals, Iceland opted for a different strategy in the wake of the financial crisis to rest of Europe and the US, where banks were fined, but chief executives escaped punishment.

While the UK government nationalised Lloyds and RBS with tax-payers money and the US government bought stakes in its key banks, Iceland adopted a different approach, saying it would shore up domestic bank accounts.

Last year, the International Monetary Fund declared that Iceland had achieved economic recovery "without compromising its welfare model" of universal healthcare and education.
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Police in Spain say the chief suspect in the dismembering of a married couple and the murder of their young sons is the fathers psychotic nephew.

The bodies of Marcos Campos Nogueira, his wife Janaina Santos Americo and their two children were found in plastic bags at their family home after a neighbour notified authorities of a bad smell.

An international arrest warrant is now out for Patrick Nogueira Gouveira, who has since fled back to his native Brazil.

"The deaths were quick, there were no signs of torture. They did not suffer," a source close to the investigation told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

But on Wednesday that revenge theory was ruled out, with Juan Jesus Reina of the Guardia Civil police force saying they had "a lot of reasonable evidence and clear proof" that the nephew murdered the family.

The 20-year-old was described as suffering from psychosis and narcissism by Mr Reina, according to The Local.

An image of the suspect has since been released, with the police appealing for potential witnesses.

In a statement, authorities revealed he had flown to Brazil on 19 September, just 24 hours after the corpses were discovered.

Brazilian police have since questioned the teenager, but let him go after telling Spanish agents the evidence against him was not enough, according to El Pais.

The motive for the alleged murders is still unclear, but he allegedly suffered from bouts of violence in the past, including the brutal assault of a teacher back in Brazil.

The bodies were discovered in Pioz, a village about 40 miles north-east of Madrid.

Six large bags had been left in the main room of the house. The fathers torso was placed in one, while his limbs were found in another.

The mother was similarly dismembered into two bags, while the children, aged four and two, were each placed in separate ones.

Police say they had been dead for about a month before they were found.
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Sweden will take Hungary to the European Court of Justice unless it starts taking back asylum seekers from other EU countries, the Swedish minister of justice and migration has said.

Morgan Johansson wrote to the EU migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, calling on him to impose the Dublin Rules on Hungary.

Sweden has joined Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway in condemning Hungary for breaking EU Dublin rules. The accord stipulates refugees should seek asylum in the first Schengen zone country they arrive in.

The commission is the guardian of the EU treaties. It has to ensure that governments stick to agreements they once signed up to, Mr Johansson said in a letter.

The minister threatened to challenge Hungary in the European Court of Justice over the violation.

He told Swedish radio the EU migration commissioner replied to his letter and agreed Hungary must comply.

According to the Swedish Migration Agency, there are some 1,000 asylum seekers who registered in Hungary waiting to be transferred back there. In March, the agency announced it was suspending all transfers to Hungary after it received complaints about their asylum system.

Yet Hungary claims the refugees first entered the EU through Greece, so it is responsible for examining their claims instead.

According to the Dublin agreement, an EU country has six months to transfer a person to the country they were first registered in.

But if the transfer is not made within that timeframe, it becomes responsible itself for the asylum seeker instead.

Governments spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said Hungary would refuse to accept returns of asylum seekers from other EU states.

"We are not going to take responsibility for the shortcomings of other countries," he said.

Austria has also threatened to take legal action against Hungary over failing to meet its Dublin agreement committment.

How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees protest as Hungarian riot police fires tear gas and water cannon on the Serbian side of the border, near Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee throws a bottle of water towards Hungarian riot police after they used water cannon to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees protest as Hungarian riot police fires tear gas and water cannon at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian armoured personnel carriers are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian riot policemen are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian police spray water cannon on migrants at the "Horgos 2" border crossing into Hungary, Serbia How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee reacts after Hungarian riot police use water cannon to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee gestures as Hungarian riot police use water cannon to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border A refugee throws a stone towards Hungarian riot police after they used water cannon and pepper spray to push back refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees protest as Hungarian riot police fires tear gas and water cannon on the Serbian side of the border, near Roszke How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Migrants shout slogans as they stand in front of a barrier at the border with Hungary near the village of Horgos, Serbia How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian riot policemen run as they are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke Reuters How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Hungarian riot policemen are deployed at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke Reuters How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees stand in front of a barrier at the border with Hungary near the village of Horgos, Serbia Reuters How Hungary welcomes its refugees - in pictures Serbia-Hungary border Refugees wait at the Horgos 2 border crossing EPA

Hungary has mounted its own legal challenge in the European Court of Justice over the Brussels plan to relocate 160,000 refugees from Italy and Greece using mandatory quotas.

In early October, the anti-immigrant government held a referendum on the quota system. More than 98 per cent of voters backed the government in its rejection of the mandatory quota system, but the turnout for the election was 43.9 per cent.

While the government claimed the result sweeping victory, analysts said the result was an embarrassing but not totally catastrophic defeat for Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Mr Obans government has erected razor wire fences along its southern borders.
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A man who drove his car towards pedestrians in Vienna while shouting Allahu Akbar was merely singing along to rap music on a trip to buy pizza, his parents have said.

Police have arrested the 21-year-old driver, named as Ibrahim C, on suspicion of attempting to run down shoppers in a possible terror attack on 29 September.

Witnesses said passers-by leaped out the way as his Peugeot ploughed towards a pedestrianised zone of the Austrian capitals Favoriten district.

A spokesperson for Vienna Police said Ibrahim had attempted to run down passers-by while shouting Allahu Akbar, repeating the Islamic phrase meaning God is Great while struggling against officers during his arrest.

Prosecutors said all lines of investigation were open but that a religious motive could not be excluded after a copy of the Quran was found on a car seat, with investigators searching Ibrahims home, laptop and electronic devices.

The 21-year-old was not previously known to police, a spokesperson said. No link to extremist groups has so far been found.

In interviews with local media, Ibrahims parents have said the episode was a huge misunderstanding, adding that their son was unemployed and had recently been suffering hallucinations after smoking cannabis.

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

His father, Mehmet Ali C, told the Osterreich newspaper: My son is not a terrorist and he did not want to kill anyone.

Ibrahim borrowed my car to buy pizza from the shop where he always goes  he was looking for a parking space.

Asked about the shouts of Allahu Akbar, Mehmet added: He was listening to music in the car and was singing along loudly  he is against Isis. The father also said the Quran was his.

Journalists at the Kronen Zeitung listened to the music in question, a Turkish-German rap song, and said the phrase could clearly be heard.

Ibrahim remains in custody as the investigation continues.

The incident came hours after a jury found a man guilty of killing three people and injuring dozens more in the Austrian city of Graz in June 2015.

Alen Rizvanovic, 27, drove his van at high speed through pedestrianised streets and then attempting to stab passersby.
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Aspiring Isis recruits are more likely to be better educated than their compatriots, a new study from the World Bank based on leaked internal documents from the terror group has found.

The socio-economic study, aimed at trying to understand the pull factors of Isis' particular brand of extremism, found that more than a quarter of foreign recruits had a university level education, and only 15 per cent of the 3,803 case studies had not finished secondary school. Only two per cent were illiterate, debunking the theory that poverty and level of education are linked to radicalisation, the report said.

Breaking down the data according to geography suggested that on average, Isis recruits are young, single, with low access to resources or employment with which to start a family, and have a slightly more than basic understanding of Islam, even if they are well educated.

Would-be suicide bombers were mostly likely to have experienced unemployment or have military experience, and were also the wealthiest of foreign recruits.

The self-volunteered data collected from the joining papers of almost 4,000 fighters from Europe and the Middle East dates from early 2013 - late 2014, and was leaked by a former member of the group who defected in March this year. It is thought to betray details of approximately ten per cent of Isis total fighters.

Recruits listed their nationality, education, ages, former occupations, and which roles they wished to be considered for in Isis so-called caliphate across Syria and Iraq. The average age of a fighter is 27, with the youngest on average coming from Libya (23) and the oldest from Indonesia (33).

In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Women and children celebrating after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A man cuts the beard of a civilian who was freed from Isis by the SDF in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Women carry newborn babies while running after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman freed from Isis hugs an SDF fighter in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman adding her veil to a pile of niqabs burning in Manbij, Syria, after being freed from Isis on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Children celebrating on top of a lorry after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A man and child freed from Isis by the SDF in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman carrying her children walks towards SDF fighters after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman and child freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij An SDF fighter kisses a crying man who was freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Hundreds of civilians freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters

Earlier this year, the New America Foundation, a political think tank, dug into the same data to discover what localised factors drive foreigners to join the caliphate, finding people join the group for lots of different reasons, and at different stages in their lives, depending on where they're from.

Derna in Libya, where interest in Isis was strongest, is a very poor area with a long history of Islamist resistance to the state, whereas fighters also came from Quassim, a Wahabi heartland in Saudi Arabia, which is highly educated and relatively wealthy.

Isis has faced a string of military defeats across its territory this year. Author Nate Rosenblatt said as more and more people try to defect, the fight against the group may change to a battle against fighters who return home and continue the ideological battle from there.

Learning who Isis fighters are and where they come from is essential to developing effective policy responses to local conflicts that Isis effectively links to its ideology and agenda, he said.
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The United Nations has called on Saudi Arabia to repeal laws that allow stoning, amputation, flogging and execution of children.

Children over 15 years are tried as adults and can be executed, "after trials falling short of guarantees of due process and a fair trial", according to the report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The committee's 18 independent experts analysed the kingdom's compliance record with a UN treaty protecting the rights of citizens under the age of 18.

Experts voiced concern that the Saudi government "still does not recognise girls as full subjects of rights and continues to severely discriminate (against) them in law and practice and to impose on them a system of male guardianship".

The committee said violations of young girls' right to equality should not justified using traditional, religious or cultural attitudes.

Children from the minority Shi'ite community and other religious minorities are continually discriminated against in their access to schools and justice in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, they said.

According to the UN committee, out of 47 people executed on 2 January for security offences, four were under 18.

Responding to the committee's findings, the Saudi Human Rights Commission told the body that Islamic Sharia law, was above all laws and treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 Saudi Arabia 'should be suspended from the human rights council'

Bandar Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, the chairman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, did state the kingdom had the political will to protect children.

All sexual abuse against children should be made illegal in Saudi Arabia with persecutors prosecuted, the experts said.

The case of Muslim preacher Fayhan al-Ghamdi was cited by the report, saying his charges were reduced and he was released from jail "after having raped, tortured and killed his five-year-old daughter" in 2012.

Saudi air strikes in Yemen were also strongly criticised by the UN watchdog which said hundreds of children had been killed and maimed.



Reuters contributed to this report
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The plight of Syrian people in Aleppo is demonic and absolute contempt for the human spirit, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Speaking during a visit to the Vatican in Rome, Justin Welby described the Syrian conflict as being as bad as anything weve seen in the last century - and there have been terrible atrocities.

In an interview with ITV News, the Archbishop said: What is being done is evil, it is demonic, it is the absolute contempt for the human spirit, for the dignity of the human being.

It is the brushing aside of the poor and the weak and the fragile, in a way that is as bad as anything weve seen in the last century.

When asked whether the United Nations (UN) had failed in its mission to bring peace, Mr Welby asserted that the organisation had limitations. He said: One has to ask: what could they have done?

The UN has no army. The UN has done what it could do. The UN is a fallible and weak institution. Of course it is, its human. The UN is where you bring the worst hatreds in the world, and you put them in a room and see if you can make some progress. Sometimes it does  on this occasion it hasnt.

Has it failed? Yes, of course its failed but weve all failed.

On the subject of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Archbishop said: "His stepping aside would be the most heroic thing he could do in his life and the best decision hed ever taken.

Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them Show all 13 1 /13 Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office

The Archbishop was in Rome to encourage greater unity between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Church, but discussion was reportedly dominated by the conflict in Syria.

The city of Aleppo has been pounded by Syrian and Russian planes since the collapse of a US-Russia brokered ceasefire two weeks ago.

The UN estimates 275,000 people are trapped in a government siege, with Syrian pro-government forces is attacking the city from the south in a stepped-up bid to penetrate opposition-controlled areas.
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Sometimes one meal is all it takes to make your vacation one to remember forever.

From incredibly fresh ceviche in Peru to the modern Spanish cuisine at Girona's award-winning El Celler de Can Roca, we've put together a list of 50 meals you have to try at least once. While some are incredibly memorable restaurants, others are specialty food items you can only get when traveling to a certain place.

Whether you plan to travel to these destinations or already happen to live there, don't miss out on these mouthwatering foods.

Talia Avakian, Jennifer Polland, and Melissa Stanger wrote an earlier version of this post.

Try Rome's famed cacio e pepe, a simple pasta with pepper flakes and gooey melted cheese. Anthony Bourdain recommends trying it at Roma Sparita in Trastevere.

Sample Berlin's iconic street food, currywurst, which is a pork sausage that's cut into slices and doused with curry ketchup. Berliners love Konnopke Imbiss, located in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood.

Head to La Banquise in Montreal for a scrumptious plate of poutine: crisp french fries that have been smothered in brown gravy and cheese curds.

Bite into the legendary pastrami on rye from Katz's Delicatessen in New York. Stacks of juicy meat are cut thick and served on rye bread with mustard and a side of pickles.

Sample tender, fresh-carved Peking duck in Beijing, China. For the ultimate bite, wrap it in a pancake with scallions and hoisin sauce.

(Facebook/Restaurante Bodega El Capricho)

Grab a hot dog from Bjarins Beztu Pylsur in Reykjavik, Iceland, where the meat is made with native Icelandic lamb and served with a creamy mayonnaise-based sauce.

Sample mouthwatering steak at El Carpicho, tucked away in the northern Spanish village of Jimenez de Jamuz.

Try some of Peru's best ceviche  raw fish cured in lime juice and hot pepper  at Sakuay (also known as Chez Wong) in Lima.

When in Poland, dip your spoon into a steaming bowl of Zurek filled with chopped vegetables and sausage.

Savor a succulent and juicy lobster roll in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Explore the variety of flavors in biryani, an Indian dish of rice, vegetables, marinated meat, and just the right amount of spices. The biryani at Paradise Food Court in Hyderabad is touted as one of the best in India.

In Vietnam, slurp up a bowl of steaming hot pho, a tangy beef noodle soup.

Warm up with a hearty bowl of Irish stew, an irresistible combination of lamb, stout, potatoes, carrots, and herbs.

Head to Le Relais de LEntrecote in Paris, France, where the menu includes a tender steak that's topped with a delectable sauce and served with several rounds of golden fries.

(Miko O. / Yelp)

Get some fresh hot beignets, a type of deep-fried pastry topped with powdered sugar. The most famous place to try them is Cafe du Monde in New Orleans.

Discover some of the world's freshest seafood in Belize, where everything from shrimp and mussels to scallops and conch is cooked up fresh just for you.

Dine on Kobe beef in Japan and savor its flavors as it melts in your mouth.

Breathe in the fragrant aroma of lamb tagine, a sweet, rich, and flavorful stew from Morocco. It's usually made with lamb, raisins, almonds, and spices, and served over couscous.

Duck confit, a hearty dish of duck legs poached in fat and submerged in duck lard, is a specialty of the Gascony region of France.

Sample decadently modern Spanish cuisine at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain. It was recently voted the second-best restaurant in the world.

(Yelp/Esteffy L. (Yelp/Esteffy L.)

In Sanuki, Japan, dig into a bowl of udon, thick noodles served with a light broth and typically topped with scallions, tofu, and seafood.

Satisfy your hunger with a bowl of Hungarian goulash, a hearty dish made of beef, onions, paprika, tomatoes, green pepper, potatoes, and sometimes noodles.

Dig into a steaming bowl of moules frites in Belgium.

While walking the streets of Georgia, snack on khachapuri, a savory and chewy bread filled with bubbling cheese or egg.

Chow down on a hearty meal of fish and chips in London, and douse it with malt vinegar  as the locals do.

(Facebook/PoppiesFishandChips (Facebook/PoppiesFishandChips)

Nosh on the fall-off-the-bone brisket, pork shoulder, steak, and ribs at Texas' Snow's BBQ  a favorite BBQ spot of chef Bobby Flay.

Bite into the chewy and rich pizzas of L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Naples, Italy. The pizzeria has been serving its traditional marinara and margherita pies since 1906.

Dig into a pot of chili crab in Singapore and enjoy its spicy and sweet gravy.

Experience a one-of-a-kind BBQ dish at El Diablo Restaurant in Lanzarote, Spain, where heat from an active volcano is used to cook the food.

Share a pot of paella  saffron-infused rice with seafood and chorizo  at Can Majo, a famed beachfront restaurant in Barcelona, Spain.

Grab a crispy and fresh fish taco in Ensenada, Mexico.

Treat yourself to a plate of jamon iberico in Spain. Savor it on its own or on a slice of toast.

Taste the best sushi in the world at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the famed sushi restaurant from the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."

Bite into sublime custard tarts with flavors of lemon, cinnamon, and vanilla in Portugal. The most iconic shop is Antiga Confeitaria de Belem in Lisbon.

(Wikimedia Commons/SergioPT (Wikimedia Commons/SergioPT)

In Puebla, Mexico, enjoy the complex flavors of mole poblano, a thick sauce that is made with chili peppers and chocolate and served over chicken.

In Singapore, dig into a plate of Hainanese chicken rice, a rice that is cooked in chicken stock and served with tender chicken. Anthony Bourdain and locals alike love the Tian Tian Chicken Rice stall at the Maxwell Food Court.

In Thailand, feast on a plate of pad thai  fried noodles served with egg, bean sprouts, peanuts, and fillings like chicken and shrimp. The most famous spot is Bangkok's Thip Sumai, where you can even get a version that is served in an omelet.

Enjoy delicacies like caviar and truffles at the White Rabbit in Moscow, Russia.

Select your steak, then watch the grill masters cook it at Cabana Las Lilas, a famous parilla in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Treat yourself to a crepe at Breizh Cafe, which has locations in Cancale, Paris, and Saint Malo. Choose between savory or sweet crepes that are filled with everything from custards to cheeses.

While in Korea, taste the flavors of beef bulgogi, which is thinly sliced, prime cuts of meat marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, onions, ginger, sugar, and wine.

Sample homemade gourmet cuisine served to you by zip-lining acrobatic waiters at the tree-pod dining room of the Soneva Kiri Resort in Koh Kood, Thailand.

(Facebook/Soneva Kiri Resort & Residences) (Facebook/Soneva Kiri Resort & Residences)

Treat yourself to a sachertorte  a rich, dense chocolate cake  in Vienna, Austria. The city is renowned for its elegant and historic pastry shops, like Cafe Landtmann.

Take a bite out of a crispy, fresh falafel sandwich overstuffed with vegetables in Amman, Jordan. Al Quds and Abu Staif are some of the most famous falafel shops.

Peel off a crispy, flaky layer of fresh spanakopita, a feta-and-spinach pie that's served all over Greece.

Sink your spoon into a Daulat ki chaat, a popular snack from Old Delhi, India. Layers of sweetened milk are spiced with saffron, pistachios, dried condensed milk, and sometimes a silver leaf called varg. The dish cant withstand warm temperatures, so get it when its colder while you can.

Channel your inner carnivore and gorge on elk, venison, bison, and other wild game in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Gun Barrel is a great place to try them.

Try the famed "white clam pizza" invented by Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut. The pizza is cooked in an intensely hot brick oven and comes with littleneck clams smothered in olive oil, oregano, grated cheese, and chopped garlic.

Spoon up the flavors of a traditional Marseille bouillabaisse, a fish stew that typically includes rascasse, grondin, conger, and just the right amount of saffron.

While in the Bahamas, cool off with a bowl of fresh conch salad and a cold Kalik beer while listening to the waves and burying your feet in the sand.

Read more:

 This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed

 How Uber became the world's most valuable startup

 These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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The political landscape of Burma  arguably now more widely known by its new name, Myanmar  has been increasingly prettified since the National League for Democracy (NLD) took power as the governing party last year, and this week it underwent further improvement. A law designed to allow the nations previous military rulers to detain people without charge, and impose death sentences for offences considered treason, was gleefully scrapped by the new parliament.

Its just one more way in which Burma, once a pariah of the international community  subject to economic sanctions and renowned for human rights abuses  is working to become more palatable. After the NLD won the 2015 general election, and Aung San Suu Kyi  who spent 15 years under house arrest for her attempts to bring democracy to the country  took up her post as the head of government, Burma has swiftly and impressively reopened for business.

Only last month, the US announced it was lifting economic sanctions against the country, three years after the EU. And where trade begins, flights follow  Emirates launched a brand new route from Dubai to Burmas largest city, Yangon (colonially known as Rangoon), in August, and Jetstar Asia is adding three new flights to Yangon from Singapore in December.

So, yes, its undoubtedly a new era for Burma  and one that will in all probability bring an end to the countrys final frontier feel. While reasons for caution remain  ranging from armed conflicts between rebels and military in both northern and south-eastern Burma, to the case of a Dutch tourist currently facing two years in jail for pulling the plug on a speaker broadcasting Buddhist prayers in Mandalay  theres probably never been a better time to visit Burma, as it now balances the twin draws of being both intriguingly alien and easily accessible.

Here are five different ways to see the best of it.

The Shwedagon Pagoda dominates Yangon's skyline (Getty)

Cities: Yangon and Mandalay

Bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand, Burma is a heady meeting point between the typically Indian and South-east Asian. Yangon is a city every bit as otherworldly-chaotic as Mumbai or Hanoi; cheap eats crackle on street-side stovetops, junk and rubble piles up on betelnut-juice-streaked pavements, and the local men wear longyis (chequered sarongs). Its the sort of place best enjoyed via aimless wandering to soak it all in. Though there is, of course, one sight you cant miss  the skyline-stealing Shwedagon Pagoda, Burmas most sacred Buddhist monument. The golden stupa is crowned with diamonds and jewels donated by pilgrims.

Burmas second-largest city, Mandalay, is an equally scrappy number: a slap-dash scramble of motor scooters, chapatti stands and tea houses. Dont miss taking your tea with condensed milk (a sort of chai-meets-Vietnamese-coffee mash-up)  its surprisingly addictive. Many visitors here also take the opportunity to catch a show by the Moustache Brothers, a comedy trio known for sticking it to the military regime. Though Burma is now free of military rule, the brothers have vowed to continue satirising the country's politics from the small stage in the garage of their home.

Best in: January and February are a good time to be in both Yangon and Mandalay, when its dry but not too hot.

Burma's biggest tourist draw, the temples of Bagan (Getty)

Temples: Bagan

Most stops in Burma will entail visiting temples  its one of the worlds most pious Buddhist nations, and even on a bus juddering over ravaged rural roads, youll spot golden stupas glittering in distant scrubland. But by far the most impressive bout of temple-spotting is at Bagan, where literally thousands of red-brick pagodas are scattered across grassy, green plains. Its an extraordinary sight easily on a par with other great wonders like Machu Picchu or Petra, but be prepared for world-class hawker hassle, too. Crowds of ladies daubed in thanaka  a yellow paste made from ground bark, worn as a natural sunscreen  chase tired tourists with trinkets and precious gems. The local Weather Spoons Restaurant [sic] wipes a little shine off the exoticism, too.

Best in: Bagan is stifling year-round, making winter (November to February) the most comfortable time to visit (the mercury hovers around 30C).

The art of leg rowing on Inle Lake (Getty)

Water: Inle Lake and Irrawaddy River

Burmas most-hyped destination next to Bagan, Inle Lake is undoubtedly a special experience. The vast freshwater spectacle is encircled by near neon-green rice paddies, while the Shan Hills crouch darkly in the distance. Leg-rowing fishermen  entailing a unique technique where one leg wrapped around an oar is used to propel the vessel  are happily photographed (remember to pay a tip). Exploring by boat takes you into exotic little clusters of rickety overwater stilt-houses, and the fact youll be dragged into more shops than is ordinarily decent doesnt matter too much if youre taking the scenery in.

To the west, the Irrawaddy River is Burma's longest, and a languid cruise along this waterway from Mandalay to Bagan is a popular tick off the to-do list. Spotting rural life along the riverbanks is the primary highlight, and provides welcome respite from the more chaotic aspects of more touristy areas. Here, rasping motor scooters are replaced by cow-pulled wooden carts.

Best in: Inle Lake is generally wetter and cooler than the rest of Burma, and can be positively chilly in winter. For that reason, prime time would be late September and early October, as the rainy season has ended but temperatures remain warm.

The countryside around hill town Kalaw (Shutterstock)

Treks: Kalaw

You can get up close with rural Burma on a trip to Kalaw, a former British hill station. The air is much cooler up here, making it a popular spot for a day or twos trekking among hill tribes, and back in town you can kick back with tea and cake at any one of the makeshift roadside cafes (think al fresco, on plastic stools). The colours around here seem more vivid than ever  rust-red earth, mint-green fields  and the more laid-back vibe makes dining at Kalaws convivial neighbourhood restaurants an all-evening-long pleasure.

Best in: Avoid the wet season (June to September) as trekking is less fun with heavy rainfall and slippery paths. The coolest  but busiest  months are October to February.

Taungkalat monastery, on a volcanic plug near Mount Popa (Shutterstock)

Pilgrimages: Popa Taungkalat and the Golden Rock

Burma certainly isnt short on pilgrimage sites, but besides the mighty Shwedagon, these two are probably the most visually arresting. Perched atop a volcanic plug near Mount Popa, around 50km south-east of Bagan, the Popa Taungkalat monastery is a popular spot from which to admire a 360-degree view of the surrounding plains. However, its not the 777 steps to the summit that proves most challenging  but, rather, running the gauntlet of aggressive macaques lining the stairway. Take it from us: dont allow anything  hair, cameras, food  to dangle from anywhere.

Legend has it the Golden Rock balances on a strand of the Buddhas hair. The gravity-defying spectacle certainly looks like a miracle: a huge boulder teetering off the top of Mount Kyaiktiyo, with a pagoda built on top for good measure, the whole lot has been plastered with gold leaf. Surreal, yes, but also a major pilgrimage site busy with monks, candles and incense, adding some proper magic to the illusion.

Best in: Pilgrimage season is November to March. Rainy season is best avoided because of the mists. Photographers will of course capture the rock in the best light at sunrise and sunset.

Travel essentials

Getting there

There are no non-stop flights from the UK to Yangon, but airlines flying into the city include Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Staying there

Independent travel is by no means impossible in Burma, but owing to poor infrastructure and bureaucracy around tourist accommodation, its more of a slog than elsewhere in South-east Asia. For that reason, many people will elect to go with a tour group. Itineraries span the adventurous (Intrepid Travel; intrepidtravel.com) to the luxurious (Black Tomato; blacktomato.com).

Spending there

Its generally better to use cash in Burma as finding ATMs can be tricky. Youll need to exchange US dollars into Myanmar kyat (pronounced chat) once inside the country; exchange counters accept only pristine notes and will reject anything even slightly creased or marked.

More information

myanmar.travel
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Berlin: 8.84

It might not be in the coolest area of Berlin, but Baxpax Downtown is extremely central, so its ideal for sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial (both about 15 minutes walk away). The interiors are jazzy, and theres an in-house bar. But the downside to the 10 (8.84) price tag? Youll be sharing a dorm with up to 24 other people.

(Baxpax/Facebook)

Warsaw: 7.21

Stay in Warsaws hipster Praga district from PLN35 (7.21) a night. Set within a converted pre-war factory, Hostel Fabrykas dorms are basic, but clean, with wooden floors and white walls  and a maximum of 12 beds. Youre ideally placed for a night out, right by Pragas party square.

(Hostel Fabryka/Facebook (Hostel Fabryka/Facebook)

Amsterdam: 9.27

In Amsterdam, 10.50 can either get you a bed in a scuzzy Red Light District hotel, or a much nicer one at Amigo Budget Hostel. Yes, youre a tram ride away from the city centre, in the Oostpoort area, but the building has been recently refurbished with brand new shower rooms and clean and simple dorms for up to six people.

(Amigo Budget Hostel (Amigo Budget Hostel)

Vienna: 9.28

Located right by Viennas main station, A&O Wien Hauptbahnhof has been open for just three years, so rooms are fresh and modern, with dorms sleeping a maximum of six. Theres a bar and vast dining area; an all-you-can-eat breakfast costs 7. Beds start at 10.29.

(A&O Wien Hauptbahnhof/Facebook) (A&O Wien Hauptbahnhof/Facebook)

Athens: 8.85

The Pagrati Youth Hostel offers dorm beds from 10, which currently works out at a none-too-shoddy 8.85. Bucking the backpacker cliches, this place on the outskirts of Athens centre is known for being safe, clean and quiet. The biggest problem youll have, in fact, is actually finding it  there are no signs pointing to its location and no sign advertising its presence even at the front door. Another pro: lots of proper neighbourhood bars and tavernas in the vicinity. Another con: youll have to cough up more euros if you want a hot shower.

(Pagrati Youth Hostel/Facebook (Pagrati Youth Hostel/Facebook)

Prague: 5

Comfy, clean rooms, decent gratis wi-fi and free tea and coffee  not bad for a fiver (the website charges in sterling). Realistically, Boudnik Hostel is about a 20-minute walk from the city centre, but with its modern looks, handy self-catering kitchens and that room rate, a bit of exercise seems like yet another small price to pay.

(Boudnik Hostel/Facebook (Boudnik Hostel/Facebook)

Budapest: 4.88

Unusually for dirt-cheap digs, the CoolTour hostel is right in the centre of the Hungarian capital, and beds can cost as little as 5.52 (4.88) per night. Clean and colourful, its an excellent budget option. While the vibe is largely more relaxed than party, be aware that it has its own bar attached.

(CoolTour/Facebook (CoolTour/Facebook)

Zagreb: 9.01

The large, recently renovated Hostel Bureau is a three-minute walk from the central Ban Jelacic Square, close to the Croatian capital's Old Town. Theres a games room, and lounge, and some rooms come with balconies. Dorms sleeping up to 12 people start at HRK75 (9.01).

(Hostel Bureau (Hostel Bureau)

Lisbon: 9.71

Cheap and cheerful, Lisboa Central Hostel gets top marks for helpful staff, location (about 2km from the main attractions) and the free breakfast from 8am until 11am. Run by a local family, the homely vibe here has even translated into a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, so you can feel secure its not a hovel. Rooms from 11 (9.71).

(Lisboa Central Hostel/Facebook (Lisboa Central Hostel/Facebook)

Skopje: 6.18

Possibly the only place in Europe where you can get a double bedroom for 14 (6.18 per person), the City Hostel in Skopje is a little outside the centre of the Macedonian capital, but in a pleasant area. If 7 each is still too much, opt for a dorm bed at a euro less.

(City Hostel (City Hostel)

Have any accommodation tips for less than 10 a night? Share them in the comments below or on Twitter, @IndyTravel
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As usual, all the warnings were there. Three Anglo-Afghan wars. Russias Vietnam. The Graveyard of Empires. Poppy capital of the world. The most bombed, crushed, corrupted, mined nation on the globe.

So off we set in our righteous war of revenge for the Twin Towers and the dead of 9/11 to bomb Afghanistan all over again and  a new twist, this  to bring democracy to the land though which Alexander the Great passed en route to India. Osama bin Laden was our latest Hitler, although his protective screen of Salafist obscurantist Taliban legions could hardly be compared to the Wehrmacht.

Bin Laden was a Saudi  so were 15 of the 19 hijackers who committed the international crime against humanity of 11 September 2001  and Saudis supported the Taliban. But, as usual, Saudi Arabia was not part of the media story. This was to be a retelling of Victorian childrens books; of brave if bearded Afghan fighters struggling to take back their country, of high-altitude American bombers that killed the Taliban and wiped out a score or more of innocent villages, of US Special Forces riding bareback with Afghan horsemen to play Bouskache with a dead goat between battles. Carry On Up the Khyber.

The story, of course, was flawed from the start.

With what arrogance we began the whole wretched adventure 15 years ago. This time, we would not forget the brave Afghans (as we did after they drove the Russkies out of their country) and there would be freedom, aid, security and democracy. But as the years went by, the newly installed and democratically elected Afghan government became as wretched and corrupt as its communist predecessors.

The NGOs arrived with millions to spend  all competing with each other and with the US military which offered even more millions in humanitarian aid in return for intelligence information. There were the usual massacres, an atrocity or two  Afghans loyal to General Abdul-Rashid Dostum suffocated Afghan Taliban prisoners in container trucks, US jets and armed Americans liquidating prison mutineers at only occasional cost to themselves  but Kabul was swiftly liberated by journalists and a clutch of tribesmen from the Panjhir Valley.

A few women were persuaded to take off the evil burqa, in which their ancestors in parts of the country had covered themselves for hundreds of years, and George W Bush and our beloved Tony Blair quickly diverted themselves to the more lucrative rewards of a not dissimilar war in Iraq.

Allegedly, we took our eye off the ball by abandoning Afghanistan for Mesopotamia, but contemporary documents clearly prove that Iraq was Bushs target all along. Afghanistan was never intended to be anything but a side-show.

By the time President Hamid Karzai had been installed in Kabul with the approval of a heavily tribal loyal jurga  the kind of assembly which, if British, might have prevented Brexit  everyone was being bought; the security services, banks, big business, the presidency itself.

By the time Karzai  whose green gowns were, at least, immaculate  was elected for a second time, even the UN declared the election a fraud. The US President duly congratulated Karzai on his election win. This was when American advisers began to tell us that we could not expect Jeffersonian democracy  whatever that was  in Afghanistan.

 Afghanistan army battles to push Taliban from Tarinkot

This would, after all, be a more rough-and-ready kind of political freedom, in which people voted along tribal lines. Karzai himself only began to fade from American approval, though, when he condemned US air strikes on innocent Afghans  speaking in Pushtu, which few US officials understood. When he appeared to pass a law allowing minority Shiite men to rape their wives, the White House published a photo of an apparently humbled Karzai under the stern and disapproving gaze of a matronly Hillary Clinton. US voters, please note. The US media then seized on Karzais unsavoury brother who was governor of Kandahar, the drugs capital of western Afghanistan.

It was the same old problem. To save American lives, the US bought up the Afghan militias to fight for them. These were the same outrageous gunmen and rapists who had destroyed Kabul in a four-year civil war in the early 1990s, but now they had to fight a resurgent, purist Taliban  who had done quite a lot of raping and marrying of child brides  to maintain US power.

Most repulsive of this bunch of misogynists was Gulbudin Hekmatyar, a former CIA asset militia leader  despised and feared by pretty much all Afghans  who ended up as an ally of the Taliban and is currently fighting his former American masters. In other words, hes now back in the Hitler camp.

Far more sinister were the trails of militia leaders who wound their way across this devastated land in convoys of brand new 4x4s, sustained by Western cash and a reflourishing drugs market, supposedly still fighting the Taliban  with whom some of them were commercially connected  while in fact staking out little kingdoms in a land which had grown used to such fiefdoms over thousands of years.

Which is why Afghanistan will not become Islamistan or even Talibanistan. It will, when the West finally packs up and leaves, become Mafiastan. Perhaps it already is.

War artists in Afghanistan Show all 6 1 /6 War artists in Afghanistan War artists in Afghanistan Work by Matthew Cook Matthew Cook War artists in Afghanistan War artists in Afghanistan Work by Jules George Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Embedded: Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Work by Jules George Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Trooping the colours: Jules George was inspired by his father and grandfather to witness and document war, if not to wage it Jules George

Later years  or current events as we used to call them at school  dragged history along behind them. Just as the Americans and British (and even the UN, in its unwiser moments) thought they could build a nation in Afghanistan, so they tried the same old trick in Iraq, with even more tragic consequences. The Iraqi opposition  more nationalist than tribal, but soon to be even more Islamist than the Taliban  were quicker off the mark than their brothers in Afghanistan. They knew about insurrection, and the American and British soon faced a full-scale resistance war in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.

If historical lessons transferred from Kabul to Baghdad, tactics moved back in the other direction: the suicide bomber, hitherto an angel of death only in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq, suddenly appeared in the towns and cities of Afghanistan, a phenomenon hitherto unheard of in the deserts and mountains below the Hindu Kush. And then in Pakistan. And here was another victim of our adventure in Afghanistan  which we today, I notice, call an intervention, the very same word the Russians used when they first invaded the same country in 1979.

And now, today, the Afghan refugees have fled yet again, via Turkey, into Europe. Afghans flock the streets of Istanbul. There is more Dari spoken in some parts of the city than Turkish. Yet now, we propose to deport 196,000 Afghan refugees from Europe back to the hell-hole we helped to create in Afghanistan. Quite a legacy from Kabul in 2001.

Now Isis is in Afghanistan. Car bombs are as frequent in Kabul as they are in Baghdad, suicide killers as numberless as they are anonymous.

A new President, Ashraf Ghani, an American citizen, has pledged an end to corruption  some hope  but the militias reign supreme. (Ghanis running mate was the ghastly Dustom). His Afghan army and police are as impotent as they were when first created by yet more American advisers after 2001.

Recommended Read more Shimon Peres was no peacemaker

Soldiers turn up for their uniforms and a months pay then vanish into the desert. Khunduz is under Taliban siege for the fourth time. The Americans bombed an MSF hospital in the last battle for the city. And the Germans have just announced that they wont pay more than the original $5,000 (4,000) to families who lost their loved ones in a German/Nato air strike because the pilot followed the rules.

Again, the same old story: its not the extent of an Afghans loss that will measure his recompense but the degree of culpability of those who brought about that loss. And we are never  ever  going to blame ourselves.

Oh yes, and that chap Bin Laden. Wasnt he the guy who took us to Afghanistan after 9/11? Well, he bottled himself up in Pakistan right next to a military academy and was eventually assassinated by a US hit squad. His remains were returned to an American base in Afghanistan before being dumped into the Indian Ocean  or not, according to US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

Hillary and Obama watched the killing live on video link. What a drama. But, long before, Bin Ladens own al-Qaeda movement had morphed into Iraq and then into Syria and is now, after at least two name transfusions, the best known is al-Nusrah, fighting the Assad regime in Syria, especially in the rubble of eastern Aleppo, where we rightly weep for the civilians but respectfully call al-Nusrah the rebels.

And not a soul today suggests that the folly of our assault on Afghanistan has a narrative which leads all the way to the tragedy of Syria  and to Russias latest involvement in the Middle East. The Graveyard of Empires, indeed.
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Conservationists around the world have praised Botswanas dramatic switch to support a total ban on ivory trading.

The move was announced by Tshekedi Khama, Botswanas Minister of Environment, at a global wildlife conference in Johannesburg. It puts Botswana at odds with its southern African neighbours, including Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, who have strongly lobbied for limited legal ivory sales to support management of elephant herds.

Addressing representatives of 183 government bodies during a heated debate at the CITES conference, Khama said: Poaching is so intense that in 10 years time we could lose 50 per cent of Africas remaining elephants, and in countries with small isolated elephant populations, it is likely they will be completely extirpated.

Although Botswana has previously supported the limited, legal ivory sales from countries that manage their elephant herds sustainably, we now recognise that we can no longer support these sales, and we cannot deal with this issue in a vacuum.

Khama went on to argue unreservedly for an up-listing of all African elephants to CITES Appendix 1, a classification which would give the animals the highest possible level of protection by banning international ivory sales.

Dr Max Graham, founder and CEO of charity Space for Giants, says: We should all salute Botswanas bravery and support them in their hour of need. This is a game changer. Botswana is boldly breaking away from the conventional southern African pro-ivory trade position, because the pervasive and corrupting criminality of the illegal ivory trade has given it no other option.

With over 130,000 wild elephants, Botswana is home to the worlds largest population of pachyderms. The nations U-turn to support a coalition of 30 African nations fighting to protect elephants undoubtedly strengthened the pressure on the global community at CITES. However, following the EUs vote against up-listing elephants the animals status remains unchanged.

Amid soaring levels of elephant slaughter, Botswana joined Space for Giants initiative The Giants Club in 2015. Along with Kenya, Gabon and Uganda, the nation pledged commitment to saving Africas elephant populations from extinction in the wild.

Botswanas President, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, has long been at the forefront of conservation. He is Patron of The Tlhokomela Trust, a private-public partnership that was established to protect Botswanas wildlife by developing anti-poaching units and implementing programmes to ensure human-wildlife coexistence in areas where elephants roam.

In the summer of 2016 Botswana also published the much-anticipated first ever continental-scale survey of elephants, called The Great Elephant Census, which now serves as a baseline for future elephant surveys.

For more information Space for Giants visit www.spaceforgiants.org
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Four minutes before 10am on Friday morning, Reuters provided an update on the death toll in Haiti. At a minimum, the news agency said, 572 people had lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Matthew.

At almost precisely the same time, CNN was broadcasting live footage of the storm as it passed northwest along the coast of Florida, from where more than two million people had fled. The winds were strong, the waves powerful and there was genuine concern about the potentially deadly impact of the storm surge.

But at that moment, the number of US fatalities as a result of the category four storm was zero. The Haitian death toll barely made a mention in the networks rolling coverage.

Should we even still be surprised by any of this? Have we not grown cold and cynical? Do we not all know that the media values some lives more than others? Have we forgotten the anecdote from one British newsroom that one dead in Putney equals 10 dead in Paris equals 100 dead in Turkey, etc?

Haiti is ill-equipped to deal with disasters (AP)

Haitians are no strangers to this global lack of concern. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with an average per capita annual income of about $1,700 (1,365). Educational and medical facilities are inadequate and overburdened. Corruption is rife. The primary ambition of many, if not most, young people is to leave for somewhere else. Most are unable to.

The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew Show all 14 1 /14 The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 A woman illuminates her family with a candle as they sleep on the floor in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Mist rises off the water as a flooded building is pictured after Hurricane Matthew passes in Lumberton, North Carolina, US Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Children sleep over metal sheets in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 People carry the coffin of a woman who died during Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Destroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew passes Grande Cayemite, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Clothes hang in an area destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Anglais, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 A woman with cholera symptoms receives medical atention at the health center of Les Anglais, in Les Cayes in the southwest of Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Residents line up for food after Hurricane Matthew in Anse D'Hainault, Haiti. Nearly a week after the storm smashed into southwestern Haiti, some communities have yet to receive any assistance, leaving residents who have lost their homes and virtually all of their belongings struggling to find shelter and water AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 People sick with cholera receive medical assistance at Saint Antoine hospital in Jeremi, Haiti. According to the UN after hurricane Matthew the disease has spread EPA The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A woman and a child sit on a buckets amid the ruins of their home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 UN blue helmets load aid which arrived in US helicopters onto a truck for people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A UN helicopter lands next to aid sent by the United States for the people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A boat passes a church in Nichols, South Carolina. Nearly 1 million homes and businesses still did not have power Monday morning in the Carolinas after Hurricane Matthew AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 9 October 2016 Boats sit washed up on shore amongst the twisted docks at Palmetto Bay Marina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Hilton Head, South Carolina AP

The US, the regional power, has long interfered politically in Haiti. In 1991, the first democratically elected president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was ousted in a coup backed by the CIA. He was returned, under a deal brokered by Bill Clinton, only to be forced into exile again in 2004, with his opponents once more receiving the backing of elements in Washington.

Ever since, Washington has played kingmaker to a succession of leaders, few who have done little to help the 10 million people of the first country to be created by slaves who literally fought for their freedom.

As the world witnessed when a powerful earthquake struck in 2010, killing at least 150,000 people, this nation  ill-equipped at the best of times  struggles to respond when disaster strikes.

(By contrast, in Cuba, where just a handful of people died, the central government has long become used to responding to such storms and ordering people into evacuation centres in good time.)

Reuters said information was trickling in from across Haiti, large parts of which had been cut off. At least 61,000 people were in emergency shelters, cellphone networks were down and roads were flooded by sea and river water. With aid slow to arrive, people were helping themselves.

My house wasnt destroyed, so I am receiving people, like its a temporary shelter, said Bellony Amazan in the town of Cavaillon, where about a dozen people died. Ms Amazan said she had no food to give people.

Jacqueline Charles, the Caribbean Correspondent for the Miami Herald and who is based in Port-au-Prince, has been providing updates for her newspaper and via her Twitter feed.

One resident of the town of Jeremie, 26-year-old Andre Moise told her: Weve lost everything  our animals, our harvest, our documents. All we have is the clothes you see on our backs, and the water from the coconuts.

What makes the majority of the US medias lack of interest all the more remarkable, is that Haiti is not a million miles away. Indeed, it sits just 800 miles to the south-east of Florida. A flight from Miami takes barely an hour-and-a-half.

Some time after 1.15pm on Friday, CNN turned to the efforts of officials in Georgia and South Carolina to evacuate people from those areas that were likely to be hit by floods. Officials expressed concerns about the potential damage to the historic cities of Savannah and Charleston.

Reuters later reported that the death toll in Haiti had reached 877. It was expected to rise further.
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On June 16th of this year, the MP Jo Cox was brutally murdered. In the aftermath of this killing, we all vowed to be better  to love like Jo and remember we have more in common than divides us. A week later, the UK narrowly voted to leave the European Union, sparking off a series of events that have led to one of the nastiest period in British politics.

Yesterday there was an altercation between Ukip MEPs; subsequently, one man being hospitalised.

Recommended Read more The Ukip MEP allegedly involved in a fight with Steven Woolfe

Over and over again after Jos death, I used the word culminated: It all culminated in this. It would fit all the neat storytelling cliches. A summer that started and ended in violence. A lesson learned never to be forgotten. But I cant do it anymore. Because I dont think this fight will be the last. I am scared that Jos death wont be the last.

Thankfully it seems that Steven Woolfe MEP is doing well and it no longer in a critical condition. Already his acting party leader is dismissing the incident as one of those things that happen between men. The party of the pub bore is now shrugging this off as merely a pub brawl. In a political world that favours old school masculinity, the pressure (not least from himself) on Steven Woolfe, a man who wants to lead that party, to show a stiff upper lip will be enormous.

That this extraordinary incident may be brushed under the carpet is a fairly horrific example of how appalling our public debate has become in all forums. The referendum acted as a release valve on pressures that had been building up over a very long time. The political events that have followed  leadership contests for Ukip, the Tories and Labour  would once have been seen as natural reactions to changed political landscapes. Now, particularly in Labour, everything is seen through a prism of betrayal and treachery for or against Jeremy Corbyn.

Jo Cox was a Labour MP and one who had both nominated Jeremy Corbyn and been critical of his leadership. Had she lived she would have been  one way or another  caught up in this summer of bile and hatred. Many who have spent their summer abusing her friends and colleagues mourned her passing and yet see no irony in this.

 Farage says UKIP MEP behaviour to that of a third-world parliament

We have normalised aggression and abuse in our language  in politics and other areas of public life  to such an extent that we simply dont even notice it any more. But this language is creating a permissive atmosphere for the increase of violent threats and acts in political life. Being a political activist and voicing opinions about politics increasingly feels like something you have to be both emotionally courageous and physically brave to do. To do so as a woman or a minority especially so. Abuse has become a side effect of politics and a fact of life. As we have accepted this, what will be accepted next?

Just as I doubt that Woolfes hospitalisation will end the cycle of violence, the referendum campaign didnt start the coarsening of our debate. In fact, part of the problem we face at the moment is a desire for simplistic answers to incredibly complex questions.

Freedom of speech, and where to draw the line on the freedom to say the unthinkable, is one such complex question. It certainly seems there is little it is impermissible to say in public now. Even in my Remain-voting area of London, I heard nasty, xenophobic anti-immigrant and violent sentiments in my local supermarket for the second time in a month just last night.

As debate is coarsened, is our speech freer or just cheaper? And is violence the inevitable price we will pay?
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The US and EU economic sanctions on Syria are causing huge suffering among ordinary Syrians and preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid, according to a leaked UN internal report. The embargo was supposed to target President Bashar al-Assad and contribute to his removal from power. Instead it is making it more difficult for foodstuffs, fuel and healthcare to reach the mass of the people.

Aid agencies cited in the report say they cannot procure basic medicines or medical equipment for hospitals because sanctions are preventing foreign commercial companies and banks having anything to do with Syria. A European doctor working in Syria says that the indirect effect of sanctions makes the import of medical instruments and other medical supplies immensely difficult, nearly impossible.

The revelations in the internal UN assessment of the effect of sanctions on aid delivery, entitled Humanitarian Impact of Syria-Related Unilateral Restrictive Measures and leaked by the investigative publication The Intercept, open up the US and EU to the charge of hypocrisy, after criticising Syria and Russia for impeding the delivery of UN aid supplies to besieged cities in Syria.

The Intercept quotes an internal UN email from a senior official saying that sanctions have been a principal factor in degrading the Syrian health system and have contributed to a 300 per cent rise in the price of wheat flour and 650 per cent rise for rice, following a doubling of fuel prices in the last 18 months.

 Syria: Government advance in Aleppo continues as tanks cross front line

Syria was once largely self-sufficient in pharmaceuticals, but many plants were in the Aleppo area and have been destroyed or rendered unusable by the fighting. The email says that many of the plants that survived have now been forced to close because of the impact of sanctions on obtaining raw materials from abroad and the foreign currency to pay for them.

The report states that conflict in Syria is the greatest humanitarian crisis the world has seen since the Second World War with 13 million people, or two thirds of the population, in need of assistance. The disaster has led to the exodus of at least five million refugees and four million internally displaced people. The report says that the chaos has produced a weakening of the state and conditions that have fostered the growth of Isis.

US and EU sanctions are contributing to this humanitarian calamity while Mr Assad remains firmly in power. In many respects, the situation resembles that in Iraq between 1990 and 2003 when UN sanctions destroyed the Iraqi economy and helped dissolve its society while doing nothing to reduce the power of Saddam Hussein as Iraqi leader. Many critics of Iraqi sanctions argue that the mass impoverishment they produced contributed significantly to the political and sectarian breakdown after the invasion of 2003.

The same process is now taking place in Syria. The report says that in totality, the US and EU sanctions in Syria are some of the most complicated and far-reaching sanctions regimes ever imposed. It says that in parallel with the humanitarian crisis there is this complex network of non-UN sanctions targeting the government of Syria and some entities and individuals alleged to have contributed to violence and human rights abuses. The EU has imposed wide-ranging prohibitions on commercial and banking dealings with Syria as well control of the export of dual use items that might have some security application.

US sanctions are even more extensive, imposing a blanket ban on exports to Syria or financial dealings with the country. This includes foreign produced goods of which the US content is more than 10 per cent of the value of the finished item. There are supposedly means available for purely humanitarian goods to reach Syria, but in practice this is not the case.

The report quotes numerous examples of aid agencies in Syria which have found their work made very difficult or impossible by the Kafka-esque system of licenses, export controls, risk management assessments and other prohibitions that require expensive legal advice to navigate. For instance, the ban on dual use goods includes such items as drilling equipment and pipes used for water and sanitation which require a special license  even though a shortage of fresh drinking water is a major health hazard in Syria.

The big aid agencies are universal in their condemnation of the present system and the way in which it compounds the miseries caused by the war. None of the agencies are named in the report, but one large one from the EU complains that it has to apply for a license to send goods to Syria through national government bureaucracies, but officials there do not know what the criteria is for doing so. This means endless delays and many commercial companies and banks want to have nothing to do with Syria for fear of unwittingly breaching sanctions and opening themselves up to heavy fines.

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These fears are not exaggerated. The report notes that non-US banks have paid billions in US dollars in sanctions related penalties, mostly to US regulators.

Staying within the law is also expensive. One aid agency said that the cost of legally sending laptops to their staff in Syria was greater than the laptops had cost in the first place. It is not just government-held parts of Syria that are affected. One major EU charity, partly funded by the EU itself, planned to deliver humanitarian assistance to besieged areas inside Syria. For this it needed to bring funds from the bank it usually used to another country near Syria but it did not not conceal the fact that the final destination was Syria. This turned out to be a mistake. The bank objected that it was at risk because of sanctions and other prohibitions. The charity concludes by saying that the planned humanitarian assistance has still not been delivered.

In effect, the US and EU sanctions are imposing an economic siege on Syria as a whole which may be killing more Syrians than die of illness and malnutrition in the sieges which EU and US leaders have described as war crimes. Over half the countrys public hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. Syrian doctors in Damascus complained to The Independent about the difficulty in obtaining medicines and spare parts for medical equipment purchased before the war.

In other parts of Syria the health situation is far worse. The report says that British doctors working in Aleppo have indicated that over 80 per cent of those requiring urgent medical treatment die as a result of their injuries, or lack of basic care, medicine and equipment.

 Syrian army offers rebels safe passage out of Aleppo

Nevertheless, the World Health Organisation says that brand name US medicines cannot be procured due to the embargo situation. In general, living conditions have fallen disastrously with electricity supply about three hours on three hours off in the capital.

Maintenance and spare parts for the electricity system have both been hit by sanctions. There private generators but the report says that power has become too expensive for most Syrians, and many live without electricity.

As Syrians sit in the dark, US and EU sanctions are combining with war to destroy their country.
Dublin Bus drivers have accepted a new pay deal, ending a wave of strike action threatening more disruption on the capital.

Trade unions Siptu and the National Bus and Rail Union both confirmed a decisive majority of member backed the deal in a ballot.

Union bosses and Dublin Bus management forged an agreement at the Workplace Relations Commission last week offering drivers an annual pay increase of 11.6% over the next 15 months.

Owen Reidy, of Siptu, said: "This result today means that the long running dispute at the company is over and the series of eight scheduled days of work stoppages during October will not now occur."

But he warned further problems will arise as long as the Government refuses to "substantially increase" state funding for the company.

Dermot O'Leary, general secretary of the NBRU, said almost eight in ten of drivers in the union backed the pay deal, despite reservations.

"Our members are extremely grateful for the support provided by the Dublin Bus community over the last number of weeks," he said.

"Politicians across the political spectrum should pay heed to those that they are elected to serve and recognise that workers across society have had enough of austerity enforced cuts and are rightly seeking to improve their terms and conditions."

Mr O'Leary said the NBRU would now focus on Bus Eireann and Irish Rail workers, who are also demanding pay rises.
Noirin O'Sullivan was forced into publicly denying knowing anything about the alleged conspiracy

A former High Court judge will investigate an alleged smear campaign against a Garda whistleblower, Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed.

In the latest in a string of controversies to rock the force, the Tanaiste and Justice Minister said Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill will report back on his findings within six weeks.

"On conclusion of the review I will consider what further steps may be necessary," she added.

The judge has been charged with probing claims that senior gardai targeted an officer in a widespread character assassination.

It is understood two senior gardai have made statements to justice chiefs that false and damaging allegations were made against the whistleblower and that one has said they were following orders.

Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan was forced into publicly denying earlier this week that she knew anything about the alleged conspiracy.

The police chief said she would condemn any smear campaign against an officer.

Ms Fitzgerald has confirmed she received correspondence under the Protected Disclosures Act from two members of the force on Monday.

But she said she legally is prevented from making any remarks that could identify those who have made the disclosures.

"Having consulted with the Attorney General, I am now in a position to announce a first step in the process to ensure that these protected disclosures are addressed properly," she said.

Ms Fitzgerald said the judge-led investigation would review allegations of wrongdoing contained in the disclosures, including interviewing anyone or any group he considers appropriate.

His report, due before the end of November, will include recommendations on any further action needed to address the allegations.

Earlier this week, Clare Daly, TD with the Independents4Change group, demanded Commissioner O'Sullivan resign and claimed the smear campaign was "systematic, organised and orchestrated" and had the "full involvement of the present and former commissioner".

She said it was designed to "not just discredit a whistleblower but to annihilate him".

The commissioner said it would be inappropriate to comment on specific allegations made under protected disclosure rules, which were introduced in 2014 to support whistleblowers.

The police chief urged a comprehensive investigation into the alleged smear campaign, which may date back as far as 2013.

It is claimed hundreds of text messages were disseminated among a large group of officers with instructions to attack the whistleblower's character, and an intelligence file was opened on the whistleblower and movements were monitored.

Journalists and some politicians were also briefed by senior garda concerning allegations about the whistleblower.

Several whistleblowers in the Garda have been identified in recent years, some of whom have spoken out about their treatment after raising concerns about corruption or bad policing.

Among them are Sergeant Maurice McCabe who was vindicated over the vast majority of his concerns about policing standards in parts of the Cavan-Monaghan division and abuse of the penalty point system.

Others are Nick Keogh and Keith Harrison both of whom have been named in the Dail as being victims of harassment after raising concerns about policing.
With just four days to go until Budget day, we took to the streets of Dublin to test the political knowledge of the Irish public.

We decided to keep it easy with a picture round - but it turned out to be more challenging than we anticipated.

It would appear Minister for Transport Shane Ross bears an uncanny resemblance to Minister for Communications Denis Naughten based on our research.

And Dubliner Paschal Donohoe can be easily mistaken for Minister Leo Varadkar.

Also, Pascal Sheehy will be pleased to know hes been upgraded to Minister for Reading the News.

On the whole, most of these people failed to recognise Mary Mitchell OConnor, Michael Creed, Paschal Donohoe and Denis Naughten.

One person even asked if the Minister for Public Expenditure had "ever been on telly before".

Not being recognised by the Irish public may be a good thing for these Ministers if the Budget doesnt go down well on October 11th!
FG TD Kate OConnell with her daughter Dorothy, who was celebrating her first birthday, at Leinster House. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Finance Minister Michael Noonan is to make a series of small tax cuts in a gamble aimed at producing a 'catch all' Budget.

The Irish Independent can reveal Mr Noonan will cut USC on income up to 70,000, reduce Dirt tax for savers and increase the thresholds for each category of inheritance tax.

The minister is hoping that by giving a little something to everybody he will win over voters and placate Fianna Fail whose support he needs to pass the Budget.

On the other side, cigarettes will go up by at least 30 cents but there will be no hikes to petrol, diesel or alcohol.

Funding has also been agreed for 1,000 new nurses, 800 gardai and 650 teachers.

Cabinet minister met last night to agree the broad parameters of Budget 2017 - but negotiations involving a number of ministers will go into the weekend.

Read More: When two parties write the Budget, who really owns it?

Mr Noonan is still tweaking his taxation package but is now understood to have accepted that, in order to give something to the so-called squeezed-middle, he will have to cut the three lowest rates of USC.

The 1pc, 3pc and 5.5pc rates will all be reduced by 0.5pc, meaning a worker earning 70,000 will gain around 350 in their annual take-home pay.

A person earning 50,000 will have an extra 260 in their pocket.

On inheritance tax, Mr Noonan has given in to demands from Fianna Fail that threshold changes would go beyond just parents and children.

Read More: First-time buyers' grant will drive supply of 300,000 homes - Coveney

The minister had intended to increase the tax-free threshold for parents passing assets to children from 280,000 to 320,000. However, he will reduce the scale of this increase to around 30,000, leaving some money to also give a pro-rata tax break to other relatives and strangers who are bequeathed property in a will.

The inheritance tax rate of 33pc will remain unchanged.

Sources also confirmed that there will be a small reduction in Dirt, which currently stands at 41pc.

It is understand the money available to the Government may now be slightly larger than the 1bn that has been repeatedly signalled. It is understood the total budget will be just under 58bn.

While most of the tax measures are now tied down in principle, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe is facing into a heavy weekend of meetings with ministers and Fianna Fail.

It had been thought that Mr Noonan would double the Earned Income Tax Credit for self-employed workers, but sources indicated that the increase would be less than 550.

Capital Gains Tax for start-up enterprises will be halved to 10pc on the first 10m of income.

Read More: Varadkar stuns FG with last-ditch benefits plea

There will be no sugar tax or 'Rainy Day Fund' next year - but Mr Noonan is likely to indicate that both are in his plan for 2018.

The allocation for the Department of Health, which is normally problematic, has been finalised with Simon Harris getting a 250m increase on 2016.

As part of this, 10,000 children in receipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance will get a medical card, as demanded by Independent Alliance's Finian McGrath.

However, talks between Fine Gael and the Independent Alliance were adjourned last night without overall agreement.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Mr Donohoe were given a list of demands including an extension of the VAT refund for house refurbishments for a further two years, an expansion of the rural social scheme, a better package for carers, an enhanced sheep grant for next year and a guarantee that the 15m funding for the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) would be spent straight away.
This weekend is crunch time for the remaining Budget talks.

Heres seven key talking points ahead of Michael Noonan and Paschal Donohoes big announcement on Tuesday.

1.The fiscal space may have miraculously grown. Reports suggest therell be up to 200m extra to splash around. The minority Fine Gael-led government has agreed a 2:1 split between spending and tax measures with Fianna Fail. If the amount of cash available is now 1.2bn, that means therell be 800m for new spending in health, education and other services and 400m for tax measures like cutting the Universal Social Charge (USC).

2.Just when will the expected pension increases  as well as a raft of social protection benefit increases sought by minister Leo Varadkar  kick in? Itll cost 150m for a 5-a-week pension increase sought by Fianna Fail. But Mr Varadkar is clear he wants more money for carers and families in poverty as well. Theres a suggestion that the increased payments wont be introduced until the middle of next year to reduce the cost of each hike and allow for a broader cohort of people to benefit. Fianna Fail have said they wont tolerate a six-month delay in a pension increase. Expect this to be one of the key issues thrashed out in the coming days.

3.While older people look set to get a pension increase of some description, whats in the Budget for young people? There looks certain to be a childcare subsidy scheme that will benefit low income families. An expected increase in teachers will help reduce class sizes. The funding of third level institutions has been a major issue lately and Fianna Fail are pushing hard for some Budget measures in this regard. Young couples looking to buy their first home should get a boost from a promised help-to-buy scheme that could be worth up to 20,000. But will there be any houses to buy amid the current shortage?

4.Health minister Simon Harris seems happy with the extra cash hes getting for health. Hes vowed that the health service will balance its books this year, and promises that the extra money hes secured in negotiations will make a tangible difference for patients. Measures to tackle hospital waiting lists have been promised. Well see whats delivered on Tuesday.

5.Watch the Independent ministers over the coming days, particularly those of the Independent Alliance. They are very keen to put their stamp on the Budget to show their supporters the decision to enter government has paid off. Children Minister Katherine Zappone is focused on her childcare plans while Alliance junior minister Finian McGrath wants increased support for people with disabilities. There are seven Independent ministers at junior and senior level and theyll all have to be kept happy or there will be trouble ahead for Taoiseach Enda Kennys government.

6.Finance Minister Michael Noonan is an old hand at Budgets at this stage, but itll be Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoes first outing. He arguably has the tougher job to do this weekend. Sure, hes got most of the cash - as much as 800m  to dole out. But its to be split between several government departments as well as directed to areas that keep the Independents and Fianna Fail onside. Hes got a big job in this government that could lead to a very bright future for the Dublin Central TD. The next 72-odd hours will be crucial to how well hell deliver on his first big test.

7.Most of the old reliables  alcohol, petrol and diesel  seem safe from excise hikes this time around. But with as much as 30c to be slapped on a pack of cigarettes, there make be some stocking up and panic buying among smokers in the coming days. Perhaps itd be a good weekend to decide to quit.
Leo Varadkar stunned his colleagues with a last-ditch bid to secure Budget funding for increased benefits payments.

The Social Protection Minister made the demands, insisting if there is to be an increase in the pension, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people should benefit too.

His remarks came as a surprise to colleagues. One senior Fine Gael figure said: "I don't know what he's playing at."

Mr Varadkar is keen to deliver measures over and above a pension increase of as much as 5-a-week sought by Fianna Fail.

At a press conference, Mr Varadkar said: "It's absolutely crucial that the Budget must include an increase in payments made to people who are under 66 as well".

He said carers, people with disabilities, those on the blind pension, widows under 66, families with children in poverty and people in receipt of illness payments should benefit.

Mr Varadkar said Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe shared his view that groups other than pensioners should gain from the Budget.

It is understood that last night an overall spending figure was agreed.
The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of Slaney Foods and Slaney Proteins by Larry Goodmans ABP Group and Britain's Fane Valley.

The Commission said it had given the green light to the deal after investigating markets for purchasing live cattle, sheep and lambs for slaughter, and the sale of fresh meat and animal by-products. The Commission said the deal would not raise competition concerns.
Hibernia REIT chief Kevin Nowlan has launched a broadside at the Government and local authorities, accusing them of failing to understand the difference between apartments intended for the rental market and ones that "people live in".

Speaking at the Real Estate Stakeholders Debate Brexit summit, of which the Irish Independent and 'Sunday Independent', are media sponsors, at the RDS in Dublin yesterday, Mr Nowlan called for an end to the blanket requirement for dual aspect [views] in apartments.

He also called for the introduction of a wider range of apartment sizes to cater for the differing demands of renters and owner occupiers.

Laying the blame for the deepening housing crisis on the State, he said: "There's some very simple things that could be done but for some reason our local authorities have a difficulty in understanding the difference between rental stock and apartments that people live in. They're different.

"In Ireland, local authorities think there are only one-bed, two-bed and three-bed apartments and that's it.

"If you go to the UK, you'll see the different asset classes they have in terms of flats. They understand it's about usage, about occupancy levels and what people need those units for."

Citing the example of workers in Dublin's docklands, Mr Nowlan added: "The majority of the people who want to live in our docks area are generally younger people who don't spend a lot of time in their apartments.

"They don't need to be protected by dual aspect and 80 sq m [floor areas because they don't spend a lot of time there. We need to understand this and get a little more sophisticated with our residential [planning regulations]".

The Hibernia chief said while there was an "amazing, huge amount of demand for rental stock", government, planners and local authorities have been "unable to engage" with the issue of rent affordability.

"If you look at London, I can build a two-bed apartment and it has to be 61sqm; in Dublin, it's around 80 sq m. In London, I don't pay any VAT on construction; it's zero-rated. And in London, the affordability criteria for what people can afford to rent is higher. So these are the issues we're dealing with."

Mr Nowlan said changes needed to be made to the dual aspect requirement for apartments and that floor area sizes would need to be made "more consistent". The VAT rate on construction would also have to fall to allow for the creation of a stock of "well-managed residential apartment blocks".

"The organisations are there to do it now, I-RES is there, we're interested in it and the pension funds, they won't deliver it, but an organisation like Hibernia could deliver them on and sell them on after making a profit."

In a further criticism, he added: "State land is everywhere and it's not being managed. It needs to be freed up. It's all over the city centre and it's simply being hoarded."

The ongoing shortage of suitable residential accommodation in Dublin was raised by several of the keynote speakers at yesterday's Brexit summit with Colm Lauder of Goodbody's real estate division identifying it as a particular issue for UK firms who may seek to relocate here.

Meanwhile, Sean Mulryan's property firm Ballymore has launched a new business district in Dublin's docklands.

The million square foot development, dubbed Dublin Landings, will include five new office blocks and 273 luxury apartments. Dublin Landings, which will see the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) as its first tenant, is located on North Wall Quay.

Development rights for the 2.35 hectare site were secured by Oxley Docklands Quay Ltd, who have partnered with Mr Mulryan to build the project over the next four years. "The calibre of tenants expressing interest in Dublin Landings is a testament to the quality and scale of the development," Mr Mulryan said.

Construction of the first two blocks is already under way, with the entire lifetime of the project set to create 2,000 construction jobs. Walls Construction has been appointed as main contractor for block one and two.

"We have great confidence in the Dublin market and particularly the central business district. This unique mixed-use site is unlike any other in Dublin and we look forward to working with Ballymore," said Oxley chairman Mr Ching Chiat Kwong.
The Central Bank of Ireland will not appeal against a ruling by that minutes of a historic meetings of the banks board should be released.

Earlier this year the Office of the Information Commissioner found the Central Bank was wrong in its interpretation of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, which had seen it refuse access to some records.

The Central Bank then had the option of accepting or appealing the ruling. Minutes just released of a July meeting of the Commission, or board, that oversees the Central Bank, show members were told that the Bank had decided not to appeal the decision.

Members of the board will be issued with the final records that are now set to be released.
Under pressure banking giant Deutsche Bank helped conceal Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's losses by mismarking a transaction and dozens of others on its own books, according to an audit commissioned by Germany's regulator.

Executives at Deutsche Bank arranged 103 similar deals with a total value of 10.5bn for 30 clients, according to the audit, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg.

The Frankfurt-based lender, Germany's largest, adjusted the accounting of 37 of those trades in 2013, in addition to Monte Paschi's, changing them from loans that had been kept off the books to derivatives, the audit said.

The widespread use of a transaction that's now the subject of a criminal case highlights the lender's appetite for complexity at a time when the bank was expanding its fixed-income empire. While Deutsche Bank has since cut risky assets and eliminated thousands of jobs to bolster capital, mounting legal costs have become a source of increasing concern to investors, driving shares to a record low.

"Very complex deals prevent the market and regulators from properly understanding the state of a bank's balance sheet, inhibiting proper regulatory monitoring and distorting market discipline," said Emilios Avgouleas, a law professor at the University of Edinburgh.

The audit found that while Monte Paschi was the only client that used a transaction to "window dress" its books, Deutsche Bank didn't correctly account for similar deals with banks from Italy to Indonesia made between 2008 and 2010.

The report also said senior executives didn't properly authorise the Monte Paschi trade, dubbed Santorini, or adequately review the transaction after receiving a subpoena from the US Federal Reserve in 2012.

Monte Paschi restated accounts in 2013 after the transactions came to light and further amended results in 2015 at the request of Italy's regulator.

Deutsche Bank's restatement of its side of the deals didn't affect the firm's profits. (Bloomberg)
European shares fell yesterday after EasyJet dropped to its lowest in more than three years, although the beaten-down banking sector rose for the third straight session.

The STOXX 600 index fell 0.4pc after opening in positive territory, extending the previous session's losses, when both shares and bonds were hit by worries that the European Central Bank might wind down the pace of bond-buying before the end of its asset-purchase programme.

EasyJet fell almost 7pc after saying that its annual profit would fall by more than 25pc this year, its first drop since 2009. Shares in Aer Lingus owner IAG, and Ryanair, fell 3.9pc and 1.5pc respectively.

"Despite EasyJet's strong margins... and attractive strategic positioning, we see negative earnings per share momentum as the dominant driver for the shares in the short term," according to analysts at Liberum, who have a 'sell' recommendation on the stock. Ireland's Iseq Overall Index fell 0.4pc to 5,992.65. It was pulled lower by that decline in Ryanair's shares. Other stocks also fell, including property investment firms Green REIT and Hibernia REIT. They were down 4.1pc and 2.5pc respectively. Shares in Permanent TSB were 3.9pc lower at 2.20, while shares in Bank of Ireland rose 2.7pc. Shares in Providence Resources were unchanged yesterday after the company announced that new chairman Pat Plunkett had purchased 1m shares at a price of 0.135.

The UK's FTSE-100 was down 0.4pc. Germany's DAX edged 0.1pc lower and France's CAC-40 was down 0.2pc.

Deutsche Bank rose as much as 2.7pc after reports that Germany was pursuing discreet talks with US authorities to help the lender secure a swift settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage bonds.
Irish-listed Mainstay Medical has begun a clinical trial in the US on a product aimed at stopping chronic lower back pain. The product, Reactiv8, treats back pain using an implantable system.

The clinical trial will gather data before the application for pre-market approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a key step towards selling the product in the US. The company received Europe's 'CE' approval to commercialise the product in May.

Mainstay was floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in 2014, and earlier this year the company announced it had raised 30m in funding through a share placement to fund medical trials and to bring its product to the market. The Reactiv8 stimulation works by sending electrical charges to the lower back after the device has been implanted.
Linn Countys $1.4 billion breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Forestry can move forward as a class action suit, Circuit Court Judge Daniel Murphy ruled this week.

That means nearly 150 taxing districts will have the choice of remaining participants in the lawsuit, or opting out, Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist said.

Litigants were informed of Murphys decision during a status conference call Tuesday, although the order had not been signed as of Thursday afternoon.

Murphy said the class will include Linn County and all other Oregon counties that conveyed forest lands to the State of Oregon pursuant" to state laws.

He also ordered the plaintiffs and defendants to cooperate in the preparation of a proposed notice to class members and to present their proposal to the court.

We believe this means we are headed to a trial in early 2017, Nyquist said. Its a welcome development in our pursuit of the states breach of contract. Most importantly, its important to rural communities all over Oregon.

Nyquist said the affected taxing districts can decide individually whether they want to participate. For example, a county may opt out of the lawsuit, but a fire district within that county may decide to remain a participant.

This is an asset to all of the taxing districts. The elected officials and policy makers have a fiduciary responsibility to all of their citizens to pursue the inherent value of the contract to them, Nyquist said.

In March, Nyquist and fellow commissioners John Lindsey and Will Tucker filed a breach of contract lawsuit seeking $1.4 billion in past and future damages, naming as defendants the Oregon Department of Forestry and the state of Oregon.

The commissioners contend that the state and the Department of Forestry have reduced timber sales on state forests and that those reduced sales have meant a drop in revenue for affected counties and taxing districts.

The lawsuit rests in large part on the definition of "greatest permanent value." When the lands in question were conveyed to the state, state officials said that the lands would be managed for their greatest permanent value. At the time, the counties and other taxing jurisdictions believed that meant they'd be managed for the largest sustainable timber harvest, the lawsuit claims.

Over the years, however, the state has expanded the definition of "greatest permanent value" so that it includes other factors as well, such as wildlife protection, watershed enhancement projects and recreation. As timber sales reduced, the amount of money funneled back to the counties and other taxing districts diminished. The county's lawsuit charges that's a breach of the original contract between the state and the counties.

Starting in the 1930s, the state began taking over mostly cut-over timber lands from counties throughout Oregon, because the previous owners had failed to pay property taxes on them, creating a financial burden for the counties.

Today, the state has more than 700,000 acres of forest lands. Linn County has the Santiam State Forest, which encompasses 47,871 acres. Others are Clatsop State Forest, 136,000 acres in Clatsop and Columbia counties; Elliott State Forest, 93,000 acres in Coos County; Gilchrist State Forest, 70,000 acres in Klamath County; Sun Pass State Forest, 21,317 acres in Klamath County; and Tillamook State Forest, 364,000 acres in Washington County.
The Central Bank's top economist has warned the UK economy will take a hit from the Brexit vote, despite it so far proving resilient.

Gabriel Fagan said no "serious" economist expected the effects to have been felt immediately. "I think it's far too early to say 'don't worry about Brexit, things are fine'," Mr Fagan said.

"We have every reason to expect adverse effects on the UK economy that are in the pipeline."

And that means the uncertainty around the forecast for Ireland are heightened, he said.

The International Monetary Fund this week became the latest forecaster to upgrade its outlook for the UK this year on the back of positive economic data. Recent reports suggest the economy is holding firm, with a report earlier this week showing British manufacturing had its best month in more than two years in September.

"I don't think any serious economist would have thought that the big effects of Brexit would have been seen in the months immediately after the referendum," Mr Fagan said. "There has been a very substantial policy response in the UK, which has mitigated expectations."

In its latest quarterly assessment of the domestic and international economies, the Central Bank downgraded its growth forecast for the Irish economy this year on the back of weaker exports and a slowdown internationally. It said the economy would grow by 4.5pc - 0.4 percentage points lower than it had projected in July.

Its 2017 forecast, which had been downgraded in the wake of the referendum, holds firm at 3.6pc.

Mr Fagan said the forecast for the economy is "relatively favourable", despite the Brexit vote.

"We're seeing a situation where employment over the two years 2016, 2017, is expected to increase by 82,000 jobs and growth in the Irish economy is likely to be more than twice the level that is expected for the euro area," he said.

But he warned the forecasts were subject to a heightened level of uncertainty because of the referendum result. "The economy, despite the improvements that we have seen over recent years, remains vulnerable," he added.

"The level of debt is high, both public and private. We have an economy which is heavily integrated into the global economy, which is then subject to shocks."

Mr Fagan questioned the need for next week's planned 1bn expansionary budget when the economy was growing so strongly, but said the planned figure was within the European fiscal rules.

Davy, meanwhile, said Finance Minister Michael Noonan is likely to take a cautious approach to next week's Budget.

Economist Conall Mac Coille believes September's purchasing managers' indices, which showed a weakening in growth, will influence Mr Noonan's outlook.
Dublin attractive because of route network and lack of travel tax

A RECORD 1.2 million passengers living in Northern Ireland used Dublin Airport last year - 37pc more than did in 2014.

Northern Ireland residents have been taking advantage of Dublin's significant route work as well as the fact there's no air passenger duty levied here any more.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), the semi-state company that controls Dublin and Cork airports, said half of those passengers who used Dublin Airport in 2015 were travelling for their main annual holiday.

An additional 24pc were travelling on a second holiday.

Business travel accounted for 11pc of the trips. The DAA said that 75pc of passengers from the North take a direct flight from Dublin to their final destination, with the remainder making an additional onward connection.

The airport operator said London Heathrow was the most popular destination last year for Northern Ireland residents using Dublin Airport.

New York's JFK, Dubai, Brussels and Paris Charles de Gaulle were also popular destinations.

The DAA noted that 67pc of all passengers who came by air to the island of Ireland last year arrived via Dublin Airport. It added that one million overseas residents travelled to and from the North via Dublin.

Northern Ireland has only one air route to the United States, with United flying from Belfast to Newark.

United had intended to cancel that service last month, but the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to about 10m in funding to keep the route going for at least the next three years.

In 2013, control over air passenger duty (APD) was devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive from London in a previous effort to ensure United retained the Belfast-Newark route, which the airline had then also considered dropping.

Dublin Airport handled just over 25 million passengers last year and is on course to handle more than 27 million this year.

It has secured a number of additional services over the past year.

Aer Lingus has just launched a route between Dublin and Hartford, Connecticut.
UK airline EasyJet expects to shoulder a 90m (102m) currency hit in its latest financial year following the slump in sterling since June's Brexit vote. That's 35m worse than since the day of the referendum.

The airline also expects its pre-tax profit in the financial year that just ended in September to be as much as 29pc below the 686m it made in the previous financial year.

It said its profit in the period just ended will probably be between a range of 490m to 495m. That's up to 3.8pc lower than had been anticipated by Davy Stockbrokers.

"We have been disproportionately affected by extraordinary events this year but our excellent network, cost control and revenue initiatives and our strong balance sheet underpin our confidence in the business," said chief executive Carolyn McCall.

The airline will formally release its financial results for the 12 months ended in September, next month.

EasyJet's trading update dragged shares in other airlines including Ryanair lower. EasyJet's owns shares fell as much as 7pc.

Shares in Ryanair, which sees about one-third of its annual 116 million passengers fly in and out of the UK, were down over 2pc at one stage before recovering slightly later.

EasyJet said that its passenger numbers for the three months to the end of September were a record 22 million, with a strong load factor of 93.9pc. The load factor represents the number of available seats that it filled.

It added that revenue per seat fell 8.7pc in the period compared to a year earlier, as flyers benefited from cheaper tickets.

The airline said it had "performed strongly" in a difficult operating environment for all European airlines.

It said that it had been hit by exchange rate fluctuations impacting holiday travel costs, dented demand because of terrorist attacks, and the low fuel cost resulting in increased market capacity.

Airlines pay for fuel in US dollars, making it more expensive for carriers that work with pounds or euro.

But the price of fuel has declined, and even with the currency hit, EasyJet said its fuel bill in second half of the year that ended on September 30 will be between 75m and 80m lower than in the second half of the previous financial year.

EasyJet also pays huge chunks of its landing fees and air traffic control fees in euro, making those services more expensive.

The airline insisted that it continues to see the current market environment as an "opportunity to build and strengthen its strategic position for the long term".

"The current environment is tough for all airlines, but history shows that at times like this the strongest airlines become stronger," said Ms McCall.
Six people are now under criminal investigation in relation to Nama's controversial Project Eagle sale.

Bribery, fraud and corruption are among possible offences being probed, the director general of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA), Lynne Owens has said.

The NCA's investigation of the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland loan book began in 2015. Two men were arrested earlier this year.

Ms Owens told the BBC that more than 40 witnesses have been interviewed and eight properties searched, adding: "Our inquiries continue."

Separately, in Dublin, Finance Minister Michael Noonan was quizzed on his knowledge of Project Eagle by TDs at the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

It is examining a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) that found Nama made a probable loss of 190m (223m) in the sale. Nama rejected the findings.

Mr Noonan insisted that there was no pressure put on Nama by politicians, North or South, to accelerate the 1.6bn deal.

He said there was pressure from the European Central Bank for Nama to expedite sales, though not specifically in relation to Project Eagle.

He said the ECB wanted Nama to offload its portfolios to improve the position of Irish banks. Mr Noonan also said "it hasn't been proven" that Nama made a loss in the Project Eagle deal, seemingly at odds with the C&AG's report.

He said he had "an open mind" on whether a loss was made and told the PAC he was waiting for its decision on the matter.

Senior Finance Department official Anne Nolan raised further questions about the C&AG report, saying the department is "closer" to Nama's view on the 10-15pc discount rate used on the Project Eagle sale. The C&AG report questioned why the agency didn't use a 5.5pc rate.

Mr Noonan acknowledged that Nama and the C&AG have "differing opinions and positions" but he has "full confidence" in both.

One bidder for the Project Eagle portfolio, Pimco, withdrew from the sale after it learned that former Nama adviser Frank Cushnahan (inset) was allegedly among those in line for a success fee if the sale went ahead.

Mr Noonan rejected suggestions he should have stopped the sale, saying there was "no legal basis" for him to do so.

He said the agency believed there was still "sufficient competitive tension" for the sale to go ahead. Mr Cushnahan was previously named under Dail privilege as one the two men arrested by the NCA. He has denied any wrongdoing.
State-owned AIB is to cut up to 150 jobs in branches across the country, while the biggest bank sector union fears further cuts at Ulster Bank.

AIB said that planned job cuts in its retail and business banking network would not lead to branch closures or reduced operating hours. The job losses would be voluntary, a spokeswoman for the bank said.

"There are no compulsory redundancies. There is an opportunity for a limited number of staff to avail of voluntary severance and therefore we have decided to open a programme now. There are no branch closures or reductions in hours associated with this change."

The Financial Services Union (FSU) said it had secured terms with the bank to ensure any job losses would be on a voluntary basis. It said severance pay would in line with so-called 'Foley' terms which guaranteed a minimum of four weeks' pay per each year of service.

The bank said the severance deal would be offered only to staff with at least 15 years' service with AIB.

Workload

AIB had shed around 1,500 roles since 2012 through outsourcing, job cuts and redeployments, the union said.

Billy Barrett, senior industrial relations officer with the FSU, said it had sought assurances the redundancies would not add to the "workload and stress" on remaining staff.

Meanwhile, the FSU said it was concerned that Ulster Bank is seeking to reduce costs here.

That was in response to an Irish Independent interview with Ross McEwan, chief executive of Ulster Bank's parent RBS - who said costs at the Irish bank are too high.

"The FSU is concerned about these comments from the chief executive in advance of a forthcoming meeting with him."

It said the bank should focus on growing the business, rather than cuts.

"Ulster Bank staff have seen hundreds of jobs cut over the last number of years and staffing is a critical concern for us and customers. The bank should focus more on growth and engagement with staff and customers rather than a short-term cuts agenda," FSU spokesman Gareth Murphy said.
Snapchat's parent company is working on a stock market listing that could value the virtual messaging company at up to $25bn.

The four-year old Californian business has soared in popularity with celebrities for allowing users to send disappearing messages from their smart phones.

The company has claimed that it is more popular with millennials than the average TV programme.

Snap Inc, Snapchat's parent, is reportedly starting to prepare for an initial public offering with a view to selling shares as soon as March, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

If a flotation was successful, it would be the biggest US listing since when Chinese online giant Alibaba debuted with a $168m valuation.

A $25bn valuation for Snap would also a significant premium to a recent $17.8bn funding round in May.

A Snapchat spokesman said: "We aren't commenting on rumors or speculation about any financing plans."

The company was co-founded by Evan Spiegel, who has been valued at $2.1bn by Forbes, and recently got engaged to model Miranda Kerr.

Snapchat, which has 150 million users, has expanded its features to include instant messaging, the ability to send pictures taken earlier, and a news section. It is also working on its first hardware product - augmented reality glasses that could be similar to Google Glass.

It is the latest innovation by the company which in July launched a new section called Memories.

The section was designed to automatically store pictures, videos and stories which users could revisit and re-edit later.

One of Snapchat's most famous features is a "face swap", which allows users to transpose faces and objects, as used by Lewis Hamilton in a Formula One press conference on Thursday.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
He said "you and everyone you know are dead" when warning about what the hurricane has in store Credit: Fox News

A Fox News anchor made startling predictions about Hurricane Matthew on Thursday afternoon.

Popular presenter Shep Smith used strong words to implore Florida residents to evacuate before disaster strikes.

He said: "This moves 20 miles to the west, and you and everyone you know are dead  all of you  because you can't survive it. It's not possible unless you're very, very lucky.

"And your kids die, too."

His matter-of-fact statements and deadpan delivery caused the segment to spread far and wide on social media.

Mr Smith also spoke to a Floridian woman who didn't want to leave her home.

He said: "I'll ask her why she's staying, and if she expects us to cover her funeral".

President Obama has declared a state of emergency over the storm.

"This storm is a monster," declared Florida's Governor Rick Scott. "I want everybody to survive this. We can rebuild homes. We can rebuild businesses... We can't rebuild a life."

Hurricane specialist Bryan Norcorss has also warned Hurricane Matthew is "like no storm in the record books."

On the Weather Channel, he said: "We are concerned about reports of people deciding to stay in areas under mandatory evacuation orders. This is a mistake.

Video of the Day

"This is not hype. This is not hyperbole, and I am not kidding. I cannot overstate the danger of this storm."

After cutting a deadly swath across the Caribbean and leaving at least 283 dead in Haiti, up to 339 according to Reuters, the Category Four storm was to crash up against the southeastern United States early on Friday.

Over the course of the day it will scour its way up a 600 mile (965 km) strip of coast from Boca Raton in Florida to just north of Charleston, South Carolina, driving seawater and heavy rain inland.

Evacuation orders were issued for areas covering at least three million residents and major cities like Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah, Georgia lay in the path of the terrible storm.

Daytona Beach imposed a curfew that was to last until dawn on Saturday, and President Barack Obama declared emergencies in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, promising federal aid.

Curfews have also been announced in areas that are likely to be hit hard by the storm.

A day-long curfew has been declared in Daytona Beach in the interests of public safety.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
The schoolmates of tragic Katie Murphy (16) who was killed in a car crash on Wednesday heard that a beautiful life was cut short.

The principal of St Angelas in Waterford, Edel Connolly, yesterday told her school friends that Katie (16) was a wonderful young woman.

We acknowledge the thousands of young women who have passed through the gates full of hope an confidence. Full of an ability to face the World.

And though today is about all of that, it is also about a wonderful young woman, our own Katie Murphy. Our Fifth Year, who God has seen fit to take to his side.

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And today, in the marking of our 200 years of achievement, we are also marking a beautiful life cut short.

Katie Murphy (16) was killed in a single vehicle crash on Wednesday evening near the entrance to the Carrigeenlea estate on the Cliff Road in Tramore.

The male driver of the car (17) escaped with minor injuries, while two others, a boy and a girl also aged 17, were seriously injured when the car collided side-on with a wall.

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Katie, of Castlewoods estate at Ballinamona between Waterford city and Tramore, will be laid to rest tomorrow.

Expand Close Katie Murphy (16) was killed in a car crash last night / Facebook

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Bishop of Waterford Alphonsus Phonsie Cullinan sympathised with the hundreds  including students, parents and teaching staff  at the Sacred Heart Church in the Folly yesterday.

He added: We gather in sadness because we pray for Katie.

So its an opportunity for all of us to pray for her. Im offering this Mass for all of you, conscious that the Lord is with you, that the Lord loves you, that the Lord wants to Bless you.

Requiem Mass for Katie takes place at the church tomorrow at 2.30pm. She will be cremated in a private ceremony thereafter.
Oct. 23, 1939  Oct. 5, 2016

Karen A. Berner, 76, of Lebanon went to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at Bridgecreek Memory Care.

Karen was born Oct. 23, 1939, in Portland, the daughter of Waldo and Marian (Woodworth) Mattoon. She has resided in the Lebanon area for over 20 years.

She is survived by her husband, Larry of Lebanon; daughter Pamela George of Albuquerque, New Mexico; son Jeff Berry of Dallas; two sisters, Marylin and Joyce; six grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A private family gathering will be held.

Huston-Jost Funeral Home is in care of arrangements.
An anti-war protestor who daubed blood-red paint on the constituency office of Taoiseach Enda Kenny was being questioned by gardai last night.

The Co Mayo woman in her 50s was detained at Mr Kenny's office at 10am yesterday.

The woman had earlier spoken with staff at the office on Tucker Street in Castlebar about her concerns at the ongoing civil war in Syria and the bombing of eastern Aleppo.

The constituent had complained that the Government hadn't done enough to speak out against regime atrocities in Syria.

Gardai were called when red paint hand-prints were daubed outside the office.

The phrases 'How many more children' and 'Represent me' were also painted on the outside walls of the office.

Staff called gardai after pleas to the woman to stop the vandalism failed.

A Garda spokesman confirmed a woman in her 50s was arrested in Castlebar and was being questioned at the town's garda station.
BAM sought a High Court review of the NTMA's decision to award the contract to Eriugena (Stock Picture)

The Irish arm of Dutch construction giant BAM said a High Court decision not to review the tender process for the Dublin Institute of Technology campus at Grangegorman "must raise concerns" for the construction sector.

BAM had claimed it was the only group to submit a complete tender for the Grangegorman public-private partnership project on time.

However, the contract was awarded by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) and the Minister for Education to a consortium called Eriugena in March 2015. That consortium includes Macquarie Capital Group, John Sisk & Sons and FCC Construction (Ireland), and Sodexo Ireland.

BAM sought a High Court review of the NTMA's decision to award the contract to Eriugena. But yesterday, the High Court rejected the request. The project will see about 20,000 DIT staff and student relocated to the campus from 39 different locations across Dublin.
Judge Linnane said there was a total lack of interest by both parties in the proceedings (Stock picture)

A couple has not paid a penny off the 1.2 million debt on their home in the plush Dublin suburb of Mount Merrion for the past two years, the Circuit Civil Court has heard.

Barrister John Donnelly, counsel for Ulster Bank Ireland Ltd, told Judge Jacqueline Linnane that Niall and Evelyn Shanahan had shown no interest in engaging with the bank or the court in proceedings to repossess their home.

Mr Donnelly, who appeared with Hugh J Ward and Co Solicitors for the bank, told the court the balance due on the mortgage on Woodley, Fosters Avenue, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin, was just under 1.2 million.

He said arrears on repayments alone totalled 357,000 and the last payment made on the property was on October 20, 2014.

Dara O'Loghlin, a solicitor with Hugh J Ward, told the court the property was the principal private residence of the defendants and as such came within the jurisdiction of the court.

Mr Donnelly told the court that the bank had managed to serve Mrs Shanahan with the proceedings but it appeared Mr Shanahan was currently residing in the UK.

He said Mr Shanahan was aware of the proceedings before the court but had not been taking any active part. It appeared there was an estrangement between the two defendants.

Judge Linnane said there was a total lack of interest by both parties in the proceedings and neither had appeared in court nor had any representation been made on their behalf.

"Obviously they have absolutely no interest in this debt," Judge Linnane said.

The judge adjourned the proceedings until November 24 and told the bank it could bring a motion on November 1 to seek an order for substituted service against Mr Shanahan.
Independent TD Shane Ross wrote an article after former Rehab CEO Angela Kerins and other Rehab officials appeared before the Dail Public Accounts Committee asserting, "for sheer neck, noone has come within a whisper of Angela Kerins and her charity gang", the High Court has been told.

John Rogers SC, for Ms Kerins, said Deputy Ross was then a member of the PAC and the tone of his March 2014 article in the Sunday Independent "plainly indicates" a state of mind adverse to Ms Kerins, Rehab and other persons mentioned in it, including another former Rehab CEO, Frank Flannery.

He was making final arguments at the conclusion of a hearing before a three judge High Court concerning whether the PAC had jurisdiction to conduct two hearings on February 27th and April 2014 concerning public payments to Rehab as it had.

The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, with Mr Justice Seamus Noonan and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, said they had "a great deal to consider" and would give judgment at a later date.

Ms Kerins claims the two PAC hearings amounted to an unlawful witchhunt against her outside the PACs jurisdiction and she wants damages on grounds including alleged personal injury, loss of reputation and loss of career.

She claims she was so overwhelmed by what happened at the February 27th hearing she later attempted to take her life and could not attend the April 10th hearing.

The PAC argues it had jurisdiction to conduct the hearings as it did and is entitled to scrutinise how public funds are spent in a context including some 80m public monies being paid annually to Rehab companies.

On Friday, Mr Rogers said the March 2014 article by Deputy Ross referred to the Rehab witnesses appearing before the PAC on February 27th and alleged the Committee was given the "two-finger treatment" with "key questions" left unanswered, including concerning Ms Kerins' "astronomical" 240,000 salary and "chunky bonuses" in the past. This was a member of the PAC discussing its business in public through his newspaper column, counsel said.

Mr Justice Kelly remarked it was "hardly a discussion" and Deputy Ross was "expressing trenchant views".

Mr Rogers said PAC was by this stage "wholly out of control" and its business was being discussed by one of its members in public when there was no recourse.

When Mr Justice Kelly remarked there was the option of a defamation action, Mr Rogers argeud there was no recourse in the context of the process of the Committtee.

Counsel also said the PAC Chairman, Indpendent TD John McGuinness, had written an article in the Irish Sun dealing with what Mr McGuinness regarded as Ms Kerins' "refusal" to appear again before the PAC.

He further argued Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald was permitted by the Chairman to "forcefully" pursue Rehab witnesses at the April 10th hearing to get them to "condemn" Ms Kerins in her absence.

When the two hearings were examined, it was difficult to see any process involving any restraint, there was a "free for all" and a "wholesale failure" to comply with constitutional justice, he said.

At the heart of this case was Ms Kerins' good name but nothing was done to protect her and it seemed there was an "animus" towards her, counsel said. Ms Kerins had "done some good", steered Rehab through the financial crisis between 2008 and 2014, and brought it to a point where it was providing high quality services and creating jobs. The Rehab witnesses had described her as successful but that "counted for nought" and was "rubbed out" by the PAC.

In a brief response, Paul Gallagher SC, for the PAC, rejected arguments the Committee failed to apply the appropriate legal protections for hearings before it. The privilege accorded by the Constitution to "utterances" in the Oireachtas was of "prime imnprtance" in this case, he added.
A convicted killer who began eating his own faeces after he was arrested for trying to attack an officer at a Dublin garda station will be sentenced in January.

Mark Bissett's "bizarre behaviour" happened when he turned violent during a drink and drug-fuelled outburst at Store Street Garda Station.

Judge Bryan Smyth adjourned sentencing at Dublin District Court to let him complete a residential drug rehabilitation programme.

Homeless

The court heard more evidence yesterday on other assault, public order and criminal damage offences committed by the then homeless Bissett between February and April.

Bissett (31), of Loughlinstown Park, Loughlinstown, was jailed for six years in 2005 for killing his uncle, David Sutherland, in December 2003.

Mr Sutherland (54), of Ballybrack, was beaten and kicked to death in a drunken row following an accusation by Bissett that he had killed his aunt.

His case at the district court resumed yesterday when Judge Smyth heard that highly intoxicated Bissett attacked a foreign shop worker at a Spar on South Richmond Street in Dublin.

He acted in a threatening manner and told the victim: "Why don't you go home, you f***ing P*** b******". Bissett punched the man in the head and stomach.

He was arrested after a row with a shop security guard on a date in February and on April 11 he broke a window at a garda station.

He was homeless, and because "he had nowhere to go" he wanted to be arrested.

Bissett has also pleaded guilty to breach of the peace, being intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself and others, criminal damage and violent behaviour at Store Street Garda station last March.

Gda James Seymour gave evidence earlier that Bissett, who has 47 prior criminal convictions, was acting aggressively at the front counter in the station.

Assault

The father-of-three tried to assault the sergeant in charge and struck Gda Seymour and his colleagues.

Bissett defecated in a cell and "consumed his own faeces", causing a health hazard and damage to cell walls which were covered with excrement.

Defence counsel Emmet Nolan said Bissett had been using hostels from the age of 15 and became addicted to benzodiazepine and alcohol.

However, he pointed out that he will be able to spend three months in a residential treatment centre for his addiction issues and will pay for the damage in the cell.
A man caught with thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting sexual violence, torture and cruelty has been given a four year sentence with the final six months suspended.

Marcin Wojciechowicz (34) was caught after he accidentally left a USB memory key containing some of the material as well as a CV in his name in a co-worker's van.

Gardai were alerted and during the course of the investigation found over 16,000 images and 300 videos classified as child pornography on his USB stick, mobile phone and laptop.

Prior to evidence in the case first commencing last July, prosecutor Elva Duffy BL, had warned those present in court that the evidence would be sensitive and distressing.

Wojciechowicz, with a former address at a hostel on Gardiner Street, Dublin has been in custody since his arrest. He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on a mobile phone on June 2, 2015.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard over 700 of the images on the laptop were at the highest level possible depicting sadism and cruelty to young children, including toddlers and infants.

Wojciechowicz told gardai that he was an investigator trying to catch paedophiles and must have downloaded the images accidentally. He also initially claimed that gardai had planted the images.

The maximum sentence for possession of child pornography is five years and applies to cases of extreme volume and content, where there are also aggravating factors and an absence of mitigation.

Judge Melanie Greally noted that Wojciechowicz had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2010 but since his arrest he had responded well to medication and was now stable. She said he had been assessed as at moderate to high risk of re-offending.

Judge Greally said she believed this case fell into the lower end of the upper range of the spectrum.

She noted the volume of items containing sexual violence, sadism and cruelty to children.

Judge Greally imposed a sentence of four years with the final six months suspended taking into account his plea of guilty, lack of previous convictions and his psychiatric history.

She ordered that he continue to avail of psychiatric services and take his medication. She said that post release he had to engage with local psychiatric services in Poland for a period of one year. She ordered he give written details of the arrangements before being released.

Judge Greally ordered he be subject to the requirements of the sex offenders register.
A man who is alleged to have raped a female friend after a night out admitted to gardai that he may have had sex with her while he was sleeping.

I've a sleep-walking history  yes it is a possible, I don't remember what happened, he told officers when asked if he had sex with the woman.

I think she thought we may have had sex, I don't remember doing it. That's the God honest truth, I don't remember having sex with her, I just woke up, the now 29-year-old man said.

He said he was in a semi-conscious state and claimed he would never have unprotected sex.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of raping the woman at an apartment in Dublin in the early hours of September 28, 2008.

Anne Rowland BL, prosecuting read the accused's memo of interview with gardai to the jury, in which he admitted that his then girlfriend would often wake up to him grinding his crotch against her.

He told gardai she would always wake up and stop it before it got too serious. He added that this had happened up to 40 times with his girlfriend and sometimes more than once a night.

The man also told gardai that he was once sleeping with a number of friends side by side on mattresses and he was told the following morning that he had been trying to inappropriately touch another girl during the night.

He also admitted to once waking up and finding he had been kissing the complainant's sister, while on another occasion he said he was also kissing a different girl in his sleep.

He told gardai that he and the complainant were very good friends but they were never boyfriend and girlfriend and he never experienced sexual feelings towards her.

She was a great girl and we got on well together. I was happy to have such a great friend, the man said during interview.

The man told gardai that on the night of the alleged rape he woke up to the complainant asking him was he wearing a condom. He said he was lying across the woman with his left leg over her.

I have a dull perception of what was going on. I think I was trying to initiate sex with her but my memory is hazy, the accused said in interview.

He said he also recalled the complainant talking about having to get the pill and him replying subconsciously: It's ok you won't have to get it, if you do I will go with you.

In a second interview when asked by gardai if he denied raping his friend, the accused replied I don't know because I was asleep. I believe there is a possibility that it didn't happen. I can't know what happened in my sleep.

When asked why he had texted his friend in the days after the alleged incident that he felt guilty he replied She told me I had raped her and I believed her.

I don't remember having sex with her, if I did I was asleep, he continued.

An investigating garda agreed with Anne-Marie Lawlor BL, defending that her client had no previous convictions and had never come to garda attention.

He accepted that the accused had always been polite, respectful and co-operative.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of eight men and four women.
University Hospital Waterford has apologised to the parents of a 6-year old boy left brain damaged just before his second birthday after the High Court heard there was a "profound misdiagnosis " of his chicken pox infection.

Eoghan Keating, who cannot talk and is tetraplegic today, settled his action against the HSE for 2.5m. His counsel told the High Court there was a misdiagnosis with mumps when he had infectious chicken pox. The boy later suffered a brain injury of the most profound kind, Liam Reidy SC said.

The hospital's general manager Richard Dooley read a statement to the High Court and apologised on behalf of the management and staff for "the deficiencies in the care provided to Eoghan at the hosptial on August 24, 2012."

"I would also like to acknowlege the many challenges that you and your family have faced as a result of the treatment afforded to Eoghan," he said.

He added:

"I do not underestimate how traumatic this has been for you and we are truly sorry for the distress this has caused to you and to Eoghan."

Eoghan Keating, Upper Dunhill, Co Waterford had, through his mother Martina Keating, sued the HSE over the care he received when he was brought to the A&E of Waterford Regional Hospital on August 24, 2012 with a rash and a high temperature.

The baby had a high fever was irrtitable and crying and it it was claimed his parents were advised Eoghan had mumps. It was noted he had a rash all over his body especially his abdomen and a diagnosis of chickenpox with mumps was then made.

It is claimed the management plan was to discharge Eoghan for him to take ibuprofen and Calpol and for his parents to contact the hosptial if concerned.

That night it is claimed a swelling in the baby's neck increased and he was lethargic and his parents rang the hospital and were told Eoghan had mumps. When they called again they were advised to contact the caredoc GP service.

The caredoc service advised that the swelling was very serious and Eoghan was brought back to Waterford Regional Hosptial. At the hospital the boy was intubated and ventilated and he was later transferred to a Dublin hospital.

It was claimed there was a failure to admit Eoghan at Waterford Regional Hospital and to treat him intravenously with an antibiotic when he first presented and an alleged failure to heed the indicators of a significant evolving infection.

Eoghan's mother Martina told the court that before he became seriously ill, they had so many hopes and dreams for him.

"He was an energetic, fun loving toddler and very sociable and he loved nothing more than giving hugs to everyone. It would have meant everything to us to see him grow into a young man, fall in love and eventually form a loving family of his own. Unfortunately for Eoghan this now not to be," she said.

She added: "We grieve every day for the life Eoghan has lost but we know we are blessed to still have him with us."

Calling Eoghan their "little warriior" she said there is now no singing of nursery rhymes or dancing in the kitchen with his sister like there once was and he cannot reach out his arms to give hugs anymore.

"We get a turn of his head in recognition of our voices on a good day and on a very good day when there is no discomfort we get a smile which is so very precious, but we do miss the sound of his little laugh," she told Mr Justice Kevin Cross.

She said they would return the settlement "if it would miraculously enable Eoghan to be pain free and carefree like he once was.

Approving the settlement Mr Justice Kevin Cross told the Keatings "your suffering cannot be described or defined". The case will come back before the court in two years time when another aspect of Eoghan's case will be assessed. The court hear that an action for nervous shock by Eogan's patents is also in the pipeline.

Outside court, Eoghan's Dad, Larry urged the Government and those in management to help all children with chronic, life limiting conditions.

"These children are the real heroes who battle, through their parents for the most basic of needs on a daily basis. They deserve so much better than what is currently available," he said.
The most contentious issue on the state ballot this November is Measure 97, the proposed sales tax on certain Oregon corporations.

For Oregon residents, it's also the most important measure on the ballot, which explains the ferocity of the election debate being waged over it. What's remarkable, however, is how little that debate has progressed since its earliest days: The basic elements of the cases for and against the measure essentially have remained the same since the debate began many months ago.

In our view, the case against Measure 97 is considerably stronger than the case for it. The Democrat-Herald recommends a "no" vote on the measure.

First, a brief review: Measure 97 would impose a 2.5 percent tax on gross sales above $25 million for so-called "C" corporations in Oregon. (A C corporation, by the way, is an IRS designation for a business that pays its own taxes.) If approved, the measure would go into effect on Jan. 1. It's estimated that the tax would raise about $3 billion a year.

Supporters say that the money would be spent on underfunded state functions such as K-12 education, health care and services for seniors.

There's no question that the money would be useful: Recent estimates from budget officials suggest that the state is facing a shortfall of more than $1.5 billion for the two-year budget cycle beginning next July 1.

But Measure 97 isn't the way to go about filling that hole, and it's certainly no substitute for the substantive tax reform that Oregon desperately needs.

Here are the key points against Measure 97:

 Although the measure specifies the areas where the money will be spent, the Legislature is not bound to follow those instructions. Supporters say that the vast majority of state money is spent on those areas, so it stands to reason that Measure 97 money will go to those areas as well. But there's nothing to stop legislators from deciding to spend the money in other areas  perhaps even to help plug the state's growing public pension shortfall.

 It's still an open question how much the tax will cost Oregon consumers, but it seems certain that you'll pay something. Measure supporters point to studies saying that big corporations such as Kroger use multistate pricing models that help keep costs down, even in states that have this type of tax. But not every corporation has the ability to absorb a higher tax bill, and common sense says that any business that's able to pass the tax along to consumers will do so. A report from the state's Legislative Revenue Office estimated the cost at about $600 per household per year, although measure proponents have bitterly disputed that figure.

 The measure taxes gross sales, not profits, so a business that lost money in any given year still would be on the hook for the tax. This gives even more ammunition to those who argue that Oregon is becoming increasingly hostile to business.

 There's general agreement that the measure would slow job growth in Oregon's private sector, while giving a boost to public sector employment. It's worth remembering that the state's economic recovery has been driven by private sector employment.

Measure 97 is on the ballot in part because of widespread and long-running frustration over the failure of the state's leaders to even entertain thoughts of reforming Oregon's tax structure. The measure does nothing to address that failure. And don't be fooled: The idea of sticking it to Comcast and other big businesses does not qualify as serious tax reform. (mm)
A woman who was trapped in a shopping centre lift for just over four and-a-half minutes has been awarded 25,060 by the High Court.

Mother-of-three Marie Dicker (54), a department store supervisor, suffered a direct psychiatric injury as a result of the incident which led to the resurfacing of childhood claustrophobia she had suffered from, Mr Justice Anthony Barr said.

She sued the Square Management Ltd and Pickerings Lifts Ltd over the incident at the Square shopping centre, Tallaght, Dublin, on Auagust 31, 2012.

Ms Dicker, of Cherryfield Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, told the court she felt like she had been trapped for 20 minutes but an CCTV recording inside the lift showed she was there for four minutes and 35 seconds.

The court heard she was out shopping with her young son when they got into the lift to go down to the ground floor.

When it stopped after moving a short distance, she pushed the button to open the doors but they remained closed.

She said she pressed the alarm bell but nobody responded on the intercom. She banged on the door and shouted but no-one appeared to hear her.

She rang he husband who suggested she ring 999. While doing so, a member of the centre security staff managed to open the doors and she and her son got out.

She said she was not treated very well at the Square's customer service desk. She was given lunch vouchers to use in the centre and told she would be contacted but said she was not.

She was upset and distressed partly due to the fact that she had, as a child, suffered from claustrophobia.

Subsequently, she was not able to go into rooms without leaving the door open. She could not go into fitting rooms in shops as she could not bear to have the door closed.

In public toilets, she had to prop her handbag against the door rather than lock it for fear if she did it would not open again.

She was unable to travel in lifts at all and would have to be near the exit in any room she entered.

She came under the care of a psychologist who found she still suffered from anxiety, claustrophobia and panic attacks related to the elevator incident. She was also diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, mixed anxiety and depressed mood.

She participated in cognitive behaviour therapy and has responded well to the regime which is expected to continue for another 12-18 months.

A psychiatrist for the defendants told the court he did not find any symptoms of anxiety when he saw her.

Mr Justice Barr said he was satisfied she suffered a psychiatric injury as a direct result of being trapped in the lift.

"The extent of the injury was somewhat out of the norm, due to the fact the plaintiff had suffered from claustrophobia as a child," he said.
Dublin Bus passengers are safe from the threat of strikes next week after workers backed a 11.25pc pay rise.

If the deal had been rejected, commuters faced further work stoppages on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week followed by stoppages on October 18, 19, 24, 26, and 29.

The over 3,000 strong workforce at the semi-state company are now in line for a 3.75pc pay rise each year for the next three years.

The deal is just 0.5pc short of the increase given to Luas drivers following a series of rolling work stoppages earlier this year.

All seven grades of workers represented by Siptu backed a deal brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission in majorities between 70pc and 90pc.

The vote among bus drivers was tightest, with a 58pc vote in favour of the proposals.

And the largest frontline union at the semi-state company, the Nbru, accepted the proposal by a 79pc majority.

There were fears that the deal could be jeopardised during the week when an anonymous group called Dublin Bus United distributed literature advocating a no vote.

Nbru General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said that despite reservations on some of the issues in the proposals, members had accepted the deal brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission.

In doing so our members have once again demonstrated that it is their desire to continue to provide a public bus transport service to the citizens of our capital city despite the lack of support in by the state in providing sufficient subvention, he said.

He said his union will now concentrate its focus on pay rises for staff at Bus EIreann and Irish Rail.

Siptu Transport, Energy, Aviation and Construction Division Organiser, Owen Reidy, said Siptu would also continue its efforts to reclaim lost ground and achieve decent pay rises for workers in the rest of the CIE companies and beyond.

In this, we will be building on the achievements of the Luas and Dublin Bus pay deals, he said.
The extension of free GP care to 200,000 children between the ages of six and 12 at the end of the year has been thrown into serious doubt.

Former Health Minister Leo Varadkar announced in 2015 that GP visit cards would be given to this age group from around October this year.

However, Dr Padraig McGarry, spokesman for GPs in the Irish Medical Organisation, said this was always contingent on agreeing a new contract for GPs involved in the wider medical card scheme.

But the negotiations on this contract have not begun - and no date has been given for their commencement, he said.

GPs already provide free visits to 270,000 children under six, following the start of the scheme in mid-2015.

It led to a surge in visits over the winter, leaving many GP surgeries struggling to cope.

Dr McGarry said that GPs made it clear last year that they would not take on another group of older children unless there was a new contract agreed.

"We don't take on unresourced work," he added.

He said as a union it does not support giving free GP care to patients based on age rather than income and medical need.

A new contract is needed for a modern medical card scheme and other State services delivered by family doctors.

Health Minister Simon Harris has previously indicated the other GP organisation, the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), will be involved in the contract talks.

However, Dr McGarry said there is no mandate from the IMO to be involved in negotiations with the NAGP.

Turf

A potential turf war between the two doctors' organisations could also delay the start of these talks.

Around 10m was allocated in last year's Budget to provide free GP visits to children aged six to 12 years.

However, at that point it was envisaged that the new medical card contract would be finalised by summer 2016.

The delay is yet another setback in the promise to deliver universal healthcare to the public .

Dr McGarry yesterday called on the Government to keep its pledge to begin the phased reduction in the prescription charge for medical card holders.

He expressed disappointment at reports that this will not go ahead in this Budget.

He warned the 2.50 per item charge is causing some medical card holders financial hardship to the point where they are rationing medicines with serious implications for their medical conditions.

The organisation wants the Budget to increase tobacco prices by 1, generating around 135m for the Exchequer.

Around 15pc of our overall health spending is currently financed through out-of -pocket payments.

Even when these are low, it has been found they deter patients from treatment - which can lead to delayed diagnosis and increased chance of ending up in an overcrowded hospital.
Hospitals face mayhem this winter as nurses ballot for industrial action - forcing beds to close as the trolley crisis and overcrowding are at their worst.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) announced yesterday it will ballot members across the country in the coming weeks, insisting it is the only response left for a workforce "broken" by the daily pressures of under-staffed wards.

INMO general secretary Liam Doran said it would mean nurses who are on short-staffed units would refuse to be redeployed and only provide cover for a safe number of beds.

"That means closure of beds and also in the community the curtailment of services by public health nurses who will not provide cross-cover," he warned.

The action would come as hospitals are flooded with an influx of patients, many of them elderly, with winter-related illnesses and chronic illnesses.

The health service has lost thousands of nurses since 2008 and the numbers have fallen again by 350 since last December, he said.

A recruitment campaign for Irish nurses in the UK to return to Ireland attracted only 88 home and 48 of these have since left.

INMO president Martina Harkin-Kelly said nurses are facing "intolerable stress levels" which can "no longer be ignored".

The ballot - which it is predicted will be passed by majority - is expected to lead to inevitable industrial action as hospitals have struggled and failed to recruit and retain enough staff.

The nurses also want the reversal of pay cuts and pension levies, imposed during the recession, to be accelerated along with a cut in the longer working week imposed under the Lansdowne Rd and previous agreements.

One nurse who gave anonymous testimony of the financial hardship she faces said she has to go the St Vincent de Paul for food vouchers to feed her family and faces eviction due to rent arrears as her husband cannot work.

Another nurse said she is 43 years old but her parents must come to her rescue to pay for her children's school and the cost of heating her home.

Commenting on the nurses' threat, Dr Peadar Gilligan, an emergency consultant in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, said yesterday it is "anti-patient".

He said if it leads to bed closures it will cause greater patient risk.

"I would be concerned they would even put that proposal to their members. The alternative to putting one additional patient from the emergency department in a ward is for more patients to be boarded in the emergency department.

"This will lead to huge overcrowding and compromise the delivery of care.

"If the union takes the action and it applies to the emergency department setting, what happens to the patients?" he asked.

Dr Gilligan, spokesman for consultants in the Irish Medical Organisation, was speaking as the union launched its pre-Budget submission.
The scene of the crash at Carrigeenlea, Tramore, Co. Waterford today. PIC Colin O'Riordan

The scene of the crash at Carrigeenlea, Tramore, Co. Waterford . PIC Colin O'Riordan

The scene of the crash at Carrigeenlea, Tramore, Co. Waterford today. PIC Colin O'Riordan

The scene of the crash at Carrigeenlea, Tramore, Co. Waterford today. PIC Colin O Riordan

A car is removed from the scene of the crash in which Katie Murphy died. Photo: Colin O'Riordan

Pictured: The scene of the crash; Katie (inset left) and with her best friend Claire (inset right)

A friend of the 16-year-old schoolgirl killed in a tragic car crash has said her pals were about to call for her and were yards away when the tragedy occurred.

Claire Lombard (17) said her best friend Katie Murphy was the sort of girl who could make anyone smile no matter how sad they were.

Katie, from the Castlewoods estate in Ballynamona, Co Waterford, was a rear-seat passenger in the car with three friends when it crashed into a wall as it turned into the Carrigeenlea Estate in Tramore at 8.20pm on Wednesday evening.

She was rushed to University Hospital in Waterford but died from the injuries she sustained.

A 17-year-old boy, the son of a well-known and respected family involved in the motor trade in Tramore, was driving the car and a male pal was in the passenger seat.

Katie and another female friend were travelling in the back of the car.

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The male passenger was later transferred to Cork University Hospital from Waterford where it is suspected he has swelling on the brain and a punctured lung. The female passenger is being treated for suspected bone fractures including her legs and pelvis.

Claire, a pupil at St Angela's school in Waterford, described the sequence of events.

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"Katie texted me to say they were on their way and that they'd see me in a few minutes. Then a bit later I was closing my bedroom window and I saw people running down the road, and my brother Conor ran out as well," she said.

"I went out to see what was happening, and as I got to the corner I could see the car. (The driver) wasn't that badly injured and he was able to get out and he walked towards me in a daze.

Read More: 'I don't know how we can cope without her' - Father pays tribute to 'beautiful' Katie (16) killed in crash

"We went down to the car to help. (The driver and passenger) were in the front of the car, and Katie and (her friend) were in the back," she said.

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Claire's brother Conor supported the male passenger's head in the vehicle until emergency services arrived, and local residents did all they could.

"Katie was always smiling and laughing. She made everyone happy no matter how sad they were," said Claire through tears.

Claire told a poignant story of how Katie had borrowed a biro from her in school on Wednesday so she could write a reminder on her hand as to what classroom she was supposed to start in yesterday morning. "That message, Lab B, was still visible on her hand after the crash," said Claire.

Katie's father Hilary has posted a message on Facebook. "Our beautiful daughter was taken from us last night. We loved her so very much," it read.

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Gardai investigating the gruesome murder of a DJ are trawling through 'buy and sell' websites used by the 25-year-old victim.

A manhunt was still continuing last night for the killer of Leo Carolan, who was stabbed to death in his apartment on the South Circular Road on Tuesday afternoon. His Swiss friend was also left with serious injuries.

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The Herald can reveal gardai are investigating whether his killer is someone who he had been in contact with on the internet - possibly a person that Mr Carolan had tried to sell something to.

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"The victim in this case regularly used 'buy and sell' websites. All contacts that Mr Carolan had, both online and elsewhere, in the days before his murder are being looked at," a source said.

The development comes after it emerged that the victim's close pal, Swiss national Ludovic Thomas, who was stabbed in the cheek and the stomach in the attack, told gardai he did not know the killer.

Savage

Expand Close Garda Superintendent Patrick McMenamin speaking to media at Kevin Street Garda Station during a media briefing and witness appeal regarding the murder of Leo Carolan whose body was discovered at a house on South Circular Road. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins / Facebook

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Gardai have been probing whether the killer may have dumped his blood-soaked tee-shirt in a nearby rubbish bin.

It has also emerged the suspected killer may have bought shoes in a charity shop after the savage slaying.

No arrests have been made in the case, which is being investigated by Kevin Street gardai.

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Detectives believe a man, described as 5ft 6ins with short fair hair and wearing a dark top, has "crucial information" in relation to the murder.

The victim, Mr Carolan (25), was living in the apartment for some time after returning from France.

He studied Anthropology at Universite Lumiere in Lyon before continuing his education in Creative Music Production at IADT in Dun Laoghaire. He was also a budding DJ.

Supt Pat McMenamin from Kevin Street Garda Station said detectives were "anxious" to locate a third individual seen leaving the property.

"There was a third person at the scene that we are anxious to locate, and we would ask that person to make contact with us," he said.

"We believe that person has crucial information to this investigation that will assist us.

"That person is described as a man in his mid-20s, around 5ft 6ins in height, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and runners.

"He had fair or reddish hair that was cut short and may have been carrying a bag," Supt McMenamin said.

"A full murder investigation has been established and an incident room set up in Kevin Street."
A father has spoken of the terrifying moment he thought his son had died during a desperate phone call to him as the teenager fought to escape a gorse fire.

Calum McNeill (19) - an apprentice car mechanic from Ballymena - was walking his dog along a cliff path in Cushendall after 7pm on Wednesday when he became trapped by the blaze.

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Police believe it was the latest in a series of deliberately started gorse fires in Co Antrim.

"I was listening to my son on the phone telling me, 'I'm going to die dad.'

"It was the most horrific moment of my life," said Calum's father Gordon (47).

"I had my son on the phone in the middle of a live fire and screaming, 'Dad, I can't breathe, the flames are so close to me, I can't get away'.

"Then he said he had to hang the phone up and I was begging him not to, and then all of a sudden the phone went dead in the middle of it. I was in Ballymena at my sister's house. I nearly passed out because I thought my son was dead."

Gordon immediately drove 20 miles to Cushendall, where he was greeted by thick smoke and the blue flashing lights of fire engines.

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"I got out of my car and my son just came over and threw his arms around me and there were tears in his eyes. I was so glad to see him," he said. "I was in a state of shock. There were fire officers everywhere, it was like a scene from a Hollywood film."

Calum managed to escape injury free, but was still in a state of shock last night.

"It's all I think about," he said. "I keep having visions of the flames and trying to get over this fence and all the smoke around everywhere, it was dramatic. My worst nightmare."

Calum was on a walk to the ruins of historical Layd Church with his dog Beau, a Japanese Shar Pei, when two separate fires trapped him.

"I saw all this smoke and a couple of flames. I went closer and thought I could get through, but then I saw the whole cliff face was on fire," he said.

"By the time I turned round I couldn't see from the smoke and there was a fire on the other side of me.

"I couldn't get past either side. There was a cliff on one side and an eight feet barbed wire fence into a field with cows on the other," he added.

As the flames came in closer, Calum was unable to scale the fence and rang his dad.

"I needed someone to talk to, to calm me down. I was getting pretty panicky at that stage. It sounds dramatic but I literally thought that was it. I was on the phone with my dad, trying to get over the fence with my dog and I could hardly breathe with all the smoke."

He had no choice but to throw Beau over the fence to safety.

"I didn't want anything happening to him, he's the family pet and very loved. By that stage I knew it was fight or flight. Luckily I caught the edge of the post on the fence and hauled myself up into the field with the cows."

After finally reaching safety, Calum said: "First thing I did when I saw my dad, I just hugged him."

Firefighters were also called to a separate gorse fire at 10.30pm that evening between Ballycastle and Cushendall.

"I want the people who did this prosecuted, they're going to kill somebody," said Mr McNeill.

"I'm angry that someone endangered my son, even if it was supposed to be high jinks."

Calum added: "It angers me someone thinks it's funny to put someone's life in such danger."
The campaign for Ann Roe, who is running for Congress against Lyin' Bryan Steil has come out with the best one-liner of this cycle so far: I can't argue...

11 months ago
Two men have been stabbed in separate incidents overnight.

Gardai are investigating a stabbing incident in Dundalk, Co Louth last night.

A man in his early 20s was injured in an altercation with a group of people in Woodview Park, Dundalk yesterday evening.

He was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

His injuries are described as not life threatening.

Meanwhile in Waterford gardai are investigating a stabbing incident in which a man in his 40's was injured in an assault.

The attack happened on O'Connell Street in Waterford city at 6.45pm yesterday.

The victim was taken to Waterford University Hospital for treatment but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

A man in his 20s was later arrested by gardai and was being questioned last night.
Gardai are investigating a shooting incident at Oldcastle Park in Clondalkin. Photo: Arthur Carron

A pregnant woman was rushed to hospital after a shooting incident in Dublin yesterday evening.

It is understood that a firearm was used in an attack at around 3.40pm at a halting site in Oldcastle Park, just off the Nangor Road in Clondalkin.

Shots are believed to have been fired in the womans direction, but no connection was made and she was not hit.

She has since been taken to hospital, as a precaution, according to sources, but has no serious injuries.

Nobody else was injured during the incident, according to gardai.

A spokesman for the force said they are investigating the incident, as forensics carried out an examination at the scene last night.

An ambulance and fire unit from Dublin Fire Brigade were also rushed to the scene.

It believed that two men were involved in the attack and had fled the scene before gardai arrived.

Gardai have appealed for any witnesses to contact them.
Q: The family home will pass to me when my mother passes away but she is quite insistent that it isn't sold as she wants me to live there - it has been in the family for a century. I would like to do this, but by my figures, the tax on it would be around 80,000 (the current house value is 525,000). There is no way I can raise this without selling the house, so it leaves me in a dilemma. Is there anything I can do to alleviate it?

A: Your calculation is correct. You can receive up to 280,000 without paying Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) as a 'Category A' recipient. Based on that, the balance (245,000), taxed at 33pc, is 80,850.

Eoin McGee of Prosperous Financial Planning suggests solutions.

"When the time comes, you could raise a mortgage on the house, if that's possible, and pay the bill that way. Another option would be if you don't currently own any other property in your own name, and if your mother has a care need, you could move in with her and after three years, your mother can gift you the house under Dwelling Home relief, provided you live in the house for a further six years. Clearly this may not be suitable with a family.

"Alternatively, you could take out a Section 72 policy. This is life insurance that pays out in the event of your mother's death, with the proceeds paying the tax due, and not forming part of the estate. They can be expensive, however. Assuming your mother is 70, the cost to cover 80,850 would be around 350 per month."

It's worth balancing that off against the potential tax payable, i.e. she would have to live to 97 to have paid more in premiums than the tax.

Also, keep an eye on Tuesday's Budget - Inheritance tax thresholds are due to rise from parent to child, which will at least alleviate some of the tax due.

Q: In applying for a top-up mortgage, which we thought would be very straightforward, the bank has refused us due to an outstanding court judgement registered against me. I have no idea what this is about. The only time I was in court was early 2015 for a driving conviction which got me a fine, but I paid it after, admittedly, delaying to do so. We have more than enough money to make the mortgage repayments. Is there anything I can do?

A: When you apply for a mortgage, the bank will undertake a search of your credit history to ensure there are no loans in arrears or default. This may include fines or court judgements which they can hold against you.

It is entirely possible that this fine is what is troubling them, so it would be worth checking that out. Is it possible that even though you paid, it wasn't registered on court documents? Or perhaps you paid some, but not all, of the fine? I would ask your solicitor to find this out, or contact www.courts.ie and see if you can get more information.

It may also be the case that there is some other reason. Commonly, banks seek to get your credit score via the Irish Credit Bureau (www.icb.ie), which is a database of all credit issued over the last two years. If you skipped a payment, for instance, on a personal loan or even credit card, it will show up here and may alarm the lender. Apply for your score, which costs 6, to see and if an error has been made. The issuing bank can apply to have it altered.

The Ryan Review

By Sinaed Ryan

I've been giving out about Housing Minister Simon Coveney for the last few weeks, so maybe it's time to redress the balance.

The Housing brief is akin to Angola (which is the Health Ministry's unkind moniker), so often it's the little things that both trip you up and can be a force for good.

The latest "Repair and Lease" plan is both imaginative and box-ticking, with the added benefit of not costing a fortune.

With over 200,000 vacant houses dotted around the country (a surprising number in Dublin), it is landlords, who may be asset rich but cash poor, who are withholding doing them up or getting them out on the market. This can be due to credit tightening or the reluctance to take on a loan without guaranteed returns even in a buoyant market.

One million euros this year, and 2m next, will be made available to bring these often run-down properties back into use, by part-funding the works through a grant scheme in return for long-term leases for those on rental waiting lists. The real work, however, will be in the door-knocking - simply identifying who owns what and negotiating a deal is time consuming and bothersome, but necessary.

There will be interest in the results of a pilot scheme underway and it will add to talks with banks over getting hold of repossessed properties also.

More of the same please.
Some of the furniture at Ouragh, Shrewsbury Road

Exterior of Ouragh which has six bedroom suites and five reception rooms

A hefty 1m has been knocked off the 6.5m price tag of the former luxury D4 mansion of Sean Dunne and Gayle Killilea.

The six-bedroom property has also benefited from Ireland's biggest ever house makeover in a bid to relaunch it in a sagging trophy-home market. The firm of De Veres, furniture and fine art specialists, were called upon by receivers HWBC and estate agents Colliers to stage the Edwardian style four-storey home at Shrewsbury Road with 100,000 worth of furniture and artwork.

The staging took two weeks to complete and is believed to have cost close to 40,000. The move is part of a plan to relaunch the luxury property to market.

Ouragh has five extra-large reception rooms, a jacuzzi ensuite, its own pub and gym and six bedroom suites.

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At around 1,000 sq ft each, the drawing room, master bedroom suite and kitchen dining room at Ouragh are all roughly equivalent in floor space to that of an entire average family home.

The furniture required included a 16-seater antique dining table and chairs worth 15,000 and many extra-large modern art work canvases were brought in to cover the wall spaces.

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The new marketing strategy is believed to have resulted from Nama's departure from the receivership. The bad bank originally brought the property to market but the debt for Ouragh is now thought to have transferred to another entity following the disposal of a big loan basket by the bad bank.

The home was originally placed on the market on the instructions of Nama in the middle of last year with a price tag of 7m attached.

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This was first lowered to 6.5m and now this weekend the asking price has been cut to 5.5m in the wake of the Brexit referendum result.

Before declaring bankruptcy in the USA in 2013 former developer Sean Dunne lived life extra-large - alongside his wife, the one time gossip columnist Gayle Killilea.

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In 2005 Dunne paid a record 380m for a seven-acre site in Ballsbridge and his wife paid 58m for Walford, also on Shrewsbury Road. Colliers agent Marcus Magnier said: "The price reduction is seen as a realistic move by the receivers to secure a sale going forward.

"Staging a property like this is a positive step in helping buyers imagine it as welcoming."

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The "Patent Metamorphic Library Chair" was the "best and handsomest article ever invented". That's according to Rudolph Ackermann's Repository of Art (1811). In the chair, Ackerman raved, "two complete pieces of furniture are combined in one - an elegant and truly comfortable armchair and a set of library steps".

The short flight of steps, suitable to reach the upper shelves of a book case, could "by merely lifting up with the right hand the back of the chair, be metamorphosed into a complete arm chair." This versatile piece of furniture was manufactured by Morgan and Sanders of London, specialists in patented metamorphic furniture. They advertised "sofa-beds, chair beds, brass screw four-post and tent bedsteads, newly invented imperial dining tables and portable chairs". These were advertised as "perfectly new in principle, extremely fashionable and universally approved of". It was, frankly, a clever bit of advertising.

Extendable dining tables were standard issue in wealthy Georgian houses, as were flip-top card tables, the more ingenious of which incorporated separate parts for backgammon and chess.

Practicality aside, multi-functionality attracted the efforts of early furniture designers. The diary of John Evelyn (1620-1706) described "a whimsical chair, which folded into so many varieties, as to turn into a bed, a bolster, a table or a couch". Thomas Chippendale's Gentleman And Cabinet-Maker's Director (1762) included a design for a sofa-bed, complete with Chinese canopy. Ten years later, Thomas Gale took out a patent for a "newly invented bedstead" which "when shut up presents the appearance of a bookcase or a wardrobe".

It had also occurred to other designers that gentlemen needed adaptable furniture to access the upper reaches of their library. Chippendale had made a stool containing library steps in 1767.

A chair that concealed library steps was originally patented by Robert Campbell in 1774 and a version of it was published in Thomas Sheraton's The Cabinet Maker's And Upholster's Drawing Book (1793). The top of the handrail of the steps included: "a small flap on which a book may rest, so that a gentleman, when he is looking at a book in his library, may note down a passage from it without the trouble of going down again".

But not every patented and published invention was actually made. Where Morgan and Sanders excelled was manufacture. They ran a large workshop, extending over six houses, where they employed "nearly 100 mechanics, besides other necessary servants". This enabled them to bring their metamorphic furniture to the middle classes. Their designs captured the imagination of Regency London and several hundred Patent Metamorphic Library Chairs were made between 1811 and 1840.

A Regency Metamorphic Library Chair is coming up for sale at Adam's Townley Hall Auction on October 11. It carries an estimate of 6,000 to 8,000 and is catalogued as "to a design by Morgan and Sanders".

The work of Morgan and Sanders is lamentably hard to identify. Some pieces carry a brass nameplate, which adds considerably to their value, but most do not. To add to the confusion, the rival furniture manufacturer, Gillow's of Lancaster, produced an almost indistinguishable Metamorphic Library Chair from the 1830s. The firm embraced the fashion for metamorphic furniture in their 1782 design for a writing or library table "of New Construction and Plan of our Invention". The desk boasted internal drawers with lettered compartments and a double-ratcheted top that enabled the user to write standing up, making it an early instance of the now-trendy sit/stand desk. It was the most expensive piece of furniture the firm had made to date and they guarded its design, insisting it could only be sold to "gentlemen".

A desk that follows Gillow's pattern, complete with a hinged top that folds out to reveal a double adjustable drawing table, is also included in Adam's Townley Hall auction with an estimate of 2,000 to 4,000.

The sale boasts nine Irish George III folding top card tables, all of which are metamorphic in design. They range from two magnificently carved pieces, complete with acanthus leaves and paw feet (est 30,000 to 50,000 and 20,000 to 30,000 respectively) to several with estimates between 2,000 and 3,000.

Adam's Country House Collections takes place at Townley Hall, Slane Road, Drogheda, Co Louth, on October 11 at 11.30am. Viewing is at Townley Hall, from October 8 to 10, with full details on adams.ie.
Legoland Windsor is full of wow moments, says Garry Toal. Just be sure to plan ahead...

Set the mood

"Are we going to Legoland tomorrow Daddy?"

The question was posed daily by our Lego-loopy four-year-old after we told him about the trip. Perhaps it was a bad idea to flag it three months in advance!

We couldn't help it, however. I was a huge fan of Lego as a kid, but never lucky enough to make it to Legoland, so the little boy in me had been just as eagerly counting down the days.

Legoland is situated near London, in the borough of Windsor, and features over 55 rides, live shows and attractions. The park is targeted mainly at children between the ages of three and 12, but we managed to find some attractions suitable for our nine-month-old daughter too, so no one was left out.

Planning in advance is key to getting it right.

Guilty pleasure

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Queues of over 45 minutes for the busiest attractions, and a four-year-old buzzing with more energy than Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, are a bad combination.

A Q-Bot (20/26) let us reserve our place in queues and return when it was time to get on the rides. This allowed us to visit some of the other, quieter attractions, while we waited.

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Before booking a trip, check out Legoland's special events calendar. We visited the park during its Star Wars-themed days. Characters ranging from the mighty Chewbacca to the menacing Darth Maul mingled and posed for pictures with families.

This proved a massive hit with our young Padawan, whose obsession with Star Wars is now off the charts. Kids are encouraged to dress up for such occasions, and many did, with tiny Darth Vaders and Storm Troopers fighting mock battles with little Jedis and X-Wing pilots around the park!

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Glitches

Anyone who's been to a theme park knows that queueing for attractions comes with the territory. However, with Legoland particularly targeted towards young children, more could be done to provide distractions in the queues. Making Lego available for kids to build while they wait is one obvious suggestion.

Get me there

Stena Line (stenaline.ie/legoland) has packages including return ferry crossings (plus car) from Dublin or Rosslare, two nights in a four-star hotel and park tickets from 639 for a family of four.

We stayed a short drive away in Reading city centre - its shops and restaurants were a welcome change of scenery at the end of the day, for the adults at least.

For more on Legoland Windsor, see legoland.co.uk.
An "unprecedented" international deal that aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions from air travel has been agreed.

The deal, secured at International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) talks in Montreal, Canada, will come into effect from 2021 with 65 countries - including all European Union nations - signing up to "offset" emissions from international flights.

More countries are set to come on board from 2027 with the mandatory phase of the scheme, which aims to cap aviation emissions at 2020 levels, and there is a review mechanism to strengthen ambition.

Airlines will have to buy permits that deliver reductions in pollution elsewhere to cover emissions that are above 2020 levels.

The European Union, which played a key role in the talks, estimates some 80pc of emissions growth will be covered by the deal up to 2035.

Industry under pressure

The aviation industry had been under pressure to take action on greenhouse gases from international flights, which were not explicitly covered by the world's first comprehensive climate treaty, the Paris Agreement, which comes into force next month.

The new deal was welcomed as an historic moment in tackling climate change, but there were warnings it needed to go further to bring down emissions in line with targets to curb temperature rises set out in the Paris Agreement.

And in the UK, campaigners renewed their calls for the Government not to approve new runways - a decision on which is expected shortly.

British Aviation Minister Lord Ahmad said: "This is an unprecedented deal, the first of its kind for any sector.

"International aviation is responsible for putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year than the whole of the UK and yet until now, there has been no global consensus on how to address the growing problem of aviation emissions.

"For years, the UK has pushed to tackle aviation emissions globally. Now, 191 countries have agreed on a global measure and sent a clear message that aviation will play its part in combating climate change."

Historic moment hailed

Emma Pinchbeck, head of climate and energy at WWF-UK said: "This is another historic moment for action on climate change.

"The UK has been a leader in these talks so it would be disappointing to see ministers immediately green-light airport expansion at home. Our Government must walk the talk on climate change.

"Building new runways would send UK aviation emissions soaring above safe limits, so first we need a credible UK plan to deal with those emissions."

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the British Air Transport Association (Bata), the trade body for UK airlines, said: "The scheme agreed at ICAO will play a pivotal role in enabling UK aviation to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutral growth from 2020 whilst halving net emissions by 2050."

Hundreds of new aircraft were helping increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, he said.

He said the deal would "complement this effort and enable aviation growth to continue - with all the associated economic and social advantages - whilst ensuring that emissions are reduced".

Is green aviation a myth?

But Bill Hemmings, from campaign group Transport and Environment, said: "Airline claims that flying will now be green are a myth.

"Taking a plane is the fastest and cheapest way to fry the planet and this deal won't reduce demand for jet fuel one drop. Instead offsetting aims to cut emissions in other industries."

He warned it was not yet "mission accomplished", adding: "Without robust environmental safeguards the offsets won't cut emissions, leaving us with a deal that amounts to little more than adding the price of a cup of coffee to a ticket."

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The cast of Modern Family  it has been argued that plans for inheritance tax being tabled do not recognise the diversity of modern families Picture: Disney/ABC

When my father died last year, his will was split between his four children. Divided evenly among the four of us, the proceeds of his will came in well below the ceiling that would have triggered inheritance tax.

I grew up in a time when four-child families were common. Today, two-child families are the norm. If two children are left a fairly average middle-class house in Dublin, there is an excellent chance they will end up paying a lot in inheritance tax because everything they inherit above 280,000 will be taxed at 33pc.

On Tuesday, this newspaper reported that the Government is planning to raise the 280,000 threshold for children who inherit a parent's estate to at least 320,000. The threshold won't be raised for anyone else.

If a person is a relative, they'll pay tax at 33pc as soon as they inherit more than 30,150, and if a non-relative, it's worse. Then they start paying inheritance tax if they receive more than 15,075.

The headline on Tuesday ran: "Budget 2017: Inheritance tax changes to hurt childless families".

A Fianna Fail source, criticising the failure to extend the rise in the inheritance threshold to non-children, said: "One concern is for siblings in rural areas who live together but the one who passes away owns the house and land. The surviving brother or sister can find themselves left with no capacity to pay such a bill."

Another TD argued that the current plans being tabled "do not recognise the diversity of modern families".

Actually, those two statements are in direct contradiction of one another. There is nothing at all 'modern' about two siblings living together on a farm. That arrangement is as old as the hills.

In fact, I'm struggling to think of a way in which Finance Minister Michael Noonan's planned change to the inheritance thresholds doesn't recognise "the diversity of modern families" per se. Even before gay marriage, civil partners could bequeath to each other and any children. Aside from that, people have lived long-term with friends or siblings or other relatives since eons before the concept of "family diversity" was even invented.

Before proceeding, however, let's consider whether inheritance tax is even justified. Why, after your death, should anyone have to pay a penny in tax from an estate you built up out of your post-tax earnings?

An inheritance tax is, of course, another way of redistributing wealth. Something has to pay for schools and hospitals and pensions for those who otherwise couldn't afford these things themselves.

If the State denies itself inheritance tax, then it is going to have to raise tax revenues in other ways. You will be taxed more in your lifetime. How many of us would want that?

But this doesn't answer the question of what level to set it at, what the thresholds should be, and whether these thresholds should vary from one category of person to another.

The answers to the first two questions are prudential in nature, while the answer to the third is more philosophical.

Why should close family pay less inheritance tax than other family members or those who aren't family members at all?

In a way, it's a strange question to even ask. It's like asking why parents give more support to their own children than to other children. It would be very odd if they didn't. Parents have very strong duties towards their children, especially when they are still dependent and it is assumed, with good reason, that parents and their grown-up children will still have extremely close, even if sometimes frayed, bonds.

It is for this reason that we all think something must have gone badly wrong when a parent cuts a child out of their will. We'd raise our eyebrows even higher if the parent left their offspring's share of the estate to a friend instead.

So, because we all accept that the parent-child bond is particularly strong, there is almost universal support for the idea that children should pay as little inheritance tax as possible.

Where does this leave childless couples, or two siblings living together? Interestingly, a case involving two elderly sisters arose in England a few years ago. They were Joyce and Sybil Burden. When one died, the other would have to sell their shared home to pay inheritance tax.

Being sisters, they couldn't marry. Nor could they enter a civil partnership. Only by entering into such a legal relationship could they avoid inheritance tax. They thought they should be allowed to be civil partners. They fought their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. They lost. No good reason was given for not letting them become civil partners so they could avail of the protections and tax advantages of doing so.

Alarmingly, the Irish government joined with the British government in fighting the two sisters because a victory at the European Court of Human Rights would have had implications here as well. The Government could have found itself collecting less inheritance tax.

But in truth, there was little logic in the refusal to give the Burdens civil partnership status. In fact, the way to allow childless couples to leave assets to a loved one without a big inheritance tax bill attached is to allow any two people who care for one another, including two siblings, to enter something like a civil partnership. That only seems fair and just.
It is now time for the Government to assert the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and hold both unionists and the British government to its essential terms and dispensation

There is nothing like a deadline to concentrate the minds of politicians and propel them into action.

Budget 2017 was comprehensively sidelined this week by the British prime minister's declaration of intent to trigger Article 50 next March.

The Taoiseach brought a memo to Cabinet and announced an all-island 'Civic Dialogue on Brexit', to meet on November 2, involving politicians north and south, trade unions and civic society. But already the First Minister Arlene Foster has said she will not attend, citing her view that she does not see the need for "another superstructure". She has a point.

In my view, a more appropriate official forum for such serious debate is the North South Ministerial Council, established under Strand 2 of the Good Friday Agreement. The last meeting of the council was in July. The fall-out from Brexit is an ideal agenda item for that forum, involving as it does border control, common travel, security, economic and political matters.

Using the institutions established under the Belfast Agreement (strands two and three), such as the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British Irish Council, would locate the Brexit discussions in the appropriate formal context. A broadly based, all-island talking shop which does not include the DUP and which has no statutory or legal basis is a poor substitute. Unionists are obliged to attend the North South Council and East West Institutions.

The Good Friday Agreement and the British Irish Agreement anticipated that the North South Council would meet in various formats, including specifically "to consider institutional or cross-sectoral matters, including in relation to the EU and to resolve disagreement". The agreement specifically "provides the Council to consider the European Union dimension of relevant matters, including the implementation of EU policies and programmes and proposals under consideration in the EU framework. Arrangements to be made to ensure that the views of the council are taken into account and represented at relevant EU meetings".

Meanwhile, in the Belfast High Court, there is a legal challenge to the constitutional authority of the British government to take Northern Ireland out of the EU following Brexit. While such a proposition may appear far-fetched, given the separation of powers and the reluctance of the courts to meddle in political and parliamentary decisions, it is arguable that Brexit does constitute a material change to the status quo ante in Northern Ireland.

The Good Friday Agreement, endorsed in referenda North and South, confirmed the status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom but this was conditional on the principle of consent. In return, the electorate in the Republic voted to change Articles 2 and 3 of our Constitution removing the constitutional territorial claim to the six counties.

But crucially it was agreed that while the Border still existed, it would be blurred or perforated by a North/South Ministerial Council and bodies with executive powers for cross-border cooperation and joint action. These interlocking institutions took some time to become established until the Executive was stabilised and decommissioning was achieved. But certainly since 2008, these cross-border institutions have functioned and are serviced by civil servants from both jurisdictions.

If a 'hard Brexit' means a hard border, that is a material change to the status quo ante which cannot be breezily waved away by the British government. The fact that the DUP favours Brexit and all the nationalist parties supported remaining in the EU constitutes a new and substantive source of instability and discord between the political parties in government in Northern Ireland.

It is disturbing, given three decades of joint effort by the two governments to bring peace and political stability to Northern Ireland, that the new British government seems indifferent to Brexit-related difficulties for Ireland. Theresa May is talking a new political and populist language. "Change has got to come," she bellowed from the podium of the party conference. Does this include a high-handed disregard for Ireland in what looks like a startling about-turn in Anglo-Irish relations?

Brexit-tasked government ministers are at pains to assuage Irish qualms but they lack conviction and logic. If Brexit now turns out to be all about immigration, it is delusional for them to be in denial about the inevitable trade and travel implications for the land border with the Republic.

Moreover, they seem to attach little importance to the political aspiration towards a united Ireland at some future point, validated in the Good Friday Agreement. How could this be operationalised if Northern Ireland is decoupled from the Republic and out of the EU? Would voters in the Republic have changed our Constitution if Brexit was on the cards? The British government appears to be taking for granted the historic compromise of the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process. Nowhere in Anglo-Irish discourse these days is there a mention of the "totality of relationships" which underpinned the North/South and East/West arrangements agreed by the two governments and the parties in Northern Ireland in 1998. The great prize for all of this was a lasting peace, which is now 'eaten bread' as far as the British government is concerned.

So, 20 years on, our Government needs to revisit and remind the British prime minister of the substantive legal elements of the British Irish Agreement and the institutions established in 1998. It is unacceptable for Ms May to wash her hands of inconvenient terms which do not suit the new little England nationalist ideology. Ireland is by far the most affected EU country because of Brexit and we cannot be satisfied by being part of the crowd in EU-Brexit discussions. Ireland has to be in the driving seat in protecting our national interests.

It is now time for the Government to assert the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and hold both unionists and the British government to its essential terms and dispensation. An intensified use of the North/South and East/West institutions is now needed to explore and resolve the complex challenges of Brexit.

Agreements between sovereign governments carry weight, particularly when they mark the end of a bloody conflict and frame an historic political settlement.
Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh presented a cheque for 630 to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland recently.

They raised the money in the final term of school last year.

John Coleman of CF Ireland came to accept the cheque with his son Christian Coleman, who is a past pupil of the school. Christian has now gone on to secondary school but was present for the fundraising. He has CF himself.

Principal Gearoidin Ni Bhaoill said that Cystic Fibrosis sent them a range of items to sell, including roses, pins, biros, bags and more.

Parents, staff and people connected with neighbouring schools all gave very generously. They had a collection day in April, selling the items in school and at the gates.

Then they left the box out for the rest of the school year, raising the fantastic total of 630. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetically inherited disease that primarily affects the lungs and the digestive system. Ireland has the highest incidence of Cystic Fibrosis in the world - approximately 1 in 19 Irish people are said to 'carry' one copy of the altered gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis.
Saturday 1st October saw 30 noble motorcycle riders don their leathers and take to the open road to raise funds for Malta Services Drogheda.

This very successful event, which raised over 5,000, was building on the achievements of the last six years Run of the Country's Annual Motor Bike Charity Run. To date the Run has raised over 65,000 for local charities.

After a hearty breakfast, the bikers were all revved up and ready to go. They were cheered off by supporters at Malta Services, cruising down Duke Street, as they undertook the first leg of their mystery tour.

The route this year took the motorcycle riders through all the scenic back roads as far south as Carrick-On-Suir and ending up in Portlaoise, 350km of twisty roads through beautiful Irish countryside. Graiguenamanagh to Inistioge was a particular highlight. A fun poker run format was used, where playing cards were distributed at checkpoints during the run with prizes for the winning hands.

Malta Services Drogheda, support over 100 adults to live a life of their choosing by providing education and training, information and advice and practical assistance to support them to achieve their goals.

Funds raised from this event will go directly towards assisting people to work towards and achieve specific personal goals. Sincere thanks to all the event sponsors including: Height for Hire, Kennedy Motorcycles, Tuites Butchers, Marks and Spencers, Newbridge Silver, Boyne Valley Foods, Glanbia, Belview Eggs and Tesco.

"There was a lovely buzz around Fair Street on the day and everyone was really impressed with the show of bikes." said Claire Byrne, Service Director.

Michael McCormick the key organiser of the event said "This is a great event to be involved in. The riders love to see where their fundraising money is going and get great satisfaction from meeting everyone in Malta Services."

Height for Hire owner Harry McArdle said "These guys do great work fundraising for Malta Services Drogheda and I am very pleased to part of the event".

"Great, I love being associated with this local charity motorcycle run. It ticks all the boxes with moneys raised staying local and going directly to achieving people's personal ambitions. A great days riding motorcycles" Said sponsor Jimmy Kennedy of Kennedy Motorcycles.
Roz Purcell seen walking her new puppy Wilko at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin

Roz Purcell is pictured calling on members of the public to Paint it Pink this October as she launches the Irish Cancer Societys campaign to support people affected by breast cancer in Ireland. Picture: Andres Poveda

Roz Purcell is pictured calling on members of the public to Paint it Pink this October as she launches the Irish Cancer Societys campaign to support people affected by breast cancer in Ireland. Picture: Andres Poveda

Roz Purcell has revealed she has become more conscientious of checking her body since her sister Rachels cancer diagnosis.

The Tipperary native's older sister was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia earlier this year which came as a shock to the model, as there is no history of cancer in their family.

The 26-year-old admitted she gets frustrated by friends who put off getting smear tests or checking themselves.

Things like smear tests, I get everything done. When Im with my friends and they say they dont do them, youre better off to just check, she told Independent.ie.

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People live with their head under the sand. After Rachel got diagnosed it did make me really scared to go back and get blood tests after because I was like, Oh, crap.

The brunette was speaking at the Irish Cancer Societys breast cancer campaign.

There has been a 33pc rise in the number of breast cancer cases in Ireland in the last decade and Paint It Pink is calling on members of the public to host a pink coffee morning this month to raise funds for the societys research.

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Weve come so far with cancer. The chances she has are so much better than what they would have been before. You wouldnt know theres anything wrong with her, Roz said.

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She and her sister, who live together in Dublin city centre, adopted a Jack Russell terrier Wilkso soon after Rachel's diagnosis on their doctor's advice.

"When my sister Rachel was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia earlier this year, one of the things she was advised to do was to keep her stress levels down, and it was suggested to us that we get a dog. We chose to rescue a pup because there are so many dogs out there that need really good homes," Roz previously explained.

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"Wilko is such good company, so full of energy and always so happy which is contagious. It's the ultimate distraction and de-stresser."
Hurricane Matthew spared Florida's most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow on Friday but threatened some of the south's most historic and picturesque cities with ruinous flooding and wind damage as it pushed its way up the coastline.

Among the cities in its destructive path were St Augustine, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.

"There are houses that will probably not ever be the same again or not even be there," St Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver lamented as floodwaters coursed through the streets of the 451-year-old city founded by the Spanish.

Matthew - the most powerful hurricane to threaten the Atlantic Seaboard in over a decade - set off alarms as it closed in on the US, having left more than 300 people dead in Haiti.

In the end, it sideswiped Florida's Atlantic coast early on Friday, swamping streets, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to more than one million people. But it stayed just far enough offshore to prevent major damage to cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

One US death was reported, that of a woman whose house was hit by a tree in the Daytona area.

"It looks like we've dodged a bullet," said Republican Patrick Murphy, a Democrat whose district includes Martin County, just north of West Palm Beach.

Several north-eastern Florida cities, including Jacksonville, were still in harm's way, along with communities farther up the coast. Authorities warned that not only could the hurricane easily turn toward land, it could also cause deadly flooding with its surge of seawater.

About 500,000 people were under evacuation orders in the Jacksonville area, along with another half-million along the Georgia coast.

"If you're hoping it's is just going to pass far enough offshore that this isn't a problem anymore - that is a very, very big mistake that you could make that could cost you your life," warned National Hurricane Centre Director Rick Knabb.

St. Augustine, which is the nation's oldest permanently occupied European settlement and includes a 17th-century Spanish fortress and many historic homes, was awash in rain and seawater that authorities said could top 8ft.

"It's a really serious devastating situation," said the mayor of the city of 14,000. "The flooding is just going to get higher and higher and higher."

Historic downtown Charleston was quiet, with many stores and shops boarded up with plywood and protected by stacks of sandbags.

The city announced a midnight-to-6am curfew on Saturday, around the time the coast was expected to take the brunt of the storm.

Some of Georgia's best-known golf-and-tennis resort islands were expected to take the brunt of Matthew's storm surge, including St Simons and Tybee.

AP
The workers say that, in addition to being harassed at work, they experienced retaliation if they complained. Photo: Reuters

McDonald's workers across the US joined in protests yesterday, after 15 different complaints of sexual harassment were filed against the fast-food chain and its franchises in a single month.

Employees from 30 cities want to draw attention to the allegations, which were filed against the company with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and come from eight states: Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, California, Florida and New York.

The workers say that, in addition to being harassed at work, they experienced retaliation if they complained.

One complaint was filed by Kristi Maisenbach, a former McDonald's worker from California. She alleges her supervisor "grabbed [her] breasts on several occasions and would intentionally rub his genitals against [her] butt."

She also claims he sent her a text message, offering her $1,000 if she performed oral sex on him.

Maisenbach says that after she complained to her manager, her hours were cut.

Another complainant is CC Monet, who worked for McDonald's in Michigan. She alleges that her supervisor intentionally rubbed his genitals on her and talked explicitly about what "things" he wanted to do to her.

She said: "McDonald's monitors everything we do - from how fast the drive-thru is moving, to how we fold our customers' bags. Yet when I filed a complaint against my shift manager for regularly sexually harassing me - which included him showing me a photo of his genitals - McDonald's had no response. I really needed that job and the money, and I considered remaining silent. But I believed McDonald's had my back and would be horrified by the way I was treated. I was wrong."

Campaigners are now calling on the fast-food franchise to update its sexual harassment policy.

But the EEOC must first decide whether McDonald's should be held jointly responsible for the harassment taking place at its franchised restaurants - where 14 of the complaints are from.

Just one is about harassment that allegedly took place in a corporate McDonald's store. However, all the complaints name the company as a 'joint employer'.

According to the McDonald's training manual, it has a 'zero tolerance' policy when it comes to sexual harassment.

"Sexual harassment is prohibited because it may be intimidating, an abuse of power and is inconsistent with McDonald's policies and management philosophy," it reads.

But workers claim this is rarely upheld and they have no union representation.

In today's protests - which are being organised by the Fight for $15 movement, which campaigns for a $15 minimum wage - they reportedly plan to carry signs reading 'McDonald's, hands off my buns'.

In a statement, McDonald's representative Terri Hickey responded to the allegations, saying: "At McDonald's, we and our independent owner-operators share a deep commitment to the respectful treatment of everyone. There is no place for harassment and discrimination of any kind in McDonald's restaurants or in any workplace. We take any concerns seriously and are reviewing the allegations."
Indonesian police have arrested a man they suspect hacked into an advertising company's computer system to show a pornographic video on an electronic billboard at a busy intersection of south Jakarta last week.

A police officer cut the power supply to the billboard after the sexually explicit film had run for five minutes, but by then pictures and videos of the clip taken by amused motorists had already been widely shared on social media.

Nuclear suits rejected

The International Court of Justice has rejected suits filed by the tiny Marshall Islands against the world's nuclear powers that sought to force them to do more to disarm.

Though the suits failed on procedural grounds, India, Pakistan and Britain were brought to the court to answer the complaint at public hearings in April.

Superhero tribute

Superheroes filled a South Carolina church as friends and family paid tribute to six-year-old Jacob Hall, who was killed during a school shooting.

Jacob Hall was in the playground with another student and a teacher at his school when a 14-year-old boy allegedly opened fire on the September 28.

The six-year-old was the only one critically wounded in the shooting and died of his injuries in hospital on October 1.

Google writes off bill

Google has written off a 100,000 bill run up by a 12-year-old Spanish boy who mistakenly believed he was earning money through an advertising account he opened with the internet giant to promote videos of his municipal band.

Jose Javier, from the eastern city of Torrevieja, ran up the Google AdWords bill over two months. His mother, Inma Quesada, said the youngster said he wanted to become a "famous YouTuber" but did not realise what he was doing.

Swift signs on

AT&T has signed pop star Taylor Swift to an exclusive, multi-year deal that includes a performance at a party the wireless and pay-TV service provider will host the night before the 2017 Super Bowl, the company said.

The deal includes exclusive performances and other content, AT&T said in a statement.

Financial terms were not disclosed.
One of the strongest opioids in circulation - which can also be used as a chemical weapon - is being offered openly for sale online from China, an investigation has discovered.

Carfentanil is so deadly an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person, and u ntil July, when reports of overdoses began to surface in the US, it was best known for knocking out moose and elephants.

Despite the dangers, Chinese vendors offer to sell carfentanil for worldwide export, no questions asked, an Associated Press investigation found.

AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export carfentanil to the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as 2,750 US dollars (2,230) a kilogramme.

Carfentanil burst into view this summer as the latest scourge in an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed tens of thousands in the US alone.

In China, the leading global source of synthetic drugs, carfentanil is not a controlled substance. The US government is pressing the Chinese to blacklist it, but Beijing has yet to act.

"We can supply carfentanil ... for sure," a saleswoman from Jilin Tely Import and Export wrote in broken English in an email. "And it's one of our hot sales product."

The AP did not order any drugs or test whether the products on offer were genuine.

China's Ministry of Public Security declined requests for comment.

For decades, before being discovered by drug dealers, carfentanil and substances like it were researched as chemical weapons by the US, UK, Russia, Israel, China, the Czech Republic and India, according to publicly available documents.

They are banned from the battlefield under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Carfentanil is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, a related drug that is itself up to 50 times stronger than heroin.

Forms of fentanyl are suspected in an unsuccessful 1997 attempt by Mossad agents to kill a Hamas leader in Jordan, and were used to lethal effect by Russian forces against Chechen separatists who took hundreds of hostages at a Moscow cinema in 2002.

Later, dealers discovered that vast profits could be made by cutting fentanyls into illicit drugs. In the fiscal year 2014, US authorities seized just 3.7kg of fentanyl. This fiscal year, through to mid-July, they seized 134.1kg, Customs and Border Protection data shows. Overdose rates have been rocketing.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration has "shared intelligence and scientific data" with China about controlling carfentanil, according to Russell Baer, a DEA special agent in Washington.

"I know China is looking at it very closely," he said. Delegations of senior Chinese and US drug enforcement officials met in August and September to discuss opioids, but failed to produce a substantive announcement on carfentanil.

China is not blind to the key role its chemists play in the opioid supply chain. Most synthetic drugs that end up in the US come from China, according to the DEA.

China already has controlled fentanyl and 18 related compounds, but despite periodic crackdowns, people willing to skirt the law are easy to find in China's vast, freewheeling chemicals industry.

Vendors said they lied on customs forms, guaranteed delivery to countries where carfentanil is banned and volunteered strategic advice on sneaking packages past law enforcement.

"The government should impose very serious limits, but in reality in China it's so difficult to control because if I produce 1kg or 2kg, how will anyone know?" said Xu Liqun, president of Hangzhou Reward Technology, which offered to produce carfentanil to order. "They cannot control you, so many products, so many labs."

Last October, China added 116 synthetic drugs to its controlled substances list. Acetylfentanyl, a weak fentanyl variant, was among them. Six months later, monthly seizures of acetylfentanyl in the US were down 60%, DEA data shows.

Several vendors contacted in September were willing to export carfentanil but refused to provide the far less potent acetylfentanyl.

Seven companies offered to sell acetylfentanyl despite the ban. Five offered fentanyl and two offered alpha-PVP, commonly known as flakka, which are also controlled substances in China.

AP
Juan Manuel Santos is accompanied by his wife as he speaks to the press at the presidential palace in Bogota (AP)

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has said he is deeply honoured to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a five-decade civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people.

"I receive this with great emotion," he told the Nobel Foundation in an audio interview posted on its Facebook account.

"This is a great, great recognition for my country. I am eternally grateful.

"I receive this award in their name: the Colombian people who have suffered so much in this war. Especially the millions of victims that have suffered in this war that we are on the verge of ending."

The award comes days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal Mr Santos helped bring about, and Nobel judges conspicuously left out his counterpart, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc)

"The referendum was not a vote for or against peace," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, insisting the peace process was not dead. "What the No side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement."

Colombian voters rejected the deal on Sunday by the narrowest of margins - less than half a percentage point - over concerns that the rebels, who were behind scores of atrocities, were getting a sweetheart deal.

Under the terms of the accord, rebels who turn over their weapons and confess their crimes could be spared jail time and Farc would be guaranteed 10 seats in congress until 2026.

Mr Santos and Mr Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, signed the peace deal last month after more than four years of negotiations in Cuba. Six days after the deal was signed, Colombians rejected it in the referendum.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it believes Mr Santos, despite the No vote, "has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution".

It said the award should also be seen "as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process".

As defence minister a decade ago, Mr Santos was responsible for some of Farc's biggest military setbacks. Those included a 2008 cross-border raid into Ecuador that took out a senior rebel commander and the stealth rescue of three Americans held captive by the rebels for more than five years.

Mr Santos and Mr Londono met only twice during the entire peace process: last year when they put the final touches on the most controversial section of the accord - the part dealing with how guerrillas would be punished for war crimes - and last month to sign the accord before an audience of world leaders and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

The Colombian vote on Sunday was also seen as a referendum of sorts on Mr Santos, who has staked his presidency on securing peace but in the process, critics say, neglected the economy and other pressing issues. His approval rating in July was near the lowest it has been since he took office in 2010.

Prize committee chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five said Mr Santos, 65, has made clear that he will continue to work for peace in Colombia.

"The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task," she said.

Committee secretary Olav Njoelstad said there was "broad consensus" on picking Mr Santos as this year's peace laureate.

It is the first time the peace prize has gone to Latin America since 1992, when the committee rewarded Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu.

A record 376 candidates were nominated for this year's award, which carries a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor (745,000).

Last year's peace prize went to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for its efforts to build a pluralistic democracy.

AP
Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu shed tears of gratitude on his 85th birthday as he presided over a cathedral mass despite his poor health, after saying he would like the option of a "dignified assisted death" when the time comes.

The former archbishop was taken into St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, in a wheelchair and was later helped to his feet in church robes, a crucifix around his neck, for the Anglican ceremony.

He wiped away tears and gave thanks at the sight of friends and well-wishers in the congregation.

"I am just trying to draw attention to myself," an emotional Tutu said with trademark humour, drawing laughter. He was comforted by another priest and his daughter, Mpho Tutu van Furth.

Tutu, an anti-apartheid campaigner who has spoken on human rights long after the 1994 end of white minority rule in South Africa, has been treated in hospital several times since last year because of infections linked to past treatment for prostate cancer.

He has been treated for the cancer for many years, and his family previously said the disease was under control.

In a column in the Washington Post, Tutu said he believed in the "sanctity of life" but also reiterated his support for "assisted dying" for terminally ill people who seek that option.

"I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs. I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life's journey in the manner of my choice," he wrote.

He said he supported initiatives for assisted dying laws in the UK, the US, South Africa and elsewhere.

"In refusing dying people the right to die with dignity, we fail to demonstrate the compassion that lies at the heart of Christian values," he wrote. "I pray that politicians, lawmakers and religious leaders have the courage to support the choices terminally ill citizens make in departing Mother Earth. The time to act is now."

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his peaceful campaign against apartheid. His birthday this year fell on the day Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the prize for efforts to end war in his country.

South African president Jacob Zuma said Tutu had made major contributions to freedom and democracy in South Africa.

"He continues to inspire the nation and the world in the promotion of human rights, justice and the wellbeing of all, especially the poor," Mr Zuma said.

AP
The parents of a mother stabbed to death by her banker husband in Britain's exclusive "Beverly Hills" estate say they helped build her dream home like Fort Knox to protect her only to discover the "danger was within".

Investment banker Sanjay Nijhawan has been found guilty of stabbing his wife 124 times in front of their four-year-old son after she demanded a divorce.

Care home director Sonita Nijhawan, 38, was attacked by her husband with an axe and a knife in their new home.

Jurors heard Mrs Nijhawan wanted to divorce her depressed husband shortly after he quit his job with Barclays Bank in London.

Nijhawan, 46, had waited for his wife to come downstairs in the early hours of the morning before he took the axe from his back pocket and attacked her in May.

Jurors heard that he accepted killing his wife but claimed it was on the grounds of diminished responsibility after his battle with depression spiralled out of control and he felt he had "no option" but to kill her.

Following a two week trial, jurors convicted Nijhawan of manslaughter on Friday.

Mrs Nijhawan's father Chander Parkash, 66, said in the days before the killing the couple had been planning a religious blessing for the home they had just moved into in Surrey.

"I supervised that building brick by brick," he said.

"We built that house like Fort Knox, with burglar alarms, fire alarms, security to keep her safe from the outside world but little did we know the danger was from the inside.

"I pray to God that no father should have to arrange their childs's funeral. Every morning I wake up and I see her face in front of my eyes.

"I wish more than anything to know the truth - why did this happen?"

He said he received a call from Nijhawan's mother who was concerned about him and he went to the house to check on them.

"I received a call from Sanjay's mum saying he was very emotional. I got to the house and asked their son, 'where's mama and dada?'," he added.

"When I went into the kitchen I saw what no father should have to see, my daughter lying in a pool of blood."

Jurors heard during the trial how she had told her husband that she wanted to leave him.

Faced with the prospect of losing his wife, Nijhawan researched "soft parts of the female skull" online.

Prosecutor Sally O'Neill said: "The number and nature of her cuts make it clear that she was the victim of a fatal and sustained attack. She had a very large number of cut and stab injuries to her neck and head.

"Sonita had 124 significant injuries to her body including 40 cut and blunt force injuries to her head, of which 18 were to the back of the head, 11 to the side and 10 to the left hand side of her skull. These were all likely to be caused by an axe.

"There were 25 stab wounds to left side of her neck, more likely to have been caused by a knife. The defendant was immediately taken St George's Hospital in Tooting."

A post-mortem examination revealed that the blows from the axe were carried out with a "severe" degree of force.

Her mother Nirmala Parkash, 62, said: "I'm Sonita's mother, I'm desperate to see her, to hold her, to hug her. I keep thinking of how I carried her when she was a baby. It feels like an organ has been ripped out of me.

"I keep thinking of if it my head, it is like a film. How afraid she must have felt. I feel it like a deep open wound, like an abyss which cannot be filled.

"I can't even look at pictures of her, I had to take photos down around the house because it is unbearable. I will have to live with this until I'm in my own coffin."

Nijhawan, of Crossfield Place, Weybridge, Surrey, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Monday.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
A ten-year-old boy was hit over the head with a wine bottle on a Ryanair flight after a "crazy" brawl erupted mid-air.

Frightened families watched as a stag party clashed with passengers on the three-hour trip to from Edinburgh to Alicante, Spain.

It's believed the brawl erupted after a member of the stag party repeatedly shouted 'topknot' at another passenger, before a female "snapped and jumped at the group", according to The Sun.

Conor Cockburn (27) who was on the flight told the Sun that he had never been on a flight quite like it.

In the fight a plastic wine bottle hit a ten-year-old child on the head.

According to The Sun, police were waiting at the Spanish airport ready to escort the brawlers from the plane.

Ryanair confirmed that Spanish officials were waiting for the plane when it landed  and escorted off four people.

In a statement to Independent.ie Ryanair said:

The crew of this flight from Edinburgh to Alicante (Oct 6) requested police assistance upon landing in Alicante, after four passengers became disruptive in-flight.

"The aircraft landed normally and the individuals were removed and detained by police in Alicante. We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."
Ukip's Steven Woolfe has claimed a party colleague "came at me and landed a blow" in an argument over the party's leadership contest.

Leadership favourite Mr Woolfe accused MEP Mike Hookem of losing his temper and pushing him into a door frame during a meeting designed to clear the air between Ukip's MEPs.

Mr Woolfe, 49, is recovering in hospital after he collapsed and suffered two seizures following the incident at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday.

But Mr Hookem, 62, denied he hit his colleague and suggested the MEP for North West England tripped instead.

Mr Woolfe told the Daily Mail: "Mike was obviously very angry and lost his temper.

"I wasn't bruising for a scrap. I asked to deal with the matter outside of the room because it was flaring up in the meeting and upsetting everybody, and Mike clearly read that totally the wrong way.

"It was a completely unexpected incident.

"Mike came at me and landed a blow. The door frame took the biggest hit after I was shoved into it and I knew I'd taken a whack and was pretty shaken."

After the incident Mr Woolfe briefly attended a voting session at parliament but left when he felt unwell. Moments later he collapsed and was rushed to hospital.

Mr Hookem told the Daily Mail: "I did not hit Steven and I did not see him hit his head."

The incident threatens to further damage the reputation of the party, which is locked in a leadership crisis following the shock resignation of Diane James just 18 days after she was elected as leader.

Party leader Nigel Farage has ordered an inquiry into the confrontation.

Mr Woolfe had announced he will run for leader in the next election, after he was barred from standing in the leadership contest over the summer for missing the nomination deadline by 17 minutes.

But there were claims that he had angered some MEPs by recently admitting that he had considered defecting to the Conservatives.

Mr Woolfe added: "There was a lot of anger expressed towards me over what happened in the summer around the leadership contest, and the fallout on social media after I was barred from standing."

Mr Farage likened the incident to that you would see "in Third World parliaments".

"It's two grown men getting involved in an altercation. It's not very seemly behaviour, but I'm not today going to get involved in the blame game, name names and say who did what," he said.

"You see Third World parliaments where this sort of thing happens. It's not good, it shouldn't have happened."

In a sign of the bitter divisions, the party's millionaire backer Arron Banks demanded the suspension of the party's ruling national executive committee.

He warned that he would leave altogether if the party's "Tory troublemakers and fifth columnists" succeeded in preventing Mr Woolfe from running for leader for a second time.

Feelings were already running high in the party, with some members deeply unhappy at Mr Farage's decision to carry on as interim leader until a permanent successor was in place.

But Mr Banks warned critics of Mr Farage not to prevent Mr Woolfe - widely seen as the leader's preferred successor - from standing again.

He singled out the party's only MP Douglas Carswell and Ukip's leader in the Welsh Assembly Neil Hamilton - both ex-Conservative MPs.

The Tory troublemakers and fifth columnists represent a small minority in our party, yet they use any opportunity they can to undermine those working tirelessly to hold the Government's feet to the flames. This ends today," he said.

"If Neil Hamilton and Douglas Carswell remain in the party, and the NEC decide that Steven Woolfe cannot run for leader, I will be leaving Ukip."

London Assembly member Peter Whittle admitted it had been "a rocky week" for the party.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain it was "an altercation that got out of hand" and there would be a full investigation.

He added: "Obviously it's not the way to carry on and it's not the way to behave.

"The fact is we are in a very, very strong position.

"We are up in the polls and we are basically making the whole political agenda at the moment.

"Anyone who looked at the Tory Party conference this week will see all our ideas are being discussed, all of them are being taken on board by the Government.

"The fact is we are here to stay as a party, there's no question about it."

Both interim party leader Mr Farage and major Ukip donor Arron Banks have said Prime Minister Theresa May's conference speech could easily have been made at a Ukip conference.

Mr Whittle added: "John Prescott, when he punched a member of the public, nobody started drawing conclusions about Labour as a whole.

"You shouldn't draw conclusions about Ukip as a whole from this.

"People care, obviously, about who's leading Ukip, because they realise Ukip sets the whole political agenda in Britain at the moment.

"Of course this is wrong, we'll get to the bottom of it, but if I had a dollar for every time Ukip had been written off, I'd be a very rich man."
Pet owners were horrified when they spotted a 'friendly' bulldog being muzzled with duct tape and rope.

Shocked passerby Lesley Wickenden spotted the dog outside a Lidl store in Brighton and called the RSPCA.

The owner of the dog claimed police advised him to tie the dog up in that way.

The owner told Ms Wickenden that the dog had nearly bitten him before.

She said: 'The animal has feelings and it was wrong if I just drove past."

The animal charity have visited the owner but still remains in their care.

Dog owners reacted with shock and horror to the photo.

Asher Naylor commented: This makes me angry. I have the same dog. This needs to be sorted!

Nicola Tulloch said: Disgusting way to treat a dog.

Bev Bassett added: Common sense tells you this is not the right thing to do."

A spokesman for the RSPCA told local media: We received a number of calls from people last Friday (Sep 30), after they had seen the images of the dog online.

We shared the publics concerns and an RSPCA inspector visited the man on Saturday morning (Oct 1), and they assured our officer that it had only a temporary measure after his dogs original muzzle broke while he had been out visiting his mother.

The RSPCA provided the man with a new muzzle for his dog and advised him to purchase a new one so that it can be properly fitted.
A clash between two Ukip MEPs that ended with one of them in hospital was "one of those things that happens between men", Nigel Farage said last night.

The acting Ukip leader said he feared Steven Woolfe, the front-runner in the party's leadership contest, would die after he collapsed after an "altercation" with a fellow MEP in the European Parliament. There were allegations that he had been punched in the face.

The married father-of-one, who is 49 today, fell over during the encounter and banged his head.

He had two "epileptic-like fits" and complained of numbness on his left side, before collapsing two hours after the row yesterday morning. A photograph obtained by ITV News showed him spread-eagled and face down, while an attendant leaned over him.

Speaking from hospital yesterday afternoon, Mr Woolfe said that a CT scan had shown there was no blood clot on his brain and added that he was "feeling brighter, happier, and smiling, as ever".

Ukip refused to deny that Mike Hookem, its defence spokesman and an RAF veteran, was the other MEP involved. A spokesman for Mr Hookem denied that he had punched his colleague, insisting it had been a "verbal altercation".

Mr Farage announced an inquiry but said it was unlikely to lead to suspensions or police involvement. He said: "I don't think that a political party can have an incident like this without having a look at it. I don't see any need for the police to be involved, there are no complaints.

"Somehow I doubt people will be suspended. I won't be on the inquiry myself.

"I suspect it will blow over and be looked back upon as one of these things that happens between men."

Ukip MEPs were holding a "clear-the-air" meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday morning. Party insiders said the row erupted when Mr Woolfe admitted he had considered defecting to the Tories having been "enthused" by Theresa May.

During the meeting, one MEP said he wanted to "take this outside", and the pair later clashed after leaving the room.

In his statement, Mr Woolfe added: "As a precaution, I am being kept in overnight awaiting secondary tests to make sure everything is fine."
Portugals former prime minister Antonio Guterres, who is virtually certain to be the next UN secretary-general, says he wants to be an honest broker, a bridge-builder and someone who tries to create conditions for consensus.

The veteran politician and diplomat, who won unanimous backing from the UN Security Council on Wednesday, said that if he got the job his aim would be to work with all countries to help solve the myriad problems on the global agenda.

The Security Council was scheduled to meet behind closed doors yesterday morning for a formal vote on Guterres candidacy.

Russias UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current council president, expressed hope that the council will recommend Guterres by acclamation to the 193-member General Assembly, which must approve a successor to Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term ends on December 31.

Guterres topped all six informal polls in the council after receiving high marks from almost every diplomat for his performance in the first question-and-answer sessions for candidates in the General Assembly. He was the only candidate of the 10 in the race to receive no discourage votes in Wednesdays poll, which was the first to use coloured ballots to distinguish the votes of the five veto-wielding permanent members  the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

The result disappointed campaigners for a woman or East European to be the worlds top diplomat for the first time.

Guterres will almost certainly select a woman as deputy secretary-general and he said in the interview that one of the things that was crucial at the male-dominated United Nations was to have gender parity.

He said that his 10 years as the UN high commissioner for refugees, which ended in December, were excellent preparation for a secretary-general who needs to be an honest broker.

I think we are living in a world where we see a multiplication of new conflicts, and you see an enormous difficulty in solving the conflicts, Guterres said.

Whats needed, he said, is a new diplomacy for peace which requires discreet diplomatic contacts and shuttling among key players in conflicts and disputes.
Poland's parliament has voted to reject a bill proposing a near-total ban on abortion, inflicting the first serious defeat on the country's ruling socially-conservative government since it came to power last year.

An overwhelming majority of MPs voted to kill the bill yesterday after a passionate debate that had been continued from the previous night.

However, the ruling Law and Justice party has said it will continue to pursue a tightening of the country's abortion law, though not to the degree outlined in the now dead bill.

The bill would have tightened Poland's already strict abortion law by outlawing the practice, even if the pregnancy was the result of rape and incest, and would have imposed tough prison sentences on anybody who carried out a termination.

Although not a government bill, it had won the unofficial backing of Law and Justice, which portrays itself as a guardian of Roman Catholic values.

But the proposed legislation triggered huge public anger.

On Monday, an estimated 100,000 women took to the streets in a series of protests across the country, while many more went on strike, in a demonstration of outrage that caught the government off guard, prompting a U-turn.

Scores of Law and Justice politicians decided to reject the bill yesterday, many of them reversing their decision to approve it in September.

"We have the utmost respect for those who signed the proposal [for the abortion ban]," said Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the Law and Justice leader. "But we have come to the conclusion, observing the social situation, that this would be a factor leading to protests."

Mr Kaczynski also stressed his party "is for the protection of life".

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Two men have been charged with the murder of a 20-year-old man who suffered serious injuries in a shopping centre car park.

Police and paramedics were called to Margate Road, Broadstairs, Kent, at 10.12pm on Tuesday, where they found Carl Gregory, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

John Dickson, 27, of Northdown Road, Cliftonville, Margate, and Christopher Pollard, 20, of Brimstone Hill in Meopham, have been charged in connection with his death and are due to appear by video-link at Medway Magistrates' Court later.

Mr Gregory's family said in a statement released through Kent Police: "Carl was a loving son, brother and grandson who was a typical 20-year-old who enjoyed gaming, modern technology and Pokemon Go.

"We would like to reiterate that contrary to media reports, Pokemon Go cannot be attributed to his death.

"Carl will be greatly missed by family and friends and we are still in a position where we are trying to come to terms with his death, and as such we would request some privacy at this difficult time."
US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have joined thousands of their countrymen in abruptly cancelling their plans in Florida, where Hurricane Matthew threatened to wreak havoc on their final-stretch campaigning in the critical swing state.

The campaigns rushed to move staff and volunteers, close offices and cancel events in the path of the storm. And as many Floridians heeded calls to evacuate, both candidates began the delicate and difficult task of pursuing votes during a crisis.

"Even if you want to do politics, no one is there to listen," said Steve Schale, a Democratic consultant who directed or advised Barack Obama's campaigns in Florida in 2008 and 2012.

Mrs Clinton's campaign asked the state for more time to register voters - a request Florida governor Rick Scott rejected - and the Trump team pulled its negative TV ads.

"It looks like it's a big one and it's going to be a bad one," said Mr Trump at a town hall in New Hampshire.

"Please know that we are praying for you and everyone in the path: You've got to take care of yourself, you've got to get out of the area, you've got to listen."

The hurricane is expected to hit billionaire property tycoon Mr Trump's prized Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said: "Mr Trump spoke with employees yesterday to ensure they are safe and following instructions from local officials."

Mrs Clinton tweeted: "Hurricane Matthew is a major storm. Stay safe Florida."

Both candidates stayed far away, preparing for their second debate, a town hall-style face-off on Sunday in St Louis, Missouri.

Mr Trump was holding a dry-run event in Sandown, New Hampshire, while Mrs Clinton was speaking at fund raisers in New York.

Along the south east coast, Matthew was expected to bring dangerous conditions to Georgia, South Carolina and possibly North Carolina. But it was the impact on vote-rich Florida, a must-win state for Mr Trump, that had the campaigns on high alert.

The hurricane closed in just as both sides ramped up their early-vote push and just days before a voter registration deadline.

Vote-by-mail ballots are being sent to voters across the state this week, leaving the potential for ballots to arrive just as voters temporarily abandon their homes.

So far, a record 2.5 million people - nearly one-third of those who voted in 2012 - have made requests for the early ballots.

Mr Scott said on Thursday night that he would not consider extending the October 11 voter registration deadline. "Everyone has had a lot of time to register," he said, adding: "I don't intend to make any changes."

Republican Mr Scott is a strong supporter of Mr Trump and chairman of a Super PAC running Clinton-bashing television ads.

Officials said they were hoping that any disruption to voting would be less severe than with Superstorm Sandy, which struck New Jersey and New York just before the 2012 presidential election and kept many voters away from polls.

At least half of Florida voters typically cast ballots early, either by mail or in person, compared with just a fraction in New York and New Jersey.

AP
People that fled Islamic State contolled areas travel on the back of a vehicle in al-Rai town, in the northern Aleppo countryside

People that fled Islamic State contolled areas travel on the back of a vehicle in al-Rai town, in the northern Aleppo countryside. Photo: Reuters

The former commercial centre of the country has been turned into a battleground (AP)

Children who fled from Islamic State-controlled areas ride a pick-up truck to the northern Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria.

The UN's top diplomat for the Syrian crisis has offered to personally escort hundreds of al-Qa'ida fighters out of Aleppo if it would end hostilities, warning that the city will be completely destroyed by Christmas if the current levels of fighting continue.

Staffan de Mistura, the 69-year-old Italian aristocrat tapped by the UN to try to bring peace to Syria, said he was prepared to offer his own body as a "guarantee" if it would convince fighters from the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qa'ida-linked group, to leave Aleppo.

Al-Nusra - currently operating under the name Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - offered no immediate response to the UN diplomat's dramatic offer but it was reportedly endorsed by Russia and met with anger and dismay by rebel groups in eastern Aleppo.

Mr de Mistura warned that if the fighting continued then Aleppo would be completely destroyed in two and a half months and hundreds of thousands of refugees would be fleeing the remains of the city.

"In two months or a maximum of two and a half months, the city of eastern Aleppo at this rate may be totally destroyed," Mr de Mistura said.

"Thousands of Syrian civilians, not terrorists, will be killed and thousands and thousands of them may try to become refugees in order to escape from this.

"This is what you, we, the world, will be seeing when we will be trying to celebrate Christmas or the end of the year if this continues at this rate."

Russia and the Syrian regime have long claimed that their objective in attacking rebel-held east Aleppo was to drive out terrorist groups like al-Nusra.

The West has accused both Moscow and Damascus of using terrorism as a pretext when their real objective is to stomp out all remaining opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Mr de Mistura's offer appeared to accept the Syrian regime's position at face value: that if al-Nusra's fighters left Aleppo then Mr Assad and his allies might cease their attacks on the city.

Speaking in Geneva, he said that around 900 members of al-Nusra were still in Aleppo and he asked the jihadists to "look at my eyes" and decide if they were prepared to stay in the city even if it meant more casualties among the 275,000 civilians in the area.

"A thousand of you are deciding on the destiny of 275,000 civilians," he said. "If you did decide to leave [Aleppo] with dignity and with your weapons, to Idlib or anywhere you wanted to go, I personally am ready physically to accompany you."

His offer conjured up the extraordinary image of Mr de Mistura, who is known for his elegant suits and pince-nez spectacles, walking through the ruins of Aleppo alongside 900 members of one of Syria's most hardened jihadist groups.

"I can't guarantee more than my own body," he said.

He also addressed the Syrian and Russian governments asking them to agree to an "immediate and total aerial bombardment halt [of Aleppo] if al-Nusra leaves".

Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, immediately announced his support for Mr de Mistura's proposal, according to the Tass news agency.

It was not clear what the Assad regime made of the idea.

There was also no immediate response from al-Nusra itself but analysts, rebel groups and civilians in east Aleppo immediately denounced Mr de Mistura's offer for essentially accepting the regime's premise that it was fighting terrorism.

"No one helped Assad and Russia more than de Mistura," said Abdelkafe al-Hamdo, an English teacher and activist in east Aleppo.

"De Mistura is now a partner in killing children, women and all civilians inside Aleppo."

Mr al-Hamdo said the UN diplomat appeared to be justifying the bombardment by pointing to al-Nusra's presence in the city.

"He is giving the regime the right to kill civilians."

Faysal Itani, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, offered a blunt analysis on Twitter. "Sorry, this is just idiotic," he said.

Meanwhile, the Russian military has warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces, saying it is ready to use its air defence weapons to protect them.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov warned that the Russian military will not have time to contact its US counterparts if they see missiles on their way to any targets - indicating it would strike back without warning should Syrian forces be attacked.

Maj Gen Konashenkov voiced concern about media reports alleging that Washington is considering strikes on Syrian troops. A US-led coalition air strike killed more than 60 Syrian government soldiers last month. The US said the strike was unintentional.
A street vendor sells food on the side of a road after Hurricane Matthew hit Les Cayes, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Destroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A woman carries a laundry basket in an area devastated by Hurricane Matthew in Cavaillon, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

People carry their belongings on the street after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Destroyed houses are seen in a village after Hurricane Matthew passes Corail, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Destroyed houses are seen in a village after Hurricane Matthew passes Corail, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Destroyed houses and boats are seen in a village after Hurricane Matthew passes Corail, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A statue's head lays in the rubble of the Saint Anne church destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Electronic devices stand near an office destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

The body of a man who perished during Hurricane Matthew lies on a piece of wood as survivors prepare to place his body in a coffin, in Cavaillon, Haiti. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Residents prepare a mattress at a school used as a shelter while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Palm trees sway in high gusts of wind, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Vero Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew continues to make a path for Florida's east coast from the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The first outer bands of rain from Hurricane Matthew pass over downtown Orlando, Fla., Thursday evening, Oct. 6, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

This GOES East satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Matthew moving northwest of Cuba towards the Atlantic coast of southern Florida, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016.(NOAA via AP)

A man and a woman walk on the beach as waves, wind and start ahead of Hurricane Matthew Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Jacksonville Beach , Fla. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Family members, from left, Briana Jeunice, 7, Vernea Jones, 30, Greg Jones III, 18-motnhs Greg Jones Sr., 36, and Zahava Alexander, 7, settle into the Red Cross shelter at the Samuel S. Gaines Academy building in Fort Pierce Fla., Thursday Oct. 6, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida's east coast (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A couple of pedestrians walk down a street as an outer rain band of Hurricane Matthew passes over Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Phelan Ebenhack

Residents sleep in a hallway at a school used as a shelter while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Traffic stacks up on I-75 North fleeing the coast and Hurricane Matthew on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, near McDonough, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Residents and vehicles avoid a downed tree and power cable along a flooded roadway in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)

Traffic stacks up on I-75 North fleeing the coast and Hurricane Matthew on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, near McDonough, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

A girl lugs buckets of drinking water after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A religious statue lays broken in the rubble of the Saint Anne church, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A fallen tree is seen outside a house in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew in Flagler Beach, Florida. Photo: AP

Homeowner Joe Lovece surveys the damage to the kitchen at the back of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Homeowner Joe Lovece stands on what had been the back patio of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Homeowner Joe Lovece surveys the damage to the kitchen at the back of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Curtains flutter in the wind after a window was blown out at the LaPlaya Resort & Suites after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Rich Poslusny removes debris from the road in front of his house after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

The roof of a gas lays collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)

Latest pictures of devastation as Hurricane Matthew roars towards US coast Close

Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti before it lashed Florida with rain and howling winds.

The number of fatalities in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 842 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials.

Expand Close Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Matthew, the first major hurricane that could hit the United States head on in more than a decade, triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

Southern Florida escaped the brunt of the storm overnight, but U.S. President Barack Obama and other officials urged people not to get complacent in the face of a storm that could be the most severe to strike northeast Florida in more than 100 years.

Expand Close A religious statue lays broken in the rubble of the Saint Anne church, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A religious statue lays broken in the rubble of the Saint Anne church, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

"I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists," Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials. "People continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the next 24, 48, 72 hours."

Matthew had smashed through the tip of Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted.

At least 175 people died in villages clustered among the hills and coast of Haiti's fertile western tip. At least three towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the farming village of Chantal, where the mayor said 86 people perished, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing.

"A tree fell on the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldn't get out," said driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald, 27, who had been married for only a year.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The roof of a gas lays collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen) Rain batters homes as the eye of Hurricane Matthew passes Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters Rich Poslusny removes debris from the road in front of his house after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters Curtains flutter in the wind after a window was blown out at the LaPlaya Resort & Suites after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters Homeowner Joe Lovece surveys the damage to the kitchen at the back of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters Homeowner Joe Lovece stands on what had been the back patio of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters Homeowner Joe Lovece surveys the damage to the kitchen at the back of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew in Flagler Beach, Florida. Photo: AP A fallen tree is seen outside a house in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) A religious statue lays broken in the rubble of the Saint Anne church, destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) A girl lugs buckets of drinking water after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Traffic stacks up on I-75 North fleeing the coast and Hurricane Matthew on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, near McDonough, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Residents and vehicles avoid a downed tree and power cable along a flooded roadway in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen) Traffic stacks up on I-75 North fleeing the coast and Hurricane Matthew on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, near McDonough, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Residents sleep in a hallway at a school used as a shelter while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero A couple of pedestrians walk down a street as an outer rain band of Hurricane Matthew passes over Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Phelan Ebenhack Family members, from left, Briana Jeunice, 7, Vernea Jones, 30, Greg Jones III, 18-motnhs Greg Jones Sr., 36, and Zahava Alexander, 7, settle into the Red Cross shelter at the Samuel S. Gaines Academy building in Fort Pierce Fla., Thursday Oct. 6, 2016, as Hurricane Matthew approaches Florida's east coast (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP) A man and a woman walk on the beach as waves, wind and start ahead of Hurricane Matthew Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Jacksonville Beach , Fla. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) This GOES East satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Matthew moving northwest of Cuba towards the Atlantic coast of southern Florida, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016.(NOAA via AP) The first outer bands of rain from Hurricane Matthew pass over downtown Orlando, Fla., Thursday evening, Oct. 6, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Palm trees sway in high gusts of wind, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Vero Beach, Fla. Hurricane Matthew continues to make a path for Florida's east coast from the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Residents prepare a mattress at a school used as a shelter while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Melbourne, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero The body of a man who perished during Hurricane Matthew lies on a piece of wood as survivors prepare to place his body in a coffin, in Cavaillon, Haiti. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Electronic devices stand near an office destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) A statue's head lays in the rubble of the Saint Anne church destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin, a district of Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Personal items lie scattered outside homes destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) General view after Hurricane Matthew passes Petit Goave, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Destroyed houses and boats are seen in a village after Hurricane Matthew passes Corail, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Destroyed houses are seen in a village after Hurricane Matthew passes Corail, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Destroyed houses are seen in a village after Hurricane Matthew passes Corail, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins People carry their belongings on the street after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Workers bury two bodies after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins A woman carries a laundry basket in an area devastated by Hurricane Matthew in Cavaillon, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares Destroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY A street vendor sells food on the side of a road after Hurricane Matthew hit Les Cayes, Haiti, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares / Facebook

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Whatsapp The roof of a gas lays collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)

"People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying "Mommy."

Cellphone networks were down and roads were flooded by sea and river water in Haiti.

FLORIDA POWER CUTS

Matthew swiped Florida on Friday with winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph).

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close People stand on the coast watching the surf produced by Hurricane Matthew, on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) Residents stand in a Church after been evacuate prior the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, in Tabarre, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) People stand on the coast watching the surf produced by Hurricane Matthew, on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) People buy goods on the street while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins A couple enjoy the view while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 3, 2016. The text reads, "House for sale". REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins A general view of Kingston is seen while Hurricane Matthew approaches, in Jamaica October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero A general view while Hurricane Matthew approaches Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Jailene Albian, 18 (L), takes care of her six month old son together with her cousin Malbel Negrada, 41, in a shelter at the University of Guantanamo ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in Guantanamo, Cuba, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini A woman protects herself from rain with an umbrella ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares A man poses for a picture on a wall next to the sea ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares A boy walks along a pier ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares A man films the sea with his cell phone next to an old pier ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares Three people protect themselves from rain with an umbrella as they ride a motorbike ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares A man takes pictures on an old pier ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares Two women protect themselves from rain with an umbrella ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares A man takes pictures on an old pier ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares Residents are seen along a pier ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares / Facebook

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Whatsapp People stand on the coast watching the surf produced by Hurricane Matthew, on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The city of Jacksonville could face significant flooding, the state's governor, Rick Scott, said. The storm had cut power to some 600,000 households in Florida, he told a news conference.

At 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Matthew's eye, or center, was brushing the northeast Florida coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving at around 12 mph (19 kph) on a path that would likely take it near or over the coast of northeast Florida and Georgia through Friday night and near or over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

No significant damage or injuries were reported in cities and towns in south Florida where the storm brought down trees and power lines, CNN and local media reported.

Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he was concerned that relatively light damage in the south of Florida so far could give people farther up the coast a false sense of security.

"People should not be looking at the damages they're seeing and saying this storm is not that bad," Fugate told NBC. People should also be aware the hurricane carried more than just ferocious winds, he said.

"The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. They've never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s," Fugate said.

In Cape Canaveral, Florida, home to the country's main space launch site, the storm downed power lines and trees and destroyed billboards.

Matthew lessened in intensity on Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said, but was still a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Category 5 is the strongest.

The U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could be the most powerful to strike northeast Florida in 118 years. The last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Damage and potential casualties in the Bahamas were still unclear after Matthew passed near the capital, Nassau, on Thursday and then moved out over Grand Bahama Island.

The NHC's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from central Florida through Georgia and into North Carolina.

Some Floridians were resisting calls to evacuate.

In the historic city of St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville, about half of the 14,000 residents have refused to heed evacuation orders despite warnings of an eight-foot (2.4 meter) storm surge that could sink entire neighborhoods, Mayor Nancy Shaver said in a telephone interview from the area's emergency operations center.

Even as power started to dim and water to the city was shut off in St. Augustine, the oldest U.S. city and a major tourism attraction, residents, especially elderly and the working poor, refused to budge, she said.

"There's that whole inability to suspend disbelief that I think really affects people in a time like this," Shaver said.

In addition to those who simply did not believe the storm was a major threat, some of the city's residents lacked vehicles or other means to evacuate, said Shaver, who said she was now advising the people to hunker down in whatever shelter they could find.

Lack of means to move was one reason some people stayed in New Orleans before it was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm killed more than 1,800 people there and along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

As of Friday morning, about 22,000 people were in Florida shelters and more had moved inland or to the state's west coast, Scott said. Georgia and South Carolina had also opened dozens of shelters for evacuees.

South Carolina officials warned residents of potentially damaging flooding and storm surge once Matthew makes its way to the state.

"There is nothing safe about what's getting ready to happen," South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley told a news conference.
Ms Suu Kyi had visited the US in recent weeks

Barack Obama has lifted US economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Burma.

The White House said the US president signed an executive order lifting the sanctions on Friday.

He had announced plans to do so last month, when Burma's new civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, visited the Oval Office.

Mr Obama's move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the US and Burma which the outgoing US leader has worked to facilitate.

The south-east Asian nation has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

The US has already eased broad economic sanctions on Burma, including prohibitions on investment and trade.

But the US had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies as well as officials and associates of the former ruling junta.

Mr Obama's executive order removes the national emergency with respect to Burma - the executive order authorising sanctions which has been renewed annually by US presidents for two decades.

It also lifts a ban on the importation of jadeite and rubies, and removes banking restrictions.

Mr Obama wrote in a letter to leaders of Congress: "I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency with respect to Burma has been significantly altered by Burma's substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015."

He said the US intends to use other means to support Burma in the "significant challenges" it still faces.

Some Burmese nationals will remain on the US treasury department's list of specially designated nationals under other sanctions, such as those intended to block the drug trade, a US Treasury statement said. This bars them from any business dealings with the US.

Human rights groups have argued that lifting sanctions is premature as the US will lose leverage over Burma's powerful military. Despite the election victory by Ms Suu Kyi's party last year, the military still wields major political and economic influence.

Senator Ben Cardin, the top-ranking Democrat on the US senate's foreign relations committee, voiced support for the lifting of sanctions, but remained concerned over the plight of Rohingya Muslims, ethnic reconciliation and reform of a junta-era constitution which guarantees the military a quarter of Burma's parliamentary seats.

Mr Cardin said: "Even as we lift these sanctions, we must maintain a focus on on-going concerns regarding the role of the military in Burma's economy and politics."

He also noted that Ms Suu Kyi had raised the issue when she met with senators during her Washington visit last month.

Mr Obama's efforts over Burma reflect his willingness to engage with American adversaries - others being Cuba and Iran. His administration has also sought to promote US strategic interests in Asia.

During its years of international isolation, Burma was heavily reliant on its northern neighbour China, which remains a key source of trade and investment.

AP
Russian deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the defence ministry in Moscow (AP)

The US has called for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria over the two countries' joint offensive in Aleppo.

The move by US secretary of state John Kerry ramps up the rhetoric against Moscow for its part in the conflict, while potentially making it harder to resume diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.

Mr Kerry said Syrian forces had hit a hospital outside Damascus overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100.

Human rights group also accused the two countries of killing thousands in their assault on Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

Mr Kerry said: "Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities, and children and women.

"These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.

"They're beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorise civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."

The Russian foreign ministry said Mr Kerry was trying to divert attention from America's failure to uphold a ceasefire in Syria.

"Kerry used these words from the point of view of fanning tensions," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"As long as war crimes are at question, the Americans should start with Iraq. And then look at Libya and Yemen to see what is going on there."

The US has little chance of being able to initiate a war crimes probe of either Russia or Syria. Russia has veto power at the UN Security Council and has blocked repeated attempts over the last five and a half years to put pressure on Syrian president Bashar Assad's government or hold it accountable for the widespread allegations of indiscriminate killing, torture and chemical weapons attacks.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke of a new French effort for a ceasefire in Syria that would include a UN Security Council vote on Saturday. But it is unclear what advantages his plan would have over the US-Russian led process that collapsed last month.

Mr Kerry's September 9 agreement with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counter-terrorism alliance in Syria, had fighting stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas. Neither condition was ever met.

The truce then shattered completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo. Mr Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Russia on the military partnership earlier this week.

Mr Ayrault called Syria a "human tragedy" that demands every effort to restart a peace negotiation.

He said Saturday would be a "moment of truth" at the Security Council. He said the question that will be posed to everyone, but particularly to Russia, is: "Do you, yes or no, want a ceasefire in Aleppo?"

Such a ceasefire would be "open to discussion", but Mr Ayrault said two demands were absolute.

"The first one is the ceasefire and no-fly zone over Aleppo," he said.

"And the second pillar is access for humanitarian aid. We're not giving up."

At the current rate of fighting, Mr Ayrault claimed, "Aleppo will be totally destroyed by Christmas".

Russia will almost surely veto the French measure.

"I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

The war has killed as many as half a million people since 2011, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Second World War and allowed the Islamic State group (IS) to carve out territory for itself and emerge as a global terror threat.

Given the range of militant groups, extremists and outside powers now fighting in Syria, the original contest between Mr Assad's government and so-called "moderate" opposition forces has proven stubbornly difficult to quell.

Russia launched its air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Mr Assad's forces make significant territorial gains. Washington responded by engaging Moscow in a multinational process aimed at getting all of Syria's fighting parties, except IS and al-Qaida, to buy into a ceasefire and eventual unity government.

The US also wanted Russia to join in the campaign against extremist groups like IS.

For that reason, Mr Kerry and other US officials have tempered their criticism of Russia even as the death toll from its air campaign has risen. Syrian human rights observers claim Moscow has killed as many as 9,400 people, crushing hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure in rebel-held areas along the way.

AP
Police at the scene of a motorcycle bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey (AP)

Police in Turkey have detained six people in connection with a bomb blast near a police station in Istanbul in which 10 people were injured, the state-run news agency said.

Authorities said Thursday's attack - carried out with a bomb mounted on a motorcycle - was the work of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The Anadolu Agency said on Friday that the suspected bomber was detained overnight in the central Turkish province of Aksaray.

Two other people travelling with him inside a vehicle were also arrested.

Police in Istanbul later held three other suspected accomplices, the agency reported.

PKK has been waging a three-decade-long insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984. Fresh violence flared last year with the collapse of a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire.

AP
Vietnam bans hunting of its dwindling population of elephants

Vietnamese authorities have seized more than two tons of elephant tusks illegally imported from Mozambique.

Customs newspaper reported on Friday that 4,524lb (2,052kg) of ivory hidden in timber in two containers was seized at a port in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

Officials in Ho Chi Minh City were not available for comment.

Last week customs officers at Hanoi International Airport seized 682lb (309kg) of elephant tusks illegally smuggled from Nigeria.

Elephant ivory is used as jewellery and home decorations in Vietnam, which bans hunting of its own dwindling population of elephants.

AP
This week marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, a Category 3 storm which formed on October 22, 2012 and caused $70 billion in damage in roughly two weeks as it moved from the Caribbean to Canada, $11 million of which came from its impact in Rhode Island. Do you believe Rhode Island is more or less prepared to handle a large storm in the decade since Hurricane Sandy? Let us know in this week's poll question below.

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Its bad news for organized religion: A majority of the religiously unaffiliated  the so-called nones  say they fell away from faith not because of any negative experience, but because they stopped believing, usually before the age of 30.

Gloomier still for religion is this: Nones now make up 25 percent of the American population, making them the single largest faith group in the U.S., ahead of Catholics (21 percent) and white evangelicals (16 percent).

And only a fraction  7 percent  say they are looking for a religion to belong to at all.

Those are among the more salient findings of a new study of the religiously unaffiliated conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute.

The study challenges the assumption that the unaffiliated are leaving religion because they are offended by religious institutions treatment of gay and lesbian people or clergy sex abuse scandals, said Daniel Cox, PRRIs research director.

Those things matter, but they are dwarfed by this central idea that people no longer believe in religious teachings, he said.

Even the studys title is a downer for the devoted: Exodus: Why Americans are Leaving Religion  and Why They Are Unlikely to Come Back. Here are some of the central findings of the survey of 2,201 adults that was conducted in late July and early August and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points:

Only 18 percent of nones say religion is important in their lives, and only 40 percent say they are moderately spiritual. The majority of the unaffiliated  53 percent  describe themselves as neither religious nor spiritual.

Nones do not generally leave religion due to negative experiences. Sixty percent said they simply stopped believing in their childhood religion, while 32 percent cited their familys lack of religious commitment. Less than a third  29 percent  said negative religious teachings about gays and lesbians was important to why they left their childhood religion, and only 19 percent cited the clergy sex-abuse crisis.

A majority of nones still believe in God  22 percent say God is a person, while 37 percent see God as an impersonal force.

One in five nones say a belief in God is necessary to morality.

But the study, released Sept. 22, is full of interesting contradictions, too. While only one-fifth of all nones say morality is fostered by belief in God, one in three believes children should be raised in a religion to learn good values.

And while one third of all nones say they do not believe in God, only a fraction  13 percent  accept the label atheist.

There is still stigma attached to the word atheist, Cox said. I think there is a disinclination to claim the label if they are nonbelievers who just dont think about religion all that often.

The study attempts to further define nones by dividing them into three subgroups  the Rejectionists, the Apatheists and the Unattached Believers.

The Rejectionists are the largest group, at 58 percent of all nones, and agree that religion is not important in their lives and does more harm than good. Apatheists  22 percent  say religion is not important to them, but isnt harmful to society, while Unattached Believers  18 percent  say religion is personally important to them.

None of these findings surprise Elizabeth Drescher, a Santa Clara University adjunct professor. In researching her book Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of Americas Nones, Drescher found the religiously unaffiliated seldom mentioned negative experience with religion.

The way religious education and formation is set up in mainline and Catholic churches parallels high school, she said. Once you graduate from it, you got it. You know, dont be a jerk, do unto others, and nones just kind of get bored with it and move on.

But what do they move on to? Katherine Ozment is the author of Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose and Belonging in a Secular Age and a none who simply drifted away from her childhood Presbyterianism.

Its not that nones dont believe in God; its that they dont believe in religious teachings, she said. They have detached completely from religion and are finding meaning in their jobs, in raising kids, in their communities, in nature.

But many, she said, still want a sense of community they once found in church. She believes thats behind the fast and recent rise of so-called atheist churches like Sunday Assembly and Oasis, which now have branches across the U.S. and in several countries.

I think there are a lot of nones who miss singing in the choir, who would love to go into a building and hear a moving speech, but the minute someone starts talking about the Bible they check out, she said. It no longer feels applicable to them. Thats a big challenge to the church.

Ed Stetzer, the executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College and an expert on evangelicals and leadership, agrees.

While evangelicals know how to appeal to nominal Christians  those who still identify as Christians but dont practice  they do not have the same success relating to the nones, he said. So I think ultimately there will have to be some retraining about what it means to reach secular people.

Stetzer takes heart from the studys finding that more than half of all nones say they believe in some concept of God.

Thats where the entree is, he said. There is still an awareness that there is a God, and the Christians job is now to explain who that God is and what he has done for them.

The PRRI poll, conducted in partnership with Religion News Service, was funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Stiefel Freethought Foundation.
The Shoshone Rose Casino and Hotel in Lander, Wyoming, is owned and operated by the Eastern Shoshone Tribe. Photo from Facebook



The Eastern Shoshone Tribe of Wyoming is welcoming patrons to its newly expanded and newly renamed casino.

The Shoshone Rose Casino and Hotel now features a 61-room hotel. Chairman Darwin St. Clair Jr. told The Riverton Daily Ranger that rooms are already being booked.

"We're offering a really nice place to stay at," St. Clair told the paper. "The hotel is meant to bring more people here."

The tribe spent $30 million on the project, which also includes a new gaming floor, a business center, a coffee/snack bar and extended hours at the Deka Guy Hee restaurant.

A grand opening celebration is set for October 17, The Daily Ranger reported.

Read More on the Story: Shoshone Rose Casino re-opens with new hotel (The Daily Ranger 10/6)

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Caro Gonzales of the International Indigenous Youth Council in North Dakota. Photo by Rob Wilson Photography [GoFundMe]



Standing Up for Standing Rock: All Should Give

By Doug George-Kanentiio

Whenever a people take to protest and succeed in winning their fight by forcing the power elite to concede there are many consequences from reformation of the political system, changes in education, environmental cleanups, new standards of justice and, from time to time, the actual prosecution and imprisonment of former oppressors and government officials. There are also opportunities for the exercising of new ideas and for some, economic profit.

Such has been true for Native people. In the 1960's we were inspired by the black people as we watched them were lynched, beaten and imprisoned for demanding their human and constitutional rights. We saw the attacks, the police dogs, the tear gas but they did not stop, they were not to be denied.

In early part of the 1960's traditional leaders began to share information by hosting a series of historic sessions in various parts of the continent. They formed unity caravans and pooled their meager resources to take to the roads, traveling from Hopi, the northeast, the Pacific coast and from the heart of the continent. They met in community centers, longhouses, kivas. They knew the time had come to exchange ideas, to share prophecies to prepare the younger generation for the great ecological and social changes about to take place and to try and enlighten the world as to the effects industrialization was having on the earth. It was a prolonged call for human beings to turn away from certain destruction.

PLEASE SHARE? #WaterIsLife To date, more than 300 tribes and first nations officially stand with Standing Rock by way... Posted by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Friday, September 30, 2016

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Facebook: Official Fund [Crowdrise]



Delegations were selected to go to the "house of mica" in New York City and there deliver not only words of caution but hope as well. From there individuals and small groups went across the great salt waters, to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America where they met other indigenous peoples and formed friendship and alliances, knowing that what befell one would effect all.

At Akwesasne the Mohawk Nation Council took the lead by sponsoring a touring group called the White Roots of Peace. For a decade this cluster of elders and young people took the message of good will, politics, news and information across the continent. They were Creek, Mohawk, Cree, Inuit, Seneca, Choctaw-lighting the fires of indigenous sovereignty, holding social dances, distributing books, holding classroom sessions. They went to prisons, Native centers, schools; anyplace where Native people were to be found to call them to stand and cast off the suffocating cloak of colonialism.

In 1968 the Mohawk Nation Council authorized the creation of Akwesasne Notes, that publication which was to become the most effective news journal in Native history. It was through the pages of Notes that the worldwide indigenous rights movement was given voice. It proved to be the training ground for dozens of Native journalists and served as a distributor for books, posters, calendars and crafts.

By the time I began my tenure as editor of Notes (following in the footsteps of the amazing John Mohawk) we a staff of 25 and provided an economic outlet for dozens more by marketing their handmade goods.

The thing to note that our traditional leaders knew we had to make use of certain technologies and information dissemination systems if we were to liberate ourselves and change the way in which Natives were perceived and that our respective histories had to reflect our truths. We were determined to change the minds of the college students we met and thereby challenge them to rewrite the lies and deceptions which had become embedded in US and Canadian schools, that such disinformation and distortions cause us, and the land, great harm.

The unity caravans, the human rights advocates, the environmental teachers, the journalists, all contributed to a revolution in Native life.

Two Warrior Women in prayer bravely pass by the massive police force at a construction site of the Dakota Access... Posted by Sacred Stone Camp on Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Because of Akwesasne Notes and the White Roots of Peace we had Richard Oakes, an Akwesasne Mohawk living in San Francisco, empowered enough to swim to Alcatraz in November, 1969 and thereby give international attention to the struggle. Others took heart and protests on campuses went nation wide. After Oakes (my cousin) was shot and killed in 1972 his friends organized a caravan to Washington in his memory. This attracted the interest of Natives everywhere and became the "Trail of Broken Treaties" which reached DC just before the national elections.

The Native people gathered there entered the offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and occupied that building only three blocks from the White House causing Richard Nixon to panic. He had the FBI infiltrate the occupiers and vandalize the interior of the BIA before they left.

Some months later many of the same people went to assist the Lakotas at Pine Ridge in protest of land cessions there. Led by the American Indian Movement the taking of the trading post at Wounded Knee, site of the 1890 massacre, was the longest armed confrontation within the US since the Civil War.

But there were those who thought that political sovereignty might also have financial benefits. The first to try new ventures in this area was Bob Satiacum (1929-1991), a traditional leader from the Puyallup Nation. Mr. Satiacum began the first large scale tobacco selling business on Native lands and the first commercial bingo hall. He faced opposition from the US and Washington State but he prevailed in court and his victory inspired other nations to do likewise with the Seminoles of Florida and the Oneidas of both Wisconsin and New York following. Satiacum's lead caused an economic revolution across Indian Country but he would never had been able to make his fortune without the activists, without the advocates, without the caravaners, the writers, the speakers, the Native rights protestors.

That is why the fight for our pre-European culture, the struggle to preserve our treaties, the determination to sustain a distinct aboriginal identity must be actively supported by any entity which generates profit from our standing as Native nations. All Native gambling entities should now be contributing to Standing Rock. They should be holding fundraisers, asking patrons to donate, sending representatives to North Dakota. They should be encouraging their performers to either talk about Standing Rock or considering holding concerts there for the people. They should make use of their media connections to spread the story and to have Standing Rock delegates come to their communities. They should also adopt the ecological principles of Stand Rock and make use of alternative energy technologies. They can also lobby officials on the local and national level to support Standing Rock and to pressure the North Dakota governor to refrain from calling out the National Guard.

And to those who feel compelled to take a stand at Standing Rock. Be prepared to endure cold, be ready to be arrested, take direction from the leaders at Standing Rock, bring food sufficient for yourself and to share, bring medicine-both traditional and contemporary. Bring tents, warm clothing and a peaceful attitude. Neither bring or use anything which changes the mind. Know there is a risk of confrontation and have the resources to bail yourself out of jail. Bring information about your media contacts: call in every talk show you can think of. Bring monetary donations. Bring video recorders, satellite cell phones and cameras. Document what you can. Have the numbers of the US Justice Department ready and the numbers of your respective home politicians ready to use in an emergency.

It will be a long winter and those corporations are in for the long haul. They cannot afford to lose this round and will act accordingly.

Our Native martyrs and our activist elders are watching: do them proud.

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Ever since the dastardly Uri Attacks which left 19 army men martyred, the chorus and the anger within the country has been growing. The government of the day is under pressure to take decisive action against Pakistan, but much of the action has been pointed towards Pakistani actors working in Bollywood. Specifically, Fawad Khan.

Fawad, Mahira Khan, and other actors have been criticised by a large section of India for their silence over the Uri Attack and not condemning them while they didn't waste time condemning Paris and other attacks in the world. There has been a huge section of India though who've fought for the sake of the Pakistani artists and asked for them to be kept out of the war-like situation between the two neighbors.

Finally, Fawad Khan has spoken out on the issue and released this statement:

I've been in Lahore since July as my wife and I had been expecting our second child.

I've received numerous requests from the media and from well-wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks. As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow.

This is the first time I have spoken on the matter. Please disregard any other words attributed to me during this time because I have not said them. I thank all my fans and fellow artists from Pakistan, India and people in general, all over the world who have shown continued support for their belief in love and understanding to unite a divisive world.

This is the full post:
Well, full beard is in fashion these days, and most women like men with full beard sexier.

According to a new research women find men with full grown beard more attractive for long-term relationships, perhaps for women this is a signal of formidability among males and the potential to provide direct benefits, such as better fertility and survival, to females, the study said.

unsplash.com

Results showed a significant interaction between beardedness and masculinity on attractiveness ratings, the study said.

For the study, Barnaby Dixson from University of Queensland in Australia and his colleagues used computer graphic manipulation to morph male faces varying in facial hair from clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, and full beards, with additional differences in brow ridge, cheekbones, jawline, and other features so that the same man appeared more or less masculine.

Stubble was judged as most attractive overall and received higher ratings for short-term relationships than full beards, which were more attractive for long-term relationships.

Extremely masculine and extremely feminine-looking males were least attractive, irrespective of relationship context, the study, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, showed.

unsplash.com

Sexual selection via female choice has shaped the evolution of male ornamentation in many species, as told by the authors.

Research by Dixson and Brooks (2013) used similar procedures and recorded judgments by both men and women on the faces of men with varying degrees of facial hair. Women rated men with full beards as highest for perceived parenting ability and robustness. Amusingly, as facial hair increased womens ratings of masculinity increased, too. Men however, liked found full beards as appealing as heavy stubble. Men also noted a greater perception of masculinity as facial hair increased.
It's quite an unfortunate series of events for Samsung's Galaxy Note 7, now infamous for bursting into flames and giving the person holding it an epic burn. Literally.

A stress test on the Galaxy Note 7 to see how much pressure it could withstand showed terrifying results - the fully charged device first had smoke coming out of it and eventually burst into flames. The lab test was conducted at the Applied Energy Hub in a Singapore lab.

Reuters

After the test, the battery was completely fried.

Reuters

After people took to social media to report the matter, a global recall of Note 7s soon followed. But before much progress at salvaging the situation could be made, a replacement model started giving off smoke while on a flight in the US.

In a statement to Reuters, Samsung made it clear that the replacement process of the Note 7 is what is priority for them. Unfortunately, some people have come back saying even the replacement phones get too hot too quickly.
With India's 'collective conscience' busy in preparing strategy to teach Pakistan a lesson, pressing issues like development of health infrastructure, education modules and poverty eradication seem to have taken a backseat.

AFP

Though India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Kozhokode, invited his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, to compete for poverty eradication in both the countries, desired results are not achieved unless there is real work.

Lately, the calls for war, proofs of surgical strikes and overdose of patriotism seems to have derailed us from our priorities that are more pressing in nature.

The sensitivity of the issue can be understood by simple yet inconvenient truth that 64 districts out of a total of 675 districts across the country don't have a single blood bank (neither public nor private).

Nearly 27 crore people (almost equal to the population of USA) live in these districts.

Can anything be more appalling than this?

AFP

How should India channelize its resources and energy in a direction, taking 1.3 billion people towards a healthy tomorrow? There may various answers to this, but the current health infrastructure in India shows a dismal face of healthcare system in the country.

7 doctors per 1000 people and other appalling statistics

With only 9,38,861 registered doctors, which accounts for seven doctors per 1,000 people, India dreams to take care of its 1.3 billion people. Certainly, the ground reality is more heart wrenching than these statistics, particularly, when compared to the other states.

Indiatimes

According to Central Bureau for Health Intelligence (CBHI) data released in March 2015, states Maharashtra and Bihar have the worst doctor to patient ratios, with each doctor serving 27,790 and 28,391 patients, respectively. Chhattisgarh is a close third with a doctor to patient ratio of 1 is to 25,032. One government hospital bed serves 1,833 people on an average. The worst ratios are in Bihar (8,789) and Jharkhand (6,052).

According to the report, there are 20,306 hospitals which have 6,75,779 beds in the country. There are 1,83,602 beds in rural areas and the urban areas have 4,92,177 beds.

Population norms and available health infrastructure

AFP

As per the Rural Health Statistics (RHS), India takes care of its 1.3 billion people through a health infrastructure network of a total of 25,308 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), 5,396 Community Health Centres (CHCs) and 763 district hospitals across the country.

As far as population norms for setting up these facilities are concerned, one Sub Centre (SC) requires a population of 5,000 to be set up in a plain area, whereas, this ratio is 3,000 people in hilly region.

One PHC should be there over a population of 30,000 whereas there should be one PHC over the population of 20,000 in hilly region. The population ratio comes to 1,20,000 in plain for a CHC, whereas, a population ought to have a CHC over 80,000 people in a hilly region.

But shortfall is huge

Reuters

As per union health ministry's data till 31st March 2015, India requires a mammoth 29,337 PHCs across India but it only has a total of 25,308 PHCs with a shortfall of 6,556 PHCs which accounts for shortfall of 22 per cent.

Similarly, India requires a total of 7,322 CHCs whereas it has only 5,396 CHCs in place with a deficit of 2,316 CHCs which amounts to a massive shortfall of 32 per cent.

PHCs, CHCs are there, but without doctors and staff

Indiatimes

As per the norms one PHC at least ought to have one doctor, but the current state of these centre is so appalling that in states like UP, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Chattishgarh have majority of its PHCs without even a single doctor.

For example, out of a total number of 3,497 PHCs in UP, 1,288 don't have a single doctor looking after the patients. Similarly the number of PHCs/no doctors ratio is massive in Gujarat (1247/358), Chhattishgarh (792/424), Odisha (1305/297) and West Bengal (909/186) is the worst in the country.

In India, public health system benefits higher income class and not the poor

Indiatimes

The basic definition of a welfare state is a state where poor get benefited most from state machinery, but thanks to rampant corruption and nepotism, public health system serves richer more than the poor in India.

According to WHO statistics, in India, the proportion of lower income classes getting free health care in comparison to the proportion of higher income class with access to free healthcare is 17.33 and 22 respectively.

Although many countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and China have similar situation, but that's what not a welfare state where over one-third is poor is supposed to do.

Indians spend more from pocket on heath

Indiatimes

In India, a mammoth 57.57 per cent of heath expenditure is taken care of by individuals themselves. The out of pocket expenditure in India over health is third highest after Bangladesh (63.35 percent) and Pakistan (61.85) and that's why even poor people have to rush to private medical facilities which further takes a toll on the already crumbling financial health.

Low insurance coverage and poor public health system are two major reasons why even poor go to a private hospital instead of a public hospital for treatment. The global average is this out of pocket is a meager 17.87 which means that majority of the countries globally take care of the expenses on health related issues of their citizens.

No blood bank for 27 crore people

Reuters

More than 64 districts of a total of 675 in 13 Indian states don't have a single blood bank which means as many 27 crore Indians don't have access to a blood bank.

Like all other areas of Public Health Infrastructure (PHI), the blood banks across the country are too thin and scattered. If we see the average, India has only a total of 2,708 blood banks which accounts for almost 46.5 lakh Indians per blood bank.
The Paris Climate Change Deal is said to be the first comprehensive global agreement to tackle climate change. The Agreement will now enter into force in time for the Climate Conference (COP 22) in Morocco in November, where countries will convene the first Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement. European countries along with Canada, Bolivia and Nepal have boosted official backing for the 2015 Paris Agreement, to countries representing more than 55 per cent of world greenhouse gas emissions, as needed for implementation.

The aim of the Paris Climate Change Treaty is to keep the rise in global temperature under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Till 6 October, 74 countries or parties had joined the Paris agreement. The collective accountability stands at 60 per cent of all global emissions according to the website of the United Nations.

India signed the treaty On Gandhi Jayanti.

PTI

India accounts for 4.1 per cent of the emissions and after it joined the agreement, the Paris pact had needed slightly more than three percentage points to reach the 55 per cent threshold to enter into force.

India had maintained a strong stand against having a fixed deadline to sign the treaty. Despite being asked about our stand on the treaty during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States in June this year, the matter was clearly deferred on grounds of domestic compulsion.

However, the stance changed swiftly and India too has joined the signatories of the treaty.

India has assumed a strong stand over the past few years on climate justice, asking for developed nations to bear the larger burden of dealing with emissions as compared to third world nations. The Paris Treaty, however, is in stark contrast to that philosophy.

The Paris Climate Change Treaty asks for equal sharing of the burden among all countries which, according to several experts, is a lop-sided argument.

AP

The treaty, for one, does not go over the kind of technological support that the developed countries will pitch in with to enable developing countries to manage the situation. Low-carbon growth in developing economies will require a stringent measure of checks and balances to avoid industrial gas emissions among other pollutants.

While the treaty does talk about partnership and support to all members by fellows - including financial assistance - there is no clear plan of action within a stipulated time.

Climate watchers around the world are concerned that global temperatures might be rise too high by the time the countries bring in next round of national debates and discussions.

In a report on the Climate News Network, Dr Niklas Hohne, a founding partner of the New Climate Institute for Climate Policy and Global Sustainability, spoke for many when he said: With the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, the work is only just beginning. For 1.5C in particular, the window of opportunity is closing rapidly. Waiting until 2018, when the next round of revised national proposals are expected to be presented, will be too late.

IPS News

"The speed at which the Paris Agreement has come into force has been remarkable. But we now need to see tangible actions to follow just as quickly," Mohamed Adow, senior climate advisor, Christian Aid, told Reuters.

"As Hurricane Matthew leaves destruction across the Caribbean, we're reminded that our climate continues to undergo rapid change and we are continuing to pollute it."

The voice of the concerned climate watchers, activists and environmentalists was highlighted in the UN Secretary General's message as well, "Now we must move from words to deeds and put Paris into action. We need all hands on deck - every part of society must be mobilized to reduce emissions and help communities adapt to inevitable climate impacts."

This may not be exactly what India had in mind for climate justice, but it seems like a great beginning only if it is followed-through with equal enthusiasm.
Dont forget that when I ran in the primaries, when I was in the primaries, everyone said you cant do that in New Hampshire, you cant do that. You have to go and meet little groups, you have to see  cause I did big rallies, 3-4-5K people would come . . . and they said, Wait a minute, Trump can never make it, because thats not the way you deal with New Hampshire, you have to go to peoples living rooms, have dinner, have tea, have a good time.

COOPER: So if you said, Japan, yes, its fine, you get nuclear weapons, South Korea, you as well, and Saudi Arabia says we want them, too?

TRUMP: Can I be honest with you? Its going to happen, anyway. Its going to happen anyway. Its only a question of time. Theyre going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely. But you have so many countries already, China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia, you have so many countries right now that have them. Now, wouldnt you rather in a certain sense have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?

Chris Matthews: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle?

Donald Trump: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.

Chris Matthews: For the woman?

Donald Trump: Yes, there has to be some form.

Its so disconcerting when you hear  even tonight they said Donald Trump is going to New Hampshire to practice for Sunday. This has nothing to do with Sunday. Its like they make you into, like a child . . . Forget debate prep.





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From the very beginning of the campaign, Donald Trumps election strategy has been very simple: Get as much free airtime as possible and hold big raucous rallies full of enthusiastic supporters. It was very different from any other campaign in that it required almost none of the one-on-one outreach that usually goes on for months in the small early states of Iowa and New Hampshire with town halls and visits to diners and living rooms. Trump believed he was above that sort of thing I think if they ever saw me sitting in their living room theyd lose total respect for me. Theyd say, Ive got Trump in my living room, this is weird.In his view, people dont respect real leaders if they have tea with them. They need to see them speaking behind a podium or perhaps from above on a royal balcony. Its uncomfortable for the plebes to be on his level, you see.Likewise, he held very few town halls during the primaries and those he did were generally moderated by friendly supporters and he was only asked questions by fans. Those few that werent were rather disastrous. For instance, in a CNN town hall forum with Anderson Cooper last March, Trump made a statement that sent chills down the spines of millions of people all over the world. Cooper asked him about nuclear proliferation and after vamping in his usual disjointed fashion, he came out with this startling comment:And when Cooper pressed him further by asking if he didnt think there was a benefit to the US guaranteeing a secure world with as few nuclear weapons as possible he replied: Theres a benefit, but not big enough to bankrupt and destroy the United States, because thats whats happening. We cant afford it. Its very simple.Trump had made many shocking remarks before about committing war crimes and torturing and killing families of terrorist suspects among other things. But this exchange may have been the moment when it finally sank in just how dangerous his ideas really are. Its nearly impossible to believe that anyone, much less an American presidential candidate, would think that there is any higher priority than preventing nuclear war, but there you have it. He says its simple  we cant afford it.At another Town hall forum with MSNBCs Chris Matthews a few days later, Trump once again revealed the disturbing way his mind works. Matthews pushed him on abortion rights, which Trump had clearly not fully considered until that moment:Trump had not been schooled in anti-abortion obfuscation on that topic so he blurted out the logical conclusion of the argument. In his debate this week, his zealous anti-choice running mate Mike Pence denied that he or Trump would ever punish a woman for making the heartbreaking choice to end a pregnancy even though Pences Indiana is a state that famously jailed a woman for a self-induced abortion. (Just last month the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned her 20-year prison sentence for feticide ruling that state law doesnt actually allow a woman to be convicted for her own abortion.) Any woman who trusts either one of these men on this issue is being willfully naive.On Thursday night, Trump held a short town hall in New Hampshire, which had been billed as a trial run for Sundays meeting in St Louis. He adamantly denied that he was practicing, claiming that Clinton isnt preparing either and is actually resting up so shell have enough energy for the debate on Sunday. In fact, he indicated that he thinks preparing for the debate is demeaning in some way:Mr. Trump doesnt like to take direction, apparently. After the disaster of his last debate thats a foolish decision. Hes going to be sadly disappointed if he expects the questions from the audience to be the kind of softballs he got from his ecstatic followers last night such as, What is one of your earliest memories as a child and why do you think it stands out? and, What would you say to convince Hispanics who were deceived by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the biased media, to vote for you? (Answering that second one, he informed the crowd that in Nevada the Hispanics prefer to be called Latinos. Seriously.)These general election town halls are a whole other level of performance, requiring the candidates to listen and show empathy to the average people in the audience, respond to the moderators and volley back and forth with their opponent. Even a self-described genius and practiced TV celebrity like Trump may not have a natural talent for it. If his performance in previous similar formats is any indication, the only thing he has a natural talent for in these situations is putting his foot in his mouth.
With the arrest of Subahani Haja Moideen, the alleged ISIS operative arrested from Tamil Nadu, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is claiming to have nabbed one of the most prominent Islamic State recruits from the country.

BCCL

Moideen, originally from Idukki in Kerala, was picked up from Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) a few days back as he was preparing to carry out attacks in south India along with an IS module in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

According to investigators Moideen has reportedly admitted to his involvement with the dreaded terror outfit, including receiving training in Sharia and combat while he was in Mosul.

DNA

Moideen claims he left home to fight for the organisation on April 8, 2015.

"I told my parents and wife I was going to perform Umrah (pilgrimage). As guided by my handlers, I travelled to Iraq via Istanbul after taking a flight from Chennai on a visit visa."

"I was trained in a batch of 30-35 recruits, mostly foreign fighters from Afghanistan, Australia, Lebanon, Pakistan and other countries, and my trainer was an Afghan national. It was a hard training schedule during which we were kept in small rooms and trained from morning till evening," Moideen told the investigators.

AP/ Representative Image

The 31-year-old who was then deployed to fight a war said he was being paid $100 a month during the time.

Unable to withstand the violence and war misery in Mosul he and decided to flee, only to end up in an ISIS jail, before he was allowed to cross over to Turkey from where he contacted his family with the help of the Indian consulate at Istanbul.

AP

Once back in India he managed to get a job at a jewellery shop, and soon got back in touch with the IS handlers and was planning explosions in South India.
Some offered special prayers, while the others distributed food to the poor, all in one hope - their beloved Amma, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, will soon recover her health.

BCCL

While that seemed pretty normal, some have taken their 'devotion' to Jaya to extreme levels.

Some AIADMK women supporters ate food from the floor of a temple as a prayer for the ailing party supremo.

BCCL

In her RK Nagar constituency a man flung himself on mid-air from a crane with hooks pierced into his back to offer his prayers.

BCCL

However, some disturbing visuals of young children with their faces pierced with metal rods taking part in a prayer ceremony organised by party workers has invited criticism. Opposition PMK has called the incident as a "human rights violation".

There are also reports of at least two self immolation attempts for Jayalalithaa ever since she has been admitted in hospital.

All these come even as questions remain over her condition. Both her party and the Apollo hospital have been tight-lipped about her condition.

While the latest medical bulletin from the hospital says her condition is improving, it indicates that her discharge from hospital may not happen soon.

BCCL

"The consensus of opinion of all the experts is that the line of treatment given to the chief minister should be continued and she would require a longer stay," the release signed by hospital chief operating officer Subbiah Viswanathan said.

She is been taken care of by expert doctors from AIIMS and an international specialist Dr Richard John Beale from the London Bridge Hospital, along with a panel of doctors consisting intensivists, cardiologists, respiratory physicians, infectious disease specialists and diabetologists at the hospital.

68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals for fever and dehydration on September 22.

Subsequently, Apollo Hospitals said she was cured of fever and needed to be in the hospital for observation.
The Indian carriers have asked their pilots that overfly Pakistan to avoid emergency landing there, unless there is like fire on board like situation.

Airlines have 'informally' told pilots to opt for Muscat or UAE flight information region on westbound flights, or head to Delhi, Mumbai or Ahmedabad on India-bound flights.

BCCL/representational image

"Flight dispatchers are asking that Pakistani airports be avoided for emergency landings if possible. These instructions have not come in writing but verbally. Making an emergency landing in Pakistan is the last resort for us in an extreme emergency," said a senior pilot with a leading Indian carrier, who regularly operates international flights.

Also Read: International Carriers Plan Route Changes As Pakistan Extends Restrictions On Its Airspace

Confirming this, a senior commander of another big Indian airline said that such 'informal' instructions have been issued in the past too whenever relations with Pakistan have deteriorated, like after the Kandahar hijacking, 9/11 and 26/11.

BCCL/representational image

Sources said that for west-bound flights, the closest 'preferable' emergency landing airports are in Muscat and UAE, like Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi. "Iran and Afghanistan, though the immediate neighbours of Pakistan, are considered 'less of an alternative'," said a route planner with a leading Indian carrier.

In case of the common occurrence of pressurisation failure, for instance, overhead oxygen masks drop.These have oxygen to allow passengers to breathe for 1015 minutes.

Also Read: PIA Likely To Be Barred From Entering Indian Airspace

That is sufficient time for aircraft to descend from their cruising altitude, which is about 30,000ft, to 10,000ft, where oxygen is available and can be pumped into the plane through the AC ducts and "Ram air".

BCCL/representational image

Such planes can then keep flying at the lower altitude to make their way to an alternative airport. Almost all flights from north central and east India to and from Gulf, Europe and America fly over Pakistan.

Also Read: As Tensions Mount Between India & Pak, Indian Carriers Flying To The Middle East Want To Skip Pakistani Skies

While even in aviation ties, the Narendra Modi government has been showing utmost restraint, Pakistan has been constantly imposing restrictions on its airspace and increasing the scope of the same, which has now required Indian carriers overflying it to make changes on some of their international flights.
Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a five-decades-long civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people in the South American country.

The award came just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal that Santos helped bring about, and Nobel authorities conspicuously left out his counterpart, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, from the honor. Read more

1. Brand Pakistan Identifies With Global Terror: Jaitley

Hitting out at Pakistan for using terrorism as an "instrument of state policy", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said 'Brand Pakistan really identifies with global terror" as every major terrorist incident in the world has a "Pakistani footprint" around it.

Jaitley, leading the Indian delegation to the IMF and World Bank meetings, also said Pakistan has a "very low credibility" in terms of the way it deals with matters involving terrorism. Read more

2. Forcing A Husband To Separate From The Family Is Ground For Divorce, Holds Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has observed that forcing a husband to separate from the family is an act of cruelty and a ground for divorce. The statement was made while allowing a husbands plea to annul a 24-year marriage.

An Apex Court bench, having Justice AR Dave and Justice LN Rao, said that leveling false allegations against the husband  accusing him of extra-marital affairs and repeated threats to commit suicide  is also a ground for divorce. Read more

3. Aircraft Wing Part Recovered In Mauritius Is From MH370, Says Malaysia

Malaysia said on Friday that a piece of plane debris discovered in Mauritius was from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking a two-year search has turned up few leads. Read more

4. ISIS Operative Held In Tamil Nadu Tells NIA That He Fought War In Iraq And Syria

With the arrest of Subahani Haja Moideen, the alleged ISIS operative arrested from Tamil Nadu, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is claiming to have nabbed one of the most prominent Islamic State recruits from the country.

Moideen, originally from Idukki in Kerala, was picked up from Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) a few days back as he was preparing to carry out attacks in south India along with an IS module in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Read more

5. Hurricane Matthew Heads Towards Florida After Leaving Over 300 Dead In Haiti

Hurricane Matthew pelted Florida with heavy rains as the deadly storm steamed ever closer to the coast with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph Thursday. Two million people across the Southeast were warned to flee inland.

It was the most powerful storm to threaten the US Atlantic coast in more than a decade, and had already left more than 300 dead in its wake across the Caribbean. Read more
The Oxford English Dictionary has added new words to it once again. One of the words added is Aiyoh', a word every South African is aware of. Apart from 'Aiyoh', other words that found a berth in the dictionary are scrumdiddlyumptious (delicious) and yogasana (no explanation needed, one hopes).

allthingsd.com

'Aiyoh' is one of the most versatile words in the Dravidian lexicon, capable of expressing - in Tamil alone - a suite of emotions including consternation and with a slight modification - apprehension ("Ai-yi-yoh..I'm sure my dad is going to kick my butt!").

"Aiyah" is another such interjection used by speakers of South Indian languages. The expression differs phonetically from "Ayya," which is an honorific.

The Oxford English Dictionary is 150 years old and has over 600,000 entries. Its publisher - the Oxford University Press - believes it's a record of the English language. For purists who swear by it, if a word isn't in the dictionary, it isn't English. Well, bilingual English-lovers who are also well-versed in South Indian languages no longer have to wince when they hear someone interject with an 'Aiyoh!' during an exchange in the Queen's English!
Fifteen years have passed since US armed forces invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, to flush out the al-Qaida backers of those who perpetrated the September 11 attacks. In the occupation that followed, the ruling Taliban were dislodged, the al-Qaida leadership fled across the border to Pakistan where it was ultimately killed, and an elected government under NATO protection was established. But resistance to foreign occupation grew afresh and the Taliban are back.

BCCL

Analysts, including US officials, agree that the resurgent Taliban now controls more territory and population than it did in 2001. About a third of Afghanistan is controlled by Taliban, according to various US government reports, and analysis by pro-West security experts like Stratford and the Long War Journal.

These 15 years of war, preceded by 20 years of wars against the Soviet Union and between warlords has taken a devastating toll. A latest estimate of direct war related casualties by Neta Crawford, professor at Boston University, says some 111,000 people have died and 116,000 have been injured.

BCCL/representational image

Meanwhile, the Afghan war has spilled over across the border into Pakistan's volatile tribal regions, where 62,000 people have been killed and 67,000 injured in the same period. The regions are contiguous, the people - mostly Pashtuns - live on both sides, and the US is trying to turn the tide on both sides. US spending on both these wars - part of its global war on terror - has been staggering. An estimated $800 billion have been spent on both the wars put together. They have lost 2,371 troops and over 3,000 private contractors in Afghanistan.

Besides those killed by direct war-related causes like bullets, airstrikes or IED explosions, at least an equal number, if not more, must have died because of causes indirectly related to the war, Crawford told TOI.

BCCL/representational image

"Wars are extremely destructive of infrastructure - hospitals, roads, water treatment, electricity - and this harms civilians. In addition, it is very hard to raise crops or travel. The greatest source of indirect harm is likely to be adverse health effects during the war or that continue after the conclusion of fighting," she said.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan in its latest half yearly report released this September says that the situation is worsening with each passing year since it started functioning in 2009. Civilian casualty figures for the first half of 2016 stand at a record 5,166 (1,601 dead, 3,565 injured) up 4 per cent from 2015. These include 1,509 children casualties, up by a staggering 18 per cent since 2015.

BCCL/representational image

Meanwhile, a 70-country conference in Brussels on Wednesday promised aid worth $15.2 billion to Afghanistan, lasting up to 2020.

"We're buying four more years for Afghanistan," said EU special representative, Franz-Michael Mellbin.
The Ghana government has decided to remove a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from the Ghana University campus in Accra.

The move comes after a protest was launched by some university professors who accused Gandhi of being a racist.

AP

They had quoted passages written by Gandhi which say Indians are infinitely superior to black Africans to make their claims.

The professors also demanded that the university should put African heroes and heroines first and foremost.

Prof Adomako Ampofo of the University of Ghana who launched the petition said Gandhi was racist against black people and honoring him sets the wrong example for students.

The petition which was launched last month had gathered more than 1,000 signatures.

The social media outrage over it had resulted in some unidentified miscreants defacing the statue a couple of days ago.

YouTube

The statue, which was unveiled by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Ghana in June, was meant to symbolize friendship between the two countries.
Bluster, bravado, and no small amount of blackmail formed the crux of Pakistan's effort to seek US and international intervention in the Kashmir issue even as its special envoys were harangued and humiliated by Baloch, Sindhi, and Gilgit-Baltistani activists in Washington DC.

Barely had Pakistan's special envoy Mushahid Husain Syed concluded his case at the Atlantic Council calling for greater US involvement in the region, when he began to be rebuked by angry and disaffected Pakistanis, some of them making no secret of their desire for a separate identity.

Reuters

The public dressing down was topped by a furious attack by Senge Sering, Director of the Gilgit-Baltistan National Congress, whose outburst against Pakistan's human rights abuse in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir essentially countered Syed's case about Indian excesses in J&K.

''You occupy one-third of Kashmir (in Pakistan), and an occupier cannot be a friend of Kashmir on the other side (in India). You have been exploiting resources in Gilgit-Baltistan, without paying royalty or compensation, a single penny for the last 70 years, I call you a thief in Gilgit-Baltistan and a thief in Gilgit-Baltistan cannot be a friend in Jammu and Kashmir,'' Sering raged during a question and answer session that followed the Pakistani presentation.

Calling Syed and his colleague Shazra Mansab, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special Kashmir envoys, shills for the Pakistani military, Sering berated them for turning up in Washington with sweet-talk and begging bowl every time the money dries up for Pakistan, with blackmail about allying with Russia, China, Iran etc to extract more money from Washington.

Reuters

''Get out of this vicious cycle. Pakistan is not good for any country and it has not done any good for the United States. It is not good for the people of Kashmir.''

Indeed, threatening the United States with abandoning it for Russia, China, and Iran formed the core of Syed's argument for Washington's continued aid, successor and intervention in Kashmir.

He bragged about Islamabad's new and emerging relationship with Moscow, claiming Pakistan now has ''no conflict of interest with Russia,'' a country that Pakistan boasted of having ousted from Afghanistan not so long ago.

He also threw out the prospect of a Pakistan-Russia-China-Iran alliance, although the last three have largely used Pakistan as a cat's paw, since it has very little to offer to the purported alliance.

TOI

Syed also derided President Obama, calling him a ''guest'' at the White House for the next few months, while urging the next administration to take a ''comprehensive perspective'' and ''not try to compartmentalise peace and security, because that is not possible.''

''When you talk of peace in Kabul, you have to ensure that Kashmir is not burning,'' Syed said, implicitly threatening that Pakistan will not allow matters to settle down in Kabul if the US did not intervene in Kashmir.

"The most important interest of the US is stability of Afghanistan and counter terrorism. And for that whether they like it or not, they need Pakistan's cooperation, which they have been getting and we have been providing and we are also suffering in the process. We see the shift (of US policy from Pakistan to India). And that shift would be detrimental to America's own security and interest in South Asia," Syed added silkily.

Reuters

But much of Syed's case was undermined by the rash of disaffection that erupted at the meeting from Sindhi, Baloch, and PoK dissidents and separatists who questioned Pakistan's claim over the Kashmir valley when its own human rights abuses within Pakistan was so poor. One Baloch activists referred to his homeland as Pakistan-Occupied Balochistan, while a Sindhi activist related Sindhi grievances.

Activists also called Shahzra Mansab a ''liar'' for misrepresenting the UN Resolution on Kashmir, which enjoins Pakistan to withdraw its forces from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Mansab claimed it asked both sides to withdraw forces (it does not) and when activists forcefully challenged it, the moderator stepped in to say the point has already been made.
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Home Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter The announcement last week by the United States of the largest military aid package in its history  to Israel  was a win for both sides. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu could boast that his lobbying had boosted aid from $3.1 billion a year to $3.8bn  a 22 per cent increase  for a decade starting in 2019. Mr Netanyahu has presented this as a rebuff to those who accuse him of jeopardising Israeli security interests with his governments repeated affronts to the White House. In the past weeks alone, defence minister Avigdor Lieberman has compared last years nuclear deal between Washington and Iran with the 1938 Munich pact, which bolstered Hitler; and Mr Netanyahu has implied that US opposition to settlement expansion is the same as support for the ethnic cleansing of Jews. American president Barack Obama, meanwhile, hopes to stifle his own critics who insinuate that he is anti-Israel. The deal should serve as a fillip too for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic partys candidate to succeed Mr Obama in Novembers election. In reality, however, the Obama administration has quietly punished Mr Netanyahu for his misbehaviour. Israeli expectations of a $4.5bn-a-year deal were whittled down after Mr Netanyahu stalled negotiations last year as he sought to recruit Congress to his battle against the Iran deal. In fact, Israel already receives roughly $3.8bn  if Congresss assistance on developing missile defence programmes is factored in. Notably, Israel has been forced to promise not to approach Congress for extra funds. The deal takes into account neither inflation nor the dollars depreciation against the shekel. A bigger blow still is the White Houses demand to phase out a special exemption that allowed Israel to spend nearly 40 per cent of aid locally on weapon and fuel purchases. Israel will soon have to buy all its armaments from the US, ending what amounted to a subsidy to its own arms industry. Nonetheless, Washingtons renewed military largesse  in the face of almost continual insults  inevitably fuels claims that the Israeli tail is wagging the US dog. Even The New York Times has described the aid package as too big. Since the 1973 war, Israel has received at least $100bn in military aid, with more assistance hidden from view. Back in the 1970s, Washington paid half of Israels military budget. Today it still foots a fifth of the bill, despite Israels economic success. But the US expects a return on its massive investment. As the late Israeli politician-general Ariel Sharon once observed, Israel has been a US aircraft carrier in the Middle East, acting as the regional bully and carrying out operations that benefit Washington. Almost no one blames the US for Israeli attacks that wiped out Iraqs and Syrias nuclear programmes. A nuclear-armed Iraq or Syria would have deterred later US-backed moves at regime overthrow, as well as countering the strategic advantage Israel derives from its own nuclear arsenal. In addition, Israels US-sponsored military prowess is a triple boon to the US weapons industry, the countrys most powerful lobby. Public funds are siphoned off to let Israel buy goodies from American arms makers. That, in turn, serves as a shop window for other customers and spurs an endless and lucrative game of catch-up in the rest of the Middle East. The first F-35 fighter jets to arrive in Israel in December  their various components produced in 46 US states  will increase the clamour for the cutting-edge warplane. Israel is also a front-line laboratory, as former Israeli army negotiator Eival Gilady admitted at the weekend, that develops and field-tests new technology Washington can later use itself. The US is planning to buy back the missile interception system Iron Dome  which neutralises battlefield threats of retaliation  it largely paid for. Israel works closely too with the US in developing cyberwarfare, such as the Stuxnet worm that damaged Irans civilian nuclear programme. But the clearest message from Israels new aid package is one delivered to the Palestinians: Washington sees no pressing strategic interest in ending the occupation. It stood up to Mr Netanyahu over the Iran deal but will not risk a damaging clash over Palestinian statehood. Some believe that Mr Obama signed the aid package to win the credibility necessary to overcome his domestic Israel lobby and pull a rabbit from the hat: an initiative, unveiled shortly before he leaves office, that corners Mr Netanyahu into making peace. Hopes have been raised by an expected meeting at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday. But their first talks in 10 months are planned only to demonstrate unity to confound critics of the aid deal. If Mr Obama really wanted to pressure Mr Netanyahu, he would have used the aid agreement as leverage. Now Mr Netanyahu need not fear US financial retaliation, even as he intensifies effective annexation of the West Bank. Mr Netanyahu has drawn the right lesson from the aid deal  he can act against the Palestinians with continuing US impunity. - See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2016-09-19/palestinians-lose-in-us-military-aid-deal-with-israel/#sthash.fL4Eq28N.dpuf Pentagon Begins Low-Intensity, Stealth War in Syria By Mike Whitney Last Wednesday, at a Deputies Committee meeting at the White House, officials from the State Department, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed limited military strikes against the (Assad) regime  One proposed way to get around the White Houses long-standing objection to striking the Assad regime without a U.N. Security Council resolution would be to carry out the strikes covertly and without public acknowledgment.  Washington Post Call it stealth warfare, call it poking the bear, call it whatever youd like. The fact is, the Syrian war has entered a new and more dangerous phase increasing the chances of a catastrophic confrontation between the US and Russia. This new chapter of the conflict is the brainchild of Pentagon warlord, Ash Carter, whose attack on a Syrian outpost at Deir Ezzor killed 62 Syrian regulars putting a swift end to the fragile ceasefire agreement. Carter and his generals opposed the Kerry-Lavrov ceasefire deal because it would have required military and intelligence cooperation with the Russians. In other words, the US would have had to get the greenlight from Moscow for its bombing targets which would have undermined its ability to assist its jihadist fighters on the ground. That was a real deal-breaker for the Pentagon. But bombing Deir Ezzor fixed all that. It got the Pentagon out of the jam it was in, it torpedoed the ceasefire, and it allowed Carter to launch his own private shooting match without presidential authorization. Mission accomplished. So what sort of escalation does Carter have in mind, after all, most analysts assume that a direct confrontation between the United States and Russia will lead to a nuclear war. Is he really willing to take that risk? Heck no, but not everyone agrees that more violence will lead to a nuclear exchange. Carter, for example, seems to think that he can raise the stakes considerably without any real danger, which is why he intends to conduct a low-intensity, stealth war on mainly Syrian assets that will force Putin to increase Russias military commitment. The larger Russias military commitment, the greater probability of a quagmire, which is the primary objective of Plan C, akaPlan Carter. Take a look at this clip from an article in Tuesdays Washington Post which helps to explain whats going on: U.S. military strikes against the Assad regime will be back on the table Wednesday at the White House, when top national security officials in the Obama administration are set to discuss options for the way forward in Syria Inside the national security agencies, meetings have been going on for weeks to consider new options to recommend to the president to address the ongoing crisis in Aleppo,A meeting of the National Security Council, which could include the president, could come as early as this weekend. Last Wednesday, at a Deputies Committee meeting at the White House, officials from the State Department, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed limited military strikes against the regime The options under consideration include bombing Syrian air force runways using cruise missiles and other long-range weapons fired from coalition planes and ships One proposed way to get around the White Houses long-standing objection to striking the Assad regime without a U.N. Security Council resolution would be to carry out the strikes covertly and without public acknowledgment, the official said. (Obama administration considering strikes on Assad, again, Washington Post) Dont you think the Washington Post should have mentioned that Carters sordid-little enterprise is already underway? Consider the bombing of Deir Ezzor, for example. Doesnt that meet the Posts standard of U.S. military strikes against the Assad regime? Sure, it does. And what about the two Syrian bridges US warplanes took out over the Euphrates last week? (making it more difficult to attack ISIS strongholds in the eastern quadrant of the country) Dont they count? Of course, they do. And lets not forget the fact that Carters jihadist buddies on the ground launched a mortar attack on the Russian embassy in Damascus on Tuesday. Thats another part of this low-intensity war thats already underway. So all this rubbish about Obama mulling over these new options for military strikes is complete hogwash. Plan Carter is already in full swing, the train already left the station. The only thing missing is presidential authorization which probably isnt necessary since Il Duce Carter decided that it was his turn to run the country. Now check out this clip from a Memo to the President from a group of ex-U.S. intelligence agents who compelled to warn Obama about (among other things) asserting White House civilian control over the Pentagon. Heres an excerpt: In public remarks bordering on the insubordinate, senior Pentagon officials showed unusually open skepticism regarding key aspects of the Kerry-Lavrov deal. We can assume that what Lavrov told his boss in private is close to his uncharacteristically blunt words on Russian NTV on Sept. 26: My good friend John Kerry  is under fierce criticism from the US military machine. Despite the fact that, as always, [they] made assurances that the US Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama, supported him in his contacts with Russia apparently the military does not really listen to the Commander in Chief. Lavrovs words are not mere rhetoric  Policy differences between the White House and the Pentagon are rarely as openly expressed as they are now over policy on Syria.

(Obama Warned to Defuse Tensions with Russia, Consortium News) How shocking is that? When was the last time you read a memo from retired Intel agents warning the president that the Pentagon was usurping his Constitutional authority? That sounds pretty serious, dont you think? Bottom line: The Pentagon is basically prosecuting their own little war in Syria and then chatting up the policy with Obama when they damn-well feel like it. Heres more from the Washington Post: The CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff  expressed support for such kinetic options, the official said  That marked an increase of support for striking Assad compared with the last time such options were considered. (Washington Post) Of course they want to bomb Assad. Theyre losing! Everyone wants to bomb someone when theyre losing. Its human nature. But that doesnt mean its a good idea. Its a very bad idea. Just like supporting Sunni extremists is a bad idea. Just like giving shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS) to fanatical crackpots is a bad idea. How crazy is that? And how long before one of these religious nutcases use their new toys to take down an Israeli or American jetliner? Not very long, Id wager. The idea of doubling-down on homicidal maniacs (By providing them with more lethal weapons) is really one of the dumbest ideas of all time, and yet, the Pentagon and CIA seem to think that its tip-top military strategy. Heres one last blurb from the WA Post article: Kerrys deputy, Antony Blinken, testified last week that the U.S. leverage in Russia comes from the notion that Russia will eventually become weary of the cost of its military intervention in Syria. The leverage is the consequences for Russia of being stuck in a quagmire that is going to have a number of profoundly negative effects, Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Washington Post) See? There it is in black and white. Quagmire. The new Plan C strategy is designed to create a quagmire for Putin by gradually ratcheting up the violence forcing him to prolong his stay and deepen his commitment. Its a clever trap and it could work, too. The only hitch is that Putin and his allies appear to be making steady headway on the battlefield. Thats going to make a lot harder for Syrias enemies to continue the provocations and incitements without triggering massive retaliation. But maybe Carter hasnt thought about that yet. NOTE: Russia issues warning to Pentagon; Hostile aircraft that threatens Syrian troops will be shot down This is from a Thursday report on Sputnik International: The Russian Minister of Defense said that Russian S-300, S-400 air defense systems deployed in Syrias Hmeymim and Tartus have combat ranges that may surprise any unidentified airborne targets. Operators of Russian air defense systems wont have time to identify the origin of airstrikes, and the response will be immediate. Any illusions about invisible jets will inevitably be crushed by disappointing reality. No More Deir ez-Zors I point out to all the hotheads that following the September 17 coalition airstrike on the Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor we took all necessary measures to exclude any similar accidents happening to Russian forces in Syria, Konashenkov said. (Sputnik) Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com . Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Donate



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Nollywood actress, Laide Bakare is celebrating her 36th birthday today, October 7, 2016.

The gorgeous Yoruba actress shared some new photos on her IG to celebrate her new age.



Here is wishing her a happy 36th birthday.
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has commended the Federal Government for withdrawing the forgery charges levelled against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu.

Atiku, stated this in a press statement released by his Media Office in Abuja on Friday, October 7.

The move by the Federal Government is an indication that the government values the much-needed cordial relationship between the Executive and Legislature and would take steps to ensure that it remains harmonious in the interest of the nation, and the advancement of our democracy, the statement read in parts.

It is only in the situation of harmonious, cordial and corporative relationship between the three arms of government that real progress and development can take place in the polity.

He added that All hands needs to be mobilized to tackle the current economic difficulties in the country, and get the nation out of economic recession, the former Vice President states that both the Executive and Legislature need to come together to find solutions to the current economic recession by eliminating all issues that promote strife and mistrust.

According to him, political crisis does little or no good in a democracy, the former Vice President advises all individuals and political forces in the country that still have issues to come together and resolve their differences for the good of the nation and the APC.
A 24-year-old domestic worker, who was arrested for allegedly stealing his bosss 40,000 Pounds in Lagos, has blamed his action on his desire to assist his family. Arrested alongside the suspect, Ugbem Samuel, was his younger brother, Ugbem Monday.

The prime suspect reportedly invited his younger brother to his boss house immediately the latter returned from a trip outside the country.

Narrating how he stole the money, Samuel, who was paraded alongside 25 other robbery suspects, who were arrested within one week in Lagos, said: When my boss came back with a lot of money from his trip, I invited my younger brother over, with the intention of stealing some of the money and handing it over to him to take to our parents, who are suffering.

I gave him 40,000 Pounds, which he kept with my brother-in-law to keep for us until we are ready to use it.

However, when his boss, identified simply as Ajayi, discovered that his money was missing, he enquired from Samuel, who denied culpability.

Samuel said: But my boss brother came and begged me to say the truth that part of the money would be given to me. Because stealing is not in my blood, I opened up to him that I was the one that took the money with the help of my brother. I also told him where the money was.

It was gathered that the money was split into two, with his in-law and his younger brother in possession of each part. But when policemen arrived his in-laws home in Ikorodu, he was discovered to have bolted with the money.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspects, disclosed that 15 armed robbery suspects were arrested in one week in Lagos.

He said nine locally-made pistols, 50 live cartridges and one expended cartridge, three vehicles and assorted phones were recovered during the period.
In Ghana, there has been controversy over a statue of legendary Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi.

The Gandhi statue was unveiled on the Legon campus of the University of Ghana by Indian President Pranab Mukhereje during his state visit to Ghana in June this year.

Some months after the unveiling, the University Council was petitioned to remove the statue.

Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, a former director of the Institute of African Studies at the Legon university, led a group of lecturers to petition the council for the statues removal. They gave their reason to some remarks Gandhi had made as far back as 1894 in South Africa.

They quoted Gandhi as saying: 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, and contended that these were racist comments.

The group based their arguments on what, they said, had happened at other world class universities recently and mentioned Yale University in the US where it said: Former bastions of slavery, apartheid and white supremacy, statutes and other symbols associated with controversial persons have been pulled down or removed.

The Ghanaian government has however decided to relocate the statue.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision was taken to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy on the Legon Campus becoming a distraction from our strong ties of friendship that have existed over the years.

The unfortunate verbal attack on Mahatma Gandhi is effectively an attack on an Indian nationalist hero and icon, who is revered and cherished by over one billion people who are either citizens of India or persons of Indian decent.
An 18-year-old secondary school student, Sadiq Adegbite, who allegedly stole N200 from a fellow student and used charm to harass other colleagues, was on Thursday brought before an Ogudu Magistrates Court in Lagos.

The accused, a student of Junior High School, Ogudu, Lagos, is facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and disorderly conduct.

According to the prosecutor, Lucky Ihiehie, the complainant, a 15- year -old student of the school, came to Ogudu Police Station to report the incident.

He said while the complainant was returning from school at Emmanuel Street, Ogudu, he was stopped by the accused and some of his friends now at large.

They were harassing him and searching his pockets for money and they even beat him up.

They dispossessed him of his N200 transport fare which was the only money he had in his pocket.

A senior student came to the complainants rescue and the accused brought out some charms from his pocket to scare them before the police came, he said.

Mr. Ihiehie told the court that the accuseds friends ran away on sighting the police.

The offences contravened Sections 166 (d) , 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Mr. Adegbite, however, pleaded not guilty, while his counsel, Olusegun Aghahowa, pleaded with the court to grant him bail on liberal terms considering his age.

In her ruling, the Magistrate, O. Sule-Amzat, admitted the accused to a bail of N10,000 with two sureties, one of who must be a blood relation of the accused with an evidence of gainful employment.

The case was adjourned to November 1 for trial.

Source: NAN
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari next week in Berlin, Germany.

The meeting will hold after returning from her trip to Mali and Niger before heading to Ethiopia where she is to visit the headquarters of the African Union in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Also, on October 12, she will host Chadian President Idriss Deby.

Merkel is to meet with Buhari to discuss Nigerias battle against Boko Haram Islamists.

The well-being of Africa is in Germanys interest, Merkel said in an interview with German National newspaper Die Zeit ahead of the visit, arguing that bringing more stability to Africa and improving living conditions on the continent would help reduce the numbers of people seeking to leave.

Simply ignoring the reasons that are pushing people to migrate will not make the problem go away, she warned.

Pointing to drought plaguing Chad as an example, Merkel said, it does not mean that everyone who is in difficulties there can come to Europe as a refugee.

But we should be interested in whether 11 million people will have a livelihood or not, she stressed.

The German leader has said that she wants the European Union and North African countries to do deals modelled on a controversial agreement with Turkey to curb migrant flows to Europe.

Under the EU-Turkey agreement, Ankara agreed to take back one Syrian who made it to Greece in return for being allowed to send one from its massive refugee camps to the bloc in a more orderly redistribution programme.

The deal also pledges billions of euros in EU aid for Turkey, visa-free European travel for Turkish citizens and accelerated EU membership talks.

SEE ALSO: Germany Supports Nigeria With 47.6m To Resettle IDPs
A Muslim gang in Pakistan has reportedly raped a 17-year-old Christian girl over her refusal to convert to Islam.

The gang was said to have first kidnapped their teenage victim, Jameela and her brother, 20-year-old, Arif, from Kasur, in the east of the country, before carrying out their illicit act on her, as he (the brother) was forcefully made to watch, Daily Mail reports.

Before the abduction, the Muslim gang reportedly targeted and invaded their family home in the small village, Kasur, knowing that they were Christians.

They had also threatened them with guns, sticks and metal poles, allegedly asking them to convert to Islam or die.

The family however refused, and said they were staying resolute to Christianity.

Following their staunch refusal, the syndicate reportedly tied up and blindfolded the entire family, but took two of them (Jameela and Arif) to an unknown destination.

The 20-year-old was tortured and forced to listen as his sisters cry for help while being sexually humiliated, although, luck shone on him and he managed to escape and return to his family.

Reacting to the incident, the British Pakistani Christian Association said they have been assisting the family in Kasur following their ordeal but the victim, Jameela, left behind by her brother in the kidnappers den, remains missing.

The chairman of the association, Wilson Chowdry, was quoted to have said, We will now begin the arduous task of helping them rebuild their lives in an atmosphere of safety. However, the captured daughter Jameela may well never be found.

Her malicious kidnap is causing great anguish and despair.

That Muslim despots can kidnap Christian girls with such impunity, is a blight on Pakistans international reputation, Chowdry said.

Source: Dailypost
A billboard in the US mid-western city of St. Louis in Missouri has been put up by local Muslims condemning the terrorist group, Islamic State (ISIS).

The billboard in Ballwin has a message which reads, Hey ISIS, you suck!!! from: #ActualMuslims.

The billboard also contains a verse from the Quran that says, Life is sacred.

According to reports from Fox News, the campaign started in Chicago with a non-profit organisation called Sound Vision Foundation.

American Muslims say the myth of Muslim silence in the face of terrorism has real world consequences  which includes an increase in Islamophobia.

SEE ALSO: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Minnesota Attack
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEAa, has debunked the claims that that its operatives subjected popular Yoruba actor, Babatunde Omidina, to physical torture during the period he was incarcerated by the agency for allegedly being in possession of hard drugs

The Head, Public Affairs of the NDLEA, Mr, Mitchell Ofoyeju, who was reacting to the allegation by Nollywood actor, Yomi Fabiyi, that Baba Suwes health was worsening due to torture at the agency, said the story was unfounded.

Fabiyi had, in a statement posted on his Instagram page on Wednesday, claimed that Baba Suwe told him that he could no longer walk properly because a pipe was inserted in his anus during the period that he was detained by the NDLEA.

He told me that he could no longer feel comfortable since that episode. Baba Suwe can hardly walk properly as I speak, let alone go to film. How will he feed and take care of the children that Aunty Moladun left behind?

He told me when I visited him that he was innocent and a long pipe was inserted in his anus. He was detained for too long, among other things, just because he was randomly suspected like every normal person.

Torture is criminal and sinful. If this accusation is found to be true by independent investigators, it shouldnt go unpunished, he had said.

But Ofoyeju dismissed the actors claims as false, saying, The NDLEA did not torture Baba Suwe. If he was tortured, he would have said it himself. This is just an unfounded rumour on the social media and it should be disregarded.

As a matter of fact, Baba Suwe was given the best treatment. We treated him with due regard to the requirement of fundamental human rights globally. He was talking to his relatives and lawyer. He was never kept in a prison for the period that he stayed here because he was virtually under our observation.

Also, regarding Fabiyis claim that the NDLEA failed to obey a court order to pay Baba Suwe the sum of N25m in damages, the spokesman said that the agency was not obliged to obey the order since a substantive ruling by the Court of Appeal had directed it not to pay the actor.

If Baba Suwe had gone to the Supreme Court, perhaps his case would have been upheld. But he did not do so, Ofoyeju told Punch.

Source: Dailypost
Osun State Government on Thursday introduced Economic Development Levy (EDL), on business owners.

Mr Dayo Oyebamiji, Acting Chairman, Osun Internal Revenue Service (OIRS), made this known at a news conference in Osogbo on Thursday.

Oyebamiji said the EDL was a charge introduced and permitted by law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He said the levy was introduced by the Federal Government last year, permitting all the states across the federation to increase their Internally Generated Revenue as part of the efforts to find lasting solution to the current economic meltdown.

He said the state officially launched the level programme on Wednesday to increase the number of revenues that are accruable to state governments purse in order to meet certain obligations.

He further explained that the levy became imperative following the current economic downturn caused by the appalling fall in the price of crude oil over the years.

He said generation of additional revenue was the key function of levies, adding that it would enable the government to provide qualitative, quantitative services and utilities for the people and for government to overcome recession.

He, therefore, called on residents, traders and transporters in the state to comply with the economic development levy of the state government.

He said the agency had recruited well-trained officers that would be moving round the state with Point of Sales (PoS), machines to fast track quick collection of levies so as to curb multiple and unlawful levy payment.

He said government made the levy affordable, based on the nature of business, assuring that the introduction of the PoS machines would bring about required transparency, accountability and credibility.
A policeman has reportedly lost his life while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in an attack that happened at Rex Lawson community in Borikiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Many of the victims have pointed accusing fingers at the State Police anti-cultism department of being behind the attack that left over 20 cars and five houses destroyed.

According to them, the officials came on retaliation after one of them was killed by unknown men.

However, the Police, have come out to deny the allegation saying its men were only caught in crossfire during a clash between rival cult groups in the area.

The Spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, who spoke about the incident on Channels Television said, the police only responded to a distress call of an attack occurring between rival cult groups and quell the fighting.

Members of the islanders were attacking innocent people, themselves and their rival cult groups, he said.

So, while that was going on, our men were drafted to that area and they swiftly responded to the distress call.

Unfortunately, on sighting the Police, they shot one of our men and even took his corpse. If not for the gallantry of our men, they would have taken his corpse away, he said.

Meanwhile, the Police said they have set up an investigation to get to the root cause of the attack.
The revelation this week that Yahoo scanned the incoming emails of hundreds of millions of Yahoo users set off a storm of condemnation. The real outrage is that this kind of government surveillance, frequently abetted by the collaboration of telecom and tech companies, is pervasive and has little or no oversight.

As told by Reuters and the New York Times, Yahoo received a secret order last year from a judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that compelled the company to customize an existing scanning system (used to find and report child pornography and malware) to search emails for a computer "signature" tied to the communications of a state-sponsored terrorist organization. Emails containing the signature were turned over to the NSA or FBI -- and Yahoo was barred from disclosing the matter.

In other words, Yahoo was destined to be the fall guy, left to twist in the wind by a system of secret courts and government gag orders. Its terse statement -- "Yahoo is a law-abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States" -- did nothing to defend it against the torrent of calls for users to ditch Yahoo services. But legally, the company could disclose nothing more about what data it did or did not turn over -- and why.

Therein lies the rub.

Gag on this

Twitter and Microsoft have both sued the government over its indiscriminate use of secret orders -- often of unlimited duration -- that forbid them to tell customers about requests for their data. Apple, which said it received about 590 gag orders in the first eight months of 2016, is backing Microsoft's case.

Co-opting tech companies into aiding the intelligence community has become common practice. Earlier this year, Apple was ordered to assist the FBI in breaking the encryption of a terrorist's iPhone. Apple resisted, Yahoo did not -- this time.

In 2007 Yahoo fought a secret legal battle with FISC, challenging an order to turn over to the FBI and NSA -- without a warrant -- emails of customers living abroad who had been targeted for surveillance. The court ruled against Yahoo, and after being threatened with huge fines, the company complied. Sources told Reuters that when approached last year, Yahoo's execs decided to comply rather than fight, in part because they thought they would lose again.

With a little help from our friends

While the scope of Yahoo's actions -- searching in real time the emails of all its customers, rather than individual accounts -- is broader than others that have come to light, this kind of request is not new. AT&T and Verizon have been facilitating NSA spying operations for decades.

Yahoo's is not even the biggest email grab on record. Edward Snowden's leaks revealed that starting in 2003 and continuing for at least a decade, AT&T gave the NSA access to billions of emails as they traveled across its domestic networks. One NSA document described AT&T as "highly collaborative," while another lauded the company's "extreme willingness to help."

It was revelations about the vast scale of NSA surveillance that led many Silicon Valley companies to begin encrypting communications to thwart it. Intelligence agencies, in turn, have responded by obtaining secret orders that compel tech companies to perform the surveillance for them.

Yahoo's emails are encrypted as they travel from one server to another, but can still be read by Yahoo.

"Many email companies started encrypting their emails in transit since [Snowden's leaked documents] came out," Trevor Timm writes. "The NSA probably can't do that type of surveillance unilaterally (or with the help of AT&T) anymore. The U.S. government now seems to be moving to force internet companies to do this type of mass surveillance for them, on the companies' servers, where the data remains accessible."

Insecurity for all

Yahoo implemented the scanning tool without consulting its security chief, Alex Stamos. Sources told Reuters that Yahoo's security team discovered the program within weeks of its installation and initially thought hackers had broken in. Upon learning of the secret program, Stamos resigned in protest. "Due to a programming flaw [in the software], he told [Yahoo executives], hackers could have accessed the stored emails."

Stamos now works at Facebook, which recently implemented opt-in end-to-end encryption on its Messenger app.

"The NSA's actions are making us all less safe," according to security expert Bruce Schneier, who accused the agency of subverting the internet into a gigantic surveillance platform.

Not only do its activities leave internet users more vulnerable to cybercriminals, but "by eavesdropping on all Americans, they're building the technical infrastructure for a police state," Schneier says. "Power without accountability or oversight is dangerous to society at a very fundamental level.... The solutions have to be political. The best advice for the average person is to agitate for political change."

That advice -- given in 2013 -- still holds true today.

A time for political debate

Civil rights groups and privacy advocates have been calling these secret, warrantless data grabs unconstitutional for years, but "no court has ruled definitively one way or another (mainly because the U.S. has been hiding behind official secrecy to prevent it)," Timm writes.

Rep. Ted Lieu of California told Ars Technica that the type of forced government request made of Yahoo was "flat out unconstitutional."

"The continuing revelation of our law enforcement and these agencies violating the Constitution shows that there is a break down in oversight," Lieu said. "[FISC] has shown repeatedly that they do not have the ability to protect the Constitution or the rights of Americans."

The Yahoo operation appears to have been authorized under a controversial provision, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The surveillance programs authorized under Section 702, which has been the basis for an explosion in warrantless searches, are set to expire at the end of next year -- unless Congress votes to renew them.

The constitutionality of these surveillance programs, and the appropriate balance of digital privacy and national security, are unlikely to figure in Sunday's presidential debate. Perhaps, given the outcry over Yahoo's activities, they should.

Update: The cost to Yahoo for complying with the secret FISC order could be high: Verizon may be getting cold feet about its acquisition of Yahoo, and is reportedly asking for a $1 billion discount on the original $4.8 billion deal. Other Silicon Valley companies likely will be remembering that when they, in turn, are ordered to climb in bed with the intelligence community.
Corn (ZC) Retesting Weekly Chart Triangle Resistance Tradable Patterns - Mon Oct 31, 1:12AM CDT CORN (ZCZ22) gapped up more than 2% to start the week, but is likely to consolidate these next few days as it bumps against the psychologically key 700 whole figure level and triangle resistance (on the... ZCZ22 : 697-2 (+2.42%) CORN : 27.09 (-0.33%)

Grains start off hot! Banghart Properties - Sun Oct 30, 7:29PM CDT How strong will wheat finish the week out

Lean Hogs Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 30, 5:03PM CDT The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 89.075, which will be followed by reaching support level 80.675 and if it keeps on moving down below that level,...

Feeder Cattle Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 30, 5:02PM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 178.550, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 188.250.

Live Cattle Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 30, 5:01PM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 151.775, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 156.475.
Six employees from three Armadillo Self Storage facilities recently climbed Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The team from the companys stores in Liverpool and Stoke-on-Trent, England, included Dawn Bezer, Nina Blackwood, Ken Montgomery, Jenna Rawley, Fran Richards and Jonathon Wood. They completed the 7-kilometer hike along the Llanberis path in five hours, according to a company blog.

To date, the climbers have raised 230 and are expecting more to come in over the next few weeks, the blog stated. Donations can be made at Armadillo properties in North or South Liverpool.

Armadillo Self Storage encourages its staff to support the local community, and were always looking for ways to do that. In an area team meeting, we realized we all knew someone who was suffering from [Multiple Sclerosis]. So, there and then we decided to do something to raise money to help further the amazing work and research the Multiple Sclerosis Society does to help those living with the disease, said Rawley, manager of the Armadillo Liverpool North facility. It was great to have the support of Armadillo, getting us there and back, and giving us some flexibility with working hours. Were looking forward to our next fundraiser already!

Armadillo Self Storage is part of the Big Yellow Group PLC family of self-storage properties. Big Yellow operates 84 locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo Self Storage brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London. Its total portfolio comprises 5.1 million square feet.
Update 1/9/17  GYS has added a second self-storage project to its activity in Fort Collins. The company recently closed on a property at 2120 Midpoint Drive and 1615 Specht Point Road and expects to break ground on Timberline Self Storage this month. The facility will be built by Grow Your Storage General Contracting LLC and comprise 88,500 square feet of climate-controlled and drive-up storage space in phase one, according to a press release. The asset is expected to open this summer.

The facility will feature access control, onsite management and security. It will be operated by GYS partners Denise Bowley, Lee Fredrick and Brandon Grebe. The project is in partnership with investment firm All Pro Capital Inc., which secured the debt and equity for the project, the release stated.

Timberline is approximately 6.5 miles from the previously announced College Ave. building site. A two-story flex-office building has been approved for phase two of the development, the release stated.

10/7/16  Grow Your Storage LLC (GYS), a construction, development and property-management firm, is developing a mixed-use project in Fort Collins, Colo., that will include apartments and self-storage. The site at 6020 S. College Ave. is a vacant 12-acre field on the southwest corner of Skyway Drive and South College Avenue. Preliminary plans filed with the city show the storage units will front College Avenue, with the apartments built to the west, according to the source. Access to the storage property would be off Skyway Drive.

The proposal, submitted by GYS partner Brandon Grebe, has passed a preliminary review by the city planning department and a neighborhood meeting. Although the initial drawings show more than a dozen storage buildings and four residential structures, the number of each has yet to be determined. "We are still evaluating what that looks like," said Grebe, adding the apartments will help the project blend with the neighborhood. "We wanted to respect that use."

The facility will include some climate-controlled units and higher-end finishes. "A class-A self-storage facility makes sense to us there, so it meets the compatibility of the trade area, Grebe said, whos also working with city staff on plans for a detention pond near the front of the site, which is considered wetlands.

The formal plans for the project have yet to be submitted. "Nothing is in stone at this juncture," Grebe said. "We are truly evaluating really what the market will dictate as far as residential uses."

GYS is a fully integrated self-storage firm that offers development and entitlement services, construction design and management, and property management in Colorado and Texas. The company has an additional project under development in Fort Collins and another in Fountain, Colo.
The Shelby County Planning Commission in Birmingham, Ala., this week unanimously denied a rezoning request for a self-storage proposal following opposition from officials and residents. Brent Fields of Eight18 Properties submitted the request to rezone a 6-acre property on the northwest corner of Hillandell Drive and Valleydale Road from general business and office and institutional district (B-1 and O-I) to general business district (B-2).

Fields development would have comprised three self-storage structures, including a two-story, 47,000-square-foot, climate-controlled building containing 600 units, and two traditional storage buildings containing a total of 100 drive-up units. Access would have been gated, with outdoor vehicle storage prohibited, according to Sharman Brooks, the countys senior planner.

Brooks, who presented the request and staff recommendations to the commission, noted the property was rezoned to B-1 and O-I in 1990, when the former owner proposed a development that included businesses near the road with office buildings in the back. However, the plan never came to fruition, she said.

A self-storage facility wouldnt be incompatible with nearby properties, but would be different from the largely residential area, Brooks said. Although it would generate traffic similar to that of an office building, a B-2 zoning would allow for development that could bring more traffic on the already-congested Valleydale Road. Other B-2 uses include animal hospital or clinic, frozen-food locker, public garage, retail store, shopping center, or used-car lot, according to the source.

The county staff recommended creating a special district that would limit the rezoning to self-storage only rather than others uses allowed under the B-2 zoning. However, Fields said there wouldnt be enough time to gather the necessary plans for that type of application, Brooks said.

Planning commissioners Bob Land and Jim Davis voiced their concerns about self-storage being the only B-2 use not incompatible with the surrounding area. In addition, rezoning the land to B-2 could open the site to undesirable developments, according to the source.

Fields told the commission his only plan for the property was to build a self-storage facility. He also said the tenant mix definitely fits a residential area. The facilitys building materials would have a residential aesthetic, said Chuck Penuel, the architect on the project. The climate-controlled building would have an appearance similar to that of an office building.

Nearly 70 people attended the Oct. 3 meeting to voice their concerns about the rezoning. They cited the potential noise for large trucks entering the facility, a drop in property values, the lack of a buffer to surrounding properties, and the effects the facility would have on water runoff and area wildlife.

A letter from Shelby County Commissioner Mike Vest, who was unable to attend the meeting, was also read. Residents surrounding this aforementioned property reached out to me and asked for my assistance in their concern, the letter stated. As their commissioner and neighbor, I support their efforts in the opposition to the zoning-change request.

Branscomb Beavers, who represented the Havenwood Park Homeowners Association, told commission members the community opposed the B-2 rezoning as well as the self-storage development. Sure, its a class-A facility, but that doesnt change the fact that its a storage facility, said Beavers, who asked residents who opposed the plan to stand, and the majority did, the source reported.

Tom Crawford, who owns property adjacent to the site, spoke in favor of the rezoning. He said self-storage would be preferable to the fruit stand or other businesses currently operating on the lot.

Following an hour-long discussion, Planning Commission Chairman Ken Wilder said it wasnt possible to add special-district zoning due to lack of a proper application. He also stated tabling the request would be ineffective. What weve got is a B-2 [rezoning] up or down, he said. I dont think the problem is with the facility because Ive seen facilities like this in Atlanta and Dallas and [in] very, very nice neighborhoods, and they actually add to the area. I think the facility is nice. I think its good. But we have no guarantees thats what theyll do. If somebody came in and offered you $1 million tomorrow after we approve this, you might put it in the bank tomorrow and say, Bye.
U.K. self-storage operator Safestore Holdings PLC is hosting a spooktacular Halloween-themed short-story competition open to U.K. residents of all ages. The winner, to be chosen by the Safestore marketing staff, will receive a 50 voucher for British book retailer Waterstones.

Each submission must be an original by the contestant and never previously published, according to a Safestore blog. In addition, each story must mention self-storage in some way. Though it doesnt have to reference SafeStore, it should incorporate a self-storage theme, the blog stated. For example, the story could take place at storage facility, or one of the characters could work for a storage company.

Stories can range from 350 to 3,000 words, and entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31. Contestants can enter as many stories as they like, and theres no fee to enter the competition. Entries should be sent in the form of a Microsoft Word document to [email protected], with Safestore Spooktacular Entry in the e-mail subject line. Those who prefer to publish the article on their own blog should send the URL to the e-mail address.

By entering, the writers agree to allow Safestore to reproduce or share their work on the companys social media platforms. The winner will be informed via e-mail.

Safestore operates 131 self-storage facilities, including 95 facilities it owns in the U.K. and 24 in France. Its wholly owned properties comprise more than 5 million square feet of storage space, while its entire portfolio serves approximately 49,000 customers.
An equity analyst recently joined Deutsche Bank Securities and made a surprising discovery: The banks sales force was able to get her meetings with key clients across multiple regionssomething that the sales team at her former employer, a large U.S. bank, had never done, according to Craig Bench, Deutsches co-head of Americas equity distribution. He notes, It was a vivid reminder that relationships matter.

Thats not a huge revelation, though its often discounted. Despite the transactional ethos on Wall Street, relationships remain central in finance, especially for sales teams that provide tangible links between the sell side and the buy side. Sales teams for research groups are responsible for cultivating buy-side clients, gaining their trust, understanding their needs and providing advice.

The 2016 All-America Sales Team ranking reveals that Deutsche Bank is No. 1 with investors this year for research sales, leaping to first from fourth place and besting Morgan Stanley, which fell to No. 2.

Bench, whos based in New York, credits the German banks emphasis on product, teamwork and proven leadership for its ability to build successful relationships with the buy side. We believe our sales force is one of the most content-focused on Wall Street, he says. In addition to being passionate about helping our clients generate alpha, our sales team is incredibly collaborative across regions and products.

That team, Bench explains, has a depth of experience and knowledge of both the bank and the buy side. The majority of our sales leadership across the country has been at Deutsche Bank for more than a decade, he says. That kind of continuity is powerful and helps reinforce our unique sales culture.

Focusing on content means sell-side sales teams increasingly are attempting to distribute an array of products to clients beyond investment research to attract more business for the firm. To that end, Bench points out that Deutsches sales operation is attempting to communicate more effectively across its broader equity business. Our derivatives, prime finance and execution sales teams maintain a regular dialogue with our advisory sales team, he says. We have also begun to be more coordinated with our peers in fixed income, something that banks across the Street have historically struggled with. Our improved coordination has yielded tangible benefits for our clients.

Similarly, Morgan Stanleys New Yorkbased head of global equity sales, Nick Savone, notes that his equity sales team focuses on being global and offering product ideas from the entire firm, not just the equity division, with each salesperson expected to establish relationships more broadly away from just the clients investment team by tapping into the multitude of products and expertise at Morgan Stanley.

However, even as salespeople peddle more complex products, like derivatives, to their clients, research remains the most important product that we as a team leverage for our clients, says Savone. This helps us foster a strong sense of credibility and partnership with investors. If we dont have a high-quality research product, it becomes a challenge to ask for business in multiple areas.

Building a fruitful partnership with the buy side is the key to being a successful salesperson. When hiring, Savone says, he seeks out people who bring together a passion for markets, people, idea generation, relationship management and finding solutions for clients.

The demand for expertise is steep. The sales staff at Deutsche Bank is expected to know a lot, especially because the bank has a more generalist sales force. A salesperson can gravitate toward certain sectors  tech, consumer, etc.  more than others, but as a generalist you have to be proficient across sectors, Bench says. You have to be multifaceted and understand the key drivers and inflection points of different companies and industries.

For its part, Morgan Stanley organizes its sales force by region, theme and sector. But, says Savano, given that most of our clients based in the United States allocate most of their time and capital in the U.S. market, our U.S. sales team takes on more of a generalist approach by providing global coverage for our clients.

The best salespeople tend to be bankers and advisers to the firms institutional clients. A key strategy, Savone says, is to leverage research by providing investors with access to sell-side analysts, and vice versa, and maintaining a dialogue. Amy Zhang, an equity analyst at Delaware Investments in New York, says Morgan Stanley has among the best sales teams on the Street. Theyre passionate about the business, always pitching ideas that are value-added to my investment process, extremely responsive to requests or needs.

In particular, I always appreciate and Ive been impressed by the extensive access they have provided to management teams, industry experts and Morgan Stanley research analysts.

The sell side appreciates that access as well. Justin Patterson, an Internet analyst at Raymond James Financial in San Francisco, whom Institutional Investor named a Rising Star of Wall Street Research this year, is grateful for the boost he gets from his firms sales force. Im still fairly new within the industry as a publishing analyst, and theyve been great at introducing me to clients and cultivating relationships, he says.

When Patterson puts out a major recommendation or industry report that investors are clamoring for, he relies on his firms salespeople because theres a finite number of calls I can take in any given day. So if theyre on some of my calls and get a gist for how Im answering questions, they can then go do their own calls.

Jonathan Rosenzweig, Citigroups New Yorkbased head of Americas equity research, agrees on the importance of sales teams. They certainly play a significant role in helping to get our products to clients that matter, clients that pay the firm and are important to us, he says. The sales relationship with portfolio managers is particularly important. We produce a huge amount of content every year, so theyre helping to digest it and get it to portfolio managers.

Possessing a working knowledge of the firms research can be a challenge given the volumes produced by some sell-side firms and the often-complex nature of the material. Savone estimates his sales force has to stay current on about 1,000 companies in the U.S., plus 3,400 elsewhere.

You dont need to know everything about a company, sector or product, Bench says. A good salesperson develops a knack for knowing when something is truly relevant versus when its noise. Our best salespeople develop the skill to know when something is differentiated, actionable or when its really going to strike a chord with a client. And as you get to know your client better, you become much more effective at your job because you know what theyre looking for and which of your firms products can help them best achieve their mandate.

Investment managers rely on the sales teams. We find that Deutsche Bank is much more than an information conduit, says Richard Excell, a senior portfolio manager at Wolverine Asset Management in Chicago. They provide a fair amount of new-idea generation, but most importantly they stay visible on trade recommendations and continuously follow up with any new information, news or research that impact their ideas. They behave and think more like portfolio managers, whereas much of the competition is in the e-mail blast, cut-and-paste mode with very little follow-up.

With e-mail, voice mail and web delivery, there are lots of ways to distribute research. The sales teams job is therefore not just distributing research but providing context around it, adds Excell, who particularly values Deutsches energy sales team morning e-mail. He calls it a must-read that draws information from all of Deutsche Banks resources  analysts, traders, commodity teams  to get a full picture of whats driving the names in the energy space on any given day.

Another important aspect of building a client relationship is understanding a managers investment process, then delivering only relevant information. Clients are bombarded by information, so it has never been more important for our salespeople to have a clear understanding of their needs, Bench says.

Savone notes that Morgan Stanley salespeople can get promoted by knowing how best to filter information for each clients specific needs  doing so not just in a reactive manner but in a proactive one, with a sense of urgency to provide ideas to clients they may not have considered themselves.

Not every team wants to be covered in the same way, adds Excell. A strong [sales] team will understand the idiosyncrasies and deliver to each team what is needed.

In the end, the best salespeople are those that develop clients trust and confidence. We like to see their ideas, not necessarily because we would follow them but because it shows conviction behind the information in any report, Excell says. Its paramount for the sales teams to take ownership of these ideas, as too often we see ideas thrown against the wall with the only follow-up being on the few that work, while those that dont are forgotten and buried.
Narv Narvekar is the underperforming Ivy endowments fourth CEO in 11 years  and a hire the board knew it had to get right.

The worlds largest  and most watched  endowment turned to its peers for a new CEO to break a decade-long run of low returns, high turnover and strategic upheaval.

Harvard University believes it has found that leader. The school announced late last week that it has hired Nirmal (Narv) Narvekar, CEO of Columbia Universitys endowment since 2002, to run Harvard Management Co., which manages its $36 billion endowment fund. Industry insiders say Narvekar is a safe choice for an organization that knows its well past time to make the right one.

The Stakes

Theyve had a lot of turnover and taken a lot of heat for not keeping up with their Ivy League brethren, says Nolan Bean, managing principal of investment consulting firm Fund Evaluation Group. Bean, who does not work with HMC, has watched HMC work through several leadership changes. You dont want a lot of turnover in that top job: Harvard is the ultimate long-term pool of capital. And its disruptive.

At 54, Narvekar offers both experience and potentially decades of sustained leadership for HMC, Bean suggests. If he clicks well, he could do it for a while.

Narvekars predecessor, Stephen Blyth, lasted 16 months as CEO. He resigned in July for undisclosed personal reasons after two months of medical leave. Blyth has continued to teach senior-level statistics courses at Harvard since stepping down.

HMCs returns for FY2016  Blyths only full year as endowment chief  followed a familiar pattern of underperformance. The fund lost 2 percent for the year ending June 30, 64 basis points below the median -1.36 percent return among $1 billion-plus peers in investment consultancy Callan Associates database.

Clearly, these are disappointing results, HMC board chairman Paul Finnegan said in announcing the performance. We are all focused on taking the steps necessary to ensure HMC can continue to most effectively support the mission of Harvard University over the long term.

Finnegan was days away from revealing the boards biggest step: hiring a new CEO.

The Candidate

Blyths July 27 resignation took effect immediately. HMCs board retained recruitment firm David Barrett Partners, which had recently placed new investment leaders at Stanfords endowment (Robert Wallace), the American Red Cross (Greg Williamson) and the University of California (Jagdeep Bachher).

There was a high level of interest, and a competitive process, as HMC had a lot of interesting choices, firm founder David Barrett tells Institutional Investor. What made the search difficult was the bar set by the board: We were really shooting high.

For one thing, investors who have experience at endowments of Harvards scale almost dont exist outside of the fund. Harvard is 50 percent bigger than the next largest, Barrett points out. Adding a strong track record and good people skills to the list of requirements shrank the pool of potential candiates to a puddle.

But the board proved flexible on one criterion thats often ironclad for elite endowment leaders: their alma mater. Narvekar earned a B.A. in Economics from Haverford College, a small liberal arts school in Haverford, Pennsylvania, and holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Narv is not a Harvard man, but hes also not a surprise, says Robert Grady, a private equity investor with San Franciscobased Gryphon Investors, former chair of the New Jersey State Investment Council, and Harvard alumnus. I understand that they were very focused in the search on someone from a smaller endowment.

At $9 billion, Columbias fund has one-quarter of Harvards asset value  but a much better track record. Narvekar led the New York Citybased Ivy League fund to an annualized return of 10.1 percent over the decade ending June 30, 2015. (Columbia has yet to report for 2016.) HMC gained 7.6 percent for the same ten years, a spread of 250 basis points in Narvekars favor.

Barrett may have delivered Narvekar into the endowment worlds crown seat, but Russell Reynolds recruiters spotted him first. Asset management specialist Deb Brown helped place Narvekar at Columbia in 2002  ancient history! in her words  and remains a fan of the asset owner.

Narv is an outstanding investor, Brown says, who unusually distinguished himself early, with a combination of direct investment experience on the Street as well as being an allocator. Thats not unique, but it is unusual. Overall, hes terrific.

The Haverford College alum spent 14 years at JPMorgan (1984 to 1998), before exiting his managing director role for the University of Pennsylvanias investment office. Narvekar rose quickly at his alma mater from MD to deputy director. When Narvekar was four years into his asset-owner career, Brown and her team came knocking with the Columbia opening.

Columbia University president Lee Bollinger credits Narvekar with driving the remarkably consistent success of our endowment investment managers year after year. During his tenure, the endowment more than doubled in value from $3.4 billion to $9.6 billion.

Columbia has made the rare decision to name endowment CIO Peter Holland as Narvekars successor without first conducting a formal search. This move, according to Brown, speaks to Narvs ability to attract, retain and promote talent from within. If youre looking for someone whos a talent magnet and has been able to give the board confidence, hes that person.

The Challenges Ahead

Industry insiders polled by IIN agree that Narvekar is a strong choice for an extremely difficult position.

HMC and its U.S. peers draw scrutiny worldwide, according to the former CIO of a major UK pension fund. The big U.S. foundations and endowments do a lot of things that are very different to other investors, which can put huge pressure on the person at the top, the investor says. Major European institutions often alleviate such attention by refusing to engage with media, whereas U.S. institutions are much more out there, the investor adds.

The notoriously press-shy Narvekar might fit in well on the Continent. He hasnt given an interview for years, as any investment reporter knows all too well. Keeping quiet about his work at HMC may lessen pressure on the margin, but insiders say a merciless spotlight comes with the job. The annual Ivy League endowment performance horserace fascinates industry watchers at large, but perhaps no one watches as closely as the participants themselves.

The tension is balancing that long-term responsibility with the fact that the large endowments tend to measure themselves against each other, says Gryphons Grady. If youre radically different and wrong, its not like youll have five or ten or 15 years to prove youre right. Its highly competitive.

Barrett says his latest placement will need time to revamp the endowments performance. No one will really know how good Narv is for another decade. But unless you get to the point that you have a track record like David Swensens at Yale, the pressure is on, Barrett adds. These portfolios are like ocean liners: it takes more than a year to turn them. For Narv, the three-year return number will be the most important one.

One thing is certain: As he embarks on what may be the biggest challenge of his career, Narvekar can count on plenty of free advice from observers about how to run the worlds largest endowment.

Its like being the manager of the Yankees, says Bean. It sounds good, but youre being yelled at by everybody.

Additional reporting by Matthew Craig, European Content Director, Investor Intelligence Network.
A delegation from the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) visited Canada earlier this week to discuss the prospects for Canadian banks and insurers operating in Barbados.A statement from the CBB delegation, headed by Governor Dr. Delisle Worrell, said that they expressed confidence in the future of [Barbados] international business and financial sector, which attracts most of its investment from Canada.The statement added that Canadas banks, insurers, and businesses are able to improve their international competitiveness through their subsidiaries in Barbados, and in the process they employ Barbadian skills and professional services.There are benefits for Canada, in the expansion of global companies headquartered in Canada; for Barbados, in the value added and jobs created here; and for the global consumers of the products and services of our international companies, because they get better value for money, the statement elaborated.Worrell was at Carleton University to give a presentation entitled De-risking in Barbados: the unintended consequences of international financial reforms. He concluded that international banks in Barbados have been divesting themselves of business and severing customer accounts as a result of a complex web of pressures, including measures they took to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.
Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd NV rejected NN Group NVs unsolicited 2.4 billion-euro ($2.7 billion) cash offer, saying the financial terms arent acceptable and dont reflect the benefits of consolidation.

NNs offer substantially undervalues our company, Delta Lloyd CEO Hans van der Noordaa said in a phone interview on Friday. We will always take a good look at serious proposals.

NN offered 5.30 euros a share on Wednesday for the Amsterdam-based insurer, 29 percent more than the previous closing price. Saskia Kranendonk, a spokeswoman for NN, declined to comment on the bids rejection. Delta Lloyd rose as much as 3.4 percent and was trading at 5.38 euros at 12:36 a.m. in Amsterdam trading. NN was almost unchanged at 28 euros.

Delta Lloyd has often been cited as a potential target for NN, the Dutch insurer and asset manager spun out of ING Groep NV in 2014. Delta Lloyd returned to profit in the first half after cutting costs and completed a 650 million-euro rights offer to improve the companys capital levels and comply with stricter requirements for insurers introduced by the European Union in January.

Higher Offer

The transaction in clearly accretive for NN shareholders and we see the rejection of Delta Lloyd at this stage as part of the (negotiation) process with the aim to obtain an higher offer price, Albert Ploegh, an analyst at ING Groep NV, wrote in a note to clients.

NN could offer from 5.80 euros to 6.10 euros if it is willing to accept a lower return on investment, but the majority of the synergy savings would go to Delta Lloyd shareholders if that happens, Ploegh wrote.

NN plans to finance a successful offer using existing resources and debt. The Hague-based company is also suspending an outstanding part of a 500 million-euro stock buyback.

Delta Lloyd shored up its capital buffers in a highly contested rights offer in April, which only went ahead after Fubon Financial Holding Co., one of its largest investors, unexpectedly changed positions from opposing the share sale to supporting it. Fubon, which holds almost 10 percent of the insurer, previously backed Highfields Capital Management LP, one of Delta Lloyds largest shareholders, in a court bid to block the vote.

Delta Lloyd is a strong business with a compelling strategy and a clear path to value creation on which it is showing good progress, the company said in a statement on Friday. The insurer isnt opposed to transactions that would create compelling value for shareholders and deliver benefits to other stakeholders.

Related:

Delta Lloyd, Endurance Deals May Herald a Wave of Insurance M&As

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers
Willis Re has appointed Printhan Sothinathan as managing director, head of Willis Re Specialty Analytics. Sothinathan will begin his role in January 2017 and will report to Graeme Moore, chief executive officer of Willis Re Global Specialty.

Sothinathan will be leading the expansion and development of the Willis Re Specialty Analytics service offering to clients, the company said in a statement.

He joins from the Navigators Group where he was managing director of Continental Europe. Sothinathan began his career in 2001 at Tillinghast Towers Perrin before joining Zurich in 2003 as a pricing actuarial analyst. He joined the Navigators Group in 2006 as vice president of marine & energy ceded reinsurance. In 2009, he was appointed group chief strategy officer of Torus (now StarStone). He has held his current position as managing director of continental Europe and U.K. branch at the Navigators Group since 2014.

Source: Willis Re

Topics Willis Towers Watson Human Resources
Federal safety regulators say 36 Illinois workers have died on the job since Jan. 1, 2016. That number represents an average of one life lost each week in the state.

Since 2013, Illinois worker deaths have increased 28 percent. Struck-by hazards and falls in construction and other industries combined to account for the majority of workplace fatalities.

To save lives, the U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration is calling on all Illinois employers to review their safety and health programs and procedures carefully.

These injuries, illness and workplace deaths that are occurring in Illinois are preventable, said Ken Nishiyama Atha, OSHAs regional director in Chicago. Employers must develop good safety and health programs to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. These programs should include management leadership, worker participation and hazard identification. Properly employed, a culture of safety can be created in any workplace.

To reduce risk of job related illness, injuries and fatalities OSHA recommends that employers worker with their employees to:

Evaluate for workplace hazards

Ensure machinery, tools and work areas are in good working order.

Develop procedures to eliminate hazards.

Provide personal protective equipment to employers and enforce its use.

Train employees on safe operating procedures and retrain frequently.

Encourage employees to report workplace hazards.

Since Jan. 1, 2015, employers have been required to report any severe work-related injury  defined as a hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye  to OSHA within 24 hours. The requirement that an employer report a workplace fatality within 8 hours remains in force. In the first full year of the new requirement, employers nationwide reported 10,388 severe injuries, including 7,636 hospitalizations and 2,644 amputations.

Nationwide, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 30, 2016, OSHA initiated 2,709 workplace inspections in response to employer reported referrals. These included 2,052 employer reported hospitalizations of workers and 972 reports of amputation injuries sustained by workers.

Source: OSHA

Topics Workers' Compensation Talent Illinois
Mitsui Sumitomo Marine Management, Inc. (MSMM) and MS Amlin plc, its sister company, have formed a new partnership with Air Centurion to write the U.S.-based aviation and aerospace accounts for Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company of America, complimenting a portfolio written by MS Amlin in London.

Michael Daly, chief underwriting officer for MSMM said the partnership with Air Centurion will help the company to continue to expand its U.S. portfolio.

Air Centurion is an underwriting company focused on client and brokerage relationships and is based in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The U.S. member insurers of MS&AD Insurance Group, (MSIG) are subsidiaries of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited, a global property and casualty insurance company. MSIGs U.S. operation is part of a global network of operations located in more than 40 countries, with its parent company located in Japan. MSIG specializes in providing commercial property and casualty insurance products to its customers in the United States. MSIG also offers risk management services consisting of loss control and claims administration and rehabilitation services, along with personal lines insurance services.

MSIG refers to the MS&AD Insurance Group insurers underwriting coverage: Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company of America, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance USA Inc. and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company of America. Actual coverage is subject to the language of the policies as issued.

Topics Carriers USA Aviation Aerospace
I am a retired newspaperman. I am 69 and live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 45 years, Lou Ann. We grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather.

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A hurricane threatening the first direct hit on the United States in more than a decade could cause insurance losses of $25-30 billion and be the second costliest U.S. hurricane on record for insurers, according to initial industry estimates.

Hurricane Matthew is just off the east coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on Friday, after killing at least 339 people in Haiti on its move north through the Caribbean.

Data modeling firm RMS has told clients its initial estimates were a 42 percent chance of a $20 billion insurance loss and a 26 percent chance of a $30 billion loss from the hurricane, a source familiar with the research said.

Ben Brookes, vice president capital markets at RMS, told Reuters its guidance to clients was based on a forecast from earlier in the week.

We have continued to update our guidance as the situation changes, Brookes said, without giving further details.

An estimate from Kinetic Analysis of insured losses of $25 billion would make Matthew the second most costly hurricane in U.S. history behind Katrina, JPMorgan analysts said in a note late Thursday, referring to the hurricane which hit New Orleans and the surrounding coast in 2005.

Kinetic could not immediately be reached for comment.

Market participants expect these estimates to rise.

People are looking at this literally every minute and working overnight on it, one trader said.

The average impact to U.S. property and casualty insurers book value from $10-30 billion of insured losses from the hurricane would equate to around a quarters worth of earnings, the JPMorgan analysts added.

A $20 billion insured loss would match the insured losses caused by Hurricane Sandy in the northeast of the United States in 2012, which did not make landfall. A loss of this size would lead to material risks for Lloyds of London insurers, analyst Ben Cohen at Canaccord Genuity said in a note on Friday.

Cohen calculated a loss equivalent to Sandy would hit Beazleys earnings by $104 million, Hiscoxs by 117 million pounds ($145 million) and Lancashires by $39 million.

Beazley estimates an $80 billion storm would cause a $200 million loss, a spokesman said, without specifying losses from a smaller disaster.

A Hiscox spokeswoman said it was too early to judge the impact of the hurricane.

A Lancashire spokesman also said it was early days, but the firm was feeling relatively relaxed about its losses because it was very lightly exposed to risk in Florida compared with other states in which it offers reinsurance for wind damage.

The hurricane represented a real test of reinsurers exposure, S&P Global said in a report, but it did not see a ratings impact, due to reinsurers strong capital buffers.

($1 = 0.8093 pounds) (Additional reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Simon Jessop and Mark Potter)

Related:

[graphiq id=jnKgC3Kbb9z title=Most Expensive Hurricanes in US History width=600 height=535 url=https://w.graphiq.com/w/jnKgC3Kbb9z link=https://www.graphiq.com/vlp/jnKgC3Kbb9z link_text=Graphiq ]

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters USA Profit Loss Hurricane
Texas Mutual Insurance Co.s president and chief executive officer (CEO), Rich Gergasko, has been named the 2016 Best CEO of a large company in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal.

The ABJ has presented the Best CEO awards for the past six years, and this years awards included 62 nominees across five categories from among the regions 590 CEOs. The awards recognize a strong record of innovation, outstanding performance, recent career accomplishments and contributions to the award recipients role in the philanthropic, civic or political arenas.

Im grateful for the opportunity to serve as a leader of a company that is dedicated to keeping Texas employers and employees safe, and Im honored by this recognition, Gergasko said.

Gergasko joined the workers compensation insurer as president and CEO in 2013, and his career now spans nearly 40 years. Before joining Texas Mutual, he served as president and chief operating officer of Seattle-based SeaBright Insurance Co. and held other positions in the workers compensation insurance industry prior to that.

Gergasko serves on the board of directors for several local and national organizations, including the Austin Chamber of Commerce. He also leads many of Texas Mutuals philanthropic efforts, including chairing the American Heart Associations Heart Walk in Austin for the second consecutive year. Under Gergaskos leadership, Heart Walk raised more than $1 million in 2015.

Gergasko also leads Texas Mutuals annual participation in the BP MS 150 ride, a 150-mile bicycle trek from Houston to Austin to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis that has become an annual effort for Texas Mutual.

Since joining Texas Mutual, Gergasko has led and further developed a strong company culture that is committed to promoting workplace safety, as well as serving and educating policyholders, injured workers and their families, and the community. Gergaskos commitment to his co-workers and clients success has remained his top priority.

As CEO, you have many families counting on you to make sound business decisions, Gergasko said. I take this very seriously.

Source: Texas Mutual

Related:

Topics Texas Workers' Compensation
A Spanish language teacher who was fired from Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore. has filed a lawsuit against the college alleging ethnic discrimination and retaliation.

The Register-Guard reported Maria Gutierrez, of Veneta, filed the suit Monday and is seeking at least $300,000 in damages.

Gutierrez, who says she is a Hispanic woman of Mexican decent, was hired by LCC in 2004.

The complaint states that she was fired in 2014 after reporting that she wasnt paid overtime and was given fewer benefits than her non-Hispanic colleagues.

Another instructor sued the school earlier this year. Nadia Raza, a Pakistani American, accused college officials of job and sex discrimination and retaliation in January after she reported escalating problems with a student.

LCC spokeswoman Joan Aschim says the school doesnt comment on pending litigation.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Education Oregon Universities
E di almeno un morto il bilancio del passaggio delluragano Matthew su Haiti, dove pero le autorita e i soccorsi ancora devono stilare un bilancio preciso dei danni causati dalla tempesta, che si allontanera dallisola solo a fine giornata. Molti haitiani si sono rifiutati di lasciare le loro case per ripararsi nei rifugi.

Il timore e che nelle prossime ore nel Paese, gia fortemente devastato dal terremoto del 2010, si possano verificare frane e smottamenti causati dalle abbondanti precipitazioni. Inoltre, battenti piogge sono state registrate anche in Giamaica e nella Repubblica Domenicana.

In totale, il passaggio delluragano Matthew sui Caraibi ha causato almeno tre vittime. Inoltre, la sua forza sembra non accennare a diminuirsi e la tempesta, classificata di categoria 5 sulla scala Saffir Simpson, dovrebbe arrivare sullisola di Cuba domani. Quello che e stato definito il piu potente ciclone dellultimo decennio continua quindi a imperversare sui Caraibi.

Nel settore orientale di Cuba, oltre 300 mila persone sono state evacuate e anche dalla base militare di Guantanamo e stato mandato via il personale non essenziale. Si tratta di circa 700 persone, per la maggior parte familiari  mogli e figli dei militari destinati alla base  che sono stati trasferiti nelle strutture militari di Pensacola, in Florida. Nel carcere, comunque, oltre ai 61 detenuti, sono rimaste 4.800 persone che avranno il compito di cominciare rapidamente il lavoro di recupero dopo il passaggio delluragano.
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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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In 2012, Asian-Americans were huge Obama supporters. In the end the very diverse group only gave 31% of it's vote to Romney. It didn't matter in states like California, New York, Illinois and Texas, with their massive Asian-American population. California, New York, and Illinois were going big for Obama anyway and Texas was in the pocket for Romney no matter how many Laotians and Vietnamese voted for Obama. But in swing states like Nevada, Virginia and North Carolina, Asian-American votes are vital in putting together a winning coalition. Trump has managed to alienate Asian-American voters without understanding that. As we explained after he insulted Filipino-Americans, a socially conservative group that has always been strong for the GOP, voters are utterly turned off by Trump's racism, bullying, xenophobia and his fingers and immature foreign policies.

The just-released National Asian American Survey shows Hillary ahead of him by a 43-point margin among registered Asian-American voters. The polling was done between August 10 and September 29-- in 11 languages. Just half the number of voters who backed Romney plan to vote for Trump. Hillary leads him 59-16%. Karthick Ramakrishnan, the survey's director, said that the big defection from the GOP this year was all about Trump. "Trump's unfavorables," he emphasized, "are like nothing we've seen before." He leads Clinton in unfavorables 67-36%.

Nevada is a swing state with 6 electoral votes that Trump desperately needs. But the presidential race isn't all that's going on there. There's a crucial Senate race and 2 Republicans congressional incumbents are struggling to fight off strong Democratic challenges. It isn't likely that loud Trump backers Cresent Hardy and Mark Amodei (Trump's Nevada campaign chairman) will survive November and the open seat south of Vegas (Henderson and below) will probably go from red to blue as well. Asian-Americans are part of the good news for Democrats in the state.

On paper at least, Asian-Americans seem like perfect Republicans. Many are small-business owners. Their communities tend to be more culturally conservative. And a lot of them, having fled oppressive communist governments, found comfort in the Republican Partys aggressive anti-communist policies.





But in what could be a significant realignment of political allegiance, Asian-Americans are identifying as Democrats at a quicker pace than any other racial group. And many Republicans worry this election will only accelerate that trend, damaging their party for years to come with what is now the fastest-growing minority in the country.





The Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is not helping. His attacks on the Chinese-- which he has sometimes delivered in a crude, mocking accent-- are a feature of his populist campaign. He has suggested cutting off immigration from the Philippines, citing fears that the longtime U.S. ally poses the same national security threat as countries like Syria and Afghanistan.





Trumps talk of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants has also stirred up painful memories among a group that has been singled out under U.S. law before, whether by the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred the immigration of Chinese laborers until 1943, or by the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.





Its like were going back in time, said Marc Matsuo of Las Vegas, who grew up in Hawaii with parents of Japanese ancestry and recalled how his family used to feel uncomfortable expressing their heritage, to the point they would not speak Japanese. He now helps register Asian-Americans to vote. I was always brought up that you dont talk about religion, you dont talk about politics. Not anymore.





Though Asian-Americans are still just 4 percent of the overall eligible voting population, their political power is concentrated in important swing states like Nevada and Virginia, where both parties have been building on their efforts to reach out.





In and around Las Vegas, home to one of the countrys largest Asian populations, this means printing campaign leaflets in Korean, having a Vietnamese translator on standby at speeches, publishing op-ed articles in the local Filipino newspaper and hiring employees who know enough Mandarin to recruit voters at the Chinatown seafood market.





Hillary Clintons campaign has a resident staff member in Las Vegas dedicated to Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Staff members and volunteers here speak Chinese, Korean, Hindi and Tagalog, the Filipino language. The campaign has recently been conducting native language training on how to use voting machines in a local Chinese cultural center. Volunteers are sent to court supporters in Buddhist temples.





Though Trumps campaign announced a new Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee last week, a Republican National Committee spokesman, Ninio Fetalvo, said Trumps outreach to Asian-American voters had been coordinated until now mainly through two staff members at the partys Washington headquarters. The party, he added, has also printed materials in a variety of Asian languages in cities like Las Vegas.





Republicans difficulties with Asian-Americans are similar to those the party has faced with most minority groups. A sense that the party is hostile to immigrants and minorities has driven more Asian-American voters into the Democratic Party lately, political scientists and community leaders said. And if Republicans do not make more of an effort, those voting shifts could harden, just as Hispanics voting patterns have.





...As Asian-Americans have replaced Hispanics as the nations fastest growing racial group, Nevada has become the center of their emerging political class. Asian-Americans are now about 7 percent of the electorate in the state, a figure that is expected to double by 2060.





Democrats and Republicans have concluded that winning in closely divided Nevada requires performing strongly among Asian-Americans: The states Republican senator, Dean Heller, carried Asian-Americans when he narrowly won in 2012. And Harry Reid, the states long-serving Democratic senator who is retiring, performed even better with them than he did among Hispanics in his 2010 election.





None of which is lost on the two candidates vying to succeed Reid: Rep. Joe Heck, the Republican, employs an aide who speaks Mandarin and has made Kamayan dinners-- traditional Filipino banquets-- as much a campaign staple as marching in parades. And Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democrat, grew up in the Las Vegas neighborhood that has since become the citys Chinatown, with Korean barbecue restaurants, Vietnamese noodle bars, foot spas and Chinese arches. When she attended a lunar celebration last month, she spoke in English as someone translated her words into Vietnamese.





As much as Trumps positions seem to be driving Asian-Americans into the Democratic Party, the group defies easy political categorization. Many Koreans are evangelical Christians. Filipinos overwhelmingly belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Many Vietnamese who emigrated during the war identify closely with the Republican Partys anti-communism.





In general, Asian values are very much in line with Republican values: family, education, the country needs to be stable, said James Yu, a member of the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, which has endorsed Heck in the Senate race. Notably, it has not backed Trump.





By November, about 9.3 million Asian-Americans will be able to vote nationally, or 4 percent of the eligible voting population. That is up from 8 million in 2012. And that growth has spawned new civic organizations, like the nonpartisan Asian Community Development Council in Las Vegas, which aims to boost the groups low voter turnout. Only 47 percent of eligible Asian-Americans voted in 2012.





Vida Chan Lin, the groups founder, said that her message each time she goes out to register Asian-Americans to vote-- in casinos employee lunchrooms, in Chinatown shopping malls and at employee orientations for businesses like the Panda Express fast-food chain-- is that they have to harness the power of their growing numbers.





Weve got to get them to vote, Lin said in her office, which was humming with volunteers planning registration drives, as well as follow-up calls as reminders to vote.





One positive consequence of Trumps divisiveness, she said, was that interest in the election is like nothing she has ever seen. And the chatter about it follows her everywhere, she added: When I went to China, they were talking about it.
Apple made it a mandate that browsers available in the iOS App Store must utilize the companys open source WebKit, which has ruffled development company Nexendis feathers.

The company, which is a developer and business service supplier, has officially filed a lawsuit against Apple in French courts, which states it believes Apple should sooner support the latest Web and HTML5 standards on its iOS platform. The company argues that over the years, Apples WebKit has fallen behind other companies offerings when it comes to supporting HTML5.

As noted by Apple Insider, the mandate that all web browsers use Apples WebKit is at the heart of the problem. Alternative web rendering engines are not permitted within the iOS App Store, so while other browsers are available, they need to run WebKit.

Not allowing the publication in Apples AppStore of web browsers that are not based on Apples own WebKit raises in our opinion the same issues as if Carrefour (a company similar to Walmart) was not selling any beans but those based on Carrefours seeds, said Nexendi founder Jean-Paul Smets regarding the case law that the company is using. This may be legal in other countries but in France, it is most likely not.

Nexendi has already gone out of its way to suggest its user base abandon Safari on macOS and use an alternative. However, it cant do the same thing for iOS, even if it wants to, because the companys head says theyve learned that iPhones are the dominant devices with a loyal user base, and abandoning the platform altogether is simply not an option.

The court hearing is scheduled for February 4, 2017.

[via Apple Insider
The Education Minister has launched a plan to attract more international students to Ireland.

Richard Bruton says he wants to see 37,000 more international students studying here by 2020.

The Minister claims it will help to diversify the Irish education system.

He added that Ireland will have a niche as a global educator when we become the only English speaking member of the EU post-Brexit.
The judge who will lead the inquiry into the current Garda scandal is expected to be named today.

The investigation is being launched by the Justice Minister after two senior officers claimed they'd been involved in a smear campaign against a whistleblower.
The Daily Show's nuanced take on the 9/11 Justice bill that Obama vetoed and Congress passed anyway, overriding his veto. Why might Congress reverse that veto-override? Give it a listen.

"Why would [28 senators] vote to override the thing and then go back against it? Because it's not about what they feel. It's about what they want people to think they feel."

9/11 bill is a global blunder that will weaken US efforts abroad

On Thursday [September 29], the U.S. Congress went over the head of President Obama for the first time, passing the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, a piece of legislation effectively removing the principle of sovereign immunity to allow the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to directly and privately sue the Saudi government for complicity with terrorists.



While most of the hijackers were Saudi nationals, it is critically important that the across-the-aisle 9/11 commission found no evidence that the Saudi government or senior officials funded the attacks, or had any prior knowledge of it. Instead, the commission report lays much of the blame on a failure of U.S. intelligence and border security, citing the fact that al Qaeda gave plenty of notice of their intent to slaughter American civilians, but domestic defense forces devoted little attention or resources toward addressing the threat.



With the passage of the bill, the United States has provided the opportunity for grieving citizens to launch a legal battle against a false enemy, justifiably angering a nation that is not only a huge supplier of oil for the U.S, but has also served as a key ally in the war on terror.

Following the 15th anniversary of the attacks, JASTA was clearly directed at [sic] families of 9/11 victims. However, this bill has far-reaching consequences, opening the United States up to retaliatory legislation by foreign nations.



The principle of sovereign immunity, protecting a government from civil or criminal suit, has been maintained for so long by a notion of reciprocity  the United States protects itself from suit by in turn protecting other nations. The bill has taken a significant step towards erosion of this global status quo. If the U.S. will not protect the immunity of other nations, especially an ally such as Saudi Arabia, than there is no mechanism in place to prevent retaliatory measures.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the House would take up a bill to fix problems with JASTA after it comes back from its election recess, admitting Obama's concerns that the bill could subject U.S. service members to lawsuits in foreign courts was legitimate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took to blaming Obama for Senate Republicans' misunderstanding or misreading of the law. "Nobody really had focused on the potential downside in terms of our international relationships. And I think it was just a ball dropped," he stated.

...Notice that the possibility of other countries suing the US for war crimes its government commits is automatically assumed to be undesirable. The Washington Post puts terrorism in irony quotes because, of course, the US could never actually commit terrorism; claims to this effect could only be invoked when convenient by greedy non-Americans.



The New York Times uses its trademark euphemisms to describe how the US is engaged in the world with drone operations. A nice way of saying the US uses drones to bomb people in a half-dozen countries withso farlegal impunity. Changing this state of affairs is simply glossed over as a nonstarter.



USA Today frames any attempt at legal recourse over American terrorism overseas as retaliationpresumably for some righteous kill executed by the United States in the service of freedom.



The New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today are saying that exposing American military and intelligence personnel to foreign liability is per se bada nativism so casual and matter-of-fact one might hardly notice it until circumstances force them to explicitly state it. No account is taken of the 7 billion non-Americans or their rights. No explanation is given as to why victims of US terrorof which there are manyshouldnt register in our moral calculus. They just dont.

Companies

The irony is that none of these publications were overly concerned with exposing the US to foreign lawsuits when they offered support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a corporate trade deal that includes a provision for Investor-State Dispute Settlementmeaning it permits corporations to sue governments, including the US, in the event that a regulation undermines corporate profits. So increased exposure to liability to the US government when it gives more power to corporations is permissible, even desirable, but when it might provide recourse for victims of US war crimes? Not so much.

The Beach Boys, set to shots of Barbara Eden in Eden

We wrote here about the 9//11 Justice Bill (officially, JASTA, or the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act) and Obama's veto of it, which Congress overrode. We also offered some reasons Obama and some Democrats may have been against it, among them the army of well-funded, Saudi-paid lobbyists operating in the U.S. to "discourage" its support. (Obama himself is a man with legacy needs, and down the road, his kind of legacy will also need financing .)But a second reason for Obama's opposition is this  in essence, one person's "drone strike on an Afghan 'rebel' village" is another person's "state-sponsored terrorism." Put more simply, it's the tit-for-tat problem: "If you can sue me for terrorism, then I can sue you."Or, put even more simply, revenge. And as Trevor Noah indicated in the video above, the U.S. has much to regret, or at least to protect against, when it comes to stimulating revenge.So lawmakers are starting to walk back their two votes  one to pass the bill, one to override the veto  and starting to say words like "national security" and "protect the troops" ("troops" being code for anyone in any position who orders or helps implement what foreign victims may see as our own "state-sponsored terrorism").Joseph K. Grieboski, writing in , discusses this. The headline:Before I continue with the article, notice the phrasing above, then ask yourself: "US efforts" to do what? More drone strikes perhaps? A bombing or two? Needless to say, you should be immediately alert that this piece is sympathetic to Obama's position.The writer continues:That middle paragraph is pure pro-Saudi argumentum. I left it in specifically you let you see it for what it is. If this bill gets "fixed"  i.e., neutered  that reasoning ("We can't sue the Saudis anyway; there's no proof") will be a constant part of the justification.Now the next justification for walking back the bill, and the one I mentioned above (revenge):"Directed at" 9/11 families exposes the posturing nature of support (as in, they're striking a pose) for this bill by legislators. The writer could have used the phrase "written to support" the 9/11 families, but I appreciate the his honesty in this case. Notice also that this "principle of sovereign immunity" isn't international law, but a kind of gentlemen's agreement, a "notion of reciprocity." There's nothing holding this international principle in place, nothing upgirding it, but fear of consequences. Good to know.About those objections more specifically. First, the writer notes Obama, speaking in a town hall shortly after the veto override, saying this: "Obama cited a number of concerns with the overriding of his veto. His primary fear seems to be an infringement on the ability of the United States to continue. ... The president fears that, should other nations pass similar legislation, the U.S. could be forced toout of legal necessity."Of course we'll be sued for disaster relief. That's what everyone does to governments that help them pick themselves from the rubble of earthquake. Yes, that's sarcasm, and yes, that reasoning is the most phony of phony logic. Likely, though, you'll hear it much repeated when this bill is reconsidered.Paul Ryan, whose Republican House overwhelmingly supported the bill (only 18 Republicans voted No ), is having second thoughts as well:There's the "support the troops" argument. Another you'll hear much repeated.And as Trevor Noah noted in the video above, Mitch McConnell is also have voter's remorse.When it comes to protecting the national security state, it seems almost no one wants to get in the way. That includes our major media.Major press outlets are also overwhelmingly for a "fix." From an overview of press coverage by Fair.org The many euphemisms used by the press simply say what I wrote more plainly above  "drone operations," for example, from the Times, means "drone strikes" and "drone kills," but without the hint of blood and death.Adam Johnson, the author of the Fair.org piece, notes the irony of U.S. political elites eagerness to (a) protect our government's right to kill with no exposure to lawsuit, while (b), via instruments like NAFTA and TPP, give foreignthe right to sue the U.S. over any number of "lost profit" claims. He writes:Let's put that even more succinctly. According to U.S. rulers and their agents:Shows where their hearts are at, I think. It's clearly with the money, which keeps their system running, and not the victims of it.After the election, most likely in the lame duck session, the 9/11 families will be sold out by Congress men and women who won't have to face another election for at least two years. Unless those families continue the fight, which I expect. It will be a long slog though. The nearness of this election, I suspect, was part of why the bill got to the floor this time.Some battles, especially against holder of great wealthy and their enablers, seem never to end. I think, no matter who wins the presidency, that war will further ignite, but that's a thought for another day.Let's end on a cheerier note. Did I hear Roy Wood Jr. mention "Aruba... Jamaica..." in the clip above? Here you go:No victim lawsuits in those smiles.GP

Labels: 9/11, Barack Obama, Congress, Gaius Publius, Saudis, terrorism, veto override
A Nobel peace laureate has described her detention by the Israeli navy as she tried to reach Gaza by sea as kidnap.

Mairead Maguire, 72, from Belfast, was with 13 activists on a boat about 40 miles from shore when it was intercepted on Wednesday as they attempted to breach the maritime blockade imposed in 2007.

The yacht, Zaytouna-Olivia, was not carrying aid, and travelled from Barcelona to Sicily and on to Gaza in a symbolic attempt to challenge Israel's refusal to let Palestinians freely use the port.

Ms Maguire, 1976 Nobel peace prize winner for her work to unite communities in the North, pre-recorded a video message with other women on the boat expecting to be detained at sea.

"We were arrested, kidnapped, illegally, in international waters and taken against our wish into Israel," she said.

"This has happened to me before. We will be deported and tragically not allowed back to see our friends in Palestine and Israel. This is totally illegal.

"As women from many countries we uphold our freedom of movement in any part of our world.

"So, for those who can help to call for the release of all those on the women's boat to Gaza, please do so.

"But even more importantly, because it's not about us, work for the freedom and human rights, the lifting of the blockade against the people of Gaza and for the freedom for the Palestinian people and peace in the Middle East.

"We can all do this together. It is not a dream. We are here in prison because we care for human rights, for human dignity, for the Palestinian people."

The Israeli Defence Forces said the boat was intercepted in international waters after "exhausting all diplomatic channels" and that the operation was "uneventful".

It described the Gaza maritime blockade as lawful and said the women refused to change course when asked.

Others on the voyage, organised by the Women's Boat to Gaza, were Ann Wright, a retired US colonel, former South African Olympic volleyball player Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Algerian MP Samira Douaifia, Marama Davidson Green Party MP in New Zealand and Jeannette Escanilla first substitute MP in the Swedish parliament.

Three of the 13 women have been released.

In 2010 an unsuccessful attempt by the Gaza Freedom Flotilla to breach the blockade ended when Israeli military intercepted the MV Mavi Marmara and killed 10 Turkish people after boarding.

At that time Ms Maguire was on a separate boat in the flotilla, the MV Rachel Corrie and she was subsequently detained and deported.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Hamas militant group took power almost 10 years ago.

The blockade has stifled the tiny state's weak economy but Israel insists it is necessary to prevent Hamas importing weapons.

The women were detained hours after a rocket strike on Sderot, a southern Israeli town on the Gaza border. Israel targeted a series of Hamas posts in Gaza in response.

Later, organisers of the Women's Boat to Gaza said the remaining 10 women were being deported from Israel.

Wendy Goldsmith, a member of the team working to secure their release, said: "The deportation was much quicker than in prior flotillas.

"While we had a great legal team assisting the women, we suspect that the reason for the quick release was because of all the negative media attention Israel has been receiving for its illegal interception."
The public is being urged to have its say on how old children should be before they are allowed to access social media.

It is part of new EU plans for a so-called 'digital age of consent' of anywhere between 13 and 16.
Russia and Syria should face a war crimes investigation for their attacks on Syrian civilians, according to US secretary of state John Kerry, further illustrating the downward spiral in relations between Washington and Moscow.

Mr Kerry said Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100, in what would be the latest strike by Moscow or its ally in Damascus on a civilian target.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children," Mr Kerry told reporters alongside French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who arrived in Washington directly from meeting Russian officials in Moscow.

Mr Kerry (pictured) said such acts "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes".

"They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond," he added said in some of his toughest criticism to date. He accused Russia and Syria of undertaking a targeted strategy to "terrorise civilians".

Mr Ayrault spoke of a new French effort for a ceasefire in Syria, but it is unclear what advantages his plan would have over the US-Russian led process that collapsed last month.

Mr Kerry's September 9 agreement with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would have created a new counter-terrorism alliance in Syria, if fighting had stopped for a week and aid deliveries been permitted to reach desperate civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other besieged areas.

Neither condition was met.

The truce then broke completely when Syria and Russia renewed their military offensive in Aleppo.

Mr Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Moscow on the military partnership earlier this week.

The war has killed as many as half a million people since 2011, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Second World War and allowed Islamic State to carve out territory for itself and emerge as a global terror threat.

As Mr Kerry and Mr Ayrault spoke, Russia's lower house of parliament ratified a treaty with Syria that allows the Russian military to stay indefinitely in the Middle Eastern country.

The Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously to ratify the deal, which formalises Moscow's military presence at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.

The move comes as a show of support for embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad, and allows Russia to use the base free of charge and for as long as it requires.

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria a year ago, reversing the tide of war and helping Assad's forces win back key ground. Moscow says its goal is to help the Syrian army fight terrorism.

Russia also has a naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.
Notwithstanding this fact, it is also probably true to say that they will present the budget against a background of intense uncertainty and challenge.

Brexit, ongoing sterling weakness, the Apple tax ruling, growing unrest amongst some militant unions, and the strange complexion of the Dail and the Government, immediately spring to mind. All of these issues should give deep cause for concern.

On the economic front, we got further good news this week. Unemployment in September fell to 172,900 and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9% of the labour force. The number of jobless has declined by 61,200 over the past two years.

The exchequer returns for the first nine months of the year show that an exchequer deficit of 25m was recorded, down from 104m in the same period last year. Tax revenues came in 484m ahead of expectations.

Corporation tax was 644m ahead. Its unclear if the surge in corporation tax since the beginning of last year is sustainable or is just an ongoing adjustment. Worryingly, income tax is running 114m behind and Vat 278m behind.

Of more significance is the fact that in the first nine months, income tax was 509m higher than the equivalent period last year and Vat receipts were 490m higher.

The public finances are in fine fettle and set a positive backdrop to Budget 2017, but caution should be the guiding principle in framing the budget and in the general management of the economy.

Any possibility that the UK might somehow row back from the Brexit vote has faded. Prime Minister Therese May has stated, on numerous occasions, Brexit means Brexit, and last weekend she committed to invoking Article 50 in March 2017.

It will take a lot longer to provide solutions to address the numerous issues that will have to be addressed.

The biggest question is, of course, the nature of the trading relationship that the UK will have with the EU post-exit. Soft-Brexit would describe a situation where the UK would have access to the EU market and would make some contribution to the EU budget and accept many of the terms and conditions of the market, particularly the free movement of people.

This would be politically problematical, as the vote in June was heavily influenced by the desire to protect its borders from inward migration.

Hard-Brexit would mean a situation where the UK would not be part of the EUs customs union and trade between the UK and the EU would be subject to trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas.

The EU is the UKs biggest trading partner for a number of reasons, but proximity is the most important. Geography tends to be the biggest driver of trade.

Recent rhetoric would appear to suggest that the odds are now favouring a hard Brexit. In such an eventuality, Irelands trade with the UK would come under pressure and it is hard to see how a soft border with the North could survive.

These are longer-term issues; the immediate issue is the descent of sterling. Budget 2017 must be characterised by caution and conservatism. It is not the time for populist heroics.
NewsBrands, formerly known as the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI), is the industry organisation for all national newspapers in print and online.

The appointment to the new role at the organisation follows a strategic review by its management committee, NewsBrands said.

Ms Lenihan, who has worked within the newspaper industry for over 20 years, was previously communications and public affairs manager at NewsBrands, a position that she also held when the organisation was NNI.

She was responsible for directing the industry bodys key initiatives and events, and managing all public policy. In addition she was the organisations representative on News Media Europes advertising taskforce. She is also a member of the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland complaints committee.

Ms Lenihan said she looked forward to reinvigorating the organisation by providing strategic policy direction, improving industry communication, launching new initiatives and refreshing some existing programmes.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Ann Marie Lenihan as CEO of NewsBrands Ireland, said NewsBrands Ireland chairman Vincent Crowley.

She brings a depth of experience to the role and a palpable enthusiasm for promoting the newspaper industry.

She understands the unique needs of newspaper publishers and is highly respected by people working in NewsBrands Irelands client companies and in Irish media generally, he said.

I am excited to lead NewsBrands Ireland in this period when news media is developing and growing, Ms Lenihan said.

I look forward to building upon the work achieved by NewsBrands Ireland over recent years to create an operating environment that is favourable for newspaper publishers, she said.

NewsBrands also said that Dara McMahon is leaving her role as director. Mr Crowley thanked Ms McMahon for her contribution during the last two years.
The company has requested binding acquisition bids within the next two weeks, Reuters had reported on Wednesday, and hopes to wrap up sale negotiations before the end of the month.

Google was a likely contender for the microblogging service, Recode reported, but those familiar with the deal said the company was not moving forward with an effort to buy Twitter at this time.

Twitters shares fell as much as 19.2% to $20.10 (18), valuing the company at about $14.2bn. The shares were later down by 18% at $20.39.

Salesforce.com is now left as the only potential buyer, Recode said, although the cloud-software maker has not confirmed publicly that it wants to make a bid.

Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff told CNBC on Wednesday that Twitter was an exciting product, but obviously the business has a lot of challenges. The rationale for Salesforce bidding on Twitter is not clear, said Jefferies analyst John DiFucci in a note to clients.

Buying Twitter would reduce the value of Salesforce shares by about $11 through dilution, while increased debt could cut another $9.50 from the stock. Salesforces shares were up 3.6% at one stage.

Other potential bidders beyond Salesforce are taking a look at Twitter, CNBC said, citing sources. And Google might not be out of the running entirely, said Patrick Moorhead, analyst from Moor Insights & Strategy.

I think Google needs Twitter and Twitter needs Google. Google has failed multiple times to create a compelling social media platform and they need a company like Twitter, he said.

I do not think this is the end of it. This is more likely Google trying to send a message to Twitter that your terms are too rich.

Twitter has told potential acquirers it wants to conclude negotiations about selling itself by the time it reports third-quarter earnings on October 27. The company, run by Jack Dorsey, has struggled to generate revenue growth and profit despite having about 313m average monthly active users.
A rush to claim credit for the wins for vulnerable groups is now under way ahead of the Fine Gael-led government unveiling the budget next Tuesday.

The Cabinet held a special meeting last night where increased amounts for the budget were discussed, believed to be around 1.2bn.

The increased spend from the original 1bn flagged is likely to go into health and social protection, said a government source last night.

Fianna Fail, who support the Government, also look set to concede ground on their 5 pension rise demand if budget gains are instead spread among other recipients dependent on the State.

A half a percent cut has also been more or less agreed for the lowest three levels of the USC, sources said.

But Government partners the Independent Alliance are understood to be outraged over their demands on disability allowances and rural payments not being met.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was forced to intervene and attended two meetings of Alliance ministers yesterday in Government Buildings over the budget impasse. Junior minister John Halligan also participated in a conference call from Japan.

Alliance ministers are fighting for the restoration of the bereavement grant, higher farm assist payments, more employment in rural social schemes and fuel allowance increases among other issues. The Alliance want a 19 million domiciliary package that will benefit around 11,500 people.

Alliance ministers are preparing for a series of intense phonecalls over the weekend but one source said they may not support the budget.

Instead, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail look set to claim any credit for a broad social benefits package.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar revealed yesterday that he and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe both believe any budget gains made by pensioners must be shared by others: We are both of the view that if there is an increase in the weekly pension paid to people over 66 its very important that other vulnerable groups also receive an increase.

And that includes carers, people with disabilities, people on the blind pension, widows under the age of 66, people in receipt of illness payments, and of course families who have children in poverty. Its really important that the budget passes the fairness test, he said.

Those categories accounted for somewhere between 400,000 and 800,000 people, added the Fine Gael minister.

Elsewhere, state aid rules are understood to be delaying agreement on Brexit-proof measures to help companies. The Government want special credit and resources allocated to Irish exporters impacted by sterling decreases and looming Brexit problems. Any financial aid though which benefited Britain over other EU member states could be problematic, said a Department of Finance source.

Government sources also confirmed the first-time buyer grant will apply on new homes up to the value of 400,000 and not second hand homes, as desired by Fianna Fail. First-time buyers could be in line for a tax rebate of up to 20,000 or 5% of the new homes value.

Mr Donohoe also hinted yesterday that the childcare package in the budget will be limited. This is despite Fine Gael TDs pushing for subsidies for middle income earners as well as low income families.

Fianna Fails demand for 100m to be allocated to third level in the budget also looks defeated.

The Department of Education has already committed to hiring an extra 650 teachers and will partly restore pay for newly-qualified teachers which will begin to kick in from January.
Cindy OShea, regional prisons support officer and member of the Samaritans Ireland Nations Board, said: In some areas, there is overprescribing of benzodiazapene from primary care and [as a result] they are accessible on the streets.

Previously, National Suicide Research Foundation director of research Dr Ella Arensman had shown the Irish Association of Suicidology conference research which demonstrated that, since 2004, benzodiazapene is the most common way to intentionally overdose.
Speaking during a debate on the provision of health services, he said: Like many other families, I and my extended family have had to go through the trauma of burying loved ones, not once but on two occasions.

Over the years I have seen too many of my friends end their lives by suicide. One cannot describe the hurt and sense of loss that is experienced within a family when it is told that one of its own has died by suicide.
Almost 180 works of art by up to 90 of the countrys top artists, including Gene Lambert, John Adams, Ricky Lynch, Maurice Desmond, and Cora Murphy, will be hung for sale on the walls of Henchys Bar at St Lukes Cross, on the northside of the city, for the 10th annual art exhibition in aid of Anitas Orphanage in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

With works across various mediums, and with prices from 200 to 2,000, organisers are promising something for everyone. The exhibition will be officially opened at 8pm by poet Gerry Murphy and the art will be on view in the pub, and for sale, until November 5, when the exhibition will close with the pubs famous stew night.
John Donnelly, counsel for Ulster Bank Ireland Ltd, told Judge Jacqueline Linnane that Niall And Evelyn Shanahan had shown no interest in engaging with the bank or the court in proceedings to repossess their home.

Mr Donnelly told the court that the balance due on the couples mortgage on Woodley, 52 Fosters Avenue, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin, was now just under 1.2m.

He said arrears on repayments alone totalled 357,000 and the last payment made on the property was on October 20, 2014.

Solicitor Dara OLoghlin told the court the property was the principal private residence of the defendants and as such came within the jurisdiction of the court.

Mr Donnelly told the court that the bank had managed to serve Mrs Shanahan with the proceedings but it appeared Mr Shanahan was currently residing in the UK.

He said Mr Shanahan was aware of the proceedings before the court but had not been taking any active part in the matter. It appeared there was an estrangement between the two defendants.

Judge Linnane said there was a total disinterest by both parties in the proceedings and neither had appeared in court nor had any representation been made on their behalf.

Obviously they have absolutely no interest in this debt, Judge Linnane said.

The judge adjourned the proceedings against both defendants until November 24 and told the bank it could bring a motion on November 1 to seek an order for substituted service against Mr Shanahan.
Cian OBrien of Cappagh, Kinsale, Co Cork, was given the benefit of the Probation Act after Bandon District Court yesterday heard he had not meant to assault his uncle, and that things had become heated after a verbal altercation between the pair.

The court heard OBrien, 31, was pleading guilty to the minor assault on November 30 last when his uncle Ken OBrien contacted gardai in Kinsale to say he had been assaulted by his nephew.
The details are contained in the annual report of An Garda Siochana, which also shows the gardais dog unit was involved in 343 searches last year, including an operation in which 400,000 worth of heroin was found and another in which AK47 weapons were recovered.

The report shows that garda aircraft flew more than 1,550 hours on 1,507 flights while attending to over 2,150 incidents last year. The unit was also involved in the arrests of over 250 suspects, 15 missing person cases, and 60 vehicles were located.

Since Operation Thor, which targets burglaries, got underway last November, the air support unit has attended 35 incidents on 12 flights, involving arrests of four suspects and the locating of one vehicle.

In August, the Garda helicopter used night vision equipment following a request from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) to target a criminal gang stealing ESB power lines. Following a power outage in the midlands, a suspect car was tracked by the garda helicopter until it was intercepted by DOCB and five suspects were detained.

In a separate incident in September last year, the helicopter was deployed to the border region to help search for a missing person with a history of self-harm.

Using thermal image search equipment the missing person was found in a distressed and semi-conscious state. Afterwards, ambulance staff suggested that the person may not have survived the night had they not been found at that time by the helicopter unit.

Examples of work by the Garda Dog Unit included the discovery by Garda Dog Flynn of heroin worth 400,000 in a rubbish skip, which was placed in a driveway of a premises in the Donaghmede area of Dublin.

Elsewhere, planned searches of two houses in the Crumlin area of Dublin resulted in the same dog indicating separate locations in which a semi-automatic handgun and a large amount of 9mm and 5.56mm ammunition were found.

The report also outlines how the dog unit assisted members of Special Detective Unit and Emergency Response Unit in planned searches of a house and lands at Jenkinstown, Co Louth.

The searches were conducted as part of ongoing investigations into the activities of dissident republicans and during the course of the operation, explosive material, bomb-making equipment and AK47s were discovered by the Garda dogs, hidden in various locations in fields.

A suspect was later arrested.
General secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Liam Doran said industrial action in the first stage would take the form of a work-to-rule.

He said members would be asked to impose an overtime ban, a ban on redeployment and to refuse to provide cross-cover in the community.

Mr Doran said members were not going to paper over the cracks of staff shortages and ignore them  they would stay in their area and would not cross-cover for absent colleagues.

That means managers are going to have to contract services  close beds and close services because we have too few nurses being asked to do too much and we have had enough of that.

Mr Doran said the union would consult with members in the next four weeks to finalise the actions necessary to achieve their objectives.

A national ballot would seek a mandate to commence action if bed numbers and services were not reduced in line with available staffing levels. Mr Doran said members would decide if all-out strike action was necessary.

He stressed that the onus was on the Government to respond quickly to their demands. Until that happened, they would keep all their options on the table.

The consistent and growing message from members is they cannot cope any longer with reduced salaries, unpaid additional hours and unsafe staffing levels leading to intolerable workloads.

These realities are further exacerbated by the constant refusal of management to respect, and accept, the professional judgement of nurses and midwives as to when patient care is compromised and unsafe.

The INMOs executive council stated that current pay levels, following pay cuts and pension levies were inadequate in terms of attracting and retaining nursing and midwifery staff.

It also reaffirmed that current nurse and midwife staffing levels in clinical areas were wholly inadequate to provide safe care for the number of admitted patients.

Also, nurses and midwives were working excessively long hours, some of which were unpaid. They were under excessive pressure, and many were burnt out at the end of a shift.

The INMO also presented feedback from members. One nurse said she was a single parent and raising a child on her wages was almost impossible  on Wednesday she had just 10.

I am 43 years old, and my parents have to help me out with school fees, tyres, heating oil and so much more. That is wrong.

Another nurse said she had young children aged from 14 to four. Her husband cannot work due to a chronic illness. I got paid on Saturday. I have 200 left for the month. Last month I had to go to St Vincent de Paul twice for food vouchers.
With Brexit now set to be finalised by early 2019, Education Minister Richard Bruton will launch a new international education strategy this morning in which a target of almost 11,000 extra third-level students has been set for the end of the 2019/2020 academic year.

The target for the English-language training (ELT) sector is set even higher, with plans to increase numbers from 106,000 to 132,500, a 25% increase.

There will be strong opportunities for Ireland in the area of international education when Ireland becomes the only English-speaking member of the EU, Mr Bruton said.

The ELT sector currently generates around 760m a year and it is intended to increase that by around 200m to just under 1bn.

Despite hundreds of overseas students being left at a loss when several English language colleges closed in recent years, the country continues to attract growing numbers from non-EU countries.

Marketing English in Ireland (MEI), representing 62 regulated English language schools, said there are indications that growth of recent years will continue. It said students from 89 countries came here last year to learn English but the challenge for the sector is to focus on areas and countries that will continue growing, as well as the traditionally strong markets like Italy, Spain and France.

The Brexit vote is likely to continue to positively impact upon the international English language sector in Ireland. In part due to currency fluctuations and uncertain visa and regulatory issues, students are voting with their feet and seeking to come to Ireland in ever-increasing numbers to learn English, said MEI chief executive David OGrady.

The Department of Education strategy will direct funding at promotional campaigns in key markets like the United States, China, India, Brazil, Malaysia and the Gulf region. But focus will also be moved to high-potential markets in Canada, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Nigeria.

The higher education sector, currently valued at 819m a year, is being targeted for a 40% increase to 1.5bn by 2020, as it is intended to increase numbers of international students at public and private colleges from 33,118 in 2014/15 to 44,000. Each college will be expected to have internationalisation plans playing to their strengths, but work in clusters will also be promoted.

As well as attracting more students, the strategy plans a more cohesive approach to recruiting international researchers to help build research capacity and the commercialisation of research. In recent days, the risks to Britain about limited mobility of academics and research have been the subject of concern there after Prime Minister Theresa Mays announcement of March 2017 as the start of the two-year countdown to the UKs formal departure from the EU.

The last international education strategy published in 2010 was the subject of a review ordered by a former minister, Ruairi Quinn, three years ago over initial failures to increase student numbers. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of full-time international students at publicly-funded colleges fell 12% from over 12,000 to below 10,600.
Of those held, 22 were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act for a range of matters including theft, assault, fraud, misuse of drugs, and burglary offences.

Gardai said that nine people were arrested for the purpose of charge and appeared before sittings of Carlow and Kilkenny district courts.

A further 33 people were arrested on foot of committal and penal warrants.

In all, 29 houses and one business premises were searched in the Kilkenny City, Urlingford, and Castlecomer areas during the operation.

Drugs including heroin, ecstasy, cannabis, cocaine, and amphetamine with an estimated value of 34,000 were seized.

A grow house was also discovered at a house in Castlecomer where cannabis plants with an estimated value of 4,000 were also seized.

Elsewhere, a handgun was recovered during a search of a house in Kilkenny City.

During the day, some 60 checkpoints were carried out by gardai across the division.

The operation involved 130 gardai along with 50 students from the Garda College.

A Garda spokesman said a visiting group of 30 European police officers attended a briefing at Kilkenny Garda Station and were present at some of the checkpoints as observers.

Speaking at the commencement of the operation, Chief Superintendent Dominic Hayes said: The objective of the operation is to disrupt criminals living in and travelling through the Kilkenny/Carlow Division.

Criminals will be deterred from committing crime in an area perceived as being heavily policed. This operation will also assist in the detection of criminal offences through proactive policing activities.
Jeffrey Dumbrell, aged 36, described by his barrister as a notorious criminal, punched the nurse as she was delivering his medication in Wheatfield Prisons maximum security unit.

His current jail sentence cannot be extended, Ronan Kennedy, prosecuting, told the court, as you cant make a sentence consecutive to a life sentence.

The courts have ruled previously that a life sentence cannot be extended for new offending while in prison because technically a life sentence never ends. When life sentence prisoners are released, it is on permanent temporary release meaning the sentence is still active.

Judge Leonie Reynolds said yesterday that the court would have extended the sentence if allowed and it is a matter of some regret that the law doesnt allow for the imposition of a consecutive sentence. She said that because of this, Mr Dumbrell may feel he is at liberty to commit these offences.

Judge Reynolds imposed a two-year sentence which will run alongside both the life sentence and another sentence Dumbrell received for threatening to rip off a prison officers head in 2014.

She said the attack was an appalling act of thuggery against a medical professional going about her duties.

Dumbrell pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to nurse officer Donna Canavan on July 19, 2015.

John Berry, defending, said it would be easy to call the sentencing an academic exercise. But this is extraordinarily real for the victim in this case and for Mr Dumbrell, he said.
A view of Hanoi, where investment in Vietnamese real estate is surging. Photo by Reuters

Vietnam's real estate market is showing signs of flourishing.

Vietnam's real estate market is showing signs of flourishing with international investors trying to secure a foothold in the market either through mergers and acquisitions or by forming joint ventures.

Foreign buyers, mainly from Japan, South Korea and Singapore, have their eyes on the countrys two major cities: Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Notably, investors have expressed an interest in luxury properties, according to a Ho Chi Minh City-based property consulting firm.

Vietnams property market has captured the attention of international buyers, especially Japanese, as a potential investment destination which may generate an annual return of between 20 and 25 percent.

Japanese real estate companies are planning to invest up to $2 billion in the Southeast Asian country, said Than Thanh Vu, president of a merger and acquisition consulting company.

One of Japan's largest builders, Kajima Corporation, has formed a joint venture with Indochina Capital to channel funds worth of $1 billion into property developments in Vietnam over the next 10 years. The 50:50 partnership has plans to kick off four large-scale high-end property projects in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in the next 12-15 months.

Vietnam is currently viewed as one of the markets with the most potential in Asia for foreign direct investment, said Keisuke Koshijima, Market Development Executive.

Kajima has identified the country as the next key driver for its growing business in the region, he added.

The companys strategy is to create high-value properties to cater for the growing middle class in Vietnam, he continued.

Foreign investors are also entering Vietnams property market through mergers and acquisitions.

Singapore-based investment fund Frasers Centrepoint Limited has acquired a 70 percent stake in a luxury residential apartment project from a local real estate developer. The $100-million project, G Home, covers one hectare in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

Securities firm Mirae Asset, part of independent financial services group Mirae from South Korea, spent $350 million to become the owner of Vietnams tallest building, the Keangnam Landmark.

Marc Townsend, general manager of CBRE Vietnam, a commercial real estate services and investment firm, said at a workshop last month that foreign buyers prefer stable operating properties like apartments so that they can make a quick return on their investments.

According to CBRE, newly-registered foreign-direct investments in Vietnam hit $16.4 billion in the first nine months of the year, and about 6 percent of that went into the real estate sector.

The number of newly-established companies in the real estate sector almost doubled on-year to 2,160 from January to September, said the Ministry of Investment and Planning in a report, adding that registered capital also increased 2.5 times from the same period last year. That means on average eight property firms have been launched daily in the past nine months.

Investor interest has been fueled by Vietnams fast-growing economy, accelerating urbanization and expanding middle-class population with higher incomes

In the newly released biannual Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2016 by property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), Vietnam ranks 68th out of 109 markets, far below other countries in the region such as Singapore 11th and Thailand at 38th.

According to JLL, transparency across Vietnams real estate markets has steadily improved over the last few years with better access to market information, increased availability of market data and improved enforcement of planning and land use regulations.

Related News:

> Japanese investors ready to pour $2 bln into Vietnams real estate market

> Demand for factory space soars in Vietnam as companies abandon China

> Lack of transparency holds back Vietnam's real estate market
Assistant state pathologist, Dr Margot Bolster, told Cork City Coroners Court that Diarmuid Byrne, 41, died from severe cerebral trauma, with multiple lacerations to the brain, including the brain stem, as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Dr Bolster said Mr Byrnes remains were formally identified by Dr Paul Brady, of the Cork Dental School, with the use of dental records.

The horrific details emerged at the opening of the inquest into Mr Byrnes death, during which evidence of identification and cause of death was heard.

The inquest has now been adjourned, pending the completion of a garda probe.

Mr Byrne died instantly from the massive head wounds, after a legally held firearm was discharged while he was with a friend in an upstairs room of his terraced house, at Plunkett Rd, in Ballyphehane, on April 26.

The traumatised friend rang the emergency services, who rushed to the house, but Mr Byrne was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting was initially described as an accident, but garda suspicions were aroused, following detailed forensics tests conducted at the scene, and following a range of ballistics tests, which were conducted on the weapon and cartridge.

Detectives later arrested a 44-year-old man for questioning about Mr Byrnes death.

He was detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, and was questioned at Togher Garda Station about the circumstances of the shooting.

He was subsequently released without charge.

Inspector Eileen Foster yesterday told the coroner, Philip Comyn, that the Garda investigation into Mr Byrnes death is ongoing, and a file is being prepared for forwarding to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She applied for, and was granted, an adjournment of the inquest, until next April, pending a decision from the DPP.

Mr Byrne, who lived alone, was described by neighbours as quiet and as a gentleman. A keen hunter, he loved game-shooting and the outdoors.
Mr Noonan outlined the position during a five-hour meeting in which he blamed the ECB for any pressure to sell and said it was not within his powers to scrap the sale when he learned a Nama adviser stood to benefit.

Speaking during a lengthy cross-party Dail public accounts committee meeting, Mr Noonan repeatedly said no political pressure was placed on Nama when the deal was agreed in 2014.

However, facing repeated questions, he admitted ECB pressure meant it was made clear distressed loans had to be sold expeditiously in order to guarantee Irelands return to accessing the international markets.

The pressure wasnt political, the pressure was from the ECB and the rating agencies.

They wanted Nama to dispose of assets expeditiously, he told Social Democrat Catherine Murphy after Labours Alan Kelly had accused him of failing to explain a political necessity to allow a fire sale of the loans.

Facing further questions from Sinn Feins David Cullinane, Mr Noonan again stressed no politician told Nama to sign off on the highly controversial deal before adding rating agencies constantly kept referencing Nama loans as a hurdle to Ireland returning to the international markets.

The only thing that could redeem them was the sale of assets. But I didnt direct them [Nama], I gave advice, he said.

The issue of whether Mr Noonan advised Nama to accelerate the Project Eagle in early 2014 or if he directed the State property group to do so was central to yesterdays discussion as under the Nama Act legislation the finance minister is barred from interfering in any commercial decision.

It would also mean the Department of Finance is partially responsible for an alleged 220m loss to the taxpayer claimed in last months Comptroller and Auditor General report.

While he repeatedly highlighted interference restrictions yesterday, the point was raised that ECB pressure effectively caused political intervention, with Independent Catherine Martin last night claiming taxpayers suffered because of a get out of Northern Ireland at all costs Government approach.

It has previously emerged Mr Noonan held a conference call with then Northern Ireland first minister Peter Robinson and deputy first minister Martin McGuinness on the Pimco deal in January 2014 before fixers fee allegations emerged.

While saying he was made aware of the claims against ex-Nama adviser Frank Cushnahan, he said the alleged fees were as far as Nama was concerned not relevant as they related to Pimco and not Nama.
Revelations in this weeks Irish Examiner, about a campaign by senior officers to destroy a whistleblower, dominated leaders questions yesterday

Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald came under serious fire over the scandal from Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein, as well as Independents.

The Dail heard claims that Ms OSullivan had given some members of An Garda Siochana carte blanche to hound and discredit whistleblowers.

Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace, in a heated exchange, pleaded with Ms Fitzgerald to remove the commissioner.

Mr Wallace said he and his colleague, Clare Daly, have met with the two whistle-blowers who made the latest protected disclosures. he said Ms OSullivan has failed to end the persecution of whistleblowers in the force.

The Garda is in turmoil. There is a split in it with two camps. The Garda commissioner has promoted a ring around her. It is corrosive, said Mr Wallace.

Noirin OSullivan

She is doing so much damage to An Garda Siochana that there are many good gardai shocked at how she is operating. The Tanaiste and minister for justice and equality cannot leave her in position.

Asked if she had any other protected disclosures on her desk, Ms Fitzgerald said: There are no other protected disclosures on my desk.

Mr Wallace informed the Dail that whistleblower Nick Keogh has written to the minister four times, but received only one reply.

Nicky Keogh wrote to the minister four times and she replied once, said Mr Wallace. When he told the minister about the harassment and that he could not have been suffering without the commissioners knowledge, the minister wrote back to him to say she was looking for an urgent report from the Garda commissioner.

That was May this year. The minister says she follows things up quickly. May was a long time ago.

Ms Fitzgerald said while details of the disclosures are in the public domain, she is precluded by law from commenting. She said those involved are entitled to due process and that she would not be rushing to judgment.

I will follow the legislation, passed in this House, where people have a right to confidentiality and due process, she said.

I would not be doing my job as minister for justice and equality if I did not follow due process and the law laid down regarding protected disclosures, a law on which we have all agreed should be followed.

In response to Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald, Ms Fitzgerald said Ms OSullivan is entitled to her full confidence.

I want to be very clear about one thing: No findings of wrongdoing of any kind have been made against the Garda commissioner and I believe in those circumstances she is entitled to our full confidence, said Ms Fitzgerald, adding that she would not be slow in establish a full inquiry into the allegations should it be merited.

Fianna Fails Charlie McConalogue asked Ms Fitzgerald to state whether it was true that the two people behind the disclosures are likely to refuse to co-operate with any pending inquiry.

The dysfunctionality of the Garda Siochana because of perceived system and management failures  it is hard to see beyond the saying, something is rotten in the state of Denmark, said Mr McConalogue.

In response, Ms Fitzgerald said she could not comment.
Rates of non-attendance at both primary and secondary school are getting worse, with an estimated average of 56,400 students missing out on school each day.

More than one in 10 children in primary school and more than one in six students in secondary school is missing more than 20 school days each year.

Based on population number, this represents approximately 60,000 primary students and 55,000 post-primary missing out on a month of school attendance each year.

An analysis by Tusla of school attendance data for the 2014/15 school year found that the absentee rate was 5.6% in primary schools and 7.7% at post-primary levels.

Both figures represent an increase of 0.2 percentage points in non-attendance rates over the previous school year.

The increase in both primary and post-primary school non-attendance in 2014/15 goes against what seemed to have been a gradual downward trend over the previous four years, said the reports author, David Millar.

According to the study, 11.1% of pupils in primary school were absent for 20 days or more over the school year  up from 10.4% in 2013/14.

The level of 20-day absences among students at secondary level was 16.2% up from 15.4% in the previous school year.

Non-attendance rates are also notably higher among students living in cities and towns than those in rural areas.

The analysis also showed that non-attendance rates are substantially higher in special schools, while they are also above average in mainstream schools with special classes.

They are also higher in schools designated as being in disadvantaged communities, otherwise known as DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools ) schools.

At secondary level, non-attendance is generally lower in secondary schools than in community/comprehensive schools and vocational schools.

On a more positive note, Mr Millar said expulsions from school were rare and declined further during 2014/15.

A total of 21 children were expelled from primary school  down two on the previous school year  with almost half of all cases involving students at special schools. At secondary level, 133 students were expelled a reduction of 13 on 2013/14 figures.

Almost 1 in 25 second-level students were suspended  a total of 12,727 pupils, representing 3.8% of the post-primary school population. The suspension rate was 4.1% in 2013/14 and 4.5% in 2012/13.

Just 0.2% of primary pupils  1,264 children  were suspended in 2014/15.

At primary level, the geographic area with the highest non-attendance rate  at 6.6%  was Dublin.

High rates were also recorded in Louth and Limerick.

Primary schools in the capital also had the highest expulsion and suspension rates. Schools in Monaghan had the lowest absentee rate at 4.3%.

At post-primary level, Wexford schools had the worst non-attendance rate at 10.4%, and schools in Louth and Meath the lowest at 6.7%.

Schools in Galway and Waterford had the highest rate of expulsion, while schools in Wexford and Dublin had the highest suspension rates.

Consistently low rates of suspension are found in schools in Donegal, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Monaghan and Roscommon.

The study analysed attendance records provided by 3,254 primary schools covering more than 539,700 pupils and 695 post-primary schools with more than 334, 600 students.
John Rogers, counsel for Ms Kerins, said the States liability arises because members of the Dail Public Accounts Committee set aside the rule book and subjected Ms Kerins to a war, making devastating, hurtful, grievously damaging and outrageous statements about her at two public hearings in 2014.

Those statements of fact, expressions of opinion and assertions of wrongdoing were immediately released in the public domain and are wholly irretrievable, he said.

A three-judge High Court is hearing final arguments concerning whether the PAC had jurisdiction to conduct the two hearings on February 27 and April 2014 concerning public payments to Rehab as it had.

Ms Kerins claims the hearings amounted to an unlawful witch hunt against her outside the PACs jurisdiction and wants damages on grounds including alleged personal injury, loss of reputation and loss of career.

The PAC argues it had jurisdiction to conduct the hearings as it did and is entitled to scrutinise how public funds are spent in a context including that 80m public monies are paid annually to Rehab companies.

Ms Kerins claims she was so overwhelmed by what happened at the February 27 hearing, she later attempted to take her life and could not attend the April 10 hearing.

Yesterday Mr Rogers argued Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou MacDonald and Independent TD Shane Ross, now a minister, engaged in egregious behaviour towards Ms Kerins at the hearings.

She was bullied, lets call a spade a spade.

She was traduced during the two hearings but the then PAC chairman John McGuinness failed to protect her and rather gave a judgment against her at the April hearing when she was not there, counsel said.

While the PAC argued Ms Kerins had appeared before it voluntarily, that voluntariness was prised away by what happened, including Ms Kerins and other Rehab witnesses being asked about her salary and other private matters, including the pension of former Rehab chairman Frank Flannery and entirely private enterprises the Rehab Group was trying to make profits from. This had nothing to do with the provision of rehabilitation services.

The hearings became an adversarial examination not at all mandated, he argued. Ms Kerins was unable to attend the April hearing and it could not be claimed she consented to what happened there, including witnesses from Rehab being asked about a complaint against her and to condemn her.

At this point, her constitutional rights to her good name, to privacy, to constitutional fairness are all engaged, he said.

Maurice Collins, counsel for the State, said Ms Kerins had not pleaded a case against it under Article 40.3 of the Constitution (requiring the State vindicate the personal rights of the citizen), and cannot now do so. Her claim against the State is confined to a claim of vicarious liability for alleged acts of the PAC, which claim is denied, he said.
On Wednesday, backbench TD John Deasy said at least 10 to 15 members of the parliamentary party now want Mr Kenny to step down.

While suggesting the issue will come to a head before the end of the year, the Waterford TD said that he believes the Taoiseach would survive a no-confidence motion at this stage and that it is likely any push will take place by spring or summer next year.

Although a number of TDs criticised Mr Deasys decision to express his view just days before the budget, a number said their leader should step down after it.

In particular, one TD said he will give Mr Kenny just two post-budget opinion polls to rescue his position, while another said other TDs will act by early next year when they realise that the Taoiseach has no intention of going anywhere.

Speaking on RTE Radios News at One programme yesterday, Mr Coveney  one of two likely potential successors to Mr Kenny  said he believes that the Taoiseach remains focused on stabilising this Government. The Cork South Central TD said there will absolutely not be a push against Mr Kenny now, adding he has faith in the Taoiseachs ability to decide when there should be a leadership change.

Enda Kenny

Meanwhile, he has said local authorities will have a number of means to return voided properties back into the system.

Speaking in Dublin as he launched the latest phase of his Action Plan for Housing, Mr Coveney said that around 7,000 voids or boarded-up properties in council ownership have been brought back into the system over the past two and a half years.

The minister said great efforts have been made in Dublin, Cork, and Galway in relation to returning such properties t o the system.

Mr Coveney added that efforts will now be made to bring empty, private properties back into use. Under the plan, Mr Coveney said the Government will invest 140m in a repair and leasing scheme to encourage home owners to rent such houses on a long-term basis if money is made available to refit the properties. The scheme is being piloted in Waterford and Carlow and is expected to result in 3,500 additional units if rolled out nationwide.

Meanwhile, the proposed 20,000 grant for first-time buyers expected to be announced in the budget is a supply initiative for new homes because builders are not building for first-time buyers, said Mr Coveney.
This is because he no longer has access to his mobile phone and other records central to his claims.

The senior garda said he felt he would be at a disadvantage because garda bosses have all the relevant material from the period in question and those records were not available to him.

The Irish Examiner has seen correspondence from whistleblowers Keith Harrison and Nick Keogh to Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, the commissioner and GSOC, which show they repeatedly sought to highlight campaigns against them from within the force.

In the case of officer Harrison, he outlined in detail the extent of the campaign of harassment against him in five letters to the Tanaiste asking for her help.

On the five occasions, he received the same standard response that the letters were receiving attention. However, Mr Harrison claims nothing was done.

Prime Time reported last night that Ms Fitzgerald received an interim report on these matters last month but that a spokesman for the minister would not be drawn on the contents of the report.

The revelations come as Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace said Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan is doing so much damage to the force which he said is in turmoil.

The Garda is in turmoil. There is a split in it with two camps. The Garda Commissioner has promoted a ring around her. It is corrosive. She is doing so much damage to An Garda Siochana that there are many good gardai shocked at how she is operating, he said.

The Tanaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality cannot leave her in position, Mr Wallace said.

In response, the Tanaiste said that while details of the disclosures are in the public domain, she is precluded by law from commenting. She also said that those involved are entitled to due process and that she would not be rushing to judgement.

Speaking last night, one of the whistleblowers also said the conduct of Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan during the OHiggins inquiry, when her legal team indicated it had been instructed to question the credibility and motivation of whistleblower Maurice McCabe, was of concern and raises serious reservations about how his claims would be handled.

A spokesman for the commissioner said she had no fresh response to the comments made in the Dail.

It is understood the Tanaiste will announce as early as today the name of the sitting judge to examine the details of the allegations made.
HE MIGHT have been inspired by his video work at weddings but director, Maurice OCarrolls resulting feature film is a far cry from frills and bouquets.

In fact, vengeful gangsters and dead bodies are the key features of Dead Along the Way.

Weddings were my film school. And it was at a wedding, bored out of my skull during a priests sermon about love and marriage, that I asked the question, whats the craziest fucking thing that could happen at this wedding? Well, what if the wedding videographer had killed someone and he was trying to hide the corpse during the wedding, says OCarroll.

This is a buddy movie with plenty black comedy moments. It follows two hapless videographers who discover that a bad day can always get worse  shooting wedding videos can be murder.

And with appropriate black humour, OCarroll notes that the film was made with: No crowd- funding; no film board funds; no budget. No problem.

French film maker, Jean-Pierre Melville said your first feature film should be made with your own blood and I continue to give my blood to this film.

So actually, OCarroll, aged 44 and originally from Tralee, is also the films writer, producer, editor and colourist.

However, he didnt suffer alone. His wife, Elaine, was drafted in for everything from props and costumes to feeding the crew: Elaine trained as an interior designer so we put her skills to great use on set. She spent three months inside bins and skips looking for props. She sourced costumes from charity shops and painted the sets using peoples leftover paint buckets. She also housed and fed a film crew and cast.

Theres a wry laugh from Maurice when hes asked about the risks of making a debut feature film with such a minimal budget: Making something that looks and feels like a bag of shit can damage your reputation for starters, which make things even harder to make a second film. Thankfully, the film looks and plays great.

Credit for this also goes to the cast which includes Cork natives, Ciaran Bermingham and Sinead ORiordan; while Tom Lawlor plays an unhinged gangster who goes on a murderous rampage.

Tom Lawlor

Lawlor? Unhinged gangster? Yes, hes dad to Tom Vaughan Lawlor who played Nidge in Love/Hate. But, while thats a neat parallel, it wasnt the reason for the casting: Weve been friends for years. He was in my first short film, says OCarroll.

Despite the murderous theme, the film doesnt actually portray killings or a lot of violence: The violence is more suggested, but its still a violent film but one that doesnt take itself seriously.

OCarroll expects the film to get a 15 cert and says its the language that might prompt that.

Husband and wife film-making duo, Maurice and Elaine OCarroll.

Next up he wants to find a distributor that fits Dead Along the Way and hes working on his next film as well as a four-part TV series.

I had three short films at Indie Cork in 2013 and Mick Hannigan was so supportive, I said Id definitely be back with a feature film.  Hes fulfilled that promise and with Irish film in rude health at the moment, is definitely one to watch.

Dead Along the Way screens at The Gate Cinema as part of Indie Cork Festival on , October 9. For a full festival programme, see Indiecork.com
Isnt it awful that Kim Kardashian was robbed after some thugs saw her jewellery on social media? I cant stop crying, because my Ken said Im no longer allowed to post photos on Facebook of the necklace he gave me after he slept with Clodagh from Marketing. What do you think I should do?  Kate, Ballintemple, one of the detached houses that you cant afford. Or want, if it means having you as a neighbour.

I hear posh Cork is taking desperate measures, now they have to stop using Facebook as a way of flaunting their wealth. I just looked out the window there and saw a plane flying over Blackrock with a banner saying Reggie said yes to the second swimming pool! He also said yes when I cornered him at Cork Week in 2002, but I wont be flying any banners to that affect. Poor Reggie is nearly broke from buying apology jewellery for his missus.

Howre oo goin on? Herself went on a barista course and didnt she only go and buy a fancy espresso machine above in Cork. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I havent slept in six days. Im as jittery as a Killorglin man expecting a visit from the Revenue. Do you have any advice on this espresso drinking crack?  Jim Mike Jimmy, head south from Dunmanway until you meet a group of people who communicate by banjo.

I didnt know the Wolfe Tones were still on the go. I rang my Italian ex there and asked him the best way to drink espresso. He said lying naked in the bath with me. I really should have married him. My golden rule for coffee is dont touch it after 2pm. There is nothing worse than twitching around in bed at 4am. Unless its with a drop-dead, sex god from Milan. Happy days.

Hi, I just got a new kitchen, dont even think of asking how much it cost. (23,500.) Id love to let my old school pals in Mount Mercy see that were rolling in it. Is there any chance you could persuade your property editor, Tommy Barker, to do a feature in the Examiner?  Evelyn, Model Farm Road, tell him Ill wear something saucy.

Hed prefer cash. You might have to wait a while. A two-page spread by Tommy Barker is the Cork equivalent of a knighthood. Its like your own personal visit from the Pope. Or Ronan OGara. Sorry to be the one to point this out, but 23,500 for a kitchen is a bit stingy. I checked with my posh cousin, who went to Scoil Mhuire. She said that 23 grand is the kind of money youd want to spend on a Lazy Susan. Anything less is, as she put it, a bit St Als.

Guten Tag. I am moving to Cork for work and would like to buy a house in an up and coming area. Where is the best one I if need to catch a bus?  Jurgen, Berlin, I like organising my shoes.

You sound about as much fun as an evening of prayer in Macroom. I cant say anything definite about the bus routes in Cork because Bus Eireann has changed a lot of them recently. The reaction hasnt been great. Some of the changes are actually less popular than monogamy in Kinsale. They got in a lot of trouble after they took away a few bus-stops in Ballyphehane. This breaks the golden rule of like on Leeside  there is nothing worse than a Hane-y with a grudge. In case you havent guessed, Hane-y is the name we use for people from Ballyphehane. They are also sometimes known as Jerry.

Ciao. I must fulfil the best man role for my friend next weekend in Bandon. What is my job other than pestering the bridesmaids for love all day?  Marco, Padua and Ballincollig, I might also have a shot at his new wife.

Shoot away, they say nothing is out of bounds at a wedding in Bandon. (Except a present over 80 quid. Theyd be careful with their money.) Your main job is to give a speech. It should last no more than seven minutes and leave out the time the groom snogged a transsexual in Berlin. (Weve all been there. And I dont mean Berlin.) Your other job is to publicly compliment the bridesmaids.

My guess is youll struggle to keep that under seven minutes. Your final duty is to dance with the Maid of Honour. Shell have her work cut out holding on to that title, after five minutes in your busy hands.
THE United Nations is seeking a new secretary general. The World Bank presidency is up for grabs. The World Health Organization needs a new head. The same goes for several other international organizations.

At a time when conflicts of interest among the United States and its allies, together with the rise of China and Russia, are undermining global co-operation, the question of who fills these vacancies could not be more important.

In the past, the process of selecting the right candidate has reflected rivalries among countries and popularity contests played out among governments, NGOs, and the media. This was clearly never the best approach. But, with a hegemonic United States willing and able to hold international institutions together, co-operation remained viable.

Today, the unpredictable statements of US presidential candidate Donald Trump and the more isolationist vision that he is encouraging among his supporters has the rest of the world nervous about the changing nature of Americas role in the world.

A Donald Trump rally.

And Americas allies in Europe are not exactly at their most stable, owing to a combination of deep-rooted economic challenges, the Britains looming exit from the European Union, and surging support for populist political forces in many countries.

Moreover, the US and its allies are not only unwilling to underpin global cooperation, they lack the capacity even to try.

The International Monetary Funds recent World Economic Outlook reports that the US and its allies will account for just 39% of global output in 2020, down sharply from 64% today, with the US share falling from 22% to 15%.

For the international institutions, this means that communication, compromise, and consensus are more important than ever  and not just among countries. Given strong anti-establishment and even nationalist sentiment in many countries, international institutions must also be more open with  and responsive to  the global public that they are supposed to serve.

All of this demands a more meritocratic and unbiased approach to filling the top positions at the international institutions. To assess the candidates fairly and effectively, five key criteria should be used.

First, candidates should have a proven ability not just to define a mission, but also to take on the more challenging task of mobilising a broad coalition of stakeholders to achieve it.

Outgoing UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, for example, had little trouble identifying critical issues, from specific humanitarian crises in countries like Haiti, Myanmar, and Pakistan to broader challenges like climate change and global poverty. But his success in spurring countries to work together to address those issues is dubious.

Second, leaders must be able to persuade countries to fund their organisations. Former African Development Bank president Donald P Kaberuka convinced countries to double their contributions during his tenure; during the same cycle, the World Banks resources were increased by just one third.

But it is not just a matter of getting more money. Organisations need to focus on expanding their core resources, which are not tied to any specific task, rather than drawing more discretionary or earmarked resources. Otherwise, they risk becoming hired hands for a few pet projects, rather than critical platforms for broad co-operation.

Unfortunately, in recent years, discretionary funding has largely taken over, and now accounts for more than 90% of resources in several agencies.

The International Organization for Migration, the importance of which has been underscored by the ongoing refugee crisis, relies entirely on discretionary funding.

To change this, international organisations need leaders who are convincing salespeople, which means that they must be widely perceived as genuine and trustworthy.

The third criterion for effective leadership of an international institution is strong, results-oriented management. Successful candidates should already have experience leading an organisation that performed well, achieving the results they set out to achieve.

There should be evidence that the candidate can translate a vision into a plan, with clear benchmarks against which progress can be measured. The current slates of candidates is wanting in this regard.

This can have far-reaching consequences. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has faced substantial criticism for his handling of his flagship initiative: an internal restructuring.

That process has dragged on for four years, and many staff members claim that it is undermining the efficiency of lending operations. While it is difficult to assess these claims reliably, a leaked internal survey of the organisations employees indicates, at the very least, that the management culture needs improvement.

This is closely related to the fourth criterion: Hiring (and retaining) the right staff. No leader can do everything alone, so choosing a high-quality team is crucial. If those working at the organisation are unhappy, recruiting the most talented and motivated people will be nearly impossible.

Beyond creating an open, challenging, and supportive culture  reflected in internal surveys that are shared publicly (not leaked)  the leaders of international organisations must resist pressure from member countries to hire particular senior officials, who are not necessarily the highest-performing candidates.

Moreover, they must be willing and able to identify and remove inherited senior managers who are not up to standard. The key words must be meritocracy and morale.

The final criterion for effective leadership of an international organization concerns accountability. In the last couple of decades, heads of the IMF, the World Bank, and the UNHCR Refugee Agency have left office under a cloud of suspicion.

Some leaders have lately established far stricter codes of conduct; it is up to the new ones to ensure that they are being enforced. Welcoming independent evaluation  and disclosing the results  is essential.

The world needs strong international institutions more than ever.

And strong institutions need outstanding leaders who can build consensus among increasingly bad-tempered governments, while attracting sufficient resources and mobilising talented people to get the job done. This is no time to compromise for short-term political expediency.

Ngaire Woods is dean of the Blavatnik school of government and director of the global economic governance programme at the University of Oxford. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2016.
SCIC has selected advisers on the sale of 9 percent stake in Vinamilk. Photo by VGP

Vietnams investment arm wants to milk the maximum profit from the sell-off.

Singapore-based Morgan Stanley Asia will lead a group of consultants to guide the Vietnamese government's sale of a 9 percent stake in dairy giant Vinamilk, the State Capital Investment Corp (SCIC) said in a statement on Friday.

The group, which also includes Vietnam's Saigon Securities and VinaCapital Corporate Finance Vietnam, signed a contract on Wednesday with the SCIC, the Vietnamese government's investment arm.

The SCIC said it has hired top advisers to help it evaluate the deal so that lack of transparency will not cut into the actual profits that the government is supposed to earn from the sale.

The governments 45 percent stake in Vinamilk is currently valued at about $4.5 billion on the stock market. The fact that Vietnamese market regulators have scrapped the long standing foreign-ownership cap on the stock, allowing foreign investors to own a 100 percent stake in the dairy company, could encourage foreign investors to pay a higher premium than local investors to own the shares.

The Vietnamese government is looking to cash in on its stakes in many state-owned enterprises.

The companies on the list include 10 major listed enterprises with public stakes managed by the SCIC, and unlisted breweries Sabeco and Habeco currently under the control of the Trade Ministry.

It is estimated that the government could rake in more than $5 billion following share sales in the big ten, including Vinamilk, information technology giant FPT and insurer Bao Minh.

Successful exits from Sabeco and Habeco will add about $2 billion to the public budget.

Related news:

>Vietnam to rake in $7 billion from massive divestment push

>Vietnam plans stake-sell-off from giant construction conglomerates

>Vietnam dairy giant on global expansion path
AT THE conclusion of her interesting report on how Fine Gael banjaxed their general election campaign author Marion Coy quotes the American poet Maya Angelou: Ive learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

When thinking of the sort of emotions that Fine Gael elicited from people during that period of time it is a rather rude phrase that comes immediately to mind, but it is sufficient here to substitute royally cheesed off in its place. The Coy report goes into considerable detail as to how the party must, and quickly, mend its ways. But instead of noticing progress, as the Budget fast approaches, and a seeming freefall develops around national industrial relations issues, there is a strong sense of deja vu.

The Angelou quote gets to the heart of the failings in the relationship between Fine Gael and the Irish voter. The party raised unrealistic expectations during what Coy describes as the dour election campaign, and those carry through now as unrealistic budget expectations, and a slew of daft pay claims. There is an alarming militancy in the growing threats of strikes and industrial action and high expectations of next Tuesdays budgets.

But should we have expected otherwise when the Government party went into the last election with the generic message of economic recovery and how we were well able to afford to reduce the hated universal social charge. They reap now what they sowed then with their expectations and promises; the irony is that despite those promises they still lost 26 seats.

It is almost impossible to imagine what is going on behind the scenes with this budget  given the introduction of Fianna Fail to the equation, with their confidence and supply arrangement. They want their imprint on the budget, but not so much that they will get into trouble over any aspects of it. It would be interesting to see if they requested to see it in its entirety, in advance. That would be a hugely tempting prospect, but it would then make it their budget as well. Its a fine line they tread, but so far theyve kept their balance rather skillfully.

Fine Gael remains on the back foot. That all important conversation of how ours remains an exceptionally fragile economy that needs more time to stabilise was never had during the election campaign. Now when they throw their hands in despair and say the money is simply not there for the increasingly ludicrous pay claims they are being hoist by their own petard.

There is a real sense of runaway train about the current industrial disputes, and the need for pay restoration, not least with An Garda Siochana. It was in late July that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe asked for views on the establishment of a public service pay commission. This is an independent advisory body to look at issues on public service pay. The closing date for submissions was the end of August.

The commission would not duplicate the work of the States existing industrial relations bodies, such as the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court, nor would it interfere with the Governments ability to directly negotiate with its employees. However the manner in which our industrial relations situation has been so badly deteriorating the commissions speedy establishment would bring some much needed impetus. But weve no sign of it yet.

In a discussion on our worsening industrial relations landscape Siptu president Jack OConnor said last week on Radio Ones Late Debate that he believed the Lansdowne Road agreement needed to be renegotiated.

Under that agreement, the Government has ringfenced 267mn for pay restoration this year, 290m in 2017, and 287m in 2018. Those amounts already take a massive wallop out of what is available to run the rest of the country, not least our health services, or to provide much needed housing.

But Mr OConnor was firm in his view that workers are fully entitled to expect a payback when the economy grows by levels and degrees that are way in excess of what was envisaged when the agreement was negotiated. So there  whether you agree with it or not  was the union leader laying on the line what his members are entitled to now.

So where is the political leadership? There is a distinct lack of it from Taoiseach Enda Kenny as we face into this winter of discontent. It is worryingly reminiscent of how the Fine Gael leader handles certain matters  failing to take control when it is clear that he needs to do so, and then allowing a near calamitous situation to develop before he steps up to tackle it. There is no sense of him getting ahead of this issue.

That approach is complicated by the uncertainty that now surrounds his ongoing leadership of Fine Gael and therefore his appointment as Taoiseach.

Enda Kenny

Returning to the Coy Report on the general election performance, it states there was an acknowledgement the party had made some poor decisions and its capacity to respond quickly and decisively to national sentiment was flawed. The national sentiment back then was a mixture of many things. There was justifiable weariness and genuine exhaustion from the hardship of the recession, but there was also crankiness, unreasonableness, and a bloody mindedness excessively fuelled by many politicians on the Left.

Fine Gael did not just misread that situation, it failed in its responsibility, as the main party leading the country, to help shape a more positive and responsible sentiment that centred around what was good for the country and its citizens in the future.

Coy writes towards the conclusion of her report that in 2016 we may have had a more stable economic environment, but as a people we were, and are, still bruised and damaged. The damage is more than economic.

People have less confidence in their futures; they have less trust in institutions; they are angry because their expectations for themselves, their parents and their children are no longer secure. Generalised anxiety is evident everywhere and there are many people who feel their anxieties are not understood.

She lays it out to FG. If they want the support of voters they must build new relationships with them and those must be built around shared approaches to problems with an acknowledgement that voters are not to be treated as unthinking pawns in an episodic electoral drama.

Fine Gaels problems did not begin in the lead up to the last election. As Maya Angelou tells it people will never forget how the party made them feel. In that case FG better quickly take on board the fact that the advice in this report is not just to be taken on board in the six weeks or so ahead of the next time they ask the people to give them a vote.

There is an alarming militancy in the growing threats of strikes and industrial action
Burma KIO: Burma Army Launched Air Strikes

KIA troops on the march in Chi Phway Township near the China-Burmese border in Kachin State. / J Paing / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) alleged that on Friday morning the Burma Army launched air strikes from four fighter jets on its armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

The Burma Army attacked Inkaren Hill in Waingmaw Township where KIA Battalion No. 252 was deployed, KIO information officer Lt-Col Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy.

We can confirm that [the Burma Army] attacked with four fighter jets for about an hour from 8am. I have not yet received information about the situation on the ground, so I have no comment about that, he said.

The Burma Army has not made a statement about the alleged attack and The Irrawaddy was unable to obtain a comment from the Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Warfare under the Ministry of Defense.

U Koi Darn, who is in charge of a relief camp at Mongna Baptist Church in Waingmaw Township, told The Irrawaddy he saw planes overhead around 9am on Friday.

After the 21st Century Panglong peace conference, the Burma Army has frequently launched offensives on the KIA. The KIO views these actions as an attempt to pressure the KIA to sign the NCA before the second round of the peace conference.

While we are dedicated to building peace through negotiation, it is not right to pressure us into political talks through military operations, said Lt-Col Naw Bu.

Since the recent conflict flared, Kachin locals in state capital Myitkyina and Tanai Township have held mass demonstrations calling on the Burma Army to immediately end military offensives. Demonstrators also demanded federalism and self-determination and stressed the need to solve political problems by political means.

The KIA is a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)an ethnic alliance of non-signatories of the NCA.

The KIA signed a ceasefire agreement with Burmas ruling military regime in 1994 that collapsed when the Burma Army and the KIA came to blows over the Tarpein Hydropower Project in 2011, forcing hundreds of thousands of local people from their homes.
Burma Rangoon Govt Reviewing Motorcycle Ban

Two men ride on a motorcycle in the outskirts of Rangoon. / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Rangoon regional government is reviewing a ban on motorcycles in central areas of Burmas commercial capital, the regions transport minister told lawmakers during the regional legislative session of parliament on Thursday.

Responding to a question concerning official permission for motorcycle licenses and dealers in the outskirts of the citys municipal council-controlled areas, the minister of electricity, industry, roads and transportation Daw Nilar Kyaw said that the regional government was completing reviews on rules and regulations related to setting territories for motorcycle riding.

After setting areas [for motorcycle use], motorcyclists must have a driving license and a license for their vehicle, she said, adding that the regulation must be robustly enforced.

While there is no specific law for riding two-wheeled vehicles in Rangoon, motorcycles have been banned in 33 municipal council-controlled townships since the early 2000s while government officials were allowed to ride motorcycles until July 2009, as per guidelines released by the citys transport authorities.

There are currently 14 townships that are not under the administration of the citys municipal authorityYangon City Development Committee (YCDC)where many residents regularly use motorcycles.

Burma has an estimated four million registered motorcycles in the country, based on official figures, and many more are imported illegally.

Daw Nilar Kyaw said she could not say when an announcement on the updated regulations would be made.
A little over twenty years ago, after completing a two-year, around the-world-bicycle trip, my wife Shelly and I settled into a new life in Phoenix, Arizona. For the first year there we did what many young Phoenicians did at the time and enjoyed semi-resort style apartment living in the boomtown that was Phoenix of the mid-90s. Eventually, we settled into a small house in the up-and-coming historic district downtown and enjoyed a great five-year run there.

It was during this time living in this sprawling Southwestern city that I first discovered trail running. Exploring the rugged trails around Squaw Peak and Camelback, South Mountain and the McDowells, and places further afield like Prescott and Flagstaff, I quickly fell in love with the relatively new trend, at least to me, of trail running. I became connected to the local trail running community and enjoyed many a mile with some of Arizonas most legendary runners.

In the midst of this entire trail discovery period Arizonas Crown Jewel remained omnipresent. For a mere 200 miles north of our desert nest was the Grand Canyon and one of the most iconic trails in the world. Shelly and I (and eventually our very young family) made multiple trips to the Canyon during these years and occasionally ventured below the rim. Once, in fact, my parents came out from Massachusetts and we hiked down to Phantom Ranch and back doing the tourist thing of sleeping down on the Canyon floor. In these years I flirted with attempting a Rim to Rim to Rim run but never quite got up the courage to do so. It was not until a few years later once we had moved away that I ventured back several times to make that sacred crossing.

My fondest (and fastest) crossing of the Canyon was in March of 2009. My family and I were on Spring Break escaping the never-ending Idaho winter and I got out early on a Thursday to make the trek. It was my 4th Rim to Rim to Rim and I wrote about it in some detail.

My time of 8:11 was nothing to write home about, but I remained proud of it as I moved on to other running pursuits and eventually moved back east in 2011.

Interestingly, in the years I was running the Canyon somewhat regularly an R2R2R boom of sorts began and over the next few years some of the biggest names in ultrarunning took aim at the Fastest Known Time. On the womens side, over the course of six months in 2011, Krissy Moehl, Devon Crosby-Helms nee Yanko, Darcy Piceu, and Bethany Lewis progressively lowered the 8-year-old record of Emily Baer from 9:25 down to Lewiss current standard of 8:15.

On the mens side. Allyn Cureton held the record of 7:51 for 25 years between 1981 and 2006 before Kyle Skaggs broke it in 2006 with a 7:37. Then, a year to the day later, Dave Mackey became the first to run the Canyon in under 7 hours with a 6:59. Four years later, wonderkid Dakota Jones ran a 6:53 and two years after that up and coming (at the time) ultrarunner Rob Krar further lowered the record with a 6:21. And so it was with this as a backdrop that Arizona native Jim Walmsley took to the Canyon this past Tuesday.

I spent some time with Jim last month at a running camp in Northern Arizona and was impressed with his focus and drive. Coming from a track background, Jim is a stickler for numbers, but as an Arizona native he also reveres the stark beauty of his home state. An attempt at the Grand Canyon FKT provided a perfect blend of his two passions. And, indeed, his run was truly extraordinary.

Traversing one of the earths most beautiful and sacred landscapes in under six hours is nothing short of spectacular. As I watched Jims run from afar, I, like perhaps many other Canyon aficionados, couldnt help but look on in wonder. Additionally, I have to admit, it made me long to get back out there to give the R2R2R another shot. Not for any sort of record, hardly, rather just another opportunity to be in one of the worlds truly unique places. In a setting that is at once beautiful and settling I cannot help but think that the extra special nature of place must have an impact on how we move through it. Come to think of it, it might be time for another Spring Break trip to Arizona in 2017! After all, its been over 20 years since we lived there, I wonder if its changed at all.

Bottoms up!

AJWs Beer of the Week

Last month while out in Arizona I asked Jim (a big IPA fan, by the way) to recommend a few Flagstaff breweries for me to try. I managed to visit three and was able to taste five IPAs (NOTE: It was Sunday and Wanderlust was closed). Of the five I tried, Tower Station IPA from Mother Road Brewing was the best. Smooth, fruity, and just the right amount of bitterness. Try it the next time you come back from a canyon trip.

Call for Comments (from Bryon)
Laborers arrange steel structures at a construction site of an office building in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham Labourers arrange steel structures at a construction site of an office building in Hanoi, November 24, 2014. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Vietnam is the first country in Southeast Asia the Thai firm has expanded into.

A subsidiary of Thailand's Hemaraj Land and Development Pcl and Vietnamese construction firm Cienco 4 have teamed up to build a $1 billion industrial zone in Vietnam, the first country in Southeast Asia the Thai firm has expanded into.

The venture, Hemaraj-Cienco 4 Co, signed a deal on Wednesday with the provincial government of Nghe An, in central Vietnam, to start building the industrial zone next year in seven phases for completion in 2038, Cienco 4 said in a statement posted on its website on the same day.

While Vietnam's economy has shown signs of slowing so far in 2016, manufacturing remains its biggest draw, with firms like Samsung, LG and Panasonic using it as an assembly base for tarriff-free exports under the numerous free trade agreements the country has signed.

Offering manufacturers lower wages than China, textile and shoe factories are also expanding in Vietnam to accommodate orders for high street fashion brands.

"Vietnam is the first foreign country that we will invest in the form of developing an industrial estate for rent," Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, chief executive officer of WHA Corp, a major shareholder of Hemaraj, told Reuters.

She said Hemaraj will hold 80 percent of the venture, with the rest to be held by the Vietnamese partner, formally known as the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 4.

The project includes two industrial parks, with a combined area of 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) and rental contracts for 70 years, the executive said.

In the first phase, they will develop an industrial estate on an area of about 500 hectares, which should start providing revenue in the second half of 2017, Jareeporn said.

WHA, which completed its acquisition of Hemaraj last year, is Thailand's market leader in building bespoke warehouses for leases and aims to become a fully-integrated industrial estate and logistic facilities developer.

The company operates warehouses for lease in Indonesia. It also plans to invest in Southeast Asian neighbours including Myanmar and Malaysia, Jareeporn said.

Manufacturing industries are Vietnam's top source for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), with a combined $12.15 billion in new pledges and increased capital registered in January-September, or 74 percent of the total FDI value in the period, based on government data.

Related news:

> Transport infrastructure projects in central Vietnam beckon foreign investors

> Ho Chi Minh City eyes public gold stashes to develop infrastructure

> Vietnam to connect coffee belt with $5.1 billion infrastructure investment
Dakota Johnson celebrated her 27th birthday on Tuesday, Oct. 4 in quite a casual way as she was spotted in downtown L.A. with guy pal Father John Misty and later joined her supermodel friend Cara Delevingne in a FaceTime chat with Taylor Swift. "Fifty Shades of Grey" fans initially were expecting Johnson and co-star Jamie Dornan to have a birthday bonding, but it never happened.

The Daily Mail reported in detail how Johnson celebrated her 27th natal anniversary -- from the "Fifty Shades Darker" star's posing a simple shirt in what seemed to be a casual photo shoot with an unnamed guy friend to her other activities later in the day. The actress was seen grabbing a cup of coffee downtown with musician Joshua Tillman, more known as Father John Misty, and enjoying a FaceTime moment with Delevingne and Swift.

As Dakota's family were not around on her natal day, the actress spent her time with a few chosen friends on separate settings and an Instagram photo with her girlfriends, Delevingne and Swfit, wrapped up her day.

"By the looks of it, 26-year-old Swift enjoyed their girl time just as much as Delevingne and Johnson, flashing a huge grin on-screen," Inquisitr wrote.

Dornan-Dakota fans were expecting to see the two together during the actress' birthday, but the recently rumored secret couple were never spotted together on that day.

After the filming of "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" was wrapped up in July, a number of rumors went out that linked the two stars together, and speculated that they were in a secret relationship. Fans' obsession of the BDSM couple in the movie series even went to the extent of leaking rumors of an alleged divorce decision between Dornan and wife Amelia Warner to give way to Dornan and Johnson's relationship.

These rumors were however ended by Dornan as he deactivated his social media accounts and called it "done" for him playing as Christian Grey. He confirmed that he will not be reprising his role if a fourth movie sequel becomes possible.

When asked about his feelings towards the conclusion of his work with Johnson, Dornan expressed in an interview with Marie Claire how delighted he was that he will no longer have to be linked with his "Fifty Shades Darker" co-star Johnson.

"Absolutely delighted. But, saying that, people like to go after your family and shit as well. It's one of the main reasons I left social media. They say horrific things about your loved ones, and so it opens up fast. But yes, the idea of being single makes me instantly sweat," the actor said.
Water and dust resistance has been a feature that most people look for these days. From its inception with Sony's Xperia lines, to being one of the prime feature of Samsung's S7 and now with its inclusion to Apple's iPhone 7, this particular feature is shaping up to become a staple to every incoming flagships - which then left everyone a little disappointed when Google announced its Pixel Phones.

Though bearing an IP53 certification, the Google phone is no match to the protection that its competitions offer.

Waterproof Your Google Pixel with LifeProof

LifeProof, a company that makes smartphone cases that provide extra protection, had decided to help Google in luring back in those potential customers who turned their heads away. LifeProof introduced FRE for Pixel, a case specifically designed for Google's Pixel and Pixel XL.

At a not-so-cheap $89.99 a piece, LifeProof can turn your refined Pixel and Pixel XL the outdoor makeover with its water, dust, snow and drop protection. Available in Asphalt Black, LifeProof also offers added functionality when you connect the case with a "Quickmount Adaptor." Almost GoPro like, this adaptor attached to the case can accommodate various accessories like belt clip, an arm band, suction mount and bike plus bar mount that can hold the phone when doing rigid outdoor activities.

Take Advantage of Your Google Pixel Camera

As reported, the Google Pixel phones has a 12.3 megapixel rear camera that DxO gave an 8.9 rating, the highest for any smartphones, that makes using the phone as an all-around action camera a more plausible reason.

Those looking for a good phone with an excellent camera may have found one with Google's Pixel Phones. Though missing the same level of water or dust proofing that rivals like the S7, Note 7, X Performance and even the iPhone 7 have, Google's Pixel phone may still have a bite at the market, all thanks to LifeProof.
A Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that was reckoned safe ignited on a Southwest Airline plane. This begs the question, are the replacements really safe after all?

After Samsung did a voluntary recall on its Galaxy Note 7 device last September and was able to replace 60 percent of it up to date, there is a report that a deemed safe Note 7 device in a passenger's pocket caught fire while boarding a Southwest flight.

On Board Catastrophe

"Prior to Southwest Airlines Flight 994 departing from Louisville for Baltimore, a customer reported smoke emitting from an electronic device," Southwest said in a report. "Initial reports indicate the device was a Samsung."

The flight was canceled after the incident and all of the passengers were evacuated.

The authorities and Southwest are now working together to recover the device and investigate the cause of the incident. Samsung added that once they have examined the device, the company will have more information to release.

The Device Suddenly Overheated

Brian Green, owner of the phone said that he bought the phablet last September 21 in AT&T and that it is actually a replacement. There was also a black square icon on the device's box that indicates that the phone has been tagged as safe.

According to him, the device was turned off and not charging when he began to notice that his phone in his pocket is overheating. He threw the device on the floor of the plane and it started to release "thick gray-green smoke."

"Safety is always our top priority," the airline said in advising their passengers to follow Federal Aviation Administration rules, which prohibits the usage of mobile phone or turned on devices while on board.

According to Consumer Product Safety Commissions, Samsung has had received 92 reports of overheating batteries in the U.S. alone, resulting in 26 cases of burns and 55 of property damages, including fires in cars and a garage.

Now that they have issued replacements, Samsung is now aiming to get back the confidence of their users. However, with this report, will people still trust the Note 7 enough to get a replacement?
Everyone has this impeccable desire that logistics should be done in a quicker and more reliable manner.

Just about two years ago, Jeff Bezos, Amazon Chief Executive Officer, discussed the idea on "60 Minutes" about providing goods directly to their customer's doorstep. His best example to make this desire come to life is to use drones to carry all their customer's packages and bring it to them safely and in a timely fashion - avoiding traffic and all other obstacles make this absolutely possible.

Today, they should be baffled as a small Australian start-up company established in Reno, Nev., made the idea come true sooner than expected.

Where Is the Evidence?

In a report coming from Bloomberg Technology, the young and ambitious company named Flirtey was able to do its first delivery using drone technology in July. It was able to deliver a package coming from a 7-Eleven to a home successfully.

Flirtey has this advocate to help parents with sick children from having to run and purchase their needs in a convenience store. Also, the drones are capable of delivering food, thanks to their well-designed insulated boxes - making fresh pizza, chili dogs and cold drinks safe and intact when reaching the destination.

What Is Their Secret Strategy to Beating Amazon

According to Financial Review, Matt Sweeny, Co-founder and CEO of Flirtey, was able to have a head start in the race by working with the government regulators first. As a result, the company was able to gain an early approval to run the test way sooner than of Amazon.

The early bird does get the worm as the company is confident that their services will be made available within a year. Everyone should expect some flying drones here and there later next year.
After an argument with the writer-producer of Criminal Minds, Thomas Gibson was asked to leave the series giving his final goodbye to its viewers on the second episode entitle Sick Day.

What could potentially happen in the second episode of the hit series Criminal Minds? With Gibson leaving the series, new cast members will be added in the succeeding episodes. Viewers from social media gave out different sentiments regarding Gibsons removal in Criminal Minds.

According to International Business Times, the actor's last scene was with Jennifer Jareau. He had a conversation with JJ and was asked to file for a leave of absence from work.

With his lines "I want you to take some time off, at least a week. It's not a request, Gibson left the series.

The final scene of Gibson is seen below:



Gibson according to some sources gave his side of the story regarding his fight with the writer-producer. As stated:

"He came into that room and started coming towards me. As he brushed past me, my foot came up and tapped him on the leg. If I hadn't moved, he would have run into me. We had some choice words, for which I apologized the next day, and that was it. It was over. We shot the scene, I went home  and I never got to go back."

With characters leaving the series, Criminal Minds would still continue its third episode entitled Taboo.

The summary of the episode are stated as:

The BAU welcomes back Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) as they are called upon to investigate the disappearance of three women, on Criminal Minds

The CBS Network Criminal Minds Season 12 third episode would be viewed on October 12 at 9pm.

Heres a clip of what could happen in the third episode:



Here are some of the views and the opinions of people for the series Criminal Minds:

I just finished criminal minds season 11 and I'm so excited for season 12 !!!!!!  JEN (@hey_itsjenny) September 25, 2016
October 6, 2016 | 11:00 am PT

shoe factory in Vietnam. The United States imposes tariffs on imported shoes. Photo by Aaron Joel Santos for The New York Times

Uncertainty over the U.S. and its future is making other countries nervous.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not be put in front of Vietnamese lawmakers for ratification during October's plenary session, the parliaments general secretary Nguyen Hanh Phuc said on Thursday.

With Vietnam poised to be the biggest beneficiary of the 12-nation pact, the government has shown strong support for the trade deal.

However, efforts by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs administration to get the trade pact effective on paper will be in vain unless Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang puts forward the TPP for ratification to the parliament, which he hasn't.

Vietnam seems to have reasons to be worried since prospects that the deal could be ratified by U.S. lawmakers this year have dimmed.

Although the Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed by 12 member nations in February this year, the trade deal still requires a two-year ratification period before it becomes a reality in January 2018.

The trade pact can only enter into force once at least half of the participating countries representing 85 percent of economic activity across the TPP have ratified the deal.

Data from the International Monetary Fund shows that the U.S. accounts for an estimated 61 percent of the trade zones gross domestic product.

The U.S. is the largest economy among the 12 TPP member countries. Without the approval of the U.S. Congress, the trade accord wont come into effect even it is ratified by all the other countries, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh.

There is some doubt over whether President Barack Obama will be able to call for enough support to push the trade deal through or even take it to a vote.

If President Barack Obama fails to get the trade pact signed, the fate of the TPP will be in the hands of either Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton, whoever succeeds him as president.

And both U.S. presidential candidates are taking a harsher tone on the TPP. Both have said they oppose the TPP.

President Obama plans to bring the TPP in front of U.S. lawmakers after the presidential election and before he is replaced between November 8 and January 20.

We are waiting for something magical to happen during this period of more than 70 days, said a senior member of Vietnams TPP negotiating team.

If the TPP takes effect, it will create a free-trade zone covering 40 percent of the global economy.

The 12 nations involved are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

Related News:

>TPP to give foreign investors power to sue Vietnamese government

>Vietnam to approve TPP this year, but all efforts may be in vain

>Vietnam to ratify TPP trade deal by August 9
The next generation of Intel i-core processors would soon be coming. Manufacturers are getting ready for the coming Intel processors, and two of those manufacturers are ASUS and MSI. Both manufacturers are preparing their motherboards for the new Intel processors.

According to Singapore Hardware Zone, ASUS and MSI have their 100-Series motherboards prepared for the Kaby Lake Intel processors. The BIOS of the said motherboards are said to have been updated in anticipation of the new processors that are coming.

For MSI, the company has announced that it has its BIOS for the 100-Series motherboards updated in support for Kaby Lake, as The Tech Report says. The motherboards will use the same LGA 1151 sockets used for Skylake processors.

Hexus also notes that ASUS has updated its BIOS to prepare for the coming Kaby Lake processors. ASUS will likely do the same as MSI has done in that the LGA 1151 sockets would still be used for its 100-Series motherboards supporting Kaby Lake processors.

There are also rumors that Intel would release 200-Series chipsets that would go with the new Kaby Lake processors. It is not certain yet whether manufacturers have 200-Series motherboards out yet for the new processors. Consumers might have to go by the 100-Series motherboards in the meantime while waiting for manufacturers to release a 200-Series motherboard for Kaby Lake chips.

So far only ASUS and MSI have updated their BIOS for the coming processor. Other motherboard manufacturers will have to announce if they would update the BIOS for their motherboards. The Kaby Lake processors for desktop PCs would be coming out early 2017. Kaby Lake processors for mobile have already come out and have higher clock speeds.

BIOS updates are available already on the MSI and ASUS website, though it might be good to update BIOS only if one would be going for a Kaby Lake processor. With desktop Kaby Lake processors coming in 2017, it would mean more time to prepare for the upgrade for those who would change to the new processor.

Recently as well MSI and Gigabyte motherboards would be getting the Killer E2500 NIC.
Facebook has been offering free internet through its Free Basics app. Now, it has been confirmed that the tech company is in talks with the White House. Apparently, Americans will soon be able to access the internet for free.

Free Basics For Americans

CBS News has just confirmed Facebook's plan with the White House to launch the U.S. version of Free Basics. This will benefit those who are still not connected to the internet. Several reliable sources have already disclosed this previously to The Washington Post.

According to The Washington Post, users will be able to stretch their data plans through the Free Basics app. It is also reported that news, information and health services will be accessible. There are still not that many details about the Free Basics in the US.

Though the company has released a statement to CBS News. Facebook did not confirm any negotiation with the White House. But the tech giant reiterated that Facebook's mission is to connect the world. They gave a subtle hint by saying that the U.S. is among the places they could explore such possibility.

Facebook has been pushing internet access for those who do not have it. The company's Internet.org has been living up to its mission.

Facebook's Free Basics Controversy

Earlier this year, Facebook's Free Basic app had been prohibited in India. The company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg has even described this event as a roadblock.

Indian regulators have found that the Free Basics app is limited and selective of its service. There are only a several sites that are accessible for free. It doesn't really offer an absolute internet access at no cost.

CBS News added that the app has long been criticized for its ethics. Critics say that the Free Basics is favorable to only a few powerful companies. It violates the principles of Net neutrality, according to CNET.

Despite this controversy, the Free Basics app has now reached 36 countries.
Proxima b has been said to be a planet that might be habitable. It revolves around Proxima Centauri and is the closest habitable planet to our solar system. It is becoming more likely that Proxima b might be an alternative for human habitation later on as scientists say that it has a possibility of it having oceans.

Researchers from France's CNSR Institute have said that Proxima b could have oceans on it, according to Phys Org. This is based on its size and surface properties that researchers have calculated. This has raised the possibility that Proxima b could very well be a planet that is similar to Earth.

Proxima b is well within the range of what scientists call the temperate zone or the Goldilocks zone, the place where life would most likely be sustained. It is said to have 1.5 times mass as that of the Earth and is about 7.5 million kilometers from Proxima Centauri. This might be too close, but given that Proxima Centauri is smaller and 1,000 times weaker than the Sun, its distance from it might be ideal for life.

While scientists have a rough idea about Proxima b, they still don't know what it exactly looks like, as Russia Today notes. The best estimate could only be made once its exact radius is known. Proxima Centauri is about 4 light years away from the Earth, so travel there would not be possible yet at this time.

As of now the best estimate for its radius is 0.94 to 1.4 times that of the Earth. It would then be a planet that is a little bit similar to Earth, though it might still be able to hold life if it is proven to have water on it. Its smallest possible radius is 5,990 km. and the largest could be 8,920 km.

How much water there would be on the planet would depend on its size. If it is quite small, water might not be more than 0.05 percent of the planet's mass. If the planet is a bit bigger, water might have a 50/50 ratio to that of its solid surface. Further study is still being made on the planet as well as to Proxima Centauri itself.

Proxima b was discovered last August, which had astronomers excited over its possibility to hold life.
Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm is preparing to close a deal for the acquisition of Dutch chip manufacturer company NXP Semiconductors.

Qualcomm To Acquire NXP

According to reports, San Diego-based Qualcomm is the only company interested to buy NXP at this moment and the only company in negotiations with NXP over the acquisition deal. In fact, the list of chip companies that could afford buying NXP Semiconductors is very short.

The two companies did not agree yet over the financial details of the deal. Netherlands-based NXP is asking for about 120 a share, or an amount of around $41 billion. Qualcomm is willing to offer near 110 a share, or approximately $35 billion., according to Bloomberg.

While NXP wants all cash, Qualcomm is targeting a deal structure of 25 percent stock and 75 percent cash. Talks with NXP are in early stages and Qualcomm is still considering its options.

The sides are closing that gap, however, and the negotiations are moving towards closing the deal. Insider sources disclosed for the online publication that both parties are interested in reaching an agreement.

If the Qualcomm acquisition offer will be successful, then the deal would create the second-largest chip company by revenue in the industry, after Intel.

Qualcomm would take advantage of an eventual acquisition of NXP by diversifying beyond mobile-phone chips. The company would gain exposure to the Internet of Things, industrial and automotive markets.

Stock Market Reaction

According to the online publication Investors, NXP stock went as much as 2.7 percent high on the stock market on Thursday, Oct. 6, on the news about the upcoming acquisition. However, after the initial report, NXP stock ended at 103.49, up 1 percent for the day. In the meantime, Qualcomm stock rose to 67.54, up by 1.1 percent on Thursday.

Since news reports about a possible merger between the two semiconductor companies first broke last week, NXP stock has soared over 25 percent. Over the same period, Qualcomm stock is up 6 percent.
After buying the PC businesses of NEC and IBM and taking over Germany's Medion, Lenovo aims to acquire yet another struggling rival.

Lenovo To Acquire Fujitsu's PC Business

According to The Inquirer, the computer company Lenovo is currently carrying out negotiations with Fujitsu to take a controlling stake in the firm's PC business. The news is coming after Fujitsu's plan to merge its PC business division into a joint venture with Toshiba and Sony ended in failure.

There are still disagreements regarding the financial details of the deal, but Japanese hardware vendor has already confirmed reports that the two companies are in negotiations, according to Bloomberg. For Fujitsu, the deal would help the company to discard a struggling business.

According to data coming from IDC, in 2015, Lenovo had a global market share of 20.7 percent in the PC industry, while Fujitsu's share was less than two percent. An eventual acquisition of Fujitsu's PC business would help Lenovo to enjoy greater economies of scale.

Fujitsu's PC Business

In the mid-1990s, when it took full control of the ICL company, Fujitsu also acquired ICL's PC business. At the time, the PC market was still hot and one of ICL's strategies under CEO Peter Bonfield involved expanding in this field.

After the 1991 acquisition of Nokia's PC unit, Nokia Data, ICL struggled to achieve the margins necessary to turn a decent profit in the PC market. In turn, Fujitsu has been faced in recent years strong price competition from companies like Lenovo and a declining PC market.

In 1999, Fujitsu created a 50/50 joint venture called Fujitsu Siemens Computers, by merging its PC business outside Japan with Siemens. After absorbing the Fujitsu Siemens Computers company in 2009, the company was renamed Fujitsu Technology Solutions. According to Ars Technica, Fujitsu was one of the world's top five PC makers.

Lenovo's PC Business

In the meantime, in the year 2005, Lenovo acquired IBM's Personal Computer Division in a deal that established the foundations for the company's expansion on the global PC market.

In 2011, Lenovo created a PC joint venture with NEC, followed by taking over the whole company earlier this year. In the same year, Lenovo also acquired Germany's Medion. In 2014, the Chinese PC giant took over IBM's System x low-end server business.
The recent spoiler updates for the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" suggest that there will be more characters set to return to the soap, including the character Valerie Grant now to be played by actress Vanessa Williams.

Valerie Grant's Character Set To Return To Salem; Rekindles Romance With Abe Carver?

Valerie's character first appeared on the soap in the 1970s, then played by actress Tina Andrews. Although her appearance on the soap was very minimal, it had a great impact. It was one of the first romances on daytime television that involved two people of different races. It was a breaking moment, even though the romance ended with an affair.

The next appearance of Valerie was in 1981, played by actress Diane Sommerfield where she had a short fling with the character Abe Carver. She stayed in Salem for a year back then and was never to be seen again until now. The character of Valerie will now return and to be played by actress Vanessa Williams, previously known for her role in "Melrose Place."

Valerie Grant is a cardiologist who returns to Salem to save Abe Carver, who is going to be shot in the chest. Questions of a rekindled romance between them have now started to resurface since her scheduled return on October 25 was already announced. Only time will tell if their reunion will lead to a romantic kind once again.

Alison Sweeney Speculated To Reprise Her Role As Sami Brady In "Days Of Our Lives"

Aside from Valerie, "Days of Our Lives" also teased another return of a character, not specified whether it is a male or female character. However, fans have speculated that it is going to be Alison Sweeney, to reprise her role as Sami Brady.

The speculations of her return were led by the confirmation that her entire family is already set to return on "Days of Our Lives." Carrie Brady and her husband, Austin Reed will return to Salem while Sami's twin brother will also appear once again, despite being in prison after an accident he was involved in.

"Days of Our Lives" airs every Monday to Friday, and fans will finally see the characters coming back very soon.
The recently passed Russian anti-terrorism law called the Yarovaya Law encourages the country's security companies to hack Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype and other messaging services.

Russian Anti-Terrorism Law

The recently passed Russian law adopted as an anti-terrorism measure has given the country's security companies the right to crack encrypted communication services. According to the website letallknow.com, an employee working with the security firm Con Certeza recently told the Russian publication Kommersant that their company is working to find means of obtaining users' credentials and accessing sensitive data.

According to the website scmagazine.com, the employee said that the security company is working in particular to hack the main messenger services such as Skype, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Viber and WhatsApp, on both Android and iOS. The Con Certeza security company often works closely with the Russian law enforcement agencies. Its tools are not only be used to decrypt internet traffic but can also be used to deploy attacks such as the man-in-the-middle hack.

According to the newly adopted Russian anti-terrorism law social media and communications companies are required to hand over encryption keys to state security agencies. All social media companies are required to retain information about traffic on their servers for one year and all communications companies are also required to retain information about data traffic on their servers for three years.

Russia's Federal Security Service Decoding System

According to the website iteportal.com, in Russia, the modern successor to the KGB, Russia's Federal Security Service, has also reported been working on developing a system that will be able to decode in real time all of the internet traffic that passes through the country. The system developed by the Russian security service will be easily searchable by using keywords.

It seems that the creation of such a system is a direct reaction by the Russia's government to the news regarding the creation of an application called CatchApp by the Israeli security company Wintego. CatchApp is allegedly capable of breaking WhatsApp's encryption by using a man-in-the-middle style attack in order to intercept traffic sent between the device being targeted and the WhatsApp's servers.
After the release of the first six characters in "Bungou Stray Dogs" in March, Kadokawa has shared three more characters in the series for the collaboration bunko covers. The covers include his poem collection with Chuya Nakahara titled "Yogerechimatta Kanashimini", his novel "Teni Muhou" feature Sakunosuke Oda and his essay with the title "Daraku-ron" comes with Ango Sakaguchi.

The 13th episode of the anime aired yesterday and members of Crunchyroll can watch it again online, except in Asia.

Nakahara made his first appearance in the first season with Osamu Dazai while he was in Port Mafia as a prisoner. Nakahara didn't like the fact that Dazai was just waiting for his punishment so, with just one kick, he broke Dazai's shackles and challenged him to a duel. Only to find out that Dazai has already broken his shackles before his help and was only there for Atsushi's sake.

Oda Sakunosuke or also known as Odasaku first appeared in Dazai Osamu and Dark Era Light Novel. He was introduced in a bar drinking with Ango Sakaguchi and Osamu Dazai. After a few days, he was told that Sakaguchi was missing and he is assigned to find him. His investigation let him to a fight with the members of Mimic, a group that plans to go in a war against Port Mafia.

Ango Sakaguchi is suspected to be a spy for Mimic against Dazai and Nakahara's group, Port Mafia. Mori knew about Sakaguchi's real identity and used him to get the Ability Business Permit. Later on, Sakaguchi was seen injured from a vehicular accident which is believed to be planned by the Guild.

Bungou Stray Dogs is a manga series by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. It has been featured in Young Ace magazine since 2012 and was adapted into a two part TV anime by Bones. The first part aired last April 2016 and the second one October 6, 2016.
"Lucifer" Season 2 Episode 3 titled "Sin-Eater" will feature Lucifer Morningstar and Chloe Decker investigating yet another murder case. Plus, Amenadiel is slowly losing his wings. Is he about to become a mortal? Or is it something more threatening for his existence?

A teaser trailer for "Lucifer" Season 2 Episode 6 has been released recently. In the said preview, Lucifer and Chloe head over to the crime scene and find a man hanging by the neck with an apple stuck in his mouth. Chloe quickly speculates that a serial killer is on the loose and could be a possible threat to the community. As she approaches the murdered victim, Lucifer warns her not to get too close to the chain as it might be a trap.

On the other hand, "Lucifer" Season 2 Episode 3 will also feature more of Charlotte, Lucifer and Amenadiel's mom. She will now go by the name Charlotte Richards following her arrival and mischief on earth. Lucifer also revealed that his mom could possibly look like someone else in the near future.

To recall, Charlotte's stay on earth has been bothersome to Lucifer as previously shown in "Lucifer" Season 2 Episode 2. Her mischief and antics worry both her sons. However, in the third episode, she will try to convince Lucifer that she's not going to cause any problem. Charlotte is also set to reunite with her other son, Amenadiel.

Meanwhile, it seems like Amenadiel is slowly losing all the feathers in his wings. According to speculations, this could possibly mean that he is becoming mortal. Others speculate that he could be in a brink of death. Charlotte, though hesitant to see her son, will ask to meet him. It remains unknown whether Charlotte's arrival has something to do with what is happening to Amenadiel.

Will Charlotte cause more troubles for the brothers? What is happening to Amenadiel? Is his existence in danger? Find out the answers in "Lucifer" Season 2 Episode 3 airing on Monday, Oct. 10 at 9 p.m.
A pangolin rescued from smugglers and brought to a reserve in northern Vietnam. Photo by Save Vietnam's Wildlife

A conservation group will take care of them and expects to return them to the wild soon.

Police in northern Vietnam rescued 61 endangered pangolins from smugglers this week but three have died from the excruciating journey.

Officers in Thai Binh Province, 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Hanoi, said they seized the pangolins with 37 turtles in tight boxes from a truck at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

The animals were then brought to the national conservation group Save Vietnams Wildlife, which operates a carnivore and pangolin reserve in Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province, 90 kilometers (50 miles) south of Hanoi.

A vet from the organization confirmed three of the pangolins have died and another is very weak as they were put too close to an ice box on the truck. The rest of them are fine, he said.

The unit will check their health and return them to the wild when they have fully recovered, hopefully without any red tape issue.

Wild animals rescued from smugglers are subject to a controversial rule that requires them to be kept as crime evidence for quite a long time, before they can eventually be released back to nature.

The rule has received a lot of criticism from conservationists, especially after many pangolins have died waiting for legal procedures.

Tran Quang Phuong, a manager at Save Vietnams Wildlife, said the chance of the animal surviving in confined spaces is low.

At least 30 pangolins received by the organization died last year due to a lengthy paperwork process. At another rescue center in Hanoi, 300 pangolins have also died in similar circumstances, including 80 this year.

Vietnam bans the trade of pangolins and any products made from the animal.

Their smuggling remains rampant as the animals meat is considered a delicacy by some while its scales are used to make boots and shoes and to treat conditions such as psoriasis and poor circulation in traditional Chinese medicine. Such practices have not been backed by adequate scientific evidence.

Related news:

>Don't catch them all, warn Pangolin protectionists

> Endangered pangolins rescued as police bust smugglers in northern Vietnam

> Price of rhino horn plummets in Vietnam

> Tiger farms feed illegal trafficking in Vietnam
The next release of OpenStack made its debut on Thursday with a raft of new features for better scalability and resiliency.

Architectural and functional barriers can make it difficult for companies to scale their clouds up or down across platforms and geographies, but OpenStack's 14th release -- dubbed Newton -- does away with many of those limitations. The open source cloud-building software now includes improved scaling capabilities in its Nova, Horizon, and Swift components, its makers say.

New improvements bolster the horizontal scale-out of Nova compute environments, while others add convergence by default in the Heat orchestration service as well as multi-tenancy improvements in Ironic.

On the resiliency front, Newton adds new features for high availability, adaptability, and self-healing. The Cinder, Ironic, Neutron, and Trove services have all gained better high availability functionality, while several components have gained improved security as well. Keystone, for example, now offers upgrades that include PCI compliance and encrypted credentials. Cinder adds support for retyping encrypted to unencrypted volumes and vice versa.

Additional enhancements in Cinder include micro-version support, the ability to delete volumes with snapshots using the cascading feature, and a backup service that can be scaled to multiple instances.

Newton also promises new features designed to make OpenStack easier to set up, operate, change, and fix with greater automation. Magnum, for instance, now includes an operator-centric installation guide, support for pluggable drivers, support for Kubernetes clusters on bare metal servers, and asynchronous cluster creation. For general bare-metal provisioning, Ironic adds multi-tenant networking and tighter integration with Magnum, Kubernetes, and Nova.

Kolla now supports deploying to bare metal, and Kuryr brings Neutron networking capabilities to containers, making Swarm integration and Kubernetes integration available for the first time.

OpenStack Newton was designed and built by an international community of 2,581 developers, operators, and users from 309 organizations. Products and services based on OpenStack Newton are expected to appear in the coming weeks and months.
Being selected as the venue for the World Travel Awards 2016 ceremony, the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is currently trying to perfect the accommodation, dining, spa and security to bring perfect quality service for the guests.

This selection not only affirms the prestige and position of InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort but also put Da Nang, Vietnam on the global map of luxury resort destinations. The participation of more than 180 influential guests in tourism and international media will provide an opportunity to strongly promote the image of Da Nang, Vietnam to the international tourism community.
A commercial sector has voluntarily tackled climate change, for the first time.

The airline industry agreed Thursday on a framework for reducing its carbon footprint at a U.N. meeting in Montreal.

Six years of negotiations culminated in the agreement at the International Civil Aviation Organization's plenary session.

Malaysia's aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, who chaired the session, called it a "historic" deal to cap carbon-dioxide emissions at 2020 levels, by 2035.

It "makes air transport the very first major industry sector to take action at the global level on international emissions," said ICAO secretary general Fang Liu, describing the measures as "balanced, pragmatic, and a very positive development."

"You have given the industry the ultimate tools to fight against the climate change," added International Air Transport Association (IATA) director Paul Steele.

The agreement comes a day after record-fast country ratifications of last year's landmark Paris global climate accord curbing greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil and gas met the threshold for it to take effect.

The aviation sector deal was reached by consensus despite reservations by India and Russia, and to a lesser extent China.

It covers a segment of CO2 emissions not dealt with by the Paris accord, which comes into force on November 4: Carbon pollution from jetliners, which total about two percent of global emissions.

Although the number of airline passengers are forecast to double during the long implementation of the agreement, the industry is betting it can reach its stated goal through the purchase of credits to offset the sector's CO2 emissions.

The ICAO also is encouraging greater use of fuel-efficient engines running on biofuels and lighter aircraft materials, and route optimization.

So far, 64 countries representing 80 percent of global air traffic -- including all European nations, the United States, Canada, China and Japan have agreed to participate in the so-called Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA.

2027 target

The pact will be rolled out in two phases, first on a voluntary trial basis starting in five years, followed by full implementation and mandatory participation in 2027.

At this point, even the agreement's detractors such as India and Russia will be required to adhere to the new rules established under CORSIA.

Only the world's poorest nations, small island states and countries with a small volume of global passenger travel (less than 0.5 percent) will be exempted.

Throughout, key assumptions will be tested and adjustments will be made to the scheme, as needed.

Only international flights are to be counted in the sector's emissions tally, and airlines will be able to buy carbon credits from other sectors.

Immediately following its adoption, praise and criticism poured in.

The Russian delegation at the ICAO meeting said the cap was "unrealistic," adding that Russia was not ready to join the framework.

Aircraft builders, environmental activists and others, meanwhile, joined a chorus of voices praising the accord as a positive step.

"This deal is a decisive step towards the carbon neutral growth of aviation," commented European Transportation Commissioner Violeta Bulc.

US Secretary of State John Kerry called it a "significant" and "historic step." "This measure addresses a growing source of global emissions," he said.

"We are far from the finish line in curbing carbon pollution from international aviation," commented Lou Leonard of the World Wildlife Fund.

"But this is the starting block. It's a foundation we must build on over time," he said.

The ICAO agreed. Its president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu told a news conference at the close of the plenary session Thursday that "there's a lot of work left to do."

Related news:

> Paris climate deal to enter force after EU green light

> Earth's climate past points to overheated future: study

> Climate change could drown Vietnam's beaches: experts
Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin's estranged wife actress Gwyneth Paltrow has recently been reported to "offer assistance" to Brad Pitt in the latter's recent divorce.

As exclusively disclosed by Radar Online, Paltrow reportedly "reached out" to Pitt and even offered to be an "unofficial mediator" for Pitt and Jolie.

"She's egotistical enough to think he'll want her advice about consciously uncoupling from Angelina," revealed the Radar Online insider.

"That's the last thing Brad's thinking about right now, of course," the insider added.

Paltrow and Pitt met while filming the psychological thriller film Se7en. The two eventually dated and got engaged in 1996. However, their romance only lasted for another year and the wedding was called off as Paltrow claimed to be "not yet ready" for married life.

The actress even mentioned in her Biography magazine interview, the lessons she learned from her first relationship a fellow actor, "I said things about being in a relationship (with Brad) that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them."

Paltrow has yet to confirm these issues. However, she's currently dating another Brad-definitely not her ex-fiance, but TV writer and producer Brad Falchuk.

Hearts broke when actress-producer Angelina Jolie filed for divorce in September from husband and fellow actor-producer Brad Pitt. Jolie cited substance abuse, alcohol, and anger management concerns as some of the reason for filing. The two have been together since 2004 but only got married in 2014. Currently, the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" couple has six kids and Jolie is still fighting for full custody of all children.

Since the report about the Hollywood royal couple surfaced, various third party rumors started circulating. According to sources, Jolie hired a private investigator to check if husband Pitt is cheating on her. And later found out that he indeed was fooling around with "Allied" co-star Marion Cotillard.

However, French actress and Academy Award Winner Cotillard strongly denied involvement in the issue and expressed her "devastation" to being dragged in the split up.

"All this fuss will be a huge shock to her," said a source close to Cotillard and her family, as reported by The Daily Mail UK.

"Allied" opens in theaters on Nov. 23.
The Paris Fashion Week made headlines when they had the first ever Blind Fashion Show this week.

Partially and fully-blind models strut their amazing gowns in the catwalk with a rope as their guide.

French Entrepreneur Myriam Chalek was the creator of this show. She did this to bring blind woman to the spotlight and to empower more women in fashion.

"You know they are like you and I, they have lives, they go to work, they go to school, they have goals, they have dreams that they want to achieve," Mail Online quoted Chalek as saying. They actually tend to believe in themselves more than us, she added.

Chalek also said that there's a rampant discrimination in the fashion and modeling industry, and reminded the public that fashion is about the garment and not about the model wearing it.

The entrepreneur also explained that there are different varieties of blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa, albinism, glaucoma and diabetic retinophaty. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease diagnosed during childhood and young adulthood that causes severe vision loss leading to complete blindness. Albinism causes low vision while glaucoma is caused by damages from the optic nerves. Diabetic retinophaty is an effect of diabetes.

According to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, there are more than 10 million Americans that suffers loss of vision because of different blinding diseases. Even though organizations like Foundation Fighting Blindness are looking for remedies for blindness, it still doesn't erase the fact there are people struggling because of visual impairment.

Chalek, who was also the first entrepreneur to have the first dwarf fashion show in the New York Fashion Week last year, believed that with this fashion show, viewers and guests will become more aware of blindness. She also hopes to open the minds and hearts of people with this fashion show.
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo sits in the cockpit of a Sukhoi fighter jet as he attends a military exercise at Ranai military airbase in Natuna Island, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia October 6, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta

Indonesian warplanes staged a large-scale exercise on the edge of South China Sea territory claimed by Beijing.

Indonesian warplanes on Thursday staged a large-scale exercise on the edge of South China Sea (Vietnam's East Sea) territory claimed by Beijing, a show of force that adds to regional uncertainty sparked by the Philippines' sudden tilt away from the United States.

President Joko Widodo watched from Ranai, capital of the Natuna Islands archipelago, with hundreds of military officials as about 70 jets carried out manoeuvres that included a dog fight and dropping bombs on targets off the coast.

"The president has a policy that all the outer islands that are strategic will be strengthened, be it air, maritime or land," Gatot Nurmantyo, commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, told reporters.

"Our country needs to have an umbrella. From corner to corner, we have to safeguard it."

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (C) along with Military Chief Gatot Nurmantyo (L) and Airforce Comander Agus Supriatna walk past fighter jets and weapons during a military exercise on Natuna Island, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia October 6, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters in Ranai that the exercise was "routine", but it was also Indonesia's biggest so far and follows a move by Widodo in June to hold a cabinet meeting on board a warship off the Natuna islands.

Indonesian officials described Widodo's visit at that time as a strong message to Beijing following a spate of face-offs between Indonesia's navy and Chinese fishing boats in the gas-rich southern end of the South China Sea.

China, while not disputing Indonesia's claims to the Natuna islands, has raised Indonesian anger by saying the two countries had "overlapping claims" to waters close to them, an area Indonesia calls the Natuna Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the sea.

While Indonesia is not part of the dispute over the South China Sea, it objects to China's inclusion of waters around the Natuna Islands within its "nine-dash line", a demarcation line used by China to show its claims there.

Indonesia soldiers jump with parachutes from a Hercules C-130 military transport plane during an exercise at Ranai military airbase in Natuna Island, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia October 6, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta

Jakarta has traditionally taken a neutral position on the South China Sea itself, acting as a buffer between China and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that have the most at stake, the Philippines and Vietnam.

"The overall strength of ASEAN depends in great part on the willingness of Indonesia to play that role of diplomatic broker ... and that's where I think we're seeing some of this wobbliness," said Euan Graham, director of International Security at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think-tank.

A Sukhoi fighter jet is seen during a military exercise at Ranai military airbase in Natuna Island, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia October 6, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta

"A very fluid situation"

Diplomats and analysts say that, even before the Indonesian military exercise, recent events had thrown the status quo around the South China Sea into doubt, with some countries buttressing long-held positions and others moving towards Beijing.

An open war-of-words between Singapore and China, and Vietnam letting two U.S. warships visit its highly-strategic naval base at Cam Ranh Bay this week, contrasted with more pro-Beijing moves taken by the Philippines and Malaysia.

"We're facing a very fluid situation right now," said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.

"We can see some countries taking actions that effectively reveal their consistent positions and others are being much more deferential to China, rolling over and waiting for a tummy rub from Beijing."

Indonesian Air Force Sukhoi fighter jets land after training for an upcoming military exercise at Hang Nadim Airport, Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia October 3, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken October 3, 2016 by Antara Foto/M N Kanwa

Storey and other analysts said the hostility towards the United States from new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and his questioning of the decades-old security alliance between Manila and Washington, would fuel uncertainty long-term.

The potential for a much closer security relationship between China and Russia, which recently staged their first joint exercises in the South China Sea, was another driver.

Indonesia soldiers jump from a Hercules C-130 military transport plane during an exercise at Ranai military airbase in Natuna Island, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia October 6, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta

"Make no mistake, if Duterte follows through on his rhetoric it has the potential to shift the overall dynamics of not just the South China Sea issue, but broader strategic assumptions across Southeast Asia," he said.

Zhang Baohui, a mainland security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said China may be swift to exploit a tilt away from Washington by Duterte.

"Some Chinese elites are seeing this as a God-sent gift to China," Zhang said. "This represents a huge potential shift."

Related news:

> Indonesia to step up oil exploration, fishing in disputed waters

> Indonesia hopes fishermen can net its South China Sea claims
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A group of Wells Fargo customers, including one in North Carolina, has filed a lawsuit in Wake County asking the bank to turn over the identities of employees involved in a nationwide accounts scandal.

Five customers are named in the suit, which seeks the San Francisco-based banks disclosure of addresses and names of employees who opened accounts without those customers permission. Its a tactic intended to maneuver around Wells Fargos arbitration clauses that can block customers from suing for losses incurred by unauthorized accounts, said Lew Garrison, an attorney for the customers.

Once employee names are known, the plan is to then sue those employees, he said.

This lawsuit is a first step to determine the identities of these people, said Garrison, whose Alabama firm, Heninger Garrison Davis, is taking the lead in the case filed last month. Heninger is working with Greensboro-based law firm Crumley Roberts, which filed the Wake County suit.

North Carolina has some severe penalties for people who commit a crime of identity theft, Garrison said. Without question, those people have violated North Carolina law.

A Wells Fargo spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.

North Carolina is the second state in which attorneys are trying the strategy. Garrison said his firm filed a similar lawsuit last month in Georgias Clarke County.

In that case, one Wells Fargo customer is suing one Wells employee, who would represent a larger class of employees who created unauthorized accounts in Georgia, Garrison said.

In the North Carolina case, the plan is similar. In that suit, Ashley Lessa claims she opened a checking and savings account with a Wells branch in Wake County but noticed earlier this year a third, unauthorized account. The other four people suing in the Wake County case live outside North Carolina.

Its another setback for Wells Fargo following its $185 million settlement last month with regulators who accused the bank of opening more than two million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized by consumers.

Wells Fargo has said it has fired about 5,300 employees in recent years because of such behavior and changed its sales practices.

Since the fines announcement, the bank has been named in other suits filed by employees, customers and investors.

The North Carolina suit adds to the pressure on Wells Fargo over its arbitration clauses that customers enter into when they create an account with the bank. Judges have rejected suits filed by Wells customers affected by false accounts, because those customers agreed to submit disputes to an arbitrator when they signed contracts for legitimate accounts, Bloomberg News has reported.

A Wells spokesman has previously said its providing free mediation through an impartial third-party in cases where customers have received a product that they did not want or authorize related to our recently-announced settlements. The service is free, the bank said.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said this week he plans to introduce legislation to block Wells from invoking such clauses with customers who were hurt by fraudulent accounts. Also this week, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton vowed to crack down on such consumer agreements used by Wells Fargo and other companies, calling them fine print gotchas to escape accountability.

Testifying before a Senate panel last month, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf would not agree to quit enforcing arbitration clauses.
Today

Periods of rain. High around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

Tomorrow

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 74F. Winds light and variable.
DENVER  Newmont Mining Corp. has appointed experienced miner Andrew Woodley to lead the companys North America business beginning on Jan. 2.

Woodley succeeds Tom Kerr who retired from Newmont after 32 years of service to the company.

Andrew is an accomplished operations and business leader with more than 20 years experience driving improvements in safety, productivity and sustainability, said Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Palmer. His broad leadership experience delivering step-change improvements in mining, minerals processing and project development make him the right leader to build on our North America regions strong performance, and to deliver our strategy  which is to improve the underlying business, strengthen the portfolio and create value for shareholders and other stakeholders.

Woodley joins Newmont having served as president and chief executive officer of Rio Tintos Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mining operations in Mongolia. Prior to Oyu Tolgoi, Woodley was managing director for Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique and country head for Rio Tinto in Mozambique. He has held the role of general manager of operations at mines in Australia, and has worked in exploration in Canada, as well as management consulting in mining, and manufacturing in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and the United States.

Woodley earned his mining engineering degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada.

Newmont is the largest US-based gold producer where it operates surface and underground mines in Nevada and Colorado. Last year Newmont marked 50 years of operations in Nevada and the North America region accounted for nearly one-third of Newmonts global production and 44 percent of the companys gold reserves.

This year Newmont completed, on time and on budget, the Turf Vent Shaft that allows for new, profitable gold production from the Leeville underground mine in Nevada and announced expansion of Exodus. The company also expects to begin gold production from Long Canyon in the first quarter of 2017.
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By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) |  

This is not about Donald Trump. And I mean it.

From the moment the first scribe etched a paean of praise to Nebuchadnezzar into a stone tablet, its reasonable to conclude that never in history has the media covered a single human being as it has Donald Trump. For more than a year now, unless a terror attack roiled American life, hes been the news cycle, essentially the only one, morning, noon, and night, day after day, week after week, month after month. His every word, phrase, move, insult, passing comment, off-the-cuff remark, claim, boast, brazen lie, shout, or shout-out has been ours as well. In this period, hes praised his secret plan to destroy ISIS and take Iraqi oil. Hes thumped that big, fat, beautiful wall again and again. Hes birthered a campaign that could indeed transport him, improbably enough, into the Oval Office. Hes fought it out with 17 political rivals, among others, including lyin Ted, low-energy Jeb, Carly (Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?) Fiorini, crooked Hillary, a Miss Universe (Miss Piggy), the highly overrated Megyn Kellys menstrual cycle (You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever), always Rosie ODonnell (a slob [with] a fat, ugly face), and so many others. Hes made veiled assassination threats; lauded the desire to punch someone in the face; talked about shooting somebody in the middle of Fifth Avenue; defended the size of his hands and his you-know-what; retweeted neo-Nazis and a quote from Mussolini; denounced the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs and products while outsourcing his own jobs and products; excoriated immigrants and foreign labor while hiring the same; advertised the Trump brand in every way imaginable; had a bromance with Vladimir Putin; threatened to let nuclear weapons proliferate; complained bitterly about a rigged election, rigged debates, a rigged moderator, and a rigged microphone; swore that he and he alone was capable of again making America, and so the world, a place of the sort of greatness only he himself could match, and thats just to begin a list on the subject of The Donald.

In other words, thanks to the media attention he garners incessantly, he is the living embodiment of our American moment. No matter what you think of him, his has been a journey of a sort weve never seen before, a triumph of the first order, whatever happens on November 8th. Hes burnished his own brand; opened a new hotel on  yes  Pennsylvania Avenue (which hes used his election run to promote and publicize); sold his products mercilessly; promoted his children; funneled dollars to his family and businesses; and in an unspoken alliance (pact, entente, detente) of the first order, kept the nightly news and the cable networks rolling in dough and in the spotlight (as long as they kept yakking about him), despite the fact that younger viewers were in flight to the universe of social media, streaming services, and their smartphones. Thanks to the millions, billions, perhaps trillions of words expended on him by nonstop commentators, pundits, talking heads, retired generals and admirals, former intelligence chiefs, ex-Bush administration officials, and god knows who else that have kept the cable channels churning with Trump on a nearly 24/7 basis, he and his remarkable ego, and his now familiar gestures  that jut-jawed look, that orange hair, that overly tanned face, that eternally raised voice  have become the wallpaper of our lives, something close to our reality. If he were an action film, some Hollywood studio would be swooning, because never has a single act gotten such nonstop publicity. Weve never seen anything like him or it, and yet, strange as the Trump phenomenon may be, if you think about it for a moment, youll realize that theres also something eerily familiar about him, and not just because of The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice.

In a world where so many things deserve our attention and dont get it, rest assured that this is not about Donald Trump. It really isnt.

In terms of any presidential candidate from George Washington to Barack Obama, Trump is little short of a freak of nature. Theres really no one to compare him to (other, perhaps, than George Wallace). Sometimes his pitch about America  and a return to greatness  has a faintly Reaganesque quality (but without any of Ronald Reagans sunniness or charm). Otherwise, I dare you to make such a comparison.

Still, dont be fooled. As a phenomenon, Donald Trump couldnt be more American  as American, in fact, as a piece of McDonalds baked apple pie. What could be more American, after all, than his two major roles: salesman (or pitchman) and con artist? From P.T. Barnum (who, by the way, became the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, late in life) to Willy Loman, selling has long been an iconic American way to go. A man who sells his life and brand as the ultimate American life and brand come on, whats not familiar about that?

As for being a conman, since at least Mark Twain (remember the Duke of Bridgewater and the Dauphin, who join Huck and Jim on their raft?) and Herman Melville (The Confidence Man), the charm of the  excuse the phrase under the circumstances  huckster in American life cant be denied. Its something Donald Trump knows in his bones, even if all those pundits and commentators and pollsters (and for that matter Hillary Clintons advisers) dont: Americans love a conman. Historically, weve often admired, if not identified with, someone intent on playing and successfully beating the system, whether at a confidence game or through criminal activity.

After the first presidential debate, when Trump essentially admitted that in some years he paid no taxes (that makes me smart) and that he had played the tax system for everything it was worth, there was all that professional tsk-tsking and the suggestion that such an admission would deeply disturb ordinary voters who pay up when the IRS comes knocking. Dont believe it for a second. I guarantee you that Trump senses hes deep in the Mississippi of American politics with such statements and that a surprising number of voters will admire him for it (whether they admit it or not). After all, he beat the system, even if they didnt.

Whenever I see Trump and read accounts of his business dealings, Im reminded of what 1920s Chicago crime boss Al Capone told British journalist Claud Cockburn: Listen, dont get the idea Im one of those goddamn radicals Dont get the idea Im knocking the American system. My rackets are run on strictly American lines. Capitalism, call it what you like, gives to each and every one of us a great opportunity if only we seize it with both hands and make the most of it. Trumps rackets are similarly run on strictly American lines. Hes the Tony Soprano of casino capitalism and so couldnt be more American.

My father was a salesman. I grew up watching him make his preparations to sell. I existed at the edge of his selling universe and, though I thought I rejected his world, the truth is that, given the chance and under the right circumstances, I still love to sell myself. Its addictive in the most American way. There was as well another aspect of that commonplace world of fathers I once knew and that I now recognize in Trumps overwhelming persona: the bully. That jut-jawed stance, the pugnacious approach to the world, that way of carrying both ones body and face that seems inbuilt and offers the constant possibility of threat  it was the norm of the world I grew up in. It was what fathers looked like (and must still in so many families). It was, in short, an essential part of the pre-Trumpian world, a manner, a way of being that The Donald has distilled into an iconically brutal version of itself, into not the commonplace bully  schoolyard variety  but The Bully. Still, at least to me, and I think to many Americans, it couldnt be more recognizable and, I suspect, for people raised among the bullies, the thought of having such a bully in the Oval Office and speaking for you for once is strangely appealing.

Just in case you were wondering at this point, Im serious: this is not about Donald Trump.

And yet, dont believe that everything about The Donald is old hat and familiarly American. In this strange election season, there are aspects of his role that are so new they should startle us all. Begin with the fact that hes the first declinist candidate for president of our era. Put another way, hes the only politician in the country who refuses to engage in a ritual  until now a virtual necessity for American presidential wannabes, candidates, and presidents: affirming repeatedly that the United States is the greatest, most exceptional, most indispensable nation of all time and that it possesses the finest fighting force in the history of the world.

Undoubtedly, that by-now-kneejerk urge to repeat such formulaic sentiments reflects creeping self-doubts about Americas future imperial role. It has the quality of a magic mantra being used to ward off reality. After all, when a great power truly is at its height, as the United States was in my youth, no one feels the need to continually, defensively insist that its so.

Trump broke decisively with this version of political orthodoxy and it tells us much about our moment that he is now in the final round of election 2016, not in the trash heap of American history. His claim, unique to our moment, is that America is not great at all, even if he (and only he) can  feel free to chant it with me  make America great again! Add to that his insistence that the U.S. military in the Obama era is anything but the finest fighting machine in history. According to him, its now a hollowed-out force, a disaster and in shambles, whose generals have been reduced to rubble. Not so long ago, such claims would have automatically disqualified anyone as a candidate for president (or much of anything else). That he can continually make them, and make the first of them his t-shirt-and-cap campaign slogan, tells you that we are indeed in a new American world.

In relation to his Republican rivals, and now Hillary Clinton, he stands alone in accepting and highlighting what increasing numbers of Americans, especially white Americans, have evidently come to feel: that this country is in decline, its greatness a thing of the past, or as pollsters like to put it, that America is no longer heading in the right direction but is now on the wrong track. In this way, he has mainlined into a deep, economically induced mindset, especially among white working class men facing a situation in which so many good jobs have headed elsewhere, that the world has turned sour.

Or think of it another way (and it may be the newest way of all): a significant part of the white working class, at least, feels as if, whether economically or psychologically, its back is up against the wall and theres nowhere left to go. Under such circumstances, many of these voters have evidently decided that theyre ready to send a literal loose cannon into the White House; theyre willing, that is, to take a chance on the roof collapsing, even if it collapses on them.

That is the new and unrecognizable role that Donald Trump has filled. Its hard to conjure up another example of it in our recent past. The Donald represents, as a friend of mine likes to say, the suicide bomber in us all. And voting for him, among other things, will be an act of nihilism, a mood that fits well with imperial decline.

Think of him as a message in a bottle washing up on our shore. After all

This is not about Donald Trump. Its about us.

Tom Engelhardt is a co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of The United States of Fear as well as a history of the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture. He is a fellow of the Nation Institute and runs TomDispatch.com. His latest book is Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Copyright 2016 Tom Engelhardt

Via Tomdispatch.com

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

PBS NewsHour: What do three pages of Trump tax returns show us?
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Human Rights Watch |  

Role of Abusive Armed Forces, Treatment, and Screening of Detainees

(Beirut)  The Iraqi government should make a commitment to prevent any armed forces implicated in laws of war violations from participating in planned operations against the extremist armed group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Mosul, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Those prohibited from participating should include elements of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a group of armed forces allied with the government known as the Hashd al-Shaabi. The government should also ensure the protection of fundamental rights and nondiscrimination in security screenings and detention of people detained during the Mosul operations. Up to 1.2 million civilians are estimated to remain in Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, which ISIS captured in June 2014.

Civilians in Mosul have suffered under ISIS rule for more than two years and will need support if the city is retaken, but risk reprisals instead, said Lama Fakih, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa. The last thing the authorities should allow is for abusive forces to carry out revenge attacks in an atmosphere of impunity.

In the most recent operation against ISIS, to retake Fallujah in May 2016, Human Rights Watch research indicates that members of the Popular Mobilization Forces and in at least one instance Iraqi Federal Police officers beat men taken into custody; tortured, summarily executed, and forcibly disappeared civilians including children; and mutilated corpses. Human Rights Watch has previously reported widespread abuse by the Popular Mobilization Forces, including the intentional destruction and looting of civilian property in al-Alam, Amerli, al-BuAjil, al-Dur, and parts of Tikrit after retaking territory from ISIS in March and April 2015.

Al-Abadi should prevent armed forces under his command or control who have been implicated in laws of war violations, including the Badr Brigades, the Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), and other groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces, from participating in planned operations to retake Mosul. The authorities should take steps to protect civilians fleeing and in camps from revenge attacks.

Human Rights Watch documented the recruitment of child soldiers by two government-backed tribal militias (Hashad al-Asha`ri) participating in the fight against ISIS. The Iraqi government should stop working with armed groups that recruit child soldiers and those that have failed to demobilize them.

The Iraqi authorities should hold fighters and commanders in the Iraqi security forces and militias accountable for any abuses committed during military operations and make public the results of investigations into these abuses.

In light of violations in previous operations to retake territory from ISIS, Human Rights Watch has also provided al-Abadi with recommendations to prevent abuses during any screening and detention processes linked to the Mosul operation. If Iraqi and allied Kurdish forces set up centers to screen people who leave Mosul, only Iraqi Security Forces or Kurdistan Regional Government forces should operate them, not abusive armed forces. Authorities should ensure that the screening process is limited to a period of hours, and that anyone held longer is treated as detained and entitled to all protection of detainees under Iraqi and international law. No one should be presumed to be ISIS-affiliated or otherwise suspected of criminal activity based only on gender, age, religious sect, or tribal name.

Human Rights Watch noted with concern that under Iraqi law, the age of criminal responsibility is nine. If authorities screen children leaving Mosul and suspect that they were recruited or used as child soldiers by Islamic State, their treatment should focus on rehabilitation and social reintegration, not detention or prosecution.

The Iraqi authorities should promptly inform detainees of any charges against them and provide them with an opportunity to promptly challenge their detention before an independent judicial body, as required under Iraqi law. The authorities should allow independent protection monitors access to all screening and detention centers.

Since the Fallujah operation, al-Abadis government has refused to make public any information on the number of people killed and detained during and after the operation despite numerous requests from Human Rights Watch. The authorities should make public the number of fighters and civilians killed or detained as a result of the conflict with ISIS, and the charges brought against those in detention.

Iraqi officials operating the screening centers and detention facilities should appreciate how vulnerable fleeing civilians will be, and treat them with care, respect, and the presumption of innocence, Fakih said.

Via Human Rights Watch

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

PBS NewsHour: To drive ISIS from Mosul, a complicated coalition joins forces
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Lest we forget, here is a 2015 column full of ironies for Floridas increasingly dire climate change challenge:

Nadia Prupis, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) |  

Since 2011, environmental agency workers have been instructed not to refer to climate change and other words like sustainability, investigative report shows.

Floridas Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) employees have for years been banned from using terms like climate change, sustainability, and global warming, according to a new report published Monday by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Those unwritten directives came in 2011 from the agency in charge of planning and enforcing environmental policies in a state that faces some of the biggest effects of climate change in the country, including rising sea levels which threaten 30 percent of its coastal land over the next 85 years.

DEP employees were ordered by the agencys Office of General Counsel not to use those terms in any official communications, emails, or reportsin a policy that, even now, goes beyond semantics and has affected reports, educational efforts and public policy in a department with about 3,200 employees and $1.4 billion budget, the report found.

At the time the policy was put into place, the DEP was headed by Herschel Vinyard, Jr., whose controversial tenure ended last December after being appointed to the position by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a conservative Republican.

Neither Vinyard nor his successor, Scott Steverson, would comment on the FCIRs report.

The state government denied that workers were barred from using those terms. There is no policy on this, Jeri Bustamante, Gov. Scotts spokeswoman, wrote in an email to FCIR.

But that, former DEP employees said, is exactly the point. Rather than a written policy, the guidelines were widely known and distributed verbally.

The report continues:

One former DEP employee who worked in Tallahassee during Scotts first term in office, and asked not to be identified because of an ongoing business relationship with the department, said staffers were warned that using the terms in reports would bring unwanted attention to their projects. We were dealing with the effects and economic impact of climate change, and yet we cant reference it, the former employee said. Former DEP attorney Byrd said it was clear to him this was more than just semantics. Its an indication that the political leadership in the state of Florida is not willing to address these issues and face the music when it comes to the challenges that climate change present, Byrd said.

The National Climate Assessment last year found that Floridas south coast is uniquely vulnerable to Sea Level Rise, due to a combination of increasing urbanization, aging flood control facilities, and other geographical and topographical problems.

There is an imminent threat of increased inland flooding during heavy rain events in low-lying coastal areas such as southeast Florida, where just inches of sea level rise will impair the capacity of stormwater drainage systems to empty into the ocean, the NCA stated in its report, Climate Change Impacts in the United States.

FCIR on Monday noted the prevalence of Florida politicians who refuse to acknowledge the impact of human activity on climate change and their connection to established industry which could take a financial hit from state investment in more sustainable energy sources.

The report named Gov. Scott in particular, who has repeatedly refused to weigh in on the issue of climate change, telling reporters who in 2014 asked him whether he believes it is caused by human activity: I am not a scientist. He was reelected in November.

FCIRs report caused an uproar in the scientific community over the partisan influence on climate policy. You have to start real planning, and Ive seen absolutely none of that from the current governor, University of Miami geologist Harold Wanless told the FCIR. Its beyond ludicrous to deny using the term climate change. Its criminal at this point.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Via Commondreams.org



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Yale Climate Conditions: Climate and Hurricanes 2016
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by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has addressed the Levant Conquest Front, whose leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind Ayman al-Zawahiri. De Mistura said that among the 8,000 or so fighters from rebel groups in the East Aleppo pocket are nearly 1,000 fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked group. He asked al-Julani to withdraw his fighters from the pocket, so as to save some 250,000 residents of East Aleppo from being completely displaced and made refugees this fall.

The Russian Federation and the Syrian government, when pressed as to why they are bombarding and invading East Aleppo with such ferocity, cite the Levant Conquest Fronts gains during the recent attempt at a cease-fire.

De Mistura, an Italian diplomat, said that he would personally lead the evacuation and provide United Nations cover for it, if necessary. The Russian foreign ministry said that it is interested in the proposal.

The UN special envoy warned that

In two months or a maximum of two and a half months the city of eastern Aleppo at this rate may be totally destroyed . . . Thousands of Syrian civilians, not terrorists, will be killed and and thousands and thousands of them may try to become refugees in order to escape from this. This is what you, we, the world will be seeing when we will be trying to celebrate Christmas or the end of the year if this continues at this rate . . . A thousand of you are deciding on the destiny of 275,000 civilians, he said. If you did decide to leave [Aleppo] with dignity and with your weapons, to Idlib or anywhere you wanted to go, I personally am ready physically to accompany you.

American readers could be excused for being confused on this issue, since our press and politicians typically present the Syrian conflict as being among only 3 sides: 1) Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), 2) the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad, and 3) the remnants of the Free Syrian Army, some 30 of whose groups are supported by the US CIA via Saudi Arabia. So American politicians and sometimes journalists erase regime-held West Aleppo (as many as 1 million residents) from the picture and call the East Aleppo pocket Aleppo, and represent it as held by freedom fighters who, Mike Pence says, must be rescued by American military intervention.

From the Russian point of view, there is a fourth front of the war, which the Americans completely ignore, i.e. the fight against the Levant Conquest Front (formerly Nusra Front), which has its roots in Musab al-Zarqawis al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia and which spent eight and a half years killing US troops. In 2013 the al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq and Syria split, with half of it becoming ISIL under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The other half became what is now called the Levant Conquest Front. It recently tried to dissociate itself from al-Qaeda, but al-Julani declined to renounce his pledge of allegiance to al-Zawahiri, so that news conference was not very credible, and certainly not to Moscow.

For reasons that remain extremely mysterious, the US CIA ignores this al-Qaeda-linked group, with which some of its own favorites have sometimes formed battlefield alliances. But for Russia, ISIL is a minor annoyance whereas the Levantine Conquest Front is the real threat, since it could take over northern Syria (it and its allies have Idlib Province) and then foment terrorism in Russias Muslim provinces, such as Chechnya.

De Misturas plea to al-Julani came as the Syrian Arab Army and its Hizbullah and Iraqi Shiite auxiliaries made the biggest advances into East Aleppo since 2012, taking about half of the Bustan al-Basha district and nearing the center of the Pocket.

At the same time, Damascus announced a lull in its intensive bombing of rebel targets in East Aleppo, which has killed over 300 people in the past week and done extensive damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure.

My guess is that al-Julani will decline to leave, and will continue to taint the other rebels in East Aleppo with the al-Qaeda tag, even though that is extremely unfair. Many of them are actually Muslim Brotherhood or Salafis but not al-Qaeda-linked.

As to whether the regime can, as de Mistura fears, take all of East Aleppo this fall, that remains murky. In the past, the Syrian army has had difficulty making permanent advances against the rebels in the north and east, often seeing its conquests later reversed. Apparently a wild card in the East Aleppo campaign, however, is that Iraqi Shiite militias have joined the fight, bumping up the manpower of the regime.



Related video:

DW: Syria: Assad forces push to retake Aleppo | DW News
DENVER(BUSINESS WIRE) Newmont Mining Corp. has completed construction of the Merian gold mine in Suriname on time and more than $150 million or nearly 20 percent below its initial development capital budget.

First gold was poured and Newmont declared commercial production on Oct. 1, having achieved sustained average mill throughput of 80 percent and gold recovery of more than 90 percent over the last 30 days. Stockpiled ore represents nearly 160,000 contained ounces of gold.

Merian contains gold reserves of 5.1 million ounces and annual production is expected to average between 400,000 and 500,000 ounces of gold at competitive costs in the first five full years of production (100 percent basis). Costs are expected to be among the lowest in the portfolio, averaging between $575 and $675 per ounce in costs applicable to sales and between $650 and $750 per ounce in all-in sustaining costs in the first five years.

2 Exploration has extended mine life from 11 to 13 years, and continues to identify further upside potential within Newmonts 500,000 hectare Area of Interest, including a new discovery at Sabajo.

We took an optimized approach to project development and benefitted from being one of the only gold producers investing in growth during the lower price cycle, said Gary Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer. Our team built Merian safely, on schedule and significantly below budget  and delivered our strategy to strengthen the portfolio by adding more than a decade of profitable production and creating a foothold in a prospective new gold district. This accomplishment is also the result of strong partnerships with the government and people of Suriname, and the extensive experience G-Mining brought to project development.

The government of Suriname exercised its option to participate in a fully-funded 25 percent equity ownership stake in Merian in November 2013. Suriname manages its participation through Staatsolie, a Surinamese corporation that is wholly owned by the government.

Merian will operate under the banner of Newmont Suriname and be managed as part of Newmonts South America region in accordance with leading safety, technical, social and environmental standards. Its current workforce includes just over 1,100 employees, 20 percent of whom are indigenous Pamakkans, and 200 contractors. The team has taken a proactive approach to minimizing its environmental impact and engaged experts to inform its biodiversity offset programs. Newmont also signed an agreement with the Pamakkan community that establishes local hiring and procurement targets, as well as a community development fund.

Merian is one of Newmonts five self-funded growth projects  along with Long Canyon, expansions at Tanami and Carlin, and the recently completed expansion at Cripple Creek & Victor. Taken together, these projects are expected to add one million ounces of lower cost gold production over the next two years.
Vice President Gaston Sindimwo of Burundi on Thursday announced the countrys decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website], stating that his government is ready to face the consequences. This decision comes in the wake of the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda [official profile] announcing six months ago [JURIST report] that she plans to investigate the ongoing violence in Burundian announcement viewed by Burundi as a threat to its sovereignty. Sindimwo stated that his government thought it necessary to withdraw from ICC [RTNB report] so that his government and its people can really be free.

Burundi has been under the radar of the ICC, rights organizations, and the international community for quite some time now. Violence in Burundi began in the wake of President Pierre Nkurunziza [BBC profile] announcing that he would seek a third term of office, to which he was elected [JURIST report] last year. Last month the UN Independent Investigation in Burundi [official website] stated [JURIST report] that it found abundant evidence of gross human rights violations, which it believes could amount to crimes against humanity by the government of Burundi and people associated with it. In March UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official profile] expressed concern over increased violence and rights violations in Burundi and called for an inclusive political dialogue [JURIST report] to end the ongoing struggle. Speaking to the council about his trip to Burundi last month, the secretary-general stated, I cannot stress enough the profound humanitarian consequences that political unrest, violence and impunity carry for the population. Last November the UN Security Council unanimously adopted [JURIST report] a resolution condemning the political violence and killings currently afflicting Burundi.
A Canadian Superior Court [official website] justice has ruled that a decision to deny a womans case in court because she refused to remove her hijab goes against the fundamental principles of Canadian law. Rania El-Alloul was told last year that her case regarding automobile insurance would not go forward [National Post report] so long as she was wearing her hijab. As she refused to remove her hijab, her case was postponed. The judge claimed that the courtroom is a secular space where religious beliefs hold no weight. The Superior Court rejected this claim [CBC News report] stating that the Canadian Supreme Court has continuously ruled against that notion. El-Allouls lawyers have since been requesting a legal opinion that would clarify the rights of those within Quebec who seek to wear religious attire, claiming that El-Allouls treatment violated her right to religious freedom. While the Superior Court Justice sympathized with Alloul and regretted her treatment, he would not go so far as to rule [CP report] that women will be able to wear hijabs at future court appearances. The justice ultimately found that each case must be evaluated in light of the context that exists during the witnesss appearance.

Burqas and other symbols of Islam have been a controversial subject. In 2013 a Quebec official proposed a bill [JURIST report] banning religious headwear for public workers. Belgium officially banned [JURIST report] burqas in July 2011. Frances ban on burqas took effect [JURIST report] in April 2011. Swiss voters approved a proposal to ban the construction of minarets [JURIST report] in November 2009, and the vote was subsequently upheld [JURIST report] in the European Court of Human Rights in July 2011. Some commentators have suggested that the rationales behind the European burqa bans are weak [JURIST op-ed] and that the true purpose of the bills is societal discomfort.
[JURIST] The Parliament of Catalonia [official website, in Catalan] voted Thursday to hold an independence referendum next September. This move has exacerbated tensions [DW report] with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy [Britannica profile], whose party has consistently rejected Catalans attempts at independence. Following the vote, the Constitutional Court of Spain said it is considering a suit against the Catalonian speaker of the parliament for allowing the vote.

The Catalonia independence movement has gathered momentum in recent years following the economic crisis in the country that began in 2008. Last year the Constitutional Court of Spain declared unconstitutional [JURIST report] a resolution by the Parliament of Catalonia that proposed a plan for the regions independence from Spain by 2017. In September of last year the High Court of Justice of Catalonia summoned [JURIST report] Catalonia President Artur Mas over his involvement in the 2014 independence referendum [JURIST report]. In 2014 Mas signed a decree [JURIST report] calling for a referendum on secession and independence from Spain, inciting confrontation from Spains central government in Madrid. In February 2014 Spains parliament rejected [JURIST report] Catalonias proposed referendum, which asked voters if they wanted Catalonia to become a state, and, in the case of an affirmative response, if they wanted this state to be independent. When Catalonia proceeded with the referendum, the Constitutional Court held the independence vote to be unconstitutional [JURIST report].
A German court says the trial of a former medic who served at the Auschwitz death camp [Guardian profile] must be postponed due to complaints. The Neubrandenburg state court has received [AP report] numerous complaints that the judge and others in the court are biased, and the trial has been held up as prosecutors have been attempting to remove several of the judges. The medic, Hubert Zafke, faces charges [AFP report] on more than 3,681 counts of being an accessory to murder. The trial of the 95-year-old Zafke [JURIST report] got underway several weeks ago but was stalled [BBC report] numerous times after judges ruled he was unfit to stand trial over concerns about his mental and physical health. In response, the prosecution team and lawyers representing the victims families have accused the judges of bias, causing a delay between sessions as the judges respond. Due to this delay, the court now says that the trial must be restarted.

German courts have recently seen an increase of war crime charges against former members of the Nazi party. Prior to 2011, German prosecutors often chose not to charge individuals they regarded as cogs in, rather than active members of, the Nazi war machine. The 2011 conviction [JURIST report] of former Nazi guard John Demjanjuk may have emboldened German prosecutors to pursue cases against all those who materially helped Nazi Germany function. A court in Kiel, Germany, ruled last month that a 92-year-old woman charged with Nazi crimes is unfit to stand trial [JURIST report]. In December a German court allowed [JURIST report] the trial of a 95-year-old Auschwitz paramedic accused of being an accessory to the murder of 3,681 people at Auschwitz. In September 2014 German authorities imprisoned Oskar Groening, known as the accountant of Auschwitz, who was charged [JURIST report] as an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people. Last year Groening was given a four-year jail sentence for his role at Auschwitz, a sentence he said he would appeal [JURIST reports].
US Secretary of State John Kerry [official profile] on Friday called for an investigation [remarks] of alleged war crimes committed against Syrian civilians by both Russia and the Syrian regime. The secretary made the plea ahead of his meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault [official profile]. Kerrys statement comes the morning after yet another deadly Russian attack on a hospital. The secretary said that 20 lives were lost, along with 100 people wounded. He recognized the attacks on medical facilities as strategic, and [y]ears beyond the accidental. Foreign Minister Ayrault called the situation in Syria a human tragedy, and pleaded for peace and negotiations.

The conflict in Syria [JURIST backgrounder] has continued for five years in a civil war surrounding the legitimacy of Bashar al-Assad. For much of that time attacks have taken place on humanitarian convoys, medical facilities, and other forms of critical civilian aid. In September the EU called attacks in Aleppo a breach of international humanitarian law [JURIST report], denouncing the targeting of a humanitarian convoy hit by an airstrike the week prior. That same month the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria urged parties in the Syrian conflict to return to the negotiation table after a new report highlighted an increase of violence suffered by civilians [JURIST report]. The report noted that along with summary executions, forced displacement, and indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes the Syrian people lack sufficient access to life-saving medical services. In May the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria called on factions on both sides of the Syrian civil war to ensure their targets are not unlawful civilian sites [JURIST report], such as hospitals.
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September saw Aldi, which has done so much to shake up the UKs grocery market, announce plans for further investment in the country. In the US, Wal-Mart said it would extend moves to cut back-office jobs in its domestic market. And in Asia, Japans FamilyMart and Uny finalised their plans to merge, a deal that creates the second-largest c-store player in the country.Aldi, which has done so much to shake up the UKs grocery market, announce plans for further investment in the country. In the US, Wal-Mart said it would extend moves to cut back-office jobs in its domestic market. And in Asia, Japans FamilyMart and Uny finalised their plans to merge, a deal that creates the second-largest c-store player in the country.

Free Whitepaper What is the impact of historically high inflation on the UK consumer landscape? Inflation in the UK: The Impact of Historically High Inflation on the UK Consumer Landscape, to better understand shifts in consumer behavior and their impact on spending patterns, as well as the implications for UK businesses. This whitepaper covers: Why has global inflation returned with a vengeance?

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How can your company survive and thrive in a high inflation environment? Enter your details here to receive your free whitepaper and ready your business for these increasingly uncertain times. The average UK consumer is experiencing a severe cost-of living crisis as inflation surges to a forty-year high and the price of goods continues to rise. This shock is the result of the sharply increasing costs of commodities, energy, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and is threatening FMCG manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice operators ability to survive and grow. Inflation will have a profound effect on many consumer-facing industries in 2022 and beyond. Consult GlobalDatas new whitepaper,, to better understand shifts in consumer behavior and their impact on spending patterns, as well as the implications for UK businesses. This whitepaper covers:Enter your details here to receive your free whitepaper and ready your business for these increasingly uncertain times. by GD50 Custom Enter your details here to receive your free Whitepaper. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Whitepaper By clicking the Download Free Whitepaper button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GD50 Custom privacy policy By downloading this Whitepaper, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services.



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Aldi rolls up sleeves for fresh push in UK

Aldi, alongside fellow German discounter Lidl, have shaken up the UK grocery sector in the last decade, with the inroads they have had made into the wallets of the countrys food shoppers hitting its Big Four supermarkets  Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons.

According to the latest market share data from Kantar Worldpanel, published on 20 September, Aldi increased its sales by 11.6% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 11 September, with its share of the total till roll in the UK standing at 6.2%, up from 5.6% a year earlier.

Over the same period, all four of the UKs leading four grocers saw their sales fall year-on-year, Kantar Worldpanel. While there are a number of factors for the pressure on the Big Four, it is how they are trying to respond to the continued strength of Aldi and Lidl by cutting prices that is at or near the top of the list.

Aldi and Lidl continue to grow  not only are both continuing to expand their store estates but existing customers are visiting more frequently and upping their basket size, Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said last month. Shoppers now spend an average of 19.24 when visiting the discount retailers and at a time of falling prices this increase of 4% is not to be sniffed at.

There will have been some in the grocery sector that would have hoped and predicted the inroads Aldi and Lidl have made would have started to recede but the discounters are very much part of the furniture in the UK food retail market now, as the Kantar Worldpanel data bears out.

However, what a deeper dive into historical Kantar Worldpanel data also shows is, while Aldi is still seeing its sales grow at a double-digit rate, that rate of growth has slowed from this time last year, when the discounter was enjoying growth of just under 20%. Part of the reason for that is the attempted fightback from the likes of Tesco as they invest in price and in fresh produce, a key battleground.

But Aldi is preparing a new offensive. September also saw an announcement from Aldi of plans to invest GBP300m in modernising existing stores and building new ones in the UK. Suppliers take note: if you supply Aldi, there could more opportunities to grow your business with them. If you dont, can you afford not to make contact? And if you dont  or have more of your business with the Big Four  prepare for continued demands from them on price and margins.

Wal-Mart to roll-out job cuts in US

Right at the start of the month came news Wal-Mart Stores is to extend the job cuts it had been carrying out in part of its US business to across its domestic business.

The worlds largest retailer said on 1 September it would cut around 7,000 back office jobs, Reuters reported. Wal-Mart plans to centralise or automate the positions, The Wall Street Journal said.

In August, Wal-Mart reported a 1.6% rise in comparable sales in the US in its second quarter, a result some industry watchers had said showed the retailers domestic operations were showing momentum.

However, there is no question the US grocery market remains fiercely competitive, with trading conditions perhaps the most pressured they have been for a number of years.

It is a time of deflation in the US. The US Department of Labor published data last month that showed prices for food at home was down 1.9% in the 12 months to the end of August. Last month also saw Kroger, one of the largest grocery retailers in the US, lower its forecast for full-year earnings per share due to the deflation it is seeing in parts of the grocery sector.

The prices of a number of key commodities have been relatively benign (dairy is an obvious example), which is dampening prices that consumers see when they shop and allowing retailers to move aggressively on price, compounding the deflation.

And Wal-Mart, as the largest player in the sector, is at the centre of the conditions, facing stiff competition on price and perhaps seeing such moves on jobs as a way to free up resource to invest in-store and in prices.

Changes in Japans food retail landscape

On 1 September, two of Japans leading food retailers, FamilyMart Co. and Uny Group Holdings  the company behind the Circle K Sunkus chain in the country  announced the completion of their merger, forming what is the nations second-largest convenience store chain.

The deal, first announced last year, is significant, one of the most notable pieces of consolidation in the sector in recent years as Japans grocery sector tries to adapt to an economy showing at-best weak growth (the countrys government last month announced a revamp of its GDP numbers over fears of the accuracy of published data) and an ageing population.

The new FamilyMart Uny Holdings Co. will have over a total of 18,600 stores in Japan (as well as close to 6,000 outside Japan, almost of which were FamilyMarts). The stores take in convenience and supermarket formats although the c-store format predominates.

Lawson Inc., another major player in Japans retail market, has been pushed down to third (Seven & I Holdings, the retailer behind 7-Eleven leads the market). It emerged later in September that Mitsubishi Corp., the Japanese conglomerate, had offered to take its shareholding in Lawson from 33% to 51%.

We are in the process of studying a tender offer made by Mitsubishi Corporation for the purpose of making Lawson a consolidated subsidiary with a precondition of maintaining its listing of shares; however, nothing has been decided at this time, Lawson said.

If Mitsubishi does take control of Lawson, the retailer could benefit from the conglomerates food processing empire, which could help the retailer do battle with a now larger competitor.

Related Companies
ELKO  Elko County received a total of $12,500 in donations for its enhanced 911 fund and moved closer to implementing the improved system during its meetings this week.

On Wednesday, Elko Sanitation gave $1,000 and Neil Harris presented a $500 check from the Edith Richards Lynch Trust. On Thursday, Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital donated $10,000 and the Lamoille Womens Club gave $1,000.

As of Wednesday the donations people have put into the Nevada Bank and Trust account set up for the fund totaled $1,828, said County Treasurer Rebecca Erickson.

Along with previous donations made to the county, businesses and individuals have given up to $90,928.

The county has estimated $200,000 was needed just for the initial setup of the enhanced 911 systems.

Heres the problem, $200,000 is just barely the tip of the iceberg, said Assistant County Manager Cash. Youre going to have annual operating costs. Youre gonna have a continued need for hardware, software. So this is going to be an ongoing, reoccurring thing, that is probably going to be in the range of a couple hundred thousand dollars a year, just on a best guess scenario.

The ongoing costs will be funded through a surcharge on phone bills.

In September, commissioners approved an ordinance for the surcharge. Residential and commercial telephones and cellphones will be charged 25 cents a month for each line, and each trunk line will be charged $2.50 a month. The estimated revenue would be $170,928 a year.

Before the surcharge can be collected, the county must appoint an advisory board to watch over the implementation of the new system. This board must develop a five-year plan.

The minimum number of board members is five and one must be from the local telephone company, which is Frontier, said Assistant County Manager Cash.

They shall possess knowledge concerning telephone systems for reporting emergencies, he said. They have to be residents of the county and they cannot be elected officials.

Minor recommended the County search for the people needed on the board rather than advertising because of the need for the technical skills.

Commissioner Glen Guttry asked if they could give recommendations for the advisory board members. Minor said that would be fine.

He said one person who may be contacted is Bill Hance because he has the necessary knowledge of the systems that are needed. Wells City Manager Jolene Supp also told Minor she would recommend someone.

County staff will try to have the names of the possible advisory board members by the Oct. 19 meeting to be held in Wells.

The Enhanced 911 Advisory Board would be subject to open meeting law, unpaid, and would have to set times and dates for meetings.
This week saw Mars buy Warren Buffetts stake in Wrigley, giving the US group 100% of the chewing gum maker and consolidating its confectionery businesses. On our M&A pages, we featured how South Africas Rhodes Food Group is looking to buy local peer Pakco, Australias Freedom Foods Group is investing in one of its partners in China and a deal in Europes private-label bakery sector. McCormick & Co.s dispute in India with a venture partner headed to arbitration in India and Unilever announced a shake-up to its food R&D in Europe.

Mars Inc., the US food giant, has unified its chocolate and Wrigley operations in one business after buying out Warren Buffett from his investment in the chewing gum maker.

McCormick & Co.s dispute over a rice venture in India has moved to arbitration proceedings in the UK.

Unilever said today (6 October) it had decided to set up a new global food research and development centre in the Netherlands in order to deliver disruptive innovation.

Rhodes Food Group, the South African company, said today (4 October) it plans to buy local spices and condiments business Pakco.

German dairy group DMK has confirmed plans to cut 250 jobs at its administrative locations in Bremen, Everswinkel and Zeven.

Archer Daniels Midland, the US-based agribusiness giant, has acquired local pasta manufacturer Caterina Foods.

Emmi, the Switzerland-based dairy group, today (4 October) announced it had drawn up specific objectives in four areas related to sustainability.

Freedom Foods Group is to invest in Shenzhen JiaLiLe Food Co., one of the Australian dairy-to-cereal groups partners in China, in a bid to expand the presence of its childrens milk brand Australias Own in the country.

French frozen pastries business Mademoiselle Desserts, majority-owned by private-equity firm Equistone Partners Europe, has acquired Dutch peer Quality Pastries for an undisclosed sum.

French co-operative Terrena, which earlier this year acquired poultry group Doux, has announced a three-year investment programme worth EUR150m for its expanded poultry division.

Click the following links for the latest on our special reports on zero-based budgeting, 3D printing and the low-FODMAP market.
Dutch food group Van Geloven, majority-owned by McCain Foods, has snapped up a clutch of brands and plants from local peer Royaan.

Free Report Whats the forecast for the food and grocery industry? Market drivers and inhibitors

Five-year forecasts and the impact of COVID-19

The performance of the online channel versus offline

Major trends in the market including rapid delivery, ambient retailing, supply chain disruption, and inflation Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. The food and grocery sector thrived during the pandemic, largely due to the shutdown of the food service industry and the sectors subsequent necessity, panic-induced bulk purchasing, and spending more time at home. The market has grown as a result of inflation. Consumer unwillingness to go out and socialize, and the reopening of several hospitality facilities, helped maintain the demand for groceries, particularly online, in 2021. As consumer behavior changes, we consume more food and drink at home, and inflation increases basket sizes. GlobalData predicts that the sector will continue to hold a higher share than had been predicted prior to the pandemic. This is true despite the fact that the food and grocery sector's share of overall retail will decline from its peak in 2020. This report will discuss market forecasts and key themes in the global food & grocery industry in 2022 and beyond. It covers:Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. by GlobalData Enter your details here to receive your free Report. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Report By clicking the Download Free Report button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GlobalData privacy policy By downloading this Report, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services.



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The deal, announced yesterday (6 October) for an undisclosed sum, sees Van Geloven buy brands including Van Dobben and Kwekkeboom croquettes, as well as the foodservice-focused brands Laan, Willie Dokter and KB.

Van Geloven will also take on three factories: one producing lines including croquettes in Oostzaan, north of Amsterdam; one further south in Wijk bij Duurstede manufacturing cheese-based products; and a third in Beuningen making meatballs.

Speaking to just-food today, Van Geloven CEO Peter Doodeman said the companies had been in talks for some months and the company would have made the acquisition with or without McCains investment.

He outlined why Van Geloven had moved for the Royaan assets. We strengthen our position in foods in the foodservice market and very specifically we get a much bigger presence in the areas of hotels, restaurants and cafes. Second, we become a lot bigger in cheese products  cheese souffles, cheese bowls, mozzarella sticks, that kind of thing. It has a lesser presence in retail but some of the products are also very good for retail.

Doodeman said the deal would take Van Gelovens annual sales from the EUR195m generated in 2015 to around EUR230m.

Asked if Van Geloven would look to consolidate some of the companys newly-enlarged production footprint and whether factories could be closed, Doodeman said: Its still a little bit too early too tell.

However, Doodeman did indicate Van Geloven had plans to invest in a significant way in machinery equipment in cheese products in one of its existing sites and in the Royaan plant in Wijk bij Duurstede.

McCain acquired a majority stake in Van Geloven this spring. At the time the deal was announced, McCain CEO Dirk van de Put said: Van Gelovens market leading brands and products offer us a fantastic opportunity to strengthen our overall appetiser and snack food market presence within the region.

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ELKO  Since legislators couldnt decide on an initiative concerning background checks, voters will decide if gun laws will change in the state.

Elko residents who attended a luncheon hosted by the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities concerning the four statewide initiatives on the November ballot didnt have many questions about the Background Check Initiative, also known as Question 1.

This is not the first time the Nevada Legislature or voters have considered a policy related to regulations regarding the sale of firearms, said Guinn Center Executive Director Nancy Brune.

We actually have more than 300 federal laws on the books right now focused on regulating the sale, possession and use of firearms, she said.

This gun control initiative is being advanced by Nevadans for Background Checks, a group funded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It secured sufficient signatures to have it then considered by the Legislature during the 2015 session, Brune said. The Legislature had 40 days to enact or reject the petition without amendment. The Legislature took no action, so thus state law requires it be placed on the ballot for you all to consider.

If voters vote yes for Question 1 it would amend the Nevada Constitution and require an unlicensed person who wishes to sell or transfer a firearm to another person to conduct the transfer through a Federal Firearm Licensed dealer, who is required to run a background check.

Currently private sales made online, in-person or at gun shows are not usually conducted using a FFL dealer, and thus are not subject to a background check, Brune said.

If Question 1 passes, there would be some exceptions to the law.

Immediate family members will be able to sell or transfer a firearm to each other. According to the law, immediate family includes spouses and domestic partners and any of the following relations whether by whole or half blood, adoption or step-relation: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

People also will be able to temporarily transfer a firearm to someone else without a background check if the transfer is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, when at a shooting range or while hunting or trapping.

Brune said other states have implemented similar measures, including Washington and Colorado.

Since April 2016, 50 felons were denied the purchase of a gun from an unlicensed seller in Washington. In Colorado, 13,600 background checks were conducted between private sellers and 260 sales were denied.

If voters pass Question 1 in November it will become effective Jan. 1.
Editor:

American History explains that Immigrants from all over the world, all walks of life, came to America in search of a new life, to be regarded as the American Dream.

When American colonists declared independence from England in 1776, they also freed themselves from control by English corporations that extracted their wealth and dominated trade. After fighting a revolution to end this exploitation, our countrys founders retained a healthy fear of corporate power and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society.

And so as the protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline continues to grow and the legal issues becoming a major concern there now seems to be an air of Racism that is also growing that reeks of political implication expressing allegations that the Indians are destroying the economy by claiming every piece of land is Sacred.

What most Americans do not understand is that the North Dakota Fort Berthold Reservation of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes has since 2008, collected about $1 billion in oil money, is responsible for about a third of North Dakotas oil production which is estimated to be around 330,000 barrels a day.

So what is the issue here? Cultural Preservation. Preserving the history and heritage of our ancestors. Most people do not realize sincerely, that 500 years ago, the lands now called North America, Mexico and South America were occupied by the Sovereign Nations for time immemorial and simply put, present day tribes of American Indians for example just didnt live on reservations, they lived throughout this entire country, this was their homeland.

In other words, while American archaeologists, anthropologists and historians do what they can to preserve Non-Indian history, all most tribes want to do is to be given the opportunity to preserve the history and past of their people for future generations but Corporate America and the Political World have other plans that generate a whole lot of disrespect and dishonor towards the concerns, issues and interest of the American Indians culture and traditions.

Larry Kibby

Elko
Editor:

This post in the Elko Free Press, 10/5/16, caught my attention  "Feds eye 10 million acre ban on mining."

So what other bans are being considered  Stop grazing and recreation, setting up potential fire hazards, creating a Predator Pitts if no predator actives are allowed. And the list could go on and on!

The federal and state land agencies have lost their way -- the are so concerned about lawsuits from the environmental community  they never look forward only back to see who is getting them next!

Lock it up and let it burn, putting mining mamilies out of work -- so what does that accomplish.? More jobs for BLM firefighters and rehab biologists.

What happened to common sense by people in charge during the '70s and '80s who understood what went on with the land and animals? This was before the current biologists, State and Federal, who rely on computer models to make their management decisions.

The West has turned into a place where bad decisions are made every day by State and Federal people who do not know!

Look what the Wild Horse Program, managed by the BLM and USFS, has turned into. Also our Nevada mule deer population managed by NDOW that continues a death spiral under their mismanagement!

Let us shoot some more doe deer to build up the population ...

Very sad situation!

Mike Laughlin

Lamoille
back

better

"He's Black Council,", I said.

"Or maybe stupid," Ebenezar countered.

I thought about it. "Not sure which is scarier."

Ebenezar blinked at me, then snorted. "Stupid, Hoss. Every time. Only so many blackhearted villains in the world, and they only get uppity on occasion. Stupid's everywhere, every day." Ebenezar McCoy

This deprecation of individual freedom was objectionable to me. I am convinced now, as I was then, that man is an end because he is a child of God. Man is not made for the state; the state is made for man. To deprive man of freedom is to relegate him to the status of a thing, rather than elevate him to the status of a person. Man must never be treated as means to the end of the state; but always as an end within himself." Dr. M.L. King Jr.

Y'all got on this boat for different reasons, but y'all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swingto the belief that they can make people.... And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave. - Capt. MalGeek with a .45A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition
Germanys biggest bank hits the headlines after being asked to pay a $14 billion fine to the US Department of Justice. The markets are said to be nervous.

Fear of a banking bust is looming again after ten hedge funds pulled their significant assets out of Deutsche Bank last week. The markets are growing jittery: this is Germanys biggest bank and its shares dropped 8% after the Department of Justices (DoJ) shock announcement on 15 September.

The pressure started building in mid-September after the DoJ imposed a $14 billion fine (12 billion) on the German behemoth for its mortgage lending activities during the housing bubble that led to the 2008 financial crisis. In response, the bank issued an urgent statement confirming negotiations with the DoJ to reduce the penalty. Further reports suggested Deutsche Bank may get away with paying a settlement of as little as $5.4bn.

Investors are now speculating as to whether the German government will bail out the struggling bank, though according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, this is unlikely given the current political situation in both the European Union and Germany.

Of course Chancellor Merkel doesnt want to give Deutsche Bank any state aid, the German daily wrote. She cannot afford it from the point of view of foreign policy because Berlin is taking a hard line in the Italian bank rescue.

Deutsche Banks reaction

Deutsche Banks CEO John Cryan sent an email to his 100,000 employees, reassuring them of the firms financial soundness. In addition, the bank delivered a message to both Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

It said, Our trading clients are amongst the worlds most sophisticated investors. We are confident that the vast majority of them have a full understanding of our stable financial position, the current macroeconomic environment, the litigation process in the US and the progress we are making with our strategy.

Unfortunately for the banking sectors reputation, history has repeatedly shown that this type of message lacks credibility, not least during the 2008 financial crisis, which began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Indeed, on 14 March 2007, the day after a precipitous drop in Lehmans stock  the culmination of five years of concern that increasing defaults would affect the banks profitability  the investment bank reported record revenues and profits for its first fiscal quarter.

The shock through the eyes of analysts

According to Jacob Funk Kirkegaard from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), Deutsche Banks current business model is unsustainable  it simply cannot be allowed to continue to operate with a trillion-and-a-half-euro ($1.69 trillion) balance sheet and just a few tens of billions of euros in equity. However, Kirkegaard added that this is not another Lehman Brothers moment, thanks to the banks access to unlimited liquidity from the European Central Bank (ECB).

On a similar note, Bryan Rich wrote a piece for Forbes stating that Deutsche Bank is too big to fail, based on past promises by ECB President Mario Draghi that he would do whatever it takes to save the euro. Letting Deutsche Bank go would undo trillions of dollars of central bank intervention and years of global economic recovery, noted Rich.

On the other hand, KBW analyst Frederick Cannon thinks Deutsche Banks troubles might be a foretaste of darker things to come. While the near-term issue is the potential for a settlement with the US Department of Justice, the longer-term issue is the depressed level of profitability of the bank and their inability to grow capital through earnings or raise capital in the market, the analyst said in a research note.

However, besides the losses we recently learned about, speculation is all we have for now. All eyes are on the soon-to-be-revealed outcome of the negotiations between the DoJ and Deutsche Bank, and on the position to be taken by the German government.
Stephen Hawking is closely associated with Starmus. Starmus (starmus)

Citing lack of sponsorship from Spains leading companies, Starmus, the worlds biggest scientific festival, has announced that its fourth edition will not be held on the Canary Islands, and is moving instead to Trondheim, in Norway.

In a press release, Starmus, which describes itself as an "international gathering celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music, art, and sciences such as biology and chemistry", said that the 2017 event would feature Stephen Hawking.

But the regional government of Tenerife, the Canary island where Starmus has been held for the last three years, said that it had not been contacted by the organizers, who include former Queen guitarist Brian May, before the decision.

Around 400 years ago, Spain led exploration. I wonder how much of that legacy remains: not much I suspect Starmus organizer Neil deGrasse

We would have liked to be told rather than reading about it in the media, out of courtesy, said Alberto Bernabe, the head of Tenerifes tourism department. He said that Tenerifes local government and the regional administration of the Canary Islands sponsored the event to the tune of 660,000 between them. That amounts to around 80% of the total cost, he added.

Set up in 2011, the Starmus Festival is the brainchild of astrophysicist Garik Israelian and aims to make science and art accessible to the public. The first three festivals were sell-out events, attracting the worlds most influential scientists and astronomers, many of them Nobel Prize winners, along with internationally famous musicians. Among the guest speakers have been Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, science writer Neil deGrasse Tyson, economist Joseph Stiglitz, biologist and author Richard Dawkins, and Brian May, who holds a Ph.D in Astrophysics.

I am disappointed that large corporations have said they will not support the festival and that it doesnt matter to them, said deGrasse.

Stephen Hawking at last year's Starmus.

Bernabe agreed that it has proved difficult to attract sponsorship from multinationals. The organizers targeted Spains Ibex-35, the index of leading Spanish companies, but they failed.

Anselmo Pestana, head of the local government of La Palma, which jointly hosts the event and contributes 90,000 toward the costs, said he had been told by Garik Israelian that one of the reasons the organizers had decided to hold next years event in Trondheim was because of delays in payment from the regional and local governments.

It seems there were delays and this caused problems because they werent able to pay their suppliers, said Pestana. The Tenerife local government denied that there had been payment delays, and that a final tranche of 76,000 to cover the cost of a report on the festival had just been handed over.

The first Starmus festival, in 2011, lost money, said Israelian. The second, held in 2014, barely covered its costs, despite Tenerifes insistence that the some 171 million people were aware of the event through the global media. This year, that figure rose to 415 million, but no Spanish companies saw the value in being associated with the event.

I am disappointed that large corporations have said they will not support Starmus Starmus organizer Neil deGrasse

Its very sad, because this is an event that should be attractive to sponsors, but it seems that science doesnt sell, said Bernabe, adding that the Canary Islands government was already talking to Starmus about bringing the event back to Spain for 2018.

But there is a risk it wont come back, because its already a globally recognized event, he warned.

Israelian, who is based at the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute on Tenerife, declined to comment to EL PAIS on the talks, but sources at Starmus said there was no reason for it not to return to Spain in two years time.

Speaking to Spanish journalist Inaki Gabilondo at this years event, Neil deGrasse commented on Spains diminishing role in science. Around 400 years ago, Spain led exploration. I wonder how much of that legacy remains: not much I suspect.

He added that the worlds leading scientists had come to Starmus in the hope of reviving Spains role in scientific investigation. Thats why Im so disappointed that big companies are saying they wont support the festival, and that it doesnt seem to matter to them. If the country doesnt grasp this, it will always be behind the curve when it comes to science.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Seized vehicles in Turicuaro (Michoacan). Francisco Canedo

That the Mexican federal government is basically a matter of fiction in certain parts of the country may be explained in several ways. For example, take a car ride to visit the ostensibly idyllic small town of Turicuaro (3,000 residents), in the heart of the volcanic state of Michoacan.

This indigenous outpost, an enclave of sinuous highways and splendid Oyamel firs governed by traditional ways and customs, lives outside the law. Or better yet, without regard for the law.

We will only free the vehicles if the government sits down to negotiate

Turicuaro vigilante leader

It has been four months since its streets, squares and esplanades became the scene of a flagrant crime. Protesting trainee teachers have held up dozens of buses, trucks, trailer trucks and vans in their bid to force the federal government to roll back its educational reform. All that plunder lies in the open air, yet the authorities are looking the other way.

No one can approach the vehicles; no one can get them out. It does not matter that companies demand their return or that drivers languish for months next to them. If someone tries to drive one away, protestors threaten to set it on fire. They will not move from here until the repressive state sits down to negotiate, the leader of the community patrol guarding the vehicles bellows in a voice that betrays no confidence.

The group of 15 includes teenagers with disheveled hair and elderly people with faces marked by many years of life gone by. They eye the journalist with mistrust and are even more suspicious of the photographer, crowding around him as he takes pictures of the vehicles. They do not like visitors.

We are fighting, the trainee teachers are not alone, their cause is our cause, says the groups leader. We will only free the vehicles if the government sits down to negotiate, but, beware, we do not trust anyone anymore.

A bus on fire in Cheran, Michoacan. EFE

Behind him, a long line of vehicles stretches out into the horizon. Some of them have broken windows, others have sunk in the mud. These trucks and buses carried cement, gasoline, fruit, soft drinks, parcels and people. Now they are stuck in this hostile land. And there will be more if they dont do what we ask, one of the vigilantes shouts.

His is no small threat. Illegal seizure of vehicles is a bloody business in Mexico. Between October 2014 and July 2016 alone, 2,414 buses were seized, leading to losses and damages in the range of $30 million. They do whatever they want and no one stops them. The institutions keep quiet and give in. Its a scandal, says the spokesman for the Michoacan truck and bus association.

Though the practice is common in other parts of the country, since June it has gotten worse in Michoacan, the state with the largest number of government-funded teachers colleges, known as escuelas normales. The objective of the normalista movement is to force the federal administration to roll back one of the main initiatives in its education reform plan: requiring future teachers to pass a standardized test instead of granting them automatic placements in a school upon graduation.

As the fight went on, radical groups overwhelmed Michoacan Governor Silvano Aureoles (Democratic Revolution Party, PRD). Because of the fear of more social unrest, police avoided clashing with protestors and chaos spread throughout the state: seizures of toll booths on freeways, burning of trucks and even blockades on railroad tracks.

Angry students even held up more than 200 vehicles at one time. We are reaching the end of the phase for dialogue, but the real problem depends on the federal government, says Michoacan interior affairs chief Adrian Lopez Solis. What the teachers ask for, automatic placement, is not within our powers.

All that plunder lies in the open air while authorities look the other way

Tensions reached their peak on Friday when, in the wake of the violence that broke out after a group of normalistas were detained, businesses decided to suspend bus services to protect the lives of passengers and drivers. The measure had national impact but it only lasted a short while. On Saturday, bus service resumed in order to avoid creating a larger problem for passengers.

The governor offered police protection, but that hardly helped. The next day, protestors seized more toll booths and burned more trucks. On Monday, the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE), the powerful union leading the fight against the government, announced that it would also hold up buses to demand the release of the eight trainee teachers in police custody. They were released that same night, posting a bond of just 1,000 pesos ($50). Thats the way things work around here, says a trucker association spokesman.

Yet in all this time, no federal official has come to Turicuaro; neither has the state sent in the police to remove the vehicles. The fear of bloodshed, as state authorities admit, prevents them from taking such action. It would be a Pyrrhic victory, says Michoacan official Lopez Solis. Given this premise, this normalista sanctuary, like many other things in Michoacan, will preserve its impunity.

Lets not kid ourselves, they are stealing the cargo we carry. There are no ideals at work here, its just business Driver Israel

Israel, Miguel Angel, Gabriel and Martin know it well. These drivers have been trapped here for four months. They stay close to the vehicles because if they leave, they could lose their jobs. And fleeing might lead to something much worse. They would shoot us and then burn the trucks, Gabriel says.

Stuck in a Kafkaesque plot, the four men and about a dozen other drivers have decided to make the best of whatever comes their way. I hope we can leave in two months, Miguel Angel says. His fellow drivers shake their heads. They do not believe it. They have watched time go by and feel abandoned. First the locals took away the vehicles, and then the merchandise.

Look, theyve kidnapped us, Israel says. They know we cannot leave the vehicles because our bosses could fire us and even accuse us of being accomplices. And lets not kid ourselves, they are stealing the cargo we carry. There are no ideals at work here, its just business. His two daughters and wife are in Morelia. He misses the city. He has been living and sleeping in his Kenworth double-decker trailer, a huge beast that can carry 54 tons of cement, since July 5. He knows all that material will one day disappear, and looks worn out. Every morning, Israel wakes up and walks to a well to wash himself. He says he gets cold and that the locals treat him meanly. Some dont want to sell us food, theyd rather see us leave so they can take away the cargo without any trouble.

But not everyone in Turicuaro is like this. Some residents sympathize with the drivers even though they would not dare say so out loud. You be careful as well so they dont burn your car, whispers one indigenous woman. She is wearing a floral-print dress and a metallic necklace that gleams in the sunlight. She looks like she wants to talk, but then warns that the neighborhood watch group is coming. She retreats back into her house. The drivers lower their voices. As the vigilantes pass by, they all fall silent and lower their heads. And so does the State of Mexico.

English version by Dyane Jean Francois.
OMAHA -- A final Mother's Day FaceTime chat with a daughter.

Phone calls that went unanswered.

A daily journal that abruptly stops.

A computer screen shot showing a couple wearing the same clothes they were wearing when they were killed.

All were part of the evidence prosecutors presented Friday to buttress their case that Dr. Roger and Mary Brumback were killed on Mother's Day, May 12, 2013, two days before their bodies were found in their west Omaha home.

Day 5 of testimony in the Anthony Garcia murder trial featured touching testimony from two of the Brumbacks' children over their final contacts with their parents. Prosecutors have been trying to show the Brumbacks were killed on the afternoon of May 12 -- the same time they have evidence that Garcia, an Indiana resident, was in Omaha.

Dr. Audrey Brumback, a San Francisco physician and scientist, recalled her FaceTime conversation with her parents that Sunday.

She and her husband called her parents for a Mother's Day chat. They shared a laugh over some unsolicited advice her mother had given Audrey's younger brother, a moment Audrey captured in a computer screen shot.

In the picture, shown during the trial, Roger and Mary Brumback can be seen wearing the same clothes they were in when their bodies were discovered two days later.

A police check of the iPad the Brumbacks used during the conversation that day would show the call with Audrey began at 1:36 p.m. and ended at 2:40 p.m.

"After you stopped talking, did you ever hear from them again?" Deputy Douglas County Attorney Brenda Beadle asked.

"No," Audrey Brumback replied.

Beadle then showed Audrey Brumback a journal taken from her parents' home. Audrey explained that Mary Brumback called her elderly mother "every single night to check on her" at the nursing home where she lived. Mary Brumback would log the conversations in her journal.

There was an entry for May 8, two on May 9, one on the 10th, and more on the 11th.

"And then it stops," Beadle said.

"That's correct," Audrey replied.

Owen Brumback of Denver, the Brumbacks' youngest son, also took the stand to talk about a final FaceTime conversation he had with his parents on Mother's Day. A fussy baby caused Owen to cut off the conversation after about 10 minutes that morning.

But he said he tried to call his mother on the family's home phone the next day on May 13, something he would typically do over lunch. But she didn't answer this call.

"Usually, I could reach her, because she was typically at home," he said.

The next day he got a call from his sister telling him their parents had been killed.

Earlier in the trial, a neighbor of the Brumbacks reported hearing gunshots around 3:30 p.m. that Sunday, which would have been less than an hour after the Brumbacks completed their conversation with their daughter.

Also Friday, Omaha police detective Nick Herfordt testified on his analysis of the phones and computers taken as evidence from the Brumback home. He said the last time any of the devices were used was the FaceTime conversation with Audrey Brumback. Cellphone calls after that time went unanswered.

Herfordt is trained in visual forensics, including how to extract data from cellphones and computers for criminal investigations. He described for the jury how he used computer software to generate reports of what was on the Brumbacks' devices, later checking the devices themselves to verify what he saw in his report.

Garcia's trial team objected to Herfordt's use of the reports during testimony, arguing they did not prove that the FaceTime call with Audrey lasted for an hour. After that, the trial was delayed while the iPad and iPhone were retrieved so that the original electronic records could be viewed in court.

To close the first week's testimony Friday, prosecutors presented evidence of another Creighton pathologist who might have been targeted. And had she arrived home just minutes earlier, she might have been.

The same day the Brumbacks were killed, there was an attempted break-in at the home of Dr. Chhanda Bewtra, who worked with Brumback and Hunter. Prosecutors later will try to link DNA evidence taken from that break-in to the Garcia case.

Bewtra's husband, Dr. Againdra Bewtra, also works at Creighton. He told the jury that he and his wife were driving home from a Mother's Day lunch with their daughters that Sunday when they received a phone call from security company ADT. A burglar alarm was sounding at their home.

The Bewtras were just minutes from home, so Againdra Bewtra told the security company he would check on the alarm himself. There had been false alarms before, tripped by such things as spiders or a balloon floating in the home.

Bewtra parked in the driveway and told his wife to wait in the car while he walked the perimeter of their home. He ultimately found the door that opened into the walk-out basement was slightly ajar.

The door had been the subject of a previous break-in a decade before, prompting the Bewtras to place a large, heavy recliner right in front of it. "It would require super-human strength to push the door open," he testified.

In this case, the chair and the alarm appeared to have deterred the burglar. Whoever was at the back door had been able only to budge the door and chair about an inch, he said. "Not even a mouse" could have gotten in, Bewtra testified.

Two days later, the Bewtras learned of the Brumbacks' deaths. The Bewtras still didn't report the break-in then, not seeing it as related.

But when they told colleagues at Creighton about it in ensuing days, they were encouraged to alert police.

Againdra Bewtra said a colleague told his wife, "Now you have two families from this department who have had murders committed in their families, and on the same day you had this attempted break-in at your house ... It could be correlated."

Bewtra said a similar conversation with his own students finally convinced him to call police.

Omaha police homicide detective Oscar Dieguez spoke to the Bewtras the Friday after the Brumbacks were found. After viewing the scene of the burglary, Dieguez ordered the crime lab to come in and swab for DNA.

Garcia is charged in the March 2008 deaths of 11-year-old Thomas Hunter and 57-year-old Shirlee Sherman and the May 2013 deaths of the Brumbacks, both 65. Prosecutors allege Garcia committed the slayings to avenge his 2001 firing from Creighton's medical school, a termination that continued to haunt him in his professional life.

With the Douglas County Courthouse closed Monday for Columbus Day, the trial will resume Tuesday.
Prosecutors in the murder trial of Anthony Garcia used cellphone and computer evidence Friday to try to establish that Dr. Roger and Mary Brumback were killed on May 12, 2013, two days before their bodies were found in their west Omaha home.

Opening up the fifth day of testimony in Garica's trial, Omaha police detective Nick Herfordt told the jury the last communication on either the iPad or iPhone owned by Creighton University pathologist Roger Brumback was a Mother's Day Facetime call with his daughter Audrey.

That call began at 1:36 p.m. May 12. Herfordt said the call lasted just over an hour.

From that point, Roger Brumback never used either device, with calls to his cellphone going unanswered, Herfordt said.

Prosecutors have been trying to buttress their claim that the Brumbacks were killed on the afternoon of May 12, the same time they have evidence that Garcia was in Omaha.

Earlier in the trial, a neighbor of the Brumbacks reported hearing what he thought were gunshots at about 3:30 p.m. May 12. That would have been about an hour after the Brumbacks finished their Facetime call with their daughter.

Brumback was shot three times, including a potentially fatal shot to the abdomen. Both he and his wife also both had critical arteries in their necks severed by multiple stab wounds.

Herfordt, the Omaha police detective, is trainied in visual forensics, including how to extract data from cellphones and computers for criminal investigations. He described for the jury how he used computer software to generate reports of what was on the Brumbacks' devices, later checking the devices themselves to verify what he saw in his report.

Garcia's defense team objected to Herfordt's use of the reports during testimony, arguing they did not prove that the Facetime call lasted for an hour. After that, the trial was delayed while the iPad and iPhone were retrieved so that the original electronic records could be viewed in court.

Garcia is on trial after being charged in the March 2008 deaths of 11-year-old Thomas Hunter and 57-year-old Shirlee Sherman and the May 2013 deaths of the Brumbacks, both 65. Prosecutors allege Garcia committed the slayings to avenge his 2001 firing from Creighton's medical school, a termination that continued to haunt him in his professional life.
LINCOLN  Nebraskas auditor is investigating the states unsuccessful attempt to obtain $54,400 in death penalty drugs last year from a broker in India.

State Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha, an opponent of the death penalty, sent a letter Thursday asking the auditor to find out what is being done about the two drugs the state tried to purchase from Chris Harris, a broker based in Kolkata, India. The state received neither the drugs nor a refund.

Why is Nebraska not suing Harris for breach of contract to obtain the return of taxpayers hard-earned money, Harr asked in his letter to the auditor.

In a written response, Nebraska Auditor Charlie Janssen said his office is already in the process of reviewing the failed transaction between the Department of Correctional Services and the broker. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha requested the audit several months ago.

State law prohibits the auditor from publicly discussing details of an audit while it is underway, said Russ Karpisek, the auditors spokesman.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said Thursday that his administration has taken no further steps to obtain death penalty drugs since he announced nearly a year ago he was suspending the quest. The governors decision to stop the pursuit of lethal substances came the same day U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg told The World-Herald it would be illegal for the state to import one of the drugs.

Ricketts said he wanted to await the outcome of the Nov. 8 referendum vote that will decide the fate of capital punishment in Nebraska. Death penalty supporters forced the referendum in response to the Legislatures 2015 repeal of capital punishment.

The vote will give clarity as to how to proceed with drug acquisition, refunds or protocol changes, the governor said in a letter to Harr.

Harr said he still questions what the Ricketts administration knew about the states chances of successfully importing the drugs. A federal court ruling in 2012 raised red flags about importation of one of the drugs Nebraska requires for a lethal injection, the senator said.

And Harr also questioned why the state didnt use a contract requiring the broker to refund the purchase price if the drugs couldnt be imported.

As lawmakers were debating the repeal bill in 2015, Ricketts announced that the state had purchased sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide, two of three drugs needed for a lethal injection. The state had an unexpired supply of the third drug, potassium chloride.

But the Indian supplier was unable to deliver the drugs largely because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said sodium thiopental could not be imported.

The anesthetic is no longer manufactured or licensed in the United States.

Ricketts said the Corrections Department had requested a refund early this year for the $26,700 spent on sodium thiopental. The broker refused to refund the money, saying it wasnt his fault Nebraska couldnt import the drug.

No FDA ban, however, applies to the pancuronium bromide, the governor said. The state spent $27,700 for the drug, but has not sought a refund.

The shipment of this drug has been placed on hold out of respect for the voters, pending the outcome of the vote, Ricketts said in his own written response to the senator.

In the meantime, Nebraska officials have not initiated legal action against the broker, said Dawn-Renee Smith, spokeswoman for the Corrections Department.

The governor also has said that his administration and Attorney General Doug Peterson would explore potential changes to the states death penalty protocol.

Backers of the anti-death penalty group Retain a Just Nebraska predicted Thursday that even if voters restore capital punishment, it will be difficult, costly and perhaps impossible to carry out another execution in Nebraska.

Major pharmaceutical companies dont want their medicines used in death chambers, and legal challenges could handcuff the state if it tries to obtain the drugs from independent compounding pharmacies, said Eric Berger, a professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law who has written extensively on lethal injection.

Even in the unlikely event Nebraska can get the drugs, thats just a one-time fix, Berger said. Theyll need to solve it again and again and again.

Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln said the state should use what it spends on death penalty drugs on improving safety for the men and women who work in Nebraskas prisons. He pointed to a recent string of serious assaults on corrections officers, including one that was announced Thursday.

Corrections officers deserve our attention on their safety, he said. The 10 guys on death row are not a threat to their safety.

Supporters of capital punishment have argued that several of the 30 death penalty states have continued to find ways to carry out lethal injections. Just this week, Ohio officials announced they would resume executions at the start of next year.

Bob Evnen with Nebraskans for the Death Penalty said if Nebraska cant obtain a supply of sodium thiopental, it could still develop a protocol that would pass legal muster.

It is a shame that death penalty opponents are trying to politicize this issue and confuse Nebraskans at a time when ballots have been mailed to early voters, he said.
Last week Americans learned more about the Obama administration repeatedly funneling money to insurance providers to keep the Affordable Care Act afloat. The comptroller general  the governments chief accountability officer  issued an official statement that the administration has been sending unlawful payments totaling $3 billion to insurance companies through the ACAs reinsurance program, thus forcing taxpayers to finance a larger part of the most expensive claims.

The House of Representatives filed a lawsuit against the administration for unlawful payments through another ACA program.

These payments are so insurers can reduce enrollees deductibles and cost-sharing amounts. Congress never appropriated funds, yet the administration has paid insurers at least $10 billion.

In a decision in May, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer struck down the payments, writing, Paying out (cost-sharing subsidies) without an appropriation violates the Constitution. Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one.

News accounts suggest that the administration is on the verge of what could be its most brazen act yet  a massive taxpayer bailout of insurance companies offering ACA plans. This would occur through the risk corridor program  the program designed to transfer money from insurers that made profits to insurers that incurred losses on ACA plans.

Since ACA coverage has proven unattractive to young and healthy enrollees who dont qualify for large subsidies, insurers have incurred large losses from more-expensive-than-expected enrollees. As a result of these losses, risk corridor claims from unprofitable insurers dwarf payments from profitable insurers into the risk corridors.

In late 2013, members of Congress  led by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio  first raised concern about the potential for a bailout through risk corridors. The Department of Health and Human Services responded by issuing a regulation that it would ensure the program was budget neutral. This means payments to unprofitable insurers would equal payments from profitable insurers.

Making the risk corridor program budget neutral has likely saved taxpayers more than $7 billion for the 2014 and 2015 plan year. Many insurers, displeased by this development and unconcerned about the massive hit to taxpayers, have sued.

Late one Friday afternoon last month, HHS announced that it is ready to settle these lawsuits. The Washington Post has since reported that the administration is seeking to use the so-called judgment fund to settle with all insurers, not just those that sued.

The Post reported that HHS has used the judgment fund for a total of $18 million over the last several years. A risk corridor settlement would be billions.

In a twist, the Department of Justice has taken a different position, filing motions to dismiss both lawsuits just one day after the Washington Post report. Justice argued, in part, that Congress has never given authority to pay for the risk corridor payments. Unfortunately, a lack of authority or appropriation from Congress has not stopped the Obama administration from delivering insurers participating in the ACA money before. Given Justices position, it will be clear that if money is delivered to insurers through risk corridors, the people in the White House and HHS will have acted against the legal position of career professionals at Justice.

Brian Blase is a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where his research focuses on the Affordable Care Act and health care entitlement programs.
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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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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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Russian propaganda is personifying Europe

The organizations European Values Think-Tank and Semantic Visions have presented the results of their joint studies, which have reflected on how Russian propaganda depicts European leaders. In particular, 59 million publications (from January 2014 to May 2016) from more than 22 thousand sources have been analyzed during the study. Merkel and Hollande The analyses of this huge volume of materials have shown that the Russian propaganda presents the leaders of France and Germany as leaders of the European Union, whom they reserve the honor of dealing with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Russian media attaches the most important role to the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, whose name is circulated in the Russian media a few times more than those of the officials of the European Union governing structures, such as President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk or High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. At the same time, the Russian media actively covers the activity of the leader of the nationalists, ultra-right Marine Le Pen, as well as pays special attention to the Bavarian Governor Horst Seehofer, who is also a right-wing conservative politician. Pro-Russian Politicians Besides, the study results show that the Russian media sources try to give more significance to the European politicians who somehow support Russian President Putin. In particular, this phenomenon has resulted in the fact that Russian media predominantly covers the activity of a number of Eastern European leaders, such as Czech President Milos Zeman, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Russian media also focuses on Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who from time to time supports lifting of sanctions against Russia. To sum up, Russian propaganda bypasses the role of EU institutions and leaves the political responsibility on concrete figures and, hence, makes the more acceptable voices more heard to the Russian audience. Such a behavior of Russian mass media points to the fact that they are controlled by Kremlin and serve its propaganda. It is also worth noting that Russia, whose policy concentrates on ignoring the European bureaucratic system, always complains when the worlds attitude is not serious towards the Eurasian bureaucratic system. The large Eurasian integration projects, such as Eurasian Economic Union or CSTO, are perceived as Putins structures by the external world, in the same way as Putin presents European integration projects to his internal audience. Vahe Ghukasyan Union of Informed Citizens
European Union studies reports on local elections in Armenia (video)

The European Union is studying reports on local elections in Armenia, especially those provided by domestic observers. The EU takes note of their findings, Dirk Lorenz, Head of Political, Economic, Press and Information Section at the EU Delegation to Armenia, said on Friday. Today, the Council of Europe and European Union presented in Yerevan the mid-term results of projects for Eastern Partnership countries, with a special focus on Armenia. T The four country-specific projects being carried out in Armenia under the Programmatic Cooperation Framework in 2015-2017, focus on improving electoral processes in the country, combating ill-treatment and impunity, strengthening healthcare and human rights protection in Armenian prisons, as well as fighting corruption in higher education in Armenia. The projects are funded by the EU and the Council of Europe, and are implemented by the Council of Europe. The money allocated to Armenia under the projects also depends on the quality of the elections. The next phase of the Action Plan with Armenia will be approved in mid-2017. Before that, parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia and their quality is extremely important [for us] in terms of continuing cooperation with Armenia, Dirk Lorenz said. The total budget of these projects is 2.2 million Euros will be allocated to the country [Armenia] in three years. Speaking about the July events that followed the seizure of a police station in Yerevans Erebuni district Dirk Lorenz said he was aware that people were detained in the aftermath of the events. I cannot comment on individual cases as it is up to the countrys authorities. It is important that the right to fair trial be upheld in all cases. The pretrial detention is to be proportionate. Suren Krmoyan, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, is also concerned about this. He says in the near future they will take definite steps with the support of European institutions. There is no alternative to the legal system. We are trying to introduce new preventive measures in the Criminal Procedure Code. Those include home arrest and administrative detention, he said. The lawyers of the Sasna Dzrer group members repeatedly complain of unfavorable conditions in prisons. Suren Krmoyan says by the end of the year or in January-February of the next year all penal institutions in Armenia will be equipped with primary healthcare services.
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I quickly finished my days work in the residents clinic (documentations, relaying results) and raced home to hurriedly double check the list of things that I would need for my week long medical mission in Roatan, Honduras.

The air was frigid, and my pace matched the wind. In the 2-hour car ride to the airport, my mind was alive and restless; making mental note after mental note about our endeavor but most of all there was an excitement that reverberated with expectations and imaginations of practicing a novel form of medicine, and of course, bettering lives. Ever since medical school, there is a sense of altruism that every doctor nurtures. To me, serving an underserved population in the most rural parts of a developing nation fulfilled that in the most complex and complete way. Although, in all honesty, apart from my genuine enthusiasm, three years of training in a model American health care system and a few hours of tropical medicine readings, I did not board the plane with an in-depth knowledge or experience on how to practice third world medicine. With intermixed feelings of doubt and anticipation, I placed my trust in my mentors who had successfully participated in 10 such medical missions. They lead, and I follow, they instruct, and I perform, I reassured myself.

We filled the next few days with avid preparation, in the backdrop of riveting views of crystal waters, and deep blue skies. The following day, the medical team along with the pharmacy volunteers, a physical therapist, an RN and other helping hands piled into a bus. We were to participate in brigades each day at separate rural locations. Something was different about our team from America; our brisk walk had slowed to a leisure as it did not seem to match the pace of island time. We had stepped out of our usual system of defined roles and lent a hand in any way we could, slipping into our temporary roles with versatility and self-proclaimed responsibility. We were not functioning seamlessly by any means, however, overtime, we were able to perform our routine much more efficiently.

A routine which involved scoping out our environment (usually a church or a classroom), quickly assessing and improvising to create a make-shift clinic equipped with a triage area and pharmacy. A typical day involved seeing 140 to 160 patients between us 5 doctors. Each encounter was strange, creative, challenging, beautiful and educating. We saw them in pairs and with their families and their neighbors; each narrating a story about their neglected health. Frustration quickly sets in amidst helplessness when you see a tender 18 year old with a complex social history suffering from debilitating panic attacks or a 70-year-old grandmother with all the tell-tale signs of poorly controlled diabetes, who must care for her 2 granddaughters. Sweat trickled down our faces, I thought it symbolic of our efficiency. Despite the humidity and a growing crowd, there was an ease with which we operated, as if reunited with old world medicine. As we, the doctors broke free from lengthy documentations and the loom of litigation, our patients also seemed to recognize something new: compassion.

In order to help the people of Roatan, we must first define the help that they need, then identify the culprits and impedances and in turn strategize potential solutions. Health illiteracy, lack of regular medical care, lack of resources and financial burdens contribute significantly to poor health care. I cringed whenever I heard comments like, You guys are amazing, what you are doing is saving lives.

Why did these comments make me feel so uncomfortable? Was it because I felt like I was lacking humility if I acknowledged them or was it because, I asked myself, Are we truly helping? Medical brigades have been the pattern of most missionaries venturing into resourceless countries, however recently there has been much inspection and analysis regarding the goals, effectiveness and even possible harm with conducting such missions. From my own experience, I have come to a realization that we have to be careful not to be careless. We must be cautious not to instill a detrimental culture, one which indirectly supports false notions. One cannot help but ponder whether such brigades reinforce ideas such as there is a pill for every disease or the American doctors have a cure for my ailment. More dangerously, are we inadvertently downplaying the seriousness of chronic medical illnesses (HTN, diabetes) to the people of Roatan by relaying that these conditions are manageable with once a year evaluations by foreign doctors with free pills and a complimentary toothbrush?

Public health seminars and health education classes are being initiated for the general public on prevalent topics such as diabetes, hypertension, family planning and personal hygiene by new local physicians. Our help would be most useful if we collaborated with local physicians in the birthing of such programs and extended our expertise to nurture them into successful operations. There are medical clinics scattered throughout the island, therefore access to medical care is available however is often limited by financial constraints and lack of transportation. With regard to the issue of access, brigades have their own advantages.

How can we get the best out of the brigades? After a brainstorming session, we devised some ways to counteract the issues: 1) We handed out limited supplies of medications which will force follow-up; 2) We partnered with a local clinic for referrals and follow-ups, educated patients about the same; and, 3) We dedicated a booth at the brigade to schedule an appointment (for those who required it) at the clinic, prior to the patient leaving. Secondary issues such as transportation was arranged with local churches. With this, we hope to initiate a culture change. A chance at revamping health care in these parts of the world will be most successful in terms of sustainability and overall long-term health only if we incorporate and collaborate with local clinics to bring structure to what is already in place. In essence, we patch the holes of a broken health care system rather than construct an entire, new system.

As we debriefed under the setting sun, we were all united on one thing: Our reignited passion and longing for the undiluted practice of medicine. Although we packed our bags reluctantly, there was a new found determination in our hearts to re-instill the power to this dynamic community who welcomed us with an overwhelming amount of gratitude and sent us home with a revitalized spirit.

Apoorva Jayarangaiah is a hospitalist.

Image credit: GTS Productions / Shutterstock.com
People prefer to stay in Aleppo to coming to Armenia... (video)

Armenians in Aleppo pinned great hopes on Armenia but later it became clear that it is not easy to find a job in Armenia, writer and publicist Hakob Mikaelyan said on Friday. What surprised Syrian Armenians who moved to Armenia for permanent residence? There are a lot of empty buildings in Yerevan but they are not allocated to refugees. As a result, people have begun to lose hope thinking that their homeland cannot do anything for them. Sosi Mishoyan, coordinator of a Facebook page that raises the problems of Syrian Armenians, says she left Aleppo in 2014 after the events in Kessab, an Armenian-populated town in northwestern Syria. Yesterday I was talking to a friend from Aleppo who said local Armenians are in despair and are waiting for the chariot of death because they are not financially secured and cannot get out of Syria. They live in chaos, many are doomed to death, they need humanitarian aid, Sosi Mishoyan said. She added that many Syrian Armenians were disappointed after they arrived in Armenia. Those who stay in Aleppo are afraid to come to Armenia because they cannot find jobs. They prefer to stay in Aleppo to coming to Armenia and facing the bitter reality.
When people go hunting, they are used to seeing deer blinds. In fact they use them, but what you don't know is that they can save lives.

The Laredo Sector Border Patrol's Deer Blind Initiative was implemented to prevent deaths and increase rescues of illegal immigrants.

The initiative uses stickers on deer blinds containing a GPS location for individuals in distress, or to report illegal activity out on the ranches.

Border Patrol has worked with many local ranch owners, and has posted stickers on over 2,000 deer blinds.
A program providing a safe place for parents to transfer custody of their children might have a chance to keep their doors open.

Earlier this week, we told you the Safe Haven program would be closing its doors due to lack of funding.

At Tuesday's Commissioners Court meeting, an agenda item says due to an oversight of the department responsible for the applications for third party funding, the Safe Haven program was in error and excluded from the list of recipients.

"Safe Haven had apparently applied for 50-something thousand dollars, and because of this, they will be getting $27,000 funding," says Webb County Public Information Officer Larry Sanchez. "This was not done. This was an error. It's an oversight. It's a tough thing to do to work out a budget. It was caught, and it's going to be corrected in Commissioners Court on Tuesday, and Safe Haven will be getting $27,000."

The program had been first cut in 2014.As of now, Webb County and SCAN handle Safe Haven's day-to-day operations.
Best-selling Irish American author, Mary Lou Quinlan, is bringing her hit one-woman play The God Box: A Daughters Story to the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, on Saturday October 15th, with local hospice groups benefitting.

Based on her powerful New York Times bestselling memoir of the same name, the emotional place shares Mary Lous personal story of a family in love, in loss and in triumph.

This comic and heart wrenching play tells how after her mothers death Mary Lou discovered God Boxes, small containers stuffed with hundreds of tiny notes, sharing her mothers innermost thoughts. They revealed her concerns about her kids demanding careers, to private wishes for people shed never even met, to concerns about her own health and everything in between.

The poignant notes, scribbled in supermarket queues, restaurants, and at the kitchen table, were her mothers way of releasing lifes worries and hopes. The discovery of the boxes triggered Mary Lous own unraveling, a journey to confront the greatest human challenge  learning to let go.

Co-written with Martha Wollner, an award-winning actor/playwright and director of NYCs LAByrinth Theatre, the play has been presented in theatres across the US, including Off-Broadway. In 2014 it enjoyed a 24-night run to rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Quinlan has donated all proceeds to hospice, cancer care and education. To date she has raised nearly $400,000.

Mary Lou Quinlan is a hugely successful entrepreneur, and widely known in the US for her marketing company, Just Ask a Woman. She has advised over 100 blue chip companies on marketing to women and was formerly CEO of a large NYC ad agency. She was recently named as one of Irish America Magazines Power 50 Women -

She has written four books and numerous national magazine articles in the US where she has addressed hundreds of conferences on womens issues.

The Kilkenny date is part of a nationwide tour with all proceeds to benefit local hospice groups through The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF), a national charity striving for best care at end of life for all which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Dr. Mona McGarry, Chair of the Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare Team, said the fundraising event is to be welcomed and she appealed to people to support the event.

We have five nurses who care for patients near end-of-life in their homes and we provide all the facilities that they need. Costs are mounting and we are totally dependent on the support and generosity of local people to continue doing what we do.

The Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare Team also has two special rooms in The District Hospital on the Athy Road, Carlow, providing all the facilities that a patient needs.

Mary Lou Quinlan said: I am honoured and delighted to be bringing my one-woman show to Kilkenny. The relationship between a mother and daughter is a unique one and yet, Ive discovered those bonds and memories are powerful the world over, wherever you live. I am particularly delighted that this play will benefit local hospice groups who do amazing work helping seriously ill people near end of life.

Sharon Foley, CEO of the Irish Hospice Foundation, said: I hope the people of Kilkenny can join with the Irish Hospice Foundation in supporting this wonderful show. There are so many needs in hospice services and attending this show can help develop services in their area.

Bookings for The God Box: A Daughters Story at Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, 8 p.m, Saturday October 15th are now open.

Dont be disappointed. Book your tickets NOW! www.watergatetheatre.com

056 7761674

If you happen to miss this date, the God Box will be playing at other theatres near you. For full venue details go to www.thegodboxproject.com
There are a number of key fundamental issues afoot in the markets today. Among them are the confusing new jobs data; the persistent softness in gold; the seeming hitting of a ceiling by oil prices, and the free fall of the British pound due to what is now being called hard Brexit.

The September U.S. jobs report came in below expectations, but given how second-look adjustments have been trending, the ultimate figure will eventually come in barely under expert predictions. The ever-continuing uptick in job creation, however, has enticed more people into the marketplace. Thus, the unemployment rate moved up a tenth of a percent.

Our biggest concern is not the gross numbers of jobs created but the types of jobs illustrated in the report, which was top heavy with lower-paying service jobs and showed a continuing decline in manufacturing jobs. Construction jobs, generally well-paying, however, were up robustly.

The U.S. dollar was down about 0.30% against the euro but up by 1.40% against the British pound sterling. Thus, dollar-denominated gold prices were up because of a weaker dollar whereas pound-denominated gold prices went even higher. In the U.S., regular traders, trying to skate across that bumpy ice, brought down golds pricing by almost $4.00 at one point, but late in the day the yellow metal is essentially unchanged. Silver is up about 1.00% on the day.

It should be noted that gold is down about 5.00% this week. Look on the bright side, however. Its good to have money on the sideline so we are ready to make our next trade.

Oil finally hit its upper limit for the moment. We have been skeptical of oils prospects. OPEC and its non-OPEC allies are certainly in a predicament. Prices have been at rock-bottom levels but raising the price now through a production freeze or cut will only tempt out thousands of marginal producers around the world, but especially in the U.S., Canada and to a lesser extent, Mexico. The alarms go off when oil goes over $50 per barrel. If it were to hit $55.00, increased North American production will smack down the prices almost overnight.

Summing up, prices raised through market manipulation could ultimately hurt OPEC member nations by giving incentive to other producers.

"Many U.S. shale oil producers have now hedged their production, which is likely to put the brakes on the price rise," analysts at Commerzbank said in a note. "In other words, OPEC is shooting itself in the foot in the medium to long term."

One early sign of oversupply has emerged already. Top exporter Saudi Arabia cut its benchmark crude prices to Asia this week, and analysts at JBC Energy warned there was "a growing disconnect between the physical and the financial (oil) market," which would likely converge.

Additionally, yesterday Libya exported the first oil tanker from the port of Zuetina since 2015, adding to global supplies.

Neither the employment data nor oil prices helped equities today. Energy stocks were up on a delayed reaction to price rises earlier on the week but they could not offset some serious problems emerging in the old tech sector.

Honeywell, a deeply entrenched and profitable player in the aerospace industry fell 6.00% today. Other old-school space and technology companies fell in sympathy. All are worried about the future of U.S. government budgets. This rough sledding helped hold equities prices down. However, the three major indexes are struggling at the close of day to get back to even.

Where do we begin with the hard Brexit? Apparently the British government wants to pass through the narrow defile as quickly and harshly as possible.

No one else in the world likes that idea. France, Germany and Italy are close to telling the UK to shove off and find someone else to trade with.

While the Obama administration has stayed relatively quiet over the matter because of larger diplomatic and military relationships, trade and banking between the two countries will become problematic as well. A weaker pound could mean better export opportunities for British-made products.

However, British banks and many others in Europe with excessive exposure to the pound will see their bottom lines hurt, which in turn will hurt share prices. Buckle up, Britain.

For those who would like a deeper analysis, I invite you to watch the Weekend Review our video newsletter. Simply use the link at the bottom of this report to view the report or to sign up for a free trial.

Wishing you as always, good trading,

Gary Wagner

Thegoldforecast.com
SYDNEY, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Australia will launch its planned 30.5-year benchmark bond debut next week, the funding arm of the government said on Friday. ANZ Bank, Citi, Commonwealth of Australia, Deutsche Bank, UBS and Westpac will jointly managed the sale via syndication, Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) said in a statement.

The bond will mature on 21 March 2047.

The statement did not give an issue size, but an investor looking at the offer said expectations are for at least A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) to A$3 billion.

Reuters first reported the expected bond issue in August. Australia, one of only a dozen countries rated triple-A by S&P and Moody's, has A$443 billion of bonds on issue. Around 60 percent of that debt is in the hands of international holders. ($1 = 1.3217 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Cecile Lefort; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday voiced hope that European policymakers act promptly to solve their region's banking sector problems.

"It's true Japan spent a long time to solve its banking sector problems" and the delay had hurt the economy, Kuroda told reporters, when asked about Europe's financial system woes including concerns over the financial state of Deutsche Bank.

"But each country's financial system and individual banks have their own unique features," which meant there was no one-size-fits all solution, he said upon arrival for the Group of 20 finance leaders' gathering.

"I expect European authorities to take action to solve their banking-sector problems promptly," he added.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
HANOI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official market and indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi at 0048 GMT.

Oct 7 Oct 6 USD/VND mid-point 21,980 21,971

USD/VND interbank 22,304/22,305 22,304/22,305 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 35.25/35.52 35.20/35.47

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 quotes are indicative bid/ask prices.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co, the gold manufacturer.

Interbank offered rates are indicative, quoted from market sources.

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom)
* No G20 talks on FX, Deutsche Bank - MOF official

* G20 agreed global economy recovering moderately

* G20 debated costs of ultra-easy monetary policy

* Many G20 nations complained of weak trade

(Adds quotes, detail)

By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Finance ministers from the world's top economies debated global economic risks and the potential impact that ultra-loose monetary policies have on banks' profits, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said on Thursday.

The G20 gathering in Washington did not discuss currency moves, the impact of Britain's decision to leave the European Union or the financial state of Deutsche Bank, said Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs.

"The impact of Brexit (on the global economy) must be watched from a medium- to long-term perspective," he told reporters, when asked about the sterling's recent plunge.

Weak global trade and the need for bolder steps to boost investment featured high at Thursday's G20 working dinner, with some finance leaders voicing concern that growing protectionist sentiment may be hurting trade, Asakawa said.

"The general understanding was that the global economy continues to grow moderately but there are various risks, including political ones," he said.

Asakawa attended the G20 dinner on behalf of Finance Minister Taro Aso, who was needed in parliament at home to discuss the budget. No communique was issued after the meeting.

Worries about the health of Europe's banking sector, persistently low global growth and market volatility caused by Brexit overshadowed the G20 gathering, held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings.

The sterling hit three-decade lows in thin Asian trade on Friday on anxiety about a messy exit by Britain from the European Union.

Deutsche Bank's financial troubles added to the gloom. The IMF urged Germany's biggest lender to reform its business model and identified it as a bigger potential risk to the financial system than any other global bank. The IMF has also urged countries to fix their over-reliance on ultra-loose monetary policy by making more use of fiscal and structural policies to boost their economies.

The G20 finance leaders discussed the pros and cons of the ultra-loose monetary policies undertaken by advanced economies, with some pointing to the damage very low borrowing costs could inflict on bank profits, Asakawa said.

But there was some debate on whether ultra-easy monetary policy alone were to be blamed for low bank profits, he added.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kim Coghill)
AMSTERDAM, Oct 7 (Reuters) - ABN Amro and its largest shareholder, the Dutch state, are not looking for a buyer and were deeply surprised by an approach by Sweden's Nordea about a merger, an ABN Amro official said on Friday.

Nordea held exploratory talks about a merger as recently as September with Netherlands Financial Investments (NLFI), the Dutch government agency that holds a majority of ABN Amro shares, but the approach was rebuffed, the official said.

"ABN is not in play. We were baffled by the approach by Nordea and referred it to our largest shareholder, the (NLFI), who rejected it. End of story," said the ABN Amro official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Dutch state floated a 23 percent stake in ABN in November 2015, privatising the bank seven years after it was nationalised following a 24-billion-euro bailout.

"The political focus is taking the bank back to the stock market, not doing a deal. It might have been different if they had come along with a lot of cash, but that wasn't the case. They would just end up with a lot of shares in an even larger bank," the official said.

Another official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Talks were held and NLFI recommended to the government that the offer be turned down. There are currently no talks ongoing."

ABN Amro shares rose as much as 2 percent to a near six-month high in morning trade on Friday.

The Dutch government and NLFI, which holds the shares on behalf of the Finance Ministry, declined to comment.

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Adrian Croft)
KIEV, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday some progress had been made towards resolving a dispute over gas prices with Russia, state news agency Belta reported.

The long-term allies are at odds over how much Minsk should be paying Russia's Gazprom for gas supplies following a slump in global energy prices.

"There is some progress," Lukashenko was quoted as telling deputies. "There are some new proposals."

"I think the Russian President (Vladimir Putin) has involved himself in the issue. We shouldn't fight over this. We are reasonable people, ready - where needed - to retreat, ready to compromise. But it has to be done fairly," he said.

As a result of the dispute, Russia in July cut oil supplies to Belarus's refineries by 40 percent compared with the previous quarter. The refineries rely on Russian oil to make the products that account for around a fifth of Belarussian exports. In September, Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said the Belarussian economy had contracted by a further 0.3 percentage points between January and August due to the oil supply restrictions. (Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Adrian Croft)
LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - French finance minister Michel Sapin said it would be unacceptable for London to remain the main euro clearing centre once it leaves the European Union, in an interview broadcast on Friday.

"No-one in the euro zone will accept that the main clearing place will be outside the European Union," Sapin told Sky News, according to a translation.

"So there will be activities that will be taking place in London that will only be able to take place on the territory of the European Union. And from that point of view, Paris is extremely well placed..."

Sapin's comments are part of a campaign from the French government to attract business from London, Europe's biggest financial centre. In June, Sapin said France would roll out the "red carpet" for banks currently based in London. (Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Kate Holton)
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

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

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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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Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

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OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

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BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - German industrial production rose more than expected in August, posting its biggest increase since January to rebound from the steepest fall in 23 months last month and signal that the industry sector will contribute to growth in the third quarter.

Industrial output rose by 2.5 percent on the month, data from the Economy Ministry showed on Friday, ahead of the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for an increase of 0.8 percent.

It was the highest monthly increase since January, when output rose by 2.8 percent. Production had fallen by 1.5 percent in July.

"All in all the results indicate a presumably restrained increase of production in the industry sector in the third quarter," the Economy Ministry said in a statement.

Construction was the only sector to post a drop, falling by 1.2 percent. A 3.3 percent in manufacturing output more than compensated for the fall in construction, the data showed.

(Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Caroline Copley)
(Kitco News) - Unable to hold on to its gains following a weaker than expected nonfarm payrolls report, gold futures have now fallen through key long-term support levels.

Most analyst were keeping an eye on the $1,250 level as it was a key support level for the 2016 rally; however gold is solidly below that level, last trading at $1,249.80 an ounce, down 0.25% on the day. Analysts say that there is the potential for gold to fall another key level that could ultimately signal the end to its uptrend. The latest selling pressure has pushed the yellow metal down almost 6% since the start of the week.

Gold is still finding a technical bottom and it is really hard to pin point where prices will settle, said Bill Baruch, senior market analyst at iiTrader.



He noted that the employment report didnt provide gold much support because it good enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December. In an interview on CNBC, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester described the employment report as solid despite it coming in weaker than expected.

Jessica Fung, senior analyst at BMO Capital markets also agreed that gold has room to fall further in the short-term and in the next few months as markets start to price in a rate hike, which will provide more support for the U.S. dollar.

Fung added that most of the selling is technical as the drop is causing stop-loss trades to be triggered so there is no telling how far prices will fall in the near-term.

Although gold continues to give up its gains since the start of the year some analysts still have hope that the market can bounce back.

In an interview earlier in the week, Ole Hansen said that gold remains in its uptrend as long as the $1,200 level can hold.

Adam Button, senior analyst at Forexlive.com said that traders need to wait until Monday. He noted that gold has fallen during a week that Chinese markets have been closed.

Today there is obviously no appetite for gold but investors might have a second chance and we will have to wait to see if there is strong demand Monday when Chinese markets reopen, he said.

Button also agreed that although gold has lost significant ground this week, he wouldnt be looking to short the market until the June lows around $1.220 are broken.

By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com

Follow @Neils_C
Nigeria's Nov crude oil exports set to hit 10-month high

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria's planned November oil loading programme shows the highest exports since January, plans compiled by Reuters showed on Friday, as major oil streams resume. Plans show 62 cargoes, with 1.88 million barrels per day (bpd) expected to load during the month, the highest level since militants bombed the pipeline that exports Forcados crude oil in February. Before the pipeline was hit, February and March exports were planned close to 2 million bpd, but nearly all the cargoes of Forcados were cancelled as the pipeline closed and operator Shell declared force majeure. From February until recently, export plans for a string of crude oil grades had been patchy and unreliable due to almost relentless militant attacks that took out pipelines and thus production in what is typically Africa's largest oil exporter. While Qua Iboe, Nigeria's largest export stream, and Forcados remain under force majeure, exports are again planned for both of them. The first cargo of Qua Iboe since July loaded earlier this week aboard the South Sea. Grade November Barrels per October Barrels cargoes day cargoes per day Abo 1 23,000 1 23,000 Agbami 8 26,000 8 245,000 Amenam 1 32,000 2 61,000 Antan 1 23,000 1 31,000 Bonga 6 190,000 7 215,000 Bonny Light 6 175,000 6 189,000 Brass 5 158,000 6 123,000 River** EA 2 48,000 1 31,000 Ebok 0 0 0 0 Erha 5 167,000 4 129,000 Escravos 5 158,000 5 153,000 Forcados** 6 171,000 8 216,000 Okono 1 13,000 1 29,000 Okwori 1 22,000 1 19,000 Oyo 0 0 0 0 Pennington 0 0 0 0 Qua Iboe** 9 285,000 8 245,000 Usan 4 133,000 4 123,000 Yoho 1 32,000 1 31,000 Total 62 1.89 64 1.86 million million **Grade under force majeure

(Reporting by Libby George; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. kitco news
HANOI, Oct 7 (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 0404 GMT.

Oct 7 Oct 6 USD/VND mid-point 21,980 21,971 USD/VND interbank 22,302/22,303 22,304/22,305 USD/VND unofficial 22,320/22,340 22,310/22,320 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 35.18/35.45 35.20/35.47

Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.4-0.9 0.5-1.0

1 week 0.4-1.3 0.5-1.3

1 month 1.5-2.4 1.6-2.4

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)
(Kitco News) - Gold traders can finally close the book on what has been a terrible week, with prices dropping more than 5%, the biggest weekly percentage decline since the yellow metal entered into a bear market in May of 2013.



December gold futures settled Fridays session at $1,251.90, its lowest point in four months. However one analyst is warning investors to not be too pessimistic on the market as he sees the latest performance as nothing more than a short-term bear raid on paper gold.

Jeffrey Nichols, senior economic advisor at Rosland Capital and managing director at American Precious Metals Advisors, said in a recent report that initial U.S. dollar strength triggered technical selling -- much of it computer driven -- in the futures market, but looking past the initial move, there is still underlying strength in the marketplace.

Despite the large-scale speculative selling Nichols said that physical demand from retail investors and, most importantly, hedge funds and other large-scale institutional investors has remained firm, he said.

A major area of strength for the yellow metal can be seen in exchange-traded funds. Nichols said that total ETF reserves remain at 2,000 tonnes, their highest level in nearly three years.

SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA: GLD), the worlds largest ETF, has seen negligible outflows this week, despite the sharp selloff. According to data compiled by GLD, its gold reserves as of Thursday stood at 947.63 tonnes, down only 0.32 tonnes since the start of the week.

I expect this market segment will continue to grow  especially as some fund managers seek bargains at recently depressed price levels, he said.

Nichols also remains optimistic on the gold market next week as he expects Chinese investors, who have been on holiday, start buying physical metal en masse.

When Chinese investors return, at whatever price level, theyll sense a bargain. And, their buying alone should be enough to stabilize the price and re-launch gold on its long-term upward trajectory, he said.

By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com

Follow @Neils_C
(Adds details)

CAPE TOWN, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, expects to close a $2.7 billion debt refinancing for the Nacala Corridor railway project in Mozambique early next year, a senior IFC official said on Friday.

The refinancing could help to ease balance sheet pressure on Brazilian miner Vale which is developing the railway and a coal mine in the region.

"The plan is to close by the end of the first quarter 2017," Marcel Bruhwiler, the IFC's principal investment officer for infrastructure and natural resources, told Reuters on the sidelines of a gas conference in Cape Town.

Vale last month agreed new terms for the sale of stakes in the mine and railway project to fellow shareholder Mitsui & Co , a deal which hinges on the approval of a project finance plan. The newly built 912 km line, which links Vale's Moatize coal mine in Tete in the north of Mozambique to the Nacala port on the east coast and crosses over into Malawi, will also be used to move general freight and passengers as the southern African nation recovers after decades of civil war.

Vital to enhancing access to global markets, the project has an initial capacity of transporting up to 22 million tonnes a year of which 18 million will be allotted to Vale's Moatize mine, the IFC has said.

Bruhwiler said the IFC, the private lending arm of the World Bank, was looking to commit up to $200 million on its own account for the deal, in which it was the co-lead arranger together with the African Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

However, budgetary scandals as well as security concerns, which have included frequent stoppages along the different Sena-to-Beira port coal line due to gunfire, could lead to delays, he said.

"Right now there are still many risks which could derail such a big undertaking, not the least it's the macro-economic and security situations," Bruhwiler said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August demanded an external forensic audit of Mozambique's public debt to regain investor confidence after a scandal involving more than $2 billion in secret loans led to the international lender suspending budgetary assistance to one of the world's poorest countries. "Investors want to have clarity whether the IMF will re-engage at some point in time," Bruhwiler said, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic" the $2.7 billion syndicated loan will be successful given the strength of the sponsors and huge coal reserves in Tete province.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Adrian Croft/Keith Weir)
HANOI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Vietnam's government will list all its shares of top state-owned brewers, Sabeco and Habeco, on local stock exchanges before considering allowing any international industrial buyer to take a controlling stake, a senior industry and trade ministry official said.

The government, which owns an estimated $2.2 billion worth of shares in the firms, wants to sell at the highest price, but wants to use a transparent mechanism to value the companies, Phan Dang Tuat, head of the ministry's enterprise renovation and development committee, told Reuters.

Kirin Holdings , Asahi Group Holdings , Thai Beverage Pcl , Heineken and Anheuser Busch Inbev SA are among around 20 investors expressing interest in the assets, Tuat said.

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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By Christian Vosler, christian.vosler@kitsapsun.com

Reports of menacing figures dressed as clowns surfaced this week on social media, fueling rumors that the nationwide phenomenon has arrived in Kitsap County.

Multiple unsubstantiated claims of figures dressed in creepy clown garb and carrying weapons emerged Monday on Facebook. The posts claimed clown sightings in Port Orchard, Bremerton, Illahee and Seabeck, prompting an email from Central Kitsap School District and getting the attention of local law enforcement.

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office has received one official report of a suspicious clown, spokesman Scott Wilson said. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to a report of a person dressed as a clown, carrying a knife and standing under a streetlight on Illahee Road NE near Brownsville Elementary School. Deputies didn't find anyone matching the description when they arrived on the scene.

However, on Facebook, the report drew concern from parents of children who attend Brownsville Elementary. In an email to parents Wednesday, the school district said no specific threats had been made to any of their schools.

"As we do any time there's community concern, we're talking with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office," the email said.

Wilson said that no threats have been made from anyone dressed as a clown. However, he has fielded calls and questions about the seriousness of the problem and what people should do if they see a clown. The Sheriff's Office investigates all serious threats no matter what the person is wearing, Wilson said.

"As far as hysteria being generated, if the clown is acting in a suspicious manner, please call 911 so we can check it out," Wilson said.

Port Orchard Police Cmdr. Dale Schuster said his office received a call at 8 a.m. Wednesday about someone dressed as a clown at the Orchard Pointe apartments on Lippert Drive, but police weren't able to locate the individual. Schuster said that until criminal activity is reported, their office won't be filing reports.

"If no one is committing a crime, there's no law against wearing a clown outfit," Schuster said.

Reports of clown sightings began in mid-August in Greenville County, South Carolina, after a boy told his mother that a clown had tried to lure him into the woods with a large sum of money. Since then, clown sightings have been reported in multiple states. The combination of clowns and threats have shut down some schools and even prompted a few large-scale clown hunts at some universities.

The clown "epidemic" reached Washington state this week. Rogers High School in Puyallup was put in lockdown Tuesday after several students reported seeing clowns in the woods and receiving threatening text messages, the Tacoma News Tribune reported. In Auburn, a student was expelled for creating a "Killer Clown" Facebook page.

Theories on the motives of the masked jesters range from simple teenage pranks to an elaborate PR stunt. However, many are not finding it funny.

Amanda Corcoran, of Bremerton, claimed she saw a figure in sweatpants and a hoodie with a clown mask on Oyster Bay Road across from Bremerton Public Works Maintenance building at around 2 p.m. Tuesday. According to Corcoran, the figure didn't have any weapons but was "doing that creepy lingering thing," walking slowly and looking at her. Corcoran said she immediately went home and locked her doors. Corcoran, who has four children, said she would protect her family if she felt threatened. Many on social media echoed her statements.

"With everything going on in the world, especially with the ones that are carrying weapons, I think they could definitely get hurt," Corcoran said.

Maria Contreras, of Bremerton, voiced concern about the incident, which she heard about on Facebook. Contreras said her 11-year-old daughter, who often uses social media, asked to be driven to the bus stop instead of walking after she heard about the clowns.

"That's the thing, it scares me for my kids because they are scared," Contreras said. "But at the same time no one has caught any of these people, all we've heard is about people seeing them."

Social media might be one culprit assisting the spread of clown copycats. Photos, videos and secondhand accounts lack context and force police to take creepy clown sightings seriously, according to an Associated Press report. While the level of clown hysteria in Kitsap County has not seriously dented resources, Wilson said that it "absolutely" takes up time better used elsewhere.

"Unless they are doing something nefarious or criminal in nature, don't get yourself worked up about it," Wilson said.
By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

SEATTLE  A Bremerton teen missing since early September has been found in Seattle, according to Bremerton police.

JohnnaLynn LaFrombois, 16, last contacted her family Sept. 12. Her parents phoned police for help when she did not come home.

Bremerton Police Detective Crystal Gray confirmed Thursday that the teen was located in the Seattle area and was safe.
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By Christina Henry of the Kitsap Sun

SOUTH KITSAP  The South Kitsap School Board has approved a levy measure for the Feb. 14 special election, seeking to replace the district's expiring maintenance and operations levy.

Also Wednesday, the board approved moving all ninth-graders up to the high school and all sixth-graders to middle schools next year, rather than phasing in the change over two years, as previously planned. The new configuration will add badly needed space in the elementary schools and give all ninth-graders in the district equal access to high school classes and activities, board President Greg Wall said.

The Feb. 14 levy, if approved, would result in an estimated property tax rate of $3.73 per $1,000 of assessed value over four years. The current levy rate is $3.59 per $1,000 of assessed value. The pass rate for the levy is a simple majority.

The current levy expires at the end of 2017, so district officials refer to the Feb. 14 measure as a replacement levy.

Although the Legislature is working on a major overhaul of school funding that would affect local levies, the district has no specifics of how the plan would work, so the board had to assume the status quo, Wall said.

In South Kitsap, local levy funding makes up nearly 20 percent of the budget. The total budget for the 2016-17 school year is $117 million. The levy collection amount is $22.65 million.

Under the new levy, collection amounts would increase each year, but school officials expect the tax rate  the estimated $3.73 per $1,000  will remain consistent, based on projections for population growth and property values. The collection amounts are: $24.3 million in 2018, $24.65 million in 2019, $25 million in 2020 and $25.5 million in 2021.

The board has not decided on running a bond measure in 2017. Two attempts in 2016 to pass a bond for a new high school narrowly failed to meet the required 60 percent supermajority. The district in November will hold community forums on a possible bond.

The board's decision on grade configuration signals a change from the plan laid out by former Superintendent Michelle Reid, now with Northshore School District.

One third of South Kitsap's ninth-graders  those who would have gone to Cedar Heights  began this school year at South Kitsap High School. Sixth-graders from three elementary schools moved to Cedar Heights. Under Reid's plan, another third of the ninth- and sixth-graders would have moved up in 2017-18, the remaining third the following year.

This was supposed to be a test year, and ninth-graders at the high school are managing the change well, Wall said. "We felt like it was important to have some unity in the curriculum. We felt like they were ready for it."

The board wants all ninth-graders to have access to the wide variety of classes available at the high school, Wall said. Also, driving the decision is a "baby boom" of kindergartners. The district is seeing increased enrollment, above its projections, especially in grades K-4. Moving sixth-graders up with seventh- and eighth-graders  and converting junior highs to middle schools  is best for sixth-graders and will free up space at crowded elementary schools, the board agreed.

As for concerns about crowding at the high school with the addition of ninth-graders, Wall said the school's capacity is adequate to handle the influx of new students. He estimates bringing all ninth-graders up will put the total enrollment at more than 2,600. The school's capacity is 2,800, according to Wall.

"We can handle it," he said. "It's a little more crowded, but we've got to do something with these kids."

In addition, many students attend classes off campus, through programs like Running Start and West Sound Technical Skills Center, so the enrollment count doesn't reflect the number of students on the high school campus, he said.

Community forums

To hear from community members as it considers capital projects, the South Kitsap School Board will hold several forums. All are 6-7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7: Cedar Heights Middle School, 2220 Pottery Ave.

Nov. 9: Marcus Whitman Junior High School, 1887 Madrona Dr. SE.

Nov. 15: John Sedgwick Junior High, 8995 Sedgwick Road.
Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds opens Friday. The annual event is all indoors and ready to spook visitors all through October.

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By Katrina Dahlke, katrina.dahlke@kitsapsun.com

Weather: Temperatures will remain in the mid 60s all weekend with showers Saturday and Sunday.

Eat, eat and eat at the Dungeness crab and Seafood Festival: This 15th annual event comes to Port Angeles this weekend. It will feature 14 restaurants including The Cedars, Port Angeles Crab House, Toga's Soup House and more with everything from clam chowder and crab rolls to enchiladas and po boys. Cooking demonstrations will be going on all weekend as well as the famous Chowder Cook-Off. The festival also includes wine and beer, craft vendors, a 5K run and live music. Events run from noon to 10 p.m. Friday; 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free; CrabFest dinner tickets are on sale online.

It gets scary at the Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds: This October the annual Haunted Fairgrounds features the hospital, asylum and research facility-themed scares. Tour the latest facilities to come to Kitsap for a terrifying trip through wards filled with the criminally insane, creepy procedures and malfunctioning equipment. Friday is opening night. See the decor with the lights on from 5 to 6 p.m. or enjoy full scare from 6 to 11 p.m. The event is open Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 29 with a special opening on Monday, Oct. 31. Admission ranges from $12 to $20. The entire production is volunteer effort and proceeds funnel back into the community.

Enjoy Washington's Munich-style Oktoberfest Northwest: Head to the Washington State Fairgrounds this weekend for this Oktoberfest celebration. The event includes the classic beer, brats and potato pancakes, but also strudel, cabbage rolls, pickle soup and corn dogs for the picky eaters from multiple restaurant. The Stein Dash 5K takes place Sunday. While running, take pits stops at three of the Beer Zones, fill your stein and sip, chug or taste test before moving along to race to the next one. The festival also features music, dancers and costume contests. This is a family-friendly festival that features a Kids Zone, so bring the children along. Tickets are $12 Friday and Saturday, and half price on Sunday; times are noon to midnight Friday; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

At the Movies | 'Birth of a Nation' and 'Girl on a Train': Starring Nate Parker and Armie Hammer "Birth of a Nation" opens this weekend following the story of Nat Turner, slave and preacher, as he works to lead his followers in an uprising in the antebellum South. And in an adaptation of a novel by the same name, "The Girl on the Train" opens this weekend starring Emily Blunt. She is joined Justin Theroux, Lisa Kudrow, Luke Evans and more in this story of woman who becomes entangled with a mystery surrounding a couple she sees each day from her commute.

And more: Ladies Night Out in Port Orchard is this Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. It is a free event with raffle baskets, goody bags and special deals downtown. The Just Between Friends Children's Consignment Sale is at the President's Hall at the Fairgrounds in Bremerton Friday through Sunday. Find clothes and children's items to fill the closet and meet all your family needs. Admission is $3 Friday and Saturday; it is free on Sunday. The Crafts in the Country Autumn Fair takes places Saturday and Sunday in Poulsbo. Admission is free, and the event is a great opportunity to support local vendors, artisans and artists. And if you want to get away, Saturday the Great Pumpkin Beer Fest will be taking place in Seattle.
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Donald Eugene McGuirk

of Port Orchard

July 19, 1924

to Oct. 4, 2016

Veteran

Donald E. McGuirk, Port Orchard, Washington, passed away at the age of 92 on Oct. 4, 2016. Don was a devoted husband and father, a proud grandfather of five and a great-grandfather of three. He was a hero to his family. Family, faith, patriotism, and a love of the outdoors made life worth living for Don.

Born in Portland, Oregon on July 19, 1924, Don spent the majority of his life in the Puget Sound area. During World War II, Don served as a waist gunner on the B24 Liberator in the Philippines, earning The Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart. He returned to study industrial engineering at Seattle University.

In 1948, he married the love of his life, Thelma, with whom he stayed happily married for over 67 years. Don and Thelma were blessed with three sons, Tom (deceased), Marty (Bremerton), and John (Everett). Don worked for the Boeing Company and raised a happy family in Des Moines, Washington, until retirement and then relocated to the Port Orchard area. Don traveled to many countries and most regions of the U.S.A. In 2014, Don was selected by the Puget Sound Honor Flight Program to travel to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II Memorial. In his later years, Don was a resident of the Washington Veterans Home at Retsil, where he and Thelma (now deceased) both lived. He will be missed always!

Arrangements are entrusted to Rill Chapel.
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William F. (Bill) Johnson

Woodinville, WA

April 19, 1929 to Oct. 3, 2016

Bill Johnson, of Woodinville, passed away on October 3rd surrounded by his family. Born in Heppner, Oregon and growing up in Seattle, Bill attended West Seattle High School and joined the Navy in 1946. Serving honorably aboard the USS Erben, USS White River, USS Conquest, and USS Patapsco, Bill received numerous awards and commendations, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer after 24 years of distinguished service which included the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

After his naval career, the family moved to Lakeland Village in Allyn and Bill worked for the next 43 years as an engineer, employed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). His work took him around the world, including Europe, South America, Africa, China, and the Far East, where he and Jeanne lived in Japan for extended periods.

Bill is survived by Jeanne, his incredibly devoted wife of 63 years; son, Bob Johnson (Ellen) of Bremerton; daughter, Kathie May (Rob) of Woodinville; brother, Dick Johnson (Judi) of Mason Lake; and grandchildren, Kerry (Shanda) and Collin May, and Laura Johnson.

Bill was very much loved and admired by his family and friends, and will forever be remembered by those who knew him.

William F. (Bill) JohnsonWoodinville, WAApril 19, 1929to Oct. 3, 2016VeteranBill Johnson, of Woodinville, passed away on October 3rd surrounded by his family.Born in Heppner, Oregon and growing up in Seattle, Bill attended West Seattle High School and joined the Navy in 1946. Serving honorably aboard the USS Erben, USS White River, USS Conquest, and USS Patapsco, Bill received numerous awards and commendations, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer after 24 years of distinguished service which included the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.After his naval career, the family moved to Lakeland Village in Allyn and Bill worked for the next 43 years as an engineer, employed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). His work took him around the world, including Europe, South America, Africa, China, and the Far East, where he and Jeanne lived in Japan for extended periods.Bill is survived by Jeanne, his incredibly devoted wife of 63 years; son, Bob Johnson (Ellen) of Bremerton; daughter, Kathie May (Rob) of Woodinville; brother, Dick Johnson (Judi) of Mason Lake; and grandchildren, Kerry (Shanda) and Collin May, and Laura Johnson.Bill was very much loved and admired by his family and friends, and will forever be remembered by those who knew him.
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By Denise Frey, YWCA of Kitsap County

Guilty on all counts.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and recent news here in Kitsap County brings that awareness home.

On Sept. 27, the jury in the trial of Geraldo DeJesus, for the murders of his ex-girlfriend Heather Kelso and two-year-old Kaden Lum and the attempted murder of two others, found the defendant guilty on all counts.

Heather had come to YWCA Kitsap County just weeks before her murder. She had ended her relationship with DeJesus because of his abusive behavior and was afraid for her safety and the safety of their daughter as well as the safety of his other children. Heather was uncannily aware of the danger she was in, telling the judge during a protective order hearing: "I don't feel safe with him having guns. He is going to be very angry at me for getting this order." That was on March 5, 2015 and on March 29 she was gunned down in her home, along with Kaden.

Nearly half of the women who are killed each year in the United States are murdered by current or former intimate partners. Guns are used in fatal intimate partner violence more than any other weapon. Of all the women killed by intimate partners, more than half are killed with guns.

For this reason, domestic violence advocates worked with Washington state legislators to pass a law requiring the relinquishment of firearms upon the granting of a domestic violence protection order. That law went into effect June 12, 2014, nine months before Heather Kelso and Kaden Lum were murdered.

For some reason, DeJesus was not ordered to relinquish his firearm when the domestic violence protection order was issued, despite the fact that Heather was afraid of that gun and in eerily predictive testimony shared her fear with the judge during the hearing.

YWCA Kitsap County, along with YWCA USA, is committed to addressing violence against women and girls through a renewed focus on domestic violence-related homicide reduction. The failure of states to seize weapons puts domestic violence victims at increased risk of homicide. Implementing state laws that restrict access to firearms, increasing police staff dedicated to address partner violence, and allowing arrests without a warrant for perpetrators who violate protective orders have all been proven effective in decreasing domestic violence related homicides where firearms are present.

Could we, as a community, have saved Heather and Kaden? We must ask ourselves that question and do what we can to prevent this from occurring to other innocent victims. Real justice for Heather Kelso does not end with this verdict. Keeping guns out of the hands of domestic violence perpetrators is only part of the solution. Preventing domestic violence from happening in the first place is the key to ensuring the safety of our communities.

If you'd like to learn more about how to prevent domestic violence and reduce domestic violence homicides, please join YWCA Kitsap County and the Kitsap chapter of Washington Women Lawyers for "Domestic Violence: A Community Responsibility" on Oct. 21 at 7:30 a.m. at the Kitsap County Commissioners Chambers in Port Orchard.

Denise Frey is the executive director of the YWCA of Kitsap County.
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Back in the days of the Cold War between the Communist bloc of nations and the Western democracies, the Communists maintained pervasive restrictions around Eastern Europe that were aptly called an "iron curtain," isolating the people in its bloc from the ideas of the West and physically obstructing their escape.

One of the few things that could penetrate the "iron curtain" were ideas conveyed on radio waves. "The Voice of America" network broadcast to the peoples of the Soviet bloc, so that they were never completely isolated, and hearing only what the Communist dictatorships wanted them to hear.

Ironically, despite the victory of democracy over dictatorship that brought the Cold War to an end, within American society there has slowly but steadily developed in too many of our own colleges and universities a set of restrictions on what can be said on campus, either by students or professors, or by outside speakers with views that contradict the political correctness of our time.

There is no barbed wire around our campuses, nor armed guards keeping unwelcome ideas out. So there is no "iron curtain." But there is a curtain, and it has its effect.

One effect is that many of the rising generation can go from elementary school through postgraduate education at our leading colleges and universities without ever hearing a coherent presentation of a vision of the world that is fundamentally different from that of the political left.

There are world class scholars who are unlikely to become professors at either elite or nonelite academic institutions because they do not march in the lockstep of the left. Some have been shouted down or even physically assaulted when they tried to give a speech that challenged the prevailing political correctness.

Harvard is just one of the prestigious institutions where such things have happened  and where pre-emptive surrender to mob rule has been justified by a dean saying that it was too costly to provide security for many outside speakers who would set off campus turmoil.

Despite the fervor with which demographic "diversity" is proclaimed as a prime virtue  without a speck of evidence as to its supposed benefits  diversity of ideas gets no such respect.

Students taught economics by Keynesian economists are unlikely to hear about the 1921 recession, with double-digit unemployment, where the government did nothing, and unemployment fell by more than half, as the economy recovered on its own.

Nor are they likely to learn how grossly misleading are many of the income statistics cited to justify the agenda of the left. As economist Alan Reynolds put it, many people "form very strong opinions about very weak statistics."

Students are unlikely to go through college without being assigned to read "The Communist Manifesto"  often in more than one course  while a classic like "The Federalist" is seldom assigned reading, even though it is a very readable and profound explanation of the principles on which the Constitution of the United States is based, written by three of the men who actually wrote the Constitution.

On the racial front, landmark studies like "America in Black and White" by Stephen and Abigail Thernstrom are unlikely to see the light of day in courses or even on college bookstore shelves.

While there is no "iron curtain" around our campuses, there is a curtain, and its effects are dangerously close to the effects produced by the "iron curtain" around the Soviet bloc. What is lacking is anything like the Voice of America broadcasts to pierce the academic curtain.

In an electronic age, there are plenty of sources from which forbidden facts and suppressed views can be beamed into the many electronic devices used by college students.

There are many recorded speeches and interviews of outstanding thinkers, from the past and the present, with viewpoints different from the prevailing groupthink on campus, and these can be presented directly to students with electronic devices.

Someone from the real world beyond the ivy-covered enclaves would have to do it. And it is not yet clear who would do it or who would finance it. Perhaps some of those donors who have kept on writing checks to their alma maters, while the latter surrendered repeatedly to ideological intolerance, might consider such a project. Campus mobs could not shout down thousands of scattered iPads.

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com.
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Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, the soon-to-retire chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is a former deputy sheriff of Gilchrist County, Fla., who despises wrongdoing by VA department employees.

Indeed his committee, through his six years as chairman, is perceived by veteran groups as having fixated on exposing fraud, waste and abuse inside the Obama administration's Department of Veterans Affairs.

While veteran service organizations largely praise VA Secretary Bob McDonald's actions and those of his deputy and former West Point classmate, Sloan Gibson, since they took charge amid a patient wait-time scandal in 2014 and began to reform a vast VA bureaucracy, Miller isn't a fan.

We asked for his reaction to McDonald's recent blasts, at Congress for failing to pass "essential" legislation to sustain VA's transformation into a high performance organization and at Miller for an "against leadership" bent toward VA. Miller released a blunt statement charging McDonald with breaking promises, allowing scandals to continue and ignoring new authority to speed the firing of misbehaving employees. Miller also said much of what McDonald seeks is in 36 House-passed bills still awaiting Senate action.

"When Secretary [Bob] McDonald joined VA," Miller wrote, "he promised to transform the department and create a climate of accountability. More than two years later, I see little evidence of that happening, as underscored by the fact that VA is still an agency where whistleblower retaliation and [patient] wait-time manipulation are routinely tolerated."

As proof, a committee spokesman shared links to various local and national news reports over the last two years of incidents where VA was slow to fire wrongdoers and slow to defend whistleblowers. Many of the news reports were written for an online site created by a conservative pundit.

But Miller added that McDonald, despite only two years as secretary after a career in industry, has "a long history of abandoning and undermining the tools Congress has already given him to help reform the department."

The one "abandoned" tool he cited was the Choice Act's fast-track firing authority. Miller also claimed McDonald "threatened to shut down hospitals unless [VA] could raid $3 billion" of a $10 billion fund Congress set up to make more private sector care available to veterans, and that McDonald had "botched" the 2014 Choice Act's implementation.

We bounced the sharp critique off executives for two large veteran service organizations. Both said most of Miller's points were wrong or unfair.

On his charge that VA routinely tolerates whistleblower retaliation and wait-time manipulation, "No, we don't agree," said Garry Augustine, executive director for Disabled American Veterans in Washington D.C. "We think the VA is doing good work in trying to reform things."

Louis Celli, The American Legion's director of veterans' affairs and rehabilitation, said Legion staff visit 30 to 35 VA facilities yearly, speaking to patients, staff and other stakeholders to learn how VA, the government's second largest bureaucracy, is operating and caring for veterans.

"Based on our data and analysis," posted on www.legion.org under its "System Worth Saving" page, "the isolated employee behavior problems reported in recent media are the exception, definitely not the rule," Celli said.

Both Augustine and Celli, contacted separately, also challenged Miller's contention that McDonald had abandoned an effective fast-track firing tool.

"No," said Celli. "VA did use the expedited authority. But their use of the new law blew up in their faces after the Justice Department ruled that the law was unconstitutional and would not hold up to legal scrutiny."

VA confirmed and shared the Justice Department legal finding.

"Miller's big on this accountability thing. We're all for accountability," said Augustine. But "you just can't fire people, whether in government or private sector. You've got to do due diligence. You've got to counsel and document [because] everybody has an option to appeal. And if managers haven't done enough to make sure the firing will be upheld, it's going to be overturned. That's what happened to a number of them."

Augustine and Celli also took exception to Miller's claim that McDonald and his VA team botched implementation of the Choice Act.

"Absolutely not," said Celli. "The Choice Act was a temporary program that required massive infrastructure support."

Lacking such infrastructure, and given only 90 days by Congress to launch a massive Choice program, VA had to hire third-party contractors to build private sector healthcare provider networks and to coordinate their use. It took a long time to "work out the bugs," Celli said, and "it's still not right."

McDonald and Gibson have conceded mistakes in implementing Choice. One was VA ceded too much control to the contractors and has had to reclaim its care coordination duties to better serve Choice-eligible vets.

"A program that turns VA into a pass-through payer isn't working," Celli said. "VA is a healthcare provider, [and] being a third party administrator was never in their list of responsibilities. The community care programs they do have mastery over, they do well."

When Choice began, said Augustine, vets would go into a VA facility, be told they qualified for Choice because the wait for VA care exceeded 30 days or they lived more than 40 miles away. Then they'd go home to wait for the third-party administrator to contact them.

"Sometimes that didn't happen. When they finally got to the doctor, the doctor's reimbursement was dependent on getting the [medical] record back to the third-party administrator so it could send to the VA, get reimbursed and reimburse the doctor. Doctors got tired of waiting so they started billing patients. It was a mess, and it still has problems."

VA has worked to strengthen Choice scheduling and sped payments. As to the rocky start, Augustine said, "there's enough blame to go around."

Chairman Miller, said a committee spokesman, stands by his criticism of McDonald and also his committee's continuous focus on VA failings.

"The constitutional duty of an oversight committee is to provide oversight. That's what [the committee] has and will continue to do," he said. Otherwise, "it's possible they could be swept under the rug, as VA has a history of doing. We're not going to ignore serious problems at the department because you or anyone else feels we're being too 'negative.'"
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and the Family Justice Center of Ouachita Parish and The Monroe Wellspring held the annual "Hope in the Light of Day" event this morning in downtown Monroe to raise awareness on the issue.

Ashley Hill, an employee of The Wellspring and victim of domestic violence, spoke of her past at the event in the hopes of helping others.

"Usually, I can't tell my story because I'm crying... but now I think I'm comfortable with it, and I could speak to others about it to prevent it from happening to them," Hill says.

Hill is a seven year survivor of domestic violence and says her experience started at a young age.

"I met him in high school. We dated from ninth grade on through. I was attached to him," says Hill.

Hill spoke out to high schools students at today's event, because she knows what its like to be young and naive.

"Junior high and high school is when you find your first love. My abuser was my first love," Hill says.

Hill, and city officials, are focused on keeping young people aware of the signs of domestic violence.

Head of the Domestic Violence Division of Louisiana's 4th Judicial Court, Jennifer Johnson, says the cases she sees regard people of all ages.

"With young people, they need to understand that domestic violence can occur at any time in their life," Johnson says. "If you feel isolated from your family or friends, there are professional centers like The Wellspring and the Family Justice Center, someone that you can go talk to that's a third party."

If you or someone you know needs help from the Family Justice Center or The Wellspring, visit our related links section.
Growing. Thriving. Prospering. Black entrepreneurs make Knoxville proud!

Knox News reporters and photographers have spent the last year reporting the stories of local Black-owned businesses.
By Choi Sung-jin



In 2010, a small business owner surnamed Chang, 61, borrowed 530 million won ($475,700) from a bank, offering his apartment in western Seoul as security.



To repay the floating-rate, 30-year mortgage, Chang was supposed to pay only interest during the first 10 years and redeem principal and interest by installment in the following 20 years. After paying 1.39 million won a month for about five years, he missed two payments amid worsening cash flows last year.



The bank wasted no time sending a notice of foreclosure to Chang, forcing him to raise money hurriedly and pay the arrears -- to no avail. "Once the borrower fails to pay interest for two months, he or she must pay back the entire borrowing," said a bank official, reminding Chang of the loan terms. He is in litigation now to keep the lender from auctioning his house.



Chang is hardly alone. Most banks, which have competed to carve out a larger share of mortgage markets by offering low lending rates in the past few years, are "taking umbrellas back" from delinquent clients at a mercilessly swift speed, as embarrassed borrowers describe it.



Three out of 10 foreclosures are on borrowers with fewer than three missed mortgage payments. Banks say these measures are inevitable to prevent bad debts, but public criticism is mounting about the lenders' selfish gimmicks.



According to data the Financial Supervisory Service submitted to Rep. Je Yun-kyong of the opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, there were 30,517 foreclosures from 2012 to 2015, and 8,759, or 28.7 percent, were fewer than 90 days overdue, indicating the banks foreclosed as soon as borrowers missed two months of payments. Almost half (48.4 percent) of foreclosures were made on missed payments of fewer than four months.



"It is completely barbaric for banks to kick families out on the street for just failing to pay two months' interest, only for the sake of lenders' convenience in loan management," Rep. Je said. "As many as in 43 percent of mortgages that turn sour, the loans are less than 50 percent of the collateral value, meaning they result from temporary cash-flow problems."



The banks are highly likely to recover principal and interest by giving borrowers a chance to pay but often hurry in exercising their forfeiting rights.



Chang, who testified at the National Assembly's parliamentary audit Thursday, exploded in anger, saying: "I just defaulted on the payment of less than 3 million won for two months, and paid default interest, but am about to driven out of my home."



Banks say they are being criticized for following common rules that allow them to execute their security rights two months after delinquency occurs. "Except for some special occasions, we start foreclosure procedures right after three months of delinquency," a bank official said.



"When seizures on security start by other creditors, such as the tax authorities and private lenders after two months' delinquency, banks, too, can't help but start their own process," he said, noting that this may be the case in relation to Chang.



The nation's top financial regulator was more cautious. "Foreclosure after two months of being in arrears is not so swift compared with foreign examples," said Lim Jong-ryong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission. "Still, we will study how to make the most of the free workout system,' which delays payments for up to six months in exceptional cases."




By Jhoo Dong-chan

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has clinched a power plant construction deal worth 1 trillion won in Saudi Arabia, an official said Friday.

Through a consortium with France-based energy company Engie, Doosan Heavy won the construction bidding for the state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco and Saudi Electricity Company's Fadhili power plant project.

Doosan Heavy will build the 1,519-megawatt power plant that will supply electricity to the Fadhili Gas Complex, 85 kilometers northwest of the port of Jubail.

To meet the schedule of starting the plant's operations by the end of 2019, Doosan will use the turnkey, build and operate system.

"The company has won the major construction deal amid the global downturn in demand due to low oil prices," said a Doosan Heavy official.

"We understand Saudi Arabia has plans for more power plant projects to add a total of 40,000 megawatts in capacity by 2024. We believe the Fadhili deal would put the company in an advantageous position in future bids."

Doosan Heavy also built the Rabigh 2 Power Plant, about 160 kilometers north of Saudi Arabia's Jeddah in April last year, receiving the "Electricity Generation and Freshwater Project of The Year" award from Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), a major business media group in the region.
Dubai Holding Chairman Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, center, and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, second from right, press a button to celebrate the launch of a project to build a mega-sized self-sufficient town in Incheon in an event held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap



By Kim Tae-gyu



Incheon joins hands with Dubai Holding of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to build a large-sized self-sufficient industrial hub in the Geomdan area located between Incheon and Seoul.

The two held an event in Seoul this week to launch the multi-billion dollar project, which is titled SmartCity Korea and covers 4.7 square kilometers  1.6 times bigger than Yeouido.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said the venture will provide a next-generation growth engine for the city.

"Dubai's knowhow in the smart city business and the favorable conditions of Incheon will combine for success. This project is significant not only for Incheon but also for relations between the two countries," Yoo said.

"Incheon and Dubai Holding have carried out negotiations in a serious and sincere manner. We expect that the talks will finish soon. Toward that end, we will do our utmost."

Dubai Holding Chairman Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, who doubles as Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, also promised to spare no effort.

"This international initiative between the UAE and South Korea will contribute positively to the economies of South Korea and the region, and will play a vital role in furthering friendly relations between the two countries," he said.

"Dubai Holding's guiding philosophy is based on building a global network of sustainable smart cities interconnecting capitals of economic opportunity, and as incubators for science, technology and knowledge-based economy in various parts of the world, and providing opportunities for growth and prosperity for individuals, businesses and investors alike."

While praising the strategic location of Incheon and the good info-tech infrastructure of Korea, Al Gergawi said that the new city would accommodate more than 150,000 residents and attract around 50 million visitors a year.

He also predicted that the new concept high-tech city would create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Incheon and Dubai Holding started the smart city talks midway through last year by signing a memorandum of understanding. The two parties finished talks on land prices but discussions are still underway concerning other details.

Dubai Holding is expected to channel more than 10 trillion won into the smart city including 5 trillion won to procure the land.

The company, which is seeking to vitalize Dubai's non-oil economy, has continued its efforts to establish smart cities ever since it set up the Dubai Internet City in 1999.

Thereafter, the state-backed conglomerate that has over 22,000 employees and operates in 24 countries has kept its focus on sustainable economic growth through diversifying investments into innovative segments such as high-tech areas.

This is not the first time that the two countries have cooperated on mega-sized projects.

At the end of 2009, the Korea Electric Power Corp. signed a $18.6 billion contract to build a four-reactor nuclear power plant in the UAE by 2020 after defeating favored contenders from France and the United States.
Spark electric vehicle of GM Korea



By Jhoo Dong-chan

A total of 853 GM Korea, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Scania and MAN Truck vehicles will be recalled here for safety-related defects.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Friday, GM Korea's Spark electric vehicle (EV) was found to have a flaw in its airbag control software and seat belt that has been allegedly linked to at least one death in North America.

Up to 376 cars, made between July 5, 2013, and July 26, 2016, are affected. Owners can get a free repair at local GM Korea service centers.

Mercedes-Benz Korea will also recall one C63 AMG S coupe made June 20 this year over concerns that a section of the car's front spoiler could detach. The ministry said the lower lip section of the front spoiler may not have been attached correctly so the part could "separate from the vehicle," causing possible accidents while driving.

Thirty six TGX tractors imported and sold by MAN Truck & Bus Korea, manufactured between Feb. 15 and Feb. 17 this year, were found to have a defect in their emissions reducing device, posing deteriorated energy efficiency and engine performance.

Honda Korea was also ordered to recall the CBR300R motorcycle model for a possible fault in connecting rods inside its engine. Due to the defect, the driver may not be able to ignite the engine, or the engine may shut down while driving.

A total of 384 vehicles made between May 27, 2014, and June 6, 2016, are affected.

The Scania Cargo Truck model imported and sold by Scania Korea Seoul was found to exceed the maximum weight load permitted by the safety regulation under transport ministry. Fifty six vehicles, made between Sept. 11, 2012, and Dec. 29, 2015, are affected.

Scania Korea Seoul was fined 8.3 million won for violating safety regulations by the ministry.

Owners of affected vehicles are subject to receive free repair at local service centers.
By Yoon Ja-young



Samsung Group is likely to speed up its ownership restructuring following a suggestion by activist hedge fund Elliott Management, analysts in Seoul said Friday. Not only Samsung Electronics but also other subsidiaries including Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T are expected to see higher evaluation in the bourse if this goes ahead.



Kim Joon-seop, an analyst at Eugene Investment and Securities, said that the suggestion by Elliott will work as a catalyst in the restructuring of Samsung Group.



The U.S. based fund suggested a way for reshaping ownership structure, which includes splitting Samsung Electronics into holding and operating companies, and merging the holding company with Samsung C&T, which would become a holding company of the whole group. It is similar to the scenario suggested by the market as the best option for the owner family to pursue a smooth transition of power from Chairman Lee Kun-hee to his son, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.



"It isn't certain whether Samsung Electronics will take the holding company system through splitting as suggested by Elliott, but it is certain that it will accelerate the ownership restructuring of Samsung Group," Kim said.



He pointed out the commercial act according to which the shareholders holding over 0.5 percent stake for over six months have the right to make proposals. Those holding over 1.5 percent stake can also convene a shareholders' meeting.



"When considering that Elliott manages a 30 trillion won fund, it wouldn't be difficult for the fund to make shareholder proposal or secure the right to demand a shareholders' meeting."



He said that as the suggestion by Elliott is similar to the scenario that the market estimated was best for Samsung, it may be picked as the agenda for the shareholders' meeting if the board has no other specific issues.



Lee Sang-heon, an analyst at Hi Investment and Securities, said the ownership restructuring is only a matter of time since the weak governing power over Samsung Electronics has been a headache.



"Proving the managerial capability of Lee Jae-yong and getting support from foreign investors who own a 50.71 percent stake in Samsung Electronics were prerequisites for the transition. The capability of Lee has been somewhat proven with rising Samsung Electronics shares. As Elliott, one of the foreign shareholders, is demanding restructuring, it has become more likely that foreigners will support the idea."



He said that the restructuring for succession of the managerial control will soon start, following the appointment of Lee Jae-yong as a registered executive director of the board. "In the end, Samsung Group will get rationale for the transition while Elliott will benefit from rising share prices."



He picked Samsung C&T as well as Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung SDS as subsidiaries to benefit from the restructuring issue.



Kim also picked Samsung Life Insurance as noteworthy. He said the owner family and Samsung C&T will be buying up Samsung Electronics' shares owned by Samsung Life Insurance, to untangle the circular shareholding system. "This means Samsung Life's capital efficiency can be greatly improved. Samsung Life can efficiently use the 7.2 percent stake it holds in Samsung Electronics. It can't sell the stake for the protection of managerial control."




Deborah Smith Bae Su-ah



By Yun Suh-young

Writer Bae Su-ah embarked on a tour in the United States to promote the newly released English editions of her two books, "The Essayist's Desk" and "A Greater Music," according to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), Wednesday.

The books will be published by Open Letter Books and Deep Vellum Publishing this month and in January next year, respectively. Both works were translated by Deborah Smith, Man Booker International Prize winner for this year for Han Kang's The Vegetarian.'

The marketing event began Wednesday and will be held through Oct. 14 throughout the U.S. in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Dallas.

Bae and Smith will be meeting with readers at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 10, Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle on Oct. 11, Brazos Bookstore in Houston on Oct. 13, and Deep Vellum Bookstore in Dallas on Oct. 14.

In New York, Deborah Smith participated in an Asian American Writer's Workshop to hold a talk with Penguin Press publisher Ed Park. From Thursday through Sunday, the marketing event will be held in the Oakland-San Francisco area where the annual American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is held. On Thursday, Bae participated in a reading at the Literary Death Match inside the Shadow Ultra Lounge in Oakland. On Friday, Bae and Smith met with readers at Green Apple Books, a publishing company in San Francisco. On Saturday, Bae will participate in the "Editing Translations" section of ALTA and Smith will participate in the "Editor's Roundtable" session.

The publishing contract for Bae's books came when the two American publishing companies  Open Letter Books and Deep Vellum Publishing  visited to Seoul in 2014, upon invitation of LTI Korea. The two publishing agents are based in New York and Dallas respectively and both specialize in translated works.

During their visit, the two companies signed an agreement to publish a Korean novel every year. Writer Jung Young-moon's "Pouring Vaseline" was contracted to be published in English by Deep Vellum Publishing and Bae's "No Owl" is scheduled to be published in 2018 by Open Letter Books.

LTI Korea plans to continue cooperation with local publishers to export Korean literature to the overseas market. For next year, Han Yoo-joo's "The Impossible Fairy Tale" is scheduled to be published by Graywolf Press.
An annual historical festival opened in the western city of Seosan Friday, offering a host of traditional activities inside the walls of a well preserved fortress.



The Seosan Haemieupseong Festival, named after the city and the fortified town located some 150 kilometers south of Seoul, has been held almost every year since 2000 to promote the history and culture of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). The town had served as a logistical and cultural hub due to its central location and proximity to China. For similar reasons, it also came under frequent attacks in times of conflict.



This year, the 15th edition of the festival will run for three days in and around the Haemieupseong Fortress, which was built during the reigns of Kings Taejong and Sejong some 600 years ago to defend the region from Japanese invaders. As one of the country's best preserved fortresses, Haemieupseong is also famous as a former workplace of the revered Admiral Yi Sun-shin and the then commander-in-chief of Chungcheong Province.



Pope Francis visited the fortress during a visit to the country in August 2014 to honor the nearly 1,000 Roman Catholics who were martyred on its grounds in 1866.



To launch the event, an ancestral rite was held inside the fortress to wish for the festival's success. Following an opening ceremony, a variety of traditional performances and hands-on activities will be held at different sites across the fortress' grounds, including tightrope walking, folk music performances, traditional craftsmaking and reenactments of Joseon era military parades. City tours have also been organized for those wishing to see more of Seosan.



A highlight of the event will be a fashion show by last year's Miss Global Beauty Queen contestants. Representing some 80 countries worldwide, the women will wear their traditional costumes during the gala show Saturday and serve as honorary ambassadors throughout the festival.



Some 200,000 people have visited the event each year, according to the organizers that operate a website (www.haemifest.com) to provide useful information on the event. Visitors from Seoul can reach Seosan in less than two hours by express bus. (Yonhap)




A small boat floats on a stream surrounding a colorful forest in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, Thursday. / Yonhap



By Park Si-soo



Mountains are being covered with colorful trees as the temperature drops. Autumn leaves are already in full bloom at mountains near the inter-Korean border, creating scenic and awe-inspiring views. And this wave of color will move south to reach its peak in the middle of this month.

The Korea Times has selected photos capturing these early arriving colorful leaves in Gangwon Province to give you a moment of mental relaxation with the beauty of nature.





The upper part of Mount. Deogyu in Muju, North Jeolla Province, turns red in this photo taken on Sept. 29. / Yonhap







Hikers walk a trail at Mt. Bukhan National Park in Seoul on Oct. 1. / Yonhap






Daniel Vaillancourt, right, holds the whiteboard with the mispelled "Hallasan." / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



By Choi Won-suk, Lee Han-soo



Q. What is the traditional Korean name of the wind blowing from the west?



Do you know the answer? It is probably difficult even for those born and raised in Korea and who have an ordinary education.

The answer is "Haneui baram."

It was one of the questions thrown to foreign contestants in the third "Korean Golden Bell" at Seodaemun town hall in northern Seoul on Thursday. These reporters were there and found some of the 30 contestants -- two or three -- wrote the correct answer without hesitation on their handheld whiteboards. It is still uncertain whether it was from their ability or sheer luck.

At a glance, the participants were diverse -- in race, state of origin, age and social status -- but seemed be "one" when it came to an attachment to Korea and its language.

"Of course my Korean is good because I have lived here for five years," Dean Tien, a Vietnamese woman, said. "I did not have a lot of time to study (Korean) because of my newborn baby, but I came here to win!"





Even though Tien failed to advance to the final round, she enjoyed her time at the contest, with her friends answering most of the questions correctly.

Daniel Vaillancourt, a Canadian contestant who has lived in Korea for 15 years, said although some questions were unclear, the purpose of the contest was praiseworthy.

"I think these sorts of contests should be held more frequently to get more attention from foreigners," he said.





Dean Tien, holds the whiteboard with the correct Korean word for father-in-law. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Vaillancourt said he studied Korean at Sogang University's Institute of Language Research and Education.

Although his Korean was perfect, he misspelled "Hallasan," South Korea's tallest mountain on Jeju Island, giving contestants and the audience something to grin about.

While the contest was held to pick a winner, it seemed everyone had won when it ended as their faces were filled with smiles when leaving.
By Choi Ha-young



Reports of sexual crimes against female soldiers are increasing, but impunity is so common that the victims are not properly protected, according to a lawmaker, Friday.



The number of reported cases increased from 16 in 2012 to 29 last year. Over the last four years, the number of sexual offenders reached 111, said Rep. Keum Tae-sup of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea.



However, only seven assailants were imprisoned, the longest for five years.



Last year, the Supreme Court confirmed a lower court sentence of a two-year imprisonment of an army lieutenant surnamed Noh, who was indicted on charges of assaulting a female captain surnamed Oh. She killed herself in 2013 at 28, after suffering from depression apparently arising from the sexual violence.



Based on the data from the Ministry of National Defense (MND), only 92 of 153 sexual crime victims in the military were separated from offenders in the workplace. Only 42 received legal support from the ministry while 14 received medical support.



"Considering the hierarchy and power relationships in the army, it's hard to figure out the total number of sexual crimes, other than reported or punished cases," Keum said in a statement.



According to the data, 87 percent of offenders in the army were commissioned officers, implying that assailants committed the crimes from a superior position.



As of June 1, 10,263 female soldiers are serving in the military, with 67 percent of them belonging to the army.




Baek Nam-ki 's bereaved family's legal representative Lee Jung-il, left, holds a sign saying, "Demanding the correction of the death certificate," after finishing a press conference held at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Tuesday. Baek died 10 months after being hit by a police water cannon in an anti-government demonstration last year. / Yonhap



By Chung Hyun-chae



More than 100 lawyers have taken a firm stance against the law enforcement authorities' push for an autopsy on the body of a farmer who died 10 months after being hit by a police water cannon during an anti-government demonstration last November.



They issued a statement Friday, arguing that an autopsy is illegal without the consent of the bereaved family of the late farmer Baek Nam-ki, 64.



The lawyers said that an autopsy was unnecessary as they believe that the use of the water cannon led to his death.



They called for the appointment of an independent counsel to uncover the exact cause of death.



Controversy surrounding Baek's death is pitting opposition lawmakers against their ruling party counterparts as well as dividing the nation.



Three opposition parties jointly submitted a motion for the appointment of the independent counsel to the National Assembly, Wednesday. But the ruling Saenuri Party is against the motion, dismissing it as a political offensive.



The lawyers' statement came after the Seoul Central District Court approved a request by police and the prosecution for an autopsy on the body of Baek.



The request was the second of its kind after the court first denied a previous one.



Approving the second request, the court said that the authorities should provide enough information and negotiate with bereaved family members on how to conduct the autopsy.



However, the bereaved family members and critics denounced the court for just telling the authorities to consult with the family members, and not to seek their consent.



The lawyers, including Na Seung-chul, a former president of the Seoul Bar Association, insisted that there was a clear link between Baek's death and the use of the water cannon.



The lawyers also mentioned the fact that there is sufficient video footage that recorded the demonstration and the moment in which Baek was hit by the water cannon, which they believed can prove that injuries from this caused his death.



They also backed Baek's family's claim that police, who allegedly caused his death, are trying to conduct an autopsy in a bid to avoid their responsibility and cover up the case.



"The reason why Baek's bereaved family members are firmly opposed to an autopsy is that the police, who are responsible for his death, have been pushing for it, leading them to believe that the authorities are trying to evade their responsibility," the lawyers said, calling it a reasonable suspicion.



Baek died Sept. 25 in Seoul National University Hospital. He had been in a coma following an operation for injuries he received after being struck by the water cannon.



The hospital has added to the controversy by issuing a death certificate stating that he died of illness, not from injuries sustained in the police action.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused South Korea of "laughing at how stupid we are," as he renewed the wrong-headed claims that the free trade pact with the Asian ally ended up hurting the U.S.

Trump has long blamed free trade deals as a key cause of American economic problems in an attempt to rally support from voters struggling with economic woes and criticize his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, for backing such agreements. He has denounced the pact with Korea as a "job killing" deal and a "disaster."

"Hillary's Korea deal, South Korea, cost us another 100,000 jobs. Remember that? It was supposed to be a good deal. It cost us jobs, tremendous numbers of jobs. And South Korea, like almost every other country, is laughing at how stupid we are," Trump said at a campaign rally in Nevada on Wednesday.

In another campaign speech later in the day, Trump again blasted the pact.

"Hillary's career deal, the deal she made for South Korea, cost us 100,000 jobs and it was supposed to be a positive. And we all knew that it's never a positive," Trump said.

The painstakingly negotiated Korea-U.S. FTA has been in effect since 2012 and has widely been considered a symbol of the economic alliance between the two countries. Attempts to revise or renegotiate the agreement could set off diplomatic tensions.

Trump claims the pact ended up increasing U.S. imports from South Korea while failing to increase exports.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said in a report in late June that the Korea deal has been good for American interests, saying the agreement is estimated to have improved bilateral merchandise trade balances by $15.8 billion last year. (Yonhap)
South Korea's military is on high alert as North Korea might stage another provocation to celebrate its key anniversary early next week, government officials said Friday.



North Korea appears to be ready to carry out another nuclear test or launch a ballistic missile at any time given increased activities at its nuclear test and missile launching sites, military officials said.



"Chances are high that the North will conduct its sixth nuclear detonation or test-fire a ballistic missile ahead of the anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party and the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) scheduled in the U.S. later this month," a defense ministry official told Yonhap News Agency.



The anniversary falls on Monday and defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. will discuss ways to ramp up the allies' three-stage deterrence strategy, which could involve a pre-emptive-strike option, during the annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 20.



"Starting today, the military will maintain heightened vigilance against any provocations by the North," the defense official said.



The unification ministry said the government is "fully prepared" against any provocative moves by the North.



The government said continuing activity at tunnels No. 2 and No. 3 at the Punggye-ri test site in the communist state's northeast and giant canopies set up over entryways of these tunnels can indicate another nuclear test is being prepared.



Pyongyang conducted its fifth underground nuclear test in tunnel No. 2 last month, while no detonation has been carried out in tunnel No. 3.



Commercial satellite imagery taken on Saturday of the test site "indicate continuing activity at all three tunnel complexes that could be used to conduct a nuclear test," the website 38 North monitoring the North said Thursday.



The imagery shows a large vehicle, possibly a truck, near tunnel No. 2's entrance, while a large canopy in its parking lot, which has been present for the past two months, remains in place. There appear to be stacks of boxes near the area, it said.



North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests in the past decade; two took place this year.



Meanwhile, given increased activities at the Dongchang-ri rocket launching site in the North's northwest, Pyongyang may be gearing up to launch a missile. The defense ministry said the North may launch either a medium-range Rodong or the more potent intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile.



Pyongyang may fire Rodong and Mususan missiles from its transport erector launchers (TELs) capable of freely moving near the border with South Korea and hiding themselves from reconnaissance systems operated by Seoul and Washington in tunnels or mountains, it said.



In June, North Korea claimed the successful launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, saying it has the capacity to strike U.S. forces in the Pacific region.



But Seoul has not ruled out the possibility of Pyongyang firing a long-range ballistic missile, equipped with a new rocket engine, that could possibly reach the U.S. mainland.



In late September, the North claimed it successfully conducted a "ground test of a new type high-power engine for a rocket that can place a geo-stationary satellite around the Earth." It said the engine has a thrust of 80 tons, which is three times the power of the engine used in its previous long-range rocket launches. (Yonhap)




By Oliver Geronilla, W. Scott Thompson



Barack Obama shows serenity in his last months of office, his left hand on his Montblanc ink pen closing prisons, creating more national parks than any president ever, and blissfully ignoring a malfunctioning Congress.



Rodrigo Duterte at 71 started his Philippine presidency literally with a bang. Suspected drug users have been murdered extra-judicially (EJK). He's picked a spat with the world's arguably most powerful person. He's colorful, and sometimes he withdraws his more noxious comments, possibly imitating a far more dangerous  and definitely less intelligent  person, Donald Trump, the American clown.



Now, one could make the argument that when the rule of law has broken down, a leader may  like Henry VIII 500 years ago  create a new law. It must have wide support and be applied evenly, not just against personal enemies. There must be reason to do so, and Duterte thinks there's a national epidemic of shabu, or cocaine, users. It ignores the reality in data of dramatic declines in drug abuse. Like Trump, he needs his own reality, but he can't have his own facts.



Nevertheless, the United Nations, the Pope and NGOs by the hundred are criticizing the "punisher president," in spite of his huge popularity here in the Philippines. Well, he's proposed to withdraw the Philippines from the U.N., insulted the Pope and now, when Barack Obama made clear that the EJKs were a suitable subject for the ASEAN summit, he's called the President of the United States a "son of a whore."



Obama is a constitutional lawyer, let it not be forgotten, and he knows how departures from the rule of law lead to dictatorships, terrible messes and eventually  at least in the past  to world wars. No room for exceptions. He also can't help but see the insult personally; his white American mother brought him up in Jakarta undertaking difficult doctoral research, and he watched her die of cancer at a young age. She was no whore.



Now your correspondents were very hopeful for the Duterte presidency, if only because former President Fidel V. Ramos persuaded Duterte to run. Ramos knew it was time for strength at the helm, and had no confidence in the other contenders. Duterte also promised to demolish many of our pet peeves: loud karaoke at night, for example, and opposition to gay and lesbian rights, in this very Roman Catholic country (but whose population shows a 20% higher receptivity to gays than does the USA).



America has considerable standing in the Philippines. Maybe the papers publish lots of criticisms, but lines form at 4 a.m. outside the American consulate for visas. Friends told us no one ever criticized the American ambassador on television, but one of us did, along with her intimate friend, then-President Gloria Arroyo. The heavens didn't fall in, Mrs. Arroyo went to jail, and now she's out and about. It's the friendliest country in the world, though also the one with the highest impunity index.



Right now the Philippines needs the United States much more than America needs the Philippines. It's convenient to have access to the bases given up in 1991, but not essential. But Manila has no substitute for American protection against the incursions China is making in Filipino territorial waters.



Our guess is that Obama won't further dignify Duterte's insult. There are many ways he can quietly show displeasure. The Philippines enjoys preferential treatment across a number of American fronts, and it won't be hard for Obama to find a few to quietly make his point.



Duterte has a huge agenda for six years; he wants to convert the Philippines to a federal, parliamentary government, constitutional changes that won't come easily. He wants to eliminate the power of the holy elite that has kept the Philippines poor, by strangling foreign investment and not least of the entire internet (Laos has faster). Yes, the killings have induced fear and Duterte can get a lot done out of fear, but not enough.



Obama knows the Philippines fairly well. He refused five times to meet with President Arroyo, who needed a photo-op at the White House to prop up her sinking ship; he smelled a rat and wouldn't even let her near at a prayer breakfast. The sad fact is that even in his last months he and Duterte might have accomplished a lot together, but the taste of the insult will linger for a long time, whoever is elected in the U.S. Pity.



Oliver Geronilla is a language instructor based in Dasmarinas City. His email address is oliver.geronilla@upou.edu.ph. W. Scott Thompson served four presidents in the United States and is professor emeritus of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston. His email address is thompsonwscott@gmail.com.




By Doug Bandow



There many reasons people oppose Hillary Clinton's presidential run, including a history of scandal. Worse, she would lead America into more foolish wars.



Clinton's beliefs, behavior, and promises all demonstrate that she embraces the militaristic status quo. In fact, her proclivity for promiscuous war-making has attracted the support of leading Neoconservatives, including some architects of the disastrous Iraq war.



For instance, while First Lady she pushed for U.S. intervention in the Balkans  attacking the Bosnian Serbs and then Serbia. Alas, Bosnia remains badly divided while Kosovo has turned into a gangster state.



Sen. Hillary Clinton strongly backed the Iraq invasion. Only after it turned out badly and threatened to damage her political career did she acknowledge her mistake.



Clinton supported the Obama administration's decision to double down, twice, on its expensive yet failed nation-building mission in Afghanistan. She was more responsible than anyone else for America's Libyan misadventure, another attempt at regime change on the cheap, though with a humanitarian gloss. The war left another failed state, host to Islamic State killers and convulsed by civil war.



Her insistence on the ouster of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad discouraged a negotiated settlement. Clinton advocated lethal aid to rebels, who displayed a dismaying tendency to surrender and turn weapons over to radical groups. She later urged direct U.S. military intervention in the form of a "no-fly" zone.



Clinton backed NATO expansion up to Russia's borders, which poisoned bilateral relations. She further advocated including both Ukraine and Georgia, which would turn their next confrontation with Moscow into a potential nuclear war involving America. She also supported military aid to Ukraine.



Of her belligerent record Donald Trump observed: "Sometimes it seemed like there wasn't a country in the Middle East that Hillary Clinton didn't want to invade, intervene in, or topple." Unfortunately, bombing, invading, and occupying other nations, supporting murderous foreign rulers, intervening in other countries' conflicts, and killing foreign peoples all create enemies around the globe, some of whom retaliate against U.S. civilians.



As justification for her belligerence Clinton affirmed "America's unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress, a champion for freedom and opportunity." Like intervening in Iraq and Libya, one wonders? Supporting Saudi Arabia in its brutal war in Yemen? Backing authoritarian dictatorships across Central Asia?



When the U.S. fails to lead, she argued, a power vacuum occurs. Actually, it is Washington's insistence that it must do everything which discourages America's allies from acting.



Contrary to Clinton's assertion, America's allies are not a "source of strength." It's as easy to collect foreign allies as Facebook friends. All the U.S. need do is offer to subsidize, protect, reassure, and coddle wealthy nations. But the Pentagon should not act as a welfare agency.



Clinton cited the "international coalition" against ISIS as a success. In fact, Washington's intervention relieved the states directly at risk, which had more than a million men under arms, of the need to confront the so-called Islamic State. "Coalition" members are mostly following their own interests.



At least Clinton appears to recognize that war-mongering is a vote loser. So she recently proclaimed: "we must only send our troops into harm's way as a last resort, not a first choice."



Yet she never followed that principle in the past. After all, how could she seriously argue that "we absolutely must" intervene in the Balkans, Iraq, Libya, and Syria and against the Islamic State?



She promised not to send ground forces to fight the Islamic State, but then almost immediately started dissembling. Now she says she only doesn't want to place "big contingents" in either Iraq or Syria.



Moreover, Clinton denounced budget caps and sequester as applied to the military. They aren't a particularly smart way to make defense policy, but they have slowed military outlays, which more than doubled in real terms after George W. Bush took office.



Clinton also cites "the experience and the temperament" of the prospective military commander-in-chief as an issue. Clinton seems less volatile than Trump, but is neither more truthful nor of better character.



Her eagerness to go to war is an even greater flaw. What makes Clinton dangerous is not the sort of incoherence reflected in Donald Trump's foreign policy approach but a coherent yet far more dangerous advocacy of military dominance around the globe.



America's two major parties have done their best to nominate the worst candidates possible. The one likely to create more conflict and war is Hillary Clinton.



Doug Bandow is the author of "Foreign Follies: America's New Global Empire."




Kim Jae-dong is a comedian and satirist. What he says, whether half-truth or joke, makes people laugh and think, and often forget about it. Kim the jester faces his nemesis  people who take themselves too seriously and can't take a joke as an answer.



Lately, Kim has raised the ire of some ho-hum politicians who were upset over a video of a show he appeared in, which has been around for more than a year.



In it, Kim claimed he spent two weeks in a brig for calling the wife of a four-star general "ajumma," another word for housewife, instead of addressing her as "madam," during a party for top brass he hosted when he was doing his mandatory service some 20 years ago.



Rep. Baek Seung-joo of the ruling Saenuri Party, a former vice defense minister, criticized Kim for demeaning the honor of military leaders by making false accusations. The Defense Ministry stepped in, saying that Kim served not one more day than he was supposed to. In other words, it claimed he lied.



Then, Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the minority opposition Justice Party came to Kim's rescue by claiming that the comedian, who often airs liberal views at the expense of conservatives, reflected the distorted sense of privilege prevalent among officers in senior positions.



The two wanted to call Kim in as witness at the ongoing National Assembly inspection of government affairs.



During a break in his "talk concert" tour Thursday, Kim responded, "I said it for the fun of it." But he was by no means defensive. Rather, he was ready to attend a hearing, if and when he was called. "I would talk at length  about new leaking Army boots," he said. "The procurement people absurdly blame soldiers for crawling the wrong way.



"It's like the makers of faulty rubber gloves blaming you for washing dishes improperly when they get a tear. What about new bullet-proof vests that can't protect soldiers, despite billions of won in taxpayers' money spent for development? I have not even begun yet."



For now, the parties agreed not to call Kim as a witness. But Rep. Kim Young-woo, a Saenuri lawmaker and chairman of the Defense Committee, demanded Kim apologize.



Kim and his ilk serve as salt to our society  without them, our life turns bland. True, one pinch too many and it can spoil the entire dish, so to speak. Still, how freely they can talk is the gauge of tolerance we have toward different people and different things. As things stand now, we may not need more salt in our food but surely are short of tolerance. Let Kim speak.




Kim Kwang-hyung

By Lee Kyung-min

Truck driver Kim Kwang-hyung, 63, who has worked as a volunteer interpreter to help Thai nationals here for the past 16 years, said giving help to foreigners is his biggest pride and joy of the social work.

Kim had to learn the language in 1991 at the age of 40 when the company, for which he worked, moved to Thailand to save production costs.

There, he held a managerial position in charge of 50 Thai workers for two years.

"First, I had to speak the language out of necessity. And spending some time speaking it every day for some years, I became good at it," he said.

After returning to Korea, he did not give up on the language. He bought books to study further and started volunteer work at his church in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, where a large number of Thai workers live.

"They had problems including receiving hospital treatment or other issues regarding employment, and sometimes faced deportation," he said.

For many foreigners with such problems, seeking help is not their first choice, as they worry more about being deported or being mistreated than not being able to go to hospital for a headache or small cuts sustained at work.

Kim believes his help was crucial for those who are in constant fear that Koreans may take advantage of or mistreat them due to their poor understanding of Korean.

"In the case of workers who had injuries, some of them were eligible for government support or insurance. I helped them find pro bono lawyers and file the necessary documents.

"And soon after that, word spread fast about how I can help Thai people, and more and more asked me for help including Buddhist monks at a temple in Hwaseong near my home."

His years of experience have made him the country's most sought-after interpreter by prosecutors, police officers, hospitals, immigration officers and religious institutions.

He was given the Presidential Award on the 43rd Tourism Day on Sept. 27 for his years of volunteer work.

"Many people who have been overseas will know that not being understood by others is the most difficult aspect, especially if you are there for work," he said.

"Once they understand each other through interpreters like me, then most situations get easier, which I take as the biggest reward for my volunteer work."

Currently, he works with the Before Babel Brigade (BBB), a non-governmental organization comprised of volunteer interpreters.
By Lee Min-hyung

KT has come under fire for pushing ahead with a deceptive advertisement for its internet service, according to Rep. Park Hong-geun of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Friday.

The lawmaker said the nation's dominant fixed-line operator is misleading customers in its GiGA Internet advertisement, as the bulk of its long-term-evolution (LTE) base stations cannot offer the gigabit-class service.

"Only some 2.7 percent of the firm's LTE base stations can deliver the high-speed internet service, but the company is deluding customers as if the service is available for all people nationwide," he said, citing data from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP).

"The company is promoting via television, their homepage and media that customers can access its 1.17 gigabit-per-second (Gpbs) LTE service through KT's GiGA Internet."

He said only 5,319 out of the firm's 200,000 LTE base stations deliver the gigabit-level service, and 80 percent of the available stations are located in Seoul and its surrounding areas.

"This means the GiGA LTE service is not available to those living out of the metropolitan area," he said.

According to the nation's advertising law, KT is misleading customers with an exaggerated advertisement, he said, calling for the nation's media watchdog to impose sanctions on the firm.

"The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) should swiftly crack down on KT over the advertisement for customers not to fall victim to the firm's deluding hype over the internet service," he said.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) previously investigated the nation's three mobile carriers  including SK Telecom and LG Uplus  on suspicion of breaching the Advertizing Standards Law, as they did not specify terms of contracts over their data-free rate system, the lawmaker said.
Johnnie Jones, 76, pled guilty to manslaughter on Friday for killing Sean Mulgrew on October 22, 2013.

Shortly after 3:30 a.m. that day, a witness reported hearing gunshots and saw two men man running from an apartment building off of Ingra Street, according to the Anchorage district attorneys office. One man left in a vehicle and the other ran east through an alley.

Police found Mulgrew in the alley. He died from multiple gunshot wounds. Officers found a blood trail through the alley that led them inside an apartment building where they found Jones wiping fresh blood off of the main door of an apartment building, according to prosecutors.

Officers found blood on Jones shorts and two .380 shell casings in the entryway, prosecutors said.

Jones told homicide detectives he got into an altercation with someone who came to his door. He denied shooting anyone and denied any knowledge about why someone would come to his apartment, prosecutors said.

Police executed a search warrant in the common area near Jones apartment and found a.380 caliber semiautomatic pistol and a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol. Officers also found heroin and cocaine as well as digital scales.

Police were unable to identify the second suspect from the incident.

Superior Court Judge Jack Smith accepted Jones guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for February 10, 2017 in Anchorage.

Jones faces a sentencing range of 12 to 20 years in prison. Jones has been in custody since his arrest in 2013 and is not eligible for bail pending sentencing, according to the district attorney.
The price of LITRO gas cylinders would be further reduced in the first week of November in accordance with the

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The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

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This article appears in the October 7, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

AS THE CRISES ESCALATE

Justic e Victoriou s ove r Obam as Veto:

Which Side Is Germany On?

by Helga Zepp-LaRouche,

chair of the German Civil Rights Movement Solidarity Party (BuSo)

[Print version of this article]

Oct. 1The devastating defeat which the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives dealt President Obama, with their overrides of his veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), represents an historic opportunity to reappraise and rectify the entire catastrophic policy of the trans-Atlantic world since September 11, 2001. That must include the consequences of the wars in the Middle East and North Africabased on liesand the causes of the refugee crisis and terrorism.

The most important lesson to learn from these voteswhich were the result of a 15-year, heroic struggle by the families of the victims of the attack on the World Trade Centeris this: Yes, we can indeed act to help achieve victory for justice! At the decisive moment, the passionate appeal of the victims families to the Congressmen won out over the geopolitical manipulations and alliances of the Bush and Obama regimes.

As several of the family members stressed in interviews, for them this fight was not about what compensation they could get, but about justice for the people whom they have lost and about dismantling the cover-up of the true circumstances behind 9/11, a cover-up that provided the pretext for many wars in which millions of innocent people lost their lives and whole nations were virtually totally destroyed.

View full size LPAC

Given the dramatic escalation of the military situation in Syria and the confrontation between the United States and Russia, which threatens to escalate into a global war, this setback for Obama comes not a moment too soon. Russian President Vladimir Putin has obviously drawn his own conclusions from the Pentagon and State Departments sabotage of the ceasefire process between Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. At exactly the point that Kerry and Lavrov had reached an agreement, there was a meeting in Washington of Obama, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and the CIA, shortly after which the unintentional bombing of the Syrian army by U.S. air strikes occurred. In addition, the American side has not upheld its part of the Kerry-Lavrov agreement, namely, to separate the moderate rebels from the Islamic State and al-Nusra.

At the same time, the United States blamed Russia for the attack on an aid convoy, while Moscow blamed the terrorists. After the collapse of the ceasefire negotiations, the Syrian army reacted with the strongest attacks on the positions of the terrorist groups, which had by then deployed a strike force equivalent to two divisions of fighters in East Aleppo.

Ill-Concealed Threat Against Russia

Then on Sept. 28, State Department spokesman Rear Admiral (ret.) John Kirby predicted that extremists would attack Russian targets, perhaps even in Russian cities; that Russian soldiers would be brought home in body bags; and that more Russian airplanes would be shot downa prediction the Russian side considered a blatant threat.

Admiral Kirby said, according to the official transcript of the State Department Daily Press Briefing of Sept. 28: extremists and extremists groups will continue to exploit the vacuums that are there in Syria to expand their operations, which will include, no question, attacks against Russian interests, perhaps even Russian cities, and Russia will continue to send troops home in body bags, and they will continue to lose resourceseven, perhaps, more aircraft.

Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter was visiting various military bases around the United States to make the case for Obamas trillion dollar program of modernization of nuclear weapons. At his first stop, at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, Carter announced, in front of a backdrop of a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber, that nuclear weapons have not been deployed since 1945, but that one should not take this for granted. He then proceeded to declare North Korea and Russia to be equal threats. The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted with concern, noting that Carters remarks meant that the U.S. would apparently be prepared to deploy nuclear weapons in an armed conflict which involved Russia, and that the United States is knowingly presenting a false picture of the content of the military doctrine Russia adopted in 2014.

More Air Strikes on Syrian Troops?

According to Reuters, the U.S. administration is now openly threatening air strikes against the Syrian army, while sections of the U.S. government have expressed fear that Russian soldiers could also be killed in such attacks. At the same time, American officials have pointed out that they could allow Turkey and Saudi Arabia to supply the Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft weapons. German author and journalist Jurgen Todenhofer has, in the meantime, published interviews which he had conducted a short time before with an al-Nusra commander in Aleppo, in which this leader admitted that all the rebels weapons came from the United States, and were then distributed by al-Nusra to different groups with constantly changing names.

September 11th was the evil deed which then must give birth to perpetual evil, as it is said in Schillers play, The Piccolominithat is, the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, in which regime change was justified on the basis of misrepresentations. How long must we go on hearing the story of the good rebels, who change their names and composition faster than weapons are delivered to them?

Instead of condemning the barbaric attack by the Syrian army on Aleppo based on this distortion, as Chancellor Merkel did after a telephone call with Obamain order to play her intended role in a deceitful filmthe Bundestag should urgently launch its own investigation into the implications of the 28 pages and JASTA for understanding the causes setting in motion the refugee crisis and the terror attacks in Europe.

A New Paradigm to Prevent War

It as just as urgent to stop the confrontation with Russiawhich could lead very quickly to a global thermonuclear waras it is to get the immediate reorganization of the bankrupt financial system at long last on the agenda. The entire international financial press is full of panic articles, saying that the collapse of Deutsche Bank, whose stock fell to under 10 euros a share on Sept. 30, threatens to unleash a global meltdown, due to the entanglement of all the counterparties in Deutsche Banks extensive 42 trillion euro derivatives bubble. Deutsche Bank is faced with its Lehman Brothers moment, they say. On Sept. 30 Bloomberg News quoted Michael Ingram of BGC Partners in London: We have a very connected financial system. A zombie financial system at some point translates into a zombie economy.

Obviously fearing the rage of the voters, Mrs. Merkel claimed a few days ago that the German government will not step in to rescue Deutsche Bank. No one believes that because everyone knows that the explosive power of Deutsche Bank is sufficient to plunge the global financial system into the abyss, and thus to also throw the world economy into absolute chaos. Immediately after Merkels statement, hedge funds began to speculate on an upcoming government reorganization by selling short.

The only way to stop the threatened collapse of the world financial system is the immediate, temporary nationalization of Deutsche Bank, which must be taken over by an administrative commission. Its derivatives contracts must be unwound in an orderly fashion, that is, substantially written off. Then the bank must be provided with a new business plan in the tradition of Alfred Herrhausen, and thereby turned into a commercial bank for investing in industry. Because of the global scale of Deutsche Banks operations, the implementation of the Glass-Steagall banking separation model in the Deutsche Bank case would provide a perfect starting point for the realization of a global Glass-Steagall system.

Germany Must Stand Up for Itself

At the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China put on the agenda the perspective of both win-win cooperation in the world economy on the basis of innovation, and the necessity for a new financial architecture. The implementation of the New Silk Road, on which already more than 70 countries are collaborating, provides the concrete prospect for overcoming the world financial crisis and relaunching the world economy. Germany needs to join in.

Twenty-six years after German reunification, it is high time for Germany to stand up for its own sovereign interests. It should certainly be allowed, now that the European Union, of all entities, has rediscovered the virtues of national sovereignty and committed itself so clearly to the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia, as opposed to the rights of the family members of the victims of 9/11.

cc/Tobias Koch

To make this possible, we need a new paradigm of thinking; we must hark back to the high point of our own culture, German Classical culture, in which music, poetry, and science blossomed. If we rise to the level of thinking on which geniuses such as Nicholas of Cusa, Kepler, Leibniz, Bach, Beethoven, Schiller, Einstein, and Krafft Ehricke thought, we will be able to awaken the sublime frame of mind and the creative optimism we need to find solutions on that higher level, the level on which these great souls thought.

And why shouldnt we be able to realize a renaissance of our humanistic tradition? In China they are celebrating the 2,567th birthday of Confucius by bringing to life his philosophywhich is very similar to European humanism in many respectsin all layers of society. In Germany, we have the good fortune of having an extraordinarily great number of poets, thinkers, and scientists who have contributed to universal history. We need only rediscover them. Our future can only lie in the ideal of a humanity which realizes the common goals of our species, goals expressed poetically and musically in Schillers Ode to Joy and Beethovens Ninth Symphony.
This article appears in the October 7, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

TO EDUCATE MANKIND MORE PROFOUNDLY

LaRouche in Dialogue:

Revolutionize t he Idea of Science!

[PDF version of this article]

In a discussion with leaders of his association on Sept. 30, Lyndon LaRouche was single-minded and unflinching in his insistence that the crucial strategic issue today is the development of the human mindand how that may be accomplished. Edited excerpts follow.

Lyndon LaRouche: Among the things that we have discussed in the preceding report today and earlier, there are some things that we have missed and which most people in our own organization rarely understand. The question in terms of economy involves not simply products capable of measurement as such, but rather involves the requirement of developing human minds in new ways that the human mind has even fashioned to do it. In other words, these are problems involved which cannot be explained; they have to be created. And without that, what we are trying to do here would be a failure, because the problem of mankind mainly is not what is complained about in usual political luster.

LPAC TV

What is important is what makes human minds work. And there is very little attention to that question. There are certain things which are important, but the important thing now is we have to change the character of the craft of things. We are going to change things from what was being done up to now. And we are going to make a new start on the basis of understanding what are those principlesprinciples which almost no human being knowsand those principles which have to be included which have not been included up to the present time must be introduced. Otherwise, the attempt we are making will fail. And that, I think, is something we should probably take up right now. I think Jeff wants to talk about it as well. Lets continue from there.

Jeffrey Steinberg: I think that issue is obviously begged by the crisis moment that we have reached right now, in which the existing trajectory and directionality of things is doomed to fail. I think there are three situations that beg that issue, and put the question of a completely different approach and paradigm of thinking, starting from exactly that standpoint, of what is the nature of man and the question of how to create a system that drives this sort of human creativity.

Number one, it is very clear that the entire European banking situation, led by Deutsche Bank, is now at an absolute breaking point and that the perspective of just kicking the can down the road is not going to work. There is a very interesting statement quoted in Bloomberg today by a guy a guy named Michael Ingram of an outfit in London called BGC Partners. He said we have a very connected financial system, and a zombie financial system at some point translates into a zombie economy. He said that is exactly where we are headed. There is a Marketwatch piece that says Merkel is failing to respond properly to the Deutsche Bank crisis just as she has failed to respond to every crisis since she first came into office, and that this is now reaching a kind of existential moment. The Wall Street Journals story is headlined, Deutsche Banks Lehman Dilemma.

So they are basically saying we are potentially moments away from the entire financial system blowing out, and that there are many trigger spots in Europe, the lead one being obviously Deutsche Bank. They say that Merkels continuing public insistence against any kind of intervention that would prevent the system from blowing out, is one of the greatest dangers at the moment. Thats one issue, which is the imminent blowout and the unwillingness to take a creative approach.

The Power to Create New Sciences

LaRouche: But the most important thing, Jeff, is not what you just attested. What is important, which is little known today, is what is the power to create new sciences, new kinds of science, to bring the whole system of humanity into a functional form. Doing what you are talking about so far would not work. Therefore, that is what Im emphasizing, that this would be an amateur night. It would be a nice amateur night, but it would be in effect an amateur night. Because mankind has not discovered the meaning of mankind. People want to talk about gimmicks, they want to talk about skills; those things are necessary in their own way, but they are not the creative force on which the existence of humanity depends. We have to mention that. Dont be practical. Stop being practical. Practical people are dead people.

What we have to do is develop the question of scientific thinking. For example, we have in the ocean and other places, areas which have a development process, almost like planets and so forth, and we have to change the character of everything in the universe. It has to be changed in one way or the other. That understanding is what has been destroyed! That is what has caused the fall. That is what has caused the crimebeing practical, and as long as you operate on the basis of a practical system you will get a practical bunch of thieves, largely, and you will not understand what mankinds future is. And we have got to bring the question of what mankinds future is, what is mankind going to do that changes everything from what mankind has been doing up to now.

Few Understand the Problem

Diane Sare asks LaRouche if the optimism and future orientation of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, recently deceased, is something we might want to address.

LaRouche: No. The important thing is the kind of thing that has not been understood heretofore. That is, technologies, approaches, space programs. The problem here is that people do not understandmost people on this planet do not understandwhat that problem is, the problem of science, of real science, not of science as a copy of this, a copy of that, or something simple like that. This is what we have to do now; otherwise mankind cannot continue successfully the mission we just talked about. The mission is there, but the question is, what is the instrument which will make it work. And what we have discussed so far does not answer that problem.

In other words, all the things people suggest now, usually, in terms of recommendations, wont work, not for this purpose. You have got to recognize that the degeneration of the human mind, which has been induced over centuries, the degeneration of the human mind in most of the population of the worldthat is the thing that prevents mankind from doing what we were talking about this morning. And weve got to change the subject. Dont get on that subject. We said that now. We are going to say it. But now we have to put in something else without which we will not succeed.

Do What Has Never Been Done Before

Sare reports that that night, John Sigerson will conduct the first seminar on the question of the scientific, Verdi tuning for the musicians and others who had participated in the series of performances of Mozarts Requiem, as an escalation in developing their understanding of what is unique about our approach to the music, as opposed to the garbage and degeneration that typifies the New York music scene.

LaRouche: Ill make two points on this. First of all, what John will do, because I know John, and I know how his mind works, at least fairly well, I dont know everything that goes on in his mind, but I do know him and Ive worked with him and weve worked together. The idea of classical music composition the way John would deal with it, when presented, represents one part, a very significant part, but a peculiar part of what we have to do to create a discovery of the ability of the human population to actually be successful.

Now the issue here is being successful. Not successful in getting money or this or that, but successful in achieving what has never been done before! And John is in a category of those who can comment on that and develop that idea in very important aspects quite readily. I would point out the importance of his work on that account. But the point is, dont try to give a simplification. Im talking about something that most of you here dont know yet.

What Im talking about is what you dont know. And that is what has to be delivered. You will get it on islands, for example, or the Moon, or the [Moons dark side]. Youll find out that things are there which force mankind to consider new things which have to be done. But the usual thing of practical development of economy will not work. The population is not ready to handle it.

Mankind Stupefied by Its Cultures

Steinberg: You mentioned yesterday, Lyn, that you had some thoughts on reviving a lot of the basement work . . .

LaRouche: No, Im not. Im talking about science, not basement. Most people dont know it. We have some people who have the elements of the abilitylike Johns case. John Sigerson has a plan. I understand what the plan is. I dont know the details of what he knows, but I know John. I know his mind, and thats important. It contains something which is unique. It is not something you can copy. And the same thing is true of everything else. The broad length is we are going to have to explore space. We are going to largely explore space. It is one of the most important issues to be taken up immediately! Dont get into something else and say this will do it, that will do it. It will not do it.

The point is that mankind has been stupefied by its economy, its economies, its cultures, the cultures and forms of skills of mankind have been largely stupid, stupidity of one kind or another. Now the time has come when we have to approach not only the immediate things we can point out, but weve got to concentrate on real science, not what is called science, but real science. Without real science we cannot make it.

The Galactic Perspective

Benjamin Deniston: I think one of the frontiers is the galactic perspective . . .

LaRouche: Of course! The inability to present a competent study of what the galactic system meanswhen you include some of the space program objectivesthere you begin to get into science. You get into science then and only then, and into the real sociology of the human mind. And that is what weve got to do now. We cannot go back to some new version of an old thing. We have to realize that what has been done in the past by some of the greatest minds, that have been rare minds, have developed this kind of process.

The practical manmost people are practical men and womenis not scientific in terms of any real science. They call themselves scientists because they have a scientific label. But they are not really scientists. Einstein was a scientist, and Einstein knew that you cannot have a mathematical conclusion. And that is an example of what the problem is. Einstein did not ever make himself a practical man. He investigated the effectwhat the role of mankind is in space, in the universe. A lot of people who admire Einstein dont know that. They think theyve got some practical thing they can use. It doesnt work. But if you look at it from the Einstein side, the actual Einstein side, you are getting into the right area.

Youre going to move planets! Youre going to move everything! Youre going to have to change the rules of planetary existence. These things have to be done quickly. We can improvise for a short period of time, but the foundation of our campaign has to be more profound.

The Einstein Principle

Deniston: I really think this Einstein reference that you have developed, or the Einstein principle, really, is critical, because if you are talking about the Galaxy or really understanding the Solar system, its an issue of new principles. Its not just derivations or descriptions . . .

LaRouche: Exactly! Youve got it! Its what weve learned from Einstein: After what we think weve learned from his experimental work, we find out theres another layer beyond that, and that is the discovery of what the meaning of science is. And Einstein was unique in that respect. Many people thought they had understood Einstein on the basis of this or that theory, but thats an amateur issue. The more profound thingand the aspect of Einstein that is more profound than practically anybody else whos working in scienceis to understand this: You have to understand that what mankind has to change, are the principles of science, the principles of the practice of science, from a Solar way. And that is what mankind is going to rely upon to save our civilization from what we are trying to fight against now.

Weve got to educate mankind in a more profound way than most people have imagined. And youre going to have to educate them, and youre going to have to find ways to do it. I think as a case in space managed under China, under Chinas science, that would be a good starting point.

Living in the Future

Kesha Rogers: What came to mind is the question of the mind of Einstein, or take Krafft Ehricke, as living in the future. I was reminded of Ehrickes 1966 article, in which he wrote as if he were in 2001, looking back on 1966the question of space travel and development of space from the standpoint of living in that future that you are already hoping to create, that you are already destined to create. Not just going from some kind of bottom-up perspective, but starting from what is mans rightful place in the Universe, what is mans rightful place in the Galaxy.

That is the way China is thinking. They have already committed themselves to that higher identity of mankindnot just going to the Moon and then taking the next step and traveling out into space. They have already defined what the potential of mankind is in terms of our destiny and our role in developing and conquering space in the way that Krafft Ehricke understood.

LaRouche: Exactly! Exactly so! And this is the same thing as his science prospect. Everything that we need as human beings, everything we need is exactly what Im talking about. Dont try to change it back to something more conventional. You just screw things up.

What we have to do now is something previously considered impossible. The most advanced work of Einstein, which is not what many people think, as a practical thing, but what Einstein did with his mind was precisely in that direction, of how mankind can develop mankind. What were talking about in this whole issue here, if you want to develop mankind, youve got to go by the right rules, and you cannot do it by practical methods. We can do it. We can do it right now under these conditions. We can do it in certain parts of the world. Weve got to do it. But weve got to be discretionary. Dont be practical! It will make you all fools, as before.

Anyway, thats my point, and I think that is a concluding point on the argument of principle, and I think anything else would be a fallacy in practice, under these kinds of conditions. We want to get out of this, what the past has done to us; weve got to go by the path of the future.

Flanking the Enemy

Rogers: I think it is beautiful, because you always find that the enemy of mankind tries to set the terms of what is allowed, or what is going to be the determining factor in the discussion. Instead of playing by what they say, we must outflank them with something more profound, a higher conception. What you just presented is a real flank against the enemy, the enemy of the creative process, whose real target is the creative identity of the human mind.

We are looking at devastation in the world nowthe murders, the war threat, the attacks against China, the fact that we are at the brink of total annihilationso you start to think about how you address those things from a lower level. But what you just presented is that they are out to destroy the souls and the minds of the human species, and if you want to take them on on that, there is no other approach than what you have just presented.

LaRouche: Yep.

Revolutionize the Idea of Science

Steinberg: It reminds me that when Deng Xiaoping came to power in the late seventies, early eighties, he said dont give me any titles, dont give me any mundane responsibilities. My first priority is building up the scientific capacity of China. He said if we can focus and concentrate our effort on reviving science and training a generation of new scientists and engineers who think that way, then China will emerge in thirty years as a great nation, leading the world in this area.

LaRouche: That has the smack of being practical, but I dont think so. What I am thinking about is something much more important. The point is youve got to get at this and realize youve got to revolutionize the idea of science, not revolutionize this or that. Youve got to emphasize the revolution of the idea of science. Thats where weve lost. Thats where the United States, Europe, and so forth have lost. There are some parts of the world where we have just had an example of this, of studying things of a higher order. But practical things, or things which have a practical nature, will not get us out of what weve been into recently. It will fail, as mankinds practice has failed before, because that science does not really understand science.

So why dont we just go on and get into this science business. Present the question of what are the issues of a higher science for mankind now! That is what youve got to concentrate on. Dont think about knicks and knacks. Youve got to make a revolution in technology, right now. That means scientific technology, not practical technology.

The Back of the Moon

After interrupting an intelligence briefing, LaRouche returns to his main theme.

LaRouche: China has been developing a program to study the far side of the Moon. It is something which has been done before in a certain way, but it is very important. This aspect of exploration is probably the best spiritual source to get people to understand what these methods are. Dont try to say you are going to discover the method. Youve got to say what they are, what do they do.

You look into space, and find we have a situation where we do have a Moon, which we dont know yet how to deal with entirely, a large Moon, and it is that kind of mentality which has to be focussed on, and it has to be specified on that basis. Not something like, well maybe we can get there. We have got to get there now. This is the kind of thing that can enable us to move the population into new areas, the kind of new areas where they will discover the ability to think. Right now most people in society do not have the power to think. Not really. The human being is capable of thinking, but youve got to make it happen.

Tease the Imagination

LaRouche again interrupts an intelligence update, and continues.

This does not go the point I am raising. What Im saying now is generally not understood by most people. The question is, what is the existing scientific potential on which the future of mankind depends, not some gimmick. Weve got to educate the people, young people, weve got to train them. Weve got to do all the kinds of things which will tease the imagination of the young student. That is the way, by feeding that question, as I know from my experience. That question is the way you get to real science. And you get into the kind of things that allow us to get back to what weve lost, over the lifespan of most people on the planet.

Theyve lost it! Weve got to give them back the means of regaining what theyve lost. Otherwise the whole thing will fail. We want science! We want absolute science! We want space science. We want the kinds of things that grab the imagination and produce the people who become recruited to that kind of work. Without that we lose.

Remember how bad this planet has been in terms of its behavior. Just think of every part of the planetnation after nation after nation. What have you got? Youve got some people who have good intentions. Youve got some people who achieve things. But in main, the human species has failed. And weve got to do something about that right now, or begin right from there. I think we can explore the Moon, which is what China is doing. That would be a good starting point, to get at what is the problem and how do we approach it.

Everything else will follow.
PRESS RELEASE

Enhanced Repos the Latest Corruption Exposed at Deutsche Bank

Oct. 6, 2016 (EIRNS)The alarmingly sinking Deutsche Bank announced 1,000 more job cuts this morning; without government intervention to break the bank up, the death spiral which has set in, of the banks revenues falling faster than costs can be cut, will eventually bankrupt it, if a blowout of its huge derivatives exposure doesnt destroy its liquidity first.

Telegraph: "Deutsche Bank is latest victim of Treasurys War." Latter is title of a new book by Juan Zarate, U.S. Treasury financial sanctions/fines consultant. Says Deutsche Bank not in danger of immediate failure, but if its revenues keep falling faster than its ability to cut costs, and German government does not act, it will fail. It cannot raise capital until the fine is finally settled, or Treasury will take the capital raised.

As negotiations continue in Washington between CEO John Cryan and U.S. Justice Department officials, over the size of a huge fine of the bank for mortgage securities fraud leading to the 2008 financial crash, CNBC reported late Oct. 5 that German government officials are taking part in those negotiations by telephone and in person. Today the German Finance Ministry denied this, as it has all other reports of its activities in the deepening Deutsche Bank crisis.

But now, yet another scandal, and potential financial crime, has been added to Deutsches very long list, as reported in Bloomberg News Oct. 6. Prosecutors in Italy have already charged the bank and some of its executives with creating fraudulent derivatives contracts for the sinking Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) Bank in 2008, enabling MPS to hide billions in losses and conceal its condition from regulators and stockholders. The derivatives ended up being ruinous for MPSs financial condition.

Bloomberg reported that the prosecutors have found that Deutsche Bank created these "enhanced repos," not once, but 103 times, for dozens of clients. And the German bank regulator BaFin discovered that Deutsche Bank "mismarked"i.e., misrepresented the nature ofthese repos, or repurchase agreements. Repos are a form of loan, but "in an attempt to clean up balance sheets", Deutsche Bank converted them to derivatives.

The intentto hide assets or liabilities of financial institutions "off the books," recalls the criminal practices of Enron, and the suicidal practices of Lehman Brothers. According to Bloomberg,

"the widespread use of a transaction thats now the subject of a criminal case, highlights the lenders appetite for complexity,"

and why

"mounting legal costs have become a source of increasing concern to investors, driving shares to a record low."

The existence of this new scandaland the fact that Deutsche Bank has been charged with illegal and immoral activities, over and over, in just about every imaginable area of financial speculationmay also explain why the U.S. Department of Justice is demanding so large a fine, $14 billion, in the mortgages securities case against the bank.
PRESS RELEASE

Walter Jones Letter to Ryan: Dont Change JASTA!

Oct. 6, 2016 (EIRNS)Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) sent this letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Oct. 5, and made it public:

The Honorable Paul D. Ryan Speaker of the House of Representatives H-232 U.S. Capitol Building Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Last week, the House and Senate successfully voted to override President Obamas veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). In the first successful override of the Obama Administration, Congress did what President Obama failed to do: give 9/11 families the ability to seek justice against foreign governments that sponsor terrorism.

Our colleagues, Congressman Stephen Lynch and Congressman Thomas Massie, and I worked for over four years to declassify the 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry into the September 11 attacks. Those pages link Saudi Arabia to the 9/11 attacks by detailing substantial financial support from Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan and his wife to individuals linked to the 9/11 hijackers.

Our vote to override President Obamas veto was a victorious moment for 9/11 families and justice. However, I was disappointed to read shortly after the vote that some in leadership are suggesting a modification or "weakening" of JASTA. This would be a huge mistake. JASTA is a carefully crafted bill that is the result of many years of hard work and negotiation by a vast majority of Congress. If leadership wanted changes in the bill, it should have been addressed prior to the override.

Additionally, Members of Congress are elected to represent their constituents, not so-called "allies" in foreign states. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to engage in a massive lobbying campaign against JASTA, and we must not fall for it. I IMPLORE YOU TO STAND UP FOR 9/11 FAMILIES AND RESIST CALLS TO MODIFY JASTA.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Walter B. Jones

Member of Congress North Carolina 3rd District, Republican
PRESS RELEASE

Russia Issues Warning to U.S. Against Adventurism in Syria

Oct. 6, 2016 (EIRNS)Issuing a stern warning to the Obama administration on its increasing anti-Russia belligerence exhibited openly in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing today that

"any missile or air strikes on the territory under control of the Syrian government will pose an obvious threat to the Russian military,"

Tass reported.

"Most officers of the Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties currently work on the ground, delivering humanitarian aid and conducting negotiations with heads of settlements and armed groups in most Syrian provinces. That is why any missile or air strikes on the territory under control of the Syrian government, will create an obvious threat for Russian military. And finally, I draw attention of hotheads that after a strike on Syrian troops in Deir ez-Sor by planes of the coalition on September 17, we have taken all necessary measures to rule out any such mistakes against Russian military and military facilities in Syria,"

Konashenkov said, Tass noted.

Another news item, by Reuters, citing a statement of the Russian Defense Ministry, conveyed the same message to Washington. It said,

"The United States should carefully consider the consequences of strikes on Syrian army positions, because such strikes would obviously threaten Russian servicemen." "Commenting on Russias S-300 air defense complexes recently deployed to Syria, the Ministry said in a statement that their crews would hardly have time to detect the exact flight paths of missiles or from what direction they were launched,"

Reuters wrote, citing Russian Defense Ministry.
PRESS RELEASE

Wells Fargo Ripoffs Are Even More Widespread

Oct. 6, 2016 (EIRNS)It should come as no surprise that the Wells Fargo practice of ripping off customers is even more widespread than what the bank admitted to in its settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB). In addition to millions of phony accounts that Wells Fargo bankers created for consumers, there are now reports of similar practices for small businesses and retail brokerage customers.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) has reported that there were at least 10,000 small business customers of Wells Fargo who were sold accounts and services that they neither needed nor ordered. The Charlotte Observer also reports that brokerage customers had accounts liquidated and then reopened, for which they were charged fees.

Public Citizen has a report that, though the CFPB limited its purview to just the 2011-2016 period, Wells Fargo had pursued this fraudulent "cross selling" strategy since 2000.

All this goes to show, if further proof were needed, that the Wall St. and similar banks are thoroughly and completely corrupt and only function by stealing from anyone they can.

The corruption also makes them bankruptcy candidates. Today even the City of Chicago joined the States of Illinois and California in pulling all investments out of Wells Fargo, due to the stinking scandals. Enough large investors suddenly "running" from the bank could pull it down, hitting the rest of Wall Street as well.

Another strong argument for Glass Steagall and LaRouches "Four Laws."
PRESS RELEASE

Obama War Threats to Russia Dangerous but Ineffective: LaRouche

Oct. 6, 2016 (EIRNS)"Obama and company are trying to intimidate the world into submissionbut its not likely to work. There are many nations and forces in Asia and even in Europe who cant be convinced by this." That was EIR Founding Editor Lyndon LaRouches judgment in discussion of the strong Russian Defense Ministry warnings today against any U.S. attack on Syrian and Russian forces in Syria, and the furious threat to "beat Russia down," delivered by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in a Washington, D.C., speech Oct. 4. Milleys outburst coincided with a "leak" to Josh Rogin of the Washington Post that active options for U.S. attacks on Syrian (and inevitably Russian) armed forces are under discussion in the White House.

LaRouche added that

"Obama would like to say that Russia is his number-one enemy, but his threats are not true. General war is beyond anything Obama can understand. Hed like to have almighty power, but he doesnt have it anymore. Hes more like just a British royal family agent with a bad smell."

Nonetheless in drone killings, in Libya, in Iraq, in Syria, now in Yemen, etc., Obama is a "lying mass murderer," LaRouche concluded. "When you say those three wordslying mass murdereryouve got him."
Justice is a concept that is always on Natashia Deons mind. As a lawyer, a law professor, a mother and now a novelist, it undergirds all she does.

Sitting in her writing space, a cozy converted garage in a home not far from Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, flanked by a spiral staircase and a Murphy bed, a dark wood desk and an overstuffed bookshelf, she says, The first time that I wanted to quit being a lawyer was two weeks after I passed the Bar.

She was representing an insurance company in a mediation, with the authority to give the injured party a few hundred thousand dollars. The clients attorney told Deon that they could settle immediately if she gave the client just $5,000 and paid her, the attorney, $30,000 in fees. Deon was visibly upset. This isnt justice, she said. The judge responded, You should know by now, theres no such thing as justice.

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Deon didnt stop practicing law, but she did carry that sentiment to her debut novel, Grace. The book was published by Counterpoint in June to rave reviews. In the novel, Naomi, the narrator  the specter of a dead slave  watches over her child as she grows amid the turmoil surrounding the Civil War. At one point, Naomis ghostly presence is felt in the land of the living, where a character says to the wraith, Theres no justice. Only grace.

The bedrock of the book was a daydream that hit her like a bolt of lightning as she walked around her home, holding her newborn son.

I was walking down the hallway, when the hallway suddenly became dark, Deon says. It was nighttime, and I was in the woods, the moon was full, and I knew somehow that it was Alabama. I held my son closer to my chest, and I saw a girl in a yellow dress, blood-stained.

After the vision was over, she passed her infant son to her husband so she could write down the scene that would later become the opening of Grace  a rare moment of handing off her son, because at that time, he almost never left her arms. When I was pregnant with him, I was working two jobs. I was making a lot of money. We had a nice house, nice cars  all the stuff that I thought I wanted  the American dream, she says. I thought that Id be off 12 weeks, and then Id be back at work. But when he was born, it stopped everything. I couldnt go back because I knew there was something wrong with my baby.

Doctors at first seemed to think he was fine, but Deon knew better. Her son was eventually diagnosed with succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, or SSADH, a rare metabolic condition that left him with both muscle weaknesses and mental delays  effectively silencing him.

It helped me to shift what I was doing with my life, she admits. It got me thinking about who will take care of him after Im gone. My daughter? The state? These things change the way you see the world.

Deon quit her job, and she and her husband left their American dream behind  their home, their cars, their nice, cushy life. She found a different American dream  one focused more on love and grace than money and possessions.

It also allowed her to focus more on a lifelong passion: writing. In 2010, she was a part of the PEN Center USAs Emerging Voices Program. A couple years later, she earned an MFA in creative writing from UC Riverside-Palm Desert. Although she still does legal work, mostly trying to get pardons for ex-cons, after her son was born, she couldnt justify working corporate hours.

Because it took her seven years to write Grace, having the novel out now feels unreal to her. How has her life changed since its release in June? Well, she says coyly, for one, Im talking to you. The L.A. Times is in my house, and I didnt kill anyone. She laughs. And in her laugh you can sense her entire history, everything that brought her to this moment, including that exit from corporate law after the birth of her son: It was the last wave of a longtime-coming miracle. Freedom, direction and service.

But her sons disability did more than help her re-prioritize, it taught her the importance of silences. This greatly affected her writing: Its made me try to create silences for things to happen. It helps me to cut to the chase of what people say. Its all in whats not said; its the stuff that comes in-between.

For Deon, one thing that comes in-between, that fills these silences, is love. She admits loving people recklessly. Her heart is always open  a beating, fist-sized eye  seeing the world from other peoples perspectives  her clients, her characters, anyone.

In a court of law, youre always looking for the why? Its all about motive, she says. Likewise, with a character, Im always thinking: Why would this character do that? I try to see from their point of view. There are some people who are just evil, who have a mental defect that causes them to do bad things, but for most people, theres a history that gets them to where they are and to what they do. When I look at my characters, I question how they got to this point.

That empathy isnt confined to her fiction. In 2010, she and her husband attended a reading by an author she knew. They were the only people in the audience. Deon told herself then that no one should read to empty chairs; soon after, she founded the Dirty Laundry Lit reading series, which is equal parts party and reading (the next one is Nov. 5).

When asked if she considers herself more of a lawyer, a law professor or a writer, Deon says, I dont know what I am, but Im always the same person. Regardless of what role she takes on, Deon is always someone with a strong moral compass coupled with an enormous capacity for empathy.

In Grace, Deon writes, Its been said that justice is getting what you deserve. And mercy is not getting the bad you deserve. Grace is getting a good thing, even when you dont deserve it. From a certain angle, one could see justice, mercy and grace  these embodiments of the gray areas between love and ethics  as the triumvirate forces that rule the book. Yet it took time for them to percolate through the story. Sitting in her work space, where Nina Simones Baltimore leans against a stack of records in the corner, Deon says the line that ties together justice, mercy and grace was actually the last thing I wrote.

Malone is a writer and professor of English. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Scofield and a contributing editor for Literary Hub.
A public awareness campaign last year did little to deter the growing number of rogue drones flying near wildfires and forcing firefighters to ground their own aircraft.

So this year, the Department of the Interior tried something a little more direct.

The agency gave real-time access to data on all active wildfires to two airspace mapping companies as part of a pilot program.

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One of those firms, Santa Monica-based AirMap, worked with drone manufacturer DJI, which created geofences around wildfires. When drones hit the virtual boundary, the geofencing software overrides the flight controller and forces them to hover in place. Any drone deployed inside the barrier wont be able to lift off.

We really want to have this new community of pilots be as responsible as the manned aircraft pilots that came before them, said Mark Bathrick, director of the office of aviation services at the Department of the Interior.

As private drone use has soared, so has concern about keeping the remote-controlled aircraft away from sensitive and high-risk areas such as airports, nuclear power plants and prisons.

Those concerns are heightened by high-profile incidents such as the near collision in March of a drone and a Lufthansa jet approaching Los Angeles International Airport. In 2013 a drone crash landed in front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a campaign event, and a quadcopter crashed on the White House lawn in 2015.

Defense giants Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., as well as a handful of start-ups, have jumped into the fray, developing technology ranging from detection systems to more disruptive solutions such as software that forces unauthorized drones to go home or land safely and laser cannons that shoot unwanted drones out of the sky.

The technology is of interest to commercial users as well as the government. The Department of Defense hosts an annual counterdrone demonstration called Black Dart in which the military, its allies and industry partners can assess current technology and techniques.

Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration tested FBI drone-detection technology at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey for a few weeks.

Last year, Boeing unveiled its compact laser weapons system, which ignites targeted drones. At a demonstration in California, Boeing said it took only about 15 seconds for its 2-kilowatt laser to disable the drone.

Though the counterdrone industry is still nascent, the global market  including both civilian and military uses  could be worth at least several hundreds of millions of dollars, said Michael Blades, senior industry analyst for aerospace and defense at research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

With all the talk of how many drones are going to be flying around and, at least on the commercial side, how much privacy is going to be an issue, I think these companies saw an opportunity, he said.

Much will depend on how well the technology works. Its not easy to devise a system that tracks and identifies tiny drones, and stops unauthorized ones without knocking out everything  or creating a safety hazard.

This rapid proliferation of start-ups, of large companies all proposing systems that deal with the issue in different ways, suggests to me that there isnt one single unifying solution for how to bring drones out of the sky, said Arthur Holland Michel, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York. Every single step of the process is challenging.

That starts with identifying whether drones are friendly or rogue.

Autonomous drone-detection systems need to be sophisticated enough to distinguish between slow-moving drones and birds, or even the signals emitted from drones compared with those emitted by cellphones.

Detection systems will likely need to integrate a number of sensors such as acoustics, cameras, radio frequency or even radar to create multilayer capability, Blades said.

Other companies and organizations are looking into the interdiction, or disruptive, aspect of how to safely deal with a drone threat once it is identified.

At Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo, researchers are investigating how to isolate the link between a specific drone and its controller that could lead to a safe takeover  rather than blindly jamming, or interrupting, all of the authorized frequencies in that range to cause confusion and force a potentially unpredictable landing. It is illegal for nongovernment entities to operate these kinds of jammers.

That sounds easier than it is. Drones change their frequency band tens of times a second to ensure an uninterrupted communications link, said Randy Villahermosa, principal director of research and program development at Aerospace Corp. But by using software-defined radios and integrating the teams coding knowledge, the researchers have been able to successfully take over a drones controls in several tests, said Esteban Valles, associate director of digital communication in the implementation department at Aerospace Corp.

The researchers have also worked on pinpointing the position of a rogue drones controller, allowing law enforcement to find the pilot.

There have been more than 300 so-called drone incidents in California between April 2014 and Jan. 31, 2016, according to an analysis of FAA data by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinsteins office. More than half of these incidents involved a drone that flew within five miles of an airport.

In one case from early January, a Cessna agricultural aircraft reported that it possibly hit a drone about 1,400 feet in the air near Modesto, according to the analysis. No damage was reported to the aircraft.

Aerospace Corp. does not sell its products commercially but is trying to better understand how drone communications work so it can advise customers on their own technology solutions, Villahermosa said.

Drone maker DJI introduced its GPS-based geofence system about three years ago. It prevents inadvertent drone operations in sensitive areas, such as airports or in Washington, D.C.

Since drones rely on their GPS receivers to determine where they are, DJI preprograms certain locations into the geofencing system. If a drone gets close to one of these locations, operators first receive a warning, said Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs at DJI. If they continue to fly their drone, they will be stopped by the geofence. The distance around these sensitive locations can vary.

A more recent version includes locations with a temporary flight restriction, such as sporting events.

DJI, which analysts estimate sells up to 70% of all consumer and professional drones, has included the option of overriding the geofence for wildfires, allowing a verified user to input credit card information or a mobile phone number to give firefighting or other authorized personnel the ability to keep using drones for legitimate efforts.

Its really a balance between safety and innovation, Schulman said. We dont want to just shut down the technology in places it can be useful.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

For more business news, follow me @smasunaga

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With its egg-free recipe, Just Mayo had become a darling of vegans, a hot investment for Silicon Valley venture capitalists and an avatar for alternatives to industrial agriculture.

But to the nations $7-billion egg industry, Just Mayo posed an existential crisis so serious that a federally supervised trade group launched a secret two-year campaign to thwart the San Francisco start-up that makes it.

The campaign against Beyond Eggs, the original name of company behind Just Mayo, included flirting with an offer from a consultant who bragged he could rid the product from Whole Foods shelves with one phone call, and jokes among American Egg Board members and affiliates about pooling our money to put a hit on the companys founder, emails show.

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The investigation, sparked by documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher and his Washington attorney, reveals the lengths the American Egg Board appeared willing to go to crush Just Mayo, its manufacturer, now called Hampton Creek, and the firms founder, Josh Tetrick.

Federal investigators did not find the campaign amusing, slamming the American Egg Board for overstepping its congressional mandate and chiding its overseers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a lengthy investigation that was quietly released on the agencys Freedom of Information library page late Thursday.

The American Egg Board, an industry-funded promotion group overseen by the U.S. Department of Agricultures marketing branch, spent at least $59,500 to counter the products publicity advances.

It hired a top-tier Chicago public relations firm to plant USDA approved pro-egg messaging with bloggers the firm considered influential, according to investigation documents. And it deployed pop-up ads promoting eggs  usually with the boards Incredible Edible Egg logo  that would outrank, replace or obscure other content when Internet users searched such terms as Beyond Eggs, Hampton Creek, Just Mayo or Josh Tetrick, according to an internal review by the Agriculture Department.

Email exchanges among egg board members and affiliate groups asked Can we pool our money and put a hit on him? and suggested having old buddies from Brooklyn pay him a visit, referring to Tetrick.

The parties involved in the exchange told investigators they were just joking, and investigators concluded the messages were written in jest.

But the activities appear to have pushed American Egg Board Chief Executive Joanne Ivy into early retirement last year, according to the investigation documents.

Ivy refused to respond to a subpoena by USDA investigators, investigators said. She entered into a Confidential Severance Agreement and Release with AEB and retired from her position in September 2015, a few months before the end of her tenure, investigators said.

She and board officials involved in the allegations could not be contacted for comment.

Blair Van Zetten, the current chairman of the egg board, said the group cooperated fully with the investigation. There were no findings of violation of the congressional act that created the board or the law that governs how it collects funds and operates, he said.

Investigators found that the boards monitoring of a specific company and product and its attempt to undermine them were inappropriate and exceeded the 1976 bylaws that govern the 18-member board, which is appointed by the secretary of Agriculture and uses the $20 million in annual fees it collects from large-scale producers to support research and promote the egg industry.

Ivy approved of an offer from Anthony Zolezzi, identified as a consultant and serial entrepreneur, who bragged during a strategy session in Chicago in 2013 that he could make one phone call and get Whole Foods to pull the product from its shelves.

If it is that easy, I will contact Anthony and remind him to make that call if it isnt too steep in cost, Ivy wrote to Chad Gregory, president and chief executive of United Egg Producers, a board-affiliated cooperative of egg producers.

An executive for Whole Foods told investigators that no such attempt was made, and investigators found no other evidence the plan was executed after it was proposed and supported by Ivy in 2013.

Zolezzi, who later apologized to Tetrick for his role, never was under contract with the board, the investigation concluded.

Investigators from the USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service said these exchanges were inappropriate discussions about an action that, if acted upon, would have significantly exceeded the provisions of the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act that established the board and its duties.

Ivy also instructed staff to erase all emails having to do with Beyond Eggs after reading them. Staff did not erase them, but Ivy apparently did, according to investigators, who retrieved the deleted communication.

The board paid a Chicago-based public relations firm, Edelman Inc., to monitor every story about the company and to encourage bloggers and writers to tout the benefits of eggs.

In an email to Edelman employees and egg board staff in 2013, under the subject Beyond Eggs, Ivy suggested that it would be a good idea if Edelman looked at this product as a crisis and major threat to the future of the egg production business.

The public relations firm, which specializes in the food and beverage industry and has an annual revenue of $855 million, told the board that it had compiled key messages (USDA approved) to ask our Beyond Eggs bloggers (full list below) to weave into their blog posts.

Edelman estimated that it would cost $33,000 for research and coordination with 5-10 key influential bloggers in food and health/nutrition space, drafting key messaging and coordinating posts, according to the board documents.

Investigators found no evidence that the bloggers, who acknowledged egg board sponsorship, wrote disparagingly of Hampton Creek or its products.

Edelman no longer has a contract with the board, according to the documents.

Investigators found no evidence to support allegations by Tetrick that the board intervened in a lawsuit by food giant Unilever that unsuccessfully challenged Hampton Creeks use of the word mayo to describe its egg-free product.

The egg board campaign came amid what was at first sympathetic coverage of a small company going up against the conglomerate that makes Hellmanns mayonnaise.

Beyond Eggs won customers and attention by taking aim at the industrialized food chain, its chemically enhanced production practices and its treatment of animals.

But that public image soon tarnished. More critical looks at company practices revealed that Hampton Creek hired contractors to buy back its products from grocery shelves, which could create false sales figures. Tetrick said the moves were part of quality control testing. The revelation, published by Bloomberg, nonetheless sparked an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department.

Hampton also jousted with the Food and Drug Administration, which monitors claims and labeling of food products, and was concerned whether Just Mayo described a true mayonnaise, which has egg in its recipe.

Hampton Creek eventually had to make several alterations of its label, including defining what it meant by the word just.

Tetrick told the USDA that the egg board tried to influence the FDA inquiry, but the investigator could not confirm the allegation.

Emails show that an official with the USDAs marketing service did suggest forwarding the boards concerns about labeling to the FDA. Ivy replied, Okay. Lets do it, but expressed unspecified concerns that needed further discussion.

Ivy also told a United Egg Producers member that, while the FDA probably knew of about the industrys labeling concern, maybe it needs to be pushed.

Some activities within the Beyond Eggs campaign were acceptable, investigators concluded  such as the boards financial support of research comparing the environmental footprint of egg substitutes with those of eggs. But specifying one company and product in its internal budgeting documents, which were not properly submitted for USDA review, violated federal guidelines, the investigation concluded.

The board acted inappropriately by failing to obtain [USDA Agricultural Marketing Service] approval for specific budget allocations and the related project activities, the investigation found.

Penalties for the behavior were mostly confined to additional training in ethics and procedures.

A USDA spokesman on Friday noted that the inquiry into the egg board was an administrative review, not a criminal investigation.

The departments marketing service branch takes these findings very seriously and has begun immediate corrective actions to ensure the integrity of the AEB and other similar boards under USDA oversight, he said.

New procedures for removing board members are being rewritten, he added.

geoffrey.mohan@latimes.com

Follow me: @LATgeoffmohan

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They may not get it this year, but boosters of energy storage technologies want their sector to get the same tax credits that the federal government extends to the wind and solar industries.

It would be a good economic investment for us as a government and as a nation to invest in advancing these technologies, said Matt Roberts, executive director for the industrys trade group, the Energy Storage Assn.

Under a bill introduced by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), qualifying energy storage technologies such as batteries, thermal energy storage and regenerative fuel cells would get a 30% investment tax credit.

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The Heinrich bill essentially runs parallel with the 30% tax credit that wind and solar receive from the federal government and, like the wind and solar credits, eventually would taper off.

Reps. Michael M. Honda (D-San Jose) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) have introduced a similar but more complicated bill in the House of Representatives.

The prospect of a tax credit created some buzz at the Energy Storage North America conference that wrapped up Thursday in San Diego.

Storage is too expensive, said Keith Martin, an attorney at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Chadbourne & Parke, one of the panelists at the conference. If the government can help with the cost-sharing, it will then get more people into the market.

Under current rules, energy storage can receive a federal tax credit only if it is paired with wind and solar electricity production, most often seen when a storage component is matched with a rooftop solar system.

The proposed legislation would establish tax credits for standalone storage systems.

Extending the tax credit would encourage deployment of storage throughout our electric power sector, said Janice Lin, executive director of the California Energy Storage Alliance, an advocacy group. The consequences of that are dramatic for ratepayers.

But in addition to the political hurdles the legislation would have to clear on Capitol Hill, there are other questions.

For example, while wind and solar generate energy for the electrical grid, storage  by definition  captures energy produced at one time and then deploys it later.

Were getting to a really tenuous connection, said William Yeatman, senior fellow specializing in environmental policy and energy markets for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank based in Washington, D.C.

The subsidy for wind and solar energy is already an indirect subsidy for the energy storage industry, Yeatman said, pointing to the intermittency of wind and solar  that is, how solar production slumps when the sun isnt shining and wind power wanes when the breeze isnt blowing.

Deploying energy storage is designed to smooth out those peaks and valleys on the grid.

If the energy storage industry receives a taxpayer-funded tax credit, its basically double-dipping, Yeatman said. Those wind and solar subsidies are helping [the energy storage industry] too.

Not surprisingly, energy storage company executives would like to see a federal tax incentive adopted.

If you had a cost-effective storage credit, it will create certainty in the market and rapid market adaptation, said Greg Miller, executive vice president of market development and sales at Ice Energy, a Santa Barbara company that specializes in thermal energy storage.

California is one of the few states that has incentives for the industry.

Energy storage is included in the California Public Utilities Commissions Self-Generation Incentive Program that offers rebates to utility customers who install distributed generation and storage technologies that reduce electrical demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

The state also has established a mandate through the CPUC that requires the states three investor-owned utilities procure 1,325 megawatts of energy storage by 2020.

Roberts, of the industry trade group, cited a recent study as one reason to back the federal tax credit. Modeling in Massachusetts estimated that 1.7 gigawatts of advanced energy storage would deliver more than $2.2 billion in system benefits and savings for that states ratepayers.

But Yeatman, of the think tank, said extending the tax credit would be wrong-headed and expensive.

How much is too much and how big is too big with respect to these handouts? Yeatman said. I would warn any industry that is aggressively seeking a huge subsidy: Be careful what you wish for because when the political winds change ... there are dire consequences for your industry.

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

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It has been a wild year for the people who choreograph the flow of goods in and out of U.S. ports.

The largest ship to ever visit North America docked in Los Angeles in February. In June, after nine years of construction, the Panama Canal opened a new passageway.

Then, in August, one of the worlds largest shipping lines, Hanjin Shipping Co., suddenly declared bankruptcy and left billions of dollars of goods marooned on ships across the globe.

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In the meantime, the U.S. presidential election managed to turn trade into a bad word. Candidates on both sides say poorly negotiated trade agreements have given China and Mexico an advantage and cost U.S. jobs.

As executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, Gene Seroka runs operations at the nations largest port, which serves as the gateway for a fifth of all boxes shipped to America. Seroka has been on the job for two years. In two recent interviews, Seroka talked about the drama hes confronted this year. Here is an edited version.

During the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Co., we heard a lot about the crisis of oversupply in the shipping industry. Does that impact the port?

It impacts the entire industry. It continues to put downward pressure on the entire cost structure. Every meeting we have is always about the sensitivity of cost structure and how we can drive value through the system at a much lower price point.

Does that hit your bottom line?

Absolutely. Terminal reciprocal pricing, requirements on public bids, everything goes into that mix. Thankfully, because of the leadership we have at the port and the city, our financial strength is extremely good. The bond rating agencies reaffirmed our AA ratings recently.

Theres been a slow growth rate for the combined imports and overall traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Is that the new normal?

I dont know if theres any semblance of normalcy today. Dating back to the recession, the industry has changed profoundly and continues to evolve. There was a time where growth rates were in the double-digit arena, simply because of the amount of outsourcing [companies] were doing to Asia locations that really buoyed growth for consumer spending.

It used to be a multiplier effect, that U.S. GDP times X would be your container growth. That has flattened tremendously. I think wed be pretty happy now if container growth was in the neighborhood of U.S. GDP [growth].

What is driving that?

Retailers have watched their inventory levels with an even sharper eye than ever before. Consumer spending, although steady, has not seen big pops based on earnings capabilities and the ability to find bargains and make sure the family dollar is stretched as far as it can be.

One argument for why Los Angeles has an advantage over the Panama Canal is that we can receive bigger ships. Will the port lose that advantage if carriers try to downsize to deal with overcapacity?

I really dont think so. Those ships give them better fuel efficiency and they are much cleaner burning than their predecessor vessels. For the smaller ships, theres no absorption rate. Youve got a glut of capacity in every range of container ship size that we have now.

So, so far, no real impact from Panama?

Thats correct.

Theres been a lot of talk about how bad Chinas rise is for the U.S., in the current election cycle. How important is China to what you do at the ports?

Its huge. The import/export market creates the great majority of the jobs here, in and around the port. It also has a direct offshoot to the domestic business that moves through our region. That trade creates all these opportunities and if we look at China as a whole, U.S. imports from China are about 60% of the ledger.

Do you think there will be continued mergers and consolidations in shipping?

A couple things are going on right now. The cargo owners and logistics companies are looking very closely at the financial viability of their service partners, and not just the liners, but everyone throughout the supply chain. But theres a particular interest in the liners after the Aug. 31 announcement by Hanjin Shipping.

With new [shipping carrier] alliances coming in, we are going to move from four major alliances to three. Its my belief that folks will continue to talk to find those areas of opportunities.

Natalie.Kitroeff@latimes.com

Follow me @NatalieKitro on Twitter

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Los Angeles County plans to require hospitals to begin reporting when patients are infected with a certain superbug so lethal that it can kill half its victims, health officials said Thursday.

Unlike two dozen other states, California has not required hospitals to report when patients are sickened with the lethal bacteria, which federal officials warn is one of the nations most urgent health threats.

The hospitals will be advised of the new reporting requirement in the next few months, said Dawn Terashita, deputy director of the countys acute communicable disease control program.

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The change comes after The Times reported Sunday about how Manhattan Beach resident Sharley McMullen was sickened with CRE, or carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, after a May 2014 surgery at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

McMullens daughter said she called the countys public health department to report her mothers infection, but was told it wasnt a reportable disease. McMullen died from the CRE infection after spending five weeks in the hospital, mostly in the ICU, according to her medical records.

The county had stopped requiring hospitals to report CRE infections in 2012 due to resource limitations, according to officials, although some hospitals had continued to voluntarily submit bacterial samples from patients stricken with the superbug.

Terashita said that the county does not plan to release the names of the hospitals reporting the CRE infections except in rare cases. If we feel there is some reason to have the hospital identified to protect the patient then we would, she said.

She said health officials will use the data to look for clusters of infections and prevent outbreaks.

Nursing homes and clinics wont be required to report when their patients are infected with CRE, Terashita said.

California does not track how many patients die from infections acquired in hospitals. And the county will not require hospitals to report whether patients with CRE die or survive, Terashita said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 75,000 Americans with hospital-acquired infections die during their hospitalizations each year. Some experts have challenged that number, saying it underestimates the number of deaths.

Since late 2014, CRE has caused three outbreaks at Los Angeles County hospitals, including at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, where three patients died. Those outbreaks were traced to a type of medical scope that has been shown to be especially difficult to disinfect.

McMullen had two scope procedures just before her surgery at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

Torrance Memorial officials did not answer questions about whether other patients were sickened but said they had ruled out medical scopes as the source of McMullens infection. They said the hospital takes patient safety, particularly as it relates to infection control, very seriously.

Because of CREs high risk, the CDC has advised local health officials to require health facilities to report such cases. And if thats not possible, health departments should still survey hospitals and nursing homes for the presence of the superbug to make sure the facilities are trying to stop its spread, according to the agencys guidelines.

CRE cases gathered from 2010 to 2012 showed that L.A. County was a high prevalence region for the superbug.

County officials said they had already been working to prevent the infections, including by sending public health nurses to hospitals to consult on potential outbreaks and proper infection controls.

Melody.petersen@latimes.com

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A California election monitor has dismissed a complaint that accused Chinese developer Wanda Group of illegally funneling foreign money into an effort to quash a rival Beverly Hills condo proposal on Novembers ballot.

The decision from the Fair Political Practices Commission is the latest twist in a development battle thats pitted developer and Beverly Hilton owner Beny Alagem against a builder controlled by Wang Jianlin, the richest man in China.

A local subsidiary of Wanda and its development partner, the Phoenix-based Athens Group, are planning a $1.2-billion hotel-condominium project near Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, adjacent to the Beverly Hilton property where Alagem wants to build a 26-story condo tower.

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The tower would be the tallest building in a city averse to big developments, and Alagem is seeking passage of a ballot measure that would bypass the usual public review for such a large project.

Unite Here Local 11, the Southern California chapter of a labor union that represents workers at the Hilton, had accused Wanda of funneling overseas cash to a campaign committee established by one of its U.S. subsidiaries that is opposed to Alagems project.

Federal and state law prohibits foreign donors from making political contributions, though subsidiaries of foreign companies are allowed to make donations if theyre not under the direction of the parent company.

At issue, is a $1.2 million contribution from Lakeshore East Parcel P LLC, a Wanda entity behind a $1-billion hotel-condominium project in Chicago. Unite Here alleged that Lakeshore East had no reason to get involved in the Beverly Hills ballot measure except as a proxy for Beijing-based Wanda, which wouldnt want to see the rival project built.

But in a letter Thursday to an attorney for Unite Here, the Fair Political Practices Commission said it would not open a case into the unions accusations.

The letter said Lakeshore loaned $1.2 million to Wandas U.S. subsidiary so that entity could make the contribution, but there was no proof it came from a foreign source. The commission recommended listing Lakeshore as the contributor.

A spokesman for Wanda had denied there was any foreign money or control involved in the campaign against the Hilton project.

Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who specializes in election law, previously told The Times that the union was warranted in asking for an investigation, but said proving the accusations would be difficult.

You need a money trail, almost a forensic accounting, or an admission to prove wrongdoing, she said.

The union filed a similar complaint with federal election officials. That complaint is still pending, an attorney for Unite Here said.

andrew.khouri@latimes.com

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Already the subject of federal investigations and congressional inquiries, Wells Fargo & Co. is now facing criticism from a growing number of state and local officials who want more answers from bank executives or hope to enact sanctions of their own.

On Tuesday, a San Fernando Valley lawmaker plans to question a regional Wells Fargo executive about the banks sales practices, while a Los Angeles City Councilman will call on the city to cease doing business with any bank that pressures workers to open unneeded or unwanted accounts.

Officials in other jurisdictions have taken similar actions against the San Francisco institution.

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On Friday, Seattle officials sent a letter to the bank saying the city wont work with Wells Fargo on a $100-million financing deal because of revelations that thousands of bank employees, driven by the banks hard-charging sales culture, opened as many as 2 million accounts for customers without their authorization. Earlier in the week, the Chicago City Council voted to suspend Wells Fargo from doing business with the city.

The moves by the two cities followed similar actions by the state treasurers of Illinois and California.

Wells Fargo has expressed disappointment over the moves, noting the unit that does business with governments is separate from the retail division where the unauthorized accounts were created.

That hasnt stopped local government officials from taking action against the bank, and Los Angeles could be next in line.

City Councilman Paul Koretz plans to introduce a motion that would call for the city to cease doing business with banks that use sales goals deemed to be predatory. The use of sales goals is common across the banking industry, but the practice has been the subject of more scrutiny in the wake of the Wells Fargo scandal that mushroomed last month.

Koretzs motion would call for changes to the citys Responsible Banking Ordinance, a 2012 law that requires banks that do business with the city to submit reports on their lending and charitable activities in Los Angeles.

The legislation is supported by the Committee for Better Banks, a union-backed group thats tried to organize bank workers and has called for banks to end all sales goals, saying they force workers to push unnecessary and potentially harmful financial products on unsuspecting consumers.

The intent is to begin to look at ways to hold banks accountable to ensure customers are protected from predatory practices, said Maria Loya, the committees L.A. policy director. Obviously the city cant regulate the banks, but the city can use its power, through contracts, to really put in protections for consumers.

Also on Tuesday, state Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Encino), will hold a hearing in Calabasas about the banks sales practices. He has questions for the bank but has also invited Wells Fargo customers to attend and raise issues of their own.

Dababnehs office invited Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf, who has testified at two recent hearings on Capitol Hill, but the bank is instead sending David Galasso, an executive vice president who oversees Wells Fargo retail bank operations in Northern and Central California.

Dababneh said he hopes the hearing will be an opportunity to learn about the banks practices from a lower-level executive who might be more familiar with the the banks day-to-day practices. At a House Financial Services Committee hearing last month, Stumpf said multiple times that he did not have enough details to answer questions from lawmakers.

When you saw the CEO testifying at congressional hearings, you saw a very isolated and out-of-touch set of answers, Dababneh said. Were bringing in someone who had quite a bit of oversight. If someone with his title doesnt know that level of detail, I dont know who would.

The hearing, he said, could be a first step toward state legislation aimed at reining in abusive practices by all banks, not just Wells Fargo.

That could include rules aimed at weakening the arbitration clauses Wells Fargo and other banks use to keep consumer complaints about unauthorized accounts out of court, he said.

james.koren@latimes.com

Follow me: @jrkoren

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Although John Altoon died in 1969, when he 43, his paintings and drawings look as fresh as the day they were made. They may, in fact, be even fresher.

The rambunctious loveliness that was Altoons stock in trade is served up in abundance at Kohn Gallery, where 11 paintings on canvas and board and 18 works on paper  all made from 1958 to 1968  have been beautifully installed.

John Altoons Untitled (Ocean Park Series), 1962 oil on canvas, 81 inches by 84 inches. (Kohn Gallery and the estate of John Altoon) (Test)

Raw, jaw-dropping talent spills from the surfaces Altoon touched, except for a few early canvases, painted before he had worked the formulaic maneuvers of academic expressionism out of his system and came, face to face, with his own whiplash facility.

In one fell swoop, Altoon seems to have discovered that the sexiest art unfolds in the imagination. Theres little thats very explicit in his best compositions. But each seems salacious, not quite pornographic, but far too steamy to be suited for anyones living room.

Its difficult to articulate just what makes Altoons paintings so lusty  and lust-worthy. But thats part of the fun. As soon as you say what you see in his abstract configurations of swollen blobs, probing protuberances and welcoming crevasses, you feel that your words exaggerate the playful relationships that unfold in his elusive images.

Altoon takes viewers back to Surrealism by way of spray-paint and comic strip figuration. His works make so much room for the imagination that its all but impossible to exhaust the visual acrobatics  and intellectual gymnastics  of his shape-shifting pictures. Hedonism never looked better, nor made for such long-lasting satisfactions.

John Altoon, Kohn Gallery, 1227 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles. Through Oct. 29; closed Sundays and Mondays. (323) 461-3311, www.kohngallery.com

Maria Lassnigs Lines of Fate/Re-lations VIII, 1994, oil on canvas, 59 inches by 893/4 inches. (Mumok, Vienna, Lisa Rasti, Lena Deinhardstein) (Test)

Maria Lassnig. A Painting Survey, 1950-2007 fills five handsome galleries at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel in downtown Los Angeles with just the right number of paintings (31) to give visitors terrific insight into the Austrian artists commitments and strengths.

Maria Lassnigs The Earthly Race, 1963, oil on canvas, 63 5/8 inches by 51 1/8 inches. (Mumok, Vienna, Lisa Rasti, Lena Deinhardstein ) (Test)

Laser sharp and evocative, the efficient exhibition paints a picture of an artist who plowed through styles and subjects to create paintings that make us grapple with our emotions about our bodies and souls. You leave wanting more, deeply satisfied by what you have seen and driven by the desire to see even more deeply.

Organized by Peter Pakesch, chairman of the Maria Lassnig Foundation in Vienna, and Paul Schimmel, the former Museum of Contemporary Art chief curator and now a partner in the gallery, the survey shows Lassnig (1919-2014) dredging the best out of hard-edged abstraction, gestural expressionism, cartoon figuration and lumpen self-portraiture. Sometimes she mixes seemingly antagonistic approaches. At others she strips painting to its essentials: raw emotion, naked sensation and heart-wrenching revelation.

Superficial differences fall away as you discover fundamental similarities. Lassnig had the capacity to make emptiness sing  to make the space between objects and figures bristle with energy.

Her crudely rendered figures are even more potently loaded. Each seems sentient. Plagued by pain yet unwilling to complain, Lassnigs beastly creatures stand out from the navel-gazing narcissism of the present.

Self-reflection, not self-aggrandizement, was her goal and modus operandi. Theres great excitement to be had before her paintings, which take visitors on roller-coaster rides that leave you feeling wrung out and enlightened  and restless to go again.

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Maria Lassnig, Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, 901 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles. Through Dec. 31; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. (213) 943-1620, www.hauserwirthschimmel.com

Film still from Marnie Webers The Day of Forevermore. (LeeAnn Nickel / Marnie Weber / Gavlak.) (Test)

The centerpiece of Marnie Webers mixed media installation at Gavlak in Los Angeles is a feature film written by, directed by and starring Weber, who also built the sets, designed the costumes, did the makeup and gave birth to the heroine of the funky fairy tale. Webers teenage daughter, Colette Weber Shaw, plays Crimson Luna, a teenage witch who yearns to escape the suffocating grip of her overbearing mother, Baba Muthra, played by Weber.

Both are fantastic, each in her own way. And so is The Day of Forevermore, whose haunting tone, drifting pace and dreamy atmosphere combine elements of A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Wizard of Oz, Donnie Darko, Little Red Riding Hood and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Into the felicitous mix of influences, Weber stirs Mardi Gras, the Brothers Grimm, Maurice Sendak and Ken Kesey. Her eye for endearing weirdness whips such diverse sources into a coming-of-age tale that ricochets between mother and daughter, comedy and tragedy, fantasy and reality. Plan to spend 90 minutes at the exhibition. The seats are comfortable, and Webers film builds with each minute, no matter when you start watching.

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Her wonderfully original work is a bittersweet love poem to the pains of growing up and leaving home. Its also a metaphor for letting go and moving on. It bears compelling witness to the quiet suffering that accompanies the powerlessness of adulthood  especially when things dont go as planned, regret rears its ugly head and fates twists and turns involve children.

A sense of impending doom suffuses each scene. But its tempered by the kindness of strange creatures  comical monsters that neither speak nor reveal their identities or purposes. Weber is an expert storyteller. Her metier is suggestiveness. She lets colors, textures, space and time weave a spell of poetic power.

Before you get to the darkened gallery in which the film plays, you walk through an enchanted forest of an exhibition. Titled Chapel of the Moon, it includes Halloween-style totem poles, gigantic wind chimes, a tumbling waterfall, a couple of realistic but impossible to believe mannequins and a series of collages, some huge, others intimate.

Webers collages steal this part of the show. Like her film, they take a step back from reality to give riveting form to its psychological undercurrents.

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Marnie Weber, Gavlak, 1034 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles. Through Nov. 5; closed Sundays and Mondays. (323) 467-5700, www.gavlakgallery.com

Glenn Goldbergs Okay (blue), 2016, acrylic, gesso, ink and pencil on canvas, 60 inches by 40 inches. (Glenn Goldberg / Charlie James Gallery) (Test)

Glenn Goldbergs new paintings call to mind all sorts of things, including dogs and rubber duckies, as well as beanstalks and rainbows, stars and gingerbread men.

Most of the recollections triggered by Goldbergs stenciled pictures have to do with childhood, particularly the way in which its innocence is battered by the demands of adulthood.

The New York painters wispy depictions of silhouetted figures evoke complex sentiments, but more important is the way they make their way into consciousness. At Charlie James Gallery in Chinatown, each of Goldbergs paintings has the presence of an afterimage.

Eight midsize acrylics on canvas and 18 small watercolors make up Somewhere, Goldbergs fourth solo show in Los Angeles since 1985. To look at the work is to feel as if youre seeing the physical imprint your immediate surroundings sometimes leave on your eyeballs  before vanishing, often dramatically. That there-and-gone perception leaves you with the sense that the world is luminous  aglow with a kind of light that may not be tactile but sure feels that way in your retinas.

In Goldbergs hands, the experience is magical.

The afterimages he paints are gentle and lovely, nuanced and supple. Made up of sun-bleached colors, their rough-cut forms lack the retina-burning buzziness of some optical phenomena. Their off-kilter patterns, soft-focus figures and off-center compositions turn handcrafted intimacy into a sort of storytelling that is inclusive and inspiring.

Glenn Goldberg, Charlie James Gallery, 969 Chung King Road, Los Angeles. Through Oct. 15; closed Sundays and Tuesdays. (213) 687-0844, www.cjamesgallery.com

Follow The Times arts team @culturemonster.

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Legendary tenor Placido Domingo has renewed his contract as general director of Los Angeles Opera through the 2021-22 season, the company announced after a board meeting Thursday.

Music is my life, and my three-decade association with L.A. Opera has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career, Domingo said in the announcement. I am incredibly grateful to have taken part in the companys many artistic achievements, and I am thankful to be able to continue leading this extraordinary opera company well into the future.

Domingos positions within the company have included artistic consultant from 1984 to 2000, artistic director from 2000 to 2003 and finally, general director from 2003 until now.

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Now 75, he has performed in every L.A. Opera season since starring in its inaugural production of Verdis Otello in 1986. When the current season ends, Domingo will have sung 28 roles in more than 160 performances, and he will have conducted more than 100 performances of 23 L.A. Opera productions.

His contract in considered evergreen and is renewed on a biannual basis by a vote of the L.A. Opera board. As general director, he is responsible for all aspects of running the company, both artistic and managerial.

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The Doctor may not be making regular appearances in Class, but he is definitely present for the first teaser trailer of the upcoming Doctor Who spinoff series. And hes there to give a warning.

I can travel through space and I can travel through time, but I cant always be there when you need me, the Doctor says in the trailer. Sometimes, you have to take survival upon yourselves.

The trailer, revealed during BBC Americas Class presentation at New York Comic Con, features glimpses of the Coal Hill School, where the show will take place, as well as flashes of the main cast. And its dark  which is not surprising considering the title of the first episode is For Tonight We Might Die.

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Also released in conjunction with the NYCC events is a new synopsis for the show: Its a new term at Coal Hill Academy, and students are preparing for their Autumn Prom. But when the school comes under attack, four alienated students must form an unlikely alliance to defeat them. And this incursion is only the beginning.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

Starring Vivian Oparah, Greg Austin, Sophie Hopkins, Fady Elsayed and Katherine Kelly, Class will offer a different look at the Doctor Who universe  one that has the added complication of teenage issues like friendships, homework and everything that comes with prom.

In addition to the Class teaser trailer at NYCC, BBC America also showed a first look at the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special. The special is titled The Return of Doctor Mysterio (perhaps a reference to the past Spanish-language incarnation of the shows title) and seems to have a bit of a superhero element. Watch the video below.

The Doctor Who Christmas special will air in December and, Class will debut alongside the rest of the next season of Doctor Who next spring.

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown
While researching her role as Nat Turners wife in the new film The Birth of a Nation, actress Aja Naomi King found a small but crucial sentence in an 1831 Richmond, Va., newspaper clipping.

I have in my possession some papers given up by his wife under the lash, the newspaper reporter wrote.



For the record: An earlier version of this article incorrectly dated the event that possibly led to Nat Turner waging an insurrection as 1931. The correct date is 1831.

For King, who plays Cherry Turner, the wife of the leader of a 19th century slave rebellion, that sentence is the clearest proof she has that such a woman ever existed. The Birth of a Nation, which arrived in theaters Friday, depicts Cherry as a slave on a neighboring plantation who marries Turner, bears his child and urges him on to rebellion.

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Information about Turners real wife is murky  he never mentioned her in a lengthy interview with his attorney shortly before his execution, perhaps to protect her, some historians speculate. When novelist William Styron fictionalized that interview in his controversial, Pulitzer Prize-winning 1968 novel The Confessions of Nat Turner, he imagined Turner as an eccentric lonely prophet, an image that became pervasive, despite being contested by many black writers at the time.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

I gave myself the liberty to create a history for Cherry, King said. And to imagine what kind of woman you would have to be in order for these two people to have this type of relationship. Its such a big deal, the notion that these enslaved Africans had marriages and children ... because therein lies our humanity, our capacity for love.

The role of women in the film  specifically the implication that both Cherry and a character played by Gabrielle Union are raped  has come under new scrutiny after revelations about a rape case in the filmmakers past. Nate Parker, who wrote, directed and stars in the film as Nat Turner, was accused of rape in 1999, as was a close friend, Jean Celestin, who co-wrote The Birth of a Nation. Parker was acquitted and Celestin was convicted but successfully appealed. Their accuser committed suicide in 2012, a detail that first became public in August.

King, who regards the experience of shooting the movie on a Georgia plantation in 2015 as transformative in her own life, referring to a kind of blood memory it stirred in her, said she did not know about Parkers past until news reports surfaced in August.

I found out with the rest of the world, King said. Its been disturbing, to say the least.

Writing in Variety, the sister of Parkers accuser took issue with the inclusion of rape in the film.

The thing that pains me most of all is that in retelling the story of the Nat Turner slave revolt, they invented a rape scene, she wrote. The rape of Turners wife is used as a reason to justify Turners rebellion. This is fiction. I find it creepy and perverse that Parker and Celestin would put a fictional rape at the center of their film, and that Parker would portray himself as a hero avenging that rape.

(Most historians consider an atmospheric disturbance in August of 1831 that made the sun appear bluish-green the event that incited Turner to wage the insurrection. Driven by spiritual belief that slavery was wrong, he took the event as his final signal from God to rebel.)

With such little evidence in the historical record about Turners wife, its unknown whether she was raped or not. With black women legally regarded as property, King said, it is unlikely any contemporary view of consent would have applied.

If you were a black woman and you were enslaved, the probability of your being raped by your master was extremely high, King said.

 Watch the trailer for "The Birth of a Nation.

If the rapes happened, there likely would not have been an evidentiary record of them, according to Patrick Breen, an associate professor of history at Providence College and author of The Land Shall Be Deluged With Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt.

Because of one account that says Turners wife lived on a plantation owned by a man named Giles, historians have narrowed her identity down to three likely women, named Cherry, Mariah and Fanny. She did have his child, a son named Riddick. The revelation that Turners wife had her husbands papers in her possession is significant, Breen said, because it reveals that she likely knew about the rebellion in its planning stages, and was a trusted confidante.

Having papers is very unusual, Breen said. This means she was in the inner circle. The revolt was run by men. They did not recruit women.

That historians can construct only a vague biography of Mrs. Nat Turner speaks to a challenge storytellers working in African American history often face: a dearth of real documents to mine. For every filmmaker who has a text like 12 Years a Slave to read, there are many others who are forced to invent narratives and characters, as in Alex Haleys Roots.

Most of the contemporary sources were produced by whites, Breen said. Tax records, court records, documents that treat blacks as property. Whites werent particularly interested in documenting how blacks actually lived.

For King, learning about her character and spending time on a plantation meant opening a window to an era of history. A Los Angeles native who attended drama school at Yale, King, 31, is best known for her role as an ambitious student on ABCs How to Get Away With Murder. For The Birth of a Nation, she assembled a character study of Nat Turners wife by reading slave narratives and interview transcripts of black women living in slavery. She was struck by one interview transcript in which a woman talked nonchalantly about hating her mistress for killing her baby sister.

I wouldnt know how to have that fit inside of me and continue living, King said. Especially when it comes to black women, we understand so well this notion of the strong black woman who holds the family together. But we also need to see them as vulnerable. Thats part of what makes the character so complicated and so layered. Strength doesnt mean an absence of pain.

Some, including feminist writer Roxane Gay, have said they will not see the film because of the revelations about Parkers past. Asked how she would respond to moviegoers who share that sentiment, King said, I dont want to diminish anyones feelings.

She continued: At the end of the day, seeing the film or not seeing the film is not going to change the world. Changing the world is going to change the world. The film was meant to start a conversation.

rebecca.keegan@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter for more movie news: @thatrebecca

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A few hours after Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation premiered to thunderous applause at this years Sundance Film Festival, Variety published a largely glowing review, hailing the movie as a flawed but vital chronicle of American slavery  one that was told, crucially, from the perspective of the black men and women who endured it.

The review also acknowledged that Parkers debut feature, a brutal yet sympathetic portrait of the rebel leader Nat Turner (played by Parker himself), was destined to provoke and polarize. No film worthy of this particular historical subject, the Variety critic wrote, could hope or expect to avoid controversy.

Full disclosure: That critic was me, and at the time I had no idea that my guess would turn out to be right for entirely the wrong reasons.

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As anyone knows who has followed recent industry headlines, the conversation that has consumed The Birth of a Nation has had little to do with the films racially and politically charged subject matter, its confrontational images or its disturbing relevance in the era of Black Lives Matter, and everything to do with the rape accusations that its writer-director-star faced as a student at Penn State almost 20 years earlier.

Parker was found not guilty; Jean Celestin, his friend and future co-writer on the film, was convicted but later had the verdict overturned. But the filmmakers legal exoneration has done little to vindicate them publicly in the wake of the renewed spotlight on the case, as well as the news that Parker and Celestins accuser committed suicide in 2012.

 Watch the trailer for "The Birth of a Nation.

Its an unspeakably awful story that, by dint of Parkers obvious talent and growing fame, has become a matter of intense public interest. Its not a discussion I enter into casually. Personal tragedies have a way of making discussions of art and culture seem trivial, even callous  and they can be, when the discussion remains limited to commercial prospects and Oscar predictions.

But for better or worse, the widespread perception of The Birth of a Nation as an irredeemably tainted work  a cultural bombshell that may have blown up in its own face  offers a chastening reminder of the eternal difficulty of separating the art from the artist. That difficulty has become only more apparent in light of Parkers decision to address the rape charges in a series of discomfiting press interviews.

While Parker is in the extraordinary if unenviable position of experiencing all this blowback at the very moment of his career breakthrough, he is hardly the first filmmaker whose embattled personal history has cast a bitter pall over his work.

Earlier this year, the premiere of Woody Allens Cafe Society led to renewed focus on the allegations that the director had sexually abused his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow. This November will see the theatrical release of Mel Gibsons war drama Hacksaw Ridge, which will surely face tough scrutiny from those with still-fresh memories of Gibsons anti-Semitic tirades.

Incidentally, Gibsons own pathologies of masculinity and martyrdom are entirely relevant to The Birth of a Nation, which struck me then, and strikes me now, as basically a black version of Braveheart  a blood-soaked, testosterone-driven war epic in which scenes of intolerable oppression are meant to stoke a righteous bloodlust in the characters and the viewers alike.

I dont much care for Braveheart, as it happens, but theres no denying that its narrative of oppression and resistance has a crudely riveting power. And what gives Parkers film its electric charge  its vitality as a work of historical and cinematic reclamation  is the way it recasts that narrative within the context of a real-life slave uprising, turning suffering African American men and women into vengeful agents of their own destiny.

If its especially hard to separate the art from the artist ... its because the artist in this case is almost always in front of the camera.

All these thoughts came flooding back when I went to see The Birth of a Nation again on Tuesday night, my first viewing in the eight months since I saw it at Sundance. My hope was that the movie would hold up even under closer scrutiny, that its virtues would persist regardless of whatever its director may have done.

What I saw that night struck me as a film unmistakably diminished, though not necessarily for the reasons I had feared. Any number of good, even great movies can feel leached of impact on a second or third encounter, and The Birth of a Nation  whose strengths lie almost entirely in its steady and suspenseful narrative buildup, its accrual of shocking moments en route to a cathartic release  seemed to have more or less exhausted its secrets the first time around.

If anything, the movie feels even shorter on second viewing, which speaks to Parkers sense of narrative economy, but also his tendency to cut away suddenly or throw in a slick montage when a closer, more lingering appreciation of the horrors on display might be called for. (Its one of many instances in which The Birth of a Nation, for all its virtues, feels far less artful or sustained than Steve McQueens 12 Years a Slave.)

That expedient, mechanical storytelling approach can be detected even in two scenes that have understandably become some of the pictures most talked-about moments. In one of them, Turners wife, Cherry (played by Aja Naomi King), is brutally beaten and raped by white slave-catchers; in another, a slave named Esther (played by Gabrielle Union) is forced to have sex with a white plantation guest.

In both scenes the act of sexual assault is implied rather than shown, but the very fact that Parker and Celestin sought to heighten their films emotional impact in this fashion has been called out by some of their critics as the ultimate hypocrisy. (Union has since spoken out about her experience as a sexual assault survivor, as well as her newly conflicted feelings about Parker and the movie.)

I myself was struck by the diagrammatic placement of these scenes within the narrative, and by the films relative disinterest in its female characters otherwise. Their suffering here is largely treated as a catalyst for vengeance, a means to an end.

If its especially hard to separate the art from the artist while watching The Birth of a Nation, its because the artist in this case is almost always in front of the camera. Parkers performance as Turner is grave, measured, astutely judged; it also plays rather differently, to these eyes, than it did eight months ago. Its hard to look at the actors face now without being reminded of his off-screen blunders, his vain and defensive attempts to reclaim ownership of his moment.

At Sundance, there was no mistaking Parkers talent, or his swagger. It takes a certain effrontery, after all, to cast yourself as a Christ-like martyr figure, and to re-appropriate the title of a great but notoriously racist 1915 cinematic landmark. I didnt begrudge the director his chutzpah, which undoubtedly helped him get his passion project made, and which seemed rooted in an honest and unimpeachable sense of the projects importance. It also seemed rooted in his Christian faith, which he has repeatedly cited in interviews since the rape charges resurfaced.

In my original review, I noted that The Birth of a Nation was perhaps most effective as a theological provocation, one that grapples fearlessly with the intense spiritual convictions that drove Turner to do what he had previously considered unthinkable. Its a judgment that I stand by even more strongly now. The most nuanced, provocative and unpredictable element of Parkers movie remains its tough-minded understanding of Turners roots in Baptist theology  someone who led his followers to violence because of, rather than in spite of, his identification with Christ and his immersion in Scripture.

He is a God of love, Nat. Dont forget that, says a dissenting fellow slave, to which Turner retorts, I wont. Nor will I forget that He is a God of wrath. Wrath versus love, revenge versus forgiveness, Old Testament versus New  these are age-old spiritual contradictions that have kept theologians arguing for centuries, and The Birth of a Nation seems more instructive on that particular score than its maker may have intended.

To watch the film now is to be reminded of the need for activism and justice, but also the folly of choosing retribution over mercy. If you see The Birth of a Nation (and I recommend that you do), look closely at the man who occupies almost every frame. You may see Nat Turner; you may see Nate Parker. Either way, its hard not to see a man caught up in the thrill of his own crusade  and not realizing, perhaps, that his own day of judgment is very much on the march.

justin.chang@latimes.com

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On her 46th birthday in July, Sharon Horgan shared a video of herself on Instagram. I love being closer to death and an eternity of nothingness, said the Irish writer-actress, grinning incongruously in the clip.

I love watching the people I love get older and decay and die as well. Its very liberating. So dont be scared of getting older. Just embrace the horrific awfulness of it.

Horgans dark, existential sense of humor will be familiar to anyone who has seen Catastrophe, the biting, not-especially-romantic comedy she co-writes and stars in alongside Rob Delaney. They play a couple whose six-night stand leads to an unplanned pregnancy and a turbulent marriage in the Amazon series, which earned the duo an Emmy nomination for writing this year.

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Beginning Sunday, Horgan brings her caustic sensibility to Divorce, an HBO dramedy that chronicles the demise of a decades-long marriage. Created by Horgan, it stars Sarah Jessica Parker in her return to the small screen more than a decade after the women of Sex and the City sipped their last cosmos. While Divorce, set in the New York suburbs, revisits many of the same themes as that landmark series, it strikes a decidedly different tone.

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Divorce is a brutally frank portrayal of the resentment and animosity that infect many romantic relationships, even the seemingly happy ones. In a style increasingly common on cable TV and streaming networks (Louie, Transparent, Girls), it consciously blurs the line between laughter and sorrow.

Both sexually and emotionally candid, Divorce is not for the squeamish -- though nothing ever is when Horgan is involved. Like a growing number of female writer-performers, including Tig Notaro, Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer, she mines her life experiences for comedy that is deeply personal and often cringe-inducing in its honesty.

Im just kind of lucky that I have one of those brains that looks at the [bad] side of things all the time whilst living a lovely life, Horgan says during a trip to Los Angeles this summer. Being a glass-half-empty kind of person and a bit of a pessimist and a loon has totally informed the way I write.

Wearing a decade-old fringed dress by Matthew Williamson (she thinks), Horgan has an unfussy glamour and is blessed with a mane that inspires her producing partner, Clelia Mountford, to call her Sharon With the Good Hair. Its a combination that could easily prove intimidating, except Horgan, with her potty mouth and throaty laugh, comes off as someone youd want to split a bottle of wine (or two) with while trading humiliating tales from your 20s.

She has plenty of them. Horgans cynicism is hard-won, the byproduct of years spent toiling in thankless day jobs while trying to make it as an actor in London. A low point arrived right around the time Horgan was turning 30 and working in a Camden head shop.

I thought someone I went to college with was going to see me, someone who thought I was going to do better with my life, and here I am, handing out fliers to come buy a bong, she recalls.

A misspent youth

Horgan expresses few regrets about her misspent youth, which she channeled into Pulling, a bleak sitcom she co-created with a friend, playwright Dennis Kelly. In the series, which aired on BBC Three beginning in 2006 and later on Sundance in the U.S., Horgan plays Donna, a bride-to-be who dumps her milquetoast fiance on the eve of her wedding. She moves into a modest flat with two debauched friends -- one a hard-drinking schoolteacher, the other a waitress with romantic delusions.

Being a glass-half-empty kind of person and a bit of a pessimist and a loon has totally informed the way I write.  Sharon Horgan, writer and actress

Horgan and Kelly used to describe Pulling (the title is British slang for hooking up) as  Sex and the City, but with kebabs. But as Horgan notes, Pulling, unlike the consumerist fantasy of Sex and the City, was completely unaspirational. No one would want to be those girls. I didnt want to be that girl.

As savage as it was filthy, Pulling took a much darker view of the thirtysomething singleton lifestyle. In one notorious scene, Donna discovers that her heartbroken ex-fiance has tried to hang himself. As she tries to free him from the noose, his erection pokes her in the face.

Part of the impetus to create Pulling was Horgans frustration with the limited range of comedic roles for women, Kelly recalls. Together, they set out to create a comedy where the women were messy, flawed and allowed to behave like complete reprobates, Kelly says. We decided if anyone was going to be one-dimensional, it was going to be the men. Talk of shoes was strictly forbidden.

 Pulling was like the voice of a generation, recalls Mountford, who runs the London-based production company Merman with Horgan, echoing, perhaps subconsciously, Dunhams famous line from the pilot episode of Girls. It was the same thing I was doing with my friends, going out there and enjoying life and embracing life and not necessarily tying yourself down to the first man that came along.

Despite a BAFTA nomination and widespread acclaim, Pulling was canceled after two seasons, with little explanation from BBC Three, though Horgan and Kelly have speculated that it was too old for the youth-oriented network. Nevertheless, the series got Horgan noticed by Hollywood. She soon was developing a string of failed pilots for ABC, including an ill-fated Pulling remake. The projects never felt quite like my voice, Horgan says.

Her sensibility was a more natural fit for HBO, where she was commissioned to write a script about two sisters going through hard times -- of course, like everything I write, Horgan says, cackling. That project never went anywhere, but Casey Bloys, then the networks comedy chief, set Horgan up on a work date with Parker, whod been toying with the idea for a series about a troubled marriage.

Parker, also an executive producer, was excited by the blend of humor and heft in Horgans writing. [She] had so much to say about marriage, relationships and being a woman that was completely in line with the story we had been wanting to tell for years, Parker said in an email.

Like seemingly all woman alive at the turn of the millennium, Horgan watched the [heck] out of Sex and the City.  (Her favorite episode: the one where Carrie repeatedly asks for Aidans forgiveness.) As she drafted the Divorce pilot, she did her best not to dwell on the fact that she was writing for Parker, one of the most famous women in the world.

If I did, my brain would explode, she says.

The pilot is vintage Horgan: Parkers character, Frances, is moved to break up with her husband, Robert (Thomas Haden Church), at a party thrown by a couple consumed by near-homicidal resentment of each other. In response to the news, he vomits. (A virtually identical scenario plays out in the pilot for Pulling.)

I think it would be very easy to tell this story if it was just dramatic, says Horgan, who looked to the Kathleen Turner-Michael Douglas black comedy The War of the Roses as a model. By making Divorce a comedy, she and show runner Paul Simms (a former writer-producer on Girls) aimed to take viewers on a roller-coaster ride where theyre laughing one minute and hopefully shot in the heart the next.

Divorce came together virtually at the same time as Catastrophe, which Delaney and Horgan wrote after striking up a friendship on Twitter. The story of a fling that unexpectedly morphs into a permanent commitment was partially drawn from Horgans life: She found out she was pregnant after dating her now-husband, Jeremy Rainbird, for only six months (theyve been married for more than a decade and have two daughters).

The series, which debuted on Amazon last year, provides an unflinching look at the difficulties of juggling marriage and parenthood, even for two people seemingly meant to be together. There are story lines around forgotten breast pumps, pre-cancerous growths and dead pets.

Whatever organ squeezes out art juice, hers is very very healthy, says Delaney, an American standup who, before Catastrophe, was best known for his wickedly funny Twitter feed. She understands that there is no light without dark.

After numerous professional false starts, Horgan is now in the nutty situation of having two shows she created premiere within 18 months of each other, a hot streak she attributes to a growing appreciation for female-driven storytelling.

And theres more to come from Horgan, who recently produced and co-wrote two pilots for British networks: The Circuit, about a nightmarishly uncomfortable dinner party, and Motherland, an acerbic take on middle-class moms that was ordered to series this week by BBC Two.

She has also committed to at least two additional seasons of Catastrophe, and with Mountford is developing a range of projects. At some point, she hopes to do some acting outside of Catastrophe, because, as she puts it, its fantastic to be someone else, and writing is a pain in the hole, though so far there are no plans for her to appear in Divorce.

Getting her first big career break at age 36  positively geriatric by show-biz standards  has inspired Horgans frenzied work pace. She admits feeling a bit panicky if she doesnt have a project lined up -- an increasingly rare circumstance these days.

I may as well be using this washing machine that is my brain, she says. Otherwise, its just a load of voices.

meredith.blake@latimes.com
The Bae sisters are keen on keeping manufacturing in Los Angeles. The Baes  Elizabeth and Claudia  come from a family already in the business. Their parents own a factory in Los Angeles and the two quietly began working on their denim line, 1denim, in May 2015, more recently unveiling it to the public with a store at Caruso Affiliateds Americana at Brand in Glendale and an online store. Wholesale will eventually be in the cards as well.

The choice for the companys first real estate move at Americana is an interesting one but provides insight into how its positioning itself in the future.

We wanted to target an area that was more family-oriented, explained Claudia. We do have product offering from kids and toddlers to your teens to young professionals and older women and men so we wanted to target a market that serves all of those.

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The 1,200-square-foot store, which bowed under the radar last month, has been doing well, the Baes reported. The majority, about 90 percent of people who try product on in store make an actual purchase, according to Elizabeth. The store also benefits from a good amount of walk-in business and boasts its own coffee bar and sells gourmet chocolates from Santa Barbara.

We added the coffee and chocolate component because it was a way to reach an additional crowd, especially nowadays with retail being so difficult, Claudia said. We felt that because our strategy was to start with direct retail, we wanted a creative way to attract customers. I also do think it makes for a good shopping experience.

The two plan on opening additional brick-and-mortar locations and are eyeing a potential location in Orange County. Its a market similar to Glendale in that its a more suburban setting that would garner a diverse customer mix, according to Elizabeth. She added the store could open as early as the first part of 2017.

The goal, Claudia added, would be to open as many as 10 stores next year, with a sprinkling in California and then other parts of the country.

We definitely want to do more brick-and-mortar and the main reasoning behind that is because we are a factory direct-to-consumer brand, Claudia said. We have our own factory and we want to keep our prices low.

Pricing on the womens side starts at $89 and can go up to $130 for a jacket, while mens starts at $99 and runs up to about $140.

The companys also now building a sales team to develop a wholesale business, Elizabeth said. With small margins, finding the right retail partners will be key, her sister added.

The factory, located in Los Angeles with a workforce of about 300, is owned by the Baes parents who have been running a private label business for more than 26 years and helped fund their daughters business. The two sisters cited the rising labor costs that have made it a challenge to continue manufacturing domestically as a good chunk of production moves to Mexico or Vietnam. Its that shift that motivated the two to create their own brand and continue manufacturing in the city and its also what gives them a leg up on the competition.

More than 26 years experience in denim production is a very unique set of expertise that my parents bring to the brand, Claudia said of how 1denim will differentiate itself in the market. Other brands go to manufacturers like us to get their products made but we are the manufacturer. We understand what works and what doesnt. That gives us a huge advantage.
The collections that came down the catwalks here during Paris Fashion Week may be destined for stores in the spring of 2017, but in many ways, they felt like a four-decade time hop back to 1977, when disco was still king and the push was on for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

It wasnt all lighted-floor-appropriate luxe and feminist-focused fashion, mind you, but there were enough references to both over the nine-day run of fashion week in the City of Light to cause serious Me Decade flashbacks.

A return to disco

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A late 70s / early 80s aesthetic was already evident coming out of the New York shows  the trippy, psychedelic florals at Tory Burch and Michael Kors and the high-waisted, flare-legged trouser silhouette everywhere  but in Paris, the framework shifted noticeably from commune to club, with disco references seen (and heard on show soundtracks) from Anthony Vaccarellos debut collection for Saint Laurent on Sept. 28 through Nicolas Ghesquieres Louis Vuitton womens collection (on the final day of the shows) with swirly metallic mini-dresses with triangular cutouts over the left hip and gold jackets heavy with sequins.

Disco-inspired looks are featured in the Paris runway collections of, left to right, Kenzo, Elie Saab and Saint Laurent. (Left to right, Alain Jocard / AFP / Getty Images, Estrop / Getty Images, Bertrand Guay / AFP / Getty Images )

In addition, two of the weeks more memorable collections explicitly referenced the disco era. The first of these was Elie Saabs Standing on Stardust collection which, the show notes explained, was designed to evoke the golden age of disco.

That meant ultraglam evening wear in liquid lame, lots of Lurex, leather and silk mousseline, draped or flowing gowns with capes and high leg slits, low-cut cocktail dresses and, yes, a rainbow of metallics, all sprinkled with sequins and dripping with beaded tassels.

The second was Kenzo, which staged a standout show in le Cite de lArchitecture et du Patrimoine museum under the watchful eye of a dozen or so living statues  stone-colored, stock-still set pieces, some nude, others draped in fabric, like ancient Greek statues; some with outsized body parts, others missing appendages.

The living statuary was so unexpected and so hauntingly beautiful, it was in danger of stealing the show. (Kenzo creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon have a way of doing that. The duo presented a recent Opening Ceremony collection at New York Fashion Week as a pageant of the people hosted by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein.)

The show notes cite as inspiration a 1977 show Kenzo Takada staged at the famed Studio 54 nightclub for which Grace Jones performed and Jerry Hall hit the catwalk. (What the notes dont do is make the connection between the nightclub and the living statues  which were apparently a thing at the club famed for its indulgences and excesses.)

The designers had worked with the archives of artist Antonio Lopez, whose photos documented the party scene of the period in New York and Paris (and of which Kenzo had been a part), gridding and collaging his photos onto jackets and skirts.

These were joined by a range Lurex, lame and denim pieces as well as voluminous caped dresses, jumpsuits and baggy pants gathered at the ankles made using shiny technical taffetas, silvery blue cocktail dresses festooned with paillettes the size of Eisenhower dollars.

A closer look at feminism at Dior (left and second from left) and strong-shouldered couture-meets-fetishism at Balenciaga (right and second from right). (Francois Guillot /AFP / Getty Images, left and second from left; Monica Feudi, right and second from right )

Finding feminism

Its too early to tell if Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first female artistic director in the history of Christian Dior, fired an opening shot in a feminist fashion revolution with her debut collection for the house here on Sept. 30, but she certainly put the notion front and center  literally with T-shirts printed with slogans such as, We should all be feminists and Dio(r)evolution, paired with black tulle skirts layered over knit underwear.

Many pieces in the collection took inspiration from fencing, a sport in which, as Grazia Chiuri explained, The uniform of the female fencer is, with the exception of some special protections, the same as for a male fencer. While you may not be down for wearing a quilted jacket that resembles a fencing vest (right down to the red heart-embroidered applique over the left breast), there was something refreshing about the notion of putting men and women on the same footing fashion-wise, whatever that may ultimately look like.

If your brain immediately went to the place where feminist fashion equals mannish clothes, youve made a logical misstep wider than the whaleboned jacket shoulders in Balenciagas spring/summer 2017 collection, which, in exploring the connection between couture and fetishism, ended up with a look that was equal parts serious business and sexy as all get out  strong-shouldered jackets up top and curve-hugging Spandex from hip to stiletto tip.

Looks that were powerful and powerfully feminine could be seen everywhere at Paris Fashion Week, including Balmain, where Olivier Rousteing declared that his Balmain army had shed its armor  but replaced it with something more akin to chain mail, in the form of body-hugging knits that simultaneously protected and celebrated the female form.

Rihanna was treading some of the territory (and keying into the athleisure trend at the same time) with the Paris Fashion Week runway debut of her Fenty Puma by Rihanna collaboration. RiRis Marie Antoinette-meets-the-street spring/summer 2017 collection was a mash-up of military influences, workout wear and lacy-edged lingerie in a range of colors that included beige and pale shades of purple, green and pink.

Pretty in pink is a theme at, left to right, Fenty Puma by Rihanna, Givenchy, Hermes and Chanel. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images, left and second from left; Patrick Kovarik / AFP / Getty Images, Etienne Laurent / EPA )

Pink is all the rage

Pink turned out to be one of the weeks most notable color trends, from the fetishistic fuchsia Spandex in the aforementioned Balenciaga collection to a statement-making pink coat at Valentino which had fashion editors tongues wagging well, those fortunate to score a seat  to the bits and bytes of Chanels Data Center collection.

Hermes served up a range of pink pieces from muted workwear-inspired jackets and trousers to a gorgeous fuchsia-hued gown that will no doubt find its way to a Hollywood red carpet in the not-to-distant future.

Feel feminine but not vulnerable

Fabric-wise, expect lace to be all over the place come spring. In addition to edging lingerie-like garments (at Chanel and Fenty Puma by Rihanna) in traditional shades, lace appeared in camouflage-patterned military-style jackets (Sacai), full-length black dresses (Giambattista Valli) and an electric blue head-to-toe trouser-and-sleeveless-top look at Louis Vuitton.

The high-point of the lace race came with the Alexander McQueen collection, which drew inspiration from the lace work of the Shetland Islands and included a series of tiered lace dresses with frayed edges that had been woven with intricate designs including flowers, shells, spider webs and ocean waves.

Lace on the runway at, left to right, Alexander McQueen, Sacai and Louis Vuitton. (Kamil Zihnioglu / AP Photo, Bertrand Guay / AFP / Getty Images, Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images )

But with few exceptions, the lacy hardly meant racy, and the magical, strong-shouldered women at Alexander McQueen were as protected for battle as Balmains soft-armored woman.

It was tulle and sheer netting  lots and lots of both  that seemed to be everywhere this season yet covered up next to nothing. Modesty required that the black tulle skirts and embroidered tulle dresses worn by Diors budding feminist posse be worn with some sort of foundation garment. Ditto for the Louis Vuitton dresses that, despite having full sleeves and and a hem that fell to the ankles, showed as much skin as the swimsuits on the Miu Miu runway.

Sheer and see-through looks from (left to right) Balmain, Giambattista Valli and Louis Vuitton. (Bertrand Guay / AFP / Getty Images, left and right; Alain Jocard / AFP / Getty Images, center )

One thing is for certain: There will be no shortage of options for women who want to feel feminine but not vulnerable come next spring. And that timetable is noteworthy too. Unlike the labels at New York Fashion Week leaping headlong into the see-now / buy-now arena, the luxury brands showing in Paris were sticking to the traditional timetable of showing clothes that are still five to six months away from retail. (The one exception was Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, which made a capsule collection of select runway pieces available immediately afterward; the show notes described it as a way to celebrate Westwoods new Paris boutique.)

In a weird way, that means that the Paris Fashion Week time machine only worked in one direction, with a 40-year backward inspirational leap proving infinitely easier than a tiny five-month retail hop forward.

For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me @ARTschorn.

ALSO

Jacquemus, Saint Laurent showcase the strong shoulder

Maria Grazia Chiuris Dior debut touches on fencing and feminism

Paris Fashion Weeks most spotted celebrities include Courtney Love and  Steve Harvey
Have you tried Guss Fried Chicken? Youre probably going to want to try Guss Fried Chicken. Because its pretty remarkable stuff, even in chicken-obsessed Los Angeles: a burnished red-gold, pieces bigger than they are small, whose peppery heat at first seems mild, even nonexistent, until it starts creeping up a few bites in, a heat that makes you glad you have a pint of sweet ice tea by your side.

You may be thinking of Nashville hot chicken, the kind you can stand in line for at Howlin Rays in Chinatown, but this isnt that  you dont worry whether youve renewed your life insurance after a wing or two, and the crunch, although considerable, is of a completely different sort. Classic Nashville chicken has a complex, multilayered crunch that maintains much of its integrity even after a day or two in the fridge. Guss chicken is more of a batter-fried phenomenon, with a thin, fragile crust that shatters under your teeth, releasing a flood of scalding juice.

Guss chicken is always at its best in its first 10 or so minutes out of the fryer, so powerfully good that the Tennessee original is considered by some to be the best fried chicken in the world. Many have tried to reverse-engineer Guss process. Most of them, who call for a buttermilk marinade and a quick dredge in flour, have failed  it clearly sits a spell in some kind of highly seasoned slurry. (The Fried Chicken Blog posits that the batter is made wholly with cornstarch instead of flour, which as anyone who has experimented with Chinese fried chicken can attest, would explain some of the Guss characteristics.) Guss fried chicken is not particularly useful as picnic chicken  you have to go to the source.

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The area around the restaurant is at the top end of what is often thought of as the Crenshaw district but also on the border between Mid-City and Arlington Heights, and a good 3-iron shot from Koreatown. The delicious paletas from Mateos are right there  try the ones made with smoked milk  as are the Korean barbecued ribs from Ham Ji Park and the Guatemalan black-clam cocktails from La Cevicheria. It is surrounded by both churches and nightlife. The residential streets paralleling Crenshaw are a fantasyland of turn-of-the-century Los Angeles architecture; on the west are beautifully restored Italian villas, Tudor mansions and neo-Swiss chalets; on the east, a neighborhood built on the original home of the Los Angeles Country Club.

I mention all this because you are going to be spending a lot of time driving up and down the long, long blocks of the neighborhood looking for a parking space when you visit Guss, because on weekends the modest parking lot is reserved for takeout orders and the rest of the time that lot is going to be full. So you could think of the walk from your car as a forced march, or you could think of it as a chance to experience a neighborhood you may not have visited since the last time you went dancing at the old Jewels Catch One.

Guss is remarkable in its own right, a branch of a Mason, Tenn., fried-chicken restaurant in what I think used to be a dark Korean bar. The walls have been stripped to the bare brick and hung with neon beer signs, although Guss doesnt yet sell beer. Television screens hanging around the room seem permanently set to ESPN. The music oozing from the sound system seems mostly to be B.B. King-era blues, although there are occasional excursions into both dad rock and 1970s R&B. And the crowd  theres always a crowd  may be the most mixed in Los Angeles, equal parts African American, Asian, Central American and white. The ache for good fried chicken knows no bounds.

Guss Fried Chicken, a branch of the Mason, Tenn., original in Arlington Heights, attracts a mixed crowd and its nearly always packed. (Mariah Tauger / For The Times )

Youre probably going to want some of the garlicky fried pickles to start, cut into spears before they are battered and fried, which are probably the best Ive ever had  fried spears are so obviously superior to fried pickle chips that I am surprised that they are not standard. The fried green tomatoes and the slimy-crisp fried okra are good too. Of the side orders, the baked beans and tart slaw are pretty standard, but the meaty stewed collard greens are delicious, and the mac n cheese is pretty much up to grandmother standard: gooey, sharp cheddar taste, slightly grainy in a way that indicates nobody bothered too much with the bechamel.

The chicken shows up garnished only with a few slices of white bread, its sides flanking it on a massive tray that dwarfs even the table, too hot in its first seconds to either touch or eat. But you do anyway. You double up on sweet tea. And you finish with a cut of chess pie.

Guss Fried Chicken

A branch of a Mason, Tenn., fried-chicken restaurant in Arlington Heights

Location: 1262 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 402-0232, gusfriedchicken.com

Prices: Starters $6.50-$7.50; chicken plates $8.90-$15.90; sides $2.40-$6.50; desserts $3.50.

Details: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. No alcohol (permit pending). Extremely limited lot parking. Credit cards accepted.

Recommended dishes: Fried chicken; fried pickles; greens; mac & cheese; chess pie.
Pizza has become a moving target: toppings, sauces, cheeses and other adornments can go in a thousand flavor directions, all held together, more or less, by the worlds most perfect comfort food: crust. That leaves the task of pairing wine with pizza a bit more fraught than it used to be but no less delightful. Just let comfort be your guide.

Italians know a bit about this: The universe of Italian wine has a kind of built-in hierarchy where modest, everyday wines are as cherished and embraced as the grand wines. Its why Montepulciano Rosso coexists alongside Vino Nobile, why Barbera and Pelaverga vines are within shouting distance of the Nebbiolo vineyards of Alba. The reason Italians invented everyday wines is because they love to drink wine every day. A second reason might be pizza.

Pizza purveyors in Los Angeles and their beverage directors have been taking this as a rule of thumb ever since. Certainly this is true of Jeremy Parzen, wine director at Sotto, chef Steve Samsons lauded southern Italian restaurant  which includes a 15,000-pound pizza oven. Parzen has been going to Italy since the late 80s and has frequented his share of pizza parlors in Naples and elsewhere. As he got into wine he started to pay more attention to what people were drinking with their pizze  and it wasnt wine. Often as not it was beer, or Coke, but invariably, it was fizzy. Its become my No. 1 criterion for pizza wine, he says. It has to sparkle. So with a white pizza, the go-to wine for Parzen and his staff are the sparkling wines of Franciacorta.

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A pizza with red sauce, meanwhile, calls for a red sparkling wine; Lambrusco in its drier forms can fit the bill, but Parzen generally prefers the wines from Campania, grown on the hillsides surrounding Naples, principally Gragnano and its sister appellation Lettere. Both are made primarily from a red grape called Piedirosso, he says, and theres nothing like it: fresh, sparkling, light in alcohol, grapey, and with chewy red fruit.

In American restaurants, the wine most associated with pizza is Chianti, the Sangiovese heavy Tuscan blend served, historically, in the archaic, bottom heavy, straw-girdled bottles known as fiasci. The Chianti fiasco was a ubiquitous fixture of cheap dates and cheap chic home design (as wax-encrusted candle repositories), a preferred lubricant in overlong Billy Joel ballads, a vinous cliche par excellence, tinged with a tawdry sentimentality that was often far more potent than the wine  which was invariably sour, reedy and thin.

It turns out the easiest thing to change was the bottles contents. In 2013, an Italian wine retailer living in San Francisco named Ceri Smith managed to reclaim fiasci in all their kitschy splendor. Smith had just been hired to write a new wine list for Tosca, a storied restaurant in North Beach, and wanted something emblematic to pour and display for the reopening. So she reached out to Michele Braganti, owner of Monteraponi, a venerable organic winery in Radda in Chianti, to see if hed be willing to put new wine in old bottles.

5 pizzas in L.A. | Try this pizza oven

Braganti signed on; the wines were delivered days before opening and were an immediate hit, simple and spectacular, with the fiasci enacting their Proustian magic upon every tabletop they graced. Braganti no longer produces this wine, but American Michael Schmelzer, who owns an organic Chianti winery called Monte Bernardi, agreed to take up the project. For about $25, you can get a liter of delicious, mouthwatering, organically grown Chianti en fiasco, smelling of roses and dried cherries, lightly tannined, rippling with fat-cutting acidity, conveyed in a vessel that would make Billy Joel proud.

food@latimes.com

Three pizza wines available at Sotto and elsewhere:

The Le Marchesine Franciacorta is available at the Wine Exchange, about $30.

The Poggio delle Baccanti Gragnano is available at Wine House and Domaine LA, about $16.

The Paolo Palumbo Lettere is available at K&L Wine Merchants, about $18.

New Wine in Old Bottles

The 2014 Monte Bernardi Chianti Classico is available at Wallys, Lou Wine Shop and Mission Wines. About $25 for 1 liter.
It looks like a small steel tank atop four squat legs, with a tall chimney stack at one end. And it could be your new favorite pizza oven. Meet the Uuni portable wood-fired oven, the brainchild of Kristian Tapaninaho, founder of Uuni HQ in the United Kingdom, which produces the ovens. Uuni is the Finnish word for pizza, and the oven has been on the market for just over three years.

Homemade pizza has been a real passion of mine, says Tapaninaho, who is originally from Pyhasalmi, Finland. He started getting into pizza-making around 2010, and before long, his passion had turned into an obsession. I kept improving and improving, but I hit a wall with the domestic oven we had, he said.

I kept thinking, There are better ways to do this. Whats a better solution?

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What wines to drink with pizza >>

For many fans, a great pizza is hard to produce at home. Standard ovens simply dont reach the requisite temperature to quickly bake a pie to perfection. Short of installing an elaborate oven, enjoying a great pie in the comfort of your living room means settling for delivery.

He started doing some research and realized there was nothing on the market for a smaller, more inexpensive oven. Tapaninaho has no formal background in product development or inventing  he studied photography in school  but credits his creativity to a childhood reading about science and engineering. I built a lot of things growing up. That, and his mother was an avid baker, and ran her own bakery for a while. I grew up around baking.

In 2012, Tapaninaho started tinkering, working and building an original concept. He had no idea about what shape it might take or how it would look. I wanted an oven that was small, compact, lightweight and got really hot really fast, he says.

About a year later, Tapaninaho began prototyping the oven. He then launched a Kickstarter campaign. In July 2013, Tapaninaho shipped his first commercial Uuni oven.

5 great L.A. pizzas you probably havent been eating enough of >>

Its a nice alternative to the other larger and more expensive ovens on the market, says Tapaninaho. The $299 oven is relatively compact, at almost 19 inches long, 14 inches wide and five inches tall, not including the legs or chimney, which is a little over two feet tall, and a shorter hopper for loading wood pellets. The portable oven weighs just under 25 pounds and is constructed mostly of brushed stainless steel with a stone baking board large enough to bake a 13-inch pizza. Heated by compressed oak wood pellets sold by the company (you can also use premium heating or barbecue pellets available online or at specialty stores), the oven is capable of reaching 900 degrees in about 10 minutes.

The oven takes a little practice to figure out the workings and relative heat (it has no thermometer). But it can be fun for outdoor parties where everyone prepares an individual pizza. When tested, pizzas were fully baked in 1 to 2 minutes, depending on their size and toppings.

Tapaninaho now ships the ovens to more than 60 countries around the world, including the U.S. We started out slow, but its really taken off in the last 12 to 15 months, he says.

One to two minutes for a great pie? Sure beats delivery.

Uuni 2S portable wood-fired oven with stone baking board. $299.

noelle.carter@latimes.com

Twitter: @noellecarter

ALSO: 12 of our favorite pizza recipes


In downtown Los Angeles, cranes dot the skyline, operated by workers busy erecting new hotel, condominium and apartment towers.

In all, more than 10,000 residential units are under construction, with thousands more planned.

And now, with the building boom reaching new heights, a developer is proposing the most futuristic plan yet: a nearly 60-story condo tower where home buyers will swim in their own lap pools that extend from their units and hover above the street.

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The Pershing Square-adjacent project by developer Jeffrey Fish has the potential to revitalize a neighborhood centered around one of the citys oldest public spaces, which has seen less investment during the current boom than elsewhere.

This would be so important, said Mike Condon Jr., an executive managing director with brokerage Cushman & Wakefield who is not involved in the project. He knocked it out of the park with what he is proposing there.

Fish is planning a slender tower on an empty lot next to the Pershing Square Building, a 1920s structure he bought in 2003 that has become a nighttime destination after he opened the popular rooftop restaurant Perch and basement club Mrs. Fish.

The developers new project, named Fifth and Hill, comes in two possible iterations pitched to the city last week in formal filings. One would be a 55-story tower with 100 condos, 200 hotel rooms and 27,500 square feet of commercial space. The other is a 57-story tower with 142 condos and 25,000 square feet of commercial space.

In each, a lower L-shaped podium structure would wrap around the Pershing Square Building on the corner of 5th and Hill streets. Rising from it would be a rectangular tower along 5th Street featuring a Sky Lobby that would allow light to pass through the buildings core.

The developer said in an emailed statement that many, though not all, of the residences would have terraces and cantilevered swimming pools with glass bottoms and sides that can be viewed by all.

The Sky Lobby, Fish said, will be a multi-story open space cut out of the center of the buildings structure that will give off the impression of a floating tower.

This will be a landmark building unlike anything else seen in California, said Fish, who was not made available for an interview.

Although eye-popping, suspended swimming pools have been built many times before, including at hotels in Dallas, Dubai and Australia. These are believed to be the first in Los Angeles, where residential high-rise architecture has tended to be far more conservative.

Fishs project could give a big boost to Pershing Square, which has undergone multiple unsuccessful redevelopments through the years, including being ripped apart so an underground parking garage could be installed in 1951.

In the 1990s, the park was reworked again and walls and towers were added to its perimeter  a redesign criticized by many as a failure for further walling the park off from surrounding streets.

Today, concerts are sometimes held there, but the largely concrete square is considered run-down and, along with the adjacent subway stop, is a popular place for homeless people to gather.

Condon called the area somewhat of a doughnut hole that hasnt attracted the same number of hip shops and restaurants that are increasingly opening in other corners of downtown.

Pedestrians cross Hill Street across from Pershing Square in downtown L.A.. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times )

However, there has been renewed attention to Pershing Square.

In May, a design team was picked to once again redevelop the park  this time by opening it up to the street and adding more green space.

A completion date of 2019 has been set, although funding for the $50-million public-private partnership must still be secured.

Fishs project would add new residents and restaurants to the area. And like the Pershing Square redesign, if built, it would succeed where others have failed.

In 2007, for example, Los Angeles developer David Houk announced plans to build Park Fifth  a $1-billion residential and hotel complex next to Pershing Square that would include a 76-story skyscraper.

Those plans collapsed amid the real estate bust and another developer, MacFarlane Partners, is now constructing a far smaller project  a seven-story residential and retail building.

A timeline for a second phase of Park Fifth, with a 24-story tower, has not been announced.

Its unclear when Fish might break ground. He said he has hired well-known engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti to work on the project, but he still needs city approvals. He described the project as a couple years out.

The proposal also comes as some in the real estate industry wonder how long the current boom can last and whether some recent plans will go the way of Park Fifth.

Grand ideas are floated toward the top of every real estate cycle, only to never see the light of day after the market turns south and financing becomes hard to get.

Already, some new luxury apartment buildings are offering a free months rent to lure tenants. The trend is worrisome for developers, although welcomed by housing advocates who hope that the supply can lower the cost of rentals.

Any concerns, however, havent dampened a flurry of recent skyscraper proposals.

On Tuesday, Tribune Media filed plans to build a 30-story condo and office tower adjacent to the Los Angeles Times building.

And two weeks ago, Orange County developer SunCal proposed twin 58-story residential towers in the Arts District along Alameda Street  a plan that raised eyebrows both for its location in a low-rise district and the fact that downtown is awash in residential construction.

In part, real estate firms are racing to file plans with the city, fearful about an upcoming March ballot measure that would largely prevent them from gaining approval to build larger projects than current zoning allows.

By filing now, projects such as the Arts District towers can still move ahead if the measure passes.

Fish, however, isnt seeking approvals that would be barred by the initiative, according to city planners. And although its a few years out, he said he was very committed and excited to make it a reality.

I am a big believer in downtown Los Angeles, Fish said in his statement. I believe that downtown is still in its juvenile phase and I am looking forward to being part of its long-term growth.

andrew.khouri@latimes.com

Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter
Raising my daughter to be Latina in more than name

Why is my name in Spanish?

That question came up one morning as my daughter and I were getting ready for the day. She mentioned she knew her friends full name  even her middle name.

After she told me her friends first, middle and last names  all American names  I asked her whether she could say her own name. She could, with a little difficulty.

Then she asked,Why is my name in Spanish? I laughed. Well, because were Mexican, I told her.

Later, she asked her father the same question. And he told her the same thing.

But I was born here, she said.

Hispanic Heritage Month: Tell us your story >>

Its a delicate balance incorporating my culture into our family. She understands Spanish and speaks it poquito (a little), but relatives from Mexico often give me a hard time that I should speak to her in Spanish more. I want her to be proud of her culture and her ancestry, but I know at her age, shes just trying to fit in. I know her identity will be different from mine.

Her experience growing up is already vastly different. Shes not just Mexican; shes Mexican-Guatemalan American.

For a moment, I wondered whether I should have named her Ashley or Brianna, but then I quickly remembered thats not who I am. We chose the Mayan name Nicte-Ha, which means water flower, because the Mayan civilization flourished in Mexico and Guatemala. I wanted a name that honored her ancestry.

Its little moments like these that remind me Im a Latina raising a daughter in the U.S.

Read More
In the week and a half since their first debate, Hillary Clinton has gained steadily against Donald Trump in opinion polls in key swing-state matchups, building Democratic confidence about the election.

Without question, Trump hurt his chances in that first encounter. Now, with the second faceoff scheduled for Sunday  a town hall with questions from voters  Clinton backers hope hell repeat form and seal the deal.

Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential campaign and highlight some particularly insightful stories.

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ITS ALL ABOUT TRUMP

The 2016 campaign has focused relentlessly on the frailties of the two main candidates. Repeatedly, whichever candidate has been at the center of attention has suffered.

In that environment, Trumps unslakeable thirst for the spotlight  and the eagerness of television networks to provide it  has turned into a liability.

In mid-September, with Clintons health suddenly dominating headlines, Trump gained ground. Polls showed him closing in on Clinton, even in states like Pennsylvania that had seemed safe for the Democrat.

But Trump seemingly wanted the spotlight back. He seized it with an ill-timed, poorly executed, half-retraction of his longstanding campaign to raise doubts about President Obamas citizenship.

Then, at the debate, Clinton successfully baited him into a fight with a Latina beauty pageant winner, Alicia Machado. Trump spent the subsequent week not only feuding with the former Miss Universe, but griping about the debate moderator, Lester Holt, and whining about his microphone  a complaint that First Lady Michelle Obama lampooned in a memorable, and widely circulated, putdown.

Amid a flood of polls showing Clinton reestablishing her lead in crucial states, Trumps campaign arranged for him to take questions Thursday night at a town hall in New Hampshire  a tune up for Sundays big event, they said.

Trump, publicly disdainful, as always, of debate preparation, insisted that the New Hampshire session wasnt a practice round. About that, at least, he was unquestionably correct. He took questions for only a bit more than 30 minutes, the hand-picked audience included no one but supporters, and the questions mostly seemed designed to boost the candidates famously tender ego, rather than prepare him for the challenge ahead.

Meantime, Tuesdays vice presidential debate did little, if anything to shift the campaign. Viewership for that contest was the smallest since 2000. And, as Cathy Decker noted in her analysis, Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, sometimes seemed to have more of an eye on the 2020 election than on this one.

Heres a transcript of the most important exchanges of that debate. And heres a terrific piece by Noah Bierman about how the biggest VP debate moment in history almost didnt happen.

Sundays second presidential debate will easily eclipse the vice presidential show. Town hall debates offer big opportunities to candidates, but, as Decker explains, they also pose unique risks.

With Obamas standing among voters moving steadily higher, providing a boost to his party, the economy continuing slow, but steady growth and third party candidates fading in the polls, the pressure is building on Trump to deliver a convincing victory that could shift the campaigns path. So far, theres little indication thats something hes capable of.

WATCH WITH US SUNDAY NIGHT

Analysis, fact-checking, video of key moments and our round-by-round scorecard, well have it all for you on Sunday. The debate starts at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT. Join us on Trail Guide, our home for all things politics.

AND ABOUT THAT POLL

The USC Dornsife/LA Times tracking poll has been tracing Trumps and Clintons trajectories since early summer. The poll consistently has shown better results for Trump than most surveys.

In recent days, the poll has shown movement toward Clinton. How far will that trend go? And how fast? We update the poll every day, so keep checking back.

Meantime, why is it different? Here are answers to frequently asked questions about the poll. And heres what the poll tells us about Trumps potential path forward.

DONT FORGET THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

As our interactive electoral map shows, Clinton currently leads in more than enough states to secure the White House. But if the race tightens again, some of those states could begin to change.

Winning requires 270 electoral votes. How to get there? Weve updated the map with our best estimates. Now you get to play political strategist and try out as many scenarios as you like.

STORIES NOT TO MISS

How much do allies pay for the protection provided by U.S. troops? A lot more than Donald Trump says, reports David Cloud.

Pennsylvania was once merely important in presidential elections. Now, its become Hillary Clintons firewall. Decker looks at why the state has become so crucial to the Democrats.

Our colleague Veronica Rocha went to Honduras and talked with people who knew Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, when he was a 22-year-old missionary there in 1980. Read her account of how Honduras helped Kaine find his mission in life.

Seema Mehta, Anthony Pesce and Maloy Moore dived into the data on campaign contributors, looking at the big-money Republicans who helped fund Trumps rivals. They found that 95% are keeping their wallets shut.

Bobbie Kilberg, a prominent GOP fundraiser who has served in three GOP administrations has, along with her husband, given to Republicans for decades. Not to Trump.

Bill and I have put our focus  where we are comfortable, she said. I will leave it at that.

Speaking of big donors, two of the largest on either side happen to be partners in the same hugely profitable hedge fund. Robert Mercer and James Simons teamed up to conquer Wall Street. Now, one is bankrolling Clinton and the other Trump. Read Evan Halper and Joe Tanfanis story about two of the biggest billionaires bankrolling the 2016 campaign.

Finally, Decker writes about the data showing a trend in the electorate that Trump has accelerated, much to the GOPs dismay: Asian American voters are spurning Trump  and threatening to shun the Republican party for years to come.

QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP, CLINTON? WEVE GOT ANSWERS

Where they stand on issues, what theyve done in their lives, their successes, their failures, what their presidencies might look like: Weve been writing about Clinton and Trump for years, and weve pulled the best of that content together to make finding what you want to know easier. So check out All Things Trump and All Things Clinton.

LOGISTICS

If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up.

That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.
The smell inside the production rooms of Kiva Confections, one of Californias premier manufacturers of edible cannabis, is, in a word, intoxicating.

You wont just catch whiffs of the powdery hash that goes into Kivas high-quality chocolate bars. Youll also inhale the scent of dried blueberries and the heavenly aroma of espresso beans, which are slowly being covered with cannabis-infused chocolate as they tumble in big metal machines that look like open cement mixers.

Right now, co-owners Kristi Knoblich and Scott Palmer, who founded the company six years ago when they were 24 years old, are making medicine for patients whose conditions are improved by cannabis  people with cancer pain or nausea from chemotherapy, people with neuropathy or anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.

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But if California voters approve Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, next month, Kiva products will be available to anyone 21 and older. Based on what happened in Colorado after voters in that state approved recreational marijuana in 2012, Knoblich said, the couple anticipates a big  possibly huge  growth in sales.

For more on politics 

This worries Proposition 64 opponents, who fear that potent edibles, readily available, could fall into the hands of children. They hope that raising these kinds of fears will nudge voters to reject the measure. Given the polling, I think that is going to be an uphill battle.

Proposition 64 includes safeguards aimed at keeping kids safe: Marijuana products and labels cannot be designed to appeal to children, nor be easily confused with commercially sold candy. They must be in childproof packages. Items must be scored into standardized serving sizes, and each serving can contain no more than 10 mgs of THC, the primary active ingredient in marijuana. Products must also carry serious warnings urging caution.

Will this be enough to prevent accidental intoxication by children?

There have been maybe a couple of hundred cases in Colorado, called into the Denver Poison Control Center, said Larry Bedard, a retired Marin County emergency room doctor, former president of the American College of Emergency Physicians and strong advocate of legalization.

At the same time, theres like 2,500 calls for kids getting into detergent under the kitchen sink, he said. I have seen kids in the ICU from aspirin overdoses. I have seen someone die of Tylenol overdose.... If you are a responsible parent, you dont have Tylenol or aspirin sitting at the bedside. Same thing with edibles. Like other toxic drugs, they need to be kept under lock and key.

So yes, accidents will happen if Proposition 64 passes, just as they do now.

Is that a good argument against making properly labeled, properly tested cannabis available to consenting adults?

Not in my book.

::

Knoblich and Palmer have deliberately created labels and packages that will not attract the attention of children.

We do our best to make these not child-friendly, Knoblich said. There are no animals or cartoon characters on our packages. We try to keep them professional and sophisticated-looking.

But its important to keep products safe for adults, too. This is where Kiva Confections shines.

The companys success is based on a deceptively simple promise: Kiva products taste pleasant, not skunky, and the company says its edibles contain exactly the amount of active ingredient that each label says. One square of Kivas signature dark chocolate bar, for instance, contains 15 mg of THC. One chocolate-covered blueberry has 5 mg of THC, considered a starter dose for an inexperienced user. (The blueberries are screened for size and the chocolate coating is adjusted accordingly.)

Our business foundation is predictability and a repeatable experience, said Knoblich, who gave me a tour of the plant Wednesday. It is all about precision.

More work by Robin Abcarian 

Kiva has a rigorous testing program. The hash that is added to chocolate is tested for potency and impurities such as fungus and pesticides. The chocolate is also tested after it is infused; samples of finished products are tested as well.

As it turns out, not every edible manufacturer is as diligent.

In 2014, a group of researchers assessed 75 edible cannabis products from dispensaries in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. They discovered that only 17% were accurately labeled, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Twenty-five percent were under-labeled, meaning they contained more THC than the label stated, and a whopping 60% were over-labeled. Some products contained negligible amounts of THC.

Thats a disaster waiting to happen, said Bedard, who helped persuade the California Medical Assn. to endorse Proposition 64. The initiative, he pointed out, includes a requirement for potency testing. At least you will know if the label says one thing, thats what it will contain.

::

Knoblich would not disclose sales figures, but Kiva products can be found in 900 dispensaries around the state.

The company has a fleet of 17 Priuses and two minivans and is already desperate for more space, one year after taking over this 13,000-square-foot warehouse in an industrial neighborhood west of the 880 Freeway. One industry publication reported in 2015 that Kiva Confections generates more than $10 million a year in revenue.

I know many creaky Baby Boomers who have given up martinis and rediscovered the joys of cannabis through products such as Kivas low-dose chocolate-covered blueberries.

Marijuana is so much safer and less harmful than alcohol, Bedard said. As an emergency physician, if there was a magic shot I could give you to convert you from an alcoholic to a stoner, I would give it every day.

robin.abcarian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AbcarianLAT

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The board of El Camino Real Charter High School on Wednesday announced the departure of one top administrator and a cut in pay for another in hopes of staving off more drastic action after criticism for questionable spending.

The moves were the latest efforts to prevent the Woodland Hills campus from being taken over by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which owns the property and ran the school until 2011.

L.A. Unified sent El Camino a Notice of Violations in August, a possible precursor to shutting down the independently operated charter school. The district accused charter leaders of inappropriate spending, poor fiscal controls and open-meeting violations. Charter supporters insist that the school has made great strides and that being run once again by the school system would be a step backward.

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The El Camino Real Alliance Board of Directors is fully aware of the gravity of the threat, the school wrote in an Oct. 5 letter to the community that was posted online. We understand the substantial unrest this has caused for students, teachers, staff, and the community, and for that we truly apologize.

The letter said that the board wishes to act transparently, decisively, and cooperatively.

The statement, which followed a closed-door meeting, announced staff transitions, including the departure of chief business officer Marshall Mayotte by Dec. 31 or sooner. It did not specify whether Mayotte resigned or was fired. On Thursday a school spokesman declined to say, calling it a confidential personnel matter.

The board also announced that the schools executive director, David Fehte, would have his base pay reduced, that his contract would include new performance incentives and that he would receive training  though what sort was unspecified. On Thursday, the school clarified that Fehtes new contract still was being negotiated.

The schools most recent nonprofit tax filing reported Fehtes annual salary as $221,475 and noted that he received additional compensation of $15,809.

Mayotte earned $172,643, with additional compensation of $27,915, according to that filing.

El Camino came under fire this year after it became known that Fehte used his school credit card to purchase wine, costly meals, first-class air travel and expensive hotel rooms. Fehte has called the use of the school card for such purchases inadvertent, and said he reimbursed the school for more than $6,000 when the charges were pointed out to him.

Fehte has long been seen as a key player in the schools academic success and overall financial health as well as its drive to become independent from the nations second-largest school system. His supporters, who consider him instrumental to the schools success, want him to remain.

The campus of 3,900 has a solid academic reputation. It fielded the winning team in the 2014 national Academic Decathlon.

Mayotte has in the past been praised for his money management.

Its not clear whether Mayottes departure will be enough to satisfy L.A. Unified or community critics. Some observers feel that Fehtes resignation may be necessary. On the other hand, the vast majority of charter schools authorized by L.A. Unified  particularly ones with decent track records  have survived management mistakes or indiscretions.

In recent months, the school has taken steps to tighten financial controls. Staff members, including Fehte, no longer have credit cards. The only school credit card is kept on campus. The school also has prohibited the use of school funds to purchase alcohol or any items related to the consumption of alcohol. Travel must now be approved in advance, with no upgraded fares. Meals off campus are strictly limited.

The school submitted a detailed account of these policy changes to L.A. Unified on Sept. 23.

L.A. Unified provides oversight for the charters within the school system, but doesnt control budgeting, hiring or academic programs.

Were still evaluating the actions taken by the El Camino board last night and will take action based on that evaluation, said L.A. Unifieds general counsel, David Holmquist.

howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblume
He had been a junior in high school, a kid residing with friends, living without guidance.

When he found himself in a squad car for marijuana possession, Randy Johnson Jr. told his story: that he struggled when he moved with his family to Utah, that he insisted on returning to Lancaster, that he was 16 and felt terribly alone.

And then, from the front seat, Sgt. Steve Owen, a bear of a man with a memorable grin and a thick mustache, offered to help.

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He let me know hed take care of me, Johnson recalled Thursday. He said he could take me to school every day and bring me lunch if I needed.

The relationship was unexpected, but not surprising. Not for Owen. During his nearly three-decade career, the 53-year-old had managed to connect with an Antelope Valley community often at odds with law enforcement and where sheriffs officials faced federal allegations of racial profiling.

Owen was a local resident who knew the players in the rough neighborhoods and had a knack for merging tough talk with acts of kindness. One of the good ones, as one resident recalled.

His death Wednesday while responding to a burglary has pushed a city into mourning, with flags at half-staff and leaders in tears.

We all knew Steve, City Manager Mark Bozigian said. The community is grieving.

 Slain deputy mourned

The hundreds who huddled at a Wednesday night vigil outside the Lancaster sheriffs station had the same intentions as the new crowd that arrived in the morning: Cry, pray, replay memories and pay respects.

Among them: a 4-year-old with a card that read you are my hero; a cook who worked at a restaurant Owen patronized; a retired deputy from another county; a woman who met Owen at a local event known as coffee with a deputy.

Owen, called Mr. Lancaster by some, was well-known both in and out of uniform.

Steve was just the most hands-on, motivated field sergeant that ever worked for me, said Lt. Derrick Alfred, who supervised Owen.

There were even those whose first encounters with Owen were less than ideal.

Bishop Vaughn met Owen about eight years ago, when the sergeant arrested him.

Thats how long weve been together, partners, Vaughn said. He brought me a long way.

Vaughn now stays at a mental health facility not far from the station. He thinks often of Owen, who he said served as a mentor and a father figure.

This guy, when I was in trouble, kept me straight, Vaughn said.

Just a day before, Owen had responded to a seemingly routine burglary call at an apartment building in the 3200 block of West Avenue J-7.

Maria Azuela, 33, had called officers to her home after a loud noise drew her downstairs, where she spotted a broken glass door.

She ran back upstairs to her bedroom where she waited with her 7-month-old baby. Moments later, she heard gunshots. From her bedroom window, Azuela saw a deputy lying on his stomach, motionless. It was Owen.

The gunman, after shooting the sergeant, then stood over him and shot four more rounds into his body, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Thursday.

This was a calculated execution, he said.

The gunman then searched Owen for his weapon with the intent to use it to kill another deputy, McDonnell said.

The gunman jumped into Owens patrol car, where he was fired upon by another deputy. That deputy was injured when he was struck by another patrol car rammed into by the gunman, identified later by authorities as Trenton Lovell, a 27-year-old Lancaster resident who is on parole. Authorities said Lovell was shot and wounded in the upper torso.

A friend of Owens listening to a police scanner frantically sent the sergeant a text. Owen???? He sent another one. Please text back and say ur OK.

Law enforcement and Fire Department personnel transport the shooting suspect in Lancaster. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Fleeing the scene, Lovell entered a home and took two teenagers hostage for about an hour, according to the teens mother.

Her 17-year-old son befriended Lovell, helping the wounded gunman out of his blood-soaked shirt and cleaning him up, even providing a change of clothes, said the woman, who asked only to be identified by her first name, Sara.

With the man showing no signs of leaving, Saras 19-year-old daughter faked a panic attack. Then her teenage son told Lovell he needed to go upstairs to get his sister some medicine. Once hed put some distance between himself and Lovell, he texted his mother, who notified authorities.

Lovell was eventually taken into custody. A weapon was recovered, though authorities did not give a description of it.

A woman who identified herself as Lovells mother spoke briefly at the apartment where he had been staying, saying she was praying for the sergeants family. She said the shooting has devastated her own family, especially Lovells sister, with whom he had been living.

You cant control another persons actions, the mother said.

Nevertheless, she said she would not turn her back on Lovell.

Hes still my son, and I love him regardless, she said shortly before closing the door.

The killing startled the neighborhood, where the sound of gunshots sent some people running while others holed up in their homes, clinging to family members.

Laura Hernandez was walking to her car at nearby Antelope Valley College when she ran for cover.

The 32-year-old criminal-justice student learned later that the target was the same man who smiled often during her volunteer shifts at the sheriffs station as well as at the courthouse.

Employees at the Lemon Leaf cafe in downtown Lancaster saw the flashing lights of sheriffs cruisers hurrying by and soon began receiving calls and text messages.

A deputy had been shot.

 Sergeant Steve Owen was responding to a burglary when he was fatally shot.

Later, a name. One of their own customers.

The restaurant hosts the monthly coffee with a deputy. At the last meeting, the discussion turned to how safe the area had become in recent years.

I think thats why it was so soul-penetrating, the restaurants owner, Maria Elena Grado, said of the shooting.

By Thursday afternoon, the sheriffs station continued to serve as a memorial, a place to lay flowers and light candles.

Anthony Cheval, a friend of Owens, arrived wearing a T-shirt he had designed. It bore the late sergeants likeness with the words Super Cop.

This is the love Owen had, Cheval, 39, explained.

Johnson, the former troubled teenager, showed up too. Now a 29-year-old married father of two, he works at an auto body shop.

Owens promise of help in that patrol car held true over the years, he said.

Sitting on a bench, Johnson was emotional remembering the day Owen arrived one day as school was getting out.

Owen had glanced down at Johnsons sneakers. You got some pretty ratty shoes, he remarked.

Johnson was used to being ridiculed for his shabby shoes.

Owen walked to the trunk of his car and pulled out a pair of brand-new Nikes, size 10.5.

The moment altered both Johnsons view of law enforcement officers and his perception of himself. Someone cared.

Im only here because of him, Johnson said. Hed do anything for you, your community and your kids. A damn good man.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

james.queally@latimes.com

corina.knoll@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow us on Twitter at @JosephSerna, @nicolesantacruz, @JamesQueallyLAT and @corinaknoll

Times Staff Writers Veronica Rocha, Cindy Chang, Richard Winton and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

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A gunman shot and wounded himself during a shootout with a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy in Norwalk, authorities said Friday.

The shooting occurred after 8:58 a.m. when authorities received reports of a man near the 605 Freeway and Firestone Boulevard, Lt. Eric Smitson said.

A deputy searched the area and found the man in a Target parking lot at 10600 Firestone Blvd.

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There was an exchange of gunfire between the man and the deputy, Smitson said.

Shortly after the gunfight, the man shot himself, Smitson said. The deputy was not injured.

When firefighters and paramedics arrived, they found the suspect on the ground, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The wounded man was taken to an area hospital, fire officials said. His condition and injuries were not immediately known.

The shooting comes days after a sheriffs sergeant was shot and killed in Lancaster.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Sgt. Steve Owen, a beloved member of the Lancaster sheriffs station, was executed Wednesday when he responded to a burglary call.

Trenton Trevon Lovell, 27, of Lancaster, was arrested in connection with Owens death.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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Suspect in killing of L.A. County sheriffs sergeant was known for hot temper and violent history
Dave Young waited in the Antelope Valley courthouse hallway on Friday for more than an hour to see the man accused of killing Los Angeles County sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen.

Young, 54, wore a black Sheriffs Department bomb squad shirt, given to him as a gift by Owen and the sergeants wife, who is a detective in the departments Arson Explosive Unit.

It had been two days since Young rushed to Antelope Valley Hospital to see the wounded lawman before he died. He held his hand until Owens wife could arrive.

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I wanted to see the guy that killed my friend, he said in the hallway of the Lancaster courthouse.

Then Trenton Trevon Lovell appeared in court for the first time since his arrest.

About a dozen uniformed sheriffs deputies watched the handcuffed man as he walked into a holding area for inmates.

The sight of Lovell, Young said, brought about a flood of emotions. Anger was one of them, he said.

Lovell, a parolee with an extensive criminal history, was charged with murder Friday in Owens death. He faces additional charges: attempted murder of a second sheriffs deputy, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts each of residential robbery and false imprisonment. Lovell, 27, of Lancaster, was ordered held without bail.

The charges could make him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

1 / 32 People mourn the death of Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputy Sgt. Steve Owen during a candlelight vigil in Lancaster on Saturday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 2 / 32 People mourn the death of Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputy Sgt. Steve Owen during a candlelight vigil in Lancaster Saturday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 3 / 32 Kailey Tenuta, 10, wipes her eyes as community members mourn the death of Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputy Sgt. Steve Owen during a candlelight vigil in Lancaster Saturday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 4 / 32 Lancaster resident Louie Garcia, 22, pays his respects in front of a memorial for L.A. County Sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen, located in front of the entrance to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department in Lancaster. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 32 L.A. County firefighters from Acton salute from the Sierra Highway Soledad overpass as the procession escorting the body of Sgt. Steve Owen passes. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 32 Kathleen Simons holds a flag on the Sierra Highway Soledad overpass in Acton as the procession escorting the body of Sgt. Steve Owen returns to Lancaster. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 32 Kathleen Simons holds a flag as she joins others on the Sierra Highway Soledad overpass in Acton to pay respect to the procession escorting the body of Sgt. Steve Owen back to Lancaster. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 32 Sheriffs vehicles escort the hearse on the 14 Freeway as it carries the body of Sgt. Steve Owen back to Lancaster from the L.A. coroners office. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 32 An emotional L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell passes the memorial for Sgt. Steve Owen during a news conference at the Lancaster sheriffs station. (Al Seib / Los Angeles TImes) 10 / 32 Standing next to a portrait of Sgt. Steve Owen, an emotional Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell addresses a press conference at the Lancaster Sheriffs station Thursday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 32 Mia Ayala, 6, kneels to pray with her father Michael and grandmother Candy Ayala at a growing memorial at the Lancaster Sheriffs station. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 32 Seven-year-old Eric Robb and his sister, Payton, 4, deliver flowers to L.A. County Deputy Ybarra at the Lancaster Sheriffs HQ Thursday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 32 Jay Emanuel, left, a former law enforcement officer, and Alberto Gonzalez prepare a candle at a growing memorial at the Lancaster Sheriffs station. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 32 Gerard Rivers, with tears streaming down his face, remembers Sgt. Steve Owen who was his High School football coach. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 32 LA County Sheriff Deputy Villalobos touches a hand written note You are my HERO at a growing memorial at the Lancaster Sheriffs HQ Thursday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 32 Sheriff Jim McDonnell arrives at Lancaster Sheriffs station by helicopter Thursday afternoon to mert with the Sgt Steve Owens family and with Sheriffs deputies. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 32 Kenny Parnell brought a candle and red heart balloon as he reflects at a growing memorial for Los Angeles County sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen at the Lancaster Sheriffs HQ Thursday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 32 -year-old Levi Contreras with his father, Loren, leaves his hand written note You are my HERO at a growing memorial for L.A.County sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen, who died after he was shot while responding to a call about a residential burglary in Lancaster. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 32 Bishop Vaughn gets emotional as he talks about the deputy turning his life around at a growing memorial at the Lancaster Sheriffs Dept. for Sgt. Steve Owen, who died Wednesday after he was shot while responding to a call about a residential burglary. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 32 A hearse in a convoy of Sheriffs patrol cars departs the Lancaster station enroute with family members to the Los Angeles County morgue. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 32 Tony Miano, a retired LA County Sheriffs deputy, shakes hands with Jenny Acosta. who stopped to thank him for holding his sign at the corner at a growing memorial at the Lancaster Sheriffs HQ Thursday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 32 Residents watch as a coroners van takes the body of Sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen from the Antelope Valley Medical Center to the county morgue. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 32 Antelope Valley residents gather at the Lancaster Sheriffs Station to mourn the death of Sgt. Steve Owen, who was fatally shot by a robbery suspect on Wednesday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 32 Law enforcement and Fire Department personnel transport the shooting suspect in Lancaster. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 32 Sheriffs deputies and Antelope Valley residents gather at the Lancaster Sheriffs Station to mourn the death of Sgt. Steve Owen, who was fatally shot by a robbery suspect on Wednesday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 32 A child adds a candle to a memorial at the Lancaster Sheriffs Station for Sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 32 L.A. County sheriffs deputies stand near the fatal shooting scene in Lancaster on Wednesday afternoon. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 32 Sgt. Steve Owen, shown in April 2015, was fatally wounded after responding to call of a residential burglary in Lancaster, authorities said. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 32 L.A. Sheriffs Department SWAT team members stand down after the arrest of a suspect in the fatal shooting of Sgt. Steve Owen, a 29-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriffs Department. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 32 Sheriffs deputies and medical personnel hug at the Antelope Valley Medical Center after the fatal shooting of Sgt. Steve Owen, a 29-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriffs Department. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 32 Sheriffs deputies embrace in the parking lot of the Antelope Valley Medical Center after the fatal shooting of Sgt. Steve Owen, a 29-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriffs Department. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 32 Members of the L.A. County Sheriffs Department SWAT team ride an armored vehicle down the street near the scene of a fatal shooting. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Inside the courtroom, Lovell did not look Superior Court Judge Richard Naranjo in the eye as he called the case. In a separate area, family members blew Lovell kisses as deputies looked on with strained faces.

After the hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Blake declined to comment on the specifics of the case but said there is a possibility Lovell could face additional charges. He said the decision to seek the death penalty is a careful and complicated process.

Authorities said Lovell was on active parole when he encountered Owen, 53, outside an apartment complex Wednesday afternoon with a stolen gun.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell, who refused to speak the suspected gunmans name at a news conference this week, called the slaying a calculated execution. He said the shooter wounded Owen, then stood over his body and pumped an additional four rounds into the lawmans body.

After the killing, authorities said, Lovell ran to the front of the apartment complex and tried to steal Owens cruiser. A second deputy confronted him and opened fire on the cruiser, but Lovell threw the car into reverse and rammed a second patrol car, which struck the deputy and injured him, authorities said. Lovell was shot and wounded in the shoulder, officials said.

 Parolee charged in execution of well-liked L.A. sheriffs sergeant

Lovell jumped out of the cruiser and ran into a nearby home, where two teenagers were inside, sheriffs officials said. Prosecutors said he held the teens hostage at knife point. One teen texted a message to his mother, who alerted authorities.

Sheriffs SWAT deputies entered the home to rescue the teens. Lovell fled out the back and was captured after he jumped over a fence into a neighboring backyard, authorities said.

Lovells rap sheet dates back to when he was a juvenile selling marijuana, McDonnell said. From there, he racked up 11 arrests, two of which landed him in state prison, the sheriff said.

Prosecutors said Lovell was convicted of robbery as a juvenile in 2006.

In 2008, he pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and was given a 90-day jail sentence. Months later, he was arrested on suspicion of pointing a gun at an off-duty USC security officer and robbing him of his wallet, cellphone and watch near campus. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Lovell served roughly five years in custody, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records. As a prisoner, he served his time in multiple locations, including in Oklahoma, Arizona and various prisons in California, said Luis Patio, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Lovell was paroled June 23, 2014. His parole was scheduled to end next year.

Last year, he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury to another person, court records show.

Lovell was ordered to complete a nine-month first-offender program for drunk drivers and enroll in a drug and alcohol counseling program. In that case, he was ordered to serve 15 days of jail, and given 36 months of summary probation, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorneys office. He was scheduled to appear in court Oct. 24 for a progress report.

Its unknown whether Owen ever encountered Lovell before Wednesdays shooting.

Owen, a 29-year veteran of the Sheriffs Department and a Medal of Valor recipient, was a well-known sergeant who volunteered as a football coach in the community.

As Lancaster mourned his killing, even people who had been arrested by Owen visited the citys sheriffs station to pay their respects.

On Friday, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said he plans to ask the City Council to rename Lancaster Community Park after Owen. If approved, the space would be named Sergeant Steve Owen Community Park.

Owen had worked most of his law enforcement career in the Antelope Valley.

Young said he had been friends with Owen for about 15 years.

At the court hearing, Young said he noticed a man in a sheriffs uniform with flat-top haircut -- like Owens -- walk into the courtroom.

For a fleeting moment, he thought it was Owen.

You know its not, he said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA and @nicolesantacruz on Twitter.

Times staff writers Richard Winton, James Queally and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

6:10 p.m.: This article was updated with some minor rewriting.

4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details from Lovells arraignment hearing and his criminal background.

This article was originally published at 2:25 p.m.
A murder suspect was critically wounded Friday after he was shot by Long Beach police detectives in Wilmington, authorities said.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was the subject of a police investigation in connection with a Sept. 5 shooting death, according to Sgt. Brad Johnson of the Long Beach Police Department.

Police detectives were looking for the suspect, whom they considered armed and dangerous, at 11:20 a.m. Friday in the 1700 block of Marine Avenue, when they encountered the man in a vehicle, Johnson said.

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The man tried to flee in the vehicle and crashed into a detectives car. Two detectives immediately fired at the man and wounded him. A loaded firearm was recovered at the scene, Johnson said.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, the sergeant said.

The slaying victim, Armando Amaya, 21, was found lying with several gunshot wounds in the 300 block of Hanjin Road in Long Beach last month, according to The Times Homicide Report.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

8:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the police shooting.

This article was originally published at 2:25 p.m.
The Los Angeles County coroners office has deferred ruling on the cause of death of a man who was shocked with a Taser during a fight with Burbank police officers earlier this week, officials said Friday.

Officials performed an autopsy on the body of Thomas Binkley  who police said went about 14 minutes without medical aid while authorities were in a standoff with his brother  but ordered additional tests, which could delay a ruling by up to nine months, said Lt. David Smith of the coroners office. He did not know which tests were ordered.

The events that led up to the 66-year-old mans death began around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, when his daughter-in-law reported to police that Binkley had come to her Burbank home and threatened her life.

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Two Burbank police officers were dispatched to Binkleys home in the 500 block of North Mariposa Street, where they spoke with him outside.

Binkley engaged in a verbal confrontation with the officers before physically assaulting them, according to Burbank police Sgt. Claudio Losacco.

A fight ensued, during which one officer shocked Binkley with a Taser at least once, causing him to fall to the ground.

It was not clear exactly how many times, or for how many seconds, the Taser was deployed. The devices used in Burbank automatically stay on for five seconds after the trigger is depressed, unless its shut off or held down.

Around the same time that Binkley was subdued, his 65-year-old brother, Steve Binkley, appeared in the doorway of the home and threatened officers while holding a handgun. He refused officers orders to put the gun down.

Facing a man with a gun, the two officers backed away from Thomas Binkley  who at that point was still alive to take cover and call for back-up.

Steve Binkley subsequently barricaded himself in the his home for about 40 minutes, which police said delayed officers from giving aid to his brother. His elderly mother and her caretaker were also inside.

At some point during the standoff, officers formed a team and, using a shield, approached Thomas Binkley, who was in what police called a hot zone, or threatened area. They carried him across the street to where paramedics were waiting.

Cellphone video shot by a witness shows officers carrying the man across the street at 7:52 p.m. Burbank paramedics attempted to resuscitate the man before pronouncing him dead at 8:20 p.m., according to Smith.

This marks the Burbank departments first Taser-related death, according to police officials.

After he was stunned, Thomas Binkley lay on the ground for about 14 minutes without receiving aid before authorities carried him away, Losacco said. The man stopped breathing during that time.

Meanwhile, police made contact with Steve Binkley by telephone, after which he voluntarily exited the home without incident. While executing a search warrant at the residence the following morning, investigators recovered a handgun.

Steve Binkley was charged Thursday with two counts of resisting an executive officer by means of threats and violence and one count of exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer in a rude, angry and threatening manner, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office. Jail records show that he was released from custody early Friday morning after posting bail and is due in court later this month.

Both police officers, identified in Binkleys criminal complaint as Alexander Gutierrez and Stephen Santiago, joined the police force more than six years ago.

The agencys internal affairs bureau is investigating the incident, and representatives of the district attorneys office were notified, which is customary with in-custody deaths.

This is going to be a lengthy investigation, Losacco said.

Audio of the incident was captured by recording devices carried by officers, though Burbank police have not said whether they would release the recordings.

Through mid-August of this year, Burbank police had logged seven incidents in which a Taser was deployed. During all of last year, officers used the weapon in the field a total of 10 times, according to the agency.

Under the departments policy, officers involved in uses of force that result in death are placed on administrative leave for a minimum of three days, and until the police chief authorizes their return.

Tchekmedyian writes for the Burbank Leader.

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A quick-thinking teenager befriended a wounded gunman who burst into his home, cleaning him up and providing a change of clothes to keep him calm moments after authorities said he shot and killed a Los Angeles County sheriffs sergeant, the youths mother said Thursday.

The mother, who asked to be identified only as Sara for fear of unwanted publicity, said her son and daughter were in the house during the Wednesday afternoon ordeal and did their best to keep the gunman calm before they could alert her about what was happening and find a way to get him out of their Lancaster home.

The gunman was identified Thursday by sheriffs officials as 27-year-old Trenton Trevon Lovell. Authorities said Lovell gunned down Sgt. Steve Owen at an apartment building on Avenue J-7 as the lawman was responding to a burglary call. After shooting the sergeant and ramming another deputy with a sheriffs cruiser, Lovell ran into a nearby neighborhood.

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The teens mother said she had left work after learning about the shooting and had been trying to find a way past sheriffs blockades to return to her children. She called home once and her 17-year-old son told her not to worry.

He said, Its OK mom, cops are everywhere, their mother said.

Lovell entered their home through a side door, his shirt visibly bloody, their mother said.

Her son helped Lovell out of his blood-soaked shirt and gave him a change of clothes, she said.

But Lovell didnt appear to be leaving.

So the woman said her 19-year-old daughter faked a panic attack. Her son told Lovell he needed to go upstairs to get his sister some medicine. Once he was away from Lovell, the teenager texted his mother, telling her the man was in their home.

In a panic, the woman said she drove like a maniac until she found deputies and told them their colleagues killer was in her house.

This guy killed a cop and hes thinking he doesnt care. Hes done, the teens mother said. He killed a cop, why would he care about killing two kids?

Deputies quickly moved to the house to search for Lovell, who had been there about an hour.

As deputies closed in, Lovell stepped out of the familys home and onto their back patio, she said. Her teenage son quickly slammed the door and locked it.

Lovell realized what had happened and scrambled over a wall into another yard, where he was arrested.

Her children were not hurt.

The teens mother said her children were doing fine in spite of the harrowing experience.

She praised the responding deputies for saving her children.

Even though they were mourning one of their own, they handled it, she said. They did a fantastic job.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT on Twitter for crime and police news in California.

Los Angeles Times staff writer Veronica Rocha contributed to this report.

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For a while earlier in the year, it seemed Leslie Van Houten might get what she wanted: Release from prison on parole. But the youngest disciple of the murderous Manson cult hit another roadblock Thursday in her bid for freedom.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan issued an 18-page ruling upholding the governors reversal earlier in the year of a parole boards decision to release Van Houten.

There is some evidence that Van Houten still presents an unreasonable threat to society, Ryan wrote, adding that he respects Gov. Jerry Browns broad discretion in such decisions.

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Now 67 and living at a womens prison in Chino, Van Houten was convicted of first-degree murder in 1978 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Theres no question that if the word Manson was not involved in her crimes, she would have been paroled 20 years ago, said Richard Pfeiffer, Van Houtens attorney, adding that he plans to appeal the judges decision.

Van Houtens journey into the infamous cult, which is detailed in court documents, began in the late 1960s when she met Charles Manson.

She moved into Spahn Ranch in Chatsworth and became indoctrinated in Mansons obsessions, including the idea of an apocalyptic race war called Helter Skelter. To trigger the war, Manson and his followers came up with a scheme: Theyd commit gruesome killings of white people in hopes of inciting violence against blacks.

On Aug. 9, 1969, cult members murdered five people, including Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of film director Roman Polanski.

Van Houten didnt participate in the initial killings and later said that she felt left out. The next day, according to court documents, Manson asked her if she was crazy enough to believe in him and what he was doing.

Yes, she responded.

That night, members of the cult  this time Van Houten came along  prowled for victims, eventually targeting the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

Inside the house, Van Houten put a pillowcase over Rosemary LaBianacas head, wrapped a lamp cord around her neck and stabbed her in the lower back 16 times. Another cult member had stabbed the woman first and Van Houten has said that she thought the victim was probably dead before she stabbed her.

Before leaving the home, Van Houten changed into the dead womans clothes and drank chocolate milk from the couples refrigerator. Another cult member stabbed the womans husband to death and carved the word War into his stomach.

Over the years, Van Houten  who earned her bachelors and masters degrees behind bars  has asked to be released on parole. She was denied 19 times before a two-person panel in April granted her request.

Although the crime was atrocious, cruel and monstrous, the panel ruled, Van Houten no longer posed an unreasonable risk of danger to society. The commissioners cited her sterling prison record, her age at the time of the crime  19  and Mansons powers of manipulation.

Cory LaBianca, who was 21 when her father and stepmother were slain, told The Times in April that she strongly opposed Van Houtens release.

We still suffer our loss, she said. My father will never be paroled. My stepmother will never get her life back.

Brown denied parole in July, calling the slayings one of the most notorious crimes in American history.

Although Van Houten had matured, Brown said he still had concerns about her inability to explain her willing participation in the murders, citing Van Houtens earlier statements that she was less culpable than other cult members. He also noted that Van Houten had bragged after the slaying that stabbing was fun.

Pfeiffer said he hadnt spoken to Van Houten on Thursday, but described his client as patient. When Ryan asked for an extra week to issue his ruling, Pfeiffer recalled his client saying, Im glad hes taking the time to look at it carefully.

Charles Manson, 81, and other members of the cult remain in prison.

marisa.gerber@latimes.com

For more news from the Los Angeles County courts, follow me on Twitter: @marisagerber

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UPDATES:

7:05 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Van Houtens attorney.

This article was originally published at 5 p.m.
A Whittier couple arrested after the body of a child was found in a duffel bag at the U.S.-Mexico border will be prosecuted in Los Angeles County instead of San Diego County, where they were arraigned in August.

Johnny Lewis Hartley, 43, and Mercy Mary Becerra, 39, had been charged with murder by the San Diego County District Attorneys Office.

On Wednesday, that office dismissed the case so that the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office could take over.

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The defendants are expected to be arraigned Friday on four felony charges: murder, human trafficking to commit pimping/pandering, torture and assault on a child causing death.

If convicted, they each face life in prison.

According to prosecutors, Becerra and Hartley trafficked a woman  the mother of the dead child  between November 2012 and August of this year.

During that time, they took the womans daughter, severely abused and then killed the child, prosecutors say. A San Diego prosecutor has said the child was drowned, and that malnutrition and dehydration were contributing causes of death.

Becerra and Hartley then tried to cross the border from San Diego into Tijuana on Aug. 9, with the childs body in a duffel bag, but they were stopped by authorities and taken into custody, prosecutors say.

Mexican authorities found the body while screening the bag at a pedestrian crossing in San Ysidro. Hartley had been carrying the bag, San Diego police said, before he was sent to a secondary inspection area and the bag was put through an X-ray machine.

Becerra ran off when Hartley was detained, but she was caught a short time later, police said.

Littlefield writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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The Obama administration wants to restore financial aid to Mexico that it cut last year to protest the countrys human rights record, even though abuses have continued, officials said Thursday.

Last year, the State Department cut about $5 million in aid to Mexico, part of a broader package allocated under the so-called Merida Initiative that was generally aimed at fighting a drug war.

The money was withheld because U.S. officials said Mexico had not lived up to its commitments to investigate egregious atrocities, including the kidnapping and apparent killing of 43 college students by local authorities in September 2014.

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The Obama administrations action sent a strong political message of rebuke to Mexico, a close ally of Washington.

But the State Department has notified Congress that it plans to restore the aid, even though, by most accounts, the abuses are as bad or worse.

The disappearance and suspected killing of the students, for example, remains unsolved and international investigators have accused the Mexican government of deliberately obstructing justice in the case.

If you ask yourself, what has changed since last year, not very much, said Maureen Meyer, senior associate for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, a nongovernmental research and advocacy group. Some cases, she added, suggest abuses are even more concerning.

Congress can still block restoration of the aid and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) might try to do so.

Leahy drafted the provision in U.S. law that requires portions of aid to be suspended when there are unimpeded human rights abuses, and it is named for him.

We cannot ignore the failure of the Mexican government to take consistent and effective steps to end the impunity that has characterized a broken justice system, he said in a statement.

Mexico has allowed its own police and military officers to avoid punishment for committing and covering up heinous crimes, he added.

In an assessment sent to Congress last month, the State Department acknowledged serious, ongoing challenges in Mexico, including rampant killings and kidnappings, torture, impunity and violence against journalists and human rights defenders.

Those abuses raised alarm under then-President Felipe Calderon, who launched the drug war, and in many cases have worsened under his successor, Enrique Pena Nieto, who assumed office in December 2012.

Despite the problems, the State Department assessment concluded that Mexicos government has taken important steps over the last 10 years to enhance the protection of human rights.

Asked what went into the assessment, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Mexico has launched an ambitious effort to modernize and reform its law enforcement and justice system.

That, he said, is key to improving human rights. He did not say what, if anything, had changed since last year.

Overall, the Merida Initiative has provided more than $2 billion in aid to Mexico since 2008. The money has been used to acquire military equipment, train police forces and overhaul the judiciary, which remains a work in progress.

So do efforts to curtail government abuses.

Mexican police last year killed 22 people, many unarmed, in the state of Michoacan, and then planted guns to justify the massacre, human rights groups said.

In 2014, the army killed 22 gunmen, most of whom had already surrendered or were wounded when they were shot dead, near a town called Tlatlaya, according to human rights investigators.

An international panel of investigators under the auspices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said it was thwarted by the government when it tried earlier this year to investigate the disappearance of the 43 students.

The government has sought to blame the disappearance on local officials and prevent investigation of authorities higher up the chain of command. Only one victims remains have been recovered and identified.

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter

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A slight wobble in the track of Hurricane Matthew on Friday saved Florida from potential catastrophe, and instead turned the storm into a giant wind and rain machine that knocked down power lines, uprooted trees and left two people dead.

But the legacy of the powerful hurricane  which killed at least 300 and possibly more than 800 in Haiti  was still undetermined as it continued its brutal path up the U.S. coastline.

There were projections of perilously surging seas and serious flooding in some historic Southern cities, including Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C.

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We are very concerned about storm surge, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said at an early Friday evening news briefing. We have seen flooding in St. Augustine. There is the potential for a significant chance of flooding in Jacksonville. The flooding in this area could potentially last for days, and river flooding could last even longer.

The National Weather Service said tide levels in South Carolina could reach or exceed those that occurred in October of 2015, when record rainfall led to major flooding and the deaths of almost 20 people.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Friday was urging Charleston residents to leave town, an appeal which was echoed by Mayor John Tecklenburg.

It really goes against my grain and against my nature to be inhospitable, but were asking everyone to please leave town, Tecklenburg said at a news conference. Its that time.

More than 2.5 million people in four states evacuated their homes in advance of the storm.

The break Florida needed occurred shortly before midnight Friday when the Category 3 hurricane jogged eastward just enough to keep the eye of the storm and its 120 mph winds offshore.

The storm continued to follow the Florida coastline throughout the day before taking a slight turn to the north-northeast, as if it were trying to mirror the north Florida-south Georgia coastline.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category 2 storm by Friday night, with winds closer to 100 mph. It was scheduled to reach Charleston by Saturday morning.

There were five deaths in Florida, three considered indirect storm-related fatalities.

In Volusia County, a woman was killed when she went outside Friday afternoon to feed some animals during a lull in the storm and was struck by a falling tree. In the northern county of Putnam, a woman died when a tree fell on her camper trailer.

Three people died in St. Lucie County, including a couple who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator in their garage. Another woman died after a heart attack. Because of high winds, rescue workers could not get to her for almost five hours.

It was in stark contrast to Haiti, where the death toll reached 300 by official count, while unofficial estimates relying on local officials ranged to nearly triple that.

Rescue workers there have been cut off from the hard-hit southwest peninsula, where images show flattened buildings and widespread destruction, the result of 140 mph winds.

Florida residents had been urged to be on high alert as Matthew approached the Florida coast midweek.

Local officials started closing schools and public offices. Some cities issued curfews, most of which had been scheduled to last until 7 a.m. Saturday, but were rolled back to 2 p.m. Friday.

Counties opened 145 shelters, which housed 22,000 people on Thursday night. Hotel rooms along Orlandos tourism corridor were completely sold out to locals who thought their houses or mobile homes were not safe in high winds.

DisneyWorld, Universal and SeaWorld all closed. It was only the fourth time in history that Disney has closed its doors.

But when residents of south and central Florida woke up on Friday they found that the predictions of doom were unfounded, all because the storm had moved a couple of dozen miles to the east.

Although no major damage was reported, there were several instances of trees falling on houses or cars and roofs being partially torn off.

Gusts of 107 mph were reported in Cape Canaveral and New Smyrna Beach.

Those who stayed up all night witnessed winds approaching 70 to 80 mph and gusts even higher near the coast. The sound of the wind careering between buildings created a freight train-like sound; walking or even standing was difficult.

Street signs rocked crazily back and forth. Many of those experiencing their first hurricane  there hasnt been one in central Florida since 2004  were surprised to learn that the rain was not constant but intermittent, often arriving in horizontal sheets.

The streets were empty except for breathless television reporters who had been filling the local airwaves with non-stop coverage since daybreak on Thursday  their reports occasionally punctuated with the sound of exploding power transformers in the background.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs sounded a bit apologetic late Friday afternoon when she gave an update on the storm.

Every indication we had from every weather service out there indicated this could be a very dangerous threat to Orange County, Jacobs said. This is one of those cases where we were very fortunate and dodged a bullet.

Isolated flooding occurred in some beach areas, including St. Augustine and Daytona Beach.

The biggest problem remained power outages. By midday, more than 1 million people in Florida were without power, with 600,000 of those in the central part of the state. After the storm cleared the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, crews were already making significant progress in restoring electricity.

Brevard County, which has been home to the NASA space program for decades, was the hardest hit, with almost half its residents without power. A series of barrier islands connected by bridges to the mainland make the area especially vulnerable.

Rob Napier, 48, of Merritt Island, had an experience typical of those who rally together during natural disasters. A neighbors 40-year-old ficus tree had fallen into the street. Napier described the event to a local radio station, and by noon, several volunteers armed with chainsaws had arrived to clear the road.

He was one of many who ignored recommendations to leave the area and instead decided to ride out the storm, fearing he might be long cut off from his home if he left.

I was warned if there was catastrophic damage that the authorities wouldnt let us back over the bridge, Napier said.

Florida may not have seen the last of Matthew. After the storm clears South Carolina, it is supposed to take a right turn and circle back toward south Florida. If that happens, though, weather forecasters said the storm should have weakened to no more than a low-pressure system.

Orlando Sentinel reporter Annie Martin contributed to this story.

john.cherwa@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

8 p.m.: The article was updated with news of additional deaths, not directly related to the storm.

4:05 p.m.: The article was updated with news of the storms path north through Florida.

1:35 p.m.: The article was updated with news of a second fatality.

12:00 p.m.: The article was updated with the first storm-related fatality in Florida and details of the storm surge threat in South Carolina and Georgia.

9:10 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details on damage and comments from President Obama and the governor of Florida.

6:55 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information from the governor of Florida.

This article was originally published at 6:05 a.m.
In Florida, the first sign of trouble is silence.

It is a noisy place, all hours, all days -- noisy in its color schemes, its traffic and the thrum of its fauna. Silence here carries ominous portents; the morning of Hurricane Andrew on Aug. 24, 1992, was famously balmy and unusually calm.

Another deadly storm, Hurricane Matthew, bore down on the states eastern seaboard on Friday. The silence began east of Orlando.

Crows no longer cawed, cicadas were still. Traffic, for once, vanished. In their place, the sound of palm trees bent in the wind.

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In the town of Eatonville, an impoverished exurb north of Orlando, residents appeared to be heeding Gov. Rick Scotts initial warnings of impending doom.

A detailed look at Florida cities where Hurricane Matthew may cause flooding 

1 / 34 A woman walks along a flooded street after leaving her homeless encampment that was washed away by Hurricane Matthew in Savannah, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press) 2 / 34 A woman is lashed by wind in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., as Hurricane Matthew moves up the East Coast. (Gerry Broome / Associated Press) 3 / 34 A section of Highway A1A destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Flagler Beach, Fla. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) 4 / 34 David Reedy braves the wind and rain as Hurricane Matthew hits the Isle of Palms, S.C. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) 5 / 34 A resident of Charleston, S.C., makes his way along flooded Battery Street with a rake to clear debris from clogged gutters in the wake of Hurricane Matthew (Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 6 / 34 Residents begin to clear away a fallen tree blocking access to the Frederick Hahn Bridge that links Tybee Island to Savannah, Ga. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 34 A resident walks alongside a damaged boardwalk in Atlantic Beach, Fla., after Hurricane Matthew passed through the area. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images) 8 / 34 Rescuers use a boat in a flooded area in Savannah, Ga., after Hurricane Matthew passed through the area. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) 9 / 34 Rob Birch checks on his car floating out of the driveway as Hurricane Matthew passes through St. Augustine, Fla. (John Raedle/Getty Images) 10 / 34 A car drives past a downed tree as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach, Fla., on Friday. (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press) 11 / 34 A man braces himself against winds as Hurricane Matthew moves through Daytona Beach on Friday. (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press) 12 / 34 Rob Napier, 48, right, and his son Robbie, 20, of Merritt Island, Fla., survey an uprooted tree in a neighbors yard Friday. (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel) 13 / 34 Kaleigh Black, 14, left, and Amber Olsen, 12, run for cover as a squall with rain and wind from the remnants of Hurricane Matthew pelts them as they explore the Cocoa Beach Pier on Friday. (Douglas R. Clifford / Associated Press) 14 / 34 Trees sway from heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Matthew in front of Exploration Tower in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Craig Rubadoux / Associated Press) 15 / 34 Lailoni Kent, 8, screams when the pull of the wave was stronger than she thought while playing on the beach with her family on Lantana Beach while Hurricane Matthew created big waves in Lantana, Fla. (Greg Lovett / Associated Press) 16 / 34 Lights are out on Highway A1A from the winds of Hurricane Matthew in Cocoa Beach, Fla. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) 17 / 34 A man walks past heavy surf caused by Hurricane Matthew in Cocoa Beach, Fla. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) 18 / 34 A downed tree from high winds rests against a car in a residential community after Hurricane Matthew passed through in Ormond Beach, Fla. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images) 19 / 34 Flags blow in the wind from Hurricane Matthew in Cocoa Beach, Fla. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) 20 / 34 A billboard canvas flaps in the wind after Hurricane Matthew passed offshore in North Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 21 / 34 A Seminole mobile home park resident climbs over an uprooted tree in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Cristobal Herrera / EPA) 22 / 34 A firefighter carries a woman to her bus at the Civic Center during an evacuation ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Savannah, Ga. (Josh Galemore / Associated Press) 23 / 34 Waves crash ashore as Hurricane Matthew approaches Singer Island, Fla. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) 24 / 34 Strong rain and winds hit Titusville, Fla., before the landfall of Hurricane Matthew. (Bruce Weaver / AFP/Getty Images) 25 / 34 Mark Oliver surfs the rising waves of Dania Beach for his sponsor in Hollywood, Fla. (Michael Laughlin / South Florida Sun-Sentinel) 26 / 34 Rain-drenched people leave Disneys Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando. (Gregg Newton / AFP-Getty Images) 27 / 34 The evening commute in Jacksonville, Fla. (Jewel Samad / AFP-Getty Images) 28 / 34 Hurricane warning flags are raised in Isle of Palms, S.C. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) 29 / 34 Traffic stacks up on Interstate 75 near McDonough, Ga., as people flee Hurricane Matthew. (Curtis Compton / Atlanta Journal-Constitution) 30 / 34 Business owners Jacob Ortiz, left, and Ryan Fischer board up their building in Titusville, Fla. (Bruce Weaver / AFP-Getty Images) 31 / 34 Gas stations that ran out of fuel wrapped their pumps in Titusville, Fla. (Bruce Weaver / AFP-Getty Images) 32 / 34 A rush for gas in Titusville, Fla. (Bruce Weaver / AFP-Getty Images) 33 / 34 Getting ready for Hurricane Matthew in Orlando, Fla. (Gregg Newton / AFP-Getty Images) 34 / 34 Evacuees take shelter at a high school in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Twenty-four-hour diners were shuttered and the gas stations emptied out, with handwritten paper signs taped to their pumps: Out of Service. The citys broad boulevards were empty under a darkening sky.

To motorists driving across town Friday morning, Eatonville appeared to offer no food, no gas, no water, no restroomsand no hope that any would return soon.

Except for one place. Around a bend, there suddenly could be seen a line of parked cars, a sign shining through the gray clouds in glowing orange, green and red. A bank of lighted shop windows.

Doris Mitchell, 34, nudged through the front door, past a line of people at the stores cash register and made a beeline for the steaming pots of coffee in the back. She dipped her head to better hear her friend in the crowded store.

It was just nobody out there, everything closed, Mitchells friend said.

Thank heaven for 7-Eleven, Mitchell said, laughing, as she filled a coffee cup.

7-Eleven doesnt have the cachet of the Waffle House Index, a back-of-the-envelope calculation coined by a former Federal Emergency Management Agency manager that judges a storms potential severity by the number of Waffle Houses that close.

But here on the outer bands of Hurricane Matthew, it stood in as Eatonvilles only restaurant, bar, latrine and emergency supply store.

The refrigerator was still full, but the hot food shelves were empty. Three men in red shirts rushed behind the counter to fill orders on the grill and take customers money at the register.

One of them, a slender man with a tattoo covering another tattoo on his neck, pulled away from the cash register and leaned into a microphone. His voice was audibly weary, even when heard through the tinny connection outside: There is no gas. There. Is. No. Gas.

The door of a Chevy Tahoe parked next to a pump slammed, and it pulled away.

Connie Benton sat in the drivers seat of her white Ford Explorer and waited for her nephew to return with milk and cashews.

Lord, and beer, I know hes coming back with some beer, Benton said, shaking her head.

She had told him to buy small amounts of each: Dont go crazy. The storm had been billed that morning by CNN as a KILLER STORM, but Benton by 10:52 a.m. was checking the time and declaring the worst of the storm over.

On television, most stories about hurricanes are told on the coast, where residents face a clear decision: stay, or run.

But decisions far inland, at the fringes of the storm, are less certain. How bad is the wind going to get here? Is it too soon to relax?

Jerry Littrell, who is homeless, said he spent Thursday night under a plastic tarp in the woods behind the convenience store. On Friday morning, he was sitting about 20 feet from the 7-Eleven entrance, his back against its front wall, huddled against the gusts that were whipping warm, wet air in his face.

He pointed his thumb at another man sitting near the store entrance, who was holding a broken purple umbrella and grumbling inaudibly.

Hell hit you up for money, Littrell warned a passerby.

The man raised his head and stared.

Can you help me with a sandwich? I dont want money, he said.

Littrell took a pull from a reedy cigarillo. Behind him, Mickey Mouse grinned from a billboard advertising an upcoming series of Halloween Party nights.

Littrell was worried that the 7-Elevens awning wouldnt protect him from the heavier winds. If it gets a lot worse, Im going to the car wash.

The car wash at least offered a roof.

At that point, the wind started picking up, howling through the palm trees.

The man sitting near Littrell stood up unsteadily and walked into the storm, the wind pulling at his umbrella. Littrell waited a few beats, then began to follow.

Follow Nigel Duara on Twitter: @nigelduara

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Even as turmoil in insurance markets nationwide fuels renewed election-year attacks on the Affordable Care Act, California is emerging as a clear illustration of what the law can achieve.

The state has recorded some of the nations most dramatic gains in health coverage since 2013 while building a competitive insurance marketplace that offers consumers enhanced protections from high medical bills.

Californians, unlike people in many states, have many insurance choices. That means that even with rising premiums, the vast majority of consumers should be able to find a plan that costs them, at most, 5% more than they are paying this year.

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And all health plans being sold in the state will cap how much patients must pay for prescriptions every month and for many doctor visits.

That reflects deliberate choices by California state officials who, unlike many states, used the health law to expand the Medicaid safety net and build a marketplace that put stringent requirements on insurance companies.

California followed the blueprint. They did it right, said Dr. J. Mario Molina, chief executive of Long Beach-based Molina Healthcare Inc., a leading national insurer that is selling marketplace plans in nine states in 2017.

California followed the blueprint. They did it right.  Dr. J. Mario Molina, chief executive of Molina Healthcare Inc.

What has been lost in all the rhetoric and the politics is that the system can work, Molina said. Open enrollment begins next month.

California and its Obamacare marketplace, Covered California, still face challenges, including rising costs. Like consumers elsewhere, some Californians, particularly those who make too much money to qualify for government subsidies, are seeing substantial premium increases and narrowing networks.

But while health coverage has faltered in other states where politicians worked to undermine the law, California highlights what can be accomplished if government officials and industry leaders work together to expand insurance, control costs and protect consumers.

Many of the advances being pioneered in California have been incorporated into Democrat Hillary Clintons program to improve on the Affordable Care Act if she is elected president.

Were not just the biggest state and one of the states thats most aggressively taken advantage of tools in the Affordable Care Act, said Health Access California Executive Director Anthony Wright, a leading consumer advocate. We are also one of the states that had the biggest problems to start with.

Now were showing that you can use the law as a platform to benefit patients.

Between 2013 and 2015, the share of working-age adults in California without coverage plummeted from 23.7% to 11.1%, according to federal data. Only three states saw larger declines over the same period.

The new coverage has dramatically improved patients access to medical care and reduced financial strains, other research indicates.

More than three-quarters of newly insured Californians said their health needs are now being met, a recent survey by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found.

By contrast, less than half said they were getting needed care before they got coverage through the health law.

At the same time, Californians who gained coverage reported fewer worries about paying for not just healthcare, but also housing, transportation, even food.

For Del Hunter-White, a Los Angeles actress who lost her insurance through the Screen Actors Guild when she didnt work enough to qualify for the union plan, Covered California opened just in time.

It was a lifesaver, she said, noting she probably wouldnt have been able to get coverage. At my age, you dont want to go without insurance.

Hunter-White, who is 60, found a health plan that costs her $195.87 a month and allows her to see the doctors she wants. Its been great, she said.

Overall, nearly 8 in 10 newly insured Californians feel positively about their coverage, Kaiser found.

Much of the insurance expansion in California has been fueled by the states decision to take advantage of federal funding in the health law to expand Medicaid eligibility to poor, childless adults, a population traditionally excluded from most states safety nets.

But Covered California has also played a critical role, with about 1.3 million direct customers and nearly 1 million more who get health plans that must meet Covered California standards even though consumers dont use the marketplace to purchase them.

The large enrollment isnt an accident.

Many states now facing the biggest problems with their insurance markets actively resisted the health law, refusing to expand Medicaid or to help build a new marketplace where consumers could shop for health plans.

By contrast, state leaders in California, including former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, decided early that Californias insurance marketplace would set high standards for health plans and actively negotiate to control prices.

In the first two years of the marketplace, premiums increased an average of just 4%.

The state made a difficult decision to terminate old plans that didnt meet the health laws higher standards, a crucial move that helped stabilize the market by bringing the healthier consumers who had these plans into the larger risk pool.

The state also worked closely with foundations, consumer advocates, hospitals and insurers to enroll customers, particularly younger, healthier people who are also critical to maintaining a good risk pool and keeping premiums in check.

We all worked together to make sure the marketplace worked, said Jay Gellert, former chief executive of Los Angeles-based insurer Health Net Inc., which merged this year with Centene Corp.

Now, Covered California is implementing consumer protections that exempt many routine office visits from deductibles.

That means that someone who has a health plan with a $2,500 deductible can still see a primary care doctor for just a $35 copay and see a specialist for just $70.

Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said these new protections should make the health plans more appealing to customers who might have been resistant to buy a plan that required them to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets before they got any protection.

No patient I know wants to pay $2,500 to see the doctor, Lee said.

Lee and others acknowledge that even the new protections wont alleviate all cost pressures on health plans and consumers.

In 2017, Covered California rates are increasing an average of 13.2%, driven in part by rising medical costs and the end of a federal program that helped hold down rates.

Premiums for several insurers, including Blue Shield of California and Anthem Inc., are increasing even more dramatically.

Preventing large rate hikes in the future will require adjustments to the marketplaces in California and elsewhere, many experts say.

But many states could start by taking steps California already has to make their markets work, said Molina, the health plan executive.

Had states like Texas and Florida followed Californias lead, they might have seen more gains like Californias, he said.

Twitter: @noamlevey

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The Obama administration on Friday officially blamed the Russian government for attempting to interfere in the U.S. election by hacking computers used by political groups, including the Democratic National Committee.

In a statement, the U.S. intelligence community and the Department of Homeland Security for the first time publicly said they were confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations.

The goal of these thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process, the statement said.

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The DNC is not identified in the statement, but a U.S. official confirmed it was one of the victims targeted by the Russian government.

The assessment also determined that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities ... based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts.

Previously, intelligence officials had privately blamed Russia but would not do so openly.

The statement is the latest sign of rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia. Also Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry called for a war-crimes investigation of Russias military intervention in Syria.

The DNC disclosed it had been hacked in June, and a large number of internal emails soon were published on the WikiLeaks website. The FBI confirmed in July that it was investigating the intrusion.

The Clinton campaign has said that an analytics data program maintained by the DNC, and used by our campaign and a number of other entities, was accessed as part of the DNC hack.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other Democratic organizations used the hacked system.

GOP nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on whether Russia was behind the attack.

The statement also noted the recent hacking attacks targeting U.S. election systems. More than a dozen states have reported that voter registration databases have been scanned and probed by hackers, according to U.S. officials. Hackers this summer successfully penetrated an Illinois voter registration database.

U.S. officials suspect the Russian government is behind those cyberattacks, too, law enforcement sources have said. However, the intelligence community is not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian government, the statement said.

Election experts have said it would be extremely difficult for Russia or another country to influence the outcome of an election, though they could seek to sow confusion.

The statement issued Friday by U.S. officials reiterated that view, saying that their assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place.

Intelligence and DHS officials urged states and local election offices to remain vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS to prepare for potential cyberattacks.

Follow @delwilber on Twitter

del.wilber@latimes.com

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An American researcher killed in a rock attack by protesters in Ethiopia this week was a talented scientist with a bright future, the chairman of her department at UC Davis said Thursday.

Sharon Gray, 31, was a leader in the study of how climate change affects plants, said Savithramma Dinesh-Kumar, chairman of the plant biology department at UC Davis.

Shes really an always-smiling slip of sunshine. Shes a smart, energetic scientist, Dinesh-Kumar said. She had a very bright future ahead of her. And everyone knew she was going to be the star in the plant biology research area.

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Gray, a post-doctoral researcher, was in the East African country for a meeting to kick off a research project when she was killed Tuesday. She was traveling in a car in the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, an area that has seen months of deadly protests.

Gray was the first foreigner killed in the massive anti-government protests that have claimed the lives of hundreds of protesters since November 2015. At least 55 people were killed in a stampede last weekend when police tried to disrupt a demonstration amid a massive religious festival that was followed by clashes between security forces and protesters.

The circumstances of the attack that killed Gray are still unclear, Dinesh-Kumar said. Another UC Davis professor who was in Ethiopia was shaken but not hurt and is returning home, he said.

The U.S. Embassy on Wednesday attributed the death to head injuries from a rock thrown by unknown individuals.

Gray earned her doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013 before moving to UC Davis with her husband, who is also a post-doctoral researcher. She was recently awarded a three-year National Science Foundation grant to study how growing levels of carbon dioxide affect plants.

She traveled to Ethiopia for her first meeting to discuss a separate research project she planned to conduct with the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and charitable organizations.

The U.S. State Department is assisting Grays family, said UC Davis Interim Provost Ken Burtis and Mark Winey, dean of the College of Biological Sciences, in a message to the campus community.

On behalf of the entire UC Davis campus, our hearts and condolences go out to Sharons husband and extended family, they wrote. Even in tragedy, we hope that we all can find some comfort in the wonderful work Sharon was engaged in that will better the lives of so many around the world.

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Trump apologizes for bragging that he groped women, but dismisses uproar as a distraction

(Tom Pennington / Getty Images)

Donald Trump apologized Friday night for his boasting about groping women, but dismissed a newly released 2005 recording of his vulgar remarks as nothing more than a distraction.

Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am, said Trump, whose frequent derogatory comments about women have proved a major liability. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.

In the videotaped statement posted on his Facebook page, Trump also tried to minimize the significance of the lewd remarks that included a statement that he could grab women by the crotch because he was a star.

Lets be honest  were living in the real world, Trump said. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues were facing today.

Trumps statement came hours after the Washington Posts release of the 2005 recording threw the Republican Party into disarray, with GOP leaders roundly condemning their own presidential nominee.

Coming two days before a crucial presidential debate in St. Louis, the extraordinary spectacle threatened to doom Trumps prospects in the Nov. 8 election.

These comments are repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who bemoaned Trumps utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape.

House Speaker Paul Ryan had planned to campaign with Trump in his Wisconsin congressional district on Saturday, but announced Trump would no longer be attending.

I am sickened by what I heard today, Ryan said in a statement. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests.

Trump said he would spend Saturday preparing for the debate with top advisors, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. He, too, denounced Trump.

No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever, Priebus said.

Updated 9:54 p.m. This post was revised with new details.
Trump insists town hall is not debate prep, but he has a lot to say about Sundays debate

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

The format was a town hall, just like Sundays debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but on Thursday night in New Hampshire Trump immediately and repeatedly batted away the notion that the event had any connection to the upcoming clash with his Democratic opponent.

They were saying this is practice for Sunday. This isnt practice; this has nothing to do with Sunday, said the GOP presidential nominee, whose performance in the first debate against Clinton was widely panned. Were just here because we just wanted to be here.

Clintons announced preparation for the upcoming debate was actually an excuse for the Democratic nominee to rest, added Trump, who then shook his head as he said incredulously, Debate prep?

But the nearly hourlong gathering with voters in Sandown, N.H., moderated by conservative radio host Howie Carr, sure felt like a practice session for Sundays debate, which begins at 6 p.m. Pacific.

Trump, who rarely holds town halls, gave an opening statement, reciting a list of polls that were favorable to him. Then he responded to about a dozen pre-screened questions from the audience, about topics such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, foreign policy and job creation. Carr gave him two minutes to respond -- roughly the time candidates get during real debates.

Some queries concerned the debates themselves, such as one question from a Bedford resident about whether Trump would go after Clinton more aggressively than he did in their first debate. (Trump previously said he didnt raise former President Bill Clintons indiscretions because the Clintons daughter, Chelsea, was in the audience.)

I did hold back. I thought it was inappropriate to say what I was thinking, Trump said Thursday. Id much rather have it be on policy.

He said he preferred to keep the debates out of the gutter, but then indicated he was open to raising the matter on Sunday.

Lets see what happens, Trump said.

Another voter asked Trump about reports that he was upset that running mate Mike Pence outperformed him in the vice presidential debate this week. Trump responded by trashing reporters who had cited anonymous sources claiming he was displeased, and said he was ecstatic over Pences widely praised performance against Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine.

We were jumping up and down, Trump said. And Ill tell you what, hes a great human being. You cant root against him, you cant.

New Hampshire is renowned in political circles for its town halls, where voters often aggressively question candidates. But Thursdays event was invitation-only, full of Trump supporters.

The questions were softballs, such as his favorite memory  sitting by his fathers knee as he negotiated  and who would win the World Series.

Of course its Boston, said Trump, whose demeanor and tone during the town hall were far calmer than during the first debate.

He recognized the crowd was friendly, noting after a Sandown woman asked about taxes and repeated Trumps campaign slogan of Make America Great Again.

I like this audience, Trump said. I like this audience.

The event concluded with Carr thanking Trump, calling him the next president of the United States and wishing him luck in the debate. The crowd members leaped to their feet and chanted, Trump!
On its face, Measure SSS  which will be on the Nov. 8 ballot just for voters in the city of Los Angeles  seems straightforward.

It would move new hires at the L.A. Airport Police Department into the same pension plan as other police and fire department employees in the city, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions. It also would allow the some 500 current airport officers to buy their way into the LAFPP. Unlike more than 13,000 other public safety employees, airport police officers are covered by the general pension system for municipal workers, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System, or LACERS.

If this measure passes, eventually all the police officers in the citys three separate police departments  LAPD, the L.A. Port Police and the airport officers  would be members of the same pension fund, receiving comparable retirement benefits (they are already paid on the same salary scale). Thats a goal of city officials because it would make it easier to shift public safety personnel around as needed without running into the obstacle of incompatible retirement benefits.

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But scratch the surface of this measure, which requires a change of the citys charter, and the picture becomes murkier  and the argument for SSS less compelling.

First, it would add to the citys already heavy pension burden, which consumes about 20% of the citys general fund. Though the increase in pension costs may be relatively small, its a move in the wrong direction. It would also raise police pension costs for the Los Angeles World Airports by 15% to 19%. Thats because the cops and firefighters in LAFPP have enjoyed more generous retirement packages than other municipal employees, allowing them to retire earlier with a higher monthly stipend to reflect the inherent danger and physical demands of their jobs. For example, members of LACERS have to wait until they turn 55 or 60 (depending on the tier they are in) to retire with full benefits, but members of LAFPP can retire at 50. Fire and police pensioners who retire early also get bigger pension checks than early retirees in LACERS.

Second, the union representing airport police officers isnt supporting this measure, even though it negotiated the terms of Measure SSS with the city. Though the change would benefit future recruits, it probably wouldnt be attractive to most current airport police officers. City officials estimate those officers may have to pay as much as $20,000 for each year theyve served to buy into the LAFPP. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents LAPD officers, is opposing the measure because the union says it was left out of the process and doesnt believe the city has adequately addressed the potential negative impacts of this change on the fire and police pension fund, on current members and on taxpayers.

Finally, in supporting Measure SSS, voters may be unwittingly committing the city to a future merger of the airport police and LAPD without a proper public discussion about whether it would be the right decision for the airport or the city. From an administrative standpoint, there may be good reasons to combine all the uniformed police in the city under a single command, rather than having the airport police reporting to Los Angeles World Airports and the harbor police to the Port of Los Angeles. (It would certainly make it easier to move officers to where they are most needed, and to take a unified, citywide approach to terrorism.) But the consequences need to be explored fully before the city heads down that road.

Measure SSS is an incremental move in that direction, which seems premature. That, combined with the cost and the lack of support from the affected officers, is reason enough to vote no.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Here are a few certainties about Californias next U.S. senator. It will be a Democrat; no Republicans got enough votes in the states top-two primary to advance to Novembers general election. And it will be a woman, who will be a historic addition to the U.S. Senate  either state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, whose parents are Indian and Jamaican, would become the first Indian American senator, or Rep. Loretta Sanchez would become the chambers first Latina.

Harris and Sanchez are vying to replace another Democrat, retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer. Its the first open Senate seat for California in nearly a quarter of a century, so the stakes are high. But the race has been far too quiet and almost completely lacking in substance, which is disappointing because within the Democratic Party, there are real policy differences on issues such as free trade, military intervention abroad and environmental regulation. Harris and Sanchez agreed to participate in only one debate, which was held Wednesday in Los Angeles. Thats hardly enough to push the candidates beyond platitudes and cheap shots.

In the absence of clear information on what Harris and Sanchez would do, Californians are left to judge them on what theyve said and done so far in their career. In that comparison, Harris has shown she is the candidate who is more likely to be the persuasive, thoughtful and pragmatic lawmaker California needs.

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A former district attorney of San Francisco, Harris narrowly won her race for attorney general in 2010 before cruising to reelection in 2014. As the states top cop, Harris has shown that she is willing to fight against the powerful in support of the little guy. When other states reached a settlement with banks accused of improper mortgage foreclosures, Harris balked at what she saw as an unsatisfactory deal. She ultimately won greater debt reduction for homeowners and a larger award for damages. She also fought for a Homeowner Bill of Rights to ensure fair lending and borrowing practices, against strong opposition by banks.

On the down side, Harris has at times seemed more focused on her political career than on the job she was elected to do. She has been too cautious and unwilling to stake out a position on controversial issues, even when her voice would have been valuable to the debate. She was an early champion for criminal justice reform, but she chose to stay largely silent when Gov. Jerry Brown implemented realignment, shifting low-level offenders from state prison to county jail, and when voters passed Proposition 47, which reduced certain drug, theft and other felonies to misdemeanors. Harris has said California needs bold leadership, but a bold leader cant sit out on significant decisions.

Sanchez, by comparison, has been willing to take positions and make tough votes. She voted against the Iraq war and the Patriot Act in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, difficult decisions that have proven to be wise judgments. But she hasnt stood out in Congress despite her 20-year tenure, and she is too often prone to gaffes and controversies.

California needs to fill Boxers seat with a steady, serious representative. Despite her bouts of excessive caution, Harris has shown herself very capable of being that consistent, persuasive advocate for California. Voters should send her to the Senate.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Its been four days since the debate between vice presidential candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, and conservative Catholics are still irritated over what many liberal Catholics (and liberal non-Catholics) thought was one of Kaines finest moments.

Their indignation came in response to a question to both candidates about how they struggled to balance their personal religious faith and public policy.

Echoing the late Mario Cuomo in his famous speech at Notre Dame University in 1984, Kaine suggested that he could be personally opposed to abortion as a Catholic and still support Roe vs. Wade.

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He then tried to turn the tables on Pence, who, he noted, had said he wanted to repeal the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Governor, he asked Pence, Why dont you trust women to make this choice for themselves? We can encourage people to support life. Of course we can. But why dont you trust women? Why doesnt Donald Trump trust women to make this choice for themselves?

Thats what we ought to be doing in public life: living our lives of faith or motivation with enthusiasm and excitement, convincing other[s], dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day.

Catholic critics werent impressed.

The Rev. Thomas Petri, dean of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., told the Catholic News Agency that Kaine, the Democratic nominee, took a gravely immoral position in saying he personally opposed abortion while taking a pro-choice stance in public office.

At Breitbart, Thomas D. Williams wrote: While Kaine offers lip service to being personally opposed to abortion ( la Mario Cuomo), his words ring hollow to those who understand abortion to be a social evil that destroys the most vulnerable members of society. Being personally opposed to abortion is like being personally opposed to racism or wife-beating.

Theres a superficial appeal to the idea that its contradictory for a politician to believe that a fetus is a life deserving of protection  a belief not confined to Catholics, by the way  and at the same time to oppose laws against abortion.

But if Kaine is guilty of inconsistency, so are Pence and many other pro-life politicians who draw the line at advocating punishment for women who have abortions.

At the debate, Pence, the Republican candidate, was put on the defensive when Kaine noted that Trump had said earlier in the campaign that women who had abortions should be punished (a statement the GOP presidential nominee later retracted). Pence insisted that Donald Trump and I would never support legislation that punished women who made the heartbreaking choice to end a pregnancy.

But why not? If abortion is murder, why shouldnt a woman be punished for complicity in that crime? As I wrote at the time of Trumps original gaffe:

It defies logic to suggest that a person who initiates criminal act ought to be immune to punishment for it. At the minimum, the woman who seeks an abortion is an accessory to murder  if you believe abortion is murder.

Now, there may be what Catholics call a prudential reason not to punish the woman  namely that there are more effective ways to discourage abortion.

But once you concede that point, youre not far from Kaines preferred strategy of forsaking legal prohibition for dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day in the hopes that women will see that abortion is the wrong choice. Or Hillary Clintons 2008 strategy (not emphasized this year) of trying to make abortions safe, legal and rare.

Kaine and Pence are trying to have it both ways on abortion. Theyre just being inconsistent in different ways.

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The rebukes of Donald Trump from the holy order of the GOP are as relentless as they are brutal, extending from the partys living ex-presidents to the descendants of Ronald Reagan  and Republican voters almost always respond to them the same way.

With a shrug.

Even in this unusual race, GOP voters are following their usual pattern of coalescing around their nominee. As they do, the giddy chatter has quieted among Democrats who once buzzed about a possible Hillary Clinton landslide aided by disaffected Republicans.

In a race in which party loyalty is being tested more than ever before, it is holding its own.

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Nevertheless, the Clinton campaign is continuing to invest big in luring Republican converts.

Every week seems to bring a new Clinton ad campaign with GOP disavowals of their own nominee, or a rollout of another noteworthy endorsement from a conservative big shot. The messages to Republican voters span from warnings of the destruction Trump would wreak to reassurances that voting against him is not disloyal.

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A new radio campaign features lifelong Republican voters talking about their decision to vote against Trump. President Obama, in his role as surrogate in chief, even speaks admiringly of the GOP as he reasons that the path to preserving it is rejecting the nominee.

If the Clinton campaign cant orchestrate a mass defection, it will settle for a tiny subversion. Even that could be enough to tip the balance her way in some key swing states.

When youre in a close race, particularly in some battleground states, youre definitely playing on the margins, Clinton campaign strategist Joel Benenson said. The campaign is pursuing wavering Republicans relentlessly, typically with the help of conservatives who have already crossed the line. Its about letting folks who have a history of voting Republican know that youre not alone, Benenson said.

College-educated women are targeted the most. Trumps history of demeaning comments toward women and his loose talk about nuclear weapons and other national security threats are among the reasons theyre hedging. A mailer Democrats sent to suburban Republican women in Iowa, for example, features the Trump quotes slobs, dogs, and fat pigs printed on paper dolls. His words make us feel worthless, it says.

We see a lot of Republican-leaning independent women and Republican women who are very bothered by Donald Trumps rhetoric, said Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook.

Recent polls show college-educated whites are backing Clinton after decades of supporting GOP candidates.

But voters in some states may be more receptive than in others. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, the push doesnt seem to be doing much. In some polls, Trump enjoys more loyalty from his partys voters in those states than Clinton does with hers.

But the situation is different in Michigan and New Hampshire, where polls published in the last week show Clintons lead buoyed by weakening support for Trump among Republicans. In Florida and North Carolina, where the race has been close to a dead heat, a Quinnipiac poll shows Clinton advancing as Republicans fail to line up behind Trump in the same numbers Democrats are lining up behind her.

I am thrilled at the amount of Republican voter support Ive gotten, I really am, Clinton said on her campaign plane last week.

Her campaign said its creating a pathway for Republicans  some of whom may have viewed Clinton and her husband as political enemies for decades  to cross the aisle. Others are dubious.

Any bump in the rate of Republican refuseniks this year is Trumps own making, said Neil Newhouse, who was a pollster for former GOP presidential nominee and now prominent Trump critic Mitt Romney, in an email. Those voters still deeply distrust Clinton, he said, and will probably cast ballots for Libertarian Gary Johnson. Newhouse is unimpressed by the Clinton messaging effort, which he suspects is repulsing more Republicans than it is recruiting.

For all her marketing to Republicans, Clinton has done little to pivot her agenda in their direction. She has been unapologetic about continuing the policies of Obama, which conservatives detest. She has vowed to nominate justices who would put the Supreme Court under liberal control for decades, filling Republican voters with dread. She would grow government, expand Obamacare and champion abortion rights.

She hasnt done much to throw conservatives a bone, said Charlie Sykes, a conservative talk radio host in Wisconsin. A vocal member of the Never Trump movement, Sykes finds himself tangling with his listeners constantly. They are lining up with their noses held to vote for him, he said.

Sykes said he is still waiting for Clinton to reach out to Republicans with a Sister Souljah moment  a reference to the time Bill Clinton impressed social conservatives with a provocative remark before Jesse Jacksons Rainbow Coalition. In the 1992 incident, Clinton repudiated a hip-hop artists take on black-on-white violence.

Hillary Clinton is unlikely to deliver such a moment. Instead, she is taking a far more cautious approach, one that avoids offending the progressive voters who were the backbone of President Obamas electoral coalition and who rallied around her primary opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. But Clintons effort to straddle her outreach between those starkly opposed voting blocs has created its own grief. Both have found the approach wanting at times.

The Clinton campaign, with its data-driven politics aimed at avoiding unnecessary risk, sees little reward in a bolder approach toward Republican recruitment. No matter what Clinton  or Trump, for that matter  does, few of those voters are likely to defect.

People have really chosen a side, and once you identify with that ideological tribe, it is difficult to break the allegiance, Sykes said. The tendency is to find some way to rationalize that no matter how awful Trump is, Hillary is much worse.

Twitter: @evanhalper, @chrismegerian

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The two presidential candidates have approached their second debate in characteristic ways  Hillary Clinton studying, Donald Trump mocking her for it.

To ace the televised session Sunday evening, they both might roll a four-minute video snippet from the first town hall debate held almost 24 years ago. The candidate each needs to emulate: Bill Clinton.

That Clinton shared a debate stage in Richmond, Va., with Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot. All three sat on tall stools as part of an experiment to allow audience members, not professional journalists, to ask questions.

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In that year of economic uncertainty came a plaintive query:

How has the national debt personally affected each of your lives? a woman asked. And if it hasnt, how can you honestly find a cure for the economic problems of the common people if you have no experience in whats ailing them?

Perot, a billionaire businessman, talked about how the rocky economy had pushed him to run for president. Bush, focused on the mention of the national debt, fumbled and said, Im not sure I get it.

Clinton got it  the moment, if not the specific question. He walked to the edge of the stage, as close as he could get to the audience, and reached out to the woman with his arms.

Tell me how its affected you again, he asked. You know people whove lost their jobs and lost their homes?

He spoke about how, as Arkansas governor, when people lose their jobs, theres a good chance Ill know them by their names.

Ive been out here, he added, with people like you all over America, people that have lost their jobs, lost their livelihood, lost their health insurance.

In 90 seconds of emotional connection, Clinton won that debate, and eventually the presidency.

Town hall debates provide enormous opportunities for candidates, but also tremendous risks. Because the questioners are everyday Americans, other voters identify with them. Candidates need to find a way to be personal, without being overly emotional. They must connect, without pandering. They must draw out contrasts without insult. They must not be too physically aggressive, nor too meek, neither threatening nor disinterested.

A town hall debate is a kind of courtship, said Republican debate strategist Brett ODonnell; wrongly played, viewers will decide they dont want to date someone who mistreated a waiter or waitress in a restaurant.

Audiences will read an incredible amount of meaning into how you say what you say, not just what you say, he said.

That adds tension to a 90-minute meeting that already featured high stakes, particularly for Trump. His campaign was rocked by controversy yet again Friday when the Washington Post and NBC News released a 2005 tape of him making lewd remarks about women and bragging about his sexual exploits.

Even before that, Trumps standing had been declining in polls. Voters by margins as large as 2-1 said Clinton had won their first debate. Her standing with the public has gone up since, and his has declined.

In Sundays session at Washington University in St. Louis, debate experts and operatives on both sides say, Trump must demonstrate the temperament to serve as commander-in-chief after an irritated and cranky showing last time. He must develop rapport with individuals after spending most of his campaign courting giant crowds from a distant stage. He must talk about voters and their needs  and not about himself and his accomplishments.

Clinton has to sustain her advantage and reach the now-higher bar of competence she established in the first debate. To the policy expertise and gibes at Trump that marked the first debate, she must add a sense of who she is. And, if confronted by a voter with a challenging question, she needs to avoid the defensive crouch to which she has sometimes retreated in the past.

Both have the capacity to hit home runs and both have the capacity to strike out, said Peter Pober, a communications professor and rhetoric expert at Virginias George Mason University.

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If Trump treats this the same way he treats big speeches and other forms of debate, it will be a huge mistake, he said. And Clinton needs to be less lawyerly and willing to let us into her emotional life.

The audiences role in the town hall can make simple actions by the candidates into campaign stumbles.

In that 1992 debate, Bush took a few seconds to look at his watch. He may have simply wanted to know how much time he had to make his case. To viewers, it looked like boredom.

He sent a message: When is this over?  said ODonnell. And Bill Clinton seemed to be having the time of his life.

Clinton has had repeated opportunities to learn how to deal with the format. Although she is often seen by voters as emotionally aloof, in primary season town halls and more recent campaign events she has demonstrated a more personable side. In one session in Nevada in February, she gave voters a sense of herself when asked how she would harness forgiveness were she elected president.

I could not be standing here if I had not been forgiven many times and if I had not been able to forgive, myself, those who I thought had in some way disappointed or wronged me, she replied. I, as a person of faith, believe profoundly in the power of forgiveness.

Weeks earlier, she was asked by a rabbi at a New Hampshire town hall how she balanced ambition and humility. The question ushered in a striking moment  a lengthy contemplation rare in a political setting.

I have had to deal and struggle with a lot of these issues about ambition and humility, about service and self-gratification, all of the human questions that all of us deal with,  she said, then criticized her own campaign style.

I never thought I would do this. And so I have had to come to grips with how much more difficult it often is for me to talk about myself than to talk about what I want to do for other people, or to tell stories about, you know, the man I met in Rochester who  whose AIDS medicine is no longer affordable Im constantly trying to balance how do I assume the mantle of a position as essentially august as president of the United States and not lose track of who I am, what I believe in and what I want to do to serve?

Trump has not lifted the veil to that degree. And unlike other candidates, his communication during the campaign has largely been one-way: a speech delivered by him to an applauding audience.

His campaign, a rock-star tour with its huge halls, big crowds and occasionally outrageous behavior, has been about the cultural and economic resentments of his supporters. But he has delved little into their individual stories, save for a group of recurring guests whose relatives were killed by immigrants in the country illegally. He has rarely talked about himself other than to praise his business acumen or smarts.

A rare glimpse came Thursday during a campaign event in Sandown, N.H. Asked by radio host Howie Carr about an early memory, Trump recounted a story he has told before about listening to his father, a developer, talk on the phone.

Hed be on the telephone negotiating with a plumber or an electrician or a sheet rocker and I would hear this, and I would be playing with blocks at his knee, he said. Im on the floor and Id be listening and he just  it was always so vivid. Then, as if that was enough, he moved on to criticize American leaders.

The Sandown event had been expected to be a practice session for Sundays event; his host made a point of telling Trump he would hold him to debate-style time limits if Trump agreed. But Trump went on to break almost every rule of town hall debating, leveling caustic and false accusations about Clinton, impugning reporters by name and as a group, bragging about polls he said showed him winning, and rambling through his responses without conversing with his audience.

Forget debate prep, he said at one point. At another, he jibed at Clintons repeated practice sessions.

Thats not debate prep, shes resting, he said.

Clinton on Tuesday said she was doing what she had done before the last debate, the one that boosted her campaign.

Preparation, she said, is important.

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Twitter: @cathleendecker

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While the 2016 science Nobel laureates hailed from well outside the Golden State, three local universities celebrated two winners with a California connection: physics laureate Duncan Haldane and chemistry laureate Fraser Stoddart.

Haldane, currently of Princeton University, previously taught at USC and UC San Diego; Stoddart, now at Northwestern University, spent a decade at UCLA. Each left a lasting legacy on the Southland  and for Stoddart, Los Angeles may have made a mark on him.

Coming to UCLA in 1997 from England presented a surprising set of challenges, said the Scottish-born Stoddart, who shares the 2016 chemistry Nobel with two other scientists.

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I more or less had to start again as an assistant professor, he explained, who then had to learn the ropes of a completely new academic culture that was quite different from that in the United Kingdom.

He soon realized that those cultural differences actually presented scientific opportunities.

The structure is more horizontal, Stoddart explained. So I had left a rather hierarchical system for a horizontal one, and that horizontal nature lends itself to collaborations.

Stoddart soon began working with other scientists on research related to building tiny molecular computers and systems for drug delivery in the body.

UCLA was a brilliant time for pushing these two potential applications, while still doing a lot of fundamental work, he recalled.

Stoddart also led UCLAs California NanoSystems Institute, where he oversaw a stage of growth that ultimately helped the university become a leader in the study of nanotechnology, said Miguel Garcia-Garibay, UCLAs dean of physical sciences.

Hes one of the scientists that is best as a collaborator, Garcia-Garibay said, calling him a real, good model of what a good scientist should be.

Stoddart, who remains a professor emeritus at UCLA, moved to Northwestern in 2008  but left an indelible impression on his California colleagues.

Fraser was so excited about science, and his enthusiasm about the work he was doing was just contagious, said Catherine Clarke, chair of UCLAs department of chemistry and biochemistry. He just loved what he did. He lived and breathed his science.

Stoddart, who called himself addicted to science, said there are still plenty of days where hes in the office around 6:30 a.m., ready to do more research.

We speculated on whether he ever slept or not, said Kendall Houk, an organic chemist at UCLA.

Stoddarts wife, Norma, was a biochemist who also worked in his group, and beloved on campus. She passed away in 2004 after a long battle with breast cancer. He and his daughters endowed an annual chemistry prize for graduate students at UCLA in her memory, Clarke said.

Not only does it honor that student for their academic excellence and research but also for their contribution in service and citizenship, she explained. And that feature of the prize really honors Norma ... she was so collegial, and everyone just loved her.

The physics Nobel Prize also yielded a California connection: Duncan Haldane, currently of Princeton University, who previously taught at USC and UC San Diego.

Haldane, who was born in England and shared the physics Nobel with two others, won for his work on how condensed matter behaves in extreme states.

Ivan Schuller, a solid-state physicist at UC San Diego, remembered Haldane as being shy but friendly.

He had somewhat of a genius kind of an aura, he said. The thing that he does is not simple. Even for us professors of physics, its not easy to understand.

Much of the work that earned him the Nobel was done while he was at UC San Diego, said Daniel Arovas, a UCSD condensed matter theorist who worked with Haldane as a graduate student.

There are a lot of very funny absentminded professor-type stories about him that we all tell at conferences  everybody has their favorite Duncan story, he said, chuckling.

Arovas, who called Haldane an original thinker, said the newly minted laureate was the kind of scientist who would take the time to sit down and explain his ideas to anyone, from professors to undergraduate students.

Hes really one of the good people, he said.

amina.khan@latimes.com

Follow @aminawrite on Twitter for more science news and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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The Los Angeles County coroners office deferred ruling on the cause of death of a man struck by a Taser during a fight with Burbank police officers earlier this week, officials said Friday.

Coroners officials performed an autopsy on the body of Thomas Binkley  who police said went about 14 minutes without medical aid while authorities were in a standoff with his brother  but ordered additional tests, which could delay a ruling by up to nine months, said Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County coroners office. He did not know which tests were ordered.

The events that led up to the 66-year-old mans death began around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, when his daughter-in-law told police that he had come to her Burbank home and threatened her life.

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Two Burbank police officers responded to Binkleys home, located on the 500 block of North Mariposa Street, where they spoke with him outside.

Binkley became verbally confrontational with the officers before physically assaulting them, according to Burbank Police Sgt. Claudio Losacco.

A fight ensued, during which one officer shot Binkley with a Taser at least once, causing him to fall to the ground.

It was not clear exactly how many times, or for how many seconds, the Taser was deployed. The devices used in Burbank automatically stay on for five seconds after the trigger is depressed, unless its shut off or held down.

Around the same time that Binkley was subdued, his 65-year-old brother Steve appeared in the doorway and threatened officers while holding a handgun. He refused officers orders to put the gun down.

Feeling threatened, the two officers backed away from Thomas Binkley  who at that point was still breathing  to find cover and call for back-up.

Steve Binkley subsequently barricaded himself in his home for about 40 minutes, which police said delayed officers from giving aid to his brother. His elderly mother and her caretaker were also inside.

At some point during that time, officers formed a team, and using a shield, approached Thomas Binkley, who was in what police called a hot zone, or threatening area. They carried him across the street, where paramedics were staged.

Cellphone video shot by a witness shows officers carrying the man across the street at 7:52 p.m. Burbank paramedics attempted to resuscitate the man before pronouncing him dead at 8:20 p.m., according to Smith. This marks the agencys first Taser-related death.

After he was stunned, Thomas Binkley was on the ground for about 14 minutes without medical aid before authorities carried him away, Losacco said. The man stopped breathing during that time.

Meanwhile, police made contact with Steve Binkley by phone, after which he voluntarily exited his home without incident. While serving a search warrant at his home the following morning, investigators recovered a handgun inside.

Steve Binkley was charged Thursday with two counts of resisting an executive officer by means of threats and violence and one count of exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer in a rude, angry and threatening manner, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office. Jail records show that he was released from custody early Friday morning after posting bail and is due in court later this month.

Both police officers, identified in Binkleys criminal complaint as Alexander Gutierrez and Stephen Santiago, joined the police force more than six years ago.

The agencys internal affairs bureau is investigating the incident, and representatives of the Los Angeles County district attorneys office were notified, which is customary with in-custody deaths.

This is going to be a lengthy investigation, Losacco said.

Audio of the incident was captured by recording devices carried by officers, though Burbank police have not said whether they would release the files.

Through mid-August of this year, Burbank police had logged seven incidents in which a Taser was deployed. During all of last year, officers used the weapon in the field a total of 10 times, according to the agency.

Under the departments policy, officers involved in uses of force that result in death are placed on administrative leave for a minimum of three days, and until the police chief authorizes their return.

--

Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek

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With its 12 horses for lessons, trail systems and social events, the Village Equestrian Center provides Laguna Woods residents and guests an opportunity to participate in riding programs, group lessons and guided trail rides. Its open for ages 10 and up.

Each guest may ride one of the horses for a 25-minute lesson while boarded horses belong to individual residents.

Theres Blaze, a 40-year-old Arabian horse with his chiseled head, long-arching neck and high tail; Malibu, a 12-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse whose owner brought her down from Long Beach; and Sweet Harmony, an 18-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter, known for her smooth gait and stamina.

Joe Massello, 89, has been riding and caring for horses at the center for 23 years. He said he visits the stables daily since he can sit with fellow residents over a cup of cowboy coffee and talk about the community and its social calendar.

The stables opened in 1965 with 15 horses stabled in new stalls. Three months later, the bridle trail from the stables to Aliso Creek Road opened.

Today, the center provides horses, group lessons and guided trail rides and the Laguna Woods Village Saddle Club hosts events throughout the year, including cookouts, horsemanship camps and horse shows.

Proceeds from the trips to horse-related events raise money for the riding programs saddles and helmets.

This is a unique place because weve watched people develop a nice bond with the horses, said Lisa Toomer, Equestrian Center supervisor. Its good for all of us to sit and chat and take care of these horses.

The Equestrian Center is at 24312 El Toro Road, Laguna Woods. For more information, call (949) 597-4275 or visit lagunawoodsvillage.com.

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
For Jeff Mack, great design isnt just about choosing furniture made from sustainable materials. He prefers to help his clients find a new use and often an unexpected love for things already with a past.

See that? he asks a visitor as he points to a set of wrought-iron gates in his warehouse. Those are from Hungary, and theyre over 100 years old.

Mack is the owner of Silverado Salvage & Design, an architectural salvage center, where he showcases building parts saved from demolished or remodeled structures.

Antiques, reclaimed wood, chairs and desks are just some of the many displayed objects that can be re-purposed into a customized design.

The Silverado resident had designed hutches, doors and tables in an old barns loft in the canyon before he embarked on opening a 16,000-square-foot warehouse in Vernon.

He opened the shops doors in March, and the space features a neatly organized collection of home decor finds from Germany, Austria, Romania and other points around the world.

Mack, who travels to Europe every three months, said he looks for pieces like distressed corbels, lighting fixtures, hardware, potting benches and farm tables, to add to the inventory of primitive pieces that can be reconstructed.

There, a team of designers can service furnishings that are made available to interior and landscape designers, architects, residential clients and do-it-yourself enthusiasts who wish to create custom looks for any space, purpose and budget.

With a mission to capture and divert construction materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill, Mack says designing living spaces with vintage and worn furniture can give character to a space.

It adds depth and a narrative not found in matching furniture sets, he adds.

We think the beauty is in its imperfection, he says.

Mack, a former senior management executive who worked for retailers Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bonwit Teller for 25 years, wanted to leave the corporate world to shift his focus on curating a collection of architectural antiques.

For over 20 years, he has preserved and specialized in creatively reusing castoffs and reclaimed items for functional and decorative use, like 8-foot-tall handcrafted old doors, antique wine presses and fencing with a patina.

He also has helped furnish sets for movies, such as Saving Mr. Banks and The Magnificent Seven, and televisions Deadwood.

Mack says todays shopper is interested in rustic pieces that tend to have more of an industrial slant. Buyers are interested in wood floors, wood paneled and exposed walls and metal accents mixed with natural materials.

Socially-conscious customers who buy at vintage shops in search of re-purposing objects are interested in personalizing found pieces, he says.

Rather than impressing guests with a room filled with name brands, a homeowner wants to tell a story behind a certain piece, like that wooden crate found in Eastern Europe or a table they designed with a professional.

A customer can express their creativity here, Mack says. Everything here is one-of-a-kind because we never repeat ourselves. You wont see it again, anywhere.

For more information, call (323) 277-4771 or visit silveradosalvagedesign.com.

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
It was a music venue immortalized in song, with artists such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Janis Joplin performing at the Golden Bear nightclub, which stood for six decades in downtown Huntington Beach.

For much of that time, the Bear  which opened in the 1920s as a roadside restaurant off Main Street and then moved to Pacific Coast Highway  hosted the likes of B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett, ensuring its place in music-industry lore.

But the celebrated music hall, which rose to prominence as one of the countrys best-sounding rooms, closed and was demolished in 1986 due to building instability and redevelopment pressures.

This weekend, some 90 years after the Bear opened, its former owners will join longtime residents and music enthusiasts in commemorating the club during a reunion show at Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach.

Country rock band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and rockabilly guitarist Bill Kirchen will fly in from the East Coast for the special concert Saturday night.

The reunion, planned by Don the Beachcomber promoter B&Bs Musical Thrills, will host former Golden Bear general manager Kevin Kirby and his wife and former co-owner, Carole Babiracki-Kirby, former sound man El Roy and Orange County music historian Jim Washburn.

Along with the concert, the Kirbys, who owned the Golden Bear from 1974 to 1986, will share books and memorabilia they collected over the years, including candid pictures of John Denver, Tom Waits and Peter Frampton, all of whom played inside the nightclubs brick walls.

Another Golden Bear reunion show in 2009 featured Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, Chris Hillman, a founding member of the Byrds, and songwriter Jack Tempchin, who co-wrote the Eagles hit Already Gone and wrote Peaceful Easy Feeling.

Don the Beachcomber, with the chains 80-year history, vintage cocktails, fine dining and varied musical lineup, is a natural fit as todays go-to Orange County venue to hear folk, blues, swing, rockabilly and country and scout touring and local musicians, the Kirbys said.

This is going to be the new Golden Bear, Kevin Kirby said as he stood in the restaurants Polynesian-themed dining room. I can see that theres a family here, and thats what gives a place a soul.

The restaurant brings the musical community together at a tiki lounge known for its special cocktails and Polynesian and Cantonese-influenced dishes, said B&Bs Musical Thrills promoter Christopher Burkhardt.

The staff of 13 waitresses and 12 cooks contributes to the hangouts hospitality, he added.

This whole place is so close to what we had, said Babiracki-Kirby, who noted that Don the Beachcomber, like the Golden Bear, seats 300 people. Its so cool to see that music is alive here.

The music business, she said, was about musicians who wanted to take their sound to the people and preferred playing at small venues because they could earn cash up and down the coast.

One advertisement could sell out a concert, she said. Just 30 minutes after placing Peter Gabriels name on the Bears marquee, the concert sold out.

There are other memories the Kirbys enjoy sharing with fans and former employees.

Like the time Cher showed up unannounced and watched the Average White Band perform. Or when Don McLean sang American Pie. Or when poet Charles Bukowski read vulgar poetry and hurled cold beers at the audience.

But most vivid is the day of the Golden Bears closure 30 years ago, when it rained inside the bar.

It was almost like the Bear was crying during an emotional goodbye, Babiracki-Kirby said.

We had the golden years, Kirby said, looking at his wife. Now this place is its future.

*

IF YOU GO

What: Golden Bear Reunion

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Don the Beachcomber, 16278 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach

Cost: Tickets start at $20

Information: (562) 592-1321 or donthebeachcomber.com

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
In a formal response to an Orange County Superior Court judge, the city of Irvine mostly agrees with the findings and recommendations of the grand jury report Irvine Great Park: Legacy of Hubris? released June 30.

With only three exceptions, City Council members agreed wholly or in part with the 14 findings and eight recommendations but there was some heated debate on some of the issues.

City Manager Sean Joyce and his staff were charged with drafting the recommended responses to be submitted in an official letter to Superior Court Judge Glenda Sanders. Options of agree, disagree, or further consideration were offered by staff for council consideration.

With the Great Park audit itself now under scrutiny by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in Sacramento, Assemblyman Don Wagner (R-Irvine) and former assemblyman and state Sen. Dick Wagner both attended the meeting. Each voiced support for the audit findings and the current Republican council majority during public comments.

I saw both an audit and a grand jury report that essentially say the same things and essentially confirms, in my mind, that there has been some problem and there has been some mismanagement, Wagner said afterward.

Councilwoman Beth Krom, the only Democrat among a 4-1 Republican council majority, used her time in discussion to continue disputing the legitimacy of the audit and the grand jury report before ultimately excusing herself from the dais.

I think its hubris on the part of the grand jury to essentially take information that was in the audit, which was largely what they cite and attribute it to Aleshire & Wynder (the legal firm hired to conduct major portions of the Great Park audit), Krom said.

Councilwoman Christina Shea responded to Kroms remarks saying, We can sit here and say its all political, people are being personally attacked because oh, theyre really nice, they did nothing wrong. Those just arent the facts. We can argue in circles trying to make a statement that nothing bad happened, but $250 million is gone and we dont have much to (show) for it.

When the council got around to debating the grand jury responses, the most passionate disagreement occurred between Joyce and Mayor Steven Choi.

One finding the grand jury submitted was that an inordinate amount of funds was spent on public relations, free events, and the Great Park balloon. Choi objected strongly to the staff-recommended response stating only partial agreement with the finding.

That should say agree, Choi said loudly. Joyce responded that the recommendation for partial agreement protects the current council from some of the broad implications of the excess spending referred to in the report. Choi eventually won the argument emphasizing the word inordinate applied by the grand jury.

Shea, the chairwoman of the Great Park Board, resisted the recommendation that the city consider dissolving the board. Shea argued there are city regulations that may conflict with decisions made by the board as it applies to corporate participation in park development.

Councilwoman Lynn Schott stated her view that the board should be dissolved, calling it redundant, as it consists of the same members of the City Council only in a different configuration.

Ultimately the remaining council members voted 3-0 approving the responses with stipulation that the dissolution of the board needed further analysis. Krom left the proceedings before the vote and Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Lalloway was absent from the meeting.
UC Irvine Health began laying off 175 employees this week as part of a plan to ensure efficiency of its medical centers clinical and educational operations, the university-based care provider said.

Those being let go  many of whom are in management or administrative and support positions  are being notified individually, according to UC Irvine Health spokesman John Murray. The layoffs will not include faculty, which includes doctors, he said.

The layoffs are part of a multipronged approach to improving the health of the system, Murray said. Before considering the layoffs, we looked for opportunities to reduce expenses as well as maximize potential revenue.

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According to Murray, workers being let go will receive a severance package depending on various factors, but human resources has indicated the baseline will be one weeks salary for every year of service.

Staff was informed of the layoffs through an email Monday from UC Irvine Healths chief executive, Howard Federoff, who was appointed in January.

His message stated that previous expense reductions and increased revenue through the growth of the organizations clinical services have not been enough to avoid reductions in staff.

Expenses would outpace revenue this fiscal year unless immediate action is taken, he wrote.

This decision was not made lightly, but proved necessary for the long-term health of our enterprise, Federoff wrote. Despite being faced with tough choices and financial imperatives, our patients must and will remain at the center of every decision we make.

But Todd Stenhouse, spokesman for Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that represents technicians, assistants and other service workers, said: They do not have a profit problem. What they do have is a staffing problem.

Before the layoffs began, UCI Medical Center in Orange had about 4,930 staff members.

In the spring, Stenhouse said, the union distributed a survey to 5,000 service and patient care workers at the five University of California medical centers in which 91% said their departments were chronically understaffed. Hundreds of the respondents were at UCI Medical, Stenhouse said.

Murray countered that the center meets all staffing ratios as the state requires and sometimes exceeds them.

More than 2,270 of Local 3299s 2,798 members work at UCI Medical Center and its affiliated clinics. The layoffs are expected to affect 68 of those workers, some of whom have as many as 30 years of service, Stenhouse said.

Its been long said that healthcare delivery is a team, and it certainly is at a clinical level and a frontline level  this move erodes that team, Stenhouse said.

According to Murray, academic medical centers have to provide much more expensive services, such as research and residency training, than community hospitals.

UC Irvine Health is looking improve operational efficiency mainly through renegotiating contracts, generating revenue and reducing staff and expenses, Murray said. The target is to generate about $40million through revenue and savings the remainder of the fiscal year, he said.

Job cuts will not occur at the other UC medical centers at San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Davis.

Nothing that happened here is affecting the other sites, Murray said, adding that the five medical centers in the UC system function independently.

--

Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Undercover officers this week arrested a 48-year-old probationer accused of fishing money out of a donation box at a Glendale church where he volunteered, police said.

Members of Holy Family Church caught on to the alleged theft after counting less money in the box over the last few months than usual, while a manager noticed a sticky substance on the box, said Glendale Police Sgt. Robert William.

They turned for answers to their surveillance footage, which revealed that a new volunteer stole money from the box on numerous occasions, William said.

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On Wednesday, a day after watching the footage, Glendale police went undercover at the church, where they saw the man  identified as Armando Vasquez, of Los Angeles  sweeping the floor before entering the chapel. There, he reportedly pulled out his fishing tools, including double-sided tape, and stole from the box, William said.

While arresting Vasquez, police found him in possession of marked money from the donation box, as well as other valuables belonging to the church.

Vasquez was charged on Thursday with two counts of grand theft and one count of providing a false name to police, William said.

Investigators described Vasquez as a career criminal with 11 theft-related convictions, who was released from prison under AB 109, the states criminal realignment law.

--

Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek

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Hours before a mortar round struck his house on the outskirts of Afghanistans northern city of Kunduz, Nasim, a 48-year-old fruit seller, got a call from his wife.

She asked me not to come home, said Nasim, who has only one name. She was worried that he would be captured by Taliban insurgents who had seized the area and were mounting a push to retake Kunduz.

Nasim did not see her again. The mortar that crashed into their house this week killed his wife, Zarimah, a mother of 10.

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My life is destroyed, Nasim said by phone from Kunduz.

Afghan forces are again locked in a fierce battle for control of the countrys fifth-largest city that has sent thousands of residents fleeing, killed or injured untold numbers of civilians and illustrated the Talibans resiliency in northern Afghanistan 15 years after the U.S.-led military invasion.

Taliban militants briefly seized Kunduz last year before Afghan forces regained control with the help of U.S. airstrikes  including a mistaken strike against a Doctors Without Borders hospital that killed 42 people  and a small number of ground troops.

The Taliban has spent the past several months consolidating its hold over outlying districts before beginning a fresh offensive this week against the center of the city of more than 250,000 people.

Afghan forces were holding off the militants Friday, but humanitarian groups warned that civilians were at growing risk as fighting spread to civilian areas.

Thousands have fled their homes, and those who remain are faced with dwindling food and water supplies and a lack of electricity. The citys main civilian hospital, which was hit with rocket attacks and gunfire Wednesday, according to the advocacy group Amnesty International, had run low on medicine and food for patients.

Civilians in Kunduz are once again at a precipice, and time is running out, said Champa Patel, the groups South Asia director.

Dominic Parker, head of the U.N. humanitarian office in Afghanistan, said families fleeing Kunduz were at grave risk.

Many families were unable to bring their possessions with them and are in a precarious position, Parker said. We have had reports that some families have been forced to sleep out in the open and many have few food supplies.

International humanitarian law prohibits attacks against civilian areas, and Amnesty said those suspected of criminal responsibility must be brought to justice in fair trials.

It was not possible to ascertain the source of the mortar shell that struck Nasims house Tuesday evening, the second day of fighting. He believes it was fired by Afghan forces seeking to dislodge the Taliban from the village known as Sesad Family, which the militants had seized earlier that day.

Miraculously, his children survived the attack. But clashes in Kunduz made it impossible for Nasim to return home Wednesday.

He asked elders in the village to bury his wife immediately, as Islamic custom requires, and to bring his children to Kunduz.

On Thursday, during a lull in the fighting, he traveled to the village. At his house, he found a scene of horror.

One room had collapsed from the impact of the mortar attack; his wife had been sitting there. Nasim said he broke down in tears.

Four of his neighbors had also been killed in the fighting, he said. Shelling on Wednesday claimed the livestock and chickens the family relied upon for additional income.

Im looking at the body of my neighbor, thinking of his burial, Nasim said, raising his voice above the din of occasional gunfire. But we cant bury them because of the fighting.

Nasim was preparing to take his children to the neighboring province of Takhar and on to Kabul, where one of his sons served in the Afghan army. He said he would immediately make plans to leave Afghanistan, joining an exodus that has accelerated over the last year.

More than 277,000 Afghans have fled their homes this year, according to the United Nations humanitarian office. They join more than 1.2 million Afghans displaced from their homes and millions more who have left the country.

Human rights advocates assailed the announcement this week that the Afghan government would take back Afghan asylum seekers who were deported by the European Union. Reports said that Afghan cooperation in reducing the numbers of migrants arriving on European shores was a condition of the $15.2 billion in international aid that donor countries, at a conference this week in Brussels, pledged to provide Afghanistan over the next four years.

Nearly 200,000 Afghans applied for asylum in the European Union last year, second only to Syria. Despite the worsening conflict, European countries have said that Afghanistan does not meet the technical definition of a war zone, making it easier to deport asylum seekers.

International assistance should be granted on the basis of necessity rather than political expediency aimed at absolving EU governments of their obligation to asylum seekers, Patel said.

Read more: These Afghan boys were born the year the U.S. invaded their country. Theyre nearly adults now 

Special correspondent Faizy reported from Kabul and staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
President Barack Obama is lifting U.S. economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar.

The White House says Obama signed an executive order lifting the sanctions on Friday. He had announced plans to do so last month, when Myanmars new civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, visited the Oval Office.

Obamas move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the U.S. and Myanmar that Obama has worked to facilitate. The Southeast Asian nation, also called Burma, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

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The U.S. has already eased broad economic sanctions on Myanmar, including prohibitions on investment and trade. But the U.S. had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta.

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Amid a hellish landscape of roofless shacks, shrouded bodies and torrents of tainted brown water, the death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew climbed into the hundreds on Friday as the storms full impact became grimly apparent.

Three days after the Western Hemispheres poorest nation was battered by 140 mph gales and torrential rains, reports of devastation trickled in from hard-hit, hard-to-reach villages and towns in the countrys remote southwest  a slender peninsula that juts, fatefully, into the Caribbean and the hurricanes path.

The official death toll stood at 283, according to the Interior Ministry, but news agency tallies, citing figures obtained from municipalities, ranged to more than 800, as international aid agencies and Western governments struggled to rush in desperately needed supplies.

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Relief workers stressed that with patchy cellphone service and many areas still cut off by washed-out roads and bridges, it could be days before a reliable death toll emerged  or a full picture of how many more Haitians are in immediate peril.

For some who already had so little, wind and water snatched away whatever remained.

I have nothing  my hands are empty, Kimberly Janvier told the Reuters news agency in the already ragged western town of Cavaillon, which was left in ruins.

Hunger, homelessness and disease swiftly emerged as potent threats in cities and the countryside alike. In the ravaged southwest departments of Sud and GrandAnse alone, at least 29,000 homes were destroyed, officials said.

We fear that the numbers are going to increase considerably as emergency teams advance, said Jean-Claude Fignole, Haiti program director for the international aid agency Oxfam. Clean water, food and basic supplies were all urgently needed, he said.

In Jeremie, the main town in GrandAnse, the hurricane ripped off corrugated metal roofs and leveled homes. Aerial footage showed the destruction of about 80% of the buildings in the city of 31,000 people.

Residents of the town described a terrifying ordeal as the storm blew through, dodging flying sheets of corrugated metal as they fled in search of safety.

When the roof of my house flew away, I clung to a wall with my left hand, and with my right hand, I held firmly onto my child of three months, who was crying with all his might, 22-year-old Carmine Luc told Haitis Le Nouvelliste newspaper.

Others told of seeing people left injured and bleeding by airborne debris. The wind was so strong, it was knocking us over, Fritznel Antoine, a father of three, told the paper.

In impoverished villages where people survive on subsistence farming, the wreckage pointed to misery yet to come: the bloated corpses of drowned livestock and tangles of uprooted crops, representing a crucial loss of livelihood.

Basic foodstuffs became black-market commodities; in Jeremie, the price of rice doubled overnight.

Although Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, was not as badly hit, many families lost belongings and suffered damage to their homes. Even before the hurricane tore through, as many as 60,000 Haitians were living in tents and other makeshift structures in the capital after losing their homes in a calamitous earthquake in 2010.

The water in the house was up to my waist, Marcele Duby, who lives in the citys Truitier neighborhood, told Oxfam. If it had occurred in the middle of the night I would have lost my children. But it was broad daylight, so I could save them.

Many streets in the low-lying areas of the city remained underwater on Friday.

International efforts gathered pace. The U.S. sent 350 Defense Department personnel and nine helicopters. Germany, Spain and Canada also joined the rescue-and-relief effort.

France, the onetime colonial power, dispatched a Falcon 50 surveillance plane from nearby Martinique on Wednesday to help assess the damage, and French officials were chartering a plane to send in 60 civil-security personnel and 32 tons of aid, including water-purification equipment and medical supplies.

Water sanitation was an enormous concern in a country that has already seen some 10,000 deaths in a cholera epidemic that erupted in 2010. With creeks and rivers having overflowed their banks, rescue workers told of pit latrines subsumed by floodwaters and graves unearthed in the torrent.

Children, as in catastrophes elsewhere, were poised to suffer disproportionately, vulnerable to water-borne diseases and malnutrition. An estimated half a million children live in two administrative departments at the heart of the hurricane zone, according to the United Nations childrens agency UNICEF.

At least 175 schools were heavily damaged, the agency said, and another 150 schools have been pressed into service as shelters, with classrooms unlikely to be reclaimed for teaching any time soon.

Were still far from having a full picture of the extent of the damage, said Marc Vincent, Haitis UNICEF representative. The agency, he said, was bracing for the worst.

Many of the affected areas are accessible only by helicopter or by sea, said the World Food Programs country director, Carlos Veloso. But even seagoing access was limited by damaged ports and storm-smashed infrastructure, he said.

laura.king@latimes.com

Twitter: @laurakingLAT

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It was a perfect fall weekend, with sunny skies and the prospect of colorful autumn foliage. Hundreds of people flocked to Mt. Ontake in central Japan, planning to hike to its volcanic summit.

At 11:52 a.m. Saturday, authorities said, Mt. Ontake erupted without warning, spewing smoke and ash and, apparently, toxic fumes.

On Sunday, authorities said four hikers were confirmed dead and an additional 27 bodies were found on the mountain about 150 miles west of Tokyo.

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At least 30 more people were injured, and a search and rescue crew including helicopters and about 300 people was dispatched to the area.

Naofumi Miyagi, spokesman with the Nagano prefecture police, said all 31 victims found lifeless showed signs of cardiopulmonary arrest; autopsies were conducted on four hikers who were brought down from the mountain Sunday afternoon.

Police refused to answer further questions on the possible causes of death. But Tomoyuki Kanno of the earthquake and volcano department at the Japan Meteorological Agency said two types of toxic fumes  hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide  were detected in the summit area.

Amateur video uploaded by hikers showed a huge cloud of noxious ash suddenly pouring from the peak.

Rescue workers scaled the 10,000-foot peak via hiking trails, and it was unclear how many trips it may take to bring down the other 27 victims, said an official at the crisis management and disaster prevention division in Nagano, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to make comments.

Kiyomi Ando, a press officer for the town of Kiso in Nagano, said 151 hikers were able to escape. Of those, about 40 descended from the area near the top of the mountain and an additional 120 people made it down after sheltering in a large cabin.

Of the injured, one person was in critical condition and 29 had moderate to light injuries, Nagano authorities said.

Further searches were planned for Monday, Ando said.

As one of the highest volcanoes in Japan, the mountain is a popular hiking destination, particularly for fall foliage. It is a three-hour hike to the top after a ride on an aerial lift. Beginners can do the hike, Ando said.

Mt. Ontake had a minor eruption in 2007 and a larger one in 1979.

Toshihiko Sawada, an official with the aerial lift, said Saturday had provided ideal weather for hiking, with clear skies. We had more than the usual number of tourists and hikers, he said.

Sawada said 660 people used the aerial lift services Saturday morning before the eruption.

Some tourists climb to the top from the lift stop, and others just walk around the top of the station area and then come down, Ando said.

There was no warning of a volcanic eruption, Sawada said. In the wake of the explosion, authorities raised the alert level from 1, or normal, to 3, meaning restricted access.

Kanno said Mt. Otake had a phreatic eruption, which happens when underground water is heated by magma and then hits a boiling point, causing an explosion.

Its often the case theres no warning signs with those types of eruptions, Kanno said.

Nagano is a special correspondent.
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Leicester Citys Development Squad will begin their Premier League International Cup campaign against Wolfsburg at King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening (7pm kick-off).

- Leicester Citys Development Squad face Wolfsburg at King Power Stadium on Tuesday 11 October (7pm kick-off)

- The Foxes begin their Premier League International Cup campaign against the German outfit

- Tickets for the clash cost 3 for Adults and 1 for Concessions

Leicester Citys Development Squad will begin their Premier League International Cup campaign against Wolfsburg at King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening (7pm kick-off).

The Foxes reached the semi-finals of the competition during the 2014/15 season, only beaten by eventual winners Manchester City.

This term, Steve Beagleholes outfit first face German outfit Wolfsburg on Tuesday 11 October, before taking on FC Porto on Saturday 12 November (7pm kick-off) and Liverpool at Holmes Park on Saturday 3 December (1pm kick-off).

TICKETS

Tickets cost just 3 for Adults and 1 for Concessions.

You can purchase your tickets for the Wolfsburg clash on Tuesday 11 October from the City Fanstore at King Power Stadium up until 6pm.

After 6pm, tickets are available for purchase from the Matchday Ticket Office located next to the City Fanstore.
1 drug sentencing, a wedding and the bride's arrest

Elmer Torres Jr. and Sabrina M. Stametz were married Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, in Northampton County Court, moments after Torres sentencing in a drug case. Two days later, Bethlehem Township police arrested Stametz on felony drug charges. (Courtesy photos | For lehighvalleylive.com)

The honeymoon is on hold for two Northampton County newlyweds.

Sabrina M. Stametz and Elmer Torres Jr., both of Bethlehem Township, were married Tuesday in county court by Judge Jennifer Sletvold. Moments earlier, Sletvold had sentenced Torres to 1 1/2 to 3 years in prison for his drug arrest Feb. 11 in Freemansburg.

Then on Thursday, township police called Stametz into police headquarters as officers executed a search warrant at the couple's home in the 3300 block of Monroe Street, according to court records.

Police found Stametz in possession of about $900, including some bills pre-recorded for controlled drug buys, records say. In the couple's bedroom, police said they seized heroin; crystal methamphetamine; drug paraphernalia including syringes and a tourniquet; packaging materials such as scale, hundreds of small sealable bags, paper packets, rubber bands; cutting agent and a false-bottom Maxwell House coffee container.

Stamez, who is 36, was arraigned Thursday night before District Judge Roy Manwaring II on two felony counts each of drug possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy. She also faces misdemeanor counts of drug possession, conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Manwaring sent her to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail and tentatively set a preliminary hearing for Oct. 14 before District Judge Patricia Broscius.

Torres, 38, was arrested after allegedly fleeing a traffic stop at Freemansburg Avenue and Cambria street in the borough. Police caught up with him at home and found in his car heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, the opiate-addiction medication Suboxone, assorted pills and packaging material, court records say.

Under a negotiated deal, Torres pleaded guilty to one count of drug possession with intent to deliver and a dozen other charges were withdrawn.

"It was a fair deal from the commonwealth," Torres' attorney, Ryan L. Hyde, said Friday. "And I think in terms of the marriage, I hope they're very happy together."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Bethlehem police officer is accused of masturbating in his car in view of two women on two separate occasions while he was off duty, prosecutors said.

Glenn Woolard joined the Bethlehem Police Department in 2013. (File photo courtesy of 69News, WFMZ-TV)

Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin announced Friday that Glenn Woolard, 35, of Lower Macungie Township, was charged with two counts each of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

Woolard, who is married and lives in the 6600 block of Mine Drive, was released on his own recognizance after being arraigned Friday afternoon.

An attorney had not yet entered an appearance for him.

Woolard is a patrolman who worked the night shift for the Bethlehem department. He has been with the department since February 2013 and was suspended Wednesday in light of the investigation, officials said.

Woolard also faces disciplinary action at work, including possible dismissal.

Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio said the arrest is a personnel matter, and that officials would not comment on the arrest or the investigation by Pennsylvania State Police.

Martin said he knows of no prior disciplinary action against Woolard. As for other victims, Martin said he did not know of any additional victims.

On Sept. 27, a woman walking to her parked car at the Target in Hamilton Crossings in Lower Macungie saw a man later identified as Woolard who was masturbating in his personal vehicle, Martin said.

Then on Wednesday, a woman driving a box truck on Hamilton Boulevard reported a man later identified as Woolard was masturbating in his car as he was driving, prosecutors said.

Woolard was one of two Bethlehem police officers honored in May with an Award of Merit, for helping tenants in a city apartment building fire.

Woolard previously served in the U.S. Army 1st Battalion/75th Ranger Regiment and was deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to his military service, Woolard was drafted in the 10th round of the Major League Baseball entry draft, according to the Bethlehem Police Department.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Threats of violence against two Bethlehem Area schools, said to begin Friday at Freedom High School, led to the arrest of a 14-year-old boy, Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio announced.

This screenshot obtained by searching Facebook shows the user "Danny Sosa (aka killer clown)" who posted references to "coming" to Freedom and Liberty high schools in the Bethlehem Area School District alongside sinister and knife emojis. Bethlehem police said Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, they arrested a 14-year-old for terroristic threats following an investigation. (Facebook photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

The teen posted the threats via a Facebook account under the name "Danny Sosa," according to a news release from the police chief.

Late Thursday evening, city police detectives executed a search warrant at a home associated with the Facebook account, arrested the teen and recovered evidence tied to the investigation, DiLuzio said Friday morning.

The boy, a Freedom High School student, was charged with making terroristic threats and was placed into the custody of Northampton County Juvenile Probation.

DiLuzio said the investigation began after social media posts made over the past week.

On Monday night on Facebook, the user "Danny Sosa (Aka killer clown)" began posting, "Watch out FHS and LHS we are coming," along with evil and knife emojis and photos of the high schools.

He followed up with posts telling Freedom "we coming" on Friday, Oct. 7, and Liberty to "be ready" on Monday, Oct. 10.

"BPD detectives were able to determine that no other suspects were involved and that there is no credible threat to Freedom or Liberty high schools," DiLuzio said.

The account was no longer on Facebook as of Friday morning.

Detectives who tracked down the 14-year-old "utilized various techniques to determine the identity of the suspect and the location the electronic threats were coming from," DiLuzio said in the news release.

"I would like to thank the Bethlehem Area School District, Bethlehem school resource officers, and Bethlehem detectives for their joint cooperation and professionalism in bringing this issue to a successful conclusion," DiLuzio stated. "The Bethlehem Police Department and Bethlehem Area School District will continue to investigate all messages posted on social media that contain hateful or threatening vocabulary towards any school.

"Individuals found to be responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A rollover crash Thursday night on Route 33 resulted from the driver following too closely behind traffic, Pennsylvania State Police said Friday.

A vehicle burns following a rollover crash reported about 9:50 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, along Route 33 South at Hecktown Road in Lower Nazareth Township. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Thomas J. Carbone, 29, of Bethlehem, escaped with only a suspected minor injury before the 2002 Toyota 4Runner he was driving caught fire, state police at Belfast said. He refused ambulance transport for treatment.

The crash occurred about 9: 50 p.m. as Carbone was headed south in the right lane of Route 33 approaching the on-ramp from Hecktown Road, near mile-marker 4.9 in Lower Nazareth Township.

As traffic slowed in front of Carbone, he abruptly applied the brakes on the 2002 Toyota 4Runner he was driving and steered to the left, Trooper Robert Hooper said in a news release.

"That action caused his vehicle to fishtail, enter a yaw and roll multiple times while continuing southwest across the right lane of travel and the on-ramp," Hooper wrote.

The SUV came to rest on its roof facing northwest. The bottom caught fire after Carbone had exited the vehicle.

Police reported citing Carbone for following too closely, and said their investigation was continuing into the crash.

Assisting state police were Lower Nazareth's Hecktown Volunteer Fire Co., Bethlehem Township EMS and Fast Lane Towing.

Police closed the Route 33 South ramp from Hecktown Road until the crash was cleared.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
In Laois 544 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2013, 49 of them with breast cancer, and the figure is increasing.

However this month The Irish Cancer Society is urging Laois communities to join other and fight back against breast cancer by taking part in the ' Paint it Pink' campaign.

Model and former Miss Universe Ireland Roz Purcell is backing the event.

Every family has been touched by cancer, and for women, breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. This October we can help support all those on their breast cancer journey by Painting it Pink, host a coffee morning or pink event, and play your part. she said.

Tthere has been a 33% increase in cases diagnosed over a ten year period, but 85% of women are now surviving breast cancer, thanks to cancer research on detection and treatments.

Visit www.paintitpink.ie or call 1850 60 60 60 for fundraising ideas and information on breast cancer.

Donate by texting Pink to 50300 to give 4 to the Irish Cancer Society.

The funds will go to supporting the Societys vital research, advocacy and services for those affected by breast cancer.
A Kildare historian has embarked on a journey to uncover the story behind

the life and works of Maura Laverty.

A woman, who caused controversy with her novel Never no More back in 1942, there was local consternation when it first came out.

Set in the fictional town of Ballyderrig, there were huge similarities to the village, in fact Seamus Kelly points out, it was set in Rathangan. There can be no doubt.

There were thinly disguised veiled references. She changed the names of characters, but people felt they could recognise everyone in it.

This hit a raw nerve as some were not portrayed in a flattering light.

Publishing four novels, several childrens books, and countless cookery books, Maura also was a playwright and screenwriter for RTE soap, Tolka Row.

Seamus has dug up information from various sources, but is eager to speak to any of her relatives, anyone who may have known her, or relations of her husband James (Seamus) Laverty.

The idea for this project stemmed from research Seamus carried out in advance of a talk he gave for Heritage Week. Having penned four books previously, this is his most ambitious project to date.

Maura Laverty (originally Kelly) was born in 1907 and lived where the betting shop is now located. When asked if he is related, Seamus replied; No, dad used to say to us when we were growing up, 'there are 22 families of Kellys in Rathangan and none of them are related to us. I think she would have been the same. I don't think any of the Kelly families are related to her.

The town did embrace the talented writer when a monument in her memory was errected near The Pound in 1992 by the former Rathangan Traders group.

In fact, Nell McCaferty spoke on that occasion and Mauras sister, Brigidine nun, Sr Conleth was also present.

Maura went to primary school locally before heading off to boarding school to the Brigidines in Tullow. At the age of 17, Seamus explains how she emigrated to Spain to work as a governess. She met a Hungarian man, who she fell in love with, but then started corresponding with Mr Laverty, who worked with the Irish Times. She married Laverty in Rathangan in 1928 and moved to Dublin where they reared three children. She also wrote the play Tolka Row and also worked with actors, Mac Liammoir and Edwards. She worked on the Tolka Row programme from 1964 to 1968.

Her most famous cookery book Fully and Plenty was on the shelf of many homes across the country.

I am looking for people who knew Maura Laverty, friends or aquaintences, family, anyone who came across her during her life. There are gaps in my knowledge that I need to fill, riddles I need to solve, said Seamus.

Maura passed away in 1966 at the age of just 59. She was laid to rest at Glasnevin Cemetary. Her mother, who hailed from Kilkenny, Mary Anne (nee Treacy) Kelly was buried in Rathangan. Maura had a large number of brothers and sisters. Anyone with any information can contact Seamus on 087 4345147 or email james.a.kelly55@gmail.com
There seems to be something special about Highland Council by-elections in early October for the Liberal Democrats. On 8 October last year, Jean Davis won the Aird and Loch Ness ward. Now, a year later, Trish Robertson has been elected as Liberal Democrat councillor for Culloden and Ardersier in a thrilling count that went to the wire. The photo shows a bit of the ward on the other side of the firth from our holiday cottage near Rosemarkie.

Trish Robertson (Scottish Liberal Democrats) has been duly elected as Cllr for @HighlandCouncil #Culloden & #Ardersier Ward pic.twitter.com/osEGe7dwgO  The Highland Council (@HighlandCouncil) October 7, 2016

Scotland uses the Single Transferrable Vote for local elections and the Alternative Vote for single place by-elections. On first preferences, the SNP were 290 ahead of Trish in second place. The Tories were a mere 24 votes behind us.

By stage 8, Trish had moved to 25 votes ahead of the SNP.

It just goes to show what you can do with a great local candidate, a record of action in the ward from incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor Kate Stephen, and a busy campaign. Willie Rennie went up to campaign for Trish.

It shows that last years win was not a flash in the pan and that support is returning to us in the Highlands.

Congratulations to Trish and her excellent campaign team! As you can imagine, I am delighted to see a win in the area where I was born.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Willie Rennie writes in the Times that the Tories are throwing petrol on the fires of prejudice unleashed by the Leave campaign during the EU Referendum.

Telling doctors from other countries who are here saving lives in our NHS that their position is only secure until we can rush a crop of new graduates through medical school is not responsible. Telling people from other countries who are thinking about moving here to work and pay taxes that their names might be included on a list of foreign workers is not responsible. If we are publishing lists of foreign workers, we may as well pull up the drawbridge. These policies are not about controlling immigration. They are about demonising immigrants. The message this sends to foreign students, medical staff, businesses and others is clear. You are not welcome here. As a liberal who has always believed that we can achieve more when we work with those around us, this does not just make me sad. It makes me incredibly angry.

The Scottish Conservatives are just as responsible as their colleagues, he adds:

The Scottish Conservatives have one MP who is a Cabinet Minister and Ruth Davidson attends Cabinet too. They are every bit as responsible for these shameful announcements as the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister. It is now crystal clear what a vote for the Conservatives in Scotland or anywhere else in the UK means an end to openness and tolerance. Ruth Davidsons party would have us weak, divided and pandering on immigration. The UK can be better than this. We must be better than this. The Liberal Democrats will oppose these dangerous proposals and stand proud in our belief that immigration benefits our culture, our economy and our communities.

You can read his whole article here.

* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
Nieuwsuur, the Dutch equivalent of BBC Newsnight, on Wednesday October 5th had an item about the situation that the tens of thousands of Britons (43,000, according to estimates) living in the Netherlands landed in because of the Brexit. In the capital Amsterdam alone, there are 15.000 British inhabitants; so it was logical that the local Expat Center opened an information desk once the result of the referendum became known. The town mayor, Mr. Van der Laan (PvdA/Labour), organized an information evening at which he recommended not to be too hasty in taking decisions about ones status and/or position. He also promised to write letters to:

the Dutch prime minister, Mr. Rutte (VVD/ right-wing Liberals)

the president of the European Commission

28 mayors of other big European cities (including the newly elected mayor of London, Mr. Sadiq Khan)

 drawing attention to the uncertain situation that British expats found and find themselves in, and asking for their help in getting that uncertainty cleared up.

One reason for that is that the Dutch government and local authorities were surprised by the referendum result, and (at this point in time) are offering different, varied advice about, for example, what is required if a Briton wants to become a Dutch citizen. Another problem is the existence of different rules and regulations concerning each individual case, each household and/or members of a given family (those for children can differ from those for their parents).

The Nieuwsuur-item featured a British woman who, just to be sure, requested a residence permit right after the referendum result, even though a permit isnt required. She wanted to be sure that she would continue to be able to travel around Europe, without having to relinquish her British passport (her daughter talked about studying in Britain, the mother said). Because she had been living for 15 years abroad, she didnt have the right to vote in the referendum itself; which was galling. It also featured an opera executive who, because he had lived even longer in the Netherlands, was able to get a Dutch passport beside his British one. The British woman was seen visiting a compatriot; both had been following coverage of the Tory party conference to get clarification of what is going to happen, but were disappointed at the generalities used about the Brexit practicalities in conference speeches.

Having seen this news item, my proposal to the federal executive and the parliamentary party of the Liberal Democrats is to practice Community Politics at the level of the European Community: Get into contact with the British expat communities (using party members living abroad) in the EU member countries, and get a petition drive going to ask the British government for more clarification; and consultation with EU member state authorities.

For example: is the fate of those expats, and the people of Gibraltar, looked at and dealt with, in the planning for the Brexit negotiations? Is there being offered (or planned) along the lines of: we wont alter the rights of Europeans living in Britain if Britons abroad can keep their present rights also?

Of all British parties, the internationalist LibDems should represent the expats!

* Dr. Bernard Aris is a historian, a D66 parliamentary researcher and a LibDem supporting member.
The Conservative Party conference has opened the floodgates to a torrent of populist policies aimed firmly at what Theresa May calls ordinary working-class people. The NHS is to become self-sufficient in British doctors. British firms will come under increasing pressure to hire British workers. Our military will opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The hard-working people of Britain, says Theresa May, will no longer be ignored by the powerful and the privileged. And she rails against those who see their patriotism as distasteful and call their fears about immigration parochial.

The message is clear: If youre working hard to make ends meet, the Tories are the party for you.

I have to admit that its a clever strategy. This pro-British, anti-foreigner approach appeals to the many people who feel that previous governments have left them behind, while also being a sort of political catnip to Tory stalwarts. And it cleverly taps into the popular sentiment underlying the Brexit vote, without needing to refer explicitly to the shambles that is the Governments Brexit policy.

The Prime Minister is seeking to unify the two sides of the traditional class divide, bringing blue blood and blue collar together in a populist crusade.

The voice of reason is left sandwiched in the middle.

The Conservatives are setting us up so that anything we say in criticism of their xenophobic agenda can be derided as the unpatriotic protestations of a liberal elite. They will say that we dont understand the lot of the ordinary working-class voter. And that we dont care.

The Government is playing cynically on the fears of the ordinary people about whom it claims to care so much. It is creating a society where criticism isnt tolerated. Where to question the Tory orthodoxy is tantamount to treason.

And they call it the new centre ground.

But this is not the centre ground. It is a path that leads but one way: to the right. It is a path not to openness and tolerance, but to prejudice and fear. And is it the refuge of those who would manipulate us to achieve their own ends.

* Simon Perks is a writer, political philosopher and Liberal Democrat campaigner. He blogs at simonperks.com.
A LOCAL Fianna Fail councillor has said it is scandalous that Askeaton is not on a priority list of sewage treatment plants due to be upgraded over the next five years.

Cllr Kevin Sheahan said the people of the town had been waiting more than 30 years for a new treatment plant and warned there could be a polio outbreak due to the amount of raw sewage being pumped into the river Deel.

To watch raw sewage floating down the river is totally unacceptable, he told this weeks meeting of the Adare Rathkeale municipal district. When you get the tide coming in, you will see the scum on top of the water.

He was commenting on an report from Irish Water which confirmed that the Askeaton waste water treatment plant had fallen outside the highest priorities for the 2017-2021 capital investment plan. This followed confirmation earlier this year that design consultants had been appointed to progress the upgrade work.

Cllr Sheahan pointed out that the waste water treatment plant in Askeaton was totally unsuited to meet the needs of the current population.

The sewage in Askeaton is treated on settlement beds that were built in the 1940s for a small population, he said.

I still have to witness a sludge pile from a sewage facility that is totally overloaded pumping 24 hours a day, seven days a week into the river Deel.

He warned: There will be a polio outbreak some day in Askeaton because children swim in it, children are boating in it and children play in it.

To watch raw sewage floating down the river is totally unacceptable, the Askeaton-based councillor added.

He said the people of Askeaton had been led to believe on a number of occasions in the past that works would take place to upgrade the treatment plant but this had never happened. The people of Askeaton have been betrayed by a constant stream of lies, deceit and false information, he said.

It is scandalous. Irish Water is a failure, he added.

In its report to the councillors, Irish Water pointed out that Askeaton was assessed in the course of preparing the 2017-2021 investment plan and a feasibility study undertaken. While Askeaton WWTP falls outside the highest priorities used in the 2017 - 2021 IP delivery programme, it has been readied for inclusion in the delivery programme if the opportunity arises over this period, it stated.

Cllr Stephen Keary said he was disappointed that senior officers in Limerick City and County Council were not putting more pressure on Irish Water to deliver the project.

Irish Water are there whether we like it or not and we have to deal with them, he said.

He added that the potential for business development and expansion of the town of Askeaton could be adversely affected if the treatment system was not upgraded.
WORK is progressing on restoring the AK Ilen in the boat-building school in Roxboro, which could soon return to the seas.

The famous vessel was sailed to the Falklands Islands by Conor OBrien, an Oxford-educated Limerickman and the first Irishman to circumnavigate the globe, in 1927.

Some seven decades later another son of Limerick, Gary MacMahon, a sailor himself, flew to the Falklands and purchased this piece of living history, Irelands largest original wooden sailing ship, with a capacity of 43 tonnes.

Since 1998, after thousands of hours of restoring the ship to its former glory, the project has also seen waves of success, breeding life into Ilen School & Network for Wooden Boat Building in Roxboro, which opened in 2008.

Since its acquisition, it is the boat-building school itself that has really set sail, counting as many as 60 students a week, coming from across the country and as far away as Brazil, New Zealand, Maine in the US, and Greece, working on all types of fleets.
A LIMERICK-based garda who was shot in the United States has been charged with assaulting two women.

Garda Brian Hanrahan, 34, of Newcastle West garda station, made headlines when shot in the leg and back in New Orleans in January 2015.

He was charged before Judge Elizabeth MacGrath at Nenagh District Court this Thursday. Garda Hanrahan did not speak during the brief hearing.

He was charged with two alleged assaults contrary to Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act in relation to an incident following a night out in Nenagh last February.

The District Court heard that the garda made no reply when the charges were formally put to him after caution at Nenagh Garda Station, where he had attended under appointment at 2pm on Thursday.

The court heard that the DPP was satisfied that the matter could be heard at District Court level and that statements will be ready for submission from next week.

Judge MacGrath adjourned the matter to a later date. She will make a ruling on whether she accepts jurisdiction in the matter.

The Limerick based garda came to prominence when he was shot in the US in 2015.

Two brothers are before the courts in New Orleans charged in relation to the gun attack on Garda Hanrahan.
A NEW state-of-the-art 16.5m complex was launched at University Hospital Limerick by Minister for Health Simon Harris on Friday afternoon.

Minister Harris described the new six-storey Leben Building as a major landmark in local healthcare.

The magnificent facility comprises a 24-bed neurology/stroke unit, a nine-bed cystic fibrosis adult inpatient unit, an outpatient cystic fibrosis unit, a dermatology unit, and a symptomatic breast unit.

It is a pleasure to see for myself the greatly enhanced care being provided to patients in such a cutting-edge clinical environment. The Leben Building is a great example of what is achievable when the public system works in tandem with charitable partners, he stated.

Charitable partners include CF Ireland, TLC4CF, Parkinsons Association of Irelands regional branch, and the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust. Significant funding also came from the JP McManus Benevolent Fund.

Minister Harris added: That spirit of partnership will assist people living with CF to have improved care pathways and a clinical environment that offers the gold standard in infection prevention and control.

It will also ensure patients who have a diagnosis of or concern over breast disease will now have greater privacy and comfort; with the consultations, diagnostic investigations, prosthetic fitting rooms and minor surgical procedures all taking place under one roof in a bright and welcoming area that is truly patient-centred.

Patricia Duffy Barber, chairperson of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, said that the two new units will make a huge difference for cystic fibrosis patients in the area.

Una Anderson-Ryan, Chairperson of special projects with Parkinsons Association of Ireland, welcomed the new complex.

UL Hospitals Group CEO, Colette Cowan said that it was a red-letter day for everybody involved in the new development.

We are hugely grateful to our charitable partners who have put in tremendous effort over many years to bring this day about.

Minister Harris said that the new A&E, which is due to open next May, is and will remain a priority for this Government.
A DETECTIVE garda who was the subject of a criminal investigation over allegations he facilitated the illegal sale and supply of heroin will not face criminal prosecution, the Limerick Leader can reveal.

The detective, who is based in the Limerick garda division, was the subject of complaints which were made by a County Limerick man around three years ago.

The detective garda and a colleague of his were suspended pending an investigation of the allegations by a senior garda officer from outside of the Limerick division, who was appointed by the then commissioner, Martin Callinan.

That investigation, which lasted for more than 12 months, was completed earlier this year and a file forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration.

Correspondence from the senior officer who oversaw the investigation, which has been seen by this newspaper, confirms the DPP has directed that no prosecution be brought against the detective or any other person.

The DPPs office is of the view that the evidence in the case is not sufficient to enable a reasonable jury to be satisfied to the criminal standard as to sustaining a conviction, states the correspondence.

The allegations against the detective, which were first made in October 2011, were that he handled significant quantities of drugs for a confidential informant  in breach of garda rules.

In addition to the criminal investigation, a disciplinary investigation was also carried out.

As part of that process an internal garda board of inquiry was established and last year the board recommended the detective be dismissed from the force.

That decision has been appealed and a High Court action is pending as to how the appeal will be conducted.

The proceedings are currently subject of an Order of Prohibition by way of application for judicial review in the High Court restraining the Commissioner from taking any further steps and from taking any further action in disciplinary proceedings which are currently pending, stated the correspondence from the senior garda officer.

The judicial review proceedings are due to come before the High Court again next month.

Meanwhile, the Limerick Leader has learned the colleague of the detective garda who was subject to similar allegations has returned to work in the Limerick division in recent weeks.
The vote is in: ballot boxes, suffrage and elections on stamps

Oct 7, 2016, 3 PM

The designs of these stamps from Papua New Guinea and France depict one hand putting a vote in a ballot box.

The theme of this 1946 stamp from Ecuador is popular suffrage. The stamp marks the second anniversary of the May 28, 1944, revolution.

India commemorated the 60th anniversary of its election commission on this 5-rupee stamp issued Jan. 25, 2010.

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to grant women the right to vote. The stamp on the left honors the 100th anniversary. The V is for Vote stamp on the right is from a pane featuring the letters of the alphabet.

A voting tool is pictured on the left of this 1962 Swedish 30-krona stamp marking the 100th anniversary of municipal reform laws.

A stamp in the To Form A More Perfect Union pane honors the 1965 Voting Rights Act and pictures a photograph of young men on the Selma march. The pane was issued in 2005.

By Denise McCarty

With the upcoming United States presidential election on Nov. 8, the topic of voting seems to be almost everywhere, even on postage stamps.

While a few foreign postal administrations have commemorated the current election on stamps, there are many other ways voting has been portrayed on stamps.

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In this column, I will share a few examples that show ballots or ballot boxes, picture other methods of voting, or include the word vote. All three are represented on stamps from the United States.

United States

A 1949 3 stamp commemorating the first gubernatorial election in the territory of Puerto Rico (Scott 983) depicts a farmer holding a cogwheel in one hand and a ballot box in the other. Luis Munoz Marin won this election, which was held Nov. 2, 1948.

An early ballot box is featured on the 3 stamp issued Dec. 8, 1977, in the 1975-81 Americana definitive series (Scott 1584). The inscription surrounding the ballot box reads, To Cast a Free Ballot  a Root of Democracy.

Another ballot box is shown on the Celebrate the Century stamp honoring the 19th amendment (Scott 3184e). Ratified Aug. 18, 1920, this amendment granted women the right to vote.

In addition to showing a woman placing her vote in a locked ballot box, the design of this 32 stamp also includes the word VOTE written in large capital letters. The stamp was issued May 28, 1998, in the pane highlighting events of the 1920s.

The word vote can be found twice on the 1970 6 Woman Suffrage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the 19th amendment (Scott 1406), but in much smaller letters.

A woman pictured on the left side of the stamp is holding a sign that reads right to vote, and the banner on the car reads votes for women. Pictured on the right side of the stamp is a woman using a 1970-era lever-style mechanical voting machine.

Three more U.S. stamps include the word vote. Two were issued in 1964 and 1968, respectively, to promote voter registration (Scott 1249, 1344), and the third was part of the To Form a More Perfect Union pane of 10 37 stamps issued Aug. 30, 2005, to honor the Civil Rights movement.

The stamp for the 1965 Voting Rights Act (3937b) reproduces Bruce Davidsons photograph Youths on the Selma March, in which one of the young men has the word Vote painted on his forehead.

New Zealand and womens suffrage

Many foreign stamps commemorate voting rights, particularly womens suffrage. For example, New Zealand, the first nation to grant women the right to vote, doing so in 1893, has issued at least seven stamps in commemoration that show a ballot box or have the word vote on them.

A 1968 New Zealand stamp marking the 75th anniversary (Scott 412) depicts the arms of a man and a woman placing their votes in a ballot box.

Each of the four stamps issued in 1993 for the 100th anniversary (Scott 1151-1154) is inscribed Womens Vote 1893-1933, although only the 45 stamp pictures a voting scene.

In 1999, New Zealand Post honored entrepreneurs, innovators and trailblazers on the six stamps in its Leading the Way issue. The design of the 40 Womens Suffrage stamp (Scott 1622) includes a wooden ballot box.

Kate Sheppherd is among the suffragists pictured on the stamp. She is shown again on a stamp inscribed V is for Vote (2201v) in the 2008 A to Z of New Zealand pane of 26.

Early voting stamps

One of the earliest stamps with a voting scene was issued in 1938 by Switzerland (Scott 246). This 10-franc definitive with a green background pictures a line of men waiting to vote, a few who have already voted, and one man casting his vote.

In 1946, Ecuador issued four stamps marking the second anniversary of the Revolution of May 28, 1944. The 10-centavo stamp in that set (Scott 459) is inscribed with the Spanish equivalent of Popular Suffrage, and shows a male laborer and a female student with ballots in hand.

Also in the 1940s, South Korea issued four stamps May 10, 1948, honoring the elections held on that day (Scott 80-84).

9 Important Steps to Succesfully Soak Stamps: You can get a stamp collection going with just a few things most everyone can find around their home. Sign up for our free newsletter and we'll give you instant access to our exclusive Linn's Stamp News report.

Other historical elections were commemorated long after the fact.

A 1962 set of three from Sweden marks the 100th anniversary of municipal reform laws. Among many other things, these 1862 laws called for the election of city councils and granted certain unmarried women the right to vote in municipal elections. All three stamps share the same design depicting a voting tool, a code of law, and a gavel (Scott 610-612).

On a 1967 stamp, France commemorates an election held almost a thousand years earlier, in 987. The design shows the assembly of noblemen preparing to cast their votes to elect Hugh Capet as king of the Franks.

Voting in the 21st century

Jumping ahead to the 21st century, Bhutan held its first elections March 24, 2008, and issued a 225-ngultrum CD-ROM stamp Feb. 21, 2009, to commemorate the occasion (Scott 1438). The design shows a photograph of people waiting in line to vote; the banner behind them reads Voting for happiness. The information on the CD also is about the election.

In March 2009, Indonesia promoted its upcoming general elections (April 9, 2009) on four se-tenant 1,500-rupiah stamps (Scott 2177). Each design shows a small ballot box in the corner.

In addition, one stamp depicts a cartoon pencil placing a red check in a box on a ballot, and another pictures a hand with the little finger covered in election ink.

This ink serves as a protection against voter fraud. After voting, a persons little finger is dipped in this special ink, which does not wash off for a couple of days.

India pictures its voting methods on a 5-rupee stamp issued Jan. 25, 2010, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Election Commission of India (Scott 2396).

Depicted on the left side of the design is a woman voting, while the people waiting in line behind her hold up their identity cards. A close-up of the touch-activated voting device and an identity card are shown on the right.

One vote, one box

I have mentioned only a few of the stamps related to voting, but they help illustrate how large and varied such a topical collection could be.

To keep such a collection more manageable, you could focus on elections of just one country or region, a certain type of election, suffrage, elections that have changed history, methods of voting, or simply the ballot box.

Stamp designs have depicted ballot boxes in numerous ways, but one of the most popular is a single hand placing a vote. This type of design has represented everything from historic elections, such as Papua New Guineas first national election in 1964 (Scott 182) to democracy, as shown on French definitives of 2008 (3472, 3476).

The American Topical Association offers many resources for topical collectors, including checklists that are available to its members. The election/voting checklist includes 250 listings.
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Lead is an incredibly useful metal, but it is also toxic to humans. In fact, if we didn't have to worry about breathing in its dust or ingesting its particles, lead would be in widespread use due to its highly industry-friendly properties, such as excellent malleability and corrosion resistance.

Throughout history  before the scientific advancements of the 20th century revealed its potent toxicity  lead was widely used in a variety of products, including cosmetics, paint, solder, pipes and gasoline. Certain properties of lead, namely its ductility and resistance to corrosion and tiny leaks, make it a particularly good material for constructing water pipes. Even the ancient Romans made their water pipes out of lead, causing some to believe that lead poisoning, at least partially, led to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Natural element

Lead is a highly lustrous, bluish-white element that makes up only about 0.0013 percent of the Earth's crust, according to the Jefferson Lab. It is not considered rare, however, since it is fairly widespread and easy to extract. Lead typically occurs in very small amounts in ores such as galena, anglesite and cerussite. Lead is commonly mined and smelted in Missouri, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana and Texas, according to Plumbing Manufacturers International. About one-third of the lead in the United States is recycled.

The chemical symbol for lead is Pb, which comes from the Latin word plumbum, meaning "waterworks," referring back to ancient times when the metal was widely used in the construction of water pipes. Although there are 27 lead isotopes, only four are considered stable.

Lead linings

Although lead has been phased out of many of its previous uses, this non-corrosive metal is actually quite useful in products that hold or touch highly acidic substances. For example, lead is used to line tanks that hold corrosive liquids, such as sulfuric acid. It is also used in lead-acid storage batteries, such as those found in automobiles.

Because of its density and ability to absorb vibration, lead also makes an excellent shield against different types of harmful radiation, such as those found in X-ray machines and nuclear reactors, according to Jefferson Lab. Lead is also still used in some bullets and ammunition.

Leaded gasoline

Tetraethyl lead was added to gasoline in the 1920s to help reduce engine knocking, wear and tear and pre-ignition. Almost immediately, industry workers started to become extremely ill and some even died. At Dupont's manufacturing plant in New Jersey, it was particularly bad  eight workers died between 1923 and 1925. Finally, after 44 workers at Standard Oil's plant had been hospitalized, public awareness and outcry finally began to gather steam, according to Chemistry LibreTexts. Although the U.S. Public Health Service held a conference in 1925, lead was ultimately allowed to remain in gasoline for decades in spite of all the damage it was causing. It wasn't until the late 1970s that leaded gasoline started to get phased out. It was finally banned for all on-road vehicles in 1996.

Just the facts

Atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus): 82

Atomic symbol (on the periodic table of the elements): Pb

Atomic weight (average mass of the atom): 207.2

Density: 11.342 grams per cubic centimeter

Phase at room temperature: Solid

Melting point: 621.4 degrees Fahrenheit (327.46 degrees Celsius)

Boiling point: 3,180.2 degrees Fahrenheit (1,749 degrees Celsius)

Number of isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different number of neutrons): 27; 4 stable

Most common isotopes: Pb-208 (52.4 percent of natural abundance); Pb-206 (24.1 percent of natural abundance); Pb-207 (22.1 percent of natural abundance); Pb-204 (1.4 percent of natural abundance)

Lead (opens in new tab) Shutterstock (opens in new tab) ) (Image credit: Andrei Marincas

Toxicity today

Since lead was used in so many products before people recognized the extent of its toxicity, it continues to pose a real public health danger today. For example, children living in older homes can still breathe in or ingest dust or paint chips from peeling lead paint on the walls. Lead can also leach into the drinking water supply through older, corroded lead pipes, faucets and solder. Nearly all homes built before the 1980s have lead solder connecting to copper pipes, according to Plumbing Manufacturers International. Even some major U.S. cities still use lead pipes to carry water from the utilities to our homes and businesses. When the water chemistry is very carefully controlled, however, it keeps lead from leaching into the drinking water.

Most cases of lead poisoning are due to chronic low-dose exposure. Since symptoms of slow lead poisoning are mainly emotional and mental in nature, lead poisoning may be the last thing people suspect. Children are at the greatest risk. Lead can delay physical and mental development in babies and young children. In adults, slow accumulation of lead can result in kidney and nervous system damage, anemia, stroke or cancer, according to Utah State University.

Quan Lu is an associate professor of environmental genetics and pathophysiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the senior author of a recent study investigating the harmful effects of lead on neural stem cells and children's neurodevelopment.

"While acute poisoning of lead (Pb) can cause abdominal pain, weight loss, vomiting and even death, the majority cases of Pb exposure in children are chronic and low-dose," said Lu. "Pb exposure in children has been consistently linked to impaired neurological development and cognitive dysfunction as well as persistent antisocial and delinquent behavior."

"Pb disturbs neuronal function. Pb neurotoxicity is determined by intricate interplays between the metal and target neural cells, and there is overwhelming evidence documenting the detrimental effects of Pb in neurons," he told Live Science.

Lu added that previous studies had shown that lead potently inhibits the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA) receptor, which plays an essential role in brain development, synaptic plasticity and learning & memory.

"We need to reduce the chances of Pb exposure," he said. "That means we need to eliminate the sources of Pb contamination: in water, in gasoline, in paints and in any consumer products. Recent incidences of Pb contamination in drinking water in several U.S. cities highlight the urgent need to reduce Pb contamination to protect children."

Who knew?

Pencils do not  and never did  contain lead. The "lead" in pencils is actually graphite. When large deposits of graphite were first discovered in England in the 1500s, people assumed they had discovered lead, hence the name.

In ancient alchemy, lead was considered the prima matera, or primal matter. Alchemists associated lead with Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and harvest. Accordingly, lead was represented with Saturn's symbol, the scythe, .

In Ancient Rome, lead was added to wine by unscrupulous individuals in order to increase the perception of the wine's sweetness. Although this practice was strictly forbidden in 1498 by the Roman Catholic Church, it continued on for quite some time, resulting in large-scale poisonings well into the late 18th century.

In 16th and 17th century Europe, lead was used in cosmetics as a way to obtain the fresh "white-faced" look that was so popular at the time, particularly among the aristocracy. One famous user of lead makeup was Queen Elizabeth I of England  her white lead paint was said to give her the coveted "Mask of Youth." Unfortunately, long-term contact with lead often resulted in rotten teeth, and ironically, tooth replacements were often made of lead as well, causing even worse damage to the already lead-poisoned person.

Flint, Michigan: Drinking water crisis

One of the most notorious cases of lead leaching into drinking water occurred recently in Flint, Michigan. In an effort to save money, officials had decided to switch the source of the city's drinking water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA). In the meantime, however, they would need to pull water from the Flint River, beginning on April 25, 2014.

Within weeks, Flint residents began to complain about the smell and color of their tap water. Tests revealed high levels of E.coli and total coliform bacteria in the water supply, which prompted the city to chlorinate the water at higher-than-usual levels. This chlorination, in addition to the fact that they had not implemented any corrosion protection, caused massive pipe corrosion, allowing lead to leach into the drinking water.

In many homes, the levels of lead in the drinking water were far above the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum safety level of 15 parts per billion (ppb). In fact, the water in one home was tested by Virginia Tech researchers as having lead levels at 13,200 ppb  over three times the level considered to be hazardous waste. Unfortunately, a child living in that home was diagnosed with lead poisoning.

Additional resources
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shake hands after the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on Sept. 26, 2016, in Hempstead, New York.

Donald Trump is threatening to dredge up former President Bill Clinton's past infidelities in his next debate with Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee has also accused Hillary Clinton of being unfaithful to her husband, The Washington Post reported.

"I don't even think she's loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth," Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania on Oct. 1, according to The Washington Post.

Defending Trump's comments, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that "everybody" has their own infidelities. [The Science of Breakups: 7 Facts About Splitsville]

But does everybody actually cheat?

No, it's "not true" that everybody cheats, said Nicholas Wolfinger, a professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah.

Rather, research from the past two decades shows that between 20 and 25 percent of married men cheat and between 10 and 15 percent of married women cheat, Wolfinger told Live Science. And those numbers have stayed pretty consistent over that time period, he added.

Kassia Wosick, a research affiliate at New Mexico State University and an assistant professor of sociology at El Camino College in Torrance, California, agreed that the majority of scientific studies show that the rates of cheating hover around 20 percent.

In one of Wosick's studies, she found that 26 percent of men reported that they had cheated on their current partner and 19 percent of women reported that they had cheated on their current partner.

Overall, surveys have shown that rates of cheating haven't changed too much in the past few decades, Wosick told Live Science. She noted, however, that there will be an occasional study that suggests that rates are higher, perhaps around 40 percent.

But what does appear to have changed is people's attitudes toward cheating.

People disapprove of infidelity more now than they did several decades ago, Wolfinger said.

Part of this reason for this change is that people's views about marriage have also changed.

Marriage means something different today than it did several decades ago, said Christin Munsch, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut.

In surveys from the 1970s, it was much more common for people to accept that their spouse cheated, Munsch told Live Science. They weren't looking for their partner to be their best friend, their confidante and also an amazing lover like people do today, she said.

But people today expect to get everything from a relationship with a spouse, and they have really strong opinions about cheating, Munsch added. These days, people get "more incensed" at the idea of affairs, Munsch said. [8 Myths That Could Kill Your Relationship]

Attitudes about sex have also changed.

People now think about sex differently and they define sex in different ways, Wosick said. There may be a wider range of behaviors that people engage in and don't consider cheating, she said. So it's possible that more people are cheating today, but they don't think of it as such, she said.

Indeed, it can be difficult for researchers to define infidelity.

Not every person defines infidelity the same way, Munsch said. Does only sexual intercourse count? What about kissing, or flirting online? Another problem, of course, is that people lie, she said.

Originally published on Live Science.
With the second presidential debate coming up this Sunday, one particular statistic from the first debate stands out: the number of times Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton interrupted each other.

The counts from that Sept. 26 debate varied, depending on how the listener classified interruptions. Vox tallied that Trump interrupted Clinton 51 times and that Clinton butted in on Trump 17 times. Time magazine counted 55 interruptions by Trump and 11 by Clinton. The New York Times found Trump interrupted Clinton 39 times and Clinton interrupted Trump eight times. ABC News agreed that Trump instigated 39 interruptions but counted nine by Clinton. In an online academic forum organized by the press release and newswire service Newswise, University of Iowa communications professor Kristine Munoz said she counted 30 successful interruptions by Trump and five successful interruptions by Clinton. [6 Politicians Who Got the Science Wrong]

In every count, Trump interrupted more times than Clinton did. With the two nominees scheduled to go toe-to-toe in a town-hall-style debate Sunday (Oct. 9), it remains to be seen whether he'll dial it back or keep interjecting into Clinton's answers. It's also still unknown how such a strategy might play out; supporters might appreciate a candidate who "calls out" the opposition, but most research finds that interrupters aren't looked upon kindly.

The linguistics of interruption

A classic 1974 paper published in the journal Language laid out a theory of turn-taking in conversation. Most of the time, the authors wrote, taking turns provides the basic scaffolding of conversation: One person talks, there's a transition in speakers and another gets the floor. (In debates, of course, this is codified with time limits and a moderator to keep things on track.) The researchers' observations of taped conversations found that overlap in speakers is usually brief; likewise, the transition between speakers usually happens without major gaps or long periods of people talking over one another.

When overlap does occur, it happens for a variety of reasons. One type of interruption happens when the second speaker mistakenly thinks the first speaker is done. An example might be a husband saying, "Yes, all right, dear," with the wife interjecting an "OK" over her spouse's "dear," because "all right" would have been a natural ending point for the sentence. The overlap occurs because the wife is not expecting a third word in the sentence.

But the kind of interruptions seen in the debate were not like these inadvertent (and easily corrected) conversational stumbles. Rather, they were an attempt to take back the thread of the conversation. Take this exchange, captured in the debate transcript:

Clinton: Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. I think it's real.

Trump: I did not. I did not. I did not say that.

Clinton: I think science is real.

Trump: I did not say that.

These kind of assertive interruptions are actually quite rare in normal conversation, researchers wrote in a 1989 study in the journal American Sociological Review. In several studies done in the 1970s and '80s on interruption, they wrote, there were only about two interruptions per conversation, on average.

Debates, on the other hand, are contests of dominance, said Erik Bucy, a professor of strategic communication at Texas Tech University.

"What Trump is doing with a lot of the interruptions is really trying to take back command of the stage, even though it's not his turn to speak," Bucy told Live Science. Bucy conducted a small focus group of politically independent students during the debate and found that there wasn't strong evidence that the interruptions helped or hurt either candidate.

Candidates have to walk a fine line to seem assertive but not aggressive in debates, Bucy said. [7 Great Dramas in Congressional History]

Gender lines

The United States' first mixed-gender presidential race is complicating this fine line.

"Study after study says that men interrupt women to a much greater degree than vice versa," Munoz said during the Newswise panel on Sept. 27. Trump conformed to stereotype by interrupting Clinton more than she interrupted him.

The 1989 American Sociological Review study tracked group discussions among college students and found that gender matters in somewhat surprising ways. Men, the researchers discovered, did interrupt women far more than women interrupted men. And men also interrupted women twice as frequently as they interrupted other men.

In contrast, women interrupted men and other women at equal rates.

Previous studies had found that the higher status a person has, the more he or she interrupts in a conversation, the researchers wrote. (Imagine a meeting with your boss: Who interrupts whom?) In the group discussions between students, "men are acting as if sex is a status characteristic," the researchers wrote. But women did not appear to see sex as conferring additional status on someone, given that they tried to interrupt men just as frequently as women, the researchers said. [Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican]

Context and culture matter. In research presented in 2007 at the annual meeting of the International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, scientists analyzed a database of phone calls in Arabic, English, German, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. They found that Japanese speakers had more "turn-taking overlaps," or short interruptions made when one speaker starts talking before another finishes. This may be an attempt at consideration rather than rudeness, the researchers wrote in their research abstract; overlapping someone in an affirmative way can indicate that the listener is engaged, for example. Among English-language speakers, both men and women interrupted women more than either gender interrupted men, that study found. People also interrupted close friends or family more than they interrupted strangers.

Another study published in 1989, this one in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior (opens in new tab), asked a different question: How do people perceive interrupters?

Not very well, it turns out. When people listened to conversations in which a speaker interrupted another speaker, the listeners rated the interrupter as less sociable and more assertive. Male and female interrupters were judged with equal negativity, the researchers found. However, there was a gendered component to the impressions, as interrupters were seen as more masculine than those who did not interrupt, regardless of their actual gender.

Interruption didn't serve Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine well during Tuesday night's debate with Republican Mike Pence. Kaine interrupted Pence 70 times by ABC News' count and later told a crowd in Philadelphia that his own wife "dinged" him a little bit for butting in too often.

Trump's frequent interruptions early in the debate may have given the sense that he controlled the floor, Bucy said, but too many interruptions can tip people's perceptions of a candidate from "assertive" to "aggressive." Had Trump continued to interrupt throughout the entire debate, it probably would have hurt him more, Bucy said.

Original article on Live Science.
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MEP Marian Harkin believes that the Irish government should immediately investigate the possibility of applying for the European Globalisation Fund in the event of redundancies at Cameron Ireland Ltd. in Longford.

She remarked, The threat to the 170 jobs must be taken seriously and a back-up plan put in place to assist workers in the event of any redundancy announcements.

The Independent MEP outlined, As the person in the European Parliament who was responsible for drafting and negotiating the Globalisation Fund, I believe that it could be of significant benefit to many of the workers. Under normal circumstances, 500 redundancies are required to activate the Fund however approximately 15% of the successful applications to the Globalisation fund have been for less than 500 redundancies.

In Ireland we have had 3 successful applications with less than 500 redundancies. These are: PWA International in Rathcoole, Dublin where there were 108 redundancies and the total fund was 737,000, Andersen Ireland in Limerick where these were 171 redundancies and the total fund was 2.5 million and Lufthansa Technik in West Dublin with 424 redundancies and a total budget of 4.1 million.

These are significant amounts of money that could be used for retraining, upskilling or to start ones own business. It is absolutely imperative that the Department now makes contact with the workers to assess the level of interest in the fund so that it can be ready to start any programme as soon as possible after any redundancy announcement.

As an addition, there is the possibility to apply for Globalisation funding for up to 179 young people in the Longford area who are not in employment, education or training along with any application for Cameron Ireland Ltd. This is a new extension of the Fund which is directed towards easing youth unemployment.

Ms Harkin concluded, I have written to the Department to request they start the ball rolling on this urgent matter.
Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 07 2016

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $9.5 million in federal funding has been awarded to 39 organizations to assist New Yorkers receiving SNAP benefits.

Albany, NY - October 6, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $9.5 million in federal funding has been awarded to 39 organizations to assist New Yorkers receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Each of the organizations will match funds, resulting in $19 million to support education and training for SNAP recipients to enter the workforce.



This administration has fought long and hard to help lift our most vulnerable New Yorkers out of poverty and provide them with the opportunity for a decent life, Governor Cuomo said. This funding will assist with our efforts, providing much needed job training and workforce development, and brings us closer to a stronger, better, fairer New York for all.



The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance received $9.5 million in federal funding and has allotted support to 39 organizations statewide through the SNAP Employment and Training Venture Program. The organizations are required to match funding with private and public resources, resulting in double the number of New Yorkers benefiting from the program.



Governor Cuomo has continued to focus on creating job opportunities while ensuring there is a ready supply of talented workers, said Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Samuel D. Roberts. This approach has contributed greatly to the growing economy while ensuring those who need these jobs the most can effectively compete for them.



The SNAP Employment and Training Venture Program is designed to provide workforce development, education and training to SNAP recipients through targeted job placement services. The program is aimed at supporting individuals faced with barriers to employment, including criminal or substance abuse history, low literacy, limited work history or unemployed and underemployed parents, limited English proficiency, and individuals without a high school diploma, including eligible youth between the ages of 16 and 24.



SNAP providers work closely with local Workforce Investment Boards to assist participants in achieving a credential that is in demand by local employers. Through the awarded organizations, individuals can earn a number of credentials, including junior accounting, building maintenance and weatherization, culinary arts, security, environmental remediation technician, construction laborer, retail management, home health aide, warehouse worker, commercial drivers license, among others.



Funding awarded to BOCES organizations across the State include:

BOCES Cayuga County, serving Cayuga County - $150,000

BOCES Ulster County, serving Ulster County - $45,000

Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington BOCES, serving Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties - $300,000

BOCES Delaware-Chenango-Madison Counties, serving Delaware, Chenango, Madison and Otsego counties- $178,750

Erie 1 BOCES, Eric County, serving Erie County - $237,250

Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, serving Erie, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties - $362,250

Orleans-Niagara BOCES, serving Niagara and Orleans counties - $400,000

Oswego BOCES, serving Oswego County - $101,500

Schuyler-Steuben-Chemung-Tioga-Allegany BOCES, serving Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Tioga counties - $306,375

St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, serving Lewis and St. Lawrence counties - $300,000

Rockland BOCES, serving Rockland County - $200,000

Funding awarded to additional organizations and schools across the State include:



Western New York

Buffalo City School District, Erie County - $40,025

Literacy West NY, Allegany, Cattaraugus and Wyoming counties  $300,000

Finger Lakes

Research Foundation of SUNY Brockport, Monroe County, $400,000

Central New York

Housing Visions Unlimited, Onondaga County  $145,750

Research Foundation of SUNY Morrisville, Onondaga County  $241,250

Southern Tier

Challenge Industries, Tioga and Tompkins counties - $370,625

Long Island

New York City

Agudath Israel of America Community Services, Kings County - $186,625

Center for Employment Opportunities, Kings County  $390,900

Central Queens YM & YWHA, Queens - $241,250

Chinatown Manpower Project, NYC - $109,000

East Harlem Employment Services, NYC - $216,125

Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, Kings County - $400,000

El Barrios Operation Fight Back, Kings County $150,000

Henry Street Settlement, NYC - $114,125

Leap, Inc., Kings County - $399,875

Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, NYC - $300,000

Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, NYC  $189,375

Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, Bronx  $400,000

Per Scholas Inc., Bronx  $291,875

Project Renewal Inc., NYC  $155,625

Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc., Kings County  $200,000

South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, Bronx $196,250

St. Nicks Alliance, Kings County  $200,125

The Fortune Society, Kings County  $400,000

The Hope Program, NYC  $393,500

The Research Foundation of CUNY Kingsborough Community College, Kings County  $200,000

The Research Foundation of CUNY Manhattan Community College, NYC  $112,750

Congressman Charles B. Rangel said, While it is critically important that we provide millions of families assistance through SNAP, we must equip them with proper education and training they need to secure jobs. I thank Governor Cuomo for his continued commitment to lifting New Yorkers out of poverty and applaud the organizations serving my constituents in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx for participating in this vital program.



Congressman Jose E. Serrano said, This federal funding will help individuals without a job who receive food assistance successfully get back on their feet. By working with 39 local workforce development organizations, including three in the Bronx, the SNAP Employment and Training Venture Program will ensure participants receive the training and credentials they need to access local jobs. Im particularly glad to see that more than $900,000 will specifically go towards helping Bronxites.



Congressman Gregory W. Meeks said, "Governor Cuomos announcement is welcomed news. Our States economic success is dependent on how well we serve the most underprivileged in our communities. The millions of federal dollars the Governor has allocated throughout the state will ensure that individuals that are willing to work are provided the necessary tools and skills to be successful, achieve their personal goals, and provide for their families. I am especially grateful for the nearly half-million in funds that will be allocated to program providers in or near my district. This is a critical step towards ensuring all New Yorkers receive the benefits of our economic recovery, regardless of their background."



Congressman Joe Crowley said, The SNAP program is a crucial lifeline for countless New Yorkers who struggle to put food on the table every day. But one of the best ways to fight hunger is to help those struggling Americans get back on their feet and take advantage of new employment opportunities so they can sustain themselves and their families. I applaud Governor Cuomo for directing these federal dollars to organizations across New York that make job-training and job placement their top priorities.



Congressman Brian Higgins said, Through the SNAP Employment and Training Venture program organizations like the Buffalo City Schools and Erie 1 BOCES will reduce barriers to employment by helping job-seeking individuals develop in-demand, marketable skills. This forward-thinking, collaborative effort will benefit potential employees and their employers across New York State."



Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said, We must make sure our next generation is prepared with the skills they need to compete in a 21st century workforce. This important funding will help children across our district and across our state, and I commend Governor Cuomo for making it a priority.



Congressman Dan Donovan said, Individual initiative offers the best route out of poverty, and the greatest contributor is a job. Employment allows people to make their own decisions on where to live, which health care provider to use, and where to send their children for education. Simple steps like targeted training and employment assistance can mean the difference between years of reliance on government programs and the beginning of a career. Thank you to Governor Cuomo for advancing this initiative.



Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation Director of Education and Career Services William Blair said, This program has been a lifeline to many members of our community. They develop actual skills that take them beyond just entry level jobs.



Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES Case Manager Jennifer Driscoll said, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES is committed to providing quality, comprehensive educational services to adults receiving SNAP benefits. In collaboration with Cayuga County Department of Social Services, this funding enables us to provide instructional and support services to adults to improve literacy skills, earn a high school equivalency diploma, obtain career training, and secure employment that will lead to economic self-sufficiency.



Challenge Workforce Solutions Director of Employment and Vocational Supports Martine Gold said, This program is a great resource for the community. It has really allowed us to serve a broader population of people in the Tompkins County area who are struggling to get a job that will allow them to support themselves and their families.



SUNY/Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center Executive Director Anthony Watson, administered by Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY, said, "All of us at MEOC are extremely excited to be selected to receive this funding to provide training and education services to recipients of SNAP. These services are much needed in our community and are tremendously effective in helping people gain the skills they need to enter the workforce and advance to better-paying jobs over time."



CUNY Kingsborough Community College Director of Academic/ESL Programs in the Office of Continuing Education Natalie Bredikhina said, Kingsborough has significant experience in offering job skills training and we are excited to once again partner with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. This funding allows us to serve low-income adults and youth receiving SNAP benefits and provide them with education and vocational training they need to enter the workforce with jobs that provide a living wage and clearly defined opportunities for advancement.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Home & Garden, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 07 2016

The Firemens Association of the State of New York (FASNY) is clanging the alarm with the message, Dont wait  check the date!

This years Fire Prevention Week campaign, Dont Wait  Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years, represents the final year of the three-year effort to educate the public about basic but essential elements of smoke alarm safety.

Albany, NY - October 3, 2016 - The Firemens Association of the State of New York (FASNY) is clanging the alarm with the message, Dont wait  check the date! - the 2016 theme of the annual Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15 -- promoting the importance of replacing smoke alarms every 10 years.



Functioning smoke alarms reduce by half the risk of dying in a home fire, so it is extremely important to make sure theyre working properly, said FASNY President Kenneth Pienkowski. President Pienkowski noted that families utilizing a 10-year-life smoke alarm in the home can remove a potentially high-danger component of human error from the reliability of alarms.

Statistics show that three out of five U.S. home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working alarms. Homes with battery-disabled smoke alarms or alarms that have outlasted their full functionality put people at increased risk in the event of a home fire.



Beginning January 1, 2017 in New York State, the sale of smoke-detecting devices powered by removable, replaceable batteries will be prohibited. Instead, retailers will be able to sell only smoke-detecting devices with a power source that isn't removable and lasts at least a decade. Increased availability of extended-life batteries and new tamper-resistant smoke detectors is expected to help individuals and families better protect themselves and their loved ones. Existing devices already in homes will be allowed to remain there until they stop functioning, and smoke detectors with replaceable batteries will continue to be on sale in the state throughout 2016.



New York State law requires that all homes and businesses must have working smoke detectors. Smoke detectors with a 10-year lifespan are already on the market; most are powered by lithium batteries, not a traditional 9-volt.



FASNY, along with the approximately 110,000 volunteer firefighters in New York State and safety advocates nationwide are joining forces during Fire Prevention Week, to remind residents to take the following precautions:



Smoke alarms: replace every 10 years.

A smoke alarms age can be determined by looking on the back or side of the smoke alarm, where the date of manufacture can be found.

Smoke alarms should be replaced 10 years from that date (not the date of purchase or installation). Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old - or sooner if they dont respond properly.

Batteries: test monthly, replace yearly

Smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and batteries should be replaced when they begin to chirp, signaling that theyre running low.

Two-thirds of fire deaths occur in homes with no, or non-functioning, smoke alarms

Have at least one smoke alarm on every floor, including the basement and in every bedroom and outside each sleeping area.

Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.

About FASNY

Founded in 1872, the Firemens Association of the State of New York (FASNY) represents the interests of the approximately 110,000 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel in New York State. For more information, visit www.fasny.com.



About Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record, with the President of the United States signing a proclamation declaring a national observance during that week every year since 1925. NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week since 1922. For more information on smoke alarms and this years Fire Prevention Week campaign, visit www.firepreventionweek.org.
Family & Parenting, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 07 2016

The Gurwin Walk of Ages annual fundraiser and Family Fun Day is set for Sunday, October 23, 2016 on the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center campus in Commack.

Commack, NY - October 6, 2016 - Get ready to walk, stroll and rock and roll! The Gurwin Walk of Ages annual fundraiser and Family Fun Day is set for Sunday, October 23, 2016 on the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center campus at 68 Hauppauge Road in Commack. The 5k flat course will circle Gurwins beautifully landscaped grounds; alternative paths are available for rollers and strollers. Registration begins at 9:00 am, followed by the Opening Ceremony at 10:00 am on the north side of Gurwins 67-acre campus. Official kick-off is at 10:15 am; Family Fun Day activities will get started at 10:30 am.



A day of music, friendship, fitness and fun, the Walk is an annual community effort to raise vital funds for the life-enhancing programs that serve the needs of hundreds of Long Islanders who reside and/or recuperate at Gurwin. Since the Walks inception in 2010, more than $200,000 has been raised to help those in need by school groups, community members, Gurwin staff, family and friends, as well as elderly residents of the Gurwin Center and Gurwin Jewish ~ Fay J. Lindner Residences assisted living.



All participants have been urged to solicit donations in support of their walking goals, to form teams, and to check with their employers about Matching Gifts programs to help maximize the events fund-raising success. Corporate sponsors include Teachers Federal Credit Union and sunglass manufacturer EYEKING. Ivy League Camp will head up face painting, bingo and other games for the family.



We invite you to cover this important, fun-filled event. More information can be found at the Walks website, or by calling Judith Cohen at (631) 715-2571.



Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center is a 460-bed nursing care facility located in Commack, Long Island. Gurwin offers skilled nursing care, short-term rehabilitation, medical/post-surgical subacute care, respiratory and ventilator dependent care, an adult day health program, on-site dialysis, hospice care, home care, assisted living, a new memory care unit and a proposed independent living community. Visit us at www.gurwin.org.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
The Talibans military offensives in northern and southern Afghanistan, particularly in Kunduz, Baghlan, and Helmand provinces, have been backed by an unprecedented media campaign. While the Taliban regularly touts operations throughout Afghanistan, the group recently released a slickly produced video that highlights its Abdullah ibn Mubarak Jihad Training Camp. The video, which is produced in multiple languages, including English, is titled Real Men, and is geared to encourage Muslims from all countries to wage jihad.

The 19-minute long video was produced by Manba al Jihad Media for the Talibans Commission for Cultural Affairs, Audio and Visual Sector. The video was publicized on the Twitter feed of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Manba al Jihad Media is the propaganda arm of the Haqqani Network, the Taliban subgroup closely allied with al Qaeda. The Haqqani Networks operational leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, serves as one of two deputy emirs for the Taliban as well as head of the groups military branch.

Manba al Jihad Studio has released other Haqqani Network productions on Voice of Jihad in the past, including a video of a Haqqani training camp in 2011, another that detailed the 2012 suicide assault on Forward Operating Base Salerno, the confirmation of the death of Badruddin Haqqani in 2013, and the Caravan of Heroes videos in 2015.

The Talibans latest Real Men video contradicts many of the groups public statements and claims to only seeks to liberate Afghanistan from occupation. Instead, this production makes it clear that the Taliban views itself as a fervent defender of Islam and part of the global jihad. This should come as no surprise as the Taliban has often revealed its close relation to global jihadist groups, such as when it publicly accepted a pledge of allegiance from al Qaedas emir, Ayman al Zawahiri.

At the beginning of the video, the Taliban narrator attacks the US, Western countries and the Afghan government for assailing the Talibans values by promoting democracy, elections, womens rights, homosexuality and immorality, through various means such as the internet, TV, radio, and cultural programs.

The narrator then states that Muslims across the world have seen through these conspiracies and are seeking to wage jihad. The footage of the camp is designed to encourage Muslim youth to wage jihad.

Many youth among the Muslim Ummah [global community] having realized conspiracies of the enemies leaves the life of comfort and rushes towards the training camps of the mujahideen to get trained, the narrator says.

Thus we are presenting our honorable viewers with the training activities of some of the mujahideen from one of their training camps with the hope that this will encourage Muslim youth in defending their religion, Muslim lands, and we would have performed some of our religious duties, he continues.

The Taliban then shows footage of dozens of its fighters training at its Abdullah ibn Mubarak Jihad Training Camp. The location of the camp is not disclosed. As the footage is shown, several Taliban luminaries and unnamed fighters give speeches.

A slain jihadist ideologue known as Ustad Ahmad Zahir justifies terrorism and notes that it is part of Islam.

Terrorism means terrorizing. This is to cast horror and fear in the heart of the enemy. Terrorism is part of Islam and therefore whoever denies it is not from it, Zahir says. You must be prepared in order to cast horror in the heart of the enemies of Allah.

An unnamed fighter says that the Taliban is training its recruits to dominate Islam and they are prepared to attack outside of Afghanistan.

We are getting trained today in order to dominate Islam, unnamed fighter says. We will follow you in your homes, in your capitals and in your countries. We have made our intentions and we are clearly seeing our goal that Islam will dominate. Today we are preparing, hoping that Islam will dominate.

Jihadist training camps in Afghanistan

The Taliban has publicized several training camps in Afghanistan in recent years. In Dec. 2014, the Taliban showcased a training camp in the Jawzjan district of Faryab Province. In Jan. 2015, it highlighted a training camp in Kunar. Last June, the jihadist group advertised a special forces training camp somewhere in Afghanistan. Two months later, a training camp in the Zurmat district of Paktia Province was touted online. In Sept. 2016, the Haqqani Network, a powerful subgroup of the Taliban, released a video from its Salahadin Ayyubi camp someplace in eastern Afghanistan. And in July 2016, the Taliban promoted the Omar ibn Khattab Training Camp, which is thought to be located in Kunduz province.

Other jihadist groups, including al Qaeda, are known to operate camps inside Afghanistan. In 2015, the US raided an al Qaeda camp in Bermal district in Paktika, and two others in the Shorabak district in Kandahar province. The outgoing commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General John Campbell, said that one of the camps in Shorabak was the largest in Afghanistan since the US invaded in 2001. Al Qaeda has also operated camps in Kunar and Nuristan.

Harakat-ul-Mujahideen a Pakistani jihadist group that is closely allied with al Qaeda,operates terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan, the US government stated in 2014. The Turkistan Islamic Party, the Islamic Jihad Union, and the Imam Bukhari Jamaat, an Uzbek jihadist group that operates in both Syria and Afghanistan, have all claimed to operate camps inside Afghanistan.

Screen shots from the Real Men video:

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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Culture / Events

Oct 07, 2016 | By Staff Writer

WOW turns 15 this year and there is much to celebrate, from the growth of the title to include seven overseas editions, to the Singapore watch industry that it has accompanied, to watchmaking itself. The magazine will be hosting a party on October 20 at Raffles Marina during the SINGAPORE RENDEZVOUS, where a gorgeous sunset awaits. Pre-party drinks begin at 5pm.

As the go-to periodical for watches in Singapore, WOW brings readers news on the art and craft of watchmaking. With knowledgeable insights from industry veterans and a team of respected journalists, WOW gives readers access to whats new with the leading brands in watchmaking. Published in eight markets around the world such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and the Middle East amongst others, WOW has proven to be a must-read for watch aficionados.

The celebrations for WOWs one and a half decades in the industry will be held in conjunction with the launch of SINGAPORE RENDEZVOUS at Raffles Marina. The inaugural event will be a chance for guests to indulge in a luxury lifestyle experience. From timepieces such as deLaCour to luxury yachts such as Princess and Leopard Catamaran, the event is set to be an exciting one for all.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Swedish Minister Ann Linde and Swedish guests. (Photo: VNA)



The PM said the Vietnamese Government has sped up the improvement of the business and investment environment to attract investors, including those from Sweden.

He said the upcoming signing of the Vietnam  EU free trade agreement would open up more cooperation opportunities for business communities of the two countries.

The Government leader noted that relations between Vietnam and Sweden are developed in all fields, but the economic cooperation remains modest.

Two-way trade is still failing to meet its potential, reading just USD1.2 billion, he said, urging the two sides to continue speeding up cooperation in order to significantly boost that figure.

Swedish Minister Linde affirmed that Sweden would further strengthen cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in the fields of health, education, science and technology, economy, trade and investment.

She said she was accompanied by the delegation with the biggest ever number of businesses seeking investment and cooperation opportunities in Vietnam./.
Romain Grosjean says the brakes issues that have been hampering his and Haas F1 Teams progress across recent races are too much and could be dangerous, after he endured another frustrating day of practice ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Frenchman had a big moment in FP1 when he went off at the second of the Degner Curves on the daunting Suzuka layout. Despite vowing to tone his feedback down following previous radio outbursts, Grosjean could not refrain from labelling his brakes as sh*t later in the afternoon.

The 31-year-old, who retired with a brake disc failure in Malaysia last weekend, explains that his anger is not aimed at the team but rather at its brake provider Brembo.

You drive at 320km/h and the brake doesn't work, how would you react?, Grosjean said. It could be dangerous. Yes, there are things I don't accept. It's not against the team, it's against the suppliers.

I crashed because the brakes didn't work, so I think it's normal to be a bit annoyed. Everywhere it is dangerous but here especially because of the very high speeds.

The last race we were lucky to escape with nothing bad to happen and then here the brakes don't work again so it is a bit too much.

Grosjean also admits the repeated problems have made him slightly more tentative under braking.

It is not ideal let us put it that way but of course then you don't go for the last five metres of braking zone. Qualifying is a different story but in free practice we have to take it carefully.

It could be wet too so it may be hard to find the right solution. Hopefully we can change it for tomorrow and make it better.

Haas practice mishaps did not limit to Grosjean's car, as team-mate Esteban Gutierrez triggered a Virtual Safety Car in FP2 after stopping his VF-16 ahead of the Degner bends with a turbo issue.

REPORT: Rosberg edges out Hamilton as Ferrari shows pace in FP2

FEATURE: Silbermann says... Snapchat and soap in Suzuka

Chris Medland's 2016 Japanese Grand Prix preview

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Islamabad : Facing international isolation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in an unprecedented move has warned the powerful military not to shield banned militant groups and directed authorities to conclude the Pathankot terror attack probe and the 2008 Mumbai attack trials, a leading Pakistani daily reported today. Sharif's orders came after a series of meetings between military and civilian leaders, Dawn newspaper said. The government delivered a "blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning" to the military leadership and sought consensus on several key actions, including action against banned militant groups, the paper quoted unnamed individuals, who were involved in the meetings.

At least two sets of actions have been agreed as a result of the most recent meeting, an undisclosed one on the day of the All Parties' Conference, which took place on Monday. ISI Director General Rizwan Akhtar, accompanied by National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua, will travel to all provinces with a message that military-led intelligence agencies should not interfere if law enforcement agencies act against militant groups that are banned. Sharif directed that fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.

Those decisions, taken after an extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG, appear to indicate a high-stakes new approach by the PML-N government, the paper said. Separately, on Monday Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry made an exclusive presentation in the Prime Minister's Office to a small group of civil and military officials.

The presentation by the Foreign Secretary summarised the results of the recent diplomatic outreach by Pakistan, the crux being that Pakistan faces diplomatic isolation and that the government's talking points have been met with indifference in major world capitals, the paper said. On the US, Chaudhry said that relations have deteriorated and will likely further deteriorate because of the American demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network.

PTI
Jaisalmer : India will completely seal the border with Pakistan by December, 2018 by using all effective means including technological solutions, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today. Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four states, Singh said India is planning to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place at the central and state government levels for it.

He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the states which share border with Pakistan. It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders," Singh said.

The Home Minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added "this project will be periodically monitored by Home Secretary at the central level, BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level." He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. "Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border.

Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthan's Home Ministers Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Gulab Chand Kataria respectively and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.

PTI
CHENNAI: On October 7, U.S. Consulate General Chennais Public Affairs Officer Ariel H. Pollock formally launched the U.S.-India 21st Century Knowledge Initiative Award for Clarkson University, New York, for collaborative research with Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, and the National Institute of Environmental Health, Bhopal, at the Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai.



The joint research project between the U.S. and the Indian institutions will focus on air pollution, health, and climate in India and building capacities for health research and program evaluation.

Our complex problems require complex solutions. I am glad that the Indian and the American institutions are thinking about combating the inevitable health repercussions of air quality and climate change, said Ms. Pollock.



This joint U.S.-India research initiative will not only contribute to a healthier planet and population today, it will be part of a legacy of research that can positively impact the health and well-being of future generations to come.



The research project on Air Pollution, Health, and Climate in India is critically important. Recently, I came across an article about September 2016 being a major milestone for the worlds climate  when the atmospheric carbon dioxide officially passed the symbolic 400 ppm (parts per million), and might never to return below it in our lifetimes. What this will mean for the future generation in terms of water, food, and just simply daily living is probably beyond our imagination, she added.



Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Gov. of India & Director General ICMR, Dr. J.S.N. Murthy, Vice Chancellor, Sri Ramachandra University (SRU), Dr. T.K. Partha Sarathy, Professor of Eminence & Chief Advisor, SRU, Dr. S.P. Thyagarajan, Professor of Eminence & Dean (Research), SRU, and Dr. Kalpana Balakrishnan, Associate Dean (Research), SRU, also spoke.

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MARTINSVILLE  To make the community more prosperous, people must have faith that it will happen, according to Martinsville City Council candidates in the Nov. 8 election.

During a candidate forum Thursday night at Mount Sinai Church, the moderator, Pastor J.C. Richardson Jr., asked the six hopefuls how their faith  including religious beliefs  will shape their actions if they are elected.

Sharon Brooks Hodge, the only candidate currently on the council, described herself as a woman of faith.

Hodge said, though, that as a public official, she has to make decisions based on laws centered in secularism and uphold those laws.

You have to put aside your own personal beliefs, she said.

Ural Harris acknowledged her reasoning, but he said he believes religious faith has a role in decision-making.

He believes that if officials disagree with the law based on their religious beliefs, they should say so before rendering decisions based on the law, he added.

Kathy Lawson, a former council member and Martinsvilles first woman mayor, said she believes everything she does is because God lets her do it.

We have to move forward in a positive path, Lawson told about 40 people who attended the forum.

To do so, according to Lawson, people need to pray about what they want city officials to accomplish so that God can communicate to the officials what they want to be accomplished and then officials can make decisions based on what people want.

God is going to guide me to  see more clearly about issues that the community is facing, said Efigenia Cuenca Mota.

Ive seen  things in this community that Im not happy with and I feel that God is not happy with, said Chad Martin. He did not elaborate on those things, but he indicated that he will ask God to help him be a good council member.

With faith, hope and positivity  we will overcome problems that the city is facing, said Joe Martin.

All of the candidates bowed their heads during prayers led by Richardson and the Rev. Tyler Millner, pastor of Morning Star Holy Church in Axton.

Richardson asked the candidates why they think they are qualified to serve on the council.

Joe Martin cited factors such as being a local business owner and current vice chairman of both the Martinsville Planning Commission and the Martinsville Transportation Safety Commission, as well as his volunteerism.

Harris mentioned that he also is on the planning commission.

Lawson recalled her four years on the council from 2006 to 2010, the last two of which she was mayor. She also said she has served the community in different capacities during the past 30 years, such as by organizing Christmas parades.

Chad Martin said he has knocked on a lot of doors and heard peoples concerns, and he has been a teacher, so he understands the needs of children and their families.

Cuenca Mota, a native of Mexico, said that after gaining her United States citizenship earlier this year, she wanted to do something to help the community where she has lived for about 10 years.

Hodge mentioned being a council member since 2012. Having worked as a journalist, she has observed how government works, she said. And, having lived elsewhere in the United States and Europe, she can offer different perspectives on how things might be accomplished based on what she has seen in other places, she added.

The forum was sponsored by the Martinsville-Henry County Voters League.

Considering the communitys economic problems, its important for people in Martinsville to know whats at stake in trying to resolve those problems based on who they elect to represent them, said league President Naomi Hodge-Muse, who also is president of the local NAACP chapter.

More coverage of the forum will appear in the Martinsville Bulletin on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that Kyiv and Chisinau are working on opening the joint border checkpoints.

"We have agreed that, together with the European Union in the framework of the Eastern Partnership initiative, as part of the Integrated Border Management project, we are building the state-of-the-art border crossing point on the Moldovan side of the border. The EU has allocated more than EUR 6 million for this and a group of Ukrainian and Moldovan border guards will ensure a very rapid clearance of passengers and goods there," the Ukrainian president said after the talks with Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip on Friday in Odesa region.

According to him, this will significantly simplify the procedure of crossing the border for citizens of Ukraine and Moldova, as they will need to pass the border and customs control only once.

"Moreover, we have agreed that the EU will take part in the construction works on the Kuchurhan - Pervomaisk section, this time on the Ukrainian side, under the same program, a joint, comfortable and multilane checkpoint with the most modern equipment and high-speed Internet. It will also be equipped with the most effective scanners for combating smuggling," Poroshenko said.
Shakespeare transformed English literature, reaching heights that before were unheard-of and which have not been reached subsequently. Like a blazing meteorite he shot across the firmament and cast a glorious light on an entire period in our history. His impact on world literature was arguably greater than any other writer. His works have been translated into every language. For centuries after his death his star has not dimmed but shines as brightly as on the first day.

"He was not of an age, but for all time." (Ben Jonson on Shakespeare)

In Literature and Revolution (1924), Trotsky wrote: "A new class does not begin to create all of culture from the beginning, but enters into possession of the past, assorts it, rearranges it and builds on it." He presents Aristotle along with Goethe as the peaks of human achievement. He considered Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos as a play that "expresses the consciousness of a whole people." The very same words could be said of the greatest English writer William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon / Image: Diliff

It is surprising, then, that of the life of the man considered by many to be the greatest writer of all, very little is known. We know when Shakespeare died, but we are not exactly sure when he was born. The records show that he was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town 100 miles northwest of London, far from the cultural and commercial centre of England. Since infants were baptized three days after their birth, he may have been born on April 23, the same day on which he died at age 52, although even this is disputed.

Much of his life is shrouded in a veil of mystery. What little we know of his life can be briefly stated. He was not born into a noble family or an especially wealthy one. He did not go to university. Yet he became the most famous writer in the world.

The Shakespeare family

At first sight William Shakespeare did not seem destined for greatness. His father John Shakespeare started out as an apprentice glover and tanner of leathers and later began to deal in farm products and wool. A self-made man, he married Mary Arden, the daughter of the prosperous local farmer, the owner of a sixty-acre farm. William was the third of eight children.

It seems that neither John nor Mary could write. Shakespeare's father used Glovers' compasses as his signature. But this did not prevent them from becoming important members of the community. Among other civic positions, John Shakespeare was elected ale-taster of the Borough of Stratford - quite an important office since people drank beer because in those days it was safer to drink than water. He later became chamberlain of the borough, alderman in 1565, (a position which came with free education for his children at the Stratford Grammar School), high bailiff, or mayor, in 1568, and chief alderman in 1571.

Proud of his success John Shakespeare aspired to the title of gentleman and applied for a coat-of-arms. But for unknown reasons the application was withdrawn, and within the next few years, for reasons that are likewise obscure, John Shakespeare's fortune went into decline. In 1570 he was accused of usury for lending money at the rate of 20% and 25% interest. By 1578, he was behind in his taxes and unable to pay the obligatory aldermanic subscription for poor relief. In 1579, he had to mortgage Mary Shakespeare's estate to pay his creditors.

In 1580, he was fined 40 pounds for missing a court appointment. He became a debtor and was frequently absent from council meetings. In 1586, the town removed him from the board of aldermen due to lack of attendance. By 1590, John Shakespeare owned only his house on Henley Street. Worse was to come. In 1592, he was fined for not attending church. This was a serious matter.

Religion was central to the society for which Shakespeare wrote. Queen Elizabeth made attendance at Church of England services mandatory, even though many church-goers had to travel long distances. People who did not attend - for any reason except illness - were punished with fines. Some have concluded that Shakespeare's father - and possibly Shakespeare himself - must have been a covert Catholic. But this is an unwarranted assumption. His failure to turn up in church may have been due to more mundane reasons, namely non-payment of debts.

So although Shakespeare was born into a relatively comfortable middle-class home, he must have spent most of his childhood under the shadow of his father's financial difficulties. This experience must have had a powerful influence on the psychology of the young man. Having experienced relative poverty and the disgrace that accompanies it, he developed a keen sense of business that was reflected in later years.

Later on the family's fortunes seem to have improved. In 1599, John Shakespeare was reinstated on the town council, but died a short time later, in 1601. He was probably about seventy years old and had been married for forty-four years. Mary Shakespeare died in 1608.

To sum up, Shakespeare was born into a fairly typical middle class family in the period that Karl Marx describes as the period of primitive accumulation of capital. The feudal system had fallen into decay and a new rising middle class with its own agenda and ambitions was on the rise. John Shakespeare, the self-made man who built up a business, married into money and lost it again, was the personification of a new period in the history of England and the world.

Childhood and education

Young William attended the local grammar school, King's New School, where his education would have been based mainly on rhetoric, grammar, Latin, and possibly Greek. We do not know anything about his school years, but a famous passage in As You Like It may provide us with a clue that suggests that he was not very enthusiastic about school:

"the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school."

Does this reflect his own recollections of school? His subsequent history suggests that this may indeed be the case.

At school he became acquainted with Greek mythology, Roman comedy and ancient history, all of which resurface in his plays, which are frequently based on Greek, Latin, French, and Italian models. The result is a uniquely rich cocktail of English and non-English elements. He frequently quotes Roman authors such as Plutarch and uses material from classical mythology.

Unlike his fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe, he did not go to university. Ben Jonson, his famous contemporary, wrote that he had "small Latin and less Greek." Shakespeare learned more from his practical experience as an actor than from his formal studies. Having never been to university, his knowledge of people and situations was derived from life itself. Shakespeare wrote for the masses - the "groundlings."

He seems to have started his literary activities as a travelling actor, one of the Queen's men, and this had an impact on his way of writing plays. Unlike other writers, he wrote from the standpoint of the actor. His plays often include what are, in effect, stage directions.

At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior and three months pregnant. At some point Shakespeare moved to London, leaving his family in Stratford, and established himself as a playwright and actor. It is said that he worked as a teacher, an apprentice butcher or a lawyer's clerk. His first biographer says that he fled to London to escape punishment for poaching deer. However, no real evidence exists of his activities in this period of his life, which is known as "the lost years."

Elizabeth I / Image: public domain

Given the scarcity of accurate information concerning Shakespeare's life, the only way in which we can cast some light upon both it and the plays is to place them in their real historical context - something about which we know a very great deal. In 1558, six years before Shakespeare's birth, Elizabeth I became the Queen of England. Over the next 45 years London became a thriving centre of trade.

In order to cast more light on the Bard of Avon, we must place him in the context of the world into which he was born - an exciting new age of change, ferment and transition that stands on the frontier between two worlds - the old world of feudalism with its fixed certainties and rigid social and religious hierarchies and a new world that was struggling to be born: the age of the bourgeois Revolution.

An age of revolution

"The discovery of America, the rounding of the Cape, opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie. The East-Indian and Chinese markets, the colonisation of America, trade with the colonies, the increase in the means of exchange and in commodities generally, gave to commerce, to navigation, to industry, an impulse never before known, and thereby, to the revolutionary element in the tottering feudal society, a rapid development." (The Communist Manifesto)

One could say the same thing of Shakespeare. Shakespeare himself was the product of the age in which he lived and probably could not have flourished in the same way on any other soil. It was an age when old ideas, traditions and beliefs were being challenged, when the lives of men and women were being turned upside down and old ways stood on their head. It was an age of transition, a decisive break with the mediaeval past and the beginning of a new historical period, in a word, it was an age of revolution.

In Shakespeare's works we have the distilled essence of a people in a period of transition from one historical period to another. This was a remarkable period of English history. Following a century of bloody upheaval known as the Wars of the Roses, this was a time of relative political stability under the new ruling dynasty, the Tudors.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 established England as a leading military and commercial power on the world stage. There was a spirit of adventure and change. Francis Drake became the first sea captain to complete the circumnavigation of the world and Elizabeth provided funds for Sir Walter Raleigh's exploration of the New World. He brought tobacco and gold from the Americas, bringing new wealth to his country and his monarch.

Francis Bacon / Image: public domain

The sixteenth century was the era of the Renaissance in England. It was an age of inquiry and experiment. The old sterile scholasticism of the Middle Ages was challenged by a revolutionary scientific-philosophic movement, which is closely associated with the name of Francis Bacon (1561-1626). Marx called him the first creator of English materialism and he was the father of a new form of secular learning and a new scientific philosophy.

In addition to its success as a commercial centre, London was also an important cultural centre where learning and literature thrived. Economic growth created a prosperous middle class that wanted to see new plays. Shakespeare was born into the new middle class, the class which prided itself on the freedoms and rights that other people conspicuously lacked.

This age witnessed the flowering of the drama in England. At the end of the century a whole galaxy of dramatists appeared in England: Marlowe, Dekker, Lyly, Kidd, Greene, Heywood, followed later by Beaumont, Fletcher and Ben Jonson. The flourishing of literature went hand in hand with technological innovations, in particular the invention of printing. Caxton established his first printing press in 1476, and very soon, books, which had previously been a monopoly of the wealthy few, became accessible to a mass audience among the new middle class.

The rise of the bourgeois middle class was a revolutionary development. Bourgeois individualism penetrates art in the form of portraits and self-portraits - an art form virtually unknown in the art of the Middle Ages. And it makes itself felt in the plays of Shakespeare in the form of the soliloquy. The novel itself is a product of the same tendency - a new interest in individual psychology, as in Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. This is something new in the theatre - to penetrate the mind of the subject and lay bare its secret motivations, obsessions and desires.

The power of money

"The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his 'natural superiors', and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous 'cash payment'. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom - Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation." (The Communist Manifesto) "If money go before, all ways do lie open." (Ford, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 2 Scene ii)

This explosion of art, science and literature was the expression of fundamental changes in the economic and social life of society: the decline of the old feudal society and the rise of the bourgeoisie; the emergence of an economy based on money and trade instead of the feudal system based on the possession of land.

The 16th century saw the rise of a new kind of economy based on trade and money. By contrast, the wealth of the Middle Ages was based on the ownership of land. The church considered usury to be a deadly sin and Christians were forbidden to lend money at interest. This role was generally played by the Jews, which is the main explanation for the rise of anti-Semitism at that time.

In the Merchant of Venice Shakespeare portrays in negative terms Shylock the Jewish money-lender who famously demanded a pound of flesh from his Christian victim, who was unable to pay his debts. Here we see expressed in an extreme form the real relationship between creditors and debtors that has existed in one form or another since ancient times. The conduct of the bankers of the European Union in relation to Greece is only the continuation of this ancient and venerable tradition.

This graphically expresses the newly established importance of money as the lifeblood of trade and the basis of all economic life. It is no accident that in his Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Marx quotes Shakespeare's Timon of Athens to underline the power of money in bourgeois society:

Gold? yellow, glittering, precious gold? No, gods, I am no idle votarist: roots, you clear heavens! Thus much of this will make black white, foul fair, Wrong right, base noble, old young, coward valiant. Ha, you gods! why this? what this, you gods? Why, this Will lug your priests and servants from your sides, Pluck stout men's pillows from below their heads: This yellow slave Will knit and break religions, bless the accursed, Make the hoar leprosy adored, place thieves And give them title, knee and approbation With senators on the bench: this is it That makes the wappen'd widow wed again; She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices To the April day again. Come, damned earth, Thou common whore of mankind, that put'st odds Among the route of nations, I will make thee Do thy right nature. (Timon of Athens, Act IV, Scene iii)

And Marx explains its inner significance: "Shakespeare brings out two properties of money in particular: (1) It is the visible divinity, the transformation of all human and natural qualities into their opposites, the universal confusion and inversion of things; it brings together impossibilities. (2) It is the universal whore, the universal pimp of men and peoples."

This profound observation goes to the heart of the nature of capitalism, and is even truer now than when it was written. The true God of modern society is not Jehovah, Mohammed or Buddha, but Mammon. The real temples are neither cathedrals nor mosques but banks and stock exchanges. Its high priests are the bankers, stockbrokers and bondholders. And they still live by demanding their pound of flesh. The true spirit of Capital is summed up in the person of Shylock.

His is the voice of capitalism speaking in its crudest and therefore most sincere voice. Capital must be allowed to expand without any restriction or hindrance whatever. The relationship between human beings is reduced to a naked cash nexus. Considerations of sentimentality, friendship, morality or religion do not enter into it. That is why it is preferable not to lend money to a friend, but rather to an enemy who must suffer the consequences for non-payment.

This is the true nature of capitalism, stripped of any pretence of humanity or morality. The picture is not a flattering one, but it is completely true to life. Shylock is the personification of Capital - its distilled essence. His antipathy towards Antonio is not so much based on religion but on the fact that he violates the most fundamental principle of capitalism - the inviolability of the profit motive. Antonio represents an old world morality, a hangover from the period when bounds of friendship and honour were supposed to rule supreme:

I am as like to call thee so again, To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too. If thou wilt lend this money, lend it not As to thy friends; for when did friendship take A breed for barren metal of his friend? But lend it rather to thine enemy, Who, if he break, thou mayst with better face Exact the penalty. (Antonio, Merchant of Venice, Act 1 Scene iii)

By contrast, Shylock represents the new capitalist morality, which places the pursuit of profit before all other considerations. The most heinous crime of Antonio from Shylock's point of view was not that he worshipped the Holy Trinity, but that he lent money without demanding interest, thereby violating the Holy of Holies of capitalism:

How like a fawning publican he looks! I hate him for he is a Christian, But more for that in low simplicity He lends out money gratis and brings down The rate of usance here with us in Venice. If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. He hates our sacred nation, and he rails, Even there where merchants most do congregate, On me, my bargains and my well-won thrift, (The Merchant of Venice, Act 1 Scene iii)

Some people have tried to find anti-Semitism in this play, and it is true that Shakespeare was not fully free from the prejudices of his time. Nevertheless, as Marx understood, the essence of Shylock is not his race, nationality or religion but his calling as a money lender, the personification of capitalism in its formative stage of primitive accumulation, that is to say, in its purest, chemically distilled essence.

As if to refute in advance the accusation of anti-Semitism, Shakespeare puts in the mouth of Shylock the most eloquent and moving speech of protest:

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? (The Merchant of Venice, act 3 scene i)

Capital knows neither race nor religion. It has no fatherland and knows no frontiers. It has neither soul nor heart, knows neither right nor wrong. Yet this blind god, more pitiless than any heathen idol, subjugates the entire human race and forces it to do its bidding. That is the true message of Shakespeare's play, and it remains a true message for our own times.

Primitive accumulation

"Whiles I am a beggar, I will rail and say there is no sin but to be rich; and being rich, my virtue then shall be to say there is no vice but beggary." (The Bastard in The Life and Death of King John, Act 2 Scene i)

Capitalism developed in England somewhat later than in the cities of Northern Italy, but once it took hold it developed rapidly. This was the period Marx describes as the period of primitive accumulation. The Tudor monarchs acted as an agency of the nascent class of English capitalists. Elizabeth lent her support to the new manufacturing and trading class that provided the wealth that underpinned the ruling dynasty and ensured its survival in a threatening world. But this economic progress came at a high social cost.

The social upheavals that flowed from these great changes meant terrible hardship for the masses. Marx describes this in Capital, in the section on primitive accumulation:

"In the history of primitive accumulation, all revolutions are epoch-making that act as levers for the capital class in course of formation; but, above all, those moments when great masses of men are suddenly and forcibly torn from their means of subsistence, and hurled as free and 'unattached' proletarians on the labour-market. The expropriation of the agricultural producer, of the peasant, from the soil, is the basis of the whole process." (Karl Marx, Capital volume 1, chapter 28)

The main growth industry was wool, which constituted three quarters of England's exports. The constant increase in demand for wool promoted the growth of sheep farming. But since this employs fewer labourers large numbers of the rural population found themselves unemployed. Farms that formerly produced crops were turned into grazing land for sheep. As Thomas More bitterly complains in his famous work Utopia, "the sheep are eating the people."

This was a period of brutal laws against "beggars" and "vagrants", that is to say the huge numbers of peasants who had been thrown off the land, displaced by the new methods of capitalist agriculture. In this period, as Marx observed, a huge section of the English people were criminalised, prosecuted, whipped and put to death for the crime of being poor. During the reign of Henry VIII, no fewer than 72,000 "thieves" were sentenced to death. Wages were limited by law. The problems faced by the impoverished masses were exacerbated by the dissolution of the monasteries, which threw thousands of monks and nuns into the ranks of the unemployed, and the disbandment of the feudal retinues of the nobility.

Marx describes the savage laws enacted against the poor in the reign of Elizabeth: "Unlicensed beggars above 14 years of age are to be severely flogged and branded on the left ear unless someone will take them into service for two years; in case of a repetition of the offence, if they are over 18, they are to be executed, unless someone will take them into service for two years; but for the third offence they are to be executed without mercy as felons. Similar statutes: 18 Elizabeth, c. 13, and another of 1597." (Capital volume 1, chapter 28)

Nevertheless, this is only one side of the coin. Despite its oppressive and exploitative character, the nascent capitalist system led to an explosive development of the productive forces. Despite the poverty and hardship suffered by many people, and the terrible the diseases that plagued England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the population increased.

London was now a bustling centre of trade, handling 85 percent of all exports. Every year around 10,000 citizens migrated to London, believing the streets to be paved with gold as the fairy tale has it. Gold streets there were not, but wages in London were about 50 percent higher than in other parts of the country. Wealthy landowners and merchants built palatial homes with gardens and orchards. The middle-class prospered and even some of the lower classes had sufficient money to go to the theatre.

Caravaggio and Monteverdi worked for wealthy patrons who paid the bills. But Shakespeare was only partly dependent on such patrons. The rise of the bourgeoisie created a new middle class audience that went to the theatre and paid for their seats. To an increasing extent Shakespeare was writing for this audience.

The England of Shakespeare, like the Spain of Cervantes, was in the throes of a great social and economic revolution. This was a very turbulent and painful change, which thrust a large number of people into poverty and created in the towns a large class of dispossessed lumpenproletarian elements: beggars, thieves, whores, deserters and the like, who rubbed shoulders with the sons of impoverished aristocrats and defrocked priests to create an endless reserve of characters for Shakespeare's plays.

Martin Luther / Image: public domain

Religion

The Protestant Revolution that began with the revolt of Martin Luther plunged the whole of Europe into a bloody conflict in which, under the banner of the new religion, the rising bourgeoisie assembled its forces. A central point in the Protestant creed was that the Bible, the Word of God, should be in the possession of every man and woman without the need for any mediation by priests. The translation of the Bible into the vernacular therefore became the spearhead of the new movement.

Even before Luther openly challenged the domination of the Vatican, the English reformer John Wycliffe had translated the Bible into English. His followers, the Lollards, had participated in revolutionary movements that culminated in the Peasants Revolt of 1381. That revolt ended in defeat, but in the 16th century the Protestant Revolution in England produced a new and brilliant translation of the Bible by William Tyndale. For the crime of translating the Bible into English, Tyndale was convicted of heresy and treason and put to death by being strangled and burned at the stake by Henry VIII, Elizabeth's father.

England remained a Catholic country until the reign of Henry VIII. The role of religion then was very different from what it is today. People were very religious and the Church held colossal power in its hands. Men and women were prepared to die for their beliefs. And under the Tudors they had plenty of opportunities to do so.

Henry was originally a staunch defender of Catholicism and an enemy of the new religious tendency. For his services to the old religion, the Pope allowed him to use the title Fidei Defensor (defender of the Faith) which appeared on the coinage of the realm for centuries after it had lost its original meaning: defender of the Catholic faith.

When Henry VIII, for dynastic reasons, broke with Rome and declared himself supreme head of the Church of England, (The Act of Supremacy), it marked the start of centuries of religious upheavals in Britain. Henry needed to break the Church's power in England - he soon discovered that this was an excellent way to make money.

In 1535 Henry ordered the closing down of Roman Catholic Abbeys, monasteries and convents in England, Wales and Ireland. The dissolution of the monasteries instantly made him the owner of vast riches in the shape of all the buildings, land, money and everything else that had belonged to the Church. By selling off the proceeds to the wealthy nobles and rising bourgeoisie, he raised the money he needed to fund his pointless and expensive wars against France and Scotland and simultaneously gave a powerful impulse to the process of the primitive accumulation of capital.

The break with Rome was a major historical turning-point. But from a doctrinal point of view, it did not represent the kind of radical change represented by the Protestant Revolution on the European Continent. Henry, like his daughter Elizabeth, was no friend of Puritanism, which he saw as a threat to the established order. He therefore left much of the old Church rituals unchanged.

That changed radically under the brief rule of his son Edward VI (1547-1553), a devout Protestant. For the first time England became a genuinely Protestant nation. Edward introduced a new prayer book and all church services were held in English. Catholics were repressed and bishops who refused to conform were locked up. But Edward died young and was replaced by his older sister Mary, a fanatical Catholic.

England found itself once again a Catholic nation. The pope became the head of the church and Church services changed back to Latin. Now repression was directed against the Protestants. About 300 leading Protestants who would not accept Catholic beliefs were burned at the stake. Among them were Bishops Latimer and Ridley. It is said that as the flames rose, Latimer encouraged Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out."

To make matters worse Mary had married King Philip II of Spain. All this earned the Queen the nickname of "Bloody Mary", although to tell the truth she killed far fewer per year than her murderous father. Nevertheless, these actions produced a violent reaction against her.

Following her death, England swung sharply in the direction of Protestantism, underlined by a hatred of Spain, which became the main national enemy. The accession of Elizabeth on November 17, 1558, following the Catholic reaction under Mary, was greeted by general rejoicing. Bells rang and bonfires lit up the sky. Now it was the turn of Catholic priests to go to prison or to go underground. Many churches were closed.

Elizabeth attempted to balance between the opposing forces, compromising between the Protestants and Catholics. In Elizabethan England it was illegal for Catholics to hold or to attend a Mass. However, the rich and powerful could usually escape punishment for their religious practices. Wealthy Catholic families kept private chaplains in their homes, a practice to which the law usually turned a blind eye as long as they did this in the privacy of their own homes and did not engage in subversive activities against the Crown.

But this uneasy balancing act was doomed to failure. Tensions continued to increase and were driven to fever point by the news of massacres on the European mainland. In 1572, on St. Bartholomew's Day, there was a mass murder of French Calvinists (Huguenots) in Paris. News of this caused outrage in England and a further backlash against Catholics. The assassination of the Dutch Protestant leader, William of Orange, added fuel to the flames. In 1580, the Pope stated that it would not be a mortal sin to assassinate the Queen of England. This announcement automatically meant that all Catholics were under suspicion for treason.

An army of Jesuit agents was dispatched to England to work underground, organising plots with the collaboration of Catholic noblemen, and preparing the ground for a Catholic uprising. For 18 years, the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots had been held prisoner by her cousin Elizabeth, who regarded her as a useful bargaining chip for her dealings with France and Spain. There was a well-founded suspicion that Mary was a focal point for Catholic subversion. Elizabeth's advisers, members of the Protestant party, decided to get rid of this potential threat.

The Queen's network of spies was controlled by Francis Walsingham. Its network extended everywhere. Walsingham accused Mary of being involved in an assassination plot aimed at the overthrow of Elizabeth, who would be replaced by Mary herself. He claimed to have discovered compromising letters that proved her guilt. Whether these letters were genuine or invented by him we will never know. In any case, they had the desired effect. In February 1587, Elizabeth signed the death warrant and Mary was beheaded.

Religion in Shakespeare's plays

The religious revolution that swept through Europe like wildfire at that time affected literature in a very direct manner. When Elizabeth's Protestant government banned mystery plays, the door was open for the rise of a new secular theatre. Until then, the only theatre was closely linked to the Church. It was this that made the success of Shakespeare possible.

The religious element surfaces in his plays. In the Prologue and Act I, scene i of Shakespeare's Henry V, the Bishops of Canterbury and Ely, two powerful English (Catholic) churchmen, confer with one another. They are made to look ridiculous for the amusement of the audience. They are depicted as covetous, greedy intriguers.

The bishops are worried about a bill that has been brought up for the consideration of the king, Henry V. The reason for their concern is that if it became law it would authorize the government to lay its hands on the Church's land and money, which would be used to maintain the army, support the poor, and augment the king's treasury. The clergymen, who have been made wealthy and powerful by this land and money, are determined to keep it for themselves.

To this end, the Archbishop of Canterbury persuades the young King Henry into believing he has a claim to the throne of France. A nice little war in France would distract the king from the bill to confiscate Church property. To encourage Henry, Canterbury promises the king: he will raise a generous donation from the Church to fund the war effort.

This scene is clearly directed against Roman Catholicism, which was was very unpopular with the people of England, especially as it was associated with a hostile and malign foreign power. In this play that country is France, England's traditional enemy. But to an Elizabethan audience the main enemy was Catholic Spain.

The hostility to Spain was in part religious. The rise of the bourgeoisie was accompanied by social, economic and political convulsions, revolution and war. The first decisive battles between the nascent bourgeoisie and the decaying feudal order were fought out on the grounds of religion. The Catholic Church had dominated society for generations, exercising an absolute dictatorship over the minds and souls of men and women. In Shakespeares plays we find numerous hostile references to Spain and the methods of the Spanish Inquisition.

The rise of England represented a direct threat to the hegemony of Spain. This at that time was the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. Elizabeth was an unprincipled and cynical opportunist in religion, as in all other matters. She flirted now with King Philip of Spain, now with his enemy the King of France, dangling the prospect of marriage, which at that time was another name for a political alliance, while keeping them all at arm's length and systematically building up England's power.

When Philip II realised the impossibility of getting control of England through holy matrimony, he decided to use other, less subtle means. In 1588, Catholic Spain prepared to invade England. However, things did not turn out as expected. Harassed by the English warships, the Spanish Armada was finally destroyed by storms at sea. "Jehovah blew with His winds, and they were scattered," a common saying went.

The wind was now blowing strongly in the sails of the Protestant party in England. The Queen, however, was unhappy about its rapidly growing power and influence. Privately, she preferred the high ceremony and pomp of the old service and the hierarchical structures of the old religion. But she was obliged to support the Protestants because the main threats to her power and her life came from the Catholics and Rome.

She was obliged to tilt in the direction of the Protestant Party at court represented by Burleigh, Walsingham and the Earl of Leicester. However, the Queen regarded the extreme Protestant party (the Puritans) with suspicion and loathing. Society was gripped by religious fever that was taking on a dangerously political colouring. One horrified observer complained: "Many there are that hear not a sermon in seven years, I might say in seventeen." Sir Francis Drake protested that the Reformation "went so far as almost to put an end to religion."

This same antipathy is reflected in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where we read the following:

The devil a puritan that he is, or any thing constantly, but a time-pleaser; an affectioned ass, that cons state without book and utters it by great swarths: the best persuaded of himself, so crammed, as he thinks, with excellencies, that it is his grounds of faith that all that look on him love him; and on that vice in him will my revenge find notable cause to work. (Twelfth Night, Act 2; scene iii)

The demand for the democratisation of the Church alarmed even those in the establishment who were favourably inclined to the new doctrines. Elizabeth regarded the Puritans as dangerous extremists and a potential challenge to monarchical power. The Presbyterians demanded an end to bishops. But a reformed church would not be so easy for the monarch to control and she saw this as a threat.

Edmund Grindal, the Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the Presbyterians' most significant supporters, found himself suspended from the exercise of his office, remaining in limbo for the rest of his life. Presbyterianism in effect was the party of the wealthy upper stratum of the bourgeoisie and its allies in the nobility. The further down the social ladder, the more radical the new religious ideas became.

On the extreme left wing of Protestantism far more radical trends were beginning to crystallise. Tendencies such as the Anabaptists were moving in a revolutionary direction. Could all this not lead directly to the demand for the democratisation of the political system? That question received its answer in the following century, when it led to civil war and the bourgeois Revolution.

Development of national consciousness

This was the period of the formation of the nation states of Europe, and the English national spirit is alive in every line of Shakespeare's plays. The English national consciousness was developed in the course of the Hundred Years War against France, and this is reflected in Shakespeare's history plays, especially Henry V. The French are here depicted as the national enemies of England and English patriotism is more or less defined as opposition to France. However, by the reign of Elizabeth the rise of Spanish power created a new national enemy.

England's situation as an island played an immense role in her destiny. The sea provided a natural frontier and a line of defence that other European nations lacked. It also provided a stimulus to trade and therefore to the accumulation of capital. While much of continental Europe was plunged in wars and civil wars, with Protestants and Catholics slaughtering each other in bloody wars of religion, this island kingdom enjoyed peace and prosperity after the end of the period of civil war known as the Wars of the Roses.

The partial reformation carried out by Henry VII provided a further impetus to development of capitalism in England, the commencement of which may already be discerned from the 14th century onwards. The English wool trade benefited from the textiles industry in the Low Countries and the fighting on the Continent, which created possibilities for lucrative trade with the belligerents of all sides.

The Tudor period was therefore a decisive turning point in the emergence of England as a nation. The popularity of history plays by Shakespeare and Marlowe bear witness to a growing sense of national consciousness. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 marked a qualitative change in England's national destiny. From now on English power depended upon her success in displacing Spain from its predominant position as the leading power in Europe and the world. A new spirit was abroad in the land -a spirit of confidence and optimism in the future. The English began to feel themselves as a distinct people with a special destiny.

The Englishman's pride in his nation was famously reflected in the speech that Shakespeare puts in the mouth of John of Gaunt in Richard II:

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings, Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth, Renowned for their deeds as far from home, For Christian service and true chivalry, As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry, Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son, This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land...

The rise of the theatre

In the Elizabethan period, drama experienced a complete transformation. It was at this time that organised theatre first appeared in England and enjoyed tremendous success. Up till this time the only similar form of entertainment was provided by bands of travelling players staging plays at fairs, in the courtyards of inns and on market days. The only plays that were held in the towns of England were the "mystery plays" with religious subjects. But the Protestant Reformation dealt this kind of entertainment a mortal blow.

The theatre was thus set free from the influence of the Church and the way was open for a new, secular theatre. Companies of players formed to perform works to entertain the public under the patronage of noblemen. This new art form soon became very popular. The new professional theatres being built in England attracted 15,000 theatregoers per week in London, a city of 150,000 to 250,000.

During Shakespeare's lifetime, for the first time, permanent theatres were springing up, particularly in London. The Red Lion and James Burbage's playhouse, The Theatre, were the first public theatres in England. London's South Bank was the natural location for theatres such as the Rose and the Globe.

Theatregoing in those days was not regarded as entirely respectable. The unruly mobs of groundlings did not smell of roses. Sanitary conditions in Tudor England were primitive in any case and the unsavoury riff-raff who frequented the spectacles rarely washed. The atmosphere was thick with sweat, beer and swearing. It also represented a potential threat to the public order.

Ever since mediaeval times the part of London known as Southwark had been an area of taverns, bear pits and brothels. The Bishop of Winchester was the owner of some very profitable brothels here and the local prostitutes were known popularly as "Winchester geese". It is here that Falstaff and his cronies spent their time drinking and carousing.

In Elizabethan times the South Bank began to attract a new and somewhat more reputable public. Nevertheless, god-fearing people lambasted theatres as ungodly places - "Satan's domain." Some Puritans like William Prynne would have liked to see the theatres closed altogether. However, the theatres enjoyed the backing of powerful patrons and not only survived but thrived, particularly with the advent of a new and more respectable bourgeois public.

The Elizabethan middle class had money to spend and it became very fashionable to go to the theatre to rub shoulders with the nobility who were also frequent visitors. Indeed, the Lord Chamberlain of England himself was the patron of Shakespeare's company of players. Theatregoing was not, however, restricted to the wealthier citizens of the capital. The poor could pay one penny to stand in the stalls in front of the stage. Wealthier patrons would pay up to half a crown to sit under cover, safe from the inclemency of the London weather.

Early success

This was an exciting new phenomenon. It was also a highly profitable business for those who knew how to exploit it. And the young Shakespeare certainly knew how to do that. The next known record of Shakespeare emerges when he was already a playwright in London, belonging to a company known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men. His early successes aroused bitter resentfulness on the part of other less successful writers.

Between 1590 and 1592, Shakespeare erupted onto the London stage with his Henry VI plays, Richard III, and The Comedy of Errors. They were an instant success. This success and popularity gave rise to growing confidence. This is shown by the fact that he revived his father's lapsed application for a family coat of arms in 1596. In 1602, he had to defend his title against accusations that "Shakespeare ye player" was not entitled to the honour of a coat of arms.

Fellow playwright and rival Robert Greene wrote an unflattering note describing Shakespeare an "upstart crow." This insulting language reflects the hostility of the literary establishment educated in university towards the new kid on the block whose success they saw as a threat. Evidently their fears were well founded.

Shakespeare became a famous and wealthy man and a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The group had its own theatre called the Globe, and Shakespeare, clearly a shrewd businessman, held a 12.5% stake in it. He had sufficient capital to invest in property both in Stratford and London. He purchased the second-largest home in Stratford in 1597, though he continued to live in London.

When the theatres were closed in 1593 because of the plague, the playwright wrote two narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, and probably began writing his richly textured sonnets. One hundred and fifty-four of his sonnets have survived, ensuring his reputation as a gifted poet. By 1594, he had also written The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Love's Labour's Lost.

In 1598, the author Francis Meres singled him out as "the most excellent" of English writers in both comedy and tragedy. His work attracted the attention of the Court and he acted in several performances before Queen Elizabeth I. But he later got into serious difficulties when, shortly before her death, the Earl of Essex organised and ill-prepared plot in which Shakespeare was indirectly implicated.

A period of transition

Marx pointed out that it is precisely such periods of social transition that produce in abundance the kind of colourful characters that appear in Shakespeare's plays. But quite apart from the knockabout humour that so captivated the Elizabethan audiences, Sir John Falstaff is a striking personification of one aspect of the age - its plebeian underbelly - the lower depths of Elizabethan society that lay beneath the glamorous pageant of courtly life, chivalry and honour. In fact, he represents its polar opposite.

In one of his most famous speeches Falstaff accurately conveys the transitional nature of a society that is casting off the trappings of feudalism, and the old feudal morality based on ideas such as loyalty to one's superiors, honour etc., in favour of more practical considerations, especially of the monetary kind. Sir John's philosophical diatribe on honour provides him with a convenient excuse for running away from the battle:

[...] What need I be so forward with him that calls not on me? Well, 'tis no matter; honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? how then? Can honour set to a leg? no: or an arm? no: or take away the grief of a wound? no. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? no. What is honour? a word. What is in that word honour? what is that honour? air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it? he that died o' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? no. Doth he hear it? no. 'Tis insensible, then. Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? no. Why? detraction will not suffer it. Therefore I'll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon: and so ends my catechism.

And Sir John abandons the field of battle as fast as his fat legs will carry him.

This speech represents a scathing critique of an outmoded morality that is very much in line with that of Cervantes' Don Quixote. This period in Spain was a seething cauldron of social change in which old classes were melted down faster than new ones could replace them. The decay of feudalism, together with the discovery of America had a devastating effect on Spanish agriculture. In place of a productive peasantry earning its bread by the sweat of their brow, we are confronted with an army of beggars and parasites, ruined aristocrats and robbers, royal servants and drunkards, all striving to make a living without working.

Spanish society at this time presents us with the same rich mosaic of scoundrels, thieves and tricksters that we find reflected in the pages of Shakespeare's plays. The philosophy of this layer can be summed up in one word - survival. Life is a mad scramble to secure the means of existence by any possible methods. Their motto is: "Every man for himself and let the devil take the hindermost." This philosophy of bourgeois egotism is summed up in the words of Sancho Panza who, like Falstaff personifies the values and morality of the new world, whereas Don Quixote clings to those of a world that has long ceased to exist. The resulting contradiction between what ought to be and what is can be summed up in one word - madness. It is precisely in this contradiction and its manifest absurdity that the humour of Cervantes' masterpiece resides.

The bawdy scenes of tavern low-life in Don Quixote give the novel life and colour while highlighting the central contradiction of the historical period. The common Spanish people are as alive and vivacious as the nobility is dead and absurd. The central theme of Quixote contains a fundamental historical truth about Spain in the period of feudal decadence. The ideals of chivalry now appear as ridiculous and antiquated eccentricities in the context of the nascent capitalist economy, in which all social relations, ethics and morality are dictated by cold, hard cash.

The England of Shakespeare, like the Spain of Cervantes, was in the throes of a great social and economic revolution. This was a very turbulent and painful change, which thrust a large number of people into poverty and created in the towns a large class of dispossessed lumpenproletarian elements: beggars, thieves, whores, deserters and the like, who rubbed shoulders with the sons of impoverished aristocrats and defrocked priests to create an endless reserve of characters like Sir John Falstaff.

Sir John Falstaff

Sir John Falstaff is probably the most popular of all Shakespeare's characters. He is the archetypal "lovable rogue", a drunkard, liar, braggart and thief. His centre of operations is in Southwark, an area of London lying outside its walls to the south of the River Thames that was the haunt of criminals and prostitutes. This is where the people of London came to enjoy themselves in the taverns, brothels and theatres. It was also the site of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which is now been rebuilt and continues to show Shakespeare's plays.

Falstaff's companions are rogues, drunkards, thieves and cutthroats like himself, but also include the Prince of Wales, the future Henry V who participates with gusto in their immoral and illegal escapades in the plays Henry IV parts one and two. Among his cronies at the Boar's Head Tavern was Pistol, an old soldier, a boaster, coward and a "swaggerer", Poins, and Bardolph - a thief whose large red nose and flushed, carbuncle-covered face suggests an advanced stage of alcoholism.

These lumpenproletarians are fairly typical examples of London lowlife, with whom Shakespeare appears to have been fairly well acquainted. This social flotsam and jetsam is the product of the disintegration of the old feudal order at a time when capitalism had not yet firmly established itself. This is a faithful reflection of the social composition of a large part of the population of London in Shakespeare's time.

Sir John Falstaff himself personifies that layer of society, albeit superficially modified by the wit and manners of an Elizabethan gentleman fallen on hard times. Everything he says and does is on a big scale, from gluttony and drunkenness to lying, which he raises to an art form, disguising his villainy with a thick layer of hyperbole, mendacious retelling of events and the most imaginative and colourful inventions.

Like all good liars Falstaff shows considerable ingenuity in brazenly denying that he has told any lies at all: "Hal, if I tell thee a lie, spit in my face, call me horse." In one of his most outrageous lies Falstaff claims to have killed the rebel leader Percy Hotspur on the battlefield from which he has run away. When Prince Henry confronts him, the following comic exchange follows:

PRINCE HENRY Why, Percy I killed myself and saw thee dead. FALSTAFF Didst thou? Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying! I grant you I was down and out of breath; and so was he: but we rose both at an instant and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may be believed, so; if not, let them that should reward valour bear the sin upon their own heads. I'll take it upon my death, I gave him this wound in the thigh: if the man were alive and would deny it, 'zounds, I would make him eat a piece of my sword. (Henry IV part one, act 5, scene iv)

While Falstaff is not at his best on battlefields, he is in his element in the environment of the tavern. In fact, while others fight for honour, he eats and drinks his way through the entire play of Henry IV. The Prince discovers Falstaff in a drunken sleep at the Boar's Head Tavern where he has consumed a gargantuan quantity of sack (a sweet Spanish wine popular in England at that time). He examines the contents of Falstaff's bill, which runs as follows:

PETO [Reads] Item, A capon,. . 2s. 2d. Item, Sauce,. . . 4d. Item, Sack, two gallons, 5s. 8d. Item, Anchovies and sack after supper, 2s. 6d. Item, Bread, ob. PRINCE HENRY O monstrous! but one half-penny-worth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack!" (Henry IV part one, act two, scene iv)

In case you didn't know, two gallons of sack is approximately nine litres! Falstaff is a big man in every sense of the word. His huge physical bulk is marvellously conveyed in the following passage:

Falstaff sweats to death, And lards the lean earth as he walks along: (Henry IV part one, act two, scene ii)

Falstaff and the Prince engaged in a mock duel of words, taking turns insulting each other. Their insults achieve a high degree of artistry, as when the Prince describes Falstaff as follows:

that trunk of humours, that bolting-hutch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of dropsies, that huge bombard of sack, that stuffed cloak-bag of guts, that roasted Manningtree ox with the pudding in his belly, that reverend vice, that grey iniquity, that father ruffian, that vanity in years. (Henry IV part one, act two, scene iv)

Although these insults may be well founded, they did not diminish in the slightest the popularity of this character with the public, especially the so-called groundlings. So popular was this genial rogue that when Shakespeare portrayed his death in the play Henry V, there was such an outcry from the public that he had to write another play, the comedy the Merry Wives of Windsor, in order to reinstate him.

The famous victories of Henry V may have appealed to the nobler patriotic feelings of Shakespeare's public, but they definitely felt more at home with the lowlife of the taverns and the loveable rogue Sir John Falstaff who, like them, laughed, drank, swore, chased after "loose women" and saluted the passing of the aristocratic Age of Chivalry by showing it his voluminous backside.

The age of Shakespeare was also the age of Machiavelli. That brilliant Italian philosopher was the man who first explained that the conquest and maintenance of political power has nothing to do with morality. The state itself is organised violence, and the seizure of state power can only be brought about by violent means. Moralists have given the Italian philosopher a very hard time, but history has shown that his analysis was basically sound.

Sir Francis Walsingham / Image: public domain

Shakespeare and politics

In Shakespeares plays, particularly the history plays, we have an eloquent description in literature of what Machiavelli demonstrated in political philosophy. The history plays deal with the power struggles that culminated in what became known to us (incidentally thanks to Shakespeare) as the Wars of the Roses. The struggle for power (in this case, monarchical power) is achieved through intrigue, backstabbing, betrayal and murder.

This was a world in which violence and treachery were the normal tools of the trade in monarchical politics. The feudal system was breaking down and capitalism was beginning to take root. The old aristocracy was being undermined and physically annihilated by a long and bloody conflict. This senseless conflict between rival dynasties was characterised by extreme violence and thuggery in pursuit of power. Two gangs of robber barons slugged it out, while the kingmaker Warwick balanced between them. For thirty two years the nobles of England had slaughtered each other without mercy.

That bitter struggle for the English throne played an important role in undermining the feudal order in England. In the end both Houses  York and Lancaster  were exhausted. Edward IV (1461-1483), of the House of York, was succeeded by his brother Richard, made notorious by Shakespeare in his play Richard III. In this play Shakespeare describes how the Duke of Clarence was knifed and then drowned in a barrel of wine on the orders of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. Henry VI was murdered in prison, probably by Richard himself. These were typical of the charming methods used by the nobility of England in the Age of Chivalry.

This was an example of the the brutal display of vigour in the Middle Ages to which Marx refers in The Communist Manifesto. These murderous civil wars finally ended with the death of Richard III, the last Yorkist King, at Bosworth in 1485. The result was the rise of a new dynasty founded by the Welsh adventurer Henry Tudor.

The Tudors encouraged the development of trade, industry and the nascent bourgeoisie. But the new dynasty was unstable, its legal foundations very shaky. Both Henry VII and his son Henry VIII were faced with plots and revolts that threatened to thrust England back into civil war. For this reason, the majority of the upper classes and middle classes were fervently loyal to Elizabeth, who seemed to stand between them and a return to the chaos that they feared.

This was an age of great insecurity in which conspiracies, political intrigue and rebellion were always in the air. Shakespeare's great contemporary, Christopher Marlowe, who had earned great popularity and success with plays such as The Jew of Malta and Tamerlane, was killed in a pub brawl, apparently because he was suspected of being a spy.

Elizabeth herself lived in a permanent state of anxiety, fearing assassination at the hands of discontented Catholics or Spanish agents. Her person was guarded by a vast network of spies and informers under the ever-vigilant Walsingham, one of her most loyal ministers. There is a portrait of Elizabeth that was painted in her old age. Her face has been heavily made up. In order to hide the ugly reality beneath it, it is painted white. She is dressed in magnificent silks and satins and covered in priceless jewels.

But a closer inspection reveals a curious and rather macabre detail. Her dress is decorated with human eyes and ears. The meaning of this is perfectly clear: My eyes and ears are everywhere. I see what you are doing, I hear what you are whispering, I can read your innermost thoughts and penetrate the secrets of your heart and soul. In a word: Big Sister is watching you.

Nowhere is this peculiar world of intrigue, plots and assassinations better described than in Julius Caesar. Here the psychology that drives ambitious politicians is dissected with the accuracy of a skilled surgeon. Julius Caesar is yet another tale of Machiavellian intrigue and backstabbing (literally) that faithfully conveys the essence of the political life, not just of the late Roman Republic but of every other period in history, especially our own.

Looking around him at the faces of his future assassins, Caesar comments with a wry sense of humour:

Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

Anthony tries to reassure him:

Fear him not, Caesar; he's not dangerous; He is a noble Roman and well given. But Caesar is not fooled, replying: Would he were fatter! But I fear him not. (Julius Caesar, Act one, scene ii)

In Henry VI, the Duke of Gloucester (the future king Richard III) says:

Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile, And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart, And wet my cheeks with artificial tears, And frame my face to all occasions. (Henry VI Part Three, Act three, scene i)

Here in a few lines we have the distilled essence of what we now call Machiavellianism. It is a chilling echo of the words put in the mouth of Donalbain in Macbeth: Theres daggers in mens smiles. In the same play Duncan, musing over the death of the Earl of Cawdor, utters the following words:

Theres no art To find the minds construction in the face. He was a gentleman on whom I built An absolute trust. (Macbeth Act 1, scene iv)

All this is a faithful reflection of the mood of the times. Despite its external appearance of glitter, the myth of Merry England in Elizabethan times was just that  a myth. It was an age of extreme insecurity, where plots of assassination were ever present, spies were listening at every street corner and in every tavern, and the air was thick with fear and suspicion.

Elizabeth herself was steeped in the habits of a mind characteristic of Machiavellianism. She spent most of her life eaten up by suspicion and fear of assassination. Against real or imagined enemies, she showed herself to be utterly merciless. A man could be her favourite one moment, only to find himself a prisoner in the Tower of London awaiting execution the next.

An opportunist with few principles other than that of personal survival, her religious beliefs always came second to that principle. Even in her persecutions, she lacked the conviction of her late brother Edward, a fanatical Protestant, or her sister Mary, and equally fanatical Catholic. Mary burnt hundreds of people she regarded as heretics in order to save their souls. Elizabeth hanged or cut off heads, not to save souls but to serve herself, her interests and her throne.

Shakespeare's attitude to revolution

Shakespeares plays can tell us a lot about life at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. This was a time of tremendous political and social turbulence. One play in particular had a significant role in political events. Here Shakespeares involvement in politics  albeit an indirect one  could have ended very badly for him. This occurred towards the end of Elizabeths reign, when she was already an old woman and speculation about the succession was becoming acute.

As a rule, the message of Shakespeares history plays is pro-monarchical and in that sense conformist. For obvious reasons he wished to acquire the favours of the ruling monarch  both Elizabeth and later James I. The reason for this was not merely pecuniary. Shakespeare and his generation had every reason to fear political instability. Their psychology was rooted in the experience of recent events. The memory of the Wars of the Roses was still vivid in peoples minds.

Yet in several of his plays Shakespeare gives free rein to subversive and even revolutionary thoughts. Shakespeare was capable of seeing the world from every conceivable angle. Although he was from a relatively privileged background, he was capable of understanding the misery and sufferings of other people. He lived at a time when colonialism was at its earliest beginnings. White Europeans were coming into contact with people of different colour, religion and customs. The result was a violent clash of culture that generally did not have a happy ending.

In The Tempest, Shakespeares last play, we find a startling denunciation of colonial slavery. Caliban is a monstrous being living in a state of savagery who has been enslaved by the wizard Prospero, the leading character in that play. The latter is portrayed as a magician and a highly knowledgeable person. According to some critics, Prospero is the depiction of Shakespeare himself as a powerful man of the Renaissance. Yet Shakespeare puts into Calibans mouth a speech that eloquently expresses the revolt of the slave against his master:

You taught me language, and my profit ont Is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you For learning me your language! (The Tempest, Act 1 scene ii)

London itself was a very violent place in those days. There were frequent riots, mainly by poor apprentices who expressed their frustrations in attacks on gentlemen's serving men, foreigners and prostitutes. Such disturbances were regarded by the City authorities as a normal part of life. Far more serious were the rebellious outbursts in rural areas. These were provoked by the enclosure of common land, wastelands, and forests by greedy landowners and agents of the Crown.

Such popular anti-enclosure protests were fairly common in Shakespeare's time, especially in the period from 1590-1610. They generally consisted of tearing up hedges and filling in ditches. Women and children participated in these actions. Small village riots, which were very common, were considered a misdemeanour. But on a larger scale they were punishable as treason. The largest, known as Kett's Rebellion, involved 16,000 peasants. The leader Kett died in jail. He was fortunate not to have suffered a worse fate.

Cades rebellion

There is a challenging of authority in Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Richard II. Yet Shakespeare was no social revolutionary. The message of Shakespeares great history plays is precisely this: a warning against the chaos of civil strife  and revolution. The only explicit depiction of social revolution in Shakespeare is contained in the play Henry VI part 2.

The facts of the case are as follows. During the chaotic reign of Henry VI the peasantry, maddened by the increasingly heavy burdens of taxation and other oppressive measures, rose in revolt. In June 1450 an army of 20,000 rebels from Kent marched on London under the leadership of a man calling himself John Cade. Cade, who was reputedly an Irishman, defeated the forces sent by the King against the rebels and killed their commander, Sir Humphrey Stafford.

In Henry VI, Lord Say describes Kent as:

the civilst place of all this isle: Sweet in the country, because full of riches; The people liberal, valiant, active, wealthy.

Yet in the same play the men of Kent are depicted in negative terms, as senseless, riotous, unruly rebels against authority. But this judgement appears to be both one-sided and unjust. As was usually the case in all such uprisings during the Middle Ages, the rebels claimed to be fighting, not against the King, but against his ministers, specifically the royal treasurer, Lord Say. These demands were well received by the people of London and also by the soldiers in the Kings army. Despairing of victory, the king fled to the relative safety of Kenilworth.

Henrys fears were well founded. As the rebels approached the capital the Kings army melted away, its soldiers refusing to fight the rebels who maintained an admirable level of discipline. The rebels entered London with no resistance, and captured Lords Say and Cromer, who they beheaded. But thereafter the movement seemed to lose its sense of direction and degenerate into mere rioting. Cade had issued orders that there be no pillaging or theft. But some of the rebels began to plunder the homes of the rich, provoking a backlash against them. The rebels were forced to leave London and Jack Cade fled to Kent where he was murdered by a sheriff, allegedly while hiding in a garden.

The impression one gets when reading the version presented by Shakespeare in his play Henry VI is an unfavourable one. It reflects the fears of the Elizabethan upper classes of the mass of downtrodden and oppressed people who represented a constant threat to their privileged situation. The Elizabethan gentry must have felt that they were sitting on the brink of a large and dangerous volcano that at any time could erupt with elemental violence. These fears clearly coloured Shakespeares portrayal of Jack Cade and his rebel army. Cade is made to say:

We will not leave one lord, one gentleman; Spare none but such as go in clouted shoon, For they are thrifty honest men, and such As would, but that they dare not, take our parts. But then are we in order when we are most out of order,

Cade is supposed to have said:

I thank you, good people: there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score. Seven half-penny loaves (3 1/2 cents) shall sell for a penny. All the realm shall be owned in common  no private property; just take what you want. All shall wear the same livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.

At this point Dick the Butcher shouts the famous line,

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

At that point, a clerk enters. Someone accuses the clerk of being able to write and read. Cade orders:

Hang him with his pen and inkhorn about his neck.

In the end Cades severed head was paraded through London and his body was left for "crows to feed upon." The Elizabethan middle classes could sleep soundly in their beds once more.

We shall never know what Jack Cade actually did say, but the above lines sound suspiciously like what the defenders of capitalism constantly repeat today: that the idea of socialism is utopian, that we are promising people things which cannot be achieved, and misleading the ignorant masses with the promise of a fools paradise.

One thing is clear: William Shakespeare was no revolutionary. He supported the existing order of Elizabethan England, upon which his success was based. He supported the monarchy and considered all movements of the downtrodden classes to be at best misguided, and at worst a recipe for chaos and anarchy. Despite this fact, there are many elements in Shakespeares plays that show a keen understanding for the sufferings of the downtrodden, as well as what one might call the common touch. It is no accident that his plays found favour, not only with the prosperous middle class from which he came, but with the poorer layers of society.

Ireland and the Essex Rebellion

Primitive accumulation not only signified the plunder and dispossession of the English peasantry but also the even more brutal dispossession of the lands of the Irish people. The Tudor period, and in particular the Elizabethan, was marked by the most ferocious oppression of the Irish. Here class oppression was mounted a thousandfold by national, religious and linguistic differences.

Ireland was Englands first colony and the real cruel face of the English ruling class can be seen by its treatment of the Irish people. The Irish were treated as slaves and criminals, aliens in their native land. English soldiery butchered men, women and children without mercy, exterminating entire communities. For the English overlords, the Irish were not human beings but little better than animals without any rights, including the right to life.

As a result, there was a whole series of bloody uprisings and rebellions, ruthlessly put down by the forces of the English crown. The most serious of these was the rebellion of an Irish Ulsterman, Hugh ONeill (Aodh Mor O Neill), earl of Tyrone, who repeatedly defeated the English forces and was making overtures to Spain, inviting military intervention in the pursuit of their common Catholic cause.

The English crown was spending a lot of money and losing an increasing number of men in this sanguinary conflict. Englands darkest hour in Ireland came on 14 August, 1598, when the English forces were cut to pieces at the battle of the Yellow Ford in County Armagh. 2,000 Englishmen, including its commander, the marshal of Ireland Sir Henry Bagenal were killed. Already in command of Ulster and Connacht, ONeills army advanced rapidly into Leinster and then Munster.

In this desperate situation Elizabeth sent one of her favourites, Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex to Ireland with a huge force of 17,000 foot soldiers and 1,500 horsemen, 2,000 of these being veterans transferred from the Low Countries and with the promise of 2,000 more to come. Two years earlier Essex became a national hero when he shared command of the expedition that captured Cadiz from the Spanish.

With such a large force as this the hero of Cadiz could hardly fail to crush the Irish rebels. But fail he did. Devereux seems to have been a spoilt aristocratic brat with strong narcissistic tendencies. Excessively fond of his personal appearance (he wore his hair long) his tender self-regard was not replicated by courage and foresight on the battlefield. His military campaign failed miserably. He behaved like a coward whose only successes were in perpetrating the usual massacres of Irish men, women and children.

In the end, he fell into a trap carefully set for him by ONeill. The latter offered him a truce, which he accepted with alacrity. He then entered into a private discussion of terms with the Irish rebel. This was a bad mistake. When Elizabeth found out about it she flew into a fury, suspecting treachery. To make matters worse, Devereux hastened to London to explain himself to his erstwhile mistress, bursting into her bed chamber in his riding boots, his cloak bespattered with mud for greater effect.

Effect his dramatic entrance undoubtedly had. Elizabeth, who now required several hours every morning for her serving ladies to paint her face white, dress her in finery and do everything possible to cover up the ravages of old age, was not at all accustomed to men  even former lovers  appearing unannounced at her bedside in this state of undress. Devereux had committed the most unforgivable faux pas, and would pay for it dearly.

One of the more endearing aspects of the Earl of Essex was his unstinting devotion and assistance to the arts. He befriended Shakespeare and attended his plays, his favourite apparently being the tragedy of Richard II. The play tells the story of the last two years of Richard IIs reign and how he was deposed by Bolingbroke  the future Henry IV  imprisoned and murdered.

On Saturday, 7th February, 1601, just two years before the death of the aged Queen, Shakespeares company was asked to perform the play Richard II at the Globe Theatre. It was to play a fatal role in the plot that was hatched by the Earl of Essex after he had suffered disgrace and banishment from the court.

Shakespeare wrote and published Richard II around 1595. The parallels between the ageing queen and Richard II were too uncomfortable. It is clear that Elizabeth was aware of the political parallels between herself and Richard II, and of the potential ramifications.

The Virgin Queen, as she liked to be known, had no children. Next in the line of succession was Mary Queen of Scots, whom she had executed while cynically blaming other people. The most likely candidate after this was Marys son, King James VI of Scotland. Although he himself was undoubtedly inclined towards Catholicism, James was more pragmatic than his mother, whose infatuation with Catholicism led her straight to the executioner's block.

Since James had let it be known that he was open to do a deal with the Protestant party in London if he came to the throne, a faction of the English nobility saw James as a likely candidate and entered into contact with him. Among these was almost certainly Robert Devereux. This was the turbulent political and social background to Shakespeares plays of the period 1590 and 1613. The play shows the overthrow of Richard II by a group of rebellious nobles. The fall of the king is depicted in the following scene:

NORTHUMBERLAND My lord, in the base court he doth attend To speak with you; may it please you to come down. KING RICHARD II Down, down I come; like glistering Phaethon, Wanting the manage of unruly jades. In the base court? Base court, where kings grow base, To come at traitors' calls and do them grace. In the base court? Come down? Down, court! down, king! For night-owls shriek where mounting larks should sing. (Richard II Act 3, Scene iii)

In the given context, the play was provocative, politically subversive and even treasonous. Supporters of Robert Devereux paid Shakespeares company forty shillings  well above the normal rate  as a bribe to perform the play on the appointed day and hour. It was intended as propaganda to convince the public of the righteousness of the rebels cause.

The very next day, 8th February, Devereux marched into London at the head of 300 armed men hoping to seize the crown. But their hopes were soon dashed. The people did not rise and the rebellion ended in a farce. Essex was captured and on 25th February, 1601, he was beheaded as a traitor. It is said that Elizabeth wept bitterly for the fate of her former lover. But then she is said to have wept about the fate of Mary Queen of Scots and other of her victims. Just how sincere these tears were is anyones guess, but none of them served to stop the axe from falling on its target.

Were Shakespeare and his company aware of the real significance of the play they were asked to perform? Or were they enticed by the extra money on offer? Either way, they got off very lightly. Some members of the audience were arrested and executed for treason, but no charges were made against Shakespeare or the actors.

Did Elizabeth herself realise the meaning of the play? William Lambarde reported that in August 1601 he had a conversation with the Queen in which she said, I am Richard II, know ye not that? The authenticity of this statement has been questioned  like many other things. But I would like to think it was true. In a supreme act of historic irony, Shakespeares company was commanded to perform Richard II at Whitehall in the presence of the Queen herself on Shrove Tuesday 1601  the day before Essexs head was parted from his shoulders. Maybe the old Queen was enjoying a private joke at his expense.

A new reign

If the Earl of Essex had had a little more patience he could have achieved his objective and kept his head. In 1603, James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. England, Scotland and Wales were now united under one crown. Possessed of a sharp intelligence, and an even sharper instinct for self-preservation, James was an expert in the black arts of manoeuvre and intrigue. For years he had been plotting to take the English throne (to which he had a claim, though not a particularly strong one, by right of descent) once Elizabeth had gone to a better world. There is little doubt that he was involved in the Essex plot. James immediately released the surviving members of Essexs faction from prison.

As King of Scotland, a relatively poor country, James was unable to indulge himself in the kind of extravagances to which he aspired. Now, with the English exchequer brimming with stolen Spanish gold at his disposal, the king could afford to be generous with money. His court was known for its lavishness and extravagance, but it was also a nest of intrigue, and jockeying for position. James had his favourite courtiers  usually good-looking young men  who received exquisite gifts. His romantic attachments might, of course, have been merely an expression of "passionate physical and spiritual love." But that did not prevent people from speculating that these relationships were of somewhat more than a platonic nature.

Under King James the theatres flourished as never before. Shakespeare was the immediate beneficiary of his lavish generosity. His company was awarded a royal patent. At the king's invitation, Shakespeare's theatre company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, became known as the King's Men, and they produced new works under his patronage. It was during King James's reign that Shakespeare wrote many of his most celebrated plays dealing with the struggle for political power. Among these are King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra and, of course, Macbeth.

Having so recently come close to disaster in relation to the late Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare was anxious to get into the new monarchs good graces from the beginning. To this end he composed one of his greatest plays. Written early in James's reign, Macbeth (the Scottish play) was clearly composed as a means of impressing the new monarch. The play pays tribute to the kings Scottish ancestry, presenting Jamess ancestor Banquo in a very flattering light, while the presence of the three witches was designed to please a man who was obsessed with the subject of witches and witchcraft.

Already when he occupied the throne of Scotland, James saw himself as sacred. He also felt that he had a special insight into the agents of Satan. He had a morbid fear of a violent death and saw witchcraft as an evil that threatened his divine rule. Before his reign, witchcraft persecutions had been rare in Britain. While thousands of alleged witches were burnt on the European continent, only a relatively small number suffered that fate during Elizabeths reign. But James changed all that. In 1590 he had personally overseen the North Berwick Witch Trials. Over seventy people were accused of raising the storm that nearly sank James ship when he sailed home from Norway with his new bride, Anne of Denmark.

The precise number of people burned at the stake as the result of this trial is unknown. But thousands of Scottish women and some men were to be accused of witchcraft, tortured and killed, especially after 1597 when James published a book on Demonology. When he became king of England, James brought his views on witchcraft south of the border where the laws against it were rather less harsh than in Scotland. Only one year after James ascended to the English throne, he passed a new Witchcraft Act, which made raising spirits a crime punishable by execution.

James liked to hold lavish celebrations and masques for the court nobility. The services of such an accomplished writer as Shakespeare were very welcome to him. And he was prepared to pay the bills. Macbeth was the first English drama to depicted witches gathering in secret to perform their devilish rites. Performed for Jamess court in 1606, the play presumably met with his most enthusiastic approbation. One doubts that this enthusiasm was shared by the poor wretches who paid with their lives for His Majestys morbid fantasies.

The lavish lifestyle of James I's court led inevitably to equally lavish debts. The king's subjects were naturally presented with the bill. Parliamentary disputes over the king's debts doubtless took some of the shine off the joys of court life. But it continued on its merry way regardless. Ultimately the debts he left to his son and successor Charles I led to a conflict between king and parliament that led directly to Civil War and Revolution. But that is another story.

There are at least a quarter of a million words in the English language  although some estimates suggest a far higher number  perhaps a million or more (according to the Global Language Monitor, January 2014 and the more recent Google/Harvard Study). Whatever the true figure might be, it is clear that English has more words than any other European language. This is the result of its peculiar historical evolution.

A revolution in language

Over the last thousand years English has changed more than any other European language. Anglo-Saxon, from which English is derived, belonged to the Germanic languages, related to Dutch, German, and the languages spoken in Scandinavia. If we go back a few centuries to the English spoken before 1066, the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf would be as incomprehensible to most modern English speakers as Homeric Greek, as we can see from the opening lines of that work:

Hwt! We Gardena in geardagum

eodcyninga rym gefrunon

hu a elingas ellen fremedon

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066 Norman French became the language of the ruling class, while Latin was the language of scholars and the Church. But the mass of the population continued to speak the Anglo-Saxon dialect of German. One curious feature of the English language is that we use one word for a particular kind of meat and another, completely different word for the animal it came from. In every case the word for the meat is French while that of the animal is German, as in the following examples:

Animal (German) or [OE*] | Meat (French)

Cow (Kuh) | Beef (Boeuf)

Calf (Kalb) | Veal (Veau)

Swine (Schweine) | Pork (Porc)

Sheep (Schaf) | Mutton (Mouton)

Hen (Huhn) | Poultry (Poulet)

[*Old English refers to the form of English spoken circa 500-1100 AD]

This is a clear example of the class basis of the English language, since the peasants who spoke Anglo-Saxon knew the animals very well, but hardly ever ate meat, while the Norman lords who spoke French were only acquainted with the animal when it was served to them on a plate. To this day the English spoken by the working class contains a higher proportion of words of Germanic origin, whereas the educated classes use a higher proportion of words of a French or Latin origin.

There is in modern English even a kind of upper class accent that, if it is not entirely unique, is certainly far more pronounced in English than in other languages. The language of those who talk posh or who speak with marbles in their mouths offends the ears of most people, producing approximately the same disagreeable effect as the whining of a dentist's drill. Although they cannot understand why, to ordinary folk it sounds completely alien  which in effect it is. It is a distant echo of the times when the upper class did speak a different, alien language.

Over a long period large numbers of French and Latin words entered the language. That is why it has a much larger vocabulary than either the Germanic languages or the languages of the Romance family like French, Spanish or Italian. The fusion of English (Anglo-Saxon) and French (Norman) that was already accomplished by the end of the 14th century is what makes the English language so uniquely rich, but also a rather strange hybrid animal that defies all logic.

The complex and frankly illogical nature of English spelling, which has driven generations of foreign (and also native English speaking) students of English to distraction, was the inevitable consequence of the fusion of two completely different languages. But the result is a wonderfully rich vocabulary that permits numerous nuances and plays on words that are difficult if not impossible to achieve in other languages.

This metamorphosis achieved its most perfect expression in Chaucers Canterbury Tales  the first real masterpiece in the English language. But the language of Chaucer was a transitional stage. It was not yet modern English.

Even educated people would have problems understanding the opening lines of The Canterbury Tales:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flour []

Although this is far closer to modern English than the language of Beowulf, very few English speakers today would be able to read Chaucers works in the original.

A language in transition

The period in which Shakespeare lived was a period of fundamental change in the evolution of the English language, which was still in its formative stages. English as we know it was a very young language then. Not so long before it had still been the language of the lower classes; the upper classes spoke French, while the language common to the men of learning was not English but Latin.

It was in the course of the 16th century that English really came of age. It was a time of blossoming of literature and poetry in England that had no parallel before and, arguably, has had no equal since. It was as if the English language had been suddenly thrown into a gigantic melting pot into which words from many other languages were thrown, mingled and transformed like the elements in some strange alchemist's brew.

At that time the English language was a very flexible and malleable medium, like the lava that flows freely after a volcanic eruption. Shakespeare himself played an important role in the development of the English language at this formative stage. The Shakespearean critic Dr. Jonathan Hope comments: He [Shakespeare] wrote during a transitional period for English grammar when there was a range of grammatical options open to writers.

Like a skilful potter moulding fresh clay on his wheel, he transformed this wonderful raw material into something new and special. This is reflected in the tremendous richness of Shakespeares English, a richness that has never been equalled, with the possible exception of the King James Bible which was written about the same time. Creating new words and using old ones in a novel way, according to some estimates Shakespeare invented over 1,700 of our common words, changing nouns into verbs and verbs into adjectives, joining words together to produce words never heard before.

Among the many words he invented are: auspicious, baseless, and barefaced (shameless), castigate, clangour (a loud clanging sound), dexterously (skilfully), dwindle (to get smaller; diminish), sanctimonious (hypocritical) and watchdog. In addition to these new words, Shakespeare is also the author of a surprisingly large number of common expressions and phrases, some of which have become proverbs. Here are just a few:

All that glitters isnt gold (Merchant of Venice): things may not be as good as they seem.

Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew): begin a conversation diplomatically.

Wear ones heart on ones sleeve (Othello): to express ones feelings openly.

A laughing stock (The Merry Wives of Windsor): To be considered a joke by many people.

In a pickle (The Tempest): to be in an awkward situation that you cannot easily get out of.

Fair play (The Tempest): to play fairly by the rules.

Some recent studies indicate that some of these phrases may have been in use before Shakespeare, although their first recorded use is found in his writings. Even these studies, however, accept that Shakespeare, nonetheless, created many new words or gave new meaning to old words. None of this, however, takes anything away from the greatness of Shakespeares writing. And in any case, merely to list these words and phrases does not do justice to Shakespeares genius and the miraculous way in which he makes the English language a unique vehicle for his poetry. It is a kind of alchemy or magic that is difficult to analyse and impossible to imitate. Let us take just one example, the word that Shakespeare invented: incarnadine  meaning to turn red.

In his play Macbeth, we find Macbeth horrified by the murder of Duncan that he has just committed. The imagery of Macbeth is dominated by two colours  black and red: night and blood. After murdering Duncan, his king and kinsman, Macbeth is transfixed by the sight of the blood on his hands, he realises that it can never be washed away. Rather, it will stain the entire ocean red (incarnadine):

[Knocking within] Macbeth: Whence is that knocking? How is't with me, when every noise appalls me? What hands are here? Hah! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. (Macbeth, Act 2, scene 2, 5460)

Here Shakespeare takes an already existing word with a Latin root carn- referring to flesh, and thus, in its derivatives, flesh colour. From this original concept he fashions a new verb, "incarnadine," meaning to turn something crimson. But this kind of linguistic analysis  interesting as it may be  runs the risk of taking us far away from the real Shakespeare and the magical way he uses the English language. For what we have here is pure magic that defies all definitions.

The never-ending torrent of words and the striking imagery reflected in them gives the impression of a man who is utterly intoxicated with words, which he combines in the most original and unexpected manner in his similes and metaphors. The image of Neptunes green ocean being transformed into a sea of blood is so striking that it transcends any amount of word dissection. Here, and in all of Shakespeares work, the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of the parts.

Life, love and death in Shakespeare

In Shakespeares plays we see the human condition approached from every conceivable angle. Here are the big themes of life, love and death dealt with in a profundity that has an almost philosophical character. In these plays we find a never-ending stream of striking imagery that wonderfully conveys the whole expanse of human passions and contains within itself the distilled essence of the human condition. This is what explains its universal appeal.

The entire compass of human experience is contained in Shakespeares plays. King Lear is a dark tragedy of old age, full of the most profound psychological insights. The tragedy of Othello is a tour de force on the theme of jealousy and passion in the relationships between men and women. And the various stages of human life are summed up in one of his most memorable speeches, in As You Like It:

All the worlds a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurses arms. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannons mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. (As You Like It, Act two, Scene vii)

The theme of love is dealt with very movingly in Romeo and Juliet. This work had a profound effect not just on literature but on music. It inspired an opera by Gounod, a ballet by Prokofiev, an oratorio by Berlioz and a famous overture by Tchaikovsky. But Shakespeare is at his most lyrical in simple love songs, like the one sung by the clown in Twelfth Night:

O Mistress mine, where are you roaming? O stay and hear! your true-loves coming That can sing both high and low; Trip no further, pretty sweeting, Journeys end in lovers meeting Every wise mans son doth know. What is love? tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; Whats to come is still unsure: In delay there lies no plenty, Then come kiss me, Sweet-and-twenty, Youths a stuff will not endure. (Twelfth Night, Act two, Scene iii)

This is the voice of young love in full blossom. But the love theme receives a very different treatment in Antony and Cleopatra. Here the theme of passion is presented in an exotic and sensual guise that is completely different from the innocence of Romeo and Juliet. Every line in this play breathes the heady perfume of the Orient. The speech where Enobarbus describes Queen Cleopatras royal barge is poetry of the very highest order:

I will tell you. The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne, Burn'd on the water: the poop was beaten gold; Purple the sails, and so perfumed that The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver, Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made The water which they beat to follow faster, As amorous of their strokes. (Antony and Cleopatra, Act two scene ii)

This play, like Romeo and Juliet, ends in tragedy and in many of Shakespeares works the idea of love is tinged with the consciousness that all human existence must end in death. The idea that all that exists deserves to perish is implicit throughout.

Sonnets

Most of Shakespeares work consists of plays. However, he also wrote poetry of the very highest order, particularly the sonnets which are in a class of their own. There are 154 sonnets, exploring themes of love, sex and beauty in a profound and moving manner. They were probably written in 1592 when plague closed the theatres  a fairly common occurrence in those times.

Already a popular literary form in Italy, sonnets became popular in England during the Elizabethan period. Several of Shakespeares sonnets remain highly popular to this day, notably Sonnet 18 (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?). But all of them are works of exceptional poetic beauty and philosophical profundity. The main theme that runs through these poems like a red thread is the fleeting nature of life and love and the passing of time.

SONNET LX Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, So do our minutes hasten to their end; Each changing place with that which goes before, In sequent toil all forwards do contend. Nativity, once in the main of light, Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd, Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight, And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.

There can be few examples of a poetic description of old age that transcend the powerful and moving sonnet number 73, that compares it to the coming of autumn:

SONNET LXXIII That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou seest the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

Even here, in these most intimate lines, we find echoes of the turbulent period in which Shakespeare lived. The Bare ruined choirs refer to the ruined convents and monasteries that were destroyed in the Protestant campaign of image smashing. This is a striking image of the impermanence of all things in nature and society, a theme that lies at the heart of the sonnets in particular.

I know of nothing that come equal to the devastating effect of the black nihilism of the lines spoken by Macbeth when he is informed of the death by suicide of his wife and he muses on the futility of human existence:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a 
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Thunderbirds 22.jpg

6/15/2016 - Springfield- An event to announce the name of the new Springfield AHL hockey team "The Thunderbirds" was held at the MassMutual Center. Here, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno talks with Paul Picknelly (left) and Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos. (Don Treeger / The Republican)

(Don Treeger/ The Republican File)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- If the economy of the Knowledge Corridor of Massachusetts and Connecticut is to grow, the Hartford/Springfield-centered region is going to have to live up to its nickname.

"What sort of knowledge are we in need of in order to support economic expansion and tangible job growth in the future?" asked economist Donald Klepper-Smith, who briefed regional leaders on the area's economy Wednesday morning.

Don Klepper-Smith

He said the post-recession economy is still going through major structural changes and employers are going to be looking for more and more brainpower and will be willing to go anywhere they need to go to find it.

"We need to reinvent ourselves with an emphasis on the STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math -- skills in order to be competitive in a global marketplace," he said.

Klepper-Smith, the economic adviser to Farmington Bank, spoke at the New England Knowledge Corridor Partnership's Mayor's Fall Economic forum hosted by Central Connecticut State University.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Chicopee Mayor Richard J. Kos both spoke, as did mayors from Hartford, New Britain and New Haven, Connecticut.

The purpose of the meeting was to get the mayors together to learn and to share solutions and best practices for situations they all deal with, said Timothy Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and one of the organizers of Wednesday's event.

The Partnership promotes the region and understanding of it, Brennan said. The group also promotes the region as a unified whole, putting it on par demographically with competing metro areas like Charlotte, North Carolina, and Denver so that this area can compete for things like the new Aer Lingus round-trip transatlantic service from Bradley International Airport to Dublin.

"There is no way we could have competed for that if we were not working together," Brennan said.

Klepper-Smith, who prepares a monthly economic outlook for the region on behalf of Farmington Bank, said it is almost impossible to get an accurate analysis of the national economy in an election year. Too many people are looking at data with an agenda, not science, in mind.

"But If I had to sum up the economy in Western Massachusetts, it would be with the words overlooked and underappreciated," he said.

Greater Springfield has already more than gained back the jobs lost in the recession. In fact, its job recovery rate is 167.8 percent, having added 25,000 jobs after losing 15,000 in the recession.

That puts Greater Springfield at the national average and ahead of everyplace in New England that is not Boston.

Connecticut, having not had the job growth of Greater Springfield, has a job recovery rate of 81 percent, he said.

What's more, Springfield has added jobs in relatively high-paying industries such as manufacturing, health care, warehousing and utilities.

"One of the reasons that I think you folks are doing so well is that you are getting good quality jobs," he said. "These are jobs that have good salaries and decent benefits."

To keep that momentum going, the region needs to keep developing a skilled workforce.

Kos said that in Chicopee, it was a skilled workforce that convinced auto parts maker U.S. Tsubaki to invest $20 million and create 35 new jobs in Chicopee and not at plants in Tennessee or Mexico.

Kos also briefed the group on Chicopee's three-family owner-occupied housing program. Families get a $16,000 stipend if they live in a three-family and rent the other two units out. The program helps stabilize neighborhoods while providing rental housing.

Sarno pointed to the number of big-ticket projects in Springfield such as Union Station, the CRRC rail car factory and MGM Springfield.

"And we are starting to see the spin-offs," he said.

Both Kos and Sarno emphasized the need for education and for job training.

While his economic take on the Pioneer Valley is generally positive, Klepper-Smith said there are reasons for worry.

Historically, the U.S. economy grows by an average of 3 percent a year. But the last time we hit that benchmark was 2005.

"The domestic economy grew just 1.7 percent, 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent respectively over the last three years, about a half a percent

below our long-term average," Klepper-Smith said.

Also, incomes have not kept up with expenses. People have less disposable income now than before the recession.

"There is not a lot of extra cash laying around at the end of the month," Klepper-Smith said. "That is the money people would use for two weeks on the Cape, a nice dinner or to save up for a new car in two or three years. This doesn't feel like an economic recovery."

Klepper-Smith said there is another worry: In a recent poll, 40 percent of the Connecticut population said they are planning to move out of the state.

"What kinds of implications does that have for the labor market in Connecticut?" he asked. "What does it mean for the housing market?"

He has no data for Massachusetts, but suspects that the number would be lower because the unemployment rate here is also lower.
Each week, MassLive showcases pets available for adoption at shelters at rescue organizations in Western Massachusetts.

With the participation of the shelters listed below, many animals should be able to find a permanent home.

We also provide some pet-related news items that we hope you will enjoy.



Dakin Humane Society awarded grant from "I'm Animal Friendly," license plate funds

The Republican Newsroom

Meet Bandit, a Domestic Shorthair Mix. He is available for adoption at the Dakin Humane Society in Leverett.

SPRINGFIELD- Dakin Humane Society has been named a recipient of a 2016 grant from the "I'm Animal Friendly" license plate program, which is a program of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition (MAC). The funds will be used to perform spay/neuter surgery for 500 owned and free-roaming cats in Massachusetts communities.

"This grant is a real boost in our efforts to encourage people to spay or neuter their pets, and it allows us to help feral, or free-roaming cats," said Dakin's Executive Director Carmine DiCenso. "There are some really dedicated people throughout the region who want to help stop the breeding cycle of ferals by humanely trapping them, bringing them to Dakin for spay/neuter surgery, and returning them to their outdoor colonies. Now this grant will cover the cost of many of those surgeries. We appreciate the MAC's generosity."

Funds for the "I'm Animal Friendly" license plates are dispersed annually to organizations who demonstrate a need for - and provide - low-cost spay/neater services. The tax-deductible plates can be ordered by visiting www.petplate.org.

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS SHELTERS:

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society

Address: 163 Montague Road, Leverett

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 548-9898

Website: www.dpvhs.org

Address: 171 Union St., Springfield

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 781-4000

Website: www.dpvhs.org



Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center

Address: 627 Cottage St., Springfield

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; Thursday, noon-7 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 781-1484

Website: tjoconnoradoptioncenter.com

Westfield Homeless Cat Project

Address: 1124 East Mountain Road, Westfield

Hours: Adoption clinics, Thursday, 5-7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Website: http://www.whcp.petfinder.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westfieldhomelesscatprojectadoptions



Westfield Regional Animal Shelter

Address: 178 Apremont Way, Westfield

Hours: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 564-3129

Website: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ma70.html

Franklin County Sheriff's Office Regional Dog Shelter and Adoption Center

Address: 10 Sandy Lane, Turners Falls

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 676-9182

Website: http://fcrdogkennel.org/contact.html

Polverari/Southwick Animal Control Facility

Address: 11 Depot St., Southwick

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 569-5348, ext. 649

Website: http://southwickpolice.com/chief-david-a-ricardis-welcome/animal-control/

Berkshire Humane Society

Address: 214 Barker Road, Pittsfield

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 447-7878

Website: http://berkshirehumane.org/

Purradise Feline Adoption

Address: 301 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington

Hours: Monday and Tuesday: Closed; Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Friday,10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 717-4244

Website: http://berkshirehumane.org/contact-us/

Greyhound Options, Inc.

Address: 43 Sygiel Rd., Ware, MA. 01082

Telephone: 413-967-9088

Website: greyhoundadoptions.org


SPRINGFIELD -- Three Western Massachusetts residents, trained disaster response volunteers with the American Red Cross, are now in Florida as Hurricane Matthew begins to blast the east coast.

"We have three that left yesterday and they got in there just before the airports closed," Mary Nathan, disaster manager for the American Red Cross of Western Massachusetts, said Friday morning.

The last of the three safely touched down in Florida about 4:30 p.m. They are among 11 Red Cross volunteers statewide that are now awaiting Matthew's arrival.

Wind gusts as high as 107 mph have been clocked at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Weather Channel reported Friday morning.

The hurricane is poised to deliver a punishing combination of storm surge flooding, rainfall flooding, and destructive winds in northeast Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and southern North Carolina into the weekend, according to the Weather Channel.

Nathan declined to name the volunteers for now. She said, however, that one is a man from Ludlow and the other two are women - one from East Longmeadow and the other from Palmer.

Nathan, other than learning of their safe arrivals, did not yet have much information on the status or even locations of the volunteers Friday morning.

Two had been slated to fly into Orlando, but at least one of those had been diverted to another airport as the state girded itself for the arrival of the dangerous storm.

"They usually deploy (the volunteers) to centralized locations and then disperse them," Nathan said, adding that one will likely be staying in a brick American Red Cross chapterhouse.

All three have committed to two weeks worth of post-Matthew efforts.

Two are slated to work in shelters and the third will likely work in logistics - overseeing the allocation of emergency supplies.

Nathan said it's a bit scary to send volunteers down to a disaster zone - or a potential one. She stressed, however, that the American Red Cross does everything it can to ensure that its volunteers are safe.

"We are concerned about them," she said. "We are a very close-knit group," Nathan said.

Nathan said the chapter is poised to send more volunteers down south once the hurricane passes. "Depending on the damage, it sounds like they are going to need a lot more volunteers," she said.

Volunteers have to be vetted and trained before being deployed for disaster work, Nathan said.

Those interested in learning more about it can go to redcross.org.

"You have to have the skill sets that are needed for particular disasters," Nathan said.

Since the training process takes time, it's unlikely that any new volunteers would participate in immediate post-Matthew efforts. New volunteers, she said, would instead be deployed to future disaster zones.

"We really need help (responding to) local house fires and those aren't going to stop either," Nathan said.
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This is the site of the new Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and Amherst Business Improvement District office. They organizations will offer a visitor's center here.

(Diane Lederman/The Republican)

AMHERST -- Two downtown organizations promoting business will soon be sharing a single downtown space and providing information to visitors on the weekends.

The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and the Amherst Business Improvement District will move into 35 South Pleasant St., which will enable them to provide a staffed visitor's center seven days a week.

A British-themed business had been looking to open there but withdrew its plans. The chamber at one point had a small yellow kiosk on the common where it provided information, but that closed and was moved several years ago.

Tim O'Brien, the chamber's executive director, said that while everyone has a smartphone, there's nothing like talking to someone.

"It's more expandable," he said. "You get a buffet of information. Sometimes sparks fly."

That, he said, means "more heads in beds," and more people in restaurants.

Each organization will occupy a separate part of the space. The visitor's center will be located in the front of the storefront. Employees from both organizations will work on weekends to provide coverage, O'Brien said.

While people will sometimes stop into the chamber office on Amity Street, the new location is more visible -- across from the town common and a bus stop, next to college merchandise store A.J. Hastings, and close to a number of restaurants, he said.

The goal is to renovate and be open in time to serve hot chocolate at the annual Merry Maple festival Dec. 2.

"This is something we've been talking about for years," said Jerry Guidera, former acting chamber director and a chamber board member, in an email.

"The timing just worked out well and Tim (O'Brien) and Sarah (la Cour of the BID) will work well sharing the space," Guidera said. "We need a proper visitor center that's open on weekend. This will prove a great benefit to both chamber and BID members."

"The better-oriented our visitors become, the more likely they are to enjoy their time here and make expenditures," la Cour said in a press release. "They are also more likely to recommend the Amherst area and downtown to others, and make more return visits themselves."
CHESHIRE -- One man has died and four others suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a single-car accident in Cheshire overnight.

A car containing five people veered off Fred Mason Road and struck a bank of trees at roughly 12:30 a.m., a Massachusetts State Police trooper at the Cheshire barracks told MassLive.

One of the passengers died shortly after the crash while the driver and three others were transported to the hospital, where they were expected to recover, according to police.

The trooper said neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected to have played a role in the crash.
Over 170 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Donbas since beginning of year

Ukraine has lost 173 of its troops in Donbas since the beginning of 2016, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said during a visit to Sweden.

This is the result of more than 12,000 ceasefire violations by the enemy, he said.

He was describing the situation in eastern Ukraine at a meeting with Sweden's chief of Defense Staff Dennis Gyllensporre in Stockholm, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"Today Russia continues [pursuing] the policy of deliberately escalating the conflict. Since the beginning of 2016, Russian troops have violated the ceasefire more than 12,000 times, which led to 173 of our troops being killed. Some 6,000 members of the Russian Armed Forces are in Ukraine illegally," Poltorak said.

Moscow insists that there are no Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues peaceful efforts to resolve the conflict, Poltorak said. "Our country's efforts are aimed at strict compliance with the requirements of the Minsk agreements and solving the problems solely politically and peacefully," he said.

The parties also discussed a plan for bilateral cooperation such as assistance in training tactical-medicine specialists, resuming cooperation on environmental safety and the defense reform.

Poltorak invited the Swedish chief of Defense Staff to visit Ukraine to meet with the Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff, Viktor Muzhenko.
Deepwater Wind

Pictured here, three wind turbines from the Deepwater Wind project off Block Island, R.I., the first U.S. offshore wind farm.

(Associated Press)

BOSTON -- Cape Wind seems to be giving up on its decade-plus dream of building a 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

The company's attorneys on Thursday withdrew an appeal to the state Energy Facilities Siting Board seeking to extend permits needed to build a transmission line crucial to the project, The Cape Cod Times reports.





The paper said the development "might be the most definitive sign that Cape Wind officials have given up."



Company officials had been expected to submit an argument asking the state to extend its permits to build the transmission line.



Barnstable Assistant Town Attorney Charles McLaughlin told the paper he and others were "very surprised" to receive a call from the company reporting the withdrawal, considering how hard Cape Wind has fought to keep it alive.



That fight has seen Cape Wind shuck off more than a dozen lawsuits since the company first announced its plans in 2001.



Back in 2009, it appeared Cape Wind would have its way and the $2.6 billion development would go ahead. A big batch of state and local permits were granted to it on the condition that it build the transmission line before May 2015.



When that date rolled around and Cape Wind -- beleaguered by lawsuits, project complications and an upsurge in public opposition -- had not started to build, company officials petitioned for more time. They wanted to extend the permits to May 2017.



The state granted the petition temporarily in wait of a final call. The energy facilities citing board is charged with ensuring Massachusetts power comes at the lowest possible cost and environmental impact.



When the board unanimously rejected the petition in April, Cape Wind came back with an exhaustive appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court -- the one it withdrew Thursday, to the surprise of many.



McLaughlin told The Cape Cod Times, "For all intents and purposes, this is it," while project opponents cheered the development.



Cape Wind's lease on the parcel in question extends through 2040, and it could file another appeal, but doing so would start a new lengthy -- and costly -- process.



Considering the company has already spent $100 million on its plans with little result, it seems another appeal would simply constitute another surprising and unexpected development.
















CHICOPEE -- The City Council has agreed to lease property outside Westover Air Reserve Base to a private company that will construct and operate a solar field on the land.

Con Edison Development was selected from three companies that bid to create the solar field on the property off Outer Drive and just outside the base, Mayor Richard J. Kos said.

"We are trying to expedite this because of the weather," Kos said.

With a 12-0 vote, the City Council gave Kos approvals to enter into negotiations with the company to develop terms of the lease.

The plan is to use part of the land where military housing once stood to generate electricity and help Westover become more efficient to operate. If it can reduce expenses, or at least keep operating costs the same, it may spare the base from more Department of Defense cost cutting. Already the government has decreased Westover's fleet of C-5 Galaxy jets to eight and eliminated 59 full-time and 275 reservist jobs.

The energy created from the solar farm is estimated to cut the electric bill at the base by about 5 percent, or $100,000 a year, Kos said.

The city received a $1 million grant through MassDevelopment to remove hazardous materials, including asbestos, and tear down the buildings. That money came from the state's $5.9 million bond bill grant program to support the Clean Energy Assessment & Strategic Plan for Massachusetts Military Installations.

The City Council approved another about $840,000 from the stabilization account to fund design and the rest of the demolition costs.

"I'm certainly happy to see this happen. I think it is a great use of the land," said Councilor Timothy McLellan, who represents the area where the solar field will be constructed.

Neighbors have long aired concerns that the homes would be renovated and reused, creating traffic woes and increasing problems with aging sewer and water pipes in the neighborhood outside Westover. They have supported the idea of a solar field.

The city began negotiating to take over the land and the about 128 homes in the late 1990s. The property was turned over to the city in 2011 but there were problems with deed restrictions that made it difficult to renovate the homes or otherwise redevelop the land.

Over the summer asbestos was removed in the buildings, which have been vacant for at least 15 years, and the houses were torn down by Ritter & Paratore Contracting of Utica, New York. The company submitted the lowest bid to do the work.
NIANTIC, Conn. -- A female inmate who was being held in a prison in Niantic, Connecticut, and who is originally from Massachusetts died shortly after being transported to a hospital from the prison on Tuesday, according to the Hartford Courant.

Alexandra Low, 29, of Longmeadow, was being given a routine exam by authorities at the York Correctional Institution when it was decided Low needed to be taken to a medical facility. She died shortly after arriving at a hospital.

Low and another man were arrested in Vernon, Connecticut, on Monday after a passerby reported to police that two people were injecting drugs inside a moving vehicle.

An autopsy is being conducted by the Connecticut State Medical Examiner to determine how exactly Low died.

Read her obituary here

UPDATE, Oct. 7, 2016, 7:20 p.m.: Low died as the result of "complications of chronic intravenous substance abuse," according to a spokeswoman for the Connecticut State Medical Examiner. The spokeswoman said that an external autopsy was conducted Wednesday, one day after Low died.
14344344_10154659349131614_5656434891323744799_n.jpg

Peter DeMarco and Laura Levis.

(Facebook)

Peter DeMarco lost his wife at too young of an age.

Laura Levis died last month after suffering a severe asthma attack. She spent her final week in the intensive care unit of CHA Cambridge Hospital. The 34-year-old was a former Boston Globe reporter who went on to work as a writer and editor for Harvard Magazine and the Harvard Gazette, her dream job.

Still reeling from the loss, DeMarco wrote a letter to the intensive care staff at Cambridge Hospital, thanking them for making Levis' final days comfortable for both her and her family, a letter that has since been published by the New York Times.

He thanked more than a dozen that cared for his family, from Levis' doctors to cleaning staff who came in-and-out of her room during seven days of treatment.

"Every single one of you treated Laura with such professionalism, and kindness, and dignity as she lay unconscious," DeMarco wrote. "When she needed shots, you apologized that it was going to hurt a little, whether or not she could hear. When you listened to her heart and lungs through your stethoscopes, and her gown began to slip, you pulled it up to respectfully cover her. You spread a blanket, not only when her body temperature needed regulating, but also when the room was just a little cold, and you thought she'd sleep more comfortably that way."

As he, her parents and friends sat by her bedside, DeMarco said staff would ask what was needed, from food to offering explanations of medical procedures.

After it was decided that she could not recover but her organs could be donated to another in need, DeMarco said hospital staff allowed him to lay next to his wife in bed one last time.

"It was our last tender moment as a husband and a wife, and it was more natural and pure and comforting than anything I've ever felt," he wrote. "I will remember that last hour together for the rest of my life."

The letter, published Thursday, has garnered numerous responses, with hundreds thanking DeMarco for sharing his story and offering condolences for his loss.

The full letter can be read here.
Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors are checking reports that parliamentarian Oleksandr Onyschenko has been granted Russian citizenship, and requested legal assistance from the Russian authorities for his subsequent extradition, chief anti-corruption prosecutor Nazar Kholodnytsky wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.

"We are checking information about Ukrainian people's deputy Onyschenko having received a passport of a Russian Federation citizen. So, without waiting for an Interpol decision, today, I, as a senior prosecutor and head of proceedings, approved and sent a request for international legal assistance to the Russian Federation authorities for the purpose of his subsequent extradition to Ukraine," Kholodnytsky said.

For his part, Onyshchenko denied receiving Russian citizenship in a commentary to the Ukrayinska Pravda. When asked whether he was granted Russian citizenship the Ukrainian parliamentarian said: "Of course [I was] not."

He said that he was currently in London.

In Ukraine Onyschenko is suspected of organizing a scheme to steal money from the natural gas production and sale projects with Ukrgazvydobuvannia, resulting in around UAH 3 billion in losses to the state.

The Ukrainian parliament agreed to his arrest and prosecution. However, Onyschenko, using his parliamentary status, left the country the day before.

On August 8, he was placed on the national wanted list.

On August 10, the country's national anti-corruption bureau sent relevant documentation to Interpol asking it to declare Onyschenko an international fugitive.
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce is announcing the start of ticket sales for raffle items that will fund a portion of their 2017 agenda items which are aimed at continuing to develop local business, economic, and community projects.

The raffle features three, big-ticket items that will be drawn as grand prize, second, and third place. Most notably, the grand prize item is a Petra Carbon Fiber 300 Win Mag rifle from Falkor Defense, valued at $5,800. The second prize is a $1,400 diamond earring and pendant set from Riddles Jewelry and the final prize is a Traeger Bronson wood pellet grill, courtesy of Big Johns, valued at $600.

Raffle tickets are currently available for purchase at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and will be available to purchase at the Sportsman Ski Haus in Kalispell and at Snappys Sports Senter in Evergreen beginning Wednesday, October 19.

Tickets are one for $10 or three tickets for $20. Cash or check only. A limited number of tickets will be sold. The winning tickets will be drawn live at the Chambers 112th Annual Banquet on November 10. Winners need not be present to win. Individuals must be 18 years of age or older to purchase tickets. The winner of the Falkor rifle is subject to all federal and state ownership laws.

The Falkor rifle will be on display at the following Kalispell Chamber events:

October 18: October Luncheon at the Red Lion Hotel from 11:45-1:15pm

October 19: UNWIND with CenturyLink/The Berry Company at Homewood Suites from 5:00-6:30pm

October 28: UNWIND at Falkor Defense/Sonju Industrial from 5:00-6:30pm

November 10: The Kalispell Chambers 112th Annual Banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn from 5:00-7:00pm

Please contact the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce for more information at (406)758-2803 or [email protected].
1. Frontier Funds 1 & 2 look at investment impact in the state and region

On December 31, 2006, a group of private investors embarked on a venture in the unchartered waters of managing and investing a small angel equity fund, Frontier Fund, in northwest Montana. Nearly ten years later, a group of investors meeting in Bozeman, benefitted from looking back at the journey of Fund 1 as Fund 2 reaches its halfway mark in invested capital.

Frontier Funds mission is to provide sophisticated, early stage equity capital to companies with a desire to scale and exit with a bias toward Montana based opportunities. Frontier is usually the first money in a venture following family, friends and the proverbial "fools." Its among the highest risk asset class. About half of all new ventures fail. Angels are the main source of capital for startups as banks only lend to those with cash flow and collateral which few entrepreneurs have. Nationally, angels put about $20 billion annually into 50,000 deals in the US according to the Angel Capital Association of which Frontier Funds are a founding member.

Montana based companies in which Frontier Funds have invested in Submittable, http://www.submittable.com and Agile Legal, http://www.agilelegal.com in Missoula and the fund is in due diligence on two more Missoula based investments. Bozeman investments include Ignite Feedback, http://www.ignitefeedback.com and CrossTx, http://www.crosstx.com. Fund members serve on boards of the companies in which the fund leads the round.

Frontier Fund 2 Chairman, Larry Cates, who was also an investor in the first fund states, "Its been gratifying to see our Montana opportunities grow in sophistication and aspiration. We had some lean years in fund 1 in terms of deal flow. We are seeing more good opportunities in which to invest and to syndicate out of the state." Bill Payne, well known investor and part time Montanan resident, has chaired a Syndication Committee for both funds. Syndication allows for portfolio diversification and for additional capital to flow into Montana when the capital rounds are more than the fund can do alone.

The active portfolio companies in the funds are by sector, 7 in software, 4 in biotech, 3 in consumer, 2 in food products, 1 in clean tech and 1 in agriculture. These companies have created 162 jobs, have current annual payroll of $7.4 million, pay average salaries of $45,000, have an annual revenue run rate of $17,034,800 and have raised total capital of $43,692,000. Tom Walker, CEO of Rev 1 Ventures, led a team that engaged in the portfolio analysis which was prepared for internal use. The impact of Frontier is not insignificant. We know that all net new jobs come from the kinds of companies that Frontier Funds are investing in.

By the numbers: Fund 1  33 investors, 5 states of residency, Fund 2, 48 investors, 12 states of residency. Total of 72 angels have invested in the funds. Fund 1 $1.75 million with side by investment of $3 million, Fund 2 $2.75 million with side by investment of $1 million to date. Fund 1, 19 companies, Fund 2, 11 companies to date. Total $4.5 million, 28 companies. Fund 1 has 11 active ventures as does Fund 2. Active companies are located in Bozeman, Missoula, Boise, Spokane, Boulder, Seattle, Cody, WY and Grand Forks, ND. Investors range in age from 30 to 83.

For more information, contact Liz Marchi, [email protected], http://www.frontierfund2.com
The parliamentary faction of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc will not vote for the Verkhovna Rada's resolution on terminating an agreement between the Ukrainian and Russian governments on visa-free travel between the two countries.

"Our faction decided at a meeting not to vote for a resolution on introducing visa regulations with Russia. There are several reasons for this. First, we are a pro-government faction, and therefore we cannot make decisions without communicating with the government. The foreign minister's position is that it would be wrong to do this, that we are not prepared for this," the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party press service quoted parliamentarian Oleksiy Honcharenko as saying on Thursday.

Second, "we have one million Ukrainians working in Russia and making money for their families, and Russia would certainly respond symmetrically to the imposition of visas," Honcharenko said.

"Therefore, a lot of Ukrainians would be deprived of the opportunity to travel to Russia to earn money. This issue requires a balanced and cautious approach. Emotions shouldn't prevail in making this decision," he said.

Maksym Burbak, the leader of the People's Front faction, said the faction would vote for repealing the visa-free travel agreement with Russia. "People's Front supports [Rada Chairman] Andriy Parubiy's initiative, and we will vote for introducing visas," Burbak told journalists at the parliament.

Semen Semenchenko, a member of the Samopomich faction, told Interfax-Ukraine his colleagues and he would also support the repeal of visa-free travel with Russia.

The press service of the Batkivschyna faction at the Rada said its members would vote for a draft resolution repealing visa-free travel with Russia and would voice significant disagreements with the government and the parliament on the matter.

Meanwhile, co-leader of the Opposition Bloc faction Oleksandr Vilkul spoke against repealing visa-free travel with Russia, arguing, in particular, that several millions of Ukrainians are working in Russia, and so this decision would harm them, as Russia would inevitably impose reciprocal measures.

The agenda of the Rada session on October 6 contains an address to the government demanding that the visa-free travel agreement with Russia be terminated.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko emphasizes the need to speed up the signing of a bilateral agreement on free trade area (FTA) between Ukraine and Israel.

According to the press service of the head of Ukrainian state, the issue was discussed at a meeting with the Minister of Environmental Protection, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Zeev Elkin.

As the head of the Israeli part of the joint Ukrainian-Israeli committee on trade and economic cooperation, the minister informed the president of Ukraine on the results of its next meeting on October 5-6 in Kyiv.

Poroshenko stressed the importance of deepening cooperation in trade and economic field and accelerate the conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement. "The need for the next meeting of the Commission was discussed during my recent talks with the President of the State of Israel Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I am glad that the agreements are quickly implemented," he said.

The sides discussed the ways of intensification investment cooperation between the states, in particular, the opportunities offered to the Israeli business in connection with large-scale privatization, which is being prepared in Ukraine.

Poroshenko and Elkin also noted the success of the functioning of the visa-free regime between Ukraine and Israel, in particular, from the point of view of development of trade-economic cooperation and tourist exchanges.

President of Ukraine thanked the Israeli side for its active participation in the events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Babi Yar (Babyn Yar) tragedy.

As reported, in January 2016 Israeli ambassador to Ukraine Eliav Belotserkovsky said that the agreement on free trade area between Ukraine and Israel will have been signed before the end of the year.

In late September, Poroshenko said that Ukraine and Israel had agreed to accelerate negotiations on the establishment of an FTA between the two countries.
The representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbas region, the second President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, has stressed the importance of the demining process on the territory of Donbas, in particular, under the auspices of the United Nations.

"The fact that there are no large-scale [military] actions [now] means that we have saved the lives of many people. I think it's the most important for us ... But attacks continue, people perish ," Kuchma told reporters during a working visit to Obukhiv (Kyiv region) on Thursday.

He said one of the most serious problems is the issue of demining in Donbas.

"This is a problem that Ukraine wont be able to cope on its own. The whole world is ready to support us in this regard, including the United Nations," Kuchma said.
Authorities said Thursday they arrested a Marion man and charged him with assaulting another man and stealing his wallet.

Deputy Jesse Hicks of the McDowell County Sheriffs Office charged Clay Alan Paramore, 20, of 165 Melody Haven Drive in Marion, with common law robbery and assault inflicting serious injury.

It was reported at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 that Paramore and the victim, 23-year-old Kevin Rhoney, of Valdese, got into a dispute at Riverside Mobile Home Park, on U.S. 70 West.

During the altercation, Paramore assaulted Rhoney and stole his wallet, according to a report.

Paramore received a $27,500 bond.
Poltorak to meet with Defense Minister, Commander of Estonian Armed Forces in Tallinn

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak is paying a working visit to Estonia on Friday, October 7, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on its official website.

During the visit, the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Tallinn will hold bilateral meetings with the Minister of Defense of Estonia Hannes Hanso, Commander of the Armed Forces of Estonia Lieutenant General Riho Terras and government representatives.

Poltorak during his working visit intends to meet with the wounded in the anti-terrorist operation Ukrainian servicemen who undergo medical rehabilitation in Estonia.
The State Border Service of Ukraine is ready technically and organizationally for the possible introduction of visa regime between Ukraine and Russia, Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Viktor Nazarenko has said.

"If this mode is introduced, there wont be any serious problems for us that could in any way affect the implementation of this decision in terms of the organization of additional serious tasks of the service. As for the technological infrastructure of the service, we are also ready to fulfill those tasks ...,"- Nazarenko told reporters in Odesa region on Thursday, responding to the question.

As reported, after the detention and arrest of Ukrainian journalist Roman Suschenko in Russia, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy said that he does not exclude consideration of the introduction of a visa regime with the Russian Federation and the expansion of sanctions. He said he would hold consultations with party leaders on this issue, after which the Verkhovna Rada would be able to consider a draft resolution. The speaker is convinced that the parliament will support this initiative.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin talked about the need to forecast and study the risks that may arise in the event of the introduction of visa regime with the Russian Federation, noting that the Ukrainian side is ready to introduce the visa issuance process.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko believes that the issue of introducing a visa regime with Russia is within competence of the Verkhovna Rada.

The Verkhovna Rada introduced the initiative to its agenda on October 6 for applying to the Cabinet of Ministers with the requirement to terminate the agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the Russian Federation on visa-free travel for citizens of both countries. However, people's deputies have not considered this question yet.
Ukrainian Armed Forces units started to withdraw from the contact line between the villages of Bohdanivka and Petrivske in Donetsk region on Friday, October 7, and are expected to complete this process on Sunday, October 9, the head of the Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, said.

"As for the disengagement of forces at the Bohdanivka-Petrivske sector of the frontline, it is the only area where the troops withdrawal process has begun. Under the agreements, the forces are supposed to be pulled back to a distance of one kilometer on each side by Sunday," Zhebrivsky said on his Facebook account on Friday.
by Tanya Gazdik , October 7, 2016

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is prepping an interactive pop up in San Francisco to showcase its services and offer the chance to win trips to Amsterdam.

Travelers are invited to San Francisco's Union Square Oct. 14-22 to learn more about the airline and experience its innovative and customer-centric approach to service and design.

The KLM Pop Up will showcase the airlines amenities by offering visitors the opportunity to experience the World Business Class, a virtual reality simulation of the KLM Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the chance to win roundtrip tickets to Amsterdam.

Visitors can earn up to five entries for KLM ticket giveaways with an RFID bracelet that allows them to check in at five interactive stations throughout the pop up. Each station highlights signature KLM features including: 24/7 social servicing, sustainability, vast global network and best-in-class products. Visitors will also be able to relax in a lounge and enjoy coffee and Dutch stroopwafels on special days. Parents can o bring their kids to enjoy a Kids Corner featuring games and KLMs cartoon plane mascot Bluey.

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To find out more about the KLM Pop Up, consumers can follow #KLMcares on social or visit popup.klm.com.

The airline hosted its first Pop Up in New York City in June 2015. There are no plans yet to take it to another city, according to a spokesperson.

Starting Oct. 10, San Franciscans can also be on the lookout for KLM throughout the city with the launch of a Helpvertisingcampaign that will include free water bottle distribution, KLM crossing guards and billboards that help people take a great selfie or even find their lost pets. The campaign is aimed at creating awareness of KLMs focus on customer service.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, October 6, 2016

Investors may be relieved that Google reportedly passed on making a bid for Twitter, but marketers at brands certainly don't think that way.

"Google investors should be glad management passed on this opportunity," wrote a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge who goes by the name BayesianLearner. "The acquisition [makes] no sense to me in light of Alphabet's transformation under Ruth Porat," referring to the CFO of Alphabet, Google's parent company.

But it does make sense to marketers and advertisers who rely on search and Twitter to run campaigns. Henry Blaufox, account director at DragonSearch, believes that acquiring Twitter could fit well with Google because it would enable the Alphabet company to "unwind or overhaul the orphaned G+ offering by letting Twitter take it over."

Blaufox wrote a comment in a previously published article on the MediaPost site that "it wouldn't be the first time Google acquired technology, devoted resources, rebranded and made it a successful contributor to their overall business. Remember Urchin Analytics? That became Google Analytics. AdMob became the foundation for Google' mobile ad business. There are other examples."

On Twitter, @weddingmarket tweeted: "I think this would be a great thing! @google, @twitter acquisition could have legs this time around."

BayesianLearner argued to let Salesforce "overpay" for Twitter and stop "being sore over its missed opportunity to buy LinkedIn."



"Alphabet investors should be glad and reassured over the direction management is taking," BayesianLearner wrote. "Getting into a bidding war over a failed social media platform is not in Google's DNA."

It also makes sense to Marc Benioff. The founder and CEO of Salesforce would be glad to acquire Twitter. He had the company's Dreamforce summit streamed live on the social site.

"We would be surprised if [Salesforce] ended up as the high bidder in any auction for [Twitter]," wrote Brian Wieser, senior analyst at Pivotal Research Group, in a research note published Thursday.

Wieser explained how Benioff at the annual Dreamforce conference "indirectly addressed" the potential acquisition of the "'company that shall not be named.'"

"Salesforce.com will only look at acquisitions that produce returns which exceed the companys weighted average cost of capital," Wieser wrote. "Management conveyed that they exercise discipline in their M&A process. Benioff is particularly mindful that sales may present once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, especially if he believes an asset is underpriced."
Ukrainian consul still can't get permission to meet with journalist Suschenko arrested in Russia

Russia has still not granted the Ukrainian consul access to Ukrainian journalist Roman Suschenko arrested in Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.

"Russia is again failing to provide such access. We are trying to get it and we are hoping that it will happen in the very near future," Klimkin said during a session where the government was asked questions on Friday.

The minister said "Russia is trying to frame Roman Suschenko."

The foreign minister said that in this situation there is a need for a coordinated position in the context of pressure from the international community, the mass media and non-governmental organizations to improve the situation with the Ukrainian citizens detained and arrested in Russia.

According to earlier reports, Ukrainian journalist Roman Suschenko was detained in Moscow for an alleged "spy action." The Moscow Lefortovo Court on October 1 arrested him for two months on espionage charges. Kyiv called the journalist's detention a provocation and said the espionage accusations are far-fetched.
by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, October 7, 2016

When I ran into Paul Rostkowski and Keith Gooberman at Mitch Oscars Secret Society meeting at Time Warner Thursday, I took a double take. It was the first time I'd seen the two of them together since Gooberman left as Varick Media Management (VMM)s top programmatic trader in 2014 to form his own, independent agency trading desk, Programmatic Mechanics.

Were working together again, Gooberman said, making me think he'd reunited with Rostkowksi by rejoining VMM. But no, as it turns out, Rostkowski has stepped down as president of VMM to join Gooberman at Programmatic Mechanics.

What I also didn't know was that Rostkowski was Goobermans financial backer in the startup. Which makes sense, because he was such a fan of Goobermans when they worked together at VMM.

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Whats also not surprising, is that Rostkowski stepped down from VMM, because its in the process of being integrated into the sister MDC Partners unit, Assembly. Most ironic of all, Varick Media Management will not longer be located on Varick Street, but in the same building as Assemblys new offices in Midtown New York.

VMMs new president, Rostkowski told me, is Walt Cheruk, who joins from Magnetic, but is a former Carat exec. That also makes sense, because hell be reporting to Assembly chief Martin Cass, whos also a former Carat exec.

As it turns out, Programmatic Mechanics was also celebrating its new offices on West 20th Street with an open house last night.

Meanwhile, we agreed the timing couldnt be better for an independent agency trading desk, now that the best known one, Accordant, is now part of Dentsu Aegis Network's trading desk, Amnet.

Speaking of former VMM presidents, Darren Herman, who founded VMM and served as its initial president, has just landed at Bain Capital Private Equity as its first digitally focused operating partner. Or at least, thats how Herman described it in a posting on Medium. I guess that puts an end to the rumor that Herman was starting his own agency holding company. But maybe now hell just buy one.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, October 6, 2016

Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested Thursday in Texas on sex trafficking charges stemming from escort ads on the classifieds site.

The arrest came around one week after California Attorney General Kamala Harris quietly filed a criminal complaint against Ferrer and Backpage shareholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin.

The complaint includes allegations that Backpage.com accepted payment for escort ads featuring minors.

Ferrer also allegedly "directed the creation" of two other sites -- EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com -- and then "used content from escort advertisements on Backpage.com to create advertisements" on the other two sites. The complaint doesn't elaborate on the significance of allegations relating to EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com.

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Ferrer's arrest is striking, given that Backpage has prevailed in more than one lawsuit stemming from its controversial ads.

Earlier this year, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sex trafficking victims couldn't proceed with a lawsuit accusing Backpage of facilitating crime through the design of its online classifieds site.

The court in that case ruled that Backpage was protected by the federal Communications Decency Act, which immunizes Web companies for crimes committed by users.

Last year, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals also handed Backpage a victory by enjoining Cook County, Illiois Sheriff Thomas Dart from continuing to try to persuade credit card companies to stop working with Backpage.

But Backpage lost a battle last year in Washington, where the state Supreme Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit against the company by three minors who said they were raped by adults who responded to ads on the site.

The Washington Supreme Court said the Communications Decency Act doesn't protect Web sites that "develop" objectionable content, as opposed to sites that merely "host" the content. The judges ruled that Backpage couldn't get the case dismissed at an early stage, because there were factual questions about whether the company developed the ads.
by Wayne Friedman , October 7, 2016

In the third quarter, TV stations deals registered the lowest dollar volume since the first quarter of 2010.

SNL Kagan says TV station deal volume was $16.8 million in the third quarter, and that the lower third-quarter results are affected by FCC decision-making on TV station deals, due to the ongoing spectrum auction.

Through the first nine months of 2016, TV station dollar-deal volume was $5.3 billion -- which includes the big $4.61 billion deal that Nexstar Broadcasting made for Media General in the first quarter. A year ago, the first nine months amounted to $2.75 billion TV station deal volume through the same period.

The biggest third-quarter deal was a refiling. Calkins Medias WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Alabama was originally to be sold to Raycom Media Inc. together with Calkins other two ABC stations for $82 million. Now Alabama TV LLC has agreed to acquire WAAY-TV.

Total broadcast TV station deals amassed $1.3 billion a year ago; $7.3 billion in 2014, and $11.4 billion in 2013. In 2010. In the midst of the big recession -- TV station deals totaled $175 million, rising the next year to $1.2 billion.

Radio stations amassed $293.1 million in deals in the third quarter and $418 million in deals through the first nine months. A large part of the third quarter results -- 82% -- came from an pending merge of Beasley Broadcast Group and Greater Media.

In all of 2015, radio stations deals totaled $827 million; $1.5 billion in 2014, and $1.0 billion in 2013.
by Larissa Faw , October 7, 2016

Ad agency Walrus is building a media department to handle media planning and buying for clients. Up to now the agencys offering has focused on creative advertising and marketing strategy.

Industry veteran Mel Stern will head up the new division as media communications director.

The best results come from campaigns that connect creative and media from start to finish," says Frances Webster, co-founder and chief operating officer, Walrus. "Given the speed of convergence, we saw an opportunity to bring more value to clients by making media planning a core part of our business and were doing that with the appointment of Mel Stern."

In addition to a growing demand for integrated solutions, theres also a real need among todays brand marketers for greater transparency in media practices, she says.

"There seems to be a bit of opaque big agency fatigue and Walrus is well-positioned as an independent, smaller agency to not only make sure campaigns are working as best as they can, but also to keep the lines of communication open with clients about where their media dollars are going and how they are performing, and ultimately what will help them reach their goals."

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Client demand will determine how to best build out the team, she says. "Mel is putting together a road map for the department based on current and prospective client needs. Our natural next hires would be in the areas of analytics, search and programmatic."

Stern comes to Walrus from J3/Universal McCann where he developed integrated media planning for Johnson & Johnson brands including Acuvue, Simponi Aria, Invokana, Animas, DePuy-Synthes, and Lifescan.

Previously, he served as a brand strategy supervisor at Horizon Media, where he led media strategy for Capital One Finance, Little Caesars, Mohegan Sun, and Ruby Tuesday.

Stern began his media planning career at Wieden + Kennedy, working with the Nike NY and Jordan brand accounts.

This move signals the direction our industry is headed and the solutions needed to address a complex, fragmented media landscape," says Stern. "With media and creative being in the same room from the start, aligning on KPIs, and optimizing launched campaigns in real time together, both disciplines will thrive and Walrus will continue to create campaigns that earn peoples attention and drive results.

The launch of Walrus media department follows recent new business growth, including The Trade Desk and General Mills which introduced an entirely mobile campaign for Tiny Toast, the first new cereal brand launched by General Mills in 15 years.
More than 160,000 children were disciplined using corporal punishment in public schools in the United States in the 2011-2012 school year, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Education. School corporal punishment, which typically involves striking a child with a wooden board or paddle, is currently legal in public schools in 19 U.S. states. A new Social Policy Report, published by the Society for Research in Child Development, has found that Black children, boys, and children with disabilities are subjected to corporal punishment with greater frequency than their peers.

The study presented in the report was conducted by Elizabeth T. Gershoff of the University of Texas at Austin and Sarah A. Font of Penn State University. It analyzes data gathered by the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education from 36,942 public schools in all 4,460 districts in the 19 states where school corporal punishment is legal. The study assessed which states and school districts are utilizing corporal punishment, and which children are punished using corporal punishment within these public schools.

Schoolchildren are disciplined with corporal punishment for a range of behaviors, varying from serious incidents like setting off fireworks in school, to minor behaviors like use of cell phones and not completing homework. In states where corporal punishment is legal, it can be used on children of all ages. The Society for Adolescent Medicine estimated that in 2003, when over 270,000 children were corporally punished in school, 10,000-20,000 children had to seek medical attention as a result of corporal punishment in public schools. This included treatment for bruises, hematomas, broken bones, and nerve and muscle damage.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that school corporal punishment was constitutional. At that time, only two states had banned corporal punishment in public schools. In 2016 a total of 31 states have banned it from public schools. The authors report that juvenile crime has not increased in states that have removed corporal punishment from schools. This suggests that it is possible to find appropriate ways to discipline children in schools that do not cause physical or emotional harm and, at the same time, do not result in an increase in crime. The author's note that while hitting an animal to the point of injury is a felony in most U.S. states, hitting a child to the point of injury as punishment in a public school is exempt from child maltreatment laws in most states where corporal punishment in schools is legal. This means that, in some states, a behavior that would be considered abuse when inflicted by a parent on a child cannot be prosecuted if inflicted by a school employee.

The study found that there are widespread disparities in the administration of corporal punishment by race, gender, and disability status. The researchers note that rates of misbehavior and the severity of the student's infraction do not account for these disparities.

For example:

In Alabama and Mississippi, Black children are at least 51% more likely to be corporally punished than White children in over half of school districts.

In eight states, boys are five times more likely to receive corporal punishment than girls in at least 20% of school districts.

Children with disabilities are over 50% more likely to be corporally punished than their nondisabled peers in many southeastern states.

Disability status in this study is defined as students who qualified as having a disability (physical, cognitive, or emotional) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] (1990). The report states that a 2009 Human Rights Watch and ACLU publication found that school administrators sometimes use corporal punishment on children for behaviors that stem directly from their disability, including those common to autism and Tourette syndrome.

Among several implications for policymakers, the report suggests that federal agencies should consider whether the disparities in the use of corporal punishment in public schools violate civil rights law.
Preschoolers may express awareness about body-image issues - but their parents may miss opportunities to promote positive body-image formation in their children because parents believe them to be too young to have these concerns, new research suggests.

University of Illinois eating disorders and body-image expert Janet Liechty, who led the study, said young children are forming their body images - positive or negative - far earlier than many parents expect and largely outside of parental awareness.

"Parents view early childhood as the 'age of innocence,' a time when children are free from body-image awareness or self-consciousness," said Liechty, a professor of social work and of medicine at Illinois. "However, aspects of body-related self-concept such as healthy sexuality, body confidence, body acceptance and early signs of body size preference are all influenced by family socialization processes beginning as early as preschool."

While parents anticipate peer pressures and body comparisons when their children reach school age or adolescence, they may not recognize that their preschoolers are already exhibiting these behaviors or mimicking their parents' attitudes about size or weight, Liechty said.

Liechty and her co-authors interviewed 30 parents - 29 mothers and one father - to explore parental perceptions of body image in preschoolers. Each of the parents was the primary caregiver for their children, who ranged in age from just over 2 to nearly 4 years.

While a majority of the parents said they did nothing to influence their children's body image, the communication patterns they described to the research team revealed that they were conveying messages about body image routinely, albeit unconsciously. Despite most of the parents' beliefs that their preschoolers were too young to be concerned about body image, 40 percent of the parents described their child exhibiting at least one body-related behavior, such as discussing weight, imitating comments about size or weight, or seeking praise for their appearance or clothing,

"Without greater awareness, parents may be missing opportunities to foster body confidence and acceptance in the early years so that kids are better protected from negative body image in adolescence," said co-author Julie Birky, a clinical counselor with the campus Counseling Center and an adjunct faculty member. "As a parent of preschoolers, it was empowering for me to realize that body image is being formed in these early years and to know that I can create a positive environment in my home to help my sons develop positive body image."

The researchers hypothesized that parents' rejection of the notion that preschoolers have body images may represent a protective rejection of the early sexualization of girls and the objectification of bodies that are prevalent in U.S. society. These parents also may be - wisely - shifting their children's focus away from their weight or shape as the basis for self-esteem, the researchers suggested.

While frequent commentary about children's physical appearance has been shown to be detrimental, and families should refrain from teasing or criticizing children about their appearance, avoiding discussions of body image altogether is not likely to be helpful either, Liechty said.

"This approach is reactive, rather than proactive - anticipating dealing with body image only if it becomes a problem," Liechty said. "This belief also may cause parents to miss opportunities to create a positive body-image climate within the family and foster resilience by reinforcing their child's confidence in their physical capacities - which is an important dimension of positive body image."

Emphasizing and affirming what children can do, rather than focusing on their body appearance or weight, has been associated with better body image among adolescents, according to at least one study.

Liechty added that strategies such as constantly telling a daughter she's beautiful or cuter than other children, as some parents in the study reported, may have the opposite of the intended effect - increasing a child's dissatisfaction with their body, priming the child to focus on external validation and promoting an unhealthy preoccupation with attractiveness.

The researchers suggest that a first step toward helping children develop positive body image may be teaching parents how to cultivate it within themselves - by focusing on what their body can do rather than how it looks, by learning to appreciate their body and fostering compassion for themselves when negative body thoughts occur.

Kristen Harrison, a professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, and U. of I. social work graduate student Samantha Clarke were co-authors on the paper. The study was released online recently by the journal Body Image.

Source: Perceptions of early body image socialization in families: Exploring knowledge, beliefs, and strategies among mothers of preschoolers, Janet M. Liechty, Samantha Clarke, Julie P. Birky, Kristen Harrison, STRONG Kids Team, Body Image, doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.010, published online 12 September 2016.
A study led by researchers at the IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) has analysed the number of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) detected at high concentrations in the population of the US and found relationships with socioeconomic factors, including gender, race, body mass index, education and poverty. More than 10% of the US population has 10 or more POPs, each and all of them at a 'top 10' concentration; that is, at a concentration above the 90th. percentile.

OPs are a group of chemical contaminants that humans can barely excrete and that degrade very slowly, therefore accumulating in our bodies and environment. Most POPs have been used as pesticides or are industrial residues; most POPs contaminate animal and human food webs.

Normally, the 'internal contamination' (within a person's body) by these chemicals is evaluated by checking for each pollutant separately, without analysing the mixture or 'cocktail' of POPs that is always found in a person. And when you look at each pollutant separately it is clear that the vast majority of the population has low concentrations of the POP, while only a small minority of the population has high concentrations of the pollutant. This is, when each POP is studied individually.

However, Miquel Porta, Jose Pumarega and colleagues at IMIM realised that nobody was looking at all POPs combined in the body of each individual person and, therefore, no-one had checked the assumption that the vast majority of the population had low levels of all POPs. The assumption turned out to be untrue.

The 'simple change' made by the researchers (which turned out to be quite radical) was to stop focusing on each POP separately and to focus on all POPs detected in each individual. And they thus discovered that the majority of individuals had at least one POP at high concentrations: specifically, 67% of participants in the study had one or more POPs at concentrations above the 90th. percentile (the 'top 10' or highest 10%).

They also discovered that a significant minority had several POPs each at high concentrations. In fact, 13% of the US population has 10 or more POPs at high concentrations; i.e., each POP is in a 'top 10' concentration (that is, at a concentration above the 90th. percentile).

The study analysed POP levels in 4,739 people included in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). They calculated the number of POPs whose blood concentrations were greater than certain levels considered to be high.

"This pattern of many POPs at high concentrations is nine times more common in black people and four times less common in Mexican Americans than in the non-Hispanic whites. Therefore, the number of POPs at high concentrations is related to race (or ethnicity). We also found that the poorest people have more POPs at high levels, and such number of POPs at high concentrations also increases with age and the body mass index", explain Jose Pumarega, researcher at IMIM and at CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP) and Miquel Porta, head of the Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer research group and Professor of Public Health at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) and main authors of the article, published in the journal PLoS One.
The European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) will provide support to the reform of electoral legislation in Ukraine, Commission Head Gianni Buquicchio has said.

Speaking at an international conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday, Buquicchio said that reforms are needed in electoral legislation and in the matters related to rights of political parties.

He said they hope that an open discussion with the involvement of civil society and experts will follow.

According to Buquicchio, the establishment of a working group on the reform of the electoral legislation is a positive step. The Venice Commission hopes that the reform process will be carried out successfully and swiftly and the Commission is ready to provide support in this process, he added.

As for political parties, the Venice Commission is still concerned about the law that allows political parties to prevent candidates from entering party tickets before elections, he said expressing the hope that in this matter Ukraine will take notice of the recommendations previously voiced by the Commission.

KYIV. Oct 7 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) will provide support to the reform of electoral legislation in Ukraine, Commission Head Gianni Buquicchio has said.

Speaking at an international conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday, Buquicchio said that reforms are needed in electoral legislation and in the matters related to rights of political parties.

He said they hope that an open discussion with the involvement of civil society and experts will follow.

According to Buquicchio, the establishment of a working group on the reform of the electoral legislation is a positive step. The Venice Commission hopes that the reform process will be carried out successfully and swiftly and the Commission is ready to provide support in this process, he added.

As for political parties, the Venice Commission is still concerned about the law that allows political parties to prevent candidates from entering party tickets before elections, he said expressing the hope that in this matter Ukraine will take notice of the recommendations previously voiced by the Commission.
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Angela K. Beckert, of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, said, "If a patient is more robust, with better physical performance and vigorin other words, less frailthen I believe surgical outcomes would be better."Dr. Beckert, Mark K. Ferguson and other colleagues from The University of Chicago Medicine, conducted a study to determine the proportion of pre-frail and frail patients who might benefit from frailty reduction intervention. The group examined 125 patients (average age of 70) at The University of Chicago Thoracic Surgery Clinic who were considered candidates for major thoracic surgery, such as lung resection, esophagectomy, or chest wall resection. The majority of patients (68.8%) who participated in the frailty screening were determined to be either pre-frail or frail, suggesting that frailty may be seriously under recognized within the surgery population.The researchers conducted frailty screening using five established characteristics: unintentional weight loss, weakness (grip strength), exhaustion, low activity level, and slow gait. The most commonly identified characteristic in this study was exhaustion; the least common was slowness."This study indicated that a large number of patients who are candidates for major surgery have important risk factors related to frailty," said Dr. Ferguson. "Knowing what these factors are can help physicians, patients, and the patients' families better understand the risks and may motivate them to participate in activities that reduce their risks."One of the most important benefits of identifying frailty, explained Dr. Ferguson, is the ability to offer patients activities, such as nutritional and exercise interventions that can modify their frailty status prior to surgery and reduce their surgical risks. This study was just the first step. The research group is currently conducting studies of exercise intervention for frailty and the relationship between frailty and resiliency (the ability to bounce back from complications after surgery).Frailty screening may also affect the recommendation a doctor makes regarding treatments and surgical options. According to Dr. Beckert, if a patient is determined to be frail, a surgeon may consider a different or less extensive approach to the operation. Also, during the early postoperative period, the health care team may provide more intensive and closely supervised care, including physical, nutritional, and occupational therapy."Frailty screening helps doctors better prepare patients for what to expect," said Dr. Beckert. "The screening results provide more accurate information to use in the complex decisions the patient, family, and health care team make about treatment options."With the rapid growth of the elderly population and improved life expectancy (now 78 years), a rising number of older adults are expected to undergo surgery, with a greater chance of experiencing complications after surgery. The US Census Bureau reports that the elderly population in the United States is projected to almost double, from the most current estimate of 43 million in 2012 to 80 million by the year 2050. In addition, the National Hospital Discharge Survey reported that more than one-third of all surgical procedures are performed on patients over the age of 65, with that number likely to increase over the next few decades.As a result, experts anticipate that frailty screeningwhich can be completed within a clinic appointmentwill become even more crucial when considering the care of older patients facing surgery."There is an increasing awareness of the frailty problem among surgeons," said Dr. Ferguson. "We anticipate that screening efforts will expand substantially in the near future."Source: Newswise
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The study used a randomized controlled design and was conducted at the Oregon State Correctional Institution and Oregon State Penitentiary, located in Salem, Oregon. A total of 181 moderate- to high-risk inmates were assigned to either the Transcendental Meditation group or a non-meditating control group, with all subjects continuing with their standard of care.The results, published inonline, found that after four months of practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique, inmates at two Oregon prisons had significantly reduced trauma symptoms, including anxiety, depression, dissociation, and sleep disturbance, and a significant decrease in perceived stress compared to non-meditating controls. Within the TM group, a 47% reduction in total trauma symptoms was observed over the course of the four-month study.Further post-hoc analysis showed an even higher magnitude of effect due to TM practice in those with the highest level of trauma symptoms. A 56% reduction was found within the TM group for those above the mean in baseline trauma scores."To date this is the largest randomized controlled trial with the Transcendental Meditation program on trauma symptoms," said Dr. Nidich, lead author of the study and director of Maharishi University of Management Center for Social and Emotional Health. "These findings, along with previous published research on veterans, active military personnel, international refugees, and other at-risk populations provide support for the value of the Transcendental Meditation program as an alternative treatment for posttraumatic stress.Previous published studies have shown that Transcendental Meditation decreases hyperarousal of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, responsible for such processes as the 'fight or flight response.'"These kinds of changes from an overly aroused style of functioning to a more healthy, stable condition of physiological functioning may help explain how TM practice reduces trauma symptoms," said Dr. Nidich. "Brain imaging studies and other psychophysiological research have shown that TM meditators have less reactivity to stressful stimuli, further indicating a more stable and balanced style of functioning."Source: Medindia
Translating concepts from one language into another is a difficult endeavor. Translating concepts that have no equivalent in the target language is even harder. Translating religious concepts for a culture in which religion has ceased to play a central role in the life of the individual and in society is hardest of all.

Perhaps this is the reason why religious Islamic idioms representing concepts such as Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illa Allah, and istishhad are routinely mistranslated in the American media.

The American failure to understand religious concepts does not apply only to Islam. A similar misunderstanding occurred in 1993 between the authorities and fundamentalist Christian David Koresh, who had holed up at a remote complex outside Waco, Texas along with dozens of his followers, including women and children, and an arsenal of weaponry. Besieged by the authorities, who attempted to negotiate with him, Koresh recited Biblical prophecies about the End of Days. Trying to peacefully end the standoff, the authorities urged him, "Let's not discuss religion now." Koresh, immersed in his religious beliefs, could only reply, "But religion is life and death." It was a "dialogue of the deaf," doomed to end as it did, with the loss of many innocent lives.

The problem is not one of linguistic relativity - as comprehensively discussed in the last century by the renowned linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf[1] - since there are ways to convey original meaning in a proper, brief explanation. Instead, it is about the tendency of the media to choose the easiest solution, that is, to translate to what will sound most familiar to readers, even if inaccurate.

The word istishhad denotes a religious act of faith in which a believer strives to kill as many perceived enemies as he can, at the price of his own life,[2] as a means of getting closer to Allah, the prophets, the righteous, and the martyrs[3] in Paradise. The goal of this act of faith, which is considered blessed, is to make Allah's religion supreme on Earth, in what the perpetrator believes to be an imitation of the battles of early formative Islam of the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the four righteous caliphs. This term is often recklessly and inaccurately translated as "suicide," which is an act motivated by personal desperation and is forbidden in Islam, and for which a different word - intihar - is reserved in Arabic.[4]

This is also why Allahu akbar and la ilaha illa Allah - both statements of faith that embody the religious concept of the supremacy of Islam and of Allah - are mistranslated. First it was the struggle to establish the supremacy of the monotheistic Islam over the pagan idols of seventh-century Mecca. Then it was a struggle for supremacy over other religions, including monotheistic ones, in the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in the expulsion of non-Muslims, as related in the compilation of hadiths on behalf of the Prophet Muhammad: "I shall take out the Jews and the Christians from the Peninsula"[5] - a ban that is in force to this day against non-Muslim religious institutions. Later it was a struggle against other religious empires, such as the Persian and the Byzantine. However, the rendering of Allahu akbar in the U.S. media as "God is great" omits the aspect of superiority in the word akbar (which means "greater" or "greatest," not merely "great") and blurs the specific reference to Allah rather than to another deity. In the same vein, la illaha illa Allah is often translated in the U.S. media as "There is no god but God" (rather than "There is no god but Allah"). Omitting the supremacy of Allah over all other deities is a mistranslation, and moreover leads to a logical fallacy - reminiscent of Carrollian nonsense verses.

One of the reasons for such mistranslations is the fact that in the modern Western world the struggle for supremacy among religions has almost completely ceased, and to the extent that it still exists, it is nonviolent. Therefore, statements of religious faith that embody a continuing historical struggle for divine religious supremacy lack a modern religious/cultural conceptual basis through which to be understood in the West, and consequently lack a linguistic equivalent. The American media, facing the risk of not being understood in translating these Islamic concepts, prefer to provide an approximate translation, even though these are inherently misleading.

This is not to say that Allahu akbar is uttered only by jihadis continuing the age-old struggle for the supremacy of Islam and of Allah. Over the centuries it has come to be uttered by non-religious Muslims as well, and even by Christian Arabs. In many cases, it carries a variety of meanings - ranging from admiration for what is perceived as a wonderful act of Allah to an expression of shock and horror in the face of calamity.

A translation should always reflect the context, the speaker, and his intent. But what often happens in the U.S. media is that when Allahu akbar is said by a jihadi, it is translated as if said by a non-religious Muslim or a Christian Arab. This is utterly wrong. And when such mistranslations occur time and again, whether intentional or out of ignorance, it results in a profoundly apologetic misrepresentation of the concept, and its cultural and religious meaning.

So what could be the solution? One school of translation holds to keeping the original term, followed a brief explanation of its meaning, as, for example, the Japanese word kamikaze. In this case, this solution was so effective that the original word no longer required explanation.[6] There is no reason why the same process should not occur with the word istishhad, which over time could become as well known and understood as kamikaze.

The alternative is for the media to adopt a more professional approach, translating these terms in each case according to the specific context, speaker, and intended meaning, and not settling for an approximate but misleading term.

This report aims to elucidate the term Allahu akbar in its original meaning, by providing examples of its usage by jihadis taken from the MEMRI archive, based on years of monitoring the Arab and Muslim media. This is not to claim that MEMRI, in its 18 years of translating tens of thousands of pages of primary source material from the Arab and Muslim media, has not at times fallen for the temptation to prioritize being understood by a non-expert reader. Even in the field of transliteration, we have accepted incorrect transliterations because they were common in the media (for example, "Koran" instead of "Qur'an"). In many cases, we used the word "martyrdom operations" for "istishhad," even though martyrdom is an inaccurate translation, since it is a Christian concept for an individual accepting death rather than forsaking his religious beliefs, while the Islamic concept of istishhad relates in modern times primarily to killing enemies at the price of one's own life.

Allahu Akbar

The term Allahu akbar embodies the fight for the supremacy of Islam, Allah, and the true believers: past, present, and future; actual and symbolic; military, cultural, or by means of forces of nature controlled and directed by Allah. It is the battle cry and the anthem of this fight for supremacy. Victory for Muslims is victory for Islam and for monotheism, and it is Allah's victory over false gods. Victory comes from Him and proves His supremacy. This was the main meaning of the term in the early centuries of Islam. Today it is a mark of Islamists and jihadis, as well as all others who wish to restore the ancient grandeur of Islamic empires, where "the crescent must always be on top of the cross," as described by New York-based Muslim Brotherhood activist Ayat Oraby.[7]

It is worth noting that Allahu akbar is uttered by both Sunni jihadis and the Shi'ite leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran (which was established as an "Islamic State" long before ISIS). In every major sermon delivered by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the crowd, comprising thousands and sometimes tens of thousands, chants "Allahu akbar" together with "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." See for example http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/4154; http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/5075; and http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/5011.

Under What Circumstances Is "Allahu akbar" Uttered By Jihadis?

As amply reported in the Western media, perpetrators of terrorist attacks are commonly heard yelling "Allahu akbar." The call of Allahu akbar is also common among ISIS fighters during beheadings (Robert Hall - Abu Sayyaf releases grisly video of Robert Hall's beheading; John Ridsdel - Video of Canadian hostage John Ridsdel's beheading released; Nicholas Berg - http://www.memri.org/legacy/report/8928; Jacques Hamel - http://www.memri.org/legacy/jttm/normany-church-attackers-pledge-allegiance-to-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi; and other types of executions, such as children shooting accused spies - http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/5028; http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/4718; http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/4889; and http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/5048).

It is heard in videos of ISIS fighters, recording the downing of enemy aircraft (http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/5556; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjWsoWdrhBI; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD3qf2ZOucg), or when a vehicle filled with explosives reaches its targeted enemy position, anticipating the explosion (http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1037). In the Islamic State, even the re-introduction of Islamic punishments is perceived as a victory for Islam, which merit chants of "Allahu akbar," as in the punishment of homosexuals by throwing them to their deaths from rooftops, or in ceremonies of stoning of women accused of adultery (http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/4558).

Jihadis themselves relate to Allahu akbar as a battle cry, guaranteeing victory just like in the times of the Prophet, as the "Marseillaise of Arab conquests," as the Muslims' "nuclear bomb," and as what the "communist East and the capitalist West fear the most."[8]

In fact, it is common for ISIS fighters to chant "Allahu akbar" during beheadings of their enemies. For a comprehensive report of ISIS acts of Islamic religious punishments - beheading, crucifixion, stoning, burning, drowning, throwing from buildings - see www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8928.htm.

The following are several examples:

A screengrab from a video of British ISIS fighters with government soldiers' heads:" "These are the heads of the kuffars the Mujahids bought back. Allahu akbar! One of the kuffar soldier shouted 'have you come to get your freedom' Abu Aisha replied 'No I've come to get your head' Subhan Allah got a bag full" (www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8928.htm).

From the Instagram account of Saudi teen Muadh Al-Jraish: "Urgent | the director of Abu Ghraib prison was slaughtered with a knife in the prison's yard... He has long tortured and killed the detainees and exploited their dignities. His head was cut off today, Allahu akbar" (www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8929.htm).

And the following tweets:

"Allahu Akbar, reaping the heads of Hezb Al-Lat [derogatory term for Hizbullah] today in #Quneitra [Syria] by the hands of the Mujahideen, oh splendid morning #Jabhat al-Nusra"

"Head of a Nusairi [Alawite/Assad regime] thug executed by the mujahideen in the Adra Al-Umaliyya in the outskirts of Damascus in response to the al-Otaiba massacre, Allahu akbar"

MEMRI TV Video Of ISIS Executions And Crucifixion Near Aleppo, Syria



Building scaffolding for displaying the bodies; the execution, with child in foreground



Announcer leads crowd in shouts of "Allahu akbar" and "ISIS is here to stay!" Camera pans crowd, which includes children, after execution, as announcer speaks

As mentioned above, Allahu akbar is a battle cry that is shouted during attacks. For example, from the MEMRI report "Jihadi Media Company Praises Tunisia Attack, Calls For More Attacks On Western Tourists" (http://www.memri.org/legacy/report/8484): "'How did you enter so easily,' they asked in astonishment, and the two answered: 'We come in the name of Allah.' Then they began throwing grenades, crying 'Allahu akbar,' and shooting at infidels and at the policemen that guarded them, and the massacre began."

The chant of "Allahu akbar" is commonly used when Christian symbols or religious sites are destroyed, as has been done by ISIS in both Iraq and Syria, as well as jihadis in other countries. See, for example, Libyan jihadis desecrating Christian sites (www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6142):

Armed Libyan: "Break the cross of these dogs."

Another armed Libyan: "Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar."

An Al-Qaeda video referring to an attack included an audio recording of the bombing itself. In the recording, the suicide bombers can be heard praying, and then, en route, crying "Allahu akbar!" and "Allah, expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula!" (www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/980)

Allahu akbar is an integral part of references to historical and current Islamic victories. For example, when Muslim prayers were resumed in the Grand Mosque of Grenada after 500 years of absence, a Saudi daily report focused on the muezzin's cry of "Allahu akbar" (http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1331).

Allahu akbar appears in nasheeds (songs) produced by ISIS's media organs, as for example in the following two songs: https://telegram.me/suond_isis and https://telegram.me/whfsjidbknf. In both, victory is promised to the ISIS fighters - victory for Islam and the believers over the infidels.

Allahu akbar is also an inseparable part of contemporary threats. For example, in a religious exhortation that contains a threat of an imminent terror attack published on an Islamist website, "Allahu akbar" is a leading motif recounted many times (http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/817).

Bilal Bosnic, a Bosnian jihadi leader, chants "Allahu akbar" and promises that America will be destroyed to its foundations (http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6452).

The chant "Allahu akbar" also comes together with a warning to the nations: "Keep away from the civilian and military institutions of Crusader America and its allies. Allahu akbar, Allah akbar. Islam is coming, reinforcing [the Muslims] and humiliating [the infidels]" (http://www.memri.org/legacy/report/1084).

It is also uttered in reference to future anticipated victories. For example, Muslim Brotherhood activist Safwat Higazi talked about former Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi, who he said would establish the "United States of the Arabs," and the crowds chanted "Allahu akbar" (www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6384.htm),

When British Islamist Abu Waleed promised his audience that the day would come when the Muslims would conquer the White House, Cameron and Obama would be on their knees paying the jizya (poll tax), and Queen Elizabeth would wear the niqab, the crowd repeatedly chanted "Allahu akbar" (www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5421.htm).

Allahu Akbar is commonly mentioned together with promises to annihilate the Jews, as promised in the known hadith about the promise of the stone and tree, which says that Judgment Day will not come until the Muslims fight and kill the Jews. When a Jew attempts to hide behind a rock or tree, the rock or tree will call upon the Muslim: 'O Muslim, O slave of Allah! There is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!' - except for the gharqad tree, which is reviled as a tree of the Jews. For an example of the hadith which includes the use of "Allahu Akbar," preacher Sheikh Bakr Al-Samarai delivered a Friday sermon at the Abd Al-Qader Al-Jilani Mosque in Baghdad in 2004, while brandishing a sword and waving it above his head: "Even the stone will say, Oh Muslim, A Jew is hiding behind me, come and cut off his head, and indeed we shall cut off their heads. By Allah, we shall cut them off! Allahu akbar! Oh Jews, Allahu akbar!" (see MEMRI report "Contemporary Islamist Ideology Authorizing Genocidal Murder" (http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1049).

* Yigal Carmon is President of MEMRI.

Endnotes:
A Bollywood star-kid launch is a genre in itself.

In the last couple decades, filmmakers with distinct sensibilities have taken on the onus of introducing kids of famous parents to Hindi film audiences in movies as varied as Refugee, Saawariya and Mirzya. Each of these films arrived with the promise of infusing our cinema with fresh blood extracted from the veins of their superstar parents, and each of the directors treated the launch as some sort of sacred undertaking, pouring passion and sweat into them. Each of them was a letdown.

Mirzya is the uncanniest of all star-kid launches. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra sets his film against the folklore of Mirza-Sahiban, yet another tale of star-crossed lovers who suffered deaths at the hand of their families. Its amazing how many industry kids have been launched with an identical plot acting as a backdrop, but Mehra would like us to believe his film is different from several previous adaptations, mainly because he treats Mirzya as some kind of visual extravaganza never quite witnessed on Indian screens before. The kind that cant get over itself.

 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures

Among the talking points leading up to the films release  apart from it being a launch-pad for Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher  is that it marks the return of the great Gulzar as scriptwriter. That was reason enough to wait with bated breath, given the wordsmith made some of the most effective, socially-conscious and piercing films as writer-director (Mere Apne, Khushboo, Aandhi, Maachis, etc).

Mirzyas script, in pages, must amount to half of the average Hindi feature screenplay, with very little movement and sparse dialogue. Yet, brevity isnt one of Mirzyas strong suits. Sure, there are some exhilarating Gulzar couplets narrated in voiceover, combined with conversational dialogues that, at least, set the film up nicely. But Mehra  who, in interviews, has stressed on his best efforts to do justice to Gulzars screenplay  seems to value the plot least among all the films various components.

If the filmmaker would have created a hypothetical list of said components, cinematography would rank highest. At first, Mirzya does manage to take your breath away with its distinct visual grammar. Breathtaking vistas, intimate close-ups, dogged lens flares, long takes  Polish director of photography Pawel Dyllus manages to bring about the epic vibe Mehra would have wanted.

 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures

Very soon, though, you realise that the visual extravagance is what dominates the narrative, rather than it being the other way round. So turned on, I imagine, the DoP and filmmaker must be while going over painstakingly executed shots on a Video Assist monitor, every other element of storytelling must seem irrelevant in comparison.

The second-ranked point on this imaginary (may be not) list would be Shankar-Ehsaan-Loys music, and Daler Mehndis crescendo-washed vocals that Mehra uses to puncture eardrums at several points, as if exacting some sort of vengeance on unsuspecting audiences. Its the kind of sound and fury Mehra displayed even in the mostly-unbearable Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which struck a chord with audiences due to its jingoistic theme and Farhan Akhtars committed performance.

Ironically, for a film youd think would showcase the talents of its two lead actors, the boy and girl get not a single moment to shine. Im not quite sure what Harshvardhan Kapoor even looks like, and not only because his face remains covered in facial hair throughout, but also because the cinematographer stubbornly chooses to bring to life elements in a frame that surround actors, as if they themselves were mere props.

 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures

During the two-plus hours I sat through Mirzya, my attention was drawn to majestically falling leaves, beautiful beams of sun permeating the space between the romantic leads, meditative shots of blood flowing through water, and tight close-ups of horses hooves flying in scintillating slow-mo. All of it would make for a stellar collection of postcards, and art gallery exhibitions, but just like a stationary image or an immobile but impressive poster, Mirzya remains devoid of life. Not soul, mind you, but life itself.

Compared to Kapoor, Saiyami Kher gets to own some of the films frames, with high-speed shots of her sun-kissed face and lingering smiles being given some leeway by the creators. If both actors, however, fail to register on audiences, its because Mirzya never gets over the mastubatory practices of its filmmaker and his team. Anuj Choudhry, cast as the veritable anti-hero, at least comes across as an actor with flesh and bones, maybe because theres little emphasis on making him stand out on screen. In Mirzya, its whats out-of-focus that really matters.

The film, if nothing else, will leave you bleary-eyed.
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada intends to introduce 12-year secondary school education, set the minimum wage of teachers at UAH 4,400 and introduce the institute of educational ombudsman. A total of 277 lawmakers passed bill No. 3491d.

According to the document, full secondary education will last for 12 years and consist of four-year elementary education, five-year basic secondary education in preparatory schools and three-year profile secondary education in vocational schools. Children can go to school at six or seven.

When students finish each of educational levels they pass tests in the form of external independent tests, including for elementary school students for monitoring them.

Profile secondary education (senior school) can be of two types: general education and vocational education.

Students will start the 12-year education on September 1, 2018 for elementary schools, on September 1, 2022 for basic secondary schools and on September 1, 2018 for profile secondary schools.

It is proposed that the minimum wage for teachers is set at the level of three minimum wages (at present UAH 4,350).

The bill envisages the introduction of the ombudsman post to ensure the proper conditions for the implementation of rights to get education. The ombudsman is appointed by Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers for five years without the right to be repeatedly elected.

The document foresees the possibility of organizing public private partnership in the education sphere on the basis of agreements. It can foresee joint financing of educational institutions.

Voluntary certification of teachers is foreseen. The qualification certificates will be issued for five years. Teachers with the certificates would receive 20% more until the certificate expires.

The bill proposes to assign funds from the national budget, local budgets and sources not banned by Ukrainian law in the amount of 7% of GDP.
Ukraine's representative in a security subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Yevhen Marchuk has said that a simultaneous withdrawal of forces near the town of Petrivske in Donetsk region has been completed, which has been confirmed by the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE.

"The simultaneous withdrawal of servicemen near Petrivske has been completed. The OSCE SMM has checked and confirmed this. A group of Ukrainian officers of the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC), as well as OSCE SMM observers will remain there for round-the-clock monitoring," Marchuk wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

In his words, over nearly a month, not a single Ukrainian soldier has been killed or injured in the area where disengagement of forces is taking place near the towns of Zolote and Petrivske.

Earlier on Friday, Head of Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration Pavlo Zhebrivsky said Ukrainian Armed Forces units started to withdraw from the contact line between the villages of Bohdanivka and Petrivske in Donetsk region and are expected to complete this process on Sunday, October 9.

Later, Ukrainian presidential administration spokesman for the anti-terrorist operation Andriy Lysenko said that the ATO forces have drawn back at the distance of one kilometer in the area of Bohdanivka and Petrivske.

"Today, at 11:00 in the morning, the withdrawal of forces and weapons of the Ukrainian army and the opponent's units was successfully held in the area of Bohdanivka and Petrivske in the Mariupol sector," Lysenko said. He said that the ATO forces moved one kilometer west and took new earlier-designated positions. The withdrawal process was observed and verified by monitors of the OSCE SMM.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has redistributed funds from the loan raised from the government of Poland issued to Ukraine for implementation of projects to develop cross-border road infrastructure, checkpoints in the Ukrainian-Polish border and other projects.

Some 298 people's deputies voted for law No. 5074 on amendments to the law of Ukraine on the national budget for 2016 on the use of the loan from the Polish government.

These funds will be used not for the budget program of financing development projects at the expense of money raised by the state, as it was stipulated by the law on the national budget for 2016, but to finance the activities and personnel of the State Border Guard Service (UAH 700,000), develop cross-border road infrastructure (UAH 6.8 million), for management and administration in the field of fiscal policy (UAH 2.5 million).
Head of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) Gianni Buquicchio fears that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will be swamped with a huge number of constitutional complaints from Ukrainians, and says the court should prepare for reviewing such complaints.

At a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, he said that the fact that citizens received the right to send appeals to the Constitutional Court (constitutional complaint) is a step forward towards democracy and the rule of law.

However, the grounds should be laid for this process, that is why the Venice Commission has always insisted on the need to work out the efficient mechanism of action of this institute, he added.

Buquicchio stressed the Venice Commission is interested in preparing for these innovations in Ukraine because they fear that otherwise the Constitutional Court may be unable to cope with the huge number of complaints.

The Venice Commission head asked the head of the Constitutional Court to immediately begin training the court staff and every judge of the court in the matters related to consideration of individual complaints.

According to him, this work should be started before the parliament passes the law on the Constitutional Court.
The Ukrainian troops currently cannot withdraw forces and equipment on the Stanytsia Luhanska section due to periodical attacks by the enemy, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

"The Russian-occupation troops carried out ten attacks on the positions of Ukrainian military units, specifically in Stanytsia Luhanska, on the Luhansk track in the past 24 hours. This means that the Ukrainian Armed Forces currently cannot do this [withdraw forces] on the Luhansk track," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a report posted on its website.

Additionally, the ministry confirmed withdrawal of forces and equipment in the Petrivske area on Friday.

"The Ukrainian units withdrew forces and equipment in the area of the populated area of Petrivske, Donetsk region, under the Minsk Agreements. Representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission are in the withdrawal area. The forces and equipment were withdrawn in accordance with the procedure determines in the Minsk Agreements, and representatives of the OSCE SMM and the other side were notified. The anti-terrorist operation forces retreated by one kilometer to new, previously equipped positions. The withdrawal process was verified by representatives of the OSCE SMM and the JCCC [Joint Control and Coordination Center]," the report said.
Ukraine will not become a developed economy until a favorable investment climate has created there, Member of Parliament MP Serhiy Taruta.

"There could be no substantial economic growth without a favorable investment climate. Businesses should trust authorities. If there is trust, there will be innovation and new modern technologies without which one cannot make a fortune today," Taruta said at the Kyiv International Economic Forum.

He says Ukraine suffers from a lack of foreign direct investment, while there are countries that are willing to invest their money in this country and share new technologies.

"South Korea announces that is interested to invest in the Ukrainian economy. The country has good potential as an investor, for example, it has already invested more than $32 billion in neighboring Vietnam," Taruta said.

The MP noted that closer economic cooperation with the "Four Asian Tigers" (South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan) can be a driving force for the growth of the Ukrainian economy.
Mikheil Saakashvili, head of the Odesa region's state administration, has commented on the media reports on his possible dismissal from his post.

"There is no harm in dreaming," he said on Facebook, posting a screenshot with information stating that the Ukrainian president has allegedly signed a decree dismissing him from the post of the head of the Odesa region.

"During the president's visit tomorrow, we will introduce my three new deputies, among whom are graduates from Cambridge and Princeton Universities, the London School of Economics, and, most importantly, very interesting and active young people," Saakashvili said.

Some media earlier reported on the plans to dismiss Saakashvili from the post of head of the Odesa region's state administration and linked that event to the arrival of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the Odesa region on October 7.

However, Interfax-Ukraine sources in the bodies of authority do not confirm this information as of today.
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has questioned Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov about the so-called "secret ledgers" of the Party of Regions.

"As promised, we asked Avakov to visit NABU. The reason was pages from the so-called "secret ledgers" of the Party of Regions, which he handed over at the end of September," NABU's press service said on its Facebook page on Friday.

During the interrogation Avakov, following the legally established procedure, explained to NABU detectives in what manner and from where he had obtained the pages from the ledger.

"Unfortunately, we are not able to divulge the details, since they are a confidential part of the investigation," NABU's press service said.

As earlier reported, on September 29, 2016, Avakov turned over several original pages of the original ledger.

On September 30, head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Nazar Kholodnytsky said that NABU intended to question Avakov as a witness in the investigation of the "secret ledgers" case.

At the end of May 2016 information was released by the former first deputy head of Ukraine's Security Services (SBU), Viktor Trepak, corroborating illegal cash payments made by the Party of Regions to a number of former and current state officials. In his words, the "secret ledgers" detained payments of around $2 billion.

NABU initiated an investigation based on Trepak's statements pursuant to Party 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code (bribery).

Information in the documents appears to show that Party of Regions was engaged in the financing of other political forces, including those represented in the Verkhovna Rada of the eighth convocation, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said then.
On Wednesday, October 12, at 11.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "Right to Life in Human Dignity." The participants will include Socialists Party Leader Leonid Kozhara, Deputy Chairman of Socialists Party Oleksiy Plotnikov, and member of the Political Council of Socialists Party Denys Zharkykh (8/5a Reitarska Street). Accreditation by phone: (050) 471 2629.
Caseville  President Kathy, called the September meeting of the Caseville American Legion Auxiliary to order and the opening rituals were completed along with another thoughtful prayer by Chaplain Sara. There were so many to thank for their help on Cheeseburger Parade day. Yet most important, the rain held off until the marching uniformed men and women and veterans float arrived at the end of the parade.

Thanks to someone from the DPW for arranging saw horses to help keep the parking place for our float by the Dairy Queen. It made the four hour job a little easier for Marge and Bev. Still some folks seem to think they can move the barricade and park there or set up chairs. Another big thank you to extra helpful Caseville Police Officer, Debbie plus all the police and deputies all along the parade route. Good job.
BAD AXE  A proposed wind overlay district for Lincoln, Dwight, Sigel and Bloomfield townships will return to the Huron County Board of Commissioners Tuesday for a vote.

The Huron County Planning Commission voted 7-2 Wednesday night to send the DTE Energy proposal to the board, rather than pull Lincoln Township from the overlay district.

After legal arguments from a Lincoln Township attorney, a DTE attorney and the countys corporate counsel, the commission split along the same lines it had in July when a similar vote was taken.

Commissioners Terry Heck and Carl Duda voted against recommending the proposal.

In August, the board of commissioners voted to send the issue back to the planners for information gathering when it learned that county-zoned Lincoln Township had adopted an ordinance to establish its own planning commission.

County Corporate Counsel Steve Allen said Wednesday that pulling Lincoln Township from the overlay district, as had been proposed by township attorneys, might be considered a massive incident of spot zoning.

If the county board approves the issue, the only way the overlay district could be stopped would be if enough valid signatures were put on a petition to oppose the district. Residents in county-zoned townships would then be able to vote on whether or not to allow the overlay district.

Meanwhile, legitimate petitions have been submitted to Huron County Clerk Lori Neal-Wonsowicz from Lincoln Township residents wanting to hold a referendum to repeal the ordinance forming its own planning commission.

The Lincoln Township referendum would take place in May.

Matthew Wagner, manager of wind development for DTE, urged the planning commission on Wednesday to recommend approval to the board, and urged the board to vote on the issue promptly.

Paris Township resident Bob McLean said during public comment that its not a race to get the district approved, and Lincoln Townships attorney agreed.

This is not about DTE, attorney Mike Homier said. Its about the people of Lincoln Township determining their own fate.

County Commissioner John Nugent, who also sits on the planning commission, made a motion to send the issue to the board, with a comment that the board should consider taking Lincoln Township out of the overlay district.

Receiving no support, the motion died.

Duda later moved to table the issue another 30 days so that all members of the planning commission could drive through Lincoln Township, observe the residential setting, and consider how that setting could accommodate a wind park.

That motion also died.

After more discussion, Commissioner Joel Weber motioned that the issue be recommended for board approval, gaining support from Commissioner Mary Babcock. The 7-2 vote then took place.

John Bodis, chairman of the board, told the Tribune on Thursday that the issue will be on the agenda for the boards meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Its my intent to put it on Tuesdays agenda, and for the (county) commissioners to vote on it. Whether or not that happens, well see, he said.

The public hearing for the district was held in August, the same day that the board found out that Lincoln Township had voted to become self zoned, and sent the issue back to the planners.

DTE wants to build 50 to 70 new turbines over 61 square miles. The district spans the following acreage in each township: 22,080 in Lincoln, and 5,760 each in Dwight, Sigel and Bloomfield.
BAD AXE  Recent heated exchanges at Huron County Planning Commission meetings have inspired the commission to consider tweaking its bylaws.

Commissioners may have to take a constitutional oath of office as soon as next month, under advice from county Corporate Counsel Steve Allen.

Weve had some heated exchanges at some of our meetings in the last few months, Allen said at Wednesday nights planning commission meeting.

So he and county Building and Zoning Director Jeff Smith have been looking into how to address conduct at meetings.

The emotions continue to rise as the developments move forward, Allen said.

Allen called the bylaws and Roberts Rules of Order adequate tools that can be used to govern the commission.

The Michigan Planning Enabling Act requires the bylaws, Allen said.

It is in the bylaws that conflicts of interest are addressed.

Residents over the past several months have accused commissioners who have wind turbines on their property of having a conflict of interest while voting on wind energy issues.

Others have accused commissioners who publicly say that they are against wind energy of having a conflict of interest with the same issues.

Some members of the public have said that commissioners who publicly state their opinion on wind energy are not following the bylaws.

For example, the bylaws state that once an issue is decided by vote, the duty of each member of the commission is to represent the position reflected by the outcome of the vote.

Allen said there is an attorney generals opinion that says that planning commissioners are public officers pursuant to the federal and state constitution, which Allen said he agrees with.

The commissions by-law committee will examine the issue.

The by-law committee consists of commissioners Carl Duda, Robert Oakes, Mary Babcock and Bernie Creguer. Commissioner Terry Heck was named the alternate Wednesday night.

Smith said he and Allen would consider issues in the 2015 bylaws that the committee should address, at which point a meeting would be held.

County Commissioner John Nugent, who also sits on the planning commission, asked whether any of the decisions made by the planning commission to date could be in jeopardy since not everyone has taken the oath of office.

Allen said this would not invalidate anything the commission had done since its formation in 1966.

Smith read the oath so that commissioners would know what they will be swearing to: I do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of this state, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of the planning commission according to the best of my ability.

The next scheduled meeting for the planning commission is Nov. 2.

The county clerks office will be busy with the election at that time, so a judge may have to administer the oath, Allen said.
Bancolombia S.A. provides banking products and services in Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. The company operates through nine segments: Banking Colombia, Banking Panama, Banking El Salvador, Banking Guatemala, Trust, Investment Banking, Brokerage, International Banking, and All Other. It offers checking and savings accounts, fixed term deposits, and investment products; trade financing, loans funded by domestic development banks, working capital loans, credit cards, personal and vehicle loans, payroll loans, and overdrafts; financial support to real estate developers and mortgages for individuals and companies; factoring; and financial and operating leasing services. The company also provides hedging instruments, including futures, forwards, options, and swaps; and brokerage, investment advisory, and private banking services, including selling and distributing equities, futures, foreign currencies, fixed income securities, mutual funds, and structured products. In addition, it offers cash management services; foreign currency transaction services; life, auto, commercial, and homeowner's insurance products; and online and computer banking services. Further, the company provides project and acquisition finance, debt and equity capital markets, principal investments, M&A, hedging strategies, restructurings, and structured financing; money market accounts, mutual and pension funds, private equity funds, payment and corporate trust, and custody; internet-based trading platform; inter-bank lending and repurchase agreements; managing escrow accounts, and investment and real estate funds; and transportation, securities brokerage, maintenance and remodeling, and outsourcing services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 1,015 branches; 28,676 banking correspondents; 529 PAMs; 210 kiosks in El Salvador and 187 in Colombia; and 6,094 ATMs. Bancolombia S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Medellin, Colombia.
Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial and residential customers. The company also provides hygiene services, including the provision and maintenance of products, such as soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, hand dryers, air care and purification, cubicle and surface sanitizers, feminine hygiene units, toilet paper dispensers, and floor protection mats. In addition, it engages in the supply and laundering of workwear, uniforms, cleanroom uniforms, and protective equipment. Further, the company installs and services interior and exterior plant displays, flowers, replica foliage, Christmas decorations, and ambient scenting for commercial businesses; offers property care services consisting of damp proofing, property conservation, and woodworm and wood rot treatment; and provides a range of specialist cleaning services, such as graffiti removal deep cleaning of kitchens and washrooms, trauma cleaning, and flood or fire damage cleaning, as well as specialist industrial cleaning and disinfection services, including the professional and discreet disinfection of areas that have been exposed to bio-hazardous situations, such as crime and trauma scenes, prison cells, void properties, emergency vehicles, and healthcare establishments. Additionally, it offers a range of healthcare waste management services comprising the collection, disposal, and recycling of hazardous and offensive waste produced by businesses and organizations associated with the provision of healthcare; and color-coded sharps disposal bins to deal with various types of waste. Rentokil Initial plc was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Crawley, the United Kingdom.
Brookdale Senior Living Inc. owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors. The Assisted Living and Memory Care segment owns or leases communities consisting of freestanding multi-story communities and freestanding single-story communities, which offer housing and 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living for the Company's residents. This segment also operates memory care communities for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The CCRCs segment owns or leases communities that provides various living arrangements, such as independent and assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing; and services to accommodate various levels of physical ability and healthcare needs. It also manages communities on behalf of others. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned 347 communities, leased 299 communities, and managed 33 communities on behalf of others. Brookdale Senior Living Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
United Parcel Service, Inc. provides letter and package delivery, transportation, logistics, and related services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States. The International Package segment provides guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping services in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment offers guaranteed time-definite express options. The company also provides international air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution and post-sales, and mail and consulting services in approximately 200 countries and territories. In addition, it offers truckload brokerage services; supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industry; shipping, visibility, and billing technologies; and financial and insurance services. The company operates a fleet of approximately 121,000 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; and owns 59,000 containers that are used to transport cargo in its aircraft. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Yang Li and Mrs. Konkarn Wattanavrangkul, the minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Thailand

While looking through her WeChat feed on September 22nd, Chinese tour guide Yang Li saw a post about a Chinese woman who was severely injured in Phuket, a popular tourist island in Thailand. The injured woman desperately needed a blood donor with Rh-negative blood, often called panda blood for its scarcity. Though Yang is Rh-negative and was in Thailand at the time, she was at the airport taking a tour group back to China when she first saw the post.

In China, people with Rh-negative blood only constitute 0.3 percent of the population. Yang understood this and promptly took action, buying a direct plane ticket to Phuket only a day after returning to Nanjing. Through contact with the Chinese embassy, Yang found out that the tourist had injured her spine, and without a blood donor, she may lose her ability to walk. Yang donated 450 milliliters of her rare panda blood. The recipient repeatedly expressed gratitude towards the donor.

Yang Li with the blood recipient

Mrs. Konkarn Wattanavrangkul, the minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Thailand, figured out about the Chinese donors heroic efforts through social media. With the help of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, the two arranged a meeting on the eve of October 5th. Mrs. Wattanavrangkul gave Yang a knitted bracelet with the three colors of Thailands flag, a thank-you letter, and a hand-woven scarf. The Nanjing Tourism Committee also awarded Yang for her bravery, giving her the title of Most Beautiful Tour Guide.

In her thank-you letter to Yang, Mrs. Wattanavrangkul wrote, Dear Ms. Yang Li, thank you so much for your kind heart to help Chinese tourist in Thailand to live and recover. With great admiration from Thai Government.
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.
The head of watchdog group is petitioning the Air Force to reprimand a squadron commander at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, after he said Jesus Christ guides all his decisions.

While Lt. Col. Michael Kersten, 39th Medical Support Squadron commander, is within his personal rights to believe in whomever or whatever he chooses, his decisions should "be based upon his oath of office and allegiance to the United States Constitution to which he has sworn to protect and defend," according to Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group that promotes civil rights.

"By unequivocally stating to the world that ALL of his decisions are based upon his Christian faith, he has broadcast to his otherwise helpless subordinates, and the multitudes of other military and civilian members which the Air Force Squadron he now commands directly and indirectly serves, that he will, in a professional setting, place decision-making primacy on his personal version of his Christian religious faith over his official military duty," Weinstein said in a letter.

The correspondence was sent to Col. John C. Walker, 39th Air Base Wing commander, as well as Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.

A spokesperson for the Air Force didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Military.com.

Weinstein said his group has been retained by more than 100 Incirlik personnel who feel uncomfortable with Kersten's comments, especially since the base is shared by both U.S. and Turkish personnel in a predominantly Muslim country.

On Sept. 15, in a question-and-answer post as part of the base's "meet your leadership" series, Kersten was asked if there was a leader from his career who influenced him most.

"There's no one in particular," Kersten said in the Q&A. "As a Christian, my example is to be like Christ. He is my guide and affects all of my decisions. He teaches to do all things as unto the Lord and I believe this is synonymous with integrity first and excellence in all we do."

Weinstein said this comment violated rules spelled out in Air Force Instruction 1-1.

The policy states, "You should confidently practice your own beliefs while respecting others whose viewpoints differ from your own. Every Airman also has the right to individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs, to include conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs, unless those expressions would have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order, discipline, health and safety, or mission accomplishment."

In 2014, then-Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and James called for an update to the policy to better clarify how commanders should handle "religious accommodation requests or when Airmen's rights to free exercise are questioned."

Another amendment to the policy states that leaders "must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief," which Weinstein believes Kersten directly violated because his statements favor Christian beliefs.

Free religious practice has become a heated topic in the Air Force, and the military overall, after recent incidents have landed some airmen in hot water.

In April, retired Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez was forcibly removed from a retirement ceremony at Travis Air Force Base, California, after he began making a flag-folding speech that referenced God several times. An investigation into the incident determined Rodriguez was kicked out of his acquaintance's retirement ceremony because he didn't follow a commander's order to avoid participating in the event -- not because he referenced religion in his remarks.

Another airman in 2014 was denied re-enlistment after he refused to swear under oath because it contained the phrase "so help me God." The technical sergeant, an atheist, crossed out the words "so help me God" when he filled out re-enlistment paperwork; the Air Force later allowed him to re-enlist and changed its policy, giving airmen the option to omit the phrase.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
If you're a veteran looking to land a job that requires a security clearance, the new semi-independent office taking over the processing of security clearances from the Office of Personnel Management might mean quicker turnaround time (and more accurate checks).

The National Background Investigation Bureau (NBIB) was set up to replace U.S. Investigations Services (USIS). A lawsuit claimed that OPM-contracted USIS failed to do complete reviews in 665,000 investigations. USIS' image was further hurt when it was revealed it had been the contracting agency behind clearing both Edward Snowden and the Washington Navy Yard shooter, Aaron Alexis.

Related: Search for Security Clearance jobs.

The transition leaves NBIB with an estimated 500,000 backlogged security investigations, The Washington Post reported.

To lead the charge, President Obama appointed Charlie Phalen as head of NBIB. Phalen was a line-level background investigator before working for 30 years in the federal government. His last post before NBIB was as director of security for the CIA. He'll have a workforce of approximately 8,500 employees to help him revamp the security clearance process.

NBIB hopes to reduce background investigation processing time from about 120 days to 40 by automating information gathering and improving information sharing on criminal records.

Job applicants should try to ensure the clearance process goes smoothly. Know the eligibility guidelines, and try not to let your clearance expire.

Related: For the latest veteran jobs postings around the country, visit the Military.com Job Search section.

The Next Step: Find the Right Veteran Job

Whether you want to polish up your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area, or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. Sign up for a free Military.com membership to have job postings, guides and advice, and more delivered directly to your inbox.
The Chinese-built railway linking the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the port of Djibouti, which will be Africa's first modern electrified railway, was inaugurated in Addis Ababa Wednesday.

Stretching 725.7 kilometers and with a designed speed of 120 km per hour, the newly-built electric rail line between Addis Ababa to Djibouti offers an opportunity for China. Constructed by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC), the line will also be operated by the Chinese consortium for about six years.

Compared with U.S.-European countries, China is more inclined to undertake infrastructure projects in Africa. While more and more U.S. and European countries stay on their African projects as operators, Chinas operational experience is lacking. This has created a two-fold problem for Sino-African business relations. When a Chinese side finishes the project, the African side - public or private - takes over operations. If the African side runs into an issue, the operators would conveniently blame the Chinese constructors. Eventually, the confidence in Chinese businesses suffers.

This happened to the Chinese-built Tanzania-Zambia railway (TAZARA), official inaugurated in 1976. The Chinese constructors did not take over the management of the railway. While the project sustained the 1998 great floods in Tanzania, its operation remains unsatisfactory. With a design transportation capacity of 2 million tons per year, the railway climaxed at 1.27 million tons in the year 1977, and has henceforth seen a decline. Interviews with people who were involved directly in the construction of the railway, all from China, Tanzania, or Zambia, show they all believed that the unsatisfactory operation has to do with the chasm between constructors and operators.

The railway between Addis Ababa and Djibouti offers an opportunity to alter this trend. In the six years of running the railway, China hopes to do more than just uphold smooth operations. The worlds second largest economy aims to localize the operations, too. This means establishing an operational system and internal philosophy able to influence the next generation. Due to a lack of capable talent, both Ethiopia and Djibouti have already reported sending students abroad to China to study railways. By adopting these measures, this project will avoid the risk associated with an international body taking over local operations. If successful, it can be the poster boy for future Chinese operational management in Africa.
Run the World logo

The Run the World 5K and one-mile run is Saturday, Oct. 9 at Gallup Park. Participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite story book characters for the event.

(Courtesy )

ANN ARBOR, MI- The nonprofit known as Chasing Two Rabbits at Once is working to increase literacy in the next generation of a nomadic African tribe and build funding through a literature-themed event this weekend in Ann Arbor.

The Run the World 5K and one-mile run is Sunday, Oct. 9, at Gallup Park. Participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite story book characters for the event. The more creatively-costumed runners and the fastest participants will receive prizes.

The 5K run/walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and the one-mile run/walk begins at 10:30 a.m. The race is happening rain or shine, but will be cancelled in case of severe weather.

Participants can register ahead of time online or on-site the day of. On-site registration requires cash or check only. The 5K run/walk is $30 for an adult and $25 for a child, and the one-mile run/walk is $20 for an adult and $15 for a child.

Funds raised from the event are going to Chasing Two Rabbits at Once, a nonprofit started in 2015 by Ann Arbor native Sarah Strader, 26, who was inspired by her work with the Baka people of Cameroon to create an educational system for the children of the hunter-gatherer tribe.

"They have this ancestral knowledge that is very, very sophisticated and goes back for a millennium," Strader said.

The name of the nonprofit, Chasing Two Rabbits at Once, came from a Baka father, Strader said. She remembers a conversation where he attempted to explain that both traditional and formal education are not within reach of the tribe's children.

"He wanted his daughter to learn both, but he didn't think it was possible," Strader said.

Ann Arbor native Sarah Strader, 26, was inspired by her work with the Baka people of Cameroon to create an educational system for the children of the hunter-gatherer tribe.

Children of the nomadic tribe often have to choose to stay behind to attend class when the tribe moves through the forest throughout the year, or forgo a formal education setting.

During her first year in Cameroon, Strader worked with the Baka and discovered the biggest need for education was at a prekindergarten level. School starts at first grade for the Baka.

"We wanted to give the children an educational model that moves with the Baka through the forest, so kids really are able to pursue both educations at once," Strader said.

The nonprofit is creating audio educational content through hand-cranked MP3 players that allow instructors to use prebuilt lesson plans and create unique lessons so the young children in the tribe can learn the alphabet and gain a sense of literacy.

Strader worked to develop the content with Baka parents and education facilitators who travel with the tribe and can conduct lessons on the move.

"Part of what we try to do in our preschool is introduce them to concepts of letters and sounds," Strader said.

She compares the Baka moving school to Sesame Street, where children learn through songs that have now been picked up by the entire tribe in an effort to educate the next generation.

The parents are enthusiastic about the education model, said Strader, in part because the Baka are often discriminated against due to their lack of schooling. The Baka parents have been involved with creating the education model from the start, and are proud of their work.

"They envisioned this mobile preschool program, in their language that used facilitators from their community," said Strader. "It's exciting for them to see this idea come to life."

There is still work to be done, including testing the first round of children on language, literacy, numeracy, cultural pride and school readiness to evaluate the education model's impact.

Some challenges for the nonprofit include communicating with facilitators and the Baka tribe and securing funding for additional equipment. Despite the challenges, Strader is continually looking for ways to build awareness and funding like the Run the World event.

"We've been doing more crowd funding and writing small grants, things like that, which has been tricky," Strader said. "It's always an uphill battle and you are always looking for those partners and opportunities."

As her work with the Baka tribe continues, Strader sees opportunities to take the educational model to countries that are experiencing conflict or crisis.

"We see that this model could really be impactful in conflict and crisis zones, especially in refugee camps," Strader said. "Quality preschool is not just for their educational futures and academic lives, but also for enriching and protecting those children when they are in crisis."
Todd Keith

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN - The suspect in two Ann Arbor-area bank robberies also is a person of interest in two hotel robberies in Livonia, another armed robbery and a carjacking.

The FBI asks for the public's help in locating Todd Ramond Keith, 37, who faces bank robbery charges for two incidents in the past week in Washtenaw County.

On Sept. 30, a man in a Halloween mask entered Chase Bank, 5436 Whittaker Road in Ypsilanti Township, and fired shots before fleeing with an unknown amount of money.

On Monday, Oct. 3, a masked, armed man robbed KeyBank, 5300 Willis Road, in Augusta Township.

The FBI believes Keith may have been the suspect in four other incidents too: a robbery Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Embassy Suites in Livonia, a second hotel robbery later Thursday in which the suspect opened fire at officers, an armed robbery Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Walgreens in Brownstown Township and a carjacking in Madison Heights.

In the hotel and Walgreens robberies, the suspect was wearing a clown mask.

Keith was last seen driving a stolen black Lexus with the Michigan plate BGQ815, in Tiffin, Ohio.

He is a white male with hazel eyes and black hair, 6 feet 2 inches tall and 230 pounds, and he has a bat tattoo on his neck. He was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and khaki pants.

"The public is being urged to call 911 if they come into contact with this extremely dangerous individual," according to the FBI. "The FBI is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the suspect."

Keith is on probation after pleading guilty to four counts of breaking and entering with intent stemming from a February 2015 incident in Ann Arbor, according to Washtenaw County Trial Court records.

He has been convicted of offenses including malicious destruction of property, two vehicle thefts, fleeing from police and resisting and obstructing arrest from incidents in 2007 and 2009 in Macomb, Monroe and Washtenaw counties, Michigan Department of Corrections records state.

Washtenaw County court records show Keith has an Ypsilanti address.
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - FBI is looking for Todd R. Keith, the man suspected of two bank robberies in the past week in Ypsilanti and Augusta townships.

Just after 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies responded to Chase Bank, 5436 Whittaker Road, in Ypsilanti Township, for a reported robbery.

Three days later, at 10:37 a.m. Monday, Oct. 3, Michigan State Police responded to the KeyBank, 5300 Willis Road, in Augusta Township, for a reported robbery.

In both incidents, the suspect was reported as wearing a dark hoodie and what appears to be a mask. Police released a surveillance photo after the KeyBank robbery showing a silver Dodge Journey with damage to the driver's side rear bumper.

The FBI considers Keith to be armed and dangerous and urges anyone coming in contact with him not to approach him but to immediately call 911. The FBI is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest.

Keith is a 6'2" white male, weighs 230 pounds and has black hair and hazel eyes.
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Attorney Kenneth Mogill on Wednesday, Oct. 6 argues before the Michigan Supreme Court in the Judicial Tenure Commission case, which recommends the court remove Washtenaw County 14A-1 District Court Judge J. Cedric Simpson from office.

(Lindsay Knake | MLive.com)

LANSING, MI - If the Michigan Supreme Court rules a Washtenaw County judge lied under oath, he'll be off the bench.

Attorneys argued the Judicial Tenure Commission case, which recommends the court remove Washtenaw County 14A-1 District Court Judge J. Cedric Simpson from office, before the seven justices on Thursday, Oct. 6 in Lansing.

The case's origins date back to September 2013 when Simpson arrived on the scene of a traffic stop involving his intern Crystal Vargas, who was being arrested for drunk driving at 4:30 a.m. in Pittsfield Township. Simpson spoke with both the arresting officer and Vargas at the scene, shows video of the arrest.

The Judicial Tenure Commission filed a three-count complaint against Simpson in November 2014, claiming he interfered with Vargas's arrest and subsequent prosecution and later lied to the commission about 14,000 text messages he and Vargas exchanged in a four-month period before and after her arrest.

Simpson's attorney Kenneth Mogill argued Simpson's presence and discussion did not interfere with the arrest, and his text messages with Vargas were about an unrelated case Vargas was working on.

If the court determines Simpson lied under oath, it's a fatal offense for a judge, said Chief Justice Robert P. Young.

"When a judge lies under oath, it makes it hard to turn to someone else and expect them to tell the truth," he said.

The arguments

Judicial Tenure Commission Associate Examiner Margaret Rynier said Simpson's relationship with his intern showed his intent in making an appearance at the scene was to get her out of trouble.

But Mogill argued the record shows Simpson didn't interfere with or delay the police investigation into Vargas's drunken driving arrest. The arresting officer from Pittsfield Township testified Simpson didn't do or say anything to persuade the officer to do something he shouldn't, Mogill added.

Simpson's behavior was an isolated incident, and he has since said he wouldn't do it again, Mogill said.

The justices questioned the volume of the text messages Simpson and Vargas sent to one another and how that pertained to the case. Justice David F. Viviano said Simpson and Mogill's reasoning for the number of text messages doesn't make sense.

Vargas had to review an extraordinary number of text messages for a separate case she was working on for Simpson, which explains why Simpson and Vargas exchanged so many messages of their own, Mogill said.

Simpson, also a faculty member at Cooley Law School in Ann Arbor, makes himself available to his students and was helping Vargas with both her work and a difficult relationship she was in, Mogill said.

Young said he doesn't care what the underlying relationship between Simpson and Vargas was.

"There was some kind of emotional relationship that would prompt 15,000 communications that might explain why he showed up that morning. It's trying to gloss over that motivation that is the biggest problem for (Simpson)," he said.

During Rynier's arguments, the justices pushed her to explain why the nature of the relationship between Simpson and Vargas and why the number of text messages were relevant to the commission's assertion Simpson lied under oath.

Rynier said the relationship gave Simpson motivation to interfere with the investigation and prosecution.

A misleading statement, she said, is judicial misconduct.

Simpson initially told the commission his only contact with Vargas was through social settings, and then the commission found the 14,000 text messages the two had exchanged in a four-month period, Rynier said.

"His responses to commission were false," she said.

Simpson also contacted the Pittsfield Township attorney eight days after Vargas's arrest to get the police report and discuss which defense attorney should represent Vargas, she said. However, Simpson already had a copy of the police report.

Mogill argued Simpson asked for the police report to determine whether Vargas should have remained in his office.

But Rynier said there was no reason for Simpson to ask for the report or discuss attorneys unless he was interfering with the investigation.

She acknowledged it wasn't an easy case, but she says it's a clear one.

"Sometimes circumstantial evidence is stronger than direct evidence," she said.

The justices also touched on the propriety of a judge appearing at the scene of an incident, and what constitutes misconduct.

Justice Richard Bernstein asked whether it would be inappropriate for a judge to talk to an officer about a parking ticket.

Rynier said she believed it would be if he announced his title and asserted his office to influence the officer.

The Michigan Supreme Court will consider the briefs and arguments and make a ruling on the case.

The decision, Bernstein noted, will affect all judges in the state.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A new high-rise apartment building is planned for the former YMCA site next to the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor.

The City Council discussed the new development proposal for the first time at its meeting Thursday night, Oct. 6, but the council isn't sold on it yet.

As initially presented, it would be a mixed-use development with 233 apartments, at least 14,000 square feet of office space on the fourth floor, and first-floor retail space, including a small convenience/grocery store.

There would be landscaped open space, including a plaza and fountain. Drawings submitted to the city call it William Street Plaza.

At least 20 of the residential units would be "micro units" with moderate rents, six to eight of which would be designated as workforce housing.

The workforce housing units would be about 390 square feet each and would be for people earning up to 80 percent of the area median income.

However, some council members indicated Thursday night they want to see more offered in the way of affordable housing and energy efficiency. The city's staff is going to try to negotiate that with the development team.

Instead of underground parking, which city officials had hoped to see, parking is planned inside the building on the second and third floors, with a single entrance and exit drive from Fifth Avenue across from the downtown library.

The development would be required to have 105 off-street parking spaces, which the development team has indicated it intends to meet.

The city has stated the spaces could be provided either on site, through contract arrangement with the Downtown Development Authority for spaces at the city's public parking facilities, or by making a fee-in-lieu payment.

The property, known as the Y Lot, is the empty parking lot bound by Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, William Street and the Blake Transit Center.

The City Council is being asked to approve modifications to the deed restrictions for the property to allow the proposed development to happen. The modifications are expected to come back to council for consideration on Nov. 10.

The deed restrictions were put in place when the city sold the property to Dennis Dahlmann for $5.25 million in April 2014.

Dahlmann is now looking to sell the property to The Habitat Company LLC, a Chicago-based developer.

The development team is comprised of The Habitat Company, CA Ventures and Hughes Properties.

They say they've been working with the city's staff for more than a year to minimize the modifications to the deed restrictions.

Until Dahlmann bought the property, it was being used for public parking, but it has been closed to the public for the last two and a half years now.

Under terms agreed upon by both Dahlmann and the city, Dahlmann was required to construct a building on the Y Lot rising at least five stories by April 2018, but he never moved forward with any development plans.

Under the existing restrictions, any development on the site must include retail/restaurant space on the ground floor, office space on the remaining lower floors, and residential apartments on the upper floors, with no apartment having more than three bedrooms. The project also must include a substantial landscaped open space, including a fountain.

Dahlmann owned the Bell Tower and Campus Inn hotels downtown at the time he bought the property, and his $5.25 million offer in the fall of 2013 was viewed by many as an attempt to block competing proposals for new hotels. Some assumed he would sit on the property and never develop it.

Dahlmann has since sold the Campus Inn, which has been rebranded as the Graduate Ann Arbor under new ownership.

Dahlmann has said he would have liked to develop the Y Lot, but he encountered hurdles in trying to make it work. He complained about the number of Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority buses idling at the curb around the site.

For a development to proceed, Dahlmann argued the AAATA needed to relocate some of the bus stops that surround the Y Lot.

Dahlmann also has noted an environmental assessment showed the Y Lot soils were badly contaminated and the foundation walls and basement floor of the old YMCA were buried underground instead of being removed when the building was demolished by the city and turned into a parking lot years ago.

Ron Hughes, one of the new development team representatives, said there are substantial environmental issues to address and brownfield tax credits will be sought to help with that.

The city has a right of first refusal and could buy back the property instead of letting Dahlmann sell it to a new developer.

That's a consideration as the City Council decides whether to modify the deed restrictions to allow the new development being proposed.

Council Member Sabra Briere, D-1st Ward, said what's being proposed now is a building likely reaching 180 feet tall, the maximum allowable height.

She said what was envisioned under the agreement the council reached with Dahlmann was a building that would not max out the site, and it was expected there would be underground parking, not above-ground parking.

Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward, said he he thinks the new development that's proposed with parking on the second and third floors is a reasonable way to respond to the problems the buses pose at the site.

"I'm not sure that anybody wants to have an office or a residence in the middle of all of those fumes," he said. "I'm going to support this."

Council Member Julie Grand, D-3rd Ward, suggested the city might be able to hold out for a better development.

"I was not on council when this property was sold to Mr. Dahlmann, but I remember being not too pleased with council at the time for deciding to sell it to Mr. Dahlmann, because I didn't believe that he was actually going to build something on this site," Grand said, adding that's why the city put in place stipulations allowing the city to buy back the property if he didn't develop it.

"I believe that Mr. Dahlmann understood what the costs were and that in choosing to purchase this property and not actually build something on it, that that was the cost to him of sitting on this property for a number of years," she said. "Now we're being asked to actually give up even more in amending and not adhering to some of these deed restrictions, some of which I think -- while expensive -- were desired by council, such as having parking underground."

The city still has two rights to the property -- a right of first refusal and a right of reversion. If Dahlmann wants to sell the property to another developer, the city can match the sale price and buy it back. The Habitat Company has an option to buy it from Dahlmann for more than $6 million.

If the council rejects the deed restriction modifications The Habitat Company needs for its development to happen, and if the property then stays in Dahlmann's hands and isn't developed by April 2018, the city would be able to buy it back for either the appraised value or $4.2 million, whichever is lower.

After broker fees and closing costs, the city netted $4,929,450 from the $5.25 million sale of the property in 2014.

And from those net proceeds, $1,422,736 went toward affordable housing efforts and $3,506,714 paid off the debt the city owed on the property.

Grand said what the city gains by changing the deed restrictions is a new development, but she thinks if the city buys back the property and then flips it to another developer, the city could come out ahead.

"So, when I'm thinking about changing the deed restrictions, I'm also thinking about what is the public good on top of this from this project? Is it worth $2 million to $3 million?" she said, adding she doesn't think the promises of a floor of office space and six units of workforce housing are enough to make it worth it.

"So I won't be supporting this at this time," she said. "It just doesn't meet that metric. I think there are a lot of other options that are very much in line with our goals for sustainability and housing that we could look at for this space."

Council Member Zachary Ackerman, D-3rd Ward, said the city shouldn't be in the business of trying to buy back and flip properties. He said what's proposed offers a diversity of housing options and office space that is needed downtown.

Council Member Jane Lumm, an independent from the 2nd Ward, said given all of the fumes from AAATA buses around the site, what's being proposed by the new development team might be as good as it gets.

"It does seem the new developer's design is driven in part by wanting to keep his office and residential tenants away from the noise and fumes," Lumm said. "And that suggests it's a legitimate problem, a problem which impacts obviously not just the new development's tenants, but the folks walking in the adjacent downtown area already, and a problem that really does need to be addressed."

Lumm said she thinks the requested deed modifications are reasonable and in the city's bests interests to approve.

Council Member Sumi Kailasapathy, D-1st Ward, shared concerns that the Y Lot is essentially surrounded by on-street parking for idling buses.

"All day long there's buses idling and buses standing there," she said. "And Mr. Dahlmann, right or wrong, has informed the council and the DDA multiple times that he was finding it difficult to find investors to develop that property, because, I mean, who's going to buy it? Who would want to invest in a new building there when the entire area is like a bus stop?

"So, I think just intuiting and saying he bought the land so that he can block development is really unfair," she said, going on to criticize the AAATA for building a new transit center that leaves so many buses on the street.

"I mean, this is ridiculous," she said, calling it poor planning. "So, I think we need to be fair by the developer, too."
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The University of Michigan Health System and the Ann Arbor Police Department are hosting a drug take-back event on Oct. 8 at Pioneer High School.

(Courtesy)

ANN ARBOR -- Washtenaw County residents will have the chance to dispose of unwanted, expired or unused medications at Pioneer High School this weekend.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at the high school's Main Street entrance, the University of Michigan Health System and the Ann Arbor Police Department are teaming up to host the Pain Medication Take-Back event, intended to help protect teens against drug abuse and overdose.

According to the university's website, unintentional/undetermined opioid pain reliever overdoses more than doubled from 2014 to 2015 among Washtenaw County residents 21 or younger.

"Many teens mistakenly view prescriptions as a medically safe way to get high," according to the website of the Division of Pain Research within the university health system's Department of Anesthesiology.

The take-back event provides one way of disposing of unwanted medications safely. Securing medicine and talking to children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse are important measures to take as well.
Ypsilanti Township Hall.jpg

The Ypsilanti Township Hall

(Courtesy photo)

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI - The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees continues to delay a new attendance policy, and meanwhile Trustee Jean Hall Currie has collected $30,000 in pay for two years of missed meetings.

At the last two board meetings, the attendance policy was listed on the agenda as a discussion item, and two proposals were laid out in the board packets. But the board never discussed the issue at either meeting.

Per state law, the Board of Trustees cannot legally remove Hall Currie or withhold her salary. The Michigan Township Association previously confirmed there is no legal way for an elected body to remove an elected official from their seat.

Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said via email that the most recent delay had to do with time constraints at the meeting, and the township has had other priorities. The board first discussed several proposed changes to its attendance policy in April.

It can legally change its policy only when a new board sits, so it must approve the changes prior to its Nov. 20 meeting. Stumbo said the new policy would be in place by that date.

"It is not an easy solution since our trustees are currently paid by salary, and my understanding is that you either have to be salary or paid per meeting," she said.

Trustees are currently paid a salary of $15,000 for 20 meetings each calendar year, not including special meetings.

Several board members have previously said the situation is a problem. But, notably, the two proposed policy changes don't include rules for full-time elected officials - the supervisor, clerk, and treasurer - and that has not been addressed throughout the board's discussion.

Per a township memo, the proposed policies' goals are to "encourage all elected township trustees to attend as many meetings as possible."

The memo also states that the policies seek "to achieve a fair balance between an elected township trustee's commitment to their elected position, their employment commitment outside of their elected position, as well as their personal and community commitments."

One proposed policy would permit trustees five absences during a rolling 12-month period. Any additional absences beyond five would result in a loss of pay in the amount of $749.20 per meeting missed.

An alternative plan would allow trustees three absences before forfeiting pay. In both proposals, exemptions are made for bereavement.

Township officials previously said they haven't been able to reach Hall Currie, and The Ann Arbor News also has been unable to reach her.

Hall Currie, who has served as a trustee since 1988, is popular in terms of votes received. In the 2012 election, she received the most votes of a dozen trustee candidates with 3,088, representing just under 20 percent of the count.

According to her bio on the township's website, Hall Currie is a semi-retired real estate agent and recently retired from the U-M School of Dentistry after 28 years as a dental assistant. She founded the Metro Women Civic Council of Ypsilanti and is an active member of the Second Baptist Church of Ypsilanti.
BUDAPEST, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Liu Yunshan said on Thursday that Central and Eastern Europe is a key region for building the Belt and Road Initiative and a priority area in China's external exchanges and cooperation.

Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the comment when addressing the opening ceremony of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) Political Parties Dialogue, the first of its kind within the China-CEECs cooperation mechanism, dubbed as the 16+1 framework.

"The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and advocated by the Chinese government, is a major move for China's opening-up on all fronts, fits in line with the theme of peace and development, and accords with the internal need of all countries to accelerate development. It will present more development opportunities to the world and open up more space for coordinated development of China and CEECs," Liu said.

Over the past three years, the Belt and Road Initiative has increasingly become a new driver of global economic recovery, a new bond for exchanges between Asian and European civilizations and a new platform for improving global governance, he said.

"It has been proved that jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative helps boost prosperity and regional economic cooperation among countries along the Belt and Road, enhance exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and promote world peace and development," Liu said.

He called on China and CEECs to respect each other, enhance political mutual trust, maintain close high-level exchanges, implement consultation and dialogue mechanisms and consolidate traditional friendship to lay a solid political groundwork for deepening consultation.

Liu urged both sides to pursue win-win outcomes and synergize development strategies by promoting policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people ties, bringing about a new win-win situation featuring aligned development, mutually reinforcing growth and integrated interests.

He said both sides need to focus on major projects in priority areas of infrastructure connectivity, industrial cooperation, materializing some key projects at a faster pace to bring more tangible benefits to all countries, adding that people-to-people and cultural exchanges and friendship among the people should be strengthened.

Political parties in China and the CEECs enjoy a long history of interaction and it is their shared responsibility to make good use of the "16+1" cooperation platform and advance the Belt and Road Initiative to release the potential for cooperation, Liu said.

Political parties should shoulder the responsibility of strengthening political guidance and consolidating strategic mutual trust, conduct candid dialogue on major issues concerning the Belt and Road Initiative and the "16+1" cooperation and translate the political dialogue outcomes into government policies, Liu said.

"We should build consensus among political parties and coordinate operations, focus on common interests and resolve differences and disputes through dialogue and consultation," Liu said, adding that political parties have the responsibility of increasing understanding between the peoples and translating cooperation vision into tangible benefits to the peoples.

The CEECs leaders, including Viktor Orban, president of Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance and Prime Minister of Hungary, Vojtech Filip, leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and vice president of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, thanked the CPC for creating the dialogue platform for political parties to discuss development strategy, overcoming ideological and geographical differences.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a grand peaceful proposal to promote cooperation and win-win development. The initiative, rooted in China's profound philosophy and culture and love for peace, will guide the Europe-China relations for the coming decades and enable both sides to contribute to world peace, security and development, the CEECs representatives said.

They said political parties in the CEECs were delighted to engage in building the Belt and Road Initiative and are willing to work with the CPC to play a politically guiding role to lead the think tanks, civil organizations and the public to implement the initiative and make efforts for the peace and prosperity of China, the CEECs as well as the world.

Liu arrived in Budapest earlier Wednesday for a two-day official good-will visit to Hungary. Liu is taking on an Asia-Europe tour, which took him to Mongolia and Greece ahead of Budapest.
BAY CITY, MI -- A parolee accused of beating a Bay City man with a cane then repeatedly stabbing him has accepted a plea offer.

Gregory A. Wiseman, 26, on Wednesday, Oct. 5, appeared before Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly and waived his right to a preliminary examination. Kelly then bound Wiseman over to Circuit Court and acted as a judge of that higher court in accepting Wiseman's pleas.

Wiseman pleaded no contest to single counts of assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Stroud said Wiseman is to be treated as a habitual offender with second-offense sentencing enhancements. This will increase the maximum potential penalties from 10 to 15 years and four to six years, respectively.

As Wiseman was on parole at the time of his latest offenses, he's also subject to consecutive sentencing. This means he would have to finish serving his original term before he can start chipping away at the time from his most recent crimes.

Wiseman did not face any additional charges.

In pleading no contest, Wiseman did not verbally admit to having committed a crime. His attorney, Andrea LaBean, said Wiseman was not pleading guilty because he doesn't remember the incident and for reasons of civil liability.

Judge Kelly relied on a police-authored affidavit to enter convictions on the record.

That affidavit states police at 11:11 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 5, responded to a disturbance at 2101 Fifth St. on Bay City's East Side. Officers found 54-year-old Jeffrey G. Wald suffering from multiple stab wounds and arrested Wiseman at the scene.

Wiseman had taken Wald's cane and hit him with it. Then, as Wald was on his back, Wiseman took a knife and stabbed him in his arm and in his legs several times, causing extensive blood loss, the affidavit states.

Wald was transported by ambulance to Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw for treatment.

Wiseman lives at a different place in the city. Bay City Public Safety Capt. Mark Turner previously said Wiseman is friends with someone who lives at the same address as Wald.

Police have not elaborated on what prompted the dispute between Wiseman and Wald.

The Michigan Department of Corrections paroled Wiseman, who has "Bay City Boss Time" tattooed on his back and a bullet wound to his right elbow, on March 24. He was to remain on parole until June 24, 2017.

A Clinton County judge in June 2009 sentenced him to 18 months to five years in prison for unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle. This was followed by a Bay County judge in October 2010 sentencing him to 28 to 90 months for third-degree home invasion. Most recently, a Bay County judge in May 2015 sentenced him to 16 months to four years for assaulting, resisting or obstructing police.

Wiseman also has prior convictions for unlawful use of a motor vehicle, larceny in a building, receiving and concealing stolen property and assaulting police, dating back to at least 2007, the MDOC website shows.

Wiseman's sentencing date is pending.
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Two spoons containing residue of fentanyl, an opiate 100 times more potent than heroin, seized by police on Feb. 5 from a Bangor Township residence. Police were at the home responding to a report of 28-year-old man suffering from an overdose.

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A surge in overdose deaths is being linked to carfentanil, a super-potent synthetic opiate that produces effects similar to black-market heroin.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning Thursday stating at least 19 overdose deaths in Wayne County since July "could be linked" to the prescription drug.

But health officials admit, there is no way to verify carfentanil is to blame, based on currently available toxicology tests.

"Over the past week, there has been an increase in severe opioid-related toxicity in southeastern and central Michigan reported to Michigan Regional Poison Control Center at Children's Hospital of Michigan," the health department said. "Many of the patients fit the clinical picture expected with carfentanil, but because there is no currently validated testing, these cannot be confirmed."

Carfenatil health alert

Based on news reports and warnings from health officials and drug enforcement agencies across the nation, including a Sept. 22 warning issued by the DEA, there appears to be a nationwide effort to alert the public about the risks of carfentanil.

Carfentanil is 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, according to the National Institutes for Health.

Fentanyl was detected in the blood of Michael Jackson and Prince following their overdose deaths.

Health officials issued a similar warning regarding less-potent fentanyl overdose deaths in 2015.

"With the confirmation that carfentanil has been linked to at least 19 deaths in Wayne County, residents and healthcare providers should be on alert to the dangers that carfentanil poses," said Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive with the MDHHS. "Opioid and heroin use alone can be fatal. With the introduction of carfentanil to the drug supply, the risks of use are even greater."

Carfentanil, first marketed as a pain reliever for large animals after its creation in 1974, is sold on the black market in pill form or cut with other drugs, like heroin.

Carfentanil is believed to have contributed to a September overdose death in Kent County and multiple others in Ohio.

"The street drug supply is probably more dangerous than usual because of carfentanil," said Wayne County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Carl Schmidt. "There are other derivatives of opiates that may be present as well, and may be more potent than fentanyl already is. As always, purchasing street drugs comes with a risk--you may get something other than what you think you bought."

Police agencies are increasingly using Narcan, the brand name for the drug naxolone, which acts as an antidote for opiate overdoses. Quick use of naloxone can prevent death or serious brain damage from lack of oxygen by reversing the effects of an opiate or opioid overdose.

But health officials warn the potency of carfentanil significantly reduces the proven effectiveness of life-saving naxolone.

In addition to the public, the state health department wants doctors to be aware of the potential harm involved with drugs they prescribe, especially those for pain relief.

Doctors and health officials in Michigan have access to what is called the Michigan Automated Prescription System, a database that tracks every prescription issued in the state. This system should make it simple for doctors to manage the over-prescription of drugs to addicted patients, as well as for health managers to determine which doctors are prescribing too liberally.
DETROIT -- Burke Ramsey, the brother of JonBenet Ramsey, has filed a defamation lawsuit against a Michigan pathologist who was part a CBS investigation panel that pinned his sister's death on him.

The Associated Press reports the complaint alleges Dr. Werner Spitz claimed Ramsey, when he was 9, bludgeoned his younger sister to death in an interview.

Spitz is a 90-year-old pathologist who has been a consultant for cases such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and the O.J. Simpson murder trial. His book "Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation," has been commonly referred to as the "bible of forensic pathology."

Online Wayne County Circuit Court records show the complaint was filed Oct. 6.

A.P. reports that Burke Ramsey, now 29 and living in Northern Michigan, is seeking $150 million in damages and a jury trial.

Spitz was part of a team of investigators featured on a two-part CBS documentary series "The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey," which premiered Sept. 18 and concluded Sept. 19.

The doctor was quoted by CBS as saying "if you really, really use your free time to think about this case, you cannot come to a different conclusion. It's the boy who did it."

"Spitz made this accusation without ever examining JonBenet's body, without viewing the crime scene, and without consulting with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on JonBenet," A.P. reports the complaint reads, which also called the doctor a "publicity seeker 'with a history of interjecting himself in high profile cases.'"

In 1996, JonBenet was found dead in the basement of the Ramsey family's Colorado, home. Her parents and brother, Burke Ramsey, were cleared by prosecutors of any wrongdoing in 2008.

A.P. reports the investigation into the case remains active and that investigators in Boulder, Colorado have analyzed 200 DNA samples, thousands of pieces of evidence and traveled to 18 different states for interviews.

In a September interview on "Dr. Phil," Burke Ramsey said that he believes the killer was "probably some pedophile in the pageant audience" due to his sister's involvement in child beauty pageants.

It was the first time he publicly spoke about the murder.
Erin Winters, of Macomb Township, has made the top 20 for a chance to co-host "Live with Kelly" alongside the show's namesake, Kelly Ripa.

Winter's nationally syndicated dreams hang in the balance of a public vote, which is open through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9. The vote will determine a top 10, which will then be cut to five, four, three, two and then the winner.

While the contest is not a full-time gig to replace former co-host Michael Strahan, it's an opportunity to co-host the nationally syndicated morning talk show for a day.

The 22-year-old made the cut among thousands by making two video entries and an essay, according to the contest's rules. Winters currently serves as the "spokester" for Michigan First Credit Union's Young and Free Michigan program, according to a news release from Identity PR.

"Erin is responsible for promoting smart financial decisions among those ages 17-25 through daily blog posts, weekly videos, the management of the Young & Free social media channels and participation in community events," the press release reads.

To watch one of Winter's videos submitted for the contest, see below:

The show will announce the top 10 on its Tuesday, Oct. 11 show. If Winters makes the cut, she will appear on the show Wednesday or Thursday for a live chat interview which will factor into the judge's final decision.

From there, the top five will be announced on the Oct. 14 show with the winner being announced on Oct. 21 -- the same day they will play co-host with Ripa.

For more information on the expected schedule and contest rules, click here.
Downtown Detroit is getting a new sushi restaurant in the former Federal Reserve Building.

Maru Sushi & Grill, founded in 2008 in Okemos by Robert Song, will be on the first floor of the building at 160 W. Fort St. and is set to open near the end of the month.

Song, founder of Maru Hospitality Group, said the 4,500 square-foot space will seat 140 people inside and 65 outside once outdoor seating becomes available next year.

He plans to hire about 70 people to fill bartender, server, chef, and busser positions.

The restaurant will operate under a 15-year lease.

Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services reached out to Song several years ago to invest in a Detroit space after learning about his restaurant in Grand Rapids. After touring several of Bedrock's downtown properties, Song chose the Federal Reserve spot.

"We're looking forward to becoming part of the Detroit food scene and I'm excited to contribute to the renaissance of the city of Detroit," Song said.

Maru Sushi will feature a private booth, which used to be a revolving door, a private room accommodating about 12 people and a unique fisherman's design concept with "whimsical lighting."

"We bring in years of experience and what we're trying to do is bring the value and honesty to the food," Song said. "We are serving people traditionally prepared food and we present it in a contemporary way."

Song and architecture firm Rossetti Group also decided to leave the unfinished ceiling the way it is, to "expose the beauty of it and celebrate the history of it."

He added that half of the flooring contains the original bank flooring, and the other half, a lighter color, is newly installed.

Maru has other locations in Midland, Grand Rapids, East Lansing, and Okemos, with plans to work on a Kalamazoo restaurant in 2017 inside a 75-year-old train station.

Maru is currently hiring. Candidates interested can fill out an online application.
WARREN -- A 42-year-old high school teacher has been charged with third-degree sexual conduct after allegedly having a sexual relationship "that lasted several months" with an underage girl.

C&G Newspapers reports Harold Williams was arraigned in 37th District Court Thursday, Oct. 6. He is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student, including in the classroom "on at least one occasion."

After learning of the allegations, C&G reports Williams reportedly tried to commit suicide in his classroom Sept. 27.

He was reportedly found unresponsive and was released from the hospital eight days later.

"I'm looking forward to an opportunity to clear these charges up. I have no intention of fleeing," Williams said during his arraignment, according to C&G. "I would like an opportunity to show that I am not a criminal."

While the legal age of consent in Michigan is 16, sex between teachers and students less than 18 years old is against state law.

Judge Michael Chupa set his bail at $50,000 cash and has a no contact order with any child less than 17, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts' office writes in an email. Williams faces up to 15 years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender for life, if convicted.

He is ordered to stay at least a quarter-mile away from Fitzgerald High School, according to the mayor's office. Williams has a probable cause hearing scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Oct. 18 in front of Judge Suzanne Faunce.
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Third-grader Laayla Strong, 8, listens closely as she learns in her math class while leaning on her water bottle taking notes on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 at Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary School, which is the largest elementary in Flint. The school goes through about 750 bottles of water per day. There are 12 schools in the Flint School District.

(MLive.com | File)

FLINT, MI -- Flint Community Schools was awarded a $480,000 grant for resources to recover from the Flint water crisis by the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant was awarded through Project School Emergency Response to Violence, or Project SERV, which provides funding for educational agencies that have experienced a significant violent or traumatic event and need resources to respond, recover, and re-establish a safe environment conducive to learning, according to a news release.

"Helping the people of Flint recover from this water crisis is our collective responsibility," said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. "This Project SERV grant will help the students and educators foster a nurturing school environment. We want those impacted to receive the supports they need to work through this difficult situation."

King is expected to meet with U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Twp., students, parents, school and community leaders at Northwestern High School Friday afternoon, Oct. 7, to make the announcement and have a round table discussion on school-based health services.

The short-term grant will pay for a total of 12 professionals to help combat the effects of Flint's water crisis, including areas like attendance, discipline and social work services.

With the funds, four assistant attendance specialists will be hired to identify and support students who are repeatedly absent. Attendance specialists will make home visits to assess the family environment and collaborate with school staff to come up with solutions and special plans for truant students, the release says.

Three responsive service school counselors and two school psychologists will also be hired to address mental health needs of students. They will help develop, implement and evaluate a developmental counseling program.

Three speech therapists will also be hired to handle the increase in special education referrals and requests for testing from parents.

There are two types of Project SERV awards--immediate services and extended services, according to the release. Immediate service grants, which was the type awarded to Flint Community Schools, provides emergency, short-term assistance to affected school districts or colleges and universities.

In an email statement, Kildee was thankful for the grant and for the federal government's support.

"This $480,000 Federal SERV grant will help provide a learning environment that ensures kids from Flint can continue to dream big and achieve great things," Kildee said. "I commend Secretary King and the President for their continued commitment to helping Flint families and I am proud to work alongside them."
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Riverfront Residence Hall

(MLive.com File Photo)

FLINT, MI - University of Michigan-Flint officials say the legionella bacteria was found in three locations inside the Riverfront Residence Hall, but its presence is not connected to the Flint-area's deadly Legionnaire's Disease outbreak.

"The university notified the Genesee County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control about the findings," school Chancellor Susan E. Borrego said in a statement Thursday, Oct. 6. "They indicated that these test results are not atypical and reflect a small snapshot into water quality. We know that Legionella can accumulate in stagnant water."

Legionella bacteria is naturally occurring and categorized as a waterborne disease usually spread by man-made water supplies that aerosolize water that can be breathed in by a person in a mist.

Those at highest risk for contracting the bacteria are people with an underlying or chronic health condition.

Once contracted, it can lead to Legionnaire's Disease.

The disease has been under a spotlight in Flint and Genesee County after an outbreak in 2014-15 left 12 people dead and nearly 80 people sick.

The outbreak coincided with the city's switch to the Flint River as its drinking water source. Officials have suspected the switch as the cause of the outbreak, but a conclusive cause has not yet been confirmed.

Ten new cases of the disease have been reported in the county this year. The number of cases reported in the county ranged from six to 13 annually between 2010 and 2013, according to a MDHHS study published earlier this year.

None of the cases are connected to the university, according to Borrego.

"Please let me reassure you that in checking with the Centers for Disease Control I have been told that these test results do not indicate immediate risk to our campus or community," Borrego said. "The Genesee County Health Department confirmed that none of the county's reported cases of Legionnaires' disease are connected to the University of Michigan-Flint or Riverfront Residence Hall."

The university decided to announce the findings, which came as a result of continued water testing, in an overabundance of caution for its students and an effort to be transparent.

Efforts are being made by the school to fix the problem.

"The university also will immediately begin corrective actions including flushing the water system and working with national experts to maintain safe water," Borrego said. "We also will continue to work with the Centers for Disease Control and the Genesee County Health Department."
The UN Security Council has given its formal approval for former Portugese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres to become the UN's next secretary-general.

Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin is the current rotating president of the UN Security Council.

"First of all he has great United Nations credentials having been High Commissioner for refugees for 10 years, I think, and being High Commissioner for Refugees means traveling the world and seeing some of the most gruesome conflicts we have to deal with. And then of course he is a high-level politician, he has been the prime minister of his country and he is a person who talks to everyone and listens to everyone and speaks his mind. He's very outgoing and an open person so I think it was a great choice and I'm glad we rallied around Mr. Guterres."

The 67-year old Guterres, whose appointment still has to be approved by the UN General Assembly, comes into the position following an extended stint at the UN's Human Rights chief.

"I was moved when I saw the Security Council able to decide in unity and consensus and to decide in a very quick way. And I hope this represents a symbolic moment, a moment in which Security Council enhances its capacity to act in unity and consensus creating the conditions to decide timely in relation to the dramatic problems of our time."

Current UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is due to leave office at the end of this year after serving 10-years as the head of the UN.
MOSCOW, Oct. 6 -- The Russian Defense Ministry warned Thursday that it could shoot down U.S. missiles in Syria if they were used against the Syrian government forces.

"One should really be aware that crews of Russian air defense systems are unlikely to have time to clarify via a direct line the accurate flight programs of missiles and who their carriers belong to," the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. media reported that Washington is considering plans to launch air strikes against the Syrian government army.

Konashenkov said that the Syrian army now have effective Russian-made S-200, Buk and other air defense missile systems, while the Russian forces have deployed in Syria the advanced S-400 and S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, "the range of which may come as a surprise to any unidentified flying objects."

He added that any missile strikes against territories controlled by the Syrian government might present a threat to Russian servicemen working for the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria.

"I would recommend to colleagues in Washington that they carefully calculate possible consequences of such plans," said the spokesman.

On Sept. 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a week-long nationwide ceasefire in Syria, but crossfire resumed in the first hours the truce expired on Sept. 19.

On Sept. 17, the U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed over 90 Syrian troops in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour, incurring a strong response from Moscow, which accused Washington of violating the ceasefire.

Konashenkov said Russia "had taken all necessary measures to avoid any such 'mistakes' aimed against Russian troops and military targets in Syria."

Earlier this week, the United States suspended negotiations with Russia on restoring ceasefire in Syria, blaming Moscow for its military role in the attack on the Syrian city of Aleppo.
The faded pillars on the Pansodan flyover are about to get a little more colourful. Japanese firm Hello Communications is leasing out over 180 pillars for advertising that could net the firm around US$14,000 a month  although local business will take some convincing.





Hello Communications approached the state rail company again for the pillars on the flyover this year, receiving a permit at the end of August, said the companys executive director U Toto.

Both the railway station and the flyover are under Myanma Railways, not Yangon City Development Committee, he added.

There are a total of 188 pillars lining a 900-foot stretch of sidewalk on the flyover, which the firms research indicates is used by 15,000 people every day.

People can easily see the advertisements, U Toto said.

Hello Communications will charge $72 a pillar per month, and if it manages to fill all the space the firm could be pulling in around $14,000 each month. The company began offering ad space on the pillars on October 1, but is still waiting for its first contract.

In order to help snag the first customer the company is offering the chance to be associated with a corporate social responsibility initiative. Hello Communications is repairing the ground and ceiling of a decrepit covered portion of the walkway. The rental fees from the first customer, whose name will be publicised, will go toward this repair, U Toto said.





But drawing in advertisers is still tricky.

Businesses are more interested in using billboards to advertise, he said. So we have some difficulties in attracting customers.

The Pansodan pillars provide a cheaper option than billboards, which depending on the location can cost K40 million to K60 million, he added.

The flyover will not be Hello Communications first move into ad space in Yangon. The firm is already leasing advertising space from Myanma Railways inside the Yangon Central Railway Station. That contract was signed in March last year, under which the Japanese firm pays K20,000 a month per square foot of space.

The total ad space the company has at the station is 6000 square feet, according to Myanma Railways.

Hello Communications began selling the railway station ad space for $15 per square foot and dropped the fee to $12 this year.

When we invited companies to advertise there most thought that the advertising fee was expensive, he said. But we have plans to reduce the cost depending on the length of the contract, for example six months or 1 year [would be cheaper], said U Toto.

Hello Communications is also planning to upgrade seats on station platforms and will open a coffee shop in the station. In addition to repairing the covered flyover walkway, the firm is also repainting sections of the central railway stations roof.

Myanma Railways division commercial manager U Arkar Min Thu said last year the state enterprise had not requested Hello Communications to make any repairs as part of its advertising agreement.
Now that the Myanmar Investment Law has been passed by both houses of parliament, attention turns to the new Myanmar Companies Act, which senior business sector figures say will be key in improving corporate governance.





The investment law, which will combine and replace the Foreign Investment Law and the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law, was passed by the Amyotha Hluttaw session on October 5 after passing through the lower house the previous week.

The legislation is designed to simplify the investment process and will allow the government to use tax breaks and other incentives to make investing in certain regions or sectors more attractive.

The business community is hoping the new Myanmar Companies Act will have similarly smooth passage through parliament when it arrives. The draft law is still in the pipeline for inter-ministerial review, according to DICAs director general U Aung Naing Oo.

He originally expected to see the Companies Act approved before the end of 2016, and still hopes to see the act submitted to parliament soon. But because the law will require more time under review at the finance ministry he now thinks the first quarter of 2017 is more likely.

The Investment Law is designed to help foreign and local companies put money to work in Myanmar, while the Companies Act is aimed at building a strong framework to govern how they operate. But improved corporate governance should also help make the prospect of investing more attractive in the first place.

Chris Razook, IFC corporate governance advisory lead for East Asia Pacific, said the new Companies Act will help bring Myanmars corporate governance framework closer to international standards.





By introducing provisions to help strengthen shareholder rights and detail the duties of directors it will help raise the level of transparency across firms, he said.

These are all crucial to help attract investors to Myanmars private sector, he added.

U Aung Naing Oo said the idea of an updated Companies Act is to reduce compliance costs and regulatory burdens for firms, as well as enhance corporate governance. This means that when the Companies Act is finally in place life should become easier for local firms.

There are new provisions in the law that are well exercised in other countries regionally and internationally, said U Aung Naing Oo.

Provisions for single shareholder and single director companies will make it easier for small and family-owned business to register as firms, he added.

Smaller firms will also be exempt from a requirement to provide annual financial reports to DICA.

The companies act will also fill in gaps in the existing Myanmar Companies Act, a piece of colonial-era legislation passed in 1914. The new act will lay out the duties and obligations of directors, stipulates the power of registrars to regulate companies and allow for the use of electronic communication methods  something not covered in the 1914 law.

Our focus on the new law is modernisation, simplification and user friendliness, said U Aung Naing Oo.

Industry experts are also hoping that the new Companies Act will allow foreign investors to buy shares on the Yangon Stock Exchange, which the existing Companies Act does not allow.

Three companies have listed on the new bourse so far this year, and a sound corporate governance framework would help get more local firms into a position to list. Senior government officials have said previously that the new Companies Act could also pave the way for foreign firms to list on the YSX.
In town for the second annual Myanmar Economic Forum in Yangon, Michael Taylor, managing director and chief credit officer of Asia Credit Policy at Moodys Investors Service, spoke to The Myanmar Times on the events sideline this week about the opening up of Myanmars finance sector and earning public trust in the banking industry.





What are the largest challenges currently facing Myanmars banking sector?

I would say that it appears that Myanmar is just at the beginning of the process of financial reform that often happens with emerging economies where state-owned banks play a big role in the financial system.

The private banks are relatively small so it opens up questions about how to maximise the efficiency of the financial system, how to get lending to sectors of the economy that are potential drivers of growth in the future and how to move away from a financial system that has relied very much on collateral for loans.

I heard from one of the presentations today that it is easier to get finance if you have something to offer, by the way of land for example, but for a small business thats looking to grow, getting credit is very difficult. So this is a scenario weve been discussing about how to encourage that kind of lending.

What does Myanmar need to do to further integrate into regional or global financial markets?

I think from the credit ratings agency perspective it is how we go about the ratings process, which means the importance of having high quality information. The other point is that we often see the sovereign ratings, so the country having a rating at an anchor point for other ratings. So usually, what happens is we rate the sovereign and then banks come to us for rating other publicly owned companies such as utilities. Thats the way the universal rating of companies tends to expand in particular countries. So Ive been talking about that about the rating process - how we go about accessing companies, banks and countries from point of view of ratings.

How important is lifting the sanctions to financial integration?





I think obviously for US companies, lifting sanctions will make it easier to do business in Myanmar. It will mean that US banks can operate in Myanmar in a way that they havent been able to do in the past.

With so many people unbanked, what can the banking sector here do to win the trust of the public?

I would suggest that the key thing here is maintaining a high standard of supervision on regulations. From what I heard from the central bank it appears there is a program in place now to develop supervision on regulations. It is making sure that the regulations are effective where it needs to be effective and it isnt applied in areas where it doesnt need to be applied which is about getting the balance right between effective regulation and not interfering in the operation of markets. And thats something about transition. In my past career I worked in a number of emerging economies in central and east of Europe. All of them have gone through these processes of building a strong regulatory structure so that people can have confidence in financial system.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
For years, Shwebonthar Road was known for its signboard makers, cutting sheets of plastic into signs for stores, hairdressers and banks lining the streets of downtown Yangon. At the days end, whatever plastic remained often went straight into the garbage. That is, until Htein Lin walked by.





Arguably one of Myanmars most prolific and well-known contemporary artists, Htein Lin has spent his life finding beauty and meaning in discarded objects. Throughout his life  a sequence of interruptions that includes a stint in prison from 1998 to 2004 (for suspected siding with rebels) and another stint in the UK from 2006 to 2012  Htein Lin has been a careful collector of history.

His third and most recent solo exhibit at The River Gallery, Signs of the Times, opens tomorrow, 6-8pm. The showcase highlights his evocative reflections on a changing Myanmar.

Using objects now seen as superfluous in this increasingly technological age  left-over plastic sheets, farmers wagon wheels now replaced by motorcycles, and even pieces of his repertoire chewed up by a termite infestation  Htein Lin restores these castaway things, giving them a new home in an archive of Myanmars recent past.

For me, this is a really interesting trace  from these sheets of plastic  of what people need, Htein Lin said, referring to the change in signboards from shops and street signs to advertisements for smartphones, language schools and new medical clinics. These signs have a very strong connection to the recent economy and social needs.

In addition to this series in the show of the same name, Signs of the Times also includes The Bug Series, Wheels, and Clockwork, a series of collages of Htein Lins own nude, somersaulting body alongside a plethora of clocks.

Clockwork is very much a haunting reminiscence of both Marcel Duchamps Nude Descending a Staircase and Yue Min Juns eerie Symbolic smile portraits.





The River Gallery has represented and supported Htein Lins work since 2006 when Htein Lin still lived abroad.

River Gallery director Gill Pattison has been struck throughout the years by the way in which Htein Lin has coped  using art and often humor in his work  and made sense of the various challenges he has faced.

Htein Lin does not dwell on his prison experience, Pattison said. It has certainly influenced him as a man and an artist, but he is not defined by it. I sometimes say that Htein Lin inhabits the silver lining  even through his worst experiences, he finds something to learn, or something that inspires him.

She explains that Htein Lins Bug Series is a prime example of how he reacts in the face of adversity. No matter if the opponent is as large as a dictatorial government or as small as an annoying insect, Htein Lin always chooses a different approach, embracing his enemies, and using them to his advantage.

Perhaps it is from his face-to-face experiences with the cruelty of military regime, or the spell cast over his village long before his birth by slain student leader Bo Aung Kyaw, who protested against colonial rule in the late 1930s, that Htein Lins work is both politically engaged and emphasises the voices and strength of a community.

Even though he has a studio is in North Okkalapa on the citys outskirts, Htein Lin considers Yangon, and particularly its downtown, his studio.

My community and city give me inspiration to create new ideas. Early on, I admired the old masters like Khin One and international artists like Jackson Pollack and de Kooning  but during my time in prison, things changed a lot, he said.

Signs of the Times is just one facet of an ongoing exploration and delineation of Myanmars economic and societal tensions. And though Htein Lin hopes Myanmar art collectors will populate the opening alongside international collectors and art enthusiasts, he also wishes that ordinary people, like signboard makers who helped him establish his work, come along for a look.
France may seem a long way from Myanmar, but in todays tech-savvy world, it wont take long for this weeks most buzzworthy fashion trends to make their way from Paris Fashion Week to Myanmar International Fashion Week 2016, starting today through October 9.





What starts on Parisian runways often moves rapidly through Instagram and other social media, ending up in boutiques and online shopping places around the world. Oftentimes, these trends circulate in the fashion world for months before emerging in the public eye at the big European shows, so dont be surprised if some of the same motifs from last weeks Paris event wind up as main features at the Shwe Htut Tin compound in Tarmwe township.

No bras

Transparency. We demand it of our leaders and institutions. Well now it is coming to your wardrobe. See-through is one of the big looks of spring-summer, dominating the weeks three big, headline-grabbing shows.

In Paris, almost every dress in Maria Grazia Chiuris debut at Dior was of gossamer lingerie tulle, while Anthony Vaccarello, toying with bad taste in his first show for Saint Laurent, sent out a line of bra-less sheer tops and a mono-boob dress that exposed one breast.

Bouchra Jarrar was more restrained and elegant in her debut for Lanvin. Even so, at least two of her lingerie dresses would work as well in the bedroom as at a ball.

Newbie Neith Nyer and older stagers Carven, Rochas, Y Project, Vionnet and John Galliano at Maison Margiela all got in on the act too, while Rihanna t ID made underwear outwear.

Off the shoulder

Despite last seasons 1980s retro revival, designers are far from finished with resurrecting looks from the decade of big belts, big shoulders and even bigger hair.





This time it is off-the-shoulder tops and dresses, not quite Flashdance but close, often pulled tight across the chest. The one bare shoulder look ran from floaty bohemian Chloe to Barbara Buis shiny vinyl with variants turning up in Mugler, Wanda Nylon, Vionnet, Isabel Marant and Yohji Yamamoto shows.

It seems to be all Hedi Slimanes fault. He started the ball rolling with his final show for Saint Laurent, the now notorious love-it-or-hate-it 1980s super-bling bat-wing shoulders collection.

Instead of turning on such excess, his successor Vaccarello has embraced the look, or the off-the-shoulder part at least.

The sublime Haider Ackermann show on October 1 was all shoulders too, bringing the focus to the hard work his models had done in the gym and pool.

Frills

Despite being the frivolity that dare not speak its name to fashions dominant minimalist brigade, frills are back with a flourish.

Prada lovers should look away now, but frills are breaking out all over the catwalk from Anne Sofie Madsen to Andrew GN, Alexis Mabille and Lanvin to name but a few.

Even rappers favourite label Off White went all frilly. The young Ukrainian brand Paskal used them ingeniously to punctuate its otherwise minimalist collection, making a summer bikini-type top from one single frill. Japanese street avant gardist Junya Watanabe was also swept up by the trend, folding them into his jagged geometrical origami creations

Gender flux

Androgynous, genderless fashion has been in the ascendant for some time, with transgender models more present on the runways as designers blur boundaries. During the past week, Brazilian creator Francisco Terra used four trans models in his Neith Nyer show while others turned up across the catwalks from Y Project to Koche.

Julien Dossena at Paco Rabanne evoked gender flux in a show inspired by 1960s sexual liberation, which seemed partly to have also sprung from the loins of Woody Allens 1972 film Everything Always You Wanted to Know About Sex.

Turning Japanese

Japanese designers are a major part of Paris fashion week, with pioneers Kenzo, Yohji Yamamoto and Commes des Garcons now the godfathers of an ever-expanding brood that includes Undercover, Junya Watanabe and Anrealage.

And beyond the global brands like Issey Miyake, the countrys influence on foreign designers has rarely been as strong. Japanese aesthetics and techniques are everywhere on the catwalk with three of the most exciting young talents Terra, Paule Kas Alithia Spuri-Zampetti and Liselore Frowijn all citing trips to the country as the key to their collections.
Yangon teenager Pyae Pyae recently wore a pair of blue jeans to the park with her family. When she arrived, she changed into a just-above-the-knee-length skirt to match with one of her cousins.





But as she emerged from the restroom in the new outfit, her family raised all sorts of objections. Her father scolded her, and her brother told her she should change  immediately. What if a man saw her looking sexy and decided he should rape her? After just a few moments in the sun, Pyae Pyae retreated to the bathroom to change back into whatever the men in her family told her was acceptable.

Welcome to the troubling world of Myanmar women, where victim-blaming is a fact of life.

Everyone from police officers to criminal court judges is prone to shift responsibility for sexual assault from men to women. In an interview with The Myanmar Times, Lunn Aung San, the head of police in Ah Pyauk, Taukkyi township, said that most cases of sexual assault or abuse arise due to the woman victims choices.

If women are not out on the public scene, these cases will not happen, he said. But they have been abused depending on what theyre wearing, what time it is and where they are.

The matter-of-fact nature of his blatant victim-shaming reflects the wider sentiment in Myanmar, where social justice institutions such as the law enforcement and judicial systems consistently place the blame of gender violence on women who wear revealing clothing. In one 2014 rape trial in Pathein, the lawyer of the defendant argued that he could not have controlled himself because of the short skirt the victim was wearing. He got off with a reduced punishment, and only one member of parliament  Hla Myat Thwe, a woman MP for Yegyu 2  publicly criticised the decision.

According to Ma Khin Lay, director at Triangle Womens Support Group, this kind of societal norm grows from older generations. She points to Myanmar proverbs such as bai kaung kyauk hpi (or roughly, keep a proper sense of decorum) and mainma do eindayeh shwe pei lo ma ya (The modesty of women is priceless) as proof that the practice of victim-blaming is deeply embedded in Myanmar culture.

Women have always been told to behave according to these proverbs, she said. We should apply them sometimes, but we should also reject these old ways. Women have suffered due to these proverbs.





On October 3, Frontier magazine published an opinion piece entitled The exasperation of a modern Myanmar woman from Poe Han Thar Kyaw, a Myanmar-born Jamaican woman who has recently returned here after years abroad. In the story, she details the way this culture of victim blaming oppresses women, writing that because you are a woman and therefore at risk, many people judge those who go out at night as behaving improperly.

Her personal experiences are confirmed in a short film that sparked controversy on Facebook when it was released on August 31. Posted by the Myanmar Microfilm account, Traditional Dress is a three-and-a-half-minute competition-entry film that appears to justify the abusive treatment a girl endures after leaving the house in a modern skirt and crop top. Her mother urges her to change, but the girl rebels and heads to school. On the way she passes a tea shop, where a crowd of men proceed to cat-call, stare at and almost rape the young woman.

The film ends with her waking up, and the viewer realises the entire episode was merely a dream. She dresses in a more traditional htamein and blouse, and heads to school with no troubles, making a clear point that those who dress according to traditional codes will be safe from harm and respected by others.

But comments on the post demonstrate that a new generation of women is not afraid to speak out about these issues. Phway Nu Moe, a Facebook user whose Myanmar-language comment on the video garnered more than 200 likes, wrote that the director was sending all the wrong messages.

These criminals are mostly men, so the director ought to be giving messages to men about how to ethically conduct yourself around women, she wrote. This is blaming women and saying that its their fault for not covering themselves. If you wear a short shirt, they will rape you  then why do these violations happen to all kinds of girls, even if they are wearing Myanmar traditional longyi?

Its a valid question, one that 30-year-old Ma Aye La Pyae asks herself when she hears people victim-blaming. She told The Myanmar Times that such sexist attitudes are unacceptable.

I cannot believe it when people say that sexual abuse occurs because of the fashion women are wearing, she said. We women will wear freestyle fashion when we go shopping or go to friends parties, in keeping with the times. We should only be picking our dresses based on where we will go in them  not what might happen.

Lawyer Ma Thet Thet War agreed, and suggested it should be the sexual predators that face societal condemnation  not the women they assault. As a pro bono lawyer working on gender violence cases in Hlaing Tharyar township, she has seen firsthand how men will prey on all sorts of women.

Its not just women who are considered fashion-conscious [that are attacked], she said.

As for Ma Khin Lay, the work she does with the Triangle Womens Support Group attempts to shift the status quo by addressing men themselves in workshops that encourage them to join the womens rights program. Though she acknowledges the importance of maintaining Myanmar culture  and the fashion it entails  she points out that preserving culture does not excuse attempt to control womens minds.

We have made programs where women discuss their feelings, she said. We aim for men to listen and understand those feelings.

Translation by San Layy and Win Thaw Tar
Ma Nanda lets her 16-year old daughter use Facebook, with one caveat: A-Mae gets to see her activity.





Armed with the passwords to her daughters account, Ma Nanda believes she can keep of track of the potentially dangerous relationships the girl  of giggling age, she says  develops with other users, especially men.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, merely possessing a smartphone can give you access to the furthest corners of the world, she said. Although these social networks may give certain benefits, they also allow people to exploit underage girls for their own interests.

Cases of exploitation are hard to find, as many victims are shamed or accused of asking for it, but two recent criminal cases from September highlight the reality behind fears like Ma Nandas.

On September 9, a 14-year-old girl reported a sexual assault after meeting a young man she initially encountered on the popular messaging app, Bee Talk. She said he drugged her by putting something in her drink, then molested her after she was impaired. The man, identified as 20-year-old Than Ko Ko Maung, is currently being investigated for rape and faces 10 years to life in prison if found guilty.

Less than two weeks later, a similar case was reported by a young girl who met a stranger online and later suffered an assault at a guesthouse in Insein township. Police said 18-year-old Phyo Thura is being investigated for the incident, with potential kidnapping-with-intent-to-marry charges also at play.

Incidents such as these likely happen exponentially more often than reported, and in keeping with other local trends, many parents respond by placing more limitations on their daughters. Even if girls are allowed to use social networks, they are often instructed to be wary of strangers they meet online.

Others are barred entirely.





These days Facebook is the most popular network for young people, but I dont let her use it, said Ma Yin Yin Swe, mother to a 14-year-old daughter in Yangon. If she wants to use it, she can use my account.

Such one-sided focus on prevention on the part of the victims  instead of more carefully monitoring the way predatory young men are using social media  extends even to educators. English teacher at U Myat Kyaing School U Aung Myint Oo said young girls should be allowed to use the multitude of smartphone apps at their disposal, even messaging ones, but cautions that its up to adults to teach them how to use it safely.

I think youngsters should be well-trained about how to use [social media] and benefit from it, but above all, they need to know how safeguard themselves, he said.

But what about the men? What about training young men to treat women with respect, as human beings and not real-life iterations of on-screen avatars?

It took asking Ma Nang Phyu Phyu Lin, a gender activist who speaks to womens groups around the country, to find someone who would address the real source of the problem: predatory men.

If a man is using social networks unjustly, he must be admonished, she said pointedly. It is more effective than trying to control young girls. This is the main point  to protect them, not to prohibit them from using [social networks].

Ma Myint Zu from the Women Organisation Network agrees.

We [WON] stand by the women who come forward with rape cases, she said. But the laws needed to protect these girls need to be passed by the government.
Oreno Kitchen, the latest addition on Nawaday Street in the already-restaurant-heavy Yaw Min Gyi district, arrived two months ago by way of Ko Ko Naing, a Myanmar-Chinese restauranteur with nine years of experience in the Land of the Rising Sun.





His touch for authenticity is apparent from outside the front doors, where Japanese-style lanterns hang above handsome light wooden rafters. The cedar wood theme continues inside, as slats of the same material decorate the walls. First impression: Oreno is much like any neighbourhood yakitori shop in Tokyo, with the minor Myanmar twist of an occasional blackout.

My dinner companion and I settled into our seats at the table, which featured an unfortunate shelf underneath the table surface. Presumably for people to lay flat objects, such as papers or shallow briefcases, the shelf proved both too small for our backpacks and too low for our knees, which would make a habit of getting stuck throughout the entire meal. Those with long legs, be warned.

Slight discomfort aside, our server listened attentively as we ordered a slew of yakitori, Oreno Kitchens specialty. When we hesitated selecting a salad, he recommended the avocado and tomato (K4000) and assured us it would be enough for two. I was impressed with his command of the menu. (Worth noting: the servers at Oreno use a numbered ordering system, which allows them write down the digit of each menu item in their notebook and practically guarantees a effectively delivered meal. Why doesnt every Myanmar restaurant use this system?)

As we waited for the order, a separate server proffered a cold bean sprout salad as a palate cleanser. Though the dish was largely forgettable, it was an appreciable touch that attested to the joints authenticity. Miso (K800) followed, blending sour and salty tastes with firm chunks of tofu in what is, to date, the heartiest miso Ive had in Yangon.

The salad arrived just as we finished the soups, and we tucked into the greens with relish. Fresh chunks of creamy avocado complemented the dishs tart, taut cherry tomatoes, but the clear star of the plate was a semi-sweet brown onion sauce that formed a lagoon inside the hollowed-out avocado shell.

Next came the yakitori, Oreno Kitchens bread and butter dish (the sign above the door says Yakitori Restaurant). Though there are a handful of vegetarian-friendly dishes listed, the specialty here is skewered meat. Yakitori traditionally refers specifically to charcoal-grilled chicken, though kushiyaki, or other meats, also makes the cut at Oreno Kitchen.





Each piece was listed at K1600 per kushi (skewer), with the exception of chicken wings (K1000). We started with the pork belly, which packed powerful flavour into each bite. The Japanese know their fat  theirs is the world of Kobe beef, after all  and not a bit is wasted at Oreno. Not too chewy and seasoned heavily with pepper, pork belly would prove to be my favourite of the yakitori we tried.

The chicken wings resembled bats but tasted (what I imagine to be) much better. As is customary with yakitori, the use of charcoal fire under the grill translated to a pleasantly crunchy, almost-caramelised skin, making them a slightly more appealing take on chicken than the other variation we sampled, labelled green onion and chicken. Slightly pink, the green onion and chicken might have used more time on the grill, but undercooking it seemed to give it an added effect of retaining moisture. Each bite was succulent, if a little bland.

Last on our list was the casella, or pork neck. The least tasty of the four we tried, this yakitori failed to pack the same flavour and texture as its counterparts. Thats not to say I didnt enjoy it  my kushi was bare quickly.

Throughout the meal, my friend and I enjoyed the occasional shot of Sawanotsuru sake (K8900 for a bottle of eight shots), adding yet another touch of authenticity to an already on-point Japanese joint.

A more discerning reviewer may have taken issue with the salty taste of most of the yakitori, though to be fair, yakitori is by definition slightly salty. And sodium aside, the experience of eating at a proper Japanese yakitori spot is refreshing in Yangon, especially considering the quality of service: Ko Ko Naing trains his servers well, as evidenced by their calm handling of a blackout during the middle of the meal and prompt enthusiasm for closing the door to keep mosquitos out and air-conditioning in.

All in all, its a place Id recommend for anyone looking for a taste of Tokyo in the Golden Land.
Most notably, the space: The Envoy is tucked into a narrow walk-up on Bo Aung Kyaw Street, and its ownership has done a commendable job of renovation. The main restaurant occupies a vaulted two-level space, with an uncommonly well-stocked horseshoe bar flanked by ample booths and plenty of light. The real gem, however, is through a wall of glass doors: a tree-shielded, second-story balcony that provides ample opportunity to enjoy the breeze as the sun goes down.





It isnt often that a signature cocktail menu can provoke genuine interest, but The Envoys boasts enough original creations to merit repeat visits. Sample ingredients include homemade ginger beer, watermelon juice, chocolate and maple ice cream, flavoured bitters. Theyre also mixing some rarely sighted classics, unfairly sidelined by the popular sovereignty of Mojitos and Daiquiris (eg Sidecars, Blood and Sands). My Sazerac was a refreshing reminder that somewhere whisky cocktails are made without sour mix, though the dash of Absinthe was undetectable. At K5000-6000, theyre a great deal.

Less so are the provisions. Even within the company of premium-priced downtown bar dining (think Hummingbird, Blind Tiger, The Basement), The Envoys prices feel a bit audacious. Vegetable soups (K5000-6500) are faithful representations of Western classics, but only portioned to fill about half a ladle. Starters and salads (K5000-8000) are a cross-cultural sandbox: An excellent Myanmar salad taster shares menu space with smoked salmon, poached eggs and pomelo, and the pumpkin salad comes on a bed of very fresh rockets  a welcome sight in Yangon. Entrees (K13,500-19,500) were also technically deft if meagrely sized  and exclusively meat-based. Vegetarians would be advised to perhaps find a full meal elsewhere first.

The staff also seems exceptionally well-trained, warm and helpful without being overbearing. The Envoy is only in a soft opening period and some wrinkles are well within reason before the official opening at the end of the month. At this price point, it wouldnt be unwarranted to expect quite a lot from The Envoy, but from the initial look of it, there may not be a better spot downtown to enjoy a leisurely, well-crafted drink, from sunset until the witching hours of the night. They claim a planned 1am closing time. Well be looking forward to it.
Travelling in Tokyo, the worlds largest metropolitan area, can be intimidating. Trains come and go ceaselessly through stations teeming with people, and the sheer number of wards, neighbourhoods and urban pockets mean one can live there for years without seeing even a fraction of what the city has to offer.





But while Top 10 lists abound on travel blogs and guides, not everyone who visits Japans capital city is looking for a picture-perfect moment at a shrine or volcano. Sometimes youre just passing through for a long layover; other times, you may be exhausted by the thought of waiting in long lines at the Skytree or Tokyo Dome roller coaster. Maybe youve done all that stuff before on previous visits, and are looking for a peek into the citys deeper layers.

For those travellers, heres five neighbourhoods to explore during your next trip to Nippon.

Akihabara 

check out the merchandise at Ms

Famous for its reputation as Tokyos gaming district, Akihabara has more than videogames for sell. Pop into the strange world of Japanese sex fantasies at the seven-storey Ms sex shop, where youll find all sorts of gadgets and outfits. Some are larger than anatomically possible (I think?) and others produce vibrations at frequencies that, frankly, struck me as dangerous. Weirder than some of the items for sale, however, is the casualness with which clerks and customers interact. You could be at any department store  if it werent for slowly deflating blow-up dolls dangling next to the counter. Talk about saving face.

Getting there: From Ryogoku Station, hop the Chuo-Sobu line to Akihabara Station and wait for two stops.

Omote-Sando 

take a walk in the park





Everyone will tell you to visit Meiji Shrine, which makes sense: The monument is dedicated to the deified spirit of Emperor Meiji, who manoeuvred Japan through rapid industrialisation and helped ascend from a feudal state to an imperial power. But though TripAdvisor will tell you that Meiji Shrine is the #5 thing to do in Tokyo, the best part of the visit is the walk through approximately 100,000 trees that surround the shrine. Donated from regions across the country, the towering foliage offers a peaceful respite from the frenetic fashion world of Harujuku, just a few blocks away. Soak in the solitude.

Getting there: Take a Ginza Line bound for Asakusa and get off one stop later at Omote-Sando Station. Enjoy the walk through fashion paradise before entering the tree-lined path to Meiji Shrine.

Nakano 

eat Michelin good

Tokyo has made itself the food capital of the East over the last few decades, a title which comes with a pretty penny. To get a taste of the good stuff without giving out all your yen, check out Chuka Soba Aoba in Nakano.

The nondescript noodle shop only offers four dishes, each a variation on Kanto-style ramen. Customers punch in their own orders at a small vending machine near the counter, which only seats nine, before digging into steaming bowls of ramen.

At just 650 yen (US$6.30) its a bargain, especially considering the fact that the staff produces their own noodles in-house.

Tip: Order the one with as much pork as possible. An indecently marbled slice of meat will stew in the bowl as you wait for it to cool down, flavouring the stock to a point of perfection. Slurp up, because the noodles get longer the longer you take.

Getting there: Take the Chuo Line bound for Otsuki. Nakano is just one stop away.

Shimokitazawa 

pick up a record/denim jumpsuit

Known as Tokyos trendy district, Shimokitazawa packs more thrift shops into each block than a Macklemore chorus. An entire black-market trade in American vintage hand-me-downs sees professional scavengers pick through Goodwills across the US for the best items they can find. Those gems are then flown to Tokyo in carry-on luggage, to be re-sold at four or five times their initial value.

The resulting curation of pop culture through the years is worth checking out, but if fashion isnt your cup of macha, then check out the record stores sprinkled throughout Shimokitazawas tiny streets. Disk Union was my favourite, as the shop featured clearly labelled sections and an astonishingly wide variety. Who knew Kanye Wests original mix tape was released on vinyl?

Tip: Stop by the Bear Pond cafe for a peek into the mind of owner Katsuyuki Tanaka. With a strict rule against photography and an astonishing life story that took him from Tokyo to New York City to Buenos Aires and then back to Tokyo, Tanaka is worth talking to. But if you cant catch him, dont worry. The coffees worth a visit.

Getting there: Hop on the Keio-Inokashira Line toward Kichijoji. From Shibuya Station, its a 3-to-6 minute ride.

Ryogoku 

watch a sumo match

Tokyo hosts sumo tournaments three times a year (January, May and September), but if youre in town at the right time, youll have a chance to see one of the wilder aspects of Japanese culture. Massive wrestlers from around the country compete in week-long tournaments, and you might catch them walking around the arena in traditional clogs (geta) and yukata ahead of a fight.

Tip: Though expensive box seats must be bought ahead of time for US$100 and up, budget travellers can get $30-40 same-day tickets if they arrive early and wait in line. Tickets go on sale at 7:45am, but event staff begin passing out ticket vouchers as early as 7:15am. Best to get there by 7am if you want to be sure youll get a spot, and dont worry: Tickets last all day and holders can come and go as they please.

Getting there: From The Tokyo Skytree, walk to Oshiage Station and hop an Asakusa Line toward Haneda Airport. After four stops, get off at Asakusabashi Station and transfer to the Chuo-Sobu Line toward Chiba. In two minutes, youre there.
In what appears to be evidence of a serious rift with the local religious authorities, the Union government has twice been rebuffed in its attempts to intervene in the controversial case of the London Sayadaw.





It has emerged that the Yangon Region State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, better known as Ma Ha Na, opposed a bid by Union Religious Affairs Minister Thura U Aung Ko to quash legal action against the prominent cleric, also known as U Ottara.

Ma Ha Na has also clashed with the minister over the ownership of a controversial monastery.

The tangled affair began with a midnight police raid on the Mahasantisukha Monastery in Yangons Tarmwe township in June 2014. Five monks, including U Ottara, were tried on charges of trespassing in the monastery, which they denied. All were acquitted in December last year because of the persistent absence from court of the plaintiff, U Sein Maw, the head of Yangon Regions religious affairs department.

In January, U Ottara was back in court, this time seeking to amend the 1990 law under which he was tried. Plaintiff U Sein Maw has also applied to revive the original case, suggesting that the issue is still very much alive.

Many observers saw the legal manoeuvrings as a clash of religious and social values between the outspoken cleric and his allies on the one hand and a conservative religious hierarchy on the other.

The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee has dismissed Minister Thura U Aung Kos appeals to drop the case, apparently on the grounds that it was a matter for the courts to decide.

In the last week of September, U Ottara met with U Tin Oo, patron of the ruling National League for Democracy, and Yangon Regions Social Affairs Minister U Naing Ngan Linn, to solicit support for his cause.





[U Tin Oo] said he is not the right person to resolve the case as he is not the responsible person. But he is reviewing the dispute [over the ownership of the Mahasantisukha Monastery] and belows it should be settled by negotiations among the monks concerned, London Sayadaw said of the meeting.

However, U Ottara and his fellow co-defendants have refused to meet with Ma Ha Na in protest against what they regard as the authorities high-handed actions against them and their supporters, including their detention in connection with this case.

Ma Ha Na versus London Sayadaw  how will the controversy end?

The monks have written to State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Yangon Region government, asking the government to intervene and ensure the application of the law.

A regional government spokesperson said the monks letter would be dealt with through the normal procedures.

Yangon religious affairs department officer U Tun Nyunt confirmed the recent meetings, but declined to provide more information on the case or the religious ministrys position, saying it would be addressed directly by the ministry at an October 8 press conference in Nay Pyi Taw.
An ethnic Kayan youth organisation has joined growing calls for a cessation of hostilities in Myanmars border regions, where recent Tatmadaw offensives have displaced thousands of civilians.





The October 5 statement from the Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY) also urged the military and government to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Theres no fighting in our Kayah [State] area, said Khun Ber Nard, general secretary of the KNGY, referring to the eastern state where the Kayan people predominantly reside. But fighting is happening in our country. We have heard news repeatedly of the fighting and of the tragedy facing locals in conflict zones. We demand an end to offensives in ethnic areas and an announcement of a ceasefire across the whole country from the government and military.

His groups statement read, The KNGY presumes that Myanmars peace-building process could be ruined by the military, which has expanded offensives in ethnic areas. The government is trying to build peace in the country and trying to form a federal Union, which all ethnic [minorities] demand.

The KNGY also accused the military of perpetrating human rights violations, including attacks on civilian populations.

The governments signature initial foray into the peace process, the 21st-century Panglong Conference, ended early last month, but in the weeks since there have been multiple reports of fighting between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups in Kayin, Kachin and Shan states.

The military-drafted constitution does not grant the National League for Democracy administration any civilian control over the Tatmadaw. The autonomy granted to the armed forces has presented an early challenge to the governments relationship with the ethnic armed groups that State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi brought together for the Panglong Conference.

The KNGY said clashes earlier this month between the Tatmadaw and a signatory to the nationwide ceasefire agreement  the Restoration Council of Shan State  coupled with the hostilities in neighbouring Kayin State had heightened fears that tiny Kayah State could also soon become a battle theatre.





We are worried about that. Even the RCSS has been attacked, Khun Ber Nard said.

Kayah youth activist Ko Oattaya Aung echoed concern over the potential for conflict to spread.

Kayah people are frightened about the fighting between the military and the Karen, he said.

He was referring to a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, which clashed last month with an allied contingent of Tatmadaw and Border Guard Force troops in the Mae Tha Waw area of Hlaingbwe township, Kayin State, leading thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

The area is nearby, Ko Oattaya Aung continued. We have to make it known that the fighting makes people insecure and trust could be broken because of the fighting.

The Karen National Union, an influential NCA signatory, has urged all actors involved in the Kayin State hostilities to lower their weapons.

Elsewhere, clashes erupted on October 1 between the Tatmadaw and the RCSS in Mine Kaing/Mong Kung township, Shan State, an unusual but not unprecedented bout of hostilities between the military and an NCA signatory.

And in Kachin and northern Shan states, a Tatmadaw-Kachin Independence Army conflict that entered its sixth year in June continues, punctuated on October 1 by the death of a toddler who was hit by shrapnel from a mortar shell, the origins of which remain unknown.

That incident prompted the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) to urge all parties to the conflict to respect and abide by their obligations under international law. This includes the protection of schools and hospitals from any military occupation or attacks, [and] ensuring children are not subjected to bombings or attacks of any kind.

On September 30, the US embassy also weighed in on the Kachin conflict.

The US embassy is deeply concerned by the ongoing fighting and very difficult humanitarian situation in Kachin State, read a statement from the Yangon-based mission. We urge those engaged in the fighting to cease hostilities immediately.

Nearly 100,000 people remain internally displaced in Kachin State and neighbouring northern Shan State due to fighting in recent years, according to an August report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
PYONGYANG, Oct. 6 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday blasted U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration for stepping up pressure on and sanctions against it.

A spokesman for the DPRK's foreign ministry said in a statement that the "racket" for sanctions against and pressure on the DPRK by the Obama administration "has reached an extreme phase."

The statement, carried by the official news agency KCNA, said the U.S. government is "making desperate efforts to isolate and stifle the DPRK by pressurizing other sovereign countries to sever relations with the DPRK or downgrade the level of ties with it."

"This is nothing but the last-ditch efforts of those who are on a losing streak in the political and military stand-off with the DPRK," the statement added.

The DPRK, in order to defend itself from political, economic pressure and military threat, has bolstered nuclear force both in quality and quantity and has now become a nuclear power with powerful nuclear attack capabilities, said the statement.

On Sept. 9, Pyongyang said it has successfully tested a nuclear warhead, which marked its fifth nuclear test, eight months after it conducted a purported hydrogen bomb test in January. It also launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7.

In March, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on tougher sanctions against the DPRK to curb the country's nuclear and missile programs. Security Council members also called for an early resumption of the six-party talks.
The legal, religious and perhaps political tangle represented by the long-running court action against the senior cleric known as London Sayadaw has not been unravelled by the collapse of the case against him and his co-defendants. Indeed, the affair could now become more complicated.





London Sayadaw, also known as U Ottara, had been charged alongside four other monks following a dramatic night raid by police on the Mahasantisukha Monastery in Tarmwe township, Yangon, in June 2014. Though most of the charges concerned criminal trespass, the case was seen as a trial of strength between the local religious authority, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, and clerics they considered too independent or outspoken.

At a hearing last December at Thaketa Township Court, Eastern District Court co-judge U Nyaing Myint threw out most of the charges on the grounds that the plaintiff, U Sein Maw, had been absent without the leave of the court. U Sein Maw is the head of the religious affairs department of Yangon Region.

However, in June, the regional court took up an application from U Sein Maw to resume the case. The Yangon Region High Court decided to uphold the decision of the Eastern District Court in July, but legal wrangling over further applications on related legal questions continued.

Matters took another turn in August, when the Yangon Region Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture offered to withdraw the charges originally brought by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, better known as Ma Ha Na, which claims ownership of the monastery.

U Ottaras co-defendants are U Pannasara, U Tejinda, U Thonedarathiri and U Nandira. The five still face a charge under the 1990 Sangha Organisation Law that could lead to a term of imprisonment of up to six months.

During the two-year trial that ended last December, only four prosecution witnesses were questioned, because of lengthy applications by lawyers on each side over the admission or exclusion of evidence, and at least five revisions of the charges by the prosecution. Three different judges were involved, of whom one was transferred and the second retired.





The upshot of these manoeuvres was that the monks still faced a charge of insulting religion.

The offer to withdraw the charge appears to be related to the change in government that followed last Novembers elections. One key mover is U Aung Thein Nyunt, an adviser to Union Religious Affairs Minister Thura U Aung Ko. U Aung Thein Nyunt has been in discussions on this matter with the director of the Yangon Region Department of Religious Affairs, U Tun Nyunt.

Meanwhile, the five defendants have filed a compensation claim for US$5 million over damage allegedly caused to the Mahasantisukha Monastery during the 2014 raid. An application by the five to sue the religious authority, Ma Ha Na, was denied.

London Sayadaw has expressed willingness to consider mediation, which could entail the defendants formally apologising to Ma Ha Na. However, he said, this would be taken not as an acknowledgement of wrongdoing, but as a mark of respect from a junior monk to a senior.

If they drop the charges we would consider ourselves vindicated, he said, adding that the underlying question of the ownership of the Mahasantisukha Monastery had yet to be resolved. He also said that accusations of political activity, which he called defamation, were still outstanding.

Were not prepared to abandon our principles. We want the truth to come out, he said.

U Tun Nyunt said that if the withdrawal offer came from the prosecutor in the form of a legal application, the ministry could support the offer in court once the parties had reached agreement.

It would not be a question of an apology, but an expression of respect, he said, adding that the proposed compromise was an initiative taken by Religious Affairs Minister Thura U Aung Ko.

Any deal would also have to overcome U Ottaras mistrust of the judiciary, he said, adding that Myanmar courts routinely favoured the government in any case against an ordinary citizen.

This ruling is quite important for the judiciary. In our view, the courts tend to favour the bureaucrats. Im not convinced the courts are impartial as between the government and the citizen, he said.

U Ottaras lawyer, U Thein Win, said the option of taking the matter to the Supreme Court was still open. Even if it takes a long time, its important to get to the truth, he said.

Translation by Win Thaw Tar
Tens of thousands of people protested in Kachin States capital yesterday, calling for an end to military hostilities.





The protests were initially planned for October 3, but the local police department denied permission, according to organiser Daw Nang Pu.

We are calling for the halt of military offensives, the dignified return of internally displaced persons [IDPs], and an end to violence against women during the conflicts, she said.

Mere words were no longer sufficient, she added.

Statements alone are no longer working. We need to come out and protest, and demand an end to war.

At a separate event in Yangon Region, Kachin youth activists held a press conference and demanded the government do more to solve conflicts which have recently escalated.

Ester Ze Naw of the Kachin National Youth Network (KNYN) said the food chains to IDP camps are pinched and restrictions have been put into place.





A leader from Nampaka IDP camp, which houses about 70 families and more than 200 people, said that IDPs are now depending on aid from local organisations.

Last month, we were told that soon we will no longer be supplied with food, said Daw Meriam, a resident of Nampaka camp. IDPs are now being fed by local churches, church-based groups and civil society organisations.

On September 7, district administrators in Bhamaw/Bhamo township ordered organisations seeking to deliver food to camps to first seek permission of the state government.

We demand that the government stop restricting and banning the access of humanitarian assistance, said Ester Ze Naw.

Her organisation, and others, are not taking sides, she said, but are instead calling for an end to the fighting, which broke out in August and continued in September.

The Kachin Peace Network has called on the Tatmadaw to stop intimidation tactics in the IDP camps in Kachin and northern Shan states. The group claims that on September 15 and 16, military personnel entered Namkham townships Bang Lung IDP camp and began family registration checks. They also took photographs of the families, the group claims. The same tactics were used in Sar Maw IDP camps in Kachins Mogaung township on Sept 18.

The Tatmadaw must fully respect the rights of civilians, under international humanitarian law and human rights laws, and immediately stop any act that violates these rights or threatens the moral integrity and dignity of IDPs, read a statement of the Kachin Peace Network, released yesterday.

The KNYN also called on the government and the international community not to allow a reduction of humanitarian assistance to the IDPs, who, according to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Assistance, total nearly 100,000 in Kachin and Shan states.

The Kachin activists are also planning to protest the government tomorrow in front of City Hall in Yangon.

Several Kachin activists and politicians have blasted the National League for Democracy government for its silence as the fighting has continued to escalate.

A 17-year truce between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army broke down in 2011. The KIA did not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement.
The Kyaikmaraw Immigration Department has charged five foreigners in the township with violating visa regulations after they failed to report 11 of their colleagues initial arrival to local immigration authorities.





The five foreigners  four Chinese and one Thai citizen  are currently employed at Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL), a cement factory under construction in Kyaikmaraw township, which abuts the Mon State capital. MCL is a subsidiary of the Thailand-based company Siam Cement Group (SCG), and the factory is being built jointly with the Chinese firm CITIC Heavy Industries.

The accused have been charged with violating three sections of the Registration of Foreigners Rules of 1948  articles 14(1)(a), 14(6) and 18(5)  which pertain to registering foreigners with relevant immigration officials within 24 hours of arrival at a hotel, according to the Kyaikmaraw Immigration Department.

If a foreigner violates any rules and regulations of the country, it means they have violated the terms of their visa and then we can charge them with regard to the Registration of Foreigners Rules, the Kyaikmaraw Immigration Department said.

We take this very seriously and are committed to complying with all laws and regulations of Myanmar, MCLs managing director, Wijit Terasarun, told The Myanmar Times, adding that MCL is cooperating with the Kyaikmaraw Township Court in the case

Eleven foreign workers, staff of a sub-contractor [managed by MCLs main contractor, CITIC] were not properly reported to the relevant department during this [24-hour] window of time, read a statement from Mr Wijit sent to The Myanmar Times.

MCL confirmed that the workers did legally arrive in Myanmar with the proper visa documentation.

While our sub-contractor did not report the workers arrival, since they ultimately worked at the MCL site, the Mon State government has taken action against MCL executives, Mr Wijit said.





Though reporting requirements are to be made to and by hotel keepers, the Registration of Foreigners Rules define hotel as including boarding-house, club, dak-bungalow, rest-house, or premises of like nature.

During a meeting with Mon State government officials on September 30, MCL executives explained the workers immigration history.

To our understanding, once the matter is resolved, the workers will be able to resume working and living in Myanmar, until their visa terms expire. MCL has been fully cooperating with the Mon State authorities, and will continue to do so in the coming weeks, said Mr Wijit.

According to SCGs website, the company has been exporting cement and other building materials to Myanmar for more than two decades and began construction of its Mon State subsidiary factory in 2013. The Thai firm said it would invest US$400 million in the plant, which is expected to be operational this year.

This article has been updated to correct a quote misattributed a quote to CITIC Heavy Industries that was made by MCL managing director Wijit Terasarun. The article has also been corrected to clarify the nature of the immigration violation, including local authorities approach to accountability for the infraction. The Myanmar Times regrets the error.
A group of lower house lawmakers will send a letter to the Union government urging it to end recent hostilities between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups as quickly as possible, in an apparent conflation of the National League for Democracy administrations powers with those of the autonomous military.





Pyithu Hluttaw MP Daw Nan Moe (Taang National Party; Manton), who is spearheading submission of the letter, said yesterday that the missive will be signed by lower house representatives today and then sent to the government. She did not mention to whom specifically it would be addressed.

People in areas of armed conflict have contacted us and said war is erupting in their region and told of how they had fled from the war. They contact us all the time, she said. So MPs have a responsibility to convey the voices of the people in parliament. We plan to submit the peoples difficulties to the relevant department without sacrificing the dignity of any individual or any organisation.

Daw Nan Moe said she planned to send the letter because of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis stated commitment to national reconciliation.

However, while the state counsellor has highlighted national reconciliation as a priority, the constitutions failure to enshrine civilian control of the military has left her powerless, in practical terms, to stop the fighting.

That aside, Daw Nan Moe said the situation in ethnic areas had actually gotten worse since the state counsellor convened her signature peace initiative, the 21st-century Panglong Conference, on August 31.

Recent weeks have seen renewed conflicts on multiple fronts in Kayin, Kachin and Shan states.

After the 21st-century Panglong Conference, outbreaks of fighting are more intense. Consequently, children cant go to school. Whole villages have been displaced, Daw Nan Moe said.





We can see how people have suffered loss due to war. So MPs are trying to send an urgent letter to the government to stop the war  urging both sides, not only ethnic armed groups but also the Tatmadaw, to consider the lives and property of people.

translation by Thiri Min Htun and Win Thaw Tar
The Arakan National Party will hold its next congress in early 2017, when it will reappoint central executive committee members following a party purge, an official said.





The most successful of all of Myanmars ethnic parties in last years election decided to expel six party members in March after they did not stick to the party line and held a renegade press conference in Yangon.

Rumblings of discontent within the ANP  which was formed out of the merger of two Rakhine parties in 2014  have exploded as the party cleaves along the lines of its founding factions, the Arakan League for Democracy and the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.

The announcement for the party congress came after a two-day plenary session held in Rakhine States Mrauk-U township on October 3 and 4, according to ANP secretary U Tun Aung Kyaw.

The partys central executive committee will arrange next years conference based on the interests of the Rakhine people, political stability and the organisational capacity of the party, said U Tun Aung Kyaw.

The partys first conference was held in December 2014, when members selected the party name and drew up a platform. Lack of time and substantial dissent among party members were seen as weaknesses of that original conference, U Tun Aung Kyaw added.

We need to review the good and bad decisions of the party and its policies and mandates for the sake of the Rakhine people, said state lawmaker U Aung Than Tin (ANP; Ponnagyun 2). And, I think, it is necessary to turn out a new generation of the party.

More than 100 party members attended the plenary session, where the future of the party, fracturing within the party, the state budget and the Rakhine State Advisory Commission were also discussed.





After merging two popular political parties, the ANP received widespread public support, said one attendee. Subsequently, we found that top leaders have gradually gone separate ways. We feel disappointed about this.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
The illicit trade in tiger skins and parts has continued unabated in Asia, with Myanmar considered a trading hub rife with unregulated markets and lax enforcement, two wildlife conservation groups said in a new report.





Despite environmental groups efforts, there has been no decline in tiger trafficking across Asia since 2000, the report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and TRAFFIC revealed. On average, more than two tigers are seized by traffickers per week.

Though only three of the 801 recorded seizures of tigers and tiger products recorded in Asia during this time occurred in Myanmar, the country was highlighted as a problem area, particularly in areas outside the sphere of government control.

Tiger trade at Mong La [on the China-Myanmar border] has increased threefold between 2006 and 2014, Nick Cox, conservation director of WWF-Myanmar, said in a statement.

Strengthening law enforcement and closing these markets is essential if we are to keep this iconic species, he added.

A WWF press release on the report Reduced to Skin and Bones Re-examined said traders at Mong La and Tachileik, on the Thailand-Myanmar border in Shan State, claimed that tiger and leopard products were predominantly sourced domestically, from Myanmar and from neighbouring India.

This illegal poaching, along with habitat destruction and food shortages, are causing a decline in Myanmars population of wild tigers, according to former Flora & Fauna International program co-coordinator U Nay Myo Shwe.





U Than Naing, deputy director of Myanmars Nature and Wildlife Conservation Department, said that the government is taking action to protect wild tigers through education awareness, boosting economic opportunities in hunting areas and surveying the tiger population. He added that more priority should be placed on the issue to get government officials at all levels involved in the conservation.

The WWF report also highlighted the role of tiger farms in the trafficking trade.

Despite repeated government commitments to close down tiger farms in Asia, such facilities are flourishing and playing an increasing role in fuelling illegal trade, said Steven Broad, executive director of TRAFFIC.

The report was published in the lead-up to a critical debate on the illegal tiger trade, the 17th conference of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

At the conference, held in South Africa, representatives urged countries known to have tiger farms, including China, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, to commit to a timeline for the final closure of these facilities.

Ginette Hemley, head of the WWFs CITES delegation, said that countries must rapidly close their tiger farms or the wild animals will face a future only as skin and bones.

Critical decisions cannot be put off until the next CITES meeting in three years time or we risk undermining recent important gains in tiger conservation, she said.
For the first time, the government has explained its income and spending to the public. The Ministry of Planning and Finance has released a Citizens Budget.





Though the practice of making the budget more transparent and in line with international standards began under the previous government, little attempt was made to explain the figures or the technical language.

The Citizens Budget released last week includes definitions of budgetary terms used in the document for the benefit of the general public. It also includes solutions proposed by the Central Bank for the governments budget deficits amassed since the 2011-12 financial year, as well as information on the various debts incurred, with simplified explanations.

The Citizens Budget was released before, but the public couldnt easily understand it, said U Zaw Pe Win, a budget analyst and founder of a social development training school. Now we can know clearly how much is spent on education or the budgetary details of other sectors by looking at this simplified version.

Some work remained to be done, however, he said. The document would be easier to understand if it came with better explanations. The public will need to be aware that the governments spending also concerns them and they have to learn about it, at least at a basic level. Even with these clarifications, releasing the figures only works if the public understands them. It may take some time to encourage all the people to take an interest in something as complicated as the government budget, he added.

According to nonprofit research group International Budget Partnership, Myanmar ranks two out of 100 on budget transparency, with scant information provided to the public and very few budget documents made available within a timeframe consistent with international standards.

U Soe Thein, a retired deputy director general of the Budget Department, said further education would have to be provided to people so that they could understand the budget.

I welcome it. But there will need to be an education program to disseminate wider knowledge about budgetary matters. We cant depend on the government alone. Civil society groups need to cooperate and distribute knowledge of the budget among the public, he said.





The document itself predicts that government tax revenue will amount to more than K6.2 trillion from the public, and K1.628 billion from state-owned enterprises.

It also includes annual changes in spending on the education and health sectors. Myanmar still owes more than K45 trillion to foreign creditors from 2011-12 until 2015-16, and it expects to borrow more than K3.7 trillion more during the current financial year.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe
Dutch tourist Klaas Haytema was sentenced by a Mandalay court yesterday to three months in prison and ordered to pay a K100,000 (US$80) fine after being found guilty of disturbing a religious assembly under section 296 of the penal code.





Mr Haytema was accused of disconnecting an amplifier broadcasting a Buddhist dhamma sermon on the night of September 23. The incident took place at about 10pm outside the Thusarita Dhammayone, a religious community hall in Maha Aung Myay township, Mandalay Region, near the hotel where he was staying.

The 30-year-old from Wans in the Netherlands was subsequently arrested on charges of causing religious insult and related immigration charges following a formal complaint by U Kyaw San, head of the Dhamma Sat Kyar religious group.

His trial, which was held over six hearings beginning September 28, concluded yesterday with Mr Haytema being found guilty of a less serious offence than the one he was initially charged with.

In delivering his verdict, the presiding judge said Mr Haytema could not be found guilty of the more serious charge of causing religious insult under section 295 of the penal code because his actions lacked the requisite intent or damage.

We have heard that the offender did not intentionally defile the place of worship but the people from the Dhamma Sat Kyar religious group took fright because of his actions and therefore it cannot be said that his actions did not disturb the Dhamma Sat Kyar group. So for his actions on that night, the accused is not convicted under section 295, but he is convicted under section 296, the judge said.

Section 296 of the penal code makes it an offence to voluntarily disturb an assembly convened lawfully to perform religious worship or a religious ceremony. At one years imprisonment, it carries with it a lesser maximum sentence than the religious insult charge.





Mr Haytema was fined K100,000 in lieu of serving an additional six-month sentence for the related immigration offences. His time in prison may be reduced through good behaviour.

Upon hearing the judges verdict, which was delivered through an interpreter, Mr Haytema cried out, Why?, sat down in his chair and began to cry. He was then instructed by the judge to stand and was helped to his feet by two police officers. He was heard to say, I cant stand any more.

Upon leaving the courthouse, Mr Haytema did not respond to questions from the press.

Its a disappointing day for us, because we had good confidence Klaas would get free today, Geartsje Haytema, the defendants sister, told the Dutch publication Leeuwarder Courant. On the other hand, were happy that we finally have clearness about his situation. Three months, that means we could have him home at the end of December. That would just be the best Christmas present we could wish for.

The convicted tourists legal counsel raised the possibility of an appeal yesterday.

I will appeal if he [Mr Haytema] instructs me to. If he wants to appeal, I will help him, said the lawyer, U Hla Ko, chair of the Myanmar Legal Aid Network.

Translation by Win Thaw Tar and Thiri Min Htun
National League for Democracy MPs have been forced to reconcile their roles in supporting democracy with the machinations of governance following a chiding in which they were told to stop asking tough questions.





In a meeting at parliaments Zabuthiri Hall in the capital this week, senior NLD lawmakers told their more junior colleagues to stop asking questions or tabling proposals that make the government look bad.

Following the partys watershed election victory in November, the NLD secured around 80 percent of elected seats in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, or Union parliament, and, as a result, the ability to appoint the cabinet largely without opposition.

Holding the reins of both parliament and the executive, many feared such one-party dominance would ensure the hluttaw functioned as little more than a rubber-stamping vehicle. Both the NLD leadership and the partys MPs swore off such criticism, promising to exercise the checks and balances necessary in a well-functioning multi-party democracy.

But six months into holding office, and having all but wiped rival political parties off the electoral map, the temptation to eviscerate the constitutionally enshrined divide between government and parliament appears to have been too much.

In an earlier meeting foreshadowing the Zabuthiri announcement, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein called regional lawmakers together on September 29.

We were asked not to raise questions [in parliament] over things which have not yet been implemented by the government as the government will get into trouble because of such questioning, said regional MP U Kyaw Zay Ya (NLD; Dagon 2).





The NLDs landslide is perhaps felt nowhere more starkly than in Yangons hluttaw, where three Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) MPs and the militarys guaranteed 25 percent bloc offer the only interruption to the ruling partys otherwise contiguous sea.

The chief ministers meeting was called just one day prior to regional parliamentary sessions resuming. In the previous sessions, MPs questioned the regional government on investment projects, restrictions on high-rise buildings and public transportation plans, among other issues.

The order to pipe down and stick to a more scripted agenda appears to have so far been obeyed.

We told the Speaker we should not even be having such a meeting. And most MPs complained that the government should not interfere by blocking questions. But we cannot do anything about it, U Kyaw Zay Ya told The Myanmar Times.

On October 4, Union parliamentarians were also told to fall into line and avoid harming the image of the NLD.

According to sources present at the meeting, Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker U Win Myint was the one cracking the whip, telling MPs to focus on polishing the public perception of the party instead of asking tough questions.

It seems like the party leadership is afraid of clashes between parliament and the government, a lower house NLD MP who asked not to be named told The Myanmar Times.

When pressed about the meeting, U Win Htein, a central executive committee member of the NLD, said nothing particularly special was discussed.

Read more: NLD iron rules stifle new MPs

It was just a normal meeting with all the party MPs. We suggested to them that they make an effort to do things for the sake of the people because they represent the people, he said.

Following the meeting, the NLD was criticised not only for trying to exert political influence over the parliamentary agenda but also for staging a party discussion in a parliamentary hall.

Most political parties hold their meetings in a parliamentary office. Whether the NLD is officially allowed to conduct party matters at Zabuthiri Hall, I am not sure. But it doesnt matter as they can do whatever they want as they won the majority, said U Aung Thaung Shwe, a lower house MP (ANP; Buthidaung).

NLD parliamentarians said since they took their seats in February, the party leadership has on several occasions called everyone together to deliver instructions on maintaining the official party line.

And as of January 1, lawmakers were under strict orders not to share any of the partys policies or positions with the media without obtaining prior approval.

An eight-member vetting committee was assembled to check all NLD MPs questions and proposals before they can be submitted to parliament. The committee has not been shy about jettisoning submissions.

Actually we dont want to impose such restrictions but most MPs have no parliamentary experience, so we formed the committee to check their questions and proposals, and to give suggestions to ensure they are perfect, said senior party official Daw Khin San Hlaing. She was the same party member who pledged before the NLD took office that the centralised system would be short-lived, and that MPs could soon speak freely with the media after the transfer of power.

Yet all of the restrictions are still in effect, with more seeming to have been heaped on.

It is not strange for us because we understand and accept that we have to obey the partys rules and regulations as we are NLD members, said an NLD MP from the Amyotha Hluttaw who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But it isnt only the NLD parliamentarians who are constrained by such tight-fisted controls. Other parties lawmakers say they too have been blocked from presenting some proposals in parliament.

Taang (Palaung) National Party MP Daw Nan Moe from Manton township said she was prevented from questioning the government about IDPs access to education.

I was sad as I could not submit my proposal to parliament. I also felt guilty at the time because I couldnt do anything for my constituents even though I represent them in parliament, she said.

Lower House Arakan National Party MP Daw Khin Saw Wai said she too was shot down, and felt it was due to a proposal that would have reflected poorly on the government.

It was about IDPs in Rakhine State. But the Speaker refused to let me submit my proposal because he said it lacked a clear focus, she said.

I will not give up asking questions or submitting proposals to parliament as I have a duty to stand up for the interests of our people, she added. I am watching the governments activities and am ready to ask the tough questions as needed.

Additional reporting by Pyae Thet Phyo and Ye Mon
Motorcycles may soon return to Yangons streets, if MP U Yan Aung Min gets his way.





The Shwe Pyi Thar lawmaker yesterday presented a proposal to the regional hluttaw which would mean motorcycles could legally be ridden in seven townships on Yangons outskirts. Motorcycles have been banned in Yangon since 2003.

U Yang Aung Mins proposal is intended to address difficulties faced by residents in the outlying townships who face a lack of public transportation options in the area.

We propose to permit motorbikes in these seven outskirt townships because they dont have good transportation, said U Yan Aung Min.

People who live in these townships need to ride motorbikes because there are not enough bus lines within their townships, he told The Myanmar Times.

According to the MP, many people from these areas are poor and rely on motorbikes to get around, as taxis are prohibitively expensive. The residents are currently vulnerable to arrest and fines if found riding their two-wheeled vehicles.

The seven townships included in U Yan Aung Mins proposal are Shwe Pyi Thar; Hlaing Tharyar; South Dagon; North Dagon; East Dagon; Dagon Seikkan; and Mingaladon.





Daw Nilar Kyaw, regional minister for transportation, infrastructure and electricity, said the regional government would implement U Yan Aung Mins proposal after review and planning.

We will look into the issue and develop a plan that will allow motorcyclists to legally ride in these seven townships, she said.

Initially, U Yan Aung Min had developed a more ambitious proposal that would see motorbikes return to all townships in the Yangon municipality, excluding the six townships which make up the downtown area. However, after discussions with regional bureaucrats, he decided to limit his proposal to areas on the citys outskirts.

Some townships were concerned about the traffic problems that would be created on their already jammed streets so I chose to limit my proposal to the seven outskirt townships, he said.

Growing traffic congestion is one of the key problems city officials hope to improve, with many Yangonites spending hours in peak-hour traffic each day.
Four members of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission resigned yesterday amid a ballooning scandal and seething public backlash over financial settlement arranged in a child torture case.





The resignations come as the Presidents Office awaits a recommendation from the Union Attorney Generals Office over whether an investigation into the commission is warranted. U Zaw Win, U Nyan Zaw, Daw Than Than Nweh and Daw Mya Mya have all resigned, according to an announcement posted by the Presidents Office.

The 11-member commission has been under increased scrutiny after it was revealed that members helped settle a child domestic worker abuse case through a financial settlement. The child maids were psychologically and physically tortured for years at a tailoring shop in downtown Yangon. They bear scars from injuries that include broken knuckles and flesh wounds inflicted with knives and scissors.

The commission helped negotiate compensation for the victims families. The abusers provided K5 million to close the case, and no criminal charges were filed.

Outcry quickly followed on social media. But the rights commission held a press conference and defended its handling of the case. The commissioners told reporters that they were so confident in the steps they had taken that they would welcome defending their actions at a court hearing.

Daw Mya Mya yesterday confirmed her resignation. But she told The Myanmar Times that she did not want to comment on what had happened.

To tell the truth, we reached the point where we were willing to resign after there was such widespread criticism in the media. But I have nothing more to say, she said.





The case was first reported to the Kyauktada township police station in June by Myanmar Now chief correspondent Ko Swe Win. When no action was taken in response to the complaint, Ko Swe Win took the case to the Myanmar National Human Rights Council.

Instead of seeing three or four implicated members resign, I think the whole commission should be restructured to ensure a better outcome in the future, said Ko Swe Win.

He added that the government should continue to investigate the resigned members in order to avoid <setting a precedent where Union-level officials quit amid controversy and escape accountability for their actions.

Prominent human rights lawyer U Robert Sann Aung, whose legal clinic is preparing to sue the commission, agreed.

Just letting them resign is not enough, he said.

Since its formation in 2011, the MNHRC has faced sustained criticism for failing to more vigorously protect and promote human rights in the country. Despite its reputation, MNHRC chair U Win Mra was named last month to the nine-member Rakhine State Advisory Commission, which has been tasked with recommending solutions to ease interreligious tensions, poverty and mass displacement of stateless Rohingya Muslims in the troubled western state.

Yesterday, the Yangon Western District Court held the second hearing in the Ava tailoring shop trial.

The proceedings were postponed until next week as three of the six suspects have not yet obtained a lawyer. Three of the accused, Daw Tin Thuzar, Ma Su Mon Lat and Ko Yarzar Htun, told the judge yesterday that they are still trying to get a lawyer to defend them.

I will give you one more week. If you dont have a lawyer by next weeks hearing, I will assign you a government lawyer, the judge said yesterday.

The complainant, Police Officer Myo Thein from the Yangon Region anti-human trafficking unit, told The Myanmar Times that the exact number of offenders involved in the torture case will depend on the investigation. So far, six family members are facing trial.

Additional reporting by Lun Min Mang
A bird with one broken wing, or a species with one wounded sex, will never soar, writes Valerie M Hudson, one of the authors of a new book, Sex and World Peace, which is based on an important and comprehensive study into the link between womens position in society and a states security.





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The authors make a compelling argument for why peace and gender/sex equality are intrinsically linked based on statistical analysis of over 350 variables in 175 countries, including issues such as rape, sex trafficking, maternal and child mortality, family law, women in government, and the military.

The findings show with cold, hard data how the state of womens security in a country directly relates to security risk and conflict at state level. That should provide a powerful caution against the prevalent attitude in Myanmar today that womens rights should be secondary to the peace process.

It ought to be obvious that you cant have peace if half your people are being oppressed, but somehow that concept is all too often ignored or not understood.

As Hudson points out, The template for living with other human beings who are different from us is forged within every society by the character of male-female relations. In countries where males rule the home through violence, male-dominant hierarchies rule the state through violence.

In other words, if you raise bullies in the home, your children will go on to perpetrate or fall victim to bullying outside it. If your policymakers are willing to exclude people from decision-making roles on gender grounds, then they are not champions of equality  and those hoping for them to promote ethnic or social parity should be very wary.

The number of times Myanmar appears on the WomanStats project maps in red indicating poor levels of womens rights, equality or security gives a stark illustration of how little parity women are afforded socially or politically.





Addressing these issues is not something to be put to one side while all focus is on the antics of men in uniform. A peaceful, fair society must be created from the ground up as much as it is negotiated from the top down.

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If communities turn a blind eye to the oppression of the women in their own families on gender grounds, it is hardly surprising when they ignore or even encourage the violations of others based on ethnic or religious background.

If legislators cannot get around to enacting a law to prevent violence against women; if they are not willing to follow international protocols on ensuring womens involvement in decision making  including finding solutions to the countrys ongoing conflicts  then their vision of what peace is and how it can be achieved is so skewed they are unlikely to ever reach it.

The road to ending conflict in Myanmar has been rerouted through some very rough territory with no end in sight. Thousands have been displaced and civilians, including children, have been killed during an upsurge in fighting in Kachin and Shan states. Attacks have resumed between the Myanmar army and the Restoration Council of Shan State  a group which signed last years so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement. And there have been battles reported between the two powerful China-linked groups the Wa and the Mongla, which until recently were allies.

In Kayin State, after a period of relative peace in the region, fighting broke out last month between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and Myanmar government troops along with aligned militia.

In Rakhine, meanwhile, skirmishes between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military have tailed off, but there is no true peace in sight while the brutal oppression of the states more than 1 million Muslim minority Rohingya continues on ethno-religious grounds.

The country seems further away from peace than it has been for some time.

But to criticise authorities for doing little to counteract gender violence while such battles rage on is not a case of straining at gnats while swallowing camels. Violence and oppression of women on gender grounds should not be considered of lesser importance or less worthy of immediate action than violence against people on ethnic or any other discriminatory grounds.

The recent case of the violent abuse of two young maids in Yangon, and the failure of the authorities, including the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, to protect them, only gives a hint at the widespread abuse suffered by women across this country every day.

Working toward ending gender-based violence in the home and oppression in everyday society will contribute not only to safer, more secure lives for those directly affected by those issues but also to a safer and more secure society at every level.

As Hudson writes, Men who see women as beings to be subjugated will themselves continue to be subjugated. Men who see women as equal and valued partners are the only men who have a true chance to win their freedom and enjoy peace.
Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres is all but confirmed as the next secretary general of the United Nations with the Security Council set to forward his nomination to the General Assembly. He will become the fourth Western European, the ninth man and the first former head of government to hold the position.





Born in Lisbon in 1949, Guterres trained in electrical engineering and physics at the University of Lisbon. After graduation, he found his true calling: He joined the Socialist Party and was elected to public office. From 1995 to 2002, he was the prime minister of Portugal. After politics, he held the position of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 2005 to 2015. He is a polyglot, speaking French, Spanish and English, as well as his native Portuguese.

The Guterres appointment will be welcomed by many at UN headquarters in New Yorks Turtle Bay. It is hoped that he will rebuild independence of the Secretariat and use the bully pulpit more effectively than his predecessor, Ban Ki-moon. In many ways, his appointment will be a correction to the salaryman-like Ban and a return to a charismatic style of secretary general. A strong communicator is what the UN requires in these times of turmoil, and Guterres fits the bill.

As for the poll itself, many observers will be suffering whiplash. The fact that the Council and the P-5 required only one coloured-coded straw poll to settle on Guterres came as a surprise. Guterres led all five previous polls but many still expected a more troublesome selection process. In the end, Guterres was selected with a total of 13 encourage votes and two no opinions (abstentions). A breakdown of the vote reveals that nine elected members and four permanent members voted to encourage Guterres candidature, while one elected and one permanent member expressed no opinion. Crucially, no other candidate came close to securing the nine affirmative votes threshold required for nomination and no other candidate was able to avoid a discourage vote from a permanent member.

Reflecting on the selection, in general, a couple of observations can be made.

First, on the question of regional rotation, 13 candidates from three regional groupings were formally nominated, a considerably wider field than in the past. Nine were Eastern Europeans, two were Western Europeans, two were from Latin America. Russian insistence on an Eastern European was clearly not upheld. Is regional rotation dead? If not, which grouping will declare itself the next presumptive region? Latin America and the Caribbean?

Second, on the question of transparency, the process itself was still largely opaque. However, the atmosphere surrounding the process was far more transparent than it has been previously. For the first time, we saw declared candidates fielding questions from member-states. There was even a debate on Al-Jazeera.





Third, on the question of a female secretary general, although gender was front and centre throughout the process, the Council ignored the call for a female secretary general. Some have observed that the Council simply acted as an old boys club (US ambassador Samantha Power is the only female permanent representative on the Council). One thing is certain, next time around the call for a female secretary general will be deafening.

Now the SG race is over, it is down to business. Guterres first task is to manage the transition. He has approximately three months, which is around the same length as Ban Ki-Moons transition period.

Forming a senior management team will be high on the agenda. Guterres will need to select a deputy. He would do well to seek out a strong female administrator. As for the other posts, jockeying has already begun in earnest.

Kevin Rudd will certainly be in the mix for a cabinet post after his work as chair of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism. The question is, what position? Would Rudd, a former head of government, be satisfied with a minor role? Traditionally, the prominent posts are divided among the big powers: France has peacekeeping (DPKO); the UK has humanitarian affairs (OCHA); and the US has political affairs (DPA).

One question that remains unanswered: What did Russia get in return for not blocking Guterres? Some have surmised that the Russians are keen to have their choice take the position of under-secretary general for political affairs. Guterres has suggested that although one cannot avoid pressure, one can resist pressure. The question of high-level appointments will be a first test of Guterres independence.

Finally, what does the Guterres selection mean for Australia? In short, Guterres selection presents a perfect entree for a strategically informed policy for re-engagement with the UN. The honeymoon period will be brief, so Australia must move quickly to offer support to Guterres agenda for reform.

Overall, there is a sense of relief that arguably the best candidate in the field has been selected by way of the most contentious diplomatic process ever conceived. Now Antonio Guterres faces the unenviable task of managing the UN  otherwise known as the worlds most impossible job.

 The Interpreter

Peter Nadin is an independent researcher based in Sydney, Australia. He has worked previously as a project associate at the United Nations University (UNU).
Prominent South African filmmakers and media representatives gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel The WestCliff Hotel in Johannesburg as leading South African filmmaker Desiree Markgraff was officially unveiled as the Head Judge for the 2017 edition of Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCAs), the prestigious initiative that honours film and TV talent across the continent. The 5th annual AMVCA ceremony takes place in Lagos, Nigeria on 3 and 4 March 2017.

Desiree Markgraff is co-owner and CEO of The Bomb Shelter Productions, a leading South African film and television production company. A council member of the NFVF (National Film and Video Foundation) and Chairperson of the NFVF Fiction committee, Desiree has been at the forefront of creating some of South Africas most successful television content, including Yizo Yizo, Zone 14, Jacobs Cross, Isibaya, Ayeye, Amandla, and many more works celebrated around the world.

Speaking on Desirees appointment, the CEO of M-Net, Yolisa Phahle said: We are delighted to announce Desiree as the Head Judge of the AMVCAs. Desiree brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge to the role. The AMVCAs is an acknowledgement and celebration of the contribution made by Pan African filmmakers, actors and technicians to the success of the continents film and television industries, and we believe the appointment of Desiree further restates our commitment to professionalism and true Pan-African representation at the awards.

For the 2017 edition, a number of awards in different categories will be presented ranging from acting and directing to scriptwriting and cinematography. Other categories will include: editing, soundtrack, make-up, sound, and lighting amongst others. There are 27 categories in all, with 16 open to viewers and 11 decided by the AMVCA panel of judges. Entry is free and the closing date for submissions is 28 October 2016.

Also speaking at the event, the Regional Director for M-Net West Africa, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said: Since the first edition in 2013, the AMVCAs have gone on to become the biggest celebration of film and television talent in Africa.The South African movie and television industry is brimming with exciting talent, and we encourage all eligible filmmakers to enter for the 2017 AMVCAs. Entries are currently open and we ask aspiring South African filmmakers to take advantage of the AMVCA platform to showcase their skills and passion to the rest of the world.

All films, made-for-television movies or television series are eligible for entry if they are broadcast or publicly screened between 1 October 2015 and 30 September 2016. Films, made-for-television movies or television series previously entered into or nominated for an award, or awarded a prize in another film and television competition, also are eligible to be entered.

The newly announced Head Judge, Desiree Markgraff challenged South African filmmakers, at the event, to take advantage of the entry process and show Africa and the rest of the world the skill and quality inherent in the South African film and TV industry.

The recognition that the AMVCAs bring to nominated and winning works is immense. Since the inception of the awards in 2013, we have seen the dramatic increase in the quality and quantity of the works entered, and when you are nominated for an AMVCA you know you have gained continental and global recognition. I urge all South African filmmakers who meet the criteria to enter their films and show the world the amount of talent and creativity abundant in this region, added Markgraff.

The AMVCAs and MultiChoice are calling on all film and television industry participants and stakeholders across the continent to take part in this celebration of African magic by submitting their works for the 2017 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:

 Prepare a short show reel for online submission

 Log on to www.africamagic.tv and navigate to the submission page

 Fill out the submission form and upload the clip - a unique reference number will be allocated to each completed online submission

 Deliver a hard copy of your submission (with unique reference number) to Neo Phele, Magic Centre, 137 Bram Fischer Drive, Randburg, South Africa 2194.

 Visit www.africamagic.tv/guidelines for more information and terms and conditions.
The Glo-sponsored sitcom, Professor Johnbull, will, this week, examine the ills associated with alcoholism. Hitting the bottles for solace during rough times never offers permanent solutions, the erudite professor counsels on the TV series.

Professor Johnbull, played by veteran actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo, in the episode entitled Fools Paradise, speaks of the need to take lifes challenges with equanimity without resorting to the escapist alternative of alcoholism.

The new episode will be aired at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday on UTV for the enjoyment of families across the country.

Sponsor of the entertaining sitcom, Glo Mobile, in a press statement issued in Lagos on Monday, explained that this episode of Professor Johnbull shows that there are more pragmatic ways of solving life's problems than resorting to drunkenness which adds more sorrow than solve any problem.

The engaging and highly entertaining TV series, which parades various notable stars in Nollywood, made its debut about 3 months ago, and has championed a campaign for a paradigm shift in the moral consciousness of the society.

This, it seeks to achieve on a weekly basis through its didactic episodes. It has explored several soul-searching themes laced with an overdose of humour in the past several weeks, all targeted at exacting attitude change and programmed towards a better society for all. The drama has expectedly generated excitement among the populace which keeps a date with it every week.

Viewers will, in this weeks episode, have answers to questions such as: Should a Man give up on life for whatever reason?

Does alcohol provide respite from lifes trials and tribulations? Should a man give up on the various challenges of life or confront them to win? How does the lead act, the erudite academic, rationalize his brothers drinking problems? These posers will find answers in the episode on Saturday on UTV at 7.30 pm.

Glo encouraged viewers to watch the TV sitcom for the usual stars including Mercy Johnson Okogie (Caro); Queen Nwokoye (Elizabeth); Yomi Fash-Lanso (Olaniyi); Stephen Odimbe (Flash); Bidemi Kosoko (Jumoke); Ogus Baba (Samson) and Junior Pope who plays Churchill.
Azer Turk Bank presented to the public a video reflecting its interaction with customers. The video aims to familiarize customers with the Bank and give them the opportunity to get acquainted with its working process.

Azer Turk Bank always pays special attention to customer satisfaction factor and provides a wide range of banking products and services to individuals and legal entities. Besides, along with maintained development dynamics, the Bank gives customers the opportunity to implement all types of banking operations fast and easy.

With these purposes, Azer Turk Bank uses experience of the worlds leading banks and achieves customer satisfaction by applying the latest innovative technologies. The Bank uses the latest version of FLEX CUBE banking operation system, which allows to provide more prompt and efficient services to customers. Such services of Azer Turk Bank as internet banking and mobile banking, release customers from time waste and make the Bank accessible from all over the world. Moreover, according to highest safety standards, all types of payment cards are installed with the 3D Secure system.

The view captured in the video is very familiar to customers frequently applying to Azer Turk Bank. Another purpose of the video is to help customers, hesitating in the bank choice, to make the right decision.

Azer Turk Bank OJSC, which has identified financial support to the real sector of the economy as its main mission, by 75% is owned by the Government of Azerbaijan. More information about the Bank, its service network, products and services is available at www.azerturkbank.az, the Banks corporate pages at social networks or at (012) 945 Call Center.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

Afro-pop and reggae artiste, Joseph Ntim Mensah, popularly known as Ogya Mensah De Voice, has officially launched his project dubbed 'Get Serious Campaign' to educate Ghanaians, especially the youth, on the need to take their education very serious.

The campaign which is expected to take him throughout the country would focus on ensuring that traditional leaders, among others, demonstrate their commitment to ensure the youth in their various communities get access to education.

The Afro-pop and reggae artiste made this known when he presented copies of his 'Get Serious' CDs to the national executives of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA).

During the presentation ceremony, Ogya Mensah De Voice said the 'Get Serious' song was composed to educate and caution all Ghanaians to get serious and to wake up from their slumber, come together and work as a team to develop our country.

We as Ghanaians should channel all our energies, ideas, resources, creativity and passions to build our nation not only for ourselves, but generations to come, he reiterated.
Accra, Ghana  The impact of climate change on Ghana is severe. Research findings from the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment hold that climate change affects Ghanas vital water resources, energy supplies, crop production and food security.

Extreme weather conditions and severe droughts are characteristic features of the global menace on Ghana, with its three northern region being the most affected.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) in the country have been identified as key actors that can contribute to address this menace.

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) with support from the French Embassy in Ghana will provide targeted institutional and operational capacity development support to fifteen (15) CSOs. This programme will benefit CSOs working to address climate change and environmental challenges in general in Ghana.

The French Embassy in Ghana has disbursed a first tranche of One Hundred and Eighty Four Thousand (184,549)

Ghana Cedis for WACSI to support these CSOs to:

 Reinforce their organisational capacity by putting in place more robust governance structures, and developing their leadership and management abilities for enhanced performance and sustainability;

 Strengthen their results-based communication systems and acquire skills to collect and use monitoring and evaluation data for effective more effective organizational management; and

 Enhance their ability to develop evidence-based advocacy and influencing strategies and develop effective networking techniques.

The ongoing programme will run for three years. It commenced in August 2016 and is expected to end in October 2018.

At the launch of the programme at the Secretariat of WACSI on 3 October, 2016, Ambassador of France to Ghana, His Excellency Francois reiterated the Government of Frances commitment to support CSOs in Ghana to strengthen their capacity.

Nana Afadzinu, Executive Director of WACSI reaffirmed her Institutions commitment to ensure that this support will enable beneficiary organisations to be more accountable, active in participatory development processes in the country and become key players in policy processes that will enable Ghana to take a leap towards efforts to combat climate change.

More information can be found on www.wacsi.org
06.10.2016 LISTEN

By Ken Sackey/ Benjamin Mensah, GNA

Accra, Oct. 6, GNA - Among other things, the 2016 manifesto launch of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), scheduled for the Trade Fair in Accra next Sunday, would explain the 'one district, one dam' election promise of the party.

Nana Akomea, the Communications Director of the NPP, said the manifesto would offer solutions to the myriad problems facing sectors of the economy, and the document would address the issues of youth unemployment among others.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra ahead of the event Nana Akomea said the launch of the document would be preceded by a stakeholder presentation, where the Party's sector specific solutions would be espoused.

About 25 interest groups including the Trades Union Congress, civil society and other identifiable groups, members of the diplomatic corps, political parties, the media, market men and women and fisher folks.

Others, he said, would be the Ghana Bar Association, Ghana Journalists and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana.

Nana Akomea said the party has prepared very well for a mammoth rally at the Forecourt of the Trade Fair and had made provisions for as many party members, faithful and sympathisers to attend the event.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor would preside over the stakeholder consultations and the launch of the manifesto.

GNA
By Ken Sackey, GNA

Accra, Oct. 6, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodioo, Nii Lante Vanderpuye has launched his campaign for re-election, resolving to garner 70 per cent of the votes in the Constituency.

He said the percentage applies to the presidential and parliamentary polls, since the excellent performance of the NDC Government coupled with his own sterling performance as MP and Minister would ensure a landslide victory for him and the Party.

Bukom, the heart throb of Ga Mashie, went agog with motorbike riding display as music blared from the nooks and cranny of the area about the NDC.

The streets were awash with NDC paraphernalia in the Party colours of red, white green and black.

Among the officials that attended the programme were Mr Koku Anyidoho, Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, and Mr Kobena Ade Coker, the NDC's Greater Accra Regional Chairman.

Also at the launch were chiefs and opinion leaders in the Constituency.

Nii Vanderpuye said President Dramani Mahama has done so much and laid a solid foundation that Ghanaians cannot allow the nation to be messed up.

'Since Odododiodioo decides elections in Ghana, I want to make sure that we give John Mahama the 70 per cent that he deserves to continue the good works, to continue changing lives and transformation in Ghana.

'I just want my opponent to understand that if they want to win elections, not in 2016 because there is no way they can win elections in 2016 because there is no way they can beat Nii Lantey Vanderpuye in Odododiodioo,' he said.

Nii Vanderpuye announced that work would start on the reconstruction of the Salaga Market in the course of the month, and hinted plans to build a new basic school at Agbogbloshie to cater for the children of the market women.

Additionally, the Government is going to site one of the new community senior high schools in the Aayalolo area, as well as the renovation of the slaughter house in the constituency before the elections.

Mr Coker, Mr Anyidoho and Mr Okoe Vanderpuije extolled the works of Nii Vanderpuye and the NDC and appealed to the electorate to vote massively to retain the Government.

A mass choir, singing gospel songs electrified the event whilst the local version of NDC's Green Book, outlining the achievements of Nii Vanderpuye in Odododiodio was unveiled.

GNA
By Stephen Asante, GNA

Kumasi, Oct 06, GNA - A total of 240 candidates have filed their nomination to contest the 47 parliamentary seats in the Ashanti Region in the December 07 polls.

Mr. Serebour Quaicoe, the Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), who announced this said 35 of them were females and the remaining 205, males.

He indicated that 19 people were in the parliamentary race as independent candidates.

He broke the news at the opening of a three-day data journalism training workshop held in Kumasi under what was termed 'Amplifying voices through new digital platforms'.

It was organized by Penplusbytes, an information and communication technology (ICT) firm with support from the United States (US) Embassy in Accra and African Election Project - an NGO.

The programme, which brought together selected journalists in the northern sector, sought to assist them to improve their coverage of the polls and efficient handling of figures.

Mr. Quaicoe reiterated the determination of the Commission to ensure the conduct of clean and credible polls, saying, it had put in place the necessary measures to make the electoral processes transparent.

He stated that each polling station would be equipped with two biometric voting devices and a projector fixed at the various collation centres to monitor results as they were being collated.

Barima Offe Okogyeasuo, Omanhene of Kokofu, called for more training programmes for journalists to help them to avoid doing anything unethical.

The media, he noted, had critical role to play to make the coming polls peaceful.

GNA
06.10.2016 LISTEN

TEL AVIV, Israel, ACCRA, Oct. 6 - (UPI/GNA) - Israel rejected heavy U.S. criticism for approving a new Jewish settlement on the West Bank, a move the United States said violated Israel's pledge against new settlements.

The plan was "strongly condemned" by the U.S. State Department, which also said new settlements undermined the long-term security goal of a new military aid package Israel signed with the United States three weeks ago.

The deal provides Israel with $38 billion in aid over the next decade.

Israel disputed whether the new construction was actually a settlement. The illegal outpost of Amona is being relocated and is "not the obstacle to peace," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

"This housing will be built on state land in the existing settlement of Shilo and will not change its municipal boundary or geographic footprint. The units are intended to provide a housing solution for the residents of Amona who must leave their homes in accordance with the demolition order issued by Israel's High Court of Justice."

The Foreign Ministry also said in the statement a two-state solution is still viable, "in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state of Israel."

GNA
Fidelity Bank has changed its tagline from The New Standard to Believe With Us as part of its 10th-year anniversary celebrations.

The 2016 Bank of the Year says the new tagline reflects a refreshed and better Fidelity Bank to customers and all stakeholders.

Managing Director and co-founder of the Bank, Mr Jim Baiden, said Fidelity Bank is poised for even greater milestones in the next 10 years.

a

Touching on the new tagline, he said Fidelity Bank in the past few years has been successful in setting the standard as far as banking is concerned in Ghana and this is evident in the numerous awards won, happy customers and ever zealous workforce. We have demonstrated trust and ability; we want Ghanaians to believe with us to get a better life, complete their education among others. We are asking Ghanaians to join us, bank with us, and believe that Fidelity Bank will help them reach their goals through our unique products and services. Believe with us to go the extra mile and achieve greatness together.

He noted that going forward, Fidelity Bank will take its business proposition to the next level by inspiring optimism and audacity.

Speaking to journalists at its Ridge head office, Mr Baiden said plans by Bank of Ghana to increase the minimum capital requirement presents a good opportunity.

Although it is yet to be confirmed, analysts say the central bank's minimum capital requirement for commercial banks in the country could be increased to Gh500 million from 2017.

It is foreseeable that not a lot of banks will be able to meet the minimum capital requirement and therefore it is a good opportunity for some banks like Fidelity Bank to acquire other banks, said Jim Baiden.

He said the bank has chalked phenomenal successes over the past 10 years because of its loyal customers and the hard work of employees.

There is no doubt that our customers and employees are the reason we have come this far. Their loyalty, commitment and hard work have all translated into making Fidelity a top tier bank in this country. We are forever grateful and we will continue to deliver on our promise to help each other grow.

For an indigenous Bank to be ranked as the 4th largest among 28 banks in an industry where international competition exists is indeed a remarkable achievement worth celebrating, he said.

Recounting the journey so far, Mr. Baiden noted that during its 10 years of operation, the Bank has contributed to national development to the tune of GH  240 million in taxes.

Through its Agency Banking Model, the Bank has created Smart Accounts for three hundred thousand people who would have otherwise been unbanked.

The Bank has also won about 60 awards notable among them being the Most Socially Responsible Bank and the reigning Bank of the year to crown its 10 years of hard work.

Mr. Baiden expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for believing in the Bank and contributing immensely to its growth.

The celebration which will be a year-long one will be characterised by lots of activities to celebrate with both staff and customers.

Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd. is the largest private indigenous bank and currently the fourth largest bank in Ghana in terms of customer deposits. FBGL was issued with its universal banking license in 2006, making it the 22nd bank to be licensed by the Bank of Ghana under the new Banking Act, 2004 (Act 673).

Fidelity Bank is majority owned by Ghanaian institutional investors.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected]
Oslo (AFP) - Syrian rescuers risking all to save war-hit civilians and the brokers of Iran's nuclear deal are among contenders for Friday's Nobel Peace Prize after Colombia's peacemakers fell from pole position.

As the annual Nobel prize-giving week reaches its peak, the five-member Norwegian committee will unveil its decision at 0900 GMT, the only one of six awards to be presented in Oslo and the one which traditionally garners the greatest attention.

For once, Experts, online betting sites and commentators had thought they were on to a sure thing with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo London, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, widely seen as frontrunners after signing a deal to end 52 years of civil war.

But they were suddenly forced to rethink after voters in Colombia rejected the agreement between their government and the communist FARC rebels in an October 2 referendum.

That threw the prestigious prize wide open again, and with a record 376 nominations to consider, predicting the winner is largely a lottery, with experts far from unanimous over who the committee will choose.

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, search for victims amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo on October 4, 2016

On the eve of the award, several Nobel watchers flagged civilian-led endeavours, with two betting sites giving Greek islanders the best odds for coming to the aid of thousands of desperate refugees landing on their shores after making the perilous journey across the sea from Turkey.

For others, it was the work of Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege in helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

'Resilience and bravery'

Syria's White Helmet volunteers were also touted as possible winners for their daring efforts to rescue civilians caught up in the carnage of the country's five-year war.

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege is a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo

Working in rebel-held areas, the force has won international plaudits for the bravery of its nearly 3,000 volunteers who risk life and limb to pull survivors from the rubble, with their nomination for the prize firmly backed by Britain's Guardian newspaper.

"What the White Helmets accomplish may seem like a drop in the ocean, but what they represent is immense: resilience and bravery in the face of barbarism," said the paper in an editorial.

"And they show that individual acts of courage can go a long way to fight indifference. They also embody a spirit of civic resistance... exemplifying courage and solidarity in the face of state-sponsored terror."

For Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Oslo's Peace Research Institute (PRIO), the top contender was Russian rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina for her decades-long work with refugees and migrants -- an issue which has shot to prominence in Europe since the start of the migrant crisis.

Also in the running is Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who endured months of sexual abuse by Islamic State militants before escaping to become a global spokesperson for her people.

And US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been touted for his exposure of the scope of US surveillance.

Nuclear diplomacy

If diplomatic achievement wins the prize, it could go to the negotiators behind the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord which effectively curbed Tehran's nuclear drive, putting an atomic bomb out of reach, in exchange for a gradual lifting of the crippling sanctions imposed on its economy since 2006.

That could see the prize going to Washington's top diplomat John Kerry, his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as to nuclear experts Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary, and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

In an illustration of just how difficult it is to call, last year's prize went to four Tunisian groups who were instrumental in the country's transition to democracy -- none of whom had been mentioned in any of the pre-announcement speculation.
The Upper West Akim constituency, in the Upper West Akim District, is the only one in the Eastern Region that shares boundaries with the Greater Accra and the Central Regions.

It also shares boundaries with Ayensuano District to the east, West Akim Municipality to the north, Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality to the south eastern part, Ga South Municipality to the south and Awutu-Afutu Senya District in the Central region to the west.

This interesting geography easily reflects the backgrounds of the people who live in the constituency.

The district has Adeiso as its capital. Other major communities in the constituency are Mepom, Okorasi, Nyanoa, and Obeng Yaw.

A lot of the houses in the constituency are built from mud, with rusty roofing sheets.

The constituency, which was previously under the West Akim district, has over the years voted massively for the governing National Democratic Congress NDC in both parliamentary and presidential elections. The ethnic makeup is heterogenous, majority, being Akans. A sizeable number are Dangbes and Ewe. A number of other tribes also live in the constituency.

About 50% of these migrants were born in the region, which can account for their voting history.

One of the most conspicuous landmarks in the constituency is the Adeiso market. Adeiso is popular for the processing of cassava into high quality gari which attracts a lot of traders from all over the country to trade. But the Adeiso market has no permanent structures. The women sit under temporary sheds to sell, while others trade in the open.

Some also sell on the street, making it difficult for both humans and drivers to maneuver their way into the market.

Interestingly, the gari sellers, who have brought much attention to the market, do not have a spot inside the market. They line up the street.

Juliana Akpalanyo, who has sold gari at the Adeiso market for some 20 years, told the Campaign Trail, they will appreciate it if permanent structures are built for them.

We need to get a permanent place to sell. We sit along the streets to sell. This is not safe, she said.

42 years old Mary Amankwanor, echoes Juliana's concerns.

Anytime it rains, we are unable to sell because parts of the market floods. We really need them to construct the market for us, she said from behind a small table inside the market where she sells her wares.

More than half of the Districts population is engaged in one form of agricultural activity or the other. The major crops that are produced in the district include cassava, plantain, oil palm, and pineapple. The large production of pineapple, has led to the establishment of a processing company, Fresh and Dry that buys from the farmers.

This sounds like a profitable venture, for the farmers, but they seem to have their own reservations.

David Nyarko is a 32-year-old farmer now turned trader. I meet him standing behind a wheelbarrow, selling toothpaste, bathing sponge, batteries and more. He told me has been forced into trading because farming is no longer lucrative.

I have a three acre pineapple farm. But because we get no farm inputs from the government, the farming is no longer lucrative. I sell my produce at the market but I am selling this now to make some money to support my farming. Our produce go waste if the people don't come from Accra to buy.

The factory buys the fruits from the farmers who are supported by the government. Even with that, they buy at their own price.

Other farmers, who have been in the venture much longer than Nyarko, also share similar tales with me.

I am a cocoa farmer, but I also grow pineapple and cassava. These days, we get no fertilizers from the government for our farms. They have told us to submit our names, but we are yet to hear back from them. Because of this, I have pests on my farm, which is badly affecting my harvest. I used to harvest about 15 bags. Now, I get far less than that, said an older farmer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Down the road from the market, a group of young men sit on their motor bikes, or okada, waiting for clients. This is the job most of the youth have settled for since they say there is nothing left for them to do. One of the young men is badly injured; covered in sore from a motor accident he had about a week before my visit. His name is Gideon Awuku.

There is only one job avenue in this area; the Fresh and Dry Company. I have been operating the motorbike business for the past year. That is what all of us seated here do. But it isn't fetching us much. I make between 40 and 45 cedis daily, Gideon told me.

At the lorry station, the drivers also cry over the bad nature of roads they ply daily.

Akura Gyimah, who has been plying the Accra-Achimota-Bawjiase-Asamankese road daily, revealed he has voted for the NDC since 1992.

Gyimah has lived in the constituency for the past 40 years and tells me the NDC has brought some development to the area, pointing to some uncompleted stalls in the lorry station. He claims those are being built by the District Assembly.

He however added that their roads are in deplorable conditions, seriously affecting their work.

Our roads are very bad. We have seen that they are constructing some of them. We hope that they finish it soon. All my shocks are destroyed as I speak with you.

His colleague driver, who also revealed he has been voting for the NDC said he will vote for the New Patriotic Party NPP this year to see what they will also come and do.

H e said the driving business is no longer profitable because of the bad nature of the roads.

Even though the Nsawam Adoagyiri-Adeiso road is under construction, there were no workers on site when the campaign trail traversed it. Construction equipment had been left unattended to on the shoulders of the road.

Apart from the roads and temporary structures at the market, my interaction with the people in this constituency also showed their developmental challenges go beyond these.

The constituents have no access to potable water, relying on dug-out wells and boreholes.

We find it difficult getting potable water here. We rely on boreholes. Our taps do not flow. We normally buy sachet water a resident who refused to give his name said.

Many of the people in Upper West Akim constituency feel they have not benefitted enough from their many years of devotion to the NDC. Some of them feel they have only been taken for granted.

The upcoming parliamentary contest is a straight one between the outgoing District Chief Executive, Derrick Bekoe Ohene Assifo and a teacher, Eugene Sackey. The incumbent MP, Samuel Amankwanor who won the party's primary stepped down because of health problems. Well, that was the official statement, but unsubstantiated information we picked up show he was forced to step down because he had dual citizenship.

This year's contest will be the second attempt the teacher will be making at entering parliament. In 2012, he lost by some 3,763 votes. Against a contender who heads the local assembly and a part of the governing party, what are the NPP's chances of winning the seat that has evaded them all these years?

With some 63 days more to the polls, it is only a matter of time for the teacher to dump his chalk and pen and head to the house of parliament or for the DCE to get a raise in status. The people of the West Akim constituency will soon decide.



By: Eugenia Tenkorang/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @eugeniatenkoran
Once again, the Turkish media, under government control or government pressure, is circulating horrific rumors, this time about a supposed second coup attempt in the works, supposedly prepared by my sympathizers with the backing of the United States.

Such rumors are unfounded and irresponsible.

As a victim of four military coups in the past, I reiterate my conviction that democracy cannot be achieved or protected through military interventions. Even if elected political leaders persecute me and the participants of Hizmet movement by trampling over fundamental human rights, I never approve their removal through anti-democratic means.

I strongly condemn the efforts to portray me as the architect of the treacherous July 15 coup attempt, despite the fact that I condemned it in the strongest terms while it was in progress and I repeatedly and clearly have denied playing any role in it. If some people who appear to be sympathizers of Hizmet were involved in the treacherous coup attempt, they betray my ideals and should face justice.

I believe that the rumors of a second coup attempt are being circulated in Turkish media deliberately to set a trap against our citizens, and especially against Hizmet participants. Already, declarations appeared in media by irresponsible individuals who suggest moving prisoners to solitary confinement in order to make it easier to execute them. The spread of these horrific rumors and suggestions by pro-government mass media generate an atmosphere of hate that paves the way for further atrocities.

Once again, I condemn the failed coup, any attempt to stage a coup and even the consideration of such action. I also condemn spreading rumors to defame a peaceful social movement to justify ongoing persecution of its participants.

About Fethullah Gulen

Fethullah Gulen is an Islamic scholar, preacher and social advocate, whose decadeslong commitment to education, interfaith dialogue and altruism has inspired millions in Turkey and around the world. Gulen is the honorary chairman of the Rumi Forum, Washington, DC and the Intercultural Dialogue Platform, Brussels, Belgium.

About Alliance for Shared Values

The Alliance for Shared Values (AFSV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as a voice for cultural organizations affiliated with Hizmet, a civil society movement inspired by prominent preacher and peace advocate Fethullah Gulen. Based in New York, the Alliance strives to promote peace and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against any ethnic, cultural or religious community.

http://afsv.org/fgulen-message-regarding-rumors-about-a-second-coup-attempt-10022016/#.V_LOQFDD9nG

https://www.turkishminute.com/2016/10/04/islamic-scholar-gulen-dismisses-accusations-second-coup/
Details added (first version posted on 10:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.7

Trend:

The statement made by the US Secretary of State John Kerry about unreadiness of the leaders to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict surprises and upsets, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department, told reporters in Baku Oct.7.

Such a statement of the secretary of state of a superstate, which involved in the conflicts settlement, on the eve of the resignation, elections, surprises, said Mammadov.

He noted that this sounds strange, as a message to the world.

It is Armenia that during the talks to resolve the conflict claims that leaders arent ready to resolve the conflict, he said, adding that Nagorno-Karabakh is a historic land of Azerbaijan.

How can it be explained that the continuation of occupation of seven districts around the Nagorno-Karabakh over more than 25 years, which has led to the fact that about 760,000 people became displaced, Mammadov said.

If Armenia withdraws from the seven districts, doesnt this need preparation? he said. The three co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, including the US, entrusted with the main mission for this. However, so far we see no progress.

Armenia is an invading country, said Mammadov adding that the US also voted at the UN Security Council for the adoption of four resolutions on the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the Azerbaijani territories.

Resolutions and decisions on the issue were adopted by many international organizations, he noted. Presidents of the three co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group also expressed the need to change the status quo.

Mammadov added that Azerbaijan doesnt agree with John Kerrys statement and would like to see any US state structure to clarify this statement.

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.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

Let me begin my write up by drawing inspiration from a speech delivered by late Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr., in 1967 at the First Annual Conference on New Politics, in Washington DC, USA, ..so let us stand in this conference, knowing that on some positions, Politics ask the question, is it safe? Expedients ask the question is it politic? Vanity ask the question, is it popular? But Conscience ask the question is it right? On some positions (2x), it is necessary for the moral individual to take a stand that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because it is right!....

On Thursday, 6th October, 2016, Bogoso based Trinity 96.7 FM in the Western Region of Ghana re-hosted the District Budget Officer for Prestea Huni-Valley District, Mr. Ernest Tagoe to clarify important issues concerning certain allocations in Composite Annual Action Plan and Annual District Budget of the Prestea Huni Valley District.

On the programmed named Asetena pa, hosted by renowned Ohemma Naomi Afriyie Nyannor, the budget officer was specifically respond to documents presented to the FM Station by one Francis Eshun, a citizen of Prestea and a regular contributor to Filla Show on the FM station.

Among the issues to be addressed include:

Allocation of GH  26,880.00 for Vaccination of Monkeys and Cats in Prestea Huni Valley District. Construction of Prestea Magistrate Bungalow Allocation of GH  54,716.00 to buying of Newspapers, Journals, Stationary and Value Books for 2016.

The District is located at about 33 Kilometers east of Tarkwa, a mining District and covers an about 1376 sqkm. According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, the total population of the PresteaHuni-Valley District was 159,304.

ALLOCATION OF GH  26,880.00 FOR VACCINATION OF MONKEYS AND CATS IN PRESTEA HUNI VALLEY DISTRICT.

Except of the page 3, of the 2016 Composite Annual Action Plan Under the GSGDA II 2014-2017 of Prestea Huni Valley District Assembly are as follows:

PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES LOCATION OUTPUT INDICATORS ANNUAL BUDGET IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES Local (GH ) External in GH ) Lead Collaborating Objective 3: Promote livestock and poultry development for food security and job creation Vaccinate dogs, cats and monkeys ruminants against rabies District wide Dogs, cats and monkeys ruminants against rabies 26,880 DA GOG

Table 1: Source: 2016 Composite Annual Action Plan, Prestea Huni Valley District Assembly, Pg. 3

In response, Mr. Ernest Tagoe stated  I think at the time, we were doing the budget, may be someone had monkeys. He further stated that if you have a monkey, it is not a bad thing and that if the money had came, we(i.e District Assembly) would have vaccinated all these monkeys.

The big question is, what actually prompted the inclusion of monkeys vaccination, when in fact, there is no monkey sanctuary in the District? How many monkeys was the District Assembly seeking to vaccinate?

CONSTRUCTION OF PRESTEA MAGISTRATE BUNGALOW

According to page 20 of the 2014 District Budget, it was stated that a magistrate bungalow was to be contructed in Prestea, but it turned out that, a renovation of an old bungalow belonging to Golden Star Resources Prestea/Bogoso Ltd.

Programme and Project (by sector) IGF( Including MDF) GH  GOG GH  DACF GH  DDF GH  Donor GH  Total Budget GH  Construction of Magistrate Bungalow at Prestea 0 0 60,000.00 0 0 60,000.00

Table 8: Source: 2014 Composite Annual District Budget, Prestea Huni Valley District Assembly, Pg. 20

In response, Mr. Tagoe stated that, the District Assembly changed the project from construction to renovation because they could not get land in Prestea to embark on the Project.

The presenter, Naomi Afriyie Nyannor requested for actual amount used for the renovation, but Mr. Tagoe could not produce it.

The indication here, which looks shocking, that a whole District Assembly can use land unavailability as the cause of its inability to embark on a project that it has presented in its annual budget to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for approval. It is my wish that the matter is investigated to accertain the truth of this excuse raised by the budget officer.

ALLOCATION OF GH  54,716.00 TO BUYING OF NEWSPAPERS, JOURNALS, STATIONARY AND VALUE BOOKS FOR 2016.

In a District whose rural population of 62.9% exceeds the regional average of 57.6%, can spend GH  54,716.00 in 2016 on purchasing of Newspapers and Stationary. It is important to note that monies allocated to Newspapers et al is more than the total monies allocated to our seven Urban/ Area councils (GH  15,000) (page 2, 2016 District Budget). This again is mind-boggling!

In response, the Budget Officer, Mr. Tagoe stated that its not a big deal because the Newspapers and Value Books are expensive.

Mr. Tagoe alluded to the facts that GH  40,000.00 (Forty thousand Ghana Cedis) has in fact been approved to our DCE, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, to enable him attend public functions such as Funeral Invitations, Church Invitations et al.

All these has become necessary because in Prestea Huni Valley District bedeviled with poor roads, especially in Prestea, while health facilities such as the only District Hospital, Prestea Government Hospital is in a deplorable state.

Others include lack of potable water in Prestea, and other major towns in the District. Furthermore, sanitation issues with respect to our various refuse damps and gutters in the community needs to be attended to, but are left because of reasons such as lack funds.

It is in this interest that complete investigation should be conducted to find out why a district, which receives (projected income) is facing so much problems that could have been attended to based on money coming from various agencies for the development of the District.

Source Projected Amount for 2016 (GH ) District Assembly Common Fund 3,627,997.00 District Development Facility 714,755.00 Mineral Royalties 1,538,716.00 Total 5,881,468.00

Table 3: 2016 Annual Action Budget, Prestea Huni-Valley District Assembly.

I will therefore call for further invigations into how funds provided to the Prestea Huni Valley District to ensure that the tax payers money does not enter into wrong pockets.

Thank you.

Francis Eshun

Masters of Education (Science), BSc (Hons.), Dip Ed

Mob.: 0203 96 18 33
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) understands better the state of the country's economy. Unfortunately, the level of frugality which should characterize a country in economic stress is not what the apex bank has exhibited.

The BoG is reported to have purchased Hollywood grade wrist watches for retiring staff at prices which cannot be commensurate with the status of a country under the wings of a Bretton Wood institution.

We have heard the defence the bank has put up  a useless bid to repel a profligacy so untoward we are lost for words to describe.

We would be quick to point out however, that this kind of response is laced with hubris, an insult to the good people of this country.

We think that the defence could have been crafted in a manner devoid of the import it did. We are not disputing the fact that the bank as an autonomous body can organize its own internal arrangements in certain segments such as retirement packages and the like.

These, however, must be in tune with the state of the country of which BoG is a part. Unless the management of the apex bank seeks to tell us that it's an Island with nothing to do with central government, it must come off this autonomy status mentality and be real.

We are regarding the bank as an entity which is either pretending to be oblivious of the sorry state of Ghana or just being reckless in its management of scarce resources.

Ghanaians saddled with numerous negative stories about the economy, by this development and the accompanying unpalatable response from the BoG can no longer trust the apex bank to turn down bad requests from central government to prosecute political projects which are injurious to the interest of the country.

We have also learnt that the mode of purchase  soul sourcing  in contravention of procurement law as applicable in Ghana is worrying.

We cannot accept it when our apex bank engages in what by all standards is both illegal and immoral.

We must trust as a people our apex bank to be sensitive to the state of our economy and above all, conduct its affairs in conformity with our laws.

We are beginning to wonder what other breaches the bank has undertaken unknown to the people of Ghana, especially when government, cornered by the effects of bad policies, would push it to commit.

We cannot expect the government to pose questions about the unusual profligacy by the management of the BoG because after all, both of them are in bed. Comrades in financial and moral breaches would not be a bad description of the bond. Have all institutions of state been so contaminated by the contagion of financial impropriety? It started from the top and has trickled down. Ghana does not deserve this.
Nana Konadu Agyemnag Rawlings outdoor Mr. Kwadzo Mensa Sosu as her running mate

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, yesterday outdoored her running mate for the 2016 presidential election.

The 47-year-old Kojo Mensah Sosu, who is a native of Keta in the Volta region, was introduced to the party's executives, members and the media at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

Mr Sosu is an entrepreneur and founder of Fortterra Ghana Limited, a heavy-duty equipment rental company.

Speaking at the ceremony, the former First Lady, Mrs. Rawlings expressed confidence in the ability of her running mate to assist her to capture power from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) come December 7.

We have had a lot of discussions together and I know he will not disappoint us, she said.

She described Mr. Sosu as a team player and an experienced businessman who has provided jobs to many Ghanaian youths.

Vote for change

Mrs. Rawlings urged the electorate, particularly those in the Volta region, to vote against Mahama-led NDC government this year.

That, she said, was necessary to restore hope to the suffering masses of Ghana.

She explained that the NDC had virtually succeeded in collapsing the country's economy through corruption and mismanagement and that it (NDC) does not deserve to remain in power after January 7, 2017.

People are suffering and people are dying because they have no medical care and they say they are transforming people and changing lives. They are transforming their own lives and changing their own lives, she declared.

Mr. Sosu, in his acceptance speech, indicated that he would work hard to ensure that NDP emerges victorious.

He said a government of the NDP under the leadership of Mrs. Rawlings would strive to end the marginalization of the ordinary Ghanaians by the ruling class.

Together we shall weed out the ills of this nation and together we shall lift our nation up, he said, adding that the NDP is ready for change.

He urged Ghanaians, particularly the youth to speak out against the wanton corruption being perpetrated by officials of the NDC government, saying to the voiceless, we say speak out for your voices must be heard.

He said probity and accountability shall be the hallmark of the NDP when voted into power.

Mrs. Rawlings and her running mate, according to the National Youth Leader of the NDP, Dr. David Sunu, shall rescue Ghana from the hands of corrupt and dishonest NDC officials.

Ending NDC's dominance

The Progressive People's Party (PPP) and People's National Convention (PNC) have all picked their vice presidential candidates from the Volta region to end the NDC's dominance in the region.

Political pundits believe the move could negatively affect the fortunes of the ruling government, as the Volta region  one of the most impoverished regions in the country  has over the years being considered as NDC's 'World Bank.'

By Melvin Tarlue
The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged the Ghanaian electorate not to fall for President John Mahama's JM Toaso mantra, which he says is deceptive.

Nana Akufo-Addo made the call at the Ayawaso Central Constituency on his Greater Accra Regional campaign tour on Wednesday.

According to Nana, President Mahama cannot call on Ghanaians to give him the mandate to serve as president any longer since he has performed abysmally, plunging the country into economic crisis.

He told party supporters that the 'JM Toaso' mantra which literally means 'John Mahama continue with your administration,' should not lead them blindly to vote for the Mahama-led government.

This year, the law of Ghana and God has given the opportunity to end our struggles and hardships we cannot escape from; paying of our school fees and electricity bills. We now have the opportunity to use our thumb to end all that hardship. We can now kick Mahama and his government out and bring the government of development that is the NPP government, into office, he said.

Our President John Dramani Mahama has been president for four years and yet he claims his work is not done so he is appealing for four more years. Let's ask ourselves, every time he says 'JDM toaso;' what is he going to continue? I always say, if it will be well, it will be evident from the beginning but I haven't seen anything, Nana Addo stressed.

The NPP standard bearer, who is currently on Greater Accra Regional tour, had earlier told supporters at a rally at Weija-Gbawe that they should expect several attempts by President Mahama to 'buy their votes with goodies' ahead of the December polls.

He said Ghanaians are no longer interested in the politics of deceit being perpetrated by the NDC. As election draws closer, expect more goodies from this government. We are going to see this and that.

They are going to spend a lot of money on freebies in a way to convince you to vote for them, he noted.



Nana Stoned

At Osu in the Klottey Korle Constituency where Nana Akufo-Addo introduced Philip Addison as the party's parliamentary candidate at a mini rally, the NPP flag bearer was hit with a stone.

An unidentified person in the crowd reportedly hurled a missile at the opposition leader as he was addressing supporters.

As the NPP leader began to plead with supporters to also vote for Philip Addison, he was compelled to pause his delivery, turning to complain to those beside him on the platform that someone had hit him with a stone.

Someone just threw a stone at me, why? he wondered. But he quickly resumed his delivery saying, No problem, this is our politics in Ghana.

I would wish that when we are moving [to the Flagstaff House], you allow Philip Addison to come along with me. Our party, the party of the elephant, we know of only one candidate for Klottey Korle. He is Philip Addison. We know of no other person, he stressed.

No one has been picked up in connection with the incident and the rationale for the attack is unclear.



Appeal

Nana Addo said he would not stop appealing for the support and votes of the electorate ahead of the December 7 elections.

The NPP flag bearer's comments come on the back of remarks made by President Mahama in the Brong-Ahafo Region that the NPP leader should stop appealing for the support of Ghanaians. Nana Akufo-Addo, whilst addressing artisans at the Arts Centre at Osu, retorted, I won't stop appealing to Ghanaians for their votes today, neither will I stop doing so tomorrow.

According to the NPP standard bearer, You (President Mahama), on the other hand, who is destroying this country, want the people of Ghana to maintain you in office for another four years? No! That will not happen. That is why elections are held. The people of Ghana are coming to get rid of you and bring in a competent government that can do the work for Ghanaians.



Policies

You have been in high office for eight solid years  four years as vice president, four years as president. Yet, we are unable to tell what you have done for Ghanaians. So are Ghanaians going to entrust their mandate to you for another four years? Definitely not, Akufo-Addo stressed at the Arts Centre.

He assured the gathering that We are coming into office to fix our broken monetary system, revive the National Health Insurance Scheme which has been collapsed by President Mahama; effectively implement the Free SHS policy and help create jobs through the One District, One Factory policy, amongst others.

Nana Akufo-Addo added, All these policies are things I can do. This is why I am emboldened to come before the Ghanaian people and tell them that, God willing, when I win, I am coming into office to implement these policies, so we can return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity.

Ayawaso Central

Prior to his tour of the Klottey Korle, Nana Akufo-Addo campaigned in the Ayawaso Central Constituency, where he interacted with business owners, residents, NPP members and sympathisers.

His tour of the constituency took him to Alajo, Kotobabi trotro station, Newtown Post Office, Mallam Atta market and Tip-Toe Lane, at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.

Accompanied by the MP for the constituency, Henry Quartey, who is also the current NPP parliamentary candidate; former Greater Accra Regional Minister and former MP for Ayawaso Central, Sheikh I.C. Quaye; Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Ishmael Ashitey and the regional executives, amongst others, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the constituents of an improvement in their living conditions when, God willing, he wins this year's election.

At Tip-Toe lane, widely acknowledged as the capital's mobile phone wholesale and retail hub, Nana Akufo-Addo, who was mobbed by hundreds of business owners, assured them that his government, from January 2017, would provide a conducive and enabling business environment for their businesses to flourish.

A DAILY GUIDE Report
As a matter of fact, a fantastically corrupt public servant is no less a human rights violator than the enigmatic Adolf Hitler.

For, whereas Adolf Hitler savagely exterminated innocent people with lethal chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is blissfully bent on annihilating innocent citizens through wanton corruption.

Consequently, the innocent citizens would often end up experiencing economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labour and squalor which send them to their early grave.

Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish (UN 2003).

In spite of the fact that corruption is a serious economic, social, political and moral impediment to the nation building, our corrupt officials are bent on siphoning our scarce resources without a brink.

Yet, our shameless leaders would have the audacity to blame their Western counterparts for the sufferings they have deliberately brought upon their subordinates.

Ironically, when a section of our fed-up brothers and sisters opt to seek greener pastures in Europe through the high seas and perish their lives, our corrupt leaders would then turn round and blame the Western leaders for not donating more of their hard earned wealth. Isnt it pathetic? Yes, it is ruthful, so to speak.

The fact of the matter is that corruption is more often than not slows down a nations development. Besides, corruption has become an ecumenical phenomenon in scope, substance and consequences.

Apparently, this evil phenomenon is found in all countriesbig and small, rich and poorbut it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive.

Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a Governments ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment.

Corruption is a key element in economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development (UN 2003).

Thus, it came as no surprise when the international community came together and adopted the UN Convention against Corruption in 2003, and followed it up with its implementation in 2005.

In its resolution 55/61 of 4 December 2000, the General Assembly recognized that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (resolution 55/25, annex I) was desirable and decided to establish an ad hoc committee for the negotiation of such an instrument in Vienna at the headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The 2005 UN Convention against Corruption encapsulates: Countries are obligated to take anti-corruption measures in public and private sectors. These can include establishing anti-corruption bodies and enhancing transparency in political financing.

States must take measures to ensure public services are subject to safeguards that promote transparency, efficiency and merit-based recruitment. Public servants should be subject to codes of conduct, financial disclosures and disciplinary measures.

Transparency and accountability in public finance must be promoted, and specific anti-corruption requirements, especially in the judiciary and in public procurement, must be established.

Countries are called to promote the involvement of civil society, to promote awareness of corruption and to promote practices aimed at preventing corruption.

Countries are required to establish a wide range of criminal offences, including basic forms of corruption (like bribery and embezzlement), trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption.

Apparently, the UN Convention against Corruption is the first meaningful universal instrument enacted to prevent and combat corruption with a view to networking and thereby building on a broad international consensus.

In fact, one of the most relevant provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption is the procurement clause which most countries have given meaning in their national laws, including Ghana.

If anything at all, we must all extol former President Kufuor and his NPP government for signing the all-important UN Convention against Corruption on 9th December 2004 and ratifying on 27th June 2007.

More importantly, former President Kufuor took pragmatic steps and transposed some of the relevant provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption into our national law.

All the same, the crucial question is: has President Mahama been able to fulfil Ghanas obligations under the 1969 Vienna Law of Treaties following the ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption?

Disappointingly, however, Ghanas ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption did not dissuade President Mahama and his NDC government from indulging in gargantuan sleaze and corruptions.

In recent years, President Mahama has been under the radar for numerous bribery and corruption allegations, inter alia, the furtive gift (the Ford Expedition)by the Burkinabe Contractor Djabril Kanazoe; the Embraer 190 scandal; Armajaro; Mabey and Johnson; SADA; SUBA Info Solutions scandal and many others.

Sadly, however, President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks are bent on embezzling Ghanas resources to the detriment of the poor. How bizarre?

Apparently, President Mahama and his NDC government corrupt practices have resulted in excessive public spending, less efficient tax system , needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, heightened capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities (create, loot and share-apologies to JSC Dotse).

K. Badu, UK.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Oct. 6, GNA - The Minerals Commission has given informal miners occupying AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Obuasi concession up to Monday October 10, to move off the mines operation area.

"Come Monday they must move. There is not going to be any more negotiations," Dr Tony Aubynn, Chief Executive of the Commission told a press conference

"The Minerals Commission cannot guarantee that they will not be moved by other legitimate means if they fail to move by the said date," he added.

In January, a group of informal miners invaded the Obuasi mine and have been working on the concession of AGA.

The decision to relocate the illegal miners follows the work of a Movement Committee to oversee the peaceful exit of the informal miners.

The Committee's memberships were as follows: Minerals Commission, Adansi Traditional Council, Obuasi Small-Scale Miners Association and Ghana National Small-Scale Miners Association.

Other bodies are Obuasi Municipal Assembly, Ghana Police Service and Ghana Chamber of Mines.

Dr Aubynn said the informal miners are to be relocated and formalised on mineralised areas that formed part of the 60 per cent of the original concession area ceded by the Mine to government.

The Obuasi Mine until recently covered a total land area of 485km2 of land, the biggest mining concession.

The concession was located within five administrative municipalities/districts: namely Obuasi Municipality, Bekwai Municipality, Amansie Central District, Adansi North District and Adansi South District.

Dr Aubynn said the Movement Committee engaged in stakeholder consultations with key parties that included: Informal Miners occupying AGA concession area, Leadership of the Informal Miners and 'Ghetto' Owners and Chiefs and Opinion Leaders of the Lands earmarked for the relocation and Municipal and District Assemblies other than Obuasi Municipal Assembly.

'In all more than 20 meetings and several field visits were made during the six-week period of the committee's work.

'The Committee met all these relevant stakeholders and engaged them to identify, assess and integrate all concerns for the collective interest of all,' he said.

Dr Aubynn said the engagements also provided the informal miners the opportunity to formalise and work within the confines of the Minerals and Mining Laws of Ghana and belong to cooperatives.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA

Cape Coast, Oct. 6, GNA - The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, (UCC) Professor George K. T. Oduro, has criticised the leadership style in Africa, describing it as 'a self-centered one' that puts too much power in the hands of an individual.

This, coupled with the love for power and titles, he said, had created a heroic leadership that tended to suppress divergent views and hinder the development of critical knowledge needed on the continent.

He said leadership was key in the pursuit of national security, therefore, African leaders needed to make a paradigm shift from the current type of leadership to embrace a more people-focused style to facilitate the welfare of the people.

Prof Oduro was making a lead presentation on the topic 'Leadership, National Security and Development' at the Fifth International Conference, organised by the Global Education Network (GEN), Nigeria, in collaboration with the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) of UCC.

The conference, which was on the theme: 'Education, Leadership, Security Management and National Development', brought together distinguished African scholars from Western, Eastern and Southern Africa.

Prof Oduro explained that as a result of the glorification of leadership, even when the leaders were getting detached from what they were supposed to do, persons around them found it very difficult to draw their attention because it would seem being disrespectful.

'And so when things are going wrong and national security and development is being derailed, persons who are not in any leadership positions are not encouraged to criticise because the culture says, a young person does not question an elder,' he stated. 'That is a very big challenge!'

He noted that most political leaders in Africa often demonstrated commitment to issues of national security and development when they were in opposition, but they tended to shift such focus to individual, family and party interest, when they assumed power.

They made very little sacrifice towards the promotion of national security and development, he noted. 'Leadership is meaningless if it does not create the enabling environment for national security and development'.

He said for national security and development to be attained, people must be able to analyse issues critically and draw the lines between personal issues and issues of national interest holistically.

A professor of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, Prof. Emmanuel Olusola Adu, in a presentation titled, 'Education as a Tool for Effective Security Management', said students and teachers were horrified as access to educational facilities had become impossible as a result of terrorism in some parts of the world.

He said Syria, prior to the war, had one of the best rates of basic education enrollment in the Middle East, with 96 per cent.

However, it now had an enrollment percentage below 40 per cent, according to a report by Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, in 2014.

He said the effects of the reduction in enrollment and access to proper education was expected to impact the country severely for many generations to come.

Hence there was the need for the international community to continue to push for an immediate end to the hostilities.

Prof Adu urged the Government to build comprehensive security management educational institutions on the basis of a systematic, integrative, process, personality-activities approach.

This, he said he believed, would be integral to an effective security management through education because it identified new threats of the current age and incorporated them.

He said governments must rise up to security challenges by identifying institutions infiltrated by the insurgents of terrorist activities, fish out those involved and prosecute them accordingly.

Twenty distinguished African scholars, including Prof Oduro, were awarded with the GEN fellowship award in recognition of their contribution to global knowledge.

GNA
By Comfort Sena Fetrie, GNA

Tamale, Oct. 6, GNA - Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, has said 50,527 farmers and their households have benefited from the Food Security and Environment Facility (FSEF) project in the three northern regions.

He said out of the number, 58 percent were women.

Alhaji Dauda said this at a two-day forum on the FSEF project organised by Ministry for Local Government and Rural Development in collaboration with Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Government of Canada.

The forum was also to share experiences and the achievements of FSEF project in the three northern regions.

The eight-year 14,300,000 Canadian dollar FSEF project, was to deliver and disseminate innovative food security and sustainable agricultural programmes in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Alhaji Collins said the project which sought to promote sustainable agricultural practices, also supported small scale farmers in accessing land.

He said there is the need for the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Local Government authorities to collaborate in dealing with food security concerns, by providing the basic infrastructure that would support the production and distribution of food crops.

Mr Abdallah Abubakari, Northern Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said due to the effects of climate change on production, he would appeal to the programme sponsor to extend the project or design a similar one to address poverty in the three regions in the North.

He said the Regional Coordinating Council would continue to ensure that the project succeeds.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA

Takoradi, Oct. 6, GNA - Some corporate institutions in the Western Region are indebted to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to a sum ofGH302 million as unpaid electricity bills as at this past August.

Out of which Ministries, Departments and Agencies alone owed the company GH74 million representing 25 percent of the total debt.

Mr Alex Anwobor, the Western Regional Commercial Manager of ECG, who announced this at a media briefing in Takoradi, said if these debts are collected, it would improve upon its financial situation and help in expanding the electricity infrastructure to the rural areas and improve upon customer satisfaction.

He said the Company would continue to render efficient metering and technical services to its customers while working tirelessly to reduce system losses and ensure a reliable and robust Information Communication Technology infrastructure and sustained customer care.

Mr Anwobor said illegal power connections, meter tempering and cable thefts are the main causes of losses to the company.

He said as of August, company arrested 271 culprits involved in illegal power connections who had used the power for free for a period of 354, 860 kilowatt/hours worth GH316, 385.00.

Mr Anwobor said the ECG had plans of increasing revenue collection sale points and expanding the pre-paid metering system to rural communities.

He said the pre-paid metering was currently limited to Sekondi and Takoradi areas adding that the pre-paid metres would be extended to Tarkwa, Bogoso, Prestea, Agona-Nkwanta, Elubo, Sefwi-Bekwai, Sefwi-Wiawso and Bibiani.

Mr Anwobor said the Company would leverage on mobile telephony by exploring the possibility of customers buying power through the mobile money transfer where customers could purchase pre-paid scratch cards at pharmacy shops and shopping malls.

'The management of ECG is also considering introducing emergency credits so that if one runs out of credit on the pre-paid metre, he/she can easily re-load credits at the comfort of his/her home or office', he said.

He said the Company intends to establish more customer and fault reporting centres across the Region for prompt response to electrical faults and damages to its installations.

He appealed to the media to publish pictures and names of culprits involved in illegal connections in their respective media outlets to serve as a deterrent to others.

Mr Anwobor called for mutual and beneficial collaboration with the media, in order to improve service and operational efficiency to its customers.

Madam Jacqueline Ofori-Atta, the Regional General Manager of ECG, expressed the Company's commitment to improve its relationship with the media and help them improve their services to the customers.

She said the regional ECG had 11 operational districts extending to the Central and Ashanti regions with over 350,000 customers served by over 600 staff.

Madam Ofori-Atta said it had 13 electricity sub-stations and over 2,000 secondary sub-stations with installed capacity of 200 megawatts power, adding that the Company was embarking on electricity expansion projects and that 1,000 communities would soon be connected to the national electricity grid.

She said with staff commitment the Company would surmount all its challenges and accomplish its vision and mission.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Justina Paaga GNA

Wassa Amenfi East (W/R), Oct. 6, GNA - Mr Sadique Saeed, the Wassa Amenfi East District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education(NCCE) has said without a voter ID card one could still vote in the forthcoming general elections.

He said under the C.I 94, the electorates would be verified biometrically and manually so as not to disenfranchise any person who has duly registered and qualify to vote.

Mr Saeed this during a community public education forum at Jukwa -Hemang, organized by the NCCE and supported by the European Union to educate citizens on voter responsibilities.

In attendance of the programme were the Constituency Secretary of NPP, Parliamentary aspirant of PPP, Research and Investigation Officer of NDC, the Police Service, media, Chief and elders of Jukwa/Hemang.

Mr Saeed, making reference to Article 42 of the Ghana's 1992 Constitution, urged everyone who has registered to exercise his/her franchise in the forthcoming elections.

He said as part of the public education programme his outfit has visited several communities, churches, mosques and radio stations to educate the electorates on their civic rights and responsibilities as well as on the CI 94.

Mr Saeed expressed concern about the increasing figures of rejected ballots after every election which he noted has financial implications on the country and the eventual winner in the elections.

Police Inspector Daniel Adjei of the Wassa Amenfi Command of the Ghana Police Service, urged the youth to stay away from alcohol, dangerous riding of motorbikes and to respect those in authority so as to create a peaceful atmosphere for the elections to be conducted.

He urged all to dismiss any fears that the 2016 elections would be characterized by violence and assured the general public that the police service has put in place appropriate measures to ensure that the elections are violence free.

Mr Stephen Loglo of Kasapreko FM, advised those who phone in onto radio discussions to desist from hiding behind mobile phones to utter foul languages.

He appealed to the various political party activists to always endeavour to exercise some level of decorum during political talk shows since such utterances could incite their supporters against others.

Nana Awensi II, chief of Hemang Mpatase, thanked the National Commission for Civic Education and European Union for organizing the programme in his community and urged all his subjects and the people of Jukwa and Hemang to adhere to the laws of the state.

GNA
Details added (first version posted on 10:38)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.7



By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:



The continuation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the biggest obstacle to peace and development in the region, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department, said Oct.7.



He made the remarks during conference Azerbaijans role on global and regional arena: Realities and Prospects dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans independence.



The legal basis for the conflicts settlement is reflected in the decisions and resolutions adopted by the UN and other international organizations, Mammadov said.



Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity is supported and recognized in all of these documents. But unfortunately, the international law has remained only as a document over the last ten years, said Mammadov.

The top official pointed out that the current tension within the international community is a result of incompliance with the international law.

John Kerry, the state secretary of the worlds superpower US, sends a message to the world that allegedly, the leaders are not ready for the conflicts settlement, he said. Which logical option the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have proposed [for the conflicts settlement] that Azerbaijan hasnt agreed to?

Why Azerbaijans seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh are not liberated? Which steps were taken by these major states to liberate these seven districts which were populated by hundreds of thousands of people? asked Mammadov.

Over the past years, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have found the following solution: Azerbaijan and Armenia should come to an agreement by themselves, added the top official.

This is a proof of the unfair and double standard attitude towards Azerbaijan. Armenia states that Azerbaijan is not ready for compromises. Yerevan means that Nagorno-Karabakh should be fully given to Armenia. Kerrys statement is more similar to this position of Armenia, said Mammadov.

He pointed out that the relevant bodies of the US should provide an explanation on Kerrys statements, adding that Armenia tries to protract the conflicts settlement and such statements give ground to this.

Mammadov added that Khojaly genocide shouldnt be put aside when talking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenia tries to present the fictitious genocide as real in the world, while the Khojaly massacre is the last genocide committed in the past century and many countries, as well as several US states have recognized this genocide, said the top official.
By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA

Sekondi (WR), Oct.6, GNA - 'Logos Hope', an international vessel with over 400 crewmembers from 60 countries across the globe, would berth at the Sekondi Naval Base on Wednesday, October 5, but would be opened to the public from October 6 to October 23.

During the period, the vessel would display variety of cultures from different countries, organize interactive displays, book-fair covering a wide range of subjects including science, sports, academia, hobbies, cookery, arts, medicine, languages and philosophy,

This was contained in a press statement signed by Brandon Kemp, the Publicity Officer of Logos Hope, and copied to the Ghana New Agency in Takoradi.

The vessel, which is operated by GBA ships, has since 1970, welcomed over 45 million visitors to the gateways in more than150 countries and territories around the world.

Ghana would be the last country in Africa and only stop in West Africa crew members are visiting during this tour of the continent.

The unique vessel also offers exclusive events for people of all ages, in addition to its array of quality and affordable books, as well as short movies and the opportunity to experience classic stories including those from C S Lewis.

Visitors would also experience different performances of music, dance, multimedia and songs from the international crewmembers who would also faceoff with local Ghanaians in showcasing their talents.

Prospective visitors are required to purchase ticket worth GH2.00. for adults whiles children will have a free pass.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Dennis Peprah, GNA

Sunyani, Oct. 6, GNA - Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Foundation, a media advocacy non-governmental organization, has called on the government to make safe abortion services accessible in public health facilities.

He said research shows a national surge in unsafe abortion practices, hence the need to ensure that young girls and women were able to access the services when the need arises.

Speaking in an interview with Ghana News Agency to commemorate this year's International Day for Safe Abortion, Mr Ahenu said the devastating effect of unsafe abortion on young women and girls are enormous.

The International Day for Safe Abortion has its origin in Latin America and the Caribbean where women groups have been mobilising on September 28 over the past two decades to demand that their governments decriminalise abortion, provide access to safe and affordable abortion services and help end the stigma and discrimination towards women who choose to have an abortion.

Mr Ahenu said statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that unsafe abortion continues to be a public health crisis and one of the highest contributors to maternal mortality and morbidity in Africa.

He said the practice accounts for about 30 percent of all maternal deaths in the country saying that a recent WHO report estimated that more than six million unsafe abortions occurred in Africa, and this has resulted in 29,000 deaths, countless injuries and disabilities on women below 25 years.

Mr Ahenu said the criminal code on abortion was discriminatorily and its enforcement impacted adversely on vulnerable women and girls in the country.

He said women who feared prosecution after unsafe abortions often delayed or failed to seek treatment at public health facilities with many of them dying in the process.

Mr Ahenu said criminalising abortion was a violation of human rights such as right to life, liberty, security, health and freedom from torture.

GNA
By Jerry Azanduna, GNA

Garu-Tempane (U/E), Oct. 6, GNA - Participants at a gender policy forum have called on policy makers to focus on promoting gender equality as the negative perception of women in the society is hindering women from participating fully in nation building.

They said society's inability to identify women as development partners has placed them at a disadvantaged position and it is time to give them a chance by implementing pragmatic gender policies that would allow them to play equal roles as their male counterparts.

The participants made the call at a gender policy forum organized by the Garu Presbyterian Agriculture Station (PAS-G) to outdoor its gender policy which is aimed at promoting gender equality in the society.

Mr Solomon Atiga, the Manager of the Station, said the PAS-G policy document which would grade both men and women at the same level and would also be used as a guideline for establishing measurable, achievable, timely and realistic goals for enhancing gender equality at the organization and its communities.

He said gender inequality and gender based discrimination abound in Ghana just like other parts of the world, saying in Africa women own just one percent of agricultural land, receive only seven percent of extension services and less than ten percent of agricultural credit offered to small scale farmers.

He said women are a major part of the nation's productive force and yet remained amongst the poorest in society.

Mr Obed Asunka Abonkodug, the Project Officer of the station, said the policy was meant to establish a clear vision and make a commitment to guide the process of women empowerment to influence policies, procedures and practice which would accelerate the achievement of gender equality, gender justice, non-discrimination and fundamental human rights in the northern parts of the country.

He said the station would adopt a rights based approach to development through evidence-based decision-making and the use of gender-disaggregated data and performance indicators for the achievement of gender equality and women empowerment.

He said this would promote human rights and acknowledge the equal status of all gender thriving harmoniously.

Mr James Kwame Bakaponi, the Programmes Manager of the Langbensi Presbyterian Agriculture Station, who delivered a keynote address on behalf of Mr Dan Kolbil, National Coordinator for Agriculture of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, launched a website which is to showcase the programmes of the Garu-PAS.

Mr Bakaponi said the website: www.garupas.com would help promote the PAS-G many to gain access to its programmes.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Bajin D. Pobia, GNA

Wa, Oct. 6, GNA - Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, Secretary General of Christian Council of Ghana, has said there is too much falsehood and mistrust among many in the society today.

He said falsehood and mistrust is so pervasive in Ghana's political front and this is causing tension and confusion among the people and it is likely to endanger the peace of Ghana.

Reverend Dr Opuni-Frimpong said religious leaders must come together to address it before it led to complete damage to the unity and oneness needed to ensure peace in the country.

'These challenges must be addressed now rather wait for the harm to happen before they try to resolve them.

'Religious leaders must be bold to tell politicians who are members of their churches and mosques to demonstrate the principles and beliefs of Jesus Christ and Holy Prophet Mohammed'

Reverend Dr Opuni-Frimpong was addressing Muslims and Christian youth, personnel of the security agencies, youth activists of the various political parties and members of civil society organisations at a Christian-Muslim Dialogue forum in Wa.

The Christian Council of Ghana and the Office of the National Chief Imam organised the interfaith youth dialogue forum on peace towards election 2016.

Reverend Dr Opuni-Frimpong said politicians must be told that they are there to render quality serve to Ghana and not to create tension and confusion among the people.

He said there is the need to build a strong network between Christians and Islamic leaders and their followers to ensure peaceful elections on December 7.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sayibo Gariba urged people in the region to make concerted efforts to ensure that the peace of the area is sustained.

He commended the unity and co-operation between Christians and Muslims in the country.

ACP Gariba, who also the Deputy Upper West Regional Commander, said policing is service to the people and there is no political relationship between the police and the government in power.

'Ours is to provide an enabling environment for Ghanaians to go out and vote to elect their leaders and the police will do everything possible to ensure neutrality for all Ghanaians'.

Talking about the preparedness and security arrangements in the region towards the forthcoming elections, he said, besides deployment of police and other security personnel to man the polling stations, police patrol teams would also be positioned in Tumu, Lawra and Wa to enable the police to respond quickly to any violent situation.

ACP Gariba said the Regional Police Command would soon rollout a programme with all stakeholders including traditional rulers, political parties, religious leaders and the youth, on ways to ensure peace in the coming.

Mr Osman Ali, Deputy Upper West Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, said peaceful election for Ghana is a shared responsibility and we all have a role to play.

He said the Electoral Commission is only to facilitate the electoral processes but the electorate, the security agencies, political parties and the media have a bigger role to play in the education of the electorate to ensure a violence free elections.

Mr Ali said about 80 per cent of logistics for the elections have arrived in the region and some have been sent to the districts.

Members of the political parties who attended the forum gave the assurance that they would help educate their supporters to maintain law and order to promote violent free elections on December 7. GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Jerry Azanduna, GNA

Zebilla (U/E), Oct. 6, GNA - Mr Frank Fuseini Adongo, the NPP parliamentary candidate for the Zebilla Constituency, has called on the people of Zebilla to vote for him to ensure that more development is brought to the area.

Mr Adongo said I would go to parliament with a clear and positive plan that would build a safer and more vibrant district, 'I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy that would help the people improve on their lives'.

He said he would be focused on articulating their views in parliament and working to bring more development to the area.

Mr Adongo said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after filing his nomination at Zebilla in the Bawku West District.

He said the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Metro Mass Transport initiated by the Kufour administration has collapsed, while high taxes and rampant armed robbery has worsened the plight of the citizenry.

Mr Adongo said the government has failed on many of its promises including the pledge to construct the Bolgatanga-Bawku road, revamp the Pwalugu tomato and the Zuarungu meat factories, the construction of the Bolgatanga Airstrip and many others.

The aspiring Member of Parliament called on the people to vote for him and be assured of development.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Bajin D. Pobia, GNA

Tumu (U/W), Oct. 6, GNA - Vodafone Ghana Foundation, the charitable arm of Vodafone Ghana, has stated its passion and commitment to complement government's efforts at enhancing access to health care services.

The Foundation has provided free health screening exercises for more than 500 residents in Tumu, the capital of the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region as part of its quest to support the rural poor with quality healthcare services.

The intervention dubbed: 'Health First', saw medical personnel screening beneficiaries for various ailments including hepatitis and malaria as well as giving out free drugs to some of them.

Several pregnant women were also examined and those found to have complications were referred to the hospital for medical attention.

The aged and children who participated in the exercise were also given special treatment for all kinds of diseases in the one-day activity.

Mr Daniel Asiedu, an official of the Corporate Communications Unit of Vodafone, said 'the Foundation touches the life of many in the society by providing free health care especially to those who find it difficult to access health care services.

'The Foundation recognised Tumu as a place to extend the free health care service as part of their social cooperate responsibility which is an all year round exercise conducted throughout the nation', Mr Asiedu said.

He said health is key in building a great nation and family system, hence the decision to support the sector to enhance quality health for the people through community outreach programmes.

'Vodafone Ghana Foundation will continue to beef up the health of the ordinary Ghanaian through free medical screening and interactive mobile applications via educative online, radio and TV programmes.

The Vodafone Ghana Foundation was established in 2009, and it has invested in creating initiatives that would ensure healthy lives and promote the wellbeing of all Ghanaians.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Dennis Peprah, GNA

Kumasi, Oct. 6, GNA - Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, has called on political parties to work harder as they seek to obtain the mandate from the electorate.

He said no security agency is ready to support any political party to rig, and win the December 7 polls hence the need for political parties to avoid unnecessary suspicions and concentrate on ways to win more voters.

DCOP Boakye made the call at the opening session of a three-day training workshop for journalists and media practitioners in Kumasi.

The data journalism training attended by selected journalists from Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, Upper East, Upper West, and Northern regions is being organized by the Penplusbytes, an international institute for ICT Journalism with support from the US Embassy in Accra.

It forms part of activities under the 'Voter's count - amplifying voices through new digital platform project' being implemented by the Penplusbytes to improve access to electoral information, create space for citizens dialogue and promote issue based approach to campaigning during the coming elections.

The workshop also seeks to strengthen the skills of participants, and help them leverage their knowledge and experience for improved coverage of election 2016 and provide them with skills for telling data driven stories using techniques of data analysis among others.

DCOP Boakye said security agencies are determined to exercise their constitutional duties with impeccable integrity devoid of partiality and biases.

He said eligible voters could also make inform choice if they are abreast and understand the political party manifestos and entreated the political parties to reach to the people and canvass for more votes.

DCOP Boakye said the security of the general election one way or the other depended on the media and urged practitioners to avoid politicization of issues, peddling of lies, misrepresentation and misinformation as well.

'As Journalist we must endeavor to submerge our individual interest and put national interest on the front line' the police commander said, explaining that the media could do this if they analyze information and blacklist those which have the potential to endanger national peace.

DCOP Boakye affirmed that the police would not spare any trouble maker, and asked political parties to ensure that their followers obey the law.

Kwami Ahiabenu II, the Executive Director of Penplusbytes, said the media plays critical role in the general election since it is through the media that eligible voters could be given the opportunity to decide which political party they could choose.

He said though Ghana had gone through six successful elections since 1992, challenges of voter apathy, electoral offences, and disputes continued to dominate the electoral process.

Mr Kwaku Sereboa, the Ashanti Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), said there is the need for the media to get themselves abreast with and understand the electoral laws to be able to report on the election effectively and efficiently.

He was unhappy that some media practitioners did not understand basic differences between spoiled and rejected ballots, polling stations and polling centers as well as counting, recounting and collation of ballots as well as electoral and voting processes.

Mr Sereboa said the EC is committed to ensure a credible election and added the need for the media to support such a cause by crosschecking election facts and figures from the commission.

GNA
A Ghanaian US-based Law Professor, Mr Asare, a man of integrity who understands statutory and constitutional laws inside out, published a response to a query sent to him by another fellow Ghanaian asking whether or not someone without a law degree can practice law as a profession.

In his response, he cited Nana Akufo Addo as having no law degree to argue his point that yes, without a law degree, one can still practice law depending on the country and the time. He said even though Nana Akufo Addo has no degree in Law but Economics, he was, and is still, a competent lawyer, and could at the time and still, practice as a lawyer.

Just at the mention that Nana Akufo Addo has no law degree, another PhD holder, Mr Borkor, my fellow internet columnist started wading in with his own infantile and tribal insinuations intended for discrediting and wounding Nana Akufo Addo.

Let me not spend much of my precious time tutoring this fellow internet columnist who really lacks knowledge of how law is practiced even in the advanced countries.

I do not want to be more specific but I know for a fact that in most of the Corporate Law firms, most of their lawyers have no degree in Law but in other disciplines such as Economics, Banking and others yet, we call all of them lawyers. They and those with degrees in Law have all been granted certificates to practice law. I see them renew their certificates every specified number of years. I know this for a fact but just that I do not want to cite any of these internationally reputable Law firms to buttress my contention in order not to incriminate myself somehow by carelessly revealing their secrets which are confidential and must always be held as such.

Therefore, all the publications being churned out by Mr Borkor to deride Nana Akufo Addo is absolutely childish. He had better conduct intensive research to inform himself of the professional qualifications or degrees those practicing in the Corporate Law firms in America where he is domiciled, have, but are all called lawyers.

I find it weird how this fellow internet columnist who is clearly walking with his stomach and is absolutely tribal in all his write-ups, hates Nana Akufo Addo to the core. I am strongly opinionated that a PhD holder that worth his salt will not be exhibiting such acts of tribalism and degree of irrationality as are displayed in the publishing by Mr Borkor.

Ghanaians are suffering back home owing to the corrupt NDC government in place with a clueless, incompetent and more corrupt person as the President of the country yet, my fellow Ghanaian, Mr Borkor, a PhD holder, is 100% supportive of the rot in perpetration and perpetuation in Ghana by his political party.

He should rather be ashamed of himself that while fellow Ghanaians in their tens of millions are suffering economic hardships and lawlessness under the regime of the current NDC government, he has the shameless audacity to mock Nana Akufo Addo for not having a law degree but is still a legal practitioner.

Borkor had better go to drink from the overflowing fountain of wisdom of Professor Asare than to sit in the comfort zone of his US apartment to write such unhelpful stories.

Whether Nana Akufo Addo has a Law degree or not, he is a known successful legal practitioner who has never engaged himself in any corrupt practices unlike President Mahama that he supports with all his palpitating heart, soul and mind.

The wind of change is so great that any nonsense written about Nana Akufo Addo will not stick. The majority of Ghanaians have come to realise that they are suffering under the nepotistic and incompetent administration by President Mahama hence they do not want him at the helms of affairs any more. They need a change to see how better or worse the other side of the coin is.

I am giving my fellow internet columnist an assignment today, Friday 7 December 2016. He is to find out from the Corporate Law firms in America where he lives if all their lawyers do hold degrees in law without any of them holding a degree in other disciplines and yet, they are all called lawyers and are practicing law.

Is he aware of the two-year training given to the graduates who are employed by the law firms and are classified as Emerging Future Leaders, before passing out to become Associates and then Senior Associates and finally Partners of the Law Firm?

Let me take this opportunity to refer fellow readers to my publications on same subject on Ghanaweb and Modernghana titled, What a vital and must-hear recorded message (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/What-a-vital-and-must-hear-recorded-message-475112) and What A Vital And Must-Hear Recorded Message to Ghanaian Electorates Going Into Election 2016! (http://www.modernghana.com/news/724890/what-a-vital-and-must-hear-recorded-message-to-ghanaian-elec.html), respectively.

After you have visited any of the two mentioned web sites of your choice using any of the above provided web links which were both published on Thursday 6 October 2016, then click on the following web link to access the message.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3z_t5nER5NbNnV4YllNSXFIak0

Once accessed, please do as are stated below, following the instructions in the very order as indicated.

To listen to the recorded message, please follow the following four steps.

1. Click on the highlighted web link

2. Double-click on the "arrow" pointing downwards on your right hand side by the "sign in"

3. Click on "Download anyway"

4. Click on "Open" at the bottom right hand side of the page or "Rokson (9).m4a" at the bottom left hand side of the page or screen as may appear on your computer after the download is complete.and the recorded message will start to play.

Rockson Adofo

(Written on Friday 7 October 2016)
Niamey (AFP) - Twenty-two soldiers were killed in an attack probably carried out by jihadists, on a camp in Niger sheltering Malian refugees, a security official told AFP on Friday.

"Some 30 to 40 heavily armed men speaking in Tuareg carried out the attack (on Thursday), killing 22 soldiers," the official said. The UN refugee agency confirmed the death toll.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

Armenias armed forces have 20 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Oct. 7.

Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns and 60-millimeter mortars.

Positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the Kemerli and Gaymagli villages of the Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian positions located in the Barekamavan and Dovekh villages of Armenias Noyemberyan district.

The Azerbaijani army positions also underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near the Chilaburt village of the Azerbaijans Tartar district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavend district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of Tartar and Goranboy districts.

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.


The National Blood Service has commemorated the 16th National Blood Donor Day to show appreciation to blood donors for their life-saving gift of blood over the years.

The annual event is intended to encourage all healthy living Ghanaians to join in the voluntary service by donating blood at least twice a year.

Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, revealed that hundreds of patients in Ghana rely on the generosity of voluntary blood donors to either recover or stay alive, and urged the blood donors to continue to save lives.

He indicated that an estimated 289,000 women die annually worldwide from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly two-thirds of these maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, with severe bleeding as the leading cause, he added.

Partnered by the Rotary Club of Accra, the District Governor of Rotary District 9182, Samuel Worentetu, urged the awardees to continue to donate blood and stated that the Rotary Club has championed the need for blood donation for over 40 years.

He called on all healthy Ghanaians to help meet the national target of 260,000 units of blood per annum.

The National Best Donor Award was presented to Nana Debrah for donating 53 units of blood. He went home with an unstated token, a citation and an electrical appliance.

He was closely followed by Moses Tetteh who was second best for donating 52 units. Moses Tetteh took home a token, a citation and an electrical appliance.

The third position was occupied by Edward Abbey for his donation of 51 units of blood. He also took home a token, a citation and an electrical appliance.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Blood Service Ghana, Dr Justina Ansah, challenged Ghanaians to voluntarily donate blood, as it is a very critical need in the delivery of quality health.

BY Ernest Pappoe


The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has announced that all homes in the country will soon be certified.

The announcement was made in Ho by Chief Fire Officer, Dr. Albert Brown Gaisie during the launch of the project dubbed, 'Home Fire Safety Certification project,' otherwise known as 'Dumgya in the Volta region.

The initiative is aimed at reducing fires at homes to protect lives and properties.

The launch was under the theme, 'Ensuring Effective Home Fire Safety Certification and Practices.'

Guests at the event were taken through some basic methods of fighting fires.

The launch, which was chaired by Togbe Kasa, Chief of Ho-Ahoe, was graced by the Regional Minister and Police Commander and other members of the Volta Regional Security Council.

CFO Gaisie further disclosed that the project, which is a collaboration between the fire service and private entity, would lead to the installation of fire defence systems like smoke alarms in homes.

He further added that the project was part of new plans to improve firefighting in the country.

Dr. Brown Gaisie indicated that 44 electrical fires and 75 vehicular fires were recorded last month.

He therefore urged all to be careful with the use of electricity and learn to conserve energy.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GNFS, Billy Anaglatey, also added that about 99 percent of home fires are avoidable, stressing the need for all to enroll onto the project.

Volta Regional Fire Officer, Daniella Mawusi Sarpong, noted that the Volta Region has 22 fire stations.

She stressed that personnel in the region were ready to respond to calls to quench fire.

Madame Sarpong also encouraged the public to make prompt calls and give accurate information to facilitate their work, especially when disaster strikes.

Volta Regional Minister, Hellen Adwoa Ntosu, who launched the project, was happy that the Volta Region was the first to launch the project after the national launch in August, this year.

She was hopeful that the various districts and municipalities would soon launch the project as well.

She urged all citizens to get involved in the project to reduce fire related incidents in the region to the barest minimum.

This, according to her, was the surest way of protecting lives and properties.

From Fred Duodu, Ho ( [email protected] )
The New Patriotic Party(NPP) has threatened to drag the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Twifo-Atti-Morkwa (TAM) Constituency of the Central Regional to court for maligning the NPP Parliamentary Candidate of the same constituency, Abraham Dwuma Odoom.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the constituency Communications Officer, Yaw Obeng Anoffi said their attention had been drawn to some malicious and wicked attempt by the NDC to undermine their Parliamentary candidate and warned the NDC members to stop that or find themselves in the grips of the law.

He cited an instance where the NDC chairman for Twifo Manpong, Kwesi Dwira told people during their campaign tour in some of the communities in the constituency that Mr Odoom had planned with some chiefs to take their lands from them and destroy their cocoa farms should he win the election.

The statement is a wicked lie; nothing of the sort had been planned against you. How would a cocoa farmer fight his own farmers? How would a person who brought mass cocoa spraying to Ghana destroy cocoa farms?

Mr Anoffi appealed to the paramount Chief of Twifo Traditional Area and the Chief of Twifo Manpong to summon Kwesi Dwira who had made the allegation to come and explain to the council why he should not be sanctioned by the council.

He expressed concern about the way some politicians had been distributing fake electricity meters to some people in the area and called on all to reject the 'politicians' meters but rather go through the right way to acquire them to avoid arrest in the future.

The NPP Constituency Communications Officer expressed dismay at how in December 2012, President John Dramani Mahama came to stand in front of the people of the area that a contract had been signed for the building of a new bridge and the materials for the project were ready but four years had elapsed and nothing has been done about the bridge. The bridge is now a death trap with vehicles getting stuck on it; when will the government fulfill its promise, he asked.

He appealed to the residents in the area to choose incorruptible, trustworthy and competent leader in the upcoming election.

From Sarah Afful, Twifo Praso

Email:[email protected]
The Lebanese Ambassador in a group picture with the beneficiaries and staff of the school

The Lebanese Community has once again extended a hand by way of offering scholarship to 18 students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra.

The ceremony was to renew the Lebanese community's commitment to supporting brilliant students of the institute.

Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana His Excellency Ali Halabi in his address disclosed that the students' academic dexterity has inspired them to offer them (students) the scholarship.

He stressed We believe in education and we believe that given a little push, the individual can and will excel. Over the past four years, I have witnessed how students benefiting from our scholarship program have excelled in their academic work.

The Lebanese Ambassador added that Today, we are awarding five new students and renewing that of the eight existing beneficiaries. The package covers 100 per cent fees as well as SRC dues.

Four of our fresh graduates are also being sponsored to undertake the masters program right here at GIJ. This is made possible by members of the Lebanese community in the country.

Over the last four years, we have offered hundred scholarships to Ghanaian students.

Recounting how the Lebanese community came to one of the beneficiaries rescue, he said It was at a time when she lost her father and when she was at a dead end.

He urged the final year students to go the extra mile by excelling higher than their predecessors.

Rector of the School, Wilberforce Dzisah in his short address admonished the beneficiaries thus: Don't let the Lebanese Community down, you have to excel to encourage them to extend the number of scholarship they give to the Institute.

He pointed out that the large number of the Lebanese Community scholarship beneficiaries in the just ended graduation was an ample testimony that the selection criterion was genuine.

One of the beneficiaries of the scheme thanked the Lebanese Community profusely on behalf of her mates for the gesture.
Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas has written a letter to a man who played a role in preparing him for a career in international diplomacy.

The letter should have been read when Prof. S.K.B. Asante was outdooring his book 'No Road Signs, No Manuals, My Journey Through Life,' at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra recently.

Dr. Chambas who was scheduled to be part of the dignitaries at the occasion could not make it due to unexpected assignments.

The contents of the letter should have been read at the book launch, but that failing, we present its contents upon the authorities of its author and Prof. S.K.B. Asante who made it available to the DAILY GUIDE.

Dr. Chambas is a Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA).

Dear Prof, my Dear Teacher and Friend,

I regret that due to previously scheduled activities associated with the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York, I am unable to join you today for the launch of your Autobiography.

There is no doubt about the significant influence you have had on me, and contribution you have made to my intellectual and professional life. You were the first to introduce me to Regional and International Organizations in your classes at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana. That is where I got my groundings for diplomacy and international relations. If I work today as a senior official of the preeminent international organization, the United Nations, you deserve credit for stimulating in me the academic interest, and laying the solid foundation that enabled me to succeed in the various challenging positions I have held in national, sub-regional and multi-lateral institutions.

I have, over the years, maintained contacts with you and continued to benefit from your rich knowledge and experiences in regional integration and multilateral economic issues and trade negotiations. Your tutelage did not end once I left your classroom at Legon. I only cite two examples. While I was the Executive Secretary of the ECOWAS, I called upon you to chair a Committee to advise me on a planned restructuring of the organization into a Commission. You did not fail me. The report of your committee was the basis for the transformation of the ECOWAS into a Commission which positioned it as a model sub-regional institution in Africa. If the period of my leadership at ECOWAS is today referred to as the Golden Age of the institution, you must rightfully share in the credit.

The second instance was during my tenure as Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in Brussels, Belgium. Again, I tapped into your extensive research and elucidating publications in the areas of trade negotiations and multilateral trade agreements to support the ACP States in general, and the ECOWAS in particular, in their negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union. It was in this context that I participated in the launch of your last book in Accra in 2011.

Prof., you have been a humble teacher, a prolific academic, a rigorous researcher and an accomplished international public servant. You have been a role model to many of us who have been privileged to have been your students. Above all, you have been a friend and inspiration to me.

I join the several well-wishers and loved ones assembled today for the launch of your autobiography in recognizing your remarkable accomplishment, and wishing you all the best for future successes.

Your loving student,

Mohamed Ibn Chambas


Personnel from the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) have organized a sensitization program on child marriage for residents of Nima and Mamobi in Accra.

The deputy director in charge of DOVVSU, DSP Lydia Osei Agyapong who addressed the women said child marriage like any form of violence, degrades the girl child's dignity as a person , violates her human rights and it is deadly.

She said this practice has robbed millions of girls of their childhood, rights and dignity in the country.

Child marriage is a harmful practice, a violation of human rights that disproportionately affects girls and their rights to education, health, security, choice and often leads to social isolation and violence.

Adding, she said such children are often between the ages of 15 years to 18 and with low levels of education and they stand a greater risk of domestic violence and sexual abuse from their older husbands.

She stressed that the police will not hesitate to apprehend any person who engages in the act when the case is reported to them.

She also urged members within the Zongo communities where such practices are considered common, to always inform the police.

She entreated the women to encourage their young girls to have access to post primary education since that is a key to success.

A representative from Women in Law and Development (WILDAF), Mrs Melody Darkey who gave a presentation of the overview and effect of child marriage, posited that any person who marries a young girl below the age of 16 years commits defilement and is punishable by law.

She said when the girl is above 16 years, her supposed husband will be charged for rape and this also attracts a jail term by the courts.

Maltreating women and children is also against the law and any person found culpable will be prosecuted.

To buttress her points, she averred that every child has the right to education, healthcare and others and the moment a child is denied his or her education and healthcare when she / he is sick, based on religious grounds, that person will be punished.

Madam Shafaatu Alhassan Daud, a teacher who shared her experience on child-marriage from the Muslim women perspective urged her fellow women to make it a point to educate their children.

She advised them to have fewer children and make sure that their girl-children get better education and not to neglect them because of poverty.

By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey

( [email protected] )
Edward Effah, Fidelity Group Chairman followed by Jim Baiden, unveiling the new tagline

Fidelity Bank has launched its 10th anniversary to celebrate its achievement since its inception as a fully-fledged Ghanaian bank in 2006.

As part of the anniversary, the bank has changed its tagline from the new standard to Believe With Us, introducing a refreshed and better Fidelity to customers and all stakeholders.

Jim Baiden, Managing Director and co-founder of Fidelity Bank, who was speaking at the launch, expressed excitement, describing Fidelity Bank's achievement in the last 10 years as phenomenal.

For an indigenous bank to be ranked as the 4th largest among 28 banks in an industry where international competition exists is indeed a remarkable achievement worth celebrating, he said

Mr Baiden acknowledged the loyalty of customers and the hard work of employees as the key factors that have driven the rapid growth of Fidelity Bank in the 10-year period.

There is no doubt that our customers and employees are the reason we have come this far. Their loyalty, commitment and hard work have all translated into making Fidelity a top tier bank in this country. We are forever grateful and we will continue to deliver on our promise to help each other grow, he said.

Achievements

Recounting the journey so far, Mr. Baiden noted that during its 10 years of operation, the bank has contributed GHS 240 million to national development through taxes.

Through its Agency Banking Model, the bank has created Smart Accounts for 300,000 people who would have otherwise been unbanked.

The bank has won about 60 awards notable among them being the Most Socially Responsible Bank and the reigning Bank of the year to crown its 10 years of hard work.

Going forward, Mr Baiden said Fidelity Bank wants to take its business proposition to the next level.

The celebration, which will be a year-long one, would be characterized by many activities to appreciate both staff and customers.

A Business Desk report


BIMA, a global micro-insurance and health services provider, has organized a free health screening for traders at the Salaga Market in Accra.

The exercise, according to BIMA Ghana Limited, was to enable residents in the area, especially market women, to get a vital health check and proactively identify any health issues.

About 400 hundred residents and traders were screened for blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index, eyesight and hepatitis B.

The exercise was conducted recently to mark the official launch of the 'BIMA Doctor Telephone doctor consultation service.'

BIMA Doctor has, as part of its corporate social responsibility, been screening residents in Accra.

The telephone doctor consultation is aiming at revolutionizing access to quality healthcare in Ghana, DAILY GUIDE has gathered.

Russell Haresign, Country Manager for BIMA, said Ghanaians interested in the telephone doctor consultation service are required make GH2 payment per month.

For only GH2 per month, you, your spouse and your children can contact a doctor for medical advice on any query. BIMA has a team of licensed medical practitioners available on the phones in any language for a private and confidential consultation, he said.

Mr Haresign said the doctors advise patients on suitable self-treatment options and the closest recommended hospital or clinic.

He said the purpose of the BIMA Doctor Service is to improve access for low-income Ghanaians to quality healthcare to relieve the burden on hospital system and provide a safe and confidential way for residents to obtain medical advice.

BY Melvin Tarlue
The Ghana Police Service has debunked reports that a young man came close to assassinating President John Dramani Mahama in Kintampo during his campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo region on Thursday, October 6.

Kintampo Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Desmond Owusu Boampong, who dismissed the claims, however, confirmed that a young man was escorted out of the media stand but no gun was found on him.

Reports on Thursday indicated that a young man suspiciously breached the presidential platform and had a gun on him.

According to reports, the young man was arrested and interrogated by the Police.

But Supt. Owusu Boampong told Accra FM that claims that the young almost came close to assassinating the President are untrue.

It is not true...even the security of the president will not allow anybody to get close to the platform  not even all police officers can get close to the president.

I will caution the general public to be circumspect with what they write on social media.

The President is in Brong Ahafo region on a five day campaign tour asking voters to give him a second term ahead of the 2016 December elections.
The Member of Parliament(MP) for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem (KEEA), Dr. Ato Arthur, has shot down assertions that galamsey activities should be blamed for challenges at the Komenda Sugar factory.

It follows comments by Trade and Industry Minister, Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah that the illegal mining activities have affected sugarcane cultivation and subsequent supplies to the factory.

Though Dr. Arthur admits of the impact of the illegal mining activities on water bodies in the region, he tells Citi Business News reasons cited by Dr. Spio Garbrah are untenable.

How do you secure a 35 million dollar loan build the edifice and yet nothing is going on there? Where is the land for the raw materials? the MP retorted.

According to him, There used to be irrigation facilities between Komenda in the Central region and Beposo in the Western region. But how were they intending to irrigate the farmlands assuming they even prepared the farmlands? I believe all these were some sort of political gimmicks.

President John Mahama in May this year commissioned the Komenda sugar factory for the production of sugar.

This was in fulfillment of government's dream to increase production and reduce importation of the product.

The factory is yet to resume operations after it was shut down in June this year.

Meanwhile Dr. Arthur has cast doubt over any possible resumption of work on the factory site this month.

In his view; government has failed to undertake effective strategies to sustain operations at the factory.

I don't think I am the only one who is not optimistic; we should all be pessimistic about what they've done at the factory. Is the factory going to be left to become just an ordinary tourist attraction site or the youth will be employed to work to improve their livelihood, he stated.



By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The fact that Armenia has Iskander-M ballistic missile systems creates a dangerous situation in the South Caucasus, President of the Jamestown Foundation Glen Howard said.

He made the remarks Oct. 7 during the conference titled Azerbaijan's role on global and regional arena: Realities and Prospects dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans independence.

Armenias purchasing Iskander-M ballistic missile systems can become an impetus for further arms race in the region, and the US should understand it, Howard added.

It is obvious that Azerbaijan must defend itself, and the country is likely to do something about it, said the president of the foundation.

Howard added that currently it is not the 1990s, and dynamically developing Azerbaijan closely cooperates in the defense field with many countries, and may resort to various options.

Azerbaijan continues to develop, the country was able to build a strong army, said Howard, adding that the power of the Azerbaijani army was demonstrated in the April fighting.

Azerbaijan has successfully carried out fights and liberated a part of the Armenian occupied territories within four days, said the US expert.

After that, the US activated its efforts and stated that it is necessary to continue peace talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts settlement within the Minsk Process, he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 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.
A US Fulbright Specialist and Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Jennifer Hasty, has urged Ghanaian journalists to be social thinkers and use journalism to contribute to the socio-economic development of Ghana.

She said that as social thinkers, journalists should take Ghanas culture and development challenges into account and develop and practice journalism that is aligned with Ghanas culture and development challenges and not follow American and Eurocentric style of journalism practice without due regard to conditions in Ghana.

Dr. Hasty, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States of America, noted that although her encounter and experience with the Ghanaian media reveal a vibrant media landscape, she, however, chided the media for allowing Eurocentric and American style of journalism to creep into the Ghanaian and African media landscape. This, she criticized, is not suitable for African local conditions and situations and encouraged journalists to "go beyond the traditional style of who said what and when", the practice of which, she said "is rampant in the American media."

She made these comments at a lecture at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra. The lecture was on the theme "de-Westernization of the Ghanaian Media. Dr. Hasty is the author of "The Press and Political Culture in Ghana", a book she wrote in 2005 after spending about three years in Ghana working in the media, including the Daily Graphic, Ghana News Agency, Independent, Public Agenda, and the Ghanaian Chronicle.

Responding to a question about how to develop and practice Ghanaian style of journalism when there appears to be established standards in journalism practice, she acknowledged that although there are shared values in the practice of journalism Ghanaian and African values should inform the practice of journalism in Ghana, adding that Ghanaian and African media have a greater role to play in the eradication of bad governance, poverty, disease, and hunger.

Turning to Western media reportage of events and issues in Africa, Dr. Hasty criticized the pessimism of the Western media in their reportage on Africa, noting that "these kinds of reports suggest all doom and gloom for Africa, but there are equally a lot of good stories about Africa; talk about the rising economies of Botswana, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and others.

She appealed to the Ghanaian media in particular, to "think of Ghana as an actor and a subject in the global community", and to desist from "personalized reports on ethnicity and tribalism."

Dr. Hasty is in Ghana under the auspices of the US Fulbright Specialist Program and at the invitation of the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), a think tank incorporated under US law as a 501 (c) (3) research and education organization and also under Ghana law.
It became operational on Tuesday October 4. If you didnt know Im talking about the directive by Ghana Police Service to suspend all checks on motorists documentations, which include license, insurance and road worthy certificates.

The director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Cephas Arthur said: Unrelenting traffic jam on Ghanas roads needs attention, hence the directive to shift focus away from other operations of the police.

He said traffic had become a source of concern for the country and radical steps needed to be taken to remedy the situation.

All attention is going to be concentrated on managing traffic which has become a source of concern in our communities just to make sure we create a congenial atmosphere for travelers and commuters in our cities and our towns, the officer noted.

Did you notice the paragraph above?

His stress on All perhaps leaves no room for navigation. It put him not only in a box but his boss and the police administration plus the ruling NDC in a tight corner. That means someone at the partys Communications Desk must come out to debunk the allegation that the decision was influenced by the presidency. In other words president Mahama orchestrated the directive.

However, 24 hours later when the administration came under fire Supt. Arthur made a U-turn and said this: But it will not be an illegality on the part of the police man to request for them on suspicion.

You see there. The police must use judgement to determine whos a bad or good guy. That in itself, to begin with smacks something else.

That sounds like skewing to me. Skewing is a term used by police. It is when police activity is directed at easier-to-solve crimes to boost detection rates, at the expense of more serious offences such as sex crimes or child abuse.

That notwithstanding, the IGP could be right on the services decision to suspend the checks. But the leak of an internal memo before the announcement cast doubt about the rationale behind the new operation.

Thing is if you dont put your operational priorities right youll be outrun and outsmart by criminals.

That explains why many police institutions across the world today are refocusing the priorities of policing back to the Peelian principles (the principles of law enforcement introduced in 1829) which place emphasis on ----protection of life and property as well as prevention and detection of crime.

Sir Robert Peel a former British prime minister who also served as Home Secretary said: the main emphasis should always be the protection of life and property, the prevention and detection of crime. Anything else is a distraction.

Also the principles summarise the ideas that Sir Peel developed to define an ethnic police forceIn this model of policing, police officers are regarded as citizens with implicit consent of those fellow citizens.

After all, who questions the police when its very obvious theyre protecting the citizenry?

But that brings to mind this question:

Why would one leak an internal memo if the motive of the memo meant all good?

Surely, I dont expect the police to divulge all its strategies to the public. That isnt the right way to go. Rather it must ensure that it keeps some of its plans or secret weapons in tact to stay on top in terms intelligence gathering and policing.

That said citizens ought to know whats going on.

For example if you say youre going to suspend all motorists checks that immediately creates a loophole. It creates a problem there and raises questions.

So tell me how are you going to close that gap as a result of the suspension of the other (s)?

Perhaps just as the administration thought theyd made themselves clear or clearer to the public. There came an unnerving uproar from some section of the populace.

Was Supt. Arthur forced to add this when he spoke on Peace, an Accra-based radio programme Kokrokoo with Kwame Sefa Kayi on Wednesday October 5?

Here him: The focus is on freeing the road from criminalities that is why the memo is instructive for MTTD to keep a vigilant watch for persons carrying, ammunitions and drugs as well.

I thought theyre now controlling traffic jam?

But on a more serious question how does freeing the road from criminalities ease a traffic jam?

Finally he said this: The operation is also to clampdown on arms proliferations and drugs. Insisting the order is a routine strategy to improve operational efficiency getting close to Christmas season.

Im surprise the police capo failed to mention the historic general elections which comes off on the 7th of December, 17 clear days before the Yuletide.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

Rabat, 06.10.2016  The international community crossed an important threshold today. With the ratification by the EU, 7 of its Member States and Nepal, the condition of the Paris Agreements ratification has been met to trigger its entry into force in 30 days from today (ratification by more than 55 countries accounting for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions).

The adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 was clearly an historic moment, and its early entry into force is equally if not more historic.

The number one priority of the COP22 Moroccan Presidency has been the ratification of the Paris Agreement. The Presidency is therefore proud of this achievement and salutes the collective efforts of all those that contributed to this success.

Most would have never predicted the swiftness and determination with which the agreement has been ratified. The COP22 Presidency worked closely with the COP21 French Presidency to accelerate ratification. This clear demonstration of prioritizing climate change on domestic and international agendas is a powerful political signal underscoring the clear will and urgency to fight global warming.

The immediate consequence of the ratification will be the first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1) during the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakech, November 7-18, 2016.

COP22 will be an inclusive experience, as we all know that no country, company or citizen can stem the tide of global warming alone. Collective action is needed to develop the rulebook to operationalize the Paris Agreement and reach the goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius.

In addition to the ratification of the Paris Agreement, COP22 priorities include the implementation of the agreement with a focus on capacity building, climate finance and technology transfer for the most vulnerable countries, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDC) and the African continent.

COP22 President, Salaheddine Mezouar, welcomes todays achievement and invites all state and non-state actors to Marrakech to continue the positive forward momentum: COP22 will definitely be the COP of Action. Todays tipping point reinforces this conviction, and demonstrates the mobilization and confidence of the international community around the implementation of the Paris Agreement."
OML Africa , organizers of Ghanas biggest gathering of players in the e-Commerce industry, e-Commerce Expo has launched this years -2016 edition.

The 2016 edition which takes off from October 27- October 28 in Accra at Alisa Hotel will focus on boosting the growth and safety of the e-Commerce industry.

The two-day event on the theme: Transforming Ghana's Online Businesses through Technology, Innovation and Opportunity, is the largest gathering of companies and professionals from online retail shops, telecommunications, banks, internet service providers and software designers among others.

Head of events at OML Africa, Mr Paul Asinor, said the third Ghana e-Commerce exhibition would provide the platform to exhibitors to gain market exposure by showcasing their products and services.

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.

The expo would also help exhibitors sign on new businesses or clients, network with potential e-Commerce and e-solutions investors.

Over 50 Ghanaian and foreign companies are expected to attend.

Exhibitors will 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.



By: citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
A member of NPP's 'Zongo for Change' in the Sekondi constituency in the Western region Habib Lukeman has been stabbed.

Lukeman was allegedly pierced by some individuals with allegiance to the ruling NDC in the constituency following a disagreement over the ongoing vote transfer exercise at Inchaban.

Coordinator for the 'Zongo for Change' Omar Hamza told Starr News' Emmanuel Ohene Gyan that Lukeman was rushed to the Effia-Nkwanta Regional hospital after the attack and is currently responding to treatment.

The vote transfer exercise which ends today has recorded many violent clashes. The EC office in Tamale was shut down on Thursday after supporters of the NDC and NPP exchanged gunshots after some misunderstand. A similar violent exchanges was also registered at Chereponi on Tuesday.

-Starrfmonline
A suit by the Progressive People's Party (PPP) challenging what it described as astronomical filing fees by the Electoral Commission has been dismissed by an High Court Friday.

Starr News' Wilberforce Asare reports that the reasons for the dismissal of the suit will be given by the Court on Monday, October, 10 at 2pm.

The PPP in a writ filed at the high court prayed the court to stop the EC from increasing the filing fees astronomically. It describes the 500 percent hike in the presidential filing fee as arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

The EC however consequently restrained itself last week from collecting the banker's draft of presidential aspirants who submitted their nomination forms on Thursday September 29, in respect of the pendency of the lawsuit.

The PPP also cited the EC Boss, Charlotte Osei for contempt after it accepted the filing fees from the party during the filing of nominations.

Before the dismissal of the suit lawyer for the PPP Dennis Ofusu Apppiah told the court that the party does not have the cash to pay the filing fee of its parliamentary candidates to participate in the December 7 elections.

The PPP, he stated is not financially sound to pay a whooping GHs2.8miillion for its parliamentary candidates to participate in the elections arguing that the CI 94 does not particularly provide that 50,000 and 10,000 should deposited.

-Starrfmonline
Too young to ever remember that perilous journey, a toddler nearly perished after a wooden vessel carrying migrants capsized on the Mediterranean sea.

In a story published by the New York Times, rescue operation found 29 bodies  10 men and 19 women out of a boat holding roughly 150 people.

The passengers  from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries  were found on Tuesday. They are a part of a wave of more than 11,000 rescued in the Mediterranean by aid groups and the Italian Coast Guard this week.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|nytimes
Cape Town (AFP) - South African retired Anglican archbishop and anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu celebrated his 85th birthday on Friday saying he would like to be allowed the option of dignified assisted death.

"Today, I myself am even closer to the departures hall than arrivals, so to speak, and my thoughts turn to how I would like to be treated when the time comes," Tutu wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post.

"I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs," said Tutu, who was discharged from hospital late last month.

"I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life's journey in the manner of my choice," he wrote.

Tutu, who is fondly referred to as the Arch, has spent time in hospital on several occasions since last year for a nagging infection.

One reason for his hospitalisation has been an infection resulting from the prostate cancer treatment he has been receiving for nearly 20 years.

Desmond Tutu arrives in a wheelchair to celebrate his 85th birthday with a mass at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town on October 7, 2016

"Now more than ever, I feel compelled to lend my voice to this cause," he said.

"For those suffering unbearably and coming to the end of their lives, merely knowing that an assisted death is open to them can provide immeasurable comfort."

Medically-assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia is illegal in South Africa, but in recent years there have been growing calls for it to be legalised.

National treasure

Early on Friday, Tutu presided over eucharist at his home church in Cape Town, an AFP photographer witnessed.

He paid a moving tribute to St George's Cathedral before laying his head on the communion table and briefly wept.

"I have indicated that when the time comes I would like to rest here, permanently, with you," he told the worshippers.

Desmond Tutu celebrates his 85th birthday by giving mass at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town on October 7, 2016

Tutu, who became the first black Anglican archbishop of Cape Town in 1986, had a cup of tea with worshippers after the Friday morning service.

President Jacob Zuma and the last apartheid leader F.W. de Klerk led tributes to Tutu.

In a statement Zuma said Tutu "has contributed immensely to the freedom and democratic dispensation" of South Africa.

"He continues to inspire the nation and the world in the promotion of human rights, justice and the wellbeing of all especially the poor," said Zuma.

De Klerk and his foundation wished Tutu "the best of health in the year ahead," and acknowledged "his valuable role as a peacemaker, as well as his contribution towards goodwill between all South Africans, and towards South Africa's constitutional democracy."

Ordained at the age of 30 and appointed archbishop in 1986, Tutu used his position to advocate for international sanctions against white-minority rule in South Africa, and later to lobby for rights globally.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
The District Office of the Electoral Commission in the Tamale Municipality has been taken over by armed police and military personnel Friday as the EC resumes the voters transfer exercise.

The exercise was halted yesterday following reports of gun shots and the brandishing of machetes by assailants said to be affiliated with some political parties.

Joy News' Tamale correspondent Hashmin Mohammed reported the assailants were there to intimidate prospective voters, mostly students of the University of Development Studies who had come to transfer their votes.

The EC officials were overwhelmed not just by the weapon carrying assailants but by the students who accused the EC officials of failing to transfer them and giving them unnecessary excuses why they couldn't transfer the votes.

According to Hashmin there were few police men at the scene of the chaos yesterday but were outnumbered by the assailants and the angry students.

The EC officials had no option but to shut down the office as a measure to restore calm.

On Friday the students returned to the EC office in queues praying to be registered and accusing the EC of failing to register them.

"We have been here for days and people come here and the only thing they say is that the forms are finished. Sometimes they lock themselves inside without coming to tell us anything. This is what they do and when we talk they say people of Tamale are violent.

"Today is the deadline and we have not been transferred," some of the prospective voters lamented to Joy News.

Hashmin reported the EC officials have now started the voter transfer exercise despite initial threat to boycott the exercise if there is no guarantee of maximum security.

The EC officials are hoping to complete the exercise by close of day.

Meanwhile, in the Ashanti Region, there is a mad rush by residents to transfer their votes.

The exercise suffered low turnout in previous day but with today being the final day of transfer a mass of prospective voters who wish to transfer their votes besieged the district EC office in a desperate move to transfer.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
Chief of Kpassa in the Nkwanta South district of the Volta region, Ubor Konja Tansan VI, has urged Ghanaians to vote massively for the flagbearer of the Progressive People's Party (PPP,) Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom in the December polls.

The chief, who together with his subjects met Dr. Nduom at his palace in Kpassa, expressed his excitement meeting the entrepreneur cum politician again.

He said that there were several candidates vying for the nation's high office, but none of them qualifies for the office other than Dr. Nduom.

The chief added that, all over the world, people vote for development and with what Dr. Nduom has done and he has seen; he would want all Ghanaians to vote for him.

Others will wait to be president to do what he [Dr. Nduom] has done. I pray to the gods that he wins, he said.

The traditional leader told his people that there is no commercial bank in the area, but GN Bank has given them a saving haven.

After the 2016 elections, I hope that he will be declared winner and president of the Ghana so we benefit from massive developmental agenda.

The Ubor said that, the Parliamentary Candidate for the area was one of their own and therefore urged him to visit the various leaders in the constituency for counsel and guidance.

Dr. Nduom in a brief remark noted that, this was the first time he was coming to the area.

He explained that he made the stop on his way to the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, to confer with the chiefs and the people of Kpassa.

He said that on his way to the area, he saw lots of yam which if not used after some time will go bad, yam chips can be made out of them. Systems ought to be put in place for surplus yam.

Earlier on Monday, Dr. Nduom interacted with residents of Tafi Mador in the Afadzato South constituency.

There, he met the chiefs of the area who pledged their unflinching support for him.

They lamented over the lack of accommodation for teachers in the area; and urged Dr. Nduom to solve that problem when elected into office.

Dr. Nduom told the people that he came to region to show that the PPP was ready for serve them.

He lamented the bad state of roads in the area coupled with poor educational infrastructure, but assured them of his commitment to helping them when he is president.

People of Volta region are hardworking people but unfortunately there are no jobs. My company [Groupe Nduom], employs thousands of persons from the region some of who are key managers therefore bringing jobs here is not a problem at all, he said.

He introduced the parliamentary aspirant for the area, Hanson Kwesi Fia, to the people, and called for their vote to enable the PPP help them.

The celebrated entrepreneur made a stop at Gbi Wegbe, where he donated some monies to the youth association in the area.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.7

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

Currently, an evident progress is observed in Azerbaijans social, political and economic spheres and this progress was achieved in the countrys development process, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department, said Oct.7.

He made the remarks during the Azerbaijans role on global and regional arena: Realities and Prospects conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the countrys independence.

Azerbaijan presents its own development model to the world, said the top official, adding that international organizations also praise the countrys development.

Currently, Azerbaijan is moving on the path of turning the black gold into human capital, he said.

The top official emphasized the increasing investments in education and modern technologies, as well as the steps taken for diversification of economy.

He pointed out that Azerbaijan has launched its satellite into orbit.

Further, the top official said that Azerbaijan pursues domestic and foreign policy based on national interests.

As President Ilham Aliyev pointed out, Azerbaijan is among few countries that are members of both the Council of Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he said.

Azerbaijans temporary presidency of the UN Security Council was an important event. This trust in Azerbaijan showed that the country enjoys respect both in the region and on the international arena for its policy, said Mammadov.

Although Azerbaijan is not a big country, it actively participates in the international anti-terrorism coalitions for ensuring peace and stability in the whole world, added the top official.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

From Inusa Musah, Ashaiman

The stakes in garnering valid votes for the two most glamorous political parties in the Ashaiman Constituency are high, as the parliamentary candidates for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) are promising massive votes for themselves and their flag-bearers.

While Ernest Norgbey of the NDC is eyeing 80 per



cent votes for himself and President John Mahama, Alhaji Barry Labaran Yakubu, NPP, said he will beat the NDC with 65 per cent votes for himself and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the December 7 polls.

In a separate interview with both parliamentary candidates at the Ashaiman office of the Electoral Commission (EC), where they filed their nomination forms, Ernest Norgbey told The Chronicle that the NDC and President Mahama had worked very hard to deserve another four-year term.

In order to help the President continue with his massive developmental works, he needs a vibrant and hardworking parliamentarian, and those qualities and services are what I am coming to offer the people of Ashaiman.

He said he was going to continue with the open-door policy service his predecessor, Alfred Agbesi, started, in order to meet the social and economic needs of Ashaiman. That the NDC had lost touch with the grassroots in the constituency, Mr. Norgbey pointed out, was false.

Ernest Norgbey hinted that the NDC was not loud in Ashaiman, because they had embarked on a house-to-house campaign. According to him, he had declared his assets to the EC.

Ernest Norgbey was accompanied by Shaddat Umar Jallo, Ashaiman NDC Chairman, Ibrahim Baidoo, Ashaiman Municipal Assembly Chief Executive, Anthony Afenyo, Campaign Strategist, among other party executives of the constituency.

Alhaji Barry Labaran Yakubu, NPP parliamentary candidate, on his part, said the NDC would taste defeat in Ashaiman for the second time, after 2004.

He explained that the NPP was not entertaining complacency, despite the 65 per cent votes the party was sure of registering for both Nana Addo and him. The NDC in Ashaiman is shaky, and they know it. They will see their smoothness level on December 7, he indicated.

In the company of Alhaji Labaran was Thomas Adongo, former Assembly Member and defeated NPP parliamentary aspirant, who added that the lies of the NDC in the constituency had been exposed to the electorate, hence the pain the NPP would inflict on the NDC in the elections.

He said the NDC, through MASLOC, deceived market women in Ashaiman of some loans, and after registering the women with the promise of giving them the loans, some members of the NDC clandestinely collected the money in their names and shared it.

The market women, he said, had promised to punish the NDC for deceiving them and using their names to 'steal' loans meant for them.

The dossier the NPP had about the NDC in Ashaiman, Mr. Adongo said, would be exposed, as the NPP continued with its house-to-house campaign.

Thomas Adongo, early last year, declared contesting as an independent parliamentary candidate, after he felt the NPP executives in Ashaiman had dealt unfairly with him.

However, he told The Chronicle that he rescinded his decision a few months ago, in order to throw his weight behind Alhaji Labaran to beat the NDC.

Martin Kojo Okyerefo, Returning Officer at the Ashaiman Electoral Commission (EC), told a section of the press that only the NDC and NPP could file their forms as at 2pm Thursday.




By Sebastian R. Freiku

Five National Executive Members of the United Progressive Party (UPP) have filed a writ of summons before an Accra High Court of Justice against Mr. Akwasi Addai, alias Odike, who they describe as the former Chairman and flagbearer of party.

The plaintiffs are Stephen Kwaku Saahene, National Organiser, Stephen Owusu Aduomi, Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman, Eric Kobina Ennin, Western Regional Chairman, Bukari Issahaku Kuoro, Upper West Regional Chairman and Ekow Elvis Appah, Eastern Regional Chairman, all of the UPP.

Akwasi Addai Odike and the Electoral Commission are the first and second defendants respectively in the suit.

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the first defendant is not a member of the United Progressive Party, because he had been dismissed by a unanimous resolution of the National Executive Committee of the party, on grounds of misconduct.

They want an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant, his agents and assigns from carrying himself as the flagbearer of the party. The five aggrieved national executives also want the Electoral Commission restrained from issuing, accepting and registering Akwasi Addai Odike to contest the 2016 presidential elections as the flagbearer of the UPP.

The writ, filed by Lawyer John Apontuah Kumah of the Aduaprokye Chambers in Accra, on behalf of the plaintiffs on September 28, 2016, also sought the reinstatement of Gabriel Asamoah-Boakye and Kennedy Saku, Acting General Secretary and Volta Regional Chairman respectively, of the party.

The plaintiffs want a declaration that the purported letter of resignation, dated September 15, 2016, and signed by Asamoah-Boakye and Saku while in police custody as a condition for bail, be declared null and void, and of no effect.

In a 20-point statement of claim, the plaintiffs said the UPP held its maiden Congress at the Golden Tulip in Kumasi on July 18, 2015 to elect national executives and a flagbearer, and that the first plaintiff was elected National Organiser, while the first defendant was elected National Chairman and flagbearer.

It was further averred that on March 8, 2016, Razak Kojo Opoku resigned as the General Secretary, upon which the first defendant unilaterally appointed his son, Francis Addai, to act as the General Secretary.

Following, that the Steering Committee of the party, which includes the first defendant, met on March 15, 2016 and appointed the National Youth Organiser, Gabriel Asamoah-Boakye, as acting General Secretary, which was confirmed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) on March 18, 2016, and posted on the party's official website?

The plaintiffs stated that the NEC also unilaterally upheld a recommendation from the Disciplinary Committee to disown the first defendant and two other members of the party for stated misconduct at the March 18, 2016 meeting, in accordance with Article 29 and 16 93) of the party's Constitution.

The statement claimed that the dismissal of the first defendant and two others was duly communicated to them personally, per a letter dated March 18, 2016, and signed by the Acting General Secretary, which was widely published in the media.

The decision of the NEC was reportedly communicated to the Electoral Commission, per a letter, through one John Okyere, staff of the second defendant, which was acknowledged on May 21, 2016.

The plaintiffs also complained that on September 13, the Acting General Secretary and two others, the National Organiser and Volta Regional Chairman, went to the offices of the EC to pick nomination forms for the flagbearer, and that while there, the defendants, in the company of policemen, arrested the General Secretary, thus preventing the authorised officers of the party from picking the said forms.

Thereafter, the Director of Elections of the EC reportedly issued the presidential nomination forms to the first defendant, against the fact that the EC was notified of the dismissal of Akwasi Addae as a member of the party.

The acting General Secretary and the Volta Regional Chairman, in the persons of Gabriel Asamoah-Boakye and Kennedy Saku, were reportedly detained at the Adabraka Police Station for 48 hours, where the police reportedly demanded that they sign a letter of resignation from the UPP, as condition for bail on September 15.

Aggrieved by the actions of the defendants, and the manner the Ghana Police Service handled the matter, the plaintiffs have gone to court to seek redress.

They believe that the defendants will continue to deny them and the UPP their legal and equitable rights, if the honourable court does not intervene, hence the suit filed jointly and severally against the defendants.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Sampson Adu-Poku, GNA

Kumasi, Oct 07, GNA - Rural Banks have been urged to make sure that they put the customer at the centre of their operations.

Mr. George Osei-Mensah, out-going General Manager of the Amansie West Rural Bank, said this was critical to keep them in business amid intense competition in the banking industry.

They needed to also come out with more innovative products to support the growth of businesses.

Mr. Osei-Mensah, who is retiring after 33 years' service, was speaking at a send-off party organized for him by the bank in Kumasi.

He noted the significant contribution the rural and community banks were making to the nation's financial sector growth and encouraged them to maintain strict internal controls.

Everything should be done to protect the depositor's money, he added.

He expressed gratitude to the board, management and staff of the bank for the tremendous support and cooperation given to him.

Mr. Isaac Otchere Antwi, the Board Chairman, applauded the retiring General Manager, for his resourcefulness and strong leadership that helped to put the bank on the path of progress. Under, his watch, it was able to build its own main office alongside the opening of three new branches.

He gave him credit for the bank's current standing as one of the best performing in terms of profit, loan management, deposit mobilization and asset acquisition.

Mr. Kwadwo Ayeh-Kusi, Managing Director of the ARB-Apex Bank, in an address read for him, eulogized Mr. Osei-Mensah, for his managerial prowess and asked that he continued to share his rich experience with the staff of the rural banks.

GNA
By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - The Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Zongo Caucus, have described President John Dramani Mahama as a blessing to Ghanaians, especially people living in the Zongos.

They made this known when they called Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu National Chief Imam and Sheikh Umar, Chief Imam of the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamah in Accra.

The Council also met with the Greater Accra Council of Zongo Chiefs and the Nima and Maamobi Zongo Chiefs.

The visit led by Alhaji Shamsu Kwakwa, popularly known as 'Samson Kwakwa', a member of the NDC National Campaign Committee was to seek the blessings and support of the Imams and Chiefs to kick start their house-to-house campaign for the December 7 General Election.

Alhaji Kwakwa said the NDC has developed educational infrastructure, provided health care facilities and brought in social interventions that helped to reduce youth unemployment in most zongo communities.

He said there is the need for the zongos to show love and appreciation to President Mahama by voting massively for him to continue the NDC's 'Better Ghana Agenda' of changing lives and transforming Ghana.

He said the misbehaviour of the youth during electioneering has been the thing of the past through the Youth Employment Agency engagement in agriculture, health, teaching and community policing.

He appealed to Ghanaians to reaffirm the Presidency of President Mahama to continue with the improvement and upliftment of the standard of living of the citizenry.

Sheikh Sharubutu and Sheikh Umar pledged their unflinching support to the Council elders and asked them to promote the agenda of Muslims and people living in zongo communities.

Chief Imoro Baba Issah, Public Relations Officer of the Greater Accra Council of Zongo Chiefs on behalf the Council, urged members to call a truce and ensure that there is unity among them.

"It is only when your team is brought under one fold that you can stand a better chance of winning the people's votes,' he said.

He said the Council of Zongo Chiefs recognise and appreciate the efforts of President Mahama towards the development of zongo communities in the country at large.

"The NDC Government gives zongo communities scholarships aimed at empowering females, Hajj tickets to chiefs every year and the protocol facilitation of their movements.'

He pledge the Council of Zongo Chiefs support for the team and urged members to embark on a campaign based on facts and issues devoid of insults and intimidation that has the tendency to promulgate violence in the country.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By George-Ramsey Benamba, GNA

Techiman (B/A), Oct. 7, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday said if his critics would not praise him for the wonderful work he has done for the last four years, they should not criticise him either.

"For the last four years, I know I have performed creditably well and if they will not praise, I know God is my witness in what I have done."

President Mahama who was speaking at rallies at Jema and Techiman as part of his four-day campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo Region said: "God knows I have performed and will continue to guide me to win the December 7 polls this year."

The President who was accompanied by First Lady Lordina Mahama, Mr Eric Opoku, Regional Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development said the electorate are now accustomed to the performance of the National Democratic Congress and would therefore return the Party into power in December based on its performance.

"I have the track record of beginning my career as Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, substantive Minister, Vice President and now President and what track record do they (Opposition Parties) have to challenge my competence."

He appealed to Party members to conduct their campaign programmes devoid of attacks and unprintable words for God to grant them another opportunity to lead Ghanaians from 2017.

"Our performance is currently being monitored by Ghanaians, and based on the high performance we are churning out, they will not hesitate to offer us another opportunity," President Mahama added.

He said his second term of office would focus on job creation and agricultural transformation to better the lots of Ghanaians.

On the job creation, he said government would create a total of 400,000 jobs under the Youth Employment Agency to provide skills for youth with a monthly allowance of GH300.00 each.

He said the youth would be trained under different modules and GH50.00 out of their monthly allowance would be saved as seed money for two years and released to them when they complete their training programmes.

President Mahama said government would carry out a thorough transformation in the agricultural sector with the introduction of Farmers' Centres, where tractors and other services would be provided for farmers to step up their activities.

He said credit facilities would also be provided to enhance agricultural development throughout the country.

GNA
By Dorothy Frances Ward, GNA

New Edubiase, (C/R), Oct 07, GNA - A new five-year project has been launched in Ghana to create job opportunities for the youth in the cocoa sector.

It is being implemented jointly by the Cocobod, Solidaridad, Aflatoun, Ashesi University and Fidelity Bank.

The project involves providing relevant technical, financial and business development skills to aid the youth to build careers in the cocoa industry.

Known as 'MASO', the expectation is that it would give about 200,000 employment to young people in Ghana and one other African country, Uganda, 40 per cent of them would be women.

The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian NGO, is spearheading the project with support from Overseas Development Institute, GOAL and Global Communities.

Ms. Dina Randrianasolo, Associate Programme Manager of the Foundation, speaking at its formal launch in New Edubiase in the Adansi South District, said they were targeting people between the ages of 18 and 25, in the rural communities.

They were convinced that young people could realize their potentials and improve their livelihoods if they had access to the right skills and opportunities, she added.

She highlighted the significant contribution of cocoa to Ghana's economy - accounting for eight per cent of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) and supporting approximately 6.3 million families, almost 30 per cent of the population.

'Despite this, the sector is at risk of a decline in production. But with modern inputs, innovative technology and the youth, the sector could be revitalized.'

She indicated that with 'Ghana exporting 22 per cent of the world's cocoa and demand rising three per cent every year, there is tremendous opportunity for young men and women in the country'.

Mr. Isaac Gyamfi, West African Regional Director of Solidaridad, said the youth in the rural communities, many of them, unable to pursue higher education, stood to gain immensely from the project.

Mrs. Faustine Asamany, Regional Manager of the Cocoa Health Extension Division (CHED), said it was a right step and would help to substantially raise cocoa production.

She hinted that Cocobod had already registered about 46,000 young people for the project.

She complained about the destructive activities of illegal gold miners and said this had become a major threat to the cocoa industry. GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Laudia Sawer

Kpone, Oct 7, GNA - Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been urged to be transparent in the disbursement of the Disability Fund.

Mr Eric Narh, Greater Accra Regional Manager and Kpone-Katamanso head of the People With Disability (PWDs) said MMDAs must inform the various disability groups on the procedure for the disbursement.

Mr Narh explained that being transparent would curb speculations among disables and restore confidence in the Assemblies.

He gave the advice when the Kpone-Katamanso District Assembly (KKDA) disbursed monies from the Disability Fund to some disabled persons.

He commended the Assembly for the monies and appealed to other organizations to financially support disables in the district.

Mr Narh also encouraged the federation of the disabled to come out with initiatives that would help members earn decent living.

Mr Mohammed Yakubu, Kpone-Katamanso District Coordinating Director, said his outfit has strictly adhered to regulations covering the disbursement of the fund.

Mr Yakubu added that two per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund was to be disbursed to support initiatives of the physically challenged.

He added that through the fund, KKDA has sponsored disabled students to acquire higher education.

GNA
The Bole District Police commander, ASP David Asumah has appealed to candidates of political Parties to sell their policies and programs they intend to embark on if given the power come december 7, 2016 and avoid being confrontational.

ASP David Asumah said this at the launch of the District Security Task force to ensure that peace is maintained before, during and After the 2016 elections.

He assured all political parties of support adding; We will be present at any campaign program organised by any political party to provide security. We shall deploy adequate personnel to the various polling stations within the constituency to police the polls and equally deploy personnel on patrol duties to ensure that the election is held in an atmosphere devoid of intimidation from anybody. Those who intend to foment trouble will not be spared".

Chief Amantana Safo, the Presiding Member of the Bole District Assembly who represented the Bole District Chief Executive spoke on the need for the people of the District to eschew violence because they are one family with a common destiny.

Other Stakeholders invited included the Bole District Assembly, the Electoral Commission, representatives of the various political parties, representatives of Traditional Authorities, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the local media including Nkilgi 99.9 Fm at Bole were all present at the meeting.

Also present were other Security agencies in the Bole District made up of the Ghana Police Service, the Army, the National Fire Service, Immigration Service, Forestry Department were represented and made speeches.

The head of the Immigration Service in Bole District Mr Kwaku Twumasi entreated the media and the political parties present to desist from intemperate language and appealed to the political parties to pre-inform the security agencies about their activities especially their rallies to avoid a situation in which the parties organise their activities on the same day.

The NDC, NPP and NDP representatives pledged to ensure there is a peaceful election in the Bole District.
The Progressive People's Party (PPP), has said it does not have enough money to pay the filing fees of its presidential candidate, and the 275 parliamentary candidates across the country, which will amount to almost Ghc2.8 million.

On Friday morning, the PPP's lawyer, told an Accra High Court the party did not have the required amount of money needed to pay for all of its nominees.

The party said this in defence of it's injunction suit that sought to stop the Electoral Commission from collecting what it called exorbitant filing fees.

However the court went ahead to dismiss the suit against the Electoral Commission; thereby giving the EC the go-ahead to collect the fees. The party said the charge of GH50,000 fee for presidential nominees and GH10,000 for parliamentary nominees was an arbitrary use of power by the electoral body.

The PPP's lawyer, Dennis Ofosu Appiah, further argued in court that, the amount being charged by the EC was not stated in the law. He stated that PNDC law 284 requires the Commission to fix the amount to be charged in the regulations for the elections. He pointed out that regulations 8 and 45 of the CI 94 failed to state the specific amount to be charged.

He told the court that, the PPP risked not participating fully in the 2016 elections if the court did not stop the EC from charging the 'exorbitant' amount.

The PPP is expected to cough up an amount of GHc 2.8 million as filing fees for both the presidential and all of its 275 constituencies across the country.

But the lawyer for the EC, Thaddeus Sori,who disagreed with the motion, said the law allows the EC to determine the fee.

Nii Allotey Brew Hammond, PPP Chairman and team presenting Nduom's forms

He said if the PPP cannot pay the amount, they should have applied for an injunction preventing the EC from taking money from the PPP, and not all other parties since they cannot assume that all other parties cannot pay.

Background

The PPP filed an interlocutory injunction at the High Court on September 19 seeking to restrain the EC from going ahead with the receipt of filing fees from presidential and parliamentary candidates a day before the date scheduled for filing.

This injunction prevented the EC from receiving the filing fees of the various parliamentary and presidential hopefuls though it bizarrely accepted the filing fee of the PPP flagberer, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was represented by the party's Chairman, Nii Allotey Brew Hammond.

The PPP, among other things, was seeking a declaration that Regulation 45 of C.I. 94 is discriminatory, arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

The EC opened the nominations earlier in September and pegged the filing fees for presidential hopefuls at GHc 50,000 and that of parliamentary nominees at GHc 10,000.

Some aggrieved parties subsequently asked the EC to review the amount describing it as exorbitant.

-Citifmonline
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Denis Andaban

[email protected]



The issue of illegal mining in Ghana has been under public discourse since the last decade and still deserves a better discussion; a discussion that can lead to a pragmatic solution and not the usual talk and forget tendencies.

Ghana, since the days of pre-colonial era is known for its abundance of gold and that has given Ghana a significant place in the world market, since gold and cocoa remain the major export commodities for the country.

I am not too sure whether Ghana still progresses in the production of gold but what am very sure is that we risk our environment with the seemingly escalating unscientific mining proliferating on daily basis across the country.

In fact there are countless known illegal mining sites dotted across every corner of our country where most unemployed youth battle for prosperity. I write this article to raise some critical issues about this so called galamsey.



It is quite indisputable that mining in whatever form provides employment for the unemployed youth who engage in it to survive.

That in essence is not bad at all considering the increasing rate of unemployment in Africa and for that matter Ghana.

Many a youth have made their lives better by venturing into this apparently lucrative business.

Is that not being enough a reason to see how we can as a nation, device strategies of using small scale mining to ameliorate the escalating rate of unemployment among the youth?

I find it unfathomable at the approach at which we handle issues of illegal mining in this country. I personally do not see the possibility of curbing the situation at hand but we can transform it scientifically to better the progress of the country.

It is far better than sitting aloof and paying lips services whilst our virgin vegetation, arable land and rivers are destroyed with impunity.

I am not talking about the number of youth who lose their lives in their struggle to make exploits in this unchecked business.

A lot of damage has been caused and the bitter ramifications await us all and no one can stand in exoneration when the natural hit backs begin to teach us a bitter lesson. We appear to be making illegal mining a curse when indeed we are capable of making it a blessing.

It is a verifiable fact that many traditional rulers who should be pushing for a change in the manner in which the land is being destroyed are rather behind pushing the poor youth to engage in it whilst they get substantial returns.

Chiefs and other influential people cannot pretend over this destruction of our land and water bodies. Politicians on the other hand, have compromised what should be done right for political gains.

I do remember, when government waged a war against illegal mining in 2007 but immediately abandoned the moves because of election 2008 since gallamsey operators could pay the government back in its own coin by voting them out.

Then again, in 2010/2011, similar measures were taken to curb the activities of illegal mining but that also became a night dinner. My question is, for how long can we continue to gamble with our own future?

Are we being wicked to ourselves or we are simply ignorant of the adversities of this act in the long run?

What I expect is to see the youth who are into illegal mining being organized in groups, get trained on certain basic environmental protection strategies.

When this is done, we can register and licence them, give them designated areas to operate with strict supervision. This will minimise the dreadful impact their activities have on the environment.

This will also put them in a better position to contribute something in the forms of tax to government and contribute significantly in protecting the environment.

Is this difficult to do? Certainly not, just that, we are being pretentious over the years about this illegal mining as if we dont know the dire consequences of it.

The minerals commission can work with other agencies to regulate this act and scientifically transform it from being a curse to a blessing. It could be the best form of employment and that can tremendously increase the GDP of the country.

We dont need to wage any war against illegal miners. That to me, is archaic and can not yield the needed results.

Government and traditional rulers can lead the move by involving all the illegal miners and private mining companies to subsequently effect a long lasting innovative, scientific and legalized mining.

I believe people will bring all sort of legalities, ungrounded reasons with well garnished grammar to refute some of these proposals in this write up but let the truth be told that we are being hypothetical and are the architects of our own development challenges.

Our actions are simply creating a yardstick for some few unscrupulous people to make selfish gains out of our abundant resources at the expense of the vast majority of the citizenry thus, risking every economic activity in this country.

Agriculture, which continues to be the backbone of our economy is being threatened.

I associate myself with those who postulate that industrial revolution in the way to go to create a dominant export led economy but let me succinctly state that we cannot embark on any effective industrial policy if we dont ensure a sustainable primary production prospects.

We can only feed any industries with adequate raw material if we make a conscious effort to go into more primary production.

The two must go simultaneously. Industrialization is a direct product of primary production and that is incontestably established.

It is unfortunate, none of the political parties with their lofty sugar coating promises, have made any comprehensive argument about this illegal mining. Perhaps, that is a justification that politicians could be pretentious.

I personally do not take solace in blaming politicians for some of these hypocritical attitudes. After all, politicians are direct products of our own society.

We just must agree that we need change of attitude among us to demonstrate true loyalty, patriotism and nationalism in this country than the usual daily spinning political propaganda and needless accusations and blames.

It is not too late. All we need is read in between the lines by creating a prosperous economic with what we have.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.7

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made a telephone call to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin Oct.7.

President Aliyev congratulated President Putin on his birthday, and wished him robust health and success in his state activities.

President Aliyev also extended his congratulations on a landslide victory of the United Russia party in the election to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, saying the people of Russia once again demonstrated their support for the policy pursued by Vladimir Putin.

President Aliyev then thanked Vladimir Putin for the message he sent to the 5th International Humanitarian Forum which was recently held in Baku and for Russia's high-level representation at the event.

President Putin thanked President Aliyev for the attention, congratulations and warm words. He congratulated President Aliyev on the results of the referendum which was held in Azerbaijan and noted that by voting in this referendum the people of Azerbaijan expressed their support for President Aliyev's policy.

During the phone conversation, the presidents expressed their satisfaction with the development of bilateral ties between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation. The presidents expressed their confidence that cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop.
07.10.2016 LISTEN



The Minister of Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah says the passage of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2016 and the development of a number of subsidiary legislation to give better effect to the Act, have contributed to Ghana maintaining its position as a preferred investment destination in the sub-region despite the downturn in the global oil and gas industry.

According to him the coming into force of the Local Content Regulation, L. I. 2204 has created an enabling environment for Ghanaian companies to favourably participate in the oil and gas sector. He said the completion of the Atuabo Gas Processing plant is enabling the delivery of lean gas to power the thermal plants as well as indigenous LPG to more than half of the domestic market, as a result the long queues for LPG have vanished, he said at press briefing in Accra on Tuesday.



The Minister also revealed that Ghana was preparing to acquire a third Floating Production Storage Offloading (FBSO)vessel to receive lean gas from the Sankofa Gye-Nyame (OCTP) Oil Field. The new FBSO, which is more than 80 per cent complete in Singapore, would be operating from the Onshore Receiving Facility at Sanzule-Ellembelle in the Western Region, which is being constructed.

In line with that, First Lady Mrs Lordina Mahama and the Minister are billed to travel to Singapore to inspect and name the new FBSO.

Ghana already has two FPSOs, the FBSO Kwame Nkrumah and the FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills which are producing oil from the Jubilee and TEN Fields.

The TEN fields, presently adding about 35,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) is expected to ramp up to 80,000 bopd.

The Jubilee field remains steady in production despite challenges with a cumulative production from the field as at September, being approximately 181 million barrels of oil and 41 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas exported to the Gas processing plants and about 80 mmscfd supplied to power plants to generate electricity.

Addressing the media at the meet-the-press- series in Accra, Mr Buah said the cost of the FBSO under construction is about US$1.2 billion. The installation of the various subsea infrastructure and equipment is currently on-going, whilst the OCTP Field is expected to produce 45,000bdp of oils commencing first quarter 2017 and 180 mmscfd in the first half of 2018.

With the two FBSOs in place, a third one in the offing, and a number of projects at the appraisal and development levels, Ghana is poised to become one of the major oil producers in sub-Sahara Africa, Mr Buah said.

Source: GNA







The Minister of Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah says the passage of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2016 and the development of a number of subsidiary legislation to give better effect to the Act, have contributed to Ghana maintaining its position as a preferred investment destination in the sub-region despite the downturn in the global oil and gas industry.

According to him the coming into force of the Local Content Regulation, L. I. 2204 has created an enabling environment for Ghanaian companies to favourably participate in the oil and gas sector. He said the completion of the Atuabo Gas Processing plant is enabling the delivery of lean gas to power the thermal plants as well as indigenous LPG to more than half of the domestic market, as a result the long queues for LPG have vanished, he said at press briefing in Accra on Tuesday.

The Minister also revealed that Ghana was preparing to acquire a third Floating Production Storage Offloading (FBSO)vessel to receive lean gas from the Sankofa Gye-Nyame (OCTP) Oil Field. The new FBSO, which is more than 80 per cent complete in Singapore, would be operating from the Onshore Receiving Facility at Sanzule-Ellembelle in the Western Region, which is being constructed.

In line with that, First Lady Mrs Lordina Mahama and the Minister are billed to travel to Singapore to inspect and name the new FBSO.

Ghana already has two FPSOs, the FBSO Kwame Nkrumah and the FPSO Professor John Evans Atta Mills which are producing oil from the Jubilee and TEN Fields.

The TEN fields, presently adding about 35,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) is expected to ramp up to 80,000 bopd.

The Jubilee field remains steady in production despite challenges with a cumulative production from the field as at September, being approximately 181 million barrels of oil and 41 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas exported to the Gas processing plants and about 80 mmscfd supplied to power plants to generate electricity.

Addressing the media at the meet-the-press- series in Accra, Mr Buah said the cost of the FBSO under construction is about US$1.2 billion. The installation of the various subsea infrastructure and equipment is currently on-going, whilst the OCTP Field is expected to produce 45,000bdp of oils commencing first quarter 2017 and 180 mmscfd in the first half of 2018.

With the two FBSOs in place, a third one in the offing, and a number of projects at the appraisal and development levels, Ghana is poised to become one of the major oil producers in sub-Sahara Africa, Mr Buah said.

Source: GNA






Story from Sebastian R. Freiku

An ultra-modern administration block has been commissioned for the Bosome-Freho District Assembly by the Vice President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.

He also commissioned a modern office complex for the District Education Directorate at Asiwa, the district capital.

Kwame Adarkwah, District Chief Executive (DCE), for the area, who is also the parliamentary candidate for the National democratic congress (NDC), highlighted some of the development projects achieved in the district since 2009, and promised to do more when given the mandate to represent the constituents in Parliament.

He appealed to the government to upgrade the Asiwa Health Centre to the status of a district hospital.

The DCE also appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. John Kudalor, and the government to consider posting more security personnel to the area, to beef up security, as well as provide logistics to enhance their operations.

Nana Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyesuo II, Paramount Chief of the Kokofu Traditional area, commended the government and the Bosome-Freho District Assembly for the many development projects in the area.

The Omanhene noted that the poor road network is a major challenge, and appealed to the government to consider tarring the roads from Bekwai to Asiwa, and the one linking the New Edubiase and Asiwa, to make them more motorable.
I will criticize the president but of course, I will not use the kind of language that I used to employ before; Im changing the strategy because Ive realized that Im not going to walk the walk of NDC and Im not going to talk the talk of the NDC. Instead, Im going to walk the walk of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and talk the talk of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, which is total respect for human rights and the president (Fadi Dabbousi)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Alas, high quality or good leaders are hard to come by these days. For one thing, Akufo-Addo has successfully graduated from Kume Preko to All-Die-Be-Die via staged political intrigues, yet, for another, he is not, purely in philosophical and diplomatic and political terms, strategically and tactically astute as Frantz Fanon.

This is why the party under his questionable leadership has been reduced to a mere village of infighting village and useful idiots, individuals Arthur Kennedy had referred to as obsequious lackeys and sycophants around the three-time flagbearer, with physical and verbal, or rhetorical, violence as the ethnocentric partys newfound political philosophy.

Dabbousis journalistic writings exemplify the concept of rhetorical violence.

And of course violence does not pay. It is the noble concept of consensus building through the elective franchise that one can, of course, truly gain access to the highest office in the land, the executive presidencysince our duopolistic executive dominance derives its power of constitutional morality from popular sovereigntysupposedly.

Popular sovereignty exercises more institutional power than rhetorical violence, of the kind represented by the emotional casuistry of Dabbousis journalistic writings and of Akufo-Addos All-Die-Be-Die.

Akufo-Addo, it also appears, has not learnt anything of value from the repeated political failures of his close relative, the well-known fifth columnist J.B. Danquah, Ghanas version of Americas Benedict Arnold who tried but failed miserably to win the hearts and minds of the masses through terrorism and other diabolical forms of violence.

Let us listen to the Machiavellian Akufo-Addo:

What I regret is that at the time, I didnt use the occasion to explain what had happened because its been twisted as if I was saying something tribalistic, or I was saying something warlike and provocative.

On the contrary, that is not what I was saying. So to that extent, yes I regret the uproar, which it caused, but I think that even more regretful is the inability to explain what it is that I was saying. So yes, I do regret it.

Here was Akufo-Addos belated regret for using the All-Die-Be-Die mantra and why he it may have cost him the 2012 presidential elections. While Akufo-Addo was patently unclear as to what he actually had wanted to say, his journalistic or rhetorical terrorist Dabbousi offers a better explanation of the controversy after his fateful release from the BNIs claustrophobic cage:

From my point of view, I did not mean anything evil, but unfortunately some form of inference was made that did not go down well with some people and based on that I apologized and I dont mind doing that again

Next, he, Dabbousi, spoke as if he was unveiling the hidden Machiavellian intentions of Akufo-Addo:

Even that, I picked information from sources there were already available, I do not regret. However, I do regret the insinuation of evil that people might have inferred the compendium of information that I had put together.

Both men trying so hard to run away from their rhetorical indiscretions, which are already indelibly stuck in their lying throats, by imputing their diplomatic and rhetorical mishaps to an invisible forest inhabited by insidious trees of people.

But who these people are is still unknown!

It turns out, ironically, that these malicious or insidious trees of people are Dabbousi and Akufo-Addo themselves!

They have no guilty conscience because having one will mean submitting to the moral verdict of self-guilt!

Indeed, some of Dabbousis articleparticularly the politico-religious onesoverlook the pacifist arm of the morality of violence.

Instead, he implicitly and disingenuously advances the utilitarian facet of the morality of violence.

As a subtle form of intellectual or psychological violence therefore, this formulaic ergotism of his creates a heightened temperature within the immanent infrastructure of intellection, especially in the case of those who are less informed on strategies and tactics of public policy, statecraft, political economy and international relations, and political intelligence.

Yet, dancing around their exposed forests of lies is what they hope to carry into political office if the elections go their way. They lie nakedly and at the speed of light and when caught in their stinking vomits of lies they have the temerity to blame it on varnishing forests of invisible dancing shadows.

It is much like human beings who just refuse to accept their infallibilities but rather choose to unpack them [infallibilities] on the Devil who, of all things transcendentally mysterious, has been so kind to accept this projection of mortal infallibility without asking for anything in return.

And their support base of village and useful idiots, obsequious lackeys and sycophants cheer them on. Now we can understand why Kennedy Agyapong called every member of his party, a party of which Akufo-Addo is also a respected member and its current presidential candidate, stupid fool.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

It looks like everybody needs to do due diligence and double check on information before putting it out there or writing articles (Fadi Dabbousi)

The lack of a critical reading public in our body politic is probably why we have not had an effective strategic and tactical critical mass to challenge the status quo since the enemies of Africa overthrew the progressive government of Kwame Nkrumah, a great man of unvarnished truths and honesty.

The idea here is not to evaluate critical readers on the comparative strength of numbers alone per se, but rather to reinforce the idea of the high caliber of pre- and post-independence leaders who read critically and voraciously, thought analytically because they wanted to change the world they lived in.

It is as though Nkrumahs efforts and sterling achievements have made us lazy, or that the vigorous pursuits of development sociology, selflessness, social justice, scientific and technological advancement are uninspiring efforts.

It appears the extreme nature of our party politics, the declining intellectual quality of our journalism, materialism, mass illiteracy and poverty have numbed our collective critical consciousness as a people.

Of course, we can understand that politics is not for men and women of conscience. Nkrumah was and still is the only certified exception in a rare pantheon of great leaders, a man from whose pores liberally oozed an inviting aroma of patriotism, selflessness, and uncompromising love for and appreciation of his people, the masses. Those were the days when our leaders tended to use their heads and parietal eyes.

Ours today is a fools paradise where the illogical buffoonery of stomach politics defines, shapes and controls human psychology insofar as political expression is concerned.

Our politics has become a fools paradise of unconscionable men and women who only aspire to political office just to destroy a resourceful nation Nkrumah built and nurtured, while grossly misusing its [the countrys] abundant resources and wealth.

A strong nation once built by conscionable men and women is now hijacked by a select group of Eurocentric fools, clinical anti-Afrocentric buffoons, monstrous little devils, and vampiric green ogres and ogresses whose members variously go by the following nominal addresses: politician, journalist, imam and pastor and prophet, parliamentarian, presidential advisor, serial caller, Honorable, Council of State member, legal luminary, His Excellency President..., Her/His Ladyship/Lordship, ace journalist A sad turn of events for posteritygenerations yet unborn.

In sum, our leaders of today are political satires with no bones of seriousness in them.

What is more, the word or name Fadi which some sources point to as meaning savior or redeemer may have theophoric connotations as well as redeeming qualities for Ghana.

We are not certain about these, however. We also are not certain if Dabbousi is here to redeem or save Akufo-Addos seemingly dying political career before relapsing into another vegetative state.

What we do know, and certainly of course, is that Dabbousi sees himself primarily as Ghanas hoped-for harbinger, as it were here to prepare the coming of the savior or redeemer himself, Akufo-Addo, a politico-economic postmillennialist.

Unfortunately, his yellow or fa di journalism, where fa di literally or roughly translates as take and eat in Twi, is probably doing the exact opposite for his unannounced savior thereby leading to further corruption of the public mind, of Akufo-Addos waiting-in-vain political career, and of the industry of journalism itself.

Dabbousi is in for a tortuous journey of self-discovery of sorts, which rather starts with redeeming his attack, adversarial journalism before it begins turning potential Akufo-Addo voters away.

Regardless, the fact remains notwithstanding the above reservations that Dabbousis bad journalism is a true reflection of our divisive and unproductive politics, of our political immaturity as a people, as well as of the general poor state of journalism in Ghana today.

A lot of work needs to be done in order to reverse this negative trend in the journalism industry!

We shall return with Part 3.

REFERENCES

Ghanaweb. Im Not ScaredFadi Dabbousi. September 27, 2016.

Fadi Dabbousi. I Am Not Charlie and I Am a Proud Muslim. Ghanaweb. March 12, 2015.

Express News Service. Fatwa against A R Rahman and Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi for film on Prophet. September 11, 2015. Retrieved from http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/fatwa-against-a-r-rahman-majid-majidi-for-film-on-prophet/

The True Statesman. Kill All Ewes in The Ashanti RegionKennedy Agyapong. April 16, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Kill-All-Ewes-in-The-Ashanti-Region-Kennedy-Agyapong-236095

Ghanaweb. Fadi Dabbousis Write-ups on Mahama Hugely OffensiveKweku Baako. October 1, 2016.

Ghanaweb. Nana Begs Kennedy Agyapong To Shut Up. September 10, 2016.

Akufo-Addos Regret of All-Die-Be-Die Comment Hopeful for His Political Career. April 20, 2015. Starrfmonline.com

Ghanaweb. My Articles about Mahama Were Without MaliceDaboussi. October 2, 2016.

Katakyie Kwame Opoku Agyemang. Call Hon. Ken. Agyapong To Order; He's Our Bane To Victory. Ghanaweb. September 14, 2015

Ghanaweb. Who Is A Comedian Than YouAgya Koo Fires Akua Donkor. October 4, 2016.
07.10.2016 LISTEN

A picture of the flagbearer of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet drinking coconut water has begun circulating on social media.

This comes barely two days after a picture of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sipping a Kalyppo fruit juice on his campaign tour went viral on Facebook starting what has become #Kalyselfie.

Some functionaries of the party and supporters in their attempt to solidarise with their leader have taken up the challenge, circulating their pictures while taking the drink.

With the CPP leader clutching onto the coconut, Myjoyonline.com asks if this will generate a #Coconutselfie among supporters of the party.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
Some individuals from nine African countries will gather in Cote dIvoire to discuss and agree on a shared regional framework for the responsible production of palm oil in the region.

The workshop which starts from October 6 - 7, will bring together representatives from the public and private sector, civil society and local groups as part of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020s (TFA 2020) Africa Palm Oil Initiative.

The Africa Palm Oil Initiative Regional Workshop is being organized by Proforest on behalf of TFA 2020 and in collaboration with the Government of Cote dIvoire, Solidaridadand REDD+at theTiama Hotel in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire.

The principal aim of the workshop is to finalise the text of the Regional Accord, as well as the further dialogue around key issues and a review of lessons learned from the process.

Building on the rapid and substantial progress at national and regional levels, the regional process is now focused on preparing the Regional Accord to be signed by Ministers from the nine countries during the annual UN Climate Conference (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.

The TFA 2020 Africa Palm Oil Initiative aims to achieve a prosperous palm oil industry: one which provides jobs and wealth to local communities in a way that is environmentally and socially sustainable and protects the rich tropical forests of the region.

This is expected to be achieved through developing and implementing a set of regional principles for responsible oil palm development that balance rural development and domestic economic growth and at the same time protect forests on a large scale.

The outcomes can be transforming: protecting critical natural resources (e.g. intact primary forest landscapes, peatland, riparian areas and biodiversity corridors), delivering economic and social benefits for smallholder farmers and local communities, and recognizing and respecting the community and the indigenous peoples rights.

The regional workshop will bring together partner countries who are at different stages of the process from Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Cote dIvoire, Ghana, and Liberia have already developed national principles for the responsible production of palm oil for their countries and are finalizing action plans (roadmaps) to implement these principles on the ground.

About the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA 2020)

The Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA 2020) is a global public-private partnership in which partners take voluntary action, individually and in combination, to reduce the tropical deforestation associated with the sourcing of commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef and paper and pulp.

TFA 2020 is in a unique position to foster cross-sector collaboration based on a common and ever-deeper understanding of the barriers and opportunities linked to deforestation-free supply chains.

Its greatest offering is a partnership of champions for deforestation-free global and local economies, making the case for sustainable supply chains as an essential pathway towards a better economy and achievement of the Global Goals.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com
Four compound houses were on Friday October 7, torched in the Nyanshegu community of the Tamale Metropolitan area, following some rioters attempt to lynch alleged witches in the area.

The rioters went on rampage on suspicion that some alleged witches were terrorizing and killing the youth of the community.

The rapid response unit of a combined military and police patrol team, foiled the rioters plan to lynch some of the alleged witches.

The Tamale Metropolitan Area Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Wisdom Lovoea, told Citi News two suspects were arrested.

He said the suspects would be detained to assist the police in their investigations.

He said a temporary police post would be established at the flashpoint to guarantee the alarmed residents maximum security.

Chief Superintendent Wisdom Lovoea, called for peaceful coexistence ahead of the December 7 polls.

He reaffirmed the police administrations determination to safeguard the nations peace and stability before, during and after the December polls.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Some depositors of defunct Microfinance Company, DKM Diamond are urging the Registrar General to make good on her pledge to commence their repayment by the second week of October.

The Official Liquidator rescheduled the refund process from this week to next week because of logistical challenges the auditors; Price WaterHouse Coopers have encountered in the processing of claims for payment.

The depositors have expressed dismay over the development - citing the economic hardship they have faced over the last year.

The Registrar-Generals Department under the Ministry of Justice was engaged by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to handle the liquidation processes of DKM after scores of Ghanaians lost millions of cedis after the microfinance company run into financial challenges.

The company was alleged to have invested about GH77 million of its customers deposits in its subsidiary companies  DKM Airlines Company, DKM Fuel Station, DKM Transport, DKM Shea Butter Company and DKM Mining Company, among others.

Millions of cash deposited by the customers were locked up, following the BoGs move in 2015 to stop the company, including others from operating over concerns that there were violating the microfinance regulations.

The repayment process for depositors of defunct DKM Diamond Microfinance Company was deferred to the second week of October.

This is due to logistical challenges the auditors, Price Water House Coopers have encountered in the processing of claims for payment.

The Registrar Generals Department is, therefore, unable to commence the repayment process in the first week of October as it initially announced at the Creditors meetings in Bolga, Wa and Sunyani.

The Registrar General, Jemima Oware has however reiterated, they are doing everything possible to avert any further delays.

Some depositors tell JOY BUSINESS, they would hold the Registrar General to her words.

"We don't want them to come out and say this day we are going to pay you, and this day we are not going to pay you,"One of the depositors told JOY BUSINESS.

He said they should be certain about the payment so the Registrar must plan well.

Another depositor said he hopes that by the time they get back to them, all the necessary correction would have been done so they can effect the payments and not go promising again.

"Our rents are due, children's school fees has to be paid so we are pleading with them to fast track their work and pay us our monies," he said.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com | Joy Business
The two major political parties in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have intensified their political campaigns with just about 60 days to this year's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The candidates for the two parties as part of their activities, have visited various communities where they interacted with the chiefs and local people.

Significant happenings on these visits include endorsement of candidates by chiefs, although the constitutions frowns on the act, as chiefs are not to be involved in active politics.

The NDC's President John Mahama, who is seeking re-election for a second term in office, has so far been endorsed by various Chiefs in the Eastern, Northern and Brong Ahafo regions.

Sunyani Chief assures Mahama of 80% votes

In October 2015, the Chief of Sunyani, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri, said President Mahama should expect to secure at least 80 per cent of the total votes in the Brong Ahafo Region come December 2016.

According to him, the President is guaranteed of the maximum votes from the region because of what he described as satisfactory', the level of development brought to the area by the NDC government.

I was surprised that the people of the Eastern Region promised President Mahama 50 percent of the votes but I am promising that we will give the president 80 percent of the total votes in the region, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri said.

Kukurantumi Chief guarantees Mahama 50% votes

The chief of Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region, is also reported to have assured President Mahama of 50 per cent of the total votes in the region.

In November 2015, while on a tour in the Northern Region, some Chiefs in the Northern Region endorsed President Mahama's candidature for a second presidential term.

Northern Regional House of Chiefs Prez declare support for Mahama

Affirming their support, the President of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, Nayire Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai, prayed for the President to retain the seat .

We passionately pray that almighty God and our ancestral skins will support and back you to achieve your desired aim of continuing to be the president of the Republic of Ghana come 2016, he said.

Nayire Naa Abdulai made the declaration over the weekend when President Mahama visited the area as part of his #ChangingLives tour ahead of the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) primaries on November 21.

Omanhene of Yeji endorses Mahama

While on a campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo region this week, President Mahama received the endorsement of the Omanhene of Yeji , Nana Pemapin Yaw Kagbrese on Tuesday [Ocotber 4], for a second term in office.

The chief, who doubles as the President of the Brong Ahafo regional house of chiefs called on Ghanaians to vote massively for the president in the December polls.

Nana Pemapin Yaw Kagbrese, who was addressing a gathering of elders and people of Yeji when President John Mahama visited the area as part of his Brong Ahafo regional tour, said the President had achieved a lot in his first term of office in spite of the numerous challenges he faced.

Chief of Bassa endorses Mahama

The chief of Bassa, Nana Owusu Sekyi III, in the Brong Ahafo Region, also endorsed the candidature of President John Mahama ahead of the 2016 elections.

Speaking at a rally during a campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo Region by the President, the Bassa paramount chief hailed the NDC government's achievements in the last four years despite the challenges of the election petition in 2013.

We will not be able to list all the NDC government has done for this community. Although they haven't constructing all the roads, we can clearly see that they are in the process of doing so. He used just three years to do all this because the first year was marred with the court saga so we congratulate him, he said The Bassa chief also lauded the achievements of the NDC in the education sector as he said the President had done a lot in the education sector by providing a lot of infrastructure for us.

Odumase Chief endorses Mahama

The Chief of Odumase No. 1, Nana Kwasi Yeboah, while addressing a gathering of people when President Mahama paid a courtesy call on him this week at his Palace, said the NDC government's achievements in the last four years has been very impressive, and called on Ghanaians to extend President Mahama's mandate .

We do not need to make noise about it, all the projects we are seeing bears testimony to his [Mahamas] good works. We are solidly behind you Mr President.

Tuobodom Chief declares support for Mahama

Earlier in July this year, the Chief of Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Obeng Ameyaw Barimah II, declared his support for flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo.

The Tuobodomhene, who was confident of an Akufo-Addo victory in the elections, explained that, in this world, it is only those who embark on good missions who are encouraged and supported.

Nana Obeng Ameyaw Barimah II who also doubles as the Akyempemhene of the Techiman Traditional Council made the endorsement on when Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on him at his Palace as part of the flagbearer's campaign tour of the region.

Volta Chief endorses Mahama

Nana Saafo Attara II, the Adontenhene of the Dodo Traditional area in the Volta region gave a resounding endorsement to President John Mahama during his 'Accounting to the People' of the Volta Region.

According to the chief, his endorsement is a universal reflection of what others in the Volta Region felt, People in Accra and the bigger cities who claim, we the people in this part of the Volta region can sit there and do their politics. We here can feel the impact and we appreciate what President John Mahama has done for us

Paramount Chief of the Tumu endoreses Mahama

The Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, endorsed the '1-District-1-Factory' and the '1-Village-1-Dam' policies of the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Akufo-Addo with Kuoro the Tumu Chief, Richard Babini Kanton VI

According to him, we have been following governments, since time immemorial, and, still, we have not gotten a dam. So I believe that if you give us a dam, it will really help us so much. And we are looking forward to you coming to office, so you give us a dam.

Garu Chief backs Nana Addo's presidential bid

Nana Akufo-Addo was also endorsed by the Chief of Garu, Naba Asuguru Akuntam Wini, who declared his support for the NPP flagbearer in this year's elections.

According him, the NPP has a rich history of delivering on its electoral promises, and is no doubt that voting for Nana Akufo-Addo will only bring progress and prosperity to his people.

Our problem, in the past, was a district. President Kufuor, before the 2000 elections, came here and told us that if he won the election, it will be done. True to his word, the creation of the district was done. When NPP promises you something, it will be done. Thanks to his Excellency, President Kufuor, for giving us the district, he said.

Chief of Bawku declares victory for Akufo-Addo

The Chief of Bawku, Naba Asigiri Azoka Abugrago II, on the visit of NPP flagbearer Nana Akufo-Add said this is the proper endorsement I want to make. God willing this year, you will get what you want and become the President of Ghana.

The flagbearer had visited his palace as part of his campaign tour of the Upper East region.

'Report Chiefs involved in politics'

Meanwhile, the Minister for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Henry Seidu Danaa, is urging persons concerned about Chiefs endorsing presidential aspirants despite the act being unlawful, to report to them to their respective Regional House of Chiefs to have the issues addressed.

According to him, the constitution frowns on traditional rulers mounting political platforms or displaying party paraphernalia.



By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Hague (AFP) - The Netherlands on Friday announced it was extending its contribution to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali for another year, but will pull out its helicopters and crews.

"We have decided to continue the Mali mission, but with a reduced capacity," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters at his weekly press conference, adding the "Dutch helicopters will be withdrawn."

The Netherlands has been contributing to the UN stabilisation mission in the west African nation since April 2014, and has reportedly deployed up to 400 troops, as well as four Apache helicopters and three Chinooks.

Earlier this year two Dutch UN peacekeepers were accidentally killed and one wounded in an explosion during a training exercise at their camp in northwest Mali.

A total of 290 Dutch troops will be left behind in Mali once the helicopters are withdrawn in early 2017, Rutte and officials said.

The Dutch mission remains "important to contribute to peace, was well as for stability in the Sahel region and thus the security of Europe," Rutte added.

The Dutch troops have already been transferring some tasks in and those remaining will focus on collecting and analysing information, as well as long range reconnaissance, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The UN mission MINUSMA was deployed in Mali in July 2013 as part of an international effort against jihadist groups which overran the country's northern territory. More than 11,000 UN police and military are currently serving there, attempting to guarantee security in lawless swathes of the vast Sahel nation.

Although they were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013, extremist groups still pose a threat.

And the north continues to be beset by violence having fallen under the control of Tuareg-led rebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.

Although peace has been restored in parts of Mali "it remains fragile and the work is not yet done," the ministry said.

Mali also faces threats from "terrorism and transnational crime" while the exodus of migrants is a source of "instability on Europe's southern flank," it added.
Paris (AFP) - French investigators have reopened their probe into the 1994 genocide-triggering assassination of a Rwandan president to question a dissident general who has accused the country's current head of state of orchestrating the killing, AFP learnt Friday.

After a French-crewed plane carrying Juvenual Habyarimana was shot down with a missile on April 6, 1994, a campaign targeting Rwanda's Tutsi population was unleashed. Within 100 days, some 800,000 people had been slaughtered.

The Rwandan former (1994-2002) army chief of staff whom French investigating magistrates want to question, Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, lives in exile in South Africa, where he has survived at least two attempts on his life.

He is the subject of a previous French arrest warrant and has also been sentenced to 24 years in jail by a Rwandan court.

Like President Paul Kagame, he was a founder member of the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which took power in the central African country in late 1994, putting an end to the genocide.

In a notarised deposition submitted to the French investigation in June this year, Nyamwasa denied witness testimony that tied him to the shooting down of Habyarimana's plane, and said Kagame had instigated the attack, which also claimed the life of the then president of Burundi.

In his deposition, which AFP has seen, Nyamwasa said that on April 6, 1994 he heard Kagame himself say that "Habyarimana's plane was brought down by our own (RPF) forces".

The deposition led French investigating magistrates to formally ask South Africa for its cooperation in having Nyamwasa questioned, according to case sources.

Dead ends

The French investigation had been effectively closed in 2014 and again in January this after previous requests to South Africa for cooperation came to nothing.

In 2006, Rwanda cut diplomatic ties with France after the investigating magistrate then in charge of the case issued arrest warrants for several people close to Kagame, including Nyamwasa.

Seven of them, including all those named in Nyamwasa's deposition, were later charged in France but have since called for the cases against them to be dropped.

A lawyer for the seven dismissed the latest move by the investigating magistrates as "yet another delaying tactic designed to put off the inevitable dismissal" of the cases and to derail Kagame's bid for a third term in next year's presidential election.

Kagame's camp maintains that the testimony given to French investigators by expert witnesses -- which identified an area held by Habyarimana's presidential guard as the most likely place from which the missile was fired -- is evidence of his innocence.

Kagame has long maintained that Habyarimana was killed by Hutu hardliners unhappy with the concessions the then president was making during negotiations with the RPF rebels.

Kigali has also repeatedly accused Paris of having a hand in the genocide and of being slow to prosecute some of its kingpins living in France.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

Pakistan intends to strengthen relations with Azerbaijan in various fields, to raise their level from friendly relations to strong economic partnership, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Oct. 7 at the meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador to the country Ali Alizade.

The development of trade and business relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan is a priority for the country, said the prime minister.

Nawaz Sharif congratulated the Azerbaijani diplomat on his appointment as ambassador to Pakistan and assured Alizade of full support during the period of his activity in the country and expressed confidence that his stay in Pakistan will be successful and fruitful.

The Azerbaijani ambassador thanked the Pakistani prime minister and expressed confidence that the bilateral relations between the two countries will further deepen due to the joint efforts of the both sides.

Political relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are at a high level. Both countries have always supported each other on the international arena. Pakistan supports Azerbaijan's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, condemning the aggressive policy of Armenia.

Pakistan was the first country to adopt a resolution, which strongly condemns the genocide committed by Armenian Armed Forces against the civilian population of Azerbaijans Khojaly town, and to urge the international community to force Armenia fulfill the UN Security Council resolutions.

On February 1, 2012, the Senate of Pakistan recognized the events in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly as genocide.

Pakistan fully supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, and Islamabad hasnt recognized Armenia as an independent state yet in connection with the occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

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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Follow the author on Twitter: @Asebaa
The World Bank President says he does not think Ghana and other African countries with high debt levels are at risk of falling into debt distress or Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) category.

Jim Young Kim was responding to a question about how the rising debt levels of some African countries, especially for those that have exited HIPC risk of falling into that category again or debt distress.

But speaking at press conference at the Annual International Monetary Fund (IMF)/WORLD Bank meetings in Washington DC, Friday, Mr Jim said the debt to GDP ratios in these countries including Ghana is pretty reasonable.

You know we are not there yet because some of these countries are having their debt levels at about 50 percent, but there is still many countries that are below this mark in terms of debt to GDP ratio, he said.

He added that what the World Bank is doing now is to try and focus on creating asset classes like infrastructure that will require relative less indebtedness and really bring private sector investments into these countries adding, we are watching the debt levels very closely.

The World Bank president said when it comes to the debt levels in these African countries I am not yet concerned that we are reaching a debt crises level, certainly not Sub-Saharan Africa, but we have to watch it.

The IMF in its latest fiscal report is forecasting an end of year debt-to-GDP of 66 percent for Ghana by December 2015.

The IMF last year classified Ghana as being at risk of high debt distress. According to the Bank of Ghanas, the countrys debt to GDP as at June reached GH110 billion, representing 66 percent of the economys value.

According to IMFs HIPC initiative and MDRI statistical update, Ghana reached a decision point on the HIPC on February 2002 and completion point in July 2004.

The IMF and World Bank launched the HIPC Initiative in 1996, with the aim of ensuring that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage.

Since then, the international financial community, including multilateral organizations and governments have worked together to reduce to sustainable levels the external debt burdens of the most heavily indebted poor countries.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com | George Wiafe | Joy Business Editor | Washington DC
Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - The drama at an Accra District Court when it ordered the Police to send a lost but found ram to the Osu Children Home if its owner could not be traced by close of work on Friday.

The court presided over by Mr Stephen Owusu cautioned the Police to ensure that the ram does not find its way into another person's cooking pot.

The court gave the orders when Kofi Asante a 45-year old porter was arraigned for stealing a ram in front of Sikkens Ghana Limited on the Graphic Road on September 16.

Asante had pleaded with the court to have mercy on him after pleading guilty to stealing the ram whose owner could not be traced.

He said he saw the ram roaming and decided to steal it. Asante said when he was caught by witnesses he told them that it was a woman who gave him the ram for safe keeping.

According to him if he had not told the witnesses that, they would have taken the ram from him.

Asante pleaded not guilty before a different court and was therefore admitted to bail. However he could not fulfil the bail condition and was put before a new judge.

The accused told the court that he would go back to his hometown at Akroaso in the Eastern Region to farm without any hesitation if he is discharged.

Considering the fact that he was a first offender, the court asked him to sign a bond to be of good behaviour for two years in default pay GH1,200.00.

A lawyer who acted as a friend of the court prayed the court to have mercy on him.

Detective Inspector Seth Ofori told the court that the ram was in the custody of the Police.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Albert Nkrumah, GNA

Koforidua (E/R), Oct 07, GNA - Police officers have been advised to be civil and even-handed in the performance of their duties.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Peterkin Yentumi Gyinae, the Eastern Regional Commander, said that was the way to court public support and cooperation.

He was addressing a meeting with divisional and district commanders, his first, since he took over the regional command.

He asked that they talked their subordinates out of doing anything unethical that could hurt the image of the police.

DCOP Gyinae highlighted the need to effectively monitor and supervise them.

He reminded the commanders to work effectively with other members of the election security task force to assure everybody of adequate security protection.

They should make sure that all qualitied voters exercised their right to vote without fear or intimidation.

GNA
By Josephine Naaeke, GNA

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - A Strategic Plan for Agricultural and Rural Statistics (SPARS) process in Ghana, an offshoot of a global strategy was on Friday launched in Accra.

The global strategy is a framework for improving agriculture and rural statistics to enable countries to meet existing and emerging data needs for policy and decision making, food security and research.

It was adopted in 2010 at a meeting of the United Nations Statistical Commission as a result of the decline in the quantity and quality of agricultural statistics in many countries.

Mrs Marie- Laure Akin-Olugbade, African Development Bank Resident Representative said the strategy is to enable countries to meet existing and emerging data needs for policy and decision making, food security and research.

It is centred on three pillars, the establishment of a minimum core data set, the proper integration of agricultural statistics into the National Statistics System (NSS) and promoting the sustainability of the NSS.

She said the Ghana strategy was as a result of recommendation that countries develop SPARS to ensure the development of a coordinated system meeting national information needs.

Mrs Akin- Olugbade said Ghana is one of the first countries in Africa to embark on the process.

Despite a major source of income on the continent, the agriculture sector is said to have been underperforming over the past 40 to 50 years resulting in high poverty rate and food insecurity relative to other regions of the world.

She noted that under development of value chain in Africa with agribusiness activities outside of the farming, accounting for only 38 per cent total value added compared to 78 per globally.

She said today Africa spends $ 35 billion annually on importing food, which is projected to grow to $110 billion by 2025, if nothing is done about it.

Africa is importing what it should be producing, creating poverty within Africa and exporting what it should be producing, creating poverty within Africa and exporting jobs outside of Africa.

Mr Francis Dzah, Head of Agriculture and Environment said the notion that agriculture is collapsing in the country could not be true if data was available to take accounts of products that were promoted and produced in the country over the years.

He said currently data for only 12 commodities is available, which is used in estimating the agriculture GDP in the country, adding that in 2010 population census it was noted that about 65 agriculture commodities were produced in the country.

Mr Dzah said most these commodities are promoted through the policies of government and high prices commodities such as cashew, soya bean as against the low price commodities like cassava and maize.

Mr Joseph Boamah, Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, who launched the plan said the agriculture sector currently contributes about 20 per cent to GDP and absorbs about 45 per cent of the labour force.

He said from 2006 - 2013, the poverty profile of Ghana remarkably improved both at national level and urban areas.

Mr Boamah said extreme poverty almost halved from 17 per cent to eight per cent while the proportion of people living below the upper poverty line decreased from 32 per cent to 24 per cent.

He said however rural households are almost four times more likely to be classified as poor as and eight times more likely to be extreme poor than urban households.

Mr Sidney Nii Oko Bampoe Addo, National Strategy Coordinator, said the strategy aims among other things at improving policy, statistical infrastructure and data development and management.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - A lawyer defending two suspects in the murder of J. B Danquah, MP for Abuakwa, has prayed a District court to compel the Police to provide him with medical report on Daniel Asiedu's age.

Mr Augustine Obuor noted that when Asiedu was arrested he told the Police that he was 18 years old but the Police disagreed.

According to Mr Obuor due to that the Police took Daniel Asiedu to the Police Hospital to undergo a bone test and so ought to provide his medical form in court.

Defence Counsel explained that the medical report is vital to the proceeding before the court.

He said the report indicated that the accused was a minor and so there would be no need to appear in court.

However counsel said if the report indicated otherwise, it would give Asiedu the opportunity to prepare for his defence during the committal proceeding and the trial.

'If the accused person is 18 years he is still a young offender and needs to enjoy certain rights under the Juvenile Justice Act. The prosecution is bound to provide documents per the procedure of the trial,' he said.

Superintendent of Police Francis Baah said Asiedu did not tell the Police that he was 18 years during his arrest.

He said the Police had done wide range of investigations and their outcome indicates that Asiedu was not 18 years old.

According to the prosecution the Police had gone to Nigeria where he attended school, the hospital where Asiedu was born, looked through his weighing card and talked to his father and other relations.

He said prosecution did not have to serve the defence with a piece meal adding as at the time Asiedu was 'writing his statement the age he gave us was 19'.

Mr Baah said the medical report confirmed that Asiedu was above 18 year old.

The court adjourned the matter to October 19 for continuation of submissions on Asiedu's Medical report.

Asiedu aka Sexy Dondon and Vincent Bosso are also being held for murder of the Late MP, which occurred on February 9, at his Shaishie residence.

Bosso has been charged with abetment of crime to wit murder and together with Asiedu, their pleas were not been taken.

The facts as presented by Mr Baah are that on February 8, at about 2340 hours the deceased came home in his private vehicle driven by his driver Samuel Berko Sarkodie.

Prosecution said the driver having brought his master home handed over the ignition keys to him and left for his residence at Kasoa while the deceased then retired to his bedroom upstairs.

He said at about 0100 hrs, Asiedu and Bosso, both armed, went to the house of the deceased and Asiedu after entering the house picked up a ladder and climbed to the porch of the top floor and entered the bedroom of the deceased through the window while the deceased was sleeping.

'Asiedu began to search the room and the deceased woke up and held him. Asiedu resisted and stabbed the deceased on the right chest above the breast. The deceased held the knife and Asiedu pulled the knife through the deceased hands creating a deep cut in his palm, 'prosecution said.

Prosecution said the deceased who was bleeding profusely fell by his bed helpless and Asiedu stabbed him several times on the right chest and neck.

Realizing that the deceased was almost dead, Asiedu left him and took away his three iphones.

The prosecutor said the struggle that ensued between the deceased drew the attention of the security man who alerted other security men within the vicinity

Mr Baah said Bosso realising danger took to his heels leaving Asiedu behind.

Asiedu, however, managed to descend from deceased room to the back house, climbed one of the poly tanks in the house and jumped over the electric fence into the adjoining house and escaped.

He said the security man then called the police emergency line and informed them of the situation.

When the Police arrived the victim was already dead and his body was conveyed the Police Hospital mortuary.

On February 15, an autopsy was performed on the deceased body by a Pathologist from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital who gave the cause of death as '' Exsanguination and multiple stab injuries on anterior and chest.'

Prosecution said Police investigations led to the arrest of accused persons who stated that their aim of going to the deceased house was to steal.

The prosecutor said Asiedu explained that deceased struggled with him when he entered the room and this compelled him to use the knife on him.

GNA
By Stephen Asante/Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA

Kumasi, Oct. 7, GNA - African Enterprise, a Pan-African Christian Organisation, is to engage political party leaders and youth activists to sensitise them to remain committed to ensuring peaceful polls in Ghana, this year.

'It is our believe that the nation, having successfully gone through six major electioneering has what it takes to pass the seventh test, but a lot will depend on the key players', Reverend Dr Stephen Mbogo, the International Team Leader and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), stated.

The meeting, he explained, would seek to review and analyse elections in other African countries, as well as the challenges associated with them and role of stakeholders in building a more credible electoral system.

Rev Mbogo, who was speaking at the launch of 'Kumasi Mission 2016', an evangelistic project aimed at transforming lives of the people, said political stability is what the continent needs to deepen democracy.

The project, being spearheaded by African Enterprise, had brought together a team of missionaries, technocrats and other professionals across Africa, and would meet a cross section of the public to mentor them to be successful in their fields of endeavour.

Other activities planned as part of the event include a peace walk, visit to the prisons and clean-up exercise.

Rev Mbogo said it is about time that Africans take their own destiny into their hands, and be determined to do things the right way to help build a more prosperous society.

Rev Dr Nii Amoo Darku, a member of the National Peace Council, noted that peace has no substitute, and for this reason, the people must avoid behaviours that have the tendency to spark political turmoil.

Rev Dr Kofi Amfo-Akonnor, an official of the Christian Council of Ghana, assured of the support of churches for the programme to achieve its desired objectives.

The churches, he said, would not relent in proclaiming the Gospel at all levels to salvage the society from evil deeds. GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Joyce Danso, GNA

Accra Oct. 7, GNA - A District Court hearing the case of Braimah Kamoko, aka Bukom Banku, a boxer, over charges of assault and causing unlawful damage has struck out the charges following an amicable settlement of the matter.

'Charges were misdemeanour and I therefore endorsed the settlement brokered by the accused person and the complainant. Charges are here by struck out,' the court presided over by Mr Stephen Owusu said.

When the matter was called today the court drew the attention of the accused person's lawyer Jerry Avernogbor that there was a letter from complainant, Ms Martha Nelson praying for a discontinuation of matter following settlement.

According to the court charges though criminal, they were not aggravated adding that under the Court's Act settlement is allowed.

Ms Nelson confirmed to the court the letter she had written to the court, saying the accused person had pleaded with her and she had accepted it.

Mr Avernogbor told the court that the settlement was done by families of the accused person and the complainant.

Bukom Banku is alleged to have demanded a kiss from a hairdresser in her shop but she declined.

Following the resistance of Madam Martha Nelson, the complainant, the boxer slapped her twice and punched her in the rib.

The matter was adjourned following the absence of the trial judge.

Bukom Banku allegedly smashed the complainant's Nokia mobile phone valued at GHa 40 saying it was inferior and that he would buy her a Galaxy phone.

The complainant in tears reported the matter to the Police at James Town and Bukom Banku was arrested.

GNA
By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), has signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with 36 lead institutions in the implementation of the National Plan of Action (NPA2).

It is meant for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

The signing of the MOUs with the 36 institutions is to secure their commitment to carry out their responsibilities and roles as assigned to them in the NPA2.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, said the second phase of the NPA, developed by the Ministry through the National Steering Committee on Child Labour for implementation from 2016 to 2020, was aimed at reducing the reducing the worst forms of child labour to the barest minimum, that is 10 per cent, by 2020.

He said the growing incidence of child labour in Ghana is a matter of major concern to the country's international partners, especially the United States.

The US registered its disappointment at the handling of the matter during a recent trip to that country by the Minister of Employment.

He gave the assurance that Ghana is committed to the fight against all forms of child labour and is putting in measures to tackle the phenomenon, which is pervasive in various sectors, especially the cocoa sector.

He said the Ministries of Employment and Labour Relations, Interior, Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice are the lead agencies in the fight against child labour and would work in a coordinated manner to end child labour.

Mr Iddrisu stated that as part of the moves to address child labour and related issues, the Domestic Workers Regulations Bill has been signed and would be laid before Parliament when it reconvenes.

The Ministry has also mandated the Chief Labour Officer at the Ministry to deal with unlicensed recruitment agencies, who tend to recruit underage children, especially for domestic work.

He called on stakeholders to show real commitment beyond the NPA2, especially the lead agencies, to end the worst forms of child labour.

Mr James Agalga, Deputy Minister of the Interior, said the Ministry had tasked the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Police Service to increase its investigations into incidence of child trafficking.

He noted that more sensitisation is needed to make people aware of the illegality of child trafficking and child labour, and to facilitate prosecution when arrests are made.

Some stakeholder agencies, including the International Migration Organisation, and the International Cocoa Initiative, underscored the need to address the child labour issue as it affects the future of children in the country and pledged their commitment to support the fight.

Director of Research and Projects at the Ghana Employers Association said there is the need for a holistic approach to tackle child labour that would address both the push and pull factors of child labour.

He also called for increased social dialogue on the matter and also for more funding for the implementation of the NPA2 to ensure its success.

Following the signing of the MOUs, the NPA2 document is expected to be submitted to Cabinet for approval and then printed and launched.

The successful implementation of the NPA2 is also expected to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal No. 8.7.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

By Kwamina Tandoh, GNA

Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - The Centre of Awareness has disclosed that it has found a potential cure for HIV and AIDS following 10 years of research into plant medicines in Ghana.

According to Dr Samuel Ato Duncan, Executive President of the Centre, the drug named COA 72 has been scientifically tested in South Africa and seen to be efficacious and safe for the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

'COA 72 has the potency to smoke virus from their hideout and clear them in the blood stream''

Dr Duncan said this at a presentation on the drug at the Physicians and Surgeons auditorium in Accra.

He said the medicine was first tested in a test tube and later an animal and then on human beings.

He stated that the medicine, COA 72, worked in three days, equivalent to 72 hours, hence the name.

HIV is believed to have originated in west-central Africa during the late 20th century. AIDS was first recognised by the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in 1986 and its cause - HIV infection - was identified in the early part of that decade.

From its discovery and 2014, AIDS has caused an estimated 39 million deaths worldwide.

HIV is spread primarily through unprotected sex (including anal and oral sex), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding.

There is no cure or vaccine for the disease, however, anti-retroviral treatment could slow the course of the disease and may lead to a near-normal life expectancy.

Dr Duncan called on World Health Organisation to support the Centre of Awareness to collaborate with credible Research institutions to conduct proper controlled clinical trials with appropriate international standard for global acceptance of COA.

Mr Johnny Osei, Deputy Chief of Staff said Government would support newly discovered HIV medicine.

He said government would carefully access the efficacy of the drug.

'There are laid down procedures that one goes through when such drugs are discovered. We have requested Dr Duncan to present all documentation to that effect so that government can access it thoroughly and then forward it to science research institutes in the country for further research'.

'If this drug is proven authentic, - that is good news! Government will support it fully to the latter,' he said.

Ms Bandile Mdlalose, a South African user of the Drug who had been cured of the disease in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said she was tested negative after usage of the drug by medical doctors.

The Centre of Awareness is a non-government organisation founded in 1988 but registered as an NGO 2000 to spearhead Global Peace and to address pertinent issues confronting Peace as in the case of HIV and AIDS that has become a global canker.

GNA
07.10.2016 LISTEN

Homedakrom (E/R) Oct. 7, GNA - Apostle Kadmiel Agbalenyoh, Missionary in-charge of the Seventh Day Congregation of Theocracy at Homedakrom has appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC) not to do anything untoward to mar the December 7, elections.

He said the EC should accommodate the political parties 'as a lovely mother' and institute transparent measures to give Ghana absolute peace before, during and after the elections.

Apostle Agbalenyoh made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency when the congregation celebrated their Feast of Tabernacles at its premises at Otiakrom in the Eastern Region.

He called on the ruling National Democratic Congress and the opposition parties to demonstrate political maturity as the country aspires to establish strong and true democratic governance.

He urged the leaders of the political parties and their followers to desist from acts that would destroy the development and prosperity of the nation.

Apostle Agbalenyoh asked religious leaders and their members to pray fervently for peace in the coming presidential and parliamentary elections while urging the people to raise high the flag of Ghana than that of political parties.

He said: 'Truly, political parties will come and go while Ghana our only motherland remains forever and therefore you must pray for peace in Ghana, as commanded in 1st Timothy 1:1-6.'

Speaking on the feast on the theme: 'Called, Chosen and Faithful - Rev. 17:11-14,' the Missionary said those who are called into the faith must be confirmed (chosen) and remain faithful in all circumstances on earth.

He said: 'The saints could not reach faithfulness status without passing through difficult moments - 2nd Timothy 3: 12'

Apostle Agbalenyoh said the Feast of Tabernacles was instituted on Mount Sinai to commemorate the 40 years of wandering of religious ancestors in the wilderness.

He said this has been commanded in Leviticus. 23: 39-43 to celebrate tabernacles so that current generations would acknowledge that Israelites had dwelled in shelters when delivered from the land of Egypt.

He said God (Yahweh) instituted the three historic feast - the feast of Passover, the first of harvest and the feast of ingathering - Exodus 23: 14-16, but they have not been celebrated at their appointed times since AD359.

Apostle Agbalenyoh said: 'Therefore fellow theocrats let us celebrate the feast of tabernacles and all unrighteous acts must be avoided so that God can shower the promised spirit of endurance upon the entire Seventh Day Congregation of Theocracy.'

GNA
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

The latest statement voiced from the US simply supports the occupation policy of Armenia, said Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev.

Ilham Aliyev made the remarks in his opening speech during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to results of socio-economic development in nine months of 2016 and tasks for the future.

You have probably heard and read about the latest statement voiced from the US. Azerbaijani public knows about this as well. To put it mildly, this is a surprising statement. It is at least unfair to put blame on Azerbaijan for the conflict not being resolved, said the president.

How does this statement agree with other statements?! said the president, reminding that there is a thesis that has been several times voiced by the presidents of the US, Russia and France, which says that the status-quo is unacceptable.

We laud this. It is true that no practical work is being conducted despite this thesis, but anyway, the emergence of this thesis is our great success, he said. With the existence of such a serious statement, saying both sides are guilty, the sides are not ready for this, this issue is complicated even more than the Palestine-Israel conflict is simply a support to the occupation policy of Armenia. There is no other explanation for this.

It is true that there are various statements nowadays, they are ripped out of the context and are not understood correctly. We understand everything very well. We live in the age of internet. When something is said somewhere, it immediately echoes. We dont accept such statements, said President Aliyev.

We believe these statements should be corrected soon at the highest level, he added. Otherwise, the mediating mission can be called into doubt.

He also said the statement from the US was a thesis voiced only officially.

There are so many talks behind the closed doors. We face so many pressures for Azerbaijan to give its consent on independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh. We dont announce them, because diplomacy has its own rules, said Ilham Aliyev.

He also mentioned the smear, slander and insult campaigns conducted by the Western media and non-governmental organizations, as well as the instructions given to the fifth column in Azerbaijan to use those campaigns against the country. The president said the reason for all this is to make Azerbaijan give its consent on the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This will never happen. As long as we are governing the country  and the referendum showed that we will govern it for a long time  Azerbaijan will not agree with this. Nagorno-Karabakh is our inseparable historical land and we have to restore our territorial integrity, added President Aliyev.
Accra, Oct. 7 GNA - Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has assured Ghanaians that the government would not do anything to thwart the will of the people in the December 7 elections.

He said the government would respect the rules of engagement without interfering in the work of state institutions that have been assigned responsibilities to ensure free and fair elections

Vice President Amissah-Arthur gave the assurance at the opening of the Socialist International Africa Committee meeting in Accra.

The two-day meeting which is on the theme: 'Advancing our Social Democratic vision in Africa,' is being attended by participants from various African political parties affiliated to the Socialist International.

The Socialist International is the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties.

Currently 24 African political parties are full members of the organisation, with 11 in the consultative stage and eight in the observer status.

Besides, 16 of the member parties of the Social International are in national governments in Africa.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur also stated that though the National Democratic Congress(NDC) is sure of success in this year's elections but the responsibility is to use the victory to pursue fairer world by eliminating poverty and creating opportunities for all to achieve their potential.

He said as social democrats the government cannot relent on its effort to provide greater access to social services and infrastructure to the most vulnerable in the societies.

He said the NDC is also proud of its social democratic credentials and the government's priority is to invest in people especially in the areas of education and health.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur commended Mr Antonio Gutierrez on his nomination as the new UN Secretary General and Mr George Papandreou, President of Socialist International for working to expand the frontiers of the organisation.

He said since the inception of the organisation in 1951 the Association has been very active and membership keeps growing.

He said despite the increasingly globalised world the progressive agenda is relevant and as such the future of the Socialist Movement is assured.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur noted that records show that progressive political parties have positive a record of taking decisions that invests in the most vulnerable of the people.

He expressed the hope that the Socialist International would continue to set the agenda for social equity, growth and development as well as build strong coalitions and alliances.

He said as progressive the Association seeks to advance the interest of the working class in the pursuit of social development.

Mr Papandreou, stated that despite the challenges facing Africa it is steadily coming to its own and making its voice heard on the international arena.

He said African must not look for outside solution for its problem but must device its homegrown policies to liberate the people.

He said investing in the people is the best security that any country could make in the world.

Mr Papandreou also expressed the organisation's support for the victory of the NDC in the December elections.

He called for the equitable distribution of resources for the benefit of all the people in the country.

Mr Luis Ayala, Secretary General of Socialist International called for the fair international trading system for Africa.

He said international community has to work to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the continent.

He also charged progressive governments to formulate policies that would go a long way to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Mr Ayala also stated that despite the challenges Africa has a huge potential in terms of resources for development.

He therefore called for good governance, accountability and inclusive society as well as marginalised groups. GNA
The Vice Chairman of Parliaments Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says a proposal by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to set up the office of Director of Public Prosecutions Unit to combat corruption is a recipe for disaster.

Samuel Atta Akyea says for Ghana to win the corruption fight there would be the need for the establishment of an independent prosecutor office which will not be answerable to the Attorney-General (A-G) who is a government agent.

Speaking at the Joy FMs Ghana Connect programme in collaboration with Oxfam/IMANI, Friday, at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) campus, the legislator said the reason Ghanaians believe the nation is losing the corruption fight is because they are convinced the A-G cannot prosecute people who are part of his/her party.

Do you think you will have an A-G who will prosecute one of his own, he quizzed.

President John Mahama has been criticised by his political opponents and anti-graft groups for what they say is the lethargic way he handles issues of corruption in his government.

They cited governments handling of the corruption in the National Service Scheme in which at least 22,616 non-existent (Ghost names) were paid allowances in more than 100 districts in July 2014. The information came to public knowledge following expose by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

Several NSS officials were found culpable and are standing on trials.

The Auditor-Generals 2014 Audit Report uncovered misappropriation of public funds, fraudulent transfers, illegal payments and receipts of public funds by public officials home and abroad under the auspices of the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA).

The Report found out that 126 staff who could not pass interviews for placement as public officials were migrated as employees of the Agency and were paid a total of 895,536.18 as salaries between November 2012 to December 2013.

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Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected]
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business Vodafone may delay DRHP filing for India IPO by 3-6 months: Srcs Vodafone had earlier planned to file the DRHP post the telecom spectrum auctions, which concluded yesterday. It was the biggest spender in the auctions, surpassing market leader Bharti Airtel and the new Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio.
business We plan to monetise land in next 28-30 months: Time Techno Selling shares to fund construction of commercial property, says Anil Jain, MD of Time Technoplast.
business Piyush Goyal bats for Indian coal over imports and here's why Today, India has the third largest reserves of coal in the world. But the [Indian] coal cannot be used by the most power plants in the country.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

The world in 2016 is experiencing a political and military crisis, said Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev.

Bloody clashes and wars are blazing in various parts of the world, risks and threats are increasing, President Aliyev said in his opening speech in a Cabinet of Ministers meeting, dedicated to the results of socio-economic development in nine months of 2016 and the tasks ahead.

I can say the situation in the Middle East has reached its critical point. The confrontation in the Middle East can lead to a very big catastrophe, because we all see that the situation is gradually exacerbating, he added.

Reminding about Europes migrant crisis, the president said this crisis is present all over the world.

I have repeatedly expressed my thoughts on the migrant crisis, he said. I would like to once again say that the people who want to save their lives are not guilty of anything. Their countries have been destroyed as a result of foreign intervention. Their cities have been razed to the ground, their friends and relatives, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.

They take refuge in Europe to save their lives, the president added. However, in some cases they are met in Europe by barbed wires and cages. And of course, this is, so to say, the feature of this year, and this delivers a huge blow to the inter-civilizational relations.

He added that Azerbaijan has been for many years trying to step up the intercultural dialogue.

Our activity has earned a great respect all over the world. However, unfortunately in various countries the tendency is going in the opposite direction, said Ilham Aliyev.

The president added that today Azerbaijan plays a great role in various international organizations and has earned a great respect.

But where should we integrate? Some, in order to please someone or to justify the donor money, say that we should integrate to Europe. But the question is: what Europe should we integrate in? said the president.

Ilham Aliyev added that even the top leaders of the European Union admit that today there is a deep crisis in Europe.

Should we integrate there? Should we integrate to a crisis? Should we integrate to those who say stop to Muslims? Should we integrate to those who apply double standards on Muslim refugees? Should we integrate to those who keep Muslims in cages? This is the question and we state this all, he said. Therefore, there are sometimes pressures and campaigns against us, slanders are fabricated against us. We should be aware of this reality.

Ilham Aliyev added that Azerbaijan is going its own way and has managed to build very close relations with Europe.

We have signed various documents with the European Union and work is underway on yet another document. The proposal sent to the European Commission on our initiative is currently being discussed, we are negotiating the cooperation format, he added.

The president added that Azerbaijan has signed strategic partnership documents with nine member countries of the European Union.

We have been working in the Council of Europe for 15 years and our positions there strengthen day by day, he said. We have even been able to make a breakthrough in that organization. Majority of the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe already see that there have been injustice and double standards towards us, and, today, the situation has become completely normal.

Therefore, the president added, Azerbaijan has no problems with cooperation.
What happened to the AJ Lucas Group share price?

Shares of AJ Lucas Group Ltd [ASX:AJL] gapped up strongly at market open and briefly broke into a 52-week new high today in early trading.

Why did AJ Lucas shares do this?

Shares broke into new highs on the news of the UK government giving planning consent to test the flow of gas at Cuadrillas Preston New Road exploration site in Lancashire, UK.

The UK government has also advised it is likely to grant consent for a similar application at the Roseacre Wood exploration site pending further consultation.

AJ Lucas has a 46% stake in both exploration sites.

In granting consent, the UK government made use of new powers to overturn the Lancashire County Council, which initially rejected the fracking applications.

What now for AJ Lucas Ltd?

Confirmation of gas flow will make this the largest onshore gas field in the UK.

Its big news for the company. The company share price has been beaten down over the last few years; investors might now start to look at the stock differently.

The economics of the fracking are still uncertain, and will continue to be until a significant amount of exploratory drilling has taken place.

Its still unclear whether the fracked gas will be competitive with the cost of imported gas (imported in tankers most commonly from Qatar).

Clearly there are risks involved. You could watch the chart of the company share price and see how it reacts to the positive news. Should the share price find higher support, it may be one for the watchlist going forward.

Terence Duffy,

Cycles, Trends and Forecasts
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

Vice-president of the International Engineering Academy (MIA), the President of the Azerbaijan Engineering Academy, Academician Arif Pashayev has been awarded the distinction of "Golden Badge of Honor" and the Diploma of the International Engineering Academy.

Pashayev was honored with this award by the decision of Council of Presidents of the International Engineering Academy for the special activities for Academy and his contribution to the strengthening of international relations.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

As Pope Francis was concluding the trip of the Caucasus, his last stop was the capital of the predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan, the countrys Ambassador to the US Elin Suleymanov wrote in an article published in the Washington Times.

In Baku, the pontiff was received with full honors and welcomed by cheering crowds representing the nations small Catholic flock as well as more numerous Muslim and Jewish communities, according to the article.

While a papal visit to the once-Soviet Caucasus is significant in itself, visiting a modern, secular Muslim nation like Azerbaijan sends an especially profound message, reads the article. Even more significant is the fact that this was already a second papal visit in Azerbaijans 25 years of independence: Pope John Paul II visited Baku in 2002.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev recognized the significance of the visit by describing it as historic and reiterating the nations commitment to upholding the long-standing traditions of inclusiveness and tolerance, the article noted.

Ilham Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan is proud to be home for its citizens of all faiths and to serve as both a geographic and a spiritual bridge between East and West, reads the article.

This sentiment was echoed by Pope Francis, who spoke of his joy seeing the cordial relations enjoyed by the Catholic, Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish communities, Suleymanov wrote in his article.

Having celebrated the Holy Mass at Bakus Church of Immaculate Conception, the pope visited the Heydar Mosque, where he met with Azerbaijans Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders, according to the article.

In todays world, Azerbaijan sets an example and provides hope, a notion reflected by Pope Francis, Suleymanov wrote in his article.

Friendly relations and coexistence here are important for peace in the world as this shows that adherents of different confessions can live together in sincerity, mutual respect and cooperation for common goals, the newspaper quoted Pope Francis.

Warm welcome for the pope and wide acceptance of his message in Azerbaijan underscore the crucial role of education, as well as traditions of tolerance and diversity in rejecting radicalism and extremist ideologies, reads the article.

Of course, another key element is the genuine commitment of Azerbaijans national leadership to upholding and promoting such traditions, the article noted.

Yet, developing the enormous potential of the Caucasus is undercut by the ongoing unresolved conflicts, including the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, according to the newspaper.

Pope Francis called for peace in the region and addressed the hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced as a result of Armenias occupation, Suleymanov wrote in his article.

I wish to express my heartfelt closeness to those who have had to leave their land and to the many people who suffer the effects of bloody conflicts, the newspaper quoted Pope Francis.

Before departing Baku, Pope Francis visited the hilltop memorial to those, who died defending Azerbaijans independence and integrity, according to the article.

Walking along the memorial to lay the wreath, the pope saw the names of men and women of different ethnicities and faiths, who gave their lives when their common home, Azerbaijan, was attacked, Suleymanov wrote. This, too, is a reminder that our nations diversity and inclusiveness makes us more joyful when we celebrate and stronger when we face hardship."
Cheers from elementary students erupted from the lower parking lot of Salem Elementary school Monday as Ryan Davis, a rider with The Freestyle Connection Bicycle Motocross Stunt Team, set up a ramp and completed a back flip on his bike in mid-air.

Hailing all the way from Georgia, Freestyle Connection BMX Stunt Team was invited to the school as a part of the curriculum that Physical Education teacher Michael Steele is teaching.

I am teaching a bicycle safety curriculum as part of the Safe Routes to School, Steele said. It is a grant written to the Department of Education of North Carolina.

Salem Elementary will have the curriculum and for a total of six weeks until it is passed on to another school, he said.

I am teaching bicycle safety skills, hand signals, basic riding skills and safety, Steele said.

The county will have the program for a total of two years where a school has signed up each month to participate, he said.

I was the first to raise my hand and say I want it here now, Steele said. You get 30 bicycles and helmets, road signs and cones.

During the show, Jon Dowker, owner of The Freestyle Connection, not only showed students cool tricks and stunts on bikes, but made a point to talk about safety issues as well.

Davis stood on top of the bike ramp, so students could see all the different safety gear he was wearing while riding his bike.

Hes got some shin pads on to protect his shins, Dowker said as Davis pointed to the gear. He is wearing knee pads to protect his knees  hes got gloves on to protect his hands and most importantly whats he wearing?

The students then rang out with a unanimous yell of helmet. 

We like to call it the brain bucket, but it doesnt matter what you call it, Dowker said. What matters is that you remember to put it on your head every time you get on your skates, skateboard or bicycle. This thing right here could save your life.

The show continued with many different stunts and even one where three teachers and Davis laid on the ground and had Rider Jordan Prince jump over them on his bike.

Making good choices was another subject brought up by Dowker, which is an important aspect of their show.

I was fortunate as a kid to grow up around (BMX), Steele said. A lot of these kids have never been able to see this kind of stuff and I dont teach this (BMX riding) of course, but it is something that they may be able to look forward to later in life.

The school and BMX stunt team both wanted to thank Mary Smith, Region 2 Active Routes To School coordinator, for setting up the show.

For more information about The Freestyle Connection Bicycle Motocross Stunt Team, visit www.thefreestyleconnection.com.

Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.
For those who are on the fence about upcoming elections, the Burke County Chamber of Commerce has scheduled an event to help voters learn about the candidates.

As it has for the past several years, the chamber will host a candidates forum. The event is scheduled for Thursday at Western Piedmont Community College. Chamber President Jerry Davis said the forum will take place in two parts.

The first part is at 5:30 p.m. when we will have light refreshments and an informal mixer for the public to come out and meet any candidate that is running on the ballot, Davis said. Its just a (time to) get acquainted, conversational time for about an hour. We want to make sure that the candidates are aware of this as well, that they can come out and mix and mingle with the public.

Davis confirmed that 10 candidates will participate in the forum. For North Carolina Senate District 46, incumbent Republican Warren Daniel and Democrat challenger Anne Fischer will be present. For the North Carolina House of Representatives District 86, Republican incumbent Hugh Blackwell and Democrat challenger Tim Barnsback will participate.

Five of the six candidates for Burke County Board of Commissioners will be present. Those in attendance will include Republicans Johnnie Carswell (incumbent) and Scott Mulwee and Democrats Emily B. Church, Jeffrey V. Morse and David L. Rust Jr. Davis said that incumbent Republican commissioner Jeff Brittain had informed him that he would not be in attendance due to an obligation out of town.

Davis said he expects the mixer, which will last for an hour, to draw a large crowd due to the interest in this years races. The event will take place just outside the Leviton Auditorium at WPCC.

The second portion of the event will take place from 6:30 until around 8-8:30 p.m.

Thats when the forum will be held, Davis said.The Republican and Democratic candidates for the House and the Senate of North Carolina will be present during the first half of the program. Well take a break and then well come back with the candidates for County Commission.

We have derived our questions through a couple of meetings with some community leaders. No bias of any kind, really just whats on the voters minds. What (the voters) see as the chief concerns inside Burke County from both the actions of the General Assembly and those of the County Commission. Each candidate will receive, depending on our timeframe, five to six questions and be able to state their positions on those questions. Well have opening and closing statements as well, from each of the candidates.

Davis said WPCC Vice President of Student Development and Western Piedmont Foundation Executive Director Atticus Simpson will act as the moderator for the event for the second year in a row. Davis will serve as the timekeeper. CoMPAS Cable will stream the event and record it for a later broadcast before open voting begins. Davis said more details on the broadcast will be available in the coming days.

Davis said the impact of this years races makes the forum an important event for local folks and he hopes many people will attend.

There are some important races taking place this year, Davis said. In fact, when you look two years out, for example, there is not a race for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina. So, these races that come along are not the same every year. The issues are different, the candidates are different and the things that are important to voters in Burke County change every year.

(Voters) have a choice of either receiving that information secondhand or actually listening to the candidates in their own words. Its a firsthand gathering of information. It really gives a chance to size up the candidates, not just on their substance, but on their style. How (voters) think (they) might be able to work with them and how they will perform in office. Its a great firsthand experience.

For more information about the candidates forum, call the Burke County Chamber of Commerce at 828-437-3021.

Justin Epley can be reached at jepley@morganton.com or 828-432-8943.
NEBO  A barn lost to fire in May has been rebuilt for a disabled veteran thanks to community support.

Alivecubed and members of Nebo Crossing Church helped Travis Jordan, a disabled veteran living in Nebo, rebuild his 6,000-square-foot barn after it burned to the ground in May of this year.

Jordan, originally from Rocky Point, moved to Nebo with his wife Kendra and their four children in 2015. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jordan suffered PTSD and traumatic brain injury during service in 2007, which prevented him from holding a public job. However, he was able to help the Nebo community through volunteer work like maintenance, carpentry, plumbing and providing food during Christmas time. One of the biggest contributions he made was a firewood ministry he started to help widows and needy families.

According to Doug Long, a member of Nebo Crossing Baptist Church who started the initiative to rebuild Jordans barn, these projects were therapeutic to Jordans injuries.

A lot of people with PTSD cope badly and self destructively through drugs, alcohol, etc. Travis gets comfort by helping others for free, said Long. Hes been helpful, very upbeat given everything hes been through and has such an amazing outlook on life.

On May 14, Jordan and his family received a knock on the door and were told that their barn and adjacent shed were on fire. Within 40 minutes, the property  which contained livestock, chickens, roosters, turkey and goats, as well as lumber used for Jordans ministry  was destroyed.

We were shocked. We were angry. We were feeling a lot of emotions that night, said Kendra, who admitted the experience reignited memories of her husbands PTSD.

The damage caused by the fire was not covered by insurance. In response, Long and the McDowell community started a Go-Fund-Me page to rebuild Jordans barn.

We talked to Doug after the fire and he told us, Dont worry, God will provide for you, said Kendra. Eventually, we received an email by Doug about the page and were just completely blown away.

The Go-Fund-Me page, created on June 6, had made almost $3,000 within its first two weeks.

Three-and-a- half months later, donations from the Go-Fund-Me page, as well as those contributed by Alivecubed, totaled over $7,000.

Were very appreciative about the communitys support, said Kendra at the time of the fundraiser. Travis and I have never been on this side of the giving and receiving end, so to have the church and everyone behind us means a lot.

On Sept. 27, the barn was officially rebuilt with the last adjustments made to the outside. According to Alivecubeds Facebook page, Jordan intends to use the barn to provide recreational refuse to veterans in the community.

We had the opportunity to support a veteran whose barn burnt down in May of this year. Travis and his family didnt know that those ashes would lead to life, said Alex Garcia, founder of Alivecubed. We are thankful to have been part of this, as it was a true testament to what is possible when people come together.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Iranian Mahan Air airline will launch regular flights on Tehran-Baku-Tehran route from Oct. 31, press service of Heydar Aliyev International Airport told Trend Oct. 7.

Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Administration issued the relevant permission after receiving a request from the airline to perform flights three times a week.

Flights are scheduled three times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays with Airbus A310.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan Airlines and ATA Airlines also carry out flights to Tehran.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Islamic fund on microfinance may be created in Azerbaijan, a source on the countrys finance market told Trend Oct. 7.

The source said that the issue is being discussed by Azerbaijans microfinance organizations.

The discussions are still at a very early stage, but if market participants agree and adopt a concrete decision, then international financial organizations can also join the negotiations, noted the source.

The source added that recently, foreign investors are showing particular interest in Azerbaijans microfinance market.

Recently, a mission of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), which included the ICD Senior Regional Manager of for CIS and Europe countries Samir Taghiyev and the Microfinance Advisor at the ICD Bassem Khanfar, visited Baku. The ICD representatives had meetings with key players of the microfinance market in Baku.

Azerbaijan has become one of the two countries, where the ICD starts negotiations with participants of the microfinance market for the first time, said the source adding that the second country is Kazakhstan.

Prior to that, the ICD have only worked with the banking sector, noted the source.

Earlier, during the 8th Micro-finance Conference in Baku, Executive Director of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA) Zhale Hajiyeva said that together with the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), which also includes the ICD, businessmen of post-Soviet countries also show interest in the market. She added that they offer to launch new business models in Azerbaijan.

Currently, loan portfolio of Azerbaijans microfinance organizations amounted to $485.16 million, according to AMFA.
Those who, like me, were hoping that the Conservative Party conference this week would give some genuine clues to government policy on anything financial, let alone Brexit, were disappointed. There were a few broad brush strokes but no detail.

We were told that Brexit would happen in March 2019, which we were already assuming anyway. Prime Minister Theresa May will need to invoke article 50 to start the break with the European Union early next year or charges that she is prevaricating will start to stick.

It is possible that Parliament will attempt to block the process but that will only delay, not derail Brexit. May will simply call a general election and win handsomely on a manifesto with Brexit written large at the top. She will pick up two million votes that went to UKIP last time while the opposition vote will be badly split.

Investors must therefore work on the basis that Brexit means Brexit even if the details are missing. That does mean a period of prolonged uncertainty but remember that uncertainty produces buying and selling opportunities as stock markets swing wildly.

This week the FTSE 100 pushed up against its previous high while the FTSE 250 index did break new ground. This has a certain irony, since the big international companies in the 100 index are supposed to be less affected by the threat of Brexit and are already benefiting from overseas earnings translating into more pounds following the slump in sterling.

Pessimists have been quick to point out that while the indices are higher than they were before the referendum, if you take into account the fall in the value of sterling they are actually lower. That completely misses the point. London-quoted shares have provided an excellent hedge against the falling pound for anyone who earns and saves in pounds.

It is perfectly reasonable to take the view that shares are now fully valued given all the global economic uncertainties. I am among those who feel this concern. I will therefore be hoping that shares fall back quite sharply soon. I now have some more cash to invest  thanks to the dividends I have collected since the referendum  and will look for such an opportunity.

Sin Stocks Climb Higher

Im not an ethical investor but I have found myself unable to countenance buying shares in arms manufacturers. Its my loss.

Each time I look at BAE Systems (BA.) I feel tempted to cross the line because it looks a great investment. Unlike me, BAE has no qualms about selling fighter planes and much more to Saudi Arabia to supplement orders that are coming through from the UK and US governments.

This week BAE confirmed that earnings per share this year would be 5-10% higher than in 2015. Because orders tend to be in billions rather than millions of pounds, there is good visibility of earnings stretching over several years.

The shares offer a yield of just under 4% and the price/earnings ratio is an undemanding 13. I would buy if I wasnt so squeamish.

Consumer Stocks Bring Home Discomforts

While we cant possibly live without guns and bombs, it seems we can manage without new curtains. Another company I have been tempted to invest in on several occasions, and one that has absolutely no ethical barriers, is homewares group Dunelm (DNLM).

I was disappointed, therefore to see a downbeat trading statement covering the 13 weeks to October 1, Dunelms first quarter. Sales were down 1.8% on the same period last year, with warm weather blamed for keeping people out of the stores. I never like to hear weather being blamed for a fall in sales.

The saving grace at Dunelm is that online sales continue to grow strongly but even so the rate of growth has slowed since the previous first quarter.

With retailers likely to take the brunt of any downturn in consumer spending as we start the Brexit negotiations, Im not tempted at the moment. Ill take another look in three months time, and I wish Dunelm well in the meantime.

Rodney Hobson is a long-term investor commenting on his own portfolio; his comments are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice.
This article is part of Morningstar's Guide to Passive Investing, helping investors make smart choices to meet their long-term investment goals.

Emma Wall: Hello, and welcome to Morningstar. I'm Emma Wall and I'm joined today by Justin Onuekwusi, Manager of the Legal & General Multi Index Fund range.

Hi, Justin.

Justin Onuekwusi: Hi, Emma.

Wall: So what's the fund that you'd like to highlight today?

Onuekwusi: The first one I'd like to highlight is the Global Real Estate Index Dividend Fund, bit of a mouthful. But overall we believe the Fed is likely to err on the side of caution in terms of increasing rates and that is likely to be tailwind for the U.S. property. Now, 65% of that fund is made up of U.S. property, mainly in commercial property. So we think the Fed be err on the side of caution not increasing rates very quickly should be a tailwind for commercial property, particularly in the U.S.

Wall: And of course, commercial property has been in the news in the last six months quite negatively because a lot of U.K. commercial property funds closed their doors to trading, temporarily suspended trading because of Brexit. Presumably, when you go global with this kind of investment, you don't have that Brexit risk?

Onuekwusi: Of course. We are investing globally in global real estate securities. We actually do hold some U.K. property as well to provide some diversification. But I think it's important that at times of stress, at times of uncertainty, you increase the liquidity in your funds and that's what we've done over the last year, over the last 18 months for the multi index strategy.

Wall: And what's the second fund that you'd like to highlight today?

Onuekwusi: The second fund I'd like to highlight is the Legal & General Emerging Markets Government Bond Fund. Now, importantly, it's denominated in dollars rather than local currency. Emerging markets have accumulated FX reserves over time. So compared to where they were in the Asian crisis in the late 90s, they have got a lot more foreign FX which means that they are unlikely to default on their dollar debt. And with yields of north of 5% in this low-yielding world with low default risk emerging market debt for us looks particularly attractive.

Wall: Now, a lot of emerging market debt did become very popular a few years ago because this hunt for yield that investors in the U.K., certainly in developed markets have, but there seems to be a lot of hot cash going in and out of this sector. How does that affect the returns?

Onuekwusi: There's a concern of that. I mean, we have seen  again year-to-date we've seen big inflows into emerging market debt because yields are likely to be lower for longer, the Fed is erring on the side of caution, you see more stimulus from Japan, Europe and the U.K. But our view is that that's likely to continue, that even the home field will continue. But it's so important to focus on fundamentals and if you look at fundamentals, the yield pickup you get on emerging market debt for the default risk is particularly attractive.

Wall: And what's the third and final fund?

Onuekwusi: The third and final fund is the Legal & General Global Corporate Bond Fund and this is invested in multi index funds and it shows that we have flexibility to not be indexed for the sake of it. This is an active strategy and it really follows the theme that we have since the start of the multi index funds to diversify bond holdings over different geographies but also over different bond asset classes.

Many of our peers  or many of our competitors have sold down all of their bonds completely; however, we feel that bonds provide an important role in the portfolio, particularly for the lower-risk funds and therefore we've been unwilling to sell our bonds completely and we've preferred instead to diversify over the bond spectrum and be active in terms of asset allocation across different bond funds.

Wall: And that is a really interesting point because you are known as a passive fund investor, an asset allocator into index strategies. But you're saying here actually that you've made the decision that an actively-managed fund is the better way to get exposure.

Onuekwusi: Yeah. Importantly, the multi index funds, they can go active and will go active. If there is an asset class that's simply can't be managed on index basis, we'll go active and a great example would be U.K. commercial property. But also, if we think the market lends itself to active management, global high yield, global corporate bonds, again will go active and that's something that we'll continue for the multi index funds going forward.

Wall: Justin, thank you very much. This is Emma Wall for Morningstar. Thank you for watching.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

Kazakhstan increases its naval presence in the Caspian Sea.

A new Kazakhstans cargo ship Atameken was launched by Russian Nevsky Shipyard on Oct. 6, Kazakh National Multimodal Company KTZ Express reported.

This vessel will operate in the Caspian Sea. This is the second vessel built for Kazakhstan by Russian shipbuilders in 2016. The first cargo ship Zhibek Zholy has already arrives in port Aktau.

Kazakhstan plans to increase dry cargo fleet to 20 vessels by 2020, which will cover up to 55 percent of cargo transportation in the Caspian Sea through the port of Aktau.

Moreover it is planned to build two railway ferries by the end of 2018, which will be used in the port of Kuryk.

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
The dynamism of the Canadian mortgage market itself might be at risk due to the tighter regulations announced by Finance Minister Bill Morneau earlier this week, an observer warned.Addenda Capital Inc. co-chief investment officer Jean-Francois Pepin argued that contrary to the expectations of lowered home prices as a result of the new rules, mortgage origination itself might be cooled down by the regulatory changes.If it slows down the housing market, its going to slow down the quantity of mortgages that will end up being on banks books, which means theres a smaller pool thats available to be securitized, Pepin told the Financial Post.Mortgage stocks took a major hit in the wake of Morneaus announcement. The eight-company S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index fell by 0.4 per cent on October 4, and Genworth MI Canada Inc. stocks sharply declined by 10 per cent to $30.64.Corollary to this might be the increased attractiveness of mortgaged-backed securities supported by government-insured mortgages, Pepin stated.If that leads to slower origination then current outstanding paper might actually increase in value because its going to be more difficult to get similar paper in the future, he explained.The Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. said that the total value of outstanding mortgage-backed securities under the government-guaranteed National Housing Act MBS program was $438.7 billion as of the end of June. The figure sat at $424.2 billion around the same time last year.Morneaus new measures are expected to implement much stricter requirements for mortgage insurance. Insured borrowers will also be mandated to stress-test their products at higher rates.
Composer Ryan Scott Olivers 2012 multimedia song cycle 35MM: A Musical Exhibition receives an admirable treatment from Dare to Defy Productions through Oct. 8 in the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Center.

(left to right) Zach King, Natalie Sanders, Alan Ruddy, Danielle Kubasky, and Skyler McNeely rehearse Dare to Defy Productions presentation of 35MM: A Musical Exhibition, a song cycle bridging the worlds of music and photography.



Unique in concept but lacking cohesive depth, 35MM uses a series of eclectic photographs by Matthew Murphy to tell intriguing, hilarious and occasionally confusing tales of romance, connection, disillusionment, and hope. Overall, this vignette-driven showcase is at its best when love dominates the conversation. For instance, a song centered on a photo of a couple at odds on a playground swing set is certainly more enticing than a song built on the oddities of a kooky doll. Perhaps if Oliver would have created his song cycle based solely on the ups and downs of relationships, the results would have been more distinctive and relatable. Some of the songs are not perfectly matched to the photos as well which halts momentum. Nevertheless, his ambitious work beckons the audience to examine the trials and tribulations of life through focus, perspective and the sheer passage of time.



Director AJ Breslin helms Oliver and Murphys world with very little interference. Due to the Mathiles intimacy, this breezy production instantly conjures a cozy, coffee shop vibe which suits the shows introspective nature and important attention to projections. Breslins minimalist, straightforward approach clearly allows each song to speak for itself, but at the same rate its difficult to hear some of the more frenzied lyrics. Still, his committed, energetic and passionate five-member cast, taking on the vocal challenges of the harmonically intricate score with vim and verve under the music direction of David McKibben, joins forces with ample opportunities to entertain. Natalie Sanders and Zach King, a volatile Queenie and Burrs last season in Dare to Defys The Wild Party, winningly reunite for the spirited Make Me Happy. Sanders, looking as statuesque as ever in basic black, wonderfully opens the show with Stop Time and notably drives the dark high school drama of The Ballad of Sara Berry with gusto. Its also great to see Alan Ruddy and Danielle Kubasky reuniting for the first time since appearing as and Princeton and Kate Monster in Beavercreek Community Theatres 2015 production of Avenue Q, Ruddy, effectively balancing comedy and poignancy throughout, strongly renders The Seraph while Kubasky shines in Twisted Teeth. Skyler McNeely, who appeared with Sanders in Sinclair Community Colleges 2015 production of Songs for a New World, teams with Kubasky for a terrifically emotive rendition of the heartbreaking Hemming & Hawing chronicling the twisted complications and imperfections of love. Keyboardist Nick Garvin leads a fine five-piece band.



The contemporary pop/rock/punk essence of 35MM may not appeal to musical theater fans more inclined to embrace Rodgers and Hammerstein, but its a prime example of Dare to Defys eagerness to look outside the box.

35MM: A Musical Exhibition continues Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 8 at 2 and 8 p.m. inside the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Center, Second and Main Streets, Dayton. The production is performed in 80 minutes without intermission. Tickets are $19.50-$24.50. For tickets or more information, call Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or visit ticketcenterstage.com. Patrons are reminded the show contains adult language.
The Dayton Police Department is excited to celebrate National Community Policing Week and National Coffee With a Cop Day with several events.

Throughout the day on Thursday, October 6, Major Wendy Stiver, Commander of Central Patrol Operations Division, and other CPOD officers will be out for the first Walk With a Cop event. The fun will start at 9 am at Boston Stoker and continue to various locations around downtown and the Oregon District:

9 am  Boston Stoker, 34 W. Second St

10 am  Third Perk, 46 W. Fifth St.

11 am  CareSource, 230 N. Main St.

3 pm  Newcom Park, Oregon District

4 pm  Oregon District Arch, E. Fifth St. & Pine St.

Officers are hoping to meet with citizens and members of the business community to engage in conversation, answer questions, and listen to ideas.

On Friday, October 7, CPOD and East Patrol Operations Division officers will celebrate National Coffee With a Cop day with events:

From 9 am to 11 am, CPOD officers will be inside the Wright Stop Plaza on South Main Street and available to talk with citizens, especially those who utilize Greater Dayton RTA services.

From 10 am to 12 pm, Chief Richard Biehl and Major Brian Johns, along with EPOD officers, will be at Evans Bakery on Troy Street for Doughnut With a Cop, a sweet twist on the popular Coffee With a Cop series. The concept of the event though remains the same, a chance to speak one-on-one with officers in a relaxed environment.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

Azerbaijan and France discussed the issue of establishing joint ventures for corn production, viticulture and winemaking, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture said in a message Oct. 7.

According to the message, the discussions were held during the meeting between Ilham Guliyev, Azerbaijani deputy minister of agriculture, and the French delegation, headed by Nicolas Perrin, regional agriculture advisor.

Guliyev added that there is favorable situation in Azerbaijan for the production of clean agricultural products by French entrepreneurs.

In its turn, the French side made a number of proposals relating to the use of hybrid seeds for corn growing in Azerbaijan.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and France amounted to 438.86 million manat (official exchange rate on Oct. 7 is 1.6036 AZN/USD) in January-August 2016. Some 344.8 million manat accounted for the export of Azerbaijani goods to France.
Spooky sites Fall is the season of holiday spectacle in Moorpark. In December, of course, Pinedale Road transforms into Candy Cane Lane and dazzles visitors with Santa splendor. But for those who...

Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at...

Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all...
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

Lithuania and Azerbaijan always find new goals and interests for the development of cooperation in all areas, Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Valdas Lastauskas told Trend Oct. 7.

He said that there are a lot of projects and initiatives, which have to be implemented in the trade and economic, transport and humanitarian spheres.

The government of Lithuania, in the first place, intends to revitalize the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation with Azerbaijan, he noted.

The intergovernmental commissions meeting was delayed several times for objective reasons, in particular, due to the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan in autumn 2015, the economic crisis in early 2016, and the current election to the Seimas (unicameral parliament) of Lithuania, Lastauskas said.

Lithuania hopes to hold the meeting before late 2016 or in early 2017 to discuss concrete projects and initiatives for cooperation, the ambassador said.

Lithuania and Azerbaijan highly appreciate close cooperation between the two countries, so the range of the issues to be discussed during the meetings is quite broad and will include the further development of trade and economic cooperation, collaboration in the fields of energy, he said.

This range of issues will also include further development of agriculture, youth and sports, health care, culture, tourism, education, transport, communications and information technologies, the ambassador added.

The transport sector is one of the priority directions of cooperation between the two countries, he noted.

Projects of the Trans-Caspian international transportation route and the combined transport train Viking open vast opportunities for Azerbaijan and Lithuania in the transport sector, Lastauskas said.

He went on to add that the connection of these two routes will allow unhindered transportation of goods from China to Northern and Western Europe.

The Trans-Caspian international transportation route runs from China to Europe through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine. The first test container train from China arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port on Aug. 3, 2015.

New competitive tariffs on the Trans-Caspian corridor came into force on June 1, 2016.

The combined transport train Viking started to run on Ilyichevsk (Ukraine) - Minsk (Belarus) - Draugyste (Lithuania) route with the total length of 1,766 kilometers in 2003. The project participants are Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia. Later, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey joined the project.

Ukraine and Lithuania signed a memorandum in February 2016 on accession of the container train 'Viking' to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route from Europe to China through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijan signed a protocol in May 2016 on participation of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC in the 'Viking' international container train.

In general, there are no barriers for the further development of relations between Lithuania and Azerbaijan, Lastauskas said.

The Lithuanian Embassys task is to find ways and opportunities for those who wish to establish business relations with Azerbaijan, the diplomat said.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Asebaa
The Permian Basin idled one rig this week, but at 203 rigs, the West Texas basin still leads the nation by far.

Midland County gained a rig to lead the Midland Basin at 32. Reeves County still leads in the Delaware at 22, down two. Other double-digit counties in the Permian were Lea, New Mexico (18), Martin (18), Loving (16), Eddy, New Mexico (11), Howard (11) and Upton (10).

District 8 fell three this week to 132. For other areas operating in the Permian, District 7B held steady at six, District 7C gained two to 22, District 8A rose one to 14 and New Mexico fell one to 29. The Texas total is 174, unchanged for the fourth straight week.

There werent any counties with renewed activity this week, and no county ceased all activity.

The Permian had 235 rigs at this time last year.

TEXAS & NEW MEXICO

Texas saw rig count gains this week after adding two for a statewide total of 247.

The Eagle Ford idled one rig, leaving 35. The Granite Wash was unchanged at 10, while the Haynesville was up one to 14. The Barnett rose to three after two rigs online, snapping three weeks of one rig in the North Texas basin.

Texas had one rig offshore, and there werent any in inland waters.

All of New Mexicos rigs were in the Permian, which totaled 29, down one.

A year ago this week, Texas had 353 rigs and New Mexico counted 46.

UNITED STATES

The U.S. was up slightly this week, adding two rigs for a nationwide tally of 524. The nation had 428 oil rigs, up three; 94 natural gas rigs, down two; and two rigs listed as miscellaneous, up one.

Five hundred rigs were on land, up three; one was in inland waters, down two; and 23 were offshore, up one. Twenty-two offshore rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, up one.

By drilling trajectory, there were 413 horizontal rigs, up six; 61 vertical rigs, down three; and 50 directional rigs, down one.

The U.S. had 795 rigs at this time last year.

MOST ACTIVE

Basins with the most activity were the Permian, the Eagle Ford, the Cana Woodford (35), the Marcellus (32), the Williston (30) and the Utica (15).

States with the most activity were Texas, Oklahoma (70), Louisiana (42), North Dakota (30), New Mexico and Pennsylvania (24).

CANADA & NORTH AMERICA

Canadas count reached 165 after three rigs went online, all of them searching for oil. There were 87 oil rigs and 78 natural gas rigs. Canada had 180 rigs a year ago this week.

The total number of rigs operating in the North America region rose five to 689. At this time last year, there were 975 rigs in North America.

Like Trevor on Facebook and follow him on Twitter at @HowdyHawes.

***

BY THE NUMBERS

The following are county-by-county Permian Basin rig counts, with changes in parentheses.

DISTRICT 7B

Fisher 1

Nolan 3

Stonewall 2

Total 6

DISTRICT 7C

Irion 3 (+1)

Reagan 9 (+2)

Upton 10 (-1)

Total 22 (+2)

DISTRICT 8

Andrews 1

Culberson 5

Ector 1 (-1)

Glasscock 8 (-2)

Howard 11

Loving 16 (+1)

Martin 18 (+1)

Midland 32 (+1)

Mitchell 1

Pecos 4 (-1)

Reeves 22 (-2)

Sterling 1

Ward 6

Winkler 6

Total 132 (-3)

DISTRICT 8A

Borden 1

Cochran 2 (+1)

Crosby 1

Gaines 2 (+1)

Garza 1

Hockley 2

Kent 1

Scurry 2

Terry 1 (-1)

Yoakum 1

Total 14 (+1)

NEW MEXICO

Eddy 11 (+1)

Lea 18 (-2)

Total 29 (-1)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Polands rail operator PKP LHS has become a member of the Coordination Committee of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCITR), said Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC in a message Oct. 7.

Another meeting of the Coordination Committee was held in Astana, according to the message.

The creation of a union of legal entities of the Coordination Committee, the signing of the agreement on the establishment of the committee, the approval of the charter of the legal entities union, its registration in the state structures were discussed and the relevant decisions were made during the meeting, organized by Kazakhstan Railways, said the message.

As a result of the discussions, Polands PKP LHS was unanimously adopted to the membership of the TCITR Coordination Committee.

The agreement to create the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Consortium was signed in April in Baku by the railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijani companies ADY Express and ACSC Logistics, Kazakhstan's KTZ Express and Georgia's Trans Caucasus Terminals LLC are the consortium members.

New competitive tariffs were introduced for the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route since June 1, 2016.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Terry L. Sharik, dean of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES), has donated a gift to Michigan Technological University to establish the Terry L. Sharik Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Workforce Diversity.

He plans to seed the fund with $25,000 by 2017 and donate an additional 10 percent of his estate upon his death.

The fund is designed to enable others to contribute to it. My hope is that others will begin to contribute to it in the near future, Sharik said. To donate to the fund, go to our online giving form.

Terry Sharik

He explained the reason for his gift: I decided to make this gift because I care deeply about the future of the natural resources profession, which in my opinion requires a diverse workforce if it is to serve society at a high level. That diversity is woefully lacking at the present, especially with respect to gender and even more so, race/ethnicity.

Natural Resources Diversity

The endowed fund will support a variety of initiatives that Sharik hopes will help attract and retain underrepresented populations to the student, faculty, and staff ranks in SFRES. These programs could include scholarships, on-campus visits by natural resources leaders from underrepresented populations, sending Michigan Tech people to conferences on diversity issues, supplementing faculty and staff salaries, and creating social networks for underrepresented groups.

The endowment is designed to help Michigan Techs SFRES to educate the diverse workforce that Sharik says is fundamental to stewarding the natural resources of our country and the world well into the future. The endowment will provide permanent resources for efforts to increase and support underrepresented populations of students, faculty and staff in SFRES.

Culture of Philanthropy

Terrys generous gift is especially significant because it reinforces his and Michigan Techs commitment to diversity, said President Glenn Mroz. It is also an outstanding example of the culture of philanthropy among our own faculty and staff.

Earlier this year, Sharik also endowed a natural resources diversity fund at West Virginia University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Wildlife Management in 1964. He is also giving to the University of Michigan, where he received his Master of Forestry degree in Forest Recreation and his Ph.D. in Forest Botany, in 1964 and 1970, respectively, with the funds to be used for similar purposes.

I feel strongly that I should give back to the academic institutions that put me on my professional career path and helped make me who I am today, said Sharik at the time. Secondly, I feel deeply that we need to increase diversity in the natural resources profession to a point where it is reflective of society as a whole.

Bill Roberts, associate vice president of advancement and alumni engagement at Michigan Tech, called Shariks gift a wonderful example of leadership in philanthropy on campus.

Sharik has been dean of SFRES at Michigan Tech since 2012. Prior to that, he held faculty positions at Oberlin College, Virginia Tech, the University of Michigan Biological Station and Utah State University, where he headed the Department of Forest Resources and the Department of Environment and Society.

He taught previously at Michigan Tech from 1986 to 1993, also serving as president of the University Senate and co-director of the Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigans flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
Details added (first version posted at 15:02)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Azersun Holding Group of Companies plans to bring the share of Azerbaijani raw materials in production at its enterprises to 40-50 percent this year, said Abdolbari Goozal, chairman of the holdings supervisory board.

Goozal made the remarks Oct. 7 at a meeting of the agriculture development commission of the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs Confederation.

He also said currently the share of local raw materials in the holdings production is about 30 percent.

Raw materials for some kinds of the holdings products come from abroad, he said.

In particular, the holding gets 85 percent of the raw materials needed for sugar production from other countries, he added. In order to produce sugar using only local raw materials, Azersun needs about $130 million, Goozal said.

He added that the cost of sugar production plant is $300 million.

Goozal noted that the holding has requested support from Azerbaijans government to fully switch to local production.

This year, at the holdings own expense, Azersun will be able to increase the share of local raw materials in production to 40-50 percent, said the head of Azersun Holding.

He added that there are products manufactured by the holding with the use of only local raw materials, such as salt.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

All countries involved in the North-South Transport Corridor project have connected to the cargo transportation process, reads the message of the ADY Express company, logistics operator of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, Oct. 7.

The company implemented reception, handling and shipment of three out of five 40-foot universal containers loaded with electrical equipment and spare parts in Azerbaijans Astara district to the point of destination for the first time within the framework of transportations via the North-South Transport Corridor, according to the message.

These universal containers were sent as test ones from the Indian city of Bangalore to Vorsino station in Russia, reads the message.

The containers were delivered by sea from the Indian city of Mumbai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, where they were sent to Astara by car, says the message. From there, the containers were sent to Russia by rail. One can say that already all the countries participating in the North-South Transport Corridor project have joined the cargo transportation process.

The company said that a few days ago ADY Express carried out another operation on cargo transportations via the South-West corridor.

Ten 20-foot containers with marble sent from Iran to Europe were transshipped from road transport to rail transport and sent from Azerbaijans Astara station, reads the message.

The route of the South-West corridor is as follows: India - Persian Gulf - Iran - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Black Sea - Europe.

At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 10,000 tons of cargo via this route with the possibility of increasing it by several times in the future.

The agreement on the South-West transportation corridor was signed in 2016 by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Ukraine in Baku. The corridor will make it possible to reduce the time of cargo transportation from India to Europe by two or three times.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Be measured in the margins you ...
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.7

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The Southern Gas Corridor is an excellent example to a new source of energy for Europe, said Vice-President of EU Commission in charge of Energy Union Maros Sefcovic.

He made the remarks at the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting of the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES).

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor project. Other sources can also join this project at a later stage.

As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and TAP.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Azerbaijans Energy Minister Natig Aliyev will visit Turkey by the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak to take part in the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul, the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry told Trend Oct. 7.

During the congress, 60 meetings will be held with the participation of 266 participants from 80 countries.

Natig Aliyev is expected to meet the energy ministers of Balkan countries, said the ministry.

The ministers meeting with his counterparts from Turkey, Italy, Greece and Albania, during which the implementation process of the Southern Gas Corridor project and issues related to the projects timely completion, is also planned, according to the ministry.

The 23rd World Energy Congress will be held Oct. 9-13 in Istanbul.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Butte Fire Debris View Photos

San Andreas, CA  The Department of Homeland Security 20 page audit conducted by the Office Of Inspector General, in agreement with FEMA, calls for the state to step in and assist Calaveras County in dealing with the Butte Fire disaster clean up to avoid misspending the $10.8 million in grant awards.

The Office of Inspector General noted that could lead to a loss of funds or the county having to pay back some money to FEMA. The audit points to debris and tree removal delays, possible duplicate insurance benefits along with the countys lacking accounting system and experience dealing a federally declared disaster as potential problems. Calaveras County Butte Fire Recovery Operations spokesperson Sharon Torrence admits they do not deal with emergencies like this on any regular basis but adds that the staff has been working hard to this properly. She maintains the county just received the audit at the beginning of this week, stating, Were in the process of reading through it and trying to understand exactly whats wanted and needed. When we complete that we will have better answers. Torrence expects those answers will be given to the Calaveras County Supervisors and the public at the boards meeting on Tuesday.

Click here to view the entire audit.
TuCare Natural Resources Summit View Photos

Sonora, CA  Several government and industry leaders concerned about the health of the surrounding forest area were featured speakers at the Tuolumne County Alliance for Resources and the Environment (TuCare) Natural Resources Summit.

The theme of 2016 was There is Hope For The Future and much of the discussion centered around the bark beetle epidemic.

District Four Republican Congressman Tom McClintock, the first featured speaker, aimed much of his criticism at government rules and regulations. They have made it impossible for us to properly manage these lands and we now have four times the tree density that the land can support and the trees are falling victim to drought, disease, pests and ultimately catastrophic wildfire, said the Congressman.

District Four Assemblyman Frank Bigelow followed McClintock, and spoke about his efforts to help convince state lawmakers that funding is needed in the budget for tree removal. Bigelow stated, If the numbers are correct, by what all people are saying, 66-plus million trees are dead (in California)thats almost 1 1/2 times the population of people in the state. My gosh, this is huge.

Other featured speakers included Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jeanne Higgins and CAL Fire Regional Resource Manager for the Southern Region, Rick Carr. CAL Fire is currently in the process of reviewing grant projects to be funded with SRA fire fee money. Carr noted that there are 264 applications and 25% are from the Tuolumne-Calaveras area.

Later there was a Tree Mortality Panel, which featured Dan Tomascheski of Sierra Pacific Industries, Steve Brink of the California Forestry Association, Jim Branham of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and Rick Spurlock of the California Biomass Energy Alliance.

The forum was held Friday morning at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Azerbaijani investors aim to build a petrochemical plant in Turkeys eastern province of Van, the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported Oct. 7 citing the provinces Governor Rahmi Dogan.

Dogan said that the new plant will use modern technologies and help to open more than 100 new jobs.

He also noted that liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other raw materials for the plant will be delivered from Azerbaijan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.

Earlier, Turkeys Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication Ahmet Arslan in his exclusive interview with Trend said that the BTK railway together with other railway projects, which are being built, will bring billions of dollars annually for Turkeys logistics sector.

The BTK railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.

Azerbaijan allocated a loan of $775 million for the construction of the railway's Georgian section. SOFAZ (The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan) finances the project in accordance with the Azerbaijani president's decree 'On the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project activities', dated Feb. 21, 2007.



The peak capacity of the railway will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
At 2:20 a.m. ET Saturday:

Hurricane Matthew is now headed toward the South Carolina coast with dangerous storm surge flooding.



The storm is left over a million Floridians without power, cleaning up the damage left behind.

Four people have also died in Florida.

The storm is 45 miles south Hilton Head, South Carolina right now.

Sustained winds are at 105 mph  a Category 2 hurricane  and it's traveling north at 12 mph.

Coastal counties took the brunt of the storm with trees down, roofs coming off, flooding and other damage. Part of A1A in Flagler Beach has washed away.

A tropical storm warning is in place for north of Volusia County, including Flagler County, to Fernandina Beach.

A hurricane warning is in place north of Fernandina Beach to Surf City.

Be prepared to lose power and still get critical information from News 13:

Use the links below to jump to these sections:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

State phone numbers: Florida Emergency Information Line: 1-800-342-3557 Florida Price Gouging Hotline: 1-866-966-7226



Latest Update

Tweets by MyNews13Weather

Friday, Oct. 7, 2016

10:40 p.m.

From Associated Press:

Authorities say an elderly couple appears to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator after Hurricane Matthew, raising the U.S. death toll from the storm to 4.

A post on the St. Lucie County Fire District's Facebook page says rescuers responded to couple's home Friday morning after neighbors found them not breathing.

Officials say the couple had been running a generator inside their garage throughout the storm.

Officials didn't immediately name the couple. Two women in Florida were also killed in separate accidents. One of them was killed in Volusia County when she was struck by a tree.



9:20 p.m.

Florida emergency managers say roughly 1.13 million people are without power.

That includes over 159,000 without power in Brevard County, 58,536 in Flagler County and over 255,000 without power in Volusia County.

FPL says it hopes to power back on for all customers by Sunday, if not sooner.



8:30 p.m.

Port Canaveral will open for business Saturday afternoon, pending approval from the U.S. Coast Guard.

The port says it sustained minimal damage from Matthew. The cruise terminals, cargo piers and infrastructure remain intact.

Carnical, Disney and Royal Caribbean are expected to return Saturday afternoon as well.

7:30 p.m.

Utilities Commission New Smyrna Beach (UCNSB) says all customers are without power.

The main transmission line to the main power station is down.

In addition, the phone number to get information is down.

More information.

6:30 p.m.

The latest power outages:

Duke Energy power outages as of 6:18 p.m.

Orange: 31,269

Flagler: 15

Lake: 7,084

Marion: 9,469

Osceola: 480

Polk: 27

Seminole: 39,588

Sumter: 377

Volusia: 59,442

Florida Power and Light customers without power as of 5 p.m.

St. Johns: 61,280

Flagler: 58,560

Volusia: 171,720

Brevard: 190,090

Seminole: 28,440

Putnam: 18,010

Orlando Utilities Commission outages as of 4:45 p.m.

About 13,000

Hoping to have all power restored by 2 p.m. Saturday

5:30 p.m.

Ormond Beach is experiencing a water outage.

Widespread power outages and uprooted trees in Ormond Beach, leading to water main breaks and water wells going out of service.

"The entire Citys water storage has been depleted. We continue to bring water into the plant and process. We intend to restore water distribution at a slow rate to provide minimal service while we rebuild our supply. This minimal service will continue until pipe ruptures have been located and repaired. Residents are encouraged to conserve water to the maximum extent possible and report any water leaks immediately to 386-676-3220.

"Once water service has been restored, any water used for drinking or cooking should be brought to a rolling boil for 1 minute before consumption. Please call 386-676-3220 with any questions."

Stay with News 13 online and on mobile for the latest updates on Hurricane Matthew. If you lose power, count on us to get you the information you need to stay safe. Bookmark MyNews13.com Download the News 13+ mobile app Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @MyNews13 and @MyNews13Weather



Previous updates

5:15 p.m.

Part of A1A in Flagler Beach was washed away by Matthew. More information to come.

Lake County has six shelters still open. The county reports a tree fell on a home on Plymouth Circle in Umatilla. The residents are OK but they were displaced.



4:40 p.m.

Orlando International Airport will resume commercial flights at 8 a.m. Saturday, the airport announced on Twitter.

3:40 p.m.

A Volusia County woman is the county's first announced death from Hurricane Matthew.

Volusia officials said that the woman was killed at about 12:30 p.m. today when she went out to feed some animals and was struck by a falling tree. Officials have not identified the woman but said she was in her 60s and was on her northwest DeLand property at the time.



Officials emphasized that the curfew for Volusia is still in place until 7 a.m. Saturday.



3 p.m.

All bridges in Brevard County have been reopened to traffic, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The county Emergency Operations Center said that all causeways except for State Road 520 into Cocoa Beach have reopened.

2:20 p.m.

Melbourne beachside water customers south of the Pineda Causeway  including Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach  are urged to boil their water until further notice. The water feeds had been shut down to those areas ahead of Hurricane Matthew. Water has been restored, but as a precaution, Melbourne is issuing the boil-water notice until tests can determine the water is safe to drink.

Any water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing dishes should be brought to a roiling boil for a minute.

2:20 p.m.

Effective 2 p.m., the curfews for Orange and Seminole counties has been lifted. Residents should be aware that traffic lights may still be out, and those intersections should be treated like four-way stops.

1 p.m.

Orlando Melbourne International Airport is back to full operations. Flights resume/normal sked. @FlyMLB #HurricaneMatthew

 Brevard EOC (@BrevardEOC) October 7, 2016

12:40 p.m.

Curfews in Place:

Volusia County until Saturday morning

Flagler County: 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

No Curfews:

Osceola



Lake

Sumter

Marion

Brevard

11:20 a.m.

We will be OPEN Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9 from 10am-8pm. Brick or Treat will take place as scheduled. We will remain closed today.

 LEGOLAND Florida (@LEGOLANDFlorida) October 7, 2016

Osceola County has lifted its curfew.

12 p.m.

In Volusia County, the City of New Smyrna Beach suspended emergency operations at 5:30 a.m. According to city officials, dispatch has been advised. The New Smyrna Beach Citizens Information Center is answering calls hurricane related issued. Residents can call (386) 424-2113 and (386) 424-2114.

11:10 a.m.

Gibson Apartments @ 1404 S. Deleon Avenue is being evacuated due to a natural gas leak.

 Titusville Police FL (@TitusvillePD) October 7, 2016

10:45 a.m.

#HurricaneMatthew's heaviest winds now battering #DaytonaBeach. And the power at the hotel where we're staying just went out. @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/8Dnywv72xf

 Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) October 7, 2016

10:40 a.m.

From Kennedy Space Center:

Hurricane Matthew has now passed offshore from Cape Canaveral and is north of Kennedy Space Center. The wind is starting to decline but remains near tropical storm strength. However, until the wind is consistently below 50 knots a crew cannot be sent outside to begin a more thorough look at KSC. That is expected sometime this afternoon. At this time there is observed to be limited roof damage to KSC facilities, water and electrical utilities services have been disrupted and there is scattered debris. Storm surge has been observed to be relatively minimal, limited to localized portions of the space center. The Damage Assessment and Recovery Team will be brought in for its formal assessment Saturday morning.

Watches and warnings

Forecast models, track

Interactive Storm Tracker
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.7



By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:



Istanbul will host the 23rd World Energy Congress on October 9-13, said the events website.



Co-hosted by Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the World Energy Council, the event will welcome 10,000 delegates from across the energy spectrum to address critical developments in the energy sector.



Azerbaijans Energy Minister Natig Aliyev will take part in the event at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak, Azerbaijani Energy Ministry told Trend Oct.7.



Natig Aliyev is expected to meet with his counterparts from Turkey, Italy, Greece and Albania and discuss the implementation process of the Southern Gas Corridor project, as well as the issues related to its timely completion, said the ministry.



Running since 1924, the triennial World Energy Congress is the World Energy Councils global flagship event that enables dialogue among ministers, CEOs and industry experts on critical developments in the energy sector.



As the worlds premier energy gathering, the Congress offers a unique opportunity for participants to better understand energy issues and solutions from a global perspective.
Voters in Plainview ISD approved a tax ratification measure Thursday by a count of 692-400.

That's a margin of 63% to 37%, which is just short of a 2-to-1 margin.

The vote means that the property tax rate within Plainview ISD will increase from the current $1.04 per $100 in valuation to $1.17 for the coming tax year. The current tax rate has been in place since 2006-07.

The higher tax rate will generate $1.4 million in additional local funds along with $1.9 million in state funds.

For someone owning a $125,000 home within the district with a standard $25,000 homestead exemption, they will pay $130 more each year or $10.83 per month.

School property taxes for homeowners who have an exemption as being over age 65 and/or disabled will not increase.

Today is a historic day in Plainview, commented Dr. D. Rockwell Rocky Kirk, PISD superintendent, after the results were announced. The community has demonstrated courage in voting to allow significant new revenue for its school system.

The new funds will allow the district to continue to remain competitive with other districts in educational program quality, teacher pay and health insurance benefits. I am grateful that progress can continue to be made in moving the district forward from a position of strength and hope.

A breath of fresh air has blown into the future of the district, our community and ultimately, our children will benefit! Kirk concluded.

Just 7.44 percent of the districts 14,741 registered voters cast ballots in the tax ratification election.

In early voting, the measure was approved 538-287 (65%-35%). On Election Day, the margin was a little tighter with the issue approved 154-113 (58%-42%). In all, 1,090 ballots were cast.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6



By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi has described North-South transportation corridor as the shortest overland route linking the Persian Gulf to the Europe.



In the meantime, the 1,450 km long North-South corridor will connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Islamic Republic, he said, IRNA news agency reported.



In the regional terms, the corridor will ease commuting between Tehran, Iranian capital, and the Islamic Republics western neighbors, he added.



Azerbaijan and Iran are participants of the large and perspective North-South transportation corridor, which is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia.



The project is notable for its benefits not only for development of the economies of two countries involved, but also for other countries, located along the railway route and the region as a whole.



Iran and Azerbaijan have already launched construction work aimed at connecting their railway systems as two major participants of the transportation corridor.



At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo via the North-South corridor per year and to increase the figure to over 10 million tons in the future.



In addition to its international aspects, the corridor will have a significant role in reducing transportation costs as well as booming volume of trade turnover between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

Minsk is negotiating with Tehran on Iranian oil supply due to difficulties in talks with Russia on oil and gas, said the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

He was addressing the Parliament of Belarus, TASS news agency reported Oct. 7.

We are conducting negotiations with Iran, which is looking to supply its oil and which will reduce the price for us, he said.

Lukashenko also said new suggestions have appeared in discussions with Russia, adding that Belarus is ready for a compromise.
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Rabbi Theodore Alexander, a survivor of Kristallnacht who became an advocate for civil rights and led a San Francisco congregation for nearly 40 years, died Tuesday at his home in Danville. He was 95.

In his decades leading Congregation BNai Emunah in a windy corner of San Franciscos Outer Sunset, Rabbi Ted, as he was known, welcomed not only Jewish refugees of Nazi Germany like himself and Gertrude, his wife of 70 years, but people of color, gays, non-Jews and converts  all in an era when such inclusiveness was uncommon.

He spoke out for same-sex marriage years before it became legal and helped found gay-centered Congregation Shaar Zahav in 1977. And for years, he taught classes in basic Judaism, often to Jews who knew little of their own religion.

He was one of the early voices saying our community is a big enough tent that we can welcome people of all backgrounds, said Frank Kurtz, a friend and former congregation president.

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He got this idea of diversity long before it became a catchword. He was a feminist from way back.

Born in Berlin on Nov. 6, 1920, Rabbi Alexander entered an enlightened world of intellectuals and Jewish culture. His parents were Kathe and Hugo Alexander, also a rabbi. Albert Einstein played the violin at the family synagogue. In 1935, a family friend, Regina Jonas, became the first woman ordained as a rabbi.

He was 18 in 1938, and on a streetcar, when he got word that he should not go home. The Nazis were on a deadly rampage breaking windows and burning Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues, vandalizing homes and arresting or killing Jewish men. The infamous Night of Broken Glass, or Kristallnacht, had begun.

Afterward, Kathe Alexander announced that the family must leave, and in 1939, the Alexanders sailed to Shanghai.

My parents met in Shanghai, said Rabbi Alexanders daughter, Leslie Alexander, who in 1983 became the first female rabbi to lead a major Conservative synagogue.

In Shanghai they found a thriving community of Jewish refugees. Rabbi Alexander was ordained, but got a job with Sassoon, a banking company. Then, in 1943, the Japanese arrived and forced the Jews into a ghetto.

You could be sent to prison for the slightest offense, like not bowing low enough to a soldier, Rabbi Alexander told the San Francisco Examiner in 1997.

After liberation, Rabbi Alexander and Gertrude Langer married in 1946, and sailed to San Francisco a year later. They were just lovebirds for seven decades, Leslie Alexander said. They enjoyed what my mother describes as a marvelous life.

Gertrude Alexander encouraged her husband to become a rabbi full time, a choice he never regretted.

He was totally dedicated to Conservative Judaism, and everything about the movement, Leslie Alexander said. But he never pushed anyone. His love of Judaism simply rubbed off on people  including, once, on a Catholic teenager named Cyndie Culpeper.

Culpepper was 15 in 1978 when she visited Rabbi Alexander for a high school class in comparative religion. She returned again and again, finally asking: How do I become Jewish?

She became a rabbi. But along the way, as a nurse at San Francisco General Hospital, a needle stick infected her with HIV in 1994, and she then developed AIDS. Rabbi Alexander helped her practice telling her congregation  which was in Alabama  about her illness. Then he and an AIDS educator traveled there with her to offer support.

I dont believe there was ever a more wonderful, open, welcoming person, a more loving person anywhere, Leslie Alexander said of her father.

In addition to his wife, Gertrude, of Danville, Rabbi Alexander is survived by a sister, Gerda Abramchik of Chicago; daughter Leslie Alexander and son-in-law Ken Aitchison of Los Gatos; granddaughter Shira Aitchison and her husband Justin Hellman of Los Angeles; granddaughter Aliza Aitchison of New York; nephew Elhanan Abramchik of Florida; nephew Joe Abramchik and his wife Elka Abramchick of Chicago; and nephew David Abramchik of New York.

A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Congregation Bnai Emunah. 3595 Taraval St., San Francisco.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com
Vietnam has slapped a terrorism label on a San Jose-based organization that has opposed the nations Communist government for more than 30 years, and that responded scornfully Friday to its new status.

The Hanoi regime is especially fearful of organized opposition and seeks to deter Vietnamese from joining in peaceful political advocacy, the group known as Viet Tan, or the Vietnam Reform Party, said in a statement. To justify its human rights abuses, Hanoi has often portrayed critics as engaging in terrorism, subversion and social unrest.

Vietnams Ministry of Public Security announced the terrorist designation Tuesday and said anyone who joins the group or accepts its training or sponsorship will be an accomplice in terrorism. The ministry said Viet Tan had staged unsuccessful armed attacks in its early years, and now sends its members to Vietnam to stir up unrest.

Viet Tan was founded in 1982 by Hoang Co Minh, who had been a vice admiral for the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government that fell to Hanoi in 1975, ending the Vietnam War. He was killed in Laos in 1987, in what Vietnams government describes as a battle between its forces and a group of guerrillas trying to enter Vietnam and overthrow its government.

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Viet Tan has continued to oppose the government and call for its removal, but says its activity in Vietnam is entirely political and nonviolent. Three of its members, the group said Friday, are serving long prison terms for their blogging and community organizing inside the country.

Some announcements from the Vietnamese government are in the same vein. A recent posting by the official Vietnam News Agency announced jail sentences of two and three years to two men convicted of propagandizing against the state.

The two-year sentence was imposed on a man who drew a reactionary slogan on the wall of a police station in April 2015 in response to the call of the Viet Tan reactionary group, said the agency, which added that the man was later invited by Viet Tan to take part in a communications training course. The agency said the three-year term was given to a man who had regularly accessed antigovernment websites and last year compiled and shared scores of articles distorting policies and guidelines of the Party and the state of Vietnam.

In its statement Friday, Viet Tan said, We challenge the Vietnamese authorities to publish on state media the full range of Viet Tans activities to empower activists, promote Internet freedom, and defend basic rights  and let the people of Vietnam decide whether Viet Tan is a threat.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
San Francisco prosecutors newly disclosed account of the bribery case against three local officials lays much of the blame on former school board President Keith Jackson, the alleged mastermind of the plot, and none on Mayor Ed Lee, the alleged target.

In fact, the 61-page affidavit filed Thursday in Superior Court blacks out every mention of Lees name and title, including some that were made public by defense lawyers in an earlier federal case.

Nazly Mohajer, a former member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, and Zula Jones, a former commission staffer, were charged in January with conspiring with Jackson to solicit bribes from an FBI agent posing as a corrupt businessman who sought access and favorable treatment from Lee. Transcripts of secretly taped conversations quote them as arranging and accepting more than $20,000 in campaign contributions from the agent and agreeing to use straw donors to break the sum into $500 checks, the maximum legal donation in San Francisco elections.

All three pleaded not guilty Thursday after District Attorney George Gascon released details of the charges, which he had previously kept sealed.

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Jackson has already been sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to racketeering for arranging bribes from undercover agents to state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. Yee also pleaded guilty and got a five-year sentence. Raymond Shrimp Boy Chow, leader of a Chinatown community organization, was convicted of racketeering and murder in the federal case and sentenced to life in prison.

In the new court filing, a prosecution investigator said Jackson, who had already collected $11,000 from the undercover agent for Yee, pushed the idea in early 2012 that the agent should also give money to help the newly elected Lee repay his campaign debts. He brought in Mohajer and Jones, who acted as fundraisers for Lee, to help, the affidavit said.

The investigator, Eric Tejada, repeatedly referred to the contributions as bribes  citing Jones secretly recorded description of San Francisco as a pay-to-play town  but described the promised benefits only in general terms. He said Jackson and his confederates told the agent the mayor would meet with him and would be receptive to his plans for development, and Mohajer said he would get a 10 percent preference in his bid for city contracts.

The affidavit recounts a brief meeting in April 2012 with Lee  not named in the document, but identified in the federal court filings  in which the agent said he wanted to develop senior housing and could use some tax incentives. The document said Lee made no promises and gave no indication he was aware that the agent had already contributed $10,000 to his campaign, although Jones had assured the agent that the mayor knew about it. Lee has denied any wrongdoing.

Tejada also quoted three people who said Jackson had paid them $500 to write checks for that amount to Lees campaign, part of the alleged plot to launder the agents contributions.

Jacksons public defender declined to comment. Jones lawyer, John Keker, said the prosecutions filing proved nothing.

The agent came to town, flashing money, but nobody took a bribe, and the campaign never got the money, Keker said.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Ron Chapple/Getty Images

An Oakland woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of child abuse after her 13-month-old son was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Officers in the special victims unit opened their investigation when hospital staff reported a possible case of child abuse Thursday at 12:26 a.m., said Officer Marco Marquez, a police spokesman.
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San Francisco police made multiple arrests in a child pornography distribution case that spans several cities, officials said Monday.

Five suspects from three California cities were taken into custody in connection with allegedly distributing child pornography from June to September, police said.

In March, San Francisco Police Departments Internet Crimes Against Children Unit started an investigation into several people uploading child pornography involving children under 10 years old onto websites.

They first identified San Francisco residents Gary Waite and Danica Morais as suspects in the case. Waite, 38, was arrested on the unit block of Jones Street in San Francisco on June 28. He was charged with possessing child pornography and distributing child pornography, police said.

Investigators learned through Waites arrest that he was allegedly providing child pornography to 36-year-old San Francisco resident Lorenzo Brown.

Brown had been saving the pornography Waite had sent, authorities said. Brown, who had already been in San Mateo County Jail on burglary charges, was additionally charged with possession of child pornography.

Morais was arrested on the 100 block of Topeka Avenue in San Francisco on June 29. She was also charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.

Authorities arrested two more suspects in Southern California after Moraiss arrest.

Internet Crimes Against Children investigators in Los Angeles served a search warrant on a home on Wilshire Boulevard on August 16. They arrested 35-year-old Justyn Tomblyn on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

In mid-September, investigators in Sacramento County served a search warrant at a home that led police to arrest Michael Brown, 42, on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

Any potential victims or people who had noticed suspicious behavior from the suspects were asked to call police at (415) 558-5500.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
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Few San Antonio neighborhoods scare up trick-or-treat delights quite like Monte Vista.

That goes for a frightfully fun new event this year in the historic district as well as its traditional front-porch haunts.

It is absolutely amazing how this neighborhood sort of transforms during Halloween, said Dolly Holmes, president-elect of the Monte Vista Historical Association (MVHA).

Every Halloween, Monte Vista unfurls a spook-tacular array of pumpkins on porches, ghosts hanging from trees and tombstones popping up from front yards, as scores of costumed little ones and not-so-little ones explore a good 100 blocks that positively scream with Halloween candy and other Halloween high-jinks.

For weekday Halloweens such as this years, Holmes said that fun usually peaks around 6 to 7 p.m. Call it the more kid-friendly witching hour, which caters as much to visiting grandchildren of Monte Vista grandparents as to the many other families that drive in from outside the neighborhood.

By 8 or 8:30 (at night) frankly, most of us are out of candy, Holmes said.

For the first time, the MVHA has teamed up with Landa Library to put on a special Halloween celebration featuring a costumed kiddies parade as well as crafts, treats and not-too-scary stories. The new event runs 4 to 6 p.m. Halloween at the library.

More Information Monte Vista Halloween Party Where: Landa Library, 233 Bushnell Ave. What: A free, special Halloween celebration, featuring a costumed kiddies parade as well as crafts, treats and not-too-scary stories. When: 4-6 p.m. Oct. 31 More info: 210-207-9090, mysapl.org/Visit/Locations/LandaLibrary See More Collapse

As for trick-or-treat fun in the surrounding area, Holmes said it varies from block to block, though youre bound to find plenty of creepy good times lurking in the woods of Monte Vista  as in Lullwood, Rosewood, Hollywood and Lynwood avenues.

Take the Rosewood Photo BOOth of husband-and-wife artists Michael Mehl and Ann Kinser.

Since 2010, the Monte Vista couple have put up a different artsy backdrop in their driveway, which draws hundreds of trick-or-treaters each year to strike a pose. Mehl, whos founder and director of the Fotoseptiembre USA photography festival, shoots the photos and posts them to aplacewithnoname.com for free download.

Im sure its unique everywhere in other neighborhoods as well, Mehl said, but whats happened here is we have become a destination. People come here from all over the city.

Mehl doesnt publicize the Photo BOOths exact address so everyone gets a fair crack at candy and snapshots. Of course, you cant miss it with all the crowds and lights.

That goes for the more picturesque Halloween partying around the neighborhood, too.

For instance, Mehls caddy-corner neighbors have a knack for Hollywood-themed setups and have dressed as Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra and hosted a live jazz trio.

The happy Halloween howls in the neighborhood usually fade around 9:30 p.m., when a mysterious costumed gentleman on a bicycle designed to look like a dragon rolls through Monte Vista for his Photo BOOth closeup.

When he comes around we know its the end of the night, Mehl said. Its really an eerie effect.

Not so eerie: the many Halloween memories to be made in Monte Vista, sure to last a lot longer than the last candy corn.

Its definitely a family-friendly evening, Holmes said.
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Halloween packs some serious visual punch. Orange pumpkins, bowls of colorful candy and costumes in a rainbow of hues all come together for a ghoulishly graphic display.

Our wonderful graphic artist Mike Fisher captured the Halloween spirit in eight coloring book images for the Express-News Halloween Coloring Contest, where two winners each will receive a prize package with

 $100 gift certificate to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

 $100 gift certificate to Cover 3

 2 tickets to 4th Annual Espiritu de la Noche Masquerade Ball at Victorias Black Swan Inn (victoriasblackswaninn.net)

 1 room rental at Premiere Escape Rooms (premierescaperooms.com).

The total prize value comes to $530, so get out your markers and pencils, and get to it!

How to enter

1. You must be 18 or older to enter.

2. Color as many of the images as you would like. Click here to download the images to print onto your own paper. Browse a PDF of the coloring book below.

3. Take a photo of each of your creations and post it on Instagram. Be sure to tag us @mysanantonio and to direct message us with your full name, email address and daytime contact number. You only need to direct message us once, even if you have multiple entries.

4. The deadline to enter is Oct. 17. We will select the finalists and post them to Instagram and Facebook Oct. 19. Readers will vote by liking images of the finalists, so encourage your friends to vote. The Readers Choice winner will be the image with the most likes on Instagram and Facebook.

5. We will announce the two winners  a Readers Choice from the most social media likes, and an Editors Choice, Oct. 24. The two winners work will be published in the Oct. 30 mySA Sunday section.

Happy Halloween!

espicer@express-news.net

Twitter: @spiced1
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Haunted houses let you experience the thrills and chills of a scary movie, but up close and very, very personal. Some houses open just for the Halloween season; others are in boo-siness year-round. Some offer online reservations that let you cut to the front of what are often very long waiting lines.

13th Floor Haunted House

Here youll find all those scary creatures  chainsaw-wielding clowns, sharp-toothed werewolves and more  that usually inhabit the 13th floors absent from so many buildings.

Open through Oct. 31, Nov. 4-5. 1203 E. Commerce St., $24.99; $49.99 for a reserved time. 13thfloorsanantonio.com, 210-910-6450

Psycho Asylum and Slaughterhouse

Get two frights for the price of one. Psycho Asylum houses the criminally insane while the Slaughterhouse was the site of a grisly red rum, er, murder.

Open through Oct. 31. 1201 E. Houston St., $35 for admission to both. psychoasylumsa.com, 830-499-7229

Ripleys Haunted Adventure

Meet South Texas horror legends such as the Donkey Lady, La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) and others in this haunted house located across from the Alamo.

Open year-round, seven days week. 329 Alamo Plaza. $21.99. ripleys.com/phillips, 210-226-2828

SeaWorld Howl-O-Scream

Seasonal event includes five haunted houses (one new) in addition to six scare zones where there roam demon dolls, asylum escapees and more. There are also two theme bars, shows and nighttime roller coaster rides.

Open Oct. 21-23, Oct. 28-30. 10500 SeaWorld Drive. Admission included with daily park admission; online, $59; at the gate, $65. howloscream.com, 800-700-7786

Six Flags Fright Fest

Fright Fest features five haunted houses (two that are new) as well as separate scare zones inhabited by blood-thirsty creatures. There are also live shows starring various ghouls, zombies and other scary critters.

Open Oct. 21-23, Oct. 28-30. 17000 I-10 W. Included with daily admission of $73.99, sixflags.com/fiestatexas 210-697-5050

Escape rooms

Escape rooms challenge participants to solve puzzles, answer riddles and decipher clues to free themselves from various scary scenarios  all while the clock is ticking. Most rooms require advance reservations and a minimum number of participants, so you may be paired with other groups. Scenarios listed below change regularly, so check the websites in advance. Unless otherwise indicated, escape rooms are open year-round, seven days per week.

Clocked In Escape Room

This escape room features two different scenes.

Priceless Gift: Find your deceased grandmothers hidden diamond necklace before new buyers take possession of her home.

Youve Been Scouted!: Successfully solve a series of puzzles so you can join the CIA.

3519 Paesanos Parkway, $29 for a 60-minute session, clockedinescaperoom.com, 210-267-8777

Escape SA

This escape room features three different scenes.

Asylum: Escape an abandoned mental hospital.

Where in the World? Search a hotel room for clues to help find a missing friend.

Man Cave: Find your buddys hidden gambling money before a bookie puts a hurt on him.

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays, 8746 Wurzbach Road, $28.95 for a 60-minute session, escape-sa.com, 210-412-3153

Exit Game Escape Room

Katherines Asylum Escape: Find your way out of a locked asylum by finding and deciphering clues revealing how a previous patient escaped.

5720 Bandera Road, $28.95 for a 60-minute session, exitgame-sa.com, 210-568-7777

Extreme Escape

This escape room features four different scenes.

Master of Illusion: Escape a crazed magicians lair  or disappear forever.

Undead: Find the antidote to save humanity from a zombie apocalypse.

Mutiny: Escape from the ships hold of notorious pirate.

Super Villain: Disarm a de-saturator bomb before it explodes and robs the world of all its color.

9995 I-10 W., $28.99 for a 60-minute session, extremeescape.com, 210-641-2828

Great Room Escape

This escape room features two different scenes.

The Cabin: Escape from a remote cabin where youve been trapped by a crazed serial killer.

Zombie: Find your way out of a locked study before a chained zombie trapped in there with you is freed.

1203 E. Commerce St., $29.99 for a 60-minute session, greatroomescape.com, 210-504-4698

Key Quest Escape Room

This escape room features three different scenes.

Vacation Vandals: Recover your stolen holiday tickets before your vacation is ruined.

The Cellar: Escape a dark cellar where youve been trapped by a psychopathic serial killer.

Detention: Find the hidden hall pass to get out of school detention early.

606 Embassy Oaks, $15 for a 45-minute session, keyquestescaperoom.com, 210-499-4400

Premier Escape Rooms

This escape room features four different scenes.

Conspiracy Cure: Discover the cure to the deadly virus before you die.

Foreign Agent: Find incriminating documents in the office of a rogue spy before he returns.

Hostel Dread: Decipher clues to a missing friends whereabouts in his disheveled hostel room.

Escape Detention: Solve a teachers test to be released from detention.

Open seven days a week except Tuesdays, when its by appointment only, 19186 Blanco Road, $35 for 60-minute session, premierescaperooms.com, 210-896-1050

San Antonio Panic Room

This escape room features three different scenes.

Prison Escape: Free yourself after being jailed for a crime you didnt commit.

Abandoned School Room: Find blueprints for a technology that can save millions of lives.

Cabin Fever: Caught in the snow, you and your friends were forced to take shelter in a nearby cabin, it can stand the brunt of the storm for only so long.

12770 Cimarron Path, $25 for a 60-minute session, texaspanicroom.com/sa, 210-802-8958

Ghost tours

Ghost tours of haunted hotels, spooky homes and poltergeist-infested buildings up the scare factor by taking place after dark. Some relate stories of hauntings, others utilize detection equipment to let you play amateur ghostbuster. Reservations are usually required and, unless otherwise noted, tours run year-round.

ACP Ghost Hunt

Downtown ghost hunt led by professional parapsychology group utilizes EMF detectors and temperature sensors to spot ghosts and other apparitions.

Meets at the Alamo Plaza cenotaph. Adults, $15; children 7-11, $10; bestsanantonioghosttours.com, 210-348-6640

Alamo City Ghost Tours

Walking tour through downtown utilizes ghost-hunting equipment such as thermal meters and dousing rods.

Meets in Alamo Plaza. Adults, $15; children 5-14, $10; alamocityghosttours.com, 210-336-7831

Bad Wolf Ghost Tours

Downtown walking tour utilizes an EMF detector so you can look for ghosts along the way. Ends with an optional haunted happy hour at the Hotel Indigo.

Meets at the Alamo. Adults, $15; children under 12, $10; badwolfghosttours.com, 805-757-0512

Ghost City Tours

Brand-new tour company begins operations in mid-October with historically accurate walking tours of downtown.

Meets at the Alamo. Adults, $19.95; age 6-11, $9.95; ghostcitytours.com, 888-859-5375

Paranormal Visits

The tour conducts actual paranormal investigations at purportedly haunted locations.

By appointment only. 1201 E. Houston St., $60 an hour, paranormalvisit.com, 830-499-7229

Silverghost Tours

Walking tour of downtown blends history and culture with ghost stories.

Meets in Alamo Plaza. Adults, $18; students, $10; 6 and under, free; silverghosttours.com, 210-215-2172

Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours

Ghost bus tour takes visitors to haunted and historic locations such as the Menger Hotel, the old red light district and a cemetery.

Meets outside the Menger Hotel. 204 Alamo Plaza, $40 (16 and older), sistersgrimmghosttour.com, 210-638-1338

Spirit Chamber Lights Out Ghost Tour at Terror Mansion

One-hour tour inside a haunted house utilizes night vision cameras and other equipment to view paranormal activity.

By appointment only. 414 W. Laurel St., $40, spiritchamber.com, 210-226-2666

rmarini@express-news.net

Twitter: @RichardMarini
Tehran, Iran, Oct. 7

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Iran and China have started cooperation on the Arak heavy water facility, Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said, IRNA reported Oct. 7.

Under the nuclear agreement, achieved between Iran and P5+1 (the US, the UK, France, China, Russia plus Germany) and implemented in January 2016, Iran removed the Arak reactors core and a new reactor with minimum plutonium production capacity will be installed there.

Iran also has sold the heavy water produced in Arak during the past years to foreign countries, including the US.

Takht-Ravanchi said cooperation on peaceful nuclear technology with some countries has already started, including the Iran-China cooperation on Arak facility.

Iran has filed a draft containing the entire negotiations with China on redesigning the Arak reactor, which were attended by other 5+1 members, and sent the draft to China for consideration, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrooz Kamalvandi said in July.

Kamalvandi said the works concerning the reactors redesign are progressing well and it can be said that a framework has been identified.

We are now talking over what parts of the job could be carried out by China in cooperation with other members of the sextet [P5+1] and what parts can be done by us, he said.

Kamalvandi added that the parts of the redesign, which should be carried out by Iran, are being done at a fast pace.
The Culinary Institute of America-San Antonio will host its second Arriba el Sur Latin Summit Oct. 26-29. Mostly for chefs and students, the festival also features some high-profile events open to the public, including free live-fire cooking demonstrations at the institute's outdoor kitchen during the Pearl Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 29.

The summit's most high-profile public event brings together chefs Danny Bramson, Diego Biondi, Isadora Diaz and Camila Moreno with wine experts Alejandro Iglesias and Fred Dexheimer for a six-course dinner at the CIA's Nao Latin Gastro Bar on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $125 per person. Call the restaurant at 210-554-6484 or visit naorestaurant.com/events.
The Southtown symbiosis of the contemporary American grill Brigid and the neo-Celtic bar Francis Bogside, sharing space at 803 S. St. Mary's St., became even more intertwined this week as the restaurant rolled out a new menu that will be available on both sides of the conjoined business.

Serial bar entrepreneur Steve Mahoney  who also has Blue Box at the Pearl and Georges Keep on La Cantera Parkway  opened Brigid in 2015 with former Sandbar chef Chris Carlson in 2015. With innovative, tightly crafted seafood, Brigid became a favorite of Express-News critic Edmund Tijerina, who gave it three stars, calling it a modern American menu overflowing with finesse. Carlson left in February this year, and Brigid has evolved into a kitchen led by the trio of Justin Richardson, Halston Connella and Noel Hallagan.
One person was found dead late Thursday inside a burning home in northwest Houston, officials said.

A fire broke out about 11:15 p.m. at a home in the 400 block of Neyland.

Heavy smoke and flames were pouring from the home when Houston firefighters arrived. HFD officials said their crews found a body inside.

They did not have any information about the victim.

The Houston Fire Department's arson bureau is investigating.
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Spurs Jesus and his celebrity friends kicked off the weekend Friday with an event where art, live music and food combined for a rooftop party that benefited the River Walk.

He told mySA.com his party at the St. Anthony Hotel is the official after party of the ScHoolboy Q and Joey Bada$$ concert at Aztec Theatre.

RELATED: 'Spurs Jesus for President' mural pops up at Southtown's Tito's Mexican Restaurant

Live music was performed by Jukebox Heroes. A set by Carlton Zeus was also on the night's happenings.

The live action was from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. and attendees had the opportunity to watch local artists like Albert Gonzales, Carlos Cantu and Joe Chenzo create new pieces to sell. The proceeds, like the $8 donation ticket to the party, will benefit Paseo del Rio.

"I'm inviting all of San Antonio to the biggest rooftop party downtown San Antonio has ever seen, there are big things to come and it's all for a good cause," Spurs Jesus said Friday before the show.

RELATED: San Antonio 6-year-old's Drake-themed birthday party made all others look like child's play

Paula Schechter, spokeswoman for Paseo del Rio, said the group is on board with Spurs Jesus' benevolence and added that he has been "going strong" to raise money for the River Walk recently.

Three other events throughout the month include a 5K run and two additional St. Anthony Hotel-based functions.

RELATED: San Antonio celebrities compete in Wingstop eating competition for charity

Spurs Jesus kicked off his initiative in late September with a "Spurs Jesus for President" mural on an exterior wall of Tito's Mexican Restaurant in Southtown. The St. Anthony Hotel and Alamo Brewery will each donate $1 to Paseo Del Rio for each social media post including "#SpursJesus4President" until Nov. 8.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
What began as a rescue attempt has formed into a 2-year friendship between a Dallas man and his pet squirrel.

Allen Pursely's husband, who works at a vet clinic, picked up Rocky after he had fallen out of a tree. At that time, the baby animal was so young his eyes were still shut. With Pursely working from home and taking primary care of Rocky, the two forged a bond, he told The Dodo.
(First of two parts)

SOUTHWEST HARBOR, Maine  It is a bright, sun-filled early September morning with dancing diamonds on every wavelet. The sea is calm, the north wind barely has the strength to lazily lift the American flag that hangs off the stern of Aimless.

We are in the small town, but famous harbor, of Southwest Harbor, Maine. European boats have been coming here since the mid-1600s, when a British warship sailed in here and reported to the king that the harbor could contain all of the British fleet. The harbor is surrounded by small mountains, richly covered with pines, firs and dramatic outcroppings of Maine granite. Those rock ledges are also beneath the keel of the boat, but fortunately it is a deepwater port and for the most part, they cause no problem. The air is rich with the perfume of the balsam pines, mixed with the pungent odor of drying kelp and seaweed.

Just around the corner, eastward 5 miles through the coastal islands, lies the Gulf of Maine and the Atlantic Ocean. If a boat keeps going, it will eventually get to the Western Coast of Ireland, some 3,000 miles away. In 1977, I flew this route, alone, in a single-engine airplane en route to Paris, France. But that is a story for another day. Still, sailing along this rock-lined shore today, the memory has not dimmed and I doubt that it ever will.

The European boating connection with Southwest Harbor remains strong. The first week we were here, we noticed a 45-foot sailboat, Pura Vida, was flying an Australian flag. Upon inspection and introduction, we found the captain, Anthony Baird of Melbourne, Australia, had recently retired from his medical practice, and was on his way to Norway via Greenland and Iceland, along with three other Australian sailors. This struck me as a fairly risky adventure, considering icebergs, fog, freezing water, high seas, etc.

I asked him to stay in touch and gave him a bottle of Champagne to celebrate his halfway point. Two months later, in high seas, between Greenland and Iceland, water began to come into his boat, apparently from a crack in the boats structure. To say that this was life threatening is stating the obvious. For three tortuous days all aboard bailed water until they limped into Iceland. After repairs were made, they soldiered onward, arriving in Oslo, Norway, at the end of August. Hardly an ideal vacation!

The Pura Vida voyage from Southwest Harbor to Europe is not so unique. One day I noticed two good-looking identical sailboats of 75 feet each flying British flags at the far end of the harbor. I got into the dinghy to investigate. It turns out that the two boats each contained 10 members of the British Armed Services: Army, Navy and Air Force  men and women. One of the boats had snagged a lobster pot so infamously frequent in these parts, and damaged the prop. So they were making necessary repairs to one boat before continuing. I asked where they were bound when they were ready to go. London, they cheerily replied.

In addition to its nautical fame, Southwest Harbor has another claim to fame, albeit a weird one. Each year in mid-July, a flock of pink, plastic flamingos descend on the town. They are in every yard, every store, in the trees, even on the boats. One even landed on the deck of Aimless and was seen peeking over the side. No one seems able to explain how this came to be. But they were so numerous, the town elders decided to build a festival around them, including a Flamingo Parade and several flamingo-themed parties.

History records that the original Godfather of the pink, plastic flamingos was Don Featherstone of Worcester, Mass., but he alleged no knowledge of this cloud of pink birds adorning every few yards of the town. He did, however, graciously agree to be the grand marshal of the Flamingo Parade. Many hard-working, serious, laconic Maine citizens came to the parade wearing pink costumes  imposter flamingos. They were easy to spot, though, because the real flamingos are plastic.

Featherstone continued to be the grand marshal of subsequent Flamingo Parades until his death. But the pink, plastic flamingos have continued the tradition. Linda and I went to this years parade. I had not known there were so many pink cars, pink hats, pink dresses etc.  or pink flamingos. Coming home to Aimless that afternoon, my intention was to discuss this phenomenon with our resident pink flamingo, but alas, he had flown away without leaving even a plastic chip.

Linda and I boarded Aimless this year in Boston on June 1. Lindas step-sister, Sage Sohier, lives in Boston and we stayed a few days to visit her and see the sights. Sage is a nationally known photographer with several books of her photos published. Some of her works hang in the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and other museums. Despite her large reputation, she is down home and as unpretentious as an old shoe. She spent Christmas with us in San Antonio two years ago, and plans to do so this Christmas.

Aimless had a slip in Boston near the old famous ship, the USS Constitution, also affectionately known as Old Ironsides. She was launched in 1797, made of southern live oak and pine, and was built to compete on equal terms with British frigates, who were thought to be invincible. She was a pure fighting ship, and, as history shows, she never lost a battle. The frigate was the prime fighting ship of the British Navy and had sent many ships of other countries to the bottom of the ocean, but she more than met her match against the USS Constitution. Old Ironsides still floats and is proudly on view in Boston, undergoing restoration.

In the marina where we were staying, I came across San Antonio businessman Tom Bensons 140-foot yacht, Lady Gayle Marie, with a hailing port of New Orleans. Its quite the ship, complete with a glass enclosed circular elevator. We did not see Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans.

Linda and I left Boston in beautiful weather, but with a threatening forecast for heavy rain and fog that evening in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The forecasters called it correctly. As we were tying Aimless to a mooring in the harbor in Portsmouth, light rain was falling, the sky was slate gray and tentacles of fog were creeping down the hillside with visibility rapidly deteriorating. And then came the rain, heavy, then lighter, then heavier, all night long and all the next day. We were perfectly safe, but trapped on the boat. Our original plans were to lower the dinghy and go into town to explore and have dinner. The weather determined otherwise. After two days, we were able to move into Maine waters.

Portland, Maine, is a lively, attractive town with good vistas, many restaurants and a fine art museum. We stayed a few days, enjoyed all of the above, including a tour of the home and studio of one of the nations greatest artists, Winslow Homer. His home, 20 miles outside of Portland, is modest  only four rooms. It is on a wind-swept peninsula, and has undisturbed views of the turbulent waters of the North Atlantic, complete with crashing waves on ridges of granite. Homer spent years studying the pattern and varying colors of the sea and sky. And then he painted it. No one has done it better.

He did not like being disturbed when he was working. He closed all doors and painted a sign that said: Danger. Snakes and Rats and hung it on his door. It apparently worked, based on the prodigious number of his paintings.

On our designated day of departure, we got up to find fog, and plenty of it. At times, you could see an old fort that was a mile away. We would cheer, Its breaking up, the fog is lifting. Five minutes later, the fort would disappear altogether.

Gloom descended on Aimless. After three hours of this cycle, we decided to go anyway, hoping it would be better as the day progressed. It wasnt. As soon as were in the open sea, the fog closed over us completely. For the next eight hours, neither of us saw anything: no land, no boats, no sea markers to guide our way. We existed in a small circle of 20 yards; anything beyond a gray wet shroud, impenetrable as eternity.

Eventually, we closed on the harbor of Rockland, our intended destination for the day. It is a large harbor, and has a seawall on one side that extends out 100 yards or more, which you can see on radar. I could see the designated path, but I couldnt see the wall itself, much less the town at the end of the harbor until we passed the seawall and were actually in the harbor. Whew!

All we had to do then was anchor, have a congratulatory beer and go to bed. But, the anchor wouldnt set. As soon as I motored backwards to set the anchor for the night, it just dragged along the sea bed. Then the fog came back in, and dark was not too far away. We finally lifted the anchor above the water to see what was going on. There was a giant ball of mud on it, but underneath the mud was a rusting unused steel cable that had wrapped around the anchor a couple of times, preventing it from setting. Linda and I took turns trying to scrape off the mud and get to the cable. This was eventually done, but the cable would not come off. Meanwhile the boat was drifting around in the fog, attached only to the rusted steel cable, and no one at the wheel. Only Linda and I were aboard, and we were both at the front of the boat. I, lying on my belly, head and arms hanging over the side, was trying to twist a 100-pound anchor while Linda pushed on the cable with a pole trying to get the cable off the anchor. After about an hour of twisting and pushing, we were successful in freeing the anchor and re-anchoring in a different place. By this time it was dark and we were as muddy as pigs at feeding time, and wet from the fog. I would have sold Aimless fairly cheaply that night. Boat advertisements typically show highly polished boats with men in tuxedos and women in stunning evening dresses, having a glass of Champagne in a tropical paradise. We did not look like that. We looked more like coal miners at the end of a long day  cold, wet and miserable. Our faces were smeared with mud, our clothes filthy, and our backs hurting. Only our eyes showed through the mud, and they were not happy eyes. The romance of the boating life had disappeared.

But tomorrow is always another day. The sun was shining and we were off to Southwest Harbor. Selective memory replaced reality: it probably happened to Lewis and Clark, too.
THE REV. DAVE HAIG

Background: Father Dave is a priest at St. Luke's on the Hill, an Episcopal church in Mechanicville. He grew up mostly in Canada, graduating with a degree in theater from Queens University at Kingston, Ontario in 1982. He moved with his wife to Cape Cod in 1983. A decade ago, he attended Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was ordained as a priest in 2006.

Tell us how you came to St. Luke's on the Hill.

Ten years ago, I was ordained in the Albany diocese. I was released to serve where I lived, on Cape Cod. I was a priest, but also a building contractor  a bi-vocational priest.

Three years ago, I felt God was asking me to come serve here in the diocese. I served at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Albany for a year, and then was asked by the search committee at St. Luke's if I would consider coming as a long-term "supply priest," who oftentimes shows up for services and then leaves. I was elected full-time rector at St. Luke's in January 2016.

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I am here Wednesday through Sunday mornings every week and sometimes more. My wife is on Cape Cod, and then comes and joins me here. My three kids are all grown.

Why is it important to you to be open about your recovery from alcoholism?

I felt right off the bat that I had to be open in my recovery, because that was very essential to both my ministry and my life. I believe that it allowed people, if they were also in recovery to say so.

After a couple weeks of being here, I met one or two members who were also in recovery. I said, "Why don't we start an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting?" That began, maybe August of last year. We went six to eight months with four or five of us meeting every week. Eventually it began to grow.

We have a food drive that we do. We take bags around and say, "If you'll give us nonperishables, we'll bring food to the Regional Food Bank." There are brochures in the bags. One of the brochures was about our AA group. That next week or so, someone who saw the flier showed up and said, can we start an Al-Anon group, which is the sister program to Alcoholics Anonymous, for friends and family. So we had our second group.

Within a month, I got a call from someone connected with Nar-Anon, which is for families with addicts. I invited them to start a group. I also called the Narcotics Anonymous central office; I said I'd really love to give space for an NA group, because that's a real issue for this area. They started January of this year.

What do you mean when you say narcotics addiction is an issue for Mechanicville?

Within eight months of my being here, we provided services for four funerals due to heroin overdoses. The deaths spread over a wide range, age-wise. One was in his teens, one was in his 40s, and two were in between. During this time, in the middle of the night, is when I woke up with the name "St. Luke's Recovery Resource Center" pumping through my head, and I said where did that come from?

That is what we're involved with right now, is being a resource for people who may not know what to do when they are confronted with their own addiction or the addiction of a loved one.

We don't provide services  we connect people to services. We also connect people with a community of support and faith that I think is necessary for recovery.

You have a monthly worship service that includes the 12 steps of AA or NA in the liturgy. When I attended recently, churchgoers told me they liked being able to praise God and Jesus, rather than the "higher power" referenced in AA. Was that why you started the service?

Originally Bill Wilson, Bob Smith and Father Sam Shoemaker in New York City worked together in developing the "theology" behind AA. It was a very tight Christian theology. From there it expanded so that other people could benefit from recovery. As a priest, I feel the Eucharist sacrament and the 12 steps go hand in hand. The Eucharist provides a spiritual feeding, but also it gives that framework to follow the 12 steps.

But it's very important in recovery to honor people where they are, not try to push them in any particular direction. I have a variety of faith and nonfaith people in the groups to which I belong. The higher power I am dedicated to (Jesus) made a point of being with people who are not like him.

Sometimes people have an aversion to showing up at a church. The Recovery Resource Center is the office in the rectory. Another aspect is trying to break down the stigma that contributes to keeping people in the shadows of addiction. I'm very sensitive about trying to be a welcoming community.

Claire Hughes
Queensbury resident Steve Dew realized something was wrong as soon as he received his enhanced STAR school tax rebate check the other week.

At age 67, he qualifies for an enhanced seniors tax exemption but rather than the $897 he was supposed to get, he received Queensbury's standard $447 rebate instead.

That led to a minor odyssey of contacts with state Taxation and Finance call center workers, and local lawmakers who told him they are just now hearing of these problems.

As of Thursday, Dew was still waiting for the additional $450 he's owed.

Thanks to changes in the STAR program passed by the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April, Dew and others who purchased homes after Aug. 1, 2015 get their STAR exemptions in the form of a rebate check. Those who purchased homes before the cutoff date still get exemptions through a reduction off the top of their school bills.

Dew is one of an unknown number of homeowners who have either gotten shortchanged or who haven't received their checks at all, now that the state, rather than local assessors, is handling the STAR program for people who purchased homes after the cutoff date.

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"It's no longer simple. It's complicated,'' said Dew, a retired contractor.

"They've taken away a simple administrative task from the local assessor's office. They've turned this thing over to the state and it's gotten caught up in this bureaucratic mess.''

Queensbury Assessor Teri Ross agrees. "It's been a debacle,'' she said.

Ross, who is this year's chair of the state Tax Assessors Association, participated on Thursday in a conference call to try to straighten out the mess. But she came away with more questions than answers.

As of Thursday, she said the state wasn't saying how many New Yorkers were still waiting to get the checks or how many, like Dew, received the wrong amount.

When the change was approved in April, budget officials said it was to make STAR more consistent with other tax break programs.

But moving the exemption also makes the state budget's spending column smaller, since the STAR money going forward comes from the personal income tax column.

By offsetting the amount the state spends in order to reimburse school districts for the savings to property tax payers, it's easier to stay under the 2 percent annual state spending cap that Gov. Andrew Cuomo adheres to, said David Friedfel, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission.

The change is expected to shave $96 million off of this year's state expenditure column.

Now, though, the problems in sending the rebate checks is starting to grab attention of lawmakers who in some cases are hearing from constituents.

"For many seniors, paying their school tax is a major expense,'' said Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi of Utica, who earlier in the week called for the state Taxation and Finance Department to speed things up.

He also believes they should reimburse homeowners who were assessed late fees because they couldn't pay their school taxes on time, which for most districts is at the end of September.

Brindisi and Ross noted that some seniors who have fixed incomes or have little money relied on the rebate to help pay their school taxes. If they aren't paid on time, a surcharge is added.

"My phone started ringing last week,'' Ross said, referring to the last week in September. "Some people couldn't pay their tax bills.'' "They are rightfully angry,'' added Dan Mac Entee, spokesman for Betty Little, the GOP Senator who represents the Queensbury area.

Started in 1997 to ease the impact of rising school taxes, STAR provides homeowners with household incomes under $500,000 with a $30,000 exemption on the taxable value, or assessment of their homes. The precise amount saved varies based on location and the home prices in a given locale.

For seniors 65 and older with incomes of $84,550 or less, the exemption is $65,300, meaning that the STAR savings can double.

Ross said there are other problems with shifting the responsibility for STAR from local assessors to the state.

For instance, many localities offer additional tax breaks for seniors with low incomes and assessors can inform people of these programs  which might not happen is a taxpayer simply waits for a state rebate check.

"We're the first line of defense,'' she said.
STAMFORD  In the wake of a minor car-versus-pedestrian accident Wednesday, Mayor David Martin announced the rollout of more than two dozen 4-foot-tall yield signs designed to slow traffic at crosswalk intersections.

Its not rocket science, the mayor said Thursday, but its a step forward in making our streets safer for pedestrians.

A 75-year-old man was disoriented after being struck by a Toyota RAV4 at the intersection of Summer and Fourth streets on Wednesday. Officials said the motorist hit the man while turning southbound onto Summer Street.

While admittedly a small step, Martin said the neon green signs are nonetheless effective at easing traffic. Many of them will be placed nearby schools.

The mayor demonstrated by placing one in the crosswalk in front of Trailblazers Academy and Charter School on Lockwood Avenue. With two police officers looking on, he crossed the road with several city representatives from the neighborhood.

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Like The Beatles on Abbey Road, he said.

Garland Walton, chief of staff for DOMUS, the organization that runs the school, said she has been concerned about cars speeding down Lockwood Avenue in the path of distracted adolescents.

When youre a middle school student and youre engaged with friends in a recreational social mode, youre probably not paying attention to traffic, she said.

The city introduced nine of the aluminum signs in a pilot program last September and having found them to be successful and inexpensive, ordered an additional 28.

But the mayor acknowledged that theres still more the city needs to do to protect pedestrians and bicyclists.

We not only have to do a better job, he said, we need to catch up because theres still so much more to do.

Coinciding with the mayors announcement is the imminent departure of the citys transportation chief  a position Martin created to oversee all city employees working in parking, traffic and transit.

Transportation bureau chief Joshua Benson is heading to New York City, where he will oversee traffic signaling for the five boroughs. Benson was hired to deal with congestion, signaling and to make city streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Stamford has suffered a spate of car-versus-bicycle accidents in recent years. In May, a 72-year-old man was struck by a car and killed while riding his bicycle on Tresser Boulevard.

Martin said pedestrian accidents are at a high across the country because of distracted driving. Cellphones, many say, are the greatest threat to motorists and the pedestrians in their path.

I think we can do better in Stamford, he said, but this is a step in the right direction.
Tehran, Iran, October 7

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

A new round of a suspicious series of fires at Irans oil, gas, and petrochemical facilities has cost the country some 100,000 liters of condensates.

The fire hit Piruzi Oil and Gas Refinery in Shahrud, Semnan Province early morning on Oct. 7 and was put out only after five hours of 40-man firefighting, Mehr news agency reported October 7.

Local authorities say four people were injured. The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

The fire comes as latest in a series of similar incidents that has afflicted the countrys oil, gas, and petrochemical facilities.

Over the past six months, a similar incident has happened in Iran every 12 days, on average.

According to AP's report several days ago the serial fires indicate the possibility of cyberattacks on Irans oil facilities.

Head of Irans Passive Defense Organization Qolamreza Jalali recently said Irans oil cities such as Ahwaz, Mahshahr, Asaluyeh, and Kharg were going to be protected with a new, three-layer security system to prevent such incidents.
Albany

New York and five other states are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to try to force it to take action on pollution control in "upwind" states from which smog blows into "downwind" states like New York.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office said Thursday that the states are seeking to have nine states added to the "Ozone Transport Region" under the Clean Air Act. The designation requires that states within the region act together to reduce smog pollution.

The Ozone Region currently includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C. The upwind states that the lawsuit seeks to have added include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. The contention is that those states contribute to ozone standard violations within the downwind Ozone Region.

New York and other Northeastern states submitted a petition in December 2013 asking that the EPA add the nine states to the region. The states contend that the EPA was required to act on the petition within 18 months under the Clean Air Act, but the EPA has yet to act.

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Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont have signed onto the lawsuit with New York.

"States upwind of New York that don't take adequate responsibility for their pollution shift the cost and public health burdens of this pollution onto New Yorkers," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Our coalition has waited almost three years for EPA to decide on whether it will use its legal authority to require upwind states to stem their contribution to the smog pollution. As we have waited, the health of millions of New Yorkers has continued to be threatened. Today, we are suing to force long-overdue action by EPA on this important petition."

The EPA will review the petition and respond, a spokesperson said by email.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
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STAMFORD  The appetite for heroin in the city is real and its growing.

But parents who first learned about the drug several decades ago may not realize how much cheaper and purer it has become.

Police in Stamford, where at least 12 people have died of drug overdoses since January, have urged parents to be proactive and talk to their children about the dangers of heroin and other opioids.

Capt. Richard Conklin told a group of parents and educators at the Academy of Information, Technology and Engineering this week that such conversations can prevent years of headache.

I cant tell you how many families I speak to that have children who have become addicted to these substances and virtually anything valuable in their household has been taken, he said. Lawnmowers, jewelry, electronics. They come home and its just gone.

Although heroin is cheaper than it used to be, the drug is very physically addicting and users build up tolerance extremely quickly, Conklin said. As a result, many of them steal from their own families or burglarize other homes to fund their addiction.

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Conklin, who oversees the departments Narcotics and Organized Crime squad, said most of the heroin being sold in the Stamford area is 80 to 90 percent pure, up from an average of about 6 percent several years ago.

His presentation to parents was part of an opioid education program held Wednesday night at AITE and organized by the schools parent-teacher organization.

PTO President Sue Feldman said its important for parents to be proactive, but they should also learn to identify possible addiction signs, including knowing what heroin looks like and what kind of paraphernalia is used.

Conklin showed parents several items commonly used for heroin consumption, including cut up drinking straws, small spoons, pipes and needles.

He also said many overdoses are the result of mixing heroin with fentanyl, an opioid painkiller that can be many times stronger than heroin alone.

The spike in heroin and opioid deaths has been a growing national problem. In Connecticut, drug overdoses increased to 729 in 2015 from 357 four years ago, according to the Office of the State Medical Examiner.

State officials project an increase in accidental drug overdose deaths in 2016 for the fifth year in a row. With the accidental-drug death toll already at 444 in the first six months of the year, the state projects there will be 888 by the end of 2016.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will hold a news conference Friday morning in New Haven to discuss a report he commissioned last summer to help guide the states response to the opioid overdose crisis.

Most of the victims in Stamford this year were in their 20s and 30s, Conklin said, but officials say addictions often start much earlier.

Heroin use among young adults 18 to 25 years old more than doubled in the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ingrid Gillespie, executive director of Communities 4 Action, said at Wednesdays meeting that adolescents are much more susceptible to addiction because their brains are still developing. Communities 4 Action promotes substance-abuse prevention and mental health services in the region.

Michele Rawicz, who has two children in Stamford Public Schools, said the presentation was extremely informative, but very scary.

A lot of times, things that our children do surprise us, she said. We all need to be informed. I have these discussions with my children all the time and Ill have some discussions with them tomorrow.

Dayna Patashnik, a mother of two Stamford students, said the more parents talk with their children, the less likely they will abuse drugs.

A lot of parents have questions that theyre afraid to ask, she said. A lot of parents truly believe, it wont happen with my kid... But we need to talk. We need to talk to each other and we need to talk to our kids.

Patashnik admits discussions alone wont stop youth from trying drugs, but it is a major first step.

I want them to know that they can talk to me about whats going on, she said. I want them to know that its safe to tell me anything thats happening with their friends and that wont get them in trouble.

noliveira@hearstmediact.com, 203-964-2265, @olivnelson
STAMFORD  The citys Columbus Day Parade will make its way through the city on Sunday, led by its first female grand marshal.

Connie Scarella Stevenson, a retired Stamford school teacher and administrator, is a second-generation Italian-American whose family landed in the U.S. in 1990 after a coin toss sent her grandfather to America instead of Argentina.
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STAMFORD  When Jimmy Sapia asked a sixth-grade class to sit on the carpet and form a circle, it was clear they were not going to talk about math or science.

Instead, the Rippowam Middle School teacher asked the children to define courage. Their wide-ranging and wise answers lit up his eyes and made him proud of the program he was just introducing.

Courage to us means bravery and making sacrifice for others, one student said.

Taking risks, believing in yourself and being kind, others said.

Its a person who helps another person in need, said Angel Tax, whose mother once stopped her car to help a motorcyclist who had just crashed.

The group exercise Thursday morning was part of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Enrichment Program, a pilot initiative run by a foundation of the same name. Six-year-old Jesse Lewis was one of the 20 children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012.

After that terrible tragedy, I kind of sat back and I watched people trying to figure out what was the cause, how something like that could happen, said Scarlett Lewis, Jesses mother.

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A few days after the shooting, Lewis found a note her son had written on a chalkboard at home. It said, Nurturing. Healing. Love.

She understood those three words to be a calling from Jesse about what was missing in the world  and what was missing in gunman Adam Lanzas life as well.

The program, which shes launching in schools across the country, aims to fill that education gap while childrens brains are still developing. It is a set of social and emotional lessons focused on four key character values  courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion  which research shows help children become more optimistic, resilient and responsible.

Lewis said Lanzas anger started when he was much younger.

I picture him as a little boy, having an angry thought that escalated, she said. I knew that if Adam Lanza had emotional intelligence, if he had learned how to have positive relationships, if he had been able to control his emotions, the whole tragedy wouldnt have happened.

Rippowam is one of about a half dozen schools participating in the pilot program, which is free and web-based. The lessons are short and can be customized to different class settings and ages.

Lewis is traveling to New Mexico, Arkansas, Hawaii and throughout Connecticut this fall to introduce the program. An official global launch is planned for 2017.

The effort comes at a time of increasing concerns about mental health, drug use and risky behaviors among children and teens in America.

Were living in a scary time, in terms of whats happening with shootings in schools, with bullying, with social media being used incorrectly, Sapia said.

Among many of its bold recommendations outlined in a 2015 report, the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission called for social-emotional learning to be part of the curriculum from preschool through high school.

The panel said that social-emotional learning can help children identify and manage feelings  including frustration, anger and loneliness  that potentially contribute to disruptive and self-destructive behaviors.

Sapia doesnt see the Choose Love program as an optional, extra-curricular activity, but as an essential part of a childs education that had been neglected amid the latest test and course requirements.

These kids need to flex their mental muscles in addition to their academic muscles in order to deal with the issues that happen with adolescence, he said. We need to focus on the whole child, not just the academic piece of it.

Michael Rinaldi, an assistant principal at Rippowam, said such lessons should be embedded in every course and class activity.

This has tremendous potential for kids to deal with their own stresses, anxiety and love each other, he said.

Principal Jason Martin agreed, noting that teachers havent been able to address these lessons in many years.

We need to start giving these experiences to our kids so they can learn to self-regulate, treat each other kindly and notice when theyre having emotions or thoughts that are negative and how to change them into positive thoughts, he said.

noliveira@hearstmediact.com, 203-964-2265, @olivnelson
Jill Stein, who is very much running for president, came to Oakland on Thursday to fervently advance the notion that voting for her was not the equivalent of tossing ones precious franchise into the trash.

There is no future in politics as usual, Stein told a crowd of precisely 107 supporters that partly filled Humanist Hall, a small auditorium across from a used car lot in downtown Oakland. Its time to put people, planet and peace over profit.

Her nine dozen (minus one) supporters needed no convincing. They screamed and stomped at every word.

Jill, not Hill! Jill, not Hill! they cried as the Massachusetts physician and Green Party candidate took the stage. Many of her supporters even bought $1 raffle tickets for a chance to win a toy bulldozer autographed by Stein, whose campaign picked up some wisps of steam last month after authorities in North Dakota issued an arrest warrant for her. Stein had happily spray-painted a protest message on a bulldozer during a rally against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, and the video of her aerosol artistry went for what passes for viral among the Greens.

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Im a mother on fire, she said. We are not a footnote. We are not trivial window dressing. Im not going to go quietly.

Not going quietly has become something of a trademark. Stein got in another dustup on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in New York, the site of the first presidential debate, when she showed up complaining that she had not been invited to participate and was escorted from campus by police.

National polls put Stein at 2 percent and fellow would-be president Libertarian Gary Johnson at 7 percent. Stein said one of her best points was that she was not the lesser of two evils. She said the major-party candidates have been throwing Americans under the bus but that she would like to be invited to debate with them anyway on Sunday in St. Louis.

The majority of Donald Trump supporters are against Hillary Clinton, and the majority of Hillary Clinton supporters are against Donald Trump, she said. Theyve set a new all-time record for the most disliked and untrusted candidates in our history. Whats wrong with this picture?

Her supporters laughed and nodded.

Invest your vote. Dont throw it away on politics as usual, she said. This nonsense of lesser and greater evil is a propaganda campaign. The lesser evil and the greater evil are on a race to the bottom. Its time to reject the lesser evil and fight for the greater good.

Stein, a Harvard-educated internist, is running her second presidential race with the Greens. She has run twice for governor of Massachusetts, finishing out of the money. Between campaigns, she is a guitar-strumming songwriter of peace and protest tunes. (In one of them, she rhymed rainbow with times gonna change-o and rearrange-o in a YouTube video that, so far, has not gotten as many hits as the bulldozer one.)

She did not sing at her Oakland appearance. But a rapper did precede her to the stage, while organizers tried to drum up interest in the raffle tickets. Larry Belfetz-Howell of Moraga dug into his pocket, came up with $8 and clutched his tickets as if the prize were a Powerball jackpot.

Shes honest and shes trustworthy, he said. I hope I win, so I can donate the bulldozer back to the campaign and they can raffle it again.

Stein, who has not held a major elected office, has said that she did not believe her lack of experience would be a handicap because serving as president is not rocket science.

Few of her supporters said they would feel bad if a vote for Stein siphoned support from another candidate. But supporter Peter Dragovich, who was in charge of distributing Stein buttons, said voting for Stein in a non-battleground state such as California was a different proposition from voting for Stein in, say, Florida.

In a swing state, maybe you think about suspending your conscience and voting strategically, Dragovich said. In a deep-blue state like California, it probably doesnt matter. But it does become a consideration in other states.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com
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When the heavy rains and floods hit the area in April and May of this year, Huffman resident Darlene Bradbery's home in the Magnolia Point subdivision was flooded twice.

After the second flood, Bradbery's house was condemned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and was recently demolished with help from the Houston City Councilman District E Dave Martin's office, the city of Houston's Department of Neighborhoods and by J&A Construction. Martin's office also began to work closely with the Magnolia Point Homeowners Association president Stacy Christ to see what they could do to help Bradbery.

"Our office works closely with neighborhoods in District E like Magnolia Point especially after the floods," Jessica Beemer, north sector manager for Martin's office, said. "After the first flood, we talked to our neighborhoods to see if there was any flood relief we could provide and track the cleanup efforts of flooded homes. After the second flood on Memorial Day weekend, we got back in touch with our neighborhoods to see what they needed."

That is when they met with Bradbery, a disabled senior citizen, who needed help after FEMA condemned her house. Martin's office connected and relayed Bradbery's message to the Department of Neighborhoods. That office connected with Habitat for Humanity to see how they should progress.

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A local business, J&A Construction, agreed to demolish Bradbery's house at cost.

"It's companies like J&A Construction that make District E a wonderful place to live," said Martin.

Bradbery has continued to live on the property in Huffman with her caretaker and black Lab in a travel trailer until they could determine what to do next.

"All Bradbery had and all she wanted is what she had in the travel trailer," Beemer said. "We touched back with Habitat for Humanity who agreed to gather volunteers to build a new house on stilts for Bradbery if all of the supplies are donated. So we are reaching out to anyone who can help donate anything from timber to toilets to sinks; we need any kind of donations to help build a new house for Bradbery."

Martin's office will field any calls for information and connect anyone interested in donating materials to Habitat for Humanity.

According to Beemer, Bradbery was very thankful for the help since her main wish was to continue living on the property.

"The Department of Neighborhoods and Habitat for Humanity have been great to help move along with demolition and get to this point," Beemer said. "We have residents in our communities like Bradbery who were hit hard by the flooding. We hope to get these donations and that the community comes together for one of their own."

Any businesses interested in donating anything from timber to a kitchen sink, contact Martin's office at 832-393-3008.
Tehran, Iran, October 7

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

After Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian sued Iran for his arrest, Tehran says it is going to retaliate by suing the U.S. for having used him as spy.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, said Iran will file a similar suit against the US, ICANA news agency reported October 7.

Shortly after released by Iran and returned to the US, Rezaian filed a suit accusing Iran of torturing him physically and psychologically.

He has also said the only reason for his arrest was for Iran to pressurize the US during the nuclear talks.

Tehran released Rezaian in January. Earlier in Nov 2015 Rezaian was sentenced to an unspecified prison term in connection with espionage allegations after a court behind the closed doors.

Iranian-American Rezaian was detained with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, in July 2014. His spouse was later released.
WESTPORTAround 250 Kings Highway Elementary School students joined students from all over the world to participate in International Walk to School day on a brisk Wednesday morning.

Joined by parents, teachers and administrators the students only walked from the Saugatuck Elementary School parking lot to Kings Highway, but the effort helps raise awareness for the need to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety as well as traffic congestion.
AUSTIN  The reward for Juan Carlos Pena, 51, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender, has increased to $8,000 for information leading to his capture, if the tip comes in during the month of October.

Pena is wanted for a parole violation and failure to register as a sex offender. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

Pena's last known address was in Spring. He has ties to the McAllen and Houston areas as well as Reynosa, Mexico. Pena may occasionally cross the border between Reynosa and McAllen. He has been known to work in computer-related jobs. Pena's criminal history includes burglary, assault and aggravated robbery.

Pena is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 175 pounds. His tattoos include "Yolanda My Love" on his right wrist; a unicorn and "Charlie" on his upper left arm; and a skull and eagle on his upper back. He also has scars on his right ankle and abdomen.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to authorities using one of the five following methods:

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Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).

Text the letters "DPS"  followed by your tip  to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.

Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.

Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the "SUBMIT A TIP" link (under the "About" section).

Submit a tip through the DPS Mobile App. The app is currently available for iPhone users on the Apple App Store.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

As part of the fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of being involved in a military coup attempt in Turkey, 166 policemen have been detained in the country, the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported Oct. 7.

The detainees are accused of being members of the terrorist organization, according to the report.

As part of the next phase of the operation against the Gulen movements supporters, 12,700 police officers were dismissed in Turkey on Oct. 4.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said 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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
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Moscow

The Russian military on Thursday strongly warned the United States against striking the Syrian army, noting that its air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack.

The statement underlined high tensions between Moscow and Washington after the collapse of a U.S.-Russia-brokered Syria truce and the Syrian army's offensive on Aleppo backed by Russian warplanes.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said any U.S. strikes on areas controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad's government could jeopardize the lives of Russian servicemen.

He said Moscow was worried by media reports alleging that Washington was pondering the possibility of striking Syrian army positions.

"I would recommend our colleagues in Washington to carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans," Konashenkov said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said "We're looking at the full range of options here and those comments notwithstanding, we still have a responsibility as a government to consider all those options."

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"I don't find them (comments like the warning) helpful to moving forward, to reach some sort of diplomatic solution here. But the Russians should speak for themselves and why they're saying that kind of thing," he said.

Russia responded with dismay to the U.S.-led coalition's air raid on Syrian army positions near Deir el-Zour that killed 60 Syrian soldiers on Sept. 17, rejecting the U.S. explanation that the attack was a mistake.

Konashenkov said "we have taken all the necessary measures to prevent any such 'mistakes' with regard to Russian servicemen and military facilities in Syria."

He said the range of Russia's S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems deployed to Syria would be a "surprise" to any country operating its aircraft over the country. Konashenkov added that the Syrian army also has various Soviet- and Russian-built air defense missile systems, which have undergone modernization over the past year.

Since Russia launched its air campaign in Syria in support of Assad's forces a year ago, the Russian and the U.S. militaries have maintained contacts to prevent midair incidents between Russian warplanes and aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition.
New Caney ISD Police arrested two students for terroristic threats related to a creepy clown hysteria sweeping the nation.

School officials declined to comment on the details of the social media threats or the students due to the ongoing investigation.

The students have been referred to the Montgomery County Juvenile Prosecutor's Office and a statement was released on Thursday regarding the threats made against the school among several school districts in the Houston area this week, according to the District.

The New Caney ISD statement assured parents the local threats and the safety of the students are being taken seriously.

"NCISD Police have arrested two student suspects regarding the threats," the statement read. "Police and school district administration are continuing to investigate and monitor this matter. As a precaution, NCISD Police have increased security patrols and visibility in the district."

The creepy clown terror began as a hoax in August fabricated by children claiming clowns were snatching youth in the South Carolina woods. Multiple creepy clown sightings have since been made across the country with at least seven arrests made in Texas, including a Houston ISD and Livingston teenager. One Texas man in costume was also arrested for chasing children with a bat and was transferred to a psychiatric facility.

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The Conroe Police Department responded to at least one call on Tuesday after children reported seeing a clown with a knife in the Southeast Conroe area, however no one was found and no arrests have been made at this time. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office had no reported incidents as of Wednesday night.

Conroe ISD and Willis ISD officials confirmed this week they too are aware of the nationwide and statewide clown threats, but had no incidents to report.

Anyone with information regarding the threats towards New Caney ISD schools are urged to notify New Caney ISD police or utilize the district's online School Safety Reporting form found on the front page of the district's website at www.newcaneyisd.org or any of the campus website.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted at 1-800-392-7867.
The Islamic State (also known as Daesh) terrorist group will be driven from its stronghold cities of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq by this time next year, US Vice President Joe Biden told supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a rally on Friday, Sputnik International reported.

We are on our way to eliminating ISIS, Biden said. The reason youre seeing these one-off [terrorist] attacks is because theyre losing their caliphate.

By October 2017, the terrorists will have been pushed out of Raqqa and Mosul, the vice president stated.

They will be gone. I promise you they will be gone, Biden said.

The remarks, to an audience of college students in Pennsylvania, where Biden was born, are the first time in the 2016 election campaign that the vice president has ventured into foreign policy on Clintons behalf.

On Sunday, Clinton is scheduled to have her second debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
A soldier was martyred in a PKK bomb attack in eastern Turkeys Van province Thursday, the regional governors office said, Anadolu reported.

According to the office, the improvised explosives attack took place at 4.15 p.m. (1415 GMT) in Vans Gurpinar district. PKK terrorists detonated the bomb on the Van-Sirnak road as soldiers passed by.

A search operation was launched following the attack, the office added.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU, which resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of numerous civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed in army operations.
Apple's planned research and development facilities in China will reportedly focus on development of hardware and advanced technologies. (Photo : Getty Images)

After being announced in August, Apple's first research and development facility in China has finally been established with the total investment amounting to 300 million yuan, China Tech News reported.



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Apple R&D (Beijing) Co. Ltd, located in Zhongguancun Chaoyang Park, will be teaming up with Chinese universities and other local partners to boost the country's talent pool. While Apple's iPhone line is manufactured in the country, the Chinese government is looking to fuel its economy by moving to advanced technologies.



Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal said that the center will focus on hardware development. Gathering information from the Zhongguancun Science Park Administrative Committee, the WSJ reported that the center will target advanced technologies such as audio & video equipment, as well as computer hardware and communications.



This move by the Cupertino, California-based company comes on the back of its mounting legal issues in China and is seen as an attempt to maintain an amiable relationship with the country, one of the world's largest smartphone markets.



Apple's planned R&D facilities will likely boost the Chinese economy and create jobs, with about 500 new personnel expected to be employed by the center.



Locating an R&D arm in China will also enable Apple to adapt to the local taste.



"Apple's competition with local phone makers would inspire designs suited to the China market," wrote the WSJ.



In August, the company's CEO Tim Cook hinted at Apple's R&D plans in China, although no specific details were revealed.



The new facilities are just one of the tech giant's recent investments in China. The company had splurged $1 billion on ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing earlier this year, with Cook saying that Apple is "[learning] more about certain segments of the China market."



"Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well," Cook told Reuters in an interview.


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An enforcer for the Bandidos Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty Friday for his role in a federal racketeering case that targeted him and two other alleged national heads of the organization.

Justin Cole Forster, 32, of San Antonio, became the first in the case to admit that part of the racketeering included violent attacks on rival bikers. He acknowledged hes been a Bandido since 2006 and the groups national sergeant-at-arms since 2011.

Another alleged Bandidos member is scheduled to plead guilty in the case Wednesday to a federal charge for a 2002 murder.

Forster was arrested in January along with San Antonio resident John Xavier Portillo, 57, the Bandidos reputed national vice president, and the clubs Houston-based president, Jeffrey Fay Pike, 61.

The three are accused of directing, sanctioning, approving and permitting other members of the organization to carry out racketeering acts including murder, attempted murder, assault, intimidation, extortion and drug trafficking to protect and enhance the organizations power, territory, reputation and profits, federal prosecutors have said.

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The indictment did not directly link the trio to a deadly brawl and shootout at a restaurant in May 2015 in Waco involving the Bandidos and a rival motorcycle group, the Cossacks, that left nine people dead, and neither Portillo, Pike nor Forster were there. But it did shed new light on the warfare that led up to the clash.

Portillo called many of the shots that resulted in earlier violence against the Cossacks and other rival motorcycle clubs around the state, the indictment states. Though Pike is president, the indictment said, Portillo exerted control and decision-making authority.

From May to August of last year, he served as acting president while Pike recovered from surgery, the indictment said. Even before that, Portillo told Pike at one point to turn his back from what Im gonna do in an attempt to shield Pike from criminal responsibility when Portillo declared war on the Cossacks, the indictment said.

Forster pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and conspiracy to commit extortion.

The drug-trafficking count carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, and up to a life term. His sentencing was set for Jan. 9 before Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra.

Hes not involved in any murders, Forsters lawyer, Anthony Cantrell, said. But given the overall charges, it appears that the United States government is trying to shut down the Bandidos, Cantrell said.

In July, federal prosecutors added more charges to their indictment and a fourth defendant, Frederick Fast Fred Cortez, an alleged member of the Bandidos Southwest San Antonio chapter. While it reiterates much of the racketeering activity, it also alleges Cortez and Portillo were involved in the killing of Robert Lara in January 2002 in Atascosa County because Lara killed one of their own, Javier Negrete.

Court records show Cortez is scheduled to plead guilty Wednesday in San Antonio to a federal charge related to Laras murder.

Portillo and Pike, meanwhile, are scheduled for trial here in August 2017. Asked if Forster might testify against them, defense lawyer Cantrell said: Theres nothing set in stone right now.

gcontreras@express-news.net

Twitter: @gmaninfedland
The Texas Education Agency is in the process of opening a case against a Grand Prairie teacher who was suspended Monday after students looked him up online and found he was arrested in 2013 for allegedly making a threat insinuating he was capable of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting at an elementary school.

DeEtta Culbertson, TEA spokeswoman, confirmed to mySA.com Friday that the state agency was opening a disciplinary case against Christopher Durham, a teacher at Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute in North Texas, who was suspended Monday.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the area superintendent Traci Davis sent a letter home to parents that until the investigation into Durham was complete, he will be excused from all employment responsibilities.

RELATED: Harlandale ISD elementary teacher arrested on 2nd DWI, drug possession charges

After a student in the sixth grade searched Durham on the internet, they found he had been arrested in Oklahoma, where he taught in 2013, the Morning News reported.

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The newspaper obtained an affidavit for Durhams arrest which said he was charged with three counts of threatening an act of violence to do physical harm.

RELATED: Dallas kindergarten teacher charged with sexual abuse of 2 students, possibly more

Durham, according to the affidavit, threatened Oklahoma County District Judge Lynne McGuire, and attorneys Tom Daniel and Ken Klingenberg, who were representing his wife in their divorce case, on Jan. 17, 2013 during a 10:30 a.m. phone call with his attorney, Chris Reser.

In the conversation, Reser said Durham told him he was capable of doing things along the line of what just happened in Newtown, Connecticut, to his wifes attorneys, Daniel and Klingenberg.

A month before Durhams alleged comments, 26 children and six adults were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Students in Grand Prairie found news of Durhams 2013 arrest and he was suspended.

RELATED: Ex-San Antonio teacher to serve 12 years for sexual assault of 13-year-old student

Clint Bond, a Fort Worth ISD spokesman, told the Morning News the district knew about Durham's alleged comments since 2015 when they planned to fire the teacher. But Durham was allowed to resign "after consultation with his representative," the newspaper reported.

While I cannot speak specifically to this situation, in general, yes, the agency takes any types of threats against schools, students and faculty very seriously, Culbertson said in an email. The safety and security of our students is a top priority. If our students are not safe, then they cannot learn, and then we are failing in our overall mission.

Durham told the Dallas Morning News he was unaware of a case being opened against him and that the charges made against him are false. He said the case the TEA has opened was an "aspersion" to his character, according to the Morning News.

His trial is in November.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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Gary C. Ligon, the Kerrville man declared not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in the grisly death of his wife, was transferred Friday to the states maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Vernon after walking away from the San Antonio State Hospital this week.

Thank God, said Judy Clark, whose sister, Rebecca Becky Ligon was slain in 1990 at the house where she and her husband lived outside Kerrville.

Ligon originally was ordered sent to the Vernon facility in 2007, when he was declared insane. He was transferred to the San Antonio State Hospital in 2013.

Clark was among those alarmed to learn this week that Ligon, 62, was not housed at the secure Vernon campus of the North Texas State Hospital  and that he had walked away from the San Antonio hospital, where staffers are not authorized to stop such departures., three times in the past 13 months.

He said he would kill the rest of our family if he ever got out and had the chance, Clark, 52, said by phone Tuesday. .

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

State District Judge Rex Emerson cited Ligons three unauthorized departures from the New Braunfels Avenue facility, and the dangers he poses to others, in a transfer order he issued Wednesday.

Ligons behavior has recently become increasingly more agitated and unpredictable, said Robert Arizpe, the superintendent of the San Antonio hospital, in an email Thursday endorsing the court-ordered transfer, which triggered a brief argument over who should move him.

Given his recent unauthorized departures and threatening behavior, we feel that it is in societys best interest and safety that law enforcement transport Mr. Ligon, Arizpe told Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer in requesting local deputies conduct the transfer.

If your deputies are not able to transport Mr. Ligon to Vernon tomorrow (Friday), well have to proceed with transporting him ourselves, Arizpe wrote.

Hierholzer rejected the request, saying the 15-hour round trip by two deputies would compromise his departments ability to protect Kerr County. He also accused the Texas Department of State Health Services of violating the trial courts commitment order when it moved Ligon to the San Antonio facility, where Ligon reportedly was allowed to smoke cigarettes outside the area where forensic patients like himself are kept.

Hierholzer told Arizpe that Ligon walked off Sunday morning while on such a smoke break. He was located early Tuesday by San Antonio Police and returned to the facility.

Christine Mann, a spokeswoman for the state agency, on Friday declined to address Hierholzers contention that the agency had violated the courts commitment order. Shed earlier confirmed agency staff does not try to physically detain patients who walk away from its hospitals.

When there are patients who leave our campus grounds, we typically notify local law enforcement and it's in their hands, she said .

Authorities say Becky Ligon was killed after picking up her husband at the Kerrville State Hospital, where they both worked. He also had been a patient at the hospital who had checked out about one week earlier.

They say evidence proved Ligon killed his wife, dismembered her body with a circular saw, left her torso in a field near their home and then burned her head in a washtub on their back porch. At his trial, a court-appointed psychiatrist said Ligon was undergoing schizophrenic delusions during the crime.

zeke@express-news.net
An Army soldier stationed in San Antonio and his girlfriend were arrested here Thursday in connection with the killing of his wife  a National Security Agency employee whose 5-month-old daughter was found alive near her body last year.

Maliek Kearney, 31, and his girlfriend, Dolores Delgado, who is in her 20s or early 30s, were taken into custody on federal warrants out of Maryland, where a federal grand jury had indicted them Tuesday. They are charged with interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in the Aug. 24, 2015 death of Karlyn Ramirez, 24.
A Seguin police lieutenant turned himself into authorities Thursday for an alleged assault that occurred in September, according to media reports and jail records.

Eric Jiminez, 43, was arrested on a Class A misdemeanor charge of assault- bodily injury/family violence, which poses a maximum sentence of one year in prison, according to Guadalupe County Jail records.
Dalian Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin speaks during a signing ceremony on Aug. 26 in Jinan. (Photo : Getty Images)

Wanda Group has partnered with 100 social We-media providers to form the "Wanda We-media Coalition," according to an announcement made by the company.



The coalition was launched during a ceremony held in Sept. 25 in Hefei Wanda City.



Representatives from Wanda Group, Legend Holdings and six We-media platforms including WeChat Official Account and Penguins Media Platform attended the summit.



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An article published by technologynewschina.com said that the coalition is the country's first corporate We-media alliance, which will be formed by more than 600 WeChat public accounts and official blogs from various units within Wanda Group, in addition to the other 100 providers. Tencent manages the popular Chinese chat app, WeChat.



According to Liu Mingsheng, senior president assistant of Wanda Group and initiator of Wanda We-media Alliance, they are willing to build a highly capable and valuable pool with like-minded We-media organizations as they have already found 100 such We-media organizations and formed the alliance.



The new coalition has plans to integrate Wanda's 600 We-media into the six major We-media platforms.



In a statement released on its website, Wanda Group and other eight companies also jointly announced "The Hefei Declaration of Corporate We-media," which it said will mark the new phase of we-media, a self-development led new model of social media integration and platformization. The initiative is expected to have a positive impact on the We-media ecosystem, according to the company.



The report said that Wanda will support the development of the alliance by providing special funds for it. As a benefit, members of the alliance will be given priority in new media placement orders from all companies managed by the Wanda Group.



Wanda also vowed to invest an initial 15 million yuan to support the We-media on its platform, the report said.



Meanwhile, small and medium We-media members will get assistance from the group, which will provide them with a startup capital, from 100,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan each annually.


President Obama enjoys a 55 percent job approval rating, the highest since the early months of his presidency in 2009, according to a CNN/ORC national poll released Thursday.

It was the latest in a succession of surveys showing the 44th president at or above 50 percent. The result is that Obama, in 2016, is the first incumbent president since Ronald Reagan in 1988 actively sought out to help his party hold the White House.

Polls are a snapshot in time, but Gallup surveys and Washington Post/ABC News polls have tracked closely with the CNN/ORC uptick.

Obama is running four points above a September CNN/ORC poll and is doing 11 points better than he did last October. He is up 12 points among Democrats (to 89 percent approval) and has gained 14 points (to 56 percent) among independents. Only 13 percent of Republicans approve of his job in office.

Could Donald Trump be responsible for the rise? "No drama Obama" is famous for his cool, while The Donald is defined by his hot rhetoric and rhetorical (and tweeting) excesses. Obama had a gleeful time playing off Trump's "birther" falsehoods at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

"I think the public appraisal of the president's character is one that even in the most difficult times has been pretty durable, and I think people are reminded of that when they hear some of the rhetoric uttered by the Republican nominee for president," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a briefing Thursday.

The Democrats had good news Thursday in polls from both Washingtons.

The Hillary Clinton campaign appears correct in counting on Washington's 12 electoral votes, and using the Evergreen State as an ATM, a place to hold closed-door events, count campaign dollars, and almost never interact with the public.

A KOMO-TV/Strategies 360 survey puts Clinton 16 points ahead of Trump in the Evergreen State, 47 percent to 31 percent.

Clinton has an unfavorable rating of 48 percent, but 63 percent of those surveyed give Trump a thumbs down, approximately the same number as seen in national polls.

The governor's race is somewhat tighter. Gov. Jay Inslee has a 50-40 percent lead over Republican challenger Bill Bryant.

The poll found Bryant way ahead in Eastern Washington -- although Inslee once represented a central Washington district in Congress -- with the incumbent getting big numbers in Western Washington.

The poll showed an optimistic electorate; Inslee is a buoyant, enthusiastic politician. Many of those surveyed had little or no knowledge of Bryant.

Bryant faces a tough challenge in making a fourth-quarter run. He has raised just over $3 million, while Inslee has taken in $8.58 million and has spent barely half of that, according to state Public Disclosure Committee reports.

Inslee has begun to spread his coattails, boosting Democratic candidates for the Legislature.

The KOMO/Strategies 360 poll of 500 voters was taken Sept. 29-Oct. 3, and has a margin of error of plus/minus-4.4 percent.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Hurricane Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared.

Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the hurricane pushed north.

"Remember, it could be the worst of it is yet to come," Gov. Rick Scott said in the morning.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds. Still, it got close enough to knock down trees and power lines, and a 107 mph gust was recorded at Cape Canaveral.

As the storm closed in, an estimated 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to move inland to escape the fury of the most powerful hurricane to menace the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade.

Matthew left more than 280 people dead in its wake across the Caribbean.

As it moved on to Florida, it largely skirted the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach areas of over 7 million people and hugged closer to the coast farther north, menacing such communities as Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville.

Some people who refused to evacuate were stranded and called for help early Friday but were told to stay put until conditions improved enough for paramedics and firefighters to get to them, said emergency operations spokesman David Waters in Brevard County, the home of Cape Canaveral.

"A family called in that the roof just flew off their home on Merritt Island," Waters said.

It was a scene officials hoped to avoid in other cities as the storm pushed north.

In Jacksonville, where 500,000 people were told to evacuate, Mayor Lenny Curry warned that authorities would not be able to help them during the worst of the storm.

"You need to leave. If you do not leave you will be on your own," Curry said.

Despite warnings, many people along the Florida coast decided to take their chances.

In Cape Canaveral, John Long rode out the storm in his 32-foot camper in a park a half-mile from the beach.

He lost power shortly before dawn but quickly fired up his generator. Small tree branches battered the vehicle but the large ones on the park's giant oak trees didn't fall.

"It was kind of loud and kind of shaky but nothing that caused too much concern," he said.

Robert Tyler had feared a storm surge would flood his street, which is only two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach. But he and his wife, Georgette, felt fortunate Friday morning when they looked out the front door of their one-story cinderblock apartment and there wasn't much water.

Tree branches littered the road, and he could hear transformers exploding overnight, but his home didn't appear to have damage on first inspection, and his vehicles were unharmed.

"Overnight, it was scary as heck. That description of a freight train is pretty accurate. At one point it felt like the windows were going to blow even though they all were covered with plywood," he said.

Florida's governor called it a "blessing" that so far Florida was avoiding a direct hit as the storm sliced northward.

Still, forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more. They said the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds  which newer buildings can withstand  but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities.

The Fort Lauderdale and Orlando airports shut down. Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Amtrak suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea.

Orlando's world-famous theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  all closed.

Thousands of people hunkered down in schools converted to shelters, and inland hotels in places such as Charlotte, North Carolina, reported brisk business.

The last Category 3 storm or higher to hit the U.S. was Wilma in October 2005. It sliced across Florida with 120 mph winds, killing five people and causing an estimated $21 billion in damage.

___

Kennedy reported from Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press reporters Holbrook Mohr in Orlando; Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Jennifer Kay, Freida Frisaro, Curt Anderson in Miami; Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Janelle Cogan in Orlando, Florida; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jeffrey Collins on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Jack Jones and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; and Bruce Smith in Charleston, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
Chinese people are generally happy with their way of life and are optimistic about their future. (Photo : Getty Images )

Bruce Dickson, an American researcher who studied the Chinese government in the past years, published a book entitled "The Dictator's Dilemma" and explained why the Communist Party is still popular.



He and a team of researchers conducted 4,000 face-to-face interviews in 50 different cities in the country. They found out that the country is not headed for a democracy and despite this, the people of China respect the government.



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Dickson was asked if he was surprised with the results of their survey. He said, "In many ways, my findings were consistent with just about every other survey I've seen coming out of China: No matter how you measure it, no matter what questions you ask, the results always indicate that the vast majority of people are truly satisfied with the status quo."



The author said that he was surprised at much Chinese are optimistic and are looking forward to a good future in the country despite the economic slowdown. He also found out that many people perceived that corruption was slowing down because of the government's anti-corruption campaign.



The general satisfaction of the public reflected in their belief on censorship. The author said, "Among the people who had experienced it (censorship), most of them said it didn't matter, that they weren't that bothered by it. Out of the entire set of respondents, only about 7 or 8 percent said that they were actually angry about encountering censorship."



The book reveals that the Chinese appreciation of democracy is different from the West. Dickson explained that most Chinese do not measure democracy with the rights that they exercise but with what they get from the government.



He said, "In addition, many people in China believe that the country is already becoming democratic, and most of them are satisfied with the level of democracy in the country. The twist is that they don't define democracy in terms of elections, a multiparty system [or] rule of law--the institutional features that we associate with liberal democracy. They associate it more with whether the government is benefiting the people."


Please mark your calendar for 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 13 and join us at the University of Texas at San Antonio downtown campus for an enlightening town hall discussion of property tax revenue caps, one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's priorities for the 2017 legislative session.

The debate centers on whether lawmakers should place additional limits on the amount of new revenue local governments can take when property valuations increase, providing a potential windfall. The issue will be hotly contested when lawmakers meet in Austin next year.
According to the 2010 U.S. census, a majority  50.8 percent  of our population are women. But they are not participating equally in the American dream. Women earn 92 cents to a male workers $1, hold one-fifth the seats in Congress and barely 19 percent of positions on corporate boards. Is this because men dont give women an equal chance?

Well, apparently women dont give other women much of a break, either. In a famous experiment called the Goldberg paradigm, research subjects were asked to evaluate an essay. Both male and female subjects judged the piece more negatively when they were told it was written by a woman.

In another experiment, 120 male and female U.S. scientists were asked to evaluate an application for a job as a laboratory manager. Half were told the applicant was male, the other half that it was a female. Across the board, the scientists recommended the male candidate more highly, were more willing to mentor him, and suggested a higher salary than for the female applicant. It didnt seem to matter if the scientists doing the evaluation were male or female.

What is going on? In her book Why so Slow? The Advancement of Women, Virginia Valian, professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College in New York, explores why womens progress toward equality has been so slow. She suggests there are culturally bound assumptions about men and women that are unconscious.

She says, One assumption is that women are first assumed incompetent until proven otherwise. Its the opposite for men. From the start women are not perceived as leaders. If a woman is successful, Valian writes, its because shes a hard worker or was lucky. If she fails its because shes incompetent. If a male succeeds, its because hes competent. If he fails its because of bad luck.

Valian believes these biases consistently overrate men and underrate women. Whats more, studies show men and women do it to themselves. While women tend to evaluate themselves lower than reality, men will evaluate themselves higher, she says. Assumed incompetence puts women on the defensive and their struggle to prove themselves keeps them on a never-ending treadmill.

So if you as a woman feel that you are being held to a higher standard, its not your imagination. Its the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers syndrome: Ginger had to do everything Fred did, except she did it in high heels and backward.

Barbara Walters did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the Afghan conflict. She noted women walked five paces behind their husbands. When she returned years later, she observed that women still walked behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow of the Taliban regime, the women now seem happy to maintain the custom. Walters asked one of them, Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?

The woman looked Walters straight in the eyes and without hesitation said, Land mines.

And thats how I see it.

Larry Johnson is an author and motivational speaker. Contact him at larjo1@prodigy or visit his website at www.mexicobytouch.com.
This years controversy over Texas voter ID laws features two of the states great electoral traditions.

One is the suppression of votes of minority citizens. The other is election fraud.

Interestingly, according to the Handbook of Texas, a great historical resource, the first effort to suppress the political power of ex-slaves after the Civil War was, of all things, election fraud.

The first attempt to end local Republican rule where blacks had a decided majority was in Harrison County, where the so-called Citizens Party, formed in 1878, managed to upset the county Republicans by stuffing ballot boxes and using intimidation according to the Handbook. Similar efforts spread to other counties, especially in East Texas.

In other parts of Texas, the target was Hispanic citizens. For example, according to the Handbook, organizations such as Dimmit Countys White Mans Primary Association, established in 1914, disfranchised Mexican-Americans in local elections.

In 1902, the Legislature established the poll tax statewide. The argument for it: fighting voter fraud. Its effect was clear: to limit voting by overwhelmingly poor blacks and Hispanics. When repealing it was put on the ballot as a constitutional amendment in 1963, about 10 million were disenfranchised by it.

Voters rejected the amendment to repeal the poll tax. It was ended in federal elections the following year by Congress and in all elections in 1966 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The most blatant racist voter suppression was codified by the Legislature in 1923, when it passed a law prohibiting Negroes from voting in the Democratic primary. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down the law as a violation by the state of Texas of the constitutional right to equal protection.

But it hinted at another route, and Texas took the hint. In 1935, the high court unanimously upheld a rule promulgated by the Democratic Party itself that excluded blacks. The party was, said the Supreme Court, a private organization with a right to decide who could belong. A considerably different Supreme Court would overturn that decision in 1944.

Voter fraud is also a great Texas tradition. Perhaps most famous is the stench surrounding Lyndon Johnsons election to the U.S. Senate in 1948 by 87 votes out of nearly a million. Legend has it that a very late count of Box 13 in Jim Wells County provided 200 phony votes to put LBJ over the top.

But in the second volume of his exhaustive biography of Johnson, Robert Caro wrote this: As for San Antonio  San Antonio where Lyndon Johnson rode the polls on Primary Day himself to oversee the vast West Side  Johnsons deputies on the West Side themselves boast of the votes that were switched for him there, and the estimate most frequently given is 10,000.

Ballot box stuffing, vote switching, dead people voting in alphabetical order  this is the stuff of Texas legend. Missing from the legends are large numbers of voter fraud by impersonation. Journalist Laura Starecheski reported in the Texas Tribune this week that during a legislative hearing on Texas new voter ID law, the attorney generals office presented a report on election fraud from the previous eight years.

Only one case involved a voter at the polls, the kind that could be prevented by voter IDs. Thats one out of more than 86 million votes cast during those years. The report didnt give details, so Starecheski tried to reach the fraudulent voter. He didnt want to talk, but his mother did.

What happened, she said, was that her son went to the polls and gave his name. The poll worker found his name on the voter list and told him to sign next to it and go vote. But the name belonged to her late husband, who had the same name.

It was a mistake, the mother said. Her husband had died some time earlier and shouldnt have been on the list.

So there you have it: In the ID law currently in controversy and in court are both sides of two strong Texas traditions. But does it relate more to voter fraud or voter suppression? History holds the answer.

This column originally appeared as Rick Caseys Last Word on KLRNs Texas Week with Rick Casey, which appears Fridays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m.
The irony of Texas 130 is impossible to ignore.

In a fast-growing region in the heart of a fast-growing state that is desperate for more roads, the developers of the southern section of Texas 130 managed to build a toll road that few use. That is some engineering feat.

This 41-mile albatross that technically links San Antonio and Austin, if you are willing to drive out of your way to get there, is a monument to failure. Hardly anyone drives Texas 130, yet its pocked with persistent pavement problems. The road has likely contributed to flooding around the town of Lockhart. Its developers are walking away from roughly a half-billion federal loan, and another billion or so in private loans, and yet the same developers, through subsidiaries, benefited from construction contracts to build Texas 130.

All of this comes from former Express-News reporter Katherine Blunts recent deep dive into Texas 130s woes. Blunt, now with our sister paper, the Houston Chronicle, told the story of poor planning and unrealistic expectations that ultimately burned the public.

Its a complicated story weaving European banks, Australian investors and layers of subsidiaries, but this much is clear: Texas 130, with its 85 mph speed limit, was a product of wishful thinking. Its supposed promise was the San Antonio-Austin region would benefit from a new section of highway at no upfront cost, private developers would profit from the operation of the road, and the state would benefit from toll revenues.

This was magical thinking when the hard analysis had already been done. SH 130 Concession Co., the joint venture between Zachry Construction Co. and Cintra, a Spanish developer, has never released its traffic projections for the road. But the state had already studied the matter years ago, determining there wouldnt be enough traffic on the southern section of Texas 130 to make construction of the toll road worthwhile.

Heres how state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, and chairman of the House Transportation Committee, put it: They didnt rely on any of the numbers that we put together.

Texas 130 is 4 years old, but it has never remotely come close to meeting traffic expectations. The growth in traffic is not enough to pay back debt, Moodys has reported. Toll revenues for the state are well below expectations.

The only benefits we can see from Texas 130 is that it was a source of lucrative construction and design contracts, and it was an asset for private Australian investment funds.

Where the saga of Texas 130 goes from here is unclear. How much is this road really worth? Will federal taxpayers be paid back? Will the flooding concerns in Lockhart be addressed? Who will pay to mitigate the flooding concerns? Will the road ever prove useful for drivers?

Perhaps these questions will be addressed during bankruptcy proceedings.
Re: Neighbors debating armed patrols; Shooting this week increases the need, front page, Sept. 29:

In this story, we are introduced to a local vigilante force carrying military weaponry in a quiet subdivision. I can think of nothing more terrifying or terrorizing than this.

It is telling that while they promote so-called open carry, they are too ashamed to reveal their names or faces. I am surprised that an active-duty Marine is permitted to be a neighborhood vigilante.

Meet with local law enforcement, set up a proper neighborhood watch, and be vigilantly watchful in your community. All well and good. But arm yourself for combat and keep your identity hidden  troubling and disgraceful.

As a new resident in Bexar County, I feel less safe. That is the real crime.

Ron Moore

Cheers for Tejeda

Re: A ripe lesson for kids; Schools olive harvest teaches teamwork, more, State, Monday:

Hooray! A positive article on education. Congratulations to Tejeda Middle School, Debora Marzec and the Young Historians Club for providing students with enjoyable, practical ways to learn about history, business and their community.

I am sure they will remember and benefit from these experiences long after they have forgotten information drills for STAAR. Keep up this impressive work!

Judith Tristan

Fleeing the flock

Rarely do two totally unrelated articles or columns, when taken together, set up a deafening resonance. The Tuesday issue of the San Antonio Express-News was one of those rare occurrences.

Columnist Catherine Rampell tries to justify why the independent presidential candidates are so bad (Johnson, Stein are terrible candidates, Other Views). But she fails to acknowledge that whoever wins the presidential election will fall into a system where the effort spent on scrutinizing the actions of the president far exceeds the effort of the chief executive.

The second article is, on its face, not about politics (Homing pigeons wont follow a misguided leader for long; Study shows flock will realize its on the wrong course, Health & Science, e-Edition). This may explain why voters are turning away from the established big two political parties. It may be time to relegate both red and blue political pigeons to the back of the flock.

Steven Schneider, Converse

A genius? Really?

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has called Donald Trump a genius for knowing how to benefit from the tax code. I dont think thats the word I would use to describe a businessman whose businesses incur losses of $916,000,000 in a single year.

Ken Phelps
STAMFORD-The food may have been to die for, but a man who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a murder for hire scheme in order to take over a Peruvian restaurant in Stamford, wont be able to eat out for 10 years.

Stamford resident Larry Talledo-Torrejon, 30, was sentenced to a decade jail for trying to get a man to murder the restaurant manager so he could save $150,000 on the purchase price of the restaurant.
-- On your radar: State-run pension systems across the country were underfunded by $1.2 trillion last year and are expected to be in even worse shape in the years ahead, according to a report released Thursday from a top credit rating agency. Moody's Investors Service said it expects the gap to hit $1.7 trillion with the next round of state audits, largely because investment returns have been far below expectations for the funds.  New Jersey is among five states that account for more than half the total pension liabilities nationwide. The others are California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas. (AP)

-- Campaign stop latest bump in rocky Ryan-Trump relationship: The awkwardly worded missive on Thursday said that Ryan would appear with top Wisconsin Republicans, including Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson. Oh, and by the way, the third paragraph of Ryan's release says that Trump will also join Wisconsin Republicans at the annual party festival in Elkhorn, a small city in Ryan's congressional district. In the news business, that's known as burying the lead. (AP)

-- Interim state Rep. Laura Thompson, the first independent to win a seat in the Legislature in more than half a century, has thwarted an effort by Bexar County Democrats to have her disqualified from the upcoming election. A state district judge in Travis County ruled Thursday that Thompsons name will stay on the Nov. 8 ballot, writes the SA Express-NewsDavid Rauf.

>> Stanart seeks to reassure voters that digital safeguards are in place, Houston Chronicle

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

>> Hidalgo County: voting machines tested for accuracy, The Monitor

-- Elections have been stolen, says Lon Burnam

But Texas most reliably red Republican urban county is now supposedly the focus of at least a preliminary vote-by-mail fraud investigation, and a former Democratic lawmaker said Thursday that it in part involves his 2014 defeat.

Former state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, sued to challenge his 110-vote loss to now-state Rep. Ramon Romero Jr. Burnam dropped the suit in June 2014 after courts refused to order county election officials to release vote-by-mail applications for review.

Burnam said he helped North Richland Hills political consultant Aaron Harris craft a complaint that brought investigators to Fort Worth this week. Harris has partnered with Dallas hotelier Monty Bennett to campaign against incumbent directors on the Fort Worth-based Tarrant Regional Water District board.

-- Must read from QRs Kimberly Reeves: House appears ready to weigh multiple solutions, adjustments to school finance 

Members of the House have now made it crystal clear that they are willing to look at just about any and every number when it comes to putting more money into school finance next session.

House Appropriations and Public Education held a joint hearing for two days last week with plenty of talk about recapture, allotments and assistance on facility construction.

Neither Chairman  John Otto and Jimmie Don Aycock  will be back next session. Rep. Otto, R-Dayton, told the combined panel the one lesson he learned last session was the best way to put more money into the school finance system would be to flow it through the basic allotment, which is the bulk of per-pupil funding for education in public schools.

To make a dent in the school finance system enough to take Houston Independent School District out of recapture, however, would likely be well beyond next sessions budget. Growth in property values well exceeds growth in student population.

-- Excellent lead here from the Statesmans Eric Dexheimer: Studying state budget documents is usually a reliable way to promote a deep and restorative sleep. Unless youre scanning the latest appropriations request from the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is more likely to produce night sweats.

The document outlines the agencys proposed spending for the fiscal years 2018 and 2019, a period Director Steven McCraw warned could be particularly perilous for Texans. During that time, 900 high risk criminals would go unarrested by DPS. Troopers would let 98 potential traffic scofflaws pass unmolested  every day.

CAPITOL DAYBOOK  no meetings

SPEED READ

Interim San Antonio lawmaker secures ballot spot for November election, Houston Chronicle

Authorities arrest Backpage CEO in human trafficking bust, Houston Chronicle

Is it a fraudster calling or is it Wells Fargo, Houston Chronicle

S&P: Cut corp. taxes for infrastructure investment, Houston Chronicle

George W. Bush encourages people to vote in 'Tonight Show' clip  alongside cast of

'Hamilton, The Dallas Morning News

That Mexican Thing Takes On Life After the Debate, San Antonio Express-News

Oil settles above $50 a barrel for first time since June, Fuel Fix

Ethics reform fight flares anew, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Told to cut their budgets, Texas agencies respond with fatalism, flair, Austin-American Statesman

RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

>> Latino evangelicals endorse Clinton over Trump, AP

-- SIREN: Trump blows off debate tune-up, POLITICO

Only days before Donald Trump must face Hillary Clinton in a town-hall style presidential debate, the GOP nominee added just such an event in New Hampshire. It was seemingly a concession to anxious allies and advisers hoping he might hone his skills in what can be a difficult format even for the most dexterous of politicians.

Trump had other plans. They were saying this is practice for Sunday, he told the crowd in speech before the so-called town-hall. This isnt practice. This has nothing to do with Sunday.

>> Trump says illegal immigrants pouring across border to vote, POLITICO

-- The Justice Department is significantly reducing the number of federal observers stationed inside polling places in next months election at the same time that voters will face strict new election laws in more than a dozen states.

These laws, including requirements to present certain kinds of photo identification, are expected to lead to disputes at the polls. Adding to the potential for confusion, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for his supporters to police the polls themselves for fraud.

For the past five decades, the Justice Department has sent hundreds of observers and poll monitors across the country to ensure that voters are not intimidated or discriminated against when they cast their ballots. But U.S. officials say that a 2013 Supreme Court decision now limits the federal governments role inside polling places on Election Day. (WashPost)
China wants to lead the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. (Photo : Getty Images)

The United Nations (U.N.) is being urged by China and Russia to change the priority areas where security support is given. Reports from New York and Ottawa stated that there is backroom maneuvering being done for China to head the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping Operations.



Nick Birnback, the chief spokesman for the peacekeeping operations department, said, "From our perspective, the nationality is less important than making sure whoever leads the department does so in a manner that is competent and helps us to address the very real challenges we have going forward."



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He added, "It's a very difficult time for peacekeeping. We're stretched. We're deployed in some of the toughest theaters of operation on the planet. And we need somebody who can lead us effectively."



Russia is also eyeing for a position in the Secretariat of the peacekeeping department.



"We do believe that Russia should be properly represented in the Secretariat," Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said. "We are not the only ones who are expressing our interests in various positions."



Another unidentified official of the department said, ''Head of DPKO is a very important job. It shouldn't be in the hands of any country indefinitely. You can decide whether 19 years counts as indefinite or not."



The news of China's potential lead role in the department is raising eyebrows in Canada.



Conservative defense critic James Bezan said, "Why would we want to turn peacekeeping operations over to them when they could turn a blind eye to atrocities where we might have peacekeeping troops?"



He also said that China's resistance to honoring the United Nations' ruling on the South China Sea is not a good indicator for them to lead the department.



"If they're not going to follow the international decision as it pertains to the law of the sea, why would we give them any role to play in peacekeeping operations?" he said.


Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen appoints a pro-China politician to become an APEC representative. (Photo : Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen appointed James Soong to represent her at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders next month. Soong is known to be a pro-China politician.



Soong is the leader of the People First Party, a splinter group of the China-friendly opposition Nationalists, and will attend the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) set for mid-November in Peru.



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In a statement, the Taiwanese president said, "Soong's rich academic background, experience and contacts will enable him to precisely convey to the international community the all-around status of our development."



Soong is criticized by the Taiwanese members of parliament for his pro-China stance. Tsai's approval ratings have been low due to her inability to recover the economy and revive tourism in the country.



Tsai has also been conservative in pushing for a stronger stance against China, and critics said that she has not pursued the country's independence from the mainland.



Previous Taiwanese administrations have tried to unify Taiwan and China and tried to foster trade liberalization agreements. The economic cooperation free trade agreement (E.C.F.A.) was a historic undertaking between the two countries and was signed a few years ago.



Many criticized the E.C.F.A. because of fears of China manipulating the market. However many Taiwanese-based companies heavily rely on the mainland's manufacturing sector.



According to Ralph Jennings, a reporter and long-time observer of Chinese-Taiwanese relations, "China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and sees dialogue as a way to push for unification despite polls showing most Taiwanese prefer to keep a distance."



The appointment of the pro-China APEC representative might indicate Tsai's move to be diplomatic with China, according to an analyst.



Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center think tank in Honolulu, said, "The next question that arises is whether Beijing can tolerate an indefinite stagnation of cross-Strait relations, simply a lack of what Beijing would perceive as a movement toward unification. Tsai has been, and will likely continue to be, more cautious about moving toward independence than Beijing expected."


PHILADELPHIA  Wawa and Sheetz are teaming up to provide boxed lunches at the USS John P. Murtha Commissioning Ceremony on October 8, honoring the late congressman from Pennsylvania, the people of his district, the ship and its crew.

Around 7,000 guests are anticipated to gather for the commissioning ceremony at the Navy League in Philadelphia, including Congressman Murtha's family representatives, 500 members of the ship's family, local officials and leadership from Wawa and Sheetz.

Together, Wawa and Sheetz will offer lunches that include popular items from each company's menu to all guests.

"We at Sheetz are truly honored to come together with Wawa in support of the USS John P. Murtha Ceremony. The entire Sheetz family is humbled by this extraordinary opportunity to honor the late, great Congressman from one of our hometown heritage markets. Congressman Murtha's service contributed greatly to the Johnstown community, his larger district and the entire country, and his commitment and dedication will not be forgotten," said Joe Sheetz, president and CEO of Sheetz.

"All of us at Wawa are proud to team up with Sheetz to represent our state and celebrate this important, historic event," said Chris Gheysens, president and CEO of Wawa. "As two companies committed to bringing our customers and communities together, we feel privileged to be a part of this ceremony and to have the chance to honor Pennsylvania's longest serving congressman and decorated combat veteran who has done so much for citizens and veterans across the Commonwealth and beyond. Honoring those who serve in our nation's defense is especially important to us, and we are delighted to serve the ship's crew and guests at this event."

The naval commissioning ceremony has been a tradition since 1775. It is the most significant event in the life of the ship. For more information, visit ussjohnpmurthacommissioning.org.
Dear patient readers, I am leaving it to Lambert to update you on Hurricane Matthew, which is bearing down on Florida in a bad way.

Authorities Urge Florida Residents To Prevent Further Disasters By Finally Standing Up To Hurricane Onion (David L)

Giant Tortoises Happily Consume Pumpkins in Celebration of San Diego Zoos 100th Birthday Laughing Squid (resilc). Wow, once they figure out how to get into them, the tortoises inhale those pumpkins.

Chimps, bonobos and orangutans grasp how others view the world New Scientist (Robert M)

A Desert Full of Tomatoes, Thanks to Solar Power and Seawater MIT Technology Review (David L)

Recalculating the Climate Math New Republic (Sid S). From last month, still germane.

Its not just environmentalists who think fracking is wrong New Statesman (J-LS)

Great Pacific garbage patch far bigger than imagined, aerial survey shows Guardian (furzy) :-(

IMF, global finance leaders fret over populist backlash Reuters. A little late for regrets after decades of shock doctrine.

Pakistan adopts new law to tackle honour killings Al-Jazeera (J-LS)

Tears as last Ford rolls off production line today MacroBusiness

Brexit

UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe had two seizures after party punch-up Sky. UKIP imitates Golden Dawn, except if memory serves me correctly, they attacked someone not in their party in their Parliamentary fisticuffs.

Thumbs up! Ukips Steven Woolfe smiles from his hospital bed as he reveals how he was floored by fellow MEP  as the party that changed Britain implodes Daily Mail

Woolfe collapsed pic is from ITV http://www.itv.com/news/2016-10-06/ukip-mep-steven-woolfe-collapses-in-european-parliament/  Thanks @alexhern @jonworth

Russia Becomes Global Food Superpower Bloomberg. So much for killing Russia with those sanctions

Hundreds dead in Haitian storm disaster BBC

The Clinton Foundations Legacy in Haiti  Haitians are more than upset Huffington Post (furzy)

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Clinton E-mail Tar Baby

White House Coordinated on Clinton Email Issues Wall Street Journal

2016

Dakota Access Pipeline Water Protectors Block Construction Despite National Guard Blockade, Police Harassment & Arrests Mint Press (furzy)

Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine Near $5 Million CFTC Settlement Wall Street Journal. Pathetic.

Accused Terror Financier Can Be Served Lawsuit via Twitter, Judge Rules US News (J-LS). Wowsers.

Oops! NYU says sorry for accidentally saying professor won Nobel Boston Globe

Bernie Sanders to DOJ: Focus Wells Fargo criminal probe on senior execs CNN. Go Bernie!

Merrill Lynch: Retirement Savers Must Pay Fees, Not Commissions Wall Street Journal. And of course they are blaming the change on regs.

Deutsche Bank as Next Lehman Brothers: Far-Fetched but Not Unthinkable New York Times. Pushes the line awfully hard that the DoJ should pull back on its fines because poor Deutsche if too fragile.

Retailers Are Now Blaming the Election for Poor Sales Bloomberg. Before it was just Putins fault. Now its Trumps fault too?

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Richard Smith, from Atlas Obscura, The Worlds Fluffiest Wildcats Are Getting Their Own Park:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By Servass Storm, Department of Economics, Faculty TPM, Delft University of Technology and Pierre Kohler an Economic Affairs Officer at UNDESA whose research focuses on sustainability, redistributive policies as well as on global macroeconomic models applied to trade and fiscal policy

Things have changed. Until just a few weeks ago it was easy for economists and trade policymakers to discard the massive waves of protest across European countries against two controversial transatlantic free trade agreements as mere irrational, protectionist or dangerously populist impulses. But not so anymore. About the same time when hundreds of thousands of concerned German citizens took to the streets to protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a growing chorus of senior policymakers started urging governments to heed the rising discontent, anxiety and economic insecurity among the vast majority of the populations in the advanced world.

Most prominently, in a speech[1] titled Making Globalisation Work For All given in Canada on September 13th, I.M.F. managing director Ms. Christine Lagarde stated that many people felt they lack control in a system [that] is somehow against them and that growing inequalities have added to a groundswell of discontent, especially in the industrialized world. Lagardes plea for boosting support for low-income workers and reducing inequality came on exactly the same day Mr. Mario Draghi, the president of the E.C.B. stated in his Premio De Gasperi lecture in Trento, Italy[2]that the E.U. should pay greater attention to the demands of those left behind by a society built on the pursuit of wealth and power, and do more to help globalizations losers by moderating its outcomes. Globalization has certainly caused dislocation and hardship, as the recent McKinsey report titled Poorer than Their Parents? Flat or Falling Incomes in Advanced Economies found: 65 to 70% of households in 25 advanced economies had experienced no real income growth between 2005 and 2014, up from just 2 percent of households with stagnant incomes during 1993-2005. This was known, of course, but McKinseys report helped publicize the facts.

The bottom line should be clear: citizens are rightly concerned about the distributional consequences of TTIP and CETA  a concern which policymakers and politicians can ignore only at their own peril. The justified skepticism of German voters has already dealt a possibly fatal blow to TTIP negotiations. Sigmar Gabriel, Germanys vice-chancellor and economics minister, and an early proponent of TTIP, admitted last month that negotiations had de facto failed. However, while TTIP may have reached a dead end, the CETA trade deal between the E.U. and Canada is on its way to ratification, albeit on increasingly rocky ground. The CETA deal has the political support of key European social democrats, such as the SPDs Gabriel but also French President Francois Hollande and the Dutch PvdA Minister for Trade Liliane Ploumen, who point to economic studies that unequivocally predict that CETA will raise incomes and create additional jobs in the E.U. CETA will supposedly benefit left-behind constituencieswhich would make the concerns of Ms. Lagarde and Mr. Draghi appear unwarranted. We must note right here that these estimated unequivocal income gains are extremely smallless than 0.1% of GDP in 2023.

However, CETA proponents fail to point out that the standard economic model studies on the effects of CETA, on which they are basing their claims, are incapable of tracing out any distributional consequences of the agreement, because they assume that the Canadian and European economies always operate at full employment. In addition, these studies manage to inflate the so-called dynamic gains from the trade agreement, by assuming that all (extra) savings are automatically re-invested into the real economy. Both assumptions are empirically untenable and combined they help define away the real problem: trade liberalization in these models is win-win by design of the modeler, who assumes away unemployment, shortage of investment, and any adjustment costs or uncertainties (associated with searching new jobs, moving houses, going for additional schooling, closing down ones factory, taking a new loan for setting up a new firm).

In a recent Tufts University working paper[3], we provide alternative projections of CETAs economic effects in which we allow for changes in employment and income distribution and the economic adjustment to the trade deal is modelled in a realistic and empirically grounded manner. In contrast to the win-win outcomes, we find that CETA will lead to intra-E.U. trade diversion and to net losses in terms of employment, personal incomes and GDP in both Canada and the E.U. By 2023, we project that 30 thousand jobs will be lost in Canada and 200 thousand jobs in the E.U. Higher unemployment will depress wage growth and by 2023, workers will have foregone average annual earnings of 1776 in Canada and between 316 and 1331 in the E.U. depending on the country (compared to the base run without CETA). Aggregate demand shortfalls nurtured by heightened unemployment will also hurt productivity and cause a decline in national income of 0.96% in Canada and 0.49% in the EU.

We do not, of course, claim to possess perfect foresight. But we can claim that our model analysis is based on more realistic assumptions than the standard full-employment modelsand that unlike these earlier studies, we face up to the risks, the distributional impacts and the non-negligible transitional costs of freeing tradewhich are worrying not just Ms. Lagarde and Mr. Draghi but also the majority of the European and Canadian citizens. We concur with Mr. Draghi that further fragmentation of our already divided societies will be most dangerous politically and carries the risk of reversing integration. It is high time that Europes and Canadas policymakers wake up to the fact that freeing trade does not necessarily create extra jobs but instead carries a high risk of welfare losses, heightened inequality and fragmentationall sources feeding the groundswell of discontent. The decision on CETA needs to be an informed decisionone that takes the many downsides of the trade agreement very seriously.

_______

[1] https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2016/09/13/sp09132016-Making-Globalization-Work-for-All

[2] https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2016/html/sp160913.en.html

[3] http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/ceta_simulations.html
Diamonds make a device cooler (Nanowerk News) Powerful electronic components can get very hot. When many components are combined into a single semiconductor chip, heating can become a real problem. An overheating electronic component wastes energy and is at risk of behaving unpredictably or failing altogether. Consequently, thermal management is a vital design consideration.

This becomes particularly important in devices made from gallium nitride. Gallium nitride is capable of handling high voltages, and can enable higher power capability and very large bandwidth, says Yong Han from the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics. But in a gallium nitride transistor chip, the heat concentrates on tiny areas, forming several hotspots. This exacerbates the heating problem.

Han and co-workers demonstrate both experimentally and numerically that a layer of diamond can spread heat and improve the thermal performance of gallium nitride devices (IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology, "Thermal Management of Hotspots Using Diamond Heat Spreader on Si Microcooler for GaN Devices").

A test sample comprised of a thermal chip, a heat spreader and a microcooler demonstrates the efficiency of diamond for removing heat from hotspots in semiconductor electronics. (Image: A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics)

The researchers created a thermal test chip that contained eight tiny hotspots, each 0.45 by 0.3 millimeters in size, to generate the heat created in actual devices. They bonded this chip to a layer of high quality diamond fabricated using a technique called chemical vapor deposition. The diamond heat spreader and test chip were connected using a thermal compression bonding process. This was then connected to a microcooler, a device consisting of a series of micrometer-wide channels and a micro-jet impingement array. Water impinges on the heat source wall, and then passes through the micro-channels to remove the heat and keep the structure cool.

Han and the team tried their device by generating 10120 Watts of heating power in test chips of 100 and 200-micrometer thickness. To dissipate the heating power, the diamond heat spreading layer and microcooler helped maintain the structure at a temperature below 160 degrees Celsius. In fact, the maximum chip temperature was 27.3 per cent lower than another device using copper as the heat spreading layer, and over 40 per cent lower than in a device with no spreading layer.

The experimental results were further confirmed by thermal simulations. The simulations also indicated that the performance could be improved further by increasing the thickness of the diamond layer, and that good bonding quality between the gallium nitride chip and the diamond heat spreader was crucial to obtain the best performance.
How gecko feet got sticky (Nanowerk News) How do key innovations in the animal kingdom arise? To explore this question, gecko expert Timothy Higham, an associate professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside, led a team of evolutionary biologists to study Gonatodes, a genus of dwarf geckos. In the process, the researchers found a gecko, Gonatodes humeralis, that they posit offers a "snapshot" into the evolution of adhesion in geckos.

This image shows G. humeralis in Trinidad. (Photo: Timothy Higham, UC Riverside)

"The gecko adhesive apparatus, one of the most spectacular innovations displayed by vertebrates, has been intensively studied for the last 16 years and is of considerable interest to nanotechnologists and biomimeticists," Higham said. "But almost nothing is known about the origin of this adhesive capability. G. humeralis, found in South America, shows how the adhesive capabilities of geckos may have come about. Our integrative analysis of this gecko shows that unexpectedly it has microscopic hairs, called setae, underneath its toes, which allow it to do something dramatically different than all other geckos in the Gonatodes genus: cling to smooth surfaces such as leaves. It does this without all of the complex structure of the toes that typify the geckos that we are more familiar with. In the lab, this gecko can climb smooth vertical surfaces using its incipient adhesive system."

Higham explained that the setae interact with surfaces through attractive van der Waals forces. The relatively simple expression of setae on the digits of G. humeralis thus provide an enormous advantage in sectors of the habitat typified by smooth, low-friction, inclined surfaces, such as leaves and slippery stems, allowing G. humeralis to avoid predators by occupying habitat that other members of the genus cannot. While it can securely attach to vertical bamboo shoots, for example, other species in the Gonatodes genus generally scale rough tree trunks, rocks, fallen palm trees and move on the ground - areas where their predators abound.

"The relatively simple adhesive system of the G. humeralis is indicative that slight modifications in form can dramatically influence functional outcomes and the ecological niches that can be exploited," Higham said. "This ostensibly padless gecko offers us a snapshot - a crucial intermediate stage - of the evolution of the adhesion apparatus. It's telling us, 'Look, this is how pad-bearing geckos started to acquire adhesion.'"

Further, the findings indicate that the origin of adhesion in geckos was gradual and led to major shifts in ecology and function. They suggest, too, that subtle morphological changes are able to trigger rapid evolution.

Study results appear Sept. 29 in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society ("On the origin of frictional adhesion in geckos: small morphological changes lead to a major biomechanical transition in the genus Gonatodes").

The setae of G. humeralis are short and simple compared to those of pad-bearing geckos, such as tokay geckos. The setae are located adjacent to friction-enhancing "spinules" - small projections, which play no role in adhesion, that are found underneath the feet of many lizards and geckos. The authors argue that the setae of G. humeralis result from a transformation of the spinules.

"Until now, we had not seen a gecko showing the beginnings of the adhesive system," Higham said. "In all the innovations seen in the animal kingdom, we rarely get to see their beginnings. Our findings serve as good evidence against intelligent design ideas. Evolution takes place in incremental steps, as the 'snapshot' we report on shows. Complexity does not start with complexity. Small modifications can, however, lead to complexity. Key innovations can come about in small incremental steps and lead to feedback processes that result in the more complex renditions of such systems. Our research offers more experimental evidence to show this is true."

Higham and his colleagues found G. humeralis specimens in Trinidad and French Guiana. They first used scanning electron microscopy to examine the microanatomy underneath the geckos' toes and morphometrics to compare them to close relatives. After these initial observations, the team studied this species and others in the laboratory using a combination of high-speed video to measure locomotion and force transducers to quantify clinging ability, finding that only G. humeralis could generate clinging force and climb vertical smooth acrylic.


Silicon before and after melting. (Image: IES-UPM) Silicon before and after melting. (Image: IES-UPM) The unstoppable progress of renewable energy, especially wind and photovoltaic energy, has given rise to a global challenge in the energy sector: the storage of such dispersed and intermittent energy. In recent years, a large number of devices have been developed for this purpose. Some of these devices have reached the advanced testing phase and even the commercialization phase. And this is the case of the solar thermal energy, in which sunlight is stored as heat molten salt, and then the energy is and converted to electricity upon demand through a thermal generator.



However, there are still problems with the existing solutions due to excessive costs, safety problems or lack of material resources in the future. Therefore, research centres and companies worldwide are seeking alternative solutions by using low cost and abundant materials lacking of great risks to the safety of people.



Researchers from Solar Energy Institute at UPM are developing a new energy storage system in which the entry energy, either from solar energy or surplus electricity from a renewable power generation, is stored in the form of heat in molten silicon at very high temperature, around 1400 C.
Hubble detects giant 'cannonballs' shooting from star

(Nanowerk News) Great balls of fire! NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected superhot blobs of gas, each twice as massive as the planet Mars, being ejected near a dying star. The plasma balls are zooming so fast through space it would take only 30 minutes for them to travel from Earth to the moon. This stellar "cannon fire" has continued once every 8.5 years for at least the past 400 years, astronomers estimate.

The fireballs present a puzzle to astronomers, because the ejected material could not have been shot out by the host star, called V Hydrae. The star is a bloated red giant, residing 1,200 light-years away, which has probably shed at least half of its mass into space during its death throes. Red giants are dying stars in the late stages of life that are exhausting their nuclear fuel that makes them shine. They have expanded in size and are shedding their outer layers into space.

This four-panel graphic illustrates how the binary-star system V Hydrae is launching balls of plasma into space. Panel 1 shows the two stars orbiting each other. One of the stars is nearing the end of its life and has swelled in size, becoming a red giant. In panel 2, the smaller star's orbit carries the star into the red giant's expanded atmosphere. As the star moves through the atmosphere, it gobbles up material from the red giant, which settles into a disk around the star. The buildup of material reaches a tipping point and is eventually ejected as blobs of hot plasma along the star's spin axis, shown in panel 3. This ejection process is repeated every eight years, the time it takes for the orbiting star to make another pass through the bloated red giant's envelope, shown in panel 4. (Image: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI) (click on image to enlarge)

The current best explanation suggests the plasma balls were launched by an unseen companion star. According to this theory, the companion would have to be in an elliptical orbit that carries it close to the red giant's puffed-up atmosphere every 8.5 years. As the companion enters the bloated star's outer atmosphere, it gobbles up material. This material then settles into a disk around the companion, and serves as the launching pad for blobs of plasma, which travel at roughly a half-million miles per hour.

This star system could be the archetype to explain a dazzling variety of glowing shapes uncovered by Hubble that are seen around dying stars, called planetary nebulae, researchers say. A planetary nebula is an expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a star late in its life.

"We knew this object had a high-speed outflow from previous data, but this is the first time we are seeing this process in action," said Raghvendra Sahai of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, lead author of the study. "We suggest that these gaseous blobs produced during this late phase of a star's life help make the structures seen in planetary nebulae."

Hubble observations over the past two decades have revealed an enormous complexity and diversity of structure in planetary nebulae. The telescope's high resolution captured knots of material in the glowing gas clouds surrounding the dying stars. Astronomers speculated that these knots were actually jets ejected by disks of material around companion stars that were not visible in the Hubble images. Most stars in our Milky Way galaxy are members of binary systems. But the details of how these jets were produced remained a mystery.

"We want to identify the process that causes these amazing transformations from a puffed-up red giant to a beautiful, glowing planetary nebula," Sahai said. "These dramatic changes occur over roughly 200 to 1,000 years, which is the blink of an eye in cosmic time."

Sahai's team used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to conduct observations of V Hydrae and its surrounding region over an 11-year period, first from 2002 to 2004, and then from 2011 to 2013. Spectroscopy decodes light from an object, revealing information on its velocity, temperature, location, and motion.

The data showed a string of monstrous, super-hot blobs, each with a temperature of more than 17,000 degrees Fahrenheit - almost twice as hot as the surface of the sun.

The researchers compiled a detailed map of the blobs' location, allowing them to trace the first behemoth clumps back to 1986. "The observations show the blobs moving over time," Sahai said. "The STIS data show blobs that have just been ejected, blobs that have moved a little farther away, and blobs that are even farther away." STIS detected the giant structures as far away as 37 billion miles away from V Hydrae, more than eight times farther away than the Kuiper Belt of icy debris at the edge of our solar system is from the sun.

The blobs expand and cool as they move farther away, and are then not detectable in visible light. But observations taken at longer sub-millimeter wavelengths in 2004, by the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, revealed fuzzy, knotty structures that may be blobs launched 400 years ago, the researchers said.

Based on the observations, Sahai and his colleagues Mark Morris of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Samantha Scibelli of the State University of New York at Stony Brook developed a model of a companion star with an accretion disk to explain the ejection process.

"This model provides the most plausible explanation because we know that the engines that produce jets are accretion disks," Sahai explained. "Red giants don't have accretion disks, but many most likely have companion stars, which presumably have lower masses because they are evolving more slowly. The model we propose can help explain the presence of bipolar planetary nebulae, the presence of knotty jet-like structures in many of these objects, and even multipolar planetary nebulae. We think this model has very wide applicability."

A surprise from the STIS observation was that the disk does not fire the monster clumps in exactly the same direction every 8.5 years. The direction flip-flops slightly from side-to-side to back-and-forth due to a possible wobble in the accretion disk. "This discovery was quite surprising, but it is very pleasing as well because it helped explain some other mysterious things that had been observed about this star by others," Sahai said.

Astronomers have noted that V Hydrae is obscured every 17 years, as if something is blocking its light. Sahai and his colleagues suggest that due to the back-and-forth wobble of the jet direction, the blobs alternate between passing behind and in front of V Hydrae. When a blob passes in front of V Hydrae, it shields the red giant from view.

"This accretion disk engine is very stable because it has been able to launch these structures for hundreds of years without falling apart," Sahai said. "In many of these systems, the gravitational attraction can cause the companion to actually spiral into the core of the red giant star. Eventually, though, the orbit of V Hydrae's companion will continue to decay because it is losing energy in this frictional interaction. However, we do not know the ultimate fate of this companion."

The team hopes to use Hubble to conduct further observations of the V Hydrae system, including the most recent blob ejected in 2011. The astronomers also plan to use the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to study blobs launched over the past few hundred years that are now too cool to be detected with Hubble.
Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong fears that Trump and Xi will focus on trade-related matters, putting Chinas human rights violations on the wayside. (Photo : Getty Images )

Joshua Wong, a student activist and spokesperson for the group Demosisto, was invited to speak at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He was arrested at the airport and faced deportation.



Wong told media that he was not given an explanation by Thai authorities as to why he was sent back. One officer showed him a document that was marked "blacklist."



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"As a Hong Kong person, I did not expect that even if I do not enter mainland China, I would be inside a foreign detention center, detained by other police. This is unbelievable," he said.



Colonel Pruthipong Prayoonsiri, deputy commander of airport immigration police, said that China sent a letter to the Thai government to "request cooperation to deny entry" of Wong.



Wong was responsible for organizing street protests in Hong Kong in 2014. His political party stands for democracy and the famous "Umbrella Movement".



Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that Wong's deportation is an issue with China and not a matter for Thailand.



He said, "Why he was sent back is China's issue."



The Thai student activist who was supposed to meet Wong, Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, notified the party that Wong has been detained at Suvarnabhumi airport. Demosisto posted several tweets regarding the issue.



The post stated, "According to Chotipatpaisal, the Thai authorities have received a letter from the Chinese government earlier regarding Wong's visit. His request to see Wong, who is still currently in custody, has also been declined."



"Demosisto strongly condemns the Thai government for unreasonably limiting Wong's freedom and a right to entry, and requests the immediate release of Wong. In the meantime, we request the Hong Kong immigration department's assistance in assuring Wong's safety," the tweet stated.



The political party's secretary general, Agnes Chow, said, "We believe that the Chinese government is using all ways to stop us spreading democratic ideas from Hong Kong to other countries. But bigger suppression makes a stronger fight."


Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Clonmel World Music Proudly Presents :

Wednesday 19th October 2016

Raheen House Hotel Clonmel

Furnace Mountain (Virginia USA)

Clonmel World Music is back on Wednesday 19 th October in Raheen House Hotel, following on from the great success of the Eddi Reader gig last month. They are delighted to welcome one of the best Americana bands for their first visit to Tipperary. Furnace Mountain are a great Roots band from Virginia USA. The Coen Brothers are among this bands biggest admirers !

Though often overshadowed by Southwest Virginia and its famed Crooked Road, the Shenandoah Valley and Virginias northwestern counties have always been fertile ground for traditional music, and they continue to be home to many of its finest practitioners. The region is situated between the Appalachian hills of West Virginia and the culturally diverse and ever-changing Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and is known for producing musicians who transcend generic categories, deftly taking traditional music styles in new directions. Furnace Mountain, named for a mountain near where all the members grew up, consists of some of the most innovative and gifted musicians in Virginia. With Aimee Curl on bass and vocals, Danny Knicely on mandolin and fiddle, Dave Van Deventer on fiddle, and Morgan Morrison on guitar, bouzouki, and vocals, the band creates music that is at times lively and raucous, with spirited fiddle melodies weaving in and around the powerful rhythms of the bass and bouzouki, and other times poignant and poetic, with sublime vocal harmonies beautifully interpreting some of the oldest songs ever written.

Furnace Mountain are at the very forefront of American roots music, having won solid endorsement fromtheir peers and the respect of audiences around the world. It was the album, FIELDS OF FESCUE that first won Furnace Mountain a well-deserved share of the media spotlight when it was simultaneously released on both sides of the Atlantic in 2009. It went straight into the Top Ten of the Euro Americana Chart.

After that was followed up in 2012 by the equally well-received CD, THE ROAD TO BERRYVILLE, the band made a huge impact when they toured the UK for the first time. They were such a big hit at Glasgows Celtic Connections festival, with 1000 revellers turning out to catch them in action at the citys Old Fruitmarket, that the BBC included them in the televised highlights from the event. The BBCs Bob Harris said they were wonderful and invited the four-piece to record a studio session for his BBC Radio 2 show.

In 2014 they had a sold-out Irish tour, arranged by Music Network Ireland, and they pulled capacity crowds to every venue they visited in the UK too, all stimulated by hugely complimentary reviews.Now, the band is set to return for a much-overdue visit that will include dates in the UK and Ireland, with a brand new album to promote, called SHADOW OF PLENTY.

Clonmel World Music is the only gig in Ireland south of Mayo on this short tour.

Doors for the gig will open at 8.00pm, with show at 9pm prompt. Tickets for this great gig are on sale now, at only 15, and are available in Premier Music Centre Clonmel on 052 6129811, or from Gerry Lawless on 086 3389619, or from Martha Beardmore on (087)9107201
A Cahir man is one of just 37 Irish students who have been awarded prestigious Fulbright Scholarships to study in the United States.

A Cahir man is one of just 37 Irish students who have been awarded prestigious Fulbright Scholarships to study in the United States.

Kieran McCarthy, a former Rockwell College student, was last week named as one of Irelandas students who will travel to the four corners of America on their awards this year. Kieran is off to study at Georgetown University in Washington DC, following in the footsteps of his aunt, Dr Marie McCarthy (also from Cahir) who won a Fulbright Scholarship to study music at the University of Michigan in 1988, where she is now a Professor of Music Education.

Kieran spent a year at LaInstitut daetudes Politiques de Paris where he completed his Masters in International Affairs. He will pursue a LL.M. with a concentration in International Economic Law at Georgetown University. He graduated with a first class honours degree in Law with History in September 2012, from UCD.

aI hope to focus on the issues facing Ireland today, namely the clash between international economic institutions and domestic economic governance, and the role of states and private investors in todayas quickly globalising world. I am also looking forward to seeing more of the US after a J1 spent in the US federal courts in Chicago in the Summer of the 2012, including all the wonderful sites of the capital city itself,a Kieran said.

Fulbright Awardees were announced at an event on MS The World, sponsored by a U.S. Fulbright alumnus, Dr. Jack Pinkowski and his wife, Mrs. Monica Pinkowski, as part of The Gathering, on July 12. Since 1957, Fulbright Awards are given annually by the Irish and U.S. governments and provide Irish students, scholars, and professionals with the opportunity to study, lecture, and research at top universities and institutions in the United States. Kieran, from Ballymacadam West, Cahir, is the son of John and Bernadette McCarthy, a GP and a medical ophthalmologist, in Convent Road, Cahir. He has a younger brother Brian
Middle-class Chinese are sending more students to the U.S. to finish their education. (Photo : Getty Images)

Many Chinese students are realizing that studying abroad is better because the learning experience is fuller, and is true for Emily Chen who is now a foreign student in the U.S.



Her father, Herald Chen, sent her to Grier School, an international boarding school because he noticed that she was not enthusiastic about going to school in China.



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"I used to hate school and homework in China," said Emily. "But here at Grier I have all these fond memories about learning and motivation and have benefited much from interacting with peers from all over the world."



Herald Chen is a researcher for cancer and did not regret sending Emily to the boarding school.



He said, "I'm not positive that she would have been admitted to the same U.S. universities if she received her education in China."



Before deciding on sending Emily to the U.S., Herald admitted that Emily had to struggle from school to school. Her mom would push her to study harder but to no avail.



Harold said, "I still can't forget the nightmarish years when we had to shuffle Emily back and forth between school and after-school training institutions. My wife kept pushing Emily to study harder and would lose her temper at her progress. None of us were happy."



Emily explained that studying abroad made her gain self-confidence because she became self-reliant in the U.S.



"My experiences at the school led me to take leaps of faith in myself and encourage me to believe I could make great things happen," she said.



The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that Chinese K-12 students totaled to 34,578 this year. This is half of the entire foreign student population in America.



"We feel that sending young children to U.S. boarding schools will continue. The increase shows no sign of abating in the near future due to the sheer size of China's population and the rise of a wealthy class," said Eva Liu, a marketing professional at Silicon Valley.


Greece President Prokopis Pavlopoulos attends a church service in honor of Saint Dionysius Aeropageitis, the patron Saint of the city of Athens. (Photo : Getty Images)

Chinese and Greek leaders have both agreed to deepen cooperation at various levels between the two countries and respect each other's core interests following a meeting between Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Liu Yunshan and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos in Athens on Tuesday, Oct. 4, the Xinhua News Agency reported.



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Since the two countries established diplomatic relations 44 years ago, China and Greece have maintained good relations amid the dynamic international situations and achieved constant cooperation, according to Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, who conveyed President Xi Jinping's official message to Pavlopoulos, the report said.



Liu added that China is prepared for a closer cooperation at various levels with Greece and provide support to the country on various issues related to both their major interests and core values.



The CPC official said that, as two ancient civilizations in the world, both China and Greece must enhance dialogue and should share lessons while playing an active role in establishing major bilateral partnerships to preserve and foster peace, reform, growth, and civilization.



Meanwhile, Pavlopoulos expressed appreciation of China's support to help resolve Greece's debt crisis as well as the continuing development of the bilateral relationship between them.



According to Pavlopoulos, both Greece and China must take advantage of the cultural influence and lead other countries in giving importance to cultural exchanges.



Liu's official goodwill visit to Greece started on Sunday, Oct. 2. The CPC official met Greek parliamentary speaker Nikos Voutsis on Monday, Oct. 3.



Liu told Voutsis during their meeting that China and Greece should enhance cultural exchanges, which would he said would help deepen bilateral ties and make positive contributions to world peace and development.



The China-Europe Civilization Dialogue was held in Athens on Monday which both Liu and Voutsis attended.


Tea is a multi-billion market in China. (Photo : Getty Images)

To meet the demands of a huge tea drinking country, Starbucks China launched Teavana, a line of tea flavors available in all Starbucks China stores. Aside from the traditional tea flavors, the store will be selling two new iced tea flavors designed for Chinese customers.



"As we continue to deepen the reach of the Starbucks brand in China, our customers are increasingly asking us for new and different ways to experience tea. Just as we've done for coffee, Teavana is tea reimagined by Starbucks," said Belinda Wong, president of Starbucks China.



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The Chinese tea market is now valued at 63.2 billion yuan and ten times larger than the coffee consumption in the country. Worldwide, tea is the second most consumed beverage.



"The health trend is growing strongly across Asia, and as with most things, uptake of new trends in China tends to be faster than the rest of the world," said Matthew Crabbe, Mintel Group Ltd.'s head of Asia-Pacific research.



He added, "There is a strong tea identity in Asia and it also chimes well with the particularly Asian view of healthcare as being centered around prevention, rather than cure. Because of this, tea-based products are likely to see strong growth."



When Starbucks acquired Teavana, sales in the U.S. grew by 12 percent and the iced tea growing to 29 percent.



According to Vera Wang, the company's director for product line innovation in China and Asia Pacific, "With the rich tea culture here, we couldn't have beverages that are expected or common, or we could not give consumers that feeling of premiumization and of being different."



"Tea is, of course, a mature market in Asia," said Crabbe. "It's been around for thousands of years and we saw how rapidly bubble tea took off among teen consumers across Asia several years ago. But as those younger consumers get older, they will trade to something more sophisticated, which is where Teavana could fit in."


The Philippines will Never Enter into a Military Alliance with China Despite Duterte

Perfecto Yasay (Photo : DFA)

China remains an enemy of the Philippines and despite the anti-U.S. rhetoric of its thuggish president, the Philippines has no intention of entering into any military alliance with China.



A military alliance with China isn't going to happen, said Perfecto Yasay, the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs.



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"When we would like to foster closer relationship with China, we will not certainly engage in any alliance with China from a military viewpoint because that has never been the intention of the president," claims Yasay at a hearing before the Philippine Senate.



"The president, on many occasions, has said categorically that he will only have one military alliance, and our only ally in that respect is the United States."



The Philippines has a Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States signed in 1951 during the administration of President Elpidio Quirino. The treaty provides both nations to support each other if either the Philippines or the United States were to be attacked by an external party.



The Philippines also has two other strategic defense agreements with the U.S. -- the Visiting Forces Agreement of 1998 and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement of 2014. Both agreements survived legal challenges from its opponents, and threats of destabilization from leftist groups allied with the communist movement in the Philippines.



Duterte has admitted to leftist leanings and might be a member of the underground communist movement.



Yasay said Duterte's main objective in visiting China later this month is to strengthen and promote other aspects of the two countries' relationship. These aspects include "trade relations, investment opportunities, infrastructure development cooperation and assistance, people-to-people contact, and cultural exchanges," said Yasay.



Yasay said that while Duterte wants to revive ties with China, "this is not to mean we will be abrogating our alliances with the US, or weakening our friendship with the US".



"The president had also assured our traditional partners and our allies that in so far as engagements with China are concerned, they will be part of the consultations that will be made," according to Yasay.



"And the fact is, the president had been doing this. We had just met with the Japanese, the Australians. And I have met with my American counterpart where consultations are continuing along this line."


(NaturalNews) The tainted water crisis in Flint, MI., has gone from monumentally bad  to monumentallyis reporting that health officials have discovered an infectious bacterial disease known as Shigellosis, which is capable of producing bloody diarrhea and fever, and is spread by poor hygiene and lack of hand-washing. County health officials told the news network that is precisely what is taking place now.The bacterial outbreak comes on the heels of a two-year nightmarish ordeal over lead-tainted drinking water. As reported , after dangerously high levels of lead were discovered in the water, people began to experience strange and unexpected symptoms. During the period between April 2014 and October 2015, when the city switched to using the grossly polluted and corrosive Flint River to supply the city's drinking water, is when residents began developing painful rashes and cases of alopecia  a condition that causes hair loss.But that wasn't all. In addition to these developments, the area began experiencing a dramatic uptick in Legionnaire's disease , nine of whom died. One county health director believes the deaths could have been prevented but state and federal health officials failed to act.Today, Flint residents are still skittish and mistrustful of their water. They are still forced to use either properly filtered water or bottled water because of damaged water pipes in the city. They are bathing less and, unfortunately, refusing to wash their hands as well."People aren't bathing because they're scared," Jim Henry, Genesee County's environmental health supervisor told. "Some people have mentioned that they're not going to expose their children to the water again."In place of water, he said, more people are using baby wipes which they can obtain at no cost at centers distributing free bottled water. However, Henry said, baby wipes are not at all effective because they're not designed to kill bacteria of the sort that is spreading and making people sick. The wipes certainly are no replacement for proper hand washing, he said."People have changed their behavior regarding personal hygiene," he said. "They're scared."Caused by the Shigella bacteria, Shigellosis infection causes fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain. The diarrhea can sometimes lead to dehydration, especially in young children and older adults. While symptoms usually disappear in five to seven days without antibiotics, the disease is highly contagious, according to federal health agencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are about 500,000 cases of Shigellosis in the U.S. annually.County health records that were obtained byshow that cases spiked in Genesee County in June 2016. They peaked at about five times the number of cases that have been observed during any period since October 2011.Since the water crisis began the cases of Shigellosis have been steadily increasing, especially among children. Thus far,said, the youngest child diagnosed with the infection was 17 months old.A number of residents who spoke to the news network claimed they were afraid of touching or using Flint water because they got rashes in 2014 and 2015 -state officials said the water was safe to use. Some try to limit their contact with the water, while others have installed filters on their showers and faucets. Still another resident said he travels every day to a relative's home outside the city to shower. And while hot water kills germs and bacteria, Henry said people are not running hot water through their faucets because they fear it will decrease the life of water filters.What is being done to battle the infections?Henry said the state and the CDC are now working with the country to battle Shigellosis. But like before, he also said initially he struggled to get information and cooperation from state public health officials.Some things are too slow to change.
The Draconian Notice of Proposed Rule Making

"Today, the American people are challenged, as they have never been before, to confront the expansion of government authority over our bodies and the bodies of our children, specifically the exercise of police power to take us into custody and isolate us without our consent whenever public health officials believe we are sick or could become sick."



Fisher is quick to point out, there are "many viral and bacterial infections that occur quite often in our country ." These conditions give the CDC the authority to act upon every infection has the potential to spread and cause harm or even death to some people (eg flu and bronchitis)."



More Words From the Government

"...I/R operations may place Soldiers in continuous contact with or near insurgents, terrorists, or criminals who will exploit every opportunity to escape and kill or injure U.S. personnel or multinational partners".

[PDF]Emergency Support Function #8  Public Health and Medical



www.fema.gov/.../emergency_s..' target='_blank'>http://www.fema.gov">www.fema.gov/.../emerge....



Federal Emergency Management Agency



Medical Services include responding to medical needs associated with mental health, ..... assistance are executed by ESF #8 in coordination with DHS/FEMA. ... primarily for communications, aircraft, and the establishment of base camps.



More Operational Details of the HHS Sponsored Camps

Segregation of Civilian Detainees

"Detainees may also be segregated by ethnic and family groups and further segregated to protect vulnerable individuals. Additionally, detainees may be categorized by behavior (cooperative, neutral, or combative) to accurately resource guards and facilities". Juveniles within the I/R population are typically segregated from the general population. (See DODD 3115.09.)"



AGENCIES CONCERNED WITH INTERNMENT AND RESETTLEMENT



1-40. External involvement in I/R missions is a fact of life for military police organizations. Some government and government-sponsored entities that may be involved in I/R missions include



International agencies.



International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).



International Organization of Migration.



U.S. agencies.



Local U.S. embassy.



Department of Homeland Security.



U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).



Federal Emergency Management Agency.



These are pretty much the same agencies which are identified to be involved in the HHS illness-related detainment camps. There are absolutely no medial organizations, such as the https://www.naturalnews.com/CDC.html>CDC and NIH involved in the oversight, staffing and maintenance of these camps. These are death camps, plain and simple. It is increasingly clear that any health crisis will be used to impose medial martial law.



These dots, seemingly unrelated, when examined as a cohort, clearly point to what is coming. The direction is clear and the end result is unmistakable.



It is crystal clear from the language of , FM 3-39.40 1-5, that medical martial law will first be imposed. Very quickly, and under the auspices of foreign troops, medical martial law will give way to full blown martial law complete with https://www.naturalnews.com/FEMA_camps.html>F... camps and the roll out of the American Holocaust. If you have wondered why we are seeing an increased UN presence on our soil, I think I have revealed the reason.



Interestingly, yesterday, FEMA unveiled the Nationwide Emergency Alert System and conducted a series of tests. One would have to blind to not see what is coming. [5]







Conclusion

(NaturalNews) With regard to self-granted federal regulations, the federally controlled medical management agencies in this country, have granted themselves the right to declare someone a medical threat for an absolutely harmless illness and then ship these people off to a FEMA camp which is operating under the guise as medical detainment facility, however, it operates with no medical personnel. This is a backdoor into mass FEMA camp detentions.(Article by Dave Hodges, republished from TheCommonSenseShow.com With its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on Aug. 15, 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has greatly expanded the draconian power of the government over the lives of the American people when it relates to health matter or a pseudo-health matter. [1], [2]Barbara Loe Fisher, the President of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), stated:The CDC, with its NPRM, is seeking to "restrict the freedom of a person entering the U.S. or traveling between states if they believe the person is infected." So, now we are looking at pre-crime as an excuse to incarcerate people related to the controversial issue of vaccinations.In part, these regulations will be used to impose the emerging mandatory vaccination laws. Are there any limits to the authority of the federal government with regard to vaccinations? According to the aforementioned documents, there are no limits placed in this new authority and the conditions, under the law, this could easily be expanded to the simple cold or the flu. Would this new authority open the way for the U.S. government health officials to eventually restrict travel via automobile, bus and train from state to state?Amazingly, the NPRM calls for airline and cruise ship personnel to increase surveillance of travelers into the U.S. and, but states have the greatest authority under the Constitution to use police powers to control infectious diseases within state borders. It is all about the money. The CDC currently funds many state initiatives when it comes to health. Subsequently, the federal government, in the form of the CDC will be able to take control of every state health agency. Fisher stated that medical enforcement authorities could be detaining, isolating and quarantining of people in the U.S., "who appear "unwell" but are otherwise simply going about minding their own business".When we begin to connect the dots, under Obamacare, all medical records are accessible by the IRS in violation of HIPPA regulations. Since our medical records are part of federally tracked electronic medical records as well as vaccine tracking systems which is alsoaccessible by the IRS, these officials now have the ability to determine from our medical records if we have had all of our vaccinations. If not, you could be subject to medical detainment for not getting your vaccinations, or your children could. Also, please make note of the term "other infections". This is a blank check for the federal government to detain you for any "perceived" condition.In fact, Fisher goes on to say that the CDC is granting itself the ability to detain and quarantine people without their consent.The previously cited documents specify some of the symptoms that "could get you detained" under the CDC's NPRM include vomiting, diarrhea, and a fever of more than 100 degreessymptoms that can be caused by everything from "allergic reactions, inflammatory bowel disease, salmonella and norovirus infections to hangovers and the common cold."When health authorities come and arrest you because you have a temperature in excess of 100 degrees, NPRM regulations state that you can be held for up to 72 hours without the right to contact a lawyer to appeal your detention. You would be asked to sign a contract with the CDC agreeing to submit yourself or your minor children to such "public health measures" as ", conditional release, medical examination, hospitalization, vaccination, and treatment."According to Fisher, if you refuse to sign the CDC documents, CDC officials, or their designees, can still do whatever they want because 'the individual's consent shall not be considered a prerequisite to any exercise of any authority' by the CDC. When you are released from medical detention, you can be electronically tracked and monitored. These regulations make a nice addition to the police state surveillance grid.There are more government documents that talk about the disposition of people who are medically detained that are very disturbing.Amazingly, FEMA camp documents specifically address this health issue. Straight from the Internment/Resettlement article () it states the following:Army document,, speaks clearly to the fact their is absolute intent to use foreign military assets to imprison American citizens and to detain them in what we have to come to call FEMA camps.How will these foreign assets be utilized?When an illenss strikes, the changes in the handling of the stricken patients have already been planned for through a series of legal actions, most of them are Executive Orders. For example, the Executive Order, entitled Revised List of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases, amends Executive Order 13295, passed by George W. Bush in April 2003, which allows for the, "apprehension, detention, or conditional release of individuals", and Ebola is specifically mentioned. [3], [4]Obama took this portion of the Executive Order to a whole new level.This means people with noninfectious asthma could be detained.When the forced transport of these patients begins to occur, relatively healthy people will be joining them in this death parade march to camps being run with foreign assets.Any illness will be the impetus to send people to camps, however, this is by no means the end game. These camps will quickly morph into martial law detainment camps for American dissidents. I would imagine that many alternative media broadcasters will develop asthma over the next several months.As I have previously reported, I found evidence supporting these claims in a federal document entitledThis document is exceptionally obscure, but is can be accessed in the following manner"his document can be accessed by Googling "ESF #8? and you will arrive at the following listing and a PDF will appear.We call them FEMA camps, however, Human Health Services will be in charge and they work closely in conjunction with the United Nations. These camps could indeed begin as FEMA detainment camps for designated patients, but quickly morph into other more nefarious and lethal purposes. Here are some examples of what I am speaking about. Does the part about the use of foreign troops bother anyone else?I have previously been told my military sources that when families are transported to the I/R camps, husbands will be segregated from wives and children from parents. As it turned out, my sources were reliable.This is the classic one-two punch. The NPRM, the CDC and HHS will roll out this backdoor move to incarcerate millions without due process. If https://www.naturalnews.com/medical.html>medi... detainees are every shipped off to their final destination. Ironically, the person with the biggest cough will be the one who will most likely be in charge and implementing this draconian program.Read more at: TheCommonSenseShow.com' target='_blank'>http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2016/09/29... Sources:[1] FederalRegister.gov' target='_blank'>www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/15... [2] TheVaccineReaction.org' target='_blank'>http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2016/09/cd... [3] Whitehouse.gov' target='_blank'>www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/... [4] CDC.gov' target='_blank'>http://www.cdc.gov/sars/quarantine/exec-2004... [5] Fema.gov' target='_blank'>www.fema.gov/news-release/2016/09/26/nationw...
(NaturalNews) Has former President Bill Clinton gone senile, or is he merely finally letting his true feelings about President Barack Obama be known Either way, Clinton just dropped a political bombshell on the current holder of his former office.As reported by the, Clinton was speaking to a group at a rally inMichigan when he called Obama's signature piece of legislation Obamacare  "the craziest thing in the world.""You've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care, and then the people who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half and it's the craziest thing in the world," Clinton said.He's not wrong. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, monthly premiums have skyrocketed , while deductibles and other out-of-pocket health expenses are hitting families hard In addition to individuals, Clinton also said that the law is really hampering moderately successful small businesses  those not doing badly enough to be subsidized or fall just above the cut-off. That claim is also true "On the other hand," he continued, "the current system works fine if you're eligible for Medicaid, if you're a lower-income working person. If you're already on Medicare or if you get enough subsidies on a modest income that you can afford your health care."That's true also  but only to a point. Gaining access to health insurance is not the same as actually having access to a healthcare provider Still, Clinton noted that those who are really "getting killed" under Obamacare are small-business people and individuals who make just a little more than others who get subsidies, though the "subsidies" are paid for by taxpayers.The former president's criticism comes as the discovered private audio of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, also criticizing Obama's signature law.The Affordable Care Act "has done a lot of good," Hillary can be heard saying, "but I'm gonna fix some of the things that need fixing," arguing that Obamacare is like any other new program in that it has to be tweaked from time to time.As has been the Clintons' mode of operation, they say one thing one day to one audience, then another on another day to a different audience. As reported in September 2015 , Hillary Clinton said she would never allow Obamacare to be repealed "on my watch."Fully attaching herself to Obama's biggest public policy accomplishment, Clinton vowed to block any repeal effort that Republicans might mount, if she wins in November."I will tell you, I am not going to let them rip away the progress we made," adding she would block attempts to "tear up that law.""Not on my watch," she reiterated.The Clintons love to throw people under the bus, especially if they think it will ingratiate them to their supporters. In an impromptu response to a heckler at a campaign event for his wife in Ohio, the former president defended his 1994 crime legislation.In responding to a young person in the crowd who said he can't vote for someone who sends thousands of people to prison, Bill Clinton shot back, "Hillary didn't vote for the '94 crime bill even though Sen. [Bernie] Sanders did."Of course, as first lady, Hillary was not allowed to vote on legislation. But more than anything, the exchange continues to show the division between his wife and Sanders, who was much more popular early on with Millennials and younger voters, a key demographic Hillary Clinton consistently has had difficulty wooing to her campaign.All in all, this isn't any way for the Clintons to treat a president who kept Hillary out of jail.
1. 17 of the nation's 23 Obamacare co-ops have already collapsed.

2. Obamacare Premiums Continue to Skyrocket Over 50 Percent

3. 8.1 Million Americans Have Already Been Slapped with $1.7 Billion in Obamacare Penalties

4. Obamacare's Soaring Deductibles Have Rendered People's Health Plans Useless

5. Even Bill Clinton and the Liberal NYT Agree Obamacare is Busted

(NaturalNews) News about Obamacare's failings have peppered the news media recently. In the wake of these recent media reports, here are five devastating Obamacare facts every American should know.(Article by Katherine Rodriguez, republished from Breitbart.com Only six of the 23 co-ops launched nationwide remain, according to The Baltimore Sun.The other 17 are closed or are in the process of winding down because they cannot "attract enough members, draw enough premium revenue and withstand the weight of new and costly regulatory hurdles created under the health reform law," The Sun reported. [1]In Minnesota, Breitbart News previously reported that the state is allowing Obamacare premiums to increase by at least 50 percent all the way up to 67 percent in order to keep insurers from leaving the exchanges due to financial losses. [2]For tax returns for the year 2015, 8.1 million Americans received fines from Obamacare's individual mandate that averaged $210 per tax return, totaling $1.7 billion, according to Investor's Business Daily. [3]Over the eight years of Obama's presidency, high deductibles went from being the minority to becoming standard.According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 18 percent of covered workers in 2008 had a deductible of at least $1,000, up from only 10 percent in 2006. For workers with employer-sponsored plans at small firms, 35 percent had deductibles of $1,000 or more in 2008, up from 16 percent in 2006.In 2016, 51 percent of all covered workers, and 65 percent of workers in small firms, face deductibles of at least $1,000, TIME reported. "Workers at smaller firms must pay an average of $2,069 out of pocket before insurance payments kick in, versus $1,238 for workers at firms with 200 or more employees," the article reported. [4]Former president Bill Clinton called Obamacare "the craziest thing in the world" at a rally Tuesday."So you've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. It's the craziest thing in the world," Clinton said.In the wake of Obamacare's disastrous overtaking of America's healthcare system, progressives now say that the only way to fix the broken Obamacare system is for government to seize even more control and move toward a total takeover, or the so-called "public option."Yet with Americans suffering from facts like the five above, they will likely have little stomach for more of the same big government policies that created the mess in the first place. [5]Read more at: Breitbart.com [1] BaltimoreSun.com [2] Breitbart.com [3] Investors.com [4] Time.com [5] NyTimes.com
B&D Nutritional Ingredients filed a lawsuit Oct. 3 in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alleging Unique Biotech and several executives stole protected B&D information that allowed Unique Biotech to steal B&D customers.

B&D has never initiated a lawsuit in its 23 years in business. I was so disappointed in the allegations we have now had to file regarding Unique Bio Ingredients and the other defendants named in the case," said William Van Dyke, president of B&D Nutritional Ingredients.

According to the lawsuit, Unique Biotech USA executives Jairo Escobar and Luis Echeverria once helped run Pharmacenter (formerly known as Pharmaline Corp.), which sold probiotics and other nutritional supplements. In early 2009, Pharmacenter began importing and distributing Unique Biotech Ltd. (India) products, including its IS2 Bacillus coagulans probiotic. In June 2009, Pharmacenter agreed to give B&D exclusive rights to distribute the products in the United States, according to the complaint.

In a phone call from SupplySide West 2016, Luis Echeverria told INSIDER the agreement with B&D was for all the United States except for Florida, which was serviced directly by Pharmacenter.

The complaint noted that a few months before finalizing this agreement, both companies entered into a Secrecy Agreement, as B&D wanted to protect trade secrets, including its customer list. However, B&D has claimed Escobar and Echeverria violated the Secrecy Agreement by using the protected information to cut out B&D and sell product directly to customers being serviced by B&D.

The agreement with B&D expired in 2012, according to Echeverria, but Pharmacenter continued to use B&D as a sub-distributor without a renewed agreement.

In the same year, the agreement between Pharmacenter and Unique Biotech India was renewed and established that Pharmacenter would register the trademarks Unique Biotech Limited and Unique Biotech USA in the United States, which it did in June 2012. Pharmcenter then assigned these trademarks to Unique Biotech Ltd (India).

In its complaint, B&D said in 2013 it became aware its customers were being sold to by Unique Biotech USA, and a rift formed between the two companies. In fact the suit claimed Escobar and Echeverria met with Ratna Sudha Madempudi, Ph.D., founder and managing director of Unique Biotech Ltd. (India), at SupplySide West in Las Vegas in October 2014 and conspired to cut B&D out of any business opportunities for future sales of Unique IS2 by circumventing B&D in the distribution chain. Sudha was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

In April 2015, Escobar and Echeverria were fired by Pharmacenter Owner Jose Gomez; a week later, the pair formed an LLC in Florida called Unique Bio Ingredients, with themselves and Sudha as managing members. The lawsuit alleged Escobar and Echeverria took B&D and Pharmacenter trade secrets, known to them from their time at Pharmacenter, with them to use at their new company by offering to undercut pricing to B&D customers. Then in 2015, Escboar and his new company filed to use the name Unique Biotech USA, despite the prior U.S. registration of that trademark by Pharmacenter.

The lawsuit alleged four counts consisting of violations to Floridas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Floridas Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and Floridas Fictitious Name Act, as well as one count alleging tortious interference with business relationships." B&D seeks double damages (more than US$255,000) and injunctive relief prohibiting the defendants from further violations and distribution to B&D and Pharmacenter customers.

Speaking on the telephone to INSIDER from SupplySide West 2016 in Las Vegas, Echeverria said he and Escobar have always obeyed any contracts between the parties involved and never sold to any of B&Ds customers. We didnt back then [at Pharmacenter], and we dont now [at Unique Biotech USA]," he said. The information [on customers] is nothing we didnt already know or couldnt access in different ways," he added, noting many of those customers walk the floor at SupplySide.

Echeverria told INSIDER he believes there are no grounds for accusations he and the other defendants stole secret info, and his attorneys agreed. Nothing can be proven," he said, claiming documentation backs his assertion. This is very clear and will be simple for any court of law to decide."
UFO enthusiasts are claiming that a proof that alien life has existed in the red planet is once again in one of NASA's official photos.

According to reports, the Mars Curiosity Rover has snapped a photo of an alleged "ancient wall" which was once a part of an ancient city built by an intelligent ancient alien civilization.

The theory was revealed blog post titled "Alien City Ruins on Mars? In Official NASA Images," Daily Star reported.

The blog read:

In the last couple of years, the number of images showing alleged structures on the surface of the red planet has quadrupled. In fact, nearly every single image beamed back by NASA's rovers on Mars seems to show at least one particular object' which appears to be artificially carved or created. While most of these objects are the result of pareidolia, other findings cannot be dismissed so easily.

Back in June, some reports claimed that NASA is covering up an alien city found on Mars after NASA published a photo by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in black and white and in a small "thumbnail" size.

Scott C. Waring of UFO Sightings Daily deliberately accused NASA of hiding evidence that could prove that alien civilizations existed in Mars. According to Waring, NASA published the photo in a smaller size as part of a government policy to hide the structures that could be a breakthrough evidence of extraterrestrial life.

READ: NASA Cover Up? City Found On Mars, Conspiracy Theorists Say

Waring is not the only one who believes so. Dr. John Brandenburg, who has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Plasma Physics from the University of California believes that long ago, a Martian civilization faced hostility and was scraped off of their existence by nuclear bomb-wielding aliens from elsewhere in the universe. His research paper titled "Evidence of a Massive Thermonuclear Explosion on Mars in the Past, the Cydonian Hypothesis and Fermi's Paradox," was published in the Journal of Cosmology.

Meanwhile, agencies geared toward universe exploration have made plans to send mankind to the red planet to discover what is really there. Elon Musk plans to send its first capsule with a human crew to Mars in 2024.
Brazilian scientists have announced on Wednesday the discovery of the fossil of an 82-foot dinosaur who lived approximately 66 million years ago. The said fossil was not unearthed from an archaeological site, but was, in fact, kept hidden in a storage cupboard.

According to Phys Org, the dinosaur, dubbed as Austroposeidon magnificus, was a herbivore sporting a long neck and measures up to 82 feet long.

The said plan-eater dinosaur belonged to a dinosaur group known as titanosaurs and lived during the Cretaceous Period on Gondwana, the supercontinent which is now South America, India, Antarctica, Africa and Australia at present time, Latino Fox News reports.

The said creature was discovered by Brazilian paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1953, but due to money constraints and lack of people who are willing to study the gigantic dinosaur.

READ: World's Largest Titanosaur Footprint Discovered in Mongolian Desert

"A friend said to me just yesterday, 'Diogones, what, it took you 60 years?' It sounds a bit ridiculous to say this," Museum director Diogenes de Almeida Campos told Phys Org. "We were waiting for the staff..., for a laboratory that started from nothing to mature. We made a first effort with students about eight years ago and it didn't succeed."

A life-size reconstruction of the dinosaur's arm has been create using tomograph and the unearthed fossils, which reveal that the said species had a denser bone layer unusual to scientists.

Magnificus now holds the record for the largest dinosaur in Brazil, beating Maxakalisaurus topai, another titanosaur that measures 42 feet.

Read More:

This Ancient Reptile Species is Related to Crocodiles

170-Million-Year-Old Jurassic 'Sea Monster' Fossil in Scotland Freed from Rock Tomb

Seattle Burke Museum Welcomes One of the World's Finest T. Rex Fossils
What's ultra-sparkly, rosy of hue, light in spirit, and a fun, longtime interest that's often best shared among friends?

If you answered "wine," you'd be correct, and if you answered the world of "Hello Kitty," you'd be correct again.

True, wine goes back a few more years, but the Sanrio bow-topped phenomenon, who looks like a cat but is not, in fact, a cat, has been a beloved pop culture fixture for well over four decades.

Still, they do have a few things in common, which means wine with the Hello Kitty imprimatur makes sparkly, rosy sense. The LA Times reveals that Torti, a winery in northern Italy, has created a line of libations in partnership with Sanrio, the Tokyo-headquartered company behind the creation of Hello Kitty and a host of other beloved icons.

The Sweet Pink Hello Kitty Wine is available in Asia and Europe, per the Torti site, while Sparkling Rose is debuting in Canada and the United States.

Of course, some fans may still have a bottle of the California-made Hello Kitty red wine 2010 on the pantry shelf, the vino created with Syrah grapes hailing from Lodi and Paso Robles.

As for drinking the Torti wine? The Times says that Antonello, in Santa Ana, is the place to find it here in SoCal.

If wine, at first blush, seems a quirky addition to the superstar's portfolio, consider that her fandom includes a passionate 21-and-over contingent; look to the many Hello Kitty buffs who traveled to Los Angeles for the superlative "Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty" exhibit, the one that ran at the Japanese American National Museum from late 2014 into the spring of 2015.

The wines are a further flowering of the immense and kaleidoscopic product universe occupied by the bow-wearing, positive-of-heart little girl (not cat) and her friends.

But the beverages aren't the only sippable dimension to the Hello Kitty. The sweet-filled Hello Kitty Cafe food truck make frequent showings around Southern California, so best follow the beloved figure's bows-on, on-the-road adventures here.
A federal judge appeared skeptical on Thursday over the legal battle Airbnb is attempting to wage against its hometown of San Francisco. Attorneys for both sides faced off in federal court as part of a lawsuit Airbnb filed in June. The suit aims to block a new San Francisco ordinance that would subject home-sharing websites, like Airbnb, to criminal penalties and hefty fines whenever they allow their users to book rental listings that are not registered with the city.

The city has attempted toevade the first amendment, said attorney Jonathan Blavin, who argued on behalf of Airbnb during Thursdays hearing.

Currently, San Francisco can only dole out criminal and financial penalties to individual hosts, not the actual online platforms. The city's new law, however, would subject home-sharing companies to the same penalties that individual hosts have faced since the city began regulating the industry in February 2015: criminal charges and daily fines of up to $1,000 for each unregistered listing. The new law, which the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved in June, was supposed to take effect in July. The city, however, is continuing to put the ordinance on hold, pending the results of the lawsuit.

NBC Bay Area

During Thursday's hearing, Blavin argued that the new ordinance infringes on Airbnbs constitutional rights of free commercial speech since it attempts to restrict home-sharing companies from posting certain types of content on its website.

The practical effect of this law is it will require companies to screen and remove listings, Blavin said.

Lawyers with the San Francisco City Attorneys Office disagreed.

The ordinance doesnt say anything about what they can or cannot publish, said Deputy City Attorney Sara Eisenberg. [Airbnb] can simply say, if you want to partake in our booking services, you need to send us your registration number.

Deputy City Attorney James Emery later tried to bolster that argument.

Airbnb can confirm  independent from the content of the ad  whether a listing is legally registered with the city, Emery said.

U.S. District Court Judge James Donato has yet to issue a decision in this case, however, during the hearing he admitted he was struggling to understand how San Franciscos short-term rental law would, in fact, violate Airbnbs constitutional rights.

How is that a suppression of an idea of your first amendment rights? he asked Blavin. [San Francisco] is not outsourcing enforcement to Airbnb, theyre just trying to find out information from the single entity that knows -- thats you.

Since February 2015, anyone in San Francisco wanting to rent out their home, for less than 30 days, has been required to apply for a $50 permit from the Office of Short Term Rentals. Hosts must renew their registration every two years. While violators can face criminal or financial penalties, an NBC Bay Area Investigation found hosts have largely ignored the registration process, with few actually facing any consequences. According to figures obtained from Airbnb and the Office of Short Term Rentals, at least 82 percent of hosts fail to register with the city.

HOSTING REQUIREMENTS IN SAN FRANCISCO INCLUDE:

 Register as a business with the city of San Francisco

 Sign up for an in person appointment with the Office of Short Term Rentals (1-2 day wait)

 You will need a Business Registration Certificate, valid ID, proof of liability insurance

 Fill out a registration application ($50 fee)

 Average 3-week wait to have your application approved

During Thursdays hearing, the judge was critical of the citys inability to offer a detailed plan for how it intends to allow home-sharing companies to easily and quickly verify whether a listing is registered with the city.

Youre calling for criminal penalties and not providing the tools for companies to easily check registration numbers to evade those charges, said Donato. You all hold the information on who is legally registered and not, and so how are you going to make that totally transparent to those companies so that they dont get prosecuted?

Emery replied by saying the city intends to work with companies to create an enforcement program that works.

Thats not very comforting, said Donato, who smiled as the courtroom erupted in laughter.

The roughly hour-long hearing ended with Donato explaining that he plans to issue a ruling sometime soon.

______________________________________

Watch the entire series in this NBC Bay Area investigation:
They all had guns, and they were ready, willing and able to use them if they met any resistance. That's how Contra Costa County prosecutor Barry Grove described the six young men arrested in several East Bay home invasion robberies.

The six suspects are scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning in Contra Costa County court on charges including criminal street gang conspiracy. They are Tarell Brown, 19; Ronald James Fluker III, 19; Bobby Ray Williams, 20; Marrico Teyon Williams, 19; Tommie Ray Woods, 19; and Torion Demonte Young, 18.

NBC Bay Area

Starting in March, Grove said, the men targeted at least five homes, including one robbery caught on surveillance camera in Fremont. Other charges include home invasion, burglary and in one case a carjacking that touched off a high-speed chase through Contra Costa County.

"They go in with various handguns, and if the residents are home, they take what they need by force," Grove said. "If the residents aren't home, they take what they need and move on."

In a break-in in Livermore last week, the victim, Greg Brehm, said he'd just returned home after his mother passed away that morning and found his house had been robbed.

"It could have been worse," Brehm said. "I could have been home; I could have been harmed."

An Orinda couple was harmed on Sept. 26 in a case police say has not yet been connected to the suspects. In that home invasion, men dressed in Halloween masks shot Orinda resident Carol Brown twice and pistol-whipped her husband at their home, police said. While prosecutors have not charged the men in that case, police are looking at a possible connection.

A Livermore resident, who did not want to be identified, says she's incredibly shaken. She started to cry as she told NBC Bay Area how the intruders broke into her house last Thursday while she was home upstairs. Luckily her dog started barking and chased them out.

"He's my hero," she said.

The crooks made off with some of her jewelry. They also attempted to take her purse but dropped it outside.

"It feels like an act of terror. They terrified me," she said, adding she's very relieved to hear of the arrest. "I feel so much better to know they're caught."
Cortney Troys apartment parking space - spot 144 - now sits empty, after a frustrating experience with a used car she bought from South County Chrysler in Gilroy.

It was a bad experience that I dont ever want to go through again, said Troy.

The past May, Troy bought a 2007 Escalade.

It was really a smooth ride, Troy said. And we liked that we didnt have to do anything to it. The rims were already there, the tint was already on it, and the gray just looked great.

But Troy says within minutes of driving her new used car off the lot on that Friday night in May, problems started.

The lights started flickering, the signs on the dash started coming up with doors arent closing lights, said Troy.

She drove straight back to South County Chrysler. She says the dealer told her to come back on Monday and it would fix the SUV.

That weekend, she says the brakes went out.

Youre hitting on the brake and its not stopping, said Troy. That was really scary. We didnt know if we could stop. It took maybe three minutes to stop.

Troy dropped off the Escalade at South County Chrysler, and the dealer said it would look at it. But when Cortney picked up the SUV, she said she couldnt get a clear answer from the dealer what was wrong. And when she started driving it, she said little had changed.

It was the suspension warning light coming on, the lights kept flickering, something was always wrong with the tire, said Troy. Every light on the dashboard would come up.

Troy said she gave the dealer a few more shots at fixing her SUV. But she said nothing worked.

I was livid, said Troy. I couldnt do anything. I didnt want to drive the car.

So Troy reached out to us.

I told you guys i wanted the money back, said Troy. And the next day they called and they said we have everything cut for you and you can come get your money.

After we called South County Chrysler, it took back the Escalade. It gave Troy a check for $4,000 - her down payment and loan payments shed made. And it paid off her loan. A savings of $24,000.

I was ecstatic, said Troy. I was so happy. I had nothing to do with this car anymore.

When we asked South County Chrysler for its side of the story, it simply said Troys resolution had nothing to do with NBC Bay Area Responds.

Heres something Troy - and all used car buyers - can consider. California law allows used car buyers to purchase a Contract Cancellation Option. This gives the buyer two days to return a used car to the dealer for a full refund, minus a restocking fee.
She's the oldest living National Park Ranger working full time in the United States. She worked as file clerk for an all African-American union that made boilers and steel plates during WWII. And she survived a brutal home invasion attack at her Richmond, Calif. home this summer.

For all this and more, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek) will present Betty Reid Soskin with a Congressional Record statement at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond on Friday. The Congressional Record is the official record of the United States Congress and has been published daily since 1873. Soskin was officially read into the record on July 5.

"If anyone knows Betty, she's a special person and a special soul," DeSaulnier said. "Lincoln once said, 'In the end it's not the years in your life that count; it's the life in your years.' In Betty's case it's both. She is a phenomenal spirit."

[NATL] Bay Area Woman is World's Oldest Park Ranger

Soskin grinned as she took the framed plaque and took the opportunity not to boast or gloat over the latest award in her life. Rather, she took the podium and started talking about the history of WWII, segregation and her current efforts to bring more artifacts into the museum where she works.

The award is one of a long list of honors Soskin has received in almost 100 years on this planet, ranging from California Woman of the year in 1995 to receiving a presidential coin from President Obama last Christmas when she was invited to light the National Christmas tree. That coin was stolen from her home in June by a thief who attacked Soskin, punching her several times in the face. The coin was later replaced during a surprise ceremony in July by the Secretary of Interior.

The most recent honor came last month, when Soskin celebrated her 95th birthday on Sept. 22. She was celebrated in Washington, D.C., during the opening of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Children sang her happy birthday, she got to meet plenty of celebrities, and she was asked to lead tours at the new museum, just like she does five days a week at the museum in Richmond.

Even Soskin noted the whirlwind of events, many of which will be formally memorialized in a documentary being made about her.

"How will I ever catch up with myself?" she blogged after returning from D.C.
Police detectives raided a brothel at a home in San Leandro on Thursday afternoon, resulting in the arrest of three women and an investigation into human trafficking, according to authorities.

After receiving a tip form neighbors, police logged onto a website frequented by "johns" and set up a meeting between an unsuspecting woman and an undercover detective, San Leandro police Lt. Chris McManus said.

"During this conversation not only did they want to make sure that our undercover detectives were not law enforcement, they finally agreed for $160 to perform sex acts," McManus said.

That woman led detectives to a home at 338 Aloha Drive, where police served a search warrant and arrested three women who tried to escape out the back.

"One of them admitted that she had come here within the past week from China, came in through the SFO airport and came to San Leandro with the intent of engaging in prostitution," McManus said.

The raid also recovered $1,500 in cash that police suspect is from illegal prostituion.

Neighbors said ever since the tenants moved into the house in August, they knew something wasn't right. So they called the police.

"It's a quiet neighborhood so we're not used to a lot of activity at night," Estela Castillo said.

But that's exactly what Castillo saw at her neighbor's house, "a lot of gentlemen, a lot of male pursuers. At first we thought maybe it was a drug issue."

A photograph from police shows a house with little furniture inside but plenty of personal items. Each room was equipped with a small mattress, some towels, a small night stand, condoms, sex lubricant and suitcases filled with women's lingerie, McManus said.

Police said the house has been red-tagged, meaning no one can live there because of several code violations.
A San Jose woman says she was startled to see what looked like a clown sitting in a truck outside her home Thursday morning.

The sight rattled her enough to call police.

Officers ultimately determined the clown was a mannequin and say the driver was not breaking any laws.

Creepy clowns have been taking over the country since August in South Carolina.

On Thursday, a school superintendent in San Jose sent out a warning letter to students telling them to beware after threats were made at schools.

Other reported threats in the Bay Area - but no actual violence - aimed at schools in San Mateo, Fairfield, Oakland and Antioch. All incidents were reported this month.

Tweets from handles that are often deleted, make general threats, such as "I'm gonna get ya. Be ready."

A woman in Concord said a clown on the street yanked her toddler's hand on Wednesday before she kicked his shin sending him to run away.
U.S. homeland security officials said Friday they are confident Russia's government is behind recent hacks of American political organizations' email systems.

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow," said the statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security.

The statement says that "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized" hacks that resulted in documents posted on sites like WikiLeaks and DCLeaks.com, given "the scope and sensitivity of these efforts." But it stopped short of saying the Russian Government was responsible for the recent scanning and probing of American states' election systems.

Thousands of hacked Democratic National Committee emails were posted online this summer, upending the party's primary and convention, as the emails appeared to show some officials throwing their support behind Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. Party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz eventually resigned over the uproar.

The intelligence officials said in their statement Friday that Moscow has used similar tactics to influence public opinion in Europe and Asia.

The White House had asked a special intelligence task force to examine the implications of recent hacks, NBC News reported in August.

Congressman Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committe, applauded the Obama administration's statement.

"All of us should be gravely concerned when a foreign power like Russia seeks to undermine our democratic institutions, and we must do everything in our power to guard against it," he said in a statement Friday.

A spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin called the hacking allegations nonsense.
As Seen On
Ward Room's Campaign Round-Up is a weekly column dedicated to keeping you in the know about upcoming 2016 elections. Check the Ward Room blog for continued coverage.

U.S. Senate

Rep. Tammy Duckworth has adopted a new fundraising strategy in her bid for the U.S. Senate that uses tweets from her opponent, Sen. Mark Kirk, to trigger donations to her campaign fund. Now, every time Kirk sends out a tweet, donations to the Tammy for Illinois fund will be triggered for donations.

Duckworth is the first politician to adopt the model, which was created by Chicago-based startup iKeedo.

We couldnt be more proud that the Tammy for Illinois team has signed on with iKeedo, the companys founder Chris OBrien said in a statement. In this all important election year, iKeedo allows the national democratic base to take their negative feeling about the Republican agenda (as represented by Mark Kirks campaign) and turn it into positive action in the form of donations.

However, the campaign has only raised $140 since launching earlier this week.

Epic fail, Kirk spokesman Kevin Artl said in an e-mail that included screenshots of the iKeedo page showing $0 in donations from recent tweets. The Duckworth campaign did not immediately respond to Ward Rooms request for comment.

However, Duckworth hasnt had a problem fundraising elsewhere. According to a report released Thursday by the congresswomans campaign, Duckworth raised $4.1 million in the third quarter of 2016. She enters the final month of the campaign with $4.3 million on hand.

10th Congressional District

Rep. Bob Dold released a new campaign ad Monday that looks to distance the Republican congressman from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and his partys platform. The ad starts with a series of clips featuring Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Thats whats wrong with politics and both sides share the blame, Dold says. We need problem solvers, not grandstanding, to put country first, not politics. Ill work with anybody when theyre right and challenge both parties when theyre wrong.

Dold goes on to explain that he's broken with the GOP to "support common sense gun laws and defend a womans right to choose.

Meanwhile, Dolds Democratic opponent, Brad Schneider, released a Norrington Petts poll last week that gives him a 46-41 lead over Dold. The poll is based on landline and mobile phone interviews of 399 likely voters from the district.

Illinois Comptroller

Democratic nominee for state Comptroller Susana Mendoza released a new television ad Wednesday that shows the Chicago City Clerk campaigning for the most important office youve never heard of.

The 30-second spot features Mendoza explaining what a comptroller does to a variety of Illinois voters.

The comptroller can make sure the politicians in Springfield are the last to get paid when they dont pass a budget, Mendoza says in the ad. Ive been a taxpayer watchdog who believes in rooting out waste.

Mendoza is locked in a tight race with Republican incumbent Leslie Munger thats primed to be one of the states most expensive this campaign season. The matchup is being billed as a proxy battle for Gov. Bruce Rauner, who appointed Munger in 2015, and House Speaker Mike Madigan, who Mendoza has called a mentor.

The ad is currently airing on broadcast television in the Chicago, Springfield, Rockford and Peoria markets.

Notable Contributions

After smashing campaign finance limits with a $260,000 loan from her husband last month, Comptroller Munger received some significant donations from top GOP fundraisers with ties to Gov. Rauner.

Last Tuesday, the comptroller got $2 million from Richard Uihlein, the owner of the Uline shipping supply firm. Additionally, billionaire investor Ken Griffin chipped in $2 million last Thursday.

Munger has since transferred $3 million to the Illinois Republican Party fund that the group will likely spend on state legislative races. The comptroller contributed $1 million to the group last Thursday and added another $2 million Wednesday.

Additionally, the Illinois Republican Party has spent more than $2 million on ads in the state's 20th House district, the Associated Press reports. Veteran state Rep. Michael McAuliffe, the only Republican representing a state legislative district that includes parts of Chicago, is facing a tough re-election bid against Democratic newcomer Merry Marwig, who has spent roughly $187,690 on television ads this cycle.

According to the report, contributions in the race have helped make Illinois the biggest spender on TV ads for both Republican and Democratic legislative candidates in the U.S. for the current election cycle. Nearly $14 million has been spent on ads since January of 2015. Florida ranked second with about $8 million in spending.
Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson is scheduled to speak at the University of Chicago Friday.

The event is part of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics Road to 2016 series. The program includes a variety of events focused on the campaign for the White House. Last year, Democratic presidential nominee and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders participated in the Road to 2016 series at U of C.

Johnsons appearance is set for Friday afternoon at the International House at the University of Chicago.

Last week, the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board endorsed Johnson for president, a move that was highly criticized.

President Barack Obama is also set to visit Chicago this weekend. The president is scheduled touch down Friday afternoon at OHare International Airport and will attend a fundraiser for Rep. Tammy Duckworths Senate campaign Sunday on the citys South Side.
Gov. Bruce Rauner hosted his second Facebook Live event Thursday, focusing on Illinois manufacturing and job creation.

Rauner, who called Illinois the manufacturing heart of America for almost 200 years, repeatedly stressed the need to cut regulations and tax burdens to encourage job growth and business relocation to the state.

Growing our economy and bringing more jobs is a big partnership, Rauner said Thursday. Its a big effort for state government, city governments, county governments, township govenments, and local economic development corporations.

We are trying as a state to bring all our efforts together as partners to leverage each other, help each other and get the biggest impact in every community to grow more jobs, he added.

The governor was joined Thursday by the former Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce Jim Schultz, who now manages Intersect Illinois, a non-profit created by Rauner that's dedicated to recruiting companies to the state. Thursday's event was broadcast live from Downers Grove-based Flexco, a company that manufactures products in the fastening field.

In a development from Rauners first Facebook Live, the governors team pulled real time questions directly from the comments section for the governor to address. The event has been viewed over 5,000 times.

In response to a question about bringing manufacturing jobs to the state, Rauner said regulations and tax burdens were punishing companies who are now moving because theyre not growing in Illinois. The governor claimed that Illinois hasnt added a single manufacturing job since the end of the most recent recession. Meanwhile, Indiana has added 84,000 manufacturing jobs and Wisconsin has added 44,000 in that same timeframe. He also stressed investments in education to create a trained, skilled Illinois workforce.

During the event, the governor championed workers compensation and tort reform and pushed to get a handle on the states property taxes, all of which are components of his Turnaround Agenda.

The Republican leader noted that Illinois workers compensation insurance costs are among the highest in the country, calling that the number one challenge for manufacturing firms. He said those costs need to be brought down using things like causation, which only gives workers health coverage for injuries that were sustained on the job.

Injuries should be job related, not outside of that, in order for workers comp costs to be competitive, Rauner said.

According to Rauner, business relocation firms dont want to expand or relocate to Illinois because of the states regulatory burden. He said growing the states economy would expand the states tax base and create resources to address problems like unemployment, poverty, crime, school funding and unfunded pension liability.

Today, Illinois is not competitive, Rauner said. Our regulations are some of the worst in America on businesses. Our property taxes are the highest in America. Theyre pushing employers out or theyre inhibiting employers from growing and creating more jobs."

Weve got to change that, he added.

The governor also stressed the need to reduce the number of state taxing districts. Illinois has more taxing districts than any other state. Rauner recommends consolidating those districts and letting local communities deal with the size and cost of government.

He also said the state needs to be more efficient in order to lower taxes. As examples of how thats already happening, he pointed to the modernization of state information technology systems, as well as new compensation structures for state employees.

Additionally, he touched on his plan to help minority manufacturing in the state, noting that Illinois has the highest unemployment rate for African-Americans in the entire country. Rauner claimed minority-owned businesses need access to business networks that can provide capital and access to consultants and management.

The governor pointed to the states Advancing the Development of Minority Entrepreneurs program, which was developed under Schultz. Rauner claimed the program is dedicated to creating those sorts of networks for minority business owners.

For his part, Schultz explained that Intersect Illinois is still growing. He said the non-profit has added seven people to its staff and hopes to increase that number to 25 by next year. Schultz explained that, although they are already doing some business development, there will be much more when the team is built out.

Were the concierge service to Illinois businesses and to the economic development local, Schultz said. So consider Intersect Illinois to be your one stop resource."

We want to be your red carpet state and not be a red tape state, he added.

During the event, Rauner also pointed to a new Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll that shows 80 percent of Illinoisans supporting term limits, something the governor has pushed for.

The courts said it cant be done through a voter referendum, Rauner said. Even though we collected 600,000 signatures, they said no, cant go on the ballot, denied you a voice.

However, he noted that the General Assembly can vote to put the initiative on a future ballot to be voted on by Illinoisans. Rauner, who is limiting himself to 8 years in office, thinks all state lawmakers should be held to a similar timeline.
Twelve years ago Mary Jo Kish was in the path of a hurricane that tore her Florida condo apartbut this time shes fled Hurricane Matthew to Crown Point, Indiana, worrying about leaving her husband behind with friends.

Kish watched the news intently Thursday night with her grandkids.

Its disheartening, she said of the news out of Melbourne Florida, where she lived for the past 16 years.

Her husband stayed behind to help neighbors and elderly Floridians who thought hurricane season was over.

He wanted to make sure that they were aware of the severity of this, she said.

Kish and her husband communicate via FaceTime.

Hes evacuated already, hes got ample water and food supply, he has all his medicationshe knows how to be safe, she said of her husband, who mentioned the water would soon be shut off during one of their video chats.

She will stay with family in Crown Point, she says, as long as necessary.

Thats the hardest part of a hurricane is the wait, the scariest part of a hurricane is the wind, she said. The wind is strong and it just doesnt stop.

But the wind isnt her biggest fear.

Thats our biggest fear, is that were gonna have to face all of that rebuilding again, she said. Which in the scheme of things, property and possessions can be replaced.
Connie Love said spending hundreds of dollars on third row seats for the chance to watch one of her favorite music artists perform was priceless. But four songs in to the show, the power went out, the concert was cancelled and Love found herself being denied a refund from the ticket vendor.

It was a big deal for me because I had never sat that close before, Love said.

Love said she bought the tickets for the Jill Scott concert at The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, to celebrate her anniversary. She ordered the tickets through Ticketmaster for $740.

Moments after the power outage and the shows cancellation, officials at the Horseshoe announced they would be providing refunds and to contact The Venue or Ticketmaster in the next 72 hours.

Love contacted Ticketmaster the next day and 24 hours later she received a voicemail stating she had purchased resale tickets.

I was told no, youre not getting your money back, Scott said.

Ticketmaster confirms Love bought a fan-to-fan resale ticket. The company points out those are 100% verified tickets. But Ticketmasters website states that if an event is cancelled, ticket holders will be automatically refunded.

Ticketmaster representatives told NBC 5 Responds that, in this case, due to the unusual circumstances around the Jill Scott event not being technically cancelled, they believe Loves refund was just delayed. The company soon returned $740 to her account.

I was happy to receive my money back because that was a lot of money to spend on a ticket, Love said. I dont have money to throw away.

Ticketmaster provides a Resale 101 fact page featuring information on how consumers can easily delineate between a resale and a primary ticket.
The Chicago Transit Authority is attempting to identify a person who jumped on the outside of a Red Line train and rode it underground after a passenger posted video of the stunt on social media, a spokeswoman for the transit agency confirmed Thursday.

In the video, which was posted on YouTube, a man recording near the train cars doors calls the hanger-on outside "crazy" and says he is on the Red Line. The person riding on the train's exterior, clad in a white button down and backpack, gives a thumbs up. The video description says the man rode from the Lake station to Monroe.

A guy missed his Red Line train in Chicago so he hopped on the outside, the description reads. Pretty intense!

A CTA spokeswoman said that the transit agency will pursue "appropriate charges" if the person who clung to the train is identified.

Actions like this are extremely foolhardy and display an astonishing lack of common sense and judgment, said CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase. This is not only illegal, but dangerous, not just to the person involved but other passengers as well. Incidents like this can have tragic consequences for not only the individual, but for other CTA customers and employees.

The Chicago Police Department said, citing the Office of Emergency Management, there were "no calls for service at the Lake Red Line Station" on Thursday.
A celebrity fan page on Instagram pointed out the uncanny resemblance between a Disney star slated to play Jeffrey Dahmer in a film based on a graphic novel about the notorious Wisconsin serial killers high school days.

It was announced in July that Ross Lynch, star of Disneys Teen Beach, was cast as the lead role in the film My Friend Dahmer, based on the graphic novel of the same name, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Its pretty uncanny how similar they look, the Instagram post of a side-by-side photo of Dahmer and Lynch reads.

Dahmer, who was known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, murdered 17 people from the 1970s to the 1990s and was killed in prison in 1994.
President Barack Obama cast an early ballot for the upcoming November election during his weekend trip to Chicago on Friday.

Obama cast his ballot at a Cook County office building located at 69 W. Washington Street in Chicago's Loop, NBC News reports.

He arrived around 3:20 p.m. to vote at the start of a busy weekend trip to his hometown.

"Hey what's my date of birth?" Obama joked, suggesting he was born on August 4th, 1981, to which a poll worker responded, "Nice try."

"I was just shaving a couple of decades off," he added, before shaking hands with workers and promising pictures.

When asked who he was voting for, the president simply smiled and declined to answer, NBC News reports.

Before departing Washington, D.C., on Friday morning, Obama assured reporters he would, in fact, be casting his ballot in his hometown.

"I'm not going to go to a precinct, I'll probably do early voting," he said. "I'll fill out my form."

"Don't worry, I'll be voting," he added.

The president touched down Friday afternoon and planned to attend a series of fundraisers this weekend for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Speculation swirled that he may attend a Cubs playoff game as well.

"I'm going to do a little campaigning and a little voting, too," Obama said.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a five-decades-long civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people in the South American country.

The award came just days after Colombian voters narrowly rejected the peace deal that Santos helped bring about, and Nobel judges conspicuously left out his counterpart, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), from the honor.

"The referendum was not a vote for or against peace," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, insisting the peace process wasn't dead. "What the 'No' side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement."

Colombian voters rejected the deal Sunday by the narrowest of margins  less than a half percentage point  over concerns that the rebels, who were behind scores of atrocities, were getting a sweetheart deal. Under the terms of the accord, rebels who turn over their weapons and confess their crimes will be spared jail time and the FARC instead would be given 10 seats in congress through 2026.

Santos said he's deeply honored by the Nobel Peace Prize, which he dedicated to the people of his country.

"I receive this with great emotion," Santos told the Nobel Foundation in an audio interview posted on its Facebook account.

"This is a great, great recognition for my country," he said. "I am eternally grateful."

"I receive this award in their name: the Colombian people who have suffered so much in this war," he added. "Especially the millions of victims that have suffered in this war that we are on the verge of ending."

In Bogota, some 20 activists camped out in front of Colombia's congress to demand the peace deal not be scuttled shouted "Peace deal now!" and "Colombia wants peace!" at the news.

"This is a big help, but we're not leaving until there's peace," said Juliana Bohorquez, a 31-year-old artist.

Santos and Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, signed the peace deal last month after more than four years of negotiations in Cuba. Six days later, Colombians rejected it in the referendum.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it believes that Santos, despite the "No" vote, "has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution."

It said the award should also be seen "as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process."

Committee secretary Olav Njoelstad said there was "broad consensus" on picking Santos as this year's laureate  the first time the peace prize went to Latin America since 1992, when Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu won.

Yet awarding Santos alone was a departure from the Nobel committee's tradition of honoring both sides in a peace process, like it did in 1994 for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord and in 1998 for peace talks in Northern Ireland.

"I can't think of another time when they didn't give to both sides," said Nobel historian Asle Sveen, who isn't connected to the committee. "But the referendum made it difficult. The opposition who won the referendum would have been provoked. I suspect the committee took the FARC out at the last minute."

Santos, 65, is an unlikely peacemaker. The Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombia's wealthiest families, as defense minister a decade ago, he was responsible for some of the FARC's biggest military setbacks. Those included a 2008 cross-border raid into Ecuador that took out a top rebel commander and the stealth rescue of three Americans held captive by the rebels for more than five years.

Santos and Londono met only twice during the entire peace process: last year when they put the final touches on the most-controversial section of the accord  how guerrillas would be punished for war crimes  and last month to sign the accord before an audience of world leaders and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Colombian vote Sunday was also seen as a referendum of sorts on Santos, who has staked his presidency on securing peace but in the process, critics say, neglected the economy and other pressing issues. Santos' approval rating in July was near the lowest it has been since he took office in 2010.

Prize committee chair Kaci Kullmann Five said Santos has made it clear that he will continue to work for peace in Colombia.

"The Committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task," she said.

Norway, along with Cuba, has been a sponsor of the Colombian peace process since the outset. The public phase of talks began in Oslo in 2012 and the Norwegian government's bald-headed, mustached representative to the talks, Dag Nylander, has become a minor celebrity among Colombians, who have followed every announcement from Havana on TV.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende congratulated Santos on Twitter.

"It takes great courage pursuing peace and securing a final outcome that can end the conflict," he wrote.

A record 376 candidates were nominated for this year's award, which carries a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor (about $930,000).

Last year's peace prize went to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for its efforts to build a pluralistic democracy.

The 2016 Nobel Prize announcements continue with the economics prize on Monday and the literature award on Thursday. All awards will be handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.
A Silver Alert has been issued for an elderly man in Manchester.

Melvin Berman, 82, was last seen earlier on Friday.

His son told NBC Connecticut that Berman had an appointment at 9:30 in the morning at Libery Tax on Friday.

At 3 p.m., when he didn't come home, his wife called their son. Berman's son said Liberty Tax was closed when he went to check it out.

The 82-year-old man had an appointment at the doctors for his heart at 3:30 p.m., but the office told the Berman family that the man never made it in.

Berman is described as being a white man at 5'7" with brown eyes and shoulder length white hair, weighing 140 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a striped blue and red buttondown, jeans and New Balance sneakers. He also has a noticable scar on forehead by eyebrow.

Berman is on medication that he did not take on Friday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Manchester Police at (860) 645-5500.
We know you are thinking about family, friends and strangers who are in the path of, or who have already been affected by Hurricane Matthew.

NBC Connecticut is proud to connect you with a way to help those devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

On Monday, Oct. 10, NBC Connecticut and the American Red Cross will be accepting your tax-deductible monetary donations at three Big Y Supermarket locations across Connecticut. Come meet the NBC Connecticut team from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To direct your donation specifically to Hurricane Matthew Relief, checks must be made out to American Red Cross, with Hurricane Matthew Relief written in the memo line. Only cash and checks will be accepted.

Come to these Big Y Supermarkets between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.:

Big Y, 533 South Broad St., Meriden

Big Y, 234 Tolland Turnpike, Manchester

Big Y, 85 Bridge St., Naugatuck

If you cant get to one of these locations, you can still help by donating through the Red Cross website here.

You can also donate by text, mail, or phone here.
The Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families vowed Thursday to stay on in her current role, and not give in to criticism coming from the political right.

"I have no plans," to resign, Joette Katz told NBC Connecticut during an interview following an event the Yale School of Medicine.

The calls for her resignation come after an Office of the Child Advocate Report that detailed the circumstances surrounding the near-death of "Baby D," a Groton 2-year-old who was starved nearly death, suffered from a brain hemorrhage and had broken bones.

Katz said the Baby D case happened on her watch and at the end of the day she is responsible, but added that such cases are the very nature of her job.

Will there be tragedies? It breaks my heart to say, yes there will be mistakes made. Are they excuses? Absolutely not. But are they indicative of a system or a trend or systemic failure? Absolutely not, she said.

The report details how DCF workers disregarded questions from the child's legal guardian. Three employees have been disciplined and another was allowed to retire as a result of the case.

Gov. Dannel Malloy also stood by Katz Thursday. He said the department is in a much better place than when she arrived and is likely in a better place than it's ever been before. His justification for those statements is that a federal court monitor has eased its oversight of the department, though it is still keeping a close eye on how it operates.

"If you look at what weve accomplished in Connecticut over the last six years, it is remarkable," Malloy said. He added that the job is difficult and that tragedies come with the territory.

"There are going to be mistakes and theres going to be malfeasance and misfeasance. Thats the reality. We have to hold people accountable to that and we need that to happen less and less and less often and hopefully never but having a strong leadership team is part of getting that done."

"I hold Commissioner Katz accountable," he added.

The family of Baby D is suing the Department of Children and Families, as well.

Katz said the OCA report is valid and accurate, but adds that the fact there have been fewer of these kinds of incidents shows how the department is better off.

"Its my responsibility to ensure that we dont just react to the issues, but that we respond to the issues and that we really keep on path," Katz said.
A man wanted for a carjacking in Ohio and the theft of an RV in Michigan was taken into custody Friday night after a 12-hour manhunt in Madison.

Police said Francis Sumner, 51, committed a carjacking in Ohio, then drove to Michigan, where he stole an RV, then somehow ended up in Madison, were he jumped out of the vehicle around 7 a.m. Friday and fled into the woods, according to police.

Up to 100 local police officers, state police troopers and members of federal agencies were involved in the search, which spanned thousands of square acres and ended on Suffolk Drive, where police took him into custody.

Hes been in the woods for almost 12 hours, running, hasnt had any food in that period of time. So he looks pretty exhausted and tired right now, Captain Joseph Race, of Madison Police, said after taking Sumner into custody.

During the manhunt, Madison residents were asked to stay inside with the doors locked because they through Sumner had a gun.

Special precautions were also taken at two schools, Brown Middle School and Ryerson Elementary School, as police searched for the man wanted on robbery charges in Ohio and Michigan.

Police said the case started as a report of a suspicious vehicle and Sumner has no known connection to the area.

He has no real connection to our town. Maybe he was trying to take the back roads through the area, ended up being asleep for a few hours,  Race said.

Madison police charged Sumner with interfering with an officer and larceny in the first degree.

Sumner was also charged as a fugitive from justice and held without bond.

Sumner appeared in court on Oct. 11 and remains in custody. His bond was set at $510,000.
A Norwich man has been charged in the 2006 murder of the man found dead in a Ledyard field.

Timothy Johnson, who is now 32, is accused of killing Anthony Hamlin, 41, of Groton, and was charged Wednesday with felony murder.

A driver traveling on Shewville Road in Ledyard called 911 around 8:20 a.m. on Jan. 28, 2006 to report that there was a body in the field next to 448 Shewville Road, according to police. Investigators responded and found Hamlins naked body in a vacant field.

The last time anyone had seen Hamlin alive was around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2006 in the area of the New London Transportation Center, police said.

The father of five and member of the Eastern Pequot Tribe told his family he'd grab something at Subway before catching a late train to head to Virginia for a new job, but early the next morning his body was found in a Ledyard field eight miles away.

Johnson, who was 21 years old at the time of the murder, was charged and held on $1 million bond. He is expected in court on Oct. 7.

The state was offering a $50,000 reward for information to solve the 2006 murder of Hamlin.
The States Office of Early Childhood has taken emergency action and suspended the child care provider license for the Norwalk home family day care under investigation following the death of a 4-month-old baby girl.

Christine Limone, the daughter of Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, has not been charged with a crime. State Police Western District Major Crime detectives are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the infants death on Wednesday afternoon.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the autopsy of the baby girl is pending further study, meaning it could take up to eight more weeks until the cause and manner of death are determined.

NBC Connecticut obtained several past inspection reports from the Office of Early Childhood that reveal the state cited the day care for several violations this year.

The reports indicate Limone moved her home family day care to 9 Hunters Lane in August 2015.

On March 22 of this year, the Division of Licensing issued a notice of over-capacity after an unannounced inspection.

Limones license only allows her to care for six children total; two under the age of two. But the inspector found seven children at the home and three were under the age of two, according to the reports.

The notice Limone received said You failed to demonstrate good judgment about the supervision and safety for children when you failed to maintain your licensed capacity."

In the corrective action plan for her license, Limone wrote, My assistant had an emergency which left me with 3 under 2, this was corrected when called a parent to pick up a child.

The inspector who visited the day care in March also noted that the provider slammed doors and used obscenities during walk through of upstairs of her home.

A follow-up inspection in May found several hazardous violations, such as uncovered electrical outlets, a stairway with no gate and the water was hotter than the state considers acceptable.

On Wednesday afternoon at 1:31 pm, police and EMS personnel responded to the home day care because a 4-month-old baby girl was not breathing. She was rushed to Norwalk Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

State Police investigators are handing the investigation into the babys death at the request of Norwalk Police. The babys name has not been released.

On Thursday, Limones child care license was suspended and an administrative hearing is scheduled for Oct. 13 in Hartford.

NBC Connecticut has also reached out to Mayor Rilling multiple times, but he has not responded.
Two of the state's vocational schools could face closure if budget cuts come to the Department of Education during the next legislative session.

The proposal was approved by the State Board of Education Wednesday, and was harshly criticized by House Democrats Thursday.

I literally read the first headline and I was shocked, outraged, and disgusted all at once," said Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, House Majority Leader.

The 20 technical high schools serve approximately 11,000 students and they focus on skills that could be easily translated to the workforce. That's the reason Democrats pounced on the proposal, saying it comes off as "tone-deaf" just a week after they approved an incentive package to keep Sikorsky in Connecticut, and two weeks after Pratt and Whitney announced it would expand with 8,000 new hires in Connecticut.

"That is the key to our future, so I know the governor and the governors office and its time for them to stand up and stand with us and fight for the vo-tech schools.

Governor Dannel Malloy attempted to throw cold water on what became a controversy, saying the proposed closure is nothing more than an idea at this early stage.

There is no plan to close schools. No one has said to close schools," Malloy told members of the press at an event at Yale School of Medicine.

This is not a plan, this is not a recommendation, its not built into any budget, on the other hand were going to have a tough budget. Were going to have to make changes. Asking my departments and my department heads what they would do and what some of their ideas are I think is good government, not bad government.

Lawmakers will have to make difficult budget choices no matter what when the legislative session starts because nonpartisan budget analysts have projected a $1 billion budget hole.

Aresimowicz said he is ruling out such cuts to technical schools.

"This is about priorities," he said. "And these schools are a priority."
Hurricane Matthew has officially left 473 people dead as of Oct. 11, according to the National Civil Protection headquarters in Port-au-Prince. But local officials in one southwestern region, Grand-Anse, said the death toll there alone tops 500.

The U.N. humanitarian agency in Geneva made an emergency appeal for nearly $120 million in aid, saying about 750,000 people in southwest Haiti alone will need "life-saving assistance and protection" in the next three months.

U.N. officials said earlier that at least 1.4 million people across the region need assistance and that 2.1 million overall have been affected by the hurricane.

U.N. Deputy Special Representative for Haiti Mourad Wahba called it the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Many organizations are collecting supplies and financial donations for victims of the storm, which made landfall in Haiti as a Category 4 hurricane. It was the most powerful to threaten the Atlantic coast in more than a decade, affecting Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.

A weakened Hurricane Matthew also impacted Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, with 39 deaths attributed there to the hurricane or causes linked to the storm like carbon monoxide poisoning, NBC News reported.

Here are some organizations you can support to help victims of the storm:

International Red Cross: Over 3,000 volunteers and staff of the Red Cross in Haiti have been mobilized to aid communities in the path of powerful Hurricane Matthew and are prepared to deliver first aid and other medical care, clean water and sanitation and shelter assistance. Donate here.

The American Red Cross was getting ready for a massive multi-state response to the hurricane. More than 500 disaster workers and 90 response vehicles are standing by in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, the Red Cross said. Donate here or donate $10 by texting 90999.

Volunteer Florida has established a volunteer registration link for those interested in assisting Floridians after Hurricane Matthew. Register here to volunteer.

Food For The Poor: The international relief and development organization expects to eventually send nearly two million pounds of rice to alleviate the food scarcity issues which Hurricane Matthew is going to cause. Donate here.

The Salvation Army is mobilizing resources and personnel to assist with the international relief effort in Haiti and Jamaica. Donate here.

UNICEF: The United Nation's Children's Fund is dedicated to helping children. Donate here to support its Matthew relief efforts.

Save the Children is helping children and families with emergency assistance. Donate here.

CARE plans to provide clean drinking water, food assistance and emergency supplies such as tarps for shelter, blankets and hygiene kits, according to a press release. Donate here.

Catholic Relief Services is ready to move personnel, and transport and deliver relief items to Haiti. Donate here.
What to Know The rapper famous for the 1990 hit single "Ice Ice Baby" said on Twitter that he was riding out Hurricane Matthew.

"This hurricane is going to be serious, and it's coming right at me," he said in one tweet. "I am going to ride it out."

Palm Beach County, where Vanilla Ice lives, was under hurricane warnings Thursday and parts of Friday.

Vanilla Ice is back with a brand new invention: extreme weather live-tweeting.

The rapper famous for the 1990 hit single "Ice Ice Baby" said on Twitter Thursday that he rode out Hurricane Matthew at his home in Palm Beach. The onetime "Dancing With the Stars" contestant also used the opportunity to tweet out live updates on what he saw as the Category 4 storm swirled through The Sunshine State.

"This hurricane is going to be serious, and it's coming right at me," he said in one tweet before Matthew passed through. "I am going to ride it out."

The rapper, whose real name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle, later tweeted Friday morning that "It looks like a mess with debris and some flooding, but overall Palm Beach handled it very well."

This hurricane is serious and coming right at me. I'm going to ride out the storm. I'll keep you updated pic.twitter.com/LQGzAFY9O8  Vanilla Ice (@vanillaice) October 6, 2016

Vanilla Ice's decision was in direct opposition to Florida Governor Rick Scott's call for residents to evacuate parts of the state.

"We can rebuild homes, we can rebuild businesses  we can't rebuild a life," Scott said.

Officials in Palm Beach County also urged residents on barrier islands including Palm Beach to evacuate before Matthew hit.

It's the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade, and had already left more than 280 dead in its wake across the Caribbean. The National Weather Service warned it could have "potentially disastrous impacts for Florida."

The rapper has spent most of his life in South Florida. His home is about 72 miles north of Miami and was under hurricane warning from Thursday to Friday. Most of the storm was north of the county by Friday morning.

[NATL] Extreme Weather Photos: Record Heat Threatens Europe
A union that represents many Dallas County Schools bus drivers says it will challenge the firings of 13 drivers and the suspensions of 229 drivers who racked up hundreds of tickets for running red lights and even running past the stop arms of other school buses.

Dallas County Schools is responsible for transporting students at the Dallas Independent School District and about a dozen other area school districts.

The violations were first revealed Tuesday in an NBC 5 investigation which showed for years Dallas County Schools had done nothing to hold those drivers accountable despite a policy that said they should be suspended for first and second offenses and fired for the third offense.

The United Labor Union, Local 100, said Thursday that administrators at Dallas County Schools (DCS) are to blame for the traffic violations.

Union organizer Kenneth Stretcher said DCS runs a thinly staffed school bus operation where schedules are so tight drivers are forced to speed.

"The drivers are put into a situation where they have to be at a certain place at a certain time," Stretcher said. "If you want these drivers to drive carefully you can't put them in a situation where you have to speed or where they have to take short cuts like that."

In a statement DCS management fired back, saying, "There is no acceptable excuse for red-light running. That's true for DCS or in a court of law. DCS relies on its drivers to report any necessary route adjustments that they encounter."

Stretcher, the union organizer, said he agrees some of the driving in the videos is concerning.

But he says firing the drivers is unfair because drivers were never told they had racked up multiple tickets until this week.

NBC 5's investigation found for more than two years DCS had simply paid the red light tickets and never tracked down the drivers responsible, until NBC 5 Investigates questioned why.

The union says that delay robbed drivers of a chance to correct their behavior until it was too late.

"And this is just a management fault here, a management breakdown they needed to address by not firing the drivers but by firing the people who failed to manage their program properly," Stretcher said.

DCS has demoted two high-level managers for their role in failing to follow district policy. But the union wants those managers fired.

The ticket scandal alarmed parents and administrators at school districts where kids ride DCS buses.

Videos of school bus drivers running red lights angered officials at the Dallas Independent School District, the biggest district to contract with DCS for busing.

A top Dallas ISD official said Thursday that the district will consider the ticket scandal as it decides whether to renew its bus contract with Dallas County Schools, which is up in February.

"It's unfortunate that it's happened and it's unacceptable to our school district," said Scott Layne, chief operating officer at Dallas ISD.

Layne said he was pleased so far with the actions DCS has taken in response to the scandal.

"I only hope that from this point forward they'll have the proper checks and balances in place to prohibit this from happening again," Layne said.

On Friday morning the first of the DCS drivers fired will appear at a hearing, challenging that decision.

There is still no exact time line on how DCS will carry out the suspensions, ranging from five to nine days each, of more than 200 drivers  about 10 percent of the workforce.

Dallas ISD said it has received assurances that the suspensions would be staggered over time and would not impact bus scheduling.
After an NBC 5 Responds report about two North Texas women who fell victim to a Craigslist apartment post, an anonymous donor decided to help.

A two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at Summer Villas in Dallas with rent paid through October sounded like a great deal to Rosa Martinez.

"I thought it was God sent," she said.

Martinez payed $300 down and was set to move in, but she wasn't the only one. The Craigslist ad that Martinez saw also caught they eye of Heather Bentz, who paid $350 down payment got her the keys.

"We walked up, opened up the door and, boom, there was somebody else's stuff in that apartment," she said.

Both women sub-leased the same apartment from a tenant who'd been evicted. Bentz went to the leasing office and found out the apartment complex doesn't even allow subleases.

Bentz was able to work with the apartment and move into another unit weeks later, but Martinez and her family were still left without a place to live.

A viewer saw this story and called NBC 5 that day. He asked to remain anonymous, but said he wants help the family during this tough time.

"They trusted someone and they had faith and they thought it was a blessing and maybe even a God send. Well that just broke our hearts. So we wanted to do something to turn a negative back to a positive--and specifically Rosa, we wanted to bless her with a monetary gift. There are real blessings out there. And we want to bless her," the donor said.

We presented a check for $500 and a letter from the donor to Martinez, who was shocked.

We recommend all future tenants work with an apartment directly and never enter into a sublease agreement with a tenant alone. Remember, subleases in Texas require the landlord's consent.
Dallas police are asking for the public's help in finding an accused child sex abuser.

Officers said the individual is described as a dark skinned Latin man with short black hair. He was wearing an orange traffic vest with no shirt. He has a tattoo on his right abdominal area.

Police say the man was seen driving a 2-door older model black Toyota truck.

The pickup has red tape on the back passenger side tail light and a large amount of junk in the bed of the truck.

He is a suspect in an aggravated sexual assault of a child and aggravated robbery that occurred in the 2200 block of South Merrifield Road in Dallas.

Police did not say when the offenses occurred.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Paulson in the Child Exploitation Unit at 214-671-4217 or Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8477).

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information called into Crime Stoppers that leads to the arrest and indictment for this offense.
On July 7, 2016, a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas turned deadly when a shooter unconnected to the rally opened fire, targeting police officers. Five officers died and nine officers and two civilians were injured. Police killed the gunman, Micah Johnson, by detonating a bomb in the area of El Centro College where he was hiding.

The Dallas Morning News' reporters and photographers were at the rally when shots rang out at 8:58 p.m. They immediately began to tell the story on dallasnews.com, Twitter and Facebook Live.

CLICK HERE to read more from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News.
State agents raided the Dallas headquarters of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Carl Ferrer on Thursday following allegations that adult and child sex-trafficking victims had been forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site.

Ferrer, 55, was arrested on a California warrant after arriving at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on a flight from Amsterdam.

"It's disheartening to learn that such an organized, deep-seeded evil has taken root in our own backyard," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said at a press conference in Dallas. "We must stop at nothing to break the ability of those at Backpage to facilitate that slavery."

The CEO of an Dallas-based adult website that generates millions of dollars annually from its classified sex ads has been arrested in Houston, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said that Ferrer was arrested on felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bond and will face an extradition hearing before he can be returned to California.

"Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal," said Harris, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate in next month's election. "Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world's top online brothel."

An attorney representing Backpage, Liz McDougall, did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages left by The Associated Press.

The site's controlling shareholders, Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67, have been charged with conspiracy to commit pimping, Harris said in a statement. Neither of them has been taken into custody by late Thursday although warrants have been issued for their arrest. Under California's law, felony pimping is defined as making money off of prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announces the arrest of the CEO of Dallas-based Backpage.com for human trafficking in Dallas.

Lacey and Larkin are former owners of the Village Voice and the Phoenix New Times. An attorney who previously represented the two men, Michael Manning, did not immediately respond to a telephone message from The AP.

Backpage advertises a wide range of services, but the California arrest warrant alleges that internal business records obtained through a search warrant show that 99 percent its revenue came from its adult services section between January 2013 and March 2015. California officials said the site collects fees from users who use coded language and nearly nude photos to offer sex for money.

Worldwide revenue from sex ads topped $3.1 million in just one week last year, according to a court affidavit. It says Ferrer expanded Backpage's share of online sex marketing by creating affiliated sites including EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com with related content.

The site operates in hundreds of cities worldwide, authorities said, including more than 30 in California. It collected $2.5 million per month just from California, or more than $51 million during the 29 months covered by the internal revenue reports.

Investigators have charged the CEO of the adult classified website called Backpage with forcing adults and children into prostitution.

Larkin and Lacey each received $10 million bonuses from the website in September 2014, according to the court filing. It says Backpage was created in 2004, but since 2014 has been owned by a Netherlands-based company that has Ferrer as its only named partner.

California authorities said the state's three-year investigation found many of the ads include victims of sex trafficking including children under the age of 18.

One of the advertisers, identified only as 15-year-old "E.S.," "was forced into prostitution at the age of 13 by her pimp," according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. She used other online advertising services until they were shut down, the court filing says, when she turned to Backpage.

"I mean really, coming from someone my age, there is too much access, like it's too easy for people to get on it and post an ad," she told California Special Agent Brian Fichtner, according to his affidavit.

California officials said their investigation was prompted in part by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which reported 2,900 instances to California authorities since 2012 when suspected child sex trafficking occurred using Backpage.

The criminal complaint includes allegations that five minors, three of them including "E.S." under age 16, paid to post advertisements on Backpage.

The charges against Ferrer could bring him nearly 22 years in prison, while Larkin and Lacey face a maximum six years.

Backpage has been the subject of recent Senate hearings into its classified ads. Last month, the Supreme Court refused to block a Senate subpoena seeking information on how Backpage screens ads for possible sex trafficking.

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, chairman and ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued a statement hailing the criminal charges resulting from what they called "the scourge of online sex trafficking."

They put the site's estimated annual revenues at more than $150 million, calling it "a market leader in commercial sex advertising."

Criminal Complaint



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File-Endorsed-Criminal-Complaint-Tjy-Redacted (PDF)

File-Endorsed-Criminal-Complaint-Tjy-Redacted (Text)

Arrest Warrant

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Signed-Dec-for-Arrest-Warrant-Pdf-Redacted (PDF)

Signed-Dec-for-Arrest-Warrant-Pdf-Redacted (Text)

NBC 5's Holley Ford and Noelle Walker, and The Associated Press's Don Thompson and Terry Wallace contributed to this report.
Millions of people along the East Coast have been told to get out of Hurricane Matthew's way, and some of those evacuees have made it all the way to North Texas.

NBC 5 was there Thursday night as passengers on board the last flight from Orlando arrived at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Jessalyn Jett was one of the passengers. She lives in Orlando and was supposed to fly out Friday for a family event in Seattle.

She ended up leaving a day early because her original flight was canceled, and she says her airline re-booked the flight for free.

She described a chaotic scene at the airport in Orlando when she left.

"It was insane. The airport is crazy. There were flights, certain airlines, their employees didn't even come in today, so people trying to get home couldn't get home. Two-thirds of the boards was just 'canceled,' 'delayed,' not gonna happen," Jett said.

Jett, like many others, will be monitoring conditions back home very closely.

Another flight from Orlando scheduled to arrive at D/FW about an hour after hers was canceled.
Donald Trump took about a dozen questions from supporters at his New Hampshire town hall event Thursday. But the first half of the event was more of a speech, where he started by highlighting the latest polls that show him leading Hillary Clinton.

Trump held the uncharacteristic town hall forum three days before he goes head-to-head with Hillary Clinton at the second presidential debate, which will take a similar format. But don't suggest to Trump that this was in any way a warm-up act.

"Even today, they said 'Donald Trump is going to New Hampshire to practice for Sunday.' This has nothing to do with Sunday. And it's like they make you into, like, a child," Trump said. "I love the people of New Hampshire. This was set up a little while ago, they were going to cancel it, and I said 'why are you going to cancel it?' 'Well, you want to debate prep.' I said 'Forget debate prep.' I mean, give me a break. Do you really think that Hillary Clinton is debate prepping for three or four days? Hillary Clinton is resting. OK? She's resting. She wants to build up her energy for Sunday night. And you know what? That's fine. But the narrative is so foolish. I'm here for one reason. I love the people of New Hampshire."

Trump was asked by his supporters to name Obama's foreign-policy failures, what he would say to Hispanics deceived by Obama and if he planned to be tougher on Clinton in the next debate.

"I did hold back," Trump said of the first debate. "I thought it was just inappropriate to say what I was really thinking I would say and I held back ... I'd much rather have it be on policy, and I didn't like getting into the into the gutter."

Trump's fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, a New Hampshire native, was at the event, as was trusted adviser and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said to be a key figure in helping Trump to master the "art of the town hall."
A couple accused of attempting to carry a dead toddler inside a duffel bag across the U.S.-Mexico border will be tried in Los Angeles County, the LA Deputy District Attorney said Thursday.

The suspects -- Mercy Mary Becerra, 43, and Johnny Lewis Hartley, 39 -- of Whittier, California, face four felony counts of murder, torture, human trafficking and assault on a child in connection with the case.

Both Becerra and Hartley are set to appear in court this Friday at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, the LA District Attorney Office confirmed.

Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Lisa Coen of the Sex Crimes Division has been assigned to the case. Between Nov. 2012 and Aug. 2016, prosecutors said Becerra and Hartley allegedly trafficked a woman.

During that time, they kidnapped the woman's daughter, severely abused the child and eventually killed her on or around Aug. 9, 2016, the LA District Attorney's Office said in a press release Thursday.

On Aug. 9, prosecutors say the couple tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in south San Diego. Hartley was carrying a duffle bag, which held the body of the two-year-old girl they had allegedly been abusing.

When Mexican law enforcement officials scanned Hartley's bag in an X-ray machine, they discovered the body of the little girl, San Diego police said.

Hartley and Becerra were arrested by Mexican authorities and deported back to the U.S. side of the border where they were turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Ultimately, investigators determined the child had been drowned. San Diego Deputy DA Kurt Mechals said the drowning happened in Whittier.

If convicted, prosecutors say Hartley and Becerra each face a maximum sentence of life in state prison. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Whittier Police Department and San Diego Police Department, are working together in the ongoing investigation.
Like everyone, Pittsburg teen Mareiya Gonzales has had her share of the sniffles. She's also had those days where staying at home and watching TV seemed more fun than going to class, especially when a touch of senioritis kicked in during her final year.

But she never succumbed to a sick day.

For 11 years, the 17-year-old teen has maintained a perfect attendance rating. That means she has never missed even one lesson in algebra to go to the dentist or doctor. For sure, she never missed a spelling quiz to get a Slurpee at 7-Eleven.

For all that, Mareiya was honored Monday night at a celebration for students who have maintained unimpeachable attendance records in the Pittsburg Unified School District. Not surprisingly, Mareiya took home the biggest trophy of the night.

"All through elementary and high school, I enjoyed going," she told NBC Bay Area, when asked if it was ever tempting to break her streak. "So, I was like, why would I ever miss it? I never really had the urge."

Her principal, Todd Whitmire, called her "phenomenal." A longtime administrator, he can count "on one hand" the number of times he's seen such a spotless attendance record.

It's an accomplishment  and a dedicated mindset  that cannot be overstated, especially in a county where truancy poses significant problems in grade school and high school.

Data from the attorney general shows that elementary schools in Contra Costa County had a 30 percent truancy rating in the 2013-14 academic year, one of the worst rates in California. Truancy, defined as at least three unexcused absences, ultimately cost the county $36 million in funds and the state more than $1 billion during that year.

At the Pittsburg Unified School District, where approximately 11,000 students are enrolled, about 350 students are absent for more than 10 percent of the school year. That's a rating that's better than the national average, but boosting attendance is still a priority across high schools in California.

But Mareiya likes class, especially math, and is never lured into having a "ditch day." She said she feels at home at Pitt, and touted the school's diversity.

"At other schools, you don't get a bunch of different races," she told NBC Bay Area in an interview. "We get to see cultures and different types of activities that most people don't get to see, and I like that."

The 4.0-GPA student will be applying to several California public universities, partly because she feels they offer a more inclusive learning environment. Her first choice is UCLA.

Mareiya said that she inherited her work ethic from her parents, both of whom made sure to drill down on the importance of education at an early age.

"I know that my parents, when they were younger, lived a way different life than I did," she said. "I know they always pushed me to be my best so I didn't have to go through the same struggles."

Her mother, Magie Gonzales, works for the district and was the same age as her daughter when she had her first child. Watching Mareiya and two of her other children accept attendance awards was a moment of accomplishment for her, as well.

"My husband and I were young parents, and we always wanted to make our standards a little bit higher for our kids to reach their goals and their dreams," Magie told NBC Bay Area. "We tried to teach them that it doesn't really matter where you come from or who you are, you have that option to succeed, and we wanted to make sure our kids know that."

Gillian Edevane covers Contra Costa County for NBC Bay Area. Contact her at Gillian.Edevane@NBCUni.com
Gunfire deaths of law enforcement personnel in the line of duty have increased 50 percent this year, according to nationwide statistics compiled on the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The 42nd death occurred Wednesday in Lancaster, where Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Owen was fatally shot while responding to a burglary call.

The increase in gunfire deaths stands in stark contrast to the trend for deaths due to all causes, which has actually decreased by three percent, according to the ODMP site.

Throughout California, five law enforcement officers have died this year, a number higher than in all but two other states where there were mass killings in which gunmen specifically targeted police.

In Dallas in July, during a demonstration against police shootings, sniper fire mortally wounded five officers.

Before gunman Micah Johnson was killed, he spoke of wanting to kill police officers, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said.

Later that month in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, six officers were shot as they responded to a call, three of them fatally. In all in Louisiana the ODMP counts eight law enforcement deaths, and in Texas, 17.

Among many law enforcement personnel, there is a sense that their job has become more difficult and more dangerous in recent years, a time when law enforcement use of force has come under increasing scrutiny, and police have been harshly denounced during protests that have received extensive media coverage.

A co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, Melina Abdullah, said Thursday it is committed to nonviolence.

Law enforcement supervisors stress officer safety to field personnel, because "more people are trying to hurt them," said Lt. Brian Moriguchi of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Moriguchi currently serves as president of the LA County Professional Peace Officers Association, which represents Sheriff's sergeants, lieutenants, and other personnel.

Moriguchi spoke of his admiration for Owen, with whom he had worked when Moriguchi was also assigned to the Lancaster station. Moriguchi described Owen as not only "hardcharging" and a "cop's cop," but committed to helping his community by working with youth, and even helping to rehabilitate offenders he encountered.

"Steve died as he lived, serving the community. That is why we are coming together as a community to support Steve's family," said Moriguchi.

The PPOA's Star and Shield Foundation has set up a gofundme page to raise funds for Owen's family.

Within the first five hours, $6,770 had already been pledged.
If Donald Trump were hoping to enlist Josh Lyman or Toby Ziegler for his West Wing staff he should probably keep looking.

"West Wing" alumns Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford made it clear Trump is about as far from the fictional president they served, "Josiah 'Jed' Bartlett", as anyone could possibly get.

"Weve never experienced anyone so blatantly willing to care so little about what happens to the world, Schiff said, who went on to describe Trump as "pathologically fearless," and not in a good way. The actor, who played the White House communications director in the Aaron Sorkin-helmed NBC drama from 1999-2006, compared the Republican nominees speeches to "a third grader giving a book report."

Schiff has been stumping around the U.S. for democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, with recent stops in Pennsylvania and Ohio, as he warns voters about the potential ramifications of a Trump presidency.

"Its not something I enjoy," Schiff said. "I dont like the idea of convincing people of something that they dont necessarily believe, although thats part of the deal here. But I just go back to 2000, and I go back to the fact that I came very close to voting for Nader myself because I was just disappointed in Al Gore And then I got talked out of it by of all people Brad Whitford, who said, Are you out of your mind? This is what Bush and Cheney stand for, this is who they are, blah blah blah. I just needed that reminder.

"If it worked on me in 2000," he continued, "Im hoping it could work on some people who are disaffected, who are somewhat disappointed, disillusioned by this election cycle."

Schiff has appeared on the Hillary campaign trail along with fellow West Wing alums. On Sept. 24-25 in Ohio, he was joined by Whitford, Dule Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, and Mary McCormack.

Sorkins political drama has seen a resurgence in the past few years with streaming sites like Netflix, serving as an antithesis to more negative onscreen portrayals of the American government like "House of Cards."

There are striking similarities between the talking points driving this years elections and plot threads from the series, which in the early-2000s already highlighted push-button topics such as gun violence, Islamic extremism, and violence perpetrated in the name of racism.

Whitford, who recently live-tweeted the vice-presidential debate,

Pence thinks shaking your head no makes it not so......  Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) October 5, 2016

plans to campaign in his home state of Wisconsin and work phone booths in California. Whitford said he was shocked by how relevant Sorkins themes still are today.

"Not only do they remain urgent issues, but there are some striking issues where it feels like progress has gone backwards, like voting rights and campaign finance reform, he said.

But where some problems have gotten worse, others have advanced at a rate that he could have never predicted, like LGBTQ rights. That issue moved forward in a way that gives me a tremendous amount of hope when it comes to issues that have seemed absolutely impossible to talk about, like common sense gun laws, he said.

"Every issue that we dealt with in The West Wing is still going to exist today, but some might be just marginally or incrementally better than they were, and some will have regressed," Schiff added. "Were seeing examples of pockets of what seems to be institutionalized, militarized police practice that leads to unwarranted deaths of members of the minority. So thats one example of it not getting any better."

Still, improvement is nigh. At rallies, Schiff tries to emphasize that "the major problems of society dont get solved in a minute," but that change has been "quite profound in my lifetime alone, its just that we dont necessarily see it from one day to the next."

Whitford and Schiff are speaking especially to millennials who may not have witnessed the impact of political decisions like later generations, warning them that apathy will lead to dire consequences. "I want young people to understand that the next 30 years are going to be dictated by this election," Whitford said, using the Supreme Court appointments under the Bush administration as an example of long-term effects from one presidency.

"They need to understand -- whether its gay rights, the ability to afford a college education, climate change -- a Trump presidency would be an unmitigated disaster."
The threat of Hurricane Matthew did not put a damper on South Florida daredevils and partiers.

NBC 6 had a team of reporters covering the category 4 storm along the coast from Stuart to Miami Beach and at almost every beach there were people partaking in risky behavior.

Our reporters saw people jump into the ferocious waves, others are flying kites even though the wind gusts soared as Matthew bore down on the coast.

In Pompano Beach, surfers were seen riding the wild waves. A thrill seeker even went on a dangerous paddle-board ride on the choppy waters in the Haulover Inlet.

Haulover Inlet seeing heavy winds, and a paddle boarder? @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/Q9n7QNhMU7  Darryl Forges (@DarrylNBC6) October 6, 2016

In Fort Lauderdale Beach, patrons crowded the historic Elbo Room as Hurricane Matthew scraped the coast. Partiers posted pictures to social media showing people hanging out at the bar during the stormy weather.

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Gov. Rick Scott along with Miami-Dade and Broward counties sent a stern message to residents, advising them to should take the storm seriously, heed to evacuation orders and stay indoors.

It looks like those warnings did not stop these handful of daredevils from braving the wind and rains Hurricane Matthew delivered to South Florida.
People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could from a deadly and devastating encounter with the full force of Hurricane Matthew.

At the same time, President Obama is calling on Americans to help residents of the country that has been severely damaged by a catastrophe for the second time in six years.

"Even the smallest contribution can really make a big difference," President Obama said.

Following an update with officials from FEMA and other agencies regarding the storm, Obama called on people to donate to organizations such as the American Red Cross in an effort to help. A complete list of agencies you can donate to can be found at WhiteHouse.gov.

The central government's official death toll stands over 300, with authorities doing the on-ground assessment in remote corners of the southwestern peninsula saying it will be significantly higher when the full accounting was complete.

According to some reports, the Hurricane has killed more than 800 people.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said his team found 82 bodies that had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of spotty communications. Most appeared to have died from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145 mph on Tuesday.

"We don't have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still haven't reached,'' Jeune said, as he and a team of Civil Protection agents in orange vests combed through the area.

As Haitians mourned their losses, they tried to recover what they could of their meager possessions. Homes throughout the area were piles of rubble, the roofs mangled or stripped away.

Telemaque Dieuseal, 54-year-old farmer, fled his small house to stay with a cousin but returned to find that his TV, motorcycle and radio were nowhere to be found among the wreckage.

"The thieves were out all day after the storm stealing everything they could get,'' Dieuseal said. "It's going to take a long time to get back on my feet.''

With the death toll rising, a South Florida neighborhood is doing what they can to relieve some of their devastation.

At Notre Dame D'Haiti in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, donations like bulk food and cash are now being accepted at the church to help.

And Father Reginald Jean-Marie is coordinating these relief efforts on behalf of the Archdiocese of Miami.

"We are not talking about hundreds of people; we are taking about thousands of people," Jean-Marie said. "They are tired, they are broken, they are in need."

At a warehouse in Miami Gardens, volunteers worked for 12 hours Friday collecting donations.

"You're giving back and doing something good for your people of your country," said Wanda Tima.

Workers said they will be collection donations from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at the warehouse at 3333Northwest 168th Street.

Workers from the International Organization of Migration and other groups were going through impacted area to assess the damage and provide assistance, though their efforts were hampered by damaged roads, rough terrain and other factors.

Devastation is everywhere,'' said Pilus Enor, mayor of Camp Perrin, a town near the port city of Les Cayes on the peninsula's south shore. ``Every house has lost its roof.''

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. The 283 deaths reported by Pierre did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear Thursday as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145 mph winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her 6-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

On the way to the church, the wind took them,'' Ais said.

Officials said that food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been leveled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

In Les Cayes, many people searched for clean water as they lugged mattresses and other belongings they were able to salvage.

Nothing is going well,'' said Jardine Laguerre, a teacher. ``The water took what little money we had. We are hungry.''

Officials with the Pan American Health Organization warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew. Haiti's cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced into the country's biggest river from a U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

In the coming days, the U.S. military expects to help deliver food and water to hard-hit areas via helicopter.

After passing over Haiti, Matthew hit Cuba's lightly populated eastern tip Tuesday night, damaging hundreds of homes in the easternmost city of Baracoa but there were no reports of deaths. Nearly 380,000 people were evacuated and measures were taken to protect infrastructure.

Matthew advanced up the length of the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, tearing roofs away, toppling trees and causing flooding that trapped some people in their homes. There had been no reports of casualties by late Thursday as the storm headed toward Florida's coast.

Before hitting Haiti, the storm was blamed for four deaths in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Cleanup began up and down Florida's East Coast Friday after Hurricane Matthew narrowly avoided making landfall but brought heavy wind and rain to the Sunshine State.

The wind was still howling Friday afternoon in Brevard County, where the worst of Matthew tore up roofs and brought down old trees. Those who evacuated were coming home to assess the damage and admitted they thought it would be worse.

"That's the roof we lost and it wound up across the street over here, right in front of this guy's truck," Rockledge resident John Isenhart said. "For the most part, thank God, we weren't there, I was more worried about the tree falling over and smashing it."

Many weren't there to witness the damage. They fled to places like Orlando, fearing the storm would make landfall. The Category 3 storm never made it to shore, but there's no question it left a mark.

"It tore up pretty bad and I feel these people were fortunate they were gone and not here cause they might have been cut or something by glass or something," Rockledge resident Lorenzo Bronson said.

For others, frustration began to set in as those who evacuated tried to get home. Local officials weren't quite ready to let them in Friday as Brevard County Sheriff's deputies had a road block preventing people from heading east over the bridge to Cocoa Beach.

"We waited at the first bridge, they opened it at 3 p.m., and then they stopped us here," Jeff Johnson said.

Only emergency officials and utility crews were being let over the bridge. It was unclear if the bridge was closed for inspection or if emergency personnel wanted to wait until areas like Satellite Beach, Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral were deemed safe.

"Just the leadership that's not letting us in is frustrating. And we heard power lines are down but not all of Cocoa Beach, it's just communication, what's going on," Bill Atkinson said.

There were reports of downed power lines blocking roadways, destroyed roofs, fallen trees and a few house fires.

Further south, in Stuart in Martin County, residents said they felt only mild effects from Matthew. The town was up and running again Friday and people were definitely in store for some cleanup over the weekend.

"Could've been a serious hurricane and the house was secured, dogs were all secured," Stuart resident William Ryan Heart said. "The good Lord pushed it away from us so we were lucky."

Some areas, however, did sustain a bit of damage. At one home a large tree in the backyard was uprooted and knocked down a power line, sparking a fire.

"I saw the explosion and the spark and flames from the back of the house and I came out," neighbor Floyd Kirkland said.

Kirkland said he ran across the street and knocked on his neighbor's door to alert the family. Two adults and three children were inside the home sleeping.

"He saved our lives, I mean he saved my kids, he saved all of us," homeowner Michelle Rogen said. "I'm very grateful."

Most locals have taken down a few shutters or pieces of plywood, but don't plan on removing them all. Matthew's future path and the rest of hurricane season concerns them.

More than 40,000 homes and businesses lost power in Martin County. Florida Power and Light was working to restore power in the area.

In Melbourne, locals were thrilled the city came out almost unscathed.

"I think our government did a good job of telling us what to prepare for and what could've been and I think we're lucky it didn't happen that way," resident David Boles said.
Hurricane Matthew cleared out of Florida's southern tip Friday morning and service gradually resumed in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale's airports. Orlando International Airport said it will resume operations at 6 a.m. Saturday, though many flights are still cancelled.

However, as the storm moves north transit hubs in neighboring states tapered off flights or closed terminals altogether.

According to FlightAware, a site that tracks global flight statuses, Matthew has forced airlines to cancel more than 4,500 flights between Wednesday and Sunday.

Charleston International in South Carolina shut down operations Friday afternoon and cancelled all Saturday flights. The airport said plans for Sunday will be announced at a later time, and updates can be found here.

In Georgia, the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport closed at 12 a.m. Friday. The terminal is scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, said it is monitoring the storm and asked passengers to check with their carrier for cancellations. Over 200 flights have been cancelled Friday and dozens more on Saturday.

The Air Force controls the runways and will dictate when to close the airfield. Service at the airport could resume Sunday, Campbell said.

Early Friday Ft.Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport announced that the airport's terminals were being reopened and that "our airline partners are implementing their plans to resume service later this morning," the airport announced in a tweet.

The number of canceled flights globally on Friday morning was down to 1,946 from Thursday's 2,800, according to FlightAware. As Miami and Fort Lauderdale clear up, the number of delays and cancellations will continue to decline.

American Airlines announced Friday that most of its flights would resume sometime Friday morning or afternoon. The airlines saw its first arrival at Miami International Airport at 9:05 a.m with a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil. A reduced departure schedule began Friday at 1 p.m. and a full departure schedule was expected at 4 p.m.

As the storm tracked northward, Delta Airlines also resumed flights Friday morning to Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Miami, along with Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, both shut down Thursday. Fort Lauderdale halted operations at 10:30 a.m. with Miami following at noon.

Orlando International Airport announced Thursday afternoon that it would cease commercial operations at 8 p.m. ET. It anticipates to resume flights on Saturday, Oct. 8, contingent on staff availability and clean-up ability.

All flights to and from Orlando have been cancelled Friday and half scrapped Saturday. FlightAware expects that number to rise. Orlando's world-famous theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  all closed due to the storm.

Orlando Melbourne International Airport closed at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. It was not clear when it expect to reopen. Jacksonville International Airport remains open, but noted several flights have been canceled. "Check flight status with your airline before coming to the airport," JAX wrote in a tweet.

The Palm Beach International Airport also reopened Friday and many airlines planned to resume operations from the terminal. The airport advised passengers to check with their airline before going to the airport as several flights remain cancelled.

Changing Flights

Hurricane Matthew has prompted airlines to offer travel waivers to passengers scheduled to fly from airports impacted by the storm.

Airlines had previously offered Matthew-related change-fee waivers to areas in the Caribbean hit by the powerful hurricane but are now extending them to cover U.S. airports as well.

American said it would waive change fees on trips scheduled between Oct. 5 to Oct. 9 from certain airports in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina. The airline had already offered waivers on trips scheduled through Thursday in several Caribbean nations including Cuba.

United Airlines said it would waive change fees and any difference in fare for customers scheduled to fly Wednesday through Friday to, from or through five airports in Florida. The waiver has also been extended to several airports in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Delta waived change fees on flights to, from and through the Caribbean between Oct. 2 and Oct. 6 that may have been impacted by Matthew. Flights Thursday and Friday in or out of eight Florida cities as well as to and from several airports in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia can also be changed without incuring fee. Customers who wish to cancel a trip as a result of a flight cancellation are entitled to a refund.

JetBlue Airways said passengers flying Thursday through Sunday to or from eight cities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina can change planes without a fee or additional fare. A similar offer covers Caribbean travel through Thursday.

Spirit Airlines said it would waive the change fee and fare difference on Florida trips Thursday and Friday.

Southwest Airlines will allow customers with flight reservations scheduled to arrive or depart cities that have been affected by or will be in the storm's path between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7, to re-book a new trip or travel standby within 14 days of their original travel date.

Cruises

Cruises have also been affected by Hurricane Matthew, with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival Cruise Line all rerouting some ships or modifying the order of ports.

For instance, the Carnival Elation  which is currently in the middle of a five-day cruise  is skipping Half Moon Cay and Nassau in the Bahamas, adding in an extra day at sea and an extra day in Key West, Florida. The Carnival Conquest skipped a stop in the Dominican Republic for an extra day at sea.

Royal Caribbean, however, has changed the date for at least one cruise sailing out of Port Miami. The Empress of the Seas will now depart Friday instead of Thursday.

Port Canaveral has announced it will close by Wednesday afternoon, the first time the naval port has shut down operations since 2004.

Bus and Rail

Amtrak suspended passenger rail service through Friday between Miami and New York and the auto train between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida. A line that normally runs from New York to Savannah, Georgia, only went as far south as Washington.

Transit Operations have also been affected by the storm. Broward County Transit will cancel all scheduled bus service and paratransit service for Thursday. The county said it will decide on what service will run on Friday and Thursday evening.
A giant banner featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin was unfurled on the side of the Manhattan Bridge on Thursday afternoon.

The banner, which shows Putin's portrait along with the word "Peacemaker" began flapping over the side of the span shortly before 2 p.m.

According to the New York Post, police officers removed the banner at about 3 p.m.

It's not clear who put the banner there, but the NYPD said it's taken it down.

It's not the first time someone's hung something from the bridge. In 2014, activists unfurled a Palestinian flag from the span during a march in support for those in Gaza.

Also that year, a pair of German artists swapped two U.S. flags atop the Brooklyn Bridge's two towers with a pair of bleached white replicas.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLO4SRWgPcQ/

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More
Book yourself into Holiday Inn just to see the pyrotechnics when tap whiz Corbin Bleu dances around, dodging faux explosives that are snapping at his feet. It's a routine made famous by Fred Astaire in the movies, but the High School Musical star breathes into it new life.

Bleus performance -- and fresh choreography by Denis Jones -- are the big draws to Holiday Inn, which arrives at Studio 54 with a feel-good book inspired by the 1942 film. The musical fits 20-plus songs from the Irving Berlin catalogue into a story about a farm that will be lost to foreclosure if the new owner cant figure out a way to pay his bills.

White Christmas, Steppin Out With My Baby and Blue Skies are some of the classics presented in elaborate, turquoise-hued production numbers.

Bryce Pinkham, the Gentlemans Guide Tony nominee, stars as Jim, a song-and-dance city slicker who shuns show biz to grow vegetables in Connecticut. The previous owners may have lost the farm to the bank, but daughter Linda (Lora Lee Gayer, of Doctor Zhivago), a schoolteacher, still has her old house key.

As Jim and Linda build the farm into a music hall that will only be open on public holidays, their romance is interrupted by the drunken arrival of Jims best friend, Ted (Bleu), who thinks Linda would be better off as his new dancing partner in Hollywood.

The new text is by Chad Hodge and Gordon Greenberg, who also directs.

Pinkham is wonderful with the technical challenges of his role; sometimes, the aloofness he's creating for the performance hinders our ability to plug into Jim's needs and heartbreak.

Though Bleu has had other Broadway leading roles (both In the Heights and Godspell), this ought to cement his place as a Rialto bigwig. Beyond the crowd-pleasing Lets Say It With Firecrackers, he makes hay with the second-act opener, Youre Easy to Dance With, which has him searching for the girl -- that is, Linda -- who had swept him off his wobbly feet the night before.

Gayer is sweet and effective in the musicals stock leading lady role. I wouldve enjoyed more of Megan Sikora, as Lila, the fame-hungry starlet who is Jims girlfriend as the musical begins. Lila is gone for most of the second act, though its obvious the plot is structured so shell end up with Ted as the end draws near.

Megan Lawrence (The Pajama Game) rises above some mawkish dialogue as Louise, the handyman-turned-matchmaker who connives to stay on when Jim takes over the farm.

A sequence that has cast members jumping rope with a string of garland is phenomenal.

The book modernizes the love triangle between Jim, Ted and Linda so that Ted is merely competing for Lindas business talents. Make note: Though White Christmas gets a nice, understated treatment in the first act, this isnt the Christmas musical that had seasonal runs on Broadway in 2008 and 2009.

Holiday Inn is a lovely excuse to get lost in the Berlin chestnuts, particularly as theyve been reimagined by choreographer Jones (Honeymoon in Vegas). The new story sometimes tries too hard to be charming and old-fashioned, but overall Holiday Inn is a satisfying autumn offering.

Holiday Inn, through Jan. 15, 2017 at Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St. Tickets: $47-$152. Call 212-719-1300.

Follow Robert Kahn on Twitter@RobertKahn
What to Know Six-year-old Zymere Perkins is being mourned at a Brooklyn funeral Friday, paid for in part by NYPD detectives

Zymere died Sept. 26 after what prosecutors say was months of abuse by his mother and her boyfriend

City officials have acknowledged that the mother, Geraldine Perkins, was investigated five times for abuse allegations

The 6-year-old New York City boy who died last week after allegedly being abused by his mother's boyfriend was mourned at a packed funeral service Friday night, paid for by NYPD detectives who were touched by the tragic case.

Zymere Perkins died Sept. 26 after what prosecutors say was months of abuse by his mother and her boyfriend. On the day he died, his mother's boyfriend allegedly beat him with a broomstick and hung him by his shirt over the back of the bathroom door, apparently enraged when the boy defecated in the living room of their Hamilton Heights apartment.

Zymere was left on the bed unconscious and when he didn't wake up, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

NYPD detectives, who investigated Perkins' case, have raised over $9,000 to help pay for the boy's wake and funeral, police confirmed.

"It was the least we could do," one detective told The New York Post. "The poor kid went through hell."

Friends and family remembered Zymere at services at the Church of the Open Door in Brooklyn Friday night.

"He didn't get a chance to live his life," said a former neighbor named Jamal. "For his life to be taken so suddenly, I'm heartbroken."

"No little kid should be taken like that," said another neighbor, Jiniah Spruill.

The boy had spent time in a homeless shelter with his mother before living in the squalid, roach-infested Hamilton Heights apartment, sources have told NBC 4. He had not been attending school this year.

Both his mother, Geraldine Perkins, and her boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, have been arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Their attorneys did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

City officials have acknowledged that the mother was investigated five times for abuse allegations.

Mayor de Blasio said the death of a 6-year-old boy whose family had been investigated for child abuse "should not have happened."

De Blasio said Wednesday that Zymere Perkins' death was "an unacceptable tragedy" and added that "the buck stops here."

The sentiment was echoed at Zymere's funeral.

"It could have been prevented. They went there before," neighbor Calvin Hurt said, referring to the city's child services workers.

"No child should die like this," said family pastor Rev. Mark V.C. Taylor. "We need to make sure we're never in this position again."

Gladys Carrion, the commissioner of children's services, admitted in a tearful interview with the I-Team that "we can't keep every child safe."

Carrion said in the interview Tuesday that "just one fatality is one too many" but declined to discuss any details about the boy's case. She said that it was too early to characterize whether her agency dropped the ball and added that the staff who handled Perkins' case were in bad shape.

Five ACS employees were placed on modified duty after Perkins' death, and Carrion didn't rule out the possibility she could be fired.
Mylan will pay $465 million to settle allegations that it overbilled Medicaid for its life-saving EpiPen allergy injection.

The federal government says EpiPen is a branded drug, which means Mylan should have been paying it a far higher rebate under the government's complex pricing rules.

Mylan said Friday the proposed settlement resolves all potential federal and state government claims. It also finds no wrongdoing on the part of the England-based company.

Mylan also lowered its 2016 guidance for earnings per share in part because of the upcoming launch of generic EpiPens. Its new range is for $4.70 to $4.90 per share, which is below the average analyst estimate of $4.95 per share compiled by FactSet.

Shares of the company jumped more than 9 percent in after-hours trading.
Donald Trump stepped back into one of the most racially charged controversies in New York City history this week, saying he still believed the "Central Park Five" were guilty.

Two years after a judge approved a $41 million settlement with the five men, Trump told CNN they should not have been exonerated, after one of the men said he was hoping for an apology from the Republican presidential nominee.

"They admitted they were guilty," Trump told CNN in a statement. "The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty."

The five black and Hispanic defendants were convicted as teenagers in the rape and assault of a white woman. They served six to 13 years in prison.

Following their arrest, Trump took out full-page ads in the city's newspapers calling for New York to bring back the death penalty, though he did not explicitly say those five defendants should be executed.

Their convictions were thrown out in 2002 because of evidence that someone else, acting alone, was responsible. The victim was found in the brush with more than 75 percent of her blood drained from her body and her skull smashed.

She was in a coma for 12 days, suffered permanent damage and remembers nothing about the attack.
A judge has thrown out a sex abuse-case plea deal that prosecutors struck with a former drama teacher at a prestigious Westchester high school, citing concerns over the teacher avoiding sex offender status in the state registry.

Christopher Schraufnagel, 42, pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor sexual contact with two Horace Greeley High School students and to endangering the welfare of a third between May 2011 and June 2015.

Under the deal, a felony charge would have been dropped and Schraufnagel would have served probation under sex offender status, avoiding jail time. But he would not have been placed on the state sex offender registry -- something the judge questioned Thursday.

Parent Sandy Nohavicka's son is not one of the former students Schraufnagel is accused of abusing but says her then 15-year-old son and other students who took his class were exposed to inappropriate behavior.

"My son saw the things he kept in his office," she said. "The pubic hair doll and the sperm in a cup."

David Engelsher represents four additional plaintiffs who have filed a civil suit against Schraufnagel and the Chappaqua school district. The judge's rejection of the plea deal was both a win and loss for his clients.

"A lot of the parents want to see him go to jail," said Engelsher. "Their children were innocent and now they're damaged."

But now the defendant who once pleaded guilty starts over in the case with a clean slate.

"His statement that he did it doesn't count," said Nohavicka.

Schraufnagel wasn't in court Thursday. His defense attorney Stacey Richman said he was ill and his immune system too compromised to travel.

She has filed a motion for the judge to reconsider the plea.

"Everything will be attended to in the courtroom," she said, declining further comment.

The Chappaqua Central School District has denied any responsibility in the incidents, saying the former students showed "carelessness" and "recklessness" and are partly to blame for any harm they've suffered.
What to Know Lin-Manuel Miranda launched a pro-voting ad campaign featuring stars from the "Hamilton" cast Thursday

The three PSAs will be broadcasted on major networks including CBS, NBC, and Univision

Two of the PSAs will be in English, and one will be in Spanish

Lin-Manuel Miranda is singing his praises of the importance of voter participation in a new public service ad campaign, #Ham4Vote.

The ad campaign comprises three spots, two in english and one in spanish, all of which feature music from a song titled "Schuyler Sisters" in Hamilton Broadway production.

"Take a little time on November 8th to do your civic duty and renew your faith in the nation," Miranda raps in one PSA as he walks down a flight of stairs. "You want them to know the truth, the room where it happens is the voting booth."

Along with Miranda, the 30-second PSAs feature Hamilton cast members and will be broadcasted on major networks including CBS, NBC, and Telemundo.

#Ham4Vote was created in partnership with The MirRam group, Hamilton Uptown, and Movimiento Hispano, a Latino civic-engagement coalition that guides citizens on the voter registration process.

A pro-voting video featuring Miranda and notable political guests including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan and President Barack Obama was released by "The Tonight Show" Wednesday.

The "Hamilton" creator has strengthened his political footprint in recent months. He endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in July and introduced her as "the 45th president of the United States" during a fundraising performance of "Hamilton" for her campaign.
Hazardous materials crews shut down a residential street in Northeastern New Jersey Friday afternoon after 14 homes were delivered envelopes that contained an unknown white powder, authorities said.

Police said that all of the letters containing the envelopes were sent from an Elizabeth post office to homes on Warren Avenue in Roselle Park. Two other undelivered envelopes were found at the

Crews scrambled to the residential neighborhood after getting calls about the mysterious powder and briefly closed the area down to traffic.

The materials, which were later determined not to be harmful, were being sent to a lab for testing. A spokesman for the FBI's New Jersey office said that the initial tests have shown the materials were not hazardous.

Roselle Park police said the envelopes carried the police department's return address but were not sent by them.

A spokeswoman for the United States Postal Service told NBC 4 New York it is checking on the situation.

The Union County prosecutor's office declined comment. Authorities are investigating to see who mailed the powder.

Jonathan Dienst contributed to this article.
What to Know New York Task Force 1 will stage at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, to respond to Hurricane Matthew rescue missions

The unit is comprised of 45 FDNY and NYPD members trained in rescue operations

Hundreds of workers and volunteers from the American Red Cross and Con Edison crews were also on standby

Local agencies from the New York area are helping people affected by Hurricane Matthew, a powerful storm that was moving up the Southeast coast on Friday.

FDNY and NYPD members were headed to areas affected by Hurricane Matthew for search and rescue as well as disaster relief as part of New York Task Force 1. And hundreds of workers and volunteers from the Red Cross were on standby in the hurricane zone, as were Con Edison crews in New York City.

Task Force 1 is comprised of 45 FDNY and NYPD members who are trained in search and rescue as well as first aid and other types of disaster response, including the use of cadaver dogs.

Downey said that Task Force 1 carries four hard bottom boats and two inflatable boats, and that its rescue specialists are all trained in swift-water rescue. The unit is the same one that went to Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to Haiti following the destructive earthquake there in 2010.

We have many positions on the team, from doctors to paramedics to heavy riggers. But I think our primary mission down there is going to be water operations, FDNY Battalion Chief Joe Downey said Thursday at a press conference.

Task Force 1 will stage at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, with 10 other teams from the East Coast and Midwest, including units from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. They were scheduled to get to Dobbins by 5 p.m. Friday.

The unit was driving south on Friday morning with several trucks full of equipment for swift-water rescue, search and rescue operations, and collapse rescues. They have enough supplies to survive for weeks or even months in the hurricane zone.

As the storm sweeps through the southern East Coast, the unit will deploy teams out as needed to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, all states where President Obama has declared a state of emergency.

Meanwhile, more than 500 workers and volunteers from the American Red Cross in New York City were on standby in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as the storm continued to churn north on Friday as a Category 3 storm. The American Red Cross also had 90 response vehicles waiting to go.

Con Edison crews from the New York City area were also ready to help those who lose power during the storm. Some were already in the hurricane zone and others were standing by.
Inmates at San Quentin State Prison just cast their votes for president, and for Donald Trump, its a good thing those votes wont count.

Trump was trounced by Hillary Clinton in a mock election staged by the California prisons inmate-run newspaper, San Quentin News. Newspaper staffers set up a polling place inside San Quentins yard and handed out ballots with choices for president, senate and various ballot initiatives. The ballot even came with a voter guide on the back.

Clinton won in a landslide, capturing 79 percent of the nearly 500 votes cast by general population inmates. Trump secured a paltry 9 percent of the vote, less than Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

First Lady Michelle Obama even received two write-in votes.

San Quentin News staffers also managed to get additional ballots to more than 100 of the 747 men on San Quentins Death Row. Clinton also won handily among death row inmates, taking 63 percent of the vote. Trump again had a poor showing, capturing just 15 percent of death row votes. He did, however, manage to eke out a second place finish over Stein, by a two vote margin.

For many inmates, it was the first time they ever voted.

When the idea first came up about creating a mock election for the men at San Quentin, it struck me how I never myself had the opportunity to vote, San Quentin News Executive Director Arnulfo T. Garcia told San Quentin News reporter Juan Haines. That is until I was on the run in Mexico, when I went to the polls and voted for the president of Mexico. That gave me a sense of freedom and power that I know the men felt, walking up to the booth to cast their ballots.

Perhaps the most interesting result of the mock election was the outcome of Proposition 62 among death row inmates, which would repeal Californias death penalty.

Despite facing the near-certain fate of a state-sanctioned execution, 42 percent of death row inmates voted against the measure that could spare their lives. General population inmates were much more adamant on whether they supported the ballot measure, with just 9 percent choosing to keep capital punishment on the books.

While many of San Quentins inmates may never cast a real ballot, UC Berkeley journalism professor William J. Drummond, who volunteers with San Quentin News, said the election was a good lesson in the responsibility of citizenship.

The prisoners have to start some place, and voting is an excellent place to begin, even if the results dont count, Drummond told Haines.

To read San Quentin News Reporter Juan Haines story about the election, click here.

To read or donate to San Quentin News, click here:
Financial factors at Temple University have led school officials to limit merit scholarships beginning with freshman students entering the college in fall 2017.

For the past few years, Temple offered guaranteed merit scholarships to students who met certain academic requirements, like a GPA of 3.8 or higher and an SAT scores of at least 1420, according to The Temple News.

The tiered scholarship structure was financially unsustainable, school officials told Temple News, and instead the entire makeup of the entering class will be considered before doling out scholarships.

To read full article, click here.

For more business news, visit Philadelphia Business Journal.


Bomb threats are occasionally called in to schools, and rarely do they pan out.

But students at Gloucester County Christian School in New Jersey don't have class Friday because a bomb actually was found Thursday evening, police said.

A school official found what looked like an explosive device while excavation work at the school in Sewell was going on. The official immediately called 9-1-1, police said.

It turned out to be World War II ammunition left behind long again, police said. The finding isn't completely surprising, considering authorities said the school is built on a former military base.

No one was injured and the explosive was detonated by the Gloucester County bomb squad late Thursday.

School was canceled Friday so authorities could do an in-depth search for other potentially buried explosives, police said.
A South Jersey man faces charges that he sold heroin laced with powerful painkiller Fentanyl that resulted in a Gloucester County mans death.

The Gloucester County Prosecutors Office announced the arrest of Damien Harrell of Camden.

Investigators said the 36-year-old sold the laced heroin to a 44-year-old Mantua Township man. That man died in early August.

Prosecutors charged Harrell with strict liability for a drug death, drug possession and drug dealing. A judge sent Harrell, who is unemployed, to jail on $200,000 bail.

Harrell is the third person in Gloucester County facing first-degree charges for a drug-induced death.
An inmate has been convicted of slashing a guard at a Pennsylvania prison in April 2014.

Joel Perez, 42, was found guilty Wednesday of aggravated assault in the slashing attack at the state prison in Dallas, Pennsylvania.

Authorities say he used a razor blade melted into the handle of a toothbrush to slice the right side of correctional Officer Francis Petroski's face.

Perez is serving a life sentence for a killing in Lancaster. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial even though prosecutors say video evidence and accounts from correctional officers made it clear that he was the culprit.

Petroski retired last month.

Perez is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 15.
A new $70 million museum at the Statue of Liberty will feature the original torch overlooking the Manhattan skyline, officials revealed Thursday.

The new museum on Liberty Island is intended to accommodate 4.3 million annual visitors when it opens in 2019. Few have been able to see the existing museum, due to high security since Sept. 11, 2001.

It will include an interactive Inspiration Gallery, which encourages visitors to answer What Does Liberty Mean to You? Their answer, selfie and signature will be displayed on an ever-changing mosaic.

The original Statue of Liberty Torch will be the final exhibit, encased in glass walls to showcase it with a view of Lady Liberty and the skyline.

Mayor de Blasio said the new museum will help us as a city, as a nation, to find our true selves. Thats what will ultimately make us strong and will help us prevail.

Diane von Furstenberg, who led the fundraising campaign for the museum, sold 50 star sculptures to donors.

The stars will be displayed on a large mural built with hand-forged iron bars created by Gustave Eiffel (before he built the Eiffel tower), which supported the Statue of Liberty for 100 years until they were removed and preserved in 1986.
As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton prepares for Sunday nights debate showdown with Republican Donald Trump, one of Clintons biggest advocates returned to the Philadelphia region to rally voters.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke to students at Bucks County Community College  Lower Bucks Campus in Bristol, Pennsylvania around noon Friday.

Biden came out to the music of Bruce Springsteen's "We Take Care of Our Own" and immediately began to praise his wife Dr. Jill Biden before making his case for Clinton.

Over the next 40 minutes, Biden delved into globalization, a plan to get more Americans college educated and U.S. relations with China. He also took his share of jabs at Trump.

The goal of the event is to rally people to get registered to vote. Pennsylvanias voter registration deadline is Oct. 11.. [[338107532, C]]
San Diegans are offering support to a former San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) deputy injured and left paralyzed in a motorcycle crash.

Deputy Rudy Sanchez Sr. was in an accident last month that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was on his way to work when his motorcycle was hit by a pickup truck on northbound Interstate 805 south of the 47th street exit. The accident is still under investigation.

He was badly injured in the collision. Today, he is bedridden and even after four surgeries, recovery is slow.

Hopefully he will be able to get mobility in his hands, be able to use his hands but it's hope," his son, Rudy Sanchez Jr., said.

Sanchez Jr. is following in his fathers career path. Sanchez Sr. is a 20-year veteran of the SDSO. Sanchez Jr. told NBC 7 that looks up to his father and that they are best friends.

We play softball together, play tournaments together, we do a lot of things together and not having him with me is going to be difficult, he said.

His son says all of his father's plans for an active retirement ended there.

He definitely wanted to move into this [RV] and wanted to travel. This was going to be his life right here, Sanchez Jr. said.

To help their fellow deputy, members of the SDSO are raising money for Sanchez Sr. through a GoFundMe page. The funds raised there will help pay to remodel the deputy's home, adding a bathroom and wheelchair ramp that will be more accessible given his paralysis.

The deputy's family is deeply touched by the donations, the love and the support from both Sanchez Sr.'s colleagues as well as from complete strangers.

It's incredible. It's incredible how people pull together to help somebody. In some cases, they don't even know, Sanchez Jr. said.

He told NBC 7 that his father is committing the same determination he had while serving the community to recovering from his injuries.

You challenge him and he'll try to beat that challenge. Right now, his challenge is to get his legs moving, he said, speaking of his father.

To donate to the fund for Sanchez Sr., click here.
The family of a woman killed when a tree fell and crushed her car in Pacific Beach in January has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego.

Nicki Carano, 48, a professional drummer, had been on her way to a performance on Sunday, January 31 when a tree fell across the road at Ingraham Street, crushing her car beneath it.

Carano died at the scene.

Now, eight months later, her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, claiming there was a known defect in the tree that was hazardous. The lawsuit does not go into detail about the alleged defect.

Loved ones will hold a memorial service Saturday for Nicki Carano, a San Diego musician and dancer killed by a falling tree on Jan. 31, 2016, amid a powerful winter storm. NBC 7s Steve Luke reports.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that the city did not take the proper steps to insure the safety of people, including not cutting down branches that may impose a hazard.

The storm that swept through San Diego County at the time caused major flooding and downed hundreds of tree. City emergency dispatch had received close to 350 calls of downed or damaged trees on its 24-hour hotline.

NBC 7 has reached out to the city but have not heard back yet.
Local airlines in San Diego have been affected by the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Matthew, which has resulted in the cancellation of over 3,000 flights nationwide.

As Hurricane Matthew moves towards the Florida coast, flights from San Diego with connections to Jacksonville, Orlando and even the Savannah have been canceled or delayed.

Connection flights are most likely to have an impact on local residents, according to airline officials.

SouthWest announced the cancellation of one departure to Orlando Friday morning. On Thursday, Delta canceled about 150 mainline and connection flights to airports in Melbourne, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Gainesville and Jacksonville. American Airlines canceled two flights to several airports in Florida including Miami on Thursday.

If flying from San Diego to Houston with a final destination in Florida or the South East, travelers may deal with cancellations, according to airline officials. This will not be immediately clear on the airport flight tracker board in San Diego, but upon arriving in the next airport there's a risk of the flight connection being canceled.

San Diegans headed to Haiti or the Bahamas as their main destination will also face problems. As thousands of flights were canceled for Hurricane Matthew, airline officials say this has created a domino effect which is triggering further cancellations.

Along with flight cancellations, many travelers using boats to reach their destination have to contend with cruise ship cancellations as well.
Otay Mesa residents were alarmed Friday morning when they spotted flames shooting from the roof of an unoccupied home many say is known to attract squatters.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) said a fire sparked at a house in the 3500 block of Lindbergh Street and Doolittle Avenue just after 5:30 a.m.

The flames spread to a nearby power line, causing a power outage that impacted a few surrounding homes.

Crews were able to knock out the fire quickly, and no injuries were reported. The home was vacant, officials said.

#BREAKING @SDFD knocked out flames of what appears to be a unoccupied home in #OtayMesa. Some neighbors without power #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/AuvP5ErCDE  Liberty Zabala (@LibertyNBC7SD) October 7, 2016

Raw video from a witness obtained by NBC 7 of a fire ripping through a vacant home in Otay Mesa on Oct. 7, 2016.

One neighbor captured the raging flames on cellphone video, saying he woke up to see the fire tearing through the house. Residents called 911 and alerted the family living directly next door to the burning home. Everyone made it out safely.

Neighbors said squatters are known to frequent the property, which has been unoccupied for far too long. Neighbors said squatters have been a concern in the area for the past couple of years. Some have called authorities in the past to report unwanted activity at the house.

The homeowner is in the process of selling the property and was shocked by the damage he found inside following the fire.

Firefighters said the property is a complete loss. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) has partnered with Google on a mission to streamline online collaboration between students and teachers in the district.

Google Chief Educational Evangelist Jaime Casap started a two-day tour through San Diego schools on Thursday morning, sharing news and gaining feedback from students, parents and educators.

After hosting three events on Thursday, Casaps last stop will be at the Innovation Center at Crawford High School in El Cerrito on Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Casap and SDUSD Chief Innovation Officer Dan Stoneman will be demonstrating the use of Chromebooks in local schools.

The school district recently deployed 47,000 Google Chromebook devices throughout its schools, and in some cases allows students to take the laptops home at the end of the day.

Casaps first Thursday stop was Creative Performing Media Arts Middle School in North Clairemont where he discussed the partnership with district principals and technology teams. Attendees also heard from SDUSD Superintendent Cindy Marten and Stoneman.

Later in the afternoon, Casap and SDUSD Executive Director of Information Technology Greg Ottinger hosted a Twitter Town Hall at Madison High School in North Clairemont and discussed district innovation and technology. You can follow up on the conversation by searching #loveSDSchools on Twitter.

To close the day, Casap and IB Steam Magnet Jefferson Elementary School in North Park invited parents and students to campus for an open house. Parents got a change to test Google Apps and Chromebooks for themselves and experience how the tools facilitate learning in the classroom.
A San Diego man who used cleaning solution to refill beer bottles and then returned the tampered brews to stores for a refund was sentenced to 30 days behind bars on Friday.

Eduardo Cossio III pleaded guilty in the beer tampering case in late August.

The investigation into tampering of beer in San Diego began in May 2014. Thats when two beer brewing companies, as well as Target and Walmart, reported getting consumer returns for tampered or altered beer.

In all, there were 13 reported incidents of 12-packs. In each case, someone was emptying the contents of the bottles without damaging the bottle cap. Inside the bottles was some kind of soapy solution that had been dyed to make it look like beer.

The bottle was then recapped and either re-crimped or glued with a silicone type adhesive to maintain a seal, according to court documents.

Investigators with the San Diego County District Attorneys Office started looking into who was returning the 12-packs of beer.

On Oct. 7, 2015, a 12-pack was returned to the Target on Jamacha Road in El Cajon. When investigators looked into the person who returned the beer, they found the same customer returned beer five times between September and October 2015.

Surveillance video showed Cossio returning the alcohol.

According to court documents, investigators served a search warrant at Cossios home on Oct. 28, 2015, and found evidence of the beer tampering. Among the items were cleaning solution, glue sticks and glue guns.

Court documents state Cossio told investigators he replaced the beer using whatever cleaning solution was cheapest and sometimes experimenting with dyes."

He pleaded guilty to three felony charges of poisoning or adulterating food, drink or medicine with a special allegation of intending to defraud a company.

He was placed on probation ahead of his sentencing hearing. Cossio was also ordered to pay more than $59,000 in restitution to one of the beer brewers and more than $1,300 to Target.

Cossio's attorney says his client did not mean for his actions to harm anyone.

"It's really silly but he was trying to get free beer. And that's what it comes down to," Attorney Dan Greene said. "He wasn't trying to hurt anyone. He really didn't think that any beers would be reshelved."

A restitution review hearing was set for October 28.

In the initial charging document, Cossio was accused of 32 counts of returning beer between December 2014 and October 2015, at numerous stores, including several Target stores throughout San Diego County and three separate Walmart stores in Chula Vista, Logan Heights and San Ysidro.
To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry.

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People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could from deadly and devastating Hurricane Matthew.

The central government's official death toll stood at nearly 300, but authorities doing the on-ground assessment in remote corners of the southwestern peninsula said it would likely be significantly higher when the full accounting was complete.

According to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials, the Hurricane killed more than 800 people. NBC News has not confirmed the higher death toll.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on the outskirts of hard-hit Jeremie, said his team found 82 bodies that had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of spotty communications. Most appeared to have died from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145 mph on Tuesday.

"We don't have any contact with Port-au-Prince yet and there are places we still haven't reached," Jeune said, as he and a team of Civil Protection agents in orange vests combed through the area.

As Haitians mourned their losses, they tried to recover what they could of their meager possessions. Homes throughout the area were piles of rubble, the roofs mangled or stripped away.

Telemaque Dieuseal, 54-year-old farmer, fled his small house to stay with a cousin but returned to find that his TV, motorcycle and radio were nowhere to be found among the wreckage.

"The thieves were out all day after the storm stealing everything they could get," Dieuseal said. "It's going to take a long time to get back on my feet."

Workers from the International Organization of Migration and other groups were going through the area to assess the damage and provide assistance, though their efforts were hampered by damaged roads, rough terrain and other factors.

"Devastation is everywhere," said Pilus Enor, mayor of Camp Perrin, a town near the port city of Les Cayes on the peninsula's south shore. "Every house has lost its roof."

Officials were especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. The 283 deaths reported by Pierre did not include Grand-Anse or its surrounding areas.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

More bodies began to appear Thursday as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145 mph (235 kph) winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

Those killed in Haiti included a woman and her 6-year-old daughter who frantically abandoned their flimsy home and headed to a nearby church to seek shelter as Matthew surged in early Tuesday, said Ernst Ais, mayor of the town of Cavaillon.

"On the way to the church, the wind took them," Ais said.

Officials said that food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been leveled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

In Les Cayes, many people searched for clean water as they lugged mattresses and other belongings they were able to salvage.

"Nothing is going well," said Jardine Laguerre, a teacher. "The water took what little money we had. We are hungry."

Officials with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned about a possible surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding caused by Matthew. Haiti's cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced into the country's biggest river from a U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Haiti's government has estimated at least 350,000 people need some kind of assistance in what is likely to be the country's worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemisphere's least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

Royal Caribbean Cruises, along with its NGO partner PAHO, said it is already providing relief supplies to affected areas near Port-au-Prince. The company said its vessels will also be dropping off supplies to the island.

Officials say U.S. military assets are now heading to Haiti.

Hurricane response task force commander Rear Adm. Cedric Pringle told reporters that nine U.S. military helicopters have already arrived or will arrive later Friday, and three others could be available from a transport ship. He said that there are currently about 250 U.S. troops in Haiti and another 100 could go in over the next day or so.

After passing over Haiti, Matthew hit Cuba's lightly populated eastern tip Tuesday night, damaging hundreds of homes in the easternmost city of Baracoa but there were no reports of deaths. Nearly 380,000 people were evacuated and measures were taken to protect infrastructure.

Matthew advanced up the length of the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, tearing roofs away, toppling trees and causing flooding that trapped some people in their homes. There had been no reports of casualties by late Thursday as the storm headed toward Florida's coast.

Before hitting Haiti, the storm was blamed for four deaths in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
What to Know Michael Bloomberg got it right at the Democratic Convention: "The richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy."

But I can make the case that the District would prosper under a President Trump.

The Donald just might be tightly wrapped enough to treat the District of Columbia very well from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Harry Jaffe, a longtime chronicler of the people and politics of Washington, D.C., writes an occasional column for NBC Washington's First Read DMV blog.

Michael Bloomberg got it right at the Democratic National Convention: "The richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy." The billionaire, former New York mayor and independent called Trump "a dangerous demagogue," endorsed Hillary Clinton and added: "God help us. I'm a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one."

Even stalwart Republicans like the former presidents Bush agree Trump is not fit to be president. As Clinton says: "He's unhinged."

But The Donald just might be tightly wrapped enough to treat the District of Columbia very well from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. At the risk of wrecking my marriage, alienating my three daughters and getting tossed out of my poker game, I can make the case that the District would prosper under a President Trump.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the nation's capital -- where 75 percent of voters register as Democrats -- has done quite well under Republican presidents and friendly GOP members of Congress. Democrats have not always been there for D.C. Trump might fit the mold of benevolent Republicans.

"I would like to do whatever is good for the District of Columbia because I love the people," Trump told Chuck Todd last August on Meet the Press. "You know, it's funny. I've really gotten to know the people, the representatives, and the mayor, and everybody. They're really special people. They're great. And they have a great feeling."

Whatever that means.

Trump didn't commit to supporting statehood or any change in the District's status as a ward of the federal government, with no voting representation in the House and nary a senator. But he does like us.

"So," he went on, "I would say whatever's best for them I'm for. I have a total conflict of interest."

That conflict would be Trump's luxurious hotel, which opened last month at the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and the U.S. Capitol. It's "what will be maybe one of the great hotels in the world," he told Todd.

But that conflict could accrue to the District's benefit. Trump is at heart a businessman. With his landmark hotel down the street, he would have a stake in keeping the District safe, prosperous and fiscally sound.

He would be following the path cut by his Republican predecessors.

It was President Richard Nixon who signed the 1973 Home Rule Act, which established the elected mayor and council. It was Nixon who toured the riot-scarred streets of the nation's capital with D.C.'s first elected mayor, Walter Washington. It was Nixon who started the city's reconstruction.

Granted, Lyndon Baines Johnson was by far the president most sympathetic to the District. LBJ loved the capital. He had spent most of adult life here. For him, liberating the District from Congress was part of his Civil Rights crusade. After LBJ, any impetus to give residents of D.C. more power and local control withered.

During Bill Clinton's first two years in office, Democrats controlled the House and Senate. What a perfect moment to push through statehood, or budgetary control, or full voting rights in the House. Nada. The moment passed with no progress for D.C.

The District received the most positive attention of late during George W. Bush's administration, thanks to Josh Bolton. Raised in D.C., Bolton was a Bush insider who became chief of staff and used that position to help his town.

"He was fabulous," says D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Norton points out that Republican allies in Congress were crucial in advancing District laws favorable to the District. Former Fairfax representative Tom Davis championed the last best effort to give full voting rights to the District's House member. The D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant, that pays as much as $10,000 for students to attend state colleges, such as those in Virginia and Michigan, came to us thanks to Davis, former Montgomery County Congresswoman Connie Morella and Ohio Sen. George Voinovich, all Republicans. And from Norton, of course -- who points out that Republicans have held majorities for most of her time in office.

On the other hand, Norton said Barack Obama has done "very little" for the District. The first African American president sold D.C. down the river in negotiations to keep the federal government running in 2011. "John," he was quoted telling former Speaker John Boehner, "I will give you D.C. abortion," giving into conservatives who wanted to ban abortion in the District.

"With friends like that," The Washington Post editorialized, "who needs enemies?"

It took four years of wheedling and whining to get Obama to put the District's "No Taxation Without Representation" license plates on his limousines.

Norton says she used a moment with Hillary Clinton a month ago to press D.C.'s case.

"Madam Secretary," she said, "are you for statehood?"

"Eleanor, I have always been for statehood."

Indeed, Clinton vowed in an op-ed for the Washington Informer in May that she would be a "vocal champion" for statehood. "Washingtonians serve in the military, serve on juries, and pay taxes like everyone else. And yet, they don't even have a vote in Congress."

Everyone, we have learned, but Trump.

Despite his apparent success at avoiding federal income taxes, his bouts of misogyny and abiding racism, there are some native Washingtonians who favor him. Elizabeth Matory, an African American who grew up in D.C. and lives Maryland, supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich and now Trump.

"We are suffering from 50 years of failed liberal policies," she offers. "Go east of the [Anacostia] river and you will see that we have failed one another." Trump, on the other hand, will "grow the tax base, bring in industry and put people back to work," she said.

That sounds great, but seeing how Donald Trump conducted business in New York and Atlantic City, Michael Bloomberg might be right. Let's say Trump becomes president and his luxury hotel fails. He loses money. He blames the city, the servers, the tourists. He bails out, declares bankruptcy, and leaves the District with an albatross.

Once a con, always a con.
Lt. Julie Funt's full-time job is keeping track of all the guns seized by the Montgomery County Sherriff's Office.

"It just goes on and on," she said as she pulled out a long, white cardboard box from a shelf filled with dozens of others just like it. Inside, multiple handguns carefully tagged and secured.

Theyre all owned by someone accused of domestic violence who can no longer possess them under Maryland law.

"We've been able to actually go in and seize literally hundreds of firearms, Sheriff Darren Popkin said. Because we know if we take firearms out of the equation, then the victims in this case are much more likely to be safe."

In 2009, Maryland passed the law requiring sheriff's deputies to confiscate all firearms from anyone with a final protective order filed against them for as long as the order is in effect, which can last as long as two years.

Many weapons end up in the secured room for longer than that because of repeat offenders, Popkin said.

While the law only applies to firearms, the sheriff will occasionally seize knives. Funt displayed a machete with a foot-long blade and explained, She was scared and said, Can you take that?"

At the same time, Popkin pulled out a serrated knife more than nine inches long and asked, "What exactly are you using this for?"

Lt. Funt nodded and added, No one wants that in their face."

Popkin said he thinks the law is working because they have not had a fatality linked to a protective order filed in Montgomery County since at least 2010.

Instead, the countys domestic violence fatalities happen when people don't ask for their help, according to Popkin.

We do a review of each of these type of fatality type cases, and in each case they did not come forward," he said. "They did not come to the court. They didn't seek intervention. They stayed home and they thought, they hope that it would go away, and they just couldn't come forward and, unfortunately, they lost their life."

Popkin said he and his deputies are trained and ready to seize a gun and other weapons if you're worried they could be used against you.

But they can only help you if you get a protective order.

"It takes incredible courage for someone to actually pass through the doors to come into the courthouse," Popkin said. "But as we tell anybody who would walk in, the protection level that you have when you actually seek court intervention brings you a much higher level of safety than if you do nothing."

Reported by Tisha Thompson, and shot and edited by Steve Jones.
A 13-year-old Prince George's County girl has been missing since Oct. 1, and police are asking the public for help finding her.

Keiry Cabrera-Lino was last seen in the 4200 block of Tauton Drive in Beltsville on Oct. 1 at about 10:30 p.m.

Cabrera-Lino is five feet, two inches tall and weighs 140 pounds.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Prince George's County Police at 301-699-2601.
Four 13-year-old boys have been charged for clown-themed social media threats against middle school students in Montgomery County, Maryland, police say.

Police announced Thursday that they charged the boys as juveniles with making threats of mass violence. Police nationwide have been dealing with similar hoaxes involving threats or reports of violence by people dressed as clowns.

Police were notified Monday of threats made against several students at Rosa Parks Middle School in Olney from a clown-themed Instagram account. Investigators used details from the posts and information from victims, their parents and school administrators to identify the suspects, police said. The boys were arrested and charged Wednesday, then returned to their parents' custody.

The case has been referred to the Department of Juvenile Services.

Two students were arrested for similar charges in Prince George's County earlier this week.
A Virginia community came together on Thursday to say farewell to a local veteran known as the Mystery Marine.

Cpl. Mario Kletzke ran up and down Route 610 in Stafford County carrying the American flag in one hand and a POW flag in the other on every Fourth of July for the past three years.

Kletzke was nicknamed the Mystery Marine on social media after most residents struggled to identify the runner. Theres even a Facebook page called the Stafford County Mystery Marine, with photos of Kletzke in his green Marine shorts.

How didnt I know? family friend Janet Martel said of the true identity of the Mystery Marine.

Kletzke took his own life last week after suffering from PTSD. He was 23.

A graduate from North Stafford High School in 2012, Kletzke was an avid runner.

He used to do cross-country, so we definitely saw him, even before he was in the Marines, running around the neighborhood in those little shorts, says Grace Ross, a family friend.

After high school, Kletzke served in the United States Marine Corps.

Family, friends and Stafford County residents lined the streets during his funeral procession to say goodbye. His fellow Marines carried Kletzkes casket while veterans, coming from as far as Ohio, saluted his service. Some held signs of love, while others held the Marine Corps flag to honor Kletzkes dedication.

Kletzke was laid to rest in Quantico National Cemetery. A website has been set up to honor Kletzkes legacy with information on donating to Mission 22, an organization that works to end the stigma surrounding PTSD and stop military suicide.

The Department of Veteran Affairs said in 2014, an average of 20 veterans a day died by suicide nationwide.
World War II-era aircraft will fly in formation over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery on Friday in honor of disabled American veterans.

The third annual Potomac Flight of 20 aircraft will leave on Friday evening from Culpeper Regional Airport and take a triangular route around Joint Base Andrews, the Pentagon and Manassas Regional Airport. A map of the route is located at the bottom of the the Cupleper Air Fest website.

The planes are expected to soar over the Pentagon about 5:30 p.m. Cloudy weather may force a delay to the flight, a spokeswoman for the air show said.

A T-6 Texan, B-25 Mitchell, T-28 Trojan and Douglas DC-3 all will take flight. Each of the planes hold historical significance, according to the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation.

Culpeper Air Fest

The Texan served as a two-seat advanced trainer for World War II pilots. The Mitchell was the first United States aircraft to bomb the Japanese mainland after Pearl Harbor. During the Vietnam War, the Trojan was used as a counterinsurgency aircraft, and the Douglas revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and '40s, according to the foundation.

Historic aircraft will be flown Saturday at Culpeper Airfest, which will start at 9 a.m.
For more than a decade, the D.C. police department's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit has been building bridges with the deaf community.

It's the only specialized police unit in the country dedicated to protecting deaf people.

Officer Myra Jordan came up with the idea 14 years ago. She learned sign language as a child, when she played with a neighbor who was deaf.

The 25-year veteran of the department went to the chief with her idea to combine her love for police work and sign language.

"The Metropolitan Police Department was struggling with communicating or interacting with the deaf community, and we needed to build that bridge," Jordan said.

She was joined on the unit two years ago by Officer Teyna Ellis. She learned how to sign so she could help at her church.

In addition to the pair's regular patrol duties, they train other officers in the basics of communicating with deaf people, like "knowing the universal sign of a deaf person, to be able to communicate with them during a traffic stop," Ellis said.

Advocates for the deaf community say the liaison unit has made a particularly big impact in dealing with deaf victims of domestic violence.

"In the past, people didnt know who to talk with and they didnt feel comfortable making the report because they didnt know who is going to understand me ... but now there is someone who speaks my language," said Shazia Siddiqi. She is executive director of the organization DAWN, which aims to end abuse in the deaf community.

Jordan said the unit's work is paying off for police and for the community. She says it comes down to one word: trust.

"The officers aren't afraid of the unknown because they know the unknown now, and the community isn't afraid because they trust the police," she said.

Ellis and Jordan regularly get requests to help train officers from other police departments. They said they're proud that D.C. is leading the nation.
A loud boom heard and felt this week on the Eastern Shore of Delaware and Maryland left many people wondering what the noise could have been -- and now the mystery is solved.

"That was us," Patuxent Naval Air Station spokesman Pat Gordon told DelmarvaNow.com.

A Naval air squadron was testing supersonic aircraft on Wednesday between 4:30 and 5 p.m., Gordon told the news outlet. A restricted airspace that serves as a "test track" for the aircraft runs parallel to the Delmarva Peninsula.

People in Ocean City, Bethany Beach, Assateague and further inland reported feeling the boom, and the Ocean Pines Police Department received two calls about it, DelmarvaNow reported.

"The house shook, the windows rattled, and I felt the percussion in my chest. I dove to the floor thinking something had exploded and the house was going to fall in around me," one reader in Ocean View wrote to DelmarvaNow.

The temperature and humidity level on the Shore that afternoon could have made the boom sound even louder, Gordon said.

"It's just normal flight testing, it only sounds and feels catastrophic due to the weather conditions," the naval air station spokesman told the news outlet.

The Navy and Pentagon control the testing miles offshore so it will have minimal impact on civilians.
Southern Airways is set to begin flying to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport with daily flights from Hagerstown and Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Media outlets report that service from Hagerstown Regional Airport to BWI Marshall Airport will start Nov. 19. Service also will start that day from Altoona-Blair County Airport in Altoona to BWI.

Fares start at $29 each way. Tickets are available online at www.iFlySouthern.com.

As part of the move, Southern Airways is changing its East Coast hub for Hagerstown from Washington Dulles International Airport to BWI.

The airline is also switching half its daily Altoona flights from Pittsburgh International Airport to BWI. Other Pittsburgh flights from Altoona will continue.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Del. Kathy Szeliga marked out big differences over economic policies in a U.S. Senate debate on Friday that touched on the minimum wage and tax reform, as well as immigration and health care.

Van Hollen, a Democrat, said during the debate on WAMU-FM that he supports moving toward a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour.

"We can talk about how we get there and in what stages, but it is a scandal in this country that you can work full time, 40 hours a week, all year long and be below the federal poverty level for a family of two, and this is a big difference between the candidates,'' Van Hollen said, noting that Szeliga voted against a minimum wage increase in Maryland that passed in 2014.

Szeliga, a Republican who said she lived on the minimum wage when she was 18, said she supports keeping the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour.

"I can tell you what people on minimum wage want: They want a career. They don't want a minimum wage,'' Szeliga said. "They're tired of career politicians taking an issue like this and ginning people up with it, but let's get jobs and opportunities to people on a minimum wage so that they're not on a minimum wage, so they get on the career ladder and climb that," Szeliga said.

Van Hollen has been congressman since 2003. Before that, he served in the Maryland General Assembly, both in the Senate and the House. Szeliga has been a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2011. She is the House minority whip. They are running for a Senate seat that will become vacant when Sen. Barbara Mikulksi, a Democrat, retires next year after five terms.

Here is a look at other issues the candidates discussed:

TAX REFORM

Szeliga, a small business owner, said "nonstop taxes killed the middle class." She pledged to vote against taxes, if elected. Van Hollen noted he has introduced legislation to close tax breaks for special interests, including one that rewards companies that move jobs overseas.

HEALTH CARE

Van Hollen said federal health care reform has done a lot of good, because 20 million people have health care now who didn't have it before. "I support creating a public option to create more competition and more options," he said. Szeliga said the federal health care law needs to be changed." Well, I can tell you that we need to reform it, and it's collapsing in upon itself," she said.

IMMIGRATION

Szeliga said she doesn't support building a wall on the country's border with Mexico, but she said the border must be secured. "This is about national security," she said. Van Hollen said Washington missed an opportunity several years ago when the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill, but it never came up for a vote in the House.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Both candidates tried to link their opponent to the presidential candidate for their parties. Van Hollen said Szeliga was supporting Donald Trump, "who has been dividing the country, saying poisonous things.'' Szeliga said she has called out Trump when she disagrees with him, though she said Van Hollen hasn't been critical of missteps by Hillary Clinton, such as her reference that half of Trump's supporters were in a "basket of deplorables." Van Hollen said he did criticize the comment.

IRAN

Szeliga said she would have opposed the deal in which Iran agreed to cap nuclear activities in return for a lifting of sanctions. Van Hollen said stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon was "a good thing, not a bad thing."
The Be Like Brit (BLB) organization will be hosting a donation drive Saturday, October 8 and Monday, October 10 in Worcester, Mass. to help pay for relief efforts in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew.

Community members are asked to come to the Operations Center at 66 Pullman Street (next to PriceChopper) to drop off donations.

Monetary donations will be used to rebuild homes, repair roofs and replace household items that were damaged during the hurricane.

There will be a shipping container as well where people can drop off peanut butter, canned tuna, channed chicken, canned spam, canned ham, powdered milk, Tang, pasta, children's vitamins, over-the-counter pain relievers, towels, and bars of soap. These supplies will ship to Haiti once the airport and roadways are open again.

The above items will be the only items BLB will accept at this time due to shipping costs.

BLB said, "We are overwhelmed and so grateful for the response we have received so far and the generous donations that have been coming in us to help with BLB's hurricane relief efforts!"

BLB is an orphanage in Haiti started in honor of Britney Gengel, who was 19-years-old when she died during the 2010 earthquake.
The fate of a Portland, Maine landlord charged with six counts of manslaughter is in the hands of a judge.

Closing arguments ended Friday in the criminal trial of Gregory Nisbet, the landlord in the fatal Noyes Street fire in Nov. of 2014, in which six people under the age of 30 died. It would be the first time in Maine history that a landlord is convicted of manslaughter due to the condition of his property.

The cause of the fire was accidental, but prosecutors argued that fire code violations throughout the property turned the apartments into "death traps."

Witnesses testified that smoke alarms were not working in the building, furniture blocked exits, and third floor bedrooms lacked escapes.

"His attitude was callous indifference," said prosecutor Bud Ellis. "He was showing up once a month to get the rent. His conduct allowed these conditions to exit, which is what killed these people."

One of the fire survivors testified that he could hear screams coming from the third floor. Prosecutors used this as evidence that the tenants who died were awake, trying to escape, and would have survived if the landlord had proper exits as outlined in the fire code.

Defense attorney Matt Nichols argued that this fire moved so quickly, those fire code safety measures wouldn't have made a difference.

He also argued that Nisbet was running the property as a single family dwelling, not a boarding house, and that different fire code ordinances apply.
Hurricane Matthew is continuing to take a toll on air travel in the region as the powerful storm pummeled Florida early Friday morning.

Since Thursday, airlines across the country have canceled thousands of flights in and out of Florida.

At Logan Airport, only two flights to Orlando have been cancelled as of 5 a.m. Friday.

More than 270,000 people were without power in Florida by early Friday. The storm left more than 280 dead in its wake across the Carribbean.

Not only are the destructive winds the main concern, it's the storm surge along with high tide and the amount of rainfall expected. From Fort Lauderdale to the Georgia coast is expected to see between six to eight inches of rainfall over the next 72 hours.

As Hurricane Matthew continues its course along the southeastern seaboard, it will weaken in wind intensity, but rainfall estimates are expected to increase along the South Carolina coast, bringing the threat of 10 to 15 inches of rainfall along the South Carolina coast over the next 72 hours.
With Hurricane Matthew impacting much of the east coast, some travelers are changing their vacation plans, while others are moving forward as planned.

In Methuen, Massachusetts, Rite Way Travel agent Josephine Toscano says she changed vacation plans for about six of her clients Thursday morning alone.

"It has been hectic," she said. "It's a lot of people not knowing what's going to happen."

Toscano expects a lot more vacation changes in the next several days. She is just one of many travel agents scrambling as Hurricane Matthew powers toward parts of the east coast. Thousands of flights have been cancelled and some hotels are closing.

"You have to feel bad because it is no one's fault. People are scrambling to make changes. They've probably had their vacations planned for 4-5 months. And now here you are a couple of days before you're going to go."

Toscano says all the hotels, airlines and resorts she is working with have been accommodating. She says so far, she has not cancelled any vacation plans.

Meanwhile, at Logan International Airport, many people are traveling in spite of the hurricane.

People traveling to Walt Disney World this weekend won't be able to visit the park until Saturday. Disney closes at 5 p.m. on Thursday and will remain closed through Friday. Still, Jennifer McDonald of Boston says she and her best friend have not changed their plans.

"I'm supposed to be going to Disney World, but I'm currently flying into Tampa," she said. "That's where we were diverted to."

She has faith they will make it to Disney's resort before Hurricane Matthew makes landfall.

"I know that people say if you're going to be stuck in a hurricane in central Florida Disney is the safest place you could be because they build everything specifically to withstand hurricanes," said McDonald.

Thursday morning, Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport announced all flights in and out of the airports were cancelled. The airport in Orlando announced all flights there would stop at 8 p.m.

Charlotte O'Connor, from the Daytona Beach area, said she and her husband weren't taking risks. They push their flights to Boston one day ahead of their original schedule.

"I came in on a jet blue flight out of Jacksonville," said O'Connor. "I'm very happy to be out of town."

O'Connor said leaving home meant closing their storm shutters and wishing for the best.

"I'm really worried about my friends who stayed there," she said. "There are no hotels within like 300 miles. I mean, you cannot get a place to stay there."

At the Boston Logan International Airport multiple JetBlue flights to Florida and South Carolina were cancelled throughout the day.

Flight Aware estimates an additional 1,300 flights will be cancelled on Friday.
A Massachusetts man faces a felony charge for a joy ride he and a friend went on wearing clown masks.

"Our intention wasn't to hurt nobody or scare nobody," Ryan Coleman told necn.

Thursday night, the calls started coming in to the Fall River Police Department.

"It's just outrageous that it was brought to that level," Coleman explained. "The police were telling me that people were saying we had guns waving out the window. At first it was a machete, now we have a hatchet. It's just ridiculous, it doesn't need need to get to this level."

Coleman admits he and his friend wore the clown masks and drove around the city, but says despite what witnesses told police, they weren't armed.

Another motorist sent the Fall River Reporter a picture of the pair as they were stopped next to each other at a traffic light.

A mother walking out of a laundromat on William S. Canning Boulevard told police the men frightened her 3-year-old son.

However, Coleman says it wasn't intentional and most people they saw seemed amused.

He was arrested Thursday night and arraigned Friday morning on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace while armed.

"If you're afraid of something, then I'm sorry, and if you want to charge me with disturbing the peace because wearing the mask is considered harassment, fine, I'll pay the fine," he said. "But don't charge me with a felony and put me away for that."

Coleman claims there were knives in the vehicle - but they were his friends chef knives & they were in a box in the back.

The police report backs that up but says one was found in the driver's side door.

Coleman's arrest comes after several days of clown sightings here in southeastern Massachusetts and across the country.

"This whole clown thing, I thought it was just a hoax at first, it was all over the place. This is too much to be serious," he said. 'Well, obviously it is."

The other man in the car who was also wearing a mask was not arrested, but will be summonsed to court.
A Southbridge, Massachusetts, man who authorities say murdered a 74-year-old using a large piece of concrete has been ordered jailed without bail.

Albert Henderson III pleaded not guilty to murdering Hector Ramos and was jailed following his Wednesday arraignment.

Prosecutors say Henderson's attorney agreed he be held without bail.

Ramos had been found dead in January beneath a stopped train in Worcester. Investigators say they found a bloody piece of concrete next to his body. One of Ramos' pants pocket was also turned inside out.

Court records show Ramos suffered extensive trauma to his head and face.

Police say blood evidence found on Henderson's clothes linked him to the slaying.

The Telegram & Gazette reports records indicate Henderson was hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation just before Ramos' body was found.
Hurricane Matthew aims for Florida tonight as it carries its devastation to the United States. Winds are holding their own at 140 mph near the center of the storm. Concern revolves around landfall: is it going to brush the coast or head all the way inland near Melbourne and Cape Canaveral? That question has important ramifications for how much storm surge and destruction are expected with Matthew tonight and tomorrow. A storm paralleling the coast will batter more communities, but keep the most vicious wind offshore. A full-fledged landfall well into Florida will cause more damage and storm surge.

Right now it appears the storm will ride all along the coast, hinting at landfall, but never committing fully. As it clears the Bahamas, it should come storming ashore with the might of some of the bigger hurricanes in the past decade.

While Florida hunkers down, we unwind under high pressure and sunshine. Highs again crest well over 70 in most spots tomorrow. Light onshore breezes at the coast should hold temps in the upper 60s.

A weak cool front will approach this weekend, marked for passage late Saturday and early Sunday. That part of the holiday weekend is the cloudiest, although never enough to qualify as overcast. Showers - more likely sprinkles - will scoot through Saturday night. Some of them may be left on the Cape until midday Sunday as the front slows down and bumps into Matthew.

Speaking of, this bump should be enough to turn him away from the Carolinas and a little offshore, but since the nudge is only slight, it's possible that early next week Matthew may loop back toward Miami! This is late in the forecast period where errors can be large, so there's not a lot compel us to believe this will happen. Nonetheless, we'll be on top of it all the way to the end.
Police are looking for a vehicle in connection with a home invasion and murder in Orange, Massachusetts earlier this week.

Thomas Harty, 95, was killed and his wife Joanna Fisher, 77, seriously injured in an apparent home invasion at their residence on East River Street on Wednesday night. Fisher is being treated at UMass Medical Center in Worcester.

No further details have been released.

Following the home invasion, Orange Police said the victims' car, a grayish/silver 2003 Toyota Corolla station wagon with the license plate number M99949 was stolen.

Anyone with information about the vehicle is asked to contact the Orange Police Department at 978-544-2128 or text a tip to 274637.

The incident remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Northwestern District Attorneys Office, Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services and the Orange Police Department.

The cause of Harty's death has not yet been determined.
An official Egyptian delegation arrived in Athens on 2 October for a meeting with Greek officials for preliminary talks on a water demarcation agreement between Egypt and Greece.

An Egyptian source in Athens told Ahram Online that this is neither the first nor necessarily the conclusive meeting on the ongoing Egyptian-Greek discussion on demarking water borders in the Mediterranean between the two countries.

According to the source, the meeting should provide Cairo officials with an elementary assessment of a demarcation proposal submitted by the Greek side and which will be discussed in Cairo on 9 October during an Egyptian-Greek summit. The news was confirmed by a government source in Cairo.

This is one of many issues that Egypt and Greek have to discuss, [including] the borders, the natural gas fields in the Mediterranean and the Egyptian properties on Greek islands, the source said.

A delegation from Egypts Ministry of Religious Endowments left for Greece on 26 September to inspect Egyptian properties owned by the ministry on two Greek islands dating back to the rule of Mohamed Ali under the Ottoman Empire.

These properties have been subject to controversy as an official in the ministry had complained about the failure of Greece to honour Egyptian legal and financial rights regarding these properties.

Prominent historian Khaled Fahmy explained that it was in the 19th century that Egypts ruler at the time, Mohamed Ali, first acquired Egyptian properties on the island of Thassos.

Mohamed Ali, who was born in Kavala, a mainland city opposite the Aegean Sea island, had asked the Ottoman sultan to give him the land there so that he would establish a soup kitchen and have it run as a charity; this is what waqf is about, Fahmy said.

The Ottomans had incorporated Thassos into their empire during the second half of the 15th century.

Egypt also had properties in Kavala dating back to the 19th century.

Egypts former ambassador to Greece, Maguida Chahine, explained that since the mid-1990s, Egypt had rented the largest building on Thassos to a Greek entrepreneur who turned it into a very impressive hotel and who had been promptly paying the due rent.

Fahmy agreed that Anna Missirian, also from Kavala, had done exemplary work with the restoration of Eimarat, the original large building of the soup kitchen that was established by Mohamed Ali in the 19th century and which was later enlarged and annexed with extra buildings that hosted those providing the charitable services.

And according to Chahine, the quality of work that was done in the restoration of this building had been the answer to its preservation because otherwise it could have been so rundown, as the case is with some other waqf properties that are not carefully attended to.

Chahine insisted that there is no need to confuse the files  not with a country like Greece that has always been exceptionally friendly with Egypt and supportive of all basic Arab rights especially the Palestinian cause.

Chahine argued that it would not be difficult at all for Cairo and Athens to settle mutually consensual agreements on the matters of waqf administration, water demarcation or the management of gas fields that are have been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean.



The complaint about the properties has however has prompted legal action.

Lawyer Ali Ayyoub is hoping to have the administrative court set a date for the first session of a lawsuit that he says would rectify the confused situation regarding Egyptian state-owned properties on an island in the Aegean Sea under Greek sovereignty.

Ayyoub said that it was in the early days of August that he and a group of other lawyers who are closely following matters related to Egyptian borders and Egyptian properties overseas learned that the Greek side had suddenly ceased to pay the monthly rent for some Egyptian properties there.

Ayyoub said that this happened for just one month  the month of July.

He added that he learned about the situation through sources at the Ministry of Religious Endowments, which administers the properties. A ministry official also made a statement to a private television channel in August.

The lawsuit, Ayyoub explained, aims to provide evidence from all concerned official bodies in Egypt and Greece on the full list of Egyptian properties in Greek cities and islands and all relevant details. We started the legal process late August and we are hoping that the first session will be no later than October, Ayyoub told Ahram Online.

Our information suggests that it is a more complex story and our sources elsewhere suggest that this is related to the possible border demarcation that is anticipated between Egypt and Greece, he said.

He argued that the objective of the lawsuit is twofold: first, to get all official bodies to provide full and documented details on the matter of endowment ministry properties in Greece in a transparent fashion, which has not been taking place.

Ayyoub, who is part of the legal team working to reverse the Red Sea island deal that saw Egypt acknowledge Saudi sovereignty over two islands, argued that the lawsuit may start with Thassos but will not end there, because according to the constitution all matters of sovereignty cannot be passed by the executive authority without a public referendum as stipulated in Article 151 of the 2014 constitution.

However, Ayyoub denied reports that he was attempting to regain Egyptian sovereignty over the island. This is not the case, the matter is about the properties, and of course about transparency, which is lacking.

Egyptian and Greek diplomats argue that such an incident would never jeopardize the warmth of the relation between the two Mediterranean countries.

Cairo- and Brussels-based European diplomats say that the unconditional support that Greece has been offering to Cairo in all EU meetings cannot just be attributed to warm historic bilateral relations.

It is true that Egypt and Greece had traditionally had close relations and it is also true that Egypt had sided with Greece against Turkey, all the way through almost, on the matter of the division of Cyprus into a

Greek side and a Turkish side, said one, who requested anonymity.

Recently, like during the last year, it has really been above average; Greek almost blindly wants to stop any meeting either here (in Cairo) or in Brussels to discuss anything that some of the EU members might think of as contradicting the Egyptian obligations to the association agreement signed between Cairo and the EU in 2001  and yes this is especially the case about human rights, he added.

Also speaking on condition of anonymity, an Egyptian official source said Egypt and Greece have been establishing a much closer rapport due to expanding strategic interests.

One obvious side to these interests has to do with the rough relations between Cairo and Ankara  the latter being an arch-foe of Athens.

Another is the growing opportunities of a wealth of natural gas with many fields expected to be located at the eastern Mediterranean.

According to the same source, Egypt had been showing considerable flexibility on the chances of sharing potential gas wealth not just with Greece but also with Cyprus and Israel.

The four-way cooperation is not a secret, the same source said. He added that what is hidden behind closed doors still are the details of this potential cooperation, which will start with the final phase of negotiations of the water demarcation between Egypt and Greece, expected after the Eid holidays, maybe in three or four weeks.

Greece, according to Chahine, had been pressing upon Egypt to pursue water demarcation. This has been going on even before my post which started in 2001.

A former Egyptian diplomat said that Greece has been pressuring Egypt on the matter since 1997.

Egypt, he added, had been reluctant on the matter because this demarcation would have to include two disputed points between Greece and Turkey and Cairo was waiting for the Athens-Ankara settlement to be settled first.

Today, concerned Egyptian officials who insist that the finalisation of the demarcation would not be a matter of a few weeks are not necessarily concerned about this dispute at least for now.

They insist that the priority for Egypt now is to pursue the avenues of gas discoveries in order to provide Egypt with its needed supplies and also in order to allow Egypt to access foreign currency by expanding exports of natural gas.

Meanwhile, concerned government bodies are not worried about the lawsuit that Ayyoub is pursuing. Some argue that this suit will actually end up being shelved by the administrative court for lack of any substantial evidence.

Ayyoub is determined that it will not be shelved. This is the whole point; we are going to court to get the government to provide the evidence that would support our case in order to prevent the executive authority from giving up Egyptian rights either to properties in Greece or to shares of Mediterranean water.

An Athens-based anonymous official said that there is no quarrel whatsoever between Greece and Egypt and we are working closely on the economic, legal and political interests of both countries.

He added that in preparation for the demarcation agreement with Cairo, Greece has been conducting exhaustive talks with Turkey on contested islands in the Mediterranean.

The issue will be addressed during a three-way summit between the leaders of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus that is scheduled for the second week of October in Cairo.



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A New Hampshire woman is facing assault charges after police say she shook her boyfriend's 19-month-old daughter, causing critical head injuries.

Kayla L. Cassady, 22, of Pinetree Lane, West Lebanon, is charged with first degree felony assault. She was held in lieu of $15,000 cash bail and was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Lebanon District Court.

Lebanon Police said they responded to an apartment on Pinetree Lane after receiving a 911 call on Thursday about a female child who was not alert and appeared to be having a medical issue.

When officers arrived, they spoke with Cassady, the reporting party. She told police she was caring for the child when it suffered an unknown medical issue. The child was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for evaluation.

Officers continued to investigate, and learned that the child had sustained critical head injuries. During the investigation, police also developed enough information and evidence to arrest Cassady.

The investigation revealed that Cassady shook the child, causing serious bodily injury. The child underwent surgery for injuries sustained in the assault. The childs injuries are critical but are not believed to be life-threatening.

Police said Cassady is the girlfriend of the childs biological father, who was not present during the assault.
A van crashed into the front of an Arlington, Massachusetts house on Friday morning.

A chimney sweep van was on Sunset Road when it began rolling backward, before crashing into Jonathan Gattinella's house.

The driver of the vehicle, a 45-year-old New York man, was cited with allegedly Failing to Secure a Motor Vehicle When Exiting.

According to police, the driver failed to put the van in park before exiting the vehicle.

The driver noticed the vehicle moving forward and tried to jump back in, but was knocked down in the process.

A passenger still in the van allegedly grabbed the wheel to steer the van away from parked cars, before crashing into Gattinella's front stairs.

The Arlington fire department said both the driver and passenger were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Gattinella said his landlord is now working with contractors to repair the damage and that it is amazing someone was not more seriously hurt.
At a campaign stop in Turner, Maine, Eric Trump insisted his father, Donald Trump, pays his federal income taxes, despite a 1995 tax return published by the New York Times that would suggest the Republican presidential candidate could have avoided paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years.

"We pay a tremendous amount in taxes," Eric Trump told necn.

When asked to clarify if that meant Donald Trump personally pays federal income taxes, Eric said, "Yes. I don't think I could have been any more clear."

Eric Trump made three campaign stops in Maine's northern, more conservative Congressional District Thursday. The Trump campaign has made several visits to the state, hoping its split electoral college vote will work in their favor this November.

"Maine is important to the electoral map, it's important to us," said Eric Trump. "You have hard working people in Maine, and people who feel like they've been left behind by people in Washington D.C."

Trump was accompanied by Maine Governor Paul LePage, who told a crowd of supporters at Ricker Hill Orchards that Donald Trump's taxes aren't an issue.

"Somebody told me yesterday, 'But he didn't pay taxes.' My issue is very simple: did he break the law?" said LePage. "You can't just donate money to the federal government. I don't defy anybody to not pay taxes they don't owe."

The governor also made referenced to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's comment that half of Donald Trump's supporters are in a "basket of deplorables." LePage said if Clinton's statement is true, consider him "proud to be deplorable."

As Eric Trump visited three towns in Northern Maine, his father campaigned in New Hampshire while preparing for the next debate.

Donald Trump has eluded to the possibility of bringing up former president Bill Clinton's past infidelities at Sunday's debate.

"Hopefully we can talk about the issues," said Eric Trump. "If that comes up, I don't think it's something [Donald Trump] will shy away from."
Quiet Waters Christian Retreat in Bungay is holding a gentle day retreat exploring healing in the Kingdom of God.

Quiet Waters Christian Retreat in Bungay is holding a gentle day retreat exploring healing in the Kingdom of God.

Norfolk ministry coaching duo are guest speakers Former church leaders and now freelance ministry coaches, Jonathan and Paige Squirrell, are the guest speakers at the next dinner of Norwich FGB on Monday, November 21. Read more

Bringing light to Halloween Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year. Read more

First service takes place at Norwich church site SOUL Church hosted around 400 people for a special service on the site of their new building on Heartsease Lane. Read more

Dereham draws up list of warm places for winter As rising energy prices make it harder to heat homes, churches in Dereham are leading the way in creating warm spaces where people can go. Read more

South Norfolk church scoops national award A medieval Anglican church in a tiny hamlet in South Norfolk has won a national award and a 10,000 boost. Read more

Dereham churches help people to help themselves A group of churches in Dereham have launched an ambitious project which aims to meet needs in the town, including the provision of food and skills training. Read more

Executive assistant and nursery manager jobs SOUL Church is a vibrant, welcoming and growing church in Norwich. They are seeking an organised and versatile Executive Assistant to provide key support to the churchs Senior Pastors, as well as a qualified Nursery Manager to head up SOUL Nursery. Read more

Halloween light in Gorleston church On Halloween this year, St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston will be preparing to welcome around 200 families to experience their Light on a Dark Night event. Read more

An opportunity for Norwich to pray for the nation Rev Nigel Fox, who has served as a Methodist Minister for 15 years in Norwich, shares an open invitation to pray for the nation at a crucial moment. Read more

Norwich church seeks musicians Kingdom Ambassadors International Church is appealing for instrumentlists, keyboardists and guitarists to be part of their worship experience. Read more

Please keep Rishi in your prayers Andy Bryant urges us to pray for our political leaders, especially the new Prime Minister, and avoid unhelpful judgementalism. Read more

Emilys art boosts growing Yarmouth foodbank A pupil at a primary school in Bradwell has been selling her pictures in order to raise money for the Yarmouth and Magdalen Foodbank, which is expanding its capacity and is seeking more volunteers. Read more

Patrick Regan helps Norwich to bounce forwards On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. Read more

Painting and biblical feasting in Overstrand There will be opportunities to improve your painting skills and indulge in some biblical feasting next month at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand in North Norfolk. Read more

Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more

National award for Dereham Christian bookshop The Green Pastures Christian bookshop in Dereham has won a national award for providing boxes of Christian books to 21 local schools. Read more

Norma's care home jigsaw challenge complete A resident at Norwich-based care home Corton House has completed an incredible 70 jigsaw puzzles in celebration of the homes 70th anniversary this year. Read more


Norfolk charity connects world with church in Israel

Christians across the world are being connected with the living church in Israel thanks to the efforts of a Norfolk-based charity.
Russias deputy prime minister said on Thursday that he hopes that air travel with Egypt would resume by the end of the year

Egyptian authorities are making headway in resolving Russia's concerns over safety of flights to Egypt, Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said.

"Our Egyptian colleagues have been making very rapid progress in resolving all issues regarding security enforcement," Sokolov was quoted by Russian news agency TASS as saying on Friday.

"I think next year we will fully get back to the passenger flow we used to have," he said.

But another Russian official had said the matter might be resolved earlier.

On Thursday, Russias Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said he hoped that air travel with Egypt would be resumed by the end of this year.

He added that Egypt still had a number of security systems to install which have been ordered but not yet delivered.

Moscow grounded all civilian passenger flights to Egypt last year over security concerns after a Russian A321 airbus crashed in Sinai shortly after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh.

All 224 people on board were killed in the crash, which was claimed by Islamist militants.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) has said that up to 500 monthly charter flights could be run by Russian airlines to Egyptian resorts if charter services are resumed, according to Russian state news agency Sputnik.

Cairo says investigations into the crash are still underway and that a delegation of Russian investigators is currently cooperating with Egypts general prosecution, which will issue a final report on the cause of the crash.

Tass reported earlier that Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich will hold a meeting next week to discuss the resumption of flights with Cairo at that time, the source added.

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Exceptional profit of 20.1m posted from final land sale for housing development

NEWBURY Racecourse has ann-ounced high takings for the first six months of 2016, thanks to a 20m one-off payment from a developer.

In its interim results, the racecourse announced profit after tax of 17.2m  compared with 0.28m in the first six months of 2015  while turnover rose one per cent to 5.56m from the 5.49m recorded in the same period last year.

The figures were driven by exceptional profits of 20.1m from the final sale of land to David Wilson Homes, the developer building 1,500 homes at the racecourse.

The sale represents the minimum guaranteed value under the terms of the sale agreement from 2012, less associated costs.

Of the 400 completed homes, 99 per cent are occupied, and construction in the central area is now under way.

A further boost has come from the 493,000 revenue from the Rocking Horse Nursery in the first six months of this year  a 33 per cent growth on 2015.

The racecourse said that it was delighted with the improvements in trading performance at the refurbished nursery, including a like-for- like occupancy increase of 14 per cent.

However, raceday attendance fig-ures have dropped 27 per cent to 55,647, compared with the same period last year. This was credited to the abandonment of three race days and one less scheduled race.

Almost 20,000 people attended the Weatherbys Super Sprint meeting in July, which saw the band Simply Red return to the racecourse for the Party in the Paddock. Will Young pulled in a 13,000-strong crowd at the Betfred Ladies Day in August, while the Dubai Duty Free International weekend, featuring Mark Ronson, also saw 13,000 attend.

The racecourse said that enhanced car-parking facilities and the new bridge from Hambridge Road had greatly improved access for racegoers and customers. Conference and events revenues increased by 26 per cent, with the Lodge hotel driving incremental revenue.

The 20m heartspace development is also under way, starting with the construction of the new owners and trainers facility, remodelled saddling boxes and parade rings. These are due for completion in summer 2017.

The chairman of Newbury Racecourse plc, Dominic Burke, said: In spite of the British weather that caused an almost unprecedented three abandoned racedays, the first six months of 2016 have nonetheless been positive, with particularly strong performances in conference and events and the Rocking Horse Nursery, together with continued growth in media revenues.

In April we completed on the sale of the final tranche of land to David Wilson Homes, resulting in an exceptional profit of 20.1m, and David Wilson Homes continues to make steady progress on the residential development.

The 20m redevelopment of our own heartspace is also now under way and marks another important milestone in the transformation of Newbury Racecourse.

The board remains confident in the delivery of a positive financial outturn for 2016, in line with our long-term plans for the business.
Egypt's naval forces commander Osama Rabie stated on Friday that the new Mistral-class aircraft carrier Anwar El-Sadat can be used in a range of missions, from confronting militancy in North Sinai to protecting oil fields at sea.

Rabie told reporters that the ship can be used to transfer land troops and armoured vehicles.

The vice admiral also said that the carrier, named after the late Egyptian president, would play a role in securing Egypt's oil and gas fields off shore, which he says include 99 rigs in total.

The warship arrived in Alexandria on Thursday from France.

This is the second Mistral that Egypt has officially received this year, with the first, named after late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, arriving in June from the French city of Toulouse.

In the statements released on Friday, Vice Admiral Rabie said that the new carriers raise the Egyptian Armed Forces' ranking in the Middle East  the only country in the region to include such vessels in its arsenal.

The Mistral deal is part of several defence contracts Egypt has signed with France, now topping the list of countries to have signed military supply agreements with Egypt during the term of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

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Sangeeta Bora By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Shell out a minimum of `2 lakh to grease palms if a building is being constructed in violation of the BBMP-approved plan. The authorities will happily look away. This is the sorry state of affairs across the city.

When Express spoke to a few builders, it was learnt that engineers and corporators work hand in glove. In case of a commercial building, one has to pay `4-`5 lakh per floor. For a residential building, it is `2-`3 lakh.



A well-known builder said, Although the BBMP engineer is aware that a builder is constructing a floor without sanction, he will wait till the construction is irreversible and then inspect the site. He will tell the owner that a notice for violations will be served and the building will be demolished. The owner would get in touch with an influential person who knows the engineer. This person would negotiate a price and work will continue.



Another builder said, Sometimes the MLA and the corporator will guide you to pay some amount. The bribe is shared by all, including the engineer and corporator.



BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, however, assured that they are taking precautions. He has proposed amendment to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act to bring in a clause for three months imprisonment for BBMP officers who connive to allow irregularities.



He said, Though the KMC Act says that any official not performing should be punished, there is no clarity on the punishment. We will soon amend a clause where three months imprisonment will be applicable.

Apart from suspending the two BBMP officers and filing a criminal case against the builder, we have asked the ward engineers to inspect all the under construction buildings and submit a report in 7-10 days.



But poor quality of materials used remains a concern. The Chairman of Centre for Infrastructure Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning, Indian Institute of Science, J M Chandra Kishen said, The foundation design in this case was done for ground floor plus two floors. The building could not take the extra load. Materials used might be substandard.



Interestingly, there is no way of monitoring if rules are followed. Urban expert Ashwin Mahesh said, What are the agencies doing to ensure compliance with the law? Merely passing rules is insufficient. If the ward engineers have not performed their duty, then the joint commissioner should ask for answers. There is no system of monitoring.

BENGALURU: Shell out a minimum of `2 lakh to grease palms if a building is being constructed in violation of the BBMP-approved plan. The authorities will happily look away. This is the sorry state of affairs across the city. When Express spoke to a few builders, it was learnt that engineers and corporators work hand in glove. In case of a commercial building, one has to pay `4-`5 lakh per floor. For a residential building, it is `2-`3 lakh. A well-known builder said, Although the BBMP engineer is aware that a builder is constructing a floor without sanction, he will wait till the construction is irreversible and then inspect the site. He will tell the owner that a notice for violations will be served and the building will be demolished. The owner would get in touch with an influential person who knows the engineer. This person would negotiate a price and work will continue. Another builder said, Sometimes the MLA and the corporator will guide you to pay some amount. The bribe is shared by all, including the engineer and corporator. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, however, assured that they are taking precautions. He has proposed amendment to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act to bring in a clause for three months imprisonment for BBMP officers who connive to allow irregularities. He said, Though the KMC Act says that any official not performing should be punished, there is no clarity on the punishment. We will soon amend a clause where three months imprisonment will be applicable. Apart from suspending the two BBMP officers and filing a criminal case against the builder, we have asked the ward engineers to inspect all the under construction buildings and submit a report in 7-10 days. But poor quality of materials used remains a concern. The Chairman of Centre for Infrastructure Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning, Indian Institute of Science, J M Chandra Kishen said, The foundation design in this case was done for ground floor plus two floors. The building could not take the extra load. Materials used might be substandard. Interestingly, there is no way of monitoring if rules are followed. Urban expert Ashwin Mahesh said, What are the agencies doing to ensure compliance with the law? Merely passing rules is insufficient. If the ward engineers have not performed their duty, then the joint commissioner should ask for answers. There is no system of monitoring.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: In May and June, we speak of water in the context of a drought, in October we speak of water in the context of floods, said P Sainath, a noted journalist and writer. He was speaking on Colours of Water at the three-day Chennai Water Forum organised by Goethe Institut. We are in the midst of a mega water crisis that merely a string of five good monsoons cannot help, he said.

Pointing out that political blunders led to catastrophic results because of the lack of understanding of water bodies and their nature, he said, Diverting 1.3 TMC of water by the government for Kumbh Mela was one such blunder, destroying Nasiks famous grape cultivation for the year, that usually required three rotations.

The decision to destroy stones millions of years old and replacing them with marbles and concrete in Ram Konda, Godavari, was another, he said. Following the move, the water in the ghat dried up. Everyday for 120 days, 90 tankers of water had to be poured in the ghat and this water, in turn, was looted by contractors from public sources, he said. Sainath said that dramatic changes in lifestyle in the past 25 years had led to the crisis and the per capita availability of water annually had reduced 60-70 per cent.

CHENNAI: In May and June, we speak of water in the context of a drought, in October we speak of water in the context of floods, said P Sainath, a noted journalist and writer. He was speaking on Colours of Water at the three-day Chennai Water Forum organised by Goethe Institut. We are in the midst of a mega water crisis that merely a string of five good monsoons cannot help, he said. Pointing out that political blunders led to catastrophic results because of the lack of understanding of water bodies and their nature, he said, Diverting 1.3 TMC of water by the government for Kumbh Mela was one such blunder, destroying Nasiks famous grape cultivation for the year, that usually required three rotations. The decision to destroy stones millions of years old and replacing them with marbles and concrete in Ram Konda, Godavari, was another, he said. Following the move, the water in the ghat dried up. Everyday for 120 days, 90 tankers of water had to be poured in the ghat and this water, in turn, was looted by contractors from public sources, he said. Sainath said that dramatic changes in lifestyle in the past 25 years had led to the crisis and the per capita availability of water annually had reduced 60-70 per cent.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Two persons were arrested by Shadow Police on Thursday for swindling several lakh in the name of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The arrested duo, Mushtaq Ali (24) and Hamsath Ali (26), are natives of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. The key accused in the case Mottammel Vineeth Unnikrishnan, a native of Bakkalam in Kannur, is abroad, police sources informed.

The of the conmen were members of the film industry. The activities of the gang came to light when they tried to dupe mimic K S Prasad. Unnikrishnan, Mushtaq and Hamsath were employees of a restaurant in Thailand. After Mushtaq and Hamsath came to India, Unnikrishnan started calling up members of film industry posing as Bineesh Kodiyeri and requested their presence for a show in Bangkok. He would collect the account details of the person and email scanned images of the transaction receipt from a foreign bank. Later, he would request the person concerned to credit `2,000 to the account of a relative of Mushtaq in Nagapattinam. Mushtaq and Hamsath would withdraw the money later.

Finally, the racket was busted after K S Prasad, who was contacted by Unnikrishnan, got in touch with Bineesh Kodiyeri to independently verify the claims.

When a police team from Kerala led by Shadow Police SI V Gopakumar reached Nagapattinam to arrest the duo, they tried to attack them. Later, the pair were nabbed with the help of the Tamil Nadu Police. According to police, Unnikrishnan had tried to flee Thailand after he came to know that the police were hot on his heels. They also revealed that there were reports of Unnikrishnans arrest by Thai Police. Further, the police disclosed that close to `10 lakh had been credited to the account in Nagapattinam.

KOCHI: Two persons were arrested by Shadow Police on Thursday for swindling several lakh in the name of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The arrested duo, Mushtaq Ali (24) and Hamsath Ali (26), are natives of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. The key accused in the case Mottammel Vineeth Unnikrishnan, a native of Bakkalam in Kannur, is abroad, police sources informed. The of the conmen were members of the film industry. The activities of the gang came to light when they tried to dupe mimic K S Prasad. Unnikrishnan, Mushtaq and Hamsath were employees of a restaurant in Thailand. After Mushtaq and Hamsath came to India, Unnikrishnan started calling up members of film industry posing as Bineesh Kodiyeri and requested their presence for a show in Bangkok. He would collect the account details of the person and email scanned images of the transaction receipt from a foreign bank. Later, he would request the person concerned to credit `2,000 to the account of a relative of Mushtaq in Nagapattinam. Mushtaq and Hamsath would withdraw the money later. Finally, the racket was busted after K S Prasad, who was contacted by Unnikrishnan, got in touch with Bineesh Kodiyeri to independently verify the claims. When a police team from Kerala led by Shadow Police SI V Gopakumar reached Nagapattinam to arrest the duo, they tried to attack them. Later, the pair were nabbed with the help of the Tamil Nadu Police. According to police, Unnikrishnan had tried to flee Thailand after he came to know that the police were hot on his heels. They also revealed that there were reports of Unnikrishnans arrest by Thai Police. Further, the police disclosed that close to `10 lakh had been credited to the account in Nagapattinam.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The revelations of Subahani Haja Moideen, who was arrested by the NIA on Thursday, about his stay in Iraq while fighting for the Islamic State (IS) would be a cause of grave concern for national security. According to NIA officials, Subahani claimed that several Indians, including a Malayali couple in Mosul, Iraq, have been working for the jihadi group.

AMIT BANDRE

He has admitted that there are several Indians, including people from Kerala, staying in Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. According to him, some are in the battle front while some are engaged in community work. The people joining IS are provided with accommodation. They are given money to settle down at IS cities. IS runs a Hind camp which looks after the Indians who joined IS in Syria and Iraq, the NIA official said.

However, NIA sources said Subahani could name only a few Indians as he was engaged in combat training, in the battle front and in jail during his days at Iraq.

According to him, it is very difficult to return after joining the IS. People who get caught while attempting to escape will be killed or amputated. Whoever approaches IS with the request to return will be punished severely. Several people are forced to stay even though they are eager to leave the front, the official said.

After reports emerged that 21 persons were missing from Kerala and were suspected to have joined the IS, intelligence agencies are checking whether there are similar instances in other states as well. The security agencies suspect that more than 100 persons from India have joined the IS in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

KOCHI: The revelations of Subahani Haja Moideen, who was arrested by the NIA on Thursday, about his stay in Iraq while fighting for the Islamic State (IS) would be a cause of grave concern for national security. According to NIA officials, Subahani claimed that several Indians, including a Malayali couple in Mosul, Iraq, have been working for the jihadi group. AMIT BANDREHe has admitted that there are several Indians, including people from Kerala, staying in Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. According to him, some are in the battle front while some are engaged in community work. The people joining IS are provided with accommodation. They are given money to settle down at IS cities. IS runs a Hind camp which looks after the Indians who joined IS in Syria and Iraq, the NIA official said. However, NIA sources said Subahani could name only a few Indians as he was engaged in combat training, in the battle front and in jail during his days at Iraq. According to him, it is very difficult to return after joining the IS. People who get caught while attempting to escape will be killed or amputated. Whoever approaches IS with the request to return will be punished severely. Several people are forced to stay even though they are eager to leave the front, the official said. After reports emerged that 21 persons were missing from Kerala and were suspected to have joined the IS, intelligence agencies are checking whether there are similar instances in other states as well. The security agencies suspect that more than 100 persons from India have joined the IS in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Dubai Holding, promoters of SmartCity-Kochi, launched SmartCity-South Korea at a function held here on Thursday. It is the third SmartCity project outside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after Kochi and Malta.

The project was launched in the presence of UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Dubai Holding future chairman H E Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi; and Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok. At the function, representatives from Dubai and South Korea signed a formal agreement with regard to the SmartCity project. The 51-sqft SmartCity-Korea will be strategically located between the two metropolitan cities of Seoul and Incheon.

Addressing the gathering through a recorded video message, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Kerala was glad to be a part of the efficient and rapidly developing global network of SmartCity. It is known to everyone that the existing SmartCity projects in Kochi and Malta have achieved remarkable success, thanks to the joint efforts of the respective governments of Dubai and the host states. Today, India is the fastest growing economy, with knowledge economy playing an impressive and decisive role. Hence, the contribution of SmartCity is invaluable, especially to the state of Kerala, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi said, through the SmartCities, the respective governments provide the people a balanced and comprehensive environment in all areas of life - including social, professional, economic and environmental.

SmartCity-Korea is the result of collaborative efforts by the governments of Dubai and South Korea and regional investors.

KOCHI: Dubai Holding, promoters of SmartCity-Kochi, launched SmartCity-South Korea at a function held here on Thursday. It is the third SmartCity project outside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after Kochi and Malta. The project was launched in the presence of UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Dubai Holding future chairman H E Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi; and Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok. At the function, representatives from Dubai and South Korea signed a formal agreement with regard to the SmartCity project. The 51-sqft SmartCity-Korea will be strategically located between the two metropolitan cities of Seoul and Incheon. Addressing the gathering through a recorded video message, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Kerala was glad to be a part of the efficient and rapidly developing global network of SmartCity. It is known to everyone that the existing SmartCity projects in Kochi and Malta have achieved remarkable success, thanks to the joint efforts of the respective governments of Dubai and the host states. Today, India is the fastest growing economy, with knowledge economy playing an impressive and decisive role. Hence, the contribution of SmartCity is invaluable, especially to the state of Kerala, he said. Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi said, through the SmartCities, the respective governments provide the people a balanced and comprehensive environment in all areas of life - including social, professional, economic and environmental. SmartCity-Korea is the result of collaborative efforts by the governments of Dubai and South Korea and regional investors.
Rashmi Rajagopal Lobo By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was at the beginning of this year that Atita Verghese, Indias first female pro skateboarder, embarked on a road trip across parts of India. On the tour, she was joined by 12 other women skaters from countries like the UK, Denmark, Israel, Germany, France and Australia. Called the Girls Skate India tour, their tour bus made its way to Kovalam, Hampi and Goa before heading to Bengaluru. Over the course of the trip, Verghese and her companions built skating ramps and conducted workshops to help popularise the sport among little girls in smaller towns. Having documented the entire trip, the team have now created a short film chronicling the highlights from the tour.

Its a labour of love. The project is entirely self-funded and everything is practically done by the team, right from the videography to the editing, reveals Verghese.

And while the film is set for an online release in India early next year, it has already been screened at festivals across the globe. Initially, it was only supposed to be shown at a few places. But word got around organically and the film became a sensation, shares the 23-year-old. About 15 minutes long, the video has thus far made its way to 12 countries and has been screened a total of 23 times. It was shown at London earlier this month. And before that it went to Melbourne, San Francisco, Berkeley, Copenhagen, Paris, Tel Aviv and Helsinki, she tells us.

Featured in the video are clips from their workshops, interactions with locals, and the crew getting its hands dirty with bricks and cement while constructing the ramps. We built a ramp at SISP, an NGO-run school in Kovalam. They use it as bait to get local kids to attend school. They only get to use it if theyve been in class. In Hampi, we got a few kids to join us for the workshops at a bowl built by a German crew called 2wer. Its still quite a conservative place, so there werent too many kids who came, says Verghese, adding, The video is like any other film. It tells a story  a story of the culture of India through the eyes of a skateboarder.

Details: facebook.com/girlskateindia

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was at the beginning of this year that Atita Verghese, Indias first female pro skateboarder, embarked on a road trip across parts of India. On the tour, she was joined by 12 other women skaters from countries like the UK, Denmark, Israel, Germany, France and Australia. Called the Girls Skate India tour, their tour bus made its way to Kovalam, Hampi and Goa before heading to Bengaluru. Over the course of the trip, Verghese and her companions built skating ramps and conducted workshops to help popularise the sport among little girls in smaller towns. Having documented the entire trip, the team have now created a short film chronicling the highlights from the tour. Its a labour of love. The project is entirely self-funded and everything is practically done by the team, right from the videography to the editing, reveals Verghese. And while the film is set for an online release in India early next year, it has already been screened at festivals across the globe. Initially, it was only supposed to be shown at a few places. But word got around organically and the film became a sensation, shares the 23-year-old. About 15 minutes long, the video has thus far made its way to 12 countries and has been screened a total of 23 times. It was shown at London earlier this month. And before that it went to Melbourne, San Francisco, Berkeley, Copenhagen, Paris, Tel Aviv and Helsinki, she tells us. Featured in the video are clips from their workshops, interactions with locals, and the crew getting its hands dirty with bricks and cement while constructing the ramps. We built a ramp at SISP, an NGO-run school in Kovalam. They use it as bait to get local kids to attend school. They only get to use it if theyve been in class. In Hampi, we got a few kids to join us for the workshops at a bowl built by a German crew called 2wer. Its still quite a conservative place, so there werent too many kids who came, says Verghese, adding, The video is like any other film. It tells a story  a story of the culture of India through the eyes of a skateboarder. Details: facebook.com/girlskateindia
By IANS

Film: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"; Director: Tim Burton; Cast: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Chris O'Dowd, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Judi Dench, Samuel L. Jackson, Kim Dickens, O-Lan Jones, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie, Georgia Pemberton, Milo Parker, Pixie Davies, Jack Brody, Hayden Keeler-Stone and Raffiella Chapman; Rating: ***



Director Tim Burton's film, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children", is truly a peculiar film. With quirky characters set in a cinematic universe that is grudgingly believable, this complex adventure fantasy film is delightfully told and evokes mixed reactions.



Layered with metaphors and allegories that give varied meanings to the narration, on the surface, the film is the adventure of a young boy named Jake (Asa Butterfield), who shuttles in time.



The film begins in Florida, US, where Jake, who shares a close bond with his grandfather Abe (Terrence Stamp) is fed with unbelievable stories about a "home for peculiar children", run by Miss Alma Peregrine, where he had spent time during his younger days.



Jake's parents disapprove of Abe's storytelling sessions.



It is only after Abe's sudden death, that Jake is put into therapy to process his feeling of loss and to get over the fantasy tales he had heard. However, when he receives a birthday present which includes a postcard from Wales that his grandfather had supposedly left for him, before he died, he believes his grandfather's tales to be real.



Jake is resolute and convinces his father to take him to Wales so that he can find some closure.



Once in Wales, Jake discovers the secret "Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children" and the motive of his being, which is the crux of the narration.



The script, written by Jane Goldman, based on a novel written by debutant novelist Ransom Riggs in 2011, adroitly captures the essence of the tale. The ten peculiar children at Miss Peregrine's home are enigmatically unique and interesting and with the entire narrative deliberately rushed, justice is not done to their character arcs.



The hurried pace gives the feeling of a manufactured seriousness and excitement. Also, with tinges of horror, adventure and romance the tone of the narrative fluctuates and is thus inconsistent.



On the performance front, every actor is perfunctory, yet convincing. The peculiar kids are charming and they deliver the best they can offer. Each one of them stands out and have their moments of on-screen glory. Notable among them is Ella Purnell, who is bogged down with a confusedly designed character as Emma Bloom, an aerokinetic teenager who can manipulate air. Nevertheless, she shines as Jake's love interest.



With a fairly wooden face, Asa Butterfield in the lead role as Jake, lacks the charm of a hero.



Eva Green as the shape-changing Miss Peregrine is intriguing, but with limited screen time and with little to do with the actual thrust of the plot, she offers nothing that makes her character memorable.



Judi Drench is wasted in a miniscule role as Esmeralda Avocet, a mistress of another peculiar school.



Terrence Stamp as Abe, Samuel L. Jackson as Mr. Barron, the leader of the monsters called Hollows and Chris O'Dowd as Franklin Portman, Jake's cautious father, are uninteresting and stereotypical.



On the production front, the film is aesthetically mounted and is beautifully captured by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. His live action frames seamlessly mesh with the effects of the computer-generated images.



Colleen Atwood's costumes are worth a mention and so are the set pieces in the "Time Loop", which include the British wartime setting. These sets are spectacularly designed by Production Designer Gavin Bocquet.



The 3D effects do not elevate the viewing experience.



Overall, the film leaves you with a mixed feeling of wanting to like the film and its characters, but yet there is something that holds you back from accepting them wholeheartedly.

Film: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"; Director: Tim Burton; Cast: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Chris O'Dowd, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Judi Dench, Samuel L. Jackson, Kim Dickens, O-Lan Jones, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie, Georgia Pemberton, Milo Parker, Pixie Davies, Jack Brody, Hayden Keeler-Stone and Raffiella Chapman; Rating: *** Director Tim Burton's film, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children", is truly a peculiar film. With quirky characters set in a cinematic universe that is grudgingly believable, this complex adventure fantasy film is delightfully told and evokes mixed reactions. Layered with metaphors and allegories that give varied meanings to the narration, on the surface, the film is the adventure of a young boy named Jake (Asa Butterfield), who shuttles in time. The film begins in Florida, US, where Jake, who shares a close bond with his grandfather Abe (Terrence Stamp) is fed with unbelievable stories about a "home for peculiar children", run by Miss Alma Peregrine, where he had spent time during his younger days. Jake's parents disapprove of Abe's storytelling sessions. It is only after Abe's sudden death, that Jake is put into therapy to process his feeling of loss and to get over the fantasy tales he had heard. However, when he receives a birthday present which includes a postcard from Wales that his grandfather had supposedly left for him, before he died, he believes his grandfather's tales to be real. Jake is resolute and convinces his father to take him to Wales so that he can find some closure. Once in Wales, Jake discovers the secret "Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children" and the motive of his being, which is the crux of the narration. The script, written by Jane Goldman, based on a novel written by debutant novelist Ransom Riggs in 2011, adroitly captures the essence of the tale. The ten peculiar children at Miss Peregrine's home are enigmatically unique and interesting and with the entire narrative deliberately rushed, justice is not done to their character arcs. The hurried pace gives the feeling of a manufactured seriousness and excitement. Also, with tinges of horror, adventure and romance the tone of the narrative fluctuates and is thus inconsistent. On the performance front, every actor is perfunctory, yet convincing. The peculiar kids are charming and they deliver the best they can offer. Each one of them stands out and have their moments of on-screen glory. Notable among them is Ella Purnell, who is bogged down with a confusedly designed character as Emma Bloom, an aerokinetic teenager who can manipulate air. Nevertheless, she shines as Jake's love interest. With a fairly wooden face, Asa Butterfield in the lead role as Jake, lacks the charm of a hero. Eva Green as the shape-changing Miss Peregrine is intriguing, but with limited screen time and with little to do with the actual thrust of the plot, she offers nothing that makes her character memorable. Judi Drench is wasted in a miniscule role as Esmeralda Avocet, a mistress of another peculiar school. Terrence Stamp as Abe, Samuel L. Jackson as Mr. Barron, the leader of the monsters called Hollows and Chris O'Dowd as Franklin Portman, Jake's cautious father, are uninteresting and stereotypical. On the production front, the film is aesthetically mounted and is beautifully captured by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. His live action frames seamlessly mesh with the effects of the computer-generated images. Colleen Atwood's costumes are worth a mention and so are the set pieces in the "Time Loop", which include the British wartime setting. These sets are spectacularly designed by Production Designer Gavin Bocquet. The 3D effects do not elevate the viewing experience. Overall, the film leaves you with a mixed feeling of wanting to like the film and its characters, but yet there is something that holds you back from accepting them wholeheartedly.
Online MI By

Travel is a great way to see the world and learn more about its people and cultures. And whether it's for business or pleasure, travel almost always enriches our lives in one way or another. And while most of us know the importance of safe travel, some of us might not know what all that entails. Thankfully, by learning a few basics, you can ensure your safety and well-being, no matter your destination. Keep reading to learn more!

Planning Ahead

As soon as you've made your travel plans, you can start planning for a safe trip. Tips like the following can help ensure safety before you even leave your house.

Research. If you're unfamiliar with your destination, do your research. Find out about safe areas, safe hotels, as well as areas and establishments you should avoid. Print out maps, brochures and other helpful pieces of information, and try to familiarize yourself with the area.

Packing. So you're able to move about freely, pack as lightly as possible. Also, make sure to pack your passport and other important forms of identification, as well as medications, insurance info and other necessary items. When it comes to money, don't bring too much, but make sure you're covered in an emergency. Also, it's a good idea to save phone numbers and contact info for money-wiring services. For example, if you're traveling to New Delhi and experience an unexpected cash shortage, you can have a friend or family member send money to India.

Know the laws and customs. If you're traveling to a foreign country, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the local laws and customs. For example, countries like Iran have strict laws regarding issues like modesty and alcohol consumption, so make sure you know to dress and behave accordingly.

Know the language. If you don't know the language, you can at least learn a few important words and phrases. You could also look into a pocket translator to help in tricky situations.

Keep loved ones informed. Always leave a detailed itinerary with someone back home, along with instructions on what to do if you don't check in at certain times.

Staying Safe in Your Hotel

In addition to researching your lodgings, you can take measures like the following to ensure safety:

Know the way out. Find and memorize emergency exits, and know where to locate and use fire alarms, extinguishers and other safety features.

Secure your valuables. If your hotel has a safe, use it to store your cash, travelers checks, jewelry, passport and other valuables.

Lock up. Keep your door and windows locked at all times. If your room has a balcony, make sure it, too, is secure.

Be discreet. Ask that staff members not give out your room number to visitors. Instead, meet guests in the lobby or other common areas.

Be aware. Being aware of your surroundings can go a long way in ensuring personal safety. For example, avoiding suspicious strangers, dark hallways, stairwells and secluded areas is always recommended.

Protect Yourself While Out and About

When seeing the signs, keep the following safety pointers in mind:

Keep a low profile. Avoid drawing attention to yourself by keeping a low profile. Keep cash and jewelry out of sight, and try to blend in as much as possible. Also, since thieves and other criminals often target tourists, try not to look too "touristy." For example, don't make a big production of looking at your map or taking photos.

Stay sober. While having a few drinks may seem harmless, alcohol can lower inhibitions, and can also increase the risk of getting lost, injured or victimized.

Beware of strangers. Getting to know the locals is one of the best parts of traveling. However, you should never reveal any personal information to strangers. Don't share your travel plans or divulge where you're staying to anyone, no matter how harmless they seem.

Be confident, but aware. Appearing unsure of yourself can make you a target. Instead, exude confidence while staying aware of your surroundings.

With the tips provided here, you can stay safe and enjoy your travels, no matter your destination. Bon voyage!



Travel is a great way to see the world and learn more about its people and cultures. And whether it's for business or pleasure, travel almost always enriches our lives in one way or another. And while most of us know the importance of safe travel, some of us might not know what all that entails. Thankfully, by learning a few basics, you can ensure your safety and well-being, no matter your destination. Keep reading to learn more! Planning Ahead As soon as you've made your travel plans, you can start planning for a safe trip. Tips like the following can help ensure safety before you even leave your house. Research. If you're unfamiliar with your destination, do your research. Find out about safe areas, safe hotels, as well as areas and establishments you should avoid. Print out maps, brochures and other helpful pieces of information, and try to familiarize yourself with the area. Packing. So you're able to move about freely, pack as lightly as possible. Also, make sure to pack your passport and other important forms of identification, as well as medications, insurance info and other necessary items. When it comes to money, don't bring too much, but make sure you're covered in an emergency. Also, it's a good idea to save phone numbers and contact info for money-wiring services. For example, if you're traveling to New Delhi and experience an unexpected cash shortage, you can have a friend or family member send money to India. Know the laws and customs. If you're traveling to a foreign country, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the local laws and customs. For example, countries like Iran have strict laws regarding issues like modesty and alcohol consumption, so make sure you know to dress and behave accordingly. Know the language. If you don't know the language, you can at least learn a few important words and phrases. You could also look into a pocket translator to help in tricky situations. Keep loved ones informed. Always leave a detailed itinerary with someone back home, along with instructions on what to do if you don't check in at certain times. Staying Safe in Your Hotel In addition to researching your lodgings, you can take measures like the following to ensure safety: Know the way out. Find and memorize emergency exits, and know where to locate and use fire alarms, extinguishers and other safety features. Secure your valuables. If your hotel has a safe, use it to store your cash, travelers checks, jewelry, passport and other valuables. Lock up. Keep your door and windows locked at all times. If your room has a balcony, make sure it, too, is secure. Be discreet. Ask that staff members not give out your room number to visitors. Instead, meet guests in the lobby or other common areas. Be aware. Being aware of your surroundings can go a long way in ensuring personal safety. For example, avoiding suspicious strangers, dark hallways, stairwells and secluded areas is always recommended. Protect Yourself While Out and About When seeing the signs, keep the following safety pointers in mind: Keep a low profile. Avoid drawing attention to yourself by keeping a low profile. Keep cash and jewelry out of sight, and try to blend in as much as possible. Also, since thieves and other criminals often target tourists, try not to look too "touristy." For example, don't make a big production of looking at your map or taking photos. Stay sober. While having a few drinks may seem harmless, alcohol can lower inhibitions, and can also increase the risk of getting lost, injured or victimized. Beware of strangers. Getting to know the locals is one of the best parts of traveling. However, you should never reveal any personal information to strangers. Don't share your travel plans or divulge where you're staying to anyone, no matter how harmless they seem. Be confident, but aware. Appearing unsure of yourself can make you a target. Instead, exude confidence while staying aware of your surroundings. With the tips provided here, you can stay safe and enjoy your travels, no matter your destination. Bon voyage!
Turkish police have detained a suspected militant from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who is believed to have perpetrated a motorbike bombing near an Istanbul police station, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

The woman suspect was captured along with two other people in Aksaray province in central Turkey, carrying a fake passport, Anadolu said.

The latest capture brings the total number of arrests up to six in connection with Thursday's bombing in the Yenibosna district of Istanbul, close to the city's main international airport.

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb which authorities said was attached to a motorbike exploded. Television pictures showed several cars wrecked and shards of glass scattering the ground after the blast.

No group has claimed the attack yet.

The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, has resumed deadly attacks since the collapse of a fragile truce in 2015.

Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK first took up arms in 1984.

Thursday's strike was the first bomb attack in Istanbul since the failed July 15 coup seeking to oust the government from power.

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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day after Rahul Gandhi described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a practitioner of khoon ki dalali, the BJP fielded its heavy artillery to retaliate in what has become a macabre trade of vitriol.

The BJP chief Amit Shah retorted, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits and is seeking to demoralize Indias armed forces by doubting the valour of our soldiers. The Congress does not seem enthused by the success of our security personnel, which is reflected in the despair prevailing in Pakistan.

If anything, dalali as a character trait was apter applied to Congress, he said, and mentioned scams such as Bofors, 2G and coalgate.

Shah was joined in the barrage by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who recalled another trade metaphor once flung at Modi by Congress president Sonia Gandhi: maut ka saudagar (merchant of death). He reminded Rahul Gandhi that Modi and the BJP won the backing of the people despite the employment of such invective, as they would now again.

The people will give a resounding reply to the disgraceful remark of Rahul Gandhi, Shah said.

Rahul Gandhis dalali remark copped fire from another Modi baiter, Arvind Kejriwal, who has been taking flak for his insinuation seeking proof of the Army's surgical strikes across the Line of control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Sept.

The Delhi chief minister urged parties to set aside their differences and rally behind the Prime Minister.

Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I want to congratulate the Army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhi's remarks wherein he said the Army's sacrifices and bravery was 'khoon ki dalali, Kejriwal said.

Rahul Gandhis remarks that the Modi government was "profiteering" from the blood of soldiers also drew criticism from a Congress ally, the Nationalist Congress Party. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the principal opposition party, which is perhaps the oldest organisation in the world. He should have refrained from using such words, said NCP MP D P Tripathi.

The Congress jumped to its vice-presidents defence with leader Kapil Sibal saying, Rahul Gandhi knew what he said. His thought process was clear. You should understand the feeling of Rahul

Gandhi when he made the statement, which the people of the country do.

While advising the BJP to stop the 'posterbaazi' in Uttar Pradesh, Sibal further said the ruling party must stop playing politics ove the Army's successes. "Let the Army do its job. Why is the government playing politics over the Army," he asked.

The man who triggered the storm, Rahul Gandhi, tried to parse his phrases on Friday, tweeting his support for the surgical strikes but questioning the use of the Indian Armys heroics in posters in Uttar Pradesh.

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, he tweeted.



(With inputs from PTI)

NEW DELHI: A day after Rahul Gandhi described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a practitioner of khoon ki dalali, the BJP fielded its heavy artillery to retaliate in what has become a macabre trade of vitriol. The BJP chief Amit Shah retorted, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits and is seeking to demoralize Indias armed forces by doubting the valour of our soldiers. The Congress does not seem enthused by the success of our security personnel, which is reflected in the despair prevailing in Pakistan. If anything, dalali as a character trait was apter applied to Congress, he said, and mentioned scams such as Bofors, 2G and coalgate. Shah was joined in the barrage by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who recalled another trade metaphor once flung at Modi by Congress president Sonia Gandhi: maut ka saudagar (merchant of death). He reminded Rahul Gandhi that Modi and the BJP won the backing of the people despite the employment of such invective, as they would now again. The people will give a resounding reply to the disgraceful remark of Rahul Gandhi, Shah said. Rahul Gandhis dalali remark copped fire from another Modi baiter, Arvind Kejriwal, who has been taking flak for his insinuation seeking proof of the Army's surgical strikes across the Line of control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Sept. The Delhi chief minister urged parties to set aside their differences and rally behind the Prime Minister. Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I want to congratulate the Army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhi's remarks wherein he said the Army's sacrifices and bravery was 'khoon ki dalali, Kejriwal said. Rahul Gandhis remarks that the Modi government was "profiteering" from the blood of soldiers also drew criticism from a Congress ally, the Nationalist Congress Party. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the principal opposition party, which is perhaps the oldest organisation in the world. He should have refrained from using such words, said NCP MP D P Tripathi. The Congress jumped to its vice-presidents defence with leader Kapil Sibal saying, Rahul Gandhi knew what he said. His thought process was clear. You should understand the feeling of Rahul Gandhi when he made the statement, which the people of the country do. While advising the BJP to stop the 'posterbaazi' in Uttar Pradesh, Sibal further said the ruling party must stop playing politics ove the Army's successes. "Let the Army do its job. Why is the government playing politics over the Army," he asked. The man who triggered the storm, Rahul Gandhi, tried to parse his phrases on Friday, tweeting his support for the surgical strikes but questioning the use of the Indian Armys heroics in posters in Uttar Pradesh. I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, he tweeted. (With inputs from PTI)
By Express News Service

Showing true diplomatic talent, she laughed off questions about the current tensions between India and Pakistan but pulled no punches on the need to bridge the gender gap in India.

Chosen to be Canadas high commissioner for a day, 20-year-old Medha Mishra, an engineering student from Jaipur, proved to be a tough boss, as a staff of the embassy attested. She has been running a tight ship, she made me work a lot, Jess Dutton, the deputy high commissioner told the New Indian Express.

Medha won the chance to be Canadas high commissioner to India by acting a video contest organized by the embassy to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, which falls on October 11.

Being the Canadian ambassador has been really tough. I have been meeting delegates all morning, said Medha even as she prepped up for a 2.6 km Run for Her organized by the embassies of 20 countries to create awareness on gender equality.

After the morning meeting with her staff to discuss issues related to girl children, she attended an interaction by the ambassadors of Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Finland and US with the students of IILM Institute for Higher Education. The subject again was close to her heart: Glass ceiling or a sticky floor.

I am a staunch feminist and gender equality is important. We are half the population of the planet, said Medha. In fact, her winning video was about Why girls rights are important and what can be done to achieve greater gender equality.

Showing true diplomatic talent, she laughed off questions about the current tensions between India and Pakistan but pulled no punches on the need to bridge the gender gap in India. Chosen to be Canadas high commissioner for a day, 20-year-old Medha Mishra, an engineering student from Jaipur, proved to be a tough boss, as a staff of the embassy attested. She has been running a tight ship, she made me work a lot, Jess Dutton, the deputy high commissioner told the New Indian Express. Medha won the chance to be Canadas high commissioner to India by acting a video contest organized by the embassy to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, which falls on October 11. Being the Canadian ambassador has been really tough. I have been meeting delegates all morning, said Medha even as she prepped up for a 2.6 km Run for Her organized by the embassies of 20 countries to create awareness on gender equality. After the morning meeting with her staff to discuss issues related to girl children, she attended an interaction by the ambassadors of Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Finland and US with the students of IILM Institute for Higher Education. The subject again was close to her heart: Glass ceiling or a sticky floor. I am a staunch feminist and gender equality is important. We are half the population of the planet, said Medha. In fact, her winning video was about Why girls rights are important and what can be done to achieve greater gender equality.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Taking potshots at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for accusing Narendra Modi of doing politics on the sacrifices of jawans at the border, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said the former needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the countrys Prime Minister.

Swamy raked up the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Bofors scandal and the National Herald scam to corner the Gandhi family.

Dalal mean lobbyist. Its a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Augusta, Bofors and National Herald, Swamy said.

I think Rahul Gandhi needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India, he added.

The Congress vice-president earlier insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda.

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, said Gandhi in a series of tweets.

The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong).

Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men.

Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi.

A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation.

The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.

NEW DELHI: Taking potshots at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for accusing Narendra Modi of doing politics on the sacrifices of jawans at the border, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said the former needs to get a mental check-up as a person with healthy mindset would not make such comments against the countrys Prime Minister. Swamy raked up the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Bofors scandal and the National Herald scam to corner the Gandhi family. Dalal mean lobbyist. Its a bad word for Indians but it may not be a bad word for Sonia Gandhi and family as they have been doing nothing but lobbying and getting commission for lobbying, you can see that in Augusta, Bofors and National Herald, Swamy said. I think Rahul Gandhi needs education or he should have a mental check-up because anybody with slightest education will not use such words that to against the Prime Minister of India, he added. The Congress vice-president earlier insisted that he supports the surgical strikes but will not support the use of Indian Army in political posters and propaganda. I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country, said Gandhi in a series of tweets. The Congress vice-president yesterday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing politics over the "blood of jawans" who sacrificed their lives in Kashmir. Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, Gandhi said "Jo hamare jawan hain jinhone apna khoon diya hai, Jammu and Kashmir mein khoon diya hai, jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strikes kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai . (You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong). Concluding his 'Kisan Yatra' at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Gandhi called upon the Prime Minister to work for the development of people, especially farmers and army men. Help the farmers give the army a hike in the seventh pay commission, it is your responsibility and that is what you have been elected for," said Gandhi. A political slugfest over the surgical strikes broke out on Tuesday with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam calling it "fake" and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking the government to release the proof of the surgical strikes to counter the Pakistani propaganda against the operation. The ruling BJP at the Centre, however, lashed out at the opposition for demeaning the morale of the armed forces by demanding proof of the predawn September 29 surgical strikes.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will on Friday kick off his two-day visit to western border districts of Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan.

The Union Home Minister will chair a meeting with Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir on the sealing of India-Pakistan border at the Border Security Forces Sector headquarters (North) in Jaisalmer.

Later, Singh will visit Murar Border Outpost (BOP) in Jaisalmer district and interact with BSF jawans.

On October 8, the Union Home Minister will visit Munabao BOP in Barmer district and also interact with jawans there.

Out of 2289.66 km of Indo-Pakistan Border (IPB), 2034.96 km has been covered by physical barriers, including fencing, and the remaining 254.80 km of border is planned to be covered by physical and non-physical barriers shortly.

There are stretches in which construction of physical barriers is not feasible due to geographic constraints such as riverine, low-lying, creek and marshy areas. In this stretch, it is proposed to deploy technology solutions, including deployment of cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc.

The BSF is testing the available technologies through pilot projects in the Jammu region, Punjab and Gujarat. The paramilitary force is in the process of rollout of a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for this stretch of IPB, which is due to be undertaken in a years time.

The Indian side of the IPB, which is 3,323-km-long, passes through the states of Gujarat (508 km), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km). Out of the 3,323-km border with Pakistan, about 2,289.66 km of the International Border (IB) is under the operational control of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Apart from the IB, there is a Line of Control (LoC), which is under the operational control of the Ministry of Defence.

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will on Friday kick off his two-day visit to western border districts of Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan. The Union Home Minister will chair a meeting with Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir on the sealing of India-Pakistan border at the Border Security Forces Sector headquarters (North) in Jaisalmer. Later, Singh will visit Murar Border Outpost (BOP) in Jaisalmer district and interact with BSF jawans. On October 8, the Union Home Minister will visit Munabao BOP in Barmer district and also interact with jawans there. Out of 2289.66 km of Indo-Pakistan Border (IPB), 2034.96 km has been covered by physical barriers, including fencing, and the remaining 254.80 km of border is planned to be covered by physical and non-physical barriers shortly. There are stretches in which construction of physical barriers is not feasible due to geographic constraints such as riverine, low-lying, creek and marshy areas. In this stretch, it is proposed to deploy technology solutions, including deployment of cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc. The BSF is testing the available technologies through pilot projects in the Jammu region, Punjab and Gujarat. The paramilitary force is in the process of rollout of a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for this stretch of IPB, which is due to be undertaken in a years time. The Indian side of the IPB, which is 3,323-km-long, passes through the states of Gujarat (508 km), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km). Out of the 3,323-km border with Pakistan, about 2,289.66 km of the International Border (IB) is under the operational control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Apart from the IB, there is a Line of Control (LoC), which is under the operational control of the Ministry of Defence.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Patna High Court order quashing the Bihar government's ban on liquor.

A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit gave the respondents six weeks time to respond, and gave the Bihar government four weeks time to file its rejoinder.

The stay of the High Court order came on a petition by the Bihar government.

The bench directed the hearing of the matter after 10 weeks.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Patna High Court order quashing the Bihar government's ban on liquor. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit gave the respondents six weeks time to respond, and gave the Bihar government four weeks time to file its rejoinder. The stay of the High Court order came on a petition by the Bihar government. The bench directed the hearing of the matter after 10 weeks.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday ruled out releasing the video footage of the Armys surgical strikes across the LoC and questioned the loyalty of those who doubt the forces.

Describing the cross-LoC operation as 100 per cent perfect surgical strike, he said the borders of the country were secure under the Narendra Modi government.

Parrikars remarks at a function organised by the BJP in Agra to celebrate the strikes came a day after Prime Minister Modi reportedly cautioned against creating a hysteria over the Army action at a meeting of the Cabinet. He warned that one had to remain vigilant against certain elements who do not owe their loyalty to the country completely. No one had doubted bravery of our forces ever, but for the first time recently some people are doubting, he said, maintaining that he would not like to take names.

Referring to a news report by a TV channel in which a Pakistani police officer has purportedly admitted that surgical strikes did happen, Parrikar said, There is now no more reason to release video or to give any proof.

Asserting that the operation was 100 per cent successful, he said there was no casualty on the Indian side in the attack and doubted whether even bigger countries had such a success in their surgical strikes. Parrikar also said the forces and citizens would have to be vigilant against frustrated terrorists who would try to launch attacks because of the shame they have been put to as a result of the surgical strikes.

At the briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs, its spokesperson Vikas Swarup brushed aside demands for release of the video footage, which the Army was said to have submitted to the government. What the government puts out or not is determined solely by national security and will continue to be so. I have nothing more to say, he said.

Swarup added that it was usual to see Pakistans reaction of denial of terrorism sponsored from its soil against its neighbours.

The elimination of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mansoor was met with similar denials. But we all know the truth, he said.

Swarup said the counter-terrorism operation on September 29 (surgical strike) was to neutralise an imminent threat of terrorists ready to be launched from across the LoC.The Army was given a task which it carried out with surgical precision. The desired result has been obtained. The intended message has been conveyed, he said.

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday ruled out releasing the video footage of the Armys surgical strikes across the LoC and questioned the loyalty of those who doubt the forces. Describing the cross-LoC operation as 100 per cent perfect surgical strike, he said the borders of the country were secure under the Narendra Modi government. Parrikars remarks at a function organised by the BJP in Agra to celebrate the strikes came a day after Prime Minister Modi reportedly cautioned against creating a hysteria over the Army action at a meeting of the Cabinet. He warned that one had to remain vigilant against certain elements who do not owe their loyalty to the country completely. No one had doubted bravery of our forces ever, but for the first time recently some people are doubting, he said, maintaining that he would not like to take names. Referring to a news report by a TV channel in which a Pakistani police officer has purportedly admitted that surgical strikes did happen, Parrikar said, There is now no more reason to release video or to give any proof. Asserting that the operation was 100 per cent successful, he said there was no casualty on the Indian side in the attack and doubted whether even bigger countries had such a success in their surgical strikes. Parrikar also said the forces and citizens would have to be vigilant against frustrated terrorists who would try to launch attacks because of the shame they have been put to as a result of the surgical strikes. At the briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs, its spokesperson Vikas Swarup brushed aside demands for release of the video footage, which the Army was said to have submitted to the government. What the government puts out or not is determined solely by national security and will continue to be so. I have nothing more to say, he said. Swarup added that it was usual to see Pakistans reaction of denial of terrorism sponsored from its soil against its neighbours. The elimination of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mansoor was met with similar denials. But we all know the truth, he said. Swarup said the counter-terrorism operation on September 29 (surgical strike) was to neutralise an imminent threat of terrorists ready to be launched from across the LoC.The Army was given a task which it carried out with surgical precision. The desired result has been obtained. The intended message has been conveyed, he said.
ANI By

LUCKNOW (Uttar Pradesh): The All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) has suggested the adoption of a modern nikahnama (marriage contract), seeking changes in the terms and conditions of marriage under the Islamic law.

Our school of thought does not accept talaq just like that. We need evidence of talaq. Just by uttering talaq three times, it cannot be granted, Shia cleric Maulana Yasub Abba told ANI.

Resonating similar sentiments, Maulana Sadiq, All-India Muslim Personal Law Board vice-president said, There are many sects in the Muslim religion. Even if husband says talaq three lakh times, it wont be valid. Until both man and woman call for a divorce, action shouldnt be taken.

He asserted that the Muslim religion teaches that nothing can be without justice and reasoning.

The AIMPLB had mooted a similar model nikahnama in 2003 laying down specific guidelines and conditions on which a marriage can be annulled by both husband and wife and the prescribed format has been prevalent among a large section of Sunni Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

On September 2, the AIMPLB had told the Supreme Court, which is hearing a PIL by a Muslim woman against the practice of triple talaq, that the scrapping of instantaneous talaq will increase the possibility of husbands killing their estranged wives. It also defended the practice of polygamy.

LUCKNOW (Uttar Pradesh): The All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) has suggested the adoption of a modern nikahnama (marriage contract), seeking changes in the terms and conditions of marriage under the Islamic law.Our school of thought does not accept talaq just like that. We need evidence of talaq. Just by uttering talaq three times, it cannot be granted, Shia cleric Maulana Yasub Abba told ANI.Resonating similar sentiments, Maulana Sadiq, All-India Muslim Personal Law Board vice-president said, There are many sects in the Muslim religion. Even if husband says talaq three lakh times, it wont be valid. Until both man and woman call for a divorce, action shouldnt be taken.He asserted that the Muslim religion teaches that nothing can be without justice and reasoning.The AIMPLB had mooted a similar model nikahnama in 2003 laying down specific guidelines and conditions on which a marriage can be annulled by both husband and wife and the prescribed format has been prevalent among a large section of Sunni Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.On September 2, the AIMPLB had told the Supreme Court, which is hearing a PIL by a Muslim woman against the practice of triple talaq, that the scrapping of instantaneous talaq will increase the possibility of husbands killing their estranged wives. It also defended the practice of polygamy.
John C Bersia By

One of my enduring frustrations about the American presidential-campaign process is the absence of substantive discussions about U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. This problem is notably evident in the presidential debates, which are in progress. Viewers may hear the candidates occasionally mention a security matter, such as political violence, or an issue of broader concern, for example, climate change. Unfortunately, the candidates attention is typically fleeting and superficial.

Considering that the Republican contender  Donald Trump  is a global businessman, and the Democratic contender  Hillary Clinton  was formerly a U.S. Secretary of State  we should be hearing much more about world affairs and their implications for the United States.For example, I would like to know how the candidates envision potential global developments during the next half-decade, along with the role the United States should play. What are the regions, issues, challenges and opportunities that deserve high priority? How do rising and falling powers affect the discussion?

More specifically, which countries should Washington embrace or expand relations with to advance mutual or collective agendas, those that might serve in so-called linchpin relationships? Japan has long acted in that capacity in East Asia. What about South Asia? In my opinion, we need to expand and amplify the conversation about a select group of nations, and I would place special emphasis on India. New Delhi is ideal for the U.S. linchpin relationship in South Asia,as well as for one of Americas signature partnerships globally. India is truly a natural ally for the United States, a point former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made at the turn of the century, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed before a joint session of the U.S. Congress earlier this year.

Before we further reflect on U.S.-India relations, it is instructive to examine why Americans pay short shrift to issues beyond the edges of their coastal waters. For insights on this topic, I often turn to U.S. presidential-studies scholar Stephen Wayne of Georgetown University. The author of The Road to the White House, which has been published to coincide with every U.S. presidential campaign for the past four decades, Wayne says the contest primarily focuses on candidates personalities and the securing of partisan support during much of the campaign. As the election approaches, though, presidential qualities  ranging from the generic, such as strength, leadership, vision and energy, to unique capabilities  take on greater importance. So do policy-oriented discussions. Wayne adds that candidates eventually have an obligation to sound more presidential; they ought notshoot from the hip.

He also suggests we are probably not supposed to be satisfied with the presidential debates, which are totally unlike the famed Lincoln-Douglass encounters in 1858. Truth be told, I do not recall an in-depth, informative and satisfying U.S. presidential debate since viewing recordings of the Kennedy-Nixon exchanges in 1960.

That sad state of affairs is partly due to Americans limited interest in what Wayne calls learned policy discussions.Most are also unwilling to devote the time, effort and energy such conversations require, he points out, preferring short, quick summaries on television or social media. Less than 5% of Americans view foreign policy as important.And, yes, too many still cling to a false sense of protection from the world because of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which feeds isolationist sentiments. That display of detachment could easily be perceived as off-putting and disappointing in India and other parts of the world. Plainly, this situation has to change.

Americans should recognize that a critical part of the criteria for judging a presidential candidate is his or her capacity to engage constructively and creatively in international dealings. Such skills are more necessary than ever today, when what is global is local. There is no major issue that fails to touch countries and communities everywhere. It is alsoarguably the most dangerous, complicated and rapidly changing period in human history.Americans simply cannot afford to minimize or turn away from global developments; there is no justification for inattention.

Twenty-first-century realities also underscore the need for friends and allies. Even a superpower like the United States has no hope of operating successfully on its own. Therein lies a major reason for a closer U.S.-India relationship, and fortunately the door is open. Contemplate how much the world has changed in recent decades. Gone are constraints of the Cold War and ideological divides that kept Washington and New Delhi at a distance. In their place, opportunities beckon for the United States and India to join hands in areas where they have a clear, vested interest, including democratic politics and related values, market-based economics and the suppression of security dangers, especially terrorism.

What about Indias status as a rising power, which causes concern in some circles? To put it bluntly, let us not allow ourselves to wander in nonsensical, unhelpful directions. India poses no threat to the United States. Yale University law professor Amy Chua summarized it well in her book, Day of Empire. India does not seem interested in displacing or disrupting U.S. global dominance. On the contrary, as one of the countries in the world most favorably inclined toward the United States . . . India seems far more interested in becoming partners with the United States in the global economic system.

In other words, let India rise, and let America work enthusiastically with it. As for the U.S. presidential candidates, I would welcome their thoughts on world affairs and particularly India in the remaining public presentations and debates before the election. My guess is that readers of this column would heartily concur.

John C Bersia

The author is a Pulitzer winner and co-chair of the India Center, University Central Florida in Orlando

Email: John.Bersia@ucf.edu

One of my enduring frustrations about the American presidential-campaign process is the absence of substantive discussions about U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. This problem is notably evident in the presidential debates, which are in progress. Viewers may hear the candidates occasionally mention a security matter, such as political violence, or an issue of broader concern, for example, climate change. Unfortunately, the candidates attention is typically fleeting and superficial. Considering that the Republican contender  Donald Trump  is a global businessman, and the Democratic contender  Hillary Clinton  was formerly a U.S. Secretary of State  we should be hearing much more about world affairs and their implications for the United States.For example, I would like to know how the candidates envision potential global developments during the next half-decade, along with the role the United States should play. What are the regions, issues, challenges and opportunities that deserve high priority? How do rising and falling powers affect the discussion? More specifically, which countries should Washington embrace or expand relations with to advance mutual or collective agendas, those that might serve in so-called linchpin relationships? Japan has long acted in that capacity in East Asia. What about South Asia? In my opinion, we need to expand and amplify the conversation about a select group of nations, and I would place special emphasis on India. New Delhi is ideal for the U.S. linchpin relationship in South Asia,as well as for one of Americas signature partnerships globally. India is truly a natural ally for the United States, a point former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made at the turn of the century, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed before a joint session of the U.S. Congress earlier this year. Before we further reflect on U.S.-India relations, it is instructive to examine why Americans pay short shrift to issues beyond the edges of their coastal waters. For insights on this topic, I often turn to U.S. presidential-studies scholar Stephen Wayne of Georgetown University. The author of The Road to the White House, which has been published to coincide with every U.S. presidential campaign for the past four decades, Wayne says the contest primarily focuses on candidates personalities and the securing of partisan support during much of the campaign. As the election approaches, though, presidential qualities  ranging from the generic, such as strength, leadership, vision and energy, to unique capabilities  take on greater importance. So do policy-oriented discussions. Wayne adds that candidates eventually have an obligation to sound more presidential; they ought notshoot from the hip. He also suggests we are probably not supposed to be satisfied with the presidential debates, which are totally unlike the famed Lincoln-Douglass encounters in 1858. Truth be told, I do not recall an in-depth, informative and satisfying U.S. presidential debate since viewing recordings of the Kennedy-Nixon exchanges in 1960. That sad state of affairs is partly due to Americans limited interest in what Wayne calls learned policy discussions.Most are also unwilling to devote the time, effort and energy such conversations require, he points out, preferring short, quick summaries on television or social media. Less than 5% of Americans view foreign policy as important.And, yes, too many still cling to a false sense of protection from the world because of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which feeds isolationist sentiments. That display of detachment could easily be perceived as off-putting and disappointing in India and other parts of the world. Plainly, this situation has to change. Americans should recognize that a critical part of the criteria for judging a presidential candidate is his or her capacity to engage constructively and creatively in international dealings. Such skills are more necessary than ever today, when what is global is local. There is no major issue that fails to touch countries and communities everywhere. It is alsoarguably the most dangerous, complicated and rapidly changing period in human history.Americans simply cannot afford to minimize or turn away from global developments; there is no justification for inattention. Twenty-first-century realities also underscore the need for friends and allies. Even a superpower like the United States has no hope of operating successfully on its own. Therein lies a major reason for a closer U.S.-India relationship, and fortunately the door is open. Contemplate how much the world has changed in recent decades. Gone are constraints of the Cold War and ideological divides that kept Washington and New Delhi at a distance. In their place, opportunities beckon for the United States and India to join hands in areas where they have a clear, vested interest, including democratic politics and related values, market-based economics and the suppression of security dangers, especially terrorism. What about Indias status as a rising power, which causes concern in some circles? To put it bluntly, let us not allow ourselves to wander in nonsensical, unhelpful directions. India poses no threat to the United States. Yale University law professor Amy Chua summarized it well in her book, Day of Empire. India does not seem interested in displacing or disrupting U.S. global dominance. On the contrary, as one of the countries in the world most favorably inclined toward the United States . . . India seems far more interested in becoming partners with the United States in the global economic system. In other words, let India rise, and let America work enthusiastically with it. As for the U.S. presidential candidates, I would welcome their thoughts on world affairs and particularly India in the remaining public presentations and debates before the election. My guess is that readers of this column would heartily concur. John C Bersia The author is a Pulitzer winner and co-chair of the India Center, University Central Florida in Orlando Email: John.Bersia@ucf.edu
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the posting of Industries Minister E P Jayarajans nephew the managing director of a state-run PSU courting controversy, the government hurriedly cancelled the appointment. The appointment of P K Sudheer, son of CPM MP P K Sreemathy and nephew of E P Jayarajan, as the managing director of Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE) had kicked up a row in the state.

On Thursday morning E P Jayarajan justified the appointment in Palakkad, saying his relatives worked in several positions. Jayarajan added that till now he had not received any complaints on the appointment. If anything was received it would be looked into.

Later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Kozhikode that he was not aware of the appointment of P K Sudheer as KSIE MD. He added that usually qualified people were appointed to such posts.

Later in the evening, the office of the industries minister informed that the appointment had been cancelled. P K Sudheer, who was currently CEO with another organisation, had applied for the post, and based on his qualifications he was appointed. However he submitted a letter to the ministers private secretary seeking more time to join, which was turned down. And orders were issued to cancel the appointment on October 3, said the official communique.

IS link

According to NIA officials, they received information about Subahani while interrogating the six suspected IS operatives arrested from Kannur and Kasargod recently. Subahanis handlers is Syria had been using him to form IS modules by motivating youngsters and arranging explosives, arms and ammunition for terrorist activities. We carried out a search at the residence of the accused on Monday. During interrogation, his connection with the IS was revealed. He is the second IS man arrested who had returned to India from Syria/Iraq after fighting for the IS in those countries. The arrest of Subahani is very crucial in unfolding the IS operations in South India. He can lead us to IS operatives who are currently abroad and handling operations through recruits here, said NIA officials.

Indoctrination

NIA officials said Subahani was lured by the online videos and literature of the IS. He contacted the IS leaders through Facebook and Twitter in 2014. His family members, hailing from Tamil Nadu, are settled in Thodupuzha and doing textile business here. Subahani, a BCom dropout, decided to join IS to lead a life according to the Sharia law. As directed by his handlers, he secured a visiting visa to Turkey, and informed his parents and wife that he was going for Umrah pilgrimage.

The Journey: Chennai-Dubai-turkey

On April 8, 2015, he left for Turkey from Chennai via Dubai. After reaching Turkey, Subahani was joined by IS recruits from Pakistan and Afghanistan. They were later taken to Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq captured by the IS, where he was given accommodation and other facilities. Soon after reaching Mosul, he underwent training for two months to handle Multiple Grenade Launcher, Multi-Barrel Heavy Machine Gun and AK-47 for two months.

Fighting on front line

Later, he was sent to the front line to fight Kurd forces and Iraqi military who attempted to recapture Mosul. He was paid US$60 as monthly wage for his services. He fought for the IS for around two weeks, but decided to retract after witnessing the death of his two batch-mates in the battle in the outskirts of Mosul in June 2016.

Retraction & Torture

However, when Subahani informed his retraction plans to his handlers, they put him in jail and subjected to torture. Later, he was produced before the IS judge in Mosul, who ordered further imprisonment. Then, he was taken to Raqqa in Syria, the de facto capital of IS, and he remained in jail for 55 days in Syria and Iraq. However, the IS leaders agreed to to free him on condition that he would work as a lone wolf helping them to set up IS modules in India.

Homecoming

After he was set free, Subahani reached Turkey and approached the Indian embassy to facilitate his return to India. He told them that he had lost his passport while touring the holy places. On September 22, 2015, he reached Mumbai with money sent by family members and emergency certificate issued by Indian Consulate.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the posting of Industries Minister E P Jayarajans nephew the managing director of a state-run PSU courting controversy, the government hurriedly cancelled the appointment. The appointment of P K Sudheer, son of CPM MP P K Sreemathy and nephew of E P Jayarajan, as the managing director of Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE) had kicked up a row in the state. On Thursday morning E P Jayarajan justified the appointment in Palakkad, saying his relatives worked in several positions. Jayarajan added that till now he had not received any complaints on the appointment. If anything was received it would be looked into. Later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Kozhikode that he was not aware of the appointment of P K Sudheer as KSIE MD. He added that usually qualified people were appointed to such posts. Later in the evening, the office of the industries minister informed that the appointment had been cancelled. P K Sudheer, who was currently CEO with another organisation, had applied for the post, and based on his qualifications he was appointed. However he submitted a letter to the ministers private secretary seeking more time to join, which was turned down. And orders were issued to cancel the appointment on October 3, said the official communique. IS link According to NIA officials, they received information about Subahani while interrogating the six suspected IS operatives arrested from Kannur and Kasargod recently. Subahanis handlers is Syria had been using him to form IS modules by motivating youngsters and arranging explosives, arms and ammunition for terrorist activities. We carried out a search at the residence of the accused on Monday. During interrogation, his connection with the IS was revealed. He is the second IS man arrested who had returned to India from Syria/Iraq after fighting for the IS in those countries. The arrest of Subahani is very crucial in unfolding the IS operations in South India. He can lead us to IS operatives who are currently abroad and handling operations through recruits here, said NIA officials. Indoctrination NIA officials said Subahani was lured by the online videos and literature of the IS. He contacted the IS leaders through Facebook and Twitter in 2014. His family members, hailing from Tamil Nadu, are settled in Thodupuzha and doing textile business here. Subahani, a BCom dropout, decided to join IS to lead a life according to the Sharia law. As directed by his handlers, he secured a visiting visa to Turkey, and informed his parents and wife that he was going for Umrah pilgrimage. The Journey: Chennai-Dubai-turkey On April 8, 2015, he left for Turkey from Chennai via Dubai. After reaching Turkey, Subahani was joined by IS recruits from Pakistan and Afghanistan. They were later taken to Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq captured by the IS, where he was given accommodation and other facilities. Soon after reaching Mosul, he underwent training for two months to handle Multiple Grenade Launcher, Multi-Barrel Heavy Machine Gun and AK-47 for two months. Fighting on front line Later, he was sent to the front line to fight Kurd forces and Iraqi military who attempted to recapture Mosul. He was paid US$60 as monthly wage for his services. He fought for the IS for around two weeks, but decided to retract after witnessing the death of his two batch-mates in the battle in the outskirts of Mosul in June 2016. Retraction & Torture However, when Subahani informed his retraction plans to his handlers, they put him in jail and subjected to torture. Later, he was produced before the IS judge in Mosul, who ordered further imprisonment. Then, he was taken to Raqqa in Syria, the de facto capital of IS, and he remained in jail for 55 days in Syria and Iraq. However, the IS leaders agreed to to free him on condition that he would work as a lone wolf helping them to set up IS modules in India. Homecoming After he was set free, Subahani reached Turkey and approached the Indian embassy to facilitate his return to India. He told them that he had lost his passport while touring the holy places. On September 22, 2015, he reached Mumbai with money sent by family members and emergency certificate issued by Indian Consulate.
Karal Marx L By

Express News Service

Facing threat of eviction from a poramboke land that has been their home for more than a century, around 25 Irula families have requested the government to intervene and provide them a suitable place for relocation. They also warned an indefinite hunger strike, if no action was taken within a month.

Around 60 kilometres from Villupuram headquarters, in Veeranamur village, located south of Gingee Taluk, is a settlement of Irulas, housing more than 100 members on a poramboke land. They have been been living here for more than 100 years, since the time of their grandparents.

Driven by poverty, they were lured by middlemen and were engaged in bonded labour in brick kilns, blue metal crushing yard and rice mills in Kancheepuram, Thiruvalluvar, Poonnamalle and Gingee for several decades, till their rescue in 2009 by police and revenue officials, based on information provided by International Justice Mission (IJM), an NGO that works for rehabilitation of bonded labourers.

They then returned to their village and began working as daily wage labourers. In July this year, Public Works Department (PWD) officials came to their settlement with earthmovers and asked them to evict immediately, claiming that they have encroached water catchment area, said Chinnasamy (35), a resident.

The officials left with a warning to vacate the land within three months. Though the members were issued release certificates after they were rescued, the families were yet to get community certificates and land pattas. With no place to go, the members have threatened to resort to indefinite hunger strike in front of the Collectorate. Recalling their harrowing experience as bonded labourers, Chinnasamy (35), who had been working in a brick kiln chamber in Poonnamalle since the age of 10, said,

It all started during my grandfathers time. A huge drought had hit our village and we were struggling to even have one square meal a day. Some persons from our community, working in Chennai, lured us, including my grandfather, promising work with a decent salary and food, and sold us to brick kiln and rice mills owners. However, we received meagre wages and no food.

We took Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 as loan from our owners, whenever we needed to visit our village. Unable to repay debts with the meagre salary, we had to continue working till the intervention of IJM in 2009, he added. Kathavarayan (61), another Irula, said, After we were rescued, the officials gave us free farming tools. We returned to our village and started working as farm hands. We were living peacefully until the PWD officials threatened to evict us.

Professor Prabha Kalvimani, founder and organizer Pazhangudi Irular Pathukappu Sangam (PIPS), said, Though members belonging to various communities are hired as daily wage workers in brick kilns and rice mills, its only the Irulas who face exploitation and get treated as bonded labourers, as the owners are well aware that they are a marginalised section,he added.

The Pazhangudi Irular Pathukappu Sangam found that about 152 members belonging to Irula community from Gingee, Tindivanam and Marakkanam did not have land patta. The NGO sent a petition to various authorities, requesting land pattas.

Though PIPS received an acknowledgment, which stated that the petition had been forwarded to Villupuram SC/ST Welfare Department, no further action was taken. Special tahsildar of Tindivanam/Gingee Pushpavathi said she received the notification from the office of Chief Secretary of Tribal Welfare department, asking to furnish the details of Irula community members of Tindivanam, Marakkanam and Gingee, only last week. The report will be forwarded to the higher-ups at the earliest.

Facing threat of eviction from a poramboke land that has been their home for more than a century, around 25 Irula families have requested the government to intervene and provide them a suitable place for relocation. They also warned an indefinite hunger strike, if no action was taken within a month. Around 60 kilometres from Villupuram headquarters, in Veeranamur village, located south of Gingee Taluk, is a settlement of Irulas, housing more than 100 members on a poramboke land. They have been been living here for more than 100 years, since the time of their grandparents. Driven by poverty, they were lured by middlemen and were engaged in bonded labour in brick kilns, blue metal crushing yard and rice mills in Kancheepuram, Thiruvalluvar, Poonnamalle and Gingee for several decades, till their rescue in 2009 by police and revenue officials, based on information provided by International Justice Mission (IJM), an NGO that works for rehabilitation of bonded labourers. They then returned to their village and began working as daily wage labourers. In July this year, Public Works Department (PWD) officials came to their settlement with earthmovers and asked them to evict immediately, claiming that they have encroached water catchment area, said Chinnasamy (35), a resident. The officials left with a warning to vacate the land within three months. Though the members were issued release certificates after they were rescued, the families were yet to get community certificates and land pattas. With no place to go, the members have threatened to resort to indefinite hunger strike in front of the Collectorate. Recalling their harrowing experience as bonded labourers, Chinnasamy (35), who had been working in a brick kiln chamber in Poonnamalle since the age of 10, said, It all started during my grandfathers time. A huge drought had hit our village and we were struggling to even have one square meal a day. Some persons from our community, working in Chennai, lured us, including my grandfather, promising work with a decent salary and food, and sold us to brick kiln and rice mills owners. However, we received meagre wages and no food. We took Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 as loan from our owners, whenever we needed to visit our village. Unable to repay debts with the meagre salary, we had to continue working till the intervention of IJM in 2009, he added. Kathavarayan (61), another Irula, said, After we were rescued, the officials gave us free farming tools. We returned to our village and started working as farm hands. We were living peacefully until the PWD officials threatened to evict us. Professor Prabha Kalvimani, founder and organizer Pazhangudi Irular Pathukappu Sangam (PIPS), said, Though members belonging to various communities are hired as daily wage workers in brick kilns and rice mills, its only the Irulas who face exploitation and get treated as bonded labourers, as the owners are well aware that they are a marginalised section,he added. The Pazhangudi Irular Pathukappu Sangam found that about 152 members belonging to Irula community from Gingee, Tindivanam and Marakkanam did not have land patta. The NGO sent a petition to various authorities, requesting land pattas. Though PIPS received an acknowledgment, which stated that the petition had been forwarded to Villupuram SC/ST Welfare Department, no further action was taken. Special tahsildar of Tindivanam/Gingee Pushpavathi said she received the notification from the office of Chief Secretary of Tribal Welfare department, asking to furnish the details of Irula community members of Tindivanam, Marakkanam and Gingee, only last week. The report will be forwarded to the higher-ups at the earliest.
Moroccans went to the polls on Friday to elect a new parliament, five years after an Islamist-led government took office following Arab Spring-inspired protests that toppled regimes across the region.

The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) aims to fight off a liberal opposition which says it wants to roll back the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society.

But the real power will remain in the hands of King Mohammed VI, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled the North African country for 350 years.

Early turnout was low at polling stations in the capital visited by AFP but many people said they would wait until after the main weekly Muslim prayers at midday to go and cast their vote.

Polls were due to close at 1800 GMT with first results expected on Friday evening.

The PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy.

A new constitution transferred some of the king's powers to parliament, at a time when autocratic regimes were falling in other North African states.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD heads a coalition including communists, liberals and conservatives.

The party says a second term would allow it to press ahead with its economic and social reforms.

While in government, it passed a controversial reform of the retirement system and followed a relatively liberal economic policy.

Its task has been complicated by the unstable world economy and a drought this year that has hit Morocco's vital agricultural sector and sent growth plummeting.

It has also been weakened by rising unemployment and what critics say is a failure to make good on promises in 2011 to tackle corruption.

The party has also faced a string of scandals within its ranks including a drugs bust, a land-grab deal and the suspension of two vice presidents found in a "sexual position" on a beach.

The PJD is, however, credited with lowering the budget deficit, and is popular among the urban middle classes which have largely abandoned the secular left.

It is weaker in rural areas, where a drought has ravaged the country's all-important agriculture sector and hit farmers' incomes.

The liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), formed in 2008 by a close adviser to the king, hopes to take advantage.

Headed by Ilyas El Omari, it has poured enormous resources into a campaign criticising the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledging to roll back the "Islamisation" of society.

The PAM, which wants to legalise cannabis, aims to bring more women into parliament, where they hold just 67 out of 395 seats.

Several parties have fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

Around 16 million Moroccans are eligible to vote, with 30 parties competing for seats. Turnout will be a key factor, after it reached only 45 percent in the November 2011 polls.

A list system and an electoral threshold that has been halved from six to three percent could hand small parties a key role in forming the next government.

The PJD and the PAM have ruled out joining forces in a coalition.

Under the 2011 constitution, the king appoints a prime minister from the biggest party in parliament once the election results have been announced.

He remains the decision-maker on long-term and strategic issues including foreign policy and major infrastructure projects, said Riccardo Fabiani, a North Africa analyst.

"Parliament and government are free to choose the policies as long as they are compatible with the monarchy's preferred approach," he wrote in an article for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A quartet from the city was questioned by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the IS-inspired module the agency claimed to have busted in Kerala. However, an NIA team led by Deputy SP Subash Chand did not make any comment to the media on the questioning of the quartet, in the age group of 25-33 years. On Monday, the first day of inquiry, three men were asked to come to the TNHB Guest House and later the inquiry was shifted to a hotel in Periamet. Sources said, on Thursday too the trio was further questioned. Earlier on Tuesday, one more was taken for questioning.

Sathik Batcha Thuraa Bhi

Meanwhile, Sathik Batcha Thuraa Bhi (33), one among those questioned, told reporters that the other three were his students and alleged that the officials were putting pressure on them to give statements linking him to the IS. But we have no connection with any armed struggles, he told reporters. He identified himself as a teacher of martial arts like Karate besides teaching Islamic studies and language. Though questioned by the NIA as well as the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Police several times since 2011, he claimed he was acquitted by the court. Recently, he was arrested by the police in Puducherry, where he was lodged in prison for four months and later released on conditional bail.

According to him, the three picked up by the NIA were his students five years ago and were engaged in import and export business. He said, in 2015, two of them were detained in Turkey during a business trip on the suspicion of having connections with the IS. They were rescued on producing proper travel documents.

CHENNAI: A quartet from the city was questioned by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the IS-inspired module the agency claimed to have busted in Kerala. However, an NIA team led by Deputy SP Subash Chand did not make any comment to the media on the questioning of the quartet, in the age group of 25-33 years. On Monday, the first day of inquiry, three men were asked to come to the TNHB Guest House and later the inquiry was shifted to a hotel in Periamet. Sources said, on Thursday too the trio was further questioned. Earlier on Tuesday, one more was taken for questioning. Sathik Batcha Thuraa BhiMeanwhile, Sathik Batcha Thuraa Bhi (33), one among those questioned, told reporters that the other three were his students and alleged that the officials were putting pressure on them to give statements linking him to the IS. But we have no connection with any armed struggles, he told reporters. He identified himself as a teacher of martial arts like Karate besides teaching Islamic studies and language. Though questioned by the NIA as well as the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Police several times since 2011, he claimed he was acquitted by the court. Recently, he was arrested by the police in Puducherry, where he was lodged in prison for four months and later released on conditional bail. According to him, the three picked up by the NIA were his students five years ago and were engaged in import and export business. He said, in 2015, two of them were detained in Turkey during a business trip on the suspicion of having connections with the IS. They were rescued on producing proper travel documents.
By Associated Press

ISTANBUL: A bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded Thursday near a police station in Istanbul, wounding at least 10 people, a senior official said.

Vasip Sahin, the governor for Istanbul, told reporters at the scene in the Yenibosna district that none of the injured was in serious condition, retracting an earlier statement that one person was seriously hurt.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which could be heard from the city's nearby Ataturk Airport. Sahin said the investigation was ongoing and of the victims Thursday were civilians.

The private Dogan news agency said police were searching for a person spotted leaving the scene carrying a motorcycle helmet.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks in the past year that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on Kurdish rebels or Islamic State group militants.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has been waging a three-decade long insurgency, has been targeting police and military in its campaign for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey .

A fragile 2 -year cease-fire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed last summer. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the clashes.

The Dogan news agency said several parked cars and nearby windows were damaged in the blast.

ISTANBUL: A bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded Thursday near a police station in Istanbul, wounding at least 10 people, a senior official said. Vasip Sahin, the governor for Istanbul, told reporters at the scene in the Yenibosna district that none of the injured was in serious condition, retracting an earlier statement that one person was seriously hurt. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which could be heard from the city's nearby Ataturk Airport. Sahin said the investigation was ongoing and of the victims Thursday were civilians. The private Dogan news agency said police were searching for a person spotted leaving the scene carrying a motorcycle helmet. Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks in the past year that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on Kurdish rebels or Islamic State group militants. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has been waging a three-decade long insurgency, has been targeting police and military in its campaign for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey. A fragile 2 -year cease-fire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed last summer. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the clashes. The Dogan news agency said several parked cars and nearby windows were damaged in the blast.
P K Balachandran By

Express News Service

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka faces an acute shortage of manpower in many areas, be it in agriculture, industry or construction. Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as sector-specific guilds have been making representations to the government to import labor from labor-surplus countries like India and Bangladesh on a regulated and systematic basis to fill the labor gap which is expected to widen with post-war economic growth.

While much of the problem of labor shortage in Sri Lanka is due to the migration of Sri Lankan labor, both skilled and unskilled, to the Middle East, Korea and Italy, the more worrying aspects are the aversion for repetitive and boring mechanical jobs and the lack of training for jobs needing higher skills.

It is typically said that the a young Sri Lankan working class man would rather buy a three wheeler on lease and run it for hire, than become a worker in the shop floor of a factory or a construction site even if the wages are higher. The latter jobs are seen as being lowly and fit only for coolies. Traditionally coolies were recruited from labor-surplus India but now this cannot be done due to the fear of inundation by migrant Indian labor, a political bugbear, if not a commercial one.

The alternative are either to recruit from other labor-surplus counties like Bangladesh or Nepal or use robots and other machinery to do the boring repetitive jobs. But the traditional robot is a huge machine which has to be kept in a cage because it can be dangerous to be in close proximity to it.

But now relief has come in the form of the Collaborative Robot (or co-bot) invited by Dr.Esben Ostergaard of Denmark.

Collaborative Robots come in various sizes and with various capabilities. They are user-friendly, easy to set up and operate, and being light-weight, can be shifted around by a single worker. They can be programmed to perform simple and repetitive functions by the worker himself through a simple procedure which can be learned in an hour. Co-bots are safe as if a worker touches it even accidentally while it is working, it will just stop.

Demonstrating the use of a co-bot in Colombo this week, Pradeep David , General Manager for India of the Danish company Universal Robots, said that studies have shown that shop floor productivity can be increased by 85 percent by using co-bots. A start-up using co-bots can break even in 195 days in the West and two years in India, he said.

Asked if the use of co-bots would not lead to retrenchment and unemployment, David said that experience across the world, including labor-surplus India, has shown that with the increase in productivity, production, competitiveness, exports and earnings brought about by the use of co-bots, firms have been able to expand, diversify and, employ more labor.

Co-bots do very delicate and precise but repetitive jobs, which a human being may find exhausting and boring. In the case of co-bots, unlike in the case of humans, there is nothing like fatigue affecting production or production quality.

To illustrate this, David cited the case of a small cataract lens manufacturing company in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, which improved the quality of the lenses, and increased production, sales and manufacturing capacity by switching to co-bots. It made a larger number of lenses with amazing accuracy. The co-bot using factory became a bigger employer too.

The market for co-bots has been expanding in the world and India.BMW, Volkswagen, Siemens, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, John Deere, Hindustan Lever, Bajaj Auto, Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur are users of Universal Robots co-bots, David said.

Universal Robots co-bots have about 200 clients in India and is looking to have about five in Sri Lankain the near future, David said. Some major garment manufactures cum exporters who use conventional robots are now looking for the smaller, more versatile, easy to operate ,worker friendly and mobile, co-bot, David said.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka faces an acute shortage of manpower in many areas, be it in agriculture, industry or construction. Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as sector-specific guilds have been making representations to the government to import labor from labor-surplus countries like India and Bangladesh on a regulated and systematic basis to fill the labor gap which is expected to widen with post-war economic growth. While much of the problem of labor shortage in Sri Lanka is due to the migration of Sri Lankan labor, both skilled and unskilled, to the Middle East, Korea and Italy, the more worrying aspects are the aversion for repetitive and boring mechanical jobs and the lack of training for jobs needing higher skills. It is typically said that the a young Sri Lankan working class man would rather buy a three wheeler on lease and run it for hire, than become a worker in the shop floor of a factory or a construction site even if the wages are higher. The latter jobs are seen as being lowly and fit only for coolies. Traditionally coolies were recruited from labor-surplus India but now this cannot be done due to the fear of inundation by migrant Indian labor, a political bugbear, if not a commercial one. The alternative are either to recruit from other labor-surplus counties like Bangladesh or Nepal or use robots and other machinery to do the boring repetitive jobs. But the traditional robot is a huge machine which has to be kept in a cage because it can be dangerous to be in close proximity to it. But now relief has come in the form of the Collaborative Robot (or co-bot) invited by Dr.Esben Ostergaard of Denmark. Collaborative Robots come in various sizes and with various capabilities. They are user-friendly, easy to set up and operate, and being light-weight, can be shifted around by a single worker. They can be programmed to perform simple and repetitive functions by the worker himself through a simple procedure which can be learned in an hour. Co-bots are safe as if a worker touches it even accidentally while it is working, it will just stop. Demonstrating the use of a co-bot in Colombo this week, Pradeep David , General Manager for India of the Danish company Universal Robots, said that studies have shown that shop floor productivity can be increased by 85 percent by using co-bots. A start-up using co-bots can break even in 195 days in the West and two years in India, he said. Asked if the use of co-bots would not lead to retrenchment and unemployment, David said that experience across the world, including labor-surplus India, has shown that with the increase in productivity, production, competitiveness, exports and earnings brought about by the use of co-bots, firms have been able to expand, diversify and, employ more labor. Co-bots do very delicate and precise but repetitive jobs, which a human being may find exhausting and boring. In the case of co-bots, unlike in the case of humans, there is nothing like fatigue affecting production or production quality. To illustrate this, David cited the case of a small cataract lens manufacturing company in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, which improved the quality of the lenses, and increased production, sales and manufacturing capacity by switching to co-bots. It made a larger number of lenses with amazing accuracy. The co-bot using factory became a bigger employer too. The market for co-bots has been expanding in the world and India.BMW, Volkswagen, Siemens, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, John Deere, Hindustan Lever, Bajaj Auto, Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur are users of Universal Robots co-bots, David said. Universal Robots co-bots have about 200 clients in India and is looking to have about five in Sri Lankain the near future, David said. Some major garment manufactures cum exporters who use conventional robots are now looking for the smaller, more versatile, easy to operate ,worker friendly and mobile, co-bot, David said.
By PTI

LONDON: Adolf Hitler was a gibbering super-junkie whose veins were all but destroyed by thousands of opiate injections and the Nazi dictators heavy reliance on drugs was behind his increasingly erratic decision-making in later stages of World War II, a new book has claimed. According to Norman Ohler, an award-winning German author, the Fuhrer became addicted to a heroin-like substance called Eukodel which was prescribed following a nervous breakdown in 1944.

Ohlers book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, which British historians have praised as a remarkable work of research, argues that the heroinlike opiate was largely to blame for Hitlers erratic and paranoid behaviour towards the end of his life, The Telegraph reported. It brings to light extracts from the journal of Dr Theo Morell, Hitlers personal physician, who once complained he could no longer inject the drug as nearly all of his patients veins had collapsed.

I cancelled injections today, to give the previous puncture holes a chance to heal, one entry reads. Left inside elbow good, right still has red dots (but not pustules), where injections were given, it says. Ohler said Hitler began the drugs regime after narrowly surviving the 1944 assassination attempt known as Operation Valkyrie, in which the German resistance planted a bomb in a briefcase under his desk.

The explosion shattered both of Hitlers eardrums, riddled his body with splinters from a wooden table that shielded him from the blast and turned him into a nervous wreck. Im afraid that from 1944 onwards, Hitler did not spend a single day sober, Ohler was quoted as saying. I n an extract from the book itself, Ohler writes: Germany, land of drugs had been looking for a super- junkie. And it had found him, in Adolf Hitler.

LONDON: Adolf Hitler was a gibbering super-junkie whose veins were all but destroyed by thousands of opiate injections and the Nazi dictators heavy reliance on drugs was behind his increasingly erratic decision-making in later stages of World War II, a new book has claimed. According to Norman Ohler, an award-winning German author, the Fuhrer became addicted to a heroin-like substance called Eukodel which was prescribed following a nervous breakdown in 1944. Ohlers book Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, which British historians have praised as a remarkable work of research, argues that the heroinlike opiate was largely to blame for Hitlers erratic and paranoid behaviour towards the end of his life, The Telegraph reported. It brings to light extracts from the journal of Dr Theo Morell, Hitlers personal physician, who once complained he could no longer inject the drug as nearly all of his patients veins had collapsed. I cancelled injections today, to give the previous puncture holes a chance to heal, one entry reads. Left inside elbow good, right still has red dots (but not pustules), where injections were given, it says. Ohler said Hitler began the drugs regime after narrowly surviving the 1944 assassination attempt known as Operation Valkyrie, in which the German resistance planted a bomb in a briefcase under his desk. The explosion shattered both of Hitlers eardrums, riddled his body with splinters from a wooden table that shielded him from the blast and turned him into a nervous wreck. Im afraid that from 1944 onwards, Hitler did not spend a single day sober, Ohler was quoted as saying. I n an extract from the book itself, Ohler writes: Germany, land of drugs had been looking for a super- junkie. And it had found him, in Adolf Hitler.
By The Daily Telegraph

Pakistan has passed a new law to close a loophole that allowed the perpetrators of so-called "honour killings" to walk free.

Until now, Pakistani law has allowed the families of victims to waive punishment, which include the death sentence, by "forgiving" the murderer.

But because more than 80 per cent of honour killings in Pakistan are carried out by a relation, in most cases it meant the family was effectively forgiving itself. Under the bill voted through in a joint session of parliament yesterday (Thursday), life sentences will now be mandatory for all those convicted of honour killings. In practice, this means serving a minimum of 12-and-a-half years in jail.

Victims' families who wish to forgive killers will only be able to downgrade death sentences to life imprisonment under the new rule.

Honour killings, a daily occurrence in Pakistan, are usually motivated by a victim's choice of partner for marriage, a love affair, or when a woman is raped and consequently considered a disgrace to the family. The vast majority of victims are female. Between 500 and 1,000 cases are reported every year but activists say the true number of such crimes is closer to 12,000.

International focus was drawn to the issue of honour killings in Pakistan by the story of Saba Qaiser, a rare survivor, which was told in last year's Oscar-winning film A Girl in the River. Nawaz Sharif, the country's prime minister, watched a screening of the documentary at his house and promised to introduce new legislation, proclaiming "there is no honour in honour killing".

In July, the issue dominated national debate once more after Qandeel Baloch, a social media star, was choked to death in her sleep by her brother, who said he was "not ashamed" of his actions because her showbusiness career was "intolerable". Pakistani police are currently investigating the suspected honour killing of Bradford-born Samia Shahid during a visit to the country.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed A Girl in the River, wrote on Twitter last night: "Thank you to PM Nawaz Sharif for keeping his promise".

The "forgiveness" loophole was created when General Zia ul-Haq, the military dictator, "Islamised" Pakistani law in the 1970s, introducing the twin Islamic concepts of Qisas (eye-for-an-eye) and Diyat (compensation).

A bill was also passed yesterday toughening minimum sentencing on rape and making DNA testing of both the victim and accused mandatory in a bid to raise near-zero conviction rates.



Pakistan has passed a new law to close a loophole that allowed the perpetrators of so-called "honour killings" to walk free. Until now, Pakistani law has allowed the families of victims to waive punishment, which include the death sentence, by "forgiving" the murderer. But because more than 80 per cent of honour killings in Pakistan are carried out by a relation, in most cases it meant the family was effectively forgiving itself. Under the bill voted through in a joint session of parliament yesterday (Thursday), life sentences will now be mandatory for all those convicted of honour killings. In practice, this means serving a minimum of 12-and-a-half years in jail. Victims' families who wish to forgive killers will only be able to downgrade death sentences to life imprisonment under the new rule. Honour killings, a daily occurrence in Pakistan, are usually motivated by a victim's choice of partner for marriage, a love affair, or when a woman is raped and consequently considered a disgrace to the family. The vast majority of victims are female. Between 500 and 1,000 cases are reported every year but activists say the true number of such crimes is closer to 12,000. International focus was drawn to the issue of honour killings in Pakistan by the story of Saba Qaiser, a rare survivor, which was told in last year's Oscar-winning film A Girl in the River. Nawaz Sharif, the country's prime minister, watched a screening of the documentary at his house and promised to introduce new legislation, proclaiming "there is no honour in honour killing". In July, the issue dominated national debate once more after Qandeel Baloch, a social media star, was choked to death in her sleep by her brother, who said he was "not ashamed" of his actions because her showbusiness career was "intolerable". Pakistani police are currently investigating the suspected honour killing of Bradford-born Samia Shahid during a visit to the country. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed A Girl in the River, wrote on Twitter last night: "Thank you to PM Nawaz Sharif for keeping his promise". The "forgiveness" loophole was created when General Zia ul-Haq, the military dictator, "Islamised" Pakistani law in the 1970s, introducing the twin Islamic concepts of Qisas (eye-for-an-eye) and Diyat (compensation). A bill was also passed yesterday toughening minimum sentencing on rape and making DNA testing of both the victim and accused mandatory in a bid to raise near-zero conviction rates.
Ritu Sharma By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Contending Pakistan has become isolated because of its mentality as it closed borders with two of its neighbors, India on Friday said work is on to connect Afghanistan with India through Chahbahar Port and an air corridor.



The scrapping of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit will adversely affect connectivity in South Asia. But India is continuing cooperation on connectivity and economic issues all the SAARC members who are also part of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) that will be invited to the BRICS (Bangladesh Russia India China South Africa) Summit as part of the outreach program.



Asked what steps are being taken that Afghanistan is not left out of the economic connectivity in the region, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs Amar Sinha said: Chahbahar (port in Iran) is our way forward. President Ashraf Ghani talked about the air corridor we wish to establish through Kabul and Qandahar.



The Secretary without naming Pakistan added that in terms of isolation a country that has closed its borders with two neighbors is the one isolated in the region. . in terms of isolation, you have to see who is isolated because ultimately isolation is not just geographic it is also a mentality. If any country decides to shut its only two borders it has with both the neighbors, I think that country is the most isolated, Sinha said. Pakistan has refused to allow passage to Indian rice to land-locked Afghanistan. Recently Pakistan also refused transit to Afghanistans horticulture products.



Besides economic connectivity, the issue of terrorism will be at the forefront of the BRICS Summit on October 16 to be attended by all the Heads of the States. Even though India will not be taking the issue of Chinas blocking Indias attempt to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar blacklisted with President Xi Jinping bilaterally, the supply of arms and ammunition to terrorist will be the focus. "At NSA-level meet (of BRICS countries), we have also actually shifted the goalpost a little by talking about not only sources of finances but also sources from where they (terrorists) get arms and ammunition. These will be reflected in the BRICS discussions," Sinha added.



Strong statements from the member countries can be expected at the end of the summit on ending the differential policy towards good and bad terrorist. He added that "there would be very strong paragraphs (in the BRICS outcome document) on terrorism including how to deal with countries that provide sanctuaries and safe havens and how to cut down the financing.

NEW DELHI: Contending Pakistan has become isolated because of its mentality as it closed borders with two of its neighbors, India on Friday said work is on to connect Afghanistan with India through Chahbahar Port and an air corridor. The scrapping of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit will adversely affect connectivity in South Asia. But India is continuing cooperation on connectivity and economic issues all the SAARC members who are also part of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) that will be invited to the BRICS (Bangladesh Russia India China South Africa) Summit as part of the outreach program. Asked what steps are being taken that Afghanistan is not left out of the economic connectivity in the region, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs Amar Sinha said: Chahbahar (port in Iran) is our way forward. President Ashraf Ghani talked about the air corridor we wish to establish through Kabul and Qandahar. The Secretary without naming Pakistan added that in terms of isolation a country that has closed its borders with two neighbors is the one isolated in the region. . in terms of isolation, you have to see who is isolated because ultimately isolation is not just geographic it is also a mentality. If any country decides to shut its only two borders it has with both the neighbors, I think that country is the most isolated, Sinha said. Pakistan has refused to allow passage to Indian rice to land-locked Afghanistan. Recently Pakistan also refused transit to Afghanistans horticulture products. Besides economic connectivity, the issue of terrorism will be at the forefront of the BRICS Summit on October 16 to be attended by all the Heads of the States. Even though India will not be taking the issue of Chinas blocking Indias attempt to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar blacklisted with President Xi Jinping bilaterally, the supply of arms and ammunition to terrorist will be the focus. "At NSA-level meet (of BRICS countries), we have also actually shifted the goalpost a little by talking about not only sources of finances but also sources from where they (terrorists) get arms and ammunition. These will be reflected in the BRICS discussions," Sinha added. Strong statements from the member countries can be expected at the end of the summit on ending the differential policy towards good and bad terrorist. He added that "there would be very strong paragraphs (in the BRICS outcome document) on terrorism including how to deal with countries that provide sanctuaries and safe havens and how to cut down the financing.
By The Daily Telegraph

The UN's envoy for the Syrian crisis has offered to personally escort hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters out of Aleppo if it would end hostilities.

Staffan de Mistura, the 69-year-old Italian aristocrat, warned that if the fighting continued the city would be completely destroyed by Christmas and hundreds of thousands of refugees would be fleeing its remains.

Speaking in Geneva, he said about 900 members of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-linked group, were still there.

"A thousand of you are deciding on the destiny of 275,000 civilians," he said. "If you did decide to leave with dignity and with your weapons, to Idlib or anywhere you wanted to go, I personally am ready physically to accompany you. I can't guarantee more than my own body."

Mr de Mistura also addressed the Syrian and Russian governments, asking them to agree to an "immediate and total aerial bombardment halt [of Aleppo] if al-Nusra leaves".

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said Russia was interested in Mr de Mistura's proposal and would study it. It was not clear what the Assad regime made of the idea.

There was also no response from al-Nusra itself but analysts, rebel groups and civilians denounced the offer for essentially accepting the regime's premise that it was fighting terrorism.

"No one helped Assad and Russia more than de Mistura," said Abdelkafe al-Hamdo, an English teacher and activist in east Aleppo. "De Mistura is now a partner in killing children, women and all civilians inside Aleppo."

Mr de Mistura made his offer as Syrian regime troops, backed by Iranian, Iraqi and Hizbollah fighters, pressed further into east Aleppo. The regime had earlier warned civilians to flee or meet their "inevitable fate".

In Moscow, the ministry of defence warned that Russian forces could shoot down coalition jets if the US launches airstrikes against Assad. US officials have reportedly discussed using limited airstrikes to force Bashar al-Assad's government to halt its assault on Aleppo and return to the negotiating table after a ceasefire collapsed last month.

US military planners should "carefully consider the possible consequences" of such action, Major General Igor Konashenkov said yesterday.



The UN's envoy for the Syrian crisis has offered to personally escort hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters out of Aleppo if it would end hostilities. Staffan de Mistura, the 69-year-old Italian aristocrat, warned that if the fighting continued the city would be completely destroyed by Christmas and hundreds of thousands of refugees would be fleeing its remains. Speaking in Geneva, he said about 900 members of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-linked group, were still there. "A thousand of you are deciding on the destiny of 275,000 civilians," he said. "If you did decide to leave with dignity and with your weapons, to Idlib or anywhere you wanted to go, I personally am ready physically to accompany you. I can't guarantee more than my own body." Mr de Mistura also addressed the Syrian and Russian governments, asking them to agree to an "immediate and total aerial bombardment halt [of Aleppo] if al-Nusra leaves". Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said Russia was interested in Mr de Mistura's proposal and would study it. It was not clear what the Assad regime made of the idea. There was also no response from al-Nusra itself but analysts, rebel groups and civilians denounced the offer for essentially accepting the regime's premise that it was fighting terrorism. "No one helped Assad and Russia more than de Mistura," said Abdelkafe al-Hamdo, an English teacher and activist in east Aleppo. "De Mistura is now a partner in killing children, women and all civilians inside Aleppo." Mr de Mistura made his offer as Syrian regime troops, backed by Iranian, Iraqi and Hizbollah fighters, pressed further into east Aleppo. The regime had earlier warned civilians to flee or meet their "inevitable fate". In Moscow, the ministry of defence warned that Russian forces could shoot down coalition jets if the US launches airstrikes against Assad. US officials have reportedly discussed using limited airstrikes to force Bashar al-Assad's government to halt its assault on Aleppo and return to the negotiating table after a ceasefire collapsed last month. US military planners should "carefully consider the possible consequences" of such action, Major General Igor Konashenkov said yesterday.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Come January, when Tamils around the world will celebrate Thai Pongal, the whole of Canada will celebrate it as Tamil Heritage Month. Festivities for the inaugural Tamil Heritage Month across Canada will commence in January 2017, which coincides with the Canada 150 celebrations.

The House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament unanimously adopted a motion in this regard earlier this week, much to the delight of the strong Tamil community there. The motion was moved by Canadian politician of Tamil origin, Gary Anandasangaree, MP for Scarborough-Rouge Park constituency, and it was discussed in the House in May and September.

In an indication of the special place that the community has among the people, parliamentarians from all major political parties spoke in favour of the motion, extolling the contributions made by Tamil Canadians to the growth of Canada in various aspects.

From just around 150 in 1983, the Tamil diaspora has grown manifold to an estimated 3 lakh plus at present, said Salma Zahid MP, Scarborough Centre. Theirs is a community that has faced tremendous challenges, and like so many others, have come to Canada as a land of opportunity and new beginnings... It is time. Canadians owe much to the contributions of the Tamil community to our economic and social prosperity. I am proud to stand in support of making next January, and every January, Tamil heritage month. Nandri, Zahid added. Jenny Kwan, MP from Vancouver East, British Columbia, said declaring January Tamil heritage month would be a step the government could take to reaffirm the acknowledgement that Canada was strengthened by diversity. It would provide Canadians an opportunity to experience the rich background and history of Tamil Canadians, she added.

CHENNAI: Come January, when Tamils around the world will celebrate Thai Pongal, the whole of Canada will celebrate it as Tamil Heritage Month. Festivities for the inaugural Tamil Heritage Month across Canada will commence in January 2017, which coincides with the Canada 150 celebrations. The House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament unanimously adopted a motion in this regard earlier this week, much to the delight of the strong Tamil community there. The motion was moved by Canadian politician of Tamil origin, Gary Anandasangaree, MP for Scarborough-Rouge Park constituency, and it was discussed in the House in May and September. In an indication of the special place that the community has among the people, parliamentarians from all major political parties spoke in favour of the motion, extolling the contributions made by Tamil Canadians to the growth of Canada in various aspects. From just around 150 in 1983, the Tamil diaspora has grown manifold to an estimated 3 lakh plus at present, said Salma Zahid MP, Scarborough Centre. Theirs is a community that has faced tremendous challenges, and like so many others, have come to Canada as a land of opportunity and new beginnings... It is time. Canadians owe much to the contributions of the Tamil community to our economic and social prosperity. I am proud to stand in support of making next January, and every January, Tamil heritage month. Nandri, Zahid added. Jenny Kwan, MP from Vancouver East, British Columbia, said declaring January Tamil heritage month would be a step the government could take to reaffirm the acknowledgement that Canada was strengthened by diversity. It would provide Canadians an opportunity to experience the rich background and history of Tamil Canadians, she added.
By Associated Press

GENEVA: Russia's government lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top U.N. official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, diplomats told The Associated Press, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin.

There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal "demarche" to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Sept. 13, according to three diplomats familiar with the conversation. Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced "demagogues" and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Islamic State propaganda.

In a speech in Cleveland three months before Republicans gathered there to nominate Trump, Zeid said: "Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture."

"In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack  disguised as courageous taboo-busting  on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society," he said.

Demarches, or formal, diplomatic communications, are everyday occurrences. At the United Nations, they're generally used to question broader foreign policy questions and sometimes used to complain. But they rarely center on specific individuals, let alone involve a Russian complaint about how the U.N. is treating an American politician.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to several requests for comment.

Churkin's personal intervention could add to questions about the relationship between Trump and Russia.

Trump has praised Putin's strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated; wrongly suggested Russia hasn't entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east; and he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state.

The diplomatic complaint could revive charges that Moscow is interfering in the presidential election, following accusations by the U.S. government that Russia sponsored cyber-intrusions like the hack of the Democratic National Committee's emails.

A spokesman for Russia's U.N. mission said he couldn't discuss the matter.

"We don't comment on meetings with ambassadors," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.

The diplomats, including two U.N. officials who were familiar with the meeting between Churkin and Ban, said that the Russian complained "virulently" to Ban about Zeid's Cleveland speech and one in Europe in September.

A senior U.N. diplomat familiar with the discussion said Churkin specifically "condemned the fact that Zeid mentioned Trump."

The diplomats weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing possible diplomatic repercussions from Russia, a powerful, permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

The Kremlin has said it has no position on the U.S. election.

Trump's policy pitches have alarmed human rights officials like Zeid, including his calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, ban all Muslim immigration, kill the families of Islamic extremists and return to now-outlawed "enhanced" interrogation techniques, which are widely considered to be torture.

Trump's positions on Russia have faced sharp attacks from some Republican leaders as well as Clinton.

His supporters pressured Republicans to back away from supporting U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine, which many GOP leaders want. Instead, the platform backed "appropriate assistance" to Ukraine.

Paul Manafort, a Trump campaign manager, resigned this summer over revelations about his work for Ukraine's former, Moscow-backed president and other pro-Russian officials. And Carter Page, a former Trump foreign policy adviser, criticized the U.S. and other Western governments on a July trip to Moscow for "their often-hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change."

Eight days before Churkin's complaint, Zeid went after Trump again in a Sept. 5 speech in The Hague, Netherlands, lumping in the billionaire businessman with several populist leaders in Europe. "All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion," Zeid said, calling it a sentiment they share with the Islamic State.

Zeid concentrated on Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders, who opposes asylum for refugees and, similar to Trump, immigration from Muslim countries. Wilders also advocates closing mosques and Islamic schools, and outlawing the Quran.

Zeid also criticized by name the pro-Brexit head of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, who appeared with Trump at an August rally; Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico; Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer; French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen; Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban; and Czech President Milos Zeman.

U.S. and European officials accuse Russia of providing financial or other assistance to several of these politicians' parties. Russia doesn't acknowledge such support.

Allies of Wilders, Orban, Le Pen and Farage complained vociferously after Zeid's speech. Trump didn't publicly respond.

While Zeid's criticism carries no legal weight, his position gives him a highly visible pulpit to shame governments and politicians around the world. The U.S.  like Russia and other powerful governments  lobbies hard to avoid condemnation.

GENEVA: Russia's government lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top U.N. official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, diplomats told The Associated Press, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin. There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal "demarche" to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Sept. 13, according to three diplomats familiar with the conversation. Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced "demagogues" and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Islamic State propaganda. In a speech in Cleveland three months before Republicans gathered there to nominate Trump, Zeid said: "Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture." "In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack  disguised as courageous taboo-busting  on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society," he said. Demarches, or formal, diplomatic communications, are everyday occurrences. At the United Nations, they're generally used to question broader foreign policy questions and sometimes used to complain. But they rarely center on specific individuals, let alone involve a Russian complaint about how the U.N. is treating an American politician. Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to several requests for comment. Churkin's personal intervention could add to questions about the relationship between Trump and Russia. Trump has praised Putin's strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated; wrongly suggested Russia hasn't entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east; and he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state. The diplomatic complaint could revive charges that Moscow is interfering in the presidential election, following accusations by the U.S. government that Russia sponsored cyber-intrusions like the hack of the Democratic National Committee's emails. A spokesman for Russia's U.N. mission said he couldn't discuss the matter. "We don't comment on meetings with ambassadors," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said. The diplomats, including two U.N. officials who were familiar with the meeting between Churkin and Ban, said that the Russian complained "virulently" to Ban about Zeid's Cleveland speech and one in Europe in September. A senior U.N. diplomat familiar with the discussion said Churkin specifically "condemned the fact that Zeid mentioned Trump." The diplomats weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing possible diplomatic repercussions from Russia, a powerful, permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. The Kremlin has said it has no position on the U.S. election. Trump's policy pitches have alarmed human rights officials like Zeid, including his calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, ban all Muslim immigration, kill the families of Islamic extremists and return to now-outlawed "enhanced" interrogation techniques, which are widely considered to be torture. Trump's positions on Russia have faced sharp attacks from some Republican leaders as well as Clinton. His supporters pressured Republicans to back away from supporting U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine, which many GOP leaders want. Instead, the platform backed "appropriate assistance" to Ukraine. Paul Manafort, a Trump campaign manager, resigned this summer over revelations about his work for Ukraine's former, Moscow-backed president and other pro-Russian officials. And Carter Page, a former Trump foreign policy adviser, criticized the U.S. and other Western governments on a July trip to Moscow for "their often-hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change." Eight days before Churkin's complaint, Zeid went after Trump again in a Sept. 5 speech in The Hague, Netherlands, lumping in the billionaire businessman with several populist leaders in Europe. "All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion," Zeid said, calling it a sentiment they share with the Islamic State. Zeid concentrated on Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders, who opposes asylum for refugees and, similar to Trump, immigration from Muslim countries. Wilders also advocates closing mosques and Islamic schools, and outlawing the Quran. Zeid also criticized by name the pro-Brexit head of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, who appeared with Trump at an August rally; Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico; Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer; French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen; Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban; and Czech President Milos Zeman. U.S. and European officials accuse Russia of providing financial or other assistance to several of these politicians' parties. Russia doesn't acknowledge such support. Allies of Wilders, Orban, Le Pen and Farage complained vociferously after Zeid's speech. Trump didn't publicly respond. While Zeid's criticism carries no legal weight, his position gives him a highly visible pulpit to shame governments and politicians around the world. The U.S.  like Russia and other powerful governments  lobbies hard to avoid condemnation.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: The US today warned its citizens against non-essential travel to Pakistan, saying the country continues to experience "significant" terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks.



"Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks," State Department said in its latest travel warning on Pakistan. This replaces the previous travel warning of April 7.



"The Department of State warns US citizens against all non-essential travel to Pakistan," the travel warning said, adding that throughout Pakistan, foreign and indigenous terrorist groups continue to pose a danger to US citizens.



Targeted attacks against government officials, humanitarian and non-governmental organisation (NGO) employees, tribal elders, and law enforcement personnel are common, the travel warning said.



Evidence suggests that some victims of terrorist activity have been targeted because they are Americans, it said.



Terrorists and criminal groups regularly resort to kidnapping for ransom, the advisory said.



The State Department also noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) concerning the risks to civil aviation operating in Pakistan, particularly at low altitude, during the arrival and departure phases of flight, and when on the ground, due to extremist/ militant activity.



The Advisory NOTAM does not prohibit US operators or airmen from operating in the specified area, as it is strictly an advisory notice, it said.

WASHINGTON: The US today warned its citizens against non-essential travel to Pakistan, saying the country continues to experience "significant" terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks. "Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks," State Department said in its latest travel warning on Pakistan. This replaces the previous travel warning of April 7. "The Department of State warns US citizens against all non-essential travel to Pakistan," the travel warning said, adding that throughout Pakistan, foreign and indigenous terrorist groups continue to pose a danger to US citizens. Targeted attacks against government officials, humanitarian and non-governmental organisation (NGO) employees, tribal elders, and law enforcement personnel are common, the travel warning said. Evidence suggests that some victims of terrorist activity have been targeted because they are Americans, it said. Terrorists and criminal groups regularly resort to kidnapping for ransom, the advisory said. The State Department also noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) concerning the risks to civil aviation operating in Pakistan, particularly at low altitude, during the arrival and departure phases of flight, and when on the ground, due to extremist/ militant activity. The Advisory NOTAM does not prohibit US operators or airmen from operating in the specified area, as it is strictly an advisory notice, it said.
An international relief organization says hospitals in the eastern side of Syria's Aleppo have been attacked 23 times since July, damaging all eight facilities that have not yet been shuttered or destroyed.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement Friday that one of east Aleppo's two main surgical facilities has been out of service since Oct. 1. The organization supports eight hospitals across the city.

The U.N. estimates 275,000 people are trapped in a Russian-backed government siege of the city's rebel-held eastern districts, subjected to relentless bombardment.

"The situation is unbearable," said Carlos Francisco, MSF's head of mission to Syria. "The few remaining doctors with the capability to save lives are also confronting death."

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The International Criminal Court has no deadline for deciding whether to investigate alleged war crimes by Israel and the Palestinians, an ICC official said on Friday.

"There is no time limit," the ICC's Phakiso Mochochoko told AFP during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"In due course when the time is right, when all the conditions have been met and when we have assessed everything, then the decision will be made," he added.

The Palestinians formally asked the ICC last year to investigate the Jewish state, which is not a party to the treaty that governs the court, for alleged war crimes.

Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki presented the court with a dossier alleging violations during the 2014 Gaza war and another on Israel's occupation and settlement of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Some 2,251 Palestinians, including 551 children, were killed in fighting between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and other factions, according to UN figures.

Israel is alleged to have used indiscriminate force against the blockaded territory, while Hamas is accused of firing rockets at Israeli civilian population centres and using Palestinians as human shields.

In January 2015 the ICC, the world's only permanent war crimes court, opened a preliminary examination into alleged abuses by both sides but has not moved to a formal investigation.

The Palestinians have expressed frustration at the slow pace of proceedings.

"There is no lack of evidence and we believe that the office of the prosecutor should have been moving much faster," Ammar Hijazi, a Palestinian foreign ministry official, said Thursday.

Mochochoko refused to be drawn on a possible timeline.

"At the moment I am not in a position to say whether it is a question of months, whether it is a question of days, whether it is a question of weeks," he said, speaking in English.

"There is a lot of information, there is a lot of reports and there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to analyse that information and to assess it."

Mochochoko, a member of the ICC prosecutor's office, arrived Wednesday at the head of a four-strong delegation for a five-day mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

They were expected in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday and Sunday.

Despite encouragement to do so by some Palestinians, the ICC delegation is not visiting Gaza even to explain their work during this trip.

Israel controls all access to the West Bank and to the Gaza Strip -- except its border with Egypt.

The Palestinian decision to take its complaints to the ICC in January 2015 was a key cause of friction with the Israeli government, which temporarily froze the Palestinian Authority's tax revenues in retaliation.

Mochochoko denied that Israel had blocked a visit to Gaza.

"The office of the prosecutor is independent and it is impartial. Nobody dictates the terms of anything to the office of the prosecutor," he said.

He said the locations visited had been "accepted by both parties as the parameters for this particular mission at this particular stage in time."

He said the delegation's visit was purely about explaining the work of the court and not seeking testimony.

"At this stage...we do not have any mandate to engage with witnesses, we don't have any mandate to collect evidence," he said.

"We are not doing any fact finding mission," he added.

"What the future holds for us, that remains to be seen."

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France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will visit the United Nations on Saturday to try to push through an improbable Security Council resolution to impose a ceasefire in Syria.

"I still have hope that the resolution can be approved and put into operation," he told reporters in Washington on Friday, despite a clear warning from Russia that it would veto the draft text.

"I will go to New York myself to make the case for the resolution," he added, after talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry a day after meeting Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Moscow holds a Security Council veto and its ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters that "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

The French resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire in Syria, including an end to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed assault on the rebel-held eastern half of the city of Aleppo.

Ayrault also called for a no-fly zone over the city for regime and Russian jets.

Before the talks with Ayrault, Kerry accused Moscow and Damascus of deliberately targeting hospitals.

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Morocco's moderate Islamists are favoured to win a parliamentary election on Friday, five years after they entered government when the kingdom introduced limited reforms in the wake of Arab Spring protests calling for change.

The Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has led the ruling coalition since 2011, is seeking to retain office in the ballot against its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which opponents say is too close to the palace.

When the Arab Spring uprisings convulsed the region, Morocco's royal palace introduced limited reforms granting more powers to parliament. But the king retains most executive authority and no party openly challenges the monarchy.

Voters will select lawmakers for the 395-seat House of Representatives. The palace will then appoint the prime minister from the party that wins most seats.

Under the electoral system, no one party can win an outright majority, forcing winners into a drawn-out process of negotiations to form a coalition government.

Popular for its anti-corruption stance, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD has pushed fiscal reforms to reduce Morocco's deficit and overhaul a system of heavy subsidies, a programme he says will continue if the PJD is re-elected.

"I voted for the PJD because I want to give them a chance to finish what they started," said Hamza Saidi, a pensioner casting his ballot in the capital Rabat.

Opinion polls are banned, but most analysts say they expect the PJD to dominate after its performance in last year's municipal elections, when it won major cities for the first time. PAM also did well, especially in rural areas.

The Interior Ministry said turnout was around 30 percent by 1600 GMT, two hours before closing. Early results were expected later on Friday.

Boycott

Campaigning was marked by accusations that the royal establishment, uneasy about sharing power with Islamists, was unfairly backing PAM as a way to roll back PJD influence.

On Friday, the PJD accused local officials under the control of the Interior Ministry of trying to influence voters. The ministry has dismissed some claims and said it would investigate others.

"Our central election committee is worried about reports of local authority officials trying to influence the will of voters toward one party. It is also concerned about reports of officials filling ballot boxes with votes for one party," a PJD statement said.

PAM, whose founder is a close ally of the king and a royal adviser since leaving the party, has promised to review PJD reforms, especially a contested pensions overhaul. PAM presents itself as a liberal alternative to the Islamists.

More than 30 political parties are running, but only the conservative Istiqlal party, which quit the PJD government in 2013, has the national reach of the PJD and PAM.

"It's hard to judge, but from what we have observed, the PJD looks to be the favourite," said Mohamed Madani, a political scientist at Rabat University. "Let's hope it is a transparent vote so we can see the real tendency."

Other groups, including the Islamist Justice and Spirituality party and leftist organisations, are boycotting the vote because the monarchy retains most powers.

King Mohammed won international praise for improving the country's human rights record after coming to the throne in 1999, but critics say rights groups still face harassment and that the establishment has let slide promises made in 2011 of more tolerance.

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Related Colombian president wins Nobel Prize for peace efforts

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end Latin America's longest conflict.



Here are some of the key reactions to the award, with many voicing hope it would help boost the peace process after Colombians voted against September's historic accord between the government and the FARC guerrillas after five decades of conflict.

"The only prize we aspire to is peace with social justice for Colombia, without (right-wing) paramilitary groups, without retaliation (against leftist rebels) or lies," said FARC leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez.

"Peace in the streets," he wrote on Twitter, after he was notably not named as a co-recipient of the Nobel prize awarded to his one-time arch-foe.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the award came "at a critical moment" to give hope and encouragement to the Colombian people.

Ban called the award "a timely message to all who have toiled so hard for peace," adding: "The peace process should inspire our world."

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said the prize was recognition of Santos's "political courage".

Former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt said she believes the guerrilla movement should have shared the prestigious award.

"Yes. It's very hard for me to say yes, but I think so," an emotional Betancourt told French channel I-Tele.

Betancourt said the prize showed "there was no turning back from peace" and was a "just" reward for Santos.

"He was practically alone in fighting for this result. He is making history. He is giving the next generation the possibility of living in a different country. It's a huge moment for Colombia."

Colombia's former leader Alvaro Uribe congratulated his rival over the Nobel, despite their sharp disagreement over Santos's efforts to end the civil war.

"I congratulate President Santos on the Nobel," Uribe wrote on Twitter, adding that he hoped the prize would encourage "changes" to the peace accord with the rebels.

"Those who dream of peace always manage to build it, come hell or high water. Very moved that my friend @JuanManSantos has won the #NobelPeacePrize," tweeted EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz hailed not only what he described as Santo's "total dedication" to forging peace but also his "calm and collected" reaction to the shock referendum result.

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A U.N. human rights watchdog has called on Saudi Arabia to end "severe" discrimination against girls and to repeal laws it said allowed children to be executed by stoning or punished with amputations and floggings.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child on Friday issued the conclusions of its review of the kingdom's record of compliance with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. States which ratify the pact are reviewed every few years.

Children over 15 years are tried as adults in Saudi Arabia and can be executed, "after trials falling short of guarantees of due process and fair trial", the report said. The UN convention defines children as under-18s.

"The possibility of imposing the death penalty on children is still in place and that is a very serious concern," Jorge Cardona, a member of the committee, told a news briefing.

"But also the possibility of sanctions and mistreatment, including torture, such as the possibility of being flogged or other punishments that are especially harsh."

Committee chair Benyam Mezmur said it had received consistent reports that the death penalty was applied for offences committed by under-18s.

"It's a very serious issue and there are only four or five countries in the world that we engage with this issue on and unfortunately Saudi Arabia is actually one of them," he said, naming the others as Iran, Pakistan, China and the Maldives.

The 18 independent experts who make up the committee also condemned air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen, which it said had killed and maimed hundreds of children.

There was no immediate reaction from the Saudi government to the conclusions issued on Friday despite multiple attempts by Reuters to reach officials. Many of the recommendations have been repeated since Riyadh ratified the convention 20 years ago, Cardona said.

Sharia

Bandar Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, chairman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, who led a Saudi delegation to the committee's review, told the body that "Islamic sharia (law) was above all laws and treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child", according to a U.N. summary of the review last month.

But the kingdom had the "political will" to "promote all human rights and particularly the rights of children", he said.

"It is the interpretation of sharia made by Saudi Arabia in certain cases that poses a concrete problem for rights protected by the convention," said Cardona.

The U.N. panel criticised the marriage of girls as young as nine. "The age of majority is nine or 10 years, and that poses a serious problem for girls," Cardona said.

The U.N. experts said Riyadh "still does not recognise girls as full subjects of rights and continues to severely discriminate (against) them in law and practice and to impose on them a system of male guardianship".

Traditional, religious or cultural attitudes should not be used to justify violations of the right to equality, they said.

Of 47 people executed for security offences on Jan. 2, 2016, at least four were under 18 when sentenced to death, it said.

At least four other people, convicted of committing crimes as children, are on death row, Cardona said.

The experts urged Saudi authorities to "repeal all provisions contained in legislation which authorise the stoning, amputation and flogging of children".

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Finance Minister Amr Al-Garhy says various deals to secure bilateral financing stipulated for the IMF long-awaited deal are complete

Egypt is about to meet a stipulation imposed by the International Monetary Fund in order to secure several billions of dollars to seal a mooted $12 billion loan, the finance minister said.

Were around that number, more or less, Egypts minister Amr El-Garhy said in an interview in Washington with Bloomberg on Thursday.

The Egyptian government needs to secure $5-6 billion in bilateral financing for the first year of the three-year programme to seal the deal and get a final approval by the IMF executive committee.

The minister declined to reveal the sources of funding but said that several deals are concluded or being finalised.

Some have been completed; some are still in the final fine-tuning phase.

The minister said the loan agreement with the IMF is going well and that the fact that we are still completing certain issues does not mean there are any hiccups.

Egypt needs the loan to stimulate its flagging economy that has been rocked by political turmoil unleashed by the 2011 revolution, which has scared off investors and tourists.



President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had said the package will help boost international confidence in the country's ailing economy,

Egypt has secured pledges from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for about $4.5 billion to contribute to the money required, but this has yet to materialise.

Egypt had said it hopes to issue between $3 billion and $5 billion in international bonds. Al-Garhy said the government targets late October or early November as the date for the issuance.



A preliminary deal with the IMF on the lending programme was reached in August.

Hopefully something will be clear by then about the U.S. elections, he said. Markets have become very anxious.

He said the government is working with its advisers on what we need to do and on the timing" to handle how the vote might affect the scheduled date of sale.

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What's next for Water Brothers? Sid Abbruzzi has some ideas

The local surf and skate legend was evicted from his space on Memorial Boulevard earlier this year.
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Egypt signed a $500 million loan deal with the World Bank to help create jobs and improve infrastructure in Upper Egypt, the Ministry of International Cooperation said.

The program - part of a total $8 billion the World Bank Group will provide to Egypt from 2015-2019 - is aimed at "raising the living standard of citizens in [Egyptian] governorates most in need," Minister Sahar Nasr said in a statement on Thursday.

The Upper Egypt Local Development Program will improve economic growth rates in Upper Egypt, create sustainable job opportunities, enhance the business climate and improve infrastructure and the delivery of services, the minister added.

The deal was signed during the annual meetings of the World Bank Group in Washington on Thursday.

The World Bank said last week that the program will focus on the two lagging regions of Qena and Sohag, which are among Egypt's poorest areas "but have a large unrealized growth potential."

"This operation is a key part of the World Banks strategic focus in Egypt to promote jobs, address spatial inequality, and improve governance in service delivery, Asad Alam, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, said last week.

The program will focus on facilitating and promoting private sector development in agribusiness, service, and industrial sectors with growth potential.

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NOTICE: This Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is intended for persons living in Australia.

azithromycin (as monohydrate) CONSUMER MEDICINE INFORMATION

What is in this leaflet This leaflet answers some common questions about AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. It does not contain all the available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist. All medicines have benefits and risks. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM against the benefits expected for you. If you have any concerns about taking this medicine, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Keep this leaflet with your medicine. You may need to read it again.

What AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is used for AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is used to treat Pneumonia, a lung infection caused by certain bacteria including Legionella pneumophila. This medicine is an antibiotic, which belongs to a group of medicines called azalides. The azalides are a sub-class of a group of antibiotics called macrolides. This medicine works by killing or stopping the growth of bacteria causing your infection. AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM will not work against viral infections such as colds or flu. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM has been prescribed for you. Your doctor may have prescribed AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM for another reason. This medicine is not addictive. This medicine is available only with a doctor's prescription. This medicine is not expected to affect your ability to drive a car or operate machinery.

Before you are given AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM

When you must not be given it You must not be given AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM if you have an allergy to: Azithromycin or any other ketolide or macrolide antibiotic (e.g. roxithromycin, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin) or any of the ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet. If you are not sure if you are allergic to any of the above, ask your doctor. Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty breathing; swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body; skin rash, itching or hives. Before you are given it, tell your doctor if you have allergies to any other medicines, foods, preservatives or dyes. Tell your doctor if you have or have had any of the following medical conditions: any kidney problems any liver problems any heart problems inflammation of the large bowel a fungal infection low levels of potassium or magnesium in your blood myasthenia gravis Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or if you plan to become pregnant or are breastfeeding. Your doctor can discuss with you the risks and benefits involved. If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, tell him/her before you are given AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM must not be given if the expiry date (EXP) or use by date printed on the pack has passed. If you take this medicine after this date, it may not work. AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM must not be given if the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering. If you are not sure whether you should be given this medicine, talk to your doctor.

Taking other medicines Tell your doctor if you are taking any other medicines, including medicines you buy without a prescription from a pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop. Some medicines may interfere with AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. These include: ergot derivatives (such as ergotamine, a medicine used to treat migraines) antacids (a medicine used to treat indigestion or heartburn) coumarin-type oral anticoagulants (a medicine used to prevent blood clots such as warfarin) ciclosporin (a medicine used to prevent organ transplant rejection or to treat certain problems with the immune system) digoxin (a medicine used to treat abnormal heart rhythm e.g. atrial fibrillation) terfenadine or astemizole (medicines used to treat allergies and hayfever) zidovudine (a medicine used to treat patients with AIDS) some medicines used to treat heart rhythm problems (heart arrhythmia) such as amiodarone, disopyramide, ibutilide and sotalol antipsychotic medicines used to treat schizophrenia or bipolar mania such as haloperidol, quetiapine and risperidone medicines used to treat depression (antidepressants) such as fluoxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, lomefloxacin, moxifloxacin and norfloxacin. These medicines may be affected by AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM or may affect how well it works. You may need different amounts of your medicines, or you may need to take different medicines. Your doctor or pharmacist has more information on medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. Talk to your doctor about the need for additional contraception while taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. Some antibiotics may decrease the effectiveness of some birth control pills, although this has not been shown with AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM.

How AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is given Follow all directions given to you by your doctor and pharmacist carefully. They may differ from the information contained in this leaflet.

How much is given Your doctor will decide how much AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM you should receive and the length of time for which you should receive it. The usual dose of AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is 500 mg given as an injection into a vein for 2 to 5 days. Following this, you may be given oral Azithromycin daily for another 2-7 days, to complete a 7 to 10 day course of antibiotics. This treatment may be followed by a course of oral antibiotics.

How it is given AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is given as an injection by a doctor or trained nurse. AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is a powder which is mixed with Water for Injections and then diluted by the pharmacist. It is then injected into a vein which takes approximately 60 minutes. It may be given with or without food. This will avoid any possible effect of the antacid on the absorption of AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM

If too much is given (overdose) As AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is given under the close supervision of your doctor, it is very unlikely that you will receive too much. If you experience any side effects tell your doctor immediately. Immediately telephone your doctor or the Poisons Information Centre (telephone 13 11 26) for advice, or go to Accident and Emergency at the nearest hospital, if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. You may need urgent medical attention.

While you are being treated

Things you must do If the symptoms of your infection do not improve within a few days, or if they become worse, tell your doctor. If you get severe diarrhoea, tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse immediately. Do this even if it occurs several weeks after AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM has been stopped. Diarrhoea may mean that you have a serious condition affecting your bowel. You may need urgent medical care. Do not take any diarrhoea medicine without first checking with your doctor. If you get a sore, white mouth or tongue while taking, or soon after stopping AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM, tell your doctor. Also tell your doctor if you get vaginal itching or discharge. This may mean you have a yeast infection called thrush. Sometimes the use of AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM allows yeast to grow and the above symptoms to occur. AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM does not work against yeast. If you become pregnant while taking this medicine, tell your doctor. If you are about to start any new medicines, tell your doctor and pharmacist that you are taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. Tell all doctors, dentists and pharmacists who treat you that you are taking this medicine.

Things to be careful of Protect your skin when you are in the sun, especially between 10am and 3pm. Some macrolide antibiotics may cause your skin to be more sensitive to sunlight than it is normally. Exposure to sunlight may cause a skin rash, itching, redness or severe sunburn. If outdoors, wear protective clothing and use a 30+ sunscreen. If your skin does appear to be burning tell your doctor immediately.

Things you must not do Do not stop taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM or lower the dosage without checking with your doctor. If you do not complete the full course prescribed by your doctor, all the organisms causing your infection may not be killed. These organisms may continue to grow and multiply so that your infection may not clear completely or may return. Do not give AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you. Do not use AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM to treat any other medical complaints unless your doctor tells you to.

Side effects Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM. Like other medicines, AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM can cause some side effects. If they occur, most are likely to be minor and temporary. However some maybe serious and need medical attention. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have. Do not be alarmed by the following list of side effects. You may not experience any of them.

While taking it Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice any of the following and they worry you: pain or inflammation at the site of infusion and pain during infusion oral thrush - white, furry, sore tongue and mouth vaginal thrush - sore and itchy vagina and/or white discharge nausea (feeling sick), loss of appetite, vomiting, stomach pain, indigestion, wind, constipation, loose bowel motions dizziness, headache, spinning sensation tiredness, drowsiness, fatigue muscle or joint aches rash hearing loss or ringing in the ears altered taste and smell. These side effects are usually mild. Tell your doctor immediately if you notice any of the following: severe persistent diarrhoea fast or irregular heart beat symptoms of sunburn such as redness, itching, swelling or blistering which may occur more quickly than normal decreased feeling or sensitivity, especially in the skin hives, itching or skin rash signs of frequent or worrying infections such as fever, severe chills, sore throat or mouth ulcers bleeding or bruising more easily than normal, reddish or purplish blotches under the skin dark urine or blood in the urine or bowel motions aggressive reaction, nervousness, agitation or anxiety severe upper stomach pain, often with nausea and vomiting. These are serious side effects. Serious side effects are rare. You may need urgent medical attention. If any of the following happen, stop taking AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM and tell your doctor immediately or go to Accident and Emergency at your nearest hospital: sudden signs of allergy such as rash, itching or hives on the skin, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body, shortness of breath, wheezing or trouble breathing blisters or ulcers on the skin, in the mouth or airways that may occur after a period of fever diarrhoea, usually with blood and mucus, stomach pain and fever yellowing of the eyes or skin, also called jaundice chest pain fainting convulsions (fits) These are very serious side effects. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalisation. These side effects are rare.

After finishing it Tell your doctor immediately if you notice any of the following side effects, particularly if they occur several weeks after stopping treatment with AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM: severe stomach cramps watery and severe diarrhoea, which may be bloody fever, in combination with one or both of the above AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM can cause some bacteria, which are normally present in the bowel and normally harmless to multiply and therefore cause the above symptoms. You may need urgent medical attention. However, this side effect is rare. Do not take any medicine for this diarrhoea without first checking with your doctor. Tell your doctor if you notice anything else that is making you feel unwell. Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. Some of these side effects (for example certain liver conditions, and blood abnormalities) can only be found when your doctor does tests from time to time to check your progress. Do not be alarmed at this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.

After using AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM

Storage AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is stored in the pharmacy or on the ward. It is kept in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 25C.

Disposal The hospital staff will dispose of any left-over AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM.

Product description

What it looks like AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM is a white to off-white powder, or cake presented in a 10 mL glass vial. AZITHROMYCIN ALPHAPHARM contains 500 mg of azithromycin powder for solution for infusion, providing 100 mg/mL solution following reconstitution.

Active Ingredient The active ingredient is azithromycin.

Other Ingredients It also contains the following inactive ingredients: citric acid monohydrate sodium hydroxide This medicine does not contain lactose, sucrose, gluten, tartrazine or any other azo dyes.
Researchers at the UK's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, have just published the 5000th scientific paper using data from the facility. This milestone marks a significant step for the synchrotron that is used by over 8,000 scientists each year.

Diamond accelerates electrons to produce powerful light, 10 billion times brighter than the sun. This allows scientists to investigate the molecular and atomic nature of matter. The 5000th paper, published by an international scientific collaboration reveals the discovery of one of the genetic triggers behind a range of birth defects, including congenital heart disease. The group from the UK, USA and Japan published their findings in PLOS Genetics.

Andrew Harrison, CEO at Diamond, said: "Our 5000th paper represents a significant milestone for the facility. As we move towards the tenth anniversary of Diamond in 2017, this work underscores the vital human impact that synchrotron research can have.

"If we can uncover more about the intricate processes at the heart of embryonic development, we may eventually be able to prevent some of the birth defects that can occur as a result. These findings are a tangible step forwards towards that goal."

The new research reveals the genetic pathways by which proteins in the body help to align a developing embryo in the very early stages of development at just 19-22 days after conception. During this period, a developing embryo begins to take shape by adopting a left and a right hand side.

Major organs, like the heart and liver, exist only on one side of the body, whilst our left hand lung is shaped slightly different to our right hand lung so as to make space for the heart. The orientation of our internal organs is vital for the body to correctly function, so when the alignment process goes wrong it can cause serious genetic defects, the most common being congenital heart disease.

The process of early-stage alignment has not been previously well understood, as the genetic pathways behind it are highly complex, containing many different proteins and cell reactions. However, these findings help to shed light on the interactions that determine our organ alignment - and resulting personal health - at such an early stage of development.

Using the powerful light produced at Diamond, the researchers were able to study a pocket inside mouse embryos. This pocket, known as the 'node', is where the process of organ alignment originates. Fluid begins flowing through the embryo at a very early stage of development. This research shows that it is the physical direction of this flow that helps to shape the young embryo, determining the development of the foetus at a later stage.

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The group were able to show, for the first time, that cilia - minute hair-like structures on the surface of the embryo's cells - are able to detect the direction of fluid flow within the node, triggering a genetic chain reaction that leads to the correct alignment of the embryo. There are many different proteins involved in this process, and if just one of them contains a mutation that causes them to read the signals coming to them incorrectly, it can lead to misalignment of the young embryo, sometimes resulting in birth defects.

Rohanah Hussain, Senior Beamline Scientist on Diamond's B23 beamline, where the work was carried out, said: "Now that we have identified the complex processes involved in embryonic alignment, we are better equipped to investigate exactly how and why things go wrong, and potentially develop ways of preventing these issues and the birth defects that result

"There is still some way to go before we fully understand the delicate and highly intricate processes that govern embryonic alignment, but this work constitutes a major step forwards in efforts to understand developmental milestones that take place at a very early stage."

This research has emerged from an international collaboration that has made it possible to combine genetics, biophysics and structural biology. In the UK, Dominic Norris and colleagues from Medical Research Council (MRC) Harwell who conceived the research together with Rohanah Hussain and colleagues at Diamond Light Source, the UK synchrotron science facility, made it possible to understand the nature of structural changes caused by a point mutation in PKD1L1. This work took place on Diamond's B23 beamline for Circular Dichroism. beamline, B23. Surya Nauli and colleagues at Chapman University, USA, allowed the role of PKD1L1 in flow detection to be assessed in cells. Hiroshi Hamada and colleagues in Osaka, Japan, provided novel techniques that allowed the team to more precisely analyse 'nodal flow'.
Releasing molecular brake allowed damaged neurons to regenerate

Injuries to the spinal cord can cause paralysis and other permanent disabilities because severed nerve fibers do not regrow. Now, scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) have succeeded in releasing a molecular brake that prevents the regeneration of nerve connections. Treatment of mice with "Pregabalin", a drug that acts upon the growth inhibiting mechanism, caused damaged nerve connections to regenerate. Researchers led by neurobiologist Frank Bradke report on these findings in the journal "Neuron".

Human nerve cells are interconnected in a network that extends to all parts of the body. In this way control signals are transmitted from head to toe, while sensory inputs flow in the opposite direction. For this to happen, impulses are passed from neuron to neuron, not unlike a relay race. Damages to this wiring system can have drastic consequences - particularly if they affect the brain or the spinal cord. This is because the cells of the central nervous system are connected by long projections. When severed, these projections, which are called "axons", are unable to regrow.

Reawakening a lost talent

Neural pathways that have been injured can only regenerate if new connections arise between the affected cells. In a sense, the neurons have to stretch out their arms, i.e. the axons have to grow. In fact, this happens in the early stages of embryonic development. However, this ability disappears in the adult. Can it be reactivated? This was the question Professor Bradke and co-workers asked themselves. "We started from the hypothesis that neurons actively down-regulate their growth program once they have reached other cells, so that they don't overshoot the mark. This means, there should be a braking mechanism that is triggered as soon as a neuron connects to others," says Dr. Andrea Tedeschi, a member of the Bradke Lab and first author of the current publication.

Searching through the genome

In mice and cell cultures, the scientists started an extensive search for genes that regulate the growth of neurons. "That was like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. There are hundreds of active genes in every nerve cell, depending on its stage of development. To analyze the large data set we heavily relied on bioinformatics. To this end, we cooperated closely with colleagues at the University of Bonn," says Bradke. "Ultimately, we were able to identify a promising candidate. This gene, known as Cacna2d2, plays an important role in synapse formation and function, in other words in bridging the final gap between nerve cells." During further experiments, the researchers modified the gene's activity, e.g. by deactivating it. In this way, they were able to prove that Cacna2d2 does actually influence axonal growth and the regeneration of nerve fibers.

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Pregabalin triggered neuronal growth

Cacna2d2 encodes the blueprint of a protein that is part of a larger molecular complex. The protein anchors ion channels in the cell membrane that regulate the flow of calcium particles into the cell. Calcium levels affect cellular processes such as the release of neurotransmitters. These ion channels are therefore essential for the communication between neurons.

In further investigations, the researchers used Pregabalin (PGB), a drug that had long been known to bind to the molecular anchors of calcium channels. Over a period of several weeks, they administered PGB to mice with spinal cord injuries. As it turned out, this treatment caused new nerve connections to grow.

"Our study shows that synapse formation acts as a powerful switch that restrains axonal growth. A clinically-relevant drug can manipulate this effect," says Bradke. In fact, PGB is already being used to treat lesions of the spinal cord, albeit it is applied as a pain killer and relatively late after the injury has occurred. "PGB might have a regenerative effect in patients, if it is given soon enough. In the long term this could lead to a new treatment approach. However, we don't know yet."

A new mechanism?

In previous studies, the DZNE researchers showed that certain cancer drugs can also cause damaged nerve connections to regrow. The main protagonists in this process are the "microtubules", long protein complexes that stabilize the cell body. When the microtubules grow, axons do as well. Is there a connection between the different findings? "We don't know whether these mechanisms are independent or whether they are somehow related," says Bradke. "This is something we want to examine more closely in the future."
Nearly 1,000 boys in the New York Tri-State area have been diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and, until now, had to travel out of the state for comprehensive care. Stony Brook Children's Hospital stepped into the void and is becoming a destination for care for those patients residing in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut regions and beyond.

18-months in the making, it was ultimately the dedication of the Hope for Javier organization that helped to make this center possible.

"We've been taking Javier, my 12-year-old son, out of state for care since he was diagnosed," said Jennifer Portnoy, Co-Founder, Hope for Javier. "But over the years I've come in contact with a lot of boys in the New York area whose families are not as fortunate as mine and can't afford to travel."

Portnoy wanted to see that change. Through Hope for Javier, she raised more than $600,000 to open a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Center at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

"I want to personally thank Hope for Javier today for their extremely generous commitment, making it possible for Stony Brook to step into this leadership role to become a destination for DMD care for residents of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and beyond," said Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., MD, President, Stony Brook University, who spoke at the event. "Stony Brook University's strengths in research place us on the leading edge of what is possible. As an academic medical center, we will be able to identify clinical trials as we continue to fight this disease, and your support gives patients and families hope, and it will enable our clinical leadership to provide a level of research, care and support that is unrivaled in the region."

The opening of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Comprehensive Care Center at Stony Brook Children's Hospital marks a new era in the care of patients with muscular dystrophy. The center has modeled its approach to muscular dystrophy on the highest national standards for excellence in care. This model of care is based on precise diagnosis; coordinated, multidisciplinary teamwork; support and advocacy; rapid application of new, evidence-based knowledge; and identification of clinical trials to benefit patients.

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"This will be a comprehensive center, including pediatric specialists from neurology, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, gastroenterology, orthopedics, endocrinology, physical, occupational and respiratory therapy, genetics, nutrition, social work, palliative care, child life, and additional support services," said Margaret McGovern, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Physician-In-Chief, Stony Brook Children's Hospital, during the ribbon cutting ceremony that took place on Wednesday.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is one of the most common and devastating genetic diseases of childhood, affecting approximately 1 in 5000 boys nationwide. This progressive muscle degeneration leads to loss of ambulation by age 12, loss of upper arm use in the teen years, and then ending a patient's life with heart and respiratory failure in the 20's.

Until recently, boys with DMD usually did not survive beyond their teen years. Today, survival into the early 30s is more common. Studies have proven that access to multidisciplinary care adds on average ten years to DMD patient's life expectancy.

"The difference this program will make in the lives of these patients and families cannot be emphasized enough," said Dr. McGovern. "Our commitment to high-quality, patient-centered care and to groundbreaking medical research will be advanced through our specialized, interdisciplinary clinical team, which is well-equipped to meet the challenges of diagnosing, treating and managing neuromuscular diseases."

Stony Brook Children's is dedicated to improving the care of DMD patients by rapidly bringing evidence-based drug protocols and other advances to these patients-- ultimately better managing and understanding this condition, enabling patients to live a full and long life, and providing family with more time.
Researchers in the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Warwick are investigating the impact of solitary confinement in prisons on mental health over the last 150 years, drawing on archival evidence, including the Howard League Archives held at Warwick University's Modern Records Centre, and the memoirs of real prisoners.

The new and growing trend of television prison dramas like Orange is the New Black brings the issue of solitary confinement, along with other issues related to incarceration, to a more general audience, exposing very real problems in the failing contemporary prison system, not just in America, but worldwide. The show's success leads us to ask how history, alongside fictional dramas and contemporary case reports, can draw attention to the issue of solitary confinement.

Professor Hilary Marland from the Department of History at the University of Warwick says,

"Solitary confinement harms prisoners who were not mentally ill upon entry to prison and worsens the mental health of those who were. Both historical and contemporary evidence has demonstrated how both short- and long-term solitary confinement threatens the physical and mental health of those who endure it."

Prison writings from the nineteenth century speak evocatively of the horrors of being confined in a small cell for 23 hours out of 24. "No-one", declared the author of Her Majesty's Prisons in 1881, can conceive "how quickly confinement in a small cell, tells upon the health and nervous system of a man".

Florence Maybrick, evocatively described her removal to Woking Prison in 1889 to start a life sentence after she was infamously found guilty of poisoning her husband:

"Oh, don't put me in there!... I cannot bear it". For answer the warder took me roughly by the shoulder, gave me a push, and shut the door. I felt suffocated. It seemed that the walls were drawing nearer and nearer together, and presently the life would be crushed out of me. I sprang to my feet and beat wildly with my hands against the door. "For God's sake let me out! Let me out!"

"No one can realize the horror of solitary confinement', she went on, 'who has not experienced it".

Many prisoners, according to another prison author, "whose brains had broken down under this pernicious system of solitary confinement" were moved to padded cells, "not fit for nothing more than to babble their sad incoherences to the walls of their cells." Many were moved on to mental hospitals, others committed suicide.

According to Deep Custody, a report produced by the Prison Reform Trust in 2015, the total segregation capacity in England and Wales in January 2015 was 1,586 cells; many prisoners still end up in cellular confinement for long periods, a result of poor provision rather than as punishment for the infringement of rules or a perceived need for segregation. Recent studies also note high rates of self-mutilation and suicide among inmates in solitary confinement. One 1995 study found that prisoners in solitary confinement accounted for nearly half of all suicides in California's prisons between 1999 and 2004.

Professor Marland says,

"Though prison reform is high on the agenda of the current British government and welcomed by prison reform organisations, there is little evidence to suggest that the problem of prisoners being locked in their cells for excessive periods is being tackled in an environment of staff shortages and very poor conditions in decaying structures dating from the Victorian period."

A recent report on Wormwood Scrubs Prison in London revealed that many prisoners had less than two hours a day "unlocked" and all had only forty minutes of outdoor exercise a day. In the past decade, prison administrators in both the United States and England have significantly increased the use of solitary confinement as a means of "managing" difficult prisoners.

History can make a powerful contribution to discussions on solitary confinement, documenting shifts in prison policy and discipline, establishing connections and continuities over two centuries, and acting as the wellspring of narratives that highlight its devastating impact over the long term. History adds significantly to the weight of evidence and force of argument on the destructive impact of isolation and joins forces with the reports of policymakers and prison reform organisations in urging that new approaches must be sought and the impact of solitary confinement mitigated.
For many patients, the uncertainty and stress that can come with cancer treatment is compounded by what is now known as "financial toxicity," the anxiety and distress that follow health care and medication expenses, often compounded by reduced ability to work.

In the October 5, 2016, issue of the journal Cancer, a team of specialists demonstrates how a survey can measure a patient's risk for, and ability to tolerate, financial stress.

With data from 233 patients going through treatment for advanced cancers, the researchers showed that the COST (COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity) questionnaire identified patients at financial distress, which was found to be a "clinically relevant patient-centered measure."

"As expected, we found a strong association between a patient's use of health care resources and his or her sense of financial toxicity," said the study's lead author Jonas de Souza, MD, MBA, a head-and-neck cancer specialist and health services researcher at the University of Chicago Medicine. "This is something we need to look for, to recognize early and make sure it does not become a barrier to care."

More than two admissions to the hospital, for example, had a significant impact on a patient's sense of financial toxicity. "This is reasonable," de Souza said. "Hospital care is much more expensive than office-based care. We now know that it also impacts a patient's self-reported financial feelings."

The research team kept the COST questionnaire short and simple. It includes 11 brief statements about costs, resources and concerns. For each question, patients were asked to circle one of five possible responses that help determine their level of concern.

Faced with statements such as: "I feel financially stressed," or "My out-of-pocket medical expenses are more than I thought they would be," patients had to choose the answer that best described their situation.

The questionnaires revealed several factors that were closely tied to financial toxicity. Employment status was at the top of the list, followed by household income, psychological distress, the number of hospital admissions, and race. African-American individuals tended to have more financial toxicity, on average, than Caucasians.

One surprise was the lack of a perceived financial benefit from participation in clinical trials. "Usually the maker of an innovative device or the company that supplies a new drug will pick up the costs related to the investigational drug," de Souza said. "But that did not reduce our patients' sense of financial toxicity. We've added that to our model."

The next step is to go back to our patients and understand the factors that drive financial toxicity for each kind of cancer," said de Souza. "Then we need to learn how to intervene. How can we help these patients, perhaps with financial counselors? And how can we decrease the costs of what we do to treat cancer overall and, at the same time, lessen the financial burdens that fall on the patient.

"It's important to note that the financial distress identified by the COST scale captures a unique set of stressors affecting patients above and beyond the physical and psychological strains of their disease," notes Lauren Hersch Nicholas, PhD, a health economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and member of the study team. "Being able to quantify this burden is an important step towards giving patients, their families and care team the information necessary to make the best treatment decisions for each patient's situation."

"As society increasingly considers the costs incurred by patients with cancer as a side effect of treatment, instruments to measure financial toxicity should be patient centered, scientifically derived, and clinically relevant," the authors wrote. "It is time to start measuring and talking about the costs of care for patients as we would with any other side-effect," De Souza said.

Or, as the Irish mathematical physicist Lord Kelvin put it in 1883: "When you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind."
Watch out Mercedes, your G 63 AMG 6x6 has some serious American competition in the form of the latest Hennessey Performance creation  the VelociRaptor 6X6.



With its permanent six-wheel drive, massive twin-turbocharged V8 engine and an interior dressed with lashings of leather, Mercedes describes its G-Class flagship as an "automotive declaration of independence" and as the "most spectacular cross-country vehicle of all time." But the Hennessy Performance VelociRaptor 6x6 is looking to grab some of that attention.



Based on the latest 4-door Raptor version of the Ford F-150 pickup truck, Hennessey Performance has rebuilt the bed so that it can accommodate four, rather than two rear wheels with locking axles. The suspension has been overhauled courtesy of Fox parts and, as standard, the truck comes with special 20-inch wheels wrapped in off-road tires.



Other unique features include special front and rear bumpers and underbody protection, plus a new rollbar. And, of course, it wouldn't be worthy of the Hennessey badge unless there was some serious under-the-hood modification to match the external upgrades. In this regard, fans will be happy to learn the company has reworked the stock V6 to ensure a minimum of 600 hp on tap, a feat achieved by upgrading the engine's twin turbochargers, its intercooler, fitting a stainless steel exhaust and reprogramming the engine management system.



"Our VelociRaptor 6X6 is pure aggression on wheels  all six of them", said John Hennessey. "The new 2017 Raptor is going to be one of the best all-around trucks ever built. We are excited to help take it to the next level both in terms of performance and exclusivity."



Prices for this exclusivity will start at $295,000 but owners can add LED lighting upgrades, a necessity for real off-roading, specify interior trim levels, or add some heavy-duty Brembo brakes. And last but by no means least, Hennessey is also offering an armoured version.
Automobile manufacturer Tata has struck a deal with a major South African car hire company to supply Tata Bolt 1.2 Turbo hatchbacks for its national rental fleet. Tata declined to disclose the exact number of vehicles, except to say that it was "a substantial number."



The Bolt, which was recently introduced in South Africa, will be offered at a competitive hire charge which will be one of the lowest in the country, including 100 kilometres free per day and standard insurance cover.



"We are very pleased to have secured this order as it will mean that many renters countrywide will now have the opportunity to experience the quality and benefits offered in our newest car range, which is particularly well equipped for an entry-level model," said Kyri Michael, the CEO of Accordian Investments, which markets and distributes Tata cars and light commercial vehicles in South Africa.



"Our deal to supply Tempest Car Hire with our new Bolt hatchbacks will certainly help to increase brand awareness of Tata as a manufacturer of cars and light commercials," Michael added.



The new Tata Bolt has been finding favour with particularly younger buyers in South Africa because of its affordability and features that include air conditioning, electric windows, Bluetooth connectivity and a touchscreen infotainment system, not found in similarly-price competitor vehicles.



Tempest Fleet executive Jody Naidoo said that he was glad his company could offer such a spacious and well-equipped car in the very popular A Category. "It certainly offers outstanding value for money at the budget end of the local rental market," said Naidoo.
A smile is perhaps the best thing to gift someone. And Tanvi Jain did exactly that when she bought a bicycle for ATM security guard Shivaji Bhosle.



Bhosle, 62, who works as an ATM security guard near Nyati Estate in Pune, was shattered when he found out that his bicycle was stolen. "He was almost in tears and kept opening his wallet only to be reminded again and again that he had no money to buy himself a new one," Jain told News18.



Jain, who lives in the neighbourhood, said she would often greet the guard when she visited the nearby cafe, Cafe with a Twist, and he would reply with a smile. But that day, she recalls, when she was headed to the cafe, she saw Bhosle running around distressed. On asking, he told her that he had lost his bicycle and expressed his helplessness in getting a new one.



"I had decided that I would buy him a new bicycle but it would take a few days. So, I thought of writing a post on Facebook asking if someone had a spare cycle that we could give Bhosle till the new one arrived," Jain told News18.



Jain wrote on Facebook, "Pune People, If anyone from NIBM /Nyati/Wanowrie or Kondwa has a spare cycle to donate, please get in touch. This old man, an ATM security guard's cycle was stolen today morning, right outside my colony (Nyati estate). I saw him tensed and almost in tears, running around trying to find it. If anyone has a spare cycle to give, or if you know anyone who does, please let me know. You'll be doing this man a huge favor! Thanks (sic)."







Jain's post received tremendous response. People appreciated her efforts to help an old man and some even messaged her, wanting to contribute money to buy Bhosle a new bicycle.



"I didn't expect such a huge response. I thought only a few of my friends would either like or comment on the post, but, yes, I did receive a lot of messages from perfect strangers who wanted to contribute money to buy a new bicycle," said Jain.



Some negative comments followed as well, but she chose to ignore most, except one.



The following day, Jain wrote on Facebook about one particular person who advised her to get used to people losing their things in India and not get sentimental about it. Here's what she wrote.







Finally, after a few days, Jain bought a new bicycle for Bhosle, who was all this while hitching a ride with others and travelling home. Both Shawn Edward, owner of the cafe and Jain contributed equal shares to get a new bicycle for Bhosle.







"He was so happy, he constantly kept touching the new bicycle, he had tears in his eyes but he couldn't stop smiling. I was teary-eyed too, but I didn't cry. It was really overwhelming," Jain said. She added, "I just think that if something as simple this can touch so many people's heart then probably one good deed a day by people can change the world."
Pierce Brosnan endorsing the pan nagar masala which is also known for license to kill people, Shocker.  Akhri Pasta (@TheLitttleLiar) October 7, 2016

Explains the iconic pause. "My name is Bond, *turns sideways, releases brown jet from mouth, looks at adversary* James Bond. #PunBahar pic.twitter.com/i8FooPZuqg  Stereotypewriter (@babumoshoy) October 7, 2016

What the...it's Jamshed Bond pic.twitter.com/1nIkRPDAl2  Kabir Taneja (@KabirTaneja) October 7, 2016

So now before every Bollywood movie 'Pierce Brosnan' ad will be played instead of 'Gutkha Mukesh'

. pic.twitter.com/eBuOopMSmX  PhD in Bak***** !! (@Atheist_Krishna) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan needs to know pan masala doesnt make you classy, it makes you SICK!!!  Sumeet Gill (@TheSumeetGill) October 7, 2016

@PierceBrosnan sir what is wrong with you?pan bahar ?really? What a mighty fall  Aggressive Doc (@drparthu) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan has taken his dialogue too far:

I always enjoyed learning a new tongue. pic.twitter.com/vW5KFcSUHj  Yashi Singh (@AyushiYashing) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan.

Played James Bond.

Endorses Pan Bahar.

Licensed to kill.  Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) October 7, 2016

After having pan bahar .. Pierce Brosnan will say "I'm bond .... (Spit out) .... James bond"  crime master gogo (@vipul2777) October 7, 2016

Priyanka Chopra chews Rajnigandha & now Pierce Brosnan chews Pan Bahar. Now I know why I am not successful, will start chewing gutka today.  Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) October 7, 2016

Ohhkay! I get it now. Pierce Brosnan and Pan Bahar share the same initials. pic.twitter.com/IzAViL1elS  56  Roy (@MixedRaita) October 7, 2016

Pierce Brosnan needs no introduction. Unless you've been living under a rock for ages, you know Brosnan was the fifth actor to play James Bond, debuting as the British spy in 1994.Known for his acting skills, charitable work and environmental activism, Brosnan is much loved in India as he is adored abroad.But a certain news on Friday morning came as a shocker for his Indian fans.An advertisement on the front page of a leading daily showed Brosnan endorsing Pan Bahaar with the caption, "Class never goes out of style". In fact, when one visits the website of the gutka company, a pop-up contest appears. The quiz asks people to recognise who their new brand ambassador is to win prizes. Take a look.There's no doubt that the man in the image is Pierce Brosnan. The answer to the quiz was to be disclosed on October 7, and with an entire page dedicated to Pierce Brosnan endorsing Pan Bahar, we certainly got the answer."I am very excited to be chosen as the brand ambassador of a brand like Pan Bahar. Pan Bahar, like Bond, has stood the test of time and is a winner in its own right. It has got class. Thats something that never goes out of style," said Brosnan in a statement released by the company.Netizens were quick to come up with James Bond jokes. Some social media users expressed their opinion on the dangers of consuming tobacco and condemned Brosnan's endorsement of the product. Here's how social media users reacted."Pierce Brosnan endorsing the pan nagar masala which is also known for license to kill people, Shocker (sic).""Explains the iconic pause. "My name is Bond, *turns sideways, releases brown jet from mouth, looks at adversary* James Bond. #PunBahar (sic).""What the...it's Jamshed Bond (sic).""So now before every Bollywood movie 'Pierce Brosnan' ad will be played instead of 'Gutkha Mukesh' (sic).""Pierce Brosnan needs to know pan masala doesnt make you classy, it makes you SICK!!! (sic).""@PierceBrosnan sir what is wrong with you?pan bahar ?really? What a mighty fall (sic).""Pierce Brosnan has taken his dialogue too far: I always enjoyed learning a new tongue (sic).""Pierce Brosnan. Played James Bond. Endorses Pan Bahar. Licensed to kill (sic).""After having pan bahar, Pierce Brosnan will say "I'm bond (Spit out)...James bond (sic).""Priyanka Chopra chews Rajnigandha & now Pierce Brosnan chews Pan Bahar. Now I know why I am not successful, will start chewing gutka today (sic).""Ohhkay! I get it now. Pierce Brosnan and Pan Bahar share the same initials (sic)."Take a look at the full advertisement here, where Brosnan is seen executing Bond-inspired stunts with the Pan Bahar tin-pack as his weapon of destruction.
Islamabad: The continuing firing across the Line of Control (LoC) and the increasing rhetoric emanating from New Delhi will only escalate Indo-Pak tension but Islamabad has prepared its own contingency plan to deal with any situation, chief spokesman of Pakistan Army has told a Chinese news agency.



Lt. General Asim Bajwa, director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told Xinhua in an interview at the ISPR headquarters in Rawalpindi that Indian forces fired into the Pakistani side every day since September 29.



The Indian fire came to a maximum on Wednesday as they fired over 25,000 rounds with small arms - rifles and machine-guns as well as mortars, he said.



The Indian forces violated the Line of Control by fire and then few hours later they made a false claim about surgical strikes' across the Line of Control. We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false, Xinhua quoted the army spokesman as saying in his first ever formal interview with a foreign media since the tension escalated on early September 29.



He further said "What we see is that there is more intensified firing along the LoC, and of course, when there is more fire, the situation does escalate. The environment also escalates when there is more rhetoric and more statement and more pronouncements" by the Indian side, Bajwa said.



Xinhua said Bajwa emphasized the importance of resolving current tension through dialogue. He said contacts between Pakistani and Indian armies are maintained, confirming that the Director Generals of the Military Operations have talked over the phone after the start of the cross LoC firing.



"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he said, adding that the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan and India also monitor the situation and report to its headquarters.



Pakistan wants peacefully neighborly relations with all countries in the region and that is the policy of the state of Pakistan and that is the policy of the political government and every element of power in the country follows the same policy, said Bajwa.



Indo-Pak relations went on a downward spiral since the Uri attacks of September 18 when a jihadi suicide squad crossed over from Pakistan and attacked an Indian Army brigade HQ killing 19 soldiers. On the early hours of September 30, Indian Army carried out a surgical strike into the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir destroying terrorist infrastructure.



Pakistan has consistently denied that any such surgical strikes took place, however, a CNN-News18 investigation revealed the claim made by the Indian Army Director General of Military Operations Lt General Ranbir Singh in a press conference on September 30 indeed checked out.



In the sting op, CNN-News18s Investigations Editor Manoj Gupta posed as an IG of Pakistans Punjab Police and called up Ghulam Akbar, a Superintend of Police (Special Branch), Mirpur Range (PoK), who confirmed all the claims made by the Indian DGMO and gave out a list of 5 Pakistani Army soldiers killed in the operation.


Jaisalmer: India will completely seal the border with Pakistan by December, 2018 by using all effective means including technological solutions, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.



Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four States, Singh said India is planning to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place at the central and State government levels for it.



He also mooted setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the concerned stakeholders including the States which share border with Pakistan.



"It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stake holders," Singh said.



The Home Minister said that the government was determined to completely seal the borders with Pakistan by December 2018 and added "this project will be periodically monitored by Home Secretary at the central level, BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the State level."



He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology will also be used. "Like we have riverine and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, there we will make maximum use of technology for effective sealing of border.



Singh chaired the meeting attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthan's Home Ministers Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Gulab Chand Kataria respectively and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma, an official said.



Senior BSF officials were present at the meeting here which reviewed security arrangements on the border in the wake of tension between India and Pakistan after surgical strike by army on terror camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.




Colombo: Under attack from the opposition for boycotting the SAARC Summit to be held in Islamabad, the Sri Lankan government on Friday said there was no question of pulling out when there was "no summit to attend".



"There was no question of pulling out when there was no summit to attend", Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament.



He said Sri Lanka had regretted that conditions were not conducive to holding the Summit.



Samaraweera said the Lankan statement was released only after several countries had issued statements with their intention to pull out.



"We will take part (in the summit) whenever it happens," he said.



The opposition hit out at the government, saying Sri Lanka was staying out of the summit to please India while hurting Pakistan.



Samaraweera said the South Asian region must unite against terrorism.



"Terrorism must unite our region not divide it," he said while inviting the region's leadership to forget the past and unite against terrorism.



Sri Lanka on Sepember 30 pulled out of 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, becoming the fifth country to do so after India, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.



"Sri Lanka regrets that the prevailing environment in the region is not conducive for holding the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad," the Foreign Ministry had said in a statement.



On the same day, Pakistan had postponed the SAARC Summit to be held in Islamabad from November 9 and 10.



Besides India, three other SAARC members -- Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan -- had pulled out of the summit, indirectly blaming

Pakistan for creating an environment which was not right for the successful holding of the meet. Citing continuous cross border terrorism by Pakistan,



India had announced last month that "in the prevailing circumstances, the Indian government is unable to participate in the proposed Summit in Islamabad."



SAARC member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.


Kolkata: President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday arrived on a five-day visit to West Bengal to celebrate Durga Puja at his ancestral house in Mirati in Birbhum district.



Mukherjee flew in a helicopter to his elder sister Annapurna Devi's house at Kirnahar town in the afternoon amid tight security.



The President has for years taken up the priest's role during puja in his household at Mirati.





Mukherjee is also scheduled to inaugurate a new military station at Baharampur in Murshidabad district, besides attending a felicitation programme at Birbhum district headquarters Suri on Saturday.



At Suri, he will also formally rechristen a road after his freedom fighter father Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee.



On Sunday, he will launch a health awareness programme, before returning to Delhi on Tuesday.



In the wake of the tension on the country's western border, security has been beefed up for the President, a police officer said.



Interacting with the media on his arrival, Mukherjee said he will meet commoners and old acquaintances during his sojourn, as he had done in previous years.



"I extend my best wishes to all on the occasion of Durga Puja," said Mukherjee.




Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on Friday where Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has been admitted for over two weeks now.Rahul told media that he came to extend his support to Jayalalithaa. She is recovering. I wish her maximum energy, so she would be able to get well soon, he said.The visit, however, set tongues wagging since Jayalalithaa and her AIADMK has been political adversaries of Congress. After Congress went to polls with the DMK in 2004, the AIADMK and the Congress have never been on the same side on any issue.Angered by the Congress-DMK alliance, Jayalalithaa started moving closer to the BJP and has always maintained good personal equations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.It is a courtesy call. But since AIADMK and DMK have been behaving more like enemies with regard to one another, one can attribute some political significance, political Analysts RK Radhakrishnan told News18.DMK, too, toed the line that there was nothing wrong in one political leader calling on another who is ailing. Party spokesperson Manu Sundaram said it would not be fair to attribute political motives to Rahul Gandhis visit. I am sure politicians across party lines wish her well. Even leaders from People Welfare Front have visited the hospital. Does that mean everyone visiting the hospital has a political motive? he asked.Jayalalithaa and Congress president Sonia Gandhi came together for the last time in 1999 when Dr Subramanian Swamy had arranged a famous tea party which helped topple AB Vajpayee-led NDA government. They fought the 2001 Assembly polls together, but that relationship did not lost long. The Congress is officially with the DMK, though the ties have soured.The visit of Rahul Gandhi has set the rumour mills abuzz in Chennai. Some feel that he is trying to woo AIADMK by calling on its supremo in the hospital. But TN Congress leaders dismiss such theories as absurd.Rahul Gandhis father the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had a cordial relationship with Jayalalithaa.In her recently released biography, senior Congress leader Margarate Alva writes that, as an MP, J Jayalalithaa was sending all secret communications to the then PM through her.At that time Alva was a Union minister and was a member of Rajiv Gandhis inner circle. They together swept the 1991 TN Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudoor, Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa had saved PV Narasimha Raos minority government between 1991 and 1996.Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 22 on complaints of fever and dehydration. Its been over 14 days since she has been hospitalised. The latest medical bulletin by Apollo said she will have to stay longer in the hospital. The release said a team of experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences examined the CM and concurred with the present line of treatment.A UK specialist Dr. Richard John Beale had visited Jayalalithaa on September 30 and again on Friday. The chief minister is being treated with antibiotics, respiratory support and other clinical measures, said the hospital. The line of treatment also includes nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, and supportive therapy. The release also talked of a history of diabetes and winter bronchitis in inclement weather afflicting the chief minister.
Erode/Coimbatore: After a gap of almost a month, buses and lorries from Tamil Nadu resumed services to neighbouring Karnataka, which witnessed violence in the wake of the Supreme Court order over release of Cauvery water.



Private buses and those of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) plied from Sathyamangalam (in Erode district), Tirupur and Coimbatore to Mysuru via Chamrajnagar from this afternoon, police said.



In Nilgiri's district, about 100 lorries crossed into Karnataka from Kakkanalla checkpost, they said.



A few lorries with Karnataka registration numbers besides cars and other vehicles were provided police escort up to the border, in Pulinjure.



However, as a precautionary measure, buses with Tamil Nadu registration are being operated till the Karnataka border with police security.



Movement of vehicles resumed after talks were held between representatives of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu police and Transport authorities.



On September 12, protests over the raging Cauvery water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu turned violent with incidents of attacks on buses, trucks and hotels.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi Government on Friday unequivocally opposed the concept of Triple Talaq as something which violates the fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution and said it did not form a part of the essential religious practices in Islam.



In a 28-page letter to the Supreme Court, which is its response to the affidavit submitted by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the government said it was time that personal laws are relooked in the light of gender justice & dignity of women.



The triple talaq is against Constitutional morality and needed to be abolished to reaffirm the principle of non-discrimination, dignity & equality, says the letter, a copy of which is with CNN-News18.



The AIMPLB hearing and the Centres deposition comes in petition filed by Shayara Bano from Uttarakhand who had challenged Triple Talaq, polygamy and Nikah Halala as unconstitutional.



I am very pleased with the governments affidavit in SC today. This has a message for politicians who are refusing to speak up for womens rights in the name of not meddling in religious laws, Shayara Bano told CNN News18 on the Centres letter.







In September, SC had given the Centre four weeks to submit its reply to a batch of petitions on Triple Talaq. However, AIMPLB had in its affidavit contended that personal laws cannot be re-written in the name of reforms and Muslim personal law cannot be subjected to scrutiny as it derives it basis from Quran.



However, Zakia Soman, the co founder of the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), while speaking to CNN News18, says, The government in fact took note of the affidavit submitted by the Muslim personal law board itself. It inferred that, Triple Talaq is not something which is granted by the Quran and it is the men who are using it according to their own will.



The apex court had directed the government to file a response to help the court decide that whether interfering in the Muslim Personal Law would infringe upon the fundamental rights of the community.



Muslim women campaigners are ecstatic at the response of the Central Government and are hopeful of a positive reformation regarding unilateral divorces, child marriage and polygamy.



AIMPLB earlier, taking shelter under the Right to Religion guaranteed under the constitution , had submitted that such matters are not within the purview of the judiciary and even stated that during marital discord, its better for a man to divorce his wife, rather than resorting to criminal ways to get rid of her.


New Delhi: US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will address a rally of Hindu-Americans in New Jersey on October 15 and half of the proceedings from the event will be used for the benefit of Kashmiri Pandits.



The founder of Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) Shalabh Kumar on Friday claimed that this is the first of its kind event where Trump is scheduled to address only one specific ethnic community.



"...This is a charity concert organised for the benefit of terror victims in various countries...The 50 per cent of the proceeds from this concert will go for the benefit of Kashmiri Pandits in India," Kumar told reporters here.



Kumar is also Chairman of Indian American Advisory Council to the Republican Party.
Washington: Amid the current tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has reiterated that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between the two South Asian nations.



"...On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir," US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in the daily press briefing here on Thursday.



"And generally, generally speaking, I mean, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place -- meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries," he said.



The State Department's comments came as India-Pakistan relations dipped to a new low in recent times with cross-border terror attacks and the Indian Army's surgical strikes at terror "launch pads" across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.



Based on credible information, the Indian Army early on the intervening night of September 28-29 carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the LoC in which "significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who are trying to support them".



This came after the September 18 terror attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir which left 19 soldiers dead and a similar attack in Baramulla town in north Kashmir in which a Border Security Force trooper was killed.



These attacks took place amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which around 90 lives have been lost following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in a gunfight with security forces on July 8.



Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his address at the UN General Assembly session last month, alleged that India was causing human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.



But Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj effectively finished off the Pakistani rhetoric saying in her UN speech that Islamabad should stop state sponsorship of terrorism and human rights abuses on the people of Balochistan province in Pakistan.



India also pulled out of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November citing Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in the region.



Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan too followed suit citing the same reason.



Pakistan went sabre-rattling with its Defence Minister Khwaja Asif saying that his country's "tactical devices (read nuclear) were not show pieces and would be used against India if its security was threatened".



In his briefing on Thursday, Kirby said: "We're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal, and I'd let them speak to that more specifically".




Pakistani actor with a formidable Bollywood profile Fawad Khan finally opened his mind on the escalating tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi post the Uri attacks, but his Facebook statement ended up saying precious little on what he thinks of the goings on.



Fawad Khan, along with Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar and a few other Pakistani actors looking for a career in Bollywood, had been slammed by a few of their co-actors in Hindi cinema and sections of the media for not condemning the Uri attack of September 18 wherein a group of terrorists had crossed over from Line of Control and attacked an Indian Army post killing 18.



I've been in Lahore since July as my wife and I had been expecting our second child. I've received numerous requests from the media and from well wishers worldwide asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks. As a father of two little children, I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow.



This is the first time I have spoken on the matter. Please disregard any other words attributed to me during this time because I have not said them. I thank all my fans and fellow artists from Pakistan, India and people in general all over the world who have shown continued support for their belief in love and understanding to unite a divisive world, Khan said in a short Facebook post on Friday.







Earlier, as the focus shifted to Pakistani actors, there were reports that Khan had left for Lahore fearing backlash. However, in this post he makes it clear he has been in Pakistan from July.



The Uri attacks took place in September 20 and India had retaliated on September 30 by launching a surgical raid against terrorists inside Pakistan territory across LoC.
Lucknow: Alleging that BJP was trying to take "political mileage" out of the surgical strikes across the Line of Control, BSP chief Mayawati on Friday said only the Army should be felicitated for its action and not the Defence Minister or the Prime Minister.



"BJP's attempt to take political mileage out of the surgical strikes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls should be condemned. Only the Army should be felicitated and hailed for it not any leader, the Defence Minister or the Prime Minister," Mayawati said.



She said the BJP leadership's reported directive to its leaders and ministers not to issue statements on the surgical strikes seem to have fallen on deaf ears.



"Against the instruction, hoardings, posters and statements of BJP leaders are being used to take political gain out the of force's action. This is happening when the situation on the border is tense and terrorists are continuing their attacks. The Centre and BJP should avoid such propaganda for political gains," the BSP supremo said.



"People's apprehensions that the BJP government headed by Narendra Modi will promote hatred, orchestrate communal riots and rake up the India-Pakistan issue ahead of the UP Assembly polls to turn the tide in its favour are proving true.



It did the same before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls," she alleged Mayawati said the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government have gone on an "inauguration spree, which is an attempt to divert voters' attention and confuse them".




New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Friday denounced BJP President Amit Shah for criticizing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the army's surgical strikes.



"So now Amit Shah will issue certificates of patriotism?" the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister asked in a tweet.



Saying Amit Shah was not even qualified to take Kejriwal's name, Sisodia described the BJP President as a "black spot" on issues of political probity.



Slamming the BJP President, Sisodia said, "The army is ours. It belongs to the people. The soldiers belong to the people. Who has made Amit Shah a spokesperson for the army?"



Earlier in the day, the BJP leader accused Kejriwal of "doubting" the surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) and "casting aspersions on the bravery of our armed forces".



Both Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have repeatedly denied the charge.



Indian commandos raided terrorist launch pads across the LoC in Pakistani territory on the night of September 28-29, killing an unspecified number of terrorists. Pakistan denies this happened.



Sisodia also targeted the media. "Did anyone from the media at the press conference ask Amit Shah about the Bansal suicide?"



In his suicide note, senior bureaucrat B.K. Bansal named CBI officer Sanjeev Gautam of bragging that he was "Amit Shah's man".



Bansal alleged in his suicide note that CBI officers tortured his wife and daughter on Gautam's orders, first driving the two women to kill themselves and then Bansal and his son to also commit suicide.
New Delhi: BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to impose President's Rule in Tamil Nadu following the prolonged hospitalisation of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her remaining incommunicado.



Swamy also sought the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be imposed in the state since "sleeper cells of the IS have become active in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Tirunveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari", and "disruptive groups" such as Dravida Kazhagam, leftover LTTE, and Naxalites "are out to create an upheaval".



"I urge Home Minister Rajnath Singh to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution and put the Legislative Assembly in suspended animation till Jayalalithaa is able to attend office," Swamy said a press statement.



According to him, the step should be taken in view of the administrative disarray in the state following the indefinite hospitalisation of the Chief Minister and her having to remain incommunicado for health reasons.



"A retired Chief Secretary has been allowed to conduct the business of the state," Swamy added.



In this ad hoc administrative situation, he pointed out, the sleeper cells of the ISIS have become active in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Tirunveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari.



Besides, "a collaborative and supportive action by Dravida Kazhagam, leftover LTTE, and disruptive groups such as underground Naxalites are out to create an upheaval in the state causing a massive disorder and lawlessness", added the statement.



In view of this situation, Swamy sought imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in all the southern districts as well as Chennai for a period of six months.



The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 22 for fever and dehydration.
Donald Trump has backed away from a total ban on Muslims entering the United States, vice presidential running mate Mike Pence said on Thursday, a shift from one of the Republican presidential candidate's most provocative proposals.Trump's call last December for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" followed an Islamic State-inspired mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, by a husband-and-wife team.Critics have called the proposed ban discriminatory and probably a violation of the US Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion, and Democrats have used Trump's policy to declare him a bigot.In recent months, Trump has said he would suspend immigration from countries where Islamist militants are active but has left vague as to whether this amounted to a narrowing or an expansion of his original policy position.Pence said in a round of television interviews that if elected on November 8, Trump would suspend immigration from "countries that have been compromised by terrorism.Asked if this amounted to a ban on Muslims, Pence said on MSNBC's Morning Joe show: "Of course not."On CNN's New Day, Pence was asked why, given that he had been against the ban before becoming Trump's running mate, he was not opposing it now."Well, because it's not Donald Trump's position now," replied Pence.
New Delhi: India will strongly push at the BRICS Summit for joint efforts to tackle terrorism including action against countries providing safe havens and arms to terrorists while it will also make efforts to revive the seven-nation regional bloc BIMSTEC next week in Goa.



Apart from the heads of governments of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa to attend BRICS Summit on October 16, India has also received consent of Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar (State Counsellor) for the outreach meet of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).



Briefing reporters, Secretary (Economic Relations) in External Affairs Ministry Amar Sinha said, "Agenda is drawn in a broad-brush manner. We will be looking at global economic and political situation. Obviously terrorism is very important part of that."



Though he said the issue of China blocking ban of Jaish- e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar by the UN will not be taken up at BRICS because it was a bilateral issue with China and India does not want to bring such issues to the multilateral fora, he asserted that general principles pertaining to terrorism will be forcefully taken up.



And that will include "terrorism which is a global problem. It cannot be tackled individually and has to be tackled collectively. We cannot have a differential policy towards terrorism. There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist. So, these are the issues on which there will reiteration of national positions," Sinha said.



He added that "there would be very strong paragraphs (in the BRICS outcome document) on terrorism including how to deal with countries that provide sanctuaries and safe havens. How to cut down the financing.



"At NSA-level meet, we have also actually shifted the goalpost a little by talking about not only sources of finances but also sources from where they (terrorists) get arms and ammunition. These will be reflected in the BRICS discussions."



India will also make efforts to revive BIMSTEC which assumes significance with the collapse of recent SAARC Summit after four countries apart from India pulled out of the meet to be hosted by Pakistan over the issue of cross-border terrorism, maintaining that environment was not conducive to hold such an event.



Three MoUs including those on cooperation in the area of environment and customs have been agreed upon by the BRICS countries, Sinha said, adding the pact pertaining to customs will help in breaking the trade barriers between these countries.



The other key issues to be taken up during these significant diplomatic outreach events include cooperation areas of economy, tourism, connectivity, cultural, education and sports.


Caracas: The newly crowned Miss Venezuela on Thursday took issue with Donald Trump's attacks on her predecessor Alicia Machado, who says the US presidential candidate "fat-shamed" her when she was Miss Universe.



"I don't share this gentleman's opinions, but we have to be tolerant and respect everyone's opinion," Keysi Sayago, 23, told a press conference in Caracas a day after being crowned Miss Venezuela 2016.



Machado, who was Miss Venezuela in 1995 and Miss Universe the following year, has surged into the spotlight of the US election since Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton named her as an example of her Republican rival's mistreatment of women.



During their first debate last week, Clinton lashed out at Trump for publicly humiliating Machado after she gained weight following her beauty pageant win.



Machado accuses Trump, who formerly owned the Miss Universe pageant, of verbally abusing her during her reign.



She says the billionaire real estate magnate called her "Miss Piggy" over her weight and "Miss Housekeeping" because she is Latina.



The polemic later escalated into a late-night Twitter tirade by Trump, who trashed Machado as "disgusting" and urged voters to "check out (her) sex tape and past."



Pressed by reporters, Sayago avoided wading into the dispute, but repeated: "I don't share (Trump's opinion), but I respect it."



Sayago, who was crowned in a far less lavish ceremony than usual in recession-racked Venezuela, also spoke about the economic crisis gripping the country.



Venezuela, a major oil exporter, has been hit by severe shortages of food and basic goods as global oil prices have plunged since 2014.



"It affects all of us. We haven't been spared. But we've tried to keep ourselves in a bubble, because at the end of the day this is a beauty pageant," she said.



"We couldn't let ourselves get swept up in all the bad things. This gave the country a reason to smile."



Beauty pageant-obsessed Venezuela has won the Miss Universe crown seven times, second only to the United States, with eight.


Bookmakers taking bets for this year's Nobel Peace Prize are giving the lowest odds to the Greek islanders who have opened their hearts and homes to hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.The award will be announced on Friday in Oslo, Norway, and as usual the Norwegian Nobel Committee isn't dropping any hints about its choice for 2016.The betting site Unibet gave the lowest odds on Thursday to Greek islanders while another betting site, Paddy Power, had the White Helmets rescue group in Syria in first place, followed by the islanders.Others with low odds included Pope Francis, the architects of Colombia's peace deal and Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege, who treats victims of sexual violence in that nation's civil war.Last year, the committee surprised the world by picking the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet.Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC rebel commander Timochenko were considered hot favourites by many until Sunday, when Colombian voters narrowly rejected their peace deal in a referendum. A Colombia award now seems like a less likely, though it can't be ruled out.Another possibility could be a prize linked to last year's Paris Agreement on climate change, which on Wednesday was ratified by enough countries to enter into force next month. The committee has made the link between climate and peace before, by giving the 2007 award to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former US vice president Al Gore.A challenge for a prize honouring the Paris Agreement would be identifying the architects of a deal negotiated by more than 190 countries. The committee could play it safe by awarding outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who made climate change a priority as soon as he took the job, or the UN secretariat for climate change.The committee could also devote the prize to the deal on Iran's contested nuclear program or the world's refugee crisis. Options would be many: German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her handling of the refugee crisis or grassroots refugee activists like Russia's Svetlana Gannushkina or the Rev. Mussie Zerai, a Catholic priest helping asylum-seekers in Italy.A campaign for the Greek islanders to receive the award focuses on Lesbos locals Emilia (Militsa) Kamvisi, an 85-year-old grandmother and second-generation refugee whose parents fled Turkey in the 1920s, and fisherman Stratis Valiamos, 40, who like many fishermen has rescued refugees from sinking boats.The committee has dedicated the prize to efforts to help refugees several times before, including with two awards to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in 1954 and 1981.A refugee prize could also be a way for the committee to reference the Syrian civil war, now in its sixth year. Some say a better way to do that would be to award the volunteer first responders in Syria known as the White Helmets.Last month the group was honoured among the winners of the Right Livelihood Award, a human rights prize sometimes referred to as the "alternative Nobel."It's also a distinct possibility that the committee, like so many times before, selects a winner who isn't in the limelight. Except for Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani children's rights activist who shared the prize in 2014, the Nobel committee's choices in the past five years have surprised most observers.
United Nations The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution authorising the European Union and individual countries to seize migrant-smuggling vessels on the high seas off Libya for another year.



The resolution, adopted on Thursday by a vote of 14-0 with Venezuela abstaining, stressed that the council's aim is "to disrupt the organized criminal enterprises engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking and prevent loss of life."



Britain's UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said after the vote that he wanted to make clear that the EU's Operation Sophia "is only targeting smugglers and empty boats."



He said migrants found during the operation are taken to Europe. Since the UN authorised the interdictions in October last year, Rycroft said, the Operation Sophia flotilla has directly apprehended 90 suspected smugglers and has made over 300 smuggling vessels unusable.



The EU operation is also estimated to have rescued over 26,000 people, he said. "But the smuggling networks have not been defeated,"

Rycroft stressed.



"The migration crisis remains one of our greatest shared challenges," he said. "Thousands have perished crossing the Mediterranean and thousands more continue to risk their lives to find a safer future. And so many, perhaps all of them, have been exploited."



Rycroft said action against smugglers on the high seas is only part of the solution and he urged all countries to do more to tackle the root causes of migration including poverty, conflict and human rights abuses. He said more must also be done to help countries hosting refugees.



Venezuela's UN Ambassador Rafael Ramirez, who also abstained on last year's resolution, said his government had the same objection the crisis requires a broader approach.



The resolution authorises the EU and other states to inspect vessels off Libya's coast that they have reasonable grounds to believe are engaged in migrant smuggling provided they make "good faith efforts to obtain the consent" of country whose flag the vessel is flying.



And it authorises the seizure of those confirmed as being used for migrant smuggling.



The council underscored that the resolution "is not intended to undermine the human rights of individuals or prevent them from seeking protection under international human rights law and international refugee law." And it emphasised that "all migrants, including asylum seekers, should be treated with humanity and dignity and that their rights should be fully protected."


The US is disappointed with the way Russia and to some extent China have been exercising their veto power in the UN Security Council to blunt global efforts for peace in Syria, the White House has said as it underscored the need to reform the powerful wing of the world body."We have been deeply concerned by the way Russia has used its veto power on the UN Security Council to prevent as much action from the UN as we would like to see," White House Press Secretary Josh earnest said."I know there has been a broader and, in some ways, more esoteric discussion about proposed reforms of the UN Security Council and the way that it works. I know there have been some proposals to enlarge it. Our friends in India are certainly interested in benefitting from reforms like that," Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday.India has been strongly pushing for reform of the UN Security Council and getting its permanent membership. He said as it relates to the situation in Syria, the US'most urgent concern is with the way Russia has used their veto authority on the Security Council at the UN."The United States has been disappointed at the way in which Russia and to a certain extent China have wielded their veto authority on the UN Security Council to bluntinternational efforts to limit the violence inside of Syria," the White House spokesman said."We have been disappointed that they have used that veto to protect (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad. There have also been movements at the United Nations Security Council to raise concerns about the conduct of individuals in that conflict and to ensure that they are met with some accountability. Those accountability measures have been blocked by the Russians," Earnest said.There are other examples of the US being able to work effectively outside the auspices of the UN to implement sanctions in a coordinated fashion to maximise the impact of those sanctions, he said.The situation in Ukraine is the best example where the US has been able to work effectively with its European allies to impose tough sanctions against Russia, Earnest said."I would be among the first to point out that the sanctions that we have imposed on Russia, in concert with our European allies, as a result of Russia's actions in Ukraine have not yet achieved the desired result."We have not seen the change in strategy on the part of the Russians that we would like to see in Ukraine. We have not seen them indicate their clear respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Earnest said."We do know that those sanctions have had an impact on Russia's economy. Russia is paying the price for their actions inside of Ukraine. That price is one that they have to pay because of the ability of the US to work effectively with our European partners to impose those costs. That is something that we did not do through the UN obviously because Russia has a veto on the UN Security Council."Our preference is always to work through the UN when it comes to implementing these sanctions because it means that even more countries are able to coordinate their actions with the US which essentially has a multiplier effect in terms of the strength of the sanctions and the size of the cost," the White House Press Secretary said.He said the US does have options and has demonstrated an ability to work outside of the UN to achieve a similar result. "So I guess the point is in this case I would not rule out multilateral efforts outside of the UN to impose costs on Syria or Russia or others with regard to the situation inside of Syria. We have done that in the past. I would not take that off the table in terms of the options that the President may consider in this situation," Earnest added.The 15-member UN Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Catalonia's parliament voted in favor on Thursday of pursuing a referendum on independence next September amid mounting tensions with Spain's central government over whether the northeastern region can legally break away.

The referendum poses a new headache for Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose conservative People's Party (PP) repeatedly has refused to consider allowing one in Catalonia, which is home to about a sixth of the population.

Rajoy's standoff with the Catalan separatists has sharpened at a time when national politics have ground to a halt after two inconclusive national elections over the last 10 months failed to produce a majority to form a central government.
When Charlottesville resident Sally Mank was looking for volunteer opportunities in the late 1990s  after a career as an urban planner and community organizer  she remembered helping her father, who suffered from a cognitive impairment, understand his Medicare statements.

I realized how hard it had been for him, how hard it is for many seniors, Mank said, and thats when I knew what I wanted to do.

Mank began volunteering with the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) at the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) in 1997, providing individual insurance counseling to residents older than 65. And as a VICAP coordinator for five years, she increased the number of clients served from 30 a month to more than 100.

In 2008, Mank started the New to Medicare workshops that have become so popular at JABA, and that same year, she received the Virginia Governors Volunteer Award. In 2013, Mank received the Presidents Volunteer Service Awards highest honor, the Presidents Lifetime Achievement Award, for contributing more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service.

After nearly 20 years as an insurance counseling volunteer, Mank has tried to bring the same compassion to the many clients shes helped as she did to her father all those years ago.

Like the time she recalls helping a woman who suffered a heart attack and had nearly $30,000 in hospital bills.

The woman, who lived on just $800 a month, was visiting family in New Jersey at the time, and when she was rushed to the hospital, her family members forgot to show her Medicaid card, said Mank. When she returned to Virginia, massive bills began arriving.

Mank said she spent a spent a month calling providers and writing letters trying to persuade them to bill Virginia Medicaid. In the end, the woman only had to pay about $500 out of pocket.

Many people are very concerned and anxious, she said, and its either about fixing a problem or letting them know there isnt a problem  and simply helping them understand.

Indeed, according to Randy Rodgers, JABAs Insurance Counseling manager, many seniors make mistakes or bad choices when they sign up for Medicare that can have devastating consequences  such as getting fined or suffering a delay in their coverage for missing their enrollment period deadline, missing out on supplemental coverage altogether, or choosing a Medicare Part D prescription plan that doesnt cover the drugs they need.

Rodgers said surveys have shown that close to 90 percent of seniors are on the wrong Medicare Part D drug prescription plan for them.

Last year, we helped 1,150 people choose plans that better matched their prescription needs, saving them nearly half a million dollars, Rodgers said. Our New to Medicare classes and one-on-one New to Medicare counseling helps many people setup their Medicare insurance the best way for them.

As Mank points out, the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit went into effect in 2006, following an outcry over the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs  and it has been a problem for Medicare beneficiaries ever since.

JABA ended up needing more counselors because of the Part D benefit, says Mank, because it was new, and because many seniors didnt  and still dont  feel confident to take it on. They also feel that asking family members to help is asking too much. So, now, theres a kind of mythology that figuring out Part D is scary and complicated.

Indeed, since Medicare was enacted in 1965, an array of program changes and supplemental plans offered by private insurance companies have come online to help reduce costs for Medicare beneficiaries  as healthcare costs today are eight times higher than they were in 1965  making the options and choices more complicated.

But Mank likes the challenge, and the way helping people makes her feel.

There isnt a perfect solution out there, admits Mank, but its a good system with the right help. And If Im unable to resolve the problem entirely, I try to find other people and programs that might. I always feel relief for the person Ive helped, and proud that Ive been able to help.

David McNair handles publicity, marketing, media relations and social media efforts for JABA. David is an experienced writer, editor and publicist and has worked for a number of publications in the U.S. and Europe. He was a staff writer for The Hook in Charlottesville for eight years.
Sixty percent of Americans think of North Korea's nuclear development as a "critical threat" to the U.S., a poll suggests.

"With concern rising about North Korea's nuclear test... a majority of the American public -- 60 percent -- continue to cite North Korea's nuclear program as a critical threat to the United States," the Chicago Council on Global Affairs said.

This figure is up five percentage points on-year. The poll reflects recent calls among some senior American figures for a preemptive strike on the North's nuclear facilities.

Song Dae-sung, former head of the Sejong Institute, said, "Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has honed its war doctrine around preemptive or preventive strikes, determined not to wait till disaster strikes. It already identified 6,000 to 7,000 targets of preemptive strikes a decade ago."

"Nobody should make light of the recent opinion trend in the U.S.," he added.

In the poll, a record 70 percent supported the presence of the U.S. troops in South Korea, up six percentage points from 2014 and 10 from 2012. Seventy-six percent of Republican supporters, 70 percent of Democratic supporters, and 64 percent of independents approved of the stationing of the U.S. troops in South Korea.

They include 72 percent of supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has claimed the U.S. Forces Korea cost too much. The proportions were much higher than for other overseas troop presences in Australia, Japan and Germany.

But more Americans support diplomatic efforts rather than a military solution to the North Korean nuclear issue. "Eighty-one percent of Americans support continuing diplomatic efforts to get North Korea to suspend its nuclear program... Eighty percent also support imposing tighter sanctions," the CCGA said.

Some 35 percent support airstrikes against the North's nuclear facilities and only 25 percent supported sending U.S. troops to destroy those facilities.

With the support of the Korea Foundation, the poll was conducted online by GfK among 2,061 adults.
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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
Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Looking Back Health Jewels Stitch in Time Valley View celebrates 20th International Walk to School Day October 6, 2016 An enthusiastic group of Valley View students and accompanying adults gather to await the start of the 20th annual Valley View International Walk to School Day early Wednesday morning. Valley View Elementary students joined with students around the world in celebrating the 20th year of International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 5.



The Valley View students and their parents, guardians, relatives and friends met at the City Parking Lot in downtown Bonners Ferry at 7 a.m. There was a little chill to the air, and an occasional raindrop noted here and there, but all seemed invigorated by the refreshing cool morning.



There was excitement in the air as everyone waited to begin the walk to school.



Valley View students, guests and chaperones head up Bonners Ferry's South Hill. Physical Education teacher Paula Petesch called the group of students and their accompanying adults to order, explained the route and recommendations for safe walking and introduced special guests. Those guests were John Beck, retired physical education teacher at Valley View, who has participated in around 15 Walk to School Days over the years, Gary Pflueger, Superintendent of Boundary County Schools, and David Sims, Mayor of Bonners Ferry.



All participated in the walk with the students.



From the City Parking Lot, the group of approximately 35 students, with almost as many adults, headed up the South Hill, with officers from the Bonners Ferry Police Department providing traffic control and monitoring safety.



Upon reaching the top of the South Hill, the group left Highway 95 and cut through quieter neighborhood streets, taking around half an hour to cover the distance of approximately 2.5 miles.



On arriving for their day at school, the kids seemed to be just about as enthusiastic as they were to begin the walk.



Walk to School Day began in 1997 as an event to encourage "walkable communities." The event has grown over the years, and is now celebrated every October by thousands of schools across the United States, along with schools from over 40 countries around the world.



There is also a Bike to School Day, which began in 2012. Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail!
Drama aplenty at Sanfest

Tonight, judges will assess students competing in visual arts, dramatised speech, public speaking, verse speaking, monologue, storytelling, and coral speaking. This will take place at the home for Sanfest, the Creative Arts Centre on Circular Road, beginning at 1pm.

This years theme is Sanfest  The Divine Alternative to Co-ordinator of Sanfest Walid Baksh said he would like to see more people attending the events and showing support for the youths in the arts. Having an audience is very important when a child has to perform any kind of art, Baksh said. He urged the public to look at the schedule and support the performances.

Sanfest is endorsed by the Ministry of Education with the competition serving to nurture the performing, literary and visual arts within schools. This festival will also provide experiences that will assist in the holistic development of students.

Apart from providing a forum for the exploration of students creative abilities, Sanfest has served as the primary stage experience for some of the nations major artistes, including Machel Montano, Joanne Foster, Liam Teague, Atiba Williams, Michael Zephyrine, Faye Alibocas, Victoria Cooper, Megan Walrond, Sherma Andrews, Rondell Donawa and Frances Brooks.

Baksh says the theme, Sanfest  The Divine Alternative, will no doubt provide many opportunities for students to develop while engaging in activities that are positive and memorable. The youths, he said, in turn could help mobilise the artistic community to take a leadership role in cultural diversification and education.

Harrilal Seecharan, chief education officer from the Ministry of Education said that throughout the world, nations are remembered by their cultural legacy and contributions to the development of the arts.

Educational opportunities in the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) provide the institutional framework for this legacy to be developed and enhanced, he said. The ministrys educational programmes are underpinned by the principles: All students possess innate creative abilities and should be exposed to a stimulating arts programme to allow them to maximise those abilities.

Arts education is essential to the development of citizens in a diverse and multicultural society. VAPA, he says, also facilitates psychomotor development which allows students to become aware of their physical bodies and promotes healthy lifestyles.

Sanfest began on September 26 and ends on November 23 with the staging of the Mr and Mrs Sanfest competition.
Kahiyang Ayu, the eldest daughter of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, is visiting Korea with 36 officials from Bogor Agricultural University.

Ayu is a fan of Korean pop culture and food.

Ayu, who studies for a master's degree at the university, has been visiting production facilities of CJ Group since Tuesday, the food giant said Thursday.

She looked at tofu and kimchi factories in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province and an instant rice factory in Busan.

Korean foods like kimchi are popular in Indonesia, she said. "I've learned a lot from the way the facilities are operated. They are efficient and hygienic."


Experience the falls, river and pools

On Sunday come and celebrate the love of water and all things natural, as Hikers Inc undertake its Marianne River Adventure 2016 -The Return.

The trek takes hikers first from the Spring Bridge in Blanchisseuse, over a land trail, to the visually stunning Avocat Falls, where hikers sojourn for a bit.

They will then walk, wade and swim down the Marianne River to the terrific Three Pools; where to sojourn for a little more time, before ending where the hike began, at the historic Spring Bridge. An awesome water adventure awaits you.

Rate: moderately challenginga river trek. (lifejackets will be provided) Duration: five to six hours return Assembly time: 7:30 am sharp Assembly point: Uncle Sams, Maracas Bay Secured parking/ washroom facilites ( by trail head): Limit:- 50 persons Caution: Please note that this hike involves being in water for a significant period of time.

Persons with a morbid fear of deep water (panicking with even a life jacket on) are advised that this hike is not suitable for them.

Phobias must be gradually overcomed.

Lifejackets are mandatory and will be provided.

Please note that persons showing up unannounced on the day will not be accommodated.
$HADY DEALS

She kicked off the Lower House debate on the Budget presented last Friday by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

The Minister, talking to reporters during the tea-break, totally rejected her allegation of impropriety in his proposed sale of shares in First Citizens Bank (FCB) and TTNGL (Phoenix Park Gas Processors), a subsidiary of the National Gas Company.

Alleging a Government plot to create an Ultra Elitist State, Persad-Bissessar said these share-offerings will help only big investors but not John Public and Dulharie Public.

She urged that these sales not proceed until current procurement legislation is proclaimed and said she saw no good reason to give special access to existing shareholders. Saying both sets of shares are very valuable and were oversubscribed in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) done under her administration, she said the offerings were much more wider than this new offering now proposed by Imbert. The FCB sale was three times oversubscribed and private persons sought 43 million shares when only seven million were offered to them, she related.

BROOKS KNOCKED Of TTNGL, she said, I could not believe such a small circle of people are involved in the ownership of this valuable piece of financial capital. Persad-Bissessar said NGC chairman Gerry Brooks, was chief operating officer of a conglomerate which has companies or individuals which comprise five out of the ten shareholders of TTNGL and hold a combined stake of 5.64 percent.

Brooks is a former chairman of Tatil, a TTNGL shareholder.

She said that Brooks had retired as the conglomerates chief operating officer (COO) in 2015 and then was named by Government as NGC chairman. Thanks to this Government, Mr Gerry Brooks within days went from being an associate with five of the entities holding shares in TTNGL to being Chairman of the largest shareholder (NGC) of the TTNGL and Chairman of the TTNGL as well, Persad-Bissessar hit.

So now, instead of controlling 5.6 percent of this lucrative corporate asset, as a direct result of his appointment by this government to the state owned companies NGC and TTNGL, Mr Brooks and his associates now control 57.64 percent of TTNGL, she told the House.

AND WHAT OF FARRELL? Persad-Bissessar also asked if any conflict of interest arose by Economic Development Board chairman Dr Terrence Farrell possibly advising Government on these divestments while himself being a consultant and director at TATIL, a shareholder of TTNGL.

Was he party to the decision that only current shareholders are to benefit from the sale of shares of TTNGL, she queried. She also questioned the position of another Economic Development Board member, Allison Lewis, who is a board director of Republic Bank - yet another shareholder in TTNGL.

There is a lot more room it would appear in this $4.1 billion disposal of assets for friends of the Government, she concluded to heavy desk-thumping by Opposition MPs. Persad-Bissessar hit Imberts Budget speech for its superficiality, vagueness and obtrusiveness, saying it was riddled with miscalculations and misrepresentations and was crafted to bamboozle the population.

She quoted calypsonian David Rudders song, Madmans Rant to say the Budget failed to address high crime-rate including 400 murders under the current Peoples National Movement (PNM) Government. Denying she deliberately lost the 2015 General Election to evade paying public workers backpay, Persad-Bissessar said she would have shored up the countrys social safety net, even as she accused Government of ignoring the downtrodden.

OPPOSITION STANDS READY She said the Opposition is ready to work with the Government but without any backroom deals or front room gallerying. After one year of the Government in office, she said it is time to stop blaming her for current ills, even as she scoffed, If your have the same problems as last year, you are not a leader but you are a problem and you must be solved. The way forward, she suggested, was by The Fourth Industrial Revolution, an allusion to opportunities in ICT. Persad-Bissessar said many anti-crime steps from last years Budget were unfulfilled such as appointing a Police Commissioner, setting up a Joint Border Protection Agency, re-engineering the judicial and prison systems and linking up the TT Police Service to local government corporations. She hit Government for 20,000 jobs lost under its tenure and a 31 percent dip in tax revenues, despite new tax measures by Imbert.

She questioned the Budgets figures, saying Imberts speech spoke of $53.4 billion in expenditure, but the Draft Estimates of Expenditure showed $56.6 billion plus an Infrastructure Development Fund of $2.6 billion, giving a total of $59.29 billion. She claimed that $6 billion was unaccounted for.

SHE GOT IT WRONG Later, in reply, Imbert told reporters he was shocked that Persad- Bissessar despite her former tenure as prime minister, is now seemingly unable to correctly read Budget documents. She got everything wrong. Ill explain in my winding up. Regarding the TTNGL and FCB share sales, Imbert said any sort of exclusivity of the offering was a figment of her imagination. He said it is standard practice for existing shareholders to be given an allotted amount such as ten percent, with the general public able to access the balance. Imbert dismissed any conflict of interest in shareholders of TTNGL.

She spent an hour putting up a straw man, which is an imaginary thing, and then knocking down the straw man, he said.

There are no inter locking directorates.

Thats nonsense. The vast majority of people who accessed shares in the FCB and Phoenix park IPOs are UNC activists, so if there is any inter locking directorate it is UNC activists. He said her allegations were scandalous given that the great controversies arising during the FCB IPO under her administration.

Imbert scoffed at Persad-Bissessars concerns about yachts, saying it is for foreigners only (and not for his old boat) and to boost the local boat repair industry that saw a recent decline.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi told reporters the conglomerate, ANSA Mc Al, is a public-traded company, and that it makes no sense for the Opposition to attack its shareholdings.
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The Cardboard Box

Just Got Political longform

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Southern parts of Korea will see more heavy rain after the devastation wrought by typhoon Chaba earlier this week.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said on Thursday rain is expected on Jeju Island and southwestern coastal parts on Friday, spreading north to the central region in the evening.

Nationwide rain is expected on early Saturday morning with up to 30 mm an hour in some areas.

Jeju and southern parts are expected to see between 30 and 80 mm of rain on Friday and Saturday, while some southern coastal regions and Mt. Jiri may see more than 120 mm. Chungcheong provinces will get between 20 and 60 mm, and Seoul and Gangwon Province five to 20 mm.

"Parts of the country that have already been hit by the typhoon could see additional damage," a weatherman warned.
(Newser)  You probably wouldn't want to smoke the stuff, but archaeologists have discovered the most well-preserved cannabis plants one could hope for in an ancient Chinese burial. The first discovery of its kind comes from the grave of a man aged about 35possibly a shaman, reports Discoverburied 2,400 to 2,800 years ago in Turpan, China, then a desert oasis along the Silk Road. Said to have Caucasian features, the body was found on a wooden bed with a reed pillow and an "extraordinary cache" of 13 cannabis plants placed diagonally across the chest, each almost 3 feet long, reports National Geographic. Archaeologists have found cannabis leaves and seeds in other ancient burials, but never whole plants.

This is also the first time archaeologists have seen cannabis used as a burial shroud, study author Hongen Jiang explains in Economic Botany. A few flowering heads on the plantsall others had been cut offheld unripe fruit, suggesting the man was buried in late summer. Researchers believe the cannabis was also fresh, meaning it was grown locally. Why exactly was the Subeixi culture of Turpan growing cannabis? Researchers say they could have made hemp cloth or used the seeds for food. More likely, though, they extracted resin containing cannabinoids like THC from the plant's tiny "hairs" to use in medicine or in ritual, "possibly to facilitate communication between the human and spirit worlds," per NPR. (These burials aimed to ward off demons.)
(Newser)  "This is like no storm in the record books," Business Insider quotes a Weather Channel hurricane specialist as saying. "This is not hype. This is not hyperbole, and I am not kidding." A mandatory evacuation has been declared for approximately 1.5 million Florida residents as Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit the state Friday, the AP reports. Despite a declared state of emergency, some residents are ignoring warnings from police and staying put.

Hurricane Matthew is expected to be the most powerful storm to hit the Atlantic coast in at least a decade. And no hurricane of its size has hit Florida in this lifetime. The storm's winds are currently being clocked at 140mph. The situation is so dire that Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld have all made the rare decision to close down through Friday. There are also mandatory evacuation orders in Georgia and South Carolina. (Read more Hurricane Matthew stories.)
(Newser)  Rudy Giuliani is one of Donald Trump's leading surrogates, but his daughter has made it very clear that she won't be joining him on the Trump train. "I can confirm that I do support Hillary Clinton for president. Enthusiastically," Caroline Giuliani tells the New York Daily News. "I love Hillary, I think she's by far the most qualified candidate that we've had in a long while," the 27-year-old tells Politico, adding that her dad is "fully comfortable with it and thinks I have a right to my opinion." Caroline Giuliani supported Obama in 2012 and in the 2008 race, when her dad was also running for president.

The former New York City mayor hasn't commented on the political leanings of his daughter, who has changed her profile picture to include Clinton's campaign logo. He has, however, announced that he's taking leave from Greenberg Traurig LLP, the law firm he joined earlier this year, to concentrate on the Trump campaign, the Wall Street Journal reports. Giuliani says he plans to return to the firm the day after the election. (The Commercial Finance Association had to apologize to its members for the "unscripted personal opinions" about Mexicans that Giuliani included in a speech last month.)
(Newser)  The public might not be too happy with Wells Fargo right now, but Wells Fargo has good reason to be happy with one particular member of the public, per the AP. Pennsylvania's Kristina Edwards found herself in an awkward but potentially lucrative situation Sunday morning when one of the bank's ATMs in Glenolden started spitting money out at her, the Delaware County Daily Times reports. The single 35-year-old mom of two had pulled up to a drive-thru machine to take out $60 for the supermarket, but instead of three crisp $20s, the ATM kept them coming in multiples for about 30 seconds out of a second slot meant for deposits. By the time the generous money-dispensing slot closed, Edwards had $380 in handand she knew she didn't have enough in her account to justify the payout. "I panicked," she says. "It was like something out of a movie."

She asked the driver who'd been in front of her if the money was his (it wasn't). And when she called the bank's 800 number, the person on the other end told her just to take it back to the branch when it reopened the next day. And so she did, without much of a question in her mind. "I know what it's like to struggle with money," she tells Fox 29. "$380 is a lot of money to a lot of people." Edwards said she was informed the cash would be deposited into a bank fund. The most disappointing part of her experience: She said no one at the branch even offered a thank-you when she brought the money back, though a corporate rep says the bank is indeed "grateful." (Service member's take on Wells Fargo's car seizures: "It sucks.")
(Newser)  The CEO of Backpage.com isn't just a pimp, authorities in California and Texas say, he's the pimp of "the world's top online brothel"and underage victims of sex trafficking have made him a lot of money. Carl Ferrer was arrested in Houston Thursday on a warrant issued in California, where Attorney General Kamala D. Harris says the classified-ad website was designed to be an online brothel, the Washington Post reports. "Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable, and illegal," Harris said in a statement.

Ferrer faces charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping, while two of the website's controlling shareholders also face pimping charges, USA Today reports. Backpage.com looks a lot like Craigslist.com, with ads for jobs, apartments, etc., but authorities say around 99% of its income comes from its "adult" section. In a press release, Harris said since 2012, there have been nearly 3,000 reports of suspected child sex trafficking via Backpage in California alone. She said Ferrer was charged after a three-year investigation that involved undercover officers posing as both advertisers and customers on Backpage. (Read more Backpage.com stories.)
(Newser)  Adolf Hitler's manipulation of the German people may have begun long before he came to power. Back in 1923, when he was the leader of a fledgling Nazi party, a biography surfaced calling him Germany's savior and comparing him to Jesus. Adolf Hitler: His Life and His Speeches came out as authored by German war hero Adolf Victor von Koerber. In fact, the author was Hitler himself, according to historian Thomas Weber of Scotland's University of Aberdeen, per the New York Times. The book came out two years before Mein Kampf launched Hitler into national prominence, and it suggests he had designs on leading the country longer than historians have thought.

I found a signed testimony given under oath by the wife of the books publisher stating that Victor von Koerber had not written the book," Weber tells the Aberdeen Evening Express. Instead, he says Hitler sought out a conservative writer with no connection to the Nazi party willing to put his name on it. Weber, who will be publishing his own book on the subject, says it shows Hitler "was a conniving political operator with a masterful understanding of political processes and narratives long before he drafted  Mein Kampf." Von Koerber, for his part, eventually broke with the Nazis and spent time in a concentration camp. (Heinrich Himmler's diaries recently surfaced.)
(Newser)  A Los Angeles-area couple has been charged with murder after trying to cross into Mexico with the body of a 2-year-old girl in a duffel bag. Mercy Becerra and Johnny Hartley are also charged with torture, assault on a child causing death, and sex trafficking of the girl's mother, the AP reports. The couple, who were charged last week, remained jailed in Los Angeles County on Thursday and could face life sentences if convicted. Authorities say they were arrested on Aug. 9 at the San Ysidro border station after Mexican authorities X-rayed the duffel bag and discovered the girl's body.

Authorities say the couple trafficked the girl's mother between November 2012 and August of this year. They allegedly took the woman's daughter from her and severely abused the girl, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Prosecutors say the girl, identified in court papers only as "Angelina W," was drowned, and also suffered from malnutrition and dehydration. An anti-sex trafficking activist tells CBS Los Angeles that he suspects the couple held the woman's daughter captive to force her to continue working as a prostitute. (Read more California stories.)
The most insecure profession is architecture, where 20.1 percent or one in five earned less than W24 million last year. Among lawyers, a smaller group, 17.8 percent made less than W2 million a month, while the proportion was 12.6 percent for real estate surveyors, 11.1 percent for notaries and 10.7 percent for patent attorneys.

Some 4,609 professionals except doctors reported annual incomes of less than W24 million or W2 million a month, according to data the National Tax Service submitted on Thursday to the Minjoo Party lawmaker Park Kwang-on (US$1=W1,113). That amounts to 13.8 percent of the 33,319 professionals tallied.

Some lawyers and accountants are struggling despite their traditionally "safe" profession, and the wage gap even within these occupations is widening.

Out of the 4.609 professionals who made less than W24 million a year, 87 percent had either stopped working in their profession altogether or had just started. In other words, competition is intensifying amid a slow economy.

The total number of professionals rose 16.8 percent from 28,515 in 2011 to 33,319 in 2015. But the NTS said newly registered professionals who only opened their businesses in October last year and earned W10 million until the end of that year were included, which increases the figure.

But most professionals still make a comfortable living at an average salary of W232.4 million last year. And excluding real estate surveyors, who earned an average W70.8 million last year, other professionals made easily over W100 million.

Patent attorneys reaped the highest rewards with W625 million, followed by lawyers (W411.5 million), accountants (W323.6 million), customs brokers (W306.2 million), licensed tax advisers (W262 million), notaries (W181 million) and architects (W133 million).

But one 32-year-old accountant said, "The average salary is meaningless. Not all professionals these days earn high wages, and because people around me think I make a lot of money I can't cut down on expenses for my family and friends."

As competition intensifies, professionals are resorting to new measures. Small law firms advertise their services via spam text messages, and attorneys set up shop at home to cut down on office expenses.
(Newser)  The Russian military on Thursday strongly warned the United States against striking the Syrian army, noting that its air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack. The statement underlined high tensions between Moscow and Washington after the collapse of a US-Russia-brokered Syria truce and the Syrian army's offensive on Aleppo backed by Russian warplanes, the AP reports. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said any US strikes on areas controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad's government could jeopardize the lives of Russian servicemen.

After a US strike killed at least 60 Syrian soldiers last month, Russia rejected the US explanation that the attack was a mistake. "We have taken all the necessary measures to prevent any such 'mistakes' with regard to Russian servicemen and military facilities in Syria," Konashenkov said, adding that Russian defense systems in the country would "surprise" any country that tried to test them. In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the US is still looking at its full range of optionsand he doesn't consider Russia's comments "helpful to moving forward, to reach some sort of diplomatic solution here." (Read more Syrian civil war stories.)
(Newser)  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for what the Nobel Committee calls "his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end," the AP reports. Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia left-wing rebel group, signed a historic deal late last month to end a 52-year conflict that had killed more than 220,000 peopleonly for voters to reject the deal in a shock referendum result the following week.

A Nobel Committee spokeswoman said that despite the rejection, Santos "brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution," and the committee hopes the prize will help give him the strength to keep striving for peace. The Syrian White Helmets, volunteer rescue workers who operate in rebel-held areas of Syria, had been considered the favorite to win the prize, the Guardian reports. "Congratulations to the people and President of Columbia. We sincerely wish them peace," the group tweeted. (Read more Juan Manuel Santos stories.)
(Newser)  A Burma court sentenced a Dutch citizen to three months in prison Thursday for interfering with a religious observance in a most unusual way: He unplugged an amplifier blasting a late-night Buddhist sermon near his hotel in Mandalay. Klaas Haytema, 30, in handcuffs, wept with his girlfriend before he left for jail, reports the AP. He had been arrested in late September after a crowd gathered around his hotel in protest when the loudspeakers at a nearby religious hall were turned off. A community leader said he "didn't want [Haytema] to get arrested" but called police when tempers flared. The man who was reciting the sermon pressed charges against Haytema.

It is common for Buddhist groups to broadcast sermons by loudspeaker at very high volumes in Mandalay, the cultural capital of the predominantly Buddhist country. Local media reported that Haytema apologized and said he hadn't known the loudspeakers were broadcasting religious content. He was also fined about $100 for violating visa regulations requiring him to respect the culture. Haytema could have been sentenced to up to two years in prison for insulting religion, but the judge said he opted to find him guilty of a lesser charge to "show mercy." It's unclear if Haytema will file an appeal. (A Burmese bar owner, since freed, was jailed over a Facebook post.)
(Newser)  Bad news, Kardashian fans: Amid what they call "ongoing security issues," three members of the famous family have canceled upcoming book signings. Page Six notes that the bookstores involved have been informed, but the family has yet to make a public announcement to fans and is hoping to "let [them] down easy." Khloe Kardashian was set to appear at Barnes & Noble stores to promote her book Strong Looks Better Naked, which was recently released in paperback, while Kendall and Kylie Jenner were planning to appear at B&N stores to promote their soon-to-be-released Time of the Twins. Production of Keeping Up With the Kardashians has also been halted, Variety reports.

The E! reality show will still premiere the second half of season 12 on Oct. 23, but there's no word on when production will resume on new episodes. Kim has remained silent on social media since the $5.6 million robbery in Paris, but sister Kourtney broke her own social media silence by posting a passage from her prayer book on Twitter Wednesday, and Caitlyn Jenner posted on Instagram Tuesday, "Love my girl! After hearing the full story, I'm so thankful she's okay. It's a reminder for us all to be careful in the uncertainty of this world." Kim is back in LA with her family as of Thursday, TMZ reports. (See what Hillary Clinton had to say about Kim's robbery.)
(Newser)  With a new police shooting in the news seemingly every week, some officers are starting to doubt themselves and put their own lives at risk, says Chicago's police chief. Superintendent Eddie Johnson said one of his officers was beaten to unconsciousness by a man under the influence of PCP on Wednesday, reports the Chicago Tribune. The officer told Johnson she didn't use her gun in self-defense because "she didnt want her family or the department to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news." She and two others who were injured subduing the suspect are all being treated at a local hospital, and charges are pending.

"Because of the scrutiny going on nationwide, there (are) officers second-guessing themselves," said Johnson. "Thats what we dont want. Chicago police are under investigation by the US Justice Department over the fatal shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald last year. Partly in response to that, the department unveiled a new use-of-force policy on Friday that calls on officers to preserve the "sanctity of life" and use lethal force only as a last resort, the AP reports. It also calls on officers to intervene if fellow officers are not abiding by that rule. The new policy is here, and the public will have 45 days to comment. (Read more police stories.)
(Newser)  A skull thought to be that of Nat Turner, the controversial rebel leader whose slave revolt in Virginia in 1831 left about 60 white people dead, including women and children, will finally be presented to Turner's descendants Friday. Former Gary, Ind., mayor Richard Hatcher was given the skull by a local civil rights activist in 2002, when Hatcher was looking to build a National Civil Rights museum in the city. Hatcher says he's been trying to locate Turner's descendants ever since he got the skull, and was only recently able to find them, the Chicago Tribune reports. He'll present the skull to two of them during a private National Civil Rights Hall of Fame luncheon in Gary.

Turner was hanged and decapitated after the revolt, and it's not clear what happened to his remains. There was a rumor, however, that Turner's skull had made its way to a university lab in Chicago at some point. The skull being given to Turner's family was originally presented to Army Capt. Albert Franklin at the turn of the 20th century from a Virginia woman who said her father, a doctor, tended to Turner after his death. Franklin's family passed the skull down for more than three generations before Franklin gave it to Rev. Franklin Breckenridge in 2002 and Breckenridge gave it to Hatcher. Franklin acknowledges there's no proof the skull is really Turner's, just "this story that was passed down in the family." A county clerk from the county where Turner launched his insurrection hopes the descendants receiving the skull will have it tested to confirm it is Turner's. He also believes it should be returned to the county where Turner lived and died, the Baltimore Sun reports. (Read more slavery stories.)
Samsung has acquired Viv Labs, the artificial intelligence startup that developed Viv, which has been described as a Techcrunch report as a "more extensible, powerful version of Siri."

The AI and assistant system has been created by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham who were the original designers of Siri, Apple's famed AI assistant. Apple acquired Siri in 2010 and the three founders who had joined Apple left three years after that. They subsequently started Viv in 2012.

With this acquisition, Samsung joins other tech giants in having an AI product that can be integrated into a variety of gadgets for daily use.

According to reports, Viv will function as a stand-alone unit, while providing its services to Samsung's products.

"Viv brings a conversational interface that we can apply across our devices," said Jacopo Lenzi a top Samsung official in a statement to USA TODAY. "While we're not talking about our product roadmap just yet, this acquisition is led out of mobile group, so we'll first map onto those devices and then move on to appliances and TV.

Lenzi is senior vice president of business development and strategic acquisitions at Samsung Global Innovation Center, which is the division that led the Viv acquisition deal.

According to Lenzi Viv should be found in Samsung phones over the next year.

Viv has been touted as the next-generation AI assistant capable of handling complex everyday questions and conversations. It can reportedly carry out tasks like ordering flowers online, researching weather or making reservations via natural language commands.

Kittlaus has been visiting major tech events this year demonstrating its capabilities. One of the demonstrated complex query that Viv can handle is "Will it be warmer than 70-degrees near the Golden Gate Bridge after 5PM on the day after tomorrow?"

Kittlaus said while the company hadn't been looking for a buyer, the deal became a reality after it was felt that both their visions were aligned.

" Our goal was always getting ubiquity. Samsung will drastically accelerate our vision. They represent a truly massive distribution channel for the idea" of sophisticated AI," said Kittlaus.
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New Delhi:

The Nawaz Sharif government on Thursday night dismissed the reports of an undisclosed meeting between Pak govt and its army, in which it might have directed the military leadership to act against anti-India militants to save the country from international isolation.



The Pakistani newspaper Dawn had on Thursday reported exclusively that in an unprecedented exchange between civilian government military top brass, it has been agreed that Pakistan will take immediate action against Hafiz Syeed and Masood Azhar along with Jaish-e-Mohd and Lashkar-e-Toiba.



However, in an official statement issued by Pakistani Prime Ministers Office, the Nawaz Sharif government strongly rejected the report, calling it not only speculative but misleading and factually incorrect.

Read: Pak civilian govt tells its army to take action against terrorism mushrooming from its soil or else face international isolation

The official statement:



The Spokesman of the Prime Ministers Office has strongly rejected a story published in Daily Dawn of October 6, 2016 regarding purported deliberations in a meeting on security issues.



The Spokesman has termed the contents of the story not only speculative but misleading and factually incorrect. It is an amalgamation of fiction and half-truths which too are invariably reported out of context. The fact that the report itself states that none of the attributed statements were confirmed by the individuals mentioned in the story, clearly makes it an example of irresponsible reporting.



It is imperative that those demanding the right to information at par with the international best practices, also act in a manner which is at par with international reporting norms and standards.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The United States on Friday unequivocally stated that it does not support declaring Pakistan a terrorist state. John Kirby, spokesperson of US while addressing the media in his daily press briefing made it clear when he was asked about the online petition which sought to declare Pak a terrorist state.

I have not seen anything specifically about the - such a bill, and obviously we don't - I'm not going to comment on whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard, Kirby said.

On Kashmir issue

We want this (Kashmir issue) to be worked out between both sides, we want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down, he said.

Earlier Elizabeth Trudeau of the US State Department had also shared similar views and said that Kashmir is a bilateral issue to be resolved with the help of communication between the two countries.

Also Read: (White House petition seeking to declare Pakistan sponsor of terrorism creates record)

Secretary of State John Kerry earlier also stressed on ending the differences through dialogue and admired Indias restraint towards Pakistan.

US also entrusted full confidence in Pakistans nuclear security. I think we've said before we're confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their arsenal, he said.

Also Read: (Watch in 4 exclusive videos: Tarek Fatah calls Pakistan a 'safe haven' for terrorists; praises India)

Also Read: (White House petition to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism gets record support)

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Supreme Court on Friday stayed the operation of the Patna High Court judgement quashing the Bihar governments law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor in the state.

A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit, issued notices to all respondents including some liquor manufacturers on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional the Nitish Kumar governments prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, the Nitish Kumar government came out with a new law banning the sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on October 2.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Accra:

Ghanas government has decided to remove a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from a university campus in Ghana after professors launched a petition claiming the revered Indian independence leader and thinker was racist. The statue will be relocated soon.



The disputed statue of Gandhi was unveiled in June at the University of Ghana campus in Accra by President Pranab Mukherjee as a symbol of close ties between the two countries.



But in September a group of professors launched a petition calling for the removal of the statue because they say Gandhi was racist and that the university should put African heroes and heroines first and foremost.



It is better to stand up for our dignity than to kowtow to the wishes of a burgeoning Eurasian super-power, said the petition, which quotes passages written by Ghandi that say Indians are infinitely superior to black Africans.



Ghanas ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that it has followed the controversy with deep concern and that it wants to relocate the statue.



The government would therefore want to relocate the statue from the University of Ghana to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy, it said.



While acknowledging that human as he was, Mahatma Gandhi may have had his flaws, we must remember that people evolve, said the ministry, emphasising that Ghana and India have championed the struggle for the liberation of oppressed peoples around the world.



Statues on university campuses have recently sparked charged debates in Africa as students wrestle with the legacy of colonialism and history of racism on the continent.



Last year, students in South Africa successfully campaigned for the removal of a statue of Cecil Rhodes, a notoriously racist mining magnate who died in 1902, from the University of Cape Town campus.

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New Delhi:

The BSE Sensex opened on Friday at 28,129, touched an intra-day high of 28,156 and low of 27,965. The BSE Sensex fell by 45 points to end at 28,061.14. The Nifty opened at 8,722, hit an intra-day high of 8,724 and low of 8,664. It eventually ended at 8,697.60, down 12 points from its previous closing.

The fall in the Indian stock markets was mainly attributed to active selling in blue-chips stocks. Telecom, IT, oil & gas, consumer durables, banking, pharma and finance stocks witnessed significant selling pressure.

Major gainers in the BSE Index were Tata Steel,Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Lupin and Adani Ports. Meanwhile Asian Paints, Cipla , Infosys, HDFC and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers.

The rupee traded down 3 paise at 66.72 per US dollar.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed widening the definition of a branch to make it easier for banks to meet the norm of opening 25% banking outlets in unbanked rural centres.

Asian stocks were trading lower as investors looked ahead to a key employment report. Markets in China remained closed for the Golden Week public holidays. US stocks closed near the flatline on Thursday, as investors were cautious ahead of the much anticipated September jobs report.
New Delhi:

Pakistan Parliament on Friday unanimously passed a resolution rejecting Indias assertion that Kashmir is an integral part even as it called for a result-oriented dialogue with New Delhi for resolution of all outstanding issues including Kashmir. The joint session of the Pakistan Parliament, which has been discussing the current tension with India since Wednesday, unanimously passed the resolution, urging the international community to carry out an independent investigation into gross human rights violations in Kashmir.



The resolution moved by Pakistan Prime Ministers Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz called upon the world community to play its role in stopping Indian brutalities in Kashmir.



The resolution also expressed concerns over the detention of Hurriyat leaders and human rights activists and urged the Indian government to release them.



It strongly deplored the draconian laws which have created an environment of impunity for Indian forces, Radio Pakistan reported.



The resolution rejected Indias assertion that Kashmir is an integral part of India, recalling it is a disputed territory on the agenda of the United Nations.



It urged the Indian government to immediately stop terrorising the people and fulfill its commitment regarding international and humanitarian laws.



The resolution condemned the repeated ceasefire violations by India. It also reiterated Pakistans desire for a result-oriented dialogue with India for resolution of all outstanding disputes including that of Jammu and Kashmir.



At the start of the session on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by driving tanks on farmlands.



He had also needled India again by calling Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani the valiant son of Kashmir.

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New Delhi:

Indian Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation is all set to reimpose the ban it lifted recently on carrying Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones on flights.The new directions have arrived after a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, burst into flames on a Southwest Airlines flight on Wednesday.

The phone's owner told authorities that he had purchased it on 21 September.Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is all set to be launched in India near Diwali on October 28.The DGCA had last Friday lifted restrictions on carrying the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone on aeroplanes the ones sold after 15 September.

We are in touch with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the latest incident of a new Note 7 catching fire on aircraft and are going to issue a fresh order for the Samsung Note 7. The FAA had in mid-September issued an advisory which said that the Note 7 should be kept switched off and not be charged on planes and that flyers must close all applications such as alarms on these phones that may switch it back on, It also called for physical protection for the power switch to prevent it from getting pressed inadvertently and then getting switched on. A new order will be issued next week and incorporate these things too, a DGCA spokesman said.

Various global aviation safety regulators and international airlines had imposed restrictions on carrying the Note 7 after instances were reported regarding this phone catching fire. Samsung, however did not offer any immediate comment on the DGCA statement.

Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note7. We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share Samsung said in an email.

Nearly a fortnight ago, the DGCA had also issued restrictions on carrying the Samsung Note 2 after one of these phones caught fire on a Singapore-Chennai flight of IndiGo.

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Islamabad:

Amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, Islamabad Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asim Bajwa has said that all the communication channels between the militaries of the two countries remain open.

Bajwa stressed that there was a need to resolve the issues between India and Pakistan through dialogues. He also confirmed that communication took place between Director Generals of the Military Operations (DGMOs) of both the countries in the wake of escalating cross border firing at the Line of Control (LoC).

"All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open," he told Xinhua news agency in an exclusive interview.

He said that Pakistan wants peaceful relations with all countries in the region "and that is the policy of the state of Pakistan and that is the policy of the political government and every element of power in the country follows the same policy".

Bajwa stood by Pakistans stand saying India violated the ceasefire along the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 and later claimed it carried out "surgical strikes".

"We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false."



Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Uri terror attack on September 19. In reply to the Uri attacks, India carried out surgical strikes across the LoC targeting seven terrorists launch pad, a claim that has been denied by Pakistan.

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New Delhi:

Political temperature soared on Friday over Rahul Gandhis dalali remarks, with BJP chief Amit Shah launching a blistering attack on him, saying he crossed all limits and insulted the armys valour as Congress leader insisted he supported the military action but denounced political propaganda on the issue.

Here is who said what after Rahul Gandhis khoon ki dalali remark on PM Narendra Modi:



Amit Shah, BJP chief: By making khoon ki dalali remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. It was an extreme. By choosing such words, he insulted the bravery of our soldiers and 125 crore people of India. The whole country, BJP and its government are standing firmly behind the army. We do not believe in the comments of anti-India leaders. We believe in the army's bullets.



Kapil Sibal, Congress leader: Rahul Gandhi knew what he said. His thought process was clear. You should understand the feeling of Rahul Gandhi when he made the statement, which the people of the country do.

Watch video | Ravi Shankar Prasad slams Rahul Gandhi for khoon ki dalali barb on PM Narendra Modi

Jayant Sinha, Union minister: All those scams and scandals during the UPA regime reflected who had been doing "dalali". "Dalali" was clearly visible during the previous UPA regime whenever scandals had emerged.

Lalu Prasad, RJD President: Rahul Gandhi ko apni baat theek se rakhni nahi aai (Rahul Gandhi failed to put across his views properly). I am with the country's army and there is a need to give even more stronger injection to Pakistan.

DP Tripathi, NCP MP: Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the principal opposition party, which is perhaps the oldest organisation in the world. He should have shown refrained from using such words.



Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief: Our soldiers valiantly carried out surgical strikes and demolished terror addresses. I have previously done so and want to congratulate the army once again for this. I strongly criticise Rahul Gandhis remarks wherein he said armys sacrifices and bravery was khoon ki dalali.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister: Agar Rahul Gandhi ki tippani sharmindagi thi, to Congress ki aaj ki press conference sharmindagi ki parakashtha thi

Shrikant Sharma, BJP National Secretary: It is most shameful. Such remarks reflect his mental bankruptcy. The army and the Prime Minister are getting praise from everywhere for the surgical strikes. Modi is being praised for his decision and he is unable to digest it. Rahul Gandhi is in frustration.

Sidharth Nath Singh, BJP National Secretary: His statement is a new low in Indian politics. It is not only condemnable but highly irresponsible coming from the vice president of Congress party which fought for independence... Surgical strikes happened across the LoC but Rahul Gandhi has done surgical strike on his party.

(With inputs from PTI)

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New York:

A 41-year old Sikh-American IT specialist was brutally attacked by some men, who knocked off his turban and allegedly cut his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, prompting a civil rights organisation to demand a hate crime investigation into the incident.

Maan Singh Khalsa, a father and IT specialist in California, was driving home on the night of September 25 when a group of men in car threw a beer can at his vehicle.

Khalsa drove away from the scene but the men followed him and assaulted him through his open car window, knocking off his Sikh turban and hitting his face repeatedly, according to a statement from The Sikh Coalition, the nations largest Sikh civil rights organisation.

Khalsa said there were five to six white males in their late 20s to early 30s who abused him and three of them then attacked him physically.

Shouting that Khalsas hair should be cut off, the men pulled his head out of the window, and cut a fistful of his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, the complaint alleged.

Khalsa sustained injuries to his fingers, hands, eye and teeth.

The Sikh Coalition has written to the Richmond Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorneys Office on behalf of Khalsa, urging authorities to conduct a hate crime investigation and prosecution in the case.

The attackers caused physical injuries and deep harm when they targeted my Sikh faith, Khalsa said in a press statement released by the Sikh Coalition.

I urge a thorough investigation so we can address the tide of violence and bigotry in this country.

Sikh Coalition Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur urged authorities to fully investigate this hateful attack on Khalsa and his Sikh identity.

The purpose of a hate crime investigation and prosecution is to ensure that our government and communities accurately account for the problem of bias in our society, Kaur said.

The Sikh Coalition said that in the 15 years that have followed 9/11, Sikhs remain hundreds of times more likely to be targeted in cases of profiling, bigotry and backlash than the average American.

We need to acknowledge hatred so that we commit the resources necessary to stem bias-based violence, Kaur said.

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Sydney:

Australian authorities claimed on Friday that a piece of wing debris found in Mauritius is from MH370. However, they stated that the discovery didn't provide any new information on the missing passenger jet's specific location.

The composite debris, recovered from the island nation in May, is the latest fragment found along western Indian Ocean shorelines linked to Malaysia Airlines MH370. The Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew.

Despite an extensive underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean far off Western Australia's coast where investigators believe the plane crashed, no trace of the aircraft has been found there. The wing part "was a trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO (MH370)", the government agency leading the search, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said in a report.

"A part number was identified on a section of the debris," the ATSB said, adding that another "unique work order number" assigned by the flap manufacturer corresponded to MH370. Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said investigators "remain hopeful" MH370 would be found.

"The finding of this debris... continues to affirm the focus of search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said in a statement. "It does not, however, provide information that can be used to determine a specific location of the aircraft." The ATSB report came two weeks after the agency said officials had yet to link debris recovered from Madagascar by US amateur investigator Blaine Gibson to MH370 or a Boeing 777.

Officials also said the debris found in Madagascar was not exposed to fire, quashing earlier speculation. The failure to locate any debris in the search zone has fuelled speculation the plane may have crashed outside the area. Several pieces of debris linked to the flight have been discovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines -- in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius.

The Mauritius part is the third fragment to be confirmed as coming from MH370. Malaysia said in mid-September that debris found in June off Tanzania came from the doomed airliner. The first piece found -- a two-metre (six-foot) wing part known as a flaperon that washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July 2015 -- was confirmed by French authorities as from MH370. More than 110,000 square kilometres of the search area has been scoured so far, Australia said this week, adding that the hunt was set to be completed in December.

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Navy widow brings first lawsuit against Saudi Arabia over 9/11, many more to come

For years millions of Americans have seethed in anger as the U.S. government appeared to downplay and even hide the Saudi Arabian governments involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

But in recent days Congress, for the first time in his tenure, overrode President Obamas veto of legislation aimed at allowing the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks to pursue legal action against the Saudi government for its involvement.

And now, a U.S. Navy widow has become the first to file suit against Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, for allegedly providing material support to Saudi national Osama bin Laden, the now-deceased founder of al Qaeda and mastermind behind the attacks.

As reported by RT.com, Stephanie Ross DeSimone was pregnant with Navy Cdr. Patrick Dunns daughter when he died aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which was deliberately flown into the Pentagon the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

The hijackers of that plane were Saudi nationals, as were 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers who had commandeered four planes that fateful day. Two were steered into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one was directed at the Pentagon in Washington D.C, while a fourth, that was also headed in the direction of Washington D.C., was retaken by passengers and crashed in a field in western Pennsylvania.

In her suit, DeSimone is charging Saudi Arabia with wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress, on behalf of herself and the couples now-teenaged daughter. The suit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia.

DeSimones suit is technically the first one that has been filed. But James Kreindler, a New York-based attorney, is representing hundreds of victims families who have tried to get compensation from the Saudis for more than 10 years. He told The Wall Street Journal that his firm planned to submit documents similar to DeSimones suit in a New York federal court in the coming days.

The law that has made the suits possible  Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)  was originally filed in 2009. It was reintroduced last year.

The law gives U.S. citizens the right to sue not just states officially considered by the State Department to be state sponsors of terrorism  like Syria, Sudan and Iran  but also any government judged to have provided aid for an attack, even if that country is currently an economic partner, or ally, of the United States.

Obama was very opposed to the legislation, but in a rebuke to him, his veto was widely overruled in both the House and the Senate. It was the first of a dozen of Obamas vetoes that have been overridden.

Critics of the law say it violates a long-standing principle of sovereign immunity  that is, not holding governments liable for the actions of their citizens. However, in this case, there is evidence that at least some of the 9/11 hijackers received direct assistance from members of the royal Saudi government in launching the largest, deadliest terrorist attack ever on American soil.

Sources:

CNN.com

WSJ.com

TheDailySheeple.com

Submit a correction >>
United Nations just gave their troops the go ahead to use force on U.S. citizens

It doesnt sound possible, but the United States just joined most other members of the United Nations in granting UN troops the right to use force to protect civilians in a conflict.

While that may sound innocuous, think for a moment: That also means UN troops can be used against American civilians during a conflict.

As reported by The Associated Press, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told a high-level UN meeting in recent days that was discussing the responsibility of the globalist institution to protect civilians, that Washington was proud and humbled to join 28 other countries that have promised to abide by a set of 18 pledges.

Now, UN peacekeepers from these 29 nations are required to act any time they perceive civilians to be in danger.

The Kigali Principles are designed to make sure that civilians are not abandoned by the international community again, Powers said, recounting how UN peacekeepers departed Rwanda before the 1994 genocide and Srebrenica before the 1995 massacre there.

In reality, it makes perfect sense to give UN peacekeeping forces the authority to actually keep the peace. The instances cited by our UN ambassador were stains on the institutions credibility at the time they occurred. Time, money and resources were wasted on sending forces into combat zones where civilians were already depending on them to keep the peace, and they didnt have the mandate  or authority  for that function. So civilians died.

Where all this gets dicey is that the United States has now agreed to become one of 29 countries whose troops are required to act in defense of civilians. The question then becomes, what happens if UN troops are ordered onto American soil?

It seems far-fetched and impossible, but couldnt it happen here just the same as it might happen anywhere else the UN is asked to send a peacekeeping force?

What if some future U.S. administration makes such a request? It would be unprecedented.

What would happen? Would the request be honored? Would it be opposed by a majority of the American people? American police? The military? Congress?

Consider:

 Members of the military take oaths to support and defend the U.S. Constitution, but the institution of the military is subservient to civilian control; if ordered to stand down, it likely would.

 If the majority of Congress were members of the same party as the president, the chances are excellent that the Legislative Branch would not intervene in such a request. Even if Congress wanted to, it would be charged with passing veto-proof legislation barring the president from making such a request.

 There is absolutely no evidence that Americans en masse would rise up and oppose a UN force  which, if attacked, would respond under its mandate to protect civilians. Would that provoke a U.S. military response? It might, if a majority of Pentagon brass decided to buck the president and take control.

So many variables to think about it really does boggle the mind. The one overarching thing to remember, however, is now that the U.S. has signed on to this agreement, anything is possible.

Sources:

FoxNews.com

WeAreChange.org

Submit a correction >>
Members of Congress are currently working on re-election campaigns to increase support for their party's candidates. This means that several bills, including many focusing on student loan debt, have been tabled until January. The next session of Congress, which will include members elected in November, will be expected to work with the new president in several areas, including student loan debt relief.

Discussion and voting on the bills may be on an individual basis, or be combined into the Higher Education Act. This act must be renewed on a five-year cycle, but despite the scheduled renewal for 2014, it has yet to be voted on.

While waiting for a vote on the Higher Education Act, several committees have been assigned legislation related to student loans. Some of these bills will never be released from committee. The House of Representatives, though, has a few bills that are currently ready for a full House vote.

The bills include the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act. This mandates that students receive annual financial aid and loan counseling rather than the one-off counseling students receive when taking out a loan. Other bills include an act to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process.

A third bill would protect borrowers and their families from taxation on any amount of student loans forgiven due to disability or death.

Find out quickly at what rate you can refinance your student loan.


Namaste France to associate with French European Indian Fashion Week

Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Lifestyle/Fashion, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Namaste France, a fest that shows India's cultural prowess, will be associating with French European Indian Fashion Week (FEIFW), an initiative of World News Network.

Namaste France is a two and half months long festival, which is underway in Paris from September 15. It aims to serve as a window to Indian traditional arts, music, dance, theatre, literature, cinema and fashion.

FEIFW will be held from October 21-23. The organisers hope that the fashion event serves as a platform for designers from around the world to express their culture or any other cause through their creations.

Recognising the importance of exchanges in the field of fashion, Namaste France festival will associate with the FEIFW, read a statement.

Satish Reddy, President of Paris-based French European Indian Organization (FEIO), hopes that the association will be fruitful.

"It's a great pleasure organizing a Fashion Week on the Eiffel Tower and I want to thank Namaste France for being there and supporting and helping us to make into a great event," Reddy said.

The fashion gala will be inaugurated by India's Ambassador to France Mohan Kumar.

Indian designers Rocky S and Poonam Bhagat will be showcasing their collections at FEIFW at the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Other Indian designers participating in the event are Nida Mahmood, Kanika Saluja, Asa Kazingmei, Mayyur Girotra, Sahil Aneja, Karishma Jumani, Mandira Virk, and Madhu Jain.

Former beauty queen Liza Varma, who is collaborating with Reddy from FEIFW, said: "French European Indian Fashion Week will offer thought-provoking ideas through conversational pieces of fashion for a global audience by creating timeless designs."

--IANS

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UN responds to Hurricane impact in Haiti

United States,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

United Nations, Oct 8 (IANS) The World Food Programme (WFP) is deploying logistics and assessment teams to bring in much needed relief in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew struck the country, a UN spokesman told reporters on Friday.

The WFP teams were also in Haiti to determine the hurricane's wider impact on the food and nutrition security of Haitians, Xinhua news agency quoted Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesman as saying at a daily news briefing.

"At the time the hurricane struck Haiti, the agency had already pre-positioned sufficient emergency supplies to feed up to 300,000 people for a month," Haq said.

Meanwhile in Cuba, the WFP has stocks to feed more than 25,000 people for a month as a part of government-led efforts, he added.

"Additional water and sanitation supplies, such as water purification tablets, water bladders and plastic sheeting, have been dispatched to the most affected departments in the westernmost tip of Haiti," Haq added.

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) says it needs at least $5 million to meet children's most pressing needs, including restoring health services and provide essential vitamins, setting up temporary learning spaces and supporting child protection services to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse, he added.

Haiti, still recovering from the catastrophic 2010 earthquake which killed many thousands of people, was hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew with more than 271 people dead as of Thursday.

--IANS

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Commonwealth Finance Ministers discuss taxation issues

United States,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 7 (IANS) The Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 2016, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, discussed international taxation issues in view of the Panama Papers leak case, an official statement said on Friday.

"Arun Jaitley chaired the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 2016 at the IMF headquarters in Washington D.C. on Thursday. During the meeting, two important issues -- 'International Taxation - a Commonwealth Conversation Around the Panama Papers' and 'Economics of Climate Change and Financing Climate Adaptation and Mitigation' -- were discussed and deliberated," the Indian Finance Ministry statement said.

In Jaitley's presence, the Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of Baroda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Commonwealth small states trade finance facility.

"This finance facility is expected to make available up to $100 million of incremental trade finance over a period of three years," the statement said.

During the meeting, as part of the voluntary contributions, India also pledged 1,022,100 pounds to the Commonwealth Fund for technical cooperation, it said.

Jaitley also chaired the Governing Council meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).

Addressing the gathering, he announced that the CRA is now operational and BRICS member central banks are fully ready to carry out the transactions.

At the meeting, Jaitley also extended invitation for the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, to be held in Goa later this month.

He attended the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors working dinner, where discussions centred on the global outlook, key risks for the global and national economies and the proposals made by the global forum and the Financial Action Task Force to improve implementation of the beneficial ownership standard, it said.

During the course of the day, Jaitley also held a number of bilateral meetings with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Finance Minister of Bhutan Lyonpo Namgay Dorji and Japan Bank CEO for International Cooperation (JBIC) Tadashi Maeda, among others, with a focus on bilateral trade and investment ties.

On the sidelines of the Fund-Bank meetings, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), also participated in a panel discussion, organised by Morgan Stanley, on the cyclical and structural progress in the emerging market economies. He spoke about the fiscal consolidation and economic reform path being undertaken in India.

Jaitley is currently on an official visit to Washington D.C. to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank and other associated meetings. He is accompanied by Reserve Bank of India Governor Urijit Patel, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and other officials.

--IANS

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Address By The President Of India On The Occasion Of Inauguration Of The World Sustainable Development Summit

New Delhi, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 NI Wire

The President Of India On The Occasion Of Inauguration Of The World Sustainable Development Summit Organized By The Energy And Resources Institute

1. At the very outset, I would like to congratulate Shri Pawan Kumar Chamling, Chief Minister of Sikkim on receiving the Sustainable Development Leadership Award. I am indeed happy to have the opportunity to take part in the deliberations at the first edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit. To begin with, let me congratulate TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute - for initiating this conclave of great relevance. This global forum has evolved from the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) that was launched by TERI in 2001. The DSDS had been at the forefront of creating environmental consciousness and promoting leadership to tackle the challenges of climate change and sustainable development. I fondly recall having the opportunity of inaugurating another edition of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit couple of years back, when I was External Affairs Minister. I am pleased to see it grow into a larger and more inclusive platform now. I take this opportunity to welcome the delegates who have come from abroad.

2. TERI has been consistent in its endeavour to find solutions and create new knowledge on issues relating to environment, climate, resources and sustainable development. Through this World Sustainable Development Summit, TERI is seeking to provide a unique platform to experts, administrators, policy-makers and others from round the globe, determined to protect our planet, to promote international exchange of knowledge and ideas. I urge TERI to continue its efforts for many more years.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

3. The threat of climate change is real and immediate. It concerns the whole world as its ill-effects are all-pervasive. Developing economies are more vulnerable to climate change as these economies are closely tied to climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry. As a developing country with shared concerns on climate vulnerability, India has a vital stake in an equitable and multi-lateral approach towards climate change.

4. India is home to almost 18 percent of the worlds population. However, we possess only four percent of the worlds renewable water resources. Our energy consumption constitutes six percent of the global energy consumption. Resource constraints notwithstanding, we have worked hard to become the fastest growing economy amongst the major economies of the world. We have the capacity to clock sustained high growth. But growth is dependent on resource availability, especially energy. Factors such as demography, development and urbanization exert tremendous pressure on availability of resources. Large-scale utilization of resources leads to their depletion and also impacts adversely on the environment. This results in reduced availability of resources for future growth putting a question mark on the sustainable development of an economy.

5. We need to follow a twin-tracked approach of limiting the rise of climate change while ensuring the existence of sufficient resources to meet our future developmental requirements. This objective mandates the efficient use of earths natural resource. We should aim at creating a society that is prosperous but not wasteful. We should make use of our abundant renewable sources to create a society that is self-sustaining and mindful of its responsibilities towards the present and future generations. Our society must learn to exercise restraint in consumption while continuing to use resources in moderation. In this regard, I am reminded of these words of Mahatma Gandhi who once observed and I quote: The earth provides enough for everyone's needs but not for everyman's greed (unquote).

Ladies and Gentlemen:

6. Promising initiatives have been taken both at the national and international levels aimed at addressing the challenge of climate change. The adoption of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 are but two crucial steps in this effort. They speak of the global acceptance of the view that all the people and countries of the world need to work together for our common future.

7. India ratified the landmark Paris Agreement that was reached at the twenty-first Conference of Parties four days ago on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhis birth anniversary. I am glad that our ratification has occurred prior to the next Conference of Parties and I hope that it will encourage other countries to follow suit. If the legally required ratification by countries who together account for 55 percent of the global emissions is achieved, it will enable the coming into-force of the Paris Agreement before the next Conference. This will be a major boost to our fight against climate change. I take this opportunity to compliment France for its effective leadership at the Paris Conference.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

8. Prior to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015, all countries under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) were asked to publish their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Our NDCs are ambitious but if we can accelerate steps on several fronts, it will be possible to achieve our targets. The NDCs are complemented by the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), which India had adopted in 2008. The NAPCC sets out a comprehensive response to the challenges of climate change through eight missions. It includes both adaptation and mitigation goals in addition to scientific research. The tasks have been set while recognizing the need to increase the standard of living of a vast majority of people and reducing their vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change.

9. Merely setting up of policies and missions, to my mind, is not adequate. It is the effective implementation and enforcement of these policies that is most critical. I would like to make a special mention of Indias achievements in both renewable energy and energy efficiency. While our progress in this direction is globally significant, we have to continue pursuing more ambitious goals.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

10. The world is facing challenges in all the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. On the one hand, over a billion-and-a-quarter people are still living in poverty. On the other, patterns of unsustainable production and consumption are endangering our planets eco-systems. This threat presents us with an opportunity to work together. Global action built on partnerships is required to achieve sustainable economic and social progress, inclusive growth and protection of the earths eco-systems. Both the Nationally Determined Contributions and the Sustainable Development Goals impel us to look beyond national boundaries and act in solidarity rather than in silos. Collective action, indeed, is necessary to address the shared concerns of our world.

11. I am happy that through the World Sustainable Development Summit, TERI is taking a lead in providing a platform for sharing of experiences and for collaborating on strategies for result-oriented action. This collaboration between governments, private sector, academia and civil society will be a vital source of knowledge, innovation, expertise and solutions in tackling the twin and inter-linked challenges of development and environment. The theme of this Summit Beyond 2015: People, Planet and Progress will motivate us to transform the way we think about progress. The barometer of prosperity is not merely economic growth but the well-being and availability of opportunities for all. Prosperity can be secured only when our planet remains healthy. We must work towards effective governance of our planets natural resources to ensure clean air and water. We must also work towards adequate food and nutrition for all people. Reducing socio-economic inequalities is a universal agenda that requires urgent action by all nations.

12. I hope this World Sustainable Development Summit will deliberate on policy discourse and conceptualize new solutions to find innovative pathways of development. I am confident this conclave will witness the formation of multi-stakeholder partnerships that will benefit all while safeguarding mother earths eco-systems. I conclude by wishing you all success in your deliberations.

Thank you.

Jai Hind.

Source: PIB
TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - Greater transparency in investigation and disciplinary matters. Faster complaint resolution. Making the complaint process more accessible to the public.

Re-introduction of proposed legislation promises all this and more.

The College of Teachers welcomes the provincial government's re-introduction of the Protecting Students Act.

This Act, which amends the Ontario College of Teachers Act, addresses recommendations adopted by College Council stemming from a 2012 review of the College's investigation and disciplinary practices and processes by former Ontario Chief Justice, the Honourable Patrick LeSage.

Among its proposed changes, the legislation would:

ensure that a teacher's certificate is automatically revoked if found guilty of sexual abuse or acts relating to child pornography

allow the College to share information with the school board or employer if the subject of a complaint poses an immediate risk to a student or child

require the College to publish summaries of Discipline Committee decisions where there has been a finding

improve timelines for the investigation and consideration of complaints.

"We are committed to ensuring that our teachers are supporting the success and achievement of our students. And that is why we have been working with the government to strengthen the disciplinary processes at the College, said College CEO and Registrar Michael Salvatori, OCT. "In the rare cases where discipline is required, teachers, parents and students will know that a fair and transparent process will be in place."

Since the LeSage review, the College has acted on all recommendations within its authority to implement. It has significantly improved how it investigates concerns and how it discloses information publicly.

"We look forward to working with the province to bring forward amendments to the Bill in order to continue to protect students and maintain public confidence in our work," said College Chair Angela De Palma, OCT.

At its meetings on September 29-30, College Council made a number of recommendations to the Minister of Education to amend the legislation.

Recommendations include:

ensuring that all decisions from disciplinary hearings are available to parents and the public and not removed after three years as currently suggested with respect to certain matters

seeking to maintain the College Registrar's authority as the the official complainant in professional misconduct matters, not a Director of Education

seeking legal authority to have discipline decisions take immediate effect when a member's certificate is revoked, instead of staying the order in case of appeals

considering prior decisions involving members at both the investigation and discipline committee stages

ensuring that decisions that result in not guilty findings or withdrawals due to a lack of evidence are not noted on a member's public record

allowing discretion when posting terms, conditions or limitations of a sensitive nature from Fitness to Practise decisions

removing the proposed spousal exemption clause.

The Ontario College of Teachers licenses, governs and regulates the profession of teaching in the public interest. It sets standards of practice and ethical standards, conducts disciplinary hearings and accredits teacher education programs affecting its more than 243,000 members in publicly funded schools and institutions across Ontario. The College is the largest self-regulatory body for the teaching profession in Canada.

SOURCE Ontario College of Teachers

For further information: Gabrielle Barkany (Bilingual), 416-961-8800, ext. 621, Toll-free 1-888-534-2222, ext. 621, [email protected]; Brian Jamieson, 416-961-8800, ext. 655, Toll-free 1-888-534-2222, ext. [email protected]
TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - During Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) and beyond, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) is committed to providing emotional support, credible information, user-friendly tools, and informative events to anyone affected by breast cancer, at any point in their journey. This includes a support and information helpline with newly expanded hours which serves Canadians across the country; a first-ever, national online breast screening decision aid tool; and Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day, a newly acquired program of the CBCF, now in its 6th year, aimed at promoting education, access and awareness to women considering post-mastectomy breast reconstruction surgery.

"During the month of October, we encourage people to take action and learn more about the tools and resources available to help women and their loved ones who have been impacted by breast cancer," said Lynne Hudson, CEO, CBCF. "This disease impacts 25,000 Canadian women each year. We know from consultations and conversations with women, healthcare providers, and others affected by breast cancer that there is a common and indispensable desire for support, credible information and tools that address the needs of Canadians, across the entire breast cancer continuum of care."

Thanks to a recent merger with Willow Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support (Willow), CBCF has introduced quality support and information programs to those affected by breast cancer, which are available year round. These newly expanded programs are unique to CBCF  and are free and confidential.

Support and information available across Canada

CBCF support and information is accessible in many ways, either through email, online or through a toll-free helpline. Members of the frontline Support Team are specially trained to be able to provide this type of support  and have first-hand experience, having had a breast cancer or high-risk diagnosis. Areas of expertise include risk factors and management, diagnosis, treatment options, breast reconstruction, breast health, survivorship, and living with metastatic breast cancer. To ensure support is available when women need it most, CBCF has extended the hours for its helpline  which means support is available longer, regardless of time zone.

"Research has shown that psychosocial support can be effective in enhancing a cancer patient's quality of life, coping abilities, and wellbeing," says Karen Malone, VP of Research and Programs, CBCF. "We're here to help ensure that all Canadians affected by breast cancer have access to the support and information they need -- whenever they need it."

CBCF's on-site services at Women's College Hospital and North York General Hospital in Toronto help to support women as soon as they receive their breast cancer diagnosis. CBCF's long-term goal is to further expand these programs to reach women outside major cities.

CBCF continues Willow's long-standing peer support volunteer training programs, helping to maintain community-based peer support groups across Canada. Since 2000, women in 500 communities have been trained to serve as breast cancer support group facilitators.

Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day introduced as new program of CBCF

This month, BRA Day will launch as a program of CBCF  and will be activated by leading plastic surgeons in more than 25 cities across Canada throughout October and November. Founded in 2011 by Toronto plastic surgeon Dr Mitchell Brown, BRA Day promotes education, awareness and access for women who may wish to consider post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. At BRA Day events, women can learn about their options for breast reconstruction from medical professionals, empowering them to make an informed choice that is right for them. At these events, the unique 'Show and Tell' Lounge allows women to develop realistic expectations of what reconstruction can achieve by providing a safe yet comfortable and relaxed environment for showing, telling, talking and connecting. Visit www.bra-day.com for more information.

Risk reduction and screening awareness still a top priority for the Foundation

For women at average risk of breast cancer, mammogram screening is most effective every two years, between the ages of 50 and 74. Eligibility is determined by breast screening guidelines in each province. For women who are unsure whether to have a mammogram, CBCF has developed an online tool to help women make an informed choice regarding participation in organized breast screening, in partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart. The 'My Breasts, My Test' e-tool (www.cbcf.org/mytest) is Canada's first interactive online breast screening decision aid. The tool was designed for women to learn about their individual risk factors, better understand possible outcomes of a mammogram and learn about the mammogram experience. A personalized screening guide is provided upon completion.

CBCF's corporate partners get involved in BCAM

CBCF is pleased to have the support of corporate partners to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A full list of partners is available at cbcf.org. Some examples include:

Cashmere Bathroom Tissue:

Canadians are invited to view the White Cashmere Collection 2016 and support the cause by joining Cashmere Bathroom Tissue's unique Vote Couture for the Cure contest at Facebook.com/Cashmere. From September 28 until October 26, Canadians are invited to vote for their favourite Cashmere BT couture garment and Cashmere Bathroom Tissue will donate $1 for every vote, up to $10,000, to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in the winning designer's name.

Shop 4 Charity:

Shop 4 Charity has launched the 4th annual Shop4Charity Calendar Sweepstakes. Seventy-five per cent of net proceeds will be contributed to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, with all contributions raised in Quebec benefiting the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. Calendars start at $30 + tax. Visit www.sweepstakesforthecure.ca for more details.

Hero Burger & Ace Bakery:

ACE Bakery and HERO Certified Burgers (HERO) have joined forces again in support of CBCF, in an effort to help "beet" cancer. From September 26 to October 21, diners can visit any HERO Certified Burger location in Ontario and enjoy their favourite burger between a Pink Bun from ACE Bakery. These attention-worthy buns get their colour from all natural beet juice added to the dough. For every pink bun sold during the campaign, $1 will be donated to CBCF.

Federated Co-op and Van Houtte Coffee

Federated Co-op and Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc. partner each October to support breast cancer research through the Drink Pink coffee program. Throughout October, 10 cents from every cup of coffee sold at participating Co-op locations will be donated to CBCF. Since the inception of the program  six years ago - the Drink Pink partners have raised $549,000 for CBCF through the sale of coffee at participating Co-op Gas Bars and Food Store delis  and the tally is still growing.

Sobeys

Atlantic Canadians are encouraged to pick up a Breast Cancer Awareness Bouquet and/or a 6 inch mini rose plant while at their local Sobeys October 13th through October 19th. One dollar from each bouquet and mini rose plant sold will be donated back to CBCF. Sobeys is a long-standing partner and supporter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation  as an Atlantic-wide sponsor of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, through the sale of pink ribbon paper icons in-store, as a sponsor of our Tour for the Cure education campaign, and finally through an annual watermelon campaign in partnership with CH Robinson.

For more information on how to get involved, visit www.cbcf.org.

About CBCF Support & Information Programs

No one should have to face breast cancer alone  that's why CBCF offers emotional support and credible information to anyone affected by breast cancer or at increased genetic risk for developing the disease. We help women and men living with a breast cancer or high-risk diagnosis, as well as their families, friends, and caregivers  at any stage of their experience.

Support and information can be accessed in various ways:

About the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) is a national community-driven charity. As the largest charitable funder of breast cancer research in Canada, CBCF's vision is to create a future without breast cancer. Since its inception in 1986, the Foundation has invested over $360 million in breast cancer research, funding more than 1,400 scientific and community grants. CBCF's investments in vital research, education, health promotion, support and information programs have led to progress in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. For more information, visit cbcf.org.

SOURCE Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

For further information: For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Tonya Johnson, Senior Manager, Research and Program Communications, Email: [email protected], Phone: 416.263.7920
Eminence supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month for 10th year in a row

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 6, 2016 /CNW/ -- Since 2007, Eminence Organic Skin Care has been donating funds to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation for breast cancer research and support. This year, Eminence presented a check for $141,502 to the Foundation at their annual CIBC Run for the Cure on October 2nd, 2016.

The CIBC Run for the Cure is a 5k or 1k walk or run that brings together an incredible community of people who have a personal connection to breast cancer and want to show their support and help raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. It is the largest single-day, volunteer-led event in Canada in support of breast cancer research. To date, the event has over 100,000 participants and raises over $20 million.

Eminence Organic Skin Care is proud to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. On October 2nd, a team of over 50 Eminence staff joined the thousands of participants and volunteers at the event in Vancouver, B.C. This year's generous donation - which was presented following the run - was a combination of funds raised through events within the corporate office, an added donation from the company's owners, and the proceeds of sales of the Eminence Organic Skin Care Sweet Red Rose Whip Moisturizer. Throughout the year, $5 from each retail-sized Sweet Red Rose Whip Moisturizer sold is dedicated to this cause.

"Helping those in need, especially those who are sick, is a cause near and dear to the heart of Eminence Organic Skin Care," says Boldijarre Koronczay, President of Eminence Organic Skin Care. "We are deeply committed to this cause, and the work that the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation does to benefit those fighting this disease."

Eminence is committed to giving back to the community and those in need through various charitable contributions and support, such as with the Eminence Kids Foundation, which aims to provide sick children in North America and Europe with nutritious, organic foods and juices to aid in their healing and recovery. You can read more about Eminence Organics' charitable work here: https://eminenceorganics.com/us/charities

The team at Eminence Organic Skin Care would like to thank those who directly contributed to this cause through donations, Sweet Red Rose Whip Moisturizer purchases, and participation in the CIBC Run for the Cure.

About Eminence Organic Skin Care

An award-winning provider of the most effective, professional skin care products in the natural and organic skin care industry, Eminence Organic Skin Care is sold in leading salons and spas in more than 40 countries around the world. Eminence melds herbal craftsmanship and innovation, skin rejuvenation techniques unique to Hungary and hand-picked fresh ingredients to craft premium natural, organic and Biodynamic skin care that is good for the earth as well as good for the skin. Eminence displays its commitment to the environment by harnessing wind and solar power energy to produce products and using recyclable packaging with vegetable-based inks and committing to planting a tree for every product sold. Visit www.Eminenceorganics.com for more information.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/415994

SOURCE Eminence Organic Skin Care

For further information: Liz Koubek Duggan/Erica Paton, Pierce Mattie Communications, 212.243.1431, [email protected], [email protected], https://eminenceorganics.com/us
BANGALORE and PALO ALTO, CA, Oct. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Infosys Limited (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services, will announce the results for its second quarter ended September 30, 2016 on Friday, October 14, 2016 around 8.45 a.m. Indian Standard Time (IST) (11:15 p.m. US ET on October 13, 2016; 8:15 p.m. PST on October 13, 2016; 4:15 a.m. London time; 11:15 a.m. Singapore/Hong Kong time). The results will also be available on http://www.infosys.com.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 )

Following the release, the leadership team will be part of a common television interaction at 10:00 a.m. IST. The participating executives will address questions from the media during this interaction which will be streamed live on the Investor Relations section of the Infosys website.

An archive of this event will be uploaded on http://www.infosys.com after 2:00 p.m. IST on October 14, 2016 (after 4:30 a.m. US ET on October 14, 2016).

Earnings call I

(11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. IST; 2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. ET)

The company will conduct a 60 minute conference call at 11:30 a.m. IST (2:00 a.m. US ET; 11:00 p.m. PST on October 13, 2016; 7:00 a.m. London time; 2:00 p.m. Singapore/Hong Kong time) on October 14, 2016 (open to investors/analysts in all regions), where the senior management will discuss the company's performance and answer questions from participants. To participate in the conference call, please dial the numbers provided below 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the call. During this time, the operator will provide instructions on how to ask questions. As participation in the call is limited, early registration (by calling the numbers 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time) is encouraged.

This event will be webcast live on the Investor Relations section of the Infosys website, following which it will be archived at http://www.infosys.com. The archive will be available after 3:30 p.m. IST on October 14, 2016 (after 6:00 a.m. US ET on October 14, 2016). In addition, a transcript of the conference call will be available at http://www.infosys.com.

Earnings call II

(6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. IST; 8:30 a.m. - 09:30 a.m. ET)

The company will also conduct a 60 minute conference call at 8:30 a.m. US ET (6:00 p.m. IST; 5:30 a.m. PST; 1:30 p.m. London time; 8:30 p.m. Singapore/Hong Kong time) on October 14, 2016 (open to investors/analysts in all regions), where the senior management will discuss the company's performance and answer questions from participants. To participate in the conference call, please dial the numbers provided below 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the call. During this time, the operator will provide instructions on how to ask questions. As participation in the call is limited, early registration (by calling the numbers 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time) is encouraged.

This event will be webcast live on the Investor Relations section of the Infosys website and an archive can be accessed at http://www.infosys.com after 11:30 a.m. ET on October 14, 2016 (after 9:00 p.m. IST on October 14, 2016). A transcript of the conference call will be available at http://www.infosys.com.

Summary of events

Event

Earnings release over the wire services

Date and Time

8.45 a.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

11:15 p.m. October 13, 2016 (ET)

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Event

Live broadcast of management's comments on the results

Date and Time

10:00 a.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

Web-site/Channel - Business television channels

Event

Archived webcast of management's comment on the results

Date and Time

2:00 p.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

4:30 a.m. October 14, 2016 (ET)

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Event

Earnings conference call I

(open to questions for investors/analysts in all regions)

Date and Time

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. October 14, 2016 (ET)

Questions during the call can be addressed to [email protected]

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Telephone/Fax No.

India



Toll, Mumbai:

022 6746 5898

022 3938 1098



Toll, Bangalore:

080 3940 3977



Singapore

Toll-free:

800 101 2045

Toll-number:

+65 3157 5746

Hong Kong

Toll-free:

800 964 448

Toll-number:

+852 3018 6877

Japan

Toll-free:

0 053 116 1110

Toll-number:

+81 3 4589 9421

UK

Toll-free:

0 808 101 1573

Toll-number:

+44 203 478 5524

Germany

Toll-free:

00 8001 424 3444

Canada

Toll- free:

011 8001 424 3444

France

Toll-free:

0 800 914 745

US

Toll-free:

1 866 746 2133

Toll-number:

+1 323 386 8721

Event

Replay of conference call

Date and Time

Till October 21, 2016

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Telephone/Fax No.

Toll-free:

USA 1 855 436 0715



US International toll:

+1 863 949 0105



Toll, Mumbai:

022 6181 3322

022 3065 2322



Toll, Bangalore:

080 3940 3988

Passcode:4636#



Event

Earnings conference call II

(open to questions for investors/analysts in all regions)

Date and Time

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. October 14, 2016 (ET)

Questions during the call can be addressed to [email protected]

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

India

Toll, Mumbai:

022 6746 5898

022 3938 1098



Toll, Bangalore:

080 6000 1221

080 3940 3977

Singapore

Toll-free:

800 101 2045



Toll- number:

+65 3157 5746

Hong Kong

Toll-free:

800 964 448

Toll- number:

+852 3018 6877

Japan

Toll-free:

0 053 116 1110

Toll- number:

+81 3 4589 9421

UK

Toll-free:

0 808 101 1573

Toll-number:

+44 203 478 5524

Germany

Toll-free:

00 8001 424 3444

Canada

Toll free:

011 8001 424 3444

France

Toll-free:

0 800 914 745

US

Toll-free:

1 866 746 2133

Toll-number:

+1 323 386 8721

Event

Replay of conference call

Date and Time

Till October 21, 2016

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Telephone/Fax No.

Toll-free:

USA 1 855 436 0715



International toll:

+1 863 949 0105

Toll, Mumbai:

022 6181 3322

022 3065 2322

Toll, Bangalore:

080 3940 3988

Passcode:4637#

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 197,000+ 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 http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this 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 mentioned at the beginning of the release, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

SOURCE Infosys

For further information: Investor Relations, Sandeep Mahindroo, +91-80-3980-1018, [email protected]; Media Relations, Sarah Vanita Gideon, +91-80-4156-3998, [email protected]; Pilar Elvira Wolfsteller, +1-510-944-4596, [email protected]
OTTAWA, Oct. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that the Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls, will travel to Canada for his first official visit to the country starting October 12th, 2016.

Canada is committed to deepening relations with France, building on the significant commercial, historical, and cultural ties both countries enjoy. This includes an unfailing commitment to promote the French language both at home and around the world.

While in Ottawa, on October 12th and 13th, Prime Minister Valls will meet with Prime Minister Trudeau to explore how to increase commercial flows between the two countries, including opportunities provided under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

The leaders will examine how Canada and France can work together to fight climate change and foster opportunities for youth. They will also discuss how to increase collaboration in science, innovation and technology, and promote protection for women and children.

Prime Minister Valls will also meet with Governor General David Johnston while in Ottawa.

Following the Ottawa portion of the visit, the two Prime Ministers will participate in an event initiated by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard to discuss opportunities arising from CETA.

Quote

"We have very warm ties with France given the historical and cultural influence it has had on our country. This visit is part of our mutual effort to build on these foundations to foster closer collaboration on fighting climate change. The visit will also allow us to promote greater trade and innovation flows  particularly through CETA  to help grow the middle class and strengthen our economies."

Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick Facts

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, G7, G20, founding nation of the European Union (EU) and leading partner in La Francophonie, France is a key ally for Canada on the international stage.

is a key ally for on the international stage. Both countries enjoy strong people-to-people ties, sharing the French language, and making it possible to cooperate closely on academic relations.

France is one of the most popular destinations for Canadian post-secondary students, particularly among non-English-speaking destinations.

is one of the most popular destinations for Canadian post-secondary students, particularly among non-English-speaking destinations. Since 2004, a youth mobility agreement has facilitated the movement of Canadian and French nationals aged 18-35 to each other's country.

France is Canada's eighth largest merchandise trading partner globally and fourth largest export market in the EU, with bilateral trade valued at $9.9 billion and Canadian exports to France valued at $3.1 billion in 2015.

is eighth largest merchandise trading partner globally and fourth largest export market in the EU, with bilateral trade valued at and Canadian exports to valued at in 2015. Canada's two-way foreign direct investment relationship with France nearly reached $14.8 billion at the end of 2015.

Associated Links





This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations, 613-957-5555
MONTREAL, Oct. 3, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and Montreal International invite media representatives to attend a press conference at which a study on the 11 universities of the Greater Montreal will be revealed.

Date: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.



Who: Mr. Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of

the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

Mr. Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of

Montreal International

Mr. Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal Location: Marriott Courtyard

Jackie Robinson Room, 11th floor 380 Rene-Levesque Boulevard West Montreal

About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has over 7,000 members. Its mission is to be the voice of Montreal's business community and to promote the city's prosperity. It is involved in key areas of economic development, advocating a philosophy of action based on engagement, credibility, proactivity, collaboration and innovation. The Board of Trade also offers a range of specialized services to individuals and to business of all sizes to support them in their growth at home and abroad.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/chambremontreal

Twitter: @chambremontreal

Follow the discussion: #ccmmqcca

SOURCE Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

For further information: Guillaume Berube, Advisor, Media Relations, Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4042, [email protected]
The data are being shared with the wider biological research community to help in the development of new therapies for diseases like cancer.

TORONTO, Oct. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - The European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the New York University School of Medicine and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) today announced a major milestone in the Reactome project: the annotation and release of its 10,000th human protein, making it the most comprehensive open access pathway knowledgebase available to the scientific community.

Reactome (www.reactome.org) relates human genes, proteins and other biomolecules to the biological pathways and processes in which they participate. It is a key resource for the biomedical research community, and is widely used by scientists around the world to interpret high-throughput experiments in genetics, genomics and proteomics.

The human genome contains roughly 20,000 protein-coding genes in total, so the annotation of the 10,000th protein means that Reactome now covers half of the protein-coding portion of the genome.

"We are pleased to reach this milestone and to share the results with the research community," said Dr. Lincoln Stein, Interim Scientific Director of OICR, Director of OICR's Informatics and Bio-computing Program and a Principal Investigator on the Reactome project. "Today's release, which is the result of over a decade of hard work and collaboration, will help researchers in their effort to better understand how genomic variation leads to diseases like cancer, to develop methods to detect those diseases at an earlier stage and to treat patients more effectively."

Henning Hermjakob at EMBLEBI and Peter D'Eustachio at the New York University School of Medicine are also Principal Investigators on the project.

By relating genes and proteins to normal and abnormal biological pathways, Reactome provides sophisticated tools for identifying patterns in large datasets. For example, researchers can explore an experiment in Reactome that identifies thousands of genes involved in a disease, and reduce the data to a more targeted set of pathways for further study. By combining the resulting dataset with other resources, they are well placed to identify drugs and protein targets that might reverse undesirable pathway alterations, or discover ways to diagnose the disease at an early stage.

Via its website, online tools, and specialized visualization and analysis applications, Reactome has been incorporated into more than 400 third-party genome analysis tools, and has been cited more than 4,000 times in the scientific literature.

"Congratulations to the Reactome team on this major milestone," said Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. "Through international collaborations such as this, Ontario researchers are making great strides in fighting disease on a global scale and I look forward to witnessing ongoing success with transformative discoveries that impact the lives of Ontarians every day."

Reactome has been in continuous operation since 2004, and is an international collaboration between the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in Canada, New York University School of Medicine in the United States, and EMBL-EBI in the United Kingdom. It is staffed by expert biological curators, bioinformaticians and computer scientists. Much of the content in Reactome is provided by community authors and peer reviewers, who are assisted by curatorial staff. Reactome content, including pathway data and the software infrastructure, is available to everyone, free of charge, under a Creative Commons open access license.

Reactome is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., the Ontario Research Fund, the University of Toronto, OpenTargets, Genome Canada, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

About the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)

OICR is an innovative cancer research and development institute dedicated to prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Institute is an independent, not-for-profit corporation, supported by the Government of Ontario. OICR's research supports more than 1,700 investigators, clinician scientists, research staff and trainees located at its headquarters and in research institutes and academia across the Province of Ontario. OICR has key research efforts underway in small molecules, biologics, stem cells, imaging, genomics, informatics and bio-computing. For more information, please visit the website at www.oicr.on.ca.

SOURCE Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

For further information: Christopher Needles, 416-673-8505, [email protected], @OICR_news
OTTAWA, Oct. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on World Teachers' Day:

"World Teachers' Day is a special day to honour the teachers who have played an essential role in our lives.

"The theme of this year's World Teachers' Day  Valuing teachers, improving their status  is an important one. Teachers have the awesome responsibility and the humbling opportunity of building the society of tomorrow through the students they teach every day in their classrooms.

"Enriching and educating the next generation of Canadians is no small task. It requires a lot of generosity, compassion, and hard work. Day in and day out, teachers seek new ways of engaging with students and explaining tough concepts, taking the time to understand students' needs while empowering them to satisfy their own curiosity.

"The Government of Canada is committed to providing teachers with the tools necessary to help students succeed. That is why we are undertaking a broad range of initiatives in this area, including: helping teachers and early childhood educators recover some out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies through a new school supply tax credit; investing in schools on First Nations reserves and in infrastructure projects at Canadian universities and colleges; providing learning opportunities for displaced children in the Middle East; and promoting cooperation in education with countries such as Mexico through Canada's International Education Strategy.

"I am exceptionally proud of having been a teacher. Regardless of whatever other job titles I hold over the course of my life, I will first and foremost be a teacher. That is why I was particularly delighted to present this year's Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence and Excellence in Early Childhood Education.

"In fact, today is also the beginning of the nomination period for the Prime Minister's Awards. Between now and January 9, 2017, I encourage all Canadians to recognize our tremendous educators and their contributions to the future of Canada by nominating them for the #PMAwards.

"On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I thank teachers in Canada and around the globe. You are inspirational leaders who change lives, and build a better world, every day."

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555
MONTREAL, Oct. 5, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and Montreal International released a study today entitled The Contribution of Greater Montreal Universities to the Quebec Economy, with Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and representatives of Greater Montreal's 11 universities on hand. Backed by solid data, this study confirms the importance of teaching and university research for the wealth of Quebec and Montreal. In addition to stimulating the knowledge and innovation economy, universities are active in their community, improving the quality of life of Quebecers.

"The city's universities play a crucial role in the future of our society," said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. "They train skilled labour, which is essential to the competitiveness of local businesses. University research directly increases the capacity of industries to innovate. Given the challenges we are facing in terms of productivity and an aging population, we need to promote the fundamental role of Montreal universities and their contribution to our society."

"Knowledge is the basis of our economic attractiveness, so we need to position Greater Montreal as an international university centre," said Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of Montreal International. "The availability of talent and university graduates is the leading decision-making factor for foreign investors. As such, as a society we need to identify our challenges and act quickly to increase the number of university graduates, while retaining more international students in the region."

"In addition to being partners in our economic development, universities take an active part in their community by putting their talent and high-quality facilities at the disposal of Montrealers," said Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre. "University students, professors and staff contribute to the city's vitality. We can be proud of our universities."

The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and Montreal International have identified six winning conditions to maximize the positive spinoffs of universities for the city's economy:

Creating a positive discourse that contributes to a sense of pride about universities.

Increasing the number of university graduates in the Greater Montreal population aged 25 to 34 by five percentage points over five years.

Making education, including higher education, the priority in the next provincial budget.

Continuing to encourage efforts to increase the retention of international students after they graduate from a Greater Montreal university to reach 10,000 by 2019.

Creating a roundtable that brings together representatives of universities, CEGEPs, the Government of Quebec and employers to help tie programs offered by institutions of higher learning to future labour needs.

Increasing partnerships between universities and public, private and non-profit organizations to offer an agile response to the job market's needs for new skills.

The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and Montreal International are committed to developing a strategy to bring these six winning conditions together and celebrating the role and contribution of universities.

To consult the full study, click here.

About the study

The study The Contribution of Greater Montreal Universities to the Quebec Economy was conducted by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, in partnership with Montreal International.

About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is made up of over 7,000 members. Its mission is to be the voice of Montreal's business community and to promote the city's prosperity. It is involved in key areas of economic development, advocating a philosophy of action based on engagement, credibility, proactivity, collaboration, and innovation. The Board of Trade also offers a range of specialized services to individuals and to businesses of all sizes to support them in their growth at home and abroad.

About Montreal International (montrealinternational.com)

Created in 1996, Montreal International is a non-profit organization funded by the private sector, the governments of Canada and Quebec, the Communaute metropolitaine de Montreal and the Ville de Montreal. Its mandate is to attract foreign investment, international organizations and skilled workers to the Montreal area.

SOURCE Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

For further information: Source and interviews: Guillaume Berube, Advisor, Media Relations, Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Phone: 514 871-4000, extension 4042, [email protected]; Celine Clement, Public Relations Director, Montreal International, Phone: 514 987-9317, [email protected]
The Nigeria Labour Congress has advised state governors in Nigeria to emulate President Muhammadu Buhari by cutting down wasteful spendin...

The Nigeria Labour Congress has advised state governors in Nigeria to emulate President Muhammadu Buhari by cutting down wasteful spending to save money to pay their workers.The union accused the governors of living opulent lifestyles, extravagant spending, greed, and embarking on grandiose projects and white elephants as well as appointing too many aides which had drained states purses.NLCs Deputy President, Peters Adeyemi, stated these on Thursday in Ado Ekiti after he led a delegation from the National Secretariat to hold talks with labour unions in Ekiti State on the salary and pension arrears owed workers and retirees, respectively.Adeyemi said Buhari had led by examples by offering to sell some aircraft in the Presidential Fleet.Buhari has started it with the plan to sell off some presidential jets; we have seen some world leaders traveling on commercial airlines and this is a lesson to our leaders to live within the available resources.Our leaders are too wasteful, our leaders are too ostentatious and they are very greedy and they dont even care that the nation is going through a period of economic recession. I dont know why our leaders cannot fly commercial planes rather than cruising on presidential jets.I also want to ask, why do our political leaders need large retinue of political aides and political hangers-on? They need to cut down on these bloated aides and make use of professionals on the ministries like permanent secretaries and directors to save costs.
The Federal Government has vowed to do everything required to bring Nigeria back to the path of growth with a resolve to the world that ...

The Federal Government has vowed to do everything required to bring Nigeria back to the path of growth with a resolve to the world that Nigeria is too big to fail.Speaking on sidelines of the plenary session of the 2016 International Monetary Funds (IMF)/World Bank meeting in Washington DC on Friday, the Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun categorically stated that Nigeria is too big to fail and too significant in the region to underperform.Reacting to the speeches of the World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim and the IMF managing director Ms. Christine Largard, Adeosun stated that what we are trying to do is to rewrite Nigerias economic story so that we can grow, and to grow we need critical infrastructure like power, transport, housing. These are where we are redirecting expenditure from our recurrent where we thought there have been a lot of waste and leakages.The finance minister who was very vibrant and visible at the meeting said the federal government is redirecting spending to capital to create long-term value, its tough in the short term but the long term benefits will be there for the future generation. We are confident of getting back to growth she assured the international community.With regards to calls by Lagarde and Kim for massive investment in infrastructure, Adeosun stated that, if we invest in critical infrastructure there will be increased productivity, which will lead to job creation and prosperity for our people and it is very comforting to hear this coming from the highest levels that that is the way to go.Adeosun stated that Nigeria has aligned with the views of the multilateral institutions with regards to inclusive growth, stating that inclusive growth is one of the objectives of this administration to end poverty.She noted that Government is investing heavily in education and as part of our social intervention programme we aim to engage more young graduates into primary schools because, education, I am sure we will be soon start seeing improvements in our education indices.She also stated that government was pumping money into agriculture and women are many in agriculture, they are the key especially in agriculture so we are pumping money into agriculture with small business loans with 60% on agriculture. BoI has assured that it will start disbursing micro loans to women so there is a great focus on women, out of the cooks for the school meal programme are women. Money coming in from part-time jobs makes a huge impact on family living.On his part, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele said the three-pronged comprehensive approach of monetary, fiscal and structural reforms is the way everybody has to go and we are doing that in Nigeria, there is serious collaboration between the monetary and fiscal authorities and if we continue in this direction we will achieve these objectives.Commenting on whether the financial sector reforms has been enjoying a buy-in from potential investors, Emefiele said the CBN has done a lot of reforms like the flexible exchange rate regimes which is picking up gradually, when you have the kind of situation that we have, naturally people will be a bit skeptical but with time as they develop more confidence we will begin to see more and more of them coming into the country.The CBN governor acknowledged that there are positive indications that meeting and networking with foreign delegations and officials of the IMF and World Bank at this meeting we will achieve some of the objectives that we have in mind. We will work together with China to see that we get our fair share of the benefit of being the earliest country to adopt renminbi as an international currency.
The Supreme Task, a dance crew from Nigeria, has won $7,000 by claiming the best prize in performance category at the 2016 Korean POP Worl...

The Supreme Task, a dance crew from Nigeria, has won $7,000 by claiming the best prize in performance category at the 2016 Korean POP World Festival held at Chanhwon Sport Park, South Korea.A statement by the Director of Korean Cultural Centre, by Mr. Han Sungrae, made available on Thursday in Abuja, said the event had a total of 15 finalists from different countries such including Nigeria, Nepal, Russia, Malaysia, Mexico and the United States.Others are Vietnam, Sweden, Israel, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, China, and Hungary80 contesting teams from 65 different countries had earlier participated in the preliminaries, categorised into Performance and Vocal and Nigerian team beat other contestants in the performance category.The Supreme Task Dance crew performed a Korean song `Fire by TBS in the presence of about 20,000 people to emerge the best team in the performance category.This is the second straight year that the Nigerian team would participate in the K-Pop World Festival in Korea.In last years edition, Pacific Stars team from Nigeria won the overall best team of the Festival and became the first African team to do so in the six-year history of the festival
The National Chairman of the All progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, has formally replied a national leader of the party, Bola...

The National Chairman of the All progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, has formally replied a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, who accused him of fraud and dictatorship in his handling of the partys affairs.Mr. Oyegun said Mr. Tinubus public letter contained reckless falsehood.The national chairman issued a statement on Friday in which he attempted to respond to all the allegations raised by the former Lagos State governor.Full statement below:The outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2016 Ondo State Governorship Primary Election has led to disagreements among some Party stakeholders in the state and at the national level. The ripples from the controversy over the election have unfortunately dragged our great party on to the front pages of newspapers for the wrong reasons.Recently, the media office of Bola Tinubu falsely and recklessly accused me of corruption, rigging the outcome of the 2016 Ondo State APC governorship election primaries and overruling the Partys National Working Committee (NWC) vote on the 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report.In view of the misinformation and false reports that have been fed to the media and that have pervaded the public space, there is need to set the records straight. Below are factual responses to the salient points and allegations made by the media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement.The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement alleged that I overruled the NWCs vote of six against five in favour of cancelling the primary election results and conducting another primary.According to the minutes of the 18th emergency meeting of the APC NWC held from Monday 19th September 2016 to Thursday 22nd September, 2016 at the Partys National Secretariat in Abuja, there was absolutely no meeting which I chaired that voted in the manner alleged. Clearly, the report on which the media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted was a figment of someones wild imagination.On Thursday 22nd September, 2016 being the final day for submission of candidate by Political Parties, the NWC discussed the possibility of voting having finished deliberation on the2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report because members in support of cancelling the Primary results were still strident in their position.A member of the NWC however drew the attention of the meeting to its previous decision in which the report of the Primary Election Committee was adopted while the Appeal Committee was set aside. The implication of this decision he reasoned was that a decision to submit the name of the winner of the primary election was already taken unless the NWC will now wish to reconsider its earlier decision.I agreed with this and ruled that the previous decision of the NWC be upheld.The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement also alleged that the names of over 150 valid delegates were excised to make room for an equal number of impostors.The Ondo State approved delegates list was compiled in strict compliance with the Partys constitution. Only qualified delegates were included in the list. Moreso, none of the aspirants or the Appeal Committee has submitted to NWC a list of delegates who were not qualified to be included in the delegates list but were listed as delegates or presumed qualified delegates who were not included in the delegates list used for the Primary.The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement alleged that I used a prayer interlude which I initiated to secretly excuse myself from the NWC meeting to submit the name of Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the candidate of the Party.FACTThe allegation is high fiction and an insult to the intelligence and sensibility of the respected NWC members present at the meeting. We do not and have never engaged in prayer interludes/sessions outside the usual opening and closing prayers. The prayer that is being referred to must be the closing prayer for the meeting.The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement accused me of bribery and corruption over the outcome of the Ondo State APC governorship election primaries.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 statement issued by media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu read.This reckless and baseless corruption allegation levelled against me is unfortunate and an insult to my person and my hard-earned reputation which I have strongly maintained. Nobody has the kind of money that can buy my conscience or make me do injury to an innocent man. In all the primaries conducted under my watch as National Chairman, I have strived to ensure a free, fair, transparent and credible process. The 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election was not an exception. There must be internal democracy in the Party and our constitution must be respected by all.The Partys NWC decision to reject the 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report was taken on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 in executive session after careful and exhaustive deliberations. The minutes and rejection were confirmed by the NWC on Thursday, September 22, 2016.The NWC in its four-point resolution rejected the Appeal Committees recommendation on the grounds that the report was fundamentally and fatally flawed. The NWC observed that the Appeal Committee contradicted itself when it admitted in its report, In making the above recommendations one is not unmindful of the fact that there may have been substantial compliance in the conduct of the exercise. but still proceeded to recommend the nullification of the Primary election.The NWC in its four-point resolution faulted the failure of the Appeal Committee to invite the National Secretariat as the custodian, to authenticate or otherwise the source of the disputed delegates list. Also, the Appeal Committee did not invite the Chairman or members of the Ondo State Governorship Primary Election Committee to clarify issues relating to the allegation of manipulation of the accreditation process. The Appeal Committee rather relied totally on unsubstantiated evidence(s) in the petitions it received to recommend the nullification of the Primary. This is against the principle of natural justice and fair hearing.The NWC equally observed a serious contradiction in the Appeal Committees report in respect of the number of the accredited delegates. Whereas the Primary Election Committees report indicated that 2,774 delegates were accredited, the Appeal Committees report erroneously recorded it as those who voted in the election, thereby acting under the false impression that there was over voting in the exercise. The actual total number of votes cast was 2,754, as clearly recorded in the Primary Election Committees report.The issue of fresh primaries did not arise as NWC had already rejected the Appeal Committees report in view of the stated flaws and upheld the election. In any case, any fresh primary was already time barred. By the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all governorship primaries and issues related ended on September 19, 2016.Also, voting on the issue became unnecessary and never took place in view of the NWCs rejection of the Appeal Committees report.The foregoing are facts backed by the minutes approved by all NWC members that attended the meetings held in respect of 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report.It needs to be stated categorically that the NWC is confident that the Chairman of the Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Committee, Abubakar Badaru, Executive Governor of Jigawa State conducted a credible and exemplary exercise. We indeed commend the Governor and his team for their transparency and the free and fair manner the primaries was conducted.Going forward, I appeal very passionately to leaders and members of the Party at all levels to explore internal dispute resolution mechanisms in addressing their perceived grievances instead of resorting to the media to vent their spleen.There are enormous challenges in delivering on the Partys 2015 election promises to Nigerians. On the immediate horizon is the task of winning the governorship election in Ondo state. We cannot afford to be distracted by the present contentions.I wish to assure Party members that despite the media attention that has been generated by the disagreements in the aftermath of the 2016 Ondo State Governorship Primary Election, the Party is focused on the task ahead and we urge our Party leaders and teeming supporters to also remain calm. The Party has already commenced wide consultations with stakeholders with a view to resolving the political differences that still exist. Hurling brickbats cannot help the cause of the party in any way.The APC national leadership remains united and solidly committed to the task of winning the Ondo state governorship election to save the people of the state from the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
South Africas Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said in a birthday message in the Washington Post that he wants the option of assisted death.





South Africas Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said in a birthday message in the Washington Post that he wants the option of assisted death.I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs. I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of lifes journey in the manner of my choice.Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave Mother Earth.I believe that, alongside the wonderful palliative care that exists, their choices should include a dignified assisted death. Quoting Washington Post, Africa Review said, he announced the reversal of his lifelong opposition to assisted dying in 2014.The archibishops announcement come as no surprise in South Africa. The issue of euthanasia or assisted death has divided the nation for a period of time.Last year the High Court in the capital Pretoria ruled in favour of terminally ill cancer patient Robin Strasham-Ford who had applied for assisted death.He had only two weeks left and wanted the law to be amended so that he would have assisted death without the prospect of prosecution. The law used to be very clear  any doctors who help patients die could face prison time of up to 14 years.The country has no legislation for euthanasia, while the constitution protects the right to life. On 7th of Sept, 1986, Desmond Tutu becomes the first black leader of the Anglican church of South Africa He marks his 85th birthday on Friday, October 7.
The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has expressed concern over the possibility of a more serious quake in the futu...

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has expressed concern over the possibility of a more serious quake in the future.The agencys Director for Geodesy and Geodynamics, Tahir Yakubu, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja that the tremors that happened in September in Kaduna state indicate a potential for a greater quake in the future.He emphasized an urgent need to equip the agency with materials that will enable it monitor seismic activities in the area ahead of time.The National Space Research and Development Agency had in September, attributed the tremor in Jama Local Government Area of Kaduna State to passive sources.There were three reports of earth tremor at Kwoi community in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State.After the first incident in Kwoi community, the Kaduna state government had appealed to the people of the community to be calm but the occurrence of the second earth tremor, which occurred at Sambang Dagi community barely 24 hours after, also in Jaba left residents terrified.The second vibration occurred very early in the morning, leaving residents scampering for safety while the third worsened fears around the communities.Authorities have, however, consistently appealed to the residents to remain calm.No Need To Panic
IMO State Government yesterday, affirmed that it deliberately abandoned the mountain of smelly refuse along the ever busy Douglas Road, ...

IMO State Government yesterday, affirmed that it deliberately abandoned the mountain of smelly refuse along the ever busy Douglas Road, Owerri, to get back at the indigenes who have been fighting the administration. Governor Rochas Okorochas Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Mr. Samuel Onwuemeodo, made the disclosure during an early morning public accountability phone-in programme anchored by Hot 99.5 FM, Owerri. Government deliberately abandoned the refuse along Douglas Road, Owerri, to get back at Owerri people who have been battling the state government, over the relocation of the market, Onwuemeodo said.The Governors CPS, who poured invectives on the leadership and indigenes of Owerri municipality, also fumed that Owerri people must be made to understand that they cannot eat their cake and have it. He further explained that there is a court order restraining government from tampering with the market and this also explains why we left the refuse.Most of the citizens who called into the programme, described the abandonment of the huge refuse as a damnable plot to inflict hardship and disease on the people and not to respect a court order.A caller, who simply identified himself as Amanze, wondered why and how a government should deliberately hoist pain and disease on its people, in a democracy. From what the Governors Press Secretary has said, it is now very clear that the palpable hatred which Owerri people have been complaining about is real, Amanze said.While recalling that Owerri used to be the cleanest city in Nigeria, Amanze, however, said that the Governor must hate Owerri so much to allow this level of devastation and dirt in the city. My Deputy not incoming Governor of Imo Okorocha Meantime, the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha has said that his Deputy, Eze Madumere will not succeed him as the next Governor of the state, even as he said that those who will assume the leadership of the state in 2019 will be politicians who are rescue mission compliant.Okorocha spoke yesterday at Concord Hotel, Owerri, during the launch of the book written by Mr Peter Clever titled: Eze Madumere: A True Manifestation of a Loyal Prince. He said: I have not decided who will be the next Governor of Imo state.I want to also tell you that, this is not a launch for a path for Madumere as the incoming governor of the state. I want to say this before you start to distort the political landscape of Imo State. But he is my son in whom I am well pleased. I have confidence in him. The joy of an aging father is to see the son rising.Kano Governor urges him to shun sycophants Also speaking at the book launch, the Kano State Governor, Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, has advised his counterpart Governor Rochas Okorocha, to desist from listening to sycophants if he wants to go far in governance.  For you as a governor to succeed in the affairs of governance, you must shun sycophants. Sycophancy is a deadly disease in government. It is HIV in governance. On his opinion about the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, he said: I congratulate you for being loyal to your governor and also for the confidence the governor reposes in you.However, he said that deputy governors should act according to the situation they found themselves and not to engage in any activity that would undermine the relationship they have with their superiors. With what we have seen today, you have helped and are still helping to move Imo State forward. I am happy that, what has been written is an honest contribution of the deputy governor to the development of the entire state.The subject of the book has portrayed your loyalty to the governor, he said. Okorocha snatched Imo from political hyenas Akintola Also speaking at the book launch, a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Adeniyi Akintola said that the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, snatched the State from political hyenas.Okorocha snatched the patrimony of Imo State from political hyenas who are busy feeding their stomach, adding that, he could go ahead in explaining how Okorocha started with his deputy. I consider it as a great honour to come and chair the occasion of a book launch written in honour of the Deputy Governor of Imo state, Prince Eze Madumere, he said.
WILLINGBORO TWP. -- Another report of gunfire in the township is under investigation, with this most recent incident leaving a man wounded in the leg.

Willingboro police received a report at approximately 9:15 p.m. Wednesday of possible shots fired and responded to the scene near Bucknell Lane and Buckingham Drive.

While nobody involved in the shooting was located at the scene, township police were informed that a man with a gunshot wound had recently arrived at Lourdes Hospital, in Willingboro.

Willingboro police then responded to the hospital and learned that the 38-year-old township man was taken to Cooper University Hospital, in Camden, with non-life threatening injuries.

Readers with information regarding the incident are asked to contact the Willingboro Police Department at 609-877-3001 or the Citizen Tip Hotline at 609-877-6958.

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Sunrise industries such as housekeeping and nursing services, innovative creations, new technologies including internet and big data, are all regarded as new driving forces for Chinas economy, and Premier Li Keqiang speaks highly of the development of these new economic engines.

Premier Li praises Hainans medical tourism

On March 25, 2016, Premier Li visited the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in South Chinas Hainan province. It is Chinas first medical tourism center and the Premier praised the new business model that combines medical care with vacation.

The Premier stated that medical tourism is a project of peoples livelihood and a form of the new economy.

Peoples health is the basis for Chinas long-term development, so a high standard should be set for the medical tourism industry, he said.

Premier Li lauds nursing services

Premier Li hailed housekeeping services and nursing for the elderly as sunrise industries during a discussion with deputies to the 12th National Peoples Congress from East Chinas Shandong province on March 6, 2016.

In the past, we had babysitters. The government also built nursing homes. However it did not become an industry, he said. Now the standardized services, combined with the Internet Plus model, have been transformed into new kinds of services, a new drive for the economy.

Premier Li visits e-commerce village in Zhejiang

Premier Li on Nov 19, 2014 praised staff members at an express distribution center in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, for helping narrow the urban-rural divide and creating opportunities.

You do great work, the Premier said, noting that their efforts not only create jobs, but also improve peoples lifestyles.

Two-way delivery links various communities and brings people closer together, he said. Express delivery is an important part of logistics, a vital component of the modern economy, and the work carried out at the center is significant.

Premier Li hails solar car in Qingkong

Premier Li took a ride on a solar car developed by an enterprise at the Qingkong innovation maker space in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Jan 5, 2016.

He praised solar energy technology and encouraged people to create new economic engines and build a better future for development.

The Premier also reassured entrepreneurs that the government will provide a convenient and efficient platform for them.

There is huge potential in the Chinese market and people who have made efforts to set up their own businesses will have a bright future, he said.

Premier Li calls for a better tourism market in Hainan

Premier Li tried a small tool invented by a local entrepreneur for drinking coconut juice during his visit to the Sanya Resident & Visitor Information Center in South Chinas Hainan province on March 22, 2016.

Although the invention is small, the potential market is huge, the Premier said.

He praised the invention, and encouraged young local entrepreneurs to be pioneers for innovation and creativity.

Premier Li vows more support for big data

China will create a more transparent and equal market to attract foreign investment in big data and e-commerce with streamlined administration, Premier Li said on May 25, 2016 at the opening ceremony of the China Big Data Industry Summit in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province.

Industries related to big data and e-commerce are booming in China with great growth potential, and enterprises from all countries are welcome to invest in these sectors, he said.

Before the opening ceremony, Premier Li inspected an exhibition staged by 56qq.com, an online platform for logistics, and was greatly impressed. The platform enables 1.7 million drivers and the 300,000 member logistics companies to locate their optimal partners to transport freight.

Premier Li encourages e-commerce

Premier Li on Sept 24, 2015 visited e-commerce enterprises such as Jumei International Holding and Xiaohongshu.com, in the Henan Bonded Logistics Center in Zhengzhou.

The entrepreneurs said development of cross-border e-commerce will not be affected by the economic downturn and will contribute to trade and the real economy.

The Premier said enterprises should overcome criticism and take advice to grow stronger.

The center, after adopting the double random sampling mechanism, has cut customs clearance time from as long as several days to several seconds, which has significantly helped sales grow in the zone.

Premier Li said the move has not only improved efficiency, but also reduced any opportunity for undue fees to be sought, which will help relieve burdens for enterprises and further invigorate the market.

Premier Li is impressed by online platform

Premier Li paid a visit to Xianyi Holdings in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on Sept 24, 2015.

After adopting the Internet Plus model, the company now provides a service platform encompassing agricultural production, processing and logistics. It also utilizes big data to help secure food safety all the way from the farm to the dinner table.

Premier Li said the new industrial model demonstrates vast potential, which will soon parallel traditional economic engines.

The Premier also spoke highly of the new approach in which the company runs its business, which is a sort of crowd-funding, saying it is expected to stimulate more enthusiasm from employees and make the company stronger.

Premier Li explains Internet Plus

Premier Li said that what we dont know about Internet Plus is much greater than what we know  so there is infinite potential. Every development concerning Internet Plus is like a drop of water that will eventually create an ocean  thus reshaping the pattern of traditional industries, he added.

He made the comments during a visit to the Pin Shang E-Commerce Co., Ltd, in Quanzhou, Fujian province, on April 23, 2015.

Premier Li praised the four internet platforms the company established  concerning cloud orders, capacity trading, credits of small and medium-sized enterprises and Internet finance  which can help reduce operation costs of small and micro-sized enterprises.

Premier Li pins hopes on Internet-based banking

Premier Li has pledged to provide a warm environment to boost moderate development of private banks during a visit to Webank, the countrys first Internet-based banking service in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Jan 4, 2015.

The opening of your bank signals a significant step in Chinas Internet finance and Chinas financial reforms at large, he said, adding that he pinned high hopes on private banking to find a solution to reduce mounting financing costs, and force the State-owned financial giants to change outdated service.
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2016

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220 000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people. The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process. This tribute is paid, not least, to the representatives of the countless victims of the civil war.

President Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in the peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, and he has consistently sought to move the peace process forward. Well knowing that the accord was controversial, he was instrumental in ensuring that Colombian voters were able to voice their opinion concerning the peace accord in a referendum. The outcome of the vote was not what President Santos wanted: a narrow majority of the over 13 million Colombians who cast their ballots said no to the accord. This result has created great uncertainty as to the future of Colombia. There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again. This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono, continue to respect the ceasefire.

The fact that a majority of the voters said no to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead. The referendum was not a vote for or against peace. What the No side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement. The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasizes the importance of the fact that President Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process. Even those who opposed the peace accord have welcomed such a dialogue. The Nobel Committee hopes that all parties will take their share of responsibility and participate constructively in the upcoming peace talks.

Striking a balance between the need for national reconciliation and ensuring justice for the victims will be a particularly difficult challenge. There are no simple answers to how this should be accomplished. An important feature of the Colombian peace process so far has been the participation of representatives of civil war victims. Witnessing the courage and will of the victims representatives to testify about atrocities, and to confront the perpetrators from every side of the conflict, has made a profound impression.

By awarding this years Peace Prize to President Juan Manuel Santos, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to encourage all those who are striving to achieve peace, reconciliation and justice in Colombia. The president himself has made it clear that he will continue to work for peace right up until his very last day in office. The Committee hopes that the Peace Prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Furthermore, it is the Committees hope that in the years to come the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the ongoing peace and reconciliation process. Only then will the country be able to address effectively major challenges such as poverty, social injustice and drug-related crime.

The civil war in Colombia is one of the longest civil wars in modern times and the sole remaining armed conflict in the Americas. It is the Norwegian Nobel Committees firm belief that President Santos, despite the No majority vote in the referendum, has brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution, and that much of the groundwork has been laid for both the verifiable disarmament of the FARC guerrillas and a historic process of national fraternity and reconciliation. His endeavors to promote peace thus fulfil the criteria and spirit of Alfred Nobels will.

Oslo, 7 October 2016

To cite this section

MLA style: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2016. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Mon. 31 Oct 2022. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2016/press-release/>
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)  Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
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.
For 'rapid diver' who went after trucker in I-10 crash, every second counted
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Leaving more than 280 dead in its wake across the Caribbean, Hurricane Matthew steamed toward Florida with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph Thursday, and 2 million people across the Southeast were warned to flee inland.

It was the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade.

This storms a monster, Gov. Rick Scott warned as it started lashing the state with periodic heavy rains and squalls around nightfall. He added: Im going to pray for everybodys safety.

As it moved north in the evening, Matthew stayed about 100 miles or more off South Florida, sparing the 4.4 million people in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas from its most punishing effects.

We were lucky this time, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

The hurricane was instead expected to blow ashore  or come dangerously close to doing so  early Friday north of West Palm Beach, which has about 1.1 million people, and then slowly push north for the next 12 hours along the Interstate 95 corridor, through Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters said it would then probably hug the coast of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend before veering out to sea  perhaps even looping back toward Florida in the middle of next week as a tropical storm.

Millions of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were told to evacuate their homes, and interstate highways were turned into one-way routes to speed the exodus. Florida alone accounted for about 1.5 million of those told to clear out.

The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida, the governor warned.

Many boarded up their homes and businesses and left them to the mercy of the storm.

Were not going to take any chances on this one, said Daniel Myras, who struggled to find enough plywood to protect his restaurant, the Cruisin Cafe, two blocks from the Daytona Beach boardwalk.

He added: A lot of people here, they laugh, and say theyve been through storms before and theyre not worried. But I think this is the one thats going to give us a wake-up call.

The hurricane picked up wind speed as it closed in, growing from a possibly devastating Category 3 storm to a potentially catastrophic Category 4. Forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more.

They said the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds  which newer buildings can withstand  but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities along a 500-mile stretch from South Florida to the Charleston, South Carolina, area.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, freeing up federal money and personnel to protect lives and property.

The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down, and the Orlando airport planned to do so as well. Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Amtrak suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea.

Orlandos world-famous theme parks  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  all closed.

I never get time off. Im a little sad, tourist Amber Klinkel, 25, of Battle Creek, Michigan, lamented at Universal.

Patients were transferred from two Florida waterfront hospitals and a nursing home near Daytona Beach to safer locations.

Thousands of people hunkered down in schools converted to shelters, and inland hotels in places such as Charlotte, North Carolina, reported brisk business.

At the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, NASA no longer has to worry about rolling space shuttles back from the launch pad to the hangar because of hurricanes, since the shuttle fleet is now retired. But the spaceflight company SpaceX was concerned about the storms effect on its leased seaside pad.

As evening fell, the winds picked up along Vero Beach, midway between West Palm Beach and Cape Canaveral, stripping away palm fronds, ripping awnings and blowing sand that stung the face. Waves crashed on the beach, and rain came in short bursts.
MICHIGAN CITY  Plans to get South Shore Line tracks out of the streets of this city and to cut the commute to Chicago by more than half an hour were outlined Thursday night in front of about 100 people.

The trip to Chicagos Loop on the South Shore commuter train currently takes about an hour and 40 minutes and boosters of the plan say cutting it to as little as one hour is one key to making Michigan City more prosperous.

The commute time would be cut by turning the mostly one-track route between Gary and Michigan City into a double track as part of the $210 million Double Track NWI project.

It is time to make this investment, said U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, during a program Thursday night hosted by South Shore operator Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District at Michigan City City Hall.

The goal is to submit the plans to the Federal Transit Administration in August, so the project can get consideration for federal funding. If approved, the feds would fund 50 percent of the projects cost.

project. Construction could start in 2019.

Janice Reid, of HDR, the engineering firm doing environmental and engineering studies for the project, said more than 12,000 people currently ride the South Shore commuter line daily. With double tracking, ridership could more than double, according to forecasts.

The project also includes removing the tracks embedded in the middle of 10th and 11th streets on Michigan Citys north end and replacing them with a more traditional line off the pavement, allowing trains to increase speeds to 45 mph through the city.

There also would be improvements to train stations at Miller, Portage/Ogden Dunes, Dune Park, Beverly Shores and the 11th Street station at Michigan City. New train bridges would be constructed over the CSX and Norfolk Southern rail lines and Hobart Road and the ArcelorMittal main west entrance in Burns Harbor.

Michael Noland, NICTD general manager, said it is projected the improvements to the South Shore Line could spur $670 million in new investment in retail, residential and other development. It is projected existing property values would increase by about $40 million.

Funding also will be sought through the Indiana General Assembly.

State Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, advised those involved with the project to be organized, which increases the odds of getting financial help from Indianapolis.

The formal public comment period is scheduled to run through Oct. 24, but input is welcome at any time, officials said.

Comment can be submitted to DoubleTrackNWI@nictd.com or mailed to South Shore Line, Attn: Double Track NWI, 33 E. U.S. Highway 12, Chesterton, IN 46304.

Anyone interested in having the plan presented to group can call Nicole Barker, NICTD, at (219) 926-5744, ext. 313.
GARY  The Gary Public Transportation Corp. Board of Directors deferred a decision on the final plan for its Broadway rapid bus service Thursday, asking staff to provide a specific recommendation regarding the service.

The plan, in the works for more than a year, would cut travel times and increase bus frequency between the Adam Benjamin Metro Center in Gary and Methodist Hospitals Southlake in Merrillville.

The plan calls for a repaved Broadway in the city with bypass lanes at bus stops, new shelters at the stops, and investment in the GPTCs bus fleet. Total capital costs are estimated at $9.5 million, much of it expected to be borne by the Indiana Department of Transportation for the road work.

Operating costs are estimated at $1.25 million per year. A federal grant of $3.1 million will help cover those costs in the services early years.

There are two potential alignments for the rapid service. A staff recommendation will be presented to the board in November, with an analysis of the extra costs associated with them.

This is one of the more important steps of the whole process, David Wright, GPTCs planning and marketing director, said said of the alignment selection.

The new Broadway service will make a total of 82 trips per weekday. Currently buses depart the Metro Center on 4th Avenue every 30 minutes; under the new plan one will depart every 20 minutes.

The new service will cut travel time from Metro Center to Methodist hospital by 12 to 30 percent, depending on the route and number of stops. It would add 50 percent more trips daily than exist today.

From the hospital, in one alignment, buses would alternate between going to the Purdue Technology Center farther south on Broadway, and to the Lake County Government Center at 93rd Avenue and Main Street. The Purdue center is home to an Ivy Tech community college campus.

The other alignment would have passengers riding beyond Methodist transfer to shuttle buses that would go to the Purdue center, the government center, and possibly south on Broadway to 109th Avenue in Crown Point.

The first option offers a one-seat ride through the route; the second requires a transfer, but is more efficient for GPTC, and adds the new stops further south.

The Broadway bus project is part of a larger Livable Broadway plan meant to promote economic development and promote livability along Broadway from Gary through Merrillville and into Crown Point.

Wright said that after a decision is made, the agency will spend the next 8 to 9 months educating the public on the new route prior to implementation in the middle of 2017.
GARY  Charges have been filed against four men in a series of burglaries in the city, although only one is in custody, according to police.

Police said charges of burglary and theft against Terrence D. Maynor, 24, and Tyrone L. Maynor, 22, both of Gary, stem from a June 16 incident in the 500 block of Matthews Street in which the pair broke into a garage and stole an item.

Police said Tyrone Maynor is currently in custody. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Terrence D. Maynor is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Mario Gonzalez at (219) 881-4743.

Burglary charges were also filed against Derrick Austin, 24, of Chicago, and Allen Christopher Jones, 22, of Gary, stemming from incidents in September. Police said a residence in the 800 block of N. Warren Street was burglarized during the late evening hours of Sept. 23. A few days later on Sept. 28, a residence in the 1000 block of N. Vanderburg Street was burglarized.

Electronics were stolen from the residences during both incidents, according to police.

Police said Austin and Jones are at large, and additional charges are expected to be filed. Anyone with information on burglaries in the Miller area of Gary or on the whereabouts of either suspect is urged to contact Det. Sgt. Brian Farrow at (219) 881-7420 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP.
HAMMOND  Former Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin is requesting a four-month delay in her public corruption trial.

Elgins lawyer has petitioned U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to postpone until March a jury trial that had been scheduled to begin Nov. 7, because more time is needed to prepare for her defense.

The judge has canceled a pre-trial conference that was to have taken place earlier this week, but hasnt scheduled any new trial date.

Elgin, 72, of Gary, faces charges of wire fraud, extortion, tax offenses and making false statements to federal agents, according to her 2014 indictment.

Three of her office employees, Ethel Shelton, Steven Hunter  who is Elgins son  and Alex Wheeler, also face wire fraud and extortion counts. All four are free on bond.

Federal prosecutors said Elgin expected her government employees to either purchase or sell campaign fundraiser tickets, enlisted subordinates to sell the tickets to employees during government office hours and placed employees who couldnt afford the tickets on payment plans.

Employees who failed to purchase tickets received unfavorable treatment by supervisors, including being given undesirable work and threatened with layoffs, an indictment in the case alleges.
LAKE STATION  Police said Thursday they are questioning a person of interest in connection with the shooting death of a city woman.

Aimee Giro, 26, was found dead Wednesday inside her home in the 2700 block of New Hampshire Street after her father requested a welfare check because he had not seen her in a week, officials said.

Giro died of a gunshot wound, according to the Lake County coroner's office.

Lake Station police previously responded to Giro's home several times for domestic disturbances, Capt. Brian Williams said. Police think Giro's homicide is an isolated case.
HAMMOND  A reputed member of the Latin Kings has agreed to cooperate with federal authorities seeking to dismantle the violent street gang.

Keith T. Smiley Manuel, 26, of Gary, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District court to his role in a racketeering conspiracy from 2003 to November 2015 that involved murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, sex trafficking and narcotics distribution.

A federal grand jury indicted him last summer alleging he and 25 other men are members of the street gangs Indiana chapters.

The indictment alleged Manuel had demanded gang members attack Estrellas Bar, 4704 Hohman Ave., Hammond, two years ago because members of the rival Latin Dragons gang patronized the business.

Although Manuel isnt accused of taking part in the attack, the government alleges another gang member fired shots into the bar Aug. 14, 2014, fatally wounding Raudel Contreras Jr., 26, of Hammond. The bar was damaged a month later in arson fires and demolished.

The conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. He and the U.S. attorney signed a plea bargain earlier this month agreeing he should receive no more than 30 years in prison if the court accepts Manuels plea.

He also agreed to cooperate with the U.S. attorneys office and testify before the grand jury and any other hearing.

His cooperation could reduce his sentence.
GARY  Evan Bayh said he would like to see changes in the countrys tax code and import regulations as he made a campaign stop Thursday at Edsal Manufacturing Co.s facility here.

Weve lost too many jobs in steel and auto and other important areas  good-paying jobs  not because we cant compete, but because some other countries are cheating, said Bayh, who is seeking a return to the U.S. Senate. He is competing against U.S. Rep. Todd Young, R-Bloomington., in the election.

Bayh took a tour of the Edsal Manufacturing plant accompanied by Mitch Liss, company executive vice president and co-owner, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and other local politicians and officials. The Chicago-based company announced it was opening a production facility in Gary last year and could expand its operation in the 700 block of Chase Street by another 100,000-square-feet within the year.

The company makes commercial-grade shelving and storage systems.

I would like to partner with you and the city to help you increase this investment and hire even more employees, Bayh told Liss on Thursday.

Bayh talked about the importance of steel and steel products to the state and the need to combat illegal trade practices that allow foreign companies an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

In addition to the illegal practices engaged in by other countries, Bayh said he has always been bothered that fines levied in such cases go to the U.S. government and not to the injured party.

He said the practice is something he plans to do his best to change if given the opportunity.

When a company has been penalized through illegal trade practices, the fine ought to go the injured party, not to Uncle Sam, Bayh said.

He also said he plans to fight to close a loophole that allows companies to receive a tax deduction for the cost of moving when leaving the United States.

Bayh also wants to make the tax rate for businesses more competitive when compared to other countries, which he believes will cause companies to retain more of their profits in the U.S. The governments share of this money, he said, can help create up to $300 billion dollars that can be used for infrastructure improvements.

Bayh said he wants to help small businesses in the U.S., particularly with tax credits for things like job training. While large, Fortune 500 companies can afford such training, he said it can be tough for smaller companies trying to keep their heads above water to afford it. He also said smaller companies can have trouble in getting access to capital to expand. Bayh said that is something the government can help with through the use of the Small Business Administration.
LAPORTE  The investigation into voter fraud by the Indiana State Police has grown from nine to 56 counties, including LaPorte and Lake counties.

State police announced Friday that the investigation into the Indiana Voter Registration Project is now encompassing more than half of Indianas 92 counties.

Police said they believe the total of potentially fraudulent records may be in the hundreds.

It is focusing on registration forms possibly containing fake names and addresses, applications with real names, but fake or incorrect addresses, and false dates of birth with real names, as well as other combinations of these examples, police said.

LaPorte County Clerk Lynne Spevak said they received about 600 cards, turned in by 30 different people, that are in question.

We are still looking through them. Some dont have the right identifiers, said Spevak.

Spevak said many have a change of address. Her office will send out post cards, and if they are returned undeliverable, they will know the changes were fraudulent.

The investigation began in late August and originally involved Hendricks and Marion counties. From there it spread to nine counties, state police announced earlier this week.

Police said they dont normally provide detailed updates of an active investigation. However, they are doing so with this investigation as the deadline to register for Indiana voters or to update registration is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. Police are encouraging voters to check the accuracy of their voter information by visiting indianavoters.in.gov.
MICHIGAN CITY  Maria Diaz went back to the taxi after using a gas station restroom only to find it missing  with her sleeping 11-year-old son still inside the seven-passenger van.

Several anxious hours went by before the cab driver, who was well into Michigan by then, was finally reached and started heading back.

The cab driver still wanted most of his $450 fare, but Diaz said she refused to give him a dime.

I was crying. In the blink of an eye your child is gone. Its not right. Its not right, she said.

Diaz said she and her children had just returned from a one-week vacation in California and caught the taxi after landing at OHare International Airport in Chicago.

The taxi was en route to Grand Rapids when it stopped early Wednesday at the Speedway just east of Michigan City near the U.S 20/U.S 35 interchange with Interstate 94, LaPorte County police said.

Diaz and her daughter were using the restroom while the cab driver, Ahmad Allababidi, 50, of Chicago refueled and grabbed some coffee, police said.

After Diaz and her daughter used the restroom and bought some juice and snacks, they walked out to find the taxi was gone.

I said this cant be, and I asked people tell me there is a taxi cab right in front of me. They said, Maam, theres no car out there. Theres nothing, said Diaz, who quickly called 911.

Diaz didnt know the name of the cab company, police said but after a contact number for the firm was finally obtained, the driver when notified. He was just 15 miles or so from his destination and started heading back.

Police said the boy was still sleeping when the cab showed up three hours later and appeared perfectly fine.

The driver was allowed to go.

Allababidi said all of the family members were asleep when he pulled up beside the pumps and assumed they were still in the van because Diaz didnt tell him she and her daughter had gotten out.

LaPorte County Police Capt. Mike Kellems said the boy seems to have slept through the entire episode.

Without question, its a bizarre thing to happen, he said.
EAST CHICAGO  Residents living in the lead- and arsenic-contaminated USS Lead Superfund site plan to meet Saturday to continue working on plans to form a Community Advisory Group.

The meeting is set for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the East Chicago Public Library, 1008 W. Chicago Ave.

Maritza Lopez, a member of the group We the People of East Chicago, said EPA guidelines requires a minimum of 15 people to serve as the leaders of a Community Advisory Group. The CAG will be led by individuals, not a community group, she said.

The more residents speak up and make their concerns known, the more effective the CAG can be, she said.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund site is divided into three cleanup zones  bounded by Chicago Avenue to the north, 151st Street and 149th Street to the south, the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal to the west and Parrish Avenue to the east.

The CAG will include residents from all zones.

EPA began excavation work Sunday in zone 3, which is the eastern third of the neighborhood. It plans to clean up 18 properties and part of Riley Park this construction season.
LAPORTE  The LaPorte County Historical Society Museum will host a guided tour and discussion Saturday afternoon on the sense of community.

The program is the latest in the NWI Next series of discussions on the past and future of Northwest Indiana.

The event will begin with a 1 p.m. guided tour of the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum, 2405 Indiana Ave., followed by a discussion facilitated by the Center for Civic Reflection at Valparaiso University.

Sponsors are The Times Media Co., the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum and Valparaiso University. It is one in a series of NWI Next discussions being held across the Region.

The next will be 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Merrillville/Ross Township Historical Society Museum.
MICHIGAN CITY  Anne Corder, a 13-year intensive care unit nurse, is Franciscan Health Michigan Citys October Ambassador of the Month.

The award has been presented by the hospitals Social and Recognition Committee since 1988 and recognizes employees who exhibit the mission and values of Franciscan Health, which include compassion for those in need, respect for life and the dignity of mankind, wellness and prevention of illness, restoration to health and acceptance of death as the final step toward wholeness. Recipients also have demonstrated courtesy, the proper attitude and enthusiasm for their work.

Corder, of Westville, and her husband, Randy, have two grown sons who also are nurses. Corder was nominated for the award by a fellow employee, who said, Anne has a strong sense of compassion for those in need and provides great care and skill for her patients.

Asked how she felt about receiving the honor, Corder said she was delighted and overjoyed.

I am truly dedicated to the Franciscan values. I love walking into the ICU and saying good morning to all my beautiful, intelligent, hard-working, dedicated co-workers and physicians. Teamwork, trust and true leadership define the intensive care unit.

Her hobbies include baking, watching old movies and reading.

In recognition of the honor, Corder was honored with a special billboard display for the month, a privileged parking spot, an Ambassador badge holder, a photo on the Ambassador of the Month wall which displays the previous 12 months winners and $150.
Methodist Hospitals hosts Go Pink open house

Every year in October hundreds of women across the country gather to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year was no exception at Methodist Hospitals Northwest Indianas Breast Cancer Center in Merrillville.

Close to 100 women gathered for breakfast and a day of pampering that included mini-facials, chair massages, manicures, and healthy smoothies. Every woman who scheduled a mammogram received a free pink bracelet. Since Go Pink was the theme, pink mums were raffled off to celebrate the upcoming fall season. Door prizes included a spa gift card and basket, cosmetics gift box and a breast care awareness gift basket.

Dr. Bharat Barai, medical director of the Oncology Institute at Methodist Hospitals, and Stacy Knox, breast care nurse navigator, were present to answer questions. The Breast Care Center recently received the 2016 Womens Choice Award for the third consecutive year. By carrying the evidence-based designation of the Womens Choice Award seal, Methodist Hospitals Breast Care Center has signified its commitment to a global mission to elevate the patient experience for women and all patients as one of more than 300 Americas Breast Care Centers.

Free mammograms available in Munster

Franciscan Health Munster recently received an $8,500 grant from the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness to provide a limited amount of free screening mammograms for medically underserved Hoosier women.

Screenings are done at the Franciscan Hammond Clinic Specialty Center, 7905 Calumet Ave. in Munster.

The hospital provides more than 5,000 mammograms annually and is partnering with Franciscan Hammond Clinic to identify women who would not otherwise be able to afford a screening.

The project, developed by Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust, aims to encourage Indiana women who do not have insurance, or are underinsured, to take action concerning their health. Funds for the grant are derived through the sales of breast cancer awareness specialty license plates.

For more information about the screenings or to make an appointment, call (219) 836-4697.

LaPorte, Starke county residents can get free mammograms, diagnostic work

Vouchers are available to cover the cost of mammograms and some diagnostic follow-up procedures for qualifying women in LaPorte and Starke counties. The vouchers are for low-income, uninsured or underinsured women 40 and older, and women of any age who are at high risk for breast cancer. Individuals should contact their physicians office to see if they qualify for a free mammogram voucher, and for a referral. Any health care provider in LaPorte or Starke counties may request a voucher for their patients by contacting the LaPorte Hospital Foundation by email contact@hflaporte.org.

Since 2005, LaPorte Hospital Foundation Breast Cancer Project has sought grants and contributions to create a comprehensive effort for early detection of breast cancer in our communities. The LaPorte Hospital Foundation, on behalf of LaPorte and Starke community members, was awarded a grant from the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust. Since 2002, that program has funded more than 16,000 screening mammograms for underserved Hoosier women, and awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to support the programs.
We often hear about firefighters and police officers running into dangerous situations, but a pair of EMS workers are being praised for putting themselves in harm's way by preventing a man from killing his former boss. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.

Emergency medical technicians save lives every day, but not this way: taking down a man waving knives.

EMTs Ryan Gref and Bruce Fonseca, who are based in Station Four in Lower Manhattan, were responding to a 911 call on East 14th Street Wednesday night when they came across a different emergency.

"I noticed one male holding two sushi knives and trying to stab another person," Gref said.

"We noticed that there was some commotion, tussling and screaming about 50 feet away from us, across the block," Fonseca said.

It happened at a sushi restaurant. Workers didn't want to talk on camera.

Fonseca and Gref, who are part of the hazardous and tactical unit, as well as the EMS rescue team for active shooters, said they knew they had to do something to save the restaurant owner.

Meminger: If you didn't intervene, what do you think would have happened?

Gref: I think he would have been stabbed. He would have been stabbed in the neck.

So he distracted the man with the knives.

"I yelled to catch the guy off guard, and I grabbed the knives from the guy," Gref said.

They then called police.

The EMTs say they learned the alleged attacker had been fired from the restaurant.

People may not think about it, but the EMTs say they are often in dangerous situations.

"I had to get physical before with persons who were pretty much under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Fonseca said.

"Multiple times that I have had weapons pulled on me. I've seen shootings happen. I've showed up on shootings while they are still going on," Gref siad.

Their union says the EMTs should be saluted for their bravery.

Israel Miranda, Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors Union: Our members do a very dangerous job and run into situations where the police department may not be on the scene. And sometimes, you have to take action.

Meminger: And that's what they did here?

Miranda: That's what they did.

The NYPD says the man who had the knives was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
A Bronx man who died in an upstate prison and was buried by the state Corrections Department without notice to his family was driven to suicide by corrections officers, a fellow inmate and the familys attorney tell NY1.

Lonnie Hamilton, 22, hanged himself inside his cell at the state prison in Marcy on March 18.

NY1 previously reported that family members did not learn of his death until May 6, after they became concerned that they could not reach him. His family searched a Department of Corrections website and saw his name listed as deceased.

The familys attorney, Zachary Giampa, now says Hamilton had been placed on suicide watch two days before his death because he had threatened to kill himself.

While Hamilton was on suicide watch, corrections officers harassed him -- stripping him of his clothes, spraying him with a fire extinguisher and taunting him, according to the former fellow inmate, who said he was in solitary confinement with Hamilton.

He asked that his name be withheld by NY1.

"I woke up to him screaming, yelling like, Why y'all wetting my cell? Why y'all wetting my cell? And they sprayed the fire extinguisher in there and turned the AC on. So I get on my gate and I see them walking out like through the other side of the door through the crack of the door and then like he like, Y'all wetting my cell? the former inmate said.

Now he's calling to speak to the lieutenant or somebody.  The police was like, Save your breath, ain't you about to kill yourself? They kept telling him like, 'Ain't you gonna kill yourself?' And they like talking about his sisters and family and stuff like that."

The former inmate said he decided to come forward after news reports that Hamiltons family was not told about Hamiltons death for nearly two months.

Hamilton was taking four different antidepressant medications at the time of his death, Giampa said.



Hamilton's father, also named Lonnie Hamilton, says that after hearing the former inmate's account, he believes it was no accident the Corrections Department did not notify his family about his son's death.

"To me it seems like they didn't call us in the beginning on purpose. To me it makes sense that they tried to cover it," he said.

The former inmate says Corrections kept Hamilton in solitary confinement too long, and denied him recreation, showers and food. He spoke up on behalf of Hamilton, to no avail, he said: "I'm like, why are y'all denying his food. They told me to mind my business."

The Corrections Department declined to comment on the new allegations, citing what it called an ongoing investigation.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is going to war with the New York Post, ignoring the longtime adage that you never want to pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. It's the latest sign of his souring relationship with the press in general. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had a frosty response to a New York Post reporter trying to ask a question at the mayor's weekly open session with reporters.

Q: Mr. Mayor -

de Blasio: You can keep calling all you want. Go ahead.

Q: Are you calling on me today? Hey...

de Blasio: I'm calling on real media outlets. Go ahead.

The reporter, Yoav Gonen, has been the Post's City Hall bureau chief for more than three years.

"You can talk all you want. Right back there," de Blasio said.

De Blasio froze him out.

"I got no use for a right-wing rag that attacks people who are good public servants and tries to undermine their reputation," he said.

It's been clear from the start that the mayor has little regard for the conservative tabloid. But he's recently taken his displeasure public in a new way. He will go weeks without calling on reporters from the Post. And last month, he cut off the same Post reporter for asking about a new contractor training officers at Rikers Island.

"I appreciate your propagandistic newspaper, but the bottom line point is, I'm sorry. I'm just not playing this game," de Blasio siad at the time.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg once banned a blogger from his news conferences, and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani sparred with the press corps as well. But no modern mayor has engaged in a directed fight with one of the city's biggest and most powerful papers in this way.

The New York Post and NY1 have jointly sued the mayor to obtain emails he exchanged with outside advisors.

The mayor is up for re-election next year and may think this battle helps him with his left-leaning, progressive base.

"It doesn't have to help. I am saying what I think is the truth," de Blasio said. "And by the way, I think the people share a lot of my view."

Donald Trump has attacked individual reporters and banned news organizations from his events, including outlets like the Washington Post. The mayor is no fan of Trump's, but in this case he seems to have taken a page from his playbook.
As with any new piece of automated equipment, navigating the proper etiquette of standing desks can involve a bit of a learning curve.

You will literally stand out. Embrace it.

If you have a standing desk, thats still viewed as being somewhat dorky, said Joel Johnson, 37, a publishing consultant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Its not a big deal, but some people are never going to be accepting of it. Some people will roll their eyes. Its fair game for light teasing.

Think about where you take meetings and what it means.

If youre standing and co-workers are sitting, its like youre at a lectern, so rise (or sink) to their level. There is a sitting area in my office with a table and a few chairs, but for a lot of meetings, people will just come and stand at my desk, said David Carter, 47, the chief creative officer at Mithun agency in Minneapolis. Psychologically, it says were not going to hang out and have a longer meeting than necessary. Its a little bit of a power move.

Some tasks may lend themselves to chairs.

If I have to think and compose a long email, I sit down, said Pat Sidoti, 37, who is the head of film production at the Fallon agency in Minneapolis.
A selected guide to stand-up, improv and comedy shows in New York City.

For news about comedy, including critical commentary: nytimes.com/arts. A searchable guide to these and other shows is at nytimes.com/events.

COMICS TO WATCH (Tuesday) Every year, Comedy Central and Carolines on Broadway team up for Comics to Watch, a showcase of some of the brightest up-and-coming stand-ups on the scene. The final show will take place during the New York Comedy Festival in November; this edition features comics vying for a spot on that high-profile show. At 7 p.m., Carolines, 1626 Broadway, at 49th Street, Manhattan, 212-757-4100, carolines.com. (Elise Czajkowski)

THE EIGHTH ANNUAL NEW YORK MUSICAL IMPROV FESTIVAL (Thursday through Oct. 16) This yearly festival celebrates the tricky art of musical improv, which features troupes from around the world spontaneously composing one-off musicals in a variety of styles. Opening night includes a performance by Baby Wants Candy, a favorite among troupes specializing in musical improv. At various times, Magnet Theater, 254 West 29th Street, Chelsea, 212-244-8824, nymif.com.

 CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE (through Nov. 27) An experienced improviser and stand-up comic, Mr. Gethard made a name for himself with his anarchic talk show, The Chris Gethard Show. Now, he brings his well-honed one-man show about depression, alcoholism, suicide and the other funniest parts of life to a two-month Off Broadway run. At 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., Lynn Redgrave Theater, 45 Bleecker Street, near Lafayette Street, East Village, 866-811-4111, cultureproject.org. (Czajkowski)
Bing Thom, a Hong Kong-born Canadian architect whose swooping, playful design for the Arena Stage companys Mead Center for American Theater enlivened Washingtons dreary southwestern waterfront and drew critical acclaim, died on Tuesday in Hong Kong. He was 75.

The cause was a brain aneurysm, said Michael Heeney, a principal at Mr. Thoms firm, Bing Thom Architects in Vancouver.

Mr. Thom had major commissions in the United States and Asia, although he was best known for his buildings in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, where he lived. He took on projects ranging from private homes to opera houses, as long as the job fit his sensibility.

He approached architecture holistically, weighing how his structures would fit within a community.

I sometimes analogize a city to a string of pearls, he told The New York Times in 2010, shortly after the new Arena Stage compound was completed. As an architect Im as interested in the string as in the pearls.
A selected guide to concerts in the New York City area.

For full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music. A searchable guide to these and other shows is at nytimes.com/events.

BOYS NOIZE (Tuesday and Wednesday) The Berlin-based D.J. and producer Alexander Ridha, who performs as Boys Noize, has made a name for himself by transforming industrial-bent techno into a movement for the masses. His latest album, Mayday, an exploration of dance musics unsettling underbelly, showcases an impressive roster of luminaries and producers, including Chilly Gonzales, Hudson Mohawke and even Paul Simon. With Remy Banks and Jubilee on Tuesday and Gila on Wednesday. At 9 p.m., Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North Sixth Street, Brooklyn, 718-486-5400, musichallofwilliamsburg.com. (Paula Mejia)

CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS (Monday) Heloise Letissier, the French pop star better known as her alter ego, Christine and the Queens, told The Observer this year that she has no charisma, so people never come over to me. Ms. Letissier  whose mesmerizing stage presence and unapologetic, gender-bending songwriting weaves together French and English and challenges every status quo imaginable  could have fooled us. She will bring her earth-rattling electro-pop stylings to Terminal 5 for a night of ample hip shaking. With Kamau. At 8 p.m., 610 West 56th Street, Clinton, 800-745-3000, terminal5nyc.com. (Mejia)

SUZANNE CIANI (Saturday) The composer and pianist Suzanne Ciani is a musical pioneer in the truest sense. She forged past skepticism about electronic music in the 1970s, embracing Buchla synthesizers as her instruments of choice. Through her commercial work writing jingles she hatched some of the most ubiquitous sounds in collective memory, and she was the first woman to score a major Hollywood film, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, in 1980. Ms. Ciani, 70, will be plugging away at her synthesizer at the Knockdown Centers Machines in Music showcase, which also features Mark Verbos, Alessandro Cortini and Tearing Light From Sound. At 8 p.m., 52-19 Flushing Avenue, at 54th Street, Maspeth, Queens, knockdowncenter.com. (Mejia)
The title came from whats a great action, Ms. Duncan said, noting the adventure implied by crime, and whats a great character, since squirrels have a reputation for mischief. And the word underpants is just fun to say.

Ms. Duncan portrays Sylvie, a little girl charged with pinning up the wash. When she does so, the pesky squirrel  a hand puppet in a bowler hat  steals her pink undies. A merry chase ensues, across an ocean of billowing blue nightgowns and through a forbidding forest of dark giant clothes. Ms. Duncan, whose show was developed with the support of the Jim Henson Foundation, made all the puppets and plays all the parts. LAUREL GRAEBER

Read related coverage of Squirrel Stole My Underpants.

Find more events for children and families.
2. Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism over a recently surfaced tape of him talking lewdly about trying to have sex with a married woman shortly after his own third wedding.

Hell likely have to field questions about it when he meets Hillary Clinton on Sunday for their second debate (9 p.m. Eastern). But this time, the questions will be from undecided voters instead of a moderator.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, didnt make the polling cutoff for the debate. We joined him on the campaign trail, where he browses Yelp to figure out where to eat.

____
Mr. Greenberg and former A.I.G. chief financial officer Howard I. Smith are accused of two sham reinsurance deals aimed at duping investors  one that converted auto warranty insurance losses into investment losses, and another that pumped up A.I.G.s reserves by $500 million.

On the witness stand, Mr. Greenberg has said he either did not remember certain documents or was not involved in the details of deals. Mr. Greenbergs assertions that he left details of the two transactions to other A.I.G. executives fly in the face of his reputation for being a detail-oriented micro manager, said David Schiff, a former insurance analyst who followed A.I.G. stock in the later Greenberg years. These were awfully big items to dismiss and not pay attention to.

Because most of the other witnesses have yet to testify, the trial is expected to continue into 2017.

Under brief questioning Thursday by David Boies, the defense lawyer, Mr. Greenberg said he agreed with one analysts 2001 report that said growth in A.I.G.s core insurance business was paramount and other issues, like reserve levels, were just noise. He also said A.I.G. had other ways to increase reserves, like tapping its capital or selling assets.

And, referring to evidence that A.I.G. had returned funds to General Reinsurance Corporation in a roundabout manner for one of the deals  which the state said was evidence that a phony fee was being repaid  Mr. Greenberg said it was perfectly normal for two insurers to settle accounts that way.
The CIT Group, a commercial lender, agreed on Thursday to sell its aircraft leasing business to a Chinese-owned competitor for about $10 billion, signifying a big step by CIT to slim itself down in the face of pressure from investors.

CIT is selling its aircraft leasing unit  which owns and manages 334 planes and has an additional 133 on order  to Avolon Holdings Ltd., which is based in Ireland but is owned by the HNA Group of China.

Perhaps just as crucially as selling off a noncore business, CIT will use the proceeds to pay out more than $3 billion to its shareholders and to further bolster its balance sheet. The firm has already cleared the move with one of its main regulators, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The $10 billion that Avolon is paying adds up to a 6.7 percent premium over the aircraft leasing units adjusted net asset value as of June 30, according to CIT.
The act broke up after he got a job on the sitcom One of the Boys, with Mickey Rooney, a yet undiscovered Dana Carvey, and Meg Ryan in a recurring part. After the show flopped, Mr. Lane got his big Broadway break, with George C. Scott in a revival of Noel Cowards Present Laughter. He played an aspiring young provincial playwright fond of leaping onto couches and giggling loonily, as Frank Rich put it in The New York Times, adding that he alternately hits and overshoots his broad mark.

Critics!

Mr. Lane spoke with nostalgia of an era when there was sort of a friendlier vibe between these creatures and playwrights, exemplified by the venerable Elliott Norton of Boston encouraging Neil Simon to add the Pigeon Sisters to the last act of The Odd Couple. And of the old days when a company could tinker with a show out of town, as Mr. Lane himself did with Mr. Simon and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, before John and Jane Q. could record damning snippets and post them on the internet.

Mr. Lane, who also reprised the role of Oscar Madison with his co-star in The Producers, Matthew Broderick, has written the introduction to a forthcoming new edition of Mr. Simons memoirs. His editor said, You know, if you ever want to write your  ha, ha  memoir, he said. Well, no. Im not doing that.

His work as an author has been limited to his collaborations with his husband, Mr. Elliott, on a childrens book series, Naughty Mabel, about the insouciant French bulldog with whom they share an apartment in TriBeCa and a house in East Hampton, N.Y.

Perhaps disappointingly for those who relish Mr. Lanes dexterity with a one-liner, there is no script of his own languishing in a drawer.

I mean, I like making contributions, Im a great punch-up man, he said, twirling an imaginary cigar. But its hard. They dont like you to change job titles. (As evinced, perhaps, by the cool reception he received for his version of Stephen Sondheim and Burt Sheveloves adaptation of Aristophaness The Frogs.) I would lean more toward directing. Everyone keeps saying I have to direct something because Ive got a lot of opinions.
A Dagger In The Heart Shelby County v Holder Op Doc Shelby 0812-DSv43 Transcript On-Screen IDs (lower thirds) Julie Fernandes: Advocacy Director, Open Society Foundation (correct the spelling of her name in the cut) Hans von Spakovsky: Senior Legal Fellow, The Heritage Foundation Debo Adegbile: Civil Rights Attorney Eric Holder: Former U.S. Attorney General Ari Berman: Journalist/Author Edward Blum: Director, The Project on Fair Representation TEXT CARD: A Dagger in the Heart Shelby County v Holder BARBER AT RALLY: Every time you attack and suppress the vote, thats violence! Thats social violence, thats psychological violence, thats political violence and its time to stop the violence. BLUM: I fundamentally believe that African Americans were gravely disadvantaged throughout the bulk of American history. I do not believe they are gravely disadvantaged today. TEXT CARD: Edward Blum is a conservative legal strategist and backer of a legal defense program that has funded cases challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 BLUM: There is racism in modern America. There is homophobia in modern America. Theres anti-Semitism in modern America. The question is what should government do about that? ARCHIVAL AUDIO: MALE: The President of the United States... (Applause) LBJ: The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men. ARI: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is widely regarded as the most important piece of Civil Rights legislation ever passed. And it was meant to end the problem of voting discrimination in the South. It struck down things like poll taxes and literacy tests that had prevented African Americans from registering to vote for many many years. GFX: Voting Rights Act document / Map showing areas covered under Section 5. ARI: The most powerful part of the voting rights act was that under section 5 those states with the longest histories of voting discrimination had to approve their voting changes with the federal government to make sure they didnt discriminate in the future. FERNANDEZ: Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was the most effective civil rights provision in our history. It was the thing that changed the game for black, and Latino, and Native-American voters across the country. VON SPAKOVSKY: By 2005, the registration rate of black voters was on par with and in many states exceeded that of white voters. The turnout rate of black voters was often on par with white voters and exceeded that. GFX: Graphs showing changes in Black registration & turnout from 1965 - 2005. VON SPAKOVSKY: There was no longer any kind of the systematic statewide discrimination that had caused Section 5 to be a necessary requirement. BLUM: Section 5 did its job. TEXT CARD: In 2010, Blums lawyers filed a lawsuit on behalf of Shelby County Alabama challenging the constitutionality of the formula in the Voting Rights Act that determined which jurisdictions required federal approval to change their voting laws. SCOTUS ARCHIVAL AUDIO (Under Text): ROBERTS: Well hear argument first the morning in case 1296, Shelby County v Holder. REIN: I think the problem to which the Voting Rights Act was addressed is solved. You look at the registration, you look at voting. That problem is solved on an absolute as well as a relative basis. SOTOMAYOR: Counsel, the reason Section 5 was created was because States were moving faster than litigation permitted to catch the new forms of discriminatory practices that were being developed. As the courts struck down one form, the States would find another. HOLDER: Theres no question that weve made progress as a nation, but progress is not a destination. DEBO: The election of Barack Obama represented many things. One of the things it turns out that it represented was the biggest push to turn back voter access since the Jim Crow period. ARI: When minorities became the majority in Texas, thats when Republicans really began pushing for voter ID there. African-Americans and Hispanics are two to three times more likely to not have a government issued ID as white voters. FERNANDEZ: The Texas voter ID law went through the Section 5 process to have the district court decide whether it was racially discriminatory. And the Federal District Court said it was, and blocked the implementation of the voter ID law. BARBER AT RALLY: And so if youre mad about our elected leadership, and how theyre handling the peoples business, you better raise your voice and vote your dreams. BARBER: It doesnt take much, so if you can get just one percent or half a percent people to not be able to vote or just to not show up then you can win elections. FERNANDEZ: Once you have an election, its over. Because once the election is over, people are governing. People are moving on. So, in voting, its a critical feature to be able to stop racially discriminatory voting changes from being implemented in the first place. TEXT CARD: Since 1965, the Justice Department and federal courts have used Section 5 to stop more than 3,000 discriminatory changes from taking effect. HOLDER: I thought that there was a basis for the Court to simply uphold the Voting Rights Act. The majority of the people in both the Civil Rights Division and the Solicitor Generals Office had a different view - that the Court has taken the case with a purpose. SCOTUS ARCHIVAL AUDIO: SCALIA: Even the name of it is wonderful, the Voting Rights Act... who is going to vote against that in the future? Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes. DEBO: There could be no more ahistoric articulation of what the Voting Rights Act is than that characterization. For a person to say that race is not a salient factor in American life today- You can only say that from one of two positions: One is a position of privilege or the other is a position of ignorance. Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush - all signed reauthorizations of the Voting Rights Act, and so for a long time the Voting Rights Act wasnt about partisan politics it was about the American promise. SCOTUS ARCHIVAL AUDIO: ROBERTS: I have the opinion of the court this morning the case 1296 Shelby Vs Holder... TEXT CARD: In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that portions of the Voting Rights Act were unconstitutional. States previously covered under section 5 no longer needed federal approval before changing their voting laws. BLUM: When that opinion came down it was a very gratifying moment. Your race and your ethnicity should not be something thats used to help you in life or to harm you in life, that is - that is what the vast majority of Americans believe. ARI: Within an hour of the Shelby County decision, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott tweets that his states voter ID law which had been blocked under the Voting Rights Act would go into the effect. FERNANDEZ: Now, a federal court had said its racially discriminatory. But the provision of the law they used... POOF! They implement the racially discriminatory law. ARI: A month after the Shelby County decision, North Carolina passes a sweeping rewrite of its election system. The state cuts back on early voting, it requires strict ID, it eliminates same day voter registration, it eliminates pre-registration for 16 & 17 year olds. They even eliminate citizen awareness month which is meant to encourage people to register to vote. FERNANDEZ: As soon as theres not a racial discrimination check on the statute, they decide to pass a bill that includes tons of provisions that they, themselves, had negotiated away because they were concerned they wouldnt pass the Section 5 test. GFX: MAP showing 17 states that have new voting restrictions in place for the 2016 election ARCHIVAL AUDIO (Under Text): MALE NEWSCASTER: Todays decision apparently clears the way for several high profile laws including stricter voter ID requirements in Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas... ARCHIVAL VIDEO/AUDIO: JOHN LEWIS: I never thought that I would see the day when the United States Supreme Court would put a dagger in the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. ARI: This is going to be the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. BLUM: If the states that were covered by Section 5 make changes to their election procedures that harm minorities, voters can come together, form a plaintiff group, hire attorneys, and challenge that. That is how our legal system works. ARI: These lawsuits are very expensive, and the burden of proof is on those facing discrimination as opposed to the states that are doing the discriminating. And laws can only be challenged once theyve been passed. So, youre now faced with a situation where voters are facing discrimination and then laws are being challenged. TEXT CARD: In 2016, the courts found that the Voter ID laws enacted in North Carolina and Texas after the Shelby decision were racially discriminatory. The court declared that the voting provisions in North Carolina targeted African-Americans with almost surgical precision. BARBER AT CHURCH: Now if people are trying to take your right you must be powerful. Nobody would go through all this trouble; nobody would go to the supreme court, nobody would vote like this if they thought you were weak. You must be powerful. TEXT CARD: In the 11 states with strict voter ID laws, minority participation in general elections dropped by 4.7%. This could disenfranchise as many as half a million minority voters in 2016. END.
Mario Chasi stood in the middle of one of the 45 corrugated steel stalls that line the former warehouse in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx where he hopes to re-establish his body shop.

Mr. Chasi, a heavyset auto mechanic, is a refugee from Willets Point, Queens, a ramshackle colony of auto repair, muffler, glass and tire shops next to Citi Field. In 2013, he was among a group of business owners and mechanics evicted from the area, with its broken streets and potholes as big as a bathtub, to make way for a planned redevelopment.

While the project has been stalled in court, Mr. Chasi and more than three dozen other former inhabitants of Willets Points have struggled for more than two years to convert the warehouse where he was standing last week into an auto mart of sorts called the Sunrise Cooperative.

But with the construction nearly complete, Sunrise ran out of money, and filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 23. The cooperatives last, best chance is that New York City will come to the rescue with additional financing.
NEWARK  As the scandal over the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge mushroomed in December 2013, Bridget Anne Kelly called a co-worker one evening in a panic.

You know, Christina, if someone tells me something is O.K., who am I to question it? she asked.

Then, according to testimony in United States District Court here from the co-worker, Christina Renna, Ms. Kelly asked her to delete an email that had been written three months earlier, when the lane closings were causing a catastrophic traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J. Prosecutors say the closings were planned by Ms. Kelly and two other senior aides to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey as a punishment of the towns mayor after he declined to endorse Mr. Christie for re-election.

The email that September day documented a call from the mayor to a young staff member in the governors office, in which the mayor complained about safety hazards from the shutdowns and said he suspected that they were government retribution.

Ms. Kelly, a deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, had received the email from Ms. Renna and replied, Good.
If the aim of the Israeli government is to prevent a peace deal with the Palestinians, now or in the future, its close to realizing that goal. Last week, it approved the construction of a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank, another step in the steady march under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build on land needed to create a Palestinian state.

The Obama administration, with every justification, strongly condemned the action as a betrayal of the idea of a two-state solution in the Middle East. But Mr. Netanyahu obviously doesnt care what Washington thinks, so it will be up to President Obama to find another way to preserve that option before he leaves office.

The best idea under discussion now would be to have the United Nations Security Council, in an official resolution, lay down guidelines for a peace agreement covering such issues as Israels security, the future of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and borders for both states. The United Nations previously laid down principles for a peace deal in Resolution 242 (1967) and Resolution 338 (1973); a new one would be more specific and take into account current realities. Another, though weaker, option is for Mr. Obama to act unilaterally and articulate this framework for the two parties.

The new settlement, which would consist of up to 300 homes, is one of a string of housing developments that would nearly divide the West Bank. It is designed to house settlers from a nearby illegal outpost, called Amona, which an Israeli court has ordered demolished because it is built on private, Palestinian-owned land.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada promised to make climate change a priority when he campaigned for office last year. This week he made progress on that promise with a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by putting a price on carbon. This marks a big turning point for his country, whose previous government resisted aggressive steps on climate change because it wanted to protect the oil industry.

Mr. Trudeaus timing could not have been better. On Wednesday, the number of countries ratifying last Decembers global climate agreement in Paris passed the minimum thresholds  55 nations representing 55 percent of global emissions  necessary for the accord to take effect next month. Individual countries must now start putting in place the policies required to meet the national targets they agreed to in Paris.

The plan will allow each of Canadas 10 provinces and three territories to choose its own method of carbon pricing, whether a direct tax on emissions or a cap-and-trade system under which governments put a ceiling on emissions and allow utilities, manufacturing plants, fuel distributors and others to buy and sell permits to emit greenhouse gases. Whatever system the provinces and territories choose, they must establish a price by 2018, starting at a minimum of 10 Canadian dollars per ton of carbon (about $7.60 in American dollars) and rising to at least 50 Canadian dollars in 2022. They can use the revenue generated to lower other taxes or invest in renewable energy and other climate projects. The federal government will impose fines on provinces that fail to act.
Over the past generation there seems to have been a decline in the number of high-quality friendships.

In 1985, most Americans told pollsters that they had about three confidants, people with whom they could share everything. Today, the majority of people say they have about two. In 1985, 10 percent of Americans said they had no one to fully confide in, but by the start of this century 25 percent of Americans said that.

All of this has left people wondering if technology is making us lonelier. Instead of going over to the neighbors house, are we sitting at home depressingly surfing everybody elses perfect lives on Facebook?

Over the past decade, the best research has suggested that no, technology and social media are not making us lonelier. These things are tools. Its what you bring to Facebook that matters. Socially engaged people use it to further engage; lonely people use it to mask loneliness.
Call In the Professionals

Donald Trumps biggest selling point when he entered this campaign was that hes not a professional politician but a crack deal maker who can fix whats broken in Washington. So who are Republicans relying on to salvage his candidacy as poll numbers drop? The professional politician Mike Pence.

At the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday, Tim Kaine, Hillary Clintons running mate, presented Mr. Pence with a formidable bill of particulars about his new boss: Mr. Trumps yearslong birther campaign against President Obama, his appeals to white supremacists and his grotesque sexism, his boasts about avoiding income tax, his charity scams and his attempt to discredit an American-born judge hearing a fraud case against his sham university.

Mr. Pence  six-term member of the House, former leader of his partys conservative congressional caucus, lifelong fighter for nearly every conservative principle that Mr. Trump has rejected  did his professional best to cast Mr. Trump as the outsider savior of the government. Look, hes not a polished politician like you and Hillary Clinton. Mr. Pence said. Things dont always come out the way he means them.

Actually, things come out exactly the way Mr. Trump means them. Over the course of his campaign, Mr. Trump has talked less about how he alone can bring dispassionate business sense to Washington. Instead, his behavior suggests a TV caricature, a preening Monopoly millionaire seeking power to enrich himself and destroy a long list of perceived enemies.
The chief executive of a website known for the sexually oriented escort advertisements it hosts was arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiracy and pimping a minor after the authorities raided the companys Dallas headquarters, according to court records.

The website, Backpage.com, has faced accusations in various jurisdictions of engaging in sex trafficking, and hundreds of trafficking cases across the country have been linked to the site. But this is the first time that criminal charges have been brought against the company or its executives, the authorities said.

Charges were filed in California Superior Court against Carl Ferrer, 55, the chief executive, and two men who founded the company in 2004, Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67.

Defendants have known that their website is the United States hub for the illegal sex trade and that many of the people advertised for commercial sex on Backpage are victims of sex trafficking, including children, according to an affidavit for a warrant filed by Brian Fichtner, a special agent of the California Department of Justice.
General Lewis issued a sharp written rebuttal to the inspector general in which he denied many of the allegations.

In the statement, which was obtained by The New York Times, he accused the inspector general of constructing a case based on hearsay and innuendo. He denied that the establishments he had visited were strip clubs and said that, to the best of his knowledge, the bar in Rome was a dance club. He said he had not gone to the Candy Bar in Seoul.

General Lewis did acknowledge inappropriate actions, including charging nearly $1,800 to his government credit card at the club in Rome. He said that he had tried to use his personal debit card, but that it had not worked overseas. He said he had to go back to the hotel with a female employee of the club and wake up a Defense Department staff member to get his government-issued card to pay the bill.

The report identified the club as Cica Cica Boom, which has signs that advertise lap dances. But General Lewis said that there were many establishments in the vicinity and that the club he had gone to was Verafollia S.R.L., a dance club.

The Pentagon inspector generals office referred the matter to the Army to decide whether to take further action against General Lewis, and at what rank he would be allowed to retire.
TITUSVILLE, Fla.  As Hurricane Matthew barreled toward Central Florida, the most powerful storm to hit the region in decades, millions of people fled inland or barricaded themselves inside their homes on Thursday to escape what could be dangerous flooding, widespread blackouts and 140-mile-per-hour wind capable of turning debris into deadly missiles.

The storm had already left a terrifying wake in Haiti, where the death toll, still preliminary, exceeded 280. Hundreds were injured.

With the hurricane now bearing down on Florida, there were mileslong traffic jams of residents struggling to get to safety after Gov. Rick Scott ordered the evacuation of low-lying areas that are home to 1.5 million people. Some forecast models suggested late Thursday that the storm had moved slightly eastward, raising hopes that Florida would be spared a direct strike.

Still, the government warned that the hurricane was likely to produce devastating impacts, and anxiety grew throughout the day and night. Local officials distributed leaflets and pounded on doors at mobile home parks, telling residents that their homes were not safe, and the state opened more than 80 shelters with food and water, capable of taking in tens of thousands of people.
He was one of the most patriotic people I knew, Ms. Martin said in a telephone interview. More likely, she said, he got in the habit of taking material home to keep working at night.

He brought work home all the time  he was always on a laptop, always working, always studying, she said, adding that he had piles of books and papers everywhere and was a bit of a hoarder. She called him a genuinely nice guy  a little eccentric, but not in a bad way. He had no interest in politics, she said, and was interested mainly in computers.

Among the leaks that officials believe did not come from Mr. Snowden, a former N.S.A. contractor like Mr. Martin, are two of particular concern. They involve techniques used by the agency to break into foreign computer systems and networks  sometimes even computers not connected to the internet. Others, published by WikiLeaks, included lists of eavesdropping targets and transcripts of intercepted communications from American allies.

So far, F.B.I. agents and intelligence officials, too, are skeptical that Mr. Martin was the source for them. They are pressing Mr. Martin to explain everything he did with the classified material, appealing to his patriotism, said a law enforcement official who would speak about the continuing investigation only on the condition of anonymity. And they have told Mr. Martin that if he does not say what he did with the information, the N.S.A. may be forced to shut down vital national security programs that could have been compromised, the official said.

Mr. Martin was arrested at his home in Glen Burnie, Md., south of Baltimore, shortly after the F.B.I. first learned that he might have taken home classified material. He had worked since 2009 for an N.S.A. contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, and was transferred away from the N.S.A. last year.
OTTAWA  The head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police struggled to keep his composure as he publicly apologized Thursday to hundreds of women who were bullied, sexually harassed or discriminated against as officers or employees of the force.

Commissioner Bob Paulsons remarks were part of a settlement of two class-action lawsuits that will also include more than 100 million Canadian dollars in compensation to the women.

You came to the R.C.M.P. wanting to personally contribute to your community, and we failed you. We hurt you, Commissioner Paulson said at a news conference, pausing as he appeared to be on the verge of tears. For that, I am truly sorry. You can now take some comfort in knowing that you have made a difference. Because of you, your courage and your refusal to be silenced, the R.C.M.P. will never be the same.

He also extended his apology to all Canadians, saying, I know how disappointed youve been with the force.
The government has also decided to enforce salary parity in public sector institutions.
Great price, great picture! exclaimed the auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen, under a screen that showed GBP 6,200,000 above conversions into a range of currencies that had strengthened against the pound in the last few months  and days.

Mr. Pylkkanen, the global president of Christies, had just sold the star lot of his auction houses Thursday night Frieze Week sale of contemporary art. Adrian Ghenies almost 14-foot-wide canvas of an octet of sinister figures in an interior, titled Nickelodeon and dating from 2008, was pushed by at least six bidders to a final fee-inclusive 7.1 million pounds, or about $9 million. The price, given by an anonymous telephone bidder, was seven times the low estimate and a new salesroom high for Mr. Ghenie, a 39-year-old Romanian artist.

What might be called the Brexit Discount was the talk of Frieze Week, the logjam of fairs, auctions and gallery shows clustered around the contemporary Frieze Art Fair in Regents Park. (On Tuesday, the pound slumped to a 31-year low of $1.27; on Friday it momentarily fell as low as $1.20.) Christies kick-started the weeks auctions on Tuesday with its 28.3 million sale of the private collection of the renowned London gallerist Leslie Waddington, who died in November. All 44 lots sold.

Its a dollar market. It has to have an effect, Mr. Pylkkanen said on Thursday after Christies deftly curated sale of 41 lots raised 34.3 million, or $43.5 million, with 90 percent of the works sold. The total at the companys equivalent sale last year was 35.6 million, which was then $55 million.
HOORN, The Netherlands  On Thursday morning, officials at the Westfries Museum here used crowbars to pry open wooden crates containing five Dutch Golden Age paintings that had been stolen from the museum more than a decade ago. The crates had been delivered early that morning from Ukraine, where they were discovered in the hands of an ultranationalist militia group last year.

Finally, back where they belong, said Ad Geerdink, the museums director, after the works were unpacked. The only place they belong.

The paintings  among 24 artworks worth a total of about 1.3 million euros, or $1.44 million  were stolen from the museum in 2005, along with 70 pieces of antique silver. They are by relatively unknown painters, including Jan van Goyen, Jan Linsen and Jacob Waben.The works are to go on display to the general public on Friday. Visitors will have free admission to the museum for the whole week to celebrate their return.

For me it was an emotional thing, but especially for my colleagues who worked in the museum back then and experienced the robbery, Mr. Geerdink said. He had seen the works in Kiev last month, when they were presented to him by Ukrainian officials at the Dutch embassy.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia  Mahathir Mohamad  who transformed this country of paddy fields and rubber plantations into a modern economy of factories, highways and skyscrapers  is known as much for his bold economic vision as for his intolerance of anybody who got in his way.

While he was prime minister of Malaysia between 1981 and 2003, Mr. Mahathir detained opponents, fired top judges, controlled the media, clipped the power of Malay royalty, fired one deputy and pushed another to resign.

Yet the visual arts mostly escaped his attention.

Era Mahathir, a show of 48 works by 28 artists at Ilham Gallery here that is on view until Nov. 20, is evidence of that inattention. Despite their critical nature, many of the pieces in the show appeared in state-funded institutions such as the National Art Gallery; some won national awards.

Art was seen as a concern of the urban elite, with no influence on the masses. It was not really on his radar, said Valentine Willie, the curator of Era Mahathir and the creative director of Ilham Gallery. In a way, it was a saving grace for us. He didnt take us seriously.
Born in Harrisburg, Pa., he gravitated to the theater rather than to music and studied drama at Emerson College, in Boston. His early musical education came largely from a record store job, where he became as fascinated with Mahler, Bruckner, John Cage and Elliott Carter as he already was with the Beatles and the Ramones. When he started his own experimental troupe, the Bastard Theater, in Boston in 1974, he created electronic and percussion scores for its productions.

In 1976, Mr. Branca moved to New York and quickly found a place in the downtown art-rock world. He also found like-minded colleagues like Rhys Chatham and Elliott Sharp, who were also writing for electric guitars, and began exploring Minimalist processes and alternative tuning systems. In retrospect, some of his work can seem like a bridge between the Minimalists and todays stylistically omnivorous indie-classical composers, who have also woven together rock with classical instrumentation and influences.

Mr. Branca was reluctant to say much about the The Light (for David), a work scored for the same ensemble (four guitars, bass and drums) as Third Ascension.

Ive loved his music since very, very early, Mr. Branca said of Bowie. And Ive thought about him a lot when I was working. I dont know why. I didnt particularly like most of the stuff that he did during the 80s. But I thought that Blackstar was the finest record he ever made, referring to the album Bowie released days before his death.

Mr. Branca first crossed paths with Bowie in 1981, when they were working on projects at the same Manhattan studio, the Power Station, and would pass each other in the hallway. Bowie was aware of Mr. Brancas work. On the title song of the album Tin Machine, Bowie refers to the composer: Fractured words and Branca-sonic/Anger trapped behind locked doors/And right between the eyes.

They did not formally meet until 2000, when they collaborated on a video-sound installation with Tony Oursler, the sculptor and video artist. I knew that David was a fan of Glenns first few albums, which were like a bomb blast across the musical world, Mr. Oursler recalled. And he had said he always wished he could do something with Glenn. And I had an idea for a Bowie video installation that I thought it would be great to have Glenn do the sound for.
Can music do anything when theres nothing to be done?

Over the past year, the economic crisis in Venezuela has spiraled into one of those grinding international struggles that to most Americans feel vague and intractable. With many blaming the governments blunders and ideological blinders for impoverishing the country, widespread scarcities have forced the mentally ill to go without anti-psychotic medication; water shortages have prompted rationing and blackouts.

This is the disquieting context into which the conductor Gustavo Dudamel, that troubled nations most famous high-culture export, and his grinning, charming Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela arrived in New York this week to open Carnegie Halls season with three concerts, starting with a gala performance on Thursday.

The Bolivars are the latest iteration of what was once the marquee youth orchestra of El Sistema, the publicly financed Venezuelan arts education monolith that has been praised for helping raise thousands of children out of poverty. For all the good El Sistema does, its closeness to the government has made many wonder whether it and the Bolivars are inextricable from  or even function as a kind of propaganda mission for  a regime that has dragged its people to disaster. And concertgoers might even ask how they should approach listening to this orchestra at this particular fraught moment.

These questions have taken on a different cast as the Bolivars have changed from an educational endeavor to a more standard international ensemble, no longer sloughing off its members as they age. Under the artistic leadership of Mr. Dudamel, 35, who is also the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the group makes serious recordings, goes on serious tours and gets prestigious gigs like the Carnegie opening  a slot that has lately gone to the New York and Berlin philharmonics and the Chicago Symphony.
LONDON  The British government said on Friday that it would begin to sell down its remaining holdings in the Lloyds Banking Group but would not proceed with an offering to retail investors because of market turmoil.

U.K. Financial Investments, which manages the governments stake in the bank, said it would seek to sell the remaining 9.1 percent holding in the lender over the next 12 months through a trading plan managed by Morgan Stanley.

The government said it expected to recoup all of the 20.3 billion pounds, or about $26 billion, that it injected in the bank during the financial crisis. At one point, it owned more than 40 percent of Lloyds, and it said it had already recouped about 16.9 billion through share sales.

Returning Lloyds to the private sector is in the interests of the bank, taxpayers and the country as a whole, Philip Hammond, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a news release.
But given the extreme volatility in the market at the time, Wells Fargo demanded that he pay for the stocks in full, he said.

At the end of the day, Mr. Harber said, Wells sold all the shares he had bought that day, resulting in a $5 million loss. He was also charged about $480,000 in broker fees. The bank said in a statement that it was strongly defending against his complaints.

Though his case is different from that of the thousands of Wells customers who had illegal bank accounts and unauthorized credit cards issued in their name, it has one crucial similarity.

Mr. Harbers lawsuit is being heard in private arbitration  Wells forces many of its customers to agree to settle any dispute in arbitration as a condition of doing business with it.

Plummeting Pound

The pound is dropping. Fast.

Two minutes of chaos in early Asian trading sent the British currency falling sharply.

A sudden drop like the one it suffered  down as much as 6 percent at one point  is often called a flash crash, and is sometimes caused by computer-driven automated trades or a simple misplaced keystroke (a fat-finger error, as it is known on trading floors). In the case of the drop in Asia for the pound, experts said they were hard-pressed to identify a single cause.

But over all, they pointed to a general area of unease: Britains vote in a referendum in June to leave the European Union, or Brexit.
OTTAWA  Thomson Reuters, the news and digital information company, said on Friday that it planned to add 400 jobs in downtown Toronto over the next two years as part of a northern expansion that could create up to 1,500 jobs.

As part of the change, Thomson Reuterss chief executive and chief financial officers will move to Toronto from the United States.

The power shift within the company, which Thomson Reuters said would include additional executives over time, came with a decision to make Toronto a technology hub for its operations.

Although the company has had its legal headquarters in Toronto since the Thomson familys company acquired Reuters in 2008, its top executives are now based in New York and Stamford, Conn.
Mr. Trump has so far refused to release his tax returns because, he has said, he is being audited. When Hillary Clinton, in the first presidential debate, suggested that he may have paid nothing in federal taxes, Mr. Trump responded by saying, That makes me smart. His campaign surrogates have called his tax avoidance genius, although Mr. Trumps accountant from the time said Mr. Trump had no involvement in preparing the returns. Mr. Trumps surrogates have also said that minimizing his taxes was Mr. Trumps fiduciary duty, as if a businessman had some sort of solemn or legal obligation to make as much money as possible.

But my fathers story was filled with examples of how George Romney did just the opposite  refusing pay raises, returning money to his company when needed, paying an average tax rate of 37 percent and donating much of his salary to charity. In much the same spirit, Mitt Romneys own tax returns demonstrated that he had decided against taking deductions that would have saved him and his wife $1.75 million and significantly lowered his 2011 tax bill.

Beyond the politics, though, Im amazed by the way my profession has changed. My Dad was given a leave to write political propaganda and then allowed to come right back to journalism and file an important story about the governor he had just beatified. And in doing something that would now be considered a cardinal violation of basic journalistic ethics, he got a huge scoop, was quoted in this newspaper and changed history.

Image T. George Harris

Dad lived during an age when reporters and their subjects had overlapping lives. His contemporaries on the White House beat famously protected President John F. Kennedy from disclosures about his sexual dalliances, something I dont think I would ever consider doing. (But please, somebody, try me.)

Another difference? Dads journalists salary paid for houses in the same neighborhoods as those he was profiling. (My wife burst into tears when I first pointed out my childhood home.)

But what I love most about these quadrennial reminders of my fathers role in this footnote of political history is how they reflect his remarkable personality. Four years ago, stories on the episode spoke about how my father badgered Mr. Romney for his tax return, a trait I remember well.
There is shock and disappointment and anger among a number of people who worked under Mario, feeling like its a betrayal of the brand, feeling like it dirties the legacy that theyre all so proud of, said Mayor Stephanie A. Miner of Syracuse, a Democrat who worked for the elder Mr. Cuomo. It is just nothing that anyone wouldve thought possible.

The cozy maneuverings of the Cuomos extended circle unfold over the criminal complaints 79 pages like a sleazy political melodrama, crossed with a buddy comedy of equally questionable taste.

As described in the complaint, the scheme revolved around Mr. Howe and Mr. Percoco, friends since Mr. Howe hired Mr. Percoco as an advance man for Mario Cuomo right out of college. Their banter over emails and text messages is garnished with inside jokes, locker-room nicknames and exuberant punctuation.

The correspondence also includes a sort of homage to the old boss. There are numerous messages in which Mr. Howe and Mr. Percoco call each other Herb, a nickname that began circulating in the first Cuomo administration after the elder Mr. Cuomo, New Yorks governor from 1983 to 1994, teased Mr. Howe that his hair looked like that of Herbert London, the Conservative Party candidate against Mr. Cuomo in the 1990 election for governor.

Mr. Howe even kept a fleece jacket from one of Mr. Cuomos campaigns emblazoned with Herb.

It was a reminder of the way that power in the Cuomo orbit tended to accrue to those who had served the former governor long and loyally, cementing decades-long friendships with one another along the way.

Even so, the younger Mr. Cuomo has insisted that he does not know Mr. Howe well, and the governors chief of staff, Melissa DeRosa, said that she had never heard him speak to or about Mr. Howe. Mr. Cuomo is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Of all the Herbs, Mr. Howe was closest to Mr. Percoco, who followed Mr. Howe to Washington in the 1990s. Later, they shared an office during Andrew Cuomos re-election campaign in 2014; Mr. Percoco served as the official campaign manager, Mr. Howe as his unofficial partner.
To the Editor:

As Waters Ebb, Haiti Staggers Under the Toll (front page, Oct. 7) is correct that Hurricane Matthew will worsen longstanding challenges in Haiti and that the humanitarian response needs to be better than the 2010 earthquake response. But we are also at risk of repeating the same costly mistake when it comes to cholera: delayed vaccine rollout.

During the first outbreak in 2010, debates on whether to deplete limited vaccine supplies prevented their timely use. Cholera claimed thousands of lives.

The World Health Organization has stockpiled a vaccine that could be used as soon as next week in known cholera hot spots. If we dont want to repeat past mistakes, we need to jump-start our response today.

The United Nations  acknowledging its role in bringing cholera to Haiti  is working on a plan to address the cholera emergency with the Haitian Ministry of Health.
The use of cultural destruction as a weapon of war gained new recognition last week when the International Criminal Court handed down a nine-year sentence to a radical Islamist for his role in destroying shrines in Timbuktu, Mali, in 2012. It was the first time the court prosecuted cultural destruction as a war crime.

The case was brought against Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, who, as the head of a morality squad operating under Ansar Dine, a group linked to Al Qaeda, enforced bans on music and dance and oversaw the destruction of the shrines.

The decision gives teeth to a belief that deliberate destruction of cultural sites constitutes a war crime when it is part of a broader strategy of cultural cleansing and conquest. The Talibans destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan in 2001 caught the worlds attention. Another recent example was the destruction by the Islamic State of ancient structures in Palmyra, Syria.

The international courts power to judge such crimes is limited to those committed after a country signs on to the courts founding Rome Statute. Afghanistan did so in 2003. Neither Iraq nor Syria is a signatory.
To the Editor:

Re At the Boiling Point With Israel (editorial, Oct. 7):

The approval of 98 housing units in the community of Shiloh does not endanger the prospect of peace.

Our conflict with the Palestinians long predates the re-establishment of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria in 1967, and even today these towns constitute only about 2 percent of what many refer to as the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly called on Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to meet him at any time and any place to begin negotiations. The prime ministers calls, including at the United Nations last month, have not been answered by the Palestinians.

The real roadblock to peace is the constant stream of hateful Palestinian incitement and terrorism, not the building of Jewish homes and kindergartens.
October in San Francisco is a special time. The fog lifts. The temperature rises. The Blue Angels buzz overhead for Fleet Week as tens of thousands of business technology types descend on the city for Salesforce.coms annual conference.

This years Salesforce shindig comes with a little extra noise: For weeks now, there have been reports that the company, which makes online software to help users manage tasks like sales and marketing, is looking to buy Twitter.

It is not a stretch to say that this would be a puzzling move. Salesforce has become a staple of San Francisco. It is arguably the citys biggest tech employer, and the soon-to-be tallest building in town will carry the companys name. While it has never had big profits, the Salesforce business appears stable and growing.
PORTLAND, Ore.  The beard and cowboy hat that defined Ammon Bundys image to Americans on those cold mornings in January are gone. He is cleanshaven now and dressed in ill-fitting jailhouse blue. The federal wildlife refuge that he and other armed militia members occupied for six weeks in Oregons high eastern desert has returned to normal.

But he is still talking. And talking.

Through three days of testimony this week here in Federal District Court, Mr. Bundy, 41, the owner of a truck maintenance company, defended the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

I still believe very strongly that what we did was the right thing, and that it was legal, he told the court.

A kind of inkblot study of Mr. Bundy in psychological profile has become a central thread of the criminal case against him, his brother Ryan and five of their followers on felony conspiracy charges in connection with the armed takeover of the refuge. For the 12-member jury, that river of words  in the testimony and in the videos and news interviews during and before the occupation  is the means through which it is coming to know him.
ORLANDO, Fla.  The Capriles were seeking asylum again.

They had been seeking it for over a year in the United States, having fled Venezuela last year from what they described as politically motivated persecution. But on Thursday afternoon, as Hurricane Matthew barreled toward Central Florida and the Capriles considered their old apartment and 10-month-old daughter, their place of asylum was much more immediate: the cafeteria at Odyssey Middle School.

The only thing important is my baby, said Carmen Perdomo Capriles, 35. I dont know if Im nervous or not.

It was everything that a middle school cafeteria promised: hard chairs; bright lights; fall decorations; colorful posters gently nagging students to behave well; chicken Florentine and cheese calzones  or at least that was the menu for Fridays lunch, replaced by snack packages.

As of Friday morning, about 22,000 people were spread among roughly 145 shelters around Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said in a news conference. There were six shelters here in Orange County, where major amusement parks were closed. On Friday, however, officials in the county said they were assessing what appeared to be minimal damage. Only about 49,000 of Orange Countys approximately 600,000 customers lacked power on Friday, state officials said. Nearly 827,000 customers statewide had lost electricity by Friday afternoon, officials reported, and more than half of customers in Brevard, Flagler, Indian River and Volusia Counties lacked power.
Its fairly uncommon, but it does happen every once in a while, he said.

If the storm does loop back around, however, expect it to have weakened substantially. The current forecast calls for the hurricane to be reduced to nothing more than a tropical depression, with wind speeds of no more than 40 miles per hour, Dr. Landsea said. But he warned, Our wind-speed forecasting skill is less than our storm-track forecasting skill, so we dont want to make any assumption that theres not going to be any impact when it comes back around.

Marshall Shepherd, director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia, said in an email response to questions that while there have been loops before, this one is still neat and rare to see. He also predicted that if the high is strong enough, the clockwise steering flow will loop the storm (likely weakened) back to Florida.

That other storm in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Nicole, is still too far to the east to interact with Matthew much, Dr. Landsea said, and it is unlikely to affect the United States.
Update: Jesse Dewitt Osborne was sentenced on Nov. 14, 2019, to life without parole.

Prosecutors in South Carolina say they would seek to try a 14-year-old as an adult on charges that he murdered his father before fatally wounding a 6-year-old boy in a shooting at an elementary school in Townville, S.C., in September.

Prosecutors have filed a petition asking the court to transfer the case of the teenager, Jesse Dewitt Osborne, from Family Court to the Court of General Sessions, where he would be tried on murder and other charges as an adult.

A hearing on the request will be set after Mr. Osborne is evaluated by the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to a statement dated Oct. 6 from the office of the 10th Circuit solicitor, Chrissy Adams.

The police said Mr. Osborne killed his father, Jeffrey Osborne, 47, on Sept. 28 as the man watched television in their home. The teenager then drove to nearby Townville Elementary School, where he opened fire with a handgun, shooting two boys and a teacher while they were heading out to recess, the authorities said.
The polls and headlines say it repeatedly: Evangelicals overwhelmingly support Donald J. Trump for president.

But now, a group of more than 75 evangelical leaders has released a declaration saying that those polls and headlines do not speak for them. The group includes African-American, Asian, Hispanic and white evangelical Christians, and it says that the news media and the polls are overlooking nonwhite evangelicals.

Nonwhites make up about a quarter of evangelical Protestants in the United States, according to a study released in 2015 by the Pew Research Center. They are a growing segment of evangelical Christianity in the United States, and they can be found worshiping in their own ethnic churches and as part of racially mixed congregations.

The declaration, released on the website Change.org on Thursday, accuses Mr. Trump of fueling racism and religious bigotry, and of denigrating women. It is not concerned with Mr. Trumps playboy past, multiple marriages or lack of fluency in Christian language and practice.
Hurricane Matthew has led Democrats to push for Florida to extend its voter registration deadline of Tuesday, as the party fears that its get-out-the-vote effort will be derailed in the waning days of the drive because of mass evacuations and other aftereffects of the storm.

Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, declined on Thursday to extend the deadline after a call from Hillary Clintons presidential campaign to accommodate people disrupted by the storm.

Everybody has had a lot of time to register, Mr. Scott told reporters in Tallahassee.

With the registration deadline on Tuesday, the storm caused Democratic-leaning groups to put off plans for registration drives, which typically draw a surge of new voters in the final days before registration ends.

About 50,000 people registered in the last five days before the cutoff in 2012, according to Daniel A. Smith, an elections expert at the University of Florida.
WASHINGTON  As Iraqi and American troops prepare to try to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State, the Obama administration is describing the battle as the last major hurdle before declaring victory against the extremist Sunni militancy  in Iraq, at least.

But some former officials and humanitarian aid groups are worried that President Obama will run into the same problem that haunted his predecessor, George W. Bush: beginning a ground campaign without a comprehensive plan for what happens afterward.

Theres an effort to proclaim mission accomplished, and obviously, getting back Mosul would be a momentous and symbolic defeat for ISIS, said Vali Nasr, a former State Department official in the Obama administration, using another name for the Islamic State. But, he said, victory in Mosul without a detailed arrangement for how the city and the surrounding province will be governed does nothing to prevent extremists from resurfacing again.

Still, Obama administration officials are loath to further delay the operation, which they first envisioned two years ago, in order to sort out in advance the post-conflict political arrangements in and around Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city. The administration is taking the calculated risk that the future of a region populated by a welter of ethnic and religious groups can be worked out peacefully as the battle unfolds or even after the militants are defeated, with American officials serving as brokers when needed but not imposing a plan.
The political arm of Planned Parenthood is beginning a $30 million effort to encourage voters to turn out for the presidential contest and for Senate races in targeted states, a giant investment that is aimed at benefiting the Democrats in 2016.

The director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Deirdre Schifeling, called the work unprecedented for her group. The goal is to target millennial voters, and the organization has knocked on a million doors in Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Those are crucial battlegrounds in the presidential campaign, but also states with competitive Senate races, Ms. Schifeling said.

There are 800 paid canvassers in the states and 3,500 volunteers, she said. The heart and soul of our program is a door-to-door, face-to-face canvass, she added.

Their messaging includes informing voters of Donald J. Trumps comments on abortion. Ms. Schifeling also said a fair amount of their efforts had been spent on educating voters about Hillary Clintons time as a New York senator.
STUTTGART, Germany  It might have been the 2,000-pound bomb that dropped near him in Afghanistan, killing several comrades. Or maybe it was the helicopter crash he managed to survive. It could have been the battlefield explosions that detonated all around him over eight combat tours.

Whatever the cause, the symptoms were clear. Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc suffered frequent headaches. He was moody. He could not sleep. He was out of sorts; even his balance was off. He realized it every time he walked down the street holding hands with his wife, Sharon, leaning into her just a little too close.

Despite all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, it took 12 years from his first battlefield trauma for him to seek care. After all, he thought, he was a Green Beret in the Armys Special Forces. He needed to be tough.

General Bolduc learned that not only did he suffer from PTSD, but he also had a bullet-size spot on his brain, an injury probably dating to his helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2005.
The president of Colombia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for pursuing a deal to end 52 years of conflict with a leftist rebel group, the longest-running war in the Americas, just five days after Colombians rejected the agreement in a shocking referendum result.

The decision to give the prize to President Juan Manuel Santos may revive hopes for the agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, with whom the country has been waging the last major guerrilla struggle in Latin America.

Mr. Santos said he was told of the Nobel committees decision by his son Martin, who woke him before dawn on Friday. The winner dedicated the prize to his fellow Colombians, especially the victims of the long conflict, and called on the opponents of the peace deal to join him in securing an end to hostilities.
Although the governing Communist Party requires its 85 million members to be atheist, its leaders have lauded some aspects of religious life for instilling morality in the broader population and have issued directives ratcheting back the hard-line attacks on religion that characterized the Mao era.

Over the past decades this has permitted a striking religious renaissance in China, including a construction boom in temples, mosques and churches. Christianity is widely considered the fastest-growing faith; there are as many as 67 million adherents now, at least half of whom worship in unregistered churches that have proliferated across China, sometimes called underground or house churches.

The new regulations are more explicit about the partys longstanding requirement that all religious groups register with the government, and the most vocal opposition so far has come from Protestant leaders unwilling to do so.

These regulations effectively push house churches into taking on an illegal character, said Yang Xingquan, a lawyer who is one of the signatories of the public statement. This is very clear.

Many Christians contend that government-approved churches are tools of the state, as sermons are vetted to avoid contentious political and social issues and clergy are appointed by the party rather than congregants or, in the case of the Catholic Church, the Vatican.
SYDNEY, Australia  The Australian government said on Friday that a piece of debris that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in May was from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The debris, identified as part of the trailing edge of the rear spar on the left wing of the plane, contained parts and serial numbers specific to the missing jet, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement.

The plane disappeared after taking off from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, on an overnight flight to Beijing in March 2014. It inexplicably turned south and continued flying for more than six hours, with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The authorities believe it finally went down in the southern Indian Ocean.

The latest debris is the third part to be formally identified as from the plane, although the Malaysian government has said additional pieces of flotsam have washed up along the coast of several African nations. Some of those may still be identified as coming from the jet.
Cascadia. Nick Winfield headed up from Seattle, where he covers Amazon and Microsoft for The Times, to Vancouver to look at plans to create a cross border technology corridor between the two cities. Canadas immigration laws make it easier for tech companies to bring in skilled workers compared to the United States. Thats a big plus for Vancouvers ambitions. On the other hand, Vancouvers famously high house prices sometimes make it difficult to persuade people to move to the city.

Toronto, another Canadian city known for costly real estate, got a boost on Friday when Thomson Reuters announced that its most senior executives would move to Toronto, which is aiming to become a technology hub for the news and digital information company. Upward of 1,500 jobs may be created in the city, the company said.

Apologies. In recent years, hundreds of women have come forward to say that they were bullied, sexually harassed or discriminated against while serving as officers or employees of The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As a step toward lifting the growing cloud over Mounties, Commissioner Bob Paulson, the head of the force, offered an emotional apology to those women and the nation as a whole. The federal government has set aside 100 million Canadian dollars to settle claims with those women. Now the hard part comes as the force reshapes its internal culture.

Honors. Charles Taylor of McGill University has long been regarded as one of the worlds leading philosophers. It was announced this week that he became the inaugural recipient of the Berggruen Prize, which is honoring him as a thinker whose ideas are of broad significance for shaping human self-understanding and the advancement of humanity. It is the third honor that Mr. Taylor, 84, has received with a cash award of $1 million or more.

Trumps taxes. The Times reporter who received some of Donald J. Trumps tax filings, Susanne Craig, just happens to be a native of Calgary. In addition to the tax story, you should see her earlier article on Mr. Trumps record in business and her feature on the presidential candidates aging air fleet.

Here are some articles, not necessarily related to Canada, that I found interesting this week.

 You may have received this newsletter by way of blitspost, or email to English speakers. The editors of the Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary are working hard to keep Yiddish up to the moment.

 Barry Gibb reflects on life as the last survivor of the Bee Gees. I thought I should have gone first, he told the Times. Once you lose three brothers, what you learn is very, very deep.

 Fifteen leaked videos provide a peek into the inner workings of the Mormon Church.

A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter at @ianrausten.
I tell the Russians this: There is no chance that any pro-Russian is going to get and keep power in Georgia. It is a mistake to support people who wave Russian flags,  said Ms. Burjanadze, who has met Mr. Putin several times, opening herself up to charges of treachery. Eight years after a brief and disastrous war with Russia, Georgia still has no diplomatic relations with its giant neighbor to the north.

With more than 200 registered political parties, Georgia is a vibrant and also deeply fractured democracy. But what was once the biggest and most hotly debated issue  whether Georgia should tilt toward the West or toward Russia  is almost absent from political discourse ahead of elections on Saturday to elect a new Parliament.

Despite opinion polls that show a modest softening in recent years of public support for integration with the West, which this year included the signing of a so-called Association Agreement with the European Union, no party or politicians are openly calling for a tilt toward Russia. One party that advocated Russian military bases and Russian pensions was disqualified from the parliamentary election by the electoral commission.

The prime minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, whose Georgian Dream party has at times been accused by rivals of favoring Russia, said in an interview that Georgias geopolitical orientation, an issue that once convulsed Georgian politics, had been firmly settled in favor of the West. The only way forward for Georgia is to make the country a full member of the Western family, he said.

A clear majority, according to an opinion poll released in July by the National Democratic Institute, believes Georgias future lies with the West, not Russia. The percentage is not as high as it was two years ago, but it is still far higher than the 29 percent who said Georgia should abandon its pro-Western course in favor of closer relations with Russia.
MOSCOW  Russia is working to re-establish its former military bases in Vietnam and Cuba, a senior official said on Friday, reflecting Moscows growing ambition to reassert itself on the world stage.

The official, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai A. Pankov, spoke at the national Parliament shortly before lawmakers voted to ratify an agreement with Syria to make the Russian military presence there permanent.

Russia lowered its flags at the Cam Ranh Bay naval base in Vietnam and at the Lourdes signal intelligence station in Cuba in 2002, when it scaled back its military presence around the world for budgetary and other reasons.

We are re-rethinking the decisions that were made earlier, Mr. Pankov said, without giving any details.
Demos, a liberal public policy organization, has moved its bank accounts to Amalgamated Bank, which bills itself as the largest majority union-owned bank in the United States. But Tamara Draut, a Demos vice president and the author of Sleeping Giant: How the New Working Class Will Transform America, still banks with Chase.

The reason will be familiar to the many millions of people who automate as many payments as possible: Who has time to untangle all of those tentacles and re-establish them at a different institution, no matter how upstanding?

Alas, there are no shortcuts. Any switch should begin with a set of questions: Will I pay a bunch of A.T.M. fees with any new institution? Can I deposit checks using my mobile phone? Can I still pay my babysitter or my parents caregiver via a free wire transfer, or easily transfer money to external accounts? Then, set aside a couple of hours to deal with moving those automated payments  a laborious process that will inevitably cause problems.

And remember: The dread that this process gives rise to is precisely what the big banks want you to feel. Some stoicism will be necessary.

SMALLER BANKS If there is no credit union near you, or there isnt one that will have you as a member, you can go shopping for a bank more in line with your values. At that point, you may ask yourself this: Why is there no Whole Foods bank? Shouldnt there be nationwide availability of the financial equivalent of organic checking accounts?

Sure, there should. But starting a bank is hard, given the intense regulatory scrutiny and the expensive technology and security measures required. Then that bank has to get customers excited enough to switch. Its a complicated and expensive platform to deliver what many people still think of as a commodity, said Kat Taylor, one of the founders of Beneficial State Bank, which has 12 branches on the West Coast.

She makes a pointed case, however, that her operation is different because of its values. We think of this as the original form of crowdfunding, she said. We agree to pool idle cash so we can borrow it back from time to time and so it can finance the world we actually want to live in.
I didnt need to be involved before, and I was thankful for that, she said. But that moment when you have all your ducks in a row for retirement, how are you going to handle all of the stock options but also all of the other stuff? How are you going to prepare for the next step  that fixed income part of life? Thats a sobering moment for anyone.

Much gets written about the need for financial education for children and young adults. And there is plenty more written about the need for financial transparency and openness in marriages.

But many couples share financial information with each other sparingly. Sometimes, this is by design. Other times, it happens because life gets complicated with children and careers and its just easier to divvy up responsibilities and trust that the other one has it covered.

Its pretty obvious how this can go wrong, from the death or disability of the one who knows all to a divorce in which one spouse is left in the dark about the financial picture. But it often isnt easy for couples who want to change the way they talk about money after decades of marriage. After all, they found one model that worked for them, and now, with the grim probability that one will die before the other starting to set in, they are being forced to change.

The ideal is where the woman is willing to come to the table and listen to the financial conversations, said Martha Pomerantz, a partner and portfolio manager in the Minneapolis office of Evercore Wealth Management. There are some older women, 70s or 80s, and they just dont want anything to do with it. They could outlive their spouse and be left with a big huge mess.
On the first week of his life as an expatriate southerner, Patterson Hood of the rock band Drive-By Truckers wrote an essay denouncing the Confederate flag. It was July 2015, and the 52-year-old, who had never lived outside the states of Georgia or his native Alabama, had just moved with his wife and two children to Portland, Ore.

His new home was about as far from the South as Mr. Hood could get without leaving the Lower 48, and the plan was to stop writing so much music about the issues he had obsessed over for decades. But the massacre at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., that June drew Mr. Hood back into entrenched disputes over race, region and identity. When Mr. Hood and Mike Cooley, 50, the bands other principle songwriter, started work on what would become their recently released album, American Band, their left-leaning lyrics were stocked with tales about immigration and guns, blood and burning crosses.

Its hard to look away right now, Mr. Cooley said of the topical nature of the Truckers new songs. What am I going to do, not write this stuff?

From police treatment of African-Americans to the current presidential election, the issues roiling America today have led the Truckers to drill down on the topic that has preoccupied them for 20 years  the South  while bringing a relatively unheard perspective to pop musics discourse: that of the progressive white Southerner.
This fall, as one of the most dramatic presidential elections in recent memory unfolds, television audiences are finding themselves overrun with fictional commanders in chief. On ABCs Designated Survivor, Kiefer Sutherland is a lowly cabinet secretary thrust into the most powerful position on earth. Keith Carradine plays a soothing, idealistic president on CBSs Madam Secretary. And CWs Supergirl will soon introduce a president played by Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter.

Nick Nolte cuts a considerably less superhuman figure as a former president seeking redemption on Epixs new comedy series Graves, beginning Oct. 16. His attempts to make amends for his administrations disastrous decisions are unconventional: He trashes his presidential library, gets high with a tattooed waitress and invites undocumented immigrants to seek asylum on his New Mexico ranch. Its too soon to say whether Richard Graves will salvage his legacy, but given the history of TV presidents, he is likely to end up falling into one of three categories.
THE STORY OF A BRIEF MARRIAGE

By Anuk Arudpragasam

193 pp. Flatiron Books. $24.99.

War is a constant wellspring of literature, and the best of it looks not for the obvious and sensationally violent, but instead searches for the subtle ways that life unfolds regardless. While Sri Lankans writing in Sinhala and Tamil have long borne nuanced witness to the countrys three decades of civil war, writing in English has been much slower to respond. And too much of it has taken the easy route, giving a foreign readership what it desires: a voyeuristic, and ultimately unengaged, affirmation of what it believes is true of savage peoples in other countries.

Anuk Arudpragasams brave debut takes the higher road. In language that is often poetic, he describes a single day and night in the life of a refugee fleeing both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelem and government forces. Dinesh is a young man who finds himself transporting the wounded and helping to bury the dead at a camp in the northern province during the final months of the war. In the middle of this carnage, a girl is proposed to him in marriage by a father facing his own incapacity to care for the remaining member of his family. Over a brief few hours, Dinesh experiences the sudden intimacy of marriage  the desire to improve oneself, to be more deserving, to be both vulnerable and courageous, to parse both silence and speech. And he feels the loss that might still be sustained even after resigning oneself to having nothing left to lose.

Arudpragasam captures the vernacular while sustaining a startling lyricism. A settlement of tents gathers around the beleaguered hospital like a massive temple that was being erected around a small, golden shrine. Insects  probably last immortalized by Donne  in this case flies, are exquisitely described as worshipers who rub their little hands together silently as if in fervent prayer before feasting. A dying priest takes the shortest of breaths in order to avoid the pain of breathing out. And both held and heard breath are brought together in a scene where the author imagines that those experiencing trauma of irreparable magnitude allow their life to escape in an otherwise unremarkable exhalation. Even silence in the midst of war is rendered with bracing clarity.

The reverence that is paid to the minutiae of refugee life, a brilliant choice, is sometimes undermined by too much fixation on detail  the protagonist repeatedly turns his head to observe too closely his own feces; his wife; the clippings of his filthy hair; the smooth stump of an amputee; a dying bird; a dying gecko, etc. Young Dinesh also has a tendency to ponder all with the flair of an educated philosopher rather than a high school student battered by war. Still, these are forgivable missteps. This is a war that dislocated a nation, irrespective of ethnicity, but the most helpless were the poorest Tamils, caught behind battle lines, prevented by the rebels from leaving, whose choice was either be killed in the shelling, or conscripted and then killed in the fighting.
One mother rebels and refuses to give up her baby. A young Elder in Training, Antain, watches in horror as the mother is grabbed by a ruthless all-female military force, and locked away as a madwoman. The baby is left in the woods as always, and Xan falls in love with her gaze that reached into the tight strings of the soul and plucked, like the strings of a harp. Because she is so enamored, Xan inadvertently feeds the baby not starlight but moonlight, and the baby becomes enmagicked. Nothing for it, but Xan must bring the child up as her own. She names her Luna and for 13 years contains her magical abilities.

Xans family also includes a sentimental monster who writes poetry and a pocket-size dragon. They all have memories of an unhappy and violent past that must be kept locked away. Why must they hide their sadness? And why is it so important the town be kept sad? When we learn the answer, the entire story falls into place and becomes impossible to put down.

It is Antain, obsessed with the madwoman, who begins to suspect all is not what it seems. Barnhill excels at characters who dont fit in, like Antain, whose face is covered in scars. Ned, in her previous novel, The Witchs Boy, doesnt speak; Jack in The Mostly True Story of Jack and Princess Violet in Iron Hearted Violet are both unusual and lonely outsiders. Barnhill looks past their oddness to their humanity, and we identify with them and root for their success. As Luna approaches 13, we feel her magical powers threatening to burst from her  right along with other less appealing signs of puberty. We feel the terror when its disclosed that Antains baby is next in line to be sacrificed and cheer when he and his wife come up with a plan. A chase, a quest, an arranged murder: The story is so well plotted the pages fly by.

Barnhills language is lyrical and reminiscent of traditional fairy tales, but never childish or stereotypical. She writes impressively from a variety of points of view, not only those of Luna and Xan, but also of Sister Ignatia and the mother who has lost her mind. Magic abounds, both beautiful and dangerous. Origami birds fly, but their paper wings also slice and cut. Enchanted but enigmatic images appear on rocks, and there are seven-league boots so black . . . they seemed to bend the light. Almost every female character turns out to have some supernatural ability when needed, but maybe that is another hidden truth: We have the power to make things happen. Speak up. Ask questions. Trust your instincts. Valuable instructions for any reader.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is as exciting and layered as classics like Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz. It too is about what it means to grow up and find where we belong. The young reader who devours it now just for fun will remember its lessons for years to come.
Of the myriad times since adolescence that I have returned to the story of Don Quixote de la Mancha, there is one I choose to remember  that I cannot help but remember  as we commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes. That reading, in October 1973, took place among a distraught group of captive men and women who, like me, had sought asylum in the Argentine Embassy in Santiago, Chile, after the coup that overthrew the democratic government of Salvador Allende.

In an atmosphere in which a thousand future exiles were suffocating in rooms designed to host cocktail parties, I joined a group of some 30 refugees who were reading it aloud together. Conceived as a sort of literary therapy to fight depression among us, I soon discovered that these readers had much to teach me. Many of them had come to our country from the failed revolutions of other Latin American lands, had been locked away for prolonged periods of time, and suffered torture and banishment. They instinctively understood Cervantes, who like them had been the victim of astonishing adversity and had become immensely resourceful in a cruel and disenchanted world.

Indeed, the defining experience of Cervantess life was the harrowing five years starting in 1575 that he spent in the dungeons of Algiers as a prisoner of the Barbary pirates. It was there, on the border of Islam and the West, that Cervantes came to appreciate the value of tolerance toward those who are radically different, and it was there he discovered that of all the goods men can aspire to, freedom is by far the greatest. While awaiting a ransom that his family could not pay, confronted with execution each time he attempted to escape, watching his fellow slaves tormented and impaled, he longed for a life without manacles. But once he returned to Spain, a crippled war veteran neglected by those who had sent him into conflict, he came to the conclusion that if we cannot heal the misfortunes that assail our bodies, we can, however, hold sway over how our soul responds to those sorrows.

Don Quixote was born of that revelation. In the prologue to Part 1 of his novel he tells the idle reader that it was begotten in a prison, where every discomfort has its place and every sad sound makes its home. Whether that jail was in Seville or in Castro del Rio, this recurring experience of incarceration forced him to revisit the Algerian ordeal and put him face to face with a dilemma that he resolved to our joy: Either succumb to the bitterness of despair or let loose the wings of the imagination. The result was a book that pushed the limits of creativity, subverting every tradition and convention. Instead of a rancorous indictment of a decaying Spain that had rejected and censored him, Cervantes invented a tour de force as playful and ironic as it was multifaceted, laying the ground for all the wild experiments the novelistic genre was to undergo.
The inquisitor listens hungrily, determined to suss out whether these children are indeed saints who can perform miracles, or heretics rightly hunted by the king. But as the tales unfold, we begin to sense there are bigger wonders afoot. For one, as the stories place the children in increasingly surreal and preposterous-sounding adventures  featuring demon forests, a farting dragon, double-crossing knights, horse-devouring quicksand and a wicked queen mother  we readers begin to lose all sense of whats true and whats not, just like the inquisitor, who must contend with an entire inn full of unreliable narrators. For another, despite the competing motivations, perspectives, even dialects of the individual storytellers, a larger narrative magically takes hold  about three children divided by class, race and religion who find that in the search for the truth about God and the universe, perhaps friendship is the greatest marvel of all.

What Gidwitz, the author of the Grimm trilogy, accomplishes here is staggering. The Inquisitors Tale is equal parts swashbuckling epic, medieval morality play, religious polemic and bawdy burlesque, propelling us toward a white-knuckle climax where three children must leap into a fire to save . . . a Talmud. And yet, the rescue of this single book feels like higher stakes than any world-incinerating superhero battle. Part of this is because The Inquisitors Tale is dense with literary and earthy delights, including Hatem Alys exquisite illustrations, which wrap around the text as in an illuminated manuscript. Working together, the art and story veer exuberantly between the high and the low to make Jeanne, Jacob and William feel like flesh-and-blood children, despite their holiness.

One moment William, a devout Christian, is arguing with Jacob over whether a Jewish writer is a pawn of the Devil; the next, Jeanne and Jacob are trying to survive a bout with smelly cheese. In both cases, the children grow beyond their initial judgments and prejudices because theyre willing to listen to a friend. (Which raises the question: Are these children actually saints? Or are they saints because theyre children?) Even the lighter moments  with the cheese, for instance, which turns out to hold the secret to curing the flatulent dragon  serve to illuminate a larger truth about both life and the book we hold in our hands: that in the midst of a story, we cannot see the bigger plan until we get to its very end.
BLACK WATER

By Louise Doughty

344 pp. Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $26.

Louise Doughtys excellent new novel is a character study, a glimpse at midcentury American civil rights, a thriller, a meditation on the effects of foreign policy on individuals, a modern love story and a portrait of Indonesian unrest in the 20th century. And throughout its an attempt to explain in dramatic terms how someone lacking the zeal of patriotism might choose a life in the detached, pitiless and barely understood profession we call intelligence. If that sounds like a handful, it is. But Doughty has found an ideal vehicle for her wide-ranging interests: a laconic, aging man, born Nicolaas Den Herder but known to colleagues and strangers alike as John Harper.

Weve seen his type before  the world-weary spook, half-broken by a lifetime of regrets  but Harper is more than he appears at first glance. Hes also less, which is much to the benefit of the novel. When were introduced to him, hes living in a hut on a hillside with a view of Mount Agung and a misty forest of palm trees, near the Balinese town of Ubud. Other than daily visits from his housekeeper, he speaks to no one and spends hours excoriating himself for some recent professional mistakes in Jakarta. Those mistakes, he believes, have a cost: Once the monsoon rains arrive to cover their tracks, young men with machetes will climb Harpers lonely hill and butcher him. So he waits. But the skies remain clear  his life stretches on for another day  and he makes a fateful trip into town, where he meets Rita, a teacher escaping her own demons. Though he introduces himself as an economist, Harper is in fact a risk analyst, a contractor for Western governments and corporations, and his recent missteps have made him question both his abilities and the course his life has taken.

By the time he and Rita develop a romantic relationship, the reader knows that this kind of connection is a rarity for Harper. He overthinks everything. When she eventually says, John, what happened to you? we know that the story he tells her is one he might not have ever shared with anyone. The fact that hes spilling it to someone he barely knows suggests how deep his self-doubt lies.

Harpers personal history, it turns out, is tied closely to Indonesias. He was born to a Dutch mother in an internment camp during the brutal Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. Before his birth, his half-Dutch, half-Indonesian father was beheaded by Japanese soldiers  a story young Nicolaas later used to impress xenophobic schoolmates. As the adult John Harper, he returned to Jakarta in 1965, just before the failed coup against the autocratic president Sukarno, and in time to witness and play a hand in the beginning of the counter-coup against the Communists, which killed hundreds of thousands of people  many of whom were targeted by lists supplied by the C.I.A. Now, in the late 1990s, after decades behind a desk in Amsterdam, he has been sent back to Indonesia as Sukarnos successor, Suharto, tries to keep his grip on power during the debilitating Asian financial crisis.
Seven new paperbacks to check out this week.

THE UNRAVELING: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq, by Emma Sky. (PublicAffairs, $17.99.) In 2003, Sky, a British Arabist, volunteered to go to Iraq  to apologize for the war. Based largely in Kirkuk Province, about 150 miles north of Baghdad and home to much of the countrys oil fields, she soon became an indispensable adviser to officers like Gen. Ray Odierno, a chief American architect of Iraqs rebuilding. Her narrative is a through reconstruction of the projects missteps.

THE PAST, by Tessa Hadley. (Harper Perennial, $15.99.) The Cranes descend upon their home in the English countryside for a last summer reunion, and soon fall back into archetypal roles. (The point about the past, in Hadleys fiction, is that its always there to trip you up, Fernanda Eberstadt wrote here.) Hadley captures the contours and anxieties of this middle-class British family, including their warring instincts for puritanism and indulgence.

GIVE US THE BALLOT: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, by Ari Berman. (Picador, $18.) The success of 1965s Voting Rights Act, a corrective to decades of systemic black disenfranchisement, unleashed a torrent of political forces intent on weakening it. The right to vote is again under siege, Berman maintains, after the Supreme Court held a crucial part of the act to be unconstitutional.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE!, by Jonathan Evison. (Algonquin, $15.95.) Harriet, 78, is recently widowed after caring for a husband with advanced dementia. Unsparing secrets are revealed when she embarks on a cruise her husband arranged  a cruise that he may have planned with a companion other than his wife in mind  and the novel circles back to pivotal events in her life.
Judis extends this unified theory of populism to the present day, when stagnant wages, corporate desertions and widespread fear of being cast adrift in the global economy have brought Bernie Sanders and Trump together in their contempt for trade deals. But he is eager to distinguish the left-wing economic populism of Sanders and the anti-elite Podemos Party in Spain, which champion the people against the 1 percent, from the right-wing cultural populism of Trump and the anti-Muslim Danish Peoples Party. The difference is that right-wing populists accuse the elite of coddling an ever-shifting third group  immigrants, blacks, terrorists, welfare recipients or all of the above. This demagoguing of the scapegoat du jour is what gives right-wing populism its current potency, especially in Europe, which is facing more severe economic, immigration and terrorism problems than the United States.

Populism, Judis explains, is an American creation, with roots in the American Revolution and Andrew Jacksons fight against the Bank of the United States in the 1830s. The name dates back to the early 1890s, when Farmers Alliances across the West and South linked up with the Knights of Labor to form the short-lived Peoples Party. The goal was radical democratic reform, not class revolution. In 1896, the Democrats nominated the fiery William Jennings Bryan on a free silver platform in opposition to Wall Street, the beginning of a long tradition of major parties co-opting populist ideas. With the help of middle-class progressives in both parties, much of the Peoples Party platform (monetization of silver, a graduated income tax, regulation of railroads, direct election of senators) became law. Similarly, the threat posed to Franklin Roosevelts re-election by Huey Long and his Share Our Wealth movement may have ended in 1935 with Longs assassination, but Roosevelt had already moved left in response to populist fervor by ramming through Social Security and other legislation. Longs base, like Trumps, was not the poor, but middle-class voters who feared slipping lower amid economic dislocation.

When Barack Obama took office in 2009, many expected he would forge a new and enduring Democratic majority out of the wreckage left by an irresponsible financial elite. But instead of being pushed from the left, as Roosevelt was, Obama looked behind him and saw no one there. Even the auto bailouts, which the White House hoped would be popular with working people, were resented. Instead, within days of taking office, Obama felt pressure from a new populist movement on the right  soon to be called the Tea Party  that drew strength from voters who had once flocked to Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan in the 1990s.

In his abbreviated account, Judis underplays how often left-wing economic populism has curdled into right-wing racist populism. Though he mentions Tom Watson, he ignores C. Vann Woodwards Tom Watson: Agrarian Rebel (1938), which chronicles how the brilliant Georgia reformer  the foremost turn-of-the-century populist  became a bitter bigot. And while citing Alan Brinkleys Voices of Protest (1982) in his discussion of Father Charles Coughlin, the anti-Semitic Radio Priest, he ignores the fact that Coughlin was at first a strong supporter of the New Deal. Judis does better with Wallace, who railed against integration and pointy-headed intellectuals when he was governor of Alabama but was far less strident and racist in his presidential campaigns. Many of Trumps non-college-educated white supporters are the direct political descendants of Wallace voters (just as Sanderss voters are connected to George McGoverns). In 1968, Wallace, running as a third-party candidate, seemed to threaten the Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey, polling 21 percent to Humphreys 28 percent at one point in September, an impressive performance for a populist candidate that far into the campaign season.
THE ULTIMATE AMBITION IN THE ARTS OF ERUDITION

A Compendium of Knowledge From the Classical Islamic World

By Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri

Edited and translated by Elias Muhanna

318 pp. Penguin Books. Paper, $18.

Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri was a bureaucrat from an elite family in medieval Egypt. Until his retirement, probably in 1316, he served the ruling Mamluk dynasty in various roles, running the sultans private treasury, managing imperial properties in Damascus, heading a local chancery in Lebanon, and supervising hospitals and colleges in Cairo. His career coincided with a period of relative stability in the region, as the Mamluks under the sultan al-Nasir Muhammad built a prosperous empire stretching from North Africa into the Levant. At the end of his tenure, al-Nuwayri devoted himself to the task that would define his life, the compilation of a truly gargantuan encyclopedia.

Sprawling over two million words and 33 volumes, al-Nuwayris The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition has long been considered a monument of classical Islamic learning. A significantly abridged version is now available in English, translated by Elias Muhanna, a professor of Arabic literature at Brown University. The text opens a window into a lively and eclectic world of scholarship, a realm of humanist scribes and poetry-spouting polymaths.

Its wide-ranging contents span chapters on cosmology, sociology, human biology, zoology, botany and history, but to describe al-Nuwayris sparkling material in such bald terms does not do it justice. Reading this compendium is like exploring a cabinet of curiosities, each section home to uncanny and startling mirabilia. Its many wondrous tidbits include the various Arabic names for dust (the dust that swirls around the hooves of horses, . . . dust stirred up by the wind, . . . the dust of a battle, . . . the dust of feet); the uses of radish in defending against scorpions; recipes for homemade aphrodisiacs; digressions into puzzling etymologies; the contents of the sultans buttery; a grisly summary of a plague in Cairo (The corpses that were not well buried were eaten by the dogs. Meanwhile, the people who lived ate the dogs); marriage contracts for the deaf and mute; and a description of how Adam, when cast out of Paradise, perfumed India with his tears. There are also pages of wry proverbs, and euphemisms, and excerpts from arresting poetry. In part, the aim of the compendium was to instruct members of al-Nuwayris own class. Sophisticated Mamluk bureaucrats prided themselves on their range of knowledge and their ability to adorn letters and speech with an apt poetic line.
What have been some of your important leadership lessons?

I became a much better leader when I was given a death sentence in 1996.

How so?

I had always been disciplined and had this level of urgency. But then I was told I had a fatal disease and I was going to die. It was black and white  write your will. It wasnt like there was any gray area. And I had a 1-year-old daughter. I thought that if I can stay alive until she turns 5, maybe shell remember me. That was my dream.

So I started taking on this foundation, and thinking, Ive got to make some decisions, and Ive got to make them quickly. It was just me starting out, working at a desk in our bedroom.

I found that because I was told I only had three years at the most, and I wanted to get as much done as I could, I was incredibly bold. If anybody was going to be mad at me for what I was doing, I didnt really care. And if I had to make a decision, I wasnt going to sit there and say, well, let me do more research on that. I had to make decisions incredibly quickly.

I also learned to be much more grateful. When youre working in multiple myeloma, nobodys ever heard of it, and it takes you half an hour to explain it. By that time, peoples eyes are glazing over. So now I had to raise money around it. When people actually responded to me and my personal story, I was so grateful. Its 20 years later, and Im now in remission, as are many others.

How do you hire?

I study the resume. In the early years, where did you go? Did you get the strong training base Im looking for where you honed your industry knowledge and developed your leadership skills? Did you start in sales, or did you get promoted early? What did you learn from some of those early mentors? I do think those years are incredibly formative. Then I want to see how you grew and what new experiences were you trying to take on.

Then I start asking questions like, what do you want me to know about you thats not on this resume? Help me understand your role on a team. How did you lead?
Under siege for setting up thousands of phony customer accounts to generate fees, Wells Fargo has taken a beating in Congress and the court of public opinion. Several states have piled on, announcing that they are temporarily cutting their business ties with the bank.

Using the power of the purse to hold a wayward behemoth to account is a good thing. But if state officials want to teach financial firms a lesson in honesty, why stop at Wells Fargo?

Many other big players in finance need this kind of instruction, too. For example, securities regulators have accused some of the nations top private equity firms of putting their interests ahead of their clients. Why dont state pension officials refuse to do business with them?

Consider a case involving Apollo Global Management, the private equity giant overseen by Leon Black. In late August, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought an enforcement action against the firm, contending that it had breached its fiduciary duty to investors by not disclosing specifics on fees it was extracting. The suit followed other improper fee cases filed by the S.E.C. against the Blackstone Group and KKR.
The 54th New York Film Festival opened on Sept. 30 with the premiere of 13TH, a documentary on racial injustice directed by Ava DuVernay; the after-party was held at the Tavern on the Green. The Park Avenue Armory honored Michael R. Bloomberg and Rob Ashford at its annual gala on Wednesday. And the American Red Cross in Greater New York honored numerous heroes at its gala, also Wednesday, at the American Museum of Natural History.
I thought, O.K., this is a big decision-making point  because last night was great and do we go forward like were dating? Or do we go forward like were still just buddies and last night didnt really have the import that it might have had? she said.

And I was a little skittish because I thought, you cant screw it up with somebody who has been your friend for 25 years. You dont want to rashly go into something that youre not sure about. But at the same time, how can you be sure at that moment? So we sort of just went forward as if we were pretending we were dating.

By the end of their stay in Chicago, Mr. Brakeley was mapping out opportunities to meet months in the future. And I was like, Whoa, hold on, buddy. Im not sure Im willing to commit that far out, Ms. Graham said. Because first of all, he was separated for over a year but he wasnt completely divorced yet, and he had two little kids. And I guess I didnt know what it would feel like to be full-stop in a bona fide relationship.

But she also realized that she didnt want to lose him again, and decided to take the leap. With their mutual passion for music and theater as well as an understanding of the stress that accompanies a major career, they found that their lives blended seamlessly. And on the rare occasion when she acted the diva, he sweetly reminded her that he had worked for Michael Jackson, who was an even bigger star than she was.

Two years later, it was Ms. Graham who sought a commitment and Mr. Brakeley who was reluctant to give it. But when it became clear that they were going to be together, with or without marriage, she made peace with their arrangement.

I always wanted to get married sometime, but I never was in the right place at the right time with the right person to do it, she said. Once I found him, I thought, this is the right place and the right time and the right person, but he has to want it, too.
From the outside, Carnival Fresh Market looks like any other corner produce store. Crates filled with onions, peaches and four-for-$5 mangoes sit stacked, end to end, under a red-and-yellow striped awning.

Just inside this three-year-old shop in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, however, a United Nations of foodstuffs awaits. Here in the bulk bins are blue-black Uzbeki raisins and nuggets of chocolate-dipped halvah. There in the dairy case, cheese selections range from a briny nabulsi, popular in the Middle East, to rounds of Bulgarian kashkaval and sliced kosher provolone.

They sell a lot of exotic products. Some dont even have English on the package, said Jeff Cohen, 57, who owns a clothing outlet down the block and shops at Carnival several times a week. I usually just buy fruits and vegetables, but Im fascinated by what they stock.
Q. Unless Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate, starts to catch fire, we seem certain to elect a president from New York this year. How many times have both major parties nominated New Yorkers as candidates, and do those elections share any themes with this years raucous campaign?

A. The contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump is the fourth in which New Yorkers have served as nominees for the two major parties in a presidential election. And though this years election is truly one of a kind, each of the three earlier New York-centric campaigns had at least one similarity with the current one.

The previous pairing that most advanced-level Trivial Pursuit players would recognize would be from 1944, when Franklin D. Roosevelt, the three-term incumbent Democrat and former New York governor, faced Thomas E. Dewey, the states Republican governor.

In that race, Deweys campaign sounded a theme that has been revisited by Mr. Trump: questioning the health and stamina of his rival. (Roosevelt died three months after being sworn in for a fourth term.)
Last year, on a Turkish Airlines flight bound for Istanbul from Tel Aviv, Jo-Ann Mort encountered an agitated Hasidic man who had been assigned the seat next to hers. Ms. Mort overheard him ask another man, a Reform rabbi in the next seat of their row, if they could switch places. Adhering to the strictest interpretation of Jewish law, the Hasidic man did not want to sit beside a woman who was not his wife. The rabbi said no, so the man asked several other passengers to change seats with him until one young woman finally agreed. Writing about the episode later in Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, Ms. Mort described a sense of profound irritation that left her scolding the young woman for her submission.

Eventually Ms. Mort became involved with the Israel Religious Action Center, the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform movement in Jerusalem that had been keeping a tally of these kinds of incidents. Ultra-Orthodox men, the group determined, were regularly asking women on planes to move, especially on flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and especially around Passover and the fall holidays. So, this year, in anticipation of Rosh Hashana, the organization created a billboard that it hoped to post in El Als passenger waiting area at Newark Liberty International Airport, which read: Ladies, please take your seat  and keep it! The ad went on to explain that requiring a passenger to switch seats on the basis of gender was illegal.

Last month, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which determines what ads can and cannot be displayed in its airports, rejected the proposed ad on the grounds that it violated several of its guidelines, chief among them a requirement that promotional content refer only to products or services, and another that bars political or religious messaging. Similar rules are maintained by authorities around the country and have increasingly come under First Amendment scrutiny for a system of application that can seem arbitrary and illogical. Often, allowances will be made for public service announcements, but what constitutes public service is left entirely up to bureaucratic discretion.

On the face of it, an ad informing women, in a secular context, that they dont have to bow to the imperatives of a religious patriarchy would seem to qualify, but the broader mission of administrators is to protect a range of sensitivities that ultimately become unclassifiable. The I Love New York campaign, for instance, appears at La Guardia and Kennedy Airports under the rubric of public service, according to the Port Authority, but if you happen to have had a disastrous honeymoon in the Adirondacks followed by an expensive divorce, youre unlikely to feel served by an image of Saranac Lake.
The article has been updated to reflect news developments.

MEDELLIN, Colombia Its a sad country, says a girl with long copper-colored hair and a dazed look as she puts her phone away while holding back tears. Sad, indeed, answers a close-to-elderly man. And around them, in this Colombian plaza, in Medellin, many could say the same. There are moments when citizens come across something that they dont recognize, and then that something turns out to be their country. That discovery, the horror of that discovery  thats the feeling so many Colombians had last Sunday night.

The plebiscite on the peace agreement had just concluded; among 13 million voters, No had prevailed by almost 54,000 votes, 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent. Four years of negotiations between the government and the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, were going up in smoke. Bewilderment was taking over.

Seven days earlier, in contrast, everything was rejoicing and pomp, with nearly all the major polls predicting a big victory for the agreement. Someday, someone will speak about it as the greatest historical event that never took place: In Cartagena, peace with a capital P was being celebrated with a wealth of speeches, doves, the presence of kings, bishops, children, presidents. Decked out in white, everyone celebrated the signing of an agreement that will never come to pass.

It was the biggest mistake by a politician who has made a mountain of errors. President Juan Manuel Santos (who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday) could have made the agreement official without the need of a plebiscite, but he yielded to the temptation of obtaining, through this peace accord, the support of his fugitive voters. Juan Domingo Peron, a very astute general who kept Argentina at his feet for half a century, was fond of saying, The best is usually the enemy of the good. President Santos didnt know that, or didnt abide by it, and now hes paying the price. And all of his citizens are likewise paying.
We wanted the brands to feel very distinct from each other from the moment you walk in the door, said Lauren Cahill, a senior development director at AvalonBay. The company has done this once before in New York, when it built AVA High Line and Avalon West Chelsea, two rentals housed in the same 32-story tower that opened in 2014.

By separating the people who appreciate marble walls from those with a penchant for Edison bulbs, AvalonBay hit a marketing buzzword: psychographics. Think of demographics, but for your sense of identity. The developer is likely trying to delve a little deeper into what might reflect how these people see themselves, said Katherine White, the chairwoman of the Marketing and Behavioral Science Division of the UBC Sauder School of Business in British Columbia. Are they cool and hipster versus are they sophisticated and elegant?

This is why companies design different brands to appeal to various categories of shoppers  if Toyota feels too Everyman for you, check out a Lexus instead. Developers are no different. They build distinct properties to target various submarkets. But rarely does a developer do this on a single plot of land.

For a building with 826 apartments, separating the masses has its benefits. A family considering that $11,490-a-month apartment on the 54th floor might not want to rub shoulders in the lobby with the four college students who are doubled up in an AVA two-bedroom. And, in exchange for that five-figure rent check, the family probably expects a concierge desk made of glass and stone, as can be found at Avalon.

People with the most money often dont want to associate themselves with people who are lower class, lower status, said Keith Todd Wilcox, an associate professor of business at Columbia Business School who specializes in consumer judgment and decision making. Part of what could be driving the separate entrances is a way to appease that.

Mention separate lobbies and the phrase that comes to mind is poor door, a term coined after some New York developers began segregating tenants living in apartments designated as affordable housing from those paying market rate. The design sparked outrage, partly because tenants earning lower incomes were denied access to amenities and services enjoyed by their wealthier neighbors.

But Avalon and AVAs tale of two lobbies plays out a little differently. The two worlds collide in other parts of the building. Tenants share most of the amenities and the building is entirely market rate, so presumably everyone signed a lease fully aware of the arrangement.
But it turns out that when you analyze objections to free markets on these grounds, they contain two basic issues: First, goods go to the highest bidder; second, bidders possess different amounts of wealth. Disentangling these two factors is important. When markets produce outcomes that seem unfair, it is usually the second factor  the wealth disparity  that is to blame.

Place bidders on an equal footing and the superior efficiency of the market becomes evident. When two similarly well-off families vie for a large house, for example, the family that places the greater value on the property will outbid the other one.

This insight has been put into practice in many settings. In some universities, for example, students bid on courses using points, not dollars. This bidding process can be fair and efficient when universities allocate the points equitably. It would be a very different matter if the richer students invariably received entry to the best classes.

A task force at Feeding America  which included Professor Prendergast, Ms. Morgan and others  adopted this approach. They embraced a bidding system using a virtual currency. Crucially, food banks with the greatest need received the most currency and so could place the highest bids, harnessing the benefits of a free market with fairness in the distribution of the underlying wealth.

The new system started in 2005 and quickly proved successful, sometimes in unexpected ways.

For example, donations seemed to fall into two categories. Food banks sought some items, like diapers, that sold at relatively high prices. Some food banks focused on bidding on these items, which had the effect of lowering the prices of staples, like produce. The neediest food banks were able to obtain these staples at bargain prices. This was the kind of positive-sum situation that ideal markets allow: Everyone was a winner.

In another unexpected turn of events, some food banks began to sell their excess stores. The Idaho food bank, with warehouses full of potatoes, sold some of them and bought other commodities with the proceeds. Soon, these transactions accounted for more than 12 million pounds of food redistributed among the food banks each year.

Most noticeably, everything ran more smoothly. Donations in the old system were laboriously offered to individual food banks in succession until a taker could be found. Donations were sometimes not accepted. Imagine how this made donors feel. Why give when what you offer is not wanted?
I joined the group the night before, and we are now tramping over tundra and through low willows near a maintenance site for the nearby Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The site, called the Chandalar Shelf, lies in the shadow of mountain peaks as sharp as freshly made Stone Age axes  the beginning of the Brooks Range.

It is the groups third day in the field, and my first, and although the site is actually buzzing with bees, it seems that bee hunting is like fishing. No matter where you go and when you get there, someone always says, You shoulda been here yesterday. Or the day before that.

Another researcher, Jessica Purcell, an assistant professor in the entomology department at Riverside, said that at the Arctic Circle two days ago, you couldnt shake a net at a flower without catching a bee.

She and her husband, Alan Brelsford, both newbies to the bee business, caught 40 each. We had to let some go, said Dr. Brelsford, who is starting at Riverside this fall as an assistant biology professor.
Tyrant in the Machine: Cathy ONeil had been working as a quant at a hedge fund for about a year when the global economy collapsed. In her introduction to Weapons of Math Destruction, No. 5 on the monthly education list and longlisted for the National Book Award, ONeil  who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard  recounts how the 2008 crash made her realize the enormous havoc that could be wreaked by mathematicians wielding magic formulas. The crisis showed that computer technology could combine with mathematics to multiply the chaos and misfortune, yet years later we continue to be enthralled by algorithms. We use them in teacher evaluations, hiring decisions, even sentencing rulings in the criminal justice system. We rely on Big Data more than ever before.

ONeil left the hedge fund in 2009 and joined the Occupy movement two years later. In a phone interview, she said part of what makes mathematics so dangerous is what makes it so alluring in the first place. Numbers offer the sheen of objectivity; algorithms seem to transcend morality, as ONeil put it, when in fact they only obfuscate the human assumptions that go into creating them.

Every algorithm sorts winners and losers, ONeil said, which in turn exacerbates whatever inequality already exists. She points to recidivism risk scores, used by judges in sentencing decisions, as one of the most egregious examples. Ironically, she told me, the reason they were introduced was to improve what was known to be a racist justice system. The idea was that data and mathematical models would eliminate the influence of human bias. But the models include such inputs as whether an inmates friends and relatives have criminal records, and whether an inmate resides in a high-risk neighborhood. The algorithms, in other words, are built on the system they were meant to reform  benefiting those from privileged backgrounds and trapping almost everyone else in a pernicious feedback loop. We have a new technology that we dont have safety standards for, ONeil said about these weapons of math destruction. We had to build a concept for a safe car. We had to test for safety. We have to do that with algorithms as well.
Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group, which has skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care, assisted living and urgent care companies, has sold its 14 urgent care operations in the Seattle region.

MultiCare Health System, a nonprofit healthcare group, bought the operations for undisclosed terms.

While we still believe urgent care is an important healthcare service, we determined that we can better use our resources by focusing on the post-acute continuum, including sub-acute, skilled nursing, physical therapy, home health, hospice, assisted living and other services our various operations provide, Christopher Christensen, Ensigns president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Ensign runs roughly 230 healthcare facilities in 14 states, including California.

The sale includes 14 clinics in the area and two that are currently under development.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
Re: A dark day for 408 kids and their parents [Opinion, Sept. 29]: Robert Loewen seems wrongfully intent on blaming everybody else for charter school applicant Global Business Academys failure to secure approval. The specific accusations of stall tactics by Capistrano Unified and its trustees of being anti-charter are misplaced.

Our state long ago determined that charter schools have a role in our education system. In that vein, during my two terms as governing board member, not once have I voted against a charter application. In fact, my colleagues and I have a proven track record of exercising our stated policy that students are best served if we work cooperatively with charter applicants to rectify identified deficiencies. During my tenure, no other Orange County K-12 district has approved more independently-run charter school applications or renewals than Capistrano Unified.

At no time did Capistrano Unified stall or engage in delay tactics against Global Business Academy. The Education Code provides a strict 60 days for review, giving the parties the right to agree to an additional 30-day extension. Capistrano Unified requested that extension, which Global Business Academy declined. Despite the expedited time frame, we still managed to offer a pathway to approval.

If Capistrano Unified was anti-charter, then the Lincoln Club of Orange County (a known champion of charter schools and of which Mr. Loewen is a former president) should not have endorsed the Capistrano Unified trustees who this year sought their support. The proper path forward is for Global Business Academy to re-evaluate its application for resubmission. 408 students  and more  are counting on them.

John Alpay

San Clemente

Governing Board Member, Capistrano Unified School District

No on Prop. 64

Re: Experts in nearby states warn against Prop. 64, which would legalize marijuana in California [Opinion, Oct. 6]: Congratulations to Mr. Whiting for a very informative and alarming article on the dangers of Prop. 64. I challenge everyone who thinks this is a harmless proposition to read the article and still insist that this proposition should be passed. This proposition is a very bad idea. So why is it being pushed? Its a money grab by politicians. It will result in more government and higher taxes.

Reg Fennell

Placentia
DANA POINT Sanford Edward, developer of the community above Strand Beach, is fighting the citys lawsuit against him, calling allegations that he owes the city $553,754 in legal fees  a joke.

In a countersuit filed Monday, Edward also alleges that city officials have overcharged him since 2003 for fees agreed upon in a development agreement. The fees were incurred as part of an ongoing legal battle over beach access with the California Coastal Commission and Surfrider Foundation.

They are trumping up claims hoping to offset their liability for their past mistakes, he said in the suit.

Dana Point city officials claimed in the Aug. 29 lawsuit that Edward made verbal and contractual promises to indemnify Dana Point for any legal fees, costs or damages incurred in defense of the Strand at Headlands community.

Dana Points complaint said that while Headlands LLC has paid legal fees since 2009, the development company abruptly and without warning ceased paying the legal costs incurred and paid by Dana Point after invoices in August 2015 were presented.

Dana Points lawsuit said that as of May 12, Headlands owes the city $553,754 for work done on behalf of Dana Point by law firm Rutan and Tucker and the firm of Richards Watson and Gershon, which acted as special counsel during settlement negotiations with the Coastal Commission related to the access disputes.

The city has paid all those costs, so the indemnity payments are owed to Dana Point, not to the firms who work for the city, the citys complaint said.

In his countersuit, Edward says he has paid the citys legal fees since 2003, for a total of $1,520,000. He said he stopped paying in September 2015 when he became concerned that he was being overbilled and hired Squar Milner, an Orange County C.P.A firm, to analyze the city invoices.

Squar Milner calculated the overbilling at $667,661, Edward says in his countersuit. In February he filed a formal claim with the city. The city declined the claim in May and later filed the lawsuit.

Under the terms of the development agreement, Edward said he added public benefits, including increased parks, open space and water quality control systems that exceeded what he was required to deliver. The public city benefits totaled over, $43.6 million, he said.

In exchange, Edward said in his countersuit, that Headlands LLC negotiated a limited indemnification provision that capped the hourly rate the city could bill when seeking reimbursement for legal fees. That cap permitted the city to only recoup legal fees at the standard municipal rate, he said.

The city never disclosed its billing rate on its invoices, Edward said. All of their invoices were lump sum, and typically covered two or three months.

City Attorney Patrick Munoz said Thursday that Edwards claims are incorrect, but was not available for further comment.

The dispute with the Coastal Commission and Surfrider Foundation began in 2009, when Dana Point officials approved an ordinance to limit hours of beach access through the neighborhood after requests by Edward and some homeowners.

The Coastal Commission and Surfrider Foundation fought the ordinance in court, saying it could set a precedent that could limit beach access throughout California. A court ruled in the publics favor in 2011.

The city sued the commission and Surfrider sued the city. A lower court ruled against the commission but last fall a San Diego County Superior Court judge reversed the ruling.

Edward said as part of his development agreement with the city, he is not liable for costs incurred once the project was turned over to the county and the city.

They have to be responsible, he said. They adopted a faulty nuisance complaint through their own incompetency.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini
SEAL BEACH  The Earth does not turn anymore. Nor is it as colorful as its former self.

But otherwise, its back in all its glory.

On Saturday morning, Leisure World will host a ceremony officially welcoming the return of its globe  a Seal Beach icon since 1962.

For more than a year, the 40-foot orb was cloaked in mystery underneath a white tarp.

We called it the marshmallow, said Carole Damoci, president of the Golden Rain Foundation homeowners association.

The tent and scaffolding came down this week to reveal a monotone bronze sculpture. Prior to its rebirth, the globes continents  painted in a variety of pastels  resembled those in schoolroom atlases.

Seal Beach Mayor Sandra Massa-Lavitt, who lives in Leisure World, described the patina surface as classy looking.

Necessary repairs to the aging globe were neither cheap nor without controversy.

In meetings deciding the fate of the world, some residents complained that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Were a community of 9,000 people, Massa-Lavitt said. Not everybody is going to think alike.

The original estimate of $185,000 ballooned to $350,000 after the sandblasting of layers of paint exposed the extent of the deterioration.

Countries flew off, Damoci said. We lost South Korea.

Golden Rain, which funded the facelift, hired a metalworking company to custom design new land masses.

You cant just order continents off eBay, Damoci said.

While the continentals are freshly minted, all but one of the bands of metal forming the sphere are original.

I congratulate Leisure World for making the investment to save their globe, said Cindy Heitzman, executive director of the California Preservation Foundation. These fun, quirky landmarks capture an era in our history.

As another departure from its predecessor, the rebuilt globe does not rotate. Replacing the gears would be too expensive, Damoci said.

And, no more bas-relief mountain ranges, constructed decades ago from plastic.

This world is flat, Damoci quipped.

But time stands still in other ways.

We redid the shapes of the continents exactly the way they were before, Damoci said. Madagascar is still in the wrong place. We wanted the same mistakes.

Contact the writer: sgoulding@scng.com
Milk has an expiration date, but should our Fourth Amendment protections ever go sour?

Unfortunately, because of an out-of-date law regarding online data, that is exactly what happens.

This law, the Reagan-era Electronic Communications Privacy Act, has created a kind of Fourth Amendment loophole because it permits the government to access data such as emails without a warrant if the data is more than 180 days old.

This wasnt deliberate.

Back in 1986, there was no such thing as an email. People sent physical letters  and those did require a warrant (no time limit) in order for a legal search to be conducted.

The ECPA gimped along into the 1990s without causing a Fourth Amendment issue because the servers available back then had limited capacity and old data (including old emails) was regularly and automatically deleted to make room for new data. Warrantless snooping wasnt an issue because emails and so on older than 180 days were no longer available to be snooped.

But today, server storage capacity is effectively unlimited, and while data may get old, it never goes away. The email you wrote five years ago is almost certainly still in existence on a hard drive somewhere  and could be accessed by anyone with the means and the desire to do so  without a warrant.

This creates a huge Fourth Amendment loophole.

Another issue with the ECPA became apparent during a court battle involving the feds and Microsoft. The feds pressured Microsoft to give them access to customer data stored overseas, outside the physical (and legal) jurisdiction of the U.S. government.

Microsofts lawyers argued that not only did the government lack the legal authority to demand that the data be turned over, but also that the feds demands put Microsoft in the untenable position of acting contrary to the laws applicable in the country where the servers were physically located.

This happened to be Ireland.

The Irish government, understandably, was not exactly pleased when it discovered that our government was pressuring Microsoft to ignore Irish law and possibly violate the rights of Irish citizens.

Potentially, this could lead to diplomatic debacles  and ugly tit-for-tatting  and not just with the Irish.

If the United States announces it will not respect the laws of Country X, why should Country Y respect U.S. law?

Most large corporations are multinationals; they do business in many countries  and no matter where their legal headquarters may be physically located, they are quite reasonably expected to abide by the laws of any country they do business in, just as American citizens arent exempted from the laws of foreign countries they visit or do business in.

Microsoft initially lost in court but, on appeal, won an important judgment and rebuke for the federal government. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Sarah Carney wrote that the ECPA does not authorize courts to issue and enforce against U.S.-based service providers warrants for the seizure of customer emails stored on servers outside the physical and legal jurisdiction of the United States.

That fixes half of the problem.

The other half is fixing the current 180-day exemption the government enjoys on the legal necessity of obtaining a warrant before it can filch through our data, including old emails.

Legislation toward that end has been put forward by Sens. Orrin Hatch and Chris Coons, which would bring the law up to date with the state of current technology. The International Communications Privacy Act would effectively replace the geriatric ECPA. It specifically addresses the data storage/privacy issues, as well as the business-legal issues, that ECPA does not.

Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties would establish a binding framework regarding how and under what circumstances data stored in Country X  outside the physical-legal jurisdiction of Country Y  could be legally accessed by Country Y.

And vice versa.

On the individual civil rights level, the same warrant and probable cause requirements that applied under ECPA (and the Fourth Amendment) to data less than 180 days old would apply in the future to all data, regardless of vintage.

Keeping ECPA around as a museum piece  the legal equivalent of a Betamax machine or a pair of Ocean Pacific shorts  is fine. But modern laws are needed to cope with modern technological realities. The ECPA could not protect the privacy of our data because, for the most part, data as we know it today did not exist back in 1986.

The fact it does now  and has an effectively eternal shelf life  is why the ICPAs updated protections are so necessary.

Eric Peters is a libertarian author and privacy advocate. He is the author of Automotive Atrocities and Road Hogs. His new book, Doomed, is scheduled for release next spring.
The Orange County District Attorneys Office has filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against a handful of drug companies for allegedly blocking the launch of a low-cost generic version of a common cholesterol drug.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, accuses five pharmaceutical companies and two generic drug manufacturers of entering into an unlawful pay-for-delay agreement to keep a generic version of the drug Niaspan, prescribed to lower bad cholesterol, off of the market.

As a result, Orange County consumers have paid substantially higher prices for Niaspan than they would have if a generic version was available, the lawsuit says, adding that Niaspan sales exceed $1.13 billion annually in the U.S.

Companies shouldnt be allowed to keep their prices artificially high and not have competition by making back-door deals with their competitors, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said in a statement. In a pay-for-delay game, consumers come out the losers.

The federal government has been fighting an ongoing campaign against the common drug industry practice known as pay-for-delay.

Under pay-for-delay, a brand name drug manufacturer files a patent-infringement lawsuit against a generic drug manufacturer. The brand name company will then agree to settle the case and compensate the generic drug manufacturer if it refrains from entering the market with a competing version for a period of time.

Drug makers have long maintained that the deals help resolve costly patent litigation. But Federal Trade Commission officials have argued for more than a decade that the agreements keep cheaper forms of medicines off of the market, driving up costs for consumers.

According to the lawsuit, the companies entered into a pay-for-play agreement in 2005 that allowed them to maintain a monopoly on the national market for Niaspan at a steep cost to consumers.

Under the deal, brand name manufacturers Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, and Duramed Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay generic manufacturers Teva and Barr pharmaceuticals for delaying the launch of a generic form of Niaspan for more than eight years until September 2013.

The lawsuit contends that such settlements can violate antitrust laws. It seeks penalties in addition to restitution to consumers.

Abbott separated its research-based pharmaceutical business into a new public bio-pharmaceutical company called AbbVie in January 2013, said Abbott spokeswoman Elissa Maurer in a statement. With the separation, the U.S. commercial rights and associated responsibilities for Niaspan passed to AbbVie.

The other companies representatives did not immediately return messages.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com
The 1943 Academy Award-nominated film Double Indemnity made a groundbreaking impact on censorship in the American film industry with its graphic themes of scamming, murder and adultery. But what was happening behind the scenes between the films writers is a revolutionary  and entertaining  story in itself.

The off-Broadway play Billy and Ray tells the story of the collaboration between the films authors and Hollywood legends, director Billy Wilder and crime novelist Raymond Chandler, and their dysfunctional relationship that led to the iconic films creation. The Laguna Playhouse opened its new season with an adaptation of the play, directed by Michael Matthews, with previews running through Saturday and regular performances Sunday through Oct. 30.

The original drama-comedy was directed and produced by the Garry Marshall, who wrote, directed and produced numerous Hollywood blockbusters, including Pretty Woman and Beaches. As a fan of Wilders usage of shadow, light and storytelling, Matthews said he was excited to direct the play.

I loved how there were these two men who could not be more opposites, but they managed to create something so important to American cinema as we know it, said Matthews. When the two of them were actually aligned, it was like the stars aligned, and they were able to create something so fantastically amazing.

Written by Mike Bencivenga, the play stars Nick Searcy as Ray Chandler, Blake Ellis as Billy Wilder, Scott Lowell as Paramount producer Joe Sistrom and Joanna Strapp as Wilders secretary Helen Hernandez.

Searcy will make his Laguna Playhouse debut and a return to the theater stage after 25 years of film and television acting (Justified, American Gothic). As a longtime friend of playwright Bencivenga, he said taking on the role of Chandler has been an honor.

Mike is one of my oldest and dearest friends, so Ive known about this play since the time he wrote it. I did the first public reading on the West Coast and fell in love with the role, and always wanted to do it, Searcy said. The easy part of being Ray is being funny, because that comes natural to me. The hard part is getting the drama right, but Blake (Billy) and I have worked well and had fun together doing it.

The production discusses the iconic films plot of murder and sexual subtleties, Chandler and Wilders backgrounds as writers and their brutal love-hate relationship in the scriptwriting process, the complications of casting the films leads and how they worked around the film industrys strict censorship code to create the film.

Fans of Double Indemnity will be able to recognize different parts in the play that shed light on how the writers came up with the idea in the films script, Matthews said.

If you love the movie then its so amazing, because you could actually see how they came up with the moments in the movie; you get to see it played out before your eyes, said Matthew, Its all incredibly historical, with two polar opposites who come together and cause some very funny things to happen.

Matthews and scenic designer Stephen Gifford researched real photographs, as well as interviewed people who had real information or photographs from the era, to model the set to look exactly like Wilders office.

Right down to the blinds, to the couch, to the exact layout of how the office really was. The audience is going to see an authentic view of how the office was in a very theatrical form. It was Life magazine that came in and shot different pictures of the writers in action, which are the only pictures available of Helen, Matthews said. It shows her office where they are gathered around looking at the script, and it shows Billy pacing with his cane and as hes pacing, you could see the different parts of the office. So we found props and designed the office according to what we could see in the photos.

Both Matthews and Searcy agreed that audience members dont not have to be fans of Wilder and Chandler, nor do they need to know the film, to enjoy the play. Matthews added that the production has an underlining message that everyone will relate to.

With these great egos, there still is humanity; there is still care for one another, even though they did not talk again after the movie was made, said Matthews. But in order for them to move forward and complete what needed to be completed, they had to have an understanding of eachother. Great lessons are to be learned here for everyone who sees it.

Contact the writer: jmoe@ocregister.com
Somini Sengupta reported from the United Nations and Raphael Minder reported from Madrid.

The Security Council on Thursday formally recommended Antonio Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations.

The envoys representing the 15 members of the council, including the five veto-wielding permanent members, decided by acclamation in a closed-door session to send Guterres name to the General Assembly for final approval.

Speaking in Lisbon after the councils vote, Guterres said he accepted the endorsement with gratitude and humility.

The selection process was an exemplary process of transparency and openness, he said, and the willingness of the deeply divided Security Council to reach consensus over his nomination should serve as a symbolic moment.

He pledged to show the humility that is needed to serve especially those that are most vulnerable, victims of conflict, terrorism, human rights violations and poverty.

Guterres, 67, who ran the U.N. refugee agency for 10 years, was the front-runner among 13 candidates, including a record seven women. Two candidates had dropped out.

Many veteran diplomats and civil-society activists had hoped that the U.N. would be led by a woman for the first time in its 71-year history. Mindful of the issue of gender equity, Guterres has promised parity in making appointments to senior posts, but has not been more specific about how he would advance the rights of women through the work of the organization.

The 193-member General Assembly is expected to approve Guterres appointment next week. If elected, he will succeed the current secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term expires at the end of this year.
The Haitian government drastically raised the death toll on Thursday from Hurricane Matthew, with officials saying that at least 283 people had been killed instead of the half-dozen or so reported initially.

They said the figure was likely to rise further as international aid groups and government agencies began reaching the worst-affected areas in the south, which was slammed by Matthew on Tuesday with 145-mph winds and torrential rain.

Since then, much of the southern areas have been essentially in the dark. Communications and even physical access were shut off, as cell service faltered and a bridge connecting the capital to the southern areas collapsed.

But now that transportation and at least some communication has been restored, knowledge about the extent of Matthews wrath, and the deaths caused by it, have become clearer.

There is severe damage to the communities, and hundreds of deaths are expected and many more injured, said Enzo di Taranto, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti. There will be a severe impact on the environment, agriculture and water systems.

Schools, hospitals and police stations, everything that was there when the hurricane hit was in some way damaged, because of the strengths of the wind, di Taranto said.

On Wednesday, officials said the hurricanes damage had forced them to postpone an already-delayed presidential election set for Sunday in the country of 11 million, poorest in the Western Hemisphere.

Matthew left a broad tableau of devastation: houses pummeled into timber, crops destroyed and stretches of towns and villages under several feet of water. The hurricane aftermath has already turned into a slow-rolling menace that could affect many more Haitians in the coming weeks and months.

The aftermath also is reminding Haitians of questions that still haunt the country from the 2010 earthquake, when international aid groups practically usurped the role of the government.

The government has been clear that this time around it will take the lead on coordinating aid, as donors bring in fresh water, food and money. But that, too, has its limitations.

The current government is an interim administration that was to be replaced in the Sunday election. There is no word on when that vote will be rescheduled.

For international aid groups, striking a balance between working with the government and delivering lifesaving assistance expeditiously will define the coming months of the crisis, many say.

There was a lot of taking stock of what lessons were learned after 2010, said Jake Johnston, research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. And then you see a disaster and it all goes out the window and its immediate, whatever we can do as fast as possible.

At the same time, he said, for donors, bypassing the government is not going to save the day in the end.

Though it appears the greatest fears of Matthews impact on Haiti were averted  deaths in the thousands and countrywide destruction  aid groups foresee food shortages, housing scarcity and rapidly spreading disease.

They especially fear cholera, a waterborne infection that has stubbornly plagued Haiti since the earthquake aftermath, when it was believed to have been inadvertently introduced by U.N. peacekeepers assigned to the country. The CARE Haiti charity said in a report that three cases of cholera had already turned up in southern peninsula hospitals. Partners in Health, an international charity that has long worked in Haiti, said there had been 26,000 cases of cholera this year.

According to the United Nations, more than 1 million people have been affected by the storm in Haiti  and at least a third of them will require humanitarian assistance.

Di Tarantos U.N. office, which is helping coordinate assistance between the government and humanitarian groups, said that more than 15,000 people were in emergency shelters. The Civil Protection Force of Haiti put the figure countrywide at closer to 27,000 people, with the majority in the south. At least 20,000 homes were wrecked and hundreds of Haitians were injured, officials said.

Southerners in particular rely on subsistence farming, on lands that have now been flooded.

Were very worried about the countrys future in terms of food security, said Hervil Cherubin, country director in Haiti for Heifer International, a nonprofit that works with more than 6,500 farming families in the south. Most of the crops are gone. Many of the farm fields are like landfills. Theyre full of trash, seawater, gravel and other debris.

In the largest banana-growing area of the country, more than 80 percent of the crops that feed 20,000 families were destroyed by the winds and flooding, according to Mercy Corps.

In Jeremie, the capital of the southern department of Grande Anse, there was near total destruction. According to CARE Haiti, the storm destroyed 80 percent of the buildings and wrecked electricity and phone lines.

In Les Cayes, another southern area where the storm wrought the most damage and across the peninsula from Jeremie, people lost their homes, livestock and possessions.
Writing, especially in literature, is an especially personal art and craft, and the path to a career in that field can be fraught with difficulties, setbacks and self-doubt  a lonely world where the brickbats are as humiliatingly public as the bouquets.

Seminar shows us that world in microcosm through four would-be novelists whose potential has earned them a spot in the 10-week private course taught by a once-famed writer.

Chance Theaters Orange County premiere of Theresa Rebecks 2011 play shows the foursomes constantly evolving relationships, alliances and rivalries, driven by the often incendiary statements of their egocentric instructor Leonard, a once-celebrated novelist.

This fascinating world could have been played either strictly for conflict-generated laughs or as a dark parable. Neither approach, though, works as well as the realism devised by director Elina De Santos and her exemplary cast.

Rebecks text gives her five characters sufficient back-story that anyone cast in Seminar can peel layers back gradually, so that an instructor who seems like a misogynistic, self-centered jerk, and a writer who seems more prone to observe than participate, have tenable reasons for their conduct.

Seminar depicts the creative process by showing first people purportedly devoted to the written word and its power to enthrall, move or sway countless readers, and second, their interaction as they debate the issues of what makes good writing.

That discourse puts some of the courses students on the defensive  and that sharpens the plays double-edged comedic-dramatic sword.

For all its intelligence, Rebecks script is facile. Its scathing humor derives from its harshly accurate depiction of the baser aspects of human nature versus the noble traits we may think we possess, yet rarely do.

Hosting the course is Bennington-educated Kate (Karen Jean Olds) in the spacious, nine-room Upper West Side apartment owned by her family (convincingly rendered by Bruce Goodrichs scenic design).

Most successful of the four is garrulous preppie Douglas (Christian Telesmar), a pretentious intellectual whose vernacular sounds like the recitation of a textbook. Youngest is the attractive Izzy (Asialani Holman), a calculating opportunist who exploits her sex appeal.

The newest member is Kates high school classmate Martin (Casey Long). Outwardly earnest and sincere, he takes advantage of Kates feelings for him, lusts after Izzy, and shows jealousy-tinged contempt toward Douglas success as a published author.

The first of the four to have her work evaluated, Kate isnt shy about challenging the assertions or deflecting the barbs flung at her by instructor Leonard (Ned Liebl).

Leonard is so fogbound and absent-minded, he cant remember basics like his students names, whose manuscripts he has read or what he has said about them. Among the characters laugh-generating traits are his blunt manner, profanity, and a beyond self-centered ego through which his every conversation comes back to his favorite subject: himself.

A mentor figure who brooks no opposition to his pronouncements, Leonard cunningly measures the effect his words have on his students. Hes also a preening globetrotter who celebrates his own visits to hotspots like Somalia and Rwanda, insisting his apprentices do the same to sharpen their insight and thicken their skin to criticism.

Impoverished and struggling, Martin lives more inside his head than in the rough-and-tumble of the real world, holding back on letting anyone see his work for fear of criticism and ridicule. Seminar draws to a close as a showdown between this reluctant would-be novelist and a now-bitter would-be guru in what might be a passing of the torch.

De Santos adroitly captures the scripts acerbic tone, and her use of Mozart piano pieces to bridge scenes reflects the delicate web woven by Rebecks words and Chance Theaters first-rate cast.

Liebl projects a scruffy, self-absorbed eccentric genuinely shocked by the squalor of Third-World nations and decrying their lack of empathy yet showing only disdain for his students. How Liebl reveals the more complex aspects of his characters nature makes for an enjoyably revelatory performance.

Longs deceptively uncomplicated portrayal spotlights Martins self-protective caution, priggish manner, downcast exterior and intense reverence for the written word. Olds adeptly comical gestures and timing add extra bite to Kates sardonic remarks, while Holman and Telesmar breathe life, and thus credibility, into the drastically underwritten roles of Izzy and Douglas.

In all, Chances engaging production brings Rebecks observations to light in ways likely to humanize for audiences those seemingly aloof, eccentric, hard-to-fathom creatures known as writers.

Contact the writer: emarchesewriter@gmail.com
In 2014, the owner of a janitorial company who paid her employees in cash was pulled over by Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies on Interstate 5. Officers found $18,000 in her car. She presented paperwork showing the cash was from her business, but she was told they didnt believe her. Based on their suspicions, they seized her cash and car. She was never charged with a crime.

The practice of civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement authorities to seize private property without charging the owner with any crime. They take cars, homes and money. All there has to be is suspicion of wrongdoing. This invites a world of abuse and has left many innocent Americans unjustly harassed, their due-process rights ignored and property rights trampled upon.

In 2014, authorities nationwide seized $4.5 billion through civil asset forfeiture. That exceeded the total  $3.9 billion  stolen in burglaries that year. The practice grew, according to Armstrong Economics, almost 20 percent a year from 1989 to 2010, including a sharp increase of more than 50 percent from 2009 to 2010. It has become a popular way for law enforcement departments to increase their budgets.

The Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm, calls this policing for profit. Its also been called stop and seize.

Some seizures are justifiable. Authorities should have the power to confiscate ill-gotten gains from convicted criminals. But government agents should not be allowed to take ones property absent a crime. Our criminal justice system is based upon a presumption of innocence. Government officials must never ignore peoples rights in the pursuit of money.

One study found that 80 percent of asset seizures occur without criminal charges filed. If thats a fact, it should be common for innocent victims to have their property returned, as the owner of the janitorial company did. But it took two years and legal fees  and she is one of the fortunate few. Once property has been seized, its usually gone forever.

The average person who files a petition, they think all I have to do is explain this is clean money, it has nothing to do with drugs and Ill get my money back, says David Smith, a defense attorney specializing in asset forfeiture cases who once worked at the Justice Department.

But the process, he says, is a charade at DEA and at Customs and Border Patrol.

They are just in the business of denying petitions, he says.

Advocates paint a picture of law enforcement raids seizing drug lords mansions, yachts and planes. But in California, the average value of a seizure was $5,145 in 2013, according to reports from the Drug Policy Alliance  a hefty sum for a middle-class worker or a small business owner.

The Institute for Justice gives California a C+ for its asset forfeiture practices. But thats a bit like saying a house burglar doesnt look bad when compared to an international jewel thief. The only acceptable grade is an A+.

Policymakers have recognized the problem and are making an effort to correct it. Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill to reform the states asset seizure laws. It prohibits law enforcement from seizing assets of less than $40,000 without a criminal conviction. Republican Assemblyman David Hadley, one of Senate Bill 443s authors, says it will also end the practice of agencies using federal jurisdiction  to seize the assets of those holding less than $40,000 in cash and retain those assets without a conviction.

Law enforcement lobbyists argue the new law will cut into departments revenue, as they rely on seized assets to balance their budgets. But state Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, who wrote the law with Hadley, told the lobbyists that departments shouldnt be budgeting with money that wasnt theirs, and when we had to cut the budgets for K-12, we didnt start seizing kids lunch money.

Shes right. The money isnt theirs. And its not profit, either. Its stolen.

Kerry Jackson is a fellow at the Center for California Reform at the Pacific Research Institute.
LONDON  Feuding in Britains fractious, right-wing U.K. Independence Party erupted into violence Thursday that left a member of the European Parliament hospitalized with a head injury after an altercation with a colleague.

Steven Woolfe  the front-runner to be UKIPs next leader  suffered seizures and lost consciousness after clashing with another lawmaker during a meeting of party lawmakers at the legislative building in Strasbourg, France.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Woolfe was initially in a serious condition and things were pretty bad. But he said Thursday afternoon that Woolfe was in a much better place than he was a few hours ago.

Farage said he was launching an inquiry into the violence, which he said shouldnt have happened. He declined to identify the other party member involved in what he termed an altercation. Strasbourg police said the incident had not been reported.

According to media reports, Woolfe was punched during a fistfight with another lawmaker, hit his head and collapsed a little while later.

UKIP said Woolfe had two epileptic-like fits and lost consciousness. An image published by ITV News showed a man resembling Woolfe apparently unconscious on a walkway inside the Strasbourg building, just outside the parliament chamber. Several hours later, Woolfe reported that he was conscious and recovering. He said in a statement that a CT scan showed he did not have a blood clot on the brain.

I am feeling brighter, happier and smiling as ever, he said. I am sitting up, and said to be looking well. The only consequence at the moment is a bit of numbness on the left-hand side of my face.

The party said Woolfe would remain in the hospital overnight awaiting the results of more tests.

A lawyer of mixed English, Irish, Jewish and black American heritage, Woolfe represents his home region of northwest England in the European Parliament and is considered one of UKIPs rising stars.

A small party full of forceful personalities, UKIP has a long history of clashes between senior members  though they are usually verbal rather than physical. UKIP European parliamentarian Roger Helmer said Thursdays incident followed a party meeting that featured some lively exchanges of views.

Woolfe, who turned 49 Thursday, annoyed some party colleagues when he said that he had considered joining Britains Conservative Party because he was enthused by Prime Minister Theresa Mays commitment to social reform.

UKIP was instrumental in getting Britain to hold a referendum on EU membership, which ended in a June 23 vote for the U.K. to leave the 28-nation bloc.
SACRAMENTO  A federal lawsuit claims California officials could have stopped what it says was the assassination of a notorious California inmate who was stabbed 19 times just days after he was released into the general prison population last year.

Prison officials should have known that Hugo Pinell, 71, would be quickly targeted at the maximum security prison east of Sacramento, alleges the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Pinells daughter, Allegra Casimir-Taylor.

Pinell was a convicted killer who had been isolated ever since a bloody escape attempt at San Quentin State Prison in 1971 that left six dead. He was known as one of the San Quentin 6 and helped slit the throats of prison guards during the failed jailbreak.

The decades in isolation were often for his own protection after repeated attempts on his life, the lawsuit claims, citing two attacks in the 1980s. A white inmate threw a homemade bomb at him and he was stabbed twice in the back by a black inmate, a member of a faction of Pinells own purported prison gang.

He said in 1987 that he would refuse to leave his cell to avoid his enemies because theyre not going to give up now, says the complaint filed in federal district court in Sacramento. The lawsuit claims that the departments own paperwork warned that Pinell should not be released into the general inmate population for fear he would be killed.

California began emptying its infamous Pelican Bay security housing unit under pressure from reform groups. After 45 years in isolation, the longest such stint of any inmate, Pinell was integrated into the general prison population in August 2015.

The lawsuit claims, without providing evidence, that correctional officials bet among themselves on how long the Pinell would survive.

He was slain after two weeks.

Corrections department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Thursday that she cant comment on the pending wrongful death lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages. She specifically declined comment on the betting allegation, and said she couldnt discuss whether there were warnings in Pinells paperwork because inmate files are confidential.

The suit claims that Corrections officials knew of multiple credible death threats by various groups against Pinell, including one by the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood. It says his two alleged attackers, Jayson Weaver and Waylon Pitchford, are white inmates with an extensive history of racially motivated attacks on other inmates.

The Aryan Brotherhood wanted to kill Pinell for his purported involvement in the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang with San Quentin 6 ringleader George Jackson, who was killed in the 1971 escape attempt, Pinells attorney, Keith Wattley, said after his clients death. He said Pinell long denied any gang connection, but rallied other black inmates who refused to accept some prison policies decades ago.

Two convicted killers are awaiting an Oct. 28 court hearing on charges of murder in Pinells August 2015 death. His stabbing at California State Prison, Sacramento, set off a riot by 75 inmates that sent 10 other prisoners to outside hospitals.
IRVNE  With more than 100 Black Lives Matter protestors gathered outside of UC Irvines Student Center on Friday, Los Angeles police Chief Charles Beck, the keynote speaker at a race-and-policing symposium held inside, criticized the group for its unwillingness to engage in dialog.

The Black Lives chapter in Los Angeles is unfortunately more about making statements than having discussions, Beck said. Oftentimes, our Police Commission meetings are more about theater than substance.

Several hundred people attended the symposium sponsored by UCIs schools of Law and Social Ecology.

As Beck spoke, 20 Black Lives Matter supporters, some with clenched fists above their heads, held signs listing the names of people who have been killed by LAPD officers.

Becks remarks covered a variety of topics, including the impact of the public using social media to disseminate videos of police activity, officer body cameras, and the medias perception of the LAPD.

The conclusion of his talk was punctuated by members of the group shouting out the names of the dead. Beck quickly left the Pacific Ballroom.

Becks presence on the normally quiet, bucolic campus didnt sit well with protestors who shouted anti-police slogans  LAPD you cant hide, we charge you with genocide  and carried signs such as Blackness is not a crime and Fire Beck.

Demonstrators were made up of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, UC Irvines Black Student Union and other supporters.

This is not just a civil rights issue, but a human rights issue, said Trevor Gerard, a member of the L.A. chapter.

Manny Suarez, 25, a grad student, said he came to support the rights of students to peacefully organize: Its good to see this kind of social activity on campus and them organizing in a safe way.

About 20 counter-protestors joined in.

Ariana Rowlands, 19, a junior at UC Irvine and president of the College Republicans, held up a U.S. flag and verbally sparred with protestors.

Blue lives and all lives matter, said Rowlands, wearing a Make America Great Again hat. Were not against Black Lives Matter, but we find their stance against the police disrespectful and appalling.

Kimo Gandall, 19 and a freshman at UC Irvine, carried a Black Lies Matter banner.

This movement perpetuates anarchy, violence and lies against the police, he said of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Protests against Beck and the LAPD are not novel.

On Tuesday, protesters converged on a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting to express outrage over two recent deadly officer-involved shootings in South L.A. Beck has defended the use of deadly force in both cases.

On Friday at UCI, Beck said that LAPD officers are trained to use techniques to de-esculate potentially violent encounters but sometimes those tactics are not effective.

We police a city that can be a violent city, he said. To expect police to police a violent society with the absence of violence is unreasonable.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@scng.com Twitter :@thechalkoutline
Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company, was interviewed by Economic Club of Washington, D.C. president David Rubenstein on Wed., Oct. 5 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.



"Ford is everything that should be celebrated about what's right in the country. We didn't go bankrupt, we paid back out loans, we did it the old-fashioned way, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, " Ford said.



When Ford became CEO just prior to the recession of 2008 he borrowed $23B, which was very controversial. He felt tough times were coming and restructuring was needed.



Ford's major competitors, GM and Chrysler, eventually went bankrupt and were bailed out by the Obama administration. Ford said he advocated for this, even though it stung a bit, because if either collapsed the net effect would've taken down a number of auto suppliers as well as Ford itself.



The company has come under fire recently from Republican nominee Donald Trump for its plan to build a factory in Mexico.



Ford explained that his company is moving some small car production to a new plant in Mexico, but the net effect will be to increase jobs in Michigan because new vehicles are being put into plants in that state.



"What's so frustrating and infuriating is that I feel we've not only invested heavily in this country and are adding lots of new jobs in this country, but he [Trump] and others should look at us and say that's how you do business, you pay back your loans, and you hire people."



Ford said he has spoken directly with Trump, but did not say whether Trump has changed his mind.



"We've hired 26,000 in the U.S. since 2011 and made $12B in investments in the U.S. and Ford is currently the largest car and truck company in the U.S. making cars here although not the largest car and truck company. We make a disproportionate number of cars and trucks in the U.S," Ford explained.



Ford employees 199,000 employees, with about half in the U.S. and the majority are blue-collar workers.



Ford Smart Mobility



Ford is calling for a new approach to what it means to move people, goods and healthcare called Smart Mobility. He feels the notion that we can jam ever more cars and trucks into overcrowded cities makes no sense.



The mobility issue also expands outside of city centers.



There are $800M in the world without access to healthcare, Ford noted. He wondered if mobility could solve this problem. In India, Ford is using a connected-vehicle to go out to rural villages to transmit expectant mother's health back to hospitals in the cities so proper care can be provided.



Ford referenced a Harvard study which pointed out that the number one cause of poverty is people not being able to get to where the work is.



"What if we can enable mobility so that people can move freely, particularly around cities?" Ford asked.



View the complete interview on the Economic Club of Washington's website. For over 30 years the Club has provided a forum for prominent business and government leaders who have influenced economic and public policy.


Arnold Garcia

When people ask me what I did for a living, I tell them that I was the American-Statesmans designated pinata. I was the newspapers editorial page editor for 22 years, a local and perhaps state record for the profession, for those of you who like statistics.

An editorial page editor is combination critic, cheerleader and confessor  a portfolio that invites close scrutiny and intense criticism. When you write opinions for a living, you either develop a thick hide or go into hiding.

Despite it all, the job is professionally rewarding because it puts the occupant at an information crossroads.

An editorial page editor gets to know the communitys business, spiritual, educational and political leaders. Sooner or later, EPEs hear from most everyone who wants the newspapers support for their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Editorial page editors who do the job right also hear from working folks who do the humble but necessary jobs that keep the community moving. Some readers just want somebody to listen to them and newspaper editors are generally more accessible than politicians protected by gatekeepers.

The relationship with candidates and politicians is always a tricky one that begins when office holders show up for the editorial board meeting that informs who gets the endorsement. Back when, those who got the newspapers nod bragged about it and those who didnt downplayed, dismissed or just plain dissed the publications choice. But they all worked hard to win it.

But that was before newspaper endorsements started going the way of transistor radio.

Newspapers caught in the vicious circle of lost revenue  which contributes to lost readership, which contributes to lowered advertising rates  are shying away from endorsements. They dont make anybody happy, the reasoning goes, so why alienate readers? Then there are questions about the impact of endorsement. In top of the ticket races, endorsements arent likely to change minds. In this years presidential race, the undecided voters  those who might be swayed by an endorsement  are few.

So, why are endorsements making news? As November approaches, publications that either dont endorse in presidential races or those who are breaking with their traditional ties with Republican candidates are making news.

The Dallas Morning News, for example, which has not endorsed a Democratic candidate for president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, endorsed Hillary Clinton. So did the Arizona Republic, which has not endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate since its founding in 1890.

It's highly doubtful that the editorial staffs of either of those newspapers had any delusions that they would change minds.

In this instance, they are using their endorsement to articulate the publications values and principles. Though the editorials are generally lukewarm about Clinton, the common thread is the assertion that Donald J. Trump is unfit for the highest office in the land.

Whether you agree or disagree, the voice of the publication, is communicating its notions of what an office holder should be. It is communicating the standards that a candidate  be it for president or school board member  should meet.

They do so knowing that their judgment, taste and patriotism will be challenged. That sort of blowback comes with the territory.

The 2016 presidential race is divisive and ugly, and therefore, an opportunity for publications to let readers know what they value. Given that the easy way out is to remain neutral, taking a stand knowing that there will be consequences is what newspapers are supposed to be about.



* * *

Arnold Garcia, who spent 39 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, is a Senior Advisor at Crosswind Media and Public Relations.
There will be a range of job opportunities for Offaly candidates highlighted at next weeks Career Zoo, Irelands premier career event. Career Zoo takes place Saturday, October 15 at the Convention Centre, Dublin.

A number of companies from across the country, such as Offaly-based company FRS Recruitment, will be attending Career Zoo looking to fill positions across a number of sectors, such as technology, biotech and financial services.

Speaking in advance of the event, Jackie Slattery, Director of Career Zoo, said: Over the past number of years that weve been running Career Zoo weve noticed a real increase in the quality of candidates attending the event. They are highly professional, looking for opportunities to progress, and for companies that offer them family-friendly, flexible work options and non-pay-related perks.

The big shift is that its now a candidates market, rather than an employers market, and some of the organisations attending recent Career Zoos have made over 20 direct hires as a result, so we would be encouraging candidates from Offaly to come along next Saturday to see whats on offer to them from companies such as FRS Recruitment.

Career Zoo is Irelands premier career networking event, taking place twice each year at The Convention Centre Dublin. It attracts leading tech employers and over 7,000 attendees each time.

Career Zoo on, October 15, will have approximately 50 employers in attendance, including financial services and biopharma companies, in addition to tech-industry leaders.

The line-up will include panel discussions focused on topics such as future tech, cyber security, FinTech, big data and BioTech. There will also be coding workshops, hacks, and a series of talks on promoting diversity in tech.

The sponsors for Octobers Career Zoo are: Bank of Ireland, BMS, Enterprise Ireland, EY and Pramerica. Admission to the event is free. To register, go to www.careerzoo.ie.
As the number of breast cancer cases increases by 33% model Roz Purcell is calling on members of the public in Offaly to Paint it Pink this October as she launches the Irish Cancer Societys campaign to support people affected by breast cancer in Ireland.

Paint it Pink calls on members of the public to host a pink coffee morning or event this October and fight back against breast cancer by raising funds to support the Societys vital research, advocacy and services for those affected by breast cancer.

Every year in Ireland over 2,800 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. That figure is rising annually and according to statistics by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland there has been a 33% increase in the number of cases diagnosed over a ten year period.

However, 85% of women are surviving breast cancer, thanks to cancer research which is improving detection and treatments. The Irish Cancer Society has invested 7.5m in a five year study focused on breast cancer research.

Speaking at the launch, model and former Miss Universe Ireland Roz Purcell said, Every family has been touched by cancer, and for women, breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. This October we can help support all those on their breast cancer journey by Painting it Pink  host a coffee morning or pink event and play your part.

Members of the public can help fund vital cancer research and support services for those affected by cancer, such as Night Nursing and the Societys Freephone Cancer Nurseline, by Painting it Pink this October. Visit www.paintitpink.ie or call 1850 60 60 60 for fundraising ideas and information on breast cancer.

CEO of the Irish Cancer Society John McCormack said, We cant continue our work in the fight against breast cancer without raising significant funds, so we hope men and women across the country will get behind the campaign and Paint it Pink with us! It is through campaigns such as Paint it Pink that we can continue to fund and support exciting new research and support services for those affected by breast cancer.
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Priyanka Chopra Is Coming To India After Three Long Years And We Are Excited For Malti's First Visit
As Cabelas employees wait to hear their fate, the hedge fund that bought a big stake in the retailer last year and pressed for changes  leading to Mondays proposed sale of the company  is starting to cash out.

Its profit so far: almost $90 million.

New York hedge fund Elliott Management said in a government filing Wednesday that it had sold more than half of its more than 6 million shares of Cabelas. It announced that it had bought those shares last October, when it identified the Sidney, Nebraska-based retailer as a laggard among its peers.

Its time to make changes at Cabelas, Elliott said then  up to a sale of the entire company.

Elliott got its wish Monday when Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops said it would buy Cabelas in a $5.5 billion deal, which is expected to close next year.

The activist hedge fund is used to getting its way. It will rattle its sabers unless it does. Such funds buy big stakes in companies and then throw their weight around to force changes. They persuade other big investors to go along with their demands because the payoff can be big.

Case in point: Elliott purchased Cabelas shares for around $38.50 each, on average. It owned about $233 million worth of shares at that price. It sold more than half of them  more than 3.3 million shares  this week after the sale was announced, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Cabelas stock on Tuesday closed at $63.36 per share.

A calculation of the figures available works out to a profit of more than $88.6 million  a 73 percent increase if Elliott sold at Tuesdays closing stock price. The broader stock market during the same rough time period gained a little more than 10 percent.

They got in there to get the business sold and the business was sold, so they took it and ran, said Damien Park, managing partner at consulting firm Hedge Fund Solutions in Philadelphia. They made a fortune, so theyre happy.

An Elliott spokesman declined to comment when contacted by The World-Herald. A Cabelas spokesman also declined to comment.

The hedge fund probably decided to take a good portion of its chips off the table now, when Cabelas stock was near the $65.50 a share that Bass Pro offered to buy the Nebraska retailer.

Theres a chance  though legal experts told The World-Herald that its a small one  that the Federal Trade Commission could block a Bass Pro-Cabelas tie-up on the grounds that it would decrease competition among outdoor-focused retailers.

Elliott would just prefer to take the guaranteed money now and not sit and wait, Park said.

Because Elliotts stake in Cabelas is now less than 5 percent  down from the 9 percent stake it had before it sold shares this week  it no longer is required to report to federal regulators when it buys or sells big chunks of stock. (Shareholders that hold more than 5 percent of a companys stock are required to report to the SEC when they increase or decrease their stakes by 1 percent or more.)

That means Elliott could still be dumping its remaining shares  or it might have already done so  without needing to report the sales.

If it has sold or is in the process of selling its remaining 2.7 million shares it stands to make an additional profit of more than $60 million based on shares trading around their current $63.40, using the average price paid of $38.50. That would make a total profit, all other things equal, of around $150 million.

Lee Dunham, a finance professor at Creighton University, said it appears that Elliott has decided to start cashing in while the getting is good.

They may have other opportunities, he said of Elliott. They dont need to be hanging around for the extra $1.50 or so a share, Dunham said.

By Wednesday, in fact, Elliott already had moved on to its next target: Samsung Electronics, controlled by the powerful Lee family of South Korea. Elliott said in a letter made public Wednesday that it wanted the company to break itself up, pay a special dividend to shareholders and add more experienced directors to its board.

They accomplished what they wanted, said Nick Gantchev, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies shareholder activism.
WASHINGTON (AP)  World finance leaders are acknowledging that they must do more to deal with a growing anti-trade backlash, which they fear could worsen already sluggish global growth prospects.

How to deal with the attacks on globalization  which have been featured in the U.S. presidential campaign of Donald Trump and in the June vote in Britain to leave the European Union  is a top agenda item at the fall meetings of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund and its sister lending institution, the World Bank.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a press conference Thursday that IMF officials see growth as too low for too long and benefiting too few. She said finance leaders need to pursue policies to boost anemic growth rates and make sure that economic benefits are more widely shared.

Lagarde declined to specifically address the attacks of Trump, who contends that Washington policymakers have failed to reach good trade deals and are letting China, Mexico and other countries pursue unfair trade practices that have cost millions of American jobs and resulted in stagnant wage growth. Trump has also vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.

In Britain, the June 23 vote to leave the EU was also seen as a backlash against globalization and rising levels of immigration in Europe.

Lagarde said now was not the time to abandon efforts to increase trade flows, which she said have helped lift millions of people out of poverty, but she said policy changes were needed.

It cannot be that push for trade as we have seen it historically, Lagarde said. Rather, she said, there needed to be an emphasis on inclusiveness, the determination to make it work for all, to pay attention to those at risk of being left out.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said there are now more developing nations in recession than at any time since 2009, at the depths of the Great Recession. He blamed the rising weakness on falling commodity prices and a slowdown in trade flows. Kim said finance officials need to expand efforts to attack inequality.

We have to make growth more equitable and more sustainable, Kim said at his opening press conference Thursday.

In an updated economic outlook prepared for these meetings, the IMF said global trade in goods and services will grow just 2.3 percent this year, the worst showing since a 10.5 percent fall in trade during the depths of the Great Recession in 2009.

The IMFs updated economic outlook downgraded its estimate for U.S. economic growth in 2016 to 1.6 percent from the 2.2 percent it had predicted in July, reflecting the extremely weak start to the year. The U.S. economy grew 2.6 percent in 2015.

The IMF is projecting overall global growth this year at a lackluster 3.1 percent.

Finance officials of the worlds 20 richest industrial countries were meeting Thursday in advance of sessions with the policy-setting bodies of both the IMF and the World Bank. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen were representing the United States at the talks.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
LINCOLN  A former University of Nebraska-Lincoln student accused of assaulting a woman in her dorm room has been acquitted after a weeklong retrial.

A Lancaster County District Court jury on Thursday found Christopher W. Petersen, 19, not guilty of first-degree sexual assault.

Bob Creager, Petersens attorney, said in a statement that his client is glad the case is closed. He also wishes to express his gratitude to his family and friends who have supported and stood by him through this very difficult time, the statement read.

Petersens first trial in June ended in a mistrial after a jury deadlocked. The 12-member jury was all men.

This time the jury was split: six women and six men. Only Petersens accuser took the stand at the first trial; Petersen and the woman both testified during the second.

Prosecutors have said the encounter at Sandoz Hall following a Husker tailgate party in September 2015 began with consensual kissing. At some point, they said, she told Petersen that shed perform further acts only with a boyfriend and that she didnt trust him.

To convict him, prosecutors needed to prove that the woman reasonably made known to him that she didnt agree to the acts.

Petersen told investigators that the woman didnt directly say no and sent him mixed signals.

Petersen, who is now attending college in Arizona, was barred from UNLs campus after the woman reported being sexually assaulted. A UNL spokesman said Friday that Petersen has not been enrolled at the university since fall 2015 and that there has been no change in his status.
COUNCIL BLUFFS  A tanker truck fire at an ethanol plant south of Council Bluffs left the trucks driver critically injured Friday afternoon and sent flames and smoke billowing into the sky.

Firefighters from multiple agencies were called to the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy plant at 10868 189th St. about 3:30 p.m. The fire was brought under control about an hour later, according to the Council Bluffs Fire Department.

The smoke was visible from miles away, and at least one explosion was reported at the plant, alongside Interstate 29. The blazing trailer was about 250 feet from southbound traffic and in full view.

A medical helicopter was sent, and one male patient, believed to be the trucks driver, was flown away in critical condition.

Authorities believe the driver was loading his tanker with ethanol when the fire started.

We have no idea what caused it, said Assistant Chief Jim Wheat of the Council Bluffs Fire Department.

Information on the driver and what company he was driving for was not released on Friday.

Firefighters used alcohol-suppressant foam to blanket the ethanol. After the fire was under control they continued to spray water to cool the tanker to keep the remaining gas from igniting. Firefighters remained on the scene past nightfall.

Some half-dozen agencies in addition to Council Bluffs responded, Wheat said. Lewis Townships fire department was primary, and departments from McClelland, Carter Lake, Silver City and elsewhere assisted.

The Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy plant, which produces 125 million gallons of ethanol per year, is located on 275 acres. The fire occurred in the ethanol load-out area.

Brian Cahill, president and CEO, said in a statement: Our thoughts are with the truck driver as he receives medical care tonight. All of us at SIRE are very grateful for the prompt response. ... Our first responders and SIRE personnel all performed well and as planned through advance training for this kind of emergency.
More than 20 years ago, Douglas County Commissioner Mary Ann Borgeson was managing a medical technology company. Back then, public office never crossed her mind. She took the political plunge in 1994, at the encouragement of her husband, Bob, and has been working for the public good ever since.

As an elected official, Borgeson champions a variety of causes but one in particular stands out  the Veterans Housing Unit at the Douglas County Correctional Center in Omaha. It's the first rehabilitation program of its kind for inmates in Nebraska and one of about a dozen in county jails nationwide.

Open to all incarcerated male veterans who meet intake criteria, the military-structured unit is particulary laser-focused on helping those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health issues, and other life challenges.

Ive always been a proponent of providing services that people need for mental health issues, and there is a direct connection between mental health and veterans in jail, said Borgeson, chair of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. I asked myself, How we can deal with this?

The Veterans Housing Unit, which will mark its first anniversary in November, is proving to be a key piece of the puzzle. At the three-month mark in February, the unit already was exceeding expectations, according to Douglas County Corrections Department Director Mark Foxall.

Described by Borgeson as a working experiment, the unit operates from a base of respect and understanding and is overseen by corrections officers who are veterans.

Currently, about 40 incarcerated veterans are housed in the unit.

Some are serving sentences for misdemeanor crimes. Others are awaiting trial on felony charges, which could lead to prison time. Some have been convicted of felonies and are awaiting sentencing. All go through their day in a structured environment similar to military boot camp. All participate in rehabilitative programs, activities and support groups. And all have access to services from the VA and other veteran support networks.

Borgeson salutes a select group of inmates for contributing to the final unit layout and days structure. They came up with the routine, the military symbols on the walls, the morning calisthenics, right down to the pledge they say together. We wanted this to be by them as well as for them.

Their input was important "because it gave them buy-in toward its success, said Borgeson, the first public official to receive the Public Sector Award from the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington, D.C., and a four-time recipient of the Nebraska Association of Counties Presidents Award for leadership in health and human services and juvenile issues.

The Veterans Housing Unit provides a familiar environment for the veterans as they serve their sentences and take advantage of agencies and programs offering help with everything from substance-abuse addiction and mental health issues to military discharge upgrades, education, housing and employment.

Theres definitely a brotherhood among veterans, no matter the branch, and having correctional officers who are fellow military veterans makes a big difference for those in the unit, said Borgeson, who serves on the board of RESPECT, an anti-bullying group, among others. There is a strong camaraderie that definitely works as the inmates prepare for discharge.

Inmate Justin Polland, 30, and recently diagnosed with PTSD after suspecting it since age 17, said the past four months of military-style discipline and positive messages have helped keep things moving in the right direction for him while awaiting an Oct. 7 court appearance.

Described by his corrections officer as a team leader, the former U.S. Marine said his post-release action plan includes being in my 6-year-old daughters life again  every day.

Vicente Buenrostro  "Panda to his comrades  is resident comedian, Spanish interpreter and self-appointed ombudsman. I speak up for people who are afraid to say things, he said. Incarcerated 5 months now, the 24-year-old said he has learned about himself in more ways than he thought possible through rehab.

Gerry Crawford, the Grandpa of the unit at 59, was using a walker when he arrived last March. Today the U.S. Navy vet has graduated to a cane, thanks in part to daily P.T. (physical training). Crawford hopes to go before the Veterans Treatment Court early next month to determine his next steps.

Give me a hand up, not a hand out, he said. His dream: To take what Ive learned here and help other vets . . . This place has opened my eyes to so much stuff. I had no idea of the VA services when I left the service 40 years ago. I never knew I had PTSD until I came here.

While some might cite Borgeson as a fearless unsung hero for the work she does on behalf of all citizens of the county, the commissioner said her work really is a calling  one she didn't realize she had until entering the political arena.

Being an elected official, its my responsibility to bring issues to the forefront so we can discuss them and find solutions so they dont get shoved under the rug, said Borgeson.

Her next step, she said, is to work with the University of Nebraska at Omaha to develop a data analysis to gauge success of the Veterans Housing Unit.

No matter how long it might take, its worth it to me to fight the battles, and mental illness, especially among our homeless and veterans.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE  With a flourish of drumrolls and the ceremonial unfurling of unit flags, the Air Force on Thursday activated a new command group to operate and maintain its fleet of giant E-4B Nightwatch aircraft.

About 300 guests, most of them members of the new unit, gathered in a hangar alongside one of the giant jets for the installation of Col. Robert Billings as commander of the new 595th Command and Control Group.

The group has the grim but essential task of continuing national communications in the event of nuclear war. The four E-4Bs  military versions of Boeing 747-200 jets  would serve as the National Airborne Operations Center for the president, defense secretary, and joint chiefs of staff following such a catastrophe.

Bottom line: We cant fail, Billings told the airmen. This mission is too important.

Four squadrons will fall under the 595th Group. One is new, and the three others are existing units realigned under the groups command.

Todays an extremely important day. Its a momentous day of change, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of the Eighth Air Force, who presided at the event. Were getting bigger, stronger. Were telling the world we take this business very seriously.

The aircraft also can support the Federal Emergency Management Agency following natural disasters.

The E-4s were developed in the mid-1970s. The Nightwatch mission was once operated by the Offutt-based Strategic Air Command, which was disestablished in 1992 after its Cold War mission ended.

In recent years, Billings said, the E-4Bs command, maintenance, communications and operations units fell under different Air Force major commands. That caused significant organizational problems.

Now each of those four functions has been assigned to a separate squadron, newly united under Billings group. Billings, in turn, reports to the Eighth Air Force at Barksdale Air Force, Louisiana. It falls under the Air Force Global Strike Command, also at Barksdale, which in turn is a part of the Offutt-based U.S. Strategic Command.

Now weve tied them all under one enterprise, Billings said. Its the same mission. Nothings changed, just a different command structure.

He said the unit will have about 550 members, including 43 new positions. Most of them will move to Offutt early next year.

The squadrons now falling under the 595th are:

 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron, led by Lt. Col. Anthony Shafer. It traces its roots to the Armys Company A, 2nd Balloon Squadron, established at Fort Omaha in 1917.

 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, a newly created unit led by Lt. Col. Douglas Dodge.

 595th Strategic Communications Squadron, led by Maj. Andrew Kasperek. It split off from 55th Strategic Communications Squadron and has been renamed.

 625th Strategic Operations Squadron, led by Lt. Col. Deane Konowicz. It was activated at Offutt in 1996 as the 625th Missile Operations Flight and renamed in 2007.
LINCOLN (AP)  Lincolns tax rate probably will go up next year after the mayor won his lawsuit to force the City Council to fund his budget.

County District Judge Robert Otte ruled in favor of Mayor Chris Beutler on Wednesday, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. The judge ordered the City Council to set a tax rate of over 30 cents per $100 of estimated worth for the mayors budget.

The court finds the mayors proposed budget was deemed to have been adopted by the council, and the council has a ministerial duty to set a tax levy which balances the mayors budget.

The councils Republican majority argued that the councils original budget should be the legal budget and that the mayor did not have the authority to veto it.

However, Judge Otte pointed out that the council members opposed to the budget could have overturned the mayors veto with five votes but failed to do so.

The councils Republican majority had only four of the five votes needed to override the mayors veto under the city charter.

Though four members of the council voted for a biennial budget prior to the deadline, that budget was invalidated by the mayors veto, Otte wrote.

Councilman Roy Christensen said he and the other Republican council members will decide whether to appeal the ruling or to approve the higher tax rate after speaking with their attorney.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Lincoln Electric System has sent employees and vehicles to help Florida public power utilities with power-restoration efforts associated with Hurricane Matthew, LES said on its website.

Thirteen LES employees and seven trucks were headed to Vero Beach, Florida. The LES crews are prepared to respond to any power outages once conditions in Florida are safe to do so, officials said.

The American Public Power Association, made up of more than 2,000 community-owned electric utilities in the United States, helped coordinate the assistance effort. LES is a member of the mutual aid network.

The Omaha Public Power District is not planning to send any crews to Florida, said Jason Kuiper, an OPPD spokesman.

Mark Becker with the Nebraska Public Power District said Friday that NPPD has not yet been asked to send crews to areas hit by Hurricane Matthew. OPPD and NPPD also are members of the mutual aid network, the spokesmen said.
A 63-year-old man died Wednesday in Cass County when a vehicle he was working on rolled on top of him, authorities said.

Wayne L. Gerdes of Johnson, in Nemaha County, was pinned by the vehicle at a house on Beaver Lake in Murray, the Cass County Sheriffs Office said.

Authorities were called to the scene about 9:30 p.m. Gerdes death was an accident, the Sheriffs Office said.

Gerdes was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he was pronounced dead.
Many rural areas in Nebraska have few if any lawyers, and thats not a laughing matter.

All Nebraskans, regardless of where they live, need proper access to the legal system, whether for wills, real estate transactions, estate or business needs or criminal matters.

Eleven of Nebraskas 93 counties have no lawyer and 20 other counties have three or fewer attorneys, the Nebraska Bar Association says. In many cases, those lawyers are in their 50s or 60s, with retirement not that far ahead.

Although many rural Nebraska residents are used to driving long distances for many needs, its in the public interest for all the states citizens to have ready access to legal advice and help.

Several Nebraska institutions deserve a salute for stepping forward to address this need through whats called the Rural Law Opportunities Program.

Its a partnership, encouraged by the state bar, in which the University of Nebraska College of Law is working with the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Chadron State College and Wayne State College.

Those three schools will recruit rural students to apply for the program. If the students meet requirements for factors including grade-point average and LSAT score, they will be provisionally accepted by the NU College of Law.

Wayne State has already begun to promote the effort, which takes its inspiration from the existing Rural Health Opportunities Program that aims to boost Nebraskas number of health care professionals in rural counties.

Nebraskans are all in it together, and its in our common interest to ensure that all parts of the state are adequately served. Kudos to the institutions that have joined together on this forward-looking initiative.
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services leaders say they will need to reimburse big bucks  potentially up to $32 million  to the federal government for billing errors made at the state level.

This is a major failure by HHS. The problem originated in July 2014, during the administration of then-Gov. Dave Heineman, when the agency adopted an incorrect billing approach for providers of developmental disability services paid for by Medicaid.

That Nebraska will need to scrape together millions of dollars in federal reimbursement is especially galling right now, given the tremendous budget challenges Nebraska is facing.

The current HHS leadership and staff deserve a measure of commendation for belatedly discovering the disability services payment errors, and as files are checked, the amount owed to the feds may well come in below the possible $32 million.

That said, this new Medicaid error remains discouraging. Under the last administration Nebraska had to reimburse the federal government $13 million to replace federal funds mistakenly spent on developmental disability programs. Before that, state taxpayers had to replace $25 million a year in funding for the Beatrice State Developmental Center after federal officials penalized the state for problems at the center.

Part of the record, too, is the recent state audit about HHSs subpar handling of $13 million in uncashed drug rebate checks to the state from pharmaceutical firms.

No doubt about it, the Nebraska HHS has an immense set of duties. Its important, difficult work, and the departments progress in areas such as child welfare deserves public appreciation.

But unforced errors such as this Medicaid issue undercut public confidence and, next year, could make an already difficult budget year that much more challenging.
Cauvery row: High level technical team from Delhi in Karnataka today

Bengaluru

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Oct 7: A high level technical team would begin inspection of the dams in the Cauvery basin on Friday.

The team will be headed by G S Jha, the chairman of the central water commission in the Ministry for Water Resources. The team would visit the Thailuru, Somanahalli and Madarahalli catchment areas in Maddur, around 80 kilometres away from Bengaluru.

The team also has scheduled a visit to the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam at 6.30 pm on Friday. The team is visiting these areas following a directive by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had earlier this week directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu between October 7 and 18.

Also read: Cauvery row: When Nariman told Supreme Court, "Do not embarrass me"

The court had also directed a technical team to visit the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The team would have to submit its report to the Supreme Court on October 18 when the matter comes up for hearing next.

Karnataka will appraise the team about the shortage of water. Officials in the Karnataka government would tell the team that there has been a shortage of water and would express its inability to release water in large quantity to Tamil Nadu.

OneIndia News
Tamil Nadu in disarray, impose President's rule, urges Subramanian Swamy

Bengaluru

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Oct 7: Citing administrative disarray, Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to impose President's rule in Tamil Nadu.

In a letter to the Home Minister, Swamy says that the union government should declare President's rule in Tamil Nadu in view of the administrative disarray following the indefinite hospitalization of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her having to remain for health reasons incommunicado.

He says that a retired chief secretary has been allowed to conduct the business of the state. During this ad hoc administrative situation, there has been an activisation of sleeper cell of the ISIS in the districts of Ramnathpuram, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari.

The collaborative and supportive action by the Dravidian Kazhagam, left over LTTE and disruptive groups such as underground naxalites are trying to create and upheaval in the state causing massive disorder and lawlessness, Swamy also writes.

Also read: Jayalalithaa continues to improve, requires longer stay, say doctors

"Hence, I urge the home minister to invoke article 356 of the Indian constitution," he wrote. He also sought that the assembly be placed under suspended animation.

Swamy also says that AFSPA in all southern districts and Chennai be imposed for six months, till Jayalalithaa is able to attend office.

"Apollo hospital has made it clear that she is required to remain in hospital for a further period. Hence the preemptive action by the union government is not only constitutional but also urgent," he writes.

OneIndia News
Stamp of duty

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee with Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha releasing postage stamp as Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha claps during the "At Home" hosted by the Chief of the Air Staff on the occasion of 84th Anniversary of Indian Air Force at Air House in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

United we fight

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha in a group photo with IAF personnel during the "At Home" hosted by the Chief of the Air Staff on the occasion of 84th Anniversary of Indian Air Force at Air House in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

The dialogue

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha during the "At Home" hosted by the Chief of the Air Staff on the occasion of 84th Anniversary of Indian Air Force at Air House in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

Defence pe charcha

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the "At Home" hosted by the Chief of the Air Staff on the occasion of 84th Anniversary of Indian Air Force at Air House in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI
TRS govt should come to rescue of farmers: Renuka Chowdhury

Hyderabad

oi-PTI

Hyderabad, Oct 6: Stating that farmers in some Telangana districts have suffered huge losses due to supply of "fake" seeds, senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury today urged the TRS government to come to their rescue and provide compensation.

"In the districts of Nalgonda, Khammam and Warangal lot of fake seeds were distributed due to which crops failed (both Rabi and Kharif) for the past few seasons and farmers suffered huge losses," the former Union minister told reporters here.

"Farmers had no relief...though there was a Rs 771-crore input subsidy released by the Centre, but the state government has not deposited one paisa into the farmers' (bank) accounts," she alleged.

The Rajya Sabha MP also questioned why despite the state having agricultural universities and institutions, seed certification was not done.

"My demand is that the state government should attach properties of such spurious seed companies and pay compensation to farmers, who are now under a lot of pressure. Their loans should be paid by the state and free quality seeds should be provided immediately to farmers for the next crop.

Besides, under MGNREGA farm labour should be supplied to farmers," Chowdhury demanded. On the ongoing process of formation of new districts in Telangana, she alleged it was not being done in a scientific manner.

"There have been no public hearings and no scientific method of application and no one knows how the districts have been formed," she said. Chowdhury accused the TRS government of working only for rich people and serving only them.

"The two-BHK houses to poor and allotment of three acres of land to poor Dalit families is nowhere in sight. Instead, MLAs and MPs (from other parties), who have crossed over into TRS are given valuable land at throw-away prices," she alleged.

PTI
'Blast' sound in Gujarat's Porbandar was from firecracker: Navy

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Ahmedabad, Oct 7: Authorities were on alert on Friday morning after a sound resembling a blast or a gunshot was heard near a naval base at Porbandar in Gujarat's Saurashtra, but it turned out to be a bursting firecracker, officials said.

According to police, the sound was heard by a guard deployed at the naval base, following which a search operation was launched.

"The sound heard at Porbandar was from a firecracker," Navy spokesperson Captain D.K. Sharma said.

Defence bases across the country have been put on alert since the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab in January.

An army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir was attacked by terrorists on September 18, in which 19 soldiers were killed. It was followed by surgical strikes by the Indian Army along the Line of Control on the intervening night of September 28-29.

On Wednesday, the Border Security Force seized a boat with nine Pakistanis on board in the Sir Creek area adjoining Gujarat's Kutch district close to the Pakistan maritime border.

IANS


Delhi Deputy CM summoned in DCW recruitment scam

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Oct 7: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has been summoned by the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) for questioning in the case of illegal recruitments at the Delhi Commission for Woman, an official said on Friday.

"ACB on Thursday summoned Manish Sisodia to appear before it on October 14 for questioning regarding the illegal recruitments at the DCW," Special Commissioner Of Delhi Police Mukesh Kumar Meena, who also heads Anti Corruption Branch, told IANS.

The ACB had earlier twice questioned DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal. An FIR was also registered against her.

ACB registers case against Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal

The FIR was lodged under Section 3 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, apart from Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, following a complaint filed on August 12 by former DCW chief Barkha Singh Shukla in connection with the illegal recruitments.

IANS
Right to Information: How many men and women filed RTI queries in last 8 years? Details inside

Right to Information Act, 2005: Everything you need to know

Govt depts to put RTI responses online sans personal info

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Oct 7: All central government departments were today asked to put copies of RTI applications received and their responses on their websites except applicants' personal details "as they do not serve any public interest".

As per norms, all public authorities shall proactively disclose RTI applications and appeals received and their responses, on the websites maintained by them with search facility based on key words.

"It is clarified that while proactively disclosing RTI applications and appeals received and responses thereto, on their website, the personal details of RTI applicant or appellant should not be disclosed as they do not serve any public interest.

"It is further clarified that the personal details would include name, designation, address, e-mail id and telephone number including mobile number of the applicant," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order issued to all central government departments.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, which was enacted by the UPA government, empowers a citizen to seek a time-bound reply on information related to governance.

PTI
Pak committing atrocities against people in PoK, will have to bear consequences: Rajnath Singh

Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh

Indo-Pak border to be sealed by December 2018, says Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Vicky

Jaisalmer, Oct 7: Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the Indo-Pak border will be sealed by December 2018. The announcement was made after a meeting with Chief Ministers.

The meeting was held with the Chief Ministers of four bordering states to review the security situation along the border in the wake of escalating tensions with Pakistan.

Singh said at Jaisalmer that Chief Ministers had given their suggestions. "We will move towards sealing the border with Pakistan completely by 2018 December," he also said.

The home minister is on a two-day visit to review the security along the Western Border. Singh is also expected to visit the outposts along the border during his visit.

Also read: Pakistan posturing itself aggressively along LoC, reports Intelligence Bureau

Meanwhile, the Intellgence Bureau has told the government about a build up of forces by Pakistan. The IB reported that Pakistan is building troops along the border as they anticipate a strike by India.

Further the report also says that there has been a considerable amount of security that has been stepped in major cities such as Lahore. Indian army, on the other hand, has already reported five ceasefire violations by Pakistan in the past week.

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Story first published: Friday, October 7, 2016, 14:15 [IST]
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Pakistan violated ceasefire 25 times post surgical strikes

India

oi-PTI

Jammu, Oct 7: Pakistani troops have violated ceasefire over 25 times along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir since the September 29 surgical strikes by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to destroy terror launch pads.

"There have been over 25 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after the surgical strikes," a senior Army officer said today.

The major ceasefire violations took place on 3, 4 and 5 October along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region. On October 5, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire thrice and resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling to target several Indian posts and civilian areas in three sectors in Poonch and Rajouri districts of J-K, provoking retaliation by the Indian Army.

Three soldiers had suffered minor injuries, while nine Pakistani armymen were injured in the retaliatory action by India. On October 4, Pakistani troops targeted 10 forward areas with mortar shelling and firing with five ceasefire violations on Indian posts and civilian areas along the LoC in four areas of Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts.

Pakistan parliament resolution says Kashmir not an integral part of India

They shelled mortar bombs and opened small and automatic weapons in Jhangar, Kalsian, Makri in Noushera sector of Rajouri district and Gigriyal, Platan, Damanu, Channi and Palanwala areas of Pallanwala sector of Jammu district and Balnoi, Krishnagati in Poonch district. One jawan had sustained injuries in the action.

On October 3, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire four times and restored to heavy firing and mortar shelling in Saujian, Shahpur-Kerni, Mandi and KG sectors in Poonch district, where five civilians were injured and several shops set ablaze after a shell triggered fire in oil containers in a security force camp.

On October 2, Pakistan resorted to firing and shelling from 19:15 hours along LoC in forward areas in Pallanwala belt of Jammu district. On October 1, Indian posts and civilian areas were shelled with mortar bombs, RPGS and HMGS amid small arms firing along LoC in Jammu sector.

On September 30, Pakistani troops had opened fire from small arms along the LoC in Pallanwala, Chaprial and Samnam areas of Akhnoor sector of Jammu district. Last year, 16 civilians were killed and 71 others injured in 405 incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistan.

PTI
Rahul's comments should not be seen out of context: Cong

India

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Lucknow, Oct 7: Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar today defended party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" barb, saying it should not be seen "out of context".

"All Congressmen have immense faith in the army whether it is me, Rahul Gandhi or party president Sonia Gandhi. We salute the army personnel and are with them...but, we are against political propaganda," Congress general secretary (in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh) Azad told reporters here.

"It was a way of expressing and it should not be seen out of context. We support the army and there is no question on that...we are against politicisation of the army action," said Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Babbar, while flaying the BJP for "attempting to cook up a controversy over the remark for political gains".

The duo also took on BJP president Amit Shah for his remarks on Gandhi earlier in the day and alleged that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was yesterday felicitated in Uttar Pradesh for the army's recent surgical strikes in PoK, did not utter a word about the five army jawans from the state who were killed in the Uri terror attack.

"Rahul Gandhi has proved that his politics is for the poor and the deprived and he will continue to raise his voice for them," actor-turned-politician Babbar said.

BJP raps Congress for defending Rahul Gandhi on 'Dalali' jibe

The two leaders flagged off the 'Rahul Sandesh Yatra' which will spread the message on the issues raised by the Congress vice-president during his 26-day 'Deoria to Dilli Kisan Yatra' across the state.

As a follow up to the yatra which concluded at Delhi yesterday, Uttar Pradesh Congress will take 'Rahul Sandesh Yatra' to all the 75 districts of the state from October 13-27 in the run-up to the Assembly election due early next year.

PTI
After eight years of focusing on real estate projects in HCMC, real estate developers now tend to eye land in the southwestern region of the country.







However, instead of building residential quarters and industrial zones, they are now focusing on retail and tourism real estate projects.To date, all the three large retail chains, including South Korean Lotte and Vietnamese Saigon Co-op and Vingroup, are present in Mekong Deltas provinces.Saigon Co-op is a pioneer in exploring the southwestern market. However, not all expansion plans have succeeded.In 2003, Co-op made its presence in Cao Lanh City of Dong Thap province. However, it had to give up its place to another enterprise. Only in 2014 did Saigon Co-op return to Cao Lanh.The retailer has opened one more supermarket in Sa Dec town of the province and is considering an investment opportunity in Hong Ngu town.Lotte does not hesitate to expand its network to non-HCMC provinces. In October 2015, the 11th Lotte Mart, covering an area of 18,000 square meters, was inaugurated in Can Tho City with the investment capital of $60 million.The South Korean group last July opened a shopping mall, 10,000 square meters in floor area, in Nha Trang City. This is its 13th shopping mall opened in the last eight years of operation in Vietnam.Discussing the plan to develop a network of 60 shopping malls and Lotte Marts by 2020, Hong Won Sik, Lotte Mart Vietnams general director, said the number of shopping malls in non-HCMC provinces would account for 85 percent of total.Lotte Mart prefers building supermarkets itself, accepts the land lease and considers merger & acquisition (M&A). It does not like the mode of joint venture with local partners, an analyst commented.In 2013, Lotte bought a land plot with an area of 7,500 square meters from Nam Bay Bay Company to build Lotte Phan Thiet, a shopping mall in Binh Thuan province.Vingroup, a big real estate developer, has geared up with its plan to expand the network.After starting the Vincom Plaza project in Cao Lanh City, in July 2016, it had a working session with the local authorities on the project on building Vincom shopping mall in Sa Dec town.To date, Vingroup has invested nearly VND1 trillion in the projects in Dong Thap province. Unlike other enterprises, which develop property projects for separate purposes, Vingroup develops many different items at the same time in some localities.A lot of investors have followed Vingroup, flocking to small provinces to develop tourism real estate projects. In mid-2015, SAPro kicked off the 5-star condotel & resort project in Ben Tre province.
'Shaurya Diwas': Rajnath Singh says J&K entered new era of peace & prosperity after Article 370 abrogation

Pak committing atrocities against people in PoK, will have to bear consequences: Rajnath Singh

India's defence a notch higher with launch of 75 vital BRO projects in 6 states and 2 UTs, including J&K

Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh

News flash: Cop killed after terrorists attack a police post in J&K

India

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By Oneindia Staff Writer

Oct 7: Rajnath Singh to chair meeting of 4 states whose boundaries touch Pakistan, with top BSF officials in Jaisalmer. In other news, Supreme Court to pass order on Lodha Panel's plea to issue directive against BCCI.

Get all the latest news updates of the day:

10:20 pm: Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu attends Bathukamma festival celebrations in Hyderabad.

9:40 pm: One policeman dead, one civilian injured after terrorists attack a police post in Jamnageri area in Shopian district.

9:20 pm: One Naxal killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district.

9:00 pm: We condemn people who are demoralising army,asking for proof: J&K Dy CM Nirmal Singh



8:40 pm: Rahul Gandhi is doing dirty politics: Nirmal Singh, J&K Deputy CM

8:15 pm: Medical camps conducted for villagers in border areas in Akhnoor.

7:45 pm: ED attaches assets worth Rs 36.81 Crores in Delhi in a case of bank fraud by Surya Vinayak Industries Ltd (SVIL).

7:25 pm: Rajasthan: HM Rajnath Singh and MoS Home Kiren Rijiju take stock of security situation in the wake of mounting tension between India and pakistan after Indian Army launched surgical strikes, destroying terror launch pads across LoC on sept 29.

Rajasthan: HM Rajnath Singh and MoS Home Kiren Rijiju visit border areas in Jaisalmer to take stock of security situation pic.twitter.com/8goG5gC8uO  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

7:05 pm: BJP held 2 pressers, and proved that they are doing politics , they are using Surgical Strikes for political gain: Randeep Singh Surjewala.

6:54 pm: Chhattisgarh: 5 kg tiffin bomb recovered by security forces from Kondagaon district, later safely defused.

6:49 pm: As a father of two little children,I pray and wish like many others that together we can build and live in a more peaceful world: Fawad Khan.

6:40 pm: Received numerous requests asking me for my thoughts on the sad incidents that took place in the past few weeks: Fawad Khan, Pakistani actor

6:31 pm: Wife of BJP leader Dayashanker Singh (who was sacked for his remarks against Mayawati) appointed UP BJP women's wing president.

6.11 pm: Their (people) anger is justified, I am not seeking forgiveness but punishment: Om Puri on his comment on surgical strikes.

5.53 pm: Hurricane Matthew death toll in Haiti rises to 478, say Haitian officials: Reuters.

5.32 pm: Climate change,financing for development,how to increase people to people ties, counter-terrorism among the agenda: Amar Sinha, MEA Secretary.

5.31 pm: We have confirmation from all the BRICS leaders regarding their participation in BRICS Summit in Goa: Amar Sinha, MEA Secretary.

5.12 pm: Stand taken by Centre on the Cauvery Issue is against the interest of farmers and they will never forgive the Govt for this: M K Stalin.

4.51 pm: Religious practices cannot be impediment to rights and aspirations of individual woman irrespective of religion she practices, says Centre in affidavit on triple talaq.Gender equality is non-negotiable says centre.

4.50 pm: Practices of triple talaq and polygamy not essential part of religion and get no protection under fundamental right to religion, it says.

4.45 pm: What does Congress mean by saying that BJP made Jaish e Mohd? You know who will be happy with this comment? The ISI: Ravi Shankar Prasad.

4.31 pm: I do appreciate the surgical strike, now the mission has been accomplished so lets focus on other important issues: Shatrughan Sinha.

4.30 pm: LG Najeeb Jung declares the reconstitution of Delhi Waqf Board and appointment of CEO as illegal and void ab initio.

4.29 pm: Fire breaks out in a fire cracker factory in Sivakasi (Tamil Nadu), five fire tenders at the spot.

4.28 pm: Centre in affidavit on triple talaq: 'There is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights'

4.27 pm: Now lets forget about surgical strike and all the related controversies, and move on with development: BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha.

4.15 pm: Centre files an affidavit on triple talaq in SC: 'Validity of triple talaq & polygamy should be seen in light of gender justice'.

4.06 pm: SC also asks Anurag Thakur to file a personal affidavit on details of his conversation with ICC Chief regarding Lodha recommendations.

3.36 pm: Lodha committee recommendations matter: Next hearing in Supreme Court on 17th October on BCCI.

3.50 pm: SC says state associations will not get funds unless a resolution is passed to implement justice Lodha committee reforms.

3.45 pm: Supreme Court bars BCCI from releasing funds to state associations.

3.42 pm: We will soon form a Bastar battalion and select ppl from 4 local districts to increase employment opportunities: Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh.

3.15 pm: Capital punishment to Nithari serial killing case accused Surendra Koli in Nandan Devi's murder case.

2.57 pm: 38 yr old woman from Nagpur murdered in her flat at Sapana Raj valley apartment, Sangolda in Goa.

2.45 pm: They said that we wanted to take this surgical strike to people, which show how they have politicised the matter: Kapil Sibal.

2.35 pm: Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2016.

2.32 pm: Capital punishment to Nithari serial killing case accused Surendra Koli in Nandan Devi's murder case.

2.18 pm: Hearing on the BCCI matter has been adjourned to October 17.

1.40 pm: The Supreme Court today stayed the Bombay High Court order allowing women into Haji Ali Dargah.

1.20 pm: News of explosion erroneous, it was a fire cracker that exploded near Porbandar naval base: Navy

1.19 pm: Supreme Court stays Patna HC order striking down State Govt's liquor ban policy

1.10 pm: Explosion at Porbandar Naval base in Gujarat.More details awaited

1.00 pm: Jayalalithaa is recovering and I am sure she will be alright soon: Rahul Gandhi after visiting Tamil Nadu CM in hospital.

12.45 pm: The pitch is good and we can plan well looking at the wicket and the conditions: Virat Kohli ahead of Indore test on ind vs nz.

12.30 pm: Anti-India slogans written on Kashmiri apples, such as "we want freedom" and "Indian dogs go back"in Sirsa (Haryana)

12.27 pm: I agree taking political mileage of surgical strike is not right but we will go to people about the success of the country's army: Amit Shah.

12.22 pm: Whole nation, Government of India, BJP supports Indian Army; We believe in army's bullets, not politicians' statements. People who want to have a proof should go and take analysis of what is happening in Pakistan, they will learn a lot: Amit Shah.

12.20 pm: We have not politicised the surgical strike but yes at local level some of our members have got enthused with patriotic zeal after strikes: Amit Shah.

We have not politicised #surgicalstrike but yes at local level some of our have got enthused with patriotic zeal after strikes: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/Zjy536hoyA  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

12.18 pm: I condemn this. Govt tried to keep this as far from politics as possible. In fact it was DGMO who spoke at the press conference about the surgical strikes. Some parties have not only insulted not our army but the soldiers who lost their lives as well: Amit Shah.



12.14 pm: Some parties are raising question on surgical strike. I think that demeans the Army's success, it aims to politicise the issue. From the beginning we tried to not politicise the strikes: Amit Shah.

12.07 pm: I congratulate the media for the role it has played in boosting the morale of the armed forces after surgical strikes: Amit Shah.

I congratulate the media for the role it has played in boosting the morale of the armed forces after surgical strikes: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/DkoxoPk57g  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

12.05 pm: BJP President Amit Shah addresses press conference.

11.52 am: Rahul Gandhi arrives at Apollo Hospital (Chennai) to pay a visit to Jayalalithaa.

Rahul Gandhi arrives at Apollo Hospital (Chennai) to pay a visit to Jayalalithaa pic.twitter.com/03RX3MQSqd  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

11.40 am: Subramaniam Swamy has urged the Home Minister of India to impose President's rule in Tamil Nadu.

Subramanian Swamy writes to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, urges him to impose President's rule in Tamil Nadu. pic.twitter.com/fgmIN2b0CR  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

11.12 am: Rajnath Singh chairs meeting of 4 states whose boundaries touch Pakistan, with top BSF officials in Jaisalmer.

HM Rajnath Singh chairs meeting of 4 states whose boundaries touch Pakistan, with top BSF officials in Jaisalmer pic.twitter.com/QNji6EPqyJ  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

10.45 am: Rajnath Singh reaches Jaisalmer on a two day visit to Rajasthan, welcomed by Rajasthan CM at the airport.

HM reaches Jaisalmer on a two day visit to Rajasthan, welcomed by Rajasthan CM at the airport (pic: HMO) pic.twitter.com/hMxX3g9vQD  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

10.34 am: Malaysia says debris recovered from Mauritius is from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

10.25 am: ACB summons Delhi's Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in matter of alleged irregular appointments made in DCW.

10.17 am: I fully support surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally. But I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country: Rahul Gandhi

the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country (2/2)  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using..(1/2)  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

10.05 am: No incidence of ceasefire violation has happened in Poonch (J&K) today: Defence PRO Lt. Col Manish Mehta.

9.42 am: Movement of some suspicious persons seen in Jourian (Akhnoor, J&K); search operation underway.

9.00 am: 10-12 member team of NIA to begin probe on Langate (Handwara) encounter from today: ANI.

8.15 am: Want the Kashmir issue to be worked out between both sides, we want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down: John Kirby, US Dept of State.

8.08 am: US President Obama declares state of emergency in Florida on Hurricane Matthew.

8.00 am: Supreme Court to hear Haji Ali Dargah plea challenging the Bombay HC order lifting ban on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum.

7.45 am: Supreme Court to pass order on Lodha Panel's plea to issue directive against BCCI.

OneIndia News
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Rape case: SC notice to RJD MLA on Bihar plea against his bail

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Oct 7: The Supreme Court today sought the response of suspended RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav, who is facing trial in a case for allegedly raping a minor girl, on a plea by the Nitish Kumar government challenging his bail granted by the Patna High Court.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana issued notice to Yadav asking him to file his response by October 17, the next date of hearing. Bihar government counsel Gopal Singh urged the bench to stay the high court order and said the statement of the alleged victim was being recorded in the trial court.

However, the bench refused to stay the order and said "we have issued the notice without even asking you".

Singh had said that Patna High Court had erred in granting bail to Yadav in a heinous case like this. Yadav had allegedly raped the minor girl at his residence in Biharsharif on February 6 this year.

After evading arrest for considerable time, he surrendered after a local court issue proclamation notice and an order to attach his properties for not surrendering before the police.

The Bihar Police, in its charge sheet, has also named a woman and her relatives as accused on the ground that they had been allegedly supplying women to the suspended RJD MLA representing Nawada Assembly constituency.

The RJD suspended Yadav from the party on February 14, a day after his arrest warrant was issued. The grant of bail to Yadav created a furore in the state as opposition parties led by BJP accused the Nitish government of facilitating the relief.

The state government had come under severe criticism recently after RJD leaders like Yadav and Shahabuddin managed to get bail from the High Court in separate cases.

PTI
RLD's Jayant Chaudhary faints on stage in Mathura

India

oi-PTI

Mathura, Oct 6: Former Mathura MP and RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary today fell on the stage and fainted while addressing a meeting at a village here, party sources said.

However, he regained consciousness after a while, they said. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) spokesperson in Mathura Pawan Chaturvedi said, Chaudhary fell on the stage as soon as he stood up to address the audience at Mandi Samiti in Kosikalan village. "He was rushed to Delhi," Chaturvedi said, adding the meeting was cancelled.

Chaudhary was addressing the meeting to conclude his 15-km foot march from Kotwan to Kosikalan village on the Haryana border during which he raised the issues concerning farmers.

Earlier, during his march, he condemned those "questioning the conduct of army" in the wake of surgical strikes along the LoC.

"We may have differences but it is not proper to raise question on army," he said. Referring the present environment of frontiers, he said, "Nobody wants war since aftereffects of war are disastrous. However, people in the border areas have virtually been forced to leave the area, abandoning their crop," he stated.

He said like Prime Minister Relief Fund, a separate fund for families of martyrs should be set up. He said if voted to power in the state he would start 'Shaheed Smriti Gram Vikas Yojana' Jayant lamented that 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' slogan of by former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri has been "converted by both the governments- Centre and Uttar Pradesh government- into 'Maar Jawan Maar Kisan'(indifferent attitude towards both)."

PTI
Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

SC stays Patna HC order quashing Bihar liquor ban law

India

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New Delhi, Oct 7: Supreme Court today stayed the operation of the Patna High Court judgement quashing the Bihar government's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor in the state.

A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit, issued notices to all respondents including some liquor manufacturers on whose plea the high court had held as illegal and unconstitutional the Nitish Kumar government's prohibition law and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, the Nitish Kumar government came out with a new law banning the sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on the Gandhi Jayanti day on October 2.

Supreme Court stays Patna HC order striking down State Govt's liquor ban policy  ANI (@ANI_news) October 7, 2016

PTI
Tamil Nadu Governor discusses Cauvery, administration with senior ministers

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Chennai, Oct 7: Tamil Nadu Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao on Friday met two senior AIADMK ministers and the state Chief Secretary to discuss the Cauvery water issue and the General Administration in the state in the aftermath of hospitalisation of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the Raj Bhavan said.

Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam, Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Chief Secretary P. Rama Mohana Rao met the Governor at the latter's request, the Raj Bhavan said in a statement.

At the meeting, the Governor enquired about the health of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who was admitted in the Apollo Hospitals on September 22.

The Governor also enquired about the arrangements made for the visit of a high-level central technical committee on the Cauvery water issue and the information to be presented to it so as to protect the interests of the Tamil Nadu farmers.

According to the statement, Palaniswami explained in detail the arrangements made and the related matters.

We aim to distribute water judiciously: Cauvery technical team

The Chief Secretary briefed the Governor about the state's administrative affairs being carried out on a day-to-day basis and other general matters.

While the meeting was on, speculation was rife as to the purpose of the meeting since it was called a day after the Apollo Hospitals said Jayalalithaa will require a longer stay at the hospital.

IANS
As the countdown clock struck zero, rocket of Aakash BYJUS took off from Bandra Bandstand

Tata Teleservices to shell out Rs 4,500 crore for spectrum

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Oct 6 Tata Teleservices made total commitments of Rs 4,500 crore mainly to protect its spectrum holding in three circles, including highly-lucrative markets of Mumbai and Maharashtra, in the five-day auction that ended today.

It was important for Tata Group company to get spectrum in Mumbai and Maharashtra circles as its licence in these circles is set to expire next year.

According to sources, the company has shelled out Rs 4,500 crore in the auctions for acquiring spectrum in three circles, including Rs 2,400 crore for purchasing 5 Mhz spectrum in the 1800 Mhz band in Mumbai.

Sources added that the company bid agressively against the likes of Idea Cellular to secure the required spectrum.

In Mumbai, where the base price for 1800 Mhz spectrum was set at about Rs 1,430 crore, the company ended up paying a heavy premium to protect its holding, they said.

The company has also acquired 5Mhz spectrum in Maharashtra circle for Rs 1400-1500 crore, while in Andhra Pradesh, it has acquired 2.4 Mhz spectrum for Rs 500 crore.

PTI
'Another feather in cap': Mamata on WB's highest success rate in All India Trade Test

'Is this acceptable?' Mamata Banerjee on Hindu Mahasabha's depiction of Mahatma Gandhi as Asura

This Durga Puja pray to Maa Mamata Banerjee

India

oi-Maitreyee

The festival of Durga Puja is best experienced in Bengal. The biggest Hindu festival of the Bengalis has got a touch of politics this time. And we are not kidding about it. An idol of goddess Durga modelled on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Chakdah, a suburban town in Bengal, has caught the attention of all.

The Chief Minister's idol as Maa Durga installed at the pandal in Chakdah is creating a lot of buzz among the devotees. Reports say thousands visited the pandal to pay obeisance to Durga Didi (Mamata Banerjee is well-known among her fans as Didi, meaning elder sister in Bengali).

The 5.5 feet idol, like the politician is dressed in her signature white-and-blue-border, white sari and slippers.

"The 10-hand fibreglass idol shows the politician holding symbols of/indicating towards the various government schemes she introduced in past five years, while ruling the state. The 10 hands are attached separately to Banerjee's statue, which portrays her with folded hands," reported The Indian Express.

The background features all the 25 districts of the eastern state. The idol also showcases some of the popular schemes introduced by the Chief Minister during her tenure.

You can watch the video of the Bengal Chief Minister as Goddess Durga here:

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, October 7, 2016, 13:47 [IST]
Explained: What the SC said and how is Talaq-e-Hasan different from triple talaq

Triple talaq, polygamy not integral to Islamic practices: Centre to SC

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Oct 7: The Union government on Friday told the Supreme Court that 'triple talaq', 'nikaah halaal' and polygamy as practised by the Muslims in India were not "integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices."

"The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reforms goes to establish that the practise in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practices of Islam or essential religious practices," argued the government in an affidavit filed on Friday.

Referring to the changes in the personal law that have already taken place in Islamic countries, the government has cited the instances of changes in marriage laws in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Muslim law board: Men must have triple talaq, else they'll kill wives!

"It is noteworthy that even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of the law and therefore in a secular republic like India, there is no reason to deny women the right available under the constitution," it said in its response to top court's September 5 order asking it spell out its position on the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce and maintenance, including triple talaq.

An apex court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had by their October 16, 2015 order, issued notice to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and the National Legal Service Authority as it directed the separate listing of a PIL addressing the question of the rights of Muslim women.

Triple Talaq: "Don't confuse right to religion with allowing unfair practise"

The government said that the question of triple talaq, where husbands can summarily divorce their wives by pronouncing the word 'talaq' thrice, 'nikaah halaal' under which a divorced couple cannot remarry unless the woman marries again and becomes single again through divorce or death of the second husband, and polygamy needs to be considered in the light of the "principle of non-discrimination, dignity and equality".

IANS
Was Jeddah suicide bomber Fayaz Kagzi, a resident of Maharashtra?

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Oct 7: India made several unsuccessful attempts since 2013 to get a man called Fayaz Kagzi extradited from Saudi Arabia. There were various problems that arose which led to the failure of having this man extradited. The effects of this delay may have hit Saudi Arabia hard, as it is now being suspected that Kagzi may have been the Jeddah suicide bomber.

The Maharashtra police has written to the centre seeking details from Saudi Arabia about a person called Abdullah Qalzar Khan, who they suspect could be Fayaz Kagzi. The Maharashtra police is investigating an arms haul case in which Kagzi is an accused.

On July 4 this year the Al-Haram Al Nabawi mosque at Medina was targeted by terrorists in which four Saudi Arabian security personnel were killed. After the probe, the Saudi Interior ministry had said that the bomber was Kagzi, a resident of Beed in Maharashtra.

Who is Fayaz Kagzi?

Fayaz Kagzi is not an unfamiliar name in India. He was an accused in the Aurangabad arms haul case of 2006. His name figured in the interrogation report of Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Abu Jundal who was arrested in connection to the Mumbai 26/11 attack.

Kagzi's name also cropped up in an investigation pertaining to the Indian Mujahideen. Kagzi, who fled India after the Aurangabad arms haul case took shelter first in Pakistan and then in Saudi Arabia. He has been instrumental in handling the Indian Mujahideen from Saudi Arabia.

While India had put up a request in 2013 itself for the extradition of Kagzi, the Saudi Arabian authorities had demanded more information and proof from India. At that time India had also cited the call records of Indian Mujahideen chief, Yasin Bhatkal. There were 480 calls that were made by Yasin and in most of them he mentions Kagzi.

Kagzi and his associates were seen to be controlling the IM operations. Apart from arranging funds for their operations, Yasin is also heard discussing recruitments and also providing a safe hideout for some of the operatives who were on the radar of the Indian agencies.

Yasin, who used the number 9990985606, was in touch with an operative by the name Muzzafar Kola. This man according to the Intelligence is a close aide of Kagzi and handled the finances.

It was Kola who arranged for funds to be sent to India through a hawala network. Kola in fact received the funds raised in Saudi and Dubai and channelized it through an operator in New Delhi.

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Story first published: Friday, October 7, 2016, 12:51 [IST]
Ban Ki-moon appeals for global solidarity in tackling migrant crisis

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Rome, Oct 7 United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday praised Italy for its efforts in hosting and rescuing thousands of refugees and migrants, and appealed for global solidarity in tackling migrant crisis.

Ban made his remarks after meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella here.

The outgoing UN secretary general held talks also with president of the Upper House Pietro Grasso, and of the Lower House Laura Boldrini.

Such meetings focused on major international issues, including the war in Syria, the Libyan situation, and the migrant crisis, according to an official statement.

"I commend the generosity of the Italian people and government in hosting and rescuing so many human beings, who are risking their lives on the high seas in search of a better life," Ban told reporters after talks.

"Italy should not be left alone. We need global solidarity to face this unprecedented crisis," he added.

The UN chief also praised the support Italy has been providing to the UN blue-helmet peace operations around the world, in terms of both troops and logistics.

Ban is expected to be replaced by former head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR Antonio Guterres by Jan. 2017.

The Italian authorities acknowledged Ban's achievements during his visit to the country, which was likely to be the last one as UN secretary-general.

"In the last 10 years, under his guide, the UN have achieved historic results in areas key to international co-existence," Mattarella told a press conference.

Mattarella mentioned the crucial fields of development and of governance of the climate change.

"In particular, I am thinking about the adoption of the 2030 Agenda (for Sustainable Development), and the Paris agreement on climate change," he said.

The Paris Agreement just entered into force this week, triggered by the ratification of the parliament of the European Union (EU). "Yet, the list of Ban's achievements is longer than that," Mattarella added.

"I want to mention his crucial commitment on the migrants issue, as a global responsibility of the international community, on the gender equality, and on the fight against discrimination and violence," he said.

--IANS

ahm/
Bolsonaro and Lula jabs at each other in debate

Brazil's Lula probed for membership in corruption ring

International

oi-PTI

Brasilia, Oct 7 Brazil's ex-president Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva will be probed for alleged membership in a crime ring organising the mass looting of the state oil company Petrobras, the Supreme Court has said.

Justice Teori Zavascki yesterday authorised the inclusion of Lula, who already faces other related corruption charges, in a group of politicians suspected of organizing an embezzlement ring at Petrobras.

Prosecutors had previously named Lula, 70, as the mastermind of the huge corruption scheme in which a network of executives, politicians and big contractors plundered Brazil's flagship national company.

The probe into the scheme has already seen a Who's Who of Brazilians investigated, charged or convicted, shaking the country's elite to the core. However, no concrete evidence has been presented so far of Lula's role as the ringleader. '

The leftist former president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying his multiple legal problems related to the Petrobras scheme are a campaign to knock him out of contention for returning to power in the 2018 presidential election.

On Wednesday, he was charged separately with having taken a bribe in relation to a sweetheart deal obtained by a nephew from construction colossus Odebrecht for a hydroelectric project in Angola.

Lula was earlier charged with taking bribes from OAS, another construction company that, like Odebrecht, has been heavily linked to the Petrobras scheme.

Lula served from 2003-2010 and left office with sky-high ratings and international approval for his work lifting tens of millions of Brazilians from poverty while presiding over an economic boom. He remains one of the most popular potential candidates for 2018, opinion polls show.

However, the Workers' Party, which he founded, was trounced in municipal elections on Sunday and Lula's legacy severely tainted by corruption scandals and the steep decline of the economy.

AFP
Hurricane Matthew spares South Florida, pushes north

International

oi-PTI

Cape Canaveral (US), Oct 7: Hurricane Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early today, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared.

Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the hurricane pushed north.

"Remember, it could be the worst of it is yet to come," Gov Rick Scott said in the morning. Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds.

Still, it got close enough to knock down trees and power lines, and a 107 mph gust was recorded at Cape Canaveral. As the storm closed in, an estimated 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to move inland to escape the fury of the most powerful hurricane to menace the US Atlantic coast in more than a decade.

In pics) Hurricane Matthew wreaks havoc

Matthew left more than 280 people dead in its wake across the Caribbean. As it moved on to Florida, it largely skirted the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach areas of over 7 million people and hugged closer to the coast farther north, menacing such communities as Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville.

Some people who refused to evacuate were stranded and called for help early today but were told to stay put until conditions improved enough for paramedics and firefighters to get to them, said emergency operations spokesman David Waters in Brevard County, the home of Cape Canaveral.

"A family called in that the roof just flew off their home on Merritt Island," Waters said. It was a scene officials hoped to avoid in other cities as the storm pushed north. In Jacksonville, where 500,000 people were told to evacuate, Mayor Lenny Curry warned that authorities would not be able to help them during the worst of the storm. "You need to leave.

If you do not leave you will be on your own," Curry said. Despite warnings, many people along the Florida coast decided to take their chances.

In Cape Canaveral, John Long rode out the storm in his 32-foot camper in a park a half-mile from the beach. He lost power shortly before dawn but quickly fired up his generator. Small tree branches battered the vehicle but the large ones on the park's giant oak trees didn't fall. "It was kind of loud and kind of shaky but nothing that caused too much concern," he said.

AP
Hurricane Ian: PM Modi conveys condolences to Joe Biden over loss of lives

Biden vows to 'rebuild it all' in Puerto Rico after Fiona

International news brief: 28 dead as hurricane Julia drenches Central America with rainfall and more

Storm Roslyn likely to be a hurricane, hit Mexico's tourism

Mexico: Two dead as Hurricane Roslyn weakens after landfall

In Pics: What made headlines across the world

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Oct 7: Thousands of people living along the US southeast coast were asked to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Mathew hitting Florida head on.

Even as the hurricane approached Florida, US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida. Hurricane Mathew that already hit the Caribbean claimed nearly 300 lives. Over 250 people were killed in Haiti alone after the hurricane made landfall.

The hurricane also stormed Cuba, where several homes were destroyed and many were homeless.

In other news, newly crowned Miss Venezuela has said that Donald Trump fat shamed former Miss Univer Alicia Machado. "I don't share this gentleman's opinions, but we have to be tolerant and respect everyone's opinion," Keysi Sayago said.

Here are some pictures that made headlines across the world:

Hurricane Matthew wreaks havoc in Cuba An elderly man, who was in the hospital before Hurricane Matthew hit, is carried back to his home in a hammock, in Baracoa, Cuba. Cleaning up after Hurricane Matthew Forecasters said Hurricane Matthew gained new muscle over the Bahamas and they are also expanding the hurricane warning area further up the Southeast Atlantic seacoast from Florida into Georgia. Donald Trump faces the ire of new Miss Venezuela Newly elected Miss Venezuela has said that Donald Trump 'fat-shamed' former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. Bill Clinton at Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (JBJSF) benefit gala Former President Bill Clinton attends the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (JBJSF) benefit gala, celebrating ten years of combatting hunger and homelessness, at The Garage in New York. G-20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors pose for a pic G-20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors group photo, during World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters in Washington. Michelle Obama at the harvest of the WH Kitchen Garden President Barack Obama hugs first lady Michelle Obama, during a surprise visit at the harvest of the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn in Washington.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, October 7, 2016, 15:06 [IST]
Fact Check: Did Trump thank Musk for welcoming him back to Twitter

New Miss Venezuela takes issue with Trump's attacks on Machado

International

oi-PTI

Caracas, Oct 6 The newly crowned Miss Venezuela today took issue with Donald Trump's attacks on her predecessor Alicia Machado, who says the US presidential candidate "fat-shamed" her when she was Miss Universe.

"I don't share this gentleman's opinions, but we have to be tolerant and respect everyone's opinion," Keysi Sayago, 23, told a press conference in Caracas a day after being crowned Miss Venezuela 2016.

Machado, who was Miss Venezuela in 1995 and Miss Universe the following year, has surged into the spotlight of the US election since Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton named her as an example of her Republican rival's mistreatment of women.

During their first debate last week, Clinton lashed out at Trump for publicly humiliating Machado after she gained weight following her beauty pageant win.

Machado accuses Trump, who formerly owned the Miss Universe pageant, of verbally abusing her during her reign.

She says the billionaire real estate magnate called her "Miss Piggy" over her weight and "Miss Housekeeping" because she is Latina.

The polemic later escalated into a late-night Twitter tirade by Trump, who trashed Machado as "disgusting" and urged voters to "check out (her) sex tape and past." Pressed by reporters, Sayago avoided wading into the dispute, but repeated: "I don't share (Trump's opinion), but I respect it."

Sayago, who was crowned in a far less lavish ceremony than usual in recession-racked Venezuela, also spoke about the economic crisis gripping the country. Venezuela, a major oil exporter, has been hit by severe shortages of food and basic goods as global oil prices have plunged since 2014.

"It affects all of us. We haven't been spared. But we've tried to keep ourselves in a bubble, because at the end of the day this is a beauty pageant," she said. "We couldn't let ourselves get swept up in all the bad things. This gave the country a reason to smile."

Beauty pageant-obsessed Venezuela has won the Miss Universe crown seven times, second only to the United States, with eight.

AFP
Peace in Kabul only via Kashmir: Pakistan tells US

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Oct 7: For the first time, Pakistan has linked peace in war-torn Afghanistan to the resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying a solution to both is required for peace and they cannot be "compartmentalised".

"Road to peace in Kabul lies in Kashmir in the sense that when you talk of peace, you cannot compartmentalise peace, you can't segregate a section... ok you can have peace in Kabul and let Kashmir burn. That is not going to happen," Pakistan Prime Minister's special envoy on Kashmir Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said here.

"So you (US) talk of a comprehensive peace settlement, so let the people of South Asia not be hostage to the hostility of the past. Let them move forward," said Syed, Chairman of the Pakistan Senate's Defence and Defence Production Committee said during an interaction at Washington-based think-tank Stimson Centre.

He is accompanied by Shezra Mansab, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, as Special Envoys of Pakistan Prime Minister on Kashmir. "Our core issue this time is Kashmir and no peace can prevail in the region, if this issue is not solved. It is an international dispute. It is not an internal problem.

The stakes are very high now, we are nuclear neighbours so we need to have peace on the issue of Kashmir and then rest of the things can be solved," Mansab said. She added that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has offered peace talks "without any preconditions" but it has been consistently rejected by India.

"The way to move forward is negotiations. We are ready to talk on any subject. It is India which says that it is willing to talk about only one subject.

We are ready to talk on that subject as well as other subjects," she said. Referring to the lackluster response that they received during their visit to Washington DC, Michael Krepon of the Stimson Centre asked as to why the US should interfere in this.

"Why, when it is so hard for the US to my embarrassment to get involved in more helpful way in Syria, why should the US listen to the argument to be more involvement in Kashmir," Krepon said, adding that the situation in Kashmir is much better than many other conflict prone areas of the world, including Syria. The two Pakistani envoys had no clear explanation to it.

PTI
In his maiden visit to Russia since Ukraine war, Jaishankar to hold talks with Lavrov

UN criticism of Trump prompts Russian response

International

oi-PTI

Geneva, Oct 7: Russia's government lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top UN official's condemnations of Donald Trump and some European politicians, diplomats told, an intervention that underscores the unusual links between the Republican presidential nominee and the Kremlin.

There is no evidence Trump sought Russia's assistance, or was even aware of the criticism by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights. Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal "demarche" to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Septmber 13, according to three diplomats familiar with the conversation.

Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced "demagogues" and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Islamic State propaganda.

In a speech in Cleveland three months before Republicans gathered there to nominate Trump, Zeid said: "Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture."

"In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack disguised as courageous taboo-busting on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society," he said. Demarches, or formal, diplomatic communications, are everyday occurrences.

At the United Nations, they're generally used to question broader foreign policy questions and sometimes used to complain. But they rarely center on specific individuals, let alone involve a Russian complaint about how the UN is treating an American politician.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to several requests for comment. Churkin's personal intervention could add to questions about the relationship between Trump and Russia.

Trump has praised Putin's strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on November 8.

He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated; wrongly suggested Russia hasn't entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east; and he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state.

The diplomatic complaint could revive charges that Moscow is interfering in the presidential election, following accusations by the US government that Russia sponsored cyber-intrusions like the hack of the Democratic National Committee's emails.

AP
US disappointed with the way Russia, China exercise veto power

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Oct 7: The US is disappointed with the way Russia and to some extent China have been exercising their veto power in the UN Security Council to blunt global efforts for peace in Syria, the White House has said as it underscored the need to reform the powerful wing of the world body.

"We have been deeply concerned by the way Russia has used its veto power on the UN Security Council to prevent as much action from the UN as we would like to see," White House Press Secretary Josh earnest said.

"I know there has been a broader and, in some ways, more esoteric discussion about proposed reforms of the UN Security Council and the way that it works. I know there have been some proposals to enlarge it. Our friends in India are certainly interested in benefitting from reforms like that," Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

India has been strongly pushing for reform of the UN Security Council and getting its permanent membership. He said as it relates to the situation in Syria, the US' most urgent concern is with the way Russia has used their veto authority on the Security Council at the UN.

"The United States has been disappointed at the way in which Russia and to a certain extent China have wielded their veto authority on the UN Security Council to blunt international efforts to limit the violence inside of Syria," the White House spokesman said.

"We have been disappointed that they have used that veto to protect (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad. There have also been movements at the United Nations Security Council to raise concerns about the conduct of individuals in that conflict and to ensure that they are met with some accountability.

Those accountability measures have been blocked by the Russians," Earnest said. There are other examples of the US being able to work effectively outside the auspices of the UN to implement sanctions in a coordinated fashion to maximise the impact of those sanctions, he said. The situation in Ukraine is the best example where the US has been able to work effectively with its European allies to impose tough sanctions against Russia, Earnest said.

PTI
US reiterates Kashmir a bilateral issue

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Oct 7: Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has reiterated that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between the two South Asian nations.

"On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir," US State Department spokesperson, John Kirby, said in the daily press briefing here on October 6.

The State Department's comments came as India-Pakistan relations have ebbed to a new low with multiple cross-border attacks and the Indian Army engineered surgical strikes at terror "launch pads" across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Indian Army carried out the surgical strikes during the intervening night of September 28 and 29, causing "significant casualties" to the terrorists and "those who are trying to support them".

This came after the September 18 attack on an army camp at Uri town in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 19 soldiers dead and a similar attack in Baramulla town in north Kashmir in which a Border Security Force trooper was killed.

These attacks took place amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which around 90 lives have been lost following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in a gunfight with security forces on July 8.

Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in his address at the UN General Assembly session last month, alleged that India was causing human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

But Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, effectively finished off the Pakistani rhetoric saying in her UN speech that Islamabad should stop state sponsored terrorism. Pakistan was called into question for human rights violations by its security forces in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

India also pulled out of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled to be held at Islamabad in November.

Pakistan went sabre-rattling with its Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif, saying that his country's "tactical devices (read nuclear) were not showpieces and would be used against India if its security was threatened".

Kirby, however, said yesterday that the US is confident that Pakistan has all its security controls in place as far as the country's arsenal is concerned, adding that he would look forward to discussing the matter specifically with them.

IANS

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Story first published: Friday, October 7, 2016, 12:49 [IST]
US warns citizens against non-essential travel to Pakistan

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Oct 7: The US today warned its citizens against non-essential travel to Pakistan, saying the country continues to experience "significant" terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks.

"Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks," State Department said in its latest travel warning on Pakistan. This replaces the previous travel warning of April 7.

"The Department of State warns US citizens against all non-essential travel to Pakistan," the travel warning said, adding that throughout Pakistan, foreign and indigenous terrorist groups continue to pose a danger to US citizens.

Targeted attacks against government officials, humanitarian and non-governmental organisation (NGO) employees, tribal elders, and law enforcement personnel are common, the travel warning said.

Evidence suggests that some victims of terrorist activity have been targeted because they are Americans, it said. Terrorists and criminal groups regularly resort to kidnapping for ransom, the advisory said.

Now Indian hackers unleash surgical strikes on Pakistan cyberspace

The State Department also noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) concerning the risks to civil aviation operating in Pakistan, particularly at low altitude, during the arrival and departure phases of flight, and when on the ground, due to extremist/ militant activity.

The Advisory NOTAM does not prohibit US operators or airmen from operating in the specified area, as it is strictly an advisory notice, it said.

PTI
Pakistan posturing itself aggressively along LoC, reports Intelligence Bureau

New Delhi

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Oct 7: The Pakistan army's aggressive posturing along the Line of Control has been reported to the government of India by Intelligence Bureau officials. The Pakistan army has been building up forces along the border areas. Further, deployment of a large number of soldiers has been reported from Muzzafarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Intelligence Bureau officials also say that there has been a considerable build up of forces in major cities such as Lahore. This is being done as a pre-emptive measure by Pakistan as they are worried that the Indian army would strike.

India, however, points out that it is ready for any eventuality. Moreover the Indian forces only resort to retaliatory fire if ceasefire violations by Pakistan are found.

The Indian army has already reported that there have been at least 5 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control. The Pakistan forces have been using mortars to target Indian positions.

While on one hand, the Indian army deals with the ceasefire violations, the other trouble is the militants who have already infiltrated into the Valley.

Counter insurgency operations by the Intelligence Bureau and the army have already begun. The forces are going all hog to flush out the militants.

There are many militants who have infiltrated taking advantage of the unrest in the Valley. Most of the militants are being preserved to launch fresh wave of attacks during the winter, the Intelligence Bureau also says.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, October 7, 2016, 11:23 [IST]
A high level technical team would begin inspection of the dams in the Cauvery basin on Friday. The team will be headed by G S Jha, the chairman of the central water commission in the Ministry for Water Resources. The team also has scheduled a visit to the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam on Friday.
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by  Graham Pierrepoint



Despite two major world wars and a varied history of conflict having erupted across the globe over the centuries, it was not long ago that our planet was once described as being under peace time  however, according to the latest results of the Global Peace Index, there are fewer and fewer countries in 2016 that are genuinely free from conflict or risk of war and/or terrorism. In fact, there are exactly ten, according to the Indexs research and findings  and the list may surprise you.

Out of all countries analysed and surveyed for the Index this year, the vast majority were deemed to still be steeped in a form of conflict either internally or externally  covering civil war, internalized conflict or out-and-out attacks on other countries. Its been determined, therefore, that Chile, Panama, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Botswana, Mauritius, Qatar, Vietnam, Switzerland and Japan are the only nations currently free from conflict of any kind  ergo making them arguably some of the safest to visit and live in based on their avoidance of any internal or external feuds.

According to The Independent, Brazil has recently found itself removed from the main list, with GPI representation advising that the world has generally gotten that little bit less peaceful in the past year. It must then be considered  when was the last time we genuinely experienced peace time  and will it happen again any time soon? The GPI advises that the Middle Eastern conflict provides a large chunk of the conflict data, and that unrest and war is drifting over into other countries from areas such as Afghanistan and Syria.

While the GPI advises that some countries are arguably becoming more dangerous, others are in fact becoming more peaceful  but it is further indication that the world is still very much a frightening place to live in, no matter where you may be. If you live in one of the GPIs safe ten, you may well be at liberty to feel a little safer than people elsewhere in the world  but as society ebbs and flows, and as conflict rolls on in all corners of the globe, the GPIs work must be taken into account as a stark reminder that we are far from a peaceful planet  yet there is hope that such dangers may decrease.
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GBGA to Challenge UK Point of Consumption Tax at EU Court of Justice

Published October 7, 2016 by Ivan P

The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association is ready to battle the UK Point of Consumption Tax before the EU Court of Justice, claiming unlawful restrictions.

The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) is all set to restart their battle against the UK Point of Consumption Tax before the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The POC tax was introduced in December of 2014 and the GBGA believes that its only goal was improving the UK government income.

Point of Consumption Tax in a Nutshell

The POCT introduced a new regulation, forcing online operators who accept bets from UK customers to pay a 15% tax regardless of where they are located. Naturally, this had a huge impact on those operators whose operations are located offshore.

Gibraltar and Malta were among the most affected territories, due to the fact that they host a number of big online gaming companies. The newly imposed regulation cut deeply into their profits and led to the GBGA taking a legal action against the UK, claiming that the POCT discriminates against Gibraltar-based operators.

GBGA Claims "Unlawful Restrictions"

In their case against the UK which the UK High Court forwarded to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the GBGA invokes Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The GBGA representatives claim that 15% tax represents the breach of the mentioned article, as it imposes restrictions on the supply of services.

The EU law is quite clear on the matter. However, what is not so clear is the fact that the Article 56, and Treaty as such, only apply to full member states. The UK side claims that Gibraltar, as a territory under the control of United Kingdom, doesn't qualify as such.

Potential Implications

It will certainly take a few months before the EU court reaches its final verdict. However, the UK will be awaiting anxiously, as the decision in favor of the GBGA would have very serious financial implications.

It's not only that the UK would have to revoke their Point of Consumption Tax, but they would probably be forced to return all the income that resulted from the tax, which would be a huge blow on the country's budget.
Kiev Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference 2016 Summary

Published October 6, 2016 by Ivan P

Kiev Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference gathered nearly a thousand guests and participants, exchanging their thoughts and ideas on relevant topics.

On September 23, Kiev hosted a Blockchain & Bitcoin conference, gathering around a thousand guests in total and covering a wide range of relevant bitcoin and blockchain topics. The conference gathered numerous expert speakers and it was divided into three sections, catering to novices, experts, and developers alike.

Kiev Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Highlights

By splitting the Conference into three different sections, the organizers hoped to create an atmosphere where everyone, regardless of their level of knowledge, would feel comfortable and would have access to the lectures tailored to meet their expectations.

Newcomers were introduced to concepts like cryptocurrency, blockchains, and bitcoin. Maxim Krupyshev, CEO of Cubit, in charge of this section expressed his surprise and delight about the amount of knowledge displayed by newcomers. He explained that most people in the audience have already been familiarized with the topics and had some very interesting and unexpected questions.

The expert section touched upon the issues like legislation, future of bitcoin mining, as well as possibilities of creating digital currencies on a national level. This section included many notable speakers, from the IBM representatives to developers and various startup founders who shared their thoughts and ideas.

The developers spent time doing what they do best, writing and talking code and making adjustments to mining stations. They went through the most often coding mistakes and conducted security tests during the workshop part of the Conference.

Lessons for the Next Conference

According to Michael Chobanian, KUNA bitcoin agency founder, more than 70% of those who were in the audience in Kiev cannot be defined as newcomers, as they already have a very solid knowledge on the topics. Thus, the next conference, taking place in Moscow in November, will do away with the newcomers section, replacing it with another one.

Generally speaking, guests and participants of the Kiev Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference were pleased with what they were presented and with the pleasant atmosphere. A big number of attendees is a great sign and an encouragement for the future efforts.
Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

Former Deutsche Bank trader Antoine Cornut has revealed plans to liquidate his $500m London-based hedge fund that was backed by Saba Capital and Reservoir Capital, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing people with knowledge on the matter.

The report said that Cornut has started the process of returning money to investors in Camares Capital, the hedge fund he founded in 2013, with the backing of Boaz Weinstein, founder and manager of Saba Capital and Dan Stern, president of Reservoir Capital.

Cornut has worked for Weinstein at Deutsche Bank and left the bank in 2012 after working there for almost five years where he was in charge of flow-credit trading in the Americas and Europe. Two former Deutsche Bank employees, Askin Aziz and Julien Marie, joined Cornut at Camares Capital as partners.

The move by Cornut to shut down his fund comes at a time when the hedge fund industry is beset by poor returns, rising cost of regulatory compliance and difficulty in raising new capital.

Information released by Singapore-based data provider Eurekahedge showed more hedge funds are shutting down than launching since 2015. At least 530 hedge funds have closed shop in Asia since 2015 comp......................

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Opalesque Industry Update - Perella Weinberg Partners has announced that Joseph S. Lovell has joined the firm as a Managing Director in its Advisory business. Based in New York, Mr. Lovell will be a member of the Firms Financial Institutions Group (FIG), working closely with Partner Titus Leung to provide strategic and financial advice to clients in the asset management sector. Mr. Lovell has approximately 15 years of investment banking experience. He joins from Wells Fargo Securities, where he was most recently a Managing Director focused on strategic advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising transactions in the asset management space. Prior to that, Mr. Lovell worked at Credit Suisse in the Financial Institutions Group, with a particular focus on cross-border transactions. He began his career in London at Fox-Pitt Kelton, an investment bank. Peter Weinberg, Founding Partner and Head of Advisory at Perella Weinberg Partners, said, Joes global experience, particularly with clients in the asset management industry, is a welcome addition to our team. We expect to see increased transaction activity amongst asset managers due to continued globalization, new regulations and evolving investor demands across asset classes, vehicles and distribution channels. Our Firms dedication to strengthening the coverage of our FIG group will ensure we continue to provide clients with trusted advice to help them meet their strategic needs. Joseph Lovell stated, I am excited to join Perella Weinberg Partners, a well-respected independent advisory firm. The Firm has a strong reputation for providing strategic and financial advice, and I look forward to advising clients as a member of this talented team. Perella Weinberg Partners is a leading independent, client-focused financial services firm providing advisory and asset management services to a broad, global client base, including corporations, institutions and governments. The Advisory business advises clients on mergers, acquisitions, strategic and capital structure advisory, financial restructuring and capital raising. The Asset Management business includes a suite of hedge fund strategies, private investment funds and outsourced CIO solutions. Together with its affiliates, the Asset Management business has capital commitments and managed assets of approximately $10.2 billion. With approximately 450 employees, Perella Weinberg Partners maintains offices in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Denver, Dubai, and San Francisco.
Opalesque Industry Update - The US is the dominant component of the global hedge fund community, accounting for 72% of the approximately $3.1tn of global assets under management (AUM), as of 30th June 2016. Although other regions are emerging as regards hedge fund activity, the US is home to 3,170 of the 5,092 (62%) institutional investors active in hedge funds, and 3,209 of the 5,377 (60%) active hedge fund managers tracked by Preqin. The US hedge fund industry has also seen strong growth in recent years, increasing by $13bn in the first half of 2016  despite global outflows  and by $138bn since the start of 2015. Moreover, in Preqins recent survey of over 270 hedge fund managers, notably more US-based managers reported an increase (26%) in the proportion of their AUM allocated by investors than reported a decrease (4%), depicting a positive outlook for the US hedge fund industry. Key US Hedge Funds Industry Facts:

 Fund Terms: Hedge funds located in Pennsylvania charge the lowest average performance fee (17.54%) of the top 10 most active US states, with funds based in Virginia charging the highest average fee of 20.00%. Massachusetts-based vehicles charge the lowest mean management fee, at 1.25%, while those located in Illinois have the highest fee of any state (1.58%), on par with New York-based funds (1.57%).  Fund Performance: Hedge funds based in Texas have generated 3-year annualized performance of 8.96%, the highest of any of the top 10 US states, while Virginia-based vehicles have recorded returns of 8.13%. Hedge funds in Illinois, Connecticut and Massachusetts have fared less well over the same period, with annualized returns of 2.54%, 2.80% and 2.88% respectively.  New York: Over one-third (37%) of US-based fund managers are based in New York, and collectively these firms hold $1.1tn worth of assets  36% of global industry AUM. Furthermore, New York represents nearly half (46%) of US-based funds incepted since 2009.  Investors by State: New York has the most active institutional investors (544) of any state in the US, while California are second in the list with 341 investors located in the state. The 77 New Jersey-based investors have an average current allocation to the hedge fund industry of 18.8%, by the far the highest of any state. Bg

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Bernie was right about a lot of things, but one thing in particular -- we must elect Hillary! Being a long-term Progressive/Democratic Socialist/Humanist/Bright, I certainly didn't come to that conclusion easily and I'm not switching my affiliation for the reason(s) that one might suppose. It simply boils down to a matter of time, as the degradation of our country, indeed the world, will occur more rapidly under a Trump presidency than one under Clinton.

So, what could a four year Clinton presidency provide? Well, it could give those of us who are still sane, enough time to organize and be prepared to "clean house" in the mid-terms and after Hillary's first term expires. What am I talking about when I talk about, "cleaning house?" Well, it seems obvious, to me, that whenever faced with an ongoing serious problem one should seek out and address the problem at its source. In the US, if we want to discover the political source of our problems, we should take a lesson from the military and start at the lowest levels and follow the chain of command up to the highest levels, or, in other words, the source.

If we start at the entry level of our political chain, we find the voter and their initial interface with the government in the voting booth. This would be problem area one, as our voting systems are corrupt and badly in need of re-structuring. [Note, as I walk through this chain of command and mention problem areas, I'm not fixating on fixing them, at this point in time, since I'm an advocate for simultaneously, and in synchronicity, "repairing" our system(s) from both the bottom up and the top down.]

Next, the citizen/voter attempts to express his/her political preferences by selecting (too often through a rigged system) local as well as national representatives/senators and a president. The vast majority of these public officials are powerfully influenced by election funds that are provided by wealthy individuals, lobbyist, organizations, unions, corporations, etc. Most of these funding techniques are hidden from public view through a corrupt system of PACs (Political Action Committees) which is buttressed by the Citizens United court case. Additionally, the majority of the funds are funneled through the main stream media, which too often acts as a biased propaganda agent for those with the most money to spend.

The outline I'm describing here, is an overview of a totally out of control political system that is catering to a form of immoral and far-reaching greed that has historically never been seen before. I use the term "immoral" because that is one of the primary characteristics of both a sociopath and a modern corporation. In fact, today's favorite tool of the monetarily and politically oriented sociopath is the corporation -- because of its' legally protected ability to be immoral and lack any empathy while also being legally mandated to express greed through ever increasing profits.

Unlike today -- where corporations, run by psycho/sociopaths, control everything from our political systems to our courts, our military, our media, our educational systems, our legal systems, our medical systems, etc. -- for the first hundred years of our young country's existence, corporations were severely controlled. Here is a partial list of some of the regulations that were imposed on corporations up until 1886:


Jan Bianchi

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Women of color have long had a love-hate relationship with white feminists. While the two groups clearly have the united goal of dismantling the patriarchy, all too often the efforts are co-opted by white women. "Wins" are typically not "wins for women" but in fact, "wins for white women." The pro-choice movement has been no different.

However, in that dark landscape of frustration is Jan Bianchi. And though she has recently passed away, like every other unsung hero, her legacy will live on. Unlike many white feminists, her work has greatly benefited women of color.

With an increasing number of TRAP laws and the recent battle against Texas's HB2 legislation, the discussion around reproductive rights is largely focused on stemming the seemingly contagious spread of anti-woman legislation. One can't help but wonder what it would look like if the opposite were true.

Jan Bianchi was one of the co-authors of the Washington State's Initiative 120 that was passed in 1991 by popular vote and created the most liberal abortion legislation in the country. Washington is also the only state that legalized abortion through popular vote rather than through legislators.

Flying in the face of common practice, Initiative 120 removed any strict gestational limits. Instead of arbitrarily picking a week of pregnancy in which abortion would no longer be allowed, it set the limits based on viability. While this idea is not new, what was cutting-edge was how Jan and her co-authors defined "viability."

As Stewart Jay, another drafter of the legislation explained, "We felt Roe v. Wade is too vague because it leaves the question of fetal viability to the judgment of physicians under an equally vague standard of what 'meaningful life' is." Instead, Initiative 120 defined "viability" to be when the fetus could "survive outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures." Given the propensity of congress and other politicians to believe that their political experience gives them the expertise to make medical judgments, this definition is pivotal and far more robust.

Furthermore, it has a clause that states that as long as physicians make a "good faith judgment" about viability, they are immune to prosecution.

By writing it into state law, it's far more durable as it does not depend on Roe v. Wade. In a move of brilliance, the initiative also stipulated that after enactment, it could not be altered for 2 years.

However, what's really special about Washington's legislation is that it goes far beyond gestational limits to address the more nuanced issues that frequently limit a woman's access to healthcare:

It explicitly protects every woman's right to birth control;

It states that legislation about abortion can only be valid if it is consistent with current, established medical practice;

It requires that if the state provides benefits and information for pregnancy and childbirth, then it must provide women with equivalent benefits if they want to have an abortion.



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Nearly a fifth of women have to travel over 50 miles to access abortion services. That percentage jumps to 74% for women in rural areas. If travel costs and wages lost are not already cost-prohibitive, certainly the medical bills can be.

Given that 91% of abortions done in this country are in the first trimester, cost is arguably a larger barrier than gestational limits. The impact that racism in this country has on wealth makes affordability a disproportionally important factor to women of color, something that white feminists have frequently forgotten and ignored.

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The day after the fall of Aleppo will International Humanitarian Law still be Relevant?

Franklin Lamb

Aleppo University Faculty of Law, Aleppo, Syria

Contrary to most recent media reports, and frankly to this observer's surprise, forces defending both rebel controlled East Aleppo as well as government controlled West Aleppo during the unrelenting slaughter of this savage war, do sometimes appear restrained in their attacks.

This observer does occasionally sense some concern among belligerents for civilian casualties. But the few eye-witnessed cases of battlefield restraint pale when compared to the heavy and seemingly indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas during which neither side appears hesitant when it comes to mass homicide.

Global demands to stop the bloodshed in Aleppo and across Syria have reached a crescendo unseen since the days of the 2003 U.S. non-UN sanctioned invasion of Iraq. UN Resolution 2139 recently demanded access to besieged areas in Syria and compliance with International Humanitarian Law including safe passage for civilians from conflict zones and the unimpeded passage for aid workers into those zones. These demands continue to be flagrantly ignored.

The United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) declared this week that eastern Aleppo now met all three criteria used to define an area as besieged in violation of International Humanity Law. The three criteria are military encirclement, lack of humanitarian access and the lack of free movement for civilians. East Aleppo becomes the 18th UN designated besieged area in Syria according to the U.N.


Dr. Hal Urban

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My guest today is Dr. Hal Urban, award-winning teacher, author, national and international speaker.

Joan Brunwasser: Welcome to OpEdNews, Hal. I just read and really enjoyed Positive Words, Powerful Results [Touchstone, 2004]. Why did you write it?

Hal Urban: My first book (LIFE'S GREATEST LESSONS) has a chapter called "Kind words cost little, but accomplish much." It was the only chapter of the 20 that I wanted to write more about, but the book was originally written for kids (it was called 20 THINGS I WANT MY KIDS TO KNOW), and I was trying to keep all the chapters ten pages or less. After the success of that first book, Simon & Schuster wanted me to write two more. I knew right away what the first one would be - about the power of words. Most people take words for granted, not always aware of the enormous power they have for both good and bad. We've all had experiences with both types. I thought there would be a lot of books about the power of words out there, but there were few. So I gave it a shot.

JB: Where did you teach and who were your students, Hal? And what experience with the power of words did you already have with them as you embarked on this book?

HU: I taught at San Carlos HS and Woodside HS (same district - south of San Francisco) from 1966-2001. I also taught adults at the University of San Francisco from 1965-2001. I was always aware of how much kids (and adults) hurt each other with careless and reckless words. My mom (dedicated the book to her) was one of those people who always had a kind word for everyone. Her influence was significant. Also, early in my career, I was influenced greatly by a friend/colleague at San Carlos High. His name was Tim Hansel. His motto was "Always have something good to say." He lived by it, and he was always a joy to be around. It was about that time (early '70s) that I started helping my students become more aware of the power of their words, and to encourage them to use more AFFIRMING words. In other words, build people up instead of tearing them down. Words can hurt. Words can heal. Words can tear down. Words can lift up.

JB: As all of us parents know, it's a far cry from simply pointing something out to your child, however forcefully, and having that child internalize and then "own" it. How did you get through to your students, including the adults?

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Governor Votes Early

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The election under consideration is between three candidates. The voters are strongly focused on a single issue and two of the candidates, Isfor and Isagien, represent the two different sides of that issue. The voters split pretty evenly between the two. Nearly every voter prefers either Isfor or Isagien but opposes the other of those two. The third candidate, Benute has managed to remain neutral on the issue of the day, but Benute, being well liked by nearly all voters is the second choice for essentially all of the voters.

So suppose this election were conducted using IRV (instant runoff voting). Just about all of the voters would list their first choice as either Isfor or Isagien and as a result, in the first counting of the votes, Benute would be eliminated. The election would likely be a very close one with either Isfor or Isagien winning by an insignificant margin over the other. Perhaps some voters would feel better, having had the opportunity to cast a second-place vote for Benute, but in the counting those second-preference votes would not enter into the counting.

However, there is an interesting lesson here that is worth contemplating. Some voters, let us say one whose first choice is Isagien, may assume that the way to send a message of opposition to Isfor would be to list Isfor as the last choice among the three candidates. But after the first round, Benute is eliminated so in subsequent rounds of counting, the vote in question is for Isagien, but the second-choice appears as for Isfor. That is not a problem in this case since after the first count, only one additional count needed - but it does point out that listing a candidate in the order of preferences is, with IRV, an indication of a preference for that candidate. If that preference ever registers in a count it will register in favor of the candidate, never against.

But another alternative would be IRBV (instant runoff balanced voting). As with IRV, the initial count of first-choice entries on ballots would result in the elimination of one candidate and so the ballots would be counted at most twice. If the voters all decide to cast their ballots the way they would in the case of IRV then, just as with IRV, the second counting would be a close contest between Isfor or Isagien.

But if we assume the voters have learned about balanced voting methods then, for example, a voter who favors Isfor will realize that choosing to vote against Isagien rather than for Isfor makes no difference in the contest between Isfor or Isagien but it does make Benute more competitive. If at least half of the voters decide to cast votes against rather than for then Benute will make it to the second round of counting. The second round of counting is apt to be a close race between Benute and either Isfor or Isagien, but without at least a little first-choice support, Benute would lose in this second round of voting.

It seems appropriate now to step back from the trees now and get a look at the forest. Of course this is only one election and a real look at the forest would have to include many more than that, but at least we can take a look at the forest from this one vantage point. The chart below is intended to provide such a view.



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One of the entries in this table is for a voting system that has not been mentioned before, the traditional rationed voting system. It may be ironic to label as "traditional" a system that may never have been mentioned before, but in this context the word "traditional" only means "not-balanced". In this particular election with three candidates, a voter would be handed three plurality ballots for the voter to fill out and turn in for counting as they would be counted in a plurality voting system. Voters would likely give two or three ballots to their favored candidate -- either Isfor or Isagien -- and perhaps a single ballot for Benute. Benute would lose and the winner would be either Isfor or Isagien.

From this limited perspective, considering just this one special makeup of voter opinions, a couple of things jump out from the table. One is that approval voting, balanced or not, seems to be distinguished by giving a likely win to Benute. But with this one exception, the traditional systems do not provide a real opportunity for Benute to win.

In sharp contrast, each of the balanced voting systems provide a reasonable opportunity for Benute to win the election. This is consistent with the notion suggested from the very start of this series of article that adopting a balanced voting system open not merely the possibility of a multiple-party system, but in fact the likelihood of such a transformation.
Optical Coherence Tomography Market Will Witness Growth Based On Increasing Incidences Of Ocular Diseases Till 2024:Grand View Research, Inc.

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The global optical coherence tomography (OCT) market is expected to reach USD 1.8 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing incidences of ocular diseases coupled with rising technological advancement in diagnostics is expected to boost the market for OCT based imaging devices. Furthermore, rising applications in cardiology, dermatology, oncology and other diseases is anticipated to support market growth over the forecast period.Improvement in the design of the devices along with utility of advanced software is expected to enhance the healthcare providers ability to accurately diagnose and manage chronic conditions. For instance, Optovue launched AngioVue Retina in June 2016, which is expected to provide ophthalmologist with a smooth integration of the optical coherence tomography angiography technology into the workflow.Government support towards increased diagnostic rate is another vital impact rendering driver. For instance, the U.S. FDA have launched multiple programs to facilitate routine screening of geriatric patients, which forms a large portion of the target group. Availability of favorable reimbursement, is further expected to increase the diagnostic rate for conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, retinopathy, vitreomacular traction along with various other conditions.Browse full research report on Global Optical Coherence Tomography Market:Further key findings from the study suggest: The time domain segment spearheaded the optical coherence tomography market in 2015, whereas, spatially encoded domain OCT is expected to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period. This is the most advanced technology and finds application across various domains, thereby actively contributing to the market growth over the forecast period. Ophthalmology forms the largest application segment and is expected to lose market share over the forecast period owing to the introduction of other application and their lucrative growth trend. For instance, application of these devices for dermatology imaging is predicted to be on rise over the next few years. The ability of OCT imaging devices to non-invasively provide 3D images up to 2-3 mm depth with higher resolution than ultrasound is expected to be the driver of this growth. Asia Pacific region is predicted to witness the fastest growth by 2024 and hold over 25.0% of the market share. Presence of growth opportunities in regions such as Korea, China, India, Malaysia and others countries of South Asia are anticipated to be the vital impact rendering drivers. Furthermore, expansion of competitors and establishment of manufacturing units in the region are also anticipated to support growth. Few of the key players include, Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Topcon Medical Systems Inc., Optovue, Michelson Diagnostics Ltd., Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, Novacam Technologies Inc., Agfa Healthcare and Thorlabs Inc. Carl Zeiss is a prominent participant of the OCT industry with product portfolio varying for time domain to spatially encoded frequency domain based devices. Their product Cirrus HD-OCT 5000 launched in 2013, is highly popular among ophthalmic practice. Furthermore, the players are also developing modified components for these devices in order to meet the specific needs of clients. For instance, Thorlabs in August 2016 released, a polarization-dependent isolator and super luminescent diode which can be further customized.Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research:Grand View Research has segmented the global OCT market on the basis of technology, type, application and region.Global OCT Market by Technology, 2013 - 2024 (USD Million) Time Domain OCT (TDOCT) Frequency Domain OCT (FD-OCT) Spatial Encoded Frequency Domain OCTo Fourier Domain OCT (FDOCT)o OthersGlobal OCT Market by Type, 2013 - 2024 (USD Million) Catheter based OCT devices Doppler OCT devices Handheld OCT devices Tabletop OCT devicesGlobal OCT Market by Application, 2013 - 2024 (USD Million) Ophthalmology Cardiovascular Oncology Dermatology OthersOCT Market by Region, 2013 - 2024 (USD Million) North Americao U.S.o Canada Europeo UKo Germany Asia Pacifico Japano China Latin Americao Brazilo Mexico MEAo South AfricaAbout Grand View ResearchGrand 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.Press ContactSherry James - Corporate Relations Specialist28 2nd Street, Suite 3036San Francisco, CA 94105United StatesPhone: 1-415-349-0058Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com
Smartphone users are dialing in mobile payments for convenience and speed, according to yStats.com report

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Germany-based research firm yStats.com has released a new report on the drivers and barriers to mobile payments. The publication Global Mobile Payment Methods: First Half 2016 also provides information on recent mobile payment innovations throughout the globe.The highest value and numbers of usage of mobile payments is for online shopping, but the use of mobile payment in-store is growing; over a billion proximity mobile payment customers are expected globally in the next 3 years. Expansions and product launches leading this trend include Samsung Pay in Brazil, Android Pay in the UK and Walmart Pay in the USA. Still, surveys cited in the yStats.com report show that many shoppers are reluctant to use mobile payments because of concerns about security or simply not seeing an advantage to their use.The convenience and quickness of mobile payments seem to be the main positive features enjoyed by those who have made the move to their use, according to the yStats.com report. South Korea is one of the leading markets in penetration of mobile payments. Surveyed users there cited convenience as the main reason for use, with speed as a second motivation. In the USA and Western Europe mobile shoppers show a preference for even faster, one-click checkout by having their payment details saved.Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, yStats.com is one of the world's leading secondary market research companies. We are committed to providing the most up-to-date and objective data on Global B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment markets to sector-leading companies worldwide.Our multilingual staff researches, gathers, filters and translates information from thousands of reputable sources to synthesize accurate and timely reports in our areas of expertise, covering more than 100 countries and all global regions. Our market reports focus predominantly on online retail and payments, but also cover a broad range of related topics including M-Commerce, Cross-Border E-Commerce, E-Commerce Delivery, Online Gaming and many others. In addition to our wide selection of market reports, we also provide custom market research services.We are proud to cooperate with companies like Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. Given our numerous citations in leading media sources and journals worldwide, including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, we are considered one of the most highly-reputed international secondary market research companies with an expertise in the areas of B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment.yStats.com GmbH & Co. KGBehringstrasse 28a, D-22765 HamburgPhone: +49 (0)40 - 39 90 68 50Fax: +49 (0)40 - 39 90 68 51E-Mail: press@ystats.comInternet:Twitter:LinkedIn:Facebook:
Barbara Gilbert Interiors Introduces Design in a Binder for Remote Clients, DIY Enthusiasts

Barbara Gilbert and her team at Barbara Gilbert Interiors created Design in a Binder to serve remote clients or DIY enthusiasts.

DALLAS, TX  October 6, 2016  For people who love the look of a Barbara Gilbert Interiors-designed interior but live far away, or want to have a more hands-on approach to their home, Barbara is introducing a new service. Design in a Binder is a perfect option for clients who like to roll up their sleeves and manage their own design project, but need professional expertise in creating a design plan.Design in a Binder is also a excellent solution for people who want to design their home one room at a time or are trying to stick to a particular budget, but still want a professionally designed space. This allows them to implement the design plan when time and finances permit.My team and I create Design in a Binder projects to reflect the same design aesthetic as my full-service interiors, Barbara said. Clients provide us with room measurements and inspiration images, plus answers to a design style questionnaire to get started, and we take it from there.After reviewing all information and creating a design plan, clients will receive a beautiful box with all their design essentials to get started on their project. The box will include their custom-designed binder with all the details about the project, including a floor plan, a packet of reference materials like paint swatches and fabric samples, a shopping list, and instructions for making it all come together.All selections made in Design in a Binder projects are available for purchase online or in local shops, as opposed to the custom and trade-only options used for Barbaras full-service design clients. Clients decide what items to buy and when to buy them.Design in a Binder also offers custom drapery and throw pillows as a purchase option to add some exclusive designer style to the projects. Barbara and her team will select the fabric from their collection of designer patterns and have the window treatments or pillows fabricated and shipped.For more information about Barbara Gilbert Interiors Design in a Binder, call 214-641-7897 or visit barbaragilbertinteriors.com.Dallas interior designer Barbara Gilbert and her team at Barbara Gilbert Interiors specialize in high-performance, sustainable new construction and full-service luxury residential interior design. They work closely with their clients to create carefully curated spaces that not only work visually, but function beautifully, as well.Former president of the Interior Design Society (IDS), DFW Chapter, Gilbert currently serves on the board of directors executive committee for IDS national and has traveled extensively to research and design elegant spaces for residential and commercial customers alike. She is a certified Dewey Color Specialist, and her eco-friendly work has earned multiple accolades, inspiring her to become ReGreen certified.Gilberts work has garnered local and national attention. Recent honors include five 2015 ASID Legacy of Design awards, first place IDS Designer of the Year in 2015, four 2014 ASID Legacy of Design awards, and Best of Houzz awards for customer service and design from 2012-2016. Learn more at BarbaraGilbertInteriors.com.4950 Westgrove Drive, Suite 120Dallas, TX 75248
High Barrier Pouches Market driven by Growing consumption of Packaged Food and Beverages Products

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High Barrier Pouches are made up of high performance barrier resins and films which provide highly protective environment to the material inside of the pouch and increase its shelf life. High barrier pouches are capable of preventing access of any foreign agent inside of the pouch, whether it is a flavor, aroma or a gas. These pouches are also suitable for pasteurized and sterile application. Due to their enhanced physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties, high barrier pouches can be used for hot as well as cold filling and can be customized in different shapes and sizes accordingly. Besides, high barrier pouches provide very good seal reliability for optimal product safety and convenience, and adjustable peelability to the consumers. To manufacturers, high barrier pouches provide excellent output on high speed machines and good compatibility with different sterilization techniques.Get Sample Report Copy at :High barrier pouches also play a key role during transportation of the packed materials. Products packaged in high barrier pouches occupy less space, providing better storage-volume efficiency and thus leading to reduced transportation costs. Owing to ease of operation in putting appealing brand presentation on high barrier pouches, they are also helpful in marketing and branding of the company. Due to such technical and economic factors, global high barrier pouches market is expected to grow at a high CAGR over the forecast period of 2016-2026.Global High Barrier Pouches Market DynamicsThe market for high barrier pouches is anticipated to be driven by growing consumption of packaged food and beverages products across the globe. Pouches are now one of the most popular packaging technique and are largely used are for packaging both the dry and the liquid food. Owing to their better physiochemical characteristics, high barrier pouch are increasingly being used across various applications in food & beverages industry, including packaging of dried food, fruit compote, baby food, dairy products, confectionary, snack food, breakfast cereals, fresh and processed meat, powdered instant drinks, hot drinks, juice drinks, wine and other food products. The growing application range of high barrier pouches is expected to drive their market throughout the forecast period.Biodegradability is the one of the major challenges to be faced by market players involved in the production of high barrier pouches. With government organizations continuously focusing on the development and use of bio-based materials, major opportunity lies to develop bio-based and biodegradable pouches material.Global High Barrier Pouches Market SegmentationThe global high barrier pouches market is segmented on the basis of materials used to manufacture these pouches. They include, aluminum foil, metalized polyester, saran coated PET, ethylene vinyl alcohol, polypropylene, nylon, polyester and polyethylene.On the basis of type of pouches, the market is segmented into stand up pouches, retort pouches, spouted pouches, 3-side seal pouches and others.Get the Full Report at :On the basis of application, high barrier pouches market is segmented into food and beverages, pharmaceutical, personal care, cosmetics, transport packaging, food service packaging and others.Global High Barrier Pouches Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global high barrier pouches market can be segmented by major regions which include North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Middle East and Africa and Japan. North America, followed by APEJ, is expected to hold the largest market share in the global high barrier pouches market. However, growth of the North American and the European market is forecast to be slower than that of the APEJ market.Global High Barrier Pouches Market PlayersThe major players identified across the value chain of global high barrier pouches market include Bemis Company Inc., Mondi Group, Bernhardt Packaging & Process, Dura-Pack, The Vacuum Pouch Company, Clifton Packaging Group Ltd, Montage, Schur Flexibles Group, Fres-co System USA Inc., Spektar d.o.o. Gornji Milanovac, The Barrier Packaging Company, Label Technology, Inc., Shako Flexipack Pvt Ltd., NatureWorks LLC and many more. The companies are emphasizing on research and development to produce better quality product at lower costs in order to maintain the competitive advantage in global high barrier pouches market during the forecast period. The companies are focused to improve the materials such as coatings with increased heat tolerance and strength and higher barrier film substrates. They are also moving towards simplifying the packaging from complex multi-layer laminates to much simpler packaging solutions without compromising shelf life.About TMRTMR 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.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Tamper-evident Adhesives Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends, Forecast 2024

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Technological advancement coupled with feasibility in packaging protection has changed the scenario of the packaging industry over the course of time. Since time immemorial, manufacturers and producers are coming up with different solutions to enhance and protect their products from any unauthorized access, which in turn makes consumers not only meet their needs but also surpass their expectations. Tamper- evident adhesives are one of the evolving technology in adhesives, which offers cost-effective and innovative packaging solutions for specific applications such as pharmaceutical packaging. From the security point of view, tamper evident is the best solution to the packaging industry as it help deter theft while providing convenient asset-tracking abilities for more efficient asset application. Both of these benefits produce real cost savings for industries. This multi- million dollar industry is growing at a fast speed in order to meet consumers demand. For instance, some pharmaceutical manufacturers are focusing in product innovating and adding up more technologies into tamper-evident adhesives in order to improve the security of pharma box packs. By which, the adhesive will leave a clear visible evidence of tampering.Get Sample Report Copy :Tamper-evident Adhesives Market: Drivers and RestraintsConstant advancement in the pharmaceutical packaging market has experienced a double digit growth, which in turn has led the growth of tamperevident adhesives market as it deliver a product protection and security needs. Furthermore, the repetitive cases of counterfeiting from the past few years in the pharmaceutical industry is fuelling the tamper-evident adhesives market. For instance, according to WHO, almost 10% of medicines are counterfeit across the globe, which has become a major concern for the food and drug manufacturers.Additionally, some features that is unacceptable for tamper evident adhesives are the type of materials which are being used in adhesives, such as polystyrene, cellulose and thermal plastics do not offer adequate evidence of tampering on the product, which in turn can be a major challenge to the tamper evident adhesives manufacturers.Tamper-evident Adhesives Market: SegmentationThe global tamper evident adhesives is differentiated on the basis of application, adhesives types and technology, that isTamper-evident adhesives by application:Spare partsLuxury goodsPharmaceutical productsWines and spiritsChemical drumsOthersTamper-evident adhesives by adhesive types:Permanent adhesivesRemovable adhesivesRepositionable adhesivesCold temperature adhesivesGet the Full Report at:Tamper-evident Adhesives Market: Regional LandscapeOn the basis of region, tamper-evident adhesives finds its market possibility in North America, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, Europe and Asia-Pacific. North America and Europe dominates the tamper-evident adhesives, however, Asia Pacific is expected to be the most promising region in terms of incremental prospects lying ahead for generating high revenue. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are on the trail. Tamper-evident adhesives market is highly regulated in North America and Europe. India and China are the key promising countries driving the tamper-evident adhesives market in Asia-Pacific.Tamper-evident Adhesives Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of the global tamper-evident adhesives market are 3M Company, Dupont, KRUSE ADHESIVE TAPE, tesa UK Ltd., Avery Dennison, Nordson Corporation, IRPLAST S.p.A., protectaseal ltd, Stickythings Limited., Palmetto Adhesives, Horizons, Inc and DUNMORE.About TMRTMR 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.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Plastic Meal Tray Market - Global Industry analysis, Growth, Trend, Forecast 2024

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Today increasing number of restraints, convenience stores, food suppliers, caterers and other food suppliers including online food delivery services find advantages when they switch from traditional paperboard, Styrofoam and aluminum material trays to plastic trays. Few major cities in USA has already banned the use of Styrofoam because of their disposable problem and it is very difficult to recycle them. Many food industry players are searching for alternative for Styrofoam packaging. Plastic meal trays are the solution for them. These kind of plastic meal tray also allows vacuum and gas packaging. It is now becoming a widely excepted product because of its benefits such as easy to seal and it allows vacuum and gas packaging.Get Sample Report Copy :Due to socio-economic advancement all over the world and changing lifestyle, ready and packed meals has become a widespread solution for modern people. This is acting as one the important driver for plastic meal tray market. Demand for readily available fresh food, frozen food, dry fruits etc. is also driving plastic meal tray market. Attractive visual appearance and convenience to use are additional aspects which are expected to drive the plastic meal tray market. Moreover because of its environmental benefits recyclable plastic meal trays it is being used in college, schools and office canteens extensively. The plastic meal tray market is driven by the trend of shifting interest of consumers towards processed and specialty food. High raw material cost in less developed countries can act as restraint for this plastic meal tray market.Introduction of more eco-friendly tray material like sugar cane or bagasse trays may act a threat to this plastic meal tray market.Based on the type of plastic used the plastic meal tray market is segmented into:PolypropyleneCPETOthers (RePET, HIPS, HDPE and APET)Based on the application the plastic meal tray market is segmented into:Cold and Frozen foodPrepared foods (hot) and ready to eat mealsKosher mealsGet the Full Report at:In terms of geography, the plastic meal tray market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The plastic meal tray market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. North America is anticipated to be the dominant market for plastic meal tray market followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The market in Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at highest CAGR over the forecast period. Countries with more population like China, India, USA etc. are likely to provide abundant opportunities for the growth of the plastic meal tray market.Some of the key players in the plastic meal tray market are Food Packaging (GREENDALE), Sonoco Products, Pactiv LLC, Cambro etc.About TMRTMR 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.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Nanocapsules Market: Popular Trends & Technological advancements to Watch Out for Near Future

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Nanopharmacology is a new branch of pharmacology which deals with the application of nanotechnology in the field of nanomedicine. This is a potential step towards curing and prevention of disease by using molecular knowledge about human body and molecular tools. Nanopharmacology studies the interaction between nanoscale drugs and proteins such as DNA, RNA and cells & tissues. It also studies the interaction between physiological systems and traditional drugs at nanoscale level.Nanoparticles are solid colloidal particles that include both nanospheres and nanocapsules. Nanocapsule is any nanoparticles that consist of a shell and a space in which desired substances may be placed. It is made up of a nontoxic polymer. They are also known to be drug delivery agents in the size range of 10-1000 nm. These capsules are made up of molecules called as phospholipids such as liposomes. Now-a-days many other materials such as variety of polymers have been used to make nanocapsules by self assembly process. Polymeric capsules are studied extensively as particulate carriers in the medical and pharmaceutical fields as they act as good drug delivery systems as a result of their sustained and control release property and subcellular size.Interpret a Competitive outlook Analysis Report with PDF Brochure:The ultrafine size of nanocapsules itself is one of the useful function as the finer drug are suitable to be absorbed easily through biological systems. The special features and functions of nanoparticles include slow release: the capsules releases drugs molecules slower over a long period of time, quick release: the capsule shell breaks and comes in contact with a surface, specific release: the shell is designed to break open when a molecule receptor binds to a specific chemical and moisture release: the shell breaks down and releases drug in the presence of water among other features. The state of the art nanocapsulation medications include drugs deliver to specific locations within the body, cuts down on the amount of drug per dose and reduces the risk of side effects. The only limitation is that it is designed to target pre-determined areas.Cancer, neutraceuticals, ethyl alcohol absorption, food usage and self healing materials are the major applications of nanocapsules. Water soluble polymer shells are manufactured to deliver a protein known as apoptin into cancer cells. Neutraceuticals are substances which are placed into food to enhance nutrition. The smaller the nanocarrier, the better the delivery particles and solubility of neutraceuticals. Nanocapsulation in foods includes the changing of texture, coloring, flavoring and stability in shelf life. Nanocapsules are known to reduce damage that is caused by high loads for components in microelectronics, polymeric coatings and adhesives.Global strategic Business report :Growing pharmaceutical industry along with the rising demand for nanocapsules are expected to be the major factor driving the global nanocapsules industry. The growing demand from the end user industry is also expected to boost demand for nanocapsules in the near future.Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest consumer of nanocapsules due to growing pharmaceutical industries in the region. North America and Europe are also expected to boost demand for nanocapsules owing to the growing demand from the end-user industries for various applications.Some of the major players profiled for global nanocapsules market include: Capsulation, Sanzyme Ltd, PlasmaChem GmbH, NoCamels, Indian Instruments Manufacturing Company, Encap, Sintef, and Carlina Technologies among 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:
FPSO Market: Marginal fields and challenging environments have been others factors that act as driving factors of market, 20152021

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FPSO stands for Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading. An FPSO vessel is a type of floating production system that is used for the offshore production, storage, and offloading of oil and gas. Usually, it is a vessel that is a converted oil tanker or a newly constructed FPSO unit. An FPSO often resembles a ship, equipped with production and processing facilities onboard. FPSOs comprise offloading facilities for the transportation of processed oil and gas to onshore receiving facilities through a shuttle tanker. These vessels are used to extract or receive raw hydrocarbons from sea beds, which are then processed in onboard processing facilities.Get a copy of free Sample Report @The installation of fixed processing and production facilities is technically very complex and costly in remote oil and gas production areas; this, in turn, increases the demand for FPSOs excluding the need for fixed processing facilities. Marginal fields and challenging environments have been others factors that act as driving factors of FPSO market expansion. The considerable expansion in oil & gas exploration and production in deep water, ultra-deep water, and offshore fields is expected to boost the global FPSO market growth over the forecast period. Increasing consumption of oil & gas globally, particularly in power generation and transportation sectors has made companies explore more hydrocarbon reserves.On the basis of type, the global FPSO market is segmented as converted FPSO systems, new-build FPSO systems, and redeployed FPSO systems. Presently, the market is dominated by the converted FPSO systems segment. On the other hand, the demand for new-build FPSO systems has decreased owing to the reduced costs of oils in oil and gas exploration industries. Based on the water depth, the market has been segmented into shallow water, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater systems. On the basis of equipment, the FPSO market is segmented as nitrogen generation, seawater injection, fuel gas treatment, produced water, crude oil separation, and chemical injection.Get in-depth TOC (Table of Contents) @North America and Europe are the dominant players of the global FPSO market and are anticipated to witness considerable growth in coming years owing to mature oil & gas reserves. In addition, South America and East Africa are also expected to experience significant growth due to recent offshore E&P developments and deep water oil field discoveries. Further, Brazil is expected to emerge as a major FPSO market in this region due to rising oil & gas activities along with considerable government support. Recent deep sea oil & gas reserves in South China Sea, North Sea, and Gulf of Mexico are expected to positively impact the global market growth in the near future.Major players dominating the global FPSO market are Bumi Armada Berhad, MODEC, Inc., BW Offshore, Bluewater Energy Services B.V., COSCO Shipyard Group Co. Ltd., and Yinson Holdings Berhad. Other key players in the market are Sembcorp Marine Ltd., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Teekay Corporation, and SBM Offshore N.V.Browse detail report @FPSO Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaKnow more before buying this report @About Us:Zion Market Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Zion Market Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading industry and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Data Center Storage Market  Strategic Assessment and Forecast Till 2021

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Worldwide Data Center Storage Market is expected to reach approx. US$ 29 billion till 2021.The report Global Data Center Storage Market  Strategic Assessment and Forecast Till 2021 considers the present scenario and growth aspect of the worldwide data center storage market till the year 2021.The report provides in-depth analysis of market size and growth of global data center storage market. This market research includes a detailed market segmentation of the worldwide data center marketBy Product Type SAN (FC SAN, ISCSI SAN) NASBy Geography North America Europe Latin America Middle East and Africa (MEA) Asia and Pacific Countries (APAC)The report also provides market share and profiles the key vendors operating in the Worldwide Data Center Storage Market and also provides the detailed competitive landscape of key players.Data Center Storage Market  Market Size and DynamicsThe growth of data center storage market worldwide is very interesting because, it is not only growing but also witnessing paradigm shift in segment and sub segment. Increasing internet penetration, multiple devices for professional and personnel uses have led to the growth of exponential growth of data. The regulatory requirement to keep data by enterprises for longer period of time led to enhance the size of the data center storage. There are several innovations being carried out by the vendors to address the storage challenges such as security, power consumptions by the devices, processing, scalability, and compatibility among different vendors data center equipment.The analysts at Beige Market Intelligence has analysed a dual demand and supply growth in the data center storage market. The analysts expect the data center storage market to reach almost US$48.6 in 2021 at a CAGR of 14.4%. Most of the growth is expected to come from the SAN followed by the NAS segment. The report also covers a detailed analysis of the market size and growth forecast of SAN and NAS segment.Data Center Storage Market- Trends, Drivers and RestraintsThe most emerging trend in data center is the use of flash storage, also known as SSD storage. the market will experience more adoption of flash and traditional storage systems, where flash is likely to add more revenue in the upcoming years. Both storage systems have their own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to implementation. Vendors in the storage market are offering hybrid SAN-NAS solutions, through which business can merge block- and file-based data onto a common array. Increased use of Software Data Center Storage (SDDC) and the initiations of using combined SAN-NAS systems are few of the emerging trends mentioned in details in the report. Furthermore, the boom of big data analytics has triggered widespread technological progress in the data center storage arena. It has generated the demand of storage devices to store data and servers to operate real-time applications. The aggressive approaches the SMEs and SMBs and convince them to move from on premise to cloud-based storage have, which led to create a huge demand for data center storage.Data center down time is one of the critical challenges every data center faces. It comes in the form of data center outage due to power shortage, outage due to seismic activity, outage due to fluid leak, or even security threats.Data Center Storage Market- Geographic AnalysisThe report includes the market analysis of different regions such as North America, Latin America, APAC, Europe and MEA. The report outlines the major market share holder and the market size analysis of all the regions. North American market has shown significant growth in shipment of SAN products compared to other geographies. The reason being, almost 30% of large data centers are upgrading their storage requirement for next 10 years, in which they are adding almost 3-4 timer more storage capacity than they have currently available. APAC accounts for more than 28% market share, and is expected to be the market leader by 2021 with a market share of almost 34%. This significant growth in market share is primarily due to increasing construction of new data center in SEA and China such as Google data centers in Singapore, Microsoft data center in India. SAN are the major revenue contributor in this regions.Mostly, the newly constructed data center in Nordic Region is contributing the growth of IT equipment in Europe. Nordic has emerged as the most preferred place for new data center construction due to the free cooling technique and low OPEX.Latin America and MEA market will take another 3-4 years to show a significant growth in terms of both shipment and deployment.Data Center Storage Market - Key Vendors and Market ShareThis market research profiles the major companies in the Global Condom Market and also provides the competitive landscape and market share of key the players. The report covers the entire market outlook regarding the value chain operating within the marketThe Major Vendors include Dell EMC Net APP HP IBM Dell Hitachi Data SystemThe emerging vendors are Huawei Fujitsu Data Direct Network Nimble Storage NECOther vendors included in the report are American Megatrends Lenovo Nfina Nimbus Data Overland Storage Oracle Pure Storage Promise Technology Quanta Computer Netgear Tegile Tintri Toshiba Violin Memory X-IO Technologies SupermicroWhy Should you buy Data Center Storage Report?The report gives reasonable answers for the following questions which leads you to know the in- depth market analysis such as1) How has the market been performing and what are some of the current changes which are expected to change the landscape in the coming years?2) What are the various factors that can affect the market and in what way over the next few years?3) What are the emerging trends and challenges for the market over the next five years?4) What is the market size and market forecast for each product segment?5) Which regions are going to have the largest market share and what are the factors propelling the market growth in that region?6) Which companies are the key vendors in the market?7) What are the strategies used by the top vendors, and what are the opportunities to grow?8) Which companies are the emerging vendors in the market?9) Who are the other prominent vendors in the market?About Beige Market Intelligence:Beige Market Intelligence is 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 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. Beige Market Intelligence is a quality driven high end Market Research organization. Our team of experts ensure the analysis you receive is not just analysed and smartly presented, but is completely customized based on the clients requirement. Our deliverables guarantee our current global client base does not look beyond Beige when it comes to any kind of industry and market analysis.Beige Market IntelligenceChinapannahalli Main Road, Bangalore - 560037contactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473
Europe Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes Market Forecast to 2021

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Europe Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes Market Report 2021 Order This Report by calling BigMarketResearch.com at +1-971-202-1575.This report studies sales (consumption) of Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain and Russia, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringAbbott LaboratoriesAffymetrixBeckman-CoulterBiomerieuxBio-Rad LaboratoriesGe Healthcare Life SciencesGenentechHologicThermo Fisher ScientificMerck MilliporeQiagenRoche DiagnosticsSigma-AldrichGet sample copy of report @Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Europe into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType 1Type 2Type 3Check discount on report @Split by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3Table of content1 Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes1.2 Classification of Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes1.3 Applications of Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes1.4 Labeling and Linkage Agents for Gene Probes Market by Regions1.4.1 Germany Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 France Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 UK Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Italy Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Spain Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Russia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)Get complete report @About Company :Big Market Research uniqueness lies in its highly ethical reports at economical rates because we value your relationship and growth more than money. Your growth is our aim. With the arsenal of different search reports, we help you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency. With the window of opportunity getting open and shut at a speed of light, it has become very important to survive in the market and only the fittest and competent enough can do so. So, we try and provide with latest changes in the market that can suit your needs and help you take decision accordingly.Contact Us :Dhananjay Potle5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect :+ 1-503-894-6022Toll Free : + 1-800-910-6452Email: help@bigmarketresearch.comWeb:
Renal Denervation Devices Market Cross USD 1.6 Billion by 2020

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According to a market research report Renal Denervation Devices Market, 2013-2020 published by iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc., the global renal denervation devices market is estimated to reach USD 1.6 Billion in 2020, expanding at a CAGR of 26.4% from 2016 to 2020.Visit the Renal Denervation Devices Market, 2013-2020 report atThe global renal denervation devices market report provides market size (Revenue USD Million 2013 to 2020), market share and forecasts growth trends (CAGR%, 2016 to 2020).Renal denervation is a minimal invasive procedure. It is used for the treatment of drug resistant or treatment resistant hypertension. This procedure reduces blood pressure by ablation of renal nerves. This procedure has certain benefits like shorter treatment timed permanent effects over drug treatment which in turn reduces the cost of treatment. These benefits tend to drive the market.The global renal denervation devices market segmentation is based on technology (renal sympathetic denervation procedure, radiofrequency-based renal denervation system, ultrasound-based renal denervation system, micro-infusion catheter-based renal denervation system), product or brand types (Simplicity Renal Denervation System, EnligHTN Multi-Electrode Renal Denervation System, OneShot, V2 Renal denervation System, PARADISE Technology, Surround Sound Renal Denervation System, TIVUS, Bullfrog Mocro-Infusion Catheters, Sound 360). The global renal denervation devices market report also provides the detailed market landscape (market drivers, restraints, opportunities), market attractiveness analysis and profiles of major competitors in the global market including company overview, financial snapshot, key products, technologies and services offered, and recent developments. The global renal denervation devices market research report is divided by geography (regional and country based) into North America (U.S., Canada), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of LA), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of EU), Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Rest of APAC), and Rest of the World.1. Technology1.1 Renal Sympathetic Denervation Procedure1.2 Radiofrequency-based Renal Denervation System1.3 Ultrasound-based Renal Denervation System1.4 Micro-infusion Catheter-based Renal Denervation System2. Product Type (Brand)2.1 Simplicity Renal Denervation System2.2 EnligHTN Multi-Electrode Renal Denervation System2.3 OneShot2.4 V2 Renal Denervation System2.5 PARADISE Technology2.6 Other Emerging Technologies2.6.1 Surround Sound Renal Denervation System2.6.2 TIVUS2.6.3 Bullfrog Mocro-Infusion Catheters2.6.4 Sound 3603. Geography (Region, Country)3.1 North America (U.S., Canada)3.2 Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of LA)3.3 Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of EU)3.4 Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Rest of APAC)3.5 Rest of the World4. Company Profiles4.1 Boston Scientific Corporation4.2 CardioSonic4.3 Covidien PLC4.4 Kona Medical4.5 Medtronics Inc.4.6 Mercator Medsystems4.7 St. Jude MedicaliHealthcareAnalyst, Inc. is a global health care market research and consulting company providing market analysis, and competitive intelligence services to global clients. The Company publishes syndicate, custom and consulting grade healthcare reports covering animal healthcare, biotechnology, clinical diagnostics, healthcare informatics, healthcare services, medical devices, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc. provides industry participants and stakeholders with strategically analyzed, unbiased view of market dynamics and business opportunities within its coverage areas.Ana AitawaiHealthcareAnalyst, Inc.2109, Mckelvey Hill Drive,Maryland Heights, MO 63043United StatesPhone: (314) 736-9294.Email: sales@ihealthcareanalyst.com
Barrier Materials Market: Growing demand from packaging industry drives the market by 2015 - 2020

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Barrier material is an enclosure material designed to stop means of access of gases, liquids, or radiation. Barrier materials market has witnessed a significant growth in the recent years, which is projected to continue in the years to come. Barrier materials market exhibit enormous opportunities for industry participants. Supply-demand gap in raw materials and protection against counterfeit products are the major challenges in the barrier materials market.Get a copy of free Sample Report @The report provides a decisive view of the barrier materials market by segmenting the market based on product types and end-use. Based on product type, market segmentation includes PVDC, EVOH, PEN and others. By end-use industry the market segmentation includes food & beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agriculture. The major driving factor for the global barrier materials market is growing demand from packaging industry. Demand for EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol) is strapping in the barrier materials market due to ease of availability and high flexibility. The major restraint hampering growth of the barrier materials market is stringent rules and regulations associated with the packaging of food and pharmaceutical products.In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the barrier materials market, we have included a detailed value chain analysis. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the barrier materials market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments and application segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.Get in-depth TOC (Table of Contents) with Tables and Figures @The study provides the comprehensive perspective on the barrier materials market growth, throughout the forecast period in terms of volume (in Kilo Tons) and revenue (in USD Million), across different region including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil. In terms of revenue and consumption, the barrier materials market for each application type and each of these regions has been forecast in the report for the period from 2014 to 2020.Asia Pacific is biggest and fastest growing market for barrier materials during the forecast period. China is the key market in the region, accounting for more than half of the demand for barrier materials, followed by India, Japan, and Taiwan, where the demand is growing progressively.Leading manufacturers profiled in the report include Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation, Kuraray Co., Ltd, the Dow Chemical Company, and E. I. Du Pont de Numerous and Co., Solvay SA, Chang Chun Petrochemical Co., Ltd, Kureha Corporation, Solvay SA, Teijin Limited, and Zhejiang Juhua Co., Ltd.Browse detail report @The global barrier materials market has been segmented as follows:Barrier Materials Market: Type Segment AnalysisPVDCEVOHPENOthersBarrier Materials Market: End-use Segment AnalysisFood & beveragePharmaceuticalCosmeticAgricultureOthersInquire more before buying this report @Barrier Materials Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East & 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:
Nanocrystalline Cellulose Market: Rising applications in packaging and composites industry drives the market by 2015 - 2021

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Cellulose is a complex polysaccharide consisting large number of glucose units arranged linearly. Cellulose is raw material polymer used in the form of paper, cotton, board, flax etc. It is also used in production of artificial cellulose based films and threads. Nanocellulose is nano structured cellulose that includes nanocrystalline cellulose, bacterial Nanocellulose, microfibrillated cellulose. Nanocrystalline cellulose is derived from acid hydrolysis of cellulose and depends on origin and morphology of cellulose used. High strength, distinctive optical properties, nanoscale dimension, high surface area and modules are the properties enhancing its widespread applications. Nanocrystalline cellulose is rod like rigid crystals, with diameter of 10 to 20 nm. Nanocrystalline cellulose can be in the form of semisolid, liquid, gel or solid flakes.Get a copy of free Sample Report @Rising applications in packaging and composites industry coupled with government initiatives and increasing investment for nanocrystalline cellulose drives the demand for nanocrystalline cellulose market. Growing concern for sustainability, variable petroleum price and manufacturing cost has fuel the growth of nanocrystalline cellulose market. Another factor that contributes to the splendid growth of nanocrystalline cellulose market is unique morphology of nanocrystalline cellulose like high surface area, orientation and alignment, low toxic level and mechanical reinforcement. Nonetheless economical crisis and lack in technology leads to high cost which likely to hamper the growth of nanocrystalline cellulose market.The report provides a comprehensive view on the nanocrystalline cellulose market we have included a detailed value chain analysis. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the nanocrystalline cellulose market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period.Get in-depth TOC (Table of Contents) with Tables and Figures @The key end applications for the nanocrystalline cellulose market have been segmented as nanostructures, nanocomposite films, drug delivery and protein immobilization among others. Nanocomposite films are further segmented has monolayer films and multilayer films. Nanostructures followed by nanocomposite are the emerging segments owing to wide range of end user applications. Drug delivery and protein immobilization continues to gain traction during the years to come.Geographically, nanocrystalline cellulose market has been segmented into North America. Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America. North America dominates the nanocrystalline cellulose market due to technological advancements and growing demand. Moreover, Asia Pacific has a huge stake in developing market for nanocrystalline cellulose market.Browse detail report @The key players for the nanocellulose market include Innventia AB, Sappi Ltd, Borregard ASA, CelluForce Inc, Fpinnovations, American Process Inc., Kruger Inc., Diacel Finechem Ltd., Nippon Paper Group Inc., Melodea Ltd., J. Rettenmaire & Sohne GmBH (JRS) and UPM-Kymmene OYJ.The report segments of the nanocrystalline cellulose market into:Nanocrystalline Cellulose Market: Application Segment AnalysisNanostructuresNanocomposite filmsDrug deliveryProtein immobilizationOthersNanocrystalline Cellulose Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East & 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:
Global Unsaturated Polyesters Market 2016 Growth, Trends and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2022

Unsaturated Polyesters

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MRS Research Group added new research report on Global Unsaturated Polyesters Market 2016-2022 includes Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Demand, Supply, Application, Segmentation, Opportunity, Market Development, production, capacity utilization, supply, Analysis and Forecast by 2022Global Unsaturated Polyesters Market 2016-2022 Market Research Report' is analytical reports based on a current situation and trends of the global market. It is in-depth study of the comprehensive content which compiles statistics for the key elements of subject. The repot ensure the quality of the content and guideline which needed. It includes basic information of the company profile, products, generated revenue and future treads and various other vital data.Read Complete Report with TOC @Our experts team takes out key information from the various sources which include primary and secondary sources and help to provides related information of the client interest. Report will easily mold information as per client requirement which covers forecast and analysis on global and regional level.We generate reports on market variations across verticals like energy, chemicals, technology, food, electronics and others. It consists of a highly detailed analysis of the subject.We use numerous tools and techniques to collect information on various parameters. The report includes key competitors in global Unsaturated Polyesters market. Our experts team provides forward-looking insight on market growth. It will clear you with the suitable schematics diagrams, statistical analysis and related deep insight. It will also cover value chain analysis, market attractiveness, supply-demand & import export and 2011-2016 revenue for each company.Check Free Sample 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 IoT Sensors Market Will Reach Around USD 17.81 Billion by 2020

IoT Sensors Market

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Zion Research has published a new report titled IoT Sensors (Pressure Sensors, Temperature Sensors, Accelerometers, Gyroscopes, Magnetometers, Light Sensors, Others) Market for Healthcare, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Building Automation, Industrial, Retail, and Other Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014 - 2020. According to the report, global demand for IoT sensors market was valued at USD 4.9 billion in 2014, and is expected to generate revenue of USD 17.81 billion by end of 2020, growing at a CAGR of 24.00%between 2015 and 2020.Get a copy of free Sample Report @The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of devices, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with sensors, electronics, software, and network connectivity that enable these physical objects to gather and exchange data. IoT devices are equipped with sensors which are capable of registering changes in pressure, temperature, motion, light, and sound. Generally, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that goes beyond machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and covers a variety of protocols, domains, and application. IoT Sensors is mainly used as building automation, automotive, consumer electronics, industrial, retail, safe & security, healthcare, power & utilities and building & home automation.The major driving factor for the global IoT sensors market is rapidly improving automotive industry and the booming Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) market across the globe. Another key driving factor is Increase in demand for consumer electronics and appliances and growing demand for smart devices. Moreover, vast usage of IoT sensor in consumer electronics industry such as road construction, mining application, industrial and televisions, smartphones, laptops, smart home appliances and others is the key driving factor for the growing demand of this market. However, privacy and security issues are expected to become major restraint for this market.Read report TOC @IoT sensors market can be segmented based on types such as Pressure Sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, light sensors, others. IoT sensors market is dominated by temperature sensors segment and accounted for the largest share of the global IoT sensors market in 2014. Temperature sensors are widely used in consumer electronics, automotive and healthcare among others industries and have proved to be useful in catering to the increasing demand for advanced automation in these industries. Hence, the market for these sensors from various industrial end-users is expected to grow at the fastest rate.The global IoT sensors market on the basis of the application is segmented as healthcare, automotive, consumer electronics, building automation, industrial, retail and others. The consumer electronics was the largest application segment among the other segment in 2014. The increasing use of internet in televisions, smartphones, laptops, and other devices is the major driving factor of this segment. In addition, consumer electronics followed by automotive, building automation, industrial, is expected to the fastest growing applications of IoT sensor.Know more before buying this report @Global IOT sensor market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Geographically, the global IoT sensors market was dominated by North America region and accounted for largest share of the IoT sensors market in 2014. North America followed by Europe in 2014 and both region held more than the 58% share of the total market. Asia pacific is the fastest growing market for IoT sensors in the next few years. Growing demand of IoT sensors for use in a range of smart consumer products and healthcare industry has been completely support the growth of this market.Browse detail report with in-depth TOC @Some of the key participants in the global IoT sensors market Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon Technologies, InvenSense Inc., Libelium, ARM Holdings Plc., Digi International Inc., STMicroelectronics N.V., Honeywell International Inc., and Ericsson.About UsZion Research 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. Zion Research experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses 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.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@marketresearchstore.comWebsite:
Global Market For Human Growth Hormone Market Report 2015

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"The Report Global Human Growth Hormone Market Report: 2015 Edition provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Pituitary - the master gland of human body is responsible for controlling crucial hormonal secretion, which, in turn, regulates other key aspects of the body such as temperature, growth, thyroid functioning, urination, and production of other hormones. It is a pea sized gland situated at the base of brain and is a major component of human body as it expedites the response towards the surrounding environment and settings.Any deformity or damage to the pituitary gland can adversely impact the production and activity level of the above mentioned hormones, thereby affecting the body work process and stunting the outcomes especially in the case of growth hormone. Marred pituitary function leads to either over or under secretion of the somatropin that is the growth hormone. Its over secretion causes disfiguration in the body parts like hands, face, feet, etc. whereas, its deficiency impedes the growth of body parts/whole body, thus leading to disease states like dwarfism or gigantism.View Report At :It is observed that the growth hormone related problems usually affect children and teenagers, but it is seen to grip adults as well though to a lesser extent. The major factors which vitiate the pituitary operations thus impairing the GH role include kidney malfunction, tumors/cancer especially associated with brain. There are some other unknown causes as well which are termed as idiopathic. Earlier, to deal with these predicaments, growth hormone used to be extracted from the human cadavers but, as time passed and evolution of technology/tools/techniques/R&D took place, the extraction of GH also got altered and many novel innovations and discoveries were made in the respective field.Nowadays, many leading companies are heavily involved in the R&D process for devising longer acting and sustained release versions of the somatropin which are produced using the recombinant technology. The competition prevalent in the respective industry is heating up day by day. The human growth hormone market is monopolized by a few players viz. Pfizer, NovoNordisk, Eli Lilly, Sandoz and Roche.Get Sample copy of this Report @The global HGH report discusses the key ongoing trends like global agreement for Long-Acting Human Growth Hormone (HGH-CTP), increasing use of biosimilar version of drugs and continuous growth of recombinant growth hormones market. On the industry development front, the current inclination is towards developing better treatments for Alzheimers disease and advancements in needle free injections technology. Furthermore, the major factors driving the HGH market include rising cancer and CKD/ESRD cases and increasing healthcare expenditure on worldwide basis. In addition, a few factors posing challenges in front of the HGH industry are the problems in diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency, risks associated with use of recombinant growth hormone therapies and off-label HGH use which, to an extent, are hindering the growth and development of the same.By combining SPSS Inc.s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables and tests.Read our latest Press Release atTable of Contents1. Human Growth Hormone1.1 Physiological Effects of Growth Hormone1.2 GH Secretion Control1.3 GH Deficiency (GHD)1.4 Therapeutic and Other Uses of GH/HGH1.5 Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rHGH)2. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Market Analysis2.1 Global MarketMarket ValueMarket VolumeMarket SharePediatric GHD Market2.2 Regional MarketsThe USEuropeJapan2.3 VRS-317 Market Opportunity2.4 TransCon-HGH Global Market Opportunity3. Market Dynamics3.1 Key Trends3.1.1 Global Agreement for Long-Acting HGH-CTP3.1.2 Increasing Use of Biosimilar Version of Drugs3.1.3 Continuous Growth in rGH Market3.2 Industry Developments3.2.1 Developing Better Treatments for Alzheimers disease3.2.2 Advancement in Needle Free Injection Technology3.3 Growth Drivers3.3.1 Increasing Cases of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)3.3.2 Increasing Prevalence of Cancer3.3.3 Rising Healthcare Expenditure3.3.4 Increasing Global GDP3.4 Challenges3.4.1 Problems in Diagnosis of GHD3.4.2 Risks Associated With Recombinant Human GH Therapy3.4.3 Off-Label Uses of rHGH Therapy not Well Defined4. Competitive Landscape5. Company Profiles5.1 Roche Holdings AG5.1.1 Business Overview5.1.2 Financial Overview5.1.3 Business Strategies5.2 Novo Nordisk5.2.1 Business Overview5.2.2 Financial Overview5.1.3 Business StrategiesMarketResearchReports.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
Market Research Report On Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Industry 2016

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"The Report Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Industry 2016 Market Research Report provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"The Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Specialty Pharmaceutical industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Specialty Pharmaceutical 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.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 Specialty Pharmaceutical 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.Download Sample copy of this Report at :Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.1 Definition and Specifications of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.1.1 Definition of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.1.2 Specifications of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.2 Classification of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.3 Applications of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.5.1 Industry Overview of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical1.7 Industry News Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2.4 Other Costs Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Major Manufacturers in 20153.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Major Manufacturers in 20153.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Major Manufacturers in 20153.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Major Manufacturers in 20154 Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions, Types and Manufacturers4.1 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions 2011-20164.2 Global and Major Regions Capacity, Production, Revenue and Growth Rate of Specialty Pharmaceutical 2011-20164.3 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Types 2011-20164.4 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Manufacturers 2011-20165 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions, Types and Manufacturers5.1 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions 2011-20165.2 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Types 2011-20165.3 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Manufacturers 2011-20166 Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions, Types and Applications6.1 Global Consumption Volume and Consumption Value of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions 2011-20166.2 Global and Major Regions Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Growth Rate of Specialty Pharmaceutical 2011-20166.3 Global Consumption Volume and Consumption Value of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Types 2011-20166.4 Global Consumption Volume and Consumption Value of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Applications 2011-20166.5 Sale Price of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Regions 2011-20166.6 Sale Price of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Types 2011-20166.7 Sale Price of Specialty Pharmaceutical by Applications 2011-2016MarketResearchReports.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
Insight report On Hip and Knee Reconstruction - Middle East and Africa Analysis and Market Forecasts

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MarketResearchReports.Biz presents this most up-to-date research on  Hip and Knee Reconstruction - Middle East and Africa Analysis and Market Forecasts The hip and knee reconstruction market is an established orthopedic market that has witnessed sluggish revenue growth in the past five years. GlobalData evaluated the currently-marketed hip and knee replacement prostheses, identified the unmet needs in the market, and provided an understanding of surgeons perceptions of the latest advances, such as computer-assisted technologies. The future of the hip and knee market lies in the ability of manufacturers to provide implants at a lower cost while continuing to provide the same level of clinical efficacy. Meanwhile, product development needs to focus on better mimicry of natural joint kinematics and portfolio expansion to include a comprehensive platform. Moreover, the clinical benefits and positive economic impact of computer-assisted technologies will become more widely acknowledged, and will therefore continue to drive the global large joint replacement market in the coming years.The Middle East and Africa hip and knee reconstruction market has been estimated in this report up to 2022.Download Sample copy of this Report atHighlightsKey Questions Answered- Given the escalating healthcare financial burden, many countries have put measures in place to initiate rationing of hip and knee replacements. How will the Middle East and Africa hip and knee market evolve in the next five years?- Zimmers megamerger with Biomet in 2014 represents an attempt to lock in its dominance of the large joint space. How does the competitive landscape look like after the merger in different geographical regions?- Generic implants are the ones that inherit premium hip and knee implants design philosophies and carry attractive price tags. How will these generic implants impact the hip and knee market in the upcoming years?Reasons to buy- What Do 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. This information is essential for all strategic decision makers in every organization allowing them to act on high quality information.Table of Contents1.1 List of Tables1.2 List of Figures2 Executive Summary2.1 Key Metrics in Major Markets2.2 Market Dynamics2.3 Key Players in the Hip and Knee Reconstruction Market2.4 Market Future Outlook2.5 What Do Physicians Think?3 Introduction3.1 Catalyst3.2 Related Reports4 Market Access4.1 Mergers and Acquisitions/Key Partnerships5 Unmet Needs and Market Opportunity Analysis5.1 Computer Navigation Technologies5.2 Robotic Technologies5.3 Generic Implants to Address Cost Concerns5.4 Advanced Materials5.5 Emerging Countries6 Competitive Assessment6.1 Market Share Analysis6.1.1 Middle East and Africa6.2 Key Companies and Product Profiles6.2.1 Aesculap6.2.2 DePuy Synthes6.2.3 Exactech6.2.4 Lima Corporate6.2.5 Medacta6.2.6 MicroPort6.2.7 Smith & Nephew6.2.8 Stryker6.2.9 Waldemar LINK6.2.10 Zimmer Biomet6.2.11 Other Players6.3 Pipeline Products Assessment7 Market Outlook7.1 Procedure Trends7.1.1 Hip ReplacementMarketResearchReports.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
IGOR IANKOVSKYI FOUNDATION "INITIATIVE FOR THE FUTURE" WON THE NATIONAL PHILANTHROPISTS RANKING

IGOR IANKOVSKYI FOUNDATION "INITIATIVE FOR THE FUTURE" WON THE NATIONAL PHILANTHROPISTS RANKING

At September 2016, the Platform of Cultural Initiatives "Isolation" has more than 100 guests and finalists of the III-rd annual "National Philanthropists Rating", held under the auspices of "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum", in partnership with world-renowned audit company EY (formerly Ernst & Young).The one of the winners of the philanthropists ranking became the Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future." According to results of review, the Igor Iankovskyi charity foundation became the leader in the category "Costs in the art and culture" among charities with a budget of 1 million to 10 million UAH.The National philanthropists rating awards is an important event for us, recognition of the efforts of the Foundation to support the talented young Ukrainians in the field of culture and art. I feel pride in the fact that the Fund is completely clear and people are not afraid to join us. We proved that everything we have done - it was done correctly and honestly", - said Igor Iankovskyi, the founder."Honored to be a leader, but to be clear in financial terms - is the charities responsibility. Accountability is the key to the hearts of people who help us. Therefore, the goal of "National rating benefactors" - make open financial and tax reporting charitable organizations in Ukraine standards and norms of their work "- said Anna Gulevskaya-Chernish, director of "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum" and organizer of the rankings. Also, she stressed the need for further development of charities in culture, art and education, as investments in this area are less than 2% of total aid.Thanks to the annual rankings organizers seek to make the sector accountability prerequisite of philanthropy funds and organizations develop confidence in philanthropy in Ukraine. In all, the results of 2015, the charity spent 9.4 billion UAH. And the total number of charity organizations in Ukraine - more than 9000.However, only a small fraction of them is opening their financial statements to the public. The rating participants in the "Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum" this time was 74 foundations, which are the results of 2015 the charity spent 790.9 million UAH.Among the important charity projects of the "Initiative for the Future": support for Ukrainian cinema and young directors at the renowned international film festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Karlovy Vary; organization of the Days of Ukrainian Cinema in the capital cities and cultural centers in European countries. Starting from 2013, in Ukraine' held the largest annual contest of children's drawings, which aims - to support the artists, beginners to contribute their creative and professional development. The works of the winners and finalists represent the public both in Ukraine and abroad.Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future", founded in 2012, promotes the preservation of historical and cultural heritage of our country, financial and organizational support educational and cultural projects, helping to solve important social problems. The projects that have been implemented charitable foundation have been recognized not only in Ukraine but also in other countries - Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, USA, and etc. The work of the Foundation adheres to high standards of charities and provides its financial statements.Also, Igor Iankovskyi initiated a nationwide short film competition, which in this year was held under the relevant to the Ukrainian community theme - "UKRAINE: THE WAY TO PEACE!". Igor Iankovskyi Foundation in collaboration with the organizers of the Mykolaiv Short Film "The Civic Projector" for the third consecutive year supporting the development of cinema and talented directors in the region of Ukraine."Initiative for the Future"  is Ukrainian Charitable Foundation, founded by Igor Iankovskyi - a successful Ukrainian businessman, financier and philanthropist.Charities unite like-minded people in a common goal - to develop and implement educational and cultural programs in Ukraine. Activities of the organization based on voluntary initiatives.Igor Iankovskyi Foundation "Initiative for the Future" was founded June 5, 2012, and since its foundation supports talented young people from all over Ukraine, contributing to a highly cultured society in the future. Projects that have already been implemented charitable foundation, got success not only in Ukraine, but also in some European countries - Belgium, France, Germany and Poland.12, Amosova Street, build. 1, 5th floor,Horizont Park Business Center.
ATM Market - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends,Forecast 2013 - 2019

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The global ATM market has been growing at significant rate in the last few years. With a simple card, an ATM allows its user to make monetary transactions irrespective of geography and time. A customer can perform a transaction by inserting by entering a PIN or a personal identification number of a CVV number, cards expiry date, and its 3D security pin in case of an online transaction. All of these numerical combinations are unique to every ATM card, and thus unique to every ATM user.Transparency Market Researchs report on ATM market provides a wealth of knowledge about the market dynamics, current trends, and the forecast for the coming years. The ATM market report gives its readers a comprehensive outlook on the market. These reports have been written by expert industry analysts and thus contain a worthy perspective of the market. To identify the factors affecting the market, the report is written with a SWOT analysis and a Porters five forces analysis. Both these tools will help the readers know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the ATM market faces in absolute depth.Get Sample PDF file of Global ATM Market :The last segment of the report also provides its readers with company profiles of some of the important players in the ATM market.Overview of ATM MarketATM is an abbreviation for automated teller machine, which also popularly known as cash point, cash machine, cash line, or automated banking machine. Since the inception and introduction of ATM in the banking system, its market has only grown by leaps and bounds. The major factors driving the ATM market are the ease with which it allows its users to make cash transactions, withdrawals, check their balances, and make purchases both, online and offline. An ATM is also popularly used by foreign travelers as it allows them easy conversion of money in the required currency. As the ATM market allows a possibility of traveling cashless, it creates a chance for safety and security.However, the ATM market does face its own set of challenges. As the ATM card can be misused if it is not secured by a PIN. Additionally, sometimes ATM transactions dispense extra cash causing a loss to the bank. An ATM card can also be tampered with, which further leaves room for scams, frauds, and thefts.The report perfectly analyzes the market drivers and restraints for its readers. It also segments the market based on geographical market share. It states, North America is the biggest market share holder for ATM markets, which is then followed by Europe.Companies Mentioned in ATM Market Research ReportSome of the important players profiled in this report are Wincor Nixdorf AG, Diebold Inc, Triton Systems of Delaware LLC, NCR Corp., and among others. These players have been dominating the global ATM market for many years and are most likely the ones to impact it in the near future.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 Hearing Aid Market (Devices & Cochlear Implants): Industry Analysis & Outlook (2016-2020) | Now Available at Researchmoz.us

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Hearing Aid Market (Devices & Cochlear Implants): Industry Analysis & Outlook (2016-2020)" to its huge collection of research reports.Hearing aid market is an emerging healthcare market due to introduction of various innovations and dynamics. Hearing aid helps the people to increase their hearing capability who are suffering from loss of hearing. The hearing aids are sold through multiple channels such as company-owned stores, hearing aid clinics, big box retailers, and through government agencies. The global hearing aid market is segmented into hearing aid, implants and diagnostics.The competition in the hearing market is quite high and the probable entry of new players will make it more competitive. New technologies are providing more flexible and convenient options in the hearing aid category. Digital hearing aid technology offers benefits such as high efficiency, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity to help the user have a better quality of life.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The key factors driving the growth of hearing aid market are global diabetic population, global ageing population, increasing healthcare expenditure, increase in chronic kidney diseases and increased use of headphones. Some of the noteworthy trends and developments of this industry are growth in cochlear implant segment, development of wireless hearing aid and next generation rechargeable hearing aid. However, the expansion of hearing aid market is hindered by low average selling price and threat from new entrants.The report Global Hearing Aid Market (Devices & Cochlear Implants)  Industry Analysis & Outlook (2016-2020) provides an in-depth analysis of the global market along with markets of the US and Europe. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the industry are being presented in this report. The industry comprises few large players such as Sonova, William Demant and GN Re Sound. All these companies have been profiled in the present report highlighting their key financials and business strategies for growth.Table of Content1. Market Overview1.1 Hearing Aid: Introduction1.2 Degree of Hearing Loss1.3 Types of Hearing Loss1.4 Hearing Aid Devices1.5 Types of Hearing Aids1.6 Industry Value Chain2. Global Hearing Aid Market Analysis2.1 Global Hearing Aid Market2.1.1 Global Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Value2.1.2 Global Hearing Aid Market Value by Segment2.1.3 Global Hearing Aid Market by Volume2.1.4 Global Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Volume2.1.5 Global Hearing Aid Market by Region2.1.6 Global Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Region2.1.7 Global Hearing Aid Market Share by Countries2.1.8 Global Hearing Aid Market Share by Distribution Channels2.1.9 Global Hearing Devices Market by Region2.1.10 Hearing Aid Penetration Rate in Prominent Countries2.2 Global Hearing Implant Market2.2.1 Global Cochlear Implant Market by Value2.2.2 Global Cochlear Implant Market Forecast by Value2.2.3 Global Cochlear Implant Market by Volume2.2.4 Global Cochlear Implant Market Forecast by Volume2.2.5 Global Cochlear Implant Market by AgeBrowse Our Latest Press Releases @3. Regional Market Analysis3.1 The US3.1.1 The US Hearing Aid Market by Volume3.1.2 The US Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Volume3.1.3 The US Hearing Aid Market Volume by Segment3.1.4 The US Hearing Aid Market Forecast Volume by Segment3.1.5 The US Hearing Aid Penetration by Degree3.2 Europe3.2.1 European Hearing Aid Market by Distribution Channel3.3 The UK3.3.1 The UK Hearing Aid Market by Volume3.3.2 The UK Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Volume3.3.3 The UK Hearing Aid Market by Distribution Channel3.4 Germany3.4.1 Germany Hearing Aid Market Volume3.4.2 Germany Hearing Aid Market Forecast Volume3.4.3 Germany Hearing Aid Market by Distribution Channel3.5 France3.5.1 France Hearing Aid Market Volume3.5.2 France Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Volume3.5.3 France Hearing Aid Market by Distribution Channel4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Drivers4.1.1 Global Diabetic Population4.1.2 Global Ageing Population4.1.3 Increasing Healthcare Expenditure4.1.4 Increase in the Chronic Kidney Diseases4.1.5 Increased Use of Headphones4.2 Market Trends4.2.1 Growth of Cochlear Implant Segment4.2.2 Development of Wireless Hearing Aid4.2.3 Next Generation Rechargeable Hearing Aid4.2.4 Market Trend of Distribution Channels4.3 Challenges4.3.1 Low Average Selling Price4.3.2 Threat from New Entrants4.3.3 Legal Regulations5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Global Hearing Aid Market by Company5.2 Global Hearing Aid Market Forecast by Company5.3 Comparison of Companies by Segment5.4 Global Cochlear Implant Market Value Share by Company5.5 Global Diagnostics Instruments Market Share by Company6. Regional Market6.1 The US6.1.1 The US Independent Market Share by Company6.1.2 The US Veteran Affair Market by Company6.1.3 The US Retail Market by Company7. Company Profiles7.1 Sonova7.1.1 Business Overview7.1.2 Financial Overview7.1.3 Business Strategies7.2 William Demant Holding7.2.1 Business Overview7.2.2 Financial Overview7.2.3 Business Strategies7.3 GN Re Sound7.3.1 Business Overview7.3.2 Financial Overview7.3.3 Business StrategiesMake an Enquiry of this report @Related ReportsChina Bone Anchored Hearing Aids Sales Market Report 2021Global Hearing Aids and Accessories Market Professional Survey Report 2016United States Bone-anchored Hearing Aids Market Report 2016Global Bone-anchored Hearing Aids Market Research Report 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 @
Global 3D Printing Market Share, Growth, Analysis, Opportunities and Forecasts Research Report 2015 | Researchmoz.us

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global 3D Printing Market: Opportunities and Forecasts: 2015 Edition" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global 3D Printing Market - Opportunities and Forecasts: 2015 Edition analyzes the potential opportunities and significant trends in the global 3D printing industry. The market size and forecast in value terms for global 3D printing market has been provided for the period 2007 to 2019, considering 2013 as the base year. Over the next five years, the demand and revenue stream of the industry are forecasted as 3D printers explode in popularity and more customers, including an expanding at-home hobbyist market, join the 3D printing revolution.The report provides detailed analysis of the global market sizing and future growth by both revenue stream and by unit sales. In revenue stream, the market sizing and growth of global 3D printing systems, raw material and service has been provided for the period 2009-2013 for each segment. In unit sales stream, the market sizing and growth of global 3D printing commercial/professional printers, personal printers and material has been provided for the period 2009-2013 for each segment, considering 2013 as a base year.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report also provides Porters Five Forces Analysis of the 3D printing industry. And the report profiles key market players such as ARCW, Materialise NV, 3D Systems Corporation, Stratasys Inc. and ExOne including their strategies and financial performance.Segment Coverage3D Printing Systems3D Printing Materials3D Printing ServicesCompany CoverageARC Group WorldwideMaterialise NVStratasys Inc.3D Systems CorporationThe ExOne CompanyMake an Enquiry of this report @Executive Summary3D printing is set to become the next industrial revolution. In the past, 3D printing technology was only used for industrial applications but now it is also being used in consumer goods. The industry has been successfully growing at a fast pace driven by applications in emerging fields, technological advancements and reduction in prices.3D printing finds its applications in various fields including aerospace, healthcare, art, jewelry, fashion etc. Application of 3D printing technology in medical industry is one of the most important applications and the fastest growing segment. With 3D printing, surgeons can produce mockups of parts of their patient's body which needs to be operated upon.3D printing makes it possible to make a part from scratch in just hours. Furthermore, with increasing cost pressures on medical device/equipment manufacturers and manufacturers intense need to introduce innovative products, adoption of 3D printing means reducing the manufacturing life cycle and almost completely eliminate the traditional prototyping process.The raw materials used in 3D printing market are basically divided into two major category i.e. plastics and metals. Plastics are commonly used in the 3D printing and also correspond to major market share but nowadays, metal as raw material is gaining. The major trends observed in the 3D printing market globally are increasing competition in industry, rise of printing as a service, mass customization, demand for better materials and increasing innovative use of 3D printing technology in diverse industries.About 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 @
ESOP Valuation Certificate a key service of Corporate CapitalVentures (CCVIndia.com)

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CCV imparts business valuation services including ESOP valuation certificate to privately and publicly held companies. CCV has a special focus on ESOP valuation which is a requisite for companies aiming to grant stock options for rewarding and retaining employees.Stock options are preferred by all types of organizations to benefit employees, before granting stock options companies need to follow the regulations. ESOPs are not only an alternative to cash incentives but are also tax efficient, Sebi has set rules governing stock options as it is the body regulating the securities market. The approval of shareholders in form of a resolution is necessary for which the board has to call for a general meeting by issuing a notice. In this meeting, the scheme draft containing all the critical information pertaining to stock option plan is presented to the shareholders. This scheme draft also needs approval from the stock exchange where the company is listed.ESOP valuation() is a significant part of the whole process which is conducted by a Sebi-registered merchant banker(). The merchant banker will issue a valuation certificate which is a prerequisite for approval of this scheme from the stock exchange. The valuation method needs a mention in the scheme draft which is presented before the shareholders and filed with stock exchange for obtaining in-principle approval.CCV is a category I merchant banker established in New Delhi providing financial services and registered with Sebi to provide ESOP valuation certificate to companies wishing to grant employee stock option. CCV also has an extensive experience of securities market working with BSE, NSE, and MSEI.CCVIndia  Corporate CapitalVentures Pvt. Ltd.160,(Basement),Vinoba Puri,Lajpat Nagar-II,New Delhi-110024Email id:- ccvindiaa@gmail.com
4G Equipment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2019

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The 4G Equipments are carriers to boost in-building wireless signal strength and coverage in areas such as stadiums, campuses, resorts, hospitals or other large places to provide increased network capacity and faster data transmission rates. The 4G Equipment are categorized as LTE (Long term Equipment) and Wi-max equipment. The 4G equipments are used in applications of 4G such as virtual presence, virtual navigation, crisis management, tele medicine and education, multimedia and video services, tele geo processing application. Major operators such as China Unicom and China Telecom are investing in large amount in LTE networks. Also, the Government of China is boosting market by providing subsidies to equipment manufacturers. China Mobile, the world's largest telecom operator by subscribers, posted an online tender saying it plans to purchase equipment for millions of base stations. Chinese vendors such as ZTE and Huawei are growing at a rocket pace and are expected to challenge global players such as Ericsson over coming years.Exponential growth of network traffic is key factors contributing to this market growth. Increasing customers and need to narrow the connectivity gap are one of the factors boosting the growth of market. High end interactive mobile games which require highly efficient network services are leading to substantial growth of the market. Cost advantages in building contracts with new network vendors are the major challenge for the existing Equipment manufacturers. Large investment in the existing 3G technology could pose a major challenge to the growth of the market.Get Sample PDF file of 4G Equipment Market :Growing concern about security and privacy in implementing 4G network is hindering also the growth. China dominates this market contributing the largest share in terms of revenue. Regions in APAC such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong are the potential hotbeds over coming years growing the market. Countries in Europe such as France, Germany have been showing relatively quicker growth and are expected to be the key markets in future.Some of the key players of this market include Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Some of the other players include Alvarion Ltd., Datan Mobile Communications, Cisco Systems Inc., Equipment Company Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd., HP Co., and NEC Corp.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:
Avail quality PSD to HMLT Conversion Service From Sparx IT Solutions

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Oct--2016, India -Among all the top-notch web development companies in the industry, Sparx IT Solutions has earned a significant reputation that ensures for delivering quality PSD to HTML conversion services according to requirement of the valued patrons worldwide. By having respectable image in the market, we always try to deliver the best conversion services for PSD to HTML under the budget.We make a buzz in the web development industry with our talented web development team. It includes renowned web developers having vast knowledge and experience of PSD to HTML coding and other technical aspects. They have given a new dimension to our venture in the web development field by fixing technical issues of the clients projects in no time. Thus, we take pride in having such experienced web professionals with us.Being a trusted name in the web development domain, we specialize in catering PSD to HTML responsive conversion services from scratch. Our web developers have a good command over conversion of PSD to HTML by using relevant coding. They can convert a PhotoShop design to HMTL code that will be easy to access and view by the audience. Our professionals do depth analysis of the clients project and make a strategy how to start and end the campaign successfully.We are flexible to delivering pixel-perfect PSD to HTML conversion services to our clients under their budget. Our specialty comes in the selection of right code and syntax to make designs responsive and easy to view and access on the device of any sizes. Thus, we always keep the right approach towards completion of our development projects under the given time frame.Our PSD to HTML services offers: Pixel-perfect hand coding Good cross-browser compatibility Easy conversion of PSD design to HTML code Meeting all W3C parameters successfully Fully optimized HTML and CSS codes Easy to view and access HTML coding Completely responsive designs to explore on any size devicesWith above features, we claim to deliver highly accurate and dedicated PSD to HTML conversion services to our patrons. We ensure to keep high level of quality in our work and follow the relevant guidelines to complete the project on time. Thus, we maintain our reputation in the industry by rendering highly optimized and technically sound web development services under the budget.Conclusion:The conversion of PSD to HTML demands technical accuracy and quality that can be delivered by skilled web developers of our venture. Thus, we assure to give highly accurate and useful file conversion service to the clients on time.Getting optimum results for PSD to HTML conversion is possible by availing valued services of a renowned web development company.A-2, Sec 63,Noida,Uttar Pradesh,IndiaPost Code: 201301Tel: (IND) +91-120-473-5100Email ID: info@sparxitsolutions.comWebsite:
NFC-Enabled Phones and Contactless Smartcards Market - rowth, Trends, Forecast, Demand, Outlook 2020

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Modern-day businesses are increasingly seeking newer methods of speeding productivity, saving money, and increasing sales. Near field communication (NFC)-enabled phones and contactless smartcards have emerged as an essential part of contactless payment technology, which marks the development of a cashless society. The mass adoption of contactless payment options such as NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards by both customers and merchants is triggered by the growth of digital technology.The research report on the global NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards market analyzes the evolving platforms, adoption trends, and forces that govern the market. It also identifies growth inhibitors, key market players, potential and emerging markets, and major developments of the NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards market.Get Sample PDF file of NFC-Enabled Phones and Contactless Smartcards Market :SWOT analysis, Porters Five Forces analysis, market attractiveness, and value chain analysis are some of the industry tools adopted by the analysts in order to present a thoroughly-researched and well-balanced study of the global NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards market.Overview of the NFC-Enabled Phones and Contactless Smartcards MarketNFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards are used in a number of application areas including healthcare, consumer electronics, access control, information collection and exchange, payments, loyalty and coupons, and transport. Contactless smartcards and NFC-enabled phones allow for improved service delivery, reduction in queuing time, integration with existing cards, better customer insight, increased convenience in making payments of lower value, and increased revenue opportunity.The multi-application support offered by NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards and rising interest in subscriber identity modules (SIM) is anticipated to fuel the growth of the global NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards market over the next few years. In contrast, security issues and high cost involved in setting up EPOS terminals threaten to restrict the growth of the worldwide market.Innovations in smart chip technology and high penetration of smartphones have made North America and Europe the leading markets for NFC-enabled phones and contactless smartcards. Nevertheless, rising adoption of cashless payment options, supported by dense population, indicates that Asia Pacific will develop a strong hold over the global market in the coming years.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe leading participants of the NFC-enabled phones market are Mobiwire, Panasonic, Acer, Lenovo, HTC, LG, OiiA Technology, C-mii, Nokia, Shanghai Simcom, Sharp, Huawei, Sony, Casio, Orange, ZTE, Xolo, Hedy, Fujitsu, Samsung, Pantech, Motorola, Kuoziro, TazTag, Sonim, and BlackBerry.Some of the prominent names in the contactless smartcards market are Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited, Advanced Card Systems Ltd., Gemalto N.V., Austria Card GmbH, CPI Card Group, FNMT-RCM, ASK, CardLogix Corporation, General Information Systems, ActivIdentity Corporation, and American Microdevice Manufacturing, Inc.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:
Natural Food Colours Market Revenue is expected to reach US$ 1,302.4 Mn by 2016

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The global natural food colours market was valued at US$ 1,219.5 Mn in 2015, and is expected to grow by 6.8% to reach US$ 1,302.4 in 2016. North America and Western Europe are the two largest markets for natural food colours, collectively accounting for a revenue share of 60.1% in 2015. Increasing use of natural food colour by the food processing industry is a key factor driving the growth of the market.The global natural food colours market is expected to witness an upsurge owing to the introduction of new food products with natural ingredients and colouring pigments. Furthermore, factors such as technological advancements, growing demand for clean label products and stringent regulations on synthetic colouring agents are influencing manufacturers to incorporate more natural colourants in their offerings. Additionally, rising awareness about the potential health impact of artificial colours on human health and increasing consumer health consciousness are likely to foster the demand for natural food colours. Technological advancement to procure sustainable solutions that find proper application in packaged beverage, foods, bakery and other end-use industries is expected to drive growth of the market in 2016 and beyond.Request Free Report Sample@Natural food colouring manufacturers are scouring for cost-effective sources to offer end-products at competitive prices. Confectionery products is a lucrative segment on the basis of application, and is expected to witness a healthy growth rate in 2016 owing to the arrival of new product formulations that aid in creating cleaner and shelf-stable confectionery products.On the basis of pigment type, the market is segmented into curcumin, carotenoid, anthocyanin, spirulina extract, paprika extract, carmine, chlorophyll and betalains. Carotenoid is further sub-segmented into annatto, beta carotene, lycopene and lutein. Amongst the mentioned pigment types, spirulina extract is anticipated to witness the highest growth rate in 2016, with overall revenues growing by 11.0 %.In addition to North America and Western Europe, the natural food colours market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to witness robust growth in 2016. APEJ natural food colours market revenues are anticipated to increase by 7.7% to reach US$ 321.2 Mn in 2016.Send An Enquiry@Key natural food colour companies include Roha Dyechem Pvt. Ltd., Kalsec Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, Naturex S.A., Symrise AG, GNT International B.V., D.D. Williamson & Co., Inc., Chr. Hansen A/S, Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. and Sensient Technologies Corporation.Long-term Outlook: The global natural food colours market is expected to increase at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period 20162026 and reach US$ 2,212.1 Mn in revenues.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Smart Railways Market will Increase at a CAGR of 22.3% during 2015 to 2025

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According to a new market report published by Future Market Insights, titled Smart Railways Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015 - 2025, the global smart railways market was valued at US$ 17.6 Bn in 2014 and is expected to register a CAGR of 22.3% from 2015 to 2025. Growth of the smart railways market is primarily driven by increasing government support in railways. Furthermore, growing urbanisation & population worldwide and increasing safety and security concerns among travellers are the key growth drivers for the smart railways market.Smart railway includes smart railway systems that are instrumented and interconnected. It comprises devices & components, solutions and services that help the rail companies to collect new information needed to monitor all railway related operations more closely and accurately.Request Free Report Sample@The global smart railways market is segmented on the basis of offering type and region. On the basis of offering type, the market is segmented into devices & components, services and solutions. Each of this segment is further divided into different sub-segments. Among these segments, solutions is the most dominant segment in the market currently. The growth of this segment is driven by introduction of metro and high speed rail projects, smart cities, and smart transportation across the globe. For example, In November 2014, China government awarded a contract to the newly formed joint venture between Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd and Bombardier Inc. for developing and manufacturing monorail and Automated People Mover (APM) in China only. Detailed analysis of each segment and sub-segment is provided in the report to understand the market accurately.This report also covers trends driving each market segment and offers analysis and insights on the potential of the smart railways market across key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and the Middle East & Africa. Furthermore, the market is sub-segmented on the basis of the major countries in each region in order to provide a better regional analysis of the global smart railways market. Western Europe was the largest market for smart railways in 2014, wherein it was valued at US$ 5.1 Bn. The market in the region is expected to be driven by the rise in government rules and regulations mandating the installation of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and other security solutions in every metro and high speed rail.The APEJ market was valued at US$ 3.4 Bn in 2014 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 27.5% during the forecast period. The market in APEJ is expected to be driven by the increasing rail spending on the up gradation of the overall rail infrastructure in the region. Besides, market activities in China and ASEAN region are expected to be strong in order to be able to meet the growing needs of the high capacity infrastructure and increasing urbanisation in these regions, which is another factor driving growth of the smart railways market in APEJ.Send An Enquiry@Key players identified in the global smart railways market include Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., ABB Group, Indra Sistemas, S.A., Bombardier Inc., Hitachi, Ltd., Cisco Systems, Inc., Alstom S.A., Siemens AG, IBM Corporation, General Electric Co., Alcatel-Lucent S.A. and Ansaldo STS. Key players in the market are following merger, acquisition, new product launch, expansion and partnership trends in order to remain competitive in the market. A competitive dashboard is included in the report to provide detailed information about the key market players.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Olive Oil in Food and Beverages Market - Global Industry Analysis, Forecast 2016 - 2024

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In the years to come, the success of the global olive oil market in the global food and beverages industry is expected to depend on the realization of the many health benefits of using olive oil. Besides being used in food and beverages, the use of olive oil is also increasing for manufacturing soaps, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. This is expected to propel the global olive oil market.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :Based on region, the global olive oil in food and beverages market is divided into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. Currently, the demand for olive oil in the European food and beverages industries is the highest. Europe houses massive production facilities and infrastructure, which is benefiting its food and beverages companies. The rising use of olive oil in food and beverages will help Europe to maintain its dominance in the years to come. Massive production facilities in nations such as Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Italy will continue to make Europe as the leading producer of olive oil. At present, Spain and Italy collectively hold 55% of the global olive oil market.The report on the global olive oil in food and beverages market studies the factors driving and restricting the market. Current market trends and the future prospects of key players are listed in the report. With industry-standard tools such as Porters five force analysis and SWOT analysis, strengths, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses of key companies are measured. Analysts brief readers about technological improvements and innovations that have impacted the global market. For a better understanding of this global market, the report analysts have divided it into segments and sub-segments. Key companies and startups operating in this global market are listed in the report.Overview of the Olive Oil in Food and Beverages MarketThe global olive oil in food and beverages market is in its growth phase and is expected to grow at a robust pace. Olive oil has become an integral part of the rising Mediterranean food. Owing to its health benefits and its culinary importance, the demand for olive oil is predicted to increase in many regions across the globe. Olive oil has the ability to fight various health issues such as cancer, depression, cardiovascular diseases, and osteoporosis. This has led to the increasing use of olive oil in various food and beverages.At present, the North America olive oil in food and beverages market is driven by the increasing demand for olive oil in the United States. Currently, the United States is ranked as the third biggest consumer of olive oil across the globe. With production facilities in California, Arizona, and Texas, the U.S. is expected to maintain its dominance in the North America olive oil in food and beverages market.Browse Full Report with ToC:Going forward, Asia Pacific is predicted to register a considerable growth in the global market owing to the rising awareness of the health benefits of consuming olive oil. The demand for olive oil in food and beverages is predicted to increase in India, China, Japan, and Australia.Companies Mentioned in the Olive Oil in Food and Beverages Market ReportThe global olive oil in food and beverages market is currently offering opportunities for the key companies. Some of the leading players operating in the global olive oil in food and beverages market are Colavita, Salov, Deoleo, Borges, Sovena Group, Ybarra, and Pompeian.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:
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Market Analysis Will Expand at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2015 to 2025

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The global electronic medical record (EMR) market was estimated to be valued at US$ 11.41 Bn in 2015, and is expected to increase at 5.6% CAGR through 2025. These insights are according to the report, Electronic Medical Record Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2015 - 2025, by research and consulting firm Future Market Insights (FMI).Rising need for integrated healthcare facilities, combined with operational efficiency benefits are the key factors driving adoption of electronic medical records in end-use sectors, such as hospitals and ambulatory settings. Government support and advocacy for implementation of EMR is also driving adoption in key regions, such as the US and Europe. For example, in the US, adoption and meaningful use of health information technology through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is boosting adoption of EMR. In the U.K., over 4 Bn has been set aside for incorporating digital technology in healthcare; the countrys National Health Services (NHS) aims to go paperless by 2018.FMIs report offers market forecast on the basis of product, components, deployment, end-user, and region.On the basis of product, the EMR market has been segmented into hospital EMR and ambulatory EMR. According to FMIs analysis, the ambulatory EMS segment, worth US$ 3.74 Bn in 2015, is expected to increase at over 8% CAGR and surpass US$ 8 Bn by 2025.Request Free Report Sample@Key end-use segments in the EMR market include hospitals, general physician clinics, specialised clinics, and ambulatory surgical centres. Among these, hospitals segment holds the highest revenue share and the status quo is expected to remain so during the forecast period as well. Adoption of EMR technology in clinics is growing at a robust pace  by 2025, clinics segment is expected to hold over 27% revenue share of the global EMR market.On the basis of deployment type, FMIs report has segmented the market into cloud-based server setups, client server setups, and hybrid server setups. Among these, cloud-based server setups is anticipated to increase at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to ease of installation and optimum cost.On the basis of component, the report offers 10-year market forecast on the segments  software and services. The services segment accounted for over 60% revenue share of the global EMR market in 2015.North America and Western Europe are currently the two largest markets for EMR in terms of revenue. North Americas dominance of the global EMR market is expected to continue during the forecast period. Adoption of EMR technology in Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness a spike in the next decade -- the Asia Pacific EMR market is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6.2% through 2025.Send An Enquiry@Key players in the global EMR market include Epic Systems Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Cerner Corp, Medical Information Technology Inc., NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC, Greenway Health, LLC, and GE Healthcare. An analysis on the current and future strategies of these key players has been provided in FMIs report.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Clinical Trials Market Growth, Trends and Value Chain 2015-2025 by FMI

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Clinical trials are research studies performed on humans to gain specific information about biomedical interventions such as novel vaccines, devices, treatments and drugs and thereby generating safety data. Clinical trials are regulated by health authorities and ethics committees.Documents required for performing clinical trials are investigators brochure (IB) which include current and relevant scientific information about the investigational product, United States Food and Drug (FDA) form 1572, protocol and amendments, inform consent, other written information for participants, recruitment advertisement, financial disclosure form (FDF), master clinical trial agreement (MCTA), institutional review board (IRB) approval, medical licensure, training records, laboratory accreditation, visit monitor reports, miscellaneous document, signature sheet and documentation of investigational drug destruction. The International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) brings together regulatory authorities of Europe, the United States, Japan and experts from pharmaceutical industry to frame and regulate the technical and scientific aspects of pharmaceutical product registration. The Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) states rules and standard guidelines for clinical trials. ICH guidelines are followed as law by several countries in the world.Clinical trials are conducted in four phases namely, Phase I, II, III and IV. Phase I is conducted for safety, phase II is conducted for efficacy, phase III is conducted for final confirmation of safety and efficacy and phase IV is conducted for post sales studies. Risk to participants involved in clinical trials decreases from phase I to phase VI. Number of participants increases from phase I to phase IV resulting in increasing cost of trials. Based on the phases of clinical trials, global clinical trials market is segmented as follows:Phase IPhase IIPhase IIIPhase IVRequest Free Report Sample@Based on indication, global clinical trials market is classified as follows:Blood disordersOphthalmologyAutoimmune diseasesCirculatory diseasesCancerGenitourinary diseasesCongenital diseasesMusculoskeletal diseasesCentral nervous system (CNS)InfectionsDermatologyMetabolic disordersCardio vascular system (CVS) diseasesGastrointestinal diseasesMental disordersOthersBeing relatively costly process, in order to reduce economic burden on company and shift focus on core business activities, many companies outsource their clinical trial activities to contract research organizations (CROs). Contract research organizations provide services such as clinical trial management, clinical research and preclinical research. Factors such as advancement in technology and increasing demand of innovative solutions in healthcare industry are driving the market of global clinical trials towards growth. On the other hand, factors such as high cost and stringent regulations are restraining the growth of clinical trials market globally. Geographically, the global clinical trials market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World.Visit For TOC@North America is the leading consumer of global clinical trials solutions, followed by Europe. Ample availability of funds to outsource clinical trials serves as the major growth driver for the North America clinical trials market. Asia-Pacific demonstrates impressive growth potential for clinical trials market and is expected to show the highest growth rate as compared to other regions in the world. Countries such as India are attractive markets due to advantages such as availability of skilled practitioners and availability government support in terms development of outsourcing hubs thus attracting pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to outsource clinical trial activities to CROs in this region. Some of the market leaders contributing to the global clinical trials market include Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk A/S, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ltd., Sanofi Aventis A.S. and Roche Group.About Us:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
New release of MAXQDA integrates descriptive and inferential statistics into qualitative data analysis software

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www.maxqda.com

Berlin, Germany  German software company VERBI integrates stand-alone module for statistical data analysis in the latest release of their widely known software MAXQDA (Windows / MacOS).MAXQDA is a professional state-of-the art software for the analysis of unstructured data, like interviews, articles or videos and used by researchers in academic, scientific and business institutions around the globe. The new product named MAXQDA Analytics Pro enables users to statistically analyze Excel or SPSS data sets alongside qualitative research data. What makes this functionality unique is the ability to also run statistical tests on data that was previously coded with qualitative codes. The statistical features of MAXQDA Analytics Pro include descriptive statistics, statistical crosstabs, ANOVA, correlation, scales, and more.VERBI Software CEO, Anne Kuckartz states that MAXQDA Analytics Pro closes a gap for researchers who are looking for a next-generation tool that allows them to merge qualitative and quantitative analysis without having to jump back and forth between two separate software packages. Our new product family was created to accommodate the increasingly diverse demands of qualitative research.VERBI released another product option MAXQDA Base alongside MAXQDA Analytics Pro. MAXQDA Base is a simplified version of MAXQDA that is limited to the core functionality of qualitative data analysis of textual data.More information about MAXQDA Analytics Pro and MAXQDA Base is available at the MAXQDA webpage at:VERBI Software GmbH develops and distributes research qualitative and mixed methods data analysis software MAXQDA (Windows / MacOS). The first version of MAXQDA was released in 1989. MAXQDA supports the analysis and evaluation of all kinds of unstructured data such as interviews, speeches, articles, papers, focus groups, audio and video, pictures, Tweets from Twitter, SPSS data, Excel data, and more. A free 14-day demo of the software is available atJulia Gerson - Chief Communications OfficerVERBI Software - Consult - Sozialforschung GmbHBismarckstr. 10-1210625 Berlin, GermanyTel: +49 (0)30 - 33 84 44 37Fax: +49 (0)30 - 5900 83361
Global Greenhouse Horticulture Industry 2016: Growth Trends and Market Synopsis

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http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-greenhouse-horticulture-industry-2016-market-research-report-trends-and-outlook-2021.htm

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Global Greenhouse Horticulture Industry 2016 Market Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Technology, Applications, Growth, Market Status, Demands, Insights, Development, Research and Forecast 2016-2020.The report titled Greenhouse Horticulture is a result of meticulous research carried out by a team of researchers and analysts and compiled using opinions and recommendations from industrial experts. It provides a detailed description of the primary and secondary research and economic indicators used in collating the report. It also offers a comprehensive snapshot of the historical data and current scenario of the market, which are useful in determining the future growth of the Greenhouse Horticulture market. Highlights of profitable market strategies that can be used to exploit the development of the market during the forecast period form an important part of the report.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The industrial chain supporting the Greenhouse Horticulture market is examined methodically, including in-depth and precise analysis and information about various facets such as industry policies, the manufacturing chain, efficiency in utilization of available capacity of production, and top offerings by the vendors. The report provides a holistic perspective of the impact of market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities. It presents a comprehensive evaluation of the Greenhouse Horticulture market in each of its geographical, product type, and application segments.Reliable and efficient analytical tools such as market attractiveness analysis and Porters five force analysis have been used to calculate the competitive analysis of the global Greenhouse Horticulture market. The report profiles key players based on their cost and revenue structure, capacity, product or service prices, utilization of manufacturing values, and latest developments. These results can be used as a tool by new entrants to formulate their market strategies and by existing players to make more focused policies. The report also includes SWOT analysis that reveals the trajectory estimated for each key vendor in the Greenhouse Horticulture market. Other details such as product specification and contact information are also given in the report.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsChapter One Greenhouse Horticulture Industry Overview1.1 Greenhouse Horticulture Definition1.1.1 Greenhouse Horticulture Product Pictures & Product Specifications1.2 Greenhouse Horticulture Classification & ApplicationChapter Two Greenhouse Horticulture Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.1 Greenhouse Horticulture Raw Material & Equipments Supplier and Price Analysis2.2 Greenhouse Horticulture Labor & Other Cost Analysis2.3 Greenhouse Horticulture Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.4 Greenhouse Horticulture Manufacturing Process AnalysisChapter Three Greenhouse Horticulture Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis3.1 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Greenhouse Horticulture Capacity and Commercial Production Date3.2 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Greenhouse Horticulture Manufacturing Plants Distribution3.3 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Greenhouse Horticulture R&D Status and Technology Sources3.4 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Greenhouse Horticulture Raw Materials Sources AnalysisChapter Four Greenhouse Horticulture Production by Regions, Technology and Applications4.1 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Production by Regions(such as US, EU, China and Japan etc)4.2 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Production by Product Type & Application4.3 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Price by key Manufacturers4.4 2010-2016 US & China Greenhouse Horticulture Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis4.5 2010-2016 Europe and Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis4.6 2010-2016 US and China Greenhouse Horticulture Supply Import Export Consumption4.7 2010-2016 Europe and Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Supply Import Export ConsumptionChapter Five Greenhouse Horticulture Sales and Sales Revenue by Regions5.1 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Sales by Regions (such as US, EU, China & Japan etc)5.2 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Sales Revenue by Regions (such as US EU China Japan etc)5.3 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Sales Price by Regions (such as US EU China Japan etc)5.4 2010-2016 Greenhouse Horticulture Demand by ApplicationsRead More @About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Invisible Orthodontics Market Treatment Landscape, Industry Investments, Health Awareness & Recent Technologies 2016

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http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-invisible-orthodontics-industry-2016-market-research-report.htm

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In the current competitive era, it is imperative to keep a track of the latest policies adopted by key companies operating in any market. This can help vendors, stakeholders, and clients form better decisions about the market. The study on the global Invisible Orthodontics market provides key insights into the competitive background of the global Invisible Orthodontics market. The research report covers a comprehensive analysis of all key organizations and new entrants operating in the global Invisible Orthodontics market. New strategies adopted by key companies are briefly evaluated by the analysts in the report.The research lays its entire focus on the key local and international companies functioning in the global Invisible Orthodontics market. Every company is profiled with details such as production capacity, key areas of operation, new product developments, and revenue. Offerings of key companies are examined in the global Invisible Orthodontics market report. By using SWOT analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of key companies are measured in the report. Moreover, analysts also study the status of research and development activities of all companies operating in the market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Along with the information about the key companies and their developments, the research report also measures the cost, price, revenue, and gross of the companies. Statistics related to key firms provided in the report help vendors and stakeholders understand their dominance. The report provides data about the feasibility of new projects in the global Invisible Orthodontics market. The report highlights key factors that can assist the new entrants in increasing their contribution.Details regarding new project investment are also given in the report by the analysts. The report is an ideal blueprint of the global Invisible Orthodontics market and provides the current scenario and future prospects of the market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsChapter One Invisible Orthodontics Industry Overview1.1 Invisible Orthodontics Definition1.1.1 Invisible Orthodontics Product Pictures & Product Specifications1.2 Invisible Orthodontics Classification & ApplicationChapter Two Invisible Orthodontics Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.1 Invisible Orthodontics Raw Material & Equipments Supplier and Price Analysis2.2 Invisible Orthodontics Labor & Other Cost Analysis2.3 Invisible Orthodontics Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.4 Invisible Orthodontics Manufacturing Process AnalysisChapter Three Invisible Orthodontics Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis3.1 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Invisible Orthodontics Capacity and Commercial Production Date3.2 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Invisible Orthodontics Manufacturing Plants Distribution3.3 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Invisible Orthodontics R&D Status and Technology Sources3.4 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Invisible Orthodontics Raw Materials Sources AnalysisChapter Four Invisible Orthodontics Production by Regions, Technology and Applications4.1 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Production by Regions(such as US, EU, China and Japan etc)4.2 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Production by Product Type & Application4.3 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Price by key Manufacturers4.4 2010-2016 US & China Invisible Orthodontics Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis4.5 2010-2016 Europe and Japan Invisible Orthodontics Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis4.6 2010-2016 US and China Invisible Orthodontics Supply Import Export Consumption4.7 2010-2016 Europe and Japan Invisible Orthodontics Supply Import Export ConsumptionChapter Five Invisible Orthodontics Sales and Sales Revenue by Regions5.1 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Sales by Regions (such as US, EU, China & Japan etc)5.2 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Sales Revenue by Regions (such as US EU China Japan etc)5.3 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Sales Price by Regions (such as US EU China Japan etc)5.4 2010-2016 Invisible Orthodontics Demand by ApplicationsRead More @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States+1-518-621-2074866-997-4948USA-Canada Toll freesales@qyresearchreports.com
Ophthalmic Drugs Market - Global Industry Segments and Forecast - 2018

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http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ophthalmic-drugs-market.html

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https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/

The increasing number of cases of retinal disorders has compelled ophthalmic drug companies to shift their focus towards the implementation of combination therapies, reports Transparency Market Research. Due to the lack of market fragmentation, the existing companies are initiating research and development investments regarding product innovation. The leading companies in the global ophthalmic drugs market are Novartis (Alcon), Roche, Pfizer, Santen, Allergan, and Merck. These companies accounted for close to 70% of the global ophthalmic market in 2012.Get PDF Research Brochure:The leading companies in the global ophthalmic drugs market are engaging in numerous mergers and acquisitions as they seek growth opportunities. The mergers and acquisitions are based on tactical business requirements, which include product portfolio expansion, business expansion, geographical expansion, and expansion of research and development channels. The growth trajectory of the ophthalmic drugs market will depend on how companies capitalize on opportunities such as the growing government initiatives for healthcare infrastructure in developing countries.Advancement in Drug Delivery Techniques to Provide Manufacturers of Ophthalmic Drugs with Substantial Growth OpportunitiesRecent studies have stated that advancements made in the technology of drug delivery techniques are likely to drive the sales of ophthalmic drugs globally. Compared to conventional drug delivery techniques, advanced techniques comprising intraocular implants and nanoscale techniques are stated to have sustained drug delivery and higher bioavailability. These modern nanoscale techniques are beneficial for the diagnosis and treatment of several eye diseases. TMR analysts state that these nanoparticle drugs carry significant growth prospects for companies as they have the potential for innovative uses such as in contact lenses, which would result in optimal bioavailability.Healthcare Infrastructure Development Initiatives by Governments to Boost Demand for Ophthalmic DrugsGovernments of developing regions are taking initiatives towards creating awareness regarding eye disorders through the development of advanced healthcare infrastructure. For instance, the Indian Governments initiatives, such as the National Program for Healthcare of the Elderly (NPHCE) and the National Rural Health Mission, are projected to improve the nations healthcare services. Similarly, initiatives taken up by governments of other developing countries are likely to boost the demand for ophthalmic drugs in the respective countries. Due to the initiatives taken up by the Brazilian government, the healthcare services in the country have improved substantially and its per capita expense for healthcare was valued at US$1,402 in 2015.Lack of Proper Health Reimbursement Facilities to Hinder Demand for Ophthalmic Drugs in Developing NationsDespite the promising prospects created by the proactive stance taken by governments, developing nations such as China and India lack the resources to provide primary healthcare services and health insurance to a large population due to poverty. Statistics published by the WHO stated that in 2013, out of pocket expenditure was much lower in developed countries than in developing countries. This is anticipated to hinder the demand for ophthalmic drugs in developing regions as the expenses in the use of ophthalmic drugs are not covered by reimbursement facilities.North America is expected to dominate the global ophthalmic drugs market between 2013 and 2018 due to the rise in eye disorders among its aged population. Asia Pacific has been reported to be the fastest growing market, also owing to its large geriatric population. The global ophthalmic drugs market is expected to rise to a market value of US$2.16 bn expected by the end of 2018.Browse Research Report on Global Ophthalmic Drugs Market: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 Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog:
Global Electric Hand Drill Market Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast 2016-2022

Electric Hand Drill

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MRS Research Group addsGlobal Electric Hand Drill Market 2016 Share,Size,Trends and Forecast to 2022 Market Research Reportreports to its database.Global Electric Hand Drill 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 Electric Hand Drill 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.Request For Free Sample 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.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.Access Full Report @The 'Global Electric Hand Drill 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 (Index) :1 Industry Overview1.1 Definition and Specifications1.1.1 Definition1.1.2 Specifications1.2 Classification1.3 Applications1.3.1 Heating1.3.2 Air conditioning1.3.3 Refrigeration1.3.4 Industrial applications1.4 Industry Chain Structure1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis2.3 Labor Cost Analysis2.4 Other Costs Analysis2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.6 Manufacturing Process AnalysisBrowse More Report Related To Electrical and Electronics Industry @Since the time of its beginning the electrical and electronic industry has been continuously developing and branching out at a very fast pace. This industry keeps on outlining a foreseeable development in many of the developing markets like Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America. The electrical and electronic industry is likely to be one of the most attractive center for global investment and has a high rate of return. The electrical and electronic industry is known for being one of the most significant economies in many countries over the globe. There is a consistent requirement for innovation and diversification in this sector.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
Crude Oil Desalter Market to Cross US$ 99.74 Million by 2023

Crude Oil Desalter Market

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New York, October 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Crude Oil Desalter Market - Single Stage Crude Oil Desalter, Two And Three Stage Crude Oil Desalter- Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023By report, the worldwide Crude Oil Desalter Market business sector remained at USD 79.42 Million in 2014 and is predict to reach USD 99.74 Million by 2023, extending at a CAGR of 2.64% somewhere around 2015 and 2023.Browse Full Report:The crude oil desalter business sector report by Market Research Engine gives inside and out research of the crude oil desalter market comprehensively. The report sections the business sector on the premise of sort and geology. For this research consider, the base year is 2014, though the conjecture is from 2015 to 2023. The report gives a far reaching aggressive scene and highlights organizations fabricating raw petroleum desalters. This report incorporates the key business sector progress influencing the crude oil desalter market all inclusive. The examination in the report gives nitty gritty bits of knowledge of the worldwide crude oil desalter business sector. Market progress, for example, drivers, opportunities, and limitations of the business sector were dissected in point of interest and are shown in the report through tables. The report additionally gives an itemized industry research of the global crude oil desalter business sector with the assistance of Porter's Five Forces model.The crude oil desalter business sector has been fragmented on the premise of sort into single stage crude oil desalter, two stages raw petroleum desalter, and three stage crude oil desalter. Two stage unrefined petroleum desalter was the biggest sort portion of the worldwide crude oil desalter business sector, representing more than 60% of the worldwide offer, in 2014 However, the worldwide crude oil desalter business sector development is foreseen to be hampered by diminishing interest for refined petroleum items, for example, gas and diesel in Europe. In 2014, three stage unrefined petroleum desalter was the second-biggest sort section of the global crude oil desalter business sector.Download Free Sample Report:Sort and innovation of desalters utilized altogether influence the desalting execution and proficiency. Furthermore, different others elements, for example, raw petroleum sustain rate, raw petroleum quality, electrical field power, control of water level, temperature/consistency/thickness connections, wash water rate, emulsion arrangement, sort of pumps, stream design, kind of valves, sort of blenders, control of emulsion layers, emulsifier innovation, and saline solution reuse rate likewise influence desalting execution. Desalters are additionally utilized as a part of liquid reactant breaking (FCC) units, which change over substantial hydrocarbon bits of petroleum unrefined oils to more esteemed items, for example, fuel and olefin gasses to alter the dissimilarity between the business sector request and generation supply of esteemed refined petroleum items.The crude oil desalter business sector was broke down for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Center East and Africa held the real share of the worldwide unrefined petroleum desalter business sector, representing more than 30% of the worldwide piece of the pie. Asia Pacific was the second-biggest business sector for raw petroleum desalters, trailed by North America in 2014. Europe and Latin America held the fourth-biggest and fifth-biggest pieces of the pie of worldwide crude oil desalter business sector, individually, in that year.Global Crude Oil Desalter Market: Type Analysis Single Stage Crude Oil Desalter Two Stage Crude Oil Desalter Three Stage Crude Oil DesalterGlobal Crude Oil Desalter Market: Regional Analysis North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin AmericaAbout 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
Automated Truck Loading System - Global Market Outlook (2016-2022)

According to Stratistics MRC, Global Automated Truck Loading System market is accounted for $1.52 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $2.88 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 9.5%. There is growing adoption of ATLS systems in various industries as these automation systems helps in significantly reducing the turnaround times, and increase the safety in the work environment since most of the truck loading and unloading takes place in manufacturing/warehouse environments which comprise racking systems, retrieval systems, forklifts, dispensers, and weighing systems among others. However, high manufacturing costs is limiting the market growth. Sawtooth dock segment is anticipated to register highest CAGR during the forecast period. The favourable growth is attributed to its adoption in loading and unloading systems. Europe accounted for the largest share in the market owing to the presence of automotive and large process industries in this region.Some of the key players in Automated Truck Loading System market include C&D Skilled Robotics, Inc., Gebhardt Fordertechnik GmbH, VDL Systems B.V., Asbreuk Service B.V., Actiw OY., Secon Components S.L., Ancra Systems B.V., Beumer Group GmbH & Co. Kg., Maschinenfabrik Mollers GmbH., Cargo Floor B.V., Joloda International Ltd., Haver & Boecker OHG and ATLS Ltd.System Types Covered: Belt Conveyor Systems Automated-Guided Vehicles Chain Conveyor Systems Slat Conveyor Systems Roller Track Systems Skate Conveyor Systems Other System TypesTruck Types Covered: Non-Modified Truck Type Modified Truck TypeLoading Duck Covered: Flush Docks Saw Tooth Docks Enclosed Docks Other Loading DucksIndustries Covered: Paper Industry Textile Industry Warehouse & Distribution Industry Aviation Industry Post & Parcel Industry Cement Industry Pharmaceutical Industry Automotive Industry FMCG IndustrySoftware and Services Covered: Software & Serviceso Serviceso SoftwareRegions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsWe offer wide spectrum of research and consulting services with in-depth knowledge of different industries. We are known for customized research services, consulting services and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) services in the research world. We explore the market trends and draw our insights with valid assessments and analytical views. We use advanced techniques and tools among the quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the market trends. Our research reports and publications are routed to help our clients to design their business models and enhance their business growth in the competitive market scenario. We have a strong team with hand-picked consultants including project managers, implementers, industry experts, researchers, research evaluators and analysts with years of experience in delivering the complex projects.STRATISTICS MRC17049 King James Way, Gaithersburg,MD, 20877, USA
Cohda Wireless and Autotalks announcing cooperation

Cohda Wireless is the market leader of V2X and CAV (Connected Autonomous Vehicle) software solutions

www.cohdawireless.com

http://www.cohdawireless.com.com

Autotalks, a leading supplier of automotive-grade V2X communication processors and RF transceivers, and Cohda Wireless, the market leader of V2X - Vehicle-to-Vehicle, Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, and CAV  Connected Autonomous Vehicles software solution, announcing their partnership at ITS World Congress 2016 in Melbourne.Cohda Wireless will demonstrate the V2X reference system consisting of the Autotalks PANGAEA platform and Cohda Wireless leading V2X software (Booth #313).The demo showcases interoperability between the Cohda MK5 platform and the Autotalks PANGAEA platform on a variety of safety applications. An in-car live demonstration is also available for experience at Albert Park.Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray said the Cohda Wireless/Autotalks demonstration shows benefits of interoperability for connected vehicle technology. Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAV), such as platoons of trucks on highways, requires the most mature V2X communications technology and very low signal delay. Cohda has the most mature, reliable and best performing V2X and CAV solutions available, he said.Autotalks is proud to have such a fruitful cooperation with Cohda, said Hagai Zyss, CEO of Autotalks. Our V2X communication chipset is architected for CAV featuring an ultra-low-latency V2X Hardware Security Module (eHSM), and line-rate verification for the highest security performance. Together with Cohdas CAV technology, we believe we can dramatically improve road safety, decrease car accidents and improve mobility.About Cohda WirelessCohda Wireless is the leading equipment vendor in the Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) market. The Australian company manufactures systems with acknowledged best-in-world performance. Cohdas hardware and software products are used in more than 60 per cent of all V2X field trials worldwide today. Customers include many carmakers, tier one suppliers, automotive chipmakers, road authorities and new market entrants. Cohdas products are already used in the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan, China, and Korea. For more information, visitAbout AutotalksAutotalks, founded in 2008, is a V2X-chipset market pioneer and leader providing OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers with comprehensive V2X solutions. Autotalks chipsets enable the V2X communication revolution by providing the most advanced, truly secure V2X solution created for autonomous vehicles. The chipsets are pre-integrated and designed to shorten development schedules and reduced costs. Autotalks cutting-edge technology addresses all key V2X challenges: communication reliability, security, positioning accuracy and vehicle installation.Cohda Wireless Europe GmbHSchatzbogen 7DE-81829 MunchenMedia Contacts:Bernd LuebbenVP Business DevelopmentE bernd.luebben@cohdawireless.comT +49 89 92103 603Mandy Ahlendorfahlendorf communicationE ma@ahlendorf-communication.comT +49 8151 9739098
Calcium Carbonate Market to Cross US$ 28.5 Billion by 2021

Calcium Carbonate Market

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New York, October 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Calcium Carbonate Market (GCC and PCC) for Paper, Plastic, Building & Construction and Other Applications - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2021.As per this exploration report, the worldwide calcium carbonate market remained at US$15.6 Billion in 2012. Growing at a CAGR of 7.0% from the 2013-2019 period, the overall business sector is prone to reach US$25 Billion before the end of the estimate period.Download Free Sample Report:Calcium carbonate that is CaCO3 is chemical component found in nature as aragonite and calcite, in pearls, plant ashes, chalk, marble, shells of marine organisms, bones and eggs. Calcium carbonate particularly used for making Portland cement, lime and gastric antacid. It is energetic element in agricultural lime which is created by combine reaction of calcium ions in hard water with carbonate ions. Calcium carbonate is used in paints and coating application and in cement for constructing and building industry. It also used in pharmaceutical and medical industry as a calcium supplement. Calcium carbonate is found all over the world.How Big is the Calcium Carbonate Market?The calcium carbonate market is expected to exceed more than US$ 28.5 Billion by 2021; Growing at a CAGR of more than 7.0% in the given forecast period.The major driving factors of calcium carbonate market are as follows:Growing demand from plastic divisionRising paper industry marketIncreasing demand from construction industry and building industryThe restraining factors of calcium carbonate market are as follows:Undesirable effects of extreme utilization of calcium carbonatesBrowse Full Report here:The calcium carbonate market is segmented on the lines of its product, application and geography. Under application segmentation it covers building and construction, plastic, paper, agriculture and pharmaceutical. The calcium carbonate market is segmented on the lines of its product like precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate 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 calcium carbonate 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 2021.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for calcium carbonate4) 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 Excalibar Minerals, Great Lakes Calcium Corp., Imerys, Huber Engineered Materials, Minerals Technologies Inc., Maruo Calcium Co. Ltd., Mississippi Lime Co., Omya Ag, Okutama Kogyo Co.Ltd., Schaefer Kalk GMBH & Co. KG, Solvay S.A., and Shiraishi Kogyo Kaisha Ltd.. 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 Calcium Carbonate Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment AnalysisGround Calcium Carbonate (GCC)Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC)By Application AnalysisPaperPlasticBuilding & ConstructionOthers (Pharmaceutical, agriculture, etc.)By 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, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Global Industry Insight: Industrial Enzymes Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2022

www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/industrial-enzymes-market

www.psmarketresearch.com/industry-report/chemicals-materials-and-energy

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Some of the drivers behind the growing demand of global industrial Enzymes market include increase in demand of consumer goods, surge in demand for biofuel, increase research and development investment of industrial enzymes, and need of cost reduction and resource optimization in the production process of bakery products, animal feed, cleaning agents and others. With the increase in disposable income, the expenditure on consumer goods has increased, which resulted in an increase in demand of industrial enzymes globally. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China increased from $2,271.0 in 2008 to $3,408.5 in 2012. The overall annual disposable income in medium households in India increased from $1,366.2 billion in 2010 to $1,587.6 billion in 2013.Browse Full Report Visit Here:Industrial enzymes can be used in several environmental friendly industrial purposes, as they are highly efficient, selective, accelerate and speed up reactions by forming transition state complex with their substrate, which reduces the activation energy of the reaction. Hence, industrial enzymes are utilized as a catalyst to accelerate the rate of chemical reactions and increase the production process. These enzymes are utilized for several industrial and chemical applications such as animal feed, bakery, tannery, biofuel production, brewing and others.Based on type, the global industrial enzymes market is segmented into carbohydrases, protease, non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), and others. Based on application, the global industrial enzymes market is segmented into food and beverages, cleaning agents, animal feed, and others.Browse For Related Research:Global Industrial Enzymes Market SegmentationBy Industrial Enzyme TypeCarbohydrasesCellulasesAmylasesOthersProteaseNon-Starch Polysaccharides (NSP)OthersBy ApplicationFood and beveragesCleaning AgentsAnimal FeedOthersAbout P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:DeepAssistant  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Commercial Refrigerator Market Future - Liebherr Partnership With Microsoft For Development of Smart Refrigerators

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http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/asia-pacific-commercial-refrigerators-market.html

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The presence of a large number of domestic and international manufacturers has rendered the landscape in the Asia Pacific commercial refrigerators market highly competitive. As per Transparency Market Research (TMR), Midea Group and Haier Electronics Group Co. Ltd. led the Asia Pacific commercial refrigerators market in 2015. These companies have been increasingly focusing on product innovation and improving customer experience in order to gain a competitive advantage in the market.For instance, Liebherr entered into a partnership agreement with Redmond based Microsoft Corporation in April 2016 for the development of smart refrigerators based on the premise of the Internet of Things (IoT). More such developments are expected to be reported from the market.PDF Sample For Latest Developments With Future Forecast @A substantial number of enterprises in the market are looking to expand their product portfolio in order to achieve sustainable growth. Apart from investing in product innovations, the key players are also focusing on competitive pricing to keep pace with the prevailing competition. However, according to TMR, improvements in retail channels hold the key for long-term growth for players operating in the Asia Pacific commercial refrigerators market.Booming Food and Retail Industry in Asia Pacific Holds Promise for Commercial Refrigerators SalesThe booming food and retail industry in Asia Pacific is fuelling demand for refrigerators with innovative design. Unlike the refrigerators used in domestic applications, the ones used for commercial purposes have a high storage capacity and an expansive operating temperature suitable for a plethora of product types.The growth witnessed in the Asia Pacific retail industry is also attributed to the increasing consumption of packaged food and beverages. Due to the hectic lifestyle of consumers and their increasing willingness to pay for convenience food, the demand for packaged food and beverages is expected to surge exponentially in the near future, said a TMR analyst. This is a primary factor driving the market for commercial refrigerators in Asia Pacific. Furthermore, the increasing number of supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants will substantially bolster sales of commercial refrigerators in Asia Pacific, he added.Besides this, the importance of energy efficiency in commercial and consumer appliances has considerably increased in the last few years. The rising awareness about green appliances has paved the way for the advent of eco-friendly commercial refrigerators.High Prices Discourage Deployment of Commercial Refrigerators across Small Retail OutletsContrary to this, the high cost procurement and maintenance costs of commercial refrigerators are hindering the growth of the market to an extent. Due to their high price, small retailers tend to look for more affordable alternatives. This limits the sales of commercial refrigerators to smaller establishments such as cafes and local retailers. In addition, the availability of alternate packaging solutions such as temperature-control packaging is hindering the sales of commercial refrigerators in Asia Pacific.Advent of Smart and Solar Commercial Refrigerators Presents a Fresh OpportunityDramatic changes have been witnessed in commercial appliances over the last few years. The high energy consumption of these appliances has led to the introduction of smart and solar powered commercial refrigerators. With leading name brands venturing into the development and manufacturing of solar-based commercial refrigerators, the market witnesses lucrative prospects to gain from in the near future.This review is based on information published by TMR in a report, titled Commercial Refrigerators Market - Asia Pacific Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016  2024,Read Market Report @As per TMR, the Asia Pacific commercial refrigerators market stood at over US$16.99 bn in 2015. Exhibiting a CAGR of 9.8%, the market is expected to reach US$38.83 bn by the end of 2024. Volume-wise TMR forecasts the market to reach 60,253 thousand units by 2024 from 28,896 thousand units in 2015. China emerged as the leading contributor in the Asia Pacific commercial refrigerators market accounting for a share of 33.5% in 2015Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Metrology Services Market to Expand at 8.2% CAGR from 2012 to 2018, Burgeoning Automotive Sector Propels Market

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Metrology services involve providing talented metrologists and reliable instrumentation and software to original equipment manufacturers. A good service provider not only brings equipment to its clients, but also extends repair and calibration services, equipment rental, automation and systems integration of measurement equipment, training, tool design, and more.According to the report, the high adoption rate of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and statutes for international quality standards are the foremost reasons driving the growth of the global metrology services market. The demand for precisely measured parts and components across a spectrum of industry verticals such as automotive, power generation, and electronics, among others, is also driving the growth of this industry. In addition, the lack of skilled labor to operate precision equipment and the poor utility value of existing measuring machines is aiding the growth of this market.PDF Sample For Full Details with Technological breakthroughs is @However, the growth of this market is inhibited due to several reasons. The demand for customized metrology solutions limits the application base of universal systems that are developed to offer multiple functionalities. Consequently, end users are forced to opt for multiple service providers that offer a broad spectrum of metrology services.The product segments of the global metrology services market are optical digitizers and scanners (ODS) and coordinate measuring machines (CMM). The sub-segments of CMM are bridge machines, articulated arm machines, gantry machines, and horizontal arm machines. The CMM segment is expected to register a CAGR of 7.2% from 2012 to 2018, while the ODS segment of the market is expected to display a CAGR of 8.9% for the same forecast period to reach a valuation of US$435.8 mn by 2018. This is because ODS affords higher precision for the computation of difficult statistics with utmost accuracy. The sub-segments of ODS are white light scanners, laser trackers, and 3D laser scanners. The demand for 3D laser scanners is the highest owing to their high accuracy and better precision capabilities. In 2012, 3D laser scanners held a share of 35.1% in the global market.On the basis of application, the market is composed of the following segments: Automotive, industrial, aerospace, power generation units, and others (such as medical sector). The booming automotive sector in Asia Pacific will significantly contribute to the markets growth in this region.Transparency Market Research has published a new market study, titled Metrology Services Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2012 - 2018. The report says that the global metrology services market will rise at a healthy 8.2% CAGR from 2012 to 2018. The market is projected to reach a valuation of US$720.3 mn by the end of 2018, increasing from US$448.6 mn in 2012.The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the global metrology services market by means of pinpointing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by this market.Browse the full Metrology Services Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2012 - 2018 report atThe report provides insights into the competitive scenario of the global market for metrology services by profiling top players in this market. These include Renishaw Plc., Optical Gaging Products Inc., Trescal SA, Danish Micro Engineering A/S, FARO Technologies Inc., Hexagon AB, Carl Zeiss Corporation, Nikon Metrology Inc., and Optical Metrological Services.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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.
Ultracapacitors Market Fueled By Rapid Expansion of Automotive Sector

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The competitive landscape of the global ultracapacitors market includes companies such as Panasonic Corp., Maxwell Technologies Inc., Nesscap Co. Ltd., Yunasko, Ioxus Inc., Supreme Power Solutions Co. Ltd., CAP-XX, Vinatech Co. Ltd., Nippon Chemi-Con Corp., LS Mtron, and NEC-TOKIN Corp. The rapid growth of the energy sector, especially wind and solar energy, has proved beneficial for the growth of these market players. In the energy sector, ultracapacitors are used mainly for applications in energy harvesting, wind energy, and solar energy. In 2012, the demand for ultracapacitors for energy harvesting was the highest, followed by wind and solar. However, the automotive sector has been the key target sector for the market players as ultracapacitors are extensively employed across buses and other vehicles.High Cost of Ultracapacitors is a Major Concern among ConsumersAs the usage of ultracapacitors is still at its nascent stage, the market players are exploring the applications of ultracapacitors across various sectors and are investing significantly in research and development activities. Owing to the potential of ultracapacitors to be used as a suitable alternative for batteries, the market players enjoy a strong customer base. However, consumers are still apprehensive to make a shift from conventional batteries to ultracapacitors. The high cost of ultracapacitor is the reason behind this apprehension among consumers and the market players need to address this pricing issue at the earliest, cites a TMR analyst.PDF Sample For Full Details with Technological breakthroughs is @Among the key regions in the global ultracapacitors market, Asia Pacific holds immense opportunity for the market players due to the rapid growth of sectors such as automotive, energy, military, electronics, and industrial. In 2012, Asia Pacific accounted for 35.1% of the overall market owing to the growing demand from Japan and China. On the other hand, the North America ultracapacitors market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 26.7% during the forecast period.Government Regulations to Support Growth of Global Ultracapacitors MarketThe global ultracapacitors market has witnessed increased demand due to sliding prices of components that have lowered the overall cost of ultracapacitors. Implementation of stringent regulations by governments to cut down carbon emissions especially across the developed economies in Europe and North America has significantly aided the growth of the market. Ultracapacitors offer several benefits over batteries including longer lifespan and hence, are highly preferred by consumers. There have been breakthroughs in applications of ultracapacitors across HEVs, regenerative breaking, aerospace, and micro-hybrids/stop-start systems. This has augmented the demand for ultracapacitors across various end-use sectors, TMR report states.The global ultracapacitors market is anticipated to take a leap at a CAGR of 25.2% during the period from 2013 to 2019. The market stood at a valuation of US$672.0 mn in 2012 and is anticipated to soar to US$3,120.0 mn by 2019.The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency market Research report, titled Ultracapacitors Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2013 - 2019.Global ultracapacitors market has been segmented as:Ultracapacitors Market by ApplicationsAutomotiveIndustrialEnergyElectronicsOthers (Aerospace/Military and Sensor Technology)Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
KACO new energy to supply 50 megawatts of inverter capacity to the Aldo Grup.

After having signed the contract.

www.kaco-newenergy.com

www.kaco-newenergy.com

Neckarsulm, 6. October 2016  KACO new energy has signed a deal with the Turkish Aldo Grup to supply inverters having a total capacity of 50 megawatts. The blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT units from the Germany-based manufacturer are to be used in a range of projects to be financed and planned by the Aldo Grup between now and the end of 2017.The agreement between KACO new energy and the Aldo Grup encompasses a total of 1000 inverters, to be delivered in two stages. The initial batch of 25 megawatts is to be delivered by March of next year, with the remaining 25 megawatts leaving KACO new energys production site in Neckarsulm before the end of 2017. The order is for the XL version of the blueplanet 50.0 TL3 INT. In this version, the inverters are factory-fitted with ten string fuses and the DC combined conductor type 1 and 2. An AC combined conductor can be retrofitted easily. This reduces the complexity of installing the inverters in terms of safety and cabling.This is the second contract to supply the Aldo Grup: "We had a very good experience previously working with KACO new energy on a four-megawatt project. The team was very customer-focused and always available  especially for the all-important after-sales service. Given this previous reliable partnership and the good performance of the inverters, it was an easy decision to continue working with KACO new energy on further projects," said Haluk Veli Dogan, CEO of Aldo Grup."The Aldo Grup is a family-run business that has been operating successfully for more than 35 years. We are delighted that a company with such a long history is turning to the workmanship of a medium-sized German business which is also run as a family business," said Nedret Unlu, Country Manager for Turkey at KACO new energy. The Aldo Grup is the largest distributor of Audi and VW vehicles in Turkey. The Aldo Enerji branch is both an investor in and retailer of substructures for photovoltaic systems.The Aldo Grup plans to install a total of 100 MW of PV capacity by 2018. It is also planning further projects with KACO new energy in the future. It is the stated goal of the government in Ankara to bring around 10 gigawatts of solar energy online by 2023  the hundredth anniversary of the creation of Turkey as a nation. KACO new energy considers itself to be in a good position for this challenge: "We are well on the way to further developing the photovoltaics market in Turkey, in line with our strategy. Given this, the partnership between Germany and Turkey is more important than ever," said Nedret Unlu.Meanwhile, production has started on the first 240 inverters of the contract. They are destined for a twelve megawatt solar power plant and should arrive in Kayseri at the end of October 2016. The Aldo Grup is implementing the project in collaboration with operating company Saysun Energy. It is the largest contiguous photovoltaic power plant in the region to date. The city of Kayseri in central Turkey is one of the most important centres of trade and industry in the country and is now the "PV Capital" of Turkey.About KACO new energy:KACO new energy is amongst the worlds largest manufacturers of solar inverters. With offices in 16 countries, the company offers inverters for every array size from the smallest homes to the largest solar farms of hundreds of Megawatts. KACO new energy is based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart, Germany and the production facilities there, in the Americas and Asia have supplied around eight Gigawatts of inverters since 1999. The company was the first inverter manufacturer to achieve fully carbon-neutral production and is rapidly heading towards power self-sufficiency. KACO new energy also supplies energy storage systems and battery inverters, as well as inverters for PV-Diesel hybrid systems and combined heat and power plants. In 2014, KACO new energy celebrated the centenary of the original company which was one of the first suppliers of inverters in the late 1930s. Read more atContact:KACO new energy GmbHKornelia LauserHead of Global MarketingCarl-Zeiss-Str. 174172 NeckarsulmGermanyTel. +49 7132 3818-0Fax +49 7132 3818-703pr(at)kaco-newenergy.de
Global Failure Analysis Equipment Market to Expand at 8.8% CAGR, Rapid Progression in Nanotechnology To Benifit

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Failure analysis equipment is used to determine anomalies in the functioning of various processes and systems across manufacturing, biotechnology, service, and other industries. The equipment is used to detect the reasons of breakdowns or errors at a preliminary stage, which can help accrue considerable savings over time.The report states that rapid progression in nanotechnology, combined with the development of the medical sector in Asia Pacific, are the foremost reasons driving growth of the failure analysis equipment market. Furthermore, increased investments for upgradation of research and education infrastructure are also benefitting the markets growth. However, the high cost of failure analysis equipment is limiting its adoption, predominantly in emerging nations. Nevertheless, the development of innovative techniques such as correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) and super-resolution microscopy for biological studies will bolster the markets growth in the years to come.PDF Sample For Full Details with Technological breakthroughs is @The report segments the global market for failure analysis equipment on the basis of end use, technology, equipment, and geography. By end use, semiconductors manufacturing, biomedical and life sciences, nanotechnology, fiber optics, metallurgy, and nanomaterials and polymers are the segments of this market. By technology, the segments of this market are focused ion beam (FIB), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), reactive ion etching (RIE), broad ion milling (BIM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). Of all, in 2012, SIMS held the majority share in the market due to its ability to identify elements present in low concentrations and to detect elements such as hydrogen and helium that other technologies are not capable of detecting.The equipment segments of this market are scanning electron microscopes (SEM), focused ion beam systems, transmission electron microscopes (TEM), and dual beam (FIB/SEM) systems. In 2012, transmission electron microscopes (TEM) and focused ion beam systems held the majority share in the market due to their widespread utilization. Nevertheless, FIB/SEM systems are expected to register the fastest growth until the end of the forecast period. This is because FIB/SEM systems exhibit several advantages over single-beam FIB systems for sample composition and microscopy applications.In 2012, Asia Pacific contributed the largest revenue to the failure analysis equipment market. This is because several countries in this region, such as China, Japan, Australia, India, and Taiwan, are investing heavily in research and development infrastructure, medical technologies, and nanotechnology. In the same year, North America and Europe collectively held a share of more than one-third in the market, since failure analysis equipment has been used in these regions for R&D purposes for a long time.According to a recent market study published by Transparency Market Research, the global failure analysis equipment market was valued at US$4.1 bn in 2012. The market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 8.8% between 2013 and 2019. The title of this report is Failure Analysis Equipment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2019 and it is available for sale on the companys website.Browse the full Equipment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2019 report atThe top players in the failure analysis equipment market are FEI Company, Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, Hitachi High-technologies Europe GmbH, and JEOL Ltd. among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Plasticizers Market - Global Scenario, Trends, Industry Analysis, Size, Share And Forecast, 2011  2018

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Plasticizers are a group of materials that increase the plasticity of polymers, making them more flexible and bendable without breaking. The flexibility of plastics is one of their most prized qualities, leading to rapid growth of the global plasticizers market in the last few years. Key industries such as automotive, consumer goods, and healthcare are exhibiting a growing demand for components and devices made from flexible plastics, which have several ergonomic and structural benefits, making them the key consumers of plasticizers. According to the report, the global annual for plasticizers is likely to reach 13.2 mn tonnes by 2018.The report delivers a review of the historical development pattern exhibited by the global plasticizers market and a comprehensive overview of its present condition. The plasticizers markets most recent figures are analyzed with the help of industry-standard metrics and reliable forecasts regarding the markets future growth trajectory are presented in the report. The all-inclusive analysis of the market presented in the report makes the report a must-have accessory for players in the global plasticizers market.Download And Get Sample PDF File Of Plasticizers Industry :The global plasticizers market can be segmented by product type into phthalates, epoxy, polymeric, aliphatic, trimellitates, and phosphates. On the basis of application, wires and cables, adhesives and elastomers, paints and varnishes, coatings and coated fabrics, films and sheets, and floorings and wall coverings are among the key contributors to the global plasticizers market.Global Plasticizers Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe changing lifestyle of newly prosperous consumers in emerging regions such as Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America is a key driver for the global plasticizers market. The increased purchasing power of consumers in developing countries has led to a rise in the demand for consumer electronics, which use flexible plastics in various components and thus contribute significantly to the global plasticizers market. The expanding consumer electronics industry in China, in particular, is a key contributor to the Asia Pacific plasticizers market and is likely to remain so in the coming years.The booming automotive industry in Asia Pacific countries such as China, India, South Korea, and Indonesia is another crucial driver for the global plasticizers market. While the increasing disposable income of consumers in this region has led to a growing demand for automobiles, the increasing number of automotive manufacturing facilities is the key factor contributing to the regional market for plasticizers.On the other hand, the presence of nonbiodegradable and possibly toxic components in plasticizers has become a key restraint on the global plasticizers market. In recent years, environmental laws aimed at minimizing the damage caused to the environment by human activities have become the norm rather than the exception, making the position of the plasticizers industry untenable in some regions and applications. While this has led to the development of bioplasticizers, which are environmentally viable and thus represent a significant step for the plasticizers markets future development, environmental laws are likely to remain a constraint on the plasticizers market in the near future.Browse Market Research Report with Free Analysis :Global Plasticizers Market: Geographical SegmentationThe report examines the performance of the plasticizers market in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. While North America and Europe remain key consumers of plasticizers, Asia Pacific is the leading contributor to the global market. India and China are the regional leaders in the Asia Pacific market and are likely to remain so thanks to their booming manufacturing sectors. In the coming years, the demand for plasticizers from Russia and Brazil is expected to be crucial for the development of the plasticizers market in the Rest of the World.The report also profiles leading players in the global plasticizers market in order to explain the markets competitive dynamics. Key companies examined in the report include BASF, Eastman, ExxonMobil, Ferro, Teknor Apex, and Shandong Hongxin.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. 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 Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit :
Declining Infant Mortality Rates and Strengthening Economies to Give Baby Diaper Sales in East Africa a Fillip

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Markets for baby diapers in most countries across East Africa are consolidated, with companies such as Procter and Gamble, Kimberly Clark, and Unicharm Corporation accounting for a large share in the markets revenues, states TMR in a new report. In Kenya, the largest contributor to the East Africa baby diapers market in terms of revenues, Procter and Gamble, held a share of 22% in 2015. Product cost being a key determinant of growth in the East Africa baby diapers market, with most countries falling in the developing category, companies have adopted strategies that can help cut down the final selling price of products.Favoring employment of their own distribution agents against the normal strategy of selling products through third party distribution channels is one such strategy that has worked for companies in East Africa. Market players are also focusing on the development of products with biodegradable materials to appeal to the environmentally conscious parents and innovative designs capable of tackling issues concerning effects of diapers on the health of infants. Among the other key vendors in the East Africa baby diapers market are Indevco Group, SCA Hygiene, Johnson and Johnson, Interconsumer Products Ltd., and Mega Soft (Fujian) Hygiene Products Co. Ltd.Get More Information:Transparency Market Research analysts estimate that the market will expand at a 3.6% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024, rising from a valuation of US$155.7 mn in 2015 to US$218.7 mn by 2024. In terms of volume, the market is expected to exhibit a 3.2% CAGR over the said period.Rising Awareness about Personal Hygiene and Decline in Infant Mortality Rate Fuel Demand for Diapers in East AfricaIn the past few years, awareness regarding the need for diapers as a personal hygiene measure for infants and babies has significantly increased among the urban dwelling population in East African countries. Active efforts undertaken by government and non-government organizations to educate the rural population about the need for maintaining hygiene to prevent the outbreak and contracting of infectious diseases has also significantly increased the usage of baby diapers across many countries in East Africa.Rise in disposable incomes and a notable decline in infant mortality rate have also emerged as key factors stimulating the demand for baby diapers in East African countries in the past few years. In developing countries, such as Kenya and Uganda, especially, infant mortality rates have substantially reduced in the past few years. In Kenya and Uganda over the period between 2013 and 2015, infant mortality rates have gone down from 38 to 35.5 and from 41.6 to 37.7 per 1,000 births, respectively. Birth rates are also rising considerably in other East African countries such as Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.The factor of declining infant mortality rates and rising birth rates is expected to have a strong impact on the market for baby diapers in East Africa in the near future. However, the factor will have a moderate impact on the markets growth in the long-term scenario owing to rising awareness about population control in East African countries.Concerns about Potential Health Issues Make Parents Wary of Baby Diapers, Hinder Markets GrowthBrowse The Full Report:Owing to the superior absorption capabilities of baby diapers, a tendency to change diapers after long gaps is rampant among parents. The extreme saturation in the diapers owing to longer in-between changing times causes rashes and other skin troubles to the delicate skins of infants. Some studies have also estimated that baby diapers, especially the disposable ones, lead to infertility as well as testicular cancer in males. Scientists believe that the high amount of heat created in soiled diapers can play a key role in developing such risks. These concerns among parents are restraining the overall development of the East Africa baby diapers market to a certain extent.Nevertheless, the vast untapped opportunities in the East Africa baby diaper market will provide sustainable growth prospects to market vendors in the next few years. Of the key product varieties available in the market, the segment of disposable diapers is the leading segment in terms of both revenue and volume share in the overall market, accounting for a share of over 80% of the East Africa markets overall revenues in 2015. Kenya is the leading market in terms of geography. The country accounted for over 42% share in the markets revenues in 2015.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:
Welcome to Best Bets, a weekly column in which The Oregonian's arts desk separates the wheat from the chaff of upcoming theater, classical music and dance performances and visual arts events. Here are our picks for Oct. 7-13.

"Andy Warhol," Portland Art Museum

In the pantheon of 20th-century art, Andy Warhol is one of the giants, his influence everywhere. Now the Portland Art Museum is opening the largest-ever show of Warhol prints, drawn from the collection of Portland developer Jordan Schnitzer. He'll discuss his collection with Richard H. Axsom, senior curator at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, in an opening-weekend lecture, "Collecting Warhol." Lecture, 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9; on view, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday and Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Oct. 8-Jan. 1, Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave. Lecture/exhibit, $20 adults, $17 seniors and college students, free for ages 17 and younger, portlandartmuseum.org or 503-226-2811.

Portland Open Studios

For an 18th year, Portland artists open their studios to the public to share their inspirations and work. More than 100 artists, selected by a professional jury, will represent mediums ranging from acrylic to sculpture during this self-guided tour throughout the Portland metro area. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 8-9 and 15-16. $15 tour guide, $4.99 mobile app, free map-only app; portlandopenstudios.com.

Nordic Fiddlers Bloc

This European trio makes its Portland debut at Nordia House, in keeping with the musicians' roots: Olav Luksengard Mjelva is from Norway, Anders Hall from Sweden and Kevin Henderson from the Shetland Islands, which sit in the North Sea between the United Kingdom and Norway. They'll present a blend of traditional fiddle music that's won them international acclaim. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, Nordia House, 8800 S.W. Oleson Road. $20-$25, scanheritage.org or 503-977-0275.



"Fuse - Portland Dance Portrait"

For the past year and a half, local photographer Jingzi Zhao has been making pictures of dancers "on the stage of life where each of us live and play," as she puts it. The resulting images invite viewers to appreciate dance and performance art while celebrating Portland. Opening reception, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7; on view, 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 7-25, Multnomah Arts Center Gallery, 7688 S.W. Capitol Highway. Free.

"Heads. Hands. Feet. Tales of Dismemberment," Shaking the Tree

Anyone who's read fairy tales from the pre-Disney era knows they often don't end well, or with their protagonists whole. Shaking the Tree takes three grim tales - "Bluebeard," "The Red Shoes" and "The Handless Maiden" - and blends them with the Greek tragedy "Iphigenia at Aulis" for a night of living uneasily after. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday except Oct. 9, Oct. 7-Nov. 5, also 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 S.E. Grant St. $5-$25, shaking-the-tree.com, 503-235-0635.

"Autumn in Paris," Oregon Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra

The Oregon Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra welcomes fall - or perhaps that should be "l'automne," as the program consists entirely of French composers. Jeffrey Specht conducts pieces by Bizet, Faure, Satie and more. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd. $10-$20, oregonproarte.org or 503-570-6211.

"On Democracy," Newspace Center for Photography

An estimated 100 million viewers tuned in to the first presidential debate Sept. 26, displaying an interest in the election that bodes well for the new exhibit "On Democracy." Fourteen artists responded to the question "What does democracy look like in 2016?" Works were curated by Claartje van Dijk, Assistant Curator at the International Center of Photography, New York. Opening reception, 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7; on view, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Oct. 7-29, Newspace Center for Photography, 1632 S.E. 10th Ave. Free, newspacephoto.org or 503-963-1935.

If you would like your event to be considered for inclusion in Best Bets, email the details to fineartsbestbets@oregonian.com. Find more arts coverage at oregonlive.com/art.
Clarification added

Neighbors heard screams and saw a woman run outside of her apartment with blood on her hands.

The woman said her husband had killed their two children and then himself. One neighbor called 911.

Another neighbor gave shelter to the grief-stricken mother after seeing her stand outside in the rain with no apparent place to go later Wednesday night.

A day after the murder-suicide, the Redwood Creek apartment complex in Beaverton was quiet Thursday, with few signs of the murder-suicide except for crime tape outside Unit 11884. A few residents, bundled in coats against the gray morning, walked dogs along the pathways. Others stayed inside, curtains drawn.

Lakalo Kawika Enfield, 36, killed his 6-year-old son Lakalo Vergara Enfield and his 8-year-old daughter Lehua Elaysea Enfield before shooting and killing himself on Wednesday afternoon, Beaverton police said.

The children's mother and the man's wife, Liezl Vergara Enfield, was in the apartment when the shooting occurred about 4:30 p.m., police said. She left the apartment to get help, police said.

That's when neighbor Sabrina Hayes heard screams and saw Liezl Enfield outside the family's unit. Another neighbor was with Enfield.

The neighbor sat Enfield next to Hayes, who tried to comfort her. The neighbor whispered to Hayes what had happened, she said. Hayes saw blood on the mother's hands.

"My heart dropped. Because I have kids," Hayes said.

When another neighbor heard the screams, he thought it was a traffic accident.

"I didn't imagine something like this would happen here," he said. "It was so surreal. Nothing you would expect in a quiet little town like Beaverton."

He asked not to be identified because Liezl Enfield is staying with him until her family arrives from Hawaii. He didn't know her before the shooting, he said, but he and his girlfriend saw her standing outside with no shoes in the rain afterward as she talked with police officers. They invited her in and let her stay the night, he said. A victims advocate with the Beaverton police has been working with Enfield since Wednesday evening, a spokesman said.

The Enfields moved into the apartment in July, he said. He'd never heard them fight, but would often see the two young children ride their bikes around the sprawling apartment complex while their parents watched.

The man and his girlfriend have children around the same age, he said.

"So it hits really hard," he said. "It's about one of the saddest things I have ever seen."

Beaverton police said Thursday that officers had responded to a domestic violence call at the Enfield home last Thursday. Officers responded to a verbal disturbance between the couple, but there were no signs of assault, police said. The husband agreed to leave to stay with a relative, said spokesman Officer Mike Rowe said.

When police got to the apartment on Wednesday, they found Lakalo Kawika Enfield and the two children. They believed all three were dead and backed out to preserve the scene, a spokesman said. As they reached the front door, they heard a single gunshot as the man shot and killed himself. Before that, they believed he was dead because his wounds were so serious.

The children were in first and second grade at Greenway Elementary School, Beaverton school district spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler said. The district has sent up to a dozen counselors to the school, Wheeler said. The children were new to the school this year, she said.

Beaverton detectives are investigating the deaths, along with the Washington County Major Crimes Team.

"They're in our thoughts and in our hearts," Beaverton police spokesman Officer Jeremy Shaw said. "As they grieve, we grieve as a community."

Jennifer Underwood, who lives across the parking lot from the Enfields' apartment, said she plans to take a personal day at home to process what happened.

"It makes me sad for humanity in general," she said.

-- Samantha Matsumoto

Jim Ryan, Everton Bailey Jr., Rebecca Woolington, Noelle Crombie and Tony Hernandez contributed to this report.

Clarification: Additional information was added on Friday, Oct. 7 about Liezl Enfield speaking with police before her neighbors took her in, as well as mental health services she was given afterward, according to her neighbor.
The noise is loud, immediate and angry. It usually goes something like this: "Sellouts!" "Buh-bye." "NOOOOO!"

What is it? It's the sound of craft beer lovers' teeth gnashing, hearts crashing and pints smashing when their favorite brewery sells to an international corporation.

Oregon first heard it in 1998, when Anheuser-Busch bought a stake in craft beer pioneer Widmer, a deal extended last month. It became deafening in fall 2014, when Bend darling 10 Barrel Brewing was bought by international conglomeration AB InBev. Then this past July, Springfield's Hop Valley Brewing slipped into the secure embrace of MillerCoors.

Some argue that by teaming up with big beer, 10 Barrel, Hop Valley, Widmer and the rest are abandoning the local, us-against-them ethos so embraced in the craft brewing industry of Oregon and elsewhere. Other say they are spreading the word about Oregon beer and simply achieving The American Dream: work hard, pay your dues, hit the big time.

But it raises a more urgent question for craft beer passionados sitting around the bar: Should you continue to drink those breweries' beers, or do you need to permanently set aside that lovely 10 Barrel Apocalypse IPA or that tangy, delicious Hop Valley Citrus Mistress?

You can guess which camp Charles Hare is in. The Hop Valley co-founder says the brewery will continue to make the same beer, hold the same values and employ the same kinds of people. He said the MillerCoors purchase, terms of which neither side is disclosing, was the best and smartest way for Hop Valley to expand as it joins the effort to spread the word about Oregon beer beyond the state.

Oregon's brewing industry 2015

228

brewing facilities (4th in US)

7.7

breweries per capita, 21 years and older (2nd in US behind California)

1.08 million

barrels produced (8th in US)

$1.8 billion

economic impact

$631

economic impact per capita (2nd in US behind California)

11.3

gallons per adult, 21 years and older (5th in US)

(Source: Brewers Association)

"The people who aren't going to drink our beer, I'm sorry about that," Hare said during a recent phone interview. "But we're the same people and the same beer, and I can't change that. The amount of people who will stop drinking our beer vs. the number who will have the opportunity to drink it, that's going to be a much bigger number."

Rob Widmer, who founded Widmer Brothers Brewing with brother Kurt in 1984, said people are extremely passionate about the purchases but ultimately understand why they happen.

"I'll explain our deal and ask people, 'OK, so what's wrong with our AB deal?'" he said. "And people can't really explain their reasoning except emotionally."

The purchases are a growing trend: Once-dominant megabreweries are fighting slipping market share by snatching up breweries from a craft beer scene experiencing robust gains. The bigs get a foothold in areas where craft beer is strong; the littles get access to distribution, resources and money.

Nikos Ridge, co-founder of Eugene's Ninkasi Brewing, has a different perspective than his cross-town rivals at Hop Valley.

"You become part of a system that is very powerful and provides access to a lot of resources, but they're also not really aligned with the values of the craft industry," Ridge said. "For many years they've worked to try to keep the craft industry from growing. If they had their way, they'd sell every beer sold in the U.S., and that's not what the craft industry is about."

Realizing the dream

MillerCoors execs didn't come knocking. Hop Valley approached them.

It was a smart business decision, Hare said. Hop Valley was a rapidly expanding Northwest brewery with a short window for growth in a fiercely competitive scene. So he and his three fellow co-founders thought, what do we need and what do we want?

U.S. beer sales 2015

Overall beer market

Production: 196 million barrels

Sales: $105.9 billion

Growth: -.2%

Craft beer

Production: 24.1 million barrels (+12.8%)

Sales: $22.3 billion

Growth: 16%

Market share: 12.2%

(Source: Brewers Association)

The answer was to grow, repay investors and get rid of millions of debt acquired after a big expansion. MillerCoors allowed them to do that but also to retain majority ownership of the brewery, Hare said.

The deal gave Hop Valley access to distribution channels, bigger marketing muscle, and better access and prices for hops and malts. Hop Valley, hoping to join other bigger breweries in more widely distributing Oregon beer, had struggled outside the state. It introduced the brand in California's Bay Area but found significant barriers to breaking into the market.

"We wanted to get big fast, but it wasn't our goal to partner with a publicly traded partner," he said. "But we started to realize the ripple effect of how you get far away from home it gets hard to sell your beer."

Knowing AB InBev's craft beer division, The High End, had recently bought 10 Barrel Brewing, Hop Valley reached out to MillerCoors. Hare said the deal allows his brewery, which opened in Springfield in 2009 and has a taproom and brewery in Eugene, to retain some ownership of the company. He said Tenth and Blake -- MillerCoors' craft and import division -- lets the Hop Valley management team run the brewery on a day-to-day basis and make decisions on brewing and distribution.

Notable craft brewery purchases in the U.S.

Leinenkugel

(Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin); founded in 1867, sold to Miller Brewing in 1988 (now MillerCoors)

Bridgeport

(Northwest Portland); c

onsidered Portland's original craft brewery, founded in 1984, sold to The Gambrinus Co. in 1995

Widmer

(North Portland); founded in 1984, entered deal with Anheuser-Busch in 1996. Merged with Redhook of Seattle in 2008 to form the Craft Brew Alliance, which is minority owned by AB InBev. The alliance now also includes Kona Brewing of Hawaii.

Brewery Ommegang

(Cooperstown, N.Y.); founded in 1997, sold to Devel Moortgat in 2005

Goose Island

(Chicago); f

ounded in 1988, sold to AB InBev in 2011

Portland Brewing

(Northwest Portland); f

ounded in 1986, sold to Pyramid Brewing in 2004; Pyramid sold to North American Breweries in 2010; NAB sold to Florida Ice & Farm. Co. in 2012

Boulevard Brewing

(Kansas City, Missouri); founded in 1989, sold to Belgium's Duvel Moortgat in 2013

Ballast Point

(San Diego); founded in 1996, sold to Constellation Brands, distributor of Pacifico, Corona and Modelo, in 2015

10 Barrel Brewing

(Bend); founded in 2006, sold to AB InBev in 2014

Breckenridge

(Breckenridge, Colorado); founded in 1990, sold to AB InBev in 2015

Lagunitas

(Petaluma, California); founded in 1993, sold 50 percent stake to Heineken NV in 2015

Golden Road

(Los Angeles); founded in 2011, sold to AB InBev in 2015

Firestone Walker

(Paso Robles, California); founded in 1996, sold to Duvel Moortgat in 2015

Elysian

(Seattle); founded in 1996, sold to AB InBev in 2015

Hop Valley

(Springfield); founded in 2009, sold majority stake to MillerCoors in 2016

"MillerCoors doesn't want to put people from their company into ours," Hare said. "They don't want to tell us what ingredients to use or what beers to make."

10 Barrel, which has a popular Pearl District brewpub in Portland, entered the AB InBev deal for the same reasons -- significantly increased growth in capacity, marketing and distribution, said co-founder Chris Cox, who responded to emailed questions with partners Jeremy Cox and Garrett Wales. He said AB InBev lets the 10 Barrel crew run the business.

"We have the same core brew team that we had pre-partnership, our quality and consistency has only gotten better, and we are innovating like crazy," Wales said. He also said such a deal should be a point of pride for Oregonians, because their home-state beers "now get to more people than ever before, and we played a large role in that."

And what about that "sellout" tag pinned by some craft purists onto 10 Barrel?

"I personally can care less," said Jeremy Cox, "because I made the right decision for my business and family. Our beers are better, our employees are happier and we are having more fun. That's all I care about."

Total domination, via a different path

Back in Eugene, Ridge and founding partner Jamie Floyd oversee an operation that churns out one of the most recognized and popular Oregon brands in the state and beyond, led by its flagship beer, Total Domination IPA.

Ridge, who spoke recently by phone, said the brewery leaders wanted to grow and become a go-to brand, but other factors were also important. He said Ninkasi has been approached by both MillerCoors and AB InBev but rejected them, never even getting to the point of discussing a sale price.

"How much money do you need?" said Ridge, who brewed his first batch of beer with Floyd in 2006. "What's the difference between $5 million and $50 million. It's just a lifestyle choice. We're doing what we set out to do, which is have an awesome brewery and make awesome beer, and that's enough for us."

He recognizes the industry is evolving and things are becoming more cutthroat.

"I 100 percent believe in everyone's right to make their own decisions and do what's right for them," Ridge said. "But I think historically people got into it to build a brewery, and more recently some people have gotten into it to build a business."

The Widmer brothers started brewing more than 30 years ago because they wanted to drink beer they and their friends liked. And that, Rob said, is when they really sold out.

"Over the years people are like, 'You sold out, you sold out,'" he said during a recent interview. "But yes, we sold out in 1984, because we didn't have any money and banks wouldn't loan to us, and we got money from friends and family, so yeah, we sold out to them."

Widmer said he sees corporate breweries as fierce competitors but not as the enemy, as many people perceive.

"We don't think the consumer is served by fighting," he said. "We may disagree on a lot of things, but at the end of the day, we're all about making beer. I just thinking bashing the large brewers is not the way to go."

The recent deal with AB InBev extends the distribution agreement through 2028. But it also adds a plan to move some production to AB InBev facilities and a clause allowing the behemoth to buy the Craft Brew Alliance, a group of breweries that includes Widmer and Seattle's Redhook Brewery. Widmer said the brewery's recent expansion means it has no immediate plans to move production to AB InBev.

Widmer said the key element of the contract was the distribution extension. The production clause was added in case it's needed at some point. And what of that part about selling a majority stake someday?

"Who knows. Not today," he said. "We don't know what the industry is going to look like in two years. Our management team and AB InBev's wanted to have these options available in case they make sense at some point."

Tough decisions on tap

Tomas Sluiter hopes someday to have such a decision to make. The Michigan native started Culmination Brewing in Northeast Portland last year, and as a small brewer he feels the strong connection that beer evangelicals feel with their local brewery -- it's something unique to craft brewing.

"There's no right or wrong answer," Sluiter said from his tasting room recently. "As a straight-up businessman, I see its benefits. But it changes your soul.

"I'd never judge a fellow entrepreneur for this," he said. "You never envision how hard it is to do this. You get older and you get tired, and someone comes along and offers you millions -- it's hard to say no."

Sluiter said breweries don't have to lose their community roots simply because they partner with a corporation. Widmer, for example, lent marketing and production expertise to Culmination when the smaller brewery opened in Northeast Portland in 2015, and Widmer does free lab work for small breweries.

For Widmer, these moves pay forward the favors the Blitz-Weinhard crew did for the brothers when they first set up shop.

The ultimate answer, of course, is what the mugholder on the barstool thinks. Brent Wilson, an advertising executive having a pint with a friend recently at Northeast Portland's Moon & Sixpence, sees it as a positive.

"If an investment by one of the giants allows (Hop Valley's) Alphadelic to be available to other beer lovers across the nation, I see that as a win for consumers and a win for Oregon," Wilson said. "Hop Valley's brewery will grow, and our local pride will grow, as well."

His was a common refrain with patrons interviewed at the pub. Many at the Moon said if the quality of the beer doesn't change, they're all good.

And while Sluiter said he fears "the endgame of the big guys," it's also how capitalism works. "Big fish eats the little fish. Ultimately that's a disservice to the customer, though, because you end up with only one fish."

And that, Ninkasi's Ridge said, is why he won't buy those corporate-affiliated brands.

"If anyone wants to see the actual craft brewery industry continue to grow and thrive, then you probably don't want to give money to those companies," he said, "and if you don't really care, then it doesn't really make that much of a difference."

Hop Valley's Hare, for his part, said having options and variety is a good thing.

"Do I eat ice cream from Haagen-Dazs? Sure, but I love the local ice cream here, too," he said. "This is the American dream for us. If people want to be upset for putting a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it and doing the best for the brand, I can't argue. We put a plan in place, and that plan was very fluid, and where we are, none of us would change it for the world."

-- Andre Meunier

503-221-8488

@AndreMeunier13
Colin Dickey isn't just telling ghost tales in "Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places" (Viking, 331 pages, $27). Rather, he plucks a particular tale, presents the paranormal elements, then illuminates the broader historical and societal context, examining why the story keeps such a hold on the public fancy.

His tour includes a stop in Portland's St. Johns neighborhood, where residents still talk about the 1949 murder of 15-year-old Thelma Taylor, a Roosevelt High School student. Some say her screams can still be heard in Cathedral Park, carried on the wind coming off the nearby river; Dickey ponders the history of the park itself and the power of cautionary tales as factors in the lingering fascination with her story, nearly 70 years later.

Dickey will discuss "Ghostland" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. He recently answered questions about the book.

Q: How did you decide to include Portland on your virtual tour of haunted places?

A: I went to college out in Forest Grove at Pacific University and spent a lot of time in Portland, and I still have family and friends here. And Portland has always struck me as a city that very much still has one foot in the past, and is very much aware of its history. Some places - like Las Vegas, for example - tear down their old buildings to make room for the new, but I've always loved Portland for its ability to preserve an older charm. It can feel like New Orleans or Savannah in that regard--and I think in such places, ghosts come with the territory.

Q: What made you choose the Thelma Taylor case to represent Portland?

A: Many ghost stories are based on past tragedies, but when I first learned about Thelma Taylor's story, I was struck because this wasn't a tragedy from the 19th century, but something still fairly recent. People still have memories of Thelma Taylor - including her sister, whom I interviewed for the book - and that changes the way we might otherwise approach any stories of her ghost haunting Portland. I wanted to write about her story to examine how a relatively recent tragedy can be transformed - almost in real time - into a ghost legend.

Q. You're described as "agnostic" when it comes to the supernatural - what makes you an agnostic?

A: Whenever you have discussions between skeptics and people who believe in ghosts, it quickly becomes a circular argument: it's so hard to change someone's beliefs about something so primal. So I decided with this book, I would sidestep that question as to whether the supernatural does or doesn't exist, and focus instead on how these legends affect their communities - how ghost stories change and evolve over time, and how they come to define a place. Ultimately, I think that my personal belief is less interesting than exploring the impact and legacy of these haunted places and what they say about their surroundings.

Q: Why do we love the idea of haunted places so much?

A: The poet Edward Young once wrote, "We love to be at once, miserable, and unhurt": I think many of us love the thrill of haunted places, of dangerous worlds, and unknown mysteries, particularly when it's just a story, when we're not actually in danger. Haunted places offer us this thrill, to be sure, but they also offer a way for us to access the past, and to understand the history of the places around us. They remind us that we're connected to something larger, a longer timeline that stretches into the past and will continue into the future.

Here's an excerpt from "Ghostland."

***

In the video there is first the image of kids, their flashlights to their chins, then giggling in the darkness. One is named Isaiah, another Vinnie, the third Jamison - beyond that there's not much more information about them. They could be in their early twenties, but they continue to giggle like schoolchildren. The camera drops, there's fumbling. They could be drunk, high. They're clearly enjoying themselves, barely keeping it together.

They are beneath the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon. Portland's bridges are so spectacular that one of the city's many nicknames is "Bridge City," but St. Johns is perhaps its most beautiful. A dual suspension bridge patinaed in copper green, it rises above the Willamette River like a smaller, more refined Golden Gate Bridge. On the west side it crosses over NW St. Helens Road before meeting NW Bridge Avenue; on the east side of the river the bridge towers above a gentle slope, descending gracefully into Portland's St. Johns district.

The land under the bridge on the east side is now called Cathedral Park, named for the sweeping gothic arches that form the supports for the bridge above it. It captures a great deal of the city's scenic beauty: the gently flowing river, the hints of industrialization dwarfed by the mountains and the evergreens all around it. It is, though, surprisingly noisy: the cars rushing by a hundred feet above your head and the wind coursing through the gothic arches all around you combine to create a sense of voices and howlings that accompany you through the park. On the bridge's supports signs blare out warnings: DANGER: FALLING OBJECTS, PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The kids who have made this YouTube video are there for the ghost of Thelma Taylor. In 1949 Taylor, then fifteen years old, was abducted from under the bridge. At the time there was no park, just dirt, junk, and bushes spilling out in all directions. Taylor was hitching a ride to a summer job when she was picked up by Morris Leland, a twenty-two-year-old drifter.

A week after Taylor's disappearance, police pulled Leland over for stealing a car and took him down to the police station, where, without prompting, he asked to talk to a homicide detective. He proceeded to make a full confession, describing in detail how he'd murdered Taylor, covered her body in driftwood, and wiped his prints off her lunch pail before leaving the scene. He offered to take the police to the place where he'd left her remains. Until that moment he was just a petty criminal who'd stolen a few cars. The murder of Thelma Taylor was something else entirely, and it was weighing on him when he blurted out his confession to the detective. He was tried in 1951, quickly found guilty, and sentenced to death. After several unsuccessful appeals, Leland went to Oregon's gas chamber in 1953.

The stories told about Taylor are predictably gruesome: she was raped and tortured for seven days, they say, before she was finally killed. "Oh yeah," one diner owner told the local news in a 2013 special about the murdered girl, "I've been down there at night and heard her scream, 'Help me, help me - somebody help me!' " This is why people come to find Taylor: they want the chills that go with a brush with death, the intoxication that comes with being close to mortality.

From GHOSTLAND: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey, published on October 4th by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright (c) 2016 by Colin Dickey.
Updated: 2:31 p.m.

Tamaryah Williams, 15, is a sophomore at Jefferson High School who says he's been playing percussion since he was three years old.

"I enjoy playing the drums," he said over Facebook Thursday, "because it's got me into a lot of things."

Williams says the school he attended from kindergarten to eighth grade, Vernon K-8, had music classes but no band program. Instead, he was part of the Self Enhancement, Inc. drumline from third to seventh grades.

But when he got to Jefferson High School, Williams wasn't able to explore his love of music in a class. That's because Jefferson doesn't have a band. In fact, they don't have any class-based music programs during the school day at all.

Courtney Westling, spokesperson for Portland Public Schools acknowledges that Jefferson has no music program, though, she said over email Thursday, "They are working on hiring a vocal music teacher."

Though there is no music class program at Jefferson, there is an after school club called "Sounds of Jefferson." That program is named after the class that previously served as the school's band.

Now, said Williams, 10 kids meet and play music together. The program is overseen by former Jefferson band director Jim Little.



But the club doesn't have funding for all the things a band needs, like instruments and gear for traveling. That's why in March, Williams started a GoFundMe, to raise money for Sounds of Jefferson.

The campaign has drawn some attention since Portland-bred comedian Ian Karmel tweeted about it last week. A few days after that tweet, the crowdfunding campaign hit its goal of $3,660.

Williams is excited about the possibility the funds give his band, calling it an achievement.

After KATU reported on the program being forced to end due to lack of funding, another fundraiser was set up on the site CrowdRise. That campaign, which is officially sanctioned by the PTSA, has earned $2,700 so far. Williams' GoFundMe is not officially sanction.

Westling, from Portland Public Schools, wrote in an email, "The PTSA and Jefferson staff are working closely to find a solution."

She added, "It's great that students are involved in the process."

We called other Portland-area public high schools to check which ones have in-school band and music programs. David Douglas, Madison, Franklin, Cleveland, Wilson, Grant, Westview, Sunset, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Riverdale High Schools all confirmed that they have band classes.

Benson High School is the only other Portland area public school we found with no music programs available during the day. Benson also does not have any after-school music programs, according to the woman who answered the phone at the school.

In what is considered the "whitest city in America," Jefferson and Benson have two of the highest populations of African American students of the 13 Portland-area public high school we surveyed, 53.8 percent and 20.1 percent respectively. Roosevelt, which has a band program, has the third highest African American population, at 19.9 percent.

Some schools, like Riverdale, have a requirement that students take arts electives. Heather Crowe, spokesperson for the Riverdale District, said over the phone that the school values music and its impact on academics. "Studies show that people who learn an instrument learn subjects better," she said.

"It's thought of as enrichment and it shouldn't be," Crowe added. "It should be part of a learning environment for all students."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
Balzer big.jpg

Former Coffee Creek Correctional Facility corrections officer Brian Balzer was found guilty of custodial sexual misconduct in Washington County Circuit Court.

(Oregon Department of Corrections, AFSCME)

After spending 50 days jailed as a victim in a sexual misconduct case involving a former prison guard, Brandy Lee Buckmaster was freed Thursday.

Washington County jurors found the ex-corrections officer, Brian Balzer, 42, guilty of one count of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct. His sentencing was set for Nov. 28.

Balzer, who has remained free since his December arrest, was allowed to remain out of custody before the sentencing hearing. He could face prison time for having sex with Buckmaster when he was a guard and she was an inmate at the state women's prison in Wilsonville. He has since left the job and Buckmaster was no longer in prison when the investigation began.

Brian Balzer

Buckmaster, 41, had been jailed as a material witness in the case - sitting in the Washington County Jail since August. Circuit Judge Beth Roberts ordered Buckmaster's release after her testimony and the conclusion of the state's case. She left the jail shortly before noon.

"I'm trying to breathe now," Buckmaster told The Oregonian/OregonLive Thursday evening. Her boyfriend picked her up from jail and she's back home in Lane County, she said.

She was relieved by the verdict but upset that Balzer wasn't arrested afterward.

"I paid for all my stuff," she said. "He needs to pay for what he did."

Buckmaster now plans to possibly pursue a civil case against the Oregon Department of Corrections and Washington County, she said. She's represented by McMinnville attorney Brent Goodfellow.

"I was treated unjustly," she said. "And that's not fair."

A judge had earlier ordered that Buckmaster remain in custody because of the state's fear that she wouldn't show up to testify. The Oregonian/OregonLive generally doesn't identify victims of alleged sex crimes, but Buckmaster has wanted her name used.

In Oregon, there's no limit for how long a material witness can be held, but incarceration generally lasts for less than a week. Material witness detention laws exist in nearly every state. The statute is used most often when witnesses don't want to testify for fear of retaliation. Gang cases are a common example.

The laws allow attorneys to seek a warrant and court order to hold an important witness who presents a flight risk. Last year, Washington County drew national attention for holding a witness in a murder case for more than 900 days, making him the longest-held material witness in Oregon and perhaps the nation.

As a material witness, Buckmaster earned $7.50 a day. The district attorney's office paid her $315 to put on her books while she was in jail, according to her attorney.

Buckmaster's long-awaited testimony came this week. She was shackled and wore an orange jailed-issued shirt and green striped pants. She described both her relationship with Balzer and what it's like to be jailed without a criminal allegation or conviction.

She had grown closer to Balzer while serving time at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, she testified. She talked to him about her drug addiction, past sex abuse and her daughter, who is now 24 years old.

Balzer called her "Irish eyes," she said, and sent her a love letter under the pseudonym "Kalvin K Kane" - a name he knew she'd recognize because of her white supremacy association. The connection between them eventually culminated in kisses and sexual acts within the prison walls, she said.

While in jail as a witness, Buckmaster testified, she was put on several medications, some to treat eating disorders and another for anxiety. Her anxiety, she said, stemmed from being in jail, pacing in her cell and reliving what happened. It's traumatic, she told jurors, to be locked up as the accuser and not the accused.

She grew emotional during her testimony when Deputy District Attorney Dan Hesson and later a defense lawyer questioned her about whether she had plans to sue Balzer or the state.

None of her actions were about money, she said.

Balzer's attorney, Casey Kovacic, told jurors he recognized Buckmaster has had a hard time being jailed as a witness. But she spent her life committing crimes, including many that involve deception, and her story about her sexual contact with Balzer didn't line up, Kovacic argued. She used Balzer, the defense lawyer said.

Balzer caught on to Buckmaster's intentions, as she asked him for more and more things, and ended their relationship, Kovacic told jurors. When investigators came knocking to investigate Balzer, Buckmaster participated and consulted a civil attorney because she was looking to profit, Kovacic said.

"She saw this as an opportunity," he said. "She saw a path to easy money."

But the prosecutor told jurors that didn't make sense. If Buckmaster wanted to sue Balzer or the Department of Corrections, Hesson said, she would have turned over evidence to a civil attorney instead of police.

Balzer and Buckmaster had connected in prison, Hesson said. They kissed in a closet and eventually met in a prison building out of the eye of surveillance cameras in December 2012. In the building, Balzer performed a sex act on Buckmaster, leading to the criminal charge against him.

The evidence, Hesson said, supported Buckmaster's story.

"He and she were messing around when she was in the institution," Hesson told jurors during closing arguments.

After more than four hours of deliberation, jurors returned their verdict and agreed.

Emily E. Smith of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington
18279181-mmmain.jpg

Brad Avakian is running for Oregon secretary of state.

(File Photo)

BRAD AVAKIAN FOR SECRETARY OF STATE: Regarding "Dennis Richardson for Oregon secretary of state," (Oct. 2): When it comes to choosing Oregon's next secretary of state, I'm looking for a candidate who has demonstrated impartiality by supporting equal rights for all. That candidate is Brad Avakian. The editorial board, however, contends that Dennis Richardson's "socially conservative views ... are irrelevant for the job that he seeks."

I cannot trust Dennis Richardson to conduct fair and impartial elections. He spent 11 years in the Oregon Legislature working to roll back the rights of women and trying to prevent Oregonians from marrying who they love. This is a man who wrote in a 1990 letter to The Oregonian that "a woman relinquishes her unfettered right to control her own body when her actions cause the conception of a baby." But the editorial board trusts him to be impartial.

Dennis Richardson is wrong for Oregon. Brad Avakian stands up for the values of me and most Oregonians. Avakian has earned my vote.

Lauren Newman, Southeast Portland
pe.boeing

As a part of Manufacturing Day, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker toured the Boeing facility in Gresham that treats metals used in building aircraft.

(Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian)

Penny Pritzker

From coast to coast, manufacturers built this country. Entire communities and industries rose to prominence on the backs of steelworkers in Pennsylvania, autoworkers in Michigan and semiconductor assembly workers here in Oregon.

For millions of Americans in these communities, manufacturing has been a source of good-paying jobs that pave the way to the middle class, allowing families to earn enough to buy a home, send a kid to college and save for retirement.

These are the opportunities we celebrate today, on Manufacturing Day, at a time when the sector is on the rise. Eight years ago, no one could have predicted that America's manufacturing sector would ever bounce back.

After a half century of steady growth, it took just nine years for the industry to collapse. From 2000 to 2009, our manufacturing sector lost approximately one-third of its workforce. Sixty-thousand factories closed their doors, sending shockwaves through our economy.

Thanks in part to a number of tough decisions made by President Obama, there are roughly 830,000 more American jobs in manufacturing today than six years ago. Even in the face of global headwinds, companies are looking to fill more than 350,000 manufacturing jobs. Here in Oregon, manufacturing employs one out of every 10 workers and contributed about two-thirds of the state's growth over the last year.

American manufacturing is also more agile, more advanced, more diversified than it's ever been. What we make - and the way we make it - is changing. The building blocks for next-generation vehicles, airplanes and infrastructure are carbon fiber, metal powders and composite materials.

Today's manufacturing sector is an innovative, constantly evolving field that can lead to lasting careers and stronger communities. Despite this incredible shift, the word "manufacturing" conjures images of the assembly-line jobs of the past for too many students, teachers and parents.

For the sector to succeed, we need to change that perception. Manufacturing today depends on talented, flexible and imaginative young people pursuing careers in cutting-edge fields like engineering, computer programming and industrial design.

On Manufacturing Day, thousands of factories, research labs and businesses across our country are opening their doors and showcasing what "Made in America" looks like in the 21st century. Students will have the chance to hear directly from young people who are building a manufacturing career.

As part of Manufacturing Day, I had the opportunity to tour Lam Research in Tualatin. The machines at Lam make it possible to build the powerful, yet microscopic components inside our favorite smartphones and tablets. But to stay ahead of the competition, Lam and other manufacturers constantly need new talent and creative ideas, like those of recent college graduate Lauren Bales, who is employed at nearby Boeing.

When Bales went off to college, she wasn't sure what kind of career she wanted. A class in engineering ignited her interest in aerospace. Bales applied to almost every Boeing internship she could find before her persistence paid off.

Today, she is a full-time manufacturing engineer at Boeing. There, she works on the aircraft of the future - planes that will deliver us to our destinations much faster using less energy.

In the next decade there will be an estimated 30,000 manufacturing job openings in Oregon. These opportunities are ripe for the taking. We want to see more young people follow in Bale's footsteps and pursue careers in high-wage, high-demand fields such as industrial engineering, digital automation, machining and computer programming.

Among young people today, manufacturing still ranks last as an career choice. We at the Department of Commerce created Manufacturing Day to help challenge that view for generations to come.

Share your opinion

Submit your essay of 700 words or less to commentary@oregonlive.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification.

Through recessions and competition from abroad, American manufacturing remains one of our country's greatest success stories. From Samuel Slater's textile mill to Henry Ford's Model T to today's 3D printers, we are a country that innovates, makes and sells to the world.

This Manufacturing Day, we hope that more young people will be inspired to consider careers in a sector that will continue to spur and sustain our dynamic, growing economy for years to come.

Penny Pritzker has served as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce since 2013. She toured several local companies while in the Portland area this week.
Oregon Minimum Wage

Protesters pound on the walls outside of the House Chamber in the Capitol Building, in Salem , Ore., on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. The group were calling for local control of rent control laws, higher minimum wage and an end to homeless camp sweeps.

(Timothy J. Gonzalez/AP Photo)

Tina Kotek

Oregon has a housing crisis, and it is our shared responsibility to solve it.

The instability caused by evictions and the lack of affordable housing are not new issues -- low-income people and communities of color can attest to that. But the depth and breadth of the problem has finally made it too big to ignore, especially as more people move here while current public policies fail to keep up with the times.

The Legislature made some progress in this year's session. We prioritized additional spending and made a handful of systemic changes. I'm glad we made progress, but I'm not satisfied. We need to talk next steps about what more we can do to solve this crisis.

Read more

on Rep. Tina Kotek's proposal to lift the state's rent-control ban.

For the Legislature, the "next steps" mean returning to unfinished business around tenant protections. It means expanding the investments we made in the last two sessions. It means helping communities do their part.

Frankly, it means things are going to get uncomfortable. Discomfort and determination are necessary when dealing with a crisis. We all need to be up to the task.

Here's one uncomfortable but very real problem: Some developers and property owners are making excessive profit and benefiting from this housing crisis. Some may shrug and say that's simply supply and demand. But that doesn't make it right, and it certainly doesn't work for the Oregonians feeling the full brunt of this crisis.

The foreclosure epidemic and Great Recession pushed a tidal wave of Americans into the rental market as construction of housing slowed, thus increasing competition for rental housing. Now, nearly a decade later, we have a booming economy and rapidly growing population, yet far too many Oregonians can't afford a safe, decent place to call home. Meanwhile, evictions have skyrocketed as some owners make way for new tenants with bigger salaries or evict entire buildings with plans to renovate and join the luxury apartment market.

Our housing crisis is a man-made emergency that demands bold action. We have privileged the right to make a profit on property far above the universal human right to safe, stable housing. We have a market where a select few own multiple homes while unprecedented numbers of people are unsheltered or at risk of homelessness with every rent increase. This is not the Oregon we want.

We need to reset the scales and pass policies that will help prevent homelessness, protect tenants and preserve the affordable housing we have. And we need to increase the housing stock going forward. To that end, I believe the state needs to take an aggressive stance in the 2017 legislative session.

First, we need to take bold steps to increase equity and fairness for renters. As rents rise in hot markets -- in Portland, Bend, Eugene and across the state -- people are displaced to surrounding communities, which ultimately drives up rents regionally. Too many property owners are taking advantage of the market conditions by evicting tenants, raising rents and finding new people who can pay more.

What does this mean for the Oregonians who are evicted? They are typically poor, often women, and disproportionately people of color. Their whole lives are suddenly disrupted, their kids may have to switch schools mid-year, and with an eviction on their record, their search for an available, affordable place to move will likely be extremely difficult or, tragically, impossible.

Next session, we need to change the law so we only have "just cause" evictions, because it will help stabilize communities and protect tenants from unjust, no-cause evictions.

Here's another problem we need to address: Rents are skyrocketing, but wages are not keeping up. We raised the minimum wage, but that won't be enough to make up the gap. More than a quarter of renters in Oregon pay 50 percent or more of their household income on rent, leaving them with less and less money to pay for food, medicine and transportation.

Next session, rent stabilization will be on the docket. We can no longer avoid this discussion. I will fight for a statewide ban on rent increases above a reasonable percentage until the housing crisis subsides.

Share your opinion

Submit your essay of 700 words or less to commentary@oregonlive.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification.

We also need to increase the number of units available to meet demand and stabilize rents in the long-term. However, with an estimated statewide shortage of almost 100,000 units for extremely low-income people alone, it will take years to catch up. In the meantime, families shouldn't have their lives destroyed simply because some owners believe the market will bear it.

Our community can't bear it. Our neighbors can't bear it.

We need to come together to have the difficult, honest conversations that will lead us to meaningful solutions. It's time to prioritize the human right to safe, affordable housing.

Democratic Rep. Tina Kotek is speaker of the Oregon House and represents North and Northeast Portland.
Arts tax

Students at King Elementary School in Northeast Portland.

(File Photo)

PORTLAND ARTS TAX AND MEASURE 97: A couple of weeks ago I was surprised to receive a menacing notice from the city stating that I had failed to pay my arts tax last spring and, instead of owing $35, I now owed $140. Like the parking ticket golem, you can't get through on the phone to clarify the situation -- you're just supposed to pay up -- to tell anyone that you already paid the tax and that the city cashed the check on April 16, 2016.

It's infuriating to be fined and threatened yet again for being poor in Portlandia. At the age of 62, and as a writer who has little time to write, I spend most of my time trying to survive in the city I was born and raised -- and probably won't be able to afford to die in.

On my day off this week I canvassed for Better Oregon's "Yes on Measure 97" campaign to make out-of-state corporations, such as Comcast and Wells Fargo, pay their fair share of taxes on Oregon sales of more than $25 million. Oregon is at the bottom of the list nationally for collecting this tax revenue that could be used to better fund schools, health care, senior services and real affordable housing. Rather than harassing people like me who live at poverty level with an arts tax while giving corporations and developers carte blanche, the city should be focusing on supporting a diverse, healthy and sustainable city.

I want the city to reimburse me for the time, postage and distress this missive has caused. Since a living wage in Portland is $22.50 per hour, I would like to ask that the city remit to me $70. It will help me pay next year's arts tax.

Laura Feldman, North Portland
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Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine (L) and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence (R) speak during the Vice Presidential Debate at Longwood University on October 4, 2016 in Farmville, Virginia.

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Eugene Robinson

WASHINGTON -- Tuesday's encounter between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence was substantive at times and contentious throughout. But the eminences who run the Commission on Presidential Debates should ask themselves this question: Why have a vice-presidential debate at all?

Of course there should be some sort of public forum for voters to get to know the individuals who might find themselves, as the cliche goes, a heartbeat away from the presidency. But the debate format told us little about Kaine and Pence that we didn't already know.

For those keeping score on performance, I thought Pence was a bit more polished and poised. Kaine came out of the gate with the clear intention of being aggressive, and his tactic from the beginning was to interrupt the Indiana governor almost every time he spoke. By the midpoint of the debate, Pence, too was interrupting frequently when Kaine had the floor. But first impressions linger.

As for what the candidates said, it quickly became clear that the two men had little interest in talking to each other. Kaine was there to attack Republican candidate Donald Trump, and Pence was there to attack Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. It is too soon to say who drew blood and how much, though I do think Kaine may have come away with more ammunition for attack ads.

Whenever the subject under discussion gave Kaine an opening -- and quite often when it didn't -- Kaine reminded viewers of outrageous and offensive things Trump has said, such as his allegation that Mexican immigrants are "bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people."

Pence actually tried to defend that statement, believe it or not. When Kaine raised other appalling Trump statements, Pence would generally shake his head in negation -- which was odd, since all this stuff is on videotape -- or pretend he hadn't been listening.

Attempts by both candidates to land a knockout punch did not go well. During a discussion of Social Security -- which Kaine claimed Trump and Pence want to privatize -- Pence tried to echo Ronald Reagan: "There they go again," he said, but it sounded contrived. Kaine, trying to capitalize on Trump's problems of the last week, said that "Donald Trump can't start a Twitter war with Miss Universe without shooting himself in the foot." But the line totally missed the significance of Trump's feud with Alicia Machado, which is that Trump's behavior was sexist and cruel.

Moderator Elaine Quijano, armed with a long list of topics she wanted to cover, shifted gears briskly. She frequently cut off exchanges just when they were getting interesting. A bigger problem was that the candidates so often insisted on talking over each other. It was at times impossible to understand what either man was saying.

Pence did a lot of smiling, frowning and head-shaking while Kaine was speaking, and that's generally not a good thing to do in a debate. Kaine kept his facial expressions under control, even his rogue eyebrow.

Kaine went after Trump for his temperament, his business bankruptcies, his refusal to release his income taxes, his boast that he is "smart" if he manages to avoid paying federal income taxes at all, his admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin's leadership qualities ... so many issues, so little time. Trying to cram it all in made him sound rushed.

Pence's list of particulars was shorter and his cadence slower, but he must have missed school the day his classmates learned what a non sequitur is. My favorite among many was when Quijano asked about the "intelligence surge" that Clinton proposes as part of her plan for fighting terrorism. Kaine went first and described the concept. Pence ignored the subject altogether and instead gave a prosecutorial soliloquy about Clinton's emails.

For me, the most interesting part came at the end when Quijano asked about social issues. Kaine said his Catholic faith leads him to oppose both the death penalty and abortion -- but that as governor of Virginia, he believed he was duty-bound to enforce laws allowing both. Pence spoke of being an evangelical Christian and explained why his faith leads him to oppose abortion. It sounded, finally, like a genuine discussion. But it lasted just a few minutes, and then the debate was over.

I know what Kaine and Pence got out of the evening: They established themselves as national political figures, and also managed to avoid harming their respective candidates' chances. The benefit for voters, however, was harder to discern.

Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com.

(c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group
Friday 7 October 2016 9:55am



Associate Professor Merilyn Hibma

University of Otago researchers have gained fresh insights into how one of the main viruses that cause cervical cancer evades its hosts immune systems.

Their findings, which are published in the international journal Scientific Reports, suggest that a protein known as E7, produced by a high-risk type of human papillomavirus (HPV16), may be the key player in suppressing the bodys immune response to the virus.

While most people with an HPV infection will clear the virus from their bodies within two years, 10-20 per cent of those infected will fail to do so and become at much higher risk of developing cervical cancer.

Around 1,550 women are diagnosed with high-grade pre-malignant cervical cancer in New Zealand, and globally around half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. In countries without organised screening programmes, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality in women.

Study lead author Associate Professor Merilyn Hibma says that exactly how HPV16 suppresses the bodys immune responses has remained a matter of debate.

Our new findings show that E7, in the absence of other HPV16 proteins, is sufficient enough to cause a range of effects on specialised cells normally involved in priming the bodys T-cells to combat viral infection, Associate Professor Hibma says.

Further teasing out the mechanisms behind the failure of T-cells to be primed to attack the virus may allow new therapies that enable the body to fight off a persistent HPV infection, she says.

This knowledge also helps us to understand how cancer cells avoid being detected by the immune system as E7 is also produced by cervical cancer cells. From this we may be able to identify new ways to block cancer suppression of the immune response. This approach is similar to the checkpoint inhibitors  Keytruda and Opdiva  recently funded by Pharmac for the treatment of melanoma, she says.

The study was supported by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

For more information, contact:

Associate Professor Merilyn Hibma

Department of Pathology

Dunedin School of Medicine

University of Otago

Tel 64 3 479 7726

Email merilyn.hibma@otago.ac.nz
Hurricane Matthew laid waste to the tiny island nation of Haiti on Wednesday, in what is being described as the worst disaster to hit the country since an earthquake struck there in 2010. Now a local aid group is appealing for donations to help residents of the mountain village of LaFond.

Reach Out LaFond Executive President Jayme Hazen, of Midland, said it is too early to tell the extent of the damage to the village, but early reports said the roofs of the village school and soon-to-be completed church were damaged. More than 400 children attend the school.

In addition, an unknown number of homes are without roofs, and residents from those homes are staying with neighbors.

Meanwhile, crops have been wiped out, she said.

In the mountain villages everyone is a farmer and theyve lost complete fields, Hazen said. Theyll have no income for six months.

Reach Out LaFond was started by three individuals with one common goal; to reach out in the small village of LaFond.

It is a non-profit organization that was started in 2014 by Hazen. Its mission is to work with the small mountain community with a desire to educate and help the economy. Reach Out LaFond has done multiple things to improve LaFond including teaching English classes, hiring locals to build churches and bringing in medical teams. It also finds sponsors for its children to be able to go to school while staying in their own homes.

The organization was founded by Hazen who is also the executive president. Jacques Meance is an associate pastor also involved in the organization. Meance has been involved with helping the LaFond community since 2004 and helped to find support for those whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake of 2010. Rachel Marple, also of Midland, visited LaFond in 2013 and fell in love with the small village. She works to get children sponsored despite her own battle with a rare form of skin cancer. She still desires to see Reach Out prosper and grow.

Hazen said the group normally uses funds raised for education and economic matters, but right now it is disaster relief.

She said the group will need money to replace the roofs, buy seed and provide food. They need food because the loss is so great.

Donations can be made at www.reachoutlafond.org

When access is restored to the village, better damage assessments can be made. The storm wiped out the bridge at Petit Goave, so emergency workers and aid cannot get up the 16-mile path from there to LaFond.

Across Haiti, at least 283 residents have been killed in the hurricane with thousands upon thousands flooded or displaced.
The very best Tim Burton films feature a charismatic weirdo at the center of the story who is either preternaturally innocent (Edward Scissorhands, Pee-Wee Herman) or charged with the protection of innocence (Batman).

Enter Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine (Eva Green) into the canon of Burton heroes of this type. Shes the headmistress of a Home for Peculiar Children, which is a sort of mashup of Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children follows the story template of its young adult and comic book predecessors: child misfits find a home with others who are just as different as they are, and learn to use their unique powers as a team in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.

In Burtons hands, the film has a wickedly wry sense of humor, and an enchanting aesthetic of old-fashioned yet thoroughly modern steampunk spookiness.

Green, with her flashing eyes and menacingly toothy grin, is the perfect performer to take on this quintessentially Burton role. Miss Peregrine is stylish, dangerous and mysterious, but above all, protective of the children in her care.

We arrive at the home through the curiosity of Jake (Asa Butterfield) a Florida teen who grew up listening to the tales of peculiar children from his grandpa Abe (Terence Stamp).

Having long ago abandoned such fantastical ideas, Jake plunges into his grandfathers past after Abes violent and troubling murder at the hands of dark forces.

His questions take him to a Welsh island, with his doltish father (Chris ODowd) in tow. Jakes own peculiarity allows him to find the home, located inside the time loop of an almost-perfect 1943 day. His grandfathers old friends are there, protected by Miss Peregrines time loop from the same evil, power-hungry tyrants that targeted Abe.

Its clear that Burton and team revel in the world of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, where the young ones have turned their peculiarities into superpowers.

Emma (Ella Purnell) tames her floating with lead boots, and her control of air allows her to soar through the sky and explore underwater shipwrecks off the coast.

Enoch (Finlay MacMillan) breathes life into grotesque inanimate objects, Frankenstein-style, with his bare hands, and Olive (Lauren McCrostie) has an incendiary caress; other childrens peculiarities remain initially hidden. Burdens of difference become strengths in this idyllic, protected setting.

The role of Jake is ideal for Butterfields onscreen maturation; he brings a twinge of romance and doses of teen angst and heroism in equal parts. Butterfield makes Jake curious, sensitive and principled, far more than just a cookie-cutter hero.

Jane Goldman adapted the novel by Ransom Riggs for the screen, and the films tone buoyantly balances both the light and the dark. But the first half of the film greatly outshines the last act, which descends into villains (led by Samuel L. Jackson) mwa-ha-ha-ing and fantasy creatures clashing.

While its a fine return to form for Burton, theres a sense that in a story this formulaic, even the rakishly captivating Miss Peregrine cant live up to some of the earlier, even more peculiar heroes we once fell in love with.
EL PASO  When Molly Koos, 15, had a voluntary electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) screening done at school, "I thought it was weird," she said.

"It was the first time I had that done," she said of the test of electrical activity of the heart.

"Now, I really appreciate it," she said last week in her rural El Paso home.

Molly hugged a red, heart-shaped pillow from Children's Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria. Written on it were encouraging messages from family members, friends, doctors and hospital staff.

Her parents, Sue and Gene Koos, looked at Molly, and smiled.

"I believed that if this (screening) program saved even one life, it would be worth it," said Sue Koos, a registered nurse.

"It has saved one life," she said. "I didn't know it would be my daughter's."

The EKG screening of the seemingly healthy teenager on March 4 detected something unusual. Subsequent tests led to a diagnosis of atrial septal defect, a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of her heart.

Correcting the defect required open-heart surgery on May 26.

Molly has been back to 100 percent strength since July and began her sophomore year at El Paso-Gridley High School in August.

The EKG screening program is a part of Young Hearts for Life, a youth cardiac screening program sponsored in Central Illinois by Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal and Advocate Charitable Foundation.

The goal of the free program is to identify and treat youth at risk of sudden cardiac death, which claims the lives of about 60 young adults nationwide each week, according to the Chicago-based Young Hearts for Life. EKGs can identify heart conditions that can cause sudden death.

Advocate BroMenn brought the program to Central Illinois in fall 2012.

Sudden cardiac death occurs infrequently among adolescents, but when it happens it's usually a student-athlete with an undiagnosed genetic disease, said Dr. James McCriskin, a cardiologist with Advocate Heart Institute at Advocate BroMenn, who helped to bring the program to Central Illinois.

Since fall 2012, Advocate BroMenn doctors, nurses and staff, joined by parents and other volunteers, have conducted 21 screening days at Central Illinois high schools, screening more than 5,700 students, said Carolyn Oleson, Advocate BroMenn wellness nurse specialist.

On average, three students per screening day are recommended for further evaluation, Oleson said, meaning something was detected in about 63 students.

Because the program is screening and not treatment, and because of patient confidentiality regulations, McCriskin doesn't know how many of the 63 youth were diagnosed with heart problems and how many needed procedures performed. The cases that McCriskin and Oleson are aware of are cases where the families have kept in contact with Oleson.

"Molly is the only one I know of who needed open heart surgery," McCriskin said. "But a number of others have gone on for further evaluation and a number of them needed procedures."

Some were diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome or Long QT Syndrome  all cardiac conditions that could cause sudden cardiac death.

"Did we prevent a sudden cardiac event?" McCriskin asked. "We'll never know. Hopefully, we prevented some.

"I think we have impacted a number of lives and prevented some episodes down the road," he said.

"Molly could have developed a severe debilitating problem later in adulthood," McCriskin said. "If untreated, she would have developed severe pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs) and congestive heart failure, which would have limited her activities of daily living."

Those conditions could have increased her risk of complications during pregnancy and stroke later in life.

"So, in Molly's case, maybe we didn't prevent a sudden cardiac death but we improved her quality of life and increased her left span," McCriskin said.

McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis noted that from Jan. 1, 2014, through last week, one McLean County child died as a result of a congenital heart defect.

Because there is no standardized, national database for sudden cardiac death among youth, the number of deaths is unclear, McCriskin admitted.

During 2014, the most recent year for which figures are available, 41 young people ages 15 through 24 died of heart disease in Illinois and 953 nationwide, said Melaney Arnold of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

There are no U.S. EKG screening recommendations for young athletes. That's why cardiologist Joseph Marek began Young Hearts for Life in the Chicago area in 2006. Since then, 150,000 students have been screened and 2,100 have been identified as being "at risk."

"Of those, hundreds were found to have life-threatening conditions," according to the Young Hearts for Life website.

"It's controversial," McCriskin admitted. Because sudden cardiac death is rare among young people, some medical professionals question the value of screening all high school students, even though the program is voluntary. And it's free to families and schools because Advocate Charitable Foundation invested $45,000 to $50,000 initially for portable EKGs, leads and other equipment.

In addition, medical professionals and parents who have received training donate their time when Advocate BroMenn conducts screening in high schools.

Parent-volunteers check in students and attach electrodes to each student's ankles, wrists and chest. Behind drawn curtains, medical professionals meet with each student individually to get measurements of the heart's electrical activity.

A cardiologist then goes over the EKG results. When EKG results are determined to be abnormal, Oleson works with families in contacting the student's physician for follow up.

Without the donations of time and equipment, each screening would cost parents $175 to $200.

McCriskin recommends that parents of high school students who haven't had an EKG ask their doctors about getting the screening.
EL PASO  Molly Koos decided to have a voluntary electrocardiogram (EKG) screening at her high school on March 4 because "everybody was doing it."

She didn't think an abnormality would be found. True, she had noticed that her energy level appeared to be declining, that she would be short of breath after mild physical activity, that her feet and hands swelled as the day went on and that she seemed prone to colds and strep throat.

But she didn't think her condition was worse than other high school students during cold and flu season.

The 15-year-old had the Young Hearts for Life screening done at El Paso-Gridley High School on March 4.

Several days later, Advocate BroMenn wellness nurse specialist Carolyn Oleson called Sue Koos, Molly's mother, and told her that Dr. James McCriskin saw something unusual in Molly's EKG and recommended follow up with a pediatric cardiologist.

"Her EKG was significantly abnormal," McCriskin recalled.

Subsequent testing at Children's Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center confirmed that Molly had atrial septal defect, a birth defect that is a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of her heart.

The hole allowed blood to flow from the left to right chamber of the heart, overfilling the lungs and overworking and weakening the right side of the heart.

Molly needed open heart surgery to patch the hole in her heart.

"I was bummed out  pretty scared," Molly said.

"We didn't expect anything like that," her mother said. "They said the surgery didn't need to be done immediately but within three months."

Molly finished her freshman year of high school.

"But I was tired all the time," she said. "Because I didn't have any energy, it was hard to focus."

Molly had surgery at Children's Hospital on May 26.

"As Molly was going into the operating room, I was crying," Sue recalled. "She said 'Suck it up, mom.'"

During surgery, two smaller holes also were found and patched.

Molly was out of bed the next day, out of the hospital two days later and back to full strength by July.

"I tell every parent of a high school kid that I know that if this is not being done at your school, see if you could have it done," Sue said.

El Paso-Gridley High School Principal Brian Quam said that of 375 students, 178 volunteered to be screened and three  including Molly  were advised to have follow-up testing done.
BLOOMINGTON  With a bulls-eye on Floridas Atlantic coast, Hurricane Matthew is causing canceled flights and evacuations but that isnt enough to stop Twin City travelers from visiting the Sunshine State.

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner will fly from Chicago to Tampa Friday evening before continuing onto Havana, Cuba, Saturday morning. He said the flights were on time as of Thursday afternoon.

Its certainly our hope that things will go smoothly, said Renner. If we were flying into Miami, things might have gone differently.

Earlier in the week, the eastern tip of Cuba was clipped by the hurricane, slamming villages with 140 mph winds.

Renner said he plans to visit Bloomington-Normals sister cities, Caibarien and Remedios in central Cuba that were not damaged by the storm.

Renner is making the trip to Cuba with other Illinois city officials through Global Relations Travel Club, a travel club started by former Illinois stater Treasurer Dan Rutherford.

The hurricane strengthened to a category 4 storm Thursday, with forecasts showing the storm rolling along the east side of Florida Friday morning and sending strong wind and rain to South Carolina and Georgia by Saturday.

Bloomington-based Country Financial has moved its loss reporting unit and first contact team into place to handle initial contacts with customers beginning Saturday morning.

The companys catastrophe teams and claims representatives are also ready to handle auto, home and commercial claims.

Catastrophe teams in Bloomington and along the coast will continue to monitor the direction of strength of the storm and add support staff as needed.

Bloomington-based State Farm did not have storm information available.

Nicole Ramsey of Normal chose to fly to Orlando for a Disney World vacation with her daughter despite the hurricane warning. She spoke to The Pantagraph while waiting to check into a hotel Thursday morning.

I planned this for so long and I still wanted to give my daughter the Disney experience. Our plane tickets were nonrefundable and I didnt want to postpone it because who knows if well get another chance to go, said Ramsey.

She said the sky was clear and there was no wind when they arrived  though Disney World announced the theme park would be closed Thursday night through Friday.

They say its going to get bad. Were preparing by staying in the hotel and avoiding the storm, said Ramsey. Im a little worried because Ive never been in or near a hurricane and Im worried about the flights being delayed or not getting home.

Ramsey booked the vacation with help from Sheila Nowell, an independent Bloomington agent with Magical Moments Vacations.

Nowell said she has a Twin City few other clients in Florida and the Bahamas.

One client left Florida early on Thursday instead of coming home Saturday to beat the storm, she said. By Friday night, its supposed to be beautiful in Florida.

When she checks in with travelers, they say things are chaotic.

There are very long lines to talk to hotel front desk staff about refunds or rescheduling. Theyre getting everyone where they need to be, said Nowell.

Nowell reminded travelers to pay attention to local weather warnings and to head the advice of officials.

Dont try to be adventurous and sit in the hotel pool in the middle of a hurricane. Follow safety precautions, she said. Im telling people they might be stuck in their hotel room for 24 hours so to be prepared with food and water.

A direct flight from Bloomington to Orlando was canceled Thursday, said Central Illinois Regional Airport spokeswoman Fran Strebing. A flight from Bloomington to Tampa on Friday has not changed.

The rest of our flights are connecting, so someone whos traveling to Florida on a connecting flight after Bloomington could be impacted on their second leg of flight, she said.
BLOOMINGTON  A McLean County judge sanctioned for violating ethics rules has not been recommended for retention by his colleagues, according to results of an advisory poll by the Illinois State Bar Association.

Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Scott Drazewski fell short of the 60 percent score required for a recommendation. He received a 40.15 rating for meeting the requirements of office and 26.72 percent for integrity in the survey, released Wednesday that included responses from 168 lawyers related to 11th Circuit judges.

When he faces voters Nov. 8, Drazewski must receive 65 percent approval to remain in office.

Drazewski returned to work Sept. 1 from a four-month unpaid suspension imposed by the Illinois Courts Commission for violating ethics standards. The discipline relates to Drazewski's decision to remain as judge in cases involving lawyer Joe Foley. Drazewski and Foley's wife at the time, Rebecca Foley, who also is a judge, were involved in an undisclosed romantic relationship.

Drazewski, first appointed associate judge in 1997, received marks above 80 percent for legal ability, court management and health.

Drazewski released a statement Friday on the bar poll numbers.

"Having consistently been rated at or near the top of all judges in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in at least five Illinois State Bar Association bar polls since 1996, I understand the bars disappointment with my actions which led to the disciplinary proceedings in 2014. I believe in the rule of law, and that it applies to all. I respect the decision of the Courts Commission, and served my suspension without pay. I stand ready, willing and able to continue in my position as Circuit Judge, which is reflected in the bars positive ratings of my legal ability, courtroom management, sensitivity to diversity and bias, and health," said Drazewski.

Attorneys returned positive recommendations for three other judges who are seeking election to their appointed positions in the circuit that includes McLean, Logan, Livingston, Woodford and Ford counties. All the judicial candidates are Republicans and have no opposition.

Judge Casey Costigan, named in December 2014 to replace retiring Chief Judge Elizabeth Robb, received a 96.58 rating for meeting requirements of the office. He received scores above 95 percent in all other categories, including 97.44 for integrity, 96.58 for sensitivity and 95.69 for temperament.

Associate Judge Mark A. Fellheimer is asking voters to elect him to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Charles Reynard. Fellheimer, appointed an associate judge in 2008, was deemed qualified by 96.77 percent of those voting in the ISBA poll.

Judge Charles Feeney III is qualified for election to be the next resident judge for Woodford County, according to 85.57 ranking he received in the ISBA poll. Feeney, who is seeking to replace retired Judge John B. Huschen, scored 92.86 for integrity, 78.57 for temperament and 97.96 for court management in the poll.

Receiving a recommendation for retention to the Fourth District Appellate Court was Justice James Knecht. The ISBA Committee for Judicial Evaluations of judges outside Cook County commented that Knecht, a member of the appellate court since 1986, is "well-versed in the law and is regarded as having excellent legal ability and temperament." Lawyers returned a 92.66 rating to retain Knecht as qualified for office.

Statewide, the ISBA found five judges unqualified for election and four without the overall ability to remain in office.
SPRINGFIELD  K.L. Cleeton, a 27-year-old Effingham resident whos paralyzed from the neck down due to spinal muscular atrophy, has an invitation for state officials who want to cap the hours his parents are paid to provide in-home care for him.

Come down to Effingham, my hometown, and see what a day in the life is like with me, Cleeton said Thursday during a hearing in Springfield on the Illinois Department of Human Services' proposal to limit personal assistants paid through its home services program to working 40 hours per week.

The agency implemented the policy in May in response to a U.S. Department of Labor ruling that said home care workers must earn time-and-a-half overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. But the Rauner administration put the policy on hold in August just as a union representing 25,000 home care workers was readying to file a class-action lawsuit challenging it.

The administration is now seeking to implement the policy through the General Assemblys bipartisan House and Senate committee in charge of approving such rules. The Thursday hearing in Springfield followed one held Monday in Chicago.

The departments proposed rules would require clients in the home services program to hire enough personal assistants to cover the hours of care they need each week without requiring overtime. Any personal assistant who works more than 40 hours in a week would be required to submit written justification to the department for approval, and anyone who works unapproved overtime three times would be barred from being paid through the program.

Vivian Anderson, who oversees the program for the Department of Human Services, said the proposal is about saving the state money and making sure clients are receiving high-quality care from providers who arent overworked.

Working an excessive amount of hours is not good public policy, Anderson said in an interview last week.

Cleeton said he and his parents have developed a system over the years that works well for them, one thats allowed him to graduate from the University of Illinois with a degree in advertising and start his own video production business. He doesnt want to have to hire a stranger to help with the intimate aspects of his care.

Really, what this comes down to is freedom of choice and independence, he said.

Clients like Cleeton and their caregivers arent the only ones raising concerns about the proposal.

Ann Ford is executive director of the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living. The 22 centers have contracts with the state to train clients and caregivers in the home services program.

We feel that the cap thats been placed on overtime is very inflexible, Ford said before the hearing. We feel the exceptions are limited and very hard to achieve, and we feel that the consequences that are built in are pretty punitive.

The department now has time to respond to the public comments before submitting its final proposal to the Legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for its OK.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have raised a huge family and the "19 Kids and Counting" parents are still expanding their clan as they watch their children get married and have their own kids. Reports have it that the family's new reality show appears like a dating show already. After Jinger Duggar's engagement to Jeremy Vuolo, Joseph and John-David are next to court.

For those following the Duggar's canceled show, "19 Kids and Counting," the show featured four weddings. It aired Josh & Anna Duggar, Jill & Derrick Dillard and Jessa & Ben Seewald. With Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo next on the line, reports have it that the family is already looking forward to their fifth couple.

Per Perez Hilton, the last episode of "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" featured a look back of all the engagements that the Duggars have been involved with in their docuseries. The report stressed that the entire hour felt like a dating show.

As to who's courting after Jinger Duggar? Reports have it that it will be either of Joseph, Josh-David or Josiah. According to the Hollywood Gossip, Josiah had courted last year. He's been with a nice girl named Marjorie but the pair split shortly after realizing that it was not the right timing.

Josiah admitted that Marjorie caught his eyes during their mission trip to El Salvador. Unfortunately, the spark didn't last long because, after four months of courting, the pair called it quits.

Per Josiah, he and Marjorie had a good time together but it was not just the right timing. However, chances are high that the ex-lovers will reunite again.

Many believe that Josiah is now ready to court again. As for their break up, Marjorie told Josiah that the broke up was to give them time to grow. She never closed her door to her ex-flame.

Who do you want among the Duggar boys to court next? What do you think, will there be a reconciliation for Marjorie and Josiah Duggar? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Ryan Grassley, a Utah father, said he has to pay the hospital bill worth $39.35 before his child can be held in his arms. He posted online a snapshot of a hospital account from Utah's Utah Valley Hospital with a caption, "I had to pay $39.35 to hold my baby after he was born." He refers to the fee of the "skin to skin" contact.

Grassley, a new father from Spanish Fork, Utah, welcomed his son last Sept. 4 at Utah Valley Hospital together with his wife. After the baby was out through a Caesarian section, Grassley said a nurse in the operating room asked them if they wanted to follow the "skin to skin" practice, according to CBS News.

The "skin to skin" practice is when the bare skin of a newborn is put on the skin of the mother to make them bond, KUTV.com noted. This "skin to skin" time is believed to bring several benefits.

"Skin-to-skin is a best practice with proven benefits for both mom and baby. We do everything possible to allow skin-to-skin after both vaginal and C-section births," the hospital said, as per RT.com.

Ryan Grassley, however, did not expect the hospital to charge them $39.35 for the "skin to skin" practice, as seen on the hospital bill the new dad posted on Reddit. Grassley initially thought the charges was a big joke and decided to post it and share it to other people.

"I posted the bill to Reddit because I thought it was funny," Grassley said to PIX11. In his post, he wrote, "I had to pay $39.35 to hold my baby after he was born."

Grassley even shared that he formed the account GoFundMe in order to accumulate the cost charged for the practice. As of 5 p.m. on Oct. 5, 2016, the account has already accumulated $5.CBS News reported the picture of the invoice has already been viewed over 4 million times in Imgur.com and upvoted more than 6,200 times in Reddit.

Meanwhile, Grassley stressed that did not post the photo of the hospital bill to cause damage to the hospital. As a matter of fact, he admitted that he and his wife have a "very positive experience" and praised the hospital staff for their efforts during their son's birth.

As for the hospital's side of the story, Intermountain HealthCare's Utah Valley Hospital spokesperson Janet Frank explained the charges was not for holding the baby. In fact, it was for the additional caregiver aasigned to the mother and the baby to ensure the safety of both patients.
Police are investigating a case believed to be a murder-suicide after a father and his two children were found dead in their apartment in Beaverton, Oregon. The victims have been identified by the authorities.

The father was identified as 36-year-old Lakalo Kawika Enfield. He reportedly fatally shot his two young children before inflicting a gunshot wound to himself. The two children were identified as eight-year-old Lehua Elaysea Enfield and six-year-old Lakalo Vergara Enfield.

Officials who arrived at the crime scene entered the apartment and initially thought that all three of them are dead. However, Beaverton Police spokesman Mike Rowe said that as officials made their way out of the apartment to preserve the evidence and the crime scene, they heard rustling inside the home and then a single gunshot.

A tactical negotiation team was deployed and entered the apartment for the second time. This time, all three were confirmed dead, Washington Post reported.

A woman related to the children, believed to be the mother and the wife of Kawika, called 911 at around 4:30 P.M. on Thursday. She said that she found the children and their father dead in the apartment. A neighbor said that she heard the mother of the kids screaming in the parking lot outside the apartment complex that her husband was killing their children.

There have been no details yet regarding the motive in the killing and what led to the deadly encounter. The family reportedly moved into the apartment complex over a month ago. It was also reported that officials responded to a call last week regarding verbal disturbance between Kawika and his wife. However, there were no signs of assault, as per Oregon Live.

The children attended Greenway Elementary School and were in first and second grade.The institution has also issued a statement, saying they are saddened by the events adding, "Please know our principal is working with the district to ensure there are extra counseling staff to help the parents and kids get through this difficult time."

Meanwhile, the investigation is currently ongoing. For more news and updates, check out Parent Herald.
An adopted boy has been mowing lawns over the summer in order to make money and the reason behind it has been melting hearts nationwide. He will reportedly use the money in order to buy a gravestone for his biological father, who he never got the chance to meet.

KTLA reported that the boy is from Fargo, North Dakota. He is 11 years old and has been spending his summer mowing lawns so he'll be able to purchase a gravestone for the grave of his biological dad. The child, identified as Brandon Bakke, was adopted at birth but recently learned about his birth parents after asking his adopted family.

Bakke was able to know about his father, Terrence, who died just recently and was buried in Chicago without a gravestone. Bakke said in a statement why he wants to buy a gravestone for his biological father, "I don't think anybody should go unknown in life."

Bakke was able to earn enough money for the gravestone of his father and when he did, he reportedly reached out to Dakota Monument in order to work with artists and designers to create what he believes is the perfect marker to honor his late biological dad. Bakke also thinks that if his biological father will see the gravestone, he will be proud of him.

Aside from mowing lawns of neighbors and strangers, Bakke also made lemonade stands in the area in order to earn the needed money. He also originally planned to buy a hoverboard with the cash he will get but decided otherwise after knowing about his biological father, New York Daily News reported.

Dakota Monument decided that they will be donating the gravestone to Bakke after hearing his story. A worker at the cemetery also volunteered to give the amount needed in order to install the stone. The employee reportedly knows the biological father of Bakke.

Bakke will be going to Chicago as part of a family road trip next month in order to place the gravestone on his biological father's unmarked grave himself. He will reportedly continue to raise money this winter to provide gravestones for unmarked graves. Dakota Monument will be helping Bakke in this initiative.
Prosecutors are asking that 14-year-old South Carolina boy Jesse Osborne who opened fire at Townville Elementary School, killing one and injuring three, to be tried as an adult. Osborne also reportedly killed his father before he went to the school and started shooting.

Solicitor Chrissy Adams said in a statement that they are filing a petition to transfer Osborne from the family court to the circuit court. In the family court, the teen faced charges as a juvenile. However, the petition was announced after one of the victims, six-year-old Jacob Hall, succumbed to his injuries.

The petition to transfer to the circuit court came a day after Hall was laid to rest as Batman in a superhero-themed funeral. However, it was not stated in the petition why they want to try Osborne as an adult, San Antonio Express News reported.

Osborne is facing two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and five counts of possessing a weapon during a violent crime, New York Daily News reported. The family court will be setting a hearing on the request of Adams after they evaluate the case.

The shooting took place on Sept. 28 where Osborne reportedly killed his father first then drove a truck to the Elementary School. He crashed his car into the playground fence and he began shooting as soon as he got out of the vehicle.

A bullet struck Hall in the main artery in his thigh. One more child was shot in the foot and his teacher was shot in the shoulder. A third student was also injured but suffered only minor injuries and did not have to undergo medical procedures.

District officials will reportedly turn the playground where the shooting happened into a tranquility park in order to honor Hall. Officials are planning to raise $750,000 to move the existing equipment to another spot and replace the playground with an open park. They believe this will help students heal from the shocking and tragic incident.
Hillary Clinton was asked by a young girl about body image during a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Brennan Leach, 15, wondered what the presidential candidate's take was on the matter, especially after hearing how Donald Trump attacks fat women in the media.

"I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look," the 15-year-old told Hillary Clinton, according to New York Times. The Democratic candidate told the crowd that she understands that for many kids who are Brennan Leach's age, body image issues become more defining and affecting.

Hillary Clinton said that sometimes it might be best to laugh off demeaning remarks on fat women and not take the words so seriously. However, there might also be times when it's necessary to make a stand against the bullies. Yet for the presidential hopeful, what's more important is to accept one's self.

"We're not all going to end up being Miss Universe, I hate to tell you," Hillary Clinton told the crowd. "So let's be the best we can be. Let's be proud of who we are."

Experts say that body shaming is happening more often than ever before, especially with the advent of social media and technologies like Photoshop. Sometimes, parents might also be guilty of reinforcing the wrong message to their daughters, when they constantly hound the girls on weight, what they eat or how they look.

Parents must instead focus on teaching young girls to pick healthy foods or encourage physical activities, rather press on about weight, San Francisco Gate reports. Ideally, parents should also boost their daughter's self-worth more than the physical image. A positive attitude about weight, food and general health, which should be cultivated early on in children, can reduce body image issues when a young girl becomes a teenager.
A budget airline has imposed a new policy banning children below 12-years-old on certain sections inside the plane. IndiGo, which operates in India, launched the "Quiet Zones" for its flights. These child-free zones are meant to encourage business travelers to take trips without having to stress about crying and fussy kids sitting beside or behind them.

The Quiet Zones at IndiGo's child-free flights are from the first to fourth rows. In addition, the airline company also designates its row 11 to 14 as child-free sections on the plane.

"These zones have been created for business travelers who prefer to use the quiet time to do their work," the company said in its statement, according to The Telegraph. Rows 12 and 13 have emergency exits, where children aren't supposed to sit as well.

Conde Nast Traveler reports that IndiGo's child-free flights policy has drawn mixed reactions from the public. Some have called out IndiGo for the discrimination against children but there are also other flyers who support the idea of separating "kicking and screaming brats" from other passengers.

Flyers on plane with families with little kids know too well what this situation is like, especially during long flights. It is mostly the frequent flyers who have commended the child-free flight policy. "People smile at babies everywhere, except on planes," JetBlue's Elizabeth Windram told Independent.

IndiGo CEO Campbell Wilson, however, points out that the company has no intention to discriminate families with kids. "You still have the rest of the aircraft," Wilson said in the same Independent report.

Such a policy is not new to the airline industry in Asian countries as AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines also have its child-free flight sections. However, Western carriers have yet to uphold the same practice. Last summer, JetBlue in America awarded a select set of passengers free plane tickets because their flight from New York to California had five crying babies.
Many students in the United States were reportedly found to write poorly. Although, several factors that contributed to this problem had been identified, the question now is, "what can be done to resolve the problem?"

Joseph Teller, an English professor at College of the Sequoias, aired his concerns about his students who couldn't write a coherent essay through an article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. He added that despite all his efforts in trying almost every way to help the students write a comprehensible prose, the attempt generally failed.

There are divided opinions on who's to blame why students nowadays couldn't write poorly. It is, however, in Professor Teller's opinion that most teachers have turned to feelings-oriented approach rather than focusing on the rules of grammar in writing, Intellectual Take Out learned.

In addition, it has been identified that there was an increased in ambiguity between formal and informal writing. Consequently, students write their supposedly formal writing assignments using informal language and style, according to Pew Research Center.

Technology also plays a role in this ongoing issue. Survey reports have identified that students are more likely to take shortcuts, engage more in digital tools and spend lesser time to write.

Students write too fast and carelessly are the other contributing factors identified. Technology is also making the students use poor grammar and spelling in writing.

How to address this issue? Back in 2009, New Dorp High required its students to write expository essays rather than creative assignments.

To write effectively, correct use syntax rule must be emphasized. According to The Atlantic, the school also required them to learn the fundamentals of grammar and as a result, the school's passers for English Regents test and Global History exam increased within just two years.

Every state must also visit their education standards to ensure that a comprehensive writing policy is included, The National Commission on Writing recommended on its report. The aim of the policy should include the increased amount of time students must spend learning how to write and requiring them to complete a course in writing theory and practice.
This December, UFC Light Heavyweight title holder Daniel Cormier will come face-to-face once again with top contender Anthony Johnson. This time, to defend his title belt at the upcoming UFC 206. The event will be on Dec. 10 at Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

According to Fox Sports, Daniel Cormier announced the fight against Johnson on Wednesday night's edition of "UFC Tonight"-going as far as taunting Anthony Johnson with a knockout win.

Let's bang then! Let's see how you handle getting hit as much as ur hitting someone. Ima fold you up! https://t.co/LtAB2eQ3Ii  Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) October 6, 2016

"Anthony knows what's going to happen; I know what's going to happen; the fans know what's going to happen," Daniel Cornier said. "I'm going to stand right in front of him, knock him out right in the middle of the octagon."

Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson faced each other in May 2015 during UFC 187 -- both fighters were eyeing the vacant Light Heavyweight title belt left by Jon Jones after being arrested for legal charges in Mexico. Daniel Cormier came out victorious in the fight after pinning Anthony Johnson down in the third round with a rear-naked choke.

Since his loss in UFC 187, Anthony Johnson has won three consecutive matches in the octagon. Anthony Johnson won all three matches via knockout, finishing his latest bout against Glover Teixeira at UFC 202 in just under 13-seconds which earned him the pass to face Daniel Cormier once again.

As for Daniel Cormier, he has successfully defended the belt from Alexander Gustafsson via split decision in UFC 192 after a 5-round battle. Daniel Cormier was then scheduled to fight Jones in UFC 200.

However, according to Sportsnet, the former Light Heavyweight champion was pulled from the match days before UFC 200 due to potential doping violations and was replaced by Anderson Silva. Daniel Cormier won via unanimous decision.

After testing positive for two estrogen-blocking substances, Jones might be given a two-year suspension. Jones' uncertain UFC career opened the opportunity for a Cormier-Anthony rematch.
A baby robot was unveiled in Japan as number of childless couples grows. The robot reportedly "invokes emotions" in childless couples in the country. The baby robot named Kirobo Mini is created by Toyota and is designed after noticing the plummeting birth rates.

Kirobo Mini, made by Toyota's non-automotive department is equipped with artificial intelligence and a smart camera recognizing the person who speaks to respond accordingly. According to Kirobo Mini's chief design engineer Fuminori Kataoka, the feature of the baby robot as a seated baby who wobbles a bit (not fully developed and skillfully balancing it) is a "vulnerability [that] is meant to invoke an emotional connection."

According to The Guardian, Japan is the leader in production and usage of robots. Kirobo Mini is in competition with other robots such as Jibo, resembling a swiveling lamp - designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Paro, on the other hand, is a robot made by a Japanese company Intelligent System as a therapeutic machine to soothe elderly dementia sufferers.

Kirobo Mini - a baby robot blinks its eyes and speaks like a baby, with a high pitch. Toyota has tagged Kirobo Mini for 39,800 yen (300/US$390) in Japan next year. It comes with a "cradle" that can be used as its baby seat designed to fit in car cup holders.

Chief designer Kataoka said Kirobo Mini is a stepping stone to more advanced robots that would be able to recognize and react to human emotions. Toyota is also investing heavily to develop artificial intelligence for self-driving cars.

As per the government statistics, Japan's birth rate has drastically reduced - halved to around a million. Another cited for the decrease in birth rate is the fact that one in 10 women in Japan never marries while births out of wedlock are very few compared to western developed nations.

According to International Federation of Robot, Japan is largest user of industrial robots after South Korea, with 314 machines per 100,000 employees. The baby robot - Kirobo Mini was unveiled on Sept. 3, the Global News reported.

Do you think Kirobo Mini will "invoke emotions" among childless parents? Please share your comments below.
It was once said by the former U.S. Secretary of Education that the best investment America could make was through education. Currently, there is a competition between traditional and alternative ways of learning, which includes online courses, but which do you think is the best option?

There is a criteria that needs to be considered in selecting the right school for you, such as the curriculum, length of the study, location and tuition fee. If you are still confused, knowing and comparing the advantages of traditional and online education, this article may help you decide.

The most common nationwide is the traditional school. It places an emphasis on basic educational practices, mastery of the core subjects  Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies - and offers quality instruction with the benefits of mandated federal and state regulations and laws, according to Seattle Pi.

The school set up of traditional education provides opportunity for students to interact with one another and because the population is diversed, it can help develop the children's social skills. Parents can also be assured that their children will receive equal exposure to the learning of the other students because of the standardized curriculum, which is approved by the state.

In cases of public schools, the support services are reportedly broad. Since they receive funds from the state, special education, speech therapy and counselling are available and must be provided to the child for free.

Online learning, on the other hand, is considered as the greatest revolution in the educational system. Apparently, this kind of learning is growing in the United States despite the criticisms, The Chronicle of Higher Education learned.

Offering a variety of programs and courses is one of online education's advantages. Wherever you are and whatever you want to study, you can find options within a few clicks.

Classroom environment may not be, at all times, conducive for learning. With online education, comfort and convenience is within your reach.

Reports suggest that online education is not as costly as the traditional ones. At the same time, learning is self-paced.

Now pause for a moment and think. Which one do you think works best for you  Traditional or Online Education?
"God Of War" 4 from Sony Santa Monica and game director Cory Barlog will have no E3 2016 demo follow up at the PSX this December. While "GOW 4" enthusiasts have been hoping to see more Kratos in new "God Of War" 4 demo from Sony, Cory Barlog has good reason for saying "No."

Kratos' debut of the new "God Of War" 4 at the 2016, was a surprising reveal among "GOW" fans. Sony Santa Monica and Cory Barlog successfully presented an overhaul of the "God Of War" franchise.

@Filthy_Mortze hard at work on the game, no demo. game is be better the fewer demos we do. Demos pull a month or two away from final game.  Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) October 7, 2016

With the changes in "GOW" game system and game play as Kratos, "God Of War 4" was a message that Sony and Cory Barlog were listening to the franchise's fans. Not only did Sony and Cory Barlog strengthen the technicals but also gave "God Of War" 4 a more compelling story as Parent Herald cites.

Cory Barlog admitted that "God Of War" 4 took some inspiration mainly from "Resident Evil 7" and even from "The Last Of Us." As a result, "God Of War" 4 will now let "GOW" players take a turn as rehabilitated Kratos.

That is not to say that resident "God Of War" hothead Kratos loses his mettle. However, as opposed to his previous turn as a maniacal killer, "God Of War" 4 follows Kratos in a journey of self-awareness, emphasized by his relationship with his new son.

To be sure, "God Of War" 4 is nothing short of ambitious - a fact that Cory Barlog is quite upfront with. As a result, "God Of War" 4 sets a huge amount of work for Sony Santa Monica and Cory Barlog.

When prodded on Twitter about the coming Playstation Experience (PSX) 2016 and for more "God Of War" 4 demos, Cory Barlog set expectations clearly. "GOW" fans won't have any more "God Of War" 4 demo to expect.

Cory Barlog explains why "God Of War" 4 will do better with less demo releases. "Demos pull a month or two away from final game," Cory Barlog wrote.

At best PSX 2016 in California, which is slated for December, could allow a few key details to trickle out about "God Of War" 4. Without "GOW" demos to worry about, Sony Santa Monica and Cory Barlog could be ready for a "God Of War" 4 release in 2018.
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(3-8-09) *** [all verses: RSV. Passages in blue are not included in my book, Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths; and the Bible version in the book is KJV rather than RSV]

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FULL PERSONHOOD OF THE CHILD IN THE WOMB

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Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ishmael; because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.

Genesis 19:36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

Genesis 25:21-22 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her; . . .

Genesis 38:24 . . . she is with child by harlotry. . . . By the man to whom these belong, I am with child . . . .

Numbers 5:28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

Judges 16:17 And he told her all his mind, and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mothers womb. . . .

Ruth 1:11 Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?

2 Samuel 11:5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, I am with child. (cf. 2 Ki 8:12; 15:16; Ecc 11:5; Amos 1:13)

2 Kings 19:3 They said to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.

Job 3:3 . . . A man-child is conceived.

Job 3:16 Or why was I not as a hidden untimely birth, as infants that never see the light?

Job 31:18 (for from his youth I reared him as a father, and from his mothers womb I guided him);

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 102:18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:

Psalm 139:13-16 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Song of Solomon 8:2 I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

Isaiah 49:1, 5 . . . The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. . . . And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, . . . (cf. 44:2,24)

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

Hosea 12:3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, . . .

Tobit 4:4 Remember, my son, that she faced many dangers for you while you were yet unborn. . . .

Wisdom 7:1 I also am mortal, like all men, a descendant of the first-formed child of earth; and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,

Sirach 49:7 . . . he had been consecrated in the womb as prophet, . . .

2 Maccabees 7:22-23 I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws

2 Maccabees 7:27 . . . I carried you nine months in my womb, . . .

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit;

Matthew 18:10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 24:19 And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! (cf. Mk 13:17)

Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

Luke 1:15 . . . he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb.

Luke 1:35-36 And the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

Luke 1:44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

Luke 2:5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

Luke 2:21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Romans 9:10 And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,

Galatians 1:15 . . . he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace,





MURDER AND INNOCENT BLOOD



Exodus 21:22 When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the womans husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

Exodus 23:7 . . . do not slay the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

Numbers 35:30 If any one kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

Deuteronomy 19:13 . . . you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you. (cf. 19:10; 21:8-9)

Deuteronomy 27:25 Cursed be he who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person . . .

2 Kings 14:6 . . . the LORD commanded, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, or the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin. (cf. Dt 24:16)

2 Kings 21:16 Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, . . .

2 Kings 24:4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon.

Psalm 9:12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Isaiah 26:21 For behold the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.

Jeremiah 2:34 Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of guiltless poor; . . .

Jeremiah 7:6-7 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever. (cf. 22:3,17)

Jeremiah 19:4 Because the people have forsaken me, and have profaned this place by burning incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents,

Jeremiah 22:17 But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence. (cf. Ezek 9:9; 22:4; 35:6; 36:18)

Joel 3:19 Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

1 Maccabees 2:37 . . . Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly.

Matthew 23:37-38 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! . . . . . Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.

Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and he has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.

THE ABOMINATION OF CHILD SACRIFICE



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Leviticus 18:21 You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 20:2-3 Say to the people of Israel, Any man of the people of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who gives any of his children to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.

Deuteronomy 12:31 . . . every abominable thing which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

2 Kings 16:2-3 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.

2 Kings 17:17-18 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings, and used divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah only.

2 Kings 23:10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.

2 Chronicles 28:3 and he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.

2 Chronicles 33:6 And he burned his sons as an offering in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and practiced soothsaying and augury and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

Psalm 106:36-39 They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the harlot in their doings.

Jeremiah 7:31-32 And they have built the high place of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter: for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere.

Jeremiah 19:5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind;

Jeremiah 32:35 They built the high places of Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Ezekiel 16:20-21 And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?

Ezekiel 16:36 Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your shame was laid bare and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotries with your lovers, and because of all your idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,

Ezekiel 20:21 When you offer your gifts and sacrifice your sons by fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. . . .

Ezekiel 20:31 When you offer your gifts and sacrifice your sons by fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

Ezekiel 23:37-39 For they have committed adultery, and blood is upon their hands; with their idols they have committed adultery; and they have even offered up to them for food the sons whom they had borne to me. Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slaughtered their children insacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And lo, this is what they did in my house.

Wisdom 12:3-6 Those who dwelt of old in thy holy land thou didst hate for their detestable practices, their works of sorcery and unholy rites, their merciless slaughter of children, and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood. These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult, these parents who murder helpless lives, thou didst will to destroy by the hands of our fathers,



ABORTIONISTS AND PRO-ABORTION POLITICIANS AND JUDGES



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Exodus 1:15-17 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

2 Kings 8:12 And Hazael said, Why does my lord weep? He answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel; you will set on fire their fortresses, and you will slay their young men with the sword, and dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.

2 Kings 15:16 At that time Menahem sacked Tappuah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on; because they did not open it to him, therefore he sacked it, and he ripped up all the women in it who were with child.

Psalm 5:6 Thou destroyest those who speak lies; the LORD abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men.

Psalm 10:2-11 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised. For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, There is no God. His ways prosper at all times; thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. He thinks in his heart, I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity. His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless, he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert; he lurks that he may seize the poor, he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. The hapless is crushed, sinks down, and falls by his might. He thinks in his heart, God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.

Psalm 94:20-21 Can wicked rulers be allied with thee, who frame mischief by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.

Proverbs 1:10-11 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us wantonly ambush the innocent;

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers.

Proverbs 29:10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless, and the wicked seek his life.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 13:18 Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.

Isaiah 57:4-5 . . . Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit, you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; who slay your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation and destruction are in their highways.

Hosea 4:2 there is swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds and murder follows murder.

Amos 1:13 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have ripped up women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.

Wisdom 1:12-14 Do not invite death by the error of your life, nor bring on destruction by the works of your hands; because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them; and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.

Wisdom 14:22-26 Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but they live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace. For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs, they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery, and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury, confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors, pollution of souls, sex perversion, disorder in marriage, adultery, and debauchery.

Sirach 8:7 Do not rejoice over any ones death; remember that we all must die.

1 John 3:15 . . . and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Revelation 9:21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their immorality or their thefts.

Revelation 12:4 . . . And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth;

Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.



RESPONSIBILITY TO RESCUE CHILDREN BEING LED TO SLAUGHTER



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Psalm 82:2-4 How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Proverbs 24:10-12 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, Behold, we did not know this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not requite man according to his work?

Proverbs 31:8 Open your mouth for the dumb [i.e., those who cant speak], for the rights of all who are left desolate.

Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. (cf. Tobit 1:17)

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Meta Description: Comprehensive compendium of biblical passages related to the topic of abortion, or childkilling.

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Meta Keywords: Abortion, Bible & abortion, Christianity & abortion, Childkilling, fetal development, fetus, genocide, holocaust, infanticide, murder, personhood, preborn child, prenatal, pro-abortion, pro-choice, pro-life, slaughter, unborn child
The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parkers searing life of Nat Turner, is a brilliant and iconic piece of Christian moviemakingright up until Turners slave rebellion begins.

Birth has attracted intense controversy in part because of rape charges against both Parker and his co-writer. Im not going to get into that, largely because youll have your own beliefs on whether or how those charges should color your ticket-buying decisions, except to say that the portrayal of sexual violence in the film itself is complex. Its never presented in a dehumanizing or fetishistic way. And Turners wife goes on a spiritual journey of her own which mirrors (maybe too closely) her husbands; she has some of the movies most unexpected lines. The women in this movie are less fully-developed than the men, maybe treated too much as inspirational figures, but they are not reduced to support staff or muse.

Birth is structured as a traditional childhood-to-death biopic. A birthmark on his chest sets the young Nat Turner apart, and in a vivid scene of the furtive survival of African traditional religion, he is told that he has a special purpose. He befriends a white boy, the son of the plantation owner, and a nice white slaveholding lady teaches him to readalthough she makes sure he only reads the Bible, nothing too subversive. Nat becomes a child preacher to the white folks. His church features a bizarre mix of Catholic iconography (the Sacred Heart of Jesus) and Protestant everything else; I think this mixing of Christianities is deliberate, implying a universal complicity and serving as the white parallel of later images like a crucifix where Jesus has obviously African features. Although Nat is forced to return to picking cotton, he continues to preach to the slaves. And so when times get harder for the slaveholders of Virginia, they pay that nice white boy, all grown up now, to bring his black preacher to their plantations to preach to their slaves a gospel of obedience and submission.

The dehumanization and cruelty of American slavery hasnt been hidden from us in the earlier portions of the movie, but when Nat begins to travel to other plantations, he and the audience get a harrowing tour of the torture chambers of the antebellum. There are unforgettable images here, like the little white girl running with a little black girl on a leash, and careful choices about when to cut away from brutality and when to show it. The clothes alone serve to show the deliberate humiliation of the slave system, as the masters wear old and worn but normal clothes and the slaves wear coarse rags.

Parkers camera loves faces. Some reviewers criticized the many close-ups, but to me it was an obvious attempt to portray individual human dignity. And a successful attempt: The camera honors these faces, seamed or agonized or serene, white and black alike, and reveals the characters souls.

As a director and writer Parker makes a lot of choices that in less-competent hands would become sentimental. Some of them are sentimental: The recurring vision of a black angel, for example, is too saccharine and not eerie enough to be sublime. There is a lot of extremely generic inspirational-movie-scene music. Basically all of the music that isnt African-inspired is terrible, and it nearly ruins the scene where Nat, after a brutal whipping, struggles to rise to his feet. But other scenes reach simplicity, not sentiment: the wedding-night scene with Nat and his wife in front of a twinned candle, or their courtship on a carpet of Southern blossoms, or a river baptism in which white humility and submission lead to hope, or Nat kneeling before his grandmother. There are lines that could still be said today (You think youre smarter than me, dont you? Theyre killing people everywhere for no reason but being black) but these parallels are never underlined; theyre left for the audience to discern.

As the movie progresses, its exploration of Christian belief intensifies. Nats Christianity is essential to the film and provides most of its turning points. The New Testament really does contain counsels of peace and obedience in the face of oppressionbut the slaveholders wanted the obedience without accepting that they were the oppressor. One of the movies most unexpected qualities is the attention it gives to white souls as well as black; the black souls are the focus, as they should be in this story, but again and again we see how a slaveholding Christianity inevitably damages the souls of the slaveholders. Birth explores, with empathy but without holding back, the myth of the nice white slaveholder. That little white boy who used to be Nats friend is the clearest example. When he grows up he expresses his guilt, like generations of white Southerners after him, through alcoholism; its a poor substitute for repentance and friendship, but its one he can afford. And none of the white churchmen can help him, because their souls too have been made slaves to systematic sin.

A major turning pointin which Nat obeys his increasingly-troubled conscience instead of his increasingly-degraded mastercomes when Nat baptizes a white man, an outcast. This baptism overturns the racial hierarchy and leads to a ferocious confrontation in which Nat and a dissolute white preacher trade Bible quotations. You were bought for a price, Nat challenges, in one of the movies only explicit references to Jesus death, so do not become slaves of men.

There comes a point, as we knew there would, when Nat is ready to lead the slaves in violence. Parkers performance has all the charisma this role needs. And yet here both the direction and the writing lose their individuality, and begin to dissolve into Hollywood revenge-fantasy. Here and there in the movie Id thought that Parker overused that steely blue tone that so many movies rely on nowadays; pretty much the entire climax of the movie is shot in this cold, familiar blue grimth. The writing loses its honesty: The wifes speech blessing Nats rebellion is a mass of cliches. The rebels are never shown killing anyone but adult men*, even though in the historical rebellion, they did not spare women and children. There was one moment when the audience with whom I saw the movie was made to feel genuinely uncomfortable with the rebels violence, but for the most part, the violence plays as morally-uncomplicated catharsis.

[*ETA: Apparently there is a brief image of the rebels killing a woman, which I missed. Also, I would frame things somewhat differently, but this Peter Chattaway post on religious violence in Birth is worth your time.]

The denouement, in which the rebellion unleashes white fury against the black population and Turner himself is executed in front of a cheering crowd, regains some of the films visual distinctiveness. Turner becomes a kind of Joan of Arc, the Christian soldier martyred, although the specifically Christian direction of his heart and soul no longer make much of an appearance. Birth never quite returns to the moral and spiritual depth of its earlier passages. But what it does well, it does indelibly.

Note: I saw a free advance screening via Patheos.
Immediately following my last post, people started talking about their favorite occult shops, which I think is a fantastic idea. People also asked me about what specific shops I like the best. So I figured Id team the ideas up in a new post: a survey of favorite shops I have visited in the last year, and the opportunity for you to share your favs in the comments.

A couple notes and ground rules before we get to that:

1) No negativity. If you dont like a shop that I or someone else listed, keep it to yourself. Instead, tell us what shop you DO like and why. Otherwise your comment will be deleted.

2) I am defining occult shops by those who mainly/primarily focus on some aspect of the occult  witchcraft, spellcraft, p-wordism, and other arcane practices/belief systems. Theres many lovely new age shops out there that have a single shelf on Wicca and Tarot amongst the yoga mats/pants and crystals  not what were looking for here.

3) I have been to a LOT of shops over the years  but I am limiting this list to just the ones I have been to in the last year (with a few notable mentions).

4) To recommend your favorite shop, list the name, the city/location, and a link if possible  and ideally a few words about why its your favorite!

Salem, Massachusetts

As I just got back from visiting Salem, MA  and its a placed loaded with shops, Ill start there and work my way back through the year and locations. I have a 20 year history with visiting Salem, so Im splitting the listings into my old favorites that are still going strong, and newer shops that caught my eye:

The Old Favorites:

Nu Aeon  Pickering Wharf  I have always been impressed by this shop ever since my first trip. Its beautifully curated, with a diverse selection of books, artwork, statues, jewelry, and more. Its definitely geared more towards the serious practitioner, but Ive only ever heard sound advice and sincerity spoken to anyone who has entered. Their hours are a bit limited compared to other shops in the area (they were closed on my last 2-3 trips in the area prior to this one), but definitely worth a try.

Artemisia Botanicals  This shop used to be in Pickering Wharf, but is now up the way on Hawthorne Blvd, on the way to the Hawthorne Hotel. I was overjoyed to find it this trip (I had thought it had closed when I didnt find it in its old locale), as it has been one of my favorite stops for decades. Walls lined with jars of herbs and more from floor to ceiling, plus oils, books, and more. Very friendly and extremely knowledgeable.

Pyramid Books  Across the way from Pickering Wharf (and around the corner from Artemisia). Alas, there seem to be less and less books every visit and more new age products, but they still have a pretty good and diverse selection, and most importantly, one of the largest open box Tarot/oracle deck collections Ive seen. You want to see what a deck looks like? They probably have a copy of it open, and also in stock. Ive found the staff also to be friendly and knowledgeable.

Newer & Notable:

Enchanted  Pickering Wharf  located in the stretch of buildings where Artemisia used to be is Enchanted. Very good selection of books, decks, some more unusual/artful items, and essentially a little bit of everything. Definitely a very good place to get started, and the staff are considerate, knowledgeable, and happy to help. They also have class space adjacent to the main shop.

The Covens Cottage  Essex Street (Brick Marketplace area)  as I stated somewhere recently online, I wouldnt mind living in this shop. We found it on our previous trip (I think 2014), and while their layout has changed since then, its a dream of a witchs cottage with herbs and bones hanging from the ceiling and throughout the shop, with adorable market baskets to shop with. Ive particularly enjoyed the music they play (its a bit different than the usual occult store soundtrack), and its especially notable for their focus on heathenry/asatru/northern deities and practices.

HausWitch Home & Healing  Washington Street  we found this gem heading back to our car. This shop stands out in the town for being decidedly of a modern, young, and hip perspective/style. The shop is bright with large windows, light wood fixtures, white walls, and everything very neatly laid out. It could easily be at home in the trendy neighborhoods of Seattle, Portland, NYC, Atlanta, or San Francisco, and features an array of handmade homegoods, art, and off-the-beaten path witchy items  as well as offers a variety of events in their space.

Seattle, Washington

The next group of shops are from my home area. Although I have lived here for over 4 years now, I have not yet made it to all of the shops in the area, so this list happens to be both the ones I frequent and enjoy. If you have a favorite in WA, do let me know so I can visit!

Edge of the Circle Books  University District  A mainstay in the local community, EotCB used to be located in Capitol Hill, but luckily found a new home in the U-District. Id say arguably the best selection of occult books and decks in the area, owner Robert pretty much has it all, and if he doesnt, hell order it for you. In addition, theres a good selection of supplies, jewelry, statues, shirts, and more  as well as having a space for rituals, classes, and more.

Gargoyles Statuary  University District  Whats awesome about EotCB moving to the U-District is that its in close proximity to Gargoyles, so you can get two-in-one for your parking and shopping joy. Gargoyles is a must-see, stacked from floor to ceiling with gargoyles (of course), amazing other kinds of statuary, jewelry  and much locally sourced/promoted art, prints, incense, candles, and more. Owner Gayle does a fabulous job of curating the store, and always happy to help you find what youre looking for.

The Cunning Crow Apothecary  Greenwood  a newer shop with a modern hedgewitch aesthetic, this beautiful shop focuses more on oils, herbs, tinctures, and similar items  so if herbs and oils are your thing, head this way! They also have an adjacent space for classes, healing work, and more.

And not quite in Seattle, but close is:

Crescent Moon Gifts  Tacoma  This shop is HUGE. Like theres definitely a little bit of everything and then some and keeps going. It has a tea room, event spaces, books, candles, stones, music, and much more. Theyre also a staple vendor at local events like Pagan Pride.

California

Theres a wealth of shops in CA that are noteworthy, but as I said, Im trying to keep the list to the ones I have visited in the last year, and I was just in California last month. Ill make note of some honorable mentions that I need to get back to visit to again:

The Mystic Dream  Walnut Creek (Bay Area)  I remember when this shop used to be Dolphin Dream (and very new agey)  Storm Faerywolf and crew took it over, and it has transformed into a wonderfully witchy space thats very satisfying. Theres a candle dressing bar, a very large selection of books (particularly small press/Feri ones), many decks, rocks and crystals, and much more. Plus they hold regular classes and events.

Serpents Kiss  Santa Cruz  I know theres a few shops in this area, but when touring recently, Ive only had time to hit Serpents Kiss. Definitely notable for their rootwork/hoodoo/conjure supplies and selection, this is another large and beautiful shop with an array of books, crystals, jewelry, oils, clothes, and other supplies. They also hold events and classes regularly.

Honorable Mentions in California that I need to get my butt back to, so hopefully some of you will chime in to sing their praises in detail:

Air & Fire  Boulder Creek

Milk & Honey  Sebastopol

The Sword & Rose  San Francisco

Ancient Ways  Oakland (hosts of PantheaCon!)

I also want to visit The Sacred Well (now with shops in both Oakland and Portland, OR), I havent been to either yet!

Asheville, North Carolina

Raven & Crone  We stopped at this delightful shop when we were on tour last May. It has a resident cat (huge bonus points), a tea and research/class room, many books (especially some by local experts/authors like Byron Ballard), a good stock of supplies and unusual items, and I had a lovely time talking with the owners husband on our visit. Its an absolute delight!

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

I was in Minneapolis for Paganicon, but I unfortunately did not have time to stop at any brick and mortar shops. I would very much like to get back to Eye of Horus for another visit (last time was 2012). Ive never been to Magus Books, but we vended across the way from them at Paganicon. They had a great selection of imported books, and we had a fantastic time talking with the owner and staff all weekend, so its on my list of places to visit.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Hex  French Quarter  Its nearly been a year since Ive been to NOLA, so this ones getting in just under the wire. I know theres a Hex in Salem, owned by the same person, but I have to recommend the NOLA store because theyve always been welcoming, friendly, and very patient in explaining things to tourists and newbies while Ive been in earshot. Theres a good selection of books, focus on voodoo and conjure work (no surprise for the location), and a lot of artful beautiful things. We always seem to meet really interesting new folks or run into folks we know in the most random fashion just outside the door, so thats fun too!

Im a bit lacking for voodoo-specific resources in NOLA that are current, so Id love to get some recommendations for the non-tourist variety here.

So thats my year-list. Unfortunately my tour schedule was pretty fast and furious this year, so I missed out on hitting more shops due to timing and travel logistics. There are many more fabulous shops out there, deserving to be mentioned, so Im counting on you all to share your favorites!
Before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube made their entry in the media market, the PatnaDaily had already registered its presence in...
Patna: In a major embarrassment to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who prides himself as the paragon of law and order, Nawada legislator and rape accused Raj Ballabh Yadav, three days after receiving bail from Patna High Court, met with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav at his residence reportedly to use his political clout to avoid being sent back to jail.

As recalled, Raj Ballabh Yadav was expelled from the RJD shortly after the news of the rape of a underage girl in Nalanda district surfaced last February resulting in his arrest.

Spending nearly two hours within closed door with the RJD chief, sources said the legislator was seeking Yadav's help in avoiding being sent back to jail like yet another RJD leader/criminal Mohammed Shahabuddin whose freedom outside the jail also did not last too long after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail.

The Supreme Court, at the behest of the Nitish government that is seeking cancellation of his bail, is scheduled to hear Raj Ballabh Yadav's case on Friday.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders seizing the opportunity to criticize the Chief Minister, both RJD and Janata Dal  U leaders tried to undermine the meeting between the two Yadavs saying it was merely a courtesy call and not much should be read into it.

"Even Amit Shah, who is accused in many cases, meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi so what is wrong in Raj Ballabh Yadav meeting with my father," said Tejaswi Yadav, the Deputy Chief Minister and the son of Lalu Prasad Yadav.



Ironically, the RJD chief himself is out on bail for his involvement in the multi-crore rupees fodder scam case that took place in the '90s.
Iranian Americans May be up for Grabs in the Presidential Election

10/07/16

By Elizabeth Lee, VOA

LOS ANGELES - Farid Khanlou owns Jordan Market in an area of Los Angeles called Persian Square. Its packed with Persian businesses, many of which fly the country's flag from before the 1979 Iranian revolution.

In this heart of the Iranian-American community, the largest group of Iranians abroad, there are many who remain undecided about which presidential candidate they support.

According to a poll by Zogby Research Services, 87% of Iranian Americans are registered to vote in the U.S. Of that number, 52% are Democrats and 8% are Republicans. But 40% identify themselves as either independent or have no party affiliation.

Khanlou says he will not vote for either candidate in the upcoming presidential election because he does not like Republican candidate Donald Trump, and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will only continue President Obamas policies, such as his national health insurance program, also known as "Obamacare."

Trump you cannot trust his word and Clinton its bad for the economy. Its bad for me because Obamacare is killing me for my health insurance. This is not right. Im paying almost $30,000 in health insurance because of the Obamacare, Khanlou said.

His economic concerns are in line with most Iranians. The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans conducted a survey which showed national security and the economy are the top two issues Iranian Americans look at when they vote for a candidate.

Across the street the owner at the Tochal Market, Todd Khodadadi, is also concerned about the economy.

Because Im Republican, I am supporting Donald Trump. The major reason Im supporting him is the economy. I believe if he became the president we can have better economic choices for all of us in the United States, said Khodadadi.

Zohreh Forouhi who is shopping near Persian Square, said she supports Hillary Clinton. Forouhi voted for a Republican in the last presidential election, but not this time. I think I (will) vote (for) Hillary. I did last time for the Republican, but I changed my parties.

Forouhi says many of the people she knows do not think Trump is a serious candidate.

Everybody just thought hes crazy and acting weird and just wants to fight. He doesnt care about other people. He wants to make America great but how? Nobody has any idea, Forouhi said.

Issues involving Iran

When it comes to Iran, the Public Affairs Alliance survey showed Iranian Americans said the top two issues that affect them and are most important to them are promoting human rights in Iran and lifting the U.S. trade embargo against Iran.

A man in Persian Square who will only identify himself as Reza says he is looking at each candidates policy towards Iran.

I think the candidates should offer their utmost respect to the Iranians. Iranians know where their interests lay. But the world community should expose the [Iranian] regimes corruptions and show that it does not represent the Iranian people. Its better for Mr. Trump to stop lying, and he should put a halt to attacking Iranians, said Reza.

But Bijan Khalili, the publisher of the weekly newspaper Iran Shahr said Trump is attractive to some Iranian Americans.

Some of the Iranians really like the way that he talks being harder against the Islamic Republic because of matters of human rights, said Khalili.

But Reza fears Trump's policies. I think Mrs. Clinton has a better chance, because of Trumps background and profession. Also his speeches are aggressive towards the minorities. Hes an extremist who poses danger to both the U.S. and the world, said Reza.

The National Iranian American Council estimates there are 1 million Iranian Americans in the U.S; those who are still undecided will be weighing the issues before election day.

Whoever wins the White House, Khalili said Iranian Americans would like the next U.S. president to focus more on the human rights issues in Iran.
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This story was originally published Oct. 7, 2016, and updated May 10, 2017 with new information.

Windows has a feature it doesnt like to talk about. While the OS lets you scrawl notes with a stylus, log in with you face (or secure the Web) via Windows Hello, and even order Cortana to set a reminder, what its not so eager for you to do, apparently, is use its speech recognition engine to issue commands or take voice dictation.

The reason for its silence may go back 10 years, to when Microsoft product manager Shanen Boettcher demonstrated voice dictation inside Windows Vistaand flubbed it. The technology kept a low profile after that, and today, few users know you can dictate a document within Windows.

If there were ever a time for Windows to try again, though, it would seem to be now, when advances in computers and artificial intelligence provide a much better foundation for the technology. And it has.

At its Build 2017 developer conference, Microsoft launched a new Video Indexer preview that not only transcribes the video, but also identifies the speaker, provides optional translations in up to nine languages, automatically generates subtitles, and guesses what objects or overlays are on the screen. It even performs basic sentiment analysis, determining whether the words used are positive or negative. And its all searchable via a Web portal: If you only want to view the text from a specific speaker, you can.

Mark Hachman / IDG Microsofts Video Indexer pulls an incredible amount of information from video uploaded to it.

Video Indexer is an example of how Microsoft is applying artificial intelligence to daily tasks. For example, the company showed off a PowerPoint Translator function that will allow users to auto-configure a PowerPoint presentation in their native language. Video Indexer, though, goes far beyond.

According to the product manager for Video Indexer, Milan Gada, the indexer cant immediately identify every speaker in a video. But if a user identifies an unknown speaker with their name, the entire database will be updated with the correct information, he said. Video Indexer also quickly allows a video to be searchable, allowing consumers to skip right to where theyre most interested.

Mark Hachman / IDG Video Indexer even auto-translates audio embedded in the video.

That all begs the question: if Microsoft can deliver a solution like this for enterprise customers, why cant it at least tap into the power of Cortana to deliver the same features for consumers?

Microsofts silence on speech dictation

This is such a great question, said Harry Shum, the executive vice president overseeing Microsofts speech-recognition research, as well as Cortana and Bing, when asked last year about dictations future within Microsoft Office. There is really no reason why it is not playing a much more prominent role yet.

We decided to give it another chance: We delved into Windows voice dictation features to see how they compared to more recent speech-based technologies.

Ask Word 2016 about dictation, and its like the app has never even heard the term. Word displays a similar response for speech recognition.

Why speech recognition cant be too perfect

Some of us still think about voice dictation in the same way Doonesbury lampooned the Apple Newton, turning I am writing a test sentence into Siam fighting atomic sentry. And youd be forgiven for thinking so, too: Windows Speech Recognition is powered by the Microsoft Speech Recognizer 8.0, which has remained literally unchanged since Vista. Shum called it a grandpa technology.

What has changed, however, is the hardware: Listening for and interpreting speech requires far less processing power than a decade ago. The quality of integrated array mics within PCs like the Surface Book mean that dedicated headsets arent necessarily required to achieve superior accuracy. Voice dictation for the masses is here, right?

When I tested Windows speech capabilities, however, I experienced firsthand the merciless perfection thats required for the system to be usable. This story has 1,028 words in it, including subheadings. If you used voice dictation software to write it, a 95.0% accuracy rate would mean youd have to correct more than fifty mistakes. That gets old fast.

In my tests, based on a methodology I developed for another speech recognition product Im testing, Windows produced an accuracy rate of 93.6%, Thats pretty bad on paper, and somewhat behind the dedicated software Im trying. Windows also had an odd habit of interjecting the word comma when I was dictating the punctuation mark. The speech community seems split on whether relatively minor mistakes like this are significant.

That, of course, was just the baseline. As anyone whos used dictation software can tell you, the key to accuracy is training. Over time, a voice dictation program learns your accent, whether you pronounce the a in apricot like bad or ape, and how to filter out our unconscious verbal tics. Ive seen Microsoft employees claim that, properly trained, Windows speech recognition was 99% accurate. Ten mistakes or so per 1,000 words isnt bad at all.

Very few of us, though, probably want to spend the time training the software. Windows Speech Recognition requires up to 10 minutes to run through a few practice sentences, and it feels like a lifetime. Cortana and Siri dont require any of the same setup time, as theyve already been trained on millions of voice samples. Theres something to be said for instant gratification.

Training speech within Windows is a lengthy process. The setup time associated with Nuances Dragon software is far shorter, perhaps a minute or so. But modern digital assistants recognize your words instantly.

What makes Cortana (which you can use on your PC or phone) so much better than Windows own ancient voice dictation systems is her link to the massive computational power of the Microsoft cloud. Microsoft can crunch and correlate your voice input together with whatever other data Microsoft knows about you, generating the intelligence that is the soul of Cortana.

Microsoft talks up speech recognition

Given Cortanas proven skills, youd think speech would take center stage. But at Build 2016, executives said dictation capabilities wont be added to Office. Last October, though, chief executive Satya Nadellas keynote address at its Ignite conference painted speech recognition as a critical component of Microsofts future.

Take Skype Translator, for example. Microsofts Star Trek-like universal translator depends upon three different strands of research, according to Nadella: speech recognition, speech synthesis, and machine translation.

Even inside of Word or Outlook when youre writing a document we now dont have simple thesaurus-based spell correction, Nadella said, adding that Office can now even compensate for dyslexia. We have complete computational linguistic understanding of what youre building. Or what youre writing.

But not what youre saying, apparently.

Microsoft Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella stands next to NFL star Deion Sanders at Microsofts Ignite conference. Has Microsoft fumbled its dictation opportunity?

During the same speech, Nadella bragged that Microsofts speech algorithms achieved a word error rate of 6.9 percent using the NIST Switchboard test. That sounds bad: thats accuracy of about 93.1 percent. But the Switchboard test uses sample rates of just 8KHz, about the quality of a telephone conversation in the year 2000. Windows Media Audio 10, the codec within OneNote, can capture audio at up to 48KHz, providing much more accurate samples.

I think its pretty obvious that the pieces of the puzzle are there, technically. If theres any obstacle, it might be organizational: Microsofts Office apps have been spun out into their own group, away from Cortana and Bing. Shum, however, said that intelligence is still part and parcel of Microsofts offerings. Rest assured that we are infusing AI technology into all Microsoft products, he said in October.

Microsoft representatives also said that users should expect more from Microsoft in the future.

We see value in conversations across a range of devices and experiences, Microsoft said in an October statement. Were just at the beginning of what we believe is possible and certainly see lots of opportunity to connect Cortana and conversations into a number of productivity scenarios. Today, Cortana integrates with Office 365 for glance-able information about upcoming meetings, along with flight and package tracking, and Bing is also providing intelligent insights directly in Office. We will continue to invest heavily here.

If Microsoft truly believes in productivity, though, the future of speech recognition within your PC probably isnt using Skype to book a hotel in Bangladesh. Its writing about the experiencebut with your voice rather than your fingers.
The next release of OpenStack made its debut on Thursday with a raft of new features for better scalability and resiliency.

Architectural and functional barriers can make it difficult for companies to scale their clouds up or down across platforms and geographies, but OpenStacks 14th release  dubbed Newton  does away with many of those limitations. The open source cloud-building software now includes improved scaling capabilities in its Nova, Horizon, and Swift components, its makers say.

New improvements bolster the horizontal scale-out of Nova compute environments, while others add convergence by default in the Heat orchestration service as well as multi-tenancy improvements in Ironic.

On the resiliency front, Newton adds new features for high availability, adaptability, and self-healing. The Cinder, Ironic, Neutron, and Trove services have all gained better high availability functionality, while several components have gained improved security as well. Keystone, for example, now offers upgrades that include PCI compliance and encrypted credentials. Cinder adds support for retyping encrypted to unencrypted volumes and vice versa.

Additional enhancements in Cinder include micro-version support, the ability to delete volumes with snapshots using the cascading feature, and a backup service that can be scaled to multiple instances.

Newton also promises new features designed to make OpenStack easier to set up, operate, change, and fix with greater automation. Magnum, for instance, now includes an operator-centric installation guide, support for pluggable drivers, support for Kubernetes clusters on bare metal servers, and asynchronous cluster creation. For general bare-metal provisioning, Ironic adds multi-tenant networking and tighter integration with Magnum, Kubernetes, and Nova.

Kolla now supports deploying to bare metal, and Kuryr brings Neutron networking capabilities to containers, making Swarm integration and Kubernetes integration available for the first time.

OpenStack Newton was designed and built by an international community of 2,581 developers, operators, and users from 309 organizations. Products and services based on OpenStack Newton are expected to appear in the coming weeks and months.
A family spat that spilled over into Moreno Valley politics has now led to a police investigation.

Former City Councilwoman Victoria Baca filed a police complaint against her brother, Christopher Baca, alleging that he and city Councilman Jesse Molina  a candidate for mayor in the Nov. 8 election  tried to break into her house last month. They say they were trying to retrieve campaign sign poles that belonged to them and that were stored outside her home.

Moreno Valley police went to Victoria Bacas house Sept. 12, but no one has been cited or arrested, Riverside County Sheriffs Department spokesman Deputy Armando Munoz said.

She requested misdemeanor charges of petty theft and trespassing against Christopher Baca, Munoz said.

Police sent the case to the Riverside County District Attorneys office to review. Prosecutors have not decided whether to file charges, spokesman John Hall said this week. He didnt know when a decision might be made.

The dispute comes during a campaign season in which the Bacas are on different political sides, after years as allies.

Victoria Baca, who was ousted by voters two years ago in a recall election, is trying to make a political comeback for the District 1 city council seat now held by LaDonna Jempson. Christopher Baca also is running for that seat.

The siblings are backing different candidates in the citys first mayoral election. Christopher Baca supports Molina; Victoria Baca, who had been an ally of Molina when she was a councilwoman, favors Yxstian Gutierrez, the appointed mayor.

Christopher Baca, who once campaigned heavily for his sister, said he borrowed more than 100 poles from Molina to help his sister and Gutierrez in the 2014 election. He said another 100 poles were given to him by Tom Owings, who was also recalled from his city council seat that year.

Those poles had been stored outside by Victoria Bacas garage for the past two years, Christopher Baca said. He said hes lived at the house and has keys to the home and gate.

Christopher Baca said he had tried to make arrangements to pick up the poles with Elena Santa Cruz, Victoria Bacas daughter and campaign treasurer. But Santa Cruz kept telling him she was too busy, he said.

Victoria Baca, who said shes been estranged from her brother for a year, said the poles belonged to her and she knew of no attempts by her brother to collect them.

On Sept. 12, both Bacas and Molina were at a community event at a Moreno Valley mosque. Christopher Baca said he again told his sister he wanted to retrieve the poles. She denies he did so.

Molina gave Christopher Baca a ride home. They said they happened to be driving by Victoria Bacas house, saw Santa Cruz in the drive-way and stopped.

Christopher Baca said he approached Santa Cruz, who was sitting in her car, and told her he was there to pick up the poles but she rolled up the window and didnt respond. He said he picked up some poles and started stacking them in Molinas car.

I was under the impression I could retrieve my property, Christopher Baca said.

Victoria Baca, who was not home, said she got a call from her daughter who she said was frightened of her uncle. She called Moreno Valley police Chief Joel Ontiveros, who told her to call 911, she said.

I called because two people were trying to break into my home, Victoria Baca said, adding that she believes they stopped because they knew she wasnt home.

Christopher Baca said there was no reason to call police and accused her of filing a false report.

I dont understand why they would do that to their own brother and uncle,he said.

When police arrived he said they told him he was trespassing and to leave, Christopher Baca said. Molina, who said he stayed in his car, said he told Christopher Baca to put the poles back.

Molina said the incident has been overblown.

Its a brother and sister spat, he said. Shes mad because hes running against her.

Molina said he has receipts proving that some of the poles belonged to him.

Christopher Baca said his sister is spreading misinformation for political gain.

Victoria Baca called the incident embarrassing.

I love my brother, she said. I dont wish him any harm. I just want him to stay away. I didnt know what else to do.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9558, ighori@scng.com, @ImranGhori1
ONTARIO  Some of the 15,000 steel shipping containers at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles abandoned in the wake of the financial collapse of Korea-based Hanjin Shipping Co. may be headed to Ontario for storage  but not without opposition from city leaders.

On Friday, a logistics company reported that many of the containers could be on their way to an undisclosed 100-acre yard in Ontario.

That wasnt welcome news in Ontario.

Two City Council members, Jim Bowman, Debra Porada, and Mayor Paul Leon voiced opposition to the idea at their Tuesday meeting.

Ontario will never become a dumping ground for another city or another nation. In this case it was Korea for a shipping line, Bowman said. This is not a dumping ground.

First, the containers were stranded at sea until a U.S. bankruptcy judge last month issued an order allowing the financially ailing Hanjin provisional protection from creditors so vessels could dock and unload products, and retailers could begin selling those products in stores.

The now-empty containers are once again stranded, this time on land, as no one was quite sure what to do with them.

Enter the Ontario plan. A logistics company, Total Transportation Services Inc., said Friday the trucking company had a conceptual plan to move containers to a 100-acre facility in Ontario where they could be stored.

Officials believe the only conceivable place for the 100-acre piece of land mentioned would be in the former agricultural preserve area in southern Ontario near a new housing development. Officials say residents there have already complained about truck traffic.

Were trying to build houses down there, and were trying to make it palatable for people moving in to move there, and for them to see all the truck traffic down there sure isnt selling houses, Porada said in an interview Wednesday.

Ontario City Manger Al Boling said the citys approved zoning prohibits the storage of metal shipping containers in the former agricultural preserve where thousands of homes are planned and neighborhoods have already sprung up.

The citys general plan sets forth the long-term vision for allowable uses in the area, and that does not include commercial container storage, Boling said in a statement.

The city, Boling said, made a commitment to the property owners who once operated dairies in Ontario Ranch, and until such time as development occurs consistent with the general plans vision, agricultural and ag-related uses are permissible. Storage of shipping containers is not ag- or ag-related.

Placement of the containers within city limits could be permissible at smaller sites elsewhere for a smaller number of shipping containers if city officials approve a permit. But, I am not aware of any applications having been submitted to the city, Boling said.

In an interview Wednesday, Alex Chernin, spokesman for Total Transportation, said the details are still under discussion.

Its our understanding from our Realtor that the land is already zoned for (storage of shipping containers), Chernin said. But we are verifying that, and well obviously work with the city if there are concerns.

Among those impacted are warehousing companies, such as XPO Logistics, which has two of Hanjins stranded containers, and is seeking to get them moved.

Dan Monnier, corporate import and compliance manager for XPO, said Hanjin contacted him Tuesday afternoon and said a yard in Fontana was available but withdrew that claim later in the day.

Zai AbuBakar, planning manager for the city of Fontana, said brokers on behalf of Hanjin had informed her of their desire to also use land in Fontana, but she informed them that the city prohibits any storage of metal shipping containers.

If containers do show up in town, AbuBakar said, well inform them the use is not permitted, and well give them a certain amount of days to get rid of them.

Meanwhile, a Redlands-based real estate company, The Tahiti Group, has offered to take on containers  just not in the Inland Empire. The company, according to principal Jack Vander Woude, has 120 acres of land near the Mojave Airport that he said was approved by Kern County for container storage.

However, Vander Woude said Hanjin hasnt contacted him.

We offered our property for Hanjins containers, Vander Woude said. We have simply offered a place to store them temporarily if they wish. Well rent them our land on a temporary basis. The point of this is that our land is served by railroad and freeway.

Contact the writer: nnisperos@scng.com or @ReporterNeil on Twitter
UPDATE: Heres a California GOP-funded ad attacking Medina as fiscally reckless.

She couldnt even balance her own checkbook, a narrator says as a picture of Medina and the words Two Foreclosures is shown.And then, when elected to the school board, Abigail Medina wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars on travel, jetting off to Miami Beach and Las Vegas, using our kids education tax dollars.

ORIGINAL POST: Seeing a chance to get one step closer to regaining a legislative supermajority, Democrats are turning up the heat on Inland Assemblyman Marc Steinorth.

The Sacramento Bee recently reported that a Democratic voter in Steinorths 40th Assembly District filed a complaint with the state attorney general accusing the Rancho Cucamonga Republican of using public resources for political gain. Specifically, the complaint from Daniel Weiser of Rancho Cucamonga alleges Steinorth posted a video made by the Assembly Republican Caucus to his campaign website.

The video promoted Steinorths bill, signed by the governor, that allows people in certain circumstances to bust open car windows to rescue overheated dogs. The complaint also accuses Steinorth of posting government-sponsored photos to his campaign website.

Matt Rexroad, Steinorths campaign strategist, told the Bee the complaint was the product of the political silly season.

If we were going to feature something to promote (the campaign) putting (Steinorth) in a hot car and sweaty t-shirt wouldnt exactly be good fodder, Rexroad was quoted as saying.

The California Democratic Party also is paying for TV ads attacking Steinorth, like this one:

A law firm representing Steinorth wrote a letter to a Charter Communications executive demanding that one ad be taken off the air. Allegations that Steinorth used campaign donations to pay himself are completely baseless, the firm wrote, noting that candidates are legally allowed to pay themselves back for loans they make to their own campaigns.

In an emailed statement, Michael Soller, a California Democratic Party spokesman, said: This ad accurately and factually describes what Marc Steinorth has done: using campaign committees he controlled to pay a company he controls tens of thousands of dollars. Thats called dirty politics, and its just the same kind of self-dealing Donald Trump has practiced at an unprecedented scale on the presidential level.

The campaign for Democrat Abigail Medina, Steinorths opponent in the Nov. 8 election, is paying for mailers linking Steinorth to Donald Trump. Steinorth  like Trump  is totally out of touch with the people he seeks to represent, said Ben Golombek of the Medina campaign.

Steinorth/Trumps views, votes and rhetoric  from voting to support having guns in our schools, to participating in extreme tea party groups and refusing to support paid family leave for new parents, are simply out of touch with the mainstream views of Californians  particularly those that live in the 40th Assembly District.

The 40th represents most of Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Loma Linda, Highland and part of San Bernardino city.

Steinorths ads focus on his work to bring jobs to the 40th and his support from community leaders, including San Bernardino city Police Chief Jarrod Burguan and San Bernardino County Supervisor Jose Gonzales. She praises Steinorth in a Spanish-language video.

Rexroad also criticized Medina, a San Bernardino school board member, for items on her campaign finance disclosure forms showing salary payments to family members. Golombek said the payments were reimbursement for campaign expenses, such as food for volunteers.

The Steinorth/Medina contest is one of the most competitive Inland races this election cycle. A plurality of district voters are registered Democrats, and Medina finished ahead of Steinorth in the June 7 primary.

Republican and Democratic party committees have spent more than $1.2 million combined in the district, tops in the state in terms of legislative races with targeted incumbents, said Rob Pyers, research director for the California Target Book, which studies state legislative races.
Kimberly Long, a Corona nurse whose boyfriend was killed in 2003, was charged with his murder. Her first trial ended with a hung jury; a second jury convicted her. But in June 2016, a judge vacated her conviction. The Riverside County District Attorneys Office is appealing that decision.

Here is a look through The Press-Enterprise archives at coverage of her arrest and first two trials in and 2005, as well as her failure to show up to serve her sentence in 2009 after the case was appealed.

Woman held in boyfriends death

From staff | Publication date: Nov. 11, 2003

Corona police detectives arrested a Corona woman Monday on suspicion of killing her boyfriend last month.

Police say they believe Kimberly Long, 28, killed Oswaldo Conde, 33, at her Springbrook Street home, said Corona police Sgt. Tom Weeks.

Long will be arraigned in court on Thursday, Weeks said. She is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside with bail set at $500,000.

Corona police had responded to a call about 2 a.m. Oct. 6 in the 1100 block of Springbrook Street. Long told police she had found Conde unconscious with a head injury when she got home, Weeks said.

Conde had suffered blunt trauma to his head and was pronounced dead at the scene, Weeks said.

Case against nurse begins

The Corona woman is accused of bludgeoning her boyfriend in 2003.

By Sonja Bjelland, staff writer | Publication date: Feb. 9, 2005

Opening statements and testimony began Tuesday in the murder case against a 29-year-old Corona Regional Medical Center nurse.

Kimberly Louise Long is accused of fatally hitting her boyfriend, Oswaldo Conde, with a blunt object in October 2003.

She was upset because she wasnt living the dream lifestyle she wanted to live, prosecutor Gerald Fineman said. So she killed him.

The blunt object has not been identified or found, and Longs public defender, Eric Keen, said investigators have not found any forensic evidence connecting Long to the crime.

Our position is her ex is as likely a suspect, Keen said.

Longs ex-husband had threatened to kill Conde, Keen said. Police initially said Long and her children, who were 5 and 9 at the time, were not home when Conde was killed. Corona police arrested Long about a month after the killing.

Family and friends of Long and Conde sat on their respective sides of the Riverside County courtroom as testimony began.

A 911 dispatcher and tape of the 911 call showed that Long was crying and barely audible. In the call, Long told the dispatcher her boyfriend had blood all over his face.

On Tuesday, Long shook and put her head down on the table in front of her as the tape played.

Oh, my God, she said in the call from her Springbrook Street home. Something happened in my house.

Neighbor Phillip Virga testified motorcycles in the street and in Longs garage kept waking him up that night. He did not, however, hear Longs dog, Otto.

Corona police Officer Jeffrey Glenn said he walked into the home and saw the 31-year-old man slumped on the couch with wounds on his head. Long was outside the home when officers arrived.

She seemed hysterical, Glenn testified.

Lawyers to wrap murder trial

Closing arguments to take place today in the October 2003 beating death of a Corona man.

By Paige Austin, staff writer| Publication Date: February 16, 2005

Today a jury will begin deciding the fate of a 29-year-old Corona woman accused of bludgeoning her boyfriend to death in 2003.

Attorneys will make their closing arguments this morning in Riverside Superior Court in the case of Kimberly Louise Long, an emergency-room nurse at Corona Regional Medical Center. A verdict is anticipated by Friday or early next week.

Throughout the nearly two-week-long trial, prosecutors painted Long as a self-absorbed party girl with a history of threatening and assaulting boyfriends.

To dispel that image, a soft-spoken Long took the stand for two days to testify that she arrived home to find her boyfriend, Oswaldo Conde, 33, fatally beaten by a would-be burglar.

In a display of confidence Tuesday, attorneys for both sides urged Judge Patrick F. Magers not to instruct the jury to consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter as an alternative to premeditated murder. The lesser charge, explained Public Defender Eric Keen, might prompt a jury reluctant to convict Long of murder to settle on manslaughter instead of acquittal.

Magers excused the jury from the courtroom and warned Long about the risks of precluding the jury from considering lesser alternatives to murder.

In cases like this, we dont know what the jury is going to do, he said.

A conviction of first-degree murder carries a sentence of 25 years to life, whereas voluntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 11 years, Magers said.

After hours of tearful testimony, Long opted to taker her chances with the jury.

Dressed in a pink V-neck sweater, with her long blond hair parted down the middle, Long appeared fragile and soft-spoken as she faced prosecutor Gerald Fineman during cross-examination Tuesday.

Fineman established that Long had spent the day leading up to the Oct. 6, 2003, killing barhopping from morning to night. Long testified that after a day of drinking with friends, she got into an argument with Conde.

He was trying to pull me inside the house, and I didnt want to go, she said.

Long admitted to saying hurtful things and hitting Conde with her purse and motorcycle helmet before a friend pulled her away. She testified that she then went to another mans house and had sexual intercourse with him after her fight with Conde. She also admitted to telling her lover that she wanted to hurt Conde.

After that, Long said she returned home to find Conde unconscious on the couch bleeding from his head. She testified that she called 911 and waited for help to arrive.

Fineman repeatedly asked Long why she didnt use her skills as a nurse to help her boyfriend.

I freaked out, and I panicked, she said. It was horrible. I knew it was bad. . . . I couldnt help him.

During the trial, neighbors and witnesses gave conflicting testimony about the time Long arrived home on the morning of the killing. Varying testimony placed her at the scene anywhere from a half hour before she called for help right up to just moments before she called 911, said Keen.

On rebuttal, Keen established that Long had been abused by her jealous ex-husband, a man the defense believed to be a more likely suspect in Condes killing. According to defense testimony, a stereo was stolen from the house at the time of the killing. It establishes that someone else was in the house the night Conde was killed, he said.

A neighbor heard Long being dropped off the night of the killing just before she ran outside screaming, said Keen. It corroborates Longs testimony, he said.

Jury impasse forces mistrial in boyfriend killing

By Paige Austin, staff writer| Publication Date: February 23, 2005

A deadlocked jury forced a Riverside Superior Court judge to declare a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a Corona woman accused of killing her boyfriend.

After three full days of deliberation, jurors found themselves deadlocked, 9-3, in favor of acquitting Kimberly Louise Long, 29, a Corona nurse who prosecutors say killed Oswaldo Conde following an argument and a day of binge drinking.

Prosecutors likely will decide by Monday whether to retry the case, said Ingrid Wyatt, spokeswoman for the district attorneys office.

Well certainly retry if we can, Wyatt said. Somebody has died at the hands of another. We just cant walk away from that if we feel there is enough evidence for a trial.

Following the mistrial, Longs bail was reduced to $100,000 and Judge Patrick F. Magers ordered her to stay away from witnesses and attorneys in the case.

The jury foreman told Magers the jury was deadlocked Tuesday morning. However, Magers asked the group to continue deliberating until late afternoon, when jurors reported they were hopelessly deadlocked.

Both sides gambled in not allowing the jury to come back with a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter instead of the murder or premeditated murder charges.

Last week, Long declined when Magers asked if she and Public Defender Eric Keen wanted him to include voluntary manslaughter in his instructions to the jury.

The lesser charge might have prompted a jury reluctant to convict Long of murder to settle on manslaughter instead of acquittal, Keen explained. The defense took the chance that the jury was leaning toward acquittal.

Prosecutor Gerald Fineman appeared to be equally confident the jury was leaning toward a murder conviction and a life sentence. He, too, chose not to give the jury a chance to come back with a manslaughter conviction, which has an 11-year prison sentence.

Throughout the nearly two-week-long trial, prosecutors painted Long as a violent and self-absorbed woman, who killed her boyfriend because he failed to give her the life she longed for.

In a bold effort to sway the jurys perception of her, Long took the stand in her own defense.

She spent two days testifying that while she did drink heavily, cheated on her boyfriend and fought with him in the hours leading up to the murder, she did not kill him.

Keen presented the jury with a timeline and witness testimony that either a would-be burglar or Longs jealous ex-husband killed Conde before Long came home.

Nurses retrial starts in boyfriends killing

Partying and fighting preceded his beating, both sides say. Her first jury was hung.

By Paige Austin, staff writer| Publication Date: Dec. 14, 2005

For the second time this year, attorneys delivered opening arguments Tuesday in the case of a Corona nurse accused of bludgeoning her boyfriend to death.

In February, Riverside Superior Court Judge Patrick F. Magers declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked 9-3 in favor of acquitting Kimberly Louise Long, 30, in the death of her boyfriend, Oswaldo Conde, 31.

The district attorneys office contends that Long murdered her boyfriend after a long day of partying and fighting with him. However, during opening arguments, Longs attorney attempted to redirect the guilt to jealous former lovers of Long and Conde.

Both attorneys agree that the October 2003 day of the killing started with an entire day of barhopping from The Chuck Wagon and Toms Farm in the morning to drinks at Maverick Steakhouse in Norco in the evening. Both agree that Long fought with Conde in front of friends and went home with another man.

The jury will have to decide if Long returned home to kill Conde in a fit of drunken rage, or if she arrived home to find him badly beaten by an intruder.

Deputy District Attorney Gerald Fineman told the jury he is confident that the evidence points to Longs guilt.

The argument turned ugly. The defendant told the jury she wanted him to move out, Fineman said. She started to hit him with her purse and her motorcycle helmet.

After friends broke up the fight, she left with another man and told him she wanted to hurt Conde, Fineman said. It was then that she went home, killed him and waited several minutes to call 911 for help, he concluded.

Throughout Finemans opening argument, Condes friends and family sat quietly in the back of the courtroom. Long, dressed in pink slacks and a pink and black pinstriped blouse, also sat quietly, occasionally glancing back toward two supporters behind her in the audience.

Deputy Public Defender Eric Keen asked the jury not to jump to conclusions about his client. There was no weapon found at the scene and there are at least two other more likely suspects, he said.

You see, folks, I need you to keep an open mind, he told the jury.

According to Keen, Condes ex-lover had recently vandalized his car and threatened to slash Longs and Condes throats.

Longs ex-husband was also a threat, said Keen. Long had obtained a restraining order against the man, who stalked her and wired her bedroom with a hidden camera and listening devices, he said.

After opening arguments, jurors heard from several witnesses including Condes brother, Longs neighbor, the paramedic who examined Conde on the night of the killing, and a man who provided an alibi for Condes ex-girlfriend.

Ex-nurse convicted of killing boyfriend

By Mary Bender, staff writer | Publication date: Dec. 31, 2005

A Corona jury found a former nurse guilty of second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of her live-in boyfriend, a case that ended in a mistrial earlier this year because a previous jury deadlocked.

Kimberly Louise Long, 30, will return to the Corona courthouse on Jan. 24 for sentencing by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Patrick Magers. She faces a prison term of 15 years to life for the October 2003 murder of Oswaldo Ozzy Conde, 31, the prosecutor said.

Long once worked at Corona Regional Medical Center. She had been out on bail during the trial and was taken into custody after Tuesdays verdict, said Supervising Deputy District Attorney Gerald Fineman.

A witness testified that he dropped off Long and returned to his own home by 1:36 a.m. Records show Long dialed 911 a half hour later, Fineman said.

She doesnt call the police until 2:09 in the morning and . . . she tells them she just walked in the door, Fineman said. The point that (the jury) focused on was . . . that all her statements didnt match the timeline.

Police never recovered a murder weapon.

She didnt have any blood on her person, and there was blood spatter around the crime scene. The victim was covered in blood, and she didnt render any medical aid, even though she was a nurse, Fineman said.

Murderer a no-show to serve sentence

By Sonja Bjelland, staff writer | Publication Date: March 14, 2009

A Corona nurse failed to surrender Friday after being given the rare opportunity to remain free for three years while her murder conviction was appealed.

A judge issued a warrant for Kimberly Louise Long who was scheduled to begin serving her 15-years-to-life sentence Friday, after her appeals failed. Her family said she did not know about the hearing and went camping.

Judge Patrick Magers in 2006 granted Longs release on $100,000 bail while her case went through appeals. He made the unusual allowance because he thought there was insufficient evidence to prove her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, according to court records.

The appellate justices decided there was ample evidence to convict Long. The California Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Gerald Fineman, who prosecuted Long, would not speculate where Long might be.

Deputy Public Defender Judith Gweon said colleague Eric Keen, who defended Long, had spoken with Longs father. He said his daughter was unaware of the court date and had gone on a camping trip. Gweon requested a continuance during Fridays hearing at the Corona courthouse.

Fineman said he had never heard of someone convicted of murder being let out on bail after sentencing in his 20 years as a prosecutor.

The danger in letting somebody out in a case like this, pending appeal, is just what weve seen, Fineman said.

Once someone has been sentenced and exhausted the appeals process they have no reason to return to court, he said.

We intend to do everything we can do get her into custody, Fineman said. And individuals who choose to harbor her may subject themselves to their own legal problems.

Long, a former Corona Regional Medical Center emergency room nurse, was convicted in 2005 of killing her live-in boyfriend Oswaldo Ozzy Conde, 31. Condes family cried at the hearing and said they were upset Long did not arrive.

We think its just that she doesnt want to face the fact shes not able to run anymore, said the victims brother John Conde, adding that he thought the judge made a bad decision to free her on bail.

In 2005, Long went on trial twice. The first time the jury deadlocked 9-3 in favor of acquitting her. The second time she was convicted of second-degree murder.

In the trials, attorneys described Long and Conde spending the day barhopping. The prosecution said Long and Conde fought and she went home with another man, Jeffrey Dills.

Dills said he took Long back to her house between 1:20 and 1:30 a.m.

Long called 911 at 2:09 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2003, to report her boyfriend was injured and despite being a nurse she could not provide aid.

Paramedics arrived to a bloody scene but Long had no blood on her or her clothing.

Police never found the murder weapon.

The defense said there were at least two more likely suspects.

Dills would later testify that Long said she wanted to harm Conde. He died in a traffic collision after he testified at the preliminary hearing. In the jury trials, the prosecution had someone read Dills testimony.

His testimony was so pivotal that Judge Magers was concerned that the jurors could not observe Dills testifying and he could not be more thoroughly cross-examined.

Magers said questions remained unanswered about Dills level of intoxication, according to court documents. Without Dills testimony, Magers said he would have dismissed the case against Long.

Corona woman starts sentence

She turns herself in 10 days late after being granted release on bail.

By Sonja Bjelland, staff writer | Publication Date: March 24, 2009

More than three years after being convicted of murdering her boyfriend, a Corona woman began serving her prison sentence Monday.

Kimberly Louise Long turned herself in Monday and the family of the man she killed watched as investigators put chains around her waist and cuffed her hands in the district attorneys office lobby.

My son is going to rest in peace now, said Yolanda Hack, mother of Oswaldo Ozzy Conde, who was killed in 2003.

Conde was hit in the head three to eight times with a blunt object, possibly while he was asleep, according to testimony. The weapon was never found and a key witness died in a traffic collision before trial.

Police had been searching for Long since she failed to surrender March13 after exhausting her appeals.

After sentencing Long in 2006, Judge Patrick Magers granted her release on $100,000 bail while her case was appealed. At that hearing, Magers said there was insufficient evidence to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The appellate judges said there was ample evidence. Longs family disagrees. Her mother, Darlene Long, said they are offering a reward and will have a tip line starting Wednesday seeking information on the case at 951-520-0104.

Were going to get our daughter exonerated, she said. I dont care how long it takes.

She would not reveal the amount of the reward.

Before the March 13 hearing, Longs father told the attorney who defended her that she was camping and unaware of the court date.

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Gerald Fineman said there were no indications that she was camping and they believe she was on the run. He said she would be transported directly to state prison.

There arent any more court dates. There arent any more appeals. Shes exhausted all of those, he said.

Condes family hugged and thanked Fineman and Corona police Senior Detective Ron Anderson after Long was taken away. They said they had been disappointed when she did not show up on March13.

Hack said she was glad that Long cannot hurt someone else.

Weve been waiting and waiting and waiting and finally justice is done, Hack said.



RECENT COVERAGE:

Woman in jail since 2009 set free after judge orders third murder trial



District attorney appealing Kimberly Longs overturned murder conviction

How Kimberly Long is rebuilding her life after murder convictions reversal
There was a blue heron a few yards away from the Big Bear Marina. Mallards played in the water near the marinas office.

This is pretty sad looking, said Scott Ruppel, 60, as he sat in front of the marina office on a recent weekday morning.

A frequent lake visitor, Ruppel, a Barstow resident, talked about the grass and other plant life  some green, some not  growing on land once covered by a 3,000 acre lake.

The lake in the San Bernardino Mountains is now more like 2,200 acres, meaning 800 acres are exposed, according to Mike Stephenson, general manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District.

Like the lakes in the valley, six-years of drought has taken its toll on the waterfront of the mountain community that draws visitors from throughout Southern California and beyond, seeking to escape the noise and stress of urban life below.

Big Bear Lake has lost more than half of its water volume since 2011, Stephenson said.

We are hoping we can make it until winter without moving the dock, said Nick Norton, who is a captain on the Arrowhead Queen, which provides year-around tours around the lake.

Lake Arrowhead has also seen some receding.

The privately owned lake is down slightly more than 10 feet from full, according to Jim Grant, general manager of the Arrowhead Lake Association.

They join water bodies like Lake Elsinore, which is also dependent on rainfall, in shrinking during the recent drought spell.

Winter forecast

San Bernardino Mountain residents and those who have businesses there frequently say they hope this winter will begin the turnaround from dropping lake levels.

But Ken Clark, an AccuWeather meteorologist based in Rancho Cucamonga, said this winter will be much like last years, with half the normal rainfall and temperatures above normal.

That doesnt mean there wont be storms throughout the winter  but it wont be significant to change the status of the drought, he said in a recent phone interview.

Last year just 8.56 inches of rain fell during the rainy season, down about half of normal for the months of November through April, which is 16.7 inches for Big Bear Lake, Clark said.

Others put a more positive spin on the coming rainy season.

The door is still open for a wet winter, said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratories in La Canada Flintridge.

The anticipated La Nina did not materialize, Patzert said, which means a wet year is possible. He did say, however, that the smart money is betting on a dry winter.

Typically, La Ninas,  cold waters in the eastern Pacific  follow El Ninos, which tend to bring above-average rainfall.

For the past 133 years at Big Bear Lake, 6 of 10 years are less than the annual average of 37 inches, Patzert said.

Because both the San Bernardino Mountain lakes are both relatively small, they can  and have been  recharged to full capacity with one good rainy season, Patzert said.

San Bernardino resident Lee Baker, 65, is hoping for rain, he said from the shore during a recent trip to the lake to fish.

I bet I find that lure I lost here a few years ago, Baker joked.

A lot of our old fishing spots are dry, said Matt Baker, 32, of Redlands, who has been fishing in Big Bear Lake with his father since childhood.

Real estate concerns

Many mountain residents with lakefront properties have watched receding water levels strand their boat docks.

The forest (from the north side of Big Bear Lake) seems to get closer and closer every day, said Audrey Holt, a Houston resident who has been helping her 92-year-old mother in her lakefront house on Big Bear Lakes southern shore.

Several of Holts neighbors have boat docks that are about 100 yards from the water.

The marina was moved farther into the water last year, said Steve Fengler, owner of the marina business.

Some of the back bays and narrow channels are dry, but the main part of the lake, what people use to water ski and for other recreation, is still like a full lake, Fengler said. Business-wise, the marina is having a better year than last year and we are four feet down.

Mountain real estate agents look at the downturn in lake levels as a familiar cycle, one that can be quickly reversed with a wet winter.

This kind of thing happens, but we always come back, said Bob Angilella, a long-time Big Bear Lake real estate salesman.

It doesnt affect values: Lakefront properties are lakefront properties, he said.

Looking over the past 25 years, mountain lake levels have not played a significant factor in home sales values, said John Karevoll, a real estate analyst for DQ News, who lives in Running Springs.

Nevertheless, this is probably not the year to be selling lakefront property, said Cindy Pearson, a sales associate with Gilligan Log Homes Real Estate in Big Bear Lake.

Most owners with lakefront properties are not in a position where they must sell, Pearson said.

I think this will be our year to get rain, she said.

Contact the writer: jsteinberg@scng.com; @JamesDSteinberg on Twitter
UPDATE (Wednesday, Nov. 16): California judge rejects charges involving escort site Backpage

The chief executive officer of classified advertising website Backpage.com was arrested Thursday, Oct. 6, and charged with pimping a minor because the website hosts escort ads that law enforcement officials say are thinly disguised solicitations of prostitution.

Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal, said state Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a news release. Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the worlds top online brothel.

CEO Carl Ferrer was charged with felony counts of pimping a minor, pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping. Michael Lacey and James Larkin, controlling shareholders of Backpage, were charged with conspiracy to commit pimping, a felony, the release said.

Ferrer was arrested and booked in Houston; the case was filed in Superior Court in Sacramento, said Kristin Ford, a spokeswoman for the Attorney Generals Office.

I support the attorney generals strong stand against human trafficking and against the use of technology by those involved in pimping and pandering, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Thursday.

Some Inland police departments in the past several years have scoured the ads, set up stings and made arrests.

Rob McKenna, during a 2011 speech when he was attorney general of Washington state, said Backpage makes $22 million annually from its escort ads.

Backpage is not the only website running those advertisements but has been the target of district attorney, state attorneys general and local law enforcement agencies, including those in Southern California.

The three-year investigation included undercover operations posting escort ads and arranging meetings with people who had advertised in the escort section, confirming that commercial sex was the only purpose for both buyers and sellers, the release said.

The Long Beach Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and Homeland Security were among the agencies assisting in the investigation.

Backpage does not post the advertisements but allows customers to upload them to the website. The ads dance around the edges of the law by withholding most mentions of price for candy, massages and service.

A court ruling this year upheld the protection provided by the Communications Decency Act. Judges said Backpage cannot be held criminally liable for because it is the host, not the publisher, of the ads.

A key to the states case against Ferrer could be its assertion that he took data from Backpage users and created content on separate websites. The investigation found that Evilempire.com featured photos and contact information from Backpage and offered no apparent way for users to submit content directly, the release said.

Law enforcement officers say the young women, often minors, who are advertised are victims who are abused by their pimps and do not lead the glamorous lives sometimes portrayed by their pimps.

They are a tool for human traffickers, San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos said in a September interview with The Press-Enterprise. We have seen the ongoing victimization of those being trafficked for sex in San Bernardino County and across the country.

Liz McDougall, Backpages general counsel, disagrees. She said in a September interview with The Press-Enterprise that the company is on firm legal ground and works hard to report abuses of the website.
Authorities called the death of Los Angeles County sheriffs Sgt. Steve Owen a calculated execution.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell described the death in detail.

Sgt. Owen approached the suspect in response to a burglary call, McDonnell said as large photos of Owen were behind him. The suspect immediately shot Sgt. Owen. He then stood over and executed Sgt. Owen by firing four additional rounds in his body.

Before the news conference began at 4 p.m., authorities identified the man accused of killing Owen as Trenton Trevon Lovell, of Lancaster.

Owen was shot and killed Wednesday after he responded to a call at an apartment complex at West Avenue J7, near Antelope Valley College, authorities said.

Lovell, a parolee and burglary suspect, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder, and was being held without bail, according to the Sheriffs Department.

Before Owen, 53, was shot, he and Lovell were alone, authorities said.

The suspect may have been able to draw a weapon  the way his body was positioned  without the sergeant being able to see it, McDonnell said.

McDonnell said after Owen was shot, Lovell then unsuccessfully searched his body to look for his weapon with the intent to use it to murder the first responding deputy. The first responding deputy, McDonnell said, shot numerous times at Lovell and hit him once in the shoulder.

Lovell, described by McDonnell as a parolee, was able to escape to a neighboring house where he held two teenagers hostage until Special Enforcement Bureau officers rescued them and he was arrested.

Owen, who worked 29 years in the Sheriffs Department, was a role model in the department, McDonnell said.

Owens co-workers and members of the community honored him at the Lancaster station where he worked.

Antelope Valley College criminal justice major Gerard Rivers, 23, of Lancaster, said Owen helped influenced his decision to choose law enforcement as a career.

He was one of the guys I knew for a fact supported everybody  there was no kind of racial bias, Rivers said. He stood up for minority groups. He always listened to people. Thats what people need to understand  he was one of the heroes, the good guys.

Contact the writer: wwoods@scng.com or @JournoWes on Twitter
A Menifee family received a shock early Monday when a stranger walked into one of their bedrooms and said he was looking for his sister.

They received an even bigger shock when they learned that a man had been accused of attacking someone in a bathroom at a Menifee community college shortly afterward, and recognized the suspect as the same man who had been in their home.

Riverside County sheriffs Deputy Michael Vasquez said Thursday that the department is still investigating whether the home burglary and the campus attack  an attempted sexual assault  are connected.

Tyrell Nathaniel Brown, 29, of Hemet, was identified as a suspect in the campus attack based on evidence collected at the scene, sheriffs officials said. He was charged Thursday with false imprisonment and assault with intent to commit rape, and pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody, with bail set at $35,000, jail records show.

Kevin Faler, 55, a retired Riverside County sheriffs deputy, lives just a few streets over from the Menifee Valley campus of Mt. San Jacinto College.

About 40 minutes before the attack there, he said, an African-American man with orange-colored dreadlocks walked into his 21-year-old sons upstairs bedroom. Faler and his wife were asleep; the son was working on his computer with earbuds on.

The intruder was sweating as he told Falers son that he was looking for his sister. His son quickly took action.

He said, Dude, your sister is not here and youre not supposed to be here. What are you doing in my house? and the guy started to back up, Faler said.

He said his son and a friend who had slept over both followed the man as he walked downstairs, through the living room and out the front door.

Faler said his son later informed him and his wife about the burglary. He learned from his other son, who attends MSJC, about the attack there.

I said theres a strong possibility that this is connected because this is just too strange, he said.

After the Sheriffs Department put out a news release with Browns photo, Faler said his son identified Brown as the person who had come into his room.

Faler said he didnt think something like that would happen at his home, but now his family feels violated and scared.

We live on a cul de sac and we know all the neighbors, or most of them, and we felt pretty secure, he said.

The MSJC attack occurred about 9 a.m. Monday in a gender-neutral, multi-stall bathroom of the allied health and nursing building. An 18-year-old female student said a man approached her and told her to put on clothing that he had with him, according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriffs Department.

The release says the man tried to prevent her from leaving the bathroom stall, but she refused and defended herself from his advances and escaped unharmed.

Brown  who a college spokeswoman said was not an MSJC student  was arrested the following afternoon at his Hemet home. Authorities have not said why they think he may have been in Menifee.

Vasquez said the incident was an isolated one  there have been no other recent instances of attacks at gender-neutral bathrooms in Riverside County.

Were just looking into this one individual incident, he said. We havent had a rash of attacks.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9693 or agroves@scng.com
A growing number of West Nile infections in Los Angeles County and the state foreshadow what might be another bad year for a disease that broke records and hit epidemic levels in 2015.

While Inland Southern California is not experiencing the same high numbers, Orange County is on pace with last year.

Peak season for the virus spread in Southern California usually extends through October as warm weather continues.

Yet the number of reported infections will continue piling up even later. Public health officials expect many more cases to be reported before the year is over.

I would say this year may be comparable to last year, said Dr. Vicki Kramer, chief of the state Department of Public Healths Vector-Borne Disease Section.

The 108 Los Angeles County residents infected with the virus as of Sept. 30 is double the number at this time last year.

Californias 306 cases so far this year have surpassed the 300 statewide infections as of late September 2015.

Dr. Ben Schwartz, acting director for Los Angeles County public health departments Acute Communicable Disease Control Program, urged people to avoid mosquito-heavy areas, especially at dawn and dusk, and take other steps to protect against mosquito-borne disease.

We dont want people to stay inside because theyre afraid of mosquitoes, he said. Its important that people do get exercise. But we also want them to take precautions so as not to be bit.

Last year, the state and Los Angeles and Riverside counties suffered record numbers of West Nile-related deaths.

West Nile is a leading cause of severe infection, particularly among elderly people. And a disease that used to have outbreaks every four years has become an annual threat, Schwartz said.

California had a high number of more severe cases in 2015, Kramer said.

EVERY SEASON DISTINCT

This year in the Inland region, there are fewer than 10 infections between the two counties, no deaths and substantially lower numbers of infected dead wild birds and mosquito samples.

Orange County, with 27 infected people, is on par with this time last year, when there were 26 cases. The year-end totals were high, but below 2014 records.



http://cdn.thinglink.me/jse/embed.js



The 2015 West Nile virus season was unusually late, with more cases diagnosed in October than usual  likely because unusually hot weather brought more mosquito activity than normal for that time of year, said Dr. Matt Zahn, Orange Countys medical director of epidemiology and assessment.

Its hard to predict what will happen for the rest of this season, just because every season is distinct, he said. But well be watching to see if that pattern repeats this year.

Los Angeles Countys recent cool stretch hindered the disease. But more recent warming may lead case numbers to rise, especially among people over 60 or with weakened immune systems, Schwartz said.

However, he said, its difficult to know if this could be one of the worst years for West Nile since the virus first grabbed a toehold in California in 2003.

Its hard to predict what will occur during the rest of this West Nile season, because that is so dependent on temperature and the density of mosquitoes, Schwartz said.

http://cdn.thinglink.me/jse/embed.js

NOT YET OVER

Other indicators of the diseases presence  dead wild birds and mosquitoes testing positive  also are high for Los Angeles County and the state.

With three months left in 2016, the number of dead wild birds and mosquitoes found to have West Nile in Los Angeles County has outstripped totals for all of 2015.

Statewide, the number of positive-testing mosquito samples, 3,360, has surpassed last years total of 3,329. The 1,288 dead birds found carrying the disease is 61 shy of 2015s total.

The majority of Los Angeles Countys cases are in the San Fernando Valley. People take more precautions when they know a disease is present nearby, so public health officials are giving weekly city-location updates online.

Schwartz encouraged those out at dawn and dusk to wear repellent, long sleeves and pants.

Kramer also said people shouldnt be complacent about prevention.

Were not at the end of the mosquito season, she said. Sometimes when we hit October, people think were done with West Nile, especially in Southern California.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9444 or shurt@scng.com
President John Mahama has expressed concerns about the ageing farmer population in West Africa.



According to the President, the ageing farmer population in the sub-region is posing significant challenges to the cocoa industry.



He explained that the current farmer population is not strong enough to produce enough food items in the sub-region, saying those in agriculture are currently all aged.



The development, President Mahama said, might pose serious security and food problems to the sub-region if steps are not taken.



He made this known yesterday in Accra in a statement read on his behalf by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna at the opening ceremony of the second Pan-African Conference on Agribusiness Incubation.



The high level three-day event is being held at the Accra International Conference Centre under the theme: Turning Science into Business: Inclusive Agribusiness Incubation for vibrant economies in Africa.



President Mahama said its important for governments within the sub-region to devise policies and programmes that can help attract the youth into the agriculture subsector so that they can replace the current aged population.



He said it is therefore important for all of us to recognize the fact that programmes aimed at attracting the youth into agriculture will be addressing both food and national security issues.



The President added that therefore, nurturing youth venturing into agribusinesses with their ideas, as well as start-ups is critical.



Commercialize agric



He called for the commercialization and mechanization of the agriculture on the continent.



According to him, the use of incubator programmes is a necessary aspect of agribusiness development.



Dr Alex Ariho, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN), organizers of the conference, said on the global agenda today, innovation has become the best means of fostering commercialization.



Across Africa, he said, incubators continue to assist in harnessing the value chain approach.



He said, Its through incubation that many countries today have managed to develop value chains that were for long left to subsistence agriculture, as more entrepreneurs develop enterprises along the same value chains.



Dr Ariho explained that AAIN is a network of incubators with a continental presence that offers incubation to incubators for jobs and wealth creation.



Meanwhile, Board Chair of AAIN, Professor Henry Bwisa said with the coordinated effort from the Africa Agribusiness Incubator Network, incubators continue to evolve into the solution to unemployment which now threatens a working-age population of 1.4 billion people in Africa by 2050.

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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New trainee nurses who are yet to be put on the students loan scheme will also be put on the cancelled nurses allowance scheme, President John Mahama has announced.



According to him, the technical committee which advised the government on the allowance scheme has suggested the placement of the trainees on allowance instead of a loan scheme. Addressing some trainee nurses as part of his campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo region, the President said his government is deeply concerned about the welfare of Ghanaians and will not renege on their promises.



The committee recommended that since we are yet to amend the law to put our nursing and midwifery students on the students loan scheme, we should also put them on the allowance, Mr. Mahama announced.



The allowances were withdrawn a few years back after government complained they limited intake by nursing training institutions. It was further argued that it was unfair for nursing and teacher trainees to receive allowances when other tertiary students didnt enjoy same.



Since the withdrawal, the government has been praising itself for taking a prudent decision which resulted in an exponential growth in enrollment figures at nursing and teacher training schools across the country, thereby expanding access nursing and teacher training.



The opposition New Patriotic Party has, however, insisted that the decision is senseless and imposed needless hardships on students and parents.

Source: starrfmonline.com









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2012 Vice Presidential Candidate for the Progressive People's Party (PPP) and current Parliamentary Aspirant for Klottey Korle constituency on the same party's ticket, Mrs Eva Lokko, has passed on to eternal glory.



She reportedly passed away Thursday afternoon in the United States of America, where she had been flown for medical treatment.



An official of the party, Richmond Keelson confirmed her demise but declined to give further details.







Biography



Eva Naa Merely Lokko attended Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast. She was an engineer by profession and holds a master's degree in Intelligent Management Systems, System Analysis and Design.



Lokko was the first Satellite Communications Engineer and the first woman engineer to be employed at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in 1972. She was part of the engineering team that installed and maintained Ghana's first colour television infrastructure in 1985.



She has worked in over forty countries across the world in various capacities and served as Regional Programme Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme initiative for Internet development in Africa. She worked with the United Nations for thirteen years and also served as chairperson of the UN Federation of International Civil Servants Association and the United Nations Staff Council and as a member of the UNDP News Advisory Board.



She was once the Chief Executive Officer of Totally Youth, a Non Governmental Organization based in Accra. In 2002, she was appointed Director-General of the GBC, becoming the first and only woman to hold that position since the corporation was established in 1953.





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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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Spokesperson for Nana Akufo Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mustapha Hamid has described the late Madam Eva Lokko as an astute female politician who left behind indelible marks for others to emulate.



Speaking in an interview with Kwabena Agyapong, host of Eboboba on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, Hamid said, the late politician cannot be forgotten when it comes to broadcasting in Ghana.



He noted that, the former director of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) contributed immensely to broadcasting in Ghana. ''She has contributed her quota to the development of Ghana and I think her contribution to the development of this country, needs to be rewarded so young people will learn from her example, be patriotic and serve this country selflessly.



''On his part, the Eastern Regional Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) who also doubles as parliamentary candidate for the Afram Plains constituency, Mark Oliver Kevor described her as a selfless leader, hardworking and dedicated. He said, the country has lost a gem considering her contribution to the state.



He encouraged the Progressive People's Party (PPP), the family and Ghanaians to take heart and pray for the late politician to rest in perfect peace. Madam Eva Lokko died Thursday evening after a short illness party sources have revealed.



She filed to represent the party as candidate in the 2016 parliamentary election in the Korle Klottey constituency. Lokko attended Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast. She is an engineer by profession and holds a master's degree in Intelligent Management Systems, System Analysis and Design.



Lokko was the first Satellite Communications Engineer and the first woman engineer to be employed at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in 1972. She worked in over forty countries across the world in various capacities.



She served as regional programme coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme initiative for Internet development in Africa. She worked with the United Nations for thirteen years and also served as chairperson of the UN Federation of International Civil Servants Association and the United Nations Staff Council and as a member of the UNDP News Advisory Board.



She is the Chief Executive Officer of Totally Youth, a Non Governmental Organization based in Accra In 2002, she was appointed Director-General of the GBC, becoming the first and only woman to hold that position since the corporation was established in 1953.









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 Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, says he is yet to see the much-talked about international airport that President Mahama and the NDC government claim to have constructed in Kumasi.



The NPP regional boss says Ghanaians should ask President Mahama where exactly the airport which he has touted as international is situated because as far as he is concerned, he does not see anything international about it.



"Paul you call this an international airport; you have travelled far and wide do you see this Kumasi Airport as international?" the NPP Chairman queried.



Speaking on the flagship Good Evening Show hosted by Paul Adom Otchere on Tuesday, Chairman Wontumi asked Ghanaians to demand accountability from President Mahama and his NDC government about the contractual sum of the project.



The NPP Chairman, who was reacting to a statement by the host on claims by President Mahama that his government has done enough in the region including the construction of an international airport, said the President had done virtually nothing in the region except bringing untold hardships to Ghanaians, particularly people in the region.



According to him, there are clear evidence to the contrarily as far as the contractual sum was concerned, stressing that the figure is far far below the $29m amount quoted by government.



"Paul we brought engineers to come and value the project and they said clearly that this project shouldn't cost more than $4m. If the President says he has built an international airport, then its not in Kumasi here," He said.



The NPP regional chairman further noted "All the NDC and President Mahama know is to squander our money; corruption is all that they know," He said.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007









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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An Accra High Court yesterday could not hear the case brought against the Electoral Commission (EC) by the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) over the filing fees of presidential and parliamentary nominees ahead of this years election because of the absence of the Attorney General (A-G).



Although the AG is on record to have been served, nobody from the state prosecutors office was in court for the case to be heard.



The EC opened the nominations in September 2016 and pegged the filing fees for presidential candidates at GH50,000 and that of parliamentary nominees at GH10,000.



Some aggrieved parties subsequently asked the EC to reduce the fees.



Incensed by the reluctant of the EC to reduce the fees, the PPP dragged the EC to court.



Consequently, Tardius Sory, lawyer for the EC went to the court, presided over by Justice Daniel Mensah and sought an abridgment of time for the case to be heard yesterday instead of the scheduled October 11, 2016.



Mr Sory urged the court to hear the case but the trial judge adjourned the case until today for the AG to be notified of the hearing.



He argued that the time was of essence in view of the number of days left for the election to held, adding that everyday counts in the life of the electoral body.



The PPP, represented by Dennis Appiah said, the party has no objection to the request of the defendant.



Justice Mensah stated that an adjournment was in order because he was yet to study the docket.



The PPP filed an interlocutory injunction at the High Court on September 19 seeking to restrain the EC from going ahead with the receipt of filing fees from presidential and parliamentary candidates a day before the date scheduled for filing.



The injunction prevented the EC from receiving the filing fees of the various parliamentary and presidential hopefuls.



The EC however accepted that of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the PPP flagbearer of the party.



The PPP, among other reliefs, is seeking a declaration that Regulation 45 of C.I. 94 is discriminatory, arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

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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We were more Kotoko-biased when we started publications so when we shifted into politics, it tended to be similar [with focus on anti-NDC stories] because we took it that NPP supporters tend to buy more papers than the NDCs. Our priority is the money. In Ghana, daily sales is on headlines This was the revelation of Gina Blay, Chief Executive of Western Publications Ltd  Publishers of Daily Guide newspaper, when she appeared on Starr Chat with Bola Ray on Wednesday.



Gina Blays confession that the diabolical stories against the NDC as a party and government over the years, were deliberately planted to milk supporters of the New Patriotic Party, shocked many of those who listened into the conversation.



Mrs Blay, who is married to the Acting Chairman of the NPP, said the business plan of the paper is to put out any information that will trigger excitement of majority of NPP supporters.



Shocked by her comments, Host of the show, Kwabena Anokye Adisi, popularly known as Bola Ray, described the policy of the newspaper to sensationalize issues for cash as very unprofessional, but Gina Blay who appeared very comfortable brushed it aside saying it is not a conscious decision.



Asked whether her sympathies towards NPP makes her biased, compelling the editorial board of the paper to skew stories in favour of the NPP, she cringed.



Throughout the interview she tried to dispute the tag that the Daily Guide is an NPP tabloid.



I doubt if other newspapers are not sensational. We do ..eeeeerhm especially Tabloid newspapers for example, Tabloid is not a negative word. It only shows the size of the paper. It is not so much about politics, Mrs Blay, a member of the National Media Commission argued.



The confession of Daily Guides secret, coming in the wake of this weeks false publication alleging Minister for Roads and Highways and MP for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inussah Fuseini, paid 80,000 cedis to music icon, Shatta Wale to perform at his campaign launch has angered NPP sympathizers who feel insulted by the comments.



So Daily Guide has been feeding us with false impression about the situation on the ground. No wonder Nana Akufo Addo lost the elections twice. Why should a paper refuse to publish stories that paint the true picture on the ground but seeks its business interest by feeding me with false hope? Ankamah Asiamah told this newspaper.



The CEO of Western Publications Ltd  Publishers of Daily Guide newspaper however said times have changed and the paper is considering changing its focus.



According to her, times have changed and it is difficult for Daily Guide to ignore achievements by President John Mahamas administration.



NDC members read Daily Guide but the NPP supporters read it more. Private newspapers hardly get adverts. If you notice, the past two or three elections, we hardly got adverts from either parties, NPP however a bit. But times are changing. Its a business decision she emphasized adding that they care less about the impact.



Incidentally, Gina Blay is married to the acting Chairman of the NPP, Freddie Blay who has been allegedly condemned by the NPP for promoting the re-election bid of President John Mahama in the forthcoming general elections in her newspaper.



Mrs Blay confirmed allegations of threats and insults launched on the management by die hard NPP supporters when she explained that there have since been unabated queries over her husbands loyalty to the cause of the party.



Some hardliners in the party are reportedly scheming for the removal or sidelining of the acting Chairman, whose performance since the suspension of Chairman Paul Afoko has been described as very abysmal and embarrassing to the NPP brand.



Others are still suspicious of Mr Freddie Blay who joined the party after serving the CPP as MP for several years is only exploiting a comfort zone in the NPP when his party rejected him after the 2008 elections for betraying his loyalty.



What perhaps will provoke NPP supporters even more is Gina Blays public statement that she is not a member of the party.



Im not a member of the NPP but Im a sympathizer of the NPP, itll be odd if I werent, but Im because my husband is and the whole family is, she told host Bola Ray.



Her statement shocked many NPP supporters because Gina Blay made it in the many years she served as Presidential correspondent for the Daily Guide. She travelled to almost everywhere in the world with President Kuffuor.



'Is Freddie Blay saying that without promoting NDC achievements and asking his readers to vote for John Mahama, his paper will collapse? How has his newspaper survived all these years without the NDC advertisement?'.a leading member of the NPP, Nana Fredua allegedly lamented recently on an Accra based radio programme.



Speculations are rife that Nana Akufo Addo who is unhappy about the Daily Guides position which serves the companys interest, is choosing cash over loyalty to the NPP. The NPP Presidential candidate however finds it difficult to axe Freddie Blay too because it will deepen perceptions about his intolerance and vindictive nature.



But the Ag. National Chairman of NPP, Freddie Blay has personally waded into the controversy reportedly describing his critics, accusing him of promoting John Mahama, as silly and ignorant.

Source: Dan Acheampong (The Citizen's Mail)









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 two major political parties in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have intensified their political campaigns with just about 60 days to this years presidential and parliamentary elections.



The candidates for the two parties as part of their activities, have visited various communities where they interacted with the chiefs and local people.



Significant happenings on these visits include endorsement of candidates by chiefs, although the constitutions frowns on the act, as chiefs are not to be involved in active politics.



The NDCs President John Mahama, who is seeking re-election for a second term in office, has so far been endorsed by various Chiefs in the Eastern, Northern and Brong Ahafo regions.



Sunyani Chief assures Mahama of 80% votes



In October 2015, the Chief of Sunyani, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri, said President Mahama should expect to secure at least 80 per cent of the total votes in the Brong Ahafo Region come December 2016.



According to him, the President is guaranteed of the maximum votes from the region because of what he described as satisfactory, the level of development brought to the area by the NDC government.



I was surprised that the people of the Eastern Region promised President Mahama 50 percent of the votes but I am promising that we will give the president 80 percent of the total votes in the region, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri said.



Kukurantumi Chief guarantees Mahama 50% votes



The chief of Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region, is also reported to have assured President Mahama of 50 per cent of the total votes in the region.

In November 2015, while on a tour in the Northern Region, some Chiefs in the Northern Region endorsed President Mahamas candidature for a second presidential term.



Northern Regional House of Chiefs Prez declare support for Mahama



Affirming their support, the President of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, Nayire Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai, prayed for the President to retain the seat.



We passionately pray that almighty God and our ancestral skins will support and back you to achieve your desired aim of continuing to be the president of the Republic of Ghana come 2016, he said.



Nayire Naa Abdulai made the declaration over the weekend when President Mahama visited the area as part of his #ChangingLives tour ahead of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries on November 21.



Omanhene of Yeji endorses Mahama



While on a campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo region this week, President Mahama received the endorsement of the Omanhene of Yeji, Nana Pemapin Yaw Kagbrese on Tuesday [Ocotber 4], for a second term in office.



The chief, who doubles as the President of the Brong Ahafo regional house of chiefs called on Ghanaians to vote massively for the president in the December polls.



Nana Pemapin Yaw Kagbrese, who was addressing a gathering of elders and people of Yeji when President John Mahama visited the area as part of his Brong Ahafo regional tour, said the President had achieved a lot in his first term of office in spite of the numerous challenges he faced.



Chief of Bassa endorses Mahama



The chief of Bassa, Nana Owusu Sekyi III, in the Brong Ahafo Region, also endorsed the candidature of President John Mahama ahead of the 2016 elections.

Speaking at a rally during a campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo Region by the President, the Bassa paramount chief hailed the NDC governments achievements in the last four years despite the challenges of the election petition in 2013.



We will not be able to list all the NDC government has done for this community. Although they havent constructing all the roads, we can clearly see that they are in the process of doing so. He used just three years to do all this because the first year was marred with the court saga so we congratulate him, he said The Bassa chief also lauded the achievements of the NDC in the education sector as he said the President had done a lot in the education sector by providing a lot of infrastructure for us.



Odumase Chief endorses Mahama



The Chief of Odumase No. 1, Nana Kwasi Yeboah, while addressing a gathering of people when President Mahama paid a courtesy call on him this week at his Palace, said the NDC governments achievements in the last four years has been very impressive, and called on Ghanaians to extend President Mahamas mandate.

We do not need to make noise about it, all the projects we are seeing bears testimony to his [Mahamas] good works. We are solidly behind you Mr President.



Tuobodom Chief declares support for Mahama



Earlier in July this year, the Chief of Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Obeng Ameyaw Barimah II, declared his support for flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo.



The Tuobodomhene, who was confident of an Akufo-Addo victory in the elections, explained that, in this world, it is only those who embark on good missions who are encouraged and supported.



Nana Obeng Ameyaw Barimah II who also doubles as the Akyempemhene of the Techiman Traditional Council made the endorsement on when Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on him at his Palace as part of the flagbearers campaign tour of the region.



Volta Chief endorses Mahama



Nana Saafo Attara II, the Adontenhene of the Dodo Traditional area in the Volta region gave a resounding endorsement to President John Mahama during his Accounting to the People of the Volta Region.



According to the chief, his endorsement is a universal reflection of what others in the Volta Region felt, People in Accra and the bigger cities who claim, we the people in this part of the Volta region can sit there and do their politics. We here can feel the impact and we appreciate what President John Mahama has done for us



Paramount Chief of the Tumu endoreses Mahama



The Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, endorsed the 1-District-1-Factory and the 1-Village-1-Dam policies of the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



According to him, we have been following governments, since time immemorial, and, still, we have not gotten a dam. So I believe that if you give us a dam, it will really help us so much. And we are looking forward to you coming to office, so you give us a dam.



Garu Chief backs Nana Addos presidential bid



Nana Akufo-Addo was also endorsed by the Chief of Garu, Naba Asuguru Akuntam Wini, who declared his support for the NPP flagbearer in this years elections.



According him, the NPP has a rich history of delivering on its electoral promises, and is no doubt that voting for Nana Akufo-Addo will only bring progress and prosperity to his people.



Our problem, in the past, was a district. President Kufuor, before the 2000 elections, came here and told us that if he won the election, it will be done. True to his word, the creation of the district was done. When NPP promises you something, it will be done. Thanks to his Excellency, President Kufuor, for giving us the district, he said.



Chief of Bawku declares victory for Akufo-Addo



The Chief of Bawku, Naba Asigiri Azoka Abugrago II, on the visit of NPP flagbearer Nana Akufo-Add said this is the proper endorsement I want to make. God willing this year, you will get what you want and become the President of Ghana.



The flagbearer had visited his palace as part of his campaign tour of the Upper East region.



Report Chiefs involved in politics



Meanwhile, the Minister for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Henry Seidu Danaa, is urging persons concerned about Chiefs endorsing presidential aspirants despite the act being unlawful, to report to them to their respective Regional House of Chiefs to have the issues addressed.



According to him, the constitution frowns on traditional rulers mounting political platforms or displaying party paraphernalia.

Source: citifmonline.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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Popular actor and politician, Clement Bonney known on screen as Mr. Beautiful has descended heavily on film producer Paul Gee branding him as ignorant in film making business.



According to him, the film industry is declining because of lack of professionalism in Kumasi.



 Most of the film producers in Kumasi are not professionals especially Paul Gee and Osewus, they lack the professional will to produce movies for the market



Mr. Beautiful in an interview with SeanCitygh.com said, the film industry in Kumasi is at the siege because of the numerous trash that are being produced by the likes of Paul Gee and Osewus.



He also accused low sales of movies on producers who do low budget movies and expecting huge outcome.



He alleged that, aside Samuel Nyamekye, Jones Agyemang and Kofi Asamoah who have learned professional film making, the other producers are ignorant on the work.



 At the time miracle films was the only filmmaker in Kumasi, the professionalism was there but when the likes of Paul Gee switched from the CD and Phone selling business to film making all the trash started coming out 



I can single out Paul Gee without any fear that he is the most ignorant film producer ever in Kumasi he stated.

Source: Seancitygh.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.

Featured Video
This Sunday, thousands of Sydneysiders are expected to gather in defence of the citys dying nightlife at the second Keep Sydney Open rally. If its anything like last time, it might just be a lil difficult to locate your buds at Belmore Park near Central Station in the throng of lively civil demonstration.

Fortunately for all of those who want to display their affiliation on the issue of lock out laws while still being easily recognisable in a crowd, an absolute gun has whipped this bonza piece of headgear together:

HELL YEAH. Creative type Max Thorley is offering punters the chance to voice their dismay at Mike Bairds policies while simultaneously engaging in a pisstake that horrorshow of a human being Donald Trump. For $25 dollarydoos, you too could express topical political opinions with a bright red cap.

Well level with you. Pollies who are opposed to winding back the legislation probably wont be swayed by this nifty noggin-warmer, but if youre in the market for something more than a badge and less than a banner, this might just do the trick. Check em out here.

Source and photo: Max Thorley / Make Sydney Late Again.
Hurricane Matthew is responsible for the deaths of at least 264 people in embattled Haiti.

The soaring death toll has been confirmed by Haitian government officials, who are grappling with the fallout of the most powerful Caribbean storm in nearly a decade.

Some 50 people have reportedly died in the southern town of Roche-a-Bateau alone, while 80% of buildings in the peninsulas main city, Jeremie, have been totally flattened.

Ive never seen anything like this, said Louis Paul Raphael, a central government representative in Roche-a-Bateau.

The terrifyingly strong hurricane has now progressed to a Category 4, which means winds ranging from 131 to 155 mph that can cause catastrophic damage to property, humans, and animals. Severe structural damage to frame homes, apartments, and shopping centres should also be expected.

Matthew is currently moving north, causing destruction through the Bahamas and heading straight for Florida.

President Barack Obama held a press conference overnight, stating that Florida is now in state of emergency, and that hes ordered federal aid to assist local response teams when the storm hits.

Today, @POTUS declared a state of emergency in Florida ahead of Hurricane #Matthew. Heres what you need to know: https://t.co/6voo6pu0NC pic.twitter.com/zr9VULntD5  The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 6, 2016

Floridians seen leaving Hurricane #Matthews evacuation zone as the National Guard rolls in https://t.co/EZAHbem9WH pic.twitter.com/UkCjADVjgp  CNN (@CNN) October 6, 2016

Florida governor Rick Scott has warned Floridians of massive destruction on a never-before-seen level.

Unfortunately this is going to kill people if they dont get out.

Florida residents are being urged to evacuate their homes immediately, and move inland. Millions of people have already done just that, and Scott says the state is looking at its biggest evacuation ever.

Well update this story as more information arises.

Source: BBC.

Photo: Miami Herald / Getty.
The infamous group of young Aussie men who got themselves into a helluva lot of trouble in Malaysia recently have finally landed back in Australia.

ICYMI (somehow), the nine men (who some media sources called The Budgie Nine as a grossly inappropriate reference to the Bali 9) decided it a very good idea to offend the Malaysian people as a whole at the Sepang Formula 1 Grand Prix.

When Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo won the title, the men stripped down to figure-hugging budgie-smugglers, did shoeys, and rambunctiously sang Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.

While this might all seem like fun and games in Australia, in a more conservative country this is incredibly offensive and stupid. Like dont wear a countrys flag on your bum, yknow?

The nine appeared in court in Malaysia yesterday, reading out a sincere apology and claiming we just didnt know hey as their main line of defence. They all escaped criminal charges, and one of the men fainted in court.

Seven out of the nine men have now landed in Sydney Airport  Jack Walker, who is a defence advisor for Defence Minister Christopher Pyne reportedly remains back in Malaysia with his father for an undetermined amount of time. Another of the men flew to Canberra instead, likely in an attempt to avoid the media circus.

Which is understandable, because the frenzy that the men returned to seemed reasonably hellish:

It appears the men gave a statement after landing, asking for privacy during this time.

The general reaction has been similar to this:

#BudgieNine spokesman: Please be respectful of our families privacies at this time. Earth to #budgy9: you dropped your dacks in Malaysia  Dan Conifer (@DanConifer) October 7, 2016

Source: Twitter / @7News.

Photo: Brendan Thorne / Getty.
By now youve more than likely heard about the absolutely insane real-life court transcript from the US state of Georgia in which a particularly unhinged murder suspect introduced the world to the glorious phrase suck my dick, you fuckman.

And theres a fair chance that youve heard of it through the utter glory of the word-for-word reading of the script by Justin Roiland, in character as both Rick & Morty.

Turns out the transcript was just about perfect for Morty Smith and Rick Sanchez, particularly given crotchety ole Ricks pre-existing love of flowery language.

Because the internet is an absolutely wonderful place full of insanely talented people with not nearly enough to do, a fan has gone ahead and animated the whole thing. Start to finish. All 11 minutes of it.

YouTube animator Tiarawhy slapped the whole together with two months of painstaking work, a process that was largely live-streamed for fans to see the process. Now the finished product has dropped, and it looks absolutely incredible.

Its a virtual note-perfect recreation of Rick & Mortys animation style, right down to the borked pupils and hand motions.

Animation nerds will get a huge kick out of it, and everyone else will just revel in the fact that putting colour and motion to the dialogue somehow makes the whole damned thing even funnier.

Theres something about Rick asserting that he has a big donkey dick thats utterly life affirming, yknow?

Source: YouTube.
The question on everyones lips: what actually is going on with this fucking clown thing? What the hell? What?

Here at PEDESTRIAN.TV, our US clown epidemic coverage has been, for want of a better phrase, woefully inadequate. We apologise to our readers, who trust us to tell them everything weird and unhinged thats happening in the world right now. It was not a conscious exclusion but an escalation of many, many small oversights. Before we knew it, America was gripped by clown panic and we were on the back foot.

So whats with the clowns? The first clown sighting in this current spate of em was in North Carolina, when a young boy in a low-income housing project told his mother that he had seen two clowns in the woods who tried to lure him away. TIME reports clown sightings have been recorded in more than two dozen states. In Alabama, seven people face felony charges for making terrorist threats described as clown-related activity  which I dont need to tell you is deeply absurd.

It has also caused actual school lockdowns and led to this insane scene where 6,000 Penn State kids ran out onto the streets hunting for three clowns which had allegedly been spotted around the campus.

3 Clowns spotted at PSU allegedly. So naturally 6,000 kids mob the streets to hunt it down. I love Penn State pic.twitter.com/P4xYx0nVhs  Addison Carson (@AddiCarson) October 4, 2016

Even Stephen King, progenitor of the modern creepy-ass clown via his creation Pennywise, is telling everyone to please chill the fuck out:

Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteriamost of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.  Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 3, 2016

Early speculation held that this might just be an extremely effective guerrilla marketing campaign for the new It film, but the producers and distributors have claimed they have nothing to do with it. If they do  solid effort, guys. Everyones talking about it.

And look! Its made its way here to Australia too!

Theres also an actual scary clown  as in, a dude who does it for a job  named Snuggles, who popped up on The Project last night to defend clowns, and confirm that he himself feels threatened by the current paranoia. Hes also started something called Clown Lives Matter which has to be a massive joke because seriously do not do that.

But ultimately, it comes down to this: people in America are literally terrified that an army of demonic clowns are luring people into the woods to murder them. There are people out there currently more frightened of murderous clowns than they are of ISIS. Maybe thats a sensible angle to take, I dunno.

What this is is a really wonderful example of something that has generally subsided in the era of social media: a real, genuine episode of mass hysteria. The internet makes it so much easier to quickly confirm / deny whether or not something is true, so its rare to see such fear over something so easily disproven.

Back in the 80s, the big one was the Satanic abuse panic. A whole bunch of Americans, Europeans and  yeah  Australians became convinced that sexual abuse perpetrated by Satanists was actually a real thing, and that preschools were bring run by Satanists who abused children. There were only a very, very small handful of cases which had even a remote similarity to the kinds of abuses people were alleging  and none with a real Satanic element  but people still believed it.

The headlines were pretty ace back in the day:

The thing about big ol moral panics is that once they take hold, and before they inevitably peter out, is that youre going to get deadshits who think its a lark to buy into the hysteria by actually dressing up as clowns and terrorising people. Thats the phase were in right now. And it seems like its come to Australia too, so thats fun.

So freal. Stop it with the clown bullshit. Someones probably gonna get murdered for real when they reckon its cool to hang around in the woods dressed as Bobo.

Photo: IT.
A former design executive at Nokia has spoken on social media about an old Nokia that saved a mans life in Afghanistan last week.

Yes, thats fucking correct. You read correctly.

Your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 just spontaneously combusted and your iPhone 7 just smashed by touching air, but this guys phone SAVED HIS LIFE FROM A SPEEDING BULLET.

Peter Skillman not only tweeted the story, but also photos.

Check it:

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week. The embedded bullet. pic.twitter.com/O2zBxadkDO  peter skillman (@peterskillman) October 5, 2016

While its always difficult to tell the authenticity of stories like this, Skillman has said that after working with devices like this first-hand, it seems legit.

He couldnt release the mans name for privacy reasons, but hey  were sold.

While theres very little information about this illustrious feat otherwise, the only remaining question is why this phone is still functional, and owned in October of 2016.

What a time to be alive and owning an extremely old Nokia. They were bloody good, werent they?

Source: Twitter.

Photo: Nokia 3315 yiiiiiiew.
Back in July, radio shock-jock and Burning Man lover, Kyle Sandilands, promised to put some big bucks behind the bar at Cronullas Northies Hotel if the Cronulla Sharks got up and won the NRL Grand Final.

Police have moved Kyles $10k shout at Northies (if Sharkies win) to SUNDAY OCTOBER 9 at 3pm. @cronullasharks #UpUpCronulla #WhyNotUs #KylesShout A photo posted by Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) on Sep 29, 2016 at 8:10pm PDT

Time to skip down and get a cold one into ya, because after the Sharks nailbiting win over the Melbourne Storm, we asked KIIS 1065 about whether Kyle was going to uphold his end of the deal, and they station confirmed that hell be slamming down ten thousand clams on the bar this weekend.

Not only that but the pub is going to MATCH HIM BUCK FOR BUCK. Thats $20k worth of tinnies that we can sink our teeth into.

Its all happening this Sunday October 9 from 3pm  a quality Sunday sesh time  and those wanting to attend have to RSVP to the Cronulla Community BBQ on the Northies site.
We all saw this coming, really. Turns out that the Sydney CBD lockout has done literally nothing to stop the violence in the city. A recent study by two legit economists and a mathematics post-doc from Keep Sydney Open has come out swinging, pretty much shrugging argument that the lockout laws actively decreased the amount of violence in the area is a bit of a farce, as the rates peaked in 2008 and were already steadily declining before the laws came into effect. Rly makes u think.

The results have also explained that although theres less people heading to Kings Cross to party, the ratio of punter-to-punch-up has increased. That means youre more likely to get yourself into trouble than you were before the lockouts were enforced.

Dont go out in any other key nightspot areas outside of the CBD either, because the number of non-domestic assaults in these areas have actually skyrocketed since the lockouts came into effect.

Violence in suburbs like Surry Hills, Newtown, Coogee, and Bondi have seen a 30% increase in alcohol-related violence, and the level of violence around Pyrmont (looking at you, Star Casino) has spiked so much that its now on-par with the levels in the Cross that kicked the lockouts into gear in the first place.

Moving the late-night partiers out of the CBD has not stopped the violence, its literally moved it elsewhere. Its a huge told you so right in the face of Mike Baird and the knee jerkers in NSW Government.









Its true that the lockouts have changed the amount of people that are heading out to the Cross for a good and nice time out on the tins, but it hasnt curbed the drinking habits of the people that are instead heading to house parties or other BYO events. People are likely to sink more beers because theres nobody there to cut them off. So consumption rates havent changed, and people are stocking up on bulk piss before the 10pm takeaway lockout.





The rest of the state has been clocking up pretty reasonable stats when it comes to alcohol-fuelled violence, keeping with the downwards trend. The lockouts are only in the Sydney CBD, and they very obviously havent worked to stop violence overall. So, theres that.

The Keep Sydney Open rally is back for round two this weekend, and with this fire beneath them, we might just see something shift.

Photo: Pedestrian/Chloe Sargeant.
Recently, we told yall about the ultra-rare pop-up beach that emerged in Sydneys Mackenzie Bay. The location usually looks like this:

A photo posted by Nick Willox (@nickwillox) on Feb 10, 2016 at 7:24pm PST

But, in an occurrence gifted to us only every 7 to 10 years, the tide has shifted out for a bit to reveal a cute lil sandy enclave:

The infamous Mystery Beach. Once every ten or so years, a beach appears at Mackenzies Bay. Perfect for a swim today. ??#MackenziesBeach #MackenziesBay #MysteryBeach #MaccasBeach #Tamarama #BondiLife A photo posted by Darren Collins (@darrencollins) on Oct 3, 2016 at 3:20am PDT

No one seems to know exactly why the beach appears, but local lifeguards wager it has something to do with smaller swells, meaning the sand builds up on the rocks and creates the beach.

And it got us thinking  what are some other hidden beachside gems that Aussies should know about?

Sure, the following beaches mightnt disappear and give rare showings like the mystery beach above, but theyre still not as prolifically-Instagrammed as Bondi.

SQUEAKY BEACH, WILSONS PROMONTORY, VICTORIA





A photo posted by Michael von Linz (@mikevonlinz) on Feb 7, 2016 at 7:39pm PST

Alright, alright, alright. So if youre a true Victorian beach lover, you may already know of this place. But I hadnt heard of it. So therefore, it is magic.

Squeaky Beach in Wilsons Prom is only 2 hours south of Melbourne, and gets its name from its sand which is so white and pure it makes lil squeaky noises when you walk on it.

YAMBA, NEW SOUTH WALES





A photo posted by Bonna Allen (@bonnaa_) on Oct 2, 2016 at 6:06pm PDT

New South Wales is home to some of the countrys best beaches  Bondi and Bronte, Cronulla to Palm Beach. Theres well over 100 beaches in the city of Sydney alone.

That said, some of the best are found in more remote areas. Yamba, an hour south of Byron Bay, is one of those goodies. A tonne of pro surfers call Yamba home, and love the place for its laid back vibes.

GODFREYS BEACH, TASMANIA





A photo posted by Danielle Bartlett (@daniellebartlett_) on Apr 19, 2016 at 3:50am PDT

Tassie aint typically the warmest place on this sunburnt land, but its well renowned for its beauty and grace.

Godfreys Beach is a kilometre-long stretch of coast that defies the notion that the goatee-shaped state is only good for MONA.

Looking over the beach is The Nut  a sheer-sided bluff that doubles as a volcanic plug. If its too cold to go for a dipsies, take the cable car up to the top, or walk. The view across Godfreys Beach from up there is breathtaking.

SOUTHERN OCEAN BEACH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

A photo posted by Audra (@audramaks) on Apr 14, 2016 at 5:26am PDT





Not exactly a Surfers Paradise vibe at this beach, but a completely Instagrammable spot nonetheless.

180km south-east of Adelaide, this ones best for full-blown campers  to get to the 140km stretch of beach, youve gotta get across the lagoons in a 4WD. The shade of the dunes changes depending on what time of day it is, which is, you guessed it, magic.





BREMER BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA





A photo posted by imajyn lea (@tinytraveler_) on Oct 3, 2016 at 9:23pm PDT

Western Australia is renowned for its remote-but-incredible beaches, and Bremer Bay, which sits 180km east of Albany, is no exception.

Only 250 people live in the town, and its full of beach shacks and caravan parks. Glitteringly blue seas lapping up golden sands is commonplace at Bremer Bay  and in Winter, so are sightings of Southern Right whales.

yaaaaaas

So, there you go  just dont rush there all at once.

Photo: @

bencleggphotography

/ Instagram.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees restaurant inspections in the state. Inspection reports are 'snapshots' of the day and time the inspections took place. In many cases, violations are corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving.

READ MORE:

The following restaurants and other establishments in Perry County that handle food were inspected between Sept. 11-17 and reported as of Sept. 30.

NEW KINGSTOWN MARKET

21 W. MAIN ST., NEW KINGSTOWN

Regular inspection (Out of compliance)

Refrigerated ready-to-eat time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the walk-in cooler, is not being date marked; food employee washing hands at the three-bay sink rather than the designated hand-wash sink; food employee touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands; an accumulation of debris and food debris on the floor under the three-bay sink area and in the kitchen; dishes observed in the hand-wash sink in the front, indicating uses other than hand washing; floor in the kitchen and prep area is peeling up and not a smooth easily cleanable surface; unused equipment outside the facility where water has collected -- observed insect larvae in the water (repeat violation_.

THE FINE COUNTRY GOURMET

900 MARKET ST., LEMOYNE

Regular inspection

Dust accumulation on rafters and ceiling fans above stand.

MUSSOLINE'S BAKERY

900 MARKET ST., LEMOYNE

Regular inspection

Dust accumulation on rafters above stand.

SHAFFERS ABATTOIR INC.

900 MARKET ST., LEMOYNE

Regular inspection

Some mildew-like growth and dust accumulation observed on shelving in walk-in cooler.

CEDAR CLIFF HIGH SCHOOL

CARLISLE and WARWICK ROADS, CAMP HILL

Regular inspection

Food employee observed in prep area wearing a watch on left arm (corrected); tong being stored on oven handle with the potential to be contaminated by aprons (corrected); ice machine deflector plate, a food contact surface, had black and red mold-like residue and was not clean to sight and touch (corrected); the hand-wash sink near the bain-marie in front services area does not have water at a temperature of at least 100degF (corrected); an accumulation of static dust on the fan blade and guard of the prep and three-basin sink fans; an accumulation of static dust on the fan guard in walk-in cooler one and two.

CUMBERLAND VALLEY AUCTION

101 SPRINGFIELD ROAD, SHIPPENSBURG

Regular inspection

Facility does not have procedures for employees to follow when responding to an event involving vomitus or fecal matter discharge onto surfaces within the facility )(pamphlet given); carton of raw shelled eggs was found above sodas inside the True reach-in cooler.

CHINA PALACE

259 PENROSE PLACE, CARLISLE

Complaint inspection

Several dead roach-like insects on glue traps in the kitchen and service area. No live insects observed. Will follow up to check pest reports.

EAST PENNSBORO MIDDLE SCHOOL

529 N. Enola Drive, East Pennsboro Township

Regular inspection

Corner of wall in kitchen area has a hole or is broken and in need of repair.

KATHY'S DELI LLC

891 W. KING ST., SHIPPENSBURG

Regular inspection

A whole packaged turkey was in standing water inside a basin sink, without a cold water refresh -- temperatures were 82-85 F, using a calibrated surface thermometer (discussed options); soups were held at 120-130 degF, rather than 135degF or above as required (adjusted); packaged foods in both the To-Go cooler and baked goods on display were not labeled properly with the ingredient statement, net weight, at a minimum. (Ingredients were available upon request but facility does not meet the exemption criteria. Pamphlet given); a pink slime layer was found on the white ice deflector plate at the soda dispenser unit; food facility hot water heater is not producing enough hot water to supply hand-wash sinks (thermostat adjusted); plumbing system not maintained in good repair - observed minor leaking at the hand sink base in the main kitchen.

NEW CUMBERLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL

331 8TH ST., NEW CUMBERLAND

Regular inspection

Hood system is not adequate to remove heat and/or grease, as evidenced by condensate and/or grease collecting on the walls, ceilings, and fixtures. Observed excessive amount of condensate in one corner of hood system dripping onto cooking equipment below; crevices of slicer behind blade had old food debris (corrected on site).

VOLVO SHIPPENSBURG

313 VOLVO WAY, SHIPPENSBURG

One sneeze guard was ineffective for food protection, since a large gap was observed at the service counter for the hot-held ready-to-eat foods.

ASIAN TASTE

825 W. KING ST., SHIPPENSBURG

Change of owner inspection

Foam insulation was rotted , cracked and missing at several sections of the refrigerant line inside the walk-in freezer.

BROAD STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

200 S. BROAD ST., MECHANICSBURG

Regular inspection

The hand-wash sink in the dish room does not have a self-closing, slow-closing or metering faucet to provide water for 15 seconds without reactivation (corrected); plumbing system not maintained in good repair - observed water leaking at the prep sink in the kitchen area; paper towel dispenser empty at the hand-wash sink in the dish room (corrected); soap was not available at the hand-wash sink in the dish room (corrected); wall over the exit door in kitchen area has a hole and is in need of repair.

ONE HEART MINISTRIES - THE STAGE & STUDIO CAFE

25 E. MAIN ST., MECHANICSBURG

Regular inspection

A working container of Windex was stored on the same shelf with Earl Gray tea bags in the kitchen area (corrected); fryer basket, a food contact surface, was observed to have food residue and was not clean to sight and touch (corrected).

YUMMY JAPAN

3506 CAPITAL MALL DRIVE, FC-3, CAMP HILL

Hood vents over fryers had an accumulation of static dust and are emitting dirt and dust into the air.

The following inspections had no violations:

BOILING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL

4 FORGE ROAD, BOILING SPRINGS

Regular inspection

FISHER'S FRESH POULTRY

900 MARKET ST., LEMOYNE

Opening inspection

SMUCKERS PRODUCE LLC

900 MARKET ST., LEMOYNE

Regular inspection

STARBUCKS COFFEE

6455 CARLISLE PIKE, MECHANICSBURG

Regular inspection

YELLOW BREECHES MIDDLE SCHOOL

4 FORGE ROAD, BOILING SPRINGS

Regular inspection

EAST PENNSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

840 PANTHER PKWY, EAST PENNSBORO

Regular inspection

HAMILTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

735 CLAY ST., CARLISLE

Regular inspection

QUICK STOP DELI

601 W. LOUTHER ST., CARLISLE

SHIPPENSBURG SELECT RESTAURANT

2 W. KING ST., SHIPPENSBURG

LITTLE CAESAR'S

650 E. HIGH ST., CARLISLE

MUMMERT CHOCOLATES

21 W. POMFRET ST., CARLISLE

Opening inspection

NEW SILVER SPRING DINER

6520 CARLISLE PIKE, SUITE 260, MECHANICSBURG

Opening inspection

SHAULL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1 SHAULL DRIVE, ENOLA

Regular inspection

WEST SHORE THEATRE

317 BRIDGE ST., NEW CUMBERLAND

Regular inspection

MECHANICSBURG AREA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

500 S. BROAD ST., MECHANICSBURG

Regular inspection
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees restaurant inspections in the state. Inspection reports are "snapshots" of the day and time the inspections took place. In many cases, violations are corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving.

The following restaurants and other establishments in Dauphin County that handle food were inspected during the week of Sept. 11-17 and were recorded as of Sept. 30.

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Sept. 17

CANDY HUT

3751 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Facility has re-packaged candies from original manufacturer, but containers do not have ingredient/allergen statement on individual package labels.

FAMOUS SAUSAGE AND CHEESESTEAKS at SATURDAY'S MARKET

3751 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Numerous series of unshielded/non-shatterproof lights located throughout meat-processing areas; numerous missing ceiling tiles located throughout rear meat-cutting/processing area.

GOOD'S MINI DONUTS at SATURDAYS MARKET

3751 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Mop bucket was being stored directly inside facility hand-wash sink (corrected).

MOTHER'S SUBS at SATURDAY'S MARKET

3751 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Food employee was washing hands inside three-bay sink instead of dedicated hand-wash sink as required (corrected).

Sept. 16

FELICITA

2201 FISHING CREEK VALLEY, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Temperature gauge for the final rinse of the high-temperature dishwasher is not functioning properly; gap under the basement exterior door does not prevent entry of insects and rodents.

SPA AT FELICITA

250 TIMBER TRAIL LANE, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration for quaternary ammonium.

Sept. 15

CARLI'S KITCHEN

1800 ELMERTON AVE., HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Consumer self-service display of sugar and raisins without sneeze guards or other effective protection; inside of cappuccino machine is not clean to sight and touch; women's toilet room is not provided with a covered waste receptacle for sanitary napkins; mops are not being hung to air dry.

EXXON

770 EISENHOWER BLVD., HARRISBURG

Change-of-owner inspection. (Out of compliance)

Water was pooling under a cabinet with packets of coffee and single-use items; mold accumulation on plastic beverage holders in the walk-in cooler; paper towels were not available at the hand-washing sink in the ware-washing area or restroom area; hole in the wall near the coffee station; approximately 50 rodent-like droppings in the office, ware-washing, and under the coffee cabinets in the store area.

LENKERVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

300 S. MARKET ST., MILLERSBURG

Regular inspection.

Temperature-indicating device located on mechanical ware-wash unit was in disrepair and is not accurately measuring water temperature in rinse cycle of unit; dish-wash unit test strip was run through rinse cycle and verified to hit 160 F on food-contact surfaces of utensils.

LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE MIDDLETOWN LODGE 410

100 MILL ST., MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Chemical spray bottles were without a name or label to identify the product; facility is re-using single-use cranberry juice containers, which are not intended for re-use; accumulation of residue on the ice machine deflector plate in the lower-level kitchen area; accumulation of food residue on the underside of the microwave in the upper-level kitchen area; sticker residue on the outside of stacked food storage containers in the kitchen area; accumulation of static dust on the interior wall of the upper level bar; heavy accumulation of static dust on metal shelving units in the upper-level kitchen area; heavy dust accumulation on a fan guard inside a refrigeration unit in the upper-level bar area; heavy dust accumulation on the fan guards, ceilings, walls, and shelving units in the walk-in cooler; left sink in the lower-level ladies' room has the hot water faucet shut off; webbing on the ceiling in the lower-level storage area.

MOTHER'S SUBS at EXXON

770 EISENHOWER BLVD., HARRISBURG

Regular inspection. (Out of compliance)

Food facility has an employee with a food handlers certificate, rather than an approved manager's food employee certification; deli meat held between 48-50 F in the bain-marie cold-holding unit, rather than 41 F or below as required; thermometer was not available for a cold-holding unit in the food-preparation area; accumulation of residue on the door gaskets of the bain-marie cold-holding unit in the food-preparation area; there was a mug in the food-preparation hand-washing sink; paper towels were not available at the hand-wash sink in the food-preparation area or restroom area; approximately 20 rodent-like droppings on the floor in an office next to the ware-washing area and in the ware-washing area.

PENN JERSEY MART

215 FIRST ST., MILLERSBURG

Change-of-owner inspection.

Facility did not have on hand quaternary ammonium test strips used for determining appropriate sanitizer concentrations.

SPRINGHILL SUITES BY MARRIOTT

15 CAPITAL DRIVE, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

No cleaning procedures for vomit or diarrhea; consumer self-service display of breads was without sneeze guards or other effective protection; no chlorine test strips available to test the sanitizer level; single-service disposable items are stored food side up; hand-wash sink in the kitchen was blocked by carts and not accessible at all times for employee use; floor drain at the bar is not clean.

SUPER 7 FOOD MART

2001 LINGLESTOWN ROAD, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Hot dogs are not being date-marked to identify the allowed seven-day shelf life; no employee certified in food safety (compliance within 90 days); three-bay sink is not accessible to wash, rinse and sanitize due to various cans and other items in the sink; sleeves of single-use disposable cups are stored in the restroom; mops are not being hung to air dry.

UPPER DAUPHIN AREA HIGH SCHOOL

220 CHURCH ST., ELIZABETHVILLE

Regular inspection.

Ice accumulations located on insulation of condensing-unit plumbing of the walk-in cooler.

Sept. 14

CENTRAL DAUPHIN ITALIAN PIZZA

4501 LOCUST LANE, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Sanitizer bucket stored on a food-preparation table; accumulation of old-food residue on the food mixer and table-mounted can opener; accumulation of static dust in the beverage cold-holding unit in the seating area; peeling ceiling tile in the dry-storage/equipment area.

CENTRAL DAUPHIN MIDDLE SCHOOL

4600 LOCUST LANE, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Accumulation of old-food residue on the deli food slicer.

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL #1340

5116 JONESTOWN ROAD 1770, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Accumulation of dust on the metal shelving units across from the three-compartment-sink area; accumulation of residue around the nozzles of the fountain-soda machine; accumulation of static dust on the fan guards inside the walk-in cooler.

Sept. 13

CENTRAL DAUPHIN EAST SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

626 RUTHERFORD ROAD, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Whole apples for display on the service line without the stickers being removed when being washed.

CHICK-FIL-A #03462

4661 LINDLE ROAD, HARRISBURG

Complaint inspection.

Sanitizer bucket was stored on the same shelf as single-use gloves in the kitchen area.

SOUTH SIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

4525 UNION DEPOSIT ROAD, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Webbing and some insects were below the bottom shelf in the dry-storage area.

THE GLASS LOUNGE

4745 N. FRONT ST., HARRISBURG

Regular inspection. (Out of compliance)

No cleaning procedures available for cleaning vomit and diarrhea; several raw animal foods were stored above ready-to-eat foods in the stand-up refrigerator; boxes of potato chips stored directly on the floor in the side room, rather than six inches off of the floor as required; wood shelf is constructed at the end of the three-bay sink, which is not clean and is not cleanable; chlorine chemical sanitizer in the final rinse cycle of the low-temperature bar dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required; quaternary ammonia concentration in the sanitizing solution of the three-bay ware-wash sink was 100 ppm, rather than 200 ppm as stated on the manufacturers' use directions; food slicer and ice machine deflector plate are not clean to sight and touch; no hand sink available for employees to wash their hands in the kitchen or bar area; upstairs employee restroom hand-sink has two separate faucets for hot and cold water -- one faucet that mixes hot and cold water is required; back door in the kitchen area of the food facility has a large gap and does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents and other animals; no sign or poster posted at the hand-wash sinks in the restrooms to remind food employees to wash their hands.

Sept. 12

DAIRY QUEEN #19370

1100 FULLING MILL ROAD, MIDDLETOWN

Complaint inspection.

Accumulation of static dust on the vents under the cold-holding units in the seating area; fly strips and light traps with heavy accumulation of dead fruit-fly-like insects; numerous fruit-fly-like insects in the dining, kitchen, ware-washing and employee restroom areas.

FINK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

150 RACE ST., MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Hand-washing sink in the kitchen area is only reaching approximately 93.5, rather than 100 F or higher, as required.

KUNKEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

2401 FULLING MILL ROAD, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Whole apples near the registers were without protection from contamination; a cart, gloves and a metal scrubbie were blocking the hand-washing sink in the ware-washing area.

RIVER HOUSE BAR AND GRILL

2495 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Shellstock tags are not maintained for 90 days from the date the container is emptied; raw beef stored behind raw fish in a cold-holding drawer in the kitchen area; accumulation of static dust on the fan guard in the walk-in cooler; hand-washing sink was not designated in the outside bar area; a gap under the exterior door in the kitchen area does not prevent entry of insects or rodents.

SARA LINDEMUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1201 N. PROGRESS AVE., HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Time/temperature-controlled-for-safety food that is opened or made and is ready to eat is not being date-marked to identify the allowed seven days for the food; no waterproof, digital, high-holding thermometer to ensure the temperature reaches at least 160 F or higher for the high-temperature dish machine; booster heater relief valve for the high-temperature dish machine is releasing excessive water, causing water to pool on the floor; high temperature dish machine is not operating correctly - wash temperature was 135 F and not 150 F-165 F as required - final rinse temperature was 168 F and not 180 F-200 F as required; inspector's high-holding thermometer read 145 F and did not reach the minimum temperature of 160 F for hot-water sanitizing; hand sink in the dish room had several items in the sink and is only for washing hands.

SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP MIDDLE SCHOOL

801 WOOD ST., HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

Two spray bottles of chemicals were stored on a cart handle and above single-use disposable trays; metal stem thermometer for food was calibrated with the ice method to 0 F and not 32 F as required; no waterproof, digital, high-holding thermometer to ensure the temperature reaches at least 160 F or higher for the high temperature dish machine; clean dish racks were stored on the floor in the dish room.

SUSQUEHANNA TWP. SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

3500 ELMERTON AVE., HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

No waterproof, digital, high-holding thermometer to ensure the temperature reaches at least 160 F or higher for the high-temperature dish machine; clean dish racks were stored on the floor in the dish room; food utensils and equipment are stored in the ladies' room, an unapproved location; water is leaking onto the floor from the pre-wash sink at the dish machine; restroom door was propped open and not closed as required; paper towels were not available at the dish-room hand sink; several lights are not working in the central walk-in freezer.

THOMAS HOLTZMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1910 LINGLESTOWN ROAD, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

No waterproof, digital, high-holding thermometer to ensure the temperature reaches at least 160 F or higher for the high-temperature dish machine; single-service to-go containers are stored food-side-up and not down as required; outside dumpster lid and doors are not closed; toilet rooms do not have a self-closing door.

Establishments with no violations.

Sept. 17

HONEY MUSTA at SATURDAY'S MARKET

3751 HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

THE EGG ROLL LADY

3751 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

UTZ

3751 E. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN

Regular inspection.

Sept. 15

MILLERSBURG AREA MIDDLE SCHOOL/ SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

799 CENTER ST., MILLERSBURG

Regular inspection.

PENN JERSEY MART

5541 STATE ROUTE 209, LYKENS

Change-of-owner inspection.

SHEETZ

13 S. RIVER ROAD, HALIFAX

Opening inspection.

Sept. 14

MCDONALDS # 2837

611 E. MAIN ST., HUMMELSTOWN

Complaint inspection.

PHILLIPS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

100 OAKMONT ROAD, HARRISBURG

Regular inspection.

WALNUT GROVE SMORGASBOARD

417 N. LOCKWILLOW ROAD, HARRISBURG

Opening inspection.

Sept. 13

HIBACHI BUFFET

421 FRIENDSHIP ROAD, HARRISBURG

Follow-up inspection. (Original report, Sept. 1, 2016)

PHILOSOPHER'S BBQ MFF TYPE 4

4131 BEAUFORT HUNT DRIVE, HARRISBURG

Opening inspection.
After five decades, a recognizable local sausage is back thanks to one generation of Pugliese brothers.

Shoppers are finding links and ropes of the family's "sacred recipe" old-world sausage for sale at a new Italian shop in Susquehanna Twp.

Pugliese Brothers Authentic Italian Gourmet Sausage opened in September at 2241 Paxton Church Road in the Brandywine Plaza.

Along with the handmade sausages sold in sweet, hot and mild hot, the shop carries imported Italian products such as pasta, cheese, olives and pepperoni.

"We've had so many people ask us because they missed the sausage," said Richard Pugliese, one of the three brothers, including John and Robert, who owns the shop.

Anyone close to the Pugliese family, knows about their authentic Italian sausages made using a recipe passed down through multiple generations. The recipe dates back to the 1830s in Italy.

It traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1909 with the brothers' grandfather, Alfonso. By the 1950s and 60s, their father, Robert, was making and selling the sausages at a family-owned grocery store in Steelton.

The store closed in the mid-1960s but the Puglieses continued to make sausage for family and friends.

"People wanted it, and another thing, we missed eating it," John Pugliese said.

A few years ago, the three brothers decided to resurrect the Pugliese name. It took them 18 months to open the shop.

They chose the Brandywine Plaza because of its convenient location and large parking lot. The location serves as both a retail outlet and production facility.

The sausage is made from pork purchased at Groff Meats in Elizabethtown. Unlike mass produced sausage, the Puglieses trim the fat from the meat, which results in a leaner product.

They use no dyes, fillers or artificial ingredients. The sausages are gluten-free.

"With the recipe, there are certain basic ingredients," Richard Pugliese said.

The meat is ground on the premises with seasonings and stuffed into casings through an automated, state-of-the-art machine.

The sweet sausage is versatile and goes just as well with tomato sauce for spaghetti as it does with pancakes and maple syrup, said the brothers. The mild hot sausage has 60 percent of the potency of the hot sausage.

Eventually, the brothers plan to add sausage patties to their inventory and sell wholesale to restaurants.

The sausages sell for $6 a pound. They also sell hot and sweet soppressata and various cheeses, from Pecorino Romano to extra sharp Provolone.

Foods are imported through Claudio Specialty Foods in Philadelphia. The only non-Italian product are the Kalamata olives from Greece, Robert Pugliese said.

"Our goal is to fill a niche. We want to be a niche - a one-stop shop for your Italian products," he said.

The shop is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sunday-Monday. Phone is 717-727-7191.
DO NOT REUSE

Outside of Boal Mansion, one of the most fascinating homes in Pennsylvania.

(Jim Cheney | Special to PennLive)

During my travels around Pennsylvania, I've visited many amazing places. However, few have been equal to the amazing Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel. Located just outside of State College in Boalsburg, Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel is a historic home that was first built in 1809 by David Boal. David Boal was one of the first people to settle in the area and the community that grew up around his home would take his name.

Over the years, the home was expanded from its original footprint, and by the early 20th century, the home was quite large for the area. However, despite David Boal having given his name to the community, it would be his grandson, Theodore Davis Boal, that would have the largest impact on the home today.

Boal was an architect by trade who made his mark in Denver, Colorado, and Paris, France, before moving to his family's home in central Pennsylvania. Along with him, he brought his French wife, who was a direct decedent of Christopher Columbus.

When his wife's aunt died, Boal's wife inherited the Columbus family castle in Asturias, Spain. Now that they had set up their life in Pennsylvania, Boal knew that they wouldn't be able to live in the castle. However, wanting to make his wife feel at home, he built a beautiful stone structure next to their home. He then had the entire contents of the family castle packed into boxes, shipped across the Atlantic, and set up exactly the same way that it had been set up in Spain.

Outside of Columbus Chapel.

The chapel dates from the 15th century and features centuries worth of Columbus family history. One of the highlights is a sea chest that was owned by Columbus himself. While it's not known specifically if this chest was on his most famous voyages, it's still amazing that a piece tied to Columbus has found its way to the small community.

Truthfully, stepping into the chapel is like being transported to Europe. It was meticulously set up and there is little to remind you that you are in a stone building in Pennsylvania. The Columbus Chapel feels like one of those places that you could visit time and time again and see something that you've never seen before. In addition to Columbus' sea chest, the chapel is home to certified pieces of Jesus' cross and beautiful Renaissance paintings.

The shockingly beautiful interior of the Columbus Chapel.

The wonders of the Columbus Chapel and Boal Mansion don't just extend to the chapel, however. Inside the mansion, there are many artifacts that are as noteworthy as they are surprising.

The Boal family's prominence in Pennsylvania allowed them to have relationships with many influential people around the world. Because of this, they were able to collect many fascinating artifacts, some of which are now on display at the museum.

These items including weaponry dating back to the 15th century, a piece of a downed World War 1 German aircraft, and even a hat that was once worn by Pancho Villa. Despite being remarkable, these pieces are stored as almost an afterthought in another side building outside of the main home.

Inside Boal Mansion

Inside the main home, guides take visitors through the main displays, along with the family's connections to presidents, saints, and royalty. Items on display included personalized items signed by John F. Kennedy, the Apollo 11 astronauts, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. There is also a lock of Napoleon's hair, a piano which used to sit in the White House, and items from the tomb of King Tut's grandparents.

Without a doubt, the Columbus Chapel and Boal Mansion in Boalsburg has one of the finest collections of artifacts in Pennsylvania. While the items here might not be curated like in other locations, there are very few places in the state that feature the quality or number of interesting items that you can find here.

Jim Cheney is the writer behind UncoveringPA, Pennsylvania's most read travel blog. He has traveled to every county in Pennsylvania, and to many countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. He lives in Harrisburg, Pa.
Wilbur Chocolate's new store in Lititz opens Friday, not far from the original location.

The store moved across the street into the former Freeze & Frizz ice cream shop at 48 N. Broad St.

The store will sell the company's signature Wilbur Buds and display historical items related to the company. In addition, the new store will have a kitchen where candies will be made by hand using Wilbur Chocolate.

Cargill closed the chocolate plant in January 2016, and said it would maintain the store. At the time, Cargill said it was shifting production to more modern and efficient plants in Mount Joy and West Lincoln Avenue in Lititz as well as Hazleton, Milwaukee and Ontario, Canada.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Hurricane Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to a half-million people but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared.

Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the hurricane pushed north.

"Remember, it could be the worst of it is yet to come," Gov. Rick Scott said in the morning.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds. Still, it got close enough to knock down trees and power lines, and a 107 mph gust was recorded at Cape Canaveral.

MORE: Florida disaster information website

As the storm closed in, an estimated 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to move inland to escape the fury of the most powerful hurricane to menace the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade.

Matthew left more than 280 people dead in its wake across the Caribbean.

As it moved on to Florida, it largely skirted the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach areas of over 7 million people and hugged closer to the coast farther north, menacing such communities as Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville.

Getting INTENSE in Daytona Beach, FL. Debris flying & street signs coming off @weatherchannel #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/JWvIP3cfwh  Alexandra Wilson (@TWCAlexWilson) October 7, 2016

Some people who refused to evacuate were stranded and called for help early Friday but were told to stay put until conditions improved enough for paramedics and firefighters to get to them, said emergency operations spokesman David Waters in Brevard County, the home of Cape Canaveral.

"A family called in that the roof just flew off their home on Merritt Island," Waters said.

It was a scene officials hoped to avoid in other cities as the storm pushed north.

In Jacksonville, where 500,000 people were told to evacuate, Mayor Lenny Curry warned that authorities would not be able to help them during the worst of the storm. "You need to leave. If you do not leave you will be on your own," Curry said.

Despite warnings, many people along the Florida coast decided to take their chances.

In Cape Canaveral, John Long rode out the storm in his 32-foot camper in a park a half-mile from the beach.

He lost power shortly before dawn but quickly fired up his generator. Small tree branches battered the vehicle but the large ones on the park's giant oak trees didn't fall. "It was kind of loud and kind of shaky but nothing that caused too much concern," he said.

Robert Tyler had feared a storm surge would flood his street, which is only two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach. But he and his wife, Georgette, felt fortunate Friday morning when they looked out the front door of their one-story cinderblock apartment and there wasn't much water.

Tree branches littered the road, and he could hear transformers exploding overnight, but his home didn't appear to have damage on first inspection, and his vehicles were unharmed.

"Overnight, it was scary as heck. That description of a freight train is pretty accurate. At one point it felt like the windows were going to blow even though they all were covered with plywood," he said.

Florida's governor called it a "blessing" that so far Florida was avoiding a direct hit as the storm sliced northward.

Still, forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more. They said the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds -- which newer buildings can withstand -- but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities.

Thousands of people hunkered down in schools converted to shelters, and inland hotels in places such as Charlotte, North Carolina, reported brisk business.
The first presidential debate had all the hype and a record audience, but the second debate is more important.

All the pressure is on Donald Trump.

The Republican presidential nominee needs to erase the memory of his rough week and continue the momentum from his running mate's recent debate win.

Trump also needs to calm the fears of party leaders who are increasingly worried about the presidential election, especially down-ballot races and whether the GOP can keep its majority in Congress.

After Trump lost the first debate, Clinton got a big boost in the polls and a double-digit lead in numerous states, including Pennsylvania.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls has Clinton up by 6 points in Pennsylvania and 4 points nationally.

"Donald Trump, where he is in the polls, can't afford another bad evening," said Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. "This is an opportunity to change momentum in the race, to get some energy behind his campaign that seems to have dissipated since the last debate."

Some analysts say Trump's drop in the polls may have less to do with his unfocused performance during the bulk of the first debate and more to do with how he reacted after that debate.

The first slugfest with Clinton on Sept. 26 led to his worst week of the presidential campaign. He resurrected an old feud with the 1996 Miss Universe over her weight, launched a 3:45 a.m. Twitter rampage, went after the Clintons on infidelity and a New York Times report exposed a tax scandal.

A Franklin & Marshall College Poll released that week showed Clinton up by 9 points among likely voters and 12 points among registered voters.

"The question here is did Trump learn anything? Did he learn not to take the bait?" said Terry Madonna, veteran political analyst and pollster at F&M.

His running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, showed him a way forward Tuesday when he avoided getting in the mud when prodded by Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine.

But Trump's history shows he always responds to criticisms.

"The problem is it's Trump," Madonna said. "No matter how much preparation there is, if he's attacked, he responds. He can't help himself."

When Clinton went after him late in the first debate about his treatment of Alicia Machado, the 1996 Miss Universe, he responded by defending his insults against Rosie O'Donnell.

Some analysts said that's partially why he ended up deeper underwater on his favorability ratings in recent polls.

"There are unfavorable views about him as an individual and his temperament," Borick said.

Despite Trump's gains in September, Pennsylvania polls are back to where they were for much of the summer.

Every time Trump is in front of a large televised audience and compared to Clinton, such as after the political party conventions and the first debate, he drops in the polls.

The next presidential debate is a chance to change that.

"It's a big moment for him," Borick said.

All debates matter, but this one is especially important, Trump supporter and CNN analyst Jeffrey Lord agreed.

"Both Reagan and Obama were perceived by the media, though not necessarily the voters, as having bad first debates, and the second debate was their salvation," Lord said. "So for those who see Trump as having a bad first debate - I did not - this debate can help."

How can Trump win this debate?

If Trump wants to win the Sunday night debate, which is a town hall format, style will matter more than substance.

Numerous analysts point to a 1992 debate when then-Democratic challenger Bill Clinton walked over to an audience member and looked into her eyes with the message, "I feel your pain." By contrast, incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush made the big mistake of looking at his watch.

The Trump campaign "made a very smart decision to hold their own town hall in New Hampshire before the second debate...which is to say they are making their own opportunity for Trump to have a practice session before the second debate," Lord said.

Even though the New Hampshire town hall Thursday night followed the same format, with a two-minute response time to questions from a moderator and audience members, Trump insisted it wasn't practice.

"This isn't practice," Trump said during the town hall. "This has nothing to do with Sunday. We're just here because we just wanted to be here."

Trump looked comfortable in the town hall setting, but he was as unfocused as during the first debate.

As the category 4 Hurricane Matthew was bearing down on Florida, Trump opened the town hall by complaining about his microphone from the first debate and read numbers from polls he said he won.

He talked about jobs, opioid addiction and building the wall before mentioning the hurricane.

That bravado and lack of focus will not work in a second debate against a prepared and polished Clinton, analysts said.

But Lord said that doesn't mean he should act like Pence.

"Trump can only be Trump," Lord said. "But he is smart enough to adapt himself to whatever situation he finds himself. I have no doubt that he will."
Three York men are facing attempted homicide charges following a shooting that occurred during a gun deal in West Manchester Township in August, according to a YDR.com report.

Twin brothers Kristopher and Jordan Ray, 23, and Khafre Raheem Johnson, 23, have been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment after Myanhh Leggett was shot twice in the parking lot of the Econo Lodge along Route 30 late on Aug. 20, the report said.

A witness said he heard two shots fired and saw a large group run to nearby vehicles during the incident.

Leggett was rushed to York Hospital for treatment. He survived after he was shot in leg and torso.
Police in Carlisle are searching for a clown who scared a man.



The incident, according to cumberlink.com, occurred around 11 p.m. Thursday when the clown confronted the victim in an alley in the first block of East Hanover Street.



The clown never touched the man or spoke, but the victim fled when the clown lurched toward him, police said.



They described the suspect as 5 feet 11 inches tall wearing a clown mask with red or yellow hair and a green or black shirt with camouflage triangles on it.



The Carlisle incident is among series of reports - many of them false - across the country involving threats from scary clowns.
Joseph Williams.png

DNA evidence led investigators to identify Joseph Allen Williams as the suspect in an armed robbery that occurred in Lemoyne in July of 2014, police said. Police are searching for Williams, who is considered armed and dangerous.

(West Shore Regional Police Department. )

UPDATE: Williams has been arrested, according to Cumberland County Crime Stoppers s

Police said investigators used DNA evidence to identify a suspect in an armed robbery that occurred in Lemoyne more than two years ago.

Police are searching for Joseph Allen Williams, who allegedly committed the robbery at knife-point outside a home in the 200 block of Hummel Avenue on July 24, 2014. The victims, who were not harmed, were sitting in their vehicle when Williams demanded cash while holding a knife, police said Thursday.

Williams, who police consider armed and dangerous, could be in Oregon or California.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Cumberland County Crime Stoppers at 855-628-8477.

Informants could be eligible for a cash reward, police said.
Pepe.jpg

An alt-right funding website is claiming to have raised enough money to begin putting up billboards across Pennsylvania showing GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump channeling the racist hate symbol of Pepe the Frog. WeSearchr claims that digital billboards bearing the image will soon go up across the Keystone state.

(Screen shot/WeSearchr)

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are turning to a cartoon hate mascot to drum up support in battleground Pennsylvania.

According to several Internet news outlets, the crowd funding website WeSearchr claims to have raised enough money to begin putting up digital billboards across the state showing Trump channeling Pepe The Frog, a cartoon character that has morphed into a hate mascot.

According to a story by Vocativ.com, donors on the platform funding website have ponied up more than $5,000 to sponsor the ad buy, which the site claims could begin appearing off of highways as early as next week.

"We think a lot people are going to be upset about the billboard," Charles Johnson, a controversial blogger and CEO of WeSearchr, told Vocativ in an interview.

He said that his company has been negotiating with several digital billboard providers in Pennsylvania and would be able to run as many as 10 signs with the money raised.

"It looks like it's going to happen," Johnson was quoted in the Vocativ story.

PennLive on Friday reached out the the Trump campaign and the Pennsylvania GOP Committee. Calls were not immediately returned.

With 20 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is a must-win state for Trump. In the last two days, at least three polls show Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton in a solid lead.

Renderings of the billboard show a pair of Trump-inspired Pepes along what is presumed to be the candidate's proposed U.S. border wall with Mexico. The green character wears a suit and bears Trump signature mane. He clutches a pair of handguns in one, and in the other, aims an assault rifle at a distant target.

"It's always darkest before the Don...," reads the rendering, evoking a play on a popular line from the Batman film "The Dark Knight." The sign also includes an image of the Moon Man, a character that once appeared in McDonald's commercials but was later turned into a racist, homophobic Internet meme.

Pepe the Frog has become a popular meme on social media, especially lately among various alt-right groups. The character has been deemed an "online hate symbol" by the Anti-Defamation League.

"I basically think they're full of (expletive)," Johnson told Vocativ with regards to the Anti-Defamation League. "The ADL used to stand for real threats against Jewish people. Now they're going after a cartoon frog. It's kind of pathetic."

Johnson is the founder of the GotNews website. He once accused President Obama of being gay. In his most high-profile incident, Johnson's outed a woman at the center of a Rolling Stone story about rape at the University of Virginia.

Johnson last year was permanently banned from Twitter after he solicited donations from his followers to "take out" a Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson. According to Politico, Johnson and his lawyers argue that he is a victim of censorship, and have threatened legal action.
UPDATE:

HARRISBURG--For five months, Howard Henry has been waiting for someone to start cleaning up the tons of debris that was dumped onto his tire shop when a wall collapsed near the Mulberry Street Bridge.

He's tried to work around the dirt, concrete and asphalt that caved in a portion of his roof. He even paid for a clever advertising campaign that incorporated the wall collapse to let customers know he was still open.

But this week, Henry had to close his doors, lay off 12 employees and shut down his business because it is no longer considered safe for him or his employees to be inside.

Henry is planning a 10 a.m. news conference Friday to provide further details about engineering reports he received this week that warned of "potential loss of life from the potential failure of the McFarland Building facade."

The reports, obtained by PennLive, reveal that the owners of The McFarland apartments, Isaac Dohany and Jacob Friedman of New Jersey, have not taken any action recommended by their own engineer to avoid further collapse of the wall or collapse of their building next to the wall.

The engineer hired by McFarland, Bruce Ensor, identified cracks in the building's foundation and long-term water damage and drainage problems that require shoring and repairs before the building is safe. The building was evacuated in late June after the city condemned it. A second McFarland apartment building farther back from the collapse remains occupied.

Specifically, Ensor's report recommended removal or shoring of a damaged, exposed concrete slab in between the wall that collapsed and the apartment building "so that if the slab collapses, it does not impart force onto the remaining wall of the building."

Ensor also recommended that the owners of The McFarland cover the exposed wall with geo-fabric, "to prevent water saturation on the remaining material and further collapse."

PennDOT workers even left rolls of the fabric for the owners in their parking lot after using some of it within their right of way.

The report was dated May 10-- five days after the collapse, yet no action has been taken more than five months later.

Instead, the wall collapsed a second time June 25 during heavy rains, which washed a new wave of dirt and debris into Henry's warehouse collapsing his roof and back wall. He says the additional damage could have been avoided if McFarland had acted upon its own engineer report.

Ensor provided more than 20 recommendations addressing deficiencies with the building, including voids under the sub-basement, thin or deteriorating concrete and signs of horizontal shifting.

He noted in his May 10 report that water is a contributing factor in foundation and retention wall failures and that "unknown variables such as future weather conditions (heavy rains), flooding and further collapse could make this structure un-safe if the recommended precautions are not adhered to."

An engineer hired by Henry was more explicit.

"I am concerned that the potential for failure of the McFarland Building facade is an imminent danger to the Hoa Le building and your building," Robert Desmarais Jr. wrote on Oct. 5, "unless immediate action is taken to address the water infiltration, and the structural concerns and recommended repairs cited in Mr. Ensor's report."

It was this report that caused Henry to shutter his business on Wednesday. He told his employees to apply for unemployment benefits. Henry said he could not in good conscience allow his employees to work there with the potential risk outlined by several engineers.

Although the McFarland apartments parking lot collapsed onto Henry's shop, the owners continue to deny ownership of the wall that had propped up the parking lot.

The company attorney, Adam Klein, has not said who they think does own the wall if it's not Dohany and Friedman. Klein did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday morning.

The entity that ends up owning the wall or being responsible for the collapse is facing millions in cleanup costs and damages.

PennDOT owns the adjacent bridge. Its workers removed a concrete overhang from the wall last year, but an internal investigation concluded that project didn't contribute to the collapse. Instead, PennDOT officials said the 107-year-old wall was never designed or reinforced to act as a retaining wall.

Twelve feet of backfill was added behind the wall in the 1990s to construct a parking lot to serve McFarland apartment residents.

The engineer hired by McFarland, however, said the work to remove the overhang could have contributed to the instability of the wall.

"We believe that this might have affected the structural dynamics of the retaining wall and potentially could be part of the reason of the collapse," Ensor wrote.

City officials in late June condemned the building and its owners appealed, further stalling action on the case. The owners are fighting the city on two fronts: in Dauphin County Housing Court where city officials cited them for failing to act and in front of the city's codes appeals board, where the condemnation case will be heard Oct. 20.

Meanwhile, as the cases are dragged out, and as a car still sits on Henry's roof, he is suffering, he said.

Henry has lost $200,000 in revenue, in addition to the obvious damage to his building. Now, he will suffer untold financial losses from shutting his doors and possibly losing employees who will find jobs elsewhere.

"I may have to start all over," Henry said. "If this doesn't get fixed immediately, I may have to close for good. The consequences could be irreversible."

Henry said he has already exhausted his efforts with city officials. Now Henry is trying to get Gov. Tom Wolf's attention to force action in the case before additional collapses can endanger the public or force business to close for good.

Engineering report: Howard Tire and Auto by PennLive on Scribd

Engineering report: McFarland Apartments by PennLive on Scribd

McF photo A

Photo Report: McFarland Apartments, Camera A by PennLive on Scribd

Photo Report: McFarland Apartments, Camera B by PennLive on Scribd
A flood of denials and conspiracy theories continued to flow Friday, three says after a seemingly random teenager asked the seemingly perfect question at a Clinton campaign event near Philadelphia.

The question came from Brennan Leach and gave Clinton a perfect opportunity to talk at length the mostly female audience about Donald Trump's history of disparaging remarks about women. As the Internet sleuths quickly discovered, Brennan Leach, 15, happens to be the daughter of state Sen. Daylin Leach, a leader among Pennsylvania Democrats and a Clinton donor. They further found out she is listed in the Internet Movie Database, leading to accusations Clinton hired a professional actor to throw her a softball.

Reading from a note, she began "At my school, body image is a really big issue for girls my age. I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look." She then asked how Clinton could spread the message that "girls are so much more than what they look like." Clinton was certainly ready for the question and pounced on it.

And upon discovering the teenager's political connection, Trump supporters have pounced on Clinton.



Leach didn't immediately respond to a message on Friday afternoon. According to Fox 43, a Leach spokesman called it "vile and disgusting" to suggest the event was staged. The story was quickly taken up by assorted conspiracy theory websites. The New York Times reported Brennan Leach said after the event that father had helped her form the question.





Snopes.com even tackled the subject of whether Clinton had "planted" a "hired" actor in the audience. It concluded Brennan Leach's acting career so far consists of a small part in a short film, and there is no evidence the Clinton campaign hired and planted her. A Google search for Brennan Leach now produces dozens of headlines, stories and videos related to Tuesday's event.



But it's likely to die down soon enough, given the long history of accusations and the not uncommon practice of candidates "planting" such questions at political events.
IRS Investigation

FILE - This March 22, 2013 file photo shows the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

If you've been wondering where all those calls from scammers posing as IRS agents are coming from, here's your answer.



India.



And, according to authorities in that country, it was quite an organized and sophisticated enterprise, something akin to the "boiler room" at a major stock brokerage.



According to Reuters, law enforcement agencies in India this week arrested scores of people in connection with IRS scams they say were run from call centers scattered around Mumbai.



Those arrested are accused of posing as U.S. IRS officials and calling Americans with threats of arrest for tax evasion. Callers told victims they could settle the cases if the victims sent them thousands of dollars. In some cases, victims were advised to settle the nonexistent debts with iTunes and gift cards.



The cons bilked Americans out of tens of millions of dollars during the year it operated, authorities said.



Indian police arrested 70 people and detained more than 700 others during raids on Tuesday, Reuters reports. Police said they believed the ring leaders were still on the run.



Investigators said those making calls for the scam were instructed on how to sound like Americans and were provided with scripts of tips to convince skeptical victims. Successful scammers earned the equivalent of $150 to $1,500 a month, they said.



Police said during a court hearing Thursday that employees at the call centers applauded when a scammer made a big score.




#nuclear power plant S. Korea, Poland sign MOU on nuclear power plant project South Korea and Poland signed an agreement Monday to jointly push for a plan to build a nuclear power plant in the European nation, raising hopes for Seoul's first nuclear power pl...

#KBO Battle of homegrown aces set in Korean Series opener Two of the best homegrown pitchers in South Korean baseball this season will go head-to-head to open the championship series Tuesday. The SSG Landers will host the Kiwoom Heroes...
PHOTOS: Downtown Petoskey Halloween 2022

Check out some photos from downtown Petoskey's Halloween celebrations on Saturday.
OPEC- Saudi, Iran and Iraq to meet with Russia next week



OPEC and Russian officials plan informal talks in Istanbul

DUBAI

Petroleumworld.com 10 07 2016

Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq will be among representatives of key OPEC producers meeting Russian officials for informal talks on oil output in Istanbul next week, OPEC sources and the Russian energy minister said on Thursday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last week agreed a deal to limit crude production and is looking to secure the cooperation of non-OPEC members such as Russia to help to support oil prices.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that he planned to meet OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo in Istanbul, RIA news agency reported, adding that the minister said he planned to discuss OPEC's output deal with ministers of other oil-producing countries.

Other energy ministers who will be present in the Turkish city as it hosts the World Energy Congress include those of the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Venezuela and Qatar, which holds the OPEC presidency.

No decision is expected to be taken in Istanbul, the sources said, but the meeting will be a chance for the officials to discuss the next step after last week's Algiers meeting.

The agreement reached in Algiers is expected to be implemented this year and OPEC ministers will meet next in Vienna on Nov. 30 to set the group's supply policy.








Ienova Mexico's Sempra Energy unit expansion moves ahead



Ienova share sale loooms as analysts estimate around 17 percent return in the coming year

MEXICO CITY

Petroleumworld.com 10 07 2016

Sempra Energy's Mexico expansion is taking off.

In the past month, Infraestructura Energetica Nova SAB, Sempra's Mexico unit, acquired a $1.1 billion stake in a pipeline company, carried out a $375 million purchase of a wind power complex and won two solar power projects in an auction. As soon as next week, the company is expected to issue new shares in a sale to raise as much as $1.5 billion.

"The company is in a stage of rapid growth," Gerardo Cevallos, equity analyst at Vector Casa de Bolsa who recommends buying the shares, said in a phone interview from Mexico City. "The company has had a stronger year than what they likely expected."

Sempra, which said in July that it would shrink its buyback program to free up capital for Mexico and Latin American projects, is making good on plans to invest $3 billion in the region by 2020, primarily through expansions in Mexico. Already the country's largest private pipeline operator, Ienova won rights to develop a $2.16 billion underwater pipeline from Texas with TransCanada Corp. in June. It is likely to bid on a natural gas supply project in Baja California before the end of the year, according to Cevallos.

Meanwhile, the Mexico follow-on share sale, which aims to raise $1.3 to $1.5 billion, is seen driving Ienova's share rally in the next year. Fourteen of 16 analysts that cover the company recommend buying the shares. Analysts estimate a return of around 17 percent in 12 months.

Pipeline Stake

"It is very good that the amount of the follow-on is known, as the market has been waiting for it," Marissa Garza, sub-director of equity analysis at Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB, said in a phone interview from Mexico City. Ienova shareholders originally approved the sale last year. Mexico's antitrust agency requested modifications to the $1.1 billion Gasoductos de Chihuahua pipeline stake purchase, which delayed the follow-on plans.

"The follow-on will go directly to the two recent acquisitions and gives the company a profile to continue growth," she said.

Ienova, Mexico's only publicly traded energy company, will offer 323 million shares as soon as Oct. 13 following a 10-city roadshow, according to a statement on Oct. 3. The offer includes upsize and over-allotment options totaling 57 million shares. That may raise between 24.5 billion pesos ($1.27 billion) and 28.8 billion pesos, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Monday's closing share price.

Sempra, Ienova's largest shareholder, will buy as much as $350 million worth of shares, according to the statement. Ienova's shareholders will meet Oct. 7 to approve the offering.

Sempra's push into Mexico coincides with the country's 2014 opening of the energy market to allow for private competition and boost investment in the oil, natural gas and electricity industries .








Delivery and launch dates

LightSail 2 and its Georgia Tech partner spacecraft, Prox-1, are still manifested to hitch a ride on the first operational flight of SpaceXs Falcon Heavy rocket during the launch of a U.S. Air force payload named STP-2 (STP stands for "Space Test Program). A demo flight of the rocket is expected before that.

The Falcon Heavy debut date, however, has been in question following the pad explosion of a Falcon 9 on September 1. Because the Falcon Heavy is essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, SpaceX must first focus on returning the Falcon 9 to flight. Also, the Falcon 9 represents the core of the companys business; only six of SpaceXs 71 publicly manifested missions call for the Falcon Heavy.

Last week, at the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, CEO Elon Musk said the Falcon Heavy would probably debut "early next year." According to Space News, President and COO Gwynne Shotwell recently amended that date to mid-2017. LightSails STP-2 launch, then, would presumably occur sometime after that.

Right now, Prox-1 and LightSail 2 are scheduled to be delivered to the University Nanosat Program before the end of 2016. The two spacecraft will meet up for integration at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and well be sure to capture the big moment.

New animations

Once again, were turning to 3D animation guru Josh Spradling to visualize our entire mission. Josh created our LightSail 1 mission trailer. This time, he will add Prox-1 to the mix, and weve also tasked him with conceptualizing the complex solar sail tacking maneuvers LightSail 2 will use to raise its orbit.

Never a person to make things easy on himself, Josh is also improving the CubeSat assembly sequencewhere the spacecrafts parts fly togetherusing actual CAD models. Youll be able to watch LightSail 2 come together screw by screw, which, as far as I know, is unprecedented. We may also add virtual reality capabilities to the mix, so stay tuned!

Testing

Speaking of screw-by-screw assembly, the LightSail 2 flight unit has been assembled for quite some time. It also passed its vibration and thermal vacuum chamber trials last month, which certify it can survive launch and the harsh space environment. One final end-to-end test of the spacecrafts critical functions, including sail boom deployment (without the actual sails attached) is is still planned before delivery.

In the meantime, the LightSail team, led by engineers at Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation in Pasadena, has been putting the software system through its paces. In particular, there has been a lot of focus on the attitude control subsystem, which is responsible for tacking the spacecraft back and forth through the suns photon stream.

This extra testing continues to pay off. As an example, the team recently discovered a glitch on BenchSat, the flight units acrylic-mounted test unit. Because BenchSat does not contain a full suite of flight sensors, some odd behavior was recently discovered when the flight software tried to access a sensor that wasnt there.

No big deal, right? Actually, the glitch got the team thinking about how the software might behave if one of LightSails actual sensors failed during the mission. New code is being added to account for this potential scenario, and more tests will validate the changes.

LightSail in the literature

Lastly, LightSail will be featured in a few papers and presentations at the fourth International Symposium on Solar Sailing this January in Kyoto, Japan. One presentation by systems engineer Barbara Plante focuses entirely on the LightSail 2 attitude control system. Barbara has allowed me to post the abstract below; check it out!
Illustration: Sequoia Blankenship

Recently my wife, the Sarge, and I were given the opportunity to speak to an academy class just prior to their graduation. We always find this exhilarating and enjoyable, but afterwards we almost always say the same thing to each other: "Poor kids, they still have hope." This time when we said that, we noted how incredibly cynical that sounds. And how proud we were of those young men and women starting their careers in what seems to be such a bleak and dangerous time for law enforcement.

We talked about the struggles they would face and the things that, even though we're not actively patrolling the streets anymore, we still have great concerns about. After the discussion, we packed up and headed for the next speaking engagement. That's when it hit me: people always accuse law enforcement of being cynical, but if we were true Cynics we wouldn't be going out and spreading the word about officer safety, leadership, and professionalism. It was the legendary trainer Bill Westfall who taught me years ago that the hero's path is not the way of the Cynic, but the way of the Stoic. Let me explain.

The Cynics were contemporaries of Plato and Aristotle. They sought to perfect their souls by deriding and rejecting the material world. The greatest of these was a fellow called Diogenes. He would roam the streets of Athens in search of a wise man, claiming he could never find one. He would often lie around all day, living off of the donations of his students; in other words he was a bit of a slug. It is said that when Alexander the Great found Diogenes lying naked in a bathtub outside, he asked him, "What can Alexander do for you?" To which Diogenes replied, "You can get out of my sun." Ironically, this greatly impressed Alexander, who later said that if he could not be Alexander, he would be Diogenes.

Fortunately, the great Aristotle was not as impressed as Alexander. Aristotle taught that true happiness and virtue came not from disengaging, but from actually participating in the real world. When Diogenes died, the Cynics became aimless, shiftless beggars. When Aristotle passed away, Aristotelian thought became the bedrock for most of what we know as Western civilization.

In the decade after Diogenes went to his bathtub in the sky, a fellow named Zeno started a school of philosophy while sitting on a porch in Athens. "Porch" in Greek is "Stoa," and he and his students were called Stoics. Fast-forward 300 years to the next great Stoic philosophera Roman slave named Epictetuswho taught that the key to happiness was to understand the nature of the material world and then control your thoughts, desires, and opinions toward it. The Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, was the last famous Stoic; he lived a few years after Epictetus and wrote in his diary, "You have power over your mindnot outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."

While the Cynics say "People are stupid" or "People are evil" and walk away, the Stoics say, "Some people are stupid and I can't change that; I can only control myself and choose to help them anyway," or "Some people are evil but I can't change them; I can, however, fight them to protect the innocent from the guilty."

As we spoke to that graduating class I noticed two young women who were undoubtedly idealistic; much like Plato they are going to change the world. I looked at the Sarge, 29 years of law enforcement under her belt, and I knew that while she'd probably been like those rookies once upon a time, like me she learned that you can't change the world or the nature of people. But you can affect the world around you. When evil arrives, we'll battle it. When blood runs, we'll stem the flow. When someone acts foolishly, we'll save them from themselves.

From now on, when someone calls you a "Cynic," tell them no, you're a "Stoic."

So my Stoic brothers and sisters, we know today people will do stupid things and get hurt, and do evil things and hurt others; and so it will be as it has always been, and you will answer the call and rush to save or stop them as our kind has always done. Just remember what that leads to  a life well lived.

Dave Smith is an internationally recognized law enforcement trainer and is the creator of "JD Buck Savage." You can follow Buck on Twitter at @thebucksavage.
Fifteen years ago last month, 72 law enforcement officers made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, the death toll of fallen 9/11 heroes continues to rise. Since the 2001 attacks, over 100 law enforcement officers have died from 9/11-related illnesses. These 9/11 first responders have been stricken with various forms of cancer and other fatal ailments due to sustained toxin exposure. Finally, our government seems poised to do more than just remember our fallen heroes.

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was reauthorized this year, and there is sustained funding to provide screening and treatment for our 9/11 first responders. This includes a comprehensive annual medical exam that is geared toward identifying the known symptoms and illnesses associated with the toxin exposure.

I was one of the responders to the World Trade Center attacks. And today, after a five-year lapse, I recently went for my annual 9/11 medical exam. It took me a while to realize that denial was not an effective form of preventive medicine, and I'm glad I went.

I remember the evening of 9/11, while still at Ground "Hero," I took off my dust mask, looked at it, and laughed. Like all of the men and women who were there, I realized the dust-mask was useless and the exposure would probably revisit me at a later date. I didn't care then, and in retrospectsame as the othersI'd do it again. But I am very thankful for those who advocated tirelessly for the 9/11 bill and its reauthorization.

If you were a first responder and aren't enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), I am pleading with you to do it now. It doesn't matter if you think your department or agency will cover any of your medical expenses. This is not just about addressing our wellness; it's also about ensuring your family is provided for in case the badness revisits us.

I recommend visiting the 9/11 health watch Website for updated information on 9/11-related health issues, as well as how to enroll in the WTCHP (www.911healthwatch.org). Please remember that tomorrow isn't guaranteed for anyone, so enroll as soon as possible. The program can't help us unless we enroll, and prolonging our lives is better than the alternative.

In addition to the WTCHP, all 9/11 first responders should be aware of the recent progress made with the Public Safety Officers' Benefit (PSOB) program. This program is administered by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, and provides death and/or disability benefits to public safety officers and their families (www.psob.gov). The program currently issues a one-time payment of $339,881 to the beneficiaries of an officer killed in the line of duty on October 15, 2015, or after. Surviving family members can apply online for this benefit, as well as for children's educational assistance, by visiting the PSOB website which has been recently upgraded.

Unfortunately, the PSOB had not previously recognized 9/11 cancer fatalities as line-of-duty related. Due to a lack of medical research, the PSOB officials held the position that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate a nexus between the 9/11 toxin exposure and the fatal ailments. Thanks to the research efforts of Dr. John Howard from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the nexus threshold has finally been met. Howard, in his role as the lead medical expert in the WTCHP, was able to identify over 50 forms of cancer associated with 9/11 toxin exposure, and has identified latency periods to assist in proving the nexus. Through the unrelenting advocacy of the PSOB Working Group, comprised of the leaders from national law enforcement officer and fire-fighter groups, the PSOB has embraced Howard's research and the WTCHP's findings. The PSOB has recently issued a PSOB proposed rule for processing 9/11-related death claims. In the proposed rule, the PSOB effectively adopts the findings of the WTCHP, and establishes standards for certifying an injury/illness as line-of-duty related.

There are currently 140 9/11 death and disability claims on file with the PSOB. It appears the PSOB will finally begin what the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has done: honor 9/11 heroes who have succumbed to the fatal diseases associated with sustained toxin exposure. The names of 13 fallen 9/11 heroes have been inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Wall in Washington, DC. It is expected that the NLEOMF will be able to honor more 9/11 heroes during the next Candlelight Vigil on May 13, 2017.
SST, Inc., known for its gunfire detection and analysis, has announced that Cape Town, South Africa  rated among the world's most violent cities  has selected ShotSpotter as a pivotal part of its crime prevention efforts to reduce gun violence and murders. SST, Inc., the maker of ShotSpotter Flex, is working with Cape Town's Department of Safety and Security to deploy the technology over seven square kilometers (more than 4 square miles) in the high-crime areas of Manenberg and Hanover Park.

Cape Town, a port city and the capital of the Western Cape Province, has a high concentration of gang and gun violence in the seven square kilometers where ShotSpotter is being deployed.

"For the month of September, a total of 31 incidents were recorded, down from 128 in August and 211 in July, when ShotSpotter was activated. Although we would need to analyze shooting patterns over a longer period to accurately quantify the impact, the initial success of the technology has been stunning," said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith. "Not only does the technology empower the police force, but also seems to give the community renewed impetus in the fight against gangsterism. During the pilot project, we saw an increasing willingness from the community to come forward with tip-offs that resulted in arrests and the confiscation of drugs and weapons. Between October 2014 and mid-November when the pilot period ended, Metro Police made nearly 30 arrests in Hanover Park, including five for the possession of illegal firearms."

"We are proud to partner with Cape Town to help crack down on gun violence and make this beautiful city safer and more secure for its residents," said Ralph A. Clark, President and CEO of SST/ShotSpotter. "We know how to help solve the problems so many cities face. More than 90 municipalities use ShotSpotter to assist law enforcement with fast, accurate gunfire data that can save lives and rein in crime. Since most gunfire goes unreported to police, ShotSpotter becomes an incredibly valuable tool to alert police to all gunfire incidents, which enables them to respond to the crime scene quickly, precisely and safely. In fact, fewer than one in five unlawful gunfire incidents are reported to police, and in the communities most impacted by gun violence, those residents are the least likely to call."

In addition to Cape Town, ShotSpotter has been in use in South Africa's Kruger National Park to help park authorities fight rhino poachers. With a very small proof of concept deployment, ShotSpotter helped detect two poaching events that led to the capture and prosecution of several poachers as well as the recovery of a baby rhino whose mother was poached.

For more information, visit http://www.ShotSpotter.com.
Atlantic City, NJ was host to a 70.3-mile Ironman Triathlon event on Sunday, September 18, culminating in a 13-mile run along the world famous boardwalk. The event occurred on the day after an improvised explosive device was detonated in nearby Seaside Park, NJ, and then another explosion in New York City. Mutualink helped provide communications for security and first responders to maintain safety and security during the Ironman Triathlon event.

Immediately following the attacks, New Jersey law enforcement officials recognized the vulnerability to race participants and spectators and set in motion an enhanced security plan that involved the cooperation of federal, state, and local first responders and the vast video surveillance resources of the Atlantic City casino industry. By late Saturday evening, the New Jersey State Police had established a collaborative network connection with all of its local community partners using Mutualink, the only nationwide communications platform that allows public and private entities to share their radio, telephone, and closed circuit television systems in a secure, invitation-only environment, according to the company.

Incident Command Personnel had instant access to thousands of surveillance cameras that covered a substantial percentage of the race route, giving first responders real-time information on suspicious individuals or packages. Additionally, the dissimilar radio systems commonly used by government and private sector partners were seamlessly patched together, allowing state troopers to have direct voice communications with private security officers throughout the race. Atlantic City Police and NJ State Troopers were also able to view live video and conduct simultaneous radio communications via handheld smartphones utilizing Mutualink technology.

The use of Mutualink interoperablility technology is not new to New Jersey first responders and their private community partners. Mutualink was successfully used to provide enhanced security during the Miss America Contest and Boardwalk Parade the previous week. Law enforcement officials cited several instances in which Mutualink was used to intercept persons of interest and suspicious packages during the crowded event, thanks to the keen observational skills of security officers within the casino industry, who instantly shared their resources with the Incident Command Post.

For more information, visit http://mutualink.net/.
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Republicans insist that Hillary Clinton has given up on winning Ohio in November, but another new poll gives her the lead in the Buckeye State  and with room to expand her edge.

According to the poll released by Public Policy Polling (PPP), Clinton has taken the lead over Trump after trailing him by three points in their previous poll of the state.

In a contest including third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, Clinton leads Trump 44 to 43 percent. In a two-way race, the Democratic nominee leads 48 to 47.

This is the second poll in as many days that shows Clinton pulling ahead of Trump in Ohio. While its certainly a close race between the two nominees, PPP notes that Clinton has room to grow.

According to the release:

One thing that could help Clinton win Ohio in the end is that voters in the state say theyd rather have four more years of Barack Obama as President than Trump, 51/45. If Clinton can effectively convince voters she would be the continuation of the countrys current direction that they prefer to the sharp pivot a Trump presidency would represent, it could put her over the top here.

As Barack Obamas approval rating continues to soar and he prepares to criss-cross the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton in the final weeks of this campaign, the current president could help put her over the top in the Buckeye State where a majority of voters approve of his job performance.

The survey also indicates that the bombshell news that Trump may not have paid federal income taxes for decades is also hurting him in the state.

Just 35 percent of Ohio voters think Trump pays his fair share in federal taxes, while 47 percent think he doesnt. With the voters that think he doesnt pay enough, Clinton is winning by a 77 to 9 margin. Overall, sixty-one percent say the Republican nominee should release his tax returns.

With a month to go until Election Day, a state that has been favorable to Trump all along is starting to creep into the Clinton column.
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President Obama showed Republicans what true leadership is all about by reaching out to the Republican governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to offer federal aid and assistance as Hurricane Matthew barrels towards the Southeastern coast.

Here is a readout of the Presidents call with the Republican governors:

The President spoke by phone today separately with Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia, Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina, and Governor Rick Scott of Florida about preparations ahead of Hurricane Matthew. The President committed to providing necessary federal resources to help the states respond. Already today, the President declared an emergency in the State of Florida and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local response efforts. As the President made clear yesterday, residents of the impacted areas should follow the guidance of emergency response officials and should be taking this storm seriously. The President urged everyone in the potential path of the storm to monitor local radio or TV stations for updated emergency information. The President continues to receive regular updates on Hurricane Matthew and the coordinated efforts on response preparations with states and has directed his team to be as proactive as possible in preparing to respond to this storm.

The President views his offer of federal assistance as doing his duty as the president of every American, but one has to look no further than the Republican efforts to block disaster relief. The relief package for Hurricane Sandy turned into a partisan affair as congressional Republicans spent months delaying aid the victims of the super storm. Republicans have also played non-stop political games with aid for the people of Flint, Michigan, but it isnt just the disaster clean up that Republicans refuse to fund.

For years, now Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has been trying to take funding away from FEMA and disaster relief.

Obama would view his call with the Republican governors as part of his duties as president. Floridas Rick Scott has criticized Obamas leadership. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has pushed the Obama birther conspiracy. South Carolinas Gov. Nikki Haley bashed Obama during her State Of The Union response. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory sued the federal government over his discriminatory bathroom law.

All of these governors have smeared or criticized the President, but Obama is there for them and the people of their states when disaster strikes. That is what a real president does, and it is why the American people should be thankful that Barack Obama is not as petty or partisan as his Republican critics.
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At Donald Trumps town hall practice session in New Hampshire on Thursday, the Republican nominee devoted a large chunk of time at the top of the event touting junk poll numbers and complaining about his microphone at the first debate before even mentioning the pending hurricane off the coast of Florida.

While most reputable polling firms show the race clearly shifting in Hillary Clintons direction with a month until Election Day, Trump cited junk pollsters like Rasmussen and UPI, which have been heavily favorable to Trump, even during his worst moments in the campaign.

He also touted leads in states that shouldnt even be questionable, like South Carolina and Georgia  two places that werent even in question for Republicans until they nominated an unstable candidate like Trump.

In true Trump form, he also took shots at the press. The handpicked audience loved it.

Tonight feels like a Trump primary throwback. Lots of interrupting himself to call members of the press liars and tout the polls.  Sara Murray (@SaraMurray) September 27, 2016

The Republican nominee also complimented the microphone he was given during the town hall and once again complained that the reason he didnt do well in the first debate was because of a faulty device.

Though everybody in and out of the room knows the event was clearly practice for Sunday nights faceoff against Clinton, Trump denied it. He claimed he was just holding this town hall to be close to the American people.

This has nothing to do with Sunday, Trump insisted, not fooling anyone.

The event, though, was as choreographed as possible, even using a two-minute clock to help Trump with the timing of his answers.

I said forget debate prep!'  Trump, at his town hall-style event that comes w/a clock for his responses.  Sara Murray (@SaraMurray) October 7, 2016

Ultimately, Trumps public debate preparation turned out to be very similar to the Republican nominees normal campaign events  bragging about polls, attacking the media, and talking about he will make things beautiful as president.

The only thing that was missing was Trumps teleprompter and his podium.
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As Hurricane Matthew aims for the South Eastern coast of Florida, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps use of Hurricane Sandy to promote his birther attack on President Obama is an ominous warning about his leadership capabilities.

Its no secret that Donald Trump has been trolling President Obama for years. Trump magnified the birther conspiracy against the first black president, so it should come as no surprise that in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy devastated regions of our country and killed at least 147 people, Donald Trump was more focused on trolling Obama.

This is how Trump responded to Hurricane Sandy  by asking for Obamas records in a bet he never made good on (as usual):

Because of the hurricane, I am extending my 5 million dollar offer for President Obama's favorite charity until 12PM on Thursday.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2012

Heres the part where he was just warming up by saying the hurricane that killed people was good luck for Obama:

Hurricane is good luck for Obama again- he will buy the election by handing out billions of dollars.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2012

But wait, theres more. This tweet storm was captured by the Daily Mail, bonus points for Trump suggesting President Obama isnt a real president and the usual Trump brag during a crisis:

And for the cherry, we have Trump the climate denier candidate weighing in with his utter lack of knowledge:

Its extremely cold in NY & NJnot good for flood victims. Where is global warming?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2012

Hurricane Sandy was directly responsible for at least 147 deaths in the Northeast United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A person worthy of being president would have been donating money to help victims, not trolling a rather busy president. And not fake donating, like the time Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) told people that Donald Trump had donated to a Sandy fund when in fact he had not.

Our real President, Barack Obama, is handling Hurricane Matthew like a leader should. In fact, he ignored all of the slights dished out by Republican governors of the states at risk, and is standing with them ready to help. Can anyone imagine Donald Trump doing the same?

Perhaps we should count ourselves lucky that instead of exploiting Hurricane Matthew to his advantage, Donald Trump managed to send a generically worded civilized tweet about the storm:

Praying for everyone in Florida. Hoping the hurricane dissipates, but in any event, please be careful.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 6, 2016

But of course, its not over with yet and we all know Donald Trump didnt write that tweet. Someone is holding Trumps phone with a firm grip right now to keep him from sinking the entire GOP with him.

Read Donald Trumps Hurricane Sandy tweets again and ask yourself, is this the guy who should be in charge at times like this?
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Even goats in the far reaches of Mongolia are feeling the brunt of global warming  and that means your wardrobe will feel it, too, especially if you've a fondness for cashmere.

And that's a lot of us. The cashmere biz is booming, thanks to fast-fashion giants such as H&M and Uniqlo, which in recent years have democratized the "fabric of kings," offering sweaters for less than $100 and "challenging the concept of luxury," says John Jay, president of global creative for Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's parent company. "To bring the highest quality to the greatest number of people  that is the world we want to live in now, that is the zeitgeist."

And that's great, except it comes at a particularly perilous time for the industry. In Mongolia, home to some of the world's most highly prized goats, whose super-soft, lightweight undercoat is used to make cashmere, the situation is dire. Erratic weather and summer droughts mean less pastureland for goats to feed on, resulting in undernourished herds with coarser hair. And rising temperatures caused by global warming only will inhibit the growth of their winter coat further, according to a report released last year by Kering (a firm that owns various luxury brands, including Gucci and Balenciaga) and the nonprofit Business for Social Responsibility.

In an effort to create a more sustainable industry, and support the nomadic herding communities that rely on cashmere, some brands are trying to give back. Naadam, founded in 2012 and based in New York, buys cashmere directly from herders (not the middlemen who often hike up the price), and invest a portion of profits in Mongolian veterinary and insurance programs.

Pine Cashmere, which launched this year in Carlsbad, Calif., donates a portion of profits to a Mongolian dialysis center, which provides health care and education. "We spent time in the countryside, ate with the people, met some of the herders," says Stephen Tokarz, who founded Pine Cashmere with his wife, Zula, a Mongolian native. "There's a lot of love in their labor. Every season, wherever the goats go, the herders pack up their home and follow."

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For Zula Tokarz, who grew up in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, their efforts are a way to get back in touch with her roots. "My dad grew up in the middle of nowhere, chasing goats," she says. "He'd send us kids to the countryside, starting in first grade. I'm a city girl and was resistant at first. But the area is so beautiful  it's an experience I'll never forget."

A good cashmere sweater also is hard to forget. These days, they come at all prices.



Cashmere by the numbers

4-6  Number of ounces of underdown (the ultrafine fibers beneath a coarser outer coat) combed from one goat and used to make cashmere.

2  Number of goat undercoats needed to make a sweater.

14-19  Thickness of cashmere fibers in microns (about one quarter the thickness of human hair). Higher-priced cashmere can be finer and long  thus less likely to pill  compared to thicker, shorter cashmere fibers that wind up in less expensive garments.

Source: Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute

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Here are the full statements released by Mayo Clinic and by SEIU Minnesota Thursday, regarding negotiations. SEIU Minnesota put out a news release at midafternoon Thursday and we sought the response from Mayo.

You be the judge about which is more reasonable:

SEIU Minnesota news release

For Immediate Release

SEIU Expresses Anger and Disbelief as Mayo Now Says They Will Only Offer Food Service Jobs at Current Wages If Union Withdraws 'Conflict of Interest' Ethics Complaint

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Rochester, Minn  Reversing months of public comments, Mayo Clinic informed SEIU Healthcare Minnesota today that they are making employment at current wages with Morrison for union food service workers contingent on the Union dropping their grievance concerning a possible conflict of interest between a Mayo executive and a Morrison employee. Mayo has refused to even process the grievance that the Union filed in July, something they are required to do by contract. This refusal to follow the contract resulted in the Union filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge last week with the National Labor Relations Board.

Mayo has refused to publicly release any information about the role of Carol Gorman, the executive who was in charge of the department and who was one of the people at the center of the decision. The Union contends that there may have been a conflict of interest with Gorman due to a long standing personal relationship with a Morrison executive. After the decision was made, Gorman was moved out of her role. The Union fully intends to continue the push for transparency to find out the truth about this decision that is upending the lives of hundreds of Rochester families. While still refusing to release this important information publicly, Mayo is now demanding the union withdraw the ethics complaint without any further hearings in order for them to deliver on a basic promise they have been making publicly for months to the 700 food service workers they are planning to outsource.

SEIU President Jamie Gulley shared the anger and disbelief that Mayo is using hardworking food service workers, who bring over 5,000 years of experience to their jobs, as a negotiating chip to keep possible ethic violations under wraps.

"Just when we think that Mayo can't disrespect the hundreds of workers and their families any more than they already have, they pull this incredibly offensive stunt and go back on months of public statements. We are trying to move forward to find a solution that maintains the high standards for food service at Mayo, but it is hard to do when Mayo seems more concerned with covering their tracks and keeping information from the public that may shine a negative light on how this controversial decision came to be," said Gulley. "We are unwavering in our belief that Mayo can keep their word and be held to basic standards on both worker fairness and public transparency. Mayo can, and must, ensure food service workers and the patients are treated with the fairness and dignity they deserve. There is no reason this should come at the cost of Mayo sharing the truth about what happened in this process as they are required to do through our contract. The fact that they are pitting transparency versus promises they made to treat their dedicated workers fairly as an either/or is a shame and will not be tolerated."

From Mayo:

Mayo Clinic has been negotiating in good faith with the unions that together represent approximately one-third of Mayo's food service workers. We respect the bargaining process and will continue to negotiate in good faith. Last week, for the first time, SEIU indicated acceptance of the decision to transition food service operations to Morrison Healthcare and offered a proposal regarding the effects of the decision. This week, we gave our first non-comprehensive counter-proposal in response to the union's proposal last week, recognizing we are still early in the negotiation process.

Mayo Clinic did propose that the union drop their baseless grievance alleging a conflict of interest and a Mayo cover-up. In response to the SEIU grievance, Mayo Clinic thoroughly explored the allegations involving a Mayo administrator and found no evidence to substantiate the union's allegations. We have repeatedly asked SEIU to provide evidence of this claim, and the union has refused. If SEIU cannot provide evidence for making such a public and egregious claim against a private individual, this false allegation should not be part of our negotiating process.

Background:

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Mayo Clinic has dedicated more than two years to finding the best food service solution for our patients and their families. A team gathered input from stakeholders across the organization, reviewed options, requested proposals and evaluated potential vendors.

While we are proud of our hard working food service staff, our current food service model is not meeting the needs of our patients, and our patient satisfaction surveys frequently cite food service as an area for improvement. Mayo Clinic is not a culinary expert, and we need a best-in-class partner to refresh and reinvigorate our food offerings and help bring more clarity and accountability to our food service operations. Our patients and customers expect and deserve better.

While we believe that this decision is in the best interests of patients, we also knew it would be a disappointment to Mayo Clinic food service staff. They're part of our family, and they work hard every day to serve our patients and staff.

We've taken great care to ensure that job security is preserved throughout the transition. The transition package we have offered to employees is by all accounts one of the most generous in the food service industry. That package is available immediately to non-union employees, and through contract negotiations it can be available to the employees represented by unions as well.

Additional information about the need for this change and the benefits being offered food service employees can be found at foodservicefacts.mayoclinic.org.
Chelsea Clinton will be in Rochester on Monday to campaign for her mom and encourage supports to case their ballots early.

According to a new release, Clinton will "lay out the stakes of November's election and urge Minnesotans to vote early and support Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine's vision of an America that is stronger together, with an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top."

The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Bleu Duck Kitchen. Gov. Mark Dayton is also expected to attend. The public can RSVP for the event by going here .

Clinton was in Minneapolis on Thursday at a rally where she encouraged attendees to cast their ballots early in the presidential race. She visited Rochester in February to stump for her mom ahead of the state's presidential caucuses.

Recent polls show Clinton with an advantage over Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Real Clear Politics shows Clinton with a 4.5 percent lead on average in polls conducted between Sept. 25 and Oct. 6. Clinton and Trump are set to face off in their second debate at 8 p.m. on Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis. The debate will be in a town hall format and moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
Finding money you didn't know you had is like discovering lost treasure. For many people, there's treasure to be found in old, forgotten bank accounts.

Las Vegas resident Michael Catania was surprised when he plugged his name into MissingMoney.com, a website for unclaimed-property searches, and learned Massachusetts was holding money for him from a forgotten bank certificate of deposit.

The adjunct music professor had lived in four states during the past decade, including Massachusetts, where he had opened the $1,500 CD that long since had matured.

"I'm embarrassed that I forgot about an account with that much money," he says, "but I was moving around a lot, and the bank didn't know how to reach me."

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, a group of state officers, nearly $42 billion is sitting in state coffers, having come from financial institutions and other businesses with dormant accounts. In addition to old bank accounts, the property often is from unclaimed insurance policies, uncashed paychecks and abandoned safe-deposit boxes.

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Does some of that $42 billion belong to you? Here are some tips to find out:

 Check with the unclaimed-property divisions of states where you've lived or worked. MissingMoney.com includes links to the unclaimed-property divisions of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and some Canadian provinces. MissingMoney.com has its own nationwide search function, but as its database is sometimes incomplete, you may get more thorough results by also searching the individual states' sites.

 When searching, type in your current name and any others you've used in the past, such as a maiden name. The information is public, so you can search on behalf of friends and relatives as well. You also can search the names of deceased property holders, if you think you're an heir to an owner of unclaimed property. Online searches are free and take just a few minutes.

 If you find a match, contact that state's unclaimed-property agency to file a claim. You may be asked to provide a copy of your driver's license and Social Security card to prove your identity.

 If the unclaimed property is associated with an old address, you may need to provide proof of residence. This could come from a previous tax return, credit report or old utility bill.

 If you're an heir, you may need to provide a copy of the account owner's death certificate and proof the property should go to you. Check with the state for specific requirements.

By law, organizations that hold money for account holders must make reasonable efforts to contact the owners, says Toni Nuernberg, executive director of the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization, a trade group that helps holders of unclaimed property comply with state regulations.

"If the organization isn't able to get in touch with the owner after a certain period  generally three to five years, depending on the state's requirements  the property has to be turned over to the state," she says. That's where it usually remains "in perpetuity" until claimed.

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Catania says once he proved he was the owner of the bank CD, Massachusetts sent the money to his new address. "The check took about six weeks to arrive," he recalls. "It was a great feeling to know I'd reclaimed all that money after spending just a few minutes searching on the web."
AUSTIN  For much of his adult life, Brian Staska has devoted himself to ensuring that firefighters in the region get the best possible cutting-edge training in fighting fires and saving lives.

The training he has organized has benefited scores of fire departments across Southeast Minnesota and beyond. Consequently, Staska knows a lot of firefighters in the area, and when they learned that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer this year, they decided to organize a benefit for him and his family.

"It's kind of taken its own course, and it's getting to be a pretty big deal, because of the amount of people he knows," said Terry Peterson, an Austin firefighter, about the benefit

The benefit is set for 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Mower County Fairgrounds, 700 12th St. SW, Austin.

Staska has been firefighter for 30 years for the Austin, Brownsdale and Owatonna fire departments, an instructor for 25 years and fire training coordinator at Riverland Technical College for 17 years.

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Staska was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer that started in his appendix and spread through his stomach. Surgery has been ruled out as a way to eliminate the cancer, so Staska has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments every two weeks.

His work has involved organizing specialized training for firefighters in everything from hazmat training and firefighting to water rescues and auto extrication.

Staska is married to Wanda, who also works at Riverland in emergency medical services, and the couple has three daughters, Brooke, Kaitlyn and Maddie.

"Just like anything with the fire department and emergency services, we want to help. He has done so much for everybody else. We just thought we'd put this benefit on," Petersen said.
From the moment she picked up her first crayon as a child and began to draw, Karin Lindsay hasn't known a time when the compulsion to paint and draw wasn't a part of her.

It was a skill that she nurtured and honed at the then-Minneapolis School of Art. She put her husband through medical school as a fashion illustrator for the upscale women's department store Harold. She continued to paint even as she raised four children and later became a founding member of the Southeastern Minnesota Visual Artists organization in Rochester.

On Thursday, an exhibit of her work will open at 4:30 p.m. at the Charter House's Parkside Gallery. The 35-piece retrospective will cover the scope of her life's work, from a goldfinch drawing Lindsay did at age 10 to a bark-and-roots painting she did 70 years later after a tree crashed through her bedroom window at her sister's home in Brainerd.

The exhibit, appropriately enough, is called "Pointy Crayons to Sable Brushes." It takes its name from Lindsay's childhood habit of asking for fresh Crayola crayons when anybody was heading to the store.

"Mine were always worn and broken," Lindsey recalled. "I would always ask for pointy crayons, because I started drawing when I was young like all kids do. But then I kept on drawing."

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Exhibits of her work have been held before, but the idea for this one "just sort of evolved." At Charter House, a retirement community where she lives, Lindsey lives in an apartment surrounded by her paintings. When Charter began holding art exhibits several years ago, Lindsay was asked if she would be interested in hosting one of her own.

Her painting subjects run the gamut from portraits to landscapes and flowers, but generally Lindsey prefers subjects that she knows and has some familiarity with, as opposed to exotic creatures. First starting out in oils, Lindsey branched out into watercolors, mixed media, acrylic, pastels and pen and ink.

"There probably isn't very much that I haven't done over the years, because I can't not paint. It's really what I'm all about," Lindsay said.

The quote she uses to describe her own motivation is from the great American painter Georgia O'Keefe, whose influence can be seen in Lindsay's work, "To fill the space in a beautiful way."

An estimated 3,000 invitations have been sent out by Charter House for the exhibit's opening. Food and wine will be served, and the John Paulson Trio will perform.

A high point for Lindsay will be the fact that her granddaughter, who lives in Whitefish, Mont., and attends Carleton College, will be attending with her parents. Her show coincides with Parents Weekend at Carleton.

"It's really an exciting thing for me, because while I'm not really in the market to sell my work at age 80, it's really nice to have the recognition," Lindsay said.
Christopher Blake Dezutter, a former chemistry professor at the University of Minnesota Rochester who was fired after a 2015 conviction for possession of child pornography, has picked up more of the same charges.

Dezutter, 49, was arrested Sept. 12, almost a year to the day after he was sentenced on the first set of child pornography charges.

Conditions of his Sept. 16, 2015, sentencing included not owning or operating any device that allowed for Internet capability, as well as not accessing or using the Internet unless approved in advance by his probation officer.

On Sept. 12, 2016, Dezutter's probation officer conducted a probation search of his apartment in the 300 block of Sixth Avenue Southeast. A preliminary examination of an iPad revealed several images that the officer believed to be child pornography, the complaint says, and Dezutter was arrested.

Dezutter told authorities he'd bought the device a couple of weeks earlier, and allegedly admitted he'd downloaded photos that were of minors, but believed they were lawful images. He also admitted visiting a pornographic website, court documents say, but claimed it was for adult porn.

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A forensic analysis of the iPad showed Dezutter had been using an application that permits the user to access the Internet anonymously. According to the analyst's report, the device contained 143 images, including many images of adult pornography and what would be considered child "erotica": sexualized images of children not meeting the definition of illegal pornographic work.

Additionally, there were at least four images of what appear to be minors involved in pornographic work, the complaint says.

Dezutter was charged with four new counts of felony possession of child pornography in his first appearance in the most recent case Thursday in Olmsted County District Court. He remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 unconditional bond and is due back in court Oct. 18.

In the original case, Dezutter pleaded guilty in May 2015 to four counts of felony possession of pornographic work. In exchange, six identical counts and one count of felony dissemination of pornographic work were dismissed.

He was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to serve 120 days in jail, with credit for 10 days served. Terms of his probation included registering as a predatory offender and successful completion of sex offender education/treatment or other programming and 100 hours of community work service.

Dezutter and six other men were arrested in February 2015 after a months-long investigation by national and local authorities. All of the cases were brought to the attention of local authorities by investigators with the national Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which saw the activity during its own undercover investigations.
WINONA  The man believed to have pulled the trigger in a fatal Winona shooting has pleaded guilty in the case.

Lonnie Lavonte Keymone Hudson, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday in Winona County District Court to second-degree murder with intent and two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, all felonies. In exchange for the plea, an additional count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, as well as one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm are all expected to be dismissed at his Nov. 17 sentencing.

Court documents indicate he'll receive a sentence of 360 months in prison, per the plea agreement.

One of Hudson's co-defendants, Reginald Alexander Burnett Jr., 19, pleaded guilty in July to aiding and abetting in one count of second-degree intentional murder and two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

In exchange, additional aid and abet charges of first-degree intentional murder and first-degree aggravated robbery were dismissed, as was a third charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

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Sentencing in Burnett's case is set for Oct. 20, a year and two days after the murder.

The woman who drove the men to and from the apartment where Adam Tylor Fort was killed has been sentenced to the time she already served and put on probation for five years.

Kayla Mae Clay, of Galesville, Wis., pleaded guilty Feb. 12  her 19th birthday  to one felony count of aiding an offender-accomplice after the fact. In exchange for the plea, three identical counts were dismissed.

As part of the plea, Clay agreed to testify against the other defendants.

Hudson and Burnett are accused of pushing their way into an apartment the afternoon of Oct. 18 after arranging to buy a quarter-pound of marijuana. Once inside, they pistol-whipped the man who had brought them there, then shot Fort, 31. He died at the scene.

Clay reportedly drove Hudson, Burnett and a third man, described as the middleman in the drug deal, to Fort's apartment. The man said he'd go in alone because Fort was nervous after being robbed a year earlier.

The suspects went with him, though, prompting a coded response when asked who was at the door. The man said he gave a "code not to open the door," but Fort's girlfriend did, anyway.

The middleman said Hudson pulled the gun as soon as they entered the apartment, so the man tried to "go at him." He apologized to Fort and his girlfriend, court documents say, then Hudson hit him with the gun and shot Fort. After firing that shot, Hudson held the gun to the girlfriend's head, pointed it at the middleman and continued to demand money and drugs.
The second man accused of taking part in a February armed robbery has been sentenced in the case.

Adrick Deonte Mims, 20, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court to one count of simple robbery; in exchange, additional counts of aid and abet first-degree aggravated robbery and first-degree burglary were dismissed.

He was immediately sentenced to 36 months in prison on that case, as well as a 39-month term for aiding an offender in a June 16 drive-by shooting and 28 months for a simple robbery conviction from a June 15 incident. Mims was given credit for 110 days already served.

His co-defendant in the February case, Yasin Abdiasis Sufi, also 20, was sentenced in July to 36 months in prison, with credit for 134 days served. He took an identical plea deal.

Their charges stemmed from an incident Feb. 8 at a Rochester apartment complex, where a man entering one of the buildings was followed to his apartment by Sufi and Mims.

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Sufi brandished a handgun; when the victim saw the gun, he tried to leave, but was chased down by Mims and brought back to the apartment. Three other tenants were in the apartment, as well as a neighbor.

Sufi put the gun to the heads of two of the victims, at one point ejecting the magazine to prove the weapon was real. Sufi and Mims gathered the victims on one side of the room and held them at gunpoint, court documents say, and gathered electronics and money.

Mims put the property into a backpack and left the apartment, but Sufi remained, continuing to hold the group at gunpoint. According to the reports, Sufi told the men he was robbing them because he was going to jail for an assault and needed the money. He threatened to kill them if they reported the incident to police, then left.

The victims were able to provide detailed descriptions of Sufi and Mims; they also heard Sufi's name during a phone call he received during the robbery. Social media photographs and video were used to verify their identities; Sufi was wearing a watch similar to one taken in the incident.

The assault case Sufi was referring to during the robbery was dismissed at his sentencing in the robbery.

Mims was released on his own recognizance in May but rearrested in June after allegedly taking part in a drive-by shooting and a robbery. Mims was charged in drive-by with two felony counts of aiding an offender and a gross misdemeanor count of possessing a pistol without a permit.
Three Rochester School Board seats are up for grabs in November. Thursday night's candidate forum covered topics like discipline disparities and the achievement gap.

With a discipline disparity between students of color and white students highlighted last fall by intervention by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the role of race in education, academic achievement gaps and recruitment of teachers of color continue to be important topics in the district.

Five of the six school board candidates for those seats attended Thursday's candidate forum at First Unitarian Universalist Church. The forum was co-sponsored by Rochester NAACP, Rochester Muslim Community Circle, Rochester for Justice and First Unitarian Universality Church.

The candidates included:

Seat 1: Richard Hinds (i) and Don Barlow.

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Seat 3: Deborah Seelinger (i) and Bobbie Gallas (did not attend).

Seat 7: Ahmed Ragab and Mark Schleusner.

QUESTION: Thirty-six percent of Rochester Public Schools' students are of a minority race or ethnicity, and for many of these students, there is an education gap in math, reading and science. How will you make sure our district's performance improves?

Seelinger: Discussion of the achievement gap comes and goes. It's a complicated problem and it's bigger than us. Pointed to initiatives in the Twin Cities to tackle the gap, research, programming and resources that could be applied here. "I am committed to solving this problem, but I think we need to reach out and have more resources, more people involved to talk about the actual issues and how we can solve them."

Barlow: The gap is "embarrassing" and it has been for a number of years. "It is my belief that this is nothing new and I'm tired of hearing the same old excuse, it's a multi-piece puzzle, it's bigger than any one of us... I'm of the mindset that now's the time, and I have the will and the support of you, the community, to adequately reduce this embarrassing education gap."

Hinds: It's both "embarrassing and avoidable," he said. The first thing we can do is to maintain very high standards. For example, our science scores slipped, when we made changes in our graduation requirements to allow fewer science classes.

Ragab: We can learn from other districts around the country. There are so many success stories that we can learn from. Agreed with Hinds, "our standards have failed us to an extent, and if we continue to relax our standards, our kids are going to continue struggle." We have to all be involved in this.

Schleusner: We are a community and we need to raise our children together. We need to look at outside districts who have had success in reducing the gap. "We need to come together as a community to do this together, these are our children, they're not mine, they're not yours  we're all here to raise all of our children to the highest standards possible."

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QUESTION: In September 2015, RPS entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to eliminate discipline disparities between students of color and white students. What progress has been made on this? "Do you think the actions carried out so far, and proposals for future actions will be sufficient to address this disparity? Why or why not?"

Seelinger: We have PBIS, which is the behavior system encouraged in schools. We also have student school board, are looking at discipline in schools and getting feedback, and the student handbook has been looked at. The other piece is professional development. The school board approved a day off for students and teachers to have that professional development  the other piece is curriculum, and I hope we'll be looking at that in the next year.

Barlow: The district is only doing what it is required to do  the district is not on its own good will undertaking these efforts because they voluntarily have seen the light. Barlow said he saw the data in 2014, and presented it to the superintendent and was advised that he was working on it. Unknown to me and the community, that there was an investigation occurring. When there are issues occurring in the school we ought to know that. "I would make sure that you're informed about what is going on and what is happening to our students."

Hinds: We've had 60 years since Brown v. Board of Education. The opportunity for education that the state has undertaken and provided must be available to all on equal terms. "If we say, 'if you just work really hard, you too will have the same education as other students,' that is not equal terms."

Ragab: Not everyone is acknowledging that this is indeed a problem. They've hired equity specialists and formed focus groups, "but from my perspective, I haven't seen anything solid yet that shows me that there is an actual plan that will help us move forward. We want transparency. We want accountability. And we have to see the results."

Schleusner: Attended one of the community input sessions. "At the end of the day it shouldn't take something like the OCR report to point out deficiencies within our district." The district and the community need to have conversations "on a regular basis, instead of on a mandated schedule by a government organization."

QUESTION: For three decades RPS has had initiatives in place for hiring teachers of color and yet the percentage of teachers of color has remained static. How important is racial composition of the district's staff? What steps can be taken to further encourage the hiring and retention of teachers of color?

Seelinger: "I think a lot of it might come from promoting teaching as a great profession and a great thing to go into, a field that's respected, I think that's really missing for a lot of students, not only those of color." Research shows that all students benefit from a diverse teaching staff.

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Barlow: Called it an "unfounded truth" that we can't find qualified teachers of color who will teach in this district, though it isn't clear why. That was reflected at a school board meeting he attended this week where the district honored new administrators, and all present were white. "

Hinds: I think the representation, to make sure we have a diverse staff that represents the student body is an important goal. The biggest thing we can do is mentoring students, create connections with the community. It's harder and harder for our students to visualize themselves as students.

Ragab: "If we want to bring in teachers of color we can do it. If we want to find people who are qualified for the job, we can do it. We may choose not to, but we can do it."

Schleusner: It's fairly well known that students learn best when they're learning from people like themselves. I know the district has tried to go out and recruit in areas far from Rochester, but I think sometimes you have to look at new approaches that aren't traditional. Schleusner suggested finding students of color in the district and encouraging them, while in school, to pursue education and become a teacher in the district.
Olmsted County's second Community Health Needs Assessment was released Monday with one surprising result  increasing concerns about adolescents behind the wheel have vaulted injury prevention to the top priority.

Injury prevention was not previously targeted among Olmsted County's top five health priorities when Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center and Olmsted County Public Health initiated the first study of local health trends in 2013.

The new report says 20 percent of teenagers who live in Olmsted County do not wear seat belts while driving or riding in a car. Additionally, half of teenagers read texts while driving and 43 percent admit to sending texts or emails while behind the wheel.

Those startling figures prompted the health priorities to be ranked, with injury prevention assuming the top spot. Immunizations are second, followed by mental health, obesity and financial stress.

"New to the list of health priorities this year was injury prevention," said Barb Sorenson, communications director at OMC. "This is defined as distracted driving by teens  texting and emailing while driving  and teens not wearing a seat belt while driving or riding in the front seat of the car.

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"The results that we see in this study are not unexpected. As a group, we did not prioritize injury prevention in the top five three years ago, but we knew there was a growing concern."

Stacy Sundve, health assessment and planning division director at Olmsted County Public Health, says that merging diabetes with obesity from the 2013 priorities created the open slot for injury prevention. It's already been identified as a national concern across the country and Minnesota has beefed up its laws on distracted driving.

Cellphones are banned for teen drivers during their permit and provisional license stages, and it's illegal for drivers under 18 to use a cell phone, except to call 911. That law includes hands-free driving.

It's illegal for drivers of any age to text, email or surf the web on a wireless device when the vehicle is considered part of traffic, which includes being stopped at a traffic signal. The first fine for distracted driving is $50, but the second offense was increase to $225 in 2015 as an increased deterrent.

Minnesota Department of Public Safety estimates that at least 25 percent of crashes are caused by distracted driving, leading to at least 70 deaths. However, DPS warns that those estimates may be low "due to law enforcement's challenge in determining distraction as a crash factor."

The Mayo Clinic Community Engagement team contends that distracted driving is a preventable health hazard, which could make it easier to address than, say, mental health. Sundve said each issue comes with its own challenges and "we as a nation are learning together."

"Our community knows health improvement take time and do not occur overnight," Sundve said. "An increase in health knowledge leads to a change in health behavior which eventually will change health status. The community of Olmsted County is committed to long-term changes and outcomes. One of the first steps is to have valid and reliable local data."

Mayo and OMC both plan to dive into the data to develop internal actions plans within the next few months. Olmsted County Public Health says it will now shift its focus to the Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, while holding community conversations in early 2017.

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"The assessment continues to affirm that the health status of Olmsted County is very positive and compares favorably to our state and nation on many health indicators," wrote John Noseworthy, Kathryn Lombardo and Pete Giesen, who lead the three local health organizations, as part of the 112-page assessment. "It also shows more could be done in certain areas."
An ethics complaint about a Mayo Clinic administrator is now a key issue in the negotiations about the transition to new food service vendor.

Mayo announced in June that it will change its food service contractor from Sodexo to Morrison Healthcare, which will affect about 700 food service workers in southern Minnesota. Those workers would become employees of Morrison, and the clinic is in contract talks with the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota union, which represents about 350 Rochester workers.

Mayo says it's making the change to improve the quality and efficiency of its food service at all its facilities. The union says it's about saving money.

SEIU has complained that the change will hurt employee wages and benefits and has questioned the behind-the-scene process of how it came about. The union alleges that the clinic's decision was "primarily influenced" by the food services administrator, who the union alleges "has a conflict of interest due to a long-standing personal relationship with a Morrison executive."

In a news release Thursday, the union said Mayo has informed them that it will make "employment at current wages with Morrison for union food service workers contingent on the union dropping" the grievance regarding the Mayo administrator. It says Mayo has refused to process the grievance the union filed in July, and as a result, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge last week with the National Labor Relations Board.

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Mayo dismissed those claims in a statement Thursday, saying the decision regarding food service "was beyond the control of any single person" and was the result of a two-year process that involved "input from stakeholders across the organization," including patients and visitors.

The clinic also says that SEIU, "for the first time," indicated acceptance of the clinic's decision to contract with Morrison and "offered a proposal regarding the effects of the decision." The clinic then filed its "first non-comprehensive counter-proposal," which triggered the union statement Thursday.

The clinic "did propose that the union drop their baseless grievance alleging a conflict of interest and a Mayo cover-up," the clinic's statement says. "In response to the SEIU grievance, Mayo Clinic thoroughly explored the allegations involving a Mayo administrator and found no evidence to substantiate the union's allegations. We have repeatedly asked SEIU to provide evidence of this claim, and the union has refused. If SEIU cannot provide evidence for making such a public and egregious claim against a private individual, this false allegation should not be part of our negotiating process."

The clinic statement also says, "We've taken great care to ensure that job security is preserved throughout the transition. The transition package we have offered to employees is by all accounts one of the most generous in the food service industry. That package is available immediately to non-union employees, and through contract negotiations it can be available to the employees represented by unions as well."

SEIU President Jamie Gulley said, in the union news release, "Just when we think that Mayo can't disrespect the hundreds of workers and their families any more than they already have, they pull this incredibly offensive stunt and go back on months of public statements. We are trying to move forward to find a solution that maintains the high standards for food service at Mayo, but it is hard to do when Mayo seems more concerned with covering their tracks and keeping information from the public that may shine a negative light on how this controversial decision came to be."
MINNEAPOLIS  A resident group in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood in Minneapolis has unanimously rejected a request from HBO to allow three days of filming for the controversial show "Mogadishu, Minnesota."

The vote came Wednesday night after a confrontational hearing with residents where HBO representatives argued their show will be a family drama presenting Somali-American life.

The meeting was arranged by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, which owns the Cedars building on South Sixth Street, where HBO had hoped to begin filming next week.

The housing authority agreed to the filming  on condition that residents approve, and that locations fees benefit the residents.

This does not mean the end of "Mogadishu, Minnesota," though. The three days of filming was to be external shots of the building, and shooting will continue at about a dozen other locations around the metro.

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In response to the vote, the producers of the HBO pilot issued a statement: "We always want to work in concert with the community. We will respect the wishes of the Cedars' tenants and we will not be filming there."

At Wednesday's meeting, elderly residents complained about the potential disruption of filming, and younger people said the show will stereotype Minnesota Somalis as extremists.

Student Burhan Mohamud argued the show will not be the family drama HBO claims.

"And anybody who knows HBO, no one is watching that to talk about a Somali family. They don't care about that," he said. "They care about what is happening in Minneapolis. They care about all these headlines."

HBO representative Miriam Hussein read a statement at the meeting from the project's writer and director, the Somali-Canadian musician K'naan.

"When national and international discourse is driven by a perceived Islamic threat, 'Mogadishu, Minnesota' intends to look behind the generalizations and assumptions to reveal the truth about what daily life is like for Muslim Americans across a range of religiosities," Hussein read.

The project is backed by Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges. The pilot episode is expected to cost $5.5 million, the bulk of which will be spent in the city.

If the pilot leads to 10-episode series, each show will cost about $5 million.
Amid all the ugly, anti-immigration talk this election season, at least one category of immigrants should be sacrosanct: those who helped the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan at great risk to their lives.

Yet all too often we've failed these Iraqis and Afghans, exposing them and their families to brutal retaliation.

Read what's happening to the family of Wisam Albaiedhani, who worked as a translator for U.S. forces, and you'll see what I mean.

Wisam and his brother Khalid were students in Baghdad when the United States invaded Iraq. Khalid also worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army; both brothers accompanied their units on risky patrols.

When U.S. troops withdrew, the Shiite Jaish Mahdi militia shot Khalid in the arm and face for the "crime" of working with Americans (he still has muscle damage). They sent Wisam a bullet wrapped in a message that read: "This is for your heart."

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The good news: Both brothers made it to the United States via special immigrant visas issued to Iraqis who worked for U.S. forces or government officials. (However, this program set up so many bureaucratic hurdles  endless paperwork, several years of interviews and security checks  that many desperate Iraqi and Afghan interpreters got left behind.)

But, as Wisam told me by phone from Worcester, Mass., where he works in a credit union, the brothers feared for their family members in Baghdad. Jaish Mahdi militiamen have long memories and are still seeking revenge.

So the brothers applied for visas to bring their father and younger siblings, as provided by U.S. law. The family went through five years  yes, five years  of paperwork, interviews and multiple security checks.

In mid-August, the family was finally informed by U.S. Embassy officials that all were cleared to emigrate to the United States, on a flight departing Aug. 31. Wisam's 65-year-old dad Mohammed sold the family house, car, and possessions and packed up to fly to Jordan and on to America.

Then on Aug. 30, Mohammed received a call from the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, saying, "Sorry, your tickets have been cancelled and you have to stay in place until further notice." There was a new security check. No explanation of what this meant, no way to respond, no date of travel. Maybe weeks, maybe never.

Wisam's family is now marooned in Baghdad, living with relatives. "This doesn't make sense to us," Wisam says. "We are good citizens, did everything legally. My brother and I have applied for citizenship. We are very loyal to this country. We are hard workers.

"The only thing we ask for is to help our family. They lost everything. We have no clue where this will end."

Wisam's family is caught up in a Kafka-esque process that has trapped many other Iraqis and Afghans who worked for Americans. One major reason the process drags on for years: there are too few interviewers available to handle the caseload of applicants.

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There is a backlog of 51,000 Iraqi applicants, including family members, awaiting their first interview; there are only 15 staffers available at any one time to conduct these interviews. So the backlog barely budges.

Even after that hurdle is crossed, the applicants face years-long, multiple security checks (yes, there already is "extreme vetting"). These checks are opaque and there is no appeal, so similar names or false information can derail legitimate applicants. As Wisam has learned, there is no way to find out what has gone wrong.

This particularly upsets Peter Farley, who volunteered to fight in Iraq because he felt it was his patriotic duty, and wound up training Iraqi military police; Wisam was his interpreter and accompanied him on patrols. "Absolutely, Wisam and his brother risked their lives every day," says Farley, who now works for Veterans Affairs in Rhode Island. "We don't really recognize the sacrifices Iraqis who supported us have made."

Of Wisam's family, Farley asks: "Where do they go? His service has put a mark on them. To throw them back into the middle of Baghdad  they are going to be exposed. I am scared for them. And nobody knows why they are being held up."

I can't help thinking of what must be going through the minds of Wisam's father and 9-year-old sister, who are now living in limbo. "It breaks my heart for people to look the other way," Farley told me.

Indeed, it's long past time for politicians who claim to be patriots to focus on the visa process for Iraqis and Afghans who helped us. It's long past time to finally provide adequate resources and coherence to the program.

And  this is a must  we must extend and expand the special immigrant visa program for Afghans, which expires this month. "This is important for our own security," says Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., who is co-sponsoring legislation to do just that. "If we're going to ask people to help us in the future, they won't do it if we haven't met our commitments. It's an American value to uphold our moral obligation."

We also have a moral obligation to rescue Wisam's family from limbo. They've sacrificed more than most of us for our country. This is the least we can do in return.

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Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A man convicted of raping a minor has been transferred out of the Department of Corrections and into the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials for deportation, according to a release from the governors office.

Juan J. Torres was convicted in 2013 for third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony. He was charged with four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony; two counts of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct as a third-degree felony; and two counts of felonious restraint as a third-degree felony. He would be eligible for parole next year and would have been released back onto the streets of Guam in three years, the release stated.

A citizen of Peru, Torres was identified by U.S. immigrations officials as having committed a deportable crime and was flagged with a detainer. Torres told DOC officers that he wanted to volunteer for deportation and didnt intend to return to Guam.

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Gov. Eddie Calvo commuted Torres sentence, which allowed for his transfer from DOC to U.S. immigrations. Once he is deported, according to the release, not only will Torres be unable to hurt anyone else on Guam, his name will be added to a federal list so he will not be able to return to the U.S.

The Office of the Attorney General of Guam assisted with informing the victims family.

That now makes 11 criminals who are no longer living at DOC at taxpayers' expense (to the tune of $119 a day per person, or more than $42,300 annually per person), according to the release.

Previous removals, commutations

The governor also commuted the sentence of Ari Vek, aka Anton Feekay, a Federated States of Micronesia citizen from the state of Chuuk. He was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct as a first-degree felony, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony. Vek was found guilty of third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony and sentenced to five years in prison.

The ninth commuted inmate was Tait Metek, who served six years and seven months in prison after being convicted of second-degree robbery as a second-degree felony, which had a special allegation of possession and use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. According to the magistrate report, he struck an 82-year-old woman who was tending to her store at Chamorro Village, and stole a pouch containing $300. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was eligible for parole in 2018.

Linus Takao Olter, a citizen of the FSM from the state of Kosrae, was sentenced to two years for attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony. He was scheduled to be released next year.

Alfredo Felijar Nicolas Jr., a Philippine national, was convicted in 2012 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct as a first-degree felony. Nicolas was sentenced to seven years in prison with two years suspended.

Dwight Luther, an FSM national, was charged with family violence, criminal sexual conduct and child abuse. He was convicted in 2012 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct as a first-degree felony and was sentenced to five years in prison. He served time in prison previously for vehicular homicide and was released in 2011.

The first five commuted convicts all hail from the FSM, and include Denek Eugichi, a convicted robber and repeat offender; Ninte Hauk, who was convicted of aggravated assault, though he was initially charged with the attempted murder of a young boy; convicted armed robber John-John Wia; convicted burglar Jason Lasurus; and Reid Albert, a convicted molester, burglar and drunk driver.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that some West Africans in Minnesota are facing the prospect of returning home. The subject is the federal Temporary Protected Status program.

The news has roiled the Twin Cities West African community: A program that allowed natives of the countries hardest hit by the 2014 Ebola epidemic to stay and work here is ending next spring.

The idea was that a limited number of West Africans could come to the United States, or remain here, to escape the ebola epidemic. When the epidemic was over, they were to return to Africa. The program is, as its name states, temporary.

In September, U.S. officials granted a final six-month reprieve to about 5,900 visitors from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea here on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and urged them to make departure plans before the program expires in May. Community leaders had lobbied for the status and successfully pushed for extensions, arguing that the economies and health-care systems of these countries are still damaged even as infections have decreased.

But temporary residence in the U.S. wasnt granted because West African economies are a mess, it was granted because of the imminent danger posed by the ebola epidemic.

Local West Africans said a majority of visitors will probably stick around and slip into the immigration shadows.

So most will ignore an order to leave and instead will remain in Minnesotapermanently, apparentlyin the proverbial shadows. Somehow I dont think the shadows are too dark these days.

Right now, these people are an asset, said Abdullah Kiatamba of the nonprofit African Immigrant Services. They are not going to leave. Theyre going to stay in the shadows, become a burden and become a target.

Why will they be a burden if they are in the shadows? Can you get welfare and free health care in the shadows? And more generally, what sense does it make to have a temporary residency program if most of those who participate will thumb their noses at the law and remain here illegally when their temporary status runs out?

Some allege that the Temporary Protected Status program is largely a fraud that, contrary to its stated purpose, allows many immigrants to remain in the U.S. indefinitely:

Critics of TPS often cite multiple extensions given to natives of other countries  stretching more than a decade in some cases  to argue that the program is not really temporary.

***

Local advocates are unsure why the administration decided to end the program quickly compared with some Central American nations. Nationally, pundits speculated thats because the number of West African recipients is fairly small, and that immigrant community does not have the political clout of U.S.-based Latinos.

TPS is a relatively small part of the U.S. immigration system, but it displays the same dishonesty and disregard for the interests of Americans that characterize our immigration system as a whole, under the present administration.
Huma Abedin, Hillary Clintons increasingly notorious confidante and top aide, urged Bill Clinton to reject an invitation to speak before the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC). In an email, she wrote: u really want to consider sending him into that crowd? (Emphasis added)

From her use of the phrase that crowd, you might think that AIPAC is a radical organization that advocates ethnic cleansing or some other draconian solution to the problems of the Middle East. In reality, of course, AIPAC, is as mainstream a Jewish political organization as exists.

That crowd consists of American Jews of all political persuasions. That crowd routinely gives standing ovations to speakers from the Obama administrations, whose prescriptions for the Middle East, formulated by President Obama and Clinton herself, hardly tilt against the Palestinians.

To refer to attendees of AIPAC meeting as that crowd confirms the depth of Abedins anti-Israeli bias.

That bias has long been suspected. Abedin was raised in Saudi Arabia by a family with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. As Richard Pollock reminds us, her parents ran the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs.

Mr. Abdeins benefactor was Abdullah Omar Naseef, secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL). The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Rabita Trust, a subsidiary of the MWL, as a terrorist entity. Osama bin Laden credited MWL as a funding source after the 9/11 attacks.

When Abedin was at the State Department, I tended not to view her potential to influence U.S. policy towards Israel with as much alarm as some did. Given what Ive since learned about Abedins extraordinary relationship with Hillary Clinton and what we now know about her contempt for AIPAC, I tend to view her potential to influence U.S. policy towards Israel in a Clinton administration with panic.

I wonder, though, how much influencing would be required of Abedin. Hillary Clinton is no friend of Israel, in my view.

Arguably, U.S. policy has never been more hostile towards Israel than during President Obamas first term, when Clinton was Secretary of State. And Ive never been able to forget Hillarys get together with Suha Arafat in the late 1990s. It included a shopping trip, a kiss, and the refusal of Clinton to counter Mrs. Arafats claim, made in Hillarys presence, that Israel was using poison gas to pollute the West Banks water and land.

Hillary kissing Suha Arafat, who accused Israel of genocide in her presence, and chewing out Bibi Netanyahu for 45 minutes would be cause for concern even if Huma Abedin had never met Mrs. Clinton. But with Abedin at her side, the concern must be all the more pronounced.
The outrages continue to mount as we approach the end of the Obama administration. President Obama adds degradation to insult and injury. In a very recent example, Adam Kredo reports that former Hezbollah co-conspirator is slated to speak at a conference in Washington, D.C.

He is Azmi Bishara. Bishara was an Israeli Arab serving in Israels parliament when he fled Israel in 2007. Bishara fled Israel to set up shop in Qutar after the government alleged that he helped plot terrorist operations with Hezbollah during the 2006 conflict.

Declining to face his accusers, Bishara argued his case in a Los Angeles Times column. I take that as a guilty plea, but, as I understand it, Israels case against Bishara appears substantial and remains open. Haaretz provides a summary here.

Kredo reports:

The State Department declined to tell the Free Beacon if it granted a visa to Bishara. It remains unclear how he has gotten official permission to be in the United States, as Qatar, his current place of residence, is not part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. A State Department official told the Free Beacon that visas are granted on a case-by-case basis, but remain confidential. We are unable to provide information on individual cases because visa records are confidential under U.S. law, an official told the Free Beacon. Visa applications are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with U.S. law. Additionally, Section 222 (f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits us from disclosing details from individual visa cases, the official said.

Whats going on here? In Middlemarch, Edward Causabon searched in vain for the key to all mythologies, but we have long since discovered the key to Obamas mythologies:

One foreign policy insider familiar with the situation questioned how Bishara obtained entry to the United States. The Obama administrations tilt toward Iran is so extreme that now a visa has been given to a Hezbollah terrorist so that he can visit Washington D.C., the source said. The administrations love affair with Iran is a disgrace to our country and a danger to our security.

I think we have a bingo.
Juju maestro, King Sunny Ade, has made public a list of Nigerian artistes he would love to collaborate with, and top on the list is Wizkid.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, KSA said he would love to work with several talents in todays Nigerian music industry.

I am very proud of the current crop of Nigerian musicians and Wizkid is one of the Nigerian artistes that I will love to collaborate with, he said.

He said he would also love to work with 9ice, Darey Art Alade and many more.

I will also love to record some tracks with 9ice, Darey Art Alade, among many others. My doors are always open to any artiste that loves to collaborate with me as long as the song is right, he said.

Tracing the evolution of the Nigerian music industry from his generation to date, he noted, Today, some parents tell me, Sunny this boy wants to do music can you help us put him through? This never happened during our own time. I am well versed in live music performance; whenever you attend my shows you will realise that I have a full band and I do not rely on computers.

On his staying power, KSA whose song was featured in a 1983 Hollywood film titled, Breathless, said, I thank God for His mercies and for making me what I am today.

With all sincerity, I will say I have it all, as there is nothing I have not achieved to date. I am always inspired to do more when I see people savoring and dancing to my music. Good music is always my stimulant. I am sometimes stressed out after performing at a show but my love for my job energizes me, he said.
The New York Film Academy on Friday advised young Nigerians interested in film production to posses the required talent and professionalism to stay relevant globally.

The Academys Director of Performing Arts Admissions, Blake Babbitt, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that he was in Nigeria to attract young Nigerians to the opportunities in his academy.

Babbitt said that the academy, which was founded by the producer of The Hunt for the Red October, Jerry Sherlock, in 1922, was ready to train many young Nigerians in different stages of film production.

The New York Film Academy is expanding its curriculum as well as its global presence with five established campuses and many destination programs worldwide.

The founder of the Academy, Jerry Sherlock, designed the academy that was not only affordable, but more importantly, was founded on the principle of learning by doing.

We are also in Nigeria to find and encourage more amazing young Nigerians interested in the different processes of film production.

We strongly believe that these young Nigerians should be adequately equipped with storytelling, writing, producing, directing and editing skills, he said.

The director said that his organisation was prepared to admit young Nigerians into long and short term conservatory programmes and workshops that would professionally position them in film making.

Babbitt said that young Nigerians would have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of visual and performing arts programs that include film making, acting for film and 3D animation and visual effects.

He also said that the students would be exposed to broadcast journalism, cinematography, digital editing, documentary filmmaking, game design, graphic design, illustration, musical theatre, photography, producing and screenwriting.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday fined the Benin and Port Harcourt electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) N6.2million for not complying with rulings on complaints filed by customers.

The commission imposed N5.01 million on Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) for not complying with the decision following complaints filed by Ikponmwosa Barry, S. C. Ogoke, and F. E. Ubuane.

The decisions were made by the Forum Office, which comprises five members of the public and is responsible for unresolved customer complaints.

Messrs. Barry and Ubuane had filed complaints before the Benin Forum Office alleging fraudulent estimation of their electricity bills to which the Forum Office ruled in their favour, while Mr. Ogoke in his complaint contested the amount of fixed charge he was to pay the utility company.

However, Benin DISCO ignored the directives of the Forum Office in those instances and the matter was subsequently referred to the Commission which issued Directives 153 upon completion of enforcement proceedings.

The commission said besides the fine, the distribution companies shall still comply with the forum decisions.

In a related development, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) was sanctioned for its failure to comply with the Port Harcourt Forum Office decision in a complaint filed by one Toba Aremu Olugbemi.

The complainant had on May 11, complained about the availability of meter to which there was no response from PHED. The company was fined N10, 000.
Travelex, a global foreign exchange dealer, on Friday resumed sale of dollars directly to travellers at N356 to a dollar.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the firms office inside the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos terminal was besieged by hundreds of travellers.

Some Bureaux de change operators within the terminal were also selling from N470 to N472 to a dollar to travellers.

Travelex, which recently got the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sell dollar, however, gave stringent conditions for the transaction.

The requirements include presentation of valid international passport, visa to destination, Biometric Verification Number, BVN, card, airline boarding pass and signed copy of transaction.

The firm also directed that cash would only be handed over to the traveller at the boarding gate after security and immigration checks.

According to the firm, these conditions are to ensure that dollar is sold to only genuine travellers, and discourage racketeering.

Consequently, some of the travellers were unable to buy dollars from Travelex because they could not produce their BVN cards.

One of them, Uche Ikediashi, told NAN that he was hearing about the card for the first time.

Yesterday I bought dollars from a BDC at N470. Today I was told that Travelex is selling at N356; that is why I came here, but they said I needed to bring my BVN card and I dont have it, he said.

Another traveller, Samson Uduak, commended the CBN for the initiative which, he said, had created easy access to forex for travellers.

Mr. Uduak said: Buying directly from Travelex is very good but the CBN needs to sensitise Nigerians to go and obtain their BVN cards from their banks.

(NAN)
Millions of Americans evacuated coastal areas of three states in the South-Eastern U.S. ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew on Friday.

Hurricane Mathew is a powerful storm that ravaged the Caribbean earlier in the week, killing at least 283 in Haiti.

The governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have ordered people living near the coast to leave their homes and made the flow of traffic on some major highways outbound only to facilitate the exodus.

This storm will kill you, Florida Governor Rick Scott said at a press conference.

He called on residents along the Florida peninsulas east coast to evacuate and advised the residents not to take chances saying get out now.

As of 6 a.m., Matthew had weakened slightly to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 195 kph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said.

It was moving north-west at a speed of 22 kph, with the centre of the storm located 80 km South-East of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The eye of the storm had earlier passed over the western end of Grand Bahama Island after crossing over Free-port on a path toward the east coast of Florida.

The hurricane centre said that Matthew could cause potentially disastrous impacts in the south-eastern U.S.

Scott ordered millions of people along the east coast of the state to evacuate, and warned that the hurricane was likely to cause power outages that could last for days.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said that about 4,500 National Guard troops had been mobilised by their governors to support evacuation efforts and help people find shelter, food and water.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest warned that the storm was likely to be the largest and most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. in a decade.

U.S. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for much of Florida and all of South Carolina, freeing up federal resources to respond to the storm.

Matthew had killed at least 283 people in the worst affected area of Haiti, Department Sud, alone, Radio Television Caraibes reported citing local officials.

Other reports have put the death toll at well over 300.

Areas in Department Sud, in the south-west of the country, have been cut off from the rest of the country.

Houses have been destroyed, trees knocked over and streets flooded.

The situation is catastrophic, interim Haitian President Jocelerme Privert said.

More than 21,000 Haitians sought emergency shelter after the storm hit the impoverished Caribbean nation on Tuesday with winds of 230 kph.

An estimated 350,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance.

The U.S. sent military helicopters and other aid to Haiti, and UN agencies were working to provide shelter, water and food, the UN said.

In the U.S., Georgia governor Nathan Deal ordered the mandatory evacuation of six coastal counties.

Elise Williams, a 28-year-old kindergarten teacher, was among those who chose to leave their homes in coastal Georgia along with her husband and 11-month-old daughter.

The family said they had made the decision to leave because they didnt want to risk being stuck in a dangerous storm with a baby or losing power for days.

They left their home in Savannah at 6 a.m.to avoid the rush of traffic on the drive to family members inland.

A surprising number, some just think they can ride it out while some think it wont be as bad as predicted, of people however were choosing to stay in the historic Georgia city, Williams said.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that the affected area of Florida includes Kennedy Space Centre, which closed on Thursday as employees worked to clear any debris that could cause damage to infrastructure.

DisneyWorld in Orlando was to be closed through Friday, only the fourth time in its history that the amusement park has closed its gates, and the airport at Fort Lauderdale was also closed.

(dpa/NAN)
The Philippines on Friday said it had suspended its joint patrols with the U.S. in the South China Sea.

It also shunned aid from the U.S., saying it could live without the financial aid from the country.

Defence Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, said that the U.S. and Philippines had so far conducted two naval exercises in the disputed seas, but that there would be no more planned.

When President Rodrigo Duterte said there will be no more patrols, we already informed our counterparts that there are no more patrols in the meantime.

We suspended it first, they know it already, he said.

Lorenzana reiterated that the military could live without financial aid from the U.S. and would instead approach lawmakers to ask for a bigger budget to fill in the shortfall.

Our Congress is giving us money now.

I believe they will be giving us more if we have no source of funds, he said.

The defence chief said that there was truth to the assessment by the countrys foreign secretary that the U.S. had failed us, especially in efforts to boost the militarys capabilities.

We have been allies since 1951; all we got from that time until 1992 are all hand-me-downs, no new equipment.

The Americans failed to beef up our capabilities to be at par with what is happening in the region, he said.

President Duterte had recently warned that he may break up with the U.S. as he sought to realign the countrys foreign policy and end dependence on America.

He had also said that he wanted over 100 U.S. troops deployed in the southern region of Mindanao to leave, and that he would scrap the countries 28 annual joint military exercises.

On Thursday, Duterte had said that the Philippines would not beg for assistance from countries that had criticised his administrations war against illegal drugs.

In the war, at least 1, 523 people have been killed by the police operations since July 1.

I do not expect human rights groups, I do not expect (U.S. President Barack) Obama, I do not expect the EU to understand me.

If you think its high time for you to withdraw assistance, go ahead.

We will not beg for it, Duterte said.

(dpa/NAN)
The Kaduna State Government has issued an order declaring the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, an unlawful society.

The government said the action was taken to preserve peace and security in the state, and to ensure that all persons and organisations are guided by lawful conduct and with due allegiance to the Nigerian state and its constitution.

The Kaduna state executive council approved the making of this order following deliberations at its meeting of Thursday, 06 October 2016, Samuel Aruwan, a spokesperson to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, said in a statement on Friday.

Fridays announcement occurs several months after over 300 members of the Shiite group were killed by soldiers who accused them of blocking a road and plotting to kill the army chief. The IMN denied the charges and said it was mainly targeted in an extra-judicial killing.

To arrive at its decision, the Kaduna government said it relied on the findings of a panel it established to investigate the armys attack on the Shiite group.

The group had refused to appear before the panel saying it would not do so unless its leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and other members detained by the government are released.

Mr. El-Zakzaky has been held by the government since the December clash and without any court order.

Read the full statement by the Kaduna government on the ban below:

Kaduna declares Islamic Movement in Nigeria unlawful society

The Kaduna State Government has issued an Order declaring the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) an unlawful society. This action is taken in the exercise of the governments duty to preserve peace and security in the state, and to ensure that all persons and organisations are guided by lawful conduct and with due allegiance to the Nigerian state and its Constitution. The Kaduna state executive council approved the making of this order following deliberations at its meeting of Thursday, 06 October 2016.

The Order, which has been signed by the Governor, draws on powers vested by the Constitution and the laws of Kaduna State. Section 45 (1) of the Constitution categorically vests in the Governor the powers to take such measures and actions as are necessary for the promotion and protection of:

public safety, public order, public morality or public health; or the rights and freedom of all persons in Kaduna State.

Section 97A of the Penal Code (Cap 110, Laws of Kaduna State, 1991) empowers the Governor to declare as an unlawful society any organisation whose activities are dangerous to the security and good governance of the state.

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Zaria Clashes of 12-14 December 2015 found that the IMN is not a registered organisation, that it has a paramilitary wing and that its members do not recognise or respect the laws of the country and the duly constituted authorities that have the responsibility to secure and administer the country.

The Declaration Order noted that since the regrettable events in Zaria which resulted in the loss of 347 lives, the IMN has overtly continued with unlawful processions, obstruction of public highways, unauthorized occupation of public facilities including schools without regard to the rights of other citizens and the public peace and order of the State.

The Order noted that these acts, if allowed to go unchecked will constitute danger to the peace, tranquillity, harmonious coexistence and good governance of Kaduna State.

The Declaration Order, which comes into effect on Friday, 7 October 2016, provides for the prosecution of persons that may be in breach of its provisions under the laws of Kaduna State:

Whoever manages, or is a member of the said Society under any appellation or mutation with the propensity of causing the breakdown of law and order, or operates in a manner dangerous to the good governance of the State shall, from commencement of this order, be prosecuted in accordance with the Laws of Kaduna State.

Sections 97A and 97B of the Penal Code prescribe a penalty of imprisonment for seven years or a fine or both for any person convicted for belonging to an unlawful society.

The Kaduna State Government reaffirms its vigorous commitment to upholding the right of citizens to practice the religion of their choice. These are rights fully protected by Sections 38 and 40 of the Constitution.

Such rights to freedom of thought and worship must however be exercised in ways that do not infringe on the rights of others, and should not subject other people to distress and inconvenience.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has filed a motion to withdraw the charge of criminal conspiracy against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

An affidavit in support of the motion was filed before the High Court of Federal Capital Territory on Thursday by a litigation officer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Odubu Loveme.

Messrs. Saraki and Ekweremadu, as well as a former Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, and a former Deputy clerk, Ben Efeturi, were first arraigned before Justice Yusuf Halilu on June 10, 2016 via charge No. CR/219/16.

They all pleaded not guilty on July 27, 2016.

In the motion filed Thursday, Mr. Loveme said counsel to the Federal Government on the matter, Aliyu Umar, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, on September 30 in the office of the Director of Public Prosecution told him that he had studied the case diary and  had decided to amend the charge in the manner stated on the face of the motion paper.

Mr. Loveme added that he has, consequently, filed an amended charge.

That I depose to this affidavit in good faith believing same to be correct to the best of my knowledge and information and in accordance with the Oaths Act Cap 01 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, he said.

Based on the amended charge, only Messrs. Maikasuwa and Efeturi would face prosecution.

Count 1 of the charge against the two civil servants, is that of Criminal Conspiracy punishable under section 97 (1) Penal Code Act ( Northern States) Federation Provisions Act, 1960, Cap 345, laws of the Federation 1990 as amended.

It read that  Salisu Maikasuwa and Benedict Efeturi, on or about the 9th day of June 2015 at the National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court agreed to do an illegal act, to wit to make the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended without the authority of the 7th Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria which act was committed by yourselves and that you thereby committed the offence of criminal conspiracy.

The two officials are accused of fraudulently amending the 2015 Senate Standing Orders without the authority of the 7th Senate  with intention that the Senators elect of the 8th Senate would believe that the said Senate Standing Orders 2015 ( as amended) was made by the authority of the 7th Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria.

They are also accused of forging a document punishable under section 366 of the Penal Code Act ( Northern States) Federal Provisions Act, 1960, Cap 345, Laws of the Federation 1990 ( as amended).

The Nigerian Government also accused them of giving false information with the intention to mislead the public.

The Court had on September 28 adjourned the matter to Friday, October 7 for commencement of hearing.

Mr. Umar, in his written address in support of the motion to amend the charge on Thursday, stated that the sole issue for determination is  whether the Court can permit the amendment of the charge in terms of the amended charge.

He said the Court has the powers to permit the amendment based on the provisions of Section 216 (1) of the Administration o Criminal Justice Act.

The Section stated that  A Court may permit an alteration or an amendment to a charge or framing of a new charge at any time before judgment is pronounced.

He also quoted Section 216 (3) which states that  Where a Defendant is arraigned for trial on an imperfect or erroneous charge ,the Court may permit or direct the framing of a new charge, or any amendment to, or the alteration of the original charge.
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has blamed failure of the immediate past government to provide equipment and supplies to the military for the spread of Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East

He made the statement on Thursday at the graduation of Cadets of 63rd Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna.

Mr. Osinbajo, who was the special guest at the graduation, said that the failure resulted to the death of over 20, 000 people with over two million displaced and more than 75, 000 children orphaned.

He expressed regret that several billions of dollars meant for procurement of arms and ammunition to prosecute the war were cornered by few persons.

This has left the region with one of the worst humanitarian crisis, he added.

The VP commended the military for defeating the terrorists and for the sacrifices it made to defend the nation.

He said that the fastest way for Nigeria to get out of the current recession was for militant groups in the Niger Delta to stop bombing oil pipelines.

He said that the activities of the militants had adversely affected crude oil output which had dropped from 2.2 million barrels per day to below 1 million barrels per day.

Mr. Osinbajo said the destruction had also affected the revenue accruing to the country by 60 per cent.

While comparing the 2008/2009 recession in United States with Nigerias, the VP said Nigerias recession was caused by massive corruption, lack of saving and destruction of oil pipelines.



The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 133 cadets, including 17 female cadets, were for the first time awarded first degree certificates in various discipline at the occasion.

One hundred and twenty seven (127) cadets were awarded masters degree while 14 cadets bagged doctorate degree.

Three prominent Nigerians, Grace Alele-Willaims, former Vice Chancellor, University of Benin; Paul Tarfa, ex-military administrator of Old Oyo State and business mongul, Innocent Chukwuma, were conferred with honorary doctorate degrees.

(NAN)
A Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, has sentenced a former banker with Wema Bank, Ademola Oni, to 12 years imprisonment for conspiracy and money laundering.

The conviction of Mr. Oni followed his arraignment alongside six other officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as well as 15 others from different commercial banks by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Those arraigned were accused of conspiracy and money laundering.

The bankers allegedly conspired to steal and conceal mutilated and defaced naira notes amounting to N8 billion, from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Mr. Oni, who was the fourth defendant in the case, entered into a plea bargain agreement with the EFCC.

At the hearing on Thursday, the prosecuting counsel, Adeniyi Adebisi, presented the perfected agreement and an amended charge to the court against him.

Mr. Ademola pleaded guilty to five of the 24 amended count charges brought against him.

In his ruling, Justice Joyce Abudmalik convicted Mr. Oni, and sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment for conspiracy and money laundering.

The court also ruled that he forfeits all his properties and cash in various banks as proceeds of the crime.

Mr. Abudmalik convicted the accused and sentenced him to two and half years on each of the five counts accordingly.

The sentences are to run concurrently
The Nigerian Government on Friday withdrew all allegations of forgery against a former Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, and his deputy, Benedict Efeturi.

Messrs. Maikasuwa and Efeturi were charged alongside Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, for allegedly falsifying the Senate standing rule to help the Senate President and his deputy emerge leaders of the National Assembly in June 2015.

They were arraigned on June 10 this year and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On Thursday, the Federal Government dropped charges against Messrs. Saraki and Ekweremadu and filed an amended charge before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, against Messrs. Maikasuwa and Efeturi.

A litigation officer with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Odubu Loveme, told PREMIUM TIMES that government had made fresh applications to amend the charges, so that only Messrs Maikasuwa and Efeturi would continue to face trial.

On Friday, however, counsel to the Federal Government on the matter, Aliyu Umar, said his client was withdrawing the entire charge at the Abuja High Court to allow a similar matter at the Federal High Court proceed.

More details later
The National Chairman of the governing All progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, has formally replied a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, who accused him of fraud and dictatorship in his handling of the partys affairs.

Mr. Oyegun said Mr. Tinubus public letter contained reckless falsehood.

The national chairman issued a statement on Friday in which he attempted to respond to all the allegations raised by the former Lagos State governor.

Read below the full statement by Mr. Odigie-Oyegun:

THE FACTS  2016 ONDO STATE APC GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION PRIMARIES

The outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2016 Ondo State Governorship Primary Election has led to disagreements among some Party stakeholders in the state and at the national level. The ripples from the controversy over the election have unfortunately dragged our great party on to the front pages of newspapers for the wrong reasons.

Recently, the media office of Bola Tinubu falsely and recklessly accused me of corruption, rigging the outcome of the 2016 Ondo State APC governorship election primaries and overruling the Partys National Working Committee (NWC) vote on the 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report.

In view of the misinformation and false reports that have been fed to the media and that have pervaded the public space, there is need to set the records straight. Below are factual responses to the salient points and allegations made by the media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement.

ALLEGATION

The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement alleged that I overruled the NWCs vote of six against five in favour of cancelling the primary election results and conducting another primary.

FACT

According to the minutes of the 18th emergency meeting of the APC NWC held from Monday 19th September 2016 to Thursday 22nd September, 2016 at the Partys National Secretariat in Abuja, there was absolutely no meeting which I chaired that voted in the manner alleged. Clearly, the report on which the media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted was a figment of someones wild imagination.

On Thursday 22nd September, 2016 being the final day for submission of candidate by Political Parties, the NWC discussed the possibility of voting having finished deliberation on the2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report because members in support of cancelling the Primary results were still strident in their position.

A member of the NWC however drew the attention of the meeting to its previous decision in which the report of the Primary Election Committee was adopted while the Appeal Committee was set aside. The implication of this decision he reasoned was that a decision to submit the name of the winner of the primary election was already taken unless the NWC will now wish to reconsider its earlier decision.

I agreed with this and ruled that the previous decision of the NWC be upheld.

ALLEGATION

The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement also alleged that the names of over 150 valid delegates were excised to make room for an equal number of impostors.

FACT

The Ondo State approved delegates list was compiled in strict compliance with the Partys constitution. Only qualified delegates were included in the list. Moreso, none of the aspirants or the Appeal Committee has submitted to NWC a list of delegates who were not qualified to be included in the delegates list but were listed as delegates or presumed qualified delegates who were not included in the delegates list used for the Primary.

ALLEGATION

The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement alleged that I used a prayer interlude which I initiated to secretly excuse myself from the NWC meeting to submit the name of Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the candidate of the Party.

FACT

The allegation is high fiction and an insult to the intelligence and sensibility of the respected NWC members present at the meeting. We do not and have never engaged in prayer interludes/sessions outside the usual opening and closing prayers. The prayer that is being referred to must be the closing prayer for the meeting.

ALLEGATION

The media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its statement accused me of bribery and corruption over the outcome of the Ondo State APC governorship election primaries.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 statement issued by media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu read.

FACT

This reckless and baseless corruption allegation levelled against me is unfortunate and an insult to my person and my hard-earned reputation which I have strongly maintained. Nobody has the kind of money that can buy my conscience or make me do injury to an innocent man. In all the primaries conducted under my watch as National Chairman, I have strived to ensure a free, fair, transparent and credible process. The 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election was not an exception. There must be internal democracy in the Party and our constitution must be respected by all.

APPEAL COMMITTEE REPORT

The Partys NWC decision to reject the 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report was taken on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 in executive session after careful and exhaustive deliberations. The minutes and rejection were confirmed by the NWC on Thursday, September 22, 2016.

The NWC in its four-point resolution rejected the Appeal Committees recommendation on the grounds that the report was fundamentally and fatally flawed. The NWC observed that the Appeal Committee contradicted itself when it admitted in its report, In making the above recommendations one is not unmindful of the fact that there may have been substantial compliance in the conduct of the exercise. but still proceeded to recommend the nullification of the Primary election.

The NWC in its four-point resolution faulted the failure of the Appeal Committee to invite the National Secretariat as the custodian, to authenticate or otherwise the source of the disputed delegates list. Also, the Appeal Committee did not invite the Chairman or members of the Ondo State Governorship Primary Election Committee to clarify issues relating to the allegation of manipulation of the accreditation process. The Appeal Committee rather relied totally on unsubstantiated evidence(s) in the petitions it received to recommend the nullification of the Primary. This is against the principle of natural justice and fair hearing.

The NWC equally observed a serious contradiction in the Appeal Committees report in respect of the number of the accredited delegates. Whereas the Primary Election Committees report indicated that 2,774 delegates were accredited, the Appeal Committees report erroneously recorded it as those who voted in the election, thereby acting under the false impression that there was over voting in the exercise. The actual total number of votes cast was 2,754, as clearly recorded in the Primary Election Committees report.

The issue of fresh primaries did not arise as NWC had already rejected the Appeal Committees report in view of the stated flaws and upheld the election. In any case, any fresh primary was already time barred. By the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all governorship primaries and issues related ended on September 19, 2016.

Also, voting on the issue became unnecessary and never took place in view of the NWCs rejection of the Appeal Committees report.

The foregoing are facts backed by the minutes approved by all NWC members that attended the meetings held in respect of 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report.

It needs to be stated categorically that the NWC is confident that the Chairman of the Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Committee, Abubakar Badaru, Executive Governor of Jigawa State conducted a credible and exemplary exercise. We indeed commend the Governor and his team for their transparency and the free and fair manner the primaries was conducted.

Going forward, I appeal very passionately to leaders and members of the Party at all levels to explore internal dispute resolution mechanisms in addressing their perceived grievances instead of resorting to the media to vent their spleen.

There are enormous challenges in delivering on the Partys 2015 election promises to Nigerians. On the immediate horizon is the task of winning the governorship election in Ondo state. We cannot afford to be distracted by the present contentions.

I wish to assure Party members that despite the media attention that has been generated by the disagreements in the aftermath of the 2016 Ondo State Governorship Primary Election, the Party is focused on the task ahead and we urge our Party leaders and teeming supporters to also remain calm. The Party has already commenced wide consultations with stakeholders with a view to resolving the political differences that still exist. Hurling brickbats cannot help the cause of the party in any way.

The APC national leadership remains united and solidly committed to the task of winning the Ondo state governorship election to save the people of the state from the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
An 18-year-old secondary school student, Sadiq Adegbite, who allegedly stole N200 from a fellow student and used charm to harass other colleagues, was on Thursday brought before an Ogudu Magistrates Court in Lagos.

The accused, a student of Junior High School, Ogudu, Lagos, is facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and disorderly conduct.

According to the prosecutor, Lucky Ihiehie, the complainant, a 15- year -old student of the school, came to Ogudu Police Station to report the incident.

He said while the complainant was returning from school at Emmanuel Street, Ogudu, he was stopped by the accused and some of his friends now at large.

They were harassing him and searching his pockets for money and they even beat him up.

They dispossessed him of his N200 transport fare which was the only money he had in his pocket.

A senior student came to the complainants rescue and the accused brought out some charms from his pocket to scare them before the police came, he said.

Mr. Ihiehie told the court that the accuseds friends ran away on sighting the police.

The offences contravened Sections 166 (d) , 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Mr. Adegbite, however, pleaded not guilty, while his counsel, Olusegun Aghahowa, pleaded with the court to grant him bail on liberal terms considering his age.

In her ruling, the Magistrate, O. Sule-Amzat, admitted the accused to a bail of N10,000 with two sureties, one of who must be a blood relation of the accused with an evidence of gainful employment.

The case was adjourned to November 1 for trial.

(NAN)
Nigerian troops arrested no fewer than 12 fleeing suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Maiduguri on Thursday, Sani Usman, the acting Director, Army Public Relations, has said.

Mr. Usman in a statement on Friday in Abuja said all the arrested suspects had been handed over to Joint Investigation Committee for further action.

He added that 18 cows were recovered from them and handed over to the Cattle Market Committee for screening and identification and subsequent hand over to their rightful owners.

Mr. Usman said while some of the suspected terrorists were arrested at cattle market, others were apprehended at check points.

He named them as Abur Modu Magaji, Ibrahim Chari, Bulama Magaji, Nde Ngude, Mustafa Fannami, Abubakakar Modu, Mohammed Merai and Abur Mustafa.

Others are Bakura Agwala, Jatau Yaga, Umar Modu, Abacha Umar and Umar Babagana.

(NAN)
Two suspected female suicide bombers were on Thursday shot dead by soldiers as they attempted to attack a military base in Gwoza, Borno state, the army said in a statement Thursday.

Gwoza, the rockiest part of Borno State is about 135km south-east of Maiduguri, the states capital, and about 60km away from Bama, where the Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima had spent 7 days supervising reconstruction work recently.

The attack came barely 24 hours after the highest military hierarchy at the headquarters of the Operation Lafiya Dole counterinsurgency outfit in Maiduguri said liberated communities are safe for returnee IDPs.

A statement issued by the Acting Director Army Public Relation, Sani Usman, the Nigerian troops in Gwoza on Thursday thwarted what could have been a catastrophe.

Mr. Usman said the troops killed the two women, out of three advancing female suicide bombers at about half past noon.

As they opened fire, the suicide bombers improvised explosive devices went off in deafening explosion at a safe distance that only caused a soldier some minor injuries from flying shrapnel.

The suicide bombers, who came through Pulka axis, were sighted by members of vigilante from a distance and alerted the troops about the impending catastrophe, said the army spokesman.

Mr. Usman further said that the very observant vigilante also noted that the women looked suspicious; walking awkwardly with bulging hijab and distinct from other female farmers.

When the suicide bombers noticed that they were being observed, they hurriedly ran towards troops aiming to detonate it on them. The troops neutralized 2 of the female suicide bombers, while the other ran back into the bush but was pursued. Unfortunately, a soldier sustained injuries due to the impact of the explosion. The wounded soldier is currently receiving treatment at a military medical center and he is in stable condition, the statement said.
Reactions have continued to trail Fridays withdrawal by the federal government of criminal charges against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, and two former senior bureaucrats of the National Assembly.

Former Vice President and a chieftain of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar, described the development as a wise and timely move; while Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, said it was proper, necessary and timely.

On his part, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Timi Frank, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for choosing to act in national interest instead of allowing political vendetta in the alleged forgery case.

All three chieftains of the APC spoke via statements issued by their spokespersons, shortly after the curtains fell on the suit at the Federal High Court in Jabi, Abuja.

The Kwara Governor, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Abdulwahab Oba, said the withdrawal provides a vista of opportunity for national cohesion and a platform for synergy between the executive and the legislative arms of government.

Mr. Ahmed, who succeeded Mr. Saraki in 2011 as governor, is a long time ally of the senate president.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Frank said the Senate leadership seems to have been distracted as a result of the politically motivated case by some interests that were not comfortable with the emergence of Messrs. Saraki and Ekweremadu as Senate leaders.

He however, went ahead to advise the federal government to go ahead and fully withdraw even the case against the Senate President ongoing at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Mr. Frank urged the APC to use the opportunity provided by the withdrawal to settle all the differences and come out again as a strong and united governing party in the interest of Nigerians and the nation.

In the statement by the Media Office of the former Vice President, Mr. Abubakar said the move by the Federal Government was an indication that President Buhari values the much-needed cordial relationship between the Executive and Legislature and would take steps to ensure that it remains harmonious in the interest of the nation, and the advancement of Nigerian democracy.

The former vice president said it is only in a situation of harmonious, cordial and corporative relationship between the three arms of government that real progress and development can take place in the polity.

Arguing that all hands need to be mobilized to tackle the current economic difficulties in the country, and get the nation out of economic recession, the former Vice President stated that both the Executive and Legislature need to come together to find solutions to the current economic recession by eliminating all issues that promote strife and mistrust.

Mr. Abubakar said political crisis does little or no good in a democracy.

He advised all individuals and political forces in the country that still have issues to come together and resolve their differences for the good of the nation and the APC.

He also urged the National Assembly to reciprocate the spirit behind the resolution of the impasse by stepping up its collaborative efforts with the Executive in fixing the nations broken economy and infrastructure.
Three pilgrims from Sokoto State lost their lives during this years Hajj in Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim Umar, Director-General of the states Pilgrims Welfare Agency, has said.

Mr. Umar told the News Agency of Nigeria in Sokoto on Friday that the victims died in Mecca after successfully completing the 2016 pilgrimage.

He said two of the deceased were female pilgrims from Goronyo and Bodinga Local Government Areas while the male victim was from Sokoto North Local Government Area.

The deceased pilgrims have been buried according to Islamic rites in Mecca and their families were duly informed about their demise, Mr. Umar said.

He added that another male pilgrim from the state, who was hospitalised in Mecca, would be airlifted back home after his recovery from the illness.

The director-general said the last batch of 532 pilgrims arrived on Friday, bringing to 4746 the total number of pilgrims from the state successfully transported back home.

(NAN)
The Kaduna State Executive Council has approved the draft estimates of the 2017 Budget. At its meeting on Thursday, October 6, the Council further directed that the N189.9 billion draft budget be submitted for public debate at a special town hall meeting, whose recommendations would be factored in before the amended draft budget is presented to the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

The Budget Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 8, following which the governor, Nasir El-Rufai, will present the draft estimates to the state legislature on October 12. In a first for the state, the draft 2016 budget estimates were discussed at a town hall meeting prior to presentation to the states lawmakers. That public consultation led to the inclusion of additional capital projects worth more than N2 billion into the budget, including the Birnin-Gwari dam. The Kaduna State Government has decided to institutionalise citizen participation in the budget process.

At the Town Hall meeting, the basic thrust of the proposed N189.9 billion draft 2017 budget will be explained to provide context and elicit inputs. The draft 2017 budget recognises that these tough times, with severe revenue challenges and economic contraction, require that government spending on key social sectors should expand. In addition, the determined efforts to attract private investments compel a sustained focus on improving infrastructure and the ease of doing business.

Tagged as the Budget of Jobs, Social Justice, and Prosperity, the draft 2017 budget gives priority allocation to capital projects. In line with the manifesto commitments made during the elections, Education, Health, Infrastructure (water, roads and transport), Agriculture and Rural Development are the sectors with the biggest capital allocations.

Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, the Commissioner of Budget and Planning, said that the executive has a responsibility for early preparation and submission of the budget to give the legislature ample time to deliberate on it.

The draft 2016 budget was submitted to the lawmakers on December 1, 2015 and was signed into law on December 22, 2015.

The State Executive Council looks forward to the passage of the 2017 budget to enable the state government to begin implementing the 2017 appropriation for the people of Kaduna by January 1, 2017.

The draft 2017 Budget is based on Zero-Based-Budgeting principles tailored towards actualising the objectives of the Kaduna State Development Plan 2016-2020.
The joint military force deployed to the Niger Delta, Operation Delta Safe, on Friday said it foiled a kidnap attempt, freed two victims and arrested five suspected militants in multiple operations.

A statement signed by Thomas Otuji, deputy spokesman of the joint force, indicated that five suspected militants were arrested in the past 10 days.

Several illegal refineries were also destroyed during the operations, the statement said.

According to the statement, troops stationed in Delta State foiled an attempt by kidnappers on receipt of distress calls by members of the public.

Troops immediately swung into action and rescued the victims, the statement said. One Mrs Vanessa Ilepi and Mrs Tega Okoro were kidnapped at Gun Point along Amukpe in Warri. One of suspects was arrested while 2 escaped.

The military said effort was ongoing to arrest the escaped suspected kidnappers.

It said that troops of Sector 1 Operation DELTA SAFE, in a separate operation, raided and destroyed illegal refineries sites at Opumami and Okogho creeks in Warri South and North Local Government Areas of Delta.

According to the statement, the operators of the illegal refinery abandoned the site and fled on sighting the patrol boats.

Items found and destroyed at the site include 16 cooking pots, two Cotonou boats filled with crude oil and four wooden shelters, it added.

Also one Carton of 70 mm ammunition, three pumping machines, two deep freezers, one generator and a 55 Horse Power Speed boat were found and destroyed at the site.

According to the statement, troops on Tuesday, discovered and destroyed illegal bunkering sites along Bille creek, Bonny Local Government Area in Rivers during a routine patrol.

The military also said that in a bid to flush out militants from Bakassi and Akpabuyo LGAs in Cross River, Special Boats Services were deployed to degrade and fish out elements of Bakassi Strike Force militants tormenting innocent citizens in the areas.

Meanwhile, troops of Sector 4 of Operation DELTA SAFE while on patrol apprehended two suspected militants that stole two High Power outbound Boat Engines from boat operators.

They were about selling the engines at Aqua Beach when our troops arrested them, the arrested suspects were subsequently handed over to Nigeria Police Force for further action, the military said.
Graduates are flocking to the Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo campus to beat the October 21 deadline set by the institution for them to pick up uncollected certificates or pay more.

Adekoya Martins, acting Head, Centre for Information , Press and Public Relations, LASU, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday that graduates had started showing up in their numbers.

LASU, on September 30, said that 24,734 certificates of graduates who left the institution over the last 10 years were lying uncollected at its registry.

The university said following the backlog of uncollected certificates, it had decided that affected graduates who failed to collect theirs before October 21 would have to pay N15,000 before doing so.

It said the collection of the certificates had commenced since September 26 but the turnout by the graduates had been very poor.

Mr. Martins told NAN that the situation had changed since the beginning of the week as graduates who finished at the university years back had been rushing in to collect their certificates.

Though the registry staff have been working round the clock till around 6 p.m. to ensure that all the graduates are issued their certificates on schedule, the queue is still so much, he said.

According to him, there were indications that they may not even be able to accommodate all the affected graduates before the deadline, which may necessitate a review of the deadline.

He, however, urged the graduates who had yet to come for theirs to ensure that they did so before the stipulated time, as extension of time was not guaranteed.

(NAN)
The Osun State Christian Association of Nigeria, OSCAN, has commended the Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, for his commitment to the development and transformation of the state in the face of present economic recession.

The Association also lauded the state government for being consistent in championing equity, balance and harmony among the adherents of the three major faiths in the state.

The Chairman of the Association, Michael Okodua, who led the newly constituted executive members of the association gave the commendation during a courtesy visit to the governor in his office in Osogbo.

He held that the present administration under the leadership of Mr. Aregbesola has really done well in fostering peace, love and unity among the different religious faithful in the state.

He commended Mr. Aregbesolas sagacity for continuously piloting the affairs of the state even in the face of huge condemnation and attacks from various quarters.

According to him, It is expedient for us to commend and congratulate you on the success of your mission to transform Osun despite the glaring economic recession affecting the state and the country at large.

The cleric stated that the purpose of the visit was to officially inform the state government on the new nomenclature of the Osun State Christian Association of Nigeria (OSCAN).

He said, OSCAN now has a new team of executive to pilot the affairs of the Association in the state for the period of next three years.

On our assumption of office in August this year, we deemed it fit to start our work by paying your good self a courtesy visit as a father to us, and to every association in Osun state; to introduce ourselves to you and to interact with you no matter how short the time.

He said Osun State Christian Association of Nigeria remains a critical stakeholder in the development of the state, stressing that, It is therefore incumbent on the Association to liaise and work with the Governor on critical issues bothering on state and religion, among others that would further enhance the general well being of the people of the state.

Our goal, therefore, is to promote peaceful coexistence and religious harmony, as basis for rapid socio-economic development of the state. It is on this basis that the Osun State Christian Association of Nigeria wishes to assure the government of our loyalty, cooperation and unflinching support towards meeting the needs and aspiration of the people of the state.

We also look unto your excellency for support in our efforts towards meeting the aspirations and desires for the growth and development of the church in the state.

We wish to assure your excellency that the church will continue to support you and your administration with prayers and goodwill at all times.

In his remarks, the Governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, charged the people of the state on the need to continuously champion religious tolerance as being demonstrated by his administration.

He thanked God for the opportunity given to his administration to renew its relationship with the newly constituted leadership of OSCAN, just as he expressed hope that the visit would put an end to possible misunderstanding among religious faithful.

According to him, it will be a grand mistake for us to deny the fact that his administration and Osun State Christian Association of Nigeria have had a tumultuous relationship.

He added, but the question to ask is why must a government who in all honesty wants to have harmonious relationship with all faiths to the extent of even given them recognition in their own specific rights have conflict with one of the faiths.

We must bear it in mind that it takes two to tango just as it takes two to be harmonious. It is not possible for two people either individuals, organisations or institutions to get along without a huge sense of maturity, forbearance and understanding.

However, immediately those two people who must coexist and get along appreciate the need for forbearance by tolerating one another, maturity takes place. Listening to the chairmans speech, l want to believe that we are in a new season. New season has just begun.

He argued that the basis of participation in religion in this part of the world is based on the religion people met their parents with and not mostly as a matter of choice or conviction.

Our profession of faith is largely huge on how we came into the world. It is on the accident of birth. Therefore there is need for us to champion love, tolerance and understanding in relating to one another as human beings.

Why must we quarrel on situation and circumstance that we cannot change? We must come to understand ourselves as possibly as we can as our forebear did. No race on earth rivals Yoruba people in term of exhibiting understanding, tolerance, love and unity in religious practices

Mr. Aregbesola, who lamented he poor management of religious affairs by the former leadership of the association, implored the new executives to always prioritise dialogue above other considerations.

And should there be any reason whatsoever for you to have challenge, seek for clarification. Should there be any ground whatsoever for annoyance, pain, bitterness or misunderstanding, please dont hesitate to embrace dialogue and seek for clarification.

He called on the new executives to let dialogue be the foundation of their relationship with government and other faiths.

He enjoined them to see dialogue as a veritable ingredient to enhance peaceful co-habitation among the residents, warning them against the use of media to cause religious unrest.

As partners in the process of building a just society targeted on growth and development, we cant afford to be fighting one another. If development of the state and her people remained our goal, we cant afford to be enemies and antagonists of one another.
Poland's President Andrzej Duda will meet in Strasbourg on Nov. 16 with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, PAP was told on Friday by presidential minister Krzysztof Szczerski.

The meeting will be held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Poland's membership of the Council of Europe, Krzysztof Szczerski added.

Minister Szczerski said that the Polish president had accepted the invitation extended to him by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjoern Jagland.

According to the minister, President Duda will address the meeting, which is to focus on modern European political, economic and social challenges.

"This will be an occasion to jointly commemorate the 25th anniversary of Poland's membership of the Council of Europe," minister Szczerski said.

In a letter sent by Thorbjoern Jagland and posted on Twitter by the head of the presidential press office, Marek Magierowski, the president had been asked to deliver a speech in Strasbourg by the secretary general, who stressed that this would be a great occasion to confirm both the existing good cooperation between Poland and the Council of Europe and the willingness to further strengthen it.

Thorbjoern Jagland wrote that Poland, which was a leader of transformations and struggle for independence and democracy behind the Iron Curtain, is a very important country of dialogue, which is a source of common reflection regarding political, economic and social challenges facing Europe.

Poland joined the Council of Europe in 1991. The organisation's statutes were signed by Poland's then foreign minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski on Nov. 26.

The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe's statutory decision-making body. It is made up of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of member states.(PAP)
ATLANTIC CITY  Striking Unite Here Local 54 workers stepped up their presence Friday outside Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

Some wanted to go out with a bang. Some wanted to make sure they logged enough hours to qualify for union benefits. Some wore new red hoodie sweatshirts reading, I held the line against Carl Icahn, the Tajs owner.

About 40 picketers on the Boardwalk walked a loose circle of a line where 10 or so had been at the same time a few days before. At least 70 showed their picket signs to drivers and pedestrians along Pacific Avenue; on Tuesday there were about 15.

But inside the casino, there was no such population explosion as the Taj counted down to a final shutdown before sunrise Monday.

At one point Friday afternoon, eight badge-wearing dealers and supervisors stood ready to work at a blackjack pit. But there was just one player there to deal to.

Outside there was noise.

The Boardwalk picket crew did some of the chanting that theyve practiced since the walkout started July 1. At one headquarters tent, a whiteboard message put the length of the strike at 99 days. By 6 p.m. Friday, the closing clock had counted down to 60 hours.

Maritsa Luna has been a housekeeper at the Taj since then-casino magnate Donald Trumps eighth wonder of the world opened in April 1990. And Keith Fullmer is a bartender with 16 years at the Taj, But on Friday, they were both among the pickets using bullhorns to lead strike chants.

Fullmer, of Mays Landing, has been a regular volunteer on bullhorn duty since the strike started, and he says hes even created a few new chants.

But some of the stuff I come up with, you cant say out here, he explained with a grin, so hes pretty much stuck to the strike script.

After 16 years at this job, and 37 years after he started his first casino job at the long-gone Playboy property, its hard for Fullmer to believe the Taj is locking its doors. But its hard for him to accept that many people, led by owner Icahn, blame Local 54 for a closing that will cost more than 2,800 Taj workers their jobs. About 1,000 are union members.

Fullmer, a shop steward, said that a month after the strike started, Local 54 offered the Taj a deal on health benefits that would have cost less than it will to close the place. The owners rejected that proposal, as the union did after the Taj offered what union leaders have called a shadow of the health package Local 54 workers get at other Atlantic City casinos.

He has seen good times at the Taj and heard of better times still.

When I came here 16 years ago, I thought this place was busy, he said. But Taj people with more seniority said I should have been here when it opened. It was really banging then.  On weekends, you had to practically park on the roof.

There were no such parking shortages in the Taj Garaj, as the owners have called it. The garage has more than 6,700 spaces. At the casino level Friday, barely a handful of cars filled that sea of spaces.

On the Boardwalk, people passing by didnt know all the details behind the Taj closing, but they knew it was more bad news for Atlantic City.

Its just sad, all the way around, said Vince Ferri, who lives in Philadelphia and has done some gambling in the Taj in his day. I love Atlantic City, and Im going to keep coming, no matter what. Ive been coming here since I was a kid, and Im 36 now.  This breaks my heart.

On the other hand, Lawrence and Kathy Jess, of Hartford, Connecticut, were on their first visit ever to Atlantic City on Friday when they walked by the Boardwalk pickets.
ATLANTIC CITY  John Longacre stands on the roof of a 115-year-old, empty ex-armory and talks up the potential of the city around and below him.

He sees the Atlantic Ocean less than two blocks from this survivor of an Atlantic City building, the historic home of a now-defunct military organization, the Morris Guards.

Boiled down, his business philosophy is simple.

People want to live near cool stuff, he says, more than once.

Longacre has built a business by spotting potential where others see potential disaster. He lives and does much of his work in South Philadelphia, in sight of Center Citys skyscrapers, where he specializes in recovery projects that save buildings, convert seedy bars into trendy restaurants and turn vacant eyesores into neighborhood hubs.

His target market is young adults who want to live in cities that give them something to do. His approach is to help create something for them to do as he gives them those places to live.

So his plans for the empty armory include adding a rooftop deck and giving all tenants ocean views. He sees a dozen small businesses at street level. And on the floors in between, he plans 35 apartments that emphasize  and dont disguise  the buildings sturdy, brick walls and long, hard life.

Who were the Morris Guards? ATLANTIC CITY  A plaque on the Morris Guards armory congratulates the group, which once cla

As Atlantic City developers and real estate magnates go, Longacre is comfortable being a small player next to the likes of Showboats Bart Blatstein or owner of the former Revel (now TEN) Glenn Straub.

But people in the city hope his Philadelphia formula can help transform a piece of Atlantic City, too.

You see thats what happens in the Philadelphia neighborhoods hes in, said Elizabeth Terenik, Atlantic Citys planning director. Its a great model for us, really. We need people with vision.

Philly approach

Since 1999, Longacre Property Management Group has converted a nuisance bar long known as a drug den into a national-award winning gastro-pub, the American Sardine Bar. Another building, vacant for 30 years and roofless for some of that time, now combines an Ultimo coffee shop with a craft-beer specialist called Brew. One foodie website rated it the nations best coffee shop.

Longacre took over an old cigarette warehouse; now its a vegan restaurant. And hes turning another long-closed building, once a blade-sharpening business, into a microbrewery and coffee-roasting plant.

His own offices, which house a staff of about 15, are above a car-repair shop in a neighborhood where he jokes that every business used to be Vinnies Auto Body or Tonys Auto Body.

Now, every time one of them goes on sale, Longacre tries to buy it to transform it into retail or a restaurant or housing that can draw more young people to the area.

Thomas and Courtney Posey live a few blocks from American Sardine Bar, in a house they bought in 2010.

Then, their part of South Philadelphia was full of dilapidated houses and empty of children. But they recently had a baby, and they can count at least eight other small children around their block, now busy with renovation and construction jobs.

Theyve joined community groups that met at the Sardine Bar to plan a dog park, organize local cleanups and do more to help their neighborhood become a community.

Its a little hub, Thomas Posey said. Its kind of like bars were 200 years ago. ... Now there are opportunities for people to get jobs. You create more population, more tax revenue, more options, and the neighborhood gets a little cleaner.

Anthony Gargano, the Philadelphia-based sports-talk host, is a Longacre friend and a customer at the South Philadelphia Tap Room, another of the developers reclamation projects.

Hes like the millennial whisperer, Gargano said of Longacre, who favors loose shorts and untucked shirts on warm work days. Look at him  hes not cool. But he provides something that is cool.

Making it work in Atlantic City

At the Morris Guards, Longacre squeezes past old drywall and drop ceilings now all over the floors of a building torn down to brick walls and studs. He bought it last year for $325,000. And despite the debris inside and the distressed look outside, nothing about the job is particularly distressing to a veteran of those Philadelphia rescue projects.

Things that scare other people away, he knows they can be overcome, Terenik said.

For his part, Longacre said, Atlantic City has big stuff, attractions like the ocean and the Boardwalk. It just doesnt have the amenities.

He has more local projects going, including taking a formerly boarded-up apartment building in the Chelsea section and reopening it with 30 rental units and some first-floor shops. He plans a restaurant somewhere (but wont give details), and hes redoing a handful of single homes in the South Inlet. All together, he counts about 100 Atlantic City units hes working on, residential and commercial.

Terenik is optimistic about all those Longacre projects, but none more than the Morris Guards, on South New York Avenue, just off the citys main retail drag, Atlantic Avenue.

Were so focused on activating (empty) properties, and that one is such an architectural gem, she said.

She hopes a popular project in a signature building  blocks from City Hall and AtlantiCares campus  can spread beyond its walls to help a whole neighborhood.

Longacre is bullish enough on the city that his Sea Isle City vacation home is on the market. His new beach spot will be Atlantic City. He thinks the city can draw other second-home buyers or renters with a combination of current affordability and future activity. Stockton Universitys coming Atlantic City campus is another huge plus to him.

Kids who go to Stockton might decide they want to stay here, if theres something here for them, he said. It can be a first-rate beach town, a cool little city with a beach  that happens to have gambling.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  New Jersey could limit building in areas that are expected to flood regularly by 2050, if planners have their way.

Thats the recommendation of the nonprofit group hired to help the state avoid future flood damage.

The planners also want to encourage people to move inland, using buyout programs and measures such as prohibiting rebuilding of repeatedly flooded properties.

NJ Future is recommending the state create a Conservation Zone seaward of the 2050 mean higher high water line along the coast, so new marshes can develop there as existing ones are lost to sea-level rise, Planning Manager David Kutner said.

The organization uses a prediction of a sea-level rise by 2050 of about a foot and a half, based on Rutgers University research.

Small areas of residential development in Tuckerton would fall in the Conservation Zone, including parts of neighborhoods near Green Street Park, Kutner said.

The analysis is specific to Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor Township because planners from New Jersey Future were embedded in those towns and other communities for three years after Hurricane Sandy. But any recommendations accepted by the state Department of Environmental Protection would apply to parts of all coastal communities along the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay.

The reports recommendations will focus on how the DEP should change its Coastal Area Facilities Review Act rules in the face of rising sea levels and sinking coastal ground. It will go to the DEP by the end of the year, Kutner said.

The nonprofit NJ Future held a public meeting in the Little Egg Harbor Community Center in the Mystic Island section Tuesday night, attended by about 30 people, to discuss its findings.

NJ Future also recommended looking at ways to encourage people to move inland, including expanding buyout programs such as Blue Acres and limiting the right to rebuild after payouts have reached 50 percent of a structures value.

Current CAFRA rules allow rebuilding in the same place repetitively forever. It defies logic, Kutner said.

NJ Future worked with officials and community leaders from Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton and Toms River to develop the recommendations for coastal communities throughout the state.

Kutner said nothing will happen quickly.

Our recommendations are just that  recommendations, he said. Trust me, it will be a long public process. This is a start to the conversation.

Areas that would be inundated only in a 1 percent storm or greater, equivalent to Sandy, would be in an Accommodation Zone, Kutner said.

That would include much of the heavily developed Mystic Island and Osborne Island sections of Little Egg and much of Tuckerton, including Tuckerton Seaport and sections of downtown, he said.

In the Accommodation Zone, the organization suggests reducing existing development, instituting more stringent design rules and lessening impervious surfaces such as pavement.

While elevating structures will buy time, its not a long-term solution, Kutner said.

You cant elevate roads. You cant elevate sewers or water systems, he said. The problem is, as flooding occurs more regularly, elevating homes will protect those homes  but you wont be able to access them the way you access them now, if the predictions come true.

Elderly and disabled people cant negotiate elevated units, he added.

Residents in attendance expressed both a love of living near the water and the realization that floods are more common today and are likely to increase in frequency.

Theres no way you are going to stop that water, said a man who said he lives at the end of East Cala Breeze Way in the townships Mystic Island section. The water roars right across the wetlands.

This should have been dealt with years ago, said builder Paul A. Rueda of PKR Construction in Beach Haven, who grew up in the township. How come nothing was done then?

Kutner said thats why his organization is working on the issues now.

Lets not let more time go by, then look back 10 years from now and say, Why didnt we do it then? Kutner said.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  Every year on the Sunday before Yom Kippur, Jews gather at Rodef Sholom Cemetery for a Mitzvah Zecher Avot, or the good deed of remembering family.

This annual service will take place 11 a.m. Sunday in the Holocaust survivors section on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township.

The service is organized by the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton University.

Gail Rosenthal, director of the center, said rabbis will perform the memorial service. Family members of Holocaust survivors will read aloud the names of their loved ones who have died.

Every name has a story, Rosenthal said.

Margate resident Leo Schoffer, whose parents Sam and Mania Schoffer survived the Holocaust, plans to be there this year, as he has for the past three decades.

This is something that was started by the survivors themselves. And as the survivors passed away and there becomes, unfortunately, fewer and fewer of them, it has been taken over by the community and by the second generation, Schoffer, 64, said.

A past president of the Jewish Federation of Atlantic and Cape May Counties, Schoffer said the service remembers Holocaust survivors who relocated to South Jersey.

They were thrown out of their homes in Europe, and those who survived the Holocaust had to start a whole new life. They were given a whole new opportunity here to start again, he said.

Schoffer said the service reminds future generations.

We have to preserve and remember these stories and retell these stories, so that can help from these atrocities happening again, regardless of who the victims are, he said.

He said those who attend are not only remembering but making a statement.

Theyre making a statement that theyre not going to be bystanders and allow this to happen again to anybody, Schoffer said. People cannot just sit on the sideline and let these things happen, and thats what the story of the Holocaust tells us.
The campaign to expand casino gambling to North Jersey seems to have collapsed. Opponents of ending Atlantic Citys casino monopoly in New Jersey can take comfort in that but shouldnt relax until the votes are counted next month.

The good news began late last month, when Our Turn NJ suspended its media campaign to allow two new upstate casinos. That group was funded by two developers who had hoped to build the casinos.

Then a week ago, a Stockton University poll showed 68 percent of those surveyed oppose casino expansion, while 27 percent support it. The public will vote on the referendum Nov. 8.

One of the would-be developers, Meadowlands Racetrack operator Jeffrey Gural, credited the opposition group Trentons Bad Bet with turning the public against the proposal. That group is funded by Genting Group, which would prefer not to have closer competition for its casino at New Yorks Aqueduct Racetrack.

Another opponent, the No North Jersey Casinos Coalition, representing a broad array of South Jersey business interests and citizens, said it will continue its fight to defeat the referendum despite the seeming surrender of its proponents.

Thats smart, since a suspended ad campaign could easily be resumed. And another advocate for upstate casinos, the Meadowlands Regional Chamber, said it would continue to push for their approval.

Another reason for opponents to remain vigilant is that Gural already is talking about mounting another campaign for expanded gambling if the current one fails.

Many people recall that the first referendum to approve casino gambling in New Jersey failed but succeeded two years later when it came back as a specific proposal to allow casinos in Atlantic City.

But back in the 1970s, when those first votes were held, casinos were a rarity, existing only in Nevada and overseas. Now they are pretty much everywhere. Voters who live a relatively short drive from a casino, and usually multiple casinos, are harder to convince that even more casinos are needed.

We think that is whats driving opposition to casino expansion, not the clever marketing of an opposition group, and the Northeast will just be more oversaturated with casino gambling in the years ahead.

The view of New Jersey voters could change, however, if New York develops a large casino in Manhattan or on Staten Island and starts pulling gamblers from northern N.J.

But for now, in-state competition for Atlantic City casinos looks likely to be defeated in a month, and unlikely to be approved going forward given the current gaming market. That would eliminate a big uncertainty that makes the most urgent task at hand  redeveloping the city  more difficult.
A.C. needs a bold plan to remake casinos, retail

The Boardwalk casino district is less popular than the marina casino district no matter how you measure it. To save the Boardwalk casinos, drastic redevelopment is needed.

I propose five steps to drastically reshape the Boardwalk district. First, AtlanticCare Medical Center should relocate into a renovated Atlantic Club facility as a mixture of in-patient, subacute rehabilitation and assisted living facilities. Second, all of the Trump Plaza, Caesars and Boardwalk Hall buildings should be demolished. The Tanger Outlets would then be expanded with the Playground Pier serving as the eastern anchor of the mall. Ballys, completely re-themed in a western motif and rebranded as a Horseshoe casino, could benefit from expansion of the Tanger Outlets.

Third, I would relocate Caesars into the existing Taj Mahal building. This building is more navigable than the current Caesars complex and could be easily converted into a Roman theme. It would also benefit from the strong performance of Resorts and the reemergence of Showboat and Ten Resorts. Fourth, the Gillian and Morey families should be approached to bring their successes from Ocean City and Wildwood northward to develop a unique quality family experience in Atlantic City.

Finally, the quality of workers in the Local 54 labor pool is variable. I argue that the only way to fix this quality problem is to end Local 54 as the sole hotel trade union. Competition builds a better employee base.

If all of these items are implemented, the city could be resurrected from the brink of disaster.

Dr. Brian McBride

Sewell, Gloucester County

Find ways to help people

The citizens of Atlantic City and Atlantic County deserve much better lifestyles.

This is an oversimplification, but why not make Atlantic City a port, and also invite diversification (industry)? I realize this would take time and much funding.

Instead of catering to casinos, why not cater to the residents and their needs? The casinos do not offer much in the way of job security and decent salaries. And the taxes, particularly in Atlantic City, are ridiculous.

Eventually, offering decent jobs, many advantages would eventually occur: stability in the area economy, less crime, and integrity and personal wealth developing more for the areas residents.

Randy Pick

Egg Harbor Township

Outreach a goal for candidate for Pinelands school board

As a candidate for the Pinelands Regional Board of Education, I think it is extremely important to reach out and get input from members of the community on their views that relate to the education of middle and high school students.

I am honored to attend community group or homeowners organization meetings in order to discover and incorporate suggestions into a plan than enhances the educational opportunities for students, while at the same time insuring that the financial resources provided from community taxes are prudently allocated and managed.

Stephen Kubricki

Little Egg Harbor Township

Opposing boycott of Israel, N.J. helps stop anti-Semitism

Assemblyman Chris Brown often reminds us America has no greater Middle East ally than Israel. I appreciate his stand against anti-Semitism and taking the lead on a law requiring the state to boycott companies that join the anti-Israel boycott, divest-ment and sanctions movement (BDS).

The Press editorial boards argument against Browns law (State leaders stoop to the level of anti-Israel boycotters, on Sept. 29) presumes the BDS movement can be discouraged and minimized by shining a strong light on it. That is a naive position. The BDS movement is deeply rooted in racism and nurtured by terrorists and regional dictators, who are pledged to the ultimate destruction of Israel. Since these enemies of democracy have failed to defeat Israel militarily, they are now attempting to wage an economic war. It will take more than a light to stop them.

Brown recognizes the only appropriate way to stop the bullies of the BDS movement is to fight back. Lets face it, corporate executives will listen to their bottom line more than to reason. Browns law makes it clear to companies considering allying themselves with hatred that their decision will come at a price. Brown deserves praise for his pro-Israel stance and ensuring New Jersey takes the necessary steps to stop anti-Semitism.

Eric Wood

Atlantic City
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.




HATFIELD, England, October 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

FOR EMEA MEDIA ONLY: NOT FOR AUSTRIAN/SWISS MEDIA

People with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer treated with lenvatinib had greater tumour shrinkage than with placebo in targeted sites of metastases (lung, liver, lymph nodes and bone), in exploratory subgroup analyses of the pivotal phase III SELECT study, presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2016.[1],[2] Lenvatinib is indicated in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with progressive locally advanced or metastatic, differentiated (papillary, follicular, Hurthle cell) thyroid carcinoma (DTC) refractory to radioactive iodine (RAI).[3]



In these subanalyses, patients showed greater tumour shrinkage in all targeted sites following treatment with lenvatinib compared with placebo.[1] The mean maximum change in sum of target lesions from baseline in patients treated with lenvatinib versus placebo in the lungs was -15.1mm vs 1.4mm, in the liver -17.7mm vs 2.5mm, in lymph nodes -17.4mm vs -0.8mm and in bone -6.7mm vs 3.4mm.[1] Tumours were assessed by independent radiologic review at baseline and at eight week intervals.[1]

"These data provide insight into the activity of lenvatinib in specific sites of metastases in radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. The study population was shown to have tumour shrinkage in all of the metastatic sites studied when treated with lenvatinib," comments Martin Schlumberger, Primary Author on SELECT and Professor of Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, University Paris Sud, Paris, France.

In an investigational phase II study, lenvatinib showed activity in patients with RET fusion positive adenocarcinoma of the lung.[4] Adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung carcinoma, one of the most common forms of lung cancer.[4] RET fusions activate RET kinase and occurs in only 1-2% of patients.[4] Lenvatinib is a multi-kinase inhibitor whose targets include RET. Twenty five patients with RET-positive lung adenocarcinoma received lenvatinib 24mg/day in 28-day cycles until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.[4] The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) and patients treated with lenvatinib had an ORR of 16%.[4]



Twenty-three patients (92%) had grade 3 treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs).[4] The most common any grade TEAEs included hypertension (68%), nausea (60%), decreased appetite (52%), diarrhoea (52%), proteinuria (48%), and vomiting (44%).[4] Of three fatal AEs, one was possibly related to lenvatinib (pneumonia).[4]



A further study investigated the VEGFR and FGFR signalling pathway participation in tumour growth and angiogenesis in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) xenografts treated with the combination of lenvatinib plus everolimus.[5]



The results show that the combined activity of lenvatinib plus everolimus is based on the enhanced inhibition of VEGF and FGF-driven angiogenesis, and the simultaneous impact of the antiangiogenic activity of lenvatinib and the antiproliferative activity of everolimus.[5] These data also suggest that both VEGFR and FGFR pathways participate in the combined activity observed of lenvatinib plus everolimus in RCC xenograft models.[5] In August 2016, lenvatinib in combination with everolimus was approved in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC following one prior vascular endothelial growth factor targeted therapy.[6]



"These non-clinical data tell us more about the activity of the combination of lenvatinib and everolimus in renal cell carcinoma. These agents were successfully combined in a clinical study, the first time in Europe for treatments inhibiting TKI and mTOR, and led to the recent approval of the combination in renal cell carcinoma following one prior anti-angiogenic therapy," comments Alton Kremer, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Oncology Business Group at Eisai.



An ongoing open-label, multicentre phase 1b study investigated the maximum tolerated dose of lenvatinib, when used in combination with pembrolizumab in selected solid tumours.[7] In the study, patients (18 years) with non-small cell lung cancer (n=2), renal cell cancer (n=8), endometrial cancer (n=2) and melanoma (n=1) received either 24mg/day, 20mg/day, or 14mg/day of lenvatinib (oral) plus 200mg of pembrolizumab (intravenous) given once every three weeks.[7] Lenvatinib had a maximum tolerated dose of 20mg/day when used with pembrolizumab.[7]



A preclinical study analysed immune response to single agent lenvatinib and combination of lenvatinib plus PD-1 blockade treatment in syngeneic murine (mouse) tumour models.[8] The study examined activity in lung cancer, liver cancer, and colon cancer models. The combination showed more potent inhibition of tumour growth in all three (syngeneic) mouse tumour models investigated than either single agent.[8] Complete tumour regressions were detected with the combination treatment in some mice in the liver cancer model.[8]



The development of lenvatinib reflects Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, the company's commitment to innovative solutions in disease prevention, cure and care for the health and well-being of people worldwide. Eisai is committed to the therapeutic area of oncology and to address the unmet medical needs of patients and their families.



Notes to Editors



About Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer forms in the tissues of the thyroid gland, located at the base of the throat near the trachea.[9] Thyroid cancer affects more than 52,000 people in Europe each year.[10]



About Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)

Kidney cancer is among the ten most frequently occurring cancers in Western (countries) communities. About 270,000 cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed globally each year and 116,000 people die from the disease. Approximately 90% of all kidney cancers are renal cell carcinomas (RCC).[11]



About Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung carcinoma, is one of the most common forms of lung cancer. RET (rearranged during transfection) fusions activate RET kinase and occur in 1% to 2% of these patients.[4]



About Lenvatinib

Lenvatinib is an oral multikinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1-3, fibroblast growth factor receptor 1-4, platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha, and RET and KIT proto-oncogenes.[12],[13]



Lenvatinib is indicated in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with progressive locally advanced or metastatic, differentiated (papillary, follicular, Hurthle cell) thyroid carcinoma (DTC) refractory to radioactive iodine (RAI).[3] Lenvatinib is approved for the treatment of refractory thyroid cancer in the United States, Switzerland, the European Union, Canada, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Japan and Brazil.[3]



In August 2016, the European Commission issued Marketing Authorisation for lenvatinib in combination with everolimus for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following one prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy.[6]



About SELECT[2]

SELECT ( S tudy of ( E 7080) LE nvatinib in Differentiated C ancer of the T hyroid) is a multicentre, randomised,

double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study of patients with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, treated with once-daily, oral lenvatinib (24mg). The study enrolled 392 patients in over 100 sites in Europe, Americas, Asia, and Australia.



About Study 205[14]

Study 205 is a pivotal randomised phase II study that evaluated 153 people living with unresectable advanced renal cell carcinoma who had progressed after one previous VEGF therapy.[14] Patients experienced a median progression-free survival of 14.6 months when treated with lenvatinib in combination with everolimus (n=51), compared with 5.5 months for those who received everolimus alone (n=50) (HR 0.40; 95% CI: 0.24-0.68; p=0.0005).[14] Updated median overall survival in the study population was 25.5 months in the lenvatinib plus everolimus group compared with 15.4 months in the everolimus group (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.36 - 0.97).[14]



For lenvatinib in combination with everolimus, the most common any-grade treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) reported in the lenvatinib plus everolimus group were diarrhoea, decreased appetite and fatigue.[14] The most common TEAEs of Grade 3 or higher were diarrhoea, fatigue and hypertension.[14]



About Eisai Co., Ltd.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With over 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realise our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in multiple therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.



As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries.



For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit http://www.eisai.com.

References



1. Robinson B, et al. Responses in Specific Metastases Following Treatment with Lenvatinib (LN): Results from the Phase 3 SELECT Trial. European Society for Medical Oncology 2016; Poster: 962P

2. Schlumberger M, et al. Lenvatinib versus placebo in radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. NEJM 2015; 372: 621-30. Available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1406470. Accessed October 2016

3. SPC lenvatinib (updated June 2015). Available at: http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/30412 .

Accessed October 2016

4. Velcheti V, et al. Phase 2 study of lenvatinib (LN) in patients (Pts) with RET fusion-positive adenocarcinoma of the lung. European Society for Medical Oncology 2016; Poster 1204PD

5. Kimura T, et al. The Antitumor Activity of Lenvatinib (LEN) in combination with Everolimus (EVE) in Human Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Xenograft Models Is Dependent on VEGFR and FGFR Signaling. European Society for Medical Oncology 2016; Poster: 6P

6. Kisplyx SMPC, September 2016. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/32335 . Accessed October 2016

7. Taylor M, et al. A Phase 1b Trial of Lenvatinib (LEN) plus Pembrolizumab (PEM) in Patients with Selected Solid Tumors. European Society for Medical Oncology 2016; Poster: 776PD

8. Kato Y, et al. Lenvatinib Mesilate (LEN) Enhanced Antitumor Activity of a PD-1 Blockade Agent by Potentiating Th1 Immune Response. European Society for Medical Oncology 2016; Poster: 2PD

9. National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/thyroid/Patient/page1/AllPages#1 . Accessed October 2016

10. EUCAN 2015. Available at: http://eu-cancer.iarc.fr/EUCAN/Cancer.aspx?Cancer=35. Accessed October 2016

11. Ljungberg B, et al. Epidemiology of Renal Cell Carcinoma. European Association of Urology, 2011; 60; 615-21

12. Matsui J, et al. E7080, a novel inhibitor that targets multiple kinases, has potent antitumor activities against stem cell factor producing human small cell lung cancer H146, based on angiogenesis inhibition. Int J Cancer 2008;122:664-671

13. Okamoto K, et al. Distinct Binding Mode of Multikinase Inhibitor Lenvatinib Revealed by Biochemical Characterization. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letter 2010

14. Motzer, R, et al. Lenvatinib, everolimus, and the combination in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a randomised, phase 2, open-label, multicentre trial. Lancet Oncology 2015;16:1473-82





October 2016

Lenvatinib-EU0076



SOURCE Eisai
BRADFORD, England, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society's sole Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Practice Management Software solution at Anderson Rowntree, one of the oldest law firms in West Sussex.

Established around 1850, Anderson Rowntree has an enviable reputation for results and service, and prides itself on its firm roots within the local community. Offering services across property, private client, family and litigation, the experienced team provide an entirely client-focused and efficient service, earning the firm a recommendation rate of over 98%.

The 6-figure deal will see Eclipse implement pre-configured Proclaim work types for all staff to provide a core centralised productivity suite. For financial management, Proclaim's Credit Control Centre (CCC) will provide the firm with a central dashboard of key financial and payment information, including the ability to drill directly into bills, clients and matters. As part of the implementation process, Eclipse will conduct a complete data migration from the practice's incumbent system, resulting in increased efficiency throughout all departments.

Furthermore, to ensure firm-wide compliance, Anderson Rowntree has opted for Eclipse's integrated compliance toolset to assist with the extensive SRA obligations, and to provide an improved risk management strategy.

Additionally, as part of the drive to further enhance client service, Anderson Rowntree will also take advantage of the integrated Proclaim lead management system, empowering the firm to track and analyse sources of new business, and streamline the inception process. Taking this further, the firm will benefit from Eclipse's integration with an online ID and AML service, providing end-to-end 'one-click' verification and instant on-screen validation.

John Dickerson, Partner and Practice Director at Anderson Rowntree, comments:

"It is crucial that we achieve our goal of staying ahead of the competition and strengthening our enviable reputation for outstanding client service. Proclaim will be fundamental to our future success, by providing a flexible central solution, embraced by all departments and therefore guaranteeing a consistent approach to matter management.

"Proclaim will not only improve our internal efficiencies and compliance, but will also provide client-facing systems to enable an online service. The fact that Proclaim's scope is this broad made the system our first choice by a large margin."

About Eclipse

Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita Plc, is the UK's leading provider of legal software solutions, employing over 160 staff at its Yorkshire HQ with a turnover of 10million.

The firm's Proclaim software system is in use by 23,000 professionals within a vast range of market sectors, territories and work areas. Proclaim is Endorsed by the Law Society (the only solution of its type to hold this accreditation) and integrates all case management, accounting, document management, reporting, time recording, task and diary functions into one desktop solution.

TouchPoint is Eclipse's unique self-service system, providing an always-on, platform agnostic portal for law firm clients and business partners.

Proclaim clients include:

Eversheds

DC Law (Move with us)

Co-operative Legal Services

Anderson Rowntree

Carillion plc

QualitySolicitors ( Howlett Clarke , Lockings, Oliver & Co, and others)

Eclipse's market territories include:

UK and Ireland

Latvia

Australia

Canada

Nigeria

Zambia

British Virgin Islands

For further information, please contact Darren Gower (Marketing Director) at darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk or call 01274 704100.

Alternatively, visit www.eclipselegal.co.uk

SOURCE Eclipse Legal Systems
BRUSSELS, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

We at the EU-Romania Business Society are focused on working with our members to generate greater national income and economic growth.

Our organisation's mission is to improve investment opportunities between EU countries, Romania and the Danube Region. Our aim is to work closely with government and business leaders to help advance the best conditions for doing business and encourage public private partnerships built on shared advantage. We believe that open markets and free flows of capital are the cornerstones of development and progress. Especially in the aftermath of Brexit, and the many resulting economic and social uncertainties not only in the UK but across Europe, we are paying very close attention to events that affect all our members.

In October we are seeing three trends inside Romania that we believe should be watched closely:

First, a report from UniCredit Bank in Romania forecasting a steep downturn in economic growth.

Second, a slowing of foreign investment after many years of strong spending partnerships between national and international groups bringing great benefit to communities

Third, what appears to be a growing tendency from Government authorities to disrupt and even interfere in the activities of foreign investors. Here in particular we are watching carefully legal cases involving Enel, E.ON and CEZ, all of which have gone to arbitration resulting in costly defeats for the Government, and also what we see as a growing international dispute created by the Government over seized energy assets with the KMGI controlled Rompetrol group, which also appears headed towards international mediation later this year.

In line with our objectives to work in partnership to help protect and promote the national interest of Romania, we will continue to monitor and give our views on these emerging patterns that could risk creating new damage to what has been until recently a more secure business climate. In all cases we call for dialogue, conciliation and engagement between government and business. Romania has tremendous advantages in terms of resources, its educated workforce and strategic location and we want to support the country to continue on a path of successful economic development.

www.eu-romaniabusiness-society.org

SOURCE EU-Romania Business Society
NEW YORK, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to market research "Global Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2022 - Industry Insights by Product Type (Indoor Monitor, Outdoor Monitor), by Pollutant Type (Chemical, Physical, Biological), by Sampling Method (Continuous, Manual, Passive Monitoring, Intermittent), by End-User (Government Agencies and Academic Institutes, Commercial and Residential Users, Petrochemical Industry, Power Generation Plants, Pharmaceutical Industry, Others)" by P&S Market Research, the global air quality monitoring market was valued at $3,378.9 million in 2015, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.8% during 2016 - 2022.

The growth of the global market is largely driven by increasing level of air pollution across the globe and the favorable government regulations for air quality monitoring. Different governments in distinct countries have framed stringent norms to control air pollution especially for industrial sectors. This creates the demand for the air quality monitoring equipment to check air pollution. Some of the other factors driving the growth of the global market include increasing prevalence of respiratory diseases and increasing awareness regarding environmental and healthcare implications of air pollution. The rapid industrialization in emerging economies and technological advancements for air quality monitoring are expected to create ample revenue generation opportunities for the manufacturers of air quality monitoring devices.

Explore Report with Detailed TOC at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/air-quality-monitoring-devices-market

Among the two product types of air quality monitoring, the outdoor air quality monitors would witness faster growth during the forecast period. Increasing adoption of outdoor air quality monitors in different industries and increasing installation of AQM stations are the major factors driving the growth of the outdoor air quality monitors market. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), outdoor air pollution caused more than 3 million premature deaths in 2010, with elderly people and children most vulnerable.

North America accounted for the largest share in the global market in 2015, owing to the technological advancements and high public private funding for air pollution control and rapid adoption of these devices by key end users in the region. The U.S. contributed largest revenue to the North American as well as global air quality monitoring market. The country is expected to remain the largest market for air quality monitoring devices globally. The supporting government regulation is the key driving factor of the U.S. air quality monitoring devices.

Among the different end users, the largest revenue was generated from the sales of air quality monitoring devices for government agencies and academic institutes in 2015. The global air quality monitoring market for government agencies and academic institutes was valued at $1,219.1 million in 2015 and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.0% during 2016 - 2022. During the period 2012 - 2015, the air quality monitoring was used mostly for monitoring the chemical pollutants.

Browse Other Related Report at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/industry-report/healthcare

Some of the players operating in the global market include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Merck KGaA, Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, HORIBA, Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., General Electric Company, TSI Incorporated, 3M Company, and Siemens AG.

GLOBAL AQM MARKET SEGMENTATION

By Product Type

Indoor air quality monitors Fixed indoor air quality monitors Portable indoor air quality monitors

Outdoor air quality monitors Portable outdoor air quality monitors Fixed outdoor air quality monitors Dust and particulate air quality monitors AQM stations



By Pollutant Type

Chemical Pollutant

Physical Pollutant

Biological Pollutant

By Sampling Method

Continuous monitoring

Manual monitoring

Passive monitoring

Intermittent monitoring

By End User

Government agencies and academic institutes

Commercial and residential user

Petrochemical industry

Power generation plants

Pharmaceutical industry

Others



GEOGRAPHICAL SEGMENTATION

By Region

North America U.S. Canada Rest of North America

Europe Germany U.K. France Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific Japan China India Rest of Asia-Pacific

Rest of the World (RoW) Brazil Rest of RoW



Browse Other Reports by P&S Market Research

Global Sleeping Aids Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/sleeping-aids-market

Global E-Clinical Solution Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/e-clinical-solutions-market

Global Synthetic Biology Market - https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/synthetic-biology-market

About P&S Market Research

P&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.

As one of the top growing market research agency, we're keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.



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SOURCE P&S Market Research
LONDON, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The sixteenth annual International Fighter Conference will be held at the Hilton Bankside Hotel, London, UK, between 15 - 17 November, 2016. This year the event welcomes its most esteemed participants to date; including General "Hawk" Carlisle, Commander, Air Combat Command, United States Air Force, along with Chiefs of Air Staff from nations including Spain, Greece and Nigeria.

In addition, the following senior officers, and many more besides, will also be sharing their knowledge and insight this year:

Air General Javier Garcia Arnaiz, Chief of Air Staff, Spanish Air Force

Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar , Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force

, Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force Lieutenant General Christos Vaitsis , Chief of Air Staff, Hellenic Air Force

, Chief of Air Staff, Hellenic Air Force Lieutenant General Jon M. Davis , Deputy Commandant for Aviation, United States Marine Corps

For a full speaker list, and more details on the presentations, download the agenda > http://www.international-fighter.com/agenda-mc

Topics of discussion for 2016 will include: F-35 preparedness; training and LVC; mission-planning; ground-attack and COIN operations; and the modernisation of 4th generation platforms ready for integration with the incoming 5th generation fleets.

For more information about the upcoming International Fighter Conference visit http://www.international-fighter.com or phone +44 (0)207 368 1300.

About Defence IQ

Defence IQ is an authoritative news source for high quality and exclusive commentary and analysis on global defence and military-related topics. Sourcing interviews and insights directly from senior military and industry professionals on air defence, cyber warfare, armoured vehicles, naval defence, land defence and many more topics. To learn more visit http://www.defenceiq.com , or call us at +44(0)207-368-1300.

SOURCE Defence IQ
SAN JOSE, California and PADERBORN, Germany, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

AEVI is pleased to welcome VSi, a leading developer of mobile apps for the hospitality industry, as a partner for the AEVI Global Marketplace, designed to revolutionise how merchants conduct and streamline their businesses by providing a new way of engaging with customers. The partnership will leverage AEVI's open solutions and global support infrastructure to target multiple vertical markets including the hospitality, healthcare, retail and financial services industries.

Based in California's Silicon Valley, VSi is a multinational company that provides hoteliers with guest-facing and back-of-the-house mobile application solutions. The AEVI Global Marketplace will initially feature VSi's vInspect and TraveLight, custom mobile applications that allow hotel staff to perform their roles more efficiently via innovative tools on mobile devices.

vInspect streamlines backend hotel operations, enhances housekeeping staff performance, and provides real-time business intelligence tools for management, resulting in an improved bottom line. TraveLight, currently running as a pilot in New Orleans, has been developed with the aim of helping travellers streamline their luggage logistics. These innovative applications are a sample from the range apps that support AEVI's vision to enable businesses to DO MORE.

These apps are already available and showing benefits in casinos in Las Vegas and other major hotel brands across the US. This partnership marks the beginning of new business opportunities, with a solution that is ready to roll out and lead in the US market.

"Banks and merchant acquirers are always seeking new solutions to better meet the needs of their merchants, but a mobile device with built-in security and facility for business apps was not available for the hospitality industry" says Vasona Systems International's CEO Saeed Kazmi. "Now we can reach out to new customers and enter new markets to offer industry-specific solutions running on AEVI's Albert device to streamline guest services and build brand loyalty."

"We are delighted to welcome VSi in our Global Marketplace", says Mike Camerling, Chief Product Officer & Board Member at AEVI, "Our ecoystem and connected devices enable banks and merchant acquirers to introduce a new range of value propositions to their customers under their own brand. VSi joining the Global Marketplace significantly benefits acquirers addressing the hospitality industry, allowing them to provide a more customised merchant experience."

VSi will be joining AEVI at Money 20/20 Vegas, the world's largest payments and financial services innovation event, on October 23-26, 2016. AEVI invites US banks, acquirers, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and hardware vendors to join them developing a truly open ecosystem to give choice and flexibility to merchants.

About VSi:

Based in California's Silicon Valley, VSi is a multinational company that provides hoteliers with guest-facing and back-of-the-house mobile applications solutions. VSi's cloud-based managed services can be customized for each brand while providing a consistent experience across multiple devices and multiple properties. VSi's fully supported turnkey solutions serve over 1500 locations in key markets worldwide, including top-tier luxury brands, independent boutiques, casinos and resorts, as well as limited service chains.

http://www.ver-sys.com

About AEVI:

AEVI has developed a unique, open Ecosystem to bring merchant banks and merchant acquirers closer to their merchants, and merchants closer to their consumers. AEVI provides a global gateway for secure payment transactions together with a marketplace for high-quality value-added apps and services (VAAS) providing new business opportunities beyond payments, which enables fast and effective innovation, plus enhanced control and flexibility. This combination delivers a reduced total cost of ownership for clients.

AEVI works with customers to help them embrace collaboration and adopt open solutions that have the power to deliver more value and better meet the needs of today's consumer.

In short, AEVI enables businesses to DO MORE.

http://www.aevi.com

AEVI Press & Media Contact:

press@aevi.com

Tel.: +49 (0) 52 51 / 693-3375

SOURCE AEVI
PUNE, India, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Industrial Labels Market by Type (Warning, Asset Tags), Material (Polymer, Metal), Industry (Transportation, Automotive), Mechanism (Pressure-sensitive, Glue-applied), Printing Technology, Identification Technology, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021" Published by MarketsandMarkets, The market for industrial labels is projected to grow from USD 43.04 Billion in 2016 to reach USD 55.95 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 5.39%. The market for industrial labels is growing due to increasing demand in end-use industries such as construction, automotive, consumer durables, transportation & logistics, and aerospace & defense.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 132 market data Tables and 53 Figures spread through 188 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Industrial Labels Market - Global Forecast to 2021"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/industrial-labels-market-177324755.html



Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Warning/security labels type gain maximum traction during the forecast period

Warning/security labels type is highly preferred because of a variety of reasons such as to attract attention to warnings, to identify risks/hazards involved, to convey security messages, and to provide product-related information. These labels are highly used at the manufacturing sites such as automotive, construction, manufacturing, and marine to maintain a safe working environment.

Make an Enquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=177324755

Transportation & logistics segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period

The Industrial Labels Market is segmented on the basis of end-use industry into transportation & logistics, construction, automotive, consumer durables, and others. In 2015, the transportation & logistics segment accounted for the largest share of the end-use industry segment and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The increasing e-commerce, online shopping businesses, increasing supply chain & warehousing industry, and governments' initiatives to propel FDI have encouraged the Industrial Labels Market to grow.

Asia-Pacific to play a key role in the market for industrial labels

On the basis of key regions, the market for industrial labels is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). The low labor costs, excellent industrialization, a huge scope for FDI, emerging economic conditions, stable government scenarios, and an excellent hold on industries such as construction, automotive, consumer durables, logistics, marine, and aerospace have played a crucial role in the growth of the market for industrial labels in the Asia-Pacific region.

The key players considered in the report are:

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) (U.S.)

CCL Industries Inc. ( Canada )

) Avery Dennison Corporation (U.S.)

Brady Corporation (U.S.)

Cenveo Corporation (U.S.)

DUNMORE (U.S.)

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA ( Germany )

) H.B. Fuller (U.S.)

(U.S.) 3M (U.S.)

Fuji Seal International, Inc. ( Japan )

Browse Related Reports:

Smart Labels Market by Technology (EAS, RFID, Sensing, ESL, NFC tags), Components (Batteries, Transceivers, Microprocessors, Others), Application (Retail Inventory, Perishable Goods, Electronic & IT asset, others), End-use Industry - Forecast to 2021

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-label-market-192651809.html



Automotive Labels Market by Type (Warning, Dome, Asset), Identification Technology (Barcode, RFID), Printing Technology (Flexography, Digital printing), Mechanism (Pressure-sensitive, Heat Transfer, In-mold), Raw Material (PVC & Others), Application & Region - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automotive-labels-market-62917896.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.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
LONDON, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The sixth annual Future Mortar Systems Conference will be held at the Kensington Close Hotel, London, UK, between 25 - 27 October, 2016.

The Future Mortar Systems conference will cater to an international audience of mortar operators, programme managers and mortar system developers, who will come together to debate and discuss their common challenges, as well as share operational experience and technical expertise.

Featuring a global speaker faculty, with representation from Israel, Australia, Brazil, the U.S., Canada, and Ukraine, to name a few, Future Mortar Systems will once again deliver a unique international snapshot of the current issues facing the mortars community and the industry solutions required.

Future Mortars speakers for 2016 include:

Lieutenant Colonel Danny Oken , Israeli Defence Forces

, Israeli Defence Forces Lieutenant Colonel Al Brown , SO1 Land Concepts, Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, UK Ministry of Defence

, SO1 Land Concepts, Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, UK Ministry of Defence Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Pinana , Directorate of Doctrine, Organization and Materials, Spanish Army

, Directorate of Doctrine, Organization and Materials, Spanish Army Major General Timothy McGuire , Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe

, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Gomes Pinto Eduardo, Guarani R&D Project, Brazilian Army

Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Bandieri , Interagency Command for Special Forces Operations, ACOS Training, Innovation and Interoperability, Italian Armed Forces

For further information on the speaker panel and presentations, download the agenda here > http://www.future-mortars.co.uk/agenda-mc

For more information about the upcoming Future Mortar Systems Conference visit http://www.future-mortars.co.uk or phone +44(0)207-368-1300.

About Defence IQ

Defence IQ is an authoritative news source for high quality and exclusive commentary and analysis on global defence and military-related topics. Sourcing interviews and insights directly from senior military and industry professionals on air defence, cyber warfare, armoured vehicles, naval defence, land defence and many more topics. To learn more visit http://www.defenceiq.com, or call us at +44(0)207-368-1300.

SOURCE Defence IQ
HATFIELD, England, October 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

FOR EMEA MEDIA ONLY: NOT FOR AUSTRIAN/SWISS JOURNALISTS

Data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Meeting 2016

Results from CASCADE, an epidemiology study, show that efficacy of active agents in locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer progressively declines with each successive therapy cycle.1 Researchers collected data for 443 women from Spain with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, to examine the effect of successive lines of therapy on objective response rates (ORR) and disease control rates (DCR) per tumour immunotype. Objective response rates and disease control rates were analysed from the first-line to eighth-line of therapy. With each line of therapy added there was a correlating gradual decline in both ORR and DCR regardless of treatment choice.1

In first- and second-line respectively, patients with all immunotypes continued to show a clinically meaningful response to treatment1 (HER2-/HR+ 40.6-10.7, Triple-negative 40.3-17.7, HER2+/HR+ 37.9-41.3, HER2+/HR- 49.1-38.2). Women with triple-negative breast cancer had particularly poor outcomes after successive lines of therapy, with no response to treatment as early as third-line therapy, compared with 21.8% for patients with HER2-/HR+ breast cancer, 24.3% for HER2+/HR+ and 30.8% for HER2+/HR+. By the time patients were on their eighth-line of therapy, only women with HER2-/HR+ or HER2+/HR+ breast cancer responded to treatment (16.7% and 14.3% respectively).

"This study shows that women with metastatic breast cancer are likely to respond better to treatments in earlier lines of therapy. It is critical that clinicians prioritise the most active drugs in earlier lines, where they may be more likely to result in longer clinical benefit," comments Javier Cortes, specialist physician at the Oncology Department, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

Data presented at ESMO about Halaven (eribulin) include results for the ONSITE study that investigates the safety of eribulin in third-line chemotherapy in women with HER2-negative metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer (n=59).2 The primary endpoint of the study was safety and secondary endpoints included clinical benefit rate, overall survival and progression free survival. Grade 3 or 4 haematologic adverse events included febrile neutropaenia (n=3, 5%) and neutropaenia (n=10, 17%).2 The most common grade 3-4 non-haematologic adverse events were alopecia (n=3, 5%) and asthenia (n=2, 3%). Clinical benefit was seen in 56% of patients (n=33), median progression free survival was 4.03 months (95%CI 3.07 to 5.93) and at 20 months 77.8% of patients were still alive (n=44).2

Eribulin is indicated in the European Union for the treatment of women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after at least one chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced disease.3 Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline and a taxane in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting unless patients were not suitable for these treatments.

An investigational phase II, multicentre, single arm trial (MERIBEL) examines eribulin as a first-line therapy for taxane resistant HER2- metastatic breast cancer.4 In a group of patients with a poor prognosis (n=53), the median time to progression (TTP) was 4.1 months (95%CI 3.2 to 6.2) and the one-year TTP was 16.2% (95%CI 7 to 37.5). The one-year overall survival (OS) was 68.3% (95%CI 56.5 to 82.5), and median OS has not been reached. The objective response rate was 20.8% (95%CI 9.8 to 31.7) and clinical benefit rate was 26.4% (95% CI 14.5 to 38.3). The most common grade 3 and 4 adverse events respectively were neutropaenia (18.9% and 17.0%), anaemia (3.8% and 0%), peripheral neuropathy (7.5% and 0%) and asthenia (5.7% and 0%). One patient experienced febrile neutropaenia.4

Data presented at ESMO 2016 for a pre-planned subgroup analyses of study 309 in patients (n=309) with histologically confirmed advanced leiomyosarcomas showed no difference in activity between the eribulin and dacarbazine arms.5 Median overall survival was 12.7 months for eribulin versus 13.0 months for dacarbazine (HR=0.93 [95% CI 0.71-1.20]). Study 309 is a phase III randomised trial that compares the efficacy and safety of eribulin to dacarbazine in soft tissue sarcomas (liposarcomas and leiomyosarcomas) in 452 patients (aged 18 or over).6

Published results for study 309 show a median overall survival improvement of 2.6 months (13.5 months versus 11.5 months) in patients with leiomyosarcomas or liposarcomas treated with eribulin versus dacarbazine (HR=0.768, 95% CI 0.618-0.954; P=0.017).6 A subset of people with unresectable advanced or metastatic liposarcomas treated with eribulin had a median 7.2 months longer overall survival than those treated with dacarbazine (15.6 months versus 8.4 months median OS, HR = 0.511; 95% CI 0.346-0.753; P=0.0006). In study 309, the most common adverse events of Grade 3 or 4 (above 5%) observed in the eribulin arm were anaemia, leukopenia, and neutropenia and in the dacarbazine arm were anaemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia.6

In May 2016, the European Commission approved a variation to the terms of the Marketing Authorisation of eribulin for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable liposarcomas who have received prior anthracycline containing therapy (unless unsuitable) for advanced or metastatic disease.3

"Eribulin has demonstrated an overall survival benefit, the most important and difficult endpoint to achieve, in two solid tumour types. These data highlight the importance of the use of active therapies in earlier lines of treatment. In particular, real world evidence confirms the benefits of our medicines in real life settings." comments Gary Hendler, Chief Commercial Officer Eisai Oncology Business Group, Chairman and CEO Eisai EMEA.

Eribulin is a microtubule-dynamics inhibitor and structurally modified analogue of halichondrin B, originally isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai. Its mode of action is distinct from other tubulin inhibitors and involves binding to specific sites on the growing positive ends of microtubules to inhibit their growth. Recent data for blood perfusion show that eribulin may lead to remodelling of tumour vasculature, resulting in reoxygenation of deoxygenated (hypoxic) tumour areas.7 A hypoxic tumour microenvironment significantly affects progression and management of cancer and therefore improvement of tumour perfusion may lead to a decrease in tumour metastatic potency.8

The continued development of its oncology portfolio underscores Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, the company's commitment to innovative solutions in disease prevention, cure and care for the health and wellbeing of people worldwide. Eisai is committed to the therapeutic area of oncology and to addressing the unmet medical needs of people with cancer and their families.



Notes to editors

Metastatic Breast Cancer

More than 300,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Europe every year and about one third subsequently develop metastatic disease. 9 At this advanced stage, the cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body.

About Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Soft tissue sarcoma is a collective term for a diverse group of malignant tumours. Unlike other cancers, soft tissue sarcomas are often diagnosed with localised disease, and many are amenable to complete surgical removal, yet relapse rates can be as high as 50%.10 Only 50% of people with soft tissue sarcomas are expected to live up to five years.11 Outcomes for patients with advanced disease are poor, with median survival around one year or less.12

Leiomyosarcomas are one of the more common types of sarcoma to develop in adults. They develop from smooth muscle cells and can start anywhere in the body.13 Liposarcomas arise from fat cells and can occur anywhere in the body. Leiomyosarcomas and liposarcomas make up approximately 30% of all cases of soft tissue sarcomas.21

About Eisai Co., Ltd.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With over 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realise our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in multiple therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.

As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries.

For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.



References

1 De Paz L, et al. CASCADE study: Pronounced Decline in Treatment Efficacy through the Metastatic Life of Breast Cancer Patients. European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting 2016, Poster: 248P

2 Manso L, et al. ONSITE study: Single arm, multicentre, non-randomized open-label trial to evaluate the safety of eribulin in third line chemotherapy in patients with HER2-negative metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer previously treated with anthracyclines and taxanes. European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting 2016, Poster: 246P

3 SPC Halaven (updated August 2016). Available at: http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/24382 . Accessed October 2016

4 Ortega V, et al. MERIBEL STUDY: First-Line Eribulin for Taxane-Resistant HER2[-] Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Patients (pts). European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting 2016, Poster: 238P

5 Blay J, et al. Subgroup analysis of leiomyosarcoma (LMS) patients (pts) from a phase 3, open-label, randomized study of eribulin (ERI) versus dacarbazine (DTIC) in pts with advanced liposarcoma (LPS) or LMS. European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting 2016, Poster: 1401PD

6 Schoffski P et al. Eribulin versus dacarbazine in previously treated patients with advanced liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma: a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial. The Lancet. 2016

7 Kawano S, et al. Antimitotic and Non-mitotic Effects of Eribulin Mesilate in Soft Tissue Sarcoma. Anticancer Research 2016; 36; 1553-1562

8 Kevin L Bennewith and Shoukat Dedhar. Targeting hypoxic tumour cells to overcome metastasis. BMC Cancer 2011;11:504

9 World Health Organisation. Atlas of Health in Europe. 2003. World Health Organization, Regional Office of Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.

10 Pollock R. Soft Tissue Sarcomas, a Volume in the American Cancer Society Atlas of Clinical Oncology Series 2012

11 National Cancer Institute. Adult Soft Tissue Cancer Survival Rates. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/sarcoma-adultsofttissuecancer/detailedguide/sarcoma-adult-soft-tissue-cancer-survival-rates . Accessed October 2016

12 Fletcher C, et al. World Health Organization Classification of Tumours of Soft Tissue and Bone (4th Edition). Lyon: IARC Press, 2013

13 Cancer Research UK, Soft Tissue Sarcoma Incidence Statistics. Available at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/incidence/ . Accessed October 2016



October 2016 Version 9 - 30.09.16

Eribulin-EU0197 Date of Origination: 12.09.16

SOURCE Eisai
DUBAI, UAE, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Last week, international hydroponic experts Pegasus Agriculture attended the 13th edition of South China's leading luxury property show LPS Guangzhou 2016 as an exhibitor. The show was held from September 23rd until the 25th in Guangzhou city, China, and drew more than 100 exhibitors from around the world, as well as over 6000 VIP buyers.

As an exhibitor, Pegasus Agriculture was able to close deals and network with several potential partners within the country that could help drive indoor agriculture development in China, as well as generate a significate amount of interest in the company's investment model. Pegasus Agriculture representative, Ricardo Schenke, who attended the exhibition, referred to the show as being "an outstanding experience and an important step for Pegasus Agriculture towards developing contacts and probing markets in China."

Pegasus Agriculture has been interested in expanding their international operations into China for quite some time now, having identified the country as holding significant potential for the indoor agriculture industry. This is because, recently, China has been orienting itself towards a more eco-centric focus, one of the latest developments of which is its recently-announced $450 billion farm plan.

About LPS Guangzhou

South China premier international property show, LPS Guangzhou 2016 welcomed over one hundred exhibitors from more than thirty five countries.



Supported by over 150 media & influential show partners and held in the center of Guangzhou, LPS Guangzhou works with the world's leading real estate brands such as Sotheby's International Realty, Savills, Colliers, Re/Max, Alain Pinel, Knight Frank, Ritz-Carlton Residences, helping them to expand their activities in the China market.

About Pegasus Agriculture

Pegasus Agriculture is one of the leading owners and operators of hydroponic farming facilities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Their head office is strategically located in Dubai, U.A.E. and serves as the headquarters for our globally growing distribution network.

With over 150 years of combined market experience, Pegasus Agriculture leads the MENA region in its goal to attain independent food security.

For more information, please visit http://pegasusagriculturegroup.com

Pegasus Agriculture Contact

info@pegasusagriculturegroup.com

Dubai Office:

+971 4 818 8300



SOURCE Pegasus Agriculture Group
WASHINGTON, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) was pleased to participate in a high level conference in the US Congress on Friday, September 30th, sponsored by Congresswoman ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN. Prior to the conference, Paulo Casaca, Executive Director of SADF, personally briefed Members of Congress on the escalation of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan into India. He was able to articulate policy recommendations, enlighten Members of Congress with his detailed knowledge of cross-border terrorism, counterterrorism protocols and nuclear threats stemming from the region.

He presented SADF ' s latest Policy Brief titled " Pakistan ' s cross-border terrorism. The Pathankot attack " The Pathankot Attack was a unique terror attack because it had a clear military goal and complex coordination. The recent cross-border raid by India has sparked an unusual and deadly threat from Pakistan in which it explicitly threatened the use of nuclear arms on India.

"It is remarkable because their threats are never so direct. Such threats are predictable, but not usual. And tension like this has been building to a boiling point due to lack of international concern. We have to intervene to avert catastrophe", said Paulo Casaca.

Thomas G. McInerney, retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General, who served in top military positions and reported to the Secretary of Defense and the Vice President of the United States, told the audience that the chances of nuclear arms getting into the hands of radical Islamists are high and that the West has to be sensitive to what is happening in Pakistan.

"The recent attack has evolved into a dangerous threat of nuclear force not to be taken lightly. We've seen these on and off crises over the years, but this one is particularly dangerous", said Thomas G. McInerney. He emphasized that "moderate Islam has allowed this to grow and metastasize".

Lastly, Walid Phares, globally renowned terrorism expert who chaired the meeting, concluded that there is a lack of international attention to the India-Pakistan conflict and suggested that the US be the mediator between India and Pakistan on the nuclear issue.

Concerning the fight against radical Islam he said, "We have a lot of moderate forces pushing back".

Briefed on the report, U.S. Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) stated:

"It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to learn further details of cross-border terrorism issues from Paulo, which must end in order for peace to be discovered in South Asia. This is in the interests of regional stability."

Rules Committee Chairman, U.S. Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) stated:

"I was pleased to meet with Paulo Casaca and glean critical information from his briefing and organization. We reject cross-border terrorism, and support a de-escalation of violence to discover incremental steps towards a pathway to peace in the region".

While the Pathankot attack did not inflict considerable damage to the air logistics of the Indian armed forces, the Pakistani military establishment was successful in its strategic objective to derail the Indo-Pakistani diplomatic dialogue.

The South Asia Democratic Forum strongly believes that the international community must have an absolutely clear position of condemnation of Pakistan's policy of cross-border terrorism, and that all international cooperation with Pakistan should be conditional to its end.

SOURCE South Asia Democratic Forum
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The 'JCA-Mauvernay Award 2016' is awarded to Doctors Hidewaki Nakagawa and Hiroyuki Seimiya

Debiopharm Group(http://www.debiopharm.com), a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical company, will be presenting the 'JCA-Mauvernay Award' on October 8 to Doctors Hidewaki Nakagawa from the RIKEN Center for Integrated Medical Sciences for his basic research on Molecular Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancers Using Genome Sequencing and Genome-wide Association Study and Hiroyuki Seimiya from the Division of Molecular Biotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research for his applied research on Telomere Maintenance System as an Anticancer Therapeutic Target.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160830/402503LOGO )

Doctors Nakagawa and Seimiya will receive their Awards during the General Assembly of the 75th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association (JCA) in Yokohama on the following theme: 'Breakthroughs in Cancer Treatment: Collaboration of Basic, Translational and Clinical Research'. Dr. Kohei Miyazono, President of the JCA and Thierry Mauvernay, Co-President & Delegate of the Board of Debiopharm Group, will present the trophies to both scientists.

Dr. Nakagawa has been working on cancer genomics for many years. He has analyzed gene expression profiles of pancreatic and prostate cancer cells to identify target genes for molecular diagnosis and therapies. He has elucidated their biological functions and demonstrated that they could serve as targets of antibody, small interfering RNA (siRNA) or immune-mediated therapies. Dr. Nakagawa has also analyzed the mutational landscape of Japanese liver cancers by whole genome sequencing and using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and has identified several oncogenic mutations.

Telomeres maintenance system could be a promising anticancer strategy as cancer cells often activate telomere-lengthening enzymes to counteract the natural telomere-shortening process ensuing from repeated cell cycles and leading to normal cell senescence and death. Dr. Seimiya and his group have conducted studies on telomeres and telomere-related factors. They have reported that long telomeres increase the levels of the telomeric non-coding RNA, which in turn suppresses the innate immune genes expression in cancer.

"For more than 10 years, our goal has been to reward outstanding achievements in the field of oncology amongst Japanese researchers. We are pleased to see that they are still very committed. We congratulate Doctors Nakagawa and Seimiya for the high quality of their research and hope their work will lead to effective treatments in the years to come", said Thierry Mauvernay, Co-President & Delegate of the Board of Debiopharm Group.

About the JCA-Mauvernay Award

Since 2005, the Japanese Cancer Association (JCA) and Debiopharm Group have co-organized the 'JCA-Mauvernay Award'. This prize illustrates the curiosity that drives researchers as well as the scientific cooperation between Japan and Switzerland. It aims at recognizing outstanding achievements in the field of oncology amongst Japanese researchers, in both the fundamental and the clinical aspects. The award has a total value of CHF 25'000.

About Debiopharm Group

Debiopharm Group is a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of five companies active in the development and manufacture of drugs and diagnostics tools. Debiopharm focuses on developing prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs. The group in-licenses and develops promising drug candidates. The products are commercialized by pharmaceutical out-licensing partners to give access to the largest number of patients worldwide.

For more information, please see http://www.debiopharm.com

We are on Twitter. Follow @DebiopharmNews at http://twitter.com/DebiopharmNews

Debiopharm International SA Contact

Christelle Tur

Communication Coordinator

christelle.tur@debiopharm.com

Tel: +41(0)21-321-01-11



SOURCE Debiopharm International SA
The collaboration has led to the setting up of Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University to be launched in December 2016. The pioneering Center will be a hub for research and policy practice, creating world-class programmes to train a new generation of students, practitioners and policy leaders, develop linkages with universities, industries, government bodies, NGOs and social enterprises around the world in sustainable development.

The partnership, borne with a generous contribution of USD10 million from the JCF is in tune with the Sunway Education Group's Founder Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah's goal of sustainable development as seen today with the integrated Sunway City, transformed from what was previously a derelict mining land. The transformation is a model reflection of sustainable development.

"This partnership signals the vision of Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, AO in recognising that sustainable development is the defining challenge of our times," said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations. "This generous gift by Jeffrey Cheah will create and curate the world's best curriculum, academic, and executive programs on sustainable development. Importantly, this partnership focuses on the development challenges in Southeast Asia and the best way to address them: by engaging young minds and directing their energies towards the complex challenges and opportunities of the SDGs."

"Countries like Malaysia face unique challenges in combating the threat of climate change while continuing to tackle problems of inclusive development and job creation," said Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, AO. "This is an exciting opportunity for us at Sunway University to collaborate with UNSDSN and Professor Sachs in establishing a global education program on Sustainable Development with the Center. The JCF deems it appropriate to name this Center after Professor Sachs hoping it will inspire a new generation of young minds to create a sustainable future for all and at the same time pay tribute to a renowned global intellectual leader who has dedicated his life's work to sustainable development.

With the establishment of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development, I believe that we have taken an important step in the right direction to develop the global expertise needed to move Malaysia and Asia forward in the area of sustainable development, to protect and preserve the planet. World-class infrastructure is already available to house the Center at Sunway University, located in the thriving township of Sunway, a testament to rehabilitation and sustainability."

A one-day conference will be held in conjunction with the launch ceremony of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development on 9 December 2016 at Sunway University. For more information please email: jsc@sunway.edu.my.

SOURCE Sunway University
Across the 3-day event, Tissue World Istanbul 2016 welcomed a total of 1,602 tissue industry professionals. While 67% of the participants consists of local Turkish tissue industry players, the event also saw strong support and interest from the international side attracting visitors from 64 countries worldwide such as the UK, Italy, India, UAE, USA, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Russia, Egypt, UAEto name just a few.

The exhibition show floor featured over 50 exhibiting companies, including a wide range of tissue industry suppliers, tissue manufacturers and converters. Here are some of the leading players that the show was hosting: Aktul Kagt, Cellynne Converter, Lee & Man, Hayat Kimya, Ipek Kagt, Kahramanmaras Kagt , Mediterannean Tissue Mill, Lila Kagt, Parteks Kagt.

Exhibitors expressed high satisfaction on their experience in show, both on the level of visitors as the high quality of conference sessions. Director of ICM Makina, Devrim Deniz commented, "We have made new contacts in this fair, especially from the Middle East Region and some from Russia."

Tissue World was brought to Turkey in 2014, starting first with a conference. Following the feedback and support of leading tissue industry players, a full trade show was launched. Being a huge tissue producer and leading role in the MENA region mainly thanks to its strategic location, Istanbul is the ideal meeting point for the local and international players from Eastern Europe, Russia, the CIS, the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa.

Alongside the trade show, Tissue World Istanbul also featured a conference. Industry experts from various backgrounds such as the Turkish Pulp & Paper Foundation, RISI, Euromonitor, Poyry, Hayat, Ipek, Solenis, A. Celli, Henkel, just to name a few, shared the latest industry and economic insights during the conference sessions held over one and a half days. With the conference theme "Turkey: How can it maintain the pace of success?", presentations shed light on this strategic and unique market, with an emphasis on the regional and local supply and demand outlook, the surprising retailing landscape in these regions and on the latest technological innovations.

Tissue World is the leading global event series serving the tissue industry worldwide since 1993. With events in Istanbul, Milan, Miami, Bangkok and Sao Paulo it offers an integrated and intertwined platform consisting of exhibitions, conferences and a magazine providing an unmatched offline and online meeting place to do business, exchange ideas and learn, all year round. For media enquiries and press registration, contact Yew Lei Ching at leiching.yew@ubm.com.

Related Links

http://www.tissueworld.com/



SOURCE Tissue World - UBM
SEVENOAKS, England, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

On Oct 4th, 2016, TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Limited ("TOTALTEC" or the "Company") successfully completed its initial equity finance raising from a number of private investors, price undisclosed. TOTALTEC intends to use the proceeds from this equity raise to establish its presence in Guyana and fund the initial stages of its strategy to provide a Guyana based oilfield services company to enable the growth and development of indigenous content and competence in the oil & gas industry in Guyana.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416084LOGO )



TOTALTEC is a newly established company focused on the Guyana oil & gas industry in support of the major discovery by ExxonMobil offshore Guyana in 2015. Its aim is to contribute to the development of the oil & gas industry in Guyana by providing training, development, engineering, technical advisory, support and consultancy services to the local community, government and international operators and service companies in Guyana.

TOTALTEC has also launched PETROGO.Org, PETROGO is owned and operated by TOTALTEC as an effective membership platform and vehicle for promoting the offshore industry's capabilities to key clients in Guyana and providing market information to its member companies and organizations. TOTALTEC's international team come from a strong former Schlumberger and Welltec executive bench.

Simmons & Company International Limited served as corporate finance advisor and Pitmans LLP acted corporate legal advisor to TOTALTEC and its founders on the start-up equity financing.

For more information, please contact:

Lars Mangal

Company Director

UK Cell +44-748-416-8068

E-mail larsmangal@totaltec-os.com



http://www.totaltec-os.com

http://www.petrogo.org

SOURCE TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Limited
"For almost 30 years it has been our joy to award Mini-Grants to support teachers and librarians who reach beyond the standard curriculumcreating programs that inspire and encourage students in a creative and cooperative context," says Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. "It is essential that educators have resources to create these special programs, and this year we've revamped our application to make it even easier for them to apply for funding."

Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has provided nearly $880,000 in support of Mini-Grant programs spanning the 50 states and the U.S. Commonwealth. To learn more about Mini-Grants, including this year's criteria, visit Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants.

Last year, in honor of Ezra's centenary, teachers and librarians were invited to design programs that celebrated some aspect of the late author-illustrator's books and his vision of childhood.

These two outstanding Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant programs celebrate bilingual education in our diverse world:

Empowering High School Students Through Posters Celebrating Accomplished Latinos (Frankfort, IN)

Members of the C.R.A.S.H. (Community Raising & Starting Heroes) Club in Franklin, IN, a group of high school students that helps raise awareness around issues that affect the Latino community, worked with graduate students from Purdue University to create posters shining a spotlight on distinguished Latinos, past and present.

The EJK Mini-Grant made it possible for the C.R.A.S.H. Club to purchase large poster boards, print the information that students researched, laminate the posters and create displays in the five schools that comprise the Community Schools of Frankfort, reaching nearly 3,000 students.

"Even though our community has made great strides over the years, being bilingual is still a stigma here, and as a result, many of our kids are losing their ability to speak Spanish and embrace their culture. For quite a while, we had wanted to make these posters to provide positive role models for our younger students. An EJK Mini-Grant made it possible," says Esmeralda Cruz, Health and Human Sciences Educator and co-founder of the C.R.A.S.H Club, along with Jeanna Johnson, ELL teacher at Frankfort High School. "And the program sparked discussion among older students, educators and parents, too. I'll see a parent look at the displayed posters and say to their child, for example, 'When I was in school I knew about Benito Juarez or Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez,' and from there, a wonderful dialogue begins."

Creating the posters was an eight-month process. First, the C.R.A.S.H. Club created a list of 50 accomplished Latino professionals to profile. Then the students were each assigned to research one person, and to write and translate a summary. Drafts were reviewed several times in English and Spanish. The posters, which included an image or photograph, the summary in both languages and questions created by students and teachers, were laminated and placed in eye-catching displays.

"Fun With French" Activity Kits Help Teach and Preserve the French Language (Auburn, ME)

Volunteer Doris Belisle-Bonneau, one of Auburn Public Library's trustees, has devoted her life to teaching and preserving the French language and culture in the area. She had been working with Deb Cleveland, children's librarian, to create a program for younger students, beginning with "Fun with French" activity kits. The EJK Mini-Grant allowed them to turn the kits into a full-fledged program that delighted students for many months.

"With the EJK Mini-Grant, we were able to create activity kits for older children as well as younger children around the Francophone cultures of Haiti, France, Canada and African French-speaking countriessupporting local families with recently adopted children from Haiti and local French-speaking immigrant families," says Deb Cleveland.

The EJK Mini-Grant made it possible to create a four-week "Fun with French" program that became part of the children's summer reading program at the Library. It included an hour of stories and singing followed by crafts for parents/caregivers and children to complete together. The new activity kits, presented by Doris, were the highlight of the program.

Three programs were added to showcase country-specific activity kits. In December, students got a glimpse of Christmas traditions in France with stories of Pere Noel and treat-filled sabots (shoes). Traditional foodstourtiere (French meat pie) and buche de Noel (Yule log cake)were offered and eagerly consumed!

In February, Canada was the topic and the activities were making "sugar on snow" candy and creating the Canadian Maple Leaf flag. Haiti was the theme in April, and the students explored geography, fruit of the island and the colorful clothing of the island's residents.

According to Cleveland, many "Fun with French" participants were home-schooled, and their families welcomed the unique addition to their curriculum. "The Haiti program was particularly appreciated by a family that had recently adopted a young boy from Haitithe family wants to ensure that their son continues to speak French and that the other family members learn the language as well," she adds.

About the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

Founded by the late Caldecott award-winning children's book author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation fosters children's love of reading and creative expression by supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries; cultivating new writers and illustrators of exceptional picture books that reflect the experience of childhood in our diverse culture; and protecting and promoting the work of Keats, whose book The Snowy Day broke the color barrier in children's publishing. To learn more about the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, visit www.ezra-jack-keats.org. Keats. Imagination. Diversity.

Contact:

Sheree Wichard

718-788-9585

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416086

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416083

SOURCE Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

Related Links

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org


DENVER, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AdCellerant, LLC today announced they have been nominated for Street Fight's Local Visionary Award in the Best New Product category. The nomination places them among the 3 top innovative companies out of over 175 nominations. The youngest company nominated in their category, at just under 3 years old and with 25 employees, AdCellerant is creating and innovating with incredible speed.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416463LOGO

The product has a simple purpose--revolutionize the current digital marketplace that is currently fragmented, confusing and riddled with untrustworthy data. Ui.marketing helps a business owner understand the best digital product mix to purchase based on their industry, goals and objectives for each campaign. Then, with a click of a button, it is executed with the highest quality data providers and technology, including The TradeDesk, Google, and many more.

The client can then watch how the campaign is performing with the greatest transparency in the industry in a clear and concise reporting environment that provides coherent statistics from which a business owner can glean imperative marketing information. This system takes the confusing world of digital advertising and simplifies it without forgoing the highest level of expertise and technology keeping all campaign information in one environment for ease of execution and efficiency.

"This industry is ready for an intelligent tool that changes the way advertisers purchase media. As a business owner myself, I believe in a system that is easy to use and proves the value of the marketing dollars we spend. Ui.marketing will be the future of digital marketing!" Shelby Carlson, Co-Founder and SVP of Sales of AdCellerant.

"We are honored to be among the finalist for this prestigious award, it shows how amazing our team is and how much they have accomplished with limited resources," said CEO and Founder Brock Berry. "Ui.marketing is revolutionary and every revolution includes a pivotal moment where the power of change over powers the incumbent and completely changes the landscape."

The Local Visionary Street Fights Awards will be held October 25th at the Street Fight Summit in New York City.

About Street Fight

Street Fight is an integrated media company focused on the business of hyperlocal marketing, commerce and technology. Street Fight produces a newsletter for over 9,000 daily readers, publishes commentary, original research, case studies, and how-to articles on their website, and hosts a series of live annual events to help the hyperlocal ecosystem achieve sustainable business models. To learn more, visit: http://streetfightmag.com or contact us directly at [email protected]

About AdCellerant

Operating in 184 US markets and 5 international markets AdCellerant is an Ad Technology and Digital Marketing Services company that specializes in executing small business programmatic display, mobile, tablet, video, native, email, and search marketing campaigns on behalf of local media companies. AdCellerant integrates with partner media companies to help train their sales team, sell creative marketing campaigns to their clients, and execute/report on what has been sold to create a dynamic, compounding digital revenue stream.

Contact:

Brock Berry- Founder & CEO

303-903-6696

[email protected]

Bailey Foley

303-884-8451

[email protected]

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE AdCellerant
NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Securities LLC, Arsenal Capital Partners, and Nordic Capital Fund VI today announced that American Securities has partnered with management and signed a definitive agreement to acquire Chromaflo Technologies Corp. ("Chromaflo" or the "Company"), a leading producer of proprietary, high-performance colorants and chemical dispersions, from Arsenal Capital Partners and Nordic Capital. The transaction is expected to close in November 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Ashtabula, Ohio, Chromaflo is a leading independent global supplier of colorant systems, chemical and pigment dispersions. With more than eight decades of industry experience in colorant systems and chemical pigment dispersions, the Company's family of brands includes more than 200 product lines and 7,000 products, serving customers across six continents.

Scott Becker, President and CEO of Chromaflo, said, "We look forward to partnering with American Securities. They are ideally positioned to support our next phase of growth and development as we look to expand our product offerings, geographies, and market reach. American Securities has significant experience in the specialty chemical sector and a broad and experienced team, which will aid in our expansion. We look forward to working with them as we continue to focus on providing highly technical colorant and chemical solutions to our customers and markets."

Scott M. Wolff, a Managing Director of American Securities, commented, "We believe that Chromaflo's commitment to product innovation, combined with its experienced and customer-focused management team, positions the Company for continued growth. We look forward to bringing our resources to bear to support Scott Becker and the rest of Chromaflo's management team toward continued success."

John Televantos, a Partner who co-heads Arsenal's Specialty Industrials practice, said, "Through its organic growth and strategic acquisitions, Chromaflo has become the leading global innovator and supplier of colorants and chemical dispersions with broad technologies serving the coatings and thermoset plastics markets."

Robert Furuhjelm, Partner, NC Advisory Oy, advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds, added, "Nordic Capital Fund VI is proud of the transformation of Chromaflo into a leading global player and has been very pleased with the partnership with Scott Becker and his management team for executing the Company's growth and acquisition strategy."

About Chromaflo Technologies

Chromaflo Technologies is a leading independent global supplier of colorant systems, chemical and pigment dispersions, serving customers in architectural and industrial coatings as well as the thermoset composites market. Headquartered in Ashtabula, Ohio, U.S., Chromaflo has production facilities in the U.S., Canada, The Netherlands, Finland, Australia, China and South Africa. Sales and technical support is also provided throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, China, India and Southeast Asia. Commitment to excellence is driven by three core values: quality, speed and service. Discover more at www.chromaflo.com.

About American Securities LLC

Based in New York with an office in Shanghai, American Securities is a leading U.S. private equity firm that invests in market-leading North American companies with annual revenues generally ranging from $200 million to $2 billion and/or $50 million to $200 million of EBITDA. American Securities and its affiliates have approximately $15 billion under management.

www.american-securities.com

About Arsenal Capital Partners

Arsenal Capital Partners is a leading New York-based private equity firm that invests in middle market specialty industrial and healthcare companies. Arsenal makes investments in sectors where the firm has significant prior knowledge and experience. Arsenal targets businesses that have the potential for further value creation, and works closely with management to accelerate growth by leveraging the firm's industry focus and operational improvement capabilities. Arsenal currently manages $2.9 billion of committed equity capital. For additional information on Arsenal Capital Partners, please visit www.arsenalcapital.com.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital private equity funds have invested in mid-market companies primarily in the Nordic region since 1989. Through committed ownership and by targeting strategic development and operational improvements, Nordic Capital enables value creation in its investments. Nordic Capital Funds invest in companies in northern Europe and in selected investment opportunities internationally. Nordic Capital currently has EUR 10.5 bn in assets under management. The most recent fund is Nordic Capital Fund VIII with EUR 3.5 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Funds are based in Jersey, Channel Islands, and are advised by the NC Advisory companies in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the UK. For further information about Nordic Capital please see www.nordiccapital.com.

SOURCE American Securities LLC

Related Links

http://www.american-securities.com


ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Trucking Associations has asked the state of Rhode Island to provide information to the trucking industry about outreach the state has done to communities that are likely to be affected by an increase in truck traffic as a result of the state's extortionary truck-only toll scheme.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight.Trucking Moves America Forward.

"According to one such 'information packet' obtained by the American Trucking Associations, [the Rhode Island Department of Transportation] intends to prevent diversion of tractor-semitrailers to potential alternative routes through signage limiting truck access to 'local services,' along with a variety of state and local enforcement methods," ATA said in a letter dated September 29. "From the limited information available, ATA has serious concerns as to how the contemplated restrictions can be reasonably enforced without imposing an unreasonable burden on motor carriers and their customers, truck drivers, other motorists and the citizens of Rhode Island."

ATA, and its federation partner the Rhode Island Trucking Association, have been vocally opposed to Gov. Raimondo's toll scheme since it was first proposed.

"We have said from the beginning that the governor and politicians in Providence are attempting to extort revenue from our industry  using the trucks that deliver their state's goods as a piggy bank to avoid making the tough choices that are necessary to maintain the state's roads and bridges," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "We will continue to fight these discriminatory and unjust tolls and as other states have learned, we will not stop until this plan is abandoned."

"This plan is bad for our industry, but it is also bad for Rhode Islanders who will see costs and congestion rise as a result," said RITA President Chris Maxwell. "The only beneficiaries of Gov. Raimondo's plan are her cronies and politicians in Providence who get to once again kick the can down the road when it comes to a real, sustainable highway funding solution."

For a copy of the letter, click here.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140523/90962

SOURCE American Trucking Associations

Related Links

http://www.trucking.org


LONDON, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

BinaryOnline is one of the most cherished binary options broker and traders will be delighted to know that an exhaustive education section is finally at their disposal. Addressing the ever increasing need of quality education for traders of all levels, Binary Insight promises to enhance everyone's trading skills and help them succeed using pioneering technology.

Learning binary options is now easier and more accessible with BinaryOnline.

Among the features most appreciated by traders, one can find:



Market Summaries - Updated once a day, market summaries provide insights regarding the different assets available on BinaryOnline's Trading Platform.

Chart Analysis - Will be updated on a daily basis, giving traders the possibility of easily accessing technical charts.

Educational Videos - Short animated videos, helping traders level up their knowledge with a few clicks.

Ebooks - Traders will be able to download a variety of binary options eBooks and read about the different strategies trending in the industry.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Binary Insight has much more to offer, traders will also have access to Calculators, Live Market Updates, Economic Calendars, and more.

It is important to note that all information provided through the different tools in this educational section are regularly updated and therefore, all the data available on Binary Insight is always relevant. According to BinaryOnline's communications executive, "Binary Insight is a must have for traders who want to make more accurate predictions at the end of the day. The ultimate goal of this new section is to help traders strengthen their strategies and trading skills."

About BinaryOnline:

BinaryOnline is a binary options broker which adopts an innovative approach to trader's education and uses cutting-edge technology to deliver the best trading experience for everyone who wishes to engage in trading binary options.

For more information visit: https://www.binaryonline.com

SOURCE BinaryOnline
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Qatar Airways announced an order for 30 787-9 Dreamliners and 10 777-300ERs, valued at $11.7 billion at list prices, validating the value, reliability and performance of Boeing's twin-aisle airplanes.

The airline also signed a Letter of Intent for up to 60 737 MAX 8s, valued at $6.9 billion at list prices.

Today's announcement builds on Qatar Airways' current fleet of 84 Boeing aircraft, a combination of 787s and 777s, all delivered over the last nine years. With this new order, Qatar Airways increases its firm order backlog of Boeing widebody airplanes from 65 to 105, including 60 777Xs.

The announcement was attended by the State of Qatar's Minister of Finance, His Excellency Ali Shareef Al Emadi, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and the Ambassador of Qatar, His Excellency Mohammed Jaham Al-Kuwari.

"Qatar Airways, already one of the fastest growing airlines in the history of aviation, today announces a significant and historic aircraft order that will power our future growth for the years and the decades ahead," said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker. "Boeing has proven to be a valuable partner, and today's announcement is testament to our appreciation of the quality of their product and their dedication to providing world class customer service."

Qatar Airways' relationship with Boeing was renewed in 2006. Since then, there have been many milestones in the partnership. The airline was the first to operate the 787 in the Middle East and is a launch customer for the 777X. With the commitment for the 737 MAX 8, it would be the first Boeing single-aisle airplane model to join Qatar Airways' fleet in more than 15 years.

"Congratulations to The Boeing Company and Qatar Airways on the remarkable milestone they've reached, which will significantly grow the number of Boeing aircraft in the Qatar Airways fleet," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. "Beyond its importance for these two companies, this agreement demonstrates the importance of global commercial partnerships in strengthening our bilateral ties. This deal will strengthen economic opportunity and job creation, and highlights the importance of strong global trading relationships."

"We are so very proud that a discerning and market-leading customer like Qatar Airways not only continues to endorse our current products, but also has confidence in Boeing's new technology that will soon be evident on the 777X and 737 MAX," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. "Our partnership with Qatar Airways has grown and strengthened tremendously over the years and I look forward to the time when its fleet will feature an increasing number of both our single and twin-aisle airplanes."

The 777-300ER is the most reliable twin-aisle airplane flying today and is considered to be the flagship of the world's elite airlines. It has the highest schedule reliability of any twin-aisle airplane at 99.5 percent  the airplane is on time, nearly all the time.

The 787-9 Dreamliner is the second member of the super-efficient, passenger-pleasing 787 family. The 787-9, a stretch of the 787-8, can fly 290 passengers 7,635 nautical miles (14,140 km) in addition to more cargo, allowing airlines the ability to grow routes first opened by the 787-8.

Boeing's newest family of single-aisle airplanes  737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9 and 737 MAX 200  builds on the Next-Generation 737's popularity and reliability while delivering customers unsurpassed fuel efficiency in the single-aisle market, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2017.

Contact:

Saffana Michael

Boeing Commercial Airplanes

+9 7150-4590651

[email protected]

Marc Birtel

Boeing Commercial Airplanes

+ 1 206-390-4115

[email protected]

Qatar Airways Corporate Communications

+974 4022 2200

[email protected]

Additional information available here: http://www.boeing.com/commercial/customers/qatar-airways/qatar-airways-order.page

Photo and caption will be available here: http://boeing.mediaroom.com

SOURCE Boeing
AMMAN, Jordan, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Boloro and BanQu are pleased to announce winning the 'Innovate for Refugees' global competition held by MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab and sponsored by Zain Group, MBC Hope, under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah.

The Boloro and BanQu solution for refugees is a strategic partnership between Boloro Global Limited, a USA-based global payments gateway platform and BanQu, Inc., a leading blockchain economic identity platform company. The solution is being implemented by Boloro MENA, based in Amman, Jordan.

The winning project leverages the strengths of BanQu and Boloro, enabling the 'first-ever' portability of critical data needed by refugees and people living in poverty across organizations, across borders and across economic opportunities. In collaboration with Payment Service Providers (PSPs), licensed by Central Bank of Jordan, the holistic solution will create a full payment ecosystem throughout Jordan, allowing the end user to have a unique identity, a legal source of funds & enable usage for purchasing goods and services, online and offline. The solution allows international NGOs (such as the United Nations) to transfer grant funds to refugee wallets in a secure and transparent way. Thus providers of financial and development resources can drive stronger data-driven insights on the outcomes of their programs.

"The BanQu and Boloro partnership fills a huge gap that is preventing refugees and people living under $2 a day a long-term and stable path towards dignity and economic resilience. We are excited that the award recognizes this value add," said Ashish Gadnis, Founder and CEO BanQu.

"Boloro is honored and excited to be selected as a winner of the MIT EF Pan Arab global competition to bring innovative solutions to the refugee crisis. Our solution brings true financial inclusion to those who have been marginalized from financial services in Jordan and is being replicated across the world," said Karim Rammal, Founder and Chairman Boloro Global Limited.

Together, Boloro and BanQu are bringing this award-winning solution of financial inclusion and economic opportunity to refugees and extremely poor populations across several markets.

About Boloro Global Limited:

Boloro is a unique, patented, handset neutral two-factor authentication technology and payments network that offers users the ability to securely transact using any kind of mobile phone and account without the need to download any app. Boloro replaces cash and offers financial services to the many unbanked in emerging markets thus accelerating financial inclusion and access. Boloro delivers financial dignity to the population at large.

Having processed over 40 million transactions in the last two years, Boloro Global Limited is headquartered in New York City, and currently operates in South Asia, Middle East and Africa, with expansion into the United States, India and other markets already underway. For more information, visit www.boloro.com.

Media Contact:

Marc James

[email protected]

About BanQu:

BanQu, Inc. was founded in 2015 to aid in the fight to end extreme poverty by bringing everyone into the global economy through its "Economic Identity" Platform. At BanQu, we're on a mission for good. This may be a grandiose statement, but consider that all problems have a solution and consider further, that many problems are self-created. Stepping back and looking at problems differently, allows for new approaches to age-old problems. At BanQu, we believe in this motto and hope you do, too. Visit us at www.banquapp.com.

Media Contact:

Hamse Warfa

[email protected]

SOURCE Boloro Global Limited

Related Links

http://www.boloro.com


KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Denton, Texas, has awarded a contract to Burns & McDonnell for comprehensive engineer/procure/construct (EPC) services for the new 225 megawatt (MW) Denton Energy Center. The new natural gas-fired power facility will feature reciprocating engine technology configured to provide flexible, fast-start power to Denton Municipal Electric Utilities as the city-owned utility progressively integrates more renewable power resources into its network.

The plant will feature twelve 18-cylinder Wartsila 18V50SG engines in a new power facility that will be designed and built by Burns & McDonnell. Each engine can be dispatched separately to balance power demand as needed. The City of Denton currently receives approximately 40 percent of its power supply from renewable energy and intends to move toward 70 percent renewable energy by 2019.

"Burns & McDonnell has been serving the public power industry for more than 100 years so we are proud to help the City of Denton meet its goals to become one of the greenest cities in America by turning to renewables as its source of baseload power," says Rick Halil, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the power generation group for Burns & McDonnell. "Reciprocating engine technology is an excellent way to help them meet this objective. Burns & McDonnell has designed and built a majority of the utility-scale reciprocating engine projects in the country as more and more utilities turn to reciprocating engines to balance their power needs."

Engineering design is already underway and construction will begin in early 2017. The engines and related equipment are expected to be delivered during the second half of 2017 and the plant will begin commercial operation by July 2018.

The Denton Energy Center will be one of the most flexible and efficient generating facilities in the industry due to its modular nature in which each Wartsila engine can be dispatched independently to quickly scale output up or down with minimal sacrifice in peak efficiency. The flexibility will become increasingly important as Denton continues to add more intermittent wind and solar power to its energy portfolio. The plant will also be one of the cleanest natural gas-fired facilities in the industry as it will utilize selective catalytic reduction to minimize pollutants.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a company made up of more than 5,300 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the United States, in Calgary and Toronto and throughout the world. Burns & McDonnell is ranked as the No. 1 Power engineering design firm by Engineering News-Record magazine and is ranked No. 14 overall among the Top 500 engineering design firms. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent employee-owned and is proud to be No. 16 on Fortune's 2016 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.

For more information, click here.

Contact: Roger Dick, Burns & McDonnell

816-822-3339

[email protected]

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SOURCE Burns & McDonnell

Related Links

http://www.burnsmcd.com


HOUSTON, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheniere Energy, Inc. ("Cheniere" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT: LNG) announced today that it plans to release third quarter 2016 financial results on Thursday, November 3, 2016 before the market opens. Cheniere will host a conference call for investors and analysts at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time) to discuss third quarter results.

A listen-only webcast of the call and accompanying slide presentation will be available on the Company's website at www.cheniere.com.

After completion of the webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website.

About Cheniere

Cheniere Energy, Inc., a Houston-based energy company primarily engaged in LNG-related businesses, owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana. Directly and through its subsidiary, Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., Cheniere is constructing and developing liquefaction projects near Corpus Christi, Texas and at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal, respectively. Train 1 of the liquefaction project at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal has commenced commercial operations and Train 2 has achieved substantial completion. Cheniere is also exploring a limited number of opportunities directly related to its existing LNG business.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements" within the meanings of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are "forward-looking statements." Included among "forward-looking statements" are, among other things, (i) statements regarding Cheniere's business strategy, plans and objectives, including the development, construction and operation of liquefaction facilities, (ii) statements regarding expectations regarding regulatory authorizations and approvals, (iii) statements expressing beliefs and expectations regarding the development of Cheniere's LNG terminal and pipeline businesses, including liquefaction facilities, (iv) statements regarding the business operations and prospects of third parties, (v) statements regarding potential financing arrangements and (vi) statements regarding future discussions and entry into contracts. Although Cheniere believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Cheniere's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in Cheniere's periodic reports that are filed with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required under the securities laws, Cheniere does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Cheniere Energy, Inc.; Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P.; Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings, LLC

Related Links

http://www.cheniere.com


FORT MYERS, Fla., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) today announced that Diane Ellis has been appointed president of its Chico's brand, effective November 1, 2016. In this role, Ms. Ellis will oversee all business activities for Chico's and will report directly to Shelley Broader, president and chief executive officer of Chico's FAS.

Ms. Ellis has more than 35 years of retail experience and joins Chico's from The Limited, where she served as chief executive officer and was instrumental in driving the strategy behind the company's growth and business transformation over the past three years. Prior to The Limited, Ms. Ellis was president and chief operating officer of Brooks Brothers, where she led the stores, ecommerce, IT, HR, sourcing, product development, finance, supply chain and planning functions in support of the global operations of the brand.

"Diane is a seasoned leader who has proven time and again that she is one of the most strategic business and brand builders in retail. She brings merchandising, marketing and operational expertise as well as a strong passion for our customers," said Ms. Broader. "As we continue to position our Company to win in the future, I am proud to welcome Diane to Chico's."

"I am thrilled to join Chico's, an iconic brand that I've long admired," Ms. Ellis said. "The Company has made great strides with its strategic initiatives, and as the retail landscape and customer behavior evolves, I'm excited to lead and support the team as we continue to strengthen Chico's brand position and find new ways to innovate and delight our customers."

Prior to Brooks Brothers, Ms. Ellis was the founding partner of Lighthouse Retail Group, managing director for the Retail Strategy Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and director of merchandise planning, allocation and inventory control at Filene's. Ms. Ellis also served in merchandising, planning, strategy and store management roles at Joseph Horne's department stores and at Marshalls, where she launched the petite and swimwear businesses. She is a member of the board of directors of Stage Stores, Inc.

ABOUT CHICO'S FAS, INC.

The Company, through its brands - Chico's, White House Black Market, and Soma - is a leading omni-channel specialty retailer of women's private branded, sophisticated, casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates, complementary accessories, and other non-clothing items.

As of July 30, 2016, the Company operated 1,517 stores in the US and Canada and sold merchandise through franchise locations in Mexico. The Company's merchandise is also available at www.chicos.com, www.whbm.com, and www.soma.com. For more detailed information on Chico's FAS, Inc., please visit www.chicosfas.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995 Certain statements contained herein, including without limitation, statements addressing the beliefs, plans, objectives, estimates or expectations of the Company or future results or events constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements involve known or unknown risks, including, but not limited to, general economic and business conditions, and conditions in the specialty retail industry. There can be no assurance that the actual future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur. Investors using forward-looking statements are encouraged to review the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K, its filings on Form 10-Q, management's discussion and analysis in the Company's latest annual report to stockholders, the Company's filings on Form 8-K, and other federal securities law filings for a description of other important factors that may affect the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that projected results expressed or implied in such statements will not be realized.

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SOURCE Chico's FAS, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.chicosfas.com


PITTSBURGH, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CNX Coal Resources LP (NYSE: CNXC) will issue its third quarter earnings release after the market close on Monday, October 31. This will be followed by a conference call hosted by members of the management team at 05:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The webcast will be accessible on the 'Investor Relations' page of the company's website, www.cnxlp.com. An archive of the webcast will be available for at least 30 days after the event.

Participant dial in (toll free) 1-855-656-0928 Participant international dial in 1-412-902-4112 Participants should ask to be joined into the CNX Coal Resources LP call.

CNX Coal Resources is a growth-oriented master limited partnership formed by CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) to manage and further develop all of CONSOL's active thermal coal operations in Pennsylvania. Its assets include a 25% undivided interest in, and operational control over, CONSOL's Pennsylvania mining complex, which consists of three underground mines and related infrastructure. More Information is available on our website www.cnxlp.com

SOURCE CNX Coal Resources LP

Related Links

http://www.cnxcoalresources.com


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pampa Energia S.A. (" Pampa Energia ") today announced the commencement of its concurrent offers:

internationally, (i) to exchange outstanding American Depositary Shares (the " PESA ADSs ") (CUSIP: 71646J109) representing Class B shares (the " PESA Shares ") (ISIN: ARHOLD010025) of Petrobras Argentina S.A. (" Petrobras Argentina ") into American Depositary Shares (the " Pampa ADSs ") representing common shares (the " Pampa Shares ") of Pampa Energia (the " International PESA ADS Exchange Offer "), (ii) to exchange outstanding PESA Shares held by U.S. persons into Pampa Shares (the " International PESA Share Exchange Offer ") and (iii) to purchase outstanding PESA Shares held by U.S. persons for Argentine pesos (the " International Cash Tender Offer " and, together with the International PESA ADS Exchange Offer and the International Share Exchange Offer, the " International Offers "); and

") (CUSIP: 71646J109) representing Class B shares (the " ") (ISIN: ARHOLD010025) of Petrobras Argentina S.A. (" ") into American Depositary Shares (the " ") representing common shares (the " ") of Pampa Energia (the " "), (ii) to exchange outstanding PESA Shares held by U.S. persons into Pampa Shares (the " ") and (iii) to purchase outstanding PESA Shares held by U.S. persons for Argentine pesos (the " " and, together with the International PESA ADS Exchange Offer and the International Share Exchange Offer, the " "); and in Argentina , (i) to exchange outstanding PESA Shares into Pampa Shares (the " Argentine Exchange Offer ") and (ii) to purchase PESA Shares for Argentine pesos (the " Argentine Cash Tender Offer " and, together with the Argentine Exchange Offer, the " Argentine Offers ").

In the International PESA ADS Exchange Offer, Pampa Energia is offering to exchange 0.2101 Pampa ADSs per PESA ADS. In the International PESA Share Exchange Offer and the Argentine Exchange Offer, Pampa Energia is offering to exchange 0.5253 Pampa Shares per PESA Share. In the International Cash Tender Offer and the Argentine Cash Tender Offer, Pampa Energia is offering to purchase outstanding PESA Shares at a price of 10.3735 Argentine pesos per PESA Share.

THE INTERNATIONAL OFFERS WILL EXPIRE AT 5:00 P.M., NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON NOVEMBER 14, 2016, UNLESS EXTENDED. THE ARGENTINE OFFERS WILL EXPIRE AT 3:00 P.M., BUENOS AIRES TIME, ON NOVEMBER 14, 2016, UNLESS EXTENDED.

Pampa will issue a maximum of 320,000,000 Pampa Shares (including Pampa Shares underlying Pampa ADSs) (the " Maximum Aggregate Pampa Security Issuance ") to holders of PESA Shares and PESA ADSs who validly tender and do not validly withdraw prior to the expiration of the International Offers and the Argentine Offers, as applicable. If, pursuant to the International Exchange Offers and the Argentine Exchange Offer, holders of PESA Shares and PESA ADSs tender for exchange an aggregate amount of PESA Shares and PESA ADSs that, based on the exchange ratio (without taking any applicable withholding taxes into account), would result in the delivery to holders of PESA Shares and PESA ADSs of more than the Maximum Aggregate Pampa Security Issuance, Pampa Energia will carry out a proration among holders of PESA Shares and PESA ADSs that participate in the International Exchange Offers and the Argentine Exchange Offer in accordance with the proration procedures described in the International Prospectus and the Argentine Prospectus (each as defined below).

Pursuant to Argentine law, Pampa is required to withhold 13.5% of the offer consideration payable or deliverable, as the case may be, to any tendering holder of PESA Shares or PESA ADSs not domiciled in Argentina for Argentine tax purposes in respect of Argentine income tax on the capital gains derived from the disposition of the PESA Shares or PESA ADSs. If the tendering holder provides a valid Tax Cost Certificate (as defined in the International Prospectus), Pampa is required to withhold 15% of the net gain, if any, of such tendering holder.

The Boards of Directors of Pampa Energia and Petrobras Argentina have instructed their respective management teams to initiate the necessary procedures for the merger of Pampa Energia and Petrobras Argentina, with Pampa Energia as the surviving company (the " Potential Merger "). Although the Potential Merger has not yet been authorized by the Boards of Directors of Pampa Energia and Petrobras Argentina, Pampa Energia aims to be able to consummate the Potential Merger as soon as possible. If the Potential Merger qualifies as a tax-free reorganization in accordance with applicable Argentine law, Pampa Energia will not be obligated to withhold any taxes from the gains applicable to the Pampa Shares and Pampa ADSs that will be issued to holders of PESA Shares and PESA ADSs in connection with the Potential Merger.

The International Offers are being made pursuant to a prospectus (the " International Prospectus ") contained in a registration statement on Form F-4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC ") on October 7, 2016 and are open to all holders of PESA ADSs and U.S. holders of PESA Shares. Non-U.S. persons will not be permitted to tender their PESA Shares in the International Offers. PESA ADSs (whether or not held by U.S. persons) may only be tendered in the International PESA ADS Exchange Offer. All amounts payable to holders of PESA Shares pursuant to the International Cash Tender Offer or the Argentine Cash Tender Offer will be paid in Argentine Pesos. The Argentine Offers are being made pursuant to a prospectus (the " Argentine Prospectus ") dated October 6, 2016 filed with the Argentine Securities Commission (Comision Nacional de Valores) and is open to all holders of PESA shares.

The International Offers and the Argentine Offers are subject to regulatory and other conditions set forth in, in the case of the International Offers, the International Prospectus and, in the case of the Argentine Offers, the Argentine Prospectus.

Important Additional Information for the International Offers

This announcement is not an offering document and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. The solicitation of the offers to purchase or exchange Petrobras Argentina securities in the United States will only be made (i) in the case of the International Offers, the International Prospectus and the related international offer acceptance materials that are being filed with the SEC and mailed to holders of Petrobras Argentina securities eligible to participate in the International Offers and (ii) in the case of the Argentine Offers, the Argentine Prospectus. Additional copies of the materials for the International Offers may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or from Georgeson LLC, the information agent for the International Offers (contact information below). Holders of Petrobras Argentina securities are urged to carefully read the International Prospectus or the Argentine Prospectus, as applicable, and any other related documents that are or will be filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments and supplements to those documents, because they contain important information. This announcement is not for publication, release or distribution in or into or from any jurisdiction where it would otherwise be prohibited.

The authorization to consummate the Argentine Offers has been granted through approval of the Board of Directors of the CNV dated September 22, 2016 (approving the consummation of the Offers) and by Resolution N 18,243 of September 28, 2016 (approving the public offer of new Pampa Shares). These authorizations only signify that the established requirements have been complied with regards to information. The CNV has not approved the content of the Argentine Prospectus.

Contact Information

Questions on the Argentine Offers and requests for assistance may be directed to SBS Trading S.A., the agent for the Argentine Offers:

SBS TRADING S.A.

Av. Eduardo Madero 900 Piso 11

City of Buenos Aires, Argentina (C1106ACV)

Telephone: +54-11-4894-1800

E-mail: [email protected]

Questions on the International Offers and requests for assistance may be directed to Georgeson LLC, the information agent in connection with the International Offers:

Georgeson LLC

1290 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor

New York, New York 10104

Telephone: 888-293-6812 (U.S. toll-free) / +1-781-575-2137 (international)

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Pampa Energia S.A.

Related Links

http://www.pampaenergia.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The condom industry in China is expected to witness significant growth owing to the rising average income of consumers and the demand for a better quality of life. China is a huge market for international condom manufacturers and brand enterprises. In addition, emphasis on public education about the use of condoms in preventing HIV and other known sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) is an imperative part of government supported efforts to stop AIDS in China. The country's plan to control, treat, and prevent HIV/AIDS for the period 2011 to 2015 estimates that approximate 90% of the key population is at higher risk, and 85% of urban residents aged between 15 to 60, and 80% of rural residents of the same group should be made aware about sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) and HIV by 2015. In order to implement this plan, the government has planned on providing condoms or condom vending machines in 90% of hotels and other unspecified public areas by 2015. Endorsement by popular celebrities about prevention of AIDS by using condoms is another effective method to educate the masses about safe sex.



Moreover, female condoms are used as a contraceptive and as a preventive measure against sexually transmitted diseases. According to the Centre for Young Women's Health (CYWH) which is a partnership between the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and the Division of Gynaecology at Boston Children's Hospital, the accuracy of a female condom is almost 95% if used properly. These products are also effective in preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Their effectiveness as contraception and as a barrier for the entry of STI causing pathogens, coupled with female and active responsibility linked with female condoms for preventing pregnancy are some of the factors encouraging women to use female condoms.



Further, a Chinese company "Dahua Medical Apparatus Company"producing female condoms has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund for global distribution as another effective and safe form of contraception. Female condoms in China are on the government's purchase list and they are usually distributed by local family planning groups. Although market for female condoms is on the lower side, the demand is rising at a steady pace. Consumer preference for female condoms has shown a positive impact on the condoms market in China.



In addition, strengthening economic conditions in China has led to an increase in the average income of consumers and that in turn has resulted in aspiration for a better quality of lifestyle among the residents of China. This factor has in turn fuelled the demand for condoms among the Chinese population, and the demand is only expected to go up in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore, China is considerable an attractive market for brand enterprises and international condom manufacturers.



Polyurethane, polyisoprene, lamb skin and pu leather are some of the materials that are majorly used to manufacture condoms. PU leather accounted for the lowest market share among the material types of condoms accounting for less than 5% of the total condom market in China. Condoms are very sensitive to high temperature and can melt if exposed to direct sunlight or a direct heat source and they should not be carried around in a wallet which is placed next to the body. They should be stored at a room temperature, usually between 55 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.



The key players operating in the China condom market are, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc England, U.K.), Ansell Ltd (Richmond, Australia), Karex Industries Sdn. Bhd (Johor, Malaysia), The Female Health Company Ltd. (Illinois, The U.S.), Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (Erwing, The U.S.), HLL Life Care Ltd. (Thiruvananthapuram, India.), Thai Nippon rubber Industru Co. Ltd (Sathon, Bangkok), Fuji Latex Co. Ltd (Tokyo, Japan), Geaphic Armor LLC (Florida, U.S.) and Sagami Rubber Industries. (Atsugi, Japan) among others.



The China condom market can be segmented as follows;-



China Condom Market, by Material



Latex

Polyurethane

Polyisoprene

PU Leather

Lamb Intestine

Others



China Condom Market, by End Use



Male Condoms

Female Condoms



China Condom Market, by Product Type



Flavoured Condoms

Studded Condoms

Edible Condoms

Warming Condoms

Coloured Condoms

Others

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04201047-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


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is a suite of solutions allowing efficient monitoring and management of a datacenter in terms of the optimization of data center space, power consumption, and cooling. The demand for DCIM is expected to increase in the coming years owing to the growing awareness of energy efficiency and the impact of government regulations in respective regions.The growing number of data centers in the North American and European regions is expected to increase the adoption of DCIM solutions in these markets.



This research report provides an in-depth analysis of the global DCIM market based on solutions, components,industry verticals,and geography. The global DCIM market is categorized based on solution types into IT asset management, facility management &consulting, and other services. Furthermore, the report provides complete insights into different DCIM components through component segmentation, which includes IT asset, DCIM software, power, cooling, and others. The industry verticalsfor the globalDCIM market are banking, financial services &insurance (BFSI), information technology, telecom, healthcare, retail, and others. The report analyzes each of these segments for the various geographies considered under the scope of the study.



Based on geographical regions, the report segments the global DCIM market into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East &Africa (MEA), and South America, which are analyzed in terms of revenue generation. North America is further segmented into the U.S. and Canada, while Europe is divided into the U.K. and Germany. Asia Pacific is subdivided into China and India. Also, MEA is further segmented into South Africa and the UAE, while South America is subdivided into Brazil and Argentina. The report further provides a cross-segmentation analysis of the segmentation as per the countries.



The report also provides an analysis ofthe factors that drive and restrain the growth of the DCIMmarket. It discusses the prevailing market trends, prospective growth opportunities, and major strategies increasing the popularity of the global DCIM market. It provides market estimates and forecasts for all the segments in terms of revenue.Also provided in the report is the market share of key players by IT asset management, facility management, pure player and overall DCIM market. The report also provides industry evolution, data center overview, service agreement analysis, value chain analysis, and Porter's Five ForcesAnalysis for the global DCIM market.



Major business strategies adopted by key players, their SWOT analysis, and competition matrix have also been identified in the research report. The key market players profiled in this study include Emerson Network Power, Inc., Schneider Electric SE, Eaton Corp. PLC, IBM Corp., CA Technologies, Inc., Siemens AG, ABB Ltd., FNT GmbH, Johnson Controls, Inc., Nlyte Software, Inc., Sunbird Software, Inc. (Raritan, Inc.), Panduit Corp., Commscope, Inc., Altron a.s.,Cormant, Inc., and Rackwise, Inc.



Global DCIM Market



By Solution



IT Asset Management

Facility Management

Consulting and Other Services



By Component



IT Asset

DCIM Software

Power

Cooling

Others



By Industry Vertical



Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)

Information Technology

Telecom

Health Care

Retail

Others



By Geography



North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa

South America

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04201043-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


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bryan Cranston, best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Walter White in AMC's "Breaking Bad," will discuss his new memoir A Life in Parts with director Jay Roach, Thursday, October 13, 8pm at Live Talks Los Angeles at Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School. Roach directed Cranston in the feature Trumbo (2015) and All the Way (2016), the HBO film adaption of the Broadway play for which Cranston won a Tony Award for his portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In his riveting memoir, A Life in Parts (Scribner, October 11, 2016) Bryan Cranston traces his zigzag journey from his chaotic childhood to mega stardom by vividly revisiting the many parts he's played, on camera, including: astronaut, dentist, detective, candy bar spokesperson, and offpaperboy, farmhand, security guard, dating consultant, murder suspect, dock loader, son, brother, lover, husband, father.

Cranston chronicles his unlikely rise from a soap opera regular, trying to learn the ropes and the politics of show business on the fly, to a recurring spot as Tim Whatley on Seinfeld, finding himself an indelible part of popular culture. He recalls his run as the well-meaning goofball, Hal, on Malcolm in the Middle, and gives a bracing account of his challenging run on Broadway as President Lyndon B. Johnson.

He also dives deep into the grittiest, most fascinating details of his greatest role, explaining how he searched inward for the personal darkness that would help him create one of the most captivating performances ever captured on screen: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.

Early reviews include noted presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who says, "A truly gifted storyteller, Cranston captures the reader's imagination and emotions from beginning to end." "Breaking Bad" creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan calls A Life in Parts "the right mixture of funny, sad and heartfelt."

Event Details

Tickets can be purchased in advance through the Live Talks Los Angeles website, livetalksla.org. Prices range from $45 to $75. Each ticket includes a hardcover copy of A Life in Parts, which Cranston will sign at the event. Santa Monica High School is located at 600 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405. For more information, contact [email protected].

About Live Talks Los Angeles

Since 2010 Live Talks Los Angeles has presented over 200 talks featuring authors, actors, filmmakers, artists, musicians, comedians, chefs, scientists, and business thought leaders in various venues in Los Angeles. Videos and podcasts of its events are available on its website www.livetalksla.org.

SOURCE Live Talks Los Angeles

Related Links

http://www.livetalksla.org


NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nadeem Faruqi, founding partner at Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities firm headquartered in New York City, is investigating the Board of Directors of EndoChoice Holdings, Inc. ("EndoChoice" or the "Company") (NYSE:GI) for potential breaches of fiduciary duties in connection with the sale of the Company to Boston Scientific Corporation for approximately $195.46 million.

The Company's stockholders will only receive $8.00 in cash for each share of Company common stock they own. However, this consideration is below at least one analyst's price target of $10.00 per share and EndoChoice's 52-week high of $12.44 per share.

Click here for more information: www.faruqilaw.com/GI. There is no cost or obligation to you.

The investigation focuses on whether EndoChoice's Board of Directors breached their fiduciary duties to the Company's stockholders by failing to conduct a fair sales process and whether and by how much this proposed transaction undervalues the Company to the detriment of EndoChoice's shareholders.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP is a national law firm which represents investors and individuals in class action litigation. The firm is focused on providing exemplary legal services in complex litigation in the areas of securities, shareholder, antitrust and consumer litigation, throughout all phases of litigation. The firm has an experienced trial team which has achieved significant victories on behalf of the firm's clients. To keep track of the latest securities litigation news, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MergerActivity or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FaruqiLaw.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP is working together in this investigation with Juan E. Monteverde from Monteverde & Associates PC.

If you own common stock in EndoChoice and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit us at www.faruqilaw.com/GI or contact Nadeem Faruqi, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330. You may also contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via email at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.

Contact:

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Nadeem Faruqi, Esq.

[email protected]

Toll Free: (877) 247-4292

Phone: (212) 983-9330

Attorney Advertising. (C) 2016 Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We are happy to discuss your particular case.

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SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

Related Links

http://www.faruqilaw.com


For the year ended 30 June 2016, in US dollars

EASTAMPTON, NJ, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Epicore BioNetworks Inc. (TSXV EBN) sales revenue decreased slightly in fiscal 2016 as the world shrimp aquaculture industry reacted to increased supply and subsequent falling shrimp prices. Net income broke the million dollar mark for the third consecutive year. Sales increases were achieved in some areas but declines outnumbered gains. Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) continues to afflict several shrimp producing regions, especially in Southeast Asia (SEA) where Epicore sales have suffered. Shrimp prices have fallen from record 2014 levels back to the more normal 2013 prices. The lack of high prices and the fear of EMS have made producers highly cautious, producing a curtailment in shrimp stocking and therefore a decreased demand for Epicore products in SEA. Net income decreased by 10% and earnings per share decreased to $0.04.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416584LOGO)

Our marketing program increased usage of Epicore products in several regions. Epicore's Latin American sales grew in fiscal 2016. Central American sales grew despite a curtailment in late 2015 seeding and a weather related delay to the 2016 season start. EMS-free Ecuador remains Epicore's largest single country market and delivered 9% growth in fiscal 2016. Southeast Asia has been a major target market for many years. The region is the world's largest farmed shrimp producer but a much smaller consumer of Epicore products than Latin America. In fiscal 2016, EMS and low shrimp prices combined to reduce our sales to the region. Only Indonesia, which is EMS free, showed sales growth. Sales to China have been hurt by the Government's procrastination in finalizing an import permit process for animal feed products. Aquaculture sales to other world areas like Madagascar and Australia were strong but new shrimp farm customers in North America suffered from low shrimp prices.

Some highlights (in US$) versus prior fiscal year were:

Revenue decreased 3% from $9.7 million to $9.4 million

to Gross profit decreased 3% from $5.6 million to $5.5 million

to Operating expenses increased 3% from $3.6 million to $3.7 million

to Earnings before tax decreased 12% from $2.0 million to $1.8 million

to Net income decreased 10% from $1.24 million to $1.12 million

to Shareholders' equity increased 15% from $8.2 million to $9.4 million

to Cash increased 54% from $2.3 million to $3.5 million

to Basic and diluted earnings per share decreased from $0.05 to $0.04

Gross profit decreased 3% due to lower sales. Despite a change in product mix, gross margin was unchanged.

Total operating expenses increased by 3% in fiscal 2016. Selling expenses increased 15% mainly due to increased staff in Asia and Ecuador and higher commission expense. Selling expenses benefitted from USDA Branded Program reimbursement for overseas feed marketing expense. Despite additional staff research and development expense decreased 26% mainly due to lower usage of outside consultants. Ecuadorian expenses increased due to changes in corporate tax rules instituted to cover earthquake recovery and to increased employee retirement fund provisions. USA depreciation expense increased because of capital improvements to the New Jersey facility.

With lower earnings before tax, fiscal 2016 USA income tax expenses were significantly lower than fiscal 2015. However, lower taxes did not offset lower gross profit and higher expenses so net income decreased by 10% from $1.24 million to $1.12 million. Epicore still delivered its thirteenth consecutive year of profitable operation. Earnings per basic common share decreased to $0.04, as the following results (rounded to thousands of US dollars) show:



2016 2015 Increase (Decrease) Revenue $9,437 $9,707 ($270) (3%) Gross profit $5,483 $5,638 ($155) (3%) Operating expenses $3,740 $3,632 $108 3% Other Income/(Expense) $24 $10 $14 140% Earnings Before Taxes $1,767 $2,016 ($249) (12%) Income Taxes $651 $774 ($123) (16%) Net income $1,116 $1,242 ($126) (10%) Earnings per share $0.04 $0.05 ($0.01) (10%) Shareholders' equity $9,391 $8,161 $1,230 15% Cash balance $3,479 $2,262 $1,217 54%

Epicore continues to generate positive cash flows from operating activities with $1.9 million generated in fiscal 2016. Investment in infrastructure continued. A new building was completed, which expands our production and warehouse area and utilizes adjacent land purchased in 2011. Automated packaging equipment was acquired that will significantly shorten our production response to customer orders. Cash at the end of the year was $3.5 million versus beginning cash of $2.3 million. With these funds, expected sales revenue growth and continued relatively low operating costs, management expects there will be sufficient cash to meet the fiscal year's financial requirements, to fund expansion of aquaculture and environmental remediation marketing efforts and to pursue new strategies for enhancing shareholder value.

Our ISO 9001:2008 and Global GAP quality system certifications contributed to operational reliability. They position Epicore to be compliant with the US Food safety Modernization Act.

The financial statements of the company have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Epicore BioNetworks Inc. is a public corporation with a registered office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and with shares listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol EBN). [Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.]

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. The actual results, performance or achievements of the company might differ materially from the results, performance or achievements of the company expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those regarding the future growth of the Company, expected improvements in the quality and reliability of manufacturing operations, acceleration of the Company's penetration into new business areas, the development plans of the company, the expected timing and results of such development and the expectation by management that there will be sufficient cash to meet the fiscal year's financial requirements and to fund expansion of aquaculture and environmental remediation marketing efforts and to pursue new strategies for enhancing shareholder value. We can provide no assurance that such development will proceed as currently anticipated, that the expected timing or results of such development will be realized or that the company will be able to generate sufficient cash to meet its obligations. We are subject to various risks, including the uncertainties of product development, markets for our products and regulatory review, our need for additional capital to fund our operations, our reliance on collaborative partners, our history of losses, and other risks inherent in the biotechnology industry.

SOURCE Epicore BioNetworks Inc.

Related Links

www.EpicoreBioNetworks.com


WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) is pleased to recognize eleven executives featured in MReport magazine's special "Women in Housing" issue. The September 2016 issue celebrates the impressive achievements and contributions of female leaders that represent a broad spectrum of housing finance.

The business publication named Fannie Mae's Kimberly Johnson, senior vice president and chief risk officer, as one of five "Power Players" for her role in developing a global risk strategy to enable Fannie Mae to remain a source of stable housing finance.

MReport also recognized ten of Fannie Mae's top professionals as "Leading Ladies" who have "dedicated their careers to bettering the future of the mortgage and housing industries." These outstanding professionals include:

Nadine Bates, Senior Vice President & Treasurer

Charmaine Brown, Director, Diversity and Inclusion

Kristy Fercho, Senior Vice President Customer Delivery Executive

Sarah Goldfrank, Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

Mercedes Henriksson, Director of Sales CPM Real Estate

Katrina Jones, Vice President Single Family Business Solutions

Hilary Provinse, Senior Vice President Multifamily Customer Engagement

Renee Schultz, Senior Vice President Capital Markets

Marianne Sullivan, Senior Vice President Single-Family Business Capabilities

Tujuanna Williams, Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

To learn more about Fannie Mae's most recent awards and achievements, visit: http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/about-us/company-overview/awards-achievements.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


Who: FCA Digital MediaTeam

When: Immediately

Where: media.fcanorthamerica.com or https://youtu.be/lhGjJRbrE-U

Other: Websites are welcome to post or embed "FCA Replay."

About FCA US LLC

FCA US LLC is a North American automaker with a new name and a long history. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli.

FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."

Follow FCA US news and video on:

FCA Content On Demand (COD): www.fcacod.com

Company blog: blog.fcanorthamerica.com

Company website: www.fcanorthamerica.com

FCA360: 360.fcanorthamerica.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/chryslergroup/

Media website: media.fcanorthamerica.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/fcacorporate

Instagram: www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter (Spanish): www.twitter.com/fcausespanol

YouTube: www.youtube.com/pentastarvideo

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhGjJRbrE-U&feature=youtu.be

SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


AKRON, Ohio, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its long-standing tradition of assisting other electric companies during large-scale power outages, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) utilities have sent 390 linemen, damage assessors, forestry crews and support personnel to Lake City, Florida, to help Florida Power & Light with restoration efforts following Hurricane Matthew. Crews began leaving for Florida on Thursday, with all expected to arrive at the Lake City staging area by Saturday.

Current forecasts call for Hurricane Matthew to make landfall in Florida today before moving up the coast through Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of customers have already lost power, and personnel will be deployed to the most damaged areas when it's safe to do so after the storm moves through.

Nine of FirstEnergy's utilities are part of the mutual assistance effort, which includes crews from Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company (CEI) and Toledo Edison in Ohio; Penelec, West Penn Power and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania; Mon Power in West Virginia; Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland; and Jersey Central Power & Light in New Jersey. Support personnel from FirstEnergy's corporate offices also are included in the company's contingent.

"FirstEnergy employees are committed to assisting what is likely to be a massive power restoration effort in Florida," said Steven Strah, senior vice president and president of FirstEnergy Utilities. "While it's not expected that Hurricane Matthew will impact any FirstEnergy service territories, we have carefully assessed conditions and are confident we have the personnel in place to maintain reliable operations for our customers."

FirstEnergy is a member of multiple electric utility mutual-assistance groups that work cooperatively to restore service to customers when a natural disaster causes large-scale power outages. Mutual assistance allows utilities to pool their resources to help restore power to customers faster. In the past, FirstEnergy and its employees have been honored by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) with its "Emergency Assistance Award" for the mutual assistance the company has provided during winter and summer storms.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, while its generation subsidiaries control nearly 17,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro and other renewables. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

Related Links

http://www.firstenergycorp.com


DUBLIN, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FLY Leasing Limited (NYSE: FLY) ("FLY"), a global leader in aircraft leasing, today announced that it will release its third quarter 2016 earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, November 17, 2016.

FLY's senior management will host a conference call and webcast with slide presentation to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 17, 2016. Participants should dial +1 253-237-1145 (International) or 800-535-7056 (North America) and enter confirmation code 95203082. Please call at least five minutes early to allow for connection time.

A live webcast with slide presentation will be available on the Events page in the Investor Relations section of FLY's website at www.flyleasing.com. A webcast replay will be available on the company's website for one year.

About FLY

FLY is a global aircraft leasing company with a fleet of modern, high-demand and fuel-efficient commercial jet aircraft. FLY leases its aircraft under multi-year operating lease contracts to a diverse group of airlines throughout the world. FLY is managed and serviced by BBAM LP, a worldwide leader in aircraft lease management and financing. For more information visit www.flyleasing.com.

Contact:

Matt Dallas

FLY Leasing Limited

+1 203-769-5916

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130709/SF44539LOGO

SOURCE FLY Leasing Limited

Related Links

http://www.flyleasing.com


DAYTON, Ohio, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fuyao Glass America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, the world's leading manufacturing company specializing in automotive glass, today is celebrating the grand opening of its newest U.S. facility in Moraine, Ohio.

Upon completion, the 116-acre facility, which is housed in General Motors' former assembly plant, will be the largest glass fabrication plant in the world with the capacity to produce four million automotive car sets and four million automotive replacement glass windshields each year. Currently employing 2,000, Fuyao expects this number to grow to 2,300  2,500 by the end of 2017 to meet growing customer demand.

"Today's grand opening in Moraine is the culmination of a monumental undertaking by Fuyao and our partners," said Chairman Cho Tak Wong of Fuyao Glass Industry Group. "We are proud of our work in Ohio, in the heart of the U.S auto corridor, and are highly committed to supporting the growth of the North American automotive market. Fuyao China currently supplies around 70% of the Chinese auto glass market, and through close work with our OEM partners, we believe we will replicate this success in North America."

The new Moraine facility represents $450 million in total investment by Fuyao, the largest Chinese investment in Ohio history and eighth largest direct foreign investment in the U.S. over the last decade. Bringing auto glass production back to the U.S., Fuyao aims to regenerate both the local Ohio community, with $25 million to $30 million funneled into the economy each month, and the broader automotive industry.

"Fuyao's goal is to provide the highest quality product and outstanding service to our customers," said John Gauthier, President of Fuyao Glass America. "Building on the heritage of this facility, the support of our community and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, customers are already seeing the benefits from shorter development and shipping lead times. We are thrilled to receive strong support today from the wider Fuyao community and look forward to building on this foundation of innovation and success."

More than 700 industry stakeholders will attend the grand opening event in Moraine, with Fuyao hosting influential leaders from the automotive and government sectors including U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, U.S. Congressman Michael Turner and Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Mary Taylor.

Following the ceremony, Fuyao will host a panel discussion at the University of Dayton's River Campus featuring Samuel Palmisano, former chairman of IBM and current chairman of The Center for Global Enterprise, Eric Spina, the president of the University of Dayton, and Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, among others.

Fuyao Glass America is part of Fuyao Industry Group Co. Ltd., a leading international manufacturer of automotive and industrial glass located in China, with U.S. manufacturing plants in Dayton, OH, Mt. Zion, IL, and Lake Orion, MI. Its main customers include GM, Ford, Honda, Isuzu, Toyota, Mazda, Audi, Volkswagen, Citroen, and Mercedes, to name a few.

Media Contact: Leila Hajaj, 415-530-7468, [email protected]

SOURCE Fuyao Glass America
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tim Biedinger, a general contractor from Las Vegas, Nevada, loves his work. He works on commercial establishmentsrestaurants, hotels and shopping malls.

"If it's any type of construction, I just go do it," he says.

Meet Scientologist Tim Biedinger of Las Vegas, Nevada.

One of the most important things he learned in Scientology was the ability to studythe ability to learn. He gained this through technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.

A lifelong educator, Mr. Hubbard initially developed Study Technology to train Scientology auditors (spiritual counselors) but the basics of the subject apply to any field of learning.

"I get all kinds of things that I have to study," says Biedinger. "They have their own terminology and technology and it used to get in my way and it would be a problem. But, it's not anymore. I know how to handle it, I know how to study it."

Because he really digs in and learns the subject, Biedinger often finds himself so knowledgeable that he's the one advising the experts who are supposed to be the ones telling him how to do a project.

Scientology also helped him master a skill that is often the make/break point of any businessthe ability to deal with peoplewhether it's clients, business associates, construction workers or inspectors.

"Scientology gave me a lot more insight into the mind and how people work," he says, "and it makes life a lot easier to understand and easier to operate too. One of my best assets in the business world is that I understand people and I work with people well."

"With Scientology, it's not like I had to change myself," he says. "I just had to be myself."

View the Tim Biedinger video on Scientology.org.

Read the article on the Scientology Newsroom.

Related Images

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image2.jpg

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image4.jpg

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRqS5KM2dMw

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416426

SOURCE Church of Scientology
FAIRFAX, Va., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was awarded the SOCOM Wide Mission Support (SWMS) contract by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract has a maximum ceiling of $900 million over five years.

General Dynamics

General Dynamics will support USSOCOM forces and staffs with technical and management functions across the globe. The company will provide engineering and technical services for major weapon systems, program technical assistance, support systems requirements and assist with production decision-making and program controls.

"General Dynamics Information Technology will continue providing responsive, highly knowledgeable and professional support to meet the needs of the USSOCOM warfighter," said Bernie Guerry, senior vice president of General Dynamics Information Technology's Intelligence Solutions division.

Work under the contract will be carried out by ARMA Global, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Information Technology that supports the global missions of Special Operations Forces.

For more information on General Dynamics Information Technology, please visit www.gdit.com. For more information on ARMA Global, visit www.arma-global.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140428/81320

SOURCE General Dynamics Information Technology

Related Links

http://www.gdit.com


MEXICO CITY, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Aeromexico S.A.B. de C.V. ("Aeromexico") (BMV: AEROMEX), Mexico's global airline, will hold its Third Quarter 2016 earnings conference call on:

Wednesday, October 26th 2016

11:30 AM ET

(10:30 AM Mexico City Time & Central Time)

Andres Conesa Labastida, Chief Executive Officer, and Ricardo Sanchez Baker, Chief Financial Officer will host the call and review Grupo Aeromexico's Third Quarter 2016 financial and operational results, followed by a question and answer session. Third Quarter results will be released on October 25th 2016 after market close.



To participate in the conference call please dial

Toll Free US 1-866-932-0173

Toll International 1-785-424-1630

Registration is required; please dial in at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

The conference call will be available for replay until November 26th 2016 at 11:59 PM:

Toll Free US 1-877-481-4010

Toll International 1-919-882-2331

Replay Conference ID Number: 10097

The conference call replay can also be accessed via Grupo Aeromexico's Investor Relations website: http://aeromexico.com/investors/welcome.html



About Grupo Aeromexico

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. is a holding company whose subsidiaries are engaged in commercial aviation in Mexico and the promotion of passenger loyalty programs. Aeromexico, Mexicos global airline, operates more than 600 daily flights and its main hub is in Terminal 2 at the Mexico City International Airport. Its destinations network features more than 80 cities on three continents, including 46 destinations in Mexico, 16 in the United States, 16 in Latin America, three in Canada, four in Europe, and two in Asia .

The Group's fleet of more than 120 aircraft is comprised of Boeing 787, 777 and 737 jet airliners and next generation Embraer 145, 170, 175 and 190 models. In 2012, the airline announced the most significant investment strategy in aviation history in Mexico, to purchase up to 100 Boeing aircraft including 90 MAX B737 jet airliners and 10 B787-9 Dreamliners.

As a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, Aeromexico offers customers more than 1,000 destinations in 177 countries served by the 20 SkyTeam airline partners rewarding passengers with benefits including access to 636 premium airport lounges around the world. Aeromexico also offers travel on its codeshare partner flights with Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines and Westjet, with extensive connectivity in countries like the United States, Brazil, Canada,Colombia and Peru.

www.aeromexico.com

www.skyteam.com

http://disfrutaam.tumblr.com/

SOURCE Grupo Aeromexico S.A.B. de C.V.

Related Links

http://www.aeromexico.com


CHICAGO, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld a decision by the 18th Circuit Court of DuPage County to award an unwed Ohio father monthly visits with his young daughter in his home after struggling in a five year battle for parenting time and a relationship with his daughter.

Attorney Andrey Filipowicz, a 14 year veteran of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, successfully argued the father's case, winning another critical success in the grueling five year visitation battle. William Dowling, another Leving firm attorney, helped secure the courtroom victory at the trial court level.

"Andrey Filipowicz and William Dowling are an integral part of our litigation team and they go above and beyond to win for our clients," Leving said. "It is cases like these that are paramount to ending gender bias and keeping fathers in the lives of their children."

The September 21, 2016 Appellate Court ruling is another crucial step in this case to keep a father and daughter connected and bonded together, despite living states apart.

The parents never married and separated when the daughter was 10 months old. Shortly after, the mother left their home in Ohio to move with the child to her parents' home in DuPage County. The father paid regular child support, but was unable to be with his child most of the time because the mother moved the child out of state. The father fought to see his daughter every month, with the goal of gradually increasing visitation to long weekends in Ohio. With the help of Filipowicz and his team at the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, he won.

Attorney Jeffery M. Leving has been named one of "America's Best Lawyers" by Forbes Radio and is the country's leading authority on fathers' rights. He has dedicated more than 30 years to strengthening healthy families and improving outcomes for children. He founded the Fatherhood Educational Institute , which provides critical parenting skills to fathers and seeks to eliminate father absence. Leving's latest book, How to be a Good Divorced Dad , received praise from President Barack Obama, and was endorsed by Archbishop Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

For more information on the decision, please contact Jennifer Whiteside, Appellate Court Liaison, at the Law Offices of Jeffery Leving, at 312-296-3666 and visit Facebook.

CONTACT: Jennifer Whiteside

312.296.3666

SOURCE Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving. Ltd.

Related Links

http://dadsrights.com


PUNE, India, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Industrial Labels Market by Type (Warning, Asset Tags), Material (Polymer, Metal), Industry (Transportation, Automotive), Mechanism (Pressure-sensitive, Glue-applied), Printing Technology, Identification Technology, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021" Published by MarketsandMarkets, The market for industrial labels is projected to grow from USD 43.04 Billion in 2016 to reach USD 55.95 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 5.39%. The market for industrial labels is growing due to increasing demand in end-use industries such as construction, automotive, consumer durables, transportation & logistics, and aerospace & defense.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 132 market data Tables and 53 Figures spread through 188 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Industrial Labels Market - Global Forecast to 2021"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/industrial-labels-market-177324755.html



Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Warning/security labels type gain maximum traction during the forecast period

Warning/security labels type is highly preferred because of a variety of reasons such as to attract attention to warnings, to identify risks/hazards involved, to convey security messages, and to provide product-related information. These labels are highly used at the manufacturing sites such as automotive, construction, manufacturing, and marine to maintain a safe working environment.

Make an Enquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=177324755

Transportation & logistics segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period

The Industrial Labels Market is segmented on the basis of end-use industry into transportation & logistics, construction, automotive, consumer durables, and others. In 2015, the transportation & logistics segment accounted for the largest share of the end-use industry segment and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The increasing e-commerce, online shopping businesses, increasing supply chain & warehousing industry, and governments' initiatives to propel FDI have encouraged the Industrial Labels Market to grow.

Asia-Pacific to play a key role in the market for industrial labels

On the basis of key regions, the market for industrial labels is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). The low labor costs, excellent industrialization, a huge scope for FDI, emerging economic conditions, stable government scenarios, and an excellent hold on industries such as construction, automotive, consumer durables, logistics, marine, and aerospace have played a crucial role in the growth of the market for industrial labels in the Asia-Pacific region.

The key players considered in the report are:

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) (U.S.)

CCL Industries Inc. ( Canada )

) Avery Dennison Corporation (U.S.)

Brady Corporation (U.S.)

Cenveo Corporation (U.S.)

DUNMORE (U.S.)

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA ( Germany )

) H.B. Fuller (U.S.)

(U.S.) 3M (U.S.)

Fuji Seal International, Inc. ( Japan )

Browse Related Reports:

Smart Labels Market by Technology (EAS, RFID, Sensing, ESL, NFC tags), Components (Batteries, Transceivers, Microprocessors, Others), Application (Retail Inventory, Perishable Goods, Electronic & IT asset, others), End-use Industry - Forecast to 2021

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-label-market-192651809.html



Automotive Labels Market by Type (Warning, Dome, Asset), Identification Technology (Barcode, RFID), Printing Technology (Flexography, Digital printing), Mechanism (Pressure-sensitive, Heat Transfer, In-mold), Raw Material (PVC & Others), Application & Region - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automotive-labels-market-62917896.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:

Mr. Rohan

MarketsandMarkets

701 Pike Street

Suite 2175, Seattle,

WA 98101, United States

Tel: 1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]

Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/packaging

Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets





SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 )

Following the release, the leadership team will be part of a common television interaction at 10:00 a.m. IST. The participating executives will address questions from the media during this interaction which will be streamed live on the Investor Relations section of the Infosys website.

An archive of this event will be uploaded on http://www.infosys.com after 2:00 p.m. IST on October 14, 2016 (after 4:30 a.m. US ET on October 14, 2016).

Earnings call I

(11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. IST; 2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. ET)

The company will conduct a 60 minute conference call at 11:30 a.m. IST (2:00 a.m. US ET; 11:00 p.m. PST on October 13, 2016; 7:00 a.m. London time; 2:00 p.m. Singapore/Hong Kong time) on October 14, 2016 (open to investors/analysts in all regions), where the senior management will discuss the company's performance and answer questions from participants. To participate in the conference call, please dial the numbers provided below 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the call. During this time, the operator will provide instructions on how to ask questions. As participation in the call is limited, early registration (by calling the numbers 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time) is encouraged.

This event will be webcast live on the Investor Relations section of the Infosys website, following which it will be archived at http://www.infosys.com. The archive will be available after 3:30 p.m. IST on October 14, 2016 (after 6:00 a.m. US ET on October 14, 2016). In addition, a transcript of the conference call will be available at http://www.infosys.com.

Earnings call II

(6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. IST; 8:30 a.m. - 09:30 a.m. ET)

The company will also conduct a 60 minute conference call at 8:30 a.m. US ET (6:00 p.m. IST; 5:30 a.m. PST; 1:30 p.m. London time; 8:30 p.m. Singapore/Hong Kong time) on October 14, 2016 (open to investors/analysts in all regions), where the senior management will discuss the company's performance and answer questions from participants. To participate in the conference call, please dial the numbers provided below 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the call. During this time, the operator will provide instructions on how to ask questions. As participation in the call is limited, early registration (by calling the numbers 10 - 15 minutes before the scheduled start time) is encouraged.

This event will be webcast live on the Investor Relations section of the Infosys website and an archive can be accessed at http://www.infosys.com after 11:30 a.m. ET on October 14, 2016 (after 9:00 p.m. IST on October 14, 2016). A transcript of the conference call will be available at http://www.infosys.com.

Summary ofevents

Event

Earnings release over the wire services

Date and Time

8.45 a.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

11:15 p.m. October 13, 2016 (ET)

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com



Event

Live broadcast of management's comments on the results

Date and Time

10:00 a.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

Web-site/Channel - Business television channels



Event

Archived webcast of management's comment on the results

Date and Time

2:00 p.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

4:30 a.m. October 14, 2016 (ET)

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com



Event

Earnings conference call I

(open to questions for investors/analysts in all regions)

Date and Time

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. October 14, 2016 (ET)

Questions during the call can be addressed to [email protected]

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Telephone/Fax No.



India



Toll, Mumbai:

022 6746 5898

022 3938 1098



Toll, Bangalore:

080 3940 3977



Singapore

Toll-free:

800 101 2045

Toll-number:

+65 3157 5746

Hong Kong

Toll-free:

800 964 448

Toll-number:

+852 3018 6877

Japan

Toll-free:

0 053 116 1110

Toll-number:

+81 3 4589 9421

UK

Toll-free:

0 808 101 1573

Toll-number:

+44 203 478 5524

Germany

Toll-free:

00 8001 424 3444

Canada

Toll- free:

011 8001 424 3444

France

Toll-free:

0 800 914 745

US

Toll-free:

1 866 746 2133

Toll-number:

+1 323 386 8721

Event

Replay of conference call

Date and Time

Till October 21, 2016

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Telephone/Fax No.

Toll-free:

USA 1 855 436 0715



US International toll:

+1 863 949 0105



Toll, Mumbai:

022 6181 3322

022 3065 2322



Toll, Bangalore:

080 3940 3988

Passcode:4636#



Event

Earnings conference call II

(open to questions for investors/analysts in all regions)

Date and Time

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. October 14, 2016 (IST)

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. October 14, 2016 (ET)

Questions during the call can be addressed to [email protected]

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

India

Toll, Mumbai:

022 6746 5898

022 3938 1098



Toll, Bangalore:

080 6000 1221

080 3940 3977

Singapore

Toll-free:

800 101 2045



Toll- number:

+65 3157 5746

Hong Kong

Toll-free:

800 964 448

Toll- number:

+852 3018 6877

Japan

Toll-free:

0 053 116 1110

Toll- number:

+81 3 4589 9421

UK

Toll-free:

0 808 101 1573

Toll-number:

+44 203 478 5524

Germany

Toll-free:

00 8001 424 3444

Canada

Toll free:

011 8001 424 3444

France

Toll-free:

0 800 914 745

US

Toll-free:

1 866 746 2133

Toll-number:

+1 323 386 8721

Event

Replay of conference call

Date and Time

Till October 21, 2016

Web-site/Channel - http://www.infosys.com

Telephone/Fax No.

Toll-free:

USA 1 855 436 0715



International toll:

+1 863 949 0105

Toll, Mumbai:

022 6181 3322

022 3065 2322

Toll, Bangalore:

080 3940 3988

Passcode:4637#



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 197,000+ 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 http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this 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 mentioned at the beginning of the release, 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.

Contact

Investor Relations

Sandeep Mahindroo

+91-80-3980-1018

[email protected]



Media Relations

Sarah Vanita Gideon

+91-80-4156-3998

[email protected]



Pilar Elvira Wolfsteller

+1-510-944-4596

[email protected]



SOURCE Infosys
DORTMUND, Germany, October 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

New subsidiary opened in Toronto

The market leader for self bag drop solutions Materna GmbH expands its aviation business after winning a new project in North America. Materna delivers a new self-service bag drop installation for Toronto Pearson International Airport. Toronto Pearson is Canada's biggest and busiest airport, welcoming 41 million passengers in 2015. With the Materna solution, the airport will significantly improve its passenger handling. The installation allows passengers from several airlines to check in their luggage autonomously. For expanding in the North American market and a better support on-site, the aviation specialist Materna opened a new subsidiary in Toronto on October 1st.

As the Toronto Pearson International Airport continues to grow, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority is looking for ways to use technology and innovation in order to make the passenger journey more efficient and enjoyable. The airport has undergone recent facility improvements as part of a larger project to update the way passengers check in with their airlines, access security screening and, for passengers traveling to the United States, Customs and Border Protection.

Improved passenger experience

The self-service bag drop solution is part of Toronto Pearson's improvements and allows airlines to automate the bag drop process for already checked-in passengers. Passengers have different choices as part of their check-in experience. They may print or download their travel documents at home or use their mobile device and move straight to the baggage drop-off on arriving at the airport, rather than standing in line. The interaction with the bag drop process is fast and user-friendly allowing passengers to move from home to the boarding gate with only a short stop where technology seamlessly provides this vital service.

Materna's focus on the American market

With the new subsidiary in Canada, Materna goes one step further in its internationalization strategy. One year ago, the aviation specialist already opened a subsidiary in Orlando, Florida, following a similar contract at John Wayne Airport in California. Effective January 1st 2016, Materna acquired the Norwegian company DSG Bagdrop AS, a renowned specialist for self-service bag drop solutions in the airlines and airports segment.

This press release as well as picture material you will find here:

http://www.materna-ips.com/materna-starts-a-new-self-bag-drop-project-in-canada/

Materna GmbH

Materna is one of the leading IT consulting companies in the information and communications technology sector, employing around 1.700 staff members throughout Europe and achieving revenues of EUR 210 million in 2015. Materna is a full service provider, delivering a complete range of services for the premium segment: from consultation and implementation through to operation and cloud services for large enterprises and the public sector.

Under the brand Materna ips (Integrated Passenger Services) and as one of the worldwide most famous suppliers for airports and airlines, Materna offers solutions for automated passenger handling at airports. In addition to the European market, Materna focusses with its Integrated Passenger Services portfolio market on the North-American market having its own subsidiary in Orlando, Florida. Materna has also a focus on the Asian market.

For more details, please contact:

Materna GmbH

Information & Communications

Corporate Communications

Heike Abels

Vosskuhle 37, 44141 Dortmund, Germany

Phone: +49-231-5599-437

Email: [email protected]

http://www.materna-ips.com



SOURCE Materna GmbH
DENVER, Oct. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC) will release its 2016 third quarter earnings before the market opens on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. M.D.C. will host a teleconference the same day at 12:30 pm ET. The live teleconference will be available by calling 866-816-5116 and entering Conference ID # 95426494. A replay of the teleconference will be available through December 1, 2016 by calling 855-859-2056 and entering Conference ID # 95426494.

A webcast of the teleconference will be available live at www.mdcholdings.com, and beginning two hours after the call, a replay of the webcast will be available on the website.

About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

Since 1972, M.D.C.'s subsidiary companies have built and financed the American dream for more than 185,000 homebuyers. M.D.C.'s commitment to customer satisfaction, quality and value is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. M.D.C. is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Its subsidiaries have homebuilding operations across the country, including the metropolitan areas of Denver, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside-San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Orlando, Jacksonville, South Florida and Seattle. The Company's subsidiaries also provide mortgage financing, insurance and title services, primarily for Richmond American homebuyers, through HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company, respectively. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC" For more information, visit http://ir.richmondamerican.com/.

SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.richmondamerican.com


National Bank Holdings Corporation is a bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to shareholder results. National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of 91 banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region and Texas. Through the Company's subsidiary, NBH Bank, it operates under the following brand names: Bank Midwest in Kansas and Missouri, Community Banks of Colorado in Colorado, and Hillcrest Bank in Texas. More information about National Bank Holdings Corporation can be found at www.nationalbankholdings.com.

For more information visit: bankmw.com, cobnks.com, hillcrestbank.com or nbhbank.com. Or, follow us on any of our social media sites:

Bank Midwest: facebook.com/bankmw, twitter.com/bank_mw, instagram.com/bankmw;

Community Banks of Colorado: facebook.com/cobnks, twitter.com/cobnks, instagram.com/cobnks;

Hillcrest Bank: facebook.com/hillcrestbank, twitter.com/hillcrest_bank;

NBH Bank: twitter.com/nbhbank;

or connect with any of our brands on LinkedIn.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141002/149998

SOURCE National Bank Holdings Corporation

Related Links

http://www.nationalbankholdings.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Synopsis

Timetric's 'Non-Life Insurance in Brazil Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Brazilian non-life insurance segment, and a comparison of the Brazilian insurance industry with its regional counterparts.



It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).



The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Brazilian economy and demographics, explains the various types of natural hazard and their impact on the Brazilian insurance industry, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.



The report brings together Timetric's research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.



Summary

Timetric's 'Non-Life Insurance in Brazil Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Brazilian non-life insurance segment, including:



- The Brazilian non-life segment's detailed outlook by product category



- A comprehensive overview of the Brazilian economy and demographics



- A comparison of the Brazilian non-life insurance segment with its regional counterparts



- Overview of various distribution channels in the Brazilian non-life insurance segment



- Detailed analysis of natural and man-made hazards and their impact on the Brazilian insurance industry



- Details of the competitive landscape in the non-life insurance segment in Brazil



- Details of regulatory policy applicable to the Brazilian insurance industry



Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the non-life insurance segment in Brazil:



- It provides historical values for the Brazilian non-life insurance segment for the report's 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.



- It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Brazilian non-life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.



- It provides a comparison of the Brazilian non-life insurance segment with its regional counterparts



- It analyzes the various distribution channels for non-life insurance products in Brazil.



- It analyzes various natural and man-made hazards and their impact on the Brazilian insurance industry



- It profiles the top non-life insurance companies in Brazil, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.



Reasons To Buy

- Make strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Brazilian non-life insurance segment, and each category within it.



- Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Brazilian non-life insurance segment.



- Assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance segment.



- Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.



- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Brazilian insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.



Key Highlights

- Despite socio-economic issues, during the review period the non-life segment accounted for 27.5% of the industry's gross written premium in 2015.



- Foreign investment in energy and transport provided opportunities for insurers during the review period.



- Telematics is becoming popular as insurers look to improve profitability by reducing claims and exploiting the opportunities for growth that telematics offers.



- Increases in cyberattacks and data breaches are likely to expand demand for cyber insurance.



- The expansion of the rail network is expected to support transit insurance over the forecast period.



- Growing consumer awareness of the benefits of non-life insurance, favorable government regulations for foreign entrants and frequent natural disasters are expected to support growth in the segment over the forecast period.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p01591728-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


ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Food industry titan Mars, Incorporated is making a bullish move in both the U.S. candy market and the Windy City. Mars will combine its chocolate business (which produces iconic brands such as Snickers, M&M's and Twix) with the company's candy subsidiary Wrigley (maker of Skittles, Starburst, and Orbit gum). The newly formed combined division will be headquartered in Chicago and will be called Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

Based on sales, privately-owned Mars is already the nation's largest confectionary company. This latest move is being made with the goal of allowing Mars to accelerate the company's growth in an evolving candy market.

"The candy market terrain shows a broad array of players that have a significant presence in the U.S. market, but is lead by candy behemoths such as Mars and Hershey, which dominate the domestic market. But as in many markets today, there is an influential group of disruptors, especially the superpremium gourmet candy producers and the craft producers. Regardless of whether the newly announced unified company tackles such niche candy segments remains to be seen, but at the very least this is a fortification of Mars' already formidable assets as the company looks ahead to future growth opportunities," says David Sprinkle, research director for market research firm Packaged Facts. In August 2016, Packaged Facts published Chocolate Candy Market in the U.S., 11th Edition and will release an upcoming report on the candy and gum market later this year.

The decision comes on the heels of Mars announcement that it would acquire Berkshire Hathaway's reported 19% share in Wrigley to take full control of the subsidiary. Mars has owned a majority stake in Wrigley since the original acquisition in 2008. The combination of the Mount Olive, NJ-based chocolate company with Chicago-based Wrigley is expected to be phased-in gradually during 2017. For the moment, the units will remain separate.

For some astute industry experts, the creation of Mars Wrigley Confectionery likely has been mildly anticipated as the companies had already been collaborating for a while. As Packaged Facts discussed in Chocolate Candy Market in the U.S., 11th Edition, the companies especially ramped up collaboration in the last year, joining forces to deliver shopper marketing insights to key retailers. Last year, they brought together decades of "impulse leadership" to create insights on "transaction zones," which are emerging impulse areas of the store such as the in-store pharmacy, the cafe, mobile phones, or the "buy online, pick-up in store" area where shoppers are making purchases beyond just the front end of the store. They also collaborated on their first "joint-selling program," which was tied to last year's Super Bowl and included the Snickers (Mars) and Skittles (Wrigley) brands.

For more insights from Packaged Facts on the U.S. candy industry visit: http://www.packagedfacts.com/food-beverage-market-c84/.

Please link any media or news references to our reports or data to www.packagedfacts.com.

About Packaged Facts  Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at www.PackagedFacts.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

For more essential insights from Packaged Facts be sure to follow us on Twitter and Google+. For infographics, tables, charts and other visuals, follow Packaged Facts on Pinterest.

Press Contact:

Daniel Granderson

240.747.3000

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150831/262421LOGO

SOURCE Packaged Facts

Related Links

http://www.PackagedFacts.com


SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business and Pima County, Ariz. today announced a groundbreaking effort to address the causes of homelessness in Pima County. Together, they are preparing to implement a $1.3 million federal "Pay for Success" (PFS) Supportive Housing Demonstration Grant, the first of its kind in Arizona.

Funded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and facilitated through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the DOJ, the project's primary goal is to enable chronically homeless people to find and maintain stable housing while being able to access wrap-around services. Together, the locally tailored stable housing and services will aim to reduce the burden on the criminal justice and emergency healthcare systems.

A team from the Sorenson Impact Center  Project Director Caroline Ross, Managing Director Jeremy Keele, University of Utah Professor Rob Butters, Ph.D. and Senior Policy Associate Sara Peters  this week traveled to Tucson to seek the expertise of public- and private-sector leaders and frontline service providers. The team is currently wrapping up the preliminary assessment and planning portion of their work, which was funded with a grant from the Kresge Foundation. A final feasibility study and a cost-benefit analysis for the pilot project is expected to be completed around the first of the year.

"All good things come with time," said Margaret Kish, community services director. "It has been two and a half years since Pima County committed to this effort, and our partners from the Sorenson Impact Center have been with us the whole way. Meetings like these show it's a true collaboration."

On September 28 at the Pima County Housing Center, the Sorenson Impact Center staffers led a dialogue with representatives from dozens of social service groups, government departments and health and public safety agencies. The team provided new details and best practices developed by other PFS projects from across the country. The PFS financing model allows government agencies to test or build upon innovative methods for achieving agreed-upon goals, while paying only when positive outcomes are achieved.

Managing Director Keele said, "We're extremely proud to be bringing the first social impact financing project to the state of Arizona. The commitment from all levels of Pima County leadership is remarkable, and their hard work is a testament of their dedication to solving important issues in their community."

The next day, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and other County executives hosted the Sorenson Impact Center staff for further discussion of the gathered data and the possible parameters of the pilot program.

"I've been so pleased to see a culture of sharing data in Pima County," said Professor Butters. "It's way ahead of many other communities. There seems to be a commitment here to improve outcomes through cooperation while still protecting the vulnerability of the people we work with."

The next piece in the planning puzzle will be determining the target population and the types of services that will be provided, something that must balance budgetary constraints while ensuring a sufficient sample size for independent evaluationan important component in ensuring continued financial and popular support for the program.

There is good reason for optimism about using a permanent supportive housing approach to homelessness. Similar undertakings have had great success in other locations, including current projects in Denver, Colorado and Santa Clara County, California. In addition, for more than a decade, Salt Lake City, Utah, has implemented a permanent supportive housing program, which contributed to a 91 percent reduction in chronic homelessness from 2005 to 2015.

The first step in implementation, early next year, will be identifying non-profit groups with the capacity to meet the program's service provision needs, investors willing to cover the cost of that additional capacity, and third-party evaluators to review the anxiously anticipated results.

About the Sorenson Impact Center

The Sorenson Impact Center, housed at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business, is an applied academic institution dedicated to developing innovative and data-driven approaches to difficult social problems, like intergenerational poverty and homelessness. An important focus area for the Center is facilitating PFS initiatives, which direct public and private capital to high-quality programs that measurably improve the health and well-being of at-risk individuals and families in communities across the country.

About the David Eccles School of Business

Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers eight undergraduate majors, four MBAs, six other specialized graduate programs, a Ph.D. in seven areas and executive education curricula. The School is also home to eight institutes, initiatives and centers that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. The Eccles School is synonymous with 'doing.' The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161004/415093LOGO

SOURCE Sorenson Impact Center

Related Links

http://eccles.utah.edu/sorenson-impact-center


WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross has launched a massive sheltering operation in response to Hurricane Matthew with more than 27,000 people seeking refuge in almost 200 Red Cross and community evacuation shelters across three states Thursday night. This included 133 shelters in Florida with more than 22,000 people; 18 shelters in Georgia with more than 2,100 people; and 47 shelters in South Carolina with more than 2,500 people.

"We've prepositioned trained volunteers, response vehicles and trailer loads of supplies in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, but now is the time for folks to stay safe and listen to emergency officials," said Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. "The life-threatening storm surge, intense winds and heavy rain could cause widespread devastation and recovery challenges that can't be handled by just one organization. This is a time for neighbors and communities to come together and support one anotherand the Red Cross is proud to be one of many organizations providing help."

RED CROSS RESPONSE More than 1,800 Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground or traveling to the southeast to support evacuation shelters and response efforts. In addition to providing a safe place to ride out the dangerous storm, the Red Cross is preparing to deliver relief supplies and help people recover from Matthew as soon as it is safe to do so.

The Red Cross has deployed numerous emergency response vehicles and 35 trailers filled with items like water, ready-to-eat meals, shelter and kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies and comfort kits, insect repellant, gloves, masks, shovels, rakes, coolers and more. The Red Cross is also working in close collaboration with government officials and community partners to make sure people get the help they need.

If someone needs to find a shelter, they can visit redcross.org, check the Red Cross Emergency App or call 1-800-768-8048. Anyone who plans to stay in a Red Cross shelter should bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, important documents and other comfort items. They should also include any special items for children, such as diapers, formula and toys, or for family members who have unique needs.

HAITI RESPONSE The American Red Cross is working closely with the Haitian Red Cross to assess the extent of damage from Hurricane Matthew and get much-needed supplies to people in need. Three American Red Cross teams in Haiti pre-deployed to the affected areas are currently distributing a first round of life-saving relief supplies, including hygiene (cooking) kits, and cholera-prevention kits.

Destruction in the affected area has complicated transit and communications, however initial assessments indicate major needs are shelter, clean water, sanitation and disease prevention related to water-borne illnesses such as cholera, dengue and Zika. Additional relief supplies, such as water purification products, shelter kits, and mosquito nets are being procured locally and internationally. American Red Cross National Headquarters is deploying Disaster Response Specialists, generators, and telecommunications equipment to better support the 200 American Red Cross staff in Haiti to accelerate aid and response efforts.

URGENT NEED FOR BLOOD, PLATELET DONATIONS As the storm barrels into the United States, the Red Cross is unable to collect blood and platelets in many areas along the Southeast coast. So far, Hurricane Matthew has forced the cancellation of approximately 30 Red Cross blood drives in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina resulting in nearly 1,300 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected. The Red Cross is likely to experience additional cancellations in the days ahead as the storm moves north.

The Red Cross is particularly concerned about the loss of platelet donations in affected areas. Platelets, a key clotting component of blood often needed by cancer patients, must be transfused within five days of donation and, therefore, are always in demand.

In parts of the country unaffected by the storm, the Red Cross strongly urges eligible individuals to please give blood or platelets now to help ensure we have a readily available blood supply for patients in need. Even before the threat of Hurricane Matthew, there was an urgent need for donors of all blood types, especially type O. Appointments can be made by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

DOWNLOAD EMERGENCY APP Everyone should download the Red Cross Emergency App to have safety information available on their mobile device, including emergency weather alerts, preparedness information and shelter locations. Red Cross apps are available in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

HURRICANE SAFETY People living in the path of the hurricane should listen to local officials and obey any evacuation orders. As the storm passes, folks should stay informed by listening to local news or a NOAA weather radio for updates. Other safety steps include:

Watch for extended rainfall and flooding.

If you evacuated, return home only when officials say it is safe.

Drive only if necessary and avoided flooded roads and bridges.

Keep away from loose or dangling power lines. Report them to the power company.

Use flashlights in the dark, not candles.

Check refrigerated food for spoilage. If in doubt, throw it out.

Watch animals closely, keep them under your direct control.

MAKE A DONATION The Red Cross depends on donations to provide immediate relief. Help people affected by Hurricane Matthew in the U.S. by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word MATTHEW to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090108/RedCrossLOGO

SOURCE American Red Cross

Related Links

http://www.redcross.org


LINTHICUM, Md., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Urological Association (AUA) and the Urology Care Foundation, together with the Bladder Health Alliance  a coalition of groups representing physicians, patients and veterans  today applauded Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) for introducing Senate Resolution 604, a measure supporting the designation of November 2016 as "National Bladder Health Month" in the United States.

"The introduction of this resolution by Sen. Kirk is an important step in increasing awareness of bladder conditions," said Dr. Jim Ulchaker, chair of the AUA's Legislative Affairs Committee. "Awareness is one of the first steps toward reducing the stigma associated with bladder conditions and empowering providers and patients to discuss bladder health."

Millions of Americans suffer from a variety of bladder health conditions, including urinary incontinence, overactive and underactive bladder, interstitial cystitis, urinary tract infections, nocturia, bladder cancer, urotrauma and neurogenic bladder. These diseases impact health and quality of life, and result in significant health costs (estimated to be more than $70 billion per year). Medical and behavioral research to better understand and maintain bladder health and to treat bladder conditions is critically needed yet is underfunded compared to other health research.

"Tens of thousands of people from Illinois, struggle with the impacts of poor bladder health," said Senator Kirk. "These conditions have been linked to a number of side effects like depression, decreased physical activity and hospitalizations, particularly women and veterans. It is vitally important that we discuss these serious conditions with great openness and transparency. I also hope we will continue to invest in the research needed to better understand and treat the various bladder ailments that exist today."

"We look forward to working with the Senate on this important initiative when they reconvene later this year," Dr. Ulchaker said.

For more information about bladder health or S. Res. 604, please contact the AUA Communications office by calling 410-689-3932 or sending email to [email protected].

Members of the Bladder Health Alliance: Alliance for Aging Research; American Geriatric Society's Health in Aging Foundation; American Urogynecologic Society; American Urological Association; Association for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Support; Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network; Blue Thong Society; Chesapeake Urology Associates; HealthyWomen; International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health; Interstitial Cystitis Association; Men's Health Network; Multiple Sclerosis Association of America; Multiple Sclerosis Foundation; National Multiple Sclerosis Society; National Association for Continence; National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health; Simon Foundation for Continence; Society for Women's Health Research; Spina Bifida Association; SUFU - Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction; United Spinal Association; Urological Association of Physician Assistants; Urology Care Foundation; Veterans Health Council; Women's Health Foundation; and the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN).

About the American Urological Association

Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 22,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

About the Urology Care Foundation

The Urology Care Foundation is the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation and the official foundation of the American Urological Association. We partner with physicians, researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, families and the public to support and improve the prevention, detection and treatment of urological diseases through research and education. To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation and its programs visit: www.UrologyHealth.org.

Contact: Wendy Waldsachs Isett, AUA

410-689-3789, [email protected]

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SOURCE American Urological Association

Related Links

http://www.AUAnet.org


VANCOUVER, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE and TSX: RBA) has published its September 2016 auction metrics on the company's website. This information can be accessed at the following link:

https://investor.ritchiebros.com/historical-auction-metrics

Monthly auction metrics should not be considered indicative of quarterly, annual or future performance. Auction metrics and corporate performance vary considerably month-to-month, due to the number of auctions held each month and seasonal factors. Ritchie Bros.' actual results could differ materially from those implied by this monthly auction disclosure. Investors are encouraged to review Ritchie Bros.' performance on a 12-month rolling or annual basis before making investing decisions.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, and one of the world's largest sellers of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, mining, forestry and other industries. Ritchie Bros.TM asset management and disposition solutions include live unreserved public auctions with on-site and online bidding; EquipmentOneTM, an online auction marketplace; Mascus, a global online equipment listing service; private negotiated sales through Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty; and a range of ancillary services, including financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. Ritchie Bros. has operations in 19 countries, including 45 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at rbauction.com, EquipmentOne.com, mascus.com, rbauction.com/privatetreaty and rbauction.com/financing.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Related Links

http://www.rbauction.com


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dickey's Barbecue Pit CEO Roland Dickey Jr. has announced a new three-store development agreement with Owner/Operator Alex Roth. Already the owner of the Redondo Beach Dickey's location, Roth's agreement originally contained one store. This new agreement adds three more stores to the deal. Dickey's Barbecue Pit now has more than 100 stores in California and is rapidly expanding in The Golden State.

Roland Dickey Jr. saw the potential in extending the partnership with Roth, a United States Marine Corps reservist who began his career in foodservice at Dickey's Barbecue Pit. Roland Dickey Jr. and Roth have extended their Dickey's barbecue Pit Franchise agreement to encompass the southern part of Los Angeles County, starting in Hawthorn and extending south. He will also open a new location as far south as Lomita.

The new stores will all be opened using Dickey's new store model, complete with sustainable elements such as reclaimed wood throughout the dining room and Dickey's proprietary blend of wood pellets to be used in the smoker.

Alex Roth explained, "The community in Redondo Beach has wholeheartedly embraced us, and so many people who came during our grand opening have become loyal guests who stop in several times per week. We are delighted to serve our community delicious barbecue and look forward to expanding into Los Angeles County."

Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., said of the deal, "Dickey's has grown rapidly along the West Coast, and we are proud to have dedicated Owner/Operators such as Alex Roth who further our brand every day. The Dickey family congratulates Alex on his development agreement and we look forward to celebrating many grand openings in the future."

About Roland Dickey Jr.

Roland Dickey Jr. is the CEO responsible for the explosion in popularity of the Dickey's Barbecue chain of restaurants. He has taken the family business from five locations in Texas to more than 560 throughout the continental United States. Dickey Jr. now tours the country helping franchisees and business owners set up for success through his own consultancy, as well as regularly lecturing on the convention circuit. For more information, please visit: http://www.rolanddickeyjr.com/.

To learn more about franchising with Dickeys, visit www.dickeys.com/franchise or call 866-340-6188.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow-smoked barbecue. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, "We Speak Barbecue." The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids' meals every Sunday. The fast-casual concept has expanded to more than 560 locations in 43 states. This year Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" and ranked in the top ten of Franchise Times' "Fast and Serious." Dickey's Barbecue Pit was recognized for the third year by Nation's Restaurant News as a "Top 10 Growth Chain" and by Technomic as the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country." For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188.

Media Contact:

Michelle George

[email protected]

972.248.9899

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140102/LA39739LOGO

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Related Links

http://www.dickeys.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential securities fraud at RPM International Inc. ("RPM" or the "Company") (NYSE:RPM).

The investigation focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws. Specifically, on September 9, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filed a complaint against the Company with allegations of accounting fraud. The complaint alleges that RPM failed to appropriately and timely disclose a loss contingency, or document an accrual for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ"). Specifically, in connection with the DOJ investigation, RPM faced a material loss that was probable and reasonably estimable. However, RPM failed to report the loss contingency or document an accrual on its books when it was required to do so. As result of the aforementioned allegations, the value of RPM stock has significantly declined.

Request more information now by clicking here: www.faruqilaw.com/RPM. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Take Action

If you invested in RPM stock or options and would like to discuss your legal rights, visit www.faruqilaw.com/RPM. You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding RPM's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.



FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

[email protected]

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

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SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

Related Links

http://www.faruqilaw.com


HOUSTON, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sisters Network Inc. (SNI), the only national African American breast cancer survivor-run organization in the United States today announced the 15th National African American Breast Cancer Conference to be held October 21-23, 2016 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. The three-day conference themed, "Awareness to Change" is generously supported by conference title sponsor, Henry Ford Health System.

Black women have the highest breast cancer death rate of any racial/ethnic group. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women according to the latest data from the American Cancer Society. The incidence of breast cancer among women under 45 is higher for African American women compared to white women.

Honorary Conference Chairs are Lisa A. Newman, M.D., MPH, Director of the Breast Oncology Program and Medical Director for International Center for the Study of Breast cancer Subtype at Henry Ford Health System and Vernice Davis-Anthony, BSN, MPH, CEO, VDA Health Connect. Conference Chair is Karen E. Jackson, Founder/CEO, Sisters Network Inc. and Co-Chair, Mary Waters, President, Sisters Network Greater Metropolitan Detroit Chapter. Sponsors to date include, Henry Ford Health System, Title Sponsor, Eisai, Genentech, Brothers Helping Sisters, Delta, Allergan, Novartis, Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Michigan Health System, Pfizer, Celgene, The Allergan Foundation and Amgen.

The exciting 3-day national conference hosted during National Breast Cancer Awareness month officially kicks-off on Friday, Oct. 21, with an opening reception at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center and presentation on "Why Breast Health Matters." Special guest Ezekiel Nana "Ziggy" Ansah from the Detroit Lions will also be in attendance. Conference presentations and workshops include:

Breast Health Matters

Triple Negative

Management of Metastatic Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Survivor Issues

Living with Lymphedema

Fertility Preservation for Breast Cancer Patients

Coping with Fear of Recurrence

Registration is $150.00 and on-site registration is $200.00. To register, please visit www.sistersnetworkinc.org or call 1-866-781-1808.

"It's time for black women to wake up and take ownership of their health and be a part of the movement for change, Breast Health Matters," said Karen E. Jackson, Founder/CEO, Sisters Network Inc. "The goal of our national conference in Detroit is to not only be informative, but to also serve as call to action for African American women from around the nation to put their health first."

"African American women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages and with aggressive forms of the disease such as triple negative breast cancer, making this conference an incredibly important step to raising awareness among the women in our city," says Dr. Newman.

"Henry Ford is very proud to support a national conference of this caliber in Detroit that will bring together women in our community with breast cancer experts to learn first-hand about their risk, the importance of earlier detection and vast treatment options available to them."

Cancer Care at Henry Ford Health System

Henry Ford Health System cares for more than 14,000 cancer patients every year from every state and continent. Our cancer doctors specialize in all types of cancer, including rare and complex cases. The breadth and depth of technologies and treatments pioneered and used routinely by our cancer specialists ensures patients access to the best care. We offer 24-hour-a-day nurse coordinators and patient concierge services. Learn more: www.HenryFord.com/Cancer

Sisters Network Inc.

Sisters Network Inc. founded in 1994 by two-time breast cancer survivor Karen E. Jackson, is a leading voice and only national African American breast cancer survivorship organization in the United States. Sisters Network is governed by an elected Board of Directors and assisted by an appointed medical advisory committee. Membership includes over 40 survivor- run affiliate chapters in 22 states nationwide. The organization's purpose is to save lives and provide a broader scope of knowledge that addresses the breast cancer survivorship crisis affecting African American women around the country.

SOURCE Sisters Network, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sistersnetworkinc.org


FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Bank and Robert Lansford (collectively, the "Southwest Bank Participants") announced today that they have issued an open letter urging unitholders of the San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (the "Trust" or "SJT") to STOP, LOOK and LISTEN before taking any action in response to the Trust's solicitation of proxies for the Trust's upcoming Special Meeting of Unitholders and to wait until they receive the Southwest Bank Participants' proxy materials and WHITE proxy card before voting. The complete text of the letter to unitholders follows:

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM

THE SOUTHWEST BANK PARTICIPANTS

TO

THE UNITHOLDERS OF

SAN JUAN BASIN ROYALTY TRUST (SJT)

Southwest Bank Participants Urge San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Unitholders to Look for

the WHITE Proxy Card for the Special Meeting of Unitholders

Dear San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Unitholder:

At some point in the near future, you may receive a proxy statement and accompanying blue proxy card from the San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (the "Trust") in connection with the upcoming Special Meeting of Unitholders of the Trust (the "Special Meeting"). The Special Meeting has been called at the request of the holders of more than 22% of the Trust's outstanding units in order to vote on the proposals made by Southwest Bank and Robert Lansford (the "Southwest Bank Participants") for the removal of Compass Bank as trustee of the Trust and the nomination and appointment of Southwest Bank as successor trustee (the "Southwest Bank Proposals"). The Trust has not yet set the date, time and location of the Special Meeting, but the Trust has set the record date for the Special Meeting as October 24, 2016. Compass Bank will be asking you to vote against the Southwest Bank Proposals at the Special Meeting.

The Southwest Bank Participants will soon be sending our own definitive proxy materials and a WHITE proxy card with respect to the Special Meeting. We strongly urge you NOT to vote any blue proxy card you may receive from Compass Bank or the Trust, and to wait for and read the Southwest Bank Participants' proxy materials and WHITE proxy card before you cast your vote in connection with the Special Meeting. We look forward to sharing with you in the coming weeks our views in support of the Southwest Bank Proposals to select the most experienced trustee.

Our proxy solicitor is Okapi Partners. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact Okapi Partners toll-free at (877) 279-2311 or by email at [email protected].

Thank you very much for your support.

Vernon Bryant

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Southwest Bank

Robert Lansford

About Southwest Bank

Proudly serving North Texas for 50 years, Southwest Bank is the largest locally owned, independent bank in Tarrant County. In addition to full-service banking centers in Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Burleson, Grapevine, Mansfield and Saginaw, Southwest Bank maintains mortgage offices in Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin and a royalty trust management office in Dallas. Southwest Bank values its customers and believes in building loyal, lasting relationships through personalized service, honesty and integrity. For more information, visit www.SouthwestBank.com. Member FDIC.

Participants in the Solicitation

Each of Southwest Bank and Robert Lansford (the "Southwest Bank Participants") are participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Special Meeting of the Unitholders of the Trust (the "Special Meeting"). Information regarding the Southwest Bank Participants and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, to the extent applicable, is available in the preliminary proxy statement filed by the Southwest Bank Participants with the Securities and Exchange Commission the ("SEC") on September 30, 2016.

Additional Information

The Southwest Bank Participants intend to make a filing with the SEC of a definitive proxy statement and the accompanying WHITE proxy card to be used to solicit proxies in connection with the Special Meeting (the "SWB Special Meeting Proxy Statement"). UNITHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY THE SWB SPECIAL MEETING PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SOLICITATION OF UNITHOLDERS FOR USE AT THE SPECIAL MEETING WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROXY SOLICITATION. The SWB Special Meeting Proxy Statement and all other related documents filed by the Southwest Bank Participants with the SEC will be available at no charge on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. Unitholders may also obtain a copy of the SWB Special Meeting Proxy Statement, when filed, without charge, by contacting the Southwest Bank Participants' proxy solicitor, Okapi Partners, at its toll-free number: (877) 279-2311 or at [email protected].

SOURCE Southwest Bank Participants

Related Links

http://www.SouthwestBank.com


Since 2006, with the help of vendor partners, Spirit sponsors and hosts Halloween celebrations in children's hospitals across the United States and Canada. Members of the Spirit field team bring everything needed to have the best party possible from costumes and decorations to goody bags. It's a remarkable event that touches thousands of pediatric patients and brings countless smiles and laughter to children and their families.

"Spirit of Children is a way to give back to the communities we are a part of each season. With our parties, we bring the magic of Halloween to kids and their parents who otherwise might not have been able to participate," said Steven Silverstein, President and CEO, Spirit Halloween. "And with the money raised, Spirit of Children helps year round."

Spirit of Children chooses to partner with and support Child Life whose main function is to provide developmental, educational and therapeutic support for children undergoing medical treatment. Trained Child Life Specialists help children and their families cope with the many stresses involved when a child is in the hospital. These programs are instrumental to the healing process for children and helps kids just be kids in times of fear and discomfort.

While always keeping the focus on the local community, Spirit of Children has raised more than $29 million in cash and merchandise donations nationally. 100% of the contributions made at any of the 1,200 Spirit Halloween stores go directly to that community's partner hospital. This year Spirit hopes to raise almost $8 million more for Child Life programs.

Spirit of Children Week provides a prescription for play by supplying 15,000 costumes, face painting, crafts, music and more to throw the ultimate happy Halloween party at local children's hospitals. Many of the hospital parties this year will get uplifting visits from children's favorite TV and movie characters, including Chase and Marshall from Nickelodeon's Paw Patrol, Dream Works' Kung Fu Panda, Nickelodeon's Shimmer & Shine and Saban's Power Rangers.

"For the Spirit Halloween family, this is the time of year to consider the incredible emotional and life-long impact we can make on pediatric patients and their families," reflects Silverstein. "It's inspiring to see so many people come together to deliver strength and smiles to these young patients on Halloween and year-round, helping kids be kids. We know that every dollar makes a difference."

About Spirit Halloween

Spirit Halloween (spirithalloween.com) is the largest Halloween specialty retailer in the country with more than 1,200 locations in strip centers and malls across North America. Celebrating 33 years of business, Spirit is the authority on all things Halloween, offering one-stop shopping for everything from costumes to decor and party goods to accessories. In addition to being a fun and interactive event for shoppers, Spirit stores offer complete selections of costumes and accessories for infants/toddlers, children, 'tweens, teens, and adults along with exclusive decor you won't find anywhere else.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416296

SOURCE Spirit Halloween

Related Links

http://spirithalloween.com


BALTIMORE, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is a clear victory for Baltimore's pro-life pregnancy centers, for pregnant women in crisis pregnancies who look to these centers for assistance so they can carry their babies to term, and for First Amendment principles we treasure as Americans," Archbishop Lori said.

"This Court has once again undertaken a careful and thorough review of Baltimore City's unfair ordinance and properly concluded that it would stifle the religious liberty and free speech of pro-life pregnancy centers.

"I am grateful to all who worked to ensure the successful outcome of this case, including my predecessor, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, who helped to lead the fight against this onerous law, and stood up for the charitable, life-affirming work of crisis pregnancy centers in Baltimore. I also thank and commend the Center for Pregnancy Concerns for its good work in protecting the physical, emotional, and spiritual lives of women and their unborn children.

"It is hoped that today's ruling will mark an end to any effort by the City to compel private citizens, such as those who work and volunteer in pregnancy centers, to convey a government-mandated message."

The Center for Pregnancy Concerns provides free services to 1,200 pregnant women in Baltimore City annually, and handles approximately 8,000 calls to their 24-hour hotline.

Contact

Sean Caine

410.547.5378 (office)

443.857.4372 (cell)

SOURCE Archdiocese of Baltimore
In celebration of "Subaru Loves Pets", Subaru retailers across the nation will work hand-in-hand with local animal organizations to host pet supply drives in order to help support animals who lack the necessary materials to live healthy and happy lives. As a team, the retailer and local animal organizations will collect critical items, such as pet food and treats, toys, dog beds, grooming supplies, collars, harnesses, leashes, and more, to give to animals in need and in turn, increase pets' overall chances of adoption. Throughout October, Subaru encourages customers to visit their local retailer and snap a photo with their furry friend with a fun pet-friendly photo frame or sign up to volunteer at a local animal organization. As a token of appreciation, Subaru retailers will gift those who donate an all-new 2017 Impreza dog toy, while supplies last. For more information on how you can help pets in your area, please visit your local Subaru retailer to find out how you can get involved.

Pilots N Paws

As part of its longstanding partnership with Pilots N Paws, an organization devoted to rescuing thousands of shelter animals surrendered in the United States, Subaru has once again supported its annual flyway mission, during which pilots transport at-risk animals from kill shelters to no-kill shelters, foster care and new pet parents. During this year's rescue mission, which took place on October 1st in Kennesaw, GA, the automaker assisted with ground transportation, food and accommodations for pilots, as well as travel kits for the rescued animals' journey to safety. With the help of 40 pilots and 40 planes, the mission successfully transported over 220 dogs and cats to safe havens and loving homes. For more information about Pilots N Paws and to volunteer for a future event, visit www.pilotsnpaws.org.

Pet Philanthropy Circle  2016 Pet Hero Awards

For the fifth consecutive year, Subaru will partner with The Pet Philanthropy Circle and support its mission to improve animals' quality of life by generating greater public awareness around their welfare during the annual Pet Hero Awards. Subaru has been the exclusive vehicle of the organization since its inaugural year and will sponsor the 5th annual Pet Philanthropy Pet Hero Awards, on October 7th in New York City. The Pet Hero Awards celebrate individuals, associations, professionals, pets and business organizations that demonstrate a commitment to improving and protecting animals' lives. To learn more about the Pet Heroes Awards, purchase tickets or view this year's award recipients, visit www.petphilanthropycircle.org/petheroawards.html.

"Subaru Loves Pets is all about showing our pets the love that they show us each and every day," said Thomas J. Doll, President and COO of Subaru of America, Inc. "We are very pleased to partner with organizations like Pilots N Paws, The Pet Philanthropy Circle and many local animal welfare groups, to help improve the health and well-being of animals across the country and help them to find new homes."

For information about Subaru Loves Pets and to find out more about the partners that Subaru supports, visit http://www.subaru.com/pets/.

About Subaru Love Promise

The Subaru Love Promise is just that. A promise. It is a promise to do right by our community by partnering with nonprofit education, health, community, environment, and animal organizations - to set Subaru apart through our deeds and the deeds of our partners. To be unlike any other car company by doing what is right and good, just for the sake of doing it.

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.

About Pilots N Paws

Founded in February of 2008, Pilots N Paws has made a difference by saving the lives of more than 100,000 innocent animals. Partnered with Subaru and Petmate, Pilots N Paws is a 501c3 charitable organization who through the help of more than 5,000 general aviation volunteer pilots transports rescue animals by air free of charge. The mission of Pilots N Paws is to provide a communication venue between those that rescue, shelter, and foster animals and pilots and plane owners willing to assist with the transportation of these animals. The goal of Pilots N Paws is to continue to promote awareness of animal overpopulation and to implement education programs to end this problem in our lifetime.

About The Pet Philanthropy Circle

The mission of the Pet Philanthropy Circle is to inspire everyone to become involved in defending the rights of animals. Our core objectives include promotion of spay and neuter, adoption of rescue animals over purchasing pets, teaching the benefits of animal ownership, being kind to animals, and the importance of micro-chipping pets. The Pet Hero Awards promote public awareness of the causes that protect our animals and celebrate individuals, associations, professionals, pets and business organizations that demonstrate a commitment to improving and protecting animal lives. Our belief is by recognizing role models, others will aspire to excellence, as well. Our Advisory Board Members are solely responsible nominating potential Pet Hero Award candidates. It is essential that this group be totally committed to our cause and willing to invest the time and/or financial commitment necessary to keep our awards program standards of excellence intact.

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/20161007/416424

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.subaru.com


The keynote session, "The Politics of Employee Benefits", featured speaker Katy Spangler, Senior Vice President, Health Policy, for the American Benefits Council. She presented background on the health care policy stances of each presidential candidate, while offering predictions for the future of healthcare, and how employers will be impacted. Spangler noted that while major changes to the Affordable Care Act are unlikely regardless of who wins in November, under Clinton we could see the return of the public option, a government funded insurance plan. "Secretary Clinton would pursue efforts on a public option, but it is unlikely she would have support in the Senate," said Spangler. "She would look at state innovation waivers as a way to encourage states to offer the public option."

In the roundtable panel, "Why Work is Healthy," disability experts Dr. Jennifer Christian and Dr. Chris Brigham joined legal and ACA expert Stacy Barrow to discuss the financial, physical, and societal aspects of going on disability in the US. "Work is far more significant than just a paycheck," said Dr. Brigham. "It gives us a reason to get up in the morning, to relate to others, it gives us a purpose."

"In addition to worklessness being a threat to someone's physical and mental health, it's also a threat to their social, family, personal, and economic wellbeing," continued Dr. Christian. "Working gives us a role in society, and most people don't understand how toxic being away from work can be."

The last session of the Summit was conducted by Sun Life disability and compliance experts Alexandra Dumont and Marjory Robertson, who presented insights on the regulatory landscape, and how employers can navigate these complicated regulations while still maintaining the bottom line.

"We understand there is a hunger for substantive information and real dialogue about the issues we're all facing as brokers, employers, and insurers," said Dan Fishbein, President, Sun Life Financial U.S. "Our Summits are designed to provide a cross-section of viewpoints and expertise, providing insights and actionable steps for a healthy workforce ."

The Sun Life Summit was broadcast live online on September 29, from the Sun Life Center for Healthy Work in Scarborough, ME. Over 2,300 benefits consultants, insurance professionals, and employer representatives tuned in from across the country. Each session of the Summit, as well as speaker background and bios, can be viewed at www.sunlifesummit.com.

About the Sun Life Summit

The 4th Sun Life Summit, held on September 29, 2016, is part of a series of Summits hosted by Sun Life Financial. Sun Life selected the topics of health policy and disability to address the potential changes to the benefits industry with the coming election. The inaugural Sun Life Summit, which was attended by thousands of employers and benefits professionals in October 2013, focused on the changing health care landscape and the impact the Affordable Care Act has on the U.S. workplace. The 2014 Sun Life Summit explored the topic of private exchanges, and the 2015 Sun Life Wake Up Summit focused on the merits of the Affordable Care Act and the value of self-insurance.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary, and Stop-Loss insurance. This includes the acquisition of Assurant Employee Benefits in Q1 2016. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contact:

Devon Portney Fernald

Sun Life Financial U.S.

781-416-7151

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416377

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416378

SOURCE Sun Life Financial

Related Links

http://www.sunlife.com


SANDA, Japan, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Susumu Koyama, owner and chef of "Patissier es koyama" in Sanda city, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, announced on October 7 a new selection of chocolate products titled "SUSUMU KOYAMA'S CHOCOLOGY 2016," which will be on show at the world's largest chocolate exhibition, Salon du Chocolat (SDC) 2016, to be held in Paris from Friday, October 28, to Tuesday, November 1.

22nd Salon du Chocolat

Time/date: 10:00-19:00, Oct. 28 (Fri.)- Nov. 1 (Tue.)

(Fri.)- (Tue.) Pre-opening event; 18:00-Oct. 27 (Thu.)

Venue: Viparis - Porte de Versailles , Pavilion 5, Stand C16

The theme of this latest selection is "Human - Coexisting with nature -." Fermentation and maturation, which are necessary techniques to make chocolate from cacao fruit, are part of food culture that has taken root in Japan since ancient times.

Koyama has produced four types of chocolate, into which he infused the power of nature, by combining the gift of nature, which is produced by wisdom and techniques handed down from generation to generation, and modern technologies. Visitors are encouraged to pay close attention to completely new Japanese artisanship, which only Koyama has acquired because he was born and underwent training in Japan.

Koyama has won the top prize in the C.C.C. contest, the most prestigious contest in France organized by an organization of chocolate lovers, since he participated in the event for the first time in 2011. In 2014, he won "Excellence chocolatier etranger" (which had been called the most excellent foreign chocolatier award until 2012) -- given to chocolatiers only if all their works presented for the contest receive full marks from all judges. He thus became the first Japanese national to win multiple awards in three contests. One of the judges praised him as an "alchemist of tastes."

This will be the sixth time in a row for Koyama to participate in the SDC. Koyama will also participate in relevant events to be held at the same venue. At his booth during the SDC, Koyama will demonstrate a combination between chocolate and sparkling "sake" rice wine produced by fermenting rice or "yuzu" citrus.

To enjoy special experiences of Japanese artisanship along with Koyama's latest selection of chocolate products, visit:

1) Pastry show: 11 to noon, Sunday, October 30

Chocolate-based sweets using fermented and matured materials will be presented in the show under the theme, "Unseen Japanese tastes."

2) Chocolate sphere: 14:00-14:45, Monday, October 31

In this seminar, visitors can enjoy Koyama's latest collection of chocolate products -- along with a new music piece, which a renowned Japanese musician produced after being inspired by "SUSUMU KOYAMA'S CHOCOLOGY 2016" -- with their five senses.

(Images: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201610065053/)

(Original release: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M103483/201610065053/_prw_OR1fl_8bu8zEjw.pdf)

SOURCE Patissier es koyama
"As the news environment becomes ever noisier, our expertise in providing provocative analysis of current affairs, and in spotting trends, helps our globally curious readers understand the future. We look forward to sharing these insights with Snapchat users," said Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist. "In addition to our coverage of world events and business, The Economist has always been an advocate for change, in fields from gay rights to drugs policy; we think our global, comparative and evidence-based outlook, with a dash of wit for good measure, is a perfect fit for the Snapchat generation."

"The Economist is one of the most respected and thoughtful editorial voices in the world and we're thrilled that they'll be introducing their content to the Snapchat community through in-depth coverage of some of the most important issues we face, from the future of our global economy to foreign policy and culture," said Nick Bell, vice president of Content for Snap Inc.

Each edition will also include four advertising slots utilising Snapchat's Snap Ads format. Goldman Sachs will be the exclusive advertiser of the first edition. "We couldn't pass up the chance to be part of The Economist's launch on Snapchat. What a great opportunity to be connected to a whole new audience of readers who are interested in The Economist's brand of intelligent and insightful analysis," said Amanda Rubin, global co-head of Brand and Content Strategy at Goldman Sachs.

The Economist provides insightful analysis of politics, business and finance news from around the globe, in both print and digital formats. The Economist also covers science, technology and the arts, including in-depth reporting on forward-looking topics that will shape our future including antibiotic resistance, space exploration and artificial intelligence.

The Economist will launch with an edition designed to debunk current fears about a jobless future. Through a series of short video 'snaps' and articles, the edition explores the impact sluggish economic growth, the on-demand economy and robots are having on jobs, concluding that technology tends to redefine jobs, rather than replace them.

"Joining Snapchat Discover is the latest initiative in our "Read, Watch, Listen" strategy, allowing The Economist to adapt its highly-regarded content to new platforms as a way to grow reach and awareness with key audiences," said Lydia Kaldas, senior vice president, Strategy and Channel Relationships, at The Economist.

About The Economist (www.economist.com)

With a growing global circulation and a reputation for insightful analysis and perspective on every aspect of world events, The Economist is one of the most widely recognised and well-read current affairs publications. The paper covers politics, business, science and technology, and books and arts, concluding each week with the obituary. In addition to the web-only content such as blogs, debates and audio/video programmes available on the website, The Economist is available to download for reading on Android, Blackberry PlayBook, iPhone or iPad devices. The Economist Espresso, our daily briefing smartphone app, is also available for download via iTunes App Store or Google Play.

SOURCE The Economist

Related Links

www.economist.com


The collaboration has led to the setting up of Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University to be launched in December 2016. The pioneering Center will be a hub for research and policy practice, creating world-class programmes to train a new generation of students, practitioners and policy leaders, develop linkages with universities, industries, government bodies, NGOs and social enterprises around the world in sustainable development.

The partnership, borne with a generous contribution of USD10 million from the JCF is in tune with the Sunway Education Group's Founder Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah's goal of sustainable development as seen today with the integrated Sunway City, transformed from what was previously a derelict mining land. The transformation is a model reflection of sustainable development.

"This partnership signals the vision of Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, AO in recognising that sustainable development is the defining challenge of our times," said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations. "This generous gift by Jeffrey Cheah will create and curate the world's best curriculum, academic, and executive programs on sustainable development. Importantly, this partnership focuses on the development challenges in Southeast Asia and the best way to address them: by engaging young minds and directing their energies towards the complex challenges and opportunities of the SDGs."

"Countries like Malaysia face unique challenges in combating the threat of climate change while continuing to tackle problems of inclusive development and job creation," said Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, AO. "This is an exciting opportunity for us at Sunway University to collaborate with UNSDSN and Professor Sachs in establishing a global education program on Sustainable Development with the Center. The JCF deems it appropriate to name this Center after Professor Sachs hoping it will inspire a new generation of young minds to create a sustainable future for all and at the same time pay tribute to a renowned global intellectual leader who has dedicated his life's work to sustainable development.

With the establishment of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development, I believe that we have taken an important step in the right direction to develop the global expertise needed to move Malaysia and Asia forward in the area of sustainable development, to protect and preserve the planet. World-class infrastructure is already available to house the Center at Sunway University, located in the thriving township of Sunway, a testament to rehabilitation and sustainability."

A one-day conference will be held in conjunction with the launch ceremony of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development on 9 December 2016 at Sunway University. For more information please email: [email protected].

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416359

SOURCE Sunway University
FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Original Pancake House DFW (OPH-DFW) held their official Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting on October 6, 2016. Owners Mark Davis Bailey and Jonathan Seyoum along with the company president, Kevin Payne, and Mayor Betsy Price cut the ribbon and welcomed guests from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Black Chamber of Commerce. Click Photo

Guests were treated to a food tasting with several delicious signature dishes. The new Fort Worth OPH-DFW location is now home to over 65 Associates. It will support the local community by participating in many local activities. OPH-DFW donated a portion of sales during Grand Opening to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. OPH-DFW also kicked off a fundraising campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness where 10% of sales will be donated every Tuesday in October. The new Fort Worth team of Associates showed their support by wearing pink aprons. Click Photo

OPH-DFW Fort Worth is also participating on the local Frog Saver Mobile App with a limited time $10 off coupon. It will also support the Texas Christian University with a new program called "Frog Tuesdays" where faculty, staff and students will receive a discount every Tuesday starting in November when they present their university identification.

About The Original Pancake House DFW

The Original Pancake House DFW has been creating made from scratch freshness in the DFW area since 1987. The local franchise, owned by Mark Davis Bailey and Jonathan Seyoum, currently serves the North Texas community with eight locations. The combination of quality and hospitality at each location is the basis for why families have kept returning to The Original Pancake House for 29 years in the DFW area and over 60 years nationwide. For more information about The Original Pancake House franchise in Texas, visit www.ophdfw.com or find OPH on Facebook www.facebook.com/ophdfw

Media Contact: Margaret McKoin

[email protected]

Phone: 817-403-0866

SOURCE The Original Pancake House

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CHERRY HILL, N.J., Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank will donate $100,000 to the Red Cross in support of emergency assistance for communities affected by Hurricane Matthew in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

"The devastation from the storm will be tremendous, so we want to provide support to our customers, employees and the communities impacted," says Michael Rayder, Donation and Foundation Manager, TD Charitable Foundation. "Our thoughts are with all those affected by the hurricane."

A staunch commitment to active involvement in the local community is a vital element of the TD Bank philosophy. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank and the TD Charitable Foundation provide support to affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and environmental initiatives, many of which focus on improving the welfare of children and families.

About the TD Charitable Foundation

The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank N.A., which operates as TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, and is one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. The Foundation's mission is to serve the individuals, families and businesses in all the communities where TD Bank operates, having made more than $159.8 million in charitable donations since its inception in 2002. The Foundation's areas of focus are affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and the environment. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation, including an online grant application, is available at www.TDBank.com.

About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at approximately 1,300 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150714/236349LOGO

SOURCE TD Charitable Foundation

Related Links

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Across the 3-day event, Tissue World Istanbul 2016 welcomed a total of 1,602 tissue industry professionals. While 67% of the participants consists of local Turkish tissue industry players, the event also saw strong support and interest from the international side attracting visitors from 64 countries worldwide such as the UK, Italy, India, UAE, USA, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Russia, Egypt, UAEto name just a few.

The exhibition show floor featured over 50 exhibiting companies, including a wide range of tissue industry suppliers, tissue manufacturers and converters. Here are some of the leading players that the show was hosting: Aktul Kagt, Cellynne Converter, Lee & Man, Hayat Kimya, Ipek Kagt, Kahramanmaras Kagt , Mediterannean Tissue Mill, Lila Kagt, Parteks Kagt.

Exhibitors expressed high satisfaction on their experience in show, both on the level of visitors as the high quality of conference sessions. Director of ICM Makina, Devrim Deniz commented, "We have made new contacts in this fair, especially from the Middle East Region and some from Russia."

Tissue World was brought to Turkey in 2014, starting first with a conference. Following the feedback and support of leading tissue industry players, a full trade show was launched. Being a huge tissue producer and leading role in the MENA region mainly thanks to its strategic location, Istanbul is the ideal meeting point for the local and international players from Eastern Europe, Russia, the CIS, the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa.

Alongside the trade show, Tissue World Istanbul also featured a conference. Industry experts from various backgrounds such as the Turkish Pulp & Paper Foundation, RISI, Euromonitor, Poyry, Hayat, Ipek, Solenis, A. Celli, Henkel, just to name a few, shared the latest industry and economic insights during the conference sessions held over one and a half days. With the conference theme "Turkey: How can it maintain the pace of success?", presentations shed light on this strategic and unique market, with an emphasis on the regional and local supply and demand outlook, the surprising retailing landscape in these regions and on the latest technological innovations.

Tissue World is the leading global event series serving the tissue industry worldwide since 1993. With events in Istanbul, Milan, Miami, Bangkok and Sao Paulo it offers an integrated and intertwined platform consisting of exhibitions, conferences and a magazine providing an unmatched offline and online meeting place to do business, exchange ideas and learn, all year round. For media enquiries and press registration, contact Yew Lei Ching at [email protected].

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416330

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161006/416333LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121014/HK92339LOGO-d

SOURCE Tissue World - UBM

Related Links

http://www.tissueworld.com/


In an effort to put a spotlight on career opportunities in the manufacturing industry, students from Putnam, White and Warren Counties toured the 270,000 square foot auto-parts facility on Wednesday, Oct. 5, and got a first-hand look at what modern manufacturing jobs look like. The recently-built plant will have its official grand opening event later this month, Oct. 28, 2016.

"With manufacturing you can see the actual product that you are developing," said Antonio Ibanez, COO of Ficosa North America. "You are creating an asset that you can see and touch and it is very rewarding. By starting your career with a multi-national company like Ficosa, you can work yourself up through the ranks and have a lot of opportunities."

The new Ficosa plant, which will produce rear view systems for various automotive OEMs including Nissan, Ford, Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors, will increase production capacity and help provide much needed manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and Tennessee.

"Tennessee is a big manufacturing state," Boyd said. "One-in-eight Tennesseans with a job works in manufacturing. While many other states are celebrating national manufacturing day, we've decided to celebrate Tennessee manufacturers for an entire week because this is the best place in America for manufacturing. We've be coordinating plant visits with students to let young people know about the high quality and high paying manufacturing jobs that are in very high demand. But students also need to get the necessary skills and education for these jobs. The great news is that because of Governor Haslam's Tennessee Promise, those skills can be earned for free at an applied technology or community college."

To help fill new positions that are currently available at the new plant, Ficosa North America is working with AtWork Group, KellyOCG, Manpower, ResourceMFG and Wise Staffing Group.

Those who are interested in applying for a job should send their resumes to [email protected].

About Ficosa North America

Ficosa International began operating in the United States in 1995, through a technical-commercial office in Michigan. Since then, the company has expanded its capacities for the development of projects for the North American area, with the creation of a test laboratory in 1996, a CAD department in 1997, and a prototype laboratory in 1998. In 2000, Ficosa North America consolidated its engineering center with a new headquarters in Madison Heights, Michigan.

About Ficosa International

Ficosa is a global company devoted to the creation of high-technology vision, safety, efficiency and connectivity solutions for the industry, with the desire to contribute to society through our commitment to technological innovation, human values and energy efficiency. Founded in 1949 and based in Barcelona, Ficosa currently has more than 9,700 employees in 18 countries worldwide in Europe, North and South America and Asia, with consolidated sales of more than one billion dollars in December 2014. The rear view system (interior/side mirror) is Ficosa's main business, known worldwide and recognized by top global OEMs. For more information, visit www.ficosa.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416522

SOURCE Ficosa North America

Related Links

http://www.ficosa.com


These virtual reality units are being rolled out for the first time in October at Sacramento Navy Week and San Francisco Fleet Week in California, and at University of Texas campuses in Edinburg and Brownsville, Texas.

If you've ever wanted to pilot a high-speed assault craft or extract Navy SEALs from enemy territory, you'll now get your chance. The experience showcase what it feels like to be part of today's Navy, which is increasingly operating the most advanced technology and weapon systems in the world.

This immersive, virtual reality mobile display, built into two trucks that allow it to travel separately for maximum outreach, kicks off its tours in California on October 1st, and in Texas on October 3rd. Navy staff will be on hand as well to answer questions and help visitors navigate the site.

"We are excited to introduce today's Navy experience to Texas," says Navy Recruiting Command Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Doug "Woody" Beal. "We've spent significant time and resources developing this state-of-the-art virtual reality experience to transform and elevate the way people think about the Navy."

So what actually happens inside this display? Participants go through a video "briefing" before strapping on a VR headset and piloting a high-speed assault craft while extracting SEALs. Once finished, participants move to the debriefing station, where they get feedback and are graded on their performance.

"This display offers users the most realistic Navy experience possible. Virtual reality has allowed the U.S. Navy to come a long way. Where we once were only able to describe these experiences, now we can actually show the reality of a Navy mission in an interactive way, using the best technology available," continues Beal. "It's a new opportunity to demonstrate how the Navy helps develop and deploy the most technologically advanced equipment in the world," adds Captain Dave Bouve, National Director of Navy Marketing and Advertising at Navy Recruiting Command. "To reach a high-caliber pool of recruiting prospects, you need high-caliber recruiting tools, and this display is truly state-of-the-art."

For more information on America's Navy visit us at www.navy.com.

Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/NAVY-BigPicture-v5-rev.mp4

SOURCE U.S. Navy

Related Links

http://www.navy.com


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
Economist: China does not rig the rate of RMB Updated: 2016-10-07 07:42 By Chen Weihua in Washington(China Daily)

Presidential candidates have no basis for currency manipulation claim, seminar told

A top US economist has dismissed two US presidential candidates' accusations that China manipulates its currency.

Fred Bergsten, a senior fellow and director emeritus of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told a seminar on Wednesday that "there is no Chinese currency manipulation".

"Indeed, if there is any manipulation, it is what I will call positive manipulation," he told a forum on the Chinese economy at the Peterson Institute.

Several years ago, Bergsten had claimed that the Chinese currency was grossly undervalued and that the China manipulated its currency.

But he explained that for the last couple of years, China has not intervened to limit the appreciation of its currency, known as the renminbi (RMB) or yuan. Instead, China sold half a trillion dollars of its foreign currency reserves to keep its currency from weakening further.

He said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump does not have much basis for labeling China a currency manipulator and raising the issue again.

Trump has called China "the single greatest currency manipulator that's ever been on this planet" and he accused China of devaluing its currency in his opening remarks during the first US presidential debate on Sept 26.

Trump is not alone. Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also vowed repeatedly to confront China on alleged currency manipulation.

Bergsten said Trump is just taking the talking points from 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney by vowing to label China a currency manipulator on his first day in office.

He said that President Barack Obama, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and thoughtful members of Congress are aware of the true facts.

"But there is still a lot of politics around this," he said, adding that Clinton and her people also know better about the currency.

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers noted months ago that it was a mistake for the US to push for China's exchange-rate liberalization in the hope that the yuan appreciates while market forces are pushing down the currency.

A US Treasury report in April did not accuse China of currency manipulation.

Bergsten, who is serving his second term as a member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, said the issue of currency manipulation was "in remission".

He believes part of the reason for the concern among US lawmakers is that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved over a long period.

Congress passed legislation on a new currency policy early this year. Under the law, a country will be designated a currency manipulator if it meets three criteria: a large bilateral surplus with the US, a large global current account surplus and a persistent one-sided intervention in currency markets.

Bergsten indicated that China may meet the first two criteria but it does not meet the third one of persistent one-sided intervention in the market exceeding 2 percent of the GDP.

"So the situation is now clear. China is now not manipulating," he said.

Bergsten indicated that this is why there is no US-China currency conflict at the moment, but if the problem comes back the domestic pressure will rise.

"I think we have a clear path forward to avoid new US-China currency conflict. It's now in remission; let's keep it that way," he said.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 10/07/2016 page2)
New Delhi, Oct 4 : India and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to an effective implementation of a Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) to prevent cross-border criminal activities and other issues.

The decision was taken during the 43rd Director General-level border dialogue between India and Bangladesh.

The Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) agreed to take measures like additional vigilance in areas vulnerable to trans-border crimes like smuggling of drugs, cattle, gold and fake currency as well as human trafficking.

Both the border guarding forces also agreed to increase coordinated patrols especially during night hours in vulnerable areas, deployment of Quick Reactions teams and educating border populations on the sanctity of the International Border.

A 22-member Bangladeshi delegation led by BGB Director General Major General Aziz Ahmed attended the six-day bi-annual talks here with a 25-member Indian delegation led by BSF chief K.K. Sharma between September 30 and October 4.

A talks between the BSF and BGB representatives was held on October 3 at the BSF headquarters while the concluding session ended on Tuesday with the signing of a Joint Record of Discussion between the chiefs of the two border guard forces.

The next DG-level talks would be held in Dhaka in Bangladesh in the last week of February 2017.

The BSF chief appreciated BGB's cooperation in taking action against Indian insurgent groups based in Bangladesh.

The BGB chief said that Bangladesh did not allow its soil to be used by any entity or element hostile to any country.

The BSF said it would hold special course as well as a commando course for BGB personnel as part of Confidence Building Measures.

"Both sides said that all CBMs agreed upon during earlier meetings shall continue. Both sides also agreed for expeditious implementation of the decisions taken in the conference," an official statement said.

Senior officers of the ministries of home and external affairs, law enforcement agencies, National Investigation Agency and other sister agencies participated.
Srinagar, Oct 6 : Three separatist militants were killed on Thursday in a gunfight that erupted after they attacked a counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) camp in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.

"Three terrorists were killed in the resulting encounter," Colonel Rajesh Kalia, spokesman of the Indian Army's Srinagar-headquartered 15 Corps confirmed to IANS.

"Heavily armed terrorists dressed in army fatigues attacked the 30 RR camp situated in Langate town of Kupwara district at 5.10 a.m. today (Thursday)

"The alert guards at the 30 RR camp in Langate located close to a civilian facility foiled the terrorists' attempt to enter the camp by breaching its security periphery," he said.

"The terrorist firing stopped for some time, but it started again at 6.30 a.m," he added.

"We have recovered three AK-47 rifles from the slain terrorists. Firing has stopped, but the search operation is still going on," the army spokesman said.

"No casualty or injury was suffered by the RR troops".

On October 3 a BSF trooper was killed and another injured when separatist militants attacked the camp of 47 RR in Janbazpora area of Baramulla town.

The guerrillas, however, managed to escape.
Paris, Oct 6 : Kim Kardashian's bodyguard Pascal Duvier had reportedly filed for bankruptcy for his German security company ProtectSecurity ten weeks ago before the reality TV star was robbed in a Paris hotel room.

The company has reportedly racked up over $1.12 million in debt. Duvier lodged a claim for company insolvency at Heidelberg administrative court on July 22.

"There is so much debt. There are many claimants. I cannot say the exact number. Lots. It was known to me that Herr Duvier is the bodyguard of Frau Kardashian," the insolvency lawyer on the case told dailymail.co.uk.

The clients of Duvier's security company also include Kanye West and Black Eyed Peas, Stacy Ferguson, Will.i.am, Pussycat Dolls, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Lana del Rey and Katy Perry.

Duvier was last seen at his company building in Eppelheim in recent weeks. A woman who runs a hairdressing salon across the street, said: "He came here with his secretary but didn't stay long. Since then the blinds have been down and there has not been a soul here."

Duvier has removed every mention about Kim on his social media account, including photographs and all references to him working for her, but he is not fired.

Kim, 35, was ambushed in a Paris hotel room in the early hours of Monday. She was bound, gagged and thrown into a bathtub by masked gunmen dressed as French police.

According to varied media reports, the robbers reportedly took jewellery worth over six million euros, among other items.
Srinagar, Oct 6 : Three Pakistani terrorists were killed on Thursday in a gunfight that erupted after they attacked a counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) camp in north Kashmir's Kupwara district, an army officer said.

Heavily armed terrorists dressed in army fatigues attacked the 30 RR camp situated in Langate town of Kupwara district at 5.10 a.m. on Thursday, but the attack was foiled.

"Our sentries, who were on high alert carried out retaliatory fire to deny terrorists who entered our fencing. Our quick reaction team was activated. They localised the area where the terrorists were spotted, and after that they carried out sanitisation of the area. Three Pakistani terrorists were eliminated," Colonel Rajiv Saharan of 30 RR told the media in Handwara.

The army officer said a huge quantity of arms and ammunition and communication devices were recovered from the slain terrorists.

"These terrorists were carrying huge quantity of arms and ammunition and other war like stores, including three AK 47 rifles, two under barrel grenade launchers, large quantity of small arms, ammunition and grenades, GPS radio sets, maps, metric sheets and food and communications stores," he said.

The security personnel are still carrying out combing and search operations.

"Operation is still continuing, sanitisation of the area is not yet complete," added the officer.

Colonel Rajesh Kalia, spokesman of the Indian Army's Srinagar-headquartered 15 Corps, told IANS earlier that alert guards at the 30 RR camp in Langate located close to a civilian facility foiled the terrorists' attempt to enter the camp by breaching its security periphery.

On October 3, a BSF trooper was killed and another injured when separatist militants attacked the camp of 47 RR in Janbazpora area of Baramulla town.

The guerrillas, however, managed to escape.
Agartala, Oct 6 : The much-awaited passenger train service between Agartala and Kolkata would begin from Saturday fulfilling a decades-old demand of people from the northeastern state of Tripura, an official said on Thursday.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) would operate the Kanchanjunga Express between Agartala and Sealdah (Kolkata) via Silchar and Guwahati in Assam twice a week.

"The Agartala-Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express would begin operations from Saturday, meeting a long-standing demand of the people to link Tripura with Kolkata," NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma told IANS.

The Kanchanjunga Express would leave from Agartala for Sealdah via Guwahati and Silchar on Tuesdays and Saturdays while it would depart from Sealdah for Agartala on Sundays and Thursdays.

It will halt at around 35 important stations enroute including Silchar, Guwahati, New Bongaigaon, New Coochbehar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Bolpur Shantiniketan and New Alipurduar. The train will cover the 1,556 km journey in 38 hours.

This railway connectivity will comprise the lifeline for millions of people in Tripura, western Manipur and Mizoram besides southern Assam.

Sharma said that since February 2 the Kanchanjunga Express has been running thrice a week from southern Assam's biggest commercial city Silchar, 251 km by train from Agartala and 380 km from Guwahati.

Another much-awaited weekly passenger train, named "Tripura Sundari Express", is running between Agartala and Anand Vihar station of Delhi, since July 31, covering a distance of around 2,480 km in 55 hours.

After the launch of the Kanchanjunga Express train, Tripura would get connected to Kolkata bringing much relief to the Bengali-dominated population in the state.

The extension of the existing metre gauge track up to Agartala brought the city on India's rail map for the first time in October 2008 since the advent of the railways in this subcontinent in 1853.

The single-track 227 km metre-gauge link -- Badarpur (south Assam) to Agartala -- was converted into broad-gauge track earlier this year at a cost of Rs 2,016 crore.

"Though a veteran journalist Amiya Deb Roy first wrote a letter to the central government to extend railway network in Tripura in 1949, the formal agitation for rail began in December 1951 through a mass gathering addressed by veteran Communist leaders Jyoti Basu, Muzaffar Ahmad and S.A. Dange," said writer and journalist Tapas Debnath.

Debnath told IANS: "Former parliamentarians and top Tripura Left leaders Dasaratha Deb and Biren Datta had in 1952 first raised the demand in the Lok Sabha for extension of rail network to Agartala."

The stir got a new impetus after the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) -led Left Front government, headed by Nripen Chakraborty, assumed office in 1978. Chakraborty met then Railway Minister Madhu Dandavate on January 12, 1978, and put up a strong demand to put Agartala on the rail map.

A series of movements were organised in Tripura, Guwahati and New Delhi for extension of the rail network to Tripura. Incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Revenue and PWD Minister Badal Choudhury, among other leaders, were actively involved in these agitations.

"The NFR has so far spent about Rs 2,016 crore to connect Agartala by rail by making two big tunnels through the Longtharai Valley and Atharamura Hills and constructing a record number of 233 minor and major bridges," said an NFR engineer.

The NFR is now laying broad-gauge track for the 112-km Agartala-Sabroom line -- to be completed by March 2018 -- at a cost of Rs 3,351 crore. Sabroom is southern Tripura's border town adjoining Bangladesh.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said: "After the Indian Railways extends its rail line up to Sabroom, it would be very easy to connect with the Chittagong international sea port in southeast Bangladesh, which is just 75 km from the Tripura border town."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Dhaka in June 2015, had laid the foundation stone to construct a bridge over Feni river, adjacent to Sabroom, to connect the town with Bangladesh's hill town of Khagrachari.

This will open another railway link between the two neighbours after the existing Kolkata-Dhaka and proposed Agartala-Akhaura rail links.

"After extending the railway line to Sabroom, Tripura and the entire northeast would be linked with Southeast Asia very easily," Sarkar told IANS.

Meanwhile, the NFR has already undertaken works to lay a 15-km rail track to connect Agartala with Bangladesh's railway station Akhaura, an important rail junction there.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The AAP on Thursday accused the BJP of "demeaning" the Indian Army's might and demanded an apology from the party over Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and party spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao's statements "defaming" the army.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh sought an apology from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that AAP will approach Delhi Police to register a complaint against Parrikar and Rao over their statements.

"We demand an apology from BJP over Parrikar's and Rao's statements defaming Indian Army. Our Delhi unit chief Dilip Pandey along with other leaders will soon approach Delhi Police to register a complaint against both the BJP leaders over their statements," Singh said at a press conference here.

After the September 29 surgical strikes, Parrikar on October 1 compared the Indian Army with Lord Hanuman of Ramayana, saying as the deity was reminded of his strength before going to Lanka, "I reminded our army of their powers and they did the job brilliantly".

Singh said the BJP spokesperson Rao on Wednesday questioned and demeaned the might of the Indian Army by allegedly saying that it (army) did not have the power (to conduct such surgical strikes) for 70 years which it has now acquired (during BJP government).

Singh said the Indian Army has a glorious past of defeating Pakistan in 1948, 1965, 1971 and in 1999. It conducted surgical strikes nine times in 15 years and killed Pakistani terrorists and soldiers.

"Both the BJP leaders demeaned the Indian Army through their statements. I want to tell the BJP that do not neglect the glorious history of the Indian Army for your own political benefits.

"Do not insult the martyrdom of martyr Captain Vikram Batra, martyr Abdul Hamid and other soldiers. Do not insult Indian army's glorious past of 70 years," Singh added.

Hitting out at Parrikar, Singh said: "Defence Minister is busy in attending welcome ceremony in Agra in Uttar Pradesh at a time when he is required to be in Delhi as shelling is going on at the border."

"BJP supporters are busy in poll politics in UP. BJP is putting up hoardings for its self glorification to take advantage of the surgical strike."

On Kejriwal's video message asking the government to counter Pakistan's denial of the strikes, Singh said that BJP leaders started making baseless comments against Kejriwal even without understanding the feelings and the entire issue.

"Kejriwal hailed Modi and Indian Army for the surgical strikes in his video message," he said.

"BJP leaders' sole aim is to anyhow target and insult AAP. We never asked PM or the central government to release the video of the surgical strike or give proof," he clarified.
Rome, Oct 7 : United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday praised Italy for its efforts in hosting and rescuing thousands of refugees and migrants, and appealed for global solidarity in tackling migrant crisis.

Ban made his remarks after meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella here.

The outgoing UN secretary general held talks also with president of the Upper House Pietro Grasso, and of the Lower House Laura Boldrini.

Such meetings focused on major international issues, including the war in Syria, the Libyan situation, and the migrant crisis, according to an official statement.

"I commend the generosity of the Italian people and government in hosting and rescuing so many human beings, who are risking their lives on the high seas in search of a better life," Ban told reporters after talks.

"Italy should not be left alone. We need global solidarity to face this unprecedented crisis," he added.

The UN chief also praised the support Italy has been providing to the UN blue-helmet peace operations around the world, in terms of both troops and logistics.

Ban is expected to be replaced by former head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR Antonio Guterres by Jan. 2017.

The Italian authorities acknowledged Ban's achievements during his visit to the country, which was likely to be the last one as UN secretary-general.

"In the last 10 years, under his guide, the UN have achieved historic results in areas key to international co-existence," Mattarella told a press conference.

Mattarella mentioned the crucial fields of development and of governance of the climate change.

"In particular, I am thinking about the adoption of the 2030 Agenda (for Sustainable Development), and the Paris agreement on climate change," he said.

The Paris Agreement just entered into force this week, triggered by the ratification of the parliament of the European Union (EU). "Yet, the list of Ban's achievements is longer than that," Mattarella added.

"I want to mention his crucial commitment on the migrants issue, as a global responsibility of the international community, on the gender equality, and on the fight against discrimination and violence," he said.
Niamey, Oct 7 : At least 22 Nigerien soldiers were killed on Thursday in an attack on a refugee camp in the country's western region of Tassara.

A source told Xinhua that unknown gunmen attacked Nigerien soldiers who were guarding the camp housing Malian refugees, and killed at least 22 soldiers.

The attackers are suspected to be Islamic extremists from northern Mali, according to the source.

There is no official comment on the attack, but according to the source, the Nigerien military has launched an operation to hunt for the attackers.

Niger's national television reported Thursday night that a refugee camp in the country's western region bordering Mali was attacked by armed men. The report said there were heavy casualties but did not reveal the exact number.